Sometimes，"sheepishly，"I’vetrieditmyself——p’rapsit’strue。Ididitthismornin’whenIsatdownan’
　　pulledmesackoverme’eadonthebridge。Polly’dbeencryin’soloudallnightI’dgotabitlowinmestummickan’——"ShestoppedsuddenlyandturnedonDartasiflighthadflashedacrosshermind。"Dunnonothin’aboutit，"shestammered，"butISAIDit——justlikeshedoes。
　　an’YOUcome！"
　　Plainlyshehadutteredwhateverwordsshehadusedintheformofasortofincantation，andherewastheresultinthelivingbodyofthismansittingbeforeher。Shestaredhardathim，repeatingherwords:"YOU
　　come。Yes，youdid。"
　　"Itwastheanswer，"saidMissMontaubyn，withentiresimplicityasshebitoffherthread，"that’swotitwas。"
　　AntonyDartliftedhisheavyhead。
　　"Youbelieveit，"hesaid。
　　"I’mlivin’onbelievin’it，"shesaidconfidingly。"Iain’tgotnothin’else。An’answerskeepscomin’andcomin’。"
　　"Whatanswers？"
　　"Bitso’work——an’thingsas’elps。Gladthere，she’sone。"
　　"Aw，"saidGlad，"Iain’tnothin’。
　　Ilikesto’earyertellaboutit。Sheses，"toDartagain，alittleslowly，asshewatchedhisfacewithcuriouslyquestioningeyes——"sheses’E’Sintheroom——sameas’E’severywhere——inthis’ereroom。Sometimesshetalksoutloudto’Im。"
　　"What！"criedDart，startledagain。
　　ThestrangeMajesticAwfulIdea——theDeityoftheAges——tobespokenofasamereunfearedReality！
　　Andevenasthevaguelyformedthoughtspranginhisbrainhestartedoncemore，suddenlyconfrontedbythemeaninghissenseofshockimplied。WhathadallthesermonsofallthecenturiesbeenpreachingbutthatitwasReality？WhathadalltheinfidelsofeveryagecontendedbutthatitwasUnreal，andthefollyofadream？Hehadneverthoughtofhimselfasaninfidel;perhapsitwouldhaveshockedhimtobecalledone，thoughhewasnotquitesure。
　　Butthatalittlesuperannuateddanceratmusic—halls，batteredandwornbyanunlawfullife，shouldsitandsmileinabsolutefaithatsucha——asuperstitionasthis，stirredsomethinglikeaweinhim。
　　Forshewassmilinginentireacquiescence。
　　"It’swhatthecurickses，"sheenlargedradiantly。"Though’edontbelieveit，poreyoungman;’eon’ythinks’edoes。`It’sfor’ighan’
　　low，’’eses，`foryouan’measwellasforthemasisroyalfambleys。
　　TheAlmighty’E’sEVERYWHERE！’
　　`Yes，’sesI，`I’vefelt’Im’ere——asnearasy’areyerself，sir，I’ave——an’
　　I’vespoketo’Im。"’
　　"Whatdidthecuratesay？"Dartasked，amazed。
　　"Seemedlikeitfrightened’imabit。`Wemustn’tbetoobold，MissMontaubyn，mydear，’’eses，for’e’sakindyoungmanaseverlived，an’
　　oftenses`mydear’tothem’e’scomfortin’。Butyerseethelidy’adgavemeaBibleo’meownan’I’dset’erean’readit，an’readitan’learnedversestosaytomeselfwhenIwasinbed——an’I’dgotterfeellikeitwassomeonetalkin’tomean’makin’meunderstand。SoIses，`’Tain’tboldnesswe’rewarnedagainst;it’snotlovin’an’trustin’enough，an’notaskin’an’believin’TRUE。Don’tyerrememberwotitses:"I，evenI，am’ethatcomfortethyer。Whoartthouthatthouartafraidofmanthatshalldiean’thesonofmanthatshallbemadeasgrass，an’forgettethJehovahthyCreator，thatstretchedforththe’eavensan’laidthefoundationsoftheearth？"an’"I’vecoveredtheewiththeshadderofme’and，"itses;an’"Iwillgobeforetheean’maketheroughplacessmooth;"an’"’Ithertoye’aveaskednothin’inmyname;askthereforethatyemayreceive，an’yerjoymaybemadefull。"’An’’elookeddownonthefloorasif’ewasdoin’some’ardthinkin’，poreyoungman，an’’eses，quitesuddenan’shaky，`Lord，I
