the fires himself as he passed out again hovering slowly do n the long room she rose leaving on the hearth rug and followed him to the door i s the fruit of the tree has mrs not come in she asked not knowing why she wished to ask it out of the child s hearing no miss i looked in myself to see � she might have come by the side door she may have gone to her sitting room she s not upstairs th both paused then said what was she riding impulse miss the butler looked at his large responsible watch it s not late � he said more to himself than to her no has she been riding impulse lately no miss not since that day the mare nearly had her off i understood mr did not wish it went back to and the fairy tale � as she took up the thread of the princess s adventures she asked herself why she had ever had any hope of helping the seeds of disaster were in the poor creature s soul even when she appeared to be moved lifted out of herself her escaping impulses were always dragged back to the centre of hard distrust and resistance that sometimes forms the core of soft natures as she had answered her s previous appeal by her flight to the woman he disliked so she answered this one by riding the horse he feared s last illusions the is s the fruit of distance between two such natures was bad done well to remain away and with a rush her sympathies swept back to his side � � the came to one of the came to put another log on the fire then the of removing the tea table was performed � the that had so often on s nerves as she watched it a vague sense of the of the routine � a queer awed feeling that whatever happened a machine so perfectly adjusted would work on like a natural law she rose to look out of the window staring vainly into between the parted curtains as die turned back passing the writing table she noticed that s had made her to post her letters � an unusual o a glance at the void her that she was not too late for the mail � reminding her at the same time that it was r y three hours since had started on her ride � � she the foolishness of her foam e en in winter often rode for more than three and now that the da s were growing longer suddenly reassured ni out into the hall to carry lier of letters to the red pillar box bv the door as did so a cold blast struck the fruit of the tree her could it be that for once the routine of the house had been relaxed that one of the servants had left the outer door she walked over to the � yes both doors were wide the night rushed in on a vicious wind as she pushed the door shut she heard the dogs and on the threshold she crossed the and heard voices and the of feet in the darkness � then saw a lantern gleam suddenly shot out of the night � the lantern struck on his face stepping back pressed the electric button in the wall and the wide door step was abruptly illuminated with its huddled pushing breathing group black figures out of darkness strange faces distorted in the glare she cried and sprang forward but suddenly was before her his hand on her arm and as the dreadful group struggled by into the hall he her to him with a whisper the within there was a moment then like terror struck to their tasks every faculty was again at its post ing and taking observations the of the tree orders making her brain ring with the hum of a controlled activity she had known the sensation before � the ing ot terror and pity into this miraculous of thought and action but never had it snatched her from such depths oh thank heaven for her knowledge now � for the trained mind that could take com of her senses and bend them firmly to its service her well after a moment s fit of fear she pitied and the moment aware of its cause and respecting him for the way in which he rose above it into the dear air of through the first hours they worked shoulder to shoulder conscious of each other only as of kindred will powers stretched to the utmost of and activity and hardly speech or look to further swift co operation it was thus that she had known him in the hospital in the heal of his youthful zeal the doctor she liked best to work with because no other so tempered with judgment the great surgeon arriving from at midnight confirmed his there was injury to the other were summoned in haste and in the winter dawn tlie was � a and of the cord � � the fruit of the tree got a alone when the turned to the sick room other nurses were there now quickly and silently their she must call a halt clear her brain again decide rapidly what was to be done next oh if only the crawling hours could bring it was strange that there was no yet � no not strange after all since it was barely six in the morning and her message had not been despatched till seven the night before it was not unlikely that in that little southern settlement the office closed at six she stood in s sitting room her forehead pressed to the window pane her eyes straining out into the thin february darkness through which the morning star swam white as soon as she had yielded her place 