"I hope no one was hurt," he said. "There is no immediate danger now. It's a dead one."
A heavy shell from the _Triomphante_ had ricochetted from the hill behind, struck the back of the house just above the level of the floor of the room in which the refugees were, passed through the wall and floor, and landed amid the boxes of tea piled in the lower story. Dr. Sinclair was just entering the storeroom on the ground floor at that moment, and soon satisfied himself that it could do no more harm.
His assurance was received with a chorus of grateful exclamations. In the midst of them Mrs. MacAllister turned to Carteret and said:
"I am very glad to see, Mr. Carteret, that you are perfectly safe."
She had not failed to notice that he had been the first to reach a place of safety, and had ensconced himself in the corner farthest from the expected danger. She had got a glimpse of the man's character. She could forgive drunkenness and gambling, and some other things which need not be mentioned. These were the privileges of the nobility. But cowardice! She despised that. Her voice was icily cold when she said:
"I am very glad to see, Mr. Carteret, that you are perfectly safe."
Carteret's pale face, paler than usual, flushed. But with ready effrontery he carried himself through:
"Thank you, Mrs. MacAllister; I am very glad to see that every one is perfectly safe."
At that moment Sinclair's voice was heard saying:
"What's the matter in here? Was any one hurt?"
He stepped into the room again, followed by all the rest. From a dark corner came broken ejaculations, mingled with the names of the deity:
"Oh, God! Oh, God! ... Lord! ... Lord! ... Oh, God, have mercy on my soul!"
Peering through the semi-darkness after the glare of the bright sunshine outside, they discovered Clark on his hands and knees under a heavy teak table.
"Hallo, Clark!" exclaimed Sinclair. "What are you doing there? Are you hurt?"
"Oh, God! ... No! ... We'll all be killed.... Lord! ... Lord! ... The shell! ... Oh, God! Have mercy on my soul!"
"Lord bless my soul!" exclaimed De Vaux in his high-pitched voice. "Is the man a coward?"
"Lord have mercy on my soul!" prayed Clark, under the table.
"My God! ... This is disgraceful," stuttered De Vaux. "I never heard of the like.... Bless my soul!"