Helen pressed his arm. “We have both made mistakes; but we won't talk about that now. Do you really feel you're getting better?”
“Of course,” said Festing, smiling. “Very much better! I'll get well remarkably fast now you have come.”
Helen brought a chair and for a time they engaged in happy but careless talk. Both knew there was much to be said, but Helen skilfully avoided striking a serious note. The time for that had not arrived yet.
When it got dark the doctor came in and joined them at a meal.
“The engineers have promised to put me up to-night, and I must leave to-morrow when the train goes out,” he said. “I'll try to get back, but Musgrave knows what to do and will send for me if necessary. The most important thing is to keep Mr. Festing quiet.”
“I'm afraid it will be difficult,” Helen answered.
The doctor's eyes twinkled. “So I imagine, but it's your job. If you find it too hard, Musgrave will put your husband in plaster.”
He went East next morning with the supply train, and Helen was sorry to see him go. He had done what was needed with quiet efficiency, but she knew he had other patients scattered about a wide district.
Charnock came in for a few minutes now and then during the day, and Musgrave was often about, but Helen was content to be left alone with her husband. His helplessness moved her; he had been marked by such vigor and energy, and it was strange to see him unable to move. Yet, while very pitiful, she felt a vague satisfaction because she could help him and he needed her.
When it was getting dark she went to the door and looked out. The evening was calm and belts of pale-yellow broke the soft gray clouds. The eastern peaks were touched with an orange glow, but the snow lower down faded through shades of blue and purple into gloom. To the west, the pines were black and sharp, with white smears on their lower branches, and a thin haze rose from the river. The coloring of the landscape was harmoniously subdued, but its rugged grandeur of outline caught Helen's eye, and she stood for a few minutes, looking about with half-awed admiration.