"You said it must melt ere vesper-bell, Sister Helen; If now it be molten, all is well." "Even so,--nay, peace! you cannot tell, Little brother!" (_O Mother, Mary Mother_, _O what is this, between Hell and Heaven?_) "Oh, the waxen knave was plump to-day, Sister Helen; How like dead folk he has dropped away!" "Nay now, of the dead what can you say, Little brother?" (_O Mother, Mary Mother_, _What of the dead, between Hell and Heaven?_) "See, see, the sunken pile of wood, Sister Helen, Shines through the thinned wax red as blood!" "Nay now, when looked you yet on blood, Little brother?" (_O Mother, Mary Mother_, _How pale she is, between Hell and Heaven!_) "Now close your eyes, for they're sick and sore, Sister Helen, And I'll play without the gallery door." "Aye, let me rest,--I'll lie on the floor, Little brother." (_O Mother, Mary Mother_, _What rest to-night, between Hell and Heaven?_) "Here high up in the balcony, Sister Helen, The moon flies face to face with me." "Aye, look and say whatever you see, Little brother." (_O Mother, Mary Mother_, _What sight to-night, between Hell and Heaven?_) "Outside, it's merry in the wind's wake, Sister Helen; In the shaken trees the chill stars shake." "Hush, heard you a horse-tread as you spake, Little brother?" (_O Mother, Mary Mother_, _What sound to-night, between Hell and Heaven?_) "I hear a horse-tread, and I see, Sister Helen, Three horsemen that ride terribly." "Little brother, whence come the three, Little brother?" (_O Mother, Mary Mother_, _Whence should they come, between Hell and Heaven?_) In this last stanza the repetition of the words "little brother" indicates intense eagerness. The girl has been expecting that the result of her enchantments would force the relatives of her victim to come and beg for mercy. The child's words therefore bring to her a shock of excitement. "They come by the hill-verge from Boyne Bar, Sister Helen, And one draws nigh, but two are afar." "Look, look, do you know them who they are, Little brother?" (_O Mother, Mary Mother_, _Who should they he, between Hell and Heaven?_) "Oh, it's Keith of Eastholm rides so fast, Sister Helen, For I know the white mane on the blast." "The hour has come, has come at last, Little brother!" (_O Mother, Mary Mother_, _Her hour at last, between Hell and Heaven!_)