The Star-Gazers Part 53

"Rolph?" said Alleyne quietly, as he glanced in the direction of a distant horseman, coming towards them. "Yes--no--I cannot say."

"I should say--yes, from his military seat in the saddle," said Oldroyd.

"Well, if it be or no, he doesn't mean to meet us. He has gone through the wood."

For, as he spoke, the coming horseman drew rein turned his horse's head, leaped a ditch, and disappeared amongst the pines.

"What does he want up here?" said Oldroyd to himself, and then aloud, "Been having a good 'breather' round the hills," he continued. "Sort of thing you ought to cultivate, Alleyne. Nothing like horse exercise."

"Horses are costly, and the money I should spend upon a horse would be valuable to me for some optical instrument," said Alleyne, speaking cheerfully, though all the while he was slightly excited by the sight of the horseman they had supposed to be Rolph; but this wore off in a few minutes, and they soon came in sight of the cottages, while before them a tall figure, graceful in appearance, in spite of the homely dress, had suddenly crossed a stile, hurried in the same direction, and turned in at the cottage gate.

"Mademoiselle Judith," said Oldroyd; "a very pretty girl with a very ugly name. Hallo! We are in trouble."

"I don't know what's come to you. Here's your poor father so bad he can't lift hand or foot, and you always running off to Mother Wattley's or picking flowers. Flowers indeed! Better stop and mind your father."

This in very much strident tones from the cottage whose gate they were entering; and then a sudden softening as Oldroyd and Alleyne darkened the doorway, and the nurse dropped a curtsey.

"Didn't know you was so close, sir. I was only saying a word to Judith--oh, she's gone."

"How is Hayle to-day?" said Oldroyd, as the girl stepped out at the back door.

"Well, sir, thank you kindly, I think he's better; he talks stronger like, and he took a basin of hare soup to-day, well, that he did, and it was nice and strong."

"Hare soup, eh?" said Oldroyd, with a queer look at Alleyne.

"Yes, sir, hare soup; he said as how he was sick o' rabbits, and Caleb Kent kindly brought in a fine hare for him, and--"

She stopped short, looking guiltily at the young doctor, and two red spots came in her yellow sunken cheeks.

"You're letting the cat--I mean the hare--out of the bag," said Oldroyd drily. "One of Sir John Day's hares?"

"Oh, sir!" faltered the woman, "it's nothing to him; and I'm only the nurse."

"There, I don't want to know," said Oldroyd. "Can I go up?"

"Oh yes, sir, please," cried the woman, who was only too glad to change the conversation after her lapse, "you'll find him nice and tidy."

"Care to come and see my patient, Alleyne?" said Oldroyd.

"Thanks, yes, I may as well," and he followed the doctor up into the low room, where the truth of the woman's a.s.sertions were plainly to be seen.

The wounded man, lying upon coa.r.s.e linen that was exquisitely clean, while the partially covered boards were as white as constant scrubbing could make them.

"Well, Hayle, how are you going on? I've brought a friend of mine to see you."

The man whose eyes and cheeks were terribly sunken, and who looked worn out with his late journey to the very gates of death, from which he was slowly struggling back, raised one big gnarled hand heavily to his forelock, and let it fall again upon the bed.

"Steady, sir, steady. Glad to see you, sir, glad to see him, sir. He's welcome like. Sit you down, sir; sit you down."

Alleyne took the stool that was nearest and sat down watching the man curiously, as Oldroyd examined his bandages, and then asked a few questions.

"You're going on right enough," he said at last. "Capitally."

"But I'm so weak, sir," said the great helpless fellow, piteously. "I'm feeble as a child. I can hardly just hold my hand to my head."

"Well, what can you expect?" said Oldroyd. "You lost nearly every drop of blood in your body, and it will take time to build you up again--to fill you up again," he added, smiling.

"Yes sir, of course, sir; but can't you give me a bottle or two of nothing as will set me to rights? We'll pay you, you know, sir, don't you be afraid o' that."

"Oh, I'm not afraid of that," said Oldroyd, smiling, "but I can give you nothing better than I am giving you. The best medicine you can have now is plenty of strong soup, the same as you had this morning."

"Did she tell you I had soup this morning, sir?"

"Yes--hare soup," said Oldroyd meaningly.

"Did that woman say hare soup, sir?"

"Yes, and that you were tired of rabbits. I say, Hayle, I ought to tell Sir John's keepers."

"Eh, but you won't, sir," said the man quietly.

"Why not?"

"'Cause you're too much of a gen'leman, sir, and so would your friend be, or else you wouldn't have brought him. She needn't have let out about it, though. I'm lying helpless-like here, and they talk and do just as they like. Was my Judith downstairs, sir?"

"Yes," said Oldroyd.

"That's a comfort," said the man, with a sigh of content. "Young, sir, and very pretty," he added apologetically, to Alleyne; "makes me a bit anxious about her, don't you see, being laid-by like. You'll come and see me again soon, doctor?"

"Yes, and I must soon have a bottle or two of port wine for you. I can't ask Sir John Day, can I?"

"No, sir, don't ask he," said the man, with a faint smile. "Let's play as fair as we can. If you say I'm to have some wine, we'll get it; but I'd a deal rayther have a drop of beer."

"I daresay you would, my friend," cried Oldroyd, smiling; "but no beer for a long time to come. Alleyne, would you mind going down now, and sending me up the nurse?"

Alleyne rose, and, going down, sent up the woman to find himself alone with the girl of whom they had been speaking.

Student though he was, the study of woman was one that had never come beneath Alleyne's ken, and he found himself--for perhaps the first time in his life--interested, and wondering how it was that so handsome and attractive a girl could be leading so humble a cottage life as hers.

Judith, too, seemed attracted towards him, and once or twice she opened her lips and was about to speak, but a step overhead, or the movement of a chair, made her shrink away and begin busying herself in arranging chairs or the ornaments upon the chimney-piece, which she dusted and wiped.

"So you've been flower-gathering," said Alleyne, to break a rather awkward silence.

"Yes, sir, and--" but just then Oldroyd was heard speaking at the top of the stairs, and Judith seemed to shrink within herself as he came down.

"Ah, Miss Judith, you there? Well, your father is getting on splendidly. Take care of him. Ready, Alleyne?"

His companion rose, said good-morning to Judith, and stepped out, while Oldroyd obeyed a sign made by the girl, and stayed behind.

"Well," he said, looking at her curiously.