Therewasnothingforthemtosay。Theyhadspentthelastpennyoftheirsmallchange;
therewasnothingleftbutgold。Thedayoflove—tokenswaspast。Theyhadnowonlytheirheartstogiveeachother。AndEmilbeinggone，whatwasherlifetobelike？Insomeways，itwouldbeeasier。Shewouldnot，atleast，liveinperpetualfear。IfEmilwereonceawayandsettledatwork，shewouldnothavethefeelingthatshewasspoilinghislife。Withthememoryhelefther，shecouldbeasrashasshechose。Nobodycouldbetheworseforitbutherself;andthat，surely，didnotmatter。
Herowncasewasclear。Whenagirlhadlovedoneman，andthenlovedanotherwhilethatmanwasstillalive，everybodyknewwhattothinkofher。Whathappenedtoherwasoflittlecon—
sequence，solongasshedidnotdragotherpeopledownwithher。Emilonceaway，shecouldleteverythingelsegoandliveanewlifeofperfectlove。
Marieleftthestilereluctantly。Shehad，afterall，thoughthemightcome。Andhowgladsheoughttobe，shetoldherself，thathewasasleep。Sheleftthepathandwentacrossthepasture。Themoonwasalmostfull。Anowlwashootingsomewhereinthefields。Shehadscarcelythoughtaboutwhereshewasgoingwhenthepondglitteredbeforeher，whereEmilhadshottheducks。Shestoppedandlookedatit。Yes，therewouldbeadirtywayoutoflife，ifonechosetotakeit。Butshedidnotwanttodie。Shewantedtoliveanddream——ahundredyears，forever！Aslongasthissweetnesswelledupinherheart，aslongasherbreastcouldholdthistreasureofpain！Shefeltasthepondmustfeelwhenitheldthemoonlikethat;whenitencircledandswelledwithInthemorning，whenEmilcamedown—