The Sunday Oregonian., March 27, 1921, Magazine Section, Page 3, Image 83

THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN. PORTLAND, MARCH 2?, 1921
iQi iTTtf,rL Bl EHLa 1j !l . cSy 11
1 f " 1 r' - 1 il II L . ' " 'J.
, ,1 rr "V..
How They Came to
the Morrows a
Tale of Strangers
and "Angels Un
awares.
LTHOUGH the railway systems
L by which the whole of England
is served are numerous, there
are whole districts, even those In the
neighborhood of Large towns, which
are- still outside the service of trains.
villages He remote, and single cot
tagcs again stand apart from the vil
sea 10 wnich they are considered
as belonging.
In such large counties as Lanca.
shire and Yorkshire there are many
villages of this kind, and many tso-
iateo cottages; and these are often
occupies, oy families of. which the
neaa is employed in work at as great
a distance as ten or fifteen miles. To
live ten or fifteen miles from a town
Is a small matter for rich folk, who
can reach, a main line of communica
tion with the world by motor; but for
poor people the case is different .
James Morrow was a poor man, and
he went to work and returned from It
every day by means of a bicycle. He
and his wife had a brick cottage a
couple of miles or more from the
village of Vainton, and Vainton itself
was more than tea miles from Law
ton, the nearest town, with 8000 in
habitants and a small railway sta
tion upon a loop line. Lawton was in
the north of Lancashire, and Vain
ton lay upon the Westmoreland
border.
The cottage in which the Morrows
lived was very remote from other
buildings, but It rested upon high
land beside a long road, so that It
was In the way of the carriers, and
was visited by them often enough to
insure that necessaries (except in the
depth, of a hard winter) were easily
obtained. Although distant, the cot
tage was not unhandy, and Agatha
Morrow, until she was well upon the
way to become a mother, used often
to ride into Lawton and back upon
the cart of a friendly peddling mer
chant These days were now long
past She had been content for weeks
to potter about the house, and to
rest, and to look forward to her baby
and the visit she would pay to her
sister In Lawton when her time drew
near. It bad been arranged that the
baby should be born at Lawton be
cause, with a doctor so far away and
with nobody at hand who could nurse
her, it would have been dangerous to
try and manage without leaving
home. Already James was having to
do more and more in the cottage. In
another three weeks he would be
alone there and would be calling
morning and evening, on bis way to
and from work, at her sister's tiny
house in Lawton.
Agatha was conscious of a sinking
heart It was her first baby, and
sometimes, when James was not there,
she could not restrain herself from
long fits of crying that came merely
from weakness and a kind of nervous
dread of the ordeal through which
she was presently to pass. She was
thus often morose when he came
home at night morose and exhausted,
which was a trial to both of them.
Their relations were thus half pas
sionate and more Intimate than they
had ever been, and half full of curi
ous hostility. At times it seemed
to Agatha that she hated her hus
band. Then, by a violent revulsion
of feeling, she would cling to him,
bitterly weeping, as the one person
In the world who was essential to
her happiness. In other moods they
would both laugh, and be at once
young lovers for whom the world
held nothing but Joy.
Agatha was only 25, and James was
five years her senior. He had worked
In a steel factory Just outside Lawton
since he had been a small boy, and
was a big. tough man, rather stupid
in some ways and extraordinarily
shrewd In others. Agatha bad called
him her baby, sure of her own greater
understanding; but it was not as her
baby that she always thought of him,
but as a strange strength outside
herself who could never know what
she was feeling, and yet who, curi
ously, belonged to her and was her
master. She loved him greatly, and
would lore him more as she grew
more and more used to his own love
and confidence.
On his side, James was still rather
afraid of Agatha's weakness. Her
body was such, a slight thing, com
pared with his own big-boned
strength, that he had hardly yet be
gun to realize how strong, in all her
softness and greater gentleness, she
could be. She was so email, so slim,
so quiet in her movements, that he
had worshipped her. When he found
that she could love him, James was
shaken in his modesty. He grew
sublimely arrogant, a towering, con
fident piece of manhood. In pride,
and joy he had married her; in trust
and'confidence Agatha had responded
to his love. And now, when they bad
been married 18 months, they were
going to have a baby, and from the
days of exultation they had come to
those more difficult days which were
straining the nerves of both to such a
pitch as to be almost unendurable.
