He entered the library with heavy, firm step, a flush of triumph on his sleek1 handsome animal face.
“He has betrayed the Klan to you?” he asked with eagerness.
“Sit down,” she responded coolly, an accent of resentment2 rising in her voice. “Before I answer that important question, I’ve something I wish to ask you.”
“Anything you like,” he answered suavely3. “And I want the truth,” she continued, with increasing emphasis.
“I’ll give it to you if it’s in my power.”
“You haven’t done it always,” was the firm retort.
“You wish to know about the men on whom I rely to execute justice on John Graham?”
“Yes, who are they?”
“Members of the Klan from the hills—innocent men on whom he wreaked4 his vengeance5 in the most brutal6 and inhuman7 manner without a trial.”
“You are sure they are members of the Klan?”
“Certainly.”
“They will come to arrest and try him, dressed in the same costumes the men wore the night my father was killed?”
“Yes.”
“Have you hired these men to assassinate8 him?” she suddenly asked, piercing Steve with her great eyes.
“My God, no!” he protested.
“What will they do?”
“Why, try him by his own laws, of course,” Steve answered vaguely9.
“What laws?”
“The law of the Order which forbids an officer to abuse his power by using it for personal ends as he did in the murder of the Judge.”
“Why have they not tried him before?”
“The feeling against him was not strong enough.”
“And now?”
“If he has betrayed the Klan, by his own laws he can be torn limb from limb, so long as a shred10 of its power remains11.”
“He could not be put to death for telling the secrets of the Klan to the woman he loves?”
“Yes.”
“And he knows this?”
“Of course.”
“A big, glorious, beautiful thing, a love like that, isn’t it?” she cried with strange elation12, tears flashing from her eyes.
“From the woman’s point of view, perhaps it is—from that of the man whose life he puts in peril13, hardly.”
“But from the woman’s point of view! yes—and judged by her standard, cowards who hedge and lie and fear to do such things don’t measure very high beside him—do they? I’m afraid, Steve, your love is a weak thing. It would be a pity to kill a man who would dare death to please the fancy of the woman he loves—now, wouldn’t it?”
“Such a man, for example, as he who sneaked14 under cover of the night and struck your father dead at your feet without a chance to defend himself,” Steve sneered15.
“Yes! That’s the hideous16 thought that strangles me!” she cried, her breast heaving with a tumult17 of emotion, her breath coming in gasps18 of passion.
“You are going to falter19 and give up?” he asked indignantly.
Stella ignored his question and said in even tones as though talking to herself:
“I had intended to have the United States marshals arrest him dressed in the Klan costume at their meeting place.”
“And now?” Steve broke in eagerly.
“I don’t know what to do. I’ll be frank with you, Steve—I never expected to keep my promise to marry you—I never really expected to face such a choice. There are times when I like you. There’s evil in me, as there is in you—cruelty, pride, selfishness—I feel our kinship. But I don’t love you, and the closer I get to you the less I love you.”
“You’ll learn to love me—I’ll wait,” he broke in.
“The reason why I like you less and less,” she went on, “is that I feel other forces in me which are not evil—big, generous impulses, and aspirations20 for things beautiful and true and good that you have never felt and could never understand.”
“Which some other man might develop,” he snapped. “Well, play the baby act then, and give it all up.”
“No, I’ve made up my mind to have the life of the man who took my father’s. It’s the one supreme21 passion which dominates my soul and body.”
“He has confessed to you then?” Steve cried breathlessly.
“Yes.”
“Where will the men meet you?”
“At Inwood immediately after dark, day after to-morrow,” she answered firmly.
“It’s too early. Nine o’clock is better. The men will have time for careful preparation.”
“I’ll be with him in the basement. He will be in the Klan costume; I wish him arrested and tried in that.”
“It shall be exactly as you wish,” said Steve, his eyes sparkling with triumph. “And your signal to the men?”
“Will be a light in the window of the basement.”
“I understand—Inwood—nine o’clock at night, day after to-morrow.”
Stella’s answer was scarcely a whisper:
“Yes.”
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1
sleek
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| adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢 | |
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2
resentment
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| n.怨愤，忿恨 | |
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3
suavely
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4
wreaked
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| 诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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5
vengeance
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| n.报复，报仇，复仇 | |
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6
brutal
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| adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的 | |
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7
inhuman
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| adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的 | |
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8
assassinate
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| vt.暗杀，行刺，中伤 | |
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9
vaguely
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| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
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10
shred
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| v.撕成碎片，变成碎片；n.碎布条，细片，些少 | |
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11
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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12
elation
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| n.兴高采烈，洋洋得意 | |
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13
peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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14
sneaked
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| v.潜行( sneak的过去式和过去分词 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状 | |
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15
sneered
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| 讥笑，冷笑( sneer的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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16
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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17
tumult
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| n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹 | |
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18
gasps
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| v.喘气( gasp的第三人称单数 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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19
falter
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| vi.(嗓音)颤抖，结巴地说；犹豫；蹒跚 | |
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20
aspirations
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| 强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音 | |
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21
supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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