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The old man shook his head and looked away to see a er out under a load of splendid carpets The old woman came

close

"The wayside is aer,

Costobarus," she said "Of a certainty you will not take Laodice out

into a country perilous for caravans and arns of the call of the hour," he

maintained "She dare not fail to respond The Deliverer cometh; every

prophecy is fulfilled Rather rejoice that you have prepared your

daughter for this great use Be glad that you have borne her"

But in Hannah's face wavered signs of another interpretation of these

things She broke in on him without the patience to wait until he had

completed his sentence

"Are they prophecies of hope which are fulfilled, or the words of the

prophet of despair?" she insisted "What saith Daniel of this hour?

Did he not name it the abomination of desolation? Said he not that the

city and the sanctuary should be destroyed, that there should be a

flood and that unto the end of the war desolations shall be

determined? Desolations, Costobarus! And Laodice is but a child and

delicately reared!"