ratethe
latter
most
,
to
be
at
all
remunerative
.
May
I
show
you
the
way
to
the
drawing-room
?
I
have
not
often
the
honour
of
receiving
visitors
here
.
But
I
think
you
know
how
entirely
I
am
the
slave
of
young
ladies
,
Miss
Valence
.
"
And
he
held
out
his
delicate
hand
.
"
Lepardo
Della
Croce
,
my
name
is
not
Valence
.
I
am
Clara
Vaughan
,
the
only
child
of
him
whom
in
his
sleep
you
murdered
.
"
He
turned
not
pale
,
but
livid
.
His
jaunty
nonsense
was
gone
in
a
moment
.
He
quailed
from
my
dark
eyes
,
and
fell
upon
a
chair
.
For
one
minute
there
he
crouched
,
and
dared
not
meet
my
gaze
;
every
fibre
of
his
flesh
was
quivering
.
It
was
not
shame
that
cowed
him
,
but
the
prostration
of
amazement
.
Suddenly
he
leaped
upright
,
and
met
me
eye
to
eye
.
Then
I
saw
that
his
pupils
turned
towards
each
other
,
as
my
uncle
had
described
.
I
neither
spoke
,
nor
allowed
my
gaze
to
falter
.
Every
nerve
and
cord
of
my
frame
was
tense
,
and
rigid
,
and
rooted
.
To
him
I
must
have
seemed
the
embodiment
of
revenge
.
At
last
he
spoke
,
very
slowly
,
and
in
words
that
trembled
.
"
You
have
no
right
to
judge
me
by
your
English
notions
.
You
do
not
understand
me
.
"
"
I
judge
you
not
at
all
.
God
shall
judge
and
smite
you
.
In
cold
blood
you
murdered
a
man
who
never
wronged
you
.
"
"
What
!
"
he
burst
forth
in
a
blaze
of
triumph
,
"
no
wrong
to
steal
my
lovely
bride
,
and
my
noble
inheritance
,
to
debauch
the
purest
blood
of
Corsica
by
a
prostitute
wedding
;
no
wrong
to
strike
me
senseless
!
Even
your
nation
of
policemen
would
call
this
rather
initiative
.
"
"
The
man
you
stole
upon
in
his
sleep
had
never
seen
or
heard
of
you
,
had
never
been
in
Corsica
.
"
"
What
?
"
His
teeth
struck
together
like
fire-tongs
badly
jointed
,
and
he
could
not
part
them
.
"
It
is
true
.
I
regret
to
inform
you
that
you
must
go
to
hell
for
nothing
.
You
could
not
even
murder
the
right
man
.
"
"
Tell
me
.
"
"
Like
a
coward
as
you
are
,
you
crawled
,
and
lurked
,
and
lied
;
you
spent
what
little
mind
you
have
in
securing
a
baby
's
blow
,
you
crouched
among
old
clothes
and
bed-ticks
,
and
behind
the
housemaid
's
flask
;
and
you
went
away
exulting
in
your
bloody
soul
,
over
what
?
the
wrong
man
's
murder
.
"
"
Can
it
be
?
"
"
Not
only
this
,
but
you
enriched
and
brought
into
high
position
the
man
you
meant
to
kill
.
He
became
the
lord
of
his
half-brother
's
lands
,
and
now
is
wealthy
and
happy
,
and
the
children
you
stole
will
help
him
to
laugh
at
your
Vendetta
.
"
"
Wait
a
little
.
"
"
Cats
and
small
dogs
you
can
carve
alive
,
when
a
woman
has
strapped
them
down
for
you
,
and
the
poor
things
are
trying
to
lick
you
.
But
as
for
midnight
murder
,
however
sound
your
victims
sleep
,
you
have
not
nerve
enough
.
You
quake
and
quiver
so
that
you
know
not
a
dark
man
from
a
fair
.
Clever
,
do
n't
you
think
?
Particularly
for
a
Professor
.
"
I
saw
that
my
contempt
was
curling
round
him
like
a
knout
;
so
I
gave
him
a
little
more
of
it
.
"
Of
course
we
could
not
expect
you
to
meet
your
foe
like
a
man
.
Even
were
you
a
worthy
sample
of
your
sneaking
race
,
you
never
could
do
that
.
Too
wholesome
memory
of
the
English
blow
between
your
quailing
eyes
.
I
am
pleased
to
see
you
fumbling
clumsily
for
your
dagger
.
Who
knows
but
what
you
are
fool
enough
even
to
have
some
self-respect
?
"
A
black
tint
darted
beneath
his
skin
,
as
if
his
heart
were
a
cuttle-fish
.
Had
I
taken
my
eyes
from
him
,
he
would
have
stabbed
me
.
He
fell
back
against
the
oak
chest
.
My
madness
grew
with
my
triumph
.
"
No.
You
dare
not
do
it
,
because
I
am
not
asleep
.
Come
,
I
will
give
you
every
chance
,
Lepardo
Della
Croce
.
If
you
are
brave
enough
to
shoot
a
white-haired
man
at
dinner
,
surely
you
have
the
courage
to
stab
a
young
girl
on
the
sofa
.
Here
I
lie
.
I
will
not
move
.
And
I
defy
you
to
do
it
.
"
Quietly
I
lay
and
watched
him
;
but
as
if
he
were
scarcely
worth
it
.
He
could
not
take
his
eyes
from
mine
.
He
was
like
a
rat
before
a
snake
.
And
all
the
while
,
his
hand
was
working
on
the
cross
haft
of
a
poniard
.
"
What
more
can
I
do
to
encourage
you
?
Would
you
like
the
curtain
to
skulk
behind
?
"
And
I
threw
the
window-hangings
over
the
foot
of
the
sofa
,
but
so
that
I
held
him
still
in
view
.
Calm
as
I
was
,
I
must
have
been
mad
to
play
with
my
life
so
contemptuously
.
Presently
I
rose
,
put
back
my
hair
and
turned
away
,
as
in
weariness
.
"
I
fear
your
appetite
is
cloyed
with
the
writhings
of
cats
and
dogs
.
Or
has
murder
no
relish
for
you
,
unless
it
be
in
cold
blood
?
But
there
,
I
am
tired
of
you
:
you
have
so
little
variety
.
We
will
send
you
back
to
Corsica
,
and
write
'
Rimbecco
'
on
you
.
"
He
sprang
at
me
madly
,
gnashing
his
teeth
,
and
whirling
his
stiletto
.
I
faced
him
just
in
time
,
with
both
hands
by
my
side
.
Had
I
raised
them
,
or
shown
the
least
sign
of
fear
,
my
life
would
have
followed
my
father
's
then
and
there
.
"
Yes
,
"
I
said
,
while
he
paused
,
with
the
weapon
not
a
yard
from
me
,
"
a
spirited
attempt
,
considering
what
you
are
.
But
waste
of
time
and
trouble
.
However
,
I
have
hit
the
word
which
seems
to
suit
your
views
.
Allow
me
to
repeat
the
agreeable
term
,
'
Rimbecco
.
'
"
I
saw
in
his
eyes
the
flash
which
shows
the
momentum
given
,
but
his
arm
fell
powerless
.
He
looked
even
humbly
at
me
.
"
Clara
Vaughan
—
"
"
Be
kind
enough
to
address
me
properly
.
"
"
Miss
Vaughan
,
you
must
have
some
powerful
reason
for
wishing
to
be
rid
of
life
.
"
He
tried
to
look
piercingly
at
me
.
"
You
are
quite
mistaken
.
It
is
nothing
more
than
contempt
of
an
abject
coward
and
murderer
.
"
"
To
you
I
will
make
no
attempt
to
justify
myself
.
You
could
not
understand
me
.
Your
ways
of
thought
are
wholly
different
.
"
"
I
beg
leave
to
hope
so
.
