"I wanted to go too," she said, tears coming into her eyes; "but he said he could go faster without me, and he could not take me to these Ashtons, or leave me alone in New York."
"It was very n.o.ble and good in you to let him go, Sydney," cried Babie.
"It would have broken his heart for ever," said Sydney, "if he had not tried to do his utmost for Jock. He says Jock has been more than a brother to him, and that he owes all that he is, and all that he has, to him and Mother Carey, and that even--if--if he were too late, he should save her from coming home alone. You think he was right, mamma?"
"Right indeed, and I am thankful that my Sydney was unselfish, and did not try to keep him back."
"O mamma, I could never have looked him in the face again if I had hindered him! And so we went up to London, and luckily Dr. Medlicott was at home, and he was very eager that John should go. He says he does not think it will be too late, and they talked it over, and got some medicines, and then John let me come down to Liverpool with him and see him on board, and we telegraphed the last thing to Mrs. Brownlow, so that it might be too late for her to stop him."
While that message was rushing on its way beneath the Atlantic it was the early morning of the ebb tide of the fever, and the patient was resting almost doubled over with his head on pillows before him, either slumber or exhaustion, so still, that his mother had yielded to urgent persuasion, and lain down in the next room to sleep in the dreamless repose of the overworn watcher.
For over him leant a st.u.r.dy, dark-browed, dark-bearded figure, to whom she had ventured to entrust him. Some fourteen hours before, Robert had with some difficulty found them out at Ashton Vineyard, having been irresistibly drawn by Jock"s telegram to spend in the States an interval of leisure in his work, caused by his appointment as princ.i.p.al to another j.a.panese college. He had gone to the bank where Jock had given an address, and his consternation had been great on hearing the state of things. All this, however, he had left unexplained, and his mother had hardly even thought of asking where he had dropped from. For Jock was in the midst of one of his cruellest attacks of the fever, and all she had been conscious of was a knock and summons to the door, where Primrose Ashton gently whispered, "Here is some one you will be glad to see," and Robert"s low deep voice, almost inaudible with emotion, asked, "May I see him?"
"He will not know you," she said, with the sad composure of one who has no time to grieve. But even in the midst of the babbling moan of fevered weakness, there was half a smile as of pleased surprise, and an evident craving for the strong support of his brother"s arm, and by-and-by Jock looked up with meaning and recognition in his eyes, though quite unable to speak, in that faint and exhausted state indeed that verged nearer to death after every attack.
This had pa.s.sed enough for her to know there would be a respite for perhaps a good many hours, and she had yielded to the entreaty or command of Bobus, that she would lie down and sleep, trusting to him to call her at any moment.
Presently, as morning light stole in, Jock"s eyes were open, gazing at him fondly, and he whispered, "Dear old Bob," then presently, "Open the window."
The sun was rising, and the wooded hillside opposite was all one gorgeous ma.s.s of autumn colouring, of every shade from purple to golden yellow, so glorious that it arrested Bobus"s attention even at that instant.
"Beautiful, isn"t it?" asked the feeble voice.
"Wonderful, as we always heard."
"Lift me a little. I like to see it. Not fast--or high--so."
Bobus raised the white wasted form, and rested the head against his square firm shoulder. "Dear old Bob! This is jolly! I"m not cramping you?"
"O no, but should not you have something?"
"What time is it?"
"6.30."
"Too soon yet for that misery;" then, after some silence, "I"m so glad you are come. Can you take mother home?"
"I would; but you will."
"I don"t think so."
"Now, Jock, you are not getting into Armine"s state of mind, giving yourself up and wishing to die?"
"Not at all. There are hosts of things I want to do first. There"s that discovery of father"s. With what poor Janet told me of Hermann"s doings, and what I saw at Abville, if I could only get an hour of my proper wits, I could put the others up to a wrinkle that would make the whole thing comparatively plain."
"Should not you be better if you dictated it, and got it off your mind?"
"So I thought and tried, but presently I saw mother looking queer, and she said I was tired, and had gone on enough. I made her read it to me afterwards, and I had gone off into a muddle, and said something that would have been sheer murder. So I had better leave it alone. Old Vanbro mistrusts every word I say because of the Hermann connection, and indeed I may not always have talked sense to him. Those things work out in G.o.d"s own time, and the Monk is on the track. I"d like to have seen him, but I"ve got you."
This had been said in faint slow utterances, so low that Bobus could hardly have heard a couple of feet further off, and with intervals between, and there was a gesture of tender perfect content in the contact with him that went to his heart, and, before he was aware, a great hot tear came dropping down on Jock"s forehead and caused an exclamation.
"I beg your pardon," said Bobus. "Oh! Jock, you don"t know what it is to find you like this. I came with so much to ask and talk of to you."
Jock looked up inquiringly.
"You were right to suppress that paper of mine," continued Bobus, "I wouldn"t have written it now. I have seen better what a people are without Christianity, be the code what it may, and the civilisation, it can"t produce such women as my mother, no, nor such men as you, Jockey, my boy," he muttered much lower.
"Are you coming back, dear old man?" said Jock, with eyes fixed on him.
