silence; but at last he took the little one's arms from about his neck,
saying:

"How hot your hands and your cheeks are, poor thing! You are feverish,
and the night air blows in chill--you will catch fresh cold by this mad
behavior."

He had controlled his tears with difficulty, and as he spoke, in broken
accents, he carefully wrapped her in the black robe he had thrown off and
said kindly:

"Now, be calm, and I will try to compose myself. You did not mean any
harm, and I owe you no grudge. Now go; you will not feel the draught in
the anteroom with that wrap on. Go; be quick."

"No, no," she eagerly replied. "You must let me say what I have to say
or I cannot sleep. You see I never thought of hurting you so dreadfully,
so horribly--never, never! I was angry with you, to be sure, because--
but when I spoke I really and truly did not think of you, but only of
poor Paula. You do not know how good she is, and grandfather was so fond
of her before you came home; and he was lying there and going to die so
soon, and I knew that he believed Paula to be a thief and a liar, and it
seemed to me so horrible, so unbearable to see him close his eyes with
such a mistake in his mind, such an injustice!--Not for his sake, oh no!
but for Paula's; so then I--Oh Orion! the Merciful Saviour is my
witness, I could not help it; if I had had to die for it I could not have
helped it! I should have died, if I had not spoken!"

"And perhaps it was well that you spoke," interrupted the young man, with
a deep sigh. "You see, child, your lost father's miserable brother is a