He was lying with his head on Montanelli's
arm, as a sick child might lie in its mother's embrace.
"You have come back--you have come back
at last!"
The Gadfly sighed heavily. "Yes," he said;
"and you have to fight me, or to kill me."
"Oh, hush, carino! What is all that now? We
have been like two children lost in the dark,
mistaking one another for phantoms. Now we have
found each other, and have come out into the
light. My poor boy, how changed you are--how
changed you are! You look as if all the ocean of
the world's misery had passed over your head--
you that used to be so full of the joy of life!
Arthur, is it really you? I have dreamed so often
that you had come back to me; and then have
waked and seen the outer darkness staring in
upon an empty place. How can I know I shall
not wake again and find it all a dream? Give
me something tangible--tell me how it all happened."
"It happened simply enough. I hid on a goods
vessel, as stowaway, and got out to South America.
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