when captain ichabod left the island in haste to get medical help for the unconscious ethel marion, doctor gifford garnet stood before the shack and watched the red skiff as it rose and fell on the billows until it was well on its way to beaufort. then, with a smile of satisfaction, he turned and entered the abode where the girl was lying with no sign of life save the gentle rhythm of the bosom as it rose and fell with her breathing. now, once again, he knelt by the bedside. for a little, he stroked the forehead with deft fingers, then touched her wrist and counted the pulse. it was evident that he found the condition of his patient satisfactory, for a pleased expression came in place of the anxiety that had hitherto marked his features.
leaving the bedside, doctor garnet went to the kitchen stove, where he opened the oven door and took out the batteries he had removed from the little cedar tender. the intense heat of the oven had thoroughly dried these, so that they were again in working condition, together with the spark coil. the doctor carried the attachments from the shack to the launch, in which he installed them. this accomplished, he succeeded, after a great deal of straining effort, in getting launched the small craft, which had been left high up on the sand. by means of an oar, he paddled the boat around to the captain's miniature wharf. he made it fast here and then busied himself in tuning up the engine. when at last it was running smoothly, he threw in the clutch, and steered the launch toward the wreck of the isabel. as he neared the oyster rocks, he slowed down the engine, and ran directly over the sunken part of the vessel. there, he peered intently over the side into the depths of the water. of a sudden, he drew back as if in fright, and his face became ghastly pale. he threw in the clutch and steered at full speed back for the landing. one glimpse of the dead eyes glaring up at him had sufficed. though he was a physician, inured to dreadful sights, he quailed before this hideous spectacle.
at the landing, he hurriedly made the boat fast, and then ran swiftly to the shack. he disappeared for a moment inside, and then came forth bearing his medicine case and blankets. he stowed the case in the launch and spread out the blankets in the bow. this done, he returned to the shack. when he issued from it again, he staggered under a burden almost too great for his strength—the unconscious form of ethel marion. he bore her with what haste he could to the landing and gently placed her within the blankets.
at this moment, doctor garnet looked in all reality the part of a wild man. he was coatless and hatless. the strong breeze made new tangles in his already disheveled hair. then, through long seconds, he stood staring bleakly at the distorted and broken yacht. abruptly there came from his lips a weird wail of distress. that cry meant that everything good in life was over for him. his face set in sullen lines, as he loosed the painter and seated himself aft by the engine. he opened the throttle, and, heading to the northward, soon left the sands of ichabod's island and those staring eyes of the dead man far behind.
so absorbed had the doctor been in his purpose of flight that he failed even to see the action of shrimp. just as the launch began to move away from the wharf, the rooster leaped lightly to the forward deck. it never occurred to him that he might be unwelcome. he entered the boat as he would have the skiff for a voyage with ichabod. he was a sociable bird, and fond of a cruise. when the opportunity offered he seized on it with pleased promptness. by the time that doctor gifford garnet chanced to observe shrimp's presence, the launch was at such a distance from the island that it would have been folly for him to turn back for the sake of restoring the creature to its place.
the launch tossed and pitched dangerously when it came into the broad reaches of core sound. it seemed indeed at times that it must inevitably be swamped. but the doctor had skill and daring, and now, in the face of this new danger, he was cool and resourceful. here there were no rocks to increase the danger as there had been at ichabod's island, and eventually he guided the launch to safety under the lea of the wooded shore of the mainland.
the first intention of garnet was to make a landing in order to await the coming of night, when, as he knew from past experiences, the wind would almost certainly fall, after which the voyage could be resumed without danger and in comparative comfort. the doctor found, however, that his plan was impossible of execution. to his discomfiture, he perceived that the heavily wooded shore was nothing other than a vast swamp, without anywhere a dry spot on which to step foot. upon making this discovery, he allowed the boat to drift a short distance away from the land, and then dropped overboard the tiny anchor.
