第2章
"Ownsboththemrabbit—hutches，doeshe？"
commentedyoungHagberd，scornfully；"justthethinghewouldbeproudof。Canyoutellmewho’sthatchapcomingto—morrow？Youmustknowsomethingofit。Itellyou，it’saswindleontheoldman——nothingelse。"
Shedidnotanswer，helplessbeforeaninsur—
mountabledifficulty，appalledbeforethenecessity，theimpossibilityandthedreadofanexplanationinwhichsheandmadnessseemedinvolvedtogether。
"Oh——Iamsosorry，"shemurmured。
"What’sthematter？"hesaid，withserenity。
"Youneedn’tbeafraidofupsettingme。It’stheotherfellowthat’llbeupsetwhenheleastexpectsit。Idon’tcareahang；buttherewillbesomefunwhenheshowshismugto—morrow。Idon’tcareTHATfortheoldman’spieces，butrightisright。
Youshallseemeputaheadonthatcoon——whoeverheis！"
Hehadcomenearer，andtoweredaboveherontheothersideoftherailings。Heglancedatherhands。Hefanciedshewastrembling，anditoc—
curredtohimthatshehadherpartperhapsinthatlittlegamethatwastobesprungonhisoldmanto—morrow。Hehadcomejustintimetospoiltheirsport。Hewasentertainedbytheidea——scornfulofthebaffledplot。Butallhislifehehadbeenfullofindulgenceforallsortsofwomen’stricks。Shereallywastremblingverymuch；herwraphadslippedoffherhead。"Poordevil！"hethought。
"Nevermindaboutthatchap。Idaresayhe’llchangehismindbeforeto—morrow。Butwhataboutme？Ican’tloafaboutthegatetilthemorn—
ing。"
Sheburstout："ItisYOU——youyourselfthathe’swaitingfor。ItisYOUwhocometo—morrow。"
Hemurmured。"Oh！It’sme！"blankly，andtheyseemedtobecomebreathlesstogether。Ap—
parentlyhewasponderingoverwhathehadheard；
then，withoutirritation，butevidentlyperplexed，hesaid："Idon’tunderstand。Ihadn’twrittenoranything。It’smychumwhosawthepaperandtoldme——thisverymorning……Eh？what？"
Hebenthisear；shewhisperedrapidly，andhelistenedforawhile，mutteringthewords"yes"
and"Isee"attimes。Then，"Butwhywon’tto—
daydo？"hequeriedatlast。
"Youdidn’tunderstandme！"sheexclaimed，impatiently。Theclearstreakoflightunderthecloudsdiedoutinthewest。Againhestoopedslightlytohearbetter；andthedeepnightburiedeverythingofthewhisperingwomanandtheattentiveman，exceptthefamiliarcontiguityoftheirfaces，withitsairofsecrecyandcaress。
Hesquaredhisshoulders；thebroad—brimmedshadowofahatsatcavalierlyonhishead。"Awk—
wardthis，eh？"heappealedtoher。"To—morrow？
Well，well！Neverheardtellofanythinglikethis。
It’sallto—morrow，then，withoutanysortofto—day，asfarasIcansee。"
Sheremainedstillandmute。
"Andyouhavebeenencouragingthisfunnynotion，"hesaid。
"Inevercontradictedhim。"
"Whydidn’tyou？"
"WhatforshouldI？"shedefendedherself。
"Itwouldonlyhavemadehimmiserable。Hewouldhavegoneoutofhismind。"
"Hismind！"hemuttered，andheardashortnervouslaughfromher。
"Wherewastheharm？WasItoquarrelwiththepooroldman？Itwaseasiertohalfbelieveitmyself。"
"Aye，aye，"hemeditated，intelligently。"I
supposetheoldchapgotaroundyousomehowwithhissofttalk。Youaregood—hearted。"
Herhandsmovedupinthedarknervously。
"Anditmighthavebeentrue。Itwastrue。Ithascome。Hereitis。Thisistheto—morrowwehavebeenwaitingfor。"
Shedrewabreath，andhesaid，good—humour—
