"You're letting the cat--I mean the hare--out of the bag," said Oldroyd drily. "One of Sir John Day's hares?" "Oh, sir!" faltered the woman, "it's nothing to him; and I'm only the nurse." "There, I don't want to know," said Oldroyd. "Can I go up?" "Oh yes, sir, please," cried the woman, who was only too glad to change the conversation after her lapse, "you'll find him nice and tidy." "Care to come and see my patient, Alleyne?" said Oldroyd. "Thanks, yes, I may as well," and he followed the doctor up into the low room, where the truth of the woman's assertions were plainly to be seen. The wounded man, lying upon coarse linen that was exquisitely clean, while the partially covered boards were as white as constant scrubbing could make them. "Well, Hayle, how are you going on? I've brought a friend of mine to see you." The man whose eyes and cheeks were terribly sunken, and who looked worn out with his late journey to the very gates of death, from which he was slowly struggling back, raised one big gnarled hand heavily to his forelock, and let it fall again upon the bed. "Steady, sir, steady. Glad to see you, sir, glad to see him, sir. He's welcome like. Sit you down, sir; sit you down." Alleyne took the stool that was nearest and sat down watching the man curiously, as Oldroyd examined his bandages, and then asked a few questions. "You're going on right enough," he said at last. "Capitally." "But I'm so weak, sir," said the great helpless fellow, piteously. "I'm feeble as a child. I can hardly just hold my hand to my head." "Well, what can you expect?" said Oldroyd. "You lost nearly every drop of blood in your body, and it will take time to build you up again--to fill you up again," he added, smiling. "Yes sir, of course, sir; but can't you give me a bottle or two of nothing as will set me to rights? We'll pay you, you know, sir, don't you be afraid o' that." "Oh, I'm not afraid of that," said Oldroyd, smiling, "but I can give you nothing better than I am giving you. The best medicine you can have now is plenty of strong soup, the same as you had this morning." "Did she tell you I had soup this morning, sir?" "Yes--hare soup," said Oldroyd meaningly. "Did that woman say hare soup, sir?" "Yes, and that you were tired of rabbits. I say, Hayle, I ought to tell Sir John's keepers." "Eh, but you won't, sir," said the man quietly. "Why not?" "'Cause you're too much of a gen'leman, sir, and so would your friend be, or else you wouldn't have brought him. She needn't have let out about it, though. I'm lying helpless-like here, and they talk and do just as they like. Was my Judith downstairs, sir?" "Yes," said Oldroyd. "That's a comfort," said the man, with a sigh of content. "Young, sir, and very pretty," he added apologetically, to Alleyne; "makes me a bit anxious about her, don't you see, being laid-by like. You'll come and see me again soon, doctor?"