CHAPTER XVII
A CHANGE OF FRONT
For five days the fever raged, and then it left him, a mere wreck of his former self. All through that unconscious period the strangest things had happened. Arms had lifted him up from the pillow, and hands had fed him with liquid foods. Some glorious half-seen stranger had taken him under her care; but her face was hidden in a queer mist that floated before his eyes. At times he had tried to rise from the bed, his unbalanced mind obsessed with the idea of washing for gold, but those same strange, soft hands had always succeeded in preventing this—saving once.
On that occasion he actually succeeded in getting from the bed and standing up. He carefully placed one leaden leg before the other, and 235 was nearly on the threshold of the door when the familiar apparition appeared.
“She doesn’t know—I’m wise to all that happened—but I know. She had to do that—poor gal!... I’ll jest go and tell her it’s all right—not to worry none....”
Two supple arms caught him. He pushed them away, rather irritably.
“Don’t butt in.... It’s her I’m thinkin’ of—Angela. She’s sure hard and cold and can’t see no good in me,... but she’s got to be happy—got to be happy.... Maybe she’s right. I’m only fit for hosses and wild women....”
He found himself in bed again, and quite unconscious of the fact that he had ever been out of it; but he still continued to ramble on in monotonous and eerie fashion, about Angela, Colorado, fifty thousand pounds, and sundry other things.
Full consciousness came early one morning. He had been lying trying to piece together all the queer things that floated to his brain through the medium of his disarranged optic nerve. He succeeded in arriving at the fact that there was a bed and he was lying on it, and that the ceiling 236 was comprised of rough logs.... Then an arm was placed behind his head and a mug of something hot was placed to his lips. But he didn’t drink. His sight was coming back at tremendous speed. The hazy face before him took definite shape. A pair of intensely blue eyes were fixed on him, and red shapely lips seemed to smile.