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Eglington himself was haunted by a spectre which touched his elbow by day, and said: "You are not the Earl of Eglington," and at night laid a clammy finger on his forehead, waking him, and whispering in his ear: "If Soolsby had touched the wire, all would now be well!" And as deep as thought and feeling in him lay, he felt that Fate had tricked him Fate and Hylda.
She rose to her feet and made as if to go, but she kept her face from him. Presently, however, she turned and looked at him. "If he does ill to Davy, there will be those like thee, Soolsby, who will not spare him." His fingers opened and shut maliciously, he nodded dour assent. After an instant, while he watched her, she added: "Thee has not heard my lord is to marry?"
Suppose he says no, and " "Right's right. Give him the chance, my lord. How can you know, unless you tell him the truth?" "Do you like living, Soolsby?" "Do you want to kill me, my lord?" There was a dark look in Eglington's face. "But answer me, do you want to live?" "I want to live long enough to see the Earl of Eglington in his own house." "Well, I've made that possible.
But you sit stronger, and the fight becomes shorter; and after many battles, and you have learned never to be off guard, to know by instinct where every ambush is, then at last the victory is yours. It is hard, it is bitter, and sometimes it seems hardly worth the struggle. But it is it is worth the struggle, dear old man." Soolsby dropped on his knees and caught David by the arms.
"There is so much to do, they may not let me come not soon. I am going into the desert again." Soolsby was shaking. He spoke huskily. "Here is your place," he said. "You shall come back Oh, but you shall come back, here, where you belong." David shook his head and smiled, and clasped the strong hand again. A moment later he was gone.
It was fifteen years since Soolsby had been in this room; and then he had faced this man's father with a challenge on his tongue such as he meant to speak now.
"No, thee said Mercy Claridge, Soolsby," said I, "and she has been asleep these many years." "Ay, she has slept soundly, thanks be to God!" he replied, and crossed himself. "Why should thee call me by her name?" I inquired. "Ay, is not her tomb in the churchyard?" he answered, and added quickly, "Luke Claridge and I are of an age to a day which, think you, will go first?"
A look of relief stole across Eglington's face. "Of course of course. These things need a lot of thought, Soolsby. One must act with care no haste, no flurry, no mistakes." "I would not wait too long, my lord, or be too careful." There was menace in the tone. "But if you go at things blind, you're likely to hurt where you don't mean to hurt.
Selfishness was inwoven with every fibre of his nature. Now, as he stood with eyes fixed on Soolsby, the world seemed to narrow down to this laboratory. It was a vacuum where sensation was suspended, and the million facts of ordinary existence disappeared into inactivity. There was a fine sense of proportion in it all.
Here are thy words, Davy. What think thee of them now? "As I dwell in this house I know Soolsby as I never knew him when he lived, and though, up here, I spent many an hour with him. Men leave their impressions on all around them. The walls which have felt their look and their breath, the floor which has taken their footsteps, the chairs in which they have sat, have something of their presence.
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