ildly,
clasping her hands to her throat. "You are mad--Velasco!"

He looked at her steadily. "Tell me the truth," he said, "Do you love
me, or do you not love me? Yes, or no."

"No, Velasco. You were kind to me--you saved my life; I am grateful.
If it had not been for you--" Then she laughed again, staggering to
her feet. "Love you? No--no! A thousand times--no!"

"That is a lie," said Velasco. "You are trembling all over like a
leaf. Your cheeks are ashy. The tears are welling up in your eyes
like a veil over the blue. You are breathless--you are sobbing."

He flung his arms around her and pressed her head to his breast,
kissing the curls. "Lie still, Kaya, lie still in my arms! The gods
only know why you said it, but it isn't the truth! You love me--say
you love me! You said it in the sleigh when I was stunned, half
conscious! Say it again--Kaya! The certificate is nothing. Does love
need a certificate?" He laughed aloud. "Say it, Kaya--let me hear
you, my beloved!"

She was silent, clinging to him; she had stopped struggling. Her eyes
were closed and he kissed her fiercely on the lips again and again.
Presently he was frightened, and a chill of terror and foreboding stole
over him.

"Look at me, Kaya--open your eyes! Have I hurt you--was I too rough?
Are you angry? I love you so! The whole world is nothing; art is
nothing; fame is nothing. I would sell my Stradivarius for the touch
of your fingers in mine, Kaya! I would give my soul for a look in your
eyes! Ah, open them--dearest!"

His voice shook and was hoarse, and he held her away from him, gazing
down at her face and the panting of her breast. "Tell me you love
me--Kaya!"

Suddenly she stiffened until her body was straight and unbending as
steel, and the strength came back to her slowly. She opened her eyes
and the veil was gone; they were flashing and hard. "You use your
strength like a coward, Velasco," she said. "Can you force love? I
told you the truth."

She pointed to the fragments of paper on the floor with her finger,
scornfully: "There lies the bond between us," she said, "See--it is
shattered; it lies at our feet. You will go on your way from here
alone, to fill your engagements, and I--" She hesitated and stopped
again, as one who is afraid of stumbling.

Her arms stiffened, and her hands, and her whole body; and she drew
away from him, avoiding his eyes, and looking only at the fragments of
paper on th