She gave a little cry and stopped short.
"I think you ought to come as quickly as you can."
He gave her his hand to help her into the boat. The passage was short and the river almost stagnant; they stood in a bunch at the bow, while a woman with a child tied on her hip with one oar impelled the sampan across.
"He was taken ill this afternoon, the afternoon of yesterday that is," said Waddington.
"Why wasn't I sent for at once?"
Although there was no reason for it they spoke in whispers. In the darkness Kitty could only feel how intense was her companion's anxiety.
"Colonel Yü wanted to, but he wouldn't let him. Colonel Yü has been with him all the time."
"He ought to have sent for me all the same. It's heartless."
"Your husband knew that you had never seen anyone with cholera. It's a terrible and revolting sight. He didn't want you to see it."
"After all he is my husband," she said in a choking voice.