Barney immediately embraces her, demanding to know why she left, saying that he didn't get home until midnight and read her note, and then his father turned up the next morning making it impossible for him to get away until now. Valancy struggles feebly to get out of his arms; she says that he only married her out of pity and she knows that he doesn't love her. Barney interrupts her and says that when the train was bearing down on her, he knew whether he loved her or not. Valancy is unconvinced: she painfully informs Barney that his father told her all about Ethel Traverse and how much he loved her. Barney drops his arms and steps away; he says that his father couldn't have told her everything, because he doesn't know everything. He asks Valancy if she'll let him tell her all, gently seating her in a nearby chair as she wearily acquiesces.
Ethyl is very beautiful and Barney loves her, with the passionate love of a bookish, lonely, romantic young man. After a whirlwind courtship they become engaged and he is wildly happy until he happens to overhear one of Ethel's friends asking her how she could stand being connected to Doc Redfern's son. Worse, he hears Ethel's reply: "'His money will gild the Pills and sweeten the Bitters,' said Ethel, with a laugh. 'Mother told me to catch him if I could. We're on the rocks. But pah! I smell turpentine whenever he comes near me.'" Devastated and furious, Barney breaks the engagement and goes to the Yukon; refusing to use any of his father's money, which he considers to be the root cause of all his troubles, he lives off what he earns at whatever work he finds. He travels around the world and writes his first book, and gradually realizes that he no longer cares about Ethel and his old life. Barney returns to Canada and with the royalties from his book- which has become a bestseller- buys his island on the Mistawis. He lives contentedly there, writing more books, though he has no desire to mix with local society at all and encourages the sinister gossip about his past, to keep people away. Though he no longer cares about Ethel, he also no longer believes in friendship and love, at least for himself.
"Oh, yes, I don't deny I married you because I was sorry for you. And then--I found you the best and jolliest and dearest little pal and chum a fellow ever had. Witty--loyal--sweet. You made me believe again in the reality of friendship and love. The world seemed good again just because you were in it, honey. I'd have been willing to go on forever just as we were. I knew that, the night I came home and saw my homelight shining out from the island for the first time. And knew you were there waiting for me. After being homeless all my life it was beautiful to have a home. To come home hungry at night and know there was a good supper and a cheery fire--and you."
Barney also explains his behaviour after Valancy's near-death experience:
"But I didn't realise what you actually meant to me till that moment at the switch. Then it came like a lightning flash. I knew I couldn't live without you--that if I couldn't pull you loose in time I'd have to die with you. I admit it bowled me over--knocked me silly. I couldn't get my bearings for a while. That's why I acted like a mule. But the thought that drove me to the tall timber was the awful one that you were going to die. I'd always hated the thought of it--but I supposed there wasn't any chance for you, so I put it out of my mind. Now I had to face it--you were under sentence of death and I couldn't live without you. When I came home last night I had made up my mind that I'd take you to all the specialists in the world--that something surely could be done for you. I felt sure you couldn't be as bad as Dr. Trent thought, when those moments on the track hadn't even hurt you. And I found your note--and went mad with happiness--and a little terror for fear you didn't care much for me, after all, and had gone away to get rid of me. But now, it's all right, isn't it, darling?"
Despite thrilling to being called 'darling' Valancy can't bring herself to believe that Barney is sincere. She tells him that she knows that he's just trying to make the best of a bad situation, and that he couldn't possibly love her. She gestures at the parlour mirror, where her face- haggard from lack of sleep and her mental anguish- is certainly not showing to advantage. Barney speaks again passionately of his love for her, but she can't be convinced and Barney suddenly becomes furious, to the horror of Uncle Benjamin who by now has his eye plastered to the keyhole in the door:
"You don't want to believe it," said Barney in the silk-smooth voice of ultimate rage. "You're tired of me. You want to get out of it--free from me. You're ashamed of the Pills and the Liniment, just as she was. Your Stirling pride can't stomach them. It was all right as long as you thought you hadn't long to live. A good lark--you could put up with me. But a lifetime with old Doc Redfern's son is a different thing. Oh, I understand--perfectly. I've been very dense--but I understand, at last."
Valancy, ironically, is finally convinced by his unadultrated fury that he's actually telling the truth and flings herself into his arms. All is well, to the relief of Uncle Ben, who creeps off to jubilantly report the good news to Valancy's mother and Cousin Stickles: they have a millionaire in the family.