‘Well, but this is my eleventh time, and you said they were all skipping by their eleventh time——’
‘Not all. Come, come now. It takes people differently, you know.’
Not that I want to skip,’ said Catherine, wearily pinning up a strand of hair the eye-bandage had loosened. ‘It’s that I don’t feel the least shred of the remotest desire to.’
‘That’ll come. It’ll all come in time.’
‘In what time?’ asked Catherine. ‘I’ve only got one treatment more.’
‘It often happens that people feel the benefit afterwards. Weeks, perhaps, afterwards. They wake up one morning, and find themselves suddenly quite young.’
Catherine said nothing to this. Her hopes had flickered very small by now.
The nurse, as jolly as ever, rallied her and laughed at her for being so ungrateful, when she only had to look at herself to see——
‘I’m always looking at myself, and I never see,’ said Catherine.
‘Oh, aren’t you a naughty little thing!’ cried the nurse. ‘I don’t know what would become of poor Dr. Sanguesa if all his patients were as obstinately blind as you. Well, there’s still Thursday. Sometimes the last treatment of all convinces the patient, and we shall have you writing us wonderful testimonials——’