Agatha- was seeing nobody but
James, and spending long days alone
with her moods of happiness and fear,'
and by the time her husband re
turned at night she was often worn
out with her loneliness and the work
. she had to do in the house. James,
. tired also, was eager to work to save
her; but be did not understand her
moods well enough to be able to re
spond to them. They were thus often
disunited and irritable, at a time
when peace was essential to both, and
puzzled at themselves and at each
other. Neither had had the experi
ence to realize that Agatha needed
company. Neither had the Imagina
tion to kill the puzzlement and rise to
a better knowledge of the situation.
The cottage lay back from the road,
with a garden In front of it and along
one side. To the north rose a gentle
hill; to the west there was a barren
piece of land where stones and weeds
made cultivation impossible. Through
this land a stream, coming from the
hills, trickled easily in all weathers
down to a big pool that froze In win
ter and in summex became deep and
small in an enclosure of thick mud.
Hills were all around, some green;
some rocky. The district was very
deserted, because It was largely bar
ran; but James and Agatha both
knew It so familiarly now (although
both had belonged to Lawton) that
the quiet solitude had never until the
present moment affected them. The
whole countryside was gray and
green, with its mixture of stone and
vegetation, not rich, but pleasant to
see and to live with. There were
hardly any trees. In the garden there
were a few apples and .pear trees
but James found potatoes and other
vegetables of more use in the house,
and although later Agatha might find
on fruit bushes material for Jam
making, she at present and for sev
eral months had done little preserv
Ing. It had not been customary in
Lawton, and she was not yet a coun
trywoman.
The ccttage was of stonevery
small and very square, built to defy
the wind and the troublesome winter
weather. It had four rooms only, all
very small and square, with small
square windows and small squares of
bright carpet. The kitchen, where
they sit in the evenings, had a big
grate, and a rug, and very little fur
nlture excepting an arm chair and a
smaller chair which Agatha had been
used to regard as her own. It was a
beautifully cozy kitchen which they
both loved. In summer the door stood
wide open, so that Agatha in the
evening could see James a mile away,
his head moving above the low
hedges; and in winter, when the door
was closed, they spent the short even
ings happily talking or sitting silent
(he reading and she sewing or knit
ting) until bedtime or until a meal
had to be prepared. They worked for
each other devotedly, and loved each
other with undemonstrative kindness,
often saying nothing, but each glad
of the other's proximity.
It was winter now, and snow lay
upon the distant fells. Already there
was a roaring wind, and blank clouds
were lowering heavily above the dis
trict. The stones gave a grayness
and bareness to the fields about the
cottage. The light was bad, and the
days so short that there seemed al
ways to be shadows everywhere.
In the cottage it was so dark that
even the cheerful fire could not de
stroy the sense of gloom. Agatha sat
beside the fire with an uncontrollable
shiver. She had on a red knitted
shawl, and was pale and lethargic.
From time to time she turned her
head almost impatiently, listening
for the sound of James bicycle bell
or his footBtep. But with the wind
gathering outside and the sense of
coming storm she could hear nothing.
Upon the table was preparation for
his meal, roughly laid. Before the
fire the meal Itself was keeping hot
Seven o'clock wheezed from the old
clock which had been given to them
by James mother, and Agatha knew
that her husband must be nearly
home. Her mouth was drawn with
impatience at his lateness; she was
on edge, inclined to cry, inclined to
say sharp things, irritable at any
thing that hindered the smooth prog
ress of habitual doings. He did not
come.
The clock ticked on, and steam rose
from the big black kettle,nd the fire
glowed and whirred behind its podgy
bars. Agatha rose from her chair and
went to the window. As she did so
she gave an exclamation. The storm
had burst. Snow was thickly falling.
so that the air was opaque with fall
ing flakes. She could not see a yard
from the house. A chill seized her.
James must be riding through this!
No wonder be was so late! With a
quick sense of his probable wetness
and cold, she tolled up the stairs to
their bedroom and laid out some other
clothes for James to change into.
She was sitting resting upon the
edge of the bed when she heard bis
bell and bis cheery whistle. Instantly
her expression of strain was, relaxed
and a slow smile of happiness ap
peared in its stead. She reached the
bottom of the stirs as James entered
the kitchen, white from bead to foot
with the tumuluous snow and holding
and clapping and blowing upon his
hands to restore the circulation to his
numbed lingers.
