“Good-by!” he answered gently, but without turning his head.
He heard the door opened and closed, very softly. After that he sat a long time in silence. Well, she was gone! It had been a trying afternoon, and he was glad to have it ended. And yet the room seemed to be extraordinarily empty, as it had never been before his illness. The stillness rather oppressed him. Damn it all, sickness did strange things to a man! Took a lot out of him! He straightened himself in his chair.
Presently Jim entered.
“Well, Jim!” said Haig. “Here we are again, eh? I’m hungry.”
“You eat, she come back,” Jim answered shrewdly.
Haig looked at him sharply, but the Chinaman’s face was like a paper mask.
“Shut up!” he cried savagely.