But they need not have worried. The magic of his long sleep, together
with the glad news he had heard the night before, seemed to have
transformed the man overnight to his old gentle self.
To be sure, he was amazed at his strange surroundings, and looked
uncomprehendingly into Betty's face is she bent compassionately over
him. But all he said was:
"I declare, this is all very strange, young lady-- very strange. Would
you mind-- er-- telling me where I am?"
At the tone, even more than the words, the girls felt a wild desire to
shout aloud their relief. For the tone was the same, gentle, polite
one that they remembered hearing that day when the little man had
entertained them in his cabin in the woods.
Then Betty, as gently as she knew how, told him a little of what had
happened to him, and the girls could see by the surprise on his face
that he had no recollection whatever of the matters of which she was
speaking.
"I declare it is most strange-- most strange," he declared when she
had finished, adding as he looked down and plucked distastefully at
his tattered shirt: "And this is the result of my-- er-- temporary
aberration, is it? Ah, but I remember," he sat up suddenly, a gleam of
fear in his eyes.
Pages:
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211