erson, to sneak
away from herself, to drop through the floor. Nevertheless, some dignity
in her, standing fast, struck out for salvage; and out of the uprush of
humiliating sensation, she heard her voice, colorless and flat:

"I'm sorry I said that. You make me ... quite ashamed...."

The flush deepened abruptly on the tall doctor's cheek.

"_Don't_ say that! Don't you suppose I understand how absolutely natural
it was?... Everybody'd have thought just the same, in your place...."

Carlisle had turned away from his translucent eye, finding it
unbearable; she descended from the stair, took an irresolute step or two
over the ruined floor of the once stately court. And then she halted,
having really nowhere to go, staring fixedly toward the
distant doors....

Mamma's nearness could not help her now. Hugo's fortifying love was no
buffer against this extraordinary moment. All alone Cally stood with the
contemned religious fellow who had unhorsed and disarmed her once again,
and now there would be no more weapons. And there was a worse thing here
than her mean looking for hypocrisy, and the discovery, instead, of a
mad generosity, a princely folly. Bad enough all that seemed; very bad
indeed: but Cally's painful moment seemed to cut deeper yet.

After all the struggling, had it come to this? Was the author of the
Beach opinion of her a man whom she must greatly admire?...

Behind her stood the stairway, which led on up to mamma and the
embracing security of the victorious order. Behind her also stood the
man, the royal giver of the granary where finer-feathered birds now made
merry among the spoils. With what speech should Cally Heth, mocked and
jeered by her feeble "I'm sorry," turn now and pass him?...

She heard the sound of his unequal footstep, and then his voice behind
her, stirred with a sudden feeling:

"Why, it's not a thing to be sorry about--how could you possibly have
thought otherwise?... Don't you suppose I realize what cause I've given
you to--to distrust and dislike me? You'd be more than human if you
could forgive and forget--what I said to you one night. How could you,
when it was so unforgivable? And since then--"

"_Don't!_" Carlisle said, in a muffled sort of voice. And then, clearly
and distinctly: "Don't!... I can't quite stand that!"

She turned on the old floor, with the sound of her own strengthening
voice, and came again face to face with the man, V.V. There had seemed
to come to her a l