amaiden
here
,
by
name
o
'
Joan
Tregenza
.
She
weer
n't
nobody
—
awnly
a
fisherman
's
darter
,
but
the
picksher
was
said
to
be
done
in
these
paarts
,
an
'
I
thot
,
maybe
,
you
'd
knaw
who
drawed
it
.
"
Tarrant
had
not
heard
of
Joan
's
death
,
and
,
indeed
,
possessed
no
information
concerning
her
,
save
that
Barron
had
prevailed
upon
the
girl
to
sit
for
a
portrait
.
The
question
,
therefore
,
struck
him
as
curious
;
and
one
which
he
put
in
return
,
merely
to
satisfy
his
own
curiosity
,
impressed
Joe
in
a
similar
way
.
His
suspicious
nature
took
fright
and
Tarrant
's
dark
,
bright
eyes
seemed
to
read
his
secret
and
search
his
soul
.
"
Yes
,
a
portrait
of
Joan
Tregenza
was
painted
here
last
spring
,
but
not
by
a
Newlyn
man
.
How
does
that
interest
you
?
"
"
Awnly
sideways
.
'
Tedn
'
nothin
'
to
me
.
I
knaws
the
parties
an
'
wanted
to
see
the
picksher
if
theer
weer
n't
no
objection
.
"
"
That
's
impossible
,
I
fear
,
unless
you
go
to
London
.
I
cannot
help
you
further
than
to
say
the
artist
lives
there
and
his
picture
is
being
exhibited
at
an
art
gallery
.
Somebody
told
me
that
much
;
but
which
it
is
I
do
n't
know
.
"
This
was
enough
for
Noy
.
Ignorant
of
the
metropolis
or
the
vague
import
of
the
words
"
a
picture
gallery
,
"
he
deemed
these
directions
amply
sufficient
,
and
,
being
anxious
to
escape
further
questioning
,
now
thanked
Tarrant
and
speedily
departed
.
Not
until
half
way
back
again
to
Penzance
did
he
realize
how
slight
was
the
nature
of
this
information
and
how
ill-calculated
to
bring
him
to
his
object
;
the
man
he
wanted
lived
in
London
and
had
a
painting
of
Joan
Tregenza
in
a
picture
gallery
there
.
Yet
upon
these
directions
Joe
Noy
resolved
to
begin
his
search
,
and
as
the
train
anon
bore
him
away
to
the
field
of
the
great
quest
he
weighed
the
chances
and
considered
a
course
of
action
.
Allowing
the
ample
margin
of
ten
picture
galleries
to
London
,
and
assuming
that
the
portrait
of
Joan
once
found
would
be
easily
recognized
by
him
,
the
sailor
considered
that
a
fortnight
of
work
should
bring
him
face
to
face
with
the
picture
.
That
done
,
he
imagined
that
it
would
not
be
difficult
to
learn
the
name
and
address
of
the
painter
.
He
had
indeed
asked
Tarrant
this
question
pointblank
,
but
the
artist
's
accidental
curiosity
and
Joe
's
own
caution
combined
to
prevent
any
extension
of
the
interview
,
or
a
repetition
of
the
question
.
A
word
had
at
least
placed
him
in
possession
of
John
Barron
's
name
,
but
Chance
prevented
it
from
being
spoken
,
as
Chance
had
burned
Barron
's
letter
and
prevented
his
name
appearing
at
the
inquest
.
Now
Noy
viewed
the
task
before
him
with
equanimity
.
The
end
was
already
assured
,
for
,
in
his
own
opinion
,
he
walked
God-guided
;
but
the
means
lay
with
him
,
and
he
felt
that
it
was
his
duty
to
spare
no
pains
or
labors
and
not
to
hesitate
from
the
terrible
action
marked
for
him
when
he
should
reach
the
end
of
his
journey
.
Mary
's
last
words
came
to
his
ear
like
a
whisper
which
mingled
with
the
jolt
and
rattle
of
the
railway
train
;
but
they
held
no
power
to
upset
his
purpose
or
force
to
modify
his
rooted
determination
.
Her
image
occupied
his
thoughts
,
however
,
for
a
lengthy
period
.
Then
,
with
some
effort
,
he
banished
it
and
entered
upon
a
calculation
of
ways
and
means
,
estimating
the
capabilities
of
his
money
.
Entering
the
great
hive
to
accomplish
that
assassination
as
he
supposed
both
planned
and
predestined
for
him
before
God
made
the
sun
,
Noy
set
about
his
business
in
a
deliberate
and
careful
manner
.
He
hired
a
bedroom
in
a
mean
street
near
Paddington
,
and
,
on
the
day
after
his
arrival
in
London
,
purchased
a
large
map
and
index
of
the
city
which
gave
ample
particulars
of
public
buildings
and
mentioned
the
names
and
positions
of
the
great
permanent
homes
of
art
.
By
the
help
of
newspaper
advertisements
he
also
ascertained
where
to
find
some
of
the
numerous
private
dealers
'
galleries
and
likewise
learned
what
public
annual
exhibitions
chanced
to
be
at
that
time
open
.
Whereupon
,
though
the
circumstance
failed
to
quicken
his
pulse
,
he
discovered
that
the
extent
of
his
labors
would
prove
far
greater
than
he
at
first
imagined
.
He
made
careful
lists
of
the
places
where
pictures
were
to
be
seen
,
and
the
number
quickly
ran
up
to
fifty
,
sixty
,
seventy
exhibitions
.
That
he
would
be
able
to
visit
all
these
Joe
knew
was
impossible
,
but
the
fact
caused
him
no
disquiet
.
The
picture
he
sought
and
the
name
of
the
man
who
painted
it
must
be
presented
to
him
in
due
season
.
For
him
it
only
remained
to
toil
systematically
at
the
search
and
allow
no
clew
to
escape
him
.
As
for
the
issue
,
it
was
with
the
Lord
.
London
swept
and
surged
about
Joe
Noy
unheeded
.
He
cared
for
nothing
but
canvases
and
the
places
where
they
might
be
seen
.
Day
by
day
he
worked
and
went
early
to
rest
,
weary
and
worn
by
occupation
of
a
nature
so
foreign
to
his
experience
.
Nightly
his
last
act
was
to
delete
one
or
sometimes
two
of
the
exhibitions
figured
upon
his
lists
.
Thus
a
week
passed
by
and
he
had
visited
ten
galleries
and
seen
upward
of
five
thousand
pictures
.
Not
one
painting
or
drawing
of
them
all
was
missed
or
hurried
over
;
he
compared
each
with
its
number
in
the
catalogue
,
then
studied
it
carefully
to
see
if
any
hint
or
suggestion
of
Joan
appeared
in
it
.
Her
Christian
name
often
met
his
scrutiny
in
titles
,
and
those
works
thus
designated
he
regarded
with
greater
attention
than
any
others
;
but
the
week
passed
fruitlessly
,
and
Joe
,
making
a
calculation
at
the
termination
of
it
,
discovered
that
,
at
his
present
rate
of
progression
,
it
would
be
possible
to
inspect
no
more
than
half
of
the
galleries
set
down
before
his
funds
were
exhausted
.
The
knowledge
quickened
his
ingenuity
and
he
discovered
a
means
by
which
future
labors
might
be
vastly
modified
and
much
time
saved
.
He
already
knew
that
the
man
responsible
for
Joan
's
destruction
was
called
John
;
his
mind
now
quickened
with
the
recollection
of
this
important
fact
,
and
henceforth
he
did
a
thing
which
any
man
less
unintelligent
had
done
from
the
first
:
he
scanned
his
catalogues
without
troubling
about
the
pictures
,
and
only
concerned
himself
with
those
canvases
whose
painters
had
"
John
"
for
their
Christian
names
.
He
thanked
God
on
his
knees
that
the
idea
should
have
entered
his
mind
,
for
his
labors
were
thereby
enormously
lightened
.
