and the sombre looks spoke of apprehension and the
absence of the spirit that had been the life and light of the house. Our
arrival seemed to be a relief to Henderson. Little was said. I had never
before seen him nervous, never before so restless and anxious, probably
never before in all his career had he been unnerved with a sense of his
own helplessness.

"She has been asking for you this moment," he said, as he accompanied
Miss Forsythe to Margaret's apartment.

"Dear, dear aunt, I knew you would come--I love you so;" she had tried to
raise herself a little in her bed, and was sobbing like a child in her
aunt's arms.

"You must have courage, Margaret; it will all be well."

"Yes, but I'm so discouraged; I'm so tired."

The vigil began. The nurses were in waiting. The family physician would
not leave the house. He was a man of great repute in his profession. Dr.
Seftel's name was well known to me, but I had never met him before; a man
past middle life, smooth shaven, thin iron-gray hair, grave, usually
taciturn, deliberate in all his movements, as if every gesture were
important and significant, but with a kindly face. Knowing that every
moment of his waking life was golden, I could not but be impressed with
the power that could command his exclusive service for an indefinite
time. When he came down, we talked together in Henderson's room.

"It is a question of endurance, of constitution," he said; "many weak
women have this quality of persistence; many strong women go to pieces at
once; we know little about it. Mrs. Henderson"--glancing about him--"has
everything to live for; that's in her favor. I suppose there are not two
other men in the country whose fortune equals Henderson's."

I do not know how it was, probably the patient was not forgotten, but in
a moment the grave doctor was asking me if I had seen the last bulletin
about the yacht regatta. He took the keenest interest in the contest, and
described to me the build and sailing qualities of the different yachts
entered, and expressed his opinion as to which would win, and why. From
this he passed to the city government and the recent election--like a
true New Yorker, his chief interest centred in the city politics and not
in the national elections. Without the least unbending from his dignity,
he told me many anecdotes about city politicians, which would have been
amusing if I had not been anxious about other things.

The afternoon passed, and the ni