CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.
Jenny uttered a faint cry, and staggered against the iron hurdle,bringing down a shower of drops upon her head.
Leigh, after his words, uttered first in menace, then in a bitterlyreproachful tone, paid no more heed to her, but turned fiercely uponClaud.
"Now, sir," he cried; "have the goodness to--You scoundrel! You dog!"
He began after the fashion taught by education, but nature was toostrong. He broke off and tried to seize Claud by the throat; but,active as the animal mentioned, the young fellow avoided the onslaught,placed one hand upon the hurdle, and sprang over among the shrubs.
Leigh followed him in time to receive blow after blow, as the branchesthrough which Claud dashed sprang back, cutting him in the face anddrenching him with water. Guided, though, by the sounds, he followed asquickly as he could, till all at once the rustling and crackling ofbranches ceased, and he drew up short on the soft turf of a lawn,listening for the next movement of his quarry, but listening in vain.
A minute later the dogs began barking violently, and Leigh's thoughtsturned to his sister. Then to Claud again, and he hesitated as towhether he should go to the house and insist upon seeing him. But hisreason told him that he could not leave Jenny there in the wet anddarkness, and with his teeth set hard in his anger and despair, he triedto find his way back to the place where he had come over into thegarden, missing it, and coming to the conclusion that his sister hadfled, for though he peered in all directions on crossing the hurdles, hecould see no sign of her in the misty darkness.
As it happened he was not above a dozen yards from where she stoodclinging to the dripping iron rail; and when with an angry exclamationhe turned to make for the pathway, her plaintive voice arose:
"Please take me with you, Claud," she said. "I am so faint and cold!"
He turned upon her with a suppressed roar, caught her by the arm,dragged it under his, and set off through the dripping grass with greatstrides, but without uttering a word.
She kept up with him as long as she could, weeping bitterly the while,and blinding herself with her tears so that she could not see which waythey went. Twice over she stumbled and would have fallen, had not hishold been so tight upon her arm, and at last, totally unable to keep upwith him, she was about to utter a piteous appeal, when he stoppedshort, for they had reached the wet and muddy stile.
Here he loosed her arm, and sprang over into the road.
"Give me your hands," he cried, and she obeyed, and then as he reachedover, she climbed the stile, stepping on to the top rail at last.
"Jump," he said, sharply; and she obeyed, but slipped as she alighted,one foot gliding over the muddy surface, and in spite of his stronggrasp upon her hands, she fell sideways, and uttered a sharp cry.
"No hysterical nonsense, now, girl," he cried. "Get up!"
"I--I can't, Pierce. Oh, pray, don't be so cruel to me, please."
"Get up!" he cried, more sternly.
"My ankle's twisted under me," she said, faintly. "I--I--!"
A piteous sigh ended her speech, and she sank nerveless nearly to thelevel, but a sudden snatch on his part saved her from falling prone.
Then bending down, he raised her, quite insensible, in his arms, drewher arm over his shoulders, and strode on again, the passionate rage andindignation in his breast nerving him so that she seemed to possess noweight at all.
For another agony had come upon him, just when life seemed to havesuddenly become unbearable, and there were moments when it appeared tobe impossible that the bright girl who had for years past been to him ashis own child could have behaved in so treacherous, so weak anddisgraceful a way as to have listened to the addresses of the youngscoundrel who seemed to have blasted his life.
"And she always professed to hold him in such contempt," he said tohimself. "Great heavens! Are all women alike in their weakness andfolly?"
He reached the cottage at last, where all was now dark; but the dooryielded to his touch, and he bore her in, and laid her, stillinsensible, upon the sofa.
Upon striking a light, and holding a candle toward her face, he uttereda deep sigh, for she was ghastly pale, her hair was wet and clinging toher temples, and he could see that she was covered with the sticky,yellowish clay of the field and lane. But he steeled his breast againsther. It was her punishment, he felt; and treating her as if she weresome patient and a stranger, he took off her wet cloak and hood, threwthem aside, and proceeded to examine for the injury.
But little examination was necessary, and his brow grew more deeplylined as he quickly took out a knife, slit her wet boot from ankle totoe, and set her foot at liberty.
Then lighting another candle, he walked sharply into his surgery, andreturned with splints and bandages, to find her eyes open, and that shewas gazing at him wildly.
"Where am I? What is the matter?" she cried, hysterically. "Thisdreadful pain and sickness!"
"At home. Lie still," he said, coldly. "Your ankle is badly hart."
"Oh!" she sighed, and the tears began to flow, accompanied by a piteoussobbing, for the meaning of it all came back.
He went out again, and returned with a glass containing some fluid, thenpassing his hand beneath her head, he raised her a little.
