The hospital was nothing more nor less than a partitioned portion of thelower deck, filched from the space allotted to the soldiers. It ran foreand aft, coming close to the stern windows, and was, in fact, a sort ofartificial stern cabin. At a pinch, it might have held a dozen men.
Though not so hot as in the prison, the atmosphere of the lower deck wasclose and unhealthy, and the girl, pausing to listen to the subdued humof conversation coming from the soldiers' berths, turned strangely sickand giddy. She drew herself up, however, and held out her hand to a manwho came rapidly across the misshapen shadows, thrown by the sulkilyswinging lantern, to meet her. It was the young soldier who had beenthat day sentry at the convict gangway.
"Well, miss," he said, "I am here, yer see, waiting for yer."
"You are a good boy, Miles; but don't you think I'm worth waiting for?"
Miles grinned from ear to ear.
"Indeed you be," said he.
Sarah Purfoy frowned, and then smiled.
"Come here, Miles; I've got something for you."
Miles came forward, grinning harder.
The girl produced a small object from the pocket of her dress. If Mrs.Vickers had seen it she would probably have been angry, for it wasnothing less than the captain's brandy-flask.
"Drink," said she. "It's the same as they have upstairs, so it won'thurt you."
The fellow needed no pressing. He took off half the contents of thebottle at a gulp, and then, fetching a long breath, stood staring ather.
"That's prime!"
"Is it? I dare say it is." She had been looking at him with unaffecteddisgust as he drank. "Brandy is all you men understand." Miles--stillsucking in his breath--came a pace closer.
"Not it," said he, with a twinkle in his little pig's eyes. "Iunderstand something else, miss, I can tell yer."
The tone of the sentence seemed to awaken and remind her of her errandin that place. She laughed as loudly and as merrily as she dared, andlaid her hand on the speaker's arm. The boy--for he was but a boy, oneof those many ill-reared country louts who leave the plough-tail forthe musket, and, for a shilling a day, experience all the "pompand circumstance of glorious war"--reddened to the roots of hisclosely-cropped hair.
"There, that's quite close enough. You're only a common soldier, Miles,and you mustn't make love to me."
"Not make love to yer!" says Miles. "What did yer tell me to meet yerhere for then?"
She laughed again.
"What a practical animal you are! Suppose I had something to say toyou?"
Miles devoured her with his eyes.
"It's hard to marry a soldier," he said, with a recruit's proudintonation of the word; "but yer might do worse, miss, and I'll work foryer like a slave, I will."
She looked at him with curiosity and pleasure. Though her time wasevidently precious, she could not resist the temptation of listening topraises of herself.
"I know you're above me, Miss Sarah. You're a lady, but I love yer, Ido, and you drives me wild with yer tricks."
"Do I?"
"Do yer? Yes, yer do. What did yer come an' make up to me for, and thengo sweetheartin' with them others?"
"What others?"
"Why, the cuddy folk--the skipper, and the parson, and that Frere. I seeyer walkin' the deck wi' un o' nights. Dom 'um, I'd put a bullet throughhis red head as soon as look at un."
"Hush! Miles dear--they'll hear you."
Her face was all aglow, and her expanded nostrils throbbed. Beautiful asthe face was, it had a tigerish look about it at that moment.
Encouraged by the epithet, Miles put his arm round her slim waist, justas Blunt had done, but she did not resent it so abruptly. Miles hadpromised more.
"Hush!" she whispered, with admirably-acted surprise--"I heard a noise!"and as the soldier started back, she smoothed her dress complacently.
"There is no one!" cried he.
"Isn't there? My mistake, then. Now come here, Miles."
Miles obeyed.
"Who is in the hospital?"
"I dunno."
"Well, I want to go in."
Miles scratched his head, and grinned.
"Yer carn't."
"Why not? You've let me in before." "Against the doctor's orders. Hetold me special to let no one in but himself."
"Nonsense."
"It ain't nonsense. There was a convict brought in to-night, andnobody's to go near him."
"A convict!" She grew more interested. "What's the matter with him?"
