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diff --git a/old/arntr10.txt b/old/arntr10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ac7ed57 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/arntr10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1510 @@ +The Project Gutenberg Etext of Aaron Trow, by Anthony Trollope +#21 in our series by Anthony Trollope + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the laws for your country before redistributing these files!!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. + +Please do not remove this. + +This should be the first thing seen when anyone opens the book. +Do not change or edit it without written permission. 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Hart +and may be reprinted only when these Etexts are free of all fees.] +[Project Gutenberg is a TradeMark and may not be used in any sales +of Project Gutenberg Etexts or other materials be they hardware or +software or any other related product without express permission.] + +*END THE SMALL PRINT! FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.07/27/01*END* + + + + + +This etext was produced by David Price, email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk, +from the 1864 Chapman & Hall "Tales of all Countries" edition. + + + + + +AARON TROW + +by Anthony Trollope + + + + +I would wish to declare, at the beginning of this story, that I +shall never regard that cluster of islets which we call Bermuda as +the Fortunate Islands of the ancients. Do not let professional +geographers take me up, and say that no one has so accounted them, +and that the ancients have never been supposed to have gotten +themselves so far westwards. What I mean to assert is this--that, +had any ancient been carried thither by enterprise or stress of +weather, he would not have given those islands so good a name. That +the Neapolitan sailors of King Alonzo should have been wrecked here, +I consider to be more likely. The vexed Bermoothes is a good name +for them. There is no getting in or out of them without the +greatest difficulty, and a patient, slow navigation, which is very +heart-rending. That Caliban should have lived here I can imagine; +that Ariel would have been sick of the place is certain; and that +Governor Prospero should have been willing to abandon his +governorship, I conceive to have been only natural. When one +regards the present state of the place, one is tempted to doubt +whether any of the governors have been conjurors since his days. + +Bermuda, as all the world knows, is a British colony at which we +maintain a convict establishment. Most of our outlying convict +establishments have been sent back upon our hands from our colonies, +but here one is still maintained. There is also in the islands a +strong military fortress, though not a fortress looking magnificent +to the eyes of civilians, as do Malta and Gibraltar. There are also +here some six thousand white people and some six thousand black +people, eating, drinking, sleeping, and dying. + +The convict establishment is the most notable feature of Bermuda to +a stranger, but it does not seem to attract much attention from the +regular inhabitants of the place. There is no intercourse between +the prisoners and the Bermudians. The convicts are rarely seen by +them, and the convict islands are rarely visited. As to the +prisoners themselves, of course it is not open to them--or should +not be open to them--to have intercourse with any but the prison +authorities. + +There have, however, been instances in which convicts have escaped +from their confinement, and made their way out among the islands. +Poor wretches! As a rule, there is but little chance for any that +can so escape. The whole length of the cluster is but twenty miles, +and the breadth is under four. The prisoners are, of course, white +men, and the lower orders of Bermuda, among whom alone could a +runagate have any chance of hiding himself, are all negroes; so that +such a one would be known at once. Their clothes are all marked. +Their only chance of a permanent escape would be in the hold of an +American ship; but what captain of an American or other ship would +willingly encumber himself with an escaped convict? But, +nevertheless, men have escaped; and in one instance, I believe, a +convict got away, so that of him no farther tidings were ever heard. + +For the truth of the following tale I will not by any means vouch. +If one were to inquire on the spot one might probably find that the +ladies all believe it, and the old men; that all the young men know +exactly how much of it is false and how much true; and that the +steady, middle-aged, well-to-do islanders are quite convinced that +it is romance from beginning to end. My readers may range +themselves with the ladies, the young men, or the steady, well-to- +do, middle-aged islanders, as they please. + +Some years ago, soon after the prison was first established on its +present footing, three men did escape from it, and among them a +certain notorious prisoner named Aaron Trow. Trow's antecedents in +England had not been so villanously bad as those of many of his +fellow-convicts, though the one offence for which he was punished +had been of a deep dye: he had shed man's blood. At a period of +great distress in a manufacturing town he had led men on to riot, +and with his own hand had slain the first constable who had +endeavoured to do his duty against him. There had been courage in +the doing of the deed, and probably no malice; but the deed, let its +moral blackness have been what it might, had sent him to Bermuda, +with a sentence against him of penal servitude for life. Had he +been then amenable to prison discipline,--even then, with such a +sentence against him as that,--he might have won his way back, after +the lapse of years, to the children, and perhaps, to the wife, that +he had left behind him; but he was amenable to no rules--to no +discipline. His heart was sore to death with an idea of injury, and +he lashed himself against the bars of his cage with a feeling that +it would be well if he could so lash himself till he might perish in +his fury. + +And then a day came in which an attempt was made by a large body of +convicts, under his leadership, to get the better of the officers of +the prison. It is hardly necessary to say that the attempt failed. +Such attempts always fail. It failed on this occasion signally, and +Trow, with two other men, were condemned to be scourged terribly, +and then kept in solitary confinement for some lengthened term of +months. Before, however, the day of scourging came, Trow and his +two associates had escaped. + +I have not the space to tell how this was effected, nor the power to +describe the manner. They did escape from the establishment into +the islands, and though two of them were taken after a single day's +run at liberty, Aaron Trow had not been yet retaken even when a week +was over. When a month was over he had not been retaken, and the +officers of the prison began to say that he had got away from them +in a vessel to the States. It was impossible, they said, that he +should have remained in the islands and not been discovered. It was +not impossible that he might have destroyed himself, leaving his +body where it had not yet been found. But he could not have lived +on in Bermuda during that month's search. So, at least, said the +officers of the prison. There was, however, a report through the +islands that he had been seen from time to time; that he had gotten +bread from the negroes at night, threatening them with death if they +told of his whereabouts; and that all the clothes of the mate of a +vessel had been stolen while the man was bathing, including a suit +of dark blue cloth, in which suit of clothes, or in one of such a +nature, a stranger had been seen skulking about the rocks near St. +George. All this the governor of the prison affected to disbelieve, +but the opinion was becoming very rife in the islands that Aaron +Trow was still there. + +A vigilant search, however, is a task of great labour, and cannot be +kept up for ever. By degrees it was relaxed. The warders and +gaolers