The doctor finished reading, coughing to hide his confusion, and slowly folded the document.
"You have heard?" asked the general, in a faint, convulsive voice.
"I have heard, my friend," quietly answered his wife.
"You have nothing to say?"
"What can I say? You have a right to dispose of what belongs to you…. But … still I…."
"Still you what?" sharply asked her husband.
"Still, I hope, my friend, that this is not your last will…."
General Nazimoff turned, and even made an effort to raise himself on his elbow.
"God willing, you will recover. Perhaps you will decide more than once to make other dispositions of your property," calmly continued his wife.
The sick man fell back on the pillows.