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The excerpt represents the core issue or deciding factor on which you must meditate, and is drawn from The Blue Flower by Henry van Dyke: the cast. Unconsciously the wide arc of spectators drew
inward toward the centre, as the ends of the bow draw together
when the cord is stretched. Winfried moved noiselessly until
he stood close behind the priest.
The old man stooped to lift a black hammer of stone from
the ground,--the sacred hammer of the god Thor. Summoning all
the strength of his withered arms, he swung it high in the
air. It poised for an instant above the child's fair
head--then turned to fall.
One keen cry shrilled out from where the women stood:
"Me! take me! not Bernhard!"
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