"
She resisted him, striving to escape that ever-tightening arm.
"No!" she cried in an agony. "No! No! No!"
His hold became a vice-like grip. Without a word he forced her back with
him along the way she had come. She limped as she went, and he noted it
with a terrible smile.
"It would have been better if you hadn't run away," he said.
"Oh, do let me go!" she begged again through her white lips. "Why do you
persecute me like this? I have never done you any harm."
"Except laugh at me," he answered. "But you will never do that again, at
least."
And then, finding her weight upon him, he stopped and lifted her in his
arms.
She covered her face with her hands, and he laughed above her head.
"It is a dangerous amusement," he said, "to laugh at Dinghra. There are
not many who dare. There is not one who goes unpunished."
He bore her back to her resting-place. He set her on her feet and drew
her hands away, holding her firmly by the wrists.
"Now tell me," he said "it is the last time I shall ever ask you--will
you marry me?"
"Never!" she cried.
"Be careful!" he broke in warningly. "That is not your answer. Look at
me! Look into my eyes! Do you think you are wise in giving me such an
answer as that?"
But she would not meet his eyes. She dared not.
"Listen!" he said. "Your mother has given you to me. She will never
speak to you again, except as my promised wife.
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