"Home?" He could not understand. "Not gone to--back--up the river?" She slowly shook her head: "No, home. In Prieur street." Still her words were riddles. He could not see how she had come to this. He stood silent, not knowing how to utter his thought. At length he opened his lips to speak, hesitated an instant, and then asked:-- "Mrs. Richling, tell me plainly, has your husband gone wrong?" Her eyes looked up a moment, upon him, big and staring, and suddenly she spoke:-- "O Doctor! My husband go wrong? John go wrong?" The eyelids closed down, the head rocked slowly from side to side on the flat hospital pillow, and the first two tears he had ever seen her shed welled from the long lashes and slipped down her cheeks. "My poor child!" said the Doctor, taking her hand in his. "No, no! God forgive me! He hasn't gone wrong; he's not going wrong. You'll tell me all about it when you're stronger." The Doctor had her removed to one of the private rooms of the pay-ward, and charged the Sisters to take special care of her. "Above all things," he murmured, with a beetling frown, "tell that thick-headed nurse not to let her know that this is at anybody's expense. Ah, yes; and when her husband comes, tell him to see me at my office as soon as he possibly can." As he was leaving the hospital gate he had an afterthought. "I might have left a note." He paused, with his foot on the carriage-step. "I suppose they'll tell him,"--and so he got in and drove off, looking at his watch. On his second visit, although he came in with a quietly inspiring manner, he had also, secretly, the feeling of a culprit. But, midway of the room, when the young head on the pillow turned its face toward him, his heart rose. For the patient smiled. As he drew nearer she slid out her feeble hand. "I'm glad I came here," she murmured. "Yes," he replied; "this room is much better than the open ward." "I didn't mean this room," she said. "I meant the whole hospital." "The whole hospital!" He raised his eyebrows, as to a child. "Ah! Doctor," she responded, her eyes kindling, though moist. "What, my child?" She smiled upward to his bent face. "The poor--mustn't be ashamed of the poor, must they?" The Doctor only stroked her brow, and presently turned and addressed his professional inquiries to the nurse. He went away. Just outside the door he asked the nurse:-- "Hasn't her husband been here?" "Yes," was the reply, "but she was asleep, and he only stood there at the door and looked in a bit. He trembled," the unintelligent woman added, for the Doctor seemed waiting to hear more,--"he trembled all over; and that's all he did, excepting his saying her name over to himself like, over and over, and wiping of his eyes." "And nobody told him anything?" "Oh, not a word, sir!" came the eager answer. "You didn't tell him to come and see me?" The woman gave a start, looked dismayed, and began:-- "N-no, sir; you didn't tell"--