friend in her sore need,
for putting it into Irving Stanley's heart to care for her, a stranger,
as he had done. And as she prayed, the wish arose that George had been,
more like him. He would not then have deserted her, she sobbed, while
again her lips breathed a prayer for Irving Stanley, thoughts of whom
even then made her once broken heart beat as she had never expected it
to beat again.

So absorbed was Adah that she did not hear the returning footsteps as
Irving came across the hall. He had remembered some directions he would
give her, and at the risk of being left, had come back a moment. She did
not hear the turning of the knob, the opening of the door, or know that
he for whom she prayed was standing so near to her that he heard
distinctly what she said, kneeling there by the chair where he had sat,
her fair head bent down and her face concealed from view.

"God in heaven bless and keep the noble Irving Stanley."

* * * * *

In the office below, Dr. Richards, who had purposely stopped for the day
in Albany, smoked his expensive cigars, ordered oysters and wine sent to
his room--the very one adjoining Adah's--made two or three calls, wrote
an explanatory note to 'Lina--feeling half tempted to leave out the
"Dear," with which he felt constrained to preface it--thought again of
Lily--poor Lily, as he always called her--thought once of the strange
woman and the little boy, in whom Irving Stanley had been so interested,
wondered where they were going, and who it was the boy looked a little
like--thought somehow of Anna in connection with that boy; and then,
late in the afternoon, sauntered down to the Boston depot, and took his
seat in the car, which, at about ten o'clock that night would deposit
him at Snowdon. There were no "squalling brats" to disturb him, for
Adah, unconscious of his proximity, was in the rear car--pale, weary,
and nervous with the dread which her near approach to Terrace Hill
inspired. What, if after all, Anna, should not want her? And this was a
possible contingency, notwithstanding Alice had been no sanguine.

Darkly the December night closed in, and still the train kept on, until
at last Danville was reached, and she must alight, as the express did
not stop again until it reached Worcester. With a chill sense of
loneliness, and a vague, confused wish for the one cheering voice which
had greeted her ear since leaving Spring Bank, Adah stood upon the
snow-co