st, while his faith, rising from the same ideals, made her seem
almost ethereal. His longing for her was an acute physical pain, and he
never allowed his ideals to stop his romancing. He insisted that his
desire be stated in masking phrases and deceiving glories of chivalrous
prattle. He was so torn by his conflicting emotions and ideals that he
was fast arriving at a state where his action would be that of a wounded
beast at bay. He did not know and would not admit that his own distorted
view of Claire was back of his own condition. True to his type, he
carried this war in silence, and sought support for his fast-weakening
ideals in argument. He was wise. Defend your faith if you would keep it
glowing.

CHAPTER XIX.

THE LAST DISCUSSION.

The time of their departure was at hand. There had been two days of
intense packing of the food and clothing necessary for their
two-hundred-mile walk. Now that was behind them, and after a short trip
which Philip must take the following morning, they would be off for the
ten or fifteen miles they hoped to cover that day.

When night came they were overjubilant, and they sat before the cabin
watching the lake as it shimmered in the moonlight. Claire was pensively
silent, though her heart sang. She was dreaming out her days, painting
them on the moonlit water, and she paid very little heed to the two men,
though unconsciously her whole personality leaned toward Lawrence. What
they were saying she did not at first know, but gradually her attention
was caught and she listened earnestly with an ever-growing fear in her
heart.

She saw the deep fire that burned in Philip's eyes, and she realized
that Lawrence was unaware of how his provocative, half-humorous ironies
were stirring the volcano within the man who sat beside him.

"No man has a right," Philip was saying, "to think of a woman in his
house unless he can think of her as altogether trustworthy, pure, and
beyond temptation. If he does think of her differently, he is a beast,
and wants a mistress, not a wife."

Lawrence laughed carelessly. "The average man wants both in one," he
said. "Personally, so far as your talk about suspicion goes, who needs
to think either way? I'm sure I don't. I'm quite content to live with a
woman, giving and taking what we can enjoy together, and not asking that
she limit her time and devotion to me. She may have various outside
interests of her own. In fact, I would prefer that life shou