Page:Margaret Sherwood--A Puritan in Bohemia.djvu/138

130 Helen started to speak, but paused. She could not explain.

Mrs. Kent laid her hand on the girl's bright hair.

"Haven't you run away from the one school where you can learn to be of use to your world? It is only through love and its responsibilities that one can help. They tell me that you cannot conceive of Christianity except from Socialism. Can you conceive of Christianity that does not involve doing your duty to your own people?"

For wounds like these there was balm in Howard Stanton's occasional remarks.

"I can't tell you how I value your sympathy," he said one day. "There are so few people who understand."

These sayings mingled in Helen's mind with Annabel's queer romancing. It was small wonder that she more than half believed the child.