One Maid's Mischief Part 104

He looked back, but they were still well out of sight of the prahu, the heavy beat of whose oars seemed to come from close behind the trees, though it was still some distance away.

He scanned this bank--the other bank--but now the trees seemed thinner, and the chances of hiding successfully to grow less; and for a moment something like despair crept into the doctor's heart.

But he was too well used to emergencies to fail at critical moments; and, bracing himself up, the momentary despairing feeling was gone.

"Is there no end to this wretched river?" he cried, half aloud; and he gave his foot an impatient stamp, which started the men afresh just as they had slackened their efforts, and once more they went on toiling along the narrow, winding stream, the tortuous way seeming to grow more intricate minute by minute, and fortunately for them, as their little boat skimmed round the turns, while the prahu's pa.s.sage was ponderous and slow.

But every now and then some straight piece of the river would give the enemy his chance, and the rowers forced the prahu along, so that she gained ground.

There was no mistaking it, and the doctor's fingers tightened upon his gun, as he saw how rapidly his pursuers were gaining; while his own men were becoming terribly jaded by their tremendous efforts, and moment by moment their strokes were losing force.

Worse still, as he gazed back, he could see that something was going on in the bows of the prahu, and he needed no telling what it was--they were again loading and training their heavy gun; and "if," the doctor thought, "they wing us now, our chances are gone!"

It was not a pleasant thing to do, to stand there offering himself as it were for a target to the next shot; but this did not occur to the doctor, who kept his ground, and the next moment there was a puff of white smoke from the prahu's side.

VOLUME THREE, CHAPTER SIXTEEN.

BLIND AS A MOLE--IS SAID TO BE.

"Poor Perowne seems nearly heartbroken," said the Resident, as they went down the path; and then bitterly, the words slipping out, incidental upon one or two remarks of Hilton's--"He seems to suffer more than you."

"I feel as much hurt at Miss Perowne's abduction as does any man at the station," said Hilton, hotly; "but if you mean, Mr Harley, that I am not grieving like a suitor of this lady should, you are quite right."

"Quite right?" said the Resident, quickly.

"I said quite right," replied Hilton, sternly; "every pretension on my part was at an end before the night of that unfortunate party."

"I beg your pardon, Hilton," cried the Resident, warmly. "I am not myself. I ought not to have spoken in so contemptibly mean a way. Bear with me; for what with my public duties, and the suspense and agony of this affair, my feelings have at times been maddening."

"Bear with you, yes!" said Hilton, warmly. "Harley, I sympathise with you. I do indeed, and believe me, I will be your right hand in this matter; but we have had so little chance of talking together. Tell me what has been done."

"Comparatively nothing," replied the Resident. "I have been helpless.

I have had my suspicions; but, situated as I was, I could not act upon suspicion only; and when, to satisfy myself, I have tried diplomatic--as we call mean, but really underhanded--means by spies to find out if there was anything wrong, every attempt has failed."

"You have sent out people to search then?"

"Scores!" cried the Resident; "but in the majority of cases I feel certain that I have only been paying Murad's creatures; and when I have not, but obtained people from down the river, the cunning Malays have blinded them to the facts."

"I see."

"Then Murad himself, he has been indefatigable with his help."

"To throw you off the scent," said Hilton.

"Exactly. Then there was the finding of the stove-in boat, and portions of the dresses of those who apparently occupied her--everything pointing to some terrible accident. What would the authorities have said had I, on the barest suspicion, seized upon Murad and charged him with this crime? A public official cannot do that which a private individual might attempt."

Hilton walked on by his side, very moody and thoughtful.

"I have felt suspicious of this cunning villain all along; and I do not feel quite satisfied that the Inche Maida has not been playing into his hands. But what could I do--on suspicion merely! Even now, had he not absented himself from Sindang, we could hardly venture upon this expedition. In spite of what we have heard, he may be innocent."

"My head upon it he is guilty!" cried Hilton, fiercely: "and if we do bring him to book--"

The Resident looked at his companion curiously, for the young officer ceased speaking, and he saw that there was a fixed, strange look in his eye, and that his lips were drawn slightly from his teeth.

"If we do bring him to book," said the Resident, quietly, "he shall suffer for it."

"Suffer!" cried Hilton, excitedly. "Look here, Harley, I vow to you now that if Helen Perowne offered me her hand to-morrow, and asked me to marry her, I should refuse; but all the same, I'd strike down the man who offered her the slightest insult; and as for this Murad, if we run him to earth, and he is guilty, I'll shoot him like a dog."

"Leave that revolver alone," said the Resident, quietly, as unconsciously Hilton took the weapon from its pouch at his belt and began turning the chambers round and round.

The young officer hastily thrust the weapon back and tightened his belt.

By that time they had reached the doctor's house, where, upon entering, they found little Mrs Bolter looking flushed and annoyed, and opposite to her Mrs Barlow, the picture of woe.

"Has he come back?" said the Resident, hastily, after the customary salutations.

"No, he has not come back," said Mrs Bolter, rather excitedly.

"Alas! no, he has not returned," said Mrs Barlow, in tragic tones. "I fear we shall never see him more."

"Are you speaking of Dr Bolter, madam?" said the Resident, wonderingly.

"Of the doctor, sir? No!" cried Mrs Barlow, indignantly, "but of the chaplain."

"Oh!" said the Resident, and a feeling of compunction entered his breast to think how small a part Mr Rosebury had seemed to play in this life-drama, and how little he had been missed.

"Captain Hilton," said little Mrs Bolter, taking the young officer aside to the window, while her visitor was talking to Mr Harley, "it's a shame to trouble you with my affairs directly you have come out of trouble yourself, and just as you are very busy, but if someone does not take that woman away I shall go mad!"

"Go mad, Mrs Bolter?"

"Yes; go mad--I can't help it. I'm worried enough about the disappearance of my poor brother Arthur; then I am forsaken in the most cruel way by my husband; and as if that was not enough, and just when I am imagining him to be suffering from fever, or crocodiles, or Malay people, or being drowned, that dreadful woman comes and torments me almost to death."

"What, Mrs Barlow? Well, but surely, if you give her a hint--"

"Give her a hint, Captain Hilton! I've asked her to go over and over again; I've ordered her to go--but it's of no use. She comes back and cries all over me in the most dreadful way."

"But why?--what about?"

"She has got a preposterous notion in her head that she is in love with my poor brother, and that he was very much attached to her because he called upon her once or twice. It's really dreadful, for I don't believe my brother ever gave her a thought."

"You must reason with her, Mrs Bolter," said Hilton, who could not help feeling amused.

"It is of no use: I've tried, and all I get for my pains is the declaration that she must give me the love that she meant for my brother. She says she shall make her will and leave all to me, for she shall die soon; and the way in which she goes on is horrible."

"Well, it must be a nuisance where you don't care for a person," said Hilton.

"Nuisance: it's unbearable! And now I'm talking to you about it, and very absurd you must think me; but if I didn't relieve my mind to somebody I'm sure I should go mad. But won't you come into the drawing-room?"