Do
n't
come
near
me
,
if
you
please
.
"
"
If
I
have
injured
you
in
ignorance
,
I
will
do
my
best
to
make
amends
.
What
course
do
you
propose
?
"
"
To
let
you
go
free
,
in
pity
for
your
abject
nature
and
cowardice
.
We
scorn
you
too
much
for
anything
else
.
"
This
seemed
to
amaze
him
more
than
all
before
.
It
was
plain
that
he
could
not
believe
me
.
A
long
silence
ensued
.
Looking
at
the
wily
wretch
,
I
began
unwittingly
to
compare
,
or
rather
to
contrast
his
noble
victim
with
him
.
I
thought
of
the
deep
affliction
and
misery
wrought
by
his
despicable
revenge
.
I
thought
of
his
brutal
cruelty
to
the
poor
creatures
God
has
given
us
;
and
a
rancour
like
his
own
began
to
move
in
my
troubled
heart
.
It
had
been
there
all
the
while
,
no
doubt
,
but
a
larger
pressure
had
stilled
it
.
Watching
me
intently
,
he
saw
the
change
in
my
countenance
,
and
as
cold
disdain
grew
flushed
with
anger
,
my
power
over
him
departed
.
But
he
did
not
let
me
perceive
it
.
I
am
sure
that
I
might
have
gone
whither
and
when
I
pleased
,
and
he
would
have
feared
to
follow
me
,
if
I
had
only
regarded
him
to
the
end
with
no
other
emotion
than
scorn
.
"
Am
I
to
understand
,
"
he
said
at
last
,
"
that
you
intend
to
do
nothing
to
me
?
"
"
It
is
not
worth
our
while
to
hang
you
.
For
such
a
crime
any
other
punishment
would
be
an
outrage
and
a
jest
.
You
slew
a
good
and
a
gentle
man
;
one
as
brave
as
you
are
cowardly
.
By
the
same
blow
you
destroyed
his
wife
,
who
lingered
for
a
few
years
,
pining
till
she
died
.
Both
of
these
were
dear
to
God
.
He
will
avenge
them
in
His
good
time
.
Only
one
thing
we
shall
insist
on
,
that
you
leave
this
country
immediately
,
and
under
a
solemn
oath
never
to
return
to
it
.
One
good
point
you
have
,
I
am
told
—
fidelity
to
your
word
.
"
"
And
if
I
refuse
,
what
then
?
"
"
Then
you
die
a
murderer
's
death
.
We
have
evidence
you
little
dream
of
.
"
He
had
now
recovered
his
presence
of
mind
,
and
his
scoffing
manner
;
and
all
his
plan
was
formed
.
"
What
a
brave
young
lady
you
are
to
come
here
all
alone
,
and
entertaining
so
low
an
opinion
of
the
poor
Professor
.
"
"
The
very
reason
why
I
scorned
precautions
.
"
A
deep
gleam
shot
through
the
darkness
of
his
eyes
.
"
You
must
indeed
despise
me
,
to
come
here
without
telling
any
one
!
"
"
Of
course
.
But
I
did
not
mean
to
come
,
till
my
father
's
spirit
led
me
.
"
With
a
shudder
he
glanced
all
round
the
room
.
Lily
was
not
mistaken
when
she
called
him
superstitious
.
Then
he
tried
to
sneer
it
off
.
"
And
did
the
good
Papa
,
dear
to
God
,
undertake
to
escort
you
back
?
"
Seeing
that
I
disdained
to
answer
,
he
continued
thus
:
"
You
have
displayed
much
graceful
and
highly-becoming
scorn
.
I
,
in
turn
,
will
exhibit
some
little
contempt
of
you
.
You
were
pleased
to
say
,
if
my
memory
serves
me
,
that
you
had
some
wonderful
evidence
.
I
will
furnish
you
with
more
,
and
perhaps
what
you
little
dream
of
.
Approach
,
and
examine
this
box
.
"
He
raised
the
lid
of
the
oaken
chest
,
and
propped
it
with
a
staple
.
Quite
thrown
off
my
guard
for
the
moment
,
I
began
to
devour
the
contents
with
my
eyes
.
Not
many
things
were
in
it
;
but
all
of
them
were
remarkable
.
To
me
they
looked
like
theatrical
properties
,
or
materials
for
disguise
.
Some
of
them
were
faded
and
tarnished
;
some
were
set
with
a
silver
cross
.
My
gaze
was
rivetted
on
a
pair
of
boots
,
fixed
in
a
ledge
with
horse-shoe
bays
;
on
the
sole
of
one
I
perceived
a
cross
of
metal
inlaid
;
I
drew
nearer
to
see
it
more
closely
,
when
something
fell
over
my
head
.
All
down
me
,
and
round
me
,
and
twisted
behind
in
a
tight
tourniquet
,
before
I
could
guess
what
it
was
.
I
am
not
weak
,
for
a
girl
;
but
I
could
no
more
lift
my
arms
than
a
swathed
mummy
can
.
Neither
could
I
kick
,
although
as
a
child
I
had
been
famous
for
that
accomplishment
;
if
I
lifted
either
foot
,
I
must
tumble
head-foremost
into
the
box
,
which
was
large
enough
for
me
to
live
in
.
Scream
I
could
,
and
did
,
in
spite
of
all
my
valour
,
not
only
from
fright
,
but
from
pain
,
for
my
chest
was
dreadfully
tightened
;
but
before
I
could
scream
more
than
twice
,
a
cloth
was
passed
over
my
mouth
,
and
knotted
behind
my
neck
.
So
there
I
stood
,
a
helpless
prisoner
,
in
the
recess
at
the
end
of
the
oaken
ark.
A
low
laugh
thrilled
in
my
ears
,
but
the
hand
on
my
spine
relaxed
not
;
I
turned
my
neck
by
a
violent
effort
and
met
the
demon
's
eyes
.
"
Very
pretty
you
look
,
young
lady
,
very
pretty
indeed
.
I
must
have
a
kiss
before
I
have
done
with
you
,
in
spite
of
all
indignation
.
There
is
a
dress
resembling
this
among
the
Tartar
tribes
.
Did
I
hurt
your
proud
,
straight
nose
?
If
so
,
accept
most
humble
apologies
.
I
would
not
injure
it
for
the
world
;
it
does
express
so
much
scorn
.
Take
care
,
my
child
,
your
eyelashes
are
coming
through
the
worsted
.
"
Yes
.
Ignoble
confession
!
I
,
for
whose
disdain
the
world
had
been
too
small
,
was
prisoned
and
helpless
in
an
"
anti-macassar
,
"
like
a
fly
in
a
paper
cage-trap
.
The
sofa
,
on
which
I
had
lain
so
grandly
defying
my
enemy
,
was
covered
with
a
stout
worsted
net
,
long
and
very
strong
:
this
he
had
doubled
end
to
end
,
and
flung
over
my
haughty
head
.
I
have
not
patience
to
recount
his
paltry
,
bantering
jeers
.
Contempt
is
a
tool
I
am
used
to
grasp
by
the
handle
only
.
Be
it
enough
to
say
that
,
without
releasing
me
,
he
rang
the
bell
for
Cora
,
whose
greedy
eyes
glistened
when
she
saw
my
gordit
loose
from
my
bosom
,
and
tangled
in
the
net
.
Her
master
allowed
her
to
disengage
,
and
,
for
the
time
at
least
,
appropriate
it
.
In
return
for
this
,
she
was
,
at
his
pleasure
,
to
stab
me
if
he
should
order
it
.
By
his
directions
,
she
tied
my
ankles
together
,
while
he
lashed
my
arms
anew
,
and
tightened
the
muffler
over
my
bleeding
lips
.
