CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
THE UNCOMFORTABLE SYMPTOMS.
Captain Roberts intended to go and sit with his friend for an hour ortwo next day, but he was called off on duty, and Drummond seized theopportunity to pay a visit. He was met at the door by Mrs Gee, wholooked at him sourly as she passed, for she had just been summoned byone of Doctor Morton's ambulance men to go and attend to one of the menwho had been taken worse.
"How do, nurse?" said Drummond. "Just going in to see your patient."
"Then you must not stay long, sir. Ten minutes will be plenty of time.Mr Bracy can't get well if he is so bothered with visitors."
"Oh, I won't bother him, nurse; only cheer him up a bit."
The woman frowned and hurried away, leaving the course open, andDrummond went straight on, thinking aloud.
"Glad my arm's not worse," he said, as he nursed it gently, "for Ishouldn't like to be under her ladyship's thumb. She ought to be calledto order. Talk about a hen that can crow; she's nothing to my ladyhere. I wonder Bracy stands it. Hullo! what's the matter?"
Loud voices came from the door of Bracy's room--those of the latter andGedge; and upon hurrying in the young subaltern was astounded to find,as it seemed to him, Private Gedge with one knee upon the edge of thecharpoy, bending over the patient, holding him down by the arm, whichwas pressed across his chest close up to the throat.
"Here! Hi! Hullo here!" cried Drummond. "What's the meaning of this,sir?"
The words acted like magic. Gedge slipped back, drawing Bracy's armfrom where it lay, and he then carefully laid it down beside him.
"It's all right, sir, now, sir; ain't it, Mr Bracy?"
"Yes, yes," said the latter faintly, and looking up at his visitor in aweary, dazed way.
"This fellow has not been assaulting you, has he?" cried Drummond.
"Me? 'Saulting him, sir?" cried Gedge. "Well, come now, I do likethat!"
"Oh no; oh no," sighed Bracy.
"It was like this here," continued Gedge; "I was a-hanging about waitingto see if he wanted me to give him a drink or fetch him anything."
Bracy's lips moved, and an anxious expression came over his face; but hesaid nothing, only looked wildly from one to the other.
"Then all at once I hears him calling, and I went in. `Here, Gedge, mylad,' he says--just like that, sir, all wild-like--`take this here armaway; it's trying to strangle me.'
"`What! yer own arm, sir?' I says, laughing. `That won't do.'--`Yes,it will,' he says, just in that squeezy, buzzy way, sir; `I can't bearit. Take it off, or it'll choke me!'"
"Well?" said Drummond anxiously; "did you?"
"Yes, sir, of course I did; for he spoke just as if it was so; and I gothold of it and tried to pull it away, but he wouldn't let me. He kep'it tight down close to his throat, and looked quite bad in the face."
"You should have used force," said Drummond.
"I did, sir; lots o' force; but he'd got it crooked, and it was just asif the joint had gone fast, so that I was afraid that if I pulled toohard I might break something; and it was just while I was hanging firelike that you came, and he let it come then quite easy. Didn't you,sir?"
"Yes, yes," said Bracy hurriedly. "It had gone to sleep, I suppose, andwas as heavy and as cold as marble."
"Oh, I see," said Drummond, smiling; "been lying in an awkward position,I suppose?"
Bracy nodded, but there was a curious look in his eyes that his visitordid not see.
"Come to take a look at you and have a chat.--I say. You heard about megetting in for it?"
"Yes, I heard," said Bracy sadly. "You were wounded."
"Bit of a chop from a tulwar," replied Drummond, touching his bandagedarm lightly. "Nothing much, but I am off duty for a bit. Preciousnuisance, isn't it?"
Bracy looked at him so piteously that the young fellow coloured.
"Of course," he said hurriedly; "I understand. Precious stupid of me totalk like that and make a fuss about being off duty for a few days, whenyou're in for it for weeks. But I say, you know, you are a lot better.Old Morton said you only wanted time."
"He told you that?" cried Bracy eagerly.
"Yes, last night when I met him and he asked me about my scratch. Saidhe was proud of your case, for with some surgeons you would have died.Ha, ha! He looked at my arm the while, with his face screwed up as ifhe pitied me for not being under his hands. I say, he's a rum chap,isn't he?"
"He has been very good and patient with me," sighed Bracy; "and I'mafraid I have been very ungrateful."
"Tchah! Not you, old fellow. We're all disagreeable and grumble whenwe're knocked over. That's only natural. Children are cross whenthey're unwell, and I suppose we're only big children. I say, heard thenews?"
"News? No; I hear nothing here."
"Poor old man! Well, the scouts have brought in news that two moretribes have been bitten with the idea that they want their ranks thinneda bit, and so they've joined the Dwats; so I suppose we shall have somewarm work."
