第40章

Iwaitedinthehousetillthetownwasastirfortheday，andthenIwenttoconsultalawyer。Intheconfusedstateofmymindatthetime，IhadoneclearnotionofwhatImeanttodo:Iwasdeterminedtosellmyhouseandleavetheneighborhood。TherewereobstaclesinthewaywhichIhadnotcountedon。IwastoldIhadcreditorstosatisfybeforeIcouldleave——I，whohadgivenmywifethemoneytopaymybillsregularlyeveryweek！InquiryshowedthatshehadembezzledeveryfarthingofthemoneyIhadintrustedtoher。Ihadnochoicebuttopayoveragain。 Placedinthisawkwardposition，myfirstdutywastosetthingsright，withthehelpofmylawyer。DuringmyforcedsojourninthetownIdidtwofoolishthings。And，asaconsequencethatfollowed，Iheardoncemore，andheardforthelasttime，ofmywife。 Inthefirstplace，havinggotpossessionoftheknife，Iwasrashenoughtokeepitinmypocket。Inthesecondplace，havingsomethingofimportancetosaytomylawyer，atalatehouroftheevening，Iwenttohishouseafterdark——aloneandonfoot。Igottheresafelyenough。Returning，Iwasseizedonfrombehindbytwomen，draggeddownapassageandrobbed——notonlyofthelittlemoneyIhadaboutme，butalsooftheknife。Itwasthelawyer’sopinion(asitwasmine)thatthethieveswereamongthedisreputableacquaintancesformedbymywife，andthatthey，hadattackedmeatherinstigation。ToconfirmthisviewIreceivedaletterthenextday，withoutdateoraddress，writteninAlicia’shand。Thefirstlineinformedmethattheknifewasbackagaininherpossession。ThesecondlineremindedmeofthedaywhenI struckher。Thethirdlinewarnedmethatshewouldwashoutthestainofthatblowinmyblood，andrepeatedthewords，“Ishalldoitwiththeknife！“ Thesethingshappenedayearago。Thelawlaidhandsonthemenwhohadrobbedme；butfromthattimetothis，thelawhasfailedcompletelytofindatraceofmywife。 Mystoryistold。WhenIhadpaidthecreditorsandpaidthelegalexpenses，Ihadbarelyfivepoundsleftoutofthesaleofmyhouse；andIhadtheworldtobeginoveragain。Somemonthssince—— driftinghereandthere——IfoundmywaytoUnderbridge。Thelandlordoftheinnhadknownsomethingofmyfather’sfamilyintimespast。Hegaveme(allhehadtogive)myfood，andshelterintheyard。Exceptonmarketdays，thereisnothingtodo。Inthecomingwintertheinnistobeshutup，andIshallhavetoshiftformyself。MyoldmasterwouldhelpmeifIappliedtohim—— butIdon’tliketoapply:hehasdonemoreformealreadythanI deserve。Besides，inanotheryearwhoknowsbutmytroublesmayallbeatanend？Nextwinterwillbringmenightomynextbirthday，andmynextbirthdaymaybethedayofmydeath。Yes！ it’strueIsatupalllastnight；andIheardtwointhemorningstrike:andnothinghappened。Still，allowingforthat，thetimetocomeisatimeIdon’ttrust。Mywifehasgottheknife——mywifeislookingforme。Iamabovesuperstition，mind！Idon’tsayIbelieveindreams；Ionlysay，AliciaWarlockislookingforme。ItispossibleImaybewrong。ItispossibleImayberight。 Whocantell？ WetookleaveofFrancisRavenatthedoorofFarleighHall，withtheunderstandingthathemightexpecttohearfromusagain。 ThesamenightMrs。FairbankandIhadadiscussioninthesanctuaryofourownroom。Thetopicwas“TheHostler’sStory“； andthequestionindisputebetweenusturnedonthemeasureofcharitabledutythatweowedtothehostlerhimself。 TheviewItookoftheman’snarrativewasofthepurelymatter-of- factkind。FrancisRavenhad，inmyopinion，broodedoverthemistyconnectionbetweenhisstrangedreamandhisvilewife，untilhismindwasinastateofpartialdelusiononthatsubject。Iwasquitewillingtohelphimwithatrifleofmoney，andtorecommendhimtothekindnessofmylawyer，ifhewasreallyinanydangerandwantedadvice。Theremyideaofmydutytowardthisafflictedpersonbeganandended。 Confrontedwiththissensibleviewofthematter，Mrs。Fairbank’sromantictemperamentrushed，asusual，intoextremes。“IshouldnomorethinkoflosingsightofFrancisRavenwhenhisnextbirthdaycomesround，“saysmywife，“thanIshouldthinkoflayingdownagoodstorywiththelastchaptersunread。