He will not leave him at
present."
This meant more hours of waiting, during which Ellen could set her mind
and hand to nothing which was not purely mechanical. She was realizing
to the full that it was the unknown factor of which Burns had often
spoken, the unforeseen contingency, which might upset all the
calculations and efforts of science and skill. Well she knew that,
though her husband's reputation was an assured one, it might suffer
somewhat from the loss of this prominent case. Ellen felt certain that
this last consideration was one to weigh little with Burns himself
compared with his personal and bitter regret over an unsuccessful effort
to save a life. But it seemed to her that she cared from every point of
view, and to her the time of waiting was especially hard to bear.
There was one relief in the situation--never had she had her vigils
shared as Jordan King was sharing this one. As the hours went by, both
by messages over the telephone and by more than one hurried drive out to
see Ellen in person, did he let her know that his concern for Burns's
victory was only second to her own.
"He's got to save him!" was his declaration, standing in her doorway,
late in the evening, hat in hand, bright dark eyes on Ellen's. "And the
way he's sticking by, I'm confident he will. That bull-dog grip of his
we know so well would pull a ton of lead out of a quicksand. He won't
give up while there's a breath stirring, and even if it stops he'll
start it again--with his will!"
"You are a loyal friend.
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