“So am I,” Phyllis said vigorously. “I——”
Her words froze in a cry of horror on her lips. The pile of lumber against which Gale and the Dean were leaning was tottering. Phyllis threw herself forward, shoving and dragging Gale and the Dean clear, but in so doing was herself caught in the avalanche of lumber as it toppled down upon them.
Chapter VIII
MYSTERIOUS STRANGER
Gale could never quite clearly remember her dash to the infirmary after Doctor Norcot, but finally Phyllis was there, shut into a room with the doctor and nurse and Gale and the Dean were in the corridor. Gale was pacing up and down, the Dean watching her. It was dark outside and a single light made a white circle on the tile floor and walls.
Gale stopped her pacing long enough to glare at the door to Phyllis’ room. She had a wild desire to throw it open and burst in.
“Be patient a little longer, Gale,” the Dean said compassionately. “You can see her in a few minutes.”
“Why did it have to be her?” Gale asked in an agonized whisper. “She suffered so much these past weeks after the hockey accident and now—— She did it saving us! We might have been crushed under that lumber.”
The door opened and the Doctor came out followed by a nurse.
“May I go in?” Gale asked.
The Doctor nodded wearily. “Be cheerful, make her smile but don’t let her get excited or talk too much.”