“I don’t know.”
“It may be a trick.”
“Who would trick me like that? And what for?”
Mellersh remained silent for a few minutes, and then he said gravely:
“Well, Dick, suppose it is so. Surely you are going to awake from this madness now?”
“What do you mean?”
“What does this letter mean? It is plain enough. Constant sapping has carried the fortress, and the lady has consented.”
“Don’t talk like that, Mellersh. For heaven’s sake, don’t take that cynical tone.”
“Why not, madman? I have heard tell that women often say no when they mean yes. A lady we know must have meant yes. Hang it, boy, what more proof do you want that the woman is unworthy of your love?”
“None,” said Linnell bitterly; “none, but I love her all the same.”