Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1888-04-27
CHAPTER XVII.

CHAPTER XVII
AND AFTER
In front Of the door of The Palatial" was
a round flower bed filed with weeds and
flowers mixed up together like the good ard
evil i'll the heart OF i:san, and to 1he right
hand side of this bed stood an old wooden
chair with the back off. No sooner had John
got outside the door of the cottage than he
became sensible that, what between one
thing and another-weariness, loss OF blood
from his wound, and intense mental emotion
if he did Lot sit down somewhere pretty
quickly he should follow the example set by
jess and faint straight away. Accordingly
he made for the old chair and perched HIM
self on it with gratitude Presently he saw
Mrs. Neville coming steaming along the path
with bottle Of brandy in her hand.
"Ah!' he thought to himself, shat will
just como in handy for me. If don't have a
glass of brandy soon l shall roll of this
Internal chair-I am sure of it."
"Where is Jess" painted Mrs. Neville.
'In there" he said; "she has recovered. It
would have been better for us both if she
hadn't" he added to himself
"Whv. bless me. Cant Mel. how queer you
look!' said Mrs. Neville, tanning herser with
her hat" and there is such a row going on
at the camp there; the volunteers swear that
they will attack the military for deserving
them, and don't know what all; and they
simply wouldn't believe me when said you
were not shot Why, never! Look! your
boot is full of blood! So you were hit after
ALL"
"Might I trouble you to give me some
brandy. Mrs. Nevillea" said John, family.
She filled a glass she had brought with her
half full Of water from little irrigation
furrow that ran down from the main slut by
the road, and then topped it up with brandy
He drank it, and felt decidedly better.
"Dear mel" said Mrs. Neville, there ore a
pair Of you now. You should just have seen
that girl 60 down when she saw the body
coming along the road made sure that it
was you; but it wasn't. They say that il
was poor Jim Smith, son of old Smith of
Rustchburg. tell you what it is, Capt.
Mel, you had better be careful; if that girl
isn't in love with you, she is something very
like It. A girl does not pop over like that for
Dick, Tom or Harry. You must forgive an
old woman like me for speaking out plain, but
she is an odd girl is jess, just like ten women
rolled intS one SO far as her mind goes, and if
you don't take care you will get into trouble,
which will be rather awkward, as you aIe
going to marry her sister. jess isn't girl to
have bit Of ilirt to pass away the time and
have done with it, can tell you;" and she
shook her head solemnly, as though she sus-
.pected him of trifling with his future sister
in laws young affections, and then, without
waiting for an answer, turned and went int
the cottage.
As for John, he only groaned. What could
he do but groani The whole thing was sell
evident, and il ever a man felt ashamed Of
himself that man was John Mel. He was q
strictly honorable individual, and it cut him
to the heart to think that he had entered
on O course which was not honorable
considering his engagement to Bessie
When he. o few minutes before, had
told Jess he loved her he had said O
disgraceful thing, however true 3 thing i,
might be. And that was the worst of it; il
was true; he did love her. He felt it come
sweeping over him like wave as she stood
there looking at him in the room, utterly
drowning and overpowering his affection fol-
Bessie, to whom he was bound by every tie Of
honor. It was a new and wonderful thing,
this passion that had arisen within him, as
strong man armed, and driven every other
affection away into the waste places Of his
mind; and, unfortunately, it was an overmas
tering and, as he already guessed, an endur.
ing thing. He cursed himself in his shame
and anger - he sat there recovering his edui
lihrium on the broken chair and tying I
handkerchief tight round his wound. VIVA
fool he had beeni Why had he not waite,
to see which Of the two he really took to
Why bad Jess gone away like that an
thrown him into temptation with her prett,
sisteri Ho was sure now that she had care,
for him all along. Well, there it was, and
precious bad business tnni Ono thing he wa
ciesr ABOUT; 1t should 60 no further. He wa
not going to break his engagement to Bessie
1t was not to be thought Of But, oil tn
haIle, be felt sorry for himself and sorry fo
Jess too.
Just then. however, the bandage on his les
clipped, and the wound began to bleed so fas
that hc was fain to limp into the house for as
sistance.
Jess. who had apparently quite got owe
her agitation, was standing BY the table talk
ing to Mrs. Neville, who was perxuading he
TO swallow some Of the brandy she had beel
at such pains to fetch. Tho moment sh
>eso6os oAl5nS "a 0OuA AoCcS WuACu k1a0 NV
turned ghastly white, and saw the red lin
trickling down his boot, she took up her ha
that was lying On the table.
"YOu had l,etter Lie down ON the old bed
stead in the little ROOM" she said; u an
going for the Doctor"
Assisted by Mrs. Neville, he was only to-
glad to take this advice, but long before tn
doctor arrived John had followed Jes
md tn tlx~ srt> IL - e.
Neville, who was vainly endeavoring t
check the flow Of blood, which had now he
come copious, gone of into dead faint. o.
the arrival Of the doctor it appeared that th
bullet had g.azed tho walls OF one of tn
arteries ON tie inside Of the thigh withou
actually cutting them, but that they had nov
given way, which rendered it necessary t
tie the artery. This operation, with tn
resistance OF chloroform, he proceeded t
successfully carry out on the spot, announc
ing afterwar,l that q great deal Of blood ha,
already been lost.
When at Last It was over, Mrs. Nevill
asked about John being moved up to tn
hospital, but the doctor declared that b.
must stop where lie was. and that Jeas mus
stop and belp to nurse him. with the assist
ance OF soldiers vito he would send down.
Dear me. !" said Mrs Neville, THAT is ver1
Awkward.n
IL viii b awkwarder If you try to NOV
him at present" was the grim reply, sfor tn,
silk may slip. in which case the artery vii
probably break out again, and he will bleet
70 death."
As for Jeas, she said nothing, but set Il
work to mako preparations for her task o.
nursing As fate had once more thrown
them together. she accepted the position
gladly, though it is only fair 70 say that shs
would not have sought it.
In about an hours time, just as John wa.
beginning to recover from the painful effect.
Of the chloroform, the soldiers wife who wa.
70 assist her in nursing arrived. She was, al
jess soon discovered, not only low stamp Of
woman, but both careless and ignorant into
the bargain, and all that she could be relied
on to do was to carry out some Of the rougher
work Of the sick room. When John woke mr.