edly："Aye，withthedoorshut。Iwouldn’tcareif……Andyouthinkhecouldbebroughtroundtorecogniseme……Eh？What？……Youcoulddoit？Inaweekyousay？H’m，Idaresayyoucould——butdoyouthinkIcouldholdoutaweekinthisdead—aliveplace？Notme！Iwanteitherhardwork，oranall—firedracket，ormorespacethanthereisinthewholeofEngland。I
havebeeninthisplace，though，oncebefore，andformorethanaweek。Theoldmanwasadvertisingformethen，andachumIhadwithmehadano—
tionofgettingacouplequidoutofhimbywrit—
ingalotofsillynonsenseinaletter。Thatlarkdidnotcomeoff，though。Wehadtoclearout——andnonetoosoon。ButthistimeI’veachumwaitingformeinLondon，andbesides……"
BessieCarvilwasbreathingquickly。
"WhatifItriedaknockatthedoor？"hesug—
gested。
"Try，"shesaid。
CaptainHagberd’sgatesqueaked，andtheshad—
owofthesonmovedon，thenstoppedwithanotherdeeplaughinthethroat，likethefather’s，onlysoftandgentle，thrillingtothewoman’sheart，awakeningtoherears。
"Heisn’tfrisky——ishe？Iwouldbeafraidtolayholdofhim。ThechapsarealwaystellingmeIdon’tknowmyownstrength。"
"He’sthemostharmlesscreaturethateverlived，"sheinterrupted。
"Youwouldn’tsaysoifyouhadseenhimchas—
ingmeupstairswithahardleatherstrap，"hesaid；
"Ihaven’tforgottenitinsixteenyears。"
Shegotwarmfromheadtofootunderanothersoft，subduedlaugh。Attherat—tat—tatoftheknockerherheartflewintohermouth。
"Hey，dad！Letmein。IamHarry，Iam。
Straight！Comebackhomeadaytoosoon。"
Oneofthewindowsupstairsranup。
"Agrinning，informationfellow，"saidthevoiceofoldHagberd，upinthedarkness。"Don’tyouhaveanythingtodowithhim。Itwillspoilevery—
thing。"
SheheardHarryHagberdsay，"Hallo，dad，"
thenaclangingclatter。Thewindowrumbleddown，andhestoodbeforeheragain。
"It’sjustlikeoldtimes。Nearlywallopedthelifeoutofmetostopmegoingaway，andnowI
comebackhethrowsaconfoundedshovelatmyheadtokeepmeout。Itgrazedmyshoulder。"
Sheshuddered。
"Iwouldn’tcare，"hebegan，"onlyIspentmylastshillingsontherailwayfareandmylasttwo—
penceonashave——outofrespectfortheoldman。"
"AreyoureallyHarryHagberd？"sheasked。
"Canyouproveit？"
"CanIproveit？Cananyoneelseproveit？"
hesaidjovially。"Provewithwhat？WhatdoI
wanttoprove？Thereisn’tasinglecornerintheworld，barringEngland，perhaps，whereyoucouldnotfindsomeman，ormorelikelywoman，thatwouldremembermeforHarryHagberd。IammorelikeHarryHagberdthananymanalive；andIcanproveittoyouinaminute，ifyouwillletmestepinsideyourgate。"
"Comein，"shesaid。
HeenteredthenthefrontgardenoftheCarvils。
Histallshadowstrodewithaswagger；sheturnedherbackonthewindowandwaited，watchingtheshape，ofwhichthefootfallsseemedthemostmate—
rialpart。Thelightfellonatiltedhat；apower—
fulshoulder，thatseemedtocleavethedarkness；
onalegsteppingout。Heswungaboutandstoodstill，facingtheilluminatedparlourwindowatherback，turninghisheadfromsidetoside，laughingsoftlytohimself。
"Justfancy，foraminute，theoldman’sbeardstuckontomychin。Hey？Nowsay。Iwastheveryspitofhimfromaboy。"
"It’strue，"shemurmuredtoherself。
"Andthat’saboutasfarasitgoes。Hewasal—
waysoneofyourdomesticcharacters。Why，Ire—
memberhowheusedtogoaboutlookingverysickforthreedaysbeforehehadtoleavehomeononeofhistripstoSouthShieldsforcoal。Hehadastandingcharterfromthegas—works。Youwouldthinkhewasoffonawhalingcruise——threeyearsandatail。Ha，ha！Notabitofit。Tendaysontheoutside。TheSkimmeroftheSeaswasasmartcraft。Finename，wasn’tit？Mother’suncleownedher……"
