Page:Barbour--Joan of the ilsand.djvu/211

 ITH eyes blazing, he strode toward the veranda, but at sight of the officers he pulled up sharply. If he were not careful he might give the impression that he suspected one of his guests. Keith, who was beginning to collapse under the effects of fever, had been urged by the doctor to take to his bed, and he met Chester at the doorway.

"I say, Keith—" the planter began; but the man from the Four Winds passed him with unseeing eyes. He was moving mechanically, knowing nothing but the fact that he must get under the blankets.

Chester caught him by the arm and helped him to undress.

"You'll stop there till I tell you to get up, this time, old man," the planter declared, "or else we shall be having a corpse on our hands."

Keith looked at his host curiously.

"How do you feel now?" Chester asked, when he had covered the sick man up.

"It's a lie!" said Keith in a strange voice. 199