That’sthewaythewillisdonein’eaven。That’swotIarstforalldaylong——forittobedoneonearthasitisin’eaven。’WhatcouldIsay?CouldItellherthatthewilloftheDeityontheearthhecreatedwasonlythewilltodoevil——togivepain——tocrushthecreaturemadeinHisownimage。Whatelsedowemeanwhenwesayunderallhorrorandagonythatbefalls,`ItisGod’swill——God’swillbedone。’
BaseunbelieverthoughIam,Icouldnotspeakthewords。Oh,shehassomethingwehavenot。Herpoor,littlemisspentlifehaschangeditselfintoashiningthing,thoughitshinesandglowsonlyinthishideousplace。
Sheherselfdoesnotknowofitsshining。ButDrunkenBetwouldstaggeruptoherroomandasktobetoldwhatshecalledher`pantermine’
stories。Ihaveseenhertheresittinglistening——listeningwithstrangequietonheranddullyearninginhersoddeneyes。Sowouldotherandworsewomengotoher,andI,whohadstruggledwiththem,couldseethatshehadreachedsomeremotelongingintheirbeingswhichIhadnevertouched。Intimetheseedwouldhavestirredtolife——itisbeginningtostirevennow。Duringthemonthssinceshecamebacktothecourt——thoughtheyhavelaughedather——bothmenandwomenhavebeguntoseeherasacreatureweirdlysetapart。Mostofthemfeelsomethinglikeaweofher;theyhalfbelieveherprayerstobebewitchments,buttheywantthemontheirside。
Theyhaveneverwantedmine。ThatIhaveknown——KNOWN。ShebelievesthatherDeityisinAppleBlossomCourt——inthedireholesitspeoplelivein,onthebrokenstairway,ineverynookandawfulcrannyofit——
agreatGlorywewillnotsee——onlywaitingtobecalledandtoanswer。
Do_I_believeit——doyou——doanyofthoseanointedofuswhopreacheachdaysoglibly`GodisEVERYWHERE’?
Whoistheonewhobelieves?IfthereweresuchamanhewouldgoaboutasMosesdidwhen`Hewistnotthathisfaceshone。’\"
Theyhadgoneouttogetherandwerestandinginthefoginthecourt。Thecurateremovedhishatandpassedhishandkerchiefoverhisdampforehead,hisbreathcomingandgoingalmostsobbingly,hiseyesstaringstraightbeforehimintotheyellownessofthehaze。
\"Who,\"hesaidafteramomentofsingularsilence,\"whoareyou?\"
AntonyDarthesitatedafewseconds,andattheendofhispauseheputhishandintohisovercoatpocket。
\"IfyouwillcomeupstairswithmetotheroomwherethegirlGladlives,Iwilltellyou,\"hesaid,\"butbeforewegoIwanttohandsomethingovertoyou。\"
Thecurateturnedanamazedgazeuponhim。
\"Whatisit?\"heasked。
Dartwithdrewhishandfromhispocket,andthepistolwasinit。
\"Icameoutthismorningtobuythis,\"hesaid。\"Iintended——nevermindwhatIintended。Awrongturntakeninthefogbroughtmehere。Takethisthingfrommeandkeepit。\"
Thecuratetookthepistolandputitintohisownpocketwithoutcomment。
Inthecourseofhislaborshehadseendesperatemenanddesperatethingsmanytimes。Hehadevenbeen——atmoments——adesperatemanthinkingdesperatethingshimself,thoughnohumanbeinghadeversuspectedthefact。Thismanhadfacedsometragedy,hecouldsee。
Hadhebeenonthevergeofacrime——hadhelookedmurderintheeyes?
Whathadmadehimpause?WasitpossiblethatthedreamofJinnyMontaubynbeingintheairhadreachedhisbrain——hisbeing?
