Spice Box by Grace Livingston Hill

Author:Grace Livingston Hill [Hill, Grace Livingston]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781634095112
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2015-05-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Martha turned helplessly back to her kitchen. The kettle was singing cheerily. She stopped to put on the large canning kettle full of water. It might be needed. Then she hurried back upstairs. What else could she do? Smelling salts? Yes, she had some. She wet a handkerchief and waved it in front of the girl’s face. She put a few drops in water and tried to get a little down between those closed lips, but most of it ran down her white chin and was lost on the pillow. She tried camphor on a handkerchief, but there was no change in the white face. A terrible, desperate fear was taking possession of her. Suppose Ronald couldn’t find the doctor. Would he get another one?

And then she heard the doorbell ring, and she hurried down to meet Ronald and the quiet-eyed, young doctor.

The boy and Martha stood very still while the doctor made his examination, but at last it was over.

“I think there is still life here,” said the doctor, turning to Martha, “but we shall have to work fast. May I have a glass of water and a spoon? Hot water, have you? Boy, you go back to my office and get the little black case on my desk. I need something from it. Miss Spicer, have you a hot water bottle?”

Gravely, quietly, swiftly they obeyed orders. Ronald was back from the office almost in no time and busied himself in bringing hot water and running errands. And yet, with their best efforts, it was a full half hour before they were rewarded by hearing a soft sigh from the sleeper, and it was a full hour before she opened her eyes and looked at them with a puzzled expression, as if she had come back from another world, then dropped the lids slowly shut again and went on sleeping. But her breath was coming now, regularly and normally. The doctor whispered a few directions about feeding her. It was some time later that he turned away from her again and said with a sigh of satisfaction, “I think she will be all right now, but that was a close call. I thought for a few minutes there that it was no use, she was too far gone, but she had youth in her favor. She must have been running on the edge of things for a long time, and can’t have been eating very much.”

“Yes,” said Martha, “I’m afraid so. She didn’t tell me much last night, but I think she is a lady, suddenly thrown of her own resources. She lost her job and went walking all over after another without taking time or much money from her small store to eat.”

Martha was surprised to find her own voice was trembling, and she felt all unnerved. The sudden relief from suspense had left her feeling weak all at once.

“Well, she’s evidently been overtaxing her strength tremendously,” said the doctor. “Ronald tells me he saw her nearly fall in the street.

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