Nobodymentionedhimthatevening;butonceoldFord，afterstaringalongtimeatPasiance，mutteredaproposofnothing，\"Undutifulchildren！\"Shewassofterthanusual;listeningquietlytoourtalk，andsmilingwhenspokento。Atbedtimeshewentuptohergrand—
father，withoutwaitingfortheusualcommand，\"Comeandkissme，child。\"
Dandidnotstaytosupper，andhehasnotbeenheresince。ThismorningIaskedMotherHopgoodwhoZacharyPearsewas。She’satrueDevonian;ifthere’sanythingshehates，itistobecommittedtoadefinitestatement。Sheambledroundheranswer，andatlasttoldmethathewas\"sonofoldCap’enJanPearsetoBlackMill。’TesanoldfamilytoDartymouthan’Plymouth，\"shewentoninacommunicativeoutburst。\"TheydusayFrancisDraketukefiveo’theyPearseswith’entofighttheSpaniards。Atleastthat’swhatI’veheardMr。
Zacharyzay;butHa—apgoodcantellyu。\"PoorHopgood，theamountofinformationshesaddleshimwithinthecourseoftheday！Havinggivenmethustounderstandthatshehadrundry，sheatoncewenton:
\"Cap’enJanPearsemadeadaleofventures。He’soldnow——theydusaynighan’undred。Ha—apgoodcantellyu。\"
\"Buttheson，Mrs。Hopgood？\"
Hereyestwinkledwithsuddenshrewdness:Shehuggedherselfplacidly。
\"An’whatwouldyutakefordinnerto—day？There’sduck;oryumightlike’toadinthehole，’withanappletart;orthen，there’s——Well！
we’llseewhatwecandulike。\"Andoffshewent，withoutwaitingformyanswer。
To—morrowisWednesday。Ishan’tbesorrytogetanotherlookatthisfellowPearse……
III
\"Friday，29thJuly……Whydoyouaskmesomanyquestions，andeggmeontowriteaboutthesepeopleinsteadofmindingmybusiness？Ifyoureallywanttohear，I’lltellyouofWednesday’sdoings。
Itwasasplendidmorning;andDanturnedup，tomysurprise——thoughImighthaveknownthatwhenhesaysathing，hedoesit。JohnFordcameouttoshakehandswithhim，then，rememberingwhyhehadcome，breathedloudly，saidnothing，andwentinagain。NothingwastobeseenofPasiance，andwewentdowntothebeachtogether。
\"Idon’tlikethisfellowPearse，George，\"Dansaidtomeontheway;
\"IwasfoolenoughtosayI’dgo，andsoImust，butwhat’sheafter？
Notthemantodothingswithoutareason，mindyou。
Iremarkedthatweshouldsoonknow。
\"I’mnotsosure——queerbeggar;Ineverlookathimwithoutthinkingofapirate。\"
Thecutterlayinthecoveasifshehadnevermoved。TheretoowasZacharyPearseseatedontheedgeofhisdinghy。
\"Afive—knotbreeze，\"hesaid，\"I’llrunyoudowninacoupleofhours。\"HemadenoinquiryaboutPasiance，butputusintohiscockleshellandpulledforthecutter。Alantern—Jawedfellow，namedPrawle，withaspiky，prominentbeard，long，clean—shavenupperlip，andtannedcomplexion——aregularhard—weatherbird——receivedus。
Thecutterwasbeautifullyclean;builtforaBrixhamtrawler，shestillhadhernumber——DH113——uneffaced。Wedivedintoasortofcabin，airy，butdark，fittedwithtwobunksandasmalltable，onwhichstoodsomebottlesofstout;therewerelockers，too，andpegsforclothes。Prawle，whoshowedusround，seemedveryproudofasteamcontrivanceforhoistingsails。Itwassomeminutesbeforewecameondeckagain;andthere，inthedinghy，beingpulledtowardsthecutter，satPasiance。
\"IfI’dknownthis，\"stammeredDan，gettingred，\"Iwouldn’thavecome。\"Shehadoutwittedus，andtherewasnothingtobedone。
Itwasaverypleasantsail。Thebreezewaslightfromthesouth—
