It was so unbearable, that instantly she sought another shelter:
obedience to the letter of the Law--Marriage. To marry her fellow
outlaw seemed to promise both shelter and stability--for in her
confusion she mistook marriage for morality. At once! Never mind if he
were tired of her; never mind if she must humble what she called her
pride, and plead with him to keep his word; never mind anything--
except this dreadful revelation: that no one of us may do that which,
if done by all, would destroy society. Yes; because she had not
understood that, a boy had taken his own life.... Marriage! That was
all she thought of; then, suddenly, she cowered--the feet of the
bearers again.
"I will be married," she said with dry lips, "oh, I will-I will!"
And Martha King, looking at her furtively, thought she prayed.
It was not a prayer, it was only a promise. For with the organic
upheaval into her soul of the primal fact of social responsibility,
had come the knowledge of guilt.
But the Lord was not in the earthquake.