ceased to patrol the island roads by night, and it was +agreed that Aaron Trow was gone, or that he would be starved to +death, or that he would in time be driven to leave such traces of +his whereabouts as must lead to his discovery; and this at last did +turn out to be the fact. + +There is a sort of prettiness about these islands which, though it +never rises to the loveliness of romantic scenery, is nevertheless +attractive in its way. The land breaks itself into little knolls, +and the sea runs up, hither and thither, in a thousand creeks and +inlets; and then, too, when the oleanders are in bloom, they give a +wonderfully bright colour to the landscape. Oleanders seem to be +the roses of Bermuda, and are cultivated round all the villages of +the better class through the islands. There are two towns, St. +George and Hamilton, and one main high-road, which connects them; +but even this high-road is broken by a ferry, over which every +vehicle going from St. George to Hamilton must be conveyed. Most of +the locomotion in these parts is done by boats, and the residents +look to the sea, with its narrow creeks, as their best highway from +their farms to their best market. In those days--and those days +were not very long since--the building of small ships was their +chief trade, and they valued their land mostly for the small scrubby +cedar-trees with which this trade was carried on. + +As one goes from St. George to Hamilton the road runs between two +seas; that to the right is the ocean; that on the left is an inland +creek, which runs up through a large portion of the islands, so that +the land on the other side of it is near to the traveller. For a +considerable portion of the way there are no houses lying near the +road, and, there is one residence, some way from the road, so +secluded that no other house lies within a mile of it by land. By +water it might probably be reached within half a mile. This place +was called Crump Island, and here lived, and had lived for many +years, an old gentleman, a native of Bermuda, whose business it had +been to buy up cedar wood and sell it to the ship-builders at +Hamilton. In our story we shall not have very much to do with old +Mr. Bergen, but it will be necessary to say a word or two about his +house. + +It stood upon what would have been an island in the creek, had not a +narrow causeway, barely broad enough for a road, joined it to that +larger island on which stands the town of St. George. As the main +road approaches the ferry it runs through some rough, hilly, open +ground, which on the right side towards the ocean has never been +cultivated. The distance from the ocean here may, perhaps, be a +quarter of a mile, and the ground is for the most part covered with +low furze. On the left of the road the land is cultivated in +patches, and here, some half mile or more from the ferry, a path +turns away to Crump Island. The house cannot be seen from the road, +and, indeed, can hardly be seen at all, except from the sea. It +lies, perhaps, three furlongs from the high road, and the path to it +is but little used, as the passage to and from it is chiefly made by +water. + +Here, at the time of our story, lived Mr. Bergen, and here lived Mr. +Bergen's daughter. Miss Bergen was well known at St. George's as a +steady, good girl, who spent her time in looking after her father's +household matters, in managing his two black maid-servants and the +black gardener, and who did her duty in that sphere of life to which +she had been called. She was a comely, well-shaped young woman, +with a sweet countenance, rather large in size, and very quiet in +demeanour. In her earlier years, when young girls usually first bud +forth into womanly beauty, the neighbours had not thought much of +Anastasia Bergen, nor had the young men of St. George been wont to +stay their boats under the window of Crump Cottage in order that +they might listen to her voice or feel the light of her eye; but +slowly, as years went by, Anastasia Bergen became a woman that a man +might well love; and a man learned to love her who was well worthy +of a woman's heart. This was Caleb Morton, the Presbyterian +minister of St. George; and Caleb Morton had been engaged to marry +Miss Bergen for the last two years past, at the period of Aaron +Trow's escape from prison. + +Caleb Morton was not a native of Bermuda, but had been sent thither +by the synod of his church from Nova Scotia. He was a tall, +handsome man, at this time of some thirty years of age, of a +presence which might almost have been called commanding. He was +very strong, but of a temperament which did not often give him +opportunity to put forth his strength; and his life had been such +that neither he nor others knew of what nature might be his courage. +The greater part of his life was spent in preaching to some few of +the white people around him, and in teaching as many of the blacks +as he could get to hear him. His days were very quiet, and had been +altogether without excitement until he had met with Anastasia +Bergen. It will suffice for us to say that he did meet her, and +that now, for two years past, they had been engaged as man and wife. + +Old Mr. Bergen, when he heard of the engagement, was not well +pleased at the information. In the first place, his daughter was +very necessary to him, and the idea of her marrying and going away +had hardly as yet occurred to him; and then he was by no means +inclined to part with any of his money. It must not be presumed +that he had amassed a fortune by his trade in cedar wood. Few +tradesmen in Bermuda do, as I imagine, amass fortunes. Of some few +hundred pounds he was possessed, and these, in the course of nature, +would go to his daughter when he died; but he had no inclination to +hand any portion of them over to his daughter before they did go to +her in the course of nature. Now, the income which Caleb Morton +earned as a Presbyterian clergyman was not large, and, therefore, no +day had been fixed as yet for his marriage with Anastasia. + +But, though the old man had been from the first averse to the match, +his hostility had not been active. He had not forbidden Mr. Morton +his house, or affected to be in any degree angry because his +daughter had a lover. He had merely grumbled forth an intimation +that those who marry in haste repent at leisure,--that love kept +nobody warm if the pot did not boil; and that, as for him, it was as +much as he could do to keep his own pot boiling at Crump Cottage. +In answer to this Anastasia said nothing. She asked him for no +money, but still kept his accounts, managed his household, and +looked patiently forward for better days. + +Old Mr. Bergen himself spent much of his time at Hamilton, where he +had a woodyard with a couple of rooms attached to it. It was his +custom to remain here three nights of the week, during which +Anastasia was left alone at the cottage; and it happened by no means +seldom that she was altogether alone, for the negro whom they called +the gardener would go to her father's place at Hamilton, and the two +black girls would crawl away up to the road, tired with the monotony +of the sea at the cottage. Caleb had more than once told her that +she was too much alone, but she had laughed at him, saying that +solitude in Bermuda was not dangerous. Nor, indeed, was it; for the +people are quiet and well-mannered, lacking much energy, but being, +in the same degree, free from any propensity to violence. + +"So you are going," she said to her lover, one evening, as he rose +from the chair on which he had been swinging himself at the door of +the cottage which looks down over the creek of the sea. He had sat +there for an hour talking to her as she worked, or watching her as +she moved about the place. It was a beautiful evening, and the sun +had been falling to rest with almost tropical glory before his feet. +The bright oleanders were red with their blossoms all around him, +and he had thoroughly enjoyed his hour of easy rest. "So you are +going," she said to him, not putting her work out of her hand as he +rose to depart. + +"Yes; and it is time for me to go. I have still work to do before I +can get