Clementina

"I had no thought to hurt you," she said, and her voice trembled, and it

was not with fear or any pain. Wogan took a step towards her and checked

himself. He spoke sharply between clenched teeth.

"Lock your door," said he.

The curtain between them was down. Wogan had patched and patched it

before; but it was torn down now, and they had seen each other without

so much as that patched semblance of a screen to veil their eyes.

Clementina did not answer him or raise her head. She went quietly into

her room. Wogan did not move until she had locked the door.

Then he disposed himself for the night. He sat down across the top step

of the stairs with his back propped against the passage wall. Facing him

was the door of Clementina's room, on his left hand the passage with the

oil lamp burning on a bracket, stretched to the house-wall; on his right

the stairs descended straight for some steps, then turned to the left

and ran down still within view to a point where again they turned

outwards into the courtyard. Wogan saw to the priming of his pistols and

laid them beside him. He looked out to his right over the low-roofed

buildings opposite, and saw the black mountains with their glimmering

crests, and just above one spur a star which flashed with a particular

brightness. He was very tired and very cold; he drew his cloak about

him; he leaned back against the wall and watched that star. So long as

he saw that, he was awake, and therefore he watched it. At what time

sleep overtook him he could never discover. It seemed to him always that

he did not even for a second lose sight of that star. Only it dilated,

it grew brighter, it dropped towards earth, and he was not in any way

surprised. He was merely pleased with it for behaving in so attractive

and natural a way. Then, however, the strange thing happened. When the

star was hung in the air between earth and sky and nearer to the earth,

it opened like a flower and disclosed in its bright heart the face of a

girl, which was yet brighter. And that girl's face, with the broad low

brows and the dark eyes and the smile which held all earth and much of

heaven, stooped and stooped out of fire through the cool dark towards

him until her lips touched his. It was then that he woke, quietly as was

his wont, without any start, without opening his eyes, and at once he

was aware of someone breathing.