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The Land of The Lost

Chapter XI

page 83

Chapter XI

Hugh heaped some more sticks on the fire and sat down in the doorway of the tent to await the advent of Mrs. Brandon and Upmore.

They arrived about half-past ten, the woman with a shawl over her head and shoulders, and the man carrying a small basket of provisions. Hugh met them outside the tent, enjoining caution. He and Upmore subsequently walked up and down before the tent, while Mrs. Brandon took up a position beside the sleeping girl.

The sky had cleared somewhat since earlier in the night, but heavy cloud masses were rising slowly to the northward, promising a renewal of the late rain-storm.

"They will not have much of a day for the races," said Upmore, after Hugh had told his surmises of what had taken place during his absence from the tent. "If I know anything at all, it is going to rain heavily all day to-morrow."

"It is very unfortunate," said Hugh, assenting; "a tent is not a cheerful place in such circumstances."

"Well, if I were you," said Upmore, "I'd start right away, and save a drenching. You are a good walker, and should reach the course in four hours. You can then find Dr. Hamilton, get a buggy or trap of some kind, and be back here before eight. It's likely we shall not page 84have heavy rain before low water—let me see—nine o'clock to-morrow morning; that will give her a chance of reaching Parawai without any worse adventure."

Hugh hesitated. The scheme commended itself to him, but he was bound to adhere to the promise he had made not to lose sight of Esther till she was under her father's protection. The girl had extracted the promise while suffering from the effects of fright; possibly in her unstrung state she was not entirely conscious of or responsible for her words and acts, but of this there was no proof. He knew nothing of the reasons—if reasons there were—for her apparent dislike of Mrs. Brandon, sufficient for him that the distrust existed. He must obey the instructions he had received until the divinity saw fit to countermand her orders.

As a result of these reflections Hugh remained silent.

"What do you think?" inquired Upmore.

"It will be best to wait till she wakes," replied Hugh. "She knows her father's probable movements. How if the doctor should be gone?"

"Such a waste of time," objected Upmore, "and with heavy rain coming on——"

"Why not go yourself?" interjected Hugh.

"And leave the hotel shut up, possibly for a whole day, at the best season of the year! It's likely, isn't it?"

"Mrs. Brandon could keep the place going, I suppose, if that is the only objection," suggested Hugh.

"My dear fellow," said Upmore sardonically, "if you wanted a clear field with the girl, what the devil did you drag me down here for? We didn't want to interfere with you."

Hugh frowned and then laughed. "I forgot that," he said. "Well, we will wait till she wakes."

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"As for that," said Upmore doubtfully, "I don't know. I might wait half an hour." The innkeeper, far from sharing the interest of his companion, evidently regarded the whole business in the light of a nuisance.

"There is no necessity for you to wait," said Hugh, "if you wish to go back. In fact, it would be as well for you to be at the hotel in order to intercept anyone who may be making for the racecourse in the morning."

To this Upmore assented, and shortly before midnight made his way back to the inn.

Meanwhile Esther slept soundly. Once only did she slightly change her position, drawing one hand from beneath the rug and murmuring a few unintelligible words.

Mrs. Brandon sat apparently buried in thought, her eyes occasionally wandering round the tent, but for the most part bent on the face of the sleeping girl. As the hand came from beneath the rug and fell carelessly down beside her, she leant forward and looked curiously at a ring—a broad band of gold set with turquoises—encircling one of the small white fingers. The sight of this object appeared to arouse some new thought in the mind of the watcher. Keeping her eyes fixed on the tent-opening, she cautiously stole forth her hand, and taking the ring between her fingers, worked it softly over the knuckle and thence into her palm.

At this moment Hugh came to the tent and glanced in. "Not awake yet?" he asked in a whisper.

The deaf woman, guessing the subject of inquiry, shook her head, and after a moment he again retired.

