Page:Old ninety-nine's cave.djvu/268

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were without one! My heart gave a great bound and then seemed to stop.

"'There, my boy,' said Dr. Herschel, 'calm yourself! 'Old Ninety-Nine's' cave contained a rarer treasure than money and jewels.'

"A tedious convalescence and Wing rose from his bed clean, not a mark left to indicate that he had ever been a leper. His gratitude knew no bounds, and with the dawning of the new year, Dr. Herschel pronounced us both cured. However, for surety, we were to remain indefinitely at Shushan, now no hardship surely. How different life looked with an incentive to live; but, knowing the nature of the disease, we gratefully accepted this respite, and I can truthfully say that the remaining years there were the happiest of my life."

"And in six years you have learned the secret of happiness," said Eletheer meditatively.

"Which is found through obedience to nature's laws," Hernando replied. Then,