t a few degrees above zero outside where he had
come from, the doctor's eye went over to the other person in the room;
and then the doctor himself crossed over and offered his hand.

"I shall never see you, Reuben,"--said he with a very pleasant
recollective play of eye and lip,--"without thinking of a _friend_."

The doctor had a more full view of Reuben's eyes, thereupon, than he
had ever before been favoured with,--for one moment their clear, true,
earnest expression met his. But whatever the boy read--or tried to
read--or did not read, he answered simply, as he looked away again,

"You have been that to me, sir."

"I don't know--" said the doctor lightly. "I am afraid not according to
your friend. Mr. Linden's definition. But reckon me such a one as I
_can_ be, will you?"--He turned away without waiting for the answer and
went back to Faith.

"Do you know," he said, "I expected to find you here?"

"Very naturally," said Faith quietly.

"Yes--it is according to my experience. Now how is this child?"--

He turned to see, and so did Faith. He looked at the child, while
Faith's eye went from Johnny to him. Both faces were grave, but Faith's
grew more grave as she looked.

"How is this child?" she repeated.

"He is not worse," said the doctor; "except that not to be better is to
be worse. Are you particularly interested in him?"

Faith looked down at the sweet pure little face, and for a minute or
two was very still. She did not even think of answering the doctor, nor
dare speak words at all. Her first movement was to push away softly a
lock of hair from Johnny's forehead.

"What can I do for him, Dr. Harrison?"

"Not much just now--go on as you have been doing. I will be here
to-night again, and then perhaps I shall know more."

He gave her a new medicine for him however; and having said all that
was needful on that score, came back with her to the fire and stood a
little while talking--just so long as it would do for him to stay with
any chance of its being acceptable; talking in a tone that did not jar
with the place or the time, gravely and pleasantly, of some matters of
interest; and then he went. And Faith sat down by the bedside, and
forgot Dr. Harrison; and thought of the Sunday school in the woods that
evening in October, and the hymn, "I want to be an angel"; and looked
at Johnny with a very full heart.

Not a very long time had passed, when Faith heard sleigh bells again,
and a person very di