第13章
Wefollowed。Bending，andtreadingheavily，hewentupstairs。HestruckablowonPasiance’sdoor。"Letmein！"hesaid。IdrewDanintomybedroom。Thekeywasslowlyturned，herdoorwasflungopen，andthereshestoodinherdressing—gown，acandleinherhand，herfacecrimson，andoh！soyoung，withitsshort，crisphairandroundcheeks。Theoldman——likeagiantinfrontofher——raisedhishands，andlaidthemonhershoulders。
"What’sthis？You——you’vehadamaninyourroom？"
Hereyesdidnotdrop。
"Yes，"shesaid。Dangaveagroan。
"Who？"
"ZacharyPearse，"sheansweredinavoicelikeabell。
Hegaveheroneawfulshake，droppedhishands，thenraisedthemasthoughtostrikeher。Shelookedhimintheeyes;hishandsdropped，andhetoogroaned。AsfarasIcouldsee，herfacenevermoved。
"I’mmarriedtohim，"shesaid，"d’youhear？Marriedtohim。Gooutofmyroom！"Shedroppedthecandleonthefloorathisfeet，andslammedthedoorinhisface。Theoldmanstoodforaminuteasthoughstunned，thengropedhiswaydownstairs。
"Dan，"Isaid，"isittrue？"
"Ah！"heanswered，"it’strue;didn’tyouhearher？"
IwasgladIcouldn’tseehisface。
"Thatendsit，"hesaidatlast;"there’stheoldmantothinkof。"
"Whatwillhedo？"
"Gotothefellowthisverynight。"Heseemedtohavenodoubt。
Trustonemanofactiontoknowanother。
Imutteredsomethingaboutbeinganoutsider——wonderediftherewasanythingIcoulddotohelp。
"Well，"hesaidslowly，"Idon’tknowthatI’manythingbutanoutsidernow;butI’llgoalongwithhim，ifhe’llhaveme。"
Hewentdownstairs。Afewminuteslatertheyrodeoutfromthestraw—yard。Iwatchedthempastthelineofhayricks，intotheblackershadowsofthepines，thenthetrampofhoofsbegantofailinthedarkness，andatlastdiedaway。
I’vebeensittinghereinmybedroomwritingtoyoueversince，tillmycandle’salmostgone。Ikeepthinkingwhattheendofitistobe;andreproachingmyselffordoingnothing。Andyet，whatcouldI
havedone？I’msorryforher——sorrierthanIcansay。Thenightissoquiet——Ihaven’theardasound;issheasleep，awake，crying，triumphant？
It’sfouro’clock;I’vebeenasleep。
They’reback。Danislyingonmybed。I’lltryandtellyouhisstoryasnearasIcan，inhisownwords。
"Werode，"hesaid，"roundtheupperway，keepingoutofthelanes，andgottoKingswearbyhalf—pasteleven。Thehorse—ferryhadstoppedrunning，andwehadajobtofindanyonetoputusover。Wehiredthefellowtowaitforus，andtookacarriageatthe’Castle。’
BeforewegottoBlackMillitwasnearlyone，pitch—dark。Withthebreezefromthesoutheast，Imadeoutheshouldhavebeeninanhourormore。Theoldmanhadneverspokentomeonce:andbeforewegotthereIhadbeguntohopeweshouldn’tfindthefellowafterall。Wemadethedriverpullupintheroad，andwalkedroundandround，tryingtofindthedoor。Thensomeonecried，’Whoareyou？’
"’JohnFord。’
"’Whatdoyouwant？’ItwasoldPearse。
"’ToseeZacharyPearse。’
"Thelongwindowoutoftheporchwherewesattheotherdaywasopen，andinwewent。Therewasadoorattheendoftheroom，andalightcomingthrough。JohnFordwenttowardsit;Istayedoutinthedark。
"’Who’sthatwithyou？’
"’Mr。Treffry。’
"’Lethimcomein！’Iwentin。Theoldfellowwasinbed，quitestillonhispillows，acandlebyhisside;tolookathimyou’dthinknothingofhimbuthiseyeswerealive。Itwasqueerbeingtherewiththosetwooldmen！"
Danpaused，seemedtolisten，thenwentondoggedly。
"’Sitdown，gentleman，’saidoldPearse。’Whatmayyouwanttoseemysonfor？’JohnFordbeggedhispardon，hehadsomethingtosay，hesaid，thatwouldn’twait。
