his limbs grew cramped, or rose
to pace the moor again to bring himself more exhaustion; but always he
came back to the little knoll, and sat down again, groaning out the sad
plaintive words, that were at once an appeal and a cry, a defiance and a
submission. By and by the first gray streaks of dawn came filtering
through the curtains of the cloudy east, touching the low hills with
gray nimble fingers, or weaving a tapestry of magic, as they brightened
and grew clearer, over the gray face of the morn.

Soon the birds leapt again from every corner, climbing upon the ladders
of light and tumbling ecstasies of mad joy to welcome the day, as if
they feared to be left in the darkness with this strange figure, which
merely sat and groaned softly, and looked before it with silent agony in
its eyes; and now that the light had again come, they shouted their
protest in a louder, shriller note; they mounted upon the waves of light
and swooped down into the trough of the semi-darkness, expostulating and
crying, not so much in alarm now, as in anger. For with the light comes
courage to birds as well as men, and fear, the offspring of ignorance,
which is bred in darkness, loses its power when its mystery is revealed.

But even with the coming of the day the still silent figure did not
move. It continued to sit until the birds grew tired of protesting, and
even the mountain hare wandered close by, sniffing the breeze in his
direction, and cocking its ears and listening, as it sat upon its hind
legs, only to resume its leisurely wandering again, feeling assured that
there was nothing to fear in the direction of this quiet, bent figure of
sorrow, that sat merely staring at the hills, and saw naught of anything
before him. The things he saw were not the things around him. He was
moving in a multitude again. He was walking among them with pity in his
heart--a great pity for their ignorance, their lack of vision; and he
was giving them knowledge and restoring light to their eyes, to widen
their range of vision, so that they could take things in their true
perspective. He was full of a great sympathy for their shortcomings,
recognizing to the full that only by sowing love could love be reaped,
only in service could happiness be found--that he who gave his life
would save it.

The great dumb mass of humanity needed serving--needed love. It passed
on blindly, wounding itself as it staggered against its barriers,
bruising its heart and soul