Well, my lass," he cried, and his
tone was inquiring, "are you better
this evening? Eh, but it's snowing! (
'Agatha rose from her chair and went
Cjave an exclamation.
I've never seen a fall like it Saow,
snow. snow. So thick I couldn't see
the road. By the morning there won't
be a road to see." t
"And you've to go through that!"
she exclaimed passionately.
"My word! Why, I've done it be
fore. I did it last winter." He was
astonished at her vehemence. "It's
no worse.
"It is worse. And I've to go through
it" Agatha proceeded.
"Nonsense!" He drawled the word
reassuringly. Not for another fort
night A good fortnight more like
three weeks. And all the anowll be
gone by then. But I've been think
ing, Aggie couldn't Mattle take you
next week? I was worrying about you
today about your being alone, and
that I thought If wou'd go to Mat
ties sooner I d be quieter in my
mind."
"Nay!" cried Agatha. Til not go.
I'll not go till I must I'm all right
here. I couldn't bear to be there, with
Mattle worrittlng. Eh, you've no Idea
how stupid she Is. Stupid! I'm better
alone. She'd make me angry and ill
dozen times a day."
James Jerked his head doubtfully.
He was warned by Agatha's peevish
voice that he must not argue with
her overmuch.
'I was only thinking it might come
on sooner than you think for," he
said gently. "However, I'll change
my things a bit Look there, now;
there's a pool round me already!"
He took off his wet boots and
stomped up stairs in his slippers.
Within five minutes he was again in
the kitchen, warm and dry, eating his
savory supper and every now and
then easting an anxious, protecting
eye at Agatha. He was determined
that she slrould go at once to Mattie's.
The snow had interfered with his
plan; but he had been delayed this
evening by a call In Lawton on this
same business. The notion had come
to him during work; while he
watched a long bar of white-hot steel
rolled and pressed into another ap
pearance altogether by the powerful
engines employed for the purpose he
had suddenly thought of Agatha at
home alone.
Something had made him realize
that it was madness for her to be
alone now. It might mean her death.
He had been so afraid that he had
instantly made up his mind. He had
left his work sarly, had called to see
Mattle, and had even spoken to a
man with a covered cart who would
come out to the cottage and bring
Agatha Into Lawton.
But the difficult task of persuad
ing her to make the journey nearly
fortnight before she had reckoned
upon her trial had yet to be tackled
In earnest He knew that he must
make a plan. It would not do to
move her during the next day; but
perhaps if the snow quickly melted
in the Inevitable thaw Aggie could
be brought to Lawton within the
week. Then he would feel at ease.
Now, having once glimpsed the hor
ror of her loneliness, this rough man
would not cease to have the vision
constantly in his thonghts.
All the time he was eating his sup
per he was making a plan. While
he smoked his pipe in silence after
the meal he made a hundred plans.
They were all crude, obvious plans;
but he had made up his mind, and
he knew it was only a question of
evading herxobstinacy. He would
have to act decidedly, but first of all
to persuade her.
When at last they were ready for
bed James put his arm round Agatha's
shoulders so that her forehead could
rest at ease agr.inst his neck and
their faces be together.
'My dear lass," he said softly.
awkwardly, "My dear little fass."
He kissed ber as she stood in his
arms, and looked into her eyes. For
both of them it was an instant of
happiness, without care. Tnen they
went slowly together up the stairs.!
to the window. As she did so she
The storm had bnrsf
It was when Agatha was in bed
and James was half undressed that
he began again upon his anxious
plan to get her into Lawton, where
he could be sure that she would
have company and care.
"If I arrange it will you go to
Mattie's sooner?" he asked. "Could
you go?"
"No!" cried Agatha fiercely.' "1
won't"
"I'd get Thomas to bring his cart
tor you. You'd be all quiet and cozy.
And Mattle would like it."
"No!" again cried Agatha.
"I'm worritted about you being
alone. I'd be more easy in my mind.'
Agatha made a desperate move
ment
"I've told you," she obstinately said.
Well, then, can I bring old mother
Cinder out here to spend a week?
Aggie, darling, you mustn't be alone.
"I must. I can't stand it I mustn't
be worried." -
"But you're ill, love."
