The Mynns' Mystery

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN.

  DOCTORS AGREE.

  The anxiety was terrible for a short time, during which the sick manseemed to be suffering from acute spasms, which made his limbs contract,and drew the muscles of his features in a way that was painful tobehold.

  Mr Hampton had started off at once for assistance, and Saul placedhimself at Doctor Lawrence's disposal, holding or supporting the patientas his convulsions took the form of a desire to throw himself upon thefloor, or of sinking back off the couch.

  "You must have given him too strong a dose, doctor," said Saul at last,as the sufferer lay ghastly-looking, and, for the moment, still.

  His eyes were closed, his teeth set, and his fingers tightly clenched,while the sunken eyes and hollowed cheeks seemed to be those of onesuffering from a long and painful illness, and not of a young man but afew hours before in the full tide of health.

  "No," said the doctor thoughtfully, "it was the correct quantity. Theonly thing I can see is that the chemist must have made some terriblemistake. Ha!" he ejaculated at last, as he sat holding his patient'shand, "that's better. The paroxysms of pain have passed away, and--"

  He was speaking too soon, for the sufferer suddenly uttered a wild cry,and began to writhe and struggle upon the couch, groaning and kickingwith pain, and apparently unconscious of the fact that Gertrude waskneeling at his side, holding one of his cold, damp hands.

  The pain passed off, though, after a time, and, livid-looking, and witheyelids and fingers twitching, he lay once more apparently exhausted,till finally his breathing grew regular and faint in the calm sleep ofexhaustion.

  About this time the second doctor arrived with Mr Hampton, and the roomwas cleared for the two medicoes to have their consultation.

  The great dining-room looked gloomy in the extreme, lit by ahand-candlestick, which had been brought in from the hall; and itsoccupants stood listening, Mr Hampton and Saul apart, Mrs Hampton andGertrude together, waiting eagerly for permission to re-enter the study,where, as Gertrude walked to the dining-room door from time to time, allseemed to be terribly still.

  It was when returning agitatedly from one of these visits to the opendoor that she happened to glance upward to where her old guardian'sportrait hung upon the wall, and it was as if the whole of the feeblelight from the candle had become focussed upon the grim features of thestern old man, whose eyes met hers in a questioning manner, and toGertrude it seemed as if they asked her to do her duty by the erringman.

  At last the opening of the study door was heard, followed by hushedvoices in the hall, and the local doctor took his departure.

  "Well?" said Saul eagerly.

  "Mr Herbert agrees with me, Mr Saul. Of course, under thecircumstances, I submitted my prescription to him. He agreed that itwas correct, and he joins with me in my opinion as to the cause."

  Saul looked at him inquiringly, and it fell to Gertrude's lot to ask thequestion as to the cause of the terrible suffering.

  "The chemist must have made some grievous mistake, my dear, throughbeing disturbed so late at night."

  "But he will be better soon?"

  "He is better now, my child; and it will, perhaps, be a lesson to him,"he added to the lawyer, as they returned to the study, where the patienthad sunk into the deep sleep produced by the drug the doctor hadadministered; the terribly potent chemical he had also taken havingexhausted its strength.

  "Nothing can be better than this," said Doctor Lawrence. "And now, ifyou people will all go to bed, it will be the kindest thing for mypatient."

  "But he must not be left," said Gertrude in a quiet, decided tone.

  "He is not going to be left," replied the doctor. "I shall stop withhim, and if anybody is needed I will soon call some one."

  "But you must have some one to sit up with you, Mr Lawrence," said MrsHampton.

  "Yes; I will sit up with him," cried Saul eagerly. "It was not myfault, but I feel a little guilty about his being so ill; and it is toolate to go back to town."

  "Very well," said the doctor quietly, "you can sit up with me;" and theykept vigil by the young man's side.