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THE STRAND MAGAZINE. 
He felt very much ashamed of himself and 
turned away. Then he said : — 
“ In a minute you shall come in.” 
He went back into the sick-room. 
“ Nurse, give me a clean handkerchief/’ he 
said. 
He took one and laid it lightly across the 
projecting prongs of the hair-pin that kept 
the operation-wound open, leaving the child’s 
face visible. It was the face of a sleeping 
child. He called the father and mother in. 
“You may see him for a moment,” he said. 
And Mrs. Holloway knelt by the bedside, 
while the old man laid hold of the bed-rail 
at the foot and stood there and nodded. And 
Margery came up again. 
“ I got through to Dr. Savage. He’s 
bringing it at once,” she said. 
“ That’s all right,” replied Mandeville. He 
put his coat on. “ And now I think you’d 
all better leave the room,” he said. “ I and 
the nurse will stay with him till Dr. Savage 
comes.” 
They went out of the room all together, 
and old Holloway suddenly said : — 
“ How was it you got here so soon, Dr. 
Mandeville ? I — I don’t quite understand it.” 
Margery answered for the doctor. 
“ He came over to see me, Mr. Holloway. 
I’d promised to write to him, and I hadn’t 
done it. I’ll tell Mary all about it afterwards, 
and she can tell you. I’m going to marry 
Dr. Mandeville even if he is a poor man.” 
Mandeville knew well that Holloway had 
desired her to marry somebody else who was 
not a poor man. But now the old man 
suddenly burst into tears. He sobbed like a 
child. Then he said : “ By Heaven 1 Margery, 
but he isn’t, a poor man if I know it — he isn’t 
a poor man ! I — I want to do something 
for everyone.” 
And Mary Holloway spoke what was in her 
mind. 
“ Then, John, won’t you build that 
hospital now ? ” 
He took her in his arms. “ Why, of course, 
1 will, and the doctor here shall run it. Oh, 
yes, I’ll do that — why, of course, I’ll do it, 
woman ! ” And again he broke down, and 
turned away and sat upon the stairs, still 
crying. 
Just then they heard the sound of a motor, 
and in a minute Dr. Savage came upstairs 
with the tracheotomy tube, and he and 
Mandeville inserted it. The boy had a good 
chance, or so it seemed. 
It was one o’clock before Margery said 
good-bye to Mandeville in the library where 
the telephone was. He said to her : “ But 
you know why I came, and what I came for ? ” 
“ Yes, I know,” she said. “ I know. You 
have had very great trouble. Major Thompson 
told me about it.” 
“ It’s true I’ve had trouble,” he said. “ It 
broke me down — it quite broke me down. 
I had such a run of bad luck. Is it over now, 
Margery ? ” 
“ I love you,” she said. “ I always did. 
Is that enough, Tom ? ” 
It is enough,” said Mandeville. 
He took her in his arms and kissed her, and 
walked down the avenue. He did not know 
himself ; he was a changed man. The whole 
world had altered ; for he was light and 
happy and sane. Life was a miracle, and 
most wonderful ; and Margery was very 
wonderful ; and love the most wonderful 
thing of all. He wiped away a tear, and yet 
was very happy. 
He took his bicycle out of the hedge where 
he had hidden it, and went back to Bampton. 
But he did not go straight home ; he took a 
little circuit and came past Thompson’s 
house. Late as it was there was a light in the 
Major’s room, for Thompson slept badly, and 
often read very late. So Mandeville got off 
his bicycle, and finding some gravel threw 
it up at the window. Presently Thompson 
put his head out. 
“ Halloa, Mandeville, what’s wrong now ? ” 
“ Nothing’s wrong,” said Mandeville. “ It’s 
all right.” 
“ What’s all right ? ” asked Thompson. 
“ Everything,” said Mandeville. “ I’ve 
been over to Holloway’s.” 
“The deuce you have!” said Thompson. 
“ What for ? ” 
“ The boy was dying,” said Mandeville. 
“ I suppose I saved his life.” 
“ Good for you,” said the Major. 
“ And the old man’s going to build that 
hospital, Thompson.” 
“ The deuce he is ! ” said Thompson. “ I 
guess you’ll be all right with him now, and 
with everybody else.” 
“ It may be so,” said Mandeville, quietly. 
“ And it’s all right about Margery.” 
“ Oh, by Jove ! ” said Thompson ; “ I 
don’t think you’ll want to burgle the house 
for that Corot after all, Mandeville.” 
“ I think not,” said Mandeville. “ Baker 
of Milwaukee’s got to do without it.” 
“ So he has — poor old Baker of Milwaukee!” 
said Thompson. 
