intricacies of her suffering she felt the separate pang of
his.

"And I want to ask you," the girl continued, "to let me see
him; for of course," she added in the same strange voice of
energy, "I wouldn't unless you consented."

"To see him?" Anna tried to gather together her startled
thoughts. "What use would it be? What could you tell him?"

"I want to tell him the truth," said Sophy Viner.

The two women looked at each other, and a burning blush rose
to Anna's forehead. "I don't understand," she faltered.

Sophy waited a moment; then she lowered her voice to say: "I
don't want him to think worse of me than he need..."

"Worse?"

"Yes--to think such things as you're thinking now...I want
him to know exactly what happened...then I want to bid him
good-bye."

Anna tried to clear a way through her own wonder and
confusion. She felt herself obscurely moved.

"Wouldn't it be worse for him?"

"To hear the truth? It would be better, at any rate, for you