<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000">
voyage upon stormy seas, we came into a quiet haven, and there the friend who was dearest to me, said good-by, for he was going back to his own country and his<br />
<br />
father's house, but I was still journeying onward. So as I stood at the bow of the ship, sailing out into the wide blue water, far away among the sparkling waves I saw a little island, with shores of silver sand and slopes of fairest green,<br />
and in the middle of the island the Blue Flower was growing, wondrous tall and dazzling, brighter<br />
than the sapphire of the sea. Then the call of the distant trumpet came floating across the water, and while<br />
it was sounding a shimmer of fog swept<br />
over the island and I could see it no more." "Was it a real island," asked Ruamie. "D <img src="cid:endothelioma.SjMFw"> id you ever find it?" "Never; for<br />
the ship sailed another way. But once again I saw<br />
the flower; three days before I came to Saloma. It was on the edge of the desert, close under<br />
<br />
the shadow of the great mountains. A vast loneliness was round about me;<br />
it seemed as if I was the only soul living upon earth; and<br />
I longed for the dwellings of men. Then as I woke in the morning I looked up at the dark ridge of the mountains, and there against the brightening<br />
<br />
blue of the sky I saw the Blue Flower standing<br />
up clear and brave. It shone so deep and pure that the sky grew pale around<br />
it. Then the echo of the far-off trumpet drifted down the hillsides, and the sun rose, and<br />
the flower was melted away in light. So I rose and travelled on till I came to Saloma." "And now," said the child, "you are at home with us. Will you not stay for a long, long while? You<br />
may find the Blue Flower here. There are many kinds in the fields. I find new ones every day." "I will stay while I can, Ruamie," I<br />
<br />
answered, taking her hand in mine as we walked back to the house at nightfall, "but how long that may be I cannot tell.<br />
For with you I am at home, yet the place where I must abide is the place where the flower grows, and when the call comes I must follow it." "Yes," said she, looking at me half in doubt, "I think I understand. But wherever you go I hope you will find the flower at last." In truth<br />
<br />
there were many things in the city that troubled me and made me restless, in spite of the sweet comfort of Ruamie's<br />
<br />
friendship and the tranquillity of the life in Saloma. I came to see the meaning of what th
<br />--
<br />This message has been scanned for viruses and
<br />dangerous content by
<a href="http://www.mailscanner.info/"><b>MailScanner</b></a>, and is
<br />believed to be clean.
</body>
</html>