: "What is it?" Rachel said
again--"Lizzie, what is it?"

Both women were seized and held by fear. Their feelings for one another
were lost, sunk in the cold, shattering sense of disaster that had come,
through the open window, into the room.

They could see lights now and figures--There were murmuring voices--

"Oh, Lizzie, what is it?" Rachel said for the third time, and then after
a moment--"Roddy!"

Lizzie said--"Wait there. It may be nothing. I'll see--Don't you come
for a moment."

She crossed the dark room, and opening the door saw Peters hurrying down
the passage towards her. His face was in complete disorder--the face of
someone who, throughout his life, has had only one kind of face that
has served most admirably for every kind of occasion--suddenly a
situation has arisen for which that face will _not_ serve--

His body was shaking--

"Oh! Miss Rand, the master!"

Lizzie felt Rachel follow her, brush past both of them, down the passage
and out of sight--

"An accident--flung from his horse and dragged along--been hours on the
hill--a shepherd found him."

"Is he dead?"

"No, miss, not dead--not yet, thank God!"

"The doctor?"

"Dr. Crane from Lewes--we caught him, miss, most fortunately, on the way
from another patient--he's downstairs now."

"Quick, Peters, things will be wanted."

Lizzie passed to the head of the stairs, Peters behind her said,
"They've taken Sir Roderick into the green drawing-room, miss, so as not
to have to go upstairs."

She came down the stairs and then stood, waiting in the hall. That was,
for the moment, deserted, but the house wore an air of dismay, surprised
alarm, so that every sound was of momentous import. Somewhere, a long
way away, someone--perhaps a frightened kitchen-maid--was sobbing--the
hall door was still open and little gusts of cold wind came in and
stirred and rustled the pages of some illustrated papers on one of the
tables.

Lizzie went to the door and closed it--what should she do? To go into
the room and ask whether she could be of use? Her quarrel with Rachel
had made any movement now on her part difficult--Rachel might resent her
presence--

Someone came into the hall: she saw that it was the doctor. He stood,
looking about him, as though he were searching for someone, and Lizzie
went up to him--

"Doctor, please tell me--I'm staying in the house--is there
anything--anything at all--that I can do?"

The doctor was tall, thin, black, l