east，thesunwarm，theairsoft。PresentlyPasiancebegansinging:
\"Columbusisdeadandlaidinhisgrave，Oh！heigh—ho！andlaidinhisgrave;
Overhisheadtheapple—treeswaveOh！heigh—ho！theapple—treeswave……
Theapplesareripeandreadytofall，Oh！heigh—ho！andreadytofall;
Therecameanoldwomanandgatheredthemall，Oh！heigh—ho！andgatheredthemall……
Theapplesaregathered，andlaidontheshelf，Oh！heigh—ho！andlaidontheshelf;
Ifyouwantanymore，youmustsingforyourself，Oh！heigh—ho！andsingforyourself。\"
Hersmall，highvoicecametousintrillsandspurts，asthewindletit，likethesingingofaskylarklostinthesky。Pearsewentuptoherandwhisperedsomething。Icaughtaglimpseofherfacelikeastartledwildcreature’s;shrinking，tossingherhair，laughing，allinthesamebreath。Shewouldn’tsingagain，butcrouchedinthebowswithherchinonherhands，andthesunfallingononecheek，round，velvety，redasapeach……
WepassedDartmouth，andhalfanhourlaterputintoalittlewoodedbay。Onalowreddishcliffwasahousehedgedroundbypine—trees。
Abitofbrokenjettyranoutfromthebottomofthecliff。Wehookedontothis，andlanded。Anancient，fish—likemancameslouchingdownandtookchargeofthecutter。Pearseledustowardsthehouse，Pasiancefollowingmortallyshyallofasudden。
Thehousehadadark，overhangingthatchoftherushreedsthatgrowinthemarsheshereabouts;Iremembernothingelseremarkable。Itwasneitherold，nornew;neitherbeautiful，norexactlyugly;
neitherclean，norentirelysqualid;itperchedtherewithallitswindowsoverthesea，turningitsbackcontemptuouslyontheland。
Seatedinakindofporch，besideanimmensetelescope，wasaveryoldmaninapanamahat，witharattancane。Hispure—whitebeardandmoustache，andalmostblackeyebrows，gaveaverysingular，piercinglooktohislittle，restless，dark—greyeyes;alloverhismahoganycheeksandneckwasanetworkoffinewrinkles。Hesatquiteupright，inthefullsun，hardlyblinking。
\"Dad！\"saidZachary，\"thisisPasianceVoisey。\"Theoldmanturnedhiseyesonherandmuttered，\"Howdoyoudo，ma’am？\"thentooknofurthernotice。AndPasiance，whoseemedtoresentthis，soonslippedawayandwentwanderingaboutamongstthepines。Anoldwomanbroughtsomeplatesandbottlesandlaidthemcasuallyonatable;andwesatroundthefigureofoldCaptainPearsewithoutaword，asifwewereallunderaspell。
BeforelunchtherewasalittlescenebetweenZacharyPearseandDan，astowhichofthemshouldsummonPasiance。Itendedinbothgoing，andcomingbackwithouther。Shedidnotwantanylunch，wouldstaywhereshewasamongstthepines。
Forlunchwehadchops，wood—pigeons，mushrooms，andmulberrypreserve，anddrankwonderfulMadeiraoutofcommonwine—glasses。I
askedtheoldmanwherehegotit;hegavemeaqueerlook，andansweredwithalittlebow:
\"Stoodmeintushillin’thebottle，an’thecountrygotnothingoutofit，sir。IntheearlyThirties;tushillin’thebottle;there’snosuchwinenowadaysand，\"headded，lookingatZachary，\"nosuchmen。\"
Zacharysmiledandsaid:\"Youdidnothingsobig，dad，aswhatI’mafter，now！\"
Theoldman’seyeshadasortofdisdaininthem。
\"You’regoingfar，then，inthePiedWitch，Zack？\"
\"Iam，\"saidZachary。
\"Andwheremightyubegoin’inthatoldtrampin’smutfactory？\"
\"Morocco。\"
\"Heu！\"saidtheoldman，\"there’snothingthere;Iknowthatcoast，asIknowthebacko’myhand。\"Hestretchedoutahandcoveredwithveinsandhair。