Heinterruptedhimself，andinaloweredvoice，"Didheevertellyouwhatmotherdiedof？"heasked。
"Yes，"saidMissBessie，bitterly；"fromimpa—
tience。"
Hemadenosoundforawhile；thenbrusquely：
"TheyweresoafraidIwouldturnoutbadlythattheyfairlydrovemeaway。Mothernaggedatmeforbeingidle，andtheoldmansaidhewouldcutmysouloutofmybodyratherthanletmegotosea。Well，itlookedasifhewoulddoittoo——soI
went。ItlookstomesometimesasifIhadbeenborntothembyamistake——inthatotherhutchofahouse。"
"Whereoughtyoutohavebeenbornbyrights？"BessieCarvilinterruptedhim，defiantly。
"Intheopen，uponabeach，onawindynight，"
hesaid，quickaslightning。Thenhemusedslowly。
"Theywerecharacters，bothofthem，byGeorge；
andtheoldmankeepsitupwell——don’the？A
damnedshovelonthe——Hark！who’sthatmak—
ingthatrow？’Bessie，Bessie。’It’sinyourhouse。"
"It’sforme，"shesaid，withindifference。
Hesteppedaside，outofthestreakoflight。
"Yourhusband？"heinquired，withthetoneofamanaccustomedtounlawfultrysts。"Finevoiceforaship’sdeckinathunderingsquall。"
"No；myfather。Iamnotmarried。"
"Youseemafinegirl，MissBessie，dear，"hesaidatonce。
Sheturnedherfaceaway。
"Oh，Isay，——what’sup？Who’smurderinghim？"
"Hewantshistea。"Shefacedhim，stillandtall，withavertedhead，withherhandshangingclaspedbeforeher。
"Hadn’tyoubettergoin？"hesuggested，afterwatchingforawhilethenapeofherneck，apatchofdazzlingwhiteskinandsoftshadowabovethesombrelineofhershoulders。Herwraphadslippeddowntoherelbows。"You’llhaveallthetowncomingoutpresently。I’llwaithereabit。"
Herwrapfelltotheground，andhestoopedtopickitup；shehadvanished。Hethrewitoverhisarm，andapproachingthewindowsquarelyhesawamonstrousformofafatmaninanarm—
chair，anunshadedlamp，theyawningofanenor—
mousmouthinabigflatfaceencircledbyaraggedhaloofhair——MissBessie’sheadandbust。Theshoutingstopped；theblindrandown。Helosthimselfinthinkinghowawkwarditwas。Fathermad；nogettingintothehouse。Nomoneytogetback；ahungrychuminLondonwhowouldbegintothinkhehadbeengiventhego—by。"Damn！"
hemuttered。Hecouldbreakthedoorin，cer—
tainly；buttheywouldperhapsbundlehimintochokeyforthatwithoutaskingquestions——nogreatmatter，onlyhewasconfoundedlyafraidofbeinglockedup，eveninmistake。Heturnedcoldatthethought。Hestampedhisfeetonthesod—
dengrass。
"Whatareyou？——asailor？"saidanagitatedvoice。
Shehadflittedout，ashadowherself，attractedbytherecklessshadowwaitingunderthewallofherhome。
"Anything。Enoughofasailortobeworthmysaltbeforethemast。Camehomethatwaythistime。"
"Wheredoyoucomefrom？"sheasked。
"Rightawayfromajollygoodspree，"hesaid，"bytheLondontrain——see？Ough！Ihatebeingshutupinatrain。Idon’tmindahousesomuch。"
"Ah，"shesaid；"that’slucky。"
"Becauseinahouseyoucanatanytimeopentheblameddoorandwalkawaystraightbeforeyou。"
"Andnevercomeback？"
"Notforsixteenyearsatleast，"helaughed。
"Toarabbithutch，andgetaconfoundedoldshovel……"
"Ashipisnotsoverybig，"shetaunted。
"No，buttheseaisgreat。"
Shedroppedherhead，andasifherearshadbeenopenedtothevoicesoftheworld，sheheard，beyondtherampartofsea—wall，theswellofyester—
