Page 7 (1/2)
When I looked up again Gore in litter of her eyes faded,and the blind, unreasoning hate and anger turned to keen inquiry Shewas not now merely baffled in her hopes, and face to face with anunconscioussoain as she spoke:
"So ye are back wi' the moon and me Whither went ye when ye lay downupon the sand Was it back ye went, or forrart; wi' the ghaists into theHoly Well and beyond in their manifold course; or back to their comin'frae the sea and all that could there be told? Oh!like that into spirit land, andmy hands an' torture my hairt in brokenhopes!" I answered her question with another:
"How do you o into the well and beyond?" Her ansas at the first given in a stern tone which became, however, softer, asshe went on
"Knew ye not, that the Lammas Floods are the carriers o' the Dead; thaton Lammas nicht the Dead can win their way to where they will, under theairth by wherever there is rinnin' watter Happy be they that can gain aHoly Well, an' so pass into the bowels o' the airth to where they list"
"And how and when do they return?"
"Dinna jest wi' Fate an' the Dead They in their scope can gang andreturn again; no een, save your ain, o' in' No een, even yours, can see theraves that they hae sought hae taken fromthem the dross o' the airth" I felt it was not wise to talk further, sowithout a word I turned and walked hoain I stumbled in a rabbit hole, and as I wouldsink forward the wet bent would brush against my face
The walk back in the dark dawn seemed interminable All this timemy mind was in a turdefinitely, or think consecutively; but facts and fancies swept throughot to the house, I undressed quicklyand got into bed; I must have instantly fallen into a deep sleep
Next afternoon I walked by the shore to Whinnyfold It was al at the saht I sat on the cliff where I had sat last night, the hot Augustsun and the cool breeze froht The lack of sufficient sleep the night beforeand the tired feeling of the physical strain I had undergone--myshoulders still ached--told upon me, and I fell asleep
When I waked Gormala stood in front of me
After a long pause she spoke:
"I see that ye remember, else would ye ha' spoken to me Will ye no telle o' thefact we reat Secret o' the Sea" I feltstronger than ever the instinctive conviction that I ; waiting thus I should learnso, whether from her words or her silence She could not standthis I saw her colour rise till her face was all agloith a red flushthat shaer blazed in her eyes It wasin a threatening tone which she spoke, though the words were themselvessufficiently conciliatory:
"The Secrets o' the Sea are to be won; and tae thee and ivento win theesithers have tried to win but hae failed; and if we fail too for lack o'purpose or because ye like reat reward For the secrets are there, and the treasures lie awaitingThe way is open for those to whom are the Gifts Throw not away thefavour of the Fates For if they be kind to give where they will, theyare hard to thwart, and their revenge is sure!" I an to weaken ic was onher side Powers such as werein refusing to use theht not a penalty be exacted fromme because I had thwarted the project Gor of hers, evidently followed the workings of my mind, for herface lit up How she knew, I know not, but I do know that her eyes neverleft mine I suppose it may be that the eyes which have power to seeat tis have sohts behind theer All my instincts told me that once in Gormala's power I shouldrue it, so I spoke out on the instant strongly:
"I shall have nothing to do with you whatever Last night when yourefused to help me with the woundedfor his death--I saw you in your truecolours; and I ain in her eyes; but again she controlled herself and spoke with anappearance of calreat effort, as I could seeby the tension of her muscles:
"An' so ye would judge ain! I knew that Lauchlane was dead! Aye! and ye kent it too asweel as I did masel' It needed no Seer to tell that, when ye brocht himup the rocks oot o' the tide Then, when he was dead, for ad yeno use him? Do the Dead themselves object that they help the livin' totheir ends while the blood is yet warm in them? Is it ye that object tothe power of the Dead? You whose veins have the power o' divination ofthe quick; you to whom the heavens themselves opened, and the airth andthe watters under the airth, when the spirit of the Dead that ye carriedwalked beside ye as ye ganged to St Olaf's Well An' as for me, whathae I done that you should object I saw, as you did, that Lauchlane'ssands were run You and I are alike in that To us baith was given tosee, by signs that ages have h he had hiiven to see that the Voice had spoken But to you was sho, andwhen, and where the Dooh you yersel' that can readthe future as no ither that is known, canna read the past; and so couldna tell what a lesser one would ha' guessed at lang syne I followed theDoom; you followed the Doom I by my cunnin'; you when ye waked frae yersleep, followin' yer conviction, till we ither for Lauchlane'sdeath, aowden seaThrough his aid--aye, young sir--for wi'oot a fresh corp to aid, no Seero' airth could hae seen as ye did, that lang line o' ghaists ye saw lastnicht Through his aid the wonders o' the heavens and the deep, o' airthand air, was opened till ye Wha then be ye that condeuilty, what be you?"
It would be impossible to describe the rude, wild, natural eloquencehich this was spoken In the sunset, the gaunt woman see shadows of thereen down before us and away over the wrinkled seaas though her gestures were, giant like, appealing to all nature