"And my people are saved!"
Brand came to the bedside, and there kneeling down, kissed our Lady's hand.
"Oh, love me," he whispered, "just a little!"
"And you are alive!" The blood raced in her veins, her heart was crying out for him. "I saw you in a little ship all alone, dying, I thought; and underneath there were rivers and lakes, and forests streaming by."
"You saw me, then?"
"In a dream, yes."
"Only love dreams like that. You love me, Margaret."
"I love my country, you were the one hope left, and I saw you dying. Tell me how you come to be alive."
"Rivers, and lakes, and forest," answered Brand. "You did not see the mountains, then? Great, big mountains came up against the west, higher and higher, alp piled on alp, precipice on precipice, mile on mile of ice barring the ship's way. They were the Alps of St. Elias. Oh, Margaret—say you love me before I go on."
"What did you do when the ship came to the mountains?"