"I am getting weaker. It won't--last--long," he answered painfully.

"Do you think so?"

"I know it."

"Are you satisfied?"


"It can't--be--helped."

"No, it can't be helped. The doctor has told me you cannot live through
the night."

"The--sooner--the--better!"

"I do not want to bother you, but I cannot bear to have you die without
talking to you again about your future; I must try once more to persuade
you not to die without sending some kind word to the people who have
wronged you."

The expression of the white face underwent a hideous transformation.

"If you do not feel like talking to me about a matter so sacred and
personal, would you not like to have me send for some minister or
priest?"

The head moved slowly back and forth in a firm negation.