IN MONSIEUR'S ROOM
March 8, 1914. I thought the last entries in this journal were pretty
exciting, with two accidents to tell about, but they were just nothing
to what's been happening since. My arm is all right again; no trouble at
all, except for a slight stiffness. So that's all about that. But
_Louis_!
For the first two days after his accident he seemed to be doing nicely.
None of us saw him, for the doctor had ordered that he be kept very
quiet. When we went to inquire, Miss Yvonne said he was better and in no
pain, and that he wanted to see us all, but that he must be quiet for a
while. Then, on the third day, her face was very grave.
"He has fever," she said. "It is not high, but the doctor is not
pleased. Louis is restless, and his foot is swollen. We are all anxious
about him."
I repeated her words to Father, and he said:
"Poor boy! Blood-poisoning, probably. I'm sorry for him. Was that ax
very rusty?"
I replied that it was, for I remember that Louis remarked about it at
the time and said he could do better work if the ax was cleaned and was
sharper. Father shook his head and said they'd have to keep a careful
watch on him now.
Next day matters became worse. From then till this evening we have been
frightfully anxious, and the Meadows' family and Monsieur grew almost
frantic. It was blood-poisoning, and the doctor said it was so bad that
he doubted if he could save Louis's foot. At that, Monsieur sent
post-haste to the city for a famous surgeon, and after days of working
over him Louis is to-night pronounced out of danger. When I went over
this evening to get the news, Miss Yvonne cried when she told me. I
cried, too, and I saw Monsieur coming downstairs, his eyes suspiciously
moist. What a relief!
They have had two trained nurses, and one of them will stay till Louis
is much stronger. Miss Yvonne is quite worn out with work and worry, and
she looks like a shadow of herself. Old Mr. Meadows appears to have
grown ten years older in a week, and seems very feeble. As for Monsieur,
in the few glimpses I've had of him he looks as if he hadn't had a wink
of sleep for four days. As a matter of fact, I heard that he hadn't gone
to bed and slept since Louis became so ill,--just napped while sitting
in a chair.
I haven't slept well myself, and neither has Carol. Even the Imp has
been very much concerned. She continues to be awfully decent to us, but
I wonder how much longer it will last. Not long, I'm pretty sure, after
Louis is well again. I know her too thoroughly to be deceived into
thinking she has turned over a new leaf for good!
Now for bed and a long, peaceful sleep for the first time in a week!
March 13. To-day, for the first time, I have seen Louis. He was much
better, and he wanted to see us so much that Miss Yvonne sent over the
servant to tell us that we three could come over (Dave had gone
yesterday), but that we all had better not see him at once. Carol and
the Imp and I went over. One by one we were allowed to go up to the
room. But we were warned that no one must stay more than five minutes,
and that we mustn't talk to Louis about anything exciting.
Carol went first, but she didn't stay anywhere near her five minutes,
for I timed her by the parlor clock. It seemed as if she had scarcely
had time to go up and walk into the room before she must have walked out
again. She came down looking awfully solemn and scared, and whispered:
"He looks awful,--as if he'd been _so_ sick! I was frightened. The
trained nurse was there, and Monsieur, too. I didn't know what on earth
to say, so I didn't stay but a minute."
Then the Imp went up, and I guess she was more successful, for she
stayed two minutes over her time. We heard her say, "Hello, old sport!"
as she entered the room, and we even heard a sound like Louis's laugh.
Then there was a great chattering in French, and I knew that she and
Monsieur were talking together. When she came down she said that
Monsieur had been thanking her for what she did on the day of the
accident, and that she had been trying to convince him she hadn't done
anything, except to obey my directions. He wouldn't stand for that,
however, and insisted that she had been the means of saving Louis's
life. Nothing she could say would persuade him differently.
Then it came my turn, and I went up with my knees shaking, like the
silly goose I am, for there was nothing on earth to be afraid of. But
somehow it always did seem a solemn thing to me to see a person for the
first time after he has been so near to death. But they shook worse when
I got into the room and saw how really awful Louis looked. He is like a
thin shadow of his former self, and _so_ white and hollow-eyed. He's
never been sick before, to any extent, so I never dreamed he could look
like that.
I murmured something or other to Louis,--I can't remember what,--and
then Monsieur began to thank me in very elaborate and formal English for
what I had done on the day of the accident. I tried to answer that it
wasn't anything, and I could easily see that he didn't think it _was_ so
much, compared to what the Imp had done. But Louis spoke up in the
weakest voice, and declared:
"Sue is a trump! _I_ know what she did, for I wasn't unconscious _all_
of the time. Between them they patched me up beautifully."
