ang, and she got up quickly. Next week she was to take
her turn at night-nursing. She was getting on well, and, notwithstanding
the small cloud which now existed between her and Sister Kate, Sister
Kate knew Effie's value. There are nurses and nurses. Many girls who go
as probationers to the great hospitals are thoroughly unsuited to the
life; their qualifications are not those essential to the good nurse;
they are destitute of tact, of presence of mind, of that tenderness
which can be firm as well as gentle. But Effie was an ideal nurse; her
soft and gentle ways, her kind yet firm glance, the cleverness she
showed, the tact she displayed, all proved to Sister Kate that the young
probationer might one day be a valuable help to her. She was angry with
Effie at present, but she was determined to leave no stone unturned to
help the girl and train her thoroughly in her noble profession.

During that night Sister Kate had thought of Effie. She had noticed her
pale face during the past day, the sadness in her eyes, the heaviness in
her steps, and her heart smote her a little, a very little.

"I don't believe that girl could do anything mean or underhanded," she
reflected. "Of course it is tiresome that she should know any of the
medical students, but I believe I can trust her word that she will never
speak to this young man except out of the hospital."

Accordingly, Sister Kate met Effie the next morning with much of her
old pleasantness. Effie's sad heart bounded again in her breast when
Sister Kate spoke kindly to her, and she went about her duties with the
determination not to leave even the smallest matter undone. Thoroughly
but carefully she went through all the minutiae of those everlasting
cleanings and brushings.

At last her morning's work was over, and now came the crucial moment
when she must speak to Sister Kate. The doctors had gone their rounds,
the patients were all settled for the morning. Effie came up to Sister
Kate in one of the corridors.

"Can you spare me a few moments of your time?" she asked.

The Sister looked up at the tall clock in the passage.

"Do you want to see me about anything important?" she asked.

"Yes, it is something important."

"Well, come into my private room; I can give you five minutes."

Sister Kate sat down--Effie stood before her.

"I'll try and tell you what I want as briefly as possible," she said. "I
wish to know if I can be spared to go out this afternoon?"

"It i