“Go on,” grinned Sheldon. “Don’t stop there!”
“And,” she ended happily, “I wanted to see what you would do. Whether you would go on looking for me a long time, or whether you would forget me and go away.”
“And if I had gone?”
“Then,” said Paula simply, “I should have gone high up on the cliffs and thrown myself down. It would not have been much fun to live if you had gone away.”
“And now,” he asked her soberly, “are you afraid to go back with me, Paula? Back into the world outside?”
Paula crept closer up to him, putting her hand into his.
“Yes,” she said. “I am afraid.”
“But,” insisted Sheldon, “you must see, Paula—”
“I am afraid,” she repeated, and as he turned toward her he saw that her eyes, lifted to his, were shining softly with utter trust. “I am afraid, but I will go with you and be glad.”
“God bless you!” he whispered.