So I was left alone with the ring; and waiting till I thought it time, began to reproach myself for running in danger when my life belonged to Mary. Then I thought again: and I knew at last that Mary herself would have me to do this. So I kept up a stout heart, and ostentatiously leaving a dollar on the table, passed out.
There was a shadow in front of me—it was the woman, who fell at my feet beseechingly.
"Fool," she said, "and foolhardy. Throw it away lest it kill you. For it is a vampire that drinks men's blood."
And she took hold of my finger and tried to wrench the ring away; but the flesh was closed up tightly round it, and it would not budge.
"It is the spell already winding round you," she said. "Yet it was not you that my father cursed. What shall I do, my love, my love?
"Better throw away your finger than your soul," she said again; "cut it off and so escape."
I searched for the knife in my belt, but my sheath was empty; and we looked into each other's eyes in hollow despair.
"I would bite it," she cried, "but I cannot—I cannot; for I love you."
"You must not say that," I answered; "and you must not come with me."
"My lord commands?" she asked, in pained humility.