Lippincott'S Magazine Of Popular Literature And Science, Volume 26 December, 1880. - Various None (e book reader android txt) 📗

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There Yet Remained An Atonement Which,  Though It Cost Him His Life,  He

Could Strive To Make To Jerrem. Throwing Aside The Fear Of Detection

Which Had Hitherto Kept Him Skulking Within The Little Vessel,  He Set

Off That Night To Find The Mary Jane,  And,  Regardless Of The Terrible

Shame Which Had Filled Him At The Bare Thought Of Confronting Triggs Or

Any Of His Crew,  He Cast Himself Upon Their Mercy,  Beseeching Them As

Men,  And Cornishmen,  To Do This Much For Their Brother-Sailor In His Sad

Need And Last Extremity; And His Appeal And The Nature Of It Had So

Touched These Quickly-Stirred Hearts That,  Forgetful Of The Contempt And

Scorn With Which,  In The Light Of An Informer,  They Had Hitherto Viewed

Adam,  They Had One And All Sworn To Aid Him To Their Utmost Strength,

And To Bring To The Rescue Certain Others Of Whom They Knew,  By Whose

Help And Assistance Success Would Be More Probable. Therefore It Was

That,  Two Days Before The Morning Of His Sentenced Death,  Eve Was Able

To Put Into Reuben'S Hand A Scrap Of Paper On Which Was Written Adam'S

Vow To Jerrem That,  Though His Own Life Paid The Forfeit For It,

Jerrem'S Body Should Be Rescued And Saved.

 

Present As Jerrem'S Fears Had Been To Reuben'S Eyes And To His Mind,

Until He Saw The Transport Of Agitated Joy Which This Assurance Gave To

Jerrem He Had Never Grasped A Tithe Of The Terrible Dread Which During

The Last Few Days Had Taken Such Complete Hold Of The Poor Fellow'S

Inmost Thoughts. Now,  As He Read Again And Again The Words Which Adam

Had Written,  A Torrent Of Tears Burst Forth From His Eyes: In an Ecstasy

Of Relief He Caught Joan To His Heart,  Wrung Reuben'S Hand,  And From

That Moment Began To Gradually Compose Himself Into A State Of Greater

Ease And Seeming Tranquillity. Confident,  Through The Unbroken Trust Of

Years,  That Adam'S Promise,  Once Given,  Might Be Implicitly Relied On,

Jerrem Needed No Further Assurance Than These Few Written Words To

Satisfy Him That Every Human Effort Would Be Made On His Behalf; And The

Knowledge Of This,  And That Old Comrades Would Be Near,  Waiting To Unite

Their Strength For His Body'S Rescue,  Was In Itself A Balm And

Consolation. He Grew Quite Loquacious About The Crestfallen Authorities,

The Surprise Of The Crowd And The Disappointment Of The Ruffianly Mob

Deprived Of Their Certain Prey; While The Two Who Listened Sat With A

Tightening Grip Upon Their Hearts,  For When These Things Should Come To

Be The Life Of Him Who Spoke Them Would Have Passed Away,  And The

Immortal Soul Have Flown From Out That Perishable Husk On Which His

Last Vain Thoughts Were Still Being Centred.

 

Poor Joan! The Time Had Yet To Come When She Would Spend Herself With

Many A Sad Regret And Sharp Upbraiding That This And That Had Not Been

Said And Done; But Now,  Her Spirit Swallowed Up In desolation And Sunk

Beneath The Burden Of Despair,  She Sat All Silent Close By Jerrem'S

Side,  Covering His Hands With Many A Mute Caress,  Yet Never Daring To

Lift Up Her Eyes To Look Into His Face Without A Burst Of Grief Sweeping

Across To Shake Her Like A Reed. Jerrem Could Eat And Drink,  But Joan'S

Lips Never Tasted Food. A Fever Seemed To Burn Within And Fill Her With

Its Restless Torment: The Beatings Of Her Throbbing Heart Turned Her

First Hot,  Then Cold,  As Each Pulse Said The Time To Part Was Hurrying

To Its End.

 

By Jerrem'S Wish,  Joan Was Not Told That On The Morning Of His Death To

Reuben Alone Admittance To Him Had Been Granted: Therefore When The Eve

Of That Morrow Came,  And The Time To Say Farewell Actually Arrived,  The

Girl Was Spared The Knowledge That This Parting Was More Than The Shadow

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Of That Last Good-Bye Which So Soon Would Have To Be Said For Ever.

Still,  The Sudden Change In Jerrem'S Face Pierced Her Afresh And Broke

Down That Last Barrier Of Control Over A Grief She Could Subdue No

Longer. In Vain The Turnkeys Warned Them That Time Was Up And Joan Must

Go. Reuben Entreated Too That They Should Say Good-Bye: The Two But

Clung Together In More Desperate Necessity,  Until Reuben,  Seeing That

Further Force Would Be Required,  Stepped Forward,  And Stretching Out His

Hand Found It Caught At By Jerrem And Held At Once With Joan'S,  While In

Words From Which All Strength Of Tone Seemed To Die Away Jerrem

Whispered,  "Reuben,  If Ever It Could Come To Pass That When I'M Gone You

And She Might Find It Some Day In Your Minds To Stand

Together--_One_--Say 'Twas The Thing He Wished For Most Before He Went."

Then,  With A Feeble Effort To Push Her Into Reuben'S Arms,  He Caught Her

Back,  And Straining Her Close To His Heart Again Cried Out,  "Oh,  Joan,

But Death Comes Bitter When It Means Good-Bye To Such As You!" Another

Cry,  A Closer Strain,  Then Jerrem'S Arms Relax; His Hold Gives Way,  And

Joan Falls Staggering Back; The Door Is Opened--Shut; The Struggle Is

Past,  And Ere Their Sad Voices Can Come Echoing Back Jerrem And Joan

Have Looked Their Last In Life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Xxxviii.

