But at the birth of his little girl he bravely decided to
accept the proposal, and to engage in the battle of life even as his
father had engaged in it, mindful of the fact that he also might in time
have a large family. But it so happened that one morning, when he went up
to the house to ask Maurice for some instructions, he heard from
Constance herself that the young man had spent a very bad night, and that
she had therefore prevailed on him to remain in bed. She did not evince
any great anxiety on the subject; the indisposition could only be due to
a little fatigue. Indeed, for a week past the two cousins had been tiring
themselves out over the delivery of a very important order, which had set
the entire works in motion. Besides, on the previous day Maurice,
bareheaded and in perspiration, had imprudently lingered in a draught in
one of the sheds while a machine was being tested.
That evening he was seized with intense fever, and Boutan was hastily
summoned. On the morrow, alarmed, though he scarcely dared to say it, by
the lightning-like progress of the illness, the doctor insisted on a
consultation, and two of his colleagues being summoned, they soon agreed
together.
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