“But did you think I was going to die? I remember so well the look on Dick’s face—all white as if he were terrified—that was the very last thing I saw before I went right down into the earth. I didn’t see you at all—only Dick. Did you suppose that I was dying?”
“No, Piers. I thought you would get better presently.”
“Do you think Dick was frightened?”
“Perhaps. But we will not talk of that any more.”
“Nurse, will you take me back home to-day? I want to see mother, and Barbara, and Dick.”
“Not to-day, Piers. You are very much better since you have come to me, and it is part of your cure to live with me for a little. If I wear my pretty blue velvet dress and tell you fairy tales and give you nice things to eat, you won’t mind staying with me for a time, will you?”
“No; for I quite love you. You are so changed. But when may I see Dick and Barbara again?”
“I will tell you that by and by. If you are patient, you will see them all the sooner.”
The boy lay back on his pillow with a sigh.
“May I get up?” he asked after a moment. “I feel quite well.”