his axe, and his freedom.

But the thought of such peace only made the present moment more painful,
and Paul bent his head as though to shut out all pleasant thoughts, till
presently he reached the wide porch of the hotel, and, summoning his
courage, asked for Madame Patoff.

"Number seventeen," said the Swiss clerk, laconically, to the waiter who
stood at hand, by way of intimating that he should conduct the gentleman
to the number he had mentioned. As Paul turned to follow the functionary
in the white tie and the shabby dress-coat, he was stopped by a
thick-set, broad-shouldered man, with gold-rimmed spectacles and a bushy
beard, who addressed him in English:--

"I beg your pardon, I heard you ask for Madame Patoff. Have I the honor
of addressing her son?"

"Yes," said Paul, bowing stiffly, for the man was evidently a gentleman.
"May I ask to whom"----

"I am Dr. Cutter," replied the other, interrupting him. "Madame Patoff
is ill, and I am taking care of her."

The average doctor would have said, "I am attending her," and Paul,
whose English mother had brought him up to speak English as fluently and
correctly as Russian, noticed the shade in the expression. But he was
startled by the news of his mother's illness, and did not stop to think
of such a trifle.

"What is the matter with her?" he asked briefly, turning from the desk
of the hotel office, and walking across the vestibule by Dr. Cutter's
side.

"I don't know," replied the doctor, quietly.

"You are a strange physician, sir," said Paul sternly. "You tell me that
you are attending my mother, and yet you do not know what is the matter
with her."

The doctor was not in the least offended by Paul's sharp answer. He
smiled a little, but instantly became grave again, as he answered,--

"I am not a practicing physician. I am a specialist, and I devote my
life to the study of mental complaints. Your mother is ill in mind, not
in body."

"Mad!" exclaimed Paul, turning very pale. His life seemed to be nothing
but a series of misfortunes.

"Certainly not hopelessly insane," replied Dr. Cutter, in a musing tone.
"She has suffered a terrible shock, as you may imagine."

"Yes," said Paul, "of course. That is the reason why I have come all the
way from Constantinople to see her. I could not go to my new post
without telling her the whole story myself."

"Her manner is very strange," returned the other. "That is the reason
why I waited for you here. I could