Only, if
the Winstead people should come up, don't you say anything to them about
these monetary affairs, or connect me with them; for it might put me
into an awkward position--you understand?"
And the last words Lionel wrote on the block of paper before Mangan went
out to execute his various commissions were these:
"You are a good friend, Maurice."
When the doctors arrived in the afternoon, Mangan had come back. They
found Lionel complaining of acute headache and a burning thirst; his
skin hot and dry; pulse full and quick; also, he seemed drowsy and
heavy, though his eyes retained their restless brightness. There could
be no doubt, as they privately informed Maurice, he was in the first
stages of a violent fever; and the best thing that could be done was to
get in a professional nurse at once. Yes, Mr. Mangan might communicate
with his friends; his father, being himself a doctor, would judge
whether it were worth while coming up just then; but, of course, it
would be inadvisable to have a lot of relations crowding the sick-room.
Obviously, the immediate cause of the fever was the chill caught on the
previous night, but there might have been predisposing causes; and
everything calculated to excite the mind unduly was to be kept away from
him.
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