Pattie found the doctor alone.
"Is Dot badly hurt?" she asked.
"It is too early to say much. We shall know better in a few hours. I do not find tokens of actual injury, beyond a blow to the head— hardly severe enough to account for the symptoms. At all events, no bones are broken. My fear is that the spine may have sustained some injury. At this moment she is suffering from shock, and quiet is essential. She will need great care during the next few hours, and the question is—who will give it? A nurse cannot be got at once."
"A stranger would startle Dot, if she came to herself. I think I could keep her as quiet as any one."
"But—" The doctor hesitated, looking Pattie over.
"I am older than you think. I am nearly seventeen, and I have nursed people since I was ten. Our old doctor used to say that I was born a ready-made nurse. Will you let me take Dot for to-night? You might not find a regular nurse so soon. Then you will see if I am able to manage."
"Unhappily there is much illness about, and nurses are difficult to find. But you do not look strong, Miss—"
"My name is Dale. I am strong enough for nursing. It comes to me naturally."
"Mr. Cragg gave me to understand that he could not ask it of you— that—in fact—"
"That I am no relative," suggested Pattie readily. "No, I am not. But Mr. Cragg has been a kind friend to me; and I love Dot. I would do anything for her."