rcisse detected his mortified chagrin, he did not seem to. It was
hard; the day's last hope was blown out like a candle in the wind.
Richling dared not risk the wetting of his suit of clothes; they were
his sole letter of recommendation and capital in trade.

"Well, _au 'evoi'_, Mistoo Itchlin." He turned and moved off--dip,
glide, and away.

* * *

Dr. Sevier stamped his wet feet on the pavement of the hospital porch.
It was afternoon of the day following that of the rain. The water still
covering the streets about the hospital had not prevented his carriage
from splashing through it on his double daily round. A narrow and
unsteady plank spanned the immersed sidewalk. Three times, going and
coming, he had crossed it safely, and this fourth time he had made half
the distance well enough; but, hearing distant cheers and laughter, he
looked up street; when--splatter!--and the cheers were redoubled.

"Pretty thing to laugh at!" he muttered. Two or three bystanders,
leaning on their umbrellas in the lodge at the gate and in the porch,
where he stood stamping, turned their backs and smoothed their mouths.

"Hah!" said the tall Doctor, stamping harder. Stamp!--stamp! He shook
his leg.--"Bah!" He stamped the other long, slender, wet foot and looked
down at it, turning one side and then the other.--"F-fah!"--The first
one again.--"Pshaw!"--The other.--Stamp!--stamp!--"_Right_--_into_
it!--up to my _ankles!_" He looked around with a slight scowl at one
man, who seemed taken with a sudden softening of the spine and knees,
and who turned his back quickly and fell against another, who, also with
his back turned, was leaning tremulously against a pillar.

But the object of mirth did not tarry. He went as he was to Mary's room,
and found her much better--as, indeed, he had done at every visit. He
sat by her bed and listened to her story.

"Why, Doctor, you see, we did nicely for a while. John went on getting
the same kind of work, and pleasing everybody, of course, and all he
lacked was finding something permanent. Still, we passed through one
month after another, and we really began to think the sun was coming
out, so to speak."

"Well, I thought so, too," put in the Doctor. "I thought if it didn't
you'd let me know."

"Why, no, Doctor, we couldn't do that; you couldn't be taking care of
well people."

"Well," said the Doctor, dropping that point, "I suppose as the busy
season began to wane that mode