"I am ready," said Electra. Her heart beat high. At last life seemed large enough and rich enough to satisfy her.
"Your entire allegiance and a tenth of your income," he went on. "Do not pledge it unless you can keep the pledge."
"I promise. I pledge it, myself and all I have."
In her uplifted state, it seemed as if some spell had been laid upon her, and she sought to recall her lost composure. The occasion, she knew, was a very large one, and she must not, she earnestly thought, deprive it of dignity. He rose.
"Stand up," he said; and she also was upon her feet, with a swift compliance. "Give me your hand." She laid her hand in his. "Do you believe in the Brotherhood of Man?"
To say "yes" was not enough. She repeated the words,—
"I believe in the Brotherhood of Man."
They stood so for a moment, and then he released her hand.
"That is all," he said.
Electra felt as if she had sworn allegiance not only to some unknown majesty, but to him, and she was ineffably exalted. They two seemed to be together in a world of wrong, pledged to right it, and taking the highest delight in their joint ministrations.