Page:Jean Webster--Much ado about Peter.djvu/244

236 towels on the line. The whole aspect of the place to Peter's sharpened senses wore an air of tragic bustle. No one came near to tell him how the boy was doing; he had not the courage to go to the house and ask. He sat dumbly waiting for something to happen while twilight faded into dusk. One of the stable-boys came to call him to supper and he replied crossly that he did n't want any supper. Presently he heard a step scrunching on the gravel, and he looked up to find Annie coming toward him.

"Is—is he dead?" he whispered.

"He's not goin' to die. He's feelin' better now; they 've sewed up the hole in his head. The doctor did it with a thread an' needle just like you'd sew a dress. He took ten stitches an' Master Bobby bled awful. He never cried once, though; he just got whiter an' whiter an' fainted away. Don't feel so bad, Pete, he's goin' to get well."

She laid her hand caressingly on his hair and