"But the girl faded away--she died of grief and disappointment. One day the earth will cover me too, our bodies may rot anywhere, and no one will weep--not a tear, they will all rejoice. I don't know, brother, but since that girl died it seems to me I am not the man I was. I wanted to kill myself, I roamed about here, and one day I went to Tega. I was strong--I gave out that I came from Blatza, and that I was a shepherd; who was he that he should know differently! But you, brother, how has the world treated you?" "Harshly, Gardana. I was shut up in Tricol for three years. Prison cut me off from life. For months I dug--with hands and nails I dug--until one night, during a storm, I broke through the wall and escaped with these two companions. And when I found myself back among these mountains my thoughts turned to you. I had heard you were dead, Gardana; but see what has happened, and how it has come to pass, how fate brings these things about, brother Gardana ... it is not a month since I escaped...." Before they were aware of it the shadows of the night began to melt away. The brigands ceased to speak as though they feared the signs of the coming day. They remained silent, their heads upon the ground in the face of the glory of the flaming dawn. Toli Gardana asked: "Where are you going now?" "How should we know? No matter where. There are many forests." THE DEAD POOL By M. BEZA We seemed to be between Mount Gramos and Mount Deniscu. I guessed it to be so from the peaks, which showed like some fancies of the night, keeping steadfast watch in the moonlight; the moon we could not see, we could only feel her floating over us. The pale light shone only in the ether above, and gradually diminished till it was lost to the eyes in a mass of shadows; they fell like curtains, enveloping us, dense, black. The silence extended indefinitely; it was as though the world here had remained unchanged since its creation. Hardly a breath of wind reached us. It always carried with it at this spot the same odour of dank weeds, of plants with poisonous juices; everything told of the neighbourhood of water--not fresh water, but water asleep for centuries. "Can you see the pool?" questioned my companion, Ghicu Sina; and then he added: "It is hidden, certainly, but look with attention." I looked, and after a time, getting accustomed to the darkness, I, too, got the impression of something shining and smooth. "The pool----" "Only the pool? Some lights too?" "That is so," I whispered with a shudder. There on the surface of the water were flickering points of fire. They could not come from above, they were not glow-worms, or sparks such as one sees passing over graves. Ghicu Sina spoke: "They are reflections, the lights are burning in the pool." With the fear that seizes us in the presence of the supernatural, I asked: "What induced us to stay here?"