And he said, “Sometimes a limb has quivered. But she is wise; she knows she cannot rise with the burden on her.” And I said, “Why does not he who stands by her leave her and go on?” And he said, “He cannot. Look--” And I saw a broad band passing along the ground from one to the other, and it bound them together. He said, “While she lies there he must stand and look across the desert.” And I said, “Does he know why he cannot move?” And he said, “No.” And I heard a sound of something cracking, and I looked, and I saw the band that bound the burden on to her back broken asunder; and the burden rolled on to the ground. And I said, “What is this?” And he said, “The Age-of-muscular-force is dead. The Age-of-nervous-force has killed him with the knife he holds in his hand; and silently and invisibly he has crept up to the woman, and with that knife of Mechanical Invention he has cut the band that bound the burden to her back. The Inevitable Necessity is broken. She might rise now.” And I saw that she still lay motionless on the sand, with her eyes open and her neck stretched out. And she seemed to look for something on the far-off border of the desert that never came. And I wondered if she were awake or asleep. And as I looked her body quivered, and a light came into her eyes, like when a sunbeam breaks into a dark room. I said, “What is it?” He whispered “Hush! the thought has come to her, ‘Might I not rise?’” And I looked. And she raised her head from the sand, and I saw the dent where her neck had lain so long. And she looked at the earth, and she looked at the sky, and she looked at him who stood by her: but he looked out across the desert. And I saw her body quiver; and she pressed her front knees to the earth, and veins stood out; and I cried; “She is going to rise!” But only her sides heaved, and she lay still where she was. But her head she held up; she did not lay it down again. And he beside me said, “She is very weak. See, her legs have been crushed under her so long.” And I saw the creature struggle: and the drops stood out on her. And I said, “Surely he who stands beside her will help her?” And he beside me answered, “He cannot help her: she must help herself. Let her struggle till she is strong.” And I cried, “At least he will not hinder her! See, he moves farther from her, and tightens the cord between them, and he drags her down.” And he answered, “He does not understand. When she moves she draws the band that binds them, and hurts him, and he moves farther from her. The day will come when he will understand, and will know what she is doing. Let her once stagger on to her knees. In that day he will stand close to her, and look into her eyes with sympathy.” And she stretched her neck, and the drops fell from her. And the creature rose an inch from the earth and sank back. And I cried, “Oh, she is too weak! she cannot walk! The long years have taken all her strength from her. Can she never move?”