Do tell me what that 'hardly any' means. Besides,
to set you quite at ease, you know I have never seen mountains
before, and they fill me and oppress me so much that I could not
sleep; I must keep awake this first night, and see that they
don't fall on the earth and overwhelm it. And now answer my
questions about yourself."
Miss Benson had the power, which some people have, of carrying
her wishes through to their fulfilment; her will was strong, her
sense was excellent, and people yielded to her--they did not know
why. Before ten o'clock she reigned sole power and potentate in
Ruth's little chamber. Nothing could have been better devised for
giving her an interest in the invalid. The very dependence of one
so helpless upon her care inclined her heart towards her. She
thought she perceived a slight improvement in the symptoms during
the night, and she was a little pleased that this progress should
have been made while she reigned monarch of the sick-room. Yes,
certainly there was an improvement. There was more consciousness
in the look of the eyes, although the whole countenance still
retained its painful traces of acute suffering, manifested in an
anxious, startled uneasy aspect. It was broad morning light,
though barely five o'clock, when Miss Benson caught the sight of
Ruth's lips moving, as if in speech. Miss Benson stooped down to
listen.
"Who are you?" asked Ruth, in the faintest of whispers.
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