ain. She did not
want him to go away. The sound of his deep voice gave her a sense of
security. She liked the clasp of the hand he held out to her, when at
last he made a move toward the door.

"Tell Mr. Howe I am sorry he missed our little party," said Le Moyne.
"And--thank you."

"Will you come again?" asked Christine rather wistfully.

"Just as often as you ask me."

As he closed the door behind him, there was a new light in Christine's
eyes. Things were not right, but, after all, they were not hopeless. One
might still have friends, big and strong, steady of eye and voice. When
Palmer came home, the smile she gave him was not forced.

The day's exertion had been bad for Anna. Le Moyne found her on the
couch in the transformed sewing-room, and gave her a quick glance of
apprehension. She was propped up high with pillows, with a bottle of
aromatic ammonia beside her.

"Just--short of breath," she panted. "I--I must get down. Sidney--is
coming home--to supper; and--the others--Palmer and--"

That was as far as she got. K., watch in hand, found her pulse thin,
stringy, irregular. He had been prepared for some such emergency, and he
hurried into his room for amyl-nitrate. When he came back she was almost
unconscious. There was no time even to call Katie. He broke the capsule
in a towel, and held it over her face. After a time the spasm relaxed,
but her condition remained alarming.

Harriet, who had come home by that time, sat by the couch and held her
sister's hand. Only once in the next hour or so did she speak. They had
sent for Dr. Ed, but he had not come yet. Harriet was too wretched to
notice the professional manner in which K. set to work over Anna.

"I've been a very hard sister to her," she said. "If you can pull her
through, I'll try to make up for it."

Christine sat on the stairs outside, frightened and helpless. They had
sent for Sidney; but the little house had no telephone, and the message
was slow in getting off.

At six o'clock Dr. Ed came panting up the stairs and into the room. K.
stood back.

"Well, this is sad, Harriet," said Dr. Ed. "Why in the name of Heaven,
when I wasn't around, didn't you get another doctor. If she had had some
amyl-nitrate--"

"I gave her some nitrate of amyl," said K. quietly. "There was really no
time to send for anybody. She almost went under at half-past five."

Max had kept his word, and even Dr. Ed did not suspect K.'s secret. He
gave a quick glance at th