CHAPTER XXX.
"SWEET SIGHT FOR ME THOU TWAIN TO SIT EYES ON."
"Tom! Tom!" Harry had groped his way to Tom's head, had lifted it onhis arm, and felt the warm blood welling from a deep cut on theforehead, "Tom, can you not understand?" he said; but Tom made noreply. He was breathing heavily and quite unconscious.
Dr. Holtum had given the Lunda boys many a useful lesson in ambulancesurgery, and no one had benefited more from his teaching than HarryMitchell. With care, and as much precision as was possible without theaid of sight, he bound Tom's head in bandages formed from thehandkerchiefs provided, and had the satisfaction of finding that thewound was staunched and the pulse beating a little stronger before manyminutes had passed.
He could not, of course, ascertain what other injuries had beeninflicted, but he moved Tom's arms and legs gently, and felt satisfiedthat _their_ bones had escaped.
The time seemed very long to Harry down there, and to the otherswaiting above. At last Yaspard could keep silence no longer, soleaning over, he shouted, "Is he--any better? Can't you sing outsomething to us, Harry?"
"I have been able to do a little, and I think Tom is reviving," was thecheering news Harry sang out in reply.
Tom really was coming round, and the first sign he made was a groan,and then a murmured "Time to get up, did you say?"
"Oh, Tom," Harry cried, bending close to the wounded head on his arm,and shedding some tears that were not an unmanly sign of gladness athearing Tom's voice once more; "Tom, old chap, I'm as sorry as can befor giving you the rough side of my tongue many a time."
"Eh, what?" faltered Tom. "Is that Harry speaking? Are you there,mother? What's up? I don't quite know; my head feels queer--oh dear!"
He had tried to raise himself as he spoke, and had been checked byagonising pain, which caused him to relapse into insensibility.
"How awful this is! I wish they'd make haste up there," thought Harry.And then he turned, as the Manse boys had always been taught to turn intrials, to Him who is near at all times, a present help in time oftrouble.
When Tom revived again, the first thing he heard was Harry Mitchell'svoice faltering forth prayers to God for His unfortunate comrade; and Ithink that the childish antagonism which had so long existed betweenthose two died out just then. But now a great flare of light fell onthem, and the noise and talk overhead told that relief was coming.
"What does it all mean, Harry?" Tom asked feebly.
"You fell down here, and Yaspard is coming with a light and things tohelp you out. Cheer up, Tom; we'll have you out and all right beforelong."
Yaspard descended with an admirable torch in his hand, and the articlesHarry required strapped around him.
Great was our hero's joy to find Tom so much restored; and when theyhad bathed his face, and made him drink some water, he was able tospeak collectedly. "I am hurt about the left shoulder," he said, whenthey began to examine him, "and my head feels dreadful."
"There is a nasty cut on the brow," said Harry, "and a slight onebehind the ear. I won't move the clumsy bandage, though, till we gethim up, when it can be made more ship-shape. Now, Tom, you must let usput you in the potatoe-bag and haul you out of this."
They were very deft and tender in their handling, and Tom bit his lipsto refrain from groaning over his acute pain; but for all that the jobwas a tedious and trying one, and when he was lashed into the sack Tomfainted again.
"I must go up with him," said Harry; "those duffers might do some harm."
He tested the rope, and, assured that it would bear a good weight, heput an arm round Tom, and then, catching the rope with his other hand,gave the signal.
Fortunately they had not to be raised very far, and it was accomplishedwithout any misadventure beyond the "skinning" of Harry's hand, whichhe could not guard without leaving Tom's poor head unprotected.
As soon as Yaspard too was got out of that horrible hole, all haste wasmade to reach the open air; and in the same manner Tom was lifted fromthe upper vault and laid upon the sward.
When he came to himself, he was stretched on the grass with Bill's kneefor a pillow and Harry's skilful hands ministering to him; and in thatmoment Tom must have been clearly conscious of all that had takenplace, for he murmured with great fervency, "Thank God for the blessedlight of day."
Just then a shower of spray came driving over the Stack, and, dashingitself against their faces, called the attention of all to the stormnow raging on the sea.
All around Swarta Stack the waves were leaping, white and furious.There could be no leaving the island that day, and no chance of anyrescue, even if anybody knew of their position--a very unlikely thing.
"Where can we find shelter for Tom?" was the first thing said, and itwas Harry who spoke.
"We must see to our boat," said Yaspard.
