第32章

Huddlestone’swascertainlynoordinarycharacter；hehadreadandobservedforhimself；hisgiftsweresound；and，thoughIcouldneverhavelearnedtolovetheman，Ibegantounderstandhissuccessinbusiness，andthegreatrespectinwhichhehadbeenheldbeforehisfailure。Hehad，aboveall，thetalentofsociety；

andthoughIneverheardhimspeakbutonthisoneandmostunfavorableoccasion，IsethimdownamongthemostbrilliantconversationalistsIevermet。

Hewasrelatingwithgreatgusto，andseeminglynofeelingofshame，themaneuversofascoundrellycommissionmerchantwhomhehadknownandstudiedinhisyouth，andwewerealllisteningwithanoddmixtureofmirthandembarrassment，whenourlittlepartywasbroughtabruptlytoanendinthemoststartlingmanner。

AnoiselikethatofawetfingeronthewindowpaneinterruptedMr。Huddlestone’stale；andinaninstantwewereallfouraswhiteaspaper，andsattongue-tiedandmotionlessroundthetable。

“Asnail，“Isaidatlast；forIhadheardthattheseanimalsmakeanoisesomewhatsimilarincharacter。

“Snailbed——d！“saidNorthmour。“Hush！“

Thesamesoundwasrepeatedtwiceatregularintervals；andthenaformidablevoiceshoutedthroughtheshutterstheItalianword，“Traditore！“

Mr。Huddlestonethrewhisheadintheair；hiseyelidsquivered；

nextmomenthefellinsensiblebelowthetable。NorthmourandI

hadeachruntothearmoryandseizedagun。Clarawasonherfeetwithherhandatherthroat。

Sowestoodwaiting，forwethoughtthehourofattackwascertainlycome；butsecondpassedaftersecond，andallbutthesurfremainedsilentintheneighborhoodofthepavilion。

“Quick，“saidNorthmour；“upstairswithhimbeforetheycome。“

Somehoworother，byhookandcrook，andbetweenthethreeofus，wegotBernardHuddlestonebundledupstairsandlaiduponthebedinMyUncle’sRoom。Duringthewholeprocess，whichwasroughenough，hegavenosignofconsciousness，andheremained，aswehadthrownhim，withoutchangingthepositionofafinger。Hisdaughteropenedhisshirtandbegantowethisheadandbosom；

whileNorthmourandIrantothewindow。Theweathercontinuedclear；themoon，whichwasnowaboutfull，hadrisenandshedaveryclearlightuponthelinks；yet，strainoureyesaswemight，wecoulddistinguishnothingmoving。Afewdarkspots，moreorless，ontheunevenexpansewerenottobeidentified；theymightbecrouchingmen，theymightbeshadows；itwasimpossibletobesure。

“ThankGod，“saidNorthmour，“Aggieisnotcomingto-night。“

Aggiewasthenameoftheoldnurse；hehadnotthoughtofheruntilnow；butthatheshouldthinkofheratallwasatraitthatsurprisedmeintheman。

Wewereagainreducedtowaiting。Northmourwenttothefireplaceandspreadhishandsbeforetheredembers，asifhewerecold。I

followedhimmechanicallywithmyeyes，andinsodoingturnedmybackuponthewindow。Atthatmomentaveryfaintreportwasaudiblefromwithout，andaballshiveredapaneofglass，andburieditselfintheshuttertwoinchesfrommyhead。IheardClarascream；andthoughIwhippedinstantlyoutofrangeandintoacorner，shewasthere，sotospeak，beforeme，beseechingtoknowifIwerehurt。IfeltthatIcouldstandtobeshotateverydayandalldaylong，withsuchremarksofsolicitudeforareward；andIcontinuedtoreassureher，withthetenderestcaressesandincompleteforgetfulnessofoursituation，tillthevoiceofNorthmourrecalledmetomyself。

“Anairgun，“hesaid。“Theywishtomakenonoise。“

IputClaraaside，andlookedathim。Hewasstandingwithhisbacktothefireandhishandsclaspedbehindhim；andIknewbytheblacklookonhisface，thatpassionwasboilingwithin。Ihadseenjustsuchalookbeforeheattackedme，thatMarchnight，intheadjoiningchamber；and，thoughIcouldmakeeveryallowanceforhisanger，IconfessItrembledfortheconsequences。Hegazedstraightbeforehim；buthecouldseeuswiththetailofhiseye，andhistemperkeptrisinglikeagaleofwind。Withregularbattleawaitingusoutside，thisprospectofaninternecinestrifewithinthewallsbegantodauntme。

Suddenly，asIwasthuscloselywatchinghisexpressionandpreparedagainsttheworst，Isawachange，aflash，alookofrelief，uponhisface。Hetookupthelampwhichstoodbesidehimonthetable，andturnedtouswithanairofsomeexcitement。

“Thereisonepointthatwemustknow，“saidhe。“Aretheygoingtobutcherthelotofus，oronlyHuddlestone？Didtheytakeyouforhim，orfireatyouforyourownbeauxyeux？“

“Theytookmeforhim，forcertain，“Ireplied。“Iamnearastall，andmyheadisfair。“

“Iamgoingtomakesure，“returned

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