Zacharybegansuddenlytopouroutafloodofwords:
\"BelowMogador——afellowthere——friendofmine——twoyearsagonow。
Concessions——trade—gunpowder——cruisers——feuds——money——chiefs——Gatlingguns——Sultan——rifles——rebellion——gold。\"Hedetailedareckless，sordid，boldscheme，which，onthepivotofatradingventure，wasintendedtospinawholewheelofpoliticalconvulsions。
\"They’llneverletyougetthere，\"saidoldPearse。
\"Won’tthey？\"returnedZachary。\"Ohyes，theywill，an’whenI
leave，there’llbeanotherdynasty，andI’llbearichman。\"
\"Yu’llneverleave，\"answeredtheoldman。
Zacharytookoutasheetofpapercoveredwithfigures。Hehadworkedthewholethingout。Somuch——equipment，somuch——trade，somuch——concessions，somuch——emergencies。\"Mylastmag！\"heended，\"athousandshort;theship’sready，andifI’mnottherewithinamonthmychanceisasgoodasgone。\"
Thiswasthepithofhisconfidences——anappealformoney，andwealllookedasmenwillwhenthatcropsup。
\"Mad！\"mutteredtheoldman，lookingatthesea。
\"No，\"saidZachary。Thatonewordwasmoreeloquentthanalltherestofhiswordsputtogether。Thisfellowisnovisionary。Hisschememaybedaring，andunprincipled，but——heknowsverywellwhathe’sabout。
\"Well！\"saidoldPearse，\"youshallhavefive’undredofmymoney，ifit’sonlytolearnwhatyu’remadeof。Wheelmein！\"Zacharywheeledhimintothehouse，butsooncameback。
\"Theoldman’schequeforfivehundredpounds！\"hesaid，holdingitup。\"Mr。Treffry，givemeanother，andyoushallhaveathirdoftheprofits。\"
IexpectedDantogiveapoint—blankrefusal。Butheonlyasked:
\"Wouldthatclearyouforstarting？\"
\"Withthat，\"saidZachary，\"Icangettoseainafortnight。\"
\"Good！\"Dansaidslowly。\"Givemeawrittenpromise！Toseainfourteendaysandmyfairshareonthefivehundredpounds——nomore——
noless。\"
AgainIthoughtPearsewouldhavejumpedatthis，butheleanedhischinonhishand，andlookedatDan，andDanlookedathim。Whiletheywerestaringateachotherlikethis，Pasiancecameupwithakitten。
\"See！\"shesaid，\"isn’titadarling？\"Thekittencrawledandclaweditswayupbehindherneck。Isawbothmen’seyesastheylookedatPasiance，andsuddenlyunderstoodwhattheywereat。ThekittenrubbeditselfagainstPasiance’scheek，overbalanced，andfell，clawing，downherdress。Shecaughtitupandwalkedaway。Someone，Idon’tknowwhichofus，sighed，andPearsecried\"Done！\"
Thebargainhadbeendriven。
\"Good—bye，Mr。Pearse，\"saidDan;\"Iguessthat’sallI’mwantedfor。I’llfindmyponywaitinginthevillage。George，you’llseePasiancehome？\"
Weheardthehoofsofhisponygallopingdowntheroad;Pearsesuddenlyexcusedhimself，anddisappeared。
Thisventureofhismaysoundromanticandabsurd，butit’smatter—
of—factenough。He’safterL。s。d。！ShadesofDrake，Raleigh，Hawkins，Oxenham！Thewormofsuspiciongnawsattheroseofromance。Whatifthosefellows，too，wereonlyafterL。s。d……？
Istrolledintothepine—wood。Theearththerewascoveredlikeabee’sbodywithblackandgoldstripes;therewastheblueseabelow，andwhite，sleepyclouds，andbumble—beesboomingabovetheheather;
itwasallsoftness，asummer’sdayinDevon。SuddenlyIcameonPearsestandingattheedgeofthecliffwithPasiancesittinginalittlehollowbelow，lookingupathim。Iheardhimsay:
