'We did at first, but he dislikes it so, and now the pain is lessening he has refused to have any more because it clouds his mind. He asked for the chaplain a little while ago,' she continued. 'Just before he had the Blessed Sacrament he had a bout of pain and I begged him to let me give him morphia. "No, don't ask me again, sister," he said, and I felt rebuked. But it is not safe to linger—come. I am afraid he may be very exhausted,' she added as I followed her upstairs.
She opened the door of a small, quiet room, and signed to the orderly to go away. Ross was little altered, but his face had lost its colour, and there was a drawn look round his mouth, and his eyes were very tired. He stirred as the door closed on the orderly.
'It's Meg,' he said faintly and smiled. 'How sweet of you to come, how quick you've been, darling.'
The sister gave him a little brandy, which revived him.
'She's been so beautifully kind,' he said, as she prepared to go, then as she went she whispered,—
'Sponge his face and hands after the pain, and give him a little brandy when he is exhausted. I can do no more for him than you can, and he will love to have you to himself. Ring if you want me, I am close at hand.'
I put my arms around him.
'So happy now,' he sighed.
'Are you in pain, my darling?'
'Better,' he answered. 'I feel now like the lady in Hard Times, as if there were a pain somewhere in the room, but I'm not perfectly sure that I've got it!'