Helookedalmostappealinglyathim,butheonlysaidaloud:
\"Letusgoupstairs,then。\"
Sotheywent。
AstheypassedthedooroftheroomwherethedeadwomanlayDartwentinandspoketoMissMontaubyn,whowasstillthere。
\"Iftherearethingswantedhere,\"
hesaid,\"thiswillbuythem。\"Andheputsomemoneyintoherhand。
Shedidnotseemsurprisedattheincongruityofhisshabbinessproducingmoney。
\"Well,now,\"shesaid,\"IWAS
wonderin’an’askin’。I’dlike’ercleanan’nice,an’there’smilkwantedbadforthebiby。\"
IntheroomtheymountedtoGladwastryingtofeedthechildwithbreadsoftenedintea。Pollysatnearherlookingonwithrestless,eagereyes。Shehadneverseenanythingofherownbabybutitslimpnewbornanddeadbodybeingcarriedawayoutofsight。Shehadnotevendaredtoaskwhatwasdonewithsuchpoorlittlecarrion。Thetyrannyofthelawoflifemadeherwanttopawandtouchthislatelybornthing,asheragonyhadgivenhernofruitofherownbodytotouchandpawandnuzzleandcaressasmothercreatureswillwhethertheybewomenortigressesordovesorfemalecats。
\"Letmeholdher,Glad,\"shehalfwhimpered。\"Whenshe’sfedletmegethertosleep。\"
\"Allright,\"Gladanswered;\"wecouldlookafter’erbetweenuswellenough。\"
Thethiefwasstillsittingonthehearth,butbeingfullfedandcomfortableforthefirsttimeinmanyaday,hehadrestedhisheadagainstthewallandfallenintoprofoundsleep。
\"Wot’sup?\"saidGladwhenthetwomencamein。\"Isanythin’
’appenin’?\"
\"Ihavecomeupheretotellyousomething,\"Dartanswered。\"Letussitdownagainroundthefire。Itwilltakealittletime。\"
GladwitheagereyesonhimhandedthechildtoPollyandsatdownwithoutamoment’shesitance,avidofwhatwastocome。Shenudgedthethiefwithfriendlyelbowandhestartedupawake。
\"’E’sgotsomethin’totellus,\"
sheexplained。\"Thecurick’scomeupto’earit,too。Sit’ere,Polly,\"
withelbowjerktowardthebundleofsacks。\"It’sgotitsstummickfullan’it’llgotosleepfastenough。\"
Sotheysatagainintheweirdcircle。Neitherthestrangenessofthegroupnorthesqualorofthehearthwereofanaturetobenewthingstothecurate。HiseyesfixedthemselvesonDart’sface,asdidtheeyesofthethief,thebeggar,andtheyoungthingofthestreet。Nooneglancedawayfromhim。
Histellingofhisstorywasalmostmonotonousinitssemi—reflectivequietnessoftone。Thestrangenesstohimself——thoughitwasastrangenessheacceptedabsolutelywithoutprotest——layinhistellingitatall,andinasenseofhisknowledgethateachofthesecreatureswouldunderstandandmysteriouslyknowwhatdepthshehadtouchedthisday。
\"JustbeforeIleftmylodgingsthismorning,\"hesaid,\"IfoundmyselfstandinginthemiddleofmyroomandspeakingtoSomethingaloud。IdidnotknowIwasgoingtospeak。IdidnotknowwhatI
wasspeakingto。Iheardmyownvoicecryoutinagony,`Lord,Lord,whatshallIdotobesaved?’\"
Thecuratemadeasuddenmove—
mentinhisplaceandhissallowyoungfaceflushed。Buthesaidnothing。
Glad’ssmallandsharpcountenancebecamecurious。
\"`Speak,Lord,thyservant’eareth,’\"shequotedtentatively。
\"No,\"answeredDart;\"itwasnotlikethat。Ihadneverthoughtofsuchthings。Ibelievednothing。
IwasgoingouttobuyapistolandwhenIreturnedintendedtoblowmybrainsout。\"
\"Why?\"askedGlad,withpassionatelyintenteyes;\"why?\"
\"BecauseIwaswornoutanddonefor,andalltheworldseemedwornoutanddonefor。AndamongotherthingsIbelievedIwasbeginningslowlytogomad。\"
Fromthethiefthereburstforthalowgroanandheturnedhisfacetothewall。
\"I’vebeenthere,\"hesaid;\"I’mneartherenow。\"
Darttookupspeechagain。
\"Therewasnoanswer——none。
AsIstoodwaiting——Godknowsforwhat——thedeadstillnessoftheroomwaslikethedeadstillnessofthegrave。
AndIwentoutsayingtomysoul,`Thisiswhathappenstothefoolwhocriesaloudinhispain。’\"
\"I’vecriedaloud,\"saidthethief,\"andsometimesitseemedasifananswerwascoming——butIalwaysknewitneverwould!\"inatorturedvoice。
\"’Tain’tfairtoarstthatwye,\"
Gladputinwithshrewdlogic。
\"MissMontaubynsheallersknowsitWILLcome——an’itdoes。\"
\"Something——notmyself——turnedmyfeettowardthisplace,\"saidDart。
\"Iwasthrustfromonethingtoanother。Iwasforcedtoseeandhearthingscloseathand。IthasbeenasifIwasunderaspell。Thewomanintheroombelow——thewomanlyingdead!\"Hestoppedasecond,andthenwenton:\"Thereistoomuchthatiscryingoutaloud。AmansuchasIam——ithasFORCEDitselfuponme——cannotleavesuchthingsandgivehimselftothedust。IcannotexplainclearlybecauseIamnotthinkingasIamaccustomedtothink。Achangehascomeuponme。Ishallnotusethepistol——asImeanttouseit。\"
Gladmadeafriendlyclutchatthesleeveofhisshabbycoat。
\"RightO!\"shecried。\"That’sit!YoubuckupsimeasItoldyer。
Y’ain’tstonybrokean’there’s’allersto—morrer。\"
AntonyDart’sexpressionwasweirdlyretrospective。
\"Ididnotthinksothismorning,\"
heanswered。
\"Butthereis,\"saidthegirl。
\"Ain’ttherenow,curick?There’saloto’workinyeryet;yercoulddoallsortso’thingsify’ain’ttooproud。I’ll’elpyer。So’llthecurick。Y’ain’tfoundoutyetwhatalittlefolkscanliveontillluckturns。Me,I’mgoin’totryMissMontaubyn’swye。Le’sbothtry。Le’sbelievethingsiscomin’。
Le’sget’ertotalktoussomemore。\"
Thecuratewasthinkingthethingoverdeeply。
\"Yersee,\"Gladenlargedcheerfully,\"yerlookalmostlikeagentleman。
P’rapsyercanwriteagood’andan’spellallright。Canyer?\"
\"Yes。\"
\"Ithink,perhaps,\"thecuratebeganreflectively,\"particularlyifyoucanwritewell,Imightbeabletogetyousomework。\"
\"Idonotwantwork,\"Dartansweredslowly。\"AtleastIdonotwantthekindyouwouldbelikelytoofferme。\"
Thecuratefeltashock,asifcoldwaterhadbeendashedoverhim。
Somehowithadnotonceoccurredtohimthatthemancouldbeoneoftheeducateddegenerateviciousforwhomnopowertohelplayinanyhands——yethewasnotthecommonvagrant——andhewasplainlyonthepointofproducinganexcuseforrefusingwork。
Theotherman,seeinghisstartandhisamazed,troubledflush,putoutahandandtouchedhisarmapologetically。
\"Ibegyourpardon,\"hesaid。
\"OneofthethingsIwasgoingtotellyou——Ihadnotfinished——wasthatIAMwhatiscalledagentleman。
Iamalsowhattheworldknowsasarichman。IamSirOliverHolt。\"
Eachmemberofthepartygazedathimaghast。Itwasanenormousnametoclaim。Eventhetwofemalecreaturesknewwhatitstoodfor。Itwasthenamewhichrepresentedthegreatestwealthandpowerintheworldoffinanceandschemesofbusiness。
Itstoodforfinancialinfluencewhichcouldchangethefaceofnationalfortunesandbringaboutcrises。Itwasknownthroughouttheworld。YesterdaythenewspaperrumorthatitsownerhadmysteriouslyleftEnglandhadcausedmenon’Changetodiscusspossibilitiestogetherwithloweredvoices。
Gladstaredatthecurate。Forthefirsttimeshelookeddisturbedandalarmed。
\"Blimme,\"sheejaculated,\"’e’sgoneoff’isnut,porechap!——’e’sgoneoffit!\"
\"No,\"themananswered,\"youshallcometome\"——hehesitatedasecondwhileashadepassedoverhiseyes——\"TO—MORROW。Andyoushallsee。\"
Herosequietlytohisfeetandthecuraterosealso。Abnormalastheclimaxwas,itwastobeseenthattherewasnomistakeabouttherevelation。Themanwasacreatureofauthorityandusedtocarryingconvictionbyhisunsupportedword。
Thatmadeitself,bysomeclear,unspokenmethod,plain。
\"YouareSirOliverHolt!Andafewhoursagoyouwereonthepointof——\"
\"Endingitall——inanobscurelodging。Afterwardtheearthwouldhavebeenshovelledontoawork—
housecoffin。Itwasanawfulthing。\"
Heshookoffapassionateshudder。
\"Therewasnowealthonearththatcouldgivemeamoment’sease——
sleep——hope——life。ThewholeworldwasfullofthingsIloathedthesightandthoughtof。Thedoctorssaidmyconditionwasphysical。Perhapsitwas——perhapsto—dayhasstrangelygivenahealthfuljolttomynerves——perhapsIhavebeendraggedawayfromtheagonyofmorbidityandplungedintonewintenseemotionswhichhavesavedmefromthelastthingandtheworst——SAVED
me!\"
Hestoppedsuddenlyandhisfaceflushed,andthenquiteslowlyturnedpale。
\"SAVEDME!\"herepeatedthewordsasthecuratesawtheawedbloodcreepinglyrecede。\"Whoknows,whoknows!Howmanyexplanationsoneisreadytogivebeforeonethinksofwhatwesaywebelieve。
Perhapsitwas——theAnswer!\"
Thecuratebowedhisheadreverently。
\"Perhapsitwas。\"
ThegirlGladsatclingingtoherknees,hereyeswideandawedandwithasuddengushofhysterictearsrushingdownhercheeks。
\"That’sthewye!That’sthewye!\"shegulpedout。\"Noonewon’tneverbelieve——theywon’t,NEVER。That’swhatshesees,MissMontaubyn。Youdon’t,’Edon’t,\"
withajerktowardthecurate。\"I
ain’tnothin’butME,butblimmeifI
don’t——blimme!\"
SirOliverHoltgrewpalerstill。
HefeltashehaddonewhenJinnyMontaubyn’spoordresssweptagainsthim。Hisvoiceshookwhenhespoke。
\"SodoI,\"hesaidwithasuddendeepcatchofthebreath;\"itwastheAnswer。\"
InafewmomentsmorehewenttothegirlPollyandlaidahandonhershoulder。
\"Ishalltakeyouhometoyourmother,\"hesaid。\"Ishalltakeyoumyselfandcareforyouboth。Sheshallknownothingyouareafraidofherhearing。Ishallaskhertobringupthechild。Youwillhelpher。\"
Thenhetouchedthethief,whogotupwhiteandshakingandwitheyesmoistwithexcitement。
\"Youshallneverseeanothermanclaimyourthoughtbecauseyouhavenottimeormoneytoworkitout。
Youwillgowithme。Thereareto—morrowsenoughforyou!\"
Gladstillsatclingingtoherkneesandwithtearsrunning,buttheuglinessofhersharp,smallfacewasathinganangelmighthavepausedtosee。
\"Youdon’twanttogoawayfromhere,\"SirOliversaidtoher,andsheshookherhead。
\"No,notme。ItoldyerwotI
wanted。Lemmedoit。\"
\"Youshall,\"heanswered,\"andIwillhelpyou。\"
ThethingswhichdevelopedinAppleBlossomCourtlater,thethingswhichcametoeachofthosewhohadsatintheweirdcircleroundthefire,therevelationsofnewexistencewhichcametoherself,arousednoamazementinJinnyMontaubyn’smind。Shehadaskedandbelievedallthings——andallthiswasbutanotheroftheAnswers。