"And I am lying here as helpless as a lump of lead. No; I did nothear."
"Why, sir, I telled you all that only this morning," broke out Gedge.
"Eh? Did you, my lad?"
"Yes, sir; d'reckly after breakfast."
"So you did. I went to sleep afterwards, and it passed out of mymemory. I'm getting weaker, I suppose."
"Not you," cried Drummond. "Here, I say, as I'm a cripple too, I shallcome on more. What do you say to a game or two every day? Chess?"
Bracy shook his head.
"Of course not; chess is hard work. Well, then, draughts?"
Bracy shook his head again.
"Right; not much of a game. What do you say to dominoes? We've got aset of double doubles; regular big ones. Shall I bring 'em on?"
"No," said Bracy decisively; "bring your field-glass, and come and sitat that window. You can command a good deal of the valley there."
"What! and tell you all the movements I can make out? To be sure, dearboy. Now, I never thought of that. So I will. I'll come on thisafternoon, and you and I will criticise them all and see if we couldhave planned the beggars' attack better. There, I promised yourshe-dragon of a nurse not to stay long, so off I go. Bye, bye, oldchap; you're beginning to look blooming. We'll do some Von Moltke,and--ah! would you? I say, you are getting better. Larks--eh? But Iwas too quick for you."
The young officer smiled and nodded merrily, and then went out of theroom, Gedge opening the door for him, and slipping out after.
"Well, what is it?" said Drummond, as Gedge stood looking at himanxiously, and as if waiting for him to speak.
"Thought you was going to say something to me, sir, 'bout Mr Bracythere. Don't speak so loud, or he'll hear you."
"Don't matter if he does, my lad. We're not conspiring against him.What did you expect me to say?"
"Something about that arm of his'n, sir, and about him trying to kickyou just now."
"Oh, pooh! nonsense! His arm had gone dead; and as for his kicking atme--well, we're getting old friends now, and it was for a bit of fun."
"Think so, sir?"
"Of course."
"Then you wouldn't tell the Doctor about it?"
"About that? Absurd! Here, you're not up to the mark yourself, mylad."
"Well, no, sir; can't quite reach it yet; but I'm a deal better."
"Full of fancies, that's all. What! were you thinking that your masterwas a bit off his head?"
"Something o' that sort, sir."
"Then don't think so any more. He's fanciful enough without youbeginning."
"Then you don't think it's anything to mind?"
"No, of course not. I'm glad to see him getting so much stronger."
Drummond nodded, and being in a good deal of pain, began to nurse hisarm again, and tried whether whistling would soothe the sharp, gnawingache which seemed to run from his wrist up to his shoulder.
Gedge waited till his footsteps died out, and
then turned to go back toBracy's room.
"His is only a clean cut of a tullywor," he muttered, "and'll soon growtogether. Different thing to a ragged bullet-wound right through thechest and back, or one like mine, right in the back. I don't like thelooks o' all this, though; but he must know better than me, after seeinga lot o' poor fellows cut down and shot; but I think I ought to tell theDoctor."
He opened the door softly and went in, to find that Bracy had beenwatching for him anxiously.
"Here, Gedge!" saluted him.
"Yes, sir. Get yer a drink, sir?"
"No, no; I want to speak to you. I think I can trust you, Gedge?"
"Yes, sir; of course, sir. What yer want me to do?"
"Hold your tongue, my lad."
"Yes, sir."
"Don't tell the Doctor or Mrs Gee that I hit Captain Roberts on theback yesterday."
"How could I, sir? Did yer?"
"Yes, yes," said Bracy hurriedly. "Nor yet about my arm doing what itdid."
"No, sir, cert'n'y not; but I say, sir, you know, your arm didn't donothing but go to sleep."
"Nor yet about my trying to kick Mr Drummond," said Bracy, withoutheeding his fellow--sufferer's words.
"Oh no; I shan't say nothing to nobody, sir, unless you tell me to."
"That's right," said Bracy, with a sigh of relief. "That will do. Gonow; I want to sleep till Mr Drummond comes back."
"Right, sir," said Gedge, and he went to the bed's head and gentlyraised the sufferer, while he turned the pillow.
"Makes yer head a bit cooler, sir."
"Yes, thanks, Gedge," said Bracy drowsily; and by the time the lad wasoutside he was half-asleep.
"I don't like them games of the guvnor's," said Gedge tohimself.--"Guvnor? Well, why not? I'm like being orficer's servantnow. There's something queer about him, as if he was a bit off his headand it made him get up to larks; for he can't be--No, no, that'simpossible, even if it looks like it. He ain't the sorter chap to beplaying at sham Abram and make-believe because he was sick of fightingand didn't want to run no more risks."