"O! O!" Agatha was in agony at
bis stupid persistence. "Don't talk
of it Jim Don't talk of it It makes
me fair crazy."
He continued his undressing, and
sighed ,heavlly. Then be shook his
head. Whatever he did now must be
done without her agreement, for it
was clear that he could not win her
to his views by pleading. James cast
about in his mind for some distrac
tlo'n, for Agatha was moving rest
lessly, and turning her head from
side to side and feverishly clasping
and unclasping her hands. He was
alarmed at her agitation. It seemed
to him unnatural, terrifying.
"Well, then," he went on. ; "Forget
all that my love, See. ..." He sat
on the edge of the bed,' half bending
over her. "See, if it's a boy it's to
be a John. And if it's a girl it's to
be Deborah. . . ."-
"Ruth!" cried Agatha.
"Ruth?" questioned James. "Why,
lass!. It was to be Deborah!"
."Ruth!" said Agatha in a tone of
bitter resolve.
He was overwhelmed at her pro
test The name had been settled
long ago, and the baby was to be
named after his mother. Now, to
learn that Agatha was determined
upon another name was a shock.
"But we fixed it I" he said in a
puzzled way.
'Ruth!" cried Agatha, almost
shouting. "I say It's to be Ruth. I
want it Ruth." -
-Perhaps it'll bs a John," he ven
tured.
"I don't like Jobnl"
"Good Lord!" ejaculated James.
"What a contrary . . . !"
Agatha horrified bim by bursting
into tears. -
'You cross me. You cross me,"
she wailed. "O, I'm so ill, and so
miserable. Tou make me unhappy."
'I?" he demanded.. "I'm a clumsy
fool." I
"You're not!" said Agatha, ve
hemently.
'Yes. And what d'you want bim
called, then?"
"He's to be Ralph."
"Lord!" Then James suddenly be
came angry and jealous In his turn,
for Ralph was the name of a man
who once had been his rival for
Agatha's love. The ways of women
were past understanding! He was
angry and helpless. He could not
speak. In that threatening silence
Agatha looked at him through her
tears, and began uncontrollobly to
sob. "Oh, for God's sake!" cried James,
almost beside himself with fear and
exasperation.
Agatha gave a sudden shriek and a
terrifying groan. She was deadly
white. James hurried to give her a
drink of water, while she lay with
staring eyes of pain. Her eyes were
turned to his, and full of fear. Both
realized Instantly what had happened.
James began trembling from head to
foot, so that be could hardly clothe
himself again. He was stricken with
' terror. It had come, and It was the
worst that could have happened. They
were unprepared and helpless. He
might lose both his baby and his wife.
and they were cut completely off
from the world.
Again Agatha groaned. She seemed
to be fighting for breath. Her eyes
closed and her dry lips were rigid.
He knew she was In ghastly" pain.
Gripping the lamp, he hurried down
stairs for some brandy that was kept
in the kitchen, and there he lighted
another lamp. What could he do?
Could he leave her in order to get a
woman's help from the village? For
the moment he must stay; but he left
the second lamp alight on the kitchen
table and hurried back to the bed
room. Agatha was no longer in bed, but
had risen, and was moving about the
room, in great agony. Her eyes were
staring, and la them such an expres
sion of physical anguish that James
felt almost mad to see her suffering
and to be so unable to offer any true
help. He put the brandy to ber lips,
and she drank a little, resting against
him. Then she drew away, as though
his touch made her desperate.
James, full of grief, stood still,
wondering what he could do. To leave
her seemed impossible, and yet he
was so Ignorant and the need so ur
gent that be was torn. In aimless
distraction he went to the window.
Outside the snow was falling so
thickly that nothing was to be seen
but the near flurry of falling flakes.
"O God!" he cried passionately, and
turned back to the room. "What the
devil -am I to do?. Fool that I've
been! Fool!" Every possible self
reproach hurried upon bim. His soul
was bruised with the blows of tor
menting conscience. Dimly he saw
his happiness destroyed. -
As he turned back to the room he
saw that Agatha was already recov
ering. She even smiled as she sat on
the edge of the bed.
"Better now," she said In a low
voice. "Perhaps it wasn't after all."
To them both it was a sudden
prayer.
Don't you think that while you're'
alt right I ought to run down to
Vainton?" suggested James.
