The Witness by Grace Livingston Hill Lutz (mobi reader android TXT) 📕

Were Terrible!" She Shuddered. "How Did You Happen To Come There? I

Think God Must Have Led You."

"He Did!" Said Courtland,  With Conviction.

When They Reached The Big City Station He Stowed His Patient Into A Taxi

And Sent A Messenger Up To The Restaurant For Hot Chicken Broth,  Which

He Administered Himself.

She Lay Back With Her Eyes Closed After The Broth Was Finished. He

Realized That She Had Reached The Full Limit Of Her Endurance. She Had

Forgotten Even To Protest Against Wearing His Overcoat Any Longer.

It Was A Strange Ride. The Silent Girl Sat Closely Wrapped In Her

Corner,  Fast Asleep. The Car Bounded Over Obstacles Now And Then,  Or

Swung Around Corners And Threw Her About Like A Ball,  But She Did Not

Waken; And Finally Courtland Drew Her Head Down Upon His Shoulder And

Put His Arm About Her To Keep Her From Being Thrown Out Of Her Seat; And

She Settled Down Like A Tired Child. He Could Not Help Thinking Of That

Other Girl Lying Stark And Dead In The Morgue,  And Being Glad That This

One Was Safe.

Nurse Wright Was Hovering About The Hallway When The Taxi Drew Up To The

Entrance Of The Hospital,  And Bonnie Was Tenderly Cared For At Once.

Courtland Began To Realize That This Great Hospital Was An Evidence Of

The Presence Of Christ In The World! He Was Not The Only One Who Had

Felt The Presence. Some One Moved As He Had Been To-Night Had

Established This Big House Of Healing. There On The Opposite Wall Was A

Great Stained-Glass Window Representing Christ Blessing The Little

Children,  And The People Bringing The Maimed And Halt And Lame And Blind

To Him For Healing.

The Quiet Night Routine Went On About Him; The Strong,  Pervasive Odor Of

Antiseptics; The Padded Tap Of The Nurses' Rubber Soles As They Went

Softly On Their Rounds; The Occasional Click Of A Glass And A Spoon

Somewhere; The Piteous Wail Of A Suffering Child In A Distant Ward; The

Sharp Whir Of An Electric Bell; The Homely Thud Of The Elevator On Its

Errands Up And Down; Even The Controlled Yet Ready Spring To Service Of

All Concerned When The Ambulance Rolled Up And A Man On A Stretcher,

With A Ghastly Cut In His Head And Face,  Was Brought In; All Made Him

Feel How Little And Useless His Life Had Been Hitherto. How Suddenly He

Had Been Brought Face To Face With Realities!

He Began To Wonder If The Presence Was Everywhere,  Or If There Were

Places Where His Power Was Not Manifest. There Had Been The Red Library!

There Also Had Been That Church Last Sunday.

The Office Clock Chimed Softly Out The Hour Of Three O'clock. It Was

Sunday Morning. Should He Go To Church Again And Search For The

Presence,  Or Make Up His Mind That The Churches Were Out Of It Entirely

And That It Was Only In Places Of Need And Sorrow And Suffering That He

Came? Still,  That Was Not Fair To The Churches,  Perhaps,  To Judge All By

One. What An Experience The Night Had Been! Did Wittemore,  Majoring In

Philanthropy,  Ever Spend Nights Like This? If So,  There Must Be Depths

To Wittemore's Nature That Were Worth Sounding.

He Drew His Handkerchief From His Inner Pocket,  And As He Did So A Whiff

Of Violets Came Remindingly,  But He Paid No Heed. Gila's Letter Lay In

His Pocket,  Still Unread. The Antiseptics Were At Work Upon His Senses

And The Violets Could Not Reach Him.

There Were Dark Circles Under His Eyes,  And His Hair Was In A Tumble,

But He Looked Good To Nurse Wright As She Came Down The Hall At Last To

Give Him Her Report. She Almost Thought He Was Good Enough For Her

Bonnie Girl Now. She Wasn't Given To Romances,  But She Felt That Bonnie

Needed One Most Mightily About Now.

"She Didn't Wake Up Except To Open Her Eyes And Smile Once," She

Reported,  Reassuringly. "She Coughs A Little Now And Then,  With A Nasty

Sound In It,  But I Hope We Can Ward Off Pneumonia. It Was Great Of You

To Put Your Overcoat Around Her. That Saved Her,  If Anything Can,  I

Guess. You Look Pretty Well Used Up Yourself. Wouldn't You Like The

Doctor To Give You Something Before You Go Home?"

"No,  Thank You. I'll Be All Right. I'm Hard As Nails. I'm Only Anxious

About Her. You See,  She's Had A Pretty Tough Pull Of It. She Started To

Walk To The City! Did You Know That? I Fancy She'd Gone About Two Miles.

