There was a pause, the shuffle of moving feet. Then the voice of the
clerk announced the closing hymn. It was "Lead, Kindly Light," chosen by
the harmonium player and submitted to Uniacke, who, however, had failed
to notice that it was included in the list of hymns for the day. The
clerk's voice struck on him like a blow. He stared down from the pulpit
and met the upward gaze of his guest. Then he laid his cold hands on the
wooden ledge of the pulpit and turned away his eyes. For he felt as if
Sir Graham must understand the secret that lay in them. The islanders
sang the hymn lustily, bending their heads over their books beneath the
dull oil lamps that filled the church with a dingy yellow twilight.
Alone, at the back of the building, the mad Skipper stood up by the
belfry door and stared straight before him as if he watched. And
Uniacke's trouble increased, seeming to walk in the familiar music which
had been whistled by Jack Pringle as he swarmed to the mast-head, or
turned into his bunk at night far out at sea. Sir Graham had spoken of
intuitions. Surely, the clergyman thought, to-night he will feel the
truth and my lie. To-night he will understand that it is useless to
wait, that the wonder-child can never come to this island, for he came
on the breast of the sea long ago. And if he does know, now, at this
moment, while the islanders are singing,
"And with the morn those angel faces smile--"
how will he regard me, who have lied to him and who have preached to
him, coward and hypocrite? For still the egoism was in Uniacke's heart.
There is no greater egoist than the good man who has sinned against his
nature. He sits down eternally to contemplate his own soul. When the
hymn was over Uniacke mechanically gave the blessing and knelt down. But
he did not pray. His mind stood quite still all the time he was on his
knees. He got up wearily, and as he made his way into the little vestry,
he fancied that he heard behind him a sound as of some one tramping in
sea-boots upon the rough church pavement. He looked round and saw the
bland face of the clerk, who wore perpetually a little smile, like that
of a successful public entertainer. That evening he wrote to Doctor
Braybrooke.
On the morrow Sir Graham began the first sketch for his picture, "_The
Procession of the Drowned to their faithful Captain_."
Three mornings later, when Uniacke came to the breakfast-table, Sir
Graham, who was down before him, handed to him a letter, the envelope of
which was half torn open.
"It was put among mine," he said in apology, "and as the handwriting
was perfectly familiar to me, I began to open it."
"Familiar?" said Uniacke, taking the letter.
"Yes. It bears an exact resemblance to Doctor Braybrooke's writing."
"Oh!" said Uniacke, laying the letter aside rather hastily.
They sat down on either side of the table.
"You don't read your letter," Sir Graham said, after two or three
minutes had passed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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