day’sgalebreakingonthebeachwithmonotonousandsolemnvibrations，asifalltheearthhadbeenatollingbell。
"Andthen，why，aship’saship。Youloveherandleaveher；andavoyageisn’tamarriage。"Hequotedthesailor’ssayinglightly。
"Itisnotamarriage，"shewhispered。
"Inevertookafalsename，andI’veneveryettoldalietoawoman。Whatlie？Why，THElie——。
Takemeorleaveme，Isay：andifyoutakeme，thenitis……"Hehummedasnatchverylow，leaningagainstthewall。
Oh，ho，hoRio！
Andfaretheewell，Mybonnieyounggirl，We’reboundtoRioGrande"Capstansong，"heexplained。Herteethchat—
tered。
"Youarecold，"hesaid。"Here’sthataffairofyoursIpickedup。"Shefelthishandsabouther，wrappingherclosely。"Holdtheendsto—
getherinfront，"hecommanded。
"Whatdidyoucomeherefor？"sheasked，re—
pressingashudder。
"Fivequid，"heanswered，promptly。"Weletourspreegoonalittletoolongandgothardup。"
"You’vebeendrinking？"shesaid。
"Blindthreedays；onpurpose。Iamnotgiventhatway——don’tyouthink。There’snothingandnobodythatcangetovermeunlessIlike。Icanbeassteadyasarock。Mychumseesthepaperthismorning，andsayshetome：’Goon，Harry：
lovingparent。That’sfivequidsure。’Sowescrapedallourpocketsforthefare。Devilofalark！"
"Youhaveahardheart，Iamafraid，"shesighed。
"Whatfor？Forrunningaway？Why！hewantedtomakealawyer’sclerkofme——justtopleasehimself。Masterinhisownhouse；andmypoormothereggedhimon——formygood，Isup—
pose。Well，then——solong；andIwent。No，I
tellyou：thedayIclearedout，Iwasallblackandbluefromhisgreatfondnessforme。Ah！hewasalwaysabitofacharacter。Lookatthatshovelnow。Offhischump？Notmuch。That’sjustexactlylikemydad。Hewantsmeherejusttohavesomebodytoorderabout。However，wetwowerehardup；andwhat’sfivequidtohim——onceinsixteenhardyears？"
"Oh，butIamsorryforyou。Didyouneverwanttocomebackhome？"
"Bealawyer’sclerkandrothere——insomesuchplaceasthis？"hecriedincontempt。"What！iftheoldmansetmeupinahometo—day，Iwouldkickitdownaboutmyears——orelsedietherebe—
forethethirddaywasout。"
"Andwhereelseisitthatyouhopetodie？"
"Inthebushsomewhere；inthesea；onablamedmountain—topforchoice。Athome？Yes！theworld’smyhome；butIexpectI’lldieinahospitalsomeday。Whatofthat？Anyplaceisgoodenough，aslongasI’velived；andI’vebeenevery—
thingyoucanthinkofalmostbutatailororasoldier。I’vebeenaboundaryrider；I’veshearedsheep；andhumpedmyswag；andharpoonedawhale。I’veriggedships，andprospectedforgold，andskinneddeadbullocks，——andturnedmybackonmoremoneythantheoldmanwouldhavescrapedinhiswholelife。Ha，ha！"
Heoverwhelmedher。Shepulledherselfto—
getherandmanagedtoutter，"Timetorestnow。"
Hestraightenedhimselfup，awayfromthewall，andinaseverevoicesaid，"Timetogo。"
Buthedidnotmove。Heleanedbackagain，andhummedthoughtfullyabarortwoofanout—
landishtune。
Shefeltasifshewereabouttocry。"That’sanotherofyourcruelsongs，"shesaid。
"LearneditinMexico——inSonora。"Hetalkedeasily。"ItisthesongoftheGambucinos。Youdon’tknow？Thesongofrestlessmen。Nothingcouldholdtheminoneplace——notevenawoman。
Youusedtomeetoneofthemnowandagain，intheolddays，ontheedgeofthegoldcountry，awaynorththerebeyondtheRioGila。I’veseenit。A
prospectingengineerinMazatlantookmealongwithhimtohelplookafterthewaggons。A
