“I do! And I defy you! If your accusations against me are true, go out and proclaim them to the city. I’m willing to stand for whatever happens!”
She regarded his flushed, defiant face. She perceived clearly that she had failed, that it was useless to try further.
“Very well,” she said slowly. “But I want you to remember in the future that I have given you this chance; that I have given you your choice, and you have chosen.”
“And I tell you again that I defy you!”
“You are a more hardened man, or a more desperate man, than I thought,” said she.
He did not reply upon the instant, but sat gazing into her searching eyes. Before he could speak, the telephone at his elbow began to ring. He picked it up.
“Hello! Yes, this is Mr. Blake.... Her temperature is the same, you say?... No, I have not had an answer yet. I expect a telegram any minute. I’ll let you know as soon as it comes. Good-by.”
“Is some one sick?” Katherine asked, as he hung up the receiver.
“My mother,” he returned briefly, his recent defiance all gone.