she read, Allison went
over it again, and now and then took courage to speak a word or two of
Him who "bore our griefs and carried our sorrows," and who died that we
might live. He listened always in silence. Whether he was ever moved
by the words could not be told, for he gave no sign.

While all this went on, summer was passing, and the dull November days
were drawing near. Allison had her own thoughts, and some of them were
troubled thoughts enough. But she waited, always patiently, if not
always hopefully; and even at the worst, when she had little to cheer
her, and when she dared not look forward to what the future might hold
for her, she still strove to live day by day, and hour by hour, waiting
to learn God's will, whatever it might be.

Little change came to the sick man as far as Allison could judge, or any
one else. Was he getting better? If so, his progress toward health was
more slowly made than had been hoped. At times he was restless and
irritable, and spared neither nurse, nor doctor, which was taken as a
good sign by some who were looking on. But for the most part he was
quiet enough, taking little heed of the passing hours.

When Mr Rainy came to speak to him on any matter of business, he seemed
to rouse himself, and gave tokens of a clear mind and a good memory with
regard to those matters which were put before him, whether they
pertained to his own private business, or to that of the estate of
Blackhills. But of his own accord he rarely alluded to business of any
kind, and seemed, for the most part, forgetful of all that had hitherto
filled his life. His friends came to see him now and then, and while
any one was with him, he seemed moved to a certain interest in what they
had to tell, in the news of the town, or in the events which were taking
place in the world beyond it, but his interest ceased when his visitor
left him.

Except from weariness, and restlessness, and inability to move, he
suffered little, and he had been so often told that the best hope for
him, the only chance for restoration to a measure of health in the
future, lay in implicit obedience to all that doctor and nurse required
of him, that he learned the lesson at last, and was obedient and patient
to a degree that might well surprise those who knew him best.

It did not always come easy to him, this patience and obedience. There
ere times when he broke bounds, and complained, and threatened, and even
swore at his ma