“It's—it's mighty good of you,” he muttered, his eyes blinking.

“What are friends for, Mr Dawes, if they can't be depended upon in times of sickness?”

“Friends?” he gasped.

“Certainly. Am I not your friend?”

“I—I—well, by gosh!” he exploded. “I—I must tell this to Joe. He'll—I beg your pardon, I guess I'm a little flighty. Maybe I'm worse than I think. Delirious or something like that. Say, you don't think it's—it's serious, do you?”

“Of course not. A heavy cold, that's all. The doctor will break it up immediately.”

“Maybe it's the grippe, eh?”

“Possibly.”

“What's my temperature?”

“You mustn't worry, Mr Dawes. It's all right.”