Part 8 (2/2)
He ran down the stairs, and entered the small saloon, which had been hastily converted into a hospital Perhaps it would be better described as a
Christobal, aided by two sailors, rapping lint round a fireman's seared armHappily, there was an abundance of cotton sheets available, and the men tore them into strips But the comparatively small supply of cotton wool carried in the shi+p's stores, and in the doctor's private iven out
”Miss Maxwell is here She asked ht be able to render you some assistance,” explained Courtenay
Christobal drew hiht, with the slowness of an elderly
”Miss Maxwell here?” he repeated, obviously surprised, if not displeased He waved a hand towards the men laid on mattresses on the deck Most were quite ony ”She cannot come--it is impossible”
”It is her wish”
”Quite i in the coood now in that cha horror He wanted Christobal himself to send her away, but the doctor had taken off his coat and bared his arrimly business-like
”Will you tell her how ht
But you see--it cannot be permitted Please say that I hope to join her in the saloon in a quarter of an hour My work is nearly ended I am sure you will make her understand that this is not a place for a woain he swept the row of silent bodies with a coht intruded itself on the sailor that this elegant old Spaniard delegated the task of explanation to him solely because he did not wish to appear before Miss Maxwell in a somewhat disheveled state
He dislancing at the quiet fores
”Eleven, now By the way, just one word What chance have we?”
Christobal put the concluding sentence in French
Courtenay answered in the sae: ”A very poor one But I shall come to the saloon and warn you That will be only fair, don't you think?”
”Most certainly Well--I ned to his helpers to lift the next sufferer on to the table
Courtenay returned to the stairway At the top stood Elsie, looking eagerly for his reappearance A sense of unutterable anguish shook him for a second as he saw the sweet face, instinct with life and beauty, gazing down at hi battered out of recognition against the rocks He bit his lip savagely, and it is to be feared the words he sere not those of supplication But his eyes were calm and his voice well under control when he said:
”Dr Christobal is captain below there, Miss Maxwell, and he absolutely vetoes your presence He was exceedingly distressed at being coe However, he will soon explainaft almost at once”
Elsie was disappointed She dreaded the return to the saloon, with its queerly assorted company When she quitted them, they were in a state of indescribable distress Gray and the English the chief steward to adjust life-belts; but Isobel was in a frenzy of despair, her maid had fainted, de Poincilit and the Spaniards werealternate appeals to the saints and oaths of utter abandonment, and Mrs Somerville was almost unconscious, while her husband knelt by her side and wrung his hands in abject o back to that woful assembly, yet she choked down a protest and said quietly:
”I am ready I am afraid I have been a bother to you, Captain Courtenay”
”Say, rather, you have given me hope I think Heaven has work for you to do in the world Letbehind Steady now Head down and lean well against the wind”
Elsie found, to her a the wind than in being driven along before it Moreover, she had greater confidence during this second transit over the exposed portion of the deck She felt Courtenay dragging her on irresistibly until they gained the lee of the s to the bridge Then a strange revulsion of feeling ca desire not to be parted froain; so he shouted, very close to her cheek: