With a mighty effort Doctor Gardiner dove again. This time his handsstruck something. He grasped it firmly. It was a tightly-clinched littlehand.
Up through the water he bore the slender form, and struck out for thepier with his burden.
Doctor Gardiner was an expert swimmer, but it was with the utmostdifficulty that he succeeded in reaching the pier, owing to the swellcaused by the many steamboats passing. But it was accomplished at last,and almost on the verge of exhaustion himself, he succeeded in effectinga landing and laying his burden upon the pier.
"She is half drowned as it is," he muttered, bending closer to look atthe pallid face under the flickering light of the gas-lamp.
As his eyes rested upon the girl's face, a mighty cry broke from hislips, and he staggered back as though a terrible blow had been dealthim.
"Great God! it is Bernardine!" he gasped.
The discovery fairly stunned him--took his breath away. Then heremembered that the girl was dying; that every instant of time wasprecious if he would save her.
He worked over her as though his life were at stake, and his effortswere rewarded at last when the dark eyes opened languidly.
"Bernardine," he cried, kneeling beside her on the pier, his voice huskywith emotion, "why did you do this terrible deed? Speak, my love, mydarling!"
And almost before he was aware of it, he had clasped her to his heart,and was raining passionate kisses on the cheek, neck, and pale cold lipsof the girl he loved better than life.
She did not seem to realize what had transpired; she did not recognizehim.
"Do not take me home!" she sobbed, incoherently, over and over again."Anywhere but there. He--he--will kill me!"
These words alarmed Doctor Gardiner greatly. What could they mean? Heknew full well that this must have been the last thought that crossedher brain ere she took the fatal leap, or it would not have been thefirst one to flash across her mind with returning consciousness.
He saw, too, that she was getting into a delirium, and that she must beremoved with all possible haste.
He did not know of Miss Rogers being in her home, and he reasoned withhimself that there was no one to take care of her there, save the oldbasket-maker, and she could not have a worse companion in her presentcondition; therefore he must take her elsewhere.
Then it occurred to him that a very excellent nurse--a widow whom he hadoften recommended to his patients--must live very near that vicinity,and he determined to take her there, and then go after her father andbring him to her.
There was an old hack jostling by. Jay Gardiner hailed it, and placingBernardine within, took a place by her side. In a few moments they wereat their destination.
The old nurse was always expecting a summons to go to some patient; butshe was quite dumbfounded to see who her caller was at that strangehour, and to see that he held an unconscious young girl in his arms.
Jay Gardiner explained the situation to the old nurse.
"I will not come again for a fortnight, nurse," he said, unsteadily, onleaving. "That will be best under the circumstances. She may be ill, butnot in danger. I will send her father to her in the meantime."
"What an honorable man Jay Gardiner is!" thought the nurse, admiringly."Not every man could have the strength of mind to keep away from thegirl he loved, even if he was bound to another."
Doctor Gardiner dared not take even another glance at Bernardine, hisheart was throbbing so madly, but turned and hurried from the house, andre-entering the cab, drove rapidly away.
He had planned to go directly to David Moore; but on second thought heconcluded to wait until morning.
It would be a salutary lesson to the old basket-maker to missBernardine, and realize how much he depended upon the young girl for hishappiness.
This was a fatal resolve for him to reach, as will be plainly seen.
As soon as he had finished his breakfast, he hurried to the Canal Streettenement house.
There was no commotion outside; evidently the neighbors had not heard ofBernardine's disappearance, and he doubted whether or not her fatherknew of it yet.
Jay Gardiner had barely stepped from the pavement into the dark andnarrow hall-way ere he found himself face to face with Jasper Wilde.
The doctor would have passed him by with a haughty nod, but with oneleap Wilde was at his side, his strong hands closing around his throat,while he cried out, in a voice fairly convulsed with passion:
"Aha! You have walked right into my net, and at the right moment. Whereis Bernardine? She fled from me last night, and went directly to yourarms, of course. Tell me where she is, that I may go to her and wreak myvengeance upon her! Answer me quickly, or I will kill you!"
