But when she and Larry, dripping and hatless, were hauled into safety by other helpers, less swift but more powerful, it was found that Larry had not come out of the Feorish unscathed.  His left hand was hanging, helpless, with a broken wrist.

CHAPTER IX

The hunt swept on after the manner of hunts, full of sympathy, having, as to one man, contributed a silver cigarette case, with which another, a resourceful medical student, had improvised a splint, but feeling, not without relief, that they could do nothing more; feeling also, with depression, that the Lord only knew where the devils had run to by this time, but that that couldn’t be helped; with which philosophic reflection and many valedictory shouts of commiseration, the last of them had vanished over the hill.

The unfortunate Charles restored to guardianship, now found himself with Miss Judith, lost; Miss Christian soaked to the skin, eight miles or more from her home; Master Larry ditto, in much pain, no nearer to his, and unable to mount his horse, which latter would have to be led over a succession of fences to the nearest road; (and no matter with what distinction an elderly coachman can drive a pair of horses on a road, it is very far from being the same thing to get a pair of horses across a country).  It was, therefore, a very gloomy party that set face for the nearest highway.  The intricacies of procedure at each jump need not here be dealt with, but it may be said that a more thankful man than Charles, when he again felt the good macadam under his feet, is not often met with.  He would at that moment have said that he could not have felt an intenser gratitude than suffused him as he saw his convoy safe off the hills; but there he would have over-stated the case, since, scarcely five minutes after the road had been reached, an even more supreme thankfulness was his.  Coming rapidly towards him, he beheld Dr. Mangan’s outside car, and upon it was the large person of Dr. Mangan himself.

“Well,” said Charles that evening, to Mr. Evans, “if it was the Angel Gabriel I seen flying down to me, I wouldn’t be as glad as what I was when I seen the Big Doctor on the side-car!”

And Mr. Evans had caustically rejoined:  “It’ll be the funny day when you’ll see wings on him!” meaning Dr. Mangan, of whom he had a low opinion.

Wings or no wings, no angel of mercy and succour was ever more welcome or more needed than was the Big Doctor at this moment.  Larry, very white, shivering with pain and cold, was lifted on to the car; Christian was told to gallop away home as fast as she could, and Charles was directed to let Miss Coppinger know that her nephew would be put up for the night at the Doctor’s own house at Cluhir.

“You can say to her that I met the Hunt, and one of them told me what happened,” said the Big Doctor, “and I knew then what to do.”