An Outback Marriage Part 22

"I have come to see Miss Grant on very important business," he said when the old lady came in. "Would you ask her if she would see me?"

The old lady was in a quandary. She had heard all the rumours that were going about, but she knew that they had been kept from Mary Grant, and she thought that if Blake meant to talk business he might shock or startle the girl terribly.

"Mr. Pinnock the lawyer is here," she said. "Perhaps you had better see him. Miss Grant does not know--"

"I am come as a friend of Miss Grant's, Mrs. Gordon," he said. "But, if Mr. Pinnock is here, perhaps it would be better for me to see him first.

Shall I wait for him here?"

"If you will go into the office I will send him in there," and the old lady withdrew to talk of commonplace matters with Mary, all the time feeling that a great crisis was at hand.

Soon the two lawyers faced one another over the office table, and Blake got to business at once.

"Mr. Pinnock," he said, "I am asked to act for Margaret Donohoe, or Margaret Grant as she claims to be; and I want you to believe that I am seriously telling you what I believe to be the truth, when I say that Miss Grant had better settle this case."

"Why should she pay one penny? What proofs have you? It looks to me, with all respect to you, Mr. Blake, like an ordinary case of blackmail."

"If it were blackmail," said Blake quietly, "do you think that I would be here, giving you particulars of the case? I tell you, man, I am ready now to give you all particulars, and you can soon see whether to advise a settlement or not."

"Fire away, then," said Pinnock. "It will take a lot to convince me, though, and so I tell you."

Blake gave him the particulars gleaned from Peggy. "I have examined and cross-examined and re-cross-examined her, and I can't shake her story."

Pinnock listened with an immovable face, but his mind was working like lightning. As the name of the missionary and Pike's Hotel were mentioned, he remembered that he had seen these very names on the b.u.t.ts of Grant's cheque-books. Getting Blake to excuse him for a moment, he hurried to his room and pulled out a bundle of cheque-b.u.t.ts. The best diary of many a man is found in his cheque-b.u.t.ts. There he saw on the very date mentioned by Blake, cheques drawn to "Self and P.", also one drawn to "Pike accommodation," and one simply to the name of Nettleship for five pounds. Of course it was quite possible that the latter was only a donation to charity, such as old Bully was occasionally very free with; but, taken together, the whole lot made Blake's story look unpleasantly probable. Pinnock whistled to himself as he tied the bundle up again. "Case of settle or be sorry," he said to himself. "I wonder how much will settle it?"

When he faced Blake again, he had pulled the mask of professional stolidity over his features; also he lied boldly.

"I can see nothing to corroborate this story," he said; "but it may be that Miss Grant would rather pay a few pounds than have the unpleasantness of a trial. I will get her in and ask her if you like, but I don't think it will lead to anything."

They were holding their conference in the office. Outside, the station was dozing in the sun. The house dog slept in the yard, and a stray wild pigeon had come down into the quadrangle, and was picking at some grain that was spilt there. From the garden came the shouts of the children and the happy laughter of Mary Grant.

"There she is now," said Pinnock. "Hadn't I better get her to come in and get the thing over?"

He went out, and came back very soon. "Mrs. Gordon and Miss Grant are coming," he said. "She said she would like Mrs. Gordon to be with her."

Before long they came in and sat down. Mary Grant had no idea what she was wanted for. She greeted Blake with a glad smile, and waited to hear what Pinnock had to say. It did not take the lawyer long to put the story before her: but it was some time before she could understand it. Nothing so tragic had ever entered her life before, and she seemed almost stunned.

Mrs. Gordon moved to her side and took her hand.

"It is very terrible for you--for us all, dear," she said. "You must listen to what Mr. Pinnock says, and make up your mind. He can advise you best what to do."

Again Pinnock went through the case. As a full understanding broke in on her, she drew herself up; the look of distress and perplexity left her face, and her eyes were full of scorn and anger.

"h.e.l.lo, what's coming now?" thought Pinnock. "I hope she says nothing rash."

She tried to speak once or twice, but the words seemed to choke her.

"What do you advise me to do, Mr. Pinnock?" she said, turning to him suddenly.

"I advise you to give me power to act for you in the matter as I think best," said Pinnock, who saw that matters were likely to slip beyond his control. "From what Mr. Blake tells me, I daresay this woman can give you a lot of trouble and annoyance. Whatever you pay her, you won't miss the money. You will save the family here from being turned out; you will avoid scandal; and if there should be any foundation for Mr. Blake's story, it may mean that if you don't settle you lose everything."

