Heath."
He muttered: "She said she always kept linen for bandages in the
shop because they so often cut themselves. Now, I used to think in my
innocence that butchers never cut themselves."
Very gently and intently Rachel unfastened two safety-pins that were
hidden in Louis' untidy hair. Then she began to unwind a long strip
of linen. It stuck to a portion of the cheek close to the ear. Louis
winced. The inner folds of the linen were discoloured. Rachel had a
glimpse of a wound....
"Go on!" Louis urged. "Get at it, child!"
"No," she said. "I think I shall leave it just as it is for the doctor
to deal with. Shall you mind if I leave you for a minute? I must get
some warm water and things ready against the doctor comes."
He retorted facetiously: "Oh! Do what you like! Work your will on
me.... Doctor! Any one 'ud think I was badly injured. Why, you cuckoo,
it's only skin wounds!"
"But doesn't it _hurt_?"
"Depends what you call hurt. It ain't a picnic."
"I think you're awfully brave," she said simply.
At the door she stopped and gazed at him, undecided.
"Louis," she said in a motherly tone, "I should like you to go to bed.
I really should. You ought to, I'm sure."
"Well, I shan't," he replied.
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