"And what is our little dove afraid of in her nest?" pinching Kitty's
cheek as though she had been a dove very lately fledged indeed. She had
always in fact the feeling when with Kitty that through her she suffered
to live and patted on the back the whole ignoble, effete race of
domestic women. Catharine caught sight of her satchel, which portended a
visit of several days.

"Pray give me your hat and stay with me for tea," she said sweetly.

Miss Muller saw through her stratagem and laughed: "Now, that is just
the kind of finesse in which such women delight!" she thought
good-humoredly, going into the shop to lay off her hat and cape. The
next moment she returned. Her face was bloodless. The muscles of the
chin twitched.

"Who has been here?" she cried, sitting down and rubbing her hands
violently on her wrists. "Oh, Catharine, who has been here?"

Now Kitty, a hearty eater with a slow brain, and nerves laid quite out
of reach under the thick healthy flesh, knew nothing of the hysterical
clairvoyant moods and trances familiar to so many lean, bilious American
women. She ran for camphor, carbonate of soda and arnica, bathed Miss
Muller's head, bent over her, fussing, terrified, anxious.

"Is it a pain? Is it in your stomach? Did you eat anything that
disagreed with you?" she cried.

"Eat! I believe in my soul you think of nothing but eating!" trying
resolutely to still the trembling of her limbs and chattering of her
teeth. "I was only conscious of a presence when I entered that room.
Some one who long ago passed out of my life, stood by me again." The
tears ran weakly over her white cheeks.

"Somebody in the shop!" Kitty went to it on tiptoe, quaking at the
thought of burglars. "There's nobody in the shop. Not even the cat,"
turning back reassured. "How did you feel the Presence, Maria? See it,
or hear it, or smell it?"

"There are other senses than those, you know," pacing slowly up and down
the room with the action of the leading lady in a melodrama; but her
pain or vision, whatever it was, had been real enough. The cold drops
stood on her forehead, her lips quivered, the brown eyes turned from
side to side asking for help. "When _he_ is near shall I not know it?"
she said with dry lips.

Kitty stole up to her and touched her hand. "I'm so glad if you are in
love!" she whispered. "I thought you would think it foolish to care for
love or--or babies. I used to care for them both a great deal."

"Pshaw! Now