On arriving at Hayle we, after much delay and difficulty, obtained horses, and rode rapidly toward Mullion, my heart sometimes beating high with hope, and at others lying in my bosom as though all joy were gone; for be it known the revelations of the last few hours had made everything appear in a new light. If this man was Naomi's father, and, as I said, I believed he was, I could no longer assume the position of her guardian and protector. She would no longer look to me as her sole helper and friend. Her father would claim to be first. This led to many other surmises, not many of which were pleasant, and which made me ofttimes gloomy and dejected.
But these were not the matters concerning which I troubled the most. I worried about the words of Israel Barnicoat. What did he mean by saying that Naomi was where I should never be able to get her?
I had had but little sleep for many hours, but I felt no weariness. My strength seemed to increase with my difficulties, and I did not once droop in my saddle or rub my eyes like a drowsy man. It must have been near a twenty miles' ride from Hayle to Mullion, but we were not long in covering it; indeed, after we had reached Helston, we rode as fast as the horses could carry us.
On coming in sight of Mrs. Crantock's house I left my companions, so eager was I, and thus reached the white house with a green porch some minutes before they came up. Opening the door without knocking I entered, and found Mrs. Crantock, looking pale and anxious, but I could nowhere see Naomi.
"Thank God you have come!" cried the woman.
"Why? Where is she?" I asked.
"She's gone, I know not where."
"How is that?" I cried angrily. "You promised you would care for her, that you would guard her as if she were your own child."