Ranching For Sylvia Volume-554 by Harold Bindloss (chrome ebook reader .TXT) 📕

Assistance.  It Was, However, An Hour Later When They Returned With A

Doctor, And He Looked Grave After He Had Examined His Patient.

"Your Husband Has Two Ribs Broken," He Told Mrs. Lansing.  "In A Way,

That's Not Very Serious, But He Seems To Be Prostrated By The Shock.

There Are A Few Things That Must Be Done At Once; And Then We'll Have

To Keep Him As Quiet As Possible."

It Was Two Hours Later When He Left The House, Promising To Return

Early The Next Day With A Nurse; And Herbert Lay, Still And

Unconscious, In A Dimly Lighted Room.

On The Second Morning After The Accident, Herbert, Lying Stiffly

Swathed In Bandages, Opened His Eyes In A Partly Darkened Room.  A

Nurse Was Standing Near A Table, And When The Injured Man Painfully

Turned His Head, The Doctor, Who Had Been Speaking To Her, Came Toward

Him.

"I Think We Can Let You Talk A Little Now," He Said.  "How Do You Feel?"

Herbert's Face Relaxed Into A Feeble Smile.

"Very Far From Happy.  I Suppose I've Been Badly Knocked About?"

"I've Treated More Serious Cases, And You'll Get Over It.  But You'll

Have To Reconcile Yourself To Lying Quiet For A Long While."

Herbert Made No Reply To This, But His Expression Suggested That He Was

Trying To Think.

"Has The Thing Got Into The Papers?" He Asked.

The Doctor Was A Little Surprised; It Seemed A Curious Point For His

Patient To Take An Interest In, But He Was Willing To Indulge Him.

"It's Early Yet, But One Of The _Courier_ People Stopped Me As I Was

Driving Out And I Gave Him A Few Particulars.  You Can't Hush The

Matter Up."

"No," Said Herbert.  "You Did Quite Right.  Hadn't You Better Mention

Exactly What's The Matter With Me?"

"If I Did, You Wouldn't Understand It," Said The Doctor, Who Generally

Adopted A Cheerful, Half-Humorous Tone.  "In Plain English, You Have

Two Ribs Broken, Besides A Number Of Contusions, And I'm Inclined To

Suspect Your Nervous System Has Received A Nasty Shock."

"And The Cure?"

"Complete Rest, Patience, And Perhaps A Change Of Scene When You're

Able To Get About."

"That Means I'll Have To Drop All Active Interest In My Business For

Some Time?"

"I'm Afraid So; By And By We'll Consider When You Can Resume It."

It Struck The Doctor That Herbert Was Not Displeased With The

Information; And That Seemed Strange, Considering That He Was A Busy,

Energetic Man.  He Lay Silent A While With An Undisturbed Expression.

"I Wonder If You Would Write A Telegram And A Letter For Me?" He Asked

At Length.

"With Pleasure, If You Don't Think You Have Talked Enough.  Can't You

Wait Until To-Morrow?"

"I'll Feel Easier When I've Got It Off My Mind."

The Doctor Thought This Likely.  He Made A Sign Of Acquiescence And

Took Out His Notebook; And Herbert Give Him The Rubber Company's London

Address And Then Dictated:

"_Regret I Am Incapacitated For Business For Indefinite Period By Motor

Accident.  If Advisable Appoint New Director In My Place Before

Shareholders' Meeting, Which Cannot Attend.  Compelled To Remain In

Strict Quietness_."

"You Might Send These People A Short Note," He Added, "Stating That I'm

Submitting To Your Advice, And Giving Them A Few Particulars About My

Injuries."

"I'll Be Glad To Do So."

"Then There's Only Another Thing.  I'd Like Some Notice Of The Accident

Put Into A Leading London Paper--It Will Explain My Retirement To

People Who Would Soon Begin To Wonder Why I Wasn't At My Post."

"It Shall Be Attended To; But I Scarcely Think Mr. Phillips And His

Motoring Friend Will Appreciate The Notoriety You Will Confer On Them."

Herbert Smiled.

"There's No Reason Why I Should Consider Phillips.  If He Will Drive

Furiously In The Dark And Run Over People--This Isn't His First

Accident--He Must Take The Consequences.  But You Can Tell Him, With My

Compliments, That I'll Let Him Off, If He'll Be More Cautious In

Future.  Now I Feel That I'd Like To Rest Or Go To Sleep Again."

The Doctor Went Out Somewhat Puzzled--His Patient Seemed Singularly

Resigned To Inaction And Glad To Escape From Commercial Affairs,

Instead Of Chafing At His Misfortune.  After Exchanging A Few Words

With Mrs. Lansing, He Met Sylvia In The Hall.

