Lord Newhaven strained at the oars.
* * * * *
Consciousness was coming back, was slowly climbing upwards, upwards
through immense intervals of time and space, to where at last, with a
wrench, pain met it half-way. Hugh stirred feebly in the dark of a great
forlornness and loneliness.
"Rachel," he said--"Rachel."
His head was gently raised, and a cup pressed to his lips. He swallowed
something.
He groped in the darkness for a window, and then opened his eyes. Lord
Newhaven withdrew a pace or two, and stood looking at him.
Their eyes met.
Neither spoke; but Hugh's eyes, dark with the shadow of death, said
plainly, "Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?"
Then he turned them slowly, as an infant turns them to the sky, the
climbing woods, leaning over each other's shoulders to look at him, to
the warm earth on which he lay. At a little distance was stretched a
small rough-haired form. Hugh's eyes fixed on it. It lay very still.
"Crack," he said, suddenly, raising himself on his elbow.
There was neither speech nor language. Crack's tail, that courteous
member, made no sign.
"He was under the boat," said Lord Newhaven, looking narrowly at the
exhausted face of the man he had saved, and unable for the life of him
to help a momentary fellow-feeling about the little dog.
Hugh remembered. It all came back, the boat, Crack's dying gasps, the
agonized struggle, the strait gate of death, the difficult passage
through it, the calm beyond. He had almost got through, and had been
dragged back.
"Why did you interfere?" he said, in sudden passion, his eyes flaming in
his white face.
A dull color rose to Lord Newhaven's cheek.
"I thought it was an accident," he said. "If it was not, I beg your
pardon."
There was a moment's silence.
"It _was_ an accident," said Hugh, hoarsely, and he turned on his elbow
and looked fixedly at the water, so that his companion might not see the
working of his face.
Lord Newhaven walked slowly away in the direction of Doll, whose distant
figure, followed by another, was hurrying towards them.
"And so there is a Rachel as well, is there?" he said to himself, vainly
trying to steel himself against his adversary.
"How is he now?" said Doll, coming within ear-shot.
"He's all right; but you'd better get him into dry clothes, and
yourself, too."
"Change on the bank," said Doll, seizing a bundle from the keeper. "It's
as hot as an oven in the sun. Why, Scarlett's sitting up! I thought when
we laid into him on the bank that he was too far gone, didn't you? I
suppose"--hesitating--"Crack?"
Lord Newhaven shook his head.
"I must go back to my boys now," he said, "or they will be getting into
mischief."
Doll nodded. He and Lord Newhaven had had a hard fight to get the
leaking boat to land with Hugh at the bottom of it. It had filled
ominously when Doll ceased baling to help to drag in the heavy,
unconscious body.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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