　　believe，’elpthoumyunbelief，’an’’esesitasif’ewasintroublean’didn’tknow’e’dspokeoutloud。"
　　"Where——howdidyoucomeuponyourverses？"saidDart。"Howdidyoufindthem？"
　　"Ah，"triumphantly，"theywasallanswers——theywasthefirstanswersIever’ad。WhenIfirstcome’omean’itseemedasifIwasgoin’
　　tobeswep’awayinthedirto’thestreet——onedaywhenIwasneardrovewildwithcoldan’’unger，I
　　setdownontheflooran’IdraggedtheBibletomean’Ises:`Thereain’tnothin’onearthorin’ellas’ll’elpme。I’mgoin’todowotthelidysaid——madornot。’An’I’eldthebook——an’I’eldmybreath，too，’cositwaslikewaitin’fortheendo’
　　theworld——an’afterabitI’earsmyselfcalloutina’ollerwhisper，`Speak，Lord，thyservant’eareth。
　　Showmea’ope。’An’Iwastremblin’
　　alloverwhenIopenedthebook。An’thereitwas！`Iwillgobeforetheean’maketheroughplacessmooth，Iwillbreakinpiecesthedoorsofbrassandwillcutinsunderthebarsofiron。’An’I
　　knoweditwasaanswer。"
　　"You——knew——it——wasananswer？"
　　"Wotelsewasit？"withashiningface。"I’darstforit，an’thereitwas。An’inaboutahourGladcomerunnin’up’ere，an’she’d’adabito’luck——"
　　"’Twasn’tnothin’much，"Gladbrokeindeprecatingly，"on’yI’dgotsomethin’toeatan’abito’fire。"
　　"An’shemademegoan’’avea’eartymeal，an’setan’warmmeself。
　　An’shewasthatcheerflean’fullo’
　　pluck，she’elpedmetoforgetaboutthethingsthatwasmakin’meintoamadwoman。SHEwastheanswer——
　　sameasthebook’adpromised。Theycomesindifferentwyestheanswersdoes。Blessyer，theydon’tcomeinclapsofthunderan’streakso’lightenin’——
　　theyjustcomeseasyan’natural——
　　so’ssometimesyerdon’tthinkforaminitortwothatthey’reanswersatall。Butitcomestoyerinabitan’yer’eartstandsstillforjoy。
　　An’eversincethenIjustgotomebookan’arst。P’raps，"hersmileanilluminatingthing，"mebein’thelowan’poreinspiritatthebeginnin’，an’settin’’ereallalonebyme—
　　selfdayinan’dayout，justthinkin’
　　itallover——an’arstin’——an’waitin’
　　——p’rapslightwasgaveme’cosI
　　wasinsuchalittleplacean’inthedark。ButIain’tporeinspiritnow。
　　Lor’，no，yercan’tbewhenyer’veon’ygottobelieve。`An’’ithertoye’avearstnothin’inmyname;
　　arstthereforethatyemayreceivean’yerjoybemadefull。’"
　　"AmIsittingherelisteningtoanoldfemalereprobate’sdisquisitiononreligion？"passedthroughAntonyDart’smind。"WhyamIlistening？
　　IamdoingitbecausehereisacreaturewhoBELIEVES——knowingnodoctrine，knowingnochurch。
　　SheBELIEVES——shethinkssheKNOWS
　　herDeityisbyherside。Sheisnotafraid。TohersimplenesstheawfulUnknownistheKnown——andWITH
