Stories with a Vengeance — page 87: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

YEARS AGO. 83 to my system; but, recovering myself, I saw the sallow man, whom I now heard spoken of as Canville, led away by several gentlemen, and Harding, the centre of a group, holding up Manette Levine. who hung, faint and bleeding, upon his arm. Poor girl! To save Harding, she had thrown herself in the way of the blow directed at him, and received it upon her cheek, which displayed a dreadful gash, whose bleeding every effort of my old friend seemed vain to staunch. But medical assistance was at hand; and after the surgeon had performed his part, the light form was borne, amidst the sym- pathizing exclamations of the lookers-on, to a carriage waiting at the door. Phil helped to ¢ her, and, in a dreamy fashion, I looked on, until we were somewhat summarily dismissed by the doctor, who leaped in, and the carriage was driven off, when we turned to walk together to the town. Before we had gone far, Phil laid his hand upon my shoulder, causing me to finch with pain, as he said, somewhat - sadly, “ You must be choking with curi- osity, old fellow, to know the ins and outs of this genuine romance of real life—for it is almost hke a scene from a melodrama. But, hallo!” he cried, “ what’s this P” And he held up his hand, which, as well as his wristband, was smeared with blood, just visible by the light of a carriage lamp which passed. “ Blood !—more blood! Why, one of us must have had a scratch from that fellow’s knife!” ‘“‘T suppose I was the lucky one,” I said, lazily ; for the ground seemed to be moving beneath my feet, and a strange feeling of sickness coming on, when, giving a lurch and a stagger, I should have fallen had not Phil caught me in his arms, after which, all seemed to fade away into nothingness. When I recovered consciousness, I found myself upon a table in a drinking saloon, close by where I had fainted; and soon after I was removed to the house where Harding was staying, the ship’s surgeon came to my aid, and tightly bandaged my shoulder, which, upon raising myself, found had received rather a severe flesh- cut, but, luckily, of so superficial a cha- racter, that a sight weakness from loss of blood would probably be the extent of my suffering. ‘You see,” said the surgeon, pleasantly, “the blade glanced from the bone, or the arm would have been transfixed, and the point of the knife might have pene- trated to the lungs; in which case in- ternal hemorrhage would probably have 33 ensued, and——— Google “There, for goodness sake hold your tongue, Mr. Edgley; the poor fellow is white enough already! Don’t worry him with what might have happened, when he has escaped !” said Phil. “ But you must keep perfectly still,” said thé surgeon, “or I shall not hold myself answerable for consequences;” and he looked fiercely on Harding, as much as to say, “Now, call that worrying, sir, if you dare !” | Promises were made, such as would most probably soon be forgotten, and soon after, the surgeon took his leave; when, as I evinced not the slightest disposition to sleep, Phil proceeded to give me some ex- planation of the affair which I had wit- nessed the previous night, for daylight was close at hand. I could easily understand that rivalry was the moving power in the proceedings ; but still, the explanation of several points seemed necessary to thoroughly enlighten me upon the subject. It appeared that Manette Levine was an orphan, the ward of her uncle, Pierre Can- ville, father of the sallow-faced individual who had brought on so trist a termination to our evening’s pleasure. Harding had met her at the house of one of the families to whom he had been introduced, and had become deeply enamoured, in despite of the lowering looks and sneers of her cousin, Louis Canville, who could ill brook this interposition between himself and one whom, without consulting her wishes, he had always looked upon as his future wife. Harding had, upon more than one occasion, come into contact with Canville, but had suffered his brutal words and sneering remarks unresented, feeling, as he did, from the favour accorded him, able to be generous and forbearing. In fact, until the previous night, my messmate had always managed to control his temper under every slight, even to hearing the coarse taunts of the creole, for the sake of his cousin, who had, on more than one occasion, expressed her fears lest Louis should display his temper in some mad fit or another. The circumstances of the past night, though, had been more than Phil could brook, since the insults had not only been in public, but directed in the most brutal manner at the fragile girl, who had not only won his heart, but had brought every chivalrous feeling that existed in his breast into full play. At length I tried to sleep, but that was out of the question ; for now, in his excite- ment, Harding was impatiently pacing the room, with hurried strides, waiting for the > a JOO S CO)