"Mother!—mother!" she whispered, and put her face down on the thin hands and covered them with kisses. "Mother, darling, I am here—beside you."
A look of fright and joy came into Mrs. Vincent's dulling eyes. "Margaret?" she gasped. "Thank God, I've seen you! Hannah won't believe that I am dying. Did Towsey—"
"Yes, darling, yes," Margaret whispered; "and I love you so—I love you so. Get well, darling; father is coming back—he is coming back immediately; get well for him," she whispered between the kisses she rained on the thin face and the hands that had a strange chill on them.
"I shall never see him," Mrs. Vincent said; "but tell him that I thought of him and of you all the time."
"Oh, mother—mother—"
"Bless you, dear, bless you," Mrs. Vincent said. A happy smile came for a moment over her face, though fear quenched it. "If Hannah finds you she will drive you out. You must go—I couldn't bear it, dear. I entreat you to go."
"I will hide, darling; Towsey will manage everything," Margaret said.
"Hannah is very hard," the dying woman whispered, anxiously; "but she doesn't mean it—and she's been very good to me—it's only because she's strict. Tell your father he will come to me, and I'll be waiting. Go, dear—go—I couldn't have died without seeing you." With a last effort Mrs. Vincent kissed her again, but her lips would hardly move, though a cry of fear came through them, for Hannah had quickly crossed the hall below and begun to ascend the stairs; and Margaret knew that if she left the room she would meet her on the threshold. Mrs. Vincent's eyes turned in terror towards the door and remained fixed; a strange expression came to them, as if she saw many waiting and was satisfied, knowing why they had come.
In a moment Margaret was on the other side of the bed and had hidden behind the screen that was partly round the top and down one side of it. She could not stand for trembling; she crouched down on her knees and held her breath.
"Mother, I thought I heard you cry," Hannah said as she entered, but there came no sound for answer. "Mother," she said again, and waited; but all was still. Then Hannah went to the door and called: "Towsey, Towsey, come here!" and Towsey, startled by her tone, came running in haste, and Margaret knew that they were standing together at the bedside. The moments went by with a strange stillness, dragging and terrible, as though an unseen host held on to them. She heard Towsey whisper, "She is going"; she heard her mother's quick breathing, she heard her try to speak, but the words were only half articulated, and still she did not dare to move.