196 THE DESERT AND THE ROSE 



impressionable natures. Fortunate are they who 

 have in such moments the comradeship of a com- 

 prehending heart ; fortunate also they who have be- 

 fore their eyes, will they only raise them, the nightly 

 miracle of the resurrection ! 



For suddenly — unexpectedly to those who know 

 them not — the mountains flash upon the sight. This 

 is their final and consummating hour. Battlement 

 after battlement, peak after peak, catch the unearth- 

 ly radiance. Fastnesses of pink and pearl, castles 

 never reared by human hands — enchanted, evanes- 

 cent. From the night enfolded levels we watch with 

 suspended breath. The glory fades; already the 

 mountains' feet wax dim. The shroud creeps up 

 and up. . . . 



All is over, and we fly to our brown ranch house 

 through nipping, frosty air. 



