Page:Frank Owen - Woman Without Love (1949 reprint).djvu/21

 "Don't let that worry you. Few husbands do."

"I wouldn't marry any woman. I think marriage spells the end of romance."

"Perhaps you are right," she mused, "but I can't speak from personal experience because I've never been married. Nevertheless I have had a good many blasted romances without benefit of clergy."

"But our romance is one that isn't going to be wrecked," he said emphatically, "because we won't get married and that will insure its permanence. I hate marriage, but I love honeymoons and this is one of the most agreeable I've ever been on."

She studied her coffee cup thoughtfully for several moments. If Ed Trine persisted in this devotion he would assuredly develop into a nuisance. She wished to get rid of him. A way suggested itself which she believed would have the desired result.

"It's good," she said slowly, "to know that you love me. I guess every woman likes to be adored. Of course I've been joking with you quite a little, but right now I feel far from facetious. When I needed a friend most I found you. I know that you will be good to me."

"You can depend upon that," he said airily. "From now on I'm going to protect you."

"It is nice to hear you say so," she said softly. "You are different from other men I've met. It is easy to make a confidant of you. That's why I wish you to know everything. I don't want to have any secrets. When I met you in the night on the road I did not tell you my complete story. It is true that I was running away from a man who had been holding me in slavery. What I neglected to tell you was that I was able to escape only because I killed him."

With a cry of horror Ed Trine sprang to his feet. His coffee cup fell to the floor and smashed.

"What!" he cried hysterically. "You mean you murdered a man?"

Cold perspiration stood out upon his forehead. His fingers shook as though he were a hundred years old. In a single moment his face had changed. All animation died from it. Only stark fear remained. He was yellow clear through.