第426章 MR. LEPEL AND THE HOUSEKEEPER(40)

The owner of the yacht wrote to beg that I would send him a report of my health, addressed to a port on the south coast of England, to which they were then bound. "If we don't hear good news," he added, "I have reason to fear that Rothsay will overthrow our plans for the recovery of his peace of mind by leaving the vessel, and making his own inquiries at your bedside."With no small difficulty I roused myself sufficiently to write a few words with my own hand. They were words that lied--for my poor friend's sake. In a postscript, I begged my correspondent to let me hear if the effect produced on Rothsay had answered to our hopes and expectations.

SIXTH EPOCH.

THE weary days followed each other--and time failed to justify the doctor's confidence in his new remedies. I grew weaker and weaker.