Her arms went around his neck. And he crushed her to him, all the length of them in contact. She struggled faintly but her lips sought his in a despairing hope of pity. She found the lips, but no pity. The breath was almost gone from her body. She struggled, fighting hard, breathing his name in little panting sobs. She too was mad now, as much of an animal as Jerry, her blood coursing furiously. Her terror of herself must have been greater even than her terror of him, for she was quivering--shaken by the terrible gusts of his passion. Suddenly she felt herself released, thrust from him. His fingers bruised the tender flesh of her shoulders but his eyes bruised her more. "Jerry!" His hands had caught the two sides of the flimsy shirt-waist at the breast and torn it aside, off her shoulders, off her arms. "Have pity, Jerry," she whimpered. [Illustration: "'Have pity, Jerry,' she whimpered."] "Pity, yes," he laughed wildly. "Kiss me. You want to be kissed. I'll kill you with kissing. Death like this--such a death--!" She struggled more furiously, struck, kissed and struck again. But Jerry's madness triumphed--her own. * * * * * At this point Jerry hid his face in his hands, trembling violently. "I was out of my head, Roger. Tell me that I was, for the love of God. I must have been. It was horrible. I did not know. I can scarcely remember now. Death would have been better--for her, for me--than that. My God! If only you had told me, something. I could have gone away, I think--before--But to have knowledge come like that, engulfing, flooding, drowning with its terrible bitterness. And Marcia--" He raised his head piteously, "I asked her to marry me, Roger--at once. But she only looked at me with strange eyes. "'Marriage!' she said, 'My God!' It was almost as though I had uttered a sacrilege. "I pleaded with her gently, but she shook me off. A fearful change had come over her. She drew away and looked at me with alien eyes. "'Marriage!' she repeated. '_You!_' "'Marry me tomorrow, Marcia--' "She thrust her naked arms in front of her, their tatters flying, the rags of her honor. "'Oh, God! How I loathe you!' "'Marcia!' "'Go away from me. Go!' "She put her arm before her eyes as though to shut out the sight of me. "'For God's sake, go,' she repeated, with words that cut like knives. 'Leave me alone, alone.' "'I must see you--tomorrow.' "She turned on me furiously. "'No, no, no,' she screamed, 'not tomorrow--or ever. It would kill me to see you. Kill me. Go away--never comeback. Do you hear? Never! Never!' "She was in a harrowing condition now, mad where I was quite sane. There was nothing left for me to do. I turned as in a daze into the woods and wandered around as though only half-awake, stupidly trying to plan. At last I went back to the spring. Marcia had gone--gone out of my life--