The Hundredth Chance Read online

  CHAPTER VII

  THE MAGICIAN

  "Oh, Maud! I thought you were never coming!"

  Bunny's face, pale and drawn, wearing the irritable frown so habitual toit, turned towards the opening door.

  "I have brought you a visitor," his sister said.

  Her voice was low and nervous. She looked by no means sure of Bunny'sreception of the news. Behind her came Jake Bolton the trainer, alertand self-assured. It was quite evident that he had no doubts whateverupon the subject. His thick mat of chestnut hair shone like copper inthe brilliant electric light, such hair as would have been a woman'sglory, but that Jake kept very closely cropped.

  "What on earth for?" began Bunny querulously; and then magically hisface changed, and he smiled. "Hullo! You?" he said.

  Bolton came to his side and took the small, eager hand thrust out tohim. "Yes, it's me," he said. "No objection, I hope?"

  "I should think not!" The boy's face was glowing with pleasure. "Sitdown!" he said. "Maud, get a chair!"

  Bolton turned sharply, found her already bringing one and took itswiftly from her.

  He sat down by Bunny's side, and took the little thin hand back intohis. "Do you know, I've been thinking a lot about you," he said.

  Bunny was vastly flattered. He liked the grasp of the strong fingersalso, though he would not probably have tolerated such a thing from anybut this stranger.

  "Yes," pursued Jake, in his soft, level voice. "I reckon I've taken afancy to you, little chap--I beg your pardon--Sir Bernard. How have youbeen to-day?"

  "Don't call me that!" said Bunny, turning suddenly red.

  "What?" Jake smiled upon him, his magic, kindly smile. "Am I to call youBunny--like your sister--then?"

  "Yes. And you can call her Maud," said Bunny autocratically. "Can'the, Maud?"

  Jake turned his head and looked at her. She was standing before thefire, the red glow all about her, very slim, very graceful, verystately. She did not so much as glance at Jake, only bent a littletowards the blaze so that he could not see her face.

  "I don't think I dare," said Jake.

  "Maud!" Peremptorily Bunny's voice accosted her. "Come over here! Comeand sit on my bed!"

  It was more of a command than an invitation. Maud straightened herselfand turned.

  But as she did so, their visitor intervened. "No, don't!" he said."Sit down right there, Miss Brian, in that easy-chair, and have a rest!"

  His voice was peremptory too, but in a different way. Bunny stared athim wide-eyed.

  Jake met the stare with an admonitory shake of the head. "Guess Bunny'snot wanting you," he said. "Don't listen to anything he says!"

  Bunny's mouth opened to protest, remained open for about five seconds,and finally he said, "All right, Maud. You can stay by the fire while wetalk."

  And Maud, much to her own surprise, sat down in the low chair on thehearth and leaned her aching head back upon the cushion.

  She had her back to Bunny and his companion, and the soft murmur of thelatter's voice held nought disturbing. It seemed in fact to possesssomething of a soothing quality, for very soon her heavy eyelids beganto droop and the voice to recede into ever growing distance. For aspace she still heard it, dim and remote as the splash of the waves onthe shore; then very softly it was blotted out. Her cares and hertroubles all fell away from her. She sank into soundless billows ofsleep.

  It was a perfectly dreamless repose, serene as a child's and it seemedto last indefinitely. She lay in complete content, unconscious of allthe world, lapped in peace and blissfully free from the goading anxietythat usually disturbed her rest. It was the calmest slumber she hadknown for many years.

  From it she awoke at length with a guilty start. The fall of a piece ofcoal had broken the happy spell. She sat up, to find herself infirelight only.

  Her first thought was for Bunny, and she turned in her chair and lookedacross the unfamiliar room. He was lying very still in the shadows.Softly she rose and stepped across to him.

  Yes, he was asleep also, lying among his pillows. The chair by his sidewas empty, the visitor vanished.

  Very cautiously she bent over him. He had been lying dressed outsidethe bed. Now--with a thrill of amazement she realized it--he wasundressed and lying between the sheets. He was breathing very quietly,and his attitude was one of easy rest. Surely some magic had been atwork!

