"Is he worse?" Mrs. Motherwell asked quickly.
"He can't git worse," Pearl replied grimly. "If he gits worse he'll be dead."
Mrs. Motherwell called Tom at once, and told him to bring the doctor as soon as he could.
"Where's my overcoat mother?" Tom called from the hall.
"Take your father's" she said, "he is going to get a new one while he is in Winnipeg, that one's too small for him now. I put yours outside to air. It had a queer smell on it I thought, and now hurry, Tom. Bring Dr. Barner. I think he's the best for a serious case. Dr. Clay is too young, Anyway, the old man knowns far more than he does, if you can only get him sober."
Pearl's heart sank.
"Arthur's as good as dead," she said as she went to the granary, crying softly to herself. "Dr. Clay is the only man who could save him, and they won't have him."
The sun had gone down and heavy clouds filled the sky. Not a star was to be seen, and the night was growing darker and darker.
A sound of wheels came from across the creek, coming rapidly down the road. The old dog barked viciously. A horse driven at full speed dashed through the yard; Pearl ran shouting after, for even in the gathering darkness she recognised the one person in all the world who could save Arthur. But the wind and the barking of the dog drowned her voice, and the sound of the doctor's wheels grew fainter in the distance.
Only for a moment was Pearl dismayed.