"I know I must," she replied between sobs. "Oh, Dic, do not hate me. He held me to him as you sometimes do,—but, oh, it was so different. I was helpless, and he bent back my head and kissed me on the lips till I thought I should faint."
"The cowardly hound. He shall pay dearly for his—"
"I have your promise, your oath," said the girl, interrupting him.
"But, Rita—"
"I trusted you, Dic, and I know you will faithfully keep your promise. Father owes Williams a large sum of money, and Tom has been stealing from him." Here she began to weep. "He will ruin father and send Tom to the penitentiary if he learns that I have told you this. He told me he would, and I promised I would tell no one; but my duty to you is higher than my duty to keep my promise. Now you know why I held you off when we came in here."
"No, I don't know," he replied. "You have not promised to marry him?"
"No, no," she returned excitedly.
"Then why did you refuse me?"
"I'm not worthy to be your wife. I feel that I have been contaminated," she answered.
"No, no, girl," he cried joyfully. "It was not your fault. The falling snow is not purer than you, and truth itself is not truer than your heart. I go to New York soon, and when I return all your troubles will cease."