But as yet she could not do that; she was completely unnerved and incapable of any resolution. She writhed there in pitiable pain and caught at every straw for comfort.
"You won't forget your promise, Grant?"
"What, dear?"
"To send money—that she may live, you know."
"I will not forget, rest satisfied. I will attend to it this very day; don't think about that any more."
"How can I help thinking? You might as well tell me not to breathe; I must think!"
"The end has come; it can do no good to look back!"
Almost the very words Elizabeth had so many times repeated during those last terrible days; the recollection went like a dagger to Elsie's soul.
It was a long time before she could be restored to anything like composure; then Mellen forbade her to talk, fearing the consequences of continued excitement.
"You can sleep, now, darling; you will be better in the morning."