"My dear young lady, if Mr. Hastings must go to England, as he says he must, he should not go alone. He needs care. I have recommended you as a competent nurse." His eyes twinkled.
"Is it safe for him to travel now?" asked Esther.
"If he makes the journey by slow stages."
The physician spoke with some hesitation.
"At any rate he should get out of this intense heat as soon as possible."
"But the ocean voyage," she suggested.
"Probably do him good."
The physician had already extended his congratulations to them. Before leaving, he gripped Kenneth's hand, and said heartily:
"My nurse will be a helpmate to you. She is a woman of sense."
While he still gripped Kenneth's hand, he turned to Esther, and extended his other hand to her. He placed her hand in Kenneth's, and said impressively: