butreasonhavingnowsomewhatrecovereditselfhesankintotaciturnity。
Oneeveningwhenhewasthusstandinginthegarden，abstractedlyspuddingupaweedwithhisstick，abonyfigureturnedthecornerofthehouseandcameuptohim。
"Christian，isn’tit？"saidClym。"Iamgladyouhavefoundmeout。IshallsoonwantyoutogotoBlooms—
Endandassistmeinputtingthehouseinorder。
IsupposeitisalllockedupasIleftit？"
"Yes，MisterClym。"
"Haveyoudugupthepotatoesandotherroots？"
"Yes，withoutadropo’rain，thankGod。ButIwascomingtotell’eeofsomethingelsewhichisquitedifferentfromwhatwehavelatelyhadinthefamily。
IamsentbytherichgentlemanattheWoman，thatweusedtocallthelandlord，totell’eethatMrs。Wildeveisdoingwellofagirl，whichwasbornpunctuallyatoneo’clockatnoon，orafewminutesmoreorless；
and’tissaidthatexpectingofthisincreaseiswhathavekept’emtheresincetheycameintotheirmoney。"
"Andsheisgettingonwell，yousay？"
"Yes，sir。OnlyMr。Wildeveistwankybecause’tisn’taboy——that’swhattheysayinthekitchen，butIwasnotsupposedtonoticethat。"
"Christian，nowlistentome。"
"Yes，sure，Mr。Yeobright。"
"Didyouseemymotherthedaybeforeshedied？"
"No，Ididnot。"
Yeobright’sfaceexpresseddisappointment。
"ButIzeedherthemorningofthesamedayshedied。"
Clym’slooklightedup。"That’snearerstilltomymeaning，"
hesaid。
"Yes，Iknow’twasthesameday；forshesaid，’Ibegoingtoseehim，Christian；soIshallnotwantanyvegetablesbroughtinfordinner。’"
"Seewhom？"
"Seeyou。Shewasgoingtoyourhouse，youunderstand。"
YeobrightregardedChristianwithintensesurprise。
"Whydidyounevermentionthis？"hesaid。"Areyousureitwasmyhouseshewascomingto？"
"Oyes。Ididn’tmentionitbecauseI’veneverzeedyoulately。Andasshedidn’tgetthereitwasallnought，andnothingtotell。"
"AndIhavebeenwonderingwhysheshouldhavewalkedintheheathonthathotday！Well，didshesaywhatshewascomingfor？Itisathing，Christian，Iamveryanxioustoknow。"
"Yes，MisterClym。Shedidn’tsayittome，thoughI
thinkshedidtoonehereandthere。"
"Doyouknowonepersontowhomshespokeofit？"
"Thereisoneman，please，sir，butIhopeyouwon’tmentionmynametohim，asIhaveseenhiminstrangeplaces，particularindreams。OnenightlastsummerheglaredatmelikeFamineandSword，anditmademefeelsolowthatIdidn’tcomboutmyfewhairsfortwodays。
Hewasstanding，asitmightbe，MisterYeobright，inthemiddleofthepathtoMistover，andyourmothercameup，lookingaspale——"
"Yes，whenwasthat？"
"Lastsummer，inmydream。"
"Pooh！Who’stheman？"
"Diggory，thereddleman。Hecalleduponherandsatwithhertheeveningbeforeshesetouttoseeyou。
Ihadn’tgonehomefromworkwhenhecameuptothegate。"
"ImustseeVenn——IwishIhadknownitbefore，"
saidClymanxiously。"Iwonderwhyhehasnotcometotellme？"
"HewentoutofEgdonHeaththenextday，sowouldnotbelikelytoknowyouwantedhim。"
"Christian，"saidClym，"youmustgoandfindVenn。
Iamotherwiseengaged，orIwouldgomyself。Findhimatonce，andtellhimIwanttospeaktohim。"
"Iamagoodhandathuntingupfolkbyday，"saidChristian，lookingdubiouslyroundatthedeclininglight；
"butastonight—time，neverissuchabadhandasI，MisterYeobright。"
"Searchtheheathwhenyouwill，sothatyoubringhimsoon。
Bringhimtomorrow，ifyoucan。"
Christianthendeparted。Themorrowcame，butnoVenn。
IntheeveningChristianarrived，lookingveryweary。
Hehadbeensearchingallday，andhadheardnothingofthereddleman。
"Inquireasmuchasyoucantomorrowwithoutneglectingyourwork，"saidYeobright。"Don’tcomeagaintillyouhavefoundhim。"
ThenextdayYeobrightsetoutfortheoldhouseatBlooms—End，which，withthegarden，wasnowhisown。
Hissevereillnesshadhinderedallpreparationsforhisremovalthither；butithadbecomenecessarythatheshouldgoandoverlookitscontents，asadministratortohismother’slittleproperty；forwhichpurposehedecidedtopassthenextnightonthepremises。
Hejourneyedonward，notquicklyordecisively，butintheslowwalkofonewhohasbeenawakenedfromastupefyingsleep。
Itwasearlyafternoonwhenhereachedthevalley。
Theexpressionoftheplace，thetoneofthehour，werepreciselythoseofmanysuchoccasionsindaysgoneby；
andtheseantecedentsimilaritiesfosteredtheillusionthatshe，whowastherenolonger，wouldcomeouttowelcomehim。
Thegardengatewaslockedandtheshutterswereclosed，justashehimselfhadleftthemontheeveningafterthefuneral。Heunlockedthegate，andfoundthataspiderhadalreadyconstructedalargeweb，tyingthedoortothelintel，onthesuppositionthatitwasnevertobeopenedagain。Whenhehadenteredthehouseandflungbacktheshuttershesetabouthistaskofoverhaulingthecupboardsandclosets，burningpapers，andconsideringhowbesttoarrangetheplaceforEustacia’sreception，untilsuchtimeashemightbeinapositiontocarryouthislong—delayedscheme，shouldthattimeeverarrive。
Ashesurveyedtheroomshefeltstronglydisinclinedforthealterationswhichwouldhavetobemadeinthetime—honouredfurnishingofhisparentsandgrandparents，tosuitEustacia’smodernideas。Thegauntoak—casedclock，withthepictureoftheAscensiononthedoorpanelandtheMiraculousDraughtofFishesonthebase；
hisgrandmother’scornercupboardwiththeglassdoor，throughwhichthespottedchinawasvisible；thedumb—waiter；
thewoodenteatrays；thehangingfountainwiththebrasstap——whitherwouldthesevenerablearticleshavetobebanished？
Henoticedthattheflowersinthewindowhaddiedforwantofwater，andheplacedthemoutupontheledge，thattheymightbetakenaway。Whilethusengagedheheardfootstepsonthegravelwithout，andsomebodyknockedatthedoor。
Yeobrightopenedit，andVennwasstandingbeforehim。
"Goodmorning，"saidthereddleman。"IsMrs。Yeobrightathome？"
Yeobrightlookedupontheground。"ThenyouhavenotseenChristianoranyoftheEgdonfolks？"hesaid。
"No。Ihaveonlyjustreturnedafteralongstayaway。
IcalledherethedaybeforeIleft。"
"Andyouhaveheardnothing？"
"Nothing。"
"Mymotheris——dead。"
"Dead！"saidVennmechanically。
"HerhomenowiswhereIshouldn’tmindhavingmine。"
Vennregardedhim，andthensaid，"IfIdidn’tseeyourfaceIcouldneverbelieveyourwords。Haveyoubeenill？"
"Ihadanillness。"
"Well，thechange！WhenIpartedfromheramonthagoeverythingseemedtosaythatshewasgoingtobeginanewlife。"
"Andwhatseemedcametrue。"
"Yousayright，nodoubt。Troublehastaughtyouadeeperveinoftalkthanmine。AllImeantwasregardingherlifehere。Shehasdiedtoosoon。"
"Perhapsthroughmylivingtoolong。Ihavehadabitterexperienceonthatscorethislastmonth，Diggory。
Butcomein；Ihavebeenwantingtoseeyou。"
HeconductedthereddlemanintothelargeroomwherethedancinghadtakenplacethepreviousChristmas，andtheysatdowninthesettletogether。"There’sthecoldfireplace，yousee，"saidClym。"Whenthathalf—
burntlogandthosecinderswerealightshewasalive！
Littlehasbeenchangedhereyet。Icandonothing。
Mylifecreepslikeasnail。"
"Howcameshetodie？"saidVenn。
Yeobrightgavehimsomeparticularsofherillnessanddeath，andcontinued："Afterthisnokindofpainwilleverseemmorethananindispositiontome。
IbegansayingthatIwantedtoaskyousomething，butI
strayfromsubjectslikeadrunkenman。Iamanxioustoknowwhatmymothersaidtoyouwhenshelastsawyou。
Youtalkedwithheralongtime，Ithink？"
"Italkedwithhermorethanhalfanhour。"
"Aboutme？"
"Yes。Anditmusthavebeenonaccountofwhatwesaidthatshewasontheheath。Withoutquestionshewascomingtoseeyou。"
"Butwhyshouldshecometoseemeifshefeltsobitterlyagainstme？There’sthemystery。"
"YetIknowshequiteforgave’ee。"
"But，Diggory——wouldawoman，whohadquiteforgivenherson，say，whenshefeltherselfillonthewaytohishouse，thatshewasbroken—heartedbecauseofhisill—usage？Never！"
"WhatIknowisthatshedidn’tblameyouatall。
Sheblamedherselfforwhathadhappened，andonlyherself。
Ihaditfromherownlips。"
"YouhaditfromherlipsthatIhadNOTill—treatedher；
andatthesametimeanotherhaditfromherlipsthatI
HADill—treatedher？Mymotherwasnoimpulsivewomanwhochangedheropinioneveryhourwithoutreason。
Howcanitbe，Venn，thatsheshouldhavetoldsuchdifferentstoriesinclosesuccession？"
"Icannotsay。Itiscertainlyodd，whenshehadforgivenyou，andhadforgivenyourwife，andwasgoingtoseeyeonpurposetomakefriends。"
"Iftherewasonethingwantingtobewildermeitwasthisincomprehensiblething！……Diggory，ifwe，whoremainalive，wereonlyallowedtoholdconversationwiththedead——justonce，abareminute，eventhroughascreenofironbars，aswithpersonsinprison——whatwemightlearn！Howmanywhonowridesmilingwouldhidetheirheads！Andthismystery——Ishouldthenbeatthebottomofitatonce。
Butthegravehasforevershutherin；andhowshallitbefoundoutnow？"
Noreplywasreturnedbyhiscompanion，sincenonecouldbegiven；andwhenVennleft，afewminuteslater，Clymhadpassedfromthedullnessofsorrowtothefluctuationofcarkingincertitude。
Hecontinuedinthesamestatealltheafternoon。
Abedwasmadeupforhiminthesamehousebyaneighbour，thathemightnothavetoreturnagainthenextday；
andwhenheretiredtorestinthedesertedplaceitwasonlytoremainawakehourafterhourthinkingthesamethoughts。Howtodiscoverasolutiontothisriddleofdeathseemedaqueryofmoreimportancethanhighestproblemsoftheliving。TherewashousedinhismemoryavividpictureofthefaceofalittleboyasheenteredthehovelwhereClym’smotherlay。Theroundeyes，eagergaze，thepipingvoicewhichenunciatedthewords，hadoperatedlikestilettosonhisbrain。
Avisittotheboysuggesteditselfasameansofgleaningnewparticulars；thoughitmightbequiteunproductive。
Toprobeachild’smindafterthelapseofsixweeks，notforfactswhichthechildhadseenandunderstood，buttogetatthosewhichwereintheirnaturebeyondhim，didnotpromisemuch；yetwheneveryobviouschannelisblockedwegropetowardsthesmallandobscure。
Therewasnothingelselefttodo；afterthathewouldallowtheenigmatodropintotheabyssofundiscoverablethings。
Itwasaboutdaybreakwhenhehadreachedthisdecision，andheatoncearose。Helockedupthehouseandwentoutintothegreenpatchwhichmergedinheatherfurtheron。
Infrontofthewhitegarden—palingsthepathbranchedintothreelikeabroadarrow。TheroadtotherightledtotheQuietWomananditsneighbourhood；themiddletrackledtoMistoverKnap；theleft—handtrackledoverthehilltoanotherpartofMistover，wherethechildlived。
OnincliningintothelatterpathYeobrightfeltacreepingchilliness，familiarenoughtomostpeople，andprobablycausedbytheunsunnedmorningair。Inafterdayshethoughtofitasathingofsingularsignificance。
WhenYeobrightreachedthecottageofSusanNunsuch，themotheroftheboyhesought，hefoundthattheinmateswerenotyetastir。Butinuplandhamletsthetransitionfroma—bedtoabroadissurprisinglyswiftandeasy。
Therenodensepartitionofyawnsandtoiletsdivideshumanitybynightfromhumanitybyday。Yeobrighttappedattheupperwindowsill，whichhecouldreachwithhiswalkingstick；andinthreeorfourminutesthewomancamedown。
ItwasnottillthismomentthatClymrecollectedhertobethepersonwhohadbehavedsobarbarouslytoEustacia。
Itpartlyexplainedtheinsuavitywithwhichthewomangreetedhim。Moreover，theboyhadbeenailingagain；
andSusannow，aseversincethenightwhenhehadbeenpressedintoEustacia’sserviceatthebonfire，attributedhisindispositionstoEustacia’sinfluenceasawitch。Itwasoneofthosesentimentswhichlurklikemolesunderneaththevisiblesurfaceofmanners，andmayhavebeenkeptalivebyEustacia’sentreatytothecaptain，atthetimethathehadintendedtoprosecuteSusanfortheprickinginchurch，toletthematterdrop；
whichheaccordinglyhaddone。
Yeobrightovercamehisrepugnance，forSusanhadatleastbornehismothernoill—will。Heaskedkindlyfortheboy；
buthermannerdidnotimprove。
"Iwishtoseehim，"continuedYeobright，withsomehesitation，"toaskhimifheremembersanythingmoreofhiswalkwithmymotherthanwhathehaspreviouslytold。"
Sheregardedhiminapeculiarandcriticizingmanner。
Toanybodybutahalf—blindmanitwouldhavesaid，"Youwantanotheroftheknockswhichhavealreadylaidyousolow。"
Shecalledtheboydownstairs，askedClymtositdownonastool，andcontinued，"Now，Johnny，tellMr。Yeobrightanythingyoucancalltomind。"
"Youhavenotforgottenhowyouwalkedwiththepoorladyonthathotday？"saidClym。
"No，"saidtheboy。
"Andwhatshesaidtoyou？"
Theboyrepeatedtheexactwordshehadusedonenteringthehut。
Yeobrightrestedhiselbowonthetableandshadedhisfacewithhishand；andthemotherlookedasifshewonderedhowamancouldwantmoreofwhathadstunghimsodeeply。
"ShewasgoingtoAlderworthwhenyoufirstmether？"
"No；shewascomingaway。"
"Thatcan’tbe。"
"Yes；shewalkedalongwithme。Iwascomingaway，too。"
"Thenwheredidyoufirstseeher？"
"Atyourhouse。"
"Attend，andspeakthetruth！"saidClymsternly。
"Yes，sir；atyourhousewaswhereIseedherfirst。"
Clymstartedup，andSusansmiledinanexpectantwaywhichdidnotembellishherface；itseemedtomean，"Somethingsinisteriscoming！"
"Whatdidshedoatmyhouse？"
"ShewentandsatunderthetreesattheDevil’sBellows。"
"GoodGod！thisisallnewstome！"
"Younevertoldmethisbefore？"saidSusan。
"No，Mother；becauseIdidn’tliketotell’eeIhadbeensofar。Iwaspickingblackhearts，andwentfurtherthanImeant。"
"Whatdidshedothen？"saidYeobright。