Who's there?" demanded Agatha.
"Maud Strong's in Glasgow; old Bet
ty's in bed with rheumatism. I
wouldn't have Nellie Shap. I wouldn't
And the others are all Just silly young
girls."
But they'd stay here wnlle I went
for the doctor."
"No. It's not coming on again to
night"
That silenced hlm. But the pains
did come on again although not for
some time. The scene was re-enact
ed. The pains began again and James
dared not leave her, so violent did
they become. He cursed his own in
action his own powerlessness, but
he dared not leave her. At last as he
had done two hours before, when first
Agatha had felt ill, he approached
thei window. The snow was thicker
than ever. He groaned to himself,
looking out into the opaque white
ness. There seemed no hope at all.
He hurried away, filled with despair.
A strange sound made him dart
back to the window. He held aside
the blind, drew it up, stared into the
snowy outlook. Then he ran swiftly
and silently down the stairs to the
front door, which he opened, stand
ing and peering out with the snow
falling and settling and melting upon
his head and his clothing. It had
seemed to James that he had beard
small motor horn. The sound had
recalled an earlier noise which had
passed unregarded.
Anybody there?" he shouted, star
ing into the obscurity. And again:
;"Heyl Anybody there?"
For an instant be could bear noth
ing and see nothing. Then be thought
he noticed a small light, such as a
bicycle lamp would give, about 60
yards away. It was gone; it was
there; it was gone again in the eddy
ing snow. And while he sought for
the light he was conscious of a
movement near him. Through the
snow came a woman, covered in white
flakes from head to foot James could
have screamed for joy.
"Hey!" he shouted.
"Hullo!" came a woman's voice.
'Hullo!"
She was nearer. . She was quite
near. To James she was a goddess.
f say," came the voice again, "do
you know anything about motor
bikes?" ,
Yes!" cried James. "Do you know
anything about about having ba
bies?" They were close together. ' The wo
man looked at him, and he stood
aside .so that she might enter the
house.
"Well," said the stranger, "I ought
to. I've had three."
"ThanloGod!" cried James.
Perhaps I haven't been sufficiently
grateful. But why do you ask? Is
your wife i
"Upstairs. Nobody near. No doc
tor. Nearly a month before she reck
oned. She's very bad and I can't leave
her."
Instantly th'e stranger mhlpped o,ff
her hat and gloves and thick motor
ing coat, showing stout leggings and
a short skirt. v
'JCome along," she said, as cool and
determined as an expert in face of
trouble. "Hot water, hot-water bot
ties, extra blankets " While she
was speaking she was moving to the
stairs, and an instant later she was
in command. "It's all right," she
comforted him, "quite all right. Don't
worry. Take my bike if you can get
it to go and fetch the doctor. Get
him, anyway. She'll be all right with
me; but show me where things are
kept"
He showed her; went and brought
the bicycle In; found It past use, and
took his own bicycle.
"Has she had a shock?" asked the
stranger. James looked at her sturdy
figure and round brown face, and
honest humorous gray eyes, and he
felt a fresh leap of confidence in
her.
"I wanted her to go into Lawton
sooner than we'd planned. Just for
fear of this." The woman nodded.
"Then she wanted a different name
for the baby. I wanted Deborah. She
wanted Ruth. It had been settled
Deborah for months. Then she had
this sudden fancy. She got worked
up."
"I see. It didn't take much to do
that, I expect Well, hurry, now.
Make the doctor come at once."
James set off in the snow. He could
hardly get his bicycle up the first
Incline, and ' it required all his
strength to do so. The hedges rose
white beside bim and the snow lay
several' inches deep along the whole
road. Everything else was blotted
out Far behind the enow he seemed
to know that the sky was leaden; but
he could see or feel nothing but the
soft, relentless pressure of the thick
ly falling snow. It was in his eyes
and mouth. His hands were nipped
and his nose and ears; and he was in
a great panic all the time about
Agatha, but his heart was lighter.
In the confused turmoil of his
thoughts be speculated about the
motor-blcycliat She must have been
riding in to Lawton, or beyond, must
have pushed on in spite of tho snow;
her cycle must have broken down;
she must have seen the lights in
the cottage, sounded her horn and
tramped toward the bouse. And he
had thought not at all of that but
only of his own desperate need. Well,
he would mend the bicycle for her on
the morrow, and would make It clear
that he owed everything to her, and
that he would never forget bis debt
He would owe to her the lives of
Agatha and the baby whether- It
was Ruth pr Deborah, John or Ralph.
