This was not long delayed, as in about half an hour or so a message
came for her to go to a house a few squares away, where a whole family
had just been taken down with the disorder.

Bidding her two patients farewell, Agnes hastened away to the new
scene of duty.




AN UNEXPECTED PATIENT.


The good and beautiful girl, upon arriving at the stricken home, at
once set herself to the heavy task she was called on to perform, with
cheerful alacrity; but it was the worst case she had yet had. Indeed,
it would have been utterly impossible for her to get through, but for
the fact that there was an old negress employed by the family, and
who, having had the fever last year, was not afraid of it.

Silver, odd as it may seem, was the name of this negress, and she
proved herself to be quite as sterling as her name implied. She was
also quite intelligent, and carried out all of Miss Arnold's
directions to the letter.

Yet, for all this, one of the patients, a little girl of six years,
died. Agnes was exceedingly pained to lose the little darling; but the
wonder was that it lived and stood the attack of the fever as long as
it did, for it had been already suffering several days before with an
acute summer complaint.