happiness she was about to confer cast a radiance upon her. She touched
the door to the servant's room, and ran her fingers lightly over it to
find the knob. Faint as the noise was, it was answered instantly by a
stir inside. There was a thud of bare feet and a quick rush. Lydia felt
the door swing open before her in the darkness and spoke quickly to the
trembling, breathing form she divined there, "The doctor says she's
safe."

Strong arms were about her, hot tears not her own rained down on her
face. Before she knew it, she was swept to her knees, where, locked in
the other's close embrace, she felt the big heart thump loud against her
own and heard go up above her head a wild "Oh, God! Oh, Mary Mother! Oh,
Christ! Oh, Mary Mother! Glory be to God! Hail, Mary, Mother of God!
Thanks be to God! Thanks be--"

Kneeling there in the blackness, with her servant's arms around her,
Lydia thought it the first prayer she had ever heard.

* * * * *

Ariadne grew well with the miraculous rapidity of children, and when
Paul came back was almost herself again, if a little thinner.

It was upon Lydia that Paul's eyes fastened, Lydia very white, her face
almost translucent, her starry eyes contradicting the tremor of her
lips. He drew her to him, crying out: "Why, Lydia darling, you look as
though you'd been drawn through a knot-hole! This has been enough sight
harder on you than on the baby! What in the world wore _you_ out so? I
thought you had two nurses!"

He looked closely into her face, seeing more changes: "Why, you poor,
poor, poor thing!" he said compassionately. "You look positively years
older."

"Oh, I am that," she told him, seeming to speak, oddly enough, he
thought, exultantly.

"You just shouldn't allow yourself to get so wrought up over Ariadne,"
he expostulated affectionately. "You'll wear yourself out! What earthly
good did it do the baby? Sickness is a matter for professionals, I tell
you what! You had the two nurses and your precious old Dr. Melton that
you swear by! What more could be done? That's the reason I didn't come
back. I knew well enough that there wasn't an earthly thing I could do
to help."

Lydia looked at him so strangely that he noticed it. "Oh, of course I
could have been company for you. But that was the _only_ thing! Getting
the baby well was the business of the hour, _wasn't_ it now? And the
doctor and nurses were looking out for that. Besides