Page:Beyond the Horizon (1920).djvu/144

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
128
BEYOND THE HORIZON

received your wire. Am bringing specialist to see Rob. Will motor to farm from Port.” [He calculates.] The midnight gets in the Port about four-thirty, I think, or five. It should take a car an hour or more to get here. What time is it now?

Ruth—Round six, must be.

Robert—He ought to be here soon. I’m glad he’s bringing a doctor who knows something. I’m tired of being at the mercy of that cheap old quack. A specialist will tell you in a second that there’s nothing the matter with my lungs.

Ruth—[Stolidly.] You’ve been coughing an awful lot lately.

Robert—[Irritably.] What nonsense! For God’s sake, haven’t you ever had a bad cold yourself? [Ruth stares at the stove in silence. Robert fidgets in his chair. There is a pause. Finally Robert’s eyes are fixed on the sleeping Mrs. Atkins.] Your mother is lucky to be able to sleep so soundly.

Ruth—Ma’s tired. She’s been sitting up with me most of the night.

Robert—[Mockingly.] Is she waiting for Andy, too? [There is a pause. Robert sighs.] I couldn’t get to sleep to save my soul. I counted ten million sheep if I counted one. No use! My brain kept pounding out thoughts as if its life depended on it. I gave up trying finally and just laid there in the dark thinking. [He pauses, then continues in a tone of tender sympathy.] I was thinking about you,