"We 'ave a dinner on this evening," the butler explained; "only twenty-four; but it's 'ard Mr. Swank ain't goin' to be able to come down. We're keepin' the 'ouse dark now, so it won't get too 'ot at dinner-time." Whatever the reason for the absence of adequate illumination, it made the upper hall even more dismal than the one below--so the trained nurse thought. "That's Mr. Swank's room there; and 'ere's 'is dressin'-room, that you're to 'ave--so the doctor said," the butler declared, leading the stranger into a small room with a lofty ceiling, and with one window overlooking Central Park. The shades had not been drawn; the single gas-jet was burning dimly; there was no fireplace; and a sofa on one side had had sheets and blankets put on it to serve as her bed. She almost shivered, the place seemed to her so cheerless. But her training taught her not to think of her own comfort. "This will do very well," she asserted. "I'll tell them to fetch up your bag," the butler said, as he was about to withdraw. "Would you be wantin' any dinner later?" "Yes," she answered, "I would like something to eat later--whenever it is convenient." The butler left the room, only to reappear almost immediately. "'Ere's the doctor now," he announced, holding the door open. A tall, handsome man, with a masterful mouth, walked in with a soft, firm tread. "So this is the nurse," he began. "Miss Clement, isn't it? I'm glad you were able to follow my note so quickly. If you will come into the next room, where the patient is, as soon as you have changed your dress, I'll tell you what I wish you to do." With that he left her; and in less than ten minutes she followed him into the large bedroom on the corner of the house. It was an unusually spacious room, with a high ceiling and four tall windows. There was a dull-red fire, which seemed insufficient to warm even the elaborate marble mantel. Almost in one corner stood a large bed, with thick curtains draped back from a canopy. The doctor was sitting by the side of the bed as the nurse came into the room. [Illustration: "SHE ALMOST SHIVERED, THE PLACE SEEMED TO HER SO CHEERLESS"] "This is Miss Clement, Mr. Swank," he said, in a cheerful voice, to the old man, who lay in the bed motionless. "She will look after you during the night." Mr. Swank made no answer, but he opened his eyes and looked at the woman who had come to nurse him. She used to say afterwards that she had never felt before so penetrating a gaze. The doctor turned to her, and in the same professionally cheery tones he said: "I sent for you, nurse, because Mrs. Swank has an important dinner to-night, and it might therefore be difficult for her to give Mr. Swank the attention he may require." The physician was addressing the nurse, but it seemed to her that his words were really intended for the patient, whose eyes were still fixed on her.