picture-frames, and the
griffins of the candlesticks, and the like. "Well?" she said.

"Oh, I don't know how to tell you!" broke forth Judith, and the manner
of this first utterance exposed shockingly the fact that here stood
that sickening anomaly, a Judith clean emptied of spirit, pride, or
courage: "How shall I tell you?"

"Hush!... Speak lower!"

"Oh, who cares?... I have brought him back to you----"

"You have brought back whom?" Celia inquired in blank wonder, "You
have brought back--No, no, you don't mean--What? You never can mean
_Larry_?"

"I do.... For pity's sake _wait_ till I've told you...."

"Then it was _you_ who took him away?..."

"Yes, it was.... And now I've got him dead on my hands!"

Celia's understanding could not at once fully grasp this which was
offered, and she remained open-mouthed and mute.

"Of course it was I took him. Do you mean you didn't even suspect
me?... When I found you meant to have him, I couldn't let you, that's
all. You had been so mortally mean.... But that wasn't the whole. I
could see all you saw in him, too. I was just as crazy about him as
you. And when I heard you were going to adopt him, the thought came in
a flash, 'Why shouldn't I?' as long as I meant never to marry. And it
seemed a great lark, a good one on you, just lifting him away like
that. I paid a good price, I can tell you. But what does all that
matter now?... We were going to drive him to Jess's home in the
country--Jess said she knew all about babies--and then, after a time,
he was to reappear here as an orphan I'd adopted. You would recognize
him, of course, but what could you do?... When I think of the
light-hearted way I went into this thing, I could kill myself.... But
it's going to kill me, anyhow. Oh, you shouldn't have treated me
so.... I have a heart, too! But what do you care?... I did care about
him, though. I did. I did. You can't hate me as much as if I hadn't
truly cared. That little fellow had got a sort of hold on me nothing
has ever had. You should have seen him when we left, all in laces and
embroideries, like a little fairy prince. And he seemed all right. We
stopped the first night at a country hotel, and Jess and I gave him
his bath and fed him, just as nice.... We drove all the next day. He
seemed interested in the things we passed. The night after that we
were at a hotel again. I thought something wasn't quite usual with
him, but Jess said it was all right, and wouldn't hear