"I can't stand it any longer," she cried, her face streaming with tears, "it's unbearable--simply unbearable! Did you ever try to count the time away? The first day I was here I determined not to think of my position. I counted the seconds. I counted one, two, three, four, five thousand--counted until I became exhausted. I thought I'd counted for hours, but I found that barely one little hour had passed--one little hour--and that the more I tried to forget my position the more intolerable it became." Almost beside himself, not knowing what to suggest next, the lawyer strode nervously up and down the room. Each word she uttered was a stinging reproach and a knife thrust in his heart. Yet could he do more than he was doing? Stopping in front of her, he seized her burning hands and held them firmly in his own. "Paula--Paula!" he cried appealingly, "for God's sake don't go on that way! I can't stand it. Try, try to bear up. The sun is shining somewhere behind these clouds--if we could only see it! This darkness will only last for a few days--a few hours--and then----" "And then," she echoed with a hollow, mocking laugh. "Sometimes, when I think of the frightful ordeal I shall be compelled to go through to prove that I am entitled to my freedom, I--I feel unequal to the task-- I'm--I'm afraid--afraid----" "You'll be all right--you'll come out triumphant!" She shook her head doubtfully. "How can I tell that I shall be able to convince these strangers? They don't know me as--as you do. Suppose I don't make a good impression. Suppose that the answers I make to their questions are not--not what they consider intelligent. Suppose I become confused and lose control of myself as I did before--what then?" He held out his hand deprecatingly. "Paula!" "What then?" she demanded plaintively. "It's impossible!" he answered. Entreatingly he went on: "Oh, Paula! for God's sake don't let these gloomy thoughts get hold of your mind!" "But they do get into my mind," she went on hoarsely. "How can I tell for certain that these strange men who will be called upon to decide finally--will decide in my favor? They may mean to do what is right, but do they know? It's the uncertainty that makes my position here so intolerable--the dreadful uncertainty. If I thought that when my case did come up I would walk out of court a free woman, I'd try and bear this temporary restraint--but it's the horrible uncertainty--the suspense--the anxiety that's gnawing at me--the secret dread that constant contact with these people may make me one of them----" "Don't say that," he interrupted. "But it's true," she insisted. "That's why I must go away from here at once!" "Yes, but how--how?" he demanded. "I don't know."