"I am that sinner," cried Amer, "'I have gone astray like a sheep that is lost.' Let me through that I may start at once for the Radiant City, so that I may fall at the feet of my King and thank Him for His mercy."
"You cannot go through that gate without the King's Mark," said the stranger, "It is a Cross, a Cross of Blood, which you will wear always on your forehead.* This is the key which alone will open the gate for you, and it is your talisman for your journey."
"What does it mean?"
"It means that you belong to the Great King; that He has set His own mark upon you; that He has washed away your sins with His own Blood; that you are forgiven; that His angels will be about your path; that you have but to cry out and the King Himself will hear you and deliver you."
"And must everyone who starts on his journey wear this sign?"
"No one can even start on this journey without it. The gate will not open unless this sign be worn."
"Sir, give me the key," cried Amer, "that I may at once begin my journey."
"Nay," said the stranger, "man cannot give you the key, neither can man open the gate. It must be done by the King Himself, I am but His ambassador."
"Must I wait, then?" asked Amer, sadly.
* Eph. 1, 7. S. John 14, 6.