"Theywereverypolitetooneanother，"mutteredDan……
"’Willyouleaveyourmessagewithme？’saidPearse。
"’WhatIhavetosaytoyoursonisprivate。’
"’I’mhisfather。’
"’I’mmygirl’sgrandfather;andheronlystand—by。’
"’Ah！’mutteredoldPearse，’RickVoisey’sdaughter？’
"’Imeantoseeyourson。’
"OldPearsesmiled。Queersmilehe’sgot，sortofsneeringsweet。
"’YoucannevertellwhereZackmaybe，’hesaid。’YouthinkIwanttoshieldhim。You’rewrong;Zackcantakecareofhimself。’
"’Yourson’shere！’saidJohnFord。’Iknow。’OldPearsegaveusaveryqueerlook。
"’Youcomeintomyhouselikethievesinthenight，’hesaid，’andgivemethelie，doyou？’
"’Yoursoncametomychild’sroomlikeathiefinthenight;it’sforthatIwanttoseehim，’andthen，"saidDan，"therewasalongsilence。AtlastPearsesaid:
"’Idon’tunderstand;hasheplayedtheblackguard？’
"JohnFordanswered，’He’smarriedher，or，beforeGod，I’dkillhim。’
"OldPearseseemedtothinkthisover，nevermovingonhispillows。
’Youdon’tknowZack，’hesaid;’I’msorryforyou，andI’msorryforRickVoisey’sdaughter;butyoudon’tknowZack。’
’Sorry！’groanedoutJohnFord;’he’sstolenmychild，andI’llpunishhim。’
"’Punish！’criedoldPearse，’wedon’ttakepunishment，notinmyfamily。’
"’CaptainJanPearse，assureasIstandhere，youandyourbreedwillgetyourpunishmentofGod。’OldPearsesmiled。
"’Mr。JohnFord，that’sasmaybe;butsureasIlieherewewon’ttakeitofyou。Youcan’tpunishunlessyoumaketofeel，andthatyoucan’tdu。’"
Andthatistruth！
Danwentonagain:
"’Youwon’ttellmewhereyoursonis！’butoldPearseneverblinked。
"’Iwon’t，’hesaid，’andnowyoumaygetout。Iliehereanoldmanalone，withnousetomylegs，nightonnight，an’thehouseopen;
anyrapscallioncouldgetin;d’yethinkI’mafraidofyou？’
"Wewerebeat;andwalkedoutwithoutaword。Butthatoldman;I’vethoughtofhimalot——ninety—two，andlyingthere。Whateverhe’sbeen，andtheytellyourumthingsofhim，whateverhissonmaybe，he’saman。It’snotwhathesaid，northattherewasanythingtobeafraidofjustthen，butsomehowit’stheideaoftheoldchaplyingthere。Idon’teverwishtoseeabetterpluckedone……"
Wesatsilentafterthat;outofdoorsthelightbegantostiramongtheleaves。Therewereallkindsofrustlingsounds，asiftheworldwereturningoverinbed。
SuddenlyDansaid:
"He’scheatedme。Ipaidhimtoclearoutandleaveheralone。
D’youthinkshe’sasleep？"He’smadenoappealforsympathy，he’dtakepityforaninsult;buthefeelsitbadly。
"I’mtiredasacat，"hesaidatlast，andwenttosleeponmybed。
It’sbroaddaylightnow;Itooamtiredasacat……
V
"Saturday，6tbAugust……ItakeupmytalewhereIleftoffyesterday……DanandI
startedassoonaswecouldgetMrs。Hopgoodtogiveuscoffee。Theoldladywasmoretentative，moreundecided，morepouncing，thanI
hadeverseenher。Shewasmanifestlyuneasy:Ha—apgood——who"don’tslape"don’the，ifsnoresareanycriterion——hadcalledoutinthenight，"Harktoth’’arses’’oofs！"Hadweheardthem？Andwheremightwebegoingthen？’Twasveryearrlytostart，an’nobreakfast。Haapgoodhadsaiditwasgoin’toshaowerr。MissPasiancewasnotto’erviolinyet，an’MisterFord’ekept’isroom。
Wasit？——wouldtherebe——？"Well，an’therr’san’arvestbug;’tissomeearrlyforthey！"Wonderfulhowshepouncesonallsuchcreatures，whenIcan’tevenseethem。Shepresseditabsentlybetweenfingerandthumb，andbeganmanoeuvringroundanotherway。
