“Thou art mistaken!” he cried aloud. “The changing character of the opal must speak to thee. Thy thought dishonors me, for I love thee truly! The vow binds me not for all time. Look again, beloved!”
To his finely attuned senses came the knowledge of her anguish and sorrow. He choked and smothered under it. Mentally, he heard her piercing shriek.
“O Unseen Divinity! Hear and be gracious to thy distressed servants!” he supplicated, rising to a kneeling position. “O Powers of Air! Convey my thoughts clearly! Make her to see!” Something of the horror of the situation flashed over him. “O Earth yield now thy hidden treasure! Give gold in abundance, that I may fly to her side. Release me, O Brotherhood! I will not be longer bound—”
Without sensing it, Yermah had broken the spirit of his vow!
The door of the sanctuary stood open, but his ordinary faculties were dormant, while his subjective consciousness sought to penetrate the gloom ingulfing Kerœcia. He did not hear approaching footsteps, nor did his wandering senses respond when a light tap sounded on the door, nor did he see the face peering in at him.
“He kneels before Orion,” said Alcamayn hurriedly, as Akaza approached. “Thou wilt find him distraught already.”
“Hasten back to the Observatory and have the bells tolled to quiet the alarm showing itself among the people,” said Akaza in dismissal. “Soon the dread visitation will be upon us, and it were gentle to forewarn them.”
Akaza had been making observations night and day since Yermah’s return from Anokia. He had said little, but his face was set and stern, like one in deep trouble. He made a peculiar rat-tat! on the lentils of the sanctuary with his fingers, which brought Yermah to the doorway.
“A sign of great portent is in the heavens,” began Akaza, after a mute salutation. “When the sun is passing from Libra to Capricorn is a season prolific in visitations from outer space. The fiery messengers come near the sun at that time. Dost thou remember the night in the cave?”
“Memory serves me well,” answered Yermah, unable to concentrate his attention. “Is the visitant of the usual complexion and order?”