“Jennie was here just now.”

“And did not come in to see me?”

“She had something to tell me.”

“A secret?”

“Yes; something I must repeat to you.”

“Yes?”

“Father—Jennie thinks—she has reason to know that—dear, do you think Mother is perfectly well?”

“No, my child; I know she is not.”

This quiet assurance was staggering.

“And you allow her to go on in this way without calling in a physician?” A wave of indignant color suffused her cheeks.