EREMA; OR, MY FATHER'S SIN

By R. D. Blackmore

1877

CHAPTER I

A LOST LANDMARK

"The sins of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourthgeneration of them that hate me. "

These are the words that have followed me always. This is the cursewhich has fallen on my life. 

If I had not known my father, if I had not loved him, if I had notclosed his eyes in desert silence deeper than the silence of the grave, even if I could have buried and bewailed him duly, the common businessof this world and the universal carelessness might have led me down thegeneral track that leads to nothing. 

Until my father fell and died I never dreamed that he could die. I knewthat his mind was quite made up to see me safe in my new home, and thenhimself to start again for still remoter solitudes. And when his mindwas thus made up, who had ever known him fail of it?

If ever a resolute man there was, that very man was my father. Andhe showed it now, in this the last and fatal act of his fatal life. "Captain, here I leave you all, " he shouted to the leader of our wagontrain, at a place where a dark, narrow gorge departed from the moilsomemountain track. "My reasons are my own; let no man trouble himselfabout them. All my baggage I leave with you. I have paid my share ofthe venture, and shall claim it at Sacramento. My little girl and I willtake this short-cut through the mountains. "

"General!" answered the leader of our train, standing up on his board inamazement. "Forgive and forget, Sir; forgive and forget. What is a hotword spoken hotly? If not for your own sake, at least come back for thesake of your young daughter. "

"A fair haven to you!" replied my father. He offered me his hand, andwe were out of sight of all that wearisome, drearisome, uncompanionablecompany with whom, for eight long weeks at least, we had been draggingour rough way. I had known in a moment that it must be so, for my fathernever argued. Argument, to his mind, was a very nice amusement for theweak. My spirits rose as he swung his bear-skin bag upon his shoulder, and the last sound of the laboring caravan groaned in the distance, andthe fresh air and the freedom of the mountains moved around us. It wasthe 29th of May--Oak-apple Day in England--and to my silly youth thisvast extent of snowy mountains was a nice place for a cool excursion. 

Moreover, from day to day I had been in most wretched anxiety, so longas we remained with people who could not allow for us. My father, byhis calm reserve and dignity and largeness, had always, among Europeanpeople, kept himself secluded; but now in this rough life, so pent intrackless tracts, and pressed together by perpetual peril, every body'smanners had been growing free and easy. Every man had been compelled totell, as truly as he could, the story of his life thus far, to amusehis fellow-creatures--every man, I mean, of course, except my own poorfather. Some told their stories every evening, until we were quitetired--although they were never the same twice over; but my father couldnever be coaxed to say a syllable more than, "I was born, and I shalldie. "

This made him very unpopular with the men, though all the women admiredit; and if any rough fellow could have seen a sign of fear, the speakerwould have been insulted. But his manner and the power of his look weresuch that, even after ardent spirits, no man saw fit to be rude to him. Nevertheless, there had always been the risk of some sad outrage. 

"Erema, " my father said to me, when the dust from the rear of thecaravan was lost behind a cloud of rocks, and we two stood in thewilderness alone--"do you know, my own Erema, why I bring you fromthem?"

"Father dear, how should I know? You have done it, and it must beright. "

"It is not for their paltry insults. Child, you know what I think allthat. It is for you, my only child, that I am doing what now I do. "

I looked up into his large, sad eyes without a word, in such a way thathe lifted me up in his arms and kissed me, as if I were a little childinstead of a maiden just fifteen. This he had never done before, andit made me a little frightened. He saw it, and spoke on the spur of thethought, though still with one arm round me. 

"Perhaps you will live to be thankful, my dear, that you had a stern, cold father. So will you meet the world all the better; and, little one, you have a rough world to meet. "

For a moment I was quite at a loss to account for my father's manner;but now, in looking back, it is so easy to see into things. At the timeI must have been surprised, and full of puzzled eagerness. 

Not half so well can I recall the weakness, anguish, and exhaustion ofbody and spirit afterward. It may have been three days of wandering, orit may have been a week, or even more than that, for all that I can sayfor certain. Whether the time were long or short, it seemed as if itwould never end. My father believed that he knew the way to the houseof an old settler, at the western foot of the mountains, who had treatedhim kindly some years before, and with whom he meant to leave me untilhe had made arrangements elsewhere. If we had only gone straightwaythither, night-fall would have found us safe beneath that hospitableroof. 

My father was vexed, as I well remember, at coming, as he thought, insight of some great landmark, and finding not a trace of it. Althoughhis will was so very strong, his temper was good about little things, and he never began to abuse all the world because he had made a mistakehimself. 

"Erema, " he said, "at this corner where we stand there ought to be avery large pine-tree in sight, or rather a great redwood-tree, at leasttwice as high as any tree that grows in Europe, or Africa even. From theplains it can be seen for a hundred miles or more. It stands higher upthe mountainside than any other tree of even half its size, and thatmakes it so conspicuous. My eyes must be failing me, from all thisglare; but it must be in sight. Can you see it now?"

"I see no tree of any kind whatever, but scrubby bushes and yellowtufts; and oh, father, I am so thirsty!"

"Naturally. But now look again. It stands on a ridge, the last ridgethat bars the view of all the lowland. It is a very straight tree, andregular, like a mighty column, except that on the northern side the windfrom the mountains has torn a gap in it. Are you sure that you can notsee it--a long way off, but conspicuous?"

"Father, I am sure that I can not see any tree half as large as abroomstick. Far or near, I see no tree. "

"Then my eyes are better than my memory. We must cast back for a mile ortwo; but it can not make much difference. "

"Through the dust and the sand?" I began to say; but a glance from himstopped my murmuring. And the next thing I can call to mind must havehappened a long time afterward. 

Beyond all doubt, in this desolation, my father gave his life for mine. I did not know it at the time, nor had the faintest dream of it, beingso young and weary-worn, and obeying him by instinct. It is a fearfulthing to think of--now that I can think of it--but to save my own littleworthless life I must have drained every drop of water from his flathalf-gallon jar. The water was hot and the cork-hole sandy, and Igrumbled even while drinking it; and what must my father (who was dyingall the while for a drop, but never took one)--what must he have thoughtof me?

But he never said a word, so far as I remember; and that makes it allthe worse for me. We had strayed away into a dry, volcanic district ofthe mountains, where all the snow-rivers run out quite early; and ofnatural springs there was none forth-coming. All we had to guide us wasa little traveler's compass (whose needle stuck fast on the pivot withsand) and the glaring sun, when he came to sight behind the hot, dry, driving clouds. The clouds were very low, and flying almost in ourfaces, like vultures sweeping down on us. To me they seemed to shriekover our heads at the others rushing after them. But my father said thatthey could make no sound, and I never contradicted him. 

CHAPTER II

A PACIFIC SUNSET

At last we came to a place from which the great spread of the earthwas visible. For a time--I can not tell how long--we had wholly lostourselves, going up and down, and turning corners, without gettingfurther. But my father said that we must come right, if we made up ourminds to go long enough. We had been in among all shapes, and want ofshapes, of dreariness, through and in and out of every thrup and thrumof weariness, scarcely hoping ever more to find our way out and discovermemory of men for us, when all of a sudden we saw a grand sight. Theday had been dreadfully hot and baffling, with sudden swirls of red dustarising, and driving the great drought into us. To walk had been worsethan to drag one's way through a stubbly bed of sting-nettles. But nowthe quick sting of the sun was gone, and his power descending in thebalance toward the flat places of the land and sea. And suddenly welooked forth upon an immeasurable spread of these. 

We stood at the gate of the sandy range, which here, like a vast brownpatch, disfigures the beauty of the sierra. On either side, in purpledistance, sprang sky-piercing obelisks and vapor-mantled glaciers, spangled with bright snow, and shodden with eternal forest. Before uslay the broad, luxuriant plains of California, checkered with more tintsthan any other piece of earth can show, sleeping in alluvial ease, and veined with soft blue waters. And through a gap in the brown coastrange, at twenty leagues of distance, a light (so faint as to seem ashadow) hovered above the Pacific. 

But none of all this grandeur touched our hearts except the water gleam. Parched with thirst, I caught my father's arm and tried to urge himon toward the blue enchantment of ecstatic living water. But, to mysurprise, he staggered back, and his face grew as white as the distantsnow. I managed to get him to a sandy ledge, with the help of his ownendeavors, and there let him rest and try to speak, while my frightenedheart throbbed over his. 

"My little child, " he said at last, as if we were fallen back ten years, "put your hand where I can feel it. "

My hand all the while had been in his, and to let him know where it was, it moved. But cold fear stopped my talking. 

"My child, I have not been kind to you, " my father slowly spoke again, "but it has not been from want of love. Some day you will see all this, and some day you will pardon me. "

He laid one heavy arm around me, and forgetting thirst and pain, withthe last intensity of eyesight watched the sun departing. To me, I knownot how, great awe was every where, and sadness. The conical point ofthe furious sun, which like a barb had pierced us, was broadening intoa hazy disk, inefficient, but benevolent. Underneath him depth of nightwas waiting to come upward (after letting him fall through) and stainhis track with redness. Already the arms of darkness grew in readinessto receive him: his upper arc was pure and keen, but the lower wasflaked with atmosphere; a glow of hazy light soon would follow, and onebright glimmer (addressed more to the sky than to the earth), and afterthat a broad, soft gleam; and after that how many a man should never seethe sun again, and among them would be my father. 

He, for the moment, resting there, with heavy light upon him, and thedark jaws of the mountain desert yawning wide behind him, and all thebeautiful expanse of liberal earth before him--even so he seemed to me, of all the things in sight, the one that first would draw attention. His face was full of quiet grandeur and impressive calm, and the sadtranquillity which comes to those who know what human life is throughcontinual human death. Although, in the matter of bodily strength, hewas little past the prime of life, his long and abundant hair was white, and his broad and upright forehead marked with the meshes of the netof care. But drought and famine and long fatigue had failed even now tochange or weaken the fine expression of his large, sad eyes. Those eyesalone would have made the face remarkable among ten thousand, so deepwith settled gloom they were, and dark with fatal sorrow. Such eyesmight fitly have told the grief of Adrastus, son of Gordias, who, havingslain his own brother unwitting, unwitting slew the only son of hisgenerous host and savior. 

The pale globe of the sun hung trembling in the haze himself had made. My father rose to see the last, and reared his tall form uprightagainst the deepening background. He gazed as if the course of life layvanishing below him, while level land and waters drew the breadth ofshadow over them. Then the last gleam flowed and fled upon the face ofocean, and my father put his dry lips to my forehead, saying nothing. 

His lips might well be dry, for he had not swallowed water for threedays; but it frightened me to feel how cold they were, and eventremulous. "Let us run, let us run, my dear father!" I cried. "Deliciouswater! The dark falls quickly; but we can get there before dark. It isall down hill. Oh, do let us run at once!"

"Erema, " he answered, with a quiet smile, "there is no cause now forhurrying, except that I must hurry to show you what you have to do, mychild. For once, at the end of my life, I am lucky. We have escaped fromthat starving desert at a spot--at a spot where we can see--"

For a little while he could say no more, but sank upon the stony seat, and the hand with which he tried to point some distant landmark fellaway. His face, which had been so pale before, became of a deadlywhiteness, and he breathed with gasps of agony. I knelt before him andtook his hands, and tried to rub the palms, and did whatever I couldthink of. 

"Oh, father, father, you have starved yourself, and given every thingto me! What a brute I was to let you do it! But I did not know; I neverknew! Please God to take me also!"

He could not manage to answer this, even if he understood it; but hefirmly lifted his arm again, and tried to make me follow it. 

"What does it matter? Oh, never mind, never mind such, a wretch as I am!Father, only try to tell me what I ought to do for you. "

"My child! my child!" were his only words; and he kept on saying, "Mychild! my child!" as if he liked the sound of it. 

At what time of the night my father died I knew not then or afterward. It may have been before the moon came over the snowy mountains, or itmay not have been till the worn-out stars in vain repelled the daybreak. All I know is that I ever strove to keep more near to him through thenight, to cherish his failing warmth, and quicken the slow, laborious, harassed breath. From time to time he tried to pray to God for me andfor himself; but every time his mind began to wander and to slip away, as if through want of practice. For the chills of many wretched yearshad deadened and benumbed his faith. He knew me, now and then, betwixtthe conflict and the stupor; for more than once he muttered feebly, andas if from out a dream, "Time for Erema to go on her way. Go on your way, and save your life;save your life, Erema. "

There was no way for me to go, except on my knees before him. I tookhis hands, and made them lissome with a soft, light rubbing. I whisperedinto his ear my name, that he might speak once more to me; and when hecould not speak, I tried to say what he would say to me. 

At last, with a blow that stunned all words, it smote my stupid, wandering mind that all I had to speak and smile to, all I cared toplease and serve, the only one left to admire and love, lay here in myweak arms quite dead. And in the anguish of my sobbing, little thingscame home to me, a thousand little things that showed how quietly hehad prepared for this, and provided for me only. Cold despair andself-reproach and strong rebellion dazed me, until I lay at my father'sside, and slept with his dead hand in mine. There in the desert ofdesolation pious awe embraced me, and small phantasms of individual fearcould not come nigh me. 

By-and-by long shadows of morning crept toward me dismally, and thepallid light of the hills was stretched in weary streaks away from me. How I arose, or what I did, or what I thought, is nothing now. Suchtimes are not for talking of. How many hearts of anguish lie forlorn, with none to comfort them, with all the joy of life died out, and allthe fear of having yet to live, in front arising!

Young and weak, and wrong of sex for doing any valiance, long I lay bymy father's body, wringing out my wretchedness. Thirst and famine nowhad flown into the opposite extreme; I seemed to loathe the thoughtof water, and the smell of food would have made me sick. I opened myfather's knapsack, and a pang of new misery seized me. There lay nearlyall his rations, which he had made pretense to eat as he gave me minefrom time to time. He had starved himself; since he failed of his mark, and learned our risk of famishing, all his own food he had kept for me, as well as his store of water. And I had done nothing but grumble andgroan, even while consuming every thing. Compared with me, the hoveringvultures might be considered angels. 

When I found all this, I was a great deal too worn out to cry or sob. Simply to break down may be the purest mercy that can fall on trulyhopeless misery. Screams of ravenous maws and flaps of fetid wings cameclose to me, and, fainting into the arms of death, I tried to save myfather's body by throwing my own over it. 

CHAPTER III

A STURDY COLONIST

For the contrast betwixt that dreadful scene and the one on which mydim eyes slowly opened, three days afterward, first I thank the Lord inheaven, whose gracious care was over me, and after Him some very simplemembers of humanity. 

A bronze-colored woman, with soft, sad eyes, was looking at mesteadfastly. She had seen that, under tender care, I was just beginningto revive, and being acquainted with many troubles, she had learned tosuccor all of them. This I knew not then, but felt that kindness wasaround me. 

"Arauna, arauna, my shild, " she said, in a strange but sweet andsoothing voice, "you are with the good man in the safe, good house. Letold Suan give you the good food, my shild. "

"Where is my father? Oh, show me my father?" I whispered faintly, as sheraised me in the bed and held a large spoon to my lips. 

"You shall--you shall; it is too very much Inglese; me tell you whenhave long Sunday time to think. My shild, take the good food from poorold Suan. "

She looked at me with such beseeching eyes that, even if food had beenloathsome to me, I could not have resisted her; whereas I was now inthe quick-reviving agony of starvation. The Indian woman fed me withfar greater care than I was worth, and hushed me, with some soothingprocess, into another abyss of sleep. 

More than a week passed by me thus, in the struggle between life anddeath, before I was able to get clear knowledge of any body or anything. No one, in my wakeful hours, came into my little bedroom exceptthis careful Indian nurse, who hushed me off to sleep whenever I wantedto ask questions. Suan Isco, as she was called, possessed a more thanmesmeric power of soothing a weary frame to rest; and this was seconded, where I lay, by the soft, incessant cadence and abundant roar of water. Thus every day I recovered strength and natural impatience. 

"The master is coming to see you, shild, " Suan said to me one day, whenI had sat up and done my hair, and longed to be down by the water-fall;"if, if--too much Inglese--old Suan say no more can now. "

"If I am ready and able and willing! Oh, Suan, run and tell him not tolose one moment. "

"No sure; Suan no sure at all, " she answered, looking at me calmly, asif there were centuries yet to spare. "Suan no hurry; shild no hurry;master no hurry: come last of all. "

"I tell you, Suan, I want to see him. And I am not accustomed to bekept waiting. My dear father insisted always--But oh, Suan, Suan, he isdead--I am almost sure of it. "

"Him old man quite dead enough, and big hole dug in the land for him. Very good; more good than could be. Suan no more Inglese. "

Well as I had known it long, a catching of the breath and hollow, helpless pain came through me, to meet in dry words thus the dread whichmight have been but a hovering dream. I turned my face to the wall, andbegged her not to send the master in. 

But presently a large, firm hand was laid on my shoulder softly, andturning sharply round, I beheld an elderly man looking down at me. Hisface was plain and square and solid, with short white curls on arugged forehead, and fresh red cheeks, and a triple chin--fit base forremarkably massive jaws. His frame was in keeping with his face, beingvery large and powerful, though not of my father's commanding height. His dress and appearance were those of a working--and a reallyhard-working--man, sober, steadfast, and self-respecting; but whatengaged my attention most was the frank yet shrewd gaze of deep-seteyes. I speak of things as I observed them later, for I could not paymuch heed just then. 

"'Tis a poor little missy, " he said, with a gentle tone. "What thingsshe hath been through! Will you take an old man's hand, my dear? Yourfather hath often taken it, though different from his rank of life. Sampson Gundry is my name, missy. Have you ever heard your father tellof it?"

"Many and many a time, " I said, as I placed my hot little hand in his. "He never found more than one man true on earth, and it was you, Sir. "

"Come, now, " he replied, with his eyes for a moment sparkling at mywarmth of words; "you must not have that in your young head, missy. Itleads to a miserable life. Your father hath always been unlucky--themost unlucky that ever I did know. And luck cometh out in nothingclearer than in the kind of folk we meet. But the Lord in heavenordereth all. I speak like a poor heathen. "

"Oh, never mind that!" I cried: "only tell me, were you in time tosave--to save--" I could not bear to say what I wanted. 

"In plenty of time, my dear; thanks to you. You must have fought whenyou could not fight: the real stuff, I call it. Your poor father lieswhere none can harm him. Come, missy, missy, you must not take on so. Itis the best thing that could befall a man so bound up with calamity. Itis what he hath prayed for for many a year--if only it were not for you. And now you are safe, and for sure he knows it, if the angels heed theirbusiness. "

With these words he withdrew, and kindly sent Suan back to me, knowingthat her soothing ways would help me more than argument. To my mindall things lay in deep confusion and abasement. Overcome with bodilyweakness and with bitter self-reproach, I even feared that to ask anyquestions might show want of gratitude. But a thing of that sort couldnot always last, and before very long I was quite at home with thehistory of Mr. Gundry. 

Solomon Gundry, of Mevagissey, in the county of Cornwall, in England, betook himself to the United States in the last year of the lastcentury. He had always been a most upright man, as well as a first-ratefisherman; and his family had made a rule--as most respectable familiesat that time did--to run a nice cargo of contraband goods not more thantwice in one season. A highly querulous old lieutenant of the Britishnavy (who had served under Nelson and lost both, arms, yet kept "therheumatics" in either stump) was appointed, in an evil hour, to theCornish coast-guard; and he never rested until he had caught all thebest county families smuggling. Through this he lost his situation, andhad to go to the workhouse; nevertheless, such a stir had been rousedthat (to satisfy public opinion) they made a large sacrifice of inferiorpeople, and among them this Solomon Gundry. Now the Gundries had longbeen a thickset race, and had furnished some champion wrestlers; andSolomon kept to the family stamp in the matter of obstinacy. He made abold mark at the foot of a bond for 150 pounds; and with no other signthan that, his partner in their stanch herring-smack (the Good Hope, of Mevagissey) allowed him to make sail across the Atlantic with all hecared for. 

This Cornish partner deserved to get all his money back; and so he did, together with good interest. Solomon Gundry throve among a thrifty raceat Boston; he married a sweet New England lass, and his eldest son wasSampson. Sampson, in the prime of life, and at its headstrong period, sought the far West, overland, through not much less of distance, andthrough even more of danger, than his English father had gone through. His name was known on the western side of the mighty chain of mountainsbefore Colonel Fremont was heard of there, and before there was anygleam of gold on the lonely sunset frontage. 

Here Sampson Gundry lived by tillage of the nobly fertile soil ereSacramento or San Francisco had any name to speak of. And though he didnot show regard for any kind of society, he managed to have a wife andson, and keep them free from danger. But (as it appears to me the more, the more I think of every thing) no one must assume to be aside thereach of Fortune because he has gathered himself so small that sheshould not care to strike at him. At any rate, good or evil powers smoteSampson Gundry heavily. 

First he lost his wife, which was a "great denial" to him. She fell froma cliff while she was pegging out the linen, and the substance of herframe prevented her from ever getting over it. And after that he losthis son, his only son--for all the Gundries were particular as toquality; and the way in which he lost his son made it still more sad forhim. 

A reputable and valued woman had disappeared in a hasty way from acattle-place down the same side of the hills. The desire of the Indianswas to enlarge her value and get it. There were very few white men asyet within any distance to do good; but Sampson Gundry vowed that, ifthe will of the Lord went with him, that woman should come back to herfamily without robbing them of sixpence. To this intent he startedwith a company of some twenty men--white or black or middle-colored(according to circumstances). He was their captain, and his son Elijahtheir lieutenant. Elijah had only been married for a fortnight, but wasfull of spirit, and eager to fight with enemies; and he seems to havecarried this too far; for all that came back to his poor bride was alock of his hair and his blessing. He was buried in a bed of lava on thewestern slope of Shasta, and his wife died in her confinement, and wasburied by the Blue River. 

It was said at the time and long afterward that Elijah Gundry--thuscut short--was the finest and noblest young man to be found from themountains to the ocean. His father, in whose arms he died, led a sad andlonely life for years, and scarcely even cared (although of Cornish andNew England race) to seize the glorious chance of wealth which lay athis feet beseeching him. By settlement he had possessed himself of alarge and fertile district, sloping from the mountain-foot along thebanks of the swift Blue River, a tributary of the San Joaquin. And thiswas not all; for he also claimed the ownership of the upper valley, thewhole of the mountain gorge and spring head, whence that sparkling waterflows. And when that fury of gold-digging in 1849 arose, very few mencould have done what he did without even thinking twice of it. 

For Sampson Gundry stood, like a bull, on the banks of his own river, and defied the worst and most desperate men of all nations to polluteit. He had scarcely any followers or steadfast friends to back him; buthis fame for stern courage was clear and strong, and his bodily presencemost manifest. Not a shovel was thrust nor a cradle rocked in the bed ofthe Blue River. 

But when a year or two had passed, and all the towns and villages, andeven hovels and way-side huts, began to clink with money, Mr. Gundrygradually recovered a wholesome desire to have some. For now hisgrandson Ephraim was growing into biped shape, and having lost hismother when he first came into the world, was sure to need the morenatural and maternal nutriment of money. 

Therefore Sampson Gundry, though he would not dig for gold, wroughtout a plan which he had long thought of. Nature helped him with all herpowers of mountain, forest, and headlong stream. He set up a saw-mill, and built it himself; and there was no other to be found for twelvedegrees of latitude and perhaps a score of longitude. 

CHAPTER IV

THE "KING OF THE MOUNTAINS. "

If I think, and try to write forever with the strongest words, I can notexpress to any other mind a thousandth part of the gratitude which wasand is, and ought to be forever, in my own poor mind toward those whowere so good to me. From time to time it is said (whenever any man withpower of speech or fancy gets some little grievances) that all mankindare simply selfish, miserly, and miserable. To contradict that sayingneeds experience even larger, perhaps, than that which has suggested it;and this I can not have, and therefore only know that I have not foundmen or women behave at all according to that view of them. 

Whether Sampson Gundry owed any debt, either of gratitude or of loyalty, to my father, I did not ask; and he seemed to be (like every one else)reserved and silent as to my father's history. But he always treated meas if I belonged to a rank of life quite different from and much abovehis own. For instance, it was long before he would allow me to have mymeals at the table of the household. 

But as soon as I began in earnest to recover from starvation, loss, andloneliness, my heart was drawn to this grand old man, who had seen somany troubles. He had been here and there in the world so much, anddealt with so many people, that the natural frankness of his mind wassharpened into caution. But any weak and helpless person still could getthe best of him; and his shrewdness certainly did not spring from anyform of bitterness. He was rough in his ways sometimes, and couldnot bear to be contradicted when he was sure that he was right, whichgenerally happened to him. But above all things he had one verygreat peculiarity, to my mind highly vexatious, because it seemedso unaccountable. Sampson Gundry had a very low opinion of feminineintellect. He never showed this contempt in any unpleasant way, andindeed he never, perhaps, displayed it in any positive sayings. But asI grew older and began to argue, sure I was that it was there; and italways provoked me tenfold as much by seeming to need no assertion, butto stand as some great axiom. 

The other members of the household were his grandson Ephraim (or "Firm"Gundry), the Indian woman Suan Isco, and a couple of helps, of race ornation almost unknown to themselves. Suan Isco belonged to a tribe ofrespectable Black Rock Indians, and had been the wife of a chief amongthem, and the mother of several children. But Klamath Indians, enemiesof theirs (who carried off the lady of the cattle ranch, and afterwardshot Elijah), had Suan Isco in their possession, having murdered herhusband and children, and were using her as a mere beast of burden, whenSampson Gundry fell on them. He, with his followers, being enragedat the cold-blooded death of Elijah, fell on those miscreants to suchpurpose that women and children alone were left to hand down their badpropensities. 

But the white men rescued and brought away the stolen wife of thestockman, and also the widow of the Black Rock chief. She was in suchpoor condition and so broken-hearted that none but the finest humanitywould have considered her worth a quarter of the trouble of hercarriage. But she proved to be worth it a thousandfold; and SawyerGundry (as now he was called) knew by this time all the value ofuncultivated gratitude. And her virtues were so many that it took along time to find them out, for she never put them forward, not knowingwhether they were good or bad. 

Until I knew these people, and the pure depth of their kindness, it wasa continual grief to me to be a burden upon them. But when I came tounderstand them and their simple greatness, the only thing I was ashamedof was my own mistrust of them. Not that I expected ever that any harmwould be done to me, only that I knew myself to have no claim on anyone. 

One day, when I was fit for nothing but to dwell on trouble, SampsonGundry's grandson "Firm"--as he was called for Ephraim--ran up thestairs to the little room where I was sitting by myself. 

"Miss Rema, will you come with us?" he said, in his deep, slow style ofspeech. "We are going up the mountain, to haul down the great tree tothe mill. "

"To be sure I will come, " I answered, gladly. "What great tree is it, Mr. Ephraim?"

"The largest tree any where near here--the one we cut down last winter. Ten days it took to cut it down. If I could have saved it, it shouldhave stood. But grandfather did it to prove his rights. We shall have arare job to lead it home, and I doubt if we can tackle it. I thought youmight like to see us try. "

In less than a minute I was ready, for the warmth and softness of theair made cloak or shawl unbearable. But when I ran down to the yardof the mill, Mr. Gundry, who was giving orders, came up and gave me anorder too. 

"You must not go like this, my dear. We have three thousand feet to goupward. The air will be sharp up there, and I doubt if we shall be homeby night-fall. Run, Suan, and fetch the young lady's cloak, and a pairof thicker boots for change. "

Suan Isco never ran. That manner of motion was foreign to her, atleast as we accomplish it. When speed was required, she attained itby increased length of stride and great vigor of heel. In this way sheconquered distance steadily, and with very little noise. 

The air, and the light, and the beauty of the mountains were a suddenjoy to me. In front of us all strode Sampson Gundry, clearing alltangles with a short, sharp axe, and mounting steep places as iftwoscore were struck off his threescore years and five. From time totime he turned round to laugh, or see that his men and trained bullockswere right; and then, as his bright eyes met my dark ones, he seemedto be sorry for the noise he made. On the other hand, I was ashamed ofdamping any one's pleasure by being there. 

But I need not have felt any fear about this. Like all other children, I wrapped myself up too much in my own importance, and behaved as ifmy state of mind was a thing to be considered. But the longer we rosethrough the freedom and the height, the lighter grew the heart of everyone, until the thick forest of pines closed round us, and we walked in asilence that might be felt. 

Hence we issued forth upon the rough bare rock, and after much troublewith the cattle, and some bruises, stood panting on a rugged cone, orcrest, which had once been crowned with a Titan of a tree. The treewas still there, but not its glory; for, alas! the mighty trunk layprostrate--a grander column than ever was or will be built by humanhands. The tapering shaft stretched out of sight for something like afurlong, and the bulk of the butt rose over us so that we could not seethe mountains. Having never seen any such tree before, I must have beenamazed if I had been old enough to comprehend it. 

Sampson Gundry, large as he was, and accustomed to almost every thing, collected his men and the whole of his team on the ground-floor or areaof the stump before he would say any thing. Here we all looked sosadly small that several of the men began to laugh; the bullocks seemednothing but raccoons or beavers to run on the branches or the fibres ofthe tree; and the chains and the shackles, and the blocks and cranes, and all the rest of the things they meant to use, seemed nothingwhatever, or at all to be considered, except as a spider's web upon thistree. 

The sagacious bullocks, who knew quite well what they were expected todo, looked blank. Some rubbed their horns into one another's sadly, andsome cocked their tails because they felt that they could not be calledupon to work. The light of the afternoon sun came glancing along thevast pillar, and lit its dying hues--cinnamon, purple, and glabrous red, and soft gray where the lichens grew. 

Every body looked at Mr. Gundry, and he began to cough a little, havinghad lately some trouble with his throat. Then in his sturdy mannerhe spoke the truth, according to his nature. He set his great squareshoulders against the butt of the tree, and delivered himself:

"Friends and neighbors, and hands of my own, I am taken in here, and Iown to it. It serves me right for disbelieving what my grandson, FirmGundry, said. I knew that the tree was a big one, of course, as everybody else does; but till you see a tree laid upon earth you get no gripof his girth, no more than you do of a man till he lieth a corpse. At the time of felling I could not come anigh him, by reason of anaccident; and I had some words with this boy about it, which kept meaway ever since that time. Firm, you were right, and I was wrong. It wasa real shame, now I see it, to throw down the 'King of the Mountains. 'But, for all that, being down, we must use him. He shall be sawn intofifty-foot lengths. And I invite you all to come again, for six or sevengood turns at him. "

At the hearing of this, a cheer arose, not only for the Sawyer's manlytruth, but also for his hospitality; because on each of these visits tothe mountain he was the host, and his supplies were good. But before thedescent with the empty teams began, young Ephraim did what appeared tome to be a gallant and straightforward thing. He stood on the chineof the fallen monster, forty feet above us, having gained the post ofvantage by activity and strength, and he asked if he might say a word ortwo. 

"Say away, lad, " cried his grandfather, supposing, perhaps, in hisobstinate way (for truly he was very obstinate), that his grandsonwas going now to clear himself from art or part in the murder of thattree--an act which had roused indignation over a hundred leagues oflowland. 

"Neighbors, " said Firm, in a clear young voice, which shook at firstwith diffidence, "we all have to thank you, more than I can tell, forcoming to help us with this job. It was a job which required to be donefor legal reasons which I do not understand, but no doubt they were goodones. For that we have my grandfather's word; and no one, I think, willgainsay it. Now, having gone so far, we will not be beaten by it, orelse we shall not be Americans. "

These simple words were received with great applause; and an orator, standing on the largest stump to be found even in America, delivered aspeech which was very good to hear, but need not now be repeated. AndMr. Gundry's eyes were moist with pleasure at his grandson's conduct. 

"Firm knoweth the right thing to do, " he said; "and like a man he doethit. But whatever aileth you, Miss Rema, and what can 'e see in thedistance yonner? Never mind, my dear, then. Tell me by-and-by, when noneof these folk is 'longside of us. "

But I could not bear to tell him, till he forced it from me under painof his displeasure. I had spied on the sky-line far above us, in thedesert track of mountain, the very gap in which my father stood and bademe seek this landmark. His memory was true, and his eyesight also; butthe great tree had been felled. The death of the "King of the Mountains"had led to the death of the king of mankind, so far as my little worldcontained one. 

CHAPTER V

UNCLE SAM

The influence of the place in which I lived began to grow on me. Thewarmth of the climate and the clouds of soft and fertile dust werebroken by the refreshing rush of water and the clear soft green ofleaves. We had fruit trees of almost every kind, from the peach to theamber cherry, and countless oaks by the side of the river--not large, but most fantastic. Here I used to sit and wonder, in a foolish, childish way, whether on earth there was any other child so strangelyplaced as I was. Of course there were thousands far worse off, moredesolate and destitute, but was there any more thickly wrapped inmystery and loneliness?

A wanderer as I had been for years, together with my father, change ofplace had not supplied the knowledge which flows from lapse of time. Faith, and warmth, and trust in others had not been dashed out of me byany rude blows of the world, as happens with unlucky childrenhuddled together in large cities. My father had never allowed me muchacquaintance with other children; for six years he had left me with acommunity of lay sisters, in a little town of Languedoc, where I was theonly pupil, and where I was to remain as I was born, a simple heretic. Those sisters were very good to me, and taught me as much as I couldtake of secular accomplishment. And it was a bitter day for me when Ileft them for America. 

For during those six years I had seen my father at long intervals, andhad almost forgotten the earlier days when I was always with him. I usedto be the one little comfort of his perpetual wanderings, when I was acareless child, and said things to amuse him. Not that he ever playedwith me any more than he played with any thing; but I was the last ofhis seven children, and he liked to watch me grow. I never knew it, I never guessed it, until he gave his life for mine; but, poor littlecommon thing as I was, I became his only tie to earth. Even to me hewas never loving, in the way some fathers are. He never called me by petnames, nor dandled me on his knee, nor kissed me, nor stroked down myhair and smiled. Such things I never expected of him, and thereforenever missed them; I did not even know that happy children always havethem. 

But one thing I knew, which is not always known to happier children:I had the pleasure of knowing my own name. My name was an Englishone--Castlewood--and by birth I was an English girl, though of EnglandI knew nothing, and at one time spoke and thought most easily in French. But my longing had always been for England, and for the sound of Englishvoices and the quietude of English ways. In the chatter and heat anddrought of South France some faint remembrance of a greener, cooler, and more silent country seemed to touch me now and then. But where inEngland I had lived, or when I had left that country, or whether I hadrelations there, and why I was doomed to be a foreign girl--all thesequestions were but as curling wisps of cloud on memory's sky. 

Of such things (much as I longed to know a good deal more about them) Inever had dared to ask my father; nor even could I, in a roundabout way, such as clever children have, get second-hand information. In thefirst place, I was not a clever child; for the next point, I never hadunderhand skill; and finally, there was no one near me who knew anything about me. Like all other girls--and perhaps the very same tendencyis to be found in boys--I had strong though hazy ideas of caste. Thenoble sense of equality, fraternity, and so on, seems to come later inlife than childhood, which is an age of ambition. I did not know who inthe world I was, but felt quite sure of being somebody. 

One day, when the great tree had been sawn into lengths, and with theaid of many teams brought home, and the pits and the hoisting tacklewere being prepared and strengthened to deal with it, Mr. Gundry, beingfull of the subject, declared that he would have his dinner in the millyard. He was anxious to watch, without loss of time, the settlement ofsome heavy timbers newly sunk in the river's bed, to defend the outworksof the mill. Having his good leave to bring him his pipe, I found himsitting upon a bench with a level fixed before him, and his emptyplate and cup laid by, among a great litter of tools and things. He waslooking along the level with one eye shut, and the other most sternlyintent; but when I came near he rose and raised his broad pith hat, andmade me think that I was not interrupting him. 

"Here is your pipe, Uncle Sam, " I said; for, in spite of all his formalways, I would not be afraid of him. I had known him now quite longenough to be sure he was good and kind. And I knew that the world aroundthese parts was divided into two hemispheres, the better half beingof those who loved, and the baser half made of those who hated, SawyerSampson Gundry. 

"What a queer world it is!" said Mr. Gundry, accepting his pipe toconsider that point. "Who ever would have dreamed, fifty years agone, that your father's daughter would ever have come with a pipe to lightfor my father's son?"

"Uncle Sam, " I replied, as he slowly began to make those puffs whichseem to be of the highest essence of pleasure, and wisps of bluesmoke flitted through his white eyebrows and among the snowy curls ofhair--"dear Uncle Sam, I am sure that it would be an honor to a princessto light a pipe for a man like you. "

"Miss Rema, I should rather you would talk no nonsense, " he answered, very shortly, and he set his eye along his level, as if I had offendedhim. Not knowing how to assert myself and declare that I had spoken myhonest thoughts, I merely sat down on the bench and waited for him tospeak again to me. But he made believe to be very busy, and scarcely toknow that I was there. I had a great mind to cry, but resolved not to doit. 

"Why, how is this? What's the matter?" he exclaimed at last, when I hadbeen watching the water so long that I sighed to know where it was goingto. "Why, missy, you look as if you had never a friend in all the wideworld left. "

"Then I must look very ungrateful, " I said; "for at any rate I have one, and a good one. "

"And don't you know of any one but me, my dear?"

"You and Suan Isco and Firm--those are all I have any knowledge of. "

"'Tis a plenty--to my mind, almost too many. My plan is to be a goodfriend to all, but not let too many be friends with me. Rest you quitesatisfied with three, Miss Rema. I have lived a good many years, and Inever had more than three friends worth a puff of my pipe. "

"But one's own relations, Uncle Sam--people quite nearly related to us:it is impossible for them to be unkind, you know. "

"Do I, my dear? Then I wish that I did. Except one's own father andmother, there is not much to be hoped for out of them. My own brothertook a twist against me because I tried to save him from ruin; and ifany man ever wished me ill, he did. And I think that your father had thesame tale to tell. But there! I know nothing whatever about that. "

"Now you do, Mr. Gundry; I am certain that you do, and beg you to tellme, or rather I demand it. I am old enough now, and I am certain my dearfather would have wished me to know every thing. Whatever it was, I amsure that he was right; and until I know that, I shall always be themost miserable of the miserable. "

The Sawyer looked at me as if he could not enter into my meaning, and his broad, short nose and quiet eyes were beset with wrinkles ofinquiry. He quite forgot his level and his great post in the river, andtilted back his ancient hat, and let his pipe rest on his big brown arm. "Lord bless me!" he said, "what a young gal you are! Or, at least, whata young Miss Rema. What good can you do, miss, by making of a rout? Hereyou be in as quiet a place as you could find, and all of us likesand pities you. Your father was a wise man to settle you here in thisenlightened continent. Let the doggoned old folk t'other side of theworld think out their own flustrations. A female young American you arenow, and a very fine specimen you will grow. 'Tis the finest thing to beon all God's earth. "

"No, Mr. Gundry, I am an English girl, and I mean to be an Englishwoman. The Americans may be more kind and generous, and perhaps my fatherthought so, and brought me here for that reason. And I may be glad tocome back to you again when I have done what I am bound to do. Rememberthat I am the last of seven children, and do not even know where therest are buried. "

"Now look straight afore you, missy. What do you see yonner?" The Sawyerwas getting a little tired, perhaps, of this long interruption. 

"I see enormous logs, and a quantity of saws, and tools I don't evenknow the names of. Also I see a bright, swift river. "

"But over here, missy, between them two oaks. What do you please to seethere, Miss Rema?"

"What I see there, of course, is a great saw-mill. "

"But it wouldn't have been 'of course, ' and it wouldn't have been atall, if I had spent all my days a-dwelling on the injuries of my family. Could I have put that there unekaled sample of water-power and humaningenuity together without laboring hard for whole months of a stretch, except upon the Sabbath, and laying awake night after night, and bendingall my intellect over it? And could I have done that, think you now, if my heart was a-mooning upon family wrongs, and this, that, and theother?"

Here Sampson Gundry turned full upon me, and folded his arms, and spreadhis great chin upon his deer-skin apron, and nodded briskly with hisdeep gray eyes, surveying me in triumph. To his mind, that mill was thewonder of the world, and any argument based upon it, with or withoutcoherence, was, like its circular saws, irresistible. And yet he thoughtthat women can not reason! However, I did not say another word justthen, but gave way to him, as behooved a child. And not only that, but Ialways found him too good to be argued with--too kind, I mean, and largeof heart, and wedded to his own peculiar turns. There was nothing abouthim that one could dislike, or strike fire at, and be captious; and healways proceeded with such pity for those who were opposed to him thatthey always knew they must be wrong, though he was too polite to tellthem so. And he had such a pleasant, paternal way of looking down intoone's little thoughts when he put on his spectacles, that to say anymore was to hazard the risk of ungrateful inexperience. 

CHAPTER VI

A BRITISHER

The beautiful Blue River came from the jagged depths of the mountains, full of light and liveliness. It had scarcely run six miles from itssource before it touched our mill-wheel; but in that space and time ithad gathered strong and copious volume. The lovely blue of the water(like the inner tint of a glacier) was partly due to its origin, perhaps, and partly to the rich, soft tone of the granite sand spreadunder it. Whatever the cause may have been, the river well deserved itstitle. 

It was so bright and pure a blue, so limpid and pellucid, that it evenseemed to out-vie the tint of the sky which it reflected, and the myriadsparks of sunshine on it twinkled like a crystal rain. Plodding throughthe parched and scorching dust of the mountain-foot, through thestifling vapor and the blinding, ochreous glare, the traveler suddenlycame upon this cool and calm delight. It was not to be descried afar, for it lay below the level, and the oaks and other trees of shelterscarcely topped the narrow comb. There was no canyon, such as are--andsome of them known over all the world--both to the north and south ofit. The Blue River did not owe its birth to any fierce convulsion, butsparkled on its cheerful way without impending horrors. Standing hereas a child, and thinking, from the manner of my father, that strong mennever wept nor owned the conquest of emotion, I felt sometimes a fool'scontempt for the gushing transport of brave men. For instance, I haveseen a miner, or a tamer of horses, or a rough fur-hunter, or (perhapsthe bravest of all) a man of science and topography, jaded, worn, andnearly dead with drought and dearth and choking, suddenly, and beyondall hope, strike on this buried Eden. And then he dropped on his kneesand spread his starved hands upward, if he could, and thanked the Godwho made him, till his head went round, and who knows what remembranceof loved ones came to him? And then, if he had any moisture left, hefell to a passion of weeping. 

In childish ignorance I thought that this man weakly degraded himself, and should have been born a woman. But since that time I have trulylearned that the bravest of men are those who feel their Maker's Landmost softly, and are not ashamed to pay the tribute of their weakness toHim. 

Living, as we did, in a lonely place, and yet not far from a track alongthe crest of the great Californian plain from Sacramento southward, there was scarcely a week which did not bring us some traveler needingcomfort. Mr. Gundry used to be told that if he would set up a roughhotel, or house of call for cattle-drovers, miners, loafers, and soon, he might turn twice the money he could ever make by his thrivingsaw-mill. But he only used to laugh, and say that nature had made himtoo honest for that; and he never thought of charging any thing for hishospitality, though if a rich man left a gold piece, or even a nugget, upon a shelf, as happened very often, Sawyer Gundry did not disdainto set it aside for a rainy day. And one of his richest or most lavishguests arrived on my account, perhaps. 

It happened when daylight was growing shorter, and the red heat of theearth was gone, and the snow-line of distant granite peaks had creptalready lower, and the chattering birds that spent their summer in ourband of oak-trees were beginning to find their food get short, and toprime swift wings for the lowland; and I, having never felt bitter cold, was trembling at what I heard of it. For now it was clear that I had nochoice but to stay where I was for the present, and be truly thankful toGod and man for having the chance of doing so. For the little relicsof my affairs--so far as I had any--had taken much time in arrangement, perhaps because it was so hard to find them. I knew nothing, exceptabout my own little common wardrobe, and could give no information aboutthe contents of my father's packages. But these, by dint of perseveranceon the part of Ephraim (who was very keen about all rights), had mainlybeen recovered, and Mr. Gundry had done the best that could be doneconcerning them. Whatever seemed of a private nature, or likely to proveimportant, had been brought home to Blue River Mills; the rest had beensold, and had fetched large prices, unless Mr. Gundry enlarged them. 

He more than enlarged, he multiplied them, as I found out longafterward, to make me think myself rich and grand, while a beggar uponhis bounty. I had never been accustomed to think of money, and feltsome little contempt for it--not, indeed, a lofty hatred, but a carelesswonder why it seemed to be always thought of. It was one of the lastthings I ever thought of; and those who were waiting for it were--untilI got used to them--obliged in self-duty to remind me. 

This, however, was not my fault. I never dreamed of wronging them. ButI had earned no practical knowledge of the great world any where, muchthough I had wandered about, according to vague recollections. The dutyof paying had never been mine; that important part had been done for me. And my father had such a horror always of any growth of avarice that henever gave me sixpence. 

And now, when I heard upon every side continual talk of money, from SuanIsco upward, I thought at first that the New World must be differentfrom the Old one, and that the gold mines in the neighborhood must havemade them full of it; and once or twice I asked Uncle Sam; but he onlynodded his head, and said that it was the practice every where. Andbefore very long I began to perceive that he did not exaggerate. 

Nothing could prove this point more clearly than the circumstance abovereferred to--the arrival of a stranger, for the purpose of bribing evenUncle Sam himself. This happened in the month of November, when thepasses were beginning to be blocked with snow, and those of the highermountain tracts had long been overwhelmed with it. On this particularday the air was laden with gray, oppressive clouds, threatening a heavydownfall, and instead of faring forth, as usual, to my beloved river, Iwas kept in-doors, and even up stairs, by a violent snow-headache. Thisis a crushing weight of pain, which all new-comers, or almost all, areobliged to endure, sometimes for as much as eight-and-forty hours, whenthe first great snow of the winter is breeding, as they express it, overhead. But I was more lucky than most people are; for after abouttwelve hours of almost intolerable throbbing, during which the sweetestsound was odious, and the idea of food quite loathsome, the agony leftme, and a great desire for something to eat succeeded. Suan Isco, thekindest of the kind, was gone down stairs at last, for which I feltungrateful gratitude--because she had been doing her best to charmaway my pain by low, monotonous Indian ditties, which made it ten timesworse; and yet I could not find heart to tell her so. 

Now it must have been past six o'clock in the evening of the Novemberday when the avalanche slid off my head, and I was able to lift it. Thelight of the west had been faint, and was dead; though often it usedto prolong our day by the backward glance of the ocean. With pangs ofyouthful hunger, but a head still weak and dazy, I groped my way in thedark through the passage and down the stairs of redwood. 

At the bottom, where a railed landing was, and the door opened into thehouse-room, I was surprised to find that, instead of the usual cheerfulcompany enjoying themselves by the fire-light, there were only twopeople present. The Sawyer sat stiffly in his chair of state, delayingeven the indulgence of his pipe, and having his face set sternly, as Ihad never before beheld it. In the visitor's corner, as we called it, where people sat to dry themselves, there was a man, and only one. 

Something told me that I had better keep back and not disturb them. Theroom was not in its usual state of comfort and hospitality. Some kind ofmeal had been made at the table, as always must be in these parts;but not of the genial, reckless sort which random travelers carriedon without any check from the Sawyer. For he of all men ever born ina civilized age was the finest host, and a guest beneath his roofwas sacred as a lady to a knight. Hence it happened that I was muchsurprised. Proper conduct almost compelled me to withdraw; but curiositymade me take just one more little peep, perhaps. Looking back at thesethings now, I can not be sure of every thing; and indeed if I could, Imust have an almost supernatural memory. But I remember many things; andthe headache may have cleared my mind. 

The stranger who had brought Mr. Gundry's humor into such stiffcondition was sitting in the corner, a nook where light and shadow madean eddy. He seemed to be perfectly unconcerned about all the tricks ofthe hearth flame, presenting as he did a most solid face for any lightto play upon. To me it seemed to be a weather-beaten face of a bluff andresolute man, the like of which we attribute to John Bull. At any rate, he was like John Bull in one respect: he was sturdy and square, and fitto hold his own with any man. 

Strangers of this sort had come (as Englishmen rove every where), andbeen kindly welcomed by Uncle Sam, who, being of recent English blood, had a kind of hankering after it, and would almost rather have such athis board than even a true-born American; and infinitely more welcomewere they than Frenchman, Spaniard, or German, or any man not to bedistinguished, as was the case with some of them. Even now it was clearthat the Sawyer had not grudged any tokens of honor, for the tall, square, brazen candlesticks, of Boston make, were on the table, andvery little light they gave. The fire, however, was grandly roaring ofstub-oak and pine antlers, and the black grill of the chimney brickswas fringed with lifting filaments. It was a rich, ripe light, affordingbreadth and play for shadow; and the faces of the two men glistened, anddarkened in their creases. 

I was dressed in black, and could not be seen, though I could see themso clearly; and I doubted whether to pass through, upon my way to thelarder, or return to my room and starve a little longer; for I did notwish to interrupt, and had no idea of listening. But suddenly I wascompelled to stop; and to listen became an honest thing, when I knewwhat was spoken of--or, at any rate, I did it. 

"Castlewood, Master Colonist; Castlewood is the name of the man that Ihave come to ask about. And you will find it worth your while to tell meall you know of him. " Thus spoke the Englishman sitting in the corner;and he seemed to be certain of producing his effect. 

"Wal, " said Uncle Sam, assuming what all true Britons believe to be theuniversal Yankee tone, while I knew that he was laughing in his sleeve, "Squire, I guess that you may be right. Considerations of that 'ere kinddesarves to be considered of. "

"Just so. I knew that you must see it, " the stranger continued, bravely. "A stiff upper lip, as you call it here, is all very well to begin with. But all you enlightened members of the great republic know what is what. It will bring you more than ten years' income of your saw-mill, andfarm, and so on, to deal honestly with me for ten minutes. No morebeating about the bush and fencing with me, as you have done. Now canyou see your own interest?"

"I never were reckoned a fool at that. Squire, make tracks, and be donewith it. "

"Then, Master Colonist, or Colonel--for I believe you are all colonelshere--your task is very simple. We want clear proof, sworn properly andattested duly, of the death of a villain--George Castlewood, otherwisethe Honorable George Castlewood, otherwise Lord Castlewood: a man whomurdered his own father ten years ago this November: a man committedfor trial for the crime, but who bribed his jailers and escaped, andwandered all over the Continent. What is that noise? Have you got rats?"

"Plenty of foreign rats, and native 'coons, and skunks, and othervarmint. Wal, Squire, go on with it. "

The voice of Uncle Sam was stern, and his face full of rising fury, asI, who had made that noise in my horror, tried to hush my heart withpatience. 

"The story is well known, " continued the stranger: "we need make nobones of it. George Castlewood went about under a curse--"

"Not quite so loud, Squire, if you please. My household is notaltogether seasoned. "

"And perhaps you have got the young lady somewhere. I heard a report tothat effect. But here you think nothing of a dozen murders. Now, Gundry, let us have no squeamishness. We only want justice, and we can pay forit. Ten thousand dollars I am authorized to offer for a mere act of dutyon your part. We have an extradition treaty. If the man had been alive, we must have had him. But as he has cheated the hangman by dying, we canonly see his grave and have evidence. And all well-disposed people mustrejoice to have such a quiet end of it. For the family is so well known, you see. "

"I see, " Mr. Gundry answered, quietly, laying a finger on his lips. "Guess you want something more than that, though, Squire. Is therenothing more than the grave to oblige a noble Britisher with?"

"Yes, Colonel; we want the girl as well. We know that she was with himin that caravan, or wagon train, or whatever you please to call it. We know that you have made oath of his death, produced his child, andobtained his trunks, and drawn his share in the insurance job. Your lawsmust be queer to let you do such things. In England it would have takenat least three years, and cost a deal more than the things were worth, even without a Chancery suit. However, of his papers I shall takepossession; they can be of no earthly use to you. "

"To be sure. And possession of his darter too, without so much as aChancery suit. But what is to satisfy me, Squire, agin goin' wrong inthis little transaction?"

"I can very soon satisfy you, " said the stranger, "as to their identity. Here is their full, particular, and correct description--names, weights, and colors of the parties. "

With a broad grin at his own exquisite wit, the bluff man drew forth hispocket-book, and took out a paper, which he began to smooth on his kneequite leisurely. Meanwhile, in my hiding-place, I was trembling withterror and indignation. The sense of eavesdropping was wholly lost, inthat of my own jeopardy. I must know what was arranged about me; forI felt such a hatred and fear of that stranger that sooner than besurrendered to him I would rush back to my room and jump out of thewindow, and trust myself to the trackless forest and the snowy night. I was very nearly doing so, but just had sense enough to wait and hearwhat would be said of me. So I lurked in the darkness, behind the rails, while the stranger read slowly and pompously. 

CHAPTER VII

DISCOMFITURE

The Englishman drew forth a double eyeglass from a red velvet waistcoat, and mounting it on his broad nose, came nearer to get the full light ofthe candles. I saw him as clearly as I could wish, and, indeed, a greatdeal too clearly; for the more I saw of the man, the more I shrank fromthe thought of being in his power. Not that he seemed to be brutal orfierce, but selfish, and resolute, and hard-hearted, and scornful oflofty feelings. Short dust-colored hair and frizzly whiskers framedhis large, thick-featured face, and wearing no mustache, he showed theclumsy sneer of a wide, coarse mouth. I watched him with all my eyes, because of his tone of authority about myself. He might even be myguardian or my father's nearest relation--though he seemed to be tooill-bred for that. 

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Colonel, " he went on, in a patronizing tone, such as he had assumed throughout. "Here it is. Now prick your ears up, and see if these candid remarks apply. I am reading from a printed form, you see:

"'George Castlewood is forty-eight years old, but looks perhaps tenyears older. His height is over six feet two, and he does not stoop orslouch at all. His hair is long and abundant, but white; his eyes aredark, piercing, and gloomy. His features are fine, and of Italian cast, but stern, morose, and forbidding, and he never uses razor. On the backof his left hand, near the wrist, there is a broad scar. He dresses inhalf-mourning always, and never wears any jewelry, but strictly shunsall society, and prefers uncivilized regions. He never stays long inany town, and follows no occupation, though his aspect and carriage aremilitary, as he has been a cavalry officer. From time to time he hasbeen heard of in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and is now believed to be inAmerica. 

"'His only surviving child, a girl of about fifteen, has been seen withhim. She is tall and slight and very straight, and speaks French betterthan English. Her hair is very nearly black, and her eyes of unusualsize and lustre. She is shy, and appears to have been kept under, andshe has a timid smile. Whether she knows of her father's crime or not isquite uncertain; but she follows him like a dog almost. '

"There now, Colonel, " cried the Englishman, as he folded the papertriumphantly; "most of that came from my information, though I never seteyes upon the child. Does the cap fit or not, Brother Jonathan?"

Mr. Gundry was leaning back in his own corner, with a favorite pipe, carved by himself, reposing on his waistcoat. And being thus appealedto, he looked up and rubbed his eyes as if he had been dozing, thoughhe never had been more wide awake, as I, who knew his attitudes, couldtell. And my eyes filled with tears of love and shame, for I knew by themere turn of his chin that he never would surrender me. 

"Stranger, " he said, in a most provoking drawl, "a hard day's worktells its tale on me, you bet. You do read so bootiful, you read me hardasleep. And the gutturals of that furrin English is always a little hardto catch. Mought I trouble you just to go through it again? You likesthe sound of your own voice; and no blame to you, being such a swateun. "

The Englishman looked at him keenly, as if he had some suspicion ofbeing chaffed; but the face of the Sawyer was so grave and the bend ofhis head so courteous that he could not refuse to do as he was asked. But he glanced first at the whiskey bottle standing between thecandlesticks; and I knew it boded ill for his errand when Uncle Sam, themost hospitable of men, feigned pure incomprehension of that glance. Theman should have no more under that roof. 

With a sullen air and a muttered curse, at which Mr. Gundry blew awreath of smoke, the stranger unfolded his paper again, and saying, "NowI beg you to attend this time, " read the whole of his description, withmuch emphasis, again, while the Sawyer turned away and beat timeupon the hearth, with his white hair, broad shoulders, and red earsprominent. The Englishman looked very seriously vexed, but went throughhis business doggedly. "Are you satisfied now?" he asked when he hadfinished. 

"Wal, now, Squire, " replied Uncle Sam, still keeping up his provokingdrawl, but turning round and looking at the stranger very steadfastly, "some thin's is so pooty and so ilegantly done, they seems a'most asgood as well-slung flapjacks. A natteral honest stomick can't nohow haveenough of them. Mought I be so bold, in a silly, mountaneous sort of away, as to ax for another heerin' of it?"

"Do you mean to insult me, Sir?" shouted the visitor, leaping up with aflaming face, and throwing himself into an attitude of attack. 

"Stranger, I mought, " answered Mr. Gundry, standing squarely before him, and keeping his hands contemptuously behind his back--"I mought so do, barrin' one little point. The cutest commissioner in all the West wouldhave to report 'Non compos' if his orders was to diskiver somethin'capable of bein' insulted in a fellow of your natur'. "

With these words Uncle Sam sat down, and powerfully closed his mouth, signifying that now the matter was taken through every phase ofdiscussion, and had been thoroughly exhausted. His visitor stared at himfor a moment, as if at some strange phenomenon, and then fell back intoself-command, without attempting bluster. 

"Colonel, you are a 'cure, ' as we call it on our side of the herringpond. What have I done to 'riz your dander, ' as you elegantly express ithere?"

"Britisher, nothing. You know no better. It takes more than that to putmy back up. But forty years agone I do believe I must 'a heaved you outo' window. "

"Why, Colonel, why? Now be reasonable. Not a word have I said reflectingeither upon you or your country; and a finer offer than I have made cannot come to many of you, even in this land of gold. Ten thousand dollarsI offer, and I will exceed my instructions and say fifteen, all paid onthe nail by an order on Frisco, about which you may assure yourself. Andwhat do I ask in return? Legal proof of the death of a man whom we knowto be dead, and the custody of his child, for her own good. "

"Squire, I have no other answer to make. If you offered me all the golddug in these mountains since they were discovered, I could only say whatI have said before. You came from Sylvester's ranch--there is time foryou to get back ere the snow begins. "

"What a hospitable man you are! Upon my word, Gundry, you deserve tohave a medal from our Humane Society. You propose to turn me out ofdoors to-night, with a great fall of snow impending?"

"Sir, the fault is entirely your own. What hospitality can you expectafter coming to buy my guest? If you are afraid of the ten-mile ride, my man at the mill will bed you. But here you must not sleep, becauseI might harm you in the morning. I am apt to lose my temper sometimes, when I go on to think of things. "

"Colonel, I think I had better ride back. I fear no man, nor his temper, nor crotchets. But if I were snowed up at your mill, I never mightcross the hill-foot for months; but from Sylvester's I can always get toMinto. You refuse, then, to help me in any way?"

"More than that. I will do every thing in my power to confound you. Ifany one comes prowling after that young lady, he shall be shot. "

"That is most discouraging. However, you may think better of it. Writeto this address if you do. You have the girl here, of course?"

"That is her concern and mine. Does your guide know the way right well!The snow is beginning. You do not know our snows, any more than you knowus. "

"Never mind, Mr. Gundry. I shall do very well. You are rough in yourways, but you mean to do the right; and your indignation is virtuous. But mark my words upon one little point. If George Castlewood had beenliving, I have such credentials that I would have dragged him back withme in spite of all your bluster. But over his corpse I have no control, in the present condition of treaties. Neither can I meddle with hisdaughter, if it were worth while to do so. Keep her and make the best ofher, my man. You have taken a snake in the grass to your bosom, if thatis what you are up for. A very handsome girl she may be, but a badlot, as her father was. If you wish the name of Gundry to have its duerespect hereafter, let the heir of the sawmills have nothing to do withthe Honorable Miss Castlewood. "

"Let alone, let alone, " Uncle Sam said, angrily. "It is well for youthat the 'heir of the saw-mills' hath not heard your insolence. Firm isa steady lad; but he knoweth well which foot to kick with. No fearof losing the way to Sylvester's ranch with Firm behind you. But, meddlesome as you be, and a bitter weed to my experience, it shall notbe said that Sampson Gundry sent forth a fellow to be frozen. Drink aglass of hot whiskey before you get to saddle. Not in friendship, mindyou, Sir, but in common human nature. "

That execrable man complied, for he began to be doubtful of the drivingsnow, now huddling against the window-frames. And so he went out; andwhen he was gone, I came forth into the fire-light, and threw my armsround the Sawyer's neck and kissed him till he was ashamed of me. 

"Miss Rema, my dear, my poor little soul, what makes you carry on so?"

"Because I have heard every word, Uncle Sam, and I was base enough todoubt you. "

CHAPTER VIII

A DOUBTFUL LOSS

When I tried to look out of my window in the morning, I was quiteastonished at the state of things. To look out fairly was impossible;for not only was all the lower part of the frame hillocked up like asandglass, and the sides filled in with dusky plaits, but even in themiddle, where some outlook was, it led to very little. All the airseemed choked with snow, and the ground coming up in piles to meet it;all sounds were deadened in the thick gray hush, and nothing had its ownproportion. Never having seen such a thing before, I was frightened, andlonged to know more of it. 

Mr. Gundry had a good laugh at me, in which even Suan Isco joined, whenI proposed to sweep a path to the mill, and keep it open through thewinter. 

"It can be done--I am sure it can, " I exclaimed, with vigorousignorance. "May I do it if I can? It only requires perseverance. If youkeep on sweeping as fast as it falls, you must overcome it. Don't yousee, Uncle Sam?"

"To be sure I do, Miss Rema, as plain as any pikestaff. Suan, fetch adouble bundle of new brooms from top loft, and don't forget while yoube up there to give special orders--no snow is to fall at night or whenmissy is at dinner. "

"You may laugh as much as you please, Uncle Sam, but I intend to try it. I must try to keep my path to--somewhere. "

"What a fool I am, to be sure!" said Mr. Gundry, softly. "There, now, Ibeg your pardon, my dear, for never giving a thought to it. Firm and Iwill do it for you, as long as the Lord allows of it. Why, the snow istwo foot deep a'ready, and twenty foot in places. I wonder whether thatrogue of a Goad got home to Sylvester's ranch last night? No fault ofmine if he never did, for go he would in spite of me. "

I had not been thinking of Mr. Goad, and indeed I did not know hisname until it was told in this way. My mind was dwelling on my father'sgrave, where I used to love to sit and think; and I could not bear theidea of the cold snow lying over it, with nobody coming to care for him. Kind hands had borne him down the mountains (while I lay between lifeand death) and buried him in the soft peach orchard, in the soothingsound of the mill-wheel. Here had been planted above his head a crossof white un-painted wood, bearing only his initials, and a small "Amen"below them. 

With this I was quite content, believing that he would have wished nobetter, being a very independent man, and desirous of no kind of pomp. There was no "consecrated ground" within miles and miles of traveling;but I hoped that he might rest as well with simple tears to hallow it. For often and often, even now, I could not help giving way and sobbing, when I thought how sad it was that a strong, commanding, mighty man, ofgreat will and large experience, should drop in a corner of the worldand die, and finally be thought lucky--when he could think for himselfno longer--to obtain a tranquil, unknown grave, and end with hisinitials, and have a water-wheel to sing to him. Many a time it setme crying, and made me long to lie down with him, until I thought ofearth-worms. 

All that could be done was done by Sampson and Firm Gundry, to let mehave my clear path, and a clear bourne at the end of it. But even with asteam snow-shovel they could not have kept the way unstopped, such solidmasses of the mountain clouds now descended over us. And never had Ibeen so humored in my foolish wishes: I was quite ashamed to see thetrouble great men took to please me. 

"Well, I am sorry to hear it, Firm, " said the Sawyer, coming in one day, with clouts of snow in his snowy curls. "Not that I care a cent for thefellow--and an impudenter fellow never sucked a pipe. Still, he mighthave had time to mend, if his time had been as good as the room for it. However, no blame rests on us. I told him to bed down to saw-mill. TheyEnglishmen never know when they are well off. But the horse got home, they tell me?"

"The horse got home all right, grandfather, and so did the other horseand man. But Sylvester thinks that a pile of dollars must have died outin the snow-drift. It is a queer story. We shall never know the rights. "

"How many times did I tell him, " the Sawyer replied, without muchdiscontent, "that it were a risky thing to try the gulches, such a nightas that? His own way he would have, however; and finer liars than hecould ever stick up to be for a score of years have gone, time upontime, to the land of truth by means of that same view of things. Theytake every body else for a liar. "

"Oh, Uncle Sam, who is it?" I cried. "Is it that dreadful--that poor manwho wanted to carry me away from you?"

"Now you go in, missy; you go to the fire-hearth, " Mr. Gundry answered, more roughly than usual. "Leave you all such points to the Lord. Theyare not for young ladies to talk about. "

"Grandfather, don't you be too hard, " said Firm, as he saw me hurryingaway. "Miss Rema has asked nothing unbecoming, but only concerning herown affairs. If we refuse to tell her, others will. "

"Very well, then, so be it, " the Sawyer replied; for he yielded more tohis grandson than to the rest of the world put together. "Turn the logup, Firm, and put the pan on. You boys can go on without victuals allday, but an old man must feed regular. And, bad as he was, I thank Godfor sending him on his way home with his belly full. If ever he turnethup in the snow, that much can be proved to my account. "

Young as I was, and little practiced in the ways of settlers, I couldnot help perceiving that Uncle Sam was very much put out--not at thedeath of the man so sadly, as at the worry of his dying so in goingfrom a hospitable house. Mr. Gundry cared little what any body saidconcerning his honor, or courage, or such like; but the thought of awhisper against his hospitality would rouse him. 

"Find him, Firm, find him, " he said, in his deep sad voice, as he satdown on the antlered stump and gazed at the fire gloomily. "And whenhe is found, call a public postmortem, and prove that we gave him hisbellyful. "

Ephraim, knowing the old man's ways, and the manners, perhaps, of theneighborhood, beckoned to Suan to be quick with something hot, that hemight hurry out again. Then he took his dinner standing, and without aword went forth to seek. 

"Take the snow-harrow, and take Jowler, " the old man shouted after him, and the youth turned round at the gate and waved his cap to show thathe heard him. The snow was again falling heavily, and the afternoon waswaning; and the last thing we saw was the brush of the mighty tail ofthe great dog Jowler. 

"Oh, uncle, Firm will be lost himself!" I cried, in dismay at the greatwhite waste. "And the poor man, whoever he is, must be dead. Do call himback, or let me run. "

Mr. Gundry's only answer was to lead me back to the fireside, wherehe made me sit down, and examined me, while Suan was frying thebutter-beans. 

"Who was it spied you on the mountains, missy, the whole of the way fromthe redwood-tree, although you lay senseless on the ground, and he washard at work with the loppings?"

"Why, Ephraim, of course, Uncle Sam; every body says that nobody elsecould have noticed such a thing at such a distance. "

"Very well, my dear; and who was it carried you all the way to thishouse, without stopping, or even letting your head droop down, althoughit was a burning hot May morn?"

"Mr. Gundry, as if you did not know a great deal better than I do! Itwas weeks before I could thank him, even. But you must have seen him doit all. "

The Sawyer rubbed his chin, which was large enough for a great deal ofrubbing; and when he did that, I was always sure that an argument wentto his liking. He said nothing more for the present, but had his dinner, and enjoyed it. 

"Supposing now that he did all that, " he resumed, about an hourafterward, "is Firm the sort of boy you would look to to lose his ownself in a snow-drift? He has three men with him, and he is worth allthree, let alone the big dog Jowler, who has dug out forty feet of snowere now. If that rogue of an Englishman, Goad, has had the luck to cheatthe hangman, and the honor to die in a Californy snow-drift, you maytake my experience for it, missy, Firm and Jowler will find him, andclear Uncle Sam's reputation. "

CHAPTER IX

WATER-SPOUT

If Mr. Gundry was in one way right, he was equally wrong in the other. Firm came home quite safe and sound, though smothered with snow andmost hungry; but he thought that he should have staid out all the night, because he had failed of his errand. Jowler also was full of discontentand trouble of conscience. He knew, when he kicked up his heels in thesnow, that his duty was to find somebody, and being of Alpine pedigree, and trained to act up to his ancestry, he now dropped his tail withfailure. 

"It comes to the same thing, " said Sawyer Gundry; "it is foolish tobe so particular. A thousand better men have sunk through being sopig-headed. We shall find the rogue toward the end of March, or inApril, if the season suits. Firm, eat your supper and shake yourself. "

This was exactly the Sawyer's way--to take things quietly when convincedthat there was no chance to better them. He would always do his bestabout the smallest trifle; but after that, be the matter small or great, he had a smiling face for the end of it. 

The winter, with all its weight of sameness and of dreariness, went atlast, and the lovely spring from the soft Pacific found its gradual wayto us. Accustomed as I was to gentler climates and more easy changes, I lost myself in admiration of this my first Californian spring. Theflowers, the leagues and leagues of flowers, that burst into color andharmony--purple, yellow, and delicate lilac, woven with bright crimsonthreads, and fringed with emerald-green by the banks, and blue by thecourse of rivers, while deepened here and there by wooded shelter andcool places, with the silver-gray of the soft Pacific waning in fardistance, and silken vapor drawing toward the carding forks of themountain range; and over all the never-wearying azure of the limpid sky:child as I was, and full of little worldly troubles on my own account, these grand and noble sights enlarged me without any thinking. 

The wheat and the maize were grown apace, and beans come into fullblossom, and the peaches swinging in the western breeze were almost aslarge as walnuts, and all things in their prime of freshness, ere theyellow dust arrived, when a sudden melting of snow in some gully senta strong flood down our Blue River. The saw-mill happened to be hard atwork; and before the gear could be lifted, some damage was done to thefloats by the heavy, impetuous rush of the torrent. Uncle Sam was away, and so was Firm; from which, perhaps, the mischief grew. However, theblame was all put on the river, and little more was said of it. 

The following morning I went down before even Firm was out-of-doors, under some touch, perhaps, of natural desire to know things. The streamwas as pure and bright as ever, hastening down its gravel-path of finegranite just as usual, except that it had more volume and a strongersense of freshness. Only the bent of the grasses and the swath of thependulous twigs down stream remained to show that there must have beensome violence quite lately. 

All Mr. Gundry's strengthening piles and shores were as firm as needbe, and the clear blue water played around them as if they were noconstraint to it. And none but a practiced eye could see that the greatwheel had been wounded, being undershot, and lifted now above the powerof the current, according to the fine old plan of locking the door whenthe horse is gone. 

When I was looking up and wondering where to find the mischief, Martin, the foreman, came out and crossed the plank, with his mouth full ofbreakfast. 

"Show me, " I said, with an air, perhaps, of very young importance, "where and what the damage is. Is there any strain to the iron-work?"

"Lor' a mercy, young missus!" he answered, gruffly, being by no means apolished man, "where did you ever hear of ironwork? Needles and pins isenough for you. Now don't you go and make no mischief. "

"I have no idea what you mean, " I answered. "If you have been careless, that is no concern of mine. "

"Careless, indeed! And the way I works, when others is a-snorin' intheir beds! I might just as well do nort, every bit, and get more thanksand better wages. That's the way of the world all over. Come Saturdayweek, I shall better myself. "

"But if it's the way of the world all over, how will you betteryourself, unless you go out of the world altogether!" I put thisquestion to Martin with the earnest simplicity of the young, meaning nokind of sarcasm, but knowing that scarcely a week went by without histhreatening to "better himself. " And they said that he had done so forseven years or more. 

"Don't you be too sharp, " he replied, with a grim smile, partly athimself, perhaps. "If half as I heard about you is true, you'll wantall your sharpness for yourself, Miss Remy. And the Britishers are worsethan we be. "

"Well, Martin, I am sure you would help me, " I said, "if you saw anyperson injuring me. But what is it I am not to tell your master?"

"My master, indeed! Well, you need not tell old Gundry any thing aboutwhat you have seen. It might lead to hard words; and hard words are notthe style of thing I put up with. If any man tries hard words with me, Iknocks him down, up sticks, and makes tracks. "

I could not help smiling at the poor man's talk. Sawyer Gundry couldhave taken him with one hand and tossed him over the undershot wheel. 

"You forget that I have not seen any thing, " I said, "and understandnothing but 'needles and pins. ' But, for fear of doing any harm, I willnot even say that I have been down here, unless I am asked about it. "

"Miss Remy, you are a good girl, and you shall have the mill some day. Lord, don't your little great eyes see the job they are a-doin' of?The finest stroke in all Californy, when the stubborn old chap takes toquartz-crushing. "

All this was beyond me, and I told him so, and we parted good friends, while he shook his long head and went home to feed many pappooses. For the strangest thing of all things was, though I never at that timethought of it, that there was not any one about this place whom any onecould help liking. Martin took as long as any body to be liked, untilone understood him; but after that he was one of the best, in many waysthat can not be described. Also there was a pair of negroes, simply andsweetly delightful. They worked all day and they sang all night, thoughI had not the pleasure of hearing them; and the more Suan Isco despisedthem--because they were black, and she was only brown--the more theymade up to her, not at all because she governed the supply of victuals. It was childish to have such ideas, though Suan herself could never getrid of them. The truth, as I came to know afterward, was that a large, free-hearted, and determined man was at the head of every thing. Martinwas the only one who ever grumbled, and he had established a long rightto do so by never himself being grumbled at. 

"I'll be bound that poor fellow is in a sad way, " Mr. Gundry said atbreakfast-time. "He knows how much he is to blame, and I fear that hewon't eat a bit for the day. Martin is a most conscientious man. He willoffer to give up his berth, although it would be his simple ruin. "

I was wise enough not to say a word, though Firm looked at me keenly. Heknew that I had been down at the mill, and expected me to say something. 

"We all must have our little mistakes, " continued Sawyer Gundry; "but Inever like to push a man when he feels it. I shall not say a syllable toMartin; and, Ephraim, you will do the like. When a fellow sticks well tohis work like Martin, never blame him for a mere accident. "

Firm, according to his habit, made no answer when he did not quiteagree. In talking with his own age he might have argued, but he did notargue with his grandfather. 

"I shall just go down and put it right myself. Martin is a poor hand atrepairing. Firm, you go up the gulch, and see if the fresh has hurt thehurdles. Missy, you may come with me, if you please, and sketch me atwork in the mill-wheel. You have drawn that wheel such a sight of times, you must know every feather of it better than the man who made it. "

"Uncle Sam, you are too bad, " I said. "I have never got it right, and Inever shall. "

I did not dare as yet to think what really proved to be true in theend--that I could not draw the wheel correctly because itself wasincorrect. In spite of all Mr. Gundry's skill and labor and ingenuity, the wheel was no true circle. The error began in the hub itself, andincreased, of course, with the distance; but still it worked very well, like many other things that are not perfect. 

Having no idea of this as yet, and doubting nothing except my ownperception of "perspective, " I sat down once more in my favorite spot, and waited for the master to appear as an active figure in the midstof it. The air was particularly bright and clear, even for that pureclimate, and I could even see the blue-winged flies darting in and outof the oozy floats. But half-way up the mountains a white cloud washanging, a cloud that kept on changing shape. I only observed it as athing to put in for my background, because I was fond of trying to toneand touch up my sketches with French chalks. 

Presently I heard a harsh metallic sound and creaking of machinery. Thebites, or clamps, or whatever they are called, were being put on, tokeep the wheel from revolving with the Sawyer's weight. Martin, theforeman, was grumbling and growling, according to his habit, and peeringthrough the slot, or channel of stone, in which the axle worked, and thecheery voice of Mr. Gundry was putting down his objections. Being muchtoo large to pass through the slot, Mr. Gundry came round the cornerof the building, with a heavy leathern bag of tools strapped round hisneck, and his canvas breeches girt above his knees. But the foremanstaid inside to hand him the needful material into the wheel. 

The Sawyer waded merrily down the shallow blue water, for he was alwayslike a boy when he was at work, and he waved his little skull-cap to me, and swung himself up into the wheel, as if he were nearer seventeen thanseventy. And presently I could only see his legs and arms as he fell towork. Therefore I also fell to work, with my best attempts at penciling, having been carefully taught enough of drawing to know that I could notdraw. And perhaps I caught from the old man's presence and the sound ofhis activity that strong desire to do my best which he seemed to impartto every one. 

At any rate, I was so engrossed that I scarcely observed the changinglight, except as a hindrance to my work and a trouble to my distance, till suddenly some great drops fell upon my paper and upon my hat, anda rush of dark wind almost swept me from the log upon which I sat. Thenagain all was a perfect calm, and the young leaves over the stream hungheavily on their tender foot-stalks, and the points of the breeze-sweptgrass turned back, and the ruffle of all things smoothed itself. Butthere seemed to be a sense of fear in the waiting silence of earth andair. 

This deep, unnatural stillness scared me, and I made up my mind torun away. But the hammer of the Sawyer sounded as I had never heard itsound. He was much too hard at work to pay any heed to sky or stream, and the fall of his strokes was dead and hollow, as if the placeresented them. 

"Come away, come away, " I cried, as I ran and stood on the opposite bankto him; "there is something quite wrong in the weather, I am sure. Ientreat you to come away at once, Uncle Sam. Every thing is so strangeand odd. "

"Why, what's to do now?" asked the Sawyer, coming to my side of thewheel and looking at me, with his spectacles tilted up, and his apronwedged in a piece of timber, and his solid figure resting in theimpossibility of hurry. "Missy, don't you make a noise out there. Youcan't have your own way always. "

"Oh, Uncle Sam, don't talk like that. I am in such a fright about you. Do come out and look at the mountains. "

"I have seen the mountains often enough, and I am up to every trick ofthem. There may be a corn or two of rain; no more. My sea-weed was liketinder. There can't be no heavy storm when it is like that. Don't youmake pretense, missy, to know what is beyond you. "

Uncle Sam was so seldom cross that I always felt that he had a rightto be so. And he gave me one of his noble smiles to make up for thesharpness of his words, and then back he went to his work again. So Ihoped that I was altogether wrong, till a bolt of lightning, like a bluedagger, fell at my very feet, and a crash of thunder shook the earth andstunned me. These opened the sluice of the heavens, and before I couldcall out I was drenched with rain. Clinging to a bush, I saw the valleylashed with cloudy blasts, and a whirling mass of spiral darknessrushing like a giant toward me. And the hissing and tossing and roaringmixed whatever was in sight together. 

Such terror fell upon me at first that I could not look, and couldscarcely think, but cowered beneath the blaze of lightning as a singedmoth drops and shivers. And a storm of wind struck me from my hold, sothat I fell upon the wet earth. Every moment I expected to be killed, for I never could be brave in a thunder-storm, and had not been toldmuch in France of God's protection around me. And the darts of lightninghissed and crossed like a blue and red web over me. So I laid hold of alittle bent of weed, and twisted it round my dabbled wrist, and tried topray to the Virgin, although I had often been told it was vanity. 

Then suddenly wiping my eyes, I beheld a thing which entirely changedme. A vast, broad wall of brown water, nearly as high as the millitself, rushed down with a crest of foam from the mountains. It seemedto fill up all the valley and to swallow up all the trees; a whole hostof animals fled before it, and birds, like a volley of bullets, flew by. I lost not a moment in running away, and climbing a rock and hiding. It was base, ungrateful, and a nasty thing to do; but I did it almostwithout thinking. And if I had staid to cry out, what good could I havedone--only to be swept away?

Now, as far as I can remember any thing out of so much horror, I musthave peeped over the summit of my rock when the head of the delugestruck the mill. But whether I saw it, or whether I knew it by any moresummary process, such as outruns the eyes sometimes, is more than I darepresume to say. Whichever way I learned it, it was thus:

A solid mass of water, much bigger than the mill itself, burst on it, dashed it to atoms, leaped off with it, and spun away the great wheelanyhow, like the hoop of a child sent trundling. I heard no scream orshriek; and, indeed, the bellow of a lion would have been a mere whisperin the wild roar of the elements. Only, where the mill had been, therewas nothing except a black streak and a boil in the deluge. Then scoresof torn-up trees swept over, as a bush-harrow jumps on the clods of thefield; and the unrelenting flood cast its wrath, and shone quietly inthe lightning. 

"Oh, Uncle Sam! Uncle Sam!" I cried. But there was not a sign to be seenof him; and I thought of his gentle, good, obstinate ways, and my heartwas almost broken. "What a brute--what a wretch I am!" I kept saying, asif I could have helped it; and my fear of the lightning was gone, and Istood and raved with scorn and amazement. 

In this misery of confusion it was impossible to think, and instinctalone could have driven my despair to a desperate venture. With mysoaked clothes sticking between my legs, I ran as hard as they would go, by a short-cut over a field of corn, to a spot where the very last bluffor headland jutted into the river. This was a good mile below the millaccording to the bends of channel, but only a furlong or so from therock upon which I had taken refuge. However, the flood was there beforeme, and the wall of water dashed on to the plains, with a brindled combbehind it. 

Behind it also came all the ruin of the mill that had any floatage, andbodies of bears and great hogs and cattle, some of them alive, but themost part dead. A grand black bull tossed back his horns, and looked atme beseechingly: he had frightened me often in quiet days, but now I wastruly grieved for him. And then on a wattle of brush-wood I saw the formof a man--the Sawyer. 

His white hair draggled in the wild brown flood, and the hollow ofhis arms was heaped with froth, and his knotted legs hung helpless. Senseless he lay on his back, and sometimes the wash of the waves wentover him. His face was livid, but his brave eyes open, and a heavyweight hung round his neck. I had no time to think, and deserve nopraise, for I knew not what I did. But just as an eddy swept him nearme, I made a desperate leap at him, and clutched at something that toremy hands, and then I went under the water. My senses, however, werenot yet gone, and my weight on the wattle stopped it, and I came upgurgling, and flung one arm round a fat, woolly sheep going by me. Thesheep was water-logged, and could scarcely keep his own poor head fromdrowning, and he turned his mild eyes and looked at me, but I could notspare him. He struck for the shore in forlorn hope, and he towed us insome little. 

It is no good for me to pretend to say how things were managed for us, for of course I could do nothing. But the sheep must have piloted us toa tree, whose branches swept the torrent. Here I let him go, and caughtfast hold; and Uncle Sam's raft must have stuck there also, for whatcould my weak arm have done? I remember only to have felt the ground atlast, as the flood was exhausted; and good people came and found him andme, stretched side by side, upon rubbish and mud. 

CHAPTER X

A NUGGET

In a sacred corner (as soon as ever we could attend to any thing) wehung up the leathern bag of tools, which had done much more towardsaving the life of Uncle Sam than I did; for this had served as a kindof kedge, or drag, upon his little craft, retarding it from the greatroll of billows, in which he must have been drowned outright. And evenas it was, he took some days before he was like himself again. 

Firm, who had been at the head of the valley, repairing some brokenhurdles, declared that a water-spout had burst in the bosom of themountain gorge where the Blue River has its origin, and the whole of itspower got ponded back by a dam, which the Sawyer himself had made, atabout five furlongs above the mill. Ephraim, being further up the gulch, and high above the roaring flood, did his utmost with the keen edge ofhis eyes to pierce into the mischief; but it rained so hard, and at thesame time blew so violently around him, that he could see nothing ofwhat went on, but hoped for the best, with uneasiness. 

Now when the Sawyer came round so well as to have a clear mind ofthings, and learn that his mill was gone and his business lost, andhimself, at this ripe time of life, almost driven to begin the worldagain, it was natural to expect that he ought to indulge in a good dealof grumbling. Many people came to comfort him, and to offer him deepcondolence and the truest of true sympathy, and every thing that couldbe thought of, unless it were a loan of money. Of that they neverthought, because it was such a trifling matter; and they all hadconfidence in his power to do any thing but pay them. They told him thathe was a young man still, and Providence watched over him; in a year ortwo he would be all the better for this sad visitation. And he said yesto their excellent advice, and was very much obliged to them. At thesame time it was clear to me, who watched him like a daughter, that hebecame heavy in his mind, and sighed, as these kind friends, one afterthe other, enjoyed what he still could do for them, but rode away out ofhis gate with too much delicacy to draw purse-strings. Not that he wouldhave accepted a loan from the heartiest heart of all of them, only thathe would have liked the offer, to understand their meaning. And severalof them were men--as Firm, in his young indignation, told me--who hadbeen altogether set up in life by the kindness of Sampson Gundry. 

Perhaps the Sawyer, after all his years, had no right to be vexed bythis. But whether he was right or wrong, I am sure that it preyed uponhis mind, though he was too proud to speak of it. He knew that he wasnot ruined, although these friends assumed that he must be; and some ofthem were quite angry with him because they had vainly warned him. Hecould not remember these warnings, yet he contradicted none of them; andfully believing in the goodness of the world, he became convinced thathe must have been hard in the days of his prosperity. 

No sooner was he able to get about again than he went to San Franciscoto raise money on his house and property for the rebuilding of the mill. Firm rode with him to escort him back, and so did Martin, the foreman;for although the times were not so bad as they used to be some ten yearsback, in the height of the gold fever, it still was a highly undesirablething for a man who was known to have money about him to ride forthalone from San Francisco, or even Sacramento town. And having mentionedthe foreman Martin, in justice to him I ought to say that although hisentire loss from the disaster amounted only to a worn-out waistcoat ofthe value of about twenty cents, his vehemence in grumbling could onlybe equaled by his lofty persistence. By his great activity in runningaway and leaving his employer to meet the brunt, he had saved not onlyhimself, but his wife and children and goods and chattels. This failed, however, to remove or even assuage his regret for the waistcoat; and hemoaned and threatened to such good purpose that a speedy subscriptionwas raised, which must have found him in clothes for the rest of hislife, as well as a silver tea-pot with an inscription about his bravery. 

When the three were gone, after strict injunctions from Mr. Gundry, andhis grandson too, that I was on no account to venture beyond callingdistance from the house, for fear of being run away with, I found theplace so sad and lonesome that I scarcely knew what to do. I had no fearof robbers, though there were plenty in the neighborhood; for we stillhad three or four men about, who could be thoroughly trusted, andwho staid with us on half wages rather than abandon the Sawyer in histrouble. Suan Isco, also, was as brave as any man, and could shoot wellwith a rifle. Moreover, the great dog Jowler was known and dreaded byall his enemies. He could pull down an Indian, or two half-castes, orthree Mexicans, in about a second; and now he always went about with me, having formed a sacred friendship. 

Uncle Sam had kissed me very warmly when he said "good-by, " and Firm hadshown some disposition to follow his example; but much as I liked andadmired Firm, I had my own ideas as to what was unbecoming, and nowin my lonely little walks I began to think about it. My father'sresting-place had not been invaded by the imperious flood, although aline of driftage, in a zigzag swath, lay near the mound. This was myfavorite spot for thinking, when I felt perplexed and downcast in myyoung unaided mind. For although I have not spoken of my musings verycopiously, any one would do me wrong who fancied that I was indifferent. Through the great kindness of Mr. Gundry and other good friends aroundme, I had no bitter sense as yet of my own dependence and poverty. Butthe vile thing I had heard about my father, the horrible slanderand wicked falsehood--for such I was certain it must be--this wascontinually in my thoughts, and quite destroyed my cheerfulness. Andthe worst of it was that I never could get my host to enter into it. Whenever I began, his face would change and his manner grow constrained, and his chief desire always seemed to lead me to some other subject. 

One day, when the heat of the summer came forth, and the peaches beganto blush toward it, and bronze-ribbed figs grew damask-gray with aglobule of sirup in their eyes, and melons and pumpkins already hadcurved their fluted stalks with heaviness, and the dust of the plainswas beginning to fly, and the bright spring flowers were dead moreswiftly even than they first were born, I sat with Suan Isco at myfather's cross, and told her to make me cry with some of all the manysad things she knew. She knew a wondrous number of things insatiably sadand wild; and the quiet way in which she told them (not only without anyhorror, but as if they were rightly to be expected), also the deep andrather guttural tone of voice, and the stillness of the form, made itimpossible to help believing verily every word she said. 

That there should be in the world such things, so dark, unjust, andfull of woe, was enough to puzzle a child brought up among the noblestphilosophers; whereas I had simply been educated by good unpretentiouswomen, who had partly retired from the world, but not to such a depth asto drown all thought of what was left behind them. These were ready atany time to return upon good opportunity; and some of them had done so, with many tears, when they came into property. 

"Please to tell me no more now, " I said at last to Suan; "my eyes areso sore they will be quite red, and perhaps Uncle Sam will come hometo-night. I am afraid he has found some trouble with the money, or heought to have been at home before. Don't you think so, Suan?"

