John Henry Smith: A humorous romance of outdoor lifeAdams, Frederick Upham
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John Henry Smith: A humorous romance of outdoor life
Adams, Frederick Upham
Humorous stories; Outdoor life -- Fiction
Blood was trickling down the face of the young Scotchman, and its red
had stained a handkerchief which Miss Lawrence had pressed to his scalp
above his left temple. It was the sight of this which frightened her,
but she comported herself with as much bravery as would most women under
similar circumstances.
"I'm not much hurt," declared Wallace with a reassuring smile. "It's
only a scratch on the scalp. Miss Lawrence is more alarmed than I am
injured. I assure you it is nothing."
"LaHume struck him with a knife!" exclaimed Miss Lawrence, recovering
her nerve as a wave of anger came to her. "He called Mr. Wallace a
coward and a cad, and when Mr. Wallace tried to calm him he struck at
him with a knife. Oh, I hope you have killed him!"
[Illustration: "LaHume was shot back several yards"]
"I'm afraid your hope is realised," said Carter, bending over the inert
form of LaHume.
"Small fear of that," said Wallace, but I detected a note of
apprehension in his voice. "I aimed to disable without seriously
injuring him."
As he spoke LaHume moved, groaned and half raised himself. In the
meantime a group had gathered, and in it was Doctor Barry, a member of
the club. LaHume was conscious but completely dazed. We were much
relieved when the doctor said that he was not permanently injured.
Ordering two of the servants to take LaHume to the club house and put
him to bed, Doctor Barry turned his attention to Wallace.
Despite the spilling of blood the cut was a trifling one, and after
giving it simple treatment, the doctor assured Wallace that he could
attend to his duties as usual. An hour later the nervy Scotchman was out
on the links giving Lawson a lesson.
We picked the knife from the walk near the scene of the encounter. The
blow had been aimed at the breast or neck, but Wallace parried it and
received the scratch before he could grasp LaHume's wrist. The quick
wrench which caused the knife to fly from LaHume's hand fractured one of
the small bones in his forearm, as was learned when that desperate young
man had more fully recovered.
It was a disagreeable incident, and I take no pleasure in recording it.
Wallace immediately tendered his resignation, but Carter and I told him
it would not be considered, and I am sure the management will uphold us
in that action.
The conduct of Miss Lawrence convinces me that she is much attached to
Wallace. Of course, nothing else was talked of during the afternoon and
evening.
In the cool of the day Miss Harding accepted my invitation to play "the
brook holes," as we call them, and we climbed to the top of "The Eagle's
Nest" to watch the sunset.
I helped her up the steep rocks and finally we stood breathless, gazing
down on our little world.
"At last we are alone," I said.
It was one of my usual brilliant remarks. There must have been a ring of
tragedy or melodrama in my voice, but really I said it only because I
could think of nothing else to say at that moment.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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