ng into the cozy, one-windowed room, he said, taking
Pilar's hand in his: "Why torture me, Pilar?--you know it cannot be."

"Wilhelm!" her voice was firm, and she looked him full in the eyes, "do
you love me?"

"You know it."

"Do we belong to each other?"

"Yes--and no."

"That is not a straightforward answer. We do belong to one another. You
know perfectly well that if I were free you would marry me, and then
you certainly would have no scruples in coming into this house as its
master. Where is the difference?"

"You know where the difference lies."

"It is enough to drive one crazy! Is a paltry prejudice to triumph over
our right to be happy? We are both of age. We are accountable to no one
on earth for our actions. An insurmountable obstacle, for the moment,
prevents us making our relations respectable in the eyes of the
butcher, the baker, and the candlestick-maker by paying a few francs to
a registry-office and a priest. Has the mumbling of a priest so much
meaning for you? Must you first enjoy the edifying spectacle of a mavre
in a fringed scarf before you can feel like my husband? Or do you want
any one else's consent? My father is dead, but my mother would adore
you and do anything in the world for you, if I told her you made her
only child unspeakably happy. What more do you want?"

"I could not reconcile myself to such a position, There is nothing to
be said against your arguments. But for me to live on you--"

"For shame!" she cried, and tapped him lightly on the cheek with her
forefinger. "Ah, you see I love you better than you love me. If you
were very rich and I had not a penny, I would not hesitate for an
instant to accept everything from you. I trust my heart is of more
value to you than this paltry little house and its sticks of furniture.
You have my heart--what is all the rest compared with that?"

He still shook his head unconvinced, but she knelt before him and said
imploringly: "Wilhelm, you will not hurt me so. Even if it costs you a
great deal, make this sacrifice for my sake. Give it a trial. You will
see how soon you will get accustomed to it. And if not, then I am ready
to go with you to the ends of the earth--to the Black Forest--wherever
you will. Only try it, Wilhelm--have pity on me."

He stooped to lift her up, but reading in his eyes that he was
yielding, she sprang to her feet and threw herself, gleeful as a child,
upon his breast. Her victory filled her with such joy she