"Dear father, if such be the will of God, may you be spared to us for many years yet," returned his son with emotion. "And Louise! We do not know her exact condition, but let us hope that God will in His great mercy give her yet more time--months or years--in which to prepare for eternity. We will cry earnestly for her, and in the name of Christ, to Him who hath said, 'I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth,' but bids them 'Turn yourselves and live ye.'" "Yes; and whose promise is, 'If two of you shall agree on earth, as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven!'" Silence fell between them for a moment, then the old gentleman asked, "What arrangements have the boys made? She will hardly be able to drive home in a carriage." "Oh no! they will meet her at the depot with an ambulance, and I shall be there with the carriage for Mr. Allison, Adelaide, and Virginia." "Virginia is coming too?" "We do not know certainly, but expect to see her with the others." "I cannot say that I hope you will. I never saw a more useless person; she will be only in the way; and--I cannot banish a suspicion that she has brought this attack upon her poor mother. I strongly suspect that Virginia's match has turned out a very bad one, and that she has heaped reproaches upon her mother for the hand she had in bringing it about." "I hope not!" his son exclaimed with energy; "for if so it must surely be the cause of life-long self-reproach to her. Will you go with us to the depot, father?" "No, no, my son! let my first sight of my poor stricken child be where we will not be the gazing stock of an idle, curious crowd. I shall meet her here at my own door." The train steamed into the depot, and Mrs. Allison, glancing from a window of the parlor-car, saw her brother and nephews standing near the track. They saw her, too, and lifted their hats with a sad sort of smile. All felt that the invalid must be unable to sit up or her face also would have been in sight. In another moment the train had come to a stand-still, and the next the three gentlemen were beside the couch on which Mrs. Conly lay. She looked up at her sons with eyes full of intelligence, made an effort to speak, but in vain; and the big tears rolled down her cheeks. They bent over her with hearts and eyes full to overflowing. "Mother, dear mother, we are glad you have come to us alive," Calhoun said in low, tremulous tones. "And we hope we shall soon have you much better," added Arthur. "Yes," said Adelaide, "she is already better than when we first saw her in New York, but has not yet recovered her speech and can not help herself at all. One side seems to be quite paralyzed." "We have an ambulance waiting," said Calhoun. "As soon as the crowd is out of the way it shall be brought close to the platform of this car and we will lift her into it." Greetings were exchanged while they waited. "Where is Virginia?" asked Mr. Dinsmore.