I dared not let you see me, but I
decided to take care of you--for a while."
"And now?"
"I have come to say farewell to you."
"Let me see you once before you go."
"No! You see, I fear you even more than you fear me." "Then I'll
follow you."
"It would be useless--utterly useless. There are ways of becoming
invisible in the mountains. But before I go, tell me one thing: Have
you left the cabin to search for Pierre le Rouge in another place?"
"No. I do not search for him."
There was an instant of pause. Then the voice said sharply: "Did
Wilbur lie to me?"
"No. I started up the valley to find him."
"But you've given him up?"
"I hate him--I hate him as much as I loathe myself for ever
condescending to follow him."
She heard a quick breath drawn in the dark, and then a murmur: "I am
free, then, to hunt him down!"
"Why?"
"Listen: I had given him up for your sake; I gave him up when I stood
beside you that first night and watched you trembling with the cold in
your sleep. It was a weak thing for me to do, but since I saw you,
Mary, I am not as strong as I once was.
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