little of it.

The others left the room. Dr. Kendricks shook his head slowly. Mr.
Ledwith gave the last page of the confession to Major Crawford. Lilian
sat on the side of the bed, chafing the cool hands that had grown more
helpless since yesterday, and presently Mrs. Boyd slept, but one could
hardly note the breathing.

Mrs. Barrington looked in and beckoned to Lilian.

"Your own mother is here," she said softly. "And I feel like putting in
another claim, but I cannot displace the rightful one. You will find her
in the library."

Lilian went slowly down. The beautiful woman she had seen in church, the
woman who had lain like dead when Mrs. Boyd glanced upon her, the mother
who had missed her all these years! The tall figure rose with the
softness of a cloud longing to embrace the moon, with arms outstretched,
and the child went to them in the caress of divine satisfaction. For
this was the mother of her dreams and ideals, and their souls were as
one.

They kissed away each other's tears.

"I felt that I _must_ come, that I _must_ see you. But I am not going to
take you away, much as I long for you, since you have a sacred duty
here. When that is finished we will begin our lives together. At first,
your father was mad with jealousy that _she_ should have dared to love
you so much, but now he is glad as I am that you did not suffer from
coldness or indifference. That would have broken my heart."

"And I am afraid I did not always return love for love. I was always
dreaming, desiring something I had not. She worked for me all those
early years. I had resolved as soon as was possible to be her caretaker,
to put in her life the things she desired, whether they pleased me or
not. It did not take much to make her happy."

"And no man can understand the longing of a woman's soul when her child
has been torn from her arms. Poor empty arms, that no prayer can fill.
And this was why she snatched at the baby, believing it was motherless.
Yes, I forgave her and so did he when he came to look at it in the true
light. Some women, when times pressed hard in work and poverty, would
have placed you in an institution----"

"Oh, I think she would have starved first!" interrupted the girl,
vehemently.

"And now, if God grants it, we may have a long, satisfying life
together. For He has given me back my health like a miracle, as we had
thought it could never be, and were quite resigned. And now He has
restored all that we miss