But through Carpentaria Mrs. Ilam said:

“I am not mad. But my love has always been too strong.”

“Did you know of this, Ilam?” Carpentaria asked his partner solemnly.

“Of course I did not,” was the answer—“not till it was too late.”

“Then, why did you warn me up in the wheel?”

“Because I suspected. I suspected my poor mother was beginning to hate you, and I feared that—— I can’t say any more.”

Carpentaria, powerfully moved, walked out of the room, and it was Pauline who followed him.

Mrs. Ilam’s eyes were now shut.