“Why, come to think of it,” said Musgrave, “I remember now seeing an account of that business in the paper, at the time. Lord! I was slow—not to have tumbled before. I wouldn’t make much of a sleuth, I’m afraid.” He carefully replaced his surgical apparatus in his bag. “Didn’t you see it?” he inquired.
Ellis shrugged indifferently. “Lord, no!” he said. “Why, I go from a month on end and never see a paper—out there at the ‘Creek.’ Besides, we don’t go by the papers. I was officially notified in this case. ’Course, I’m not forgettin’ if it hadn’t been for you tellin’ me what you did, I’d never been able to connect up.”
He was silent for a moment or two. “How about the other chap, Charley? Walters—Wilks—or whatever his name is,” he asked, a trifle anxiously. “I suppose it’ll be safe enough to leave him till tomorrow?”
“Oh, sure,” said the doctor reassuringly. “I don’t think he’s exactly able to ‘take up his bed and walk’ just yet. I’ll keep an eye on him. There! that’ll do for the time. I’ll fix it up again tomorrow for you.”
With a weary yawn, Benton arose from the chair on which he had been sitting during the ear-dressing process.
“Here’s the key of that section house, Charley,” he said, handing the other over that article. “Take a run on down there, will you? an’ have a look at that body. I’ll stay an’ watch this poor kid. An’ say! I can’t very well wear this!”—he indicated his ensanguined stable-jacket—“you might bring me back my serge, old man! It’s lying on the bed in the detachment.”
“All right. I’ll go now,” said Musgrave. “Remember,” he added, “the kindest thing you can do is to keep her as quiet as possible. I’ve done all that I’m medically able to do, but it’s a parson she needs—more than a doctor. Aren’t there any here?”
“Yes,” said Ellis listlessly, “on Sundays. There’s denominations galore represented then. This is a sanctimonious little ‘dorp.’ The Church of England man is the only one resident here, though. He’s away in town—attending the Church Convention. I was talking to him this morning when I was going to court, an’ he said he didn’t expect to come back till the day after tomorrow.”
“Well, she’s sleeping now,” said the doctor. “I’ve stopped the external bleeding and given her a strong morphine injection, as I think I told you. Give her all the water she wants to drink, if she wakes up, but beyond getting the necessary particulars regarding her, I wouldn’t encourage her to talk. Come on, Wardle! We’ll go on down to this place.”
The two men tip-toed out softly and closed the door, whilst the Sergeant, carefully stripping off his blood-stained stable-jacket, entered the bedroom noiselessly, and seated himself at the side of the suffering girl. Still under the influence of the powerful drug, she was dozing peacefully and, but for an occasional gurgle of blood in her throat, her breathing was considerably less labored.