Notwithstanding
,
through
ignorance
of
his
subject
,
Joe
wasted
a
great
deal
of
time
and
money
.
Thus
he
visited
the
National
Gallery
,
the
Old
Masters
at
the
Academy
and
various
dealers
'
exhibitions
where
collections
of
the
pictures
of
foreign
men
were
at
that
season
being
displayed
.
The
brown
sailor
created
some
interest
viewed
in
an
environment
so
peculiar
.
His
picturesque
face
might
well
have
graced
a
frame
and
looked
down
upon
the
artistic
throngs
who
swept
among
the
pictures
,
but
the
living
man
,
full
of
almost
tragic
interest
in
what
he
saw
,
laboring
along
catalogue
in
hand
,
dead
to
everything
but
the
art
around
him
,
seemed
wholly
out
of
place
.
He
looked
what
he
was
:
the
detached
thread
of
some
story
from
which
the
spectator
only
saw
this
chapter
broken
away
and
standing
without
its
context
.
Nine
persons
out
of
ten
dismissed
him
with
a
smile
;
but
occasionally
a
thoughtful
mind
would
view
the
man
and
occupy
itself
with
the
problem
of
his
affairs
.
Such
built
up
imaginary
histories
of
him
and
his
actions
,
which
only
resembled
each
other
in
the
quality
of
remoteness
from
truth
.
Once
it
happened
that
at
a
small
gallery
,
off
Bond
Street
,
the
sudden
sight
of
precious
things
brought
new
emotions
to
Joe
Noy
—
sentiments
and
sensations
of
a
sort
more
human
and
more
natural
than
those
under
which
he
was
at
present
pursuing
his
purpose
.
Before
this
spectacle
,
suddenly
presented
in
the
quietness
and
loneliness
of
the
little
exhibition
,
that
stern
spirit
of
revenge
which
had
actuated
him
since
the
knowledge
of
his
loss
,
and
which
,
gripping
his
mind
like
a
frost
from
the
outset
,
had
congested
the
gentler
emotions
of
sorrow
for
poor
Joan
and
for
himself
—
before
this
display
of
a
familiar
scene
,
hallowed
beyond
all
others
in
memory
,
the
man
's
relentless
mood
rose
off
his
mind
for
a
brief
moment
like
a
cloud
,
and
he
stood
,
with
aching
heartstrings
,
gazing
at
a
great
canvas
.
Sweet
to
him
it
was
as
the
unexpected
face
of
one
dearly
loved
to
the
wanderer
;
and
startling
in
a
measure
also
,
for
,
remembering
his
oath
,
to
see
Newlyn
no
more
until
his
enemy
was
dead
,
it
seemed
as
though
the
vow
was
broken
by
some
miracle
and
that
from
the
heart
of
the
roaring
city
he
had
magically
plunged
through
space
to
the
threshold
of
the
home
of
Joan
.
Before
him
loomed
a
picture
like
a
window
opening
upon
Newlyn
.
The
village
lay
there
in
all
the
flame
and
glory
of
sunset
lights
.
The
gray
and
black
roofs
clustered
up
the
great
dark
hill
and
the
gloaming
fell
out
of
a
primrose
sky
over
sea
and
land
.
The
waters
twinkled
full
of
light
to
the
very
foreground
of
the
canvas
,
and
between
the
piers
of
the
harbor
a
fisher-boy
was
sculling
his
boat
.
Between
the
masts
of
stone-schooners
at
the
quay
,
Joe
saw
the
white
cottage
of
the
Tregenzas
,
and
there
his
survey
stopped
,
for
at
this
spectacle
thought
broke
loose
.
No
man
ever
paid
a
nobler
tribute
to
a
good
picture
.
Very
long
he
gazed
motionless
,
then
,
with
a
great
sigh
,
moved
slowly
forward
,
his
eyes
still
turning
back
.
The
day
and
the
experience
which
it
brought
him
marked
a
considerable
flux
of
new
impressions
in
Joe
's
mind
—
impressions
which
,
without
softening
the
rugged
aspect
of
his
determination
,
yet
added
other
lines
of
reflection
.
Sorrow
for
what
was
lost
fastened
upon
him
,
and
an
indignation
burned
his
soul
that
such
things
could
be
in
a
world
designed
and
ordered
by
the
Almighty
.
Revenge
,
however
,
grew
no
less
desirable
in
the
light
of
sorrow
.
He
looked
to
it
more
and
more
eagerly
as
the
only
food
which
could
lead
to
peace
of
mind
.
His
road
probably
embraced
the
circumstances
of
an
ignominious
death
;
but
none
the
less
peace
would
follow
—
a
peace
beyond
the
power
of
future
life
on
earth
to
supply
.
Thus
,
at
least
,
did
his
project
then
present
itself
to
him
.
Thought
of
the
meeting
with
his
enemy
grew
to
be
a
luxury
which
he
feasted
upon
in
the
night
watches
after
fruitless
days
and
the
investigation
of
endless
miles
of
pictures
.
Then
he
would
lie
awake
and
imagine
the
inevitable
climax
.
He
saw
himself
standing
before
the
man
who
had
ruined
two
lives
;
he
felt
his
hand
close
over
a
knife
or
a
pistol
,
and
wondered
which
it
should
be
;
he
heard
his
own
voice
,
slow
and
steady
,
pronounce
sentence
of
death
,
and
he
saw
terror
light
that
other
man
's
face
as
the
blood
fled
from
it
.
He
rehearsed
the
words
he
should
utter
at
that
great
juncture
and
speculated
as
to
what
manner
of
answer
would
come
;
then
the
last
scene
of
all
represented
his
enemy
stretched
dead
at
his
feet
and
himself
with
his
hands
linked
in
iron
.
There
yet
remained
the
end
of
the
tragedy
for
him
—
a
spectacle
horrible
enough
in
the
eyes
of
those
still
left
to
love
him
,
but
for
himself
empty
of
terror
,
innocent
of
power
to
alarm
.
Clean-living
men
would
pity
him
,
religious
men
would
see
in
him
an
instrument
used
by
God
to
strike
at
a
sinner
.
His
death
would
probably
bring
some
wanderers
to
the
fold
;
it
must
of
a
surety
be
long
remembered
as
the
greatest
sermon
lived
and
preached
by
a
Luke
Gospeler
.
Lulled
by
the
humming
woof
and
warp
of
such
reflections
,
his
mind
nightly
passed
into
the
unconsciousness
of
sleep
;
and
quickened
by
subsequent
visions
,
the
brain
enacted
these
imaginings
with
an
added
gloom
and
that
tremendous
appearance
of
reality
proper
to
the
domain
of
dreams
.
Thus
the
days
sped
and
grew
shorter
as
December
waned
.
Then
,
at
the
end
of
the
second
week
of
his
work
,
Noy
chanced
to
read
that
an
Exhibition
at
the
Institute
of
Painters
in
Oils
was
about
to
close
;
and
not
yet
having
visited
that
collection
he
set
out
on
the
morning
of
the
following
day
to
do
so
.
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
"
JOE
'S
SHIP
"
According
to
his
custom
,
Noy
worked
through
the
exhibition
catalogue
for
each
room
before
entering
it
.
The
hour
was
an
early
one
,
and
but
few
persons
had
as
yet
penetrated
to
the
central
part
of
the
gallery
.
For
these
,
however
,
an
experience
of
a
singular
character
was
now
in
store
.
Wandering
hither
and
thither
in
groups
and
talking
in
subdued
voices
after
the
manner
of
persons
in
such
a
place
,
all
were
suddenly
conscious
of
a
loud
inarticulate
cry
.
The
sudden
volume
of
sound
denoted
mixed
emotions
,
but
amazement
and
grief
were
throned
upon
it
,
and
the
exclamation
came
from
a
man
standing
now
stiff
and
spellbound
before
"
Joe
's
Ship
,
"
the
famous
masterpiece
of
John
Barron
.
The
beholders
viewed
an
amazed
figure
which
seemed
petrified
even
to
an
expression
on
his
face
.
There
are
countenances
which
display
the
ordinary
emotions
of
humanity
in
a
fashion
unusual
and
peculiar
to
themselves
.
Thus
,
while
the
customary
and
conventional
signs
of
sorrow
are
a
down-drawing
slant
to
the
corners
of
mouth
and
eye
,
yet
it
sometimes
happens
that
the
lines
more
usually
associated
with
gratification
are
donned
in
grief
.
Of
this
freakish
character
was
the
face
of
Joe
Noy
.
His
muscles
seemed
to
follow
the
bones
underneath
them
;
and
now
beholding
him
,
the
surprised
spectators
saw
a
man
of
gigantic
proportions
gigantically
moved
.
Yet
,
while
sorrow
was
discernible
in
his
voice
,
the
corners
of
his
mouth
were
dragged
up
till
his
lips
resembled
a
half-moon
on
its
back
,
and
the
lids
and
corners
of
his
eyes
were
full
of
laughter
wrinkles
,
while
the
eyes
themselves
were
starting
and
agonized
.
The
man
's
catalogue
had
fallen
to
the
ground
;
his
hands
were
clinched
;
now
,
as
others
watched
him
,
he
came
step
by
step
nearer
to
the
picture
.
To
estimate
the
force
of
the
thing
upon
Noy
's
hungry
heart
,
to
present
the
chaos
of
emotions
which
now
gripped
him
at
the
goal
of
his
pilgrimage
,
is
impossible
.
Here
,
restored
to
him
by
art
,
was
his
dead
sweetheart
,
the
sum
and
total
of
all
the
beauty
he
had
worshiped
and
which
for
nearly
a
year
of
absence
had
been
his
guiding
star
.
He
knew
that
she
was
in
her
grave
,
yet
she
stood
before
him
sweet
and
fresh
,
with
the
moisture
of
life
in
her
eyes
and
on
her
lips
.
He
recognized
everything
,
to
the
windy
spot
where
the
gorse
flourished
on
the
crown
of
the
cliff
.
The
clean
sky
told
him
from
whence
the
wind
blew
;
the
gray
gull
above
was
flying
with
it
upon
slanting
wings
.
And
Joan
stood
below
in
a
blaze
of
sunshine
and
yellow
blossom
.
A
reflection
from
the
corner
of
her
sunbonnet
brightened
her
face
,
though
it
was
shaded
from
direct
sunlight
by
her
hand
;
her
blue
eyes
mirrored
the
sea
and
the
sky
;
and
they
met
Joe
's
,
like
a
question
.
She
was
looking
away
to
the
edge
of
the
world
;
and
he
knew
from
the
name
of
the
picture
,
which
he
had
read
before
he
saw
it
,
the
object
regarded
.
He
glared
on
,
and
his
breath
came
quicker
.
The
brown
petticoat
with
the
black
patch
was
familiar
to
him
;
but
he
had
never
seen
the
gleam
of
her
white
neck
below
the
collar
where
it
was
hidden
from
the
sun
.
In
the
picture
an
unfastened
button
showed
this
.
The
rest
he
knew
:
her
hair
,
turning
at
the
flapping
edge
of
the
sunbonnet
;
her
slight
figure
,
round
waist
,
and
the
shoes
,
whose
strings
he
had
been
privileged
to
tie
more
than
once
.
Then
he
remembered
her
last
promise
:
to
see
his
ship
go
down
Channel
from
their
old
meeting-place
upon
Gorse
Point
;
and
the
memory
,
thus
revived
by
the
actual
spectacle
of
Joan
Tregenza
looking
her
last
at
his
vanishing
vessel
,
brought
the
wild
cry
to
Noy
's
lip
with
the
wringing
of
his
heart
.
He
was
absolutely
dead
to
his
environment
,
and
his
long
days
of
silence
suddenly
ended
in
a
futile
outpouring
of
words
addressed
to
any
who
might
care
to
listen
.
Passion
surged
to
the
top
of
his
mind
—
rage
for
his
loss
,
indignation
that
the
unutterably
fair
thing
before
them
had
been
blotted
out
of
the
world
while
he
was
far
away
,
without
power
to
protect
her
.
For
a
few
moments
only
was
the
man
beyond
his
own
self-control
,
but
in
that
brief
time
he
spoke
;
and
his
listeners
enjoyed
a
sensation
of
a
nature
outside
their
widest
experiences
.
"
Oh
,
Christ
Jesus
!
'
tis
Joan
—
my
awn
lil
Joan
,
as
I
left
her
,
as
I
seed
her
alive
!
"
He
had
reached
the
rail
separating
the
pictures
from
the
public
.
Here
he
stood
and
spoke
again
,
now
conscious
that
there
were
people
round
about
him
.
"
She
'm
dead
—
dead
an
'
buried
—
my
Joan
—
killed
by
the
devil
as
drawed
her
theer
in
that
picksher
.
As
large
as
life
;
an
'
yet
she
'm
under
ground
wi
'
a
brawken
heart
.
An
'
me
,
new-comed
off
the
sea
,
hears
of
it
fust
thing
.
"
"
It
's
'
Joe
's
Ship
'
he
means
,
"
whispered
somebody
,
and
Noy
heard
him
.
"
Iss
fay
,
so
'
tis
,
an
'
I
be
Joe
—
I
talkin
'
to
'
e
;
an
'
she
'm
shadin
'
her
eyes
theer
to
see
my
vessel
a-sailin
'
away
to
furrin
paarts
!
'
Tis
a
story
that
's
true
,
an
'
the
God-blasted
limb
what
drawed
this
knawed
I
was
gone
to
the
ends
o
'
the
airth
outward
bound
.
"
A
man
from
the
turnstile
came
up
here
and
inquired
what
was
the
matter
.
His
voice
and
tone
of
authority
brought
the
sailor
back
to
the
position
he
occupied
;
he
restrained
himself
,
therefore
,
and
spoke
no
more
.
Already
Noy
feared
that
his
passion
might
have
raised
suspicions
,
and
now
,
turning
and
picking
up
his
catalogue
,
he
made
hasty
departure
before
those
present
had
opportunity
to
take
much
further
notice
of
him
.
The
man
hurried
off
into
the
rattle
of
the
busy
thoroughfare
,
and
in
a
moment
he
and
his
sorrows
and
his
deadly
purpose
had
vanished
away
.
Meantime
the
curator
of
the
gallery
,
a
man
of
intelligence
,
improved
the
moment
and
addressed
some
apposite
reflections
to
those
spectators
who
still
clustered
around
John
Barron
's
picture
.
"
It
is
n't
often
we
get
such
a
sight
as
that
.
Many
people
have
wondered
why
this
great
work
was
called
as
it
is
.
The
man
who
has
gone
explains
it
,
and
you
have
had
a
glimpse
of
the
picture
's
history
—
the
inner
history
of
it
.
The
painting
has
made
a
great
sensation
ever
since
it
was
first
exhibited
,
but
never
such
a
sensation
as
it
made
to-day
.
"
"
The
beggar
looked
as
though
he
meant
mischief
,
"
said
somebody
.
"
He
knows
the
model
is
dead
apparently
,
but
there
's
another
mystery
there
too
,
for
Mr.
Barron
himself
is
n't
aware
of
the
fact
.
He
was
here
only
the
day
before
yesterday
—
a
little
pale
shadow
of
a
man
,
like
a
ghost
in
a
fur
coat
.
He
came
to
see
his
picture
and
stopped
ten
minutes
.
Two
gentlemen
were
with
him
,
and
I
heard
him
say
,
in
answer
to
one
of
them
as
he
left
the
gallery
,
that
he
had
quite
recently
endeavored
to
learn
some
particulars
of
Joan
Tregenza
,
his
model
,
but
had
failed
to
do
so
as
yet
.
