"I must go home--I must go back to Mart to-morrow!" Cherry said,
in a whispered undertone, as if half to herself. "I must go home
to Mart to-morrow! I--let's not--let's not talk!" she broke off in
quick interruption, as he would have spoken. "Let's--I'd rather
not! I--where IS my book? What was I doing? Peter--Peter--"

"Just a minute!" Peter protested, thickly. "Cherry--I want to
speak to you--will you wait a minute?"

She was halfway to the door; now she paused, and looked back at
him with frightened eyes. Peter did not speak at once; there was a
moment of absolute silence.




CHAPTER XIV


And in that moment Alix came in. She had said good-night half an
hour before; she was in her wrapper, and her hair fell over one
shoulder in a rumpled braid. Cherry, sick with fright, faced her
in a sort of horror, unable to realize, at the moment, that there
was nothing betraying in her attitude or Peter's, and nothing in
her sister's unsuspicious soul to give significance to what she
saw in any case. Peter, more quickly recovering self-control, went
toward his wife.

Alix saw neither clearly, her eyes were full of tears, and she had