She stood a moment looking around the room, and then she knelt
beside the bed.

"O God," she whispered, "I hain't never had much to thank you for
except for strength to work, but now--dear God, I thank you!"




CHAPTER III


The next morning Drusilla found herself unconsciously waiting for
the rising bell that called the inmates of the Doane home from their
slumbers, and when she opened her eyes she could not realize for a
moment where she was. Instead of the plain white walls of her room,
she saw the soft gray tints of silk and the sheen of silver, and her
hands touched a silken-covered eiderdown quilt. She closed her eyes
in sheer happiness, and then opened them again to be sure that it was
not all a mirage. At last, not being used to lying in bed, she arose
and, putting on the dressing-gown, went to one of the windows and
raised the shade to look out. She stopped with her hand still on the
shade, looking in wonder at the beauty just outside her window. A
great copper beach was flaunting its gorgeous colors in the clear
morning air; beyond it a clump of blue spruce seemed a background for
the riotous autumn tints. At one side of the house was an Italian
garden, with terrace after terrace falling toward the river. Across
the river, the Palisades rose sheer and steep, their reddish-brown
rocks covered with the glow of the morning sun.