A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder James De Mille

141
"And then," said I, "if so, would you give up your lover, in
accordance with the custom of your country?"
Layelah's dark eyes rested on me for a moment with a glance of intense
earnestness and profound meaning. She drew a long breath, and then
said, in a low, tremulous voice,
"Never!"
Layelah was constantly with me, and at length used to come at an
earlier time, when Almah was present. Her manner toward Almah was full
of the usual Kosekin courtesy and gracious cordiality. She was still
intent upon learning from me the manners, customs, and principles of
action of the race to which I belonged. She had an insatiable thirst
for knowledge, and her curiosity extended to all of those great
inventions which are the wonder of Christendom. Locomotives and
steamboats were described to her under the names of "horses of fire"
and "ships of fire"; printing was "letters of power"; the electric
telegraph, "messages of lightning"; the organ, "lute of giants,"
and so on. Yet, in spite of the eagerness with which she made her
inquiries, and the diligence with which she noted all down, I could
see that there was in her mind something lying beneath it all--a far
more earnest purpose, and a far more personal one, than the pursuit of
useful knowledge.
Layelah was watchful of Almah; she seemed studying her to see how far
this woman of another race differed from the Kosekin. She would often
turn from me and talk with Almah for a long time, questioning her
about her people and their ways. Almah's manner was somewhat reserved,
and it was rendered somewhat more so from the fact that her mind was
always full of the prospect of our impending doom. Each jom as it
came and went brought us nearer to that awful time, and the hour was
surely coming when we should be taken to the outer square and to the
top of the pyramid of sacrifice.
Once Layelah sat for some time silent and involved in thought. At
length she began to speak to me.
"Almah," said she, "is very different from us. She loves you and you
love her. She ought to give you up. Almah, you ought to give up
Atam-or, since you love him."