"Gone," he echoed.
"Oh, Alix--my darling! My own big sister!"
Cherry sobbed, falling to her knees and passionately kissing the peaceful face. "Oh, Alix, dearest!"
The women about broke into tears. Peter pressed his hand close against his aching eyeballs, wishing that he might cry.
"She drove here," he heard a man's voice saying in the silence, "and she must have lost control of her car for a minute. Then--do you see?--the wheel slipped on the bank. Once it got this far, no power in God's earth--"
"No power in God's earth!" another man's voice said in solemn confirmation.
"Peter," Cherry said, "will you come to me as soon as you can? I shall need you."
"As soon as I can," he answered, absently.
The car drove away, and he heard Martin moan again as it moved.
"Joyce," said a man's kind voice close beside him. He recognized the voice rather than the distressed face of an old friend and neighbour. "Joyce, my dear fellow," he urged, affectionately, "tell us what we may do, and we'll see to it. Pull yourself together, my dear old chap. Now, shall I telephone for an--an ambulance? You must help us just a little here, and then we'll spare you everything else."