“You dear, silly man, of course I will. I am delighted that you have the chance of seeing your old friend, and there is no one I would rather entrust the violin to; you know that.”
“Will you take the organ next Sunday, and will you forego your usual Saturday lesson?”
“Of course. I have had my holiday, now you must take yours.”
“Then say farewell to the violin, for I leave to-night. Don Pedro wants me to come at once, for the boy is going home to get nursed up after his illness and will be comforted by the new possession. I expect to be gone a week. Bessie will have a friend staying with her, but you will drop in once in a while, won’t you, to see how she is getting along?”
Ellen promised. Then she took up the violin, held it close for a moment, reverently kissed it, handed it back to Mr. Todd, and with eyes full of tears, hurried from the church. It was a bigger sacrifice than she at first realized in her moment of exaltation, but it was done, and now to put aside sentimentality and turn to stern duty. She mopped her eyes, threw back her head, and marched steadily up street to the doctor’s, entering his office as he was preparing to leave.
“Well, miss,” was his greeting, “where have you been gadding? I was just wondering if you would get back in time to go to the hospital with me.”
“I went up home for a little while, and then I stopped in to see Mr. Todd at the church. He is going away to-night, and wants me to take the organ while he is gone.”
“Old Jeremy going to have a holiday, is he? That’s good. Where’s he going?”
“To the city to visit an old friend, and also to take my violin to the person who has bought it.” Ellen thought she might as well put a bold face upon the matter.
“Your violin? Oh, yes, I did hear that you had one given you. Don’t you want to play on it yourself?”