"Lookedatamanwhocameupandwentintoyourhouse。"
"Thatwasmyself——afurze—cutter，withbramblesinhishand。"
"No；’twasnotyou。’Twasagentleman。Youhadgoneinafore。"
"Whowashe？"
"Idon’tknow。"
"Nowtellmewhathappenednext。"
"Thepoorladywentandknockedatyourdoor，andtheladywithblackhairlookedoutofthesidewindowather。"
Theboy’smotherturnedtoClymandsaid，"Thisissomethingyoudidn’texpect？"
Yeobrighttooknomorenoticeofherthanifhehadbeenofstone。"Goon，goon，"hesaidhoarselytotheboy。
"Andwhenshesawtheyoungladylookoutofthewindowtheoldladyknockedagain；andwhennobodycameshetookupthefurze—hookandlookedatit，andputitdownagain，andthenshelookedatthefaggot—bonds；andthenshewentaway，andwalkedacrosstome，andblowedherbreathveryhard，likethis。Wewalkedontogether，sheandI，andItalkedtoherandshetalkedtomeabit，butnotmuch，becauseshecouldn’tblowherbreath。"
"O！"murmuredClym，inalowtone，andbowedhishead。
"Let’shavemore，"hesaid。
"Shecouldn’ttalkmuch，andshecouldn’twalk；andherfacewas，Osoqueer！"
"Howwasherface？"
"Likeyoursisnow。"
ThewomanlookedatYeobright，andbeheldhimcolourless，inacoldsweat。"Isn’ttheremeaninginit？"
shesaidstealthily。"Whatdoyouthinkofhernow？"
"Silence！"saidClymfiercely。And，turningtotheboy，"Andthenyoulefthertodie？"
"No，"saidthewoman，quicklyandangrily。"Hedidnotleavehertodie！Shesenthimaway。Whoeversaysheforsookhersayswhat’snottrue。"
"Troublenomoreaboutthat，"answeredClym，withaquiveringmouth。"Whathedidisatrifleincomparisonwithwhathesaw。Doorkeptshut，didyousay？Keptshut，shelookingoutofwindow？GoodheartofGod！——whatdoesitmean？"
Thechildshrankawayfromthegazeofhisquestioner。
"Hesaidso，"answeredthemother，"andJohnny’saGod—
fearingboyandtellsnolies。"
"’Castoffbymyson！’No，bymybestlife，dearmother，itisnotso！Butbyyourson’s，yourson’s——Mayallmurderessesgetthetormenttheydeserve！"
WiththesewordsYeobrightwentforthfromthelittledwelling。
Thepupilsofhiseyes，fixedsteadfastlyonblankness，werevaguelylitwithanicyshine；hismouthhadpassedintothephasemoreorlessimaginativelyrenderedinstudiesofOedipus。Thestrangestdeedswerepossibletohismood。
Buttheywerenotpossibletohissituation。InsteadoftherebeingbeforehimthepalefaceofEustacia，andamasculineshapeunknown，therewasonlytheimperturbablecountenanceoftheheath，which，havingdefiedthecataclysmalonsetsofcenturies，reducedtoinsignificancebyitsseamedandantiquefeaturesthewildestturmoilofasingleman。
3—EustaciaDressesHerselfonaBlackMorningAconsciousnessofavastimpassivityinallwhichlayaroundhimtookpossessionevenofYeobrightinhiswildwalktowardsAlderworth。Hehadoncebeforefeltinhisownpersonthisoverpoweringofthefervidbytheinanimate；
butthenithadtendedtoenervateapassionfarsweeterthanthatwhichatpresentpervadedhim。ItwasoncewhenhestoodpartingfromEustaciainthemoiststilllevelsbeyondthehills。
Butdismissingallthishewentonwardhome，andcametothefrontofhishouse。TheblindsofEustacia’sbedroomwerestillcloselydrawn，forshewasnoearlyriser。
Allthelifevisiblewasintheshapeofasolitarythrushcrackingasmallsnailuponthedoor—stoneforhisbreakfast，andhistappingseemedaloudnoiseinthegeneralsilencewhichprevailed；butongoingtothedoorClymfounditunfastened，theyounggirlwhoattendeduponEustaciabeingastirinthebackpartofthepremises。
