Tears were streaming down Anne’s face, but she made no more noise of crying and seemed unaware of the continuing flood. So Ariel took her own handkerchief and wiped them as they came, while Anne stared into nothingness. Now the minute had come when Ariel was to have it out with Death on Anne’s account. Anne was moved away, out of the conflict. Thus the blind stare, the stopped sobbing. And Ariel knew Death when she was faced with it. Hadn’t she gotten thoroughly acquainted with its presence in the studio that last week with her father, while it waited around to make its final attack? And here it was, back again. Strong and stark as before. However, there was some difference between Ariel’s two meetings with the dark wings. Before, they had hovered down slowly, with every assurance of finding a resting place in the studio, and been content to stir and rustle from corner to corner, waiting their time. But to-night they were not so sure of their prey, and not being sure, were insistent, beating, angry. Ariel could not pretend to ignore them; but she took both of Anne’s hands in her own hands,—the hands that Doctor Hazzard had found so firm after her first Death encounter. They were every bit as firm now. Anne felt without doubt the strength that the doctor had felt. “What is the matter, Anne? Tell me?” The haggard dark eyes made an effort, focused on Ariel’s face. Then went blank again. And in their blank-dark Ariel saw—was it a wild beating of black wings? “Look at me!” she cried. “Anne Weyman, stop staring like that. You’ve got to tell me what is the matter.” Anne reacted, as if she were under hypnosis, which in fact she was. The wings beat back and away in the depths of the brown eyes. “It’s Prescott,” she said. “He’s ended with me.” “What do you mean? What has happened? Go on. Tell me.” This was forced confidence, in all conscience, and well for Anne that Ariel had no compunction about that. Indeed, she no more hesitated in compelling Anne’s confidence at this minute than she would have hesitated to knock a child, in danger of drowning, unconscious in order to save it. But the command in Ariel’s voice knocked Anne into consciousness, not out of it. She began at once telling Ariel, coherently and with detail, everything.