She listened; a profound hush.

She was alone, all alone.
How far had she come?
She could not guess; but she knew that she had done well.

She would have been amazed if she had known how well.

All the years of her life, thanks to Mrs.Warham's good sense about health, she had been steadily adding to the vitality and strength that were hers by inheritance.

Thus, the response to this first demand upon them had been almost inevitable.