"Do you think He does—do you? I'll tell you something," and he drew closer to me. "Years ago—long years ago—oh! so long, so long!—well, say I was a smuggler, a wrecker—oh, what you like! Well, say in self-defence, in passion, in frenzy, I killed a King's officer—do you think God will forgive me? And say, too, that since then I've roamed and roamed, all over the world, always trying to do good deeds, kind deeds—do you think God takes them into account?"
"I'm sure He does," I answered.
"I only wanted to know your opinion," he replied, as though trying to speak carelessly. "Of course I only imagined a case, only imagined it—that's all."
Now this kind of talk set me wondering about the man, and imagining who he might be. Wildly as he looked, strangely as he spoke, curiously as he was dressed, he still spoke like an educated man. I watched him as he continued to cast glances around the cave, and I came to the conclusion that he was mad. I opened my mouth to ask him questions, but the remembrance that Eli might be able to tell me what I wanted to know about the Tresidders restrained me.
"How did you know how to find me?" I asked of Eli. "Tell me everything that happened since I left you that morning."
Eli, who had continued to look at me all the time I had been speaking to the stranger, gave a start as I asked the question.
"Wondered why you did'n come back from Fammuth," he grunted, "so I went and axed 'bout 'ee. Cudden vind out nothin'. Then I beginned to worm around. I vound out that Neck Trezidder 'ad tould the passon not to cry the banns at church. Then I got the new cook at Pennington to come to mawther and 'ave 'er fortin tould; then mawther an' me wormed out oal she knawed 'bout the things up to Pennington."
"What?" I asked, while all the time the strange man seemed to be eagerly devouring Eli's words.
"The Trezidders and the purty maid ev quaruled about you."