Freed from observation, Mrs. Brandon lifted the ring from the rug, where she had hurriedly placed it, and turning it to the light, sought for and quickly deciphered a brief inscription on the inner surface, "A. R. to E. H." page 86She then sat with an air of hesitation weighing the ring in the palm of her hand. Once or twice the hand closed and moved irresolutely towards the pocket of her dress, but finally she endeavoured to restore it to its original position. This, however, proved more difficult than the initial process of drawing it off, the girl closing her hand tightly together at the first touch of the woman's fingers. After several attempts Mrs. Brandon was compelled to desist and placed the ring on the rug, where it lay glittering and continually forcing itself on her attention. For a quarter of an hour it remained in the same place, catching and emitting the soft beams of the fire—then it disappeared.

Shortly after one o'clock Esther awoke. Her face was turned toward Mrs. Brandon, and for a few moments the two regarded one another in silence. Esther's face wore at first a puzzled expression, as though she were endeavouring to remember how she came to be in the society of the older woman; then this gave place to a look of anxiety, and she glanced quickly round the tent. Presently she smiled, though still somewhat anxiously.

"It is very good of you to come," she said, speaking slowly and clearly. "I am afraid I must have caused you a good deal of inconvenience."

The deaf woman appeared to make out her meaning, and nodded.

Esther again glanced round the tent. "Is Mr.—I forget the young gentleman's name—is he here?" she asked.

"Clifford?" asked Mrs. Brandon, following the direction of the girl's gaze. "Yes, he is outside. Did you wish to see him?"

"Oh, it is of no consequence," replied Esther, apparently losing interest, though her face assumed a more page 87cheerful expression. "I was merely wondering if he had gone to Parawai as he proposed."

"We wished him to go," explained Mrs. Brandon, "but for some reason he desired to remain till you awoke. If you would like him to go now, I think he will."

"No, no!" said Esther quickly, "at least not until it is light."

"I am ready to go when you please, Miss Hamilton," said Clifford, who, hearing voices, had drawn near the tent and was now looking in.

"It is very good of you," she replied, just suffering her eyes to rest on his face and again turning them towards the woman.

"I hope you feel refreshed after your sleep," said Hugh. "We were uncertain what to do till you awoke."

Esther inquired how long she had slept. "Won't you come inside?" she asked presently, as he remained standing in the doorway.

Hugh assented readily enough and took his place in the corner of the tent. He was beginning to feel that wandering aimlessly about all night after a hard day's work was not a desirable occupation.

"I have found your horse," he said, as he sat down. "He had got himself tied up among the tea tree about a stone's-throw from the tent. I have the saddle drying by the fire."

"I don't know what I should have done without you," said Esther gratefully. "Though I shall not be able to ride, it is nice to know the animal is safe."

"Your father must bring a trap for you," said Hugh. "There are bound to be a few on the course, and in a case of such necessity he will no doubt get the loan of one easily enough. Perhaps Roller will be there with his."

page 88

The words were uttered at random, but they brought a look of anxious reflection into the girl's eyes. The fingers of one hand sought the fingers of the other, then she uttered an exclamation of surprise.

"What is it?" asked Hugh, with solicitude.

"My ring," she replied, "it is gone."

"You will probably find it among the rugs. By the way, I pinned your brooch to the tent just above your head; it must have fallen."

"Have you lost something?" asked Mrs. Brandon in a dull, monotonous voice, her face a blank.

"My ring and my brooch," replied Esther, hunting among the rugs.

"Here is a purse," said Hugh, "but it appears to be empty."

Esther explained how it came to be in that condition, but added, "I did not see him take the brooch, and I don't know how he could have taken the ring from my finger without my knowing it. Besides"—then she paused and became of a sudden very thoughtful.

"What was the appearance of this man?" inquired Hugh, his indignation aroused less by what he heard than by what he suspected.

Esther gave as minute a description as she was able, awaking an unpleasant conviction in Hugh's mind that he and her assailant had met not many days previously.

"Did he give any reason for coming at that time and in such weather?" he asked.

"He did; he said that you and he had quarrelled, and that he was desirous of burying the hatchet—that was the very form of words he used."

