Queen Mary took Ingomar’s arm, and Ivanhoe offered his to Scottie, and
as they went toward the saloon, Scottie said to Ingomar, “Do pray tell
us what became of Lottie. I am dying with curiosity to know whether you
married her or not.”
“You had better allow me to tell the story in my own way,” he replied
dryly.
“I think so, too,” observed the queen. “It would spoil the story to skip
from one part to another. Let us re-assemble after supper and hear more
of it.”
“I think the queen has had something to do with the story,” whispered
Scottie to Ivanhoe. “She has been constantly wiping the tears from her
eyes, and she always turned her face another way, endeavoring to conceal
her emotion; and I could see her hand tremble distinctly.”
“Very true; I noticed it, and I dare say that she knows more of the
story than she is willing to tell. By the by, have you noticed those two
seedy-looking men who have been watching us all the time?”
“No; pray tell me about it.”
“I have a suspicion that they are detectives, looking for some one who
has committed some great crime. I accidentally overheard a part of their
conversation this morning. One of them pointed at one of our party and
said, ‘He is the man.’”
“Which one of our party did he point at?”
“Ingomar.”
“What further did you hear?”
“The other man replied that there was no doubt about it.”
“Are you sure they were speaking about Ingomar?”
“They pointed at him, and I therefore concluded that the conversation
referred to him. I fear that our amusements will be broken up ere long.”
“I hope they will not interfere with Ingomar until he finishes his
story.”
“Yes, it would be vexatious to have it cut short by his arrest. It may
be a false alarm, but something strange is going on. The movements of
the queen have excited my curiosity more than anything else. Look here;
those are the men I was telling you about. See how they are eying
Ingomar. Don’t let them see you looking at them. I mean to try to
unravel the mystery.”
“I can’t think that Ingomar is a criminal; he speaks so kindly to every
one, and then he is so eloquent when telling his story.”
After supper the party re-assembled on deck, and after a few moments
spent in conversation, the queen ascended her throne (the large
arm-chair being used for that purpose), and commanded Ingomar to proceed
with his story. In obedience to the queen’s command, he proceeded as
follows:
“It was near night when we reached the point where the farmer informed
us that we must get out of the wagon, as he was not going any farther on
our road. There was an old, dilapidated, vacant house near the point
where we parted with the farmer, which would protect us from a
thunder-storm, that was then threatening to burst on us. Lottie’s feet
were so much swollen and so badly lacerated that she was unable to walk
at all, and I lifted her from the wagon and carried her into the old
house. I was grieved beyond measure to witness her sufferings; for, in
addition to the pain she was suffering on account of her wounded feet, I
noticed that she had some fever. Our condition was by no means pleasant;
in fact, it was becoming serious. Our provisions were exhausted, Lottie
about to fall ill, the weather prospects gloomy, only forty miles of our
journey completed, and only three dollars in our purse; the prospects
were of a nature to make my heart sink within me. While I was making a
fire, Harry went to a farmhouse hard by to purchase provisions. He
bought a chicken and a few pounds of bread from a widow lady for
twenty-five cents. He also bought a little tea for Lottie. It devolved
on Harry to prepare supper, which he commenced as soon as he had
returned with the provisions. I was busily engaged in making a bed for
Lottie, working very fast, so as to get it finished, before the rain
should begin to fall. The lady who resided at the farm-house permitted
me to take some dry straw from a pen near by, which I spread out on the
floor near the fire, placing my coat on the straw, and requested Lottie
to lie down and rest until we could make her some tea. I took the
bandages from her feet, bathed them in cold water, then replaced the
bandages, and was greatly pleased to hear her say that she was much
better, and felt as if she could sleep very comfortably.
“‘You must not go to sleep,’ said Harry, ‘before your tea is ready. We
shall soon have some nice broiled chicken and good tea ready for you.’
“‘I shall try to keep awake, but my eyelids begin to feel very heavy, I
assure you.’
