impatient moan
from the sick man, however, brought a change to his abstracted face, and
he turned to him with an exaggerated expression of sympathy.

"In course! Lordy! I know jest what those pains are: kinder ez ef you
was havin' a tooth pulled that had roots branchin' all over ye! My! I've
jest had 'em so bad I couldn't keep from yellin'! That's hot rheumatics!
Yes, sir, I oughter know! And" (confidentially) "the sing'ler thing
about 'em is that they get worse jest as they're going off--sorter
wringin' yer hand and punchin' ye in the back to say 'Good-by.' There!"
he continued, as the man sank exhaustedly back on his rude pillow of
flour-sacks. "There! didn't I tell ye? Ye'll be all right in a minit,
and ez chipper ez a jay bird in the mornin'. Oh, don't tell me about
rheumatics--I've bin thar! On'y mine was the cold kind--that hangs on
longest--yours is the hot, that burns itself up in no time!"

If the flushed face and bright eyes of Lasham were not enough to
corroborate this symptom of high fever, the quick, wandering laugh he
gave would have indicated the point of delirium. But the too optimistic
Daddy Folsom referred this act to improvement, and went on cheerfully:
"Yes, sir, you're better now, and"--here he assumed an air of cautious
deliberation, extravagant, as all his assumptions were--"I ain't sayin'
that--ef--you--was--to--rise--up" (very slowly) "and heave a blanket or
two over your shoulders--jest by way o' caution, you know--and leanin'
on me, kinder meander over to Bob Falloner's cabin and the boys, it
wouldn't do you a heap o' good. Changes o' this kind is often prescribed
by the faculty." Another moan from the sufferer, however, here
apparently corrected Daddy's too favorable prognosis. "Oh, all right!
Well, perhaps ye know best; and I'll jest run over to Bob's and say how
as ye ain't comin', and will be back in a jiffy!"

"The letter," said the sick man hurriedly, "the letter, the letter!"

Daddy leaned suddenly over the bed. It was impossible for even his
hopefulness to avoid the fact that Lasham was delirious. It was a strong
factor in the case--one that would certainly justify his going over
to Falloner's with the news. For the present moment, however, this
aberration was to be accepted cheerfully and humored after Daddy's own
fashion. "Of course--the letter, the letter," he said convincingly;
"that's what the boys hev bin singin' jest now--

'Good-by, Charley; when you are away,
Wr