"I'm not sure I did, myself, until I had to
stop and take what was really just a long vacation, with hardly a thing
to do. Vacations are very pleasant--for a while--but they may last too
long."
"Evidently Dr. Leaver thought so, too. He seemed ready enough for work
again."
"Of course he was. And work--and only work--will put him quite back where
he was before the breakdown. I fully believe, Mrs. Burns, that labour is
a condition of healthy life. And of the two evils, too much labour or too
much idleness, the latter is the greater."
"You make me feel a drone," Ellen declared.
Amy gave her a quick, understanding glance.
"You? Oh, no, Mrs. Burns. You do the prettiest work in the world, and the
most necessary."
"But yours is fine--wonderful."
"Not fine, nor wonderful. Dr. Burns's work is that. Mine is
just--supplementary."
"But absolutely essential. How many times has he told me what he has owed
you all these years for perfection of detail. He says he doubts if he
himself could secure such perfection if it all depended upon his care."
Amy Mathewson bent suddenly over a strange looking instrument, whose
parts she had been examining before putting them into the bag. Her fair
cheek flushed richly. "I am glad to give him the best I can do," she
said, quietly, yet Ellen could detect an odd little thrill in her voice.
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