At a Girl's Mercy, or, The Fortunes of War — page 170: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

AT A GIRL'’S MERCY. : 159 the surgeon with this brave fellow. He lay on the pillow of his rude cot as though death indeed had touched him, excepting that the steady eyes, open- ing upon the nurse, grew suddenly intensely bright, and the close set lips parted slowly into a smile that lighted the rugged face with its lines of suffering and its wonderful self-repression. One of the weakened hands reached out toward her as she bent above him, his voice kept steady by strength of will, not strength of body, as he said, gently: “You are here, Helen? I knew you would be somewhere where there was need of such as you.” And then suddenly, as the light had come to his face, it went out, and he lay dead, she thought at first, until the voice of the surgeon roused her to her duties and herself. *‘A friend of yours, eh, Miss Travers? One of the bravest fellows of this war. Wouldn’t have lost his leg, as he will have to do, if he hadn’t stopped to help along some other wounded fellow—some ~ weak little chap, no doubt, for it’s like him. He’s lost a sight of blood, and will have a tough pull for it, but we'll save him if it’s in our power, Nurse Travers —we’ll save him if it’s in our power. Such fellows as he are needed, and we cannot let him go just yet.”’ : But Helen knew other as brave fellows had gone, and her heart would not be comforted just then. But she must not give up her work for vain mourning, and her hands were as steady and her face as sweet helping in this work of dressing the wound of this friend whom she had hoped not to see there. And not to him wholly either could she give her care, for there were others who needed it as much as he, and she could not let friendship stand in her way. It was some time before she could return to his side after the wound was dressed, and all done that could be done at that time, but her thoughts were with him wherever she went, though never to the neglect of her duty, for she would not allow herself to Re so selfish as that. She would be unworthy of his friendship, she said to herself, should she neglect any of her duty even to care for him. And the sur- o EComichbooks (Ee)