第40章

"HereIam，Patton，"MountDunstansaid。"Youneednotspeak。"

Buthemustspeak。Herewasthestrengthhissinkingsoulhadlongedfor。

"Cruelbad——goin’fast——m’lord，"hepanted。

MountDunstanmadeasigntothenurse，whogavehimachair。Hesatdownclosetothebed，andtookthebloodlesshandinhisown。

"No，"hesaid，"youarenotgoing。You’llstayhere。I

willseetothat。"

Thepoorfellowsmiledwanly。Vagueyearningshadledhimsometimes，inthepast，towanderintochapelsorstopandlistentostreetpreachers，andorthodoxplatitudescamebacktohim。

"God’s——will，"hetrailedout。

"It’snothingofthesort。It’sGod’swillthatyoupullyourselftogether。Amanwithawifeandthreechildrenhasnorighttoslipout。"

Ayearninglookflickeredinthelad’seyes——hewasscarcelymorethanalad，havingmarriedatseventeen，andhadachildeachyear。

"She’s——agood——girl。"

"Keepthatinyourmindwhileyoufightthisout，"saidMountDunstan。"Sayitovertoyourselfeachtimeyoufeelyourselflettinggo。Holdontoit。Iamgoingtofightitoutwithyou。Ishallsithereandtakecareofyouallday——allnight，ifnecessary。Thedoctorandthenursewilltellmewhattodo。Yourhandiswarmeralready。Shutyoureyes。"

Hedidnotleavethebedsideuntilthemiddleofthenight。

Bythattimetheworstwasover。Hehadactedthroughoutthehoursunderthedirectionofnurseanddoctor。Noonebuthimselfhadtouchedthepatient。WhenPatton’seyeswereopen，theyrestedonhimwithaweirdgrowingbelief。

Hebeggedhislordshiptoholdhishand，andwasuneasywhenhelaiditdown。

"Keeps——me——up，"hewhispered。

"Hepourssomethingintothem——vigour——magneticpower——life。He’slikeachargedbattery，"Dr。Thwaitesaidtohisco—workers。"HesatdownbyPattonjustintime。Itsetsonetothinking。"

HavingsavedPatton，hemustsaveothers。Whenamanorwomansank，orhadincreasedfever，theybelievedthathealonecouldgivethemhelp。Indeliriumpatientscriedoutforhim。Hefoundhimselfdoinghardwork，buthedidnotflinchfromit。Theadorationforhimbecameasortofpassion。Haggardfaceslightedupintolifeatthesoundofhisfootstep，andheavyheadsturnedlonginglyontheirpillowsashepassedby。Inthewinterdaystocometherewouldbemanyanhour’stalkinEastEndcourtsandalleysofthequeertimewhenascoreormoreofthemhadlaininthegreatroomwiththedancingandfloatinggoddesseslookingdownatthemfromthehigh，paintedceiling，andtheswell，whowasalord，walkingaboutamongthem，workingforthemasthenursesdid，andsittingbysomeofthemthroughawfulhours，sometimesholdingburningorslackeningandchillinghandswithagripwhosesteadinessseemedtoholdthembackfromthebrinkoftheabysstheywereslippinginto。Themereignorantlychildishdesiretodohisprowesscreditandtoplayhimfairsavedmorethanonemanandwomanfromgoingoutwiththetide。

"ItisthefirsttimeinmylifethatIhavefairlycountedamongmen。It’sthefirsttimeIhaveknownhumanaffection，otherthanyours，Penzance。Theywantme，thesepeople；

theyarebetterforthesightofme。Itisanewexperience，anditisgoodforaman’ssoul，"hesaid。

CHAPTERXLIII

HISCHANCE

BettywalkedmuchaloneuponthemarsheswithRolandatherside。AtintervalssheheardfromMr。Penzance，buthisnoteswerenecessarilybrief，andatothertimesshecouldonlyrelyuponreportfornewsofwhatwasoccurringatMountDunstan。LordMountDunstan’salmostmilitarysupervisionofandcommandoverhisvillagershadcertainlysavedthemfromthehorrorsofanuncontrollableepidemic；hisdecisionandenergyhadfilledthealarmedGuardianswithrespectandthisrespecthadbeguntobesharedbymanyotherpersons。Amanaspromptinaction，andasfaithfultosuchresponsibilitiesasmanymenmighthavefoundplausiblereasonsenoughforshirking，inevitablyassumedacertaindignityofaspect，whenallwassaidanddone。LordDunholmwasmostclearinhisexpressionsofopinionconcerninghim。LadyAlanbyofDolemadeapracticeofspeakingofhiminpublicfrequently，alwayswithadmiringapproval，andinthatfinalmannerofhers，towhoseauthorityherneighbourshadsolongsubmitted。

