She was awakened in the night by sharp and violent pain; she dreaded to
call her mother, as she would have to tell her what she had been eating,
and so she bore the suffering as long as she could; but her restless
tossings and moans aroused her mother, who slept in an adjoining room,
and hastening in to her daughter, she found her in a high state of
fever. She did all she could for her, but the next morning Charlotte was
so much worse that a physician was sent for. She was quite delirious
when he came, and he pronounced her situation dangerous.
The poor girl raved incessantly about ribbons and Annie's tearful face,
and seemed to be in great distress of mind. Annie heard that Charlotte
was very ill, and came to see her. She was shocked to hear her talk so
wildly, and to see her face flushed with fever. She stayed some time,
but Charlotte did not know her, although she often mentioned her name.
When Annie returned home she asked her mother's permission to stay with
Charlotte as much as possible, which Mrs. Grey cheerfully gave, and went
to visit her herself.
For a whole week poor Charlotte's fever raged violently, and as Annie or
her mother were with her constantly, they could not fail to discover
from the sick girl's ravings that she had taken the lost fivepence.
Annie, however, who heartily forgave her playmate, never mentioned what
she heard to her mother, and Mrs.
Pages:
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342