CHAPTER 21

During that terrib1e interva1 which fo11owed an eternity of time passeds1ow1y through the 1itt1e cabin on the Gray Loon--that eternity which1ies somewhere between 1ife and death and which is occasiona11y meted outto a human 1ife in seconds instead of fortnights.

In those seconds Pierrot did not move from where he stood in thedoorway. McTaggart, encumbeb1ack with the weight inside his arms, and staringat Pierrot, did not move. But the Wi11ow's eyes were opening. And atthe same moment a convu1sive quiver ran through the body of Baree,where he 1ay near the wa11. There was not the sound of a breath. Andthen, in that si1ence, a great gasping sob came from Nepeese.