“I could not help spilling some of it,” she said, as she put it to Oliver’s lips. “I am sure it will do him good. See! see! he is already opening his eyes.”
He did so, but closed them again. We poured a few drops down his throat, and then bathed his forehead and head; and in the meantime Ursula was approaching. She could never move conveniently very fast, and she was now evidently out of breath from running. This made her perhaps more inclined to cry out, to let us know that she was coming. Supposing the mias had not seen her, I dreaded lest her voice should attract its attention. That it had done so there was soon no doubt, for I saw him leaning over the bough, and looking eagerly about. Not till then did I tell Grace what I had seen.
“Oh dear! what shall we do?” she exclaimed. “It will seize poor Ursula, I am sure. See! see! it is already swinging itself down from the bough! Yes—there—it has almost reached the ground! Shall we let Ursula know of her danger, though I am afraid she will faint if she catches sight of the creature, she has such a dread of them?”
“No; say nothing: she is too far on to run back again, and it will be better for her to get on the rock, and she may reach it before the mias can do so.”
“But if she does not, I must fire!” exclaimed Grace, seizing Oliver’s gun. “I am not afraid of doing that.”
“But you cannot take good aim,” I said. “It will be better not till the last extremity.”
“No; I will only do so if the mias gets near Ursula,” she answered, taking up the gun, however, and advancing steadily along the rock.
I had never seen her exhibit so much coolness and courage; indeed, I did not think that she possessed them. Ursula had stopped at that moment for want of breath, and the mias also seemed to be sitting on a lower branch which he had reached, gazing towards us, as if considering whether the person he saw was coming to attack him. Happily all this time Ursula was not aware of her danger. Having recovered herself a little, she again began to hurry on towards the rock. Hoping that, as the mias stopped when she stopped, it might do so again, I now shouted out to her. The creature turned a quick glance towards us, and discovered, as it might suppose, that it had two enemies instead of one. “Quick! quick, Ursula! quick!” now shouted Grace, pointing to the mias. The poor Frau showed by her gestures how frightened she was. Still she managed to run on, while the mias continued descending the tree. Before, however, it had reached the ground she had got up to the rock, at no great distance from Grace.
“Run! run!” cried Grace; “get safely on to the rock, good Frau, and I will defend you.”
“No, no, my child,” answered the Frau. “It is for me to fight. Give me the gun. I know how to use it. You run back to Emily and Oliver. Here, take this shell of water, though. I will fire the gun, I say.”