'What is it—is it Ben?'
'No, no, it's not Ben, but someone is in there who is hurt pretty badly.'
Somebody I know?' Aurora clutched Mary Kyley's arm, and stared into her face with a sudden new fear.
'Yes, deary, somebody you know.'
It's Jim!'
Mary Kyley nodded her bead, and mopped her tears. 'Yes, it's Jimmy Done.'
Aurora paled to her eyes, her lips tightened to thin purple lines across her white teeth, and she fought with Mary for a moment, seeking to make her way into the tent; but Mrs. Kyley was a powerful woman, and in her grasp, when she was really determined, Aurora was as a mere child.
'For God's sake, let me see him!' said the young woman.
'You mustn't be a fool, Aurora,' the washerwoman said firmly. 'I can't let you go blundering in on to a sick man—and this one is a very sick man.'
'He's dying!'