I awoke that next morning sore, miserable, and seeing everything through
the very reverse of rose-coloured spectacles. For I was back at the
Fort, and it now looked a very different place to the home I had
journeyed so many months to find when I was sanguine and hopeful.
There appeared to be a dead weight upon me; and as I first opened my
eyes, I felt as if the best thing I could do would be to rouse up Esau,
and go right away. But as I looked round, my eyes lit upon Mr Gunson
lying insensible in his bed, with Mrs Dean seated patiently by his
side, and I felt ashamed of my thoughts, for I could not go away and
leave one who had shown himself so true a friend from our first meeting,
and I at once determined, no matter how painful my position might be, to
stay by his side, and tend him till he grew strong again.
I shivered as I thought this, for I could just see his pale face below
his bandaged head, and the ideas came--suppose he does not recover--
never grow strong again? suppose he dies? The weak tears rose to my
eyes at the thought, and I lay wistfully gazing at him in the silence of
that bright morning, for I felt that I should be almost alone out there
in that wild, new country. For Mr and Mrs John would certainly be
more and more influenced by Mr Raydon; and as I could not stay at the
Fort, I should never see them. The old plans of staying with them, and
building up a new house somewhere in one of the lovely spots by the
river, were gone, and I told myself that I should soon have to say
good-bye to them.
There would be Esau, though;--perhaps not: for Mrs Dean would naturally
want to stay where there were women; and as she had become attached to
Mrs John, the chances were that she would stay at or near the Fort, and
that would influence Esau, who would be forgiven by Mr Raydon, and stay
too, while I should go off into the wilderness all alone.
Taken altogether, I was about as miserable and full of doleful ideas as
a boy of my age could be. Not one bit of blue sky could I see through
the clouds that shut in my future; and I was growing worse as I lay
there with an indistinct fancy that I had heard Mr Raydon's voice in
the night, when a bright ray of sunshine came through the window, and
made a ruddy golden spot on the pine-wood ceiling.
It was only a ray of light, but it worked wonders, for it changed the
current of my thoughts, setting me thinking that the sun was just
peeping over the edge of the mountain lying to the east, and brightening
the mists that lay in the valleys, and making everything look glorious
as it chased away the shadows from gully and ravine, till it shone full
upon the river, and turned its grey waters into dazzling, rippling, and
splashing silver.
I don't know how it was, but that sunlight began to drive away the mists
and dark vapours in my mind. I did not feel so miserable, though I was
painfully stiff and sore. The future was bright, my case not so
hopeless, and I was just making up my mind that Esau would never forsake
me, and that Mr Gunson would not die, when Mrs Dean looked round.
"Ah, my dear," she said; "awake?"
"Yes," I said, springing up, all dressed as I was. "You have not been
watching here all night?"
"Oh, no; I only came on at daybreak. He's sleeping very calmly."
"Has he spoken?"
"Oh dear no, and is not likely to for long enough. Such a pity as it
is, poor man!"
"It is a terrible injury," I said. "Yes, my dear; and how thankful I am
it wasn't my poor Esau. What should I have done if it had been he?"
"It would have been terrible," I said. "Or you, my dear," she whispered
hurriedly, as if in apology for not naming me before.
"Oh, that would have been no consequence," I replied, bitterly.
"Oh, my dear," she cried, with the tears in her eyes; "don't--don't talk
like that. I know you've been in trouble, but we all have that, and
they say it makes the happiness all the sweeter."
"Yes, they say so," I replied gloomily.
"Ah, it does, my dear. There, as Mr John said to me about you, `it
will all come right in the end.'"
"Here, what's the matter?" said Esau gruffly, still half asleep. "Time
to get up? Hullo, mother! Oh, oh! I recollect now. I was dreaming
about old Quong. I say! Oh, my feet--my feet!"