sailor’sahandychaptohaveaboutyouanyhow。
It’salladesert：cracksintheearththatyoucan’tseethebottomof；andmountains——sheerrocksstandinguphighlikewallsandchurchspires，onlyahundredtimesbigger。Thevalleysarefullofbouldersandblackstones。There’snotabladeofgrasstosee；andthesunsetsmoreredoverthatcountrythanIhaveseenitanywhere——blood—redandangry。ItISfine。"
"Youdonotwanttogobackthereagain？"
shestammeredout。
Helaughedalittle。"No。That’stheblamedgoldcountry。Itgavemetheshiverssometimestolookatit——andwewereabiglotofmentogether，mind；buttheseGambucinoswanderedalone。
Theyknewthatcountrybeforeanybodyhadeverheardofit。Theyhadasortofgiftforprospect—
ing，andthefeverofitwasonthemtoo；andtheydidnotseemtowantthegoldverymuch。Theywouldfindsomerichspot，andthenturntheirbacksonit；pickupperhapsalittle——enoughforaspree——andthenbeoffagain，lookingformore。
Theyneverstoppedlongwheretherewerehouses；
theyhadnowife，nochick，nohome，neverachum。
Youcouldn’tbefriendswithaGambucino；theyweretoorestless——hereto—day，andgone，Godknowswhere，to—morrow。Theytoldnooneoftheirfinds，andtherehasneverbeenaGambucinowelloff。Itwasnotforthegoldtheycared；itwasthewanderingaboutlookingforitinthestonycountrythatgotintothemandwouldn’tletthemrest；sothatnowomanyetborncouldholdaGam—
bucinoformorethanaweek。That’swhatthesongsays。It’sallaboutaprettygirlthattriedhardtokeepholdofaGambucinolover，sothatheshouldbringherlotsofgold。Nofear！Offhewent，andsheneversawhimagain。"
"Whatbecameofher？"shebreathedout。
"Thesongdon’ttell。Criedabit，Idaresay。
Theywerethefellows：kissandgo。Butit’sthelookingforathing——asomething……SometimesIthinkIamasortofGambucinomyself。"
"Nowomancanholdyou，then，"shebeganinabrazenvoice，whichquaveredsuddenlybeforetheend。
"Nolongerthanaweek，"hejoked，playinguponherveryheartstringswiththegay，tendernoteofhislaugh；"andyetIamfondofthemall。Anythingforawomanoftherightsort。
Thescrapestheygotmeinto，andthescrapestheygotmeoutof！Ilovethematfirstsight。I’vefalleninlovewithyoualready，Miss——Bessie’syourname——eh？"
Shebackedawayalittle，andwithatremblinglaugh：
"Youhaven’tseenmyfaceyet。"
Hebentforwardgallantly。"Alittlepale：itsuitssome。Butyouareafinefigureofagirl，MissBessie。"
Shewasallinaflutter。Nobodyhadeversaidsomuchtoherbefore。
Histonechanged。"Iamgettingmiddlinghungry，though。Hadnobreakfastto—day。
Couldn’tyouscareupsomebreadfromthatteaforme，or——"
Shewasgonealready。Hehadbeenonthepointofaskinghertolethimcomeinside。Nomatter。
Anywherewoulddo。Devilofafix！Whatwouldhischumthink？
"Ididn’taskyouasabeggar，"hesaid，jest—
ingly，takingapieceofbread—and—butterfromtheplatesheheldbeforehim。"Iaskedasafriend。
Mydadisrich，youknow。"
"Hestarveshimselfforyoursake。"
"AndIhavestarvedforhiswhim，"hesaid，tak—
ingupanotherpiece。
"Allhehasintheworldisforyou，"shepleaded。
"Yes，ifIcomeheretositonitlikeadam’toadinahole。Thankyou；andwhatabouttheshovel，eh？Healwayshadaqueerwayofshowinghislove。"
"Icouldbringhimroundinaweek，"shesug—
gested，timidly。