Itbegantobeacceptedasafactthathewasanewdevelopmentofhisrace——asherladyshiphadputit，"AneworderofMountDunstan。"

Thestoryofhispoweroverthestrickenpeople，andoftheirpassionateaffectionandadmirationforhim，wasonelikelytospreadfar，andbeimmenselypopular。Thedramaofcertainincidentsappealedgreatlytotherusticmind，andbycottagefiresideshewasrepresentedwithrapturousawe，asraisingmen，women，andchildrenfromthedead，bythemeremiracleoftouch。Mrs。WeldenandoldDobyrevelledinthrilling，almostBiblical，versionsofcurrentanecdotes，whenBettypaidhervisitstothem。

"It’sliketheScripture，wothedoneforthatyoungmanasthelastbreathhadgoneoutofhim，an’himlyin’stiffeningfast。`Youngman，arise，’hesays。`TheLordAlmightycalls。You’vegotayoungwifean’threechildrentotakecareof。Takeupyourbedan’walk。’Notashewantedhimtocarryhisbedanywheres，butitwasamannerofspeaking。

An’uptheyoungmangot。An’asensibleway，"saidoldMrs。Weldenfrankly，"fortheLordtolookatit——

forImustsay，miss，ifIwasstruckdownforit，thoughI

s’poseit’sonlymysinfulignorance——thatthere’stimeswhentheLordseemstothinknomoreofsweepin’awayasteadyeighteen—shillin’aweek，andp’rapsseveninfamily，an’oneatthebreast，an’anotherontheway——thanifitwasnothin’。

Butlikelyenough，eighteenshillin’aweekan’confinementsdoesseempaltrytotheMakerof’eavenan’earth。"

But，tothegirlwalkingoverthemarshland，thehumannessofthethingssheheardgavetoherthesenseofnearness——ofbeingalmostwithinsightandsound——whichMountDunstanhimselfhadfelt，wheneachdaywasfilledwiththeresultofherthoughtoftheneedsofthepoorsoulsthrownbyfateintohishands。Inthesedays，afterlisteningtooldMrs。

Welden’sanecdotes，throughwhichshegatheredthesimplertruthofthings，BettywasabletoconstructforherselfalessScripturalversionofwhatshehadheard。Shewasglad——gladinhissittingbyabedsideandholdingahandwhichlayinhishotorcold，butalwaystrustingtosomethingwhichhisstrongbodyandstrongsoulgavewithoutstint。Therewouldbenorestraintthere。Yes，hewaskind——kind——kind——withthekindnessawomanloves，andwhichshe，ofallwomen，lovedmost。Sometimesshewouldsituponsomemound，and，whilehereyesseemedtorestontheyellowingmarshanditsbirdsandpools，theysawotherthings，andtheircolourgrewdeepanddarkasthemarshwaterbetweentherushes。

Thetimewaspressingwhenachangeinherlifemustcome。

ShefrequentlyaskedherselfifwhatshesawinNigelAnstruthers’facewasthenormalthinkingofasaneman，whichhehimselfcouldcontrol。Therehadbeenmomentswhenshehadseriouslydoubtedit。Hewashaggard，agingandrestless。

Sometimeshe——alwaysasifbychance——followedherasshewentfromoneroomtoanother，andwouldseathimselfandfixhismiserableeyesuponherforsolongatimethatitseemedhemustbeunconsciousofwhathewasdoing。Thenhewouldappearsuddenlytorecollecthimselfandwouldstartupwithamutteredexclamation，andstalkoutoftheroom。HespentlonghoursridingordrivingaloneaboutthecountryorwanderingwretchedlythroughtheParkandgardens。Oncehewentuptotown，and，afterafewdays’

absence，camebacklookingmorehaggardthanbefore，andwearingahuntedlookinhiseyes。Hehadgonetoseeaphysician，and，afterhavingseenhim，hehadtriedtolosehimselfinaplungeintodeepandturbidenoughwaters；buthefoundthathehadevenlostthetasteofhighflavours，forwhichhehadoncehadanepicureanpalate。Theefforthadendedinhisbeingoverpoweredagainbyhishorrors——thehorrorsinwhichhefoundhimselfstaringatthatendofthingswhennopleasurehadspice，nodebaucherythestingoflife，a

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