only such portions of it as would reveal the identity he was
determined to keep secret until she was his. The girl was moved to the
depths of her nature by the beauty and pathos of it all, and then the
thought came to her, "This, then, is Paul's heritage--his birthright!
He, like me, is doomed!"

And her heart ached for him--and for herself!

But Paul did not give her long to muse. Sitting down beside her for the
first time, he told her the plan he had been turning over in his mind
for their one day together.

"Surely," he said, "it is not too much to ask out of a lifetime of
misery--one little day of bliss! Just one day in which there shall be no
yesterday, and no to-morrow--one day of Elysium against years of
Purgatory! Let us have our idyl, dear, as my mother and father had
theirs--even though it must be as brief as a butterfly's existence, let
us not deny ourselves that much. I ask only one day!

"You love me, Opal. I love you. You are, of all the world of women, my
chosen one, as I--no, don't shake your head, for you can't honestly deny
it--am yours! We know we must soon part forever. Won't it be easier for
both of us--both, I say--if for but one day, we can give to each other
all! Won't all our lives be better for the memory of one perfect day?
Think, Opal--to take out of all eternity just a few hours--and yet out
of those few hours may be born sufficient courage for all the life to
come! Don't you see? Can't you? Oh, I can't argue--I can't reason! I
only want you to be mine--all mine--yes, if only for a few hours--all
mine!"

"Paul, you are mad," she began, but he would not listen.

"Just one day," he pleaded--"no yesterday, and no to-morrow!"

He looked at her tenderly.

"Opal, it simply has to be--it's Fate! If it wasn't meant to be, why
have we met here like this? Do you think we two are mere toys in the
grip of circumstances? Or do you believe the gods have crossed our paths
again just to tantalize us? Is that why we are here, Opal, you and
I--_together_?"

"Why, I came to rest--to see Lucerne! Most tourists come to Lucerne!
It's a--pretty--place--very!" she responded, lamely.

"Well, then, account for the rest of it. Why did _I_ come?--and at the
same time?--and find you here in my mother's room? Simply a coincidence?
Answer me that! Chance plays strange freaks sometimes, I'll admit, but
Fate is a little more than mere chance. Why did I hear your voice, that
time? Why did I see you, and follow? W