CHAPTER EIGHT“John! John! Oh, no – please God, no!”
It was madness to run out of the bathing machine, but when Cecilia heard the shot and the screams from the crowd, nothing could have stopped her. In a moment she was outside, rushing down the steps to fall on her knees beside John and seize him up into her arms.
“No,” she wept. “Don’t let him die! John! John!”
Everything seemed to swirl around her. Vaguely she heard Frank, calling for a doctor and for help to carry the wounded man back to the hotel.
By a miracle there was a doctor nearby, who had just arrived at the beach, ready to enjoy an afternoon in the sun, but abandoned it when he saw the crisis. He moved Cecilia gently aside and studied John.
“He is losing blood fast,” he said curtly. “Where is the hotel?”
“Just over there,”