"Yes, yes; trouble with the money. Always with the white mans that. "

"Very well. I shall go and look for some money. I had a most wonderfuldream last night. Only I must go quite alone. You had better go and lookto the larder, Suan. If they come, they are sure to be hungry. "

"Yes, yes; the white mans always hungry, sep when thirsty. "

The Indian woman, who had in her heart a general contempt for the whiterace, save those of our own household, drew her bright-colored shawlaround her, and set off with her peculiar walk. Her walk was notungraceful, because it was so purely natural; but it differed almost asmuch as the step of a quadruped from what we are taught. I, with heavythoughts but careless steps, set off on my wanderings. I wanted to tryto have no set purpose, course, or consideration, but to go whereverchance should lead me, without choice, as in my dream. And after manyvague turns, and even closings of rebellious eyes, I found myself, perhaps by the force of habit, at the ruins of the mill. 

I seemed to recognize some resemblance (which is as much as one canexpect) to the scene which had been in my sleep before me. But sleepingI had seen roaring torrents; waking, I beheld a quiet stream. The littleriver, as blue as ever, and shrinking from all thoughts of wrath, showednothing in its pure gaze now but a gladness to refresh and cool. In manynicely sheltered corners it was full of soft reflection as to the goodit had to do; and then, in silver and golden runnels, on it went to doit. And the happy voice and many sweetly flashing little glances toldthat it knew of the lovely lives beside it, created and comforted byitself. 

But I looked at the dark ruin it had wrought, and like a child I wasangry with it for the sake of Uncle Sam. Only the foundations and thebig heavy stones of the mill were left, and the clear bright waterpurled around, or made little eddies among them. All were touchedwith silvery sound, and soft caressing dimples. But I looked at thepassionate mountains first, to be sure of no more violence; for if aburned child dreads the fire, one half drowned may be excused for littlefaith in water. The mountains in the sunshine looked as if nothing couldmove their grandeur, and so I stepped from stone to stone, in the bed ofthe placid brightness. 

Presently I came to a place where one of the great black piles, drivenin by order of the Sawyer, to serve as a back-stay for his walls, hadbeen swept by the flood from its vertical sinking, but had not beenswept away. The square tarred post of mountain pine reclined downstream, and gently nodded to the current's impact. But overthrown as itwas, it could not make its exit and float away, as all its brethrenhad done. At this I had wondered before, and now I went to see what thereason was. By throwing a short piece of plank from one of the shatteredfoundations into a nick in the shoulder of the reclining pile, I managedto get there and sit upon it, and search for its obstruction. 

The water was flowing smoothly toward me, and as clear as crystal, beingscarcely more than a foot in depth. And there, on the upper verge of thehole, raised by the leverage of the butt from the granite sand of theriver-bed, I saw a great bowlder of rich yellow light. I was so muchamazed that I cried out at once, "Oh! what a beautiful great yellowfish!" And I shouted to Jowler, who had found where I was, and followedme, as usual. The great dog was famous for his love of fishing, and hadoften brought a fine salmon forth. 

Jowler was always a zealous fellow, and he answered eagerly to my callby dashing at once into the water, and following the guidance of myhand. But when he saw what I pointed at, he was bitterly disappointed, and gave me to understand as much by looking at me foolishly. "Now don'tbe a stupid dog, " I said; "do what I tell you immediately. Whatever itis, bring it out, Sir. "

Jowler knew that I would be obeyed whenever I called him "Sir;" so heducked his great head under the water, and tugged with his teeth at theobject. His back corded up, and his tail grew rigid with the intensityof his labor, but the task was quite beyond him. He could not evenstir the mighty mass at which he struggled, but he bit off a littleprojecting corner, and came to me with it in his mouth. Then he laid hisdripping jaws on my lap, and his ears fell back, and his tail hung downwith utter sense of failure. 

I patted his broad intelligent forehead, and wiped his black eyes withhis ears, and took from his lips what he offered to me. Then I sawthat his grinders were framed with gold, as if he had been to a dentistregardless of expense, and into my hand he dropped a lump of solidglittering virgin ore. He had not the smallest idea of having done anything worthy of human applause; and he put out his long red tongue andlicked his teeth to get rid of uneatable dross, and gave me a quietnudge to ask what more I wanted of him. 

CHAPTER XI

ROVERS

From Jowler I wanted nothing more. Such matters were too grand forhim. He had beaten the dog of Hercules, who had only brought the purpledye--a thing requiring skill and art and taste to give it value. Butgold does well without all these, and better in their absence. Fromhandling many little nuggets, and hearkening to Suan Isco's tales oftreachery, theft, and murder done by white men for the sake of this, Iknew that here I had found enough to cost the lives of fifty men. 

At present, however, I was not possessed with dread so much as I waswith joy, and even a secret exultation, at the power placed in my hands. For I was too young to moralize or attempt philosophy. Here I had aknowledge which the wisest of mankind might envy, much as they despiseit when they have no chance of getting it. I looked at my father'sgrave, in the shadow of the quiet peach-trees, and I could not helpcrying as I thought that this was come too late for him. Then I calledoff Jowler, who wished (like a man) to have another tug at it; and homeI ran to tell my news, but failing of breath, had time to think. 

It was lucky enough that this was so, for there might have been thegreatest mischief; and sadly excited as I was, the trouble I had seenso much of came back to my beating heart and told me to be careful. Butsurely there could be no harm in trusting Suan Isco. However, I lookedat her several times, and was not quite so sure about it. She waswonderfully true and faithful, and scarcely seemed to concede to goldits paramount rank and influence. But that might only have been becauseshe had never known the want of it, or had never seen a lump worthstealing, which I was sure that this must be; and the unregeneratestate of all who have never been baptized had been impressed on mecontinually. How could I mistrust a Christian, and place confidence inan Indian? Therefore I tried to sleep without telling any one, but wasunable. 

But, as it happened, my good discovery did not keep me so very longawake, for on the following day our troop of horsemen returned fromSan Francisco. Of course I have done very foolish things once and againthroughout my life, but perhaps I never did any thing more absurd thanduring the whole of that day. To begin with, I was up before thesun, and down at the mill, and along the plank, which I had removedovernight, but now replaced as my bridge to the pine-wood pile. ThenI gazed with eager desire and fear--which was the stronger I scarcelyknew--for the yellow under-gleam, to show the safety of my treasure. There it lay, as safe as could be, massive, grand, and beautiful, withtones of varying richness as the ripples varied over it. The pale lightof the morning breathed a dewy lustre down the banks; the sun (althoughunrisen yet) drew furrows through the mountain gaps; the birds fromevery hanging tree addressed the day with melody; the crystal water, purer than religion's brightest dream, went by; and here among them lay, unmoved, unthought of, and inanimate, the thing which to a human beingis worth all the rest put together. 

This contemplation had upon me an effect so noble that here I resolvedto spend my time, for fear of any robbery. I was afraid to gaze morethan could be helped at this grand sight, lest other eyes should spywhat was going on, and long to share it. And after hurrying home tobreakfast and returning in like haste, I got a scare, such as I welldeserved, for being so extremely foolish. 

The carpentry of the mill-wheel had proved so very stanch and steadfastthat even in that raging deluge the whole had held together. It had beenbodily torn from its hold and swept away down the valley; but somewhereit grounded, as the flood ebbed out, and a strong team had tugged itback again. And the Sawyer had vowed that, come what would, his millshould work with the self-same wheel which he with younger hands hadwrought. Now this wheel (to prevent any warp, and save the dry timberfrom the sun) was laid in a little shady cut, where water trickled underit. And here I had taken up my abode to watch my monster nugget. 

I had pulled my shoes and stockings off, and was paddling in the runnel, sheltered by the deep rim of the wheel, and enjoying the water. Littlefish darted by me, and lovely spotted lizards played about, and I wasalmost beginning even to forget my rock of gold. In self-defense it isright to say that for the gold, on my own account, I cared as much as Imight have done for a fig worm-eaten. It was for Uncle Sam, and allhis dear love, that I watched the gold, hoping in his sad disaster torestore his fortunes. But suddenly over the rim of the wheel (laidflat in the tributary brook) I descried across the main river a movingcompany of horsemen. 

These men could have nothing to do with Uncle Sam and his party, forthey were coming from the mountain-side, while he would return by thetrack across the plains. And they were already so near that I could seetheir dress quite plainly, and knew them to be Mexican rovers, mixedwith loose Americans. There are few worse men on the face of the earththan these, when in the humor, and unluckily they seem almost alwaysto be in that humor. Therefore, when I saw their battered sun-hats andbaggy slouching boots, I feared that little ruth, or truth, or mercydwelt between them. 

On this account I shrank behind the shelter of the mill-wheel, and heldmy head in one trembling hand, and with the other drew my wind-tossedhair into small compass. For my blood ran cold at the many dreadfulthings that came into my mind. I was sure that they had not spied meyet, and my overwhelming desire was to decline all introduction. 

I counted fourteen gentlemen, for so they always styled themselves, andwould pistol any man who expressed a contrary opinion. Fourteen of themrode to the brink of the quiet blue river on the other side; and therethey let their horses drink, and some dismounted and filled canteens, and some of longer reach stooped from the saddle and did likewise. Butone, who seemed to be the captain, wanted no water for his rum. 

"Cut it short, boys, " I heard him say, with a fine South Californiantwang (which, as well as his free swearing, I will freely omit). "If wemean to have fair play with the gal, now or never's the time for it: oldSam may come home almost any time. "

What miserable cowards! Though there were so many of them, they reallyhad no heart to face an old man known for courage. Frightened as I was, perhaps good indignation helped me to flutter no more, and not faintaway, but watch those miscreants steadily. 

The horses put down their sandy lips over and over again to drink, scarcely knowing when they ought to stop, and seemed to get thickerbefore my eyes. The dribbling of the water from their mouths preparedthem to begin again, till the riders struck the savage unroweled spurinto their refreshment. At this they jerked their noses up, and lookedat one another to say that they expected it, and then they lifted theirweary legs and began to plash through the river. 

It is a pretty thing to see a skillful horse plod through a stream, probing with his eyes the depth, and stretching his head before hisfeet, and at every step he whisks his tail to tell himself that he isright. In my agony of observation all these things I heeded, but onlyknew that I had done so when I thought long afterward. At the moment Iwas in such a fright that my eyes worked better than my mind. However, even so, I thought of my golden millstone, and was aware that theycrossed below, and could not see it. 

They gained the bank upon our side within fifty yards of where Icrouched; and it was not presence of mind, but abject fear, which keptme crouching. I counted them again as they leaped the bank and seemed tolook at me. I could see the dark array of eyes, and could scarcelykeep from shrieking. But my throat was dry and made no sound, and afrightened bird set up a scream, which drew off their attention. 

In perils of later days I often thought of this fear, and almost feltthat the hand of Heaven had been stretched forth on purpose to help myhelplessness. 

For the moment, however, I lay as close as if under the hand of the evilone; and the snorting of the horses passed me, and wicked laughter ofthe men. One was telling a horrible tale, and the rest rejoicing in it;and the bright sun, glowing on their withered skin, discovered perhapsno viler thing in all the world to shine upon. One of them even pointedat my mill-wheel with a witty gibe--at least, perhaps, it was wit tohim--about the Sawyer's misfortune; but the sun was then in his eyes, and my dress was just of the color of the timber. So on they rode, andthe pleasant turf (having lately received some rain) softly answered tothe kneading of their hoofs as they galloped away to surround the house. 

I was just at the very point of rising and running up into the dark ofthe valley, when a stroke of arithmetic stopped me. Fourteen men andfourteen horses I had counted on the other side; on this side I couldnot make any more than thirteen of them. I might have made a mistake;but still I thought I would stop just a minute to see. And in thatminute I saw the other man walking slowly on the opposite bank. He hadtethered his horse, and was left as outpost to watch and give warning ofpoor Uncle Sam's return. 

At the thought of this, my frightened courage, in some extraordinaryway, came back. I had played an ignoble part thus far, as almost anygirl might have done. But now I resolved that, whatever might happen, my dear friend and guardian should not be entrapped and lose his lifethrough my cowardice. We had been expecting him all the day; and if heshould come and fall into an ambush, I only might survive to tellthe tale. I ought to have hurried and warned the house, as my bitterconscience told me; but now it was much too late for that. The onlyamends that I could make was to try and warn our travelers. 

Stooping as low as I could, and watching my time to cross the more openplaces when the sentry was looking away from me, I passed up the windingof the little watercourse, and sheltered in the swampy thicket whichconcealed its origin. Hence I could see for miles over the plain--broadreaches of corn land already turning pale, mazy river fringed with reed, hamlets scattered among clustering trees, and that which I chiefly caredto see, the dusty track from Sacramento. 

Whether from ignorance of the country or of Mr. Gundry's plans, thesentinel had been posted badly. His beat commanded well enough thecourse from San Francisco; but that from Sacramento was not equallyclear before him. For a jut of pine forest ran down from the mountainsand cut off a part of his view of it. I had not the sense or thepresence of mind to perceive this great advantage, but having a plain, quick path before me, forth I set upon it. Of course if the watchman hadseen me, he would have leaped on his horse and soon caught me; but ofthat I scarcely even thought, I was in such confusion. 

When I had run perhaps a mile (being at that time very slight, andof active figure), I saw a cloud of dust, about two miles off, risingthrough the bright blue haze. It was rich yellow dust of the fertilesoil, which never seems to cake or clot. Sometimes you may walk formiles without the smallest fear of sinking, the earth is so elastic. Andyet with a slight exertion you may push a walking-stick down through ituntil the handle stops it. My heart gave a jump: that cloud of dust wasa sign of men on horseback. And who could it be but Uncle Sam and Firmand the foreman Martin?

As soon as it began to show itself, it proved to be these very three, carelessly lounging on their horses' backs, overcome with heat and dustand thirst. But when they saw me there all alone under the fury of thesun, they knew that something must have gone amiss, and were all wideawake in a moment. 

"Well, now, " said the Sawyer, when I had told my tale as well as shortbreath allowed, "put this thing over your head, my dear, or you may gaina sun-stroke. I call it too bad of them skunks to drive you in Californynoon, like this. "

"Oh, Uncle Sam, never think of me; think of your house and your goodsand Suan, and all at those bad men's mercy!"

"The old house ain't afire yet, " he answered, looking calmly under hishand in that direction. "And as for Suan, no fear at all. She knowshow to deal with such gallowses; and they will keep her to cook theirdinner. Firm, my lad, let us go and embrace them. They wouldn't 'a mademuch bones of shooting us down if we hadn't known of it, and if they hadgot miss afore the saddle. But if they don't give bail, as soon as theysee me ride up to my door, my name's not Sampson Gundry. Only you keepout of the way, Miss Remy. You go to sleep a bit, that's a dear, in thegraywitch spinny yonder, and wait till you hear Firm sound the horn. Andthen come you in to dinner-time; for the Lord is always over you. "

I hastened to the place which he pointed out--a beautiful covert ofbirch-trees--but to sleep was out of the question, worn out though Iwas with haste and heat, and (worst of all) with horror. In a soft mossynest, where a breeze from the mountains played with the in and out waysof the wood, and the murmurous dream of genial insects now was beginningto drowse upon the air, and the heat of the sun could almost be seenthrilling through the alleys like a cicale's drum--here, in the middleof the languid peace, I waited for the terror of the rifle-crack. 

For though Uncle Sam had spoken softly, and made so little of the perilhe would meet, I had seen in his eyes some token of the deep wrath andstrong indignation which had kept all his household and premises safe. And it seemed a most ominous sign that Firm had never said a word, butgrasped his gun, and slowly got in front of his grandfather. 

CHAPTER XII

GOLD AND GRIEF

It may have been an hour, but it seemed an age, ere the sound of thehorn, in Firm's strong blast, released me from my hiding-place. I hadheard no report of fire-arms, nor perceived any sign of conflict; andcertainly the house was not on fire, or else I must have seen the smoke. For being still in great alarm, I had kept a very sharp lookout. 

Ephraim Gundry came to meet me, which was very kind of him. He carriedhis bugle in his belt, that he might sound again for me, if needful. But I was already running toward the house, having made up my mind tobe resolute. Nevertheless, I was highly pleased to have his company, andhear what had been done. 

"Please to let me help you, " he said, with a smile. "Why, miss, you aretrembling dreadfully. I assure you there is no cause for that. "

"But you might have been killed, and Uncle Sam, and Martin, and everybody. Oh, those men did look so horrible!"

"Yes, they always do till you come to know them. But bigger cowards werenever born. If they can take people by surprise, and shoot themwithout any danger, it is a splendid treat to them. But if any one likegrandfather meets them face to face in the daylight, their respectfor law and life returns. It is not the first visit they have paid us. Grandfather kept his temper well. It was lucky for them that he did. "

Remembering that the Rovers must have numbered nearly three to one, evenif all our men were stanch, I thought it lucky for ourselves thatthere had been no outbreak. But Firm seemed rather sorry that they haddeparted so easily. And knowing that he never bragged, I began to sharehis confidence. 

"They must be shot, sooner or later, " he said, "unless, indeed, theyshould be hanged. Their manner of going on is out of date in these daysof settlement. It was all very well ten years ago. But now we are acivilized State, and the hand of law is over us. I think we were wrongto let them go. But of course I yield to the governor. And I think hewas afraid for your sake. And to tell the truth, I may have been thesame. "

Here he gave my arm a little squeeze, which appeared to me quite out ofplace; therefore I withdrew and hurried on. Before he could catch me Ientered the door, and found the Sawyer sitting calmly with his own longpipe once more, and watching Suan cooking. 

"They rogues have had all the best of our victuals, " he said, as soonas he had kissed me. "Respectable visitors is my delight, and welcometo all of the larder; but at my time of life it goes agin the grainto lease out my dinner to galley-rakers. Suan, you are burning the fatagain. "

Suan Isco, being an excellent cook (although of quiet temper), neverpaid heed to criticism, but lifted her elbow and went on. Mr. Gundryknew that it was wise to offer no further meddling, although it is wellto keep them up to their work by a little grumbling. But when I came tosee what broken bits were left for Suan to deal with, I only wonderedthat he was not cross. 

"Thank God for a better meal than I deserve, " he said, when they all hadfinished. "Suan, you are a treasure, as I tell you every day a'most. Nowif they have left us a bottle of wine, let us have it up. We be all inthe dumps. But that will never do, my lad. "

He patted Firm on the shoulder, as if he were the younger man of thetwo, and his grandson went down to the wreck of the cellar; while I, who had tried to wait upon them in an eager, clumsy way, perceived thatsomething was gone amiss, something more serious and lasting than themischief made by the robber troop. Was it that his long ride had failed, and not a friend could be found to help him?

When Martin and the rest were gone, after a single glass of wine, andEphraim had made excuse of something to be seen to, the Sawyer leanedback in his chair, and his cheerful face was troubled. I filled his pipeand lit it for him, and waited for him to speak, well knowing his simpleand outspoken heart. But he looked at me and thanked me kindly, andseemed to be turning some grief in his mind. 

"It ain't for the money, " he said at last, talking more to himself thanto me; "the money might 'a been all very well and useful in a sort ofway. But the feelin'--the feelin' is the thing I look at, and it oughtto have been more hearty. Security! Charge on my land, indeed! And I canrun away, but my land must stop behind! What security did I ask of them?'Tis enough a'most to make a rogue of me. "

"Nothing could ever do that, Uncle Sam, " I exclaimed, as I came and satclose to him, while he looked at me bravely, and began to smile. 

"Why, what was little missy thinking of?" he asked. "How solid shelooks! Why, I never see the like!"

"Then you ought to have seen it, Uncle Sam. You ought to have seen itfifty times, with every body who loves you. And who can help loving you, Uncle Sam?"

"Well, they say that I charged too much for lumber, a-cuttin' on thecross, and the backstroke work. And it may 'a been so, when I tookagin a man. But to bring up all that, with the mill strown down, is acowardly thing, to my thinking. And to make no count of the beadin' Ithrew in, whenever it were a straightforrard job, and the turpsy knots, and the clogging of the teeth--'tis a bad bit to swallow, when the millis strown. "

"But the mill shall not be strown, Uncle Sam. The mill shall be builtagain. And I will find the money. "

Mr. Gundry stared at me and shook his head. He could not bear to tellme how poor I was, while I thought myself almost made of money. "Fivethousand dollars you have got put by for me, " I continued, with greatimportance. "Five thousand dollars from the sale and the insurance fund. And five thousand dollars must be five-and-twenty thousand francs. UncleSam, you shall have every farthing of it. And if that won't build themill again, I have got my mother's diamonds. "

"Five thousand dollars!" cried the Sawyer, in amazement, opening hisgreat gray eyes at me. And then he remembered the tale which he hadtold, to make me seem independent. "Oh yes, to be sure, my dear; now Irecollect. To be sure--to be sure--your own five thousand dollars. Butnever will I touch one cent of your nice little fortune; no, not to savemy life. After all, I am not so gone in years but what I can build themill again myself. The Lord hath spared my hands and eyes, and gifted mestill with machinery. And Firm is a very handy lad, and can carry out ajob pretty fairly, with better brains to stand over him, although it hasnot pleased the Lord to gift him with sense of machinery, like me. Butthat is all for the best, no doubt. If Ephraim had too much of brains, he might have contradicted me. And that I could never abide, God knows, from any green young jackanapes. "

"Oh, Uncle Sam, let me tell you something--something very important!"

"No, my dear, nothing more just now. It has done me good to have alittle talk, and scared the blue somethings out of me. But just go andask whatever is become of Firm. He was riled with them greasers. It wasall I could do to keep the boy out of a difficulty with them. And ifthey camp any where nigh, it is like enough he may go hankerin' afterthem. The grand march of intellect hathn't managed yet to march oldheads upon young shoulders. And Firm might happen to go outside thelaw. "

The thought of this frightened me not a little; for Firm, though mildof speech, was very hot of spirit at any wrong, as I knew from tales ofSuan Isco, who had brought him up and made a glorious idol of him. Andnow, when she could not say where he was, but only was sure that he mustbe quite safe (in virtue of a charm from a great medicine man which shehad hung about him), it seemed to me, according to what I was used to, that in these regions human life was held a great deal too lightly. 

It was not for one moment that I cared about Firm, any more than is theduty of a fellow-creature. He was a very good young man, and in his waygood-looking, educated also quite enough, and polite, and a very goodcarver of a joint; and when I spoke, he nearly always listened. But ofcourse he was not to be compared as yet to his grandfather, the trueSawyer. 

When I ran back from Suan Isco, who was going on about her charm, andthe impossibility of any one being scalped who wore it, I found Mr. Gundry in a genial mood. He never made himself uneasy about any trifles. He always had a very pure and lofty faith in the ways of Providence, andhaving lost his only son Elijah, he was sure that he never could loseFirm. He had taken his glass of hot whiskey and water, which always madehim temperate; and if he felt any of his troubles deeply, he dwelt onthem now from a high point of view. 

"I may 'a said a little too much, my dear, about the badness ofmankind, " he observed, with his pipe lying comfortably on his breast;"all sayings of that sort is apt to go too far. I ought to have mademore allowance for the times, which gets into a ticklish state, when aold man is put about with them. Never you pay no heed whatever to anyharsh words I may have used. All that is a very bad thing for youngfolk. "

"But if they treated you badly, Uncle Sam, how can you think that theytreated you well?"

He took some time to consider this, because he was true in all histhoughts; and then he turned off to something else. 

"Why, the smashing of the mill may have been a mercy, although indisguise to the present time of sight. It will send up the price ofscantlings, and we was getting on too fast with them. By the time wehave built up the mill again we shall have more orders than we knowhow to do with. When I come to reckon of it, to me it appears to be thereasonable thing to feel a lump of grief for the old mill, and then toset to and build a stronger one. Yes, that must be about the right thingto do. And we'll have all the neighbors in when we lay foundations. "

"But what will be the good of it, Uncle Sam, when the new mill may atany time be washed away again?"

"Never, at any time, " he answered, very firmly, gazing through the dooras if he saw the vain endeavor. "That little game can easily be stopped, for about fifty dollars, by opening down the bank toward the old trackof the river. The biggest waterspout that ever came down from themountains could never come anigh the mill, but go right down the valley. It hath been in my mind to do it often, and now that I see the need, Iwill. Firm and I will begin tomorrow. "

"But where is all the money to come from, Uncle Sam? You said that allyour friends had refused to help you. "

"Never mind, my dear. I will help myself. It won't be the first time, perhaps, in my life. "

"But supposing that I could help you, just some little? Supposing that Ihad found the biggest lump of gold ever found in all California?"

Mr. Gundry ought to have looked surprised, and I was amazed that hedid not; but he took it as quietly as if I had told him that I hadjust picked up a brass button of his; and I thought that he doubted myknowledge, very likely, even as to what gold was. 

"It is gold, Uncle Sam, every bit of it gold--here is a piece of it;just look--and as large, I am sure, as this table. And it may be asdeep as this room, for all that one can judge to the contrary. Why, itstopped the big pile from coming to the top, when even you went down theriver. "

"Well, now, that explains a thing or two, " said the Sawyer, smilingpeacefully, and beginning to think of another pipe, if preparation meantany thing. "Two things have puzzled me about that stump, and, indeed, I might say three things. Why did he take such a time to drive? and whywould he never stand up like a man? and why wouldn't he go away when heought to?"

"Because he had the best of all reasons, Uncle Sam. He was anchoredon his gold, as I have read in French, and he had a good right to becrooked about it, and no power could get him away from it. "

"Hush, my dear, hush! It is not at all good for young people to lettheir minds run on so. But this gold looks very good indeed. Are yousure that it is a fair sample, and that there is any more of it?"

"How can you be so dreadfully provoking, Uncle Sam, when I tell you thatI saw it with my own eyes? And there must be at least half a ton of it. "

"Well, half a hundred-weight will be enough for me. And you shall haveall the rest, my dear--that is, if you will spare me a bit, Miss Remy. It all belongs to you by discovery, according to the diggers' law. Andyour eyes are so bright about it, miss, that the whole of your heartmust be running upon it. "

"Then you think me as bad as the rest of the world! How I wish that Ihad never seen it! It was only for you that I cared about it--for you, for you; and I will never touch a scrap of it. "

Mr. Gundry had only been trying me, perhaps. But I did not see it inthat light, and burst into a flood of childish tears, that he shouldmisunderstand me so. Gold had its usual end, in grief. Uncle Sam rose upto soothe me and to beg my pardon, and to say that perhaps he was harshbecause of the treatment he had received from his friends. He took me inhis arms and kissed me; but before I could leave off sobbing, the crackof a rifle rang through the house, and Suan Isco, with a wail, rushedout. 

CHAPTER XIII

THE SAWYER'S PRAYER

The darkness of young summer night was falling on earth and tree andstream. Every thing looked of a different form and color from those ofan hour ago, and the rich bloom of shadow mixed with color, and castby snowy mountains, which have stored the purple adieu of the sun, wasfilling the air with delicious calm. The Sawyer ran out with his shirtsleeves shining, so that any sneaking foe might shoot him; but, withthe instinct of a settler, he had caught up his rifle. I stood beneatha carob-tree, which had been planted near the porch, and flung fantastictassels down, like the ear-rings of a negress. And not having senseenough to do good, I was only able to be frightened. 

Listening intently, I heard the sound of skirring steps on the otherside of and some way down the river; and the peculiar tread, even thusfar off, was plainly Suan Isco's. And then in the stillness a weary andheavy foot went toiling after it. Before I could follow, which I longedto do, to learn at once the worst of it, I saw the figure of a man muchnearer, and even within twenty yards of me, gliding along without anysound. Faint as the light was, I felt sure that it was not one of ourown men, and the barrel of a long gun upon his shoulder made a blackline among silver leaves. I longed to run forth and stop him, but mycourage was not prompt enough, and I shamefully shrank away behindthe trunk of the carob-tree. Like a sleuth, compact, and calm-heartedvillain, he went along without any breath of sound, stealing his escapewith skill, till a white bower-tent made a background for him, and heleaped up and fell flat without a groan. The crack of a rifle came laterthan his leap, and a curl of white smoke shone against a black rock, and the Sawyer, in the distance, cried, "Well, now!" as he generally didwhen satisfied. 

So scared was I that I caught hold of a cluster of pods to steady me;and then, without any more fear for myself, I ran to see whether it waspossible to help. But the poor man lay beyond earthly help; he was toodead to palpitate. His life must have left him in the air, and he couldnot even have felt his fall. 

In violent terror, I burst into tears, and lifted his heavy head, andstrove to force his hot hands open, and did I know not what, withoutthinking, laboring only to recall his life. 

"Are you grieving for the skulk who has shot my Firm?" said a sternvoice quite unknown to me; and rising, I looked at the face of Mr. Gundry, unlike the countenance of Uncle Sam. I tried to speak to him, but was too frightened. The wrath of blood was in his face, and all hiskind desires were gone. 

"Yes, like a girl, you are sorry for a man who has stained this earth, till his only atonement is to stain it with his blood. Captain Pedro, there you lie, shot, like a coward, through the back. I wish you werealive to taste my boots. Murderer of men and filthy ravisher of women, miscreant of God, how can I keep from trampling on you?"

It never had been in my dream that a good man could so entirely forgethimself. I wanted to think that it must be somebody else, and not ourUncle Sam. But he looked toward the west, as all men do when theirspirits are full of death, and the wan light showed that his chin wastriple. 

Whether it may have been right or wrong, I made all haste to get away. The face of the dead man was quite a pleasant thing, compared with theface of the old man living. He may not have meant it, and I hope henever did, but beyond all controversy he looked barbarous for themoment. 

As I slipped away, to know the worst, there I saw him standing still, longing to kick the vile man's corpse, but quieted by the great awe ofdeath. If the man had stirred, or breathed, or even moaned, the livingman would have lost all reverence in his fury. But the power of theother world was greater than even revenge could trample on. He let itlie there, and he stooped his head, and went away quite softly. 

My little foolish heart was bitterly visited by a thing like this. TheSawyer, though not of great human rank, was gifted with the largesthuman nature that I had ever met with. And though it was impossible asyet to think, a hollow depression, as at the loss of some great ideal, came over me. 

Returning wretchedly to the house, I met Suan Isco and two men bringingthe body of poor Firm. His head and both his arms hung down, and theywanted somebody to lift them; and this I ran to do, although they calledout to me not to meddle. The body was carried in, and laid upon threechairs, with a pillow at the head; and then a light was struck, and acandle brought by somebody or other. And Suan Isco sat upon the floor, and set up a miserable Indian dirge. 

"Stow away that, " cried Martin of the mill, for he was one of those twomen; "wait till the lad is dead, and then pipe up to your liking. I felthim try to kick while we carried him along. He come forth on a arrand ofthat sort, and he seem to 'a been disappointed. A very fine young chapI call him, for to try to do it still, howsomever his mind might bewandering. Missy, keep his head up. "

I did as I was told, and watched poor Firm as if my own life hung uponany sign of life in him. When I look back at these things, I think thatfright and grief and pity must have turned an excitable girl almost intoa real woman. But I had no sense of such things then. 

"I tell you he ain't dead, " cried Martin; "no more dead than I be. Hefeels the young gal's hand below him, and I see him try to turn up hiseyes. He has taken a very bad knock, no doubt, and trouble about hisbreathing. I seed a fellow scalped once, and shot through the heart;but he came all round in about six months, and protected his head with adocument. Firm, now, don't you be a fool. I have had worse things in myfamily. "

Ephraim Gundry seemed to know that some one was upbraiding him. Atany rate, his white lips trembled with a weak desire to breathe, and alittle shadow of life appeared to flicker in his open eyes. And on mysleeve, beneath his back, some hot bright blood came trickling. 

"Keep him to that, " said Martin, with some carpenter sort of surgery;"less fear of the life when the blood begins to run. Don't move him, missy; never mind your arm. It will be the saving of him. "

I was not strong enough to hold him up, but Suan ran to help me; andthey told me afterward that I fell faint, and no doubt it must have beenso. But when the rest were gone, and had taken poor Firm to his strawmattress, the cold night air must have flowed into the room, and that, perhaps, revived me. I went to the bottom of the stairs and listened, and then stole up to the landing, and heard Suan Isco, who had taken thecommand, speaking cheerfully in her worst English. Then I hoped for thebest, and, without any knowledge, wandered forth into the open air. 

Walking quite as in a dream this time (which I had vainly striven to dowhen seeking for my nugget), I came to the bank of the gleaming river, and saw the water just in time to stop from stepping into it. Carelessabout this and every other thing for the moment, I threw myself onthe sod, and listened to the mournful melody of night. Sundry unknowncreatures, which by day keep timid silence, were sending timid soundsinto the darkness, holding quiet converse with themselves, or it, or oneanother. And the silvery murmur of the wavelets soothed the twinklingsleep of leaves. 

I also, being worn and weary, and having a frock which improved withwashing, and was spoiled already by nursing Firm, was well content tothrow myself into a niche of river-bank and let all things flow past me. But before any thing had found time to flow far, or the lullaby of nighthad lulled me, there came to me a sadder sound than plaintive Nature canproduce without her Master's aid, the saddest sound in all creation--astrong man's wail. 

Child as I was--and, perhaps, all the more for that reason as knowingso little of mankind--I might have been more frightened, but I could nothave been a bit more shocked, by the roaring of a lion. For I knew ina moment whose voice it was, and that made it pierce me tenfold. It wasUncle Sam, lamenting to himself, and to his God alone, the loss of hislast hope on earth. He could not dream that any other than his Maker(and his Maker's works, if ever they have any sympathy) listened tothe wild outpourings of an aged but still very natural heart, which hadalways been proud of controlling itself. I could see his great framethrough a willow-tree, with the sere grass and withered reeds around, and the faint gleam of fugitive water beyond. He was kneeling toward hisshattered mill, having rolled his shirt sleeves back to pray, and hiswhite locks shone in the starlight; then, after trying several times, hemanaged to pray a little. First (perhaps partly from habit), he said theprayer of Our Lord pretty firmly, and then he went on to his own specialcase, with a doubting whether he should mention it. But as he went on hegathered courage, or received it from above, and was able to say what hewanted. 

"Almighty Father of the living and the dead, I have lived long, andshall soon be dead, and my days have been full of trouble. But I neverhad such trouble as this here before, and I don't think I ever shall getover it. I have sinned every day of my life, and not thought of Thee, but of victuals, and money, and stuff; and nobody knows, but myself andThou, all the little bad things inside of me. I cared a deal more to berespectable and get on with my business than to be prepared for kingdomcome. And I have just been proud about the shooting of a villain, whomight 'a gone free and repented. There is nobody left to me in my oldage. Thou hast taken all of them. Wife, and son, and mill, and grandson, and my brother who robbed me--the whole of it may have been for my good, but I have got no good out of it. Show me the way for a little time, OLord, to make the best of it; and teach me to bear it like a man, andnot break down at this time of life. Thou knowest what is right. Pleaseto do it. Amen. "

CHAPTER XIV

NOT FAR TO SEEK

In the present state of controversies most profoundly religious, theLord alone can decide (though thousands of men would hurry to pronounce)for or against the orthodoxy of the ancient Sawyer's prayer. But ifsound doctrine can be established by success (as it always is), UncleSam's theology must have been unusually sound; for it pleased a graciousPower to know what he wanted, and to grant it. 

Brave as Mr. Gundry was, and much-enduring and resigned, the latteryears of his life on earth must have dragged on very heavily, withabstract resignation only, and none of his blood to care for him. Being so obstinate a man, he might have never admitted this, but provedagainst every one's voice, except his own, his special blessedness. Butthis must have been a trial to him, and happily he was spared from it. 

For although Firm had been very badly shot, and kept us for weeks inanxiety about him, his strong young constitution and well-nourishedframe got over it. A truly good and learned doctor came from Sacramento, and we hung upon his words, and found that there he left us hanging. Andthis was the wisest thing perhaps that he could do, because in Americamedical men are not absurdly expected, as they are in England, to do anygood, but are valued chiefly upon their power of predicting what theycan not help. And this man of science perceived that he might do harm tohimself and his family by predicting amiss, whereas he could do no goodto his patient by predicting rightly. And so he foretold both good andevil, to meet the intentions of Providence. 

He had not been sent for in vain, however; and to give him his due, hesaved Ephraim's life, for he drew from the wound a large bullet, which, if left, must have poisoned all his circulation, although it was madeof pure silver. The Sawyer wished to keep this silver bullet as a token, but the doctor said that it belonged to him according to miners' law;and so it came to a moderate argument. Each was a thoroughly stubbornman, according to the bent of all good men, and reasoning increasedtheir unreason. But the doctor won--as indeed he deserved, for theextraction had been delicate--because, when reason had been exhausted, he just said this:

"Colonel Gundry, let us have no more words. The true owner is yourgrandson. I will put it back where I took it from. "

Upon this, the Sawyer being tickled, as men very often are in sadmoments, took the doctor by the hand, and gave him the bullet heartily. And the medical man had a loop made to it, and wore it upon his watchchain. And he told the story so often (saying that another man perhapsmight have got it out, but no other man could have kept it), that amonga great race who judge by facts it doubled his practice immediately. 

The leader of the robbers, known far and wide as "Captain Pedro, " wasburied where he fell; and the whole so raised Uncle Sam's reputationthat his house was never attacked again; and if any bad characters wereforced by circumstances to come near him, they never asked for any thingstronger than ginger-beer or lemonade, and departed very promptly. Foras soon as Ephraim Gundry could give account of his disaster, it wasclear that Don Pedro owed his fate to a bottle of the Sawyer's whiskey. Firm had only intended to give him a lesson for misbehavior, being firedby his grandfather's words about swinging me on the saddle. This ideahad justly appeared to him to demand a protest; to deliver which he atonce set forth with a valuable cowhide whip. Coming thus to the Rovers'camp, and finding their captain sitting in the shade to digest hisdinner, Firm laid hold of him by the neck, and gave way to feelings ofseverity. Don Pedro regretted his misconduct, and being lifted up forthe moment above his ordinary view, perceived that he might have donebetter, and shaped the pattern of his tongue to it. Firm, hearing this, had good hopes of him; yet knowing how volatile repentance is, he stroveto form a well-marked track for it. And when the captain ceased toreceive cowhide, he must have had it long enough to miss it. 

Now this might have ended honorably and amicably for all concerned, ifthe captain had known when he was well off. Unluckily he had purloineda bottle of Mr. Gundry's whiskey, and he drew the cork now to rub hisstripes, and the smell of it moved him to try it inside. And before verylong his ideas of honor, which he had sense enough to drop when sober, began to come into his eyes again, and to stir him up to mischief. Henceit was that he followed Firm, who was riding home well satisfied, andappeased his honor by shooting in cold blood, and justice by being shotanyhow. 

It was beautiful, through all this trying time, to watch Uncle Sam'sproceedings: he appeared so delightfully calm and almost carelesswhenever he was looked at. And then he was ashamed of himselfperpetually, if any one went on with it. Nobody tried to observe him, ofcourse, or remark upon any of his doings, and for this he would becomeso grateful that he would long to tell all his thoughts, and then stop. This must have been a great worry to him, seeing how open his mannerwas; and whenever he wanted to hide any thing, he informed us of thatintention. So that we exhorted Firm every day to come round and restoreus to our usual state. This was the poor fellow's special desire;and often he was angry with himself, and made himself worse again bydeclaring that he must be a milksop to lie there so long. Whereas, itwas much more near the truth that few other men, even in the WesternStates, would ever have got over such a wound. I am not learned enoughto say exactly where the damage was, but the doctor called it, I think, the sternum, and pronounced that "a building-up process" was required, and must take a long time, if it ever could be done. 

It was done at last, thanks to Suan Isco, who scarcely ever left himby day or night, and treated him skillfully with healing herbs. But he, without meaning it, vexed her often by calling for me--a mere ignorantchild. Suan was dreadfully jealous of this, and perhaps I was proud ofthat sentiment of hers, and tried to justify it, instead of laboringto remove it, as would have been the more proper course. And Firm mostungratefully said that my hand was lighter than poor Suan's, and everything I did was better done, according to him, which was shameful on hispart, and as untrue as any thing could be. However, we yielded to himin all things while he was so delicate; and it often made us poor weakthings cry to be the masters of a tall strong man. 

Firm Gundry received that shot in May, about ten days before thetwelvemonth was completed from my father's death. The brightness ofsummer and beauty of autumn went by without his feeling them, and whilehis system was working hard to fortify itself by walling up, as thelearned man had called it. There had been some difficulties in thisprocess, caused partly, perhaps, by our too lavish supply of the rawmaterial; and before Firm's gap in his "sternum" was stopped, themountains were coming down upon us, as we always used to say when thesnow-line stooped. In some seasons this is a sharp time of hurry, brokenwith storms, and capricious, while men have to slur in the drivingweather tasks that should have been matured long since. But in otheryears the long descent into the depth of winter is taken not with ajump like that, but gently and softly and windingly, with a great manyglimpses back at the summer, and a good deal of leaning on the arm ofthe sun. 

And so it was this time. The autumn and the winter for a fortnight stoodlooking quietly at each other. They had quite agreed to share the hours, to suit the arrangements of the sun. The nights were starry and freshand brisk, without any touch of tartness; and the days were sunnyand soft and gentle, without any sense of languor. It was a lovelyscene--blue shadows gliding among golden light. 

The Sawyer came forth, and cried, "What a shame! This makes me feelquite young again. And yet I have done not a stroke of work. No excuse;make no excuse. I can do that pretty well for myself. Praise God for allHis mercies. I might do worse, perhaps, than have a pipe. "

Then Firm came out to surprise him, and to please us all with the sightof himself. He steadied his steps with one great white hand upon hisgrandfather's Sunday staff, and his clear blue eyes were trembling witha sense of gratitude and a fear of tears. And I stepped behind a redstrawberry-tree, for my sense of respect for him almost made me sob. 

Then Jowler thought it high time to appear upon the scene, and convinceus that he was not a dead dog yet. He had known tribulation, as hismaster had, and had found it a difficult thing to keep from the shadowyhunting ground of dogs who have lived a conscientious life. I hadwondered at first what his reason could have been for not comingforward, according to his custom, to meet that troop of robbers. Buthis reason, alas! was too cogent to himself, though nobody else in thatdreadful time could pay any attention to him. The Rovers, well knowingpoor Jowler's repute, and declining the fair mode of testing it, hadsent in advance a very crafty scout, a half-bred Indian, who knew asmuch about dogs as they could ever hope to know about themselves. Thisrogue approached faithful Jowler--so we were told long afterward--not inan upright way, but as if he had been a brother quadruped. And he tookadvantage of the dog's unfeigned surprise and interest to accost himwith a piece of kidney containing a powerful poison. According toall sound analogy, this should have stopped the dear fellow's earthlytracks; but his spirit was such that he simply went away to nursehimself up in retirement. Neither man nor dog can tell what agonies hesuffered; and doubtless his tortures of mind about duty unperformed werethe worst of all. These things are out of human knowledge in its presentunsympathetic state. Enough that poor Jowler came home at last, with hisribs all up and his tail very low. 

Like friends who have come together again, almost from the jaws ofdeath, we sat in the sunny noon, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Thetrees above us looked proud and cheerful, laying aside the mere fripperyof leaves with a good grace and contented arms, and a surety of havingquite enough next spring. Much of the fruity wealth of autumn stillwas clustering in our sight, heavily fetching the arched bough down tolessen the fall, when fall they must. And against the golden leaves ofmaple behind the unpretending roof a special wreath of blue shone like aclimbing Ipomaea. But coming to examine this, one found it to be nothingmore nor less than the smoke of the kitchen chimney, busy with a quietroasting job. 

This shows how clear the air was; but a thousand times as much couldnever tell how clear our spirits were. Nobody made any "demonstration, "or cut any frolicsome capers, or even said any thing exuberant. Thesteadfast brooding breed of England, which despises antics, was presentin us all, and strengthened by a soil whose native growth is peril, chance, and marvel. And so we nodded at one another, and I ran over andcourtesied to Uncle Sam, and he took me to him. 

"You have been a dear good child, " he said, as he rose, and looked overmy head at Firm. "My own granddarter, if such there had been, could nothave done more to comfort me, nor half so much, for aught I know. Thereis no picking and choosing among the females, as God gives them. But hehas given you for a blessing and saving to my old age, my dearie. "

"Oh, Uncle Sam, now the nugget!" I cried, desiring like a child toescape deep feeling, and fearing any strong words from Firm. "You havepromised me ever so long that I should be the first to show Firm thenugget. "

"And so you shall, my dear, and Firm shall see it before he is an hourolder, and Jowler shall come down to show us where it is. "

Firm, who had little faith in the nugget, but took it for a dream ofmine, and had proved conclusively from his pillow that it could notexist in earnest, now with a gentle, satirical smile declared hisanxiety to see it; and I led him along by his better arm, faster, perhaps, than he ought to have walked. 

In a very few minutes we were at the place, and I ran eagerly to pointit; but behold, where the nugget had been, there was nothing except thewhite bed of the river! The blue water flowed very softly on its way, without a gleam of gold to corrupt it. 

"Oh, nobody will ever believe me again!" I exclaimed, in the saddestof sad dismay. "I dreamed about it first, but it never can have beena dream throughout. You know that I told you about it, Uncle Sam, evenwhen you were very busy, and that shows that it never could have been adream. "

"You told me about it, I remember now, " Mr. Gundry answered, dryly; "butit does not follow that there was such a thing. My dear, you may haveimagined it; because it was the proper time for it to come, when my goodfriends had no money to lend. Your heart was so good that it got intoyour brain, and you must not be vexed, my dear child; it has done yougood to dream of it. "

"I said so all along, " Firm observed. "Miss Rema felt that it ought tobe, and so she believed that it must be, there. She is always so warmand trustful. "

"Is that all you are good for?" I cried, with no gratitude for hiscompliment. "As sure as I stand here, I saw a great bowlder of gold, andso did Jowler, and I gave you the piece that he brought up. Did you takethem all in a dream, Uncle Sam? Come, can you get over that?"

I assure you that for the moment I knew not whether I stood upon my feetor head, until I perceived an extraordinary grin on the Sawyer's amplecountenance; but Firm was not in the secret yet, for he gazed at me withcompassion, and Uncle Sam looked at us both as if he were balancing ourabilities. 

"Send your dog in, missy, " at last he said. "He is more your dog thanmine, I believe, and he obeys you like a Christian. Let him go and findit if he can. "

At a sign from me, the great dog dashed in, and scratched with all fourfeet at once, and made the valley echo with the ring of mighty barkings;and in less than two minutes there shone the nugget, as yellow and asbig as ever. 

"Ha! ha! I never saw a finer thing, " shouted Uncle Sam, like aschool-boy. "I were too many for you, missy dear; but the old dogwollops the whole of us. I just shot a barrow-load of gravel on yournugget, to keep it all snug till Firm should come round; and if the boyhad never come round, there the gold might have waited the will of theAlmighty. It is a big spot, anyhow. "

It certainly was not a little spot, though they all seemed to make solight of it--which vexed me, because I had found it, and was as proud asif I had made it. Not by any means that the Sawyer was half as carelessas he seemed to be; he put on much of this for my sake, having verylofty principles, especially concerning the duty of the young. Youngpeople were never to have small ideas, so far as he could help it, particularly upon such matters as Mammon, or the world, or fashion; andnot so very seldom he was obliged to catch himself up in his talking, when he chanced to be going on and forgetting that I, who required ahigher vein of thought for my youth, was taking his words downright; andI think that all this had a great deal to do with his treating all thatgold in such an exemplary manner; for if it had really mattered nothing, what made him go in the dark and shoot a great barrow-load of gravelover it?

CHAPTER XV

BROUGHT TO BANK

The sanity of a man is mainly tested among his neighbors and kindred bythe amount of consideration which he has consistently given to cash. If money has been the chief object of his life, and he for its sake hasspared nobody, no sooner is he known to be successful than admirationoverpowers all the ill-will he has caused. He is shrewd, sagacious, long-headed, and great; he has earned his success, and few men grudge, while many seek to get a slice of it; but he, as a general rule, declines any premature distribution, and for this custody of his wealthhe is admired all the more by those who have no hope of sharing it. 

As soon as ever it was known that Uncle Sam had lodged at his banker'sa tremendous lump of gold, which rumor declared to be worth at least ahundred thousand dollars, friends from every side poured in, all inhot haste, to lend him their last farthing. The Sawyer was pleased withtheir kindness, but thought that his second-best whiskey met the meritsof the case. And he was more particular than usual with his words;for, according to an old saying of the diggers, a big nugget always haschildren, and, being too heavy to go very far, it is likely to keep allits little ones at home. Many people, therefore, were longing to seekfor the frogs of this great toad; for so in their slang the minerscalled them, with a love of preternatural history. But Mr. Gundryallowed no search for the frogs, or even the tadpoles, of hispatriarchal nugget. And much as he hated the idea of sowing the seedsof avarice in any one, he showed himself most consistent now in avoidingthat imputation; for not only did he refuse to show the bed of his greattreasure, after he had secured it, but he fenced the whole of it in, and tarred the fence, and put loopholes in it; and then he establishedJowler where he could neither be shot nor poisoned, and kept a man witha double-barreled rifle in the ruin of the mill, handy to shoot, but noteasy to be shot; and this was a resolute man, being Martin himself, whohad now no business. Of course Martin grumbled; but the worse his temperwas, the better for his duty, as seems to be the case with a great manymen; and if any one had come to console him in his grumbling, neverwould he have gone away again. 

It would have been reckless of me to pretend to say what any body oughtto do; from the first to the last I left every thing to those who knewso much better; at the same time I felt that it might have done noharm if I had been more consulted, though I never dreamed of saying so, because the great gold had been found by me, and although I cared for itscarcely more than for the tag of a boot-lace, nobody seemed to me ableto enter into it quite as I did; and as soon as Firm's danger and paingrew less, I began to get rather impatient, but Uncle Sam was not to behurried. 

Before ever he hoisted that rock of gold, he had made up his mind for meto be there, and he even put the business off, because I would not comeone night, for I had a superstitious fear on account of its being myfather's birthday. Uncle Sam had forgotten the date, and begged mypardon for proposing it; but he said that we must not put it off laterthan the following night, because the moonlight would be failing, andwe durst not have any kind of lamp, and before the next moon the hardweather might begin. All this was before the liberal offers of hisfriends, of which I have spoken first, although they happened to comeafter it. 

While the Sawyer had been keeping the treasure perdu, to abide the issueof his grandson's illness, he had taken good care both to watch it andto form some opinion of its shape and size; for, knowing the pile whichI had described, he could not help finding it easily enough; and indeedthe great fear was that others might find it, and come in great force torob him; but nothing of that sort had happened, partly because heheld his tongue rigidly, and partly, perhaps, because of the simpleprecaution which he had taken. 

Now, however, it was needful to impart the secret to one man at least;for Firm, though recovering, was still so weak that it might have killedhim to go into the water, or even to exert himself at all; and strongas Uncle Sam was, he knew that even with hoisting-tackle, he alone couldnever bring that piece of bullion to bank; so, after much consideration, he resolved to tell Martin of the mill, as being the most trusty manabout the place, as well as the most surly; but he did not tell himuntil every thing was ready, and then he took him straightway to theplace. 

Here, in the moonlight, we stood waiting, Firm and myself and Suan Isco, who had more dread than love of gold, and might be useful to keep watch, or even to lend a hand, for she was as strong as an ordinary man. Thenight was sultry, and the fire-flies (though dull in the radiance of themoon) darted, like soft little shooting-stars, across the still faceof shadow, and the flood of the light of the moon was at its height, submerging every thing. 

While we were whispering and keeping in the shade for fear of attractingany wanderer's notice, we saw the broad figure of the Sawyer rising froma hollow of the bank, and behind him came Martin the foreman, and wesoon saw that due preparation had been made, for they took from undersome drift-wood (which had prevented us from observing it) a smallmovable crane, and fixed it on a platform of planks which they set up inthe river-bed. 

"Palefaces eat gold, " Suan Isco said, reflectively, and as if to satisfyherself. "Dem eat, drink, die gold; dem pull gold out of one other'sears. Welly hope Mellican mans get enough gold now. "

"Don't be sarcastic, now, Suan, " I answered; "as if it were possible tohave enough!"

"For my part, " said Firm, who had been unusually silent all the evening, "I wish it had never been found at all. As sure as I stand here, mischief will come of it. It will break up our household. I hope it willturn out a lump of quartz, gilt on the face, as those big nuggets do, ninety-nine out of a hundred. I have had no faith in it all along. "

"Because I found it, Mr. Firm, I suppose, " I answered, rather pettishly, for I never had liked Firm's incessant bitterness about my nugget. "Perhaps if you had found it, Mr. Firm, you would have had great faithin it. "

"Can't say, can't say, " was all Firm's reply; and he fell into thesilent vein again. 

"Heave-ho! heave-ho! there, you sons of cooks!" cried the Sawyer, whowas splashing for his life in the water. "I've tackled 'un now. Justtighten up the belt, to see if he biteth centre-like. You can't lift'un! Lord bless 'ee, not you. It 'll take all I know to do that, Iguess; and Firm ain't to lay no hand to it. Don't you be in such adoggoned hurry. Hold hard, can't you?"

For Suan and Martin were hauling for their lives, and even I caught holdof a rope-end, but had no idea what to do with it, when the Sawyer swunghimself up to bank, and in half a minute all was orderly. He showedus exactly where to throw our weight, and he used his own to such goodeffect that, after some creaking and groaning, the long horn of thecrane rose steadily, and a mass of dripping sparkles shone in themoonlight over the water. 

"Hurrah! what a whale! How the tough ash bends!" cried Uncle Sam, panting like a boy, and doing nearly all the work himself. "Martin, layyour chest to it. We'll grass him in two seconds. Californy never saw asight like this, I reckon. "

There was plenty of room for us all to stand round the monster andadmire it. In shape it was just like a fat toad, squatting with hisshoulders up and panting. Even a rough resemblance to the head and thehaunches might be discovered, and a few spots of quartz shone here andthere on the glistening and bossy surface. Some of us began to feel andhandle it with vast admiration; but Firm, with his heavy boots, made avicious kick at it, and a few bright scales, like sparks, flew off. 

"Why, what ails the lad?" cried the Sawyer, in some wrath; "what harmhath the stone ever done to him? To my mind, this here lump is a proofof the whole creation of the world, and who hath lived long enoughto gainsay? Here this lump hath lain, without changing color, sincecreation's day; here it is, as big and heavy as when the Lord laid handto it. What good to argue agin such facts? Supposin' the world come outo' nothing, with nobody to fetch it, or to say a word of orders, however could it 'a managed to get a lump of gold like this in it? Theyclever fellers is too clever. Let 'em put all their heads together, andturn out a nugget, and I'll believe them. "

Uncle Sam's reasoning was too deep for any but himself to follow. He wasnot long in perceiving this, though we were content to admire his wordswithout asking him to explain them; so he only said, "Well, well, " andbegan to try with both hands if he could heft this lump. He stirred it, and moved it, and raised it a little, as the glisten of the light uponits roundings showed; but lift it fairly from the ground he could not, however he might bow his sturdy legs and bend his mighty back to it;and, strange to say, he was pleased for once to acknowledge his owndiscomfiture. 

"Five hundred and a half I used to lift to the height of my knee-capeasily; I may 'a fallen off now a hundred-weight with years, andstrings in my back, and rheumatics; but this here little toad is aclear hundredweight out and beyond my heftage. If there's a pound here, there's not an ounce under six hundred-weight, I'll lay a thousanddollars. Miss Rema, give a name to him. All the thundering nuggets hasthundering names. "

"Then this shall be called 'Uncle Sam, '" I answered, "because he is thelargest and the best of all. "

"It shall stand, miss, " cried Martin, who was in great spirits, andseemed to have bettered himself forever. "You could not have given it afiner name, miss, if you had considered for a century. Uncle Sam is thename of our glorious race, from the kindness of our natur'. Every body'suncle we are now, in vartue of superior knowledge, and freedom, andgiving of general advice, and stickin' to all the world, or all the goodof it. Darned if old Sam aren't the front of creation!"

"Well, well, " said the Sawyer, "let us call it 'Uncle Sam, ' if the dearyoung lady likes it; it would be bad luck to change the name; but, forall that, we must look uncommon sharp, or some of our glorious race willcome and steal it afore we unbutton our eyes. "

"Pooh!" cried Martin; but he knew very well that his master's words werecommon-sense; and we left him on guard with a double-barreled gun, andJowler to keep watch with him. And the next day he told us that he hadspent the night in such a frame of mind from continual thought that whenour pet cow came to drink at daybreak, it was but the blowing of herbreath that saved her from taking a bullet between her soft tame eyes. 

Now it could not in any kind of way hold good that such things shouldcontinue; and the Sawyer, though loath to lose sight of the nugget, perceived that he must not sacrifice all the morals of the neighborhoodto it, and he barely had time to dispatch it on its road at the bottomof a load of lumber, with Martin to drive, and Jowler to sit up, andFirm to ride behind, when a troop of mixed robbers came riding across, with a four-wheel cart and two sturdy mules--enough to drag off everything. They had clearly heard of the golden toad, and desired to knowmore of him; but Uncle Sam, with his usual blandness, met these men atthe gate of his yard, and upon the top rail, to ease his arm, he resteda rifle of heavy metal, with seven revolving chambers. The robbers foundout that they had lost their way, and Mr. Gundry answered that so theyhad, and the sooner they found it in another direction, the better itwould be for them. They thought that he had all his men inside, and theywere mighty civil, though we had only two negroes to help us, and SuanIsco, with a great gun cocked. But their curiosity was such that theycould not help asking about the gold; and, sooner than shoot them, UncleSam replied that, upon his honor, the nugget was gone. And the fame ofhis word was so well known that these fellows (none of whom could tellthe truth, even at confession) believed him on the spot, and begged hispardon for trespassing on his premises. They hoped that he would not saya word to the Vigilance Committee, who hanged a poor fellow for losinghis road; and he told them that if they made off at once, nobody shouldpursue them; and so they rode off very happily. 

CHAPTER XVI

FIRM AND INFIRM

Strange as it may appear, our quiet little home was not yet disturbed bythat great discovery of gold. The Sawyer went up to the summit of esteemin public opinion; but to himself and to us he was the same as ever. Heworked with his own hard hands and busy head just as he used to do; foralthough the mill was still in ruins, there was plenty of the finer workto do, which always required hand-labor. And at night he would sit atthe end of the table furthest from the fire-place, with his spectacleson, and his red cheeks glowing, while he designed the future mill, whichwas to be built in the spring, and transcend every mill ever heard, thought, or dreamed of. 

We all looked forward to a quiet winter, snug with warmth and cheerin-doors, and bright outside with sparkling trees, brisk air, and frostyappetite, when a foolish idea arose which spoiled the comfort at leastof two of us. Ephraim Gundry found out, or fancied, that he was entirelyfilled with love of a very young maid, who never dreamed of such things, and hated even to hear of them; and the maid, unluckily, was myself. 

During the time of his ailment I had been with him continually, beingonly too glad to assuage his pain, or turn his thoughts away from it. I partly suspected that he had incurred his bitter wound for my sake;though I never imputed his zeal to more than a young man's natural wrathat an outrage. But now he left me no longer in doubt, and made memost uncomfortable. Perhaps I was hard upon him, and afterward I oftenthought so, for he was very kind and gentle; but I was an orphan child, and had no one to advise me in such matters. I believe that he shouldhave considered this, and allowed me to grow a little older; but perhapshe himself was too young as yet and too bashful to know how to managethings. It was the very evening after his return from Sacramento, andthe beauty of the weather still abode in the soft warm depth aroundus. In every tint of rock and tree and playful glass of river a quietclearness seemed to lie, and a rich content of color. The grandeur ofthe world was such that one could only rest among it, seeking neithervoice nor thought. 

Therefore I was more surprised than pleased to hear my name ring loudlythrough the echoing hollows, and then to see the bushes shaken, and aneager form leap out. I did not answer a word, but sat with a wreath ofwhite bouvardia and small adiantum round my head, which I had plaitedanyhow. 

"What a lovely dear you are!" cried Firm, and then he seemed frightenedat his own words. 

"I had no idea that you would have finished your dinner so soon as this, Mr. Firm. "

"And you did not want me. You are vexed to see me. Tell the truth, MissRema. "

"I always tell the truth, " I answered; "and I did not want to bedisturbed just now. I have so many things to think of. "

"And not me among them. Oh no, of course you never think of me, Erema. "

"It is very unkind of you to say that, " I answered, looking clearly athim, as a child looks at a man. "And it is not true, I assure you, Firm. Whenever I have thought of dear Uncle Sam, I very often go on to thinkof you, because he is so fond of you. "

"But not for my own sake, Erema; you never think of me for my own sake. "

"But yes, I do, I assure you, Mr. Firm; I do greatly. There is scarcelya day that I do not remember how hungry you are, and I think of you. "

"Tush!" replied Firm, with a lofty gaze. "Even for a moment that doesnot in any way express my meaning. My mind is very much above all eatingwhen it dwells upon you, Erema. I have always been fond of you, Erema. "

"You have always been good to me, Firm, " I said, as I managed to geta great branch between us. "After your grandfather, and Suan Isco, andJowler, I think that I like you best of almost any body left to me. Andyou know that I never forget your slippers. "

"Erema, you drive me almost wild by never understanding me. Now will youjust listen to a little common-sense? You know that I am not romantic. "

"Yes, Firm; yes, I know that you never did any thing wrong in any way. "

"You would like me better if I did. What an extraordinary thing it is!Oh, Erema, I beg your pardon. "

He had seen in a moment, as men seem to do, when they study the muchquicker face of a girl, that his words had keenly wounded me--that Ihad applied them to my father, of whom I was always thinking, though Iscarcely ever spoke of him. But I knew that Firm had meant no harm, andI gave him my hand, though I could not speak. 

"My darling, " he said, "you are very dear to me--dearer than all theworld besides. I will not worry you any more. Only say that you do nothate me. "

"How could I? How could any body? Now let us go in and attend to UncleSam. He thinks of every body before himself. "

"And I think of every body after myself. Is that what you mean, Erema?"

"To be sure! if you like. You may put any meaning on my words thatyou think proper. I am accustomed to things of that sort, and I pay noattention whatever, when I am perfectly certain that I am right. "

"I see, " replied Firm, applying one finger to the side of his nose indeep contemplation, which, of all his manners, annoyed me most. "I seehow it is; Miss Rema is always perfectly certain that she is right, andthe whole of the rest of the world quite wrong. Well, after all, thereis nothing like holding a first-rate opinion of one's self. "

"You are not what I thought of you, " I cried, being vexed beyondbearance by such words, and feeling their gross injustice. "If you wishto say any thing more, please to leave it until you recover your temper. I am not quite accustomed to rudeness. "

With these words, I drew away and walked off, partly in earnest andpartly in joke, not wishing to hear another word; and when I lookedback, being well out of sight, there he sat still, with his head on hishands, and my heart had a little ache for him. 

However, I determined to say no more, and to be extremely careful. Icould not in justice blame Ephraim Gundry for looking at me very often. But I took good care not to look at him again unless he said somethingthat made me laugh, and then I could scarcely help it. He was sharpenough very soon to find out this; and then he did a thing which wasmost unfair, as I found out long afterward. He bought an Americanjest-book, full of ideas wholly new to me, and these he committed toheart, and brought them out as his own productions. If I had only knownit, I must have been exceedingly sorry for him. But Uncle Sam used tolaugh and rub his hands, perhaps for old acquaintance' sake; and whenUncle Sam laughed, there was nobody near who could help laughing withhim. And so I began to think Firm the most witty and pleasant of men, though I tried to look away. 

But perhaps the most careful and delicate of things was to see how UncleSam went on. I could not understand him at all just then, and thoughthim quite changed from my old Uncle Sam; but afterward, when I cameto know, his behavior was as clear and shallow as the water of his ownriver. He had very strange ideas about what he generally called "thefemale kind. " According to his ideas (and perhaps they were not sounusual among mankind, especially settlers), all "females" were of agood but weak and consistently inconsistent sort. The surest way to makethem do whatever their betters wanted, was to make them think that itwas not wanted, but was hedged with obstacles beyond their power toovercome, and so to provoke and tantalize them to set their hearts upondoing it. In accordance with this idea (than which there can be nonemore mistaken), he took the greatest pains to keep me from having a wordto say to Firm; and even went so far as to hint, with winks and nodsof pleasantry, that his grandson's heart was set upon the pretty MissSylvester, the daughter of a man who owned a herd of pigs, much too nearour saw-mills, and herself a young woman of outrageous dress, and ina larger light contemptible. But when Mr. Gundry, without any words, conveyed this piece of news to me, I immediately felt quite a liking forgaudy but harmless Pennsylvania--for so her parents had named her whenshe was too young to help it; and I heartily hoped that she might suitFirm, which she seemed all the more likely to do as his conduct couldnot be called noble. Upon that point, however, I said not a word, leaving him purely to judge for himself, and feeling it a great reliefthat now he could not say any thing more to me. I was glad that histaste was so easily pleased, and I told Suan Isco how glad I was. 

This I had better have left unsaid, for it led to a great explosion, and drove me away from the place altogether before the new mill wasfinished, and before I should otherwise have gone from friends who wereso good to me; not that I could have staid there much longer, even ifthis had never come to pass; for week by week and month by month I wasgrowing more uneasy: uneasy not at my obligations or dependence uponmere friends (for they managed that so kindly that I seemed to conferthe favor), but from my own sense of lagging far behind my duty. 

For now the bright air, and the wholesome food, and the pleasure ofgoodness around me, were making me grow, without knowledge or notice, into a tall and not altogether to be overlooked young woman. I wasexceedingly shy about this, and blushed if any one spoke of it; but yetin my heart I felt it was so; and how could I help it? And when peoplesaid, as rough people will, and even Uncle Sam sometimes, "Handsome isas handsome does, " or "Beauty is only skin-deep, " and so on, I made itmy duty not to be put out, but to bear it in mind and be thankful. Andthough I had no idea of any such influence at the moment, I hope thatthe grandeur of nature around and the lofty style of every thingmay have saved me from dwelling too much on myself, as PennsylvaniaSylvester did. 

Now the more I felt my grown-up age and health and buoyant vigor, thesurer I knew that the time was come for me to do some good with them;not to benefit the world in general, in a large and scattery way (asmany young people set out to do, and never get any further), but toright the wrong of my own house, and bring home justice to my own heart. This may be thought a partial and paltry object to set out with; andit is not for me to say otherwise. At the time, it occurred to me in noother light except as my due business, and I never took any large viewat all. But even now I do believe (though not yet in pickle of wisdom)that if every body, in its own little space and among its own littlemovements, will only do and take nothing without pure taste of the saltof justice, no reeking atrocity of national crimes could ever taint theheaven. 

Such questions, however, become me not. I have only to deal with verylittle things, sometimes too slim to handle well, and too hazy to bewoven; and if they seem below my sense and dignity to treat of, I canonly say that they seemed very big at the time when I had to encounterthem. 

For instance, what could be more important, in a little world of life, than for Uncle Sam to be put out, and dare even to think ill of me?Yet this he did; and it shows how shallow are all those theories of theother sex which men are so pleased to indulge in. Scarcely any thingcould be more ridiculous from first to last, when calmly and trulyconsidered, than the firm belief which no power of reason could for thetime root out of him. 

Uncle Sam, the dearest of all mankind to me, and the very kindest, waspositively low-enough to believe, in his sad opinion of the female race, that my young head was turned because of the wealth to which I had noclaim, except through his own justice. He had insisted at first that thewhole of that great nugget belonged to me by right of sole discovery. I asked him whether, if any stranger had found it, it would have beenconsidered his, and whether he would have allowed a "greaser, " uponfinding, to make off with it. At the thought of this, Mr. Gundry gavea little grunt, and could not go so far as to maintain that view of it. But he said that my reasoning did not fit; that I was not a greaser, but a settled inhabitant of the place, and entitled to all a settler'srights; that the bed of the river would have been his grave but for therisk of my life, and therefore whatever I found in the bed of the riverbelonged to me, and me only. 

In argument he was so much stronger than I could ever attempt to bethat I gave it up, and could only say that if he argued forever itcould never make any difference. He did not argue forever, but onlygrew obstinate and unpleasant, so that I yielded at last to own the halfshare of the bullion. 

Very well. Every body would have thought, who has not studied the natureof men or been dragged through it heavily, that now there could be nomore trouble between two people entirely trusting each other, and onlyanxious that the other should have the best of it. Yet, instead of thatbeing the case, the mischief, the myriad mischief, of money set in, until I heartily wished sometimes that my miserable self was down in thehole which the pelf had left behind it. 

For what did Uncle Sam take into his head (which was full of generosityand large ideas, so loosely packed that little ones grew between them, especially about womankind)--what else did he really seem to think, withthe downright stubbornness of all his thoughts, but that I, his poordebtor and pensioner and penniless dependent, was so set up and elatedby this sudden access of fortune that henceforth none of the sawing racewas high enough for me to think of? It took me a long time to believethat so fair and just a man ever could set such interpretation upon me. And when it became too plain that he did so, truly I know not whethergrief or anger was uppermost in my troubled heart. 

CHAPTER XVII

HARD AND SOFT

Before very long it was manifest enough that Mr. Gundry looked down uponMiss Sylvester with a large contempt. But while this raised my opinionof his judgment, it almost deprived me of a great relief--the relief ofsupposing that he wished his grandson to marry this Pennsylvania. For although her father, with his pigs and cattle, and a low sort ofhostelry which he kept, could settle "a good pile of dollars" uponher, and had kept her at the "learnedest ladies' college" even inSan Francisco till he himself trembled at her erudition, still it wasscarcely to be believed that a man of the Sawyer's strong common-senseand disregard of finery would ever accept for his grandchild a girl madeof affectation, vulgarity, and conceit. And one day, quite in the earlyspring, he was so much vexed with the fine lady's airs that he left nodoubt about his meaning. 

Miss Sylvester was very proud of the figure she made on horseback; andhaving been brought up, perhaps as a child, to ride after pigs and soon, she must have had fine opportunities of acquiring a graceful styleof horsemanship. And now she dashed through thick and thin in a mostcommanding manner, caring no more for a snow-drift than ladies do for ascraping of the road. No one with the least observation could doubt thatthis young woman was extremely anxious to attract Firm Gundry's notice;and therefore, on the day above spoken of, once more she rode over, withher poor father in waiting upon her as usual. 

Now I know very well how many faults I have, and to deny them has neverbeen my practice; but this is the honest and earnest truth, that nosmallness of mind, or narrowness of feeling, or want of large or finesentiments made me bolt my door when that girl was in the house. Isimply refused, after seeing her once, to have any thing more to say toher; by no means because of my birth and breeding (which are things thatcan be most easily waived when the difference is acknowledged), nor yeton account of my being brought up in the company of ladies, nor even byreason of any dislike which her bold brown eyes put into me. My causewas sufficient and just and wise. I felt myself here as a veryyoung girl, in safe and pure and honest hands, yet thrown on my owndiscretion, without any feminine guidance whatever. And I had learnedenough from the wise French sisters to know at a glance that MissSylvester was not a young woman who would do me good. 

Even Uncle Sam, who was full of thought and delicate care about me, sofar as a man can understand, and so far as his simple shrewdness went, in spite of all his hospitable ways and open universal welcome, though he said not a word (as on such a point he was quite right indoing)--even he, as I knew by his manner, was quite content with mydecision. But Firm, being young and in many ways stupid, made a littlegrievance of it. And, of course, Miss Sylvester made a great one. 

"Oh, I do declare, I am going away, " through my open window I heard herexclaim in her sweetly affected tone, at the end of that long visit, "without even having the honor of saying a kind word to your youngvisitor. Do not wait for me, papa; I must pay my devoirs. Such adistinguished and travelled person can hardly be afflicted with mauvaisehonte. Why does she not rush to embrace me? All the French people do;and she is so French! Let me see her, for the sake of my accent. "

"We don't want no French here, ma'am, " replied Uncle Sam, as Sylvesterrode off, "and the young lady wants no Doctor Hunt. Her health is asgood as your own, and you never catch no French actions from her. If shewanted to see you, she would 'a come down. "

"Oh, now, this is too barbarous! Colonel Gundry, you are the mosttyrannous man; in your own dominions an autocrat. Every body saysso, but I never would believe it. Oh, don't let me go away with thatimpression. And you do look so good-natured!"

"And so I mean to look, Miss Penny, until you are out of sight. "

The voice of the Sawyer was more dry than that of his oldest andrustiest saw. The fashionable and highly finished girl had no idea whatto make of him; but gave her young horse a sharp cut, to show her figureas she reined him; and then galloping off, she kissed her tan gauntletwith crimson net-work down it, and left Uncle Sam to revolve hisrudeness, with the dash of the wet road scattered in the air. 

"I wouldn't 'a spoke to her so course, " he said to Firm, who nowreturned from opening the gate and delivering his farewell, "if shewasn't herself so extra particular, gild me, and sky-blue my mouldingsfine. How my mother would 'a stared at the sight of such a gal! Keepfree of her, my lad, keep free of her. But no harm to put her on, tokeep our missy alive and awake, my boy. "

Immediately I withdrew from ear-shot, more deeply mortified than I cantell, and perhaps doing Firm an injustice by not waiting for his answer. I knew not then how lightly men will speak of such delicate subjects;and it set me more against all thoughts of Firm than a month'sreflection could have done. When I came to know more of the world, I sawthat I had been very foolish. At the time, however, I was firmly setin a strong resolve to do that which alone seemed right, or evenpossible--to quit with all speed a place which could no longer be suitedfor me. 

For several days I feared to say a single word about it, while equallyI condemned myself for having so little courage. But it was not as ifthere were any body to help me, or tell me what to do; sometimes I wasbold with a surety of right, and then again I shook with the fear ofbeing wrong. Because, through the whole of it, I felt how wonderfullywell I had been treated, and what a great debt I owed of kindness; andit seemed to be only a nasty little pride which made me so particular. And being so unable to settle for myself, I waited for something tosettle it. 

Something came, in a way which I had not by any means expected. I hadtold Suan Isco how glad I was that Firm had fixed his liking steadilyupon Miss Sylvester. If any woman on earth could be trusted not to saya thing again, that one was this good Indian. Not only because of herprovident habits, but also in right of the difficulty which encompassedher in our language. But she managed to get over both of these, and tolet Mr. Ephraim know, as cleverly as if she had lived in drawing-rooms, whatever I had said about him. She did it for the best; but it put himin a rage, which he came at once to have out with me. 

"And so, Miss Erema, " he said, throwing down his hat upon the table ofthe little parlor, where I sat with an old book of Norman ballads, "Ihave your best wishes, then, have I, for a happy marriage with MissSylvester?"

I was greatly surprised at the tone of his voice, while the flush on hischeeks and the flash of his eyes, and even his quick heavy tread, showedplainly that his mind was a little out of balance. He deserved it, however, and I could not grieve. 

"You have my best wishes, " I replied, demurely, "for any state of lifeto which you may be called. You could scarcely expect any less of methan that. "

"How kind you are! But do you really wish that I should marry oldSylvester's girl?"

Firm, as he asked this question, looked so bitterly reproachful (as ifhe were saying, "Do you wish to see me hanged?"), while his eyes took aform which reminded me so of the Sawyer in a furious puzzle, that it wasimpossible for me to answer as lightly as I meant to do. 

"No, I can not say, Firm, that I wish it at all; unless your heart isset on it--"

"Don't you know, then, where my heart is set?" he asked me, in a deepvoice, coming nearer, and taking the ballad-book from my hands. "Whywill you feign not to know, Erema, who is the only one I can ever thinkof twice? Above me, I know, in every possible way--birth and educationand mind and appearance, and now far above me in money as well. But whatare all these things? Try to think if only you could like me. Likinggets over every thing, and without it nothing is any thing. Why doI like you so, Erema? Is it because of your birth, and teaching, and manners, and sweet looks, and all that, or even because of yourtroubles?"

"How can I tell, Firm--how can I tell? Perhaps it is just because ofmyself. And why do you do it at all, Firm?"

"Ah, why do I do it? How I wish I knew! Perhaps then I might cure it. Tobegin with, what is there, after all, so very wonderful about you?"

"Oh, nothing, I should hope. Most surely nothing. It would grieve me tobe at all wonderful. That I leave for American ladies. "

"Now you don't understand me. I mean, of course, that you arewonderfully good and kind and clever; and your eyes, I am sure, and yourlips and smile, and all your other features--there is nothing about themthat can be called any thing else but wonderful. "

"Now, Firm, how exceedingly foolish you are! I did hope that you knewbetter. "

"Erema, I never shall know better. I never can swerve or change, if Ilive to be a hundred and fifty. You think me presumptuous, no doubt, from what you are brought up to. And you are so young that to seek tobind you, even if you loved me, would be an unmanly thing. But now youare old enough, and you know your own mind surely well enough, just tosay whether you feel as if you could ever love me as I love you. "

He turned away, as if he felt that he had no right to press me so, andblamed himself for selfishness; and I liked him better for doing thatthan for any thing he had done before. Yet I knew that I ought to speakclearly, and though my voice was full of tears, I tried. 

"Dear Firm, " I said, as I took his hand and strove to look at himsteadily, "I like and admire you very much; and by-and-by--by-and-by, Imight, that is, if you did not hurry me. Of all the obstacles you havementioned, none is worth considering. I am nothing but a poor castaway, owing my life to Uncle Sam and you. But one thing there is which couldnever be got over, even if I felt as you feel toward me. Never canI think of little matters, or of turning my thoughts to--to any suchthings as you speak of, as long as a vile reproach and wicked imputationlies on me. And before even that, I have to think of my father, who gavehis life for me. Firm, I have been here too long delaying, and wastingmy time in trifles. I ought to have been in Europe long ago. If I am oldenough for what you talk of, I am old enough to do my duty. If I am oldenough for love, as it is called, I am old enough for hate. I have moreto do with hate than love, I think. "

"Erema, " cried Firm, "what a puzzle you are! I never even dreamed thatyou could be so fierce. You are enough to frighten Uncle Sam himself. "

"If I frighten you, Firm, that is quite enough. You see now how vain itis to say another word. "

"I do not see any thing of the sort. Come back, and look at me quitecalmly. "

Being frightened at the way in which I had spoken, and having passed theprime of it, I obeyed him in a moment, and came up gently and let himlook at me to his liking. For little as I thought of such thingstill now, I seemed already to know more about them, or at least towonder--which is the stir of the curtain of knowledge. I did not sayany thing, but labored to think nothing and to look up with unconsciouseyes. But Firm put me out altogether by his warmth, and made me flutterlike a stupid little bird. 

"My darling, " he said, smoothing back my hair with a kindness such as Icould not resent, and quieting me with his clear blue eyes, "you are notfit for the stormy life to which your high spirit is devoting you. Youhave not the hardness and bitterness of mind, the cold self-possessionand contempt of others, the power of dissembling and the iron will--ina word, the fundamental nastiness, without which you never could getthrough such a job. Why, you can not be contemptuous even to me!"

"I should hope not. I should earn your contempt, if I could. "

"There, you are ready to cry at the thought. Erema, do not mistakeyourself. Remember that your father would never have wished it--wouldhave given his life ten thousand times over to prevent it. Why did hebring you to this remote, inaccessible part of the world except to saveyou from further thought of evil? He knew that we listen to no rumorshere, no social scandals, or malignant lies; but we value people as wefind them. He meant this to be a haven for you; and so it shall beif you will only rest; and you shall be the queen of it. Instead ofredressing his memory now, you would only distress his spirit. What doeshe care for the world's gossip now? But he does care for your happiness. I am not old enough to tell you things as I should like to tell them. I wish I could--how I wish I could! It would make all the difference tome. "

"It would make no difference, Firm, to me; because I should know it wasselfishness. Not selfishness of yours, I mean, for you never could beselfish; but the vilest selfishness of mine, the same as starved myfather. You can not see things as I see them, or else you would nottalk so. When you know that a thing is right, you do it. Can you tell meotherwise? If you did, I should despise you. "

"If you put it so, I can say no more. You will leave us forever, Erema?"

"No, not forever. If the good God wills it, I will come back when mywork is done. Forgive me, dear Firm, and forget me. "

"There is nothing to forgive, Erema; but a great deal I never can hopeto forgot. "

CHAPTER XVIII

OUT OF THE GOLDEN GATE

Little things, or what we call little, always will come in among greatones, or at least among those which we call great. Before I passed theGolden Gate in the clipper ship Bridal Veil (so called from one of theYosemite cascades) I found out what I had long wished to know--why Firmhad a crooked nose. At least, it could hardly be called crooked if anybody looked aright at it; but still it departed from the bold straightline which nature must have meant for it, every thing else about himbeing as straight as could be required. This subject had troubled memore than once, though of course it had nothing whatever to do with thepoint of view whence I regarded him. 

Suan Isco could not tell me, neither could Martin of the mill; Icertainly could not ask Firm himself, as the Sawyer told me to do whenonce I put the question, in despair, to him. But now, as we stood on thewharf exchanging farewells, perhaps forever, and tears of anguish werein my eyes, and my heart was both full and empty, ample and unexpectedlight was thrown on the curvature of Firm's nose. 

For a beautiful girl, of about my own age, and very nicely dressed, came up and spoke to the Sawyer (who stood at my side), and then, witha blush, took his grandson's hand. Firm took off his hat to her verypolitely, but allowed her to see perhaps by his manner that he wasparticularly engaged just now; and the young lady, with a quick glanceat me, walked off to rejoin her party. But a garrulous old negroservant, who seemed to be in attendance upon her, ran up and caught Firmby his coat, and peered up curiously at his face. 

"How young massa's poor nose dis long time? How him feel, spose nowagain?" he inquired, with a deferential grin. "Young massa ebber abletake a pinch of good snuff? He! he! missy berry heavy den? Missy nolearn to dance de nose polka den?"

"What on earth does he mean?" I could not help asking, in spite of oursorrowful farewell, as the negro went on with sundry other jokes andcackles at his own facetiousness. And then Uncle Sam, to divert mythoughts, while I waited for signal to say good-by, told me how Firm gota slight twist to his nose. 

Ephraim Gundry had been well taught, in all the common things a manshould learn, at a good quiet school at Frisco, which distinguisheditself from all other schools by not calling itself a college. And whenhe was leaving to begin home life, with as much put into him as he couldmanage--for his nature was not bookish--when he was just seventeen yearsold, and tall and straight and upright, but not set into great bodilystrength, which could not yet be expected, a terrible fire broke out ina great block of houses newly occupied, over against the school-housefront. Without waiting for master's leave or matron's, the boys, in theCalifornian style, jumped over the fencing and went to help. And theyfound a great crowd collected, and flames flaring out of the top ofthe house. At the top of the house, according to a stupid and thereforegeneral practice, was the nursery, made of more nurses than children, asoften happens with rich people. The nurses had run away for their lives, taking two of the children with them; but the third, a fine little girlof ten, had been left behind, and now ran to the window with redhot flames behind her. The window was open, and barbs of fire, likeserpents' tongues, played over it. 

"Jump, child, jump! for God's sake, jump!" cried half a hundred people, while the poor scared creature quivered on the ledge, and shrank fromthe frightful depth below. At last, stung by a scorching volley, shegathered her night-gown tight, and leaped, trusting to the many facesand many arms raised toward her. But though many gallant men were there, only one stood fast just where she fell, and that one was the youth, Firm Gundry. Upon him she fell, like a stone from heaven, and thoughhe held up his arms in the smoky glare, she came down badly: badly, atleast, for him, but, as her father said, providentially; for one ofher soles, or heels, alighted on the bridge of Ephraim's young nose. Hecaught her on his chest, and forgetful of himself, he bore her to herfriends triumphantly, unharmed, and almost smiling. But the symmetry ofan important part of his face was spoiled forever. 

When I heard of this noble affair, and thought of my own pusillanimousrendering--for verily I had been low enough, from rumors of Firm'spugnacity, to attribute these little defects of line to some fisticuffswith some miner--I looked at Firm's nose through the tears in my eyes, and had a great mind not to go away at all. For what is the noblest ofall things in man--as I bitterly learned thereafter, and already hadsome guesses? Not the power of moving multitudes with eloquence or byorders; not the elevation of one tribe through the lowering of others, nor even the imaginary lift of all by sentiments as yet above them:there may be glory in all of these, but the greatness is not with them. It remains with those who behave like Firm, and get their noses broken. 

However, I did not know those things at that time of life, though Ithought it right for every man to be brave and good; and I could nothelp asking who the young lady was, as if that were part of the heroism. The Sawyer, who never was unready for a joke, of however ancientquality, gave a great wink at Firm (which I failed to understand), andasked him how much the young lady was worth. He expected that Firmwould say, "Five hundred thousand dollars"--which was about her value, Ibelieve--and Uncle Sam wanted me to hear it; not that he cared a singlecent himself, but to let me know what Firm could do. 

Firm, however, was not to be led into any trap of that sort. He knew mebetter than the old man did, and that nothing would stir me to jealousy, and he quite disappointed the Sawyer. 

"I have never asked what she is worth, " he said, with a glanceof contempt at money; "but she scarcely seems worth looking at, compared--compared with certain others. "

In the distance I saw the young lady again, attempting no attraction, but walking along quite harmlessly, with the talkative negro after her. It would have been below me to pursue the subject, and I waited forothers to re-open it; but I heard no more about her until I had beenfor more than a week at sea, and was able again to feel interest. Then Iheard that her name was Annie Banks, of the firm of Heniker, Banks, andCo. , who owned the ship I sailed in. 

But now it was nothing to me who she was, or how beautiful, or howwealthy, when I clung for the last time to Uncle Sam, and implored himnot to forget me. Over and over again he promised to be full of thoughtsof me, even when the new mill was started, which would be a most tryingtime. He bowed his tall white head into my sheveled hair, and blessedand kissed me, although I never deserved it, and a number of people werelooking on. Then I laid my hand in Firm's, and he did not lift it to hislips, or sigh, but pressed it long and softly, and looked into my eyeswithout a word. And I knew that there would be none to love like them, wherever I might go. 

But the last of all to say "good-by" was my beloved Jowler. He jumpedinto the boat after me (for we were obliged to have a boat, the shiphaving laden further down), and he put his fore-paws on my shoulders, and whined and drooped his under-jaw. And when he looked at me as heused, to know whether I was in fun or earnest, with more expression inhis bright brown eyes than any human being has, I fell back under hisweight and sobbed, and could not look at any one. 

We had beautiful weather, and the view was glorious, as we passed theGolden Gate, the entrance to what will one day be the capital of theworld, perhaps. For, as our captain said, all power and human energy andstrength are always going westward, and when they come here they muststop, or else they would be going eastward again, which they never yethave done. His argument may have been right or wrong--and, indeed, itmust have been one or the other--but who could think of such things now, with a grander thing than human power--human love fading away behind? Icould not even bear to see the glorious mountains sinking, but ran belowand cried for hours, until all was dark and calm. 

The reason for my sailing by this particular ship, and, indeed, rathersuddenly, was that an old friend and Cornish cousin of Mr. Gundry, whohad spent some years in California, was now returning to England by theBridal Veil. This was Major Hockin, an officer of the British army, nowon half-pay, and getting on in years. His wife was going home with him;for their children were married and settled in England, all but one, nowin San Francisco. And that one being well placed in the firm of Heniker, Banks, and Co. , had obtained for his father and mother passage uponfavorable terms, which was, as we say, "an object to them. "

For the Major, though admirably connected (as his kinship to ColonelGundry showed), and having a baronet not far off (if the twists of theworld were set aside), also having served his country, and receiveda furrow on the top of his head, which made him brush his hair up, nevertheless, or all the more for that, was as poor as a British officermust be without official sesame. How he managed to feed and teach alarge and not clever family, and train them all to fight their way in abattle worse than any of his own, and make gentlemen and ladies of them, whatever they did or wherever they went, he only knew, and his faithfulwife, and the Lord who helps brave poverty. Of such things he neverspoke, unless his temper was aroused by luxury and self-indulgence andlaziness. 

But now he was a little better off, through having his children off hishands, and by means of a little property left him by a distant relative. He was on his way home to see to this; and a better man never returnedto England, after always standing up for her. 

Being a child in the ways of the world, and accustomed to large people, I could not make out Major Hockin at first, and thought him no more thana little man with many peculiarities. For he was not so tall as myself, until he put his high-heeled boots on, and he made such a stir abouttrifles at which Uncle Sam would have only grunted, that I took him tobe nothing more than a fidgety old campaigner. He wore a black-rimmeddouble eyeglass with blue side-lights at his temples, and his hat, fromthe shape of his forehead, hung back; he had narrow white wiry whiskers, and a Roman nose, and most prominent chin, and keen gray eyes withgingery brows, which contracted, like sharp little gables overthem, whenever any thing displeased him. Rosy cheeks, tight-drawn, close-shaven, and gleaming with friction of yellow soap, added vigorto the general expression of his face, which was firm and quick andstraightforward. The weather being warm, and the tropics close at hand, Major Hockin was dressed in a fine suit of Nankin, spruce and trim, andbeautifully made, setting off his spare and active figure, which, thoughhe was sixty-two years of age, seemed always to be ready for a game ofleap-frog. 

