“Yes, sir,” said she. “Most men goes there.”
“But you,” said he, in amaze, “are not a man!”
“Judith’s father were,” she answered; “an’ I’m wantin’––oh, I’m wantin’––t’ see un once again!”
The five wives of Whisper Cove gasped....
The outer door was flung open. Came a rush of wind––the noise and wet and lusty stirring of the night. It broke harshly in upon us; ’twas a crashing discord of might and wrath and cruel indifference––a mocking of this small tragedy. The door was sharply closed against the gale. I heard the wheeze and tread of my uncle in the kitchen. He entered––his broad face grave and anxious and grieved––but instantly fled, though I beckoned; for Parson Lute, overcome, it may be, by the impiety of Elizabeth, was upon his knees, fervently praying that the misguided soul might yet by some miraculous manifestation of grace be restored to propriety of view and of feeling. ’Twas a heartfelt prayer offered in faith, according to the enlightenment of the man––a confession of ignorance, a plea of human weakness, a humble, anxious cry for divine guidance that the woman might be plucked as a brand from the burning, to the glory of the Lord God Most Tender and Most High. Came, in the midst of it, a furious outburst; 164 the wind rose––achieved its utmost pitch of power. I looked out: Whisper Cove, low between the black barriers, was churned white; and beyond––concealed by the night––the sea ran tumultuously. ’Twas a big, screaming wind, blowing in from the sea, unopposed by tree or hill. The cottage trembled to the gusts; the timbers complained; the lamp fluttered in the draught. Great waves, rolling in from the open, were broken on the rocks of Whisper Cove. Rain and spray, driven by the gale, drummed on the roof and rattled like hail on the window. And above this angry clamor of wind and sea rose the wailing, importunate prayer for the leading of the God of us all....
When the parson had got to his feet again, Aunt Esther All diffidently touched his elbow. “Nicholas have come, sir,” said she.
“Nicholas?”
“Ay; the man she’ve sent for.”