Iampositivelydetermined，Percy，totakehimbackwithuswhenwereturntoFrance，inthecapacityofgroom。Whatdoesonemanmoreorlessamongthehorsesmattertopeopleasrichasweare？“Inthisstrainthepartnerofmyjoysandsorrowsranon，perfectlyimpenetrabletoeverythingthatIcouldsayonthesideofcommonsense。NeedItellmymarriedbrethrenhowitended？OfcourseI allowedmywifetoirritateme，andspoketohersharply。 Ofcoursemywifeturnedherfaceawayindignantlyontheconjugalpillow，andburstintotears。Ofcourseuponthat，“Mr。“madehisexcuses，and“Mrs。“hadherownway。 BeforetheweekwasoutwerodeovertoUnderbridge，anddulyofferedtoFrancisRavenaplaceinourserviceassupernumerarygroom。 Atfirstthepoorfellowseemedhardlyabletorealizehisownextraordinarygoodfortune。Recoveringhimself，heexpressedhisgratitudemodestlyandbecomingly。Mrs。Fairbank’sreadysympathiesoverflowed，asusual，atherlips。ShetalkedtohimaboutourhomeinFrance，asiftheworn，gray-headedhostlerhadbeenachild。“Suchadearoldhouse，Francis；andsuchprettygardens！Stables！Stablestentimesasbigasyourstableshere—— quiteachoiceofroomsforyou。Youmustlearnthenameofourhouse——MaisonRouge。OurnearesttownisMetz。WearewithinawalkofthebeautifulRiverMoselle。Andwhenwewantachangewehaveonlytotaketherailwaytothefrontier，andfindourselvesinGermany。“ Listening，sofar，withaverybewilderedface，Francisstartedandchangedcolorwhenmywifereachedtheendofherlastsentence。 “Germany？“herepeated。 “Yes。DoesGermanyremindyouofanything？“ Thehostler’seyeslookeddownsadlyontheground。“Germanyremindsmeofmywife，“hereplied。 “Indeed！How？“ “SheoncetoldmeshehadlivedinGermany——longbeforeIknewher—— inthetimewhenshewasayounggirl。“ “Wasshelivingwithrelationsorfriends？“ “Shewaslivingasgovernessinaforeignfamily。“ “InwhatpartofGermany？“ “Idon’tremember，ma’am。Idoubtifshetoldme。“ “Didshetellyouthenameofthefamily？“ “Yes，ma’am。Itwasaforeignname，andithasslippedmymemorylongsince。Theheadofthefamilywasawinegrowerinalargewayofbusiness——Irememberthat。“ “Didyouhearwhatsortofwinehegrew？Therearewinegrowersinourneighborhood。WasitMosellewine？“ “Icouldn’tsay，ma’am，IdoubtifIeverheard。“ Theretheconversationdropped。WeengagedtocommunicatewithFrancisRavenbeforeweleftEngland，andtookourleave。IhadmadearrangementstopayourroundofvisitstoEnglishfriends，andtoreturntoMaisonRougeinthesummer。Ontheeveofdeparture，certaindifficultiesinconnectionwiththemanagementofsomelandedpropertyofmineinIrelandobligedustoalterourplans。InsteadofgettingbacktoourhouseinFranceintheSummer，weonlyreturnedaweekortwobeforeChristmas。FrancisRavenaccompaniedus，andwasdulyestablished，inthenominalcapacityofstablekeeper，amongtheservantsatMaisonRouge。 Beforelong，someoftheobjectionstotakinghimintoouremployment，whichIhadforeseenandhadvainlymentionedtomywife，forcedthemselvesonourattentioninnoveryagreeableform。 FrancisRavenfailed(asIhadfearedhewould)togetonsmoothlywithhisfellow-servants。TheywereallFrench；andnotoneofthemunderstoodEnglish。Francis，onhisside，wasequallyignorantofFrench。Hisreservedmanners，hismelancholytemperament，hissolitaryways——alltoldagainsthim。Ourservantscalledhim“theEnglishBear。“Hegrewwidelyknownintheneighborhoodunderhisnickname。Quarrelstookplace，endingonceortwiceinblows。Itbecameplain，eventoMrs。Fairbankherself，thatsomewisechangemustbemade。Whilewewerestillconsideringwhatthechangewastobe，theunfortunatehostlerwasthrownonourhandsforsometimetocomebyanaccidentinthestables。Stillpursuedbyhisproverbialill-luck，thepoorwretch’slegwasbrokenbyakickfromahorse。 Hewasattendedtobyourownsurgeon，inhiscomfortablebedroomatthestables。Asthedateofhisbirthdaydrewnear，hewasstillconfinedtohisbed。 Physicallyspeaking，hewasdoingverywell。Morallyspeaking，thesurgeonwasnotsatisfied。FrancisRavenwassufferingundersomemysteriousmentaldisturbance，whichinterferedseriouslywithhisrestatnight。