gently.

"Never?" he queried eagerly, twisting around so he could see her
face. "Is that a promise, Betty?"

"While your shoulder hurts," she added quickly, while the color,
which did not come from the fire, flooded her face. "I--I hate to be
cross with you when you're not feeling well," she added, trying to be
severe, "but if you don't stop--looking at me--Allen... See,
they're waiting to read the letter!"

[Illustration: WILL LEANED FORWARD, REGARDING THE PAPER CLOSELY.]

"Does that mean I have to stop looking at you?" queried Allen, with a
smile. "Oh, well, I'll not complain, if you'll only keep on holding
my hand, Betty. I'd have a chronic bullet wound all the rest of my
life--"

"Well, when the invalid and hero of the occasion is ready," Will
broke in, his patience at an end, "we should be pleased to read a
document, which probably will seem dull and uninteresting to him
beside what he has to say--"

"Oh, Will, please don't talk so much," cried Grace. "If you don't
hurry I'll be so sleepy it wouldn't bother me if Adolph Hensler
turned out to be the Kaiser himself."

"Yes, speed up, old man," Roy added. "Expectation may be better than
realization, but I don't believe it."