CHAPTER XI.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9321, 22 August 1908, Page 1

CHAPTER XI.

ACCIDENT OR MTTRDKK? The news of the accident on the lake threw the whole household into a fever of excitement and confusion, and in a few minutes the gardeners, grooms and men servants were on the spot eager to attempt a rescue. But that was no easy matter. There were no other boats except an old rowi ing-boat, which had not been used that year, and a big fishing punt moored in the farthest corner of the lake. . The boat leaked like a sieve and sank almost as soon as willing hands had pushed her into the water. The punt had to be used —a heavy cumbersome thing that blundered-along against the wind at a snail's crawl, in a race where seconds might decide the issue between | life and death. \ Tlie lake covered several hundred ! acres and the accident had occurred in : the middle at the broadest part. The boat had filled and gone down; and every eye was strained on the spot t_ catch sight of tho two occupants. "Master Jack'll be all right," said one of the gardeners in Sadie's hearing. , "He can swim like a duck, he can. I've seen him swim fair across and back, bank to bank ;in his clothes, too ; ' { but 1 don't know about Mr Dorrison." A shout for help came over the water 3 in Dorrison's voice, as if in ansAver to the man's doubt; and it Avas answered 1 from the men in the punt, which ivas 1 iioav slowly and laboriously approaching , the iscene. Then a man climbed a tree j near to get a vantage point < " I can't see ne'er a one," ho an- ] nouneed. "Oh, yes, I can. There's Mr Dorrison just come to the surface. < He be diving for Master Jack. There _ he goes down again. Hope Master i Jack ain't caught in any of tlie boat's s gear. Seems most like it, though. He's up again; but ho's alone.'' ] " Are you quite sure, Billings?"' It £ was Lord Broadstone. He was stand- t ing near Sadie, bareheaded, pale and t unnerved, i " Quite sure, my lord. He's dived i doAAii again." "In heaven's name, can nothing be i done?" cried Broadstone. \ " He's up again, my lord —but he's t eftill alone," said Billings. c "This is horrible. I'll give a hun- i dred pounds to the man who brings the « boy to shore alive." £ " I doubt if a million would do it if 1

he's been under water all this time," murmured someone. Was it Teal, this excited, unnerved concern; or merely acted anxiety to impress tho bystanders; or, again, belated remorse, born of participation in guilty foreknowledge of a cruel deed? Sadie watched him closely as she asked herself these questions in the light of Avhat she had seen done in the boat. A. cry from Billings in the tree broke in upon her thoughts. " Tho punt's reached Mr Dorrison, my lord." I-^e AA-as seen to clamber into tho punt helped by the men; and instantly he plunged in again. A faint cheer was raised at this plucky act. " He do stick to 'un," said a gardener, admiringly. " tied give his 'life to sp,vc the bey," declared Lord Broadstone, Avho heard thi-s. •'They aurt found him, my ic-Td," announced tho man on ihe watch. And so tho search continued for half an hour cr moro ; Dorrison lying in tho bottom of the punt- exhausted with his efforts, until the watcher in the trees exclaimed excitedly: ■•'Sam Redfcrn's got Master Jack, my lord: but I doubt it's only the body." They saw the men iv the punt hoist the lad in. The man who had brought him up followed, and tho punt was headed for the spot wiiGre they ali stood ivith bated breath. In the midst of the suspense Eva, white-faced and distraught Avith. shock; was seen coming from the house, Avhere. sho had heard rumours of the tragedy. "If she sees tho dead body it aajll cost her her life or her reason, my lord," said Sadie. " How can I stop her?" 