"Hmm," murmured Ruth half consciously, and, with a playful shudder at
the cold, whispered, "Come in, come in!"

But then quickly, lest this should carry a hint of distrust, she tripped
in alone, closed the door, and glided to the bright hearth. There a
moment of waiting changed her mind. She ran again to the door, and began
to say as she threw it open, "My brother! you'll catch your"--

But no brother was there.




XV

THE THIN ICE BREAKS


Isabel, who had never confessed her trouble to her mother until now, had
this evening told all there was to tell.

"No, no, my dear," she said as she moved to go, "I have no dread of his
blows. I don't suppose he will ever strike me again. Ah, there's the
worst of it; he's got away, away beyond blows. I wish sometimes he'd
brain me, if only that would stop his secretly watching me.

"If he'd never gone beyond blows, I would have died before I would
have told; not for meekness, dearie, nor even for love,--of you, or my
child, or any one,--but just for pride and shame. But to know, every
day and hour, that I'm watched, and that every path I tread is full of