"Ah, mon Dieu!" says Leon, throwin' up his hands and starin' at me bug-eyed. "Monsieur!"
"Go on," says I. "Tell me the worst. What is it?"
"But no, M'sieur," says he. "It is only that M'sieur appears in so strange attire."
"Oh! These?" says I. "Never mind my costume, Leon. What about Vee?"
"Ah!" says he, his eyes beamin' once more and his hands washin' each other. "Madame is excellent. She herself will tell you. Come!"
Upstairs I went, two steps at a time.
"S-s-sh!" says the nurse, meetin' me at the door.
But I brushes past her, and the next minute I'm over by the bed and Vee is smilin' up at me. It's only the ghost of a smile, but it means a lot to me. She slips one of her hands into mine.
"Torchy," she whispers, "did you drop down out of—of the air?"
"That was about it," says I. "I got here, though. Are you all right, girlie?"