as well as their personal relation would he think of her as carrying even into the their love had the hours went on without his returning and at length it occurred to her that he might have taken the night train to her heart contracted at the thought she remembered � though every nerve shrank from the � his sudden flight at another crisis in his life and she felt y that if he escaped from her now she would never recover her hold on him but could he be so cruel � could he wish any one to suffer as she was suffering at ten o clock she could endure the drawing room no longer and went up to her room again she slowly tr ing to the process as much as possible to put off the period of silence and wliich would close in on her when she lay down on her l but at length the dreaded moment there was nothing more between her and the night she crept into bed and put out the light but as she slipped l the cold sheets a trembling seized her and after a moment she drew on her dressing gown again and her way to the by the fire she pushed the closer to the hearth and lay n still shivering though she had drawn the up u her chin she lay there a m the op the tree with closed eyes in a mental darkness torn by sudden flashes of memory in one of these flashes a phrase of s stood out � a word spoken at on the day of the opening of the emergency hospital about a good looking young man who had called to see her she remembered s boyish burst of jealousy his sudden relief at the thought that the visitor might have been and no doubt it was � who had come to to threaten her and who baffled by her non arrival or for some other reason had left again without ing out his purpose it was dreadful to think by how slight a chance her first draught of happiness had escaped that drop of poison yet when she understood her inward cry was if it had happened my dearest need not have suffered already she was feeling s pain more than her understanding that it was harder to bear than hers because it was at war all the part of his nature as she lay there her face pressed into the cushions she heard a sound through the silent house � the opening and closing of the outer door she turned cold and lay listening with strained ears yes now there was a step on the stairs � her husband s step she heard him turn into his own room the of her heart almost lier � she only distinguished the fruit of the tree that he was moving about within that it was as if she felt his touch then her door opened and he entered he stumbled slightly in the darkness before be found the of the lamp and as he over it she that his face was flushed and that his eyes had ao excited light which in any one less might almost have seemed like the effect of wine are you awake he asked she started up against the cushions her hair streaming about her small ghostly face yes he walked over to the and dropped into the low chair beside it i ve given that cur a lesson he won t forget he exclaimed breathing hard the deepening in his face she turned on him in joy and trembling john � oh john you didn t follow him oh what happened have you done no i didn t follow him but there are that even the powers above can t stand and ao they managed to let me run across him � by the merest accident � and i gave him something to remember he spoke in a strong clear voice that had a brightness like the brightness in his eyes she felt its heat in her veins � the primitive woman in her owed at the fruit of the tree contact with the primitive man but reflection chilled her the next moment but why why oh how could you where did it happen � oh not in the street as she questioned him there rose before her the terrified vision of a crowd gathering � the police newspapers a hideous he must have been mad to do it � and yet he must have done it because he loved her no � no don t be afraid the powers looked after that too there was no one about � and i don t think he ll talk much about it she trembled fearing yet him nothing could have been more unlike the she fancied she knew than this act of anger which had lifted the darkness from his spirit yet also it gave him back to her made them one flesh once more and suddenly the pressure of opposed emotions became too strong and she burst into tears she wept painfully violently with the resistance of strong natures unused to expression till at length through tlie tumult of her tears she felt her husband s touch he said speaking once more in his natural voice she raised her face from her hands and they looked at each other ml j the fruit of the tree � � i said things i t mean to say her lips parted but her throat was still full of sobs and she could only look at hi m while the tears ran down i believe i understand now he continued in the same quiet tone her hand shrank from his clasp and she began to tremble again oh if you only believe if you re not sure don t pretend to be he sat down beside her and drew 