Do You Need Water While Sleeping?

The darkness before dawn probably refers to this moment.

The curtains were half-open, but outside was deep darkness; the only light in the room was the kerosene lamp next to Elizabeth.

Professor Rice was doing something outside; only Hope, Nancy, Elizabeth were in the room.

Nancy remains in a coma.

Elizabeth started reading again.

Hope sat up from the bed and leaned against the wall, lost in thought.

His injured left hand was outstretched upwards, while his right hand gently held the empty glass bottle, which he then placed on top of his left hand.

In this way, whenever he forgets to breathe because he is distracted, his raised right hand will release, and the glass bottle in his hand will fall onto the wound on his left hand, bringing Hope back to his senses with pain.

Hope passed the time by watching empty bottles fall and then be picked up again.

Perhaps ten minutes or half an hour later, Elizabeth puts the book down.

Hope looked at her. "If you're tired, you can take a nap. You can tell me what to do, and I'll watch over Nancy for you."

"You are a patient yourself," Elizabeth said.

She walked past Hope, went to Nancy, and sat on the bed.

Looking at Nancy, Elizabeth suddenly said to Hope, "When Dr. Morgan first entrusted Nancy to me, I had to give Nancy a little water every now and then. I often stared at Nancy's lips, afraid that she might show any signs of thirst."

She let out a sigh of relief, "I was terrified because Nancy is my best friend. But Dr. Morgan later asked me: 'Did Nancy drink water all the time while she slept?'"

"Of course not. Nobody needs to drink water all the time when they're sleeping. Nancy sometimes gets very tired and sleeps for more than ten hours at a time, and she doesn't need to drink water during those hours."

"So until now, I haven't given Nancy a single drop of water, and her lips remain so rosy, showing no signs of dehydration."

"You're just too worried about her," Hope said. "It's normal. If my best friend were lying here, I'd be worried sick too."

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, I was just too worried. Actually, Dr. Morgan told me from the beginning that Nancy would just sleep a little longer, but I was so worried that I forgot all the common sense."

She looked at Hope: "What I meant to say is that I apologize for what I said to you earlier; I got a little too emotional."

Hope, bewildered, stammered, "No—you're absolutely right—I certainly—"

Elizabeth asked, "Did you have a lot of time to think?"

think?

Of course not.

Hope shook her head.

"Well," Elizabeth said, "You've done enough. In that situation, you still made the right choice. It might not have been the best choice, but no one can blame you for it."

"But----"

Elizabeth interrupted him, "I consider myself a calm person, but I still do some stupid things after seeing Nancy unconscious—you really did enough."

Looking into Elizabeth's eyes, Hope hesitated.

Contrary to the easygoing nature often conveyed by those eyes, Elizabeth is actually a very stubborn person.

She has her own set of logic, in which she includes everyone around her and stands behind them to think from their perspective.

She can accurately identify the difficulties that everyone may face, and in the face of these difficulties, mistakes become forgivable.

She will eventually come to a conclusion that clearly defines who is right and who is wrong.

And the conclusions are usually correct.

At this point, it's unlikely that anything Hope says will move her.

Hope nodded. "I accept your apology."

Elizabeth smiled and glanced at her pocket watch.

She didn't pick up the book again, but instead spent the time with Hope.

Hope took the opportunity to bring up Dr. Morgan's ordeal again, but Professor Rice gave a vague account of it.

"If you're asking what happened to Dr. Morgan," Elizabeth said, "I'm not entirely sure either."

She thought for a moment, "Paul, Mr. Sawyer, and Dr. Morgan took the explosives to Sentinel Hill, you know that."

"The first to return were Mr. Sawyer and Paul. Mr. Sawyer was old and seemed to have been frightened again; he looked very pale and refused to say a word. Paul didn't have time to say anything either; after leaving Mr. Sawyer behind, he left again."

"Wait a minute." Hope sensed something. "You mean, it was Paul who brought Mr. Sawyer back?"

Elizabeth nodded. "They took three horses with them when they left, but only Paul's came back. Paul brought back Mr. Sawyer first, and half an hour later, he rode that horse back to bring back Dr. Morgan was already unconscious."

"The doctor had injuries to his hands and face, and his clothes were covered in mud. Paul and Mr. Sawyer had a fight. Paul wanted to take Dr. Morgan to Arkham, where there was a hospital. But Mr. Sawyer thought it would be better to call Dr. Horton. Before that, all that was needed was to prepare a bowl of herbal water for Dr. Morgan."

"Their plans failed to materialize because Professor Rice called at that time and said he was ready to go to Dunwich, and his status as a professor at Miskatonic University convinced both of them."

"But afterwards, Paul and Mr. Sawyer were both very depressed, and I tried to ask them what had happened, but neither of them would say."

"They said almost nothing until Professor Armitage and you arrived, and Dr. Morgan didn't wake up until shortly after you arrived."

Hope bit her nails; that was all Elizabeth knew.

But he soon learned that someone could answer his questions.

The sound of horses' hooves grew louder outside the window; it wasn't just one, but probably all the people who had gone out on horseback were returning.

They were talking, Hope could tell that Dr. Morgan and Jack Cobert were speaking.

The sounds of conversation quickly faded away.

A little while later, someone knocked on the door.

"Please come in," Elizabeth said.

Outside the door stood Dr. Morgan, who hadn't changed out of his mud-stained clothes, making him look rather disheveled.

Dr. Morgan's gaze fell on Hope, and he seemed hesitant. "I think— Love, could you come out with me for a moment? I have something I want to talk to you about alone."

Hope tried to stand up; it wasn't difficult.

He was wearing a white shirt and casual pants, which were very clean and looked new, though a little small.

But when he tried to take a few steps, he became unsteady on his feet.

Elizabeth supported him, and Dr. Morgan quickly took two steps forward and took Hope from him.

"Actually, we could say it here," Elizabeth said. "I don't mind."

Dr. Morgan shook his head. "It's because I—I want to speak with Love alone—there are some things I haven't told Professor Rice, so he probably hasn't told Love either."