第78章

asforthebeatit’sgone，isn’tmine-swornawaybymyownmouth。

Tellmewhat’smyname；ifyoucan’t，mayI-’

MYSELF。Don’tswear，it’sabadhabit，neitherpleasantnorprofitable。YournameisSlingsby-JackSlingsby。There，don’tstare，there’snothinginmytellingyouyourname：I’vebeeninthesepartsbefore，atleastnotveryfarfromhere。Tenyearsago，whenIwaslittlemorethanachild，Iwasabouttwentymilesfromhereinapost-chaise，atthedoorofaninn，andasIlookedfromthewindowofthechaise，Isawyoustandingbyagutter，withabigtinladleinyourhand，andsomebodycalledyouJackSlingsby。IneverforgetanythingIhearorsee；Ican’t，IwishI

could。Sothere’snothingstrangeinmyknowingyourname；indeed，there’snothingstrangeinanything，providedyouexamineittothebottom。NowwhatamItogiveyouforthethings？

IpaidSlingsbyfivepoundstenshillingsforhisstockintrade，cart，andpony-purchasedsundryprovisionsofthelandlady，alsoawagoner’sfrock，whichhadbelongedtoacertainsonofhers，deceased，gavemylittleanimalafeedofcorn，andpreparedtodepart。

’Godblessyou，youngman，’saidSlingsby，shakingmebythehand；

’youarethebestfriendI’vehadformanyaday：Ihavebutonethingtotellyou，Don’tcrossthatfellow’spathifyoucanhelpit；andstay-shouldtheponyrefusetogo，justtouchhimso，andhe’llflylikethewind。’

CHAPTERLXIX

Effectsofcorn-Onenightlonger-Thehoofs-Astumble-Areyouhurt？-Whatadifference-Drowsy-Mazeofbushes-

Housekeeping-Sticksandfurze-Thedriftway-Accountofstock-

Anvilandbellows-Twentyyears。

ITwastwoorthreehourspastnoonwhenItookmydeparturefromtheplaceofthelastadventure，walkingbythesideofmylittlecart；thepony，invigoratedbythecorn，towhichhewasprobablynotmuchaccustomed，proceededrightgallantly；sofarfromhavingtohastenhimforwardbytheparticularapplicationwhichthetinkerhadpointedouttome，Ihadrathertorepresshiseagerness，being，thoughanexcellentpedestrian，notunfrequentlyleftbehind。ThecountrythroughwhichIpassedwasbeautifulandinteresting，butsolitary；fewhabitationsappeared。AsitwasquiteamatterofindifferencetomeinwhatdirectionIwent，thewholeworldbeingbeforeme，Iallowedtheponytodecideuponthematter；itwasnotlongbeforeheleftthehigh-road，beingprobablynofriendtopublicplaces。IfollowedhimIknewnotwhither，but，fromsubsequentobservation，havereasontosupposethatourcoursewasinanorth-westdirection。Atlengthnightcameuponus，andacoldwindsprangup，whichwassucceededbyadrizzlingrain。

Ihadoriginallyintendedtopassthenightinthecart，ortopitchmylittletentonsomeconvenientspotbytheroad’sside；

but，owingtothealterationintheweather，IthoughtthatitwouldbeadvisabletotakeupmyquartersinanyhedgealehouseatwhichImightarrive。Totellthetruth，Iwasnotverysorrytohaveanexcusetopassthenightoncemorebeneatharoof。Ihaddeterminedtolivequiteindependent，butIhadneverbeforepassedanightbymyselfabroad，andfeltalittleapprehensiveattheidea；Ihoped，however，onthemorrow，tobealittlemorepreparedforthestep，soIdeterminedforonenight-only