No one could help wishing to stay in a world which contained as charming a picture as that.
And then, too quickly, the moment of clearness passed; and he was troubled about the "Herald," beseeching those near him to put copies of the paper in his hands, threatening angrily to believe they were deceiving him, that his paper had suspended, if the three issues of the week were not instantly produced.

What did they mean by keeping the truth from him?
He knew the "Herald" had not come out.

Who was there to get it out in his absence?
He raised himself on his elbow and struggled to be up; and they had hard work to quiet him.
But the next night Meredith waited near his bedside, haggard and dishevelled.

Harkless had been lying in a long stupor; suddenly he spoke, quite loudly, and the young surgeon, Gay, who leaned over him, remembered the words and the tone all his life.
"Away and away--across the waters," said John Harkless.

"She was here--once--in June." "What is it, John ?" whispered Meredith, huskily.