Chapter XVII: 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!"