Hewas,indeed,walkingwithawilloverthefurze,asstraightasaline,asifhislifedependeduponit。
  Hismotherdrewalongbreath,and,abandoningthevisittoThomasin,turnedback。Theeveningfilmsbegantomakenebulouspicturesofthevalleys,butthehighlandsstillwererakedbythedecliningraysofthewintersun,whichglancedonClymashewalkedforward,eyedbyeveryrabbitandfield—farearound,alongshadowadvancinginfrontofhim。
  Ondrawingneartothefurze—coveredbankandditchwhichfortifiedthecaptain’sdwellinghecouldhearvoiceswithin,signifyingthatoperationshadbeenalreadybegun。
  Attheside—entrancegatehestoppedandlookedover。
  Halfadozenable—bodiedmenwerestandinginalinefromthewell—mouth,holdingaropewhichpassedoverthewell—rollerintothedepthsbelow。Fairway,withapieceofsmallerroperoundhisbody,madefasttooneofthestandards,toguardagainstaccidents,wasleaningovertheopening,hisrighthandclaspingtheverticalropethatdescendedintothewell。
  "Now,silence,folks,"saidFairway。
  Thetalkingceased,andFairwaygaveacircularmotiontotherope,asifhewerestirringbatter。Attheendofaminuteadullsplashingreverberatedfromthebottomofthewell;thehelicaltwisthehadimpartedtotheropehadreachedthegrapnelbelow。
  "Haul!"saidFairway;andthemenwhoheldtheropebegantogatheritoverthewheel。
  "Ithinkwe’vegotsommat,"saidoneofthehaulers—in。
  "Thenpullsteady,"saidFairway。
  Theygatheredupmoreandmore,tillaregulardrippingintothewellcouldbeheardbelow。Itgrewsmarterwiththeincreasingheightofthebucket,andpresentlyahundredandfiftyfeetofropehadbeenpulledin。
  Fairwaythenlitalantern,tiedittoanothercord,andbeganloweringitintothewellbesidethefirst:
  Clymcameforwardandlookeddown。Strangehumidleaves,whichknewnothingoftheseasonsoftheyear,andquaint—naturedmosseswererevealedonthewellsideasthelanterndescended;tillitsraysfelluponaconfusedmassofropeandbucketdanglinginthedank,darkair。
  "We’veonlygotenbytheedgeofthehoop——steady,forGod’ssake!"saidFairway。
  Theypulledwiththegreatestgentleness,tillthewetbucketappearedabouttwoyardsbelowthem,likeadeadfriendcometoearthagain。Threeorfourhandswerestretchedout,thenjerkwenttherope,whizzwentthewheel,thetwoforemosthaulersfellbackward,thebeatingofafallingbodywasheard,recedingdownthesidesofthewell,andathunderousuproararoseatthebottom。
  Thebucketwasgoneagain。
  "Damnthebucket!"saidFairway。
  "Loweragain,"saidSam。
  "I’masstiffasaram’shornstoopingsolong,"
  saidFairway,standingupandstretchinghimselftillhisjointscreaked。
  "Restafewminutes,Timothy,"saidYeobright。
  "I’lltakeyourplace。"
  Thegrapnelwasagainlowered。Itssmartimpactuponthedistantwaterreachedtheirearslikeakiss,whereuponYeobrightkneltdown,andleaningoverthewellbegandraggingthegrapnelroundandroundasFairwayhaddone。
  "Tiearoperoundhim——itisdangerous!"criedasoftandanxiousvoicesomewhereabovethem。
  Everybodyturned。Thespeakerwasawoman,gazingdownuponthegroupfromanupperwindow,whosepanesblazedintheruddyglarefromthewest。Herlipswerepartedandsheappearedforthemomenttoforgetwhereshewas。
  Theropewasaccordinglytiedroundhiswaist,andtheworkproceeded。Atthenexthaultheweightwasnotheavy,anditwasdiscoveredthattheyhadonlysecuredacoiloftheropedetachedfromthebucket。Thetangledmasswasthrownintothebackground。HumphreytookYeobright’splace,andthegrapnelwasloweredagain。
  Yeobrightretiredtotheheapofrecoveredropeinameditativemood。Oftheidentitybetweenthelady’svoiceandthatofthemelancholymummerhehadnotamoment’sdoubt。
  "Howthoughtfulofher!"hesaidtohimself。
  Eustacia,whohadreddenedwhensheperceivedtheeffectofherexclamationuponthegroupbelow,wasnolongertobeseenatthewindow,thoughYeobrightscanneditwistfully。Whilehestoodtherethemenatthewellsucceededingettingupthebucketwithoutamishap。
  Oneofthemwenttoinquireforthecaptain,tolearnwhatordershewishedtogiveformendingthewell—tackle。
  Thecaptainprovedtobeawayfromhome,andEustaciaappearedatthedoorandcameout。Shehadlapsedintoaneasyanddignifiedcalm,farremovedfromtheintensityoflifeinherwordsofsolicitudeforClym’ssafety。
  "Willitbepossibletodrawwaterheretonight?"
