Page:Burnett - Two Little Pilgrims' Progress A Story of the City Beautiful.djvu/128

112 greed! What did it matter that scarcely anyone saw what they saw, or seeing it, realised its splendid, hopeful meaning! Little recked they of anything but the entrancement of blue sky and water, and the City Beautiful they were drawing near to.

When first out of the blueness there rose the fair shadow of the whiteness, they sprang from their seats, and, hand in hand, made their way to the side, and there stood watching as silent as if they did not dare to speak lest it should melt away. And from a fair, white spirit it grew to a real thing—more white—more fair—more stately and more an enchanted thing than even they had believed or hoped.

And the crowd surged about them, and women exclaimed and men talked, and there was a rushing to and fro, and the ringing of a bell, and movement and action and excitement were on every side. But somehow these two children stood hand in hand and only looked.

For their dream had come true, though it had been a child dream of an enchanted thing!