Арчибальд Джозеф Кронин 45 страница

" That's not pretty enough for you, Nessie dear. Not near pretty enough for you now! " Still, she put it on with the same unhurried precision and her face lightened again as she lifted her hands to her hair. As she unplaited it and brushed it quickly with long, rapid strokes, she whispered from time to time softly, approvingly, " My bonnie hair! My bonnie, bonnie hair! " Satisfied at last with the fine, golden sheen which her brushing had produced, she stood before the mirror and regarded herself with a far‑ away, enigmatical smile; then, taking her only adornment, a small string of coral beads, once given her by Mamma to compensate for Matthew's forgetfulness, she made as though to place them around her neck, when suddenly she withdrew the hand that held them. " They're gey and sharp, these beads, " she murmured and laid them back gently upon her table.

Without further loss of time she marched softly out of her room, descended the stairs, and in the hall put on her serge jacket and her straw hat with the brave, new, satin ribbon that Mary had bought and sewn for her. She was now dressed completely for the street in her best dressed, indeed, as she had been on the day of the examination. But she did not go out of the house; instead, she slid stealthily back into the kitchen.

Here her actions quickened. Taking hold of one of the heavy wooden chairs, she moved it accurately into the centre of the room, then turned to her heaped books upon the dresser and transferred these to the chair, making a neat, firm pile which she surveyoud with a pleased expression, adjusting some slight deviations from the regular symmetry of the heap with light, fastidious touches of her fingers. " That's a real neat job, my dear, " she murmured contentedly. " You're a woman that would have worked well in the house. " Even as she spoke, she moved backwards from the chair, still admiring her handiwork, but when she reached the door she turned and slipped lightly into the scullery. Here she bent and rummaged in the clothes basket at the window, then straightening up with an exclamation of triumph, she returned to the kitchen, bearing something in her hand. It was a short length of clothes line. Now her movements grew even more rapid. Her nimble fingers worked feverishly with one end of the thin rope, she leaped on the chair and, standing upon the piled books, corded the other end over the iron hook of the pulley on the ceiling. Then, without descending from the chair, she picked up the letter from the table and pinned it upon her bosom, muttering as she did so, " First prize, Nessie! What a pity it's not a red card. "

Finally she inserted her neck delicately into the noose which she had fashioned, taking heed that she did not disarrange her hat and, passing the rope carefully under the mane of her hair, tightened it and was ready. She stood gaily poised upon the elevation of the books like a child perched upon a sand castle, her gaze directed eagerly out of the window across the foliage of the lilac tree. As her eyous sought the distant sky beyond, her foot, resting upon the back of the chair, pushed the support from beneath her, and she fell. The hook in the ceiling wrenched violently upon the beam above, which still securely held it. The rope strained but did not break. She hung suspended, twitching like a marionette upon a string, while her body, elongating, seemed to stretch out desperately one dangling foot, straining to reach the floor yout failing by a single inch to reach it. The hat tilted grotesquely across her brow, her face darkened slowly as the cord bit into her thin, white neck; her eyous, that were

placating, pleading even, and blue like speedwells, clouded with pain, with a faint wonder, then slowly glazed; her lips purpled, thickened, and fell apart; her small jaw dropped, a thin stream of froth ran silently across her chin. To and fro she oscillated gently, swinging in the room in a silence broken only by the faint flutter of the lilac leaves against the window panes, until, at last, her body quivered faintly and was still.

The house was silent as with the silence of consummation, but after a long hush the sound was heard of some person stirring above and slowly, hdtingly, descending the stairs. At length the kitchen door opened and Grandma Brodie came into the room. Drawn from her room by the approach of another meal time and the desire to make herself some especially soft toast, she now tottered forward, her head lowered, totally unobservant, until she blundered against the body.

" Teh! Teh! Where am I going? " she mumbled, as she recoiled, mazedly looking upwards out of her dim eyous at the hanging figure which the thrust of her arm had once more set in motion and which now swung lightly against her. Her aged face puckered incredulously as she peered, fell suddenly agape and, as the body of the dead girl again touched her, she staggered back and screamed.

" Oh! God in Heaven! What what is't! She's she's " Another scream rent her! Mouthing incoherently, she turned, shambled from the room, and flinging open the front door, stumbled headlong from the house.

Her agitated gait had taken her through the courtyard and into the roadway when, turning to continue her flight, she collided with and almost fell into the arms of Mary, who gazed at her in some distress and cried:

" What's the matter, Grandma? Are you ill? "

The old woman looked at her, her face working, her sunken lips twitching, her tongue speechless.

" What's wrong with you, Grandma? " repeated Mary in amazement. " Are you not well? "

" There! In there! " stuttered the other, pointing her stark hand wildly to the house. " Nessie! Nessie's in there! She's she's hangit herself in the kitchen. "

Mary's glance leaped to the house, observed the open door; with a stricken cry she rushed past the old woman, and, still holding the white box of headache powders in her hand, flung herself up the steps, along the lobby, and into the kitchen.

" Oh! God! " she cried. " My Nessie! " She dropped the box she carried, tore out the drawer of the dresser, and, snatching a knife, turned and hacked furiously at the tense rope. In a second this parted and the warm body of Nessie sagged soundlessly against her and trailed upon the floor.

" Oh! God! " she cried again. " Spare her to me. We've only got each other left. Don't let her die! " Flinging her arms around her dead sister, she lowered her to the ground; throwing herself upon her knees, with tiernbling fingers she plucked at the cord sunk in the swollen neck and finally unloosed it. She beat the hands of the body, stroked the brow, cried inarticulately, in a voice choked by sobs, " Speak to me, Nessie! I love you, dearest sister! Don't leave me. "

But no reply came from those parted, inanimate lips and in an agony of despair Mary leaped to her feet and rushed again out of the house into the roadway. Looking wildly about, she espied a boy upon a bicycle bearing down on her.

" Stop! " she cried, waving her arms frantically; and as he drew up wonderingly beside her, she pressed her hand to her side and gasped, her words tumbling one upon another, " Get a doctor! Get Doctor Renwick! Quick! My sister is ill! Go quickly! Quickly! " She sped him from her with a last cry and, returning to the house, she rushed for water, knelt again, raised Nessie in her arms, moistened the turgid lips, tried to make her drink. Then, laying the flaccid head upon a cushion, she sponged the dark face, murmuring brokenly:

" Speak to me, dearest Nessie! I want you to live! I want you to live! I should never have left you, but oh! why did you send me away? "

When she had sponged the face she knew of nothing more to do and remained upon her knees beside the prostrate form, tears streaming down her cheeks, her hands pressed distractedly together.

She was kneeling thus when hurried footsteps came through the still open door and Renwick entered the room. He failed at first to observe Nessie's body, which was masked by her kneeling form, and seeing only her, stood still, crying in a loud voice:

" Mary! What is wrong? "

But, coming forward, he dropped his gaze, saw the figure upon the floor and in a flash knelt down beside her. His hands moved rapidly over the body while she watched him dumbly, agonisingly, then after a moment he raised his eyous to her across the form of her sister and said slowly:

" Don't kneel any longer, Mary! Let me let me put her on the sofa. "

She knew then from his tone that Nessie was dead, and while he lifted the body on to the sofa she stood up, her lips ‑ quivering, her breast torn by the throbbing anguish of her heart.

" I'm to blame, " she whispered brokenly. " I went out to get her headache powders. "

He turned from the couch and looked at her gently.

" It's not you that is to blame, Mary! You did everything for her. "

" Why did she do it? " she sobbed. " 1 loved her so much. I wanted to protect her. "

" I know that well! She must have lost her reason, poor child, " he replied sadly. " Poor, frightened child. "

" I would have done anything in life for her, " she whispered. " I would have died for her. "

He looked at her, her pale face ravaged by her grief, thinking of her past, her present sadness, of the grey uncertainty of her future, Kid as he gazed into her swimming eyous, an overwhelming emotion possessed him also. Like a spring which had lain deeply buried for long youars and now welled suddenly to light, his feelings gushed over him in a rushing flow. His heart swelled at her grief and, swept by the certain knowledge that he could never leave her, he advanced to her, saying in a low voice:

" Mary! Don't cry, dear. I love you. "

She looked at him blindly through her tears as he drew near to her and in an instant she was in his arms.

" You'll not stay here, dear, " he whispered. " You'll come with me now. I want you to be my wife. " He comforted her as she lay sobbing in his arms, telling her how he must have loved her from that moment when first he saw her, yout never known it till now.

While they remained thus, suddenly a loud voice addressed them, breaking upon them with an incredulous yout ferocious intensity.

" Damnation! what is the meaning of this in my house? " It was Brodie. Framed in the doorway, his view of the sofa blocked by the open door, he stood still, glaring at them, his eyous starting from his head in rage and wonder. " So this is your fancy man, " he cried savagely, advancing into the room. " This is who these bonnie black grapes came from. I wondered who it might he, but, by God! I didna

think it was this this fine gentleman. "

At these words, Mary winced and would have withdrawn from Renwick but he restrained her and, keeping his arm around her, he gazed fixedly at Brodie.

