"No!" he cried, heavily. "I will await the officers she has sent here. I will stand the trial she has prepared."
"But there will be no possibility of escape for you. I tell you that, innocent or guilty, there will be no possibility of escape!"
"Then I will die upon the gallows!"
"Leith, you must be mad! Is the thought of life with me so hard to bear? Is death at her hands preferable to life and love at mine?"
"Yes," he cried savagely, fiercely, "it is! If she has purchased my ruin, she shall have it. If she wishes me to stand trial for this crime I will do it!"
"For God's sake, listen to reason!" Jessica panted. "You can't know what you are doing. You can't realize what those people are."
"Do you think I would fly from a crime I never committed?"
"But they will give you no opportunity to prove your innocence. They will lock you up in one of their awful prisons, from which there will be no escape but death. What care have they for life? What is a soul to them? If they would kill you for a coat, they would betray you to the gallows for less than a hundred dollars. For the love of Heaven, listen to reason! Hark! There is a ring at the bell. It must be Stolliker and the officer. Leith, the last moment is here! Think quick, and answer me! Will you let me save you?"
"No!"
"Oh, Leith, Leith I love you! It is life with me or death for her and without her. Listen: they are in the hall. For God's sake, come!"