“He will never wed Ruth.”

“He will.”

“She would never wed the man who signed my death-warrant, love him as she might ever so dearly.”

“Ah! I had not thought of that.”

“Then you do not know her nature.”

“Well, he will sign your death-warrant, and, now I come to recall her face, she would not marry the man whose signature was attached to it, so after all there may be a chance for me.”

“Not the slightest.”

“Why not?”

“Having loved an ideal and found her but to lose her, he would be true to his love of a memory and never marry another.”

“I believe you are right again. You have been a close student of human nature, Arden.”