  sheinquired。
  "No,miss;thebottomofthebucketiscleanknockedout。
  Andaswecandonomorenowwe’llleaveoff,andcomeagaintomorrowmorning。"
  "Nowater,"shemurmured,turningaway。
  "IcansendyouupsomefromBlooms—End,"saidClym,comingforwardandraisinghishatasthemenretired。
  YeobrightandEustacialookedateachotherforoneinstant,asifeachhadinmindthosefewmomentsduringwhichacertainmoonlightscenewascommontoboth。
  Withtheglancethecalmfixityofherfeaturessublimeditselftoanexpressionofrefinementandwarmth;
  itwaslikegarishnoonrisingtothedignityofsunsetinacoupleofseconds。
  "Thankyou;itwillhardlybenecessary,"shereplied。
  "Butifyouhavenowater?"
  "Well,itiswhatIcallnowater,"shesaid,blushing,andliftingherlong—lashedeyelidsasiftoliftthemwereaworkrequiringconsideration。"Butmygrandfathercallsitwaterenough。I’llshowyouwhatImean。"
  Shemovedawayafewyards,andClymfollowed。Whenshereachedthecorneroftheenclosure,wherethestepswereformedformountingtheboundarybank,shesprangupwithalightnesswhichseemedstrangeafterherlistlessmovementtowardsthewell。Itincidentallyshowedthatherapparentlanguordidnotarisefromlackofforce。
  Clymascendedbehindher,andnoticedacircularburntpatchatthetopofthebank。"Ashes?"hesaid。
  "Yes,"saidEustacia。"WehadalittlebonfireherelastFifthofNovember,andthosearethemarksofit。"
  OnthatspothadstoodthefireshehadkindledtoattractWildeve。
  "That’stheonlykindofwaterwehave,"shecontinued,tossingastoneintothepool,whichlayontheoutsideofthebanklikethewhiteofaneyewithoutitspupil。
  Thestonefellwithaflounce,butnoWildeveappearedontheotherside,asonapreviousoccasionthere。
  "Mygrandfathersayshelivedformorethantwentyyearsatseaonwatertwiceasbadasthat,"shewenton,"andconsidersitquitegoodenoughforushereonanemergency。"
  "Well,asamatteroffacttherearenoimpuritiesinthewaterofthesepoolsatthistimeoftheyear。
  Ithasonlyjustrainedintothem。"
  Sheshookherhead。"Iammanagingtoexistinawilderness,butIcannotdrinkfromapond,"shesaid。
  Clymlookedtowardsthewell,whichwasnowdeserted,themenhavinggonehome。"Itisalongwaytosendforspring—water,"hesaid,afterasilence。
  "Butsinceyoudon’tlikethisinthepond,I’lltrytogetyousomemyself。"Hewentbacktothewell。
  "Yes,IthinkIcoulddoitbytyingonthispail。"
  "But,sinceIwouldnottroublethementogetit,Icannotinconscienceletyou。"
  "Idon’tmindthetroubleatall。"
  Hemadefastthepailtothelongcoilofrope,putitoverthewheel,andallowedittodescendbylettingtheropeslipthroughhishands。Beforeithadgonefar,however,hecheckedit。
  "Imustmakefasttheendfirst,orwemaylosethewhole,"
  hesaidtoEustacia,whohaddrawnnear。"Couldyouholdthisamoment,whileIdoit——orshallIcallyourservant?"
  "Icanholdit,"saidEustacia;andheplacedtheropeinherhands,goingthentosearchfortheend。
  "IsupposeImayletitslipdown?"sheinquired。
  "Iwouldadviseyounottoletitgofar,"saidClym。
  "Itwillgetmuchheavier,youwillfind。"
  However,Eustaciahadbeguntopayout。Whilehewastyingshecried,"Icannotstopit!"
  Clymrantoherside,andfoundhecouldonlychecktheropebytwistingtheloosepartroundtheuprightpost,whenitstoppedwithajerk。"Hasithurtyou?"
