The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1902-08-21

riot there came the passive ecstasy o!
dreamless sleep.
At length came back to life and
reason. | awoke and stared vacantly
at the faces of the watchers at my bed
side, and to the old familiar furniture
about the room. struggling hard the
while to understand it all. Very soon
the effort tired me- | closed my eyes
and sank back upon the pillow with an
indescribable sensation of content
men and half-conscious feeling that
everything was alright and rather
jolly.
A movement in the room aroused
me again, and this time looked up to
see the good old friend who had not
only done all my work for me but
pulled me back from the jaws of
death; and on the other side of the
bed the tear-be-dewed face of my dear
old factotum, who each day and dur
ing the first three nights had never
left me but to make food for me in
the kitchen or wrestle with the Lord
for ne at her bedside And just be-
hind her saw the luminous. meaning
full eyes of Miss Milne. She, after
ward learned, had taken the whole of
the night nursing since the third day
Of my illness.
Thank God. he is out of the wood"
heard the doctor say. and he added
Don't bother him with food or speak
TO him: if he wishes to sleeD again. as
he probably will let him. III be back
iE two hours"
He was right: did sleep again-a
long, health-giving sleep that lasted
far into the night. and then | awoke:
and this time | was awake-awake to
the fact that | was alive and that |
had lived before in the apparently
very distant past, and awoke to the fact
that the room was very dimly light
ed with a candle placed behind the
curtain of my bed. and that the light
Of it fell upon the face Of Miss Milne,
or rather upon her eyes, for they. by
their intensity, belittled all the other
features.
I had not moved. and she was not
aware that was awake, SOL lay there
SILENTLY for Some minutes and watched
her. The book she had been reading
had fallen upon her Ian. her hands
were clasped over it. and she was star
ing at the candle with the far-away
look of one thinking very anxiously.
Then she muttered audibly: at can
never be-" and then slowly. with nod
OF her head at each word, never new
er, never"
was too i'll then to attach any
meaning to the words but in days to
come I remembered them and learned
their meaning. Then moved my
hand and in moment she was all
eager attention. on her feet and lean
ing over me; when she saw my eyes
open she leaned over the bed and in
low, soft whisper asked: Are you
better now?"
eyes; have l been very ill-long
il?"
Eyes, very, but not long, not very
long"
Have you nursed me-"
eyes. during the night"
How good of YOU"
The movement of Miss Mines feet
evidently aroused my old factotum in
the room below. for in moment she
my hand. and her warm. eloquent
grasp of it told p story of faithfulness
impossible to misunderstood.
Another fortnight in bed saw the
end Of the acute stage of my illness,
and then followed a convalescence
that was rapid and uninterrupted.
During the fortnight Miss Milne con-
tinued her night nursing. and as
slept much drring the days. was Of
ten wakeful during the nights. and
then she would sit and in low tones
talk or read to me. -
During the next month ! continued
to gather strength and as | needed
but little night nursing I saw much
less of Miss Milne. She would run in
sometimes during the evening but rot
to stav, and often brought with her
some luxury, such as fruit new pa
Der. or some very mild cigarettes. and
during her short stays I could but no.
tice a most marked alteration in her
manner: she was much nuieter. and L
would constantly catch her looking at
NC with an e~rression OF anxiety and
deep thoughtfulress.
One evening I had been talking of
what | intended to do when | was
well and olso what I would do for her
by way of recompence for all her
kindness in nursing me. To my as
constituent the subject appeared to be
full of pain to her
But of course you will allow me to
reward your"
II don't want to be rewarded: there
is nothing to reward me for. | have
done nothing that was not a pleasure
to me-"
But think. Miss Milne. how uncom-
Portable I shall be in years to come IL
| am to be forever in YOUR debit"