Jay Gardiner was surprised for an instant; but it was only for aninstant. In the next, he had recovered himself.
"You cur, to take a man at a disadvantage like that!" he cried; adding,as he swung out his muscular right arm: "But as you have brought thisupon yourself, I will give you enough of it!"
Two or three ringing blows showed Jasper Wilde, that, bully though hewas, he had met his match in this white-handed aristocrat.
He drew back, uttering a peculiar sharp whistle, and two men, who wereevidently in his employ, advanced quickly to Wilde's aid.
"Bind and gag this fellow!" he commanded, "and throw him down into thewine-cellar to await my coming! He's a thief. He has just stolen mypocket-book. Quick, my lads; don't listen to what he says!"
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Quick as a flash, Jasper Wilde's two men seized Jay Gardiner from behindand pinioned his arms, Wilde the while excitedly explaining something inGerman to them.
Doctor Gardiner, as we have explained, was an athletic young man. Hecould easily have disposed of Wilde, and probably a companion; but it islittle wonder that the three men soon succeeded in overpowering him,while Wilde, with one awful blow, knocked him into insensibility ere hehad time to refute the charge his antagonist had made against him.
"Take him to my private wine-cellar!" commanded Wilde, excitedly. "He'sa fellow we've been trying to catch around here for some time. He's athief, I tell you!"
The men obeyed their employer's command, little dreaming it was aninnocent man they were consigning to a living tomb.
It was an hour afterward ere consciousness returned to Jay Gardiner. Fora moment he was dazed, bewildered; then the recollection of theencounter, and the terrible blow he had received over the temple,recurred to him.
Where was he? The darkness and silence of death reigned. The air wasmusty. He lay upon a stone flagging through which the slime oozed.
Like a flash he remembered the words of Jasper Wilde.
"Take him to my private wine-cellar until I have time to attend to him."
Yes, that was where he must be--in Wilde's wine-cellar.
While he was cogitating over this scene, an iron door at the further endof the apartment opened, and a man, carrying a lantern, hastily enteredthe place, and stood on the threshold for a moment.
Doctor Gardiner saw at once that it was Jasper Wilde.
"Come to, have you?" cried Wilde, swinging the light in his face. "Well,how do you like your quarters, my handsome, aristocratic doctor, eh?"
"How dare you hold me a prisoner here?" demanded Jay Gardiner, strikingthe floor with his manacled hands. "Release me at once, I say!"
A sneering laugh broke from Wilde's thin lips.
"_Dare!_" he repeated, laying particular stress upon the word. "WeWildes dare anything when there is a pretty girl like beautifulBernardine concerned in it."
"You scoundrel!" cried Jay Gardiner, "if I were but free from theseshackles, I would teach you the lesson of your life!"
"A pinioned man is a fool to make threats," sneered Wilde. "But come,now. Out with it, curse you! Where is Bernardine?--where have you hiddenher?"
"I refuse to answer your question," replied Jay Gardiner, coolly. "Iknow where she is, but that knowledge shall never be imparted to youwithout her consent."
"
I will wring it from your lips, curse you!" cried Wilde, furiously. "Iwill torture you here, starve you here, until you go mad and are glad tospeak."
"Even though you _kill_ me, you shall not learn from my lips thewhereabouts of Bernardine Moore!" exclaimed Jay Gardiner, hoarsely.
As the hours dragged their slow lengths by, exhausted nature asserteditself, and despite the hunger and burning thirst he endured, and thepain in his head, sleep--
"Tired Nature's sweet restorer--balmy sleep"--
came to him.
Suddenly the door opened, and Jasper Wilde, still carrying a lantern,looked in.
"It is morning again," he said. "How have you passed the night, myhandsome doctor? I see the rodents have not eaten you. I shouldn't havebeen the least surprised if they had. I assure you, I wonder they couldhave abstained from such a feast."
