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.
