FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68  
69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   >>   >|  
to the old woman to sit quietly by the side of our patient. Then I went out to Tardif. He had not stirred from the place and position in which I had left him. I am sure no sound could have reached him from the inner room, for we had been so still that during the whole time I could hear the beat of the sea dashing up between the high cliffs of the Havre Gosselin. Up and down went Tardif's shaggy mustache, the surest indication of emotion with him, and he fetched his breath almost with a sob. "Well, Dr. Martin?" was all he said. "The arm is set," I answered, "and now she must get some sleep. There is not the least danger, Tardif; only we will keep the house as quiet as possible." "I must go and bring in the boat," he replied, bestirring himself as if some spell was at an end. "There will be a storm to-night, and I should sleep the sounder if she was safe ashore." "I'll come with you," I said, glad to get away from the seaweed fire. It was not quite dark, and the cliffs stood out against the sky in odder and more grotesque shapes than by daylight. A host of seamews were fluttering about and uttering the most unearthly hootings, but the sea was as yet quite calm, save where it broke in wavering, serpentine lines over the submerged reefs which encircle the island. The tidal current was pouring rapidly through the very narrow channel between Sark and the little isle of Breckhou, and its eddies stretching to us made it rather an arduous task to get Tardif's boat on shore safely. But the work was pleasant just then. It kept our minds away from useless anxieties about the girl. An hour passed quickly, and up the ravine, in the deep gloom of the overhanging rocks, we made our way homeward. "You will not quit the island to-morrow," said Tardif, standing at his door, and scanning the sky with his keen, weather-wise eyes. "I must," I answered; "I must indeed, old fellow. You are no land-lubber, and you will run me over in the morning." "No boat will leave Sark to-morrow," said Tardif, shaking his head. We went in, and he threw off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, preparatory to frying some fish for supper. I was beginning to feel ravenously hungry, for I had eaten nothing since dinner, and as far as I knew Tardif had had nothing since his early breakfast, but as a fisherman he was used to long spells of fasting. While he was busy cooking I stole quietly into the inner room to look after my patient. The
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68  
69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Tardif

 
answered
 
island
 

morrow

 
cliffs
 
quietly
 
patient
 

quickly

 

passed

 

useless


anxieties
 
overhanging
 

standing

 
homeward
 
ravine
 

pleasant

 
Breckhou
 

eddies

 

channel

 

rapidly


narrow

 

stretching

 

scanning

 

safely

 

arduous

 

dinner

 

breakfast

 
beginning
 
ravenously
 

hungry


fisherman

 

cooking

 
spells
 

fasting

 

supper

 

lubber

 

morning

 

fellow

 

weather

 
pouring

rolled

 

sleeves

 

preparatory

 

frying

 
jacket
 

shaking

 

submerged

 

danger

 

reached

 

bestirring