myway
.
I
am
accustomed
to
walking
alone
.
Good-evening
.
”
She
spoke
coldly
,
but
courteously
.
Her
voice
was
delicious
;
her
bow
,
as
she
left
me
,
was
the
perfection
of
unaffected
grace
.
She
left
the
bridge
on
the
side
by
which
I
had
first
seen
her
approach
it
,
and
walked
slowly
away
along
the
darkening
track
of
the
highroad
.
Still
I
was
not
quite
satisfied
.
There
was
something
underlying
the
charming
expression
and
the
fascinating
manner
which
my
instinct
felt
to
be
something
wrong
.
As
I
walked
away
toward
the
opposite
end
of
the
bridge
,
the
doubt
began
to
grow
on
me
whether
she
had
spoken
the
truth
.
In
leaving
the
neighborhood
of
the
river
,
was
she
simply
trying
to
get
rid
of
me
?
I
at
once
resolved
to
put
this
suspicion
of
her
to
the
test
.
Leaving
the
bridge
,
I
had
only
to
cross
the
road
beyond
,
and
to
enter
a
plantation
on
the
bank
of
the
river
.
Here
,
concealed
behind
the
first
tree
which
was
large
enough
to
hide
me
,
I
could
command
a
view
of
the
bridge
,
and
I
could
fairly
count
on
detecting
her
,
if
she
returned
to
the
river
,
while
there
was
a
ray
of
light
to
see
her
by
.
It
was
not
easy
walking
in
the
obscurity
of
the
plantation
:
I
had
almost
to
grope
my
way
to
the
nearest
tree
that
suited
my
purpose
.
I
had
just
steadied
my
foothold
on
the
uneven
ground
behind
the
tree
,
when
the
stillness
of
the
twilight
hour
was
suddenly
broken
by
the
distant
sound
of
a
voice
.
The
voice
was
a
woman’s
.
It
was
not
raised
to
any
high
pitch
;
its
accent
was
the
accent
of
prayer
,
and
the
words
it
uttered
were
these
:
“
Christ
,
have
mercy
on
me
!
”
There
was
silence
again
.
A
nameless
fear
crept
over
me
,
as
I
looked
out
on
the
bridge
.
She
was
standing
on
the
parapet
.
Before
I
could
move
,
before
I
could
cry
out
,
before
I
could
even
breathe
again
freely
,
she
leaped
into
the
river
.
The
current
ran
my
way
.
I
could
see
her
,
as
she
rose
to
the
surface
,
floating
by
in
the
light
on
the
mid-stream
.
I
ran
headlong
down
the
bank
.
She
sank
again
,
in
the
moment
when
I
stopped
to
throw
aside
my
hat
and
coat
and
to
kick
off
my
shoes
.
I
was
a
practiced
swimmer
.
The
instant
I
was
in
the
water
my
composure
came
back
to
me
—
I
felt
like
myself
again
.
The
current
swept
me
out
into
the
mid-stream
,
and
greatly
increased
the
speed
at
which
I
swam
.
I
was
close
behind
her
when
she
rose
for
the
second
time
—
a
shadowy
thing
,
just
visible
a
few
inches
below
the
surface
of
the
river
.
One
more
stroke
,
and
my
left
arm
was
round
her
;
I
had
her
face
out
of
the
water
.
She
was
insensible
.
I
could
hold
her
in
the
right
way
to
leave
me
master
of
all
my
movements
;
I
could
devote
myself
,
without
flurry
or
fatigue
,
to
the
exertion
of
taking
her
back
to
the
shore
.
My
first
attempt
satisfied
me
that
there
was
no
reasonable
hope
,
burdened
as
I
now
was
,
of
breasting
the
strong
current
running
toward
the
mid-river
from
either
bank
.
I
tried
it
on
one
side
,
and
I
tried
it
on
the
other
,
and
gave
it
up
.
The
one
choice
left
was
to
let
myself
drift
with
her
down
the
stream
.
Some
fifty
yards
lower
,
the
river
took
a
turn
round
a
promontory
of
land
,
on
which
stood
a
little
inn
much
frequented
by
anglers
in
the
season
.
As
we
approached
the
place
,
I
made
another
attempt
(
again
an
attempt
in
vain
)
to
reach
the
shore
.
Our
last
chance
now
was
to
be
heard
by
the
people
of
the
inn
.
I
shouted
at
the
full
pitch
of
my
voice
as
we
drifted
past
.
The
cry
was
answered
.
A
man
put
off
in
a
boat
.
In
five
minutes
more
I
had
her
safe
on
the
bank
again
;
and
the
man
and
I
were
carrying
her
to
the
inn
by
the
river-side
.
The
landlady
and
her
servant-girl
were
equally
willing
to
be
of
service
,
and
equally
ignorant
of
what
they
were
to
do
.
Fortunately
,
my
medical
education
made
me
competent
to
direct
them
.
A
good
fire
,
warm
blankets
,
hot
water
in
bottles
,
were
all
at
my
disposal
.
I
showed
the
women
myself
how
to
ply
the
work
of
revival
.
They
persevered
,
and
I
persevered
;
and
still
there
she
lay
,
in
her
perfect
beauty
of
form
,
without
a
sign
of
life
perceptible
;
there
she
lay
,
to
all
outward
appearance
,
dead
by
drowning
.
A
last
hope
was
left
—
the
hope
of
restoring
her
(
if
I
could
construct
the
apparatus
in
time
)
by
the
process
called
“
artificial
respiration
.
”
I
was
just
endeavoring
to
tell
the
landlady
what
I
wanted
and
was
just
conscious
o
f
a
strange
difficulty
in
expressing
myself
,
when
the
good
woman
started
back
,
and
looked
at
me
with
a
scream
of
terror
.
“
Good
God
,
sir
,
you’re
bleeding
!
”
she
cried
.
“
What’s
the
matter
?
Where
are
you
hurt
?
”
In
the
moment
when
she
spoke
to
me
I
knew
what
had
happened
.
The
old
Indian
wound
(
irritated
,
doubtless
,
by
the
violent
exertion
that
I
had
imposed
on
myself
)
had
opened
again
.
I
struggled
against
the
sudden
sense
of
faintness
that
seized
on
me
;
I
tried
to
tell
the
people
of
the
inn
what
to
do
.
It
was
useless
.
I
dropped
to
my
knees
;
my
head
sunk
on
the
bosom
of
the
woman
stretched
senseless
upon
the
low
couch
beneath
me
.
The
death-in-life
that
had
got
her
had
got
me
.
Lost
to
the
world
about
us
,
we
lay
,
with
my
blood
flowing
on
her
,
united
in
our
deathly
trance
.
Where
were
our
spirits
at
that
moment
?
Were
they
together
and
conscious
of
each
other
?
United
by
a
spiritual
bond
,
undiscovered
and
unsuspected
by
us
in
the
flesh
,
did
we
two
,
who
had
met
as
strangers
on
the
fatal
bridge
,
know
each
other
again
in
the
trance
?
You
who
have
loved
and
lost
—
you
whose
one
consolation
it
has
been
to
believe
in
other
worlds
than
this
—
can
you
turn
from
my
questions
in
contempt
?
Can
you
honestly
say
that
they
have
never
been
your
questions
too
?
CHAPTER
VIII
.
THE
KINDRED
SPIRITS
THE
morning
sunlight
shining
in
at
a
badly
curtained
window
;
a
clumsy
wooden
bed
,
with
big
twisted
posts
that
reached
to
the
ceiling
;
on
one
side
of
the
bed
,
my
mother’s
welcome
face
;
on
the
other
side
,
an
elderly
gentleman
unremembered
by
me
at
that
moment
—
such
were
the
objects
that
presented
themselves
to
my
view
,
when
I
first
consciously
returned
to
the
world
that
we
live
in
.