Hewastoohungrytoanswerher；and，holdingtheplatesubmissivelytohishand，shebegantowhisperuptohiminaquick，pantingvoice。Helistened，amazed，eatingslowerandslower，tillatlasthisjawsstoppedaltogether。"That’shisgame，isit？"hesaid，inarisingtoneofscathingcontempt。Anungovernablemovementofhisarmsenttheplateflyingoutofherfingers。Heshotoutaviolentcurse。
Sheshrankfromhim，puttingherhandagainstthewall。
"No！"heraged。"Heexpects！ExpectsME
——forhisrottenmoney！……Whowantshishome？Mad——nothe！Don’tyouthink。Hewantshisownway。Hewantedtoturnmeintoamiserablelawyer’sclerk，andnowhewantstomakeofmeablamedtamerabbitinacage。Ofme！Ofme！"Hissubduedangrylaughfrightenedhernow。
"Thewholeworldain’tabittoobigformetospreadmyelbowsin，Icantellyou——what’syourname——Bessie——letaloneadam’parlourinahutch。
Marry！Hewantsmetomarryandsettle！Andaslikelyasnothehaslookedoutthegirltoo——
dashmysoul！AnddoyouknowtheJudy，mayIask？"
Sheshookalloverwithnoiselessdrysobs；buthewasfumingandfrettingtoomuchtonoticeherdistress。Hebithisthumbwithrageatthemereidea。Awindowrattledup。
"Agrinning，informationfellow，"pronouncedoldHagberddogmatically，inmeasuredtones。
AndthesoundofhisvoiceseemedtoBessietomakethenightitselfmad——topourinsanityanddis—
asterontheearth。"NowIknowwhat’swrongwiththepeoplehere，mydear。Why，ofcourse！
Withthismadchapgoingabout。Don’tyouhaveanythingtodowithhim，Bessie。Bessie，Isay！"
Theystoodasifdumb。Theoldmanfidgetedandmumbledtohimselfatthewindow。Suddenlyhecried，piercingly："Bessie——Iseeyou。I’lltellHarry。"
Shemadeamovementasiftorunaway，butstoppedandraisedherhandstohertemples。
YoungHagberd，shadowyandbig，stirrednomorethanamanofbronze。Overtheirheadsthecrazynightwhimperedandscoldedinanoldman’svoice。
"Sendhimaway，mydear。He’sonlyavaga—
bond。Whatyouwantisagoodhomeofyourown。
Thatchaphasnohome——he’snotlikeHarry。Hecan’tbeHarry。Harryiscomingto—morrow。Doyouhear？Onedaymore，"hebabbledmoreex—
citedly；"neveryoufear——Harryshallmarryyou。"
Hisvoiceroseveryshrillandmadagainsttheregulardeepsoughingoftheswellcoilingheavilyabouttheouterfaceofthesea—wall。
"Hewillhaveto。Ishallmakehim，orifnot"
——hesworeagreatoath——"I’llcuthimoffwithashillingto—morrow，andleaveeverythingtoyou。
Ishall。Toyou。Lethimstarve。"
Thewindowrattleddown。
Harrydrewadeepbreath，andtookonesteptowardBessie。"Soit’syou——thegirl，"hesaid，inaloweredvoice。Shehadnotmoved，andshere—
mainedhalfturnedawayfromhim，pressingherheadinthepalmsofherhands。"Myword！"hecontinued，withaninvisiblehalf—smileonhislips。
"Ihaveagreatmindtostop……"
Herelbowsweretremblingviolently。
"Foraweek，"hefinishedwithoutapause。
Sheclappedherhandstoherface。
Hecameupquiteclose，andtookholdofherwristsgently。Shefelthisbreathonherear。
"It’sascrapeIamin——this，anditisyouthatmustseemethrough。"Hewastryingtouncoverherface。Sheresisted。Helethergothen，andsteppingbackalittle，"Haveyougotanymoney？"heasked。"Imustbeoffnow。"
Shenoddedquicklyhershamefacedhead，andhewaited，lookingawayfromher，while，tremblingalloverandbowingherneck，shetriedtofindthepocketofherdress。
"Hereitis！"shewhispered。"Oh，goaway！
goawayforGod’ssake！IfIhadmore——more——
Iwouldgiveitalltoforget——tomakeyoufor—
get。"
Heextendedhishand。"Nofear！Ihaven’tforgottenasingleoneofyouintheworld。Somegavememorethanmoney——butIamabeggarnow——andyouwomenalwayshadtogetmeoutofmyscrapes。"
