"My Uncle asks me to send you his most heartfelt thanks, and to say that when next you cross the Border, he hopes to see you at Craig Birnie, and can promise you the best of shooting. As for me, I never can thank you. That afternoon, when you found me in the shrubbery, I had come to the end of everything. If you see Mrs. Tallboys, and Mrs. Brander, please give them my love. They shall hear from me shortly. I hope you will be able to read this pencil scrawl. It has taken me two days to write.
"Ever most gratefully yours,
Ada Sim."
This letter, evidently written with effort, and by a feeble hand, was as balm to Mallender's wounded feelings. So there was some good in the world after all! Acting on the impulse of the moment, he enclosed the epistle in a sheet of paper marked "Private," thrust it into an envelope which he addressed to Mrs. Brander. At any rate, he would clear himself in her eyes—yes, and in Fanny's; and having handed his exculpation over to Anthony, and told him to post it without fail, he scribbled a note of apology to Mrs. Beamish, and dined at home, on curried vegetables, and the contents of his dâk.
CHAPTER XXV
A vast crowd, assembled about the south verandah, astonished Mallender, as he walked up to the General's quarters in order to fetch his horse. On approaching nearer, he discovered that this gathering was not, as he had feared, the scene of an accident, but a multitude of the blind, halt, and lame, all waiting to be treated by the kind hands of Mrs. Beamish. It proved to be an army composed of woeful cases; here a man with elephantiasis,—his leg the size and shape of a pillar; there a woman, with a child in her arms, a prey to ophthalmia, a sickening spectacle; people suffering from fever, and ague, and even leprosy, abounded.
Invested in a mushroom topee, and loose white jacket, seated behind a large table Mrs. Beamish reigned supreme; interviewing and prescribing for her patients—one by one; whilst two sharp-looking servants assisted her. Dozens and dozens of bottles of all sorts, and sizes, from a soda-water to a scent bottle, were being promptly filled, corked, and delivered.
"This is my dispensary morning," she called out to Mallender, over the heads of the crowd. "I have a certificate, and know something about the dispensing of drugs." She beckoned him to come up the steps. "Look at my clients—has any doctor in Harley Street such a practice?"
"No, I am sure he has not," replied the young man, as his glance swept over the crowd;—at the moment the eyes of all the patients were centred on himself.—"What misery!" he exclaimed, "isn't it too awful?"
"Misery? yes, and what patience! I do what I can, but it's not much," and she gazed at her surroundings with a wistful expression. "Well now, I cannot have you taking up my precious time, you do not need to consult me! The children, and the horses, are waiting for you by the back verandah, don't let them break any of your bones. My hands, as you see, are full, I do not want another job!"