Suppose in spite of this help the
doctor came too late? Suppose Agatha
were after all to die? James pedaled
feverishly. He rode so hard that he
was perspiring in spite of the cold.
His hands were frozen; but the rest
of his body was fiery with heat. His
head was throbbing; his honest face
gray and set
Slowly the hedges slipped by, so
much alike that he could only reckon
his progress by guessing at familiar
contqurs made strange in this new
dressing. He shortly passed through
the silent village of Vainton, in which
all were asleep. Then on through the
night and the snow, pedaling grimly,
straining muscle and nerve to add an
extra fraction to his difficult speed.
The snow blew In his face, choking
him, although he rode with his head
down. It stung his neck and made
him shiver with its cunning power to
slip inside his coat collar at the back.
It settled upon his shoulders and his
arms and knees, and stood like a
crown upon his cap. And always it
came down In gusts and torrents, ob
scuring the road and the countryside,
until every landmark was hidden,
and only the hedge9 assured James
that he was going in the right direc
tion.
The journey seemed to take many
hours. It took him, in fact more than
two hours to reach town, so hard was
it to travel through the snow.
Then at last he saw a roof, a light
and knew that hia destination was
reached. By this time he was ex
hausted with the vehemence of his
effort and was almost reeling as he
rode. The blood was in his head and
behind his eyes; he was blazing and
eager with excitement, not a sane
man but a man with an obsession. He
no longer thought.
He weqt toward the doctor's house
by ins.tinct rathei than with any con
scious purpose, and rang so vigor
ously that the doctor and his family
knew what was the matter without
having the least notion of who the
ringer might be or where the doctor
might have to go. -Old Doctor Har
ness was well used to these sudden
calls and he did not flinch. He only
raised his eyebrows slightly when the
maid announced James; but Immedi
ately rose, put on his overcoat and
gloves, took his case of instruments,
and had his little car brought to the
door in no time at all. He was always
ready and had never failed any urg
ent patient in a career as local doctor
which had lasted for 35 years.
His keen glance told him all about
James' suppressed excitement He
allowed the bicycle to be strapped to
bis car, stepped in, gave James a re
assuring pat on the shoulder, and
started the engine. They were off,
and away from the house In less than
ten minutes from the time of the
young man's arrival. No words were
spoken, no inquiries made. In the
pelting snow they ran smoothly in
the direction of the distant cottage.
How different was this Journey
from the one which James had Just
made! It was effortless, whereas his
own seemed , now like a vague bad
dream of superhuman exertion
against overwhelming natural forces.
During his frantic ride he had been
able to think of little but the diffi
culties of the way. He had been ab
sorbed with the problem of speed. He
now lay back- in the car, wet and
snowy indeed, but without responsi
bility. His tired thoughts flew ahead
to the cottage and Agatha and the
miraculous stranger.
If he had been a religious -man he
would have thought her an angel
sent specially upon a damaged motor- .
cycle for the relief of bis woe. In
stead he simply clucked his tongue
against the roof of his mouth in s
sort of wonderment and his heart
was soft with gratitude toward this
reassuring and unshakable stranger.
Then his mind ran upon the scene
with Agatha. Months before they had
decided with every appearance of
unison that if their baby should be a
girl they would name it Deborah
after James mother. His mother had
been told of this, and her delight had
been a source of Joy to him. Only
James knew how difficult it was to
keep these two women whose sole
link was their love for him from hat
ing each other and being eternal
strangers. He had wanted the little
compliment to his mother, not in his
own Interest, but in Agatha's. It was
to be one of those things which were
to build up a happy relation between
the two women.
And now Agatha had thrown over
the promise. She had abandoned the
name of Deborah. Of course, in an
other mood, he might win his own
way again. He could always do so,
but he disliked prevailing without
Agatha's true approval. Even in his
bewilderment he gave a broad grin.
"Hope it'll be a boy!" he said. The
name Ralph had no terrors for him.
