CHAPTER XX
Katherine Makes a Discovery
Katherine was having a thorough turn-out of the store. Everythingwas off the shelves, the cobwebs had all been swept from theceiling, and now, armed with a scrubbing-brush, she was cleaningall the shelves with soap and water. To use her own expression, itwas "horridly" dirty work. But it had to be done, so the sooner itwas got through and finished the better. She had done the topshelves all round, and, changing the water in her pail, had startedon the next lot and was scrubbing vigorously, when she heard along-drawn, mournful howl from the other side of the river.
"That is Hero," she said to herself in surprise; and then,remembering that Mary Selincourt had called for the dog thatmorning on her way down river, she came down the ladder, and, goingto the door, looked out.
There was Hero plainly enough, a big black-and-white dog, which,while looking like a Newfoundland, had such a marked aversion towater that it would never swim if it could avoid doing so.Katherine would have turned back to her work, and left the dog toremain where it was until someone came along with a boat, but sheremembered that Mary had wanted the dog to accompany her in aramble, and so it was rather disquieting to find the creature hadwandered home again.
Sitting on its haunches, the dog was flinging up its head foranother howl, but, chancing to catch sight of Katherine, it brokeinto eager barking instead, pleading so plainly for a dry journeyacross the river that, with a laugh at her own weak yielding, sheran down to the bank, and, getting into the boat which was mooredthere ready for anyone who might want it, rowed across to the otherside, where the dog awaited her in a perfect ecstasy of welcome.
She had no hat on, the sleeves of her cotton blouse were rolled upover her elbow, and she wore still the big rough apron she haddonned for scrubbing. It struck her, as she crossed the river,that the wind was very cold, and that the day was grey andcheerless, now the clouds had hidden the sun.
Hero jumped into the boat, and, crouching at Katherine's feet,fawned upon her with great affection and delight.
"Oh, yes, you are very glad to see me, I have no doubt, but reallyyou are a fearful fraud to bring me away from my work on a busy daylike this, by pretending you cannot swim, when it is plain you havebeen in the water, for you are dripping with wet!" Katherine said,seeing the water which ran from the dog's thick coat as it sat inthe boat thumping a grateful tail in thanksgiving. Then shenoticed that the dog had something tied round its neck which lookedlike a silk waist-belt, and that a handkerchief was knotted to thebelt.
"Something is wrong!" she muttered to herself; then, reaching theother side, she moored her boat and proceeded to investigate themessage wrapped About the dog's neck.
A scrap of paper with writing upon it was crumpled up in thehandkerchief, and spreading this out she read:
"Please come and help me, for I have had a tumble down a steep rock and twisted my foot. I can't walk, and I am on a ledge deep down a gulch near the sea, on the rocks beyond the fish-flakes. MARY SELINCOURT."
"Deep down in a gulch near the sea," quoth Katherine to herselfwith a puzzled frown; then she jumped up with a cry. "I know whereit is; that gulch is one of the tideholes, and she will be drownedif I don't make haste!"
Out of the boat she bounded, and rushed up the slope to the store.Springing over the confusion of canisters and boxes, she hurriedinto the house, where Mrs. Burton was sitting at work making newfrocks for the twins.
"Nellie, will you look after the store for an hour? I should lockthe door if I were you, and refuse to serve anyone who comes, forit is confusion thrice confounded in there, and I don't think youwould be able to find things if you tried."
"What is the matter, dear?" asked Mrs. Burton, looking up andseeing how frightened her sister seemed.
"Hero has just come home, and I have found tied to his neck a notefrom Mary, saying that she has sprained her ankle and is lying inone of the tide-holes beyond the fish-flakes. I must hurry down toSeal Cove as hard as I can row, for the tide is coming in now, andshe may be in danger."
"Are there none of the portage men who could go with you to helpyou?" asked Mrs. Burton.
"I may find one at Seal Cove, but there are none here. One wentdown river early with Mary, the other rowed Mr. Selincourt down anhour or more ago. I will be back as soon as I can, dear; or it maybe that Miles and Phil will get in first: but keep the store lockeduntil someone comes."
"Indeed I will; trust me for that!" said Mrs. Burton, dropping herwork and following Katherine to the door to see her start.
