“Mm-m,” he murmured, his eyes closed now. “Not sure . . . awful hard.”

“What should I do if you fall asleep?”

“Poke . . . my foot,” he said, moving it under the covers.

As exhausted as Sol looked, this was going to be a real challenge. “Now that you’re more comfortable, let me take a moment to clean your face and ear,” she offered, knowing that might help him remain conscious.

“If ya don’t mind.”

She set the Bible on the dresser across the room. “Please stay wide awake till I come back.”

He said he would.

In the kitchen, she washed and dried her hands, then got some antiseptic and cotton balls from Dawdi’s medicine cabinet before washing out the basin with hot water and swishing it around. After filling it with more clean water, she pulled her apron up to make a small pouch, then put the cotton balls and antiseptic there, and carried the basin to the spare room. She glanced at Sol to see that his eyes were open as she placed the items on the cane-back chair, then left to get two more cloths from the little closet nearby.

When she returned, Sol was lightly snapping his fingers next to his left ear. “I think my hearing’s gone in this ear. Sounds are muffled.”

Not sure how to react, she took the basin around to the other side of the bed and placed it on the small table there. She dropped one of the cloths into the basin to get it wet, then squeezed out the water. “You’ve had a bad beatin’, Sol.”

He sighed deeply and closed his eyes. “Don’t worry . . . I’m awake.”

“All right,” she said, carefully patting the caked-on blood on his temple and down his face. Next, she gently dabbed at the gash on his head, which wasn’t as deep as she’d thought it might be. He smelled of sweat and the metallic odor of blood. “How will I know if you’re sleepin’ or not, with your eyes closed?”

His eyes fluttered open again momentarily.

She continued to wash his face with care, wishing he were strong enough to shower. But the basin water would have to do, so she kept rinsing the cloth and wringing it out, the water turning a bright color of pink again.

After the head wound was clean, Ellie gently applied antiseptic with a cotton ball, feeling awful when Sol winced from the sting.

All the while, he kept observing her closely. “Could ya say something in my ear?” he asked when she was almost finished washing his face.

She put the cloth in the basin. “As soon as I return.”

Back in the kitchen, she removed Sol’s shirt and vest from one side of the sink, then poured the pink water down the drain in the other sink. Again, she washed her hands thoroughly and dried them on the hand towel hanging inside the cupboard door below.