antage. To-day as the
elevator carried him up to her room he was really sorry, though he
knew now that no act of his could make things right. He had been to
blame from the very beginning, first for taking her, then for failing
to stick by a bad bargain. Well, it could not be helped now. The best
thing he could do was to be fair, to counsel with her, to give her the
best of his sympathy and advice.

"Hello, Jennie," he said familiarly as she opened the door to him
in her hotel room, his glance taking in the ravages which death and
suffering had wrought. She was thinner, her face quite drawn and
colorless, her eyes larger by contrast. "I'm awfully sorry about
Vesta," he said a little awkwardly. "I never dreamed anything like
that could happen."

It was the first word of comfort which had meant anything to her
since Vesta died--since Lester had left her, in fact. It touched
her that he had come to sympathize; for the moment she could not
speak. Tears welled over her eyelids and down upon her cheeks.

"Don't cry, Jennie," he said, putting his arm around her and
holding her head to his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I've been sorry for a
good many things that can't be helped now. I'm intensely sorry for
this. Where did you bury her?"

"Beside papa," she said, sobbing.

"Too bad," he murmured, and held her in silence. She finally gained
control of herself sufficiently to step away from him; then wiping her
eyes with her handkerchief, she asked him to sit down.

"I'm so sorry," he went on, "that this should have happened while I
was away. I would have been with you if I had been here. I suppose you
won't want to live out at Sand wood now?"

"I can't, Lester," she replied. "I couldn't stand it."

"Where are you thinking of going?"

"Oh, I don't know yet. I didn't want to be a bother to those people
out there. I thought I'd get a little house somewhere and adopt a baby
maybe, or get something to do. I don't like to be alone."

"That isn't a bad idea," he said, "that of adopting a baby. It
would be a lot of company for you. You know how to go about getting
one?"

"You just ask at one of these asylums, don't you?"

"I think there's something more than that," he replied
thoughtfully. "There are some formalities--I don't know what they
are. They try to keep control of the child in some way. You had better
consult with Watson and get him to help you. Pick out your baby, and
then let him do the rest. I'll speak to him about it.