CHAPTER XVI
SUSAN TODD SEES A GHOST
That water--that delicious water! Would he ever forget that drink?
It was some little while before he was able to climb off the mill wheel,and he staggered, too, when he reached the ground.
Prone on his chest, he buried his mouth and nose in the little stream,and sucked up the water. Never had he tasted sweeter.
He looked across the fields. Away in the distance he could see in theclearness of the early morning the windows of the farmhouse with theblinds drawn.
Half way between himself and the house were the milking sheds.
He walked towards them. He could see the cows beginning to gather there,ready for the relief of the early milking.
He stood sorely in need of food--a draft of milk would be as good as ameal.
At first walking was hard work. His late cramped position told.
But each step he took, the pain seemed to wear away more and more. Hereached the sheds, had no difficulty in finding a pail, and waspresently gratefully drinking the warm milk. It made a man of him.
It was still early. Susan, he knew, was the first to be up in thehousehold.
If he went to the farm now he would come face to face with the woman whohad tried to murder him.
That he determined to do. He was consumed with a feverish anxiety toknow why he had been sentenced to death.
At the same time, strong as he felt now, and prepared for assault, hewould take precautions.
He looked around for something wherewith to arm himself. An ax hung by acord from the wall of the shed. He took it and walked towards the farm.
He knew that Susan would come down and make straight for her kitchen;that the first thing she would do would be to open wide the door leadingto the garden.
In that garden he would stand. He was curious to see how she would viewhim. He would stand there and wait--with the ax behind him in case ofaccidents.
He did so. Waited a long while. Then he heard the sounds of herfootsteps clattering over the hard kitchen floor; the shooting of thetop bolt, then the bottom one, the rattle of fingers on the catch, andthen the door opened.
He saw the woman--she saw him. The color left her face, she went livid,she threw up her arms, screamed and fell senseless to the floor,muttering:
"A ghost! A ghost!"
Gerald entered the kitchen. The scream had alarmed the people in thehouse; he could hear them hurriedly moving about up-stairs.
He bent over the unconscious woman. She had struck her head in falling,and it was bleeding slightly.
It would be untrue to record any feeling of pity on Gerald's part. Herather grimly recognized a coincidence.
They both had head wounds. She had let something fall on his, now shehad fallen on her own.
"What's this? What--you Gerald! Where have you been? What does thismean?"
It was farmer Depew talking.
"This woman's mad."
"Mad! What on earth do you mean?"
"You will scarcely believe me when I tell you. But the woman is in afaint now. Let us----"
"You leave her to Harper there. Harper, throw some cold water over her.And now you, Mr. Danvers, just throw some light on these fixings, willyou? Where have you passed the night?"
"Bound hand and foot to the old mill wheel!"
"See here--you said she was mad, I shall begin to think----"
"Hear me out--you won't then. I have been nearer death's door than Ishall ever be again without entering. Death must keep his hinges welloiled," he added grimly, "or I should have heard them creaking."
"What--how did it happen?"
"I went into the mill yesterday afternoon, just before four o'clock.This young lady"--he indicated Susan with his foot--"was there beforeme. She had climbed aloft with something heavy. What it was she droppedon my head I don't know, but I know it struck me at the time as beingheavy."
"Curious thing to joke about!"
"If you felt as light-hearted as I do, farmer, you would want to skipand dance. It was no joking matter at the time, I can tell you."
"Go on."
"The blow rendered me insensible. When I came to myself I found that mylady here had dragged me on to the wheel, and tied me to it, bound handand foot, and gagged."
"Good God!"
"Fact. Look at my wrists. There are the marks, you see, yet. She hadevidently thrown pails of water over me, I suppose to bring me to, for Iwas drenched from head to foot."
"Go on."
"It evidently did bring me to, for I found myself looking her in theface. She spoke. Told me what she intended to do with me."
"What?"
"Leave me there without food or drink till the rain came and made thestream powerful enough to revolve the wheel, and let me be whirled toglory."
"Is--it possible?"
"I don't know. I didn't wait to see."
"Well, you certainly take it light-heartedly----"
"I didn't at the time. I was the most heavy-hearted man in this country.But it is over, and the reaction is immense."
"Did she not give her reason for this behavior?"
"Well--she seemed to think that I had killed her husband, and that itwas her duty to lay me out in consequence."
"Killed her husband?"
"That's what she said--killed him on a boat."
"On a boat? What does she mean? Has she been thinking about the murderon the liner you came over by? She may have heard you talking about it."
"I never thought of that! She said, 'Your life for that of the man youkilled on the ship.' Had that man anything to do with her husband?"
"Don't know. Wait till she comes round, we will see. She's moving a bitnow."
The woman did move. Opened her eyes, and then seemed to remember how shecame on the floor.
She started into a sitting position, and her eyes fell on Gerald. Oncemore she screamed out:
"A ghost! A ghost! A ghost!"
Then she fell back in a burst of frenzied hysterical laughter, anddespite the fact that two men held her down, the tattoo made by thetapping of her feet could be heard all over the building.
Ultimately, she was carried up to her room, quieted, and with theassistance of the farmer's wife and daughter undressed and put to bed.
Danvers was rather struck by the change in positions. He had been afraidfor his life of her, now she was afraid of him.
It caused him to hang up the ax. He felt he would be able to get alongwithout it now.