　　her。"
　　"Supposeitweretrue，"heutteredaloud，inresponsetoasenseofinwardtremor，"suppose——it——were——TRUE？"Andhewasnotspeakingeithertothewomanorthegirl，andhisforeheadwasdamp。
　　"Gawd！"saidGlad，herchinalmostonherknees，hereyesstaringfearsomely。"S’poseitwas——an’ussittin’’erean’notknowin’it——an’
　　nooneknowin’it——norgettin’thegoodofit。Simeasif——"ponderinghardinsearchofsimile，"simeasifnoone’adneverknowedabout’lectricity，an’therewasn’tno’lectriclightsnorno’lectricnothin’。Onctnobodyknowed，an’allthesimeitwasthere——jestwaitin’。"
　　Herfantasticlaughendedforherwithalittlechoking，vaguelyhystericsound。
　　"Blimme，"shesaid。"Ain’titqueer，usnotknowin’——IFIT’STRUE。"
　　AntonyDartbentforwardinhischair。Helookedfarintotheeyesoftheex—dancerasifsomeunseenthingwithinthemmightanswerhim。MissMontaubynherselfforthemomenthedidnotsee。
　　"What，"hestammeredhoarsely，hisvoicebrokenwithawe，"whatofthehideouswrongs——thewoesandhorrors——andhideouswrongs？"
　　"Therewouldn’tbenoneifWE
　　wasright——ifweneverthoughtnothin’
　　but`Good’scomin’——good’s’ere。’Ifweeveryoneofusthoughtit——everyminitofeveryday。"
　　Shedidnotknowshewasspeakingofamillennium——theendoftheworld。Shesatbyheronecandle，threadingherneedleandbelievingshewasspeakingofTo—day。
　　Helaughedahollowlaugh。
　　"Ifwewereright！"hesaid。"Itwouldtakelong——long——long——tomakeusallso。"
　　"Itwouldbeslowp’raps。Well，soitwould——butgoodcomesquickforthemasbeginscallin’it。It’sbeenquickforME，"drawingherthreadthroughtheneedle’seyetriumphantly。"Lor’，yes，melegsisbetter——meluck’sbetter——people’sbetter。Blessyer，yes！"
　　"It’strue，"saidGlad;"shegetsonsomehow。Thingscomes。Sheneverwantsnodrink。Menow，"
　　sheappliedtoMissMontaubyn，"ifItookitupsameasyou——wot’dcometoagallikeme？"
　　"Wotudyerwanttercome？"
　　Dartsawthatinhermindwasanabsolutelackofanypremonitionofobstacle。"Wot’dyerarstferinyerownmind？"
　　Gladreflectedprofoundly。
　　"Polly，"shesaid，"shewantstogo’ometo’ermotheran’tothecountry。
　　Iain’tgotnomotheran’wotI
　　’earofthecountryseemslikeI’dgettiredofit。Nothin’butquietan’
　　lambsan’birdsan’thingsgrowin。’
　　Me，Ilikesthingsgoin’on。Ilikespeoplean’’andorgansan’’buses。I’dstay’ere——sameasItoldYOU，"withajerkofherhandtowardDart。
　　"An’dothingsinthecourt——ifI’adabito’money。Idon’twanttolivenogaylifewhenI’mawoman。
　　It’stoo’ard。Usporeunsendstoobad。WishtIknowedIcouldgetonsome’ow。"
　　"Good’llcome，"saidMissMontaubyn。"Justyousaythesameasmeeverymornin’——`Good’sfillin’
　　theworld，an’someofit’scomin’tome。It’sbein’sent——an’I’mgoin’
　　tomeetit。It’scomin’——it’scomin’。’"Shebentforwardandtouchedthegirl’sshoulderwithherastonishingeyesalight。"Blessyer，wot’sinmyroom’sinyours;Lor’，yes。"
　　Glad’seyesstaredintohers，theybecamemysteriously，almostawesomely，astonishingalso。