Longbeforeshehadreachedherpoint，wehadgulpeddownourcoffee，anddeparted。Butaswerodeoutshecameatarun，holdingherskirtshighwitheitherhand，raisedheroldeyesbrightandanxiousintheirsettingoffinewrinkles，andsaid:
"’Tiddensorrowforher？"
Ashrugoftheshoulderswasalltheanswershegot。Werodebythelanes;throughslopingfarmyards，allmudandpigs，anddirtystraw，andfarmerswithclean—shavenupperlipsandwhiskersunderthechin;
pastfieldsofcorn，wherelarksweresinging。Upordown，wedidn’tdrawreintillwecametoDan’shotel。
Therewastherivergleamingbeforeusunderarainbowmistthathallowedeveryshape。Thereseemedaffinitybetweentheearthandthesky。I’veneverseenthatparticularsoftunityoutofDevon。
Andeveryship，howeverblackormodern，onthosepalewaters，hadthelookofadreamship。Thetallgreenwoods，theredearth，thewhitehouses，wereallmeltedintooneopalhaze。Itwasraining，butthesunwasshiningbehind。Gullsswoopedbyus——ghostsoftheoldgreedywanderersofthesea。
WehadtoldourtwoboatmentopullusouttothePiedWitcb！Theystartedwithgreatresolution，thenrestedontheiroars。
"ThePiedWitch，zurr？"askedonepolitely;"an’whichmayherbe？"
That’stheWestcountrymanallover！Neversayyou"nay，"neverloseanopportunity，neverownhedoesn’tknow，orcan’tdoanything——
independence，amiability，andaneyetothemainchance。WementionedPearse’sname。
"Capt’nZach’ryPearse！"Theyexchangedalookhalf—amused，half—
admiring。
"TheZunflaower，yumane。That’sher。Zunflaower，ahoy！"Aswemountedthesteamer’sblacksideIheardonesay:
"PiedWitch！Apra—apernamethat——adandynameforher！"Theylaughedastheymadefast。
ThemateoftheSunflower，orPiedWitcb，orwhatevershewascalled，metus——atallyoungfellowinhisshirtsleeves，tannedtotherootsofhishair，withsinewy，tattooedarms，andgreyeyes，charredroundtherimsfromstaringatweather。
"Theskipperisonboard，"hesaid。"We’reratherbusy，asyousee。
Getonwiththat，yousea—cooks，"hebawledattwofellowswhoweredoingnothing。Allovertheship，menwerehauling，splicing，andstowingcargo。
"To—day’sFriday:we’reoffonWednesdaywithanyluck。Willyoucomethisway？"Heledusdownthecompaniontoadarkholewhichhecalledthesaloon。"Names？What！areyouMr。Treffry？Thenwe’repartners！"Aschoolboy’sgleecameonhisface。
"Lookhere！"hesaid;"Icanshowyousomething，"andheunlockedthedoorofacabin。Thereappearedtobenothinginitbutahugepieceoftarpaulin，whichdepended，bulging，fromthetopmostbunk。Hepulleditup。Thelowerbunkhadbeenremoved，andinitsplacewastheuglybodyofadismountedGatlinggun。
"Gotsixofthem，"hewhispered，withunholymystery，throughwhichhisnativefranknessgapedout。"Worththeirweightingoldouttherejustnow，theskippersays。Gotaheapofrifles，too，andlotsofammunition。He’sgivenmeashare。ThisisbetterthantheP。andO。，andplayingdeckcricketwiththepassengers。I’dmadeupmymindalreadytochuckthat，andgoinforplantin’sugar，whenI
ranacrosstheskipper。Wonderfulchap，theskipper！I’llgoandtellhim。He’sbeenoutallnight;onlycameaboardatfourbells;
havinganapnow，buthewon’tmindthatforyou。"
Offhewent。IwonderedwhattherewasinZacharyPearsetoattractayoungsterofthissort;oneofthecustomarytwelvechildrenofsomecountryparson，nodoubt—burningtoshootafewniggers，andforeverfrankandyouthful。
Hecamebackwithhishandsfullofbottles。
