Not having seen her for some time Dr. Derek did not suspect that her wan looks and cheerless air were what a day had brought forth. Remembering the keen hearty cross-country woman of former days and contrasting her with this dulled stay-at-home, he found support for his theory that the amazing rally after her accident had been the last flicker of a strong vitality. She had gone downhill since he saw her last. "You’ve been doing more than you should," and a glance at the array of loaves emphasized his words. "That heart of yours won’t stand much, Mrs. Byron. A little extra strain, you know, and you’ll find yourself in Queer Street." Leadville who had been staring down at the gun which still lay across the table, turned his heavy eyes on the doctor. "’Tis no good tellin’ ’er to stop, for she will carry on as long as she mind to. I tell ’er I’ll do the out-o’-door work for ’er, but ’er won’t listen, so ’tis so well I leave it drop." The little bright doctor glanced from wife to husband and back again. With neat compact theories about everything, he held that Sabina’s childlessness was the key to the situation. "Here’s a man ready and willing to take the work off your shoulders! Why not make use of him? He’d save you all sorts of worries." "I reckon he would," and Sabina covered bitterness with a smile. "He’d never say nothing about ’em. He’d keep ’em all to ’isself." "Considering," retorted the doctor crisply, "that you have by no means regained your strength, surely that would be a good thing?" Sabina shook her head. He did not understand and she could not explain. "I’d rather ride my own ’obby-’arse," she said vaguely. "Don’t overtax your strength then or you’ll be sorry for it." After all, whether she should wear herself out quickly or rot by the chimney corner, was her affair. Leadville withdrew his fascinated gaze from the gun. "Didn’t I ’ear you say, last time you was ’ere, she ought to ’ave a operation?" "I did, it wouldn’t be a serious one, a matter of a week or so in hospital. What do you think, Mrs. Byron? To have it done would make you much more comfortable. Stronger too, I fancy." But Sabina’s recollection of the days after her accident, those days of pain and discomfort when she had hung conscious and half consenting on the edge of the void, was still clear. She wondered why Leadville should be showing this sudden interest on her concerns. Did he wish to get her out of the way again, so that he might be up to his tricks? Or did he think he still had a chance with Gray? She could smile to herself over his infatuation. It would not be long now before he realized its hopelessness. "I don’t like that old knife business," she said. "I’ll live as long as I can and then I must die." "This is hardly worth calling an operation." "Thank you, doctor, I’ll stay where I’m to." "A wilful woman!" he said, rising. "Well, then, I must send you a tonic and Byron’ll see that you take it." "He’s likely to," she said.