The Long Portage Part 51

He hurriedly examined Lisle and then looked up.

"It's not a case of drowning; and his limbs look sound. Must have got the breath knocked out of him against a boulder." He pointed to a broad red gash on Lisle's forehead as Nasmyth eased him down again. "That explains his unconsciousness."

"Where's Gladwyne?" Nasmyth asked.

Batley made an expressive gesture.

"Beyond our help, anyway; somewhere down-river." He appeared to brace himself with an effort. "I'm pretty nearly finished, but there's a good deal to be done. We'll strip Lisle, and you and Crestwick can share your dry things with him. Then one of you had better gather cedar twigs for him to lie on."

CHAPTER x.x.xI

LISLE GOES TO ENGLAND

Lisle had with some difficulty been dressed in dry clothes, and he lay with his eyes shut on a couch of cedar sprays beside a fire, when Batley rose and turned to Nasmyth.

"I don't think we need be anxious," he said. "The warmth is coming back to him and he's breathing regularly. The knock on the head must have been a bad one, and it's very likely that he got another thump or two washing down the rapid, and the water was icy cold; but he'll feel better after a few hours' sleep."

Nasmyth was inclined to agree with this prediction and he stood up wearily.

"Then you won't want me for a little while," he replied, walking away from the fire.

Having given most of his clothes to Lisle, he was very lightly clad and the night was cold. He shivered as he plodded over the shingle, aching in every limb, but he looked about eagerly and after a while he found the cache. It was uncovered, but there were signs that Gladwyne had only begun his task when he had been surprised by the arrival of the party which had followed him.

Nasmyth did not pause to think what Lisle's wishes might be, or whether he would resent his action. So far, he had kept his promise; but, with physical weariness reacting on his mental faculties, he was only conscious of a hazy idea that Gladwyne's death had released him from his pledge. The traitor had expiated his offense; the tragic story must never be raked up again.

Stooping over the receptacle, he dragged out the different articles in it, and avoiding a direct glance at them or any attempt to enumerate them, he gathered them up and striding over the shingle hurled them as far as possible into the river. It cost him several journeys, but his heart grew lighter with every splash. When at last the work was finished and he had refilled the hole and scattered the stones that had covered it, he sat down with a great sense of relief. A burden which had long weighed upon his mind was gone; Mrs. Gladwyne and Millicent were safe at last from the grief and shame that a revelation would have brought them.

Exhausted and confused as he was, he could not tell whether he felt any sorrow for Gladwyne's tragic end; the man had pa.s.sed beyond the reach of human censure, one could only let his memory sink into oblivion.

Growing very cold, he went back to the fire, but he offered no explanation of his absence. Lisle was still asleep or unconscious, but the natural color in his face was rea.s.suring.

"I've heard nothing about your part in the water," Nasmyth said to Batley.

"There's not much to tell. It isn't astonishing that my memory's by no means clear. Anyhow, I wasn't far from Gladwyne, who was swimming well, when he was swept away from me and in among the lower boulders by the swirl of an eddy. I suppose it didn't quite reach me, but the next moment I was sucked into a rush of broken water and went down-stream, below the surface part of the time, because I was surprised when I found I could breathe and look about again. By good luck, I'd got into the smoothest, deepest flow, which swept me straight through. After a little, I saw somebody washing down in a slack and got hold of him. I didn't know whether it was Gladwyne or Lisle; but I held on and a side-swing of the current brought us both ash.o.r.e. Gladwyne, of course, must have gone under after being badly damaged among the rocks."

"There's only one place where he could have landed and I searched it while you were away," Crestwick said gravely.

"Why did you go in after him?" Nasmyth asked Batley. "You must have seen that you couldn't save him."

"That," Batley answered with a curious smile, "is more than I can clearly tell you; and I might suggest that Lisle's venture is even harder to understand. I don't honestly think I owe Gladwyne anything; but, after all, we pa.s.sed for friends, and I used to be fond of swimming. Of course, there's a more obvious explanation--I'd lent him a good deal of money and from what I've learned since, I may have some difficulty in enforcing my claim on the estate. It was natural that I should make an effort to recover the debt."

Nasmyth did not think that the man had been most strongly influenced by that desire, but he addressed Crestwick:

"Hadn't you better gather some more branches or driftwood for the fire, Jim?"

Crestwick disappeared, and Nasmyth filled his pipe before he turned to Batley.

"Now," he said, "I don't want to be offensive; but there are two people connected with this affair who must be spared any unnecessary suffering.

That's a fact you had better recognize."

"I hardly think you do me justice," returned Batley, looking amused.

"It's perfectly plain that there's a mystery behind these recent events; one that has some relation to George Gladwyne's death. Your idea is that an unscrupulous person of my description might find some profit in probing it?"

"You'll never learn the truth. I've seen to that."

"The fact is, I don't mean to try."

Nasmyth was a little astonished at finding himself ready to believe this.

"Then," he asked, "what do you mean to do about your claim on Gladwyne?"

"In the first place, there's the insurance; but I discovered by accident that the company Gladwyne had his policy on was the one that had insured his cousin. Whether they'll be struck by the coincidence and the unusual nature of both accidents and make trouble or not, I can't tell; but if they pay up there'll be an end of the thing. Failing that, I'll have to consider. My demands might be contested by the Gladwyne trustees--the deal was a little irregular in some respects--but I parted with the money and I'm going to make an effort to get it back."

"How much did Clarence owe you?"

Batley told him and Nasmyth looked thoughtful.

"Well," he requested, "if you meet with strong opposition, come to me before you decide on any course, and I'll see what can be arranged. I dare say there'll be some trouble, but I know the trustees--and, as I said, there are people who must be saved all needless pain, at any cost."

"It's promised," agreed Batley. "I'll make things as easy as possible, but that's as far as I can go. I'm not rich enough to be recklessly generous."

Lisle woke soon after this and asked one or two half-intelligible questions, but they gave him no information and he went to sleep again; then Crestwick arrived with more fuel and Nasmyth took the first watch while his companions rested. He was very cold, and now and then he saw Batley, who had discarded most of his wet clothes, wake up for a few moments and shiver. Once or twice he glanced longingly at the garments spread out round the fire, but when he felt them they were still too wet to put on. After a while Crestwick relieved him, and when he awakened dawn was breaking across the black ridges and the rushing river. Batley had left his place, and Crestwick began to stride up and down the beach, presumably to warm himself. To Nasmyth's satisfaction and surprise, Lisle spoke to him.

"You slept pretty sound," he said. "Didn't hear me getting some information about what happened out of Batley."

"Then you know?"

"Yes," was the grim answer. "The thing's finished; there's nothing to be done."

Nasmyth made a sign of agreement.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

"Horribly sore all over, left side particularly. Struck a big boulder, and then drove in among a nest of stones before my senses left me. Tried to get up a while ago, but couldn't manage it. What's as much to the purpose, I'm feeling hungry."

"Unfortunately, there's nothing left for breakfast. One of us had better go up-stream and look out for the canoes."

Lisle nodded.

"That's your duty--I don't envy you. Make them camp a little higher up.

It would be better, in several ways, and I'd rather be on my feet again before they come here."

Nasmyth set off, jaded and hungry, and he was feeling very limp when, as he plodded along a high ridge, he saw the canoes sliding down the river.

He had hard work to reach the bank and he shrank from the task before him when the first canoe grounded upon the stones. Millicent and Bella were in it, and Millicent gazed at the lonely man with fixed, anxious eyes. He was ragged and looked very weary; his face was worn and haggard.