"
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
THE
FINDING
OF
THE
MAN
The
gratification
of
his
desire
and
the
fulfillment
of
his
revenge
,
though
steadfastly
foreseen
by
Joe
Noy
from
the
moment
when
first
he
set
foot
in
London
and
began
his
search
,
now
for
a
moment
overwhelmed
him
at
the
prospect
of
their
extreme
propinquity
.
Had
anything
been
needed
to
strengthen
his
determination
on
the
threshold
of
a
meeting
with
Joan
's
destroyer
,
it
was
the
startling
vision
of
Joan
herself
from
which
he
had
just
departed
.
No
event
had
brought
the
magnitude
of
his
loss
more
cruelly
to
the
core
of
his
heart
than
the
sudden
splendid
representation
of
what
he
had
left
behind
him
in
her
innocence
and
beauty
;
and
,
for
the
same
reason
,
nothing
could
have
more
thoroughly
fortified
his
mind
to
the
deed
now
lying
in
his
immediate
future
.
Noy
's
first
act
was
to
turn
again
to
the
gallery
with
a
purpose
to
inquire
where
John
Barron
might
be
found
;
but
he
recollected
that
many
picture
catalogues
contained
the
private
addresses
of
the
exhibitors
,
and
accordingly
consulted
the
list
he
had
brought
with
him
.
There
he
found
the
name
and
also
the
house
in
which
the
owner
of
it
dwelt
—
JOHN
BARRON
,
No.
6
Melbury
Gardens
,
S.
W
.
Only
hours
now
separated
him
from
his
goal
,
and
it
seemed
strange
to
Noy
that
he
should
have
thus
come
in
sight
of
it
so
suddenly
.
But
his
wits
cooled
and
with
steady
system
he
followed
the
path
long
marked
out
.
He
stood
and
looked
in
at
a
gunsmith
's
window
for
ten
minutes
,
then
moved
forward
to
another
.
At
the
shop-fronts
of
cutlers
he
also
dawdled
,
but
finally
returned
to
the
first
establishment
which
had
attracted
him
,
entered
,
and
,
for
the
sum
of
two
pounds
,
purchased
a
small
,
five-chambered
revolver
with
a
box
of
cartridges
.
He
then
went
back
to
his
lodging
,
and
set
to
work
to
find
the
position
of
Melbury
Gardens
upon
his
map
.
This
done
the
man
marked
his
road
to
that
region
,
outlining
with
a
red
chalk
pencil
the
streets
through
which
he
would
have
to
walk
before
reaching
it
.
Throughout
the
afternoon
he
continued
his
preparations
,
acting
very
methodically
,
and
setting
his
house
in
order
with
the
deliberation
of
one
who
knows
that
he
is
going
to
die
,
but
not
immediately
.
Sometimes
he
rested
from
the
labor
of
letter-writing
to
think
and
rehearse
again
the
scene
which
was
to
close
that
day
.
A
thousand
times
he
had
already
done
so
;
a
thousand
times
the
imaginary
interview
had
been
the
last
thought
in
his
waking
brain
;
but
now
the
approach
of
reality
swept
away
those
unreal
dialogues
,
dramatic
entrances
,
exits
and
events
of
the
great
scene
as
he
had
pictured
it
.
The
present
moment
found
Noy
's
brain
blank
as
to
everything
but
the
issue
;
and
he
surprised
himself
by
discovering
that
his
mind
now
continually
recurred
to
those
events
which
would
follow
the
climax
,
while
yet
the
death
of
John
Barron
was
unaccomplished
.
His
active
thoughts
,
under
conditions
of
such
excitation
as
the
day
had
brought
upon
the
top
of
his
discovery
,
traveled
with
astounding
speed
,
and
it
was
not
John
Barron
's
end
but
his
own
which
filled
the
imagination
of
the
sailor
as
he
wrote
.
The
shadow
of
the
gallows
was
on
the
paper
,
though
the
event
which
was
to
bring
this
consummation
still
lay
some
hours
deep
in
unrecorded
time
.
But
,
for
Noy
,
John
Barron
was
as
good
as
dead
,
and
himself
as
good
as
under
sentence
of
death
.
Grown
quite
calm
,
fixed
in
mind
,
and
immovable
as
the
black
sea
cliffs
of
his
mother-land
,
he
wrote
steadily
on
until
thought
sped
whirling
forward
to
a
new
aspect
of
his
future
:
the
last
.
He
saw
himself
in
eternity
,
tossed
to
everlasting
flames
by
his
Maker
,
as
a
man
tosses
an
empty
match-box
,
after
it
has
done
its
work
,
into
the
fire
.
He
put
down
his
pen
and
pictured
it
.
The
terrific
force
of
that
conviction
cannot
fairly
be
set
before
the
intelligence
of
average
cultured
people
,
because
,
whatever
they
profess
to
believe
in
their
hearts
,
the
truth
is
that
,
even
with
forty-nine
Christians
out
of
fifty
,
hell
appears
a
mere
vague
conceit
meaning
nothing
.
They
affirm
that
they
believe
in
eternal
torment
;
they
confess
all
humanity
is
ripe
for
it
;
but
their
pulses
are
unquickened
by
the
assertion
or
admission
;
they
do
not
believe
in
it
.
Nor
can
educated
man
so
believe
,
for
that
way
madness
lies
,
and
he
who
dwells
long
and
closely
upon
this
unutterable
dogma
,
anon
himself
feels
the
first
flickering
of
the
undying
flame
.
It
scorches
,
not
his
body
,
but
his
brain
,
and
a
lunatic
asylum
presently
shuts
him
from
a
sane
world
unless
medical
aid
quickly
brings
healthy
relief
.
But
with
primitive
opinions
,
narrow
beliefs
and
narrow
intelligences
,
hell
can
be
a
live
conceit
enough
.
Among
Luke
Gospelers
and
kindred
sects
there
shall
be
found
such
genuine
fear
and
such
trembling
as
the
church
called
orthodox
never
knows
;
and
to
Noy
the
tremendous
spectacle
of
his
everlasting
punishment
now
made
itself
actively
felt
.
A
life
beyond
death
—
a
life
to
be
spent
in
one
of
two
places
and
to
endure
eternally
was
to
Joe
as
certain
as
the
knowledge
that
he
lived
;
and
that
his
destination
must
be
determined
by
the
work
yet
lying
between
him
and
death
appeared
equally
sure
.
Further
,
that
work
must
be
performed
.
There
was
no
loophole
of
escape
from
it
,
and
had
there
been
such
he
would
have
blocked
it
against
himself
resolutely
.
Moreover
,
as
the
will
and
desire
to
do
the
deed
was
an
action
as
definite
in
the
eye
of
Heaven
as
the
accomplishment
of
the
deed
itself
,
he
reckoned
himself
already
damned
.
He
had
long
since
counted
the
whole
cost
,
and
now
it
only
seemed
more
vast
and
awful
than
upon
past
surveys
by
reason
of
its
nearer
approach
.
Now
he
speculated
curiously
upon
the
meetings
which
must
follow
upon
the
world
's
dissolution
;
and
wondered
if
those
who
kill
do
ever
meet
and
hold
converse
in
hell-fire
with
their
victims
.
Then
again
he
fell
to
writing
,
and
presently
completed
letters
to
his
father
,
his
mother
,
to
Mrs.
Tregenza
and
to
Mary
Chirgwin
.
These
he
left
in
his
apartment
,
and
presently
going
out
into
the
air
,
walked
,
with
no
particular
aim
,
until
darkness
fell
.
Hunger
now
prompted
him
,
and
he
ate
a
big
meal
at
a
restaurant
and
drank
with
his
food
a
pint
of
ale
.
Physically
fortified
,
he
returned
to
his
lodging
,
left
upon
the
table
in
his
solitary
room
the
sum
he
would
that
night
owe
for
the
hire
of
the
chamber
,
and
,
then
,
taking
his
letters
,
went
out
to
return
no
more
.
