Of course,
you must not take Bill."
"Why not?"
Kirk spoke calmly enough, but he was very near the breaking point. All
his good resolutions had vanished under the acid of Ruth's manner.
"I couldn't let him rough it like that. Aunt Lora would have a fit."
Conditions being favourable, it only needs a spark to explode a powder
magazine; and there are moments when a word can turn an outwardly calm
and patient man into a raging maniac. This introduction of Mrs.
Porter's name into the discussion at this particular point broke down
the last remnants of Kirk's self-control.
For a few seconds his fury so mastered him that he could not speak.
Then, suddenly, the storm passed and he found himself cool and
venomous. He looked at Ruth curiously. It seemed incredible to him that
he had ever loved her.
"We had better get this settled," he said in a hard, quiet voice.
Ruth started. She had never heard him speak like this before. She had
not imagined him capable of speaking in that way. Even in the days
when she had loved him most she had never looked up to him. She had
considered his nature weak, and she had loved his weakness. Except
in the case of her father, she had always dominated the persons with
whom she mixed; and she had taken it for granted that her will was
stronger than Kirk's. Something in his voice now told her that she had
under-estimated him.
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