"Oh yes, you do--all you need to see."

"But I don't see any. I assure you it's all confusion."

"Not a bit, my dear. It's as plain as a pikestaff--for the next step."

"I don't know what you mean by the next step."

"I suppose the next step would be--well, let us say what you've got to
do to-day. That's about as much ground as any one can cover with a
stride. You see that, don't you? You've got to eat your dinner, and go
to bed. That's all you've got to settle for the moment."

Her lips relaxed in a pale smile. "I'm afraid I must look a little
farther ahead than that."

"What for? What good will it do? You won't see anything straight. It's
no use trying to see daylight two hours before dawn. People are foolish
enough sometimes to make the attempt, but they only strain their
eyesight. For every step you've got to take there'll be something to
show you the line to follow."

"What?" She asked the question chiefly for the sake of humoring him. She
was not susceptible to this kind of comfort, nor did she feel the need
of it.

"W-well," the old man answered, slowly, "it isn't easy to tell you in
any language you'd understand."