"How Is He This Morning?" She Asked.

"Better Than I Expected, Able To Take An Interest In Things.  I Was

Glad To Find Him So Acquiescent--It Isn't Usual.  He Didn't Seem

Disturbed When He Asked Me To Write A Telegram Expressing His

Willingness To Give Up His Director's Post."

He Had Not Mentioned This Matter To Mrs. Lansing.  In Several Ways

Sylvia Struck Him As Being The More Capable Woman, Though This Was Not

The Impression Her Appearance Had Upon The Less Practised Observers.

She Looked Thoughtful At His News.

"I Suppose Such A Course Is Necessary," She Remarked.

"I Believe It's Advisable; That Is, If There's Any Likelihood That His

Duties Will Make Much Demand On Him For Some Time To Come."

Sylvia Changed The Subject.

"Have You Any Particular Instructions?"

"None Beyond Those I've Given The Nurse.  Quietness Is The Great Thing;

But It Doesn't Look As If He'll Cause You Much Trouble."

The Prediction Was Justified.  With The Exception Of A Few Complaints

About His Physical Discomfort, Herbert Displayed An Exemplary Patience

And Soon Began To Improve, For His Recovery Was Assisted By The

Tranquil State Of His Mind.  The Accident Had Happened At A Very

Opportune Time: It Furnished An Excellent Excuse For Withdrawing From

An Embarrassing Situation And It Would Save His Credit, If, As Seemed

Probable, Difficulties Shortly Threatened The Rubber Company.  It Would

Look As If Any Trouble That Might Fall Upon The Concern Was The Result

Of His Having Been Forced To Relinquish Control, And Nobody Could

Rationally Blame Him For Being Run Over.

He Was Lying In A Sunny Room One Afternoon When Two Gentlemen Were

Shown In.  One Was The Caller With Whom He Had An Interview In His

Office Before The Accident.  They Inquired About His Progress With

Rather Forced Courtesy; And Then One Of Them Said:

"We Looked In On The Doctor Who Wrote To Us About Your Injury Before We

Came Here, And He Told Us You Were Strong Enough For A Little Quiet

Conversation.  We Haven't Appointed Another Director Yet."

"Then You Had Better Do So," Herbert Advised.

"You Mean To Stick To Your Withdrawal?  You're The Only Person Who Can

Pull The Company Out Of Its Difficulties."

"Has It Got Into Any Difficulties?" Herbert Inquired.  "You See, I've

Been Compelled To Give Orders For All Correspondence To Be Dealt With

At The London Office, And I'm Advised Not To Read The Financial Papers

Or Anything That Might Have A Disturbing Effect."

The Man Who Had Not Yet Spoken Betrayed Some Impatience.

"We're Up To The Eyes In Trouble, As You Must Have Guessed.  Have You

Asked Yourself What The Body Of The Shareholders Are Likely To Think?"

"It's Fairly Obvious.  They'll Consider It A Misfortune That I Was

Knocked Over Shortly Before A Critical Time; Possibly They'll Attribute

Everything Unsatisfactory In The Company's Affairs To My Not Being In

Charge."

One Of The Visitors Glanced Meaningly At His Companion.  There Was

Truth In What Lansing Said.  The Angry Shareholders Would Not

Discriminate Carefully; They Would Blame The Present Directors, Who

Would Have To Face A Serious Loss While Lansing Had Made A Profit.  It

Was A Galling Situation; And What Made It Worse Was That Lansing's

Expression Hinted That He Found It Somewhat Humorous.

"The Fact That You Sold Out So Soon Before The Fall Will Have Its

Significance," Said The First Man.  "The Thing Has A Suspicious Look."

"I Must Risk A Certain Amount Of Misconception," Herbert Replied

Languidly.  "I May As Well Point Out That I Still Hold The Shares

Required As A Director's Qualification, Which Is All It Was Necessary

For Me To Do.  Was It Your Intention To Keep The Stock You Hold

Permanently?"

They Could Not Answer Him, And He Smiled.

"As A Matter Of Fact, We All Intended To Sell Off A Good Portion As

Soon As The Premium Justified It; The Only Difference Of Opinion Was

About The Point It Must Reach, And That, Of Course, Was A Matter Of

Temperament.  Well, I Was Lucky Enough To Get Rid Of Part Of My Stock

At A Profit; And There Was Nothing To Prevent Your Doing The Same.

Instead Of That, You Held On Until The Drop Came; It Was An Imprudence

For Which You Can't Blame Me."

"Our Complaint Is That You Foresaw The Fall And Never Said A Word."

"Granted.  Why Didn't You Foresee It?  You