We were three days out of the Golden Gate, and the hills of the coastridge were faint and small, and the spires of the lower Nevada couldonly be caught when the hot haze lifted; and every body lay about in ourship where it seemed to afford the least smell and heat, and nobodyfor a moment dreamed--for we really all were dreaming--of any body withenergy enough to be disturbed about any thing, when Major Hockin burstin upon us all (who were trying not to be red-hot in the feeble shadeof poop awnings), leading by the hand an ancient woman, scarcely dressedwith decency, and howling in a tone very sad to hear. 

"This lady has been robbed!" cried the Major; "robbed, not fifteen feetbelow us. Robbed, ladies and gentlemen, of the most cherished treasuresof her life, the portrait of her only son, the savings of a life ofhonest toil, her poor dead husband's tobacco-box, and a fine cut ofColorado cheese. "

"Ten pounds and a quarter, gospel true!" cried the poor woman, wringingher hands, and searching for any kind face among us. 

"Go to the captain, " muttered one sleepy gentleman. "Go to the devil, "said another sleepy man: "what have we to do with it?"

"I will neither go to the captain, " replied the Major, very distinctly, "nor yet to the devil, as a fellow who is not a man has dared to suggestto me--"

"All tied in my own pocket-handkerchief!" the poor old woman began toscream; "the one with the three-cornered spots upon 'un. Only two haveI ever owned in all my life, and this was the very best of 'em. Oh dear!oh dear! that ever I should come to this exposing of my things!"

"Madam, you shall have justice done, as sure as my name is Hockin. Gentlemen and ladies, if you are not all asleep, how would you like tobe treated so? Because the weather is a trifle warm, there you lie likea parcel of Mexicans. If any body picked your pockets, would you havelife enough to roll over?"

"I don't think I should, " said a fat young Briton, with a verygood-natured face; "but for a poor woman I can stand upright. MajorHockin, here is a guinea for her. Perhaps more of us will give atrifle. "

"Well done!" cried the Major; "but not so much as that. Let us firstascertain all the rights of the case. Perhaps half a crown apiece wouldreach it. "

Half a crown apiece would have gone beyond it, as we discoveredafterward, for the old lady's handkerchief was in her box, lost undersome more of her property; and the tide of sleepy charity taking thisdirection under such vehement impulse, several other steerage passengerslost their goods, but found themselves too late in doing so. But theMajor was satisfied, and the rude man who had told him to go amiss, begged his pardon, and thus we sailed on slowly and peaceably. 

CHAPTER XIX

INSIDE THE CHANNEL

That little incident threw some light upon Major Hockin's character. Itwas not for himself alone that he was so particular, or, as many wouldcall it, fidgety, to have every thing done properly; for if any thingcame to his knowledge which he thought unfair to any one, it concernedhim almost as much as if the wrong had been done to his own home self. Through this he had fallen into many troubles, for his impressions werenot always accurate; but they taught him nothing, or rather, as his wifesaid, "the Major could not help it. " The leading journals of the variousplaces in which Major Hockin sojourned had published his letters ofgrievances sometimes, in the absence of the chief editor, and hadsuffered in purse by doing so. But the Major always said, "Ventilate it, ventilate the subject, my dear Sir; bring public opinion to bear on it. "And Mrs. Hockin always said that it was her husband to whom belongedthe whole credit of this new and spirited use of the fine word"ventilation. "

As betwixt this faithful pair, it is scarcely needful perhaps to saythat the Major was the master. His sense of justice dictated that, aswell as his general briskness. Though he was not at all like Mr. Gundryin undervaluing female mind, his larger experience and more frequentintercourse with our sex had taught him to do justice to us; and it waspleasant to hear him often defer to the judgment of ladies. But thishe did more, perhaps, in theory than in practice; yet it made all theladies declare to one another that he was a perfect gentleman. And sohe was, though he had his faults; but his faults were such as we approveof. 

But Mrs. Hockin had no fault in any way worth speaking of. And whatevershe had was her husband's doing, through her desire to keep up with him. She was pretty, even now in her sixtieth year, and a great deal prettierbecause she never tried to look younger. Silver hair, and gentle eyes, and a forehead in which all the cares of eight children had scarcelyimprinted a wrinkle, also a kind expression of interest in whatever wasspoken of, with a quiet voice and smile, and a power of not saying toomuch at a time, combined to make this lady pleasant. 

Without any fuss or declaration, she took me immediately under her care;and I doubt not that, after two years passed in the society of Suan Iscoand the gentle Sawyer, she found many things in me to amend, whichshe did by example and without reproof. She shielded me also in thecleverest way from the curiosity of the saloon, which at first wasvery trying. For the Bridal Veil being a well-known ship both for swiftpassages and for equipment, almost every berth was taken, and whenthe weather was calm, quite a large assembly sat down to dinner. Amongthese, of course, were some ill-bred people, and my youth and reserveand self-consciousness, and so on, made my reluctant face the mark formany a long and searching gaze. My own wish had been not to dine thus inpublic; but hearing that my absence would only afford fresh grounds forcuriosity, I took my seat between the Major and his wife, the formerhaving pledged himself to the latter to leave every thing to hermanagement. His temper was tried more than once to its utmost--which wasnot a very great distance--but he kept his word, and did not interfere;and I having had some experience with Firm, eschewed all perceptionof glances. And as for all words, Mrs. Hockin met them with an obtuseobliqueness; so that after a day or two it was settled that nothingcould be done about "Miss Wood. "

It had been a very sore point to come to, and cost an unparalleled shedof pride, that I should be shorn of two-thirds of my name, and called"Miss Wood, " like almost anybody else. I refused to entertain such avery poor idea, and clung to the name which had always been mine--formy father would never depart from it--and I even burst into tears, whichwould, I suppose, be called "sentimental;" but still the stern factstared me in the face--I must go as "Miss Wood, " or not go at all. Uponthis Major Hockin had insisted; and even Colonel Gundry could not movehim from his resolution. 

Uncle Sam had done his utmost, as was said before, to stop me fromwishing to go at all; but when he found my whole heart bent upon it, andeven my soul imperiled by the sense of neglecting life's chief duty, hisown stern sense of right came in and sided with my prayers to him. And so it was that he let me go, with pity for my youth and sex, but aknowledge that I was in good hands, and an inborn, perhaps "Puritanical"faith, that the Lord of all right would see to me. 

The Major, on the other hand, had none of this. He differed from UncleSam as much as a trim-cut and highly cultured garden tree differs from agreat spreading king of the woods. He was not without a strict sense ofreligion, especially when he had to march men to church; and he nevereven used a bad word, except when wicked facts compelled him. Whenproperly let alone, and allowed to nurse his own opinions, he had arespectable idea that all things were certain to be ordered for thebest; but nothing enraged him so much as to tell him that when thingswent against him, or even against his predictions. 

It was lucky for me, then, that Major Hockin had taken a most adverseview of my case. He formed his opinions with the greatest haste, andwith the greatest perseverance stuck to them; for he was the mostgenerous of mankind, if generous means one quite full of his genus. Andin my little case he had made up his mind that the whole of the factswere against me. "Fact" was his favorite word, and one which he alwaysused with great effect, for nobody knows very well what it means, as itdoes not belong to our language. And so when he said that the facts wereagainst me, who was there to answer that facts are not truth?

This fast-set conclusion of his was known to me not through himself, but through his wife. For I could not yet bring myself to speak of thethings that lay close at my heart to him, though I knew that he must beaware of them. And he, like a gentleman, left me to begin. I could oftensee that he was ready and quite eager to give me the benefit of hisopinion, which would only have turned me against him, and irritated him, perhaps, with me. And having no home in England, or, indeed, I mightsay, any where, I was to live with the Major and his wife, supposingthat they could arrange it so, until I should discover relatives. 

We had a long and stormy voyage, although we set sail so fairly; and Ithought that we never should round Cape Horn in the teeth of the furiousnortheast winds; and after that we lay becalmed, I have no idea in whatlatitude, though the passengers now talked quite like seamen, at leasttill the sea got up again. However, at last we made the English Channel, in the dreary days of November, and after more peril there than anywhere else, we were safely docked at Southampton. Here the Major was metby two dutiful daughters, bringing their husbands and children, and Isaw more of family life (at a distance) than had fallen to my lot toobserve before; and although there were many little jars and brawls andcuts at one another, I was sadly inclined to wish sometimes for somebrothers and sisters to quarrel with. 

But having none to quarrel with, and none to love, except good Mrs. Hockin, who went away by train immediately, I spent such a wretched timein that town that I longed to be back in the Bridal Veil in the veryworst of weather. The ooze of the shore and the reek of the water, andthe dreary flatness of the land around (after the glorious heaven-cladheights, which made me ashamed of littleness), also the rough, stupidstare of the men, when I went about as an American lady may freely do inAmerica, and the sharpness of every body's voice (instead of the genialtones which those who can not produce them call "nasal, " but which froma higher view are cordial)--taken one after other, or all together, these things made me think, in the first flush of thought, that Englandwas not a nice country. After a little while I found that I had been agreat deal too quick, as foreigners are with things which require quietcomprehension. For instance, I was annoyed at having a stupid womanput over me, as if I could not mind myself--a cook, or a nurse, orhousekeeper, or something very useful in the Hockin family, but to me amere incumbrance, and (as I thought in my wrath sometimes) a spy. What was I likely to do, or what was any one likely to do to me, ina thoroughly civilized country, that I could not even stay in privatelodgings, where I had a great deal to think of, without this dullcreature being forced upon me? But the Major so ordered it, and I gavein. 

There I must have staid for the slowest three mouths ever passed withoutslow starvation finishing my growth, but not knowing how to "form mymind, " as I was told to do. Major Hockin came down once or twice to seeme, and though I did not like him, yet it was almost enough to make medo so to see a little liveliness. But I could not and would not putup with a frightful German baron of music, with a polished card like atoast-rack, whom the Major tried to impress on me. As if I could stop totake music lessons!

"Miss Wood, " said Major Hockin, in his strongest manner, the last timehe came to see me, "I stand to you in loco parentis. That means, withthe duties, relationships, responsibilities, and what not, of theunfortunate--I should say rather of the beloved--parent deceased. I wishto be more careful of you than of a daughter of my own--a great dealmore careful, ten times, Miss Wood; I may say a thousand times morecareful, because you have not had the discipline which a daughter ofmine would have enjoyed. And you are so impulsive when you take anidea! You judge every body by your likings. That leads to error, error, error. "

"My name is not Miss Wood, " I answered; "my name is 'Erema Castlewood. 'Whatever need may have been on board ship for nobody knowing who I am, surely I may have my own name now. "

When any body says "surely, " at once up springs a question; nothingbeing sure, and the word itself at heart quite interrogative. The Majorknew all those little things which manage women so manfully. So he tookme by the hand and led me to the light and looked at me. 

I had not one atom of Russian twist or dyed China grass in my hair, noreven the ubiquitous aid of horse and cow; neither in my face or figurewas I conscious of false presentment. The Major was welcome to lead meto the light and to throw up all his spectacles and gaze with all hiseyes. My only vexation was with myself, because I could not keep theweakness--which a stranger should not see--out of my eyes, upon suddenremembrance who it was that used to have the right to do such things tome. This it was, and nothing else, that made me drop my eyes, perhaps. 

"There, there, my dear!" said Major Hockin, in a softer voice thanusual. "Pretty fit you are to combat with the world, and defy the world, and brave the world, and abolish the world--or at least the world'sopinion! 'Bo to a goose, ' you can say, my dear; but no 'bo' to a gander. No, no; do quietly what I advise--by-the-bye, you have never asked myadvice. "

I can not have been hypocritical, for of all things I detest that most;but in good faith I said, being conquered by the Major's relaxation ofhis eyes, "Oh, why have you never offered it to me? You knew that I never couldask for it. "

For the moment he looked surprised, as if our ideas had gone crosswise;and then he remembered many little symptoms of my faith in his opinions;which was now growing inevitable, with his wife and daughters, and manygrandchildren--all certain that he was a Solomon. 

"Erema, " he said, "you are a dear good girl, though sadly, sadlyromantic. I had no idea that you had so much sense. I will talk withyou, Erema, when we both have leisure. "

"I am quite at leisure, Major Hockin, " I replied, "and only too happy tolisten to you. "

"Yes, yes, I dare say. You are in lodgings. You can do exactly as youplease. But I have a basin of ox-tail soup, a cutlet, and a woodcockwaiting for me at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Bless me! I am five minuteslate already. I will come and have a talk with you afterward. "

"Thank you, " I said; "we had better leave it. It seems of no importance, compared--compared with--"

"My dinner!" said the Major; but he was offended, and so was I a little, though neither of us meant to vex the other. 

CHAPTER XX

BRUNTSEA

It would be unfair to Major Hockin to take him for an extravagant man ora self-indulgent one because of the good dinner he had ordered, and hiseagerness to sit down to it. Through all the best years of his life hehad been most frugal, abstemious, and self-denying, grudging every pennyof his own expense, but sparing none for his family. And now, when hefound himself so much better off, with more income and less outlay, hecould not be blamed for enjoying good things with the wholesome zest ofabstinence. 

For, coming to the point, and going well into the matter, the Major haddiscovered that the "little property" left to him, and which he was cometo see to, really was quite a fine estate for any one who knew how tomanage it, and would not spare courage and diligence. And of these twoqualities he had such abundance that, without any outlet, they mighthave turned him sour. 

The property lately devised to him by his cousin, Sir Rufus Hockin, hadlong been far more plague than profit to that idle baronet. Sir Rufushated all exertion, yet could not comfortably put up with the onlyalternative--extortion. Having no knowledge of his cousin Nick (exceptthat he was indefatigable), and knowing his own son to be lazier eventhan himself had been, longing also to inflict even posthumous justiceupon the land agent, with the glad consent of his heir he left thisdistant, fretful, and naked spur of land to his beloved cousin MajorNicholas Hockin. 

The Major first heard of this unexpected increase of his belongingswhile he was hovering, in the land of gold, between his desire tospeculate and his dread of speculation. At once he consulted our ColonelGundry, who met him by appointment at Sacramento; and Uncle Sam havinga vast idea of the value of land in England, which the Major naturallymade the most of, now being an English land-owner, they spent a mostpleasant evening, and agreed upon the line marked out by Providence. 

Thus it was that he came home, bringing (by kind arrangement) me, whowas much more trouble than comfort to him, and at first disposed to becold and curt. And thus it was that I was left so long in that wretchedSouthampton, under the care of a very kind person who never couldunderstand me. And all this while (as I ought to have known, withoutany one to tell me) Major Hockin was testing the value and beating thebounds of his new estate, and prolonging his dinner from one to twocourses, or three if he had been travelling. His property was largeenough to afford him many dinners, and rich enough (when rightlytreated) to insure their quality. 

Bruntsea is a quiet little village on the southeast coast of England, inKent or in Sussex, I am not sure which, for it has a constitution of itsown, and says that it belongs to neither. It used to be a place of sizeand valor, furnishing ships, and finding money for patriotic purposes. And great people both embarked and landed, one doing this and the otherthat, though nobody seems to have ever done both, if history is to berelied upon. The glory of the place is still preserved in a seal andan immemorial stick, each of which is blessed with marks asincomprehensible as could be wished, though both are to be seen forsixpence. The name of the place is written in more than forty differentways, they say; and the oldest inhabitant is less positive than theyoungest how to spell it. 

This village lies in the mouth, or rather at the eastern end of themouth, of a long and wide depression among the hills, through which asluggish river wins its muddy consummation. This river once went faralong the sea-brink, without entering (like a child who is afraid tobathe), as the Adur does at Shoreham, and as many other rivers do. Andin those days the mouth and harbor were under the cliff at Bruntsea, whence its seal and corporation, stick, and other blessings. But threeor four centuries ago the river was drawn by a violent storm, like abadger from his barrel, and forced to come straight out and face thesea, without any three miles of dalliance. The time-serving watermade the best of this, forsook its ancient bed (as classic nymphs andfountains used to do), and left poor Bruntsea with a dry bank, andno haven for a cockle-shell. A new port, such as it is, incrusted thefickle jaw of the river; piles were driven and earth-works formed, lestthe water should return to its old love; and Bruntsea, as concernedher traffic, became but a mark of memory. Her noble corporation neverdemanded their old channel, but regarded the whole as the will ofthe Lord, and had the good sense to insist upon nothing except theirtime-honored ceremonies. 

In spite of all these and their importance, land became of no valuethere. The owner of the Eastern Manor and of many ancient rights, havingno means of getting at them, sold them for an "old song, " which theywere; and the buyer was one of the Hockin race, a shipwrecked marinerfrom Cornwall, who had been kindly treated there, and took a fancyaccordingly. He sold his share in some mine to pay for it, settled here, and died here; and his son, getting on in the world, built a house, andtook to serious smuggling. In the chalk cliff's eastward he found holesof honest value to him, capable of cheap enlargement (which the Cornishholes were not), and much more accessible from France. Becoming amagistrate and deputy-lieutenant, he had the duty and privilege ofinquiring into his own deeds, which enabled him to check those few whootherwise might have competed with him. He flourished, and bought moresecure estates; and his son, for activity against smugglers, was made agentle baronet. 

These things now had passed away, and the first fee-simple of the Hockinfamily became a mere load and incumbrance. Sir George and Sir Robert andSir Rufus, one after another, did not like the hints about contrabanddealings which met them whenever they deigned to come down there, tillat last the estate (being left to an agent) cost a great deal more thanhe ever paid in. And thus--as should have been more briefly told--theowner was our Major Hockin. 

No wonder that this gentleman, with so many cares to attend to, had notime at first to send for me. And no wonder that when he came down tosee me, he was obliged to have good dinners. For the work done by him inthose three months surprised every body except himself, and made in oldBruntsea a stir unknown since the time of the Spanish Armada. Forhe owned the house under the eastern cliff, and the warren, and thedairy-farm inland, and the slope of the ground where the sea used tocome, and fields where the people grew potatoes gratis, and all theeastern village, where the tenants paid their rents whenever they foundit rational. 

A hot young man, in a place like this, would have done a great deal ofmischief. Either he would have accepted large views, and applauded thisfine communism (if he could afford it, and had no wife), or else hewould have rushed at every body headlong, and batted them back to theirabutments. Neither course would have created half the excitement whichthe Major's did. At least, there might have been more talk at first, butnot a quarter so much in sum total. Of those things, however, there istime enough to speak, if I dare to say any thing about them. 

The things more to my mind (and therefore more likely to be made plainto another mind) are not the petty flickering phantoms of the shadow wecall human, and which alone we realize, and dwell inside it and uponit, as if it were all creation; but the infinitely nobler things ofever-changing but perpetual beauty, and no selfishness. These, withoutdeigning to us even sense to be aware of them, shape our little mindsand bodies and our large self-importance, and fail to know when the lordor king who owns is buried under them. To have perception of such mightytruths is good for all of us: and I never had keener perception of themthan when I sat down on the Major's camp-stool, and saw all his landaround me, and even the sea--where all the fish were his, as soon as hecould catch them--and largely reflected that not a square foot of thewhole world would ever belong to me. 

"Bruntlands, " as the house was called, perhaps from standing well abovethe sea, was sheltered by the curve of the eastern cliff, which lookeddown over Bruntsea. The cliff was of chalk, very steep toward the sea, and showing a prominent headland toward the south, but prettily risingin grassy curves from the inland and from the westward. And then, whereit suddenly chined away from land-slope into sea-front, a long bar ofshingle began at right angles to it, and, as level as a railroad, wentto the river's mouth, a league or so now to the westward. And beyondthat another line of white cliffs rose, and looked well till they cameto their headland. Inside this bank of shingle, from end to end, mightbe traced the old course of the river, and to landward of that trough atthe hither end stood, or lay, the calm old village. 

Forsaken as it was by the river, this village stuck to its ancient siteand home, and instead of migrating, contracted itself, and cast offneedless members. Shrunken Bruntsea clung about the oldest of itschurches, while the four others fell to rack and ruin, and settled intocow-yards and barns, and places where old men might sit and sigh. ButBruntsea distinctly and trenchantly kept the old town's division intoeast and west. 

East Bruntsea was wholly in the Major's manor, which had a specialcharter; and most of the houses belonged to him. This ownership hithertohad meant only that the landlord should do all the tumble-down repairs(when the agent reported that they must be done), but never must enterthe door for his rent. The borough had been disfranchised, though thesnuggest of the snug for generations; and the freemen, thus beingrobbed of their rights, had no power to discharge their duties. And tocomplicate matters yet further, for the few who wished to simplify them, the custom of "borough-English" prevailed, and governed the descent ofdilapidations, making nice niceties for clever men of law. 

"You see a fine property here, Miss Wood, " Major Hockin said to me, as we sat, on the day after I was allowed to come, enjoying the freshbreeze from the sea and the newness of the February air, and lookingabroad very generally: "a very fine property, but neglected--shamefully, horribly, atrociously neglected--but capable of noble things, of grandthings, of magnificent, with a trifle of judicious outlay. "

"Oh, please not to talk of outlay, my dear, " said good Mrs. Hockin, gently; "it is such an odious word; and where in the world is it to comefrom?"

"Leave that to me. When I was a boy my favorite copy in my copy-bookwas, 'Where there's a will there's a way. ' Miss Wood, what is youropinion? But wait, you must have time to understand the subject. Firstwe bring a railway--always the first step; why, the line is already madefor it by the course of the old river, and the distance from Newportthree miles and a half. It ought not to cost quite 200 pounds amile--the mere outlay for rails and sleepers. The land is all mine, and--and of course other landed proprietors'. Very well: these would allunite, of course; so that not a farthing need be paid for land, which isthe best half of the battle. We have the station here--not too near myhouse; that would never do; I could not bear the noise--but in a finecentral place where nobody on earth could object to it--lively, andclose at hand for all of them. Unluckily I was just too late. We havelost a Parliamentary year through that execrable calm--you remember allabout it. Otherwise we would have had Billy Puff stabled at Bruntseaby the first of May. But never mind; we shall do it all the better andcheaper by taking our time about it. Very well: we have the railwayopened and the trade of the place developed. We build a fine terrace ofelegant villas, a crescent also, and a large hotel replete with everyluxury; and we form the finest sea-parade in England by simply assistingnature. Half London comes down here to bathe, to catch shrimps, toflirt, and to do the rest of it. We become a select, salubrious, influential, and yet economical place; and then what do we do, Mrs. Hockin?"

"My dear, how can I tell? But I hope that we should rest and bethankful. "

"Not a bit of it. I should hope not, indeed. Erema, what do we do then?"

"It is useless to ask me. Well, then, perhaps you set up a handsomesaw-mill!"

"A saw-mill! What a notion of Paradise! No; this is what we do--butremember that I speak in the strictest confidence; dishonest antagonismmight arise, if we ventilated our ideas too soon--Mrs. Hockin and MissWood, we demand the restoration of our river!--the return of our riverto its ancient course. "

"I see, " said his wife; "oh, how grand that would be! and how beautifulfrom our windows! That really, now, is a noble thought!"

"A just one--simply a just one. Justice ought not to be noble, mydear, however rare it may be. Generosity, magnanimity, heroism, and soon--those are the things we call noble, my dear. "

"And the founding of cities. Oh, my dear, I remember, when I was atschool, it was always said, in what we called our histories, thatthe founders of cities had honors paid them, and altars built, anddivinities done, and holidays held in their honor. "

"To that I object, " cried the Major, sternly. "If I founded fiftycities, I would never allow one holiday. The Sabbath is enough; one dayin seven--fifteen per cent, of one's whole time; and twenty per cent, ofyour Sunday goes in church. Very right, of course, and loyal, and trulyedifying--Mrs. Hockin's father was a clergyman, Miss Wood; and the lastthing I would ever allow on my manor would be a Dissenting chapel; butstill I will have no new churches here, and a man who might go againstme. They all want to pick their own religious views, instead ofreflecting who supports them! It never used to be so; and such thingsshall never occur on my manor. A good hotel, attendance included, and asound and moderate table d'hote; but no church, with a popish bag sentround, and money to pay, 'without anything to eat. '"

"My dear! my dear!" cried Mrs. Hockin, "I never like you to talk likethat. You quite forget who my father was, and your own second son such avery sound priest!"

"A priest! Don't let him come here, " cried the Major, "or I'll let himknow what tonsure is, and read him the order of Melchisedec. A priest!After going round the world three times, to come home and be hailed asthe father of a priest! Don't let him come near me, or I'll sacrificehim. "

"Now, Major, you are very proud of him, " his good wife answered, ashe shook his stick. "How could he help taking orders when he was underorders to do so? And his views are sound to the last degree, moststrictly correct and practical--at least except as to celibacy. "

"He holds that his own mother ought never to have been born! Miss Wood, do you call that practical?"

"I have no acquaintance with such things, " I replied; "we had none ofthem in California. But is it practical, Major Hockin--of course youknow best in your engineering--I mean, would it not require somethinglike a tunnel for the river and the railway to run on the same ground?"

"Why, bless me! That seems to have escaped my notice. You have not beenwith old Uncle Sam for nothing. We shall have to appoint you our chiefengineer. "

CHAPTER XXI

LISTLESS

It seemed an unfortunate thing for me, and unfavorable to my purpose, that my host, and even my hostess too, should be so engrossed with theirnew estate, its beauties and capabilities. Mrs. Hockin devoted herselfat once to fowls and pigs and the like extravagant economies, havingbought, at some ill-starred moment, a book which proved that hens oughtto lay eggs in a manner to support themselves, their families, and thefamily they belonged to, at the price of one penny a dozen. Eggs beingtwo shillings a dozen in Bruntsea, here was a margin for profit--no lessthan two thousand per cent, to be made, allowing for all accidents. The lady also found another book, divulging for a shilling the author'spurely invaluable secret--how to work an acre of ground, pay house rent, supply the house grandly, and give away a barrow-load of vegetablesevery day to the poor of the parish, by keeping a pig--if that pig werekept properly. And after that, pork and ham and bacon came of him, whileanother golden pig went on. 

Mrs. Hockin was very soft-hearted, and said that she never could makebacon of a pig like that; and I answered that if she ever got him itwould be unwise to do so. However, the law was laid down in both booksthat golden fowls and diamondic pigs must die the death before theybegin to overeat production; and the Major said, "To be sure. Yes, yes. Let them come to good meat, and then off with their heads. " And his wifesaid that she was sure she could do it. When it comes to a question oftare and tret, false sentiment must be excluded. 

At the moment, these things went by me as trifles, yet made me moreimpatient. Being older now, and beholding what happens with toleranceand complacence, I am only surprised that my good friends were sotolerant of me and so complacent. For I must have been a great annoyanceto them, with my hurry and my one idea. Happily they made allowance forme, which I was not old enough to make for them. 

"Go to London, indeed! Go to London by yourself!" cried the Major, witha red face, and his glasses up, when I told him one morning that I couldstop no longer without doing something. "Mary, my dear, when you havedone out there, will you come in and reason--if you can--with Miss Wood. She vows that she is going to London, all alone. "

"Oh, Major Hockin--oh, Nicholas dear, such a thing has happened!" Mrs. Hockin had scarcely any breath to tell us, as she came in through thewindow. "You know that they have only had three bushels, or, at anyrate, not more than five, almost ever since they came. Erema, you knowas well as I do. "

"Seven and three-quarter bushels of barley, at five and ninepence abushel, Mary, " said the Major, pulling out a pocket-book; "besidesIndian corn, chopped meat, and potatoes. "

"And fourteen pounds of paddy, " I said--which was a paltry thing of me;"not to mention a cake of graves, three sacks of brewers' grains, andthen--I forget what next. "

"You are too bad, all of you. Erema, I never thought you would turnagainst me so. And you made me get nearly all of it. But please to lookhere. What do you call this? Is this no reward? Is this not enough?Major, if you please, what do you call this? What a pity you have hadyour breakfast!"

"A blessing--if this was to be my breakfast. I call that, my dear, thevery smallest egg I have seen since I took sparrows' nests. No wonderthey sell them at twelve a penny. I congratulate you upon your firstegg, my dear Mary. "

"Well, I don't care, " replied Mrs. Hockin, who had the sweetest temperin the world. "Small beginnings make large endings; and an egg must bealways small at one end. You scorn my first egg, and Erema should havehad it if she had been good. But she was very wicked, and I know notwhat to do with it. "

"Blow it!" cried the Major. "I mean no harm, ladies. I never use lowlanguage. What I mean is, make a pinhole at each end, give a puff, andaway goes two pennyworth, and you have a cabinet specimen, which youregg is quite fitted by its cost to be. But now, Mary, talk to Miss Wood, if you please. It is useless for me to say any thing, and I have threeappointments in the town"--he always called it "the town" now--"threeappointments, if not four; yes, I may certainly say four. Talk to MissWood, my dear, if you please. She wants to go to London, which would beabsurd. Ladies seem to enter into ladies' logic. They seem to be able toappreciate it better, to see all the turns, and the ins and outs, whichno man has intellect enough to see, or at least to make head or tail of. Good-by for the present; I had better be off. "

"I should think you had, " exclaimed Mrs. Hockin, as her husbandmarched off, with his side-lights on, and his short, quick step, andwell-satisfied glance at the hill which belonged to him, and the beach, over which he had rights of plunder--or, at least, Uncle Sam would havecalled them so, strictly as he stood up for his own. 

"Now come and talk quietly to me, my dear, " Mrs. Hockin began, mostkindly, forgetting all the marvel of her first-born egg. "I have noticedhow restless you are, and devoid of all healthy interest in any thing. 'Listless' is the word. 'Listless' is exactly what I mean, Erema. WhenI was at your time of life, I could never have gone about caring fornothing. I wonder that you knew that I even had a fowl; much more howmuch they had eaten!"

"I really do try to do all I can, and that is a proof of it, " I said. "I am not quite so listless as you think. But those things do seem solittle to me. "

"My dear, if you were happy, they would seem quite large, as, after allthe anxieties of my life, I am able now to think them. It is a power tobe thankful for, or, at least, I often think so. Look at my husband! Hehas outlived and outlasted more trouble than any one but myself couldreckon up to him; and yet he is as brisk, as full of life, as readyto begin a new thing to-morrow--when, at our age, there may be noto-morrow, except in that better world, my dear, of which it is hightime for him and me to think, as I truly hope we may spare the time todo. "

"Oh, don't talk like that, " I cried. "Please, Mrs. Hockin, to talk ofyour hens and chicks--at least there will be chicks by-and-by. I amalmost sure there will, if you only persevere. It seems unfair to setour minds on any other world till justice has been done in this. "

"You are very young, my child, or you would know that in that casewe never should think of it at all. But I don't want to preach you asermon, Erema, even if I could do so. I only just want you to tell mewhat you think, what good you imagine that you can do. "

"It is no imagination. I am sure that I can right my father's wrongs. And I never shall rest till I do so. "

"Are you sure that there is any wrong to right?" she asked, in thewarmth of the moment; and then, seeing perhaps how my color changed, shelooked at me sadly, and kissed my forehead. 

"Oh, if you had only once seen him, " I said; "without any exaggeration, you would have been satisfied at once. That he could ever have done anyharm was impossible--utterly impossible. I am not as I was. I can listento almost any thing now quite calmly. But never let me hear such awicked thing again. "

"You must not go on like that, Erema, unless you wish to lose all yourfriends. No one can help being sorry for you. Very few girls have beenplaced as you are. I am sure when I think of my own daughters I cannever be too thankful. But the very first thing you have to learn, aboveall things, is to control yourself. "

"I know it--I know it, of course, " I said; "and I keep on trying my verybest. I am thoroughly ashamed of what I said, and I hope you will try toforgive me. "

"A very slight exertion is enough for that. But now, my dear, what Iwant to know is this--and you will excuse me if I ask too much--whatgood do you expect to get by going thus to London? Have you any friendthere, any body to trust, any thing settled as to what you are to do?"

"Yes, every thing is settled in my own mind, " I answered, very bravely:"I have the address of a very good woman, found among my father'spapers, who nursed his children and understood his nature, and alwayskept her faith in him. There must be a great many more who do the same, and she will be sure to know them and introduce me to them; and I shallbe guided by their advice. "

"But suppose that this excellent woman is dead, or not to be found, orhas changed her opinion?"

"Her opinion she never could change. But if she is not to be found, Ishall find her husband, or her children, or somebody; and besides that, I have a hundred things to do. I have the address of the agent throughwhom my father drew his income, though Uncle Sam let me know as littleas he could. And I know who his bankers were (when he had a bank), andhe may have left important papers there. "

"Come, that looks a little more sensible, my dear; bankers may alwaysbe relied upon. And there may be some valuable plate, Erema. But why notlet the Major go with you? His advice is so invaluable. "

"I know that it is, in all ordinary things. But I can not have himnow, for a very simple reason. He has made up his mind about my dearfather--horribly, horribly; I can't speak of it. And he never changeshis mind; and sometimes when I look at him I hate him. "

"Erema, you are quite a violent girl, although you so seldom show it. Is the whole world divided, then, into two camps--those who think as youwish and those who are led by their judgment to think otherwise? And areyou to hate all who do not think as you wish?"

"No, because I do not hate you, " I said; "I love you, though you do notthink as I wish. But that is only because you think your husband must beright of course. But I can not like those who have made up their mindsaccording to their own coldness. "

"Major Hockin is not cold at all. On the contrary, he is a warm-heartedman--I might almost say hot-hearted. "

"Yes, I know he is. And that makes it ten times worse. He takes up everybody's case--but mine. "

"Sad as it is, you almost make me smile, " my hostess answered, gravely;"and yet it must be very bitter for you, knowing how just and kindmy husband is. I am sure that you will give him credit for at leastdesiring to take your part. And doing so, at least you might let him gowith you, if only as a good protection. "

"I have no fear of any one; and I might take him into society that hewould not like. In a good cause he would go any where, I know. But in mycause, of course he would be scrupulous. Your kindness I always can relyupon, and I hope in the end to earn his as well. "

"My dear, he has never been unkind to you. I am certain that you nevercan say that of him. Major Hockin unkind to a poor girl like you!"

"The last thing I wish to claim is any body's pity, " I answered, lesshumbly than I should have spoken, though the pride was only in my tone, perhaps. "If people choose to pity me, they are very good, and I am notat all offended, because--because they can not help it, perhaps, fromnot knowing any thing about me. I have nothing whatever to be pitiedfor, except that I have lost my father, and have nobody left to care forme, except Uncle Sam in America. "

"Your Uncle Sam, as you call him, seems to be a very wonderful man, Erema, " said Mrs. Hockin, craftily, so far as there could be any craftin her; "I never saw him--a great loss on my part. But the Major wentup to meet him somewhere, and came home with the stock of his best tiebroken, and two buttons gone from his waistcoat. Does Uncle Sam makepeople laugh so much? or is it that he has some extraordinary gift ofinducing people to taste whiskey? My husband is a very--most abstemiousman, as you must be well aware, Miss Wood, or we never should have beenas we are, I am sure. But, for the first time in all my life, Idoubted his discretion on the following day, when he had--what shall Isay?--when he had been exchanging sentiments with Uncle Sam. "

"Uncle Sam never takes too much in any way, " I replied to this newattack; "he knows what he ought to take, and then he stops. Do you thinkthat it may have been his 'sentiments, ' perhaps, that were too strongand large for the Major?"

"Erema!" cried Mrs. Hockin, with amazement, as if I had no right tothink or express my thoughts on life so early; "if you can talk politicsat eighteen, you are quite fit to go any where. I have heard a greatdeal of American ladies, and seen not a little of them, as you know. But I thought that you called yourself an English girl, and insistedparticularly upon it. "

"Yes, that I do; and I have good reason. I am born of an old Englishfamily, and I hope to be no disgrace to it. But being brought up in anumber of ways, as I have been without thinking of it, and being quitedifferent from the fashionable girls Major Hockin likes to walk with--"

"My dear, he never walks with any body but myself!"

"Oh yes, I remember! I was thinking of the deck. There are nofashionable girls here yet. Till the terrace is built, and theesplanade--"

"There shall be neither terrace nor esplanade if the Major is to do suchthings upon them. "

"I am sure that he never would, " I replied; "it was only their dressesthat he liked at all, and that very, to my mind, extraordinary style, as well as unbecoming. You know what I mean, Mrs. Hockin, thatwonderful--what shall I call it?--way of looping up. "

"Call me 'Aunt Mary, ' my dear, as you did when the waves were sodreadful. You mean that hideous Mexican poncho, as they called it, stuckup here, and going down there. Erema, what observation you have! Nothingever seems to escape you. Did you ever see any thing so indecorous?"

"It made me feel just as if I ought not to look at them, " I answered, with perfect truth, for so it did; "I have never been accustomed tosuch things. But seeing how the Major approved of them, and liked tobe walking up and down between them, I knew that they must be not onlydecorous, but attractive. There is no appeal from his judgment, isthere?"

"I agree with him upon every point, my dear child; but I have alwayslonged to say a few words about that. For I can not help thinking thathe went too far. "

CHAPTER XXII

BETSY BOWEN

So far, then, there was nobody found to go into my case, and to thinkwith me, and to give me friendly countenance, with the exception ofFirm Gundry. And I feared that he tried to think with me because of hisfaithful and manly love, more than from balance of evidence. The Sawyer, of course, held my father guiltless, through his own fidelity and simpleways; but he could not enter into my set thought of a stern duty laidupon me, because to his mind the opinion of the world mattered nothingso long as a man did aright. For wisdom like this, if wisdom it is, Iwas a great deal too young and ardent; and to me fair fame was of almostequal value with clear conscience. And therefore, wise or foolish, richor poor, beloved or unloved, I must be listless about other things, andrestless in all, until I should establish truth and justice. 

However, I did my best to be neither ungrateful nor stupidly obstinate, and, beginning more and more to allow for honest though hatefulopinions, I yielded to dear Mrs. Hockin's wish that I should not doany thing out of keeping with English ideas and habits. In a word, Iaccepted the Major's kind offer to see me quite safe in good hands inLondon, or else bring me straightway back again. And I took only justthings enough for a day or two, meaning to come back by the end of theweek. And I kissed Mrs. Hockin just enough for that. 

It would not be a new thing for me to say that "we never know what isgoing to happen;" but, new or stale, it was true enough, as oldcommon sayings of common-sense (though spurned when not wanted) showthemselves. At first, indeed, it seemed as if I were come for nothing, at least as concerned what I thought the chief business of my journey. The Major had wished to go first to the bank, and appeared to thinknothing of any thing else; but I, on the other hand, did not want himthere, preferring to keep him out of my money matters, and so he wasobliged to let me have my way. 

I always am sorry when I have been perverse, and it seemed to serve meright for willfulness when no Betsy Bowen could be discovered either atthe place which we tried first, or that to which we were sent thence. Major Hockin looked at me till I could have cried, as much as to hintthat the whole of my story was all of a piece, all a wild-goose chase. And being more curious than ever now to go to the bank and ransack, he actually called out to the cabman to drive without delay to Messrs. Shovelin, Wayte, and Shovelin. But I begged him to allow me just oneminute while I spoke to the servant-maid alone. Then I showed her asovereign, at which she opened her mouth in more ways than one, for shetold me that "though she had faithfully promised to say nothing aboutit, because of a dreadful quarrel between her mistress and Mrs. Stroussthat was now, and a jealousy between them that was quite beyondbelief, she could not refuse such a nice young lady, if I wouldpromise faithfully not to tell. " This promise I gave with fidelity, andreturning to the cabman, directed him to drive not to Messrs. Shovelin, Wayte, and Shovelin just yet, but to No. 17 European Square, St. Katharine's. 

From a maze of streets and rugged corners, and ins and outs nearlyas crooked as those of a narrow human nature, we turned at last intoEuropean Square, which was no square at all, but an oblong openingpitched with rough granite, and distinguished with a pump. There weregreat thoroughfares within a hundred yards, but the place itself seemedunnaturally quiet upon turning suddenly into it, only murmurous withdistant London din, as the spires of a shell hold the heavings of thesea. After driving three or four times round the pump, for the houseswere numbered anyhow, we found No. 17, and I jumped out. 

"Now don't be in such a fierce hurry, Miss Wood, " cried the Major, whowas now a little crusty; "English ladies allow themselves to be handedout, without hurrying the gentlemen who have the honor. "

"But I wanted to save you the honor, " I said. "I will come backimmediately, if you will kindly wait. " And with this I ran up the oldsteps, and rang and knocked, while several bearded faces came and gazedthrough dingy windows. 

"Can I see Mrs. Strouss?" I asked, when a queer old man in faded brownlivery came to the door with a candle in his hand, though the sun wasshining. 

"I am the Meesther Strouss; when you see me, you behold the good MeesesStrouss also. "

"Thank you, but that will not do, " I replied; "my business is with Mrs. Strouss alone. "

He did not seem to like this at first sight, but politely put thechain-bolt on the door while he retired to take advice; and the Majorlooked out of the cab and laughed. 

"You had better come back while you can, " he said, "though they seem inno hurry to swallow you. "

This was intended to vex me, and I did not even turn my head to him. Thehouse looked very respectable, and there were railings to the area. 

"The house is very respectable, " continued Major Hockin, who alwaysseemed to know what I was thinking of, and now in his quick manner ranup the steps; "just look, the scraper is clean. You never see that, orat least not often, except with respectable people, Erema. "

"Pray what would my scraper be? and who is Erema?" cried a strong, clearvoice, as the chain of the door was set free, and a stout, tall womanwith a flush in her cheeks confronted us. "I never knew more than oneErema--Good mercy!"

My eyes met hers, and she turned as pale as death, and fell back intoa lobby chair. She knew me by my likeness to my father, falling onthe memories started by my name; and strong as she was, the surpriseovercame her, at the sound of which up rushed the small Herr Strouss. 

"Vhat are you doing dere, all of you? vhat have you enterprised with myfrau? Explain, Vilhelmina, or I call de policemans, vhat I should say depeelers. "

"Stop!" cried the Major, and he stopped at once, not for the word, whichwould have had no power, although I knew nothing about it then, butbecause he had received a sign which assured him that here was a brotherMason. In a moment the infuriated husband vanished into the rational anddocile brother. 

"Ladies and gentlemans, valk in, if you please, " he said, to my greatastonishment; "Vilhelmina and my good self make you velcome to our poorhouse. Vilhelmina, arise and say so. "

"Go to the back kitchen, Hans, " replied Wilhelmina, whose name was"Betsy, " "and don't come out until I tell you. You will find work to dothere, and remember to pump up. I wish to hear things that you are notto hear, mind you. Shut yourself in, and if you soap the door to deceiveme, I shall know it. "

"Vere goot, vere goot, " said the philosophical German; "I never meddlewith nothing, Vilhelmina, no more than vhat I do for de money and dehouse. "

Betsy, however, was not quite so sure of that. With no more ceremony shelocked him in, and then came back to us, who could not make things out. 

"My husband is the bravest of the brave, " she told us, while she putdown his key on the table; "and a nobler man never lived; I am sureof that. But every one of them foreigners--excuse me, Sir, you are anEnglishman?"

"I am, " replied the Major, pulling up his little whiskers; "I am so, madam, and nothing you can say will in any way hurt my feelings. I amabove nationalities. "

"Just so, Sir. Then you will feel with me when I say that theyforeigners is dreadful. Oh, the day that I ever married one of 'em--butthere, I ought to be ashamed of myself, and my lord's daughter facingme. "

"Do you know me?" I asked, with hot color in my face, and my eyes, Idare say, glistening. "Are you sure that you know me? And then please totell me how. "

As I spoke I was taking off the close silk bonnet which I had worn fortravelling, and my hair, having caught in a pin, fell round me, andbefore I could put it up, or even think of it, I lay in the great armsof Betsy Bowen, as I used to lie when I was a little baby, and when myfather was in his own land, with a home and wife and seven little ones. And to think of this made me keep her company in crying, and it was sometime before we did any thing else. 

"Well, well, " replied the Major, who detested scenes, except when he hadmade them; "I shall be off. You are in good hands; and the cabman pulledout his watch when we stopped. So did I. But he is sure to beat me. Theydraw the minute hand on with a magnet, I am told, while the watch hangson their badge, and they can swear they never opened it. Wonderful age, very wonderful age, since the time when you and I were young, ma'am. "

"Yes, Sir; to be sure, Sir!" Mrs. Strouss replied, as she wiped her eyesto speak of things; "but the most wonderfulest of all things, don't youthink, is the going of the time, Sir? No cabby can make it go fasterwhile he waits, or slower while he is a-driving, than the minds insideof us manage it. Why, Sir, it wore only like yesterday that this heretall, elegant, royal young lady was a-lying on my breast, and what ahand she was to kick! And I said that her hair was sure to grow likethis. If I was to tell you only half what comes across me--"

"If you did, ma'am, the cabman would make his fortune, and I should losemine, which is more than I can afford. Erema, after dinner I shall lookyou up. I know a good woman when I see her, Mrs. Strouss, which does nothappen every day. I can trust Miss Castlewood with you. Good-by, good-byfor the present. "

It was the first time he had ever called me by my proper name, and thatmade me all the more pleased with it. 

"You see, Sir, why I were obliged to lock him in, " cried the "goodwoman, " following to the door, to clear every blur from her virtues;"for his own sake I done it, for I felt my cry a-coming, and to seeme cry--Lord bless you, the effect upon him is to call out for awalking-stick and a pint of beer. "

"All right, ma'am, all right!" the Major answered, in a tone whichappeared to me unfeeling. "Cabman, are you asleep there? Bring thelady's bag this moment. "

As the cab disappeared without my even knowing where to find that goodprotector again in this vast maze of millions, I could not help lettinga little cold fear encroach on the warmth of my outburst. I had heardso much in America of the dark, subtle places of London, and the wickedthings that happen all along the Thames, discovered or invented by greatwriters of their own, that the neighborhood of the docks and the thoughtof rats (to which I could never grow accustomed) made me look with aflash perhaps of doubt at my new old friend. 

"You are not sure of me, Miss Erema, " said Mrs. Strouss, without takingoffense. "After all that has happened, who can blame it on you? But yourfather was not so suspicious, miss. It might have been better for him ifhe had--according, leastways, to my belief, which a team of wild horseswill never drag out. "

"Oh, only let me hear you talk of that!" I exclaimed, forgetting allother things. "You know more about it than any body I have ever metwith, except my own father, who would never tell a word. "

"And quite right he was, miss, according to his views. But come to mylittle room, unless you are afraid. I can tell you some things that yourfather never knew. "

"Afraid! do you think I am a baby still? But I can not bear that Mr. Strouss should be locked up on my account. "

"Then he shall come out, " said Mrs. Strouss, looking at me verypleasantly. "That was just like your father, Miss Erema. But I fallinto the foreign ways, being so much with the foreigners. " Whethershe thought it the custom among "foreigners" for wives to lock theirhusbands in back kitchens was more than she ever took the trouble toexplain. But she walked away, in her stout, firm manner, and presentlyreturned with Mr. Strouss, who seemed to be quite contented, and made mea bow with a very placid smile. 

"He is harmless; his ideas are most grand and good, " his wife explainedto me, with a nod at him. "But I could not have you in with thegentleman, Hans. He always makes mistakes with the gentlemen, miss, butwith the ladies he behaves quite well. "

"Yes, yes, with the ladies I am nearly always goot, " Herr Stroussreplied, with diffidence. "The ladies comprehend me right, all right, because I am so habitual with my wife. But the gentlemans in London haveno comprehension of me. "

"Then the loss is on their side, " I answered, with a smile; and he said, "Yes, yes, they lose vere much by me. "

CHAPTER XXIII

BETSY'S TALE

Now I scarcely know whether it would be more clear to put into narrativewhat I heard from Betsy Bowen, now Wilhelmina Strouss, or to let hertell the whole in her own words, exactly as she herself told it thento me. The story was so dark and sad--or at least to myself it soappeared--that even the little breaks and turns of lighter thought orlivelier manner, which could scarcely fail to vary now and thenthe speaker's voice, seemed almost to grate and jar upon its sombremonotone. On the other hand, by omitting these, and departing fromher homely style, I might do more of harm than good through failing toconvey impressions, or even facts, so accurately. Whereas the gist andcore and pivot of my father's life and fate are so involved (thoughnot evolved) that I would not miss a single point for want of time ordiligence. Therefore let me not deny Mrs. Strouss, my nurse, the rightto put her words in her own way. And before she began to do this shetook the trouble to have every thing cleared away and the trays broughtdown, that her boarders (chiefly German) might leave their plates and bedriven to their pipes. 

"If you please, Miss Castlewood, " Mrs. Strouss said, grandly, "do you ordo you not approve of the presence of 'my man, ' as he calls himself?--animproper expression, in my opinion; such, however, is their nature. Hecan hold his tongue as well as any man, though none of them are verysure at that. And he knows pretty nigh as much as I do, so far as hisEnglish can put things together, being better accustomed in German. Forwhen we were courting I was fain to tell him all, not to join him underany false pretenses, miss, which might give him grounds against me. "

"Yes, yes, it is all vere goot and true--so goot and true as can be. "

"And you might find him come very handy, my dear, to run of any kind ofmessages. He can do that very well, I assure you, miss--better than anyEnglishman. "

Seeing that he wished to stay, and that she desired it, I begged himto stop, though it would have been more to my liking to hear the talealone. 

"Then sit by the door, Hans, and keep off the draught, " said hisWilhelmina, kindly. "He is not very tall, miss, but he has goodshoulders; I scarcely know what I should do without him. Well, now, tobegin at the very beginning: I am a Welshwoman, as you may have heard. My father was a farmer near Abergavenny, holding land under Sir WatkinWilliams, an old friend of your family. My father had too many girls, and my mother scarcely knew what to do with the lot of us. So some of uswent out to service, while the boys staid at home to work the land. Oneof my sisters was lady's-maid to Lady Williams, Sir Watkin's wife, atthe time when your father came visiting there for the shooting of themoor-fowl, soon after his marriage with your mother. What a sweet goodlady your mother was! I never saw the like before or since. No soonerdid I set eyes upon her but she so took my fancy that I would have goneround the world with her. We Welsh are a very hot people, they say--notcold-blooded, as the English are. So, wise or foolish, right, wrong, orwhat might be, nothing would do for me but to take service, if Icould, under Mrs. Castlewood. Your father was called Captain Castlewoodthen--as fine a young man as ever clinked a spur, but without any boastor conceit about him; and they said that your grandfather, the old lord, kept him very close and spare, although he was the only son. Now thismust have been--let me see, how long ago?--about five-and-twenty years, I think. How old are you now, Miss Erema? I can keep the weeks betterthan the years, miss. "

"I was eighteen on my last birthday. But never mind about the time--goon. "

"But the time makes all the difference, miss, although at the timewe may never think so. Well, then, it must have been better thansix-and-twenty year agone; for though you came pretty fast, in theLord's will, there was eight years between you and the first-born babe, who was only just a-thinking of when I begin to tell. But to come backto myself, as was--mother had got too many of us still, and she was gladenough to let me go, however much she might cry over it, as soon as LadyWilliams got me the place. My place was to wait upon the lady first, and make myself generally useful, as they say. But it was not verylong before I was wanted in other more important ways, and having beenbrought up among so many children, they found me very handy with thelittle ones; and being in a poor way, as they were then--for people, Imean, of their birth and place--they were glad enough soon to make headnurse of me, although I was under-two-and-twenty. 

"We did not live at the old lord's place, which is under the hillslooking on the river Thames, but we had a quiet little house inHampshire; for the Captain was still with his regiment, and only came toand fro to us. But a happier little place there could not be, with theflowers, and the cow, and the birds all day, and the children runninggradually according to their age, and the pretty brook shining in thevalley. And as to the paying of their way, it is true that neither ofthem was a great manager. The Captain could not bear to keep his prettywife close; and she, poor thing, was trying always to surprise him withother presents besides all the beautiful babies. But they never were indebt all round, as the liars said when the trouble burst; and if theyowed two or three hundred pounds, who could justly blame them?

"For the old lord, instead of going on as he should, and widening hispurse to the number of the mouths, was niggling at them always foroffense or excuse, to take away what little he allowed them. The Captainhad his pay, which would go in one hand, and the lady had a little moneyof her own; but still it was cruel for brought-up people to have nothingbetter to go on with. Not that the old lord was a miser neither; but itwas said, and how far true I know not, that he never would forgive yourfather for marrying the daughter of a man he hated. And some went so faras to say that if he could have done it, he would have cut your fatherout of all the old family estates. But such a thing never could Ibelieve of a nobleman having his own flesh and blood. 

"But, money or no money, rich or poor, your father and mother, I assureyou, my dear, were as happy as the day was long. For they loved oneanother and their children dearly, and they did not care for anymixing with the world. The Captain had enough of that when put away inquarters; likewise his wife could do without it better and better atevery birth, though once she had been the very gayest of the gay, whichyou never will be, Miss Erema. 

"Now, my dear, you look so sad and so 'solid, ' as we used to say, thatif I can go on at all, I must have something ready. I am quite an oldnurse now, remember. Hans, go across the square, and turn on the lefthand round the corner, and then three more streets toward the right, andyou see one going toward the left, and you go about seven doors down it, and then you see a corner with a lamp-post. "

"Vilhelmina, I do see de lamp-post at de every corner. "

"That will teach you to look more bright, Hans. Then you find a shopwindow with three blue bottles, and a green one in the middle. "

"How can be any middle to three, without it is one of them?"

"Then let it be two of them. How you contradict me! Take this littlebottle, and the man with a gold braid round a cap, and a tassel with atail to it, will fill it for four-pence when you tell him who you are. "

"Yes, yes; I do now comprehend. You send me vhere I never find de vay, because I am in de vay, Vilhelmina!"

I was most thankful to Mrs. Strouss for sending her husband (howevergood and kind-hearted he might be) to wander among many shops ofchemists, rather than to keep his eyes on me, while I listened to thingsthat were almost sure to make me want my eyes my own. My nurse had seen, as any good nurse must, that, grown and formed as I might be, the natureof the little child that cries for its mother was in me still. 

"It is very sad now, " Mrs. Strouss began again, without replying to mygrateful glance; "Miss Erema, it is so sad that I wish I had never begunwith it. But I see by your eyes--so like your father's, but softer, mydear, and less troublesome--that you will have the whole of it out, ashe would with me once when I told him a story for the sake of anotherservant. It was just about a month before you were born, when thetrouble began to break on us. And when once it began, it never stoppeduntil all that were left ran away from it. I have read in the newspapersmany and many sad things coming over whole families, such as theycall 'shocking tragedies;' but none of them, to my mind, could be moregalling than what I had to see with my very own eyes. 

"It must have been close upon the middle of September when old LordCastlewood came himself to see his son's house and family at Shoxford. We heard that he came down a little on the sudden to see to the truth ofsome rumors which had reached him about our style of living. It was thefirst time he had ever been there; for although he had very often beeninvited, he could not bear to be under the roof of the daughter, as hesaid, of his enemy. The Captain, just happening to come home on leavefor his autumn holiday, met his father quite at his own door--the verylast place to expect him. He afterward acknowledged that he was notpleased for his father to come 'like a thief in the night. ' However, they took him in and made him welcome, and covered up their feelingsnicely, as high-bred people do. 

"What passed among them was unknown to any but themselves, except sofar as now I tell you. A better dinner than usual for two was ready, tocelebrate the master's return and the beginning of his holiday; and theold lord, having travelled far that day, was persuaded to sit down withthem. The five eldest children (making all except the baby, for you wasnot born, miss, if you please) they were to have sat up at table, aspretty as could be--three with their high cushioned stools, and two intheir arm-chairs screwed on mahogany, stuffed with horsehair, and withrods in front, that the little dears might not tumble out in feeding, which they did--it was a sight to see them! And how they would give toone another, with their fingers wet and shining, and saying, 'Oo, datfor oo. ' Oh dear, Miss Erema, you were never born to see it! What ablessing for you! All those six dear darlings laid in their littlegraves within six weeks, with their mother planted under them; and theonly wonder is that you yourself was not upon her breast. 

"Pay you no heed to me, Miss Erema, when you see me a-whimpering in andout while I am about it. It makes my chest go easy, miss, I do assureyou, though not at the time of life to understand it. All they childrenwas to have sat up for the sake of their dear father, as I said justnow; but because of their grandfather all was ordered back. And backthey come, as good as gold, with Master George at the head of them, andasked me what milk-teeth was. Grandpa had said that 'a dinner was nodinner if milk-teeth were allowed at it. ' The hard old man, with his ownteeth false! He deserved to sit down to no other dinner--and he neverdid, miss. 

"You may be sure that I had enough to do to manage all the littleones and answer all their questions; but never having seen a live lordbefore, and wanting to know if the children would be like him beforeso very long, I went quietly down stairs, and the biggest of my dearspeeped after me. And then, by favor of the parlor-maid--for they keptneither butler nor footman now--I saw the Lord Castlewood, sitting athis ease, with a glass of port-wine before him, and my sweet mistress(the Captain's wife, and your mother, if you understand, miss) doing hervery best, thinking of her children, to please him and make the politeto him. To me he seemed very much to be thawing to her--if you canunderstand, miss, what my meaning is--and the Captain was looking atthem with a smile, as if it were just what he had hoped for. From my owneyesight I can contradict the lies put about by nobody knows who, thatthe father and the son were at hot words even then. 

"And I even heard my master, when they went out at the door, vainlypersuading his father to take such a bed as they could offer him. And good enough it would have been for ten lords; for I saw nothingwonderful in him, nor fit to compare any way with the Captain. But hewould not have it, for no other reason of ill-will or temper, but onlybecause he had ordered his bed at the Moonstock Inn, where his coach andfour were resting. 

"'I expect you to call me in the morning, George, ' I heard him say, asclear as could be, while his son was helping his coat on. 'I am glad Ihave seen you. There are worse than you. And when the times get better, I will see what I can do. '

"With him this meant more than it might have done; for he was not a manof much promises, as you might tell by his face almost, with his noseso stern, and his mouth screwed down, and the wrinkles the wrong way forsmiling. I could not tell what the Captain answered, for the door bangedon them, and it woke the baby, who was dreaming, perhaps, about hislordship's face, and his little teeth gave him the wind on his chest, and his lungs was like bellows--bless him!

"Well, that stopped me, Miss Erema, from being truly accurate in mytestimony. What with walking the floor, and thumping his back, andrattling of the rings to please him--when they put me on the Testament, cruel as they did, with the lawyers' eyes eating into me, and both myears buzzing with sorrow and fright, I may have gone too far, with myheart in my mouth, for my mind to keep out of contradiction, wishful asI was to tell the whole truth in a manner to hurt nobody. And withoutany single lie or glaze of mine, I do assure you, miss, that I did moreharm than good; every body in the room--a court they called it, and nobigger than my best parlor--one and all they were convinced that I wouldswear black was white to save my master and mistress! And certainly Iwould have done so, and the Lord in heaven thought the better of me, forthe sake of all they children, if I could have made it stick together, as they do with practice. "

At thought of the little good she had done, and perhaps the greatmischief, through excess of zeal, Mrs. Strouss was obliged to stop, andput her hand to her side, and sigh. And eager as I was for every wordof this miserable tale, no selfish eagerness could deny her need ofrefreshment, and even of rest; for her round cheeks were white, and herfull breast trembled. And now she was beginning to make snatches at myhand, as if she saw things she could only tell thus. 

CHAPTER XXIV

BETSY'S TALE--(Continued. )

"I am only astonished, my dear, " said my nurse, as soon as she had hadsome tea and toast, and scarcely the soft roe of a red herring, "thatyou can put up so well, and abide with my instincts in the way youdo. None of your family could have done it, to my knowledge of theirdispositions, much less the baby that was next above you. But it oftencomes about to go in turns like that; 'one, three, five, and seven issweet, while two, four, and six is a-squalling with their feet. ' Butthe Lord forgive me for an ill word of them, with their precious littlebodies washed, and laying in their patterns till the judgment-day. 

"But putting by the words I said in the dirty little room they pleasedto call a 'court, ' and the Testament so filthy that no lips could havea hold of it, my meaning is to tell you, miss, the very things thathappened, so that you may fairly judge of them. The Captain came backfrom going with his father, I am sure, in less than twenty minutes, andsmoking a cigar in his elegant way, quite happy and contented, for I sawhim down the staircase. As for sign of any haste about him, or wiping ofhis forehead, or fumbling with his handkerchief, or being in a stew inany sort of way--as the stupid cook who let him in declared, by reasonof her own having been at the beer-barrel--solemnly, miss, as I hope togo to heaven, there was nothing of the sort about him. 

"He went into the dining-room, and mistress, who had been up stairs tosee about the baby, went down to him; and there I heard them talking aspleasant and as natural as they always were together. Not one of themhad the smallest sense of trouble hanging over them; and they put awayboth the decanters and cruets, and came up to bed in their proper order, the master stopping down just to finish his cigar and see to the doorsand the bringing up the silver, because there was no man-servant now. And I heard him laughing at some little joke he made as he went intothe bedroom. A happier household never went to bed, nor one with betterhopes of a happy time to come. And the baby slept beside his parents inhis little cot, as his mother liked to have him, with his blessed mouthwide open. 

"Now we three (cook and Susan and myself) were accustomed to have agood time of it whenever the master first came home and the mistress wastaken up with him. We used to count half an hour more in bed, withoutany of that wicked bell-clack, and then go on to things according totheir order, without any body to say any thing. Accordingly we were allsnug in bed, and turning over for another tuck of sleep, when there camea most vicious ringing of the outer bell. 'You get up, Susan, ' I heardthe cook say, for there only was a door between us; and Susan said, 'Blest if I will! Only Tuesday you put me down about it when the bakercame. ' Not a peg would either of them stir, no more than to call nameson one another; so I slipped on my things, with the bell going clatterall the while, like the day of judgment. I felt it to be hard upon me, and I went down cross a little--just enough to give it well to a body Iwere not afraid of. 

"But the Lord in His mercy remember me, miss! When I opened the door, I had no blood left. There stood two men, with a hurdle on theirshoulders, and on the hurdle a body, with the head hanging down, and thefront of it slouching, like a sack that has been stolen from; and behindit there was an authority with two buttons on his back, and he waitedfor me to say something; but to do so was beyond me. Not a bit ofcaution or of fear about my sham dress-up, as the bad folk put itafterward; the whole of such thoughts was beyond me outright, and nothought of any thing came inside me, only to wait and wonder. 

"'This corpse belongeth here, as I am informed, ' said the man, whoseemed to be the master of it, and was proud to be so. 'Young woman, don't you please to stand like that, or every duffer in the parish willbe here, and the boys that come hankering after it. You be off!' hecried out to a boy who was calling some more round the corner. 'Now, young woman, we must come in if you please, and the least said thesoonest mended. '

"'Oh, but my mistress, my mistress!' I cried; 'and her time up, as nighas may be, any day or night before new moon. 'Oh, Mr. Constable, Mr. Rural Polishman, take it to the tool shed, if you ever had a wife, Sir. 'Now even this was turned against us as if I had expected it. They saidthat I must have known who it was, and to a certain length so I did, miss, but only by the dress and the manner of the corpse, and lying withan attitude there was no contradicting. 

"I can not tell you now, my dear, exactly how things followed. Mymind was gone all hollow with the sudden shock upon it. However, I hadthought enough to make no noise immediate, nor tell the other foolishgirls, who would have set up bellowing. Having years to deal with littleones brings knowledge of the rest to us. I think that I must have goneto master's door, where Susan's orders were to put his shaving waterin a tin, and fetched him out, with no disturbance, only in hisdressing-gown. And when I told him what it was, his rosy color turnedlike sheets, and he just said, 'Hush!' and nothing more. And guessingwhat he meant, I ran and put my things on properly. 

"But having time to think, the shock began to work upon me, and I wasfit for nothing when I saw the children smiling up with their tonguesout for their bread and milk, as they used to begin the day with. AndI do assure you, Miss Erema, my bitterest thought was of your coming, though unknown whether male or female, but both most inconvenient then, with things in such a state of things. You have much to answer for, miss, about it; but how was you to help it, though?

"The tool-shed door was too narrow to let the hurdle and the body in, and finding some large sea-kale pots standing out of use against thedoor, the two men (who were tired with the weight and fright, I daresay) set down their burden upon these, under a row of hollyhocks, at theend of the row of bee-hives. And here they wiped their foreheads withsome rags they had for handkerchiefs, or one of them with his ownsleeve, I should say, and, gaining their breath, they began to talk withthe boldness of the sunrise over them. But Mr. Rural Polishman, ashe was called in those parts, was walking up and down on guard, anddespising of their foolish words. 

"My master, the Captain, your father, miss, came out of a window anddown the cross-walk, while I was at the green door peeping, for Ithought that I might be wanted, if only to take orders what was to bedone inside. The constable stiffly touched his hat, and marched to thehead of the hurdle, and said, "'Do you know this gentleman?'

"Your father took no more notice of him than if he had been a stiffhollyhock, which he might have resembled if he had been good-looking. The Captain thought highly of discipline always, and no kinder gentlemancould there be to those who gave his dues to him. But that man's voicehad a low and dirty impertinent sort of a twang with it. Nothing couldhave been more unlucky. Every thing depended on that fellow in anignorant neighborhood like that; and his lordship, for such he was now, of course, would not even deign to answer him. He stood over his head inhis upright way by a good foot, and ordered him here and there, as thefellow had been expecting, I do believe, to order his lordship. And thatmade the bitterest enemy of him, being newly sent into these parts, and puffed up with authority. And the two miller's men could not helpgrinning, for he had waved them about like a pair of dogs. 

"But to suppose that my master 'was unmoved, and took it brutally' (asthat wretch of a fellow swore afterward), only shows what a stuck-updolt he was. For when my master had examined his father, and made hispoor body be brought in and spread on the couch in the dining-room, andsent me hot-foot for old Dr. Diggory down at the bottom of Shoxford, Susan peeped in through the crack of the door, with the cook to hold herhand behind, and there she saw the Captain on his knees at the side ofhis father's corpse, not saying a word, only with his head down. Andwhen the doctor came back with me, with his night-gown positiveunder his coat, the first thing he said was, 'My dear Sir--my lord, Imean--don't take on so; such things will always happen in this world;'which shows that my master was no brute. 

"Then the Captain stood up in his strength and height, without any prideand without any shame, only in the power of a simple heart, and he saidwords fit to hang him:

"'This is my doing! There is no one else to blame. If my father is dead, I have killed him!'

"Several of us now were looking in, and the news going out like awinnowing woman with no one to shut the door after her; our passage wascrowding with people that should have had a tar-brush in their faces. And of course a good score of them ran away to tell that the Captain hadmurdered his father. The milk-man stood there with his yoke and cans, and his naily boots on our new oil-cloth, and, not being able to hidehimself plainly, he pulled out his slate and began to make his bill. 

"'Away with you all!' your father said, coming suddenly out of thedining-room, while the doctor was unbuttoning my lord, who was dead withall his day clothes on; and every body brushed away like flies at thedepth of his voice and his stature. Then he bolted the door, with onlyour own people and the doctor and the constable inside. Your mother wassleeping like a lamb, as I could swear, having had a very tiring day theday before, and being well away from the noise of the passage, as wellas at a time when they must sleep whenever sleep will come, miss. Blessher gentle heart, what a blessing to be out of all that scare of it!

"All this time, you must understand, there was no sign yet what hadhappened to his lordship, over and above his being dead. All of usthought, if our minds made bold to think, that it must have pleasedthe Lord to take his lordship either with an appleplexy or a suddenheart-stroke, or, at any rate, some other gracious way not having anyflow of blood in it. But now, while your father was gone up stairs--forhe knew that his father was dead enough--to be sure that your mother wasquiet, and perhaps to smooth her down for trouble, and while I was runaway to stop the ranting of the children, old Dr. Diggory and thatrural officer were handling poor Lord Castlewood. They set him to theirliking, and they cut his clothes off--so Susan told me afterward--andthen they found why they were forced to do so, which I need not tryto tell you, miss. Only they found that he was not dead from any wisevisitation, but because he had been shot with a bullet through hisheart. 

"Old Dr. Diggory came out shaking, and without any wholesome senseto meet what had arisen, after all his practice with dead men, andhe called out 'Murder!' with a long thing in his hand, till my masterleaped down the stairs, twelve at a time, and laid his strong hand onthe old fool's mouth. 

"'Would you kill my wife?' he said; 'you shall not kill my wife. '

"'Captain Castlewood, ' the constable answered, pulling out his staffimportantly, 'consider yourself my prisoner. '

"The Captain could have throttled him with one hand, and Susan thoughthe would have done it. But, instead of that, he said, 'Very well; doyour duty. But let me see what you mean by it. ' Then he walked backagain to the body of his father, and saw that he had been murdered. 

"But, oh, Miss Erema, you are so pale! Not a bit of food have you hadfor hours. I ought not to have told you such a deal of it to once. Letme undo all your things, my dear, and give you something cordial; andthen lie down and sleep a bit. "

"No, thank you, nurse, " I answered, calling all my little courage back. "No sleep for me until I know every word. And to think of all my fatherhad to see and bear! I am not fit to be his daughter. "

CHAPTER XXV

BETSY'S TALE--(Concluded. )

"Well, now, " continued Mrs. Strouss, as soon as I could persuade herto go on, "if I were to tell you every little thing that went on amongthem, miss, I should go on from this to this day week, or I might saythis day fortnight, and then not half be done with it. And the worst ofit is that those little things make all the odds in a case of that sort, showing what the great things were. But only a counselor at the OldBailey could make head or tail of the goings on that followed. 

"For some reason of his own, unknown to any living being but himself, whether it were pride (as I always said) or something deeper (as otherpeople thought), he refused to have any one on earth to help him, whenhe ought to have had the deepest lawyer to be found. The constablecautioned him to say nothing, as it seems is laid down in their orders, for fear of crimination. And he smiled at this, with a high contempt, very fine to see, but not bodily wise. But even that jack-in-officecould perceive that the poor Captain thought of his sick wife up stairs, and his little children, ten times for one thought he ever gave to hisown position. And yet I must tell you that he would have no denial, butto know what it was that had killed his parent. When old Dr. Diggory'shands were shaking so that his instrument would not bite on the thinglodged in his lordship's back, after passing through and through him, and he was calling for somebody to run for his assistant, who do youthink did it for him, Miss Erema? As sure as I sit here, the Captain!His face was like a rock, and his hands no less; and he said, 'Allowme, doctor. I have been in action. ' And he fetched out the bullet--whichshowed awful nerve, according to my way of thinking--as if he had been aman with three rows of teeth. 

"'This bullet is just like those of my own pistol!' he cried, and hesat down hard with amazement. You may suppose how this went against him, when all he desired was to know and tell the truth; and people said thatof course he got it out, after a bottleful of doctors failed, because heknew best how it was put in. '

"'I shall now go and see the place, if you please, or whether you pleaseor not, ' my master said. 'Constable, you may come and point it out, unless you prefer going to your breakfast. My word is enough that Ishall not run away. Otherwise, as you have acted on your own authority, I shall act on mine, and tie you until you have obtained a warrant. Takeyour choice, my man; and make it quickly, while I offer it. '

"The rural polishman stared at this, being used on the other hand to bemade much of. But seeing how capable the Captain was of acting up toany thing, he made a sulky scrape, and said, 'Sir, as you please for thepresent, ' weighting his voice on those last three words, as much as tosay, 'Pretty soon you will be handcuffed. ' 'Then, ' said my master, 'Ishall also insist on the presence of two persons, simply to use theireyes without any fear or favor. One is my gardener, a very honest man, but apt to be late in the morning. The other is a faithful servant, whohas been with us for several years. Their names are Jacob Rigg and BetsyBowen. You may also bring two witnesses, if you choose. And the miller'smen, of course, will come. But order back all others. '

"'That is perfectly fair and straightforward, my lord, ' the constableanswered, falling naturally into abeyance to orders. 'I am sure that allof us wishes your lordship kindly out of this rum scrape. But my duty ismy duty. '

"With a few more words we all set forth, six in number, and no more; forthe constable said that the miller's men, who had first found the lateLord Castlewood, were witnesses enough for him. And Jacob Rigg, whoselegs were far apart (as he said) from trenching celery, took us throughthe kitchen-garden, and out at a gap, which saved every body knowing. 

"Then we passed through a copse or two, and across a meadow, and thenalong the turnpike-road, as far as now I can remember. And along that wewent to a stile on the right, without any house for a long way off. Andfrom that stile a foot-path led down a slope of grass land to the littleriver, and over a hand-bridge, and up another meadow full of trees andbushes, to a gate which came out into the road again a little to thisside of the Moonstock Inn, saving a quarter of a mile of road, which ranstraight up the valley and turned square at the stone bridge to get tothe same inn. 

"I can not expect to be clear to you, miss, though I see it all now asI saw it then, every tree, and hump, and hedge of it; only about thedistances from this to that, and that to the other, they would bebeyond me. You must be on the place itself; and I never could carrydistances--no, nor even clever men, I have heard my master say. But whenhe came to that stile he stopped and turned upon all of us clearly, andas straight as any man of men could be. 'Here I saw my father last, ata quarter past ten o'clock last night, or within a few minutes of thattime. ' I wished to see him to his inn, but he would not let me do so, andhe never bore contradiction. He said that he knew the way well, havingfished more than thirty years ago up and down this stream. He crossedthis stile, and we shook hands over it, and the moon being bright, Ilooked into his face, and he said, 'My boy, God bless you!' Knowing hisshort ways, I did not even look after him, but turned away, and wentstraight home along this road. Upon my word as an Englishman, and as anofficer of her Majesty, that is all I know of it. Now let us go on tothe--to the other place. 

"We all of us knew in our hearts, I am sure, that the Captain spokethe simple truth, and his face was grand as he looked at us. But theconstable thought it his duty to ask, "'Did you hear no sound of a shot, my lord? For he fell within a hundredyards of this. '

"'I heard no sound of any shot whatever. I heard an owl hooting asI went home, and then the rattle of a heavy wagon, and the bells ofhorses. I have said enough. Let us go forward. '

"We obeyed him at once; and even the constable looked right and left, asif he had been wrong. He signed to the miller's man to lead the way, and my lord walked proudly after him. The path was only a little narrowtrack, with the grass, like a front of hair, falling over it on theupper side and on the under, dropping away like side curls; such alittle path that I was wondering how a great lord could walk over it. Then we came down a steep place to a narrow bridge across a shallowriver--abridge made of only two planks and a rail, with a prop or two tocarry them. And one end of the handrail was fastened into a hollow andstubby old hawthorn-tree, overhanging the bridge and the water a goodway. And just above this tree, and under its shadow, there came a drycut into the little river, not more than a yard or two above the woodenbridge, a water-trough such as we have in Wales, miss, for the water torun in, when the farmer pleases; but now there was no water in it, onlygravel. 

"The cleverest of the miller's men, though, neither of them had muchintellect, stepped down at a beck from the constable, right beneath theold ancient tree, and showed us the marks on the grass and the gravelmade by his lordship where he fell and lay. And it seemed that he musthave fallen off the bridge, yet not into the water, but so as to haveroom for his body, if you see, miss, partly on the bank, and partly inthe hollow of the meadow trough. 

"'Have you searched the place well?' the Captain asked. 'Have you foundany weapon or implement?'

"'We have found nothing but the corpse, so far, ' the constable answered, in a surly voice, not liking to be taught his business. 'My first dutywas to save life, if I could. These men, upon finding the body, ran forme, and knowing who it was, I came with it to your house. '

"'You acted for the best, my man. Now search the place carefully, whileI stand here. I am on my parole, I shall not run away. Jacob, go downand help them. '

"Whether from being in the army, or what, your father always spoke insuch a way that the most stiff-neckedest people began without thinkingto obey him. So the constable and the rest went down, while the Captainand I stood upon the plank, looking at the four of them. 

"For a long time they looked about, according to their attitudes, without finding any thing more than the signs of the manner in which thepoor lord fell, and of these the constable pulled out a book and madea pencil memorial. But presently Jacob, a spry sort of man, cried, 'Hulloa! whatever have I got hold of here? Many a good craw-fish have Ipulled out from this bank when the water comes down the gully, but neverone exactly like this here afore. '

"'Name of the Lord!' cried the constable, jumping behind the hawthornstump; 'don't point it at me, you looby! It's loaded, loaded one barrel, don't you see? Put it down, with the muzzle away from me. '

"'Hand it to me, Jacob, ' the Captain said. 'You understand a gun, andthis goes off just the same. ' Constable Jobbins have no fear. 'Yes, itis exactly as I thought. This pistol is one of the double-barreled pairwhich I bought to take to India. The barrels are rifled; it shootsas true as any rifle, and almost as hard up to fifty yards. The rightbarrel has been fired, the other is still loaded. The bullet I took frommy father's body most certainly came from this pistol. '

"'Can 'e say, can 'e say then, who done it, master?' asked Jacob, a manvery sparing of speech, but ready at a beck to jump at constable andmiller's men, if only law was with him. 'Can 'e give a clear account, and let me chuck 'un in the river?'

"'No, Jacob, I can do nothing of the kind, ' your father answered; whilethe rural man came up and faced things, not being afraid of a fight halfso much as he was of an accident; by reason of his own mother havingbeen blown up by a gunpowder start at Dartford, yet came down allright, miss, and had him three months afterward, according to hisown confession; nevertheless, he came up now as if he had always beenupright, in the world, and he said, 'My lord, can you explain all this?'

"Your father looked at him with one of his strange gazes, as if he weremeasuring the man while trying his own inward doing of his own mind. Proud as your father was, as proud as ever can be without cruelty, itis my firm belief, Miss Erema, going on a woman's judgment, that if theman's eyes had come up to my master's sense of what was virtuous, mymaster would have up and told him the depth and contents of his mind andheart, although totally gone beyond him. 

"But Jobbins looked back at my lord with a grin, and his little eyes, hard to put up with. 'Have you nothing to say, my lord? Then I amafeared I must ask you just to come along of me. ' And my master wentwith him, miss, as quiet as a lamb; which Jobbins said, and even Jacobfancied, was a conscience sign of guilt. 

"Now after I have told you all this, Miss Erema, you know very nearly asmuch as I do. To tell how the grief was broken to your mother, and whather state of mind was, and how she sat up on the pillows and cried, while things went on from bad to worse, and a verdict of 'willfulmurder' was brought against your father by the crowner's men, and youcome headlong, without so much as the birds in the ivy to chirp aboutyou, right into the thick of the worst of it. I do assure you, MissErema, when I look at your bright eyes and clear figure, the Lord inheaven, who has made many cripples, must have looked down special tohave brought you as you are. For trouble upon trouble fell in heaps, faster than I can wipe my eyes to think. To begin with, all the servantsbut myself and gardener Jacob ran away. They said that the old lordhaunted the house, and walked with his hand in the middle of his heart, pulling out a bullet if he met any body, and sighing 'murder' threetimes, till every hair was crawling. I took it on myself to fetch theVicar of the parish to lay the evil spirit, as they do in Wales. A nicekind gentleman he was as you could see, and wore a velvet skull-cap, andwaited with his legs up. But whether he felt that the power was notin him, or whether his old lordship was frightened of the Church, theynever made any opportunity between them to meet and have it out, miss. 

"Then it seemed as if Heaven, to avenge his lordship, rained downpestilence upon that house. A horrible disease, the worst I ever met, broke out upon the little harmless dears, the pride of my heart and ofevery body's eyes, for lovelier or better ones never came from heaven. They was all gone to heaven in a fortnight and three days, and laid inthe church-yard at one another's side, with little beds of mould to themeasure of their stature, and their little carts and drums, as they mademe promise, ready for the judgment-day. Oh, my heart was broken, miss, my heart was broken! I cried so, I thought I could never cry more. 

"But when your dear mother, who knew nothing of all this (for we put alltheir illness, by the doctor's orders, away at the further end of thehouse), when she was a little better of grievous pain and misery (forbeing so upset her time was hard), when she sat up on the pillow, looking like a bride almost, except that she had what brides hasn't--alittle red thing in white flannel at her side--then she says to me, 'Iam ready, Betsy; it is high time for all of them to see their littlesister. They always love the baby so, whenever there is a new one. Andthey are such men and women to it. They have been so good this timethat I have never heard them once. And I am sure that I can trust them, Betsy, not to make the baby cry. I do so long to see the darlings. Nowdo not even whisper to them not to make a noise. They are too good torequire it; and it would hurt their little feelings. '

"I had better have been shot, my dear, according as the old lord was, than have the pain that went through all my heart, to see the mother so. She sat up, leaning on one arm, with the hand of the other round yourlittle head, and her beautiful hair was come out of its loops, and thecolor in her cheeks was like a shell. Past the fringe of the curtain, and behind it too, her soft bright eyes were a-looking here and therefor the first to come in of her children. The Lord only knows what liesI told her, so as to be satisfied without them. First I said they wereall gone for a walk; and then that the doctor had ordered them away; andthen that they had got the measles. That last she believed, because itwas worse than what I had said before of them; and she begged to see Dr. Diggory about it, and I promised that she should as soon as he had donehis dinner. And then, with a little sigh, being very weak, she went downinto her nest again, with only you to keep her company. 

"Well, that was bad enough, as any mortal sufferer might have said;enough for one day at any rate. But there was almost worse to come. Forwhen I was having a little sit down stairs, with my supper and half pintof ale (that comes like drawing a long breath to us when spared out ofsickrooms, miss), and having no nursery now on my mind, was thinking ofall the sad business, with only a little girl in the back kitchen comein to muck up the dishes, there appeared a good knock at the gardendoor, and I knew it for the thumb of the Captain. I locked the younggirl up, by knowing what their tongues are, and then I let your fatherin, and the candle-sight of him made my heart go low. 

"He had come out of prison; and although not being tried, his clotheswere still in decency, they had great holes in them, and the gloss allgone to a smell of mere hedges and ditches. The hat on his head wasquite out of the fashion, even if it could be called a hat at all, andhis beautiful beard had no sign of a comb, and he looked as old again ashe had looked a month ago. 

"'I know all about it. You need not be afraid, ' he said, as I took himto the breakfast-room, where no one up stairs could hear us. 'I knowthat my children are all dead and buried, except the one that was notborn yet. Ill news flies quick. I know all about it. George, Henrietta, Jack, Alf, little Vi, and Tiny. I have seen their graves and countedthem, while the fool of a policeman beat his gloves through the hedgewithin a rod of me. Oh yes, I have much to be thankful for. My life isin my own hand now. '

"'Oh, master; oh, Captain; oh, my lord!' I cried; 'for the sake of Godin heaven, don't talk like that. Think of your sweet wife, your dearlady. '

"'Betsy, ' he answered, with his eyes full upon me, noble, yet frightfulto look at, 'I am come to see my wife. Go and let her know it, accordingto your own discretion. '

"My discretion would have been not to let him see her, but go on andwrite to her from foreign countries, with the salt sea between them; butI give you my word that I had no discretion, but from pity and majestyobeyed him. I knew that he must have broken prison, and by good rightsought to be starving. But I could no more offer him the cold ham andpullet than take him by his beard and shake him. 

"'Is he come, at last, at last?' my poor mistress said, whose wits werewandering after her children. 'At last, at last! Then he will find themall. '

"'Yes, ma'am, at last, at the last he will, ' I answered, while I thoughtof the burial service, which I had heard three times in a week--for thelittle ones went to their graves in pairs to save ceremony; likewise ofthe Epistle of Saint Paul, which is not like our Lord's way of talkingat all, but arguing instead of comforting. And not to catch her up inthat weak state, I said, 'He will find every one of them, ma'am. '

"'Oh, but I want him for himself, for himself, as much as all the restput together, ' my dear lady said, without listening to me, but puttingher hand to her ear to hearken for even so much as a mouse on thestairs. 'Do bring him, Betsy; only bring him, Betsy, and then let me gowhere my children are. '

"I was surprised at her manner of speaking, which I would not haveallowed to her, but more than all about her children, which she couldonly have been dreaming yet, for nobody else came nigh her except onlyme, miss, and you, miss, and for you to breathe words was impossible. All you did was to lie very quiet, tucked up into your mother's side;and as regular as the time-piece went, wide came your eyes and yourmouth to be fed. If your nature had been cross or squally, 'baby'scoffin No. 7' would have come after all the other six, which the thiefof a carpenter put down on his bill as if it was so many shavings. 

"Well, now, to tell you the downright truth, I have a lot of work to doto-morrow, miss, with three basketfuls of washing coming home, and aman about a tap that leaks and floods the inside of the fender; and ifI were to try to put before you the way that those two for the last timeof their lives went on to one another--the one like a man and the otherlike a woman, full of sobs and choking--my eyes would be in such a stateto-morrow that the whole of them would pity and cheat me. And I ought tothink of you as well, miss, who has been sadly harrowed listening whenyou was not born yet. And to hear what went on, full of weeping, whenyourself was in the world, and able to cry for yourself, and all doneover your own little self, would leave you red eyes and no spirit forthe night, and no appetite in the morning; and so I will pass it allover, if you please, and let him go out of the backdoor again. 

"This he was obliged to do quick, and no mistake, glad as he mighthave been to say more words, because the fellows who call themselvesofficers, without any commission, were after him. False it was to say, as was said, that he got out of Winchester jail through money. Thatstory was quite of a piece with the rest. His own strength and skill itwas that brought him out triumphantly, as the scratches on his hands andcheeks might show. He did it for the sake of his wife, no doubt. Whenhe heard that the children were all in their graves, and their motherin the way to follow them, madness was better than his state of mind, asthe officers told me when they could not catch him--and sorry they wouldhave been to do it, I believe. 

"To overhear my betters is the thing of all things most against mynature; and my poor lady being unfit to get up, there was nothing saidon the landing, which is the weakest part of gentlefolks. They must havesaid 'Good-by' to one another quite in silence, and the Captain, as firma man as ever lived, had lines on his face that were waiting for tears, if nature should overcome bringing up. Then I heard the words, 'for mysake, ' and the other said, 'for your sake, ' a pledge that passed betweenthem, making breath more long than life is. But when your poor fatherwas by the back-door, going out toward the woods and coppices, he turnedsharp round, and he said, 'Betsy Bowen!' and I answered, 'Yes, atyour service, Sir. ' 'You have been the best woman in the world, ' hesaid--'the bravest, best, and kindest. I leave my wife and my last childto you. The Lord has been hard on me, but He will spare me those two. Ido hope and believe He will. '

"We heard a noise of horses in the valley, and the clank of swords--nodoubt the mounted police from Winchester a-crossing of the MoonstockBridge to search our house for the runaway. And the Captain took myhand, and said, 'I trust them to you. Hide the clothes I took off, thatthey may not know I have been here. I trust my wife and little babe toyou, and may God bless you, Betsy!'

"He had changed all his clothes, and he looked very nice, but a sadderface was never seen. As he slipped through the hollyhocks I said tomyself, 'There goes a broken-hearted man, and he leaves a broken heartbehind. ' And your dear mother died on the Saturday night. Oh my! oh my!how sad it was!"

CHAPTER XXVI

AT THE BANK

In telling that sad tale my faithful and soft-hearted nurse had oftenproved her own mistake in saying, as she did, that tears can ever beexhausted. And I, for my part, though I could scarcely cry for eagerlistening, was worse off perhaps than if I had wetted each sad fact asit went by. At any rate, be it this way or that, a heavy and soreheart was left me, too distracted for asking questions, and almost toodepressed to grieve. 

In the morning Mrs. Strouss was bustling here and there and every where, and to look at her nice Welsh cheeks and aprons, and to hear how shescolded the butcher's boy, nobody would for a moment believe that herheart was deeper than her skin, as the saying of the west countryis. Major Hockin had been to see me last night, for he never forgot apromise, and had left me in good hands, and now he came again in themorning. According to his usual way of taking up an opinion, he wouldnot see how distracted I was, and full of what I had heard overnight, but insisted on dragging me off to the bank, that being in his opinionof more importance than old stories. I longed to ask Betsy somequestions which had been crowding into my mind as she spoke, and whileI lay awake at night; however, I was obliged to yield to the business ofthe morning, and the good Major's zeal and keen knowledge of the world;and he really gave me no time to think. 

"Yes, I understand all that as well as if I had heard every word of it, "he said, when he had led me helpless into the Hansom cab he came in, andhad slammed down the flood-gates in front of us. "You must never thinktwice of what old women say" (Mrs. Strouss was some twenty years youngerthan himself); "they always go prating and finding mares'-nests, andthen they always cry. Now did she cry, Erema?"

I would have given a hundred dollars to be able to say, "No, not onedrop;" but the truth was against me, and I said, "How could she helpit?"

"Exactly!" the Major exclaimed, so loudly that the cabman thought he wasordered to stop. "No, go on, cabby, if your horse can do it. My dear, Ibeg your pardon, but you are so very simple! You have not been among theeye-openers of the west. This comes of the obsolete Uncle Sam. "

"I would rather be simple than 'cute!'" I replied; "and my own Uncle Samwill be never obsolete. "

Silly as I was, I could never speak of the true Uncle Sam in this farcountry without the bright shame of a glimmer in my eyes; and with this, which I cared not to hide, I took my companion's hand and stood upon thefootway of a narrow and crowded lane. 

