"Well," said Miss Lorraine, "I was wondering the other day, if I had been brought back to life just to help you along the road of life. I am afraid I have been rather a failure in that way up to the present time."
Jean's eyes filled with sudden tears.
"You are helping me," she said. "You shall help me, for I think now, I am willing."
No more was said then, for the door opened and Colonel Douglas came in. It was their first meeting since Miss Lorraine's illness. He stepped across the room on tiptoe, looking at her with eager, anxious eyes.
"My dear," he said, as he grasped her hand, "how frail you look, and how glad and thankful I am that you have been spared to us."
His voice was husky, and as he sat down by her side, his hands trembled visibly as he rested them on his knees.
Miss Lorraine looked at him with a quiet smile.
"Yes," she said, "when you began to take an interest in a little rebellious girl down in the Essex marshes, you little thought what a good turn you would be doing me, later on."
Jean laughed.
"I haven't done much," she said; "but I am proud to think that Colonel Douglas thought me worth sending for."