"Get up, Ruth!" said Lady Rose. "Be strong, be magnanimous, for you alone can save Walton Hurst's life."
The girl got up obediently, but seemed turning to marble as she did so; for she guessed at the impossibility that would be demanded of her.
"I? How?" she questioned, in a hoarse whisper. "How?"
"You and I. It rests with us."
Ruth breathed heavily.
"You and I!"
"This wretch—forgive me—this man, Storms, wants two things—land and gold. These I can give him, and will."
"Yes, yes."
"But he wants something else which I cannot give, and on that all the rest depends."
Ruth did not speak. She grew cold again.