I
closed
my
eyes
,
and
prayed
;
then
I
made
up
my
mind
to
die
,
as
many
a
Vaughan
had
done
,
at
the
hands
of
a
brutal
enemy
.
My
last
thought
was
of
Conrad
,
and
then
my
senses
forsook
me
.
CHAPTER
IX
.
I
have
a
faint
recollection
of
feeling
myself
swung
,
and
jolted
down
a
number
of
stairs
,
and
of
a
cold
breeze
striking
on
my
face
.
And
doubtless
they
carried
me
down
;
for
the
room
in
which
I
had
found
my
enemy
was
two
floors
above
the
cellarage
.
When
I
came
to
myself
,
I
had
no
idea
where
in
the
world
I
was
.
The
air
was
heavy
with
a
most
powerful
and
oppressive
smell
,
a
reek
and
taint
as
of
death
and
corruption
.
It
made
me
faint
,
and
I
think
I
must
have
gone
off
again
.
Lifting
my
head
at
last
,
I
began
to
look
languidly
around
.
The
table
,
or
working-bench
,
on
which
I
lay
,
was
near
the
centre
of
a
long
and
narrow
room
,
gloomy
and
cold
,
even
in
the
dog-days
,
floored
with
moss-green
stone
,
and
far
below
the
ground-level
.
Those
flag-stones
,
I
suppose
,
were
bedded
immediately
upon
the
tough
blue
London
clay
,
that
most
unconquerable
stratum
,
sullen
,
damp
,
and
barren
.
I
could
only
see
two
windows
in
the
long
low
room
,
both
upon
the
same
side
,
horizontally
fixed
,
and
several
feet
from
the
floor
.
Heavy
iron
bars
,
perpendicularly
set
,
crossed
them
at
narrow
intervals
,
as
if
it
had
been
the
condemned
cell
in
a
prison
.
One
of
these
windows
was
already
darkened
with
a
truss
of
straw
,
and
sacks
over
it
,
placed
outside
the
glass
;
as
is
done
in
Corsica
,
during
Vendetta
siege
.
The
technical
term
is
"
inceppar
le
fenestre
.
"
Through
the
other
window
(
which
looked
up
a
slide
or
scoop
of
brickwork
,
like
a
malt-shovel
,
to
the
flabby
garden
behind
the
house
)
,
I
saw
an
arm
,
the
colour
and
shape
of
an
American
herring
,
very
active
with
a
hammer
.
I
knew
that
arm
at
once
.
Sticking
out
at
the
joints
,
like
the
spurs
of
a
pear-tree
,
welted
and
wired
with
muscle
between
them
,
like
the
drumstick
of
a
turkey
,
but
flat
as
if
plaited
of
hide
,
no
friend
of
mine
could
claim
it
,
except
the
Corsican
Cora
.
Deliberately
she
drove
the
nails
,
like
a
gardener
training
a
tree
,
paying
undue
attention
to
her
skinny
knuckles
;
then
she
lifted
the
sacks
,
stooped
down
and
looked
in
,
grimly
reconnoitring
me
.
By
the
slanting
light
I
saw
what
a
horrible
place
I
lay
in
.
Around
and
under
me
,
on
the
furrowed
timber
,
were
dull
plum-coloured
blotches
,
where
the
slowly
trickling
blood
of
many
an
unlucky
dog
and
cat
had
curdled
;
even
if
there
were
not
any
shed
from
nobler
veins
.
Reaching
in
a
back-handed
way
towards
the
jagged
margin
,
I
grasped
a
cold
hard
cylinder
.
It
was
an
iron
hold-fast
,
like
,
but
larger
than
the
instrument
to
be
seen
in
every
carpenter
's
bench
,
which
works
in
a
collared
hole
,
and
has
a
claw
for
clutching
.
Under
it
,
no
doubt
,
many
a
poor
live
victim
had
quivered
and
sobbed
in
vain
.
At
my
head
were
two
square
slides
,
fitted
with
straps
of
stout
unyielding
web
.
Near
them
was
a
rasped
iron
plane
working
along
a
metal
bed
or
groove
,
with
a
solid
T
piece
,
and
a
winch
to
adjust
it
.
As
with
morbid
observation
I
surveyed
these
fiendish
devices
,
and
many
others
which
I
cannot
stop
to
tell
of
,
I
who
love
almost
every
creature
made
by
our
own
Maker
,
especially
those
to
whom
we
are
lent
as
Gods
,
my
flesh
,
I
say
,
began
to
creep
,
and
my
blood
to
curdle
,
as
if
the
dissecting
knife
were
already
in
my
diaphragm
.
Surely
those
who
in
full
manhood
torture
His
innocent
creatures
—
poor
things
that
cannot
plead
or
weep
,
but
worship
the
foot
that
kicks
them
—
surely
these
,
if
any
,
we
may
without
presumption
say
that
He
who
made
will
judge
.
Four
brief
lines
by
a
modern
poet
,
too
well
known
for
me
to
quote
them
,
express
a
grand
and
simple
truth
,
seldom
denied
,
more
seldom
felt
.
But
here
am
I
,
laid
out
in
this
fearful
place
,
perhaps
myself
a
subject
for
vivisection
.
No
,
I
am
not
strapped
;
even
my
feet
are
free
.
Off
the
grouted
and
grimy
table
I
roll
with
all
possible
speed
,
the
table
where
even
strong
Judy
must
have
lain
still
as
a
skeleton
.
Of
skeletons
there
were
plenty
ranged
around
the
walls
,
and
other
hideous
things
which
I
cannot
bear
to
think
of
.
One
was
a
monstrous
crocodile
,
with
scales
like
a
shed
fir-cone
,
all
reflexed
and
dry
,
and
ringent
lips
of
leather
,
and
teeth
that
seemed
to
look
the
wrong
way
,
like
a
daisy-rake
over-worked
.
Another
was
some
pulled-out
beast
,
that
never
could
hit
his
own
joints
again
—
plesiosauri
,
deinosauri
,
marsupials
,
proboscidians
—
I
am
sure
I
cannot
tell
,
having
never
been
at
college
.
I
only
know
that
at
every
one
of
them
I
shuddered
,
and
shrugged
my
shoulders
,
and
wished
that
he
smelled
rather
nicer
.
Then
there
were
numbers
of
things
always
going
up
and
down
,
in
stuff
like
clarified
syrup
,
according
to
the
change
of
temperature
,
just
as
leeches
do
in
a
pickle-bottle
.
Snakes
as
well
,
and
other
reptiles
streaked
like
sticks
of
peppermint
,
and
centipedes
,
and
Rio
wrigglers
,
called
I
think
La
Croya
.
It
was
enough
in
that
vault-like
room
,
which
felt
like
the
scooping
of
an
August
iceberg
;
it
was
more
than
enough
to
strike
a
chill
to
the
marrow
,
as
of
one
who
sleeps
in
a
bed
newly
brought
from
the
cellar
.
But
the
worst
and
most
horrible
thing
of
all
was
the
core
and
nucleus
of
the
smell
that
might
be
felt
,
the
half-dissected
body
of
a
porpoise
,
leaning
on
a
dozen
stout
cross-poles
.
It
was
enough
to
make
the
blood
of
a
dog
run
cold
.
Overpowered
by
sights
and
smells
,
and
the
fear
of
mingling
with
them
,
I
huddled
away
in
a
corner
,
and
tried
in
vain
to
take
my
eyes
from
the
only
sign
of
life
yet
left
,
the
motion
of
Cora
's
club-like
arm
.
The
poor
old
woman
enjoyed
my
interest
in
her
work
,
and
when
she
had
finished
,
she
made
me
a
mock
salaam
,
and
kissed
the
pixie
's
heart
.
Then
,
with
a
grin
,
she
dropped
the
rough
hangings
,
and
left
me
in
ghastly
twilight
.
