"That is passed. I will save him now."
"You are mad. You know that this is idle. You know that I am a determined and desperate man."
"Pooh! What is the determination or the desperation of one like you? I know well what you think. Once you were able to move me by your threats. That is passed. My resolve and my despair have placed me beyond your reach forever. Go--go away. Begone! Take your threats with you, and do your worst."
"You are mad--you are utterly mad," said Gualtier, confounded at the desperation of one whom he felt was so utterly in his power; one, too, who herself must have known this. "You have forgotten your past. Will you force me to remind you of it?"
"I have forgotten nothing," said Hilda; "but I care nothing for it."
"You must care for it. You will be forced to. Your future happens to depend on it."
"My future happens to be equally indifferent to me," said Hilda. "I have given up all my plans and hopes. I am beyond your reach, at any rate. You are powerless against me now."
Gualtier smiled.
"You speak lightly," said he, "of the past and the future. You are excited. If you think calmly about your position, you will see that you are now more in my power than ever; and you will see, also, that I am willing to use that power. Do not drive me to extremes."
"These are your old threats," said Hilda, with bitter contempt. "They are stale now."