His face cleared, and he patted her shoulder encouragingly. 'Nonsense. You are in splendid health; Doctor Debow said so. After all, this happens every day. Every mortal being in the world has come the same way and——'

'Such fears are only the natural hypochondria of my condi tion, I know,' she finished, with a wry little smile. 'I'll try to be good.'

Theo spoke little during the next few days and spared Joseph all morbid fancies. On Thursday afternoon Aaron was expected. She dragged about her room and struggled to make herself presentable. She hid her distorted figure as best she could with an embroidered India muslin scarf, made repeated attempts to pile her hair into the coquettish mass of ringlets which Aaron was used to seeing. But she could not lift her arms so high, and the little black maid who had temporarily replaced Venus was stupid and clumsy.

When she was ready, she went into the drawing-room to wait, and paused before the huge carved mirror which covered the southern wall.

How ugly I look, she thought, and how old! The flesh around her eyes had puffed and darkened until they appeared small, and her skin was the color of putty.

It was warm today, even in this room, and flies buzzed monotonously around the great chandelier's tempting glitter. From time to time the high whine of a mosquito made obbligato to the buzzing of the flies.

Theo sank down on the sofa, trying to listen for the first clumping of horses' hoofs down King Street, but gradually a rushing and roaring in her ears, which had bothered her for long, obscured all other noises. Her heavy head tipped sideways against the arm of the sofa. She shivered. How strange that she should be cold! In some way she must surmount this aching, agonizing languor. I must not sleep, she thought, and, thinking that, fell into a stupor so heavy that no sound could touch her, even that for which she longed above everything on earth, the bustle of Aaron's arrival. And he, dashing from the carriage and up the massive oak stairs ahead of Joseph, found her like that.

'God's blood, sir, what have you done to her!' he shouted, turning on Joseph furiously.

Joseph's face darkened. 'I don't know what you mean. She's asleep. She sleeps a great deal.'

'Look at her, you fool! She's ill, fearfully ill.'

'It is but her condition; you have not seen her before. There is nothing alarming.'

Aaron gave him one terrible look, and leaned over the sofa. 'Theodosia,' he called, with a tenderness that Joseph thought angrily was almost womanish.

A long convulsive shudder shook her body. Her lips moved, but she did not rouse.