“Oh, hurry, please!” Katherine cried, wringing her hands in frustration and fear. “We have to save her!”
Lying on his stomach, David inched his way toward the jagged edge of the broken floor to peer down into the dark hole as the dust settled.
“Can you see her? Is she alive? How far down she is?”
“The well seems awfully deep,” David replied. “I can’t really see her.” He scooted back. Then he secured the lantern to the rope and, moving back again, he lowered it into the hole.
“Can you see her now? Is she alive?”
“I can see her, but she’s not moving.” He moved away from the opening. “Let me think a minute.”
Katherine, beside herself with anxiety, screamed, “How are we going to get to her?”
“I have an idea.” David pulled the rope back up and removed the lantern from it. He then tossed an end of the rope over the main beam of the gazebo’s roof. Fastening its end around the gazebo’s side support post, he threw the other end into the abyss. Removing one side of his belt, he threaded it through the lantern’s handle and refastened the leather to his hip. The lantern dangled but remained attached. Taking hold of the loose rope, he eased himself over the boards and inched into the well.
“Oh, David, be careful!”
“Don’t worry,” she heard him say. And, “A little prayer right now wouldn’t hurt.”
Katherine watched him disappear into the darkness. She prayed frantically and paced, anxiously waiting for some word from him. After what seemed like eternity, she heard his voice again. Katherine leaned as close to the hole as she dared.
“She’s alive! She’s caught on a rock ledge above the water table.”
“Oh, thank God,” Katherine breathed. As the rope grew taunt and vibrated, she realized that David was climbing back up. As he appeared near the top, Katherine grabbed his hand to help him out.
“Let me catch my breath a minute,” he said as he leaned against the railing.
“How are we to get her out?” Katherine asked.
“I’ve tied the rope around her waist and under her arms. We can haul her up… if the main beam doesn’t split,” he looked up at it. He then moved to brace his feet against the top step of the gazebo. Grabbing the rope, he started to pull.
“Let me help!” Katherine cried. Then wrapping her skirt about her hands, she grabbed a hold of the rope behind him and began to take up the slack. Though her arms felt as if they were being pulled from her body, she thought only to save her sister. Finally a dark, dirt-covered mass of curls emerged level with the rim of the well.
A loud crack warned that the weight of her body was taking its toll on the wood. They pulled gently on the line until May-Jewel’s body slowly rose above the jagged boards.
“We got her!” David yelled. “Go around and pull her to you, if you can. That beam won’t hold much longer!”
Grabbing onto May-Jewel’s dress, Katherine pulled her away from the edge and locked her arms about her waist. But the rope got caught on a notch and wouldn’t release. Katherine teetered precariously on the edge of the well. She struggled to maintain her hold on May-Jewel and at the same time keep her balance.
“David!” She screamed. “Release the rope or we’ll both fall into the well!”
“It’s hooked on the beam!” He cried as he whipped the rope violently to try to free it. “Hold on! I think it’s coming free!”
With a snap and a jerk of the line, the tension released. Katherine and May-Jewel fell back onto the secured part of the deck.
Leaning over her sister’s face, Katherine cried, “She’s breathing! Hurry, let’s take her inside!”
The vicar released the rope that was holding May-Jewel and lifted her into his arms. Katherine preceded him into the manor, opening the doors before him as he carried May-Jewel in. Reaching Katherine’s chamber, he placed the unconscious woman on the bed.
“Brice’s in the stable. If he’s sober enough, send him to get the doctor! I’ll try to find out the extent of her injuries.”
“All right, and I’ll find some more blankets. She should be kept from slipping into shock.” David hurried from the room.
As soon as he left, Katherine took a cloth and, wetting it in the nearby basin, began to remove the dirt that covered May-Jewel’s face. Gingerly she then lifted May-Jewel’s arms and felt them and her hands for any broken bones. She did the same to May-Jewel’s legs and feet. “Oh, thank God,” Katherine sighed, for she didn’t find anything broken. But she knew she would have to wait for the doctor to find out if there was anything internally broken or injured. Katherine then covered her comatose sister with the only blanket there.
“Wake up, May-Jewel,” she pleaded. “Please don’t leave me. Please don’t die.”
May-Jewel, looking like a fragile child, her ashen face half covered by dark curls and bloody scraps, remained unresponsive.
While waiting for David to return, Katherine did what she could for May-Jewel, and then replenished the fire, coaxing it into a bright blaze to warm the room. Her thoughts centered on her sister. Once Wistmere had been her dream, now, as she sat staring at May-Jewel, she knew it had become her nightmare.
A rap on the door interrupted her thoughts. She was surprised to see Molly there with a kettle in her hand. “I were coomin’ back for me medicine an’ found the vicar in the kitchen fetchin’ some water. He said to tell ye he couldna find Brice, so he went ta fetch the doctor himself.” Her eyes fell on the bed. “What’s happened to
