第16章

Atthisdate，andforseveralyearsafter，therewasahangmantoalmosteveryjail。Gertrudefound，oninquiry，thattheCasterbridgeofficialdweltinalonelycottagebyadeepslowriverflowingunderthecliffonwhichtheprisonbuildingsweresituate——

thestreambeingtheself-sameone，thoughshedidnotknowit，whichwateredtheSticklefordandHolmstokemeadslowerdowninitscourse。

Havingchangedherdress，andbeforeshehadeatenordrunk——forshecouldnottakehereasetillshehadascertainedsomeparticulars——

Gertrudepursuedherwaybyapathalongthewater-sidetothecottageindicated。Passingthustheoutskirtsofthejail，shediscernedonthelevelroofoverthegatewaythreerectangularlinesagainstthesky，wherethespeckshadbeenmovinginherdistantview；sherecognizedwhattheerectionwas，andpassedquicklyon。

Anotherhundredyardsbroughthertotheexecutioner’shouse，whichaboypointedoutItstoodclosetothesamestream，andwashardbyaweir，thewatersofwhichemittedasteadyroar。

Whileshestoodhesitatingthedooropened，andanoldmancameforthshadingacandlewithonehand。Lockingthedoorontheoutside，heturnedtoaflightofwoodenstepsfixedagainsttheendofthecottage，andbegantoascendthem，thisbeingevidentlythestaircasetohisbedroom。Gertrudehastenedforward，butbythetimeshereachedthefootoftheladderhewasatthetop。Shecalledtohimloudlyenoughtobeheardabovetheroaroftheweir；

helookeddownandsaid，’Whatd’yewanthere？’

’Tospeaktoyouaminute。’

Thecandle-light，suchasitwas，felluponherimploring，pale，upturnedface，andDavies(asthehangmanwascalled)backeddowntheladder。’Iwasjustgoingtobed，’hesaid；’“Earlytobedandearlytorise，“butIdon’tmindstoppingaminuteforsuchaoneasyou。Comeintohouse。’Hereopenedthedoor，andprecededhertotheroomwithin。

Theimplementsofhisdailywork，whichwasthatofajobbinggardener，stoodinacorner，andseeingprobablythatshelookedrural，hesaid，’IfyouwantmetoundertakecountryworkIcan’tcome，forIneverleaveCasterbridgeforgentlenorsimple——notI。

Myrealcallingisofficerofjustice，’headdedformally。

’Yes，yes！That’sit。To-morrow！’

’Ah！Ithoughtso。Well，what’sthematteraboutthat？’Tisnousetocomehereabouttheknot——folksdocomecontinually，butI

tell’emoneknotisasmercifulasanotherifyekeepitundertheear。Istheunfortunatemanarelation；or，Ishouldsay，perhaps’

(lookingatherdress)’apersonwho’sbeeninyouremploy？’

’No。Whattimeistheexecution？’

’Thesameasusual——twelveo’clock，orassoonafterastheLondonmail-coachgetsin。Wealwayswaitforthat，incaseofareprieve。’

’O——areprieve——Ihopenot！’shesaidinvoluntarily，’Well，——hee，hee！——asamatterofbusiness，sodoI！Butstill，ifeverayoungfellowdeservedtobeletoff，thisonedoes；onlyjustturnedeighteen，andonlypresentbychancewhentherickwasfired。

Howsomever，there’snotmuchriskofit，astheyareobligedtomakeanexampleofhim，therehavingbeensomuchdestructionofpropertythatwaylately。’

’Imean，’sheexplained，’thatIwanttotouchhimforacharm，acureofanaffliction，bytheadviceofamanwhohasprovedthevirtueoftheremedy。’

’Oyes，miss！NowIunderstand。I’vehadsuchpeoplecomeinpastyears。Butitdidn’tstrikemethatyoulookedofasorttorequireblood-turning。What’sthecomplaint？Thewrongkindforthis，I’llbebound。’

’Myarm。’Shereluctantlyshowedthewitheredskin。

’Ah——’tisalla-scram！’saidthehangman，examiningit。

’Yes，’saidshe。

’Well，’hecontinued，withinterest，’thatIStheclasso’subject，I’mboundtoadmit！Ilikethelookoftheplace；itistrulyassuitableforthecureasanyIeversaw。’Twasaknowing-manthatsent’ee，whoeverhewas。’

’Youcancontriveformeallthat’snecessary？’shesaidbreathlessly。

’Youshouldreallyhavegonetothegovernorofthejail，andyourdoctorwith’ee，andgivenyournameandaddress——that’showitusedtobedone，ifIrecollect。Still，perhaps，Icanmanageitforatriflingfee。’

’O，thankyou！Iwouldratherdoitthisway，asIshouldlikeitkeptprivate。’

’Lovernottoknow，eh？’

’No——husband。’

’Aha！Verywell。I’llgetee’atouchofthecorpse。’

