I saw 'em as I come trottin' along back, and wondered what the dickens was on tap at this time o' night." The girl made no attempt to answer.

She stood clutching the edge of the door for support, her lips tightly compressed, feeling as if her heart would rise up and choke her.

She realized instantly that the crisis had arrived, that Winston's life probably hung upon her next decision.

Twice she endeavored bravely to speak, and when she finally succeeded, the strange calmness other voice made her doubt her own sanity.
"Thank you," she said gravely, "you have been most kind,--good-night," and vanished up the stairs.
Within the privacy of her own securely locked room Beth Norvell flung herself upon the narrow bed, not to sleep, not even to rest, but in an earnest effort to clarify her brain, to gain fresh conception of this grim reality which fronted her.

She realized now precisely what Ned Winston stood for in her life--must ever stand for until the bitter end.