English fiction -- 19th century; Labor unions -- Fiction
Grace snatched her hand from Henry, and raised herself with a vigor that
contrasted with her late weakness. “Oh, it is Mr. Coventry. How wicked
of me to forget him for a moment. Thank Heaven you are alive. Where have
you been?”
“I fell into the mountain stream, and it rolled me down, nearly to here.
I think I must have fainted on the bank. I found myself lying covered
with snow; it was your beloved voice that recalled me to life.”
Henry turned yellow, and rose to his feet.
Grace observed him, and replied, “Oh, Mr. Coventry, this is too
high-flown. Let us both return thanks to the Almighty, who has preserved
us, and, in the next place, to Mr. Little: we should both be dead but
for him.” Then, before he could reply, she turned to Little, and said,
beseechingly, “Mr. Coventry has been the companion of my danger.”
“Oh, I'll do the best I can for him,” said Henry, doggedly. “Draw nearer
the fire, sir.” He then put some coal on the forge, and blew up an
amazing fire: he also gave the hand-bellows to Mr. Coventry, and set him
to blow at the small grates in the mausoleum. He then produced a pair of
woolen stockings. “Now, Miss Carden,” said he, “just step into that pew,
if you please, and make a dressing-room of it.”
She demurred, faintly, but he insisted, and put her into the great pew,
and shut her in.
“And now, please take off your shoes and stockings, and hand them over
the pew to me.”
“Oh, Mr. Little: you are giving yourself so much trouble.”
“Nonsense. Do what you are bid.” He said this a little roughly.
“I'll do whatever YOU bid me,” said she, meekly: and instantly took off
her dripping shoes, and stockings, and handed them over the pew. She
received, in return, a nice warm pair of worsted stockings.
“Put on these directly,” said he, “while I warm your shoes.”
He dashed all the wet he could out of the shoes, and, taking them to the
forge, put hot cinders in: he shook the cinders up and down the shoes
so quickly, they had not time to burn, but only to warm and dry them. He
advised Coventry to do the same, and said he was sorry he had only one
pair of stockings to lend. And that was a lie: for he was glad he had
only one pair to lend. When he had quite dried the shoes, he turned
round, and found Grace was peeping over the pew, and looking intolerably
lovely in the firelight. He kissed the shoes furtively, and gave them to
her. She shook her head in a remonstrating way, but her eyes filled.
He turned away, and, rousing all his generous manhood, said, “Now you
must both eat something, before you go.” He produced a Yorkshire pie,
and some bread, and a bottle of wine. He gave Mr. Coventry a saucepan,
and set him to heat the wine; then turned up his sleeves to the
shoulder, blew his bellows, and, with his pincers, took a lath of steel
and placed it in the white embers. “I have only got one knife, and you
won't like to eat with that. I must forge you one apiece.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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