However, although I loved the poor child, I could not help feeling very uneasy about the escape of his father, the savage and brutal Carver. This man was left to roam the country, homeless, foodless, and desperate, with his giant strength, and great skill in arms, and the whole world to be revenged upon. For his escape the miners, as I shall show, were answerable;but of the Counsellor's safe departure the burden lay on myself alone. And inasmuch as there are people who consider themselves ill-used, unless one tells them everything, straitened though I am for space, I will glance at this transaction.
After the desperate charge of young Doones had been met by us, and broken, and just as Poor Kit Badcock died in the arms of the dead Charley, I happened to descry a patch of white on the grass of the meadow, like the head of a sheep after washing-day. Observing with some curiosity how carefully this white thing moved along the bars of darkness betwixt the panels of firelight, Iran up to intercept it, before it reached the little postern which we used to call Gwenny's door.
Perceiving me, the white thing stopped, and was for ****** back again; but I ran up at full speed; and lo, it was the flowing silvery hair of that sage the Counsellor, who was scuttling away upon all fours; but now rose and confronted me.
'John,' he said, 'Sir John, you will not play falsely with your ancient friend, among these violent fellows, I look to you to protect me, John.'
'Honoured sir, you are right,' I replied; 'but surely that posture was unworthy of yourself, and your many resources. It is my intention to let you go free.'
'I knew it. I could have sworn to it. You are a noble fellow, John. I said so, from the very first; you are a noble fellow, and an ornament to any rank.'
'But upon two conditions,' I added, gently taking him by the arm; for instead of displaying any desire to commune with my nobility, he was edging away toward the postern; 'the first is that you tell me truly (for now it can matter to none of you) who it was that slew my father.'
'I will tell you truly and frankly, John; however painful to me to confess it. It was my son, Carver.'
'I thought as much, or I felt as much all along,' Ianswered; 'but the fault was none of yours, sir; for you were not even present.'
'If I had been there, it would not have happened. I am always opposed to violence. Therefore, let me haste away; this scene is against my nature.'
'You shall go directly, Sir Counsellor, after meeting my other condition; which is, that you place in my hands Lady Lorna's diamond necklace.'
'Ah, how often I have wished,' said the old man with a heavy sigh, 'that it might yet be in my power to ease my mind in that respect, and to do a thoroughly good deed by lawful restitution.'
'Then try to have it in your power, sir. Surely, with my encouragement, you might summon resolution.'
'Alas, John, the resolution has been ready long ago.
But the thing is not in my possession. Carver, my son, who slew your father, upon him you will find the necklace. What are jewels to me, young man, at my time of life? Baubles and trash,--I detest them, from the sins they have led me to answer for. When you come to my age, good Sir John, you will scorn all jewels, and care only for a pure and bright conscience. Ah! ah!
Let me go. I have made my peace with God.'
He looked so hoary, and so silvery, and serene in the moonlight, that verily I must have believed him, if he had not drawn in his breast. But I happened to have noticed that when an honest man gives vent to noble and great sentiments, he spreads his breast, and throws it out, as if his heart were swelling; whereas I had seen this old gentleman draw in his breast more than once, as if it happened to contain better goods than sentiment.
'Will you applaud me, kind sir,' I said, keeping him very tight, all the while, 'if I place it in your power to ratify your peace with God? The pledge is upon your heart, no doubt, for there it lies at this moment.'
With these words, and some apology for having recourse to strong measures, I thrust my hand inside his waistcoat, and drew forth Lorna's necklace, purely sparkling in the moonlight, like the dancing of new stars. The old man made a stab at me, with a knife which I had not espied; but the vicious onset failed;and then he knelt, and clasped his hands.
'Oh, for God's sake, John, my son, rob me not in that manner. They belong to me; and I love them so; Iwould give almost my life for them. There is one jewel I can look at for hours, and see all the lights of heaven in it; which I never shall see elsewhere. All my wretched, wicked life--oh, John, I am a sad hypocrite--but give me back my jewels. Or else kill me here; I am a babe in your hands; but I must have back my jewels.'
As his beautiful white hair fell away from his noble forehead, like a silver wreath of glory, and his powerful face, for once, was moved with real emotion, Iwas so amazed and overcome by the grand contradictions of nature, that verily I was on the point of giving him back the necklace. But honesty, which is said to be the first instinct of all the Ridds (though I myself never found it so), happened here to occur to me, and so I said, without more haste than might be expected,--'Sir Counsellor, I cannot give you what does not belong to me. But if you will show me that particular diamond which is heaven to you, I will take upon myself the risk and the folly of cutting it out for you. And with that you must go contented; and I beseech you not to starve with that jewel upon your lips.'
Seeing no hope of better terms, he showed me his pet love of a jewel; and I thought of what Lorna was to me, as I cut it out (with the hinge of my knife severing the snakes of gold) and placed it in his careful hand.
Another moment, and he was gone, and away through Gwenny's postern; and God knows what became of him.