Anisty

“ Annister drew a faint, hissing breath. In the star-shine, for there was no moon, the fingers showed in a luminous grayness against the sill, clawlike, malformed, like the talons of a beast, which in effect they were.
Annister knew them upon the instant, for, in far-off Java, for instance, he had seen those hands, or, rather, the same and yet not the same. And in that instant he had acted.
Both hands upon the window-sash, he brought it down with a crash upon those fingers; there followed a yelp of pain, inhuman, doglike—a groaning curse—the slam of a falling ladder—a heavy thud—silence. ”

“ Here was before him no blunt fanatic like John Ball, flying as unswervingly to his goal as the arrow shot from the bow, but one with the discerning mind that weighs, discriminates, and looks far enough ahead to see its own heart-break at the end.
"You sent for me?" although the tone was defiant, it was less so than Annys had intended it. Somehow he found it hard to be arrogant to this gentle old man whose flowing locks looked whiter than ever against the deep red of the bed-curtains. Only a beautiful old man upon his couch, looking at him with dim kindly eyes and a mouth that [13] smiled. ”

“ I brought an egg on purpose; it's so strengthening, you know.'
'Don't!' cried Paul, with a short howl of distress at this suggestion. 'Don't talk about the—the flogging, I can't bear it.'
'But it's not papa's new cane, you know, Dick,' said Dulcie consolingly. 'I've hidden that; it's only the old one, and you always said that didn't hurt so very much, after a little while. It isn't as if it was the horsewhip, either. Papa lost that out riding in the holidays.'
'Oh, the horsewhip's worse, is it?' said Paul, with a sickly smile.
'Tom says so,' said Dulcie. ”

“ For an instant the two men looked steadily into each other's eyes.
"I wot not how it is with thee," at last began Annys, gravely. "I had given my life that thou didst love the maid. I never looked on her sweet, gentle face that I did not see it in fancy bending over thy child's cradle. She was so wholly thine to me, that until this very day I wist not how dear she was to me."
His friend grasped his hand. "Ay, Robert [143] Annys, I cannot deceive thee. I had thought rather to see any other man dead than that he should possess her. ”

“ Fair against the bars of a window, low down at their right, there was a dark smudge; the ribbon, black under the moon. Annister’s heart leaped up in answer, as, with a quick word, he halted his companions in the shadow of a tree. A moment they conferred; then Ellison—and Annister could almost see his grin in the darkness—spoke beneath his hand:
“Why, that’ll be easy! I’ve got m’ tools; they’re right here in my pocket, Mr. Annister! Those bars ought to be easy! For a fair journeyman sledge-swinger, it’ll be easy an’ you can lay to that!” ”

“ Annys. Dare we venture into the enemy’s camp?
(She enters, laughing, followed by Elizabeth and Phoebe. Annys is somewhat changed from the grave, dreamy Annys of a short week ago. She is brimming over with vitality—excitement. There is a decisiveness, an egoism, about her that seems new to her. The women’s skirts make a flutter. A breeze seems to have entered. Annys runs to her husband. For the moment the election fades away. They are all smiles, tenderness for one another.) ”

“ Thy mother needs thy assistance."
"My mother!" exclaimed Alizon, clearing the blinding tresses from her brow. "Where is she?"
"Follow me, and I will bring thee to her," said the monk.
"And leave him? I cannot!" cried Alizon, gazing wildly at the body.
"You must. A soul is at stake, and will perish if you come not," said the monk. "He is at rest, and you will speedily rejoin him."
"With that assurance I will go," replied Alizon, with a last look at the object of her love. "One grave—lay us in one grave!" ”

“ He set himself to pitch them all out as soon as possible with feverish haste, but Tipping was too quick for him. 'Hallo!' he cried: 'oh, I say, you fellows, come here! Just look at this! Here's this impudent young beggar, who sneaked of poor old Coggs for sucking jujubes, and very nearly got us all into a jolly good row, with his own box full all the time; butterscotch, if you please, and jam, and ginger wine! You'll just put 'em all back again, will you, you young humbug!'
'Do you use those words to me, sir?' said Paul angrily, for he did not like to be called a humbug. ”