But Monsieur wasn't much impressed. It's plain to be seen that the Imp
is _his_ favorite. I don't care a scrap, however, since Louis said what
he did!
Well, I couldn't think of another thing to say, so I bade Louis good-bye
and took my departure. But before I left the room I snatched a good long
look at those pictures. I've been thinking of them constantly, ever
since that first day, and longing to see them. It certainly was queer
to see those two so tightly covered. There's something about the one of
the boy that haunts me, though. I don't know why. Carol and I have
talked it over and over, and we can't make it out. The trouble is that
she practically hasn't seen it at all. That day of the accident she
didn't come into the room, for she was telephoning the doctor. She
didn't want to come in, anyway, because she knew she couldn't stand it.
And to-day she only caught the smallest glimpse of it, because she was
so upset when she came out of the room.
The nurse says that next time we go to see Louis we can probably stay a
little longer, if he continues to improve.
March 15. We all went in again to-day. Monsieur was not there, to
Carol's and my great relief, but the nurse was. I warned Carol
beforehand to take a good look at the portrait this time, and she did.
She says she feels as I do about it, as if she'd seen it, or some one
like it, somewhere before. And yet she's _sure_ she hasn't, really. I
don't understand it.
Louis is beginning to make all sorts of plans about what he will do when
he's well again. He's wild at having to be away from school and lose so
much time, but we've promised to keep all our notes for him, and that
will help a lot when he goes back.
The Imp has returned to her old tricks again. I knew she would when the
excitement was over. She told me that she met Monsieur on her way to
school this morning, and that she walked all the way to the village with
him. He was going down to get some medicine for Louis. But she startled
me to pieces when she added:
"I asked him who that nice little boy was whose picture he had in his
room. He said he'd tell me if I'd promise to keep it a secret. I said
that I certainly would, cross my heart."
"So he told you?" I asked, trying not to act as if I cared a bit.
"Why, certainly," the Imp answered, with that wicked gleam in her eye.
"He did as he said he would. I'd be glad to tell you, but, of course,
I've promised not to."
"Did you ask him why he kept the other two pictures covered?" I
inquired.
"Yes, I asked him that, too, but he said it was for a reason he couldn't
explain at present."
The Imp wouldn't have told me if he _had_ explained. I'm positive of
that. And what's more, I simply can't believe that he told her all about
the other one. She can make things sound so mysterious, when there's
really nothing to them at all. However, I can't be certain, even of
this. Maybe he really did explain, though why he should make her promise
not to tell is a puzzle.
I'm not going to think about it any more just now. It makes me too
furious.
March 22. Such a strange, strange thing happened to-day. Dave went with
me to see Louis this afternoon, for the Imp had to go on an errand to
the village, and Carol was in the house with another severe cold. Dave
went up first, stayed quite a while, and then went on home.
Miss Yvonne took me up and told me that the nurse was out for the
afternoon, and that Monsieur was lying down in Louis's room. So, for the
first time since his accident, I actually saw Louis without a lot of
other people in the room. We chatted for a while about school matters
and what we had all been doing while he was laid up. And Louis told me
how much better he was, how he was soon going to be allowed to get up,
and that the nurse was going in a few days. After that we were both
quiet for a few moments. It was one of those pauses that sometimes come
in conversation, which get so prolonged that you hardly know how to
break them. Then, just to end the silence, I asked Louis why Monsieur
had insisted on his being in this room, and how inconvenient it must
have been for Monsieur. To my surprise, Louis became much excited and
said:
"I can't think whatever made him do it that day! _I_ didn't want to be
here. I'm horribly uncomfortable about it all the time. I _hate_ it! It
would have been so much more sensible to have put me in my own room on
the ground floor. And, Sue, what do you think?" Here Louis sank his
voice to a whisper. "I came to myself one day, out of a sort of stupor
that I'd been in, and found him kneeling by the side of the bed and
actually _kissing my hand_! I was so astonished and disgusted that I
snatched it away, weak as I was. He never said a word, but rose and
walked out of the room. What does it all mean?"
"I'm sure I don't know, Louis," I replied; "but tell me, do you know
anything about those portraits that hang on the wall opposite your bed?
Why are two covered up, and who is that boy in the middle?"
To my astonishment, Louis seized hold of my arm and whispered:
"Sue, Sue, I hate those pictures. I hate that one in the middle. I'm
_afraid_ of it! I--"
Before he could say any more we heard Miss Yvonne coming up the stairs
to tell me that my time was up and that Louis must rest. And so he
couldn't go on.
But why, _why_ does Louis hate the picture of that boy, and why, above
all things, is he afraid of it? Was there ever so curious a mystery?