“
Look
,
doctor
,
look
!
He
has
come
to
his
senses
at
last
.
”
“
Open
your
mouth
,
sir
,
and
take
a
sup
of
this
.
”
My
mother
was
rejoicing
over
me
on
one
side
of
the
bed
;
and
the
unknown
gentleman
,
addressed
as
“
doctor
,
”
was
offering
me
a
spoonful
of
whisky-and-water
on
the
other
.
He
called
it
the
“
elixir
of
life
”
;
and
he
bid
me
remark
(
speaking
in
a
strong
Scotch
accent
)
that
he
tasted
it
himself
to
show
he
was
in
earnest
.
The
stimulant
did
its
good
work
.
My
head
felt
less
giddy
,
my
mind
became
clearer
.
I
could
speak
collectedly
to
my
mother
;
I
could
vaguely
recall
the
more
marked
events
of
the
previous
evening
.
A
minute
or
two
more
,
and
the
image
of
the
person
in
whom
those
events
had
all
centered
became
a
living
image
in
my
memory
.
I
tried
to
raise
myself
in
the
bed
;
I
asked
,
impatiently
,
“
Where
is
she
?
”
The
doctor
produced
another
spoonful
of
the
elixir
of
life
,
and
gravely
repeated
his
first
address
to
me
.
“
Open
your
mouth
,
sir
,
and
take
a
sup
of
this
.
”
I
persisted
in
repeating
my
question
:
“
Where
is
she
?
”
The
doctor
persisted
in
repeating
his
formula
:
“
Take
a
sup
of
this
.
”
I
was
too
weak
to
contest
the
matter
;
I
obeyed
.
My
medical
attendant
nodded
across
the
bed
to
my
mother
,
and
said
,
“
Now
,
he’ll
do
.
”
My
mother
had
some
compassion
on
me
.
She
relieved
my
anxiety
in
these
plain
words
:
“
The
lady
has
quite
recovered
,
George
,
thanks
to
the
doctor
here
.
”
I
looked
at
my
professional
colleague
with
a
new
interest
.
He
was
the
legitimate
fountainhead
of
the
information
that
I
was
dying
to
have
poured
into
my
mind
.
“
How
did
you
revive
her
?
”
I
asked
.
“
Where
is
she
now
?
”
The
doctor
held
up
his
hand
,
warning
me
to
stop
.
“
We
shall
do
well
,
sir
,
if
we
proceed
systematically
,
”
he
began
,
in
a
very
positive
manner
.
“
You
will
understand
,
that
every
time
you
open
your
mouth
,
it
will
be
to
take
a
sup
of
this
,
and
not
to
speak
.
I
shall
tell
you
,
in
due
course
,
and
the
good
lady
,
your
mother
,
will
tell
you
,
all
that
you
have
any
need
to
know
.
As
I
happen
to
have
been
first
on
what
you
may
call
the
scene
of
action
,
it
stands
in
the
fit
order
of
things
that
I
should
speak
first
.
You
will
just
permit
me
to
mix
a
little
more
of
the
elixir
of
life
,
and
then
,
as
the
poet
says
,
my
plain
unvarnished
tale
I
shall
deliver
.
”
So
he
spoke
,
pronouncing
in
his
strong
Scotch
accent
the
most
carefully
selected
English
I
had
ever
heard
.
A
hard-headed
,
square-shouldered
,
pertinaciously
self-willed
man
—
it
was
plainly
useless
to
contend
with
him
.
I
turned
to
my
mother’s
gentle
face
for
encouragement
;
and
I
let
my
doctor
have
his
own
way
.
“
My
name
,
”
he
proceeded
,
“
is
MacGlue
.
I
had
the
honor
of
presenting
my
respects
at
your
house
yonder
when
you
first
came
to
live
in
this
neighborhood
.
You
don’t
remember
me
at
present
,
which
is
natural
enough
in
the
unbalanced
condition
of
your
mind
,
consequent
,
you
will
understand
(
as
a
professional
person
yourself
)
on
copious
loss
of
blood
.
”
There
my
patience
gave
way
.
“
Never
mind
me
!
”
I
interposed
.
“
Tell
me
about
the
lady
!
”
“
You
have
opened
your
mouth
,
sir
!
”
cried
Mr.
MacGlue
,
severely
.
“
You
know
the
penalty
—
take
a
sup
of
this
.
I
told
you
we
should
proceed
systematically
,
”
he
went
on
,
after
he
had
forced
me
to
submit
to
the
penalty
.
“
Everything
in
its
place
,
Mr.
Germaine
—
everything
in
its
place
.
I
was
speaking
of
your
bodily
condition
.
Well
,
sir
,
and
how
did
I
discover
your
bodily
condition
?
Providentially
for
you
I
was
driving
home
yesterday
evening
by
the
lower
road
(
which
is
the
road
by
the
river
bank
)
,
and
,
drawing
near
to
the
inn
here
(
they
call
it
a
hotel
;
it’s
nothing
but
an
inn
)
,
I
heard
the
screeching
of
the
landlady
half
a
mile
off
.
A
good
woman
enough
,
you
will
understand
,
as
times
go
;
but
a
poor
creature
in
any
emergency
.
Keep
still
,
I’m
coming
to
it
now
.
Well
,
I
went
in
to
see
if
the
screeching
related
to
anything
wanted
in
the
medical
way
;
and
there
I
found
you
and
the
stranger
lady
in
a
position
which
I
may
truthfully
describe
as
standing
in
some
need
of
improvement
on
the
score
of
propriety
.
Tut
!
tut
!
I
speak
jocosely
—
you
were
both
in
a
dead
swoon
.
Having
heard
what
the
landlady
had
to
tell
me
,
and
having
,
to
the
best
of
my
ability
,
separated
history
from
hysterics
in
the
course
of
the
woman’s
narrative
,
I
found
myself
,
as
it
were
,
placed
between
two
laws
.
The
law
of
gallantry
,
you
see
,
pointed
to
the
lady
as
the
first
object
of
my
professional
services
,
while
the
law
of
humanity
(
seeing
that
you
were
still
bleeding
)
pointed
no
less
imperatively
to
you
.
I
am
no
longer
a
young
man
:
I
left
the
lady
to
wait
.
My
word
!
it
was
no
light
matter
,
Mr.
Germaine
,
to
deal
with
your
case
,
and
get
you
carried
up
here
out
of
the
way
.
That
old
wound
of
yours
,
sir
,
is
not
to
be
trifled
with
.
I
bid
you
beware
how
you
open
it
again
.
The
next
time
you
go
out
for
an
evening
walk
and
you
see
a
lady
in
the
water
,
you
will
do
well
for
your
own
health
to
leave
her
there
.
What’s
that
I
see
?
Are
you
opening
your
mouth
again
?
Do
you
want
another
sup
already
?
”
“
He
wants
to
hear
more
about
the
lady
,
”
said
my
mother
,
interpreting
my
wishes
for
me
.
“
Oh
,
the
lady
,
”
resumed
Mr.
MacGlue
,
with
the
air
of
a
man
who
found
no
great
attraction
in
the
subject
proposed
to
him
.
“
There’s
not
much
that
I
know
of
to
be
said
about
the
lady
.
A
fine
woman
,
no
doubt
.
If
you
could
strip
the
flesh
off
her
bones
,
you
would
find
a
splendid
skeleton
underneath
.
For
,
mind
this
!
there’s
no
such
thing
as
a
finely
made
woman
without
a
good
bony
scaffolding
to
build
her
on
at
starting
.
I
don’t
think
much
of
this
lady
—
morally
speaking
,
you
will
understand
.
