"Queer obsession that. Thinks he's another man. There may be some pressure there yet. It ought to have cleared up by this."
"It's shock, sir, I think. He'll come out of it. He's coming on, Miss Newberry?"
"Splendidly. That's what I can't understand. He looks as though he knew what he was saying."
"Any chance of there being a mistake?"
"None at all, sir. Doctor Rawson came down with him in the ambulance, his own company captain was there when the patient was given first aid. He would have known his own lieutenant, sir. There can't be any mistake, but he has scarcely any fever——"
"Never mind, keep an extra eye on him. The wound is healing nicely. He'll come through all right."
So Nurse Newberry returned to the ward, somewhat gratified to find her charge again peacefully asleep.
The next day the patient did not revert to his obsession, but lay very quiet looking out of the window. His failure to reveal his secret left him moody and thoughtful. But his temperature was normal and he was without pain.
"You say there were some things in the pockets of—of my blouse," he asked of the nurse.
"Yes, would you like to have them?" The patient nodded and she gave them to him, the identification disk, a wrist watch, some money, a note-book and some papers. He looked them over in an abstracted way, sinking back on his pillow at last, holding the letters in his hand. Then at last as though coming to a difficult decision, he took one of the letters out of its envelope and began reading.