Beyond Fort North by Peter Dawson

Author:Peter Dawson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Published: 2017-07-18T21:00:52+00:00

Chapter Ten

George Spires called early the next morning before Mary had quite finished preparing a tray of breakfast for the major. And presently the way the medico stepped so quietly from Fitzhugh’s room, closing the door softly, let her know that the news must be bad even before Spires shook his head and told her in a low voice: “No use in keeping it from you, Missus Fitzhugh. He’s no better, and he should be.”

“You mean he...?” She couldn’t force herself to voice the thought that struck her.

“I mean he has no strength left for fighting this. There’s more congestion, the fever’s still high. Have you been giving him liquids?”

“Yes. All he’ll take. But he...he doesn’t seem to care, Doctor. Yet he’s cheerful enough.”

Spires took his hat from the table and gave her a kindly smile. “Perhaps he really doesn’t care. He’s been a vigorous man, lived a full life. All this pain and weakness lately can’t be much inducement for him to keep on.”

“But he can’t want to die!”

The medico shrugged. “Who knows? He’s lost his son, lost him honorably. And he’s lost Dan Gentry, who was next thing to a son to him. He just might be thinking there’s nothing much left to live for.” With a baffled shake of the head the medico took his hat from the table and crossed over to the door and opened it.

He stopped there in the doorway at sight of Sam Grell turning in off the path. Grell, seeing Mary, saluted before he looked up at Spires to ask: “Any change, George?”

“Not much.”

Grell’s expression took on a deeper concern. “Will it upset him if I see him a moment?”

“Depends on what you’re seeing him about, Sam.”

“Some news has come in over the wire. Good news.”

“Then see him, by all means. He needs cheering up.”

The medico nodded his good bye to Mary and went on out the walk.

Grell was ill at ease as Mary silently led the way across the living room and opened the door to Fitzhugh’s bedchamber. But then as he looked in and saw the major lying in his bed, propped up by pillows, he forced a smile and went on in, saying in well-feigned heartiness: “Well, sir, they tell me you’re licking this thing. Glad to see you looking better.”

Fitzhugh touched his forehead wearily in reply to his adjutant’s punctilious salute. “Take a chair, Captain. Everything going well?”

Grell nodded. “Very well.” He waited a moment until he heard the door close behind him, then looked around to make sure Mary hadn’t followed him into the room. Facing the other again, he took a folded sheet of paper from his pocket and handed it across. “Here’s some medicine that’ll do you good, sir. Just came over the wire.”

Fitzhugh held the paper in a hand that trembled. As he glanced down at it, a look of pleased astonishment came to his drawn features. His eyes were shining with something other than the fever as he looked up at Grell again.

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