nd in the world."

"Poor thing!" said the priest, with a pang of self-reproach.

"There was nothing to do but to take her to the hospital, and there she
has been."

"Is she very ill?"

"She may live, the house surgeon says. But she was very weak for such a
trial."

Little more was said as they walked along, and when they reached the
hospital, Father Damon was shown without delay into the ward where the
sick girl lay. Dr. Leigh turned back from the door, and the nurse took
him to the bedside. She lay quite still in her cot, wan and feeble, with
every sign of having encountered a supreme peril.

She turned her head on the low pillow as Father Damon spoke, saying he
was very glad he could come to her, and hoped she was feeling better.

"I knew you would come," she said, feebly. "The nurse says I'm better.
But I wanted to tell you--" And she stopped.

"Yes, I know," he said. "The Lord is very good. He will forgive all your
sins now, if you repent and trust Him."

"I hope--" she began. "I'm so weak. If I don't live I want him to know."

"Want whom to know?" asked the father, bending over her.

She signed for him to come closer, and then whispered a name.

"Only if I never see him again, if you see him, you will tell him that I
was always true to him. He said such hard words. I was always true."

"I promise," said the father, much moved. "But now, my child, you ought
to think of yourself, of your--"

"He is dead. Didn't they tell you? There is nothing any more."

The nurse approached with a warning gesture that the interview was too
prolonged.

Father Damon knelt for a moment by the bedside, uttering a hardly
articulate prayer. The girl's eyes were closed. When he rose she opened
them with a look of gratitude, and with the sign of blessing he turned
away.

He intended to hasten from the house. He wanted to be alone. His trouble
seemed to him greater than that of the suffering girl. What had he done?
What was he in thought better than she? Was this intruding human element
always to cross the purpose of his spiritual life?

As he was passing through the wide hallway the door of the
reception-room was open, and he saw Dr. Leigh seated at the table, with
a piece of work in her hands. She looked up, and stopped him with an
unspoken inquiry in her face. It was only civil to pause a moment and
tell her about the patient, and as he stepped within the room she rose.

"You should rest a moment, Father Damon. I kn