arnesk is the second
greatest oculist in the country; but undoubtedly Sir Gaire is first.
Meanwhile I will give her a little nerve tonic; it will do her no
harm, and will give her reason to think that we know how to treat her,
so that it may do her good. She must wear the shade I brought her, and
take care her eyes are never exposed to the light."

"The fact that you yourself can make nothing of it is for us or
against us?" asked the General, in an anxious voice.

He was looking haggard and tired out.

"In what way?" queried the doctor.

"I mean that if she had--er--totally lost her--the use of her
eyes--for all time, could you be certain of that or not? Or can
you give us any reason to hope that the very fact of your not
understanding the nature of the case points to her getting over it?"

"Ah," said the doctor, "I'm not going to be so unfair to you as to say
that. I will say emphatically that she has not absolutely hopelessly
lost her sight. The nerves are not dead. This green veil may be
lifted, possibly, as suddenly as it fell; but I am talking to men, and
I want you to understand that I can give no idea as to when that may
be. I pray that it may be soon--very soon."

"I'm glad you're so straightforward about it, Whitehouse," said the
old man, as he sank into a chair. "I don't need to be buoyed up by any
false hopes. You can understand that it is a very terrible blow to Mr.
Ewart and myself."

"I can indeed," said the doctor solemnly. "I brought her into the
world, you know. It is a tragic shock to me. I'll get back now, if
you'll excuse me. I have a very serious case in the village, but I'll
be over first thing in the morning, and I'll bring you a small bottle
of something with me. You'll need it with this anxiety."

"Nonsense, Whitehouse," declared the General stoutly. "I'm perfectly
all right. There's nothing at all the matter with me. I don't need any
of your begad slush."

"Now, my dear friend," said the medical man cunningly, "it's my
business to look ahead. In the next few days you'll be too anxious to
eat, so I'm going to bring you something that will simply stimulate
your appetite and make you want to eat. It's not good for any man to
go without his meals, especially when that man's getting on for
sixty."

"Thank ye, my dear fellow," said the old man, more graciously.
"I'm sorry to be such a boor, but I thought you meant some begad
tonic." The General was getting on for seventy; to be exact, he