choke my throat and wink away the tears that would come, and watch and watch, until I couldn't bear the doubt any longer, then I would touch her gently with my foot to see if she was still warm, and that would wake her, and I would be so sorry.
"All last night I never took my eyes off her dear face," Maggie continued between her sobs, and Dido was softly crying, too, then.
"She wouldn't eat the things I had brought her, and when I talked to her she didn't seem to understand, but said things about father, who died so long ago, and once or twice she laughed, but it only made me cry. She didn't seem to see me either, and when I spoke to her it only started her to talk about something else, so I watched and watched. I didn't pray any more. Somehow all the prayer had left my soul. Just before morning she got very still, sometimes a rolling sound would gurgle in her throat, but when I offered
