ld had she considered it; then she had
fought frantically to hold her back. Her efforts had been useless and
with a frightful clutching at her heart she had watched the woman sink.
Alexander Freoff was away from home. What would he say when he learned
that his wife had died of an operation which he had forbidden Dr. Harpe
to attempt? Fear checked the tears of grief with which her cheeks were
wet. He was a man of violent temper and he had not liked the intimacy
between herself and his wife. He did not like _her_--Dr. Emma Harpe--and
now that Alice was dead and the fact that she, as a physician, had
blundered, was too obvious to be denied, the situation held alarming
possibilities. Consternation replaced her grief and the tears dried on
her cheeks while again she paced the floor.

She was tired almost to exhaustion when she stopped suddenly and flung
her shoulder in defiance and self-disgust. "Bah! I'm going to pieces
like a schoolgirl. I must pull myself together. Twenty-four hours will
tell the tale and I must keep my nerve. The doctors will--they _must_
stand by me!"

Dr. Harpe was correct in her surmise that her suspense would be short.
The interview between herself and the husband of her dead friend was one
she was not likely to forget. Then the coroner, himself a physician,
sent for her and she found him waiting at his desk. All the former
friendliness was gone from his eyes when he swung in his office chair
and looked at her.

"It will not be necessary, I believe, to explain why I have sent for
you, Dr. Harpe." His cool, impersonal voice was more ominous, more final
than anger, and she found it hard to preserve her elaborate assumption
of ease.

A dull red mounted slowly to her cheeks and faded, leaving them ashen.

"Two doors are open to you." He weighed his words carefully. "If you
remain here, suit will be brought against you by Alexander Freoff; and
since, in this case, you have acted in violation of all recognized
methods of medical science, I will not uphold you. As a matter of fact,
immediate action will be taken by the State Medical Board, of which I am
a member, to disqualify you. If you leave town within twenty-four hours
you will be permitted to go unmolested. This concession I am willing to
make; not for your sake but for the sake of the profession which you
have disgraced. You have my ultimatum; you may take your choice."

She gripped the arms of her chair hard, silent from an inability to
speak