black she was herself, and that he had called her a she-devil. A sense
of deep pain came over her, she felt as though paralyzed in body and
soul; but soon she shook off the spell, and her heart began to beat
violently; she had to bite her lip hard with her white teeth to keep
herself from crying out with rage and anguish.

How she wished that she could swing herself up to the window on which
Hermas' gaze was fixed, and clutch Sirona's golden hair and tear her down
to the ground, and suck the very blood from her red lips like a vampire,
till she lay at her feet as pale as the corpse of a man dead of thirst in
the desert. Then she saw the light mantle slip from Sirona's shoulders,
and observed Hermas start and press his hand to his heart.

Then another impulse seized her. It was to call to her and warn her of
his presence; for even women who hate each other hold out the hand of
fellowship in the spirit, when the sanctity of woman's modesty is
threatened with danger. She blushed for Sirona, and had actually opened
her lips to call, when the greyhound barked and the dialogue began. Not
a word escaped her sharp ears, and when he told Sirona that she was as
good as she was beautiful she felt seized with giddiness; then the
topmost stone, by which she had tried to steady herself, lost its
balance, its fall interrupted their conversation, and Miriam returned to
the sick man.

Now she was standing at the door, waiting for Hermas. Long, long did she
wait; at last he appeared with Dorothea, and she could see that he
glanced up again at Sirona; but a spiteful smile passed over her lips,
for the window was empty and the fair form that he had hoped to see again
had vanished.