第73章

foundithadcaughthiseye。

“GoodLord！”Icried；“isTHATstillgoingon！”

Thatnightthelittleclergymanwatched，andinthesmallhoursheraisedafalsealarmthatmyunclewasdying，andmadeanextraordinaryfuss。Heraisedthehouse。Ishallneverforgetthatscene，Ithink，whichbeganwithatappingatmybedroomdoorjustafterIhadfallenasleep，andhisvoice——

“Ifyouwanttoseeyourunclebeforehegoes，youmustcomenow。”

ThestuffylittleroomwascrowdedwhenIreachedit，andlitbythreeflickeringcandles。IfeltIwasbackintheeighteenthcentury。Therelaymypooruncleamidstindescribablytumbledbedclothes，wearyoflifebeyondmeasure，wearyandrambling，andthelittleclergymantryingtoholdhishandandhisattention，andrepeatingoverandoveragain：

“Mr。Ponderevo，Mr。Ponderevo，itisallright。Itisallright。

OnlyBelieve！’Believeonme，andyeshallbesaved’！”

Closeathandwasthedoctorwithoneofthosecruelandidioticinjectionneedlesmodernscienceputsinthehandsofthesehalf-educatedyoungmen，keepingmyuncleflickeringlyalivefornoreasonwhatever。Thereligieusehoveredsleepilyinthebackgroundwithanoverdueandneglecteddose。Inaddition，thelandladyhadnotonlygotupherself，butrousedanagedcroneofamotherandapartiallyimbecilehusband，andtherewasalsoafattish，stolidmaningreyalpaca，withanairofimportance——whohewasandhowhegotthere，Idon’tknow。I

ratherfancythedoctorexplainedhimtomeinFrenchIdidnotunderstand。Andtheywereallthere，wearilynocturnal，hastilyandcarelesslydressed，intentuponthelifethatflickeredandsank，makingapublicandcuriousshowofitsgoing，queershapesofhumanbeingslitbythreeuncertaincandles，andeverysoulofthemkeenlyandavidlyresolvedtobeinatthedeath。Thedoctorstood，theotherswereallsittingonchairsthelandladyhadbroughtinandarrangedforthem。

Andmyunclespoilttheclimax，anddidnotdie。

Ireplacedthelittleclergymanonthechairbythebedside，andhehoveredabouttheroom。

“Ithink。”hewhisperedtomemysteriously，ashegaveplacetome，“Ibelieve——itiswellwithhim。”

IheardhimtryingtorenderthestockphrasesofLowChurchpietyintoFrenchforthebenefitofthestolidmaningreyalpaca。Thenheknockedaglassoffthetabl