Keep yourself perfectly quiet for today;
by tomorrow, if you have no signs of fever, and the wound is doing
well, we will see about it."
Upon leaving him Dr. Wade went out and heard the details of the
fight.
"Your friend Bathurst particularly distinguished himself," the officer
who commanded the volunteers said. "He cut down the ressaldar who
commanded the Sepoys, and was in the thick of it. I saw him run one
sowar through and shoot another. I am not surprised at his fighting
so well after what you have gone through in Deennugghur and in that
Cawnpore business."
The Doctor then went up to see Isobel. She looked flushed and
excited.
"Is it true, Doctor, that Mr. Bathurst went out with the volunteers,
and that he is wounded?"
"Both items are true, my dear. Fortunately the wound is not serious.
A ball has broken the small bone of the left forearm, but I don't
think it will lay him up for long; in fact, he objects strongly to
go to bed."
"But how did he--how is it he went out to fight, Doctor? I could
hardly believe it when I was told, though of course I did not say
so."
"My dear, it was an experiment. He told me that he did not feel at
all nervous when the Sepoys rushed in at the gate firing when he
was walking off with you, and it struck me that possibly the sudden
shock and the jump into the water when they attacked the boats,
and that rap on the head with a musket ball, might have affected
his nervous system, and that he was altogether cured, so he was
determined on the first occasion to try.
Pages:
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512