d on
the singer's soft breast. She started like a frightened woman, and her
voice broke.

Down in the hall the butler and the maid sat on the lower stair.

"Ain't it grand?" she whispered, and Haddock nodded dreamily.

"Mother used to sing us that in the old country," he said. "There was
Tom and 'Enry an' me--Lord, Lord!"

The General was asleep. Sometimes a tiny frown drew his eyebrows
together. Sometimes he clenched and uncurled his warm hands. Sometimes
he sucked softly at nothing with moist, reminiscent lips. But on and on,
over and over, rose and fell the quaint old song.

My Mary's asleep by thy murmuring stream!

It flooded the hushed house, it spread a net of dreams about the
listening people there and coaxed them back to childhood and a child's
protected sleep. It seemed a song that could not stop, that must return
on its simple refrain so long as there were arms to encircle and breasts
to lean upon.

Two men came softly up a smaller stair than the grand entrance flight,
and paused in amazement at sight of Caroline stretched full length
across the threshold. The older and smaller of the men had in fact
stepped on her, and confused and half awake, she listened to his
apologies.

"Sh! sh!" he whispered excitedly, "not a vordt! not a vordt! Mein Gott!
but it is marvelous! My friend, vot is this?"

He peeped behind the drawn curtains and withdrew a face of wonder.

"It is nodding but children--and they sleep!" he hissed. "Oh, but
listen, listen! And I offered her fifteen hundert dollars for two hours
only of that!"

The other man peeped behind the curtains in his turn, and seizing
Caroline by the arm tiptoed with her to a farther room.

"What--who--what is the meaning of this?" he whispered hoarsely. "That
child--where----"

Caroline rubbed her eyes. The golden voice rose and fell around her.

"General--Delia," she muttered, and stumbled against him. He lifted her
limp little body and laid it gently on a leather sofa.

"Another time," he said softly to the other man, "I--we cannot talk with
you now. Will you excuse us?"

The man looked longingly at the curtains.

"She will never do more well than that. Never!" he hissed. "Oh, my
friend, hear it grow soft! Yes, yes, I am going."

It seemed to Caroline that in a dream some one with a red face and
glasses askew shook her by the shoulder and said to her sternly, "Sh!
sh! Listen to me. To-day you hear a great artist--hey? Vill you forget
it?