ith thy full heart to do her bidding. That
she deceived thee, or failed to come in time--hence thy position.'

'Woman, thou liest basely! Thou wouldst tear down the honour of an
innocent person, and build on the ruins the gratification of thy selfish
passions. Leave me! leave me at once! Why hast thou come here like a
sinuous serpent, gaudy and beautiful, but carrying a venom dipped in
hell? Wert thou to attempt this base calumny, I would nevertheless die,
and dying, shower my curses on thy head, on the head of a perjurer,
murderess of the deepest blackness! Now go; thou hast had the mind of
Chios. Chios can meet his fate. Let Saronia rest; she is innocent of my
act.'

'Dear Chios, do pacify thyself. I was probing only to know the truth.
Forgive Nika!' And she threw herself upon his neck and wept as if her
heart would break.

Chios put her from him, saying:

'A dying man cannot afford to carry with him a stormy spirit. When I was
born, the day, the wise men say, was sunny, the leaves were green, and
blossoms were on the citron-trees, the birds sang, the winds were
hushed, and all nature smiled. On suchlike day my spirit came within the
infant form. I came peacefully, and would leave the same, only with a
purer soul. Our life here should be an evolution of goodness. Hast thine
been so, Nika?'

She started back in tears. It seemed but a few short years when she was
a child, and with swiftness her mind flew back across the summers. She
saw herself darkened and deformed, and she held down her head in
silence.

'Ah, girl! my words have touched thee. Let them be my legacy. Remember
them when Chios is gone. Try and be a nobler girl.'

'Oh, Chios, cease, or I shall die! What shall I do for thee?'

'Nothing! Take my forgiveness, and go. Go to thy betrothed.'

'Is this all? Am I also to be sent empty away? For the sake of all who
love thee, for the sake of Ephesus, I beseech thee, speak out! Thou art
not guilty, canst do no wrong. Thou art a sacrifice; thou shalt not
die!'

She fell upon her knees, grasped his hands in hers, bathed them in the
tears which fell from her eyes, saying:

'If thou dost die, I will die also. If I cannot lean upon thee here, I
will pass with thee, follow thee like a faithful dog through the land
they call spirit. I have no one but Chios--thou art a mighty soul. In
the great beyond I can look to none but thee. Oh, Chios! oh, love!'

The heart of the man was melting, but his spirit remained