Warning us back with a slight movement of his hand, Esmo
approached her. Our presence had at first seemed to cast her into
almost convulsive agitation; but under his steady gaze and the
movement of his hands, she lapsed almost instantly into what appeared
to be profound slumber.
* * * * *
The practical information that concerned the present peril menacing
the Order delivered, and when it was plain that no further revelation
or counsel was to be expected on this all-important topic, Esmo
beckoned to me, taking my hand in his own and placing it very gently
and carefully in that of the unconscious sybil. The effect, however,
was startling. Without unclosing her eyes, she sprang into a sitting
posture and clasped my hand almost convulsively with her own long,
thin all but transparent fingers. Turning her face to mine, and
seeming, though her eyes were closed, as if she looked intently into
it, she murmured words at first unintelligible, but which seemed by
degrees to bear clearer and clearer reference to some of the stormy
scenes of my youth in another world.
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