Читать книгу On the Brink of a Chasm: A record of plot and passion онлайн

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“Hullo, Piers! what’s the matter?” said his cousin.

“Oh, Cousin Dick, Cousin Dick!” said the boy, “I am glad to see you. Come and sit with me. I am glad, I am glad! You can go away now, nurse, I want to be all alone with my Cousin Dick: he’s my greatest friend. He’s my heir, you know.”

“Your heir?” said the nurse. “What do you mean?”

“Yes; if I were to die, Dick would be Sir Dick. Doesn’t it sound funny? Sir Dick! You would, wouldn’t you, Dick?”

“Don’t talk about it, Piers; I hate the subject,” said Dick, frowning.

“I wouldn’t make you angry for the world. Come and sit near me and hold my hand. Nurse, you can go out of the room. I love you, Dick; I love you.”

“But what is the matter with you, Piers?”

“My ticker beats too fast—it’s awfully troublesome—it beats one, two, and it stops; then it flies on, and then it seems scarcely to go at all, and I feel cold and faint. If I were to get a little worse, then you’d come into my property. You’d make an awfully nice baronet. Give me your hand, Dick. Sir Dick you’d be if I were dead.”