“It did not take Harry many minutes to cook supper, and it made me very
happy to notice that Lottie partook of it with a good relish.
“‘Well,’ said she, ‘brother Harry, you must permit me to thank you for
making such good tea. I am going to sleep now, and I bid you and Eddie
good-night;’ and it was but a short time till she was sound asleep.
“Dark, angry-looking clouds began to collect overhead; the ominous
sounds of distant thunder gave warning of the approaching storm; heavy
drops of rain began to rattle on the dry boards on the house-top,
increasing rapidly until it fell in torrents. The wind dashed with great
force against the tottering walls, and whistled mournfully among the
trees, while Harry and I sat gazing vacantly into the fire, our minds
busy, as usual, castle building. Old Bob had managed to make a pretty
fair supper off the bones of the chicken and such other scraps as he
could find, and was licking his nose with apparent satisfaction, as he
coiled himself down by Lottie’s feet. It was after midnight; the rain
continued to fall steadily, the wind blew more violently, the fire had
ceased to blaze, and darkness pervaded the room. Harry had been asleep
several hours, and I was dozing near the hearth, when I was startled by
a loud, shrill scream, uttered by Lottie. In an instant Harry and I were
by her side. Scream followed scream, while old Bob was leaping and
jumping about the room in every direction. Such confusion as appeared
was beyond my comprehension. A most singular noise rang through the
darkness--slap, slap, crack, crack, and old Bob seemed to be in a deadly
struggle with something. What it was we knew not. Lottie kept on
screaming, and I knew that something awful had happened, because she was
no coward. On the contrary, she was a real heroine.
“‘For Heaven’s sake make a light,’ said I to Harry, as I took Lottie in
my arms. He obeyed me at once, and it was but a few minutes till the
fire began to blaze so as to light up the room, though it seemed to me
it was a very long time.
“‘What in Heaven’s name has happened?’ cried Harry, while he was
throwing fuel on the fire, and trying to make it blaze.
“I made no answer, of course, for I was busy with Lottie, and knew as
little of the cause of the confusion as he did. I was endeavoring to
compose Lottie, who was trembling like one with an ague fit. Every now
and then I felt some strange substance slap against my legs, while Bob
threw himself first one way, then another, struggling as if he was
fighting for life.
“‘What is it, darling?’ said I. ‘Tell me what has happened?’
“No answer, but I felt her head drop heavily on my shoulder as the
weight of her body came against my breast, and I knew she had either
fainted or was dead.
“‘Be quick, Harry, she is dead! do pray make a light!’
“It is a well-known fact that when one gets in a very great hurry to
accomplish anything the anxiety to do it quickly very often prevents him
from doing it at all, or operates greatly to delay its accomplishment. I
was conjecturing a thousand kinds of awful things that had happened,
and, as usual in such cases, never hit near the real one. The first
thing that suggested itself to my mind was that some savage wild animal
had come into the room, and had frightened Lottie. There were at that
time many bears, and some few panthers, and large numbers of wolves,
existing in that part of the State, and I thought one of those animals
had ventured in the house. I heard the continuous snapping of teeth, and
the strangest sounds--not like anything I had ever heard before. I spoke
sharply to Harry, and accused him of a want of feeling for his sister,
for which I was very sorry as soon as the words had passed my lips; he
was so frightened that he hardly knew what he was doing. At last the
fire blazed up, casting a bright light over the floor, when I was almost
paralyzed with horror at the spectacle before me. One large rattlesnake
lay dead at my feet, while old Bob was shaking the life out of another
of equal size. It was the noise made by the rattles on the tails of the
snakes that had sounded so strangely. I had never seen a rattlesnake
until that moment, and therefore did not know what was making such a
singular noise. Lottie lay in my arms as pale as death, and I saw that
she had been bitten on the wrist by one of the snakes. There were two
