, staring, and his fat face
was livid, hideous. An overwhelming sense of repulsion came to her. She
felt herself degraded by this man's admiration, smirched by his odious
desire. The recollection flashed through her mind of a white flower she
had seen--a gracious, delicate thing--and a huge, slimy, black slug had
rested on the petals. She remembered how she had knocked the creature
away, feeling that it defiled the flower.

'No, never! do you hear? Never! I will not marry you,' she broke out.

She struggled to remove Mueller's hand from her ankle; but he gripped
strongly, and her fingers seemed terribly impotent, childishly weak.

'How dare you! Let me go. I tell you I will never marry you,' she
reiterated vehemently.

'Ah! you beautiful wild thing--but I will make you love me--you will see
how you will love your husband. Come, no nonsense! I will soon show you
how you love me.' He loosed his grip of her ankle and flung himself over
her in the chair, endeavouring to press his thick lips to hers. She
struggled against him but he kept her down; with one hand on her forehead
he pushed her back into the chair, while with the other he wrenched open
the neck of her bodice, tearing it downward to her breast. Always a
strong man he seemed now transformed into some ruthless, degraded,
maddened animal. Apparently she was entirely at his mercy, but she was
strong and young, and angry disgust gave her unusual strength. She caught
the man's throat in both her hands, working her knuckles inwards on his
windpipe with such force that he was almost choked, and instinctively put
up his hands to hers endeavouring to remove her grip. But she held him,
and, half-throttled, he sank down sideways on the arm of the chair. In an
instant she dragged herself from him and was able to raise herself on one
knee, still keeping her hold on his throat. He wrenched away her hands,
his iron grip on both her wrists, but she was now able to dominate her
aggressor from above and could hold him down with the full force of her
arms. Face to face with her enemy, she recalled the potency of her
witch-gaze. She narrowed her eyelids and directed her steely glance into
the bloodshot eyes of her tormentor. During a few seconds they were thus:
the girl half-standing, half-kneeling, rigid, tense, holding the man from
her with all her strength. The man sprawling on his side in the chair--a
huge, ridiculous being, panting, gasping, helpless, for he could not
regain