uffering. The
local doctor confided in Vanna that such immunity could not be expected
to the end, for in such cases violent paroxysms of pain were almost
inevitable. Vanna shrank with fear from the prospect; but the God in
whom Miggles so sweetly trusted had decreed an easier release for His
child. Sitting beside an open window in the second spring of her
sojourn at the Cottage, Miggles contracted a chill, which quickly
developed into bronchitis. The attack did not appear serious to
onlookers; but some premonition of the end seemed to visit the invalid
herself, for she called Vanna to her bedside, and whispered an eager
request:

"My keys, dear! On the ring! I want them here."

Vanna brought the big, jingling bunch from its place in the work-basket
with its red silk linings. Miggles had the slavish devotion to locking
up which characterised her time, and it was seldom indeed that any of
her possessions could be reached without the aid of at least two keys.
Now with feeble fingers she separated two from the rest, and held them
out for the girl's inspection.

"This big one with the red thread, that's for the cupboard in the spare
room. This little one--the smallest but two--that's for the bottom
drawer inside. If I die this time--one can never tell--go at once and
open that drawer. _At once_! To save you trouble."

Vanna nodded, and put back the bunch in the basket. She herself had no
fear that this illness would end fatally, until in the still hours of
the night she crept to the bedside and beheld on her friend's face the
grey shadow which, once seen, can never be mistaken. The doctor was
summoned, with Piers Rendall, who by good providence was staying at the
Manor, and the dread sentence was pronounced in the little sitting-room
in which so many peaceful hours had been spent.

"Slipping away! Heart failure! The heart is too weak to stand the
extra strain caused by this oppression on the lungs. She will not last
out the day. Don't grieve, Miss Strangeways. It's a merciful release.
If she had lived she would have had great suffering. We must be
thankful for her sake."

Vanna and Piers sat together by the bedside during the long hours of
that morning. A telegram of warning had been dispatched to Mr and Mrs
Goring, but it was not possible that they could reach the secluded
village before late in the afternoon. Miggles lay with closed eyes,
breathing heavily, but without further sign of distress.