  "Yes,"shereplied。
  "Verymuch?"
  "No;Ithinknot。"Sheopenedherhands。Oneofthemwasbleeding;theropehaddraggedofftheskin。
  Eustaciawrappeditinherhandkerchief。
  "Youshouldhaveletgo,"saidYeobright。"Whydidn’tyou?"
  "YousaidIwastoholdon……ThisisthesecondtimeIhavebeenwoundedtoday。"
  "Ah,yes;Ihaveheardofit。IblushformynativeEgdon。
  Wasitaseriousinjuryyoureceivedinchurch,MissVye?"
  TherewassuchanabundanceofsympathyinClym’stonethatEustaciaslowlydrewuphersleeveanddisclosedherroundwhitearm。Abrightredspotappearedonitssmoothsurface,likearubyonParianmarble。
  "Thereitis,"shesaid,puttingherfingeragainstthespot。
  "Itwasdastardlyofthewoman,"saidClym。"WillnotCaptainVyegetherpunished?"
  "Heisgonefromhomeonthatverybusiness。IdidnotknowthatIhadsuchamagicreputation。"
  "Andyoufainted?"saidClym,lookingatthescarletlittlepunctureasifhewouldliketokissitandmakeitwell。
  "Yes,itfrightenedme。Ihadnotbeentochurchforalongtime。AndnowIshallnotgoagainforeversolong——perhapsnever。Icannotfacetheireyesafterthis。
  Don’tyouthinkitdreadfullyhumiliating?IwishedIwasdeadforhoursafter,butIdon’tmindnow。"
  "Ihavecometocleanawaythesecobwebs,"saidYeobright。
  "Wouldyouliketohelpme——byhigh—classteaching?Wemightbenefitthemmuch。"
  "Idon’tquitefeelanxiousto。Ihavenotmuchloveformyfellow—creatures。SometimesIquitehatethem。"
  "StillIthinkthatifyouweretohearmyschemeyoumighttakeaninterestinit。Thereisnouseinhatingpeople——ifyouhateanything,youshouldhatewhatproducedthem。"
  "DoyoumeanNature?Ihateheralready。ButIshallbegladtohearyourschemeatanytime。"
  Thesituationhadnowworkeditselfout,andthenextnaturalthingwasforthemtopart。Clymknewthiswellenough,andEustaciamadeamoveofconclusion;
  yethelookedatherasifhehadonewordmoretosay。
  PerhapsifhehadnotlivedinParisitwouldneverhavebeenuttered。
  "Wehavemetbefore,"hesaid,regardingherwithrathermoreinterestthanwasnecessary。
  "Idonotownit,"saidEustacia,witharepressed,stilllook。
  "ButImaythinkwhatIlike。"
  "Yes。"
  "Youarelonelyhere。"
  "Icannotenduretheheath,exceptinitspurpleseason。
  Theheathisacrueltaskmastertome。"
  "Canyousayso?"heasked。"Tomyminditismostexhilarating,andstrengthening,andsoothing。Iwouldratherliveonthesehillsthananywhereelseintheworld。"
  "Itiswellenoughforartists;butIneverwouldlearntodraw。"
  "Andthereisaverycuriousdruidicalstonejustoutthere。"
  Hethrewapebbleinthedirectionsignified。"Doyouoftengotoseeit?"
