to take the rest he so much
needed. For a long time 'Lena slept, watched by the physician, who,
knowing that the crisis had arrived, waited anxiously for her waking,
which came at last, bringing with it the light of returning reason.
Dreamily she gazed about the room, and in a voice no longer strong with
the excitement of delirium, asked, "Where am I, and how came I here?"

In a few words the physician explained all that was necessary for her
to know, and then going for Mrs. Aldergrass, told her of the favorable
change in his patient, adding that a sudden shock might still prove
fatal. "Therefore," said he, "though I know not in what relation this
Mr. Bellmont stands to her, I think it advisable for her to remain
awhile in ignorance of his presence. It is of the utmost consequence
that she be kept quiet for a few days, at the end of which time she can
see him."

All this Aunt Betsey communicated to Durward, who unwilling to do
anything which would endanger 'Lena's safety, kept himself aloof,
treading softly and speaking low, for as if her hearing were sharpened
by disease she more than once, when he was talking in the hall below,
started up, listening eagerly; then, as if satisfied that she had been
deceived, she would resume her position, while the flush on her cheek
deepened as she thought, "Oh, what if it had indeed been he!"

Nearly all the day long he sat just without the door, holding his
breath as he caught the faint tones of her voice, and longing for the
hour when he could see her, and obtain, if possible, some clue to the
mystery attending her and his father. His mother's words, together
with what he had heard 'Lena say in her ravings, had tended to convince
him that _she_, at least, might be innocent, and once assured of this,
he felt that he would gladly fold her to his bosom, and cherish her
there as the choicest of heaven's blessings. All this time 'Lena had
no suspicion of his presence, but she wondered at the many luxuries
which surrounded her, and once, when Mrs. Aldergrass offered her some
choice wine, she asked who it was that supplied her with so many
comforts. Aunt Betsey's, forte did not lay in keeping a secret, and
rather evasively she replied, "You mustn't ask me too many questions
just yet!"

'Lena's suspicions were at once aroused, and for more than an hour she
lay thinking--trying to recall something which seamed to her like a
dream. At last calling Aunt Betsey to her, she said, "T