\"Pasiance——Pasiance！\"Thesoundofhisvoice，andthesightofhersoft，wonderingfacemademefurious。Whatbusinesshasshewithlove，atherage？Whatbusinesshavetheywitheachother？
Hetoldmepresentlythatshehadstartedoffforhome，anddrovemetotheferry，behindanoldgreypony。Onthewayhecamebacktohisofferoftheotherday。
\"Comewithme，\"hesaid。\"Itdoesn’tdotoneglectthePress;youcanseethepossibilities。It’soneofthefewcountriesleft。IfI
oncegetthisbusinessstartedyoudon’tknowwhereit’sgoingtostop。You’dhavefreepassageeverywhere，andwhateveryoulikeinreason。\"
IansweredasrudelyasIcould——butbynomeansasrudelyasI
wanted——thathisschemewasmad。Asamatteroffact，it’smuchtoosaneforme;for，whateverthebodyofascheme，itssoulisthefibreoftheschemer。
\"Thinkofit，\"heurged，asifhecouldseeintome。\"Youcanmakewhatyoulikeofit。Pressparagraphs，ofcourse。Butthat’smechanical;why，evenIcoulddoit，ifIhadtime。Asfortherest，you’llbeasfree——asfreeasaman。\"
There，infivewordsofonesyllable，isthekernelofthisfellowPearse——\"Asfreeasaman！\"Norule，nolaw，noteventhemysteriousshacklesthatbindmentotheirownself—respects！\"Asfreeasaman！\"Noideals;noprinciples;nofixedstarforhisworship;nocoilhecan’tslideoutof！ButthefellowhasthetenacityofoneoftheoldDevonmastiffs，too。Hewouldn’ttake\"No\"forananswer。
\"Thinkofit，\"hesaid;\"anydaywilldo——I’vegotafortnight……
Look！theresheis！\"IthoughtthathemeantPasiance;butitwasanoldsteamer，sluggishandblackintheblazingsunofmid—stream，withayellow—and—whitefunnel，andnosignoflifeonherdecks。
\"That’sher——thePiedWitcb！Dohertwelveknots;youwouldn’tthinkit！Well！good—evening！You’dbettercome。Awordtomeatanytime。I’mgoingaboardnow。\"
AsIwasbeingferriedacrossIsawhimlollinginthestern—sheetsofalittleboat，thesuncrowninghisstrawhatwithglory。
IcameonPasiance，aboutamileuptheroad，sittinginthehedge。
Wewalkedontogetherbetweenthebanks——Devonshirebanks，ashighashouses，thickwithivyandferns，brambleandhazelboughs，andhoneysuckle。
\"DoyoubelieveinaGod？\"shesaidsuddenly。
\"Grandfather’sGodissimplyawful。WhenI’mplayingthefiddle，I
canfeelGod;butgrandfather’sissuchastuffyGod——youknowwhatI
mean:thesea，thewind，thetrees，colourstoo——theymakeonefeel。
ButIdon’tbelievethatlifewasmeantto’begood’in。Isn’tthereanythingbetterthanbeinggood？WhenI’m’good，’Isimplyfeelwicked。\"Shereachedup，caughtaflowerfromthehedge，andslowlytoreitspetals。
\"Whatwouldyoudo，\"shemuttered，\"ifyouwantedathing，butwereafraidofit？ButIsupposeyou’reneverafraid！\"sheadded，mockingme。IadmittedthatIwassometimesafraid，andoftenafraidofbeingafraid。
\"That’snice！I’mnotafraidofillness，norofgrandfather，norofhisGod;but——Iwanttobefree。Ifyouwantathingbadly，you’reafraidaboutit。\"
IthoughtofZacharyPearse’swords，\"freeasaman。\"
\"Whyareyoulookingatmelikethat？\"shesaid。
Istammered:\"Whatdoyoumeanbyfreedom？\"
\"DoyouknowwhatIshalldoto—night？\"sheanswered。\"Getoutofmywindowbytheapple—tree，andgotothewoods，andplay！\"
Weweregoingdownasteeplane，alongthesideofawood，wherethere’salwaysasmellofsappyleaves，andthebreathofthecowsthatcomeclosetothehedgetogettheshade。
Therewasacottageinthebottom，andasmallboysatoutsideplayingwithaheapofdust。
