Mr. Levinger winced visibly, and did not seem to know what to answer. At that moment the doctor came out of the sick room, leaving the door open; and, looking through it, Mr. Levinger saw a picture that he could never forget. Joan was lying upon an iron bedstead, and on a chair beside it, shimmering in the light, lay the tumbled masses of her shorn hair. Her face was flushed, and her large eyes shone with an unnatural brightness. One hand hung downwards almost to the floor, and with the other she felt feebly at her head, saying in a piteous voice, “Where is my hair? What have you done with my hair? He will never know me like this, or if he does he will think me ugly. Oh! please give me back my hair.” Then the nurse closed the door, and Mr. Levinger was glad of it. “This is the gentleman, Doctor,” said Mrs. Bird, “who is interested in——” The doctor bowed stiffly; then, seeing what manner of man Mr. Levinger was, relaxed, and said, “I beg your pardon. I suppose that your interest in my patient is of a parental character?” “Not exactly, sir, but I consider myself _in loco parentis._ Can you give me any information, or perhaps I should say—any hope?” “Hope? Oh yes—lots of it,” answered the doctor, who was an able middle-aged man of the brusque and kindly order, one who understood his business, but took pleasure in disparaging both himself and it. “I always hope until I see a patient in his coffin. Not that things are as bad as that in this case. I trust that she will pull through—I fancy that she _will_ pull through; but all the same, as I understand that expense is no longer an object, I am going to get in a second opinion to-morrow. You see I am barely forty myself, and my experience is consequently limited,” and he smiled satirically. “I have my views, but I dare say that they stand in need of correction; at any rate, without further advice I don’t mean to take the responsibility of the rather heroic treatment which I propose to adopt. The case is a somewhat peculiar one. I can’t understand why the girl should be in this way at all, except on the hypothesis that she is suffering from some severe mental shock; and I purpose, therefore, to try and doctor her mind as well as her body. But it is useless to bore laymen with these matters. I can only say, sir, that I am deeply interested in the case, and will do my utmost to pull her through. I would rather that she had been at the hospital; but, on the whole, she is not badly off here, especially as I have succeeded in getting the best nurse for her that I know anywhere. Good night.” “Good night, Doctor, and whatever the issue, pray accept my thanks in advance, and remember that you need not spare money.”