She was now wrought up to a state of excessive nervous excitement,
and it looked as if there would be no more sleep for either of
them that night.
"Haven't you something--some camphor or salts, Katherine? I can't
stand this any longer," and Sadie was now sobbing from mingled
nervousness and suffering.
"No, dear. I never use anything of the kind," Katherine replied.
"Do you never put anything in a tooth when it aches?"
"No."
"Do you ever have the toothache?"
"I used to when I was a child; very seldom now."
"What do you do to stop it?" was the impatient query, accompanied
by a prolonged groan.
"Treat it mentally."
"Shucks!" and Miss Minot threw herself violently back upon her
pillows with an air of personal injury mingled with supreme
contempt, while Katherine kept on working for harmony in her own
thought.
"Katherine, I simply cannot stand this until morning," the girl
cried again, after a minute or two of forced endurance, as a fresh
paroxysm seized her.
"Shall I go to the matron and ask her for something for you?"
Katherine inquired.
"Oh, I don't know; it seems a shame to send you way down to her at
this unearthly hour. It is bad enough to keep you awake," said
Sadie, remorsefully.
"Never mind me, dear. I am willing to do anything you wish, and
I'm not afraid to go anywhere in the building," was the kind
response.
"Perhaps if I had some water to hold in my mouth it might relieve
me," Sadie suggested.
Katherine brought her a glass and she filled her mouth, but
expelled the water almost instantly, as the bare and sensitive
nerve rebelled against such radical treatment.
"Can't you do something?" she gasped, clutching her companion's
arm with a spasmodic grip.
"I'll go to Miss Williams, or some of the girls for--" Katherine
began.
"No, I can't bear to make a stir--oh, heavens! oh! treat me--your
way--anything--anything to stop this unbearable torture!" and
Sadie buried her face in her pillow to smother the moans she could
not repress.
"Indeed I will," said Katherine, with a heart-throb of
thankfulness for the appeal; and, dropping her face upon her
hands, she went to work with all her understanding for the
sufferer.
Ten minutes passed; then it seemed as if the intervals between the
moans grew longer. Another five minutes and she was sure that the
hand upon her arm was relaxing its convulsive grasp. Not long
after the restless form grew still, the hot hand on her arm
slipped down upon the bed, and when the clock in the tower struck
the half hour after three, the regular breathing of the girl told
of quiet and restful sleep.
But Katherine continued to work for several minutes longer, then
stole softly to her own couch, where she also was soon locked in
slumber, and neither awoke again until the rising bell rang its
imperative summons to the duties of a new day.
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account