“Ye can’t! It’s too late! Old Joe’s done for.”
“It is never too late, dear uncle. You were my mother’s brother, and she was such a dear, good mother to us! We loved her so!”
“Yes; she was a good gal--she always was. I didn’t treat her right when she got married. Your dad was a dreamer--alwus expectin’ to do something great. I was a worker, and I didn’t like him. But she was a good gal, and you look like her. You have her face--and her eyes. But you can’t see?”
“Some time you shall! I know that! I must think about it, but I can’t think now. My head aches so bad.”
Jack brought some cool water and a handkerchief. Then little Nell wet the handkerchief and placed it upon the man’s forehead. Old Joe watched everything in a wondering way, as if he could not understand why they should do so much for him.
“There!” said the man, huskily; “now let me think. I’m a brute. Let me sleep. When I wake up I’ll be able to think better. Sit here by me, Nellie, till I fall asleep. You need not touch me, but it is good to have an angel near!”
The old engineer fell into a sleep or a stupor in a short time, and little Nell, exhausted, was taken to the bed in Frank’s room. Merry carried her in his arms.
“Now you must sleep and rest, dear little girl,” said Frank, as he placed her gently on the bed.
“Oh, I shall think, think, think; and you know it is hard to sleep when you are thinking.”
“You need the rest, Nellie. The excitement to-night might bring on a relapse and make you ill again. You do not want to be ill any longer.”
“Then keep still and count yourself to sleep. You can do it if you try.”
“You shall know it. But I think he will sleep straight through till morning. He has been drinking heavily since he was discharged to-day, and that was why he fell downstairs.”
“I know, for I could smell his breath. Oh, don’t you suppose we may be able to get him to sign the pledge? Perhaps we can save him and make a good man of him.”
“You may be able to do it, Nellie; but it is not possible for me to do anything. I have tried my best with him, and it has been a failure.”
“I will try. Somehow I am not afraid of him the way I was. He seems so ill and lonely in the world. It must be terrible to be all alone in the world, with no one to work for, and no one to care about.”