Melbourne House Part 94

"It is more surprising, I think," said Daisy.

"Pray, what makes you conclude so securely that this little Marchantia is _good for something?_"

Daisy gave him a quick look of wisdom and suspicion mingled.

The doctor was getting a very good amus.e.m.e.nt himself, and quite entered into the matter. He waited for Daisy's answer.

It came diplomatically.

"_Isn't_ everything good for something, sir?"

" 'Pon my word, I don't know," said the doctor. "My enquiry was for the grounds of your opinion, Daisy."

"It was not an opinion. I do not think I am old enough to have an opinion."

"What was it, Daisy?"

The doctor was still crouching down by the side of the rock, examining carelessly whatever he found there. Daisy looked at him, and waited, and felt at last that good manners required her to speak.

"You said, sir, that baskets were made to hold something."

"So your remark was an inference from mine."

"No, sir."

"Go on, Daisy."

"I only said it, sir, because I knew it was true."

There was an odd contrast between the extreme modesty of Daisy's manner and the positiveness of her words.

"It is said to be a great philosophical truth, Daisy; but what I want to know is how you, not being a philosopher, have got such firm hold of it?"

He faced Daisy now, and she gave way as usual before the searching blue eyes. One soft look, and her eyes fell away.

"I only thought it, Dr. Sandford, because in the beginning ?

when G.o.d had made everything ? the Bible says he saw that it was all good."

"Daisy, how came you to be such a lover of the Bible?"

Daisy did not speak at once, and when she did it was a departure from the subject.

"Dr. Sandford, I felt a drop of rain on my face!"

"And here is another," said the doctor, getting up. "This is what I have expected all day. Come, Daisy ? you must be off in your chaise-a-porteurs without delay."

"But Nora, and Ella, and the boys! ? they are away off on the lake."

"They will scuttle home now," said the doctor, "but I have nothing to do with them. You are my business, Daisy."

Accordingly he carried her back to the lunching-place, not indeed in his arms, but with a strong hand that made her progress over the stones and moss very rapid, and that gave her a great flying leap whenever occasion was, over any obstacle that happened to be in the way. There was need enough for haste. The light veil of haze that had seemed to curtain off the sunlight so happily from the lake and the party, proved now to have been only the advancing soft border of an immense thick cloud coming up from the west. No light veil now; a deep, dark covering was over the face of the sky, without break or fold; the drop or two of rain that had been felt were merely the outriders of an approaching storm. Low, threatening, distant mutterings of thunder from behind the mountains, told the party what they might expect before long.

There was sudden confusion. n.o.body wanted to be out in the storm, and to avoid it seemed a difficult problem. Hastily the ladies caught up their scarfs and bags, and set off upon a scattering flight through the woods to the sh.o.r.e, those who were nearest or first ready not stopping to wait for the others. Quickly the luncheon-ground was deserted; fast the blue and white flutter of muslins disappeared in the enveloping woods; hastily the remainder of the packing went on to get the hampers again in readiness to move. In the midst of all this, who was to carry Daisy's chair?

"You say there is a house somewhere on the way," said Mr.

Randolph to the doctor. "If you will go forward with Daisy at once, I will stay to look after those children in the boat.

They are coming now as fast as they can."

"Can you carry my gun?"

"Certainly. Doctor, I will take that office, if you will stay behind till the boat gets to land."

"Thank you ? it is better arranged the other way. The storm will be upon us before the ladies get to the sh.o.r.e, I fear."

"Then they had better take the other route."

Mr. Randolph in haste despatched one of the men to recall the fleeing members of the party, and bring them round by the other road to the house. But before that, the doctor had put Daisy in her chair, and with Logan at the other end of it, had set off to reach shelter. It grew very dark; and it was sultrily still in the woods. Not a leaf trembled on its stem.

The steps of the two chair-bearers sounded ominously in the entire hush of everything. The gloom still deepened. The doctor and Logan with swift, steady strides carried the chair along at a goodly rate; not as it had come in the morning. In the midst of this, and after it had gone on some time in silence, Daisy twisted herself round to look at the doctor and give him a smile.

"You do not seem concerned, Daisy, in the view of getting wet?"

"Why, no," said Daisy, twisting round again, "it is nice. I am only sorry for the people who are so frightened."

"What is nice? getting wet?"

"Oh, no," said Daisy. "Maybe I shall not get wet ? you go so fast."

But at this moment there came a nearer growl of thunder, and the leaves in the tops of the trees rustled as if a breath had pa.s.sed over them. Then were still.

"Can you mend your pace, Logan?" said the doctor.

"Ay, sir!" ? came in the deep, cheery utterance of Logan's Scotch voice.

"Hold fast, Daisy" ? said the doctor; and the two chair- bearers changed their pace for a swinging trot. It was needful to hold on now indeed, for this gait jolted the chair a good deal; but it got over the ground, and Daisy found it excessively amusing. They pa.s.sed the thick-standing tree-stems in quick succession now; the rocks uprising from the side of the path were left behind one after another; they reached the sharp bend in the road; and, keeping up the swinging trot with a steadiness which showed good wind on the part of both the chair-bearers, at last the little house where Sam had been left hove in view. Time it was; ? full time. One and another sough of the wind had bowed the tree-tops with a token of what was coming; one and another bright flash of lightning had illumined the woody wilderness; and now, just as the chair stopped, drops began to fall which seemed as large as cherry- stones, mingled with hail a good deal larger. Their patter sounded on the leaves a minute or two; then ceased.

"That will do, Logan," said the doctor. "Bring the chair in under shelter if you can; and come in yourself. This will be a shower." And he led Daisy into the house.

If ever you saw a dark-looking place, that was the room into which the house-door admitted them. Two little windows seemed at this instant to let in the darkness rather than the light; they were not very clean, besides being small ? a description which Daisy would have said applied to the whole room. She stood still in the middle of the floor, not seeing any place to sit down, that she could make up her mind to take. The doctor went to the window. Logan took a chair. Sam was sitting disconsolately in a corner. It was hard to say to what cla.s.s of people the house belonged; poor people they were of course; and things looked as if they were simply living there because too poor to live anywhere else. A slatternly woman stared at the intruders; a dirty child crawled over the hearth. Daisy could not endure to touch anything, except with the soles of her shoes. So she stood upright in the middle of the floor; till the doctor turned round.

"Daisy! ? are you going to stand there till the shower is over?"

"Yes, sir," ? Daisy answered, patiently. A smile curled the doctor's lips. He opened the door and lifted in the chair with its long poles, which indeed half filled the little room; but Daisy sat down. The woman looked on in astonishment.

"Be she weakly, like?" she asked at length of the doctor.

"Has been ?" he answered.

"And what be that thing for?"

"It is for going up and down mountains."