"Wrong?--With me or you," he queried, with keen, enigmatical glance upon
her.
"What is wrong between us? There is something."
"Carley, a man who has been on the verge--as I have been--seldom or
never comes back to happiness. But perhaps--"
"You frighten me," cried Carley, and, rising, she sat upon the arm of
his chair and encircled his neck with her arms. "How can I help if I do
not understand? Am I so miserably little?... Glenn, must I tell you? No
woman can live without love. I need to be loved. That's all that's wrong
with me."
"Carley, you are still an imperious, mushy girl," replied Glenn, taking
her into his arms. "I need to be loved, too. But that's not what is
wrong with me. You'll have to find it out yourself."
"You're a dear old Sphinx," she retorted.
"Listen, Carley," he said, earnestly. "About this love-making stuff.
Please don't misunderstand me. I love you. I'm starved for your kisses.
But--is it right to ask them?"
"Right! Aren't we engaged? And don't I want to give them?"
"If I were only sure we'd be married!" he said, in low, tense voice, as
if speaking more to himself.
"Married!" cried Carley, convulsively clasping him. "Of course we'll be
married. Glenn, you wouldn't jilt me?"
"Carley, what I mean is that you might never really marry me," he
answered, seriously.
"Oh, if that's all you need be sure of, Glenn Kilbourne, you may begin
to make love to me now."
It was late when Carley went up to her room. And she was in such a
softened mood, so happy and excited and yet disturbed in mind, that the
coldness and the darkness did not matter in the least. She undressed
in pitchy blackness, stumbling over chair and bed, feeling for what she
needed. And in her mood this unusual proceeding was fun. When ready for
bed she opened the door to take a peep out. Through the dense blackness
the waterfall showed dimly opaque. Carley felt a soft mist wet her face.
The low roar of the falling water seemed to envelop her. Under the cliff
wall brooded impenetrable gloom. But out above the treetops shone great
stars, wonderfully white and radiant and cold, with a piercing contrast
to the deep clear blue of sky. The waterfall hummed into an absolutely
dead silence. It emphasized the silence. Not only cold was it that made
Carley shudder. How lonely, how lost, how hidden this canyon!