The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-05-26
Whispering. Pines

"rd like to see the girl and I'd like to see the brother when he thought no one was watching him." he said. 'I wonder what she meant by that wild cry of Tear it open, See if her heart is therer Tear what open-the coffin 2" said Hexford. "Of course. What else could she have meant?"
 "Well, delirium is a queer thing; makes fellow feel creepy all over I don't reckon on my nights here" "Hexford. help me to a peep. I've got a difficult job before me, and I need all the aid I can get"
 "Oh, there's no trouble about that! Walk boldly along; he won't notice"- "He won't noticeY ''No; he notices nothing but what comes from the sickroom." He lis tens all the time"
 s'Does the nurse know this?'' 'The nurse is puzzler." "How SOP"
 Half nurse and half But go see for yourself. Here's a package to take in-medjcine from the drug store. Tell her there was no one else to bring 1t up. She'll show no surprise" Muttering his thanks, Sweetwater seized the proffered package and has tened with 1t down the hall. He had been as far as the turn before. but now he passed the turn to find, just as he expected, a closed door on the left and an open alcove on the right The door led into Miss Cumberland's room. The alcove, circular in shape and lighted by several windows, pro- jected from the rear of the extension and had for its outlook the stable and the huge sycamore tree growing be- side it.
 Sweetwater could not see Arthur's face. But his dropping head, rigid with desperate thinking; his relaxed hand closed around the neck of a de canter, which nevertheless he did not lift, made upon Sweetwater an impres- sion which nothing he saw afterward ever quite effaced.
 "When I come back that whisky will be half gone" thought he and fingered to see the tumbler filled and the first draft taken.
 But no. The hand slowly unclasped and fell away from the decanter, his head sank forward until his chin rest ed on his breast, and sigh, startling to Sweetwater, fell from his lips. Hex ford was right-only one thing could arouse him.
 Sweetwater now tried that thing. He knocked softly on the sickroom door {.
 This reached the ear oblivious to all else. Young Cumberland started to his feet, and for a moment Sweetwa- ter saw again the heavy features which an hour before had produced such a repulsive effect upon him in the rooms below. Then the nerveless figure sank again into place with the same constraint in its lines and the same dejection.
 Sweetwater's hand, lifted in repetf. tion of his knock, hung suspended. He had not expected quite such indiffer- ence as this. It upset his calculations just trif1e.
 The door was opened to him this time. As it swung back he saw first a burst of rosy color as room pan- eled in exquisite pink burst upon his sight, then the great picture of his life the bloodless features of Carmel calmed, for the moment into sleep.
 Sweetwater gazed at the winsome brown head over the nurses shoulder and felt that for him new and i'm portant factor had entered into this case with his recognition of this wo- mans great beauty. How deep fac. tor he was far from suspecting or he would not have met the nurses eye with quite so cheery and self confident smile.
 Excuse the intrusion" he said. "We thought you might need these things. Hexford signed for them.'
 ''Tm obliged to you. Are you-one of them?" she sharply asked.
 "Would it disturb you if I were? I hope not. I've no wish to seem intru. siye."
 What do you want? Something, ] know. Give it a name before there's change there."
 She nodded toward the bed, and Sweetwater took advantage of the mo- ment to scruunize more closely the nurse herself. She was a robust, fine looking woman, producing an impress sion of capability united to kindness. Strength of mind and rigid attendance to duty dominated the kindness, how evef
 'T want another good look at your patient, and I want your confidence since you and may have to see much of each other before this matter is ended. You asked me to speak plain ly and have done so."
 "You are from headquartersT
 Coroner Perry sent me-" Throwing back his coat, he showed his badge. "The coroner has returned to his of flee. He was quite upset by the outcry which came from this room at an un- happy moment during the funeral"
 T know. It was my fault. I opened the door just for an instant. and in that instant my patient broke through her torpor and spoke"
 She had drawn him in by this tim' and. after another glance at her pa tient, softly closed the door behind him
 T have nothing to report" said she "but the one sentence everybod heard"
 Sweetwater took in the little mems randum book and pencil which hun. at her side and understood her posi-