　　"Isit？"shebreathedinahushedvoice。
　　"Yes，Lor’，yes！Whenyergetupinthemornin’youjuststandstillan’ARSTit。`Speak，Lord，’sesyou;
　　`speak，Lord——’"
　　"Thyservant’eareth，"endedGlad’shushedspeech。"Blimme，butI’mgoin’totryit！"
　　Perhapsthebrainofhersawitstillasanincantation，perhapsthesoulofher，calledupstrangelyoutofthedarkandstillnew—bornandblindandvague，sawitvaguelyandhalfblindlyassomethingelse。
　　Dartwaswonderingwhichofthesethingsweretrue。
　　"We’veneverbeenexpectin’
　　nothin’that’sgood，"saidMissMontaubyn。"We’reallusexpectin’
　　theother。Whoisn’t？Iwasallusexpectin’rheumatizan’’ungeran’
　　coldan’starvin’oldage。Wotwasyoulookin’for？"toDart。
　　Helookeddownonthefloorandansweredheavily。
　　"Failingbrain——failinglife——
　　despair——death！"
　　"Noneof’em’scomin’——ifyerdon’tcall’em。Standstillan’listenfortheother。It’stheotherthat’sTRUE。"
　　Shewaswithoutdoubtamazing。
　　Shechirpedlikeabirdsingingonabough，rejoicingintokenoftheshiningofthesun。
　　"It’swotyercanworkon——
　　this，"saidGlad。"Thecurick——
　　’e’sagoodsortan’no’’armin’im——but’eses:`Troublean’’ungeristerteachyertersubmit。Accidentsan’coughsastearsyerlungsissentyoutoprepareyerfor’eaven。Ifyerloves’Imassends’em，yer’llgothere。’`’Aveyereverbin？’sesI。
　　`’Aveyereversawanyonethat’sbin？’Aveyereversawanyonethat’ssawanyonethat’sbin？’
　　`No，’’eses。`Don’t，megirl，don’t！’
　　`Garn，’Ises;`tellmesomethin’
　　as’lldomesomegoodaforeI’mdead！’Eaven’stoofaroff。’"
　　"Thekingdomof’eavenisat’and，"saidMissMontaubyn。"Blessyer，yes，just’ere。"
　　AntonyDartglancedroundtheroom。Itwasastrangeplace。ButsomethingWAShere。Magic，wasit？Frenzy——dreams——what？
　　Heheardfrombelowasuddenmurmurandcryingoutinthestreet。MissMontaubynhearditandstoppedinhersewing，holdingherneedleandthreadextended。
　　Gladhearditandsprangtoherfeet。
　　"Somethin’s’appened，"shecriedout。"Someone’s’urt。"
　　Shewasoutoftheroominabreath’sspace。Shestoodoutsidelisteningafewsecondsanddartedbacktotheopendoor，speakingthroughit。Theycouldhearbelowcommotion，exclamations，thewailofachild。
　　"Somethin’s’appenedtoBet！"
　　shecriedoutagain。"Ican’earthechild。"
　　Shewasgoneandflyingdownthestaircase;AntonyDartandMissMontaubynrosetogether。Thetumultwasincreasing;peoplewererunningaboutinthecourt，anditwasplainacrowdwasformingbythemagicwhichcallsupcrowdsasfromnowhereaboutthedoor。Thechild’sscreamsroseshrillabovethenoise。Itwasnosmallthingwhichhadoccurred。
　　"Imustgo，"saidMissMontaubyn，limpingawayfromhertable。"P’rapsIcan’elp。P’rapsyoucan’elp，too，"ashefollowedher。
　　TheyweremetbyGladatthethreshold。Shehadshotbacktothem，panting。
　　"Shewasblinddrunk，"shesaid，"an’shewentouttogetmore。Shetriedtocrossthestreetan’fellunderacar。She’llbedeadinfiveminits。
　　I’mgoin’forthebiby。"
　　DartsawMissMontaubynstepbackintoherroom。Heturnedinvoluntarilytolookather。
