When O'Brien saw Hall about to drive away he hesitated for a moment, and was about to make some excuse to get away and follow him, when Carroll joined them, saying he too must leave, as he had promised Hall to send his man after him at once. This decided O'Brien, and he remained and assisted in conveying Martin to the Blessert Arms.
After seeing Martin placed in bed, O'Brien immediately mailed the letters he had received the previous night, and then sent a long letter to Inspector Prime of London and a telegram to Farrell, his partner, at the hotel where Hall had stopped on coming to Dublin. He also sent another to the Dublin police to look after Hall's movements, and having thus closed all avenues of escape, returned to the inn.
The surgeon had just finished a careful examination of Martin's wound, and said bluntly that he considered it dangerous, but could not speak with certainty for a day or two.
O'Brien was a good detective, but felt dismayed at the idea of having to play nurse. He appealed to Mrs. Moran, the good-natured proprietress of the Blessert Arms, for assistance before letting the surgeon leave.
"Good gracious!" she exclaimed, indignantly. "Do you take us for heathens? Why, I'm only waiting for the doctor to leave to go and see what's to be done!"
"But I want somebody to look after him all the time, Mrs. Moran. I will be around myself, of course, but I'm no use as nurse and I will pay well for some one who is."
"Well, pay or no pay, you don't suppose we'd leave one sick man to take care of another? But if Julia wants to make a little extra I'll give her the chance. She's a good girl—the best I've ever had!—Julia!"
"Julia," a pretty black-eyed girl with rosy cheeks and a Juno form, came in answer to the call.
"Julia," said Mrs. Moran, "Mr. Martin in No. 6 has been hurt this morning, and Mr. O'Brien, here, wants somebody to take care of him, and he wants to pay something for it, too. It's a chance to make a few shillings, if you want to take it."
Julia wanted to take it immediately, and was duly installed as a nurse.