ident of their meeting at last to be none of
her contriving. And she would see Richie, too; her heart fluttered at
the thought. She sat on the boat, dreamily watching the gray water rush
by, dreamily ready for whatever might come. The day was dull and soft;
boat whistles droned all about them on the bay; from Alcatraz,
shouldering through an enveloping fog, came the steady ringing of a
brass gong.

Long drifts of fog had crept under the trees in the Toland garden, the
rose bushes were beaded with fine mist, the eaves dripped steadily.
Julia began to be shaken with nervous anticipation of the moment when
she must meet Jim. Would he meet her at the door, or would they
deliberately arrange--these loyal brothers and sisters--that the dreaded
moment should not come until they were all about her? She gave a quick
nervous glance about the big hallway when a tearful maid admitted her.
But it was only Barbara who came forward, and Barbara's first word was
that Jim and Richie were not there; Dad had sent both on errands. "His
mind is absolutely clear," said Barbara shakenly. She herself was
waiting for an important telephone call, and occasionally pressing a
folded handkerchief to her eyes. The two women kissed, with sudden tears
on both sides, before Julia went noiselessly upstairs. Constance and
Theodora were in their mother's room, Mrs. Toland with them. The mother
had been crying, and was now only trying to muster sufficient
self-control to reenter the sickroom without giving the beloved patient
alarm. Julia's entrance was the signal for fresh tears; but they all
presently brightened a little, too, and Julia persuaded Mrs. Toland to
drink a cup of hot soup, "the very first thing she's touched all day!"
said all the girls fondly.

Only Janey was with the invalid when Julia went into the sickroom, a
silent, white-faced Janey, who stared at Julia with sombre eyes. The
doctor lay high in pillows, looking oddly boyish in his white nightgown
in spite of his gray hair. A fire flickered in the old-fashioned
polished iron grate; outside the window twilight and the fog were
mingling. The room had some unfamiliar quality of ordered emptiness
already, as if life's highway must be cleared for the coming of the
great Destroyer.

Julia knelt down by the bed and laid her hand over the old man's hand.
To her surprise he opened his eyes. They moved from her face to the
clock on the mantel, as if he had lost count of time, and had not
expec