self or to another, he had stated the case baldly. Hitherto, even
to himself, he had decently veiled his unholy thoughts. The appealing
eyes of his wife were upon him, now that he was striving to turn his own
away from them. He had not imagined that it would be so hard. Even the
eyes of Helen Lonsdale could not comfort him. The thought of what he was
clearing from the way, in order to look into them, appalled him.

Mrs. MacGregor prepared to sell the last remnant of her soul to the
devil. Upon Helen Lonsdale she had no hold. She had noted the girl's
interest in Elijah, an interest of which the girl herself was
unconscious. If now, she cleared Helen's path of obstructions, would not
she win her gratitude? Slowly and deliberately, she spoke.

"You never loved Amy Eltharp. The woman whom you could love, who could
return a love as deep and lasting as your own is separated from you. You
are paying the penalty of your mistake. Amy is paying for it, even"--she
paused, then went on without a quaver,--"even as Helen Lonsdale is
paying for it."

Elijah was as one stricken. For a long time he remained silent. Mrs.
MacGregor watched him narrowly. He was striving to do justice to himself
and to his better nature, but the habit of years was strong upon him. He
had strayed into a tempting path without definite thought as to where it
would lead either himself or others. He had compared Helen Lonsdale with
his wife; his life that might have been with Helen, with his life that
was with Amy. Mrs. MacGregor's words had defined his position clearly
and sharply. In innocence, he could go no farther. From now on, he must
act decisively and with full knowledge of what his actions meant. At
last he spoke, as one broken on a wheel.

"Don't torture me any longer. Tell me what you mean."

"I want to save you from yourself. You have made a mistake. You have had
a loveless life. You married weakness where you needed strength. You
married selfishness, where you needed unselfishness, devoted sympathy.
You have fled to a common refuge; you have sought in a mistress all that
you have lacked in a wife."

Elijah burst out furiously.

"Helen Lonsdale is not that! She is as pure as sunlight."

"You cannot make her your wife; she knows that as well as you do. You
are walking in a path the end of which is certain."

Elijah made no immediate reply. His reason told him the end of Mrs.
MacGregor's logic, but he weakly demanded that she should point the