Page:Cornelia Meigs-The Pirate of Jasper Peak.djvu/165

 he began to be certain that it could not have been the two Edmonds brothers. He himself had seen three men walk across the clearing and from  the letter he could make sure that Dick and his  brother had been alone. Besides, the distance was not so great that he could not have made out  so big a creature as Nicholas, had the dog been  with them. Evidently the pirates had come and gone before the storm—but why? Evidently the Edmonds, after the wind and rain had come on  in such fierceness, had taken refuge there—but  how did they dare? And, evidently, he was growing very sleepy now, but the force of this  new thought served to rouse him completely  again, evidently the pirates would be returning—and when?

The night wore to a slow end, and day broke at last. With the first gray light there came a change in his patient, the fever was succeeded by  chills and shivering and for an hour Hugh was  doing his utmost with hot blankets and warming  drinks. Gradually the trembling stopped and John Edmonds, opening his eyes, gave Hugh a