The Holly chieftain., 1922-04-20

| again, "anu talk OF her q little, and
pray for her little, and then take
her toto rest beside the old doc
| tor"
| Il hadn't thought about that" Peter
answered, still with the air of finding
1t hard to link words to thought. "But
that is the way she would like it.
Thank yOu-and thank Helen for
me-"
"Oh, Peter, to do anything" the
woman faltered. "She came to us, you
know, when the baby was so ill-day
after day-my own sister couldn't have
been more to us!"
did she?" Peter asked, staring at
the speaker steadily. ''That was like
her"
He went out of the house and got
into a waiting car, and they drove
down the mountain. Alix had driven
him over this road day before yester-
day-yesterday-no, 1t was today, he
remembered.
THANK God 1 don't feel 1t yet as
l shall feel 1t, Thompson" he said
quietly. The man who was driving
gave him an anxious glance.
You must take each day as 1t
comes," he answered simply.
Peter nodded, folded his arms across
his chest, and stared into the early
dark. There was no other way to go
than past the very spot where the hor-
ror had occurred. but Thompson told
his wife later that poor Joyce had not
seemed to know it when they passed
it. Nor did he give any evidence Of
emotion when they reached the old
Strickland house and entered the old
hallway where Cherry had come nying
in, few short years ago, with Mar
tins first kiss upon her lips.
Two doctors, summoned from San
Francisco, were here, and two nurses.
Martin had been laid upon hastily
moved bed In the old study, to be
spared the narrow stairs. The room
was metamorphosed, the whole house
moved about 1t as about pivot, and
there was no thought but for the man
who lay, sometimes moaning and some
times ominously still, waiting for
death.
HE cannot live" whispered Cherry
ghastly Of face, and with the utter
chaos Of her soul and brain expressed
by her tumbled frock and the careless
ly pushed back and knotted masses of
her hair. "His arm is broken, Peter,
and his leg crushed-they don't dare
touch him And the surgeon says the
spine, too-and you see his head! oh,
God! 1t is so TERRIBLE" she said in
agony, through shut teeth, knotting
her hands together; "it is too terrible
that he is breathing now, that life is
there now, and that they cannot hold
It'll"
She led Peter into the sitting room,
where the doctors were waiting.
"Is there any hope?" he asked, when
Cherry had gone away on one of the
which she was filling the endless
hours. One man shook his head, and in
the silence they heard Martin groan.
"It Is possible he may weather it.
of course" the older man said doubt
fully. "He is coming out Of that first
stupor: and we may be able to tell bet
ter in a short time. The fact that he
Is living at all indicates tremendous
vitality"
Cherry came to the door to say
"Doctor!" on burst Of tears. The
physicians departed at once to the
study, and Peter was Immediately sum-
moned to assist them in handling the
big frame Of the patient. Martin was
thoroughly conscious now; his face
chalk white. Cherry, agonized, knelt
beside the bed, her frightened eyes
moving from face to face.
There was brief consultation, then
Cherry and Peter were banished.
Peter watched her with confused
sense that the whole frightful day had
been a dream. Once she looked up
and met his eyes.
"He can't live" she said in whis-
per-
perhaps not" Peter answered
very low. Cherry returned to her SON.
ber musing.
we?" she said with a pitiful smile
after long while.
"Oh, no-no!" Peter said, shutting
his eyes and with faint, negative
movement Of his head.
"Poor Cherry-if 1 could spare you
all this!" knotting his fingers and feel
ing for the first time the prick Of bit
ter tears against his eyelids.
"Oh, there Is nothing you can do"
she said family and weariiy after a
while. And she whispered, as If to
herself, "Nothing-nothlng- :"