could not take a
less imposing shape than a direct intervention of Providence, at the very
least; and as the poor Polish girl rose from her knees she would hardly
have been surprised to see the green-coated sentinel thrust aside by
legions of angelic beings, hastening to restore to her the only treasure
her humble life knew of, or dreamed of, or cared for.

But as the visions which her prayers had called before her faded away into
the night, she saw again the dingy walls of the hated building, the gilt
spike on the helmet of the policeman and the shining blade that caught the
light as he moved on his beat. For one moment Vjera stood quite still.
Then with a passionate gesture she stretched out both arms before her, as
though to draw out to herself, by sheer strength of longing, the man whose
life she felt to be her own--and at last, wearied and exhausted, but no
longer despairing altogether, she covered her face with her hands and
repeated again and again the two words which made up the burden of her
supplication.

"Save him, save him, save him!" she whispered to herself.

When she looked up, at last, Schmidt was by her side. There was something
oddly respectful in his attitude and manner as he stood there awaiting her
pleasure, ready to be guided by her whithersoever she pleased. It seemed
to him that on this evening he had begun to see Vjera in a new light, and
that she was by no means the poor, insignificant little shell-maker he had
always supposed her to be. It seemed to him that she was transformed into
a woman, and into a woman of strong affections and brave heart. And yet he
knew every outline of her plain face, and had known every change of her
expression for years, since she had first come to the shop, a mere girl
not yet thirteen years of age. Nor had it been from lack of observation
that he had misunderstood her, for like most men born and bred in the
wilderness, he watched faces and tried to read them. The change had taken
place in Vjera herself and it must be due, he thought, to her love for the
poor madman. He smiled to himself in the dark, scarcely understanding why.
It was strange to him perhaps that madness on the one side should bring
into life such a world of love on the other.

Vjera turned towards him and once more laid her hand upon his arm.

"Thank you," she said. "I could not have slept if I had not come here
first, and it was very good of you. I will go home, but do not come with
me--you mu