"Move on! move on!" cried a man with a high-crowned hat japanned atintervals, and, wondering at his rudeness to a lady, I looked at him. But he only said, "Now move on, will you?" without any wrath, and as ifhe were vexed at our littleness of mind in standing still. Nobody heededhim any more than if he had said, "I am starving, " but it seemed a rudething among ladies. Before I had time to think more about this--forI always like to think of things--I was led through a pair of narrowswinging doors, and down a close alley between two counters full ofpeople paying and receiving money. The Major, who always knew how to geton, found a white-haired gentleman in a very dingy corner, and whisperedto him in a confidential way, though neither had ever seen the otherbefore, and the white-haired gentleman gazed at me as sternly as if Iwere a bank-note for at least a thousand pounds; and then he said, "Stepthis way, young lady. Major Hockin, step this way, Sir. "

The young lady "stepped that way" in wonder as to what English Englishis, and then we were shown into a sacred little room, where the daylighthad glass reflectors for it, if it ever came to use them. But as itcared very little to do this, from angular disabilities, three brightgas-lights were burning in soft covers, and fed the little room with arich, sweet glow. And here shone one of the partners of the bank, a verypleasant-looking gentleman, and very nicely dressed. 

"Major Hockin, " he said, after looking at the card, "will you kindly sitdown, while I make one memorandum? I had the pleasure of knowing youruncle well--at least I believe that the late Sir Rufus was your uncle. "

"Not so, " replied the Major, well pleased, however. "I fear that I amtoo old to have had any uncle lately. Sir Rufus Hockin was my firstcousin. "

"Oh, indeed! To be sure, I should have known it, but Sir Rufus beingmuch your senior, the mistake was only natural. Now what can I do toserve you, or perhaps this young lady--Miss Hockin, I presume?"

"No, " said his visitor, "not Miss Hockin. I ought to have introducedher, but for having to make my own introduction. Mr. Shovelin, this ladyis Miss Erema Castlewood, the only surviving child of the late CaptainGeorge Castlewood, properly speaking, Lord Castlewood. "

Mr. Shovelin had been looking at me with as much curiosity as goodmanners and his own particular courtesy allowed. And I fancied that hefelt that I could not be a Hockin. 

"Oh, dear, dear me!" was all he said, though he wanted to say, "Godbless me!" or something more sudden and stronger. "Lord Castlewood'sdaughter--poor George Castlewood! My dear young lady, is it possible?"

"Yes, I am my father's child, " I said; "and I am proud to hear that I amlike him. "

"That you well may be, " he answered, putting on his spectacles. "You areastonished at my freedom, perhaps; you will allow for it, or at least, you will not be angry with me, when you know that your father was mydearest friend at Harrow; and that when his great trouble fell uponhim--"

Here Mr. Shovelin stopped, as behooves a man who begins to outrunhimself. He could not tell me that it was himself who had found all themoney for my father's escape, which cost much cash as well as much goodfeeling. Neither did I, at the time, suspect it, being all in the darkupon such points. Not knowing what to say, I looked from the banker tothe Major, and back again. 

"Can you tell me the exact time?" the latter asked. "I am due in theTemple at 12. 30, and I never am a minute late, whatever happens. "

"You will want a swift horse, " Mr. Shovelin answered, "or else this willbe an exception to your rule. It is twenty-one minutes past twelve now. "

"May I leave my charge to you, then, for a while? She will be veryquiet; she is always so. Erema, will you wait for me?"

I was not quick enough then to see that this was arranged between them. Major Hockin perceived that Mr. Shovelin wished to have a talk with meabout dearer matters than money, having children of his own, and being(as his eyes and forehead showed) a man of peculiar views, perhaps, butclearly of general good-will. 

"In an hour, in an hour, in less than an hour"--the Major intensifiedhis intentions always--"in three-quarters of an hour I shall be back. Meanwhile, my dear, you will sit upon a stool, and not say a word, normake any attempt to do any thing every body is not used to. "

This vexed me, as if I were a savage here; and I only replied with avery gentle bow, being glad to see his departure; for Major Hockin wasone of those people, so often to be met with, whom any one likes ordislikes according to the changes of their behavior. But Mr. Shovelinwas different from that. 

"Miss Castlewood, take this chair, " he said; "a hard one, but betterthan a stool, perhaps. Now how am I to talk to you--as an inquirer uponbusiness matters, or as the daughter of my old friend? Your smile isenough. Well, and you must talk to me in the same unreasonable manner. That being clearly established between us, let us proceed to thenext point. Your father, my old friend, wandered from the track, andunfortunately lost his life in a desolate part of America. "

"No; oh no. It was nothing like that. He might have been alive, and hereat this moment, if I had not drunk and eaten every bit and drop of his. "

"Now don't, my dear child, don't be so romantic--I mean, look at thingsmore soberly. You did as you were ordered, I have no doubt; GeorgeCastlewood always would have that. He was a most commanding man. You donot quite resemble him in that respect, I think. "

"Oh, but did he do it, did he do it?" I cried out. "You were at schoolwith him, and knew his nature. Was it possible for him to do it, Sir?"

"As possible as it is for me to go down to Sevenoaks and shoot my dearold father, who is spending a green and agreeable old age there. Notthat your grandfather, if I may say it without causing pain to you, waseither green or agreeable. He was an uncommonly sharp old man; I mighteven say a hard one. As you never saw him, you will not think me rude insaying that much. Your love, of course, is for your father; and if yourfather had had a father of larger spirit about money, he might havebeen talking to me pleasantly now, instead of--instead of all these sadthings. "

"Please not to slip away from me, " I said, bluntly, having so often metwith that. "You believe, as every good person does, that my father waswholly innocent. But do tell me who could have done it instead. Somebodymust have done it; that seems clear. "

"Yes, " replied Mr. Shovelin, with a look of calm consideration;"somebody did it, undoubtedly; and that makes the difficulty of thewhole affair. 'Cui bono, ' as the lawyers say. Two persons only couldhave had any motive, so far as wealth and fortune go. The first andmost prominent, your father, who, of course, would come into every thing(which made the suspicion so hot and strong); and the other, a very nicegentleman, whom it is wholly impossible to suspect. "

"Are you sure of that? People have more than suspected--they havecondemned--my father. After that, I can suspect any body. Who is it?Please to tell me. "

"It is the present Lord Castlewood, as he is beginning to be called. He would not claim the title, or even put forward his right in any way, until he had proof of your dear father's death; and even then he behavedso well--"

"He did it! he did it!" I cried, in hot triumph. "My father's name shallbe clear of it. Can there be any doubt that he did it? How very simplethe whole of it becomes! Nothing astonishes me, except the stupidity ofpeople. He had every thing to gain, and nothing to lose--a bad man, nodoubt--though I never heard of him. And putting it all on my father, ofcourse, to come in himself, and abide his time, till the misery killedmy father. How simple, how horribly simple, it becomes!"

"You are much too quick, too hot, too sudden. Excuse me a minute"--as asilver bell struck--"I am wanted in the next room. But before I go, letme give you a glass of cold water, and beg you to dismiss that new ideafrom your mind. "

I could see, as I took with a trembling hand the water he poured out forme, that Mr. Shovelin was displeased. His kind and handsome face grewhard. He had taken me for a nice young lady, never much above thefreezing-point, and he had found me boil over in a moment. I was sorryto have grieved him; but if he had heard Betsy Bowen's story, and seenher tell it, perhaps he would have allowed for me. I sat down again, having risen in my warmth, and tried to quiet and command myself bythinking of the sad points only. Of these there were plenty to makepictures of, the like of which had kept me awake all night; and I knewby this time, from finding so much more of pity than real sympathy, thatmen think a woman may well be all tears, but has no right to even theshadow of a frown. That is their own prerogative. 

And so, when Mr. Shovelin returned, with a bundle of papers which hadalso vexed him--to judge by the way in which he threw them down--I spokevery mildly, and said that I was very sorry for my display of violence, but that if he knew all, he would pardon me; and he pardoned me in amoment. 

"I was going to tell you, my dear Miss Castlewood, " he continued, gently, "that your sudden idea must be dismissed, for reasons which Ithink will content you. In the first place, the present Lord Castlewoodis, and always has been, an exemplary man, of great piety and truegentleness; in the next place, he is an invalid, who can not walk a milewith a crutch to help him, and so he has been for a great many years;and lastly, if you have no faith in the rest, he was in Italy at thetime, and remained there for some years afterward. There he received andsheltered your poor father after his sad calamity, and was better than abrother to him, as your father, in a letter to me, declared. So you seethat you must acquit him. "

"That is not enough. I would beg his pardon on my knees, since he helpedmy father, for he must have thought him innocent. Now, Mr. Shovelin, youwere my father's friend, and you are such a clever man--"

"How do you know that, young lady? What a hurry you are always in!"

"Oh, there can be no doubt about it. But you must not ask reasons, ifI am so quick. Now please to tell me what your own conclusion is. I cantalk of it calmly now; yes, quite calmly, because I never think of anything else. Only tell me what you really believe, and I will keep itmost strictly to myself. "

"I am sure you will do that, " he answered, smiling, "not only from thepower of your will, my dear, but also because I have nothing to say. Atfirst I was strongly inclined to believe (knowing, from my certainty ofyour father, that the universal opinion must be wrong) that the old lordhad done it himself; for he always had been of a headstrong and violentnature, which I am sure will never re-appear in you. But the wholeof the evidence went against this, and little as I think of evidence, especially at an inquest, your father's behavior confirmed what wassworn to. Your father knew that his father had not made away withhimself in a moment of passion, otherwise he was not the man to breakprison and fly trial. He would have said, boldly, 'I am guiltless; thereare many things that I can not explain; I can not help that; I willface it out. Condemn me, if you like, and I will suffer. ' From your ownremembrance of your father's nature, is not that certainly the course hewould have taken?"

"I have not an atom of doubt about it. His flight and persistent dreadof trial puzzle me beyond imagination. Of his life he was perfectlyreckless, except, at least, for my sake. "

"I know that he was, " Mr. Shovelin replied; "as a boy he was wonderfullyfearless. As a man, with a sweet wife and a lot of children, he mighthave begun to be otherwise. But when all those were gone, and only apoor little baby left--"

"Yes, I suppose I was all that. "

"Forgive me. I am looking back at you. Who could dream that you wouldever even live, without kith or kin to care for you? Your life was savedby some good woman who took you away to Wales. But when you were such apoor little relic, and your father could scarcely have seen you, tohave such a mite left must have been almost a mockery of happiness. Thatmotive could not have been strong enough to prevent a man of proud honorfrom doing what honor at once demanded. Your father would have returnedand surrendered as soon as he heard of his dear wife's death, if in thebalance there had been only you. "

"Yes, Mr. Shovelin, perhaps he would. I was never very much as acounter-balance. Yet my father loved me. " I could have told him of thepledge exchanged--"For my sake, " and, "Yes, for your sake, " with loveand wedded honor set to fight cold desolate repute--but I did not say aword about it. 

"He loved you afterward, of course. But a man who has had seven childrenis not enthusiastic about a baby. There must have been a larger motive. "

"But when I was the only one left alive. Surely I became valuable then. I can not have been such a cipher. "

"Yes, for a long time you would have been, " replied the Saturnianbanker. "I do not wish to disparage your attractions when you were afortnight old. They may have begun already to be irresistible. Excuseme; you have led me into the light vein, when speaking of a most sadmatter. You must blame your self-assertion for it. All I wish to conveyto you is my belief that something wholly unknown to us, some darkmystery of which we have no inkling, lies at the bottom of this terribleaffair. Some strange motive there must have been, strong enough evento overcome all ordinary sense of honor, and an Englishman's pride insubmitting to the law, whatever may be the consequence. Consider thathis 'flight from justice, ' as it was called, of course, by every one, condemned his case and ruined his repute. Even for that he would nothave cared so much as for his own sense of right. And though he was avery lively fellow, as I first remember him, full of tricks and jokes, and so on, which in this busy age are out of date, I am certain that healways had a stern sense of right. One never knows how love affairs andweakness about children may alter almost any man; but my firm convictionis that my dear old school-fellow, George Castlewood, even with a wifeand lovely children hanging altogether upon his life, not only wouldnot have broken jail, but would calmly have given up his body to behanged--pardon me, my dear, for putting it so coarsely--if there had notbeen something paramount to override even apparent honor. What it canhave been I have no idea, and I presume you have none. "

"None whatever, " I said at once, in answer to his inquiring gaze. "I amquite taken by surprise; I never even thought of such a thing. It hasalways seemed to me so natural that my dear father, being shamefullycondemned, because appearances were against him, and nobody could enterinto him, should, for the sake of his wife and children, or even of onechild like me, depart or banish himself, or emigrate, or, as they mightcall it, run away. Knowing that he never could have a fair trial, it wasthe only straightforward and good and affectionate thing for him to do. "

"You can not see things as men see them. We must not expect it of you, "Mr. Shovelin answered, with a kind but rather too superior smile, whichreminded me a little of dear Uncle Sam when he listened to what, in hisopinion, was only female reason; "but, dear me, here is Major Hockincome! Punctuality is the soul of business. "

"So I always declare, " cried the Major, who was more than three-quartersof an hour late, for which in my heart I thanked him. "My watch keepstime to a minute, Sir, and its master to a second. Well, I hope youhave settled all questions of finance, and endowed my young maid with afortune. "

"So far from that, " Mr. Shovelin replied, in a tone very different fromthat he used to me, "we have not even said one word of business; allthat has been left for your return. Am I to understand that you are byappointment or relationship the guardian of this young lady?"

"God forbid!" cried Major Hockin, shortly. I thought it very rude ofhim, yet I could not help smiling to see how he threw his glasses up andlifted his wiry crest of hair. "Not that she is bad, I mean, but good, very good; indeed, I may say the very best girl ever known outside of myown family. My cousin, Colonel Gundry, who owns an immense estate inthe most auriferous district of all California, but will not spoil hissplendid property by mining, he will--he will tell you the very samething, Sir. "

"I am very glad to hear it, " said the banker, smiling at me, while Iwondered what it was, but hoped that it meant my praises. "Now I reallyfear that I must be very brief, though the daughter of my oldest friendmay well be preferred to business. But now we will turn at once tobusiness, if you please. "

CHAPTER XXVII

COUSIN MONTAGUE

Mr. Shovelin went to a corner of the room, which might be called hissignal-box, having a little row of port-holes like a toy frigate oraccordion, and there he made sounds which brought steps very promptly, one clerk carrying a mighty ledger, and the other a small strong-box. 

"No plate, " Major Hockin whispered to me, shaking his gray crest withsorrow; "but there may be diamonds, you know, Erema. One ounce ofdiamonds is worth a ton of plate. "

"No, " said Mr. Shovelin, whose ears were very keen, "I fear thatyou will find nothing of mercantile value. Thank you, Mr. Robinson;by-and-by perhaps we shall trouble you. Strictly speaking, perhaps Ishould require the presence of your father's lawyer, or of some oneproducing probate, ere I open this box, Miss Castlewood. But having youhere, and Major Hockin, and knowing what I do about the matter (which isone of personal confidence), I will dispense with formalities. We havegiven your father's solicitor notice of this deposit, and requestedhis attention, but he never has deigned to attend to it; so now we willdispense with him. You see that the seal is unbroken; you know yourfather's favorite seal, no doubt. The key is nothing; it was left to mycharge. You wish that I should open this?"

Certainly I did, and the banker split the seal with an ebony-handledpaper-knife, and very soon unlocked the steel-ribbed box, whose weightwas chiefly of itself. Some cotton-wool lay on the top to keep theall-penetrative dust away, and then a sheet of blue foolscap paper, partly covered with clear but crooked writing, and under that somelittle twists of silver paper, screwed as if there had been no timeto tie them, and a packet of letters held together by a glitteringbracelet. 

"Poor fellow!" Mr. Shovelin said, softly, while I held my breath, andthe Major had the courtesy to be silent. "This is his will; of novalue, I fear, in a pecuniary point of view, but of interest to you hisdaughter. Shall I open it, Miss Castlewood, or send it to his lawyers?"

"Open it, and never think of them, " said I. "Like the rest, they haveforsaken him. Please to read it to yourself, and then tell us. "

"Oh, I wish I had known this before!" cried the banker, after a rapidglance or two. "Very kind, very flattering, I am sure! Yes, I will do myduty by him; I wish there was more to be done in the case. He has leftme sole executor, and trustee of all his property, for the benefit ofhis surviving child. Yet he never gave me the smallest idea of expectingme to do this for him. Otherwise, of course, I should have had this oldbox opened years ago. "

"We must look at things as they are, " said Major Hockin, for I could saynothing. "The question is, what do you mean to do now?"

"Nothing whatever, " said the banker, crisply, being displeased at theother's tone; and then, seeing my surprise, he addressed himself tome: "Nothing at present, but congratulate myself upon my old friend'sconfidence, and, as Abernethy said, 'take advice. ' A banker must neverencroach upon the province of the lawyer. But so far as a layman mayjudge, Major Hockin, I think you will have to transfer to me the care ofthis young lady. "

"I shall be only too happy, I assure you, " the Major answered, truthfully. "My wife has a great regard for her, and so have I--the verygreatest, the strongest regard, and warm parental feelings; as you know, Erema. But--but, I am not so young as I was; and I have to develop myproperty. "

"Of which she no longer forms a part, " Mr. Shovelin answered, with asmile at me, which turned into pleasure my momentary pain at the other'scalm abandonment. "You will find me prompt and proud to claim her, assoon as I am advised that this will is valid; and that I shall learnto-morrow. "

In spite of pride, or by its aid, my foolish eyes were full of tears, and I gave him a look of gratitude which reminded him of my father, ashe said in so many words. 

"Oh, I hope it is valid! How I hope it is!" I exclaimed, turning roundto the Major, who smiled rather grimly, and said he hoped so too. 

"But surely, " he continued, "as we are all here, we should not neglectthe opportunity of inspecting the other contents of this box. To meit appears that we are bound to do so; that it is our plain duty toascertain--Why, there might even be a later will. Erema, my dear, youmust be most anxious to get to the bottom of it. "

So I was, but desired even more that his curiosity should be foiled. "Wemust leave that to Mr. Shovelin, " I said. 

"Then for the present we will seal it down again, " the banker answered, quietly; "we can see that there is no other will, and a later one wouldscarcely be put under this. The other little packets, whatever they maybe, are objects of curiosity, perhaps, rather than of importance. Theywill keep till we have more leisure. "

"We have taken up a great deal of your time, Sir, I am sure, " said theMajor, finding that he could take no more. "We ought to be, and we are, most grateful. "

"Well, " the banker answered, as we began to move, "such things do nothappen every day. But there is no friend like an old friend, Erema, as Imean to call you now. I was to have been your godfather; but I fear thatyou never have been baptized. "

"What!" cried the Major, staring at us both. "Is such a thing possiblein a Christian land? Oh, how I have neglected my duty to the Church!Come back with me to Bruntsea, and my son shall do it. The church thereis under my orders, I should hope; and we will have a dinner partyafterward. What a horrible neglect of duty!"

"But how could I help it?" I exclaimed, with some terror at MajorHockin's bristling hair. "I can not remember--I am sure I can not say. It may have been done in France, or somewhere, if there was no time inEngland. At any rate, my father is not to be blamed. "

"Papistical baptism is worse than none, " the Major said, impressively. "Never mind, my dear, we will make that all right. You shall not be asavage always. We will take the opportunity to change your name. Eremais popish and outlandish; one scarcely knows how to pronounce it. Youshall have a good English Christian name--Jemima, Jane, or Sophy. Trustme to know a good name. Trust me. "

"Jemima!" I cried. "Oh, Mr. Shovelin, save me from ever being calledJemima! Rather would I never be baptized at all. "

"I am no judge of names, " he answered, smiling, as he shook hands withus; "but, unless I am a very bad judge of faces, you will be called justwhat you please. "

"And I please to be called what my father called me. It may be unlucky, as a gentleman told me, who did not know how to pronounce it. However, it will do very well for me. You wish to see me, then, to-morrow, Mr. Shovelin?"

"If you please; but later in the day, when I am more at leisure. I donot run away very early. Come at half past four to this door, andknock. I hear every sound at this door in my room; and the place will begrowing quiet then. "

He showed us out into a narrow alley through a heavy door sheathed withiron, and soon we recovered the fair light of day, and the brawl androar of a London street. 

"Now where shall we go?" the Major asked, as soon as he had found a cabagain; for he was very polite in that way. "You kept early hours withyour 'uncle Sam, ' as you call Colonel Gundry, a slow-witted man, butmost amusing when he likes, as slow-witted men very often are. Now willyou come and dine with me? I can generally dine, as you, with virtuousindignation, found out at Southampton. But we are better friends now, Miss Heathen. "

"Yes, I have more than I can ever thank you for, " I answered, verygravely, for I never could become jocose to order, and sadness still wasuppermost. "I will go where you like. I am quite at your orders, becauseBetsy Bowen is busy now. She will not have done her work till sixo'clock. "

"Well done!" he cried. "Bravo, Young America! Frankness is the finest ofall good manners. And what a lot of clumsy deception it saves! Then letus go and dine. I will imitate your truthfulness. It was two words formyself, and one for you. The air of London always makes me hungry aftertoo much country air. It is wrong altogether, but I can not help it. Andgoing along, I smell hungry smells coming out of deep holes with aplate at the top. Hungry I mean to a man who has known what absolutestarvation is--when a man would thank God for a blue-bottle fly who hadtaken his own nip any where. When I see the young fellows at the clubspick this, and poke that, and push away the other, may I be d----d--mydear, I beg your pardon. Cabby, to the 'Grilled Bone and ScollopedCockle, ' at the bottom of St. Ventricle Lane, you know. "

This place seemed, from what the Major said, to have earned repute forsomething special, something esteemed by the very clever people, andonly to be found in true virtue here. And he told me that luxury andself-indulgence were the greatest sins of the present age, and how headmired a man who came here to protest against Epicureans, by dining(liquors not included) for the sum of three and sixpence. 

All this, no doubt, was wise and right; but I could not attend to itproperly now, and he might take me where he would, and have all thetalking to himself, according to his practice. And I might not even havebeen able to say what this temple of bones and cockles was like, exceptfor a little thing which happened there. The room, at the head ofa twisting staircase, was low and dark, and furnished almost like afarmhouse kitchen. It had no carpet, nor even a mat, but a floor ofblack timber, and a ceiling colored blue, with stars and comets, and afull moon near the fire-place. On either side of the room stood narrowtables endwise to the walls, inclosed with high-backed seats likesettles, forming thus a double set of little stalls or boxes, withscarcely space enough between for waiters, more urgent than New Yorkfiremen, to push their steaming and breathless way. 

"Square or round, miss?" said one of them to me as soon as the Major hadset me on a bench, and before my mind had time to rally toward criticismof the knives and forks, which deprecated any such ordeal; and hecleverly whipped a stand for something dirty, over something stilldirtier, on the cloth. 

"I don't understand what you mean, " I replied to his highly zealousaspect, while the Major sat smiling dryly at my ignorance, which vexedme. "I have never received such a question before. Major Hockin, willyou kindly answer him?"

"Square, " said the Major; "square for both. " And the waiter, with aglance of pity at me, hurried off to carry out his order. 

"Erema, your mind is all up in the sky, " my companion began toremonstrate. "You ought to know better after all your travels. "

"Then the sky should not fall and confuse me so, " I said, pointing tothe Milky Way, not more than a yard above me; "but do tell me what hemeant, if you can. Is it about the formation of the soup?"

"Hush, my dear. Soup is high treason here until night, when they make itof the leavings. His honest desire was to know whether you would have agrilled bone of mutton, which is naturally round, you know, or of beef, which, by the same law of nature, seems always to be square, you know. "

"Oh, I see, " I replied, with some confusion, not at his osteology, butat the gaze of a pair of living and lively eyes fastened upon me. Agentleman, waiting for his bill, had risen in the next low box, andstood calmly (as if he had done all his duty to himself) gazing over thewooden back at me, who thus sat facing him. And Major Hockin, followingmy glance, stood up and turned round to see to it. 

"What! Cousin Montague! Bless my heart, who could have dreamed oflighting on you here? Come in, my dear follow; there is plenty ofroom. Let me introduce you to my new ward, Miss Erema Castlewood. MissCastlewood, this is Sir Montague Hockin, the son of my lamented firstcousin Sir Rufus, of whom you have heard so much. Well, to be sure! Ihave not seen you for an age. My dear fellow, now how are you?"

"Miss Castlewood, please not to move; I sit any where. Major, I am mostdelighted to see you. Over and over again I have been at the point ofstarting for Bruntsea Island--it is an island now, isn't it? My fatherwould never believe that it was till I proved it from the number ofrabbits that came up. However, not a desolate island now, if it containsyou and all your energies, and Miss Castlewood, as well as Mrs. Hockin. "

"It is not an island, and it never shall be, " the Major cried, knockinga blue plate over, and spilling the salt inauspiciously. "It neverwas an island, and it never shall be. My intention is to reclaim italtogether. Oh, here come the squares. Well done! well done! I quiteforget the proper thing to have to drink. Are the cockles in the pan, Mr. Waiter? Quite right, then; ten minutes is the proper time; but theyknow that better than I do. I am very sorry, Montague, that you havedined. "

"Surely you would not call this a dinner; I take my true luncheonafterward. But lately my appetite has been so bad that it must be fed upat short intervals. You can understand that, perhaps, Miss Castlewood. It makes the confectioners' fortunes, you know. The ladies once cameonly twice to feed, but now they come three times, I am assured by ayoung man who knows all about it. And cherry brandy is the mildest formof tipple. "

"Shocking scandal! abominable talk!" cried the Major, who took everything at its word. "I have heard all that sort of stuff ever since I wasas high as this table. Waiter, show me this gentleman's bill. Oh well, oh well! you have not done so very badly. Two squares and a round, witha jug of Steinberg, and a pint of British stout with your Stilton. Ifthis is your ante-lunch, what will you do when you come to your realluncheon? But I must not talk now; you may have it as you please. "

"The truth of it is, Miss Castlewood, " said the young man, while Ilooked with some curiosity at my frizzling bone, with the cover justwhisked off, and drops of its juice (like the rays of a lustre) shakingwith soft inner wealth--"the truth of it is just this, and no more:we fix our minds and our thoughts, and all the rest of our higherintelligence, a great deal too much upon our mere food. "

"No doubt we do, " I was obliged to answer. "It is very sad to think of, as soon as one has dined. But does that reflection occur, as it should, at the proper time to be useful--I mean when we are hungry?"

"I fear not; I fear that it is rather praeterite than practical. "

"No big words now, my dear fellow, " cried the Major. "You have had yourturn; let us have ours. But, Erema, you are eating nothing. Take a knifeand fork, Montague, and help her. The beauty of these things consistsentirely, absolutely, essentially, I may say, in their having the smokerushing out of them. A gush of steam like this should follow every turnof the knife. But there! I am spoiling every bit by talking so. "

"Is that any fault of mine?" asked Sir Montague, in a tone which made melook at him. The voice was not harsh, nor rough, nor unpleasant, yet itgave me the idea that it could be all three, and worse than all three, upon occasion. So I looked at him, which I had refrained from doing, tosee whether his face confirmed that idea. To the best of my perception, it did not. Sir Montague Hockin was rather good-looking, so far asform and color go, having regular features, and clear blue eyes, verybeautiful teeth, and a golden beard. His appearance was grave, butnot morose, as if he were always examining things and people withoutcondemning them. It was evident that he expected to take the upper handin general, to play the first fiddle, to hold the top saw, to "be helpedto all the stuffing of the pumpkin, " as dear Uncle Sam was fond ofsaying. Of moderate stature, almost of middle age, and dressed nicely, without any gewgaws, which look so common upon a gentleman's front, hewas likely to please more people than he displeased at first on-sight. 

The Major was now in the flush of goodwill, having found his dinnergenial; and being a good man, he yielded to a little sympathetic angerwith those who had done less justice to themselves. And in this stateof mind he begged us to take note of one thing--that his ward shouldbe christened in Bruntsea Church, as sure as all the bells were his, according to their inscriptions, no later than next Thursday week, thatbeing the day for a good sirloin; and if Sir Montague failed to come tosee how they could manage things under proper administration, he mightbe sure of one thing, if no more--that Major Hockin would never speak tohim again. 

CHAPTER XXVIII

A CHECK

So many things now began to open upon me, to do and to think of, that Iscarcely knew which to begin with. I used to be told how much wiser itwas not to interfere with any thing--to let by-gones be by-gones, andconsider my own self only. But this advice never came home to my case, and it always seemed an unworthy thing even to be listening to it. Andnow I saw reason to be glad for thanking people who advised me, andletting them go on to advise themselves. For if I had listened to MajorHockin, or even Uncle Sam for that part, where must I have beennow? Why, simply knowing no more than as a child I knew, and feelingmiserable about it. Whereas I had now at least something to go upon, and enough for a long time to occupy my mind. The difficulty was to knowwhat to do first, and what to resolve to leave undone, or at least toput off for the present. One of my special desires had been to discoverthat man, that Mr. Goad, who had frightened me so about two years back, and was said to be lost in the snow-drifts. But nobody like him had everbeen found, to the sorrow of the neighborhood; and Sylvester himself hadbeen disappointed, not even to know what to do with his clothes. 

His card, however, before he went off, had been left to the care ofUncle Sam for security of the 15, 000 dollars; and on it was printed, with a glazing and much flourish, "Vypan, Goad, and Terryer: PrivateInquiry Office, Little England Polygon, W. C. " Uncle Sam, with a gruntand a rise of his foot, had sent this low card flying to the fire, afterI had kissed him so for all his truth and loveliness; but I had caughtit and made him give it to me, as was only natural. And having this now, I had been quite prepared to go and present it at its mean address, andask what they wanted me for in America, and what they would like to dowith me now, taking care to have either the Major close at hand, or elsea policeman well recommended. 

But now I determined to wait a little while (if Betsy Bowen's opinionshould be at all the same as mine was), and to ask Mr. Shovelin whathe thought about it, before doing any thing that might arouse a set ofideas quite opposite to mine, and so cause trouble afterward. And beingunable to think any better for the time than to wait and be talked to, I got Major Hockin to take me back again to the right number in EuropeanSquare. 

Here I found Mrs. Strouss (born Betsy Bowen) ready and eager to hear agreat deal more than I myself had heard that day. On the other hand, Ihad many questions, arising from things said to me, to which I requiredclear answers; and it never would do for her to suppose that becauseshe had known me come into this world, she must govern the whole of mycourse therein. But it cost many words and a great deal of demeanorto teach her that, good and faithful as she was, I could not be alwaysunder her. Yet I promised to take her advice whenever it agreed with myown opinions. 

This pleased her, and she promised to offer it always, knowing how wellit would be received, and she told all her lodgers that they might ringand ring, for she did not mean to answer any of their bells; but if theywanted any thing, they must go and fetch it. Being Germans, who are themost docile of men in England, whatever they may be at home, they madeno complaint, but retired to their pipes in a pleasant condition ofsurprise at London habits. 

Mrs. Strouss, being from her earliest years of a thrifty and reputableturn of mind, had managed, in a large yet honest way, to put by manythings which must prove useful in the long-run, if kept long enough. And I did hear--most careful as I am to pay no attention to pettyrumors--that the first thing that moved the heart of Herr Strouss, andcalled forth his finest feelings, was a winding-up chair, which came outto make legs, with a pocket for tobacco, and a flat place for a glass. 

This was certainly a paltry thought; and to think of such low thingsgrieved me. And now, when I looked at Mr. Strouss himself, having heardof none of these things yet, I felt that my nurse might not have doneher best, yet might have done worse, when she married him. For he seemedto have taken a liking toward me, and an interest in my affairs, whichredounded to his credit, if he would not be too inquisitive. And nowI gladly allowed him to be present, and to rest in the chair which hadcaptivated him, although last night I could scarcely have borne to haveheard in his presence what I had to hear. To-night there was nothingdistressful to be said, compared, at least, with last night's tale;whereas there were several questions to be put, in some of which (whilescouting altogether Uncle Sam's low estimate) two females might, withadvantage perhaps, obtain an opinion from the stronger sex. 

And now, as soon as I had told my two friends as well as I could whathad happened at the bank (with which they were pleased, as I had been), those questions arose, and were, I believe, chiefly to the followingpurport--setting aside the main puzzle of all. 

Why did my father say, on that dreadful morning, that if his father wasdead, he himself had killed or murdered him? Betsy believed, when shecame to think, that he had even used the worse word of these two. 

How could the fatal shot have been discharged from his pistol--asclearly it had been--a pistol, moreover, which, by his own account, asBetsy now remembered, he had left in his quarters near Chichester?

What was that horrible disease which had carried off all my poor littlebrothers and sisters, and frightened kind neighbors and servants away?Betsy said it was called "Differeria, " as differing so much from allother complaints. I had never yet heard of this, but discovered, withoutasking further than of Mr. Strouss, that she meant that urgent mandatefor a levy of small angels which is called on earth "diphtheria. "

Who had directed those private inquirers, Vypan, Goad, and Terryer, tosend to the far West a member of their firm to get legal proof of mydear father's death, and to bring me back, if possible? The presentLord Castlewood never would have done so, according to what Mr. Shovelinsaid; it was far more likely that (but for weak health) he would havecome forth himself to seek me, upon any probable tidings. At once areligious and chivalrous man, he would never employ mean agency. Andwhile thinking of that, another thought occurred--What had induced thatlow man Goad to give Uncle Sam a date wrong altogether for the crimewhich began all our misery? He had put it at ten, now twelve, yearsback, and dated it in November, whereas it had happened in Septembermonth, six years and two months before the date he gave. This questionwas out of all answer to me, and also to Mrs. Strouss herself; but HerrStrouss, being of a legal turn, believed that the law was to blamefor it. He thought that proceedings might be bound to begin, under theExtradition Act, within ten years of the date of the crime; or theremight be some other stipulation compelling Mr. Goad to add one to allhis falsehoods; and not knowing any thing about it, both of us thoughtit very likely. 

Again, what could have been that last pledge which passed between myfather and mother, when they said "good-by" to one another, and perhapsknew that it was forever, so far as this bodily world is concerned? Wasit any thing about a poor little sleeping and whimpering creature likemyself, who could not yet make any difference to any living being exceptthe mother? Or was it concerning far more important things, justice, clear honor, good-will, and duty, such as in the crush of time comeupward with high natures? And if so, was it not a promise from mymother, knowing every thing, to say nothing, even at the quiveringmoment of lying beneath the point of death?

This was a new idea for Betsy, who had concluded from the very firstthat the pledge must be on my father's part--to wit, that he had vowednot to surrender, or hurt himself in any way, for the sake of his dearwife. And to my suggestion she could only say that she never had seenit in that light; but the landings were so narrow and the walls so softthat, with all her duty staring in her face, neither she, nor the bestservant ever in an apron, could be held responsible to repeat their verywords. And her husband said that this was good--very good--so good asever could be; and what was to show now from the mouth of any one, afterfifteen, sixteen, eighteen, the years?

After this I had no other word to say, being still too young tocontradict people duly married and of one accord. No other word, I mean, upon that point; though still I had to ask, upon matters more immediate, what was the next thing for me, perhaps, to do. And first of all it wassettled among us that for me to present myself at the head-quarters ofVypau, Goad, and Terryer would be a very clumsy and stupid proceeding, and perhaps even dangerous. Of course they would not reveal to me theauthor of those kind inquiries about myself, which perhaps had cost thefirm a very valuable life, the life of Mr. Goad himself. And while Ishould learn less than nothing from them, they would most easily extractfrom me, or at any rate find out afterward, where I was living, andwhat I was doing, and how I could most quietly be met and baffled, andperhaps even made away with, so as to save all further trouble. 

Neither was that the only point upon which I resolved to do nothing. Herr Strouss was a very simple-minded man, yet full of true sagacity, and he warmly advised, in his very worst English, that none but my fewtrusty friends should be told of my visit to this country. 

"Why for make to know your enemies?" he asked, with one finger on hisforehead, which was his mode of indicating caution. "Enemies find outvere soon, too soon, soon enough. Begin to plot--no, no, young ladybegin first. Vilhelmina, your man say the right. Is it good, or is itbad?"

It appeared to us both to be good, so far as might be judged for thepresent; and therefore I made up my mind to abstain from calling even onmy father's agent, unless Mr. Shovelin should think it needful. In thatand other matters I would act by his advice; and so with better spiritsthan I long had owned, at finding so much kindness, and with good hopesof the morrow, I went to the snug little bedroom which my good nurse hadprovided. 

Alas! What was my little grief on the morrow, compared to the deep andabiding loss of many by a good man's death? When I went to the door atwhich I had been told to knock, it was long before I got an answer. Andeven when somebody came at last, so far from being my guardian, it wasonly a poor old clerk, who said, "Hush, miss!" and then prayed that thewill of the Lord might be done. "Couldn't you see the half-shuttersup?" he continued, rather roughly. "'Tis a bad job for many a poor manto-day. And it seems no more than yesterday I was carrying him about!"

"Do you mean Mr. Shovelin?" I asked. "Is he poorly? Has any thinghappened? I can wait, or come again. "

"The Lord has taken him to the mansions of the just, from his privateaddress at Sydenham Hill. A burning and a shining light! May we likehim be found watching in that day, with our lamps trimmed and our loinsgirded!"

For the moment I was too surprised to speak, and the kind old man led meinto the passage, seeing how pale and faint I was. He belonged, likehis master, and a great part of their business, to a simple religiouspersuasion, or faith, which now is very seldom heard of. 

"It was just in this way, " he said, as soon as tears had enabled me tospeak--for even at the first sight I had felt affection toward my newguardian. "Our master is a very punctual man, for five-and-thirty yearsnever late--never late once till this morning. Excuse me, miss, I oughtto be ashamed. The Lord knoweth what is best for us. Well, you threw himout a good bit yesterday, and there was other troubles. And he had towork late last night, I hear; for through his work he would go, be itanyhow--diligent in business, husbanding the time--and when he came downto breakfast this morning, he prayed with his household as usual, butthey noticed his voice rather weak and queer; and the mistress lookedat him when he got up from his knees; but he drank his cup of tea andhe ate his bit of toast, which was all he ever took for breakfast. Butpresently when his cob came up to the door--for he always rode in tobusiness, miss, no matter what the weather was--he went to kiss his wifeand his daughters all round, according to their ages; and he got throughthem all, when away he fell down, with the riding-whip in one hand, andexpired on a piece of Indian matting. "

"How terrible!" I exclaimed, with a sob. And the poor old man, in spiteof all his piety, was sobbing. 

"No, miss; not a bit of terror about it, to a man prepared as he was. He had had some warning just a year ago; and the doctors all told him hemust leave off work. He could no more do without his proper work than hecould without air or victuals. What this old established concern willdo without him, our Divine Master only knows. And a pinch coming on inThreadneedle Street, I hear--but I scarcely know what I am saying, miss;I was thinking of the camel and the needle. "

"I will not repeat what you have not meant to tell, " I answered, seeinghis confusion, and the clumsy turn he had made of it. "Only tell me whatdear Mr. Shovelin died of. "

"Heart-disease, miss. You might know in a moment. Nothing kills likethat. His poor father died of it, thirty years agone. And the betterpeople are, the more they get it. "

CHAPTER XXIX

AT THE PUMP

This blow was so sharp and heavy that I lost for the moment all power togo on. The sense of ill fortune fell upon me, as it falls upon strongerpeople, when a sudden gleam of hope, breaking through long troubles, mysteriously fades away. 

Even the pleasure of indulging in the gloom of evil luck was a thingto be ashamed of now, when I thought of that good man's family thus, without a moment's warning, robbed of love and hope and happiness. ButMrs. Strouss, who often brooded on predestination, imbittered all mythoughts by saying, or rather conveying without words, that my poorfathers taint of some Divine ill-will had re-appeared, and even killedhis banker. 

Betsy held most Low-Church views, by nature being a Dissenter. Shecalled herself a Baptist, and in some strange way had stopped me thusfrom ever having been baptized. I do not understand these things, andthe battles fought about them; but knowing that my father was a memberof the English Church, I resolved to be the same, and told Betsy thatshe ought not to set up against her master's doctrine. Then she herselfbecame ashamed of trying to convert me, not only because of my ignorance(which made argument like shooting into the sea), but chiefly becauseshe could mention no one of title with such theology. 

This settled the question at once; and remembering (to my shame) whatopinions I had held even of Suan Isco, while being in the very samepredicament myself, reflecting also what Uncle Sam and Firm would havethought of me, had they known it, I anticipated the Major and his dinnerparty by going to a quiet ancient clergyman, who examined me, and beingsatisfied with little, took me to an old City church of deep and dampretirement. And here, with a great din of traffic outside, and a mildewydepth of repose within, I was presented by certain sponsors (the clerkand his wife and his wife's sister), and heard good words, and hope tokeep the impression, both outward and inward, gently made upon me. 

I need not say that I kept, and now received with authority, my oldname; though the clerk prefixed an aspirate to it, and indulged in twosyllables only. But the ancient parson knew its meaning, and looked atme with curiosity; yet, being a gentleman of the old school, put never aquestion about it. 

Now this being done, and full tidings thereof sent off to Mrs. Hockin, to save trouble to the butcher, or other disappointment, I scarcely knewhow to be moving next, though move I must before very long. For it costme a great deal of money to stay in European Square like this, albeitHerr Strouss was of all men the most generous, by his own avowal, andhis wife (by the same test) noble-hearted among women. Yet each of themspoke of the other's pecuniary views in such a desponding tone (when theother was out of the way), and so lamented to have any thing at allto say about cash--by compulsion of the other--also both, when mettogether, were so large and reckless, and not to be insulted by athought of payment, that it came to pass that my money did nothing butrun away between them. 

This was not their fault at all, but all my own, for being unable tokeep my secret about the great nugget. The Major had told me not tospeak of this, according to wise experience; and I had not the smallestintention of doing an atom of mischief in that way; but somehow or otherit came out one night when I was being pitied for my desolation. And allthe charges against me began to be doubled from that moment. 

If this had been all, I should not have cared so much, being quitecontent that my money should go as fast as it came in to me. But therewas another thing here which cost me as much as my board and lodgingsand all the rest of my expenses. And that was the iron pump in EuropeanSquare. For this pump stood in the very centre of a huddled districtof famine, filth, and fever. When once I had seen from the leads ofour house the quag of reeking life around, the stubs and snags ofchimney-pots, the gashes among them entitled streets, and the brokenblains called houses, I was quite ashamed of paying any thing to becomea Christian. 

Betsy, who stood by me, said that it was better than it used to be, and that all these people lived in comfort of their own ideas, fiercelyresented all interference, and were good to one another in their ownrough way. It was more than three years since there had been a singlemurder among them, and even then the man who was killed confessed thathe deserved it. She told me, also, that in some mining district ofWales, well known to her, things were a great deal worse than here, although the people were not half so poor. And finally, looking at aruby ring which I had begged her to wear always, for the sake of hertruth to me, she begged me to be wiser than to fret about things that Icould not change. "All these people, whose hovels I saw, had the meansof grace before them, and if they would not stretch forth their hands, it was only because they were vessels of wrath. Her pity was ratherfor our poor black brethren who had never enjoyed no opportunities, andtherefore must be castaways. "

Being a stranger, and so young, and accustomed to receive my doctrine(since first I went to America), I dropped all intention of attemptingany good in places where I might be murdered. But I could not helplooking at the pump which was in front, and the poor things who camethere for water, and, most of all, the children. With these it wasalmost the joy of the day, and perhaps the only joy, to come into thislittle open space and stand, and put their backs up stiffly, and stareabout, ready for some good luck to turn up--such as a horse to hold, ora man coming out of the docks with a half-penny to spare--and then, in failure of such golden hope, to dash about, in and out, after oneanother, splashing, and kicking over their own cans, kettles, jars, orbuckets, and stretching their dirty little naked legs, and showing veryoften fine white chests, and bright teeth wet with laughter. And then, when this chivy was done, and their quick little hearts beat aloud withglory, it was pretty to see them all rally round the pump, as craftyas their betters, and watching with sly humor each other's readiness tobegin again. 

Then suddenly a sense of neglected duty would seize some little bodywith a hand to its side, nine times out of ten a girl, whose mother, perhaps, lay sick at home, and a stern idea of responsibility beganto make the buckets clank. Then might you see, if you cared to do so, orderly management have its turn--a demand for pins and a tucking upof skirts (which scarcely seemed worthy of the great young fuss), largechildren scolding little ones not a bit more muddy than themselves, thewhile the very least child of all, too young as yet for chivying, andonly come for company, would smooth her comparatively clean frock down, and look up at her sisters with condemnatory eyes. 

Trivial as they were, these things amused me much, and made a littlechecker of reflected light upon the cloud of selfish gloom, especiallywhen the real work began, and the children, vying with one another, set to at the iron handle. This was too large for their little hands tograsp, and by means of some grievance inside, or perhaps through a crueltrick of the plumber, up went the long handle every time small fingerswere too confiding, and there it stood up like the tail of a rampantcow, or a branch inaccessible, until an old shawl or the cord of apeg-top could be cast up on high to reduce it. But some engineering boy, "highly gifted, " like Uncle Sam's self, "with machinery, " had discoveredan ingenious cure for this. With the help of the girls he used to fastena fat little thing, about twelve months old, in the bend at the middleof the handle, and there (like a ham on the steelyard) hung this babyand enjoyed seesaw, and laughed at its own utility. 

I never saw this, and the splashing and dribbling and play and brightrevelry of water, without forgetting all sad counsel and discretion, and rushing out as if the dingy pump were my own delicious Blue River. People used to look at me from the windows with pity and astonishment, supposing me to be crazed or frantic, especially the Germans. For to runout like this, without a pocket full of money, would have been insanity;and to run out with it, to their minds, was even clearer proof of thatcondition. For the money went as quickly as the water of the pump; onthis side and on that it flew, each child in succession making deeperdrain upon it, in virtue of still deeper woes. They were dreadful littlestory-tellers, I am very much afraid; and the long faces pulled, assoon as I came out, in contrast with all the recent glee and frolic, suggested to even the youngest charity suspicions of some inconsistency. However, they were so ingenious and clever that they worked my pocketslike the pump itself, only with this unhappy difference, that the formerhad no inexhaustible spring of silver, or even of copper. 

And thus, by a reason (as cogent as any of more exalted nature), wasI driven back to my head-quarters, there to abide till a fresh supplyshould come. For Uncle Sam, generous and noble as he was, did not meanto let me melt all away at once my share of the great Blue River nugget, any more than to make ducks and drakes of his own. Indeed, that rock ofgold was still untouched, and healthily reposing in a banker's cellarin the good town of Sacramento. People were allowed to go in and seeit upon payment of a dollar, and they came out so thirsty from feastingupon it that a bar was set up, and a pile of money made--all thegentlemen, and ladies even worse than they, taking a reckless turn aboutsmall money after seeing that. But dear Uncle Sam refused every cent ofthe profit of all this excitable work. It was wholly against his wishthat any thing so artificial should be done at all, and his sense ofreligion condemned it. He said, in his very first letter to me, thateven a heathen must acknowledge this champion nugget as the grandestwork of the Lord yet discovered in America--a country more full of allworks of the Lord than the rest of the world put together. And to keepit in a cellar, without any air or sun, grated harshly upon his ideas ofright. 

However, he did not expect every body to think exactly as he did, andif they could turn a few dollars upon it, they were welcome, as havinglarge families. And the balance might go to his credit against theinterest on any cash advanced to him. Not that he meant to be very fastwith this, never having run into debt in all his life. 

This, put shortly, was the reason why I could not run to the pump anylonger. I had come into England with money enough to last me (accordingto the Sawyer's calculations) for a year and a half of every needfulwork; whereas, in less than half that time, I was arriving at my lastpenny. This reminded me of my dear father, who was nearly always introuble about money (although so strictly upright); and at first I wasproud to be like him about this, till I came to find the disadvantages. 

It must not even for a moment be imagined that this made any differencein the behavior of any one toward me. Mrs. Strouss, Herr Strouss, thelady on the stairs, and a very clever woman who had got no rooms, butwas kindly accommodated every where, as well as the baron on the firstfloor front, and the gentleman from a hotel at Hanover, who lookedout the other way, and even the children at the pump--not one made anydifference toward me (as an enemy might, perhaps, suppose) because mylast half crown was gone. It was admitted upon every side that I oughtto be forgiven for my random cast of money, because I knew no better, and was sure to have more in a very little time. And the children ofthe pump came to see me go away, through streets of a mile and a half, Ishould think; and they carried my things, looking after one another, sothat none could run away. And being forbidden at the platform gate, forwant of respectability, they set up a cheer, and I waved my hat, andpromised, amidst great applause, to come back with it full of sixpences. 

CHAPTER XXX

COCKS AND COXCOMBS

Major Hockin brought the only fly as yet to be found in Bruntsea, tomeet me at Newport, where the railway ended at present, for want offurther encouragement. 

"Very soon you go, " he cried out to the bulkheads, or buffers, orwhatever are the things that close the career of a land-engine. "Station-master, you are very wise in putting in your very best cabbageplants there. You understand your own company. Well done! If I were tooffer you a shilling apiece for those young early Yorks, what would yousay, now?"

"Weel, a think I should say nah, Sir, " the Scotch station-master madeanswer, with a grin, while he pulled off his cap of office and put on adissolute Glengary. "They are a veery fine young kail, that always paysfor planting. "

"The villain!" said the Major, as I jumped into the fly. "However, Isuppose he does quite right. Set a thief to watch a thief. The companyare big rogues, and he tries to be a bigger. We shall cut through hisgarden in about three months, just when his cabbages are getting firm, and their value will exceed that of pine-apples. The surveyor willcome down and certify, and the 'damage to crops' will be at least fivepounds, when they have no right to sow even mustard and cress, and asaucepan would hold all the victuals on the land. "

From this I perceived that my host was as full of his speculativeschemes as ever; and soon he made the driver of the one-horse fly turnaside from the unfenced road and take the turf. "Coachman, " he cried, "just drive along the railway; you won't have the chance much longer. "

There was no sod turned yet and no rod set up; but the driver seemed toknow what was meant, and took us over the springy turf where once hadrun the river. And the salt breath of the sea came over the pebbleridge, full of appetite and briskness, after so much London. 

"It is one of the saddest things I ever heard of, " Major Hockin beganto say to me. "Poor Shovelin! poor Shovelin! A man of large capital--thevery thing we want. It might have been the making of this place. I havevery little doubt that I must have brought him to see our great naturaladvantages--the beauty of the situation, the salubrity of the air, theabsence of all clay, or marsh, or noxious deposit, the bright crispturf, and the noble underlay of chalk, which (if you perceive mymeaning) can not retain any damp, but transmits it into sweet naturalwells. Why, driver, where the devil are you driving us?"

"No fear, your honor. I know every trick of it. It won't come overthe wheels, I do believe, and it does all the good in the world to hissand-cracks. Whoa-ho, my boy, then! And the young lady's feet mightgo up upon the cushion, if her boots is thin, Sir; and Mr. Rasper willexcuse of it. "

"What the"--something hot--"do you mean, Sir?" the Major roared overthe water, which seemed to be deepening as we went on. "Pull out thisinstant; pull out, I tell you, or you shall have three months' hardlabor. May I be d----d now--my dear, I beg your pardon for speaking withsuch sincerity--I simply mean, may I go straightway to the devil, if Idon't put this fellow on the tread-mill. Oh, you can pull out now, then, can you?"

"If your honor pleases, I never did pull in, " the poor driver answered, being frightened at the excitement of the lord of the manor. "My orderswas, miss, to drive along the line coming on now just to Bruntsea, andkeep in the middle of that same I did, and this here little wet is ahaxident--a haxident of the full moon, I do assure you, and the windcoming over the sea, as you might say. These pebbles is too round, miss, to stick to one another; you couldn't expect it of them; and sometimesthe water here and there comes a-leaking like through the bottom. I haveseed it so, ever since I can remember. "

"I don't believe a word of it, " the Major said, as we waited a littlefor the vehicle to drain, and I made a nosegay of the bright seaflowers. "Tell me no lies, Sir; you belong to the West Bruntseyans, andyou have driven us into a vile bog to scare me. They have bribed you. I see the whole of it. Tell me the truth, and you shall have fiveshillings. "

The driver looked over the marshes as if he had never received suchan offer before. Five shillings for a falsehood would have seemed theproper thing, and have called for a balance of considerations, and madea demand upon his energies. But to earn five shillings by the truth hadnever fallen to his luck before; and he turned to me, because I smiled, and he said, "Will you taste the water, miss?"

"Bless me!" cried the Major, "now I never thought of that. Common peoplehave such ways about things they are used to! I might have stoodhere for a month, and never have thought of that way to settle it. Ridiculously simple. Give me a taste, Erema. Ah, that is the real beautyof our coast, my dear! The strongest proportion of the saline element--Ishould know the taste of it any where. No sea-weed, no fishy particles, no sludge, no beards of oysters. The pure, uncontaminated, perfectbrine, that sets every male and female on his legs, varicose, orthopedic--I forget their scientifics, but I know the smack of it. "

"Certainly, " I said, "it is beautifully salt. It will give you anappetite for dinner, Major Hockin. I could drink a pint of it, after allthat smoke. But don't you think it is a serious thing for the sea itselfto come pouring through the bottom of this pebble bank in this way?"

"Not at all. No, I rather like it. It opens up many strictly practicalideas. It adds very much to the value of the land. For instance, a'salt-lick, ' as your sweet Yankees call it--and set up an infirmary forfoot and mouth disease. And better still, the baths, the baths, my dear. No expense for piping, or pumping, or any thing. Only place your marbleat the proper level, and twice a day you have the grand salubrioussparkling influx of ocean's self, self-filtered, and by its ownoperation permeated with a fine siliceous element. What foreign mudcould compete with such a bath?"

"But supposing there should come too much of it, " I said, "and wash boththe baths and the bathers away?"

"Such an idea is ridiculous. It can be adjusted to a nicety. I am veryglad I happened to observe this thing, this--this noble phenomenon. I shall speak to Montague about it at once, before I am half an hourolder. My dear, you have made a conquest; I quite forgot to tell you;but never mind that for the present. Driver, here is half a crown foryou. Your master will put down the fly to my account. He owes me aheriot. I shall claim his best beast, the moment he gets one without abroken wind. "

As the Major spoke, he got out at his own door with all his wontedalacrity; but instead of offering me his hand, as he always had donein London, he skipped up his nine steps, on purpose (as I saw) thatsomebody else might come down for me. And this was Sir Montague Hockin, as I feared was only too likely from what had been said. If I had evensuspected that this gentleman was at Bruntlands, I would have done myutmost to stay where I was, in spite of all absence of money. Betsywould gladly have allowed me to remain, without paying even a farthing, until it should become convenient. Pride had forbidden me to speak ofthis; but I would have got over that pride much rather than meet thisSir Montague Hockin thus. Some instinct told me to avoid him altogether;and having so little now of any other guidance, I attached, perhaps, foolish importance to that. 

However, it was not the part of a lady to be rude to any one throughinstinct; and I knew already that in England young women are not quitesuch masters of their own behavior as in the far West they are allowedto be. And so I did my best that, even in my eyes, he should not seehow vexed I was at meeting him. And soon it appeared that this behavior, however painful to me, was no less wise than good, because both with myhost and hostess this new visitor was already at the summit of all goodgraces. He had conquered the Major by admiration of all his schemesand upshots, and even offering glimmers of the needful money in thedistance; and Mrs. Hockin lay quite at his feet ever since he hadopened a hamper and produced a pair of frizzled fowls, creatures ofan extraordinary aspect, toothed all over like a dandelion plant, withevery feather sticking inside out. When I saw them, I tried for my lifenot to laugh, and biting my lips very hard, quite succeeded, until thecock opened up a pair of sleepy eyes, covered with comb and very sadinversions, and glancing with complacency at his wife (who stood beneathhim, even more turned inside out), capered with his twiggy legs, andgave a long, sad crow. Mrs. Hockin looked at him with intense delight. 

"Erema, is it possible that you laugh? I thought that you never laughed, Erema. At any rate, if you ever do indulge, you might choose afitter opportunity, I think. You have spoiled his demonstrationaltogether--see, he does not understand such unkindness--and it is thevery first he has uttered since he came. Oh, poor Fluffsky!"

"I am very, very sorry. But how was I to help it? I would not, on anyaccount, have stopped him if I had known he was so sensitive. Fluffsky, do please to begin again. "

"These beggars are nothing at all, I can assure you, " said Sir Montague, coming to my aid, when Fluffsky spurned all our prayers for one morecrow. "Mrs. Hockin, if you really would like to have a fowl that evenLady Clara Crowcombe has not got, you shall have it in a week, or afortnight, or, at any rate, a month, if I can manage it. They are notto be had except through certain channels, and the fellows who write thepoultry books have never even heard of them. "

"Oh, how delighted I shall be! Lady Clara despises all her neighbors so. But do they lay eggs? Half the use of keeping poultry, when you neverkill them, is to get an egg for breakfast; and Major Hockin looks roundand says, 'Now is this our own?' and I can not say that it is; and I amvexed with the books, and he begins to laugh at me. People said it wasfor want of chalk, but they walk upon nothing but chalk, as you cansee. "

"And their food, Mrs. Hockin. They are walking upon that. Starvethem for a week, and forty eggs at least will reward you for sterndiscipline. "

But all this little talk I only tell to show how good and soft Mrs. Hockin was; and her husband, in spite of all his self-opinion, andresolute talk about money and manorial dues, in his way, perhaps, waseven less to be trusted to get his cash out of any poor and honest man. 

On the very day after my return from London I received a letter from"Colonel Gundry" (as we always called the Sawyer now, through hiskinship to the Major), and, as it can not easily be put into lesscompass, I may as well give his very words:

"DEAR MISS REMA, --Your last favor to hand, with thanks. Every thing isgoing on all right with us. The mill is built up, and goes better thanever; more orders on hand than we can get through. We have not crackedthe big nugget yet. Expect the government to take him at a trifle belowvalue, for Washington Museum. Must have your consent; but, for my part, would rather let him go there than break him. Am ready to lose a fewdollars upon him, particularly as he might crack up all quartzy in themiddle. They offer to take him by weight at three dollars and a half perpound below standard. Please say if agreeable. 

"I fear, my dear, that there are bad times coming for all of us herein this part. Not about money, but a long sight worse; bad will, andcontention, and rebellion, perhaps. What we hear concerning it is notmuch here; but even here thoughts are very much divided. Ephraim takesa different view from mine; which is not a right thing for a grandsonto do; and neighbor Sylvester goes with him. The Lord send agreement andconcord among us; but, if He doeth so, He must change his mind first, for every man is borrowing his neighbor's gun. 

"If there is any thing that you can do to turn Ephraim back to his duty, my dear, I am sure that, for love of us, you will do it. If Firm wasto run away from me now, and go fighting on behalf of slavery, I nevershould care more for naught upon this side of Jordan; and the new millmight go to Jericho; though it does look uncommon handsome now, I canassure you, and tears through its work like a tiger. 

"Noting symptoms in your last of the price of things in England, andhaving carried over some to your account, inclosed please to find a billfor five hundred dollars, though not likely to be wanted yet. Save acare of your money, my dear; but pay your way handsome, as a Castlewoodshould do. Jowler goes his rounds twice a day looking for you; andsomebody else never hangs his hat up without casting one eye at thecorner you know. Sylvester's girl was over here last week, dashing aboutas usual. If Firm goes South, he may have her, for aught I care, andnever see saw-mill again. But I hope that the Lord will spare my olddays such disgrace and tribulation. 

"About you know what, my dear, be not overanxious. I have been young, and now am old, as the holy Psalmist says; and the more I see of theways of men, the less I verily think of them. Their good esteem, theircap in hand, their fair fame, as they call it, goes by accident, andfortune, the whim of the moment, and the way the clever ones have oftickling them. A great man laughs at the flimsy of it, and a good onegoes to his conscience. Your father saw these things at their value. I have often grieved that you can not see them so; but perhaps I haveliked you none the worse, my dear. 

"Don't forget about going South. A word from you may stop him. It isalmost the only hope I have, and even that may be too late. Suan Iscoand Martin send messages. The flowers are on your father's grave. I havegot a large order for pine cradles in great haste, but have time to be, "Truly yours, "SAMPSON GUNDRY. "

That letter, while it relieved me in one way, from the want of money, cost me more than ten times five hundred dollars' worth of anxiety. TheSawyer had written to me twice ere this--kind, simple letters, but ofno importance, except for their goodness and affection. But now it wasclear that when he wrote this letter he must have been sadly put out andupset. His advice to me was beyond all value; but he seemed to have keptnone at home for himself. He was carried quite out of his large, staidways when he wrote those bitter words about poor Firm--the very apple ofhis eye, as the holy Psalmist says. And, knowing the obstinacy of themboth, I dreaded clash between them. 

CHAPTER XXXI

ADRIFT

Having got money enough to last long with one brought up to simplicity, and resolved to have nothing to do for a while with charity or furnishedlodgings (what though kept by one's own nurse), I cast about now forgood reason to be off from all the busy works at Bruntsea. So soon aftersuch a tremendous blow, it was impossible for me to push my own littletroubles and concerns upon good Mr. Shovelin's family, much as I longedto know what was to become of my father's will, if any thing. But mydesire to be doing something, or, at least, to get away for a timefrom Bruntsea, was largely increased by Sir Montague Hockin's strangebehavior toward me. 

That young man, if still he could be called young--which, at my age, scarcely seemed to be his right, for he must have been ten years olderthan poor Firm--began more and more every day to come after me, justwhen I wanted to be quite alone. There was nothing more soothing to mythoughts and mind (the latter getting quiet from the former, I suppose)than for the whole of me to rest a while in such a little scollop ofthe shingle as a new-moon tide, in little crescents, leaves just belowhigh-water mark. And now it was new-moon tide again, a fortnight afterthe flooding of our fly by the activity of the full moon; and, feelinghow I longed to understand these things--which seem to be denied to allwho are of the same sex as the moon herself--I sat in a very nice nick, where no wind could make me look worse than nature willed. But of my ownlooks I never did think twice, unless there was any one to speak of sucha subject. 

Here I was sitting in the afternoon of a gentle July day, wondering bywhat energy of nature all these countless pebbles were produced, and noteven a couple to be found among them fit to lie side by side and purelytally with each other. Right and left, for miles and miles, millionsmultiplied into millions; yet I might hold any one in my palm and besure that it never had been there before. And of the quiet waveletseven, taking their own time and manner, in default of will of wind, all to come and call attention to their doom by arching over, andendeavoring to make froth, were any two in sound and size, much morein shape and shade, alike? Every one had its own little business, offloating pop-weed or foam bubbles or of blistered light, to do; andevery one, having done it, died and subsided into its successor. 

"A trifle sentimental, are we?" cried a lively voice behind me, andthe waves of my soft reflections fell, and instead of them stood SirMontague Hockin, with a hideous parasol. 

I never received him with worse grace, often as I had repulsed him; buthe was one of those people who think that women are all whims and ways. 

"I grieve to intrude upon large ideas, " he said, as I rose and looked athim, "but I act under positive orders now. A lady knows what is bestfor a lady. Mrs. Hockin has been looking from the window, and she thinksthat you ought not to be sitting in the sun like this. There has beena case of sun-stroke at Southbourne--a young lady meditating under thecliff--and she begs you to accept this palm leaf. "

I thought of the many miles I had wandered under the fierce Californiansun; but I would not speak to him of that. "Thank you, " I said; "it wasvery kind of her to think of it, and of you to do it. But will it besafe for you to go back without it?"

"Oh, why should I do so?" he answered, with a tone of mock pathos whichprovoked me always, though I never could believe it to be meant inridicule of me, for that would have been too low a thing; and, besides, I never spoke so. "Could you bear to see me slain by the shafts of thesun? Miss Castlewood, this parasol is amply large for both of us. "

I would not answer him in his own vein, because I never liked his veinat all; though I was not so entirely possessed as to want every body tobe like myself. 

"Thank you; I mean to stay here, " I said; "you may either leave theparasol or take it, whichever will be less troublesome. At any rate, Ishall not use it. "

A gentleman, according to my ideas, would have bowed and gone upon hisway; but Sir Montague Hockin would have no rebuff. He seemed to lookupon me as a child, such as average English girls, fresh from littleschools, would be. Nothing more annoyed me, after all my thoughts anddream of some power in myself, than this. 

"Perhaps I might tell you a thing or two, " he said, while I kept gazingat some fishing-boats, and sat down again, as a sign for him to go--"alittle thing or two of which you have no idea, even in your most lonelymusings, which might have a very deep interest for you. Do you thinkthat I came to this hole to see the sea? Or that fussy old muff of aMajor's doings?"

"Perhaps you would like me to tell him your opinion of his intellect andgreat plans, " I answered. "And after all his kindness to you!"

"You never will do that, " he said; "because you are a lady, and will notrepeat what is said in confidence. I could help you materially in yourgreat object, if you would only make a friend of me. "

"And what would your own object be? The pure anxiety to do right?"

"Partly, and I might say mainly, that; also an ambition for your goodopinion, which seems so inaccessible. But you will think me selfish if Ieven hint at any condition of any kind. Every body I have ever met withlikes me, except Miss Castlewood. "

As he spoke he glanced down his fine amber-colored beard, shining in thesun, and even in the sun showing no gray hair (for a reason which Mrs. Hockin told me afterward), and he seemed to think it hard that a manwith such a beard should be valued lightly. 

"I do not see why we should talk, " I said, "about either likes ordislikes. Only, if you have any thing to tell, I shall be very muchobliged to you. "

This gentleman looked at me in a way which I have often observed inEngland. A general idea there prevails that the free and enlightenednatives of the West are in front of those here in intelligence, andto some extent, therefore, in dishonesty. But there must be many caseswhere the two are not the same. 

"No, " I replied, while he was looking at his buttons, which had everyBritish animal upon them; "I mean nothing more than the simple thingI say. If you ought to tell me any thing, tell it. I am accustomed tostraightforward people. But they disappoint one by their never knowingany thing. "

"But I know something, " he answered, with a nod of grave, mysteriousimport; "and perhaps I will tell you some day, when admitted, if ever Ihave such an honor, to some little degree of friendship. "

"Oh, please not to think of yourself, " I exclaimed, in a manner whichmust have amused him. "In such a case, the last thing that you should dois that. Think only of what is right and honorable, and your duty towarda lady. Also your duty to the laws of your country. I am not at all surethat you ought not to be arrested. But perhaps it is nothing at all, after all; only something invented to provoke me. "

"In that case, I can only drop the subject, " he answered, with thatstern gleam of the eyes which I had observed before, and detested. "Iwas also to tell you that we dine to-day an hour before the usual time, that my cousin may go out in the boat for whiting. The sea will be assmooth as glass. Perhaps you will come with us. "

With these words, he lifted his hat and went off, leaving me in a mostuncomfortable state, as he must have known if he had even tried tothink. For I could not get the smallest idea what he meant; and, much asI tried to believe that he must be only pretending, for reasons of hisown, to have something important to tell me, scarcely was it possible tobe contented so. A thousand absurd imaginations began to torment me asto what he meant. He lived in London so much, for instance, that he hadmuch quicker chance of knowing whatever there was to know; again, he wasa man of the world, full of short, sharp sagacity, and able to penetratewhat I could not; then, again, he kept a large account with Shovelin, Wayte, and Shovelin, as Major Hockin chanced to say; and I knew not thata banker's reserve is much deeper than his deposit; moreover--which, tomy mind, was almost stronger proof than any thing--Sir Montague Hockinwas of smuggling pedigree, and likely to be skillful in illicit runs ofknowledge. 

However, in spite of all this uneasiness, not another word would I sayto him about it, waiting rather for him to begin again upon it. But, though I waited and waited, as, perhaps, with any other person Iscarcely could have done, he would not condescend to give me evenanother look about it. 

Disliking that gentleman more and more for his supercilious conduct andcertainty of subduing me, I naturally turned again to my good host andhostess. But here there was very little help or support to be obtainedat present. Major Hockin was laying the foundations of "The BruntseaAssembly-Rooms, Literary Institute, Mutual Improvement Association, Lyceum, and Baths, from sixpence upward;" while Mrs. Hockin had a hatchof "White Sultans, " or, rather, a prolonged sitting of eggs, fondlyhoped to hatch at last, from having cost so much, like a chicken-heartedConference. Much as I sorrowed at her disappointment--for the sittingcost twelve guineas--I could not feel quite guiltless of a petty andignoble smile, when, after hoping against hope, upon the thirtieth dayshe placed her beautifully sound eggs in a large bowl of warm water, inwhich they floated as calmly as if their price was a penny a dozen. Thepoor lady tried to believe that they were spinning with vitality; but atlast she allowed me to break one, and lo! it had been half boiled by theadvertiser. "This is very sad, " cried Mrs. Hockin; and the patient oldhen, who was come in a basket of hay to see the end of it, echoed with acluck that sentiment. 

These things being so, I was left once more to follow my own guidance, which had seemed, in the main, to be my fortune ever since my fatherdied. For one day Mr. Shovelin had appeared, to my great joy andcomfort, as a guide and guardian; but, alas! for one day only. And, except for his good advice and kind paternal conduct to me, it seemedat present an unlucky thing that I had ever discovered him. Not onlythrough deep sense of loss and real sorrow for him, but also becauseMajor Hockin, however good and great and generous, took it unreasonablyinto his head that I threw him over, and threw myself (as with want offine taste he expressed it) into the arms of the banker. This hurtme very much, and I felt that Major Hockin could never have spoken sohastily unless his hair had been originally red; and so it might bedetected, even now, where it survived itself, though blanched where hebrushed it into that pretentious ridge. Sometimes I liked that man, whenhis thoughts were large and liberal; but no sooner had he said a finebrave thing than he seemed to have an after-thought not to go toofar with it; just as he had done about the poor robbed woman from thesteerage and the young man who pulled out his guinea. I paid him formy board and lodging, upon a scale settled by Uncle Sam himself, atCalifornia prices; therefore I am under no obligation to conceal hisfoibles. But, take him altogether, he was good and brave and just, though unable, from absence of inner light, to be to me what Uncle Samhad been. 

When I perceived that the Major condemned my simple behavior in London, and (if I may speak it, as I said it to myself) "blew hot and cold" inhalf a minute--hot when I thought of any good things to be done, andcold as soon as he became the man to do them--also, when I rememberedwhat a chronic plague was now at Bruntsea, in the shape of Sir Montague, who went to and fro, but could never be trusted to be far off, Iresolved to do what I had long been thinking of, and believed thatmy guardian, if he had lived another day, would have recommended. Iresolved to go and see Lord Castlewood, my father's first cousin andfriend in need. 

When I asked my host and hostess what they thought of this, they bothdeclared that it was the very thing they were at the point of advising, which, however, they had forborne from doing because I never tookadvice. At this, as being such a great exaggeration, I could not helpsmiling seriously; but I could not accept their sage opinion that, before I went to see my kinsman, I ought to write and ask his leave todo so. For that would have made it quite a rude thing to call, as Imust still have done, if he should decline beforehand to receive me. Moreover, it would look as if I sought an invitation, while only wantingan interview. Therefore, being now full of money again, I hired theflyman who had made us taste the water, and taking train at Newport, andchanging at two or three places as ordered, crossed many little streams, and came to a fair river, which proved to be the Thames itself, a fewmiles above Reading. 

In spite of all the larger lessons of travel, adventure, andtribulation, my heart was throbbing with some rather small feelings, asfor the first time I drew near to the home of my forefathers. I shouldhave been sorry to find it ugly or mean, or lying in a hole, or evenmodern or insignificant; and when none of these charges could be broughtagainst it, I was filled with highly discreditable pain that Providencehad not seen fit to issue me into this world in the masculine form; inwhich case this fine property would, according to the rules of mankind, have been mine. However, I was very soon ashamed of such ideas, and satdown on a bank to dispel them with the free and fair view around me. 

The builder of that house knew well both where to place and how to shapeit, so as not to spoil the site. It stood near the brow of a bosominghill, which sheltered it, both with wood and clevice, from the rigorand fury of the north and east; while in front the sloping foregroundwidened its soft lap of green. In bays and waves of rolling grass, promontoried, here and there, by jutting copse or massive tree, andjotted now and then with cattle as calm as boats at anchor, the rangeof sunny upland fell to the reedy fringe and clustered silence of deepriver meadows. Here the Thames, in pleasant bends of gentleness andcourtesy, yet with will of its own ways, being now a plenteous river, spreads low music, and holds mirror to the woods and hills and fields, casting afar a broad still gleam, and on the banks presenting tremulousinfinitude of flash. 

Now these things touched me all the more because none of them belongedto me; and, after thus trying to enlarge my views, I got up with muchbetter heart, and hurried on to have it over, whatever it might be. A girl brought up in the real English way would have spent her lastshilling to drive up to the door in the fly at the station--a most sadmachine--but I thought it no disgrace to go in a more becoming manner. 

One scarcely ever acts up to the force of situation; and I went asquietly into that house as if it were Betsy Bowen's. If any body hadbeen rude to me, or asked who I was, or a little thing of that sort, myspirit might have been up at once, and found, as usually happens then, good reason to go down afterward. But happily there was nothing of thekind. An elderly man, without any gaudy badges, opened the door veryquietly, and begged my pardon, before I spoke, for asking me to speaksoftly. It was one of his lordship's very worst days, and when he wasso, every sound seemed to reach him. I took the hint, and did not speakat all, but followed him over deep matting into a little room to whichhe showed me. And then I gave him a little note, written before I leftBruntsea, and asked him whether he thought that his master was wellenough to attend to it. 

He looked at me in a peculiar manner, for he had known my father well, having served from his youth in the family; but he only asked whether mymessage was important. I answered that it was, but that I would wait foranother time rather than do any harm. But he said that, however ill hismaster was, nothing provoked him more than to find that any thing wasneglected through it. And before I could speak again he was gone with myletter to Lord Castlewood. 

CHAPTER XXXII

AT HOME

Some of the miserable, and I might say strange, things which hadbefallen me from time to time unseasonably, now began to force theirremembrance upon me. Such dark figures always seem to make the most ofa nervous moment, when solid reason yields to fluttering fear and smallmisgivings. There any body seems to lie, as a stranded sailor lies, atthe foot of perpendicular cliffs of most inhuman humanity, with all theworld frowning down over the crest, and no one to throw a rope down. Often and often had I felt this want of any one to help me, but the onlyway out of it seemed to be to do my best to help myself. 

Even, now I had little hope, having been so often dashed, and knowingthat my father's cousin possessed no share of my father's strength. Hemight, at the utmost, give good advice, and help me with kind feeling;but if he wanted to do more, surely he might have tried ere now. But mythoughts about this were cut short by a message that he would be glad tosee me, and I followed the servant to the library. 

Here I found Lord Castlewood sitting in a high-backed chair, uncushionedand uncomfortable. When he saw me near him he got up and took my hand, and looked at me, and I was pleased to find his face well-meaning, brave, and generous. But even to rise from his chair was plainly nosmall effort to him, and he leaned upon a staff or crutch as he offeredme a small white hand. 

"Miss Castlewood, " he said, with a very weak yet clear and silveryvoice, "for many years I have longed in vain and sought in vain to hearof you. I have not escaped all self-reproach through my sense of want ofenergy; yet, such as I am, I have done my best, or I do my best to thinkso. "

"I am sure you have, " I replied, without thinking, knowing his kindnessto my father, and feeling the shame of my own hot words to Mr. Shovelinabout him. "I owe you more gratitude than I can tell, for your goodnessto my dear father. I am not come now to trouble you, but because it wasmy duty. "

While I was speaking he managed to lead me, feebly as himself couldwalk, to a deep chair for reading, or some such use, whereof I have hadfew chances. And in every step and word and gesture I recognized thatforeign grace which true-born Britons are proud to despise on both sidesof the Atlantic. And, being in the light, I watched him well, because Iam not a foreigner. 

In the clear summer light of the westering sun (which is better foraccurate uses than the radiance of the morning) I saw a firm, calm face, which might in good health have been powerful--a face which might becalled the moonlight image of my father's. I could not help turning awayto cry, and suspicion fled forever. 

"My dear young cousin, " he said, as soon as I was fit to speak to, "yourfather trusted me, and so must you. You may think that I have forgottenyou, or done very little to find you out. It was no indifference, noforgetfulness: I have not been able to work myself, and I have had verydeep trouble of my own. "

He leaned on his staff, and looked down at me, for I had sat down whenthus overcome, and I knew that the forehead and eyes were those of alearned and intellectual man. How I knew this it is impossible to say, for I never had met with such a character as this, unless it were theAbbe of Flechon, when I was only fourteen years old, and valued hisgreat skill in spinning a top tenfold more than all his deep learning. Lord Castlewood had long, silky hair, falling in curls of silver grayupon either side of his beautiful forehead, and the gaze of his softdark eyes was sad, gentle, yet penetrating. Weak health and almostconstant pain had chastened his delicate features to an expressionalmost feminine, though firm thin lips and rigid lines showed masculinewill and fortitude. And when he spoke of his own trouble (which, perhaps, he would not have done except for consolation's sake), I knewthat he meant something even more grievous than bodily anguish. 

"It is hard, " he said, "that you, so young and healthy and full of highspirit as you are (unless your face belies you), should begin the bestyears of your life, as common opinion puts such things, in such a cloudof gloom and shame. "

"There is no shame at all, " I answered; "and if there is gloom, I amused to that; and so was my father for years and years. What is mytrouble compared with his?"

"Your trouble is nothing when compared with his, so far as regards themere weight of it; but he was a strong man to carry his load; you are ayoung and a sensitive woman. The burden may even be worse for you. Nowtell me all about yourself, and what has brought you to me. "

His voice was so quiet and soothing that I seemed to rest beneath it. Hehad not spoken once of religion or the will of God, nor plied me at allwith those pious allusions, which even to the reverent mind are likeillusions when so urged. Lord Castlewood had too deep a sense of thewill of God to know what it is; and he looked at me wistfully as at onewho might have worse experience of it. 

Falling happily under his influence, as his clear, kind eyes met mine, I told him every thing I could think of about my father and myself, andall I wanted to do next, and how my heart and soul were set upongetting to the bottom of every thing. And while I spoke with spirit, orsoftness, or, I fear, sometimes with hate, I could not help seeing thathe was surprised, but not wholly displeased, with my energy. And then, when all was exhausted, came the old question I had heard so often, andfound so hard to answer--

"And what do you propose to do next, Erema?"

"To go to the very place itself, " I said, speaking strongly underchallenge, though quite unresolved about such a thing before; "to livein the house where my father lived, and my mother and all of the familydied; and from day to day to search every corner and fish up every bitof evidence, until I get hold of the true man at last, of the villainwho did it--who did it, and left my father and all the rest of us to becondemned and die for it. "

"Erema, " replied my cousin, as he had told me now to call him, "you aretoo impetuous for such work, and it is wholly unfit for you. For such atask, persons of trained sagacity and keen observation are needed. Andafter all these eighteen years, or nearly nineteen now it must be, therecan not be any thing to discover there. "

"But if I like, may I go there, cousin, if only to satisfy my own mind?I am miserable now at Bruntsea, and Sir Montague Hockin wears me out. "

"Sir Montague Hockin!" Lord Castlewood exclaimed; "why, you did not tellme that he was there. Wherever he is, you should not be. "

"I forgot to speak of him. He does not live there, but is continuallyto and fro for bathing, or fishing, or rabbit-shooting, or any otherpretext. And he makes the place very unpleasant to me, kind as the Majorand Mrs. Hockin are, because I can never make him out at all. "

"Do not try to do so, " my cousin answered, looking at me earnestly; "becontent to know nothing of him, my dear. If you can put up with a verydull house, and a host who is even duller, come here and live with me, as your father would have wished, and as I, your nearest relative, nowask and beg of you. "

This was wonderfully kind, and for a moment I felt tempted. LordCastlewood being an elderly man, and, as the head of our family, mynatural protector, there could be nothing wrong, and there might be muchthat was good, in such an easy arrangement. But, on the other hand, itseemed to me that after this my work would languish. Living in comfortand prosperity under the roof of my forefathers, beyond any doubt Ishould begin to fall into habits of luxury, to take to the love ofliterature, which I knew to be latent within me, to lose the clear, strong, practical sense of the duty for which I, the last of seven, wasspared, and in some measure, perhaps, by wanderings and by hardships, fitted. And then I thought of my host's weak health, continual pain (thesigns of which were hardly repressed even while he was speaking), andprobably also his secluded life. Was it fair to force him, by virtue ofhis inborn kindness and courtesy, to come out of his privileges and dealwith me, who could not altogether be in any place a mere nobody? And soI refused his offer. 

"I am very much obliged to you indeed, " I said, "but I think you mightbe sorry for it. I will come and stop with you every now and then, whenyour health is better, and you ask me. But to live here altogether wouldnot do; I should like it too well, and do nothing else. "

"Perhaps you are right, " he replied, with the air of one who careslittle for any thing, which is to me the most melancholy thing, andworse than any distress almost; "you are very young, my dear, and yearsshould be allowed to pass before you know what full-grown sorrow is. Youhave had enough, for your age, of it. You had better not live in thishouse; it is not a house for cheerfulness. "

"Then if I must neither live here nor at Bruntsea, " I asked, with suddenremonstrance, feeling as if every body desired to be quit of me or toworry me, "to what place in all the world am I to go, unless it is backto America? I will go at once to Shoxford, and take lodgings of my own. "

"Perhaps you had better wait a little while, " Lord Castlewood answered, gently, "although I would much rather have you at Shoxford than whereyou are at present. But please to remember, my good Erema, that you cannot go to Shoxford all alone. I have a most faithful and trusty man--theone who opened the door to you. He has been here before his remembrance. He disdains me still as compared with your father. Will you have him tosuperintend you? I scarcely see how you can do any good, but if you dogo, you must go openly, and as your father's daughter. "

"I have no intention whatever of going in any other way, LordCastlewood; but perhaps, " I continued, "it would be as well to make aslittle stir as possible. Of an English village I know nothing but thelittle I have seen at Bruntsea, but there they make a very great fussabout any one who comes down with a man-servant. "

"To be sure, " replied my cousin, with a smile; "they would not be trueBritons otherwise. Perhaps you would do better without Stixon; but ofcourse you must not go alone. Could you by any means persuade your oldnurse Betsy to go with you?"

"How good of you to think of it!--how wise you are!" I really could nothelp saying, as I gazed at his delicate and noble face. "I am sure thatif Betsy can come, she will; though of course she must be compensatedwell for the waste all her lodgers will make of it. They are verywicked, and eat most dreadfully if she even takes one day's holiday. What do you think they even do? She has told me with tears in her eyesof it. They are all allowed a pat of butter, a penny roll, and twosardines for breakfast. No sooner do they know that her back isturned--"

"Erema!" cried my cousin, with some surprise; and being so recalled, I was ashamed. But I never could help taking interest in very littlethings indeed, until my own common-sense, or somebody else, came to tellme what a child I was. However, I do believe that Uncle Sam liked me allthe better for this fault. 

"My dear, I did not mean to blame you, " Lord Castlewood said, mostkindly; "it must be a great relief for you to look on at other people. But tell me--or rather, since you have told me almost every thing youknow--let me, if only in one way I can help you, help you at least inthat way. "

Knowing that he must mean money, I declined, from no false pride, but aset resolve to work out my work, if possible, through my own resources. But I promised to apply to him at once if scarcity should again befallme, as had happened lately. And then I longed to ask him why he seemedto have so low an opinion of Sir Montague Hockin. That question, however, I feared to put, because it might not be a proper one, andalso because my cousin had spoken in a very strange tone, as if of someprivate dislike or reserve on that subject. Moreover, it was too evidentthat I had tried his courtesy long enough. From time to time pale shadesof bodily pain, and then hot flushes, had flitted across his face, likeclouds on a windy summer evening. And more than once he had glanced atthe time-piece, not to hurry me, but as if he dreaded its announcements. It was a beautiful clock, and struck with a silvery sound every quarterof an hour. And now, as I rose to say good-by, to catch my eveningtrain, it struck a quarter to five, and my cousin stood up, with hisweight upon his staff, and looked at me with an inexpressible depth ofweary misery. 

"I have only a few minutes left, " he said, "during which I can say anything. My time is divided into two sad parts: the time when I am capableof very little, and the time when I am capable of nothing; and thelatter part is twice the length of the other. For sixteen hours of everyday, far better had I be dead than living, so far as our own littleinsolence may judge. But I speak of it only to excuse bad manners, andperhaps I show worse by doing so. I shall not be able to see you againuntil to-morrow morning. Do not go; they will arrange all that. Send anote to Major Hockin by Stixon's boy. Stixon and Mrs. Price will see toyour comfort, if those who are free from pain require any other comfort. Forgive me; I did not mean to be rude. Sometimes I can not help givingway. "

Less enviable than the poorest slave, Lord Castlewood sank upon his hardstiff chair, and straightened his long narrow hands upon his knees, andset his thin lips in straight blue lines. Each hand was as rigid as theivory handle of an umbrella or walking-stick, and his lips were likeclamped wire. This was his regular way of preparing for the onset ofthe night, so that no grimace, no cry, no moan, or other token of fierceagony should be wrung from him. 

"My lord will catch it stiff to-night, " said Mr. Stixon, who came as Irang, and then led me away to the drawing-room; "he always have it tentimes worse after any talking or any thing to upset him like. And so, then, miss--excuse a humble servant--did I understand from him that youwas the Captain's own daughter?"

"Yes; but surely your master wants you--he is in such dreadful pain. Doplease to go to him, and do something. "

"There is nothing to be done, miss, " Stixon answered, with calmresignation; "he is bound to stay so for sixteen hours, and thenhe eases off again. But bless my heart, miss--excuse me in yourpresence--his lordship is thoroughly used to it. It is my certainknowledge that for seven years now he has never had seven minutes freefrom pain--seven minutes all of a heap, I mean. Some do say, miss, asthe Lord doeth every thing according to His righteousness, that thereason is not very far to seek. "

I asked him what he meant, though I ought, perhaps, to have put a stopto his loquacity; and he pretended not to hear, which made me ask himall the more. 

"A better man never lived than my lord, " he answered, with a littleshock at my misprision; "but it has been said among censoorous personsthat nobody ever had no luck as came in suddenly to a property and ahigh state of life on the top of the heads of a family of seven. "

"What a poor superstition!" I cried, though I was not quite sure of itsbeing a wicked one. "But what is your master's malady, Stixon? Surelythere might be something done to relieve his violent pain, even if thereis no real cure for it?"

"No, miss, nothing can be done. The doctors have exorced themselves. They tried this, that, and the other, but nature only flew worse againstthem. 'Tis a thing as was never heard of till the Constitooshon wasknocked on the head and to pieces by the Reform Bill. And though theycouldn't cure it, they done what they could do, miss. They discovered avery good name for it--they christened it the 'New-rager!'"

CHAPTER XXXIII

LORD CASTLEWOOD

In the morning, when I was called again to see my afflictedcousin--Stixon junior having gladly gone to explain things for me atBruntsea--little as I knew of any bodily pain (except hunger, or thirst, or weariness, and once in my life a headache), I stood before LordCastlewood with a deference and humility such as I had never felt beforetoward any human being. Not only because he bore perpetual pain inthe two degrees of night and day--the day being dark and the nightjet-black--without a murmur or an evil word; not only because throughthe whole of this he had kept his mind clear and his love of knowledgebright; not even because he had managed, like Job, to love God throughthe whole of it. All these were good reasons for very great and veryhigh respect of any man; and when there was no claim whatever on hispart to any such feeling, it needs must come. But when I learned anotherthing, high respect at once became what might be called deep reverence. And this came to pass in a simple and, as any one must confess, quiteinevitable way. 

It was not to be supposed that I could sit the whole of my first eveningin that house without a soul to speak to. So far as my dignity and senseof right permitted, I wore out Mr. Stixon, so far as he would go, not asking him any thing that the very worst-minded person could call"inquisitive, " but allowing him to talk, as he seemed to like to do, while he waited upon me, and alternately lamented my hapless history andmy hopeless want of taste. 

"Ah, your father, the Captain, now, he would have knowed what this is!You've no right to his eyes, Miss Erma, without his tongue and palate. No more of this, miss! and done for you a-purpose! Well, cook will beput out, and no mistake! I better not let her see it go down, anyhow. "And the worthy man tearfully put some dainty by, perhaps without anyview to his own supper. 

"Lord Castlewood spoke to me about a Mrs. Price--the housekeeper, isshe not?" I asked at last, being so accustomed to like what I could get, that the number of dishes wearied me. 

"Oh yes, miss, " said Stixon, very shortly, as if that descriptionexhausted Mrs. Price. 

"If she is not too busy, I should like to see her as soon as thesethings are all taken away. I mean if she is not a stranger, and if shewould like to see me. "

"No new-comers here, " Mr. Stixon replied; "we all works our way upregular, the same as my lad is beginning for to do. New-fangled ways isnot accepted here. We puts the reforming spirits scrubbing of the stepstill their knuckles is cracked and their knees like a bean. The old lordwas the man for discipline--your grandfather, if you please, miss. Hecatched me when I were about that high--"

"Excuse me, Mr. Stixon; but would he have encouraged you to talk as youso very kindly talk to me, instead of answering a question?"

