till you have thought it over. You know me; I am no saint, but a man who
would give his life for you. I ask of you nothing but the right to guard
yours. Do not answer me now."

They had turned the corner of their block.

"I need no time," said Ruth, with a sad sob in her voice; "I cannot marry
you, Louis. My answer would be the same to-morrow or at the end of all
time, --I can never, never be your wife."

"It is then as I feared, --anything."

The girl's bowed head was the only answer to his bitter words.

"Well," he said, with a hard laugh, "that ends it, then. Don't let it
bother you. Your answer has put it entirely from my mind. I should be
pleased if you would forget it as readily as I shall. I hardly think we
shall meet in the morning. I am going down to the club now. Good-by;
enjoy yourself."

He held out his hand carelessly; Ruth carried it in both hers to her lips.
Being at the gate, he lifted his hat with a smile and walked away. Ruth
did not smile; neither did Arnold when he had turned from her.


Chapter XIV

Beacham's lies in a dimple of the inner coast range, and is reached
nowadays through one of the finest pieces of engineering skill in the
State. The tortuous route through the mountains, over trestle-bridges that