"I've given that up." He smiled faintly. "The money ain't in sight an' never will be. Besides, they only want to experiment on me. I know my condition better than they do. Surgical skill may be all right in many such cases, but mine has stood too long. I hain't afeard to die, Miss Mary, but I am sorry my going will be so serious for Ken an' Martin. Do you know, I was to blame chiefly. I was the one that furnished the whisky for that racket. I got it from a moonshiner I know. That is between you an' me, Miss Mary, for I broke the law when I went to his secret still an' got it without reportin' him." CHAPTER XIX Mary remained twenty minutes longer, and when she was going out at the gate she met Doctor Harrison, who had just alighted from his buggy and was hitching his horse to a portable strap and iron weight near the fence. He doffed his straw hat and smiled from his genial, bearded, middle-aged face and twinkling blue eyes. "So you've turned nurse, have you?" he jested. "Well, I'm glad you came, for more reasons than one." "You think it was right, then?" she answered. "Decidedly, Miss Mary. At such a time as this we should not listen to gossip, but simply act humanely." "I hardly knew what to do, for some persons thought that it would look as if I--I admitted that my brothers were--" "I know," the doctor broke in, "but, nevertheless, I'm glad you put that aside. If I were on a jury--" He hesitated, as if he realized that he was on ground forbidden by due courtesy to her feelings. "Well," he started anew, "it can't possibly do any harm, and I am sure you will feel all the better for it." "What are the chances for his recovery?" Mary asked, with bated breath, as she met his mild gaze with her steady eyes. He looked toward the cottage door, placed his whip in the holder on the dashboard of the buggy, and then slowly swept his eyes back to her face. "I am sorry to say--to _have_ to say--that he is not doing so well. He seems a little weaker. However, when he gets to Atlanta--I hope I am not betraying secrets, but I met Albert Frazier just now and he told me that you had about concluded arrangements to supply the money. He did not say that he was telling me in confidence, but he may have meant it that way. People often say things to doctors, you know, that they would not make public, and if it _is_ a private matter--" "It is not, Doctor. I know--at least, I think I know--where I can get the money, and I shall not care who knows that it is from me. Tell me, please, do you think it best to send Tobe to Atlanta?"