till at last the
cold lights of the dawn came gleaming through the window and fell upon
the white face of the man she loved. He was still sleeping soundly, and,
as the night was exceedingly hot and oppressive, she had left nothing
but a sheet over him. Before she went to rest a little herself she
turned to look at him once more, and as she looked she saw the sheet
grow suddenly red with blood. The artery had broken out fresh.

Calling to the soldier's wife to run across to the doctor, Jess shook
her patient till he awoke, for he was sleeping quite soundly, and would,
no doubt, have continued to do so till he glided away into a still
deeper sleep; and then between them they did what they could to quench
that dreadful pumping flow, Jess knotting her handkerchief round his
leg and twisting it with a stick, while he pressed his thumb upon the
severed artery. But, strive as they would, they were only partially
successful, and Jess began to think that he would die in her arms from
loss of blood. It was agonising to wait there minute after minute and
see his life ebbing away.

"I don't think I shall last much longer, Jess. God bless you, dear!" he
said. "The place is beginning to go round and round."

Poor soul! she could only set her teeth and wait for the end.

Presently John's pressure on the wounded artery relaxed, and he
fainted off, and, oddly enough, just then the flow of blood diminished
considerably. Another five minutes, and she heard the quick step of the
doctor coming up the path.

"Thank God you have come! He has bled dreadfully."

"I was out attending a poor fellow who was shot through the lung, and
that fool of a woman waited for me to come back instead of following me.
I have brought you an orderly in place of her. By Jove, he has bled!
I suppose the silk has slipped. Well, there is only one thing for it.
Orderly, the chloroform."

Then followed another long half-hour of slashing and tying and horror,
and when at last the unfortunate John opened his eyes again he was too
weak to speak, and could only smile feebly. For three days after this he
lay in a dangerous state, for if the artery had broken out for the third
time the chances were that, having so little blood left in his veins,
he would die before anything could be done for him. At times he was very
delirious from weakness, and these were the critical hours, for it was
almost impossible to keep him still, and every moment threw Jess into
an agony