SHORT STORY

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 14701, 19 June 1911, Page 4

SHORT STORY

THE CONVERSION OF CAPTAIN ENGRAVE.

By h. Frost Rattray, author of " Hupa," etc., etc.

The road was undeniably rough, and the captain, who at that time was acting as chauffeur, was evidently very much the amateur.

"Take care, dad," said the young man at his side, as the car lurched violently in an effort on the driver's part to avoid an extra large mud-hole. "I am taking care," retorted the elder man testily. "Is that an animal sleeping in the middle of the road? Great Scott! Where's the ranger, or whoever it is? Surely someone oughn't to allow wild beasts to roam about the highways' and make sleeping apartments of the very centre! " Vigorously the horn was tooted, and the surprised cow rose leisurely, and then alarmed by the shrieking car which seemed in that peaceful spot, a veritable spirit of evil, fled precipitately down the road.

Watching its departure, Captain Engrave allowed the car to swerve to one side, and a tall over an embankment on one aide was narrowly averted. The look of remonstrance on his son's face, was met by an outburst of wrath from the irascible driver. " It's all the fault of that detestable street collection," lie cried. "I said I wouldn't give a penny towards tin ambulance station, and so I've been driven out here into the back-of-bcyond to escape those too persistent boxes.' "Well," returned Jack, tolerantly, " they work frightfully bard, all that crowd connected with it, and, by .love, thev make nothing themselves out of it. Most of them are very nice-looking girls too!" he added to "himself. Put his father caught the words. 'Mack!" he said sharply, "if ever you marry a girl who's gone in for first-aid and that rot, I'll—l'll cut you off with, hang it all—sixpence ! " The young man smiled. "You're quite safe, father; Pin never likely to come across any of them." But his thoughts flew back to one or two very attractively petitioning faces whom he recollected seeing at the last ambulance collection. Here tho road narrowed and the ruts grew deeper, and Jack Engrave, who had little confidence in his father's recentlyacquired knowledge of motoring, offered, rather anxiously, to change seats. Bat the implied imputation on his skill, so nettled the elder man, that he, reckless of a sharp corner, increased his speed; then in an effort to avoid the stupid cow which seemed almost to have waited for them at the bend of the road, ran tho car up a bank, and in a moment, father, son, car and cow, seemed all mixed up in an inextricable confusion. When the captain recovered consciousness, he found himself lying on damp grass and fern by the side of the road, and a very pretty girl, with large, brown, anxious eyes, was bending over him. "Oh, Ido hope you are not hurt! It was our cow, stupid" old Molly, who must have got in yoitr way. lam so sorry." Captain Engrave was essentially a truthful man. "It was-my-my-own— fault," he murmured, in a strangely subdued voice, though he had still but a vague recollection'of what had happened. lie put his hand to his head mechanically, to remove his cap, as he recognised the dainty femininity of his ministering angel, and hastily withdrew it, covered with blood.

"Im hurt," he gasped. "It's only a little cut," said the girl reassuringly, "I'm just going to tie it up for you." She was folding a triangular bandage as she spoke, and having applied a neat pad of boraie lint, she deftly bound up the injury. The captain was now sitting up, and catching sight of the wrecked car, exclaimed: "My boy; Oh, where's my boy?" "My sister is looking after him," said the girl. "Please keep still, and I will go over and help her." She i knelt down by the young man, and asked her sister what was the nature of his injury. "Broken leg!" cried the captain, who had followed her. "What, on earth's to be done in this doctorless hole?" Being still very much shaken, he floped limply on to the turf by his son's side. Jack was slowly regaining consciousness under the skilled management, of the girls who had so opportunely come upon the scene of the accident, and his first words were a reassurance to his father that there wasn't much the matter with him, except his leg, which seemed quite helpless, and his head was whirling round. "What's to be done?" again cried the captain. "Jack, old boy, I'm most awfully sorry. I wonder if we could get a trap and take -you home." "You mustn't move him until we have put his leg in splints ! " cried one of the girls. " May, that long piece of wood over there, my umbrella, and the stick you took to keep off the cows, will do splendidly." " But, but "—stammered the captain, "1 can't allow you to touch my son ! What do you know about a serious case like this? You might lame, him for life." " My sister, Ethel, knows just how to treat a case like this," cried May, indignantly. " She has been attending the first-aid classes in Auckland, and passed her examination for the medallion of the St. John Ambulance Association. If you move your son as he is now, you would certainly inflict great injury and suffering on him, and most probably, he would be lame ever afterwards." She turned again to Jack. "Please do trust us. There is really no other way. We could not obtain the services of a doctor under three hours, very probably not for much longer, as ho would most likely not have returned from his afternoon rounds. My sister has taught me all she knows, and I can really help her." " You are very good," murmured Jack, feebly, "please do what you can." Captain Engrave reluctantly yielded permission, and watching the dainty and deft use of available material, and the workmanlike manner of applying first-aid in this emergency, felt his, prejudices against the society, slowly begin to melt away. They disappeared altogether, when, with the help of an unhinged gale, and two sturdy farm labourers, .lack was carefully conveyed to the girls' homea typical prosperous settler's station, where Mr. and Mrs. Poller, with Ethel and May and an elder brother lived in a contented, if somewhat, isolated manner.

The brother, who rode up just as the little procession entered tin; bouse, was at once despatched for medical aid, which was not forthcoming till nearly nine o'clock that evening.

The doctor was a. brisk, clever little man, who had recently started practice in the neighbourhood. lie would not hear of the removal of Jack for some days, and fearing fever, remained in the house all night. lie complimented the girls, especially Ethel, on their skill, and congratulated Captain Engrave on the fact, that owing to this, he and his son had escaped much suffering and probably, very serious consequences from the accident. Jack was only semi-conscious when the doctor was obliged to go away in the morning, bin he told the father, he was perfectly satisfied to leave him in the capable hands of Mrs. Poller and her daughters. Captain Engrave suggested a trained nurse from town, but Dr. Booth waived the idea aside, assuring him that, it was quite unnecessary, unless Jack's illness took on a, much more alarming aspect. And as day by day, the captain watched the capable womanly tendance of himself and his son, the conviction of his unkind remarks on the Si. John Ambulance collectors, burned deep into his soul. "Jack, my boy," lie said, as three weeks later, they enjoyed the westering sun on the spacious verandah of Volte" station, "how on earth are we going to pay these people for all they have done for us? We can't offer them money, we can't provide for the son, who is his father's right hand on the farm, and

those two nice, lady-like, clover gfrls want nothing from us. By-tho-byej now did they happen to have bandages and those things with them when they found us that awful afternoon?"

.Jack shifted himself, slightly on the comfortable lounge to which he had been carried for the first time an hour or two before.

"Ethel—l mean Miss Poller, was going to teach first-aid to some friends of hers. The buggy was in the blacksmith's hands so they were going to walk; it's only two miles. " Lucky for us they were just coining along, when the accident happened. "Lucky, indeed ! 1 shall send a cheque to the new ambulance .station, and I must pav for tho cow; but, what about the girls?" "1 thought," said Jack, shyly, "I might undertake the maintenance of one of them for life. The doctor has his eye on Ethel, and she would be most useful in the country —and May would look awfully well as mistress of our houso, dad ! And she wants to come to town to get the St. John Ambulance certificates herself."