"Only three weeks ago! He came to me and talked a great deal about our poor mother, whom he loved very dearly in his own impulsive way. But now he is back in his own country, he no doubt will forget about her. Men have such short memories." "Don't say that. Remember Belk." "Oh, he will go the same way," said Kaituna, a little bitterly. "Certainly he behaved very well, for he used to bring flowers here every week, along with Ferrari. How these two men must have loved my mother!" "She deserved their love," replied Maxwell, after a pause. "She had sinned, it is true, but she was bitterly punished for her sin. Well, she lies here, and the two men who loved her have gone far away--one to Italy, the other to America." "Ah, all our friends go thus!" "Not all, my dear. Remember Toby Clendon and his wife, who are living so happily at Deswarth. We must go down and see them before we leave England." "No, no!" said Kaituna, with a sudden shudder. "I cannot bear to go near Thornstream after those terrible events which cost the lives of both my parents." "Come, dear one," urged Maxwell, seeing how overcome she was with emotion, "let us go away." "One moment," replied Kaituna, kneeling beside the grave. "I must say farewell to my poor mother." And kneeling there in the long green grass, she breathed a prayer for the soul of her unhappy mother, whose natural love had cost her so dear. Maxwell, who had removed his hat when he heard this prayer mount like incense to the throne of God, quoted a text from the Scriptures in a low voice-- "She suffered much, so much shall be forgiven of her!" THE END. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Fever of Life, by Fergus Hume