In the Wet by Nevil Shute Read Free Book Online

Liang,” she said. “He can’t be nursed out there.”
    “He very sick,” he said. “We take stretcher and put stretcher on the cart, maybe.”
    “What’s the road like?” I asked. “Did you have much difficulty getting in here, Liang?”
    “Or-right,” he said. “Water near house, one mile, two mile.” He put his hand down to within nine or ten inches of the floor. “Deep like that. Then road or-right.”
    A mile or more of shallow water wasn’t quite so good, but the old horse could pull the light two wheeled cart where no motor vehicle could go.
    “All right, Liang,” said Sister Finlay. “I’ll come back with you. If we go at once, can we get to your place before dark?”
    He nodded. “We start quick, Sister.”
    I turned to him. “How long did it take you to get in here, Liang?”
    “I no got watch,” he said. “I think two hours, maybe.”
    It was nearly three in the afternoon, and in that overcast weather it would be dark before six. I had never been to Liang’s house but I had been told that it was ten miles out; clearly in the conditions the old horse would not go very fast. I turned to Sister Finlay. “We’d better get away as soon as we can. I’ll come with you, Sister.”
    She hesitated for a moment. “You’d better stay here,” she said. “I’ll get Sergeant Donovan to come out with us. I don’t want you getting a relapse.”
    “I ought to go,” I said. “If the man’s likely to die, I should be with him.”
    “He won’t die before we get him back here to the hospital,” she said. “I’ll take some dopes with me. All I want is somebody to help me get him on the cart and bring him in. No, you stay here. I’ll pick up Donovan on the way out.”
    It was sensible, of course; I had only been out of bed a day or two. “I tell you what I’ll do,” I said. “While you’re getting ready, I’ll go on down and warn Donovan, so that he’ll be ready to start when you come past with Liang.” There are no telephones in Landsborough.
    “That’ld be a help,” she said. “I’ll be about a quarter of an hour.”
    I went and slipped on a pair of trousers and a raincoat and shoes, and set off down the road to the police sergeant’s house. Mrs. Donovan came out to meet me on the verandah. “Afternoon, Mrs. Donovan,” I said. “Is Arthur in?”
    “Why, Mr. Hargreaves!” she said. “I heard you’d been sick—I do hope you’re recovered. Art’s gone to Millangarra—he rode out this morning.”
    “When’s he coming back?”
    “He’ll have stayed for dinner,” she said. “He said he’d be back before dark. Is it anything important?”
    I told her briefly what had happened. “Jim Phillips is still on leave?”
    “I’m afraid he is, Mr. Hargreaves. I don’t know what to suggest, unless she took one of the black boys. Dicky might go.”
    I shook my head. “I’ll go with her myself. When Arthur comes in, tell him where we’ve gone, will you? If we’re not back by ten o’clock tomorrow morning, ask him to ride out that way and have a look. I’m just a bit afraid that with all this rain the water may be rising.”
    “I think it will,” she said. “Liang Shih got through all right, did he?”
    “Didn’t have any difficulty,” I told her. “If you’d just tell Art when he comes in.”
    I met Liang and Sister coming towards me in the cart as I walked back towards the hospital. “Donovan’s away,” I said. “He’s gone to Millangarra—I left a message.” I swung myself up into the cart. “I’ll come with you, sister.”
    “I don’t like it, Mr. Hargreaves. There must be
someone
who could come.”
    “I’ll be all right,” I said. “If we waste time looking for somebody you won’t get there in daylight.”
    She said no more, because it would be most dangerous to go wandering about in darkness in the flooded Queensland bush; it was imperative that the journey should be finished in daylight. We stopped for a minute or two at the vicarage while I