Cliff flushed and stood irresolute for a moment. Then a look of determination flashed into his eyes, and he deliberately unbuttoned and removed his overcoat.
"Excuse me, Squire Talford, but you do need help," he calmly observed. "I know that you are not at all fond of me; that my presence is disagreeable to you; but suppose, for this once, you ignore those facts and accept the aid you require. You cannot stir from your chair without great suffering if I leave you, and will probably have to sit in it all night, unless you call some one in the house, and everybody appears to be in bed. Here, let me have your hat," and without more ado he removed it from the man's head and placed it on a table.
"Now the coat," he added. "I am sure I can help you undress without disturbing you very much, and when I get you comfortably settled in bed I will leave you."
Squire Talford was beginning to realize his helplessness, and submitted to the disrobing without further objection, although not with the best grace in the world, and he never once met Clifford's eyes during the operation.
"Now," said the young man, when that task was over, "the next move will be to try to get you into bed without hurting this crippled foot if possible. I will move your chair close beside it, then I think I can easily lift you on."
He swung the chair around, while he was speaking, and, it being a rocker without arms, it was not difficult to place it just where he wanted it, when, almost before he had time to dread the change, the squire found himself reclining in a comparatively comfortable position, although the pain in his ankle seemed unbearable.
"Is there anything else I can do for you?" Clifford inquired, with a great pity in his heart for the lonely man, as he saw how deathly white he was and noted the lines of pain about his mouth.
"I don't think of anything," said the squire, in a more subdued tone than he had yet used.
Clifford hung his clothing in the closet, and straightened things generally in the room, then found his way to the bath-room, where he procured a glass of water, which he placed on a chair beside the patient, in case he should be thirsty during the night.
"I am going to my room now, Squire Talford," he said when these arrangements were completed, "but if you should need me before morning and can arouse any one, you can send for me, and I will gladly come to you. I will drop in anyway after breakfast, to see how you are."