"Well?" I said, encouragingly.

"It's about Mr. Vaughan, sir, I wanted to speak to you. I really do
think, sir, it's not safe he should be left alone with his father,
sir, any longer. Such doings as we had here the other day, sir!
Somehow or other--and none of us can't think how--the Major had
managed to get hold of a bottle of brandy. How he had it I don't
know; but we none of us suspected him, and in the afternoon he says
he was too poorly to go for a drive or to go out in his chair, and
settles off on the parlour sofa for a nap while Mr. Vaughan goes out
for a walk. Mr. Vaughan was out a couple of hours. I heard him
come in and go into the sitting-room; then there came sounds of
voices, and a scuffling of feet and moving of chairs, and I knew
something was wrong and hurried up to the door--and just then came a
crash like fire-irons, and I could hear the Major a-swearing
fearful. Not hearing a sound from Mr. Vaughan, I got scared, sir,
and opened the door, and there I saw the Major a leaning up against
the mantelpiece as drunk as a lord, and his son seemed to have got
the bottle from him; it was half empty, and when he saw me he just
handed it to me and ordered me to take it away. Then between us we
got the Major to lie down on the sofa and left him there. When we
got out into the passage Mr. Vaughan he leant against the wall for a
minute, looking as white as a sheet, and then I noticed for the
first time that his left arm was hanging down at his side. 'Lord!
sir,' I cried, 'your arm's broken.' And he went all at once as red
as he had been pale just before, and said he had got it done
accidentally, and bade me say nothing about it, and walked off there
and then to the doctor's, and had it set. But sir, given a man
drunk as the Major was, and given a scuffle to get away the drink