The first day on which a reply from Calcutta could be expected was the day after Christmas. It was not without emotion that the letter-bag was opened by Coldstream. Was it a disappointment or a relief to find in it nothing but a newspaper and a note from a tradesman? Io, in a fever of anxiety, had stolen into the room to learn if the dreaded4 despatch5 had come. The question was asked only in a look, and a slight shake of the head was the silent reply.
Coldstream had made every arrangement for quitting Moulmein after the second Calcutta mail should arrive. He had taken a passage for his wife and himself in a schooner6 which was to start on the noon of the day when the mail would be due: better, he thought, to run the risk of forfeiting7 the passage money than that of having to remain in Moulmein four days after his crime should be publicly known there. Io had everything prepared for a start.
The next mail came on a Tuesday, the last Tuesday of the year. Io watched the opening of the bag, and gasped8 with agitation9 as a large official despatch with a Government seal was drawn10 forth11. Oscar lifted up his heart in silent prayer before he broke that seal.
The document was couched in stiff official language. Mr. Coldstream’s communication was acknowledged. As the affair had occurred in England, the case would be referred to the authorities at home, where doubtless a record of the inquest held on the body of Mr. Walter Manly12 had been preserved. Until directions should be received from England, Mr. Coldstream was required to surrender his person to the police authorities in Calcutta.
“Mine own! mine own! I will share your imprisonment,” cried Io, pressing her husband’s hand to her lips.
“No, my love; you will live near, and obtain permission to visit me often,” said Oscar. “We will await the final decision from England with faith, patience, and submission13. And now, is all ready for our start?”
“We have not bidden good-bye to poor Thud,” said Io; “I have not seen him to-day.”
“No; I sent him off to the office as soon as he had had his early breakfast. As Thud is close to the wharf14, he will come to see us off ere the vessel15 starts. We wish no prolonged good-byes.”
It is not a matter of wonder that when final arrangements had to be made, the keys of the house placed in the agent’s hands, and the inventory16 looked over, the Calcutta newspaper which had arrived that morning should lie unopened on the table, beside the packets of groceries and such like things that had been prepared for the voyage. But other copies of that newspaper had reached Moulmein, and had not been equally neglected. One was in the hands of Mrs. Cottle as she was sitting at breakfast with her husband. Being busily occupied with his fried fish and anchovy17 sauce, Cottle had deferred18 the perusal19 of the paper, and left his wife to look out first for the paragraphs of gossip and scandal which were to her the sauce to a dry dish of politics and statistics.
“Bless my heart! bless my heart! bless my heart!” exclaimed Mrs. Cottle, each repetition of the blessing20 made in a louder and more emphatic21 tone, which roused the attention of her spouse22.
“What is it, my dear?” quoth Cottle.
“I always knew it; I always said it. He was no fit company for us, the hypocritical, sneaking23, bloodthirsty villain24.”
“Who is it, my dear?” asked Cottle, laying down his knife and fork to listen with more undivided attention.
“Here is a paragraph—look; it is easy enough to make out its meaning,” cried Mrs. Cottle, and with terrible emphasis she read aloud from the paper:—
“MURDER BY A GENTLEMAN.—It is reported that a Mr. C―― of M――n has confessed to having killed, by throwing down a cliff, a person against whom he had a grudge25. As Mr. C―― is said to be of very good family, with high connections, the case is likely to excite great interest in England amongst the upper ten thousand.”
“But we are not of the upper ten thousand, so what is it to us?” said honest John Cottle.
“We know Mr. Coldstream, and it must be he!” cried his partner; “M――n must stand for Moulmein.”
“It might stand for Moultan or Macedon,” quoth Cottle. “And C is a common letter enough; it might stand for my name.”
“What nonsense you talk!” cried his irreverent spouse. “C―― is Coldstream, and M――n Moulmein; it does not need two grains of sense to understand that.”
Cottle put on his glasses, and stretched out his hand for the paper. Mrs. Cottle, as she poured out the coffee, again exclaimed, “Bless my heart!”
