Page:The Mystery of Madeline Le Blanc (1900).djvu/30

30 verdict of life or death. Some of the women who had seen Madeline every day of her life, and who had something of the feeling of a mother for her, began to weep at the sight of this living death; and when the doctor turned away from the couch, they looked beseechingly at him, as if he were to decide according to his pleasure whether or not Madeline should be restored.

"I shall do what I can," said Satiani, answering their looks.

"What is it?" asked the father.

"If there is anything beyond suspension of consciousness, it cannot yet be told. Allow her to lie undisturbed where she is." And with these words, he began to rub her forehead and wrists with a fluid that he took from his medicine case. But few minutes elapsed when Doctor Satiani took his hat and bade the father good evening, ’saying, as he went, "Send for me to-morrow if she does not awaken."