He put his lips to her ear and called her by name.
"Anna! Anna! You must try to arouse yourself," he cried, in a voice of agony.
At first the appeal seemed to produce no effect, but after several attempts he thought he detected a gleam of intelligence in the almost sightless eyes, while the cold fingers resting on his hand made an effort to close over his.
These slight signs convinced him that though she was past the power of speech, she yet knew him and clung to him, in spite of the clutch which the relentless enemy of all mankind had laid upon her.
"Doctor, she knows me!" he exclaimed. "Pray give her some stimulant to arouse her dormant faculties, if only for a moment."
"I fear it will be of no use," the physician replied, "but I will try."
He hurriedly prepared and administered a powerful restorative; then they waited with breathless interest for several moments for some sign of improvement.
It came at last; she began to breathe a trifle more regularly; the set features became a little less rigid, and the pulse a shade stronger, until finally the white lids were lifted and the dying woman turned her eyes with a pitiful expression of appeal upon the man whom, even in death, she still adored.
"Leave us alone!" commanded Gerald Goddard, in a hoarse whisper, and physician and servants stole noiselessly from the room.
"Anna, you know me—you understand what I am saying?" the wretched man then questioned.