‘I think, Martin,’ said Jasper, ‘that if you were well wrapped in blankets you might still go in the boat.’
‘You seem vastly eager to be rid of me,’ answered Martin peevishly, ‘but, I tell you, I will not go. I’m not going to jeopardise my life on the river in the fogs and heavy dews to relieve you from anxiety. How utterly and unreasonably selfish you are! If there be one vice which is despicable, it is selfishness. I repeat, I won’t go, and I won’t stay in this hole. You must find some safe and warm place in which to stow me. I throw all responsibilities on you. I wish I had never escaped from jail—I have been sinking ever since I left it. There I had a dry cell and food. From that I went to the corn-chamber at Morwell, which was dry—but, faugh! how it stank of onions! Now I have this damp dungeon that smells of mould. Watt and you got me out of prison, and got me away from the warders and constables, so you must provide for me now. I have nothing more to do with it. If you take a responsibility on you, my doctrine is, go through with it; don’t take it up and drop it half finished. What news of that fellow I shot? Is he dead?’
‘No—wounded, but not dangerously.’
‘There, then, why should I fear? I was comfortable in jail. I had my meals regularly there, and was not subjected to damp. I trust my country would have cared for me better than my brothers, who give me at one time onions for a pillow, and at another heather for a bed.’
‘My dear Martin,’ said Jasper, ‘I think if you try you can walk up the road; there is a woodman’s hut among the trees near the Raven Rock, but concealed in the coppice. It is warm and dry, and no one will visit it whilst the leaves are on the trees. The workmen keep their tools there, and their dinners, when shredding in winter or rending in spring. You will be as safe there as here, and so much nearer Morwell that we shall be able easily to furnish you with necessaries till you are better, and can escape to Plymouth.’
‘I’m not sure that it is wise for me to try to get to Plymouth. The police will be on the look-out for me there, and they will not dream that I have stuck here—this is the last place where they would suppose I stayed. Besides, I have no money. No; I will wait till the company move away from the county, and I will rejoin it at Bridgewater, or Taunton, or Dorchester. Justice Barret is a worthy fellow; a travelling company can’t always command such abilities as mine, so the accommodation is mutual.’
Martin was assisted out of the mine. He groaned, cried out, and made many signs of distress; he really was suffering, but he made the most of his suffering. Jasper stood on one side of him. He would not hear of Walter sustaining him on the other side; he must have Eve as his support, and he could only support himself on her by putting his arm over her shoulders. No objections raised by Jasper were of avail. Watt was not tall enough. Watt’s steps were irregular. Watt was required to go on ahead and see that no one was in the way. Martin was certainly a very handsome man. He wore a broad-brimmed hat, and fair long hair; his eyes were dark and large, his features regular, his complexion pale and interesting. Seeing that Jasper looked at his hair with surprise, he laughed, and leaning his head towards him whispered, ‘Those rascals at Prince’s Town cropped me like a Puritan. I wear a theatrical wig before the sex, till my hair grows again.’
Then leaning heavily on Eve, he bent his head to her ear, and made a complimentary remark which brought the colour into her cheek.
‘Jasper,’ said he, turning his head again to his brother, ‘mind this, I cannot put up with cyder; I am racked with rheumatism, and I must have generous drink. I suppose your father’s cellar is well stocked?’ He addressed Eve. ‘You will see that the poor invalid is not starved, and has not his vitals wrung with vinegar. I have seen ducks about Morwell; what do you say to duck with onion stuffing for dinner to-morrow—and tawny port, eh? I’ll let you both into another confidence. I am not going to lie on bracken. By hook or by crook you must contrive to bring me out a feather bed. If I’ve not one, and a bolster and pillow and blankets—by George and the dragon! I’ll give myself up to the beaks.’
Then he moaned, and squeezed Eve’s shoulder.