It was not until some hours later, when I was alone, that this incident caused me much anxiety, as I remembered that, in spite of the keen interest Zarlah had evinced, she had carefully avoided any allusion to the subject afterwards.  But in the subsequent events of the evening this escaped my notice, and, glad to observe the soothing effect my words had upon her, I did not pursue the thought further.

We had descended by a flight of stone steps to the water’s edge, and, as we stepped upon the narrow strip of pebbly beach, walled in by cavernous rocks, Zarlah, with great earnestness, exclaimed:  “You are right, dear Harold, we must be hopeful, and not waste the few precious moments we have together in regrets that are useless.  We shall always love each other, and if we are brave—­even unto death—­Love will find a way!”

Poor Zarlah!  Little did I imagine the desperate plan that was already forming in her mind when she uttered these words, that before the close of another day would indeed have proved her “brave even unto death.”

Drawing closer to me and turning her beautiful face up to mine, she said, after a pause, in which she seemed to read my very soul:  “Before me lies a duty, Harold, which with you at my side I have the strength to perform, but without you the sacrifice is too great.”

“What is it, dearest?” I asked, pressing the little hand I held to my lips.

“It is to destroy the wicked instrument of which I have told you.  I had not the courage to do this before, as I feared for your safety in returning to Earth, and to have destroyed it then would have left me in fearful suspense.  But now I must put away, forever, this awful thing that possesses the power to reveal the thoughts of my fellow beings, that its mechanism may never become known and thus prove an eternal curse to the world.”

With these words, Zarlah disappeared for a moment in the gloom of a cave nearby, and, returning with a small metal box, said in a voice which betrayed great emotion:  “Take it, Harold, and hurl it far out into the waters of the lake, where it will sink forever from sight!”

The earnestness with which Zarlah had spoken of this device, proved how deeply its existence troubled her conscience, and restrained me from making any attempt to persuade her from thus severing a connecting strand between two hearts so widely separated.  I therefore took the box and, with all my strength, hurled it far out into the lake, where it sank to remain a secret for all time.

Swiftly flew those precious moments in which Fate had destined that two hearts from separate worlds should taste of each other’s love, and then—­what?  Alone in our great love we drank deeply the cup of happiness, and the hour of parting, ever drawing nearer, seemed but a cloud on the horizon.  At last, yielding to necessity, we retraced our steps, leaving the scene of our joyous love behind, and the dread of parting filled our hearts and stifled our words of happiness.