“ They travel on till they get to a country where all the people were naked--no clothing except the head-man, who wore a long shirt; he had a wooden leg. So they invite up all these people to come to the dance. Mr. Ram-goat was in the lot. So they start playing and the people start dancing, dance until they get so tired everybody fell asleep; and Anansi stole the head-man's shirt--good shirt!--and put his own old one upon him while he was sleeping.
The man got awake, miss his shirt. Now this shirt could talk. The man call out, "Long-shirt, whe' you deh?" ”

“ Strong men were bowed in grief, and their broad shoulders shook with sobs. The women and children straggling about the outer edge of the throng wept openly and long. But Robert Annys rushed forward and, making his way to the foot of the cross, flung himself there on his knees and cried out passionately:—
"Nay, nay, John Ball, beloved master, fear not, neither shall your work fail now, nor shall it seem to fail. ”

“ Sir Rupert (heartily) . Why, of course, my dear boy, of course! Never have forgiven you if you hadn't. Great nuisance for you, though. Hope you blew the fool of a man up; he ought to have been round in plenty of time.
Captain Thicknesse. Not the groom's fault, sir. I kept him waitin' a bit, and—and we had to stop to shift the seat and that, and so——
Undershell (to himself) . Great blundering booby! Can't he see nobody wants him here? As if he hadn't bored poor Lady Maisie enough at breakfast! Ah, well, I must come to her rescue once more, I suppose!
Sir Rupert. Half an hour to lunch! ”

“ Annister, though you have guessed something from the change in the expression of his countenance. For years he has been like a carrier of typhoid, spreading the contagion of his own sinful nature wherever he went, himself unpunished, even admired, looked up to and patterned after. Do you want to keep such a man alive? Do you think, do you really believe, Dr. Annister, that the genius of such [Pg 327] a man as that, whatever it is, could make amends to the world for all the evil that he does?”
“You forget, Mr. Gordon, that it is no part of my purpose to keep him as he is. ”

“ Every pulse in thy bosom beats for him—for him alone. But beware of his love. Beware of it, I say. It shall bring thee ruin and despair."
"For pity's sake, release me," implored Alizon.
"Not yet," replied the inexorable old woman, "not yet. My tale is not half told. My curse fell on Richard's head, as it did on Nicholas's. And then the hell-hounds thought to catch me; but they were at fault. I tricked them nicely—ha! ha! However, they took my Nance—my pretty Nance—they seized her, bound her, bore her to the Calder—and there swam her. ”

“ At this point the other boys began to straggle down and cluster round the fire, and Paul withdrew from the aggrieved Tipping, and looked drearily out of the window on the hard road and bare black trees outside.
'I must tell the Doctor how I'm situated!' he thought; 'and yet directly I open my mouth, he threatens to flog me. If I stay here, that little girl will be always trying to speak to me, and I shall be thrashed by the red-haired boy. ”

“ The third man, as Annister could see, was tall and heavily built, with broad shoulders and a curiously small head. He had a sharp, acquisitive nose, and a mouth tight-lipped and thin. Annister, versed in reading men, was abruptly conscious of an instinctive and overmastering repugnance. For the man’s eyes were cold and cruel, sleepy-lidded, like a snake’s, roving between Annister and the conductor in a furtive scrutiny. ”

“ I was astonished to think that so pretty a girl as Anstey should have cause to reproach her sweetheart with want of constancy. “Who could he be?” I wondered. Then, remembering that the path she was on was a usual short cut from the lodge to the yard, I came to the conclusion that one of the Durrus stablemen must have been the object of this broken-hearted appeal.{176} I determined that I would try and find out something further about Anstey and her lover, and wondered if it would be of any use to mention the subject to Willy. ”

“ One time Anansi start to work a groun' at the road-side. After clearing up his field, he dig nine yam-bills. Now no one is allowed to count up to the nine. If he say nine, he drop down dead. So Anansi say, "I got to eat somet'ing out of this." So he sat down an' begin to cry. Hog was passing, say to him, "Br'er Anansi, wha's the matter with you?" Anansi said, "My dear Bredder Hog, from mawning I dig these few yam-hills an' trying to count them, but I can't manage to count them yet." ”

“ But the peace that Annys had so fondly hoped for in the monastery was farther away from him than ever. The week that followed was a daily, hourly struggle with the devil within him. With a body scarce kept alive by the scant portion of food which he permitted himself but once a day, in the hopes of conquering the awful sway of the senses, in reality he was innocently making their hold the stronger upon him. ”

