One particular sunbeam, brighter than its fellows, shot through the bough of the maple and straight through a dormer window into the bedroom of Hilda Converse.
Finally it crept across her pillow and touched her face and awoke her.
She at first rubbed her eyes dazedly, then sat up with a start. She gazed about her with frightened swollen eyes and then came out of bed with a spring.
"Oh, oh," she cried. "It is morning and I haven't slept an hour all night. Even, when I did sleep I had such dreadful dreams. It has come and I am powerless to stop it. Oh! What shall I do! What shall I do!"
"Hilda!" called a woman's voice from the foot of the stairs. "You had better get up. Breakfast is nearly ready. I don't know what to do about Silversheene. He has been barking for the last half hour. Some one is sure to hear and discover him."
"Oh, what shall I do!" cried the girl under her breath. Then to her mother she
