To some of them it seemed as if in a brilliantly illuminated world, all the lights had suddenly been extinguished: to others, as if in a dark and intricate cavern, full of black, impenetrable shadows, dazzling lights had been suddenly switched on. Louisa, looking across at Luke, saw that to him it meant the latter, and that some of the new, dazzling light had illumined the darkness of his soul. Something of the tense rigidity of his attitude had gone from him: not the sorrow perhaps, but the blank hopelessness of a misery that flounders in a sea of the unknown. CHAPTER XXIX THE WORLD IS SO LARGE As for the man who had made the extraordinary assertion, he seemed quite unconscious of the effect which it had produced: as if the fact that the supposed heir to an earldom, being actually the son of a Clapham bricklayer, was one that found its natural place in every-day life. He had his cap in his hand--a shabby, gray tweed cap--and he was twirling it between his fingers round and round with an irritatingly nervous gesture. His eyes now and again were furtively raised at the coroner, as if he were wondering anxiously what punishment would be meted out to him for having created so much commotion, and then with equal furtiveness he dropped them again. His shoulders were bowed and his knees parted company from each other, thus giving him more than ever the appearance of a beetle. Of course the coroner had to recover his official manner as quickly as possible. But even to him the statement had come as a surprise. He had only known very vaguely that a witness had come forward at the eleventh hour, having only just had time to communicate with the police before the opening of the inquest. In view of the importance of the evidence, the witness was called as soon as possible; what he had to say would materially affect the whole trend of the inquiry; he had, it seems, brought others with him--members of his own family among them--in order that they might corroborate the truth of what he said. Quite a minute or so had elapsed in the meanwhile; then at last was the coroner able to resume with at least a semblance of official indifference: "Now," he said, "let the jury understand a little more clearly what you said just now." "What I said?" rejoined the man vaguely. "Yes, what you said. Let us understand it clearly. You went to the mortuary this morning, and saw the body of the deceased?" "Yes, sir." "And you state here on oath that in the deceased you recognized your own son?" "I'll swear to 'im!" replied the witness simply. "Ask 'is mother there!" And with a long, thin finger, generously edged with grime, he pointed to the woman in seedy black hat and shabby tweed jacket who sat quite close to Luke de Mountford. "Never mind about his mother just now," admonished the coroner. "We want your statement first. You realize that you are on oath?" "Yes, sir. I've sworn my Bible oath." "And you understand the importance of an oath?" "Yes, sir."