Part 11 (1/2)
”Well, it is a coh I have ene could have co heavily
”It was certainly meant in a friendly spirit, and, now you know, you will be careful,” she said, and there was uessed at, for she was reer he had see to rescue hi
”Yes, I shall be careful And, since to be forewarned is to be forearoff thiswith the key of the hotel in his pocket”
”Did he do that?” she asked in a startled tone
”Yes, I had been awake all night with the pain in my feet and inca up very early, and asked hireat row outside with the ice He said there was nothing to be afraid of, for his house stood too high ever to be caught in a flood; but he had left a boat in an aard place and o and look after it Then he went out I heard him lock the door when he was outside After that I went to sleep, and did not wake again until I heard you shouting, and found the water was nearly on a level with my bed”
Katherine shuddered ”It is too horrible even to think of! We should not have known that anyone was in the house who needed saving, if it had not been for Mrs Jenkin screa so loudly from the other bank”
”Then that is another friend; so apparently I have more friends than enemies after all, in which case I ahtly; then asked: ”Is that all the trouble-I mean so far as it concernsyou to be careful, for Oily Dave is such a cowardly foe, who only strikes in the dark,” she said earnestly
”In which case I shall be safest when I keep in the light,” the Englishh ”By the way, how did the old fellow earn his title? Was it given to him because he practically lives on lard?”
”I think it was given to hiely to the fish oils which should have been the property of the fleet,” she replied ”I did not even know that he was fond of lard, although I have suspected hi stolen two pails of it froht, when Miles had his back turned for a minute”
”That accounts for the bill of fare at his hotel then,” Mr Ferrars said with a laugh ”I have had nothing but lard and bread, sour heavy bread too, or lard and biscuit, or biscuit without the lard, since I arrived at Seal Cove But I think he need not have charged such high prices for the stuff if he stole it!”
”No indeed!” exclaination in her tone ”But why did you go to such a place? You would surely have been better off on one of the boats, or Mrs Jenkin would have h her house is very srame, and, having given a pretty good guess as to where the leaky spot was, Mr Selincourt told e, if possible, in the abode of Oily Dave”
”But you will not go back? Mr Selincourt would not expect it of you,” she said, a swift terror leaping into her eyes
”No, I shall not reside under the roof of Oily Dave any longer,” he answered ”But I shall res, sooing to put it down in a book?” Katherine asked in surprise, as he drew out a pocket-book and began to write
”Certainly! You are a woman of business, and must know that it is best to have facts down in black and white,” he answered Then, having finished with Oily Dave, he turned to the other side of the sa her about her father's condition before his seizure, and entering the answers in the saain?” she asked, with a fear lest his former hopefulness about his patient was ed in dreadful grief all day
”I am inclined to believe that he may recover to a certain extent, but I should have a much better idea of his chances if I knew more of his condition beforehand, especially his state of mind Your sister says that he had no particular worries, nor anything to induce apprehension or acute anxiety Is that your opinion also?”
The question found Katherine unprepared; she winced, then hesitated, not knohat to say He saw the trouble in her eyes, and paused with the pencil held between two fingers ”I a from any desire to know the nature of the worry, if there was one; that would be quite i that counts is to know if he were suffering from acute mental torture If this be so, then it probably accounts for the seizure, and leaves him with a fair hope of recovery to a limited extent If, on the other hand, his mind was perfectly placid and peaceful, then I am afraid you must expect the end in a few days, or a week at the furthest, for that would mean that nature is completely worn out, instead of just broken down by worry”
Katherine hite to the lips, and her voice sank to a whisper as she faltered: ”Yes, he had acute anxiety, and a worry which wore him all the more because he hid it so carefully; but none of the others knew about it, only myself”
”Thank you! that sets matters on a more satisfactory basis,” he said, ”and I feel sure we shall see improve the others what you have told me about the causes of his condition?” Katherine asked hurriedly ”Miles and Phil are so young, while Mrs Burton has had too many troubles of her own That hy Father talked more freely to me”
”There is no need to speak of it anykindness ”Noant to knohat arrangements we can make about the sickroom Do you think the boys can sleep in the loft? Or, if that is too cold, shall we give them a shakedown here in the store?”
”I don't think the loft will be cold now the frost has gone,” Katherine answered ”But Mrs Burton meant that for you, because it is really the only quiet place we have”
”I ahts, but I can get a nap in the loft during the day When reat deal, but until then I can be nurse in chief, and so free Mrs Burton's hands for her other work,” he said, gripping the needs of the situation as plainly as if he had known them all for months instead of hours