Page 60
Waking Lucy
She was quite alone, and there was not a sign of any living thing about. When I bent over her I could see that she was still asleep. Her lips were parted, and she was breathing, not softly as usual with her, but in long, heavy gasps, as though striving to get her lungs full at every breath. As I came close, she put up her hand in her sleep and pulled the collar of her nightdress tight around her, as though she felt the cold. I flung the warm shawl over her, and drew the edges around her neck, for I dreaded that she should get some deadly chill from the night air, unclad as she was.
I feared to wake her all at once, so, in order to have my hands free to help her, I fastened the shawl at her throat with a big safety pin. But I must have been clumsy in my anxiety and pinched or pricked her with it, for by-and-by, when her breathing became quieter, she put her hand to her throat again and moaned. When I had her carefully wrapped up I put my shoes on her feet, and then began very gently to wake her. At first she did not respond, but gradually she became more and more uneasy in her sleep, moaning and sighing occasionally. At last, as time was passing fast, and for many other reasons, I wished to get her home at once, I shook her forcibly, till finally she opened her eyes and awoke.
Gasp: Pulling air noisily into the lungs
Strive: Try hard
Shawl: A warm cover for the shoulders
Dread: Deep fear
Chill: When the body is cold
Unclad: With not enough clothes
Safety pin: A pin with the point covered when closed
By-and-by: After some time
Moan: To make a sound of pain
Forcibly: With strength and energy