"He sighed in his sleep and sought to nestle closer with his head.
"'He is lying uncomfortably.' I said to myself; 'you must move up nearer to him.'
"I did so. His shoulder leant against mine, and his head fell upon my breast.
"'You must put your arm round him,' a voice within me cried, 'otherwise he will still not find rest.'
"Twice or three times I attempted, and as often I drew back.
"What if Martha should suddenly wake! But even then her eyes saw nothing--her ears heard nothing.
"And I did it.
"Then a wild joy seized me: secretly I pressed him to me--and within me there arose the jubilant thought: 'Ah, how I would care for you and watch over you; how I would kiss those wicked furrows away from your brow, and the troubles from your soul! How I would fight for you with my virgin strength and never rest till your eyes were once more glad, and your heart once more full of sunshine! But for that----I looked across at Martha. Yes, she lived, she still lived. Her bosom rose and fell in short, rapid gasps. She seemed more alive than ever.
"And suddenly it flamed up before me, and the words seemed as if I saw them distinctly written over there on the wall--
"'Oh, that she might die!'