THE STORM
LIONEL did not lose his leg as Dr. Warren had at first feared he
would; nevertheless, six weeks elapsed before he was sufficiently
recovered to be moved from No. 8 Fore Street; but during the latter
half of that period he was well enough to receive visitors, and to
take a lively interest in all that went on around him. Ruth came and
wept over her brother, and would not be satisfied until he had
explained to her exactly how his accident had happened; after which
she expressed surprise that he had not been killed outright. "I don't
know what I should have done if your leg had had to be cut off," she
told him in tragic tones; "think how dreadful it would be if you were
obliged to wear a cork leg, or a wooden one with a peg in it! Really,
Lionel, you were very foolish to get in the way of the blunderbuss!"
"I know, I know!" Lionel answered, flushing. "It was all my fault,
but you needn't remind a fellow of it!"
"Well, I won't again," she said, as she gave him an affectionate hug;
"I only said what I thought!"
Then Sir Richard came to see his sick grandson—not the old
sarcastic Sir Richard before whom Lionel would have been stricken
dumb, but a more sympathetic person altogether, who refrained from
remarking upon the disobedience which had led to Lionel's accident,
judging that his sufferings had been sufficient punishment.
Lionel learnt much as he lay on his bed of sickness, waited on by his
mother and Miss Warren, with the assistance of a trained nurse. He
grew to like and respect Dick's Aunt Mary Ann, and to feel ashamed
that he had ever laughed at her or her kindly brother, whose visits
he looked forward to as the happiest moments during the long, tedious
days. Then Dick was nearly always at hand—Dick, who, when offered
a faltering apology for the manner in which his mother had been
spoken of, said he forgave his cousin freely, and would hear no more
upon the subject. It was little wonder that the invalid felt he was
treated better than he deserved.
The end of October was drawing near when Lionel was removed from the
shelter of the doctor's roof to his grandfather's home. Mrs. Compton
had accepted her father's invitation to stay at the Manor House till
after Christmas, for there was no question of Lionel's returning to
school for the autumn term; and Ruth was delighted at the thought of
such a long holiday.
The cold weather was tardy in coming that year. Although it was late
autumn, the days were still mild and sunny; and Dick did not realise
that summer had passed, and winter was close at hand. He found the
golden autumn days very pleasant, and he and Ruth spent many long
hours in the woods gathering blackberries and hazel nuts; watching
the squirrels chattering in the branches overhead; and playing
hide-and-seek. On the whole, they agreed very well, though sometimes
they had differences of opinion when Ruth claimed her right of
freedom of thought, although she was a girl, as she would say
defiantly.
Dick was perfectly contented and happy at that period of his life;
he was daily growing to like his grandfather better, and to recognise
the many sterling qualities hidden beneath his cloak of pride; and he
was receiving cheerful letters from his parents, in one of which his
mother remarked that Sir Richard had written most kindly and
affectionately about him. How joyful Dick was when he read his
mother's loving words,—
"It nearly broke our hearts to part with you, my darling, but we can
see now that all has been for the best. Sir Richard writes that he is
well pleased with you, and that you have brought sunshine into his
life—it makes your father and me very happy to hear that. We value
your letters so much! Ah, you never guess, I am sure, how often we
read them, and talk of our dear boy!"
"Not more often than I think of them, and read their letters!" Dick
cried one Sunday evening, a few days after Lionel had been removed
to the Manor House, as he sat in the drawing-room at No. 8 Fore
Street, reading his mother's letter again and again, whilst Aunt
Mary Ann at the piano played her favourite chants, and Uncle
Theophilus indulged in an idle hour. "Next year will soon be here
now, won't it, Uncle Theophilus? Fancy! I have been in England more
than four months!"
"Does it seem a great while?" Dr. Warren asked, his eyes resting
thoughtfully on his little nephew's animated countenance, which had
rounded into the curves of health.
"Oh, yes!—at least, in some ways! I miss Lionel and Aunt Arabella,
don't you? Last Sunday night you, Lionel, and I had a talk together,
don't you remember?"
The doctor nodded. Dick gazed earnestly into the glowing embers
in the grate. The weather was wet and stormy; occasionally the wind
clapped against the windows as though it would break them in, and
shook the house. On such a night a good fire was cheering and
comfortable.
"I believe we are going to have a severe gale," Dr. Warren remarked;
"the wind has veered to the east, and I fancied I heard the sea
roaring just now. We feel an easterly wind on this coast."
