Presently he stirred uneasily, as if the old restlessness were coming back, then asked in a feeble tone: "Are you there, Nellie ?" "Nellie has gone to lie down, Father; but I will call her if you want her," Katherine said, coming forward to where the sick man could see her.
"No, I don't want her; it is you I want to talk to, only I didn't know whether she was here," he replied.
"I don't think you ought to talk at all," she said, in a doubtful tone.

"Drink this broth, dear, and then try to sleep again." "I will drink the broth, but I don't want to go to sleep again just yet," he said, in a stronger voice.
Katherine fed him as if he were a baby, and indeed he was almost as weak as an infant.

But she did not encourage his talking, although she could not prevent it, as he seemed so much better.
"There is something that has been troubling me a great deal, and I want to tell you about it," he said.

"I could not speak of it to anyone else, and I don't want you to do so either.

But it will be a certain comfort to me that you know it, for you are strong and more fitted for bearing burdens than Nellie, who has had more than her share of sorrow already." Katherine shivered.