Whatgownareyougoingin，Mary？““Oh，Idon’tknowanddon’tcare，“exclaimedMary，sickandwearyofhervisitor。“Well，then!takemyadvice，andgointhatbluemerino。It’soldtobesure，andabitwornatelbows，butfolkwon’tnoticethat，andth’coloursuitsyou。Nowmind，Mary。AndI’lllendyoumyblack-wateredscarf，“addedshe，reallygood-naturedly，accordingtohersenseofthings，andwithal，alittlebitpleasedattheideaofherpetarticleofdressfiguringawayonthepersonofawitnessatatrialformurder。“I’llbringitto-morrowbeforeyoustart。““No，don’t!“saidMary；“thankyou，butIdon’twantit。““Why，whatcanyouwear？IknowallyourclothesaswellasIdomown，andwhatisthereyoucanwear？Notyouroldplaidshawl，Idohope？YouwouldnotfancythisIhaveon，morenorthe。scarf，wouldyou？“saidshe，brighteningupatthethought，andwillingtolendit，oranythingelse。“Oh，Sally!don’tgoontalkinga-that-ns；howcanIthinkondressatsuchatime？Whenit’samatteroflifeanddeathtoJem？““Blessthegirl!It’sJem，isit？Well，nowIthoughttherewassomesweetheartintheback-ground，whenyouflewoffsowithMrCarson。Thenwhat，inthenameofgoodness，madehimshootMrHarry？Afteryouhadgivenupgoingwithhim，Imean？Washeafraidyou’dbeonagain？““HowdareyousayheshotMrHarry？“askedMary，firingupfromthestateoflanguidindifferenceintowhichshehadsunkwhileSallyhadbeensettlingaboutherdress。“Butit’snomatterwhatyouthink，asdidnotknowhim。
Whatgrievesmeis，thatpeopleshouldgoonthinkinghimguiltyasdidknowhim，“shesaid，sinkingbackintoherformerdepressedtoneandmanner。“Anddon’tyouthinkhedidit？“askedSally。Marypaused；shewasgoingontoofastwithonesocuriousandsounscrupulous。
Besidessherememberedhowevensheherselfhad，atfirst，believedhimguilty；andshefeltitwasnotforhertocaststonesatthosewho，onsimilarevidence，inclinedtothesamebelief。Nonehadgivenhimmuchbenefitofadoubt。Nonehadfaithinhisinnocence。Nonebuthismother；
andtheretheheartlovedmorethantheheadreasoned，andheryearningaffectionhadneverforaninstantentertainedtheideathatherJemwasamurderer。ButMarydislikedthewholeconversation；thesubject，themannerinwhichitwastreated，wereallpainful，andshehadarepugnancetothepersonwithwhomshespoke。Shewasthankful，therefore，whenJobLegh’svoicewasheardatthedoor，ashestoodwiththelatchinhishand，talkingtoaneighbour，andwhenSallyjumpedupinvexationandsaid，“There’sthatoldfogeycominginhere，asI’malive!Didyourfathersethimtolookafteryouwhilehewasaway？orwhatbringstheoldchaphere？However，I’moff；Inevercouldabideeitherhimorhisprimgrand-daughter。Good-bye，Mary。“Sofarinawhisper，thenlouder，“Ifyouthinkbetterofmyofferaboutthescarf，Mary，juststepinto-morrowbeforenine，andyou’requitewelcometoit。“SheandJobpassedeachotheratthedoor，withmutuallooksofdislike，whichneithertookanypainstoconceal。“Yon’sabold，badgirl，“saidJobtoMary“She’sverygood-natured，“repliedMary，toohonourabletoabuseavisitorwhohadonlythatinstantcrossedherthreshold，andgladlydwellingonthegoodqualitymostapparentinSally’scharacter。“Aye，aye!good-natured，generous，jolly，fulloffun；thereareanumberofothernamesforthegoodqualitiesthedevilleaveshischildren，asbaitstocatchgudgeonswith。D’yethinkfolkcouldbeledastraybyonewhowaseverywaybad？Howe’er，that’snotwhatIcametotalkabout。I’veseenMrBridgenorth，andheisinamannerofthesamemindaswe；hethinksitwouldhaveanawkwardlook，andmighttellagainstthepoorladonhistrial；stillifshe’sillshe’sill，anditcan’tbehelped。““Idon’tknowifshe’ssobadasallthat，“saidMary，whobegantodreadherpartindoinganythingwhichmighttellagainstherpoorlover。“Willyoucomeandseeher，Job？ThedoctorseemedtosayasIliked，notashethought。““That’sbecausehehadnogreatthoughtonthesubject，eitheronewayort’other，“repliedJob，whosecontemptformedicalmenprettynearlyequalledhisrespectforlawyers。ButI’llgoandwelcome。Ihannotseenth’oudladiessincetheirsorrows，andit’sbutmannerstogoandaxafterthem。Comealong。