Miss Warren ceased playing whilst they all listened. The rain was
descending in torrents, whilst the wind rose in gusts, and howled
like a creature in distress; but above the wind and rain the sound
of the waves as they dashed upon the shore and beat against the foot
of the cliffs was distinctly heard.
"Poor sailors!" sighed Miss Warren sympathetically. "God help them
to-night!"
She struck a few chords on the piano, and began to sing the hymn,
"For those in peril on the sea," in a voice which had once been a
fine soprano, and, though rather quavering now, was still sweet in
tone. Her brother joined in his deep bass, and Dick hummed the tune
when he could not quite remember the words.
"Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd'st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea."
When the hymn was concluded, the doctor rose from his chair, and,
going to the window, pulled back the blind and looked out. As he did
so, a light from the direction of the sea gleamed for a moment
through the darkness, and a report like the firing of a gun was
heard. Miss Warren turned around quickly on the piano stool, and
exchanged a glance of dismay with her brother.
"What is it? What is it? What is that noise?" Dick cried.
"There is a vessel in distress, and the crew is trying to draw
attention to the fact by burning coloured lights and firing guns,"
Dr. Warren said, as he hurried into the hall, and hastily pulled on
his overcoat. "I am going down to the beach, Mary Ann, to see if I
can be of any assistance!"
"Oh, Theophilus, take care of yourself!" she exclaimed, as he opened
the front door and was lost from sight in the blackness of the night.
Dick ran upstairs to ascertain if anything was to be seen from his
bedroom window, but all was in darkness over the sea now. On opening
the window he found the rain had ceased, though the wind was higher
than ever. He strained his ears to listen, but heard no more guns
fired. Presently Miss Warren joined him, remarking that the servants
had asked if they might go down to the beach, and had started off
immediately on receiving her permission.
"Oh, let us go too!" Dick pleaded. "Oh, Aunt Mary Ann, do say yes!
See, it has stopped raining—it has, indeed! The wind won't hurt us
a bit! Oh, do let us go!"
At first Miss Warren would not hear of it; but she was curious and
anxious to know what was wrong, and finally consented to lock up the
house and follow the other members of the household to the beach.
Miss Warren in a waterproof, with the hood over her head, and Dick in
a thick overcoat, were suitably clad to face the weather. The rain
had cleared temporarily, so they had only the wind to combat with
as they hurried hand in hand down the village street. Not until they
reached the beach did they realise the full fury of the gale; then it
was as much as they could do to keep their feet.
The villagers were standing about in groups, straining their eyes
in their vain endeavours to pierce the darkness; the men, for the
most part, were quiet, but the women talked fast and excitedly,
whilst the children clung to their mothers' skirts, some in tears,
others awed into silence.
"I wonder where Theophilus is?" Miss Warren murmured anxiously.
"I wonder if any one has seen him?"
"Are you speaking of the doctor, ma'am?" said a woman's voice.
"He was here a few minutes ago! I heard him asking for volunteers!"
"Volunteers! What do you mean?" gasped Miss Warren, her heart sinking
with dread at the thought of what she knew she was going to hear.
"There's a ship on the Pope's Nose," the same voice replied,
"a coasting vessel—a schooner they say. She struck about an hour
ago, and she'll not be long in breaking up, I'm thinking! The ship's
boat has landed some of the crew in safety, but the captain and the
mate are still aboard, and I heard Dr. Warren just now asking for
volunteers to go with him to fetch them off!"
The Pope's Nose was a reef of rocks jutting into the sea, invisible
at high water, which was regarded by the fishermen as one of the most
dangerous on that coast. Miss Warren clasped Dick's hand tightly; she
knew her brother well, and was certain he would not hesitate to face
danger or death, if by doing so there was the faintest hope of his
saving human lives; but she trembled exceedingly, and her lips
refused to utter a word. Suddenly some one else spoke to her.
"Oh, Miss Warren, is it you? Oh, dear, dear, dear!" ejaculated Miss
Tidy's voice, full of lamentation and tears.
"Why do you speak like that?" Miss Warren questioned in strange,
husky tones.
"The doctor's rowed off to the wreck along with John Haydon, and Jim
Cole, and—"
"The doctor knows his duty as well as my grandson knows his," broke
in a quavering voice which Dick recognised immediately as Granfer
Cole's. "What's the good of going on in that foolish way and
upsetting folks, Miss Tidy? You'd better far be praying to God
A'mighty to help the brave souls, than stand there wringing your
hands like a heathen, as though there was not One above! You've maybe
forgotten Him as rebuked the wind and the raging of the water on the
sea o' Galilee!"
