Page:The collected works of Henrik Ibsen (Volume 9).djvu/296

 The Stranger.

Yes, you see I have.

Ellida.

[Presses both her hands to her head.] Oh this fearful! Oh this terror, this terror!

The Stranger.

Perhaps you do not wish to come!

Ellida.

[Beside herself.] Don't look at me like that!

The Stranger.

Do you not wish to come, I ask?

Ellida.

No, no, no! I will not! Never to the end of time! I will not, I say! I neither can, nor will! [Lower.] I dare not, either.

The Stranger.

[Climbs over the fence and comes into the garden.] Very well then, Ellida—let me just say one single thing before I go.

Ellida.

[Tries to escape, but cannot. She stands as if paralysed with fear, and supports herself against a tree-trunk near the pond.] Do not touch me! Do not come near me! Stay where you are! Do not touch me, I say!

The Stranger.

[Cautiously, coming a step or two towards her.] You must not be so afraid of me, Ellida.