small holes made through the skin, and two little drops of blood had
come out through the wounds. The flesh had already begun to turn a
yellowish color. The poisonous fangs had been driven deep into the flesh
and the deadly venom was beginning to take effect. I suppose the snakes
had come up through the crack in the floor, and had perhaps coiled
themselves in the straw near Lottie; and that, in her restless slumbers,
she had struck the serpent with her arm, and thus provoked it to strike,
because the rattlesnake never bites unless provoked in some way. I have
heard it said, too, that they always go in pairs, and I had also heard
experienced persons say that the safest remedy for snake bites was to
cut out the flesh in which the fangs had struck, and then for some one
to suck the wound with the lips so as to extract the poison as soon as
possible. Fortunately I happened to have in my pocket a knife with a
very sharp blade. Without a moment’s reflection or hesitation I seized
the flesh of the wrist between my finger and thumb and cut out a piece
large enough to include the entire wounds made by the poisonous fangs of
the serpent, then placed my lips over the wound and began to suck with
all my strength. The wound bled freely, and I continued to suck it for
over an hour. Lottie had immediately regained consciousness after the
cutting of her wrist, and held her wound to my mouth, while the grateful
glance which she cast on me was ample compensation for the risk I was
taking. We could not then tell whether she was suffering much or not,
for one of her peculiar traits was never to complain of anything; but
she declared in most positive terms that the only pain she experienced
was the slight suffering caused by the wound I had made with my knife on
her wrist. After sucking the wound for an hour, I began to feel deathly
sick--a strange dizziness seized upon me--the house appeared to be
turning round with great rapidity, and a blindness fixed itself on my
eyes; I gasped for breath, and felt as if I was being smothered. My
blood seemed to be boiling hot in my veins; I sank insensible on the
floor; and when I regained consciousness I was on a clean nice bed, in a
cozy little room, with Lottie’s golden curls dangling about my face, for
she was kissing me when I came to my senses, and my face was moist with
the tears that had fallen from her dear eyes.
“‘Where am I? What has happened?’ were the questions I put to her.
“‘Hush, Eddie dear, you must not talk; you have been dangerously ill;
and oh! how I hate myself for being the cause of your illness. Why did
you not let me suffer from the poison, instead of trying to kill
yourself?’
“Then a dim recollection of what had happened began to come to me. ‘How
long have I been ill?’
“‘Five days, and oh! such long, miserable days were they, too! We
thought you were going to die, and that made us so very unhappy; but
when the doctor left here this morning he said that all danger was over;
and then I knew that God had answered my prayers; because I have prayed
constantly and fervently to Him, asking Him not to let you die. If you
had died, I should have looked upon myself as your murderer. I never
should have seen another happy day. There now, don’t talk.’ And she
placed her hand on my mouth just as I was going to ask more questions.
“I noticed that she had her hand in a sling, and was about to question
her about it when she covered my mouth with her hand. I afterward
ascertained that she had not been entirely relieved from pain, that her
wrist and arm had been very much swollen, and had caused intense
suffering, but that she had watched by my bedside day and night, never
sleeping any, except such short naps as she could take by leaning her
head on the edge of my bed. If I had loved her before this, and I assert
that I did, what do you imagine my feelings toward her were then? It
would require a more expressive term to describe them than I am able to
command.
“‘Tell me, Lottie, all that has happened; it appears like a dream.’
“‘I will, if you promise to lie still, and keep quiet.’
“I made the promise reluctantly.
“‘When you fell insensible on the floor, from the effects of the poison
which you had sucked from my wrist, I began to scream so loud that Mrs.
Holly heard it, and she and her son came to see what the matter was. I
thought that you were dead, and I, of course, couldn’t help screaming.
