"Now, please don't start that, Wally. We'll shake hands if you want to…
There! How are you? Now go back to your chair and be good."
"'Be good!'" he savagely echoed.
"Why, you want to be good; don't you?" she asked in surprise.
"I want you to love me. Mary; tell me you love me just a little bit; won't you?"
"I like you a whole lot—but when it comes to love—the way you mean—"
"It's the only thing in life that's worth a hang," he eagerly interrupted her. "The trouble is: you won't try it. You won't allow yourself to let go. I was like that once—thought it was nothing. But after I met you—! Oh, girl, it's all roses and lilies—the only thing in the world, and don't you forget it! Come on in and give it a try!"
"It's not the only thing in the world," said Mary, shaking her head. "That's the reason I don't want to come in: When a man marries, he goes right on with his life as though nothing had happened. That shows it's not the only thing with him. But when a woman marries—well, she simply surrenders her future and her independence. It may be right that she should, too, for all I know—but I'm going to try the other way first. I'm going right on with my life, the same as a man does—and see what I get by it."
"How long are you going to try it, do you think?"
"Until I've found out whether love is the only thing in a woman's life. If I find that I can't do anything else—if I find that a girl can only be as bright as a man until she reaches the marrying age, and then she just naturally stands still while he just naturally goes forward—why, then, I'll put an advertisement in the paper 'Husband Wanted. Mary Spencer. Please apply.'"
"They'll apply over my dead body."