"I don"t know. Tell me one thing, old man: I always thought, when you took to using your brains and getting up physical science, that you must get beyond what satisfied you as a soldier. Now, have the two, science and religion, never clashed, or have you kept them apart?"
"They"ve worked in together," said Jock.
"You don"t say so because you ought, and think it good for me?"
"As if I could, lying here. "All Thy works praise Thee, O G.o.d, and Thy saints do magnify Thee.""
Bobus was not sure whether this were a conscious reply, or only wandering, and his mother here came in, wakened by the murmur of voices.
The brothers could not bear to lose sight of one another, though Jock was too much exhausted by this conversation, and, by the sickness that followed any endeavour to take food, to speak much again. Thus, when the Rector came, Bobus asked whether he must be sent out of the room, Jock made an earnest sign to the contrary, and he stayed.
There was of course nothing to concern him, especially in the brief reading and prayer; but his mother, looking up, saw that he was finding out the pa.s.sage in the little Greek Testament.
Janet"s lay on a little table close by the bedside. The two copies had met again. The work of one was done. Was the work of the other doing at last?
However that might be, nothing could be gentler, tenderer, or more considerate towards his mother than was Bobus, and her kind friends felt much relieved of their fears for her, since she had such a son to take care of her.
Towards the evening, the negro servant knocked at the door, and Bobus took from him a telegram envelope. His mother opened it and read:
"Friar Brownlow to Mrs. Brownlow. I embark to-day."
A smile shone out on Jock"s white weary face, and he said, "Good old Monk! If I can but hold out till he comes, I shall get home again yet. I should like to do him credit."
"Ashton Vineyard, October l2th.
"MY DEAREST CHILD,--You know the main fact by telegram, and now I can write, I must tell you all in more order. We thought our darkest hour was over when the dear John"s telegram came, and the hope helped us up a little while. To Jock himself it was like a drowning man clinging to a rope with the more exertion because he knew that a boat was putting off.
At least so it was at first, but as his strength faded, his brain could not grasp the notion any longer, and he generally seemed to be fancying himself on the snow with Armine, still however looking for John to come and save them, and sometimes, too, talking about Cecil, and being a true brother in arms, a faithful servant and soldier. The long severe strain of study, work, and all the rest which he has gone through, body and mind, coming on a heart already not quite sound, throughout the past year, was, John thinks, the real reason of his being unable to rally when the fever had brought him down, after the dreadful exertion at Abville. Dear fellow, he never let us guess how much his patience cost him. I think we had looked to John"s arrival as if it would act like magic, and it was very sore disappointment when his treatment was producing no change for the better, but the prostration went on day after day. Poor Bobus was in utter despair, and went raging about, declaring that he had been a fool ever to expect anything from Kencroft, and at last he had to be turned out of the sick-room. For I should tell you that the one thing that kept me up was the entire calm grave composure that John preserved throughout, and which gave him the entire command. He never showed any consternation or dismay, nor uttered an augury, but he went quietly and vigilantly on, in a manner that all along gave me a strange sense of confidence and trust, that all that could be done was being done, and the issue was in higher hands. He would not let anyone really help him but Sister Dorothea, with her trained skill as a nurse. I don"t think even I should have been suffered in the room, if he had not thought Jock might be more conscious than was apparent, for he had not himself received one token of recognition all those three days. Poor Bobus! the little gleam of light that Jock had let in on him seemed all gone. I do not know what would have become of him but for the good Ashtons. He had been persuaded for a time that what was so real to Jock must be true; but when Jock was no longer conscious, he had nothing to help him, and I am afraid he spoke terrible words when Primrose talked of prayer and faith. I believe he declared that to see one like his brother s.n.a.t.c.hed away when just come to the perfection of his early manhood, with all his capacity and all his knowledge in vain, convinced him either that this universe was one grim, pitiless machine, grinding down humanity by mere law of necessity, or if they would have it that there was supernatural power, it could only be malevolent; and then Primrose, so strong in faith as to venture what I should have shrunk from as dangerous presumption, dared him to go on in his disbelief, if his brother were given back to prayer.
"She pitied him so much, the sweet bright girl, she had so pitied him all along, that I believe she prayed as much for him as for Jock.
"Of course I did not know all this till afterwards, for all was stillness in that room, except when at times the clergyman came in and prayed.
"The next thing I am sure of, was John"s leaning over me, and his low steady voice saying, "The pulse is better, the symptoms are mitigating."
Sister Dorothea says they had both seen it for some hours, but he made her a sign not to agitate me till he was secure that the improvement was real. Indeed there was something in that equable firm gentleness of John"s that sustained me, and prevented my breaking down. Even then it was another whole day before my darling smiled at me again, and said, "Thanks" to John, but oh! with such a look.
"When Bobus heard his brother was better, he gave a sob, such as I shall never forget, and rushed away into the pine-wood on the hillside, all alone. The next time I saw him he was walking in the garden with Primrose, and with such a quieted, subdued, gentle look upon his face, it put me in mind of the fields when a great storm has swept over them, and they are lying still in the sunshine afterwards.