uld have to do this without
knowing what she was paying for, or why the door of the world is locked
against me. My lips are sealed, nor shall I ever be able to break the
seal. _Now_ do you understand why I can never ask you, or any other
woman to be my wife?"

Sara looked at him curiously; he could not read the expression of her
face.

"Have you finished?" she asked. "Is that all?"

"All? Isn't it enough?"--with a grim laugh.

"And you are letting this--this folly of your youth stand between us?"

"The world applies a harder word than folly to it!"

"I don't care anything at all about the world. What do _you_ call it?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

"I call it folly to ask the criminal in the dock whether he approves the
judge's verdict. He's hardly likely to!"

For a moment she was silent. Then she seemed to gather herself together.

"Garth, do you love me?"

The words fell clearly on the still, summer air.

"Yes"--doggedly--"I love you. What then?"

"What then? Why--this! I don't care what you've done. It doesn't matter
to me whether you are an outcast or not. If you are, then I'm willing
to be an outcast with you. Oh, Garth--My Garth! I've been begging you to
marry me all afternoon, and--and----" with a broken little laugh--"you
can't _keep on_ refusing me!"

Before her passionate faith and trust the barriers he had raised between
them came crashing down. His arms went round her, and for a few moments
they clung together and love wiped out all bitter memories of the past
and all the menace of the future.

But presently he came back to his senses. Very gently he put her from
him.

"It's not right," he stammered unsteadily. "I can't accept this from
you. Dear, you must let me go away. . . . I can't spoil your beautiful
life by joining it to mine!"

She drew his arm about her shoulders again.

"You will spoil it if you go away. Oh! Garth, you dear, foolish man!
When will you understand that love is the only thing that matters?
If you had committed all the sins in the Decalogue, I shouldn't care!
You're mine now"--jealously--"my lover. And I'm not going to be thrust
out of your life for some stupid scruple. Let the past take care of
itself. The present is ours. And--and I love you, Garth!"

It was difficult to reason coolly with her arms about him, her lips so
near his own, and his great love for her pulling at his heart. But he
made one further effort.

"If you should ever regret it, Sara?" he wh