第34章

calledFarleighHall——towardthecloseofthehuntingseason。 OnthedayofwhichIamnowwriting——destinedtobeamemorabledayinourcalendar——thehoundsmeetatFarleighHall。Mrs。 FairbankandIaremountedontwoofthebesthorsesinmyfriend’sstables。Wearequiteunworthyofthatdistinction；forweknownothingandcarenothingabouthunting。Ontheotherhand，wedelightinriding，andweenjoythebreezySpringmorningandthefairandfertileEnglishlandscapesurroundingusoneveryside。 Whilethehuntprospers，wefollowthehunt。Butwhenacheckoccurs——whentimepassesandpatienceissorelytried；whenthebewildereddogsrunhitherandthither，andstronglanguagefallsfromthelipsofexasperatedsportsmen——wefailtotakeanyfurtherinterestintheproceedings。Weturnourhorses’headsinthedirectionofagrassylane，delightfullyshadedbytrees。Wetrotmerrilyalongthelane，andfindourselvesonanopencommon。Wegallopacrossthecommon，andfollowthewindingsofasecondlane。 Wecrossabrook，wepassthroughavillage，weemergeintopastoralsolitudeamongthehills。Thehorsestosstheirheads，andneightoeachother，andenjoyitasmuchaswedo。Thehuntisforgotten。Weareashappyasacoupleofchildren；weareactuallysingingaFrenchsong——wheninonemomentourmerrimentcomestoanend。Mywife’shorsesetsoneofhisforefeetonaloosestone，andstumbles。Hisrider’sreadyhandsaveshimfromfalling。But，atthefirstattempthemakestogoon，thesadtruthshowsitself——atendonisstrained；thehorseislame。 Whatistobedone？Wearestrangersinalonelypartofthecountry。Lookwherewemay，weseenosignsofahumanhabitation。 Thereisnothingforitbuttotakethebridleroadupthehill，andtrywhatwecandiscoverontheotherside。Itransferthesaddles，andmountmywifeonmyownhorse。Heisnotusedtocarryalady；hemissesthefamiliarpressureofaman’slegsoneithersideofhim；hefidgets，andstarts，andkicksupthedust。 Ifollowonfoot，atarespectfuldistancefromhisheels，leadingthelamehorse。Isthereamoremiserableobjectonthefaceofcreationthanalamehorse？Ihaveseenlamemenandlamedogswhowerecheerfulcreatures；butIneveryetsawalamehorsewhodidn’tlookheartbrokenoverhisownmisfortune。 Forhalfanhourmywifecapersandcurvetssidewaysalongthebridleroad。Itrudgeonbehindher；andtheheartbrokenhorsehaltsbehindme。Hardbythetopofthehill，ourmelancholyprocessionpassesaSomersetshirepeasantatworkinafield。I summonthemantoapproachus；andthemanlooksatmestolidly，fromthemiddleofthefield，withoutstirringastep。IaskatthetopofmyvoicehowfaritistoFarleighHall。TheSomersetshirepeasantanswersatthetopofHISvoice: “Vourteenmile。Gi’oiadrapo’zyder。“ Itranslate(formywife’sbenefit)fromtheSomersetshirelanguageintotheEnglishlanguage。WearefourteenmilesfromFarleighHall；andourfriendinthefielddesirestoberewarded，forgivingusthatinformation，withadropofcider。Thereisthepeasant，paintedbyhimself！Quiteabitofcharacter，mydear！ Quiteabitofcharacter！ Mrs。Fairbankdoesn’tviewthestudyofagriculturalhumannaturewithmyrelish。Herfidgetyhorsewillnotallowheramoment’srepose；sheisbeginningtolosehertemper。 “Wecan’tgofourteenmilesinthisway，“shesays。“Whereisthenearestinn？Askthatbruteinthefield！“ Itakeashillingfrommypocketandholditupinthesun。Theshillingexercisesmagneticvirtues。Theshillingdrawsthepeasantslowlytowardmefromthemiddleofthefield。IinformhimthatwewanttoputupthehorsesandtohireacarriagetotakeusbacktoFarleighHall。Wherecanwedothat？Thepeasantanswers(withhiseyeontheshilling): “AtOonderbridge，tobezure。“(AtUnderbridge，tobesure。) “IsitfartoUnderbridge？“ Thepeasantrepeats，“VartoOonderbridge？“——andlaughsatthequestion。“Hoo-hoo-hoo！“(Underbridgeisevidentlycloseby——ifwecouldonlyfindit。)“Willyoushowustheway，myman？““Willyougi’oiadrapofzyder？“Icourteouslybendmyhead，andpointtotheshilling。Theagriculturalintelligenceexertsitself。Thepeasantjoinsourmelancholyprocession。Mywifeisafinewoman，butheneveroncelooksatmywife——and，moreextraordinarystill，heneverevenlooksatthehorses。Hiseyesarewithhismind——andhismindisontheshilling。 Wereachthetopofthehill——and，beholdontheotherside，nestlinginavalley，theshrineofourpilgrimage，thetownofUnderbridge！Hereourguideclaimshisshilling，andleavesustofindouttheinnforourselves。Iamconstitutionallyapoliteman。Isay“Goodmorning“atparting。Theguidelooksatmewiththeshillingbetweenhisteethtomakesurethatitisagoodone。 “Marnin！“hesayssavagely——andturnshisbackonus，asifwehadoffendedhim。Acuriousproduct，this，ofthegrowthofcivilization。IfIdidn’tseeachurchspireatUnderbridge，I mightsupposethatwehadlostourselvesonasavageisland。 II Arrivingatthetown，wehadnodifficultyinfindingtheinn。Thetowniscomposedofonedesolatestreet；andmidwayinthatstreetstandstheinn——anancientstonebuildingsadlyoutofrepair。Thepaintingonthesign-boardisobliterated。Theshuttersoverthelongrangeoffrontwindowsareallclosed。Acockandhishensaretheonlylivingcreaturesatthedoor。Plainly，thisisoneoftheoldinnsofthestage-coachperiod，ruinedbytherailway。Wepassthroughtheopenarcheddoorway，andfindnoonetowelcomeus。Weadvanceintothestableyardbehind；Iassistmywifetodismount——andthereweareinthepositionalreadydisclosedtoviewattheopeningofthisnarrative。Nobelltoring。NohumancreaturetoanswerwhenIcall。Istandhelpless，withthebridlesofthehorsesinmyhand。Mrs。Fairbanksauntersgracefullydownthelengthoftheyardanddoes——whatallwomendo，whentheyfindthemselvesinastrangeplace。Sheopenseverydoorasshepassesit，andpeepsin。Onmyside，Ihavejustrecoveredmybreath，I amonthepointofshoutingforthehostlerforthethirdandlasttime，whenIhearMrs。Fairbanksuddenlycalltome: “Percy！comehere！“ Hervoiceiseagerandagitated。Shehasopenedalastdoorattheendoftheyard，andhasstartedbackfromsomesightwhichhassuddenlymetherview。Ihitchthehorses’bridlesonarustynailinthewallnearme，andjoinmywife。Shehasturnedpale，andcatchesmenervouslybythearm。 “Goodheavens！“shecries；“lookatthat！“ Ilook——andwhatdoIsee？Iseeadingylittlestable，containingtwostalls。Inonestallahorseismunchinghiscorn。Intheotheramanislyingasleeponthelitter。 Aworn，withered，woebegonemaninahostler’sdress。Hishollowwrinkledcheeks，hisscantygrizzledhair，hisdryyellowskin，telltheirowntaleofpastsorroworsuffering。Thereisanominousfrownonhiseyebrows——thereisapainfulnervouscontractiononthesideofhismouth。IhearhimbreathingconvulsivelywhenIfirstlookin；heshuddersandsighsinhissleep。Itisnotapleasantsighttosee，andIturnroundinstinctivelytothebrightsunlightintheyard。Mywifeturnsmebackagaininthedirectionofthestabledoor。 “Wait！“shesays。“Wait！hemaydoitagain。“ “Dowhatagain？“ “Hewastalkinginhissleep，Percy，whenIfirstlookedin。Hewasdreamingsomedreadfuldream。Hush！he’sbeginningagain。“ Ilookandlisten。Themanstirsonhismiserablebed。Themanspeaksinaquick，fiercewhisperthroughhisclinchedteeth。 “Wakeup！Wakeup，there！Murder！“ Thereisanintervalofsilence。Hemovesoneleanarmslowlyuntilitrestsoverhisthroat；heshudders，andturnsonhisstraw；heraiseshisarmfromhisthroat，andfeeblystretchesitout；hishandclutchesatthestrawonthesidetowardwhichhehasturned；heseemstofancythatheisgraspingattheedgeofsomething。Iseehislipsbegintomoveagain；Istepsoftlyintothestable；mywifefollowsme，withherhandfastclaspedinmine。 Webothbendoverhim。Heistalkingoncemoreinhissleep—— strangetalk，madtalk，thistime。 “Lightgrayeyes“(wehearhimsay)，“andadroopinthelefteyelid——flaxenhair，withagold-yellowstreakinit——allright，mother！fair，whitearmswithadownonthem——little，lady’shand，withareddishlookroundthefingernails——theknife——thecursedknife——firstononeside，thenontheother——aha，youshe-devil！ whereistheknife？“ Hestopsandgrowsrestlessonasudden。Weseehimwrithingonthestraw。Hethrowsupbothhishandsandgaspshystericallyforbreath。Hiseyesopensuddenly。Foramomenttheylookatnothing，withavacantglitterinthem——thentheycloseagainindeepersleep。Ishedreamingstill？Yes；butthedreamseemstohavetakenanewcourse。Whenhespeaksnext，thetoneisaltered； thewordsarefew——sadlyandimploringlyrepeatedoverandoveragain。“Sayyouloveme！IamsofondofYOU。Sayyouloveme！ sayyouloveme！“Hesinksintodeeperanddeepersleep，faintlyrepeatingthosewords。Theydieawayonhislips。Hespeaksnomore。 BythistimeMrs。Fairbankhasgotoverherterror；sheisdevouredbycuriositynow。Themiserablecreatureonthestrawhasappealedtotheimaginativesideofhercharacter。Herillimitableappetiteforromancehungersandthirstsformore。Sheshakesmeimpatientlybythearm。 “Doyouhear？Thereisawomanatthebottomofit，Percy！Thereisloveandmurderinit，Percy！Wherearethepeopleoftheinn？ Gointotheyard，andcalltothemagain。“ Mywifebelongs，onhermother’sside，totheSouthofFrance。TheSouthofFrancebreedsfinewomenwithhottempers。Isaynomore。 Marriedmenwillunderstandmyposition。Singlemenmayneedtobetoldthatthereareoccasionswhenwemustnotonlyloveandhonor—— wemustalsoobey——ourwives。 IturntothedoortoobeyMYwife，andfindmyselfconfrontedbyastrangerwhohasstolenonusunawares。Thestrangerisatiny，sleepy，rosyoldman，withavacantpudding-face，andashiningbaldhead。Hewearsdrabbreechesandgaiters，andarespectablesquare-tailedancientblackcoat。Ifeelinstinctivelythathereisthelandlordoftheinn。 “Goodmorning，sir，“saystherosyoldman。“I’malittlehardofhearing。Wasityouthatwasa-callingjustnowintheyard？“ BeforeIcananswer，mywifeinterposes。Sheinsists(inashrillvoice，adaptedtoourhost’shardnessofhearing)onknowingwhothatunfortunatepersonissleepingonthestraw。“Wheredoeshecomefrom？Whydoeshesaysuchdreadfulthingsinhissleep？Ishemarriedorsingle？Didheeverfallinlovewithamurderess？ Whatsortofalookingwomanwasshe？Didshereallystabhimornot？Inshort，dearMr。Landlord，tellusthewholestory！“ DearMr。LandlordwaitsdrowsilyuntilMrs。Fairbankhasquitedone——thendelivershimselfofhisreplyasfollows: “Hisname’sFrancisRaven。He’sanIndependentMethodist。Hewasforty-fiveyearoldlastbirthday。Andhe’smyhostler。That’shisstory。“ Mywife’shotsoutherntemperfindsitswaytoherfoot，andexpressesitselfbyastamponthestableyard。 Thelandlordturnshimselfsleepilyround，andlooksatthehorses。 “Afinepairofhorses，themtwointheyard。Doyouwanttoput’eminmystables？“Ireplyintheaffirmativebyanod。Thelandlord，bentonmakinghimselfagreeabletomywife，addressesheroncemore。“I’ma-goingtowakeFrancisRaven。He’sanIndependentMethodist。Hewasforty-fiveyearoldlastbirthday。 Andhe’smyhostler。That’shisstory。“ Havingissuedthissecondeditionofhisinterestingnarrative，thelandlordentersthestable。WefollowhimtoseehowhewillwakeFrancisRaven，andwhatwillhappenuponthat。Thestablebroomstandsinacorner；thelandlordtakesit——advancestowardthesleepinghostler——andcoollystirsthemanupwithabroomasifhewasawildbeastinacage。FrancisRavenstartstohisfeetwithacryofterror——looksatuswildly，withahorridglareofsuspicioninhiseyes——recovershimselfthenextmoment——andsuddenlychangesintoadecent，quiet，respectableserving-man。 “Ibegyourpardon，ma’am。Ibegyourpardon，sir。“ Thetoneandmannerinwhichhemakeshisapologiesarebothabovehisapparentstationinlife。IbegintocatchtheinfectionofMrs。Fairbank’sinterestinthisman。Webothfollowhimoutintotheyardtoseewhathewilldowiththehorses。Themannerinwhichheliftstheinjuredlegofthelamehorsetellsmeatoncethatheunderstandshisbusiness。Quicklyandquietly，heleadstheanimalintoanemptystable；quicklyandquietly，hegetsabucketofhotwater，andputsthelamehorse’slegintoit。“Thewarmwaterwillreducetheswelling，sir。Iwillbandagethelegafterwards。“Allthathedoesisdoneintelligently；allthathesays，hesaystothepurpose。 Nothingwild，nothingstrangeabouthimnow。Isthisthesamemanwhomweheardtalkinginhissleep？——thesamemanwhowokewiththatcryofterrorandthathorridsuspicioninhiseyes？I determinetotryhimwithoneortwoquestions。