“Dr. Shaw brought me over from Mrs. Munson’s place, on the American side,” explained Nell, who was so secretly elated with having realized her ambition in having crossed the frontier, that some of it had to come out in her speech.
“You can stay and help a bit, if Gertrude likes to have you. Have you seen her?” asked Mrs. Lorimer.
“Yes; I’ve just put her to bed. She is ill. I’m afraid she has got the fever, the same as Mrs. Munson had,” Nell said gravely, deciding, with quick intuition, that Mrs. Lorimer needed rousing more than medicine.
“Gertrude bad! Whatever shall we do? Abe, do you hear, or can’t you rouse yourself?” she said, lifting herself on her pillow to look at the man, who sat leaning back in the rocking-chair.
“Hush! don’t bother him, he looks so bad,” Nell whispered. “Do you think, if I made the other room comfortable, you could get up for an hour or two and sit by the fire? I could manage the others so much better if you were up. There would be nothing for you to do, only to lean back in a rocking-chair and be comfortable.”
“I don’t know if I could sit up. I’ll try. Oh dear! there never seems any chance for me to be ill in peace,” sighed the poor harassed woman, then shed a rain of self-pitying tears.
Nell did not stay to condole with her, but hurried back to the family sitting-room, where Flossie was doing her best with the baby, a lusty young gentleman of sixteen or seventeen months, while another boy, of perhaps four or five years, had just come in from somewhere with some hens’ eggs in a basket, which he held up in triumph for his sister to see.
“Oh, Teddy, what a nice lot! Where did you find them?” cried Flossie, excitedly.
But Teddy, overawed by the sight of a stranger, merely put his finger in his mouth, drooped his head shyly to one side, and said nothing.
The sun was shining so brightly that Nell had a sudden inspiration.