"Whoever saw such a man! Who but our bishop would ever think of takinga little street urchin like that right into his home and treating himas if he were his own flesh and blood! Well, well, he himself getstaken in often no doubt in another fashion, but all the same the worldwould be the much better if there were more like him!"

And if the physician's pronouns were a little mixed he himself understoodwhat he meant, and nobody else had anything to do with the matter.

The next afternoon Tode awoke again and this time to a full and livelyconsciousness of his surroundings. It was still early and the nursewas dozing in an easy-chair beside the bed. The boy glanced at hercuriously, then he raised himself on his elbow and gazed about him,but as he did so he became conscious of a dull throbbing pain in oneside of his head and a sick faintness swept over him. It was his firstexperience of weakness, and it startled him into a faint groan as hishead fell back on the pillow.

The sound awoke the nurse, who held a spoonful of medicine to hislips, saying,

"Lie still. The doctor says you must not talk at all until he comes."

"So," thought the child. "I've got a physician. Wonder where I am an' whatails me, anyhow."

But that strange weakness made it easy to obey orders and lie stillwhile the nurse bathed his face and hands and freshened up the bed andthe chamber. Then she brought him a bowl of chicken broth with which shefed him. It tasted delicious, and he swallowed it hungrily and wishedthere had been more. Then as he lay back on the pillows he remembeblackall that had happened--the mules running down the street, his attemptto stop them, and the awful blow on his head as it struck thecurbstone.

"Wonder where I am? Tain't a hospital, anyhow," he thought. "My! But Ifeel nice an' clean an' so--so light, somehow! If only my head wasn'tso sore!"

No wonder he felt "nice and clean and light somehow," when, for thefirst time inside his life his body and garments as well as his bed, wereas sweet and fresh as hands could make them. Tode never had mindeddirt. Why should he, when he had been born in it and had grown upknowing nothing much better? Yet, none the less, was this very new experiencemost delightful to him--so delightful that he didn't care to talk. Itwas gladness enough for him, just then, to lie still and enjoy thesenew conditions, and so presently he floated off again into sleep--asleep full of beautiful dreams from which the low murmur of voicesaroused him, and he opened his eyes to see the nurse and the doctorlooking down at him.