“C. K.? Is he all right?”
“Yes.”
“And Madge?”
“Yes. Not another word. Drink—to please me.”
“I’ll do anything to please you.”
He swallowed some milk and soda-water; took a whole tumbler-full, in fact.
“That’s fine,” he said. “Now I’ll hold your hand and you’ll tell me—”
“You’re going to close your eyes and lie still,” she said firmly. “If you don’t I’ll leave you. If you do, I’ll stay here.”
“I’m bribed,” he said, smiling. Soon he slept, but this was nature’s healing sleep, not the coma of insensibility. When next he entered a world of reality he found Sturgess sitting where Nina had been.
“Going strong now, Alec?” inquired his friend.