y.

The momentary uneasiness passed from Demorest's resolute face. His old
self-sufficiency returned. "Good," he said, with a frank laugh, "that
will do for me. Open the door there, Lulu, and take me to him. I'm not
ashamed of anything I've done, my girl, nor need you be. I'll tell him
my real name is Dick Demorest, as I ought to have told you before, and
that I want to marry you, fairly and squarely, and let him make the
conditions. I'm not a vagabond nor a thief, Lulu, if I have met you on
the sly. Come, dear, let us end this now. Come--"

But she had thrown herself before him and placed her hand upon his lips.
"Hush! are you mad? Listen to me, I tell you--please--oh, do--no you
must not!" He had covered her hand with kisses and was drawing her face
towards his own. "No--not again, it was wrong then, it is monstrous now.
I implore you, listen, if you love me, stop."

He released her. She sank into a chair by the kitchen-table, and buried
her flushed face in her hands.

He stood for a moment motionless before her. "Lulu, if that is your
name," he said slowly, but gently, "tell me all now. Be frank with me,
and trust me. If there is anything stands in the way, let me know what
it is and I can overcome it. If it is my telling Ned Blandford, don't
let that worry you, he's as loyal a fellow as ever breathed, and I'm a
dog to ever think he willingly betrayed us. His wife, well, she's one of
those pious saints--but no, she would not be such a cursed hypocrite and
bigot as this."

"Hush, I tell you! WILL you hush," she said, in a frantic whisper,
springing to her feet and grasping him convulsively by the lapels of
his overcoat. "Not a word more, or I'll kill myself. Listen! Do you know
what I brought you here for? why I left my--this house and dragged you
out of your hotel? Well, it was to tell you that you must leave me,
leave HERE--go out of this house and out of this town at once, to-night!
And never look on it or me again! There! you have said we must end this
now. It is ended, as only it could and ever would end. And if you open
that door except to go, or if you attempt to--to touch me again, I'll do
something desperate. There!"

She threw him off again and stepped back, strangely beautiful in the
loosened shackles of her long repressed human emotion. It was as if the
passion-rent robes of the priestess had laid bare the flesh of the woman
dazzling and victorious. Demorest was fascinated and frightened.

"Then yo