t does she know?"

"Evidently too much for your peace of mind."

"But how does she know?"

"Simply because she happened to be Hettie Rawlins before she became
Mrs. Grimsby."

"Hettie Rawlins," Mrs. Hampton repeated. "That name sounds familiar.
Where have I heard it before?"

"In that private hospital, madame. She was the girl who exchanged the
babies. Surely you have not forgotten her."

"Oh, now I do remember. And she is your wife?"

"She is, unfortunate for her."

"This is all new to me."

"Strange that you should forget her, isn't it?"

"Not at all, I knew her only slightly at the hospital, as she was
seldom in my room."

"But long enough to transact a very important business matter, eh?"

"Yes, yes, too long! May God have mercy upon me for my sin! It is
almost more than I can stand."

"But you have stood it well all these years, madame."

"You think so, do you? But you little know what agony of soul I have
endured. Oh, it has been terrible!"

"H'm," Grimsby grunted, "it seems to me you have had many
compensations, such as the money you received, a fine place like this,
a good son, you call your own, and the prospect of making considerable
out of your coal mine. Surely they have been a balm to your heart and
mind. They would be to mine, anyway."

"No, no, no!" the woman declared. "Nothing can ever take the place of
my own sweet baby I so rashly bartered away. I thought so once, fool
that I was, but I know better now. No matter how dear another child
may become, and John means much to me, it is not one's own flesh and
blood. No one but a mother who has suffered can fully understand this.
During the twenty years that have passed since my fatal mistake, my
baby girl has been ever with me. If alive, she is a young woman now.
She goes by some other name, and calls another woman 'mother.' She
does not know of my existence, and even if she heard my name or met me
face to face, I would mean nothing to her."

Mrs. Hampton ceased, and looked out over the rippling surface of the
noble St. John. Far down the river her eyes caught the gleam of a
white sail, bending to the gentle breeze. She knew that the boat must
be the "Eb and Flo," for Mrs. Tobin had called that morning and told
her that she was expecting her son and husband home. But it meant
nothing to her, neither was she aware of a slight graceful girl
standing by the captain's side, asking questions about the various
places along