Betty Jo felt sure that there was more than this that was forcing the man to defend himself against his love for her.

Thus she was driven to the conclusion that there was something in Brian Kent's history that he had not made known to her,--a something that denied him the right to love her, and that,--reasoned poor Betty Jo in the darkness of her room,--could only be a woman,--a woman to whom he was bound, not by love indeed,--Betty Jo could not believe that,--but by ties of honor and of the law.
And very clearly Betty Jo reasoned, too, that Brian's attitude toward her evidenced unmistakably his high sense of honor.

The very fact that he had so persistently--in all their companionship, in their most intimate moments together even--held this invisible and, to her, unknown barrier between them, convinced her beyond a doubt of the essential integrity of his character, and compelled her admiration and confidence.
"That is exactly it, Betty Jo," she told herself sadly; "you love him because he tries so hard to keep himself from loving you." And thus Betty Jo proved the correctness of Auntie Sue's loving estimate of her character and justified the dear old teacher's faith in the sterling quality of her womanhood.
Face to face with herself, fairly and squarely, the girl accepted the truth of the situation for Brian and for herself, and determined her course.

She must go away,--she must go at once.
She wished that she had not returned to the log house by the river.
She had never fully admitted to herself the truth of her feeling toward Brian until Judy had so unexpectedly precipitated the crisis; but, she knew, now, that Judy was right, and that the real reason for her return was her love for him.

She knew, as well, that her very love,--which, once fully admitted and recognized by her, demanded with all the strength of her young womanhood the nearness and companionship of the mate her heart had chosen,--demanded, also, that she help him to keep that fine sense of honor and true nobility of character which had won her.
She understood instinctively that,--now that she had confessed her love to herself,--she would, in spite of herself, tempt him in a thousand ways to throw aside that barrier which he had so honorably maintained between them.