“Good again!” cried Mandy. “You see, when anything serious is on, the wisest people cut out the Scotch, as the boys say.”
“You are quite right, Mrs. Cameron,” said the Superintendent, becoming grave. “On the long trail and in the bitter cold we drop the Scotch and bank on tea. As for whisky, the Lord knows it gives the Police enough trouble in this country. If it were not for the whisky half our work would be cut out. But tell me, how is Mr. Cameron?” he added, as he handed back his cup for another supply of tea.
“Done up, or more nearly done up than ever I have seen him, or than I ever want to see him again.” Mandy paused abruptly, handed him his cup of tea, passed into the pantry and for some moments did not appear again.
“Oh, it was terrible to see him,” said Moira, clasping her hands and speaking in an eager, excited voice. “He came, poor boy, stumbling toward the door. He had to leave his horse, you know, some miles away. Through the window we saw him coming along—and we did not know him—he staggered as if—as if—actually as if he were drunk.” Her laugh was almost hysterical. “And he could not find the latch—and when we opened the door his eyes were—oh!—so terrible!—wild—and bloodshot—and blind! Oh, I cannot tell you about it!” she exclaimed, her voice breaking and her tears falling fast. “And he could hardly speak to us. We had to cut off his snow-shoes—and his gauntlets and his clothes were like iron. He could not sit down—he just—just—lay on the floor—till—my sister—” Here the girl's sobs interrupted her story.
“Great Heavens!” cried the Superintendent. “What a mercy he reached home!”
The Inspector had risen and came round to Moira's side.
“Don't try to tell me any more,” he said in a husky voice, patting her gently on the shoulder. “He is here with us, safe, poor chap. My God!” he cried in an undertone, “what he must have gone through!”
At this point Mandy returned and took her place again quietly by the fire.
“It was this sudden spell of cold that nearly killed him,” she said in a quiet voice. “He was not fully prepared for it, and it caught him at the end of his trip, too, when he was nearly played out. You see, he was five weeks away and he had only expected to be three.”
“Yes, I know, Mrs. Cameron,” said the Inspector.