Clem
scarcely ever removed her eye from Joseph's face; the latter held
his lips close together and kept his brows wrinkled. Few words
passed during the drive.
At the door of the house appeared Bessie, much agitated. All turned
into the parlour on the ground floor and spoke together for a few
minutes. Michael had been laid on his bed; at present Jane only was
with him, but the doctor would return shortly.
'Will you tell her I'm here?' said Joseph to Mrs. Byass. 'I'll see
her in the sitting-room.'
He went up and waited. Throughout the house prevailed that
unnatural, nerve-distressing quietude which tells the presence of
calamity. The church bells had ceased ringing, and Sunday's silence
in the street enhanced the effect of blankness and alarming
expectancy. Joseph could not keep still; he strained his ears in
attention to any slight sound that might come from the floor above,
and his heart beat painfully when at length the door opened.
Jane fixed her eyes on him and came silently forward.
'Does he show any signs of coming round?' her father inquired.
'No. He hasn't once moved.'
She spoke only just above a whisper. The shock kept her still
trembling and her face bloodless.
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