Yeobrightenteredandwentstraighttohiswife’sroom。
Thenoiseofhisarrivalmusthavearousedher，forwhenheopenedthedoorshewasstandingbeforethelookingglassinhernightdress，theendsofherhairgatheredintoonehand，withwhichshewascoilingthewholemassroundherhead，previoustobeginningtoiletteoperations。
Shewasnotawomangiventospeakingfirstatameeting，andsheallowedClymtowalkacrossinsilence，withoutturningherhead。Hecamebehindher，andshesawhisfaceintheglass。Itwasashy，haggard，andterrible。
Insteadofstartingtowardshiminsorrowfulsurprise，asevenEustacia，undemonstrativewifeasshewas，wouldhavedoneindaysbeforesheburdenedherselfwithasecret，sheremainedmotionless，lookingathimintheglass。
Andwhileshelookedthecarmineflushwithwhichwarmthandsoundsleephadsuffusedhercheeksandneckdissolvedfromview，andthedeathlikepallorinhisfaceflewacrossintohers。Hewascloseenoughtoseethis，andthesightinstigatedhistongue。
"Youknowwhatisthematter，"hesaidhuskily。
"Iseeitinyourface。"
Herhandrelinquishedtheropeofhairanddroppedtoherside，andthepileoftresses，nolongersupported，fellfromthecrownofherheadabouthershouldersandoverthewhitenightgown。Shemadenoreply。
"Speaktome，"saidYeobrightperemptorily。
Theblanchingprocessdidnotceaseinher，andherlipsnowbecameaswhiteasherface。Sheturnedtohimandsaid，"Yes，Clym，I’llspeaktoyou。Whydoyoureturnsoearly？CanIdoanythingforyou？"
"Yes，youcanlistentome。Itseemsthatmywifeisnotverywell？"
"Why？"
"Yourface，mydear；yourface。Orperhapsitisthepalemorninglightwhichtakesyourcolouraway？
NowIamgoingtorevealasecrettoyou。Ha—ha！"
"O，thatisghastly！"
"What？"
"Yourlaugh。"
"There’sreasonforghastliness。Eustacia，youhaveheldmyhappinessinthehollowofyourhand，andlikeadevilyouhavedasheditdown！"
Shestartedbackfromthedressing—table，retreatedafewstepsfromhim，andlookedhimintheface。"Ah！youthinktofrightenme，"shesaid，withaslightlaugh。
"Isitworthwhile？Iamundefended，andalone。"
"Howextraordinary！"
"Whatdoyoumean？"
"AsthereisampletimeIwilltellyou，thoughyouknowwellenough。Imeanthatitisextraordinarythatyoushouldbealoneinmyabsence。Tellme，now，whereishewhowaswithyouontheafternoonofthethirty—
firstofAugust？Underthebed？Upthechimney？"
Ashudderovercameherandshookthelightfabricofhernightdressthroughout。"Idonotrememberdatessoexactly，"
shesaid。"Icannotrecollectthatanybodywaswithmebesidesyourself。"
"ThedayImean，"saidYeobright，hisvoicegrowinglouderandharsher，"wasthedayyoushutthedooragainstmymotherandkilledher。O，itistoomuch——toobad！"
Heleantoverthefootpieceofthebedsteadforafewmoments，withhisbacktowardsher；thenrisingagain——"Tellme，tellme！tellme——doyouhear？"hecried，rushinguptoherandseizingherbytheloosefoldsofhersleeve。
Thesuperstratumoftimiditywhichoftenoverliesthosewhoaredaringanddefiantathearthadbeenpassedthrough，andthemettlesomesubstanceofthewomanwasreached。
Theredbloodinundatedherface，previouslysopale。
"Whatareyougoingtodo？"shesaidinalowvoice，regardinghimwithaproudsmile。"Youwillnotalarmmebyholdingonso；butitwouldbeapitytotearmysleeve。"