After breakfast was concluded the dame26 sallied forth to communicate the exciting news to others. The first person whom she chanced to meet was the chaplain.
“O Mr. Lawrence, have you seen the horrible news about Mr. Coldstream?” she cried, hoping that she might be the first person to impart it to the clergyman.
“I have seen the papers,” said Mark very gravely. He wished to pass on, but Mrs. Cottle was determined27 to have out her say.
“To think of such a wretch28 kneeling in the same church as ourselves! A felon29 having the audacity30 to dine with respectable people!”
Mrs. Cottle would have rattled31 on, but she was stopped by the sternest rebuke32 which she had ever heard from the lips of the chaplain: “Judge not, that ye be not judged; condemn33 not, lest ye be condemned34.” And with these words Mark Lawrence went on his way, his brow knitted as if from pain, and a heavy weight on his heart.
The paragraph in the papers had also been read by Dr. Pinfold, as he was lounging in his easy-chair before going out to make his round amongst his patients. He had perused35 a column and a half of political news before his eye was attracted by the paragraph headed in large capitals which had at once arrested the attention of Mrs. Cottle. Pinfold’s interest in Io was much stronger than hers, and, though less loudly expressed, his indignation against her husband was proportionately greater.
“The villain! and he dared to propose marriage to her; to offer the sweetest girl in England a blood-stained hand!” exclaimed the doctor, flinging down the paper and rising from his seat. “I suspected him of being a madman; I never thought of his being a murderer. My poor Io! innocent, unfortunate victim, if I can I will rescue you yet.”
So as Io, just about to quit her house, was buttoning on her boots, a servant placed a letter on the table before her.
“It is from dear old Pinny; I know his handwriting. Please read it to me, Oscar. I thought that the doctor had bidden us his final good-bye last night.”
Oscar opened the letter, looked surprised at its contents, and, without comment, handed it on to his wife. The doctor’s scrawl36 ran thus:—
“MY DEAR CHILD,—I always thought your marriage a mistake, but I never knew till now what a great one. You must not think of sacrificing yourself by accompanying your miserable37 husband. His conduct cancels all obligations entered into through ignorance of the truth. I offer you a home here in Moulmein. You are my god-child, the daughter of my old friend; I will adopt you as my own. Whilst I live you shall find a parent in your old Pinny.”
Io flushed with indignation as she read; then tore the letter into minute fragments, and trampled38 them under her foot.
“What! to insult you to your own wife! to endeavour to divide me from you! O Oscar, Oscar, how little he knows me! I would rather never see daylight again than be separated from my husband!”
“Then let us now go on our way,” said Oscar, “and meet trial and misfortune together. Your palanquin waits outside.”
Io silently entered it. She put down the curtains on either side as she started for the place of embarkation40, that no one might see her tear-bedewed face. Oscar walked to the docks, but by a round-about route amongst low narrow lanes, frequented only by natives. He pulled his hat over his brow, and never raised his eyes from the path before him, for the doctor’s letter had shown to him plainly that his secret was a secret no longer. Coldstream’s circuitous41 route brought him to the docks a little after his wife. His arrival interrupted a distressing42 conversation which she was having with Thud, who was making a last desperate attempt to persuade his sister to take him with her to Calcutta.
“You know that mother would never have treated me so,” cried the lad; “now she is gone, and you desert me. It is cruel, it is unnatural43! it is because you are such a slave to—” Here Thud suddenly paused, for Coldstream was at his side.
“Farewell, Thud,” said Oscar, holding out his hand. “Do your duty to man and to God, and may He prosper44 and bless you.—Io, my love, enough of this; the sooner we are on board the better.”
The Coldstreams were soon treading the deck of the Dolphin, but the plank45 which connected the vessel with the shore was not yet raised. Smith came to see his friend and benefactor46 depart, and again express hopes of his happy return. Smith had not seen the newspapers; he never read them till business hours were over.
“Would that we were fairly off!” thought Oscar; but another good-bye was before him yet ere the keel of the Dolphin should plough the green waves.
“Ah, Mr. Lawrence!” exclaimed Io.