to bed. Ah, well; I suppose the day will come at last when +I need not leave you as soon as my hour of rest is over." + +"Come; of course it will come. That is, if your reverence should +choose to wait for it another ten years or so." + +"I believe you would not mind waiting twenty years." + +"Not if a certain friend of mine would come down and see me of +evenings when I'm alone after the day. It seems to me that I +shouldn't mind waiting as long as I had that to look for." + +"You are right not to be impatient," he said to her, after a pause, +as he held her hand before he went. "Quite right. I only wish I +could school myself to be as easy about it." + +"I did not say I was easy," said Anastasia. "People are seldom easy +in this world, I take it. I said I could be patient. Do not look +in that way, as though you pretended that you were dissatisfied with +me. You know that I am true to you, and you ought to be very proud +of me." + +"I am proud of you, Anastasia--" on hearing which she got up and +courtesied to him. "I am proud of you; so proud of you that I feel +you should not be left here all alone, with no one to help you if +you were in trouble." + +"Women don't get into trouble as men do, and do not want any one to +help them. If you were alone in the house you would have to go to +bed without your supper, because you could not make a basin of +boiled milk ready for your own meal. Now, when your reverence has +gone, I shall go to work and have my tea comfortably." And then he +did go, bidding God bless her as he left her. Three hours after +that he was disturbed in his own lodgings by one of the negro girls +from the cottage rushing to his door, and begging him in Heaven's +name to come down to the assistance of her mistress. + +When Morton left her, Anastasia did not proceed to do as she had +said, and seemed to have forgotten her evening meal. She had been +working sedulously with her needle during all that last +conversation; but when her lover was gone, she allowed the work to +fall from her hands, and sat motionless for awhile, gazing at the +last streak of colour left by the setting sun; but there was no +longer a sign of its glory to be traced in the heavens around her. +The twilight in Bermuda is not long and enduring as it is with us, +though the daylight does not depart suddenly, leaving the darkness +of night behind it without any intermediate time of warning, as is +the case farther south, down among the islands of the tropics. But +the soft, sweet light of the evening had waned and gone, and night +had absolutely come upon her, while Anastasia was still seated +before the cottage with her eyes fixed upon the white streak of +motionless sea which was still visible through the gloom. She was +thinking of him, of his ways of life, of his happiness, and of her +duty towards him. She had told him, with her pretty feminine +falseness, that she could wait without impatience; but now she said +to herself that it would not be good for him to wait longer. He +lived alone and without comfort, working very hard for his poor +pittance, and she could see, and feel, and understand that a +companion in his life was to him almost a necessity. She would tell +her father that all this must be brought to an end. She would not +ask him for money, but she would make him understand that her +services must, at any rate in part, be transferred. Why should not +she and Morton still live at the cottage when they were married? +And so thinking, and at last resolving, she sat there till the dark +night fell upon her. + +She was at last disturbed by feeling a man's hand upon her shoulder. +She jumped from her chair and faced him,--not screaming, for it was +especially within her power to control herself, and to make no +utterance except with forethought. Perhaps it might have been +better for her had she screamed, and sent a shrill shriek down the +shore of that inland sea. She was silent, however, and with awe- +struck face and outstretched hands gazed into the face of him who +still held her by the shoulder. The night was dark; but her eyes +were now accustomed to the darkness, and she could see indistinctly +something of his features. He was a low-sized man, dressed in a +suit of sailor's blue clothing, with a rough cap of hair on his +head, and a beard that had not been clipped for many weeks. His +eyes were large, and hollow, and frightfully bright, so that she +seemed to see nothing else of him; but she felt the strength of his +fingers as he grasped her tighter and more tightly by the arm. + +"Who are you?" she said, after a moment's pause. + +"Do you know me?" he asked. + +"Know you! No." But the words were hardly out of her mouth before +it struck her that the man was Aaron Trow, of whom every one in +Bermuda had been talking. + +"Come into the house," he said, "and give me food." And he still +held her with his hand as though he would compel her to follow him. + +She stood for a moment thinking what she would say to him; for even +then, with that terrible man standing close to her in the darkness, +her presence of mind did not desert her. "Surely," she said, "I +will give you food if you are hungry. But take your hand from me. +No man would lay his hands on a woman." + +"A woman!" said the stranger. "What does the starved wolf care for +that? A woman's blood is as sweet to him as that of a man. Come +into the house, I tell you." And then she preceded him through the +open door into the narrow passage, and thence to the kitchen. There +she saw that the back door, leading out on the other side of the +house, was open, and she knew that he had come down from the road +and entered on that side. She threw her eyes around, looking for +the negro girls; but they were away, and she remembered that there +was no human being within sound of her voice but this man who had +told her that he was as a wolf thirsty after her blood! + +"Give me food at once," he said. + +"And will you go if I give it you?" she asked. + +"I will knock out your brains if you do not," he replied, lifting +from the grate a short, thick poker which lay there. "Do as I bid +you at once. You also would be like a tiger if you had fasted for +two days, as I have done." + +She could see, as she moved across the kitchen, that he had already +searched there for something that he might eat, but that he had +searched in vain. With the close economy common among his class in +the islands, all comestibles were kept under close lock and key in +the house of Mr. Bergen. Their daily allowance was given day by day +to the negro servants, and even the fragments were then gathered up +and locked away in safety. She moved across the kitchen to the +accustomed cupboard, taking the keys from her pocket, and he +followed close upon her. There was a small oil lamp hanging from +the low ceiling which just gave them light to see each other. She +lifted her hand to this to tare it from its hook, but he prevented +her. "No, by Heaven!" he said, "you don't touch that till I've done +with it. There's light enough for you to drag out your scraps." + +She did drag out her scraps and a bowl of milk, which might hold +perhaps a quart. There was a fragment of bread, a morsel of cold +potato-cake, and the bone of a leg of kid. "And is that all?" said +he. But as he spoke he fleshed his teeth against the bone as a dog +would have done. + +"It is the best I have," she said; "I wish it were better, and you +should have had it without violence, as you have suffered so long +from hunger." + +"Bah! Better; yes! You would give the best no doubt, and set the +hell hounds on my track the moment I am gone. I know how much I +might expect from your charity." + +"I would have fed you for pity's sake," she answered. + +"Pity! Who are you, that you should dare to pity me! By -, my +young woman, it is I that pity you. I must cut your throat unless +you give me money. Do you know that?" + +"Money! I have got no money." + +"I'll make you have some before I go. Come; don't move till I have +done." And as he spoke to her he went on tugging at the bone, and +swallowing the lumps of stale bread. He had already finished the +bowl of milk. "And, now," said he, "tell me