一天的等待中英).docVIP

A Day’s Wait He came into the room to shut the windows while we were still in bed and I saw he looked ill. He was shivering, his face was white, and he walked slowly as though it ached to move. 　　 　　Whats the matter, Schatz? 　　 　　Ive got a headache. 　　 　　You better go back to bed. 　　 　　No, Im all right. 　　 　　You go to bed. Ill see you when Im dressed. 　　 　　But when I came downstairs he was dressed, sitting by the fire, looking a very sick and miserable boy of nine years. When I put my hand on his forehead I knew he had a fever. 　　 　　You go up to bed, I said, Youre sick. 　　 　　Im all right, he said. 　　 　　When the doctor came he took the boys temperature. 　　 　　What is it? I asked him. 　　 　　One hundred and two. 　　 　　Downstairs, the doctor left three different medicines in different colored capsules with instructions for giving them. One was to bring down the fever, another a purgative, the third to overcome an acid condition. The germs of influenza can only exist in an acid condition, he explained. He seemed to know all about influenza and said there was nothing to worry about if the fever did not go above one hundred and four degrees. This was a light epidemic of flu and there was no danger if you avoided pneumonia. 　　 　　Back in the room I wrote the boys temperature down and made a note of the time to give the various capsules. 　　 　　Do you want me to read to you? 　　 　　All right. If you want to, said the boy. His face was very white and there were dark areas under his eyes. He lay still in the bed and seemed very detached from what was going on. 　　 　　I read aloud from Howard Pyles Book of Pirates; but I could see he was not following what I was reading. 　　How do you feel, Schatz? I asked him. 　　 　　Just the same, so far, he said. 　　 　　I sat at the foot of the bed and read to myself while I waited for it to be time to give another capsule. It would have been natural for him to got sleep, but when I looked up he was looking at the foot of the bed, looking very strangely.