As
the
sacks
fell
over
the
window-frame
,
I
lost
all
presence
of
mind
,
all
honest
indignation
,
everything
but
a
coward
horror
,
and
the
shrinking
of
life
from
death
.
With
all
the
strength
of
my
chest
and
throat
,
I
cast
forth
,
as
a
cannon
discharges
,
one
long
,
volleyed
,
agonising
shriek
.
As
it
rang
among
the
skeletons
,
and
rattled
their
tissue-less
joints
,
a
small
square
grating
in
the
upper
panel
of
the
heavy
door
swung
back
,
and
in
the
opening
appeared
the
face
of
Lepardo
Della
Croce
.
He
lifted
his
hat
with
a
pleasant
air
,
and
addressed
me
with
a
smile
,
"
Ah
!
now
,
this
I
call
a
pity
,
a
great
pity
,
indeed
,
Miss
Vaughan
;
but
that
I
always
fear
the
imputation
of
pedantry
,
I
should
call
it
a
bathos
.
You
can
hardly
be
aware
that
since
you
made
that
dreadful
noise
,
you
have
fallen
in
my
opinion
from
a
Porcia
,
or
an
Arria
,
to
a
common
maid
Marian
.
Fie
,
fie
,
it
is
too
disappointing
.
It
saps
one
's
candid
faith
in
the
nobility
of
human
nature
.
But
,
as
I
can
no
longer
appeal
to
your
courage
or
spirit
,
I
must
,
it
appears
,
address
myself
to
your
reason
;
if
,
as
I
am
fain
to
hope
,
your
nerves
have
not
impaired
it
.
Be
assured
,
then
,
once
for
all
,
that
it
is
a
vulgar
error
to
exert
your
sweet
voice
in
so
high
a
key
.
My
little
dissecting
theatre
,
though
not
so
perfect
as
I
could
wish
,
particularly
in
ventilation
,
is
nevertheless
so
secured
from
erroneous
plebeian
sympathy
,
that
all
the
cats
in
London
might
squall
away
their
fabulous
nine
lives
without
affecting
the
tea
and
muffins
of
the
excellent
old
ladies
who
live
on
either
side
of
us
.
That
noble
tabby
,
on
the
third
shelf
right
,
was
a
household
god
at
No.
39
,
until
he
had
the
honour
of
attracting
my
attention
.
Breathe
not
a
word
about
him
,
if
you
ever
come
out
.
Twice
a
day
,
I
sent
to
inquire
,
with
my
kindest
compliments
,
whether
poor
Miss
Jenkinson
had
recovered
her
darling
cat
.
Meanwhile
,
by
inanition
scientifically
graduated
,
I
succeeded
in
absorbing
his
adipose
deposit
,
and
found
him
one
of
the
kindest
subjects
I
have
had
the
pleasure
of
manipulating
.
Be
not
alarmed
,
Miss
Vaughan
;
I
have
no
intention
of
starving
you
;
neither
,
if
you
behave
with
courtesy
,
will
I
even
dissect
you
.
I
only
mention
these
little
facts
to
convince
you
of
our
pleasing
retirement
.
The
ceiling
of
your
room
is
six
feet
below
the
level
of
the
street
,
the
walls
are
three
feet
thick
and
felted
,
and
the
bricks
set
all
as
headers
,
which
makes
a
great
difference
in
conducting
power
.
The
windows
,
as
perhaps
you
have
already
observed
,
are
secluded
from
vulgar
eyes
,
and
command
a
very
partial
view
of
our
own
little
Eden
.
Moreover
,
if
by
exerting
your
nobly-developed
chest
,
to
an
extent
which
for
your
sake
I
affectionately
deprecate
,
you
even
succeeded
at
last
in
producing
an
undulation
—
do
you
remember
my
lecture
upon
the
conflicting
theories
of
sound
?
—
or
a
vibration
in
the
tympanum
of
a
neighbour
,
I
fear
you
would
be
regarded
—
it
shocks
me
greatly
to
think
of
it
—
as
a
cat
of
rare
vocal
power
,
unduly
agitated
by
my
feeble
pursuit
of
science
.
Therefore
,
let
me
conclude
my
friendly
counsel
in
the
language
of
all
your
theatres
—
ah
!
you
have
no
drama
now
in
this
country
,
such
poverty
of
invention
—
but
in
the
words
,
which
I
regret
to
say
,
appear
from
six
to
a
dozen
times
in
every
British
trugody
,
Miss
Vaughan
,
'
Be
calm
.
'
"
Through
all
this
brutal
sneering
,
I
stood
resolutely
with
my
back
turned
to
him
.
Perhaps
he
thought
that
I
would
stoop
to
supplication
.
I
could
have
bitten
my
tongue
off
for
that
contemptible
shriek
;
it
was
such
a
triumph
to
him
.
"
Ah
!
sulky
,
I
fear
;
young
lady
sulky
with
the
poor
Professor
,
who
tries
to
develop
her
mind
.
Fie
,
fie
,
very
small
and
ungrateful
,
and
not
half
so
grand
a
study
as
the
attitude
of
contempt
.
What
a
pity
poor
Conrad
was
not
present
an
hour
ago
!
How
he
might
have
enriched
his
little
book
of
schemata
.
Several
most
magnificent
poses
.
But
I
fear
the
poor
fellow
has
taken
his
last
chip
.
A
sad
thing
,
was
it
not
?
Why
,
how
you
start
,
Miss
Vaughan
!
Oh
,
you
can
show
your
face
at
last
!
And
how
pale
!
Well
,
if
eyes
could
only
kill
—
"
"
What
is
it
—
I
mean
be
good
enough
just
to
go
away
.
"
"
To
be
sure
I
will
.
I
have
a
little
matter
on
hand
which
must
not
be
delayed
;
to
leave
my
carte
de
visite
upon
the
right
man
,
this
time
.
I
cannot
sufficiently
thank
you
for
your
invaluable
information
.
Is
that
snug
little
entrance
practicable
still
?
Very
hospitable
people
they
used
to
be
at
Vaughan
Park
.
Fare
you
well
,
young
lady
;
I
will
not
keep
you
in
any
unnecessary
suspense
.
After
my
return
,
I
shall
arrange
for
your
release
;
if
it
can
be
made
compatible
with
my
safety
.
You
will
have
plenty
of
food
,
and
much
time
for
meditation
.
Let
your
thoughts
of
me
be
liberal
and
kindly
.
I
never
injure
any
one
,
when
I
can
avoid
it
.
I
only
regret
that
the
air
you
breathe
will
impair
,
for
the
while
,
your
roses
.
But
what
an
opportunity
of
analysing
the
gases
!
Carbonic
acid
predominant
.
Do
you
gratify
me
by
bearing
in
mind
a
lecture
,
at
which
you
were
very
attentive
,
on
Malaria
and
Miasma
?
"
Taunting
to
the
last
,
and
sneering
even
at
himself
,
as
men
of
the
blackest
dye
of
wickedness
are
very
apt
to
do
,
he
closed
the
grating
carefully
,
and
I
heard
the
ring
of
the
metal
cross
on
the
rough
stone
steps
.
He
had
the
boots
of
vengeance
on
;
his
errand
was
stealthy
and
cold-blooded
murder
;
me
,
who
had
never
harmed
him
,
he
was
abandoning
perhaps
to
death
,
certainly
to
madness
—
and
yet
to
his
own
ideas
,
all
he
was
doing
was
right
.
Frantic
at
the
horrors
around
me
,
and
still
more
so
at
those
impending
through
my
own
rash
folly
,
I
tore
and
scratched
at
the
solid
door
,
and
flung
myself
against
it
,
till
my
nails
were
broken
,
and
my
fingers
bleeding
,
and
all
my
body
palpitating
with
impotent
mad
fury
.
