“Some one is coming,” he whispered.
“Let us stay,” she replied imperiously.
They stayed. Their destiny was taking its course; already it lay in their own hands. But their witness was only a she-goat nibbling the sparse grass. A little girl, who followed after her with a switch, considered them a moment blankly and went on her way again. And they were sorry that their imprudence had not been followed by some irreparable consequence.
Time passed, but decided nothing for them. Should they take up their heavy chains again and go back down the hill; or should they break them, refusing to take any new precautions? She crept close along his side, trying to read the answer in his eyes.
“Your eyes, your dear eyes. Why do they turn away from me?” she pleaded.
“I don’t know,” he sighed, half closing them, growing dizzy as he had been just now when she leant beyond the precipice.
She kissed him on the eyelids, uttering sweet words that cloaked a bold resolve.
“These autumn days, these golden days, make me feel as if my heart were breaking. Each evening as it falls is cruel to me, because it has robbed me of a happiness. I am going away to-night, do you know it?”
At this unexpected finish he started, and disengaged himself from her arms.
“Don’t say that, Edith.”