"What’llyoudrink？Theskipper’llbehereinajiffy。Excusemygoin’ondeck。We’resobusy。"
AndinfiveminutesZacharyPearsedidcome。Hemadenoattempttoshakehands，forwhichIrespectedhim。Hisfacelookedworn，andmoredefiantthanusual。
"Well，gentlemen？"hesaid。
"We’vecometoaskwhatyou’regoingtodo？"saidDan。
"Idon’tknow，"answeredPearse，"thatthat’sanyofyourbusiness。"
Dan’slittleeyeswereliketheeyesofanangrypig。
"You’vegotfivehundredpoundsofmine，"hesaid;"whydoyouthinkIgaveityou？"
Zacharybithisfingers。
"That’snoconcernofmine，"hesaid。"IsailonWednesday。Yourmoney’ssafe。"
"DoyouknowwhatIthinkofyou？"saidDan。
"No，andyou’dbetternottellme！"Then，withoneofhispeculiarchanges，hesmiled:"Asyoulike，though。"
Dan’sfacegrewverydark。"Givemeaplainanswer，"hesaid:"Whatareyougoingtodoabouther？"
Zacharylookedupathimfromunderhisbrows。
"Nothing。"
"Areyoucurenoughtodenythatyou’vemarriedher？"
Zacharylookedathimcoolly。"Notatall，"hesaid。
"WhatinGod’snamedidyoudoitfor？"
"You’venomonopolyinthepostofhusband，Mr。Treffry。"
"ToputachildinthatpositionD！Haven’tyoutheheartofaman？
Whatd’yecomesneakinginatnightfor？ByGad！Don’tyouknowyou’vedoneabeastlything？"
Zachary’sfacedarkened，heclenchedhisfists。Thenheseemedtoshuthisangerintohimself。
"Youwantedmetoleavehertoyou，"hesneered。"IgavehermypromisethatI’dtakeheroutthere，andwe’dhavegoneoffonWednesdayquietlyenough，ifyouhadn’tcomeandnosedthewholethingoutwithyourinfernaldog。Thefat’sinthefire！There’snoreasonwhyIshouldtakehernow。I’llcomebacktoherarichman，ornotatall。"
"Andinthemeantime？"Islippedin。
Heturnedtome，inaningratiatingway。
"Iwouldhavetakenhertosavethefuss——Ireallywould——it’snotmyfaultthething’scomeout。I’monariskyjob。Tohaveherwithmemightruinthewholething;itwouldaffectmynerve。Itisn’tsafeforher。"
"Andwhat’sherpositiontobe，"Isaid，"whileyou’reaway？Doyouthinkshe’dhavemarriedyouifshe’dknownyouweregoingtoleaveherlikethis？Yououghttogiveupthisbusiness。
Youstoleher。Herlife’sinyourhands;she’sonlyachild！"
Aquiverpassedoverhisface;itshowedthathewassuffering。
"Giveitup！"Iurged。
"Mylastfarthing’sinit，"hesighed;"thechanceofalifetime。"
Helookedatmedoubtfully，appealingly，asifforthefirsttimeinhislifehehadbeengivenaglimpseofthatdilemmaofconsequenceswhichhisnatureneverrecognises。Ithoughthewasgoingtogivein。Suddenly，tomyhorror，Dangrowled，"Playtheman！"
Pearseturnedhishead。"Idon’twantyouradviceanyway，"hesaid;
"I’llnotbedictatedto。"
"Toyourlastday，"saidDan，"youshallanswertomeforthewayyoutreather。"
Zacharysmiled。
"Doyouseethatfly？"hesaid。"Wel——Icareforyouaslittleasthis，"andheflickedtheflyoffhiswhitetrousers。"Good—
morning……！"
Thenoblemarinerswhomannedourboatpulledlustilyfortheshore，butwehadhardlyshovedoff’whenastormofrainburstovertheship，andsheseemedtovanish，leavingapictureonmyeyesofthematewavinghiscapabovetherail，withhistannedyoungfacebentdownatus，smiling，keen，andfriendly……Wereachedtheshoredrenched，angrywithourselves，andwitheachother;Istartedsulkilyforhome。
AsIrodepastanorchard，anapple，loosenedbytherainstorm，camedownwithathud。
"Theappleswereripeandreadytofall，Oh！heigh—ho！andreadytofall。"
