"She does not love; and to such a woman marriage unblessed by love must be a condition worse than death.

No--no! It shall not be! Steadily she is moving on, nerved by a false sense of honor; and unless some one comes to the rescue, the fatal vow will be made that seals the doom of her happiness and mine.

It must not--shall not be! Who so fitting as I to be her rescuer?
She loves me! Eyes, lips, countenance, tones, gestures, all have been my witnesses.

Only an hour too late! Too late?
No--no! I will not believe the words! She shall yet be mine!" It was in this spirit, and under the pressure of such feelings, that Paul Hendrickson visited Jessie Loring on the night Dexter saw him enter the house.

The interview was not a very long one, as the reader knows.