nd sick. Still she could not cry.

Her heart was frozen--that was it. And how could one cry when one's
heart was frozen? Oh, Allen! Allen! How could she go on living without
him? If she could only cry--if she could only cry!

What was that? Thunder. The artillery of heaven! Did they have war in
heaven, she wondered. With a queer little laugh she got up and walked to
the window.

A flash of lightning greeted her, illumining the world outside, flashing
into bold relief the familiar objects of the little room. She knelt down
by the window, regardless of danger, and lifted her face to the rising
wind.

She welcomed the storm. It seemed, in some mysterious way, to quiet the
tumult within her. She stretched out her arms to it and cried aloud her
misery.

"Allen, my Allen, you will come back to me, won't you, dear? You
promised. Oh, Allen, if you're alive are you thinking of me now? Are you
thinking of Betty?"

A sharper clap of thunder seemed to answer her, and then quite suddenly
the ice melted from about her heart. Her head went down upon her arms
and great sobs shook her from head to foot.

It was so the girls found her a few minutes later, and with cries of
pity lifted her to her feet and half-led, half-carried her back to the
bed.

"We didn't know whether to come up or not," Mollie said hesitatingly.
"But we thought maybe you would need us, Dear. If you would rather be
alone--"

But Betty shook her head and reached out an unsteady little hand which
Mollie instantly took in her warm clasp.

"No, I want you to stay," she said, trying desperately to choke back her
sobs. "If some one will--just please--give me a--h-handkerchief."

Amy slipped one into her hand, and Betty dabbed fiercely at the tears
which still would come.

"Don't try not to cry, Honey," whispered Mollie, putting an
understanding arm about the Little Captain's shoulders and holding her
close. "Tears are just the very best things in the world to help one
through a crisis."

"Yes," added Grace, gently smoothing the hair back from Betty's hot
forehead, while Amy sprinkled some toilet water on a fresh handkerchief
and slipped it unobtrusively into Betty's other hand, "we'll just sit
here and wait till you're all through."

"Then we're going to take you down and give you some hot tea and toast
and love you a little," finished Amy.

All of which loving sympathy very nearly caused a fresh outburst on
Betty's part. However, she finally got the b