I will take charity from no one, least of all from him.

I will be first, or nothing!" and she shivered faintly.
After a tune she arose, and ringing for her maid, ordered a light repast brought to her room, as she would not go down to dinner; "And," she concluded, "you can have the evening to yourself: I expect callers, and will not need you." An hour later, Richard Hobson crept along the corridor and tapped for admittance.

There was no answer, and cautiously pushing open the door, he entered unbidden, but started back in horror at the sight which met his eyes.

The electric lights had not been turned on, but a few tall wax tapers, in a pair of candelabra upon the mantel, were burning, and in the dim, weird light, Mrs.LaGrange, still elegantly attired for her interview with Harold Mainwaring, lay upon the low couch near the grate, her features scarcely paler than a few hours before, but now rigid in death.

Upon the table beside her, the supper ordered by the maid stood untasted, while on the same table a small vial bearing the label of one of the deadliest of poisons, but empty, told the story.