She loves him." "Love ?" she repeated, and all of her wonderment seemed crystallized in the word.

"Love ?" she asked.
"She loves him," I said; and then, why I did not know, but I added, pointing to Drake: "and he loves her." There was a tiny, astonished sob from Ruth.

Again Norhala brooded over her.

Then with a little despairing shake of her head, she paced over and faced the great Disk.
Tensely we waited.

Communication there was between them, interchange of--thought; how carried out I would not hazard even to myself.
But of a surety these two--the goddess woman, the wholly unhuman shape of metal, of jeweled fires and conscious force--understood each other.
For she turned, stood aside--and the body of Ventnor quivered, arose from the floor, stood upright and with closed eyes, head dropping upon one shoulder, glided toward the Disk like a dead man carried by those messengers never seen by man who, the Arabs believe, bear the death drugged souls before Allah for their awakening.
Ruth moaned and hid her eyes; Drake reached down, gathered her up in his arms, held her close.
Ventnor's body stood before the Disk, then swam up along its face.