“TheroomatMrsWilson’shadthatstill，changelesslookyoumusthaveoftenobservedinthehouseofsicknessandmourning。Noparticularemploymentgoingon；peoplewatchingandwaitingratherthanacting，unlessinthemoresuddenandviolentattackswhatlittlemovementisgoingon，sonoiselessandhushed；thefurnitureallarrangedandstationary，withaviewtothecomfortoftheafflicted；thewindow-blindsdrawndown，tokeepoutthedisturbingvarietyofasunbeam；thesamesaddenedseriouslookonthefacesofthein-dwellers；youfallbackintothesametrainofthoughtwithalltheseassociations，andforgetthestreet，theouterworld，inthecontemplationoftheonestationary，absorbinginterestwithin。MrsWilsonsatquietlyinherchair，withjusttilesamelookMaryhadleftonherface；MrsDavenportwentaboutwithcreakingshoeswhichmadeallthemorenoisefromhercarefulandlengthenedtreadannoyingtheearsofthosewhowerewell，inthisinstance，farmorethanthedullsensesofthesickandthesorrowful。Alice’svoicestillwasgoingoncheerfullyintheupperroomwithincessanttalkingandlittlelaughstoherself，orperhapsinsympathywithherunseencompanions；“unseen，“Isay，inpreferenceto“fancied，“forwhoknowswhetherGoddoesnotpermittheformsofthosewhoweredearestwhenliving，tohoverroundthebedofthedying？Jobspoke，andMrsWilsonanswered。Soquietlythatitwasunnaturalunderthecircumstances。Itmadeadeeperimpressionontheoldmanthananytokenofmerebodilyillnesscouldhavedone。Ifshehadravedindelirium，ormoanedinfever，hecouldhavespokenafterhiswont，andgivenhisopinion，hisadvice，andhisconsolationnowhewasawedintosilence。AtlengthhepulledMaryasideintoacornerofthehouse-place，whereMrsWilsonwassitting；andbegantotalktoher。“Yo’reright，Mary!She’snowaysfittogotoLiverpool，poorsoul。NowI’veseenherIonlywonderthedoctorcouldha’beenunsettledinhismindatth’first。Choosehowitgoeswi’poorJem，shecannotgo。Onewayoranotheritwillsoonbeover，thebesttoleaveherinthestatesheistillthen。““Iwassureyouwouldthinkso，“saidMary。Buttheywerereckoningwithouttheirhost。Theyesteemedhersensesgone，while，infact，theywereonlyinert，andcouldnotconveyimpressionsrapidlytotheover-burdened，troubledbrain。Theyhadnotnoticedthathereyeshadfollowedthemmechanicallyitseemedatfirstastheyhadmovedawaytothecorneroftheroom；thatherface，hithertosochangeless，hadbeguntoworkwithoneortwooftheoldsymptomsofimpatience。Butwhentheyweresilentshestoodup，andstartledthemalmostasifadeadpersonhadspoken，bysayingclearlyanddecidedly——“IgotoLiverpool。
Ihearyouandyourplans；andItellyouIshallgotoLiverpool。Ifmywordsaretokillmyson，theyhavealreadygoneforthoutofmymouth，andnoughtcanbringthemback。ButIwillhavefaith。Aliceupabove
hasoftentelledmeIwantedfaith，andnowIwillhaveit。Theycannot——theywillnotkillmychild，myonlychild。Iwillnotbeafeared。Yetoh!I
amsosickwithterror。Butifheistodie，thinkyenotthatIwillseehimagain；ay!seehimathistrial？Whenallarehatinghim，heshallhavehispoormothernearhim，togivehimallthecomfort，eyes，andlooks，andtears，andaheartthatisdeadtoallbuthim，cangive；hispooroldmother，whoknowshowfreeheisfromsin——inthesightofmanatleast。
They’llletmegotohim，maybe，theveryminuteit’sover；andIknowmanyScripturetextsthoughyouwouldnotthinkit，thatmaykeepuphisheart。Imissedseeinghimerehewenttoyonprison，butnoughtshallkeepmeawayagainoneminutewhenIcanseehisface；formaybetheminutesarenumbered，andthecountbutsmall。IknowIcanbeacomforttohim，poorlad。Youwouldnotthinkitnow，buthe’dalwaysspeakaskindandsofttomeasifhewerecourtingme，like。Helovedmeaboveabit；andIamtoleavehimnowtodreeallthecruelslanderthey’llputuponhim？