"Drink this," he said.
"No, no, I can not bear it. You hurt me horribly."
"I can not help it. Drink!"
He pressed the glass to her lips, and she drank the vile ammoniacalmixture.
"Now, lie still. I will not hurt you more than I can help, but I mustsee if the bone is broken, and set it."
"No, no, not yet Pierce," she sobbed; "I could not bear it while I am inthis state. Let me tell you--let me explain to you first."
"Be silent!" he cried, angrily. "I do not want to hear a word I mustsee to your ankle before it swells up and the work is impossible."
"Never mind that, dear. I must tell you," she cried, piteously.
"I know all I want to know," he said, bitterly; "that the sister I havetrusted and believed in has been cruelly deceiving me--that one Itrusted to be sweet and true and innocent has been acting a part thatwould disgrace one of the village wenches, for to be seen even talkingto that young scoundrel under such circumstances would rob her of hercharacter. And this is my sister! Now, lie still. I must bandage thishurt."
"Oh, Pierce, dear Pierce! You are hurting me more than I can bear," shesobbed; for he had gone down on one knee as he spoke, and beganmanipulating the injured joint.
"I can not help it; you must bear it. I shall not be long."
"I--I don't mean that, dear; I can bear that," she moaned. "It is yourcruel words that hurt me so. How can you say such things to me?"
"Be silent, I tell you. I can only attend to this. If it is neglected,you may be lame for life."
"Very well," she said, with a passionate cry; "let me be lame for life--let me die of it if you like, but you must, you shall listen to me,dear."
"I will not listen to you now--I will not at any time. You have killedmy faith in you, and I can never believe or trust in you again."
"But you shall listen to me," she cried; and with an effort that gaveher the most acute pain, she drew herself up and embraced her knees."You shall not touch me again until you listen to me. There!"
"Don't behave like a madwoman," he said, sternly. "Lie back in yourplace; you are injuring yourself more by your folly."
"It is not folly," she cried; "I will not be misjudged like this by myown brother. Pierce, Pierce, I am not the wicked girl you think."
"I am glad of it," he said, coldly; "even if you are lost to shame."
"Shame upon you, to say such words to me."
"Perhaps I was deceived in thinking I found you there to-night with yourlover."
"My lover!" she cried, hysterically.
"Now, will you lie down quietly, and let me bandage your ankle, or mustI stupefy you with chloroform?"
"You shall do nothing until you have lis
tened to me," she cried, wildly."He is not my lover. I never had a lover, Pierce. I went thereto-night to tell him to go away, for I was afraid for you to meet him.I shivered with dread, you were so wild and strange."
"Were you afraid I should kill him," he said, with an angry glare in hiseyes.
"Yes, or that he might kill you. Pierce, dear, if I have deceived you,it was because I loved you, and I was fighting your fight."
Indeed! he said, bitterly.
"He has been watching for me, and coming here constantly ever since wecame to the house. I couldn't go down the village, or for a walkwithout his meeting me. He has made my life hateful to me."
"And you could not appeal to your brother for help and protection?"
"I was going to, dear, but matters happened so that I determined to besilent. No, no, don't touch me till you have heard all. I found howyou loved poor Kate."
"Will you be silent!" he raged out.
"No, not if I die for it. I found out how you loved Kate, and I soonknew that they meant her for that--that dreadful boy, while all the timehe was trying to pay his addresses to me. Then I made up my mind togive him just a little encouragement--to draw him on, so as to be ableto let Kate see how utterly contemptible and unworthy he was, for Icould lead him on until she surprised us together some day, when allwould have been over at once, for she would never have listened to him.Do you hear me, Pierce? I tried to fool him, but he has fooled meinstead, and robbed me of my own brother's love."
"What do you mean by fooling you?" he cried, with his attention arrestedat last.
"We have been all wrong, dear; I found it out to-night. He did not takeKate away."
"What! Why, they were seen together by that poaching vagabond, Barker,the fellow the keeper shot at and I attended. He watched them."
"No, dear; it was not Kate with him then: it was I. Kate is gone, andhe is in a rage about it."
"Gone? With whom?"
"With--with--oh! Pierce, Pierce! say some kind word to me; tell me youlove and believe me, dear. I am hot the wicked creature you think,and--and--am I dying? Is this death?"
He laid her back quickly, and hurriedly began to bathe her temples, butceased directly.
"Better so," he muttered; and then with trembling hands, which rapidlygrew firmer, he examined the injury, acting with such skill that when alow sigh announced that the poor girl was recovering her senses, he wasjust laying the injured limb in an easy position, before rising to takeher hand in his.