　　Shestoodstillasecond——sostillthatitseemedasifshewasnotdrawingmortalbreath。Herastonishing，expectanteyesclosedthemselves，andyetinclosingspokeexpectancystill。
　　"Speak，Lord，"shesaidsoftly，butasifshespoketoSomethingwhosenearnesstoherwassuchthatherhandmighthavetouchedit。"Speak，Lord，thyservant’eareth。"
　　AntonyDartalmostfelthishairrise。Hequakedasshecamenear，herpoorclothesbrushingagainsthim。Hedrewbacktoletherpassfirst，andfollowedherleading。
　　Thecourtwasfilledwithmen，women，andchildren，whosurgedaboutthedoorway，talking，crying，andprotestingagainsteachother’scrowding。Dartcaughtaglimpseofapolicemanfightinghiswaythroughwithadoctor。Adishevelledwomanwithachildatherdirty，barebreasthadgotinandwastalkingloudly。
　　"Justoutsidethecourtitwas，"
　　sheproclaimed，"an’Isawit。Ifshe’dbin’erselfitcouldn’t’ave’appened。`Notimefor’osspitles，’
　　sesI。She’snottwentybreathstodror;let’erdiein’erownbed，porething！"Andbothsheandherbabybreakingintowailsatoneandthesametime，otherwomen，somehysteric，somemaudlinwithgin，joinedtheminaterrifiedoutburst。
　　"Getout，youwomen，"commandedthedoctor，whohadforcedhiswayacrossthethreshold。"Sendthemaway，officer，"tothepoliceman。
　　Therewereotherstoturnoutoftheroomitself，whichwascrowdedwithmorbidorterrifiedcreatures，allmakingforconfusion。Gladhadseizedthechildandwasforcingherwayoutintosuchairastherewasoutside。
　　Thebed——astrangeandloathlything——stoodbytheempty，rustyfireplace。DrunkenBetlayonit，abundleofclothingoverwhichthedoctorbentforbutafewminutesbeforeheturnedaway。
　　AntonyDart，standingnearthedoor，heardMissMontaubynspeaktohiminawhisper。
　　"MayIgoto’er？"andthedoctornodded。
　　Shelimpedlightlyforwardandhersmallfacewaswhite，butexpectantstill。Whatcouldsheexpectnow——OLord，what？
　　Anextraordinarythinghappened。
　　Anabnormalsilencefell。Theownersofsuchfacesasonstretchedneckscaughtsightofherseemedinaflashtocommunicatewithothersinthecrowd。
　　"JinnyMontaubyn！"someonewhispered。And"JinnyMontaubyn"
　　waspassedalong，leavinganawedstirringinitswake。Thosewhomthepressureoutsidehadcrushedagainstthewallnearthewindowinapassionatehurry，breathedonandrubbedthepanesthattheymightlaytheirfacestothem。Onetoreouttheragsstuffedinabrokenplaceandlistenedbreathlessly。
　　JinnyMontaubynwaskneelingdownandlayinghersmalloldhandonthemuddiedforehead。ShehelditthereasecondorsoandspokeinavoicewhoselowclearnessbroughtbackatoncetoDartthevoiceinwhichshehadspokentotheSomethingupstairs。
　　"Bet，"shesaid，"Bet。"Andthenmoresoftstillandyetmoreclear，"Bet，mydear。"
　　Itseemedincredible，butitwasafact。Slowlythelidsofthewoman’seyesliftedandthepupilsfixedthemselvesonJinnyMontaubyn，wholeanedstillcloserandspokeagain。
　　"’Tain’ttrue，"shesaid。"Notthis。’Tain’tTRUE。ThereISNO
　　DEATH，"slowandsoft，butpassionatelydistinct。"THERE——IS——NO——DEATH。"
