"You know I do. You know—— Oh, Judith, won't you please let me go? I don't want to come in, I tell you."
"But you're coming?"
"Yes."
Yielding abruptly, he stepped into the hall beside her. Judith, suddenly silent, concerned herself conscientiously with the chain.
"Don't stand there like that. I can't fasten this if you do," she said breathlessly.
"Why?"
"Go into the library, and don't light the lights, if you're afraid of pigtails."
"I'm not afraid of—anything."
"Well—I'm not." With a reckless laugh, which made this comprehensive challenge to the world still more comprehensive, she followed him into the firelit room. Slender and straight in soft-falling white, her face flushed and sweet, framed between silvery gold braids, her eyes wide and challenging, she stood looking at him across the hearth.
He faced her awkwardly but bravely, tall in the shadowy room, his face very white, his dark eyes catching the last rays of light from the dying fire. The two did not move or speak till he gave a sudden, shaken laugh.