Little more was said as they walked along, and when they reached the hospital, Father Damon was shown without delay into the ward where the sick girl lay. Dr. Leigh turned back from the door, and the nurse took him to the bedside. She lay quite still in her cot, wan and feeble, with every sign of having encountered a supreme peril.
She turned her head on the low pillow as Father Damon spoke, saying he was very glad he could come to her, and hoped she was feeling better.
“I knew you would come,” she said, feebly. “The nurse says I'm better. But I wanted to tell you—” And she stopped.
“Yes, I know,” he said. “The Lord is very good. He will forgive all your sins now, if you repent and trust Him.”
“I hope—” she began. “I'm so weak. If I don't live I want him to know.”
“Want whom to know?” asked the father, bending over her.
She signed for him to come closer, and then whispered a name.
“Only if I never see him again, if you see him, you will tell him that I was always true to him. He said such hard words. I was always true.”
“I promise,” said the father, much moved. “But now, my child, you ought to think of yourself, of your—”
“He is dead. Didn't they tell you? There is nothing any more.”