As the light fell on his flushed face he stirred.
"Here's your supper," said Mrs.Hollis, her voice softening in spite of herself.

He was younger than she had thought.

She slipped her arm under the pillow and raised his head.
"You must eat," she said kindly.
He looked at her vacantly, then a momentary consciousness flitted over his face, a vague realization that he was being cared for.

He put up a hot hand and gently touched her cheek; then, rallying all his strength, he smiled away his debt of gratitude.

It was over in a moment, and he sank back unconscious.
[Illustration: "He smiled away his debt of gratitude"] Through the dreary hours of the night Mrs.Hollis sat by the bed, nursing him with the aching tenderness that only a childless woman can know.