"Our guardian angel," he cried impulsively. "Why, my dear, I've only just given my solemn promise that he shall come, and I was wondering how to fulfill it."
"Then he may come? The shock? The excitement? The doctor says she must be kept from all excitement," cried Phyllis doubtfully.
"Doctor be damned!" cried Hendrie, in his headstrong way. "Happiness never killed any one. And"—his eyes grew serious and his manner less full of hope—"anyway," he went on, in a passionate tone, "I'd ten thousand times rather see poor Mon die happy than endure the heartbreaking sufferings she is doing now. Wire him, my dear, wire him not to delay, but to come along at once."
Then his manner grew thoughtful, and a touch of bitterness crept into it.
"I'm—I'm going into Calford right now," he said, "and—my absence will make it easier for him. Good girl."
He patted her gently on the shoulder, and passed down the stairs.
CHAPTER XIII
FRANK LEARNS HIS DUTY
Time had been when Frank believed that no chance of life could ever bring him to the neighborhood of Deep Willows again. Now, within a brief two years, he was eagerly watching for the familiar scenes as his hired conveyance drew near the village of Everton.