ly robbed of her endowments as an
Ocumpaugh and an heiress. He would grieve, but his grief would lack the
sting of shame, and so in course of time would soften into a lovely
memory of one who had been as the living sunshine to him and, like the
sunshine, brief in its shining. Thus and thus only could she show her
consideration for him. For herself no consideration was possible. It
must always be her fate to know the child alive yet absolutely removed
from her. This was a sorrow capable of no alleviation, for Gwendolen was
passionately dear to her, all the dearer, perhaps, because the
mother-thirst had never been satisfied; because she had held the cup in
hand but had never been allowed to drink. The child's future--how to rob
her of all she possessed, yet secure her happiness and the prospect of
an honorable estate--ah, there was the difficulty! and one she quite
failed to solve till, in a paroxysm of terror and despair, after five
sleepless nights, she took Mrs. Carew into her confidence and implored
her aid.

The free, resourceful, cheery nature of the broader-minded woman saw
through the difficulty at once. "Give her to me," she cried. "I love
little children passionately and have always grieved over my childless
condition. I will take Gwendolen, raise her and fill her little heart so
full of love she will never miss the magnificence she has been brought
to look upon as her birthright. Only I shall have to leave this
vicinity--perhaps the country."

"And you would be willing?" asked the poor mother--mother by right of
many years of service, if not of blood.

The answer broke her heart though it was only a smile. But such a
smile--confident, joyous, triumphant; the smile of a woman who has got
her heart's wish, while she, she, must henceforth live childless.

So that was settled, but not the necessary ways and means of
accomplishment; those came only with time. The two women had always been
friends, so their frequent meetings in the green boudoir did not waken a
suspicion. A sudden trip to Europe was decided on by Mrs. Carew and by
degrees the whole plot perfected. In her eyes it looked feasible enough
and they both anticipated complete success. Having decided that the
scheme as planned by them could be best carried out in the confusion of
a great entertainment, cards were sent out for the sixteenth, the date
agreed upon in the doctor's office as the one which should see a
complete change in Gwendolen's prospects.