第5章 THE HUNTER(3)

"Oh, come to us!" they cried.

But he buried his face.

"You dazzle my eyes," he cried, "you make my heart warm; but you cannot give me what I desire.I will wait here--wait till I die.Go!"He covered his face with his hands and would not listen; and when he looked up again they were two twinkling stars, that vanished in the distance.

And the long, long night rolled on.

All who leave the valley of superstition pass through that dark land; but some go through it in a few days, some linger there for months, some for years, and some die there.

At last for the hunter a faint light played along the horizon, and he rose to follow it; and he reached that light at last, and stepped into the broad sunshine.Then before him rose the almighty mountains of Dry-facts and Realities.The clear sunshine played on them, and the tops were lost in the clouds.At the foot many paths ran up.An exultant cry burst from the hunter.He chose the straightest and began to climb; and the rocks and ridges resounded with his song.They had exaggerated; after all, it was not so high, nor was the road so steep! A few days, a few weeks, a few months at most, and then the top! Not one feather only would he pick up;he would gather all that other men had found--weave the net--capture Truth--hold her fast--touch her with his hands--clasp her!

He laughed in the merry sunshine, and sang loud.Victory was very near.

Nevertheless, after a while the path grew steeper.He needed all his breath for climbing, and the singing died away.On the right and left rose huge rocks, devoid of lichen or moss, and in the lava-like earth chasms yawned.Here and there he saw a sheen of white bones.Now too the path began to grow less and less marked; then it became a mere trace, with a footmark here and there; then it ceased altogether.He sang no more, but struck forth a path for himself, until it reached a mighty wall of rock, smooth and without break, stretching as far as the eye could see."I will rear a stair against it; and, once this wall climbed, I shall be almost there," he said bravely; and worked.With his shuttle of imagination he dug out stones; but half of them would not fit, and half a month's work would roll down because those below were ill chosen.But the hunter worked on, saying always to himself, "Once this wall climbed, I shall be almost there.This great work ended!"At last he came out upon the top, and he looked about him.Far below rolled the white mist over the valleys of superstition, and above him towered the mountains.They had seemed low before; they were of an immeasurable height now, from crown to foundation surrounded by walls of rock, that rose tier above tier in mighty circles.Upon them played the eternal sunshine.He uttered a wild cry.He bowed himself on to the earth, and when he rose his face was white.In absolute silence he walked on.He was very silent now.In those high regions the rarefied air is hard to breathe by those born in the valleys; every breath he drew hurt him, and the blood oozed out from the tips of his fingers.Before the next wall of rock he began to work.The height of this seemed infinite, and he said nothing.The sound of his tool rang night and day upon the iron rocks into which he cut steps.Years passed over him, yet he worked on; but the wall towered up always above him to heaven.Sometimes he prayed that a little moss or lichen might spring up on those bare walls to be a companion to him; but it never came.