| The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from The Spirit of the Border by Zane Grey: dim outline of tall trees over the dark hill came out sharply. The moments
dragged, each one an hour. He heard a whippoorwill call, lonely and dismal;
then an owl hoot monotonously. A stealthy footed animal ran along the log,
sniffed at the boughs, and then scurried away over the dry leaves. By and by
the dead silence of night fell over all. Still Joe lay there wide awake,
listening--his heart on fire. He was about to rescue Nell; to kill that
hawk-nosed renegade; to fight Silvertip to the death.
The hours passed, but not Joe's passionate eagerness. When at least he saw the
crescent moon gleam silver-white over the black hilltop he knew the time was
nigh, and over him ran thrill on thrill.
Chapter XVI.
 The Spirit of the Border |
The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from Under the Red Robe by Stanley Weyman: But Clon's excitement surpassed even his. The dumb man no sooner
saw what had attracted his comrade's attention, than he uttered
an inarticulate and horrible noise, and tumbling off his horse,
more like a beast than a man threw himself bodily on the precious
morsel.
The innkeeper was not far behind him. An instant and he was
down, too, peering at the thing; and for an instant I thought
that they would fight over it. However, though their jealousy
was evident, their excitement cooled a little when they
discovered that the scrap of stuff was empty; for, fortunately,
the pebble had fallen out of it. Still, it threw them into such
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