"
"I only said 'a face like yours.' That may imply a face as plain as you
think Amy Mathewson's is--and as my wife and I know it is not. It's time
you waked up, girl, to your own attractions. You ought to have faith in
them when I'm asking the use of them for this patient of mine. I'd give
about all I own to put him on his feet again."
"I hope you can--indeed I do. And of course--anything I can do--"
He nodded. "I'll leave that to you. Consult--not your head alone,
but--your heart!"
And he let her go, smiling at her evident confusion of mind. But when
left alone he sighed again.
"He needs a woman like my Ellen,--_that_ would be a drug of a higher
potency. But--he can't have that--he can't have that! I must do the
next best thing."
And he went on his way, studying it out.
That evening he took his wife into his confidence. He did not tell her
the whole story,--it was not his to tell. But he made her acquainted with
the fact that Leaver had had a severe nervous shock and that the thing to
be overcome was his own distrust of himself, the thing to be recovered
was his entire self-command.
"I have insisted on his staying as long as he can be content," Burns
explained. "I had your consent to that, I know?"
"Of course, Red. You knew that."
"In my enthusiasm I went a step further, without realizing that I had not
consulted you.
Pages:
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118