she coming?"

"To-morrow, I believe; or is it to-day? where is the note? Tuesday! Is
this Tuesday? It cannot be."

"Yes, this is Tuesday, and the three o'clock train--I suppose that is
the train she will come by--must be in by this time. Hark! there are
wheels this moment. Can she be coming now, Mrs. Peyton?"

"My dear, it would be exactly like the conception I have formed of her.
Go down and see her, will you, Margaret? Tell her I have a headache, or
Asiatic cholera, or anything you like. I cannot possibly see her to-day.
Her name is Fox--or Wolfe, I can't remember which. Bless you, child! you
save my life. Show her the Calico Room. Hand me the amethyst rope before
you go; I must compose my nerves."

With a smile and a sigh, Margaret ran down-stairs, and met the newcomer
on the doorstep. A tall, pale, grave-looking girl, with deep-set blue
eyes, and smooth bands of brown hair--a rather remarkable-looking
person, Margaret thought.

"Miss Fox?" she said, hurriedly, holding out her hand. "Oh, how do you
do? Pray come in. Mrs. Peyton asked me to receive you,--I am a friend
and neighbor,--and show you your room and make you comfortable. She has
a bad headache, and does not feel able to welcome you herself."

She led the way into the dining-room, and rang the bell. "You will have
lunch?" she said, "or would you rather have tea?"

"Tea, please," said the stranger; and her voice had a deep, musical
note, that fell pleasantly on Margaret's ear.

"I am sorry Mrs. Peyton is unable to see me. Is it a real headache, or
doesn't she want to?"

Margaret colored and hesitated. The blue eyes looked straight into hers
with a compelling gaze; a gleam of comprehension seemed to lurk in their
depths. Margaret was absolutely truthful, and, consequently, was
sometimes at a loss when speaking of her invalid friend.

"Doctor Flower told me somewhat about her," Miss Fox went on. "He
thinks--he wants me to rouse her to effort."

She spoke so quietly, her whole air was one of such calm and repose,
that Margaret looked at her wonderingly.

[Illustration: "MARGARET DID THE HONORS, STILL FEELING VERY SHY."]

"If Doctor Flower has explained the case to you," she said, at last,
"you probably know more about it than I do. Mrs. Peyton often seems to
suffer a great deal. She is fanciful, too, no doubt, at times; I
suppose most invalids are."

"I have just been staying with a woman who had had both feet cut off by
a train," said Miss Fox,