there's some weddin'
fixings goin' on, and sure Miss Borden deserves a good husband when
she's waited five years. How's the old lady?"

"It's pretty bad with her, though there's no immediate signs of her
dying. But it's paralysis. Her limbs are cold and useless and I think
it is creeping up her left side. She'll be another baby added to the
family, unless she will go to a hospital which would be far better for
her. She must have a steady nurse. I've been rather afraid of this."

"I must go and see to my dinner. Miss Armitage won't you stay until
the ladies come home?"

Miss Armitage signified her willingness and laid aside her hat.

The babies were fairly gorging themselves.

"I'll be in again presently. I'll leave this for the child, to be
given every half hour and she is to lie perfectly still."

Miss Armitage smiled down in the pallid face. It had grown quite thin
again, but it seemed to hold an ethical sweetness. Marilla put out
one slim hand.

"It seems too bad the old lady should be taken ill at this juncture,"
said Mrs. Seymour. "And Manila's been such a faithful child. She's
been growing tall this summer and autumn and I suppose has run ahead
of her strength. Then with the two children to look after--well a
little nurse girl has rather hard lines--they seldom have more than
one, or if they do the others are older. My two boys are in boarding
school. I've wished one was a girl, they are so much more company for
the mother. But I'd wanted _her_ to be pretty," she cast a sidelong
glance at the twins. "It's a pity Jack should have taken all the
beauty."

The twins felt so comfortable over the candy that they went to playing
with their blocks. Miss Armitage gave her patient the second dose of
her medicine and she closed her eyes.

There was almost a shriek as Bridget opened the hall door with--"the
merciful saints preserve us! Has Jack been run over by one of them
fury things?"

Jack was crying and the blood was streaming from his nose all over his
blouse.

"He's been fighting, the bad boy, with a nasty, dirty tramp!"

Bridget in her inmost heart hoped he had the worst of it. "Whist!" she
exclaimed, "there's two sick folks in the house, the doctor's been an'
he's coming again!"

"Sick! Oh, what has happened?"

"Well, the old lady's had a stroke, an' Marilla had a bad faint again.
I thought sure she was dead."

Mrs. Borden dropped into the hall chair and began to cry
hysterically.

"Jack, go str