They hurriedly piled a few stones together, and laid their jackets onthese to make a shelter and couch for Tom; then leaving Harry to lookafter the patient, the others ran off to secure the _Osprey_.Fortunately she was a light little boat, and they were able to run herup the beach a bit, where she was safe from being knocked about by thewaves. The few remains of ferdimet were removed, with other articleswhich were required for camping out; and as our adventurers returned tothe scene of the catastrophe they asked one another what was to be doneif the storm lasted longer than one day.
"We can't starve, with birds about and rabbits as well as sheep on theisle," said Yaspard; "but the storm that could do us no harm may beserious enough for poor Tom. There isn't even a morsel of tealeft--only a few piltacks and a slice of cheese."
"There's a couple of eggs and Miss Congreve's box of chocolates left,"Bill said. "We'll keep them for Tom; but the sea may run off beforenight."
Yaspard shook his head. "Not likely. I know the weather-signs. Thismeans to last."
"Just so! Bad boy, bad boy!" screamed Thor from a crag close by. Hehad remained by the _Osprey_ while the lads were exploring, and wouldhave remained there still; but when she was beached and the "outwardand visible signs" of a meal carried away, Thor thought he had bettergo too, and see what was going to happen next.
"Ah, Thor, my rascal!" Yaspard exclaimed; "I must have had apresentiment of what would happen when I took you with us. Now"(turning to his companions), "I trust he will go when he is bid, inwhich case we may be helped sooner than we can help ourselves. Iwouldn't," he added hastily, "dream of calling for help if it were notfor Tom."
Harry looked up anxiously when his companions arrived. "This is a badjob," he said very seriously; "I fear Tom is more hurt than he allows,and he is getting light-headed, too."
"I'll send Thor now--if he'll go," said Yaspard, and Harry's face litup.
"I had forgotten Thor. Yes, send him if you can."
But Thor was in a sulky and suspicious mood, and would not let hismaster catch him. There were no alluring morsels left to bribe himwith; for the eggs must be kept for Tom, and a chocolate ball Thordespised as well as cheese.
"We must wait till we have to kill a sheep," Gibbie Harrison remarked,after all efforts to catch the raven had failed; "he will come for abit of red raw flesh, the ugly brute!"
"You needn't call Thor an ugly brute for eating what you kill,"retorted Yaspard, "unless you call yourself another of the same."
They all laughed then, and the laugh did them good. It even helped tostrengthen Tom, who showed a great amount of pluck and endurance duringthat trying time. He reproached himself for having brought so muchtrouble on them all, and tried to bear his pain heroically; but inspite of his own efforts, and the thoughtful attention of his comrades,Tom's state grew rapidly worse, and before evening he was very fevered.
By that time even Yaspard considered the situation most critical forall, and was ready to adopt any and every suggestion that might offerthe smallest alleviation of their condition.
The whole party had strongly objected to using the vault as a shelter,but, as the day waned and the storm increased, they d
ecided uponretreating there, seeing that Swarta Stack offered no better refuge.
Anxiety had banished hunger, and no one felt in a mood that evening forslaughter. An egg was whipped up with some sugar still left, andpoured down Tom's throat, and later a cup of cocoa was made for himfrom the contents of Amy's box of comfits. The rest of the lads laydown to sleep supperless--and, for the matter of that, dinnerless also,not having tasted food since early breakfast, except half a coldpiltack and a morsel of cheese.
Yaspard and Harry resolved to watch by Tom, whose sleep was fitful andfeverish. They had not been able to remove him to the vault, ofcourse, but had built a wall of stones and turf to protect him from theweather; and while the other lads slept quietly enough in the wreckers'den, these two kept guard over their disabled comrade on the exposedground.
"If the storm does not lin[1] by sunrise," said Yaspard, "we must tryand move him to the beach, and get him under shelter of the boat; wecan turn her up, you know, and make a cosy place for him. It is sowindy and disagreeable here."
Alas! they had not dreamt that the tempest might "turn" the _Osprey_ aseasily as they could. At the moment when Yaspard spoke, his bonnieboat was lying among the great rough stones, with a rent in her sidethat no mere caulking could cure. A fierce gust had caught her andtossed her over as if she were a toy left there for that purpose.
This was discovered when a very sedate procession of boys came down tothe beach, carrying Tom on a stretcher made (as Dr. Holtum had shownhow) out of their jackets spread between two spars--the spars beingpassed through the sleeves, and so kept in position.
When the _Osprey's_ condition was ascertained Yaspard said, "I supposethere is nothing left but to try for Thor again."
But Thor was nowhere to be seen then, and though search was made, hecould not be discovered. The truth was that Thor, hungry anduncomfortable, had been hovering over Swarta Stack at daybreak in avery discontented state, had recognised some familiar landmarks in anortherly direction, and had decamped for Boden straightway.
[1] Abate.