If
I
may
be
permitted
to
say
so
in
your
presence
,
ma’am
,
there’s
a
man
in
the
background
of
that
dramatic
scene
of
hers
on
the
bridge
.
However
,
not
being
the
man
myself
,
I
have
nothing
to
do
with
that
.
My
business
with
the
lady
was
just
to
set
her
vital
machinery
going
again
.
And
,
Heaven
knows
,
she
proved
a
heavy
handful
!
It
was
even
a
more
obstinate
case
to
deal
with
,
sir
,
than
yours
.
I
never
,
in
all
my
experience
,
met
with
two
people
more
unwilling
to
come
back
to
this
world
and
its
troubles
than
you
two
were
.
And
when
I
had
done
the
business
at
last
,
when
I
was
wellnigh
swooning
myself
with
the
work
and
the
worry
of
it
,
guess
—
I
give
you
leave
to
speak
for
this
once
—
guess
what
were
the
first
words
the
lady
said
to
me
when
she
came
to
herself
again
.
”
I
was
too
much
excited
to
be
able
to
exercise
my
ingenuity
.
“
I
give
it
up
!
”
I
said
,
impatiently
.
“
You
may
well
give
it
up
,
”
remarked
Mr.
MacGlue
.
“
The
first
words
she
addressed
,
sir
,
to
the
man
who
had
dragged
her
out
of
the
very
jaws
of
death
were
these
:
‘How
dare
you
meddle
with
me
?
why
didn’t
you
leave
me
to
die
?
’
Her
exact
language
—
I’ll
take
my
Bible
oath
of
it
.
I
was
so
provoked
that
I
gave
her
the
change
back
(
as
the
saying
is
)
in
her
own
coin
.
‘There’s
the
river
handy
,
ma’am
,
’
I
said
;
‘do
it
again
.
I
,
for
one
,
won’t
stir
a
hand
to
save
you
;
I
promise
you
that.’
She
looked
up
sharply
.
‘Are
you
the
man
who
took
me
out
of
the
river
?
’
she
said
.
‘God
forbid
!
’
says
I
.
‘I’m
only
the
doctor
who
was
fool
enough
to
meddle
with
you
afterward.’
She
turned
to
the
landlady
.
‘Who
took
me
out
of
the
river
?
’
she
asked
.
The
landlady
told
her
,
and
mentioned
your
name
.
‘Germaine
?
’
she
said
to
herself
;
‘I
know
nobody
named
Germaine
;
I
wonder
whether
it
was
the
man
who
spoke
to
me
on
the
bridge
?
’
‘Yes
,
’
says
the
landlady
;
‘Mr
.
Germaine
said
he
met
you
on
the
bridge.’
Hearing
that
,
she
took
a
little
time
to
think
;
and
then
she
asked
if
she
could
see
Mr.
Germaine
.
‘Whoever
he
is
,
’
she
says
,
‘he
has
risked
his
life
to
save
me
,
and
I
ought
to
thank
him
for
doing
that.’
‘You
can’t
thank
him
tonight
,
’
I
said
;
‘I’ve
got
him
upstairs
between
life
and
death
,
and
I’ve
sent
for
his
mother
:
wait
till
to-morrow.’
She
turned
on
me
,
looking
half
frightened
,
half
angry
.
‘I
can’t
wait
,
’
she
says
;
‘you
don’t
know
what
you
have
done
among
you
in
bringing
me
back
to
life
.
I
must
leave
this
neighborhood
;
I
must
be
out
of
Perthshire
to-morrow
:
when
does
the
first
coach
southward
pass
this
way
?
’
Having
nothing
to
do
with
the
first
coach
southward
,
I
referred
her
to
the
people
of
the
inn
.
My
business
(
now
I
had
done
with
the
lady
)
was
upstairs
in
this
room
,
to
see
how
you
were
getting
on
.
You
were
getting
on
as
well
as
I
could
wish
,
and
your
mother
was
at
your
bedside
.
I
went
home
to
see
what
sick
people
might
be
waiting
for
me
in
the
regular
way
.
When
I
came
back
this
morning
,
there
was
the
foolish
landlady
with
a
new
tale
to
tell
‘Gone
!
’
says
she
.
‘Who’s
gone
?
’
says
I
.
‘The
lady
,
’
says
she
,
‘by
the
first
coach
this
morning
!
’
”
“
You
don’t
mean
to
tell
me
that
she
has
left
the
house
?
”
I
exclaimed
.
“
Oh
,
but
I
do
!
”
said
the
doctor
,
as
positively
as
ever
.
“
Ask
madam
your
mother
here
,
and
she’ll
certify
it
to
your
heart’s
content
.
I’ve
got
other
sick
ones
to
visit
,
and
I’m
away
on
my
rounds
.
You’ll
see
no
more
of
the
lady
;
and
so
much
the
better
,
I’m
thinking
.
In
two
hours’
time
I’ll
be
back
again
;
and
if
I
don’t
find
you
the
worse
in
the
interim
,
I’ll
see
about
having
you
transported
from
this
strange
place
to
the
snug
bed
that
knows
you
at
home
.
Don’t
let
him
talk
,
ma’am
,
don’t
let
him
talk
.
”
With
those
parting
words
,
Mr.
MacGlue
left
us
to
ourselves
.
“
Is
it
really
true
?
”
I
said
to
my
mother
.
“
Has
she
left
the
inn
,
without
waiting
to
see
me
?
”
“
Nobody
could
stop
her
,
George
,
”
my
mother
answered
.
“
The
lady
left
the
inn
this
morning
by
the
coach
for
Edinburgh
.
”
I
was
bitterly
disappointed
.
Yes
:
“
bitterly
”
is
the
word
—
though
she
was
a
stranger
to
me
.
“
Did
you
see
her
yourself
?
”
I
asked
.
“
I
saw
her
for
a
few
minutes
,
my
dear
,
on
my
way
up
to
your
room
.
”
“
What
did
she
say
?
”
“
She
begged
me
to
make
her
excuses
to
you
.
She
said
,
‘Tell
Mr.
Germaine
that
my
situation
is
dreadful
;
no
human
creature
can
help
me
.
I
must
go
away
.
My
old
life
is
as
much
at
an
end
as
if
your
son
had
left
me
to
drown
in
the
river
.
I
must
find
a
new
life
for
myself
,
in
a
new
place
.
Ask
Mr.
Germaine
to
forgive
me
for
going
away
without
thanking
him
.
I
daren’t
wait
!
I
may
be
followed
and
found
out
.
There
is
a
person
whom
I
am
determined
never
to
see
again
—
never
!
never
!
never
!
Good-by
;
and
try
to
forgive
me
!
’
She
hid
her
face
in
her
hands
,
and
said
no
more
.
I
tried
to
win
her
confidence
;
it
was
not
to
be
done
;
I
was
compelled
to
leave
her
.
There
is
some
dreadful
calamity
,
George
,
in
that
wretched
woman’s
life
.
And
such
an
interesting
creature
,
too
!
It
was
impossible
not
to
pity
her
,
whether
she
deserved
it
or
not
.
Everything
about
her
is
a
mystery
,
my
dear
.
She
speaks
English
without
the
slightest
foreign
accent
,
and
yet
she
has
a
foreign
name
.
”
“
Did
she
give
you
her
name
?
”
“
No
,
and
I
was
afraid
to
ask
her
to
give
it
.
But
the
landlady
here
is
not
a
very
scrupulous
person
.
She
told
me
she
looked
at
the
poor
creature’s
linen
while
it
was
drying
by
the
fire
.
The
name
marked
on
it
was
,
‘Van
Brandt.’
”
“
Van
Brandt
?
”
I
repeated
.
“
That
sounds
like
a
Dutch
name
.
And
yet
you
say
she
spoke
like
an
Englishwoman
.
