Bill's wound, as it turned out, was a painful one, and it had an
element of danger. His right leg was shattered, also poisoned badly;
it would take a long time to heal and there was a fear that amputation
might be necessary. Such a case demanded special treatment, and to
Melia's joy at the beginning of Christmas week she received word from
her father that her husband had been transferred from France to the
Mayor of Blackhampton's hospital.
There is no saying how this providential arrangement came about. It
may have been coincidence; on the other hand it may not. Josiah in his
second year of office was certainly becoming a power, if not an actual
puller of strings. Influence may or may not have been at work; anyhow
the Corporal bore the long journey so well that Melia, as a special
concession, was allowed to see him for a short time on Christmas Eve.
She found him wonderfully cheerful in spite of the fact that he had
endured much pain; more cheerful perhaps than she had ever known him. A
subtle change had taken place since she had seen him last. The look of
utter weariness had yielded to something else. It was as if he had been
spiritualized by suffering; indeed as he smiled at her gently from his
bed she felt that he was not the kind of man she used to know.
The memory of those few exquisite days in the summer was still in their
minds. It was from that point they now took up their lives. For both
the world had changed. They saw each other with new eyes. This man of
hers had been as good as his word, he had done his best to come back
to her; and there, full of pain, he lay helpless as a baby, yet now
inexpressibly dear as the only thing in life that had any meaning for
her. As for himself, as he smiled up at her, the grace of his dreams
was again upon her. This was she about whom the romance of his youth
had been woven. He didn't see her as she was, a commonplace, worn,
gray-haired woman, or if he did he remembered the sacrifices she had
made for his sake; he remembered that she had once believed in him, and
after long days she had come to believe in him again.
There was rare conflict in the clean and quiet room. The walls were
hung with holly; everything about the place seemed to minister to a
wonderful sense of home. He sighed a deep content as she took a chair
by his bed and held a feverish hand in hers.
"Your father's hospital!" A deep sigh spoke of gratitude. "When you
happen to see him tell him from me I'm glad to be in it."
She promised to do so.
"It's a good place." His eyes and his voice grew softer than their
wont in speaking of his father-in-law. "A bit of luck to be here." He
sighed luxuriously.