Fleury surprised them now, taking a sup of water. They saw that he had something to say about God and the soul of man--that was the romance he worshipped. They listened with awe. In Bellair’s heart, at least, there was a conviction that tightened continually--that they were not long to hear the words of the preacher. “... For two years I have been in the dark and could not pray. Before that I prayed with the thought of self, which is not prayer. I could not stay as a church leader without praying. I said I would pray when I could pray purely for them. I told them, too, that I could not look back in service and adoration to the Saviour of another people who lived two thousand years ago. They called me a devil and a blasphemer. For two years, I have tried to serve instead of to pray, but no one would listen, no one would have me. They said I was insane, and at times I believed it. At last, it came to me that I must go away--to the farthest part of the world----” He turned yearningly to the woman. “And then you came with your strength and faith.” Now to Bellair: “And you came with the world in your thoughts, and I made the third. We went down into the wilderness together--with that other of the underworld. _It was a cosmos._ It has shown me all I can bear. Last night, it came to me that I _could_ pray for you. It came simply, because I loved you enough----” His face moved from one to the other, his hand fumbling the dress of the child beside him. “It was very clear. As soon as I loved you enough, I could pray for you, without thought of self. It was the loss of the self that made it all so wonderful. And as I prayed, the light came, and the Saviour I had lost, was in the light. And the light was Ahead; and this message from Him, came to my soul: “_I am here for those who look ahead; and for those who turn back two thousand years, I am there. Those who love one another find me swiftly._” Bellair scarcely heard him. Fleury’s eyes were light itself. The man’s inner flame had broken through. Something incandescent was within him; something within touched by the “glittering plane.” But it did not mean future years together. Bellair had wanted that.... Fleury smiled now, his eyes lost in the East. He lifted his hand. “It always comes from the East,” he said strangely. Bellair had searched that horizon a few moments ago. He knew exactly how the East had looked--a thin luminous grey line on the green, brightening to Prussian blue, then to vivid azure. He dared not look now, but watched the woman. Straining and terror were in her eyes--then sudden light, a miracle of light and hope, then her cry. Bellair seemed to see it in her mind--the smudge upon the horizon--before he turned. It was there--a blur on the thin grey line.