n to a
black death this night!"

"What," said Jane interestedly, "what was it you called me?"

He caught her up to him, fiercely, furiously, and she could feel him
trembling, that tall tower of strength, like a terrified child. "Core of
my heart," he said again, and now his wild kisses separated his wild
words--"_Acushla ... Mavourneen ... Solis na Suile_ ..." and the tide of
fear which had been rising in her turned and slipped away into a sea of
rose and silver bliss, and with it went forever the hot shame of the
afternoon and the cold misery of the evening.

It seemed to her that she could not breathe at all now, what with the
acrid air and the power of his arms about her, but it did not matter. "I
that loved you from the first moment my eyes were resting on the wonder
of your face and heard the harps sounding in your voice, I have brought
you death!"

"No, Michael Daragh," she said hoarsely, breathlessly, "you have brought
me life!"

His voice was scorched and dry with smoke, and she had to strain her ears
to hear his lyric lovemaking. "Journeys' end"--she thought again as she
had thought that afternoon. Sarah Farraday would say that she was making
phrases, trying to be clever, even in this great and terrible moment,--to
be thinking that she had taken the subway to the heights.... Presently
she put a reproving hand over his lips.

"Oh, Michael Daragh! I expect I don't know God as well as you do, but I
know Him better than that! _Of course_ we'll be saved! _Don't_ keep
saying you wouldn't tell me this if we weren't dying! Nothing could
happen to us ... _now_ ... what do you suppose makes me so sleepy?... Do
you mind if I just sleep a--f--few minutes? I'm pretty--t--tired...."

He gathered her up wholly into his arms. "No, no! Don't go to sleep!
Don't be leaving me till you must!"

She cuddled down cozily like a drowsy baby. "M.D. ... did you ever
play----"

"What, Acushla?"

"Babes in the Woods? That's what we are, aren't we?" and she tried to
sing, huskily, gasping----

"'And when they were dead,
The robins so red
Brought straw ... berry ... blos ... soms
And over them----'"

"Core of my heart," he cried out, "Don't be leaving me!"

"Michael Daragh, dearest," she said quite clearly and steadily, "I love
you better than all the world--and I've loved the world a lot!" Her lips
groped to find his and then she was limp in his clasp.

* * * *