Rocky Ford enterprise., 1913-06-13
CHAPTER v.
Nurse and Patient.


Nurse and Patient.
When Dominick returned to con-
sciousness he lay for a space looking
directly in front Of him. then moved
his head and let his eyes sweep the
walls. They were allen walls Of white
plaster, naked of all adornment. The
light from a shaded lamp lay across
one of them in a soft yet clear wash
OF yellow, SO clear that he could see
that the plaster was coarse.
There were few pieces OF furniture
in the room, and all new to him. A
bureau of the old-fashioned marble
topped kind stood against the wall op-
posite. The lamp that cast the yellow
light was on this bureau; its globe,
a translucent gold reflection revealed
in liquid clearness in the mirror Just
behind. 1t was not his own room nor
Berny's. He turned his head farther
on the pillow very slowly. for he
seemed sunk in an abyss Of suffering
and feebleness. On the table by the
beds head was another lamp. a fold
ed newspaper shutting Its light from
his face, and here his eyes stopped.
A woman was sitting by the foot OF
the bed, her head bent as II reading
He stared at her with even more in
tentness than he had at the room.
The glow of the lamp on the bureau
was behind her-he saw her against
1t without color or detail, like q shad-
ow thrown on sheet. Her outlines
were sharply defined against the illu-
mined stretch of plaster-the arch OF
her head. which was broken by the
coils of hair on top, her rather short
neck, with some sort Of collar binding
1t, the curve of her shoulders. round
ed and broad, not the shoulders Of a
thin woman. He did not think che
was his wife. but she might be, and
he moved and said suddenly In q
husky voice:
what time is tt?"
The woman started, laid her book
down, and rose. She came forward
and stood beside him. looking down.
the filaments of hair round her head
blurring the sharpness of its outline.
He stared up at her, haggard and in
tent, and saw 1t was not his wife. 1t
was strange woman with pleasant,
smiling face. He felt immensely re-
lieved and said with hoarse careful
ness OF utterance:
What time did you say 1t is?"
"A few minutes past fve," she an
swered. You've been asleep"
Have II" he said. gazing immov-
ably at her. What day is it?"
Thursday" she replied. You came
here last night from Rocky Bar. Per
haps you don't remember"
aRocky Bar!' he repeated vaguely.
cropping through haze of memory.
WAS 1t only yesterday? Was it only
yesterday left San Francisco?"
Il don't know when you left San
Francisco" the newspaper cracked
and bent a little, letting a band of
light fall across the pillow. She leaned
down, arranging 1t with careful hands,
looking from the light to him to see
if it were correctly adjusted.
whenever you left San Francisco"
she said. you got here last night.
They brought you here, Perley and
some other men in the sleigh. They
found you in the road. You were half
frozen"
What is this place?"
Antelope" said the woman. Per
ley's Hotel at Antelope"
"Oh, yes" he answered with an air
of weary recollection, II was going
to walk there from Rocky Bar, but
the snow came down too hard, and the
wind-you could hardly stand against
It'll 1t was a terrible pull. Perley's
Hotel at Antelope. OF course, know
all about it. l was here last summe
for two weeks fishing"
She stretched out her hand for a
glass, across the top of which a book
rested. He followed the movement
with mute fixity.
| This is your medicine" she said,
taking the book off the glass. You
were to take 1t at five but didn't like
to wake you"
She dipped spoon into the glass
and held 1t out to him. But the young
man felt too Ill to bother with medi.
cine and, as the spoon touched his
lips, he gave his head slight Jerk
and the liquid was split on the coun.
terpane. She looked at II for a rueful
moment, then said, as If with gather.
ing determination