All of a sudden he uttered a great cry, and bolted out into the darkness unheeded by Gale and Burrell, who stood dazed and distraught with a fear greater than that which was growing in Stark at sight of his wounds.
The gambler looked down at his injuries, opened and closed the fingers of his hand as if to see whether he still maintained control of them, then cried out at the two helpless men: "Well, are you going to let me bleed to death ?" It brought the soldier out of his trance.
"Why--no, no! We'll get a doctor." But Gale touched him on the shoulder and said: "He's too weak to get out.

Lock him in, and let him die in the dark." Stark cursed affrightedly, for it is a terrible thing to bleed to death in the dark, and in spite of himself the Lieutenant wavered.
"I can't do that.

I promised." "He told that lie to my girl.

He gave her to that hound," said the trader, but Burrell shoved him through the door.
"No! I can't do that." And then to the wounded man he said, "I'll get a doctor, but God have mercy on your soul." He could not trust himself to talk further with this creature, nor be near him any longer, for though he had a slight knowledge of surgery, he would sooner have touched a loathsome serpent than the flesh of this monstrous man.
He pushed Gale ahead of him, and the old man went like a driven beast, for his violence had wasted itself, and he was like a person under the spell of a strong drug.

At the doctor's door Burrell stopped.
"I never thought to ask you," he said, wearily; "but you must be hurt?
He must have wounded you ?" "I reckon he did--I don't know." Then the man's listless voice throbbed out achingly, as he cried in despair: "She believed him, boy! She believed his lies! That's what hurts." Something like a sob caught in his throat, and he staggered away under the weight of his great bereavement..