Perhaps
she
was
born
in
England
.
”
“
Or
perhaps
she
may
be
married
,
”
suggested
my
mother
;
“
and
Van
Brandt
may
be
the
name
of
her
husband
.
”
The
idea
of
her
being
a
married
woman
had
something
in
it
repellent
to
me
.
I
wished
my
mother
had
not
thought
of
that
last
suggestion
.
I
refused
to
receive
it
.
I
persisted
in
my
own
belief
that
the
stranger
was
a
single
woman
.
In
that
character
,
I
could
indulge
myself
in
the
luxury
of
thinking
of
her
;
I
could
consider
the
chances
of
my
being
able
to
trace
this
charming
fugitive
,
who
had
taken
so
strong
a
hold
on
my
interest
—
whose
desperate
attempt
at
suicide
had
so
nearly
cost
me
my
own
life
.
If
she
had
gone
as
far
as
Edinburgh
(
which
she
would
surely
do
,
being
bent
on
avoiding
discovery
)
,
the
prospect
of
finding
her
again
—
in
that
great
city
,
and
in
my
present
weak
state
of
health
—
looked
doubtful
indeed
.
Still
,
there
was
an
underlying
hopefulness
in
me
which
kept
my
spirits
from
being
seriously
depressed
.
I
felt
a
purely
imaginary
(
perhaps
I
ought
to
say
,
a
purely
superstitious
)
conviction
that
we
who
had
nearly
died
together
,
we
who
had
been
brought
to
life
together
,
were
surely
destined
to
be
involved
in
some
future
joys
or
sorrows
common
to
us
both
.
“
I
fancy
I
shall
see
her
again
,
”
was
my
last
thought
before
my
weakness
overpowered
me
,
and
I
sunk
into
a
peaceful
sleep
.
That
night
I
was
removed
from
the
inn
to
my
own
room
at
home
;
and
that
night
I
saw
her
again
in
a
dream
.
The
image
of
her
was
as
vividly
impressed
on
me
as
the
far
different
image
of
the
child
Mary
,
when
I
used
to
see
it
in
the
days
of
old
.
The
dream-figure
of
the
woman
was
robed
as
I
had
seen
it
robed
on
the
bridge
.
She
wore
the
same
broad-brimmed
garden-hat
of
straw
.
She
looked
at
me
as
she
had
looked
when
I
approached
her
in
the
dim
evening
light
.
After
a
little
her
face
brightened
with
a
divinely
beautiful
smile
;
and
she
whispered
in
my
ear
,
“
Friend
,
do
you
know
me
?
”
I
knew
her
,
most
assuredly
;
and
yet
it
was
with
an
incomprehensible
after-feeling
of
doubt
.
Recognizing
her
in
my
dream
as
the
stranger
who
had
so
warmly
interested
me
,
I
was
,
nevertheless
,
dissatisfied
with
myself
,
as
if
it
had
not
been
the
right
recognition
.
I
awoke
with
this
idea
;
and
I
slept
no
more
that
night
.
In
three
days’
time
I
was
strong
enough
to
go
out
driving
with
my
mother
,
in
the
comfortable
,
old-fashioned
,
open
carriage
which
had
once
belonged
to
Mr.
Germaine
.
On
the
fourth
day
we
arranged
to
make
an
excursion
to
a
little
waterfall
in
our
neighborhood
.
My
mother
had
a
great
admiration
of
the
place
,
and
had
often
expressed
a
wish
to
possess
some
memorial
of
it
.
I
resolved
to
take
my
sketch-book
:
with
me
,
on
the
chance
that
I
might
be
able
to
please
her
by
making
a
drawing
of
her
favorite
scene
.
Searching
for
the
sketch-book
(
which
I
had
not
used
for
years
)
,
I
found
it
in
an
old
desk
of
mine
that
had
remained
unopened
since
my
departure
for
India
.
In
the
course
of
my
investigation
,
I
opened
a
drawer
in
the
desk
,
and
discovered
a
relic
of
the
old
times
—
my
poor
little
Mary’s
first
work
in
embroidery
,
the
green
flag
!
The
sight
of
the
forgotten
keepsake
took
my
mind
back
to
the
bailiff’s
cottage
,
and
reminded
me
of
Dame
Dermody
,
and
her
confident
prediction
about
Mary
and
me
.
I
smiled
as
I
recalled
the
old
woman’s
assertion
that
no
human
power
could
“
hinder
the
union
of
the
kindred
spirits
of
the
children
in
the
time
to
come
.
”
What
had
become
of
the
prophesied
dreams
in
which
we
were
to
communicate
with
each
other
through
the
term
of
our
separation
?
Years
had
passed
;
and
,
sleeping
or
waking
,
I
had
seen
nothing
of
Mary
.
Years
had
passed
;
and
the
first
vision
of
a
woman
that
had
come
to
me
had
been
my
dream
a
few
nights
since
of
the
stranger
whom
I
had
saved
from
drowning
.
I
thought
of
these
chances
and
changes
in
my
life
,
but
not
contemptuously
or
bitterly
.
The
new
love
that
was
now
stealing
its
way
into
my
heart
had
softened
and
humanized
me
.
I
said
to
myself
,
“
Ah
,
poor
little
Mary
!
”
and
I
kissed
the
green
flag
,
in
grateful
memory
of
the
days
that
were
gone
forever
.
We
drove
to
the
waterfall
.
It
was
a
beautiful
day
;
the
lonely
sylvan
scene
was
at
its
brightest
and
best
.
A
wooden
summer-house
,
commanding
a
prospect
of
the
falling
stream
,
had
been
built
for
the
accommodation
of
pleasure
parties
by
the
proprietor
of
the
place
.
My
mother
suggested
that
I
should
try
to
make
a
sketch
of
the
view
from
this
point
.
I
did
my
best
to
please
her
,
but
I
was
not
satisfied
with
the
result
;
and
I
abandoned
my
drawing
before
it
was
half
finished
.
Leaving
my
sketch-book
and
pencil
on
the
table
of
the
summer-house
,
I
proposed
to
my
mother
to
cross
a
little
wooden
bridge
which
spanned
the
stream
,
below
the
fall
,
and
to
see
how
the
landscape
looked
from
a
new
point
of
view
.
The
prospect
of
the
waterfall
,
as
seen
from
the
opposite
bank
,
presented
even
greater
difficulties
,
to
an
amateur
artist
like
me
,
than
the
prospect
which
he
had
just
left
.
We
returned
to
the
summer-house
.
I
was
the
first
to
approach
the
open
door
.
I
stopped
,
checked
in
my
advance
by
an
unexpected
discovery
.
The
summer-house
was
no
longer
empty
as
we
had
left
it
.
A
lady
was
seated
at
the
table
with
my
pencil
in
her
hand
,
writing
in
my
sketch-book
!
After
waiting
a
moment
,
I
advanced
a
few
steps
nearer
to
the
door
,
and
stopped
again
in
breathless
amazement
.
The
stranger
in
the
summer-house
was
now
plainly
revealed
to
me
as
the
woman
who
had
attempted
to
destroy
herself
from
the
bridge
!
There
was
no
doubt
about
it
.
There
was
the
dress
;
there
was
the
memorable
face
which
I
had
seen
in
the
evening
light
,
which
I
had
dreamed
of
only
a
few
nights
since
!
The
woman
herself
—
I
saw
her
as
plainly
as
I
saw
the
sun
shining
on
the
waterfall
—
the
woman
herself
,
with
my
pencil
in
her
hand
,
writing
in
my
book
!
My
mother
was
close
behind
me
.
She
noticed
my
agitation
.
“
George
!
”
she
exclaimed
,
“
what
is
the
matter
with
you
?
