It grew in poignancy, clearer and
stronger, till it led him like a clew to the body of David.
For the first time that savage act came back to him with a surge of
repudiation, of scared denial. He had a realizing sense of how it
would look to other men--the men he had met at the Fort. Distinctly,
as if their mental attitude were substituted for his, he saw it as they
would see it, as the world he was about to enter would see it. His
heart began to thump with something like terror and the palms of his
hands grew moist. Turning stealthily that he might not wake her, he
stared at the triangle of paler darkness that showed through the tent's
raised flap. He had no fear that Susan would find out. Even if she
did, he knew her securely his, till the end of time, her thoughts to
take their color from him, her fears to be lulled at his wish. But the
others--the active, busy, practical throng into which he would be
absorbed. His action, in the heat of a brutal passion, had made him an
outsider from the close-drawn ranks of his fellows. He had been able
to do without them, defied their laws, scorned their truckling to
public opinion--but now?
The girl turned in her sleep, pressing her head against his shoulder
and murmuring drowsily.
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