He held her hand for a moment; then, dropping it slowly, he reached over and rang the bell. Quickly the door was opened by Edgeway. George, raising his hat, walked rapidly away. "I have been waiting for you," said Edgeway, smiling down at her. She looked up at him with sudden pity. "He seems always lonesome for me," she thought, "and now I am lonesome, too." Then she said impulsively, "The rest of this week is yours." "Thank you," he said warmly, and his eyes shone with a fervor that suddenly brought a question to her mind. CHAPTER XXII. To Save a Soul. "Reaction follows all exceptional enthusiasm,--even be it of a religious nature. We may try to plead an exception in religion, but we deceive ourselves, if we do. "The time following a great spiritual effort, is the hardest to meet. If we conquer ourselves, we rise to loftier planes. If we fail, we are worse off than before the exaltation. There is a proverb, "Success is built on failure." True, but the reverse also holds good. "Failure is built upon success." The idea of one grand moment of conversion when the soul of man is roused to great things, never to become earthly again, is at best an idle dream. The ladder to perfection must be climbed slowly and with care. The rounds of that ladder are marked either "Success" or "Failure." Often our feet are resting surely upon the one, when we go to step higher, and we feel the painful contact with the other." Betty laid down the tract which she had been reading, and arose from her chair with a deep sigh. She had been resting a few moments, before dressing to go out with Edgeway. George and Alma had been gone just five days, and in that time, she had come to realize that the past late experiences with George had not only re-awakened her love, but, if possible, made it stronger and more unconquerable. She had kept her promise and had gone out every evening with Edgeway. He had been more than grateful, but she began to see that his attentions were more than friendly ones. How dull she had been, to remain blind to the fact! She blamed herself greatly. "Poor Edgeway!" she said, taking up one of his roses, and fastening it on her dress. "You are suffering for a hopeless love, and--I also. George is so fond of Alma--poor Alma--she needs all the love possible, if she remembers the cause of her shock. Probably George will make it appear to her like a dream. Will Lambert will vanish again, and she will never know the real tragedy of her life." She began to dress her hair slowly. "Perhaps," she thought on, "if I think of others, I will forget myself. I thought I had conquered selfishness, but it seems not." That evening Edgeway was quiet, and possessed none of the animation of previous evenings. They witnessed the grand display of fireworks with slightly aroused enthusiasm, but it subsided instantly when the excitement was over.