who I am." + +"I suppose you are Aaron Trow," she answered, very slowly. He said +nothing on hearing this, but continued his meal, standing close to +her so that she might not possibly escape from him out into the +darkness. Twice or thrice in those few minutes she made up her mind +to make such an attempt, feeling that it would be better to leave +him in possession of the house, and make sure, if possible, of her +own life. There was no money there; not a dollar! What money her +father kept in his possession was locked up in his safe at Hamilton. +And might he not keep to his threat, and murder her, when he found +that she could give him nothing? She did not tremble outwardly, as +she stood there watching him as he ate, but she thought how probable +it might be that her last moments were very near. And yet she could +scrutinise his features, form, and garments, so as to carry away in +her mind a perfect picture of them. Aaron Trow--for of course it +was the escaped convict--was not a man of frightful, hideous aspect. +Had the world used him well, giving him when he was young ample +wages and separating him from turbulent spirits, he also might have +used the world well; and then women would have praised the +brightness of his eye and the manly vigour of his brow. But things +had not gone well with him. He had been separated from the wife he +had loved, and the children who had been raised at his knee,-- +separated by his own violence; and now, as he had said of himself, +he was a wolf rather than a man. As he stood there satisfying the +craving of his appetite, breaking up the large morsels of food, he +was an object very sad to be seen. Hunger had made him gaunt and +yellow, he was squalid with the dirt of his hidden lair, and he had +the look of a beast;--that look to which men fall when they live +like the brutes of prey, as outcasts from their brethren. But still +there was that about his brow which might have redeemed him,--which +might have turned her horror into pity, had he been willing that it +should be so. + +"And now give me some brandy," he said. + +There was brandy in the house,--in the sitting-room which was close +at their hand, and the key of the little press which held it was in +her pocket. It was useless, she thought, to refuse him; and so she +told him that there was a bottle partly full, but that she must go +to the next room to fetch it him. + +"We'll go together, my darling," he said. "There's nothing like +good company." And he again put his hand upon her arm as they +passed into the family sitting-room. + +"I must take the light," she said. But he unhooked it himself, and +carried it in his own hand. + +Again she went to work without trembling. She found the key of the +side cupboard, and unlocking the door, handed him a bottle which +might contain about half-a-pint of spirits. "And is that all?" he +said. + +"There is a full bottle here," she answered, handing him another; +"but if you drink it, you will be drunk, and they will catch you." + +"By Heavens, yes; and you would be the first to help them; would you +not?" + +"Look here," she answered. "If you will go now, I will not say a +word to any one of your coming, nor set them on your track to follow +you. There, take the full bottle with you. If you will go, you +shall be safe from me." + +"What, and go without money!" + +"I have none to give you. You may believe me when I say so. I have +not a dollar in the house." + +Before he spoke again he raised the half empty bottle to his mouth, +and drank as long as there was a drop to drink. "There," said he, +putting the bottle down, "I am better after that. As to the other, +you are right, and I will take it with me. And now, young woman, +about the money?" + +"I tell you that I have not a dollar." + +"Look here," said he, and he spoke now in a softer voice, as though +he would be on friendly terms with her. "Give me ten sovereigns, +and I will go. I know you have it, and with ten sovereigns it is +possible that I may save my life. You are good, and would not wish +that a man should die so horrid a death. I know you are good. +Come, give me the money." And he put his hands up, beseeching her, +and looked into her face with imploring eyes. + +"On the word of a Christian woman I have not got money to give you," +she replied. + +"Nonsense?" And as he spoke he took her by the arm and shook her. +He shook her violently so that he hurt her, and her breath for a +moment was all but gone from her. "I tell you you must make dollars +before I leave you, or I will so handle you that it would have been +better for you to coin your very blood." + +"May God help me at my need," she said, "as I have not above a few +penny pieces in the house." + +"And you expect me to believe that! Look here! I will shake the +teeth out of your head, but I will have it from you." And he did +shake her again, using both his hands and striking her against the +wall. + +"Would you--murder me?" she said, hardly able now to utter the +words. + +"Murder you, yes; why not? I cannot be worse than I am, were I to +murder you ten times over. But with money I may possibly be +better." + +"I have it not." + +"Then I will do worse than murder you. I will make you such an +object that all the world shall loathe to look on you." And so +saying he took her by the arm and dragged her forth from the wall +against which she had stood. + +Then there came from her a shriek that was heard far down the shore +of that silent sea, and away across to the solitary houses of those +living on the other side,--a shriek, very sad, sharp, and +prolonged,--which told plainly to those who heard it of woman's woe +when in her extremest peril. That sound was spoken of in Bermuda +for many a day after that, as something which had been terrible to +hear. But then, at that moment, as it came wailing through the +dark, it sounded as though it were not human. Of those who heard +it, not one guessed from whence it came, nor was the hand of any +brother put forward to help that woman at her need. + +"Did you hear that?" said the young wife to her husband, from the +far side of the arm of the sea. + +"Hear it! Oh Heaven, yes! Whence did it come?" The young wife +could not say from whence it came, but clung close to her husband's +breast, comforting herself with the knowledge that that terrible +sorrow was not hers. + +But aid did come at last, or rather that which seemed as aid. Long +and terrible was the fight between that human beast of prey and the +poor victim which had fallen into his talons. Anastasia Bergen was +a strong, well-built woman, and now that the time had come to her +when a struggle was necessary, a struggle for life, for honour, for +the happiness of him who was more to her than herself, she fought +like a tigress attacked in her own lair. At such a moment as this +she also could become wild and savage as the beast of the forest. +When he pinioned her arms with one of his, as he pressed her down +upon the floor, she caught the first joint of the forefinger of his +other hand between her teeth till he yelled in agony, and another +sound was heard across the silent water. And then, when one hand +was loosed in the struggle, she twisted it through his long hair, +and dragged back his head till his eyes were nearly starting from +their sockets. Anastasia Bergen had hitherto been a sheer woman, +all feminine in her nature. But now the foam came to her mouth, and +fire sprang from her eyes, and the muscles of her body worked as +though she had been trained to deeds of violence. Of violence, +Aaron Trow had known much in his rough life, but never had he +combated with harder antagonist than her whom he now held beneath +his breast. + +"By--I will put an end to you," he exclaimed, in his wrath, as he +struck her violently across the face with his elbow. His hand was +occupied, and he could not use it for a blow, but, nevertheless, the +violence was so great that the blood gushed from her nostrils, while +the back of her head was driven with violence against the floor. +But she did not lose her hold of him. Her hand was still twined +closely through his thick hair, and in every move he made she clung +to him with all