I thought that poor Stixon would have been upset by this, and was angrywith myself for saying it; but instead of being hurt, he only smiled andtouched his forehead. 

"Well, now, you did remind me uncommon of him then, miss. I couldhave heard the old lord speak almost, though he were always harsh anddistant. And as I was going for to say, he catched me fifty years agonenext Lammas-tide; a pear-tree of an early sort it was; you may see thevery tree if you please to stand here, miss, though the pears is quitealtered now, and scarcely fit to eat. Well, I was running off with mycap chock-full, miss--"

"Please to keep that story for another time, " I said; "I shall be mosthappy to hear it then. But I have a particular wish, if you please, tosee Mrs. Price before dark, unless there is any good reason why I shouldnot. "

"Oh no, Miss Erma, no reason at all. Only please to bear in mind, miss, that she is a coorous woman. She is that jealous, and I might sayforward--"

"Then she is capable of speaking for herself. "

"You are right, miss, there, and no mistake. She can speak for herselfand for fifty others--words enough, I mean, for all of them. But I wouldnot have her know for all the world that I said it. "

"Then if you do not send her to me at once, the first thing I shall dowill be to tell her. "

"Oh no, miss, none of your family would do that; that never has beendone anonymous. "

I assured him that my threat was not in earnest, but of pure impatience. And having no motive but downright jealousy for keeping Mrs. Price fromme, he made up his mind at last to let her come. But he told me to becareful what I said; I must not expect it to be at all like talking tohimself, for instance. 

The housekeeper came up at last, by dint of my persistence, and shestopped in the doorway and made me a courtesy, which put me out ofcountenance, for nobody ever does that in America, and scarcely any onein England now, except in country-dancing. Instead of being as describedby Stixon, Mrs. Price was of a very quiet, sensible, and respectfulkind. She was rather short, but looked rather tall, from her evenwalk and way of carrying her head. Her figure was neat, and her faceclear-spoken, with straight pretty eyebrows, and calm bright eyes. Ifelt that I could tell her almost any thing, and she would thinkbefore she talked of it. And in my strong want of some woman to advisewith--Betsy Bowen being very good but very narrow, and Mrs. Hockin amere echo of the Major until he contradicted her, and Suan Isco, withher fine, large views, five thousand miles out of sight just now--thiswas a state of things to enhance the value of any good countenancefeminine. 

At any rate, I was so glad to see her that, being still ungraduated inthe steps of rank (though beginning to like a good footing there), I ranup and took her by both hands, and fetched her out of her grand courtesyand into a low chair. At this she was surprised, as one quick glanceshowed; and she thought me, perhaps, what is called in England "animpulsive creature. " This put me again upon my dignity, for I never havebeen in any way like that, and I clearly perceived that she ought tounderstand a little more distinctly my character. 

It is easy to begin with this intention, but very hard indeed to keepit up when any body of nice ways and looks is sitting with a properdeferential power of listening, and liking one's young ideas, whichmultiply and magnify themselves at each demand. So after some generaltalk about the weather, the country, the house, and so on, we came tothe people of the house, or at any rate the chief person. And I askedher a few quiet questions about Lord Castlewood's health and habits, andany thing else she might like to tell me. For many things had seemedto me a little strange and out of the usual course, and on that accountworthy to be spoken of without common curiosity. Mrs. Price told me thatthere were many things generally divulged and credited, which thereforelay in her power to communicate without any derogation from her office. Being pleased with these larger words (which I always have trouble inpronouncing), I asked her whether there was any thing else. And sheanswered yes, but unhappily of a nature to which it was scarcelydesirable to allude in my presence. I told her that this was notsatisfactory, and I might say quite the opposite; that having "alluded"to whatever it might be, she was bound to tell me all about it. ThatI had lived in very many countries, in all of which wrong thingscontinually went on, of which I continually heard just in that sort ofway and no more. Enough to make one uncomfortable, but not enough tokeep one instructed and vigilant as to things that ought to be avoided. Upon this she yielded either to my arguments or to her own dislikeof unreasonable silence, and gave me the following account of themisfortunes of Lord Castlewood:

Herbert William Castlewood was the third son of Dean Castlewood, ayounger brother of my grandfather, and was born in the year 1806. Hewas older, therefore, than my father, but still (even before my father'sbirth, which provided a direct heir) there were many lives betwixt himand the family estates. And his father, having as yet no promotion inthe Church, found it hard to bring up his children. The eldest son gota commission in the army, and the second entered the navy, while Herbertwas placed in a bank at Bristol--not at all the sort of life which hewould have chosen. But being of a gentle, unselfish nature, as well as aweak constitution, he put up with his state in life, and did his best togive satisfaction. 

This calm courage generally has its reward, and in the year 1842, notvery long before the death of my grandfather at Shoxford, Mr. HerbertCastlewood, being well-connected, well-behaved, diligent, and pleasing, obtained a partnership in the firm, which was, perhaps, the foremost inthe west of England. His two elder brothers happened then to be at home, Major and Commander Castlewood, each of whom had seen very hard service, and found it still harder slavery to make both ends meet, althoughbachelors. But, returning full of glory, they found one thing harderstill, and that was to extract any cash from their father, the highlyvenerated Dean, who in that respect, if in no other, very closelyresembled the head of the family. Therefore these brave men resolved togo and see their Bristol brother, to whom they were tenderly attached, and who now must have money enough and to spare. So they wrote to theirbrother to meet them on the platform, scarcely believing that they couldbe there in so short a time from London; for they never had travelled byrail before; and they set forth in wonderful spirits, and laughed atthe strange, giddy rush of the travelling, and made bets with each otherabout punctual time (for trains kept much better time while new), and, as long as they could time it, they kept time to a second. But, sad torelate, they wanted no chronometers when they arrived at Bristol, bothbeing killed at a blow, with their watches still going, and a smileon their faces. For the train had run into a wall of Bath stone, andseveral of the passengers were killed. 

The sight of his two brothers carried out like this, after so many yearsof not seeing them, was too much for Mr. Herbert Castlewood's nerves, which always had been delicate. And he shivered all the more fromreproach of conscience, having made up his mind not to lend them anymoney, as a practical banker was compelled to do. And from that verymoment he began to feel great pain. 

Mrs. Price assured me that the doctors all agreed that nothing butchange of climate could restore Mr. Castlewood's tone and system, andbeing full of art (though so simple, as she said, which she could notentirely reconcile), he set off for Italy, and there he stopped, withthe good leave of his partners, being now valued highly as heir to theDean, who was known to have put a good trifle together. And in Italymy father must have found him, as related by Mr. Shovelin, and therereceived kindness and comfort in his trouble, if trouble so deep couldbe comforted. 

Now I wondered and eagerly yearned to know whether my father, at sucha time, and in such a state of loneliness, might not have been led toimpart to his cousin and host and protector the dark mystery which layat the bottom of his own conduct. Knowing how resolute and stern he was, and doubtless then imbittered by the wreck of love and life, I thoughtit more probable that he had kept silence even toward so near arelative, especially as he had seen very little of his cousin Herberttill he had found him thus. Moreover, my grandfather and the Dean hadspent little brotherly love on each other, having had a life-long feudabout a copy-hold furze brake of nearly three-quarters of an acre, asBetsy remembered to have heard her master say. 

To go on, however, with what Mrs. Price was saying. She knew scarcelyany thing about my father, because she was too young at that time tobe called into the counsels of the servants' hall, for she scarcely wasthirty-five yet, as she declared, and she certainly did not look forty. But all about the present Lord Castlewood she knew better than any bodyelse, perhaps, because she had been in the service of his wife, and, indeed, her chief attendant. Then, having spoken of her master's wife, Mrs. Price caught herself up, and thenceforth called her only his"lady. "

Mr. Herbert Castlewood, who had minded his business for so many years, and kept himself aloof from ladies, spending all his leisure in goodliterature, at this time of life and in this state of health (for theshock he had received struck inward), fell into an accident tenfoldworse--the fatal accident of love. And this malady raged the morepowerfully with him on account of breaking out so late in life. In oneof the picture-galleries at Florence, or some such place, Mrs. Pricedeclared, he met with a lady who made all the pictures look cold anddull and dead to him. A lovely young creature she must have been (aseven Mrs. Price, who detested her, acknowledged), and to the eyes of alearned but not keen man as good as lovely. My father was gone to lookafter me, and fetch me out of England, but even if he had been there, perhaps he scarcely could have stopped it; for this Mr. Castlewood, although so quiet, had the family fault of tenacity. 

Mrs. Price, being a very steady person, with a limited income, andenough to do, was inclined to look down upon the state of mind in whichMr. Castlewood became involved. She was not there at the moment, ofcourse, but suddenly sent for when all was settled; nevertheless, shefound out afterward how it began from her master's man, through what hehad for dinner. And in the kitchen-garden at Castlewood no rampionwould she allow while she lived. I asked her whether she had no pity, nosympathy, no fine feeling, and how she could have become Mrs. Price ifshe never had known such sentiments. But she said that they only calledher "Mistress" on account of her authority, and she never had been drawnto the opposite sex, though many times asked in marriage. And what shehad seen of matrimony led her far away from it. I was sorry to hear hersay this, and felt damped, till I thought that the world was not allalike. 

Then she told me, just as if it were no more than a bargain for a poundof tallow candles, how Mr. Herbert Castlewood, patient and persistent, was kept off and on for at least two years by the mother of his sweetidol. How the old lady held a balance in her mind as to the likelihoodof his succession, trying, through English friends, to find the valueand the course of property. Of what nation she was, Mrs. Price couldnot say, and only knew that it must be a bad one. She called herself theCountess of Ixorism, as truly pronounced in English; and she really wasof good family too, so far as any foreigner can be. And her daughter'sname was Flittamore, not according to the right spelling, perhaps, butpronounced with the proper accent. 

Flittamore herself did not seem to care, according to what Mrs. Pricehad been told, but left herself wholly in her mother's hands, being sureof her beauty still growing upon her, and desiring to have it admiredand praised. And the number of foreigners she always had about hersometimes made her real lover nearly give her up. But, alas! he was notquite wise enough for this, with all that he had read and learned andseen. Therefore, when it was reported from Spain that my father hadbeen killed by bandits--the truth being that he was then in Greece--theCountess at last consented to the marriage of her daughter with HerbertCastlewood, and even seemed to press it forward for some reasons of herown. And the happy couple set forth upon their travels, and Mrs. Pricewas sent abroad to wait upon the lady. 

For a few months they seemed to get on very well, Flittamore showingmuch affection for her husband, whose age was a trifle more than her owndoubled, while he was entirely wrapped up in her, and labored that thegraces of her mind might be worthy to compare with those more visible. But her spiritual face and most sweet poetic eyes were vivid with bodilybrilliance alone. She had neither mind enough to learn, nor heart enoughto pretend to learn. 

It is out of my power to describe such things, even if it were my dutyto do so, which, happily, it has never been; moreover, Mrs. Price, inwhat she told me, exercised a just and strict reserve. Enough that Mr. Castlewood's wedded life was done with in six months and three days. Lady Castlewood, as she would be called, though my father still wasliving and his cousin disclaimed the title--away she ran from some dullGerman place, after a very stiff lesson in poetry, and with her ran offa young Englishman, the present Sir Montague Hockin. He was Mr. Hockinthen, and had not a half-penny of his own; but Flittamore met thatdifficulty by robbing her husband to his last farthing. 

This had happened about twelve years back, soon after I was placed atthe school in Languedoc, to which I was taken so early in life thatI almost forget all about it. But it might have been better for poorFlittamore if she had been brought up at a steady place like that, withsisters and ladies of retreat, to teach her the proper description ofher duties to mankind. I seemed now in my own mind to condemn her quiteenough, feeling how superior her husband must have been; but Mrs. Pricewent even further, and became quite indignant that any one should pityher. 

"A hussy! a hussy! a poppet of a hussy!" she exclaimed, with greaterpower than her quiet face could indicate; "never would I look at her. Speak never so, Miss Castlewood. My lord is the very best of all men, and she has made him what he is. The pity she deserves is to be troddenunder foot, as I saw them do in Naples. "

After all the passion I had seen among rough people, I scarcely couldhelp trembling at the depth of wrath dissembled and firmly controlledin calm clear eyes under very steadfast eyebrows. It was plain that LordCastlewood had, at any rate, the gift of being loved by his dependents. 

"I hope that he took it aright!" I cried, catching some of herindignation; "I hope that he cast her to the winds, without even a sighfor such a cruel creature!"

"He was not strong enough, " she answered, sadly; "his bodily health wasnot equal to it. From childhood he had been partly crippled and spoiledin his nerves by an accident. And the shock of that sight at Bristolflew to his weakness, and was too much for him. And now this third andworst disaster, coming upon him where his best hope lay, and at such atime of life, took him altogether off his legs. And off his head too, I might almost say, miss; for, instead of blaming her, he put the faultentirely upon himself. At his time of life, and in such poor health, heshould not have married a bright young girl: how could he ever hope tomake her happy? That was how he looked at it, when he should have sentconstables after her. "

"And what became of her--the mindless animal, to forsake so good andgreat a man! I do hope she was punished, and that vile man too. "

"She was, Miss Castlewood; but he was not; at least he has not receivedjustice yet. But he will, he will, he will, miss. The treacherous thief!And my lord received him as a young fellow-countryman under a cloud, andlent him money, and saved him from starving; for he had broken with hisfather and was running from his creditors. "

"Tell me no more, " I said; "not another word. It is my fate to meetthat--well, that gentleman--almost every day. And he, and he--oh, howthankful I am to have found out all this about him!"

The above will show why, when I met my father's cousin on the followingmorning--with his grand, calm face, as benevolent as if he had passed anight of luxurious rest instead of sleepless agony--I knew myself to beof a lower order in mind and soul and heart than his; a small, narrow, passionate girl, in the presence of a large, broad-sighted, andcompassionate man. 

I threw myself altogether on his will; for, when I trust, I trustwholly. And, under his advice, I did not return with any rash haste toBruntsea, but wrote in discharge of all duty there; while Mrs. Price, aclear and steadfast woman, was sent to London to see Wilhelmina Strouss. These two must have had very great talks together, and, both beingzealous and faithful, they came to many misunderstandings. However, onthe whole, they became very honest friends, and sworn allies at last, discovering more, the more they talked, people against whom they felt acommon and just enmity. 

CHAPTER XXXIV

SHOXFORD

Are there people who have never, in the course of anxious life, feltdesire to be away, to fly away, from every thing, however good and dearto them, and rest a little, and think new thought, or let new thoughtflow into them, from the gentle air of some new place, where nobody hasheard of them--a place whose cares, being felt by proxy, almost seemromantic, and where the eyes spare brain and heart with a critic'sself-complacence? If any such place yet remains, the happy soul may seekit in an inland English village. 

A village where no billows are to stun or to confound it, no crag orprecipice to trouble it with giddiness, and where no hurry of restlesstide makes time, its own father, uneasy. But in the quiet, at the bottomof the valley, a beautiful rivulet, belonging to the place, hastens orlingers, according to its mood; hankering here and there, not to be awayyet; and then, by the doing of its own work, led to a swift perplexityof ripples. Here along its side, and there softly leaning over it, freshgreen meadows lie reposing in the settled meaning of the summer day. Forthis is a safer time of year than the flourish of the spring-tide, whenthe impulse of young warmth awaking was suddenly smitten by the bleakeast wind, and cowslip and cuckoo-flower and speedwell got their brightlips browned with cold. Then, moreover, must the meads have felt theworry of scarcely knowing yet what would be demanded of them; whether tocarry an exacting load of hay, or only to feed a few sauntering cows. 

But now every trouble has been settled for the best; the long grassis mown, and the short grass browsed, and capers of the fairies andcaprices of the cows have dappled worn texture with a deeper green. Therefore let eyes that are satisfied here--as any but a very bad eyemust be, with so many changes of softness--follow the sweet lead of thevalley; and there, in a bend of the gently brawling river, stands thenever-brawling church. 

A church less troubled with the gift of tongues is not to be found inEngland: a church of gray stone that crumbles just enough to enticefrail mortal sympathy, and confesses to the storms it has undergone ina tone that conciliates the human sigh. The tower is large, and highenough to tell what the way of the wind is without any potato-bury onthe top, and the simple roof is not cruciated with tiles of misguidedfancy. But gray rest, and peace of ages, and content of lying calmlysix feet deeper than the bustle of the quick; memory also, and oblivion, following each other slowly, like the shadows of the church-yardtrees--for all of these no better place can be, nor softer comfort. 

For the village of Shoxford runs up on the rise, and straggles away fromits burial-place, as a child from his school goes mitching. There aresome few little ups and downs in the manner of its building, as well asin other particulars about it; but still it keeps as parallel with thecrooked river as the far more crooked ways of men permit. But the wholeof the little road of houses runs down the valley from the church-yardgate; and above the church, looking up the pretty valley, stands nothingbut the mill and the plank bridge below it; and a furlong above thatagain the stone bridge, where the main road crosses the stream, and isconsoled by leading to a big house--the Moonstock Inn. 

The house in which my father lived so long--or rather, I should say, mymother, while he was away with his regiment--and where we unfortunateseven saw the light, stands about half-way down the little village, being on the right-hand side of the road as you come down the valleyfrom the Moonstock bridge. Therefore it is on the further and upper sideof the street--if it can be called a street--from the valley and theriver and the meads below the mill, inasmuch as every bit of Shoxford, and every particle of the parish also, has existence--of no mean sort, as compared with other parishes, in its own esteem--on the right side ofthe river Moon. 

My father's house, in this good village, standing endwise to the street, was higher at one end than at the other. That is to say, the ground camesloping, or even falling, as fairly might be said, from one end to theother of it, so that it looked like a Noah's ark tilted by Behemothunder the stern-post. And a little lane, from a finely wooded hill, herefell steeply into the "High Street" (as the grocer and the butcher lovedto call it), and made my father's house most distinct, by obeying agood deal of its outline, and discharging in heavy rain a free supply ofwater under the weather-board of our front-door. This front-door openedon the little steep triangle formed by the meeting of lane and road, while the back-door led into a long but narrow garden running along theroad, but raised some feet above it; the bank was kept up by a roughstone wall crested with stuck-up snap-dragon and valerian, andfaced with rosettes and disks and dills of houseleek, pennywort, andhart's-tongue. 

Betsy and I were only just in time to see the old house as it used tobe; for the owner had died about half a year ago, and his grandson, having proved his will, was resolved to make short work with it. Thepoor house was blamed for the sorrows it had sheltered, and had therepute of two spectres, as well as the pale shadow of misfortune. For mydear father was now believed by the superstitious villagers to haunt theold home of his happiness and love, and roam from room to room in searchof his wife and all his children. But his phantom was most careful notto face that of his father, which stalked along haughtily, as behooveda lord, and pointed forever to a red wound in its breast. No wonder, therefore, that the house would never let; and it would have beenpulled down long ago if the owner had not felt a liking for it, throughmemories tender and peculiar to himself. His grandson, having none ofthese to contend with, resolved to make a mere stable of it, and builda public-house at the bottom of the garden, and turn the space betweenthem into skittle-ground, and so forth. 

To me this seemed such a very low idea, and such a desecration of asacred spot, that if I had owned any money to be sure of, I would haveoffered hundreds to prevent it. But I found myself now in a delicatestate of mind concerning money, having little of my own, and doubtinghow much other people might intend for me. So that I durst not offer tobuy land and a house without any means to pay. 

And it was not for that reason only that Betsy and I kept ourselvesquiet. We knew that any stir in this little place about us--such as myname might at once set going--would once for all destroy all hopeof doing good by coming. Betsy knew more of such matters than I did, besides all her knowledge of the place itself, and her great superiorityof age; therefore I left to her all little management, as was in everyway fair and wise. For Mrs. Strouss had forsaken a large and goodcompany of lodgers, with only Herr Strouss to look after them--andwho was he among them? If she trod on one side of her foot, or felt atingling in her hand, or a buzzing in her ear, she knew in a moment whatit was--of pounds and pounds was she being cheated, a hundred miles off, by foreigners!

For this reason it had cost much persuasion and many appeals to herfaithfulness, as well as considerable weekly payment, ere ever my goodnurse could be brought away from London; and perhaps even so she neverwould have come if I had not written myself to Mrs. Price, then visitingBetsy in European Square, that if the landlady was too busy to bespared by her lodgers, I must try to get Lord Castlewood to spare mehis housekeeper. Upon this Mrs. Strouss at once declared that Mrs. Price would ruin every thing; and rather than that--no matter what shelost--she herself would go with me. And so she did, and she managed verywell, keeping my name out of sight (for, happen what might, I would haveno false one); and she got quiet lodgings in her present name, whichsounded nicely foreign; and the village being more agitated now about myfather's material house, and the work they were promised in pulling itdown, than about his shattered household, we had a very favorable timefor coming in, and were pronounced to be foreigners who must not beallowed to run up bills. 

This rustic conclusion suited us quite well, and we soon confirmed itunwittingly, Betsy offering a German thaler and I an American dollar atthe shop of the village chandler and baker, so that we were looked uponwith some pity, and yet a kind desire for our custom. Thus, without anyattempt of ours at either delusion or mystery, Mrs. Strouss was hailedthroughout the place as "Madam Straw, " while I, through the sagacityof a deeply read shoe-maker, obtained a foreign name, as will by-and-byappear. 

We lodged at the post-office, not through any wisdom or even any thoughton our part, but simply because we happened there to find the cleanestand prettiest rooms in the place. For the sun being now in the heightof August, and having much harvest to ripen, at middle day came rampingdown the little street of Shoxford like the chairman of the guild ofbakers. Every house having lately brightened up its whitewash--whichthey always do there when the frosts are over, soon after the feast ofSt. Barnabas--and the weeds of the way having fared amiss in the absenceof any water-cart, it was not in the strong, sharp character of the sunto miss such an opportunity. After the red Californian glare, I had nofear of any English sun; but Betsy was frightened, and both of us wereglad to get into a little place sheltered by green blinds. This chancedto be the post-office, and there we found nice lodgings. 

By an equal chance this proved to be the wisest thing we could possiblyhave done, if we had set about it carefully. For why, that nobody everwould impute any desire of secrecy to people who straightway unpackedtheir boxes at the very head-quarters of all the village news. And themistress of the post was a sharp-tongued woman, pleased to speak freelyof her neighbors' doings, and prompt with good advice that they shouldheed their own business, if any of them durst say a word about her own. She kept a tidy little shop, showing something of almost every thing;but we had a side door, quite of our own, where Betsy met the baker'swife and the veritable milkman; and neither of them knew her, which wasjust what she had hoped; and yet it made her speak amiss of them. 

But if all things must be brought to the harsh test of dry reason, Imyself might be hard pushed to say what good I hoped to do by comingthus to Shoxford. I knew of a great many things, for certain, that neverhad been thoroughly examined here; also I naturally wished to see, beinga native, what the natives were; and, much more than that, it was alwayson my mind that here lay my mother and the other six of us. 

Therefore it was an impatient thing for me to hear Betsy working out theafternoon with perpetual chatter and challenge of prices, combating nowas a lodger all those points which as a landlady she never would alloweven to be moot questions. If any applicant in European Square had daredso much as hint at any of all the requirements which she now expectedgratis, she would simply have whisked her duster, and said that thelodgings for such people must be looked for down the alley. However, Mrs. Busk, our new landlady, although she had a temper of her own (asany one keeping a post-office must have) was forced by the rarityof lodgers here to yield many points, which Mrs. Strouss, on her ownboards, would not even have allowed to be debated. All this was entirelyagainst my wish; for when I have money, I spend it, finding really noother good in it; but Betsy told me that the purest principle of allwas--not to be cheated. 

So I left her to have these little matters out, and took that occasionfor stealing away (as the hours grew on toward evening) to a place whereI wished to be quite alone. And the shadow of the western hills shedpeace upon the valley, when I crossed a little stile leading intoShoxford church-yard. 

For a minute or two I was quite afraid, seeing nobody any where about, nor even hearing any sound in the distance to keep me company. For thechurch lay apart from the village, and was thickly planted out from it, the living folk being full of superstition, and deeply believing in thedead people's ghosts. And even if this were a wife to a husband, or evena husband reappearing to his wife, there was not a man or a woman in thevillage that would not run away from it. 

This I did not know at present, not having been there long enough;neither had I any terror of that sort, not being quite such a coward, Ishould hope. But still, as the mantles of the cold trees darkened, andthe stony remembrance of the dead grew pale, and of the living there wasnot even the whistle of a grave-digger--my heart got the better ofmy mind for a moment, and made me long to be across that stile again. Because (as I said to myself) if there had been a hill to go up, thatwould be so different and so easy; but going down into a place likethis, whence the only escape must be by steps, and where any flight mustbe along channels that run in and out of graves and tombstones, I triednot to be afraid, yet could not altogether help it. 

But lo! when I came to the north side of the tower, scarcely thinkingwhat to look for, I found myself in the middle of a place which made mestop and wonder. Here were six little grassy tuffets, according to thelength of children, all laid east and west, without any stint of room, harmoniously. 

From the eldest to the youngest, one could almost tell the age at whichtheir lowly stature stopped, and took its final measurement. 

And in the middle was a larger grave, to comfort and encourage them, asa hen lies down among her chicks and waits for them to shelter. Withouta name to any of them, all these seven graves lay together, as in afairy ring of rest, and kind compassion had prevented any stranger fromcoming to be buried there. 

I would not sit on my mother's grave for fear of crushing the prettygrass, which some one tended carefully; but I stood at its foot, andbent my head, and counted all the little ones. Then I thought of myfather in the grove of peaches, more than six thousand miles away, onthe banks of the soft Blue River. And a sense of desolate sorrow and ofthe blessing of death overwhelmed me. 

CHAPTER XXXV

THE SEXTON

With such things in my mind, it took me long to come back to my workagain. It even seemed a wicked thing, so near to all these proofs ofGod's great visitation over us, to walk about and say, "I will do this, "or even to think, "I will try to do that. " My own poor helplessness, andloss of living love to guide me, laid upon my heart a weight from whichit scarcely cared to move. All was buried, all was done with, all hadpassed from out the world, and left no mark but graves behind. What goodto stir anew such sadness, even if a poor weak thing like me could moveits mystery?

Time, however, and my nurse Betsy, and Jacob Rigg the gardener, broughtme back to a better state of mind, and renewed the right couragewithin me. But, first of all, Jacob Rigg aroused my terror and interestvividly. It may be remembered that this good man had been my father'sgardener at the time of our great calamity, and almost alone of theShoxford people had shown himself true and faithful. Not that thenatives had turned against us, or been at all unfriendly; so far fromthis was the case, that every one felt for our troubles, and pitied us, my father being of a cheerful and affable turn, until misery hardenedhim; but what I mean is that only one or two had the courage to goagainst the popular conclusion and the convictions of authority. 

But Jacob was a very upright man, and had a strong liking for hismaster, who many and many a time--as he told me--had taken a spade anddug along with him, just as if he were a jobbing gardener born, insteadof a fine young nobleman; "and nobody gifted with that turn of mind, likewise very clever in white-spine cowcumbers, could ever be reliedupon to go and shoot his father. " Thus reasoned old Jacob, and he alwayshad done so, and meant evermore to abide by it; and the graves whichhe had tended now for nigh a score of years, and meant to tend tillhe called for his own, were--as sure as he stood there in Shoxfordchurch-yard a-talking to me, who was the very image of my father, Godbless me, though not of course so big like--the graves of slaughteredinnocents, and a mother who was always an angel. And the parson mightpreach forever to him about the resurrection, and the right cominguppermost when you got to heaven, but to his mind that was scarcely anycount at all; and if you came to that, we ought to hang Jack Ketch, asmight come to pass in the Revelations. But while a man had got his ownbread to earn, till his honor would let him go to the work-house, andhis duty to the rate-payers, there was nothing that vexed him more thanto be told any texts of Holy Scripture. Whatever God Almighty had putdown there was meant for ancient people, the Jews being long the mostancient people, though none the more for that did he like them; andso it was mainly the ancient folk, who could not do a day's work wortheighteenpence, that could enter into Bible promises. Not that he was atall behindhand about interpretation; but as long as he could fetch andearn, at planting box and doing borders, two shillings and ninepence aday and his beer, he was not going to be on for kingdom come. 

I told him that I scarcely thought his view of our condition here wouldbe approved by wise men who had found time to study the subject. But heanswered that whatever their words might be, their doings showed thatthey knew what was the first thing to attend to. And if it ever happenedhim to come across a parson who was as full of heaven outside as hewas inside his surplice, he would keep his garden in order for nothingbetter than his blessing. 

I knew of no answer to be made to this. And indeed he seemed to be awarethat his conversation was too deep for me; so he leaned upon his spade, and rubbed his long blue chin in the shadow of the church tower, holdingas he did the position of sexton, and preparing even now to dig a grave. 

"I keeps them well away from you, " he said, as he began to chop out anew oblong in the turf; "many a shilling have I been offered by mothersabout their little ones, to put 'em inside of the 'holy ring, ' as wecalls this little cluster; but not for five golden guineas would I doit, and have to face the Captain, dead or alive, about it. We heard thathe was dead, because it was put in all the papers; and a pleasant placeI keeps for him, to come home alongside of his family. A nicer gravellybit of ground there couldn't be in all the county; and if no chance ofhim occupying it, I can drive down a peg with your mark, miss. "

"Thank you, " I answered; "you are certainly most kind; but, Mr. Rigg, Iwould rather wait a little. I have had a very troublesome life thus far, and nothing to bind me to it much; but still I would rather not have mypeg driven down just--just at present. "

"Ah, you be like all the young folk that think the tree for theircoffins ain't come to the size of this spade handle yet. Lord bless youfor not knowing what He hath in hand! Now this one you see me a-raisingof the turf for, stood as upright as you do, a fortnight back, and asgood about the chest and shoulders, and three times the color in hercheeks, and her eyes a'most as bright as yourn be. Not aristocratic, you must understand me, miss, being only the miller's daughter, norinstructed to throw her voice the same as you do, which is better thangallery music; but setting these haxidents to one side, a farmer wouldhave said she was more preferable, because more come-at-able, though notin my opinion to be compared--excuse me for making so free, miss, butwhen it comes to death we has a kind of right to do it--and many a youngfarmer, coming to the mill, was disturbed in his heart about her, andfar and wide she was known, being proud, as the Beauty of the Moonshine, from the name of our little river. She used to call me 'Jacob Diggs, 'because of my porochial office, with a meaning of a joke on my parenshalname. Ah, what a merry one she were! And now this is what I has to dofor her! And sooner would I 'a doed it a'most for my own old ooman!"

"Oh, Jacob!" I cried, being horrified at the way in which he tore up theground, as if his wife was waiting, "the things you say are quite wrong, I am sure, for a man in your position. You are connected with thischurch almost as much as the clerk is. "

"More, miss, ten times more! He don't do nothing but lounge on the frontof his desk, and be too lazy to keep up 'Amen, ' while I at my time oflife go about, from Absolution to the fifth Lord's prayer, with a stickthat makes my rheumatics worse, for the sake of the boys with theirpocket full of nuts. When I was a boy there was no nuts, except at theproper time of year, a month or two on from this time of speaking; andwe used to crack they in the husk, and make no noise to disturb thecongregation; but now it is nuts, nuts, round nuts, flat nuts, nuts withthree corners to them--all the year round nuts to crack, and me to findout who did it!"

"But, Mr. Rigg, " I replied, as he stopped, looking hotter in mind thanin body, "is it not Mrs. Rigg, your good wife, who sells all the nuts ona Saturday for the boys to crack on a Sunday?"

"My missus do sell some, to be sure; yes, just a few. But not of aSaturday more than any other day. "

"Then surely, Mr. Rigg, you might stop it, by not permitting any saleof nuts except to good boys of high principles. And has it not happenedsometimes, Mr. Rigg, that boys have made marks on their nuts, and boughtthem again at your shop on a Monday? I mean, of course, when your dutyhas compelled you to empty the pockets of a boy in church. "

Now this was a particle of shamefully small gossip, picked up naturallyby my Betsy, but pledged to go no further; and as soon as I had spokenI became a little nervous, having it suddenly brought to my mind that Ihad promised not even to whisper it; and now I had told it to the man ofall men! But Jacob appeared to have been quite deaf, and diligently wenton digging. And I said "good-evening, " for the grave was for the morrow;and he let me go nearly to the stile before he stuck his spade into theground and followed. 

"Excoose of my making use, " he said, "of a kind of a personal reference, miss; but you be that pat with your answers, it maketh me believe youmust be sharp inside--more than your father, the poor Captain, were, asall them little grass buttons argueth. Now, miss, if I thought you hadhead-piece enough to keep good counsel and ensue it, maybe I could tellyou a thing as would make your hair creep out of them coorous hitch-ups, and your heart a'most bust them there braids of fallallies. "

"Why, what in the world do you mean?" I asked, being startled by the oldman's voice and face. 

"Nothing, miss, nothing. I was only a-joking. If you bain't come to nomore discretion than that--to turn as white as the clerk's smock-frockof a Easter-Sunday--why, the more of a joke one has, the better, tobring your purty color back to you. Ah! Polly of the mill was the maidfor color--as good for the eyesight as a chaney-rose in April. Well, well, I must get on with her grave; they're a-coming to speak the goodword over un on sundown. "

He might have known how this would vex and perplex me. I could not bearto hinder him in his work--as important as any to be done by man forman--and yet it was beyond my power to go home and leave him there, and wonder what it was that he had been so afraid to tell. So I quietlysaid, "Then I will wish you a very good evening again, Mr. Rigg, as youare too busy to be spoken with. " And I walked off a little way, havingmet with men who, having begun a thing, needs must have it out, andfully expecting him to call me back. But Jacob only touched his hat, andsaid, "A pleasant evening to you, ma'am. "

Nothing could have made me feel more resolute than this did. I did nothesitate one moment in running back over the stile again, and demandingof Jacob Rigg that he should tell me whether he meant any thing ornothing; for I was not to be played with about important matters, likethe boys in the church who were cracking nuts. 

"Lord! Lord, now!" he said, with his treddled heel scraping the shoulderof his shining spade; "the longer I live in this world, the fitter Igrow to get into the ways of the Lord. His ways are past finding out, saith King David: but a man of war, from his youth upward, hath nochance such as a gardening man hath. What a many of them have I foundout!"

"What has that got to do with it!" I cried. "Just tell me what it wasyou were speaking of just now. "

"I was just a-thinking, when I looked at you, miss, " he answered, in theprime of leisure, and wiping his forehead from habit only, not becausehe wanted it, "how little us knows of the times and seasons and thegenerations of the sons of men. There you stand, miss, and here stand I, as haven't seen your father for a score of years a'most; and yet therecomes out of your eyes into mine the very same look as the Captain usedto send, when snakes in the grass had been telling lies about me cominglate, or having my half pint or so on. Not that the Captain was a hardman, miss--far otherwise, and capable of allowance, more than any of thewomen be. But only the Lord, who doeth all things aright, could 'a madeyou come, with a score of years atween, and the twinkle in your eyeslike--Selah!"

"You know what you mean, perhaps, but I do not, " I answered, quitegently, being troubled by his words and the fear of having tried tohurry him; "but you should not say what you have said, Jacob Rigg, tome, your master's daughter, if you only meant to be joking. Is this theplace to joke with me?"

I pointed to all that lay around me, where I could not plant a footwithout stepping over my brothers or sisters; and the old man, callousas he might be, could not help feeling for--a pinch of snuff. Thishe found in the right-hand pocket of his waistcoat, and took it verycarefully, and made a little noise of comfort; and thus, being fullyself-assured again, he stood, with his feet far apart and his head onone side, regarding me warily. And I took good care not to say anotherword. 

"You be young, " he said at last; "and in these latter days no wisdom isordained in the mouths of babes and sucklings, nor always in the mouthsof them as is themselves ordained. But you have a way of keeping yourchin up, miss, as if you was gifted with a stiff tongue likewise. Andwhatever may hap, I has as good mind to tell 'e. "

"That you are absolutely bound to do, " I answered, as forcibly as Icould. "Duty to your former master and to me, his only child--and toyourself, and your Maker too--compel you, Jacob Rigg, to tell me everything you know. "

"Then, miss, " he answered, coming nearer to me, and speaking in a low, hoarse voice, "as sure as I stand here in God's churchyard, by all thismurdered family, I knows the man who done it!"

He looked at me, with a trembling finger upon his hard-set lips, and thespade in his other hand quivered like a wind vane; but I became as firmas the monument beside me, and my heart, instead of fluttering, grew assteadfast as a glacier. Then, for the first time, I knew that God hadnot kept me living, when all the others died, without fitting me alsofor the work there was to do. 

"Come here to the corner of the tower, miss, " old Jacob went on, in hisexcitement catching hold of the sleeve of my black silk jacket. "Wherewe stand is a queer sort of echo, which goeth in and out of them bigtombstones. And for aught I can say to contrairy, he may be a-watchingof us while here we stand. "

I glanced around, as if he were most welcome to be watching me, if onlyI could see him once. But the place was as silent as its graves; andI followed the sexton to the shadow of a buttress. Here he went intoa deep gray corner, lichened and mossed by a drip from the roof; andbeing, both in his clothes and self, pretty much of that same color, he was not very easy to discern from stone when the light of day wasdeclining. 

"This is where I catches all the boys, " he whispered; "and this is whereI caught him, one evening when I were tired, and gone to nurse my kneesa bit. Let me see--why, let me see! Don't you speak till I do, miss. Were it the last but one I dug? Or could un 'a been the last but two?Never mind; I can't call to mind quite justly. We puts down about one amonth in this parish, without any distemper or haxident. Well, it must'a been the one afore last--to be sure, no call to scratch my headabout un. Old Sally Mock, as sure as I stand here--done handsome bythe rate-payers. Over there, miss, if you please to look--about twoland-yard and a half away. Can you see un with the grass peeking upa'ready?"

"Never mind that, Jacob. Do please to go on. "

"So I be, miss. So I be doing to the best of the power granted me. Well, I were in this little knuckle of a squat, where old Sally used to sayas I went to sleep, and charged the parish for it--a spiteful old ooman, and I done her grave with pleasure, only wishing her had to pay forit; and to prove to her mind that I never goed asleep here, I was justmaking ready to set fire to my pipe, having cocked my shovel in to easemy legs, like this, when from round you corner of the chancel-foot, andover again that there old tree, I seed a something movin' along--movin'along, without any noise or declarance of solid feet walking. You maysee the track burnt in the sod, if you let your eyes go along this herefinger. "

"Oh, Jacob, how could you have waited to see it?"

"I did, miss, I did; being used to a-many antics in this dead-yard, suchas a man who hadn't buried them might up foot to run away from. But theyno right, after the service of the Church, to come up for more than onechange of the moon, unless they been great malefactors. And then they beashamed of it; and I reminds them of it. 'Amen, ' I say, in the very samevoice as I used at the tail of their funerals; and then they knows wellthat I covered them up, and the most uneasy goes back again. Lor' blessyou, miss, I no fear of the dead. At both ends of life us be harmless. It is in the life, and mostways in the middle of it, we makes all thedeath for one another. "

This was true enough; and I only nodded to him, fearing to interject anynew ideas from which he might go rambling. 

"Well, that there figure were no joke, mind you, " the old man continued, as soon as he had freshened his narrative powers with another pinch ofsnuff, "being tall and grim, and white in the face, and very onpleasantfor to look at, and its eyes seemed a'most to burn holes in the air. Nosooner did I see that it were not a ghostie, but a living man thesame as I be, than my knees begins to shake and my stumps of teeth tochatter. And what do you think it was stopped me, miss, from slippinground this corner, and away by belfry? Nort but the hoddest idea youever heared on. For all of a suddint it was borne unto my mind that theLord had been pleased to send us back the Captain; not so handsome ashe used to be, but in the living flesh, however, in spite of theynewspapers. And I were just at the pint of coming forrard, out of thishere dark cornder, knowing as I had done my duty by them graves that hishonor, to my mind, must 'a come looking after, when, lucky for me, Isee summat in his walk, and then in his countenance, and then in allhis features, unnateral on the Captain's part, whatever his time of lifemight be. And sure enough, miss, it were no Captain more nor I myselfbe. "

"Of course not. How could it be? But who was it, Jacob?"

"You bide a bit, miss, and you shall hear the whole. Well, by that time'twas too late for me to slip away, and I was bound to scrooge up intothe elbow of this nick here, and try not to breathe, as nigh as mightbe, and keep my Lammas cough down; for I never see a face more fullof malice and uncharity. However, he come on as straight as a arrow, holding his long chin out, like this, as if he gotten crutches underit, as the folk does with bad water. A tall man, as tall as the Captaina'most, but not gifted with any kind aspect. He trampsed over thegeneral graves, like the devil come to fetch their souls out; but whenhe come here to the 'holy ring, ' he stopped short, and stood with hisback to me. I could hear him count the seven graves, as pat as theshells of oysters to pay for, and then he said all their names, as true, from the biggest to the leastest one, as Betsy Bowen could 'a done it, though none of 'em got no mark to 'em. Oh, the poor little hearts, itwas cruel hard upon them! And then my lady in the middle, makingseven. So far as I could catch over his shoulder, he seemed to be quitea-talking with her--not as you and I be, miss, but a sort of a manner ofa way, like. "

"And what did he seem to say? Oh, Jacob, how long you do take over it!"

"Well, he did not, miss; that you may say for sartain. And glad I wasto have him quick about it; for he might have redooced me to such acondition--ay, and I believe a' would, too, if onst a' had caughtsight of me--as the parish might 'a had to fight over the appintment ofanother sexton. And so at last a' went away. And I were that stiff withscrooging in this cornder--"

"Is that all? Oh, that comes to nothing. Surely you must have more totell me? It may have been some one who knew our names. It may have beensome old friend of the family. "

"No, miss, no! No familiar friend; or if he was, he were like KingDavid's. He bore a tyrannous hate against 'e, and the poison of aspswere under his lips. In this here hattitude he stood, with his backtoward me, and his reins more upright than I be capable of putting it. And this was how he held up his elbow and his head. Look 'e see, miss, and then 'e know as much as I do. "

Mr. Rigg marched with a long smooth step--a most difficult strain forhis short bowed legs--as far as the place he had been pointing out; andthere he stood with his back to me, painfully doing what the tall manhad done, so far as the difference of size allowed. 

It was not possible for me to laugh in a matter of such sadness; and yetJacob stood, with his back to me, spreading and stretching himself insuch a way, to be up to the dimensions of the stranger, that--low as itwas--I was compelled to cough, for fear of fatally offending him. 

"That warn't quite right, miss. Now you look again, " he exclaimed, witha little readjustment. "Only he had a thing over one shoulder, the likeof what the Scotchmen wear; and his features was beyond me, because ofthe back of his head, like. For God's sake keep out of his way, miss. "

The sexton stood in a musing and yet a stern and defiant attitude, withthe right elbow clasped in the left-hand palm, the right hand restinghalf-clinched upon the forehead, and the shoulders thrown back, as ifready for a blow. 

"What a very odd way to stand!" I said. 

"Yes, miss. And what he said was odder. 'Six, and the mother!' I hearedun say; 'no cure for it, till I have all seven. ' But stop, miss. Not abreath to any one! Here comes the poor father and mother to speak theblessing across their daughter's grave--and the grave not two foot downyet!"

CHAPTER XXXVI

A SIMPLE QUESTION

Now this account of what Jacob Rigg had seen and heard threw me into astate of mind extremely unsatisfactory. To be in eager search of someunknown person who had injured me inexpressibly, without any longing forrevenge on my part, but simply with a view to justice--this was a verydifferent thing from feeling that an unknown person was in quest ofme, with the horrible purpose of destroying me to insure his own wickedsafety. 

At first I almost thought that he was welcome to do this; that such alife as mine (if looked at from an outer point of view) was better to bedied than lived out. Also that there was nobody left to get any good outof all that I could do; and even if I ever should succeed, truth wouldcome out of her tomb too late. And this began to make me cry, which Ihad long given over doing, with no one to feel for the heart of it. 

But a thing of this kind could not long endure; and as soon as the sunof the morrow arose (or at least as soon as I was fit to see him), myview of the world was quite different. Here was the merry brook, playingwith the morning, spread around with ample depth and rich retreat ofmeadows, and often, after maze of leisure, hastening with a tinkle intoshadowy delight of trees. Here, as well, were happy lanes, and footpathsof a soft content, unworn with any pressure of the price of time orbusiness. None of them knew (in spite, at flurried spots, of their owndirection posts) whence they were coming or whither going--only thathere they lay, between the fields or through them, like idle veinsof earth, with sometimes company of a man or boy, whistling to hisfootfall, or a singing maid with a milking pail. And how ungrateful itwould be to forget the pleasant copses, in waves of deep green leafageflowing down and up the channeled hills, waving at the wind to tints andtones of new refreshment, and tempting idle folk to come and hear thehush, and see the twinkled texture of pellucid gloom. 

Much, however, as I loved to sit in places of this kind alone, for somelittle time I feared to do so, after hearing the sexton's tale; forJacob's terror was so unfeigned (though his own life had not beenthreatened) that, knowing as I did from Betsy's account, as well as hisown appearance, that he was not at all a nervous man, I could not helpsharing his vague alarm. It seemed so terrible that any one should cometo the graves of my sweet mother and her six harmless children, and, instead of showing pity, as even a monster might have tried to do, should stand, if not with threatening gestures, yet with a most hostilemien, and thirst for the life of the only survivor--my poor self. 

But terrible or not, the truth was so; and neither Betsy nor myselfcould shake Mr. Rigg's conclusion. Indeed, he became more and moreemphatic, in reply to our doubts and mild suggestions, perhaps that hiseyes had deceived him, or perhaps that, taking a nap in the corner ofthe buttress, he had dreamed at least a part of it. And Betsy, on thescore of ancient friendship and kind remembrance of his likings, putit to him in a gentle way whether his knowledge of what Sally Mock hadbeen, and the calumnies she might have spoken of his beer (when herself, in the work-house, deprived of it), might not have induced him to takea little more than usual in going down so deep for her. But he answered, "No; it was nothing of the sort. Deep he had gone, to the tiptoe of hisfling; not from any feeling of a wish to keep her down, but just becausethe parish paid, and the parish would have measurement. And when thatwas on, he never brought down more than the quart tin from the public;and never had none down afterward. Otherwise the ground was so ticklish, that a man, working too free, might stay down there. No, no! Thatidea was like one of Sally's own. He just had his quart of Persfieldale--short measure, of course, with a woman at the bar--and if that wereenough to make a man dream dreams, the sooner he dug his own grave, thebetter for all connected with him. "

We saw that we had gone too far in thinking of such a possibility; andif Mr. Rigg had not been large-minded, as well as notoriously sober, Betsy might have lost me all the benefit of his evidence by herLondon-bred clumsiness with him. For it takes quite a differenthandling, and a different mode of outset, to get on with the Londonworking class and the laboring kind of the country; or at least itseemed to me so. 

Now my knowledge of Jacob Rigg was owing, as might be supposed, to BetsyStrouss, who had taken the lead of me in almost every thing ever sinceI brought her down from London. And now I was glad that, in one pointat least, her judgment had overruled mine--to wit, that my name andparentage were as yet not generally known in the village. Indeed, onlyBetsy herself and Jacob and a faithful old washer-woman, with no roof toher mouth, were aware of me as Miss Castlewood. Not that I had taken anyother name--to that I would not stoop--but because the public, of itsown accord, paying attention to Betsy's style of addressing me, followedher lead (with some little improvement), and was pleased to entitle me"Miss Raumur. "

Some question had been raised as to spelling me aright, till a man ofadvanced intelligence proved to many eyes, and even several pairs ofspectacles (assembled in front of the blacksmith's shop), that no otherway could be right except that. For there it was in print, as any oneable might see, on the side of an instrument whose name and qualitieswere even more mysterious than those in debate. Therefore I became "MissRaumur;" and a protest would have gone for nothing unless printed also. But it did not behoove me to go to that expense, while it suited me verywell to be considered and pitied as a harmless foreigner--a being whoon English land may find some cause to doubt whether, even in his owncountry, a prophet could be less thought of. And this large pity for me, as an outlandish person, in the very spot where I was born, endowed mewith tenfold the privilege of the proudest native. For the natives ofthis valley are declared to be of a different stock from those aroundthem, not of the common Wessex strain, but of Jutish or Danishorigin. How that may be I do not know; at any rate, they think well ofthemselves, and no doubt they have cause to do so. 

Moreover, they all were very kind to me, and their primitive ways amusedme, as soon as they had settled that I was a foreigner, equally beyondand below inquiry. They told me that I was kindly welcome to stay thereas long as it pleased me; and knowing how fond I was of making pictures, after beholding my drawing-book, every farmer among them gave me leaveto come into his fields, though he never had heard there was any thingthere worth painting. 

When once there has been a deposit of idea in the calm deep eocene ofBritish rural mind, the impression will outlast any shallow deluge ofthe noblest education. Shoxford had settled two points forever, withouttroubling reason to come out of her way--first, that I was a foreignyoung lady of good birth, manners, and money; second, and far moreimportant, I was here to write and paint a book about Shoxford. Notfor the money, of that I had no need (according to the congress at the"Silver-edged Holly"), but for the praise and the knowledge of it, like, and to make a talk among high people. But the elders shook theirheads--as I heard from Mr. Rigg, who hugged his knowledge proudly, anduttered dim sayings of wisdom let forth at large usury: he did not mindtelling me that the old men shook their heads, for fear of my being adeal too young, and a long sight too well favored (as any man might tellwithout his specs on), for to write any book upon any subject yet, leavealone an old, ancient town like theirs. However, there might be no harmin my trying, and perhaps the school-master would cross out the badlanguage. 

Thus for once fortune now was giving me good help, enabling me to goabout freely, and preventing (so far as I could see, at least) alldanger of discovery by my unknown foe. So here I resolved to keep myhead-quarters, dispensing, if it must be so, with Betsy's presence, and not even having Mrs. Price to succeed her, unless my cousin shouldinsist upon it. And partly to dissuade him from that, and partly tohear his opinion of the sexton's tale, I paid a flying visit to LordCastlewood; while "Madam Straw, " as Betsy now was called throughout thevillage, remained behind at Shoxford. For I long had desired to know athing which I had not ventured to ask my cousin--though I did ask Mr. Shovelin--whether my father had intrusted him with the key of his ownmysterious acts. I scarcely knew whether it was proper even now to putthis question to Lord Castlewood; but even without doing so, I might getat the answer by watching him closely while I told my tale. Not a letterhad reached me since I came to Shoxford, neither had I written any, except one to Uncle Sam; and keeping to this excellent rule, I arrivedat Castlewood without notice. 

In doing this I took no liberty, because full permission had been givenme about it; and indeed I had been expected there, as Stixon told me, some days before. He added that his master was about as usual, but hadshown some uneasiness on my account, though the butler was all in thedark about it, and felt it very hard after all these years, "particular, when he could hardly help thinking that Mrs. Price--a new hand comparedto himself, not to speak of being a female--knowed all about it, andwere very aggravating. But there, he would say no more; he knew hisplace, and he always had been valued in it, long afore Mrs. Price comeup to the bottom of his waistcoat. "

My cousin received me with kindly warmth, and kissed me gently on theforehead. "My dear, how very well you look!" he said. "Your native airhas agreed with you. I was getting, in my quiet way, rather sedulousand self-reproachful about you. But you would have your own way, like ayoung American; and it seems that you were right. "

"It was quite right, " I answered, with a hearty kiss, for I never couldbe cold-natured; and this was my only one of near kin, so far, at least, as my knowledge went. "I was quite right in going; and I have done good. At any rate, I have found out something--something that may not be ofany kind of use; but still it makes me hope things. "

With that, in as few words as ever I could use, I told Lord Castlewoodthe whole of Jacob's tale, particularly looking at him all the while Ispoke, to settle in my own mind whether the idea of such a thing was newto him. Concerning that, however, I could make out nothing. My cousin, at his time of life, and after so much travelling, had much too large ashare of mind and long skill of experience for me to make any thing outof his face beyond his own intention. And whether he had suspicion ornot of any thing at all like what I was describing, or any body havingto do with it, was more than I ever might have known, if I had notgathered up my courage and put the question outright to him. I toldhim that if I was wrong in asking, he was not to answer; but, right orwrong, ask him I must. 

"The question is natural, and not at all improper, " replied LordCastlewood, standing a moment for change of pain, which was all hisrelief. "Indeed, I expected you to ask me that before. But, Erema, Ihave also had to ask myself about it, whether I have any right to answeryou. And I have decided not to do so, unless you will pledge yourself toone thing. "

"I will pledge myself to any thing, " I answered, rashly; "I do not carewhat it is, if only to get at the bottom of this mystery. "

"I scarcely think you will hold good to your words when you hear whatyou have to promise. The condition upon which I tell you what I believeto be the cause of all is, that you let things remain as they are, andkeep silence forever about them. "

"Oh, you can not be so cruel, so atrocious!" I cried, in my bitterdisappointment. "What good would it be for me to know things thus, andlet the vile wrong continue? Surely you are not bound to lay on me acondition so impossible?"

"After much consideration and strong wish to have it otherwise, I haveconcluded that I am so bound. "

"In duty to my father, or the family, or what? Forgive me for asking, but it does seem so hard. "

"It seems hard, my dear, and it is hard as well, " he answered, verygently, yet showing in his eyes and lips no chance of any yielding. "Butremember that I do not know, I only guess, the secret; and if you givethe pledge I speak of, you merely follow in your father's steps. "

"Never, " I replied, with as firm a face as his. "It may have been myfather's duty, or no doubt he thought it so; but it can not be mine, unless I make it so by laying it on my honor. And I will not do that. "

"Perhaps you are right; but, at any rate, remember that I have not triedto persuade you. I wish to do what is for your happiness, Erema. AndI think that, on the whole, with your vigor and high spirit, you arebetter as you are than if you had a knowledge which you could only broodover and not use. "

"I will find out the whole of it myself, " I cried, for I could notrepress all excitement; "and then I need not brood over it, but may haveit out and get justice. In the wildest parts of America justice comeswith perseverance: am I to abjure it in the heart of England? LordCastlewood, which is first--justice or honor?"

"My cousin, you are fond of asking questions difficult to answer. Justice and honor nearly always go together. When they do otherwise, honor stands foremost, with people of good birth, at least. "

"Then I will be a person of very bad birth. If they come into conflictin my life, as almost every thing seems to do, my first thought shall beof justice; and honor shall come in as its ornament afterward. "

"Erema, " said my cousin, "your meaning is good, and at your time of lifeyou can scarcely be expected to take a dispassionate view of things. "

At first I felt almost as if I could hate a "dispassionate view ofthings. " Things are made to arouse our passion, so long as meanness andvillainy prevail; and if old men, knowing the balance of the world, can contemplate them all "dispassionately, " more clearly than any thingelse, to my mind, that proves the beauty of being young. I am sure thatI never was hot or violent--qualities which I especially dislike--butstill I would rather almost have those than be too philosophical. Andnow, while I revered my father's cousin for his gentleness, wisdom, andlong-suffering, I almost longed to fly back to the Major, prejudiced, peppery, and red-hot for justice, at any rate in all things thatconcerned himself. 

CHAPTER XXXVII

SOME ANSWER TO IT

Hasty indignation did not drive me to hot action. A quiet talk withMrs. Price, as soon as my cousin's bad hour arrived, was quite enough tobring me back to a sense of my own misgovernment. Moreover, the eveningclouds were darkening for a night of thunder, while the silver Thameslooked nothing more than a leaden pipe down the valleys. Calm words fallat such times on quick temper like the drip of trees on people whohave been dancing. I shivered, as my spirit fell, to think of my weakexcitement, and poor petulance to a kind, wise friend, a man of manysorrows and perpetual affliction. And then I recalled what I hadobserved, but in my haste forgotten--Lord Castlewood was greatly changedeven in the short time since I had left his house for Shoxford. Pale hehad always been, and his features (calm as they were, and finely cut)seemed almost bleached by in-door life and continual endurance. Butnow they showed worse sign than this--a delicate transparence of faintcolor, and a waxen surface, such as I had seen at a time I can not bearto think of. Also he had tottered forward, while he tried for steadfastfooting, quite as if his worried members were almost worn out at last. 

Mrs. Price took me up quite sharply--at least for one of herwell-trained style--when I ventured to ask if she had noticed this, which made me feel uneasy. "Oh dear, no!" she said, looking up fromthe lace-frilled pockets of her silk apron, which appeared to my mindperhaps a little too smart, and almost of a vulgar tincture; and I thinkthat she saw in my eyes that much, and was vexed with herself for notchanging it--"oh dear, no, Miss Castlewood! We who know and watchhim should detect any difference of that nature at the moment of itsoccurrence. His lordship's health goes vacillating; a little up now, and then a little down, like a needle that is mounted to show the dipof compass; and it varies according to the electricity, as well as themagnetic influence. "

"What doctor told you that?" I asked, seeing in a moment that thishousekeeper was dealing in quotation. 

"You are very"--she was going to say "rude, " but knew better when shesaw me waiting for it--"well, you are rather brusque, as we used to callit abroad, Miss Castlewood; but am I incapable of observing for myself?"

"I never implied that, " was my answer. "I believe that you are mostintelligent, and fit to nurse my cousin, as you are to keep hishouse. And what you have said shows the clearness of your memory andexpression. "

"You are very good to speak so, " she answered, recovering her temperbeautifully, but, like a true woman, resolved not to let me know anything more about it. "Oh, what a clap of thunder! Are you timid? Thishouse has been struck three times, they say. It stands so prominently. It is this that has made my lord look so. "

"Let us hope, then to see him much better to-morrow, " I said, verybravely, though frightened at heart, being always a coward of thunder. "What are these storms you get in England compared to the tropicaloutbursts? Let us open the window, if you please, and watch it. "

"I hear myself called, " Mrs. Price exclaimed. "I am sorry to leave you, miss. You know best. But please not to sit by an open window; nothing ismore dangerous. "

"Except a great bunch of steel keys, " I replied; and gazing at her niceretreating figure, saw it quickened, as a flash of lightning passed, with the effort of both hands to be quit of something. 

The storm was dreadful; and I kept the window shut, but could not helpwatching, with a fearful joy, the many-fingered hazy pale vibrations, the reflections of the levin in the hollow of the land. And sadly Ibegan to think of Uncle Sam and all his goodness; and how in a storm, a thousandfold of this, he went down his valley in the torrent of thewaves, and must have been drowned, and perhaps never found again, if hehad not been wearing his leathern apron. 

This made me humble, as all great thoughts do, and the sidelong drizzlein among the heavy rain (from the big drops jostling each other in theair, and dashing out splashes of difference) gave me an idea of the sortof thing I was--and how very little more. And feeling rather lonely inthe turn that things had taken, I rang the bell for somebody; and upcame Stixon. 

"Lor', miss! Lor', what a burning shame of Prick!--'Prick' we call her, in our genial moments, hearing as the 'k' is hard in Celtic language;and all abroad about her husband. My very first saying to you was, notto be too much okkipied with her. Look at the pinafore on her! Lord bewith me! If his lordship, as caught me, that day of this very same monthfifty years, in the gooseberry bush--"

"To be sure!" I said, knowing that story by heart, together with all itsembellishments; "but things are altered since that day. Nothing can bemore to your credit, I am sure, than to be able to tell such a tale inthe very place where it happened. "

"But, Miss--Miss Erma, I ain't begun to tell it. "

"Because you remember that I am acquainted with it. A thing soremarkable is not to be forgotten. Now let me ask you a question ofimportance; and I beg you, as an old servant of this family, toanswer it carefully and truly. Do you remember any one, either here orelsewhere, so like my father, Captain Castlewood, as to be taken forhim at first sight, until a difference of expression and of walk wasnoticed?"

Mr. Stixon looked at me with some surprise, and then began to thinkprofoundly, and in doing so he supported his chin with one hand. 

"Let me see--like the Captain?" He reflected slowly: "Did I ever see agentleman like poor Master George, as was? A gentleman, of course, itmust have been--and a very tall, handsome, straight gentleman, to betaken anyhow for young Master George. And he must have been very likehim, too, to be taken for him by resemblance. Well then, miss, to thebest of my judgment, I never did see such a gentleman. "

"I don't know whether it was a gentleman or not, " I answered, withsome impatience at his tantalizing slowness; "but he carried his chinstretched forth--like this. "

For Stixon's own attitude had reminded me of a little point in JacobRigg's description, which otherwise might have escaped me. 

"Lor', now, and he carried his chin like that!" resumed the butler, withan increase of intelligence by no means superfluous. "Why, let me see, now, let me see. Something do come across my mind when you puts out yourpurty chin, miss; but there, it must have been a score of years agone, or more--perhaps five-and-twenty. What a daft old codger I be getting, surely! No wonder them new lights puts a bushel over me. "

"No, " I replied; "you are simply showing great power of memory, Stixon. And now please to tell me, as soon as you can, who it was--a tall man, remember, and a handsome one, with dark hair, perhaps, or at any ratedark eyes--who resembled (perhaps not very closely, but still enough tomislead at a distance) my dear father--Master George, as you call him, for whose sake you are bound to tell me every thing you know. Now try tothink--do please try your very best, for my sake. "

"That I will, miss; that I will, with all my heart, with all my mind, with all my soul, and with all my strength, as I used to have to saywith my hands behind my back, afore education were invented. Only pleaseyou to stand with your chin put out, miss, and your profield towards me. That is what brings it up, and nothing else at all, miss. Only, not tosay a word of any sort to hurry me. A tracherous and a deep thing is thememory and the remembrance. "

Mr. Stixon's memory was so deep that there seemed to be no bottom to it, or, at any rate, what lay there took a very long time to get at. And Iwaited, with more impatience than hope, the utterance of his researches. 

"I got it now; I got it all, miss, clear as any pictur'!" the old mancried out, at the very moment when I was about to say, "Please to leaveoff; I am sure it is too much for you. " "Not a pictur' in all of ourgallery, miss, two-and-fifty of 'em, so clear as I see that there man, dark as it was, and a heavy wind a-blowing. What you call them things, miss, if you please, as comes with the sun, like a face upon the water?Wicked things done again the will of the Lord, and He makes them fadeout afterwards. "

"Perhaps you mean photographs. Is that the word?"

"The very word, and no mistake. A sinful trespass on the works of God, to tickle the vanity of gals. But he never spread himself abroad likethem. They shows all their ear-rings, and their necks, and smiles. Buthe never would have shown his nose, if he could help it, that stormynight when I come to do my duty. He come into this house without so muchas a 'by your leave' to nobody, and vexed me terrible accordingly. Itwas in the old lord's time, you know, miss, a one of the true sort, aswould have things respectful, and knock down any man as soon as look. And it put me quite upon the touch-and-go, being responsible for allthe footman's works, and a young boy promoted in the face of my opinion, having my own son worth a dozen of him. This made me look at the natureof things, miss, and find it on my conscience to be after every body. "

"Yes, Stixon, yes! Now do go on. You must always have been, not onlyafter, but a very long way after, every body. "

"Miss Erma, if you throw me out, every word goes promiscuous. In aheffort of the mind like this it is every word, or no word. Now, didI see him come along the big passage?--a 'currydoor' they call it now, though no more curry in it than there is door. No, I never seed him comealong the passage, and that made it more reproachful. He come out ofa green-baize door--the very place I can point out to you, and theselfsame door, miss, though false to the accuracy of the mind that knowsit, by reason of having been covered up red, and all the brass buttonslost to it in them new-fangled upholsteries. Not that I see him comethrough, if you please, but the sway of the door, being double-jointed, was enough to show legs, had been there. And knowing that my lord'sprivate room was there, made me put out my legs quite wonderful. "

"Oh, do please to put out your words half as quickly. "

"No, miss, no. I were lissome in those days, though not so very stiffat this time of speaking, and bound to be guarded in the guidance of thetongue. And now, miss, I think if you please to hear the rest to-morrow, I could tell it better. "

A more outrageous idea than this was never presented to me. Even if Icould have tried to wait, this dreadful old man might have made up hismind not to open his lips in the morning, or, if he would speak, theremight be nothing left to say. His memory was nursed up now, and my onlychance was to keep it so. Therefore I begged him to please to go on, andno more would I interrupt him. And I longed to be ten years older, so asnot to speak when needless. 

"So then, Miss Erma, if I must go on, " resumed the well-coaxed Stixon, "if my duty to the family driveth me to an 'arrowing subjeck, no wordscan more justly tell what come to pass than my language to my wife. Shewere alive then, the poor dear hangel, and the mother of seven children, which made me, by your leave comparing humble roofs with grandeur, alittle stiff to him up stairs, as come in on the top of seven. For Isaid to my wife when I went home--sleeping out of the house, you see, miss, till the Lord was pleased to dissolve matrimony--'Polly, ' Isaid, when I took home my supper, 'you may take my word for it there issomething queer. ' Not another word did I mean to tell her, as behoovedmy dooty. Howsoever, no peace was my lot till I made a clean bosom ofit, only putting her first on the Testament, and even that not safe withmost of them. And from that night not a soul has heard a word till itcomes to you, miss. He come striding along, with his face muffled up, for all the world like a bugglar, and no more heed did he pay to me thanif I was one of the pedestals. But I were in front of him at the door, and to slip out so was against all orders. So in front of him I stands, with my hand upon the handles, and meaning to have a word with him, toknow who he was, and such like, and how he comes there, and what he hadbeen seeking, with the spoons and the forks and the gravies on my mind. And right I would have been in a court of law (if the lawyers was putout of it) for my hefforts in that situation. And then, what do youthink he done, miss? So far from entering into any conversation with me, or hitting at me, like a man--which would have done good to think of--hesend out one hand to the bottom of my vest--as they call it now in allthe best livery tailors--and afore I could reason on it, there I wasa-lying on a star in six colors of marble. When I come to think on it, it was but a push directed to a part of my system, and not a hitunder the belt, the like of which no Briton would think of delivering. Nevertheless, there was no differ in what came to me, miss, and myspirit was roused, as if I had been hit foul by one of the prizemen. No time to get up, but I let out one foot at his long legs as a' wasslipping through the door, and so nearly did I fetch him over that helet go his muffle to balance himself with the jamb, and same moment astrong rush of wind laid bare the whole of his wicked face to me. For abad wicked face it was, as ever I did see; whether by reason of the kickI gave, and a splinter in the shin, or by habit of the mind, a proud and'aughty and owdacious face, and, as I said to my poor wife, reminded mea little of our Master George; not in his ordinary aspect, to be sure, but as Master George might look if he was going to the devil. Prayexcoose me, miss, for bad words, but no good ones will do justice. And so off he goes, after one look at me on the ground, not worthconsidering, with his chin stuck up, as if the air was not good enoughto be breathed perpendiklar like. "

"And of course you followed him, " I exclaimed, perceiving that Stixonwould allow me now to speak. "Without any delay you went after him. "

"Miss Erma, you forget what my dooty was. My dooty was to stay by thedoor and make it fast, as custodian of all this mansion. No littlecoorosity, or private resentment, could 'a borne me out in doing so. Asan outraged man I was up for rushing out, but as a trusted official, andresponsible head footman, miss--for I were not butler till nine monthsafter that--my dooty was to put the big bolt in. "

"And you did it, without even looking out to see if he tried to set thehouse on fire! Oh, Stixon, I fear that you were frightened. "

"Now, Miss Erma, I calls it ungrateful, after all my hefforts to obleegeyou, to put a bad construction upon me. You hurts me, miss, in mytenderest parts, as I never thought Master George's darter would 'adoed. But there, they be none of them as they used to be! Master Georgewould 'a said, if he ever had heard it. 'Stixon, my man, you have actedfor the best, and showed a sound discretion. Stixon, ' he would havesaid, 'here's a George and Dragon in reward of your gallant conduck. 'Ah, that sort of manliness is died out now. "

This grated at first upon my feelings, because it seemed tainted withselfishness, and it did not entirely agree with my own recollectionsof my father. But still Mr. Stixon must have suffered severely in thatconflict, and to blame him for not showing rashness was to misunderstandhis position. And so, before putting any other questions to him, I feltin my pocket for a new half sovereign, which I hoped would answer. 

Mr. Stixon received it in an absent manner, as if he were still in thestruggle of his story, and too full of duty to be thankful. Yet Isaw that he did not quite realize the truth of a nobly philosophicproverb--"the half is more than the whole. " Nevertheless, he stowed awayhis half, in harmony with a good old English saying. 

"Now, when you were able to get up at last, " I inquired, with tenderinterest, "what did you see, and what did you do, and what conclusiondid you come to?"

"I came to the conclusion, miss, that I were hurt considerable. Coorosity on my part were quenched by the way as I had to rub myself. But a man is a man, and the last thing to complain of is the exercise ofhis functions. And when I come round I went off to his lordship, as ifI had heared his bell ring. All of us knew better than to speak till himbeginning, for he were not what they now call 'halfable, ' but very muchto the contrary. So he says, 'You door-skulker, what do you want there?'And I see that he got his hot leg up, certain to fly to bad language. According, I asked, with my breath in my hand, if he pleased to see anyyoung man there just now, by reason that such likes had been observatedgoing out in some direction. But his lordship roared to me to go inanother direction, not fit for young ladies. My old lord was up to everyword of English; but his present lordship is the hopposite extreme. "

"Is that all you have to tell me, Stixon? Did you never see that fearfulman again? Did you never even hear of him?"

"Never, miss, never! And to nobody but you have I ever told all as Itold now. But you seems to be born to hear it all. "

CHAPTER XXXVIII

A WITCH

It was true enough that Stixon now had nothing more to tell, but what hehad told already seemed of very great importance, confirming strongly, as it did, the description given me by Jacob Rigg. And even the butler'sconcluding words--that I seemed born to hear it all--comforted me likesome good omen, and cheered me forward to make them true. Not that Icould, in my sad and dangerous enterprise, always be confident. Some little spirit I must have had, and some resolve to be faithful, according to the power of a very common mind, admiring but neverclaiming courage. For I never did feel in any kind of way any gift ofinspiration, or even the fitness of a quick, strong mind for working outdeeds of justice. There were many good ladies in America then, and nowthere are some in England, perceiving so clearly their own superiorityas to run about largely proclaiming it. How often I longed to be alittle more like these, equal to men in achievements of the body, andvery far beyond them in questions of the mind!

However, it was useless to regret my lacks, and foolish, perhaps, tothink of them. To do my very best with what little gifts I had was moreto the purpose and more sensible. Taking in lonely perplexity now thisdim yet exciting view of things, I resolved, right or wrong, to abideat the place where the only chance was of pursuing my search. I waspledged, as perhaps has been said before, to keep from every oneexcepting faithful Betsy, and above all from Lord Castlewood, theunexpected little tale wrung out of Mr. Stixon. That promise had beengiven without any thought, in my eagerness to hear every thing, andprobably some people would have thought of it no more. But the trustybutler was so scared when I asked him to release me from it, so penitentalso at his own indiscretion, which never would have overcome him (as hesaid in the morning) only for the thunder-storm, that instead of gettingoff, I was quite obliged to renew and confirm my assurances. 

Therefore, in truth, I had no chance left but to go back to Shoxford anddo my best, meeting all dark perils with the shield of right spread overme. And a great thing now in my favor was to feel some confidence againin the guidance of kind Wisdom. The sense of this never had abandoned meso much as to make me miserable about it; but still I had never tried toshelter under it, and stay there faithfully, as the best of peopledo. And even now I was not brought to such a happy attitude, althoughdelivered by these little gleams of light from the dark void offatalism, into which so many bitter blows had once been driving me. 

However, before setting off again, I made one more attempt upon LordCastlewood, longing to know whether his suspicions would help me atall to identify the figure which had frightened both the sexton and thebutler. That the person was one and the same, I did not for a momentcall in question, any more than I doubted that he was the man uponwhose head rested the blood of us. But why he should be allowed to goscot-free while another bore his brand, and many others died for him, and why all my most just and righteous efforts to discover him shouldreceive, if not discouragement, at any rate most lukewarm aid--these andseveral other questions were as dark as ever. 

"You must not return to Shoxford, my cousin, " Lord Castlewood said tome that day, after a plain though courteous refusal to enlighten me evenwith a mere surmise, except upon the condition before rejected. "I cannot allow you to be there without strict supervision and protection. Youwill not, perhaps, be aware of it, as perhaps you have not been before;but a careful watch will be kept on you. I merely tell you this that youmay not make mistakes, and confound friendly vigilance with the spyingof an enemy. Erema, you will be looked after. "

I could not help being grateful for his kindness, and really, try as Imight to be fearless, it would be a great comfort to have some one toprotect me. On the other hand, how would this bear upon my own freedomof looking about, my desire to make my own occasions, and the need ofgoing every where? Could these be kept to my liking at all while anunknown power lay in kind regard of me? Considering these things, Ibegged my cousin to leave me to my own devices, for that I was afraidof nobody on earth, while only seeking justice, and that England mustbe worse than the worst parts of America if any harm to me could beapprehended at quiet times and in such a quiet place. 

My cousin said no more upon that point, though I felt that he was not inany way convinced; but he told me that he thought I should pay a littlevisit, if only for a day, such as I treated him with, to my good friendsat Bruntsea, before I returned to Shoxford. There was no one nowat Bruntsea whom I might not wish to meet, as he knew by a triflingaccident; and after all the kind services rendered by Major and Mrs. Hockin, it was hardly right to let them begin to feel themselvesneglected. Now the very same thing had occurred to me, and I was goingto propose it; and many things which I found it hard to do without wereleft in my little chest of locked-up drawers there. But of that, to myknowledge, I scarcely thought twice; whereas I longed to see and havea talk with dear "Aunt Mary. " Now, since my affairs had been growing sostrange, and Lord Castlewood had come forward--not strongly, but stillquite enough to speak of--there had been a kind-hearted and genuine wishat Bruntsea to recover me. And this desire had unreasonably grown whilestarved with disappointment. The less they heard of me, the more theyimagined in their rich good-will, and the surer they became that, afterall, there was something in my ideas. 

But how could I know this, without any letters from them, since letterswere a luxury forbidden me at Shoxford? I knew it through one of thesimplest and commonest of all nature's arrangements. Stixon's boy, as every body called him (though he must have been close uponfive-and-twenty, and carried a cane out of sight of the windows), beingso considered, and treated boyishly by the maids of Castlewood, assertedhis dignity, and rose above his value as much as he had lain below it, by showing that he owned a tender heart, and them that did not despiseit. For he chanced to be walking with his cane upon the beach (the verymorning after he first went to Bruntsea, too late for any train backagain), and casting glances of interior wonder over the unaccustomedsea--when from the sea itself out-leaped a wondrous rosy deity. 

"You there, Mr. Stixon! Oh my! How long?" exclaimed Mrs. Hockin's newparlormaid, ready to drop, though in full print now, on the landwardsteps of the bathing-machine set up by the reckless Major. 

"Come this very hinstant, miss, honor bright!" replied the juniorStixon, who had moved in good society; "and just in the hackmy of time, miss, if I may offer you my 'umble hand. "

The fair nymph fixed him with a penetrating gaze through tresses fullof salt curliness, while her cheeks were conscious of an unclad dip. ButWilliam Stixon's eyes were firm with pure truth, gently toning into shyreproach and tenderness. He had met her at supper last night, and donehis best; but (as he said to the Castlewood maids) it was only feelingthen, whereas now it was emoshun. 

"Then you are a gentleman!" Polly Hopkins cried; "and indeed, Mr. Stixon, these are slippery things. " She was speaking of the steps, asshe came down them, and they had no hand-rails; and the young man felthimself to be no more Stixon's boy, but a gentleman under sweet refiningpressure. 

From that hour forth it was pronounced, and they left the world to itsown opinion, that they were keeping company; and although they weresixty miles apart by air, and eighty-two by railway, at every posttheir hearts were one, with considerable benefit to the United Kingdom'srevenue. Also they met by the sad sea waves, when the bathing-machineshad been hauled up--for the Major now had three of them--as often asStixon senior smiled--which he did whenever he was not put out--on thebygone ways of these children. For Polly Hopkins had a hundred pounds, as well as being the only child of the man who kept the only shop forpickled pork in Bruntsea. And my Mr. Stixon could always contrive to getorders from his lordship to send the boy away, with his carriage paid, when his health demanded bathing. Hence it is manifest that the deedsand thoughts of Bruntsea House, otherwise called "Bruntlands, "were known quite as well, and discussed even better--becausedispassionately--at Castlewood than and as they were at home. 

Now I won forever the heart of Stixon's boy, and that of PollyHopkins, by recoiling with horror from the thought of going to Bruntseaunattended. After all my solitary journeys, this might have been calledhypocrisy, if it had been inconvenient; but coming as it did, it waspronounced, by all who desired either news or love, to be another proofof the goodness of my heart. 

Escorted thus by William Stixon (armed with a brilliant cane bought forthis occasion), and knowing that Sir Montague Hockin was not there, Iarrived at Bruntlands in the afternoon, and received a kindly welcomefrom my dear friend Mrs. Hockin. Her husband was from home, and shegrieved to say that now he was generally doing this; but nobody elsecould have any idea what his avocations were! Then she paid me somecompliments on my appearance--a thing that I never thought of, exceptwhen I came to a question of likeness, or chanced to be thinking ofthings, coming up as they will, at a looking-glass. 

That the Major was out was a truth established in my mind some timeago; because I had seen him, as our fly crawled by, expressly andemphatically at work on a rampart of his own designing. The work wasquite new to me, but not so his figure. Though I could not see peoplethree miles off, as Firm Gundry was said to do, I had pretty clearsight, and could not mistake the Major within a furlong. And there hewas, going about in a row of square notches against the sea-line, withhis coat off, and brandishing some tool, vehemently carrying on tospirits less active than his own. I burned with desire to go and joinhim, for I love to see activity; but Mrs. Hockin thought that I hadbetter stay away, because it was impossible to get on there withoutlanguage too strong for young ladies. 

This closed the question, and I stopped with her, and found the bestcomfort that I ever could have dreamed of. "Aunt Mary" was so steadfast, and so built up with, or rather built of, the very faith itself, that totalk with her was as good as reading the noblest chapter of the Bible. She put by all possibility of doubt as to the modern interference of theLord, with such a sweet pity and the seasoned smile of age, and so muchfeeling (which would have been contempt if she had not been softenedby her own escapes), that really I, who had come expecting to set herbeautiful white hair on end, became like a little child put into thecorner, but too young yet for any other punishment at school, except tobe looked at. Nevertheless, though I did look small, it made me all thehappier. I seemed to become less an individual, and more a member ofa large kind race under paternal management. From a practical point ofview this may have been amiss, but it helped to support me afterward. And before I began to get weary or rebel against her gentle teaching, incame her husband; and she stopped at once, because he had never any timefor it. 

"My geological hammer!" cried the Major, being in a rush as usual. "Oh, Miss Castlewood! I did not see you. Pardon me! It is the want ofpractice only; so wholly have you deserted us. Fallen into better hands, of course. Well, how are you? But I need not ask. If ever there was ayoung lady who looked well--don't tell me of troubles, or worries, ornerves--I put up my glasses, and simply say, 'Pretty young ladiesare above all pity!' My hammer, dear Mary; my hammer I must have. Thegeological one, you know; we have come on a bit of old Roman work; thebricklayer's hammers go flat, like lead. I have just one minute and ahalf to spare. What fine fellows those Romans were! I will build likea Roman. See to every bit of it myself, Erema. No contractor's jobs forme. Mary, you know where to find it. "

"Well, dear, I think that you had it last, to get the bung out of thebeer barrel, when the stool broke down in the corner, you know, becauseyou would--"

"Never mind about that. The drayman made a fool of himself. I proceededupon true principles. That fellow knew nothing of leverage. "

"Well, dear, of course you understand it best. But he told cook that itwas quite a mercy that you got off without a broken leg; and comparedwith that, two gallons of spilled ale--" Mrs. Hockin made off, withoutfinishing her sentence. 

"What a woman she is!" cried the Major; "she takes such a lofty viewof things, and she can always find my tools. Erema, after dinner Imust have a talk with you. There is something going on here--on mymanor--which I can not at all get a clew to, except by connecting youwith it, the Lord knows how. Of course you have nothing to do with it;but still my life has been so free from mystery that, that--you knowwhat I mean--"

"That you naturally think I must be at the bottom of every thingmysterious. Now is there any thing dark about me? Do I not labor to getat the light? Have I kept from your knowledge any single thing? But younever cared to go into them. "

"It is hardly fair of you to say that. The fact is that you, of your ownaccord, have chosen other counselors. Have you heard any more of yourlate guardian, Mr. Shovelin? I suppose that his executor, or some oneappointed by him, is now your legal guardian. "

"I have not even asked what the law is, " I replied. "Lord Castlewood ismy proper guardian, according to all common-sense, and I mean to havehim so. He has inquired through his solicitors as to Mr. Shovelin, andI am quite free there. My father's will is quite good, they say; but itnever has been proved, and none of them care to do it. My cousin thinksthat I could compel them to prove it, or to renounce in proper form; butMr. Shovelin's sons are not nice people--as different from him as nightfrom day, careless and wild and dashing. "

"Then do you mean to do nothing about it? What a time she is findingthat hammer!"

"I leave it entirely to my cousin, and he is waiting for legal advice. I wish to have the will, of course, for the sake of my dear father; butwith or without any will, my mother's little property comes to me. Andif my dear father had nothing to leave, why should we run up a greatlawyer's bill?"

"To be sure not! I see. That makes all the difference. I admire yourcommon-sense, " said the Major--"but there! Come and look, and justexercise it here. There is that very strange woman again, just at theend of my new road. She stands quite still, and then stares about, sometimes for an hour together. Nobody knows who she is, or why shecame. She has taken a tumble-down house on my manor, from a wretch of afellow who denies my title; and what she lives on is more than any onecan tell, for she never spends sixpence in Bruntsea. Some think that shewalks in the dark to Newport, and gets all her food at some ship storesthere. And one of our fishermen vows that he met her walking on the sea, as he rowed home one night, and she had a long red bag on her shoulder. She is a witch, that is certain; for she won't answer me, howeverpolitely I accost her. But the oddest thing of all is the name she gaveto the fellow she took the house from. What do you think she calledherself? Of all things in the world--'Mrs. Castlewood!' I congratulateyou on your relative. "

"How very strange!" I answered. "Oh, now I see why you connect me withit; and I beg your pardon for having been vexed. But let me go and seeher. Oh, may I go at once, if you please, and speak to her?"

"The very thing I wish--if you are not afraid. I will come with you, when I get my hammer. Oh, here it is! Mary, how clever you are! Now lookout of the window, and you shall see Erema make up to her grandmamma. "

CHAPTER XXXIX

NOT AT HOME

Mrs. Hockin, however, had not the pleasure promised her by the facetiousMajor of seeing me "make up to my grandmamma. " For although we set offat once to catch the strange woman who had roused so much curiosity, and though, as we passed the door of Bruntlands, we saw her still at herpost in the valley, like Major Hockin's new letter-box, for some reasonbest known to herself we could not see any more of her. For, hurry as hemight upon other occasions, nothing would make the Major cut a corner ofhis winding "drive" when descending it with a visitor. He enjoyed everyyard of its length, because it was his own at every step, and he countedhis paces in an under-tone, to be sure of the length, for perhaps thethousandth time. It was long enough in a straight line, one would havethought, but he was not the one who thought so; and therefore he haddoubled it by judicious windings, as if for the purpose of breaking thedescent. 

"Three hundred and twenty-one, " he said, as he came to a post, where hemeant to have a lodge as soon as his wife would let him; "now the oldwoman stands fifty-five yards on, at a spot where I mean to have anornamental bridge, because our fine saline element runs up there whenthe new moon is perigee. My dear, I am a little out of breath, whichaffects my sight for the moment. Doubtless that is why I do not seeher. "

"If I may offer an opinion, " I said, "in my ignorance of all the changesyou have made, the reason why we do not see her may be that she is goneout of sight. "

"Impossible!" Major Hockin cried--"simply impossible, Erema! She nevermoves for an hour and a half. And she was not come, was she, when youcame by?"

"I will not be certain, " I answered; "but I think that I must have seenher if she had been there, because I was looking about particularly atall your works as we came by. "

"Then she must be there still; let us tackle her. "

This was easier said than done, for we found no sign of any body at theplace where she certainly had been standing less than five minutes ago. We stood at the very end and last corner of the ancient river trough, where a little seam went inland from it, as if some trifle of a brookhad stolen down while it found a good river to welcome it. But now therewas only a little oozy gloss from the gleam of the sun upon some lees ofmarshy brine left among the rushes by the last high tide. 

"You see my new road and the key to my intentions?" said the Major, forgetting all about his witch, and flourishing his geological hammer, while standing thus at his "nucleus. " "To understand all, you have onlyto stand here. You see those leveling posts, adjusted with scientificaccuracy. You see all those angles, calculated with micrometricprecision. You see how the curves are radiated--"

"It is very beautiful, I have no doubt; but you can not have Uncle Sam'sgift of machinery. And do you understand every bit of it yourself?"

"Erema, not a jot of it. I like to talk about it freely when I can, because I see all its beauties. But as to understanding it, my dear, youmight set to, if you were an educated female, and deliver me a lectureupon my own plan. Intellect is, in such matters, a bubble. I know goodbricks, good mortar, and good foundations. "

"With your great ability, you must do that, " I answered, very gently, being touched with his humility and allowance of my opinion; "you willmake a noble town of it. But when is the railway coming?"

"Not yet. We have first to get our Act; and a miserable-minded wretch, who owns nothing but a rabbit-warren, means to oppose it. Don't let ustalk of him. It puts one out of patience when a man can not see hisown interest. But come and see our assembly-rooms, literary institute, baths, etc. , etc. --that is what we are urging forward now. "

"But may I not go first and look for my strange namesake? Would it bewrong of me to call upon her?"

"No harm whatever, " replied my companion; "likewise no good. Call fiftytimes, but you will get no answer. However, it is not a very greatround, and you will understand my plans more clearly. Step out, my dear, as if you had got a troop of Mexicans after you. Ah, what a fine turnfor that lot now!" He was thinking of the war which had broken out, andthe battle of Bull's Run. 

Without any such headlong speed, we soon came to the dwelling-place ofthe stranger, and really for once the good Major had not much overdonehis description. Truly it was almost tumbling down, though massivelybuilt, and a good house long ago; and it looked the more miserable nowfrom being placed in a hollow of the ground, whose slopes were tuftedwith rushes and thistles and ragwort. The lower windows were blocked upfrom within, the upper were shattered and crumbling and dangerous, with blocks of cracked stone jutting over them; and the last survivingchimney gave less smoke than a workman's homeward whiff of his pipe tocomfort and relieve the air. 

The only door that we could see was of heavy black oak, without anyknocker; but I clinched my hand, having thick gloves on, and made whatI thought a very creditable knock, while the Major stood by, with hisblue-lights up, and keenly gazed and gently smiled. 

"Knock again, my dear, " he said; "you don't knock half hard enough. "

I knocked again with all my might, and got a bruised hand for afortnight, but there was not even the momentary content produced by anactive echo. The door was as dead as every thing else. 

"Now for my hammer, " my companion cried. "This house, in all sound law, is my own. I will have a 'John Doe and Richard Roe'--a fine action ofejectment. Shall I be barred out upon my own manor?"

With hot indignation he swung his hammer, but nothing came of it exceptmore noise. Then the Major grew warm and angry. 

"My charter contains the right of burning witches or drowning them, according to their color. The execution is specially imposed upon thebailiff of this ancient town, and he is my own pickled-pork man. Hisname is Hopkins, and I will have him out with his seal and stick and allthe rest. Am I to be laughed at in this way?"

For we thought we heard a little screech of laughter from the lonelinessof the deep dark place, but no other answer came, and perhaps it wasonly our own imagining. 

"Is there no other door--perhaps one at the back?" I asked, as the lordof the manor stamped. 

"No, that has been walled up long ago. The villain has defied me fromthe very first. Well, we shall see. This is all very fine. You witnessthat they deny the owner entrance?"

"Undoubtedly I can depose to that. But we must not waste your valuabletime. "

"After all, the poor ruin is worthless, " he went on, calming down as weretired. "It must be leveled, and that hole filled up. It is quite aneye-sore to our new parade. And no doubt it belongs to me--no doubt itdoes. The fellow who claims it was turned out of the law. Fancy any manturned out of the law! Erema, in all your far West experience, did youever see a man bad enough to be turned out of the law?"