"You fiend incarnate!" cried Jay Gardiner, hoarsely. "Remove theseshackles, and meet me as man to man. Only a dastardly coward bullies aman who can not help himself."
"Still defiant, my charming doctor!" laughed Wilde. "I marvel at that. Isupposed by this time you would be quite willing to give me theinformation I desired."
Jay Gardiner could not trust himself to speak, his indignation was sogreat.
"_Au revoir_ again," sneered Wilde. "The day will pass and the nightwill follow, in the natural course of events. To-morrow, at this hour, Ishall look in on you again, my handsome doctor. Look out for therodents. Bless me! they are dashing over the floor. I must fly!"
Again the door closed, and with a groan Jay Gardiner could not repress,he sunk to the floor, smiting it with his manacled hands, and wonderinghow soon this awful torture would end.
CHAPTER XXIX.
During the long hours of the night which followed, Jay Gardiner darednot trust himself to sleep for a single instant, so great was his horrorof the rodents that scampered in droves across the damp floor of thecellar in which he was a prisoner.
He felt that his brain must soon give way, and that Jasper Wilde wouldhave his desire--he would soon be driven to insanity.
He thought of Bernardine, who was waiting for him to return to her, andhe groaned aloud in the bitterness of his anguish, in the agony of hisawful despair.
The manacles cut into his flesh, for his wrists had swollen as he laythere, and the burning thirst was becoming maddening.
"Great God in Heaven! how long--ah, how long, will this torture last?"he cried.
In the midst of his anguish, he heard footsteps; but not those for whichhe longed so ardently. A moment later, and Jasper Wilde stood beforehim.
"Now let me tell you what my revenge upon the beautiful Bernardine willbe for preferring _you_ to myself. I shall marry her--she dare notrefuse when I have her here--that I warrant you. As I said before, Ishall marry the dainty Bernardine, the cold, beautiful, haughtyBernardine, and then I shall force her to go behind the bar, and thebeauty of her face will draw custom from far and near.
"Nothing could be so revolting to her as this. It will crush her, itwill kill her, and I, whose love for her has turned into hate--yes,deepest, deadly hate--will stand by and watch her, and laugh at her. Ha!ha! ha!"
With a fury born of madness, Doctor Gardiner wrenched himself free fromthe chains that bound him, and with one flying leap was upon his enemyand had hurled him to the floor, his hand clutching Wilde's throat.
"It shall be death to one or other of us!" he panted, hoarsely.
But he had not reckoned that in his weak condition he was no match forJasper Wilde, who for the moment was taken aback by the suddenness ofthe attack.
* * * * *
That the encounter would have ended in certain death to Jay Gardiner, inhis exhausted state, was quite apparent to Jasper Wilde; but in thatmoment fate intervened to save him. Hardly had the two men come togetherin that desperate death-struggle, ere the startling cry of "Fire!" rangthrough the building.
Jasper Wilde realized what that meant. There was but one exit from thecellar, and if he did not get out of it in a moment's time, he would becaught like a rat in a trap. Gathering himself together, he wrenchedhimself free from the doctor's grasp, and hurling him to the floor witha fearful blow planted directly between the eyes, sprung over thethreshold.
Wilde paused a single instant to shout back:
"I leave you to your fate, my handsome doctor! Ha! ha! ha!"
But fate did not intend Jay Gardiner to die just then, even though hesunk back upon the flags with an awful groan and fully realized thehorror of the situation.
That groan saved him. A fireman heard it, and in less time than it takesto tell it, a brawny, heroic fellow sprung through the iron door-way,which Wilde in his mad haste had not taken time to close.
A moment more, and the fireman had carried his burden up through theflames, and out into the pure air.
The fresh air revived the young doctor, as nothing else could have done.
