lso claims upon thee, which thou canst not ignore. And I say to
thee, go again to that place which thou hast left, for to find what thou
art seeking, one need not go afield. And when thou hast found that
thing, which is in this world of men, seek thou sanctuary, which is holy
love."

Nicanor said: "I do not understand! What hath love to do with it?"--and
told of the love that he had seen, which was all he knew. The old man
listened, with unchanging eyes upon him, and said:

"Now truly I see thou dost not understand. This be not love, but a blast
of furnace heat which scorcheth. But some time thou wilt come to
understand the meaning of my words, and then shalt thou find sanctuary
and peace. Ay, peace--that is what men cry for in the dark days that are
passing; and they shall seek refuge and find none, and the bitterness of
death shall be upon them. For it shall be said even as by the prophet of
Babylon, mother of old evil--'Rome the Mighty is fallen--is fallen!'"

He swayed gently as he sat, with hands uplifted and eyes no longer
smiling; and to Nicanor's eyes his long white beard and hair were as a
mist of silver around his head.

"Thou also shalt pass through the Valley, for the Black Dog of trouble
is upon thee; and thou shalt work out thine own unhappiness and thine
own salvation. For thy way is the way of loneliness, and of
misunderstanding, and of the Cross. And this is as it must be, since the
price of heart's blood and heart's desire is pain, and for what thou
gainest, thou must pay the price."

He ceased, and his hands fell to his sides and his white head drooped.
He leaned to Nicanor, groping, old, and suddenly very feeble, and
whispered:

"Son of men, I too have trod the path which thou art treading now. And I
say to thee, seek thou sanctuary while yet there may be time, for no
man knoweth what the end shall be. And when thou art entered in, all
else on earth shall matter nothing, for thou shalt be at peace. This I
know, O Youth, and tell thee, for--I did not enter in."

He rose and laid a withered hand on Nicanor's bent, shaggy head.

"Unto each his own appointed work, and his own appointed fate, and the
reward which he hath merited. Now peace be with thee!"

He turned away and passed onward into the falling night.

Thereafter the world unrolled itself between them, for they never met
again.

Wrapped in his cloak, Nicanor lay and stared at the stars above him, and
pondered those things which he h