”
I
pointed
through
the
open
door
of
the
summer-house
.
“
Well
?
”
said
my
mother
.
“
What
am
I
to
look
at
?
”
“
Don’t
you
see
somebody
sitting
at
the
table
and
writing
in
my
sketch-book
?
”
My
mother
eyed
me
quickly
.
“
Is
he
going
to
be
ill
again
?
”
I
heard
her
say
to
herself
.
At
the
same
moment
the
woman
laid
down
the
pencil
and
rose
slowly
to
her
feet
.
She
looked
at
me
with
sorrowful
and
pleading
eyes
:
she
lifted
her
hand
and
beckoned
me
to
approach
her
.
I
obeyed
.
Moving
without
conscious
will
of
my
own
,
drawn
nearer
and
nearer
to
her
by
an
irresistible
power
,
I
ascended
the
short
flight
of
stairs
which
led
into
the
summer-house
.
Within
a
few
paces
of
her
I
stopped
.
She
advanced
a
step
toward
me
,
and
laid
her
hand
gently
on
my
bosom
.
Her
touch
filled
me
with
strangely
united
sensations
of
rapture
and
awe
.
After
a
while
,
she
spoke
in
low
melodious
tones
,
which
mingled
in
my
ear
with
the
distant
murmur
of
the
falling
water
,
until
the
two
sounds
became
one
.
I
heard
in
the
murmur
,
I
heard
in
the
voice
,
these
words
:
“
Remember
me
.
Come
to
me
.
”
Her
hand
dropped
from
my
bosom
;
a
momentary
obscurity
passed
like
a
flying
shadow
over
the
bright
daylight
in
the
room
.
I
looked
for
her
when
the
light
came
back
.
She
was
gone
.
My
consciousness
of
passing
events
returned
.
I
saw
the
lengthening
shadows
outside
,
which
told
me
that
the
evening
was
at
hand
.
I
saw
the
carriage
approaching
the
summerhouse
to
take
us
away
.
I
felt
my
mother’s
hand
on
my
arm
,
and
heard
her
voice
speaking
to
me
anxiously
.
I
was
able
to
reply
by
a
sign
entreating
her
not
to
be
uneasy
about
me
,
but
I
could
do
no
more
.
I
was
absorbed
,
body
and
soul
,
in
the
one
desire
to
look
at
the
sketch-book
.
As
certainly
as
I
had
seen
the
woman
,
so
certainly
I
had
seen
her
,
with
my
pencil
in
her
hand
,
writing
in
my
book
.
I
advanced
to
the
table
on
which
the
book
was
lying
open
.
I
looked
at
the
blank
space
on
the
lower
part
of
the
page
,
under
the
foreground
lines
of
my
unfinished
drawing
.
My
mother
,
following
me
,
looked
at
the
page
too
.
There
was
the
writing
!
The
woman
had
disappeared
,
but
there
were
her
written
words
left
behind
her
:
visible
to
my
mother
as
well
as
to
me
,
readable
by
my
mother’s
eyes
as
well
as
by
mine
!
These
were
the
words
we
saw
,
arranged
in
two
lines
,
as
I
copy
them
here
:
When
the
full
moon
shines
On
Saint
Anthony’s
Well
.
CHAPTER
IX
.
NATURAL
AND
SUPERNATURAL
.
I
POINTED
to
the
writing
in
the
sketch
book
,
and
looked
at
my
mother
.
I
was
not
mistaken
.
She
had
seen
it
,
as
I
had
seen
it
.
But
she
refused
to
acknowledge
that
anything
had
happened
to
alarm
her
—
plainly
as
I
could
detect
it
in
her
face
.
“
Somebody
has
been
playing
a
trick
on
you
,
George
,
”
she
said
.
I
made
no
reply
.
It
was
needless
to
say
anything
.
My
poor
mother
was
evidently
as
far
from
being
satisfied
with
her
own
shallow
explanation
as
I
was
.
The
carriage
waited
for
us
at
the
door
.
We
set
forth
in
silence
on
our
drive
home
.
The
sketch-book
lay
open
on
my
knee
.
My
eyes
were
fastened
on
it
;
my
mind
was
absorbed
in
recalling
the
moment
when
the
apparition
beckoned
me
into
the
summer-house
and
spoke
.
Putting
the
words
and
the
writing
together
,
the
conclusion
was
too
plain
to
be
mistaken
.
The
woman
whom
I
had
saved
from
drowning
had
need
of
me
again
.
And
this
was
the
same
woman
who
,
in
her
own
proper
person
,
had
not
hesitated
to
seize
the
first
opportunity
of
leaving
the
house
in
which
we
had
been
sheltered
together
—
without
stopping
to
say
one
grateful
word
to
the
man
who
had
preserved
her
from
death
!
Four
days
only
had
elapsed
since
she
had
left
me
,
never
(
to
all
appearance
)
to
see
me
again
.
And
now
the
ghostly
apparition
of
her
had
returned
as
to
a
tried
and
trusted
friend
;
had
commanded
me
to
remember
her
and
to
go
to
her
;
and
had
provided
against
all
possibility
of
my
memory
playing
me
false
,
by
writing
the
words
which
invited
me
to
meet
her
“
when
the
full
moon
shone
on
Saint
Anthony’s
Well
.
”
What
had
happened
in
the
interval
?
What
did
the
supernatural
manner
of
her
communication
with
me
mean
?
What
ought
my
next
course
of
action
to
be
?
My
mother
roused
me
from
my
reflections
.
She
stretched
out
her
hand
,
and
suddenly
closed
the
open
book
on
my
knee
,
as
if
the
sight
of
the
writing
in
it
were
unendurable
to
her
.
“
Why
don’t
you
speak
to
me
,
George
?
”
she
said
.
“
Why
do
you
keep
your
thoughts
to
yourself
?
”
“
My
mind
is
lost
in
confusion
,
”
I
answered
.
“
I
can
suggest
nothing
and
explain
nothing
.
My
thoughts
are
all
bent
on
the
one
question
of
what
I
am
to
do
next
.
On
that
point
I
believe
I
may
say
that
my
mind
is
made
up
.
”
I
touched
the
sketch-book
as
I
spoke
.
“
Come
what
may
of
it
,
”
I
said
,
“
I
mean
to
keep
the
appointment
.
”
My
mother
looked
at
me
as
if
she
doubted
the
evidence
of
her
own
senses
.
“
He
talks
as
if
it
were
a
real
thing
!
”
she
exclaimed
.
“
George
,
you
don’t
really
believe
that
you
saw
somebody
in
the
summer-house
?
The
place
was
empty
.
I
tell
you
positively
,
when
you
pointed
into
the
summer-house
,
the
place
was
empty
.
You
have
been
thinking
and
thinking
of
this
woman
till
you
persuade
yourself
that
you
have
actually
seen
her
.
”
I
opened
the
sketch-book
again
.
“
I
thought
I
saw
her
writing
on
this
page
,
”
I
answered
.
“
Look
at
it
,
and
tell
me
if
I
was
wrong
.
”
My
mother
refused
to
look
at
it
.
Steadily
as
she
persisted
in
taking
the
rational
view
,
nevertheless
the
writing
frightened
her
.
“
It
is
not
a
week
yet
,
”
she
went
on
,
“
since
I
saw
you
lying
between
life
and
death
in
your
bed
at
the
inn
.
How
can
you
talk
of
keeping
the
appointment
,
in
your
state
of
health
?
An
appointment
with
a
shadowy
Something
in
your
own
imagination
,
which
appears
and
disappears
,
and
leaves
substantial
writing
behind
it
!
It’s
ridiculous
,
George
;
I
wonder
you
can
help
laughing
at
yourself
.
