The Argosy — page 372: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

354 -—-‘ The Village Blacksmith. his eyes to make sure he was not dreaming, though the mussels were doing their utmost to convince him he was very muchawake. Quick as possible he jumped into his nether garments and a coat, and, shoes in hand, stole quickly and noiselessly down the front staircase, and opening the hall door, let himself out much more quietly than Vera had done. The night was so bright that although Vera had the start of Mark by a few minutes, the first turn in the drive brought her within his sight. She was walking deliberately, and on the gravel path. Mark took to the grass lest his footsteps should betray him, and kept in shadow as much as possible, and as far off Vera as he could without losing sight of her. His object in thus keeping in the background was two-fold: he did not want his young mistress to know he was dogging her steps, and he was in mortal terror lest Captain Raleigh, whom he at once decided must be near at hand, should dart out from behind some tree and make short work of him. The fantastic shadows of the trees cast by the moon made him nervous, and Vera’s figure, so weirdly beautiful in the pale moon- light as it glided mysteriously on before, did not tend to reassure him. It was perhaps not surprising that it never occurred to Mark that Vera was walking in her sleep. He had had no experience of som- nambulism, so her movements did not strike him as peculiar ; and it was characteristic of a mean nature like his that he should at once attribute her action, certainly a strange one, to a bad motive ; parti- cularly as he had conceived a great dislike for his master’s daughter, and was only too glad to get hold of anything he could turn against her. As he followed Vera down the drive he felt morally certain he was about to witness a stolen meeting between her and her lover. Pro- bably the meeting was to arrange her elopement, and if he could get near enough he might overhear their arrangements, and, by warning Mr. Ryot Tempest, frustrate their design, and render himself indis- pensable to his master. Half-an-hour before he had been cursing the mussels for keeping him awake; now he was ready to bless them and reward the fish- monger for affording him so golden an opportunity of distinguishing himself. When Vera left the grounds, letting the gate swing back after her, Mark, emboldened by the familiar sound, instead of following her out on to the open sward which lay between the Rectory garden and the canal, in the full light of the moon, stole into the shrubbery, and, under cover of the branches, watched her movements and looked furtively about for Captain Raleigh. To his astonishment, instead of Captain Raleigh, who should he see close to the water’s edge but Reuben Foreman with a bundle in his arms. The click of the gate caused him.to look round ; and then, CORNICE OOS @ (GO)