"Then go home and telephone over to Mr. Loring's. Tell them I want the nurse who is there to come here for a few minutes."
Jims did his errand. Uncle Walter and the nurse carried Miss Avery into the house and then Jims went back to the blue room. He was so unhappy he didn't care where he went. He wished something would jump at him out of the bed and put an end to him. Everything was discovered now and he would never see Miss Avery again. Jims lay very still on the window seat. He did not even cry. He had come to one of the griefs that lie too deep for tears.
"I think I must have been put under a curse at birth," thought poor Jims.
Over at the stone house Miss Avery was lying on the couch in her room. The nurse had gone away and Dr. Walter was sitting looking at her. He leaned forward and pulled away the hand with which she was hiding the scar on her face. He looked first at the little gold ring on the hand and then at the scar.
"Don't," she said piteously.
"Avery—why did you do it?—why did you do it?"
"Oh, you know—you must know now, Walter."
"Avery, did you break my heart and spoil my life—and your own—simply because your face was scarred?"
"I couldn't bear to have you see me hideous," she moaned. "You had been so proud of my beauty. I—I—thought you couldn't love me any more—I couldn't bear the thought of looking in your eyes and seeing aversion there."