Part 43 (1/2)
CHAPTER xxxI
FEVERSHAM RETURNS TO RAMELTON
On an Augustof the sae into Ramelton The fierce suns of the Soudan had tanned his face, the years of his probation had left their nised At the top of the hill he turned into the broad highhich, descending valleys and cliht line to Letterkenny He rode rather quickly in a coradually been dropping froypt and the Continent They were no more than visionary now Nor was he occupied with any dreareat fault The things which had been, here, in this small town of Ireland, were too definite Here he had been most happy, here he had known the utterht pleasure, here too he had done his worst harm
Once he stopped when he was opposite to the church, set high above the road upon his right hand, and wondered whether Ethne was still at Ramelton--whether old Dermod was alive, and what kind of welcoe that he was sitting upon his horse in the e There were larks singing in the pale blue above his head; a landrail sent up its harsh cry from the meadow on the left; the crow of a cock rose clear from the valley He looked about him, and rode briskly on down the incline in front of hiain with his cohosts--phantoms of people hohosts of old thoughts and recollected words He caateith no gate Inattentive to these evidences of desertion, he turned in at the gate and rode along a weedy and neglected drive At the end of it he came to an open space before a ruined house The aspect of the tu walls and unroofed rooms roused him at last co his horse to the branch of a tree, ran quickly into the house and called aloud No voice answered him He ran froarden, but no one carass upon the lawn, the tangled disorder of the flowerbeds, that no one would coain, and rode back at a sharp trot In Raave his horse to the ostler, and ordered lunch for himself He said to the landlady aited upon him:--
”So Lennon House has been burned down? When was that?”
”Five years ago,” the landlady returned, ”just five years ago this suive a voluration and the cause of it, the ruin of the Eustace family, the inebriety of Bastable, and the death of Dermod Eustace at Glenalla ”But we hope to see the house rebuilt It's likely to be, we hear, when Miss Eustace is ested that she was full of interesting inforuest, however, did not respond to the invitation
”And where does Miss Eustace live now?”
”At Glenalla,” she replied ”Halfway on the road to Rathmullen there's a track leads up to your left It's a poor e is Glenalla, and no place for Miss Eustace, at all, at all Perhaps you will be wanting to see her?”
”Yes I shall be glad if you will order ht round to the door,” said the man; and he rose from the table to put an end to the interview
The landlady, however, was not so easily dismissed She stood at the door and remarked:--
”Well, that's curious--that's entleht here on the same errand He asked for Miss Eustace's address and drove up to Glenalla Perhaps you have business with her?”
”Yes, I have business with Miss Eustace,” the stranger returned ”Will you be good enough to give orders aboutfor his horse he looked through the leaves of the hotel book, and saw under a date towards the end of July the naht?” said the landlady, as he mounted
”No,” he answered, ”I do not think I shall coain to Ramelton” And he rode down the hill, and once e
Four miles on he cah, and, turning into it, he rode past a fehite cottages up to the purple hollow of the hills It was about five o'clock when he cae It seemed very quiet and deserted, and built without any plan A few cottages stood together, then caap of fields, beyond that a small plantation of larches and a house which stood by itself Beyond the house was another gap, through which he could see straight down to the water of the Lough, shi+ning in the afternoon sun, and the white gulls poising and swooping above it And after passing that gap he ca bare to the winds upon its tiny plateau A pathway of white shell-dust led froate As he ca barked at hi, which was very grey about the ether He glanced towards the church, and saw that the door stood open At once he dismounted; he fastened his horse to the fence, and entered the churchyard The collie thrust its muzzle into the back of his knee, sniffed once or twice doubtfully, and suddenly broke into an exuberant welco had a better ed his tail, crouched and sprang at the stranger's shoulders, whirled round and round in front of him, burst into sharp, excited screams of pleasure, ran up to the church door and barked furiously there, then ran back and ju as it stood up with its forepaws upon his chest, patted it, and laughed Suddenly he ceased laughing, and stood stock-still with his eyes towards the open door of the church In the doorway Ethne Eustace was standing He put the dog down and sloalked up the path towards her She waited on the threshold withouthim, until he came close to her Then she said simply:--
”Harry”
She was silent after that; nor did he speak All the ghosts and phantohts in whose company he had travelled the whole of that day vanished away from his mind at her simple utterance of his naravel on the dawn of a Junebeneath herAnd they looked at one another, reht And the changes, unnoticed and almost imperceptible to those who had lived daily in their co very distinct to the eyes of these two Feversham was thin, his face asted The strain of life in the House of Stone had left its signs about his sunken eyes and in the look of age beyond his years But these were not the only changes, as Ethne noticed; they were not, indeed, the h she stood so still and silent, went out to hireat troubles which he had endured; but she saw, too, that he caer towards her for that fourth feather snapped from her fan But she was clear-eyed even at this moment She saw much more She understood that the man who stood quietly before her noas not the same man whom she had last seen in the hall of Ramelton There had been a timidity in his manner in those days, a peculiar diffidence, a continual expectation of other one froant; on the other hand, not diffident He had put hi, hard test; and he knew that he had not failed
All that she saw; and her face lightened as she said:--
”It is not all harm which has come of these years They were not wasted”
But Fevershae of Glenalla--and thought with a ht, unaware that nowhere else would she have chosen to live He looked into her face, and saw the ed so rey eyes shone as clearly as before, the colour was still as bright upon her cheeks But there was more of character She had suffered; she had eaten of the tree of knowledge
”I ao, and I need not”
She held out her hand to hiive it me, please?”
And for a moment he did not understand