Chapter 14

"Now no one will ever know."

Robin waking from long unconsciousness found her mind saying this before
consciousness which was clear had actually brought her back to the
world.

"Now no one will ever know--ever."

She seemed to have been away somewhere in the dark for a very long time.
She was too tired to try to remember what had happened before she began
to climb the staircase, which grew steeper and longer as she dragged
herself from step to step. But in the back of her mind there was one
particular fact she knew without trying to remember how she learned it.
A shell had fallen somewhere and when it had burst Donal was "blown to
atoms." How big were atoms--how small were they? Several times when she
reached this point she descended into the abyss of blackness and fainted
again, though people were doing things to her and trying to keep her
awake in ways which troubled her greatly. Why should they disturb her so
when sinking into blackness was better?

"Now no one will ever know."

She was lying in her bed in her own room. Some one had undressed her. It
was a nice room and very quiet and there was only a dim light burning.
It was a long time before she came back, after one of the descents into
the black abyss, and became slowly aware that Something was near her
bed. She did not actually see it because at first she could not have
lifted or turned her eyes. She could only lie still. But she knew that
it was near her and she wished it were not. At last--by degrees it
ceased to be a mere _thing_ and evolved into a person. It was a man who
was holding her wrist and watching her quietly and steadily--as if he
had been doing it for some time. No one else was in the room. The people
who had been disturbing her by doing things had gone away.

"Now," she whispered dragging out word after word, "no one
will--ever--ever know." But she was not conscious she had said it even
in a whisper which could be heard. She thought the thing had only passed
again through her mind.

"Donal! Blown--to--atoms," she said in the same way. "How small is--an
atom?" She was sinking into the blackness again when the man dropped her
wrist quickly and did something to her which brought her back.

"Don't!" she moaned. "Please--don't."

But he would not let her go.

* * * * *

Perhaps days and nights passed--or perhaps only one day and night before
she found herself still lying in her bed but feeling somehow more awake
when she opened her eyes and found the same man sitting close to her
holding her wrist again.

"I am Dr. Redcliff," he said in a quiet voice. "You are much