In
weariness
at
last
and
shame
at
this
wild
outburst
,
I
sat
upon
the
floor
,
for
I
could
not
touch
the
operator
's
stool
,
and
tried
to
collect
my
thoughts
.
Was
there
any
possibility
of
saving
my
poor
Uncle
?
It
must
now
be
nearly
four
o'clock
on
the
Friday
afternoon
,
or
at
least
I
so
computed
it
.
The
beautiful
watch
given
me
by
my
Uncle
had
stopped
through
my
reckless
violence
,
and
the
breaking
of
the
glass
.
The
hands
,
as
I
could
barely
perceive
,
stood
at
a
quarter
to
four
.
The
express-train
,
by
which
Mrs.
Fletcher
and
I
were
to
have
returned
,
would
leave
Paddington
at
five
P.M.
and
reach
Gloucester
soon
after
eight
.
Lepardo
Della
Croce
would
catch
it
easily
,
and
perhaps
would
accomplish
his
foul
design
that
night
.
My
only
hope
of
preventing
him
lay
in
his
own
tenacity
of
usage
.
From
my
Uncle
's
account
,
I
knew
,
that
on
their
cursed
Vendetta
enterprises
,
a
certain
pilgrimage
on
foot
is
,
in
many
families
,
regarded
as
a
matter
of
honour
.
This
usage
owes
its
origin
perhaps
to
some
faint
trace
of
mercy
,
some
wish
to
afford
the
evil
passions
one
more
chance
of
relenting
to
the
milder
reflections
of
weariness
,
and
the
influence
of
the
air
.
Be
that
as
it
may
,
I
believed
that
the
custom
was
hereditary
in
the
Della
Croce
family
;
and
if
so
,
the
enemy
would
finish
his
journey
on
foot
,
quitting
the
train
some
distance
on
this
side
of
Gloucester
.
Therefore
if
I
could
contrive
to
escape
in
the
course
of
the
night
,
I
might
yet
be
in
time
.
All
the
rest
of
the
daylight
,
such
as
it
was
,
I
spent
in
examining
,
inch
by
inch
,
every
part
of
the
loathsome
chamber
,
which
was
now
my
dungeon
.
By
this
time
all
my
patience
,
habitual
more
than
natural
,
had
returned
,
and
all
my
really
inborn
determination
and
hope
.
Surely
I
had
been
every
bit
as
badly
off
before
,
and
had
struggled
through
quite
as
hopeless
a
difficulty
.
If
arduous
courage
and
tough
perseverance
were
of
any
avail
,
those
four
walls
should
not
hold
me
,
though
they
might
be
three
feet
thick
.
So
stopping
both
my
nostrils
with
cotton-wool
from
a
specimen
(
for
the
smell
was
most
insufferable
)
,
and
pinning
up
my
dress
,
I
set
to
work
in
earnest
.
First
,
I
examined
the
windows
:
there
was
nothing
to
hope
from
them
;
I
could
never
loosen
a
bar
,
and
even
if
I
could
,
I
should
only
escape
from
one
prison
to
another
,
for
the
garden
behind
the
house
was
surrounded
with
high
dead
walls
.
Fireplace
there
was
none
;
the
door
had
already
baffled
me
;
could
I
dig
through
the
party
wall
,
and
into
the
adjoining
house
?
Most
likely
it
was
all
a
falsehood
and
boast
about
the
thickness
,
intended
perhaps
to
discourage
me
from
attempting
the
easiest
way
.
And
in
so
damp
a
place
,
the
mortar
probably
would
be
soft
.
So
,
after
searching
and
groping
,
ever
so
long
,
to
find
,
if
possible
,
one
loose
brick
to
begin
with
,
I
drew
from
my
pocket
a
knife
,
of
which
I
was
very
proud
,
"
because
my
father
had
given
it
me
;
and
I
looked
at
it
wistfully
in
the
dusk
,
because
I
feared
so
to
break
it
.
Nothing
but
the
thought
that
life
itself
was
at
stake
would
ever
have
induced
me
to
use
that
beloved
knife
for
work
so
very
unsuitable
.
It
was
a
knife
of
strong
but
by
no
means
elegant
make
,
shorter
in
the
handle
,
and
squarer
in
the
joints
,
than
the
rising
generation
of
knives
.
Very
likely
Sheffield
of
the
present
day
would
laugh
at
it
;
but
like
most
who
laugh
,
it
could
not
produce
the
fellow
.
My
father
himself
had
owned
it
for
nearly
thirty
years
,
and
had
treated
it
with
the
high
respect
which
an
honest
knife
deserves
.
From
this
due
regard
his
daughter
had
not
derogated
,
and
the
knife
was
now
as
good
as
when
it
left
the
maker
's
hand
.
It
had
never
been
honed
in
utter
ignorance
of
proper
plane
and
angle
,
as
nearly
all
knives
are
,
and
by
none
so
often
as
the
professional
knife-grinder
.
I
never
dared
to
meddle
with
it
,
except
on
a
very
mild
razor-strap
;
and
all
it
was
allowed
to
do
was
to
mend
my
pens
—
I
,
Clara
Vaughan
,
hate
steel
paper-stabbers
—
and
sometimes
to
cut
my
pencils
.
Now
,
this
true
and
worshipful
knife
was
to
cut
bricks
and
mortar
!
In
my
natural
affection
for
it
,
I
hesitated
and
trembled
,
and
knowing
what
was
to
come
it
closed
upon
my
fingers
.
Oh
,
ruthless
Atta
Nævia
!
trusty
knife
,
fall
to
!
Meanwhile
old
Cora
showed
at
the
heavy
grating
her
countenance
demiss
;
to
all
my
eager
adjurations
,
promises
,
and
prayers
,
she
answered
not
a
word
,
but
grimly
smiled
,
like
an
ancient
bird
,
beyond
the
reach
of
chaff
.
She
handed
me
in
a
pint
of
milk
,
and
a
loaf
of
the
variety
termed
in
London
a
"
twopenny
brick
.
"
A
red
herring
on
the
toasting-fork
,
dripping
with
its
own
unction
,
was
hastily
shown
,
and
then
withdrawn
,
and
the
gordit
appeared
in
its
stead
;
which
being
done
,
the
experienced
dame
winked
,
and
regarded
me
deeply
.
This
meant
,
"
Surrender
your
legal
right
in
Our
Lady
's
heart
,
without
which
I
shall
have
no
luck
,
and
I
will
give
you
this
beautiful
fish
,
hard-roed
,
and
done
to
a
nicety
.
"
Ah
no
,
sweet
Cora
,
a
good
red
herring
is
not
to
be
despised
;
but
who
could
eat
in
a
reeking
hole
like
this
?
Once
I
went
,
for
Judy
's
sake
,
being
rash
and
light
of
step
,
into
the
back
premises
of
a
highly
respectable
butcher
.
Woe
is
me
,
what
I
saw
and
smelt
there
was
Muscat
grapes
compared
to
this
.
When
Cora
had
departed
,
after
handing
me
in
a
pillow
and
a
blanket
of
the
true
work-house
texture
,
and
crossing
herself
with
a
strange
expression
,
meaning
,
as
I
interpreted
,
"
Now
keep
alive
if
possible
till
breakfast
time
,
young
woman
,
"
I
sat
me
down
upon
the
floor
at
one
end
of
the
room
,
and
began
my
labours
.
First
.
I
put
on
a
pair
of
tan-leather
gloves
;
for
small
as
my
vanity
is
,
I
do
not
like
my
hands
to
look
altogether
like
a
hodman
's
.
Then
I
removed
a
strip
of
the
felt
with
which
the
wall
was
covered
.
It
was
nearly
dark
,
but
I
could
easily
feel
the
joints
between
the
bricks
.