As Katherine turned back to say something, two steps from thethreshold, a coil of strong cord hung on the house wall caught herattention, and after a moment's hesitation she reached up and tookit down. It was the identical coil of rope that she and Phil hadhad in the boat that day when they came home from Fort Garry andfound Mr. Selincourt in the muskeg. It had slipped aside and beenforgotten until a day or two ago, when Katherine had found it,scrubbed it clean of muskeg mire, and hung it up to dry in thesunshine, and again forgotten it. She had flung on a coat, becauseher blouse showed signs of the hard, dirty work she had been doing,and had crammed a woollen cap on her head to hide the roughness ofher hair.
"Are you going to take the dog? He will only make you more work,"said Mrs. Burton, as Hero leaped into the boat and took his placeas a complacent passenger, looking on at the work being done.
"Yes, I must. The old dog is very wise; he will guide us quicklyto where Mary is lying," Katherine said. Then she threw off themooring rope, rowed out to midstream, where she could get the fulladvantage of the current, and then began to row down river as fastas she could pull.
The sky was still overcast, the wind howled through the trees, andit was so chill that she was glad of her coat, despite the vigorousexercise which she was getting in rowing. Never had it taken solong to get to Seal Cove, or so it seemed in her impatient haste;and after the first half-mile the current did not help her, for thetide was coming in fast and making itself felt.
Seal Cove appeared to be deserted when she got there. Neither ofthe portage men was to be seen, although both the Selincourt boatswere drawn up side by side on the beach near the fish shed. Theoffice was locked and the key gone. Katherine looked round indespair and shouted at the top of her voice for help. Surelysomeone must be within hearing distance, although the place lookedentirely devoid of life, except for some fishing boats a mile ortwo out from shore, and beating into harbour against the strongwind, which was blowing half a gale, perhaps more.
The shouts brought Mrs. Jenkin to the door of her house, with anailing babe tucked under her arm and two small children clinging toher ragged skirt.
"Dear, dear, Miss Radford, what is the matter? Why, you look justawful!" exclaimed the good woman, jogging the wailing babe up anddown, to still its fretful complaining.
"I can't find anyone, Mrs. Jenkin, and I want help so badly. Whereare all the men? Miss Selincourt has hurt her foot out on therocks beyond the fish-flakes, and I am afraid she may be caught bythe tide before she can be rescued," Katherine said anxiously.
"Dear, dear, what is to be done? I don't believe there is a manabout the place, unless it is Oily Dave. Mr. Ferrars went away inhis boat at dawn, and I don't know that he is back yet. I'd gowith you myself, dear, but I can't leave the babies," Mrs. Jenkinsaid, with so much concern and sympathy that Katherine gulped downsomething closely related to a sob before replying.
"Will you find Oily Dave and tell him to come on after me as fastas he can? Tell him there is money in the job, then perhaps hewill hurry. If any more men come, send them on after me. And dohave a kettle of water boiling, so that we can give Miss Selincourta cup of coffee or something when we get her back here," saidKatherine, then hurried away, the coil of rope flung over her arm,the dog following close at her heels.
It was a long way over a rough track to the rocks. The easier andshorter process would have been to go round by boat, if only thereh
ad been quieter water and less wind; but she knew very well thatit would take more strength than her one pair of arms possessed torow a boat through such a sea, so she was forced to take thelandward route.
When she reached the fish-flakes it was as much as she could do tostand against the wind, and in crossing the headland her pace wasof the slowest. She had expected to find someone up here, theportage men perhaps, or some Indians attending to the hundreds andthousands of fish which were spread out drying in the sun and wind;but there was no one. She did not know, of course, that Mr.Selincourt had passed that way half an hour before, and hadsummoned the portage men to help him to search for Mary among therocks. Looking back, she could see Oily Dave coming along at ashuffling pace behind her, and with an imperious wave of the handto hurry his movements she sped onward now at a quicker pace,because the ground was descending, and the hill behind her brokethe force of the wind. At the bottom of the hill there were twotracks, both of which led round among the gulches or tideholes,only by different ways and to different points, and it was herethat Katherine knew she would be at fault.