"He wished to make friends?" asked Hugh in surprise.

"No," said Esther, "that was not the impression I received."

page 89

"I see," said Clifford slowly, with a laugh. "Really I have no fancy for a humourist of that kind."

"How can you jest about it?" asked Esther seriously. "I would not stop here another day."

"Your experience has not been so pleasant that I should like to think of you doing so," replied Hugh politely.

"But I mean if I were you I would not stay," explained Esther. "He might have murdered you in your sleep. Supposing I had not been here you would probably have been sound asleep, and what chance would you have had against such a man?"

"Just so," said Hugh, with more interest; "it is quite possible I owe you my life." The young man was perfectly willing to be in her debt even to that extent.

"That is nonsense," said Esther, smiling; "but it is quite certain I owe you mine."

The young man was delighted. Never in his life had he met a creature so frank, so fair, and so charming. The liquid glances of her dark eyes, hurriedly given, and followed by a fall of the heavily lashed lids; the brief, flickering smiles, like sudden flashes of sunlight breaking on the prevailing anxious pose of the lips; the soft, sweetly modulated voice, the innocent trust and comradeship of her manner towards himself—all these things played havoc with his heart and drew him deeper and deeper into the gulf.

"It is very curious," said Esther, after a renewed search for the missing articles. "He might possibly have taken the brooch, but I cannot understand about the ring."

"It must be somewhere," said Hugh. "By-the-by," he added suddenly, "he could not have taken the ring because it was there when I was holding your——"

page 90

A swift glance of reproach from the girl caused him to check himself, and he concluded, "when I came back from the hotel."

"I know it was," said Esther decisively.

"Perhaps it has rolled away beneath the tent," suggested Hugh; "it will be useless to look for it till the morning. As for the brooch and the money, we will have the police on his tracks before he is many hours older."

Mrs. Brandon meanwhile had been diligently searching for the missing property, but now at Esther's request she desisted, and something was said about refreshments. Esther confessed to being both hungry and thirsty, and in a few minutes the billy was boiling, tea was made, and the strangely assembled trio partook of a light supper from the contents of the basket which Upmore had brought down from the hotel.

During the meal Hugh explained that the innkeeper had promised to come over first thing in the morning and acquaint him with the steps he had taken to communicate with Dr. Hamilton. It was considered certain that some persons, either native or European, would be on the road to the racecourse shortly after daylight.

Neither Esther, who had been refreshed by her nap of two or three hours, nor Hugh, who was kept up by the excitement attendant on the presence of his fair visitor, felt any call to sleep; but Mrs. Brandon, whose share in the conversation was limited to such words and parts of words as found their way through her obscured organs of hearing, soon exhibited symptoms of sleepiness and yawned in a manner painful to witness. Finally Esther proposed that she should share her couch, and this arrangement was agreed to.

page 91

"What will you do, Mr. Clifford?" Esther asked remorsefully.

"I will lie across the doorway, if you ladies will permit me," said Hugh.

"But you will be so cold," objected the girl.

"I can warm one side at a time, you know," said Hugh cheerfully, laying down his haversack to form a pillow.

"Of course, you must have something," said Esther. "We will give you two of our blankets, because you are nearest the open air; one will be plenty for us."

"I won't listen to anything of the kind," said Hugh, beginning to stretch himself on the ground.

"Well, one then," she pleaded. "You have been wet through, and I am sure you will have rheumatism or something if you are so careless."

She rapidly rolled the rug up and pushed it towards him.

Hugh waited till the girl was comfortably curled up beside the older woman, then wrapping his blanket around him, extinguished the light and lay down across the doorway before the glowing embers of the fire.

"Good-night, Miss Hamilton," he said in a tone that was almost a caress.

There was a silence of some moments, and he was beginning to think she was already asleep, or had not heard him, when she replied, "Good night, Mr. Clifford."

Was it merely fancy, or had there been something in the "Mr. Clifford" which made it sound even dearer than "Hugh"?