"Yes.... You would be wise to take a rest, mevrouw."
"I can't ... I can't...."
"Go and get some sleep, Adeline," said Constance. "I'll stay in the room with Gerrit; and the nurse will keep a good watch."
"He looked round for a moment very peacefully, before he fell asleep," said the male nurse by Gerrit's bedside.
"Go and get some sleep, Adeline...."
How long the sick man sank and sank and sank in the downy abyss no one knew.... At last he opened his eyes again and looked into the room and saw the quiet attendant sitting on a chair at the foot of his bed, where he also saw a woman standing:
"Constance," the sick man murmured.
He tried to smile because he knew her, but he felt too weak to smile.
Another woman appeared beside the first: he knew her too, but it was as though she were dead....
"Line," murmured the sick man.