He knew that if the baby were a boy
it would always be John to him. That
was sufficient
Quite without warning, at this
point In his ruminations, James was
consciouS'Of a confused rush, a whirl,
a crash, and then of nothing else. Ths
car had swerved; there was a violent
crashing, and stillness. He ' knew
nothing. When he recovered con
sciousness he was lying on his back
in a inowy field, the doctor kneeling
beside him. He had no pain, but a
sense of numbing cold. As he stag
gered to his feet he felt sharply sick
and put his heand to his head. He
saw the doctor also erect beside him.
trembling and with a gray face, blood
trickling from a deep cut.
"Doctor!" cried James. "My wife!"
"Ho-rlble!" exclaimed ths doctor.
"The car ran suddenly off ths road.
I must have lost control. How d'you
feel?"
"I'm all right"
"Come along, then. Let's back her
Into the road. It's a bother. Valuable
time last" '
Together they strained every mus
cle. For long the car seemed em
bedded. They had to rest, panting
and their Leads almost bursting with
the efort An extraordinary depres
sion settled upon James. He was na
longer desperate, but was over
whelmed with gloom. It was as
though this last calamity had robbed
him of all hope. It was the culmina
tion of the night's horror. Still ths
snow felL and they were yet far front
the cottage.
Could you ride my bicycle, doctor?
he demanded in despair.
The doctor shook his head.
"No good." he said. "I could never
ride tt through this. Try again, man.
Wey! Wey!" Together they used their
strength. For a considerable tlms
the car did not stir. Then at last
came a slight motion. They worked
harder, the sweat pouring from their
bodies. The movement increased
Slowly, slowly the car was backed to
the road. It was another task to ex
amine It and to start it again.. The
starter was unavailing. Prespiring
and furious, the two men struggled
with the forces opposed to them. In
one of their pauses James looked at
his watch.
Good God!" he cried. "Half past
three! Aggie, Aggie!" He broke down.
Hot tears were upon his cheek. "My
wife!" he kept saying.
The doctor clucked his tongue,
shaking his head.
I'm all trembling!" he muttered.
but James did not hear. "I'm useless.
I'm all trembling! It's terrible! I'm
useless! It's disaster!"
Furiously James again attacked the
engine. His frantic efforts at last
produced the necessary result There
was a rattle, a roar! The car was alive
again. They shook hands, moved be
yond speech, and together they
scrambled back Into their seats. A
moment later they were flying once
again upon their errand of relief.
They passed at a rush through ths
snowy village of Vainton, and wers
now upon the straight road leading to
the cottage. James strained his eyes
through the blur of snow. His heart
was beating very fast. He had grown
sharply still and restrained. All his
nerves were alert now that the mo
ment was approaching. Another
minute or two and the cottage lay
before them. He could see a light in
the kitchen, but the bedroom was on
another side of the house and was In
visible (from this point. James
breathed bard.
"Keep up your spirits, man." said
the doctor quickly. "Nothing to gain
by meeting misery half way! We'll do
our best We may be in good time!"
"Thank you, doctor." It was ths
power to make such a cherry little
speech even in the midst of such per
sonal agitation as he was now feeling,
that made the doctor a real friend to
his patients and those who loved
them. He had brought the car to a
standstill, thrown a rug over Its en
gine, and leapt from his seat His
case of Instruments was recovered,
and togther the two men entered the
house.
Uh-hum!" said the doctor in his
throat They had both heard a faint,
sound above, a faint thin sound. They
exchanged a glance. "Go first Quiet
ly," said ths doctor.
But they were checked at the door
way of -the bedroom by ths sight of
the woman stranger, smiling reas
suringly at Jame,
"Glad you've come, doctor," shs
said, with white teeth making a sud
den sparkle in her little brown face, '
"But we managed without you. Yon
might Just look at her, though. She's
very exhausted. And now, my man,
she added, turning to James. "Come
and see what you've got. This is
Deborah and this Is Ruth, d'you see?"
"Gpod Lord!" whispered James with
awe. He looked down marvellngly
while the doctor moved to the other
side of the bed. There lay Agatha,
white and feeble, but happy once
again. And there lay also two little
red faced creatures. "Are they both
girls?" he asked. "Deborah and Ruth.
Deborah and Ruth. Hanged if I shall
be able to tell which is which.
Deb " A great grin overspread bis
face. "I never thought of that," be
said to the stranger. "Well, it's a
marvel to me, and that's a fact! Da-
(Concluded u Page T,