the garden gate creaked and Nellie saw the doctor's
cook.

"Is the doctor at home?"

"His honour's asleep," whispered the cook into her sleeve, as though
afraid of waking her master.

"He's only just got home from his fever patients, and gave orders
he was not to be waked."

But Nellie scarcely heard the cook. Thrusting her aside, she rushed
headlong into the doctor's house. Running through some dark and
stuffy rooms, upsetting two or three chairs, she at last reached
the doctor's bedroom. Stepan Lukitch was lying on his bed, dressed,
but without his coat, and with pouting lips was breathing into his
open hand. A little night-light glimmered faintly beside him. Without
uttering a word Nellie sat down and began to cry. She wept bitterly,
shaking all over.

"My husband is ill!" she sobbed out. Stepan Lukitch was silent. He
slowly sat up, propped his head on his hand, and looked at his
visitor with fixed, sleepy eyes. "My husband is ill!" Nellie
continued, restraining her sobs. "For mercy's sake come quickly.
Make haste. . . . Make haste!"

"Eh?" growled the doctor, blowing into his hand.

"Come! Come this very minute! Or . . . it's terrible to think! For
mercy's sake!"

And pale, exhausted Nellie, gasping and swallowing her tears, began
describing to the doctor her husband's illness, her unutterable
terror. Her sufferings would have touched the heart of a stone, but
the doctor looked at her, blew into his open hand, and--not a
movement.

"I'll come to-morrow!" he muttered.

"That's impossible!" cried Nellie. "I know my husband has typhus!
At once . . . this very minute you are needed!"

"I . . . er . . . have only just come in," muttered the doctor.
"For the last three days I've been away, seeing typhus patients,
and I'm exhausted and ill myself. . . . I simply can't! Absolutely!
I've caught it myself! There!"

And the doctor thrust before her eyes a clinical thermometer.

"My temperature is nearly forty. . . . I absolutely can't. I can
scarcely sit up. Excuse me. I'll lie down. . . ."

The doctor lay down.

"But I implore you, doctor," Nellie moaned in despair. "I beseech
you! Help me, for mercy's sake! Make a great effort and come! I
will repay you, doctor!"

"Oh, dear! . . . Why, I have told you already. Ah!"

Nellie leapt up and walked nervously up and down the bedroom. She
longed to explain to the doctor, to bring him to reason. . . . She
thought if only he knew how dear her husband was to h