Page:The Father Confessor, Stories of Danger and Death.djvu/43

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"The woman looked into his face; her eyes were on a level with his; she was tall, but slight and weak. She looked at her own tremulous thin hands, and at the long gap between her and the other side. The man saw the glance, and it maddened him. It said: ‘If these had your strength I would not be as you. There is a weak coward in your strong body; how did it get there?’

"‘It would be madness to attempt this,’ he cried; ‘I will go by the other bridge.’

"‘It is too late,’ the woman said, in a dull voice; ‘even if the bridge were there you could not do it now.’

"The gentle woman before him seemed to grow into a harsh monitress.

"‘I believe,’ he muttered, ‘that you would rather see me dead—if a hundred were saved over my body.’

"‘I would rather see you dead,’ she said, like one repeating him.

"‘You would rather I were a dead hero than a live——?’

"A word tripped on her tongue; he could see it.

"‘Why don’t you say coward?’ he sneered.