And so overcome was she by her grief that she had to lean against
the railings, and then the passers-by turned and looked at her curiously.
XLIV
With fair weather he might hold on till Christmas, but if much fog was
about he would go off with the last leaves. One day Esther received a
letter asking her to defer her visit from Friday to Sunday. He hoped to be
better on Sunday, and then they would arrange when she should come to take
him away. He begged of her to have Jack home to meet him. He wanted to see
his boy before he died.
Mrs. Collins, a woman who lived in the next room, read the letter to
Esther.
"If you can, do as he wishes. Once they gets them fancies into their heads
there's no getting them out."
"If he leaves the hospital on a day like this it'll be the death of him."
Both women went to the window. The fog was so thick that only an outline
here and there was visible of the houses opposite. The lamps burnt low,
mournful, as in a city of the dead, and the sounds that rose out of the
street added to the terror of the strange darkness.
"What do he say about Jack? That I'm to send for him. It's natural he
should like to see the boy before he goes, but it would be cheerfuller to
take him to the hospital."
"You see, he wants to die at home; he wants you to be with him at the
last.
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