her might. "Leave go my hair," he shouted at her, +but she still kept her hold, though he again dashed her head against +the floor. + +There was still light in the room, for when he first grasped her +with both his hands, he had put the lamp down on a small table. Now +they were rolling on the floor together, and twice he had essayed to +kneel on her that he might thus crush the breath from her body, and +deprive her altogether of her strength; but she had been too active +for him, moving herself along the ground, though in doing so she +dragged him with her. But by degrees he got one hand at liberty, +and with that he pulled a clasp knife out of his pocket and opened +it. "I will cut your head off if you do not let go my hair," he +said. But still she held fast by him. He then stabbed at her arm, +using his left hand and making short, ineffectual blows. Her dress +partly saved her, and partly also the continual movement of all her +limbs; but, nevertheless, the knife wounded her. It wounded her in +several places about the arm, covering them both with blood;--but +still she hung on. So close was her grasp in her agony, that, as +she afterwards found, she cut the skin of her own hands with her own +nails. Had the man's hair been less thick or strong, or her own +tenacity less steadfast, he would have murdered her before any +interruption could have saved her. + +And yet he had not purposed to murder her, or even, in the first +instance, to inflict on her any bodily harm. But he had been +determined to get money. With such a sum of money as he had named, +it might, he thought, be possible for him to win his way across to +America. He might bribe men to hide him in the hold of a ship, and +thus there might be for him, at any rate, a possibility of escape. +That there must be money in the house he had still thought when +first he laid hands on the poor woman; and then, when the struggle +had once begun, when he had felt her muscles contending with his, +the passion of the beast was aroused within him, and he strove +against her as he would have striven against a dog. But yet, when +the knife was in his hand, he had not driven it against her heart. + +Then suddenly, while they were yet rolling on the floor, there was a +sound of footsteps in the passage. Aaron Trow instantly leaped to +his feet, leaving his victim on the ground, with huge lumps of his +thick clotted hair in her hand. Thus, and thus only, could he have +liberated himself from her grasp. He rushed at the door, and there +he came against the two negro servant-girls who had returned down to +their kitchen from the road on which they had been straying. Trow, +as he half saw them in the dark, not knowing how many there might +be, or whether there was a man among them, rushed through them, +upsetting one scared girl in his passage. With the instinct and +with the timidity of a beast, his impulse now was to escape, and he +hurried away back to the road and to his lair, leaving the three +women together in the cottage. Poor wretch! As he crossed the +road, not skulking in his impotent haste, but running at his best, +another pair of eyes saw him, and when the search became hot after +him, it was known that his hiding-place was not distant. + +It was some time before any of the women were able to act, and when +some step was taken, Anastasia was the first to take it. She had +not absolutely swooned, but the reaction, after the violence of her +efforts, was so great, that for some minutes she had been unable to +speak. She had risen from the floor when Trow left her, and had +even followed him to the door; but since that she had fallen back +into her father's old arm-chair, and there sat gasping not only for +words, but for breath also. + +At last she bade one of the girls to run into St. George, and beg +Mr. Morton to come to her aid. The girl would not stir without her +companion; and even then, Anastasia, covered as she was with blood, +with dishevelled hair, and her clothes half torn from her body, +accompanied them as far as the road. There they found a negro lad +still hanging about the place, and he told them that he had seen the +man cross the road, and run down over the open ground towards the +rocks of the sea-coast. "He must be there," said the lad, pointing +in the direction of a corner of the rocks; "unless he swim across +the mouth of the ferry." But the mouth of that ferry is an arm of +the sea, and it was not probable that a man would do that when he +might have taken the narrow water by keeping on the other side of +the road. + +At about one that night Caleb Morton reached the cottage breathless +with running, and before a word was spoken between them, Anastasia +had fallen on his shoulder and had fainted. As soon as she was in +the arms of her lover, all her power had gone from her. The spirit +and passion of the tiger had gone, and she was again a weak woman +shuddering at the thought of what she had suffered. She remembered +that she had had the man's hand between her teeth, and by degrees +she found his hair still clinging to her fingers; but even then she +could hardly call to mind the nature of the struggle she had +undergone. His hot breath close to her own cheek she did remember, +and his glaring eyes, and even the roughness of his beard as he +pressed his face against her own; but she could not say whence had +come the blood, nor till her arm became stiff and motionless did she +know that she had been wounded. + +It was all joy with her now, as she sat motionless without speaking, +while he administered to her wants and spoke words of love into her +ears. She remembered the man's horrid threat, and knew that by +God's mercy she had been saved. And he was there caressing her, +loving her, comforting her! As she thought of the fate that had +threatened her, of the evil that had been so imminent, she fell +forward on her knees, and with incoherent sobs uttered her +thanksgivings, while her head was still supported on his arms. + +It was almost morning before she could induce herself to leave him +and lie down. With him she seemed to be so perfectly safe; but the +moment he was away she could see Aaron Trow's eyes gleaming at her +across the room. At last, however, she slept; and when he saw that +she was at rest, he told himself that his work must then begin. +Hitherto Caleb Morton had lived in all respects the life of a man of +peace; but now, asking himself no questions as to the propriety of +what he would do, using no inward arguments as to this or that line +of conduct, he girded the sword on his loins, and prepared himself +for war. The wretch who had thus treated the woman whom he loved +should be hunted down like a wild beast, as long as he had arms and +legs with which to carry on the hunt. He would pursue the miscreant +with any weapons that might come to his hands; and might Heaven help +him at his need as he dealt forth punishment to that man, if he +caught him within his grasp. Those who had hitherto known Morton in +the island, could not recognise the man as he came forth on that +day, thirsty after blood, and desirous to thrust himself into +personal conflict with the wild ruffian who had injured him. The +meek Presbyterian minister had been a preacher, preaching ways of +peace, and living in accordance with his own doctrines. The world +had been very quiet for him, and he had walked quietly in his +appointed path. But now the world was quiet no longer, nor was +there any preaching of peace. His cry was for blood; for the blood +of the untamed savage brute who had come upon his young doe in her +solitude, and striven with such brutal violence to tear her heart +from her bosom. + +He got to his assistance early in the morning some of the constables +from St. George, and before the day was over, he was joined by two +or three of the warders from the convict establishment. There was +with him also a friend or two, and thus a party was formed, +numbering together ten or twelve persons. They were of course all +armed, and therefore it might be thought that there would be but +small chance for the wretched man if they should come upon his +track. At first they all searched together, thinking