Man-woman relationships -- Fiction; Missing persons -- Fiction; Mystery fiction; Young women -- Fiction
“He did. He says you’ve killed her. There was some rare drug in it
that he can’t get for a fortnight or so, and she can’t live without
it.”
“Captain Grey!” she cried, white to the lips. “I didn’t—”
“I know,” he said gently. “You meant to help, and I’m glad you did it.
She’s better dead. This afternoon, for a little while, she
was—herself. She talked to me. She was very weak, but she was herself.
She asked me to help her not to take it again. She thought she was
getting better. Then that”—he paused—“that damned brute brought in a
lawyer, so that she could make her will. She couldn’t believe it. She
looked up at me. ‘Oh, I’m not going to _die_, am I?’ she said. Before
I could answer her, he told her she must be prepared. Then I—”
Again he turned away.
“And you let him alone?” inquired Houseman.
“It’s not time to settle with him—yet,” said the other. “That’s why I
came away, because I don’t want to kill him—yet. She’s unconscious
now. She will be, until it’s finished. I’m going back later, but I
wanted to come, here—” He ceased speaking. “To you,” his eyes said to
Lexy.
She forgot everything else, then, except this tormented and suffering
human being who had turned to her for comfort. She pushed him gently
down into a chair, and seated herself on the arm of it. She took both
his hands and patted them, while she racked her brain for the right
thing to say.
“We’ll do _something_!” she said. “There’s no reason to be in despair.
That young country doctor was probably entirely under the influence of
Dr. Quelton. We’ll get some one else. We’ll telephone to one of the
big hospitals in New York and find out who’s the very best man, and
we’ll get him out here. Mr. Houseman will ring up—”
But Mr. Houseman had disappeared. Worse still, Mrs. Royce’s telephone
was out of order.
“Never mind!” said Lexy. “We’ll have a nice hot cup of tea, and then
we’ll go to the grocery store. There’s a telephone there.”
She made the captain drink his tea and eat a little. Then she ran
upstairs for her hat; and she was very angry at Charles Houseman for
running away.
XXII
They set off together down the village street. There was no one about
at that hour. All Wyngate was partaking of its Sunday night supper
within doors, and one or two of the little wooden houses showed lights
in the front windows; but for the most part life was concentrated in
the kitchen.
The drug store was locked, but a dim light was burning inside, and a
vigorous ringing of the night bell brought Mr. Binz, the owner, to
open the door. He was deeply interested in their errand. He suggested
St. Luke’s Hospital, for the reason that he had once been there
himself, and therefore held it almost sacred.
“But,” he said, in his slow and impressive way, “if I was you, I’d
ring up Doc Quelton first, and find out how things are going up there;
because you may find out—”
Lexy interrupted him hastily, for she didn’t want him to say what he
evidently wished to say.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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