Page:Elizabeth Jordan--Tales of the city room.djvu/96

 closely observant of the partings around her. From time to time she heard the sound of Sister Ethelbert's voice, and she noticed that in all the leave-taking its rich contralto tones were the only ones that were perfectly steady. In the centre of the group of friends the new Dominican Sister stood, a little pale and with a patient sweetness in her brown eyes, but carrying herself with a noble dignity through the trying ordeal. They came to her one by one, and she kissed each friend twice, with a few murmured words that were full of affection. Then they turned from her sobbing and left the room.

"Are her relatives here?" asked Miss Herrick in a whisper, as the group grew gradually smaller. "I don t see any one who resembles her—or who could be compared to her, for that matter," she added.

"No," Miss Van Orden replied promptly, "these are only friends. Her father and mother are dead, and the only relative she has lives somewhere out West, I believe. They say they are not on good terms. Dolores never spoke of any living relatives. She had plenty of money and lived her own life abroad