  "Iwasnotevenawarethereexistedanysuchcuriousdruidicalstone。IamawarethatthereareboulevardsinParis。"
  Yeobrightlookedthoughtfullyontheground。
  "Thatmeansmuch,"hesaid。
  "Itdoesindeed,"saidEustacia。
  "IrememberwhenIhadthesamelongingfortownbustle。
  Fiveyearsofagreatcitywouldbeaperfectcureforthat。"
  "Heavensendmesuchacure!Now,Mr。Yeobright,Iwillgoindoorsandplastermywoundedhand。"
  Theyseparated,andEustaciavanishedintheincreasingshade。
  Sheseemedfullofmanythings。Herpastwasablank,herlifehadbegun。TheeffectuponClymofthismeetinghedidnotfullydiscovertillsometimeafter。
  Duringhiswalkhomehismostintelligiblesensationwasthathisschemehadsomehowbecomeglorified。
  Abeautifulwomanhadbeenintertwinedwithit。
  Onreachingthehousehewentuptotheroomwhichwastobemadehisstudy,andoccupiedhimselfduringtheeveninginunpackinghisbooksfromtheboxesandarrangingthemonshelves。Fromanotherboxhedrewalampandacanofoil。Hetrimmedthelamp,arrangedhistable,andsaid,"Now,Iamreadytobegin。"
  Heroseearlythenextmorning,readtwohoursbeforebreakfastbythelightofhislamp——readallthemorning,alltheafternoon。Justwhenthesunwasgoingdownhiseyesfeltweary,andheleantbackinhischair。
  Hisroomoverlookedthefrontofthepremisesandthevalleyoftheheathbeyond。Thelowestbeamsofthewintersunthrewtheshadowofthehouseoverthepalings,acrossthegrassmarginoftheheath,andfarupthevale,wherethechimneyoutlinesandthoseofthesurroundingtree—topsstretchedforthinlongdarkprongs。Havingbeenseatedatworkallday,hedecidedtotakeaturnuponthehillsbeforeitgotdark;and,goingoutforthwith,hestruckacrosstheheathtowardsMistover。
  Itwasanhourandahalflaterwhenheagainappearedatthegardengate。Theshuttersofthehousewereclosed,andChristianCantle,whohadbeenwheelingmanureaboutthegardenallday,hadgonehome。Onenteringhefoundthathismother,afterwaitingalongtimeforhim,hadfinishedhermeal。
  "Wherehaveyoubeen,Clym?"sheimmediatelysaid。
  "Whydidn’tyoutellmethatyouweregoingawayatthistime?"
  "Ihavebeenontheheath。"
  "You’llmeetEustaciaVyeifyougoupthere。"
  Clympausedaminute。"Yes,Imetherthisevening,"
  hesaid,asthoughitwerespokenunderthesheernecessityofpreservinghonesty。
  "Iwonderedifyouhad。"
  "Itwasnoappointment。"
  "No;suchmeetingsneverare。"
  "Butyouarenotangry,Mother?"
  "IcanhardlysaythatIamnot。Angry?No。ButwhenI
  considertheusualnatureofthedragwhichcausesmenofpromisetodisappointtheworldIfeeluneasy。"
  "Youdeservecreditforthefeeling,Mother。ButIcanassureyouthatyouneednotbedisturbedbyitonmyaccount。"
  "WhenIthinkofyouandyournewcrotchets,"saidMrs。Yeobright,withsomeemphasis,"Inaturallydon’tfeelsocomfortableasIdidatwelvemonthago。ItisincredibletomethatamanaccustomedtotheattractivewomenofParisandelsewhereshouldbesoeasilyworkeduponbyagirlinaheath。Youcouldjustaswellhavewalkedanotherway。"
  "Ihadbeenstudyingallday。"
  "Well,yes,"sheaddedmorehopefully,"Ihavebeenthinkingthatyoumightgetonasaschoolmaster,andrisethatway,sinceyoureallyaredeterminedtohatethecourseyouwerepursuing。"
  Yeobrightwasunwillingtodisturbthisidea,thoughhisschemewasfarenoughremovedfromonewhereintheeducationofyouthshouldbemadeamerechannelofsocialascent。
  Hehadnodesiresofthatsort。Hehadreachedthestageinayoungman’slifewhenthegrimnessofthegeneralhumansituationfirstbecomesclear;andtherealizationofthiscausesambitiontohaltawhile。InFranceitisnotuncustomarytocommitsuicideatthisstage;
  inEnglandwedomuchbetter,ormuchworse,asthecasemaybe。
  Thelovebetweentheyoungmanandhismotherwasstrangelyinvisiblenow。Ofloveitmaybesaid,thelessearthlythelessdemonstrative。Initsabsolutelyindestructibleformitreachesaprofundityinwhichallexhibitionofitselfispainful。Itwassowiththese。
  Hadconversationsbetweenthembeenoverheard,peoplewouldhavesaid,"Howcoldtheyaretoeachother!"
  HistheoryandhiswishesaboutdevotinghisfuturetoteachinghadmadeanimpressiononMrs。Yeobright。
  Indeed,howcoulditbeotherwisewhenhewasapartofher——whentheirdiscourseswereasifcarriedonbetweentherightandthelefthandsofthesamebody?
