"I guess I'll get the money—don't you think?" she asked.
He did not answer. Temptation closed round him. Temptation coming in its present form would have been stronger in his darker days, but even now it was mighty in its strength. Why should he bear his disgrace longer? This woman could clear him; would clear him, if he did not pay. And he had no money—almost none. He had merely to say "no"—that was all.
In these first dazed moments he really did not know which was the voice of temptation and which the voice of right. One voice said, "To refuse will be to destroy hundreds of people." And the other voice said, "To pay blackmail is wrong." Desire took advantage of this moral disagreement to order his reply.
"I shall not pay you a cent!"
"Oh, yes you will," she returned confidently.
"I shall not!—not a cent!" he said, with wild exultation.
"You know what'll happen if you don't?"
"Yes. You'll tell. All right—tell!"
She studied his flushed face and excited eyes. "You're in earnest?"
"Don't I look it! I shall not pay you a cent! Understand? Not a cent!"