May, and Aunty held me very tightly for a minute, and said to Mrs.
Turner, "No: it wouldn't be safe for the other children. I'll keep
William down here, until we see if it develops."

Then both the ladies nodded to each other very sadly, but Mr. Turner
said, "Oh, he's a young husky. He'll be all right"; and they went away.

But I did develop. So much, that Aunty May had a sign put on the house,
and nobody came near us for weeks and weeks but the nurse and the
doctor, and Mr. Taylor, who used to hand things over the fence. And oh,
how tired I got of being in bed, and being sick. Then when I got a
little better, Aunty May and the doctor had a big tent put up in the
woods near us, and the nurse went away, and Aunty May and I lived in the
tent together, and I started to get better and write this book.

First, just a little at a time, and then by and by a good deal each day,
and all the time Aunty May stayed with me, and never said I was naughty
or anything. Just called me "Billy-boy" and spelled all the big words,
and took care of me like I was a baby, because I was so weak.

One day, when I had sat up all day, dressed, I thought Aunty May looked
kind of excited, and I saw a letter sticking out of her pocket, and I
asked her if Aunty Edith was coming home, and she said, "Yes, very
soon." She smiled so that I knew it must be something nice, so I clapped
my hands and said, "Then Uncle Burt's all well again, too." For every
time while I was sick, when I asked about Uncle Burt, Aunty May would
say, "He's much better, but we mustn't talk." I had to be patient and
wait then, but this day I said, "Oh. Aunty May, he is really better,
isn't he?"