“‘He ought to have the proper medicine,’ she said.
“She asked me to fetch it. She gave me the address of the chemist, and I rushed off. I was absent about ten minutes. When I came back with the medicine the boy was looking very queer and white. Nurse took the bottle into the dressing-room and I accompanied her. She poured out a dose and gave it to me. She stayed in the dressing-room while I went back to the room. The light was dim, for the boy complained of it hurting his eyes. I raised him up and managed to get the medicine between his lips. I had scarcely done so before nurse came back. She said he ought to be better now, that the medicine was a very strong heart stimulant and ought to act immediately.
“I told her I did not think it was doing so. It seemed to me that the child’s breathing was becoming slower and slower. I touched his forehead and it was cold. I looked round at the nurse.
“‘I do not like the condition of the child,’ I said. The moment I said so she started up, switched on the light and bent over him.
“‘Go down-stairs and fetch up some more brandy,’ she said.
“I ran down. I did not want to frighten Mrs. Pelham, and I could not find the butler immediately. I had to go down to the kitchen premises in search of him. This caused a delay, and I was not back in the sick-room for two or three minutes. When I returned the child was in his present condition. How dreadfully bad he looks! What is the matter?”
He bent again over the child. Once again he held the pulseless wrist between his finger and thumb; once again he listened at the cold still heart.
Barbara and Pelham now stood side by side at the foot of the bed. Having made his brief examination, Tarbot stood up and faced them.
“The king is dead! Long live the king!” he exclaimed. He held out his hand to Pelham.
“Dead! What do you mean?” he exclaimed. “The child cannot be dead. I don’t believe it.”
“Look for yourself,” said Tarbot. “What does this mean but death? The heart has ceased to beat, the body is already turning cold. I will see the child again within a few hours, but in my opinion he is dead. I—you will allow me to congratulate you.”
“Oh, Dr. Tarbot,” cried Barbara, “you cannot say such awful words now! Congratulate Dick! Congratulate Dick! What do you mean?”