“Be assured of that!” was her grave answer. “On the spiritual plane, what we call distance is but difference in mental states. Miriam is now temporarily in the Saturnian phase. Her return will be as an awakening from slumber.”
“Waken her, then!” cried the old man, passionately. “Mother of God, is there no way of undoing your devil’s work?”
Jack had drawn near the others, and now laid a hand on Mayne’s shoulder.
“Don’t be discouraged, Mr. Mayne,” he said quietly. “I’m going after her, and I’ll bring her back.”
This announcement, which the speaker’s countenance emphasized with a look of serious resolve as unbending as natural law, caused all present, including Mary Faust, to hold their breath for a moment. Then the croaking voice of Jim broke the silence.
“Dat’s de right stuff, boss! an’ I’m wid ye!”
CHAPTER VI
THE LEVER
A GREAT resolve is magnetic: it transforms the bystanders. Jack, modest and shy by nature, suddenly became the leading personage of the group. He had not spoken rashly or without realizing what his purpose involved. A journey of near nine hundred million miles, and back again, across the void of space! Courage, faith, devotion, consciousness of resources adequate to cope with the unknown, belief that love, the moving power of the universe, was more than a match for all obstacles—these were his armor and weapons. He would follow Miriam, find her, and bring her back! The youth assumed, with the words he had uttered, the stature of a hero; and the hearts of his hearers bowed before him.
His uncle, in whose blood the hero strain was still warm, looked in the boy’s eyes and stifled the remonstrance that sprang to his lips. It was an enterprise in which any man might have been proud to perish. Old Terence Mayne stared at him speechless: then, tottering forward, leaned his gray head upon Jack’s shoulder and sobbed aloud. Finally, Mary Faust stepped up to him and took both his hands in hers.
“All power that is mine I give to you,” she said. “You are worthy of the adventure. You are worthy of her you seek. You will find her: more, I cannot promise. But you do not need more. The will of God be done!” She drew his head down and kissed him on the lips. It was the accolade of the new-made knight.