were born into the House of Cancer, and he will come for us."

"I know; I know. But where shall I go? And where will you sleep in the
evening? But let us try. I will stay here. Do you go on."

Leo took six steps forward very slowly, and three long steps backward
very quickly, and the third step set him again at the Girl's side.
This time it was she who was begging him to go away and leave her, and
he was forced to comfort her all through the night. That night decided
them both never to leave each other for an instant, and when they had
come to this decision they looked back at the darkness of the House of
Cancer high above their heads, and with their arms round each other's
necks laughed, "Ha! ha! ha!" exactly as the children of men laughed.
And that was the first time in their lives that they had ever laughed.

Next morning they returned to their proper home and saw the flowers
and the sacrifices that had been laid before their doors by the
villagers of the hills. Leo stamped down the fire with his heel and
the Girl flung the flower>wreaths out of sight, shuddering as she did
so. When the villagers re>returned, as of custom, to see what had
become of their offerings, they found neither roses nor burned flesh
on the altars, but only a man and a woman, with frightened white faces
sitting hand in hand on the altar>steps.

"Are you not Virgo?" said a woman to the Girl. "I sent you flowers
yesterday."

"Little sister," said the Girl, flushing to her forehead, "do not send
any more flowers, for I am only a woman like yourself." The man and
the woman went away doubtfully.

"Now, what shall we do?" said Leo.

"We must try to be cheerful, I think," said the Girl. "We know the
very worst that can happen to us, but we do not know the best that
love can bring us. We have a great deal to be glad of."

"The certainty of death?" said Leo.

"All the children of men have that certainty also; yet they laughed
long before we ever knew how to laugh. We must learn to laugh, Leo. We
have laughed once, already."

People who consider themselves Gods, as the Children of the Zodiac
did, find it hard to laugh, because the Immortals know nothing worth
laughter or tears. Leo rose up with a very heavy heart, and he and the
girl together went to and fro among men; their new fear of death
behind them. First they laughed at a naked baby attempting to thrust
its fat toes into its foolish pink mouth; next they laughed at a
kitten chasing her own tail; and then they laughed at a boy trying to
steal a kiss from a girl, and getting his ears boxed. Lastly, they