"Give me your name and address," he said, faintly, to the fireman. "Youshall hear from me again;" and the man good-naturedly complied, and thenturned back the next instant to his duty.
In the excitement, he forgot to ask whose life it was he had saved.
The fire proved to be a fearful holocaust. Canal Street had never knowna conflagration that equaled it.
Doctor Gardiner made superhuman efforts to enter the tenement-house, tosave the life of the old basket-maker--Bernardine's hapless father--whostood paralyzed, incapable of action, at an upper window. But no humanbeing could breast that sea of flame; and with a cry of horror, theyoung doctor saw the tenement collapse, and David Moore was buried inthe ruins.
He had forfeited his life for the brandy he had taken just a littlewhile before, which utterly unfitted him to make an effort to get out ofthe building.
Jay Gardiner, sick at heart, turned away with a groan. He must go toBernardine at once; but, Heaven help her! how could he break the news ofher great loss to her?
As he was deliberating on what course to pursue, a hand was suddenlylaid on his shoulder, and a voice said, lustily:
"By all that is wonderful, I can scarcely believe my eyes, Jay Gardiner,that this is you! I expected you were at this moment hundred of milesaway from New York. But, heavens! how ill you look! Your clothes arecovered with dust. What can be the matter with you, Jay?"
Turning suddenly at the sound of the familiar voice, Doctor Gardinerfound himself face to face with the young physician who took charge ofhis office while he was away.
"Come with me; you shall not tell me now, nor talk. Come to the office,and let me fix up something for you, or you will have a spell ofsickness."
And without waiting to heed Jay Gardiner's expostulations--that he mustgo somewhere else first--he called a passing cab, and hustled him intoit.
Owing to his splendid physique, he felt quite as good as new the nextmorning, save for the pain in his head, where he had fallen upon thestone flagging of the wine cellar.
Without any more loss of time than was absolutely necessary, he set outfor the old nurse's house, at which he had left Bernardine two daysbefore. He had half expected to find her ill, and he was not a littlesurprised when she came to the door in answer to his summons.
"Mrs. Gray is out," she said, "and I saw you coming, Doctor Gardiner,and oh, I could not get here quick enough to see you and thank you forwhat you have done for me--risked your own life to save a worthless onelike mine."
"Hush, hush, Bernardine! You must not say that!" he cried, seizing herlittle hands.
He drew her into the plain little sitting-room, seated her, then turnedfrom her abruptly and commenced pacing up and down the room, hisfeatures working convulsively.
It was by the greatest effort he had restrained himself from claspingher in his arms. Only Heaven knew how great was the effort.
"Why did you attempt to drown yourself, Bernardine?" he asked, atlength. "Tell me the truth."
"Yes, I will tell you," sobbed Bernardine, piteously. "I did it becauseI di
d not wish to become Jasper Wilde's bride."
"But why were you driven to such a step?" he persisted. "Surely youcould have said 'No,' and that would have been sufficient."
For a moment she hesitated, then she flung herself, sobbing piteously,on her knees at his feet.
"If I tell you _all_, will you pledge yourself to keep my secret, andmy father's secret, come what may?" she cried, wringing her hands.
"Yes," he replied, solemnly. "I shall never divulge what you tell me.You can speak freely, Bernardine."
And Bernardine _did_ speak freely. She told him all without reserve--ofthe sword Jasper Wilde held over her head because of her poor father,whom he could send to the gallows, although he was an innocent man, ifshe refused to marry him.
Jay Gardiner listened to every word with intense interest.
"While I have been here I have been thinking--thinking," she sobbed."Oh, it was cruel of me to try to avoid my duty to poor father. I mustgo back and--and marry Jasper Wilde, to save poor papa, who must now behalf-crazed by my disappearance."
Doctor Gardiner clasped her little hands still closer. The time had comewhen he must break the awful news to her that her father was no longerin Jasper Wilde's power; that he had passed beyond all fear of him, allfear of punishment at the hand of man.