"
"That 's wot the lidy said," called
out Glad. "Tell 'im about the lidy.
She doesn't even know who she was."
The remark was tossed to Dart.
"Never even 'eard 'er name," with
unabated cheer said Miss Montaubyn.
"She come an' she went an' me too
low to do anything but lie an' look
at 'er and listen. An' `Which of us
two is mad?' I ses to myself. But I
lay thinkin' and thinkin'--an' it was
so cheerfle I couldn't get it out of
me 'ead--nor never 'ave since."
"What did she say?"
"I couldn't remember the words
--it was the way they took away
things a body 's afraid of. It was
about things never 'avin' really been
like wot we thought they was.
Godamighty now, there ain't a bit of
'arm in 'im."
"What?" he said with a start.
" 'E never done the accidents and
the trouble. It was us as went out
of the light into the dark. If we'd
kep' in the light all the time, an'
thought about it, an' talked about it,
we'd never 'ad nothin' else. 'Tain't
punishment neither. 'T ain't nothin'
but the dark--an' the dark ain't
nothin' but the light bein' away.
`Keep in the light,' she ses, `never
think of nothin' else, an' then you'll
begin an' see things. Everybody's
been afraid. There ain't no need.
You believe THAT.' "
"Believe?" said Dart heavily.
She nodded.
" `Yes,' ses I to 'er, `that 's where
the trouble comes in--believin'.'
And she answers as cool as could
be: `Yes, it is,' she ses, `we've all
been thinkin' we've been believin',
an' none of us 'as.
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