"And if God will only let me save his
life, what else do I want more?"
His name was written on a door before her. The handle of a bell hung
down; she pulled it timidly. The door unclosed; she saw no one, and went
through. There were low lights burning. There were heavy scents that were
strange to her. There was a fantastic gloom from old armor, and old
weapons, and old pictures in the dull rich chambers. The sound of her
wooden shoes was lost in the softness and thickness of the carpets.
It was not the home of a poor man. A great terror froze her heart,--if
she were not wanted here?
She went quickly through three rooms, seeing no one and at the end of
the third there were folding doors.
"It is I--Bebee." she said softly, as she pushed them gently apart; and
she held out the two moss-rosebuds.
Then the words died on her lips, and a great horror froze her, still and
silent, there.
She saw the dusky room as in a dream. She saw him stretched on the bed,
leaning on his elbow, laughing, and playing cards upon the lace coverlet.
She saw women with loose shining hair and bare limbs, and rubies and
diamonds glimmering red and white.
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