"Don't do that," Junia said, "don't tear it up yet, give it to me. I'll
tear it up at the right moment. Give it to me, my dear."
She held out her hand, and the blue certificate was presently in her
fingers. She felt a sudden weakness in her knees, for it seemed she held
the career of Carnac Grier, and it moved her as she had never been moved.
With the yielding of the certificate, Luzanne seemed suddenly to lose
self-control. She sank on the bed beside the wall with a cry of distress.
"Mon Dieu--oh, Mon Dieu!" Then she sprang to her feet. "Give it back,
give it back tome," she cried, with frantic pain. "It's all I have of
him--it's all I have."
"I won't give it back," declared Junia quietly. "It's a man's career, and
you must let it go. It's the right thing to do. Let it stand,
mademoiselle."
She fully realized the half-insane mind and purpose of the girl, and she
wrapped her arms around the stricken figure.
"See, my dear," she said, "it's no use. You can't have it back. Your soul
is too big for that now. You can be happy in the memory that you gave
Carnac back his freedom."
"But the record stands," said the girl helplessly. "Tell the truth and
have it removed. You owe that to the man who saved your life.
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