"Will the poor fellow recover consciousness before he expires?"
"Possibly he will. I cannot say positively."
"When do you expect death to ensue?"
"Inside of forty-eight hours."
Lord Maltravers went away, slightly disturbed in his mind. If Bambino recovered consciousness for only a brief period, he might talk. There was danger in that.
If he denounced Lord Maltravers as his murderer, and if he pointed out the place where Adéle Bellefontaine was living, his lordship's newly-found happiness would topple over like a pack of cards built into a house by the hand of a child, whose breath subsequently destroys the frail edifice.
Eagerly he longed for the time to pass. Three times that day he called at the hospital. His last visit was at twelve o'clock. Bambino had not yet spoken.
[CHAPTER XV.]
MR. MOLE PLAYS BASE-BALL.