grown more marked as his dependence on her increased she at once discerned traces of recent disturbance and her first question was for he met it with a discouraged gesture no great change � finds her less well than when he was here before he s upstairs with her yes � she seems to want him mrs seated herself in silence behind the of which she was now recognized as the as she drew off her long gloves and mechanically straightened the row of delicate old cups mr added with an effort i ve spoken to him � told him what you said she looked up quickly about the child s wish he continued about her having to hb wife it seems her last letters have not been answered he paused and mrs with her usual calm precision proceeded to measure the tea into the tea pot she could be as in approval as in and not for the world would she have seemed to claim any share in the turn that events appeared to be taking she even preferred the risk of leaving her old friend to add half i told what you and the nurse thought the fruit op the tree yes that pines for bis wife i put it to in black and tbe words came out on deep strained and mrs faltered well well � be doesn t know where she is himself doesn t they re separated � utterly separated it s as i told you be could hardly her mrs had ceased her letting her bands fall on her knee while she in blank wonder on ber companion s face i wonder what reason she could bare given she murmured at length for going he ber i tell you yes � but bow did she make him he struck his hand violently on the arm of bis upon my soul you seem to forget no she shook her head with a half smile i simply remember more than you do what more he began with a flush of anger but she raised a hand what does all that matter � if now that we need ber we can t get her lie made no answer and she returned to tbe of bis tea but as she rose to put tbe cup in his hand he asked half you think it s going to be bad for the child then c the fruit of the tree mrs smiled with the thin edge of her lips one can hardly set the police after her no we re powerless he groaned in assent as the cup passed between them she dropped her eyes to his with a quick flash of but he sat staring before him and she moved back to the sofa without a word on the way downstairs she met descending from s room since the early days of his first marriage there had always been on s side a sense of obscure toward mrs she was almost the embodied spirit of the world he dreaded and disliked her serenity her her seemed to smile away and all the high the stubborn convictions that he had tried to plant in the shifting sands of his married life and now that s death had given her back the attributes with which his fancy had originally invested her he had come to regard mrs as the evil influences that had come between himself and his wife mrs was probably not unaware of the successive of feeling wliich had led up to this view but her life had been passed among petty and and she had the patience and of the spy in a hostile camp the fruit of the tree she and exchanged a few words about then she exclaimed a glance the of the hall door but i must be off � i m on foot and the me after dark he could do do less at that than offer to guide her across the perils of fifth avenue and still talking of she led him down the thronged till her own comer was reached and then her own door turning there to ask as if by an won t you up there s one thing more i want to say a shade of reluctance crossed his face which as the light fell on it looked bard and tired like a face set against a winter gale but he murmured a word of assent and followed her into the shining steel cage of the in her little drawing among the shaded lamps and of spring flowers she pushed a chair forward settled herself in her usual comer of the sofa and said n ith a that seemed an echo of his own tone i asked you to come up because i want to talk to you about mr looked at her in surprise though his father in law s health had been more or less for the last year all their concern of late had been for you think him less well he she waited to draw off and smooth her gloves with i j the fruit of the tree one of the deliberate gestures that served to shade and her speech i think him extremely unhappy moved uneasily in his seat he did not know where she meant the talk to lead them but he guessed that it would be over painful places and he saw no reason why he should be forced to follow her you mean that he s still anxious about partly yes she paused the child wiu get no doubt but she is very lonely she needs youth heat light mr can t give her those or even a semblance of them and it s an art i ve lost the secret of she added with her shadowy smile s brows darkened i realize all she has lost mrs glanced up at him quickly she is twice she said the blood 