第5章
“Sakesalive！。“thewomanmuttered，asshelookeddown。“Whatdoeshecarryathinglikethatfor-inapeacefulcountry，too！“
“Itwasjustanideaofhis，“Geraldanswered。“Weweregoingabroadinadayortwo。Hewasalwaysnervous。Ifyoulike，I’lltakeitaway。“
Hestoopeddownandwithdrewitfromtheunconsciousman’spocket。
Hestartedashediscoveredthatitwasloadedineverychamber。
“Ican’tbearthesightofthemthings，“thewomandeclared。“It’sthemenofevilways，who’venotrustintheLord，whoneedthatsortofprotection。“
Theyheardthedoorpushedopen，thehowlofwinddownthepassage，andthebeatingofrainuponthestoneflags。Thenitwassoftlyclosedagain。Thelandlordstaggeredintotheroom，followedbyayoungman。
“This’ereisMr。Martin’schaffer，“heannounced。“Youcantellhimwhatyouwantyerself。“
Geraldturnedalmosteagerlytowardsthenewcomer。
“IwanttogototheothersideofHolt，“hesaid，“andgetmyfriend-getthisgentlemanawayfromhere-gethimhome，ifpossible。Canyoutakeme？“
Thechauffeurlookeddoubtful。
“I’mafraidoftheroads，sir，“hereplied。“There’stalkaboutmanybridgesdown，andtrees，andthere’sfloodsouteverywhere。
There’shalfafootofwater，even，acrossthevillagestreetnow。
I’mafraidweshouldn’tgetveryfar。“
“Lookhere，“Geraldbeggedeagerly，“let’smakeashotatit。I’llpayyoudoublethehireofthecar，andI’llberesponsibleforanydamage。Iwanttogetoutofthisbeastlyplace。Let’sgetsomewhere，atanyrate，towardsacivilisedcountry。I’llseeyoudon’tloseanything。I’llgiveyouafivepoundnoteforyourselfifwegetasfarasHolt。“
“I’mon，“theyoungmanagreedshortly。“It’sanopencar，youknow。“
“Itdoesn’tmatter，“Geraldreplied。“Icanstickitinfrontwithyou，andwecancover-himupinthetonneau。“
“You’llwaituntilthedoctorcomesback？“thelandlordasked。
“Andwhyshouldthey？“hiswifeinterposedsharply。“Themdoctorsareallthesame。He’lltryandkeepthepoorgentlemanhereforthesakeofafewextraguineas，andamiserableplaceforhimtoopenhiseyesupon，eveniftherestoftheroofholds，whichformypartI’mbeginningtodoubt。They’dhavetomovehimfromherewiththedaylight，anyhow。Hecan’tlieinthebarparlourallday，canhe？“
“Itdon’tseemright，somehow，“themancomplaineddoggedly。“Thedoctordidn’tsayanythingabouthavinghimmoved。“
“Yougetthecar，“Geraldorderedtheyoungman。“I’lltakethewholeresponsibility。“
Thechauffeursilentlylefttheroom。Geraldputacoupleofsovereignsuponthemantelpiece。
“Myfriendisamanofsomewhatpeculiartemperament，“hesaidquietly。“Ifhefindshimselfathomeinacomfortableroomwhenhecomestohissenses，Iamquitesurethathewillhaveabetterchanceofrecovery。Hecannotpossiblybemadecomfortablehere，andhewillfeeltheshockofwhathashappenedallthemoreifhefindshimselfstillintheneighbourhoodwhenheopenshiseyes。
Ifthereisanychangeinhiscondition，wecaneasilystopsomewhereontheway。“
Thewomanpocketedthetwosovereigns。
“That’scommonsense，sir，“sheagreedheartily，“andI’msureweareverymuchobligedtoyou。Ifwehadadecentroom，andaroofaboveit，you’dbeheartilywelcome，butasitis，thisisnoplaceforasickman，andthosethatsaydifferentdon’tknowwhattheyaretalkingabout。That’sarealcarefulyoungmanwho’sgoingtotakeyoualonginthemotor-car。He’llgetyoutheresafe，ifanyonewill。“
“WhatIsayis，“herhusbandprotestedsullenly，“thatweoughttowaitforthedoctor’sorders。I’magainstseeingapoorbodylikethatjoltedacrossthecountryinanopenmotor-car，inhisstate。
I’mnotsurethatit’sforhisgood。“
“Andwhatbusinessisitofyours，Ishouldliketoknow？“thewomandemandedsharply。“Yougetup-stairsandbeginmovingthefurniturefromwheretherainscomingsoppingin。Andifsobeyoucanrememberwhileyoudoitthatthisisajudgmentthat’scomeuponus，why，somuchthebetter。Weareevil-doers，allofus，thoughthemaslikestheeasywaysgenerallymanagetoforgetit。“
Themanretreatedsilently。Thewomansatdownuponastoolandwaited。Geraldsatoppositetoher，thebattereddressing-caseuponhisknees。Betweenthemwasstretchedthebodyoftheunconsciousman。
