Meanwhile, by the industrious ringing of bells as they went, Morris had
succeeded in rousing a groom, a page-boy, and the cook. The first of
these he sent off post haste for Dr. Charters. Next, having directed
the cook to give the foreign sailormen some food and beer, he told the
page-boy to conduct them to the Sailors’ Home, a place of refuge
provided, as is common upon this stormy coast, for the accommodation of
distressed and shipwrecked mariners. As he could extract nothing
further, it seemed useless to detain them at the Abbey. Then, pending
the arrival of the doctor, with the assistance of the old housekeeper,
he set to work to examine the patient. This did not take long, for his
injuries were obvious. The right thigh was broken and badly bruised,
and he bled from a contusion upon the forehead. This wound upon his
head seemed also to have affected his brain; at any rate, he was unable
to speak coherently or to do more than mutter something about
“shipwreck” and “steamer Trondhjem,” and to ask for water.
Thinking that at least it could do no harm, Morris gave him a cup of
soup, which had been hastily prepared. Just as the patient finished
drinking it, which he did eagerly, the doctor arrived, and after a
swift examination administered some anaesthetic, and got to work to set
the broken limb.
“It’s a bad smash—very bad,” he explained to Morris; “something must
have fallen on him, I think. If it had been an inch or two higher, he’d
have lost his leg, or his life, or both, as perhaps he will now. At the
best it means a couple of months or so on his back. No, I think the cut
on his head isn’t serious, although it has knocked him silly for a
while.”
At length the horrid work was done, and the doctor, who had to return
to a confinement case in the village, departed. Before he went he told
Morris that he hoped to be back by five o’clock. He promised also that
before his return he would call in at the Sailor’s Home to see that the
crew were comfortable, and discover what he could of the details of the
catastrophe. Meanwhile for his part, Morris undertook to watch in the
sick-room.
For nearly three hours, while the drug retained its grip of him, the
patient remained comatose. All this while Morris sat at his bedside
wondering who he might be, and what curious circumstance could have
brought him into the company of these rough Northmen sailors. To his
profession he had a clue, although no sure one, for round his neck the
man wore a silver cross suspended by a chain. This suggested that he
might be a clergyman, and went far to confirm the broken talk of the
French-speaking sailor. Clearly, also, he was a person of some breeding
and position, the refinement of his face and the delicacy of his hands
showed as much. While Morris was watching and wondering, suddenly the
man awoke, and began to talk in a confused fashion.
“Where am I?” he asked.
“At Monksland,” answered Morris.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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