Page:The little blue devil (IA littlebluedevil00mackiala).pdf/77

“You poor old thing! It’s been a horribly bad time, and you have been so good and brave. It’s only a question of waiting now, and we’ll try not to let it be a very tedious time.”

The only response she got to this was:

“Don’t you think I’m well enough to be moved to a hospital now? I think the doctor would say so———”

“Tony!” (His name was the only information acquired or vouchsafed so far.) “I thought we had talked all that out before. Perhaps you don’t remember, though—you were so ill at the time. Don’t you realise that since it is our fault that you were hurt at all, it is only right for us to help you to get well again?”

“I don’t know that it was your fault. I expect it was mine for getting in the way.”

“You can’t possibly prove that, my dear little boy. And in any case you couldn’t be moved—you absolutely must lie quiet for some weeks yet; so won’t you be nice about it and only remember how I love fussing over sick people?—do!”

She put her hand on his and was hurt, though not discouraged, when he drew it sharply away. In fact, this solicitude and friendliness was almost more than the boy could endure. He did not like or understand it; he distrusted this woman—smiles, pretty ways, soft speeches and all. What was she to him? How could she possibly enjoy nursing him? Did he want any woman’s ministrations, anyway? He wished, since he had to be smashed up like this, that he had been killed outright, or at least sent to a place where he would have been treated simply as a case, to be healed and sent away as soon as possible, with no personal element in the matter to embarrass and burden him. Besides, with all his soul he dreaded being made a soft,” unfit to fight when he was thrown out again—or let loose, which was it? God knew it had been grim