\"Hallo，Johnny！\"saidPasiance。\"Holdyourlegoutandshowthismanyourbadplace！\"Thesmallboyundidabandageroundhisbareanddirtylittleleg，andproudlyrevealedasore。
\"Isn’titnasty？\"criedPasianceruefully，tyingupthebandageagain;\"poorlittlefeller！Johnny，seewhatI’vebroughtyou！\"Sheproducedfromherpocketastickofchocolate，thesemblanceofasoldiermadeofsealing—waxandworsted，andacrookedsixpence。
Itwasanewglimpseofher。AllthewayhomeshewastellingmethestoryoflittleJohnny’sfamily;whenshecametohismother’sdeath，sheburstout:\"Abeastlyshame，wasn’tit，andthey’resopoor;itmightjustaswellhavebeensomebodyelse。Ilikepoorpeople，butIhaterichones——stuck—upbeasts。\"
Mrs。Hopgoodwaslookingoverthegate，withhercapononeside，andoneofPasiance’scatsrubbingitselfagainstherskirts。Atthesightofusshehuggedherself。
\"Where’sgrandfather？\"askedPasiance。Theoldladyshookherhead。
\"Isitarow？\"Mrs。Hopgoodwriggled，andwriggled，andoutcame:
\"Didyougetyuretay，mypretty？No？Well，that’sapity;yu’llbefalin’low—like。\"
Pasiancetossedherhead，snatchedupthecat，andranindoors。I
remainedstaringatMrs。Hopgood。
\"Dear—dear，\"sheclucked，\"poorlamb。Sotospakeit’s——\"andsheblurtedoutsuddenly，\"chuckin’fullofwra—ath，heis。Well，there！\"
Mycouragefailedthatevening。Ispentitatthecoastguardstation，wheretheygavemebreadandcheeseandsomeawfulcider。I
passedthekitchenasIcameback。Afirewasstillburningthere，andtwofigures，mistyinthedarkness，flittedaboutwithstealthylaughterlikespiritsafraidofbeingdetectedinacarnal—meal。
TheywerePasianceandMrs。Hopgood;andsocharmingwasthesmellofeggsandbacon，andtheyhadsuchanairoftenderenjoymentofthisdarkrevel，thatIstifledmanypangs，asIcrepthungryuptobed。
InthemiddleofthenightIwokeandheardwhatIthoughtwasscreaming;thenitsoundedlikewindintrees，thenlikethedistantshakingofatambourine，withthehighsingingofahumanvoice。
Suddenlyitstopped——twolongnotescamewailingoutlikesobs——thenutterstillness;andthoughIlistenedforanhourormoretherewasnoothersound……
IV
\"4thAugust……ForthreedaysafterIwrotelast，nothingatallhappenedhere。Ispentthemorningsonthecliffreading，andwatchingthesun—sparksrainingonthesea。It’sgranduptherewiththegorseallround，thegullsbaskingontherocks，thepartridgescallinginthecorn，andnowandthenayounghawkoverhead。TheafternoonsI
spentoutintheorchard。Theusualroutinegoesonatthefarmallthetime——cow—milking，bread—baking，JohnFordridinginandout，Pasianceinhergardenstrippinglavender，talkingtothefarmhands;
andthesmellofclover，andcowsandhay;thesoundofhensandpigsandpigeons，thesoftdrawlofvoices，thedullthudofthefarmcarts;anddaybydaytheapplesgettingredder。Then，lastMonday，Pasiancewasawayfromsunrisetillsunset——nobodysawhergo——nobodyknewwhereshehadgone。Itwasawonderful，strangeday，askyofsilver—greyandblue，withadriftofwind—clouds，allthetreessighingalittle，theseaheavinginalong，lowswell，theanimalsrestless，thebirdssilent，exceptthegullswiththeiroldman’slaughterandkitten’smewing。
