“I do no such thing. You are not responsible for my acts; and your repentance can be just as sincere without a wife as with one.”

“You are mistaken.  If I am doomed to remain among the Indians, I shall never be able to reform, however earnestly I may desire to do so; and if I go to the settlements, I shall be slain as a foe, unless protected by family ties and influence; these I can secure in no other way than by becoming your husband.”

“I am of an entirely different opinion; and I think your whole scheme a very thin and flimsy contrivance, of which you ought to be ashamed.”

“But there are two against you.  Mr. Hamilton, as you have already seen, perfectly coincides with me in his views, and—­”

“I beg leave to correct you.  Mr. Hamilton never consented to your last proposition, for the very good reason that it was never mentioned to him; in this respect you have tried to deceive me; but to put the matter to rest, at once and forever, let me say, as mistress of my own decisions, that whether he should consent to your proposition or not, I never will!”

“Then, as you voluntarily cast me off, and consign me to infamy and hopeless wretchedness, be the consequences upon your own head.  I came to you and implored assistance in my extremity, but you turned away, and left me in despair.  Do not, therefore, accuse me of cruelty if I demand by force that which you have denied as a free gift.  You know that I have the power of life and death over yourself and Hamilton, and I now ask you, as a last resort, to choose between assenting to become my wife and seeing your lover at the stake!  You may well start and turn pale; for as sure as there is a sky above and the earth beneath us, I swear that one or the other fate shall be yours.  Make your own election, and, in doing so, bear in mind that Hamilton’s death will be gratuitous, if caused, for you shall then be worse than my wife.  As a lawful companion, I will use my best endeavors to make you happy; as a companion in what the world calls guilt, I will bind myself by no such promise.  Think of all these things, and then decide.”

“Louis Durant, the very proposition you make, accompanied as it is by the alternative, is one of such black enormity, that if nothing else were added to debase you in my estimation, I would spurn your offer as I would the proffered hand of Satan himself or of the vilest imp in the loathsome pit of night where he reigns!  You have your answer.  As well try to pluck the sun from his place in the heavens or wrench the sparkling stars from the firmament as to alter my resolve.”

“Perhaps you will think differently when the trying hour comes, perhaps repent when it is too late.”

“Never, sir villain!  Do you suppose I cannot penetrate the thin gauze that is intended to hide your motives?  Your highest aspiration is after the Wealth you imagine me to possess; if I were poor, you would not even offer me your hand, let alone make such efforts to obtain it.  I see through all your devices, base miscreant, including your sham repentance, which deserves the descent of God’s just indignation upon your guilty head, and polluted soul!”