Page:The Ball and the Cross.djvu/166

both had instinctively stood still before the sign of the fixed and standing sword.

“It is hard to guess what God means in this business. But He means something—or the other thing, or both. Whenever we have tried to fight each other something has stopped us. Whenever we have tried to be reconciled to each other, something has stopped us again. By the run of our luck we have never had time to be either friends or enemies. Something always jumped out of the bushes.”

Turnbull nodded gravely and glanced round at the huge and hedgeless meadow which fell away toward the horizon into a glimmering high road.

“Nothing will jump out of bushes here anyhow,” he said.

“That is what I meant,” said MacIan, and stared steadily at the heavy hilt of his standing sword, which in the slight wind swayed on its tempered steel like some huge thistle on its stalk.

“That is what I meant; we are quite alone here. I have not heard a horse-hoof or a footstep or the hoot of a train for miles. So I think we might stop here and ask for a miracle.”

“Oh! Might we?” said the atheistic editor with a sort of gusto of disgust.