"And you have been nursing me all that time?"
"As well as I could. You could have found no other nurse--though easy to find a better--in Gum Flat; you and I are the only two living humans in the township."
"Why did you not leave me to die?"
"Because I am not quite a brute."
"Forgive me for provoking such a reply. But why--indeed, why have you been so good to me?"
"I will answer you honestly, Basil. Because I love you."
He lowered his voice and bent his eyes to the ground as he made the false statement; and Basil turned his head, and a little sob escaped him at the expression of devotion.
"I hope I may live to repay you," he said, holding out his hand, which Chaytor seized.
"You will. All I ask of you is not to desert me. Stick to me as a friend, as I have stuck to you; I have been so basely deceived in friendship that my faith in human goodness would be irrevocably shattered if you prove false." His voice faltered; tears came into his eyes.
"That will I never do. My life is yours."