"She's got a better chance."

"A better chance? I shouldn't have backed her chance against Miss Holland's."

"It is better. She doesn't get so mixed up with people. If she were to——"

He waited.

"She'd go with a rush, in one piece, and either die or come out of it all right. Whereas Jane——"

He waited breathlessly.

"Jane would be torn to tatters, inch by inch."

Nicholson felt a curious constriction across his chest. His throat dried as he spoke again.

"What do you think would tear her most?"

"Oh, if she married."