She saw now in the consuming flame of a great sorrow that the man before her had some rights which the purest woman must reckon with. He might be a burglar. At least it was her duty to try to save him from himself. Her surrender of the past weeks was a tie that would bind them through all eternity. There was no chemistry of earth or heaven or hell that could erase its memories. Her life was no longer her own—this man's was bound with hers. She must face the facts. She would make one honest, brave effort to save him. To do this she would give all without reservation—pride must be cast to the winds.
Her voice suddenly changed to tears.
“Oh, Jim, you do love me, don't you?”
His body slowly relaxed, his eyes shifted, and he shrugged his square shoulders.
“What'ell did I marry you for?”
“Tell me—do you?” she demanded.
“You know that I love you. What do you ask me such a fool question for? I love you with a love that can kill. Do you hear me? That's why you're not going anywhere without me.”
There was no mistaking the depth of his passion. She trembled to realize its power and yet it was the lever by which she must move him.
“Then you've got to give this life up. You're young and brave and strong. You can earn an honest living. You haven't been in this long—I feel it, I know it. Have you?”
“No!”