But contrive an easy way--a little notch in the wood-work below the note--by means of which, without hesitation or irritation, he can locate himself instantly at middle C.Never mind the other notes.It is all the SEEING he will require when once he is at the piano.Ha, ha! Not bad for a Scotchman, eh, Nurse Gray?"But Jane could not laugh; though somewhere in her mental background she seemed to hear laughter and applause from the duchess.This was no comedy to Jane,--her blind Garth at the piano, his dear beautiful head bent over the keys, his fingers feeling for that pathetic little notch, to be made by herself, below middle C.She loathed this individual who could make a pun on the subject of Garth's blindness, and, in the back of her mind, Tommy seemed to join the duchess, flapping up and down on his perch and shrieking: "Kick him out! Stop his jaw!""And now," said Dr.Mackenzie unexpectedly, "the next thing to be done, Nurse Gray, is to introduce you to the patient."Jane felt the blood slowly leave her face and concentrate in a terrible pounding at her heart.But she stood her ground, and waited silently.
Dr.Mackenzie rang the bell.Simpson appeared.
"A decanter of sherry, a wine-glass, and a couple of biscuits," said Dr.Rob.
Simpson vanished.
"Little beast!" thought Jane."At eleven o'clock in the morning!".
Dr.Rob stood, and waited; tugging spitefully at his red moustache, and looking intently out of the window.
Simpson reappeared, placed a small tray on the table, and went quietly out, closing the door behind him.
Dr.Rob poured out a glass of sherry, drew up a chair to the table, and said: "Now, Nurse, sit down and drink that, and take a biscuit with it."Jane protested."But, indeed, doctor, I never--""I have no doubt you 'never,'" said Dr.Rob, "especially at eleven o'clock in the morning.But you will to-day; so do not waste any time in discussion.You have had a long night journey; you are going upstairs to a very sad sight indeed, a strain on the nerves and sensibilities.You have come through a trying interview with me, and you are praising Heaven it is over.But you will praise Heaven with more fervency when you have drunk the sherry.Also you have been standing during twenty-three minutes and a half.I always stand to speak myself, and I prefer folk should stand to listen.I can never talk to people while they loll around.But you will walk upstairs all the more steadily, Nurse Rosemary Gray, if you sit down now for five minutes at this table."Jane obeyed, touched and humbled.So, after all, it was a kind, comprehending heart under that old sealskin waistcoat; and a shrewd understanding of men and matters, in spite of the erratic, somewhat objectionable exterior.While she drank the wine and finished the biscuits, he found busy occupation on the other side of the room, polishing the window with his silk pocket-handkerchief; making a queer humming noise all the time, like a bee buzzing up the pane.He seemed to have forgotten her presence; but, just as she put down the empty glass, he turned and, walking straight across the room, laid his hand upon her shoulder.
"Now, Nurse," he said, "follow me upstairs, and, just at first, speak as little as possible.Remember, every fresh voice intruding into the still depths of that utter blackness, causes an agony of bewilderment and disquietude to the patient.Speak little and speak low, and may God Almighty give you tact and wisdom."There was a dignity of conscious knowledge and power in the small quaint figure which preceded Jane up the staircase.As she followed, she became aware that her spirit leaned on his and felt sustained and strengthened.The unexpected conclusion of his sentence, old-fashioned in its wording, yet almost a prayer, gave her fresh courage."May God Almighty give you tact and wisdom," he had said, little guessing how greatly she needed them.And now another voice, echoing through memory's arches to organ-music, took up the strain:
"Where Thou art Guide, no ill can come." And with firm though noiseless step, Jane followed Dr.Mackenzie into the roam where Garth was lying, helpless, sightless, and disfigured.