after the launch was made secure, the doctor took from his pocket the hypodermic syringe. the vial accompanying it, however, was empty. garnet searched feverishly through his medicine case, at first in despair, for he feared that he had no more of the drug. but at last he uttered an ejaculation of triumph as he drew forth a small bottle of the narcotic. he removed the cork and dropped the pellets into the palm of his hand. he counted them rapidly, before replacing all but one in the bottle. the quantity of the drug was so small as to fill him with the worst apprehensions. a man held as was garnet in the clutch of an evil habit would be placed in a horrible position, were he to run out of his morphia supply, while thus storm-bound along the desolate shores of core sound. he shuddered at the dreadful thought of such catastrophe. then he tried to forget the haunting fear, the while he made his preparations for loading the syringe. though his fastidiousness was revolted, he had no choice but to use the brackish water from over the side to dissolve the pellet for the shot. when, finally, the task was completed and the syringe duly charged, he did not again bare the girl's arm for an injection. now that his stock was running low, perhaps his selfishness forbade any bestowal of the drug on another; or, perhaps, his trained eye told him that the further stupefying of her would react dangerously. so, the liquid in its entirety was forced into his own arm through the needle's puncture. it was only a matter of a few minutes before the efficacy of the drug was made manifest. the nervousness that had marked the physician's manner fell away from him. his countenance wore a serene aspect. presently he settled himself comfortably on an upholstered seat and then without more ado fell sound asleep.
garnet did not awaken until the shades of night were fast settling over the waters. in all probability, he would have slumbered on much longer, had it not been for his acutely sensitive hearing, which caught the sound of a tiny voice. it was hardly more than a whisper that issued from out the blankets in the bow. it was the voice of ethel marion calling him. this was the first time she had spoken since the moment of semi-consciousness upon the island when she had been revived by the ministrations of captain ichabod. now she spoke once, and again, the single word:
"doctor!"
garnet sprang up and hurried to her side.
"yes, miss marion," he exclaimed soothingly as he came to her.
as he knelt by her side, she bade him welcome with a smile in which pleasure and confidence were blended. indeed, the girl felt that she was quite safe from any possibility of harm while in the company of the trusted family physician. but she realized that she was very weak, and, too, her mind was by no means clear. she was unaware that she was in fact hundreds of miles distant from home and friends. she rested in a reclining position so that the gunwales of the launch were high enough to shut off a vision of the shore. otherwise, the luxuriant swamp growth must have shown her that she was far south of new york harbor. ethel was familiar with the sound country from having traversed it in voyaging to and from florida points. could she now have seen, she would have recognized the giant gum trees and cypress, garnished with festoons of spanish moss that swayed gently under the impact of the lessening breeze.
"oh, doctor!" she queried. "have i been ill? i feel so strange in my head, and i am so weak, and, oh, so hungry!"
"yes, miss marion," replied garnet in his most suave manner, "you have been ill, but are now very much improved. if you will just lie quiet and try to sleep a little more, i will soon have you where you can have plenty of good things to eat, and your strength will return as rapidly as it left you. i'm not going to tell you more at this time. i shall wait until you've had some nourishment and are strong enough to listen to a long story."
ethel forbore further questioning. she simply smiled again and resumed her sleep. garnet drew out the hypodermic syringe, then hesitated. he remembered how limited was his stock of morphia. after a moment more of doubt, he shook his head decidedly and restored the syringe to his pocket. it was only too apparent to him that he must husband his supply with miserly care if he would not suffer the tortures of the damned.
garnet slipped quietly back to his place by the engine. the sky was now quite clear again, and as the darkness deepened the wind continued to fall, until there was almost perfect calm. it was safe enough now for the little boat to proceed on her way. the doctor raised the anchor and started the engine. he steered out from the shore resolutely, without any sign of wavering, heading toward the northward. but for what port he sailed was the secret of his own drug-crazed brain alone. was it his intention to hide away for a time in some sparsely settled section of the sound country, where he could depend upon getting supplies from the kind-hearted, simple-living coast dwellers? or did he mean to go back over the way he had come in this frail craft? to do this, could have but one ending—the final disaster.
the heavy darkness of the early night hours was soon dispelled. far to the eastward, the golden moon at the full came creeping up from behind a huge sand dune upon core banks. its gentle luminousness fell over the expanse of water and showed the launch clearly as it voyaged toward the unknown.... and that same radiance shone upon a lover seeking wildly for the girl of his heart—and seeking in vain.
