Beryl shivered, and looked wonderingly at her companion.  Was she indeed so unsuspicious of the quicksand on which stood the fair temple of her hopes in marriage?

“O, Miss Gordon!  That is the one thing, in all the world, that for your sake as well as mine, I could never do.  No, no; impossible.”

“Why, not for my sake, since I desire it so earnestly?”

A bright flush had risen in Leo’s cheeks, and she threw back her small head challengingly.

For a moment Beryl wavered.  Could she bear to wound that proud spirit?

“Go back to X——?  To X——!  It would be a renewal of my martyrdom, and I should only be a stumbling block in the scheme you contemplate.  You do not understand, perhaps; but believe me, I prove my gratitude by refusing your kind offer.”

“I think I understand; and if I am willing to run the risk, what then?”

“Do not ask me the impossible.  The very atmosphere of X——­would numb me, destroy all capability of usefulness, by reviving harrowing memories.”

“Had not every shadow of suspicion vanished, and the entire community manifested delight in your triumphant innocence, I should never have suggested a return to the scene of your sufferings.  Certainly, I cannot press the payment of a debt, which you volunteered to cancel; but I am sorry your refuse to oblige me.”

There was a starry sparkle in the soft hazel eyes, and an involuntary and unconscious hardening of her lips, as Leo rose.

“It is hard, Miss Gordon, to be always misunderstood; but sometimes duty points to lines that subject us to harsh and bitter censure.  I bear ever a heavy burden; do not increase my load by condemning me as ungrateful, God knows, you hold a warm and a holy place in my heart, and your happiness is more to me than my own; yet the one thing you ask, my conscience forbids.”

“How long have you been here?”

“It will be two years to-morrow since I entered these peaceful walls.”

“Then your probation ends, and you become permanently a Sister of the ’Anchorage’?”

“Not yet.  I have been permitted to earn my daily bread here, upon conditions somewhat at variance with the regulations that usually govern the institution.  I have not applied for admission to permanent membership, because my stay is contingent upon circumstances, which may call me hence to-morrow; which may never arise to beckon me away.  Sister Ruth generously allows me the latitude of choice; not for my own sake, but for that of a friend, whose influence secured my admission.  After a while, when I have finished my work, I hope to come back; to spend the residue of my earthly days, and to die here, a faithful Umilta Sister of the ‘Anchorage’, which opened its arms when I was a needy and desolate waif.”

“The peace of your new life is certainly reflected in your face.  Patience has had its perfect work; and that ’peace that passeth all understanding’ is the reward granted you.”