e sat alone in her bedroom, the newspaper crumpled on the floor beside
her, there seemed to fall scales from her eyes, and she saw how bitterly
she had deceived herself. Where was now the love pledged to last
forever? Six weeks parted from her, and gaily gallivanting at the
slipper-toes of happier girls, whom the breath of trouble had
not touched.

Not even in this moment did Carlisle tax her once-betrothed with moral
wrong in the matter of the "telling," for that whole episode had
remained in her mind rather a flare-up of mysterious emotions than a
case of religious "conviction of sin" and atonement. Probably Hugo had
said and done what he thought was right then. But now it was clear to
her, as by a flash, that he had done wrong in quite a different way,
that he had committed the deadly sin of love. He had deserted her in the
moment of her greatest need of him. At the first pinch his boasted
mighty love had broken down; and, beneath all the disguises, it was such
a contemptible little pinch at that, only that he was afraid of what
people might say about her. Now he stepped the beaches of France, a
squire of dames unconcerned. Should she wear her heart in mourning for a
light-o'-love and a jilt? She would not. She would not....

Easier said than done, no doubt. Yet Cally's thoughts had at least
received a powerful new twist, which is the beginning of reconstruction.
And it was only a day or two later that mamma in her turn received an
arousing blow, in that debasing of her by the Associated Charities which
her niece-in-law, Henrietta Cooney, had mentioned to the Dabney House.

As it happened there came a letter from Hen Cooney by the same mail that
brought mamma's death-dealing one from Mrs. McVey. For Hen, who had
never dreamed of corresponding with Cally before, had started up this
summer with a long and quite affectionate steamer-letter, and had since
written regularly once a week, the newsiest and really the most
interesting letters that the Heths got at all. This letter had a private
postscript, written on a separate sheet, which said:

Cally, I don't know how you'll take it, but I think I ought
to tell you frankly how matters stand. Of course there was
plenty of talk, especially at first, and some of it was
pretty strong. But whether you like it or not, most of the
responsibility for what happened is being put on Aunt Isabel.
Do you remember Mrs. John S. Adkins who was at the Beach