A
few
clothes
,
a
brush
and
comb
and
a
small
wooden
trunk
was
all
he
left
behind
him
.
Joe
Noy
purchased
four
stamps
for
his
letters
and
posted
them
.
They
were
written
as
though
the
murder
of
John
Barron
had
been
already
accomplished
,
and
he
thus
completed
and
dispatched
them
before
the
event
,
because
he
imagined
that
,
afterward
,
the
power
of
communicating
with
his
parents
or
friends
would
be
denied
him
.
That
they
might
be
spared
the
horror
of
learning
the
news
through
a
public
source
he
wrote
it
thus
,
and
knew
,
as
he
did
so
,
that
to
two
of
his
correspondents
the
intelligence
would
come
without
the
full
force
of
a
novelty
.
Thomasin
Tregenza
and
Mary
Chirgwin
alike
were
familiar
with
his
intention
at
the
time
of
his
departure
,
and
to
them
he
therefore
wrote
but
briefly
;
his
parents
,
on
the
other
hand
,
for
all
Joe
knew
to
the
contrary
,
might
still
be
ignorant
of
the
fact
that
he
had
come
off
his
cruise
.
His
letters
to
them
were
accordingly
of
great
length
;
and
he
set
forth
therein
with
the
nervous
lucidity
of
a
meager
vocabulary
the
nature
of
his
wrongs
and
the
action
which
he
had
taken
under
Heaven
's
guidance
to
revenge
them
.
He
stated
plainly
in
all
four
of
his
missives
to
Newlyn
,
Drift
and
Mousehole
that
the
artist
,
John
Barron
,
was
shot
dead
by
his
hand
and
that
he
himself
intended
suffering
the
consequent
punishment
as
became
a
brave
man
and
the
weapon
of
the
Lord
.
These
notes
then
he
posted
,
and
so
went
upon
his
way
that
he
might
fulfill
to
the
letter
his
written
words
.
Following
the
roads
he
had
studied
upon
his
map
and
committed
to
memory
,
Noy
soon
reached
Melbury
Gardens
and
presently
stood
opposite
No
,
6
and
scanned
it
.
The
hour
was
then
ten
o'clock
and
lights
were
in
some
of
the
windows
,
but
not
many
.
Looking
over
the
area
railings
,
the
sailor
saw
four
servants
—
two
men
and
two
women
—
eating
their
supper
.
He
noted
,
as
a
singular
circumstance
,
that
there
were
wineglasses
upon
the
kitchen
table
and
that
they
held
red
liquor
and
white
.
Noy
's
design
was
simple
enough
.
He
meant
to
stand
face
to
face
with
John
Barron
,
to
explain
the
nature
of
the
events
which
had
occurred
,
to
tell
him
,
what
it
was
possible
he
might
not
know
:
that
Joan
was
dead
;
and
then
to
inform
him
that
his
own
days
were
numbered
.
Upon
these
words
Joe
designed
to
shoot
the
other
down
like
a
dog
,
and
to
make
absolutely
certain
of
his
death
by
firing
the
entire
contents
of
the
revolver
.
He
expected
that
a
private
interview
would
be
vouchsafed
to
him
if
he
desired
it
;
and
his
intention
,
after
his
victim
should
fall
,
was
to
blow
the
man
's
brains
out
at
close
quarters
before
even
those
nearest
at
hand
could
prevent
it
.
At
half-past
ten
Noy
felt
that
his
weapon
was
in
the
left
breast
pocket
of
his
coat
ready
for
the
drawing
;
then
ascended
the
steps
which
rose
to
the
front
door
of
John
Barron
's
dwelling
and
rang
the
bell
.
The
man-servant
whom
he
had
seen
through
the
area
railings
in
the
kitchen
came
to
the
door
,
and
,
much
to
Noy
's
astonishment
,
accosted
him
before
he
had
time
to
say
that
he
wished
to
see
the
master
of
the
house
.
"
You
've
come
at
last
,
then
,
"
said
the
man
.
Joe
regarded
him
with
surprise
,
then
spoke
.
"
I
want
to
see
Mr.
John
Barron
,
please
.
"
The
other
laughed
,
as
if
this
was
an
admirable
jest
.
"
I
suppose
you
do
,
though
that
's
a
queer
way
to
put
it
.
You
talk
as
though
you
had
come
to
smoke
a
cigar
along
with
him
.
"
In
growing
amazement
and
suspicion
,
Noy
listened
to
this
most
curious
statement
.
Fears
suddenly
awoke
that
,
by
some
mysterious
circumstance
,
Barron
had
learned
of
his
contemplated
action
and
was
prepared
for
it
.
He
stopped
,
therefore
,
looked
about
him
sharply
to
avoid
any
sudden
surprise
,
and
put
a
question
to
the
footman
.
"
You
spoke
as
though
I
was
wanted
,
"
he
said
.
"
What
do
you
mean
by
that
?
"
"
Blessed
if
you
're
not
a
rum
'
un
!
"
answered
the
man
.
"
Of
course
you
was
wanted
,
else
you
would
n't
be
here
,
would
you
?
You
're
not
a
party
as
calls
promiscuous
,
I
should
hope
.
Else
it
would
be
rather
trying
to
delicate
nerves
.
You
're
the
gentleman
as
everybody
requires
some
time
,
though
nobody
ever
sends
for
himself
.
"
Failing
to
gather
the
other
's
meaning
,
Noy
only
realized
that
John
Barron
expected
some
visitor
and
felt
,
therefore
,
the
more
determined
to
hasten
his
own
actions
.
He
saw
the
footman
was
endeavoring
to
be
jocose
,
and
therefore
humored
him
,
pretending
at
the
same
time
to
be
the
individual
who
was
expected
.
"
You
're
a
funny
fellow
and
must
often
make
your
master
laugh
,
I
should
reckon
,
Iss
,
I
be
the
chap
what
you
thought
I
was
.
An
'
I
should
like
to
see
him
—
the
guv'nor
—
at
once
if
he
'll
see
me
.
"
The
footman
chuckled
again
.
"
He
'll
see
you
all
right
.
He
's
been
wantin
'
of
you
all
day
,
and
he
'd
have
been
that
dreadful
disapp'inted
if
you
'
ad
n't
come
.
Always
awful
particular
about
his
clothes
,
you
know
,
so
mind
you
're
jolly
careful
about
the
measuring
'
cause
this
overcoat
will
have
to
last
him
a
long
time
.
"
Taking
his
cue
from
these
words
Noy
,
still
ignorant
of
the
truth
,
made
answer
:
"
Iss
,
I
'll
measure
en
all
right
.
Wheer
is
he
to
?
"
"
In
the
studio
—
there
you
are
,
right
ahead
.
Knock
at
that
baize
door
and
then
walk
straight
in
,
'
cause
he
'll
very
likely
be
too
much
occupied
to
answer
you
.
He
's
quite
alone
—
leastways
I
believe
so
.
I
'll
come
back
in
quarter'n
hour
;
and
mind
you
do
n't
talk
no
secrets
or
tell
him
how
I
laughed
at
him
behind
his
back
,
else
he
'd
give
me
the
sack
for
certain
.
"
The
man
withdrew
,
sniggering
at
his
own
humor
,
and
Noy
,
quite
unable
to
see
rhyme
or
reason
in
his
remarks
,
stood
with
an
expression
of
bewilderment
upon
his
broad
face
and
watched
the
servant
disappear
.
Then
his
countenance
changed
,
and
he
approached
a
door
covered
with
red
baize
at
which
the
passage
terminated
.
He
knocked
,
waited
,
and
knocked
again
,
straining
his
ear
to
hear
the
voice
he
had
labored
so
long
to
silence
.
Then
he
put
his
revolver
into
the
side
pocket
of
his
coat
,
and
,
afterward
,
following
the
footman
's
directions
,
pushed
open
the
swing
door
,
which
yielded
to
his
hand
.
A
curtain
hung
inside
it
,
and
,
pulling
this
aside
,
he
entered
a
spacious
apartment
with
a
glass
roof
.
