[CHAPTER IV]
WHAT THE SWALLOWS THOUGHT OF IT
Thanks to the extra sleep which had come to Ferdy after all, he had not long to wait for Chrissie once he had wakened up "for good." She was not allowed to see him till he had had his breakfast, for it was very important to keep up his strength with nourishing food, and "if you begin talking together, you know," said mamma, "Ferdy would get interested and excited, and very likely not feel inclined to eat anything. That is even the way sometimes when you are both quite well."
She was speaking to Chrissie about how careful she must be, if she were to be trusted to be with her brother, not to seem sad or dull, and yet to be very quiet—"quietly cheerful, dear," she went on, "and if Ferdy is at all cross or peevish, you must just not mind."
Chrissie looked up in surprise. Ferdy cross or peevish seemed impossible.
"He never is, mamma dear," she said. "If ever we have little quarrels, it is almost always more my fault than his," which was quite true.
"Yes," her mother replied, "but you don't know, Chrissie, how illness changes people. Ferdy never has been seriously ill in his life, and—and this sad accident is sure to tell on his nerves." She had been doing her best to speak cheerfully, but now her voice broke, and the tears came into her eyes, already worn and tired-looking with the long hours of anxiety.
Chrissie stroked her hand gently. Then she said, though hesitating a little, "Mamma darling, won't you tell me more about Ferdy—about what the doctors think, I mean. I promise you I will not let him find out anything you don't want him to know. I will be very brave and—and cheerful, but I would so like to know. It isn't that he's not going to get better—that he's going to get worse?"
"No, dear, not that," said Mrs. Ross, drying her eyes as she spoke. "He is a strong child, and his general health is good, but his back is injured badly. That is the reason we are so anxious. He may get better. The doctors think that in a few weeks he will be able to be up and dressed and to lie on a couch, but they cannot say if he will ever be quite right again. I am afraid they do not think he ever will."