"Dunno. But he's to be kep' quiet until old Pine comes down."
She became authoritative.
"Come, Miles, let me go in."
"Don't ask me, miss. It's against orders, and--"
"Against orders? Why, you were blustering about shooting people justnow."
The badgered Miles grew angry. "Was I? Bluster or no bluster, you don'tgo in." She turned away. "Oh, very well. If this is all the thanks I getfor wasting my time down here, I shall go on deck again."
Miles became uneasy.
"There are plenty of agreeable people there."
Miles took a step after her.
"Mr. Frere will let me go in, I dare say, if I ask him."
Miles swore under his breath.
"Dom Mr. Frere! Go in if yer like," he said. "I won't stop yer, butremember what I'm doin' of."
She turned again at the foot of the ladder, and came quickly back.
"That's a good lad. I knew you would not refuse me"; and smiling at thepoor lad she was befooling, she passed into the cabin.
There was no lantern, and from the partially-blocked stern windows cameonly a dim, vaporous light. The dull ripple of the water as the shiprocked on the slow swell of the sea made a melancholy sound, and thesick man's heavy breathing seemed to fill the air. The slight noisemade by the opening door roused him; he rose on his elbow and began tomutter. Sarah Purfoy paused in the doorway to listen, but she could makenothing of the low, uneasy murmuring. Raising her arm, conspicuous byits white sleeve in the gloom, she beckoned Miles.
"The lantern," she whispered, "bring me the lantern!"
He unhooked it from the rope where it swung, and brought it towards her.At that moment the man in the bunk sat up erect, and twisted himselftowards the light. "Sarah!" he cried, in shrill sharp tones. "Sarah!"and swooped with a lean arm through the dusk, as though to seize her.
The girl leapt out of the cabin like a panther, struck the lantern outof her lover's hand, and was back at the bunk-head in a moment. Theconvict was a young man of about four-and-twenty. His hands--clutchedconvulsively now on the blankets--were small and well-shaped, and theunshaven chin bristled with promise of a strong beard. His wild blackeyes glared with all the fire of delirium, and as he gasped for breath,the sweat stood in beads on his sallow forehead.
The aspect of the man was sufficiently ghastly, and Miles, drawingback with an oath, did not wonder at the terror which had seized Mrs.Vickers's maid. With open mouth and agonized face, she stood in thecentre of the cabin, lantern in hand, like one turned to stone, gazingat the man on the bed.
"Ecod, he be a sight!" says Miles, at length. "Come away, miss, and shutthe door. He's raving, I tell yer."
The sound of his voice recalled her.
She dropped the lantern, and rushed to the bed.
"You fool; he's choking, can't you see? Water! give me water!"
And wreathing her arms around the man's head, she pulled it down on herbosom, rocking it there, half savagely, to and fro.
Awed into obedience by her voice, Miles dipped a pannikin into a smallpuncheon, cleated in the corner of the cabin, and gave it her; and,without thanking him, she placed it to the sick prisoner's lips. Hedrank greedily, and closed his eyes with a grateful sigh.
Just then the quick ears of Miles heard the jingle of arms. "Here's thedoctor coming, miss!" he cried. "I hear the sentry saluting. Come away!Quick!"
She seized the lantern, and, opening the horn slide, extinguished it.
"Say it
went out," she said in a fierce whisper, "and hold your tongue.Leave me to manage."
She bent over the convict as if to arrange his pillow, and then glidedout of the cabin, just as Pine descended the hatchway.
"Hallo!" cried he, stumbling, as he missed his footing; "where's thelight?"
"Here, sir," says Miles, fumbling with the lantern. "It's all right,sir. It went out, sir."
"Went out! What did you let it go out for, you blockhead!" growled theunsuspecting Pine. "Just like you boobies! What is the use of a light ifit 'goes out', eh?" As he groped his way, with outstretched arms, in thedarkness, Sarah Purfoy slipped past him unnoticed, and gained the upperdeck.
CHAPTER V. THE BARRACOON.
For the Term of His Natural Life Page 6