We are to be
married in two months, sir."
Harding spoke up impatiently. "Still I fail to see where your
unhappiness lies."
"Did I say unhappiness? That is not at all the word, sir. It is rather
a sense of awe that seizes us both at times, when we are together, as
though we were in the presence of unseen influences; as though, rather,
a world not our own were projecting itself into our well-defined lives.
I have shown you that Alice and I belong to a very real, very
matter-of-fact world. But there are times when we seem to be walking in
a land of strange sounds and sights and of shadows that fan our cheeks
as they flit by."
"Oh, well," I said, "when two fond young people are together the limits
of the visible world are apt to undergo undue extension."
"Let me be specific," said Pinckney. "We first became aware of this
state of things some weeks ago. We were walking one afternoon at
twilight through a stretch of woods not far from the shore when all at
once we were conscious that the familiar aspect of things had vanished.
The park had become a virgin forest. Two savage figures girded with
skins were panting in deadly combat.
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