certitude, yet he winced before it in every nerve.

"You have come too late," she articulated only.

"_No_!" thundered the Doctor. He put her aside like a piece of
furniture and strode into the darkened room beyond.

It was more than an hour later when he emerged. The woman stood
exactly where he had left her. It was another, tall and young, who
turned from the window and looked at him with eyes that hurt. But he
did not wince this time.

"It's all right!" he said, cheerfully. His voice quite sang with
sweetness. He came and stood a moment by the window, breathing hard.
His face was gray, but his eyes smiled, and there was something boyish
in his aspect. He looked from one woman to the other sunnily.

"Bless me--you ought never to let yourselves go like that! He'll pull
through all right."

The younger woman continued to look at him silently, but the elder,
with a long quivering sigh, fainted.

"Best thing she could possibly do," said the Doctor, his fingers on
her pulse. "Get her to bed as soon as you can,--and have these
prescriptions sent out. I'll come back later. He'll sleep hours now."

He ran down-stairs, consulting his visiting-list as he ran, and jumped
into the brougham, calling an address as he pulled the door to with a
slam. This time, however, he did not take out his papers, but sat with