'Yes, going on nicely,' he heard Nurse say. And—and—who was that sitting by the other side of the bed? A tall, bearded figure——
'Father!' cried Billikins, joyfully.
'My brave, brave boy!' said Father, and his voice was not quite steady. 'My own son! To think how nearly I lost him!'
Then remembrance came to Billikins. 'The baby?' he managed to say.
'The baby is safe, darling,' said Mother, from her side of the bed. 'Thanks to my brave little Billikins, who risked his life to go and fetch it.'
Billikins smiled feebly.
'I—was not—brave,' he said; 'I—only remembered—what you told me, that—I was—a—soldier's son.'
And he was so tired that he only wondered faintly why Father made a funny sound in his throat, as if he were choking, and why Nurse Katherine wiped her eyes.
"He staggered forward and reached the landing."