“You know—­she has told you?”

“I knew all that terrible story—­that pitiful story—­before I heard it from her lips.”

“And yet—­yet—­you could speak to me—­you could be with me day after day?”

“Oh, I know what you would say!  You would say that I led you on—­that I gave you to believe that I loved you.  That is what you would say, and it would be the truth.  I made up my mind to lead you on; I gave you to understand that I cared for you.  But I confess to you now that I did so because I hoped to save her.  You see it was a plot on my part—­the plot of one woman anxious to save her sister from destruction.  I succeeded.  Thank God for that—­thank God for that!”

“You succeeded—­you succeeded indeed.”  He spoke slowly and in a low tone, his eyes fixed upon her burning face.  “Yes, you led me on—­you led me from earth to heaven.  You saved her—­you saved me.  That is why I am here to-day.”

“Oh, it is not here you should be, Mr. Courtland.”  She had turned quickly away from him with a gesture of impatience and had walked to the other end of the room.  There was more than a suspicion of indignation in her voice.  “You should be with the woman whom you loved; the woman who showed you how she loved you; the woman who was ready to give up everything—­honor—­husband—­God—­for you.  Go to her—­to her—­when the numbness has passed away from her, and there is no barrier between you and her.  That is all I have to say to you, Mr. Courtland.”

“Is it indeed all, Phyllis?” he said.  “But you will let me speak to you.  You will let me ask if Ella alone was ready to sacrifice herself?  You say that you led me to love you in order to save her.  How did you lead me on?  By giving me to understand that you were not indifferent to me—­that you had some love for me.  Let me ask you if you were acting a lie at that time?”

“I wanted to save her.”

“And you succeeded.  Were you acting a lie?”

She was silent.

“You were willing to save her?” he continued.  “How did you mean to save her?  Were you prepared to go to the length of marrying me when I had been led on to that point by you?  Answer me, Phyllis.”

“I will not answer you, Mr. Courtland—­you have no right to ask me to answer you.  One terrible moment had changed all the conditions under which we were living.  If she had been free,—­as she is now,—­do you fancy for a moment that I should have come between you—­that I should have tried to lead you away from her?  Well, then, surely you must see as clearly as I do at the present moment that now our relative positions are the same as they would have been some months ago, if Ella had been free—­if she could have loved you without being guilty of a crime?  Oh, Mr. Courtland do not ask me to humiliate myself further.  Please go away.  Ah, cannot you see that it would be impossible for me to act now as I might have acted before?  Cannot you see that I am not a woman who would be ready to steal happiness for myself from my dearest friend?”