It seemed an eternity before Lottie came back, yet she had not been absent three minutes. She came alone, and stood by me at the door, regarding Mrs. Dennison's movements with the keen vigilance of a fox. But a glimpse of Mrs. Lee's face made her start forward with a cry of dismay. "My mistress, she is dead! They have killed her!" She would have fallen upon her knees by the bed, but Mrs. Dennison put her aside. It was an easy thing, for Lottie had lost all her strength in that terrible fear. "Foolish child! she has only fainted," said Mrs. Dennison, holding her back; "the air will bring her to." Lottie's courage returned with these words, and struggling from Mrs. Dennison's hold, she sat down upon the bed, chafing Mrs. Lee's cold hands and kissing them with loving tenderness. "Is she really and truly alive?" said the poor girl, appealing to me. I could not resist the wistful anxiety of that look, but came forward, holding my breath, with a dread that her fears might be true. That moment Mr. Lee entered the room, and directly came Jessie, with a look of terror on her face. She trembled like a leaf at the sight of her mother, and turned to me, looking the question which she could not frame in speech. "It is not death! I hope and believe that it is not death!" I said. Jessie fell upon a chair and burst into tears. "Hush, child!" said her father; "let us learn what has happened. Mrs. Dennison, can you tell me?" "I hardly know myself," answered the widow, innocently. "I heard moans and a cry for help coming from this room, and, springing up from my sleep, ran to see what it meant. There was no light in the room, but I felt that Mrs. Lee was cold and still as she lies now--alive, but motionless. I had snatched a bottle from my toilet, and was bathing her head with its contents, when Miss Hyde and the servant came in. They were very much terrified, and alarmed the house, I hope unnecessarily. It is a deep fainting fit. I am sure she will come out safely in time." As the woman said this, Lottie stood looking in her face, dumb with astonishment. She saw the red flask in Mrs. Dennison's hand, felt the changed atmosphere of the room, and, for once, her presence of mind gave way. "Poor thing! she was half frightened to death," said Mrs. Dennison, casting a patronizing glance at the crestfallen girl, "I never saw anything so wild in my life." "And I never saw anything so wicked!" Lottie burst forth, clinching her hands and almost shaking them at the woman. "Wicked! Oh, not so bad as that, my good girl," said the woman, gently. "One can be frightened, you know, without being wicked." "Yes," said Lottie, with a sob, "and a person can be wicked without being frightened, I know that well enough." "Lottie!" exclaimed Mr. Lee. Lottie stood for one instant like a wild animal at bay; but directly her eyes fell upon her mistress, her form relaxed, and, creeping to the bedside, she began to cry.