Asomethingwildwasintheair;itseemedtosweepacrossthedownsandcombe，intotheveryhouse，likeapassionatetunethatcomesdriftingtoyourearswhenyou’resleepy。Butwhowouldhavethoughttheabsenceofthatgirlforafewhourscouldhavewroughtsuchhavoc！Wewerelikeuneasyspirits;Mrs。Hopgood’sapplecheeksseemedpositivelytowitherbeforeone’seyes。Icameacrossadairymaidandfarmhanddiscussingitstolidlywithverydowncastfaces。EvenHopgood，ahard—bittenfellowwithimmenseshoulders，forgothisimperturbabilitysofarastoharnesshishorse，anddepartonwhatheassuredmewas\"justawild—gusechaace。\"ItwaslongbeforeJohnFordgavesignsofnoticingthatanythingwaswrong，butlateintheafternoonIfoundhimsittingwithhishandsonhisknees，staringstraightbeforehim。Heroseheavilywhenhesawme，andstalkedout。Intheevening，asIwasstartingforthecoastguardstationtoaskforhelptosearchthecliff，Pasianceappeared，walkingasifshecouldhardlydragonelegaftertheother。Hercheekswerecrimson;shewasbitingherlipstokeeptearsofsheerfatigueoutofhereyes。Shepassedmeinthedoorwaywithoutaword。Theanxietyhehadgonethroughseemedtoforbidtheoldmanfromspeaking。Hejustcameforward，tookherfaceinhishands，gaveitagreatkiss，andwalkedaway。Pasiancedroppedonthefloorinthedarkpassage，andburiedherfaceonherarms。
\"Leavemealone！\"wasallshewouldsay。Afterabitshedraggedherselfupstairs。PresentlyMrs。Hopgoodcametome。
\"Notawordoutofher——an’notabitewillsheate，an’Ihadapieallready——scrumptious。ThegoodLordknowsthetruth——sheaskedforbrandy;haveyouanybrandy，sir？Ha—apgood’edon’tdrinkit，an’
MisterFord’edon’tallaowforanythingbutcaowslipwine。\"
Ihadwhisky。
Thegoodsoulseizedtheflask，andwentoffhuggingit。Shereturnedittomehalfempty。
\"Lappeditlikeakittenlapsmilk。Imisdaoubtit’sstraong，poorlamb，itlusened’ertonguepraaperly。’I’vea—doneit，’shesaystome，’Mums—I’vea—doneit，’an’shelaughedlikeamadthing;andthen，sir，shecried，an’kissedme，an’pusshedmethruthedoor。
GudeLard！Whatis’tshe’sa—done……？\"
Itrainedallthenextdayandthedayafter。Aboutfiveo’clockyesterdaytherainceased;IstartedofftoKingswearonHopgood’snagtoseeDanTreffry。Everytree，bramble，andferninthelaneswasdrippingwater;andeverybirdsingingfromthebottomofhisheart。IthoughtofPasianceallthetime。Herabsencethatdaywasstillamystery;oneneverceasedaskingoneselfwhatshehaddone。
Therearepeoplewhonevergrowup——theyhavenorighttodothings。
Actionshaveconsequences——andchildrenhavenobusinesswithconsequences。
Danwasout。Ihadsupperatthehotel，androdeslowlyhome。Inthetwilightstretchesoftheroad，whereIcouldtoucheitherbankofthelanewithmywhip，IthoughtofnothingbutPasianceandhergrandfather;therewassomethinginthehalflightsuitedtowonderanduncertainty。IthadfallendarkbeforeIrodeintothestraw—
yard。Twoyoungbullockssnuffledatme，asleepyhengotupandranoffwithatremendousshrieking。Istabledthehorse，andwalkedroundtotheback。Itwaspitchblackundertheapple—trees，andthewindowswerealldarkened。Istoodtherealittle，everythingsmelledsodeliciousaftertherain;suddenlyIhadtheuncomfortablefeelingthatIwasbeingwatched。Haveyoueverfeltlikethatonadarknight？Icalledoutatlast:\"Isanyonethere？\"Notasound！
Iwalkedtothegate—nothing！Thetreesstilldrippedwithtiny，soft，hissingsounds，butthatwasall。Islippedroundtothefront，wentin，barricadedthedoor，andgropeduptobed。ButI
