At her words, the dead wood stem snapped suddenly in his clenched hand.

For an instant he seemed about to make some passionate rejoinder.

Then he slowly unclenched his hand and the broken twig fell to the ground.
"Haven't I made it clear to you--yet," he said slowly, "that what I want doesn't enter into the scheme of things at all ?" The brief speech held a sense of impending finality, and, in the silence which followed, the eyes of the man and woman met, questioned each other desperately, and answered.
There are moments when modesty is a false quantity, and when the big happinesses of life depend on a woman's capacity to realize this and her courage to act upon it.

To Sara, it seemed that such a moment had come to her, and the absolute sincerity of her nature met it unafraid.
"No," she said quietly.

"You have only made clear to me--what you want, Garth.