  On a chest of drawers near stood a glass that had contained milk. Healways had some hot milk last thing, but she had not procured it forhim. She had in fact been wondering how she would obtain it to-night.

  Another coal fell, and she crept back to replace it. Stooping she caughtsight of another glass in the fender, full of milk. It must have beenthere a long time, for it was barely warm. Clearly it had been intendedfor her. She put it to her lips and drank.

  Who could have put it there? Her mother? No; she was sure that hermother would have roused her from her sleep if she had entered. She wasmoreover quite incapable of getting Bunny to bed now that he had grownout of childhood.

  The house was very quiet. She wondered if the guests had all gone. Theroom was situated at the end of a long passage, so that the noise of theparty had scarcely reached it. But the utter silence without as well aswithin made her think that it was very late.

  She dared not switch on the light, but as the fire burned up again sheheld her watch to the blaze. Half-past two!

  In utter amazement she began to undress.

  There was no second bed in the room; only a horse-hair sofa that was farless comfortable than the chair by the fire. She lay down upon it,however, pulling over her an ancient fur travelling-rug belonging to hermother, and here she lay dozing and waking, turning over the mystery inher mind, while another quiet hour slipped away.

  Then there came a movement from Bunny, and she sat up.

  "Are you awake, Maud?" asked his voice out of the shadows. "Has Jakegone?"

  "Yes, darling," she made answer. "Are you wanting anything?"

  She was by his side with the words; she bent over him. He wanted hispillows rearranged, and when she had done it he said, "I say, when didyou wake up?"

  "About an hour ago," she said.

  He chuckled a little. "Weren't you surprised to find me in bed?"

  "Yes, I was," she said. "How did you get there?"

  Bunny seemed to regard the matter as a joke. "That fellow Jake--he wentover and looked at you, came back and said you were fast asleep, askedwhat I generally had done, and if he couldn't do it for me. He managedvery well and was jolly quick about it too. I thought you would be sureto wake, but you didn't. And when I was settled, he asked if I didn'twant anything, and I said, 'Yes, hot milk', and he crept off and got it.He brought a glass for you too. He stuck it in the fender. Have youhad it?"

  "Yes," Maud said. "But Bunny, didn't he hurt you at all? You nearlyalways cry out when you're lifted."

  "I didn't that time," said Bunny proudly. "I told him I should probablysqueal, and he said if I so much as squeaked he'd throttle me. He's abrick, do you know, Maud. And he seemed to know how to get hold of mewithout being told."

  Maud's amazement was growing. The man must be a genius indeed to manageBunny in that fashion.

  "After that," said Bunny, "he sat down by me and got hold of my hand andsaid, 'Now I'm going to send you to sleep.' I told him I never sleptthe first part of the night, and he grinned and said, 'You'll be asleepin five minutes from now if you let yourself go.' And I said, 'Rats!'And he said, 'Shut up!' So I did. And he held my hand tight and satstaring across the room like a mute till somehow he got all blurred upand then I suppose I went to sleep. I never knew when he went. Didyou?"

  "No," said Maud. She had an uncanny feeling that Jake had somehow lefthis influence behind him in the atmosphere. His personality seemed todominate it still. She was sure he had meant to be kind, but a queersense of antagonism made her resent his ki
ndness. She did not likeBunny's whole-hearted admiration.

  "He's a brick," the boy said again, "and do you know he's done almosteverything under the sun? He's been a sailor, and he's dug for gold,and he's kept a Californian store, and he's been a cow-boy on a ranch.He says the last suited him best because he's so keen on the wilds andhorses. It was out in the wilds somewhere that Lord Saltash came on himand brought him home to be his trainer. But he's British-born all thesame. I knew he was that the first time I saw him."

  He was evidently a paragon of all the virtues in Bunny's estimation, andMaud did not attempt to express her own feelings, which were, in fact,somewhat complex.

  Very deep down in her woman's soul a warning voice had begun to makeitself heard, but she could not tell Bunny that. Scarcely even toherself dared she admit that the straight, free gaze of those red-browneyes possessed the power to set her heart a-fluttering in wild rebellionlike the wings of a captive bird.