By his bedside sat Dr. Vaudelier.
Emily had, an hour before, retired to the rest which her exhausted frame
demanded. For the past three days she had watched patiently and lovingly
by the invalid. And now she had only been induced to retire by the
promise of the doctor to call her, if any unfavorable symptom appeared.
The threatened assault upon the island had been thoroughly considered,
and for the past two nights the island wore the appearance of a
garrisoned fortress, rather than the secluded abode of a hermit. Emily
knew of the peril which now menaced her, but the ample means at hand for
protection rendered it insignificant. All thought, even of her own
security, was merged in her generous interest in the comfort of the
sufferer.
The good physician was uneasy and disturbed, as he sat by the bedside of
his patient. The circumstances which surrounded him were novel in the
extreme. Accustomed as he had been to the quiet which always reigned in
his domain, to find himself, as it were, the inmate of a fortress, in
momentary expectation of an attack, was so singularly odd, that his
natural indifference deserted him.
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