"
"You took my duty on yourself," she conceded, but coldly. "That was
brotherly; that was noble, if you had not exacted a vow from me in
return, destined to lay waste my whole life. Released from this one great
duty, I was to hold myself ready to fulfil all others. At the lift of a
hand--a finger--I was to leave whatever held me and go after the one who
beckoned in the name of the Cause. No circumstances were to be
considered; no other human duty or affection. If it were to enter upon a
fuller and more adventurous life, well and good; if it were to encounter
death and the cessation of all earthly things, that was well too, and a
good to be embraced with ardor. Obedience was all, and obedience at a
mere signal! I took the oath and then--"
"Yes, _then_--" emphasized Hazen in wavering but peremptory tones.
"He told me what had led to all this misery. That as yet this compact was
between us two, and us two only. That he had considered my youth, and in
speaking of me to the Chief had held back my name even while promising
my assistance. That he should continue to consider it, by keeping my name
in reserve till he had returned from his mission, and if that mission
failed, or succeeded too well, and he did not return, I might regard
myself as freed from the Cause, unless my enlarging nature led me to
attach myself to it of my own free will.
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