Diary fiction; England -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction; Mystery fiction; Short stories, English
“Gabriel, pray yourself, and teach your children after you to pray,
that your father may find forgiveness where he is now gone. I saw him as
plainly as I now see you, kneeling with his knife in one hand over the
sleeping man. He was taking the little book with the notes in it out of
the stranger’s pocket. He got the book into his possession, and held it
quite still in his hand for an instant, thinking. I believe--oh no! no!
I’m sure--he was repenting; I’m sure he was going to put the book back;
but just at that moment the stranger moved, and raised one of his arms,
as if he was waking up. Then the temptation of the devil grew too strong
for your father--I saw him lift the hand with the knife in it--but saw
nothing more. I couldn’t look in at the window--I couldn’t move
away--I couldn’t cry out; I stood with my back turned toward the house,
shivering all over, though it was a warm summer-time, and hearing no
cries, no noises at all, from the room behind me. I was too frightened
to know how long it was before the opening of the cottage door made me
turn round; but when I did, I saw your father standing before me in the
yellow moonlight, carrying in his arms the bleeding body of the poor
lad who had shared his food with us and slept on our hearth. Hush! hush!
Don’t groan and sob in that way! Stifle it with the bedclothes. Hush!
you’ll wake them in the next room!”
“Gabriel--Gabriel!” exclaimed a voice from behind the partition. “What
has happened? Gabriel! let me come out and be with you!”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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