”
She
tried
to
set
the
example
of
laughing
at
me
—
with
the
tears
in
her
eyes
,
poor
soul
!
as
she
made
the
useless
effort
.
I
began
to
regret
having
opened
my
mind
so
freely
to
her
.
“
Don’t
take
the
matter
too
seriously
,
mother
,
”
I
said
.
“
Perhaps
I
may
not
be
able
to
find
the
place
.
I
never
heard
of
Saint
Anthony’s
Well
;
I
have
not
the
least
idea
where
it
is
.
Suppose
I
make
the
discovery
,
and
suppose
the
journey
turns
out
to
be
an
easy
one
,
would
you
like
to
go
with
me
?
”
“
God
forbid
”
cried
my
mother
,
fervently
.
“
I
will
have
nothing
to
do
with
it
,
George
.
You
are
in
a
state
of
delusion
;
I
shall
speak
to
the
doctor
.
”
“
By
all
means
,
my
dear
mother
.
Mr.
MacGlue
is
a
sensible
person
.
We
pass
his
house
on
our
way
home
,
and
we
will
ask
him
to
dinner
.
In
the
meantime
,
let
us
say
no
more
on
the
subject
till
we
see
the
doctor
.
”
I
spoke
lightly
,
but
I
really
meant
what
I
said
.
My
mind
was
sadly
disturbed
;
my
nerves
were
so
shaken
that
the
slightest
noises
on
the
road
startled
me
.
The
opinion
of
a
man
like
Mr.
MacGlue
,
who
looked
at
all
mortal
matters
from
the
same
immovably
practical
point
of
view
,
might
really
have
its
use
,
in
my
case
,
as
a
species
of
moral
remedy
.
We
waited
until
the
dessert
was
on
the
table
,
and
the
servants
had
left
the
dining-room
.
Then
I
told
my
story
to
the
Scotch
doctor
as
I
have
told
it
here
;
and
,
that
done
,
I
opened
the
sketch-book
to
let
him
see
the
writing
for
himself
.
Had
I
turned
to
the
wrong
page
?
I
started
to
my
feet
,
and
held
the
book
close
to
the
light
of
the
lamp
that
hung
over
the
dining
table
.
No
:
I
had
found
the
right
page
.
There
was
my
half-finished
drawing
of
the
waterfall
—
but
where
were
the
two
lines
of
writing
beneath
?
Gone
!
I
strained
my
eyes
;
I
looked
and
looked
.
And
the
blank
white
paper
looked
back
at
me
.
I
placed
the
open
leaf
before
my
mother
.
“
You
saw
it
as
plainly
as
I
did
,
”
I
said
.
“
Are
my
own
eyes
deceiving
me
?
Look
at
the
bottom
of
the
page
.
”
My
mother
sunk
back
in
her
chair
with
a
cry
of
terror
.
“
Gone
?
”
I
asked
.
“
Gone
!
”
I
turned
to
the
doctor
.
He
took
me
completely
by
surprise
.
No
incredulous
smile
appeared
on
his
face
;
no
jesting
words
passed
his
lips
.
He
was
listening
to
us
attentively
.
He
was
waiting
gravely
to
hear
more
.
“
I
declare
to
you
,
on
my
word
of
honor
,
”
I
said
to
him
,
“
that
I
saw
the
apparition
writing
with
my
pencil
at
the
bottom
of
that
page
.
I
declare
that
I
took
the
book
in
my
hand
,
and
saw
these
words
written
in
it
,
‘When
the
full
moon
shines
on
Saint
Anthony’s
Well.’
Not
more
than
three
hours
have
passed
since
that
time
;
and
,
see
for
yourself
,
not
a
vestige
of
the
writing
remains
.
”
“
Not
a
vestige
of
the
writing
remains
,
”
Mr.
MacGlue
repeated
,
quietly
.
“
If
you
feel
the
slightest
doubt
of
what
I
have
told
you
,
”
I
went
on
,
“
ask
my
mother
;
she
will
bear
witness
that
she
saw
the
writing
too
.
”
“
I
don’t
doubt
that
you
both
saw
the
writing
,
”
answered
Mr.
MacGlue
,
with
a
composure
that
surprised
me
.
“
Can
you
account
for
it
?
”
I
asked
.
“
Well
,
”
said
the
impenetrable
doctor
,
“
if
I
set
my
wits
at
work
,
I
believe
I
might
account
for
it
to
the
satisfaction
of
some
people
.
For
example
,
I
might
give
you
what
they
call
the
rational
explanation
,
to
begin
with
.
I
might
say
that
you
are
,
to
my
certain
knowledge
,
in
a
highly
excited
nervous
condition
;
and
that
,
when
you
saw
the
apparition
(
as
you
call
it
)
,
you
simply
saw
nothing
but
your
own
strong
impression
of
an
absent
woman
,
who
(
as
I
greatly
fear
)
has
got
on
the
weak
or
amatory
side
of
you
.
I
mean
no
offense
,
Mr.
Germaine
—
”
“
I
take
no
offense
,
doctor
.
But
excuse
me
for
speaking
plainly
—
the
rational
explanation
is
thrown
away
on
me
.
”
“
I’ll
readily
excuse
you
,
”
answered
Mr.
MacGlue
;
“
the
rather
that
I’m
entirely
of
your
opinion
.
I
don’t
believe
in
the
rational
explanation
myself
.
”
This
was
surprising
,
to
say
the
least
of
it
.
“
What
do
you
believe
in
?
”
I
inquired
.
Mr.
MacGlue
declined
to
let
me
hurry
him
.
“
Wait
a
little
,
”
he
said
.
“
There’s
the
ir
rational
explanation
to
try
next
.
Maybe
it
will
fit
itself
to
the
present
state
of
your
mind
better
than
the
other
.
We
will
say
this
time
that
you
have
really
seen
the
ghost
(
or
double
)
of
a
living
person
.
Very
good
.
If
you
can
suppose
a
disembodied
spirit
to
appear
in
earthly
clothing
—
of
silk
or
merino
,
as
the
case
may
be
—
it’s
no
great
stretch
to
suppose
,
next
,
that
this
same
spirit
is
capable
of
holding
a
mortal
pencil
,
and
of
writing
mortal
words
in
a
mortal
sketching-book
.
And
if
the
ghost
vanishes
(
which
your
ghost
did
)
,
it
seems
supernaturally
appropriate
that
the
writing
should
follow
the
example
and
vanish
too
.
And
the
reason
of
the
vanishment
may
be
(
if
you
want
a
reason
)
,
either
that
the
ghost
does
not
like
letting
a
stranger
like
me
into
its
secrets
,
or
that
vanishing
is
a
settled
habit
of
ghosts
and
of
everything
associated
with
them
,
or
that
this
ghost
has
changed
its
mind
in
the
course
of
three
hours
(
being
the
ghost
of
a
woman
,
I
am
sure
that’s
not
wonderful
)
,
and
doesn’t
care
to
see
you
‘when
the
full
moon
shines
on
Saint
Anthony’s
Well.’
There’s
the
ir
rational
explanation
for
you
.
And
,
speaking
for
myself
,
I’m
bound
to
add
that
I
don’t
set
a
pin’s
value
on
that
explanation
either
.
”
Mr.
MacGlue’s
sublime
indifference
to
both
sides
of
the
question
began
to
irritate
me
.
“
In
plain
words
,
doctor
,
”
I
said
,
“
you
don’t
think
the
circumstances
that
I
have
mentioned
to
you
worthy
of
serious
investigation
?
”
“
I
don’t
think
serious
investigation
capable
of
dealing
with
the
circumstances
,
”
answered
the
doctor
.
“
Put
it
in
that
way
,
and
you
put
it
right
.
Just
look
round
you
.
Here
we
three
persons
are
alive
and
hearty
at
this
snug
table
.
