"
"I don't believe it," Miss Evans declared.
"It skill you, all right. Maybe you got a headache here, eh?" The
speaker laid a hand upon his abdomen and leaned forward
expectantly.
"Nothing but an aching void."
This confession, or a garbled translation of it, was enough for
the others; it confirmed their worst fears. The farmer volunteered
to ride for the nearest priest, but hesitated, declaring it a
waste of time, inasmuch as the lady would be dead in half an hour.
His wife ran to the house for her crucifix and rosary, which
latter she insisted upon hanging around Norine's neck. After that
she directed the men to carry the sufferer indoors, her intention
being to make her guest's last moments as comfortable as possible.
When Norine refused to be carried she was warned that the least
exertion would but hasten the end, which was, alas! all too near.
O'Reilly was impressed, in spite of himself, by this weight of
conviction, especially when the Cubans ridiculed his suggestion
that the combination of milk and mango might not prove altogether
fatal to an American. Nothing, they assured him, could possibly be
deadlier than this abominable mixture.
The victim herself, however, remained skeptical; she alone treated
the matter lightly, and although she did finally consent to lie
down, it was merely to please the others and because she was
tired.
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