ng less than a miracle, and that he takes
his hat off to you. I told him that most physicians did.

He also "allowed" that, if I wanted him to take out the stitches, he
could do it, but I "reckoned" that I could attend to that a little
better than he. Was that _lese majeste_?

I did my best to be very humble, and said, "Yes, doctor" constantly, and
he tried to appear very professional; but I think he stood a little in
awe of me. You don't know how I enjoyed the feeling.

But, to return to our report. Lou is gaining strength rapidly; I let her
get up and play about longer each day, and have reduced the bandages to
the minimum. It was most affecting when they were removed from her eyes.
I forgot that I was a nurse, and cried with Smiles until the child
cried, too, without having the slightest idea why. She is such a sweet,
merry little imp that I do not wonder that you felt more than mere
professional interest in her case. Every one here loves her.

Indeed, I am enchanted with the place and people, and have made up my
mind to stay on a week or ten days after I call myself off the case, and
take a vacation which I really owe to myself.

Poor Big Jerry is wonderful--so pathetically patient under his
suffering, which is now acute. I am afraid that he cannot last many
weeks longer, and, more than once, I have had to give him a hypodermic
to deaden his pain. Somehow he reminds me of a huge forest tree that has
been struck and shattered by a lightning bolt.

Then there is Judd. Rose says that he has been very, very wicked; but
that only adds to his fascination in my eyes, and if he should decide
some day to snatch me up and carry me off bodily to a cave, I don't
think that I should struggle or scream _very_ hard. However, I'm afraid
there is no chance of that, as he apparently doesn't know that I exist.

He puts me in mind of a mountain eagle, with those overhanging brows and
piercing, coal-black eyes of his; but I must admit that he is
disappointingly tame when he looks at Smiles--as he does most of the
time, to my furious jealousy. Alas, the eagle then becomes a sucking
dove. _She_ is apparently oblivious to the obvious fact that he is madly
in love with her. Poor Judd!

Last, but by no means least, there is Smiles herself. I wish that I
could adequately express my thoughts about her, but I can't. However, I
no longer wonder how a mountain child like that could have captivated
you so, as I did when you first described