She paused in agony at the foot of the stairs as the closing door shut out the dreadful sound. We never value our blessings till we have lost them; who thinks it a boon to be able to breathe without thinking of the action?
He had not seen her; his eyes had been closed as if in exhaustion as they gently helped him along, and she had understood at once that the only thing to be thought of was, by some manner of means, to remove the choking obstacle from his lungs. Oh, to be able in her young strength to hold the weak, loved form in her arms and breathe into him her overflowing life-breath! She walked upstairs presently; he would be expecting her. As she reached the upper landing, Kemp came from the room, closing the door behind him. His bearing revealed a gravity she had never witnessed before. In his tightly buttoned morning-suit, with the small white tie at his throat, he might have been officiating at some solemn ceremonial. He stood still as Ruth confronted him at the head of the stairs, and met her lovely, miserable eyes with a look of sympathy. She essayed to speak, but succeeded only in gazing at him in speechless entreaty.
“Yes, I know,” he responded to her silent appeal; “you were shocked at what you heard: it was the asthma that has completely overpowered him. His illness has made him extremely weak.”
“And you think—”
“We must wait till he has rested; the trip was severe for one in his condition.”
“Tell me the truth, please, with no reservations; is there danger?”
Her eager, abrupt questions told clearly what she suffered.
“He has never had any serious illness; if the asthma has not overleaped itself, we have much to hope for.”
The intended consolation conveyed a contrary admission which she immediately grasped.
“That means—the worst,” she said, her clasped fingers speaking the language of despair. “Oh, Doctor, you who know so much, can’t you help him? Think, think of everything; there must be something! Only do your best, do your utmost; you will, won’t you?”