His Big Opportunity | Page 6

dashed over to me, I should have been sucked
down by that old wheel, and should have been a dead man by this time.
You've done to-day what you were longing to do."
"Yes, but I tell you I felt awfully squeamish when I saw you in the
water and thought I might be too late."
As they neared the house, Roy's pace slackened.
"Go on, Dudley, and leave me, I can't get on, I believe that horrid old
asthma is coming on, I'll follow slowly."
"I'm not quite such a cad," was Dudley's retort, and then hoisting Roy
up on his back, as if that mode of proceeding was quite a usual
occurrence, he made his way into the house.
They crept up to their bedrooms and changed their wet clothes before
they showed themselves to any one. Then Dudley waxed eloquent for
the occasion, and the story was told in drawing-room and servants' hall,
till every one was loud in their praises of the little rescuer.
"He looks too small to have done it," said Miss Bertram, smiling; for

though Roy was Dudley's senior by two months, he was a good head
shorter.
Roy got rather impatient under this adulation.
"Oh, shut up, Dudley, don't be such an ass, as if I could have done
anything else!"
An hour after, and Roy was sitting up in bed speechless and panting,
with the bronchitis kettle in full play, and nurse trying vainly to battle
with one of his worst bronchial attacks.
"I say "--he gasped at last; "do you think--I'm going to die--this time?"
"Surely no, my pet. It's more asthma than bronchitis; I'll pull you round,
please God."
Midnight came, and when nurse left the room for a minute she found a
small figure crouched down outside the door.
It was Dudley.
"Oh, nurse, he's very bad, isn't he? Is he going to die? What shall I do! I
shall be his murderer, I've killed him!"
Dudley's eyes were wild with terror, and nurse tried to soothe him.
"Don't talk nonsense, but go to bed; he'll be better in the morning, I
hope. It's just the wet, and the strain of it that's done it. There's none to
blame. You couldn't help it, and he's been as bad as this before and
pulled through. Go to bed, laddie, and ask God to make him better."
Dudley crept back to bed, and flung himself down on his pillows with a
fit of bitter weeping.
"She says I couldn't help it; oh, God, make him better, make him better,
do forgive me! I never thought of this!"

III
MAKING AN OPPORTUNITY
It was two days before Dudley was allowed to see the little invalid. The
doctor had been in constant attendance; but all danger was over now,
and Roy as usual was rapidly picking up his strength again.
"His constitution has wonderful rallying powers," the old doctor said;
"he is like a bit of india rubber!"
It seemed to Dudley that Roy's face had got wonderfully white and
small; and there was a weary worn look in his eyes, as he turned round
to greet him.
"Now sit down and talk to him, but don't let him do the talking," was
nurse's advice as she left the boys together.
Dudley sat down by the bed, and squeezed hold of the little hand held
out to him.
"I'm so sorry, old chap," he said, nervously; "do you feel really better?
I've been so miserable."
"I'm first-rate now," was the cheerful response; "it's awfully nice
getting your breath back again; it's only made me feel a little tired,
that's all!"
"It was all me!"
"Why that has been my comfort," said Roy, with shining eyes; "I felt
when I was very bad, that if I died, I might have lived for something. It
would have been lovely to die for you, Dudley--at least you know to
have got myself ill from that reason; it's so very tame when I get bad
from nothing at all; but I'm well again now, so I know God is letting me
live to do something else!"
"I was the one that ought to have been made ill to punish me," blurted
out Dudley, and then he was silent.

Roy's eyes rested on his flushed face with some wonder.
"It wasn't wicked of you to fall into the river; you couldn't help it."
A crimson flush crept over Dudley's face up to the very roots of his hair;
he picked the fringe of the counterpane restlessly between his fingers,
and kicked his heels against the legs of his chair. Silence again: Roy
looked steadily at him; and then an expression of astonishment and
bewilderment flitted across his face, followed by one of strange,
conviction.
"Dudley, look at me."
Roy's tone