[Hassan _looks in_.]

Hassan. The promised hour hath well-nigh gone. Prepare, young Greek; we
must away.

Ion. A moment more. [_Exit_ Hassan.] Father, time wanes. Once more I do
entreat thee,--go!

Cleon. Heaven grant I choose aright! Come Ion, we will forth together.
[Ion _folds the cloak about_ Cleon; _gives him the ring_.] Come, let us
go.

Ion. Nay, but one can pass forth. Thou goest. I await the morning here.

Cleon. Then do I tarry also. Nay, Ion, I will not go hence without thee.

Ion. Then all is lost. Father, thy stay can nought avail me. It cannot
save, and thou wilt but sacrifice thine own priceless life.

Cleon. Then fly with me; let me bear thee to thy mother. Alone, I will
not go.

Ion. I cannot go; a vow doth bid me stay,--a vow that nought shall tempt
me from the camp to-night; and when did a Greek e'er break his plighted
word?

Cleon. If thine honor bid thee stay, thy father will not tempt thee
hence; but he may stay and suffer with thee the fate of the faithful
[_throws off the mantle_].

Ion. Oh, my father, do not cast from thee the priceless boon of liberty.
Think of thy broken-hearted wife, thy faithful followers, thy
unconquered foes; think, Father, of thy country calling on thee for
deliverance. What were my worthless life weighed 'gainst her freedom.
And what happier fate for a hero's son than for a hero's sake to fall!

Cleon. Thou true son of Greece! Mayst thou yet live to wield a sword for
thine oppressed land, and gird with laurels that brow so worthy them.

[Hassan _enters_.

Hassan. No longer may I stay: thine hour is past.

Ion. I come,--yet one moment more, good Hassan; it is my last. [_Exit_
Hassan.] Once more, my father, do I entreat thee,--go. Thou dost forget
a guardian spirit watcheth over me, and the power that led me hither may
yet accomplish my deliverance. If nought else can move thee, for my sake
go, and win for me that freedom mine honor doth now forbid me to seek.
Break not my heart, nor let me plead in vain.

Cleon. My boy, for thy dear sake do I consent. I _will_ earn thy
deliverance bravely, as a soldier should; and thy dear image shall be
to me the star that leads me on to victory.

Ion [_joyfully_]. Away! Hassan will guide thee past the guards. Then
fly,--and Heaven guide thee, O my father! [Ion _again shrouds_ Cleon _in
the mantle, concealing his chains in the thick folds_.] Thus muffle thy