from the +tidings which had reached them that he must be near to them; but +gradually they spread themselves along the rocks between St. George +and the ferry, keeping watchman on the road, so that he should not +escape unnoticed into the island. + +Ten times during the day did Anastasia send from the cottage up to +Morton, begging him to leave the search to others, and come down to +her. But not for a moment would he lose the scent of his prey. +What! should it be said that she had been so treated, and that +others had avenged her? He sent back to say that her father was +with her now, and that he would come when his work was over. And in +that job of work the life-blood of Aaron Trow was counted up. + +Towards evening they were all congregated on the road near to the +spot at which the path turns off towards the cottage, when a voice +was heard hallooing to them from the summit of a little hill which +lies between the road and the sea on the side towards the ferry, and +presently a boy came running down to them full of news. "Danny Lund +has seen him," said the boy, "he has seen him plainly in among the +rocks." And then came Danny Lund himself, a small negro lad about +fourteen years of age, who was known in those parts as the idlest, +most dishonest, and most useless of his race. On this occasion, +however, Danny Lund became important, and every one listened to him. +He had seen, he said, a pair of eyes moving down in a cave of the +rocks which he well knew. He had been in the cave often, he said, +and could get there again. But not now; not while that pair of eyes +was moving at the bottom of it. And so they all went up over the +hill, Morton leading the way with hot haste. In his waist-band he +held a pistol, and his hand grasped a short iron bar with which he +had armed himself. They ascended the top of the hill, and when +there, the open sea was before them on two sides, and on the third +was the narrow creek over which the ferry passed. Immediately +beneath their feet were the broken rocks; for on that side, towards +the sea, the earth and grass of the hill descended but a little way +towards the water. Down among the rocks they all went, silently, +Caleb Morton leading the way, and Danny Lund directing him from +behind. + +"Mr. Morton," said an elderly man from St. George, "had you not +better let the warders of the gaol go first; he is a desperate man, +and they will best understand his ways?" + +In answer to this Morton said nothing, but he would let no one put a +foot before him. He still pressed forward among the rocks, and at +last came to a spot from whence he might have sprung at one leap +into the ocean. It was a broken cranny on the sea-shore into which +the sea beat, and surrounded on every side but the one by huge +broken fragments of stone, which at first sight seemed as though +they would have admitted of a path down among them to the water's +edge; but which, when scanned more closely, were seen to be so large +in size, that no man could climb from one to another. It was a +singularly romantic spot, but now well known to them all there, for +they had visited it over and over again that morning. + +"In there," said Danny Lund, keeping well behind Morton's body, and +pointing at the same time to a cavern high up among the rocks, but +quite on the opposite side of the little inlet of the sea. The +mouth of the cavern was not twenty yards from where they stood, but +at the first sight it seemed as though it must be impossible to +reach it. The precipice on the brink of which they all now stood, +ran down sheer into the sea, and the fall from the mouth of the +cavern on the other side was as steep. But Danny solved the mystery +by pointing upwards, and showing them how he had been used to climb +to a projecting rock over their heads, and from thence creep round +by certain vantages of the stone till he was able to let himself +down into the aperture. But now, at the present moment, he was +unwilling to make essay of his prowess as a cragsman. He had, he +said, been up on that projecting rock thrice, and there had seen the +eyes moving in the cavern. He was quite sure of that fact of the +pair of eyes, and declined to ascend the rock again. + +Traces soon became visible to them by which they knew that some one +had passed in and out of the cavern recently. The stone, when +examined, bore those marks of friction which passage and repassage +over it will always give. At the spot from whence the climber left +the platform and commenced his ascent, the side of the stone had +been rubbed by the close friction of a man's body. A light boy like +Danny Lund might find his way in and out without leaving such marks +behind him, but no heavy man could do so. Thus before long they all +were satisfied that Aaron Trow was in the cavern before them. + +Then there was a long consultation as to what they would do to carry +on the hunt, and how they would drive the tiger from his lair. That +he should not again come out, except to fall into their hands, was +to all of them a matter of course. They would keep watch and ward +there, though it might be for days and nights. But that was a +process which did not satisfy Morton, and did not indeed well +satisfy any of them. It was not only that they desired to inflict +punishment on the miscreant in accordance with the law, but also +that they did not desire that the miserable man should die in a hole +like a starved dog, and that then they should go after him to take +out his wretched skeleton. There was something in that idea so +horrid in every way, that all agreed that active steps must be +taken. The warders of the prison felt that they would all be +disgraced if they could not take their prisoner alive. Yet who +would get round that perilous ledge in the face of such an +adversary? A touch to any man while climbing there would send him +headlong down among the wave! And then his fancy told to each what +might be the nature of an embrace with such an animal as that, +driven to despair, hopeless of life, armed, as they knew, at any +rate, with a knife! If the first adventurous spirit should succeed +in crawling round that ledge, what would be the reception which he +might expect in the terrible depth of that cavern? + +They called to their prisoner, bidding him come out, and telling him +that they would fire in upon him if he did not show himself; but not +a sound was heard. It was indeed possible that they should send +their bullets to, perhaps, every corner of the cavern; and if so, in +that way they might slaughter him; but even of this they were not +sure. Who could tell that there might not be some protected nook in +which he could lay secure? And who could tell when the man was +struck, or whether he were wounded? + +"I will get to him," said Morton, speaking with a low dogged voice, +and so saying he clambered up to the rock to which Danny Lund had +pointed. Many voices at once attempted to restrain him, and one or +two put their hands upon him to keep him back, but he was too quick +for them, and now stood upon the ledge of rock. "Can you see him?" +they asked below. + +"I can see nothing within the cavern," said Morton. + +"Look down very hard, Massa," said Danny, "very hard indeed, down in +deep dark hole, and then see him big eyes moving!" + +Morton now crept along the ledge, or rather he was beginning to do +so, having put forward his shoulders and arms to make a first step +in advance from the spot on which he was resting, when a hand was +put forth from one corner of the cavern's mouth,--a hand armed with +a pistol;--and a shot was fired. There could be no doubt now but +that Danny Lund was right, and no doubt now as to the whereabouts of +Aaron Trow. + +A hand was put forth, a pistol was fired, and Caleb Morton still +clinging to a corner of the rock with both his arms was seen to +falter. "He is wounded," said one of the voices from below; and +then they all expected to see him fall into the sea. But he did not +fall, and after a moment or two, he proceeded carefully to pick his +steps along the ledge. The ball had touched him, grazing his cheek, +and cutting through the light whiskers that he wore; but he had not +felt it, though the blow had nearly knocked him from his perch. And +then four or five shots were fired from the rocks into the mouth of +the cavern. The man's arm had been seen, and indeed one or two +declared that they had traced the dim outline of his figure. But no +sound was heard to come from the cavern, except the sharp crack of +the bullets against the rock, and the echo of the gunpowder. There +had been no groan as of a man wounded, no sound of a body falling, +no voice wailing in despair. For a few seconds all was dark with +the smoke of the gunpowder, and then the empty mouth of the cave was +again yawning before their eyes. Morton was now near it, still +cautiously creeping. The first danger to which he was exposed was +this; that his enemy within the recess might push him down from the +rocks with a touch. But on the other hand, there were three or four +men ready to fire, the moment that a hand should be put forth; and +then Morton could swim,--was known to be a strong swimmer;--whereas +of Aaron Trow it was already declared by the prison gaolers that he +could not swim. Two of the warders had now followed Morton on the +rocks, so that in the event of his making good his entrance into the +cavern, and holding his enemy at bay for a minute, he would be +joined by aid. + +It was strange to see how those different men conducted themselves +as they stood on the opposite platform watching the attack. The +officers from the prison had no other thought but of their prisoner, +and were intent on taking him alive or dead. To them it was little +or nothing what became of Morton. It was their business to +encounter peril, and they were ready to do so;--feeling, however, by +no means sorry to have such a man as Morton in advance of them. +Very little was said by them. They had their wits about them, and +remembered that every word spoken for the guidance of their ally +would be heard also by the escaped convict. Their prey was sure, +sooner or later, and had not Morton been so eager in his pursuit, +they would have waited till some plan had been devised of trapping +him without danger. But the townsmen from St. George, of whom some +dozen were now standing there, were quick and eager and loud in +their counsels. "Stay where you are, Mr. Morton,--stay awhile for +the love of God--or he'll have you down." "Now's your time, Caleb; +in on him now, and you'll have him." "Close with him, Morton, close +with him at once; it's your only chance." "There's four of us here; +we'll fire on him if he as much as shows a limb." All of which +words as they were heard by that poor wretch within, must have +sounded to him as the barking of a pack of hounds thirsting for his +blood. For him at any rate there was no longer any hope in this +world. + +My reader, when chance has taken you into the hunting-field, has it +ever been your lot to sit by on horseback, and watch the digging out +of a fox? The operation is not an uncommon one, and in some +countries it is held to be in accordance with the rules of fair +sport. For myself, I think that when the brute has so far saved +himself, he should be entitled to the benefit of his cunning; but I +will not now discuss the propriety or impropriety of that practice +in venery. I can never, however, watch the doing of that work +without thinking much of the agonising struggles of the poor beast +whose last refuge is being torn from over his head. There he lies +within a few yards of his arch enemy, the huntsman. The thick +breath of the hounds make hot the air within his hole. The sound of +their voices is close upon his ears. His breast is nearly bursting +with the violence of that effort which at last has brought him to +his retreat. And then pickaxe and mattock are plied above his head, +and nearer and more near to him press his foes,--his double foes, +human and canine,--till at last a huge hand grasps him, and he is +dragged forth among his enemies. Almost as soon as his eyes have +seen the light the eager noses of a dozen hounds have moistened +themselves in his entrails. Ah me! I know that he is vermin, the +vermin after whom I have been risking my neck, with a bold ambition +that I might ultimately witness his death-struggles; but, +nevertheless, I would fain have saved him that last half hour of +gradually diminished hope. + +And Aaron Trow was now like a hunted fox, doomed to be dug out from +his last refuge, with this addition to his misery, that these hounds +when they caught their prey, would not put him at once out of his +misery. When first he saw that throng of men coming down from the +hill top and resting on the platform; he knew that his fate was +come. When they called to him to surrender himself he was silent, +but he knew that his silence was of no avail. To them who were so +eager to be his captors the matter seemed to be still one of +considerable difficulty; but, to his thinking, there was no +difficulty. There were there some score of men, fully armed, within +twenty yards of him. If he but showed a trace of his limbs he would +become a mark for their bullets. And then if he were wounded, and +no one would come to him! If they allowed him to lie there without +food till he perished! Would it not be well for him to yield +himself? Then they called again and he was still silent. That idea +of yielding is very terrible to the heart of a man. And when the +worst had come to the worst, did not the ocean run deep beneath his +cavern's month? + +But as they yelled at him and hallooed, making their preparations +for his death, his presence of mind deserted the poor wretch. He +had stolen an old pistol on one of his marauding expeditions, of +which one barrel had been loaded. That in his mad despair he had +fired; and now, as he lay near the mouth of the cavern, under the +cover of the projecting stone, he had no weapon with him but his +hands. He had had a knife, but that had dropped from him during the +struggle on the floor of the cottage. He had now nothing but his +hands, and was considering how he might best use them in ridding +himself of the first of his pursuers. The man was near him, armed, +with all the power and majesty of right on his side; whereas on his +side, Aaron Trow had nothing,--not a hope. He raised his head that +he might look forth, and a dozen voices shouted as his face appeared +above the aperture. A dozen weapons were levelled at him, and he +could see the gleaming of the muzzles of the guns. And then the +foot of his pursuer was already on the corner stone at the cavern's +mouth. "Now, Caleb, on him at once!" shouted a voice. Ah me! it +was a moment in which to pity even such a man as Aaron Trow. + +"Now, Caleb, at him at once!" shouted the voice. No, by heavens; +not so, even yet! The sound of triumph in those words raised the +last burst of energy in the breast of that wretched man; and he +sprang forth, head foremost, from his prison house. Forth he came, +manifest enough before the eyes of them all, and with head well +down, and hands outstretched, but with his wide glaring eyes still +turned towards his pursuers as he fell, he plunged down into the +waves beneath him. Two of those who stood by, almost unconscious of +what they did, fired at his body as it made its rapid way to the +water; but, as they afterwards found, neither of the bullets struck +him. Morton, when his prey thus leaped forth, escaping him for +awhile, was already on the verge of the cavern,--had even then +prepared his foot for that onward spring which should bring him to +the throat of his foe. But he arrested himself, and for a moment +stood there watching the body as it struck the water, and hid itself +at once beneath the ripple. He stood there for a moment watching +the deed and its effect, and then leaving his hold upon the rock, he +once again followed his quarry. Down he went, head foremost, right +on to the track in the waves which the other had made; and when the +two rose to the surface together, each was struggling in the grasp +of the other. + +It was a foolish, nay, a mad deed to do. The poor wretch who had +first fallen could not have escaped. He could not even swim, and +had therefore flung himself to certain destruction