The stranger was tall, taller than the men of Memphir and there was a certain hardness about him which those city dwellers in ease had never displayed. But Lur must be right, this was a man of her race. She smiled in sudden relief and he answered that smile. Lur's soft laughter rang in both their heads.

"Asti in His Infinite Wisdom can see through Centuries. Memphir has fallen because of its softness and the evildoing of its people and the barbarians will now have their way with the lands of the north. But to me it appears that Asti is not yet done with the pattern He was weaving there. To each of you He granted a second life. Do not disdain the Gifts of Asti, Daughter of Erb!"

Again Varta felt the warm tide of blood rise in her cheeks. But she no longer smiled. Instead she regarded the outlander speculatively.

Not even a Maiden of the Temple could withstand the commands of the All Highest. Gifts from the Hand of Asti dared not be thrown away.

Above the puzzlement of the stranger she heard the chuckling of Lur.

THE END.

TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS CORRECTED

The following typographical errors in the text were corrected as detailed here.

In the text: "Then she arose and, with the confidence of a child in its father, she laid her hand palm upward upon the outstretched hand of Asti.... " the word "outstreched" was corrected to "outstretched."

In the text: "Varta touched her tongue without fear to a powdered restorative," the word "restoritive" was corrected to "restorative."

In the text: "Varta threw back her hood and breathed deeply of the air which was not manufactured by the wizardry of the lizard skin ... " the word "manufacured" was corrected to "manufactured"; and the word "wizardy" was corrected to "wizardry."

In the text: "A thin line of red crept across the smooth hoop, crept and widened.... " the word "widdened" was corrected to "widened."

In the text: "Then time, or Lur's strength, broke the ancient locking mechanism.... " the word "machanism" was corrected to "mechanism."

In the text: " ... so different in shade to her own pallid coloring...." the word "palid" 

 Prev. P 14/15 next