　　Themusclesofthewoman’sfacetwisteditintoaruefulsmile。ThethreewordsshedraggedoutweresofaintthatperhapsnonebutDart’sstrainedearsheardthem。
　　"Wot——price——ME？"
　　Thesoulofherwaslooseningfastandstrainingaway，butJinnyMontaubynfollowedit。
　　"THERE——IS——NO——DEATH，"andherlowvoicehadthetoneofaslendersilvertrumpet。"Inaminityer’llknow——inaminit。Lord，"liftingherexpectantface，"showherthewye。"
　　Mysteriouslythecloudswereclearingfromthesoddenface——mysteri—
　　ously。MissMontaubynwatchedthemastheyweresweptaway！A
　　minute——twominutes——andtheyweregone。Thensherosenoiselesslyandstoodlookingdown，speakingquitesimplyasiftoherself。
　　"Ah，"shebreathed，"sheDOES
　　knownow——fersurean’certain。"
　　ThenAntonyDart，turningslightly，realizedthatamanwhohadenteredthehouseandbeenstandingnearhim，breathingwithlightquickness，sincethemomentMissMontaubynhadknelt，wasplainlythepersonGladhadcalledthe"curick，"andthathehadbowedhisheadandcoveredhiseyeswithahandwhichtrembled。
　　IV
　　Hewasayoungmanwithaneagersoul，andhisworkinAppleBlossomCourtandplaceslikeithadtornhimmanyways。Religiousconventionsestablishedthroughcenturiesofcustomhadnotpreparedhimforlifeamongthesubmerged。
　　Hehadstruggledandbeenappalled，hehadwrestledinprayerandfelthimselfunanswered，andinrepentanceofthefeelinghadscourgedhimselfwiththorns。MissMontaubyn，returningfromthehospital，hadfilledhimatfirstwithhorrorandprotest。
　　"Butwhoknows——whoknows？"
　　hesaidtoDart，astheystoodandtalkedtogetherafterward，"Faithasalittlechild。Thatisliterallyhers。
　　AndIwasshockedbyit——andtriedtodestroyit，untilIsuddenlysawwhatIwasdoing。Iwas——inmycloddishegotism——tryingtoshowherthatshewasirreverentBECAUSE
　　shecouldbelievewhatinmysoulI
　　donot，thoughIdarenotadmitsomucheventomyself。Shetookfromsomestrangepassingvisitortohertorturedbedsidewhatwastoherarevelation。Shehearditfirstasachildhearsastoryofmagic。Whenshecameoutofthehospital，shetolditasifitwasone。I——I——"hebithislipsandmoistenedthem，"arguedwithherandreproachedher。ChristtheMerciful，forgiveme！Shesatinhersqualidlittleroomwithhermagic——sometimesinthedark——sometimeswithoutfire，andsheclungtoit，andloveditandaskedittohelpher，asachildasksitsfatherforbread。Whenshewasanswered——andGodforgivemeagainfordoubtingthatthesimplegoodthatcametoherWASananswer——whenanysmallhelpcametoher，shewasaradiantthing，andwithoutashadowofdoubtinhereyestoldmeofitasproof——proofthatshehadbeenheard。Whenthingswentwrongforadayandthefirewasoutagainandtheroomdark，shesaid，`I
　　’aven’tkeptnearenough——I’aven’ttrustedTRUE。Itwillbegavemesoon，’andwhenonceatsuchatimeIsaidtoher，`Wemustlearntosay，Thywillbedone，’shesmiledupatmelikeahappybabyandanswered:
　　`ThywillbedoneonearthASITISIN
　　’EAVEN。Lor’，there’snocoldthere，norno’ungernornocryin’norpain。