"Major Hockin, how can I tell? But I fear that their practice was very, very sad--they very nearly always used to hang them. "

"The best use--the best use a rogue can be put to. Some big thief hasput it the opposite way, because he was afraid of his own turn. Theconstitution must be upheld, and, by the Lord! it shall be--at any rate, in East Bruntsea. West Bruntsea is all a small-pox warren out of mycontrol, and a skewer in my flesh. And some of my tenants have goneacross the line to snap their dirty hands at me. "

Being once in this cue, Major Hockin went on, not talking to me much, but rather to himself, though expecting me now and then to say "yes;"and this I did when necessary, for his principles of action were beyondall challenge, and the only question was how he carried them out. 

He took me to his rampart, which was sure to stop the sea, and at thesame time to afford the finest place in all Great Britain for a view ofit. Even an invalid might sit here in perfect shelter from the heaviestgale, and watch such billows as were not to be seen except upon theMajor's property. 

"The reason of that is quite simple, " he said, "and a child may see theforce of it. In no other part of the kingdom can you find so steep abeach fronting the southwest winds, which are ten to one of all otherwinds, without any break of sand or rock outside. Hence we have what youcan not have on a shallow shore--grand rollers: straight from the veryAtlantic, Erema; you and I have seen them. You may see by the map thatthey all end here, with the wind in the proper quarter. "

"Oh, please not to talk of such horrors, " I said. "Why, your rampartswould go like pie crust. "

The Major smiled a superior smile, and after more talk we went home todinner. 

From something more than mere curiosity, I waited at Bruntsea for a dayor two, hoping to see that strange namesake of mine who had shown somuch inhospitality. For she must have been at home when we made thatpressing call, inasmuch as there was no other place to hide her withinthe needful distance of the spot where she had stood. But the longerI waited, the less would she come out--to borrow the good Irishman'sexpression--and the Major's pillar-box, her favorite resort, was left inconspicuous solitude. And when a letter came from Sir Montague Hockin, asking leave to be at Bruntlands on the following evening, I packedup my goods with all haste, and set off, not an hour too soon, forShoxford. 

But before taking leave of these kind friends, I begged them to do forme one little thing, without asking me to explain my reason, which, indeed, was more than I could do. I begged them, not of course to watchSir Montague, for that they could not well do to a guest, but simply tokeep their eyes open and prepared for any sign of intercourse, if suchthere were, between this gentleman and that strange interloper. MajorHockin stared, and his wife looked at me as if my poor mind musthave gone astray, and even to myself my own thought appeared absurd. Remembering, however, what Sir Montague had said, and other littlethings as well, I did not laugh as they did. But perhaps one part of myconduct was not right, though the wrong (if any) had been done beforethat--to wit, I had faithfully promised Mrs. Price not to say a wordat Bruntlands about their visitor's low and sinful treachery toward mycousin. To give such a promise had perhaps been wrong, but still withoutit I should have heard nothing of matters that concerned me nearly. Andnow it seemed almost worse to keep than to break such a pledge, when Ithought of a pious, pure-minded, and holy-hearted woman, like my dear"Aunt Mary, " unwittingly brought into friendly contact with a man of thelowest nature. And as for the Major, instead of sitting down with sucha man to dinner, what would he have done but drive him straightway fromthe door, and chase him to the utmost verge of his manor with the peakend of his "geological hammer?"

However, away I went without a word against that contemptible and baseman, toward whom--though he never had injured me--I cherished, for mypoor cousin's sake, the implacable hatred of virtuous youth. And a wildidea had occurred to me (as many wild ideas did now in the crowd ofthings gathering round me) that this strange woman, concealed from theworld, yet keenly watching some members of it, might be that fallen andmiserable creature who had fled from a good man with a bad one, becausehe was more like herself--Flittamore, Lady Castlewood. Not that shecould be an "old woman" yet, but she might look old, either by disguise, or through her own wickedness; and every body knows how suddenly thosesouthern beauties fall off, alike in face and figure. Mrs. Price had nottold me what became of her, or even whether she was dead or alive, butmerely said, with a meaning look, that she was "punished" for her sin, and I had not ventured to inquire how, the subject being so distasteful. 

To my great surprise, and uneasiness as well, I had found at Bruntlandsno letter whatever, either to the Major or myself, from Uncle Sam or anyother person at the saw-mills. There had not been time for any answerto my letter of some two months back, yet being alarmed by the Sawyer'slast tidings, I longed, with some terror, for later news. And all theUnited Kingdom was now watching with tender interest the dismemberment, as it almost appeared, of the other mighty Union. Not with malice, orsnug satisfaction, as the men of the North in their agony said, butcertainly without any proper anguish yet, and rather as a genialand sprightly spectator, whose love of fair play perhaps kindles hisapplause of the spirit and skill of the weaker side. "'Tis a goodfight--let them fight it out!" seemed to be the general sentiment; butin spite of some American vaunt and menace (which of late years had beengalling) every true Englishman deeply would have mourned the humiliationof his kindred. 

In this anxiety for news I begged that my letters might be forwardedunder cover to the postmistress at Shoxford, and bearing my initials. For now I had made up my mind to let Mrs. Busk know whatever I couldtell her. I had found her a cross and well-educated woman, far above herneighbors, and determined to remain so. Gossip, that universal leveler, theoretically she despised; and she had that magnificent esteem forrank which works so beautifully in England. And now when my good nursereasonably said that, much as she loved to be with me, her businesswould allow that delight no longer, and it also came home to my own mindthat money would be running short again, and small hope left in thisdreadful civil war of our nugget escaping pillage (which made me shudderhorribly at internal discord), I just did this--I dismissed Betsy, orrather I let her dismiss herself, which she might not have altogethermeant to do, although she threatened it so often. For here she hadnothing to do but live well, and protest against tricks of her ownprofession which she practiced as necessary laws at home; and so, withmuch affection, for the time we parted. 

Mrs. Busk was delighted at her departure, for she never had liked to becriticised so keenly while she was doing her very best. And as soon asthe wheels of Betsy's fly had shown their last spoke at the corner, shetold me, with a smile, that her mind had been made up to give us noticethat very evening to seek for better lodgings. But she could not wishfor a quieter, pleasanter, or more easily pleased young lady than I waswithout any mischief-maker; and so, on the spur of the moment, I tookher into my own room, while her little girl minded the shop, and thereand then I told her who I was, and what I wanted. 

And now she behaved most admirably. Instead of expressing surprise, sheassured me that all along she had felt there was something, and thatI must be somebody. Lovely as my paintings were (which I never heard, before or since, from any impartial censor), she had known that it couldnot be that alone which had kept me so long in their happy valley. Andnow she did hope I would do her the honor to stay beneath her humbleroof, though entitled to one so different. And was the fairy ring in thechurch-yard made of all my family?

I replied that too surely this was so, and that nothing would please mebetter than to find, according to my stature, room to sleep inside itas soon as ever I should have solved the mystery of its origin. At themoment this was no exaggeration, so depressing was the sense of fightingagainst the unknown so long, with scarcely any one to stand by me, oravenge me if I fell. And Betsy's departure, though I tried to take itmildly, had left me with a readiness to catch my breath. 

But to dwell upon sadness no more than need be (a need as sure ashunger), it was manifest now to my wondering mind that once more I hadchanced upon a good, and warm, and steadfast heart. Every body is saidto be born, whether that happens by night or day, with a certain littlewidowed star, which has lost its previous mortal, concentrating from abillion billion of miles, or leagues, or larger measure, intense, butgenerally invisible, radiance upon him or her; and to take for themoment this old fable as of serious meaning, my star was to find badfacts at a glance, but no bad folk without long gaze. 

CHAPTER XL

THE MAN AT LAST

This new alliance with Mrs. Busk not only refreshed my courage, buthelped me forward most importantly. In truth, if it had not been forthis I never could have borne what I had to bear, and met the perilswhich I had to meet. For I had the confidence of feeling now that herewas some one close at hand, an intelligent person, and well acquaintedwith the place and neighborhood, upon whom I could rely for warning, succor, and, if the worst should come to the very worst, revenge. It istrue that already I had Jacob Rigg, and perhaps the protector promisedby my cousin; but the former was as ignorant as he was honest, and ofthe latter, as he made no sign, how could I tell any thing?

Above all things, Mrs. Busk's position, as mistress of the letters, gaveme very great advantage both for offense and defense. For without thesmallest breach of duty or of loyal honor she could see that my letterspassed direct to me or from me, as the case might be, at the same timethat she was bound to observe all epistles addressed to strangers ornew-comers in her district, which extended throughout the valley. Andby putting my letters in the Portsmouth bag, instead of that forWinchester, I could freely correspond with any of my friends without anyone seeing name or postmark in the neighboring villages. 

It is needless to say that I had long since explored and examined withgreat diligence that lonely spot where my grandfather met his terribleand mysterious fate. Not that there seemed to be any hope now, afteralmost nineteen years, of finding even any token of the crime committedthere. Only that it was natural for me, feeling great horror of thisplace, to seek to know it thoroughly. 

For this I had good opportunity, because the timid people of the valley, toward the close of day, would rather trudge another half mile of thehomeward road than save brave legs at the thumping cost of hearts notso courageous. For the planks were now called "Murder-bridge;" andevery body knew that the red spots on it, which could never be seen bydaylight, began to gleam toward the hour of the deed, and glowed (as ifthey would burn the wood) when the church clock struck eleven. 

This phenomenon was beyond my gifts of observation; and knowing thatmy poor grandfather had scarcely set foot on the bridge, if ever he setfoot there at all--which at present was very doubtful--also that hehad fallen backward, and only bled internally, I could not reconciletradition (however recent) with proven truth. And sure of no disturbancefrom the step of any native, here I often sat in a little boweredshelter of my own, well established up the rise, down which the pathmade zigzag, and screened from that and the bridge as well by sheaf oftwigs and lop of leaves. It was a little forward thicket, quite detachedfrom the upland copse, to which perhaps it had once belonged, andcrusted up from the meadow slope with sod and mould in alternate steps. And being quite the elbow of a foreland of the meadow-reach, it yieldedalmost a "bird's-eye view" of the beautiful glade and the wanderingbrook. 

One evening when I was sitting here, neither drawing, nor working, noreven thinking with any set purpose, but idly allowing my mind to rove, like the rivulet, without any heed, I became aware of a moving figurein the valley. At first it did not appear to me as a thing at all worthnotice; it might be a very straightforward cow, or a horse, coming onlike a stalking-horse, keeping hind-legs strictly behind, in directdesire of water. I had often seen those sweet things that enjoy fourlegs walking in the line of distance as if they were no better off thanwe are, kindly desiring, perhaps, to make the biped spectator contentwith himself. And I was content to admire this cow or horse, or whateverit might be, without any more than could be helped of that invidiousfeeling which has driven the human race now to establish its right to atail, and its hope of four legs. So little, indeed, did I think of whatI saw, that when among the hazel twigs, parted carelessly by my hand, a cluster of nuts hung manifest, I gathered it, and began to crack andeat, although they were scarcely ripe yet. 

But while employed in this pleasant way, I happened to glance againthrough my leafy screen, and then I distinguished the figure in thedistance as that of a man walking rapidly. He was coming down themill-stream meadow toward the wooden bridge, carrying a fishing rod, butclearly not intent on angling. For instead of following the courseof the stream, he was keeping quite away from it, avoiding also thefootpath, or, at any rate, seeming to prefer the long shadows of thetrees and the tufted places. This made me look at him, and very soon Ishrank into my nest and watched him. 

As he came nearer any one could tell that he was no village workman, bolder than the rest, and venturesome to cross the "Murder-bridge" inhis haste to be at home. The fishing rod alone was enough to show thiswhen it came into clearer view; for our good people, though they fishedsometimes, only used rough rods of their own making, without any varnishor brass thing for the line. And the man was of different height andwalk and dress from any of our natives. 

"Who can he be?" I whispered to myself, as my heart began to beatheavily, and then seemed almost to stop, as it answered, "This is theman who was in the churchyard. " Ignoble as it was, and contemptible, and vile, and traitorous to all duty, my first thought was about my ownescape; for I felt that if this man saw me there he would rush upthe hill and murder me. Within pistol-shot of the very place where mygrandfather had been murdered--a lonely place, an unholy spot, and I waslooking at the hand that did it. 

The thought of this made me tremble so, though well aware that my deathmight ensue from a twig on the rustle, or a leaf upon the flutter, thatmy chance of making off unseen was gone ere I could seize it. For nowthe man was taking long strides over the worn-out planks of the bridge, disdaining the hand-rail, and looking upward, as if to shun sight of thefooting. Advancing thus, he must have had his gaze point-blank upon mylair of leafage; but, luckily for me, there was gorse upon the ridge, and bracken and rag-thistles, so that none could spy up and through thefooting of my lurking-place. But if any person could have spied me, this man was the one to do it. So carefully did he scan the distanceand inspect the foreground, as if he were resolved that no eye should beupon him while he was doing what he came to do. And he even drew fortha little double telescope, such as are called "binoculars, " and fixedit on the thicket which hid me from him, and then on some other darkplaces. 

No effort would compose or hush the heavy beating of my heart; my lipswere stiffened with dread of loud breath, and all power of motion leftme. For even a puff of wind might betray me, the ruffle of a spray, orthe lifting of a leaf, or the random bounce of a beetle. Great perilhad encompassed me ere now, but never had it grasped me as this did, andparalyzed all the powers of my body. Rather would I have stood in themidst of a score of Mexican rovers than thus in the presence of that oneman. And yet was not this the very thing for which I had waited, longed, and labored? I scorned myself for this craven loss of nerve, but thatdid not enable me to help it. In this benumbed horror I durst not evenpeep at the doings of my enemy; but presently I became aware that he hadmoved from the end of the planks (where he stood for some time as calmlyas if he had done nothing there), and had passed round the back of thehawthorn-tree, and gone down to the place where the body was found, andwas making most narrow and minute search there. And now I could watchhim without much danger, standing as I did well above him, while hiseyes were steadfastly bent downward. And, not content with eyesightonly, he seemed to be feeling every blade of grass or weed, every singlestick or stone, craning into each cranny of the ground, and probingevery clod with his hands. Then, after vainly searching with the veryutmost care all the space from the hawthorn trunk to the meadow-leet(which was dry as usual), he ran, in a fury of impatience, to his rod, which he had stuck into the bank, as now I saw, and drew off the buttend, and removed the wheel, or whatever it is that holds the fishingline; and this butt had a long spike to it, shining like a halberd in apicture. 

This made me shudder; but my spirit was returning, and therewith mypower of reasoning, and a deep stir of curiosity. After so many yearsand such a quantity of searching, what could there still be left to seekfor in this haunted and horrible place? And who was the man that waslooking for it?

The latter question partly solved itself. It must be the murderer, andno other, whoever he might be among the many black spots of humanity. But as to the other point, no light could be thrown upon it, unless thesearch should be successful, and perhaps not even then. But now thisanxiety, and shame of terror, made me so bold--for I can not call itbrave--that I could not rest satisfied where I was, and instead ofblessing every leaf and twig that hid me from the enemy, nothing woulddo for me but to creep nearer, in spite of that truculent long brightspike. 

I thought of my father, and each fibre of my frame seemed to harden withvigor and fleetness. Every muscle of my body could be trusted now. I hadalways been remarkably light of foot. Could a man of that age catch me?It was almost as much as Firm Gundry could do, as in childish days I hadproved to him. And this man, although his hair was not gray, must be onthe slow side of fifty now, and perhaps getting short of his very wickedbreath. Then I thought of poor Firm, and of good Uncle Sam, and how theyscorned poltroonery; and, better still, I thought of that great Powerwhich always had protected me: in a word, I resolved to risk it. 

But I had not reckoned upon fire-arms, which such a scoundrel was prettysure to have; and that idea struck cold upon my valor. Nevertheless, Iwould not turn back. With no more sound than a field-mouse makes in thebuilding of its silken nest, and feet as light as the step of the windupon the scarcely ruffled grass, I quitted my screen, and went glidingdown a hedge, or rather the residue of some old hedge, which wouldshelter me a little toward the hollow of the banks. I passed low places, where the man must have seen me if he had happened to look up; but hewas stooping with his back to me, and working in the hollow of the drywater trough. He was digging with the long spike of his rod, and I heardthe rattle of each pebble that he struck. 

Before he stood up again, to ease his back and to look at theground which he still had to turn, I was kneeling behind a short, close-branched holly, the very last bush of the hedge-row, scarcelyfifteen yards from the hawthorn-tree. It was quite impossible to getnearer without coming face to face with him. And now I began again totremble, but with a great effort conquered it. 

The man was panting with his labor, and seemed to be in a vile tempertoo. He did not swear, but made low noises full of disappointment. Andthen he caught up his tool, with a savage self-control, and fell toagain. 

Now was my time to see what he was like, and engrave him on my memory. But, lo! in a moment I need not do that. The face was the bad imageof my father's. A lowered, and vicious, and ill-bred image of a noblecountenance--such as it was just possible to dream that my dear father'smight have fallen to, if his mind and soul had plunged away from thegood inborn and implanted in them. The figure was that of a tall strongman, with shoulders rather slouching, and a habit of keeping his headthrown back, which made a long chin look longer. Altogether he seemed aperilous foe, and perhaps a friend still more perilous. 

Be he what he might, he was working very hard. Not one of all UncleSam's men, to my knowledge, least of all Martin, would have worked sohard. With his narrow and ill-adapted tool he contrived to turn over, inless than twenty minutes, the entire bed of the meadow-leet, or trough, for a length of about ten yards. Then he came to the mouth, where thewater of the main stream lapped back into it, and he turned up thebottom as far as he could reach, and waited for the mud he had raised toclear away. When this had flowed down with the stream, he walked in forsome little distance till the pool grew deep; but in spite of all hislabor, there was nothing. 

Meanwhile the sunset glow was failing, and a gray autumnal haze crept upthe tranquil valley. Shadows waned and faded into dimness more diffuse, and light grew soft and vague and vaporous. The gleam of water, and thegloss of grass, and deep relief of trees, began to lose their severalphase and mingle into one large twilight blend. And cattle, fromtheir milking sheds, came lowing for more pasture; and the bark of ashepherd's dog rang quick, as if his sheep were drowsy. 

In the midst of innocent sights and sounds that murderer's heart misgavehim. He left his vain quest off, and gazed, with fear and hate ofnature's beauty, at the change from day to night which had not waitedfor him. Some touch of his childhood moved him perhaps, some thought oftimes when he played "I spy, " or listened to twilight ghost tales; atany rate, as he rose and faced the evening, he sighed heavily. 

Then he strode away; and although he passed me almost within length ofhis rod, there was little fear of his discovering me, because his mindwas elsewhere. 

It will, perhaps, be confessed by all who are not as brave as lionsthat so far I had acquitted myself pretty well in this trying matter. Horribly scared as I was at first, I had not allowed this to conquerme, but had even rushed into new jeopardy. But now the best part of mycourage was spent; and when the tall stranger refixed his rod and calmlyrecrossed those ominous planks, I durst not set forth on the perilouserrand of spying out his ways and tracking him. A glance was enough toshow the impossibility in those long meadows of following without beingseen in this stage of the twilight. Moreover, my nerves had been triedtoo long, and presence of mind could not last forever. All I could do, therefore, was to creep as far as the trunk of the hawthorn-tree, andthence observe that my enemy did not return by the way he had come, buthastened down the dusky valley. 

One part of his labors has not been described, though doubtless a highlyneedful one. To erase the traces of his work, or at least obscure themto a careless eye, when he had turned as much ground as he thought itworth his while to meddle with, he trod it back again to its level asnearly as might be, and then (with a can out of his fishing basket)sluiced the place well with the water of the stream. This made it lookto any heedless person, who would not descend to examine it, as if therehad been nothing more than a little reflux from the river, caused by aflush from the mill-pond. This little stratagem increased my fear of acunning and active villain. 

CHAPTER XLI

A STRONG TEMPTATION

Now it will be said, and I also knew, that there was nothing as yet, except most frail and feeble evidence, to connect that nameless strangerwith the crime charged upon my father. Indeed, it might be argued wellthat there was no evidence at all, only inference and suspicion. That, however, was no fault of mine; and I felt as sure about it as if I hadseen him in the very act. And this conclusion was not mine alone; forMrs. Busk, a most clever woman, and the one who kept the post-office, entirely agreed with me that there could be no doubt on earth about it. 

But when she went on to ask me what it was my intention to do next, forthe moment I could do nothing more than inquire what her opinion was. And she told me that she must have a good night's rest before advisingany thing. For the thought of having such a heinous character in her owndelivery district was enough to unhinge her from her postal duties, someof which might be useful to me. 

With a significant glance she left me to my own thoughts, which were sadenough, and too sad to be worth recording. For Mrs. Busk had not theart of rousing people and cheering them, such as Betsy Strouss, myold nurse, had, perhaps from her knowledge of the nursery. My presentlandlady might be the more sagacious and sensible woman of the two, andtherefore the better adviser; but for keeping one up to the mark she wasnot in any way equal to Betsy. 

There is no ingratitude in saying this, because she herself admitted it. A clever woman, with a well-balanced mind, knows what she can do, andwherein she fails, better than a man of her own proportion does. AndMrs. Busk often lamented, without much real mortification, that she hadnot been "born sympathetic. "

All the more perhaps for that, she was born sagacious, which is a lesspleasing, but, in a bitter pinch, a more really useful, quality. Andbefore I had time to think much of her defects, in the crowd of moreimportant thought, in she came again, with a letter in her hand, and asparkle of triumph in her small black eyes. After looking back along thepassage, and closing my door, she saw that my little bay-window had itsold-fashioned shutters fastened, and then, in a very low whisper, shesaid, "What you want to know is here, miss. "

"Indeed!" I answered, in my usual voice. "How can you know that? Theletter is sealed. "

"Hush! Would you have me ruined for your sake? This was at the bottom ofthe Nepheton bag. It fell on the floor. That was God's will, to place itin your power. "

"It is not in my power, " I answered, whispering in my turn, and staringat it, in the strong temptation. "I have no right even to look at it. Itis meant for some one else, and sealed. "

"The seal is nothing. I can manage that. Another drop of wax--and Istrike our stamp by accident over the breakage. I refuse to know anything about it. I am too busy with the other letters. Five minutes--lockthe door--and I will come again. "

This was a desperate conflict for me, worse even than bodily danger. Myfirst impulse was to have nothing to do with it--even to let the letterlie untouched, and, if possible, unglanced at. But already it was toolate for the eyes to turn away. The address had flashed upon me before Ithought of any thing, and while Mrs. Busk held it up to me. And nowthat address was staring at me, like a contemptuous challenge, while theseal, the symbol of private rights and deterrent honor, lay undermost. The letter was directed to "H. W. C. , Post-office, Newport, Sussex. " Thewriting was in round hand, and clear, so as not to demand any scrutiny, and to seem like that of a lawyer's clerk, and the envelope was of thinrepellent blue. 

My second impulse was to break the letter open and read it withoutshrinking. Public duty must conquer private scruples. Nothing but thehand of Providence itself could have placed this deadly secret in mypower so amazingly. Away with all squeamishness, and perhaps preventmore murder. 

But that "perhaps" gave me sudden pause. I had caught up the letter, andstood near the candle to soften the wax and lift the cover with a smallsharp paper-knife, when it flashed on my mind that my cousin wouldcondemn and scorn what I was doing. Unconsciously I must have made himnow my standard of human judgment, or what made me think of him at thatmoment? I threw down the letter, and then I knew. The image of LordCastlewood had crossed my mind, because the initials were his own--thoseof Herbert William Castlewood. This strange coincidence--if it were, indeed, an accident--once more set me thinking. Might not this letter befrom his agent, of whom he had spoken as my protector here, but to whomas all unseen I scarcely ever gave a thought? Might not young Stixon, who so often was at Bruntsea, be employed to call at Newport for suchletters, and return with them to his master? It was not very likely, formy cousin had the strongest contempt of anonymous doings. Still it waspossible, and the bare possibility doubled my reluctance to break theseal. 

For one minute longer I stood in doubt, and then honor and candor andtruth prevailed. If any other life had been in peril but my own, duty toanother might have overridden all. But duty to one's self, if overpushedin such a case, would hold some taint of cowardice. So I threw theletter, with a sense of loathing, on a chair. Whatever it might contain, it should pass, at least for me, inviolate. 

Now when Mrs. Busk came to see what I had done, or rather left undone, she flew into a towering passion, until she had no time to go on withit. The rattle of the rickety old mail-cart, on its way to Winchesterthat night, was heard, and the horn of the driver as he passed thechurch. 

"Give it me. 'A mercy! A young natural, that you are!" the good womancried, as she flung out of the room to dash her office stamp upon thathateful missive, and to seal the leathern bag. "Seal, indeed! Inviolate!How many seals have I got to make every day of my life?"

I heard a great thump from the corner of the shop where the business ofthe mails was conducted; and she told me afterward that she was so putout, that broken that seal should be--one way or another. Accordinglyshe smashed it with the office stamp, which was rather like awoman's act, methought; and then, having broken it, she never lookedinside--which, perhaps, was even more so. 

When she recovered her leisure and serenity, and came in, to forgiveme and be forgiven, we resolved to dismiss the moral aspect of thequestion, as we never should agree about it, although Mrs. Busk was notso certain as she had been, when she found that the initials were theinitials of a lord. And then I asked her how she came to fix upon thatletter among so many others, and to feel so sure that it came from mytreacherous enemy. 

"In the first place, I know every letter from Nepheton, " she answered, very sensibly. "There are only fourteen people that write letters in theplace, and twelve of those fourteen buy their paper in my shop--there isno shop at all at Nepheton. In the next place, none of them could writea hand like that, except the parson and the doctor, who are far abovedisguise. And two other things made me certain as could be. That letterwas written at the 'Green Man' ale-house; not on their paper, nor yetwith their ink; but being in great hurry, it was dusted with theirsand--a sand that turns red upon ink, miss. And the time of dispatchthere is just what he would catch, by walking fast after his dig whereyou saw him, going in that direction too, and then having his materialsready to save time. And if all that is not enough to convince you, miss--you remember that you told me our old sexton's tale?"

"To be sure I do. The first evening I was left alone here. And you havebeen so kind, there is nothing I would hide from you. "

"Well, miss, the time of old Jacob's tale is fixed by the death of poorold Sally Mock; and the stranger came again after you were here, justbefore the death of the miller's eldest daughter, and you might almosthave seen him. Poor thing! we all called her the 'flower of the Moon, 'meaning our little river. What a fine young woman she was, to be sure!Whenever we heard of any strangers about, we thought they were prowlingafter her. I was invited to her funeral, and I went, and nothing couldbe done nicer. But they never will be punctual with burials here; theylike to dwell on them, and keep the bell going, for the sake of thebody, and the souls that must come after it. And so, when it was done, Iwas twenty minutes late for the up mail and the cross-country post, and had to move my hands pretty sharp, I can assure you. That doesn'tmatter; I got through it, with the driver of the cart obliging, by meansof some beer and cold bacon. But what I feared most was the Nephetonbag, having seen the old man at the funeral, and knowing what they doafterward. I could not return him 'too late' again, or he would lose hisplace for certain, and a shilling a day made all the difference tohim, between wife and no wife. The old pair without it must go to theworkhouse, and never see one another. However, when I was despairingquite of him, up he comes with his bag quite correct, but only oneletter to sort in it, and that letter was, miss, the very identical ofthe one you held in your hands just now. And a letter as like it as twopeas had come when we buried old Sally. It puzzled me then, but I hadno clew to it; only now, you see, putting this and that together, thethings we behold must have some meaning for us; and to let them gowithout it is against the will of God; especially when at the bottom ofthe bag. "

"If you hear so soon of any stranger in the valley, " I asked, to escapethe re-opening of the opening question, "how can that man come and go--aman of remarkable stature and appearance--without any body asking who heis?"

"You scarcely could have put it better, miss, for me to give the answer. They do ask who he is, and they want to know it, and would like anybody to tell them. But being of a different breed, as they are, from alloutside the long valley, speaking also with a different voice, they fearto talk so freely out of their own ways and places. Any thing they canlearn in and out among themselves, they will learn; but any thing out ofthat they let go, in the sense of outlandish matter. Bless you, miss, if your poor grandfather had been shot any where else in England, howdifferent it would have been for him!"

"For us, you mean, Mrs. Busk. Do you think the man who did it had thatin his mind?"

"Not unless he knew the place, as few know it. No, that was an accidentof his luck, as many other things have been. But the best luck stops atlast, Miss Erema; and unless I am very much mistaken, you will be thestop of his. I shall find out, in a few days, where he came from, wherehe staid, and when he went away. I suppose you mean to let him go away?"

"What else am I to do?" I asked. "I have no evidence at all against him;only my own ideas. The police would scarcely take it up, even if--"

"Oh, don't talk of them. They spoil every thing. And none of our peoplewould say a word, or care to help us, if it came to that. The police areall strangers, and our people hate them. And, indeed, I believe thatthe worst thing ever done was the meddling of that old Jobbins. The oldstupe is still alive at Petersfield, and as pompous-headed as ever. Myfather would have been the man for your sad affair, miss, if thepolice had only been invented in his time. Ah, yes, he was sharp! Not aMoonstock man--you may take your oath of that, miss--but a good honestnative from Essex. But he married my mother, a Moonstock woman; or theywould not put up with me here at all. You quality people have your ideasto hold by, and despise all others, and reasonable in your opinions; butyou know nothing--nothing--nothing--of the stiffness of the people underyou. "

"How should I know any thing of that?" I answered; "all these things arenew to me. I have not been brought up in this country, as you know. Icome from a larger land, where your stiffness may have burst out intoroughness, from having so much room suddenly. But tell me what you thinknow your father would have done in such a case as mine is. "

"Miss Erema, he was that long-headed that nobody could play leap-frogwith him. None of them ever cleared over his barrel. He walked into thisvillage fifty-five years back, this very month, with his spade upon hisshoulder and the knowledge of every body in his eye. They all put upagainst him, but they never put him down; and in less than three monthshe went to church, I do assure you, with the only daughter of the onlybaker. After that he went into the baking line himself; he turned hisspade into a shovel, as he said, and he introduced new practices. "

"Oh, Mrs. Busk, not adulteration?"

"No, miss, no! The very last thing he would think of. Only the good useof potatoes in the bread, when flour was frightful bad and painful dear. What is the best meal of the day? he used to reason. Dinner. And why?Why, because of the potatoes. If I can make people take potato for theirbreakfast, and potato for their supper too, I am giving them three mealsa day instead of one. And the health of the village corresponded to it. "

"Oh, but, Mrs. Busk, he might have made them do it by persuasion, or atleast with their own knowledge--"

"No, miss, no! The whole nature of our people, Moonstock or out of it, is never to take victuals by any sort of persuasion. If St. Paul was tocome and preach, 'Eat this or that, ' all I had of it in the shop wouldgo rotten. They hate any meddling with their likings, and they suspectdoctor's rubbish in all of it. "

"I am quite of their opinion, " I replied; "and I am glad to hear oftheir independence. I always used to hear that in England none of thepoor people dared have a will of their own. "

Mrs. Busk lifted up her hands to express amazement at my ignorance, and said that she "must run away and put the shutters up, or else thepoliceman would come rapping, and look for a glass of beer, which he hadno right to till it came to the bottom of the firkin; and this one wasonly tapped last Sunday week. Don't you ever think of the police, miss. "

Probably this was good advice, and it quite agreed with the opinionsof others, and my own impressions as to the arrogant lethargy of "theforce, " as they called themselves, in my father's case. Mrs. Busk hadmore activity and intelligence in her little head than all the fatsergeants and inspectors of the county, helmet, belt, and staff, andall. 

CHAPTER XLII

MASTER WITHYPOOL

At first I was much inclined to run for help, or at least for counsel, either to Lord Castlewood or to Major Hockin; but further considerationkept me from doing any thing of the kind. In the first place, neitherof them would do much good; for my cousin's ill health would prevent himfrom helping me, even if his strange view of the case did not, whilethe excellent Major was much too hot and hasty for a delicate task likethis. And, again, I might lose the most valuable and important of allchances by being away from the spot just now. And so I remained atShoxford for a while, keeping strict watch upon the stranger's haunt, and asking about him by means of Mrs. Busk. 

"I have heard more about him, miss, " she said one day, when the downletters had been dispatched, which happened about middle-day. "He hasbeen here only those three times this summer, upon excuse of fishingalways. He stays at old Wellham, about five miles down the river, wherethe people are not true Moonites. And one thing that puzzles them is, that although he puts up there simply for the angling, he always choosestimes when the water is so low that to catch fish is next to impossible. He left his fishing quarters upon the very day after you saw himsearching so; and he spoke as if he did not mean to come again thisseason. And they say that they don't want him neither, he is such amorose, close-fisted man; and drinking nothing but water, there is verylittle profit with him. "

"And did you find out what his name is? How cleverly you have managed!"

"He passes by the name of 'Captain Brown;' but the landlord of his inn, who has been an old soldier, is sure he was never in the army, norany other branch of the service. He thinks that he lives by inventingthings, for he is always at some experiments, and one of his greatpoints is to make a lamp that will burn and move about under water. Tobe sure you see the object of that, miss?"

"No, really, Mrs. Busk, I can not. I have not your penetration. "

"Why, of course, to find what he can not find upon land. There issomething of great importance there, either for its value or itsmeaning. Have you ever been told that your poor grandfather wore anydiamonds or precious jewels?"

"No. I have asked about that most especially. He had nothing about himto tempt a robber. He was a very strong-willed man, and he hated outwardtrumpery. "

"Then it must be something that this man himself has dropped, unless itwere a document, or any other token, missing from his lordship. And fewthings of that sort would last for twenty years almost. "

"Nineteen years the day after to-morrow, " I answered, with a glance atmy pocket-book. "I determined to be here on that very day. No doubt Iam very superstitious. But one thing I can not understand is this--whatreason can there have been for his letting so many years pass, and thenhunting like this?"

"No one can answer that question, miss, without knowing more than weknow. But many reasons might be supposed. He might have been rovingabroad, for instance, just as you and your father have been. Or he mightnot have known that the thing was there; or it might not have been ofimportance till lately; or he might have been afraid, until somethingelse happened. Does he know that you are now in England?"

"How can I possibly tell, Mrs. Busk? He seems to know a great dealtoo much. He found me out when I was at Colonel Gundry's. At least Iconclude so, from what I know now; but I hope he does not know"--and atsuch a dreadful idea I shuddered. 

"I am almost sure that he can not know it, " the good postmistressanswered, "or he would have found means to put an end to you. That wouldhave been his first object. "

"But, Mrs. Busk, " I said, being much disturbed by her calmness, "surely, surely he is not to be allowed to make an end of every one! I came tothis country with the full intention of going into every thing. ButI did not mean at all, except in my very best moments, to sacrificemyself. It seems too bad--too bad to think of. "

"So it is, Miss Erema, " Mrs. Busk replied, without any congenialexcitement. "It does seem hard for them that have the liability on them. But still, miss, you have always shown such a high sense of duty, and ofwhat you were about--"

"I can't--I can not. There are times, I do assure you, when I am fit fornothing, Mrs. Busk, and wish myself back in America. And if this man isto have it all his own way--"

"Not he, miss--not he. Be you in no hurry. Could he even have his waywith our old miller? No; Master Withypool was too many for him. "

"That is a new thing. You never told me that. What did he try to do withthe miller?"

"I don't justly know what it was, Miss Erema. I never spoke to millerabout it, and, indeed, I have had no time since I heard of it. But thosethat told me said that the tall strange gentleman was terribly put out, and left the gate with a black cloud upon his face, and the very nextday the miller's daughter died, quite sudden and mysterious. "

"How very strange! But now I have got a new idea. Has the miller astrong high dam to his pond, and a good stout sluice-gate at the end!"

"Yes, miss, to be sure he has, " said Mrs. Busk; "otherwise how could hegrind at all, when the river is so low as it is sometimes?"

"Then I know what he wanted, and I will take a leaf out of his ownbook--the miscreant! He wanted the miller to stop back the water andleave the pool dry at the 'Murder-bridge. ' Would it be possible for himto do that?"

"I can not tell you, miss; but your thought is very clever. It is likelyenough that he did want that, though he never would dare to ask withoutsome pretense--some other cause I mean, to show for it. He may have beenthinking that whatever he was wanting was likely to be under water. Andthat shows another thing, if it is so. "

"Mrs. Busk, my head goes round with such a host of complications. I domy best to think them out--and then there comes another!"

"No, miss; this only clears things up a little. If the man can not besure whether what he is looking for is on land or under water, it seemsto me almost to show that it was lost at the murder time in the darkand flurry. A man would know if he dropped any thing in the water bydaylight, from the splash and the ripple, and so on, for the stream isquite slow at that corner. He dropped it, miss, when he did the deed, orelse it came away from his lordship. "

"Nothing was lost, as I said before, from the body of my grandfather, so far at least as our knowledge goes. Whatever was lost was themurderer's. Now please to tell me all about the miller, and how I mayget round him. "

"You make me laugh in the middle of black things, miss, by the wayyou have of putting them. But as to the miller--Master Withypool is awonder, as concerns the ladies. He is one of those men that stand up forevery thing when a man tries upper side of them. But let a woman come, and get up under, and there he is--a pie crust lifted. Why, I, at myage, could get round him, as you call it. But you, miss--and more thanthat, you are something like his daughter; and the old man frets afterher terrible. Go you into his yard, and just smile upon him, miss, andif the Moon River can be stopped, he'll stop it for you. "

This seemed a very easy way to do it. But I told Mrs. Busk that I wouldpay well also, for the loss of a day's work at the mill was more thanfifty smiles could make up. 

But she told me, above all things, not to do that. For old MasterWithypool was of that sort that he would stand for an hour with hishands in his pocket for a half-penny, if not justly owing from him. Butnothing more angered him than a bribe to step outside of his duty. Hehad plenty of money, and was proud of it. But sooner would he lose aday's work to do a kindness, when he was sure of having right behind it, than take a week's profit without earning it. And very likely that waswhere the dark man failed, from presuming that money would do everything. However, there was nothing like judging for one's self; and ifI would like to be introduced, she could do it for me with the besteffect; taking as she did a good hundred-weight of best "households"from him every week, although not herself in the baking line, but alwayskeeping quartern bags, because the new baker did adulterate so. 

I thought of her father, and how things work round; but that they woulddo without remarks of mine. So I said nothing on that point, but askedwhether Master Withypool would require any introduction. And to thisMrs. Busk said, "Oh dear, no!" And her throat had been a little roughsince Sunday, and the dog was chained tight, even if any dog would bitea sweet young lady; and to her mind the miller would be more taken upand less fit to vapor into obstacles, if I were to hit upon him allalone, just when he came out to the bank of his cabbage garden, notso very long after his dinner, to smoke his pipe and to see his thingsa-growing. 

It was time to get ready if I meant to catch him then, for he alwaysdined at one o'clock, and the mill was some three or four meadows up thestream; therefore as soon as Mrs. Busk had re-assured me that she wasquite certain of my enemy's departure, I took my drawing things and setforth to call upon Master Withypool. 

Passing through the church-yard, which was my nearest way, and glancingsadly at the "fairy ring, " I began to have some uneasiness about thepossible issue of my new scheme. Such a thing required more thinkingout than I had given to it. For instance, what reason could I give themiller for asking so strange a thing of him? And how could the whole ofthe valley be hindered from making the greatest talk about the stoppageof their own beloved Moon, even if the Moon could be stopped withoutevery one of them rushing down to see it? And if it was so talked of, would it not be certain to come to the ears of that awful man? And ifso, how long before he found me out, and sent me to rejoin my family?

These thoughts compelled me to be more discreet; and having latelydone a most honorable thing, in refusing to read that letter, I felt acertain right to play a little trick now of a purely harmless character. I ran back therefore to my writing-desk, and took from its secret drawera beautiful golden American eagle, a large coin, larger and handsomerthan any in the English coinage. Uncle Sam gave it to me on my birthday, and I would not have taken 50 pounds for it. With this I hurried to thatbridge of fear, which I had not yet brought myself to go across; andthen, not to tell any story about it, I snipped a little hole in thecorner of my pocket, while my hand was still steady ere I had to mountthe bridge. Then pinching that hole up with a squeeze, I ran and gotupon that wicked bridge, and then let go. The heavy gold coin fell uponthe rotten plank, and happily rolled into the water, as if it were gladnot to tempt its makers to any more sin for the sake of it. 

Shutting up thought, for fear of despising myself for the coinage ofsuch a little trick, I hurried across the long meadow to the mill, andwent through the cow-gate into the yard, and the dog began to bark atme. Seeing that he had a strong chain on, I regarded him with loftyindignation. "Do you know what Jowler would do to you?" I said; "Jowler, a dog worth ten of you. He would take you by the neck and drop you intothat pond for daring to insult his mistress!" The dog appeared to feelthe force of my remarks, for he lay down again, and with one eye watchedme in a manner amusing, but insidious. Then, taking good care to keepout of his reach, I went to the mill-pond and examined it. 

It looked like a very nice pond indeed, long, and large, and well bankedup, not made into any particular shape, but producing little rushyelbows. The water was now rather low, and very bright (though the Moonitself is not a crystal stream), and a school of young minnows, justwatching a water-spider with desirous awe, at sight of me broke away, and reunited, with a speed and precision that might shame the whole ofour very best modern fighting. Then many other things made a dart away, and furrowed the shadow of the willows, till distance quieted the fearof man--that most mysterious thing in nature--and the shallow pool wasat peace again, and bright with unruffled reflections. 

"What ails the dog?" said a deep gruff voice; and the poor dog receiveda contemptuous push, not enough to hurt him, but to wound his feelingsfor doing his primary duty. "Servant, miss. What can I do for you?Foot-path is t'other side of that there hedge. "

"Yes, but I left the foot-path on purpose. I came to have a talk withyou, if you will allow me. "

"Sartain! sartain, " the miller replied, lifting a broad floury hat andshowing a large gray head. "Will you come into house, miss, or intogearden?"

I chose the garden, and he led the way, and set me down upon an old oakbench, where the tinkle of the water through the flood-gates could beheard. 

"So you be come to paint the mill at last, " he said. "Many a time I'velooked out for you. The young leddy down to Mother Busk's, of course. Many's the time we've longed for you to come, you reminds us so ofsomebody. Why, my old missus can't set eyes on you in church, miss, without being forced to sit down a'most. But we thought it very prettyof you not to come, miss, while the trouble was so new upon us. "

Something in my look or voice made the old man often turn away, whileI told him that I would make the very best drawing of his mill that Icould manage, and would beg him to accept it. 

"Her ought to 'a been on the plank, " he said, with trouble in gettinghis words out. "But there! what good? Her never will stand on that plankno more. No, nor any other plank. "

I told him that I would put her on the plank, if he had any portrait ofher showing her dress and her attitude. Without saying what he had, heled me to the house, and stood behind me, while I went inside. And thenhe could not keep his voice as I went from one picture of his darling toanother, not thinking (as I should have done) of what his feelings mightbe, but trying, as no two were at all alike, to extract a general ideaof her. 

"Nobody knows what her were to me, " the old man said, with a quietlittle noise and a sniff behind my shoulder. "And with one day's illnessher died--her died. "

"But you have others left. She was not the only one. Please, Mr. Withypool, to try to think of that. And your dear wife still aliveto share your trouble. Just think for a moment of what happened to myfather. His wife and six children all swept off in a month--and I justborn, to be brought up with a bottle!"

I never meant, of course, to have said a word of this, but was carriedaway by that common old idea of consoling great sorrow with a greaterone. And the sense of my imprudence broke vexatiously upon me when theold man came and stood between me and his daughter's portraits. 

"Well, I never!" he exclaimed, with his bright eyes steadfast withamazement. "I know you now, miss. Now I knows you. To think what a setof blind newts us must be! And you the very moral of your poor father, in a female kind of way! To be sure, how well I knew the Captain! Anicer man never walked the earth, neither a more unlucky one. "

"I beg you--let me beg you, " I began to say; "since you have found meout like this--"

"Hush, miss, hush! Not my own wife shall know, unless your own tonguetelleth her. A proud man I shall be, Miss Raumur, " he continued, withemphasis on my local name, "if aught can be found in my power to serveyou. Why, Lord bless you, miss, " he whispered, looking round, "yourfather and I has spent hours together! He were that pleasant in his waysand words, he would drop in from his fishing, when the water was toolow, and sit on that very same bench where you sat, and smoke his pipewith me, and tell me about battles, and ask me about bread. And many atime I have slipped up the gate, to give him more water for his fliesto play, and the fish not to see him so plainly. Ah, we have had manypleasant spells together; and his eldest boy and girl, Master George andMiss Henrietta, used to come and fetch our eggs. My Polly there was inlove with him, we said; she sat upon his lap so, when she were two yearsold, and played with his beautiful hair, and blubbered--oh, she didblubber, when the Captain went away!"

This invested Polly with new interest for me, and made me determine tospare no pains in putting her pretty figure well upon the plank. ThenI said to the miller, "How kind of you to draw up your sluice-gates tooblige my father! Now will you put them down and keep them down, to do agreat service both to him and me?"

Without a moment's hesitation, he promised that any thing he could doshould be done, if I would only tell him what I wanted. But perhaps itwould be better to have our talk outside. Taking this hint, I followedhim back to the bench in the open garden, and there explained what Iwished to have done, and no longer concealed the true reason. The goodmiller answered that with all his heart he would do that much to obligeme, and a hundred times more than that; but some little thought and carewere needful. With the river so low as it was now, he could easily stopthe back-water, and receive the whole of the current in his dam, andkeep it from flowing down his wheel trough, and thus dry the lowerchannel for perhaps half an hour, which would be ample for my purpose. Engineering difficulties there were none; but two or three other thingsmust be heeded. Miller Sims, a mile or so down river, must be settledwith, to fill his dam well, and begin to discharge, when the upper waterfailed, so as not to dry the Moon all down the valley, which wouldhave caused a commotion. Miller Sims being own brother-in-law to MasterWithypool, that could be arranged easily enough, after one day's notice. But a harder thing to manage would be to do the business without rousingcuriosity, and setting abroad a rumor which would be sure to reach myenemy. And the hardest thing of all, said Master Withypool, smiling ashe thought of what himself had once been, would be to keep those blessedboys away, who find out every thing, and go every where. Not a boyof Shoxford but would be in the river, or dancing upon its empty bed, screeching and scolloping up into his cap any poor bewildered troutchased into the puddles, if it were allowed to leak out, however feebly, that the Moon water was to stop running. And then how was I to seek forany thing?

This was a puzzle. But, with counsel, we did solve it. And we quietlystopped the Moon, without man or boy being much the wiser. 

CHAPTER XLIII

GOING TO THE BOTTOM

It is not needful to explain every thing, any more than it was for me totell the miller about my golden eagle, and how I had managed to lose itin the Moon--a trick of which now I was heartily ashamed, in the faceof honest kindness. So I need not tell how Master Withypool managed tosettle with his men, and to keep the boys unwitting of what was aboutto come to pass. Enough that I got a note from him to tell me that thelittle river would be run out, just when all Shoxford was intent uponits dinner, on the second day after I had seen him. And he could not sayfor certain, but thought it pretty safe, that nobody would come near me, if I managed to be there at a quarter before one, when the stream wouldbegin to run dry, and I could watch it. I sent back a line by the prettylittle girl, a sister of poor Polly, to say how much I thanked him, and how much I hoped that he himself would meet me there, if his timeallowed. For he had been too delicate to say a word of that; but I feltthat he had a good right to be there, and, knowing him now, I was notafraid. 

Nearly every thing came about as well as could be wished almost. MasterWithypool took the precaution, early in the morning, to set his greatfierce bull at large, who always stopped the foot-path. This bull knewwell the powers of a valley in conducting sound; and he loved to stand, as if at the mouth of a funnel, and roar down it to another bull a milebelow him, belonging to his master's brother-in-law. And when he didthis, there was scarcely a boy, much less a man or woman, withany desire to assert against him the public right of thoroughfare. Throughout that forenoon, then, this bull bellowed nobly, still findingmany very wicked flies about, so that two mitching boys, who meant tofish for minnows with a pin, were obliged to run away again. 

However, I was in the dark about him, and as much afraid of him as anybody, when he broke into sight of me round a corner, without any tokensof amity. I had seen a great many great bulls before, including UncleSam's good black one, who might not have meant any mischief at all, andatoned for it--if he did--by being washed away so. 

And therefore my courage soon returned, when it became quite clear thatthis animal now had been fastened with a rope, and could come no nearer. For some little time, then, I waited all alone, as near that bridge as Icould bring myself to stand, for Mrs. Busk, my landlady, could not leavethe house yet, on account of the mid-day letters. Moreover, she thoughtthat she had better stay away, as our object was to do things as quietlyas could be. 

Much as I had watched this bridge from a distance, or from mysheltering-place, I had never been able to bring myself to make any kindof sketch of it, or even to insert it in a landscape, although itwas very well suited and expressive, from its crooked and antiquesimplicity. The overhanging, also, of the hawthorn-tree (not ruddy yet, but russety with its coloring crop of coral), and the shaggy freaks ofivy above the twisted trunk, and the curve of the meadows and bold elbowof the brook, were such as an artist would have pitched his tent for, and tantalized poor London people with a dream of cool repose. 

As yet the little river showed no signs of doing what the rustic--orsurely it should have been the cockney--was supposed to stand still andwait for. There was no great rush of headlong water, for that is notthe manner of the stream in the very worst of weather; but there was theusual style of coming on, with lips and steps at the sides, and cords ofrunning toward the middle. Quite enough, at any rate, to make the troutjump, without any omen of impending drought, and to keep all the playand the sway of movement going on serenely. 

I began to be afraid that the miller must have failed in his stratagemagainst the water-god, and that, as I had read in Pope's Homer, theliquid deity would beat the hero, when all of a sudden there were signsthat man was the master of this little rustic. Broadswords of flag andrapiers of water-grass, which had been quivering merrily, began to hangdown and to dip themselves in loops, and the stones of the brink showeddark green stripes on their sides as they stood naked. Then fine littlecakes of conglomerated stuff, which only a great man of nature coulddescribe, came floating about, and curdling into corners, and holdingon to one another in long-tailed strings. But they might do what theyliked, and make their very best of it, as they fell away to nothing uponstones and mud. For now more important things began to open, the likeof which never had been yielded up before--plots of slimy gravel, variedwith long streaks of yellow mud, dotted with large double shells, andparted into little oozy runs by wriggling water-weeds. And here wasgreat commotion and sad panic of the fish, large fellows splashing andquite jumping out of water, as their favorite hovers and shelves randry, and darting away, with their poor backs in the air, to the deepesthole they could think of. Hundreds must have come to flour, lard, andbutter if boys had been there to take advantage. But luckily things hadbeen done so well that boys were now in their least injurious moment, destroying nothing worse than their own dinners. 

A very little way below the old wooden bridge the little river ran intoa deepish pool, as generally happens at or near a corner, especiallywhere there is a confluence sometimes. And seeing nothing, as I began tosearch intently, stirring with a long-handled spud which I had brought, I concluded that even my golden eagle had been carried into that deepplace. However, water or no water, I resolved to have it out with thatdark pool as soon as the rest of the channel should be drained, whichtook a tormenting time to do; and having thick boots on, I pinned up myskirts, and jumping down into the shoals, began to paddle in a fashionwhich reminded me of childish days passed pleasantly in the Blue River. 

Too busy thus to give a thought to any other thing, I did not even seethe miller, until he said, "Good-day, miss, " lifting his hat, with a nice kind smile. "Very busy, miss, I see, and right you are to be so. The water will be upon us againin less than half an hour. Now let me clear away they black weeds foryou. I brought this little shivel a-purpose. If I may make so bold, miss, what do 'e look to find here?"

"I have not the very smallest notion, " I could only answer; "but ifthere is any thing, it must be in that hole. I have searched all theshallow part so closely that I doubt whether even a sixpence couldescape me, unless it were buried in the mud or pebbles. Oh, how can Imanage to search that hole? There must be a yard of water there. "

"One thing I ought to have told 'e for to do, " Master Withypoolwhispered, as he went on shoveling--"to do what the boys do when theylose a farden--to send another after un. If so be now, afore the waterwas run out, you had stood on that there bridge, and dropped a brightcoin into it, a new half crown or a two-shilling piece, why, the chanceswould be that the run of the current would 'a taken it nigh to thelikeliest spot for holding any other little matter as might 'a dropped, permiskous, you might say, into this same water. "

"I have done so, " I answered; "I have done that very thing, though notat all with that object. The day before yesterday a beautiful coin, agolden eagle of America, fell from my pocket on that upper plank, androlled into the water. I would not lose it for a great deal, because itwas given to me by my dearest friend, the greatest of all millers. "

"And ha'n't you found it yet, miss? Well, that is queer. Perhaps weshall find it now, with something to the back of it. I thought yon holewas too far below the bridge. But there your gold must be, and somethingelse, most likely. Plaise to wait a little bit, and us 'll have the wetout of un. I never should 'a thought of that but for your gold guinea, though. "

With these words Master Withypool pulled his coat off and rolled up hisshirt sleeves, displaying arms fit to hold their own even with UncleSam's almost; and then he fell to with his shovel and dug, while I ranwith my little spud to help. 

"Plaise keep out of way, miss; I be afeard of knocking you. Not but whatyou works very brave indeed, miss. "

Knowing what men are concerning "female efforts, " I got out of thestrong man's way, although there was plenty of room for me. What hewanted to do was plain enough--to dig a trench down the empty bed of theMoon River, deep enough to drain that pit before the stream came downagain. 

"Never thought to run a race against my own old dam, " he said, as hestopped for a moment to recover breath. "Us never knows what us may haveto do. Old dam must be a'most busting now. But her's sound enough, tillher beginneth to run over. "

I did not say a word, because it might have done some mischief, but Icould not help looking rather anxiously up stream, for fear of the watercoming down with a rush, as it very soon must do. Master Withypool hadbeen working, not as I myself would have done, from the lips of the darkpit downward, but from a steep run some twenty yards below, where therewas almost a little cascade when the river was full flowing; from thishe had made his channel upward, cutting deeper as he came along, tillnow, at the brink of the obstinate pool, his trench was two feet deepalmost. I had no idea that any man could work so with a shovel, whichseems such a clumsy tool compared with a spade: but a gentleman whoknows the country and the people told me that, with their native weapon, Moonites will do as much digging in an hour as other folk get through inan hour and a half with a spade. But this may be only, perhaps, becausethey are working harder. 

"Now, " said Master Withypool at last, standing up, with a very red face, and desiring to keep all that unheeded--"now, miss, to you it belongethto tap this here little cornder, if desirable. Plaise to excoose of megoing up of bank to tell 'e when the wet cometh down again. "

"Please to do nothing of the sort, " I answered, knowing that he offeredto stand out of sight from a delicate dread of intrusion. "Please to tapthe pool yourself, and stay here, as a witness of what we find in it. "

"As you plaise, miss, as you plaise. Not a moment for to lose inarguing. Harken now, the water is atopping of our dam. Her will be herein five minutes. "

With three or four rapid turns of his shovel, which he spun almostas fast as a house-maid spins a mop, he fetched out the plug of earthsevering his channel from the deep, reluctant hole. And then I saw thewisdom of his way of working: for if he had dug downward from the poolitself, the water would have followed him all the way, and even drownedhis tool out of its own strokes; whereas now, with a swirl and a curl ofropy mud, away rushed the thick, sluggish, obstinate fluid, and in lessthan two minutes the hole was almost dry. 

The first thing I saw was my golden eagle, lodged about half-way downthe slope on a crust of black sludge, from which I caught it up andpresented it to Master Withypool, as a small token and record of hiskindness; and to this day he carries it upon his Sunday watch chain. 

"I always am lucky in finding things, " I exclaimed, while he watchedme, and the up stream too, whence a babble of water was approaching. "Assure as I live I have found it!"

"No doubt about your living, miss. And the Captain were always lively. But what have your bright eyes hit upon? I see nort for the life of me. "

"Look there, " I cried, "at the very bottom of it--almost under thewater. Here, where I put my spud--a bright blue line! Oh, can I go down, or is it quicksand?"

"No quicksand in our little river, miss. But your father's daughtershannot go into the muck, while John Withypool stands by. I see un now, sure enough; now I see un! But her needeth care, or her may all goo awayin mullock. Well, I thought my eyes was sharp enough; but I'm blest if Ishould have spied that, though. A bit of flint, mebbe, or of blue glassbottle. Anyhow, us will see the bottom of un. "

He was wasting no time while he spoke, but working steadfastly for hispurpose, fixing the blade of his shovel below the little blue line Iwas peering at, so that no slip of the soft yellow slush should buryit down, and plunge over it. If that had once happened, good-by to allchance of ever beholding this thing again, for the river was coming, with fury and foam, to assert its ancient right of way. 

With a short laugh the miller jumped down into the pit. "Me to be servedso, by my own mill-stream! Lor', if I don't pay you out for this!"

His righteous wrath failed to stop the water from pouring into the pitbehind him; and, strong as he was, he nearly lost his footing, havingonly mud to stand upon. It seemed to me that he was going to be drowned, and I offered him the handle of my spud to help him; but he stoppedwhere he was, and was not going to be hurried. 

"I got un now, " he said; "now I don't mind coming out. You see if Idon't pay you out for this! Why, I always took you for a reasonablehanimal. "

He shook his fist strongly at the river, which had him well up to themiddle by this time; and then he disdainfully waded out, with wrath inall his countenance. 

"I've a great mind to stop there, and see what her would do, " he said tome, forgetting altogether what he went for. "And I would, if I had hadmy dinner. A scat of a thing as I can manage with my thumb! Ah, you havemade a bad day of it. "

"But what have you found, Mr. Withypool?" I asked, for I could not enterinto his wrath against the water, wet as he was to the shoulders. "Youhave something in your hand. May I see it, if you please? And then doplease to go home and change your clothes. "

"A thing I never did in my life, miss, and should be ashamed to begin atthis age. Clothes gets wet, and clothes dries on us, same as un did onthe sheep afore us; else they gets stiff and creasy. What this littlething is ne'er a body may tell, in my line of life--but look'tharistocratic. "

The "mullock, " as he called it, from his hands, and from the bed whereit had lain so long, so crusted the little thing which he gave me, thatI dipped it again in the swelling stream, and rubbed it with both hands, to make out what it was. And then I thought how long it had lain there;and suddenly to my memory it came, that in all likelihood the time ofthat was nineteen years this very day. 

"Will another year pass, " I cried, "before I make out all about it? Whatare you, and who, now looking at me with such sad, sad eyes?"

For I held in my hand a most handsome locket, of blue enamel anddiamonds, with a back of chased gold, and in front the miniature of abeautiful young woman, done as they never seem to do them now. Thework was so good, and the fitting so close, that no drop of water hadentered, and the face shone through the crystal glass as fresh as theday it was painted. A very lovely face it was, yet touched with a shadeof sadness, as the loveliest faces generally are; and the first thoughtof any beholder would be, "That woman was born for sorrow. "

The miller said as much when I showed it to him. 

"Lord bless my heart! I hope the poor craitur' hathn't lasted half solong as her pictur' hath. "

CHAPTER XLIV

HERMETICALLY SEALED

The discovery which I have described above (but not half so well asthe miller tells it now) created in my young heart a feeling of reallystrong curiosity. To begin with, how could this valuable thing have gotinto the Moon-stream, and lain there so long, unsought for, or at bestso unskillfully sought for? What connection could it have with thetragic death of my grandfather? Why was that man so tardily come tosearch for it, if he might do so without any body near him? Again, what woman was this whose beauty no water or mud could even manage todisguise? That last was a most disturbing question to one's bodily peaceof mind. And then came another yet more urgent--what was in the insideof this tight case?

That there was something inside of it seemed almost a certainty. Themere value of the trinket, or even the fear that it ever might turnup as evidence, would scarcely have brought that man so often to stirsuspicion by seeking it; though, after so long a time, he well mighthope that suspicion was dead and buried. And being unable to open thiscase--after breaking three good nails over it, and then the point of apenknife--I turned to Master Withypool, who was stamping on the grass todrain himself. 

"What sort of a man was that, " I asked, "who wanted you to do whatnow you have so kindly done for me? About a month or six weeks ago? Doplease to tell me, as nearly as you can. "

If Mrs. Withypool had been there, she might have lost all patience withme for putting long questions so selfishly to a man who had done so muchfor me, and whose clothes were now dripping in a wind which had arisento test his theory of drying. He must have lost a large quantity ofwhat scientific people call "caloric. " But never a shiver gave he inexchange. 

"Well, miss, " he said, "I was thinking a'most of speaking on that verymatter. More particular since you found that little thing, with thepretty lady inside of it. It were borne in on my mind that thissom werethe very thing he were arter. "

"No doubt of it, " I answered, with far less patience, though beingcomparatively dry. "But what was he like? Was he like this portrait?"

"This picture of the lady? No; I can't say that he were, so much. Theface of a big man he hath, with short black fringes to it. Never showethto my idea any likeliness of a woman. No, no, miss; think you not at allthat you have got him in that blue thing. Though some of their picturesis like men, the way they dress up nowadays. "

"I did not mean that it was meant for him; what I mean is, do you seeany sign of family likeness? Any resemblance about the eyes, or mouth, or forehead?"

"Well, now, I don't know but what I might, " replied Master Withypool, gazing very hard; "if I was to look at 'un long enough, a' might findsome'at favoring of that tall fellow, I do believe. Indeed, I do believethe more I look, the more I diskivers the image of him. "

The good and kind miller's perception of the likeness strengthenedalmost too fast, as if the wish were father to the thought, until I sawclearly how selfish I was in keeping him in that state so long; for Iknew, from what Mrs. Busk had told me, that in spite of all his largeand grand old English sentiments about his clothes, his wife would makehim change them all ere ever she gave him a bit of dinner, and wouldforce him then to take a glass of something hot. So I gave him athousand thanks, though not a thousandth part of what he deserved, andsaw him well on his homeward way before I went back to consider things. 

As soon as my landlady was at leisure to come in and talk with me, and as soon as I had told her how things happened, and shown her ourdiscovery, we both of us did the very same thing, and said almost thevery same words. Our act was, with finger and nail and eye, to rime intoevery jot of it; and our words were, "I am sure there is something inside. If not, it would open sensibly. "

In the most senseless and obstinate manner it refused not only to open, but to disclose any thing at all about itself. Whether it ever had beenmeant to open, and if so, where, and by what means; whether, withoutany gift of opening, it might have a hidden thing inside; whether, whenopened by force or skill, it might show something we had no businesswith, or (which would be far worse) nothing at all--good Mrs. Busk andmyself tested, tapped, and felt, and blew, and listened, and tried everypossible overture, and became at last quite put out with it. 

"It is all of a piece with the villains that owned it, " the postmistressexclaimed at last. "There is no penetrating either it or them. Mostlikely they have made away with this beautiful lady on the cover. Killone, kill fifty, I have heard say. I hope Master Withypool will let outnothing, or evil it will be for you, miss. If I was you, I would carry apistol. "

"Now please not to frighten me, Mrs. Busk. I am not very brave at thebest of times, and this has made me so nervous. If I carried a pistol, Ishould shoot myself the very first hour of wearing it. The mere thoughtof it makes me tremble. Oh, why was I ever born, to do man's work?"

"Because, miss, a man would not have done it half so well. When yousaw that villain digging, a man would have rushed out and spoiledall chance. And now what man could have ever found this? Would MasterWithypool ever have emptied the Moon River for a man, do you think? Orcould any man have been down among us all this time, in this jealousplace, without his business being long ago sifted out and scattered overhim? No, no, miss; you must not talk like that--and with me as well tohelp you. The rogues will have reason to wish, I do believe, that theyhad only got a man to deal with. "

In this argument there were points which had occurred to me before; butcertainly it is a comfort to have one's own ideas in a doubtful matterreproduced, and perhaps put better, by a mind to which one may have lentthem, perhaps, with a loan all unacknowledged. However, trouble teachescare, and does it so well that the master and the lesson in usage ofwords are now the same; therefore I showed no sign of being suggestedwith my own suggestions, but only asked, quietly, "What am I to do?"

"My dear young lady, " Mrs. Busk replied, after stopping some time tothink of it, "my own opinion is, for my part, that you ought to consultsomebody. "

"But I am, Mrs. Busk. I am now consulting you. "

"Then I think, miss, that this precious case should be taken at once toa jeweler, who can open it without doing any damage, which is more thanwe can do. "

"To be sure; I have thought of that, " I replied. "But how can thatbe done without arousing curiosity?--without the jeweler seeing itscontents, if indeed it has any? And in that case the matter would be nolonger at our own disposal, as now it is. I have a great mind to splitit with a hammer. What are the diamonds to me?"

"It is not the diamonds, but the picture, miss, that may be mostimportant. And more than that, you might ruin the contents, so as notto make head or tale of them. No, no; it is a risk that must be run; wemust have a jeweler, but not one of this neighborhood. "

"Then I shall have to go to London again, and perhaps lose somethingmost important here. Can you think of no other way out of it?"

"No, miss, at present I see nothing else. Unless you will place it allin the hands of the police. "

"Constable Jobbins, to wit, or his son! No, thank you, Mrs. Busk, notyet. Surely we are not quite reduced to such a hopeless pass as that. Myfather knew what the police were worth, and so does Betsy, and so doesMajor Hockin. 'Pompous noodles, ' the Major calls them, who lay hold ofevery thing by the wrong end. "

"Then if he can lay hold of the right end, miss, what better could youdo than consult him?"

I had been thinking of this already, and pride alone debarred me. Thatgentleman's active nature drove him to interfere with other people'sbusiness, even though he had never heard of them; and yet through somestrange reasoning of his own, or blind adoption of public unreason, hehad made me dislike, or at any rate not like, him, until he began toshow signs at last of changing his opinion. And now the question was, had he done that enough for me, without loss of self-respect, to open myheart to him, and seek counsel?

In settling that point the necessity of the case overrode, perhaps, somescruples; in sooth, I had nobody else to go to. What could I do withLord Castlewood? Nothing; all his desire was to do exactly what myfather would have done: and my father had never done any thing more thanrove and roam his life out. To my mind this was dreadful now, when everynew thing rising round me more and more clearly to my mind establishedwhat I never had doubted--his innocence. Again, what good could I do byseeking Betsy's opinion about it, or that of Mrs. Price, or Stixon, orany other person I could think of? None whatever--and perhaps much harm. Taking all in all, as things turn up, I believed myself to be almostequal to the cleverest of those three in sense, and in courage notinferior. Moreover, a sort of pride--perhaps very small, but notcontemptible--put me against throwing my affairs so much into the handsof servants. 

For this idea Uncle Sam, no doubt the most liberal of men, would perhapscondemn me. But still I was not of the grand New World, whose pedigreesare arithmetic (at least with many of its items, though the true UncleSam was the last for that); neither could I come up to the largeness ofuniversal brotherhood. That was not to be expected of a female; and fewthings make a man more angry than for his wife to aspire to it. No suchideas had ever troubled me; I had more important things to think of, or, at any rate, something to be better carried out. And of all thesedesultory thoughts it came that I packed up that odious but very lovelylocket, without further attempt to unriddle it, and persuaded my verygood and clever Mrs. Busk to let me start right early. By so doing Icould have three hours with a good gentleman always in a hurry, and yetreturn for the night to Shoxford, if he should advise me so. 

Men and women seem alike to love to have their counsels taken; and theequinox being now gone by, Mrs. Busk was ready to begin before the tardysun was up, who begins to give you short measure at once when he findsthe weights go against him. Mrs. Busk considered not the sun, neitherany of his doings. The time of day was more momentous than any of thesun's proceedings. Railway time was what she had to keep (unless a goodcustomer dropped in), and as for the sun--"clock slow, clock fast, " inthe almanacs, showed how he managed things; and if that was not enough, who could trust him to keep time after what he had done upon the dial ofAhaz? Reasoning thus--if reason it was--she packed me off in a fly forthe nearest railway station, and by midday I found the Major laboring onhis ramparts. 

After proper salutations, I could not help expressing wonder at therapid rise of things. Houses here and houses there, springing up likechildren's teeth, three or four in a row together, and then a longgap, and then some more. And down the slope a grand hotel, open forrefreshment, though as yet it had no roof on; for the Major, in virtueof his charter, defied all the magistrates to stop him from sellingwhatever was salable on or off the premises. But noblest and grandestof all to look at was the "Bruntsea Athenaeum, Lyceum, Assembly-Rooms, Institution for Mutual Instruction, Christian Young Men's Congress, andSanitary, Saline, Hydropathic Hall, at nominal prices to be had gratis. "

"How you do surprise me!" I said to Major Hockin, after reading allthat, which he kindly requested me to do with care; "but where are thepeople to come from?"

"Erema, " he replied, as if that question had been asked too often, "youhave not had time to study the laws of political economy--the noblestof noble sciences. The first of incontrovertible facts is that supplycreates demand. Now ask yourself whether there could even be a Yankee ifideas like yours had occurred to Columbus?"

This was beyond me; for I never could argue, and strove to the utmostnot to do so. "You understand those things, and I do not, " said I, witha smile, which pleased him. "My dear aunt Mary always says that you arethe cleverest man in the world; and she must know most about it. "

"Partiality! partiality!" cried the Major, with a laugh, and pulling hisfront hair up. "Such things pass by me like the idle wind; or rather, perhaps, they sadden me, from my sense of my own deficiencies. But, bless me! dinner must be waiting. Look at that fellow's trowel--heknows: he turns up the point of it like a spoon. They say that he cansmell his dinner two miles off. We all dine at one o'clock now, that Imay rout up every man-Jack of them. "

The Major sounded a steam-guard's whistle, and led me off in the rapidlyvanishing wake of his hungry workmen. 

CHAPTER XLV

CONVICTION

Sir Montague Hockin, to my great delight, was still away from Bruntsea. If he had been there, it would have been a most awkward thing for me tomeet him, or to refuse to do so. The latter course would probably havebeen the one forced upon me by self-respect and affection toward mycousin; and yet if so, I could scarcely have avoided an explanation withmy host. From the nature of the subject, and several other reasons, thiswould have been most unpleasant; and even now I was haunted with doubts, as I had been from the first, whether I ought not to have told Mrs. Hockin long ago what had been said of him. At first sight that seemedthe honest thing to do; but three things made against it. It might seemforward and meddlesome; it must be a grievous thing to my cousin to havehis sad story discussed again; and lastly, I had promised Mrs. Pricethat her words should go no further. So that on the whole perhaps Iacted aright in keeping that infamous tale to myself as long as ever itwas possible. 

But now ere ever I spoke of him--which I was always loath to do--Mrs. Hockin told me that he very seldom came to see them now, and when he didcome he seemed to be uneasy and rather strange in his manners. I thoughtto myself that the cause of this was clear. Sir Montague, knowing that Iwent to Castlewood, was pricked in his conscience, and afraid of havinghis vile behavior to my cousin disclosed. However, that idea of minewas wrong, and a faulty conception of simple youth. The wicked forgivethemselves so quickly, if even they find any need of it, that every bodyelse is supposed to do the same. With this I have no patience. Awrong unrepented of and unatoned gathers interest, instead of gettingdiscount, from lost time. And so I hated that man tenfold. 

Good Mrs. Hockin lamented his absence not only for the sake of herdarling fowls, but also because she considered him a check upon theMajor's enterprise. Great as her faith was in her husband's ability andkeenness, she was often visited with dark misgivings about such heavyoutlay. Of economy (as she often said) she certainly ought to knowsomething, having had to practice it as strictly as any body in thekingdom, from an age she could hardly remember. But as for what was nowbrought forward as a great discovery--economy in politics--Mrs. Hockinhad tried to follow great opinions, but could only find, so far, downright extravagance. Supply (as she had observed fifty times with herown butcher and fishmonger), instead of creating demand, produced alot of people hankering round the corner, till the price came down tonothing. And if it were so with their institutions--as her dear husbandcalled his new public-house--who was to find all the interest due tothe building and land societies? Truly she felt that Sir Rufus Hockin, instead of doing any good to them, had behaved very badly in leavingthem land, and not even a shilling to work it with. 

It relieved her much to tell me this, once for all and in strictconfidence; because her fine old-fashioned (and we now may say quiteobsolete) idea of duty toward her husband forbade her ever to say tohim, or about him, when it could be helped, any thing he might not like, any thing which to an evil mind might convey a desire on her part tomeddle with--with--

"Political economy, " I said; and she laughed, and said, Yes, that wasjust it. The Major of course knew best, and she ought with all herheart to trust him not to burden their old days with debt, after all thechildren they had brought up and fairly educated upon the professionalincome of a distinguished British officer, who is not intended by hissuperiors to provide successors. 

"Perhaps it is like the boiled eggs they send me, " the old lady said, with her soft sweet smile, "for my poor hens to sit upon. Their race istoo good to be made common. So now they get tinkers' and tailors' boys, after much competition, and the crammed sons of cooks. And in peace-timethey do just as well. "

Of such things I knew nothing; but she seemed to speak with bitterness, the last thing to be found in all her nature, yet discoverable--as allbad things (except its own) are--by the British government. I do notspeak from my own case, in which they discovered nothing. 

By the time these things had been discussed, my host (who was alwaysparticular about his dress) came down to dinner, and not until that wasover could I speak of the subject which had brought me there. No soonerhad I begun my tale than they both perceived that it must neither beflurried nor interrupted, least of all should it be overheard. 

"Come into my lock-up, " cried the Major; "or, better still, let us goout of doors. We can sit in my snuggery on the cliff, with only gullsand jackdaws to listen, and mount my telescope and hoist my flag, andthe men know better than to skulk their work. I can see every son of agun of them as clearly as if I had them on parade. You wish Mrs. Hockinto come, I suppose. Very well, let us be off at once. I shall count myfellows coming back from dinner. "

With a short quick step the Major led the way to a beautifully situatedoutpost at a corner of the cliff, where land and sea for many a fairleague rolled below. A niche of the chalk had been cleverly enlarged andscooped into a shell-shaped bower, not, indeed, gloriously overhung, asin the far West might have been, but broken of its white defiant glareby climbing and wandering verdure. Seats and slabs of oak were fixed tocheck excess of chalkiness, and a parapet of a pattern which the Majorcalled Egyptian saved fear of falling down the cliff, and served tospread a paper on, or to rest a telescope. 

"From this point, " said the Major, crossing wiry yet substantial legs, "the whole of my little domain may be comprised as in a bird's-eye view. It is nothing, of course, much less than nothing, compared with the Earlof Crowcombe's, or the estate of Viscount Gamberley; still, such as itis, it carries my ideas, and it has an extent of marine frontage suchas they might envy. We are asked 5 pounds per foot for a thread of landfronting on a highway, open to every kind of annoyance, overlooked, without any thing to look at. How much, then, per fathom (or measure, ifyou please, by cable-lengths) is land worth fronting the noble, silent, uncontaminating, healthful sea? Whence can come no coster-mongers'cries, no agitating skir of bagpipes or the maddening hurdy-gurdy, noGerman band expecting half a crown for the creation of insanity; onlysweet murmur of the wavelets, and the melodious whistle of a boatmancatching your breakfast lobster. Where, again, if you love thepicturesque--"

"My dear, " said Mrs. Hockin, gently, "you always were eloquent from thefirst day I saw you; and if you reconstitute our borough, as you hope, and enter Parliament for Bruntsea, what a sensation you will create!But I wished to draw your attention to the fact that Erema is waiting totell her tale. "

"To be sure. I will not stop her. Eloquence is waste of time, and Inever yet had half a second to spare. Fear no eloquence from me; factsand logic are my strong points. And now, Erema, show what yours are. "

At first this made me a little timid, for I had never thought that anystrong points would be needed for telling a simple tale. To my mind thedifficulty was, not to tell the story, but to know what to make of itwhen told; and soon I forgot all about myself in telling what I hadseen, heard, and found. 

The Major could not keep himself from stamping great holes throughhis--something I forget the name of, but people sow it to make turfof chalk--and dear "Aunt Mary's" soft pink cheeks, which her lastgrandchild might envy, deepened to a tone of rose; while her eyes, sofull of heavenly faith when she got upon lofty subjects, took a mosthuman flash and sparkle of hatred not theological. 

"Seven!" she cried; "oh, Nicholas, Nicholas, you never told me therewere seven!"

"There were not seven graves without the mother, " the Major answered, sternly. "And what odds whether seven or seventy? The criminality is thepoint, not the accumulation of results. Still, I never heard of so big ablackguard. And what did he do next, my dear?"

The way in which they took my story was a great surprise to me, because, although they were so good, they had never paid any attention to ituntil it became exciting. They listened with mere politeness until thescent of a very wicked man began to taint my narrative; but from thatmoment they drew nearer, and tightened their lips, and held theirbreath, and let no word escape them. It made me almost think thatpeople even of pure excellence, weaned as they are from wicked things byteaching and long practice, must still retain a hankering for them doneat other people's cost. 

"And now, " cried the Major, "let us see it"--even before I had time topull it out, though ready to be quick, from a knowledge of his ways. "Show it, and you shall have my opinion. And Mary's is certain to agreewith mine. My dear, that makes yours so priceless. "

"Then, Nicholas, if I retain my own, yours is of no value. Never mindthat. Now don't catch words, or neither opinion will be worth a thought. My dear, let us see it and then judge. "

"My own idea, but not so well expressed, " Major Hockin answered, as hedanced about, while I with stupid haste was tugging at my package of thehateful locket. For I had not allowed that deceitful thing any quartersin my pocket, where dear little relics of my father lay, but hadfastened it under my dress in a manner intended in no way for gentlemento think about. Such little things annoy one's comfort, and destroyone's power of being quite high-minded. However, I got it out at last, and a flash of the sun made the difference. 

"Brilliants, Mary!" the Major cried; "brilliants of first water; suchas we saw, you know where; and any officer in the British army exceptmyself, I do believe, would have had them at once in his camletpouch--my dear, you know all about it. Bless my heart, how slow you are!Is it possible you have forgotten it? There came out a fellow, and I cuthim down, as my duty was, without ceremony. You know how I used to doit, out of regulation, with a slash like this--"

"Oh, Nicholas, you will be over the cliff! You have shown me how youused to do it, a thousand times--but you had no cricks in your backthen: and remember how brittle the chalk is. "

"The chalk may be brittle, but I am tough. I insist upon doing everything as well as I did it forty years ago. Mary, you ought not to speakto me like that. Eighteen, nineteen, twenty brilliants, worth twentypounds apiece upon an average, I do believe. Four hundred pounds. Thatwould finish our hotel. "

"Nicholas!"

"My dear, I was only in fun. Erema understands me. But who is thisbeautiful lady?"

"The very point, " I exclaimed, while he held it so that the pensivebeauty of the face gleamed in soft relief among bright blue enamel andsparkling gems. "The very thing that I must know--that I would give mylife to know--that I have fifty thousand fancies--"

"Now don't be excited, Erema, if you please. What will you give me totell you who it is?"

"All those diamonds, which I hate the sight of, and three-quarters of myhalf nugget; and if that is not enough--"

"It is a thousand times too much; I will tell you for just one smile, and I know it, will be a smile of unbelief. "

"No, no; I will believe it, whoever you say, " with excitement superiorto grammar, I cried; "only tell me at once--don't be so long. "

"But then you won't believe me when I do tell you, " the Major replied, in the most provoking way. "I shall tell you the last person you wouldever think of, and then you will only laugh at me. "

"I won't laugh; how can I laugh in such a matter? I will believe you ifyou say it is--Aunt Mary. "

"My dear, you had better say at once that it is I, and have no moremystery about it. " Mrs. Hockin was almost as impatient as myself. 

"Mrs. Hockin, you must indeed entertain an exalted idea of your owncharms. I knew that you were vain, but certainly did not--Well, then, if you will allow me no peace, this is the lady that lives down in theruin, and stands like a pillar by my pillar-box. "

"I never thought you would joke like that, " I cried, with vexation andanger. "Oh, is it a subject to be joked about?"

"I never was graver in my life; and you promised implicitly to believeme. At any rate, believe that I speak in earnest. "

"That I must believe, when you tell me so. But what makes you think sucha wonderful thing? I should have thought nothing more impossible. I hadmade up my mind that it was Flittamore who lived down here; but this cannot be she. Flittamore was unheard of at the time of my grandfather'sdeath. Moreover, her character was not like this; she was giddy andlight and heartless. This lady had a heart--good or bad, a deep one. Most certainly it is not Flittamore. "

"Flittamore! I do not remember that name. You should either tell us allor tell us nothing. " The Major's tone was reproachful, and his eyes fromtheir angular roofs looked fierce. 

"I have not told you, " I said, "because it can have nothing to do withit. The subject is a painful one, and belongs to my family only. "

"Enough. I am not inquisitive--on the other hand, too forgetful. I havean appointment at 3. 25. It takes me seven minutes and a quarter to getthere. I must be two minutes and three-quarters late. Mrs. Hockin, mountthe big telescope and point it at the ramparts; keep the flag up also. Those fellows will be certain that I am up here, while I enfiladethem from the western end with this fine binocular. Surprises maintaindiscipline. Good-by, my dear, and, Miss Castlewood, good-by. Tea at6. 30, and not too much water. "

CHAPTER XLVI

VAIN ZEAL

Leaving his telescope leveled at the men, the Major marched off withhis opera-glass in a consciously provoking style, and Mrs. Hockin mostheartily joined me in condemning such behavior. In a minute or two, however, she would not have one word said against him, and the tide ofher mind (as befits a married woman) was beyond all science; so that thedrift of all words came back to her husband's extraordinary merits. Andcertainly these, if at all like her description, deserved to be dweltupon at very precious periods. 

However, I had heard enough of them before; for the Major himself wasnot mute upon this point, though comparatively modest, and oftentimesdeprecating praise ere ever he received it. And so I brought Mrs. Hockinback at last to talk about the lady who was living in the ruin. 

"It is not quite a ruin, " she said. "My dear husband is fond ofpicturesque expressions. However, it is not in very good repair; andbeing unable to get possession of it, through some legal quibble, possibly he may look at it from a rather unfavorable point of view. Andfor the same reason--though he is so purely just--he may have formed abad opinion of the strange individual who lives there. What right hasshe to be living without his leave upon his own manor? But there she is, and she does not care for us or any body. She fetches all she wants, shespeaks to none, and if any body calls for rates or taxes, or any otherpublic intrusion, they may knock and knock, but never get in, and atlast they go away again. "

"But surely that can not go on forever. Bruntsea is such an enlightenedplace. "

"Our part of it is, but the rest quite benighted. As the man says--Iforget his name, but the man that misunderstands us so--his contentionis that 'Desolate Hole, ' as the Major calls it, although in the middleof our land, is entirely distinct from it. My husband never will put upwith that--his love of justice is far too strong--and he means to have alawsuit. But still he has reasons for not beginning yet; and he puts upwith a great deal, I am sure. It is too bad for them to tease him so. "

"It does seem a very sad thing, " I replied; "and the poor soul livingthere all alone! Even in the summer it is bad enough; but whatever willshe do when the winter comes? Why, the sea in bad weather must be almostin upon her. And the roar of the pebbles all night! Major Hockin willnever allow her to stay there. "

"What can he do, when he can not get in, and they even deny his title?I assure you, Erema, I have sent down cream, and even a dozen of myprecious eggs, with the lady of the manor's compliments; but insteadof being grateful, they were never taken in; and my Polly--'Miss PollyHopkins, ' you know--very wisely took it all to her grandmother. "

"To her grandmother instead of mine, as the Major facetiously calls her. And now he says this is her portrait; and instead of giving his reasons, runs away! Really you must excuse me, Aunt Mary, for thinking that yourgood husband has a little too much upon his mind sometimes. "

The old lady laughed, as I loved to see her do. "Well, my dear, afterthat, I think you had better have it out with him. He comes home to teaat 6. 30, which used to be half past six in my days. He is very tiredthen, though he never will allow it, and it would not be fair to attackhim. I give him a mutton-chop, or two poached eggs, or some other trifleof nourishment. And then I make him doze for an hour and a half, tosoothe his agitated intellect. And when he wakes he has just one glassof hot water and sugar, with a little Lochnagar. And then he is equal toany thing--backgammon, bezique, or even conversation. "

Impatient as I was, I saw nothing better; and by this time I wasbecoming used to what all of us must put up with--the long postponementof our heavy cares to the light convenience of others. Major Hockinmight just as well have stopped, when he saw how anxious I was. UncleSam would have stopped the mill itself, with a dozen customers waiting;but no doubt he had spoiled me; and even that should not make me bitter. Aunt Mary and I understood one another. We gazed away over the breadthof the sea and the gleam of its texture, and we held our peace. 

Few things are more surprising than the calm way in which ripe age lookson at things which ought to amaze it. And yet any little one of its ownconcerns grows more important, perhaps, than ever as the shadow of thefuture dwindles. Major Hockin had found on the beach a pebble with astreak of agate in it. He took it as the harbinger of countlessagates, and resolved to set up a lapidary, with a tent, or even a shop, perhaps--not to pay, but to be advertised, and catch distinguishedvisitors. 

"Erema, you are a mighty finder; you found the biggest nugget yetdiscovered. You know about stones from the Rocky Mountains, or at leastthe Sierra Nevada. You did not discover this beautiful agate, but yousaw and greatly admired it. We might say that a 'young lady, eminent forgreat skill in lithology, famed as the discoverer, ' etc. Hold it betweenyour eyes and this candle, but wet it in the slop-basin first; now yousee the magnificent veins of blue. "

"I see nothing of the kind, " I said; for really it was too bad of him. "It seems to me a dirty bit of the commonest flint you could pick up. "

This vexed him more than I wished to have done, and I could not helpbeing sorry; for he went into a little fit of sulks, and Aunt Maryalmost frowned at me. But he could not stay long in that condition, andafter his doze and his glass he came forth as lively and meddlesome asever. And the first thing he did was to ask me for the locket. 

"Open it?" he cried; "why, of course I can; there is never anydifficulty about that. The finest workmanship in the world is that ofthe Indian jewelers. I have been among them often; I know all theirdevices and mechanism, of which the European are bad copies. I have onlyto look round this thing twice, and then pronounce my Sesame. "

"My dear, then look round it as fast as you can, " said his wife, witha traitorous smile at me, "and we won't breathe a Sess till it fliesasunder. "

"Mary, Miss Castlewood makes you pert, although herself so wellconducted. However, I do not hesitate to say that I will open this casein two minutes. "

"Of course you will, dear, " Mrs. Hockin replied, with provokingacquiescence. "The Major never fails, Erema, in any thing he is so sureabout; and this is a mere child's toy to him. Well, dear, have you doneit? But I need not ask. Oh, let us see what is inside of it!"

"I have not done it yet, Mrs. Hockin; and if you talk with suchrapidity, of course you throw me out. How can I command my thoughts, oreven recall my experience?"

"Hush! now hush, Erema! And I myself will hush most reverently. "

"You have no reverence in you, and no patience. Do you expect me to dosuch a job in one second? Do you take me for a common jeweler? I beg youto remember--"

"Well, my dear, I remember only what you told us. You were to turn itround twice, you know, and then cry Sesame. Erema, was it not so?"

"I never said any thing of the sort. What I said was simplythis--However, to reason with ladies is rude; I shall just be off to mystudy. "

"Where you keep your tools, my darling, " Mrs. Hockin said, softly, afterhim: "at least, I mean, when you know where they are. "

I was astonished at Aunt Mary's power of being so highly provoking, andstill more at her having the heart to employ it. But she knew best whather husband was; and to worship forever is not wise. 

"Go and knock at his door in about five minutes, " Mrs. Hockin said tome, with some mischief in her eyes. "If he continues to fail, he maypossibly take a shorter way with it. And with his tools so close athand--"

"Oh, " I exclaimed, "his geological hammer--that dreadful crusher! May Igo at once? I detest that thing, but I can not have it smashed. "

"He will not break it up, my dear, without your leave. He never wouldthink of such a thing, of course. However, you may as well go afterhim. "

It was wrong of Mrs. Hockin to make me do this; and I felt quiteashamed of myself when I saw the kind old Major sitting by his lamp, andwrinkling his forehead into locks and keys of puzzle, but using violenceto his own mind alone. And I was the more ashamed when, instead ofresenting my intrusion, he came to meet me, and led me to his chair, andplaced the jeweled trinket in my hand, and said, "My dear, I give itup. I was wrong in taking it away from you. You must consult some onewiser. "

"That odious thing!" I answered, being touched by this unusual humilityof his; "you shall not give it up; and I know no wiser person. Alapidary's tricks are below your knowledge. But if you are not tired ofme and offended, may I leave it to you to get it opened?"

"I would like nothing better, " he replied, recovering his naturalbriskness and importance; "but you ought to be there, my dear; you mustbe there. Are you sure that you ought not rather to take it to your goodcousin Lord Castlewood? Now think before you answer. "

"I need not think twice of that, Major Hockin. Good and learned asmy father's cousin is, he has distinctly refused to help me, for somemysterious reason of his own, in searching into this question. Indeed, my great hope is to do it without him: for all that I know, he mighteven wish to thwart me. "

"Enough, my dear; it shall be just as you wish. I brought you toEngland, and I will stand by you. My cousin, Colonel Gundry, hascommitted you to me. I have no patience with malefactors. I never tookthis matter up, for very many reasons; and among them not the least wasthat Sampson, your beloved 'Uncle Sam, ' thought it better not to do so. But if you desire it, and now that I feel certain that an infamous wronghas been done to you--which I heartily beg your pardon for my doubtof--by the Lord of all justice, every thing else may go to the devil, till I see it out. Do you desire it, Erema?"