If
(
which
God
forbid
!
)
good
Mistress
Germaine
or
yourself
were
to
fall
down
dead
in
another
moment
,
I
,
doctor
as
I
am
,
could
no
more
explain
what
first
principle
of
life
and
movement
had
been
suddenly
extinguished
in
you
than
the
dog
there
sleeping
on
the
hearth-rug
.
If
I
am
content
to
sit
down
ignorant
in
the
face
of
such
an
impenetrable
mystery
as
this
—
presented
to
me
,
day
after
day
,
every
time
I
see
a
living
creature
come
into
the
world
or
go
out
of
it
—
why
may
I
not
sit
down
content
in
the
face
of
your
lady
in
the
summer-house
,
and
say
she’s
altogether
beyond
my
fathoming
,
and
there
is
an
end
of
her
?
”
At
those
words
my
mother
joined
in
the
conversation
for
the
first
time
.
“
Ah
,
sir
,
”
she
said
,
“
if
you
could
only
persuade
my
son
to
take
your
sensible
view
,
how
happy
I
should
be
!
Would
you
believe
it
?
—
he
positively
means
(
if
he
can
find
the
place
)
to
go
to
Saint
Anthony’s
Well
!
”
Even
this
revelation
entirely
failed
to
surprise
Mr.
MacGlue
.
“
Ay
,
ay
.
He
means
to
keep
his
appointment
with
the
ghost
,
does
he
?
Well
,
I
can
be
of
some
service
to
him
if
he
sticks
to
his
resolution
.
I
can
tell
him
of
another
man
who
kept
a
written
appointment
with
a
ghost
,
and
what
came
of
it
.
”
This
was
a
startling
announcement
.
Did
he
really
mean
what
he
said
?
“
Are
you
in
jest
or
in
earnest
?
”
I
asked
.
“
I
never
joke
,
sir
,
”
said
Mr.
MacGlue
.
“
No
sick
person
really
believes
in
a
doctor
who
jokes
.
I
defy
you
to
show
me
a
man
at
the
head
of
our
profession
who
has
ever
been
discovered
in
high
spirits
(
in
medical
hours
)
by
his
nearest
and
dearest
friend
.
You
may
have
wondered
,
I
dare
say
,
at
seeing
me
take
your
strange
narrative
as
coolly
as
I
do
.
It
comes
naturally
,
sir
.
Yours
is
not
the
first
story
of
a
ghost
and
a
pencil
that
I
have
heard
.
”
“
Do
you
mean
to
tell
me
,
”
I
said
,
“
that
you
know
of
another
man
who
has
seen
what
I
have
seen
?
”
“
That’s
just
what
I
mean
to
tell
you
,
”
rejoined
the
doctor
.
“
The
man
was
a
far-away
Scots
cousin
of
my
late
wife
,
who
bore
the
honorable
name
of
Bruce
,
and
followed
a
seafaring
life
.
I’ll
take
another
glass
of
the
sherry
wine
,
just
to
wet
my
whistle
,
as
the
vulgar
saying
is
,
before
I
begin
.
Well
,
you
must
know
,
Bruce
was
mate
of
a
bark
at
the
time
I’m
speaking
of
,
and
he
was
on
a
voyage
from
Liverpool
to
New
Brunswick
.
At
noon
one
day
,
he
and
the
captain
,
having
taken
their
observation
of
the
sun
,
were
hard
at
it
below
,
working
out
the
latitude
and
longitude
on
their
slates
.
Bruce
,
in
his
cabin
,
looked
across
through
the
open
door
of
the
captain’s
cabin
opposite
.
‘What
do
you
make
it
,
sir
?
’
says
Brace
.
The
man
in
the
captain’s
cabin
looked
up
.
And
what
did
Bruce
see
?
The
face
of
the
captain
?
Devil
a
bit
of
it
—
the
face
of
a
total
stranger
!
Up
jumps
Bruce
,
with
his
heart
going
full
gallop
all
in
a
moment
,
and
searches
for
the
captain
on
deck
,
and
finds
him
much
as
usual
,
with
his
calculations
done
,
and
his
latitude
and
longitude
off
his
mind
for
the
day
.
‘There’s
somebody
at
your
des
k
,
sir
,
’
says
Bruce
.
‘He’s
writing
on
your
slate
;
and
he’s
a
total
stranger
to
me.’
‘A
stranger
in
my
cabin
?
’
says
the
captain
.
‘Why
,
Mr.
Bruce
,
the
ship
has
been
six
weeks
out
of
port
.
How
did
he
get
on
board
?
’
Bruce
doesn’t
know
how
,
but
he
sticks
to
his
story
.
Away
goes
the
captain
,
and
bursts
like
a
whirlwind
into
his
cabin
,
and
finds
nobody
there
.
Bruce
himself
is
obliged
to
acknowledge
that
the
place
is
certainly
empty
.
‘If
I
didn’t
know
you
were
a
sober
man
,
’
says
the
captain
,
‘I
should
charge
you
with
drinking
.
As
it
is
,
I’ll
hold
you
accountable
for
nothing
worse
than
dreaming
.
Don’t
do
it
again
,
Mr.
Bruce.’
Bruce
sticks
to
his
story
;
Bruce
swears
he
saw
the
man
writing
on
the
captain’s
slate
.
The
captain
takes
up
the
slate
and
looks
at
it
.
‘Lord
save
us
and
bless
us
!
’
says
he
;
‘here
the
writing
is
,
sure
enough
!
’
Bruce
looks
at
it
too
,
and
sees
the
writing
as
plainly
as
can
be
,
in
these
words
:
‘Steer
to
the
nor’-west.’
That
,
and
no
more
.
—
Ah
,
goodness
me
,
narrating
is
dry
work
,
Mr.
Germaine
.
With
your
leave
,
I’ll
take
another
drop
of
the
sherry
wine
.
“
Well
(
it’s
fine
old
wine
,
that
;
look
at
the
oily
drops
running
down
the
glass
)
—
well
,
steering
to
the
north-west
,
you
will
understand
,
was
out
of
the
captain’s
course
.
Nevertheless
,
finding
no
solution
of
the
mystery
on
board
the
ship
,
and
the
weather
at
the
time
being
fine
,
the
captain
determined
,
while
the
daylight
lasted
,
to
alter
his
course
,
and
see
what
came
of
it
.
Toward
three
o’clock
in
the
afternoon
an
iceberg
came
of
it
;
with
a
wrecked
ship
stove
in
,
and
frozen
fast
to
the
ice
;
and
the
passengers
and
crew
nigh
to
death
with
cold
and
exhaustion
.
Wonderful
enough
,
you
will
say
;
but
more
remains
behind
.
As
the
mate
was
helping
one
of
the
rescued
passengers
up
the
side
of
the
bark
,
who
should
he
turn
out
to
be
but
the
very
man
whose
ghostly
appearance
Bruce
had
seen
in
the
captain’s
cabin
writing
on
the
captain’s
slate
!
And
more
than
that
—
if
your
capacity
for
being
surprised
isn’t
clean
worn
out
by
this
time
—
the
passenger
recognized
the
bark
as
the
very
vessel
which
he
had
seen
in
a
dream
at
noon
that
day
.
He
had
even
spoken
of
it
to
one
of
the
officers
on
board
the
wrecked
ship
when
he
woke
.
‘We
shall
be
rescued
to-day
,
’
he
had
said
;
and
he
had
exactly
described
the
rig
of
the
bark
hours
and
hours
before
the
vessel
herself
hove
in
view
.
Now
you
know
,
Mr.
Germaine
,
how
my
wife’s
far-away
cousin
kept
an
appointment
with
a
ghost
,
and
what
came
of
it
.
