Sister Kate had no right to ask this question, but she felt much provoked at the moment, and the color which rushed all over Effie's face excited her curiosity. "Perhaps you'll think I did wrong," said Effie, looking up at her almost defiantly. "The friend was Mr. Lawson. He knows my brother very well; he was talking to me about him. I cannot refuse to speak to him when I see him out of doors, can I?" "Don't be pert, nurse! You know it is one of the strictest rules of the hospital that none of the nurses are to speak to the medical students." "I know; and I don't wish to speak to him in the hospital." "See you don't, or you'll be dismissed at once; in fact, the less you know of any of the medical students, the better for you. I am very sorry that this young man knows your brother. I should not have had anything to do with you, had I been aware of this fact." "How absurd and unjust!" murmured Effie under her breath. She turned away--she felt absolutely cross. Sister Kate called her back. "Now, bustle about," she said. "The supper-trays want to be taken away; the women are perfectly tired of waiting to be settled for the night." Effie moved mechanically about her duties. Her heart felt sick. She did not think she could remain much longer under Sister Kate's care. "If she treats me like this," thought the proud girl, "I cannot endure it. Mr. Lawson is nothing to me--he is only my brother's friend. He is good, and wants to help us in an hour of great perplexity. What shall I do? I feel tied and fettered in every way." She laid her head on her pillow only to burst into tears. She cried herself to sleep. All the world seemed black to her. CHAPTER XVIII. Effie saw very little of Dorothy Fraser, but on the following day, to her great surprise and pleasure, as she was leaving the dining-hall, Dorothy came up and spoke to her. "You have a minute to spare," she said; "just come out on this balcony and talk to me." Effie obeyed her. "What do you want with me, Dorothy?" she asked. "I wish to know why you look so pale and worried--you seem to have displeased Sister Kate, too." Effie very nearly burst into tears, but she restrained herself. "I'll tell you what it is," she said. "It is the most unjust thing!" She then mentioned in as few words as possible the circumstance of Lawson having spoken to her--of her great anxiety about George--and of her having walked back with the young medical student from her home on the previous evening. Dorothy looked very grave while Effie was speaking. "It is unfortunate," she said. "This is just the sort of thing that injures a girl at the commencement of her hospital life." "But it is so ridiculous and unjust," said Effie. "What in the world can Mr. Lawson be to me?"