But
scanty
light
illuminated
the
studio
from
one
oil
lamp
which
hung
by
a
chain
from
a
bracket
in
the
wall
,
and
the
rays
of
which
were
much
dimmed
by
a
red
glass
shade
.
Some
easels
,
mostly
empty
,
stood
about
the
sides
of
the
great
chamber
;
here
and
there
on
the
white
walls
were
sketches
in
charcoal
and
daubs
of
paint
.
A
German
stove
appeared
in
the
middle
of
the
room
,
but
it
was
not
burning
;
skins
of
beasts
scattered
the
floor
;
upon
one
wall
hung
the
"
Negresses
Bathing
at
Tobago
.
"
For
the
rest
the
room
appeared
empty
.
Then
,
growing
accustomed
to
the
dim
red
light
,
Noy
made
a
closer
examination
until
he
caught
sight
of
an
object
which
made
him
catch
his
breath
violently
and
hurry
forward
.
Under
the
lofty
open
windows
which
rose
on
the
northern
side
of
the
studio
,
remote
from
all
other
objects
,
was
a
couch
,
and
upon
it
lay
a
small
,
straight
figure
shrouded
in
white
sheets
save
for
its
face
.
John
Barron
had
been
dead
twenty-four
hours
,
and
he
had
hastened
his
own
end
,
by
a
space
of
time
impossible
to
determine
,
through
leaving
his
sick-room
two
days
previously
,
that
he
might
visit
the
picture
gallery
wherein
hung
"
Joe
's
Ship
.
"
It
was
a
step
taken
in
absolute
defiance
of
his
medical
men
.
The
day
of
that
excursion
had
chanced
to
be
a
very
cold
one
,
and
during
the
night
which
followed
it
John
Barron
broke
a
blood
vessel
and
precipitated
his
death
.
Now
,
in
the
hands
of
hirelings
,
without
a
friend
to
put
one
flower
on
his
breast
or
close
his
dim
eyes
,
the
man
lay
waiting
for
an
undertaker
;
and
while
Joe
Noy
glared
at
him
,
unconsciously
gripping
the
weapon
he
had
brought
,
it
seemed
as
though
the
dead
smiled
under
the
red
flicker
of
the
lamp
—
as
though
he
smiled
and
prepared
to
come
back
into
life
to
answer
this
supreme
accuser
.
As
by
an
educated
mind
Joe
Noy
's
estimate
and
assurance
of
the
eternal
tortures
of
hell
cannot
be
adequately
grasped
in
its
full
force
,
so
now
it
is
hard
to
set
forth
with
a
power
sufficiently
luminous
and
terrific
the
effect
of
this
discovery
upon
him
.
He
,
the
weapon
of
the
Almighty
,
found
his
work
finished
and
the
fruits
of
his
labors
snatched
from
his
hand
.
His
enemy
had
escaped
,
and
the
fact
that
he
was
dead
only
made
the
case
harder
.
Had
Barron
hastened
from
him
and
avoided
his
revolver
,
he
could
have
suffered
it
,
knowing
that
the
end
lay
in
the
future
at
the
determination
of
God
;
but
now
the
end
appeared
before
him
accomplished
;
and
it
had
been
attained
without
his
assistance
.
His
labor
was
lost
and
his
longed-for
,
prayed-for
achievement
rendered
impossible
.
He
stood
and
scanned
the
small
,
marble-white
face
,
then
drew
a
box
of
matches
from
his
pocket
,
lighted
one
and
looked
closer
.
Worn
by
disease
to
mere
skin
and
skull
,
there
was
nothing
left
to
suggest
the
dead
man
's
wasted
powers
;
and
generation
of
their
own
destroyers
was
the
only
task
now
left
for
his
brains
.
The
end
of
Noy
's
match
fell
red-hot
on
John
Barron
's
face
.
Then
he
turned
as
footsteps
sounded
;
the
curtains
were
moved
aside
and
the
footman
reappeared
,
followed
by
another
person
.
"
Why
,
you
was
n't
the
undertaker
after
all
!
"
he
explained
.
"
Did
you
think
the
man
was
alive
?
Good
Lord
!
But
you
've
found
him
anyway
.
"
"
Iss
,
I
thot
he
was
alive
.
I
wanted
to
see
en
livin
'
an
'
leave
en
—
"
he
stopped
.
Common
sense
for
once
had
a
word
with
him
and
convinced
him
of
the
folly
of
saying
anything
now
concerning
his
frustrated
projects
.
"
He
died
night
'
fore
last
—
consumption
—
and
he
's
left
money
enough
to
build
a
brace
of
ironclads
,
they
say
,
and
never
no
will
,
and
not
a
soul
on
God
's
earth
is
there
with
any
legal
claim
upon
him
.
To
tell
the
truth
,
we
none
of
us
never
liked
him
.
"
"
If
you
'll
shaw
me
the
way
out
into
the
street
,
I
'll
thank
'
e
,
"
said
Noy
.
The
undertaker
was
already
busy
making
measurements
.
Then
,
a
minute
later
,
Joe
found
himself
standing
under
the
sky
again
;
and
the
darkness
was
full
of
laughter
and
of
voices
,
of
gibing
,
jeering
noises
in
unseen
throats
,
of
rapid
utterances
on
invisible
tongues
.
The
supernatural
things
screamed
into
his
ears
that
he
was
damned
for
a
wish
and
for
an
intention
;
then
they
shrieked
and
yelled
their
derision
,
and
he
understood
well
enough
,
for
the
point
of
view
was
not
a
new
one
.
Given
the
accomplishment
of
his
desire
,
he
was
prepared
to
suffer
eternally
;
now
eternal
suffering
must
follow
on
a
wish
barren
of
fruit
,
and
hell
for
him
would
be
hell
indeed
,
with
no
accomplished
revenge
in
memory
to
lessen
the
torment
.
When
the
voices
at
length
died
and
a
clock
struck
one
,
Noy
came
to
himself
,
and
realized
that
,
in
so
far
as
the
present
affected
him
,
Fate
had
brought
him
back
to
life
and
liberty
by
a
short
cut
.
Then
,
seeing
his
position
,
he
asked
himself
whether
life
was
long
enough
to
make
atonement
and
even
allow
of
ultimate
escape
after
death
.
But
the
fierce
disappointment
which
beat
upon
his
soul
like
a
recurring
wave
,
as
thought
drifted
back
and
back
,
told
him
that
he
had
fairly
won
hell-fire
and
must
abide
by
it
.
So
thinking
,
he
returned
to
his
lodging
,
entered
unobserved
and
prowled
the
small
chamber
till
dawn
.
By
morning
light
all
his
life
appeared
transfigured
and
a
ghastly
anti-climax
faced
the
man
.
Presently
he
remembered
the
letters
he
had
posted
overnight
,
and
the
recollection
of
them
brought
with
it
sudden
resolves
and
a
course
of
action
.
Half
an
hour
later
he
had
reached
Paddington
Station
,
and
was
soon
on
his
way
back
to
Cornwall
.
CHAPTER
FIFTEEN
STARLIGHT
AND
FROST
Born
of
the
sunshine
,
on
a
morning
in
late
December
,
gray
ephemerae
danced
and
dipped
and
fashioned
vanishing
patterns
against
the
green
of
the
great
laurel
at
the
corner
of
Drift
farmyard
.
The
mildness
of
the
day
had
wakened
them
into
brief
life
,
but
even
as
they
twinkled
their
wings
of
gauze
death
was
abroad
.
A
sky
of
unusual
clearness
crowned
the
Cornish
moorland
,
and
Uncle
Chirgwin
,
standing
at
his
kitchen
door
,
already
foretold
frost
,
though
the
morning
was
still
young
.
"
The
air
's
like
milk
just
now
,
sure
'
nough
,
an
'
'
twill
bide
so
till
noon
;
then
,
when
the
sun
begins
to
slope
,
the
cold
will
graw
an
'
graw
to
frost
.