"I certainly do not wish that any of your great works should beneglected. But if, without that, you can give me your strong help, myonly difficulty will be to thank you. "

"I like plain speaking, and you always speak plainly; sometimes tooplainly, " he said, recollecting little times when he had the worst ofit. "How far do you trust me now?"

"Major Hockin, I trust you altogether. You may make mistakes, as all mendo--"

"Yes, yes, yes. About my own affairs; but I never do that for otherpeople. I pay a bill for twopence, if it is my own. If I am trustee ofit, I pay three half-pence. "

His meaning was a little beyond me now; but it seemed better not to tellhim so; for he loved to explain his own figures of speech, even when hehad no time to spare for it. And he clearly expected me to ask him tobegin; or at least it seemed so from his eyebrows. But that only camehome to me afterward. 

"Please not to speak of my affairs like that, " I said, as if I werequite stupid; "I mean to pay fourpence for every twopence--both tofriends and enemies. "

"You are a queer girl; I have always said so. You turn things to yourown ideas so. However, we must put up with that, though none of mydaughters have ever done it; for which I am truly thankful. But nowthere is very little time to lose. The meaning of this thing must becleared up at once. And there is another thing to be done as well, quiteas important, in my opinion. I will go to London with you to-morrow, ifyou like. My clever little Cornishman will see to things here--the manthat sets up all the angles. "

"But why should I hurry you to London so?" I asked. "Surely any goodcountry jeweler could manage it? Or let us break it open. "

"On no account, " he answered; "we might spoil it all; besides the greatrisk to the diamonds, which are very brittle things. To London we musttake it, for this reason--the closure of this case is no jeweler's work;of that I have quite convinced myself. It is the work of a first-ratelapidary, and the same sort of man must undo it. "

To this I agreed quite readily, because of such things I knew nothing;whereas my host spoke just as if he had been brought up to both thosewalks of art. And then I put a question which had long been burning onmy tongue. 

"What made you imagine, Major Hockin, that this very beautiful facecould have ever been that of the old lady living in the ruin?"

"In Desolate Hole? I will tell you at once; and then call it, if youlike, an imagination. Of all the features of the human face there isnone more distinctive than the eyebrow. 'Distinctive' is not exactlywhat I mean--I mean more permanently marked and clear. The eyes change, the nose changes, so does the mouth, and even the shape of the foreheadsometimes; but the eyebrows change very little, except in color. This Ihave noticed, because my own may perhaps be a little peculiar; and theyhave always been so. At school I received a nickname about it, for boysare much sharper than men about such things; and that name after fiftyyears fits as well as ever. You may smile, if you like; I shall not tellyou what it was, but leave you to re-invent it, if you can. Now lookat this first-rate miniature. Do you see an unusual but not uncomelyformation of the eyebrows?"

"Certainly I do; though I did not observe it until you drew myattention. I had only regarded the face, as a whole. "

"The face, as a whole, is undoubtedly fine. But the eyebrows have apeculiar arch, and the least little turn at the lower end, as if theydesigned to rise again. The lady of Desolate Hole has the same. "

"But how can you tell? How very strange! I thought she let nobody seeher face. "

"You are perfectly right about that, Erema; so far at least as she hasvouchsafed to exhibit her countenance to me. Other people may be morefortunate. But when I met her for the second time, being curious alreadyabout her, I ventured to offer my services, with my inborn chivalry, ata place where the tide was running up, and threatened to surround her. My politeness was not appreciated, as too often is the case; for shemade me a very stiff bow, and turned away. Her face had been covered bythe muffler of her cloak, as if the sea-breeze were too much for her;and she did not even raise her eyes. But before she turned away, Iobtained a good glance at her eyebrows--and they were formed likethese. "

"But her age, Major Hockin! Her age--what is it?"

"Upon that proverbially delicate point I can tell you but little, Erema. Perhaps, however, I may safely say that she can not be much undertwenty. "

"It is not right to provoke me so. You call her 'the old woman, 'and compare her to your letter-box. You must have some idea--is sheseventy?"

"Certainly not, I should say; though she can not expect me to defendher, when she will not show her face to me; and what is far worse, at mytime of life, she won't even pay me a half-penny of rent. Now let us goback to Aunt Mary, my dear; she always insists upon packing overnight. "

CHAPTER XLVII

CADMEIAN VICTORY

Before two o'clock of the following day Major Hockin and myself werein London, and ready to stay there for two or three days, if it shouldprove needful. Before leaving Bruntsea I had written briefly to LordCastlewood, telling him that important matters had taken me away fromShoxford, and as soon as I could explain them, I would come and tell himall about it. This was done only through fear of his being annoyed at myindependence. 

From London Bridge the Major took a cab direct to Clerkenwell; and againI observed that of all his joys one of the keenest was to match his witsagainst a cabman's. "A regular muff, this time, " he said, as he jerkedup and down with his usual delight in displaying great knowledge ofLondon; "no sport to be had out of him. Why, he stared at me when I said'Rosamond Street, ' and made me stick on 'Clerkenwell. ' Now here he istaking us down Snow Hill, when he should have been crossing Smithfield. Smithfield, cabby, Smithfield!"

"Certain, Sir, Smiffle, if you gives the order;" and he turned thepoor horse again, and took us up the hill, and among a great number ofbarriers. "No thoroughfare, " "No thoroughfare, " on all hands stretchedacross us; but the cabman threaded his way between, till he came to thebrink of a precipice. The horse seemed quite ready, like a Roman, toleap down it, seeing nothing less desirable than his present mode oflife, till a man with a pickaxe stopped him. 

"What are you at?" cried the Major, with fury equalled by nothing excepthis fright. "Erema, untie my big rattan. Quick--quick--"

"Captain, " said the cabman, coolly, "I must have another shilling forthis job. A hextra mile and a quarter, to your orders. You knows Lunnonso much better. Smiffle stopped--new railway--new meat market--neverheered of that now, did you?"

"You scoundrel, drive straight to the nearest police office. "

"Must jump this little ditch, then, Captain. Five pun' fine for you, when we gets there. Hold on inside, old gentleman. Kuck, kuck, Bob, youwas a hunter once. It ain't more than fifty feet deep, my boy. "

"Turn round! turn round, I tell you! turn round! If your neck isforfeit, you rogue, mine is not. I never was so taken in in my life!"Major Hockin continued to rave, and amid many jeers we retreated humbly, and the driver looked in at us with a gentle grin. "And I thought he wasso soft, you know! Erema, may I swear at him?"

"On no account, " I said. "Why, after all, it is only a shilling, and theloss of time. And then, you can always reflect that you have discharged, as you say, a public duty, by protesting against a vile system. "

"Protesting is very well, when it pays, " the Major answered, gloomily;"but to pay for protesting is another pair of shoes. "

This made him cross, and he grew quite fierce when the cabman smotehim for eight-pence more. "Four parcels on the roof, Captain, " he said, looking as only a cabman can look at his money, and spinning his extrashilling. "Twopence each under new hact, you know. Scarcely thought ahofficer would 'a tried evasion. "

"You consummate scoundrel--and you dress yourself like a countryman!I'll have your badge indorsed--I'll have your license marked. Erema, paythe thief; it is more than I can do. "

"Captain, your address, if you please; I shall summon you for scurrilouslanguage, as the hact directs. Ah, you do right to be driven to a pawnshop. "

Triumphantly he drove off, while the Major cried, "Never tie up myrattan again. Oh, it was Mrs. Hockin, was it? What a fool I was not tostop on my own manor!"

"I pray you to disdain such low impudence, " I said, for I could not bearto see him shake like that, and grieved to have brought him into it. "You have beaten fifty of them--a hundred of them--I have heard yousay. "

"Certainly I have, my dear; but I had no Bruntsea then, and could notafford to pay the rogues. That makes me feel it so bitterly, so loftily, and so righteously. To be treated like this, when I think of all mylabors for the benefit of the rascally human race! my Institute, myLyceum, my Mutual Improvement Association, and Christian Young Men'ssomething. There is no institution, after all, to be compared to thetread-mill. "

Recovering himself with this fine conclusion, he led me down a littlesloping alley, scarcely wide enough for a wheelbarrow, to an old blackdoor, where we set down our parcels; for he had taken his, whileI carried mine, and not knowing what might happen yet, like a truepeace-maker I stuck to the sheaf of umbrellas and the rattan cane. Andthankful I was, and so might be the cabman, to have that weapon nicelysheathed with silk. 

Major Hockin's breath was short, through too much talking withoutaction, and he waited for a minute at this door, to come back to hisequanimity. And I thought that our female breath falls short for thevery opposite reason--when we do too much and talk too little; whichhappily seldom happens. 

He was not long in coming back to his usual sprightliness and decision. And it was no small relief to me, who was looking at him miserably, and longing that his wife was there, through that very sadone-and-eightpence, when he pulled out a key, which he always carriedas signer and lord of Bruntsea, the key of the town-hall, which hadsurvived lock, door, and walls by centuries, and therewith struck a doorwhich must have reminded that key of its fine old youth. 

Before he had knocked so very many times, the door was opened by a youngman wearing an apron and a brown paper cap, who knew Major Hockin atonce, and showed us up stairs to a long low workshop. Here were manywheels and plates and cylinders revolving by energy of a strap whichcame through the floor and went through the ceiling. And the young mantold us to be careful how we walked, for fear of getting entangled. Several men, wearing paper caps and aprons of leather or baize, weresitting doing dextrous work, no doubt, and doing it very easily, and themaster of them all was hissing over some fine touch of jewel as a groomdoes at a horse. Then seeing us, he dropped his holders, and threw aleather upon his large lens, and came and took us to a little side room. 

"Are you not afraid to leave them?" asked the Major. "They may secretesome gems, Mr. Handkin. "

"Never, " said the lapidary, with some pride. "I could trust these menwith the Koh-i-noor; which we could have done better, I believe, thanit was done by the Hollanders. But we don't get the chance to do much indiamonds, through the old superstition about Amsterdam, and so on. No, no; the only thing I can't trust my men about is to work as hard whenI am away as when I am there. And now, Sir, what can I do for you? Anymore Bruntsea pebbles? The last were not worth the cutting. "

"So you said; but I did not think so. We have some agates as good asany from Aberystwith or Perthshire. But what I want now is to open thiscase. It must be done quite privately, for a most particular reason. Itdoes open, doesn't it? I am sure it does. "

"Certainly it opens, " Mr. Handkin answered, while I trembled withanxiety as he lightly felt it round the edges with fingers engrainedwith corundum. "I could open it in one instant, but the enamel mightfly. Will you risk it?"

The Major looked at me, and I said, "Oh no; please not to risk anything, if any slower process will do it without risk. We want it donewithout injury. "

"Then it will cost a good bit, " he replied. "I can open it for fiveshillings, if you run the risk; if that rests with me, I must chargefive pounds. "

"Say three, " cried the Major. "Well, then, say four guineas: I have alot of work in store for you. "

"I never overcharge, and I never depart from my figures, " the lapidaryanswered. "There is only one other man in London who knows the secret ofthis enamel, and he is my brother. They never make such enamel now. Theart is lost, like that of the French paste of a hundred years ago, which almost puzzles even me until I go behind it. I will give youmy brother's address if you like; but instead of five pounds, he willcharge you ten guineas--if it must be done in private. Without thatcondition, I can do it for two pounds. You wish to know why that shouldmake such a difference. Well, for this simple reason: to make sure ofthe job, it must be done by daylight; it can be done only in my chiefwork-room; if no one is to see what I am about (and my men have sharpeyes, I can tell you), all my hands must be sacked for the afternoon, but not without their wages. That alone would go far toward thedifference, and then there is the dropping of the jobs in hand, andwaste of power, and so on. I have asked you too little, Major Hockin, Iassure you; but having said, I will stick to it, although I would muchrather you would let me off. "

"I have known you for many years, " the Major answered--"ever since youwere a boy, with a flat box, working at our Cornish opals. You wouldhave done a lot of work for five pounds then. But I never knew youovercharge for any thing. We agree to your terms, and are obliged toyou. But you guarantee no damage?"

"I will open this locket, take out its contents, whatever they may be, and reclose it so that the maker, if still alive--which is not veryprobable--should not know that it had been meddled with. "

"Very well; that is exactly what we want; for I have an idea about itwhich I may try to go on with afterward. And for that it is essential tohave no symptom that it ever has been opened. What are these brilliantsworth, Mr. Handkin?"

"Well, Sir, in the trade, about a hundred and fifty, though I dare saythey cost three hundred. And the portrait is worth another hundred, if Ifind on the back the marks I expect. "

"You do not mean to say that you know the artist?" I could not helpexclaiming, though determined not to speak. "Oh, then, we shall find outevery thing!"

"Erema, you are a--well, you are a silly!" Major Hockin exclaimed, andthen colored with remembering that rather he should have let my lapsepass. But the lapidary seemed to pay no attention, only to be callingdown to some one far below. "Now mind what you say, " the Major whisperedto me, just as if he were the essence of discretion. 

"The work-room is clear now, " Mr. Handkin said; "the fellows weredelighted to get their afternoon. Now you see that I have to take offthis hoop, and there lies the difficulty. I could have taken out thegold back, as I said, with very little trouble, by simply cutting it. But the locket would never have been quite the same, though we put anew back; and, more than that, the pressure of the tool might flawthe enamel, or even crack the portrait, for the make of this thing ispeculiar. Now first I submit the rim or verge, without touching thebrilliants, mind you, to the action of a little preparation of my own--agentle but penetrative solvent. You are welcome to watch me; you will benone the wiser; you are not in the trade, though the young lady looks asif she would make a good polisher. Very well: if this were an ordinaryclosure, with two flat surfaces meeting, the solvent would be absorbedinto the adhesion, expansion would take place, and there we have it. Butthis is what we call a cyme-joint, a cohesion of two curved surfaces, formed in a reflex curve which admits the solvent most reluctantly, or, indeed, not at all, without too long application. For that, then, another kind of process is needful, and we find it in frictionalheat applied most gradually and judiciously. For that I must have abuff-leather wheel, whose revolutions are timed to a nicety, and thatwheel I only have in this room. Now you see why I sent the men away. "

Though I watched his work with great interest, it is out of my powerto describe it now, and, moreover, it is not needful. Major Hockin, according to his nature, grew quite restless and impatient, and evenwent out for a walk, with his cane unpacked and unsheathed againstcabmen. But I was content to wait and watch, having always heard andthought that good work will not do itself, but must have time andskill to second it. And Mr. Handkin, moving arms, palms, and fingersbeautifully, put the same thought into words. 

"Good work takes a deal of time to do; but the man that does it all thetime knows well that it will take long to undo. Here it comes undone atlast!"

As he spoke, the excitable Major returned. 

"Done it, eh? Well, you are a clever fellow. Now don't look inside it;that is no part of your business, nor mine either, unless this younglady desires it. Hand it to her first, my friend. "

"Wait half a minute, " said the lapidary; "it is so far opened that thehoop spins round, but it must not be taken off until it cools. The ladymay lift it then with care. I have done this job as a piece of fine art;I have no wish to see any more of it. "

"Handkin, don't you be so touchy to a brother Cornishman. I thought thatI was Cornish enough, but you go cliffs beyond me. "

"Well, Major Hockin, " the lapidary answered, "I beg your pardon, if Isaid harm. But a man doing careful and skilled work--and skilled workit is, at every turn of the hand, as miss can bear witness, while youwalked off--he don't care who it is, Major Hockin, he would fight hisown brother to maintain it. "

"Very well, very well. Let us come away. I always enter into everybody's feelings. I see yours as clearly, Handkin, as if you had laidthem open on that blessed wheel. My insight has always been remarkable. Every one, without exception, says that of me. Now come away, comeaway--will you never see?"

Intent as I was upon what lay in my left palm relaxing itself, I couldnot help being sorry for the way in which the man of art, after all hiscare, was ground down by his brother Cornishman. However, he had livedlong enough in the world to feel no surprise at ingratitude. 

Now I went to one of the windows, as the light (which had been verygood) began to pale from its long and labored sufferance of London, and then, with soft and steady touch, I lifted off the loosened hoop. Asmell of mustiness--for smells go through what nothing else can--wasthe first thing to perceive, and then, having moved the disk of gold, Ifound a piece of vellum. This was doubled, and I opened it, and read, insmall clear writing:

"May 7, 1809 A. D. , George, Lord Castlewood, married Winifred, only childof Thomas Hoyle, as this his signature witnesseth. 

"CASTLEWOOD. 

"(Witness) THOMAS HOYLE. "

There was nothing more inside this locket, except two little wisps ofhair tied with gold thread, and the miniature upon ivory, bearing on theback some anagram, probably that of the artist. 

Already had I passed through a great many troubles, changes, chances, and adventures which always seem strange (when I come to look back), butnever surprised me at the moment. Indeed, I might almost make bold topronounce that not many persons of my age and sex have been visited, wholly against their own will, by such a series of incidents, not to saymarvelous, but at any rate fairly to be called unusual. And throughoutthem perhaps it will be acknowledged by all who have cared to considerthem, that up to the present time I did not fail more than themselvesmight have done in patience. And in no description of what came topass have I colored things at all in my own favor--at least so far asintention goes--neither laid myself out to get sympathy, though it oftenwould have done me a world of good. 

But now I am free to confess that my patience broke down very sadly. Why, if what was written on that vellum was true, and Major Hockincorrect as well, it came to no less than this, that my own dear fatherwas a base-born son, and I had no right to the name I was so proud of!If, moreover, as I now began to dream, that terrible and mysteriousman did not resemble my father so closely without some good reason, it seemed too likely that he might be his elder brother and the properheir. 

This was bad enough to think of, but an idea a thousandfold worseassailed me in the small hours of the night, as I lay on Mrs. Strouss'sbest bed, which she kept for consuls, or foreign barons, or others whomshe loved to call "international notorieties. " Having none of these now, she assigned me that bed after hearing all I had to say, and not makingall that she might have done of it, because of the praise that wouldfall to Mrs. Busk. 

However, she acknowledged that she knew nothing of the history of "thepoor old lord. " He might have carried on, for all she could tell, withmany wives before his true one--a thing she heard too much of; butas for the Captain not being his true son and the proper heir to thepeerage, let any one see him walk twice, and then have a shadow of adoubt about it! This logic pleased but convinced me not, and I had to goto bed in a very unhappy, restless, and comfortless state of mind. 

I hope that, rather than myself, that bed, full of internationalconfusion, is to blame for the wicked ideas which assailed me while Icould not even try to sleep. One of them--and a loyal daughter couldscarcely have a worse one--was that my own dear father, knowing LordCastlewood's bad behavior, and his own sad plight in consequence, andthrough that knowledge caring little to avenge his death, for wife andchildren's sake preferred to foil inquiry rather than confront thetruth and challenge it. He might not have meant to go so far, at firstbeginning with it; but, starting once, might be driven on by grievousloss, and bitter sense of recreant friends, and the bleak despair of ahomeless world before him. And serving as the scape-goat thus, he mighthave received from the real culprit a pledge for concealment of thefamily disgrace. 

CHAPTER XLVIII

A RETURN CALL

In the morning I labored to dismiss these thoughts, these shamefulsuspicions, almost as injurious to my father's honor as it was tosuspect him of the crime itself. And calling back my memories of him, and dwelling on what Mr. Shovelin said, and Uncle Sam and others, Ibecame quite happy in the firm conviction that I ought to be put uponbread and water for having such vile visions. Then suddenly a thing cameto my mind which shattered happy penitence. 

Major Hockin had spoken of another purpose which he had in store whilebringing me thus to London--another object, that is to say, besides theopening of the trinket. And this his second intention was to "have itout, " as he expressed it, "with that league of curs and serpents, Vypan, Goad, and Terryer. " This was the partnership whose card of business hadbeen delivered at the sawmills under circumstances which, to say theleast, required explanation. And the Major, with strong words and tugsof his head-crest, had vowed to get that explanation, or else put thelot of them into a police dock. 

Moreover, when, at the opening of the locket, I did not think fit toshow the lapidary what I had found inside it, except the paintingon ivory (which proved to be as he expected), and when my companionsuppressed curiosity at the risk of constitution, and while I couldscarcely tell what I was about (through sudden shock and stupidity), Imust have been hurried on to tell Major Hockin the whole of the privatethings I had discovered. For, in truth, there was scarcely any timeto think; and I was afraid of giving way, which must have befallen mewithout relief of words; and being so much disturbed I may, in the cab, have rushed off for comfort to the Major, sitting so close to me. Nodoubt I did so, from what happened afterward; but in the morning, aftersuch a night, I really could not be certain what I had said to Betsy, and what to him. 

A large mind would have been steady throughout, and regarded thequestion of birth as a thing to which we, who are not consulted aboutit, should bear ourselves indifferently. And gladly would I have doneso, if I could, but the power was not in me. No doubt it served me rightfor having been proud about such a trifle; but though I could call it atrifle as long as it seemed to be in my favor, my strength of mind wasnot enough to look at it so when against me. 

Betsy told me not to be like that, for I had a great deal to go throughyet, and must not be drawing on my spirit so, every atom of which wouldbe needful. For the General--as she called the Major--was coming tofetch me at eleven o'clock to face some abominable rascals, and withoutany breakfast how could I do it? Then I remembered all about theappointment to go to Messrs. Vypan, Goad, and Terryer, and beginning tothink about them, I saw sad confirmation of my bad ideas. My father'swicked elder brother by another mother had left his own rights pending, as long as my father lived, for good reason. For if the latter hadturned against him, through a breach of compact, things might go ill ina criminal court; but having him silenced now by death, this man mightcome forward boldly and claim estates and title. His first point wouldbe to make sure as sure could be of the death of my father, to get holdof his private papers, and of me, who might possess dangerous knowledge. And if this were so, one could understand at once Mr. Goad's attemptupon Uncle Sam. 

"Now none of this! none of this, I say, Erema!" Major Hockin exclaimed, as he ran in and saw me scarcely even caring to hold my own with thegentle Maximilian--to which name Mr. Strouss was promoted from the toovernacular "Hans. " "My dear, I never saw you look ill before. Why, blessmy heart, you will have crows'-feet! Nurse, what are you doing with her?Look at her eyes, and be ashamed of yourself. Give her goulard, tisane, tiffany--I never know what the proper word is--something, any thing, volatile Sally, hartshorn, ammonia, aromatic vinegar, saline draught, orsomething strong. Why, I want her to look at her very, very best. "

"As if she was a-going to a ball, poor dear!" Betsy Strouss replied, with some irony. "A young lady full of high spirits by nature, and havenever had her first dance yet! The laws and institutions of thiskingdom is too bad for me, General. I shall turn foreigner, like my poorhusband. "

"It is vere goot, vere goot always, " said the placid Maximilian;"foreigner dis way, foreigner dat way; according to de hills, or de sea, or de fighting, or being born, or someting else. "

"Hold your tongue, Hans, " cried his Wilhelmina; "remember that you arein England now, and must behave constitutionally. None of your looseoutlandish ideas will ever get your bread in England. Was I bornaccording to fighting, or hills, or sea, or any thing less than the willof the Lord, that made the whole of them, and made you too? General, I beg you to excuse him, if you can. When he gets upon such things, henever can stop. His goodness is very great; but he must have a firm handput upon his 'philosophy. ' Maximilian, you may go and smoke your pipefor an hour and a quarter, and see where the cheapest greens and oilare, for his Excellence is coming in to-night; and mind you get plentyof stump in them. His Excellence loves them, and they fill the dish, besides coming cheaper. Now, Miss Erema, if you please, come here. Trustyou in me, miss, and soon I will make you a credit to the General. "

I allowed her to manage my dress and all that according to her ownideas; but when she entreated to finish me up with the "leastestlittle touch of red, scarcely up to the usual color, by reason of notsleeping, " I stopped her at once, and she was quite content with thecolor produced by the thought of it. Meanwhile Major Hockin, of course, was becoming beyond all description impatient. He had made the greatestpoint of my being adorned, and expected it done in two minutes! And hehurried me so, when I did come down, that I scarcely noticed either cabor horse, and put on my new gloves anyhow. 

"My dear, you look very nice, " he said at last, when thoroughly tiredof grumbling. "That scoundrel of a Goad will be quite amazed at sight ofthe child he went to steal. "

"Mr. Goad!" I replied, with a shudder, caused, perhaps, by darkremembrance; "if we go to the office, you surely will not expect me tosee Mr. Goad himself?"

"That depends, as the Frenchmen say. It is too late now to shrink backfrom any thing. If I can spare you, I will. If not, you must not beashamed to show yourself. "

"I am never ashamed to show myself. But I would rather not go to thatplace at all. If things should prove to be as I begin to think, I hadbetter withdraw from the whole of it, and only lament that I ever began. My father was right; after all, my father was wise; and I ought to haveknown it. And perhaps Uncle Sam knew the truth, and would not tell me, for fear of my rushing to the Yosemite. Cabman, please to turn the horseand go in the opposite direction. " But the Major pulled me back, and thedriver lifted his elbow and said, "All right. "

"Erema, " the Major began, quite sternly, "things are gone a littletoo far for this. We are now embarked upon a most importantinvestigation"--even in my misery I could scarce help smiling at hislove of big official words--"an investigation of vast importance. Acrime of the blackest dye has been committed, and calmly hushed up, forsome petty family reason, for a period of almost twenty years. I am notblaming your father, my dear; you need not look so indignant. It isyour own course of action, remember, which has led to the present--thepresent--well, let us say imbroglio. A man of honor and an officer ofher Majesty's service stands now committed at your request--mind, atyour own request--"

"Yes, yes, I know; but I only meant you to--to go as far as I shouldwish. "

"Confidential instructions, let us say; but there are times when dutyto society overrides fine feeling. I have felt that already. The dieis cast. No half-and-half measures, no beating about the bush, for me. After what I saw yesterday, and the light that burst upon me, I did notact hastily--I never do, though slow coaches may have said so. I putthis and that together carefully, and had my dinner, and made up mymind. And you see the result in that man on the box. "

"The cabman? Oh yes, you resolved to have a cab, and drive to thosewicked informers. "

"Where are your eyes? You are generally so quick. This morning you arequite unlike yourself--so weak, so tearful, and timorous. Have you notseen that by side of the cabman there sits another man altogether? Oneof the most remarkable men of the age, as your dear Yankees say. "

"Not a policeman in disguise, I hope. I saw a very common, insignificantman. I thought he was the driver's groom, perhaps. "

"Hush! he hears every thing, even on this granite. He is not apoliceman; if he were, a few things that disgrace the force never wouldhappen. If the policemen of England did their duty as our soldiers do, at once I would have gone to them; my duty would have been to do so. Asit is, I go to our private police, who would not exist if the force wereworth a rap. Vypan, Goad, and Terryer, in spite of Goad's clumsiness, rank second. I go to the first of all these firms, and I get their verycleverest rascal. "

Major Hockin, speaking in this hoarse whisper--for he could not whispergently--folded his arms, and then nodded his head, as much as to say, "I have settled it now. You have nothing to do but praise me. " But I wasvexed and perplexed too much to trust my voice with an answer. 

"The beauty of this arrangement is, " he continued, with vastcomplacency, "that the two firms hate one another as the devilhates--no, that won't do; there is no holy water to be found amongthem--well, as a snake hates a slow-worm, let us say. 'Set a thief tocatch a thief' is a fine old maxim; still better when the two thieveshave robbed one another. "

As he spoke, the noble stranger slipped off the driving seat withouttroubling the cabman to stop his jerking crawl, and he did it so wellthat I had no chance of observing his nimble face or form. "You aredisappointed, " said the Major, which was the last thing I would haveconfessed. "You may see that man ten thousand times, and never be ableto swear to him. Ha! ha! he is a oner!"

"I disdain such mean tricks beyond all expression, " I exclaimed, as wasonly natural, "and every thing connected with them. It is so low to talkof such things. But what in the world made him do it? Where does he comefrom, and what is his name?"

"Like all noble persons, he has got so many names that he does not knowwhich is the right one; only his are short and theirs are long. Helikes 'Jack' better than any thing else, because it is not distinctive. 'Cosmopolitan Jack, ' some call him, from his combining the manners andcustoms, features and figures, of nearly all mankind. He gets on withevery one, for every one is gratified by seeing himself reflected inhim. And he can jump from one frame to another as freely as Proteusor the populace. And yet, with all that, he is perfectly honest to anyallegiance he undertakes. He would not betray us to Vypan, Goad, andTerryer for your great nugget and the Castlewood estates. "

"I have heard that there are such people, " I said; "but what can hepossibly know about me? And what is he coming to do for us now?"

"He knows all about you, for a very simple reason. That you do not knowhim, is a proof of his ability. For you must have met him times out ofnumber. This is the fellow employed by your good but incapable cousin, Lord Castlewood. "

"He is not incapable; he is a man of great learning, and noblecharacter--"

"Well, never mind that; you must not be so hot. What I mean is that hehas done nothing for you beyond providing for your safety. And thathe certainly did right well, and at considerable expense, for this mancan't be had for nothing. You need have been under no terror at all inany of the scenes you have been through. Your safety was watched forcontinually. "

"Then why did he not come and help me? Why did he not find out thathorrible man?"

"Because it was not in his orders, and Jack is the last man to go beyondthose. He is so clever that the stupid Moonites took him for a stupidMoonite. You should have employed him yourself, Erema; but you are soproud and independent. "

"I should hope so, indeed. Should I put up with deceit? If the truthis not to be had without falsehood, it is not worth having. But what isthis man to do here now?"

"That depends upon circumstances. He has better orders than I couldgive, for I am no hand at scheming. Here we are; or here we stop. Say nothing till I tell you. Pray allow me the honor. You keep in thebackground, remember, with your veil, or whatever you call it, down. Nobody stops at the very door. Of course that is humbug--we conform toit. "

With a stiff inclination, the gallant Major handed me out of the cab ina quiet corner of a narrow street, then paid the driver with lessfuss than usual, and led me into a queer little place marked in almostillegible letters, "Little England Polygon. " "You have the card, mydear?" he whispered; "keep it till I call you in. But be ready toproduce it in a moment. For the rest, I leave you to your own wit. Jackis on the watch, mind. "

There were two doors near together, one a brave door with a plate, and swung on playing hinges, the other of too secluded a turn to evenpronounce itself "private. " We passed through the public door, and foundonly a lobby, with a boy on guard. "Mr. Goad? Yes, Sir. This way, Sir, "cried the boy. "Lady stay? Yes, Sir; waiting-room for ladies. Chair, miss; here, if you please--first right. Mr. Goad, second on the left. Knock twice. Paper, miss? Poker chained at this time of year. Bell A, glass of water. Bell B, cup of tea, if ladies grows impatient. "

If I had been well, I might have reduced this boy to his propermagnitude, for I never could endure young flippancy; but my spiritswere so low that the boy banged the door with a fine sense of havingvanquished me. And before there was any temptation to ring Bell A, notto mention Bell B, the sound of a wrathful voice began coming. Nearer and nearer it came, till the Major strode into the "ladies'waiting-room, " and used language no ladies should wait for. 

"Oh, don't!" I said; "what would Mrs. Hockin say? And consider me too, Major Hockin, if you please. "

"I have considered you, and that makes me do it. Every body knows whatI am. Did I ever exaggerate in all my life? Did I ever say any thingwithout just grounds? Did I ever take any distorted views? Did I everdraw upon my imagination? Erema, answer me this instant!"

"I do not remember a single instance of your drawing upon yourimagination, " I answered, gravely, and did not add, "because there isnone to draw upon. "

"Very well. I was sure of your concurrence. Then just come with me. Takemy arm, if you please, and have the thief's card ready. Now keep yourtemper and your self-command. "

With this good advice, the Major, whose arm and whole body were jerkingwith wrath, led me rapidly down the long passage and through a door, andmy eyes met the eyes of the very man who had tried to bribe Uncle Sam ofme. He never saw me then, and he did not know me now; but his insolenteyes fell under mine. I looked at him quietly, and said nothing. 

"Now, Mr. Goad, you still assert that you never were inCalifornia--never even crossed the Atlantic. This young lady undermy protection--don't you be afraid, my dear--is the Honorable EremaCastlewood, whom you, in the pay of a murderer, went to fetch, and perhaps to murder. Now, do you acknowledge it? You wrote herdescription, and ought to know her. You double-dyed villain, out withit!"

"Major Hockin, " said Mr. Goad, trying to look altogether at his ease, but failing, and with his bull-dog forehead purple, "if indeed you arean officer--which I doubt for the credit of her Majesty's service--ifthe lady were not present, I should knock you down. " And the big man gotup as if to do it. 

"Never mind her, " my companion answered, in a magnanimous manner; "shehas seen worse than that, poor thing. Here I am--just come and do it. "

The Major was scarcely more than half the size of Mr. Goad in merebodily bulk, and yet he defied him in this way. He carefully took hisblue lights off, then drew up the crest of his hair, like his wife'smost warlike cock a-crowing, and laid down his rattan upon a desk, anddoubled his fists, and waited. Then he gave a blink from the corner ofhis gables, clearly meaning, "Please to stop and see it out. " It was adistressing thing to see, and the Major's courage was so grand that Icould not help smiling. Mr. Goad, however, did not advance, but assumeda superior manner. 

"Major, " he said, "we are not young men; we must not be so hasty. Youcarry things with too high a hand, as veteran officers are apt to do. Sir, I make allowance for you; I retract my menace, and apologize. Wemove in different spheres of life, Sir, or I would offer you my hand. "

"No, thank you!" the Major exclaimed, and then looked sorry for hisarrogance. "When a man has threatened me, and that man sees the mistakeof doing so, I am pacified, Sir, in a moment; but it takes me some timeto get over it. I have served his Gracious Majesty, and now hers, in every quarter of the civilized globe, with distinction, Sir--withdistinction, and thanks, and no profit to taint the transaction, Sir. In many battles I have been menaced with personal violence, and havereceived it, as in such positions is equitable. I am capable, Sir, ofreceiving it still, and repaying it, not without interest. "

"Hang it, Major, if a man is sorry, a soldier forgives him frankly. You abused me, and I rashly threatened you. I beg your pardon, as a manshould do, and that should be an end to it. "

"Very well, very well; say no more about it. But am I to understand thatyou still deny in that barefaced manner, with my witness here, the factof your having been at Colonel Gundry's--my cousin, Sir, and a man notto be denied, without an insult to myself--a man who possesses ingotsof gold, ingots of gold, enough to break the Bank of England, and aman whose integrity doubles them all. Have you not heard of the monsternugget, transcending the whole of creation, discovered by this younglady looking at you, in the bed of the saw-mill river, and valued atmore than half a million?"

"You don't mean to say so? When was it? Sylvester never said a wordabout it--the papers, I mean, never mentioned it. "

"Try no more--well, I won't say lies, though they are confoundedlies--what I mean is, no further evasion, Mr. Goad. Sylvester's nameis enough, Sir. Here is the card of your firm, with your own note ofdelivery on the back, handed by you to my cousin, the Colonel. And herestands the lady who saw you do it. "

"Major, I will do my very best to remember. I am here, there, everywhere--China one day, Peru the next, Siberia the day after. And thisyoung lady found the nugget, did she? How wonderfully lucky she mustbe!"

"I am lucky; I find out every thing; and I shall find out you, Mr. Goad. " Thus I spoke on the spur of the moment, and I could not havespoken better after a month of consultation. Rogues are generallysuperstitious. Mr. Goad glanced at me with a shudder, as I had gazedat him some three years back; and then he dropped his bad, oily-lookingeyes. 

"I make mistakes sometimes, " he said, "as to where I have been and whereI have not. If this young lady saw me there, it stands to reason that Imay have been there. I have a brother extremely similar. He goes about agood deal also. Probably you saw my brother. "

"I saw no brother of yours, but yourself. Yourself--your mean andcowardly self--and I shall bring you to justice. "

"Well, well, " he replied, with a poor attempt to turn the matterlightly; "I never contradict ladies; it is an honor to be so observed bythem. Now, Major, can you give me any good reason for drawing upon a badmemory? My time is valuable. I can not refer to such by-gone matters fornothing. "

"We will not bribe you, if that is what you mean, " Major Hockin madeanswer, scornfully. "This is a criminal case, and we have evidence youlittle dream of. Our only offer is--your own safety, if you make a cleanbreast of it. We are on the track of a murderer, and your connectionwith him will ruin you. Unless you wish to stand in the dock at hisside, you will tell us every thing. "

"Sir, this is violent language. "

"And violent acts will follow it: if you do not give up your principal, and every word you know about him, you will leave this room in custody. I have Cosmopolitan Jack outside, and the police at a sign from him willcome. "

"Is this job already in the hands of the police, then?"

"No, not yet. I resolved to try you first. If you refuse, it will betaken up at once; and away goes your last chance, Sir. "

Mr. Goad's large face became like a field of conflicting passions andlow calculations. Terror, fury, cupidity, and doggedness never had alarger battle-field. 

"Allow me at least to consult my partners, " he said, in a low voice andalmost with a whine; "we may do things irregular sometimes, but we neverbetray a client. "

"Either betray your client or yourself, " the Major answered, with adownright stamp. "You shall consult no one. You have by this watchforty-five seconds to consider it. "

"You need not trouble yourself to time me, " the other answered, sulkily;"my duty to the firm overrides private feeling. Miss Castlewood, I callyou to witness, since Major Hockin is so peppery--"

"Peppery, Sir, is the very last word that ever could be applied tome. My wife, my friends, every one that knows me, even my furthest-offcorrespondents, agree that I am pure patience. "

"It may be so, Major; but you have not shown it. Miss Castlewood, I havedone you no harm. If you had been given up to me, you would have beensafer than where you were. My honor would have been enlisted. I nowlearn things which I never dreamed of--or, at least--at least onlylately. I always believed the criminality to be on the other side. We never ally ourselves with wrong. But lately things have come to myknowledge which made me doubtful as to facts. I may have been duped--Ibelieve I have been: I am justified, therefore, in turning the tables. "

"If you turn tables, " broke in the Major, who was grumbling to himselfat the very idea of having any pepper in his nature--"Goad, if you turntables, mind you, you must do it better than the mesmerists. Out of thisroom you do not stir; no darkness--no bamboozling! Show your papers, Sir, without sleight of hand. Surrender, or you get no quarter. "

To me it was quite terrifying to see my comrade thus push his victory. Mr. Goad could have killed him at any moment, and but for me perhapswould have done so. But even in his fury he kept on casting glances ofsuperstitious awe at me, while I stood quite still and gazed at him. Then he crossed the room to a great case of drawers, unlocked somethingabove the Major's head, made a sullen bow, and handed him a packet. 

CHAPTER XLIX

WANTED, A SAWYER

To judge Mr. Goad by his own scale of morality and honor, he certainlyhad behaved very well through a trying and unexpected scene. He foughtfor his honor a great deal harder than ever it could have deserved ofhim; and then he strove well to appease it with cash, the mere thoughtof which must have flattered it. However, it was none the worse fora little disaster of this kind. At the call of duty it coalesced withinterest and fine sense of law, and the contact of these must havestrengthened it to face any future production. 

For the moment he laid it aside in a drawer--and the smallest hepossessed would hold it--and being compelled to explain his instructions(partly in short-hand and partly in cipher), he kindly, and for the mainof it truly, interpreted them as follows:

"July 31, 1858. --Received directions from M. H. To attend withoutfail, at whatever expense, to any matter laid before us by a tall, darkgentleman bearing his card. M. H. Considerably in our debt; but hisfather can not last long. Understand what he means, having dealt withthis matter before, and managed well with it. 

"August 2. --Said gentleman called, gave no name, and was very close. Had experienced some great wrong. Said that he was true heir to the C. Estates now held by Lord C. Only required a little further evidence toclaim them; and some of this was to be got through us. Importantpapers must be among the effects of the old lord's son, lately dead inCalifornia, the same for whom a reward had been offered, and we had beenemployed about it. Must get possession of those papers, and of the girl, if possible. Yankees to be bribed, at whatever figure, and always standout for a high one. Asked where funds were to come from; gave goodreference, and verified it. To be debited to the account of M. H. Said we would have nothing to do with it without more knowledge of ourprincipal. Replied, with anger, that he himself was Lord C. , ousted byusurpers. Had not the necessary proofs as yet, but would get them, andblast all his enemies. Had doubts about his sanity, and still greaterabout his solvency. Resolved to inquire into both points. 

"August 3. --M. H. Himself, as cool as ever, but shammed to be indignant. Said we were fools if we did not take it up. Not a farthing would he payof his old account, and fellows like us could not bring actions. Also ahatful of money was to be made of this job, managed snugly. Emigrants toCalifornia were the easiest of all things to square up. A whole trainof them disappeared this very year, by Indians or Mormons, and no bonesmade. The best and most active of us must go--too ticklish for an agent. We must carry on all above-board out there, and as if sent by Britishgovernment. In the far West no one any wiser. Resolved to go myself, upon having a certain sum in ready. 

"August 5. --The money raised. Start for Liverpool to-morrow. Require achange, or would not go. May hit upon a nugget, etc. , etc. "

Mr. Goad's memoranda of his adventures, and signal defeat by Uncle Sam, have no claim to be copied here, though differing much from my account. With their terse unfeeling strain, they might make people laugh who hadnot sadder things to think of. And it matters very little how that spyescaped, as such people almost always seem to do. 

"Two questions, Goad, if you please, " said Major Hockin, who had smiledsometimes, through some of his own remembrances; "what has happenedsince your return, and what is the name of the gentleman whom you havecalled 'M. H. ?'"

"Is it possible that you do not know, Sir? Why, he told us quite latelythat you were at his back! You must know Sir Montague Hockin. "

"Yes, yes; certainly I do, " the old man said, shortly, with a quickgleam in his eyes; "a highly respected gentleman now, though he may havesown his wild oats like the rest. To be sure; of course I know all aboutit. His meaning was good, but he was misled. "

In all my little experience of life nothing yet astonished me more thanthis. I scarcely knew whom to believe, or what. That the Major, mostupright of men, should take up his cousin's roguery--all new to him--andspeak of him thus! But he gave me a nudge; and being all confusion, Isaid nothing, and tried to look at neither of them, because my eyes mustalways tell the truth. 

"As to the other point, " Mr. Goad went on; "since my embassy failed, wehave not been trusted with the confidence we had the right to expect. Ours is a peculiar business, Sir: 'Trust me in all, or trust me not atall, ' as one of our modern poets says, is the very essence of it. Andpossibly, Major, if that had been done, even your vigor and our senseof law might not have extorted from me what you have heard. Beingcashiered, as we are, we act according to the strictest honor indivulging things no longer confided to us. "

"Goad, you have done yourself the utmost credit, legally, intellectually, and--well, I will not quite say morally. If I ever havea nasty job to do--at least I mean a stealthy one--which God, whohas ever kept me straight, forbid!--I will take care not to lose youraddress. I have a very queer thing occurring on my manor--I believeit is bound up with this affair--never mind; I must think--I hate allunderhanded work. "

"Major, our charges are strictly moderate. We do in a week what takeslawyers a twelvemonth. Allow me to hand you one of our new cards. "

"No, no. My pockets are all full. And I don't want to have it foundamong my papers. No offense, Mr. Goad, no offense at all. Society isnot as it was when I was young. I condemn no modern institutions, Sir, though the world gets worse every day of its life. "

In terror of committing himself to any connection with such a firm, theMajor put on his dark lights again, took up his cane, and let every bodyknow, with a summary rap on the floor, that he might have relaxed, butwould not allow any further liberty about it. And as he marched away, not proudly, yet with a very nice firmness, I was almost afraid to sayany thing to him to disturb his high mental attitude. For Mrs. Hockinmust have exclaimed that here was a noble spectacle. 

"But one thing, " I forced myself to suggest; "do ask one thing beforewe go. That strange man who called himself 'Lord Castlewood' here, and'Captain Brown' at Soberton--have they any idea where to find him now?And why does he not come forward?"

My comrade turned back, and put these questions; and the privateinquirer answered that they had no idea of his whereabouts, but couldeasily imagine many good reasons for his present reserve of claim. Forinstance, he might be waiting for discovery of further evidence;or (which was even more likely) for the death of the present LordCastlewood, which could not be very far distant, and would remove thechief opponent. It grieved me deeply to find that my cousin's conditionwas so notorious, and treated of in such a cold-blooded way, like a mulefallen lame, or a Chinaman in Frisco. 

"My dear, you must grow used to such things, " Major Hockin declared, when he saw that I was vexed, after leaving those selfish premises. "Ifit were not for death, how could any body live? Right feeling is shownby considering such points, and making for the demise of others evenmore preparation than for our own. Otherwise there is a selfishnessabout it by no means Christian-minded. You look at things always fromsuch an intense and even irreligious point of view. But such things areout of my line altogether. Your Aunt Mary understands them best. "

"Would you be able, " I said, "to account to Aunt Mary conscientiouslyfor that dreadful story which I heard you tell? I scarcely knew where Istood, Major Hockin. "

"You mean about Montague? Family honor must be defended at any price. Child, I was greatly pained to go beyond the truth; but in such a caseit is imperative. I was shocked and amazed at my cousin's conduct; buthow could I let such a fellow know that? And think what I owe to hisfather, Sir Rufus? No, no; there are times when Bayard himself muststretch a point. Honor and religion alike demand it; and Mrs. Hockinneed never hear of it. "

"Certainly I shall not speak of it, " I answered, though a littlesurprised at his arguments; "but you mean, of course, to find out allabout it. It seems to me such a suspicious thing. But I never could bearSir Montague. "

The Major smiled grimly, and, perceiving that he wished to drop thesubject, I said no more. He had many engagements in London always, and Imust not attempt to engross his time. However, he would not for a momenthear of leaving me any where but with Betsy, for perhaps he saw howstrange I was. And, being alone at last with her, I could keep up mypride no longer. 

Through all that had happened, there never had been such a dreadfultrial as I had borne this day without a word to any one. Danger and lossand sad dreariness of mind, from want of young companionship; mysteryalso, and obscurity of life, had always been my fortune. With all ofthese I had striven, to the best of my very small ability, having fromnature no gift except the dull one of persistence. And throughout thatstruggle I had felt quite sure that a noble yearning for justice and alofty power of devotion were my two impelling principles. But now, when I saw myself sprung of low birth, and the father of my worshipbase-born, down fell all my arduous castles, and I craved to go underthe earth and die. 

For every word of Mr. Goad, and every crooked turn of little things intwist against me--even the Major's last grim smile--all began to worktogether, and make up a wretched tumult, sounding in my ears like drums. Where was the use of going on, of proving any body's guilt or any body'sinnocence, if the utmost issue of the whole would be to show my fatheran impostor? Then, and only then, I knew that love of abstract justiceis to little minds impossible, that sense of honor is too prone to hangon chance of birth, and virtue's fountain, self-respect, springs but illfrom parental taint. 

When I could no longer keep such bitter imaginings to myself, but pouredthem forth to Betsy, she merely laughed, and asked me how I could besuch a simpleton. Only to think of my father in such a light was beyondher patience! Where was my pride, she would like to know, and my birth, and my family manners? However, she did believe there was something inmy ideas, if you turned them inside out, and took hold of them by theother end. It was much more likely, to her mind, that the villain, theunknown villain at the bottom of all the misery, was really the sonborn out of wedlock, if any such there were at all, and therefore a wildharum-scarum fellow like Ishmael in the Book of Genesis. And it wouldbe just of a piece, she thought, with the old lord's character to drivesuch a man to desperation by refusing to give him a farthing. 

"All that might very well be, " I answered; "but it would in no way serveto explain my father's conduct, which was the great mystery of all. "Nevertheless, I was glad to accept almost any view of the case ratherthan that which had forced itself upon me since the opening of thelocket. Any doubt of that most wretched conclusion was a great reliefwhile it lasted; and, after so long a time of hope and self-reliance, should I cast away all courage through a mere suspicion?

While I was thus re-assuring myself, and being re-assured by my faithfulnurse, sad news arrived, and drove my thoughts into another crookedchannel. Mrs. Hockin, to meet my anxiety for some tidings fromCalifornia, had promised that if any letter came, she would not evenwait for the post, but forward it by special messenger. And thus, thatvery same evening, I received a grimy epistle, in an unknown hand, withthe postmark of Sacramento. Tearing it open, I read as follows:

"MISS 'REMA, --No good luck ever came, since you, to this Blue RiverStation, only to be washed away, and robbed by greasers, and shotthrough the ribs, and got more work than can do, and find an almightynugget sent by Satan. And now the very worst luck of all have come, wholly and out of all denial, by you and your faces and graces andFrench goings on. Not that I do not like you, mind; for you always wasvery polite to me, and done your best when you found me trying to put upwith the trials put on me. But now this trial is the worst of all thatever come to my establishings; and to go away now as I used to thinkof doing when tyrannized upon is out of my way altogether, and only anaction fit for a half-breed. Sawyer Gundry hath cut and run, without aword behind him--no instructions for orders in hand, and pouring in--nodirections where to find him, not even 'God bless you' to any one of themany hands that looked up to him. Only a packet of dollars for me to paythe wages for two months to come, and a power of lawyer to receive alldebts, and go on anyhow just the same. And to go on just the same ismore than the worst of us has the heart for, without the sight of hisold red face. He may have been pretty sharp, and too much the master nowand then, perhaps; but to do without him is a darned sight worse, andthe hands don't take to me like him. Many's the time I have seen hisfaults, of having his own way, and such likes, and paying a man beyondhis time if his wife was out of order. And many's the time I have saidmyself I was fitter to be at the head of it. 

"About that I was right enough, perhaps, if I had started upon my ownhook; but to stand in the tracks he has worn to his own foot is togo into crooked compasses. There is never a day without some handthreatening to strike and to better himself, as if they were hogs tocome and go according to the acorns; and such low words I can never putup with, and packs them off immediate. No place can be carried on ifthe master is to shut up his lips to impudence. And now I have onlygot three hands left, with work enough for thirty, and them three onlystopped on, I do believe, to grumble of me if the Sawyer do come home!

"But what we all want to know--and old Suan took a black stick to makemarks for you--is why the old man hath run away, and where. Young Firm, who was getting a sight too uppish for me to have long put up with him, he was going about here, there, and every where, from the very firsttime of your going away, opening his mouth a deal too much, and askinglow questions how long I stopped to dinner. Old Suan said he wastroubled in his mind, as the pale-faces do about young girls, insteadof dragging them to their wigwams; and she would give him a spell to getover it. But nothing came of that; and when the war broke out, he hadwords with his grandfather, and went off, so they said, to join therebels. 

"Sawyer let him go, as proud as could be, though he would sooner havecut his own head off; and the very same night he sat down by his fireand shammed to eat supper as usual. But I happened to go in to get someorders, and, my heart, I would never wish to see such things again!

"The old man would never waste a bit of victuals, as you know, Miss'Rema; and, being acquaint with Suan's way of watching, he hadslipped all his supper aside from his plate, and put it on a cleanpocket-handkerchief to lock it in the press till his appetite shouldserve; and I caught him in the act, and it vexed him. 'Ha'n't you themanners to knock at the door?' he said; and I said, 'Certainly, ' andwent back and done it; and, troubled as he was, he grinned a bit. Thenhe bowed his great head, as he always did when he knew he had goneperhaps a trifle too far with a man in my position. I nodded to forgivehim, and he stood across, and saw that he could do no less than liquorme, after such behavior. But he only brought out one glass; and I said, 'Come, Colonel, square is square, you know. ' 'Excuse of me, Martin, ' hesaid; 'but no drop of strong drink passes the brim of my mouth till thisgallivanting is done with. I might take too much, as the old men do, to sink what they don't want to think on. ' 'You mean about bully-cockFirm, ' says I; 'rebel Firm--nigger-driver Firm. ' 'Hush!' he said; 'nobad words about it. He has gone by his conscience and his heart. What dowe know of what come inside of him?'

"This was true enough, for I never did make that boy out to my liking:and the old man now was as stiff as a rock, and pretty nigh as peculiar. He made me a cocktail of his own patent, to show how firm his hand was;but the lines of his face was like wainscot mouldings, and the cords ofhis arm stood out like cogs. Then he took his long pipe, as he may havedone perhaps every blessed night for the last fifty years; but thatlength of time ought to have learned him better than to go for to fillit upside down. 'Ha, ha!' he said; 'every thing is upside down since Iwas a man under heaven--countries and nations and kindreds and duties;and why not a old tobacco-pipe? That's the way babies blow bubbles withthem. We shall all have to smoke 'em that way if our noble republic isbusted up. Fill yours, and try it, Martin. '

"Instead of enjoying my cocktail, Miss 'Rema, I never was so down atmouth; for, to my mind, his old heart was broken while he carried on so. And let every body say what they will, one thing there is no denying of. Never was seen on this side of the big hills a man fit to walk in thetracks of Uncle Sam, so large and good-hearted according to his lights, hard as a grizzly bear for a man to milk him, but soft in the breastboneas a young prairie-hen for all folk down upon their nine-pins. 

"You may be surprised, miss, to find me write so long. Fact is, thethings won't go out of my mind without it. And it gives me a comfort, after all I may have said, to put good opinions upon paper. If he nevershould turn up again, my language will be to his credit; whereas ifhe do come back, with the betting a horse to a duck against it, tohis pride he will read this testimonial of yours, faithfully, MARTINCLOGFAST. 

"P. S. --Can't carry on like this much longer. Enough to rip one's heartup. You never would know the old place, miss. The heads of the horses isas long as their tails with the way they carry them; the moss is as bigas a Spaniard's beard upon the kitchen door-sill; and the old dog howlsall day and night, like fifty thousand scalpers. Suan saith, if you wasto come back, the lad might run home after you. 'Tisn't the lad I caresabout so much, but poor old Sawyer, at his time of life, swallowed up inthe wilderness. "

CHAPTER L

THE PANACEA

As if my own trouble were not enough, so deeply was I grieved by thissad news that I had a great mind to turn back on my own and fly tofar-off disasters. To do so appeared for the moment a noble thing, andalmost a duty; but now, looking back, I perceive that my instinct wasright when it told me to stay where I was, and see out my own sad storyfirst. And Betsy grew hot at the mere idea of my hankering after amiller's affairs, as she very rudely expressed it. To hear about lordsand ladies, and their crimes and adventures, was lovely; but to dwellupon people of common birth, and in trade, was most unbeseeming. A manwho mended his own mill, and had hands like horn--well, even she was ofbetter blood than that, she hoped. 

Before these large and liberal views had fairly been expounded, MajorHockin arrived, with his mind in such a state that he opened his watchevery second. 

"Erema, I must speak to you alone, " he cried; "no, not even you, Mrs. Strouss, if you please. If my ward likes to tell you, why, of course shecan; but nobody shall say that I did. There are things that belong tothe family alone. The most loyal retainers--you know what I mean. "

"General, I was not aware that you belonged to the family. But this way, Sir; this way, if you please. There is lath and plaster to that wall, and a crack in the panel of the door, Sir. But here is a room where Ikeep my jams, with double brick and patent locks, from sweet-toothedlodgers. The 'scutcheon goes over the key-hole, General. Perhaps youwill see to that, while I roll up the carpet outside; and then, if anyretainers come, you will hear their footsteps. "

"Bless the woman, what a temper she has!" whispered the Major, in dreadof her ears. "Is she gone, Erema? She wants discipline. "

"Yes, she is gone, " I said, trying to be lightsome; "but you are enoughto frighten any one. "

"So far from that, she has quite frightened me. But never mind suchtrifles. Erema, since I saw you I have discovered, I may almost say, every thing. "

Coming upon me so suddenly, even with all allowance made for the Major'ssanguine opinion of his own deeds, this had such effect upon my flurriedbrain that practice alone enabled me to stand upright and gaze at him. 

"Perhaps you imagined when you placed the matter in my hands, MissCastlewood, " he went on, with sharp twinkles from the gables of hiseyes, but soft caresses to his whiskers, "that you would be left in thehands of a man who encouraged a crop of hay under his feet. Never didyou or any body make a greater mistake. That is not my character, MissCastlewood. "

"Why do you call me 'Miss Castlewood' so? You quite make me doubt my ownright to the name. "

Major Hockin looked at me with surprise, which gladdened even more thanit shamed me. Clearly his knowledge of all, as he described it, did notcomprise the disgrace which I feared. 

"You are almost like Mrs. Strouss to-day, " he answered, with somecompassion. "What way is the wind? I have often observed that when onefemale shows asperity, nearly all the others do the same. The weatheraffects them more than men, because they know nothing about it. But tocome back--are you prepared to hear what I have got to tell you?"

I bowed without saying another word. For he should be almost the last ofmankind to give a lecture upon irritation. 

"Very well; you wish me to go on. Perceiving how sadly you were upset bythe result of those interviews, first with Handkin, and then with Goad, after leaving you here I drove at once to the office, studio, place ofbusiness, or whatever you please to call it, of the famous fellow inthe portrait line, whose anagram, private mark, or whatever it is, wasburned into the back of the ivory. Handkin told me the fellow was dead, or, of course, his work would be worth nothing; but the name was carriedon, and the register kept, at a little place somewhere in Soho, where, on the strength of his old repute, they keep up a small trade withinferior hands. I gave them a handsome order for a thing that will neverbe handsome, I fear--my old battered physiognomy. And then I producedthe locket which in some queer state of mind you had given me, and madethem hunt out their old books, and at last discovered the very entry. But to verify it I must go to Paris, where his son is living. "

"Whose son? Lord Castlewood's?"

"Erema, have you taken leave of your senses? What son has LordCastlewood? The artist's son, to be sure; the son of the man who did thelikeness. Is it the vellum and the stuff upon it that has so upset yourmind? I am glad that you showed it to me, because it would have beenmean to do otherwise. But show it to no one else, my dear, except yourcousin, Lord Castlewood. He has the first right of all to know it, though he will laugh at it as I do. Trumpery of that sort! Let themproduce a certified copy of a register. If they could do that, need theyever have shot that raffish old lord--I beg pardon, my dear--your highlyrespected grandfather? No, no; don't tell me. Nicholas Hockin was neverin any way famous for want of brains, my dear, and he tells you to keepyour pluck up. "

"I never can thank you enough, " I replied, "for such inspiritingcounsel. I have been rather miserable all this day. And I have had sucha letter from America!"

Without my intending any offer of the kind, or having such idea at thefurthest tip of any radius of mind, I found myself under a weight aboutthe waist, like the things the young girls put on now. And this was thearm of the Major, which had been knocked about in some actions, but wasuseful still to let other people know, both in this way and that, whathe thought of them. And now it let me know that he pitied me. 

This kindness from so old a soldier made me partial to him. He had takenan age to understand me, because my father was out of the army almostbefore I was born, and therefore I had no traditions. Also, from wantof drilling, I had been awkward to this officer, and sometimes mutinous, and sometimes a coward. All that, however, he forgave me when he sawme so downhearted; and while I was striving to repress all signs, thequivering of my lips perhaps suggested thoughts of kissing. Whereuponhe kissed my forehead with nice dry lips, and told me not to be at allafraid. 

"How many times have you been brave?" he inquired, to set me counting, knowing from all his own children, perhaps, that nothing stops futiletears and the waste of sobs like prompt arithmetic. "Six, if not seven, times you have displayed considerable valor. Are you going to fallaway through some wretched imagination of your own? Now don't stop toargue--time will not allow it. I have put Cosmopolitan Jack as well uponthe track of Captain Brown. I have not told you half of what I couldtell, and what I am doing; but never mind, never mind; it is better thatyou should not know too much, my dear. Young minds, from their want ofknowledge of the world, are inclined to become uneasy. Now go to bed andsleep soundly, Erema, for we have lots to do to-morrow, and you have hada most worrying day to-day. To-morrow, of course, you must come with meto Paris. You can parleyvoo better than I can. "

However, as it happened, I did nothing of the kind, for when he cameback in the morning, and while he was fidgeting and hurrying me, andvowing that we should lose the tidal train, a letter from Bruntsea wasput into my hand. I saw Mrs. Price's clear writing, followed by goodAunt Mary's crooked lines, and knew that the latter must have receivedit too late to be sent by her messenger. In few words it told me thatif I wished to see my cousin alive, the only chance was to startimmediately. 

Shock and self-reproach and wonder came (as usual) before grief, whichalways means to stay, and waits to get its mourning ready. I loved andrespected my cousin more deeply than any one living, save Uncle Sam; andnow to lose them both at once seemed much too dreadful to be true. There was no time to think. I took the Major's cab, and hurried off toPaddington, leaving him to catch his tidal train. 

Alas! when I got to Castlewood, there was but a house of mourning!Faithful Stixon's eyes were dim, and he pointed upward and said, "Hush!" I entered with great awe, and asked, "How long?" And he said, "Four-and-twenty hours now; and a more peacefuller end was never seen, and to lament was sinful; but he was blessed if he could help it. " Itold him, through my tears, that this was greatly to his credit, and hemust not crush fine feelings, which are an honor to our nature. And hesaid that I was mistress now, and must order him to my liking. 

I asked him to send Mrs. Price to me, if she was not too busy; and heanswered that he believed her to be a very good soul, and handy. And ifhe ever had been thought to speak in a sense disparishing of her, suchthings should not be borne in mind, with great afflictions over us. Mrs. Price, hearing that I was come, already was on her way to me, andnow glanced at the door for Mr. Stixon to depart, in a manner pastmisunderstanding. 

"He gives himself such airs!" she said; "sometimes one would think--butI will not trouble you now with that, Miss Castlewood, or LadyCastlewood--which do you please to be called, miss? They say that thebarony goes on, when there is no more Viscount. "

"I please to be called 'Miss Castlewood, ' even if I have any right to becalled that. But don't let us talk of such trifles now. I wish to hearonly of my cousin. "

"Well, you know, ma'am, what a sufferer he has been for years. If everan angel had pains all over, and one leg compulsory of a walking-stick, that angel was his late lordship. He would stand up and look at one, andgive orders in that beautiful silvery voice of his, just as if he waslying on a bed of down. And never a twitch, nor a hitch in his face, norhis words, nor any other part of him. I assure you, miss, that I havebeen quite amazed and overwhelmed with interest while looking at hispoor legs, and thinking--"

"I can quite enter into it. I have felt the same. But please to come towhat has happened lately. "

"The very thing I was at the point of doing. Then last Sunday, God aloneknows why, the pain did not come on at all. For the first time for sevenyears or more the pain forgot the time-piece. His lordship thought thatthe clock was wrong; but waited with his usual patience, though missingit from the length of custom, instead of being happy. But when itwas come to an hour too late for the proper attack of the enemy, hislordship sent orders for Stixon's boy to take a good horse and ride toPangbourne for a highly respectable lawyer. There was no time to fetchMr. Spines, you see, miss, the proper solicitor, who lives in London. The gentleman from Pangbourne was here by eight o'clock; and then andthere his lordship made his will, to supersede all other wills. He putit more clearly, the lawyer said, than he himself could have put it, butnot, of course, in such legal words, but doubtless far more beautiful. Nobody in the house was forgotten; and the rule of law being, it seems, that those with best cause to remember must not witness, two of thetenants were sent for, and wrote down their names legitimate. And thenhis lordship lay back and smiled, and said, 'I shall have no more pain. '

"All that night and three days more he slept as sound as a little child, to make up for so many years. We called two doctors in; but they onlywhispered and looked dismal, and told us to have hot water ready at anyhour of the day or night. Nobody loved him as I did, miss, from seeingso much of his troubles and miraculous way of bearing them; and I sat bythe hour and hour, and watched him, trusting no paid nurses. 

"It must have been eight o'clock on Wednesday morning--what is to-day?Oh, Friday--then Thursday morning it must have been, when the cloudsopened up in the east, and the light of the sun was on the window-sill, not glaring or staring, but playing about, with patterns of leavesbetween it; and I went to screen it from his poor white face; but heopened his eyes, as if he had been half awake, half dreaming, and hetried to lift one of his thin, thin hands to tell me not to do it. So Ilet the curtain stay as it was, and crept back, and asked, very softly, 'Will your lordship have some breakfast?'

"He did not seem to comprehend me, but only watched the window; andif ever a blessed face there was, looking toward heaven's glory, hislordship had it, so that I could scarcely keep from sobbing. For I neverhad seen any living body die, but knew that it must be so. He heard mecatching my breath, perhaps, or at any rate he looked at me; and thepoor angel knew that I was a woman; and being full of high respect, ashe always was for females--in spite of the way they had served him--itbecame apparent to his mind that the pearl button of his neck was open, as ordered by the doctors. And he tried to lift his hand to do it; andthen he tried to turn away, but could not manage either. Poor dear! theonly movement he could make was to a better world. 

"Then I drew the sheet across his chest, and he gave me a little smileof thanks, and perhaps he knew whose hand it was. But the look of hiskind soft eyes was flickering--not steady, I mean, miss--but glancingand stopping and going astray, as drops of rain do on the window-glass. But I could not endure to examine him much; at such a holy time I feltthat to watch death was unholy. 

"Perhaps I ought to have rung the bell for others to be present. But hislordship was always shy, you know, miss; and with none of his kindredleft, and no wife to say 'good-by' to him, right or wrong I resolvedalone to see him depart to his everlasting rest. And people may talkabout hirelings, but I think nobody loved him as I did. "

Here Mrs. Price broke fairly down, and I could not help admiring her. To a faithful servant's humility and duty she had added a woman's pureattachment to one more gifted than herself, and ruined for life by herown sex. But she fell away frightened and ashamed beneath my look, as ifI had caught her in sacrilege. 

"Well, miss, we all must come and go, " she began again, rather clumsily;"and, good and great as he was, his lordship has left few to mourn forhim. Only the birds and beasts and animals that he was so good to; theywill miss him, if men don't. There came one of his favorite pigeons, white as snow all over, and sat on the sill of the window, and cooed, and arched up its neck for his fingers. And he tried to put his fingersout, but they were ice already. Whether that or something else broughthome his thoughts, who knows, miss? but he seemed to mix the pigeon upwith some of his own experience. 

"'Say that I have forgiven her, if ever she did harm to me, ' hewhispered, without moving lips. 'Times and times, when I was young, Iwas not always steady;' and then he seemed to wander in his mind amongold places; and he would have laughed at something if his voice had beensufficient. 

"'Bitter grief and pain shall never come again, ' he seemed to breathe, with a calm, soft smile, like a child with its rhyme about the rain whenthe sun breaks out; and sure enough, the sun upon the quilt abovehis heart was shining, as if there could be no more clouds. Then hewhispered a few short words to the Lord, more in the way of thanks thanprayer, and his eyes seemed to close of their own accord, or with somegood spirit soothing them. And when or how his sleep passed from thisworld into the other there was scarcely the flutter of a nerve to show. There he lies, like an image of happiness. Will you come and see him?"

I followed her to the bedroom, and am very glad that I did so; forit showed me the bliss of a good man's rest, and took away my fear ofdeath. 

CHAPTER LI

LIFE SINISTER

When business and the little cares of earthly life awoke again, everyone told me (to my great surprise and no small terror at first, butsoon to increasing acquiescence) that I was now the mistress of the fairestates of Castlewood, and, the male line being extinct, might claimthe barony, if so pleased me; for that, upon default of male heirs, descended by the spindle. And as to the property, with or without anywill of the late Lord Castlewood, the greater part would descend to meunder unbarred settlement, which he was not known to have meddled with. On the contrary, he confirmed by his last will the settlement--whichthey told me was quite needless--and left me all that he had to leave, except about a thousand pounds distributed in legacies. A privateletter to me was sealed up with his will, which, of course, it would notbehoove me to make public. But thus much--since our family history is, alas! so notorious--in duty to him I should declare. He begged me, ifhis poor lost wife--of whom he had never spoken to me--should re-appearand need it, to pay her a certain yearly sum, which I thought a greatdeal too much for her, but resolved to obey him exactly. 

Neither the will nor the letter contained any reference to mygrandfather, or the possibility of an adverse claim. I could not, however, be quit of deep uneasiness and anxiety, but stanchly determinedthat every acre should vanish in folds of "the long robe" rather thanpass to a crafty villain who had robbed me of all my kindred. My hatredof that man deepened vastly, as he became less abstract, while my terrordecreased in proportion. I began to think that, instead of beingthe reckless fiend I had taken him for, he was only a low, plotting, cold-blooded rogue, without even courage to save him. By this timehe must have heard all about me, my pursuit of him, and my presencehere--then why not come and shoot me, just as he shot my grandfather?

The idea of this was unwelcome; still, I felt no sort of gratitude, butrather a lofty contempt toward him for not having spirit to try it. In Shoxford church-yard he had expressed (if Sexton Rigg was not thendeceived) an unholy wish to have me there, at the feet of my brothersand sisters. Also he had tried to get hold of me--doubtless with aview to my quietude--when I was too young to defend myself, and left athaphazard in a lawless land. What was the reason, if his mind wasstill the same, for ceasing to follow me now? Was I to be treated withcontempt as one who had tried her best and could do nothing, as a feeblecreature whose movements were not even worth inquiry? Anger at such anidea began to supersede fear, as my spirits returned. 

Meanwhile Major Hockin was making no sign as to what had befallen himin Paris, or what Cosmopolitan Jack was about. But, strangely enough, he had sent me a letter from Bruntsea instead of Paris, and addressedin grand style to no less a person than "The right honorable BaronessCastlewood"--a title which I had resolved, for the present, neither toclaim nor acknowledge. In that letter the Major mingled a pennyweightof condolence with more congratulation than the post could carry for thelargest stamp yet invented. His habit of mind was to magnify things; andhe magnified my small grandeur, and seemed to think nothing else worthyof mention. 

Through love of the good kind cousin I had lost, even more than throughcommon and comely respect toward the late head of the family, I felt itimpossible to proceed, for the present, with any inquiries, but leftthe next move to the other side. And the other side made it, in a mannersuch as I never even dreamed of. 

About three weeks after I became, in that sad way, the mistress, escaping one day from lawyers and agents, who held me in drearyinterview, with long computations of this and of that, and formalitiesalmost endless, I went, for a breath of good earnest fresh air, beyondprecinct of garden or shrubbery. To me these seemed in mild weather totemper and humanize the wind too strictly, and take the wild spirit outof it; and now, for the turn of the moment, no wind could be too roughto tumble in. After long months of hard trouble, and worry, and fear, and sad shame, and deep sorrow, the natural spring of clear youth intoair and freedom set me upward. For the nonce there was nothing upon myselfish self to keep it downward; troubles were bubbles, and grief alow thief, and reason almost treason. I drank the fine fountain of airunsullied, and the golden light stamped with the royalty of sun. 

Hilarious moments are but short, and soon cold sense comes back again. Already I began to feel ashamed of young life's selfish outburst, andthe vehement spring of mere bodily health. On this account I sat downsadly in a little cove of hill, whereto the soft breeze from the rivercame up, with a tone of wavelets, and a sprightly water-gleam. And here, in fern and yellow grass and tufted bights of bottom growth, the windmade entry for the sun, and they played with one another. 

Besting here, and thinking, with my face between my hands, I wonderedwhat would be the end. Nothing seemed secure or certain, nothing evensteady or amenable to foresight. Even guess-work or the wider cast ofdreams was always wrong. To-day the hills and valleys, and the gloriouswoods of wreathen gold, bright garnet, and deep amethyst, even thatblue river yet unvexed by autumn's turbulence, and bordered with greenpasture of a thousand sheep and cattle--to-day they all were mine (sofar as mortal can hold ownership)--to-morrow, not a stick, or twig, orblade of grass, or fallen leaf, but might call me a trespasser. To seethem while they still were mine, and to regard them humbly, I rose andtook my black hat off--a black hat trimmed with mourning gray. Thenturning round, I met a gaze, the wildest, darkest, and most awful everfixed on human face. 

"Who are you? What do you want here?" I faltered forth, while shrinkingback for flight, yet dreading or unable to withdraw my gaze from his. The hollow ground barred all escape; my own land was a pit for me, andI must face this horror out. Here, afar from house or refuge, hand ofhelp, or eye of witness, front to front I must encounter this atrociousmurderer. 

For moments, which were ages to me, he stood there without a word; anddaring not to take my eyes from his, lest he should leap at me, I had nopower (except of instinct), and could form no thought of him, for mortalfear fell over me. If he would only speak, would only move his lips, orany thing!

"The Baroness is not brave, " he said at last, as if reproachfully; "butshe need have no fear now of me. Does her ladyship happen to know who Iam?"

"The man who murdered my grandfather. "

"Yes, if you put a false color on events. The man who punished amiscreant, according to the truer light. But I am not here to arguepoints. I intend to propose a bargain. Once for all, I will not harmyou. Try to listen calmly. Your father behaved like a man to me, and Iwill be no worse to you. The state of the law in this country is suchthat I am forced to carry fire-arms. Will it conduce to your peace ofmind if I place myself at your mercy?"

I tried to answer; but my heart was beating so that no voice came, onlya flutter in my trembling throat. Wrath with myself for want of couragewrestled in vain with pale, abject fear. The hand which offered methe pistol seemed to my dazed eyes crimson still with the blood of mygrandfather. 

"You will not take it? Very well; it lies here at your service. If yourfather's daughter likes to shoot me, from one point of view it will bejust; and but for one reason, I care not. Don't look at me with pity, if you please. For what I have done I feel no remorse, no shadow ofrepentance. It was the best action of my life. But time will fail, unless you call upon your courage speedily. None of your family lackthat; and I know that you possess it. Call your spirit up, my dear. "

"Oh, please not to call me that! How dare you call me that?"

"That is right. I did it on purpose. And yet I am your uncle. Not by thelaws of men, but by the laws of God--if there are such things. Now, haveyou the strength to hear me?"

"Yes; I am quite recovered now. I can follow every word you say. But--but I must sit down again. "

"Certainly. Sit there, and I will stand. I will not touch or come nearerto you than a story such as mine requires. You know your own side of it;now hear mine. 

"More than fifty years ago there was a brave young nobleman, handsome, rich, accomplished, strong, not given to drink or gambling, or anyfashionable vices. His faults were few, and chiefly three--he hada headstrong will, loved money, and possessed no heart at all. Withchances in his favor, this man might have done as most men do who havesuch gifts from fortune. But he happened to meet with a maiden farbeneath him in this noble world, and he set his affections--such as theywere--upon that poor young damsel. 

"This was Winifred Hoyle, the daughter of Thomas Hoyle, a farmer, in alonely part of Hampshire, and among the moors of Rambledon. The noblemanlost his way, while fishing, and being thirsty, went to ask for milk. What matter how it came about? He managed to win her heart before sheheard of his rank and title. He persuaded her even to come and meet himin the valley far from her father's house, where he was wont to angle;and there, on a lonely wooden bridge across a little river, he kneltdown (as men used to do) and pledged his solemn truth to her. His solemnlie--his solemn lie!

"Such love as his could not overleap the bars of rank or the pale ofwealth--are you listening to me carefully?--or, at any rate, not bothof them. If the poor farmer could only have given his Winifred 50, 000pounds, the peer would have dropped his pride, perhaps, so far as to behonest. But farmers in that land are poor, and Mr. Hoyle could givehis only child his blessing only. And this he did in London, where hissimple mind was all abroad, and he knew not church from chapel. Hetook his daughter for the wife of a lord, and so she took herself, poorthing! when she was but his concubine. In 1809 such tricks were easilyplayed by villains upon young girls so simple. 

"But he gave her attestation and certificate under his own hand; andher poor father signed it, and saw it secured in a costly case, and thenwent home as proud as need be for the father of a peer, but sworn tokeep it three years secret, till the king should give consent. Such foullies it was the pride of a lord to tell to a farmer. 

"You do not exclaim--of course you do not. The instincts of your raceare in you, because you are legitimate. Those of the robbed side are inme, because I am of the robbed. I am your father's elder brother. Whichis the worse, you proud young womam, the dastard or the bastard?"

"You have wrongs, most bitter wrongs, " I answered, meeting fierce eyesmildly; "but you should remember that I am guiltless of those wrongs, and so was my father. And I think that if you talk of birth so, you mustknow that gentlemen speak quietly to ladies. "

"What concern is that of mine? A gentleman is some one's son. I am theson of nobody. But to you I will speak quietly, for the sake of yourpoor father. And you must listen quietly. I am not famous for sweettemper. Well, this great lord took his toy to Paris, where he had herat his mercy. She could not speak a word of French; she did not know asingle soul. In vain she prayed him to take her to his English home;or, if not that, to restore her to her father. Not to be too long aboutit--any more than he was--a few months were enough for him. He foundfault with her manners, with her speech, her dress, her every thing--allwhich he had right, perhaps, to do, but should have used it earlier. Andshe, although not born to the noble privilege of weariness, had been anold man's darling, and could not put up with harshness. From words theycame to worse, until he struck her, told her of her shame, or ratherhis own infamy, and left her among strangers, helpless, penniless, andbrokenhearted, to endure the consequence. 

"There and thus I saw the light beneath most noble auspices. But I neednot go on with all that. As long as human rules remain, this happy talewill always be repeated with immense applause. My mother's love wasturned to bitter hatred of his lordship, and, when her father died fromgrief, to eager thirst for vengeance. And for this purpose I was born. 

"You see that--for a bastard--I have been fairly educated; but not afarthing did his lordship ever pay for that, or even to support hiscasual. My grandfather Hoyle left his little all to his daughterWinifred; and upon that, and my mother's toil and mine, we have keptalive. Losing sight of my mother gladly--for she was full of pride, andhoped no more to trouble him, after getting her father's property--hemarried again, or rather he married for the first time without perjury, which enables the man to escape from it. She was of his own rank--as youknow--the daughter of an earl, and not of a farmer. It would not havebeen safe to mock her, would it? And there was no temptation. 

"The history of my mother and myself does not concern you. Such peopleare of no account until they grow dangerous to the great. We lived incheap places and wandered about, caring for no one, and cared for bythe same. Mrs. Hoyle and Thomas Hoyle we called ourselves when we wantednames; and I did not even know the story of our wrongs till the heatand fury of youth were past. Both for her own sake and mine my motherconcealed it from me. Pride and habit, perhaps, had dulled her justdesire for vengeance; and, knowing what I was, she feared--the thingwhich has befallen me. But when I was close upon thirty years old, andmy mother eight-and-forty--for she was betrayed in her teens--a suddenillness seized her. Believing her death to be near, she told me, ascalmly as possible, every thing, with all those large, quiet views ofthe past, which at such a time seem the regular thing, but make thewrong tenfold blacker. She did not die; if she had, it might have beenbetter both for her and me, and many other people. Are you tired of mytale? Or do you want to hear the rest?"

"You can not be asking me in earnest, " I replied, while I watched hiswild eyes carefully. "Tell me the rest, if you are not afraid. "

"Afraid, indeed! Then, for want of that proper tendance and comfortwhich a few pounds would have brought her, although she survived, shesurvived as a wreck, the mere relic and ruin of her poor unhappy self. I sank my pride for her sake, and even deigned to write to him, in rankand wealth so far above me, in every thing else such a clot below myheel. He did the most arrogant thing a snob can do--he never answered myletter. 

"I scraped together a little money, and made my way to England, andcame to that house--which you now call yours--and bearded that noblenobleman--that father to be so proud of! He was getting on now in years, and growing, perhaps, a little nervous, and my first appearance scaredhim. He got no obeisance from me, you may be certain, but still I didnot revile him. I told him of my mother's state of mind, and the greatcare she required, and demanded that, in common justice, he, havingbrought her to this, should help her. But nothing would he promise, nota sixpence even, in the way of regular allowance. Any thing of that sortcould only be arranged by means of his solicitors. He had so expensive ason, with a very large and growing family, that he could not be pledgedto any yearly sum. But if I would take a draft for 100 pounds, and signan acquittance in full of all claims, I might have it, upon proving myidentity. 

"What identity had I to prove? He had taken good care of that. I turnedmy back on him and left the house, without even asking for his curse, though as precious as a good man's blessing. 

"It was a wild and windy night, but with a bright moon rising, and goingacross this park--or whatever it is called--I met my brother. At a crestof the road we met face to face, with the moon across our foreheads. Wehad never met till now, nor even heard of one another; at least he hadnever heard of me. He started back as if at his own ghost; but I hadnothing to be startled at, in this world or the other. 

"I made his acquaintance, with deference, of course, and we got onvery well together. At one time it seemed good luck for him to haveillegitimate kindred; for I saved his life when he was tangled in theweeds of this river while bathing. You owe me no thanks. I thought twiceabout it, and if the name would have ended with him, I would never haveused my basket-knife. By trade I am a basket-maker, like many another'love-child. '

"However, he was grateful, if ever any body was, for I ran some risk indoing it; and he always did his very best for me, and encouraged me tovisit him. Not at his home--of course that would never do--but whenhe was with his regiment. Short of money as he always was, throughhis father's nature and his own, which in some points were the veryopposite, he was even desirous to give me some of that; but I never tooka farthing from him. If I had it at all, I would have it from the properone. And from him I resolved to have it. 

"How terrified you look! I am coming to it now. Are you sure that youcan bear it? It is nothing very harrowing; but still, young ladies--"

"I feel a little faint, " I could not help saying; "but that is nothing. I must hear the whole of it. Please to go on without minding me. "

"For my own sake I will not, as well as for yours. I can not have youfainting, and bringing people here. Go to the house and take food, andrecover your strength, and then come here again. I promise to be here, and your father's daughter will not take advantage of my kindness. "

Though his eyes were fierce (instead of being sad) and full of strangetempestuous light, they bore some likeness to my father's, and assertedpower over me. Reluctant as I was, I obeyed this man, and left himthere, and went slowly to the house, walking as if in a troubled dream. 

CHAPTER LII

FOR LIFE, DEATH

Upon my return, I saw nothing for a time but fans and feathers ofbrowning fern, dark shags of ling, and podded spurs of broom and furze, and wisps of grass. With great relief (of which I felt ashamed whileeven breathing it), I thought that the man was afraid to tell the restof his story, and had fled; but ere my cowardice had much time forself-congratulation a tall figure rose from the ground, and fearcompelled me into courage. For throughout this long interview more andmore I felt an extremely unpleasant conviction. That stranger might notbe a downright madman, nor even what is called a lunatic; but stillit was clear that upon certain points--the laws of this country, forinstance, and the value of rank and station--his opinions were sooutrageous that his reason must be affected. And, even without suchproofs as these, his eyes and his manner were quite enough. Therefore Ihad need of no small caution, not only concerning my words and gestures, but as to my looks and even thoughts, for he seemed to divine these lastas quickly as they flashed across me. I never had learned to conceal mythoughts, and this first lesson was an awkward one. 

"I hope you are better, " he said, as kindly as it was possible for himto speak. "Now have no fear of me, once more I tell you. I will not shamany admiration, affection, or any thing of that kind; but as for harmingyou--why, your father was almost the only kind heart I ever met!"

"Then why did you send a most vile man to fetch me, when my father wasdead in the desert?"

"I never did any thing of the sort. It was done in my name, but not byme; I never even heard of it until long after, and I have a score tosettle with the man who did it. "

"But Mr. Goad told me himself that you came and said you were the trueLord Castlewood, and ordered him at once to America. I never saw truthmore plainly stamped on a new situation--the face of a rogue--than I sawit then on the face of Mr. Goad. "

"You are quite right; he spoke the truth--to the utmost of hisknowledge. I never saw Goad, and he never saw me. I never even dreamedof pretending to the title. I was personated by a mean, low friend ofSir Montague Hockin; base-born as I am, I would never stoop to such atrick. You will find out the meaning of that by-and-by. I have takenthe law into my own hands--it is the only way to work such laws--Ihave committed what is called a crime. But, compared with Sir MontagueHockin, I am whiter than yonder shearling on his way to the river forhis evening drink. "

I gazed at his face, and could well believe it. The setting sun shoneupon his chin and forehead--good, resolute, well-marked features; hisnose and mouth were keen and clear, his cheeks curt and pale (thoughthey would have been better for being a trifle cleaner). There wasnothing suggestive of falsehood or fraud, and but for the wildnessof the eyes and flashes of cold ferocity, it might have been called ahandsome face. 

"Very well, " he began again, with one of those jerks which hadfrightened me, "your father was kind to me, very kind indeed; but heknew the old lord too well to attempt to interpose on my behalf. Onthe other hand, he gave no warning of my manifest resolve; perhaps hethought it a woman's threat, and me no better than a woman! And partlyfor his sake, no doubt, though mainly for my mother's, I made the shortwork which I made; for he was horribly straitened--and in his free, light way he told me so--by his hard curmudgeon of a father. 

"To that man, hopeless as he was, I gave fair grace, however, andplenty of openings for repentance. None of them would he embrace, and hethought scorn of my lenity. And I might have gone on with such weaknesslonger, if I had not heard that his coach-and-four was ordered for theMoonstock Inn. 

"That he should dare thus to pollute the spot where he had so forswornhimself! I resolved that there he should pay justice, either with hislife or death. And I went to your father's place to tell him to preparefor disturbances; but he was gone to see his wife, and I simply borroweda pistol. 

"Now you need not be at all afraid nor shrink away from me like that. I was bound upon stricter justice than any judge that sets forth oncircuit; and I meant to give, and did give, what no judge affords to theguilty--the chance of leading a better life. I had brought my motherto England, and she was in a poor place in London; her mind was failingmore and more, and reverting to her love-time, the one short happinessof her life. 'If I could but see him, if I could but see him, and showhim his tall and clever son, he would forgive me all my sin in thinkingever to be his wife. Oh, Thomas! I was too young to know it. If I couldbut see him once, just once!'

"How all this drove me no tongue can tell. But I never let her know it;I only said, 'Mother, he shall come and see you if he ever sees any bodymore!' And she trusted me and was satisfied. She only said, 'Take mypicture, Thomas, to remind him of the happy time, and his pledge to meinside of it. ' And she gave me what she had kept for years in a bag ofchamois leather, the case of which I spoke before, which even in ourhardest times she would never send to the pawn-shop. 

"The rest is simple enough. I swore by the God, or the Devil, who mademe, that this black-hearted man should yield either his arrogance or hislife. I followed him to the Moon valley, and fate ordained that I shouldmeet him where he forswore himself to my mother; on that very plankwhere he had breathed his deadly lies he breathed his last. Would youlike to hear all about it?"

For answer I only bowed my head. His calm, methodical way of tellinghis tale, like a common adventure with a dog, was more shocking than anyfury. 

"Then it was this. I watched him from the Moonstock Inn to a house inthe village, where he dined with company; and I did not even know thatit was the house of his son, your father--so great a gulf is fixedbetween the legitimate and the bastard! He had crossed the wooden bridgein going, and was sure to cross it in coming back. How he could treadthose planks without contrition and horror--but never mind. I resolvedto bring him to a quiet parley there, and I waited in the valley. 

"The night was soft, and dark in patches where the land or wood closedin; and the stream was brown and threw no light, though the moon was onthe uplands. Time and place alike were fit for our little explanation. The path wound down the meadow toward me, and I knew that he must come. My firm intention was to spare him, if he gave me a chance of it; but henever had the manners to do that. 

"Here I waited, with the cold leaves fluttering around me, until I hearda firm, slow step coming down the narrow path. Then a figure appeared ina stripe of moonlight, and stopped, and rested on a staff. Perhaps hislordship's mind went back some five-and-thirty years, to times when hetold pretty stories here; and perhaps he laughed to himself to think howwell he had got out of it. Whatever his meditations were, I let him havethem out, and waited. 

"If he had even sighed, I might have felt more kindness toward him; buthe only gave something between a cough and a grunt, and I clearly heardhim say, 'Gout to-morrow morning! what the devil did I drink port-winefor!' He struck the ground with his stick and came onward, thinking farmore of his feet than heart. 

"Then, as he planted one foot gingerly on the timber and stayed himself, I leaped along the bridge and met him, and without a word looked at him. The moon was topping the crest of the hills and threw my shadow uponhim, the last that ever fell upon his body to its knowledge. 

"'Fellow, out of the way!' he cried, with a most commanding voice andair, though only too well he knew me; and my wrath against him began torise. 

"'You pass not here, and you never make another live step on thisearth, ' I said, as calmly as now I speak, 'unless you obey my orders. '

"He saw his peril, but he had courage--perhaps his only virtue. 'Fool!whoever you are, ' he shouted, that his voice might fetch him help; 'noneof these moon-struck ways with me! If you want to rob me, try it!'

"'You know too well who I am, ' I answered, as he made to push me back. 'Lord Castlewood, here you have the choice--to lick the dust, or bedust! Here you forswore yourself; here you pay for perjury. On thisplank you knelt to poor Winifred Hoyle, whom you ruined and cast by; andnow on this plank you shall kneel to her son and swear to obey him--orelse you die!'

"In spite of all his pride, he trembled as if I had been Death himself, instead of his own dear eldest son. 