The
mortar
was
not
very
good
,
but
my
work
was
rendered
doubly
difficult
by
the
bricks
being
all
set
cross-wise
to
the
line
of
the
wall
;
this
,
I
suppose
,
is
what
he
meant
when
he
described
them
as
"
headers
.
"
By
reason
of
this
arrangement
,
I
had
to
dig
and
dig
for
hours
,
before
I
could
loosen
a
single
brick
;
and
working
all
in
the
dark
as
I
was
,
I
feared
every
moment
to
break
the
stick-blade
of
my
knife
.
The
fingers
of
my
gloves
were
very
soon
worn
away
,
and
even
the
palm
where
the
heel
of
the
knife
was
chafing
;
nor
was
it
long
before
my
skin
was
full
of
weals
,
and
raspy
,
like
the
knobs
I
have
seen
inside
the
legs
of
a
horse
.
At
last
,
to
my
wonderful
delight
,
one
brick
began
to
tremble
.
In
another
half-hour
,
I
eased
it
out
most
carefully
,
kissed
my
trusty
blade
,
now
worn
almost
to
a
skewer
,
and
with
stiff
and
aching
muscles
,
and
the
trophy
brick
upon
my
lap
,
fell
off
into
as
sound
a
sleep
as
ever
I
was
blest
with
.
CHAPTER
X
.
When
I
awoke
,
the
summer
dawn
was
stealing
faintly
through
the
barricaded
windows
.
Oh
!
how
I
longed
for
one
draught
of
air
,
even
as
London
imports
it
!
My
head
was
burning
and
my
eyes
distended
from
the
tainted
stuff
around
me
,
and
my
hands
,
and
arms
,
and
even
shoulders
were
stiff
from
over
exertion
.
Languidly
regarding
the
brick
I
had
worked
so
hard
for
,
and
commiserating
much
the
plight
of
my
tender
hands
,
I
felt
inclined
to
give
it
up
,
till
I
thought
of
all
at
stake
.
My
poor
Uncle
in
deadly
peril
through
my
desperate
folly
;
Conrad
too
,
as
that
murderer
implied
,
in
a
critical
position
.
My
own
life
also
—
it
might
be
a
week
before
the
monster
returned
;
and
I
felt
sure
that
I
could
not
live
more
than
three
days
in
that
corruption
.
The
oppression
was
so
horrible
,
especially
when
I
stood
up
,
that
I
resolved
at
all
hazards
to
break
one
of
the
windows
.
I
had
tried
to
do
so
the
night
before
,
but
they
were
beyond
my
reach
,
and
I
had
no
stick
,
for
I
durst
not
touch
the
poles
that
propped
the
unlucky
porpoise
.
Now
,
I
had
a
good
missile
,
and
after
two
or
three
vain
attempts
from
the
closeness
of
the
bars
,
I
hurled
the
brick-bat
through
the
glass
;
and
,
as
it
raised
the
sacks
a
little
,
I
obtained
more
light
,
as
well
as
a
breath
of
air
.
The
taint
upon
the
glass
,
the
reek
of
the
deadly
gases
,
even
cleared
away
for
a
short
distance
round
the
fracture
.
Cora
was
fast
asleep
no
doubt
,
and
the
crash
of
the
glass
did
not
disturb
her
;
so
I
fell
to
again
,
and
worked
very
hard
till
breakfast
time
.
If
I
could
only
get
out
by
noon
,
in
time
for
the
two
o'clock
train
!
When
I
expected
my
jailor
,
I
hid
away
under
the
porpoise
the
seven
bricks
I
had
removed
since
daylight
—
for
I
could
work
much
faster
as
the
aperture
increased
—
and
then
I
fastened
my
blanket
over
the
hole
.
After
drinking
the
milk
with
some
relish
—
eat
I
could
not
in
that
pestilential
den
—
I
returned
to
my
labour
,
and
prepared
to
attack
the
second
course
in
the
thickness
of
the
wall
.
By
this
time
I
had
contrived
,
with
the
help
of
a
brick
,
to
extract
the
hold-fast
from
the
bench
,
which
I
could
not
do
the
night
before
;
and
very
useful
I
found
it
,
both
as
a
hammer
and
lever
.
So
with
rising
hopes
,
I
resumed
.
Oh
,
cruel
disappointment
!
The
second
course
was
bedded
in
cement
harder
than
the
bricks
themselves
.
Most
likely
they
had
formed
the
outside
of
the
wall
,
until
Lepardo
added
the
nine-inch
lining
of
headers
.
I
was
utterly
dismayed
;
and
now
my
beloved
knife
,
which
had
stood
like
a
hero-martyr
all
its
grinding
indignities
,
broke
off
short
at
the
haft
,
and
left
me
helpless
and
hopeless
.
And
I
was
getting
on
so
well
,
and
so
proud
of
all
I
had
done
.
There
was
nothing
for
it
but
a
storm
of
crying
.
It
served
me
right
for
ill-treating
my
dear
father
's
knife
so
shockingly
.
I
cried
for
at
least
a
quarter
of
an
hour
,
before
it
occurred
to
me
what
a
great
baby
I
was
.
Then
,
with
the
tears
in
my
swollen
eyes
,
and
sobs
that
made
my
net-pressed
bosom
sore
,
I
began
to
grope
and
peer
again
along
the
sides
of
my
prison
.
There
was
more
light
now
than
had
hitherto
entered
,
since
Cora
dropped
the
curtain
.
This
was
partly
owing
to
the
position
of
the
sun
,
and
partly
to
the
interposition
of
the
brick
.
Just
opposite
that
window
,
on
a
shelf
where
lay
an
old
Penguin
looking
very
bilious
,
I
spied
the
corner
of
a
little
box
,
half
covered
with
tow
and
moth-eaten
feathers
.
Snatching
it
eagerly
,
I
found
it
to
be
a
match-box
.
But
alas
,
how
light
!
With
trembling
fingers
I
pulled
it
open
,
for
it
was
one
of
those
that
slide
.
There
were
three
,
and
only
three
,
fine
stout
lucifer
matches
,
with
the
precious
blue
still
on
them
.
But
even
if
they
should
prove
dry
enough
to
kindle
,
what
good
would
they
be
to
me
?
"
All
the
good
in
the
world
,
"
said
hope
,
looking
towards
the
door
,
"
if
you
had
shown
sense
enough
,
Clara
,
to
fall
to
at
that
door
,
before
your
knife
was
broken
,
you
might
have
cut
through
it
by
this
time
.
Now
you
ca
n't
,
that
is
certain
;
but
why
should
n't
you
burn
it
down
?
"
At
any
rate
,
I
would
try
;
that
is
,
if
my
matches
would
only
strike
fire
.
I
had
felt
last
night
a
piece
of
candle
on
the
floor
near
the
crocodile
.
This
I
soon
laid
hands
upon
;
and
now
for
operations
.
No
fear
of
old
Cora
smelling
the
smoke
,
for
she
spent
all
the
forenoon
,
as
I
knew
well
,
in
a
little
chapel
she
had
established
quite
at
the
top
of
the
house
;
and
this
being
the
festival
of
St.
Bottle-imp
,
she
would
be
twice
as
devout
as
usual
.
As
for
suffocating
myself
,
that
I
must
take
the
chance
of
.
Much
better
to
die
of
curling
wood
smoke
than
of
these
crawling
odours
.
To
give
the
wood
,
which
was
hard
and
solid
,
every
inclination
to
burn
,
I
channeled
it
first
in
a
fan
from
the
bottom
with
my
little
pen-blade
.
Then
I
cut
off
the
lower
half
of
my
precious
candle
,
and
smeared
the
tallow
in
the
shallow
grooves
I
had
made
.
