"
He approached closer, holding forth his own hands, believing she would
come to him. But instead she shrank away as a child might, expecting
punishment, her arms uplifted, shielding her face.
"No, no; do not touch me; do not touch me," she moaned. "I am not
afraid of you, only I could not bear it."
"Beth!" He compelled his voice to sternness, confident now that this
hysteria could be controlled only through the exercise of his own will.
"You must listen to me, and be guided by my judgment. You must, you
shall, do as I say. This is a most terrible happening, but it is now
too late to remedy. We cannot restore life once taken. We must face
the fact and do the very best we can for the future. This man is dead.
How he died can make no difference to us now. You must go away from
here; you must go away from here at once."
"And--and leave him alone?"
The whispered words stung him, his distressed mind placing wrong
construction on the utterance.
"Has he been so much to you that now you must sacrifice yourself
needlessly for him?" he questioned quickly.
Pages:
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412