'Yes,' said the young man, rising, 'that is the proper thing to be done. But lest he should suffer from cold, and there is no fireplace in another room, we will have a bed moved in here.'
Winefred now removed her arm from encircling her mother, and the three proceeded to make the stricken man as comfortable as possible under the circumstances.
Then said Jane again, 'Run for a doctor. He must let blood. It is the right thing to be done in such a case. Do you go, Jack, and Winefred and I will attend to your father till your return.'
Jack once more bent over the captain, took his hand and spoke to him, and again Job Rattenbury laboured ineffectually to utter some words. At the same time his eyes turned to the wardrobe.
'I cannot catch his meaning,' said Jack. 'There is something on his mind, something he is most desirous to communicate. Can you guess at his meaning, Mrs. Marley?'
'No,' answered Jane, compressing her lips. 'You are wasting precious time, and risking the loss of his life to dally thus. Go for the surgeon at once; he must breathe a vein.'
The young man nodded, looked at his father, and left.
When he was gone, Jane turned to her daughter. 'It is in vain. No doctor can mend him. But I am glad that the young man is away. Now'—she clutched her daughter's hands—'tell me all. Tell me where you have been—why you have been away.'
'O mother,' said Winefred, 'it is a long story. Must you have it at once?'
'I must know all. Why is he—that Jack, with you?'