ANOTHER--He may have stayed with Father Benedict.
He finishes to-morrow.
SOLOMAN-- Tell this dream
To the Abbot. (_The hunter disappears round the corner._)
A VOICE-- Let us hear what Father says.
ANOTHER--Oswald is girt about with prophesy.
ANOTHER--Fiends cannot harm him.
ANOTHER-- Jesus is with him.
(_The shutters are closed hurriedly._)
ANDREW-- (_Alone._)
The Devil is a big, long-legged crane,
Wading the marsh of life, and we are frogs,
Tadpoles and water-bugs. I'll fast and pray.
(_He shields his flickering taper with his gown and
makes his way across the court toward the
chapel._)
_SCENE FOUR--A desolate mountain road along the top of a
cliff that plunges down from the edge of a pine-wood._
_Overhead the wind is heard moaning in the trees, and upon
the ground patches of moonlight wave to and fro. From the
left, past some bushes which almost hide the road from
view, the dwarf, Sigurd, appears carrying the monk, Oswald,
limp in his arms. The latter's face is so emaciated that
one would never recognize him as the same person as was
seen in the forest some three years ago. His feet, upon
which are heavy wooden shoes, drag along the road. Suddenly
from somewhere in his clothing the large silver crucifix
falls to the ground. The dwarf stoops, and, resting the
monk upon his knee, reaches down and secures the crucifix,
which he puts between his teeth. Then, having gotten a new
hold, he rises and, with difficulty, makes his way up the
road._