Hero still trotted contentedly just behind, as if perfectlysatisfied that she should take the lead. But a mistake now mightbe disastrous and waste hours of time; so, calling the dog forward,she began to talk to him in an eager, caressing fashion: "Good oldHero, clever old dog, go and find Mary! Mary wants you ever sobadly; hurry up, old chappy, hurry up!"
The dog threw up its head with an eager whine, and looked round asif to make certain where Mary was to be found.
"Mary, Mary, find her, go along!" cried Katherine; then with ashort bark Hero turned to the track leading seawards, and set offat a trot, looking neither to the right hand nor to the left.
Katherine groaned. The tideholes nearest the sea naturally filledfirst, and it could not be very far from high tide already.Looking back, she saw Oily Dave gaining upon her, and waved to himagain to make haste. It was of no use to shout, because the windwas blowing from him to her, and so her voice would not carry.Then a dash of cold rain struck her from behind, and thankful shewas that it was behind, for if it had struck her in the face shecould hardly have stood against it. Right in front of her Hero wastrotting forward with head carried well in the air, and an eageralertness in every limb. It was clear the creature felt nouncertainty about its movements, and the feeling that she was goingright was an unspeakable comfort to Katherine, who toiled along inthe rear.
Suddenly the dog stopped dead short, flung up its head with aweird, dismal howl, then bounded forward at a headlong pace.
What had it heard?
Katherine tried to run too, but the track was uphill now, and theforce of the wind caught her the higher she got. Panting,breathless, her heart beating with fierce, irregular thumps, shetoiled up the rocky track, and, crossing the summit, began todescend on the other side.
The gulch was before her now. When she had seen it last it was arocky valley, deep in the cliffs, and floored with boulders. Nowit was a long pool, for the tide was in, and the sea, workingthrough the porous, frost-riven rocks, had half-filled it withwater. Katherine, approaching the gulch from the landward side,was coming to the place from an opposite direction to that by whichJervis Ferrars had reached it, and her path downwards was mucheasier than his had been.
She was hesitating whether it was of any use to go in, thinking thedog must have led her wrong after all, when she caught sight ofsomething bobbing up and down in the water--something that lookedlike a man's head, and at which Hero was barking furiously.
She ran then with flying, reckless feet, jumping from boulder toboulder, slipping and sliding, but, as she said afterwards, goingtoo fast to fall. The person in the water had put up a wet hand,crying hoarsely for help, and the leaping, suffocating bound whichher heart gave told her that it was Jervis Ferrars who needed her.
"Can you catch the rope if I throw it?" she cried, flinging thecoil on the ground so that it might unwind easily.
"Yes," he said in an exhausted tone, which showed her that she hadcome only just in time.
As she threw the line she wondered with sick fear in her heartwhere Mary could be, then saw, to her surprise, that Jervis washolding something up in the water, and understood why he had beenunable to land his burden on the steep, shelving bank.
Directly he had caught the rope with his one free hand, she rusheda few steps back up the hill to wind the other end round a tall,upstanding boulder; then hurrying back she began to pull gently onthe rope, which Jervis had managed to twist round his arm.
She had forgotten all about Oily Dave, and was fairly startled whenhis voice sounded close to her, saying: "I've got the rope; see ifyou can ketch 'old of the gal quick, for he's got cramp, sure asblazes!"
Katherine made a dash forward, entered the water nearly to herwaist, and, seizing Mary with one hand, clutched at Jervis with theother, holding both until Oily Dave came to her aid and draggedMary's unconscious form out of the water, while she stood clingingto Jervis, unable to lift him, and fearing that he would slip fromher arms back into the water.
Then Oily Dave came back, and, with much puffing and snorting,assisted her in dragging Jervis out of the water also, while Herobarked like a wild thing, and capered round in mad delight becausethe rescue had been effected. The barking did good, too, for itbrought Mr. Selincourt and the two portage men hurrying to thespot, where they found Katherine doing what she could for Mary, whostill lay in limp unconsciousness, while Oily Dave worked withperspiring energy at rubbing the cramped limbs of Jervis.
"Miss Selincourt is not drowned, she has not been under water longenough," Jervis said faintly. "I think she has just swooned fromsheer terror."
