The poor patient held out his hand to Jacob, while the tears streamed down his face.
"You're all very good to me," he said; "too good, far better than I deserve. But I hope God may spare me to reward you, if I can. You see, Jacob, I'm brought very low. That rascal Juniper robbed me of fifty pounds, and deserted me when I was getting ill. He would have taken all my money, I've no doubt, if he'd only known where to find it. If it had not been for my kind nurse here, and her husband, I should not have been alive now."
Here he sank back, exhausted with the effort of speaking. He was sadly altered. His fine features were sunk and pinched, his cheeks blanched, and his lips cracked and swollen; while his beautiful hair, once his mother's pride, had fallen under the scissors of the shepherd's wife. He was about to speak again, when his nurse motioned Jacob to be seated, and said to her patient,--
"Now, sir, you must just keep silent, and let me tell all about your troubles to this young man. You see, it seems that Mr Oldfield and that man of his, who appears to be a regular scoundrel, came down and settled in this hut, to try a taste of `bush' life, fishing and shooting, and the like. But, dear heart, it was all well enough for a day or two; but after a bit the young gentleman got weary of it. So they took to passing a good deal of their time in drinking and playing cards, I'm afraid. I hope, young man, you're not given to anything of the sort?"
"Me!" exclaimed Jacob; "no, ma'am; that's not in my line, I can assure you. It's the drink as parted my poor mayster and me afore. I'm a gradely total abstainer, and mean to be all the days of my life, please God."
"I'm heartily glad to hear it," said the good woman. "You'll do the young gentleman no harm then, I hope, but good. Well, as I was saying, when they'd been a long time at this drinking and card-playing, what with the heat, and what with the change in his way of living, the poor gentleman took ill; so what did that man of his do? Why, he looked after him for a day or so, and then he made pretence that he'd take one of the horses, and go and look for a doctor, or for some one who could come and give a help. But, bless you, he never cared about doctor, but went straight off with both the horses, and one of the guns, and all the powder and shot as was left, and whatever else he could carry; and it seems too, from what the gentleman says, that he's taken and robbed his master of fifty pounds."