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A blue and flickering gleaht, dim, yet persistent, seemed to enhalo a wouid lids, closed, then opened again, the wounded engineer smiled in his weakness
"Beatrice!" he whispered, and tried to stretch a hand to her, as she sat beside his bed of seaweed covered with the coarse brown fabric "Oh, Beatrice! Is this--is this another--hallucination?"
She took the hand and kissed it, then bent above hiain, this time fair upon the lips
"No, boy," she answered "No hallucination, but reality! You're all right now--and I'ht! You've had a little fever and--and--well, don't ask any questions, that's all Here, drink this now and go to sleep!"
She set a ently raised his head
Unquestioningly he drank, as though he had been a child and she hisof so it seeh of contentht temple, he lay back and once more closed his eyes Never had he felt such utter weakness All his forces seemed drained and spent; even to breathe was very difficult
Feebly he raised his hand to his head
"Bandaged?" he whispered "What does that mean?"
"It o to sleep now!" she coo to sleep!"
He lay quiet a hts confusedly crowded his brain
And once loom of the hut where they were, he breathed a question: "Were you badly hurt, dear, in--in the battle?"
"No, Allan Just stunned, that's all Not even wounded Be quiet now or I'll scold!"
He raised his arh he was, took her to his breast and held her tight, tight
"Thank God!" he whispered "Oh, I love you! I love you so! If you'd been killed--"
She felt his tears hot upon his wasted cheeks, and unloosened his aret into a fever again if you don't lie still and try not to think! You--"
"When was it? Yesterday?" he interrupted
"Sh-h-h-h! No more questions now"
"But I want to know! And what happened to me? And the--the Lanskaarn? What about them? And--"
"Heavens, but you're inquisitive for a man that's just missed--Ihis head in both hands and gazing down at him with eyes ood, boy, and don't worry about all these things, but go to sleep--there's a dear And when you wake up next time--"