Perhaps the great secret shall be given us to-night!"
The girl dried her tears. "Why say ye that, Rolla?"
"Because the time be ripe for it. Are not all our kind looking
forward to it? Are we not all expecting and longing for it? Know we
not that we shall, must, have what we all so earnestly desire?" It
was striking, to hear this bit of modern psychology uttered by this
primitive woman. "Let me hear no more of thy weeping! Ye shall not
be made to wed Corrus!"
Nevertheless, at the speaking of her lover's name, the older woman's
lips trembled despite themselves; and she said nothing further
beyond a brief "Sleep well." After which the two women turned in,
and shortly reached the drowsy point.
Thus it happened that Rolla, after a minute or two, once more
aroused Cunora in great excitement, and after securely closing the
entrance to the hut against all comers, proceeded to relate what she
had seen. She finished:
"The seed of the flower can be grown in the heart of rotting wood!"
And for hours afterward the two whispered excitedly in the darkness.
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