“ But Annister, his gaze set straight ahead, turned inward at the entrance of the saddler’s shop, mounting the stairs, as, behind him he heard the heavy door slam shut.
Perhaps it had been the wind, but as Annister went upward he heard, just beyond that door, the murmur of voices; they reached him in a sing-song mutter against the rising of the wind, in a quick, growling chorus. ”

“ Charles Roe, Maroon Town, Cock-pit country.
Deh was an Ol’ Witch call Brar Dead, never talk to nobody; if him talk to anybody, him be dead. But him only making some bow all day an’ set it to catch all wil’ animal, an’ when he catch dem, he put dem over fire an’ dry dem, but him no eat dem. So [36] Mr. Anansi go deh one day an’ say, “Brar Dead, gi’ me some of you meat now.” But he never ’peak to Mr. Anansi, for him can’t talk to nobody. So Anansi goin’ in an’ tak a whole bagful of de dry meat an start to eat it. ”

“ I thought—and what of Rose?" stammered Annys.
"Oh, Rose Westel will get lovers a plenty while men walk the earth who have two eyes in their head."
"Peace, peace, enough, fellow!"
"Will you go to Ely Castle?"
"Go? You say I can save the people from grave danger. Then all the abbots in Christendom could not hold me!"
And as he crossed the stone walk of the cloister, he walked with a firmer tread and held his head higher than at any time since he had entered the Abbey of St. Dunstan. ”

“ Oh, Bultitude, this is well—vastly well indeed! So I have nourished one more viper in my bosom, have I? A crawling reptile which curries favour by denouncing the very crime it conceals in its playbox! Oh, this black duplicity! Bultitude, I was not prepared for this!'
'I—I swear I never put them in!' protested the unhappy Paul. 'I—I never touch such things: they would bring on my gout in half-an-hour. It's ridiculous to punish me. I never knew they were there!'
'Then why were you so anxious to avoid opening the box?' rejoined the Doctor. 'No, sir, you're too ingenious; your guilt is clear. ”

“ And the chance meeting with the bearded stranger at the corner of the street: consider how he would, Annister’s mind kept turning backward to that meeting and those eyes that were like the eyes of a damned soul, malignant, cold, in their abysmal, cold cruelty of discarnate Evil.
Discarnate! That was it; that would express it; for the man, as he recalled him, seemed somehow less than human ”

“ Paul stood shaking by the mantelpiece in a very bad temper for some minutes. If the Doctor had come in then, he might have been spurred by indignation to utter his woes, and even claim and obtain his freedom. But that was not to be.
The door did open presently, however, and a little girl appeared; a very charming little maiden indeed, in a neat dark costume relieved by a fresh white pinafore. ”

“ Surely a smooth enough word, and kindly enough meant, yet the old woman sprang up with a red spot on either cheek, and cried harshly, "Hoity-toity, hoity-toity, Sir Poor Priest, indeed, indeed! And what should such a fine wench do but marry, quotha! Nay, nay, let not such foolish maggots get into the child's head."
Annys could not bring himself to believe that Matilda had refused to wed Richard Meryl. The two friends were as good as married in his eyes, for he could not think of one without the other. Surely some foolish lovers' quarrel must be at the bottom of it. ”

“ Bultitude as he appeared at the doorway.
'Stand there, sir,' said the Doctor, who was standing at his writing-table in an attitude; 'out there in the middle, where your schoolfellows can see you.' Paul obeyed and stood where he was told, looking, as he felt, absolutely boneless.
'Some of those here,' began the Doctor in an impressive bass, 'may wonder why I have called you all together on this, the first day of the week; most of those who reside under my roof are acquainted with, and I trust execrate, the miserable cause of my doing so. ”

“ Oh! what malice lurks in the breast of that hateful child! She is a true descendant of Mother Demdike. But Alizon—sweet, patient Alizon—she seems to bear all her taunts with a meekness and resignation enough to move the hardest heart. I would weep for her if I could. And now Jennet shakes her hand at her, and leaves her. She is alone. What will she do now? Has she no thoughts of escape? Oh, yes! She looks about her distractedly—runs round the vault—tries the door of every cell: they are all bolted and barred—there is no outlet—none!"
"What next?" inquired the hag. ”