“Well,” said the wife drearily; “we must economize the money she gave you for them. We have nothing else to sell.”
They were silent, trying not to think, and daring not to speak. They had once been in comfortable circumstances; and now beggary stared them in the face, and the horror of the almshouse loomed before them, not for themselves alone, but for the child. If they found a home for her, she might not be happy there; and they would see her no more.
Suddenly the old man burst out crying. “I can’t stand it!” he sobbed. “I can’t stand it! I almost wish I hadn’t seen the lady. I was growing hardened. I was forgetting that any one had ever addressed me as a gentleman. It was becoming an ugly dream to me, all this downfall! And she has waked me up!” He sobbed aloud.
“Don’t! Don’t!” said the woman. “And there is some one knocking. Nellie, take the candle, and go to the door.”
The old man got up, throwing the blanket from his shoulders; and the two stood in darkness, holding their breath.
There was a murmur of voices at the door, and the candle came shining into the room again, and steps were heard, both light, as if two children were about to enter.
Then a lady appeared on the threshold, looking in eagerly with bright eyes.
“Ah, ’tis you, sir!” she said. “I am sure that you expected me. I am so glad to have found you! Your troubles are all over!”
One more glimpse through space.
A train of cars is going through the Alps, from Lugano southward. Four persons occupy one of the easy first-class compartments. There are two talkative ladies in the back seat who seem quite willing to dazzle the gentleman sitting opposite them. He has an interesting face, an athletic frame, and gray eyes that are at once enthusiastic and laughing. When serious, the face is very serious, and the attitude changes a little, assuming more dignity. He is evidently enchanted with the scene, for he smiles faintly when lifting his eyes to the snowy heights with their cascades, or leaning close to the window to see the green waters below dashed into foam among the rocks.