She kept on falling, falling,
falling, till she reached the abysmal depths of space--then she knew
no more: and Mary, though prone on the earth, kept falling, falling,
falling with her into so deep a swoon that she woke only to find
herself on a friendly bed, with Rhoda and Lisa herself, weeping over
her.
At five o'clock, Mrs. Grubb, forcibly torn from a meeting and
acquainted with the afternoon's proceedings, hurried into a lower
room in the tenement house, where Mary, Rhoda, and the three children
were gathered for a time. There were still a hundred people in the
street, but they showed their respect by keeping four or five feet
away from the windows.
The twins sat on a sofa, more quiet than anything save death itself.
They had been rocked to the very centre of their being, and looked
like nothing so much as a couple of faded photographs of themselves.
Lisa lay on a cot, sleeping restlessly; Mary looked pale and wan, and
there were dark circles under her eyes.
As Mrs. Grubb opened the door softly, Mary rose to meet her.
'Have you heard all?' she asked.
'Yes, everything!' faltered Mrs. Grubb with quivering lips and
downcast eyelids.
Mary turned towards Lisa's bed. 'Mrs. Grubb,' she said, looking
straight into that lady's clear, shallow eyes, 'I think Lisa has
earned her freedom, and the right to ask a Christmas gift of you.
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