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366 "I am glad you thought of the intensive iodide treatment. It has its advantages over hyoscine."

"You have not changed?"

"I would rather like you to remember this is the twentieth century."

He sighed and took his hand off my knee, drew it across his forehead.

"You don't know what the last few months have meant to me, coming up here again, every day or twice a day, taking care of you, giving you back those letters, knowing you knew &hellip;"

"You had not the temptation to rid yourself of me again?"

"You have grown so cold. I suppose you would not look at the idea of marrying me?"

"You suppose quite correctly," I answered, thinking of Ella, and what a score this would be to her.

"It would make everything so right. I have been thinking of this ever since you began to get better, before, too. You will always be delicate, need a certain amount of care. No one could give it to you as well as I. Why not? I have almost the best practice in Pineland, and I deserve it, too. I've worked hard in these eleven years. I've given an honest scientific trial to every new treatment. I've saved scores of lives &hellip;"

"Your own in jeopardy all the time."

"She asked me to do it, begged me to do it &hellip;"