An
'
no
harm
done
,
thank
God
.
"
He
spoke
to
his
niece
,
who
was
in
the
room
behind
him
;
and
as
he
did
so
a
circumstance
of
very
unusual
nature
happened
.
Two
persons
reached
the
front
door
of
the
farm
simultaneously
,
and
a
maid
,
answering
the
double
knock
,
returned
a
moment
later
with
two
communications
,
both
for
Mary
Chirgwin
.
"
Postman
,
he
brot
this
here
,
miss
,
an
'
a
bwoy
from
Mouzle
brot
t'other
.
"
The
first
letter
came
from
London
,
the
second
,
directed
in
a
similar
hand
,
reached
Mary
from
the
adjacent
fishing
hamlet
.
She
knew
the
big
writing
well
enough
,
but
showed
no
emotion
before
the
maid
.
In
fact
her
self
command
was
remarkable
,
for
she
put
both
letters
into
her
pocket
and
made
some
show
of
continuing
her
labors
for
another
five
minutes
before
departing
to
her
room
that
she
might
read
the
news
from
Joe
Noy
.
He
,
it
may
be
said
,
had
reached
Penzance
by
the
same
train
which
conveyed
his
various
missives
,
all
posted
too
late
for
the
mail
upon
the
previous
night
.
Thus
he
reached
the
white
cottage
on
the
cliff
in
time
to
see
Mrs.
Tregenza
and
bid
her
destroy
unread
the
letter
she
would
presently
receive
;
and
,
on
returning
to
his
parents
,
himself
took
from
the
letter-carrier
his
own
communications
to
them
and
burned
both
immediately
.
He
had
also
dispatched
a
boy
to
Drift
that
Mary
might
be
warned
as
to
the
letter
she
would
receive
by
the
morning
post
,
but
the
lad
,
though
ample
time
was
given
him
to
reach
Drift
before
the
postman
,
loitered
by
the
way
.
Thus
the
letters
had
arrived
simultaneously
,
and
it
was
quite
an
open
question
which
the
receiver
of
them
would
open
first
.
Chance
decided
:
Mary
's
hand
,
thrust
haphazard
into
her
pocket
,
came
forth
with
Hoy
's
epistle
recently
dispatched
from
Mousehole
;
and
that
she
read
,
the
accident
saving
her
at
least
some
moments
of
bitter
suffering
.
"
Dear
Mary
,
"
wrote
Noy
,
"
you
will
get
this
by
hand
afore
the
coming
in
of
the
penny
post
.
When
that
comes
in
,
there
will
be
another
letter
for
you
from
me
,
sent
off
from
London
.
It
is
all
wrong
,
so
burn
it
,
and
do
n't
you
read
it
on
no
account
.
Burn
it
to
ashes
,
for
theer
's
a
many
reasons
why
you
should
.
I
be
coming
up-long
to
see
you
arter
dinner
,
and
if
you
can
walk
out
in
the
air
with
me
for
a
bit
I
'll
thank
you
so
to
do
.
Your
friend
,
J
.
Noy
.
Burn
the
letter
to
dust
'
fore
anything
else
.
Do
n't
let
it
bide
a
minute
and
doa
n't
tell
none
you
had
it
.
"
Curiosity
was
no
part
of
Mary
Chirgwin
's
nature
.
Now
she
merely
thanked
Heaven
which
had
led
to
the
right
letter
and
so
enabled
her
unconsciously
to
obey
Joe
's
urgent
command
.
Then
she
returned
to
the
kitchen
,
placed
his
earlier
communication
in
the
heart
of
the
fire
and
watched
while
it
blackened
,
curled
,
blazed
,
and
finally
shuddered
down
into
a
red-hot
ash
.
She
determined
to
see
him
and
walk
with
him
,
as
he
asked
,
if
he
returned
with
clean
hands
.
While
the
letter
which
she
had
read
neither
proved
nor
disproved
such
a
supposition
,
the
woman
yet
felt
a
secret
and
sure
conviction
in
her
heart
that
Noy
was
coming
back
innocent
at
least
of
any
desperate
action
.
That
he
was
in
Cornwall
again
and
a
free
man
appeared
to
her
proof
sufficient
that
he
had
not
committed
violence
.
Mary
allowed
her
anxiety
to
interfere
with
no
duty
.
By
three
o'clock
she
was
ready
to
set
out
,
and
,
looking
from
her
bedroom
window
as
she
tied
on
her
hat
,
she
saw
Joe
Noy
approaching
up
the
hill
.
A
minute
later
she
was
at
the
door
,
and
stood
there
waiting
with
her
eyes
upon
him
as
he
came
up
the
path
.
Then
she
looked
down
,
and
to
the
man
it
seemed
as
though
she
was
gazing
at
his
right
hand
which
held
a
stick
.
"
'
Tis
as
it
was
,
Mary
Chirgwin
—
my
hands
be
white
,
"
he
said
.
"
You
need
n't
fear
,
though
I
promised
if
you
ever
seed
'
em
agin
as
they
'd
be
red
.
'
Tedn
'
so
.
I
was
robbed
of
my
hope
,
Mary
.
The
Lard
took
Joan
fust
;
then
he
took
my
revenge
from
me
.
His
will
be
done
.
The
man
died
four-an'-twenty
hours
'
fore
I
found
en
—
just
four-an'-twenty
lil
hours
—
that
was
all
.
"
"
Thank
the
Almighty
God
for
it
,
Joe
,
as
I
shall
till
the
day
of
my
death
.
Never
was
no
prayer
answered
so
surely
as
mine
for
you
.
"
"
Why
,
maybe
I
'll
graw
to
thank
God
tu
when
'
tis
farther
to
look
back
'
pon
.
I
caa
n't
feel
'
tis
so
yet
.
I
caa
n't
feel
as
he
'm
truly
dead
.
An
'
yet
'
twas
no
lie
,
for
I
seed
en
,
an
'
stood
'
longside
of
en
.
"
"
God
's
Hand
be
everywheer
in
it
.
Think
if
I
'd
read
poor
Joan
's
letter
an
'
tawld
'
e
wheer
the
man
's
plaace
of
livin
'
was
!
"
"
Iss
,
then
I
'd
have
slain
en
.
'
Tis
such
lil
things
do
mark
out
our
paths
.
A
gert
pichsher
o
'
Joan
he
drawed
—
all
done
out
so
large
as
life
;
an
'
I
found
it
,
an
'
it
'
peared
as
if
the
dead
was
riz
up
again
an
'
staring
at
me
.
If
'
tis
all
the
saame
to
you
,
Mary
,
us
'll
go
an
'
look
'
pon
her
graave
now
,
for
I
abbun
seen
it
yet
.
"
They
walked
in
silence
for
some
hundred
yards
along
the
lanes
to
Sancreed
.
Then
Noy
spoke
again
.
"
How
be
uncle
?
"
"
Betwix
'
an
'
between
.
The
trouble
an
'
loss
o
'
Joan
aged
en
cruel
,
an
'
the
floods
has
brot
things
to
a
close
pass
.
'
Twas
the
harder
for
en
'
cause
all
looked
so
more'n
common
healthy
an
'
promisin
'
right
up
to
the
rain
.
But
he
's
got
the
faith
as
moves
mountains
;
he
do
knaw
that
sorrer
ba
n't
sent
for
nort
.
"
"
An
'
you
?
I
wonder
I
'm
bowldacious
'
nough
to
look
'
e
in
the
faace
,
but
sorrer
's
not
forgot
me
neither
.
"
"
'
Tis
a
thing
what
awver-passes
none
.
I
've
forgived
'
e
,
Joe
Noy
,
many
a
long
month
past
,
an
'
I
've
prayed
to
God
to
lead
'
e
through
this
strait
,
an
'
He
have
.
"
"
'
Tis
main
hard
to
knaw
what
road
's
the
right
wan
,
Mary
.
