g aimlessly from one hand, while the other began
fumbling in her pocket. Finally, in a cautious, troubled way, she handed
the young lady a letter.

"I--I should have given it to you before, Miss," she faltered, "but kept
it because I thought--that--perhaps--I--"

But Dorry already had torn open the envelope, and was reading the
contents.

Kassy, watching her, was frightened at seeing the poor girl's face flush
painfully, then turn deadly pale.

"Not bad news, is it, Miss? Oh, Miss Dorry, maybe I've done wrong in
handing it to you; but a gentleman gave me half a dollar, day before
yesterday, Miss, to put it secretly into your hands, and he said it was
something you'd rejoice to know about."

Dorry, now sitting up on the bed, hardly heard her. With trembling
hands, she held the opened letter, and motioned toward the door.

"Go, call Mr. Reed! No, no--stay here--Oh, what _shall_ I do? What ought
I to do?" she thought to herself, and then added aloud, with decision:
"Yes, go ask Mr. Reed to please come up. You need not return."

Hastily springing to the floor, Dorry thrust her feet into a pair of
slippers, put on a long white woollen wrapper that made her look like a
grown woman, and stood with the letter in her hand as her uncle entered.

She remained motionless as a statue while he hastily read it, her white
face in strange contrast to the angry hue that overspread Mr. Reed's
countenance.

"Horrible!" he exclaimed, as he reached the last word. "Where did this
letter come from Dorothy? How did you get it?"

"Kassy brought it. A man gave her half a dollar--she thought it had
good news in it. Oh, Uncle!" (seeing the wrath in Mr. Reed's face), "she
ought not to have taken it, of course, but she doesn't know any
better--and I didn't notice either, when I opened it, that it had no
post-mark."

"Did you read it all?"

Dorothy nodded.

"Well, I must go. I'll attend to this letter. The scoundrel! You are not
going to faint, my child?" putting his arm quickly around her.

"Oh, no, Uncle," she said, looking up at him with an effort. "But what
does it mean? Who is this man?"

"I'll tell you later, Dorry. I must go now--"

"Uncle, you are so angry! Wait one moment. Let me go with you."

Her frightened look brought Mr. Reed to his senses. In a calmer voice he
begged her to give herself no uneasiness, but to lie down again and
rest. He would send Lydia up, for he must lose no time in attending to
that letter. He wa