he painting and she forgot she was not
speaking to herself alone.

"And why not?" she said in a deep breath. "He didn't fear that poverty
and pain would keep anyone out of the kingdom of gladness. It was what
He was telling them all the time--those exclusive, rich men who wanted
to get the secret of His serene life. It wasn't that He liked pain and
poverty, but He wanted everyone to know that it was the fear of them
that shut people out of the kingdom of gladness. Why shouldn't He look
triumphant when He'd opened the door so wide?"

Patricia was too much stirred by this revelation of the depths of
Constance's nature to speak, and they soon went out of the dim church
into the sunlight of the avenue, with its roar of hungry life and
surging energies.

"I think I'll run over to Auntie's now that we're so near," said
Constance at the next corner. "You don't mind, do you?"

Patricia didn't in the least mind. She wanted to go for a walk in the
Park and try to catch and put in order the whirling thoughts that pulsed
through her. "I'll see you tonight after dinner," she promised.

The Park was full of people. The spring was in the air. Patricia felt
strange sensations, stirring thoughts which Constance's picture had
called into life.

"The Kingdom of Gladness," she repeated over and over again, making it a
rhythmic march to keep step with. "The Kingdom of Gladness. And I
thought Constance Fellows just a nice, clever, funny girl!"

She looked at the people on the walks and in the vehicles with a new
eye. She wondered if they were putting in their probation for that
kingdom and when she saw a pinched face or a shabby coat, she felt like
crying out to them, "Oh, don't mind it very much, for it's the best way
into the kingdom."

She was very much agitated and excited, and she felt she could not go
back to the Lodge, where she had given a half promise to spend the five
o'clock hour with Rosamond. She walked about for a long time and sat
down on benches when her mood ebbed, starting up again with a shining
face as her emotions got the better of her again.

She was sitting on a bench when she saw Mr. Long coming briskly along
the bridle path on a beautiful bay horse. He did not see her, and she
jumped up and ran over to the side of the path, holding up an eager hand
to attract his attention.

He was off his horse in one moment and shaking hands with her the next.

"This is very jolly," he said heartily. "I didn't know you