Imadeupmymindtopack，andgoaway。Butthere’sastrangeness，asortofhauntingfascinationinitall。Toyou，whodon’tknowthepeople，itmayonlyseemapieceofrathersordidfolly。Butitisn’tthegood，theobvious，theusefulthatputsaspellonusinlife。It’sthebizarre，thedimlyseen，themysteriousforgoodorevil。
ThesunwasoutagainwhenIrodeuptothefarm;itsyellowthatchshonethroughthetreesasifshelteringastoreofgladnessandgoodnews。JohnFordhimselfopenedthedoortome。
Hebeganwithanapology，whichmademefeelmorethaneveranintruder;thenhesaid:
"Ihavenotspokentomygranddaughter——IwaitedtoseeDanTreffry。"
Hewassternandsad—eyed，likeamanwithagreatweightofgriefonhisshoulders。Helookedasifhehadnotslept;hisdresswasoutoforder，hehadnottakenhisclothesoff，Ithink。Heisn’tamanwhomyoucanpity。IfeltIhadtakenalibertyinknowingofthematteratall。WhenItoldhimwherewehadbeen，hesaid:
"Itwasgoodofyoutotakethistrouble。Thatyoushouldhavehadto！Butsincesuchthingshavecometopass——"Hemadeagesturefullofhorror。Hegaveonetheimpressionofamanwhosepridewasstrugglingagainstamortalhurt。Presentlyheasked:
"Yousawhim，yousay？Headmittedthismarriage？Didhegiveanexplanation？"
ItriedtomakePearse’spointofviewclear。Beforethisoldman，withhisinflexiblewillandsenseofduty，IfeltasifIheldabriefforZachary，andmusttrytodohimjustice。
"Letmeunderstand，"hesaidatlast。"Hestoleher，yousay，tomakesure;anddesertsherwithinafortnight。"
"Hesayshemeanttotakeher——"
"Doyoubelievethat？"
BeforeIcouldanswer，IsawPasiancestandingatthewindow。HowlongshehadbeenthereIdon’tknow。
"Isittruethatheisgoingtoleavemebehind？"shecriedout。
Icouldonlynod。
"Didyouhearhimyourownself？"
"Yes。"
Shestampedherfoot。
"Buthepromised！Hepromised！"
JohnFordwenttowardsher。
"Don’ttouchme，grandfather！Ihateeveryone！Lethimdowhathelikes，Idon’tcare。"
JohnFord’sfaceturnedquitegrey。
"Pasiance，"hesaid，"didyouwanttoleavemesomuch？"
Shelookedstraightatus，andsaidsharply:
"What’sthegoodoftellingstories。Ican’thelpitshurtingyou。"
"Whatdidyouthinkyouwouldfindawayfromhere？"
Shelaughed。
"Find？Idon’tknow——nothing;Iwouldn’tbestifledanyway。NowI
supposeyou’llshutmeupbecauseI’maweakgirl，notstronglikemen！"
"Silence！"saidJohnFord;"Iwillmakehimtakeyou。"
"Youshan’t！"shecried;"Iwon’tletyou。He’sfreetodoashelikes。He’sfree——Itellyouall，everybody——free！"
Sheranthroughthewindow，andvanished。
JohnFordmadeamovementasifthebottomhaddroppedoutofhisworld。Ilefthimthere。
Iwenttothekitchen，whereHopgoodwassittingatthetable，eatingbreadandcheese。Hegotuponseeingme，andverykindlybroughtmesomecoldbaconandapintofale。
"IthartIshudebeseeingyu，zurr，"hesaidbetweenhisbites;
"Therr’snothartto’atin’’boutthe’ouseto—day。Theoldwumman’spuzzivantin’overMissPasiance。Younggirlsareskeerycritters"——
hebrushedhissleeveoverhisbroad，hardjaws，andfilledapipe"speciallywhenit’sinthebloodof’em。SquireRickVoiseywerradandy;an’MistressVoisey——well，shewerraniceladytu，but"——
rollingthestemofhispipefromcornertocornerofhismouth——"shewerrapra—apervixen。"
Hopgood’sagoodfellow，andIbelieveassoftashelookshard，buthe’snotquitethesortwithwhomonechoosestotalkoveramatterlikethis。Iwentupstairs，andbegantopack，butafterabitdroppeditforabook，andsomehoworotherfellasleep。