couldn’tsleep。Ilayawakealongwhile;dozedatlast，andwokewithajump。Astealthymurmurofsmotheredvoiceswasgoingonquiteclosesomewhere。Itstopped。Aminutepassed;suddenlycamethesoftthudasofsomethingfalling。Isprangoutofbedandrushedtothewindow。Nothing——butinthedistancesomethingthatsoundedlikefootsteps。Anowlhooted;thenclearascrystal，butquitelow，IheardPasiancesinginginherroom:
\"Theapplesareripeandreadytofall。
Oh！heigh—ho！andreadytofall。\"
Irantoherdoorandknocked。
\"Whatisit？\"shecried。
\"Isanythingthematter？\"
\"Matter？\"
\"Isanythingthematter？\"
\"Ha—ha—ha—ha！Good—night！\"thenquitelow，Iheardhercatchherbreath，hard，sharply。Nootheranswer，noothersound。
Iwenttobedandlayawakeforhours……
ThiseveningDancame;duringsupperhehandedPasiancearollofmusic;hehadgotitinTorquay。Theshopman，hesaid，hadtoldhimthatitwasa\"corker。\"
ItwasBach’s\"Chaconne。\"Youshouldhaveseenhereyesshine，herfingersactuallytremblewhilesheturnedoverthepages。SeemsoddtothinkofherworshippingattheshrineofBachasoddastothinkofawildcoltrunningofitsfreewillintotheshafts;butthat’sjustitwithheryoucannevertell。\"Heavenly！\"shekeptsaying。
JohnFordputdownhisknifeandfork。
\"Heathenishstuff！\"hemuttered，andsuddenlythunderedout，\"Pasiance！\"
Shelookedupwithastart，threwthemusicfromher，andresumedherplace。
Duringeveningprayers，whichfolloweverynightimmediatelyonfood，herfacewasastudyofmutiny。Shewenttobedearly。Itwasratherlatewhenwebrokeup——foronceoldFordhadbeentalkingofhissquatter’slife。Aswecameout，Danhelduphishand。Adogwasbarking。\"It’sLass，\"hesaid。\"She’llwakePasiance。\"
Thespanielyelpedfuriously。Danranouttostopher。Hewassoonback。
\"Somebody’sbeenintheorchard，andgoneoffdowntothecove。\"Heranondownthepath。I，too，ran，horriblyuneasy。Infront，throughthedarkness，camethespaniel’sbark;thelightsofthecoastguardstationfaintlyshowed。Iwasfirstonthebeach;thedogcametomeatonce，hertailalmostinhermouthfromapology。Therewasthesoundofoarsworkinginrowlocks;nothingvisiblebutthefeatheryedgesofthewaves。Dansaidbehind，\"Nouse！He’sgone。\"
Hisvoicesoundedhoarse，likethatofamanchokingwithpassion。
\"George，\"hestammered，\"it’sthatblackguard。IwishI’dputabulletinhim。\"Suddenlyalightburnedupinthedarknessonthesea，seemedtoswinggently，andvanished。Withoutanotherwordwewentbackupthehill。JohnFordstoodatthegatemotionless，indifferent——nothinghaddawnedonhimasyet。IwhisperedtoDan，\"Letitalone！\"
\"No，\"hesaid，\"I’mgoingtoshowyou。\"Hestruckamatch，andslowlyhuntedthefootstepsinthewetgrassoftheorchard。\"Look——
here！\"
HestoppedunderPasiance’swindowandswayedthematchovertheground。Clearasdaylightwerethemarksofsomeonewhohadjumpedorfallen。Danheldthematchoverhishead。
\"Andlookthere！\"hesaid。Theboughofanapple—treebelowthewindowwasbroken。Heblewthematchout。
Icouldseethewhitesofhiseyes，likeanangryanimal’s。
\"Dropit，Dan！\"Isaid。
Heturnedonhisheelsuddenly，andstammeredout，\"You’reright。\"
ButhehadturnedintoJohnFord’sarms。
Theoldmanstoodtherelikesomegreatforce，darkerthanthedarkness，staringupatthewindow，asthoughstupefied。Wehadnotawordtosay。Heseemedunconsciousofourpresence。Heturnedround，andleftusstandingthere。
\"Followhim！\"saidDan。\"Followhim——byGod！it’snotsafe。\"