Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1900-07-03

those who waited beside Margarets bed
watched the struggle she was making for
life, till all their thoughts and hopes be-
came almost as much absorbed in it as
though the outside world for the time had
ceased for them, and left them no inter-
est beyond the walls Of her sick room
1t was not only through anxious days,
but even through anxious weeks. that
they had to wait before at last they could
venture to allow their hopes for Marga-
ret to grow greater than their fears Her
illness had become one of those corcpii-
Gated illnesses that battle doctors skill,
and weary the hearts of those who watch
beside the sufferers; for, as happens so
often after scar.atina, the fever, al
though itself long subdued, had left the
seeds of other evils behind it, and when
even month had passed, Margaret had
only begun to show the first faint symp-
time of convalescence.
Il think she will do now" DR.. Carson
had allowed himself to say, but he had
still only said it obviously. .'She will
need the utmost care for months to
come" he warned Mrs. Helstone Yen
will be wise presently to take her to a
ClllhdlC LUZ Tue WinNtT. "a Slight
cold, a sudden chill-anything of that
kind, if she caught it, might settle on
her lungs now, and, should such a thing
happen, there would not be a chance for
her"
He told Mrs. Helstone this one Sep
TENDER day, FIVE weeks after she had first
been taken i'll. She was still in bed, too
weak yet almost to be able to lift her
head from the pillow; but at least she
was better. That much was certain, and
Godfrey felt as if the heaviest weight he
had ever known was beginning to be
lifted from his neck.
He used sometimes to sit by her bed
side and reed to her now She liked to
be read TO, or, at least, she liked Godfrey
to read to her. SO he sat frequently by
her side and read. till often in her weak
ness she fell asleep with his voice in her
ears. No music could have sCothed her
so well, perhaps. She would fall asleep
and then he world sit looking at her with
very mingled thoughts in his mind, but
presently with one paramount thought
that always separated itself from all the
others, and constantly assumed each day
a greater prominence and insistence-the
thought that before long he must go
away, if he would avoid disaster both
for himself and her.
At last one evening he said something
about his departure to his mother. 1t
was the evening of a day that had been
a bright one for Margaret. She had
been moved from her bed to the sofa for
the first time, and the improvement in
her that. this change implied had cheered
them all.
II suppose you could get along without
me now, mother, could you not, if l were
to go away for a little while? l was
thinking that l might go-it wouldn't be
a bad plan, perhaps-to Mentone; just
for the change, 1 mean, and to see if it
seemed nice kind of place for Marga-
ret"
He made his speech, and Mrs. Helstone
listened to it, and then, after she had
listened, she let moment or two pass
before she said:
"Mentone is a long way off. In Mar
garet's uncertain state | should be glad,
my dear, if you would not go so far. OF
course, l could get on without you here;
but, poor girl, think how she would miss
youi And you yourself, tool had al
most hoped" Mrs. HeIstone began
this sentence doubtfully, but yet with
keen desire to perceive how her son would
receive it. Il had almost hoped, God
frey, that at this anxious time you would
not have liked for your own sake to be
separated from her"
But she is out of danger" replied God
frey, quickly.
Il hardly consider her out of danger;
she is so terribly weak still. / fear that
she wolld feel your going very greatly.
You see," said Mrs. Helstone, and then
seemed to hesitate little, you see, God
frey, you cannot shut your eyes to the
fact that she cares about what you do.
She cares about it so much that if you
were to become less kind to her now
than you have been of late-if you We're
to seem presently to neglect her-it would
Kill her, | believe"
but, mother" the young man al
most gasped. 81 don't know what you
want to suggest. Margaret would be the
last girl to take offense."
Il never meant to imply that she would
take offense. She would not do that, I
am sure" said Mrs. Helstone But, my.
dear"-and then she paused; the moment,
as she knew, was critical After very
short silence she went on, speaking quiet
ly, but her heart. in spite of her apparent
calmness, was beating fast. "My dear.
can hardly need to tell you that during
these last weeks you have given Mar
garet cause to believe
A singing consciousness of what she
was about to say made Godfrey start to
his feet and break with feyeriSb nassiop
into her sentence