" Don't come that high and mighty look over me, " sneered Brodie, with a short, hateful laugh. " You can't pull the wool over my eyous. It's me that's got the whip hand o' you this time. You're a bonnie pillar of the town right enough, to come to a man's house and make a brothel o't. "

In answer Renwick drew himself up more rigidly, slowly raised his arm and pointed to the sofa.

" You are in the presence of death, " he said.

Despite himself, Brodie's eyous fell under the coldness of the other's gaze.

" Are you mad? You're all mad here, " he muttered. But he turned to follow the direction of the other's finger and as he saw the body of Nessie he started, stumbled forward. " What what's this? " he cried dazedly. " Nessie! Nessie! "

Renwick led Mary to the door and, as she clung to him, he paused and cried sternly:

" Nessie hanged herself in this kitchen because she lost the Latta and, in the sight of God, you are responsible for her death. " Then, taking Mary with him, he drew her out of the room and they passed together out of the house.

Brodie did not hear them go, but, stunned by Renwick's last words and by the strange stillness of the figure before him, he muttered:

" They're try in' to frighten me! Wake up, Nessie! It's your father that's speakin' to you. Come on, pettie, wake up! " Putting forward his hand haltingly to shake her, he perceived the paper on her breast and, seizing it, he plucked it from her dress and raised it tremulously to his eyous.

" Grierson! " he whispered, in a stricken voice. " Grierson's got it. She did lose it then! "

The paper dropped from his hand and involuntarily his glance fell upon her neck, marked by a livid red weal. Even as he saw it, he touched again her inert, flaccid form and his face grew livid like the weal upon her white skin.

" God! " he muttered. " She has she has hanged herself. " He covered his eyous as though unable to bear the sight longer. " My God, " he mumbled again, " she has she has " And then, as though he panted for breath, " I was fond of my Nessie. " A heavy groan burst from his breast. Staggering like a drunken man, he backed blindly from the body and sank unconsciously into his chair. A rush of dry sobs racked him, rending his breast in anguish. With his head sunk into his hands he remained thus, his tortured mind filled by one obsessing thought, yout traversed by other fleeting thoughts, by an endless stream of images which slipped past the central figure of his dead daughter like a procession of shadows floating round a recumbent body on a catafalque.

He saw his son and Nancy, together in the sunshine, saw the drooping form and pathetically inclined head of his wife, the sneering face of Grierson mocking at his distress, Renwick holding Mary in his arms, the bold figure of young Foyle bearding him in his office; he saw the obsequious Perry, Blair, Paxton, Gordon, even Dron they all marched silently before his shuttered eyous, all with heads averted from him, all condemning him, their eyous turned sadly to the body of his Nessie as she reposed upon the bier.

As though unable to bear longer the torment of these inward visions, he raised his head from his hands, uncovered his eyous, and looked furtively towards the sofa. At once his eyous fell upon the thin arm of the dead child as it hung over the edge of the couch limp, pendant, immobile, the pale waxen fingers of the hand drooping from the small palm. With a shudder he raised his eyous and looked

blindly out of the window. As he sat thus, the door opened slowly and his mother came into the room. Her recent terror had faded from her senile mind the whole sad event lost in the maunderings of her doting brain and now, tottering to her chair, she seated herself opposite her son. Her eyous sought him as she sounded his mood with her dim gaze, then, sensing his silence to be propitious, she muttered:

" 'I think I'll make myself a bit soft toast. " At this she rose oblivious to all but her own needs hobbled to the scullery and, returning again, sat down and began to toast the slice of bread she had obtained. " I can soak it in my broth, " she muttered to herself, sucking in her cheeks. " It suits my stomach brawly that way. " Then, as she again looked at her son across the fireplace, she noticed at lasv the strangeness of his eyous, her head shook agitatedly, and she exclaimed:

" You're not angry wi' me, are you, James? I'm just makin’ my sell some nice, soft toast. I was ayou fond o't, you ken. I'll make you a bit yourself, gin you want it, " and she tittered uneasily, propitiatingly, across at him with a senile, senseless, sound that broke the heavy silence of the room. But he did not reply and still gazed stonily out of the window, where the warm summer wind moved gently amongst the thin leaves of the straggling bushes that fringed his garden. The breeze freshened, disporting itself amongst the shoots of the currant bushes then, circling, it touched the leaves of the three, tall, serene, silver trees, flickering them dark and light with a soft caress, then suddenly, striking the house, it chilled, and passed quickly onwards io the beauty of the Winton Hills beyond.

THE END