'ho cried, weakly, Avringing his hands. " You must, my lord. Get her back to the house by force, if need be," cried Sadie, greatly daring. " Say that her presence will injure ncr brother. Anything." ; Her will and insistence conquered him. He ran to intercept Eva, and to Sadie's relief she saw him lead her back to the house. j Then in her strong, resourceful, prac- j tical way, she took command of things. She sent one man hurrying to the house j to havo all preparations made; others improvised a rough litter; and herself helped to lift the boy out of the punt and felt for his pulse. Then she made a discovery. Fastened to tlie left AA-rist, Avith a dangling end, about a foot in length, aavis a white silken cord, slight, but yet strong' enough to have held doAvn a body five times the weight of Jack Petherby. Without a moment's hesitation she freed it from the wrist as he lay on the litter; and as she rose with it in her hand, Dorrison's AA r hite face was turned toward dier. He Avas staggering along AA-ith a man supporting him under each arm. " He had fastened tbe main sheet to | his Avrist," he stammered, liis teeth j chattering between his livid lips, from \ tho chill Avhich set his Avhole frame j shivering and quivering as in an ague, j lio Avas exhausted almost to the point of collapse. Sadio made no reply, but bade the men hurry with Jack to the house with all speed. On the Avay Dr Bradford met them and took charge. Sadie hurried to her room, taking the cord AA-ith her. Like tho rest, she Avas drenched to the skin, and she made haste to take off her Avet things. All tho Avhile sho was conscious of a curious detachment of mind. For the moraen-kj-! even Eva herself was forgotten in the all-absorbingj problem of that piece of white silken cord. It oppressed and half-terrorised her; starting wild thoughts, harrowing and fear-compel-ling in their grim suggestiveness. Only with a desperate effort coftld she break the gruesome fascination which the tiling had for her, and then she, locked the cord away and Avent in search of Eva. Lord Broadstone had succeeded in getting Eva to return to the ho%se on the pretext that she could do more good by seeing that all preparations Avere made for Jack ; but for all her tenderness and sympathy, she was not able to be of much use. She gave some directions to the housekeeper and then hurried to her OA\ m room, too unnerved to do more. Sadie found her alone there with a look of hopeless agony on her greywhite face. She was anticipating the worst; and her husband had served to deepen her alarm by all that he had said. When Sadie entered she started up Avildly. " You have come to tell me Jack is dead. I know you have." " No, I have not. I have come to tell you what I knoiv." The calm firm tone was in a measure reassuring. "But you think he will die? Oh, Margaret ! It will kill me." "The issue of life or death is not in onr hands; but avo can pray that all AA-ill yet be Avell." " I will never pray again if he is taken from me — the only soul on earth who cares for me. Oh, God, oh, God, have mercy and give him back to me " ; and she threw herself on her knees and j clasped her hands fervently. But al- ' most directly she sprang up again and ! cried wildly: "It will kill me. I will not live. I -will not live." "This Avildness Avill not aid him and will harm you. Come; try to listen calmly while I tell you. The boat upset in the middle of the lake, and some time elapsed before anyone could get to the spot Avith help. But he has been brought ashore, and Dr Bradford is now using all his skill to bring him round." "He will not do it. He is dead. I knoAv it," broke in Eva passionately. " It is in God's hands, and you have no right to rebel against His wisdom. 1 ' j This Avas said A-ery firmly, and with a ! touch of sternness. It had some effect i in calming the child — for child she was, despite her twenty and more j-ears. "I am wicked, I know; but oh, bo miserable, Margaret," she Availed. "Come, lie here," and Sadie got her ti a conch and laid a rug over her and talked soothingly and as hopefully as she could ; yet seeking to prepare her Por the Avorst. She herself had no ioubt of the issue. The Avhite cord had convinced her. Presently Eva put her hand into Sadie's. "You Avon't leave me, Margaret?" she asked Avistfully. " SomehoAV [ feel stronger and calmer when you ; ire with me." v No, I Avon't leave you. I promise. [.et me read to you." She chose of design that mournful but lovely story of >he death of David's son ; and then all ;he passages she could remember of bhe Christian's duty of resignation to }Jhe Divine will. So the time passed heavily while they : vaited. Now and then Eva would interrupt with questions about the long lelay and what it meant ; whether good ir ill? But as the minutes ran on and noz*e than an hour had ebbed, hope ' jbbed with it. "I must know, Mar- j »aret. I cannot bear this suspense. , Better the worst than this/ she moan-. t S d. 5 "Then try to resign yourself to the ] vorst," answered Sadie. "The long t lelay makes mo fear." t It was hard for the one to hear, but f .lmost harder for the other to say. Yet t t was best said. " You have^ known it all the time," s ried Eva s wratbfuUy ; and tearing her . (

