I shall give Monsieur de la Vallee a soothing draught.

A night's rest will be of vital importance to him.

And now that you have relieved his mind of the load that has evidently weighed upon him, I think there is little doubt that he will soon fall asleep." "I will go and have supper," Desmond said, "for I have ridden fifty miles since I last ate, and then it was but a piece of bread with a draught of wine.

After that I will, with your permission, return here, and if you tell me that he sleeps, will take my place by his bedside till morning." "To that I have no objection," the surgeon said.

"I and a colleague have, one or other, been with him since he was brought in; and I shall be glad of a rest, myself." Desmond returned to the Soleil, where he had left Mike.