From him Mary Grant turned to the old lady.

"Mrs. Gordon," she said, "do you advise me to pay this money?"

"My dear, I don't advise at all. Don't consider us in the matter at all.

It is for you to say."

"Then I will pay nothing. It is a cruel, infamous, wicked slander. These poor, ignorant people don't know what they are doing. Sooner than pay one penny in compromise, I will walk off this station a pauper. G.o.d will not let such villainy win. Mrs. Gordon, surely you don't think that I ought to blacken my father's and mother's name by paying money to keep this claim quiet?"

Here Pinnock broke in on her speech. "But if they should manage to produce evidence--"

"Let them produce it, and let the judge believe it if he likes. You and I and everybody know that it is a lie; even if they win the case, it is still a lie. I will pay nothing--not one halfpenny. My mother's name is more than all the money in the world, and I will not blacken it by compromises. Mr. Pinnock, the case is to be fought out, and if we lose we shall still know that justice is on our side; but if we pay money--"

Mrs. Gordon took her hand, and lifted it to her lips.

"I think you are quite right, my dear. You put us all to shame for even thinking of it."

"I am very sorry, Mr. Blake," the girl went on, "very sorry indeed that you should have come here on such an errand. You saved my life, and if I could pay you for that I would; but this offer is an insult, and I hope that you will never come here again. Whether I am turned out of the old station or not, I hope that you will never come here again." And with that the two ladies walked out, leaving the lawyers looking at each other.

"I am afraid, Mr. Blake" said Pinnock at last, "that we have lost any hope we might ever have had of settling this case."

But Blake, as he rode homewards, felt that he had lost for ever a much higher hope. He had played for a high stake on two chances. One of them had failed him. There remained only the chance of pulling Peggy's case through; and he swore that if hard work, skill, and utter unscrupulousness could win that case, it should be won.

CHAPTER XXII. A NURSE AND HER a.s.sISTANT.

While they were waiting for the great case to come on a sort of depression seemed to spread itself over the station. The owner was mostly shut up in her room with her thoughts; the old lady was trying to comfort her, and Ellen Harriott, with sorrow always at her heart, went about the household work like an automaton. No wonder that as soon as breakfast was over all the men cleared out to work on the run. But one day it so happened that Carew did not go out with the others. The young Englishman was a poor correspondent, and had promised himself a whole quiet day to be spent in explaining by letter to his people at home the mysterious circ.u.mstances under which he had found and lost Patrick Henry Considine. Ellen Harriott found him in the office manfully wrestling with some extra long words, and stopped for a few minutes' talk. She had a liking for the young Englishman, and any talk was better than to be left alone with her thoughts.

"These are bad times for the old station, Mr. Carew," she said. "We don't know what is going to happen next."

Carew was not going to haul down the flag just yet. "I believe everything 'll come all right in the long run, don't you know," he said.

"Never give up first hit, you know; see it out--eh, what?"

"I want to get away out of this for a while," she said. "I am run down.

I think the bush monotony tells on women. I don't want anyone to fall sick, but I do wish I could get a little nursing to do again--just for a change. I would nurse Red Mick himself."

Is there anything in telepathy? Do coming events sometimes send warnings on ahead? Certain it is that, even as she spoke, a rider on a sweating horse was seen coming at full speed up the flat; he put his horse over the sliprails that led into the house paddock without any hesitation, and came on at a swinging gallop.

"What is this?" said Ellen Harriott, "more trouble? It is only trouble that comes so fast. Why, it is one of Red Mick's nephews!" By this time the rider was up to them; without dismounting he called out Miss!

Please, Miss! There's been an accident. My uncle got run agin a tree and he's all smashed in the head. I'm off to the Doctor now; I'll get the Doctor here by to-morrow night, and would you go out and do aught you can for Mick? There's no one out there but old Granny, and she's helpless like. Will you go?"

"Is he much hurt?"

"I'm afraid he's killed, Miss. I found him, He'd been out all night and the side of his head all busted. After a dingo he was--I seen the tracks. Coming back from Gavan Blake's he must 'a' seen the dorg off the track, and the colt he was on was orkard like and must have hit him agen a tree. The colt kem home with the saddle under his belly, and I run the tracks back till I found him. Will you go out, Miss?"