I am. But if
you don't care to see me I know you will say so, won't you?"

Though an hour before he had turned back on his way to go to Sylvia, he
did not hesitate now.

"Yes, ask Miss Falbe to come up," he said.

She came up immediately, and once again as they met, the world and the
war stood apart from them.

"I did not expect you to come, Michael," she said, "when I saw the news.
I did not mean to come here myself. But--but I had to. I had just to
find out whether you wouldn't see me, and let me tell you how sorry I
am."

He smiled at her as they stood facing each other.

"Thank you for coming," he said; "I'm so glad you came. But I had to be
alone just a little."

"I didn't do wrong?" she asked.

"Indeed you didn't. I did wrong not to come to you. I loved Francis, you
see."

Already the shadow threatened again. It was just the fact that he loved
Francis that had made it impossible for him to go to her, and he could
not explain that. And as the shadow began to fall she gave a little
shudder.

"Oh, Michael, I know you did," she said. "It's just that which concerns
us, that and my sympathy for you. He was such a dear. I only saw him,
I know, once or twice, but from that I can guess what he was to you. He
was a brother to you--a--a--Hermann."

Michael felt, with Sylvia's hand in his, they were both running
desperately away from the shadow that pursued them. Desperately he tried
with her to evade it. But every word spoken between them seemed but to
bring it nearer to them.

"I only came to say that," she said. "I had to tell you myself, to see
you as I told you, so that you could know how sincere, how heartfelt--"

She stopped suddenly.

"That's all, my dearest," she added. "I will go away again now."

Across that shadow that had again fallen between them they looked and
yearned for each other.

"No, don't go--don't go," he said. "I want you more than ever. We are
here, here and now, you and I, and what else matters in comparison of
that? I loved Francis, as you know, and I love Hermann, but there is our
love, the greatest thing of all. We've got it--it's here. Oh, Sylvia, we
must be wise and simple, we must separate things, sort them out, not let
them get mixed with one another. We can do it; I know we can. There's
nothing outside us; nothing matters--nothing matters."

There was just that ray of sun peering over the black cloud that
illumined their faces to each other, while already the sharp pe