I put a pillow over my head so nobody could hear me, and then and
there I had hysterics. I knew I was having them, and I wasn't ashamed.
I'd have exploded if I hadn't. And then somebody jerked the pillow away
and I looked up, with my eyes swollen almost shut, and it was Doctor
Barnes. He had a glass of water in his hand and he held it right above
me.
"One more yell," he said, "and it goes over you!"
I lay there staring up at him, and then I knew what a fright I looked,
and although I couldn't speak yet, I reached up and felt for my
hairpins.
"That's better," he said, putting down the glass. "Another ten minutes
of that and you'd have burst a blood vessel. Don't worry. I know I have
no business here, but I anticipated something of this kind, and it may
interest you to know that I've been outside in the hall since the first
whoop. It's been a good safety-valve."
I sat up and stared at him. I could hardly see out of my eyes. He had
his back to the light, but I could tell that he had a cross of adhesive
plaster on his cheek and that one eye was almost shut. He smiled when he
saw my expression.
"It's the temperament," he said. "It goes with the hair. I've got it
too, only I'm apt to go out and pick a fight at such times, and a woman
hasn't got that outlet. As you see, I found Mike, and my disfigurement
is to Mike's as starlight to the noonday glare. Come and take a walk."
I shook my head, but he took my arm and pulled me off the bed.
"You come for a walk!" he said.
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