As the day approached, the pressure on the heart of Miss Loring grew heavier.
"Oh, if I could die!" How many times in the silence of night and in the loneliness of her chamber did her lips give forth this utterance.
But the striving spirit could not lay down its burden thus.
Not once, since the exciting interview we have described, had Paul and Jessie met.

At places of fashionable amusement she was a constant attendant in company with Dexter, who was proud of her beauty.

But though her eyes searched everywhere in the crowded audiences, in no instance did she recognize the face of Hendrickson.
In festive companies, where he had been a constant attendant, she missed his presence.

Often she heard him inquired after, yet only once did the answer convey any intelligence.

It was at an evening party.