her. "So far
as he is concerned, it seems like a mercy that it happened no later."

In a few minutes they had told me the worst. It was indeed my aunt who
had been crying in the bedroom. Caroline was dead.

I felt the blow more severely than the servants or anyone else about me
supposed. Still I was a child in years, and I had the blessed elasticity
of a child's nature. If I had been older I might have been too much
absorbed in grief to observe my aunt so closely as I did, when she was
composed enough to see me later in the day.

I was not surprised by the swollen state of her eyes, the paleness of
her cheeks, or the fresh burst of tears that came from her when she took
me in her arms at meeting. But I was both amazed and perplexed by the
look of terror that I detected in her face. It was natural enough that
she should grieve and weep over my sister's death, but why should she
have that frightened look as if some other catastrophe had happened?

I asked if there was any more dreadful news from home besides the news
of Caroline's death.

My aunt, said No in a strange, stifled voice, and suddenly turned her
face from me. Was my father dead? No. My mother? No. Uncle George? My
aunt trembled all over as she said No to that also, and bade me cease
asking any more questions. She was not fit to bear them yet she said,
and signed to the servant to lead me out of the room.

The next day I was told that I was to go home after the funeral, and was
taken out toward evening by the housemaid, partly for a walk, partly to
be measured for my mourning clothes. After we had left the tailor's,
I persuaded the girl to extend our walk for some distance along the
sea-beach, telling her, as we went, every little anecdote connected with
my lost sister that came tenderly back to my memory in those first days
of sorrow. She was so interested in hearing and I in speaking that we
let the sun go down before we thought of turning back.

The evening was cloudy, and it got on from dusk to dark by the time we
approached the town again. The housemaid was rather nervous at finding
herself alone with me on the beach, and once or twice looked behind her
distrustfully as we went on. Suddenly she squeezed my hand hard, and
said:

"Let's get up on the cliff as fast as we can."

The words were hardly out of her mouth before I heard footsteps behind
me--a man came round quickly to my side, snatched me away from the girl,
and, catching me up in his arm