'So the poor fellow is worse?'

'Yes. Doctor Baker, whom they have got to-day, says the spine is
hopelessly injured. He may live on paralyzed for a few months or
longer, but there is no hope of cure.'

Both girls uttered a shocked exclamation. 'That fine strong young
man!' said Rose under her breath. 'Does he know?'

'Yes; when I got there the doctor had just gone, and Mrs. Tyson,
who was quite unprepared for anything so dreadful, seemed to have
almost lost her wits, poor thing! I found her in the front kitchen
with her apron over her head, rocking to and fro, and poor Arthur
in the inner room--all alone--waiting in suspense.'

'And who told him? He has been so hopeful.'

'I did,' said Catherine, gently; 'they made me. He _would_ know,
and she couldn't--she ran out of the room. I never saw anything
so pitiful.'

'Oh, Catherine!' exclaimed Rose's moved voice, while Agnes got up,
and Chattie jumped softly down from her lap unheeded.

'How did he bear it?'

'Don't ask me,' said Catherine, while the quiet tears filled her
eyes and her voice broke, as the hidden feeling would have its way.
'It was terrible. I don't know how we got through that half-hour--his
mother and I. It was like wrestling with someone in agony. At last