"Quite right."
"One at a time. Mattie, he will see you first, he says."
Mattie's heart leaped anew at this; she passed beneath the curtain which Maurice Hinchford held above her head, and went through the door to a large room where Sidney was awaiting her. The sun was shining through the windows upon him—a pale, calm figure, sitting there.
"Mattie," he said.
"Yes—I have come."
The door opened again, and Doctor Bario entered, taking up a position where he could watch his patient's face. There must be nothing calculated to excite his patient now.
Sidney shook hands with Mattie, saying—
"It has come at last—and we shall know the worst or the best in a few minutes."
"You are not nervous of the result?—your pulse beats calmly, Sidney."
"I have steeled my nerves to it—I shall not shrink, and I am hopeful."