Page:Beyond the Horizon (1920).djvu/173

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157
BEYOND THE HORIZON
157

You—you—you mad fool, you! How could you do such a thing?

Ruth—I couldn’t help it. I’d got to the end of bearing things—without talking.

Andrew—And the thought of the child—his child and yours—couldn’t keep your mouth shut?

Ruth—I was crazy mad at him—when I told.

Andrew—Then Rob must have known every moment I stayed here! And yet he never said or showed—God, how he must have suffered! Didn’t you know how much he loved you?

Ruth—[Dully.] Yes. I knew he liked me.

Andrew—Liked you! How can you talk in that cold tone—now—when he’s dying! What kind of a woman are you? I’d never believe it was in you to be so Couldn’t you have kept silent—no matter what you felt or thought? Did you have to torture him? No wonder he’s dying. I don’t see how he’s lived through it as long as he has. I couldn’t. No. I’d have killed myself—or killed you.

Ruth—[Dully.] I wish he had—killed me.

Andrew—And you’ve lived together for five years with this horrible secret between you?

Ruth—We’ve lived in the same house—not as man and wife.

Andrew—But what does he feel about it now? Tell me! Does he still think——

Ruth—I don’t know. We’ve never spoke a word about it since that day. Maybe, from the way he