 

 

 

 

When Reuben Found That To Be A Witness Of Jerrem'S Death Joan Must Take

Her Stand Among The Lawless Mob Who Made Holiday Of Such Sad Scenes As

This,  His Decision Was That The Idea Was Untenable. Jerrem Too Had A

Strong Desire That Joan Should Not See Him Die; And Although His

Avoidance Of Anything That Directly Touched Upon That Dreaded Moment Had

Kept Him From Openly Naming His Wishes,  The Hints Dropped Satisfied

Reuben That The Knowledge Of Her Absence Would Be A Matter Of Relief To

Him. But How Get Joan To Listen To His Scruples When Her Whole Mind Was

Set On Keeping By Jerrem'S Side Until Hope Was Past And Life Was Over?

 

"Couldn'T 'Ee Get Her To Take Sommat That Her Wouldn'T Sleep Off Till

'Twas Late?" Jerrem Had Said After Reuben Had Told Him That The Next

Morning He Must Come Alone; And The Suggestion Made Was Seized On At

Once By Reuben,  Who,  Under Pretence Of Getting Something To Steady Her

Shaken Nerves,  Procured From The Apothecary Near A Simple Draught,  Which

Joan In Good Faith Swallowed. And Then,  Reuben Having Promised In case

She Fell Asleep To Awaken Her At The Appointed Hour,  The Poor Soul,  Worn

Out By Sorrow And Fatigue,  Threw Herself Down,  Dressed As She Was,  Upon

The Bed,  And Soon Was In a Heavy Sleep,  From Which She Did Not Rouse

Until Well Into The Following Day,  When Some One Moving In The Room Made

Her Start Up. For A Moment She Seemed Dazed: Then,  Rubbing Her Eyes As

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If To Clear Away Those Happy Visions Which Had Come To Her In Sleep,  She

Gazed About Until Reuben,  Who Had At First Drawn Back,  Came Forward To

Speak To Her. "Why,  Reuben," She Cried,  "How'S This? Have I Been

Dreamin',  Or What? The Daylight'S Come,  And,  See,  The Sun!"

 

And Here She Stopped,  Her Parched Mouth Half Unclosed,  As Fears Came

Crowding Thick Upon Her Mind,  Choking Her Further Utterance. One Look At

Reuben'S Face Had Told The Tale; And Though She Did Not Speak Again,  The

Ashen Hue That Overspread And Drove All Color From Her Cheeks Proclaimed

To Him That She Had Guessed The Truth.

 

"'Twas Best,  My Dear," He Said,  "That You Should Sleep While He Went To

His Rest."

 

But The Unlooked-For Shock Had Been Too Great A Strain On Body And Mind,

Alike Overtaxed And Weak,  And,  Falling Back,  Joan Lay For Hours As One

Unconscious And Devoid Of Life. And Reuben Sat Silent By Her Side,

Paying No Heed As Hour By Hour Went By,  Till Night Had Come And All

Around Was Dark: Then Some One Came Softly Up The Stairs And Crept Into

The Room,  And Eve'S Whispered "Reuben!" Broke The Spell.

 

Yes,  All Had Gone Well. The Body,  Rescued And Safe,  Was Now Placed

Within A House Near To The Churchyard In Which Eve'S Mother Lay: There

It Was To Be Buried. And There,  The Next Day,  The Commonplace Event Of

One Among Many Funerals Being Over,  The Four Thus Linked By Fate Were

Brought Together,  And Adam And Joan Again Stood Face To Face. Heightened

By The Disguise Which In Order To Avoid Detection He Was Obliged To

Adopt,  The Alteration In adam Was So Complete That Joan Stood Aghast

Before This Seeming Stranger,  While A Fresh Smart Came Into Adam'S Open

Wounds As He Gazed Upon The Changed Face Of The Once Comely Joan.

 

A Terrible Barrier--Such As,  Until Felt,  They Had Never Dreaded--Seemed

To Have Sprung Up To Separate And Divide These Two. Involuntarily They

Shrank At Each Other'S Touch And Quailed Beneath Each Other'S Gaze,

While Each Turned With A Feeling Of Relief To Him And To Her Who Now

Constituted Their Individual Refuge And Support. Yes,  Strange As It

Seemed To Adam And Unaccountable To Joan,  _She_ Clung To Reuben,  _He_ To

Eve,  Before Whom Each Could Be Natural And Unrestrained,  While Between

Their Present Selves A Great Gulf Had Opened Out Which Naught But Time

Or Distance Could Bridge Over.

 

So Adam Went Back To His Hiding-Place,  Reuben To His Shop,  And Joan And

Eve To The Old Home In Knight'S Passage,  As Much Lost Amid The Crowd Of

Thronged London As If They Had Already Taken Refuge In That Far-Off Land

Which Had Now Become The Goal Of Adam'S Thoughts And Keen Desires. Eve,

Too,  Fearing Some Fresh Disaster,  Was Equally Anxious For Their

Departure,  And Most Of Reuben'S Spare Time Was Swallowed Up In Making

The Necessary Arrangements. A Passage In His Name For Himself And His

Wife Was Secured In a Ship About To Start. At The Last Moment This

Passage Was To Be Transferred To Adam And Eve,  Whose Marriage Would Take

Place A Day Or Two Before The Vessel Sailed. The Transactions On Which

The Successful Fulfilment Of These Various Events Depended Were Mostly

Conducted By Reuben,  Aided By The Counsels Of Mr. Osborne And The

Assistance Of Captain Triggs,  Whose Good-Fellowship,  No Longer Withheld,

Made Him A Valuable Coadjutor.