Though he asked this in a cheerful voice, he had begun to be alarmed, and his uneasiness increased as Nell answered:
“I don’t know; I can’t sit still in one place.”
“What’s the matter?”
“I feel so uncomfortable and queer——”
All at once she leaned her head on his shoulder, as if confessing a fault, and cried out in a voice stifled by tears:
“Stasch, I must be ill.”
“Nell!”
At the same time he laid the palm of his hand on her forehead, which felt dry and as cold as ice. Then he took her in his arms and carried her to the camp-fire.
“Are you cold?” he asked on the way.
“Cold and hot, but mostly cold.”