Page:The traitor; a story of the fall of the invisible empire (IA traitorstoryoffa00dixo).pdf/260

 "Of course."

"A big, glorious, beautiful thing, a love like that, isn't it?" she cried with strange elation, tears flashing from her eyes.

"From the woman's point of view, perhaps it is—from that of the man whose life he puts in peril, hardly."

"But from the woman's point of view! yes—and judged by her standard, cowards who hedge and lie and fear to do such things don't measure very high beside him—do they? I'm afraid, Steve, your love is a weak thing. It would be a pity to kill a man who would dare death to please the fancy of the woman he loves—now, wouldn't it?"

"Such a man, for example, as he who sneaked under cover of the night and struck your father dead at your feet without a chance to defend himself," Steve sneered.

"Yes! That's the hideous thought that strangles me!" she cried, her breast heaving with a tumult of emotion, her breath coming in gasps of passion.

"You are going to falter and give up?" he asked indignantly.

Stella ignored his question and said in even tones as though talking to herself:

"I had intended to have the United States