h an exceeding bitter cry she hid her face in her arms and sobbed
aloud--

"Oh! my darling, my darling, come back to me; I love you so that I can
not let you go. The angels can do quite well without you in heaven, but
I can not do without you here. Oh! Chris, don't go away and leave me,
just now that we've learned to understand one another. I'll be good all
my life, and do everything that you tell me, if only you won't go away.
My dearest, I love you so--I love you so; and I've nobody in the world
but you."

Christopher made another great effort to take her in his arms and
comfort her; but it was too much for him, and he fainted away.

CHAPTER XVIII

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HILLS

Shall I e'er love thee less fondly than now, dear?
Tell me if e'er my devotion can die?
Never until thou shalt cease to be thou, dear;
Never until I no longer am I.

Whether the doctors were right when they talked of the renewed desire to
live producing fresh vitality, or whether the wise man knew best after
all when he said that love is stronger than death, who can say? Anyway,
the fact remained that Christopher responded--as he had ever
responded--to Elisabeth's cry for help, and came back from the very
gates of the grave at her bidding. He had never failed her yet, and he
did not fail her now.

The days of his recovery were wonderful days to Elisabeth. It was so
strange and new to her to be doing another person's will, and thinking
another person's thoughts, and seeing life through another person's
eyes; it completely altered the perspective of everything. And there was
nothing strained about it, which was a good thing, as Elisabeth was too
light-hearted to stand any strain for long; the old comradeship still
existed between them, giving breadth to a love which the new
relationship had made so deep.

And it was very wonderful to Christopher, also, to find himself in the
sunshine at last after so many years of shadowland. At first the light
almost dazzled him, he was so unaccustomed to it; but as he gradually
became used to the new feeling of being happy, his nature responded to
the atmosphere of warmth and brightness, and opened as a flower in the
sun. As it was strange to Elisabeth to find herself living and moving
and having her being in another's personality, so it was strange to
Christopher to find another's personality merged in his. He had lived so
entirely for other people that it was a great chan