I'm so tired."

The vigil began. The nurses were in waiting. The family physician would
not leave the house. He was a man of great repute in his profession. Dr.
Seftel's name was well known to me, but I had never met him before; a
man past middle life, smooth shaven, thin iron-gray hair, grave, usually
taciturn, deliberate in all his movements, as if every gesture were
important and significant, but with a kindly face. Knowing that every
moment of his waking life was golden, I could not but be impressed with
the power that could command his exclusive service for an indefinite
time. When he came down, we talked together in Henderson's room.

"It is a question of endurance, of constitution," he said; "many weak
women have this quality of persistence; many strong women go to pieces
at once; we know little about it. Mrs. Henderson"--glancing about
him--"has everything to live for; that's in her favor. I suppose there
are not two other men in the country whose fortune equals Henderson's."

I do not know how it was, probably the patient was not forgotten, but in
a moment the grave doctor was asking me if I had seen the last bulletin
about the yacht regatta. He took the keenest interest in the contest,
and described to me the build and sailing qualities of the different
yachts entered, and expressed his opinion as to which would win,
and why. From this he passed to the city government and the recent
election--like a true New Yorker, his chief interest centred in the city
politics and not in the national elections. Without the least unbending
from his dignity, he told me many anecdotes about city politicians,
which would have been amusing if I had not been anxious about other
things.

The afternoon passed, and the night, and the day, I cannot tell how.
But at evening I knew by the movements in the house that the crisis
had come. I was waiting in Henderson's library. An hour passed, when
Henderson came hurrying in, pale, excited, but joyous.

"Thank God," he cried, "it is a boy!"

"And Margaret?" I gasped.

"Is doing very well!" He touched a bell, and gave an order to the
servant. "We will drink to the dear girl and to the heir of the house."

He was in great spirits. The doctor joined us, but I noticed that he was
anxious, and he did not stay long. Henderson was in and out, talking,
excited, restless. But everything was going very well, he thought.
At last, as we sat talking, a servant appeared at the door, with a
frig