CHAPTER IV
SOLVING A PROBLEM
The girls tiptoed into the little room at the right and saw that Mrs.Bragley was not asleep. As they approached the bed she greeted them witha faint smile.
"It's too bad that you should have all this trouble," she said. "HereI've gone and spoiled all your afternoon's fun just because I was tooslow and stupid to get out of your way."
"It wasn't your fault at all," declared Bess warmly. "I know I'd havebeen scared stiff if I'd seen that sled bearing down upon me. The thingwe're grateful for is that you weren't killed."
"How are you feeling now?" asked Nan gently, as she adjusted thebedclothes.
"Rather poorly," was the answer. "My ankle's hurting me a good deal. Andthen I have a sort of all-gone feeling. But I suppose that's on accountof the shock. But I'll be all right by to-morrow," the woman hurried tosay bravely.
"We've sent for a doctor and a nurse," Nan explained. "They'll be herein a little while."
A worried look came into the woman's pale and drawn face.
"A doctor? A nurse?" she repeated. "That's good of you, my dears, but Ican get along all right without them. And besides, besides----"
She hesitated, and Nan, who guessed what she was thinking of, hastenedto reassure her.
"Don't worry about anything," she urged. "There won't be any expense.It's our fault that you are hurt, and the very least we can do is to seethat it doesn't cost you anything to get well. You just leave it to us,please."
Tears came into the poor woman's eyes.
"How good you are!" she said brokenly. "There was a time when I hadmoney enough to get along comfortably, but that was before my husbanddied. He thought that he was leaving me enough to take care of me forthe rest of my life. But somehow or other I guess I've been cheated outof it or lost it somehow. It's all mixed up in my mind, and I don'texactly know the rights of it. I never did have any head for business,anyhow."
"There, there," said Nan soothingly, as she feared that her patient wasgetting excited. "You can tell us all about it some other time. Let mefix your pillows now and you try to get some sleep before the doctorcomes."
She brought a cooling drink, and then she and Bess withdrew into theother room and conversed in low tones until, just before dark, thedoctor made his appearance.
He was a big, cheery man, who radiated confidence as he bustled into theroom after tying his horse to the fence outside.
"Oh, Dr. Willis, I'm so glad you've come!" exclaimed Nan, as the doctorcame in and drew off his gloves.
"Just a bit of luck that I was able to get here so soon," the doctorresponded. "I was just going out on another call when a girl rang me upfrom the school and told me of the accident. She was so excited that shestuttered, but I managed to make out what she was driving at and hurriedover at once. Where is the patient?"
They took him into the room, and he made a quick but thoroughexamination.
"No bones broken," he announced, and the girls drew a sigh of relief."But there's a bad sprain and she won't be able to get around for acouple of weeks."
He bandaged the injured ankle and prepared some medicine, which he leftwith careful directions to the girls.
"I'll drop in again to-morrow," he said. "Sorry that I can't take yougirls back and drop you at the Hall, but she oughtn't to be left alone.I can take one of you, though," and he looked inquiringly from one tothe other.
"You had better go, Bess," said Nan promptly.
"What! and leave you alone?" cried Bess. "Indeed not."
"But we can't both go."
"I am not going to leave you, Nan. We'll both stay."
"Well, it won't be for so very long anyway," remarked Nan. She turned tothe physician. "It is very good of you to ask us."
"It sure is," added Bess, quickly. And then she added, with a cloud onher face, "You are sure Mrs. Bragley is going to get over it?"
"Oh, yes, she'll get over it. But it will take time," answered thedoctor; and a few minutes later the medical man took his departure.
"He certainly is a nice man," said Nan, as she and her chum watched himgo.
"A man one is bound to have confidence in," added Bess.
He had not been gone five minutes when there was a sound of sleighbells,and a cutter, drawn by a spirited horse, dashed up to the gate. Thegirls peered through the windows, but in the dark, which had now fullysettled down, could not identify the newcomer. A moment later there as aknock at the door, and, on opening it, Walter Mason came in with a rush,accompanied more sedately by an elderly woman with a kindly, capableface.
"Why, Walter!" exclaimed Nan, and a close observer might have noted herheightened color. "How splendid it was of you to get here so quickly."
Bess had it on the tip of her tongue to say that she could guess why hehad hurried, but she wisely forebore.
Walter Mason was a frank, fine-looking young man, with whom the girlshad become acquainted through his sister Grace. Nan and he had beenthrown much together, especially during the visit that Nan had made toGrace at the Mason home in Chicago, and a mutual liking had developedthat had grown stronger with time. The girls had often teased Nan aboutWalter, but she had parried their thrusts good-naturedly, and stoutlymaintained that Walter was simply a nice boy and good company. But shewas undeniably glad to see him, though she tried to explain to herselfthat it was the prospect of soon getting back to the Hall that pleasedher.
After the first greeting, Walter introduced his companion as a Mrs.Ellis, who had agreed to come along to nurse the patient until she hadfully recovered.
Mrs. Ellis, in a quiet, capable way, took charge at once, and the girlsfelt the load of responsibility that they had carried all the afternoonlighten promptly.
"Oh, I'd nearly forgotten!" Walter exclaimed suddenly, and ran out tothe sleigh, whence he returned in a moment loaded down with food andjellies and supplies of various kinds.
"We stopped on our way through the village," he explained, as he placedthe packages on the table, "and Mrs. Ellis picked out the things that weought to bring along. Here they are. And now if you girls will get yourthings on, I'll hustle you over to the Hall. You must be awfullyhungry."
They had not thought of that, but now that he spoke of it they realizedthat he was right. They went in and spoke cheerily to Mrs. Bragley,promising to be over the next day to see how she was getting along, andthen, followed by her tears and blessings, they put on their wraps andfurs and with a cordial farewell to the nurse they hurried off, not,however, until Walter had brought in and stacked up enough firewood tolast for several days.
The cold, crisp air was like a tonic, and their spirits rose as thehorse drew the cutter after him over the snowy road at a rate of speedthat promised to bring them to the Hall all too soon.
"That was a close call you girls had this afternoon," Walter remarked,as they left the little house behind them.
"It surely was," agreed Bess, with a little shiver that was not due tothe cold. "It was lucky for us that Nan kept her head. The rest of uswere screaming, but Nan didn't make a sound. If she'd steered an inch tothe right or to the left from what she did, we'd have gone into a tree,and that would have been the end of us."
"She's a thoroughbred," declared Walter briefly. "That's just the wayshe acted the day your boat upset. Nan certainly has nerve."
"There are the lights of the Hall," interrupted Nan, glad of an excuseto divert attention from herself. "How beautiful they look on a nightlike this."
"They'd look a good deal more beautiful to me if they were further off,"grumbled Walter, as he reluctantly turned into the drive that led toLakeview Hall.