Chapter 15 Heading

"Maria felt something licking at her feet, like the tongue of a great, gentle dog. She bent down to fumble for the animal's head, and felt that it was water into which she was groping.

From where did the water come? It came silently. It did not splash. Neither did it throw up waves. It just rose--unhurriedly, yet persistently. It was not colder than the air around it. It lapped about Maria's ankles."

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