"No, no, never!" she thought, turning pale. "I would rather bear all
the shame of it ... and Novikoff ... everything ... anything but
that."
"Ah! look how scared you are!" said Sanine, laughing.
Lida smiled through her tears, and her very smile consoled her.
"Whatever happens, I mean to live!" she said with passionate energy.
"Good!" exclaimed Sanine, as he jumped up. "Nothing is more awful than
the thought of death. But so long as you can bear the burden without
losing perception of the sights and sounds of life, I say live! Am I
not right? Now, give me your paw!"
Lida held out her hand. The shy, feminine gesture betokened childish
gratitude.
"That's right ... What a pretty little hand you've got."
Lida smiled and said nothing.
But Sanine's words had not proved ineffectual. Hers was a vigorous,
buoyant vitality; the crisis through which she had just passed had
strained that vitality to the utmost. A little more pressure, and the
string would have snapped. But the pressure was not applied, and her
whole being vibrated once more with an impetuous, turbulent desire to
live.
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