The herald. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953, 1922-10-05

frightened by the STARK cOldness :. ms
eyes. That very GOODNESS sObered her
sharply. Louis loved her with all the
fire of his nature; would he in mad
moment dare to fail TO do something
that ought to be done, just to remove
forever from her reach this old love
that had come, broken, to her feet? II
seemed hardly possible, yet-his eyes
were hard.
you will help. of course1" he
asked cOldly.
She started to shake her head;
then the wild determination came to
be there-just to be sure. She nodded.
In the little anteroom to the opera
ton room she made her preparations,
then went In to her duties. The still
figure was wheeled quickly in; and
the old, old struggle began-the battle
Of the living to keep the living.
The white-tiled. hushed room be
came for her a torture chamber In
some wide corridor Of hell. Her
splendid training served her; she was
able TO work almost automatically.
Her great fear passed; Louis was
working as she had never seen him,
with marvellous skill and speed; and
suddenly II dawned upon her that he
was making his great sacrifice also as
he labored with all the skill he pos
sessed to save the life beneath his
knives for her. The coldness that
had been In his eyes was the GOODNESS
Of men who summon their will to
great task and still greater de-
cision.
The bandages at last were woven
about the crushed head and the quiet
figure was wheeled out. Louis turned
to her, his eyes dark with WEAKNESS
and strain. MARY, am almost sorry,
but think he will live. He must have
eeaseless care. I will have you as
signed to his case"
The battle-ground was transferred to
room "a in corridor 10, and there
girl kept the night vigils, the time
when souls are most likely to go out,
and surgeon who loved her spent his
fine skill in saving for her the man
she now knew she loved in spite Of
the past.
There were hours of doubt and mo-
ments Of intense question, when only
the strong heart seemed to be family
awake. Again and again she called
Louis from his sleep; and again and
again his mlnistrations rallied the
quieting heart. At the end of one
dark hour she turned to DR.. Louis.
"Arnold, am selfish?" she asked.
"Not If you love him as love you"
was his brief answer.
She caught his hand and drew IT to
her cheek impulslvely. No other an
swer she had.
Then came the awakening. She had
come into the room for her night
watch and she spoke with the day
nurse. Before she could answer there
was a stirring in the bed, and a pain
wrenched voice asked over and over,
THAT voice? That voicef That
voice?"
Mary mOtioned the nurse out, then
ny tic bCuSiuf. ciiC hlC" thut
she must reach in through the faint
bit OF consciousness that the sound OF
her voice had aroused. She caught the
seeking fingers and laid her cheek
against the bandaged head and spoke
softly: 1T is I, Mary, who loves you.
Sleep. will be here when you
awake"
She looked at the bandaged eyes.
She knew that beneath their CLASSY
stare If she could have seen them
would have been faint light of con-
sciousness. Into that consciousness
her words reached. There was slow
relaxation Of the body. a change In
the heavy breathing-he slept. She
drew her head away, then bent and
very lightly kissed his hot lips. The
lost, unhappy years were forgotten.
She knew the tide of sleep would
bring him hack-all hers