Heswaggereduptotheparlourwindow，andinthedimlightfilteringthroughtheblind，lookedatthecoinlyinginhispalm。Itwasahalf—sovereign。
Heslippeditintohispocket。Shestoodalittleononeside，withherheaddrooping，asifwounded；
withherarmshangingpassivebyherside，asifdead。
"Youcan’tbuymein，"hesaid，"andyoucan’tbuyyourselfout。"
Hesethishatfirmlywithalittletap，andnextmomentshefeltherselfliftedupinthepowerfulembraceofhisarms。Herfeetlosttheground；
herheadhungback；heshoweredkissesonherfacewithasilentandover—masteringardour，asifinhastetogetatherverysoul。Hekissedherpalecheeks，herhardforehead，herheavyeyelids，herfadedlips；andthemeasuredblowsandsighsoftherisingtideaccompaniedtheenfoldingpowerofhisarms，theoverwhelmingmightofhiscaresses。
Itwasasifthesea，breakingdownthewallpro—
tectingallthehomesofthetown，hadsentawaveoverherhead。Itpassedon；shestaggeredback—
wards，withhershouldersagainstthewall，ex—
hausted，asifshehadbeenstrandedthereafterastormandashipwreck。
Sheopenedhereyesafterawhile；andlisteningtothefirm，leisurelyfootstepsgoingawaywiththeirconquest，begantogatherherskirts，staringallthetimebeforeher。Suddenlyshedartedthroughtheopengateintothedarkanddesertedstreet。
"Stop！"sheshouted。"Don’tgo！"
Andlisteningwithanattentivepoiseofthehead，shecouldnottellwhetheritwasthebeatoftheswellorhisfatefultreadthatseemedtofallcruellyuponherheart。Presentlyeverysoundgrewfainter，asthoughshewereslowlyturningintostone。Afearofthisawfulsilencecametoher——
worsethanthefearofdeath。Shecalleduponherebbingstrengthforthefinalappeal：
"Harry！"
Noteventhedyingechoofafootstep。Noth—
ing。Thethunderingofthesurf，thevoiceoftherestlessseaitself，seemedstopped。Therewasnotasound——nowhisperoflife，asthoughshewerealoneandlostinthatstonycountryofwhichshehadheard，wheremadmengolookingforgoldandspurnthefind。
CaptainHagberd，insidehisdarkhouse，hadkeptonthealert。Awindowranup；andinthesilenceofthestonycountryavoicespokeaboveherhead，highupintheblackair——thevoiceofmad—
ness，liesanddespair——thevoiceofinextinguish—
ablehope。"Ishegoneyet——thatinformationfellow？Doyouhearhimabout，mydear？"
Sheburstintotears。"No！no！no！Idon’thearhimanymore，"shesobbed。
Hebegantochuckleuptheretriumphantly。
"Youfrightenedhimaway。Goodgirl。Nowweshallbeallright。Don’tyoubeimpatient，mydear。
Onedaymore。"
IntheotherhouseoldCarvil，wallowingregallyinhisarm—chair，withaglobelampburningbyhissideonthetable，yelledforher，inafiendishvoice：
"Bessie！Bessie！youBessie！"
Sheheardhimatlast，and，asifovercomebyfate，begantotottersilentlybacktowardherstuffylittleinfernoofacottage。Ithadnoloftyportal，noterrificinscriptionofforfeitedhopes——shedidnotunderstandwhereinshehadsinned。
CaptainHagberdhadgraduallyworkedhimselfintoastateofnoisyhappinessupthere。
"Goin！Keepquiet！"sheturneduponhimtearfully，fromthedoorstepbelow。
Herebelledagainstherauthorityinhisgreatjoyathavinggotridatlastofthat"somethingwrong。"Itwasasifallthehopefulmadnessoftheworldhadbrokenouttobringterroruponherheart，withthevoiceofthatoldmanshoutingofhistrustinaneverlastingto—morrow。