“Areyouusedtoprayer，youngsir？“thewomanasked。
Geraldshookhishead，andthewomandidnotpursuethesubject。
Onlyoncehereyeswerehalfclosedandherwordsdriftedacrosstheroom。
“TheLordhavemercyonthisman，asinner！“
“Myadvicetoyou，sir，istochuckit！“
Geraldturnedtowardsthechauffeurbywhosesidehewasseatedalittlestiffly，forhislimbswerenumbedwiththecoldandexhaustion。Themorninghadbrokenwithagreyanduncertainlight。
Avaporousveilofmistseemedtohavetakentheplaceofthedarkness。Evenfromthetopofthehillwherethecarhadcometoastandstill，therewaslittletobeseen。
“Wemusthavecomefortymilesalready，“thechauffeurcontinued，“whatwithgoingoutofourwayallthetimebecauseofthebrokenbridges。I’mprettywellfrozenthrough，andasforhim，“headded，jerkinghisthumbacrosshisshoulder，“itseemstomeyou’retakingabitofarisk。“
“Thedoctorsaidhewouldremaininexactlythesameconditionfortwenty-fourhours，“Geralddeclared。
“Yes，buthedidn’tsayanythingaboutshakinghimupoverfortymilesofroughroad，“theotherprotested。“You’llexcuseme，sir，“
hecontinued，inaslightlychangedtone；“itisn’tmybusiness，ofcourse，butI’mfairlydone。Itdon’tseemreasonabletostickatitlikethis。There’sHoltvillagenotamileaway，andacomfortableinnandafirewaiting。Ithoughtthatwasasfarasyouwantedtocome。Wemightlieupthereforafewhours，atanyrate。“
Hispassengerslippeddownfromhisplace，and，liftingtherug，peeredintothetonneauofthecar，overwhichtheyhadtiedahood。
Toallappearance，theconditionofthemanwholaytherewasunchanged。Therewasaslightlyaddedbluenessaboutthelpsbuthisbreathingwasstillperceptible。Itseemedevenalittlestronger。Geraldresumedhisseat。
“Itisn’tworthwhiletostayatHolt，“hesaidquietly。“Wearescarcelysevenmilesfromhomenow。Sitstillforafewminutesandgetyourwind。“
“Onlysevenmiles，“thechauffeurrepeatedmorecheerfully。“That’ssomething，anyway。“
“Andalldownhill。“
“Towardsthesea，then？“
“Straighttothesea，“Geraldtoldhim。“TheplacewearemakingforisSt。David’sHall，nearSalthouse。“
Thechauffeurseemedalittlestartled。
“’Why，that’sSquireFentolin’shouse！“
Geraldnodded。
“Thatiswherewearegoing。Youfollowthisroadalmoststraightahead。“
Thechauffeurslippedintheclutch。
“Oh，Iknowthewaynow，sir，rightenough！“heexclaimed。“There’sSalthousemarshtocross，though。Idon’tknowaboutthat。“
“Weshallmanagethatallright，“Geralddeclared。“’We’vemorelightnow，too。“
Theybothlookedaround。Duringthelastfewminutesthelatemorningseemedtohaveforceditswaythroughtheclouds。Theyhadadim，phantasmagoricviewofthestrickencountry:awateryplain，withhereandtheregreatpatchesoffields，submergedtothehedges，andhousesstandingoutamidstthewasteofwatersliketoydwellings。Therewerewholeplantationsofuprootedtrees。
Closetotheroad，ontheirleft，wasarooflesshouse，andafamilyofchildrencryingunderneathatarpaulinshelter。Astheycrepton，thewindcametothemwithabrackishflavour，saltwiththesea。Thechauffeurwasgazingaheaddoubtfully。
“Idon’tlikethelookofthemarsh，“hegrumbled。“Can’tseetheroadatall。However，heregoes。“
“Anotherhalf-hour，“Geraldassuredhimencouragingly，“andweshallbeatSt。David’sHall。Youcanhaveasmuchrestasyoulikethen。“
Theywerefacingthewindnow，andconversationbecameimpossible。
Twicetheyhadtopullupsharpandmakeaconsiderabledetour，onceonaccountofafallentreewhichblockedtheroad，andanothertimebecauseoftheyawninggapwhereabridgehadfallenaway。
Gerald，however，kneweveryinchofthecountrytheywereinandwasabletogivethenecessarydirections。Theybegantomeetfarmwagonsnow，fullofpeoplewhohadbeendrivenfromtheirhomes。
Warningsandinformationastothestateoftheroadswereshoutedtothemcontinually。Presentlytheycametothelaststeepdescent，andemergedfromthedevastatedfragmentofawoodalmostontothesealevel。Thechauffeurclappedonhisbrakesandstoppedshort。