The vision moved, seemed to waver and tremble.... Ah! Would she fade away and vanish and be lost? Would Mireille fall back again into eternal silence and darkness?
Something seemed to break in Mireille's throat. A cry—a cry, thrilling and articulate—escaped her. The sealed fountain of her voice was opened and the words of the immortal salutation gushed from her lips:
"Ave Maria!..."
Did not the shimmering figure smile and move towards her with extended hand?... Fainting with ecstasy, Mireille sank at her feet.
Louise had started from her sleep at the sound of a cry.... Whose voice had uttered it?
Though the room was dark, she felt that it was empty; she knew that Mireille was not there. Yes, the door was open, showing a pale glimmer of light.
Swift as an arrow Louise sped down the stairs, then—on the landing of the last flight—she stopped, dazzled and spell-bound by what she saw before her.
There in the moonlight stood the eternal vision of Maternity; and before it knelt Mireille.
And Mireille was speaking.
"Benedicta tu...."