Page 172 - Fairbrass
P. 172

g o d 's   h o u s e               *59


                                 He  knew  that  it was a Doctor that stood
                            with  his  sad-eyed  father by the  bedside,

                                 (TeU  me  the  worst,'  said  the  father;
                            1 remember  the  poor child  cannot  hear you.’

                                 ‘ Recovery  is  beyond  hope,'  said  the

                            Doctor ;  ‘ he  is  fading  away.             It  is  only  a
                            question  of hours. ’

                                 Fairbrass  hated  the  idea  of  being  the
                            cause  of  pain  to  anyone ;  and  yet  he could

                            not  help  being  glad  to  see  that  his  father
                            turned  away  and  wept  bitterly.

                                 £ Come/  said  the  Doctor,  you  mustn’t

                            give  way.       He,  poor  child,  is  dying ;  but
                            you  and  your  other  children  have  to  live.

                            We  must  not  forget  that,  by  odd  chance,
                            he  is  the  possessor  of  a  large  fortune.              If

                            anything  in  the  legal  way  has  to  be  done,
                            the—well,  the  sooner the  better.1

                                 4 No,  no/  said  the  father  hesitatingly ;

                            * that  is unnecessary,          I— I— in  fact,  I  have
                            deemed  it  my  duty,  at  this  crisis,  to  see

                            how  matters  stand.              Everything  goes  to
                            the  next  of  kin  ;  and,  you  see,  i ----- 1

                                 ‘ Just so—just  so/  said  the  Doctor,  who
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