It Was Somewhere Along Near The River I Found Her. It Seems She Got "All

In" And Sat Down On A Door-Step To Rest. She Must Have Fallen Asleep.

Some Tough Fellows Came Out Of A Saloon--They Were Full,  Of Course--And

They Discovered Her. I Heard Her Scream,  And We Had Quite A Little

Scuffle Before We Got Away. She's A Nervy Little Girl. Think Of Her

Starting To Walk To The City At That Time Of Night,  Without A Cent In

Her Pocket!"

"The Poor Child!" Said Nurse Wright,  With Tears In Her Kind,  Keen Eyes.

"And She Left Her Last Cent Here To Pay For Her Room! My! When I Think

Of It I Could Choke That Smart Young Snob That Called On Her In The

Afternoon! You Ought To Have Heard Her Sneers And Her Insinuations.

Women Like That Are A Blight On Womanhood! And She Dared To Mention Your

Name--Said You Had Sent Her!"

The Color Heightened In Courtland's Face. He Felt Uncomfortable. "Why,

I--Didn't Exactly Send Her," He Began,  Uneasily. "I Don't Really Know

Her Very Well. You See,  I'm Just A Student At The University And Of

Course I Don't Know A Great Many Girls In The City. I Thought It Would

Be Nice If Some Girl Would Call On Miss Brentwood; She Seemed So Alone.

I Thought Another Girl Would Understand And Be Able To Comfort Her."

"She Isn't A _Girl_,  That's What's The Matter With Her; She's A Little

_Demon_!" Snapped The Nurse. "You Meant Well,  And I Dare Say She Never

Showed _You_ The Demon Side Of Her. Girls Like That Don't--To Young

_Men_. But If You Take My Advice You Won't Have Anything More To Do With

_Her_! She Isn't Worth It! She May Be Rich And Fashionable And All That,

But She Can't Hold A Candle To Miss Brentwood! If You Had Just Heard How

She Went On,  With Her Nasty Little Chin In The Air And Her Nasty Phrases

And Insinuations,  And Her Patronage! And Then Miss Brentwood's Gentle,

Refined Way Of Answering Her! But Never Mind,  I Won't Go Into That! It

Might Take Me All Night,  And I've Got To Go Back To My Patient. But You

Are Not To Blame Yourself One Particle. I Hope Miss Brentwood's Going To

Get Through This All Right In A Few Days,  And She'll Probably Have

Forgotten All About It,  So Don't You Worry. I Think It Would Be A Good

Thing If You Were To Come In And See Her To-Morrow Afternoon A Few

Minutes. It Might Cheer Her Up. You Really Have Been Fine,  You Know! No

Telling Where She Might Have Been By This Time If You Hadn't Gone Out

After Her!"

The Young Man Shuddered Involuntarily,  And Thought Of The Faces Of The

Five Young Fellows Who Had Surrounded Her.

"I Saw A Little Girl In The Morgue To-Night,  Drowned!" He Said,

Irrelevantly. "She Wasn't Any Older Than Miss Brentwood."

The Nurse Gave An Understanding Look. On Her Way Back To Her Rounds She

Said To Herself: "I Believe He's A _Real Man_! If I Hadn't Thought So I

Wouldn't Have Told Him He Might Come And See Her To-Morrow!"

Then She Went Into Bonnie's Room,  Took The Letter With The Western

Postmark,  And Stood It Up Against A Medicine-Glass On The Little Table

Beside The Bed,  Where Bonnie Could See It The First Thing When She

Opened Her Eyes.

A Little After Four O'clock,  When Courtland Came Plodding Up The Hall Of

The Dormitory To His Room,  A Head Was Stuck Out Of Tennelly's Door,

Followed By Tennelly's Shoulders Attired In A Bath-Robe. The Hair On The

Head Was Much Tumbled And The Eyes Were Full Of Sleep. Moreover,  There

Was An Anxious,  Relieved Frown On The Brows.

"Where In Thunder've You Been,  Court? We Were Thinking Of Dragging The

River For You. I Must Say You're The Limit! Do You Know What Time It

Is?"

"Five Minutes After Four By The Library Clock As I Came Up," Answered

Courtland,  Affably. "Say,  Nelly,  Go To Church With Me Again This

Morning? I've Found Another Preacher I Want To Sample."

"Go To Thunder!" Growled Tennelly. "Not On Your Tin-Type! I'm Going To

Get Some Sleep. What Do You Take Me For? A Night Nurse? Go To Church

When I've Been Up All Night Hunting For You?"

"Sorry,  Nelly," Said Courtland,  Cheerfully,  "But It Was An Emergency

Call. Tell You About It On The Way To Church. Church Don't Begin Till

Somewhere Round 'Leven. You'll Be Calm By That Time. So Long! See You In

Church!"

Tennelly Slammed His Door Hard,  And Courtland Went