sibility. Early in the evening, Dr. Heath had been summoned, and he
had responded promptly to Mrs. Lamotte's eager call.

They could do little, just then, save to administer opiates; he told
them there was every symptom of brain fever; by to-morrow he would know
what course of treatment to pursue; until then, keep the patient quiet,
humor all her whims, so far as was possible; give her no stimulants,
and, if there was any marked change, send for him at once.

The two anxious women hung upon his words; afterward, they both
remembered how cheerful, how brave and strong he had seemed that night;
how gentle his voice was; how kindly his glance; how soothing and
reassuring his manner.

In the gray of the morning, Sybil dropped into one of her lethargies
after hours of uneasy mutterings, that would have been mad ravings, but
for the doctor's powerful opiate; and then, after a word combat with
Mrs. Lamotte, just such an argument as has occurred by hundreds of sick
beds, where two weary, anxious watchers vie with each other for the
place beside the bed, and the right to watch in weariness, while the
other rests; after such an argument, Mrs. Aliston yielded to the
solicitations of her hostess, and withdrew, to refresh herself with a
little sleep.

The vigil had been an unusual one, and Mrs. Aliston was very weary. No
sound disturbed the quiet of the elegant guest chamber where she lay;
and so it happened that a brisk rapping at her door; at ten o'clock in
the morning, awoke her from heavy, dreamless slumber, and set her
wandering wits to wondering vaguely what all this strangeness meant.
Then suddenly recalling the events of the previous night, she sat up in
bed and called out:

"Who is there?"

"It's ten o'clock, madam," replied the voice of Mrs. Lamotte's maid;
"and will you have breakfast in your room, or in the dining room?"

Slipping slowly out from the downy bed, Mrs. Aliston crossed to the
door, and peering out at the servant, said:

"I will breakfast here, Ellen. How is Sybil?"

"She is worse, I think, madam, and Mrs. Lamotte is very uneasy; I think
she wishes to speak with you, or she would not have had you wakened."

"Tell her I will come to her at once;" and Mrs. Aliston closed the door
and began a hurried toilet; before it was completed, Mrs. Lamotte
herself appeared; she was pale and heavy eyed, and seemed much agitated.

"Pardon my intrusion," she began, hurriedly; "I am uneasy about Sybil;
she is grow