This
being
done
,
I
broke
,
with
as
little
noise
as
possible
,
some
other
panes
of
glass
,
to
admit
the
air
to
my
fire
,
procured
all
the
wool
and
tow
that
I
could
reach
,
and
a
pile
of
paper
,
and
steeped
them
,
though
it
sickened
me
to
do
it
,
in
the
rank
oil
from
some
of
the
specimens
.
All
this
being
ready
at
hand
,
I
prepared
,
with
a
beating
heart
,
to
try
the
matches
,
on
which
the
whole
depended
.
I
had
taken
the
precaution
of
slipping
them
just
inside
my
frock
,
hoping
that
the
warmth
of
my
body
might
serve
to
dry
them
a
little
.
The
first
,
as
I
rubbed
it
on
the
sandpaper
,
flashed
for
a
moment
,
but
did
not
kindle
;
the
second
just
kindled
with
a
sputter
,
but
did
not
ignite
its
stick
:
the
third
—
I
was
so
nervous
that
I
durst
not
attempt
it
then
;
but
trembled
as
I
looked
at
it
.
I
would
not
even
breathe
for
fear
of
damping
the
phosphorus
.
Perhaps
three
lives
depended
on
the
behaviour
of
that
match
.
In
desperation
at
last
I
struck
boldly
!
a
broad
blue
flame
leaped
upon
the
air
,
and
in
a
moment
my
candle
was
lighted
.
In
the
hollow
of
my
hand
I
carried
it
round
the
room
,
to
search
for
anything
likely
to
be
of
service
to
me
.
Oh
!
grand
discovery
—
behind
a
great
tabby
cat
,
I
found
a
bottle
containing
nearly
a
pint
of
naphtha
,
used
,
I
suppose
,
for
singeing
some
of
the
hair
off
.
Now
I
need
not
fear
,
but
what
I
could
burn
the
door
down
;
the
only
thing
to
fear
was
that
I
should
burn
myself
as
well
,
used
the
naphtha
very
cautiously
,
keeping
most
of
it
as
a
last
resource
.
Then
commending
the
result
to
God
,
I
set
my
candle
carefully
at
the
foot
of
the
door
,
just
below
the
spot
where
all
my
little
grooves
converged
.
At
once
the
flame
ran
up
them
,
the
naphtha
kindling
angrily
with
a
spatter
and
a
hiss
.
The
blue
light
showed
in
livid
ghastliness
all
the
horrors
of
the
chamber
.
The
naphtha
was
burnt
in
a
moment
,
it
seemed
to
go
off
like
gunpowder
;
from
a
prudent
distance
I
threw
more
upon
it
,
and
soon
I
had
the
delight
of
seeing
a
steady
flame
established
.
The
lumps
of
tallow
were
burning
now
,
and
the
wood
began
to
smoulder
.
Several
times
I
thought
that
I
must
be
choked
by
the
smoke
,
till
it
went
in
a
cloud
to
the
windows
,
and
streamed
away
under
the
sacks
.
As
the
fire
grew
and
grew
,
and
required
no
more
feeding
,
I
lay
on
my
face
,
to
get
all
the
air
possible
,
at
the
further
end
of
the
room
,
where
my
loose
mortar
was
scattered
.
I
could
feel
my
heart
thumping
heavily
on
the
pavement
,
and
my
breath
was
shorter
and
shorter
,
as
much
from
fear
as
from
smoke
.
If
once
I
became
insensible
,
or
even
if
I
retained
my
senses
but
failed
to
extinguish
the
fire
,
nothing
more
would
ever
be
known
or
heard
of
Clara
Vaughan
;
there
would
be
nothing
even
to
hold
an
inquest
upon
.
I
must
burn
ignobly
,
in
the
fat
of
that
dreadful
porpoise
,
and
with
the
crocodile
,
and
all
those
grinning
beasts
,
so
awful
in
the
firelight
,
making
faces
at
me
!
Surely
it
must
be
time
,
high
time
to
put
it
out
;
that
is
to
say
if
I
could
.
Once
let
the
flame
gather
head
on
the
other
side
of
the
door
,
and
with
my
scanty
means
I
never
could
hope
to
quench
it
.
At
last
,
I
became
so
frightened
,
that
I
hardly
let
it
burn
long
enough
.
It
was
flaring
beautifully
,
and
licking
deeper
and
deeper
(
with
ductile
wreathing
tongues
and
jets
like
a
pushing
crocus
)
,
the
channels
prepared
to
tempt
it
;
and
now
the
black
wood
was
reddened
,
and
a
strong
heat
was
given
out
,
and
the
blazes
began
to
roar
;
when
I
cast
on
the
centre
suddenly
my
doubled
blanket
,
and
propped
it
there
with
the
pillow
.
After
a
few
vain
efforts
,
the
flames
,
deprived
of
air
,
expired
in
gray
smoke
;
then
I
removed
the
scorched
blanket
,
and
let
the
smouldering
proceed
.
The
charring
went
on
nicely
for
perhaps
a
quarter
of
an
hour
,
and
the
smell
made
me
think
of
bonfires
and
roast
potatoes
;
and
I
gouged
away
with
the
claw
of
the
holdfast
,
until
I
saw
that
,
by
a
vigorous
onset
,
a
large
piece
might
be
detached
;
so
I
stepped
back
and
ran
at
it
with
a
mighty
kick
,
and
with
a
shower
of
dust
and
sparks
,
a
great
triangle
flew
out
before
my
"
military
heel
.
"
At
the
risk
of
setting
myself
on
fire
,
though
gathered
in
the
smallest
possible
compass
for
a
girl
rather
full
in
the
chest
,
I
squeezed
through
the
hole
in
the
door
,
and
met
face
to
face
old
Cora
.
She
could
not
speak
,
but
fell
back
upon
the
steps
,
and
rolled
in
fits
of
terror
.
I
thought
her
black
eyes
would
have
leaped
from
their
sockets
;
they
came
out
like
hat-pegs
japanned
.
Pressed
as
I
was
for
time
,
I
could
not
leave
her
so
.
I
ran
up
to
the
pump-trough
for
water
,
and
put
out
the
fire
first
,
and
then
poor
Cora
's
hysterics
.
I
cannot
repeat
her
exclamations
,
to
our
ears
they
are
so
impious
;
but
the
mildest
of
them
were
these
,
as
rendered
weakly
into
English
.
"
Holy
Madonna
,
most
sacred
mother
,
take
back
your
blessed
heart
.
Take
it
back
,
for
the
sake
of
the
God
that
loved
you
,
take
it
back
,
and
trample
on
the
wicked
stomach
of
her
who
dared
to
steal
it
.
You
have
come
through
the
fires
of
hell
to
fetch
it
,
mother
of
the
beloved
one
,
lo
I
hold
it
out
to
you
.
"
I
gladly
received
my
poor
gordit
,
and
left
the
old
lady
,
as
there
was
now
no
danger
,
to
recover
her
wits
at
leisure
;
for
I
had
not
a
moment
to
spare
.
As
I
entered
Mrs.
Shelfer
's
door
,
the
church
clock
at
the
top
of
the
Square
was
striking
twelve
.
By
the
two
o'clock
train
I
must
go
,
or
I
might
as
well
have
stopped
in
my
dungeon
.
Though
the
smoke
had
purified
me
a
little
,
I
still
felt
conscious
of
a
nasty
clinging
smell
;
but
it
would
have
surprised
me
,
if
there
had
been
time
,
when
the
little
woman
cried
,
"
Lor
bless
my
soul
,
Miss
Vaughan
,
where
ever
have
you
been
?
Why
,
Mr.
Chumps
the
butcher
—
"
"
The
bath
in
one
moment
,
and
all
the
water
in
the
house
.
And
as
I
throw
my
things
out
,
burn
them
in
the
garden
.
"
In
twenty
minutes
I
was
reclad
from
head
to
foot
,
and
as
sweet
as
any
girl
in
Gloucestershire
;
my
eyes
were
bright
with
energy
,
and
my
dripping
hair
in
billows
,
like
a
rapid
under
the
pine-trees
.
