' The aged man seated himself at a small Roman table, and,
turning to the Duke without a question, said in a voice unlike any other
voice in all the world--steady, but thin, high-pitched, sharp,
penetrating and agitating depths within the hearer never reached before,
"'You come for knowledge of The Lily. Behold!'
"He pointed to a cube of crystal near him, which, Peters will swear, was
a moment earlier perfectly transparent. But now it looked as if filled
with milk of purest whiteness. As they gazed at it, a fire appeared in
the centre; and soon around the fire there sprang into being a circular
range of mountains, and on the side of one of these--the nearest--stood
two persons.
"'Lilama--Ahpilus,' screamed Diregus; 'he has stolen her away!'
"Yes: for though Pym and Peters had never seen the exiled lover, they
recognized Lilama; and even they could surmise the rest.
"'The youth is mad,' said the Duke. 'We must rescue our darling from the
maniac.'
"Pym, in his impatience, was about to rush from the room; but the old
man beckoned for him to approach. He did as desired. Then the aged man
placed a hand upon Pym's head, and drew it down to him; and the man who
had lived thousands of years whispered some words into the ear of the
youth who had lived not yet four lustrums.
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