She seems thoroughly exhausted. Will you be over today? Well, I’ll be here. No, I don’t need to sleep. I rested well during the night, only up with her a couple of times for feedings. I’ll get another nice nap sometime today while she is sleeping. You needn’t worry.”

Greg felt like a child with a holiday after he had hung up. Why was he so glad about an utter stranger? Well, he was. It was something to have somebody to care about, even a stranger about whom he knew nothing. He had saved her life perhaps. Didn’t that give him some right to be glad?

He ate his breakfast joyously, planning what he would do.

He had intended going out to see the old landmarks that morning, his old home, the schoolhouse, the church where his mother and he used to go regularly on Sunday, the house where Alice used to live, all the places with which he had been familiar. But that could wait. He wanted to get this business of the hospital fixed up first.

He found there were formalities. He couldn’t just transform a hospital room into any kind of a free place he wished at will. There were officials, and there was a board. But fortunately, the board had a meeting that morning, and he was informed that he could present his proposition at eleven o’clock.

The board was gracious to this opulent stranger who was willing to pay cash for a room that very often stood idle because it was only available to the wealthy people. When the arrangements were completed, Greg went to see about having the bronze tablet made for the door, and it was late in the afternoon before he got back to the hospital.

He found the nurse just coming out of the room.

“I’ve been trying to telephone you,” she said. “She woke up a few minutes ago and insisted on getting right up and going away. I told her that would be impossible until the doctor came, that we had no right to let her go away until she had been dismissed. Then she said she absolutely must. That she had to go somewhere and apply for a job. She seemed awfully upset that she hadn’t got there by eight o’clock. I’ve had a time keeping her quieted down. I thought perhaps if you could come in and jolly her along a little it might help.”

“I’ll come!” said Greg with a light in his eyes. “You’re sure she won’t mind?”

“Well, I’m not sure of anything,” laughed the nurse, “but I know something’s got to be done. She’s worrying a lot, I can see that, and it isn’t doing her any good. I asked her if she hadn’t some friends I could send for, but she said no, they were all far away and she didn’t want them worried. But I did find out her name. It’s Margaret McLaren. I told her we had to have it for the records.”

Greg drew a breath of relief. Then the purse was hers, and he had paid her debt and not some other girl’s.