But the girl understood Nona’s purpose and set her lips tight.
“Tell me, Maaret.”
“No!” burst out the girl. “You would do my Og harm. I want to help him, not you.” She tried to pull away, but Nona held her. Nona’s anger was rising.
“I’ll take you with me,” she told the girl. “My Nemo will make you talk.”
But Maaret resisted, and suddenly her tears came afresh.
“You let me go. I should be with Og—fighting beside him because I love him. I was a coward to come up here.”
The words appealed as none others could to Nona. Her anger vanished; sympathy flooded over her.
“You want to fight for Og, Maaret?”
“Yes! I want to fight—I belong there—beside him. Let me go.”
Nona stared into the girl’s pathetic little face.