illed Dr. Eben's eyes.

Now began the retribution of Hetty's mistake. In this moment, with her
husband's arms around her, his eyes fixed on hers, the whole cloud of
misapprehension under which she had acted was revealed to her as by a
beam of divine light from heaven. Smitten to the heart by a sudden and
overwhelming remorse, Hetty was speechless. She could only look
pleadingly into his face, and murmur:

"Oh, Eben! Eben!"

He repeated his questions, growing calmer with each word, and with each
moment's increasing realization of Hetty's presence.

"Who took you away?"

"Nobody," answered Hetty. "I came alone."

"Did you not love me, Hetty?" said Dr. Eben in sad tones, struck by a
new fear.

This question unsealed Hetty's lips.

"Love you!" she exclaimed in a piercing voice. "Love you! oh, Eben!" and
then she poured out, without reserves or disguises, the whole story of
her convictions, her decision, and her flight. Her husband did not
interrupt her by word or gesture. As she proceeded with her narrative,
he slowly withdrew his eyes from her face, and fixed them on the floor.
It was harder for her to speak when he thus looked away from her.
Timidly she said:

"Do not turn your eyes away from me, Eben. It makes me afraid. I cannot
tell you the rest, if you look so."

With an evident effort, he raised his eyes again, and again met her
earnest gaze. But it was only for a few seconds. Again his eyes drooped,
evaded hers, and rested on the floor. Again Hetty paused; and said still
more pleadingly:

"Please look at me, Eben. Indeed I can't talk to you if you do not."

Like one stung suddenly by some insupportable pain, he wrenched her
hands from his knees, sprang to his feet, and walked swiftly back and
forth. She remained kneeling by the chair, looking up at him with a most
piteous face.

"Hetty," he exclaimed, "you must be patient with me. Try and imagine
what it is to have believed for ten years that you were dead; to have
mourned you as dead; to have spent ten whole years of weary, comfortless
days; and then to find suddenly that you have been all this time
living,--voluntarily hiding yourself from me; needlessly torturing me!
Why, Hetty! Hetty! you must have been mad. You must be mad now, I think,
to kneel there and tell me all these details so calmly, and in such a
matter-of-fact way. Do you realize what a monstrous thing you have been
doing?" And Dr. Eben's eyes blazed with a passionate indignation, as