Icanprayforhimateachhardwordtheysayagainsthim，ifIcandonoughtelse；andhe’llknowwhathismotherisdoingforhim，poorlad，bythelookonmyface。Stilltheymadesomelook，orgestureofoppositiontoherwishes。SheturnedsharproundonMary，theoldobjectofherpettishattacks，andsaid，“Nowwench!onceforall，Itellyouthis。Hecouldneverguideme；andhe’dsenseenoughnottotry。Whathecouldnado，don’tyoutry。IshallgotoLiverpoolto-morrow，andfindmylad，andstaywithhimthroughthickandthin；andifhedies，why，perhaps，GodofHismercywilltakemetoo。Thegraveisasurecureforanachingheart!“Shesankbackinherchair，quiteexhaustedbythesuddeneffortshehadmade；butiftheyevenofferedtospeak，shecutthemshortwhateverthesubjectmightbe，withtherepetitionofthesamewords，“IshallgotoLiverpool。“Nomorecouldbesaid，thedoctor’sopinionhadbeensoundecided；MrBridgenorthhadgivenhislegalvoiceinfavourofhergoing，andMarywasobligedtorelinquishtheideaofpersuadinghertoremainathome，if，indeed，underallthecircumstances，itcouldbethoughtdesirable。“Bestwaywillbe，“saidJob“formetohuntoutWill，earlyto-morrowmorning，andyo，Mary，comeatafterwithJaneWilson。Iknowadecentwomanwhereyotwocanhaveabed，andwherewemaymeettogetherwhenI’vefoundWill，aforegoingtoMrBridgenorth’sattwoo’clock；for，I
cantellhim，I’llnottrustnoneofhisclerksforhuntingupWill，ifJem’slife’stodependonit。“NowMarydislikedthisplaninexpressibly；herdislikewaspartlygroundedonreason，andpartlyonfeeling。ShecouldnotbeartheideaofdeputingtoanyonetheactivemeasuresnecessarytobetakeninordertosaveJem。
Shefeltasiftheywereherduty，herright。Shedurstnottrusttoanyonethecompletionofherplantheymightnothaveenergy，orperseverance，ordesperationenoughtofollowouttheslightestchance；andherlovewouldendowherwithallthesequalities，independentlyoftheterriblealternativewhichawaitedherincaseallfailedandJemwascondemned。
Noonecouldhavehermotives；andconsequentlynoonecouldhavehersharpenedbrain，herdespairingdetermination。Besideonlythatwaspurelyselfish，shecouldnotendurethesuspenseofremainingquiet，andonlyknowingtheresultwhenallwasaccomplished。SowithvehemenceandimpatiencesherebuttedeveryreasonJobadducedforhisplan；and，ofcourse，thusopposed，bywhatappearedtohimwilfulness，hebecamemoreresolute，andangrywordswereexchanged，andafeelingofestrangementroseupbetweenthem，foratime，astheywalkedhomewards。ButthencameinMargaretwithhergentleness，likeanangelofpeace，socalmandreasonable，thatbothfeltashamedoftheirirritation，andtacitlyleftthedecisiontoheronly，bytheway，IthinkMarycouldneverhavesubmittedifithadgoneagainsther，penitentandtearfulaswashermannernowtoJob，thegoodoldmanwhowashelpinghertoworkforJem，althoughtheydifferedastothemanner。“Maryhadbettergo，“saidMargarettohergrand-father，inalowtone，“Iknowwhatshe’sfeeling，anditwillbeacomforttohersoon，maybe，tothinkshedidallshecouldherself。Shewouldperhapsfancyitmighthavebeendifferent；do，grandfather，lether。“Margarethadstill，yousee，littleornobeliefinJem’sinnocence；andbesidesshethoughtifMarysawWill，andheardherselffromhimthatJemhadnotbeenwithhimthatThursdaynight，itwouldinameasurebreaktheforceoftheblowwhichwasimpending。“Letmelockuphouse，grandfather，foracoupleofdays，andgoandstaywithAlice。It’sbutlittleonelikemecando，Iknow“sheaddedsoftly；
“but，bytheblessingo’God，I’lldoitandwelcome；andherecomesonekindlyuseo’money，IcanhirethemaswilldoforherwhatIcannot。
MrsDavenportisawillingbody，andonewhoknowssorrowandsickness，andIcanpayherforhertime，andkeepherthereprettynearaltogether。
Soletthatbesettled。AnyoutakeMrsWilson，deargrandad，andletMarygofindWill，andyoucanallmeettogetheratafter，andI’msureIwishyouluck。“Jobconsentedwithonlyafewdissentinggrunts；butonthewholewithaverygoodgraceforanoldmanwhohadbeensopositiveonlyafewminutesbefore。MarywasthankfulforMargaret’sinterference。Shedidnotspeak，butthrewherarmsroundMargaret’sneck，andputupherrosy-redmouthtobekissed；
andevenJobwasattractedbytheprettychild-likegesture；andwhenshedrewnearhim，afterwardslikealittlecreaturesidlinguptosomepersonwhomitfeelstohaveoffended，hebentdownandblessedher，asifshehadbeenachildofhisown。ToMarytheoldman’sblessingcamelikewordsofpower。