Ada, who was watching her curiously, wondered why the angry woman grew so ghastly white under her rouge at the reception of so commonplace a visitor. "Say that I am coming," said the widow to the domestic. In a moment she arose with a muttered apology and followed him into the hall. Old Haidee stood there patiently waiting with her basket of laces on her arm. "Bring the laces up to my apartment," said the lady, with as indifferent an air as she could assume. When they were once safe within the locked room, Mrs. Vance turned furiously on the old lace-vender. "Did I not tell you not to come here again?" she said. "I have nothing else to give you." "Oh, Mrs. Vance, don't say that," whined the old crone, piteously; "I did not mean to come back, I did not indeed, but I am so poor and the gold you gave me is all gone." "Liar! there was enough to last you a year," said Mrs. Vance, angrily. "Oh, no, ma'am--not with my old man down with the rheumatism, and all my starving children around me. The money all went for medicine, food and clothes. It melted away like the new-fallen snow," whined Haidee. "So I said to myself, I will go back, I will tell the kind lady how poor I am and she will give me more money." "I told you I had no more to give," almost shrieked Mrs. Vance in her desperation. "The money I gave you was presented to me by Mr. Lawrence, and he expected it would last me a long while. I am a poor woman, living here on the rich man's bounty, and I have nothing more for you--absolutely nothing!" "Oh! but the pretty lady is mistaken," said Haidee, doggedly. "She has money, or if not she has jewels." "Would you rob me of my few jewels, you base old wretch?" "Necessity knows no law," retorted the old creature, grinning hideously. "I must have help for my sick husband and starving children. If you will not help me I must go to Mr. Lawrence or to Mr. Darling." These sly words had their intended effect of frightening Mrs. Vance into compliance. She went to her jewel box and began hurriedly to toss over its glittering contents. "Here," she said, turning round with a handsome brooch in her hand, "will this satisfy your cupidity?" But old Haidee's eyes roved greedily over the sparkling gems in the casket. She shook her head. "I could not sell it for a quarter of its value," said she. "It would not relieve my necessities. Add some other trifle to it, lady--that bracelet for instance." The bracelet was a very handsome one in the form of a serpent with glistening emerald eyes. With a groan Mrs. Vance put it into the greedy, working fingers. "You will strip me of every valuable I possess," she said, "and then when I have nothing else to give you will betray me to my enemies, for the sake of gaining a reward from them." "Lady, you do me cruel injustice," was the hypocrite's meek reply. "I will never betray you while you so generously divide your all with me."