ne, and afforded just sufficient
length for it. Mrs. Wingfield took her seat beside him, Dan mounted the
box beside the coachman.

"I will be out in an hour, Mrs. Wingfield," Dr. Mapleston said. "I have
got to go round the ward again, and will then drive out at once. Give
him lemonade and cooling drinks; don't let him talk. Cut his clothes off
him, and keep the room somewhat dark, but with a free current of air. I
will bring out some medicine with me."

The carriage drove slowly to avoid shaking, and when they approached the
house Mrs. Wingfield told Dan to jump down and come to the side of the
carriage. Then she told him to run on as fast as he could ahead, and to
tell her daughters not to meet them upon their arrival, and that all the
servants were to be kept out of the way, except three men to carry
Vincent upstairs. The lad was consequently got up to his room without
any excitement, and was soon lying on his bed with a sheet thrown
lightly over him.

"That is comfortable," he said, as his mother bathed his face and hands
and smoothed his hair. "Where are the girls, mother?"

"They will come in to see you now, Vincent; but you are to keep quite
quiet, you know, and not to talk." The girls stole in and said a few
words, and left him alone again with Mrs. Wingfield. He did not look to
them so ill as they had expected, for there was a flush of fever on his
cheeks. Dr. Mapleston arrived a little later, examined and redressed the
wound, and comforted Mrs. Wingfield with the assurance that there was
nothing in it likely to prove dangerous to life.

"Our trouble will be rather with the effect of the shock than with the
wound itself. He is very feverish now, and you must not be alarmed if by
this evening he is delirious. You will give him this cooling draught
every three hours; he can have anything in the way of cooling drinks he
likes. If he begins to wander, put cloths dipped in cold water and wrung
out on his head, and sponge his hands with water with a little Eau de
Cologne in it. If he seems very hot set one of the women to fan him, but
don't let her go on if it seems to worry him. I will come round again at
half-past nine this evening and will make arrangements to pass the night
here. We have telegrams saying that surgeons are coming from Charleston
and many other places, so I can very well be spared."

When the doctor returned in the evening, he found, as he had
anticipated, that Vincent was in a high state of f