“Oh! Oh!” was all poor Mary Louise could trust herself to say.
“I am also glad your husband has gone on a business trip. His presence might irritate Colonel Hathaway. This may be only a phase and he may get over all his feeling against Mr. Dexter. I am sure I hope it will be so. In the meantime, if I were you, I should see that he is kept quiet but amused; make him eat simple nourishing food; have plenty of air but do not let him take too much exercise.”
“Is there—is there danger of—of—his—his dying?” she faltered.
“My dear young lady, no man can say. In a case like this, sometimes the patient lives for years, getting stronger and stronger in the body as the mind weakens. Your grandfather may get entirely well and live to remember this obsession merely as one remembers a bad dream. Have him come see me at my office soon and call on me at a moment’s notice if you are the least bit alarmed.”
CHAPTER VII
A WIRELESS MESSAGE
Before Mary Louise went to bed that night, she wrote a long letter to Danny, a letter full of love and trust, a letter explaining the whole thing and taking all the blame for the misunderstanding that had arisen. She told him of her grandfather’s mental condition, but did not tell him of the possibility of its becoming more and more serious. She wanted Danny to have no fears concerning her welfare during his absence. She wished him God-speed and assured him of her undying devotion. The letter took her hours to write and when it was completed she slipped on a cloak and quietly letting herself out the front door, ran to the corner to put it safely in the mail box. It would have gone just as soon if she had waited to give it to the postman in the morning but she felt she must let nothing interfere with its safe departure. Now Danny would be sure to receive it before sailing for China. At least, he would start with the knowledge that she loved him as much as ever and the cloud would be between them no longer.
Mary Louise had never been on the street alone at midnight and even to run the one block to the corner seemed quite an adventure for her.
“What would Danny say?” was in her thoughts as she crept back into the house and up the stairs to her room.
The weeks that followed were anxious ones for her. The condition of Colonel Hathaway became more serious. He was determined to accomplish certain things in regard to his property and that meant many trips to the business end of the town and more exercise and excitement than was good for him. Danny’s absence seemed to put him entirely out of the Colonel’s mind. He rarely mentioned him and then only in the most casual way. His obsession became that his dear old friend Peter Conant was trying to make him change his will and leave all of his property to Irene Macfarlane. He became very indignant at the mention of Peter’s name and reviled him constantly. This grieved Mary Louise exceedingly, but she could not but confess that she was glad Grandpa Jim was picking on some one besides her Danny.