ised him; but right and authority were on his side.

"Leave him you must--and shall so there's plain speaking! You will
never go into that house again."

Lilian turned as if to flee from him. No one was within sight; and how
could she have appealed to any one for help? In the distance she saw
the roof of Mrs. Wade's cottage; it allayed her despair for the moment.
There, at all events, was a friend who would intervene for her, a
strong and noble-minded woman, capable of offering the best counsel, of
acting with decision. Vain now to think of hiding her secret from that
friend--and who could be more safely trusted with it?

But she still had the resource of entreaty.

"You talk of right and wrong--is it right to be merciless? What can I
ever be to you? Would you take me away by force, and compel me to live
with you? I have told you I would die rather. When you think of
everything, have you no pity for me? Whatever you intended, wasn't our
marriage a terrible injustice to me? Oughtn't you to give a thought to
that?"

"You are living an immoral life," replied Northway, with tremulous
emphasis. "I could hold you up to shame. No, I don't ask you to come
and live with me at once; I don't expect that. But you must leave that
man, and live a respectable life, and--then in time I shall forgive
you, instead of disgracing you in the divorce court. I ask only what is
right. You used to be religious"----

"Oh, how can you talk to me like that! If you really think me wicked
and disgraced, leave me to my own conscience! Have _you_ no sins that
ask for forgiveness?"

"It isn't for you to speak of them," he retorted, with imbecile
circling. "All I know is that you are my wife by law, and it is my duty
to save you from this position. I sha'n't let you go back. If you
resist my authority, I shall explain everything to any one who asks,
that's all.--Who was that lady you were talking to?"

"She lives in the little house over there. I must go and speak to her."

"Does she know?"

"No."

"What have you to say to her, then?"

They looked into each other's eyes for a moment. Northway was gauging
the strength of her character, and he half believed that by an exertion
of all his energy he might overcome her, lead her away at once. He
remembered that before the close of this day Quarrier's secret would be
universally known, and when that had come to pass, he would have no
hold upon either the man or the woman. They would simply turn