Iwoke，andlookedatmywatch;itwasfiveo’clock。Ihadbeenasleepfourhours。Asinglesunbeamwasslantingacrossfromoneofmywindowstotheother，andtherewasthecoolsoundofmilkdroppingintopails;then，allatonce，astirasofalarm，andheavyfootsteps。
Iopenedmydoor。Hopgoodandacoast—guardsmanwerecarryingPasianceslowlyupthestairs。Shelayintheirarmswithoutmoving，herfacewhiterthanherdress，ascratchacrosstheforehead，andtwoorthreedropsthereofdriedblood。Herhandswereclasped，andsheslowlycrookedandstiffenedoutherfingers。Whentheyturnedwithheratthestairtop，sheopenedherlips，andgasped，"Allright，don’tputmedown。Icanbearit。"Theypassed，and，withahalf—smileinhereyes，shesaidsomethingtomethatIcouldn’tcatch;thedoorwasshut，andtheexcitedwhisperingbeganagainbelow。Iwaitedforthementocomeout，andcaughtholdofHopgood。
Hewipedthesweatoffhisforehead。
"Pooryoungthing！"hesaid。"Shefell——downthecliffs——’tisherback——coastguardsawher’twerrtheyfetchedherin。TheLord’elphermebbeshe’snotbrokenupmuch！An’MisterForddon’tknow！I’mgwineforthedoctor。"
Therewasanhourormoretowaitbeforehecame;ayoungfellow;
almostaboy。Helookedverygrave，whenhecameoutofherroom。
"Theoldwomantherefondofher？nurseherwell……？Fondasadog！——good！Don’tknow——can’ttellforcertain！Afraidit’sthespine，musthaveanotheropinion！Whatapluckygirl！TellMr。FordtohavethebestmanhecangetinTorquay——there’sC———。I’llberoundthefirstthinginthemorning。Keepherdeadquiet。I’veleftasleepingdraught;she’llhavefevertonight。"
JohnFordcameinatlast。Pooroldman！Whatitmusthavecosthimnottogotoherforfearoftheexcitement！Howmanytimesinthenextfewhoursdidn’tIhearhimcometothebottomofthestairs;
hisheavywheezing，andsighing;andtheforlorntreadofhisfeetgoingback！Abouteleven，justasIwasgoingtobed，Mrs。Hopgoodcametomydoor。
"Willyucome，sir，"shesaid;"she’saskingforyu。NaowtIcanzaybutwhatshewillseeyu;zeemscrazy，don’tit？"Ateartrickleddowntheoldlady’scheek。"Du’eecome;’twilldu’err’armmebbe，butIdunno——she’llfretelse。"
Islippedintotheroom。Lyingbackonherpillows，shewasbreathingquicklywithhalf—closedeyes。Therewasnothingtoshowthatshehadwantedme，orevenknewthatIwasthere。Thewickofthecandle，setbythebedside，hadbeensnuffedtooshort，andgavebutafaintlight;bothwindowanddoorstoodopen，stilltherewasnodraught，andthefeeblelittleflameburnedquitestill，castingafaintyellowstainontheceilingliketherefectionfromabuttercupheldbeneathachin。Theseceilingsarefartoolow！Acrossthewide，squatwindowtheapplebranchesfellinblackstripeswhichneverstirred。Itwastoodarktoseethingsclearly。Atthefootofthebedwasachest，andthereMrs。Hopgoodhadsatdown，movingherlipsasifinspeech。Mingledwiththehalf—mustysmellofage;
therewereotherscents，ofmignonette，apples，andsomesweet—
smellingsoap。Thefloorhadnocarpet，andtherewasnotonesingledarkobjectexcepttheviolin，hangingfromanailoverthebed。A
little，roundclocktickedsolemnly。
"Whywon’tyougivemethatstuff，Mums？"Pasiancesaidinafaint，sharpvoice。"Iwanttosleep。"
"Haveyoumuchpain？"Iasked。
"OfcourseIhave;it’severywhere。"
Sheturnedherfacetowardsme。
"YouthoughtIdiditonpurpose，butyou’rewrong。IfIhad，I’dhavedoneitbetterthanthis。Iwouldn’thavethisbrutalpain。"