So Roland followed Eric, silent and thoughtful; he had offered to sacrifice himself, but the sacrifice was refused. What next?
Above, on a spur of the mountain, overlooking the surrounding country, they sat down; the wild thyme spread its fragrance around them. Eric took the hand of his pupil and began,—
"Well, it must be,—it ought to have come later,—I had hoped that you would not have come to this question for a long time, and then in some other way. Do you know what wealth is?"
"Yes; when a man has more than he needs."
"How does a man get this superfluity?"
"By inheritance and by earning."
"Can a brute animal be rich?"
"I should think not."
"Certainly not; every animal is, and has, only what he has been and has had from his birth. Now, to go farther, are the men of these times better than those of old times?"
"I think so."