She might laugh at him, and in his present nervous tension he could not bear it. He had tried an experiment, and it had succeeded beyond all his hopes. He gazed at Eva longingly, trying to keep the sparkling lovelight out of his face. Doctor Bertrand actually stooped and kissed the mad girl’s smiling face, carried out of her usual self-possessed pose by true, womanly sympathy; but she did not guess how Doctor Rupert envied the caress, and she said tenderly: “I am glad your lover has written to you at last, Eva, and I hope you will get another letter to-morrow.” “I shall be sure to look again on the window sill,” answered the happy girl; then she would not take any more notice of them, nor answer a word. She sat dreaming over the verses all day, with a tender, wistful light in her great dark eyes, as if trying to piece together some scattered links of memory. As they turned away Doctor Rupert said, low and earnestly: “The incident turned out so happily, would it be wise to repeat it?” “By all means try it again. But let me have the verses, and I will humor her fancy by placing them on her window sill. I declare I am quite excited and hopeful. What if we have stumbled on the key to unlock her darkened mind to the light of reason?” “God grant it!” Doctor Rupert replied earnestly, and he worked as well as prayed for the result he wished, having the verses ready each day, with other tokens that Doctor Bertrand always placed on the casement, ready for Eva’s eager waking eyes. It was a unique way to cure insanity, but it was certainly succeeding. Eva improved so rapidly that the aberration of her mind was almost cured. She took delight in the tokens of a lover’s kindness that came to her hands each day, and from her first childish confidences she relapsed into maidenly shyness, keeping her verses sacredly to herself, though she generously shared her sweets with all. “This is very encouraging. We can soon discharge the young girl as cured,” said the superintendent cheerfully, but one bright morning they had an unpleasant shock of surprise. Eva Somerville was missing from the asylum! CHAPTER XI. GRAN’THER HEARS FROM EVA. During the winter that Eva had spent in the insane asylum at Weston, changes had come to the old home, Stony Ledge. Grandfather Groves had never been as well and strong as before the night of the Hallowe’en tragedy, although fortune’s fickle wheel had begun to turn in his favor. The long-hoped-for drill had been put down on his rocky farm by capitalists of his section to bore for oil. If the greasy fluid spouted as expected, old Mr. Groves would be a rich man. Once the excitement would have thrilled his heart with joyful expectancy, but now it awakened only slight interest, although the twins could not talk of anything else. Said Patty joyously: “If we strike oil, gran’ther, mayn’t we move down to Clarksburg, to live in a nice house? I should admire to live in the city, and see and be seen!” Lydia added: