’Becauseyoutookmein，mylad，inbanishingmetothatcursedcountryunderpretencethatitwasformygood。Youwereapairofhypocritestosayso。Itwasdonetogetridofme——nomorenorless。But，byJerry，I’mamatchforyenow!I’llspoilyoursoulsforpreaching。Mydaughterisgoingtobemarriedtothesquirehere。I’veheardthenews——Isawitinapaper!’
’Itispremature——’
’Iknowitistrue；andI’mherfather，andIshallgiveheraway，orthere’llbeahellofarow，Icanassureye!Isthatwherethegennlemanlives？’
JoshuaHalboroughwrithedinimpotentdespair。Fellmerhadnotyetpositivelydeclaredhimself，hismotherwashardlywonround；ascenewiththeirfatherintheparishwoulddemolishasfairapalaceofhopesaswaseverbuilded。Themillwrightrose。’Ifthat’swherethesquirelivesI’mgoingtocall。JustarrivedfromCanadywithherfortune——ha，ha!Iwishnoharmtothegennleman，andthegennlemanwillwishnoharmtome。ButIliketotakemyplaceinthefamily，andstanduponmyrights，andlowerpeople’spride!’
’You’vesucceededalready!Where’sthatwomanyoutookwithyou——’
’Woman!ShewasmywifeaslawfulastheConstitution——asightmorelawfulthanyourmotherwastillsometimeafteryouwereborn!’
Joshuahadformanyyearsbeforeheardwhispersthathisfatherhadcajoledhismotherintheirearlyacquaintance，andhadmadesomewhattardyamends；butneverfromhisfather’slipstillnow。Itwasthelaststroke，andhecouldnotbearit。Hesankbackagainstthehedge。’Itisover!’hesaid。’Heruinsusall!’
Themillwrightmovedon，wavinghissticktriumphantly，andthetwobrothersstoodstill。Theycouldseehisdrabfigurestalkingalongthepath，andoverhisheadthelightsfromtheconservatoryofNarrobourneHouse，insidewhichAlbertFellmermightpossiblybesittingwithRosaatthatmoment，holdingherhand，andaskinghertosharehishomewithhim。
Thestaggeringwhitey-brownform，advancingtoputablotonallthis，hadbeendiminishingintheshade；andnowsuddenlydisappearedbesideaweir。Therewasthenoiseofaflounceinthewater。
’Hehasfallenin!’saidCornelius，startingforwardtorunfortheplaceatwhichhisfatherhadvanished。
Joshua，awakingfromthestupefiedreverieintowhichhehadsunk，rushedtotheother’ssidebeforehehadtakentensteps。’Stop，stop，whatareyouthinkingof？’hewhisperedhoarsely，graspingCornelius’sarm。
’Pullinghimout!’
’Yes，yes——soamI。But——waitamoment——’
’But，Joshua!’
’Herlifeandhappiness，youknow——Cornelius——andyourreputationandmine——andourchanceofrisingtogether，allthree——’
Heclutchedhisbrother’sarmtothebone；andastheystoodbreathlessthesplashingandflounderingintheweircontinued；overittheysawthehopefullightsfromthemanor-houseconservatorywinkingthroughthetreesastheirbarebrancheswavedtoandfro。
Theflounderingandsplashinggrewweaker，andtheycouldheargurglingwords：’Help——I’mdrownded!Rosie——Rosie!’
’We’llgo——wemustsavehim。OJoshua!’
’Yes，yes!wemust!’
Stilltheydidnotmove，butwaited，holdingeachother，eachthinkingthesamethought。Weightsofleadseemedtobeaffixedtotheirfeet，whichwouldnolongerobeytheirwills。Themeadbecamesilent。Overittheyfanciedtheycouldseefiguresmovingintheconservatory。Theairupthereseemedtoemitgentlekisses。
Corneliusstartedforwardatlast，andJoshuaalmostsimultaneously。
Twoorthreeminutesbroughtthemtothebrinkofthestream。Atfirsttheycouldseenothinginthewater，thoughitwasnotsodeepnorthenightsodarkbutthattheirfather’slightkerseymerecoatwouldhavebeenvisibleifhehadlainatthebottom。Joshualookedthiswayandthat。
’Hehasdriftedintotheculvert，’hesaid。
Belowthefoot-bridgeoftheweirthestreamsuddenlynarrowedtohalfitswidth，topassunderabarrelarchorculvertconstructedforwaggonstocrossintothemiddleofthemeadinhaymakingtime。
Itbeingatpresenttheseasonofhighwaterthearchwasfulltothecrown，againstwhichtheripplescluckedeverynowandthen。Atthispointhehadjustcaughtsightofapaleobjectslippingunder。Inamomentitwasgone。
Theywenttothelowerend，butnothingemerged。Foralongtimetheytriedatbothendstoeffectsomecommunicationwiththeinterior，buttonopurpose。
’Weoughttohavecomesooner!’saidtheconscience-strickenCornelius，whentheywerequiteexhausted，anddrippingwet。
’Isupposeweought，’repliedJoshuaheavily。Heperceivedhisfather’swalking-stickonthebank；hastilypickingituphestuckitintothemudamongthesedge。Thentheywenton。
’Shallwe——sayanythingaboutthisaccident？’whisperedCorneliusastheyapproachedthedoorofJoshua’shouse。
’What’stheuse？Itcandonogood。Wemustwaituntilheisfound。’
Theywentindoorsandchangedtheirclothes；afterwhichtheystartedforthemanor-house，reachingitaboutteno’clock。Besidestheirsistertherewereonlythreeguests；anadjoininglandownerandhiswife，andtheinfirmoldrector。
Rosa，althoughshehadpartedfromthemsorecently，graspedtheirhandsinanecstatic，brimming，joyfulmanner，asifshehadnotseenthemforyears。’Youlookpale，’shesaid。
Thebrothersansweredthattheyhadhadalongwalk，andweresomewhattired。Everybodyintheroomseemedchargedfullwithsomesortofinterestingknowledge：thesquire’sneighbourandhiswifelookedwiselyaround；andFellmerhimselfplayedthepartofhostwithapreoccupiedbearingwhichapproachedfervour。Theyleftateleven，notacceptingthecarriageoffered，thedistancebeingsoshortandtheroadsdry。Thesquirecameratherfartherintothedarkwiththemthanheneedhavedone，andwishedRosagood-nightinamysteriousmanner，slightlyapartfromtherest。
WhentheywerewalkingalongJoshuasaid，withdesperateattemptatjoviality，’Rosa，what’sgoingon？’
’O，I——’shebeganbetweenagaspandabound。’He——’
’Nevermind——ifitdisturbsyou。’
Shewassoexcitedthatshecouldnotspeakconnectedlyatfirst，thepractisedairwhichshehadbroughthomewithherhavingdisappeared。
Calmingherselfsheadded，’Iamnotdisturbed，andnothinghashappened。OnlyhesaidhewantedtoaskmeSOMETHING，someday；andIsaidnevermindthatnow。Hehasn’taskedyet，andiscoiningtospeaktoyouaboutit。Hewouldhavedonesoto-night，onlyIaskedhimnottobeinahurry。Buthewillcometo-morrow，Iamsure!’
CHAPTERV
Itwassummer-time，sixmonthslater，andmowersandhaymakerswereatworkinthemeads。Themanor-house，beingoppositethem，frequentlyformedapegforconversationduringtheseoperations；andthedoingsofthesquire，andthesquire’syoungwife，thecurate’ssister——whowasatpresenttheadmiredofmostofthem，andtheinterestofall——metwiththeirdueamountofcriticism。
Rosawashappy，ifeverwomancouldbesaidtobeso。Shehadnotlearntthefateofherfather，andsometimeswondered——perhapswithasenseofrelief——whyhedidnotwritetoherfromhissupposedhomeinCanada。HerbrotherJoshuahadbeenpresentedtoalivinginasmalltown，shortlyafterhermarriage，andCorneliushadthereuponsucceededtothevacantcuracyofNarrobourne。
Thesetwohadawaitedindeepsuspensethediscoveryoftheirfather’sbody；andyetthediscoveryhadnotbeenmade。Everydaytheyexpectedamanoraboytorunupfromthemeadswiththeintelligence；buthehadnevercome。Dayshadaccumulatedtoweeksandmonths；theweddinghadcomeandgone：Joshuahadtolledandreadhimselfinathisnewparish；andneverashoutofamazementoverthemillwright’sremains。
Butnow，inJune，whentheyweremowingthemeads，thehatcheshadtobedrawnandthewaterletoutofitschannelsfortheconvenienceofthemowers。Itwasthusthatthediscoverywasmade。Aman，stoopinglowwithhisscythe，caughtaviewoftheculvertlengthwise，andsawsomethingentangledintherecentlybaredweedsofitsbed。Adayortwoaftertherewasaninquest；butthebodywasunrecognizable。Fishandfloodhadbeenbusywiththemillwright；hehadnowatchormarkedarticlewhichcouldbeidentified；andaverdictoftheaccidentaldrowningofapersonunknownsettledthematter。
AsthebodywasfoundinNarrobourneparish，thereithadtobeburied。CorneliuswrotetoJoshua，begginghimtocomeandreadtheservice，ortosendsomeone；hehimselfcouldnotdoit。RatherthanletinastrangerJoshuacame，andsilentlyscannedthecoroner’sorderhandedhimbytheundertaker：-
’I，HenryGiles，CoronerfortheMid-DivisionofOuterWessex，doherebyordertheBurialoftheBodynowshowntotheInquestJuryastheBodyofanAdultMalePersonUnknown……，’etc。
JoshuaHalboroughgotthroughtheserviceinsomeway，andrejoinedhisbrotherCorneliusathishouse。Neitheracceptedaninvitationtolunchattheirsister’s；theywishedtodiscussparishmatterstogether。Intheafternoonshecamedown，thoughtheyhadalreadycalledonher，andhadnotexpectedtoseeheragain。Herbrighteyes，brownhair，flowerybonnet，lemon-colouredgloves，andflushbeauty，werelikeanirradiationintotheapartment，whichtheyintheirgloomcouldhardlybear。
’Iforgottotellyou，’shesaid，’ofacuriousthingwhichhappenedtomeamonthortwobeforemymarriage——somethingwhichIhavethoughtmayhavehadaconnectionwiththeaccidenttothepoormanyouhaveburiedto-day。ItwasonthateveningIwasatthemanor-
housewaitingforyoutofetchme；Iwasinthewinter-gardenwithAlbert，andweweresittingsilenttogether，whenwefanciedweheardacry。Weopenedthedoor，andwhileAlbertrantofetchhishat，leavingmestandingthere，thecrywasrepeated，andmyexcitedsensesmademethinkIheardmyownname。WhenAlbertcamebackallwassilent，andwedecidedthatitwasonlyadrunkenshout，andnotacryforhelp。Webothforgottheincident，anditneverhasoccurredtometillsincethefuneralto-daythatitmighthavebeenthisstranger’scry。Thenameofcoursewasonlyfancy，orhemighthavehadawifeorchildwithanamesomethinglikemine，poorman!’
WhenshewasgonethebrothersweresilenttillCorneliussaid，’Nowmarkthis，Joshua。Soonerorlatershe’llknow。’
’How？’
’Fromoneofus。Doyouthinkhumanheartsareiron-casedsafes，thatyousupposewecankeepthissecretforever？’
’Yes，Ithinktheyare，sometimes，’saidJoshua。
’No。Itwillout。Weshalltell。’
’What，andruinher——killher？Disgraceherchildren，andpulldownthewholeauspicioushouseofFellmeraboutourears？No!MayI——
drownwherehewasdrownedbeforeIdoit!Never，never。Surelyyoucansaythesame，Cornelius!’
Corneliusseemedfortified，andnomorewassaid。ForalongtimeafterthatdayhedidnotseeJoshua，andbeforethenextyearwasoutasonandheirwasborntotheFellmers。Thevillagersrangthethreebellseveryeveningforaweekandmore，andweremademerrybyMr。Fellmer’sale；andwhenthechristeningcameonJoshuapaidNarrobourneanothervisit。