"You are right, Granfer," Miss Warren said, her spirits rising
hopefully at the old man's words; "but oh, it is a terrible storm!
I cannot make out anything in the darkness! How long will it take
to reach the Pope's Nose, if all goes well?"
"Half-an-hour," the old man answered, "that's making allowances for
the weather, and the difficulty of rowing in such a sea!"
"And another half-hour to get back!" cried Miss Tidy. "Here comes the
rain again!"
It fell in a down-pour, but Miss Warren had no thought of returning
home now. She stood by Granfer Cole's side with Dick clinging to her.
Her lips moved in prayer. "God help them! God help them!" she
murmured, whilst the little boy echoed her words, with a terrible
dread in his heart that the roaring sea, which seemed to him then
like a wild animal greedy for prey, would never give back Uncle
Theophilus to them again.
Although the Pope's Nose was not far from shore, it was impossible
to see anything of the vessel upon the rocks; the lights alone had
indicated the spot where she was stranded. The wild east wind blew
inland in angry gusts, whilst the waves rose like great walls of foam
before they broke, and rushed hissing up the beach. Truly, it was an
awful storm; and nothing could be done but wait patiently for the
rescuing boat, and pray for her safe return.
The time dragged slowly on; half-an-hour passed—an hour. Every
voice on the beach was silent now. At length, when waiting was
becoming simply agony, a mighty cheer rose from the expectant crowd,
as borne on the crest of a huge wave, the boat with its precious load
of rescuers and saved reached the shore; and a dozen or more pairs of
willing hands helped to drag her high and dry, out of the reach of
the incoming tide.
There was a clamour of voices; eager questions; tears, sobs; and
in the midst of the intense excitement Dick and his aunt somehow
understood that the brave men who had gone out to the wreck had
returned in safety, bringing the captain and the mate of the schooner
with them.
An hour later the beach was deserted. The shipwrecked crew was safely
housed at the village inn; and the doctor, with his sister and Dick,
were discussing the events of the evening over the supper-table.
How proud Dick was of his uncle! He could not help watching him with
admiring eyes, and wondering what Ruth and Lionel would say when they
heard the story of the wreck. He meant to go to the Manor House the
first thing in the morning, after breakfast, and hoped no one would
be before him in telling the tale.
Miss Warren looked pale after the excitement and anxiety she had
undergone, and was far less talkative than usual, so that it would
have been a very quiet supper-table but for Dick, who kept up an
incessant flow of conversation with his uncle.
"Fancy Granfer Cole being on the beach in such dreadful weather!"
the little boy exclaimed. "I should have thought he would have been
afraid to come out-of-doors!"
"Was he there?" Dr. Warren said. "Ah, he is an old salt, and minds
neither wind nor rain."
"By the way, one of his grandsons was the first to answer to my call
for volunteers—a fine fellow he is too, and as strong as a young
lion! He must be a lad after Granfer's own heart, I feel sure."
"I believe the storm is abating," Miss Warren remarked after
listening a minute, whilst a look of relief crossed her face. "I am
so glad! Do you think the wreck will break up during the night,
Theophilus?"
"Very likely, I should say. I have seldom seen a worse storm—they
must have felt it badly even at the Manor House, where it is
comparatively sheltered, but I much doubt if they know anything about
the wreck. You are making a very poor supper, Dick!"
"I can't eat much to-night, Uncle Theophilus! I'm not hungry!"
"Excitement has taken away your appetite, I suppose!"
"Yes, Aunt Mary Ann and I were so dreadfully afraid that you would be
drowned?" Dick confessed. "I was never so frightened before!"
"Ah, I have not scolded you and your aunt for coming down to the
beach," Dr. Warren said reprovingly, "and I don't think I shall now.
I am glad I did not know you were there, though!"
"Uncle Theophilus!" cried Dick, "you are one of the bravest men
I know!"
"Oh, come now, my boy, I cannot allow you to so openly flatter me,"
the doctor expostulated with a smile. Then, seeing how serious Dick
was, he added gravely, "I only did my duty, no man should do less
than that. 'The Eternal Father, strong to save' was with us all
to-night!"
"He was indeed!" Miss Warren agreed softly.
As for Dick, he rose from his chair, went around the table to
Dr. Warren's side, and flung his arms around his neck.
"You are brave, Uncle Theophilus!" he cried, "and I feel so proud
of you, and so glad that I sort of belong to you, you know!"