“Farewell until we meet again!”
They shook hands once more, and gazed at each other with a smile which lighted up their faces like the last beam of the setting sun.
Then Anna, walking backward in order to see him still, and to engrave his image deeply on her heart, crossed the threshold as the jailer hastily closed the door behind her.
Palm heard a heart-rending cry outside; then every thing was silent.
A few minutes later the door opened again, and a Catholic priest entered.
“My wife has fainted, I suppose?” asked Palm.
“No, a sudden vertigo seemed to seize her when the door closed, but she overcame her weakness and hurried away. May the Lord God have mercy on her!”
“He will,” said Palm, confidently.
“May He have mercy on you, too, my son,” said the priest. “Let us pray; open to me your soul and your heart.”
“My soul and my heart lie open before God; He will see and judge them,” said Palm. “I do not belong to your church, my father; I am a Protestant. But if you will pray with me, do so; if you will give me your blessing, I shall thankfully accept it, for a dying man always likes to feel a blessing-hand on his forehead.”