hand from Sadie's and covering her face, she turned away and burst into a passion of tears. Sadie let her weep—they were the first tears she had shed—and just waited for the storm to pass. She had known the time in her life when she Avould havo given untold weali.li for the relief of tears. The storm was long in passing, but it spent itself at length. She sat up, trembling violently, and as AAeak as a little child. "Come with me, Margaret. Let us go and fifid out." sho said. "I can bear it now, I think." Her lips quivered piteously as she spoke. Sho steed up clinging for support to Sadie, Avho urged her: "Let me go and I will bring you word" "No, no, no, don't leave mo," cried EA~a piteously. "Come thea/' and Sadio icd her toward the door. "How cold it is, and dark." The twilight had faded quickly, lor tho storm had returned. Mid tne sky avus dark with heavy clouds. They wero-balf way to the door when it A>-as opened and Lord Broadstone entered. His face Avas flushed, and Sadie saw that he had been drinking to droAvn these disquieting thoughts which had agitated him at the water side. He paused a second, and then acted like the brute he Avas. "It's aH up. Jack's dead;" he blurted out without a word of preface." Eva reeled at the words, stood a moment gazing at him in iiorror, and then with a moan threw up her hands, and AA-ould have fallen to the ground had not Sadio caught her. Had his object been to kill her with the brutal bluntness with which he told the news he could not have dealt a more dastardly blow. Moro merciful ruffianism, indeed, had he taken a bludgeon and felled her with it. Ho declared afterwards that in the dusk of the room ho had seen only Sadie, and had believed her to be alone. But he had spoken of the boy by his name; and he AA-ould not haA-e done that to a servant avlio had so recently arrived at the Towers. Only with great difficulty could Sadie restrain herself sufficiently to remember to play her p&rt. Sho laid J-va on the fouch. " Will your lordship send the doctor here?" she said. "Ts she as bad as all that?" Sadie made no reply, aud he added, testily: "Why did you have no light? The room's so cursed dark, I couldn't see." " There is light enough to see that her ladyship is very ill, my lord," answered Sadie, and much to his surprise sho crossed tne room and rang the bell. Ho mumbled something obout " ivifornal impertinence," ond added* '" You had better go and fetch up the doctor."' "My lady made me promise not to leave her my lord." Tliere A\*as no mistaking the distinct note of open antagonism ; and ho looked at her in angry surprise. What do you mean by that?" he asked, going toward her. " I am my lady's maid, and have to obey her orders, my lord." " But not to disobey mine. Go and fetch the doctor, at once." Sadie did not reply, but continued her efforts to restore Eva. "Do you hear ivhat I sa£&~»sShG .■do-.yo^.^JWtos.e-is.master oL tlns house?" The angry tone mado not the lep**>t impression upon her. "I will not <]i--obey my lady's orders, my lord," she said firmly. Broadstone SAVore under his breath. " Look here, you aro discharged. You understand. I won't havo insolent servants like you about. Leave the room and get out of the house to-night." For a moment it looked like a crisis. Words rose to Sadie's lips which would have silenced him; but, ns she half turned to utter them, an interruption eamo. The servant entered, followed by Dr Bradford. ""Oh, I came up to break the news to her ladyship, my lord," 6aid the doctor. " I have already told her," was the answer. " In such a way that this is the result, sir," declared Sadie in a tone AA-hich brought the doctor in a hurry to Eva's side. It sounded like au accusation in Broadstone's ears.