With a great effort Nell overcame the deathly feeling of faintness which came upon her. Quickly she locked the door, and then turned her attention to her injured arm. The wound was still bleeding profusely, and it was with considerable difficulty that she was at length able to stop the flow of blood. The gash was not as deep as she had first expected. The knife in falling had struck a glancing blow just below the shoulder on the outer part of the arm. For this Nell was thankful, but she shuddered as she thought of what her assailant really intended to do.
When the wound had been carefully bound up, Nell sat down by the side of the table and thought over what had just taken place. But for the pain in her arm she might have considered it nothing more than a terrible dream. She had never imagined that Jean, who in the past had been so gentle, good, and loving, could be so changed. But she knew that jealousy was the cause, and jealousy could be as cruel as the grave.
After she had burnt up the clothes with which she had staunched the wound, and wiped up the stains on the floor, Nell went slowly up to her own room. But she could not sleep, for the excitement through which she had recently passed caused her brain to throb and her head to ache. She tossed restlessly upon her bed, and finding that she could get no rest she got up and paced rapidly up and down the room. At times she thought she would go mad like Jean, as she recalled all that had taken place. She glanced into the mirror, and was astonished at the haggard face which confronted her there. What was she to do?
Presently her eyes rested upon her mother's picture hanging on the wall. She studied it lovingly and longingly, and then, "Mother! Mother!" burst from her lips. "Oh, I want you, I want you! Come to me to-night, and comfort me as of old."
And as she stood there her mother's parting words came to her mind.
"Nellie," she had said, "you are young and a great responsibility rests
upon you. You will fail if you try to bear it alone. There is One to
Whom you can always go, and He will help you in all your troubles."
At once a new light came into her eyes. There was One who had promised to help. Why had she forgotten Him? Kneeling down by the side of her bed, she prayed as she had never prayed before. And as she thus knelt, a new peace stole into her heart, and it seemed to her as if a divine presence pervaded the room, bringing a restful balm to her weary body and mind.
CHAPTER XVIII
SILENT STRIFE
Douglas was hoeing corn on a patch of ground near the road. It was a beautiful day, and the air was filled with teeming life of bird and insect. But the silent worker was in no mood to enjoy the fair morning. He was thinking deeply of what he had witnessed down by the river the evening before. As far as he could tell, Nell and Ben were on most friendly terms, for he knew nothing of the stormy scene which had taken place between them.
Across the road was the rectory, seeming more dilapidated than ever, so he thought. Only yesterday he had looked at it, and a picture had come into his mind of the building renewed, the house set to rights, and Nell crowning it all by her grace and beauty. He had imagined her in the garden, among the roses, sweet-peas and morning-glories, the fairest flower of them all. He knew just how she would look, and what a joy it would be to her to tend the various plants. And then what a welcome she would give him upon his return from some parish work. He had dreamed of it all out in the field, and it had made him very happy. What a success he would make of life with Nell's inspiration and helpfulness. But now his vision was shattered, and the future looked dark and lonely. Nell could never be his, and why should he think of her any more? She had given herself, no doubt, to Ben Stubbles, so that ended it.