when he took that +leap from out of the cavern's mouth. It would have been sad to see +him perish beneath the waves,--to watch him as he rose, gasping for +breath, and then to see to him sinking again, to rise again, and +then to go for ever. But his life had been fairly forfeit,--and why +should one so much more precious have been flung after it? It was +surely with no view of saving that pitiful life that Caleb Morton +had leaped after his enemy. But the hound, hot with the chase, will +follow the stag over the precipice and dash himself to pieces +against the rocks. The beast thirsting for blood will rush in even +among the weapons of men. Morton in his fury had felt but one +desire, burned with but one passion. If the Fates would but grant +him to fix his clutches in the throat of the man who had ill-used +his love; for the rest it might all go as it would. + +In the earlier part of the morning, while they were all searching +for their victim, they had brought a boat up into this very inlet +among the rocks; and the same boat had been at hand during the whole +day. Unluckily, before they had come hither, it had been taken +round the headland to a place among the rocks at which a government +skiff is always moored. The sea was still so quiet that there was +hardly a ripple on it, and the boat had been again sent for when +first it was supposed that they had at last traced Aaron Trow to his +hiding-place. Anxiously now were all eyes turned to the headland, +but as yet no boat was there. + +The two men rose to the surface, each struggling in the arms of the +other. Trow, though he was in an element to which he was not used, +though he had sprung thither as another suicide might spring to +certain death beneath a railway engine, did not altogether lose his +presence of mind. Prompted by a double instinct, he had clutched +hold of Morton's body when he encountered it beneath the waters. He +held on to it, as to his only protection, and he held on to him also +as to his only enemy. If there was a chance for a life struggle, +they would share that chance together; and if not, then together +would they meet that other fate. + +Caleb Morton was a very strong man, and though one of his arms was +altogether encumbered by his antagonist, his other arm and his legs +were free. With these he seemed to succeed in keeping his head +above the water, weighted as he was with the body of his foe. But +Trow's efforts were also used with the view of keeping himself above +the water. Though he had purposed to destroy himself in taking that +leap, and now hoped for nothing better than that they might both +perish together, he yet struggled to keep his head above the waves. +Bodily power he had none left to him, except that of holding on to +Morton's arm and plunging with his legs; but he did hold on, and +thus both their heads remained above the surface. + +But this could not last long. It was easy to see that Trow's +strength was nearly spent, and that when he went down Morton must go +with him. If indeed they could be separated,--if Morton could once +make himself free from that embrace into which he had been so +anxious to leap,--then indeed there might be a hope. All round that +little inlet the rock fell sheer down into the deep sea, so that +there was no resting-place for a foot; it but round the headlands on +either side, even within forty or fifty yards of that spot, Morton +might rest on the rocks, till a boat should come to his assistance. +To him that distance would have been nothing, if only his limbs had +been at liberty. + +Upon the platform of rocks they were all at their wits' ends. Many +were anxious to fire at Trow; but even if they hit him, would +Morton's position have been better? Would not the wounded man have +still clung to him who was not wounded? And then there could be no +certainty that any one of them would hit the right man. The ripple +of the waves, though it was very slight, nevertheless sufficed to +keep the bodies in motion; and then, too, there was not among them +any marksman peculiar for his skill. + +Morton's efforts in the water were too severe to admit of his +speaking, but he could hear and understand the words which were +addressed to him. "Shake him off, Caleb." "Strike him from you +with your foot." "Swim to the right shore; swim for it, even if you +take him with you." Yes; he could hear them all; but hearing and +obeying were very different. It was not easy to shake off that +dying man; and as for swimming with him, that was clearly +impossible. It was as much as he could do to keep his head above +water, let alone any attempt to move in one settled direction. + +For some four or five minutes they lay thus battling on the waves +before the head of either of them went down. Trow had been twice +below the surface, but it was before he had succeeded in supporting +himself by Morton's arm. Now it seemed as though he must sink +again,--as though both must sink. His mouth was barely kept above +the water, and as Morton shook him with his arm, the tide would pass +over him. It was horrid to watch from the shore the glaring +upturned eyes of the dying wretch, as his long streaming hair lay +back upon the wave. "Now, Caleb, hold him down. Hold him under," +was shouted in the voice of some eager friend. Rising up on the +water, Morton made a last effort to do as he was bid. He did press +the man's head down,--well down below the surface,--but still the +hand clung to him, and as he struck out against the water, he was +powerless against that grasp. + +Then there came a loud shout along the shore, and all those on the +platform, whose eyes had been fixed so closely on that terrible +struggle beneath them, rushed towards the rocks on the other coast. +The sound of oars was heard close to them,--an eager pressing +stroke, as of men who knew well that they were rowing for the +salvation of a life. On they came, close under the rocks, obeying +with every muscle of their bodies the behests of those who called to +them from the shore. The boat came with such rapidity,--was so +recklessly urged, that it was driven somewhat beyond the inlet; but +in passing, a blow was struck which made Caleb Morton once more the +master of his own life. The two men had been carried out in their +struggle towards the open sea; and as the boat curved in, so as to +be as close as the rocks would allow, the bodies of the men were +brought within the sweep of the oars. He in the bow--for there were +four pulling in the boat--had raised his oar as he neared the +rocks,--had raised it high above the water; and now, as they passed +close by the struggling men, he let it fall with all its force on +the upturned face of the wretched convict. It was a terrible, +frightful thing to do,--thus striking one who was so stricken; but +who shall say that the blow was not good and just? Methinks, +however, that the eyes and face of that dying man will haunt for +ever the dreams of him who carried that oar! + +Trow never rose again to the surface. Three days afterwards his +body was found at the ferry, and then they carried him to the +convict island and buried him. Morton was picked up and taken into +the boat. His life was saved; but it may be a question how the +battle might have gone had not that friendly oar been raised in his +behalf. As it was, he lay at the cottage for days before he was +able to be moved, so as to receive the congratulations of those who +had watched that terrible conflict from the shore. Nor did he feel +that there had been anything in that day's work of which he could be +proud;--much rather of which it behoved him to be thoroughly +ashamed. Some six months after that he obtained the hand of +Anastasia Bergen, but they did not remain long in Bermuda. "He went +away, back to his own country," my informant told me; "because he +could not endure to meet the ghost of Aaron Trow, at that point of +the road which passes near the cottage." That the ghost of Aaron +Trow may be seen there and round the little rocky inlet of the sea, +is part of the creed of every young woman in Bermuda. + + + + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of Aaron Trow, by Anthony Trollope + |