"Mr. Arthur offered two hundred more!" Jerry exclaimed. "Well, that beats me! He must be crazy."
"Of course he is. He don't know what he does or says half the time, and especially since you have been sick," Harold said.
"Sick!" Jerry repeated, quickly. "Have I been sick, and is that why I am in bed so late? I thought you had come in to wake me up, and I was glad, for I have had horrid dreams."
Harold told her how long she had been sick.
"And you've been crazy, too, as a loon," he continued, "and talked the queerest things about State's prison, and hard boards, and bread and water, and accessories, and substitutes, and so on. Mr. Arthur was here every day, and sometimes twice a day, but he did not come yesterday at all. There, hark! I do believe he is coming now. Don't you know who is said to be near when you are talking about him?"
And, with a laugh, Harold left the room just as Arthur entered it.
"Well, Cherry," he said, "Mrs. Crawford tells me the bees are out of your head this morning, and I am glad. I have some good news for you. Mrs. Tracy has some diamonds, and is the happiest woman in town."
Jerry had not noticed his exact words, and only understood that Mrs. Tracy had found her diamonds.
"Oh Mr. Arthur, I am so glad!" she cried; and springing up in bed, she threw both arms around his neck and held him fast, while she sobbed hysterically.
"There, there, child! Cherry, let go. You throttle me. You are pulling my neck-tie all askew, and my head spins like a top," Arthur said, as he unclasped the clinging arms and put the little girl back upon her pillow, where she lay for a moment, pale and exhausted, with the light of a great joy shining in her eyes.