Page 31 - Adventures in shadow-land

little head, though this time it came from the
fountain: ,
Ll T ake it, Eva, ’tl& thy fate,
See, for thee the Waters wait. '1

Obedient to the voice, the child stretched forth
her hand, and as her slight fingers closed upon
the little, motionless form, a bright and dazzling

crimson light seemed to flash everywhere, and the

water, losing its solidity, began once more to
gleam and sparkle, and to sink again into the
earth; and in another moment it was gone, and

in the place where the fountain had played there
was now a bed of soft, green moss, through and

around which was twined a vine, whose leaves
were mingled with clusters of bright scarlet ber­

ries, Then for the first time she missed her little
stick; and she looked for it, but it was nowhere

to be found.
And then the sky grew dark, as the glorious

crimson light slowly faded away, and one by one
stars peeped out from the sky; and Eva, still

clasping the little figure which had come so
stVangely to her, to her heart, lay down quietly

upon the soft, green moss, which seemed to have