"Evils must come, but woe be to them that bring them, and you've
shown me in the past that you're a thinking creature with all your
intellects, and now you see where your doubtful thoughts and lawless
opinions have brought you. And I hope it will be a case of 'Go and
sin no more,' in the words of the Saviour of us all, Maynard. All
things go round and round, you must know. The worm gnaws the nettle
that the butterfly may rise up into the sunshine; and the butterfly
rises up into the sunshine that the worm may gnaw the nettle; but we,
as have immortal souls, be called to deny and defy nature, and lead
captivity captive, and trample on the adder and the basilisk. All
which things you knew very well, yet set your face to add to the evil
of the world to please your own base passions. And you didn't care
that a young and harmless woman, who was God's business quite as much
as you yourself--you didn't care where you dragged her down, so long
as you got what you wanted, and defied principalities and powers, and
lied to your own better nature just the same as you lied to her."
"The woman be coming," said Robert Withycombe. His sailor's eyes had
seen Dinah still far distant. She was clad in a brick-red gown--her
best--and carried a basket of yellow, woven cane that made a bright
spot on the heath.
"Yes," said Arthur Chaffe. "Like a lamb to the slaughter the virgin
cometh, Lawrence Maynard; and I hope 'tis your voice she will hear,
telling how God hath watched over her, and how right and religion
have won another victory on this glad morning."
But the prisoner preserved an obstinate silence. He seemed to be
rapt away out of sight or sound of Mr. Chaffe and the rest. His eyes
rested on Dinah; his ears appeared to be sealed for any attention he
paid to his captors. Arthur drew his wind and the others spoke.
"He's waiting for her to come," said Mr. Callicott. "He be going to
say his say afore the woman and don't care a damn for you, master."
"He'm in a dream," murmured Jerry. "I don't believe he's hearing
what Mr. Chaffe be pouring at him."
Then Dinah, who had long seen the group, made haste and dropped her
basket and hastened to Maynard, ignoring the rest.
Her face was scarlet and she could hardly speak for the throbbing of
her heart.
"Lawrence--Lawrence--what's this?" she asked. "What have they done?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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