"Hush!" he whispered, "do you hear the Berwen?" and he ate his
gingerbread slowly, sighing heavily when it was finished.
This was good news for Dr. Belton, told garrulously at tea by his young
son, and more circumstantially by Sister Vera; but for long afterwards
there was no further sign of improvement in Cardo.
It was not until three more months had passed that another sign of
reviving memory was seen in him, and again it was Jack who awoke the
sleeping chord.
"Isn't it a shame?" he said, excitedly running into the room one day;
"mother is cutting Ethel's hair; says she's getting headaches from the
weight of it. Rot, I call it! See what a lovely curl I stole," and he
handed it to Cardo, who first of all looked at it with indifference,
but suddenly clutching it, curled it round his finger, and became very
excited.
"Whose is it?" said Sister Vera, standing over him.
His lips trembled and with a husky voice he said.
"Valmai--" The sound of the name seemed to charm his ear, for he
continued to speak it in all sorts of varying tones--sometimes in
whispering tones of love--at others in loud and imploring accents.
"Oh, Valmai, Valmai!" he called, and when Dr. Belton entered the room,
he held out his hands towards him, and in a beseeching voice cried,
"Valmai! Valmai!"
There was no rest for anyone in the hospital that night, for all night
long the house echoed with the cry of "Valmai! Valmai!"
On the following morning, endeavouring to create some distraction from
this ever-recurring cry, Dr. Belton drove his patient with him for some
miles into the bush; the fresh air and motion seemed to quiet his
brain, and he fell into the silent stupor so constantly hanging over
him.
"Come, Williams," said the doctor at last, as they emerged into a
well-kept road leading up to a handsome house which stood on a rising
ground before them, surrounded by its broad acres of well-cultivated
land. "You must brighten up now, for I am going to take you to see an
old friend of mine. Why, here he is!" and they were greeted by a
jovial shout as a portly, pleasant-faced man caught them up.
"Hello! doctor, glad to see you; you havent honoured us with a visit
for some time."
"I have been so busy lately, and even now you see I have brought a
patient with me. I thought a little change would do him good."
"Of course, of course! the more the merrier. I'll ride on and prepare
Nellie for your coming," and off he galloped on his well-kept, spirited
horse, looking as he felt, perfectly at home in the saddle.
"Nellie," a sweet-looking lady with a brunette's face, which retained
much of the beauty of youth, although she had now attained to middle
age, was as hearty as her husband in her greeting.
"So glad to see you--you are just in time for dinner; for a wonder
Lewis is punctual today."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account