"'What do you want!' As he asked, he laid one hand on the rickety railand shook it, and the dark old tree behind him shook. 'How much willsatisfy you?'

"'Miser, none of your money for us! it is too late for your halfcrowns! We must have a little of what you have grudged--having none tospare--your honor. My demands are simple, and only two. My mother isfool enough to yearn for one more sight of your false face; you willcome with me and see her. '

"'And if I yield to that, what next?'

"'The next thing is a trifle to a nobleman like you. Here I have, inthis blue trinket (false gems and false gold, of course), your solemnsignature to a lie. At the foot of that you will have the truth towrite, "I am a perjured liar!" and proudly sign it "Castlewood, " in thepresence of two witnesses. This can not hurt your feelings much, and itneed not be expensive. '

"Fury flashed in his bright old eyes, but he strove to check itsoutbreak. The gleaning of life, after threescore years, was better, insuch lordly fields, than the whole of the harvest we got. He knew that Ihad him all to myself, to indulge my filial affection. 

"'You have been misled; you have never heard the truth; you have onlyheard your mother's story. Allow me to go back and to sit in a dryplace; I am tired, and no longer young; you are bound to hear my tale aswell. I passed a dry stump just now; I will go back: there is no fear ofinterruption. ' My lord was talking against time. 

"'From this bridge you do not budge until you have gone on your kneesand sworn what I shall dictate to you; this time it shall be no perjury. Here I hold your cursed pledge--'

"He struck at me, or at the locket--no matter which--but it flew away. My right arm was crippled by his heavy stick; but I am left-handed, as abastard should be. From my left hand he took his death, and I threw thepistol after him: such love had he earned from his love-child!"

Thomas Castlewood, or Hoyle, or whatever else his name was, here brokeoff from his miserable words, and, forgetting all about my presence, sethis gloomy eyes on the ground. Lightly he might try to speak, but therewas no lightness in his mind, and no spark of light in his poor deadsoul. Being so young, and unacquainted with the turns of life-worn mind, I was afraid to say a word except to myself, and to myself I only said, "The man is mad, poor fellow; and no wonder!"

The sun was setting, not upon the vast Pacific from desert heights, butover the quiet hills and through the soft valleys of tame England; and, different as the whole scene was, a certain other sad and fearful sunsetlay before me: the fall of night upon my dying father and his helplesschild, the hour of anguish and despair! Here at last was the cause ofall laid horribly before me; and the pity deeply moving me passed intocold abhorrence. But the man was lost in his own visions. 

"So in your savage wrath, " I said, "you killed your own father, and inyour fright left mine to bear the brunt of it. "

He raised his dark eyes heavily, and his thoughts were far astray frommine. He did not know what I had said, though he knew that I had spoken. The labor of calling to mind and telling his treatment of his father hadworked upon him so much that he could not freely shift attention. 

"I came for something, something that can be only had from you, " hesaid, "and only since your cousin's death, and something most important. But will you believe me? it is wholly gone, gone from mind and memory!"

"I am not surprised at that, " I answered, looking at his large wan face, and while I did so, losing half my horror in strange sadness. "Whateverit is, I will do it for you; only let me know by post. "

"I see what you mean--not to come any more. You are right about that, for certain. But your father was good to me, and I loved him, thoughI had no right to love any one. My letter will show that I wronged himnever. The weight of the world is off my mind since I have told youevery thing; you can send me to the gallows, if you think fit, but leaveit till my mother dies. Good-by, poor child. I have spoiled your life, but only by chance consequence, not in murder-birth--as I was born. "

Before I could answer or call him back, if I even wished to do so, he was far away, with his long, quiet stride; and, like his life, hisshadow fell, chilling, sombre, cast away. 

CHAPTER LIII

BRUNTSEA DEFIANT

Thus at last--by no direct exertion of my own, but by turn after turnof things to which I blindly gave my little help--the mystery of my lifewas solved. Many things yet remained to be fetched up to focus and seenround; but the point of points was settled. 

Of all concerned, my father alone stood blameless and heroic. What tearsof shame and pride I shed, for ever having doubted him!--not doubtinghis innocence of the crime itself, but his motives for taking it uponhim. I had been mean enough to dream that my dear father outragedjustice to conceal his own base birth!

That ever such thought should have entered my mind may not make mecharitable to the wicked thoughts of the world at large, but, at anyrate, it ought to do so. And the man in question, my own father, whohad starved himself to save me! Better had I been the most illegal childever issued into this cold world, than dare to think so of my father, and then find him the model of every thing. 

To hide the perjury, avarice, and cowardice of his father, and toappease the bitter wrong, he had even bowed to take the dark suspicionon himself, until his wronged and half-sane brother (to whom, moreover, he owed his life) should have time to fly from England. No doubt heblamed himself as much as he condemned the wretched criminal, becausehe had left his father so long unwarned and so unguarded, and hadthoughtlessly used light words about him, which fell not lightly on astern, distempered mind. Hence, perhaps, the exclamation which had toldagainst him so. 

And then when he broke jail--which also told against him terribly--torevisit his shattered home, it is likely enough that he meant after thatto declare the truth, and stand his trial as a man should do. But hiswife, perhaps, in her poor weak state, could not endure the thought ofit, knowing how often jury is injury, and seeing all the weight againsthim. She naturally pledged him to pursue his flight, "for her sake, "until she should be better able to endure his trial, and until he shouldhave more than his own pure word and character to show. And probablyif he had then been tried, with so many things against him, and noproduction of that poor brother, his tale would have seemed but a flimsyinvention, and "Guilty" would have been the verdict. And they could notknow that, in such case, the guilty man would have come forward, as weshall see that he meant to do. 

When my father heard of his dear wife's death, and believed, no doubt, that I was buried with the rest, the gloom of a broken and fated man, like polar night, settled down on him. What matter to him about publicopinion or any thing else in the world just now? The sins of his fatherwere on his head; let them rest there, rather than be trumpeted by him. He had nothing to care for; let him wander about. And so he did forseveral years, until I became a treasure to him--for parental is notintrinsic value--and then, for my sake, as now appeared, he betook usboth to a large kind land. 

Revolving these things sadly, and a great many more which need not betold, I thought it my duty to go as soon as possible to Bruntsea, andtell my good and faithful friends what I was loath to write about. There, moreover, I could obtain what I wanted to confirm me--the opinionof an upright, law-abiding, honorable man about the course I proposedto take. And there I might hear something more as to a thing whichhad troubled me much in the deepest of my own troubles--the melancholyplight of dear Uncle Sam. Wild, and absurd as it may appear to people ofno gratitude, my heart was set upon faring forth in search of the nobleSawyer, if only it could be reconciled with my duty here in England. That such a proceeding would avail but little, seemed now, alas! toomanifest; but a plea of that kind generally means that we have no mindto do a thing. 

Be that as it will, I made what my dear Yankees--to use the Major'simpertinent phrase--call "straight tracks" for that ancient and obsoletetown, rejuvenized now by its Signor. The cause of my good friend'ssilence--not to use that affected word "reticence"--was quite unknown tome, and disturbed my spirit with futile guesses. 

Resolute, therefore, to pierce the bottom of every surviving mystery, I made claim upon "Mr. Stixon, junior"--as "Stixon's boy" had nowvindicated his right to be called, up to supper-time--and he with highchivalry responded. Not yet was he wedded to Miss Polly Hopkins, thedaughter of the pickled-pork man; otherwise would he or could he havemade telegraphic blush at the word "Bruntsea?" And would he have beenquite so eager to come?

Such things are trifling, compared to our own, which naturally fill theuniverse. I was bound to be a great lady now, and patronize and regulateand drill all the doings of nature. So I durst not even ask, thoughdesiring much to do so, how young Mr. Stixon was getting on with hisdelightful Polly. And his father, as soon as he found me turned intothe mistress, and "his lady" (as he would have me called thenceforth, whether or no on my part), not another word would he tell me of thehousehold sentiments, politics, or romances. It would have been thoughta thing beneath me to put any nice little questions now, and I wasobliged to take up the tone which others used toward me. But all thewhile I longed for freedom, Uncle Sam, Suan Isco, and even Martin of theMill. 

Law business, however, and other hinderances, kept me from starting atonce for Bruntsea, impatient as I was to do so. Indeed, it was not untilthe morning of the last Saturday in November that I was able to getaway. The weather had turned to much rain, I remember, with two or threetempestuous nights, and the woods were almost bare of leaves, and theThames looked brown and violent. 

In the fly from Newport to Bruntsea I heard great rollers thunderingheavily upon the steep bar of shingle, and such a lake of water shone inthe old bed of the river that I quite believed at first that the Majorhad carried out his grand idea, and brought the river back again. Butthe flyman shook his head, and looked very serious, and told me thathe feared bad times were coming. What I saw was the work of the Lord inheaven, and no man could prevail against it. He had always said, thoughno concern of his--for he belonged to Newport--that even a Britishofficer could not fly in the face of the Almighty. He himself had abrother on the works, regular employed, and drawing good money, andproud enough about it; and the times he had told him across a pint ofale--howsomever, our place was to hope for the best; but the top of thesprings was not come yet, and a pilot out of Newport told him the waterwas making uncommon strong; but he did hope the wind had nigh bloweditself out; if not, they would have to look blessed sharp tomorrow. Hehad heard say that in time of Queen Elizabeth sixscore of houses waswashed clean away, and the river itself knocked right into the sea; anda thing as had been once might just come to pass again, though folk wasall so clever now they thought they wor above it. But, for all that, their grandfathers' goggles might fit them. But here we was in Bruntseatown, and, bless his old eyes--yes! If I pleased to look along his whip, I might see ancient pilot come, he did believe, to warn of them!

Following his guidance, I descried a stout old man, in a sailor'sdress, weather-proof hat, and long boots, standing on a low seawall, andholding vehement converse with some Bruntsea boatmen and fishermen whowere sprawling on the stones as usual. 

"Driver, you know him. Take the lower road, " I said, "and ask what hisopinion is. "

"No need to ask him, " the flyman answered; "old Banks would neverbe here, miss, if he was of two opinions. He hath come to fetch hisdaughter out of harm, I doubt, the wife of that there Bishop Jim, theycall him--the chap with two nails to his thumb, you know. Would you liketo hear how they all take it, miss?"

With these words he turned to the right, and drove into Major Hockin's"Sea Parade. " There we stopped to hear what was going on, and it provedto be well worth our attention. The old pilot perhaps had exhaustedreason, and now was beginning to give way to wrath. The afternoon wasdeepening fast, with heavy gray clouds lowering, showing no definiteedge, but streaked with hazy lines, and spotted by some little murkyblurs or blots, like tar pots, carried slowly. 

"Hath Noah's Ark ever told a lie?" the ancient pilot shouted, pointingwith one hand at these, and with a clinched fist at the sea, whence camepuffs of sullen air, and turned his gray locks backward. "Mackerel skywhen the sun got up, mermaiden's eggs at noon, and now afore sunsetNoah's Arks! Any of them breweth a gale of wind, and the three of thembodes a tempest. And the top of the springs of the year to-morrow. Are ye daft, or all gone upon the spree, my men? Your fathers would 'aknowed what the new moon meant. Is this all that cometh out of larningto read?"

"Have a pinch of 'bacco, old man, " said one, "to help you off with thatstiff reel. What consarn can he be of yourn?"

"Don't you be put out, mate, " cried another. "Never came sea as couldtop that bar, and never will in our time. Go and calk your old leakycraft, Master Banks. "

"We have rode out a good many gales without seeking prophet fromNewport--a place never heerd on when this old town was made. "

"Come and wet your old whistle at the 'Hockin Arms, ' Banks. You mustwant it, after that long pipe. "

"'Hockin Arms, ' indeed!" the pilot answered, turning away in a rage fromthem. "What Hockin Arms will there be this time to-morrow? Hockin legswanted, more likely, and Hockin wings. And you poor grinning ninnies, as ought to have four legs, ye'll be praying that ye had them to-morrow. However, ye've had warning, and ye can't blame me. The power of the Lordis in the air and sea. Is this the sort of stuff ye trust in?"

He set one foot against our Major's wall--an action scarcely honestwhile it was so green--and, coming from a hale and very thickset man, the contemptuous push sent a fathom of it outward. Rattle, rattle wentthe new patent concrete, starting up the lazy-pated fellows down below. 

"You'll try the walls of a jail, " cried one. "You go to Noah's Ark, "shouted another. The rest bade him go to a place much worse; but hebuttoned his jacket in disdain, and marched away, without spoiling theeffect by any more weak words. 

"Right you are, " cried my flyman--"right you are, Master Banks. Themlubbers will sing another song to-morrow. Gee up, old hoss, then!"

All this, and the ominous scowl of the sky and menacing roar of the sea(already crowding with black rollers), disturbed me so that I couldsay nothing, until, at the corner of the grand new hotel, we met MajorHockin himself, attired in a workman's loose jacket, and carrying ashovel. He was covered with mud and dried flakes of froth, and even hisshort white whiskers were incrusted with sparkles of brine; but his facewas ruddy and smiling, and his manner as hearty as ever. 

"You here, Erema! Oh, I beg pardon--Baroness Castlewood, if you please. My dear, again I congratulate you. "

"You have as little cause to do that as I fear I can find in your case. You have no news for me from America? How sad! But what a poor plightyou yourself are in!"

"Not a bit of it. At first sight you might think so; and we certainlyhave had a very busy time. Send back the fly. Leave your bag at ourhotel. Porter, be quick with Lady Castlewood's luggage. One piece ofluck befalls me--to receive so often this beautiful hand. What a lot ofyoung fellows now would die of envy--"

"I am glad that you still can talk nonsense, " I said; "for I truly wasfrightened at this great lake, and so many of your houses even standingin the water. "

"It will do them good. It will settle the foundations and crystallizethe mortar. They will look twice as well when they come out again, and never have rats or black beetles. We were foolish enough to befrightened at first; and there may have been danger a fortnight ago. Butsince that tide we have worked day and night, and every thing is now sostable that fear is simply ridiculous. On the whole, it has been a mostexcellent thing--quite the making, in fact, of Bruntsea. "

"Then Bruntsea must be made of water, " I replied, gazing sadly at thegulf which parted us from the Sea Parade, the Lyceum, and Baths, theBastion Promenade, and so on; beyond all which the streaky turmoil andmisty scud of the waves were seen. 

"Made of beer, more likely, " he retorted, with a laugh. "If my fellowsworked like horses--which they did--they also drank like fishes. Theirmouths were so dry with the pickle, they said. But the total abstainerswere the worst, being out of practice with the can. However, let usmake no complaints. We ought to be truly thankful; and I shall missthe exercise. That is why you have heard so little from me. You see theposition at a glance. I have never been to Paris at all, Erema. I havenot rubbed up my parleywoo, with a blast from Mr. Bellows. I was stoppedby a telegram about this job--acrior illum. I had some Latin once, quiteenough for the House of Commons, but it all oozed out at my elbows; andto ladies (by some superstition) it is rude--though they treat us to badFrench enough. Never mind. What I want to say is this, that I have donenothing, but respected your sad trouble; for you took a wild fancy tothat poor bedridden, who never did you a stroke of good except aboutCosmopolitan Jack, and whose removal has come at the very nick of time. For what could you have done for money, with the Yankees cutting eachother's throats, and your nugget quite sure to be annexed, or, at thevery best, squared up in greenbacks?"

"You ought not to speak so, Major Hockin. If all your plans were notunder water, I should be quite put out with you. My cousin was notbedridden; neither was he at all incapable, as you have called him onceor twice. He was an infinitely superior man to--to what one generallysees; and when you have heard what I have to tell, in his placeyou would have done just as he did. And as for money, and 'happyrelease'--as the people who never want it for themselves expressit--such words simply sicken me; at great times they are so sordid. "

"What is there in this world that is not sordid--to the young in onesense, and to the old in another?"

Major Hockin so seldom spoke in this didactic way, and I was so unableto make it out, that, having expected some tiff on his part at myjuvenile arrogance, I was just in the mould for a deep impression fromsudden stamp of philosophy. I had nothing to say in reply, and he wentup in my opinion greatly. 

He knew it; and he said, with touching kindness, "Erema, come and seeyour dear aunt Mary. She has had an attack of rheumatic gout in herthimble-finger, and her maids have worried her out of her life, andby far the most brilliant of her cocks (worth 20 pounds they tell me)breathed his last on Sunday night, with gapes, or croup, or something. This is why you have not heard again from her. I have been in thetrenches day and night, stoning out the sea with his own stones, by anew form of concrete discovered by myself. And unless I am very muchmistaken--in fact, I do not hesitate to say--But such things are notin your line at all. Let us go up to the house. Our job is done, and Ithink Master Neptune may pound away in vain. I have got a new range inthe kitchen now, partly of my own invention; you can roast, or bake, orsteam, or stew, or frizzle kabobs--all by turning a screw. And not onlythat, but you can keep things hot, piping hot, and ripening, as it were, better than when they first were done. Instead of any burned iron taste, or scum on the gravy, or clottiness, they mellow by waiting, and maketheir own sauce. If I ever have time I shall patent this invention; why, you may burn brick-dust in it, Bath-brick, hearth-stone, or potsherds!At any hour of the day or night, while the sea is in this condition, Imay want my dinner; and there we have it. We say grace immediately, and down we sit. Let us take it by surprise, if it can be taken so. Upthrough my chief drive, instanter! I think that I scarcely ever feltmore hungry. The thought of that range always sets me off. And one ofits countless beauties is the noble juicy fragrance. "

Major Hockin certainly possessed the art--so meritorious in a host--ofmaking people hungry; and we mounted the hill with alacrity, afterpassing his letter-box, which reminded me of the mysterious lady. Hepointed to "Desolate Hole, " as he called it, and said that he believedshe was there still, though she never came out now to watch their house. And a man of dark and repelling aspect had been seen once or twice byhis workmen, during the time of their night relays, rapidly walkingtoward Desolate Hole. How any one could live in such a place, with theroar and the spray of the sea, as it had been, at the very door, andthrough the windows, some people might understand, but not the Major. 

Good Mrs. Hockin received me with her usual warmth and kindness, andscolded me for having failed to write more to her, as all people seemto do when conscious of having neglected that duty themselves. Then sheshowed me her thimble-finger, which certainly was a little swollen;and then she poured forth her gratitude for her many blessings, as shealways did after any little piece of grumbling. And I told her thatif at her age I were only a quarter as pleasant and sweet of temper, Ishould consider myself a blessing to any man. 

After dinner my host produced the locket, which he had kept for thepurpose of showing it to the artist's son in Paris, and which he admiredso intensely that I wished it were mine to bestow on him. Then I toldhim that, through a thing wholly unexpected--the confession of thecriminal himself--no journey to Paris was needful now. I repeated thatstrange and gloomy tale, to the loud accompaniment of a rising wind androaring sea, while both my friends listened intently. 

"Now what can have led him so to come to you?" they asked; "and what doyou mean to do about it?"

"He came to me, no doubt, to propose some bargain, which could not bemade in my cousin's lifetime. But the telling of his tale made him feelso strange that he really could not remember what it was. As to whatI am to do, I must beg for your opinion; such a case is beyond mydecision. " Mrs. Hockin began to reply, but stopped, looking dutifully ather lord. 

"There is no doubt what you are bound to do, at least in one way, " theMajor said. "You are a British subject, I suppose, and you must obeythe laws of the country. A man has confessed to you a murder--no matterwhether it was committed twenty years ago or two minutes; no matterwhether it was a savage, cold-blooded, premeditated crime, or whetherthere were things to palliate it. Your course is the same; you must handhim over. In fact, you ought never to have let him go. "

"How could I help it?" I pleaded, with surprise. "It was impossible forme to hold him. "

"Then you should have shot him with his own pistol. He offered it toyou. You should have grasped it, pointed it at his heart, and told himthat he was a dead man if he stirred. "

"Aunt Mary, would you have done that?" I asked. "It is so easy to talkof fine things! But in the first place, I had no wish to stop him; andin the next, I could not if I had. "

"My dear, " Mrs. Hockin replied, perceiving my distress at this view ofthe subject, "I should have done exactly what you did. If the lawsof this country ordain that women are to carry them out against greatstrong men, who, after all, have been sadly injured, why, it proves thatwomen ought to make the laws, which to my mind is simply ridiculous. "

CHAPTER LIV

BRUNTSEA DEFEATED

Little sleep had I that night. Such conflict was in my mind about theproper thing to be done next, and such a war of the wind outside, aboveand between the distant uproar of the long tumultuous sea. Of that soundmuch was intercepted by the dead bulk of the cliff, but the wind swungfiercely over this, and rattled through all shelter. In the morning thestorm was furious; but the Major declared that his weather-glass hadturned, which proved that the gale was breaking. The top of the tidewould be at one o'clock, and after church we should behold a sight hewas rather proud of--the impotent wrath of the wind and tide against hispatent concrete. 

"My dear, I scarcely like such talk, " Mrs. Hockin gently interposed. "To me it seems almost defiant of the power of the Lord. Remember whathappened to poor Smeaton--at least I think his name was Smeaton, orStanley, was it? But I dare say you know best. He defied the strengthof the Lord, like the people at the mouth of their tent, and he wasswallowed up. "

"Mary, my dear, get your prayer-book. Rasper's fly is waiting for us, and the parson has no manners. When he drops off, I present to theliving; and I am not at all sure that I shall let George have it. Heis fond of processions, and all that stuff. The only procession in theChurch of England is that of the lord of the manor to his pew. I will bethe master in my own church. "

"Of course, dear, of course; so you ought to be. It always was so in myfather's parish. But you must not speak so of our poor George. He may be'High-Church, ' as they call it; but he knows what is due to his family, and he has a large one coming. "

We set off hastily for the church, through blasts of rain and buffets ofwind, which threatened to overturn the cab, and the seaward windowwas white, as in a snowstorm, with pellets of froth, and the drift ofsea-scud. I tried to look out, but the blur and the dash obscured thesight of every thing. And though in this lower road we were partlysheltered by the pebble ridge, the driver was several times obliged topull his poor horse up and face the wind, for fear of our being blownover. 

That ancient church, with its red-tiled spire, stands well up in thegood old town, at the head of a street whose principal object nowcertainly is to lead to it. Three hundred years ago that street hadbusiness of its own to think of, and was brave perhaps with fine men andmaids at the time of the Spanish Armada. Its only bravery now was thegood old church, and some queer gables, and a crypt (which was trueto itself by being buried up to the spandrels), and one or two cornerswhere saints used to stand, until they were pelted out of them, andwhere fisher-like men, in the lodging season, stand selling fish caughtat Billingsgate. But to Bruntsea itself the great glory of that streetwas rather of hope than of memory. Bailiff Hopkins had taken outthree latticed windows, and put in one grand one of plate-glass, with"finishing" blinds all varnished. And even on a Sunday morning Bruntseawanted to know what ever the bailiff was at behind them. Some said thathe did all his pickling on a Sunday; and by putting up "spectacle glass"he had challenged the oldest inhabitant to come and try his focus. 

Despite all the rattle and roar of the wind, we went on in churchas usual. The vicar had a stout young curate from Durham, who couldoutshout any tempest, with a good stone wall between them; and theBruntsea folk were of thicker constitution than to care an old hat forthe weather. Whatever was "sent by the Lord" they took with a grumble, but no excitement. The clock in front of the gallery told the timeof the day as five minutes to twelve, when the vicar, a pleasantold-fashioned man, pronounced his text, which he always did thrice overto make us sure of it. And then he hitched up his old black gown, anddirected his gaze at the lord of the manor, to impress the whole churchwith authority. Major Hockin acknowledged in a proper manner thiscourtesy of the minister by rubbing up his crest, and looking even morewide-awake than usual; whereas Aunt Mary, whose kind heart longed tosee her own son in that pulpit, calmly settled back her shoulders, andarranged her head and eyes so well as to seem at a distance in raptattention, while having a nice little dream of her own. But suddenly allwas broken up. The sexton (whose license as warden of the church, andeven whose duty it was to hear the sermon only fitfully, from the towerarch, where he watched the boys, and sniffed the bakehouse of his owndinner)--to the consternation of every body, this faithful man ran upthe nave, with his hands above his head, and shouted, "All Brownzee be awash, awash"--sounding it so as to rhyme with"lash"--"the zea, the zea be all over us!"

The clergyman in the pulpit turned and looked through a window behindhim, while all the congregation rose. 

"It is too true, " the preacher cried; "the sea is in over the bank, myfriends. Every man must rush to his own home. The blessing of the Lordbe on you through His fearful visitation!"

He had no time to say more; and we thought it very brave of him to saythat, for his own house was in the lower village, and there he had awife and children sick. In half a minute the church was empty, and thestreet below it full of people, striving and struggling against theblast, and breasting it at an incline like swimmers, but beaten backever and anon and hurled against one another, with tattered umbrellas, hats gone, and bonnets hanging. And among them, like gulls before thewind, blew dollops of spray and chunks of froth, with every now and thena slate or pantile. 

All this was so bad that scarcely any body found power to speak, orthink, or see. The Major did his very best to lead us, but could by nomeans manage it. And I screamed into his soundest ear to pull Aunt Maryinto some dry house--for she could not face such buffeting--and to letme fare for myself as I might. So we left Mrs. Hockin in the bailiff'shouse, though she wanted sadly to come with us, and on we went to beholdthe worst. And thus, by running the byes of the wind, and craftilyhugging the corners, we got to the foot of the street at last, and thencould go no further. 

For here was the very sea itself, with furious billows panting. Beforeus rolled and ran a fearful surf of crested whiteness, torn by thescreeching squalls, and tossed in clashing tufts and pinnacles. Andinto these came, sweeping over the shattered chine of shingle, giganticsurges from the outer deep, towering as they crossed the bar, andcombing against the sky-line, then rushing onward, and driving thehuddle of the ponded waves before them. 

The tide was yet rising, and at every blow the wreck and the havoc grewworse and worse. That long sweep of brick-work, the "Grand Promenade, "bowed and bulged, with wall and window knuckled in and out, likewattles; the "Sea Parade" was a parade of sea; and a bathing-machinewheels upward lay, like a wrecked Noah's Ark, on the top of the"Saline-Silico-Calcareous Baths. "

The Major stood by me, while all his constructions "went by the board, "as they say at sea; and verily every thing was at sea. I grieved for himso that it was not the spray alone that put salt drops on my cheeks. AndI could not bear to turn and look at his good old weather-beaten face. But he was not the man to brood upon his woes in silence. He might haveused nicer language, perhaps, but his inner sense was manful. 

"I don't care a damn, " he shouted, so that all the women heard him. "Ican only say I am devilish glad that I never let one of those houses. "

There was a little band of seamen, under the shelter of a garden wall, crouching, or sitting, or standing (or whatever may be the attitude, acquired by much voyaging and experience of bad weather, which can notbe solved, as to centre of gravity, even by the man who does it), andthese men were so taken with the Major's manifesto, clinched at once andclarified to them by strong, short language, that they gave him a loud"hurrah, " which flew on the wings of the wind over house-tops. So queerand sound is English feeling that now Major Hockin became in truth whathitherto he was in title only--the lord and master of Bruntsea. 

"A boat! a boat!" he called out again. "We know not who are drowning. The bank still breaks the waves; a stout boat surely could live insideit. "

"Yes, a boat could live well enough in this cockle, though never amongthem breakers, " old Barnes, the fisherman, answered, who used to take usout for whiting; "but Lord bless your honor, all the boats are thumpedto pieces, except yonner one, and who can get at her?"

Before restoring his hands to their proper dwelling-place--hispockets--he jerked his thumb toward a long white boat, which we had notseen through the blinding scud. Bereft of its brethren, or sisters--forall fluctuating things are feminine--that boat survived, in virtue ofstanding a few feet higher than the rest. But even so, and mountedon the last hump of the pebble ridge, it was rolling and reeling withstress of the wind and the wash of wild water under it. 

"How nobly our Lyceum stands!" the Major shouted, for any thing lessthan a shout was dumb. "This is the time to try institutions. I am proudof my foundations. "

In answer to his words appeared a huge brown surge, a mountain ridge, seething backward at the crest with the spread and weight of onset. This great wave smote all other waves away, or else embodied them, andgathered its height against the poor worn pebble bank, and descended. A roar distinct above the universal roar proclaimed it; a crash ofconflict shook the earth, and the shattered bank was swallowed in aworld of leaping whiteness. When this wild mass dashed onward into theswelling flood before us, there was no sign of Lyceum left, but stubs offoundation, and a mangled roof rolling over and over, like a hen-coop. 

"Well, that beats every thing I ever saw, " exclaimed the gallant Major. "What noble timber! What mortise-work! No London scamping there, mylads. But what comes here? Why, the very thing we wanted! Barnes, lookalive, my man. Run to your house, and get a pair of oars and a bucket. "

It was the boat, the last surviving boat of all that hailed fromBruntsea. That monstrous billow had tossed it up like a school-boy'skite, and dropped it whole, with an upright keel, in the inland sea, though nearly half full of water. Driven on by wind and wave, it laboredheavily toward us; and more than once it seemed certain to sink as itbroached to and shipped seas again. But half a dozen bold fishermenrushed with a rope into the short angry surf--to which the polledshingle bank still acted as a powerful breakwater, else all Bruntsea hadcollapsed--and they hauled up the boat with a hearty cheer, and ran herup straight with, "Yo--heave--oh!" and turned her on her side to drain, and then launched her again, with a bucket and a man to bail out therest of the water, and a pair of heavy oars brought down by Barnes, andnobody knows what other things. 

"Naught to steer with. Rudder gone!" cried one of the men, as thefurious gale drove the boat, athwart the street, back again. 

"Wants another oar, " said Barnes. "What a fool I were to bring onlytwo!"

"Here you are!" shouted Major Hockin. "One of you help me to pull upthis pole. "

Through a shattered gate they waded into a little garden, which had beenthe pride of the season at Bruntsea; and there from the ground they toreup a pole, with a board at the top nailed across it, and the followingnot rare legend: "Lodgings to let. Inquire within. First floor front, and back parlors. "

"Fust-rate thing to steer with! Would never have believed you had thesense!" So shouted Barnes--a rough man, roughened by the stress of stormand fright. "Get into starn-sheets if so liketh. Ye know, ye may beuseful. "

"I defy you to push off without my sanction. Useful, indeed! I am thecaptain of this boat. All the ground under it is mine. Did you think, you set of salted radicals, that I meant to let you go without me? Andall among my own houses!"

"Look sharp, governor, if you has the pluck, then. Mind, we are morelike to be swamped than not. "

As the boat swung about, Major Hockin jumped in, and so, on the spur ofthe moment, did I. We staggered all about with the heave and roll, and both would have fallen on the planks, or out over, if we had nottumbled, with opposite impetus, into the arms of each other. Then agreat wave burst and soaked us both, and we fell into sitting on aslippery seat. 

Meanwhile two men were tugging at each oar, and Barnes himself steeringwith the sign-board; and the head of the boat was kept against thewind and the billows from our breakwater. Some of these seemed resolved(though shorn of depth and height in crossing) to rush all over us anddrown us in the washer-women's drying ground. By skill and presenceof mind, our captain, Barnes, foiled all their violence, till we got alittle shelter from the ruins of the "Young Men's Christian Institute. "

"Hold all!" cried Barnes; "only keep her head up, while I look aboutwhat there is to do. "

The sight was a thing to remember; and being on the better side now ofthe scud, because it was flying away from us, we could make out a greatdeal more of the trouble which had befallen Bruntsea. The stormy fiordwhich had usurped the ancient track of the river was about a furlong inwidth, and troughed with white waves vaulting over. And the sea rushedthrough at the bottom as well, through scores of yards of pebbles, as itdid in quiet weather even, when the tide was brimming. We in the tossingboat, with her head to the inrush of the outer sea, were just likepeople sitting upon the floats or rafts of a furious weir; and if anysuch surge had topped the ridge as the one which flung our boat to us, there could be no doubt that we must go down as badly as the Major'shouses. However, we hoped for the best, and gazed at the desolationinland. 

Not only the Major's great plan, but all the lower line of old Bruntsea, was knocked to pieces, and lost to knowledge in freaks of wind-lashedwaters. Men and women were running about with favorite bits offurniture, or feather-beds, or babies' cradles, or whatever they hadcaught hold of. The butt ends of the three old streets that led downtoward the sea-ground were dipped, as if playing seesaw in the surf, andthe storm made gangways of them and lighthouses of the lamp-posts. Theold public-house at the corner was down, and the waves leaping in at thepost-office door, and wrecking the globes of the chemist. 

"Drift and dash, and roar and rush, and the devil let loose in the thickof it. My eyes are worn out with it. Take the glass, Erema, and tellus who is next to be washed away. A new set of clothes-props for Mrs. Mangles I paid for the very day I came back from town. "

With these words, the lord of the submarine manor (whose strength ofspirit amazed me) offered his pet binocular, which he never went withoutupon his own domain. And fisherman Barnes, as we rose and fell, oncemore saved us from being "swamped" by his clever way of paddling througha scallop in the stern, with the board about the first floor front tolet. 

The seamen, just keeping way on the boat, sheltered their eyes withtheir left hands, and fixed them on the tumultuous scene. 

I also gazed through the double glass, which was a very clear one; butnone of us saw any human being at present in any peril. 

"Old pilot was right, after all, " said one; "but what a good job as itcome o' middle day, and best of all of a Sunday!"

"I have heered say, " replied another, "that the like thing come to passnigh upon three hunder years agone. How did you get your things out, JemBishop?"

Jem, the only one of them whose house was in the havoc, regarded with asailor's calmness the entry of the sea through his bedroom window, andwas going to favor us with a narrative, when one of his mates exclaimed, "What do I see yonner, lads? Away beyond town altogether. Seemeth to melike a fellow swimming. Miss, will you lend me spy-glass? Never seed adouble-barreled one before. Can use him with one eye shut, I s'pose?"

"No good that way, Joe, " cried Barnes, with a wink of superiorknowledge, for he often had used this binocular. "Shut one eye for onebarrel--stands to reason, then, you shut both for two, my son. "

"Stow that, " said the quick-eyed sailor, as he brought the glass to bearin a moment. "It is a man in the water, lads, and swimming to save thewitch, I do believe. "

"Bless me!" cried the Major; "how stupid of us! I never thought once ofthat poor woman. She must be washed out long ago. Pull for your lives, my friends. A guinea apiece if you save her. "

"And another from me, " I cried. Whereupon the boat swept round, and thetough ash bent, and we rushed into no small danger. For nearly half amile had we to pass of raging and boisterous water, almost as wild asthe open sea itself at the breaches of the pebble ridge. And the risk ofa heavy sea boarding us was fearfully multiplied by having thus to crossthe storm instead of breasting it. Useless and helpless, and only inthe way, and battered about by wind and sea, so that my Sunday dress wasbecome a drag, what folly, what fatuity, what frenzy, I might call it, could ever have led me to jump into that boat? "I don't know. I onlyknow that I always do it, " said my sensible self to its mad sister, asthey both shut their eyes at a great white wave. "If I possibly survive, I will try to know better. But ever from my childhood I am getting intoscrapes. "

The boat labored on, with a good many grunts, but not a word from anyone. More than once we were obliged to fetch up as a great billow toppedthe poor shingle bank; and we took so much water on board that themen said afterward that I saved them. I only remember sitting down andworking at the bucket with both hands, till much of the skin wasgone, and my arms and many other places ached. But what was that to becompared with drowning?

At length we were opposite "Desolate Hole, " which was a hole no longer, but filled and flooded with the churning whirl and reckless dominanceof water. Tufts and tussocks of shattered brush and rolling wreck playedround it, and the old gray stone of mullioned windows split the washlike mooring-posts. We passed and gazed; but the only sound was thewhistling of the tempest, and the only living sight a sea-gull, weary ofhis wings, and drowning. 

"No living creature can be there, " the Major broke our long silence. "Land, my friends, if land we may. We risk our own lives for nothing. "

The men lay back on their oars to fetch the gallant boat to the windagain, when through a great gap in the ruins they saw a sight thatstartled manhood. At the back of that ruin, on the landward side, on awall which, tottered under them, there were two figures standing. One atall man, urging on, the other a woman shrinking. At a glance, or witha thought, I knew them both. One was Lord Castlewood's first love, theother his son and murderer. 

Our men shouted with the whole power of their hearts to tell thatmiserable pair to wait till succor should be brought to them. And theMajor stood up and waved his hat, and in doing so tumbled back again. I can not tell--how could I tell in the thick of it?--but an idea or aflit of fancy touched me (and afterward became conviction) that whilethe man heard us not at all, and had no knowledge of us, his motherturned round and saw us all, and faced the storm in preference. 

Whatever the cause may have been, at least she suddenly changed herattitude. The man had been pointing to the roof, which threatened tofall in a mass upon them, while she had been shuddering back from thedepth of eddying waves below her. But now she drew up her poor bentfigure, and leaned on her son to obey him. 

Our boat, with strong arms laboring for life, swept round the old gableof the ruin; but we were compelled to "give it wide berth, " as CaptainBarnes shouted; and then a black squall of terrific wind and hail burstforth. We bowed our heads and drew our bodies to their tightest compass, and every rib of our boat vibrated as a violin does; and the oars werebeaten flat, and dashed their drip into fringes like a small-toothedcomb. 

That great squall was either a whirlwind or the crowning blast of ahurricane. It beat the high waves hollow, as if it fell from the skyupon them; and it snapped off one of our oars at the hilt, so that twoof our men rolled backward. And when we were able to look about againthe whole roof of "Desolate Hole" was gone, and little of the walls leftstanding. And how we should guide our course, or even save our lives, weknew not. 

We were compelled to bring up--as best we might--with the boat's headto the sea, and so to keep it by using the steering gear against thesurviving oar. As for the people we were come to save, there was nochance whatever of approaching them. Even without the mishap to the oar, we never could have reached them. 

And indeed when first we saw them again they seemed better off thanourselves were. For they were not far from dry land, and the man (askillful and powerful swimmer) had a short piece of plank, which he knewhow to use to support his weak companion. 

"Brave fellow! fine fellow!" the Major cried, little knowing whom he wasadmiring. "See how he keeps up his presence of mind! Such a man as thatis worth any thing. And he cares more for her than he does for himself. He shall have the Society's medal. One more long and strong stroke, mynoble friend. Oh, great God! what has befallen him?"

In horror and pity we gazed. The man had been dashed against somethingheadlong. He whirled round and round in white water, his legs werethrown up, and we saw no more of him. The woman cast off the plank, andtossed her helpless arms in search of him. A shriek, ringing far onthe billowy shore, declared that she had lost him; and then, without astruggle, she clasped her hands, and the merciless water swallowed her. 

"It is all over, " cried Major Hockin, lifting his drenched hat solemnly. "The Lord knoweth best. He has taken them home. "

CHAPTER LV

A DEAD LETTER

With that great tornado, the wind took a leap of more points of thecompass than I can tell. Barnes, the fisherman, said how many; but Imight be quite wrong in repeating it. One thing, at any rate, was withinmy compass--it had been blowing to the top of its capacity, direct fromthe sea, but now it began to blow quite as hard along the shore. Thisrough ingratitude of wind to waves, which had followed each breath ofits orders, produced extraordinary passion, and raked them into pointedwind-cocks. 

"Captain, we can't live this out, " cried Barnes; "we must run her ashoreat once; tide has turned; we might be blown out to sea, with one oar, and then the Lord Himself couldn't save us. "

Crippled as we were, we contrived to get into a creek, or backwater, near the Major's gate. Here the men ran the boat up, and we all climbedout, stiff, battered, and terrified, but doing our best to be most trulythankful. 

"Go home, Captain, as fast as you can, and take the young lady along ofyou, " said Mr. Barnes, as we stood and gazed at the weltering breadth ofdisaster. "We are born to the drip, but not you, Sir; and you are not soyoung as you was, you know. "

"I am younger than ever I was, " the lord of the manor answered, sternly, yet glancing back to make sure of no interruption from his betterhalf--who had not even heard of his danger. "None of that nonsense tome, Barnes. You know your position, and I know mine. On board of thatboat you took the lead, and that may have misled you. I am very muchobliged to you, I am sure, for all your skill and courage, which havesaved the lives of all of us. But on land you will just obey me. "

"Sartinly, Captain. What's your orders?"

"Nothing at all. I give no orders. I only make suggestions. But if yourexperience sees a way to recover those two poor bodies, let us try itat once--at once, Barnes. Erema, run home. This is no scene for you. Andtell Margaret to put on the double-bottomed boiler, with the stock shemade on Friday, and a peck of patent pease. There is nothing to beat peasoup; and truly one never knows what may happen. "

This was only too evident now, and nobody disobeyed him. 

Running up his "drive" to deliver that message, at one of the manybends I saw people from Bruntsea hurrying along a footpath through thedairy-farm. While the flood continued this was their only way to meetthe boat's crew. On the steps of "Smuggler's Castle" (as BruntlandsHouse was still called by the wicked) I turned again, and the newsea-line was fringed with active searchers. I knew what they werelooking for, but, scared and drenched and shivering as I was, no morewould I go near them. My duty was rather to go in and comfort dear AuntMary and myself. In that melancholy quest I could do no good, but agreat deal of harm, perhaps, if any thing was found, by breaking forthabout it. 

Mrs. Hockin had not the least idea of the danger we had encountered. Bailiff Hopkins had sent her home in Rasper's fly by an inland road, andshe kept a good scolding quite ready for her husband, to distract hismind from disaster. That trouble had happened she could not look outof her window without knowing; but could it be right, at their time oflife, to stand in the wet so, and challenge Providence, and spoil thefirst turkey-poult of the season?

But when she heard of her husband's peril, in the midst of all hislosses, his self-command, and noble impulse first of all to rescue life, she burst into tears, and hugged and kissed me, and said the same thingnearly fifty times. 

"Just like him. Just like my Nicholas. You thought him a speculative, selfish man. Now you see your mistake, Erema. "

When her veteran husband came home at last (thoroughly jaded, andbringing his fishermen to gulp the pea soup and to gollop the turkey), a small share of mind, but a large one of heart, is required to imagineher doings. Enough that the Major kept saying, "Pooh-pooh!" and the morehe said, the less he got of it. 

When feelings calmed down, and we returned to facts, our host and hero(who, in plain truth, had not so wholly eclipsed me in courage, thoughof course I expected no praise, and got none, for people hate courage ina lady), to put it more simply, the Major himself, making a considerablefuss, as usual--for to my mind he never could be Uncle Sam--producedfrom the case of his little "Church Service, " to which he had stuck likea Briton, a sealed and stamped letter, addressed to me at Castlewood, inBerkshire--"stamped, " not with any post-office tool, but merely with thered thing which pays the English post. 

Sodden and blurred as the writing was, I knew the clear, firm hand, thesame which on the envelope at Shoxford had tempted me to meanness. Thisletter was from Thomas Hoyle; the Major had taken it from the pocket ofhis corpse; all doubt about his death was gone. When he felt his feet onthe very shore, and turned to support his mother, a violent wave struckthe back of his head upon Major Hockin's pillar-box. 

Such sadness came into my heart--though sternly it should have beengladness--that I begged their pardon, and went away, as if with aprivate message. And wicked as it may have been, to read was more thanonce to cry. The letter began abruptly:

"You know nearly all my story now. I have only to tell you what broughtme to you, and what my present offer is. But to make it clear, I mustenlarge a little. 

"There was no compact of any kind between your father and myself. Heforbore at first to tell what he must have known, partly, perhaps, tosecure my escape, and partly for other reasons. If he had been broughtto trial, his duty to his family and himself would have led him, nodoubt, to explain things. And if that had failed, I would have returnedand surrendered myself. As things happened, there was no need. 

"Through bad luck, with which I had nothing to do, though doubtless thewhole has been piled on my head, your father's home was destroyed, andhe seems to have lost all care for every thing. Yet how much better offwas he than I! Upon me the curse fell at birth; upon him, after thirtyyears of ease and happiness. However, for that very reason, perhaps, hebore it worse than I did. He grew imbittered against the world, whichhad in no way ill-treated him; whereas its very first principle is toscorn all such as I am. He seems to have become a misanthrope, anda fatalist like myself. Though it might almost make one believe theexistence of such a thing as justice to see pride pay for its wickednessthus--the injury to the outcast son recoil upon the pampered one, andthe family arrogance crown itself with the ignominy of the family. 

"In any case, there was no necessity for my interference; and beingdenied by fate all sense of duty to a father, I was naturally driven todouble my duty to my mother, whose life was left hanging upon mine. So we two for many years wandered about, shunning islands and insularprejudice. I also shunned your father, though (so far as I know) heneither sought me nor took any trouble to clear himself. If the onechild now left him had been a son, heir to the family property and soon, he might have behaved quite otherwise, and he would have been boundto do so. But having only a female child, who might never grow up, and, if she did, was very unlikely to succeed, he must have resolved at leastto wait. And perhaps he confirmed himself with the reflection that evenif people believed his tale (so long after date and so unvouched), sofar as family annals were concerned, the remedy would be as bad as thedisease. Moreover, he owed his life to me, at great risk of my own; andto pay such a debt with the hangman's rope would scarcely appear quitehonorable, even in the best society. 

"It is not for me to pretend to give his motives, although from myknowledge of his character I can guess them pretty well, perhaps. Wewent our several ways in the world, neither of us very fortunate. 

"One summer, in the Black Forest, I fell in with an outcast Englishman, almost as great a vagabond as myself. He was under the ban of the lawfor writing his father's name without license. He did not tell me that, or perhaps even I might have despised him, for I never was dishonest. But one great bond there was between us--we both detested laws and men. My intimacy with him is the one thing in life which I am ashamed of. Hepassed by a false name then, of course. But his true name was MontagueHockin. My mother was in very weak health then, and her mind for themost part clouded; and I need not say that she knew nothing of what Ihad done for her sake. That man pretended to take the greatest interestin her condition, and to know a doctor at Baden who could cure her. 

"We avoided all cities (as he knew well), and lived in simple villages, subsisting partly upon my work, and partly upon the little income leftby my grandfather, Thomas Hoyle. But, compared with Hockin, we were welloff; and he did his best to swindle us. Luckily all my faith in mankindwas confined to the feminine gender, and not much even of that survived. In a very little time I saw that people may repudiate law as well frombeing below as from being above it. 

"Then he came one night, with the finest style and noblest contemptof every thing. We must prepare ourselves for great news, and all ourkindness to him would be repaid tenfold in a week or two. Let me go intoFreyburg that time to-morrow night, and listen. I asked him nothing asto what he meant, for I was beginning to weary of him, as of every body. However, I thought it just worth while, having some one who boughtmy wicker-work, to enter the outskirts of the town on the followingevening, and wait to be told if any news was stirring. And the peoplewere amazed at my not knowing that last night the wife of an Englishlord--for so they called him, though no lord yet--had run away with agolden-bearded man, believed to be also English. 

"About that you know more, perhaps, than I do. But I wish you to knowwhat that Hockin was, and to clear myself of complicity. Of HerbertCastlewood I knew nothing, and I never even saw the lady. And to say (asSir Montague Hockin has said) that I plotted all that wickedness, fromspite toward all of the Castlewood name, is to tell as foul a lie aseven he can well indulge in. 

"It need not be said that he does not know my story from any word ofmine. To such a fellow I was not likely to commit my mother's fate. Buthe seems to have guessed at once that there was something strange inmy history; and then, after spying and low prying at my mother, to haveshaped his own conclusion. Then, having entirely under his powerthat young fool who left a kind husband for him, he conceived a mostaudacious scheme. This was no less than to rob your cousin, the lastLord Castlewood, not of his wife and jewels and ready money only, butalso of all the disposable portion of the Castlewood estates. For thelady's mother had taken good care, like a true Hungarian, to have allthe lands settled upon her daughter, so far as the husband could dealwith them. And though, at the date of the marriage, he could not reallydeal at all with them--your father being still alive--it appears thathis succession (when it afterward took place) was bound, at any rate, asagainst himself. A divorce might have canceled this--I can not say--butyour late cousin was the last man in the world to incur the needfulexposure. Upon this they naturally counted. 

"The new 'Lady Hockin' (as she called herself, with as much right as'Lady Castlewood') flirted about while her beauty lasted; but even thenfound her master in a man of deeper wickedness. But if her poor husbanddesired revenge--which he does not seem to have done, perhaps--he couldnot have had it better. She was seized with a loathsome disease, whichdevoured her beauty, like Herod and his glory. I believe that shestill lives, but no one can go near her; least of all, the fastidiousMontague. "

At this part of the letter I drew a deep breath, and exclaimed, "ThankGod!" I know not how many times; and perhaps it was a crime of me to doit even once. 

"Finding his nice prospective game destroyed by this littleaccident--for he meant to have married the lady after her husband'sdeath, and set you at defiance; but even he could not do that now, little as he cares for opinion--what did he do but shift handsaltogether? He made up his mind to confer the honor of his hand on you, having seen you somewhere in London, and his tactics became the veryopposite of what they had been hitherto. Your father's innocence nowmust be maintained instead of his guiltiness. 

"With this in view, he was fool enough to set the detective police afterme--me, who could snap all their noses off! For he saw how your heartwas all set on one thing, and expected to have you his serf forever, by the simple expedient of hanging me. The detectives failed, as theyalways do. He also failed in his overtures to you. 

"You did your utmost against me also, for which I bear you no ill-will, but rather admire your courage. You acted in a straightforward way, andemployed no dirty agency. Of your simple devices I had no fear. However, I thought it as well to keep an eye upon that Hockin, and a worthy oldfool, some relation of his, who had brought you back from America. Tothis end I kept my head-quarters near him, and established my mothercomfortably. She was ordered sea air, and has had enough. To-morrow Ishall remove her. By the time you receive this letter we shall both befar away, and come back no more; but first I shall punish that Hockin. Without personal violence this will be done. 

"Now what I propose to you is simple, moderate, and most strictly just. My mother's little residue of life must pass in ease and comfort. Shehas wronged no one, but ever been wronged. Allow her 300 pounds a year, to be paid as I shall direct you. For myself I will not take a farthing. You will also restore, as I shall direct, the trinket upon which shesets great value, and for which I sought vainly when we came back toEngland. I happen to know that you have it now. 

"In return for these just acts, you have the right to set forth thewhole truth publicly, to proclaim your father's innocence, and (aspeople will say) his chivalry; and, which will perhaps rejoice you also, to hear no more of

"THOMAS HOYLE. 

"P. S. --Of course I am trusting your honor in this. But your father'sdaughter can be no sneak; as indeed I have already proved. "

CHAPTER LVI

WITH HIS OWN SWORD

"What a most wonderful letter!" cried the Major, when, after severalcareful perusals, I thought it my duty to show it to him. "He calls mea 'worthy old fool, ' does he? Well, I call him something a great dealworse--an unworthy skulk, a lunatic, a subverter of rank, and a Radical!And because he was a bastard, is the whole world base? And to come andlive like that in a house of mine, and pay me no rent, and never evenlet me see him! Your grandfather was quite right, my dear, in giving himthe cold shoulder. Of course you won't pay him a farthing. "

"You forget that he is dead, " I answered, "and his poor mother with him. At least he behaved well to his mother. You called him a hero--when youknew not who he was. Poor fellow, he is dead! And, in spite of all, Ican not help being very sorry for him. "

"Yes, I dare say. Women always are. But you must show a littlecommon-sense, Erema. Your grandfather seems to have had too much, andyour father far too little. We must keep this matter quiet. Neither theman nor the woman must we know, or a nice stir we shall have in all thecounty papers. There must be an inquest, of course, upon them both; butnone of the fellows read this direction, for the admirable reason thatthey can not read. Our coming forward could do no good, and just nowBruntsea has other things to think of; and, first and foremost, my ruin, as they say. "

"Please not to talk of that, " I exclaimed. "I can raise any quantity ofmoney now, and you shall have it without paying interest. You wanted thecourse of the river restored, and now you have more--you have got thevery sea. You could float the Bridal Veil itself, I do believe, atBruntsea. "

"You have suggested a fine idea, " the Major exclaimed, with emphasis. "You certainly should have been an engineer. It is a thousand timeseasier--as every body knows--to keep water in than to keep it out. Having burst my barricade, the sea shall stop inside and pay for it. Farless capital will be required. By Jove, what a fool I must have beennot to see the hand of Providence in all this! Mary, can you spare me aminute, my dear? The noblest idea has occurred to me. Well, never mind, if you are busy; perhaps I had better not state it crudely, though itis not true that it happens every hour. I shall turn it over in my mindthroughout the evening service. I mean to be there, just to let themsee. They think that I am crushed, of course. They will see theirmistake; and, Erema, you may come. The gale is over, and the eveningbright. You sit by the fire, Mary, my dear; I shall not let you outagain; keep the silver kettle boiling. In church I always think moreclearly than where people talk so much. But when I come home I requiresomething. I see, I see. Instead of an idle, fashionable lounging-placefor nincompoops from London, instead of flirtation and novel-reading, vulgarity, show, and indecent attire, and positively immoral bathing, we will now have industry, commerce, wealth, triumph of mechanism, loftyenterprise, and international good-will. A harbor has been the greatwant of this coast; see what a thing it is at Newport! We will now havea harbor and floating docks, without any muddy, malarious river--allblue water from the sea; and our fine cliff range shall be studded withgood houses. And the whole shall be called 'Erema-port. '"

Well, Erema must be getting very near her port, although it was not atBruntsea. Enough for this excellent man and that still more excellentwoman that there they are, as busy and as happy as the day islong--which imposes some limit upon happiness, perhaps, inasmuch as tothe busy every day is short. But Mrs. Hockin, though as full of fowls asever, gets no White Sultans nor any other rarity now from Sir MontagueHockin. That gentleman still is alive--so far, at least, as we haveheard of; but no people owning any self-respect ever deal with him, totheir knowledge. He gambled away all his father's estates, and theMajor bought the last of them for his youngest son, a very noble CaptainHockin (according to his mother's judgment), whom I never had the honorof seeing. Sir Montague lives in a sad plight somewhere, and his cousinstill hopes that he may turn honest. 

But as to myself and far greater persons, still there are a few wordsto be said. As soon as all necessary things were done at Bruntsea and atCastlewood, and my father's memory cleared from all stain, and by simpletruth ennobled, in a manner strictly legal and consistent withheavy expenses, myself having made a long deposition and receivedcongratulations--as soon as it was possible, I left them all, and setsail for America. 

The rashness of such a plan it is more easy for one to establish thantwo to deny. But what was there in it of peril or of enterprise comparedwith what I had been through already? I could not keep myself now fromgoing, and reasoned but little about it. 

Meanwhile there had been no further tidings of Colonel Gundry or Firm, or even Martin of the Mill himself. But one thing I did which showedsome little foresight. As soon as my mind was made up, and long beforeever I could get away, I wrote to Martin Clogfast, telling him of myintention, and begging him, if he had any idea of the armies, or theSawyer, or even Firm, or any thing whatever of interest, to write(without losing a day) to me, directing his letter to a house in NewYork whose address Major Hockin gave me. 

So many things had to be done, and I listened so foolishly to the Major(who did his very best to stop me), that it came to be May, 1862 (nearlyfour years after my father's death), before I could settle all my plansand start. For every body said that I was much too young to take sucha journey all by myself, and "what every body says must be right, "whenever there is no exception to prove the rule. "Aunt Marys" are notto be found every day, nor even Major Hockins; and this again helpedto throw me back in getting away from England. And but for his vastengineering ideas, and another slight touch of rheumatic gout (broughtupon herself by Mrs. Hockin through setting seven hens in one evening), the Major himself might have come with me, "to observe the new militarytactics, " as well as to look for his cousin Sampson. 

In recounting this I seem to be as long as the thing itself was inaccomplishing. But at last it was done, and most kindly was I offeredthe very thing to suit me--permission to join the party of a well-knownBritish officer, Colonel Cheriton, of the Engineers. This gentleman, being of the highest repute as a writer upon military subjects, had leave from the Federal government to observe the course of thistremendous war. And perhaps he will publish some day what seems asyet to be wholly wanting--a calm and impartial narrative of thatunparalleled conflict. At any rate, he meant to spare no trouble in amatter so instructive, and he took his wife and two daughters--very nicegirls, who did me a world of good--to establish them in Washington, orwherever the case might require. 

Lucky as this was for me, I could not leave my dear and faithful friendswithout deep sorrow; but we all agreed that it should be only for a verylittle time. We landed first at New York, and there I found two lettersfrom Martin of the Mill. In the first he grumbled much, and told me thatnothing was yet known about Uncle Sam; in the second he grumbled (ifpossible) more, but gave me some important news. To wit, he had receiveda few lines from the Sawyer, who had failed as yet to find his grandson, and sadly lamented the misery he saw, and the shocking destruction ofGod's good works. He said that he could not bring himself to fight (evenif he were young enough) against his own dear countrymen, one of whomwas his own grandson; at the same time he felt that they must be putdown for trying to have things too much their own way. About slavery, hehad seen too much of niggers to take them at all for his equals, and nowhite man with any self-respect would desire to be their brother. Thechildren of Ham were put down at the bottom, as their noses and theirlips pronounced, according to Divine revelation; and for sons of Japhethto break up the noblest nation in the world, on their account, waslike rushing in to inherit their curse. As sure as his name was SampsonGundry, those who had done it would get the worst, though as yet theywere doing wonders. And there could be no doubt about one thing--whichparty it was that began it. But come what would of it, here he was; andnever would Saw-mills see him again unless he brought Firm Gundry. Buthe wanted news of poor Miss 'Rema; and if any came to the house, theymust please to send it to the care of Colonel Baker, headquarters of theArmy of the Potomac. 

This was the very thing I wished to know, and I saw now how stupid Imust have been not to have thought of it long ago. For Colonel Bakerwas, to my knowledge, an ancient friend of Uncle Sam, and had joined thenational army at the very outbreak of the war. Well known not only inCalifornia, but throughout the States, for gallantry and conduct, thisofficer had been a great accession to the Federal cause, when so manywavered, and so he was appointed to a good command. But, alas! when Itold Colonel Cheriton my news, I learned from him (who had carefullywatched all the incidents of the struggle) that Uncle Sam's noble friendhad fallen in the battle of Ball's Bluff, while charging at the head ofhis regiment. 

Still, there was hope that some of the officers might know where to findUncle Sam, who was not at all a man to be mislaid; and being allowedto accompany my English friends, I went on to Washington. We foundthat city in a highly nervous state, and from time to time ready to becaptured. General Jackson was almost at the gates, and the Presidentevery day was calling out for men. The Army of Virginia had been beatenback to intrenchments before the capital, and General Lee was invadingMaryland. Battle followed battle, thick as blows upon a threshing-floor, and though we were always said to be victorious, the enemy seemednone the more to run away. In this confusion, what chance had I ofdiscovering even the Sawyer?

Colonel Cheriton (who must have found me a dreadful thorn in the flankof his strategy) missed no opportunity of inquiry, as he went from onevalley to another. For the war seemed to run along the course of rivers, though it also passed through the forests and lakes, and went up intothe mountains. Our wonderfully clever and kind member of the Britisharmy was delighted with the movements of General Lee, who alone showedscientific elegance in slaying his fellow-countrymen; and the worst ofit was that instead of going after my dear Uncle Sam, Colonel Cheritonwas always rushing about with maps, plans, and telescopes, to follow thetracery of Lee's campaign. To treat of such matters is far beyond me, as I am most thankful to confess. Neither will I dare to be sorry for agreat man doing what became his duty. My only complaint against him isthat he kept us in a continual fright. 

However, this went by, and so did many other things, though heavilyladen with grief and death; and the one thing we learned was todisbelieve ninety-nine out of every hundred. Letters for the Sawyer weredispatched by me to every likely place for him, and advertisements putinto countless newspapers, but none of them seemed to go near him. Oldas he was, he avoided feather-beds, and roamed like a true Californian. But at last I found him, in a sad, sad way. 

It was after the battle of Chancellorsville, and our army had beendriven back across the Rappahannock. "Our army, " I call it, because(although we belonged to neither party) fortune had brought us intocontact with these, and knowing more about them, we were bound to taketheir side. And not only that, but to me it appeared altogether beyondcontroversy that a man of large mind and long experience (such as UncleSam had) should know much better than his grandson which cause was theone to fight for. At the same time Firm was not at all to be condemned. And if it was true, as Martin Clogfast said, that trouble of mind at myabsence had driven him into a prejudiced view, nothing could possibly bemore ungracious than for me to make light of his judgment. 

Being twenty years old by this time, I was wiser than I used to be, andnow made a practice of thinking twice before rushing into peril, as Iused to do in California, and to some extent also in England. For thoughmy adventures might not have been as strange as many I myself have heardof (especially from Suan Isco), nevertheless they had comprised enoughof teaching and suffering also to make me careful about having any more. And so for a long time I kept at the furthest distance possible, insuch a war, from the vexing of the air with cannons, till even ColonelCheriton's daughters--perfectly soft and peaceful girls--began todespise me as a coward. Knowing what I had been through, I indulgedtheir young opinions. 

Therefore they were the more startled when I set forth under a suddenimpulse, or perhaps impatience, for a town very near the head-quartersof the defeated General Hooker. As they were so brave, I asked themwhether they would come with me; but although their father was known tobe there, they turned pale at the thought of it. This pleased me, andmade me more resolute to go; and in three days' time I was at Falmouth, a town on our side of the Rappahannock. 

Here I saw most miserable sights that made me ashamed of all triflingfear. When hundreds and thousands of gallant men were dying in crippledagony, who or what was I to make any fuss about my paltry self? Clumsyas I was, some kind and noble ladies taught me how to give help amongthe sufferers. 

At first I cried so at every body's pain, while asking why ever theyshould have it, that I did some good by putting them up to bear itrather than distress me so. And when I began to command myself (ascustom soon enabled me), I did some little good again by showing themhow I cared for them. Their poor weak eyes, perhaps never expectingto see a nice thing in the world again, used to follow me about with afaint, slow roll, and a feeble spark of jealousy. 

That I should have had such a chance of doing good, onefold to othersand a thousandfold to self, at this turn of life, when I was full oflittle me, is another of the many most clear indications of a kind handover me. Every day there was better than a year of ordinary life inbreaking the mind from its little selfish turns, and opening the heartto a larger power. And all this discipline was needed. 

For one afternoon, when we all were tired, with great heat upon ussuddenly, and the flies beginning to be dreadful, our chief being ratherunwell and fast asleep, the surgeons away, and our beds as full as theycould be, I was called down to reason with an applicant who would takeno denial. "A rough man, a very rough old man, and in a most terriblestate of mind, " said the girl who brought the message; "and room hewould have, or he would know the reason. "

"The reason is not far to seek, " I answered, more to myself than her, asI ran down the stairs to discomfit that old man. At the open door, withthe hot wind tossing worn white curls and parching shriveled cheeks, nowwearily raising his battered hat, stood my dear Uncle Sam, the Sawyer. 

"Lor' a massy! young lady, be you altogether daft? In my best of days, never was I lips for kissing. And the bootifulest creatur--Come now, Iain't saved your life, have I now?"

"Yes, fifty times over--fifty thousand times. Uncle Sam, don't you knowErema?"

"My eyes be dashed! And dashed they be, to forget the look of yours, my dearie. Seven days have I marched without thanking the Lord; and hotcoals of fire has He poured upon me now, for His mercy endureth forever. To think of you--to think of you--as like my own child as could be--onlyof more finer breed--here standing in front of me, like this here!There! I never dreamed to do that again, and would scorn a young man atthe sight of it. "

The Sawyer was too honest to conceal that he was weeping. He simplyturned his tanned and weathered face toward the door-post, not to hidehis tears, but reconcile his pride by feigning it. I felt that he mustbe at very low ebb, and all that I had seen of other people's sorrow hadno power to assuage me. Inside the door, to keep the hot wind out andhide my eyes from the old man's face, I had some little quiet sobs, until we could both express ourselves. 

"It is poor Firm, the poor, poor lad!--oh, what hath happened him? ThatI should see the day!"

Uncle Sam's deep voice broke into a moan, and he bowed his roughforehead on his arm, and shook. Then I took him by the sleeve andbrought him in. 

"Not dead--poor Firm, your only one--not dead?" as soon as words wouldcome, I asked, and trembled for the opening of his lips. 

"Not dead--not quite; but ten times worse. He hath flown into the faceof the Lord, like Saul and his armor-bearer; he hath fallen on hisown sword; and the worst of it is that the darned thing won't come outagain. "

"Firm--the last person in the world to do it! Oh, Uncle Sam, surely theyhave told you--"

"No lies--no lie at all, my dear. And not only that, but he wanteth nowto die--and won't be long first, I reckon. But no time to lose, my dear. The Lord hath sent you to make him happy in his leaving of the world. Can 'e raise a bed and a doctor here? If he would but groan, I couldbear it a bit, instead of bleeding inward. And for sartin sure, a'would groan nicely, if only by force of habit, at first sight of a realdoctor. "

"There are half a dozen here, " I said; "or at least close by. He shallhave my own bed. But where is he?"

"We have laid 'un in the sand, " he answered, simply, "for to dry hisperspiration. That weak the poor chap is that he streameth night andday, miss. Never would you know him for our Firm now, any more than mefor Sampson Gundry. Ah me! but the Lord is hard on us!"

Slowly and heavily he went his way to fetch poor Firm to the hospital;while, with light feet but a heavy heart, I returned to arouse ourmanagers. Speedily and well were all things done; and in half an hourFinn lay upon my bed, with two of the cleverest surgeons of New Yorkmost carefully examining his wasted frame. These whispered and shooktheir heads, as in such a case was indispensable; and listening eagerly, I heard the senior surgeon say, "No, he could never bear it. " Theyounger man seemed to think otherwise, but to give way to the longerexperience. Then dear Uncle Sam, having bought a new hat at the cornerof the street, came forward. Knowing too well what excitement is, andhow it changes every one, I lifted my hand for him to go back; but heonly put his great hot web of fingers into mine, and drew me to himsoftly, and covered me up with his side. "He heareth nort, nort, nort, "he whispered to me; and then spoke aloud:

"Gentlemen and ladies--or ladies and gentlemen, is the more correct formnowadays--have I leave to say a word or two? Then if I have, as yourmanner to me showeth, and heartily thanking you for that same, my wordsshall go into an acorn-cup. This lad, laid out at your mercy here, was as fine a young fellow as the West hath ever raised--straight andnimble, and could tell no lie. Family reasons, as you will excoose of, drew him to the arms of rebellion. I may have done, and overdone itmyself, in arguing cantrips and convictions, whereof to my knowledgegood never came yet. At any rate, off he went anyhow, and the forceof nature drew me after him. No matter that to you, I dare say; but itwould be, if you was in it. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, here he is, and no harm can you make out of him. Although he hath fought for the wrong side to our thinking, bravelyhath he fought, and made his way to a colonelship, worth five thousanddollars, if ever they pay their wages. Never did I think that he wouldearn so much, having never owned gifts of machinery; and concerning thehandling of the dollars, perhaps, will carry my opinion out. But wherewas I wandering of a little thing like that?

"It hath pleased the Lord, who doeth all things well, when finally cometo look back upon--the Lord hath seen fit to be down on this youngman for going agin his grandfather. From Californy--a free State, mindyou--he come away to fight for slavery. And how hath he magnified hisoffice? By shooting the biggest man on that side, the almighty foe ofthe Union, the foremost captain of Midian--the general in whom theytrusted. No bullets of ours could touch him; but by his own weapons hehath fallen. And soon as Ephraim Gundry heard it, he did what you seedone to him. "

Uncle Sam having said his say--which must have cost him dearly--withdrewfrom the bed where his grandson's body lay shrunken, lax, and grimy. Tobe sure that it was Firm, I gave one glance--for Firm had always beenstraight, tall, and large--and then, in a miserable mood, I stole to theSawyer's side to stand with him. "Am I to blame? Is this my fault? Foreven this am I to blame?" I whispered; but he did not heed me, and hishands were like hard stone. 

After a long, hot, heavy time, while I was laboring vainly, the Sawyeralso (through exhaustion of excitement) weary, and afraid to begin againwith new bad news, as beaten people expect to do, the younger surgeoncame up to him, and said, "Will you authorize it?"

"To cut 'un up? To show your museums what a Western lad is? Never. Bythe Blue River he shall have a good grave. So help me God, to my own, myman!"

"You misunderstand me. We have more subjects now than we should want forfifty years. War knocks the whole of their value on the head. We havefifty bodies as good as this, and are simply obliged to bury them. WhatI mean is, shall we pull the blade out?"

"Can he do any thing with that there blade in him? I have heard of a manin Kentucky once--"

"Yes, yes; we know all those stories, Colonel--suit the newspapers, notthe journals. This fellow has what must kill him inside; he is worn toa shadow already. If there it is left, die he must, and quick stick;inflammation is set up already. If we extract it, his chance ofsurviving is scarcely one in a hundred. "

"Let him have the one, then, the one in the hundred, like the ninety andnine lost sheep. The Lord can multiply a hundredfold--some threescore, and some an hundredfold. I will speak to Him, gentlemen, while you trythe job. "

CHAPTER LVII

FEMALE SUFFRAGE

All that could be done by skill and care and love, was done for Firm. Our lady manager and head nurse never left him when she could be spared, and all the other ladies vied in zeal for this young soldier, so thatI could scarcely get near him. His grandfather's sad and extraordinarytale was confirmed by a wounded prisoner. Poor Ephraim Gundry's rarepower of sight had been fatal perhaps to the cause he fought for, orat least to its greatest captain. Returning from desperate victory, thegeneral, wrapped in the folds of night, and perhaps in the gloom of hisown stern thoughts, while it seemed quite impossible that he should beseen, encountered the fire of his own troops; and the order to fire wasgiven by his favorite officer, Colonel Firm Gundry. When the young manlearned that he had destroyed, by a lingering death, the chief idol ofhis heart, he called for a rifle, but all refused him, knowing too wellwhat his purpose was. Then under the trees, without a word or sigh, heset the hilt of his sword upon the earth, and the point to his heart--aswell as he could find it. The blade passed through him, and then snappedoff--But I can not bear to speak of it. 

And now, few people might suppose it, but the substance of which he wasmade will be clear, when not only his own knowledge of his case butalso the purest scientific reasoning established a truth more franklyacknowledged in the New World than in the Old one. It was proved that, with a good constitution, it is safer to receive two wounds than one, even though they may not be at the same time taken. Firm had beenshot by the captain of Mexican robbers, as long ago related. He wasdreadfully pulled down at the time, and few people could have survivedit. But now that stood him in the very best stead, not only as a lessonof patience, but also in the question of cartilage. But not beingcertain what cartilage is, I can only refer inquirers to the note-bookof the hospital, which has been printed. 

For us it was enough to know that (shattered as he was and must be) thisbrave and single-minded warrior struggled for the time successfully withthat great enemy of the human race, to whom the human race so largelyconsign one another and themselves. But some did say, and emphaticallyUncle Sam, that Colonel Firm Gundry--for a colonel he was now, not bycourtesy, but commission--would never have held up his head to do it, but must have gone on with his ravings for death, if somebody had notarrived in the nick of time, and cried over him--a female somebody fromold England. 

And, even after that, they say that he never would have cared to be aman again, never would have calmed his conscience with the reflection, so commonplace and yet so high--that having done our best according toour lights, we must not dwell always on our darkness--if once again, andfor the residue of life, there had not been some one to console him--aconsolation that need not have, and is better without, pure reason, coming, as that would come, from a quarter whence it is never quitewelcome. Enough for me that he never laid hand to a weapon of war again, and never shall unless our own home is invaded. 

For after many months--each equal to a year of teaching and ofhumbling--there seemed to be a good time for me to get away and attendto my duties in England. Of these I had been reminded often by letters, and once by a messenger; but all money matters seemed dust in thebalance where life and death were swinging. But now Uncle Sam and hisgrandson, having their love knit afresh by disaster, were eager to startfor the Saw-mill, and trust all except their own business to Providence. 

I had told them that, when they went westward, my time would be come forstarting eastward; and being unlikely to see them again, I should hopefor good news frequently. And then I got dear Uncle Sam by himself, andbegged him, for the sake of Firm's happiness, to keep him as far as hecould from Pennsylvania Sylvester. At the same time I thought that thevery nice young lady who jumped upon his nose from the window, MissAnnie--I forgot her name, or at any rate I told him so--would make hima good straightforward wife, so far as one could tell from having seenher. And that seemed to have been settled in their infancy. And if hewould let me know when it was to be, I had seen a thing in London Ishould like to give them. 

When I asked the Sawyer to see to this, instead of being sorry, heseemed quite pleased, and nodded sagaciously, and put his hat on, as hegenerally did, to calculate. 

"Both of them gals have married long ago, " he said, looking at me with afine soft gaze; "and bad handfuls their mates have got of them. Butwhat made you talk of them, missy--or 'my lady, ' as now you are in oldcountry, I hear--what made you think of them like that, my dearie?"

"I can't tell what made me think of them. How can I tell why I think ofevery thing?"

"Still, it was an odd thing for your ladyship to say. "

"Uncle Sam, I am nobody's ladyship, least of all yours. What makes youspeak so? I am your own little wandering child, whose life you saved, and whose father you loved, and who loses all who love her. Even fromyou I am forced to go away. Oh, why is it always my fate--my fate?"

"Hush!" said the old man; and I stopped my outburst at his whisper. "Totalk of fate, my dearie, shows either one thing or the other--that wehave no will of our own, or else that we know not how to guide it. Inever knew a good man talk of fate. The heathens and the pagans made it. The Lord in heaven is enough for me; and He always hath allowed me myown free-will, though I may not have handled 'un cleverly. And He givethyou your own will now, my missy--to go from us or to stop with us. Andbeing as you are a very grand young woman now, owning English land andincome paid in gold instead of greenbacks--the same as our nugget seemslikely--to my ideas it would be wrong if we was so much as to ask you. "

"Is that what you are full of, then, and what makes you so mysterious? Idid think that you knew me better, and I had a right to hope so. "

"Concerning of yourself alone is not what we must think of. You mightdo this, or you might do that, according to what you was told, or, evenmore, according to what was denied you. For poor honest people, likeFirm and me, to deal with such a case is out of knowledge. For us itis--go by the will of the Lord, and dead agin your own desires. "

"But, dear Uncle Sam, " I cried, feeling that now I had him upon hisown tenterhooks, "you rebuked me as sharply as lies in your nature fordaring to talk about fate just now; but to what else comes your ownconduct, if you are bound to go against your own desire? If you havesuch a lot of freewill, why must you do what you do not like to do?"

"Well, well, perhaps I was talking rather large. The will of the worldis upon us as well. And we must have respect for its settlements. "

"Now let me, " I said, with a trembling wish to have every thing rightand maidenly. "I have seen so much harm from misunderstandings, and theyare so simple when it is too late--let me ask you one or two questions, Uncle Sam. You always answer every body. And to you a crooked answer isimpossible. "

"Business is business, " the Sawyer said. "My dear, I contractaccordingly. "

"Very well. Then, in the first place, what do you wish to have done withme? Putting aside all the gossip, I mean, of people who have never evenheard of me. "

"Why, to take you back to Saw-mill with us, where you always was sonatural. "

"In the next place, what does your grandson wish?"

"To take you back to Saw-mill with him, and keep you there till death doyou part, as chanceth to all mortal pairs. "

"And now, Uncle Sam, what do I wish? You say we all have so muchfree-will. "

"It is natural that you should wish, my dear, to go and be a greatlady, and marry a nobleman of your own rank, and have a lot of littlenoblemen. "

"Then I fly against nature; and the fault is yours for filling me sowith machinery. "

The Sawyer was beaten, and he never said again that a woman can notargue. 

CHAPTER LVIII

BEYOND DESERT, AND DESERTS

From all the carnage, havoc, ruin, hatred, and fury of that wicked warwe set our little convoy forth, with passes procured from either side. According to all rules of war, Firm was no doubt a prisoner; but havingsaved his life, and taken his word to serve no more against them, remembering also that he had done them more service than ten regiments, the Federal authorities were not sorry to be quit of him. 

He, for his part, being of a deep, retentive nature, bore in his woundedbreast a sorrow which would last his lifetime. To me he said not asingle word about his bitter fortune, and he could not bring himselfto ask me whether I would share it. Only from his eyes sometimes I knewwhat he was thinking; and having passed through so much grief, Iwas moved with deep compassion. Poor Firm had been trained by hisgrandfather to a strong, earnest faith in Providence, and now thiscompelled him almost to believe that he had been specially visited. Forflying in the face of his good grandfather, and selfishly indulging hisown stiff neck, his punishment had been hard, and almost heavier than hecould bear. Whatever might happen to him now, the spring and the flowerof his life were gone; he still might have some calm existence, butnever win another day of cloudless joy. And if he had only said this, orthought about it, we might have looked at him with less sadness of ourown. 

But he never said any thing about himself, nor gave any opening forour comfort to come to him. Only from day to day he behaved gently andlovingly to both of us, as if his own trouble must be fought out byhimself, and should dim no other happiness. And this kept us thinking ofhis sorrow all the more, so that I could not even look at him without aflutter of the heart, which was afraid to be a sigh. 

At last, upon the great mountain range, through which we now weretoiling, with the snow little more than a mantle for the peaks, and asparkling veil for sunrise, dear Uncle Sam, who had often shown signs ofimpatience, drew me apart from the rest. Straightforward and blunt as hegenerally was, he did not seem altogether ready to begin, but pulled offhis hat, and then put it on again, the weather being now cold and hotby turns. And while he did this he was thinking at his utmost, as everyfull vein of his forehead declared. And being at home with his ways, Iwaited. 

"Think you got ahead of me? No, not you, " he exclaimed at last, inreply to some version of his own of my ideas, which I carefully made anonentity under the scrutiny of his keen blue eyes. "No, no, missy;you wait a bit. Uncle Sam was not hatched yesterday, and it takes fiftyyoung ladies to go round him. "

"Is that from your size, Uncle Sam, or your depth?"

"Well, a mixture of both, I do believe. Now the last thing you everwould think of, if you lived to be older than Washington's nurse, is thevery thing I mean to put to you. Only you must please to take it well, according to my meaning. You see our Firm going to a shadow, don't you?Very well; the fault of that is all yourn. Why not up and speak to him?"

"I speak to him every day, Uncle Sam, and I spare no efforts to fattenhim. I am sure I never dreamed of becoming such a cook. But soon he willhave Suan Isco. "

"Old Injun be darned! It's not the stomach, it's the heart as wantsnourishment with yon poor lad. He looketh that pitiful at you sometimes, my faith, I can hardly tell whether to laugh at his newings or cry atthe lean face that does it. "

"You are not talking like yourself, Uncle Sam. And he never does anything of the kind. I am sure there is nothing to laugh at. "

"No, no; to be sure not. I made a mistake. Heroic is the word, ofcourse--every thing is heroic. "

"It is heroic, " I answered, with some vexation at his lightness. "If youcan not see it, I am sorry for you. I like large things; and I know ofnothing larger than the way poor Firm is going on. "

"You to stand up for him!" Colonel Gundry answered, as if he couldscarcely look at me. "You to talk large of him, my Lady Castlewood, while you are doing of his heart into small wittles! Well, I didbelieve, if no one else, that you were a straightforward one. "

"And what am I doing that is crooked now?"

"Well, not to say crooked, Miss 'Rema; no, no. Only onconsistent, whensquared up. "

"Uncle Sam, you're a puzzle to me to-day. What is inconsistent? What isthere to square up?"

He fetched a long breath, and looked wondrous wise. Then, as if hismain object was to irritate me, he made a long stride, and said, "Soup'sa-bilin now. "

"Let it boil over, then. You must say what you mean. Oh, Uncle Sam, Ionly want to do the right!"

"I dessay. I dessay. But have you got the pluck, miss? Our little missywould 'a done more than that. But come to be great lady--why, they takeanother tune. With much mind, of course it might be otherwise. But noneof 'em have any much of that to spare. "

"Your view is a narrow one, " I replied, knowing how that would astonishhim. "You judge by your own experience only; and to do that shows a sadwant of breadth, as the ladies in England express it. "

The Sawyer stared, and then took off his hat, and then felt all aboutfor his spectacles. The idea of being regarded by a "female" from alarger and loftier point of view, made a new sensation in his system. 

"Yes, " I continued, with some enjoyment, "let us try to look largelyat all things, Uncle Sam. And supposing me capable of that, what is theproper and the lofty course to take?"

He looked at me with a strange twinkle in his eyes, and with three wordsdiscomfited me--"Pop the question. "

Much as I had heard of woman's rights, equality of body and mindwith man, and superiority in morals, it did not appear to me that herprivilege could be driven to this extent. But I shook my head till allmy hair came down; and so if our constitutional right of voting by colorwas exercised, on this occasion it claimed the timid benefit of ballot. 

With us a suggestion, for the time discarded, has often double effectby-and-by; and though it was out of my power to dream of acting up tosuch directions, there could be no possible harm in reviewing such atheory theoretically. 

Now nothing beyond this was in my thoughts, nor even so much as that(safely may I say), when Firm and myself met face to face on the thirdday after Uncle Sam's ideas. Our little caravan, of which the Sawyerwas the captain, being bound for Blue River and its neighborhood, hadquitted the Sacramento track by a fork on the left not a league fromthe spot where my father had bidden adieu to mankind. And knowing everytwist and turn of rock, our drivers brought us at the camping-timealmost to the verge of chaparral. 

I knew not exactly how far we were come, but the dust-cloud of memorywas stirring, and though mountains looked smaller than they used tolook, the things done among them seemed larger. And wandering forth fromthe camp to think, when the evening meal was over, lo! there I stood inthat selfsame breach or portal of the desert in which I stood once bymy father's side, with scared and weary eyes, vainly seeking safety'sshattered landmark. The time of year was different, being the ripe endof October now; but though the view was changed in tint, it was evenmore impressive. Sombre memories, and deep sense of grandeur, which isalways sad, and solemn lights, and stealing shadows, compassed me withthoughtfulness. In the mouth of the gorge was a gray block of granite, whereupon I sat down to think. 

Old thoughts, dull thoughts, thoughts as common as the clouds that crossthe distant plain, and as vague as the wind that moves them--they pleaseand they pass, and they may have shed kindly influence, but what arethey? The life that lies before us is, in some way, too, below us, likeyon vast amplitude of plain; but it must be traversed foot by foot, andlaboriously travailed, without the cloudy vaporing or the high-flownmeditation. And all that must be done by me, alone, with none to loveme, and (which for a woman is so much worse) nobody ever to have for myown, to cherish, love, and cling to. 

Tier upon tier, and peak over peak, the finest mountains of the worldare soaring into the purple firmament. Like northern lights, they flash, or flush, or fade into a reclining gleam; like ladders of heaven, theybar themselves with cloudy air; and like heaven itself, they ranktheir white procession. Lonely, feeble, puny, I look up with awe andreverence; the mind pronounces all things small compared with thismagnificence. Yet what will all such grandeur do--the self-defensiveheart inquires--for puny, feeble, lonely me?

Before another shadow deepened or another light grew pale, a slow, uncertain step drew near, and by the merest chance it happened to beEphraim Gundry's. I was quite surprised, and told him so; and he saidthat he also was surprised at meeting me in this way. Remembering howlong I had been here, I thought this most irrational, but checked myselffrom saying so, because he looked so poorly. And more than that, I askedhim kindly how he was this evening, and smoothed my dress to please hiseye, and offered him a chair of rock. But he took no notice of all thesethings. 

I thought of the time when he would have behaved so very differentlyfrom this, and nothing but downright pride enabled me to repressvexation. However, I resolved to behave as kindly as if he were his owngrandfather. 

"How grand these mountains are!" I said. "It must do you good to seethem again. Even to me it is such a delight. And what must it be to you, a native?"

"Yes, I shall wander from them no more. How I wish that I had never doneso?"

"Have men less courage than women?" I asked, with one glance at his paleworn face. "I owe you the debt of life; and this is the place to thinkand speak of it. I used to talk freely of that, you know. You used tolike to hear me speak; but now you are tired of that, and tired of allthe world as well, I fear. "

"No, I am tired of nothing, except my own vile degradation. I am tiredof my want of spirit, that I can not cast my load. I am tired of my lackof reason, which should always guide a man. What is the use of mind orintellect, reasoning power, or whatever it is called, if the whole ofthem can not enable a man to hold out against a stupid heart?"

"I think you should be proud, " I said, while trembling to approach thesubject which never had been touched between us, "at having a natureso sensitive. Your evil chance might have been any body's, and must ofcourse have been somebody's. But nobody else would have taken it so--sodelightfully as you have done!"

"Delightfully! Is that the word you use? May I ask who gets any delightfrom it?"

"Why, all who hate the Southern cause, " I replied, with a sudden turn ofthought, though I never had meant to use the word. "Surely that needs noexplanation. "

"They are delighted, are they? Yes, I can very well believe it. Narrow-minded bigots! Yes, they are sure to be delighted. They call it ajust visitation, of course, a righteous retribution. And they hope I maynever get over it. "

"I pray you to take it more gently, " I said; "they are very goodmen, and wish you no harm. But they must have their own opinions; andnaturally they think them just. "

"Then all their opinions are just wrong. They hope to see me go down, to my grave. They shall not have that pleasure. I will outlive everyold John Brown of them. I did not care two cents to live just now. Henceforth I will make a point of it. If I cannot fight for true freedomany more, having ruined it perhaps already, the least I can do is togive no more triumph to its bitter enemies. I will eat and drink, andbegin this very night. I suppose you are one of them, as you put theirarguments so neatly. I suppose you consider me a vile slave-driver?"

"You are very ill, " I said, with my heart so full of pity that angercould not enter; "you are very ill, and very weak. How could you drivethe very best slave now--even such a marvel as Uncle Tom?"

Firm Gundry smiled; on his lean dry face there shone a little flicker, which made me think of the time when he bought a jest-book, published atCincinnati, to make himself agreeable to my mind. And little as I meantit, I smiled also, thinking of the way he used to come out with hishard-fought jokes, and expect it. 

"I wish you were at all as you used to be, " he said, looking at mesoftly through the courage of his smile, "instead of being such a grandlady. "

"And I wish you were a little more like yourself, " I answered, withoutthinking; "you used to think always there was nobody like me. "

"Suppose that I am of the same opinion still? Tenfold, fiftyfold, amillionfold?"

"To suppose a thing of that sort is a little too absurd, when you haveshown no sign of it. "

"For your own dear sake I have shown no sign. The reason of that is tooclear to explain. "

"Then how stupid I must be not to see an atom of it!"

"Why, who would have any thing to say to me--a broken-down man, a fellowmarked out for curses, one who hates even the sight of himself? Thelowest of the low would shun me. "

He turned away from me, and gazed back toward the dismal, miserable, spectral desert; while I stood facing the fruitful, delicious, floweryParadise of all the world. I thought of the difference in our lots, and my heart was in misery about him. Then I conquered my pride and mylittleness and trumpery, and did what the gentle sweet Eve might havedone. And never have I grieved for that action since. 

With tears on my cheeks quite undissembled, and a breast not ashamed offluttering, I ran to Firm Gundry, and took his right hand, and allowedhim no refuge from tender wet eyes. Then before he could come to see themeaning of this haste--because of his very high discipline--I was outof his distance, and sitting on a rock, and I lifted my eyes, full ofeloquence, to his; then I dropped them, and pulled my hat forward, andsaid, as calmly as was possible, "I have done enough. The rest remainswith you, Firm Gundry. "

The rest remained with him. Enough that I was part of that rest; and ifnot the foundation or crown of it, something desirous to be both, andfailing (if fail it ever does) from no want of trial. Uncle Sam saysthat I never fail at all, and never did fail in any thing, unless it waswhen I found that blamed nugget, for which we got three wagon-loads ofgreenbacks; which (when prosperity at last revives) will pay perhaps forgreasing all twelve wheels. 

Jowler admits not that failure even. As soon as he recovered from caninedementia, approaching very closely to rabies, at seeing me in the fleshonce more (so that the Sierra Nevada rang with avalanches of barking), he tugged me to the place where his teeth were set in gold, and provedthat he had no hydrophobia. His teeth are scanty now, but he still cancatch a salmon, and the bright zeal and loyalty of his soft browneyes and the sprightly elevation of his tail are still among dogs aspre-eminent as they are to mankind inimitable. 

Now the war is past, and here we sit by the banks of the soft BlueRiver. The early storm and young conflict of a clouded life are over. Still out of sight there may be yet a sea of troubles to buffet with;but it is not merely a selfish thought that others will face it with me. Dark mysteries have been cleared away by being confronted bravely; andthe lesson has been learned that life (like California flowers) is ofinfinite variety. This little river, ten steps wide, on one side has alllupins, on the other side all larkspurs. Can I tell why? Can any body?Can even itself, so full of voice and light, unroll the reason?

Behind us tower the stormy crags, before us spread soft tapestry ofearth and sweep of ocean. Below us lies my father's grave, whose sin wasnot his own, but fell on him, and found him loyal. To him was I loyalalso, as a daughter should be; and in my lap lies my reward--for I am nomore Erema.