what a state he was in, for he offered him a cigarette from his own pocket. 'Have one?' and held the match for him.
Afterwards, when they were both barriered behind a wall of smoke, John Sheldon went into detail about Sheilah, not looking at Sidney much, gazing out of the window most of the time. Sheilah hadn't been surprised to find him beside her, he said, when she woke up. One is never surprised to find one's doctor beside one, when one wakes up after an accident, or a night like Sheilah's. He and Sheilah had had a splendid talk. Of course it had taken a little time and tact to get her to talk. He was sorry to have kept Sidney waiting so long, but to gain Sheilah's confidence was the battle half-won.
'We've made a great headway to-night towards getting Sheilah out of the woods,' he said finally. 'I am glad this break came. Otherwise she might have gone on bottling up this sense of moral obligation to this boy for months. That's all it is, Sid. And an overdeveloped conscience. Conflicting ideals. They work terrible havoc with certain people. Well, we know what we've got to fight now. We must get her right away from here.'
'Yes. We must get her right away from here,' eagerly Sidney agreed, his relief doing queer things to his voice. Oh, he wished he could tell John how grateful he felt.