"That is what it looks like," said Mr. Selincourt, with a suddengreat relief coming into his tone. Then he stripped off his jacketto wrap his daughter in: the other men stripped off their jacketsalso, the drenching rain wetting them to the skin in about twominutes; but Mary must be wrapped as warmly as possible, and somekind of a litter had to be improvised in which to carry her.
She stirred slightly, put up her hand, and showed signs ofreturning life, and then her father determined to wait no longer,but to carry her off to Seal Cove as quickly as possible, sendingthe men back afterwards to bring Jervis. But by this time, withthe help of Oily Dave, Ferrars had managed to struggle to his feet,and declared that he would walk back to Seal Cove, if someone wouldhelp him.
Katherine came round to him then, saying simply: "If you will leanon me, the men can carry Miss Selincourt, and if you cannot get allthe way I can stay with you until the men come back for you."
"Thank you, my dear, you are a brave, good girl," said Mr.Selincourt, and then he hurried away to help the two portage menand Oily Dave to carry Mary across the hills to Seal Cove.
The only litter they had was formed by spreading their jacketsunder her, then lifting her so and carrying her as best theycould--no easy task, for she was well grown and well nourished, andin her present condition of collapse she lay a dead weight on theirarms.
The progress of Jervis was at first but a feeble crawl, while thebitter wind seemed to go through him and the driving rain took hisbreath away. It was the middle of summer, but when the sun hid itsface, and the wind blew from the north, it was hard to remember howhot it had been only yesterday.
"Can you bear it?" asked Katherine anxiously, as he shivered andshook, clinging to her because he had so little strength to standagainst the blast.
"I must bear it," he answered; "at least it is safer than sittingstill. Does the wind often come as chilly as this at midsummer?"
"There are occasional days like this, but the cold don't last long,and then the sun shines again. Do you think you would be a littlewarmer if I walked in front of you?" she asked wistfully, for hisevident suffering, and her own impotence to relieve it, hurt herdreadfully.
"I don't think the gain of having you for a wind buffer would makeup for losing you as a crutch," he said, as he hobbled slowly alongin his stockinged f
eet. He had kicked off his shoes when he wentto the aid of Mary, and the rising tide had floated them away.
"I am glad that I am so useful," she said, with a nervous littlelaugh. She was wet through herself, and shivering with cold andfright, yet despite these drawbacks the occasion was like afestival, and her heart was singing for joy.
"How did you know?" he asked, trying to understand how she chancedto be on hand at the critical moment with a rope.
"Mary had written a note and tied it round the dog's neck, thensent the creature for help. I found it howling on the other bankof the river, and went over to fetch the poor thing home; then Ifound the note, and came as quickly as I could," she answered.
"You came just in time for me," he said in a shaken voice. "Idon't think that I could possibly have held out five minuteslonger, because of cramp, and I could not lift Miss Selincourt outof the water."
"I don't think I could have done it either if it had not been forOily Dave," Katherine answered, a quiver of mirth stirring hertones. "Fancy Oily Dave as a rescuer of people in direful straits!We shall have him posing as a public benefactor soon!"
"He has long been a private benefactor, or at least I have regardedhim as such," Jervis said slowly.
"What do you mean?" she asked, looking at him in surprise, andwondering if he had forgotten the grim incident of the flood.
"I feel grateful to him, and always shall, because he left me inthe lurch that day when the water came in. I had to owe my life toyou that day; and but for you and your rope I must have perishedto-day, Katherine. I am really very much in your debt. Do youthink I shall ever be able to repay you?"
"Of course; if not me, then someone else. Such things are alwayspassed on," she said lightly.
"Of choice I would rather pay my debt in this case, if indeed itcan be paid, to the person to whom I owe it," he said, with a slowemphasis which made her heart beat tumultuously. Then sheremembered that it was her duty to stand aside for Mary's sake, andthat she must not let this man love her if Mary had set her ownaffections upon him, as Nellie had more than hinted.
A cold shiver shook Katherine then, for now the chill came fromwithin as well as without, and the dreary day wrapped her exhaustedbody in its dismal discomfort.
"Don't talk," she said with a touch of authority in her tone."Save your strength for enduring. See, here comes a man runningdown from the fish-flakes; he has come to help us, and now we shallget on faster, you will find."