Gilderhimselffeltthesurgeofemotionthatswungthroughthesemoments，buthewouldnotyieldtoit。Withhislackofimagination，hecouldnotinterpretwhatthistimemustmeantothegirlbeforehim。Rather，hemerelydeemedithisdutytocarrythroughthisunfortunateaffairwithascrupulousattentiontodetail，inthefashionthathadalwaysbeencharacteristicofhimduringtheyearsinwhichhehadsteadilymountedfromthebottomtothetop。
\"What\'stheuseofallthispretense？\"hedemanded，sharply。
\"Youweregivenafairtrial，andthere\'sanendofit。\"
Thegirl，standingtheresofeebly，seemingindeedtoclingforsupporttothemanwhoalwaysheldherthuscloselybythewrist，spokeagainwithanastonishingclearness，evenwithasortofvivacity，asifsheexplainedeasilysomethingotherwiseindoubt。
\"Oh，no，Iwasn\'t!\"shecontradictedbluntly，withasingularconfidenceofassertion。\"Why，ifthetrialhadbeenfair，I