Socola confronted her, his hands gripped in nervous agony behind his back, his slender figure erect, his breath coming in deep excited draughts.
"You think that I'll submit to my fate without a fight?"
"You've got to submit. Your escape from Richmond is a physical impossibility—"
He searched the depths of her heart.
"I was not thinking of my body just then. I have no desire to live if you can hand me to my executioner—"
He paused and a sob came from the girl's distracted soul.
He moved a step closer.
"I'm not afraid to die—you must know that—I'm not a coward—"
"No. I couldn't have loved a coward!"