He climbed into the carriage to rid himself of the crowd, who were offering all sorts of aid, commiseration, and advice, and Dermot begged to come too, 'in case he should be faint,' which made Harry smile, though he was in much pain, frowning and biting his lip while the coachman took the reins, and turned us round amid the deafening cheers of the people, for Eustace was quite unnerved, and Dora broke into sobs as she saw the blood soaking through the handkerchiefs--all that we could contribute. He called her a little goose, and said it was nothing; but the great drops stood on his brow, he panted and moved restlessly, as if sitting still were unbearable, and he could hardly help stamping out the bottom of the carriage. He shouted to Eustace to let him walk, but Dermot showed him how he would thus have the crowd about him in a moment. It was the last struggle that had done the mischief, when the lion, startled by the shout of the crowd, had turned on him again, and there had been a most narrow escape of a dying bite, such as would probably have crushed his hand itself beyond all remedy; and, as it was, one could not but fear he was dreadfully hurt, when the pain came in accesses of violence several times in the short distance to Dr. Kingston's door.
No, Dr. Kingston was not at home; nor would be in for some time; but while we were thinking what to do, a young man came hastily up, saying 'I am Dr. Kingston's partner; can I do anything?'
Harold sprang out on this, forbidding Eustace to follow him, but permitting Dermot; and Mrs. Kingston, an old acquaintance of mine, came and invited us all to her drawing-room, lamenting greatly her husband's absence, and hoping that Mr. Yolland, his new partner, would be able to supply his place. The young man had very high testimonials and an excellent education. She was evidently exercised between her own distrust of the assistant and fear of disparaging him. Seeing how much shaken we were, she sent for wine, and I was surprised to see Eustace take some almost furtively, but his little sister, though still sobbing, glared out from behind the knuckles she was rubbing into her eyes, and exclaimed, 'Eustace, I shall tell Harry.'
'Hold your tongue,' said Eustace, petulantly; 'Harry has nothing to do with it.'
Mrs. Kingston looked amazed. I set to work to talk them both down, and must have given a very wild, nervous account of the disaster. At last Dermot opened the door for Harry, who came in, looking very pale, with one hand entirely covered and in a sling, the other bound up all but the thumb and forefinger. To our anxious inquiries, he replied that the pain was much better now, and he should soon be all right; and then, on being further pressed, admitted that the little finger had been so much crushed that it had been taken off from the first joint, the other three fingers had been broken and were in splints, and the right hand was only torn and scratched. Mrs. Kingston exclaimed at this that Mr. Yolland should have waited for the doctor to venture on such an operation, but both Dermot and Harold assured her that he could not have waited, and also that it could not have been more skilfully done, both of which assurances she must have heard with doubts as to the competence of the judges, and she much regretted that she could not promise a visit from her doctor that evening, as he was likely to be detained all night.
Dermot came downstairs with us, and we found Mr. Yolland waiting at the door to extract a final promise that Harold would go to bed at once on coming home. It seemed that he had laughed at the recommendation, so that the young surgeon felt bound to enforce it before all of us, adding that it was a kind of hurt that no one could safely neglect. There was something in his frank, brusque manner that pleased Harold, and he promised with half a smile, thanking the doctor hastily as he did so, while Dermot Tracy whispered to me, 'Good luck getting him; twice as ready as the old one;' and then vehemently shaking all our hands, to make up for Harold's not being fit to touch, he promised to come and see him on the morrow. The moment we were all in the carriage--Eustace still too much shaken to drive home--his first question was, who
'Mr. Tracy,' I answered; and Eustace added, 'I thought you called him Dermont?'
'Dermot--Dermot Tracy. I have known him all our lives.'
'I saw he was a gentleman by his boots,' quoth Eustace with deliberation, holding out his own foot as a standard. 'I saw they were London made.'
'How fortunate that you had not on your Sydney ones,' I could not help saying in mischief.
'I took care of that,' was the complacent answer. 'I told Richardson to take them all away.'
I don't think Harold saw the fun. They had neither of them any humour; even Harold was much too simple and serious.
Eustace next treated us to a piece of his well-conned manual, and demonstrated that Dermot St. Glear Tracy, Esquire, of Killy Marey, County Cavan, Ireland, was grandson to an English peer, great grandson to an Irish peer, and nephew to the existing Edward St. Glear, 6th Earl of Erymanth. 'And a very fashionable young man,' he went on, 'distinguished in the sporting world.'
'An excellent good fellow, with plenty of pluck,' said Harold warmly. 'Is he not brother to the pretty little girl who was with you when we came?'
I answered as briefly as I could; I did not want to talk of the Tracys. My heart was very sore about them, and I was almost relieved when Dora broke in with a grave accusing tone: 'Harry, Eustace drank a glass of wine, and I said I would tell you!'
'Eustace has no reason to prevent him,' was Harold's quiet answer.
'And, really, I think, in my position, it is ridiculous, you see,' Eustace began stammering, but was wearily cut short by Harold with, 'As you please.'
Eustace could never be silent long, and broke forth again: 'Harold, your ring.'
By way of answer Harold, with his available thumb and finger, showed the ring for a moment from his waistcoat pocket. Instantly Dora sprang at it, snatched it from his finger before he was aware, and with all her might flung it into the river, for we were crossing the bridge.
There was strength in that thumb and finger to give her a sharp fierce shake, and the low voice that said 'Dora' was like the lion's growl.
'It's Meg's ring, and I hate her!' she cried.
'For shame, Dorothy.'
The child burst into a flood of tears and sobbed piteously, but it was some minutes before he would relent and look towards her. Eustace scolded her for making such a noise, and vexing Harold when he was hurt, but that only made her cry the more. I told her to say she was sorry, and perhaps Harold would forgive her; but she shook her head violently at this.
Harold relented, unable to bear the sight of distress. 'Don't tease her,' he said, shortly, to us both. 'Hush, Dora; there's an end of it.'
This seemed to be an amnesty, for she leant against his knee again.
'Dora, how could you?' I said, when we were out of the carriage, and the two young men had gone upstairs together.
'It was Meg's ring, and I hate her,' answered Dora, with the fierce wild gleam in her eyes.
'You should not hate anyone,' was, of course, my answer.
'But she's dead!' said Dora, triumphantly as a little tigress.
'So much the worse it is to hate her. Who was she?'
'His wife,' said Dora.
I durst not ask the child any more questions.
'Eustace, who is Meg?'
I could not but ask that question as we sat tete-a-tete after dinner, Dora having gone to carry Harold some fruit, and being sure to stay with him as long as he permitted.
Eustace looked round with a startled, cautious eye, as if afraid of being overheard, and said, as Dora had done, 'His wife.'
'Not alive?'
'Oh, no--thank goodness.'
'At his age!'
'He was but twenty when he married her. A bad business! I knew it could not be otherwise. She was a storekeeper's daughter.'
Then I learnt, in Eustace's incoherent style, the sad story I understood better afterwards.
This miserable marriage had been the outcome of the desolate state of the family after the loss of all the higher spirits of the elder generation. For the first few years after my brothers had won their liberation, and could hold property, they had been very happy, and the foundations of their prosperity at Boola Boola had been laid. Had Ambrose lived he would, no doubt, have become a leading man in the colony, where he had heartily embraced his