"There, there, there, my dear; they'll soon be better," said Mrs Dean,
bending over him; and the sight of those two, with Esau's pettish
ill-humour, quite drove away the rest of my gloom for the time. For as
Mrs Dean bent over her son, he pushed her away.
"Don't, mother; I do wish you wouldn't."
"Wouldn't what, my dear?"
"Talk to me, and pull me about like that."
"Hush! not so loud, my dear. You'll wake Mr Gunson."
"Bother Mr Gunson! There you go again. Can't you see I'm growed up
now?"
"Yes, of course, Esau."
"No you can't, or you wouldn't talk to me like that. You always seem to
treat me as if I was two years old; you'll be wanting to rock me to
sleep some night."
"Esau, my dear, how can you?"
"Well, so you will. Pet, pet, pet, every time you get near me."
"Esau, my darling," cried Mrs Dean, excitedly. "What are you going to
do?"
"Get up."
"With your feet like that?"
"Well, they'll be just the same if I lie here, and I'm not going to be
ill."
"But you will be, dear, if you walk about."
"Then I shall be ill. I'm not going to lie here for you to feed me with
a spoon, and keep on laying your hand on my head."
"Now, Esau, when did I try to feed you with a spoon?"
"I mean mettyphorically," grumbled Esau. "You always seem to think I'm
a baby. Ah, if you begin to cry, I'll dance about and make my feet
worse."
Mrs Dean wiped her eyes furtively, and Esau put his arm round her and
gave her a hearty kiss, which made her beam again.
"Well," he said, turning to me with a very grim look, "not much fun in
getting gold, is there? I say, who'd have thought of our coming back
again like this? What 'll Mr Raydon say to us this morning?"
I felt half startled at the idea of meeting him again, but my attention
was taken up by a low muttering from Mr Gunson, and I went with Mrs
Dean to his side, and stood watching her bathe his head till he sighed
gently, and seemed to calm down.
"Poor old chap!" said Esau; "he got a nasty one, that he did. I say,
wonder how much gold him and old teapot had found?"
"Oh, never mind that now."
"But I do," said Esau; "and so would he mind if he could think and talk.
Wonder where he hid it all? Let's ask Quong, because it oughtn't to be
lost."
I made no answer, but stood watching the injured man, while Esau
preferred sitting down and nursing first one foot and then the other,
but always obstinately refusing to lot his mother touch them. "I say,"
he said, after a pause. "Well."
"What's old Raydon going to say to us? It was very jolly of him to come
and help us as he did, but he looked pickled thunder at me and you here.
He won't let us stay. We shall have to start off again."
"I suppose so," I said drearily, with my old troubles coming back; and
we relapsed into silence, till there was a soft light step at the door,
and Quong entered and looked sharply at the plain rough bed-place where
Mr Gunson lay.
"Come over see how d'ye do," he said quickly. "Cap Gunson no go long
die self?"
"No, no," I cried; "he will get well."
"Yes; get well, ploper quite well, and go wash gole. Makee flesh
blead--flesh tea?"
"No, not yet," said Mrs Dean, who looked askant at the fresh-comer, and
as if she did not approve of him.
"Allee light. Wait. Good fi' makee blead cakee."
"I say, Quong," whispered Esau, "did you two find much gold?"
Quong gave him a quaint laughing look. "You waitee littee bit. Allee
same ask Mas Gunson. You sabbee?"
"But he can't tell us. I say, do you know where he hid what you got?"
"No; no sabbee. Mas Gunson know allee same. You wait."
Just then I heard a cough in the enclosure, and drew back a little
uneasily as the door opened, and Mr Raydon entered.
"Good morning, my lads," he said, gravely and coldly. "Ah, Quong, you
here? Well, nurse, how is your patient?"
"He seems very nicely, sir, and I don't think there is much fever."
"Does he seem in great pain?"
"Only at times, sir, and then I bathe his temples."
