Philip followed her with troubled eyes, and then he turned to the others; he had a word for each, but his chief thought was for Lord Ashden, who sat beside the bed, outwardly quite calm, for he feared to disturb Philip by any show of emotion; he even tried to smile when the boy looked at him, and bent low over the pillow to hear the whispered words. The others moved away while the two talked together, and no one else heard what the boy said to his friend. Once or twice the latter gave a great, deep sob, and Aunt Delia coming to his side for an instant heard Philip whisper:
“I shall see _her_, you know, Lord Ashden. Do you suppose she will know me?”
“The doctor says you must not talk any more for the present, dear boy,” whispered Mrs. Seldon softly, and Philip looked up with a radiant smile and a little weary, but quite contented, sigh.
“I am a little tired,” he murmured. “I will sleep awhile,” and he closed his eyes, but presently he opened them again and looked around the room. “Are they all here?” he asked faintly. “I cannot quite see.”
“We are all here,” replied Lord Ashden steadily; and Philip looked up languidly and smiled.
He lay very still after this, only opening his eyes once when Dash moved a little closer to his side. The nurse would have taken the dog away, but Philip shook his head, and after that there was perfect stillness in the room. The end came very quietly--so quietly that they thought he was only asleep, until the nurse nodded gravely to Aunt Delia and she arose and put her arms around Lord Ashden, whispering:
“Come, dear Frederick, our Philip has gone home.”
End of Project Gutenberg's Philip, by Virginia C. Young and Mary C. Hungerford