434 
NO ONE IN FAULT. 
set out; and, as may be imagined, the figure 
of Annie, dripping wet and pale as death, 
excited no little surprise and alarm. But 
Aunt Louisa was one of those happy per¬ 
sons who never lose their presence of mind 
under any circumstances. Annie was quickly 
stripped and put into a warm bed with plenty 
of blankets, and dosed with hot tea to 
prevent her from taking cold. Poor An¬ 
toinette was almost forgotten in the bustle: 
she had had a terrible shock; and, when her 
aunt sought her to hear a particular account 
of the adventure, she found her lying on 
the sofa faint and pale, and almost as much 
in need of care as Annie herself. She 
seemed to feel as if she had somehow been 
to blame in the catastrophe; but when the 
story was told Miss Winston could not per¬ 
ceive it. 
“I cannot see that you were in any way 
in fault,” she said. “ You could not know 
that the railing was unsafe; and as to your 
screaming, it was the very wisest thing to do 
under the circumstances, since it brought 
help at once. If you had jumped in after 
her, it would only have made matters 
worse.” 
