"He's all right now," he said--"as all right as he can be, poor lad!"
"You did it--you! How strange that you should know such a thing. How am I
to thank you?"
The internes, talking among themselves, had wandered down to their
dining-room for early coffee. Wilson was giving a few last instructions as
to the boy's care. Quite unexpectedly, Sidney caught K.'s hand and held it
to her lips. The iron repression of the night, of months indeed, fell away
before her simple caress.
"My dear, my dear," he said huskily. "Anything that I can do--for you--at
any time--"
It was after Sidney had crept like a broken thing to her room that Carlotta
Harrison and K. came face to face. Johnny was quite conscious by that
time, a little blue around the lips, but valiantly cheerful.
"More things can happen to a fellow than I ever knew there was!" he said to
his mother, and submitted rather sheepishly to her tears and caresses.
"You were always a good boy, Johnny," she said. "Just you get well enough
to come home. I'll take care of you the rest of my life. We will get you
a wheel-chair when you can be about, and I can take you out in the park
when I come from work."
"I'll be passenger and you'll be chauffeur, ma."
"Mr. Le Moyne is going to get your father sent up again. With sixty-five
cents a day and what I make, we'll get along."
"You bet we will!"
"Oh, Johnny, if I could see you coming in the door again and yelling
'mother' and 'supper' in one breath!"
The meeting between Carlotta and Le Moyne was very quiet. She had been
making a sort of subconscious impression on the retina of his mind during
all the night. It would be difficult to tell when he actually knew her.
When the preparations for moving Johnny back to the big ward had been made,
the other nurses left the room, and Carlotta and the boy were together. K.
stopped her on her way to the door.
"Miss Harrison!"
"Yes, Dr. Edwardes."
"I am not Dr. Edwardes here; my name is Le Moyne."
"Ah!"
"I have not seen you since you left St. John's."
"No; I--I rested for a few months."
"I suppose they do not know that you were--that you have had any previous
hospital experience."