It was nearly dark in the sickroom, and as Mrs. Jeffrey had just gone out, and Theo, in the parlor below, was enjoying a quiet talk with her husband, Madam Conway was quite alone. For a time she lay thinking of Margaret; then her thoughts turned upon George and his "amazing proposition." "Such unheard of insolence!" she exclaimed, and she was proceeding farther with her soliloquy, when a peculiar noise upon the stairs caught her ear, and raising herself upon her elbow she listened intently to the sound, which came nearer and nearer, and seemed like someone creeping slowly, painfully, for she could hear at intervals a long-drawn breath or groan, and with a vague feeling of uneasiness she awaited anxiously the appearance of her visitor; nor waited long, for the half-closed door swung slowly back, and through the gathering darkness the shape came crawling on, over the threshold, into the room, towards the corner, its limbs distorted and bent, its white hair sweeping the floor. With a smothered cry Madam Conway hid beneath the bedclothes, looking cautiously out at the singular object which came creeping on until the bed was reached. It touched the counterpane, it was struggling to regain its feet, and with a scream of horror the terrified woman cried out, "Fiend, why are you here?" while a faint voice replied, "I am looking for Margaret. I thought she was in bed"; and, rising up from her crouching posture, Hagar Warren stood face to face with the woman she had so long deceived. "Wretch!" exclaimed the latter, her pride returning as she recognized old Hagar and thought of her as Maggie's grandmother. "Wretch, how dare you come into my presence? Leave this room at once," and a shrill cry of "Theo! Theo!" rang through the house, bringing Theo at once to the chamber, where she started involuntarily at the sight which met her view. "Who is it? who is it?" she exclaimed. "It's Hagar Warren. Take her away!" screamed Madam Conway; while Hagar, raising her withered hand deprecatingly, said: "Hear me first. Do you know where Margaret is? Has she been found?" "No, no," answered Theo, bounding to her side, while Madam Conway forgot to scream, and bent eagerly forward to listen, her symptoms of dissolution disappearing one by one as the strange narrative proceeded, and ere its close she was nearly dressed, standing erect as ever, her face glowing, and her eyes lighted up with joy.