”
Concluding
his
story
in
these
words
,
the
doctor
helped
himself
to
another
glass
of
the
“
sherry
wine
.
”
I
was
not
satisfied
yet
;
I
wanted
to
know
more
.
“
The
writing
on
the
slate
,
”
I
said
.
“
Did
it
remain
there
,
or
did
it
vanish
like
the
writing
in
my
book
?
”
Mr.
MacGlue’s
answer
disappointed
me
.
He
had
never
asked
,
and
had
never
heard
,
whether
the
writing
had
remained
or
not
.
He
had
told
me
all
that
he
knew
,
and
he
had
but
one
thing
more
to
say
,
and
that
was
in
the
nature
of
a
remark
with
a
moral
attached
to
it
.
“
There’s
a
marvelous
resemblance
,
Mr.
Germaine
,
between
your
story
and
Bruce’s
story
.
The
main
difference
,
as
I
see
it
,
is
this
.
The
passenger’s
appointment
proved
to
be
the
salvation
of
a
whole
ship’s
company
.
I
very
much
doubt
whether
the
lady’s
appointment
will
prove
to
be
the
salvation
of
You
.
”
I
silently
reconsidered
the
strange
narrative
which
had
just
been
related
to
me
.
Another
man
had
seen
what
I
had
seen
—
had
done
what
I
proposed
to
do
!
My
mother
noticed
with
grave
displeasure
the
strong
impression
which
Mr.
MacGlue
had
produced
on
my
mind
.
“
I
wish
you
had
kept
your
story
to
yourself
,
doctor
,
”
she
said
,
sharply
.
“
May
I
ask
why
,
madam
?
”
“
You
have
confirmed
my
son
,
sir
,
in
his
resolution
to
go
to
Saint
Anthony’s
Well
.
”
Mr.
MacGlue
quietly
consulted
his
pocket
almanac
before
he
replied
.
“
It’s
the
full
moon
on
the
ninth
of
the
month
,
”
he
said
.
“
That
gives
Mr.
Germaine
some
days
of
rest
,
ma’am
,
before
he
takes
the
journey
.
If
he
travels
in
his
own
comfortable
carriage
—
whatever
I
may
think
,
morally
speaking
,
of
his
enterprise
—
I
can’t
say
,
medically
speaking
,
that
I
believe
it
will
do
him
much
harm
.
”
“
You
know
where
Saint
Anthony’s
Well
is
?
”
I
interposed
.
“
I
must
be
mighty
ignorant
of
Edinburgh
not
to
know
that
,
”
replied
the
doctor
.
“
Is
the
Well
in
Edinburgh
,
then
?
”
“
It’s
just
outside
Edinburgh
—
looks
down
on
it
,
as
you
may
say
.
You
follow
the
old
street
called
the
Canongate
to
the
end
.
You
turn
to
your
right
past
the
famous
Palace
of
Holyrood
;
you
cross
the
Park
and
the
Drive
,
and
take
your
way
upward
to
the
ruins
of
Anthony’s
Chapel
,
on
the
shoulder
of
the
hill
—
and
there
you
are
!
There’s
a
high
rock
behind
the
chapel
,
and
at
the
foot
of
it
you
will
find
the
spring
they
call
Anthony’s
Well
.
It’s
thought
a
pretty
view
by
moonlight
;
and
they
tell
me
it’s
no
longer
beset
at
night
by
bad
characters
,
as
it
used
to
be
in
the
old
time
.
”
My
mother
,
in
graver
and
graver
displeasure
,
rose
to
retire
to
the
drawing-room
.
“
I
confess
you
have
disappointed
me
,
”
she
said
to
Mr.
MacGlue
.
“
I
should
have
thought
you
would
have
been
the
last
man
to
encourage
my
son
in
an
act
of
imprudence
.
”
“
Craving
your
pardon
,
madam
,
your
son
requires
no
encouragement
.
I
can
see
for
myself
that
his
mind
is
made
up
.
Where
is
the
use
of
a
person
like
me
trying
to
stop
him
?
Dear
madam
,
if
he
won’t
profit
by
your
advice
,
what
hope
can
I
have
that
he
will
take
mine
?
”
Mr.
MacGlue
pointed
this
artful
compliment
by
a
bow
of
the
deepest
respect
,
and
threw
open
the
door
for
my
mother
to
pass
out
.
When
we
were
left
together
over
our
wine
,
I
asked
the
doctor
how
soon
I
might
safely
start
on
my
journey
to
Edinburgh
.
“
Take
two
days
to
do
the
journey
,
and
you
may
start
,
if
you’re
bent
on
it
,
at
the
beginning
of
the
week
.
But
mind
this
,
”
added
the
prudent
doctor
,
“
though
I
own
I’m
anxious
to
hear
what
comes
of
your
expedition
—
understand
at
the
same
time
,
so
far
as
the
lady
is
concerned
,
that
I
wash
my
hands
of
the
consequences
.
”
—
CHAPTER
X
.
SAINT
ANTHONY’S
WELL
.
I
STOOD
on
the
rocky
eminence
in
front
of
the
ruins
of
Saint
Anthony’s
Chapel
,
and
looked
on
the
magnificent
view
of
Edinburgh
and
of
the
old
Palace
of
Holyrood
,
bathed
in
the
light
of
the
full
moon
.
The
Well
,
as
the
doctor’s
instructions
had
informed
me
,
was
behind
the
chapel
.
I
waited
for
some
minutes
in
front
of
the
ruin
,
partly
to
recover
my
breath
after
ascending
the
hill
;
partly
,
I
own
,
to
master
the
nervous
agitation
which
the
sense
of
my
position
at
that
moment
had
aroused
in
me
.
The
woman
,
or
the
apparition
of
the
woman
—
it
might
be
either
—
was
perhaps
within
a
few
yards
of
the
place
that
I
occupied
.
Not
a
living
creature
appeared
in
front
of
the
chapel
.
Not
a
sound
caught
my
ear
from
any
part
of
the
solitary
hill
.
I
tried
to
fix
my
whole
attention
on
the
beauties
of
the
moonlit
view
.
It
was
not
to
be
done
.
My
mind
was
far
away
from
the
objects
on
which
my
eyes
rested
.
My
mind
was
with
the
woman
whom
I
had
seen
in
the
summer-house
writing
in
my
book
.
I
turned
to
skirt
the
side
of
the
chapel
.
A
few
steps
more
over
the
broken
ground
brought
me
within
view
of
the
Well
,
and
of
the
high
boulder
or
rock
from
the
foot
of
which
the
waters
gushed
brightly
in
the
light
of
the
moon
.
She
was
there
.
I
recognized
her
figure
as
she
stood
leaning
against
the
rock
,
with
her
hands
crossed
in
front
of
her
,
lost
in
thought
.
I
recognized
her
face
as
she
looked
up
quickly
,
startled
by
the
sound
of
my
footsteps
in
the
deep
stillness
of
the
night
.
Was
it
the
woman
,
or
the
apparition
of
the
woman
?
I
waited
,
looking
at
her
in
silence
.
She
spoke
.
The
sound
of
her
voice
was
not
the
mysterious
sound
that
I
had
heard
in
the
summer-house
.
It
was
the
sound
I
had
heard
on
the
bridge
when
we
first
met
in
the
dim
evening
light
.
“
Who
are
you
?
What
do
you
want
?
”
As
those
words
passed
her
lips
,
she
recognized
me
.
“
You
here
!
”
she
went
on
,
advancing
a
step
,
in
uncontrollable
surprise
.
“
What
does
this
mean
?
”
“
I
am
here
,
”
I
answered
,
“
to
meet
you
,
by
your
own
appointment
.
”
She
stepped
back
again
,
leaning
against
the
rock
.
The
moonlight