Hearingthis，Ithoughtitmydutytotellthemedicalattendantwhatwaspreyingonthepatient’smind。Asapracticalman，hesharedmyopinionthatthehostlerwasinastateofdelusiononthesubjectofhisWifeandhisDream。“Curabledelusion，inmyopinion，“thesurgeonadded，“iftheexperimentcouldbefairlytried。“ “Howcanitbetried？“Iasked。Insteadofreplying，thesurgeonputaquestiontome，onhisside。 “Doyouhappentoknow，“hesaid，“thatthisyearisLeapYear？“ “Mrs。Fairbankremindedmeofityesterday，“Ianswered。 “OtherwiseImightNOThaveknownit。“ “DoyouthinkFrancisRavenknowsthatthisyearisLeapYear？“ (Ibegantoseedimlywhatmyfriendwasdrivingat。) “Itdepends，“Ianswered，“onwhetherhehasgotanEnglishalmanac。SupposehehasNOTgotthealmanac——whatthen？“ “Inthatcase，“pursuedthesurgeon，“FrancisRavenisinnocentofallsuspicionthatthereisatwenty-ninthdayinFebruarythisyear。Asanecessaryconsequence——whatwillhedo？HewillanticipatetheappearanceoftheWomanwiththeKnife，attwointhemorningofthetwenty-ninthofFebruary，insteadofthefirstofMarch。Lethimsufferallhissuperstitiousterrorsonthewrongday。Leavehim，onthedaythatisreallyhisbirthday，topassaperfectlyquietnight，andtobeassoundasleepasotherpeopleattwointhemorning。Andthen，whenhewakescomfortablyintimeforhisbreakfast，shamehimoutofhisdelusionbytellinghimthetruth。“ Iagreedtotrytheexperiment。LeavingthesurgeontocautionMrs。FairbankonthesubjectofLeapYear，IwenttothestablestoseeMr。Raven。 XV ThepoorfellowwasfullofforebodingsofthefateinstoreforhimontheominousfirstofMarch。Heeagerlyentreatedmetoorderoneofthemenservantstositupwithhimonthebirthdaymorning。Ingrantinghisrequest，Iaskedhimtotellmeonwhichdayoftheweekhisbirthdayfell。Hereckonedthedaysonhisfingers；andprovedhisinnocenceofallsuspicionthatitwasLeapYear，byfixingonthetwenty-ninthofFebruary，inthefullpersuasionthatitwasthefirstofMarch。Pledgedtotrythesurgeon’sexperiment，Ilefthiserroruncorrected，ofcourse。Insodoing，ItookmyfirststepblindfoldtowardthelastactinthedramaoftheHostler’sDream。 Thenextdaybroughtwithitalittledomesticdifficulty，whichindirectlyandstrangelyassociateditselfwiththecomingend。 Mywifereceivedaletter，invitingustoassistincelebratingthe“SilverWedding“oftwoworthyGermanneighborsofours——Mr。andMrs。Beldheimer。Mr。BeldheimerwasalargewinegroweronthebanksoftheMoselle。HishousewassituatedonthefrontierlineofFranceandGermany；andthedistancefromourhousewassufficientlyconsiderabletomakeitnecessaryforustosleepunderourhost’sroof。Underthesecircumstances，ifweacceptedtheinvitation，acomparisonofdatesshowedthatweshouldbeawayfromhomeonthemorningofthefirstofMarch。Mrs。Fairbank—— holdingtoherabsurdresolutiontoseewithherowneyeswhatmight，ormightnot，happentoFrancisRavenonhisbirthday—— flatlydeclinedtoleaveMaisonRouge。“It’seasytosendanexcuse，“shesaid，inheroff-handmanner。 Ifailed，formypart，toseeanyeasywayoutofthedifficulty。 Thecelebrationofa“SilverWedding“inGermanyisthecelebrationoftwenty-fiveyearsofhappymarriedlife；andthehost’sclaimupontheconsiderationofhisfriendsonsuchanoccasionissomethinginthenatureofaroyal“command。“Afterconsiderablediscussion，findingmywife’sobstinacyinvincible，andfeelingthattheabsenceofbothofusfromthefestivalwouldcertainlyoffendourfriends，IleftMrs。Fairbanktomakeherexcusesforherself，anddirectedhertoaccepttheinvitationsofarasIwasconcerned。Insodoing，Itookmysecondstep，blindfold，towardthelastactinthedramaoftheHostler’sDream。 Aweekelapsed；thelastdaysofFebruarywereathand。Anotherdomesticdifficultyhappened；and，again，thiseventalsoprovedtobestrangelyassociatedwiththecomingend。 MyheadgroomatthestableswasoneJosephRigobert。Hewasanill-conditionedfellow，inordinatelyvainofhispersonalappearance，andbynomeansscrupulousinhisconductwithwomen。