  Hehaddespairedofreachingherbyargument;anditwasalmostasadiscoverytohimthathecouldreachherbyamagnetismwhichwasassuperiortowordsaswordsaretoyells。
  Strangelyenoughhebegantofeelnowthatitwouldnotbesohardtopersuadeherwhowashisbestfriendthatcomparativepovertywasessentiallythehighercourseforhim,astoreconciletohisfeelingstheactofpersuadingher。Fromeveryprovidentpointofviewhismotherwassoundoubtedlyright,thathewasnotwithoutasicknessofheartinfindinghecouldshakeher。
  Shehadasingularinsightintolife,consideringthatshehadnevermixedwithit。Thereareinstancesofpersonswho,withoutclearideasofthethingstheycriticizehaveyethadclearideasoftherelationsofthosethings。
  Blacklock,apoetblindfromhisbirth,coulddescribevisualobjectswithaccuracy;ProfessorSanderson,whowasalsoblind,gaveexcellentlecturesoncolour,andtaughtothersthetheoryofideaswhichtheyhadandhehadnot。Inthesocialspherethesegiftedonesaremostlywomen;theycanwatchaworldwhichtheyneversaw,andestimateforcesofwhichtheyhaveonlyheard。
  Wecallitintuition。
  WhatwasthegreatworldtoMrs。Yeobright?Amultitudewhosetendenciescouldbeperceived,thoughnotitsessences。
  Communitieswereseenbyherasfromadistance;
  shesawthemasweseethethrongswhichcoverthecanvasesofSallaert,VanAlsloot,andothersofthatschool——vastmassesofbeings,jostling,zigzagging,andprocessioningindefinitedirections,butwhosefeaturesareindistinguishablebytheverycomprehensivenessoftheview。
  Onecouldseethat,asfarasithadgone,herlifewasverycompleteonitsreflectiveside。Thephilosophyofhernature,anditslimitationbycircumstances,wasalmostwritteninhermovements。Theyhadamajesticfoundation,thoughtheywerefarfrombeingmajestic;andtheyhadaground—workofassurance,buttheywerenotassured。
  Asheronceelasticwalkhadbecomedeadenedbytime,sohadhernaturalprideoflifebeenhinderedinitsbloomingbyhernecessities。
  ThenextslighttouchintheshapingofClym’sdestinyoccurredafewdaysafter。Abarrowwasopenedontheheath,andYeobrightattendedtheoperation,remainingawayfromhisstudyduringseveralhours。IntheafternoonChristianreturnedfromajourneyinthesamedirection,andMrs。Yeobrightquestionedhim。
  "Theyhavedugahole,andtheyhavefoundthingslikeflowerpotsupsidedown,Mis’essYeobright;andinsidetheseberealcharnelbones。Theyhavecarried’emofftomen’shouses;
  butIshouldn’tliketosleepwheretheywillbide。
  Deadfolkshavebeenknowntocomeandclaimtheirown。
  Mr。Yeobrighthadgotonepotofthebones,andwasgoingtobring’emhome——realskellingtonbones——but’twasorderedotherwise。You’llberelievedtohearthathegaveawayhispotandall,onsecondthoughts;andablessedthingforye,Mis’essYeobright,consideringthewindo’nights。"
  "Gaveitaway?"
  "Yes。ToMissVye。Shehasacannibaltasteforsuchchurchyardfurnitureseemingly。"
  "MissVyewastheretoo?"
  "Ay,’ab’lieveshewas。"
  WhenClymcamehome,whichwasshortlyafter,hismothersaid,inacurioustone,"Theurnyouhadmeantformeyougaveaway。"
  Yeobrightmadenoreply;thecurrentofherfeelingwastoopronouncedtoadmitit。
  Theearlyweeksoftheyearpassedon。Yeobrightcertainlystudiedathome,buthealsowalkedmuchabroad,andthedirectionofhiswalkwasalwaystowardssomepointofalinebetweenMistoverandRainbarrow。
  ThemonthofMarcharrived,andtheheathshoweditsfirstsignsofawakeningfromwintertrance。Theawakeningwasalmostfelineinitsstealthiness。ThepooloutsidethebankbyEustacia’sdwelling,whichseemedasdeadanddesolateasevertoanobserverwhomovedandmadenoisesinhisobservation,wouldgraduallydiscloseastateofgreatanimationwhensilentlywatchedawhile。
  Atimidanimalworldhadcometolifefortheseason。
  Littletadpolesandeftsbegantobubbleupthroughthewater,andtoracealongbeneathit;toadsmadenoiseslikeveryyoungducks,andadvancedtothemarginintwosandthrees;overhead,bumblebeesflewhitherandthitherinthethickeninglight,theirdronecomingandgoinglikethesoundofagong。
  OnaneveningsuchasthisYeobrightdescendedintotheBlooms—Endvalleyfrombesidethatverypool,wherehehadbeenstandingwithanotherpersonquitesilentlyandquitelongenoughtohearallthispunystirofresurrectioninnature;yethehadnotheardit。