"You are sure you are not hurt?" urged Tom.
"Perfectly sure."
"Maybe I'd better run after a doctor though?"
"Nonsense, Tom," she said, a little impatiently, "when I tell you I am not hurt in the least."
Tom and Elsie cried out together to know how the accident had happened, but Mellen gave a very brief explanation, while Elizabeth entered the hall and sat down in a chair to rest.
Tom ran to bring her a glass of wine which she did not want, and they all worried her with their solicitude, till it required great patience to restrain herself from breaking away from them rudely and rushing into the solitude she so much needed.
"If I had hold of the creature that scared the horse, I'd mill him," cried Tom, irately.
"I don't suppose he was to blame," said Elsie.
"Of course not," added Elizabeth; "of course not."
Mellen made no remark; he was watching Elizabeth, who still looked pale and oppressed.