We had you brought to this house, and Harry went after Dr. Dodson, who
lives five miles away. When he came he made you drunk with strong
brandy, then gave you an emetic, then made you drunk again, then gave
you another emetic. He kept on repeating this treatment until he thought
all the poison had been thrown off. Then he bled you until you fainted;
then he gave you more brandy, mixed with opiates, and you slept a long
time; but you kept talking all the time in your sleep about me and the
snakes. The good doctor remained with you all that day, and all the next
night; then he went away, telling us that all danger was past, and that
you would be sure to get well, which of course made us very happy,
because we had all been so frightened when we thought you were going to
die. Doctor Dodson said that there was a slight cut or wound on your
lip, and that when sucking my wrist the poison managed to make its way
through that little wound and got into your blood, thereby causing all
the trouble. There would have been no danger, he said, but for the wound
on your lip. He said you were the greatest little hero he had ever heard
of; those were his very words, because he said that I would have died in
ten minutes from the poison if you had not sucked it out of my veins.
Harry, poor fellow, has been working all the time in the field to pay
Mrs. Holly for our board, and when we get done paying her, and you get
well, we are going to go over to Doctor Dodson’s and work for him, to
pay him for saving your dear life; and when we have finished paying the
doctor, we will then start on our journey to Memphis. There, now, I have
told you everything; take this beautiful bouquet in your hand, and lie
perfectly quiet, while I go and make your soup.’
“My eyes followed the lovely form till she disappeared through the door.
Then I began to count the minutes by the stroke of the old clock on the
mantel, and the wheels of time seemed to stop while she was away from
me. She returned at last.
“‘Here is a nice bowl of soup, and you must drink it, for you have eaten
scarcely anything since you have been ill.’
“I had no appetite at all, but I drank the soup to please her; and I
dare say it did me much good, for I was very weak.
“On the morning of the eighth day of my illness I was able to leave my
bed, and, with Lottie’s assistance, could walk across the room. Then the
next morning she took me into the flower garden, while I leaned on her
shoulder for support. I was very much gratified to see that all the
wounds on Lottie’s feet had disappeared, and that she could wear her
shoes again without pain; and I determined to invent some plan to
protect her feet when we should again begin our journey. I procured some
strong cloth and made a pair of shoes, sewing leather soles on the
bottom, so as to prevent the stones from cutting her feet. The cloth
uppers would keep her feet from blistering, while the thick leather
soles would protect them from the gravel. She watched me intently while
the work progressed, and when it was finished she expressed great wonder
at my skill. The truth is, it was a very clumsy job, and the shoes were
ugly, but they answered the purpose for which they were intended, for
she never was troubled any more with blisters or sore feet. We had been
at Mrs. Holly’s two weeks, when I entirely recovered; then we went to
work for Doctor Dodson, to pay his bill. He was very kind to us; his
bill was moderate; in fact, he was willing to let us go without paying
anything, but Harry would not hear to it. He vowed he never would leave
until the last cent was paid. I always thought he had very strange views
on such subjects. He was too sensitive, I imagined, because he abhorred
the idea of accepting anything like charity. I do believe he would have
starved rather than to eat bread for which he was unable to pay. We
remained with the doctor ten days, during which time Harry and I plowed
a large field of corn, and cleaned out all the grass. Lottie insisted on
being permitted to help us, but Harry would not allow it; therefore she
went to work in the garden, and I mean what I say, when I assert that it
is my candid opinion that garden never before had been in such a
splendid fix. She destroyed every weed and blade of grass--cultivated
the vegetables, trimmed the shrubbery, transplanted the flowers; in
fact, she made an Eden out of a wilderness. When the work was finished
the kind-hearted old doctor was profuse in his praise.
“‘I declare,’ said he, as he gently stroked Lottie’s hair, ‘I have been
amply rewarded for my attendance on your brother, by your services, to
say nothing of the valuable work done on my farm by Harry and Edward. I
wish all my patients would pay me as well as I have been paid in this
instance; if they did, I should soon grow very rich. I will not allow
you to work another lick, and when you wish to start on your journey,
you shall have as much provisions as your two brothers can carry.’
“The morning after this conversation we parted from our kind host, and
set out on our journey toward Memphis, loaded down with nicely cooked
provisions.