"It's sudden; sudden," he said. "Doctor, w'at ailed my little Nelly?"
Still numbly inquisitive, I waited. The old man couldn't see the truth, the horrible truth. What would the doctor say?
It was Cadge's voice that broke the silence; gentle, assured, yet with a note almost of defiance.
"We think—in fact, Helen overstudied," she said. "We've been much worried about her."
Dr. Upton turned abruptly. Cadge's irregular, mobile face for once was still, its quiet demand bent full upon him. His answering look refused her, but the effort was obvious with which he spoke to the broken man waiting his verdict.
"Miss Winship—your daughter—" he began.
The words died. Cadge's steady black eyes controlled him.
"Wa-al?"
The doctor bowed his head over Helen. I was listening again to her watch that ticked insistently. "Don't tell Father! Don't tell Father!" it said over and over, over and over, louder and louder, until the words echoed from every corner of the room.
They must hear! That was why she had left it!