“I remained seated on the turf at least an hour, and perhaps would have stayed longer, but I was aroused from my reverie by the heavy drops of rain that began to fall on my head. I then rose and went to the house, when I was met at the front door by my adopted mother, who had been watching for me a long time.
“‘Come into my room, Edward,’ she said, as she took hold of my arm and pressed her lips on my cheek; ‘we will take tea there to-night—it is ready, and we have been waiting for you over an hour.’
“I knew by the tone of her voice that something serious was weighing on her mind, and I could tell by the inquiring glance which she frequently cast on me that she wanted to have a talk with me. She rang the bell, and when the servant came to answer it she ordered tea to be served in her room, which she always did when she had any important communications to make to me. I noticed that she kept her large, expressive gray eyes intently fixed on me with a strange look of inquiry. Notwithstanding the facility with which I had been able to divine her thoughts at all times, I was greatly puzzled, as well as embarrassed, on that occasion, by the strangeness of her look. I took a stand in front of a large mirror that hung on the wall, in order to see if there was anything unusual in my personal appearance that caused my mother to stare at me so strangely. While I was looking in the mirror, I noticed that my mother still had her eyes riveted on me, and that she had her hands firmly clasped above her head, which she always did when in trouble. As soon as I turned round she suddenly dropped her hands, took a seat at the little table and commenced pouring out my tea—and I could see that her hand trembled so that she could not hold the cup. She filled the cup as it sat on the table, and when she attempted to pass it to me she let it fall on the floor, breaking it into fragments.
“‘Edward,’ she whispered in a tone tremulous from emotion, ‘you will have to pour out the tea yourself, for my nerves are somewhat unstrung this evening.’
“I proceeded to help myself in silence, being so much embarrassed by my mother’s strange conduct that I was afraid to venture to make a remark.
“Supper over, the servants cleared the table, and my mother took her seat in a large, cushioned arm-chair, and in order to conceal my excitement, I sat down on a low seat and rested my head in her lap. I never before had been so long in her presence without speaking, and the silence was becoming oppressive and painful. When my head fell on her lap, she began to smooth back my hair with her hand, and I felt a tear drop on my cheek that had fallen from her eye.
“‘What is it, mother? what has occurred to distress you so?’
“‘Edward, have you ever committed any crime that would subject you to the penalties of the law?’
“If a powder magazine had exploded beneath my feet, and tossed me onto the top of a house across the street, it could not have given me a greater shock than that question did.
“‘Oh, Edward, my dear son, tell me what has happened? What have you done to cause a reward to be offered for your arrest? I beseech you to tell me everything, and then I will know how to advise you!’