They started for the hill, but stopped off in order to induce the
schoolmaster to join them.
The schoolmaster, however, did not allow himself to be disturbed. He was
playing chess with a friend, and kept tapping the dull-sounding table
with his fingers, and repeating in a monotone: "If he disturbs that
pawn, he may lose his queen."
As the committee went on to the hill, they were overtaken by the doctor
in his carriage. At last they arrived at the stone house and found the
doctor walking briskly up and down the drawing room smoking a
cigarette--he had not yet told the Captain.
Upstairs they could hear the Captain in Vera's darkened room, kneel down
beside the bed.
"Do you know, my darling," he spoke. "I have never kept anything from
you--but the other day when I told you about the beggar, I should have
told you that he was--Are you listening, my dear? I should have told you
that he was the same boy--the poor boy that lived with the pigeons.
"See; we have already been--are you listening, my dear? God has already
punished us--now you can get better and we will go away from here. We
will go to some quiet place.--Are you listening, my dear? We will go to
some--do you hear me, Vera? My darling girl, don't sleep now. Tell me,
what did the doctor say? Wake up Vera.
Pages:
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463