In the Mahdi's Grasp Part 66

"But your hurt?" said the doctor eagerly.

"My left arm."

"What, kicked?"

"No," said the sufferer, perfectly calm now. "I broke it myself."

A deep silence fell upon the group, save that the old Sheikh uttered a low groan, and then the doctor was himself again. This was real--real suffering to allay, and a word brought the professor to his side, just as Sam came hurriedly to the inner door, fresh from Frank's angareb.

"Hush! Not a word," said the doctor sternly; "only help me here.

Quick! my case, lint, bandages, and splints."

But Sam did not move. He stood as if turned to stone, gazing where the light shone upon Harry Frere's thin, worn face, and reading recognition in the eyes fixed full upon his.

"Oh!" he cried, with a sob, and forgetting everything he sprang to the side of the litter and dropped upon his knees. "Mr Harry at last!"

The doctor could not speak, as he saw his old companion raise his right hand and lay it upon the servant's shoulder, while the professor uttered a strange sound, which, if it had escaped a woman's breast would have been termed a sob. Then the doctor spoke.

"That will do," he said sternly. "Obey my orders at once. The rest must wait till we are safe."

Sam sprang up to fetch what was required, and the professor made an effort to recover his composure, the demand made upon him by his old school-fellow's condition rousing him to action.

"One word only," said the prisoner faintly. "You said my brother--"

"He is yonder," said the doctor quietly; "ill, but not seriously. You must not see him now. His _ruse_ has succeeded, and we have you here.

Now I must see to your arm."

"No, no, not now," said Harry excitedly; "we must make some plan or another about escaping. You must not stay here--you will be discovered."

"Leave that to us," said the doctor sternly.

"No, no," cried his new patient. "I have nearly been driven mad during my long imprisonment, but if aught happens to you all I shall go quite out of my mind in my despair."

"Silence!" said the doctor sternly. "You are badly hurt, and your injury is telling upon your brain. I will not have you dwell upon our position. Look here, you can trust us. We have found our way here, found you, and had you brought to us. Give up to us at once, and trust to our doing what is best."

"Yes, yes," said the poor fellow pa.s.sionately; "but you do not understand. Never mind my arm. I will keep still, and the fracture will mend of itself."

"Will it?" said the doctor grimly.

"Yes, yes; but look here," whispered the sufferer; "we must talk; we must decide upon some action."

"No," said the doctor, "not now. You do not understand our position."

"I can guess it," said the poor fellow wildly. "Think then of mine. I am brought here for you to set my arm; in half an hour at the outside I shall be taken back to my owner. We may not have another opportunity to speak--we may never meet again."

"Now I insist," said the doctor firmly. "You will have plenty of time to talk to us by and by."

"No, no; you do not understand, Morris."

"But the Hakim does," said the doctor grimly. "Now I order you to trust to me and wait."

The poor fellow's head fell back, as he uttered a groan of despair, and the next minute, with eyes half-closed, he lay perfectly still, suffering acute pain, but making no sign, while the great surgeon's deft fingers felt the injury, commenting upon it from time to time, so that Landon could hear, and while splint and bandage were handed to him as required, by the professor or Sam.

"A simple fracture of the ulna," said the doctor calmly; "no splinters, and as far as I can make out, very little laceration of the muscle--easy to set, and it ought to be rapid in the healing. There!" he said at last, "the broken ends will begin to secrete fresh bone matter almost directly, and with care your arm will be as strong as the other. Cup, gla.s.s, and number four bottle, Frederick, my son."

The professor hurried away to the doctor's case, and the latter took hold of his patient's hand to feel the pulse.

"A little feverish, Hal, old fellow," he said calmly. "Did I hurt you very much?"

"Oh, no. But Rob, old lad!"

"Silence!" was the uncompromising command.--"Ah, that's right, Fred.

Bottle, gla.s.s, water! Now, Hal, drink that."

"No," said the patient angrily. "It is a narcotic. You want to send me to sleep so that I shall not know what you are planning. Is it fair to me after I have broken a limb so as to get myself brought here?"

"Perfectly fair. Listen; it is not a strong narcotic, only something to soothe the pain you must be in.--There, that's better. Hal, my dear old boy, you always did trust me; trust me now."

"Well, I will," said the sufferer hoa.r.s.ely.

"That's right. Now I will set your mind at rest. The great Hakim has more power here than you think for."

Harry Frere suppressed a groan, and his eyes wandered from one to the other, noting how the others present seemed waiting eagerly to obey their chiefs slightest gesture or word; while now at a sign he saw the Sheikh close up and stand waiting with bended head.

"Go to the officer who brought our friend, and tell him to come here."

The Sheikh turned to go, but the professor interposed.

"One moment," he said earnestly; "Frank is in there--you know how.

Suppose he begins to speak as he did last night."

"It is not probable," said the doctor quietly. "Go, Ibrahim."

The Sheikh pa.s.sed out of the room and through the door, to where the two officers stood waiting patiently, with their men a short distance away; and as a curtain was drawn aside a burst of barbaric music and loud cries of "Allah! Allah!" were borne into the room.

As the curtain dropped back into its place the doctor took a cushion, and carefully raising the splinted and bandaged arm placed the soft pillow beneath.

"Now," he said, "lie still and close your eyes. Don't stir while these men are here. I need not tell you to try and look bad, for Nature is helping you there, my dear old fellow. Hal, lad, your arm will soon knit together, but make your mind easy: you are too bad to move."

"No, no, Rob, you are wrong. I feel a little drowsy, but so free from pain. I could get up and walk."

"The Hakim thinks differently. Silence! They are coming. Samuel, stand there! Fred, my son, bend over him with those bandages and that scalpel.--Hist! Close your eyes."

His orders were obeyed, and as Harry Frere closed his sunken eyes, old cares and sufferings, combined with the mental and bodily agony he was pa.s.sing through, gave his face, in the shadowy, dim, curtained room, a look that was absolutely ghastly.

Directly after the curtain was drawn aside by the Sheikh for the two officers to pa.s.s in, both looking awed as they gave a sharp look round at the strange scene.

The next moment the Baggara who had brought the injured man started forward a step to look down at his charge, and then recoiled, to say a few hurried words to the Sheikh, who turned gravely to the doctor and interpreted.