I
had
no
time
to
tell
Mrs.
Shelfer
,
who
was
off
her
legs
with
excitement
,
one
word
of
what
had
happened
,
or
what
I
was
going
to
do
;
but
flung
on
myself
another
hat
and
cloak
,
then
her
old
bonnet
and
little
green
shawl
on
her
,
dragged
her
out
of
the
house
,
and
locked
the
door
behind
us
;
for
Mrs.
Fletcher
,
after
waiting
and
wondering
long
about
me
,
was
gone
to
consult
Ann
Maples
.
If
Mrs.
Shelfer
's
best
bonnet
was
twenty-two
years
old
,
her
second-best
must
have
been
forty-four
;
at
any
rate
it
appeared
coeval
with
herself
.
Patty
trotted
along
at
my
side
,
wondering
what
would
come
next
.
Her
thin
little
lips
were
working
,
and
her
face
was
like
a
kaleidoscope
of
expressions
;
but
whenever
I
glanced
toward
her
,
she
cast
her
eyes
up
,
with
a
scared
weird
look
,
as
if
she
was
watching
a
ghost
through
a
skylight
,
and
trudged
still
faster
,
and
muttered
,
"
Yes
,
yes
,
Miss
Vaughan
.
Quite
right
,
my
good
friend
;
not
a
moment
to
lose
.
"
"
And
pray
,
Mrs.
Shelfer
,
where
do
you
suppose
we
are
going
?
"
"
Oh
,
I
knows
well
enough
"
—
with
her
eyes
like
corks
drawn
by
distance
—
"
I
knowed
it
all
the
time
.
Yes
,
yes
.
Let
me
alone
for
that
.
Patty
Shelfer
was
n't
born
yesterday
.
Why
only
Tuesday
was
a
week
—
"
"
If
you
guess
right
,
I
will
tell
you
.
"
"
Why
going
to
Charley
,
Miss
Vaughan
,
to
be
sure
.
Going
for
Charley
's
opinion
.
And
very
wise
of
you
too
;
and
what
a
most
every
one
does
;
particular
when
he
have
money
.
But
how
you
knowed
he
were
there
—
"
"
Where
?
"
"
At
the
great
wrestling
match
to
be
sure
.
And
he
wanted
to
take
me
;
a
thing
he
ai
n't
offered
to
do
fifteen
year
next
oyster-day
.
No
,
no
,
says
I
,
with
Miss
Vaughan
away
,
and
most
likely
among
them
resurrectioners
—
"
Here
she
cast
at
me
a
glance
,
like
a
flash
of
lightning
,
to
see
if
the
hit
had
told
.
In
a
moment
I
understood
all
that
I
had
not
cared
to
ask
about
;
why
she
trembled
and
shrunk
from
my
hand
,
why
she
feared
to
look
at
me
,
and
fixed
her
eyes
away
so
.
She
believed
that
I
had
been
burked
,
and
that
what
she
saw
walking
beside
was
my
spirit
come
to
claim
burial
.
I
could
not
stop
to
disprove
it
,
any
more
than
I
could
stop
to
laugh
.
"
And
his
grandfather
were
a
sexton
,
Miss
;
and
our
Charley
himself
a
first-rate
hand
at
the
spade
.
"
"
Mrs.
Shelfer
,
we
are
close
to
the
place
.
Now
,
listen
to
what
I
say
.
It
is
not
your
husband
I
want
,
but
Farmer
Huxtable
,
whom
you
saw
at
the
door
.
Nothing
but
a
question
of
life
and
death
would
bring
me
among
this
rabble
.
No
doubt
there
are
many
respectable
men
,
but
it
is
no
place
for
a
lady
.
The
farmer
himself
knows
that
,
and
has
never
dared
to
ask
me
;
though
his
wife
and
daughter
,
in
ignorance
,
have
.
It
is
half-past
twelve
exactly
;
in
a
quarter
of
an
hour
at
the
utmost
,
I
must
speak
to
,
and
what
is
more
,
carry
off
the
Devonshire
competitor
.
Your
husband
is
here
,
and
on
the
Committee
,
you
told
me
.
I
expect
you
to
manage
it
.
Go
in
at
once
and
find
him
.
Stop
,
here
is
plenty
of
money
.
"
In
her
supreme
astonishment
,
she
even
dared
to
look
at
me
.
But
she
feared
to
take
the
money
,
although
her
eyes
glistened
at
it
,
for
I
offered
more
gold
than
silver
.
"
Come
back
to
me
at
once
;
I
shall
not
move
from
here
.
Mind
,
if
the
farmer
loses
the
match
through
me
,
I
will
pay
all
,
and
give
the
money
for
another
.
"
For
once
the
little
woman
obeyed
me
,
without
discussion
.
She
pushed
through
a
canvass
door
into
the
vast
marquee
,
or
whatever
it
ought
to
be
called
,
and
was
admitted
readily
on
giving
her
husband
's
name
.
I
hung
back
,
but
with
a
sense
of
the
urgency
of
my
case
,
which
turned
my
shame
into
pride
.
Many
eyes
were
on
me
already
of
loungers
and
outsiders
.
In
two
or
three
minutes
poor
Patty
came
back
,
bringing
Mr.
Shelfer
himself
,
who
ever
since
his
ducking
had
shown
me
the
rose
and
pink
of
respect
.
He
even
went
the
length
now
of
removing
his
pipe
from
his
mouth
.
"
Very
sorry
indeed
,
Miss
Vaughan
,
very
sorry
,
you
know
.
But
we
darr
n't
interrupt
the
men
now
.
Our
lives
would
n't
be
worth
it
,
and
they
'd
kill
both
the
umpires
and
the
referee
too
you
know
.
Why
it
's
fall
for
fall
,
only
think
of
that
,
Miss
Vaughan
,
it
's
fall
for
fall
!
"
And
the
perspiration
stood
upon
his
forehead
,
and
he
wanted
to
run
back
.
"
What
do
you
mean
?
"
In
spite
of
my
hurry
,
I
felt
deeply
interested
.
How
could
I
help
it
,
loving
the
farmer
so
?
"
Why
,
the
Great
Northern
won
the
first
throw
by
a
bit
of
foul
play
,
a
foul
stroke
altogether
,
and
no
back
at
all
,
say
I
,
and
my
eyes
is
pretty
good
;
however
,
the
umpires
give
it
,
and
you
should
see
John
Huxtable
's
face
,
the
colour
of
a
scythe-stone
;
he
knew
it
was
unfair
you
know
.
And
you
should
see
him
go
in
again
for
the
second
fall
.
'
I
could
ha
dooed
it
,
'
I
hear
him
say
,
'
I
could
ha
dooed
it
aisy
,
only
I
wud
n't
try
Abraham
,
and
I
wu
n't
nother
if
can
help
it
now
.
'
None
of
us
knows
what
he
mean
,
but
in
he
go
again
,
Miss
,
and
three
times
he
throw
Sam
Richardson
clean
over
his
shoulder
,
and
one
as
fair
a
back
as
ever
was
in
sawdust
.
But
the
umpires
would
n't
give
it
,
till
just
now
he
turn
him
over
straight
for'ard
,
just
the
same
as
a
sod
in
a
spade
,
and
they
could
n't
get
out
of
that
.
And
now
they
be
just
in
for
the
finishing
bout
,
and
if
you
want
him
,
your
only
way
is
to
come
.
May
be
,
he
'll
try
Abraham
,
when
he
see
you
.
Ah
they
've
catched
.
"
A
shout
inside
proclaimed
some
crisis
;
Mr.
Shelfer
,
in
his
excitement
,
actually
pulled
me
in
without
knowing
it
.
Once
there
