day of her arrival, of the
dog, and how he was accustomed to walk every evening with his master.
Doubtless they sometimes walked here, among the silent company
assembled in the churchyard; and the minister's silent friend was now
having the peculiar satisfaction of doing again what he had once done
with his master. Thus the little acre of the dead had its claim on
life, and its happiness for throbbing hearts.

Agatha called the old dog to her again. This time he came near, rubbed
hard against her dress, and, when she sat down on a flat tombstone,
laid his head comfortably in her lap, wagging his tail in satisfaction.

Danny was a companion who did not obstruct thought, but encouraged it;
and as Agatha sat resting on the stone with Danny close by, in that
quiet yard full of the noiseless ghosts of the past, her thoughts went
back to James. His unnatural eyes and restless spirit haunted her.
She thought of that other night on the water, full of heartbreaking
struggle as it was, as a happy night compared to the one which was yet
to come. She recalled their foolish talk while they were on the beach,
and smiled sadly over it. Her courage was at the ebb. She felt that
the buoyancy of spirit that had sustained them both during the night of
struggle could never revisit the wasted and disorganized body lying in
Parson Thayer's house--her house. A certain practical sense that was
strong in her rose and questioned whether she had done everything that
could be done for his welfare. She thought so. Had she not even
prayed, with all her concentration of mind and will? She heard again
Susan Stoddard's deep voice: "No striving toward God is ever lost!" In
spite of her unfaith, a sense of rest in a power larger than herself
came upon her unawares. Danny, who had wandered away, came back and
sat down heavily on the edge of her skirt, close to her. "Good Danny!"
she praised, petting him to his heart's content.

It was thus that Aleck Van Camp found them, as he came over the stile
from the house. His tones were slower and more precise than ever, but
his face was drawn and marked with anxiety. He had a careful thought
for Agatha, even in the face of his greater trouble.

"You have chosen a bad hour to wander about, Miss Redmond. The evening
dews are heavy."

"Yes, I know; Danny and I were just going home. Have you been into the
house?"

"Yes, I left Doctor Thayer there in consultation with the other
physician that ca