Richard Dares Venture | Page 5

send for the doctor?"
"Yes; sent for Dr. Melvin first thing," replied one of the others, "But we
don't know where he is."
"I think he is over at old Mrs. Brown's," returned the boy. "I saw him

walking that way a while ago."
"I'll go and see," put in Nicholas Boswell. "Meanwhile you'd better go
and tell your mother."
"My mother! what will she say? And Nancy and Grace and baby
Madge! Oh, it's dreadful!" broke out Richard. "I'm sure none of them
can stand it."
"I'll send my wife over soon as I can," said Sandy Stone. "She's as good
as a doctor, and can quiet your mother, too. Be a brave boy, Dick, and
go and tell her. It will be easier, coming from you, than it would from
any of us."
So Richard returned to the house. His mother was dusting in the parlor,
and going straight to her he said:
"Mother, the men are bringing father home. He slipped on the ladder
and got hurt pretty badly. You had better get a bed ready for him, and
some bandages, because he's got a cut or two on his head," and then, as
the mother's breast began to heave: "Don't worry, mother; it may not be
near as bad as we believe it is."
It was over in a moment, and when the men arrived Mrs. Dare was as
calm as any of them.
In the cottage one of the bedrooms was situated upon the lower floor,
and to this Mr. Dare was carried, and laid down as tenderly as these
men were able to do such an unaccustomed task. He drew a deep breath
when his head touched the pillow, and an instant later opened his eyes.
"Where am I?" were his first words.
"Home, John," replied his wife. "You had a fail, and--"
"Yes, I remember. Oh, how my side hurts!"
"Lie still. The doctor will soon be here. Would you like a drink?"

"Yes."
Mrs. Dare gave him some water, but he only drank a little, and then
began to cough.
"It's inside!" he gasped. "My ribs are broken, I think."
Richard comforted his sisters as best he could. It was not long before
Dr. Melvin arrived, and his coming inspired the little household with
hope.
"Is it very serious?" asked Richard, after an examination into his
father's condition had been made.
"I cannot tell yet. Two of his ribs are dislocated, but I dare not touch
them until I find out the extent of his other internal injuries," replied the
doctor. "He must keep quiet, and every ten minutes give him a
tablespoonful of this mixture."
But, though Dr. Melvin gave these directions, it was fully an hour
before he left, and then he promised to return late in the afternoon.
The whole family were gathered in the sick chamber, baby Madge,
three years old, sitting on Richard's knee. Nancy and Grace had been
frightened into almost absolute silence, and Mrs. Dare addressed
herself to her husband, with an occasional remark to the boy as to what
might further help the sufferer.
"Don't trouble yourself, Jane," said Mr. Dare feebly. "You've done
enough already," and then the pain caused him to faint away.
When Dr. Melvin came back they all left the room but Mrs. Dare. A
thorough examination was made that lasted nearly an hour. By the
grave look on his face when the doctor called him, Richard knew that
he was to receive no encouraging news.
"Your father is worse than I expected," were the doctor's words. "He
has ruptured a blood vessel, and that is bad."

"Will he die, do you think?" faltered the boy.
"'While there is life there is hope,'" he responded evasively, after
Richard had repeated his question.
"Then you are afraid it will be fatal?" cried the boy, terror-stricken. "Oh,
Dr. Melvin, can't we do something?"
The doctor shook his head.
"I have done all I can. Such things are beyond our reach, and mere
medicine does no good."
"Have you told my mother and my sisters?"
"I have told your mother. She expected it from the start," replied the
doctor. "You had better go in now. Your father wishes to speak to you,"
he added.
Richard entered the front chamber at once. As he did so, his mother
passed out, her eyes filled with tears.
"Did he tell you?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied, without being able to utter another word.
"Oh, Richard, I never, never thought that such a thing would happen!
Where are Nan and the rest?"
"In the kitchen."
"I must tell them. It is hard on the poor girls."
"And hard on you," said Dick. "And me, too," he added, with a sigh.
The curtains of the windows had been drawn, and it