Quong looked sharply from one to the other, and began to fumble about
under his blue cotton blouse till he produced from some hidden pocket a
tiny thin bottle, less than my little finger, and gave it to Mr Raydon.
"Velly good," he said, eagerly. "You sabbee? Touch velly little dlop
allee long Cap Gunson head. No makee hurt then."
"Ah, yes," said Mr Raydon, taking the bottle. "I have seen this
before;" and as Gunson just then uttered an uneasy moan, the cork was
taken out, and a very tiny drop spread with a finger lightly about his
temples.
"Makee seep," said Quong, smiling. "Velly good."
The essence certainly produced the required effect, and Quong showed his
yellow teeth.
"Not muchee," he said. "Velly lit dlop. Velly ofen? No, no."
"I understand," said Mr Raydon, handing back the bottle.
"No," said Quong. "No. Keep all along. You sabbee?"
"Very well, I'll keep it," said Mr Raydon; and just then there was a
tap at the door.
"Come in."
Grey entered.
"Want me?"
"Bad news, sir," said Grey, in a sharp whisper. "That man from the
little valley--Barker he says his name is--"
"Which was Barker?"
"That sensible man you shook hands with."
"What does he want?"
"Wants to see you, sir. They started that gang down the river with half
a dozen armed miners, and they rose against them in the night."
"Yes," said Mr Raydon, excitedly. "Well?"
"They killed two, wounded all the rest, and they are all free again."
"And their own wounded men?"
"Took them into the woods with them."
"This is bad news indeed," said Mr Raydon, beginning to pace the room.
"He wants to know what's to be done," said Grey.
"I must think--I must think," said Mr Raydon, hastily. "Two men away
guarding that claim."
"Yes, sir. Weakens us."
"Yes," said Mr Raydon; "and we must be weakened more. Two of our men
must go to strengthen them at the claim. There must be four there."
"Won't draw them away and give up the claim, sir?"
"No," said Mr Raydon, firmly. "Go back to this Mr Barker, and say
I'll be with him directly."
"Yes, sir," said Grey; and he went out with all the quiet precision of a
soldier.
"Bad news--bad news indeed," said Mr Raydon, half aloud. "More trouble
to lay upon your shoulders, Mayne Gordon. All your fault."
I felt a chill run through me, and I believe a cold hard look must have
come into my face.
"Well, we must make the best of it. Of course you two lads must stop
here."
"If you wish it, sir," I said, "we will go directly."
"I do not wish it, boy," he replied sternly. "Do you wish to leave
those who have been your friends in the lurch now you have dragged all
this trouble to their door?"
"No, sir," I said, as I set my teeth hard, determined to be cool, in
spite of the injustice with which I felt that I was being treated.
"No, of course not. You have some stubborn pluck in you--both of you."
Esau growled in a very low tone, and made his mother look at him in a
startled way, as if she had suddenly awakened to the fact that her son
possessed the nature of a bear's cub.
Mr Raydon took another turn or two up and down the room.
"Mrs Dean," he said, "I can do nothing more for your patient. No
doctor could; time is the only thing. I'll come back as soon as I can.
Meantime my sister will come to you, and you can have either of my men's
wives to assist you in nursing. They are Indians, but well trained in
that way. Do your best."
"Mother always does," growled Esau.
Mr Raydon gave him a sharp look, but Esau did not flinch.
"Look here, you two," said Mr Raydon, after a pause. "I am going to
send two more of my men away, for the fellows in that gang are not going
to beat me. The law-and-order party must and shall prevail. This will
weaken my little garrison, so you two will have to mount rifles, and
take the places of two of my absent men."
"Yes, sir," I said, eagerly. "I'll do my best."
"Thank you. Now, Esau Dean, what do you say?"
"Course I shall do as he does. I'm ready."
"No, no, Esau, my boy. Your feet, your feet," cried Mrs Dean.
"Do be quiet, mother. There you go with the spoon again. Fellow don't
shoot off a rifle with his foot."