’Whereisitnow？’shesaid，shuddering。

’It？——HE，youmean；he’slivingyet。Justinsidethatlittlesmallwinderupthereintheglum。’Hesignifiedthejailonthecliffabove。

Shethoughtofherhusbandandherfriends。’Yes，ofcourse，’shesaid；’andhowamItoproceed？’

Hetookhertothedoor。’Now，doyoubewaitingatthelittlewicketinthewall，thatyou’llfindupthereinthelane，notlaterthanoneo’clock。Iwillopenitfromtheinside，asIshan’tcomehometodinnertillhe’scutdown。Good-night。Bepunctual；andifyoudon’twantanybodytoknow’ee，wearaveil。Ah——onceIhadsuchadaughterasyou！’

Shewentaway，andclimbedthepathabove，toassureherselfthatshewouldbeabletofindthewicketnextday。Itsoutlinewassoonvisibletoher——anarrowopeningintheouterwalloftheprisonprecincts。Thesteepwassogreatthat，havingreachedthewicket，shestoppedamomenttobreathe；and，lookingbackuponthewater-

sidecot，sawthehangmanagainascendinghisoutdoorstaircase。Heenteredtheloftorchambertowhichitled，andinafewminutesextinguishedhislight。

Thetownclockstruckten，andshereturnedtotheWhiteHartasshehadcome。

Itwasoneo’clockonSaturday。GertrudeLodge，havingbeenadmittedtothejailasabovedescribed，wassittinginawaiting-

roomwithinthesecondgate，whichstoodunderaclassicarchwayofashlar，thencomparativelymodern，andbearingtheinscription，’COVNTYJAIL:1793。’Thishadbeenthefacadeshesawfromtheheaththedaybefore。Nearathandwasapassagetotheroofonwhichthegallowsstood。

Thetownwasthronged，andthemarketsuspended；butGertrudehadseenscarcelyasoul。Havingkeptherroomtillthehouroftheappointment，shehadproceededtothespotbyawaywhichavoidedtheopenspacebelowthecliffwherethespectatorshadgathered；

butshecould，evennow，hearthemultitudinousbabbleoftheirvoices，outofwhichroseatintervalsthehoarsecroakofasinglevoiceutteringthewords，’Lastdyingspeechandconfession！’Therehadbeennoreprieve，andtheexecutionwasover；butthecrowdstillwaitedtoseethebodytakendown。

Soonthepersistentgirlheardatramplingoverhead，thenahandbeckonedtoher，and，followingdirections，shewentoutandcrossedtheinnerpavedcourtbeyondthegatehouse，herkneestremblingsothatshecouldscarcelywalk。Oneofherarmswasoutofitssleeve，andonlycoveredbyhershawl。

Onthespotatwhichshehadnowarrivedweretwotrestles，andbeforeshecouldthinkoftheirpurposesheheardheavyfeetdescendingstairssomewhereatherback。Turnherheadshewouldnot，orcouldnot，and，rigidinthisposition，shewasconsciousofaroughcoffinpassinghershoulder，bornebyfourmen。Itwasopen，andinitlaythebodyofayoungman，wearingthesmockfrockofarustic，andfustianbreeches。Thecorpsehadbeenthrownintothecoffinsohastilythattheskirtofthesmockfrockwashangingover。Theburdenwastemporarilydepositedonthetrestles。

Bythistimetheyoungwoman’sstatewassuchthatagraymistseemedtofloatbeforehereyes，onaccountofwhich，andtheveilshewore，shecouldscarcelydiscernanything:itwasasthoughshehadnearlydied，butwasheldupbyasortofgalvanism。

’Now！’saidavoicecloseathand，andshewasjustconsciousthatthewordhadbeenaddressedtoher。

Byalaststrenuouseffortsheadvanced，atthesametimehearingpersonsapproachingbehindher。Shebaredherpoorcurstarm；andDavies，uncoveringthefaceofthecorpse，tookGertrude’shand，andhelditsothatherarmlayacrossthedeadman’sneck，uponalinethecolourofanunripeblackberry，whichsurroundedit。

Gertrudeshrieked:’theturno’theblood，’predictedbytheconjuror，hadtakenplace。Butatthatmomentasecondshriekrenttheairoftheenclosure:itwasnotGertrude’s，anditseffectuponherwastomakeherstartround。

ImmediatelybehindherstoodRhodaBrook，herfacedrawn，andhereyesredwithweeping。BehindRhodastoodGertrude’sownhusband；

hiscountenancelined，hiseyesdim，butwithoutatear。

’D-nyou！whatareyoudoinghere？’hesaidhoarsely。

’Hussy——tocomebetweenusandourchildnow！’criedRhoda。’ThisisthemeaningofwhatSatanshowedmeinthevision！Youarelikeheratlast！’Andclutchingthebarearmoftheyoungerwoman，shepulledherunresistinglybackagainstthewall。ImmediatelyBrookhadloosenedherholdthefragileyoungGertrudesliddownagainstthefeetofherhusband。Whenheliftedherupshewasunconscious。