The chaplain crossed the plank, pale with suppressed emotion. He walked up straight to Oscar, and took his hand in both his own.
“You know all, and yet you do not turn from me,” said Oscar.
“I have come to give you my parting blessing—to unite with you, perhaps for the last time, in prayer.” The chaplain could scarcely command his voice as he added, “I honour you for having done all that you could do to—” Here Mark Lawrence fairly broke down; he could not finish the sentence.
“Clear boards. You’d better be off, sir, unless you mean to make the voyage with us,” said the captain of the Dolphin gruffly. “We’re weighing anchor, you see.”
There was no more time for conversation, for nothing but cordial pressure of hands. The plank was raised the minute after Mark Lawrence had passed over. The wind swelled47 the sails, and the vessel moved on, leaving a brief track on the waters behind her.
“Even as those bubbles on the waves will earth’s darkest trials pass away,” thought the chaplain as he watched the departing ship. “There goes a man who is as a gallant48 vessel that has suddenly struck on a rock and been almost wrecked50, that has all but sunk below the billows, but which, through God’s grace, has been given power to rise above them. Its cargo51 of earthly reputation and earthly joy is indeed lost; but it is bravely struggling on, though with torn sail and shattered mast, towards that port where the rock cannot crush nor the tempest toss, where the pardoned penitent52 finds peace for ever.”
Mark Lawrence turned homewards, repeating to himself the well-known verse:—
Let neither wind nor stormy main
Force back my shattered bark again!”
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1
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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2
lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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3
confession
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| n.自白，供认，承认 | |
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dreaded
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| adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词) | |
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5
despatch
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| n./v.(dispatch)派遣；发送；n.急件；新闻报道 | |
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schooner
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| n.纵帆船 | |
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forfeiting
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| （因违反协议、犯规、受罚等）丧失，失去( forfeit的现在分词 ) | |
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8
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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13
submission
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| n.服从，投降；温顺，谦虚；提出 | |
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14
wharf
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| n.码头，停泊处 | |
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vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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inventory
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| n.详细目录，存货清单 | |
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anchovy
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| n.凤尾鱼 | |
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deferred
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| adj.延期的，缓召的v.拖延，延缓，推迟( defer的过去式和过去分词 )；服从某人的意愿，遵从 | |
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19
perusal
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| n.细读，熟读；目测 | |
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20
blessing
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| n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿 | |
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emphatic
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| adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的 | |
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spouse
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| n.配偶(指夫或妻) | |
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sneaking
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| a.秘密的，不公开的 | |
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villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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grudge
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| n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做 | |
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26
dame
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| n.女士 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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wretch
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| n.可怜的人，不幸的人；卑鄙的人 | |
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felon
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| n.重罪犯；adj.残忍的 | |
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audacity
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| n.大胆，卤莽，无礼 | |
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31
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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32
rebuke
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| v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise | |
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33
condemn
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| vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑 | |
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34
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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35
perused
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| v.读（某篇文字）( peruse的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指）细阅；审阅；匆匆读或心不在焉地浏览（某篇文字） | |
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36
scrawl
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| vt.潦草地书写；n.潦草的笔记，涂写 | |
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37
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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38
trampled
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| 踩( trample的过去式和过去分词 )； 践踏； 无视； 侵犯 | |
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39
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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40
embarkation
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| n. 乘船, 搭机, 开船 | |
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41
circuitous
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| adj.迂回的路的，迂曲的，绕行的 | |
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42
distressing
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| a.使人痛苦的 | |
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43
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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44
prosper
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| v.成功，兴隆，昌盛；使成功，使昌隆，繁荣 | |
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45
plank
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| n.板条，木板，政策要点，政纲条目 | |
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46
benefactor
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| n. 恩人，行善的人，捐助人 | |
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47
swelled
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| 增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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48
gallant
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| adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的 | |
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49
wreck
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| n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难 | |
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50
wrecked
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| adj.失事的，遇难的 | |
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51
cargo
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| n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物 | |
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52
penitent
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| adj.后悔的；n.后悔者；忏悔者 | |
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53
saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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