"
"
Iss
fay
,
an
'
it
is
;
an
'
harder
yet
to
follow
'
pon
it
when
found
.
"
"
I
judged
as
God
was
leadin
'
me
against
this
here
evil-doer
to
destroy
en
.
"
"
'
Twas
the
devil
misleadin
'
'
e
an
'
takin
'
'
e
along
on
his
awn
dance
,
till
God
saw
,
an
'
sent
death
.
"
"
Thanks
to
your
prayin
'
,
I
'll
lay
.
"
"
Thanks
to
the
mightiness
of
His
mercy
,
Joe
.
'
Twas
the
God
us
worships
,
you
mind
,
not
Him
of
the
Luke
Gosp'lers
nor
any
other
'
tall
.
Theer
's
awnly
wan
real
,
livin
'
God
;
an
'
you
left
Him
for
a
sham
.
"
"
An
'
I
'm
punished
for't
.
Wheer
should
I
turn
now
?
I
've
thrawed
awver
your
manner
o
'
worship
an
'
I
'm
sick
o
'
the
Gosp'lers
,
for
'
twas
theer
God
as
led
me
to
this
an
'
brot
all
my
trouble
'
pon
me
.
He
caa
n't
be
no
God
worth
namin
'
,
else
how
should
He
a
treated
that
poor
limb
,
Michael
Tregenza
,
same
as
He
has
.
That
man
had
sweated
for
his
God
day
an
'
night
for
fifty
years
.
An
'
see
his
reward
.
"
"
Come
back
,
come
back
to
the
auld
road
again
,
Joe
,
an
'
leave
the
ways
o
'
God
to
God
.
The
butivul
,
braave
thing
'
bout
our
road
be
that
wance
lost
'
tedn
'
allus
lost
.
You
may
get
night-foundered
by
the
way
,
yet
wi
'
the
comin
'
o
'
light
,
theer
's
allus
a
chance
to
make
up
lost
ground
agin
an
'
keep
gwaine
on
.
"
"
A
body
must
b'lieve
in
somethin
'
,
else
he
'm
a
rudderless
vessel
seemin'ly
,
but
wi
'
sich
a
flood
of
'
pinions
'
bout
the
airth
,
how
's
wan
sailorman
to
knaw
what
be
safe
anchorage
and
what
ba
n't
?
"
Mary
argued
with
him
in
strenuous
fashion
and
increased
her
vehemence
as
he
showed
signs
of
yielding
.
She
knew
well
enough
that
religion
was
as
necessary
to
him
in
some
shape
as
to
herself
.
Already
a
pageant
of
winter
sunset
began
to
unfold
fantastic
sheaves
of
splendor
,
and
over
the
horizon
line
of
the
western
moors
the
air
was
wondrously
clear
.
It
faded
to
intense
white
light
where
the
uplands
cut
it
,
while
,
above
,
the
background
of
the
sky
was
a
pure
beryl
gradually
burning
aloft
into
orange
.
Here
waves
of
fire
beat
over
golden
shores
and
red
clouds
extended
as
an
army
in
regular
column
upon
column
.
At
the
zenith
,
billows
of
scarlet
leaped
in
feathery
foam
against
a
purple
continent
and
the
flaming
tide
extended
from
reef
to
reef
among
a
thousand
aerial
bays
and
estuaries
of
alternating
gloom
and
glow
until
shrouded
and
dimmed
in
an
orange
tawny
haze
of
infinite
distance
.
In
the
immediate
foreground
of
this
majestic
display
,
like
a
handful
of
rose-leaves
fallen
out
of
heaven
,
small
clouds
floated
directly
downward
,
withering
to
blackness
as
they
neared
the
earth
and
lost
the
dying
fires
.
Beneath
the
splendor
of
the
sky
the
land
likewise
flamed
,
the
winding
roadways
glimmered
,
and
many
pools
and
ditches
reflected
back
the
circumambient
glory
of
the
air
.
In
a
few
more
minutes
,
Mary
and
Joe
reached
Sancreed
churchyard
and
soon
stood
beside
the
grave
of
Joan
Tregenza
.
"
The
grass
wo
n't
close
proper
till
the
spring
come
,
"
said
Mary
;
"
then
the
turf
will
grow
an
'
make
it
vitty
;
an
'
uncle
's
gwaine
to
set
up
a
good
slate
stone
wi
'
the
name
an
'
date
an
'
some
verses
.
I
planted
them
primroses
'
long
the
top
myself
.
If
wan
abbun
gone
an
'
blossomed
tu
!
"
She
stooped
to
pick
a
primrose
and
an
opening
bud
;
but
Joe
stopped
her
.
"
Doa
n't
'
e
pluck
'
em
.
Never
take
no
flowers
off
of
a
graave
.
They
'm
all
the
dead
have
got
.
"
"
But
they
'll
die
,
Joe
.
Theer
's
frost
bitin
'
in
the
air
already
.
They
'll
be
withered
come
marnin
'
.
"
"
No
matter
for
that
,
"
he
said
;
"
let
'
em
bide
wheer
they
be
.
"
The
man
was
silent
a
while
as
he
looked
at
the
mound
.
Then
he
spoke
again
.
"
Tell
me
about
her
.
Talk
'
bout
her
doin
's
an
'
sayin
's
.
Did
she
forgive
that
man
afore
she
died
or
dedn
'
she
?
"
"
Iss
,
I
reckon
so
.
"
Mary
mentioned
those
things
best
calculated
in
her
opinion
to
lighten
the
other
's
sorrow
.
He
nodded
from
time
to
time
as
she
spoke
,
and
walked
up
and
down
with
his
hands
behind
,
him
.
When
she
stopped
,
he
asked
her
to
tell
him
further
facts
.
Then
the
light
waned
under
the
sycamore
trees
and
only
a
red
fire
still
touched
their
topmost
boughs
.
"
We
'll
go
now
,
"
Noy
said
.
"
An
'
she
died
believin
'
just
the
same
as
what
you
do
—
eh
,
Mary
?
"
"
Uncle
's
sure
of
it
—
positive
sartain
'
twas
so
.
"
"
An
'
you
?
"
"
I
pray
that
he
was
right
.
Iss
fay
,
I
've
grawed
to
b'lieve
truly
our
Joan
was
saved
,
spite
of
all
.
I
never
'
sactly
understood
her
thots
,
nor
she
mine
;
but
she
'm
in
heaven
now
I
do
think
.
"
"
If
bitterness
an
'
sorrer
counts
she
should
be
.
An
'
you
may
take
it
from
me
she
is
.
An
'
I
'll
come
back
,
tu
,
if
I
may
hope
for
awnly
the
lowest
plaace
.
I
'll
come
back
an
'
walk
along
to
church
wance
agin
wi
'
you
,
wance
'
fore
I
goes
back
to
sea
.
Will
'
e
let
me
do
that
,
Mary
Chirgwin
?
"
"
I
thank
God
to
hear
you
say
so
.
You
'm
welcome
to
come
along
wi
'
me
next
Sunday
if
you
mind
to
.
"
"
An
'
now
us
'll
go
up
the
Carn
an
'
look
out
'
pon
the
land
and
see
the
sun
sink
.
"
They
left
the
churchyard
together
,
climbed
the
neighboring
eminence
and
stood
silently
at
the
top
,
their
faces
to
the
West
.
A
great
pervasive
calm
and
stillness
in
the
air
heralded
frost
.
The
sky
had
grown
strangely
clear
,
and
only
the
rack
and
ruin
of
the
recent
imposing
display
now
huddled
into
the
arms
of
night
on
the
eastern
horizon
.
The
sun
,
quickly
dropping
,
loomed
mighty
and
fiery
red
.
Presently
it
touched
the
horizon
,
and
its
progress
,
unappreciated
in
the
sky
,
became
accentuated
by
the
rim
of
the
world
.
A
semi-circle
of
fire
,
a
narrowing
