"That's right, don't say anything; I like it better. You must be terribly tired," answered Paul, reassuringly. They stopped before a white cottage. Upon entering, Paul gave an inquiring glance at Eve; then he left the room, and came back with two letters. Cicely tore them open. Eve drew nearer. In another instant Cicely gave a cry which rang through the house. "He is hurt! Some one has shot him--has shot him!" Clutching the pages, she swayed forward, but Paul caught her. He laid her upon a couch; with his large, strong hands he placed a cushion under her head. Eve watched him. She did not help him. Then she came to the sofa. "Is he dead, Cicely?" she asked, abruptly. Cicely looked at her. "You want him to be!" Springing up suddenly, like a little tigress, still clutching her letters, she struck Eve with her left hand. Her gloved palm was soft, but, as she had exerted all her strength in the blow, the mark across Eve's cheek was red. "Never mind," said Eve, hastily, as Paul started forward; "I am glad she did it." Her eyes were bright; the red had come into her other cheek; in spite of the mark of the blow, her face looked brilliant. Cicely had fallen back; and this time she had lost consciousness. "You can leave her to me now," Eve went on. "Of course what she said last means that he is not dead!" she added, with a long breath. "Dead?" said Paul Tennant. "Poor Ferdie dead? Never!" Eve had knelt down; she was chafing Cicely's temples. "Then you care for him very much?" she asked, looking at him for a moment over her shoulder. "I care for him more than for anything else in the world," said the brother, shortly. XIII. It was the afternoon of the same day. "I shall go, grandpa," said Cicely; "I shall go to-night. There's a boat, somebody said." "But, my dear child, listen to reason; Sabrina does not say that he is in danger." "And she does not say that he is out of it." The judge took up the letter again, and, putting on his glasses, he read aloud, with a frown of attention: "'For the first two days Dr. Daniels came over twice a day'"-- "You see?--twice a day," said Cicely. --"'But as he is beginning to feel his age, the crossing so often in the row-boat tired him; so now he sends us his partner, Dr. Knox, a new man here, and a very intelligent person, I should judge. Dr. Knox comes over every afternoon and spends the night'"-- "You see?--spends the night," said Cicely. --"'Going back early the following morning. He has brought us a nurse, an excellent and skilful young man, and now we can have the satisfaction of feeling that our poor Ferdie has every possible attention. As I write, the fever is going down, and the nurse tells me that by to-morrow, or day after to-morrow, he will probably be able to speak to us, to talk.'"