All but the grandparents and Jessie; these he suffered to remain, and
sitting down by Maddy, watched till the long sleep was ended. Silently
and earnestly the aged couple prayed for their darling, asking that if
possible she might be spared, and God heard their prayers, lifting, at
last, the heavy fog from Maddy's brain, and waking her to life and
partial consciousness. It was Jessie who first caught the expression
of the opening eyes, and darting forward, she exclaimed, "She's waked
up, Dr. Holbrook. She will live."
Wonderingly Maddy looked at her, and then as a confused recollection
of where they had met before crossed her mind, she smiled faintly, and
said: "Where am I now? Have I never come home, and is this Dr. Holbrook's
office?"
"No, no; it's home, your home, and you are getting well," Jessie
cried, bending over the bewildered girl. "Dr. Holbrook has cured you,
and Guy is here, and I, and--"
"Hush, you disturb her," the doctor said, gently pulling Jessie away,
and himself asking Maddy how she felt.
She did not recognize him. She only had a vague idea that he might be
some doctor, but not Dr. Holbrook, sure; not the one who had so
puzzled and tortured her on a day which seemed now so far behind. From
the white-haired man kneeling by the bedside there was a burst of
thanksgiving for the life restored, and then Grandpa Markham tottered
from the room, out into the open air, which had never fallen so
refreshingly on his tried frame as it fell now, when he first knew
that Maddy would live. He did not care for his homestead; that might
go, and he still be happy with Maddy left. But He who had marked that
true disciple's every sigh, had another good in store, willing it so
that both should come together, even as the two disappointments had
come hand in hand.
From the soft cushions of his carriage, where he sat reclining, Guy
Remington saw the old man as he came out, and alighting at once, he
accosted him pleasantly, and then walked with him to the garden,
where, on a rustic bench, built for Maddy beneath the cherry trees,
Grandpa Markham sat down to rest. From speaking of Madeline it was
easy to go back to the day when Guy had first met grandpa, whose
application for money he had refused.
"I have thought better of it since," he said, "and am sorry I did not
accede to your proposal. One object of my coming here to-day was to
say that my purse is at your disposal. You can have as much as you
wish, paying me whenever you like, and the house shall not be sold.
Slocum, I understand, holds the mortgage. I will see him to-morrow and
stop the whole proceeding."