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1"'Then, with that man's permission and even with his aid, his brother took her away; in spite of what I know she must
2have told his brother--and what that is, will not be long unknown to you, Doctor, if it is now--his brother took her
3away--for his pleasure and diversion, for a little while. I saw her pass me on the road. When I took the tidings home,
4our father's heart burst; he never spoke one of the words that filled it. I took my young sister (for I have another) to
5a place beyond the reach of this man, and where, at least, she will never be his vassal. Then, I tracked the brother
6here, and last night climbed in--a common dog, but sword in hand.--Where is the loft window? It was somewhere here?'
7"The room was darkening to his sight; the world was narrowing around him. I glanced about me, and saw that the hay and
8straw were trampled over the floor, as if there had been a struggle. "'She heard me, and ran in. I told her not to come
9near us till he was dead. He came in and first tossed me some pieces of money; then struck at me with a whip. But I,
10though a common dog, so struck at him as to make him draw. Let him break into as many pieces as he will, the sword that
11he stained with my common blood; he drew to defend himself--thrust at me with all his skill for his life.' "My glance
12had fallen, but a few moments before, on the fragments of a broken sword, lying among the hay. That weapon was a
13gentleman's. In another place, lay an old sword that seemed to have been a soldier's. "'Now, lift me up, Doctor; lift me
14up. Where is he?' "'He is not here,' I said, supporting the boy, and thinking that he referred to the brother. "'He!
15Proud as these nobles are, he is afraid to see me. Where is the man who was here? Turn my face to him.' "I did so,
16raising the boy's head against my knee. But, invested for the moment with extraordinary power, he raised himself
17completely: obliging me to rise too, or I could not have still supported him. "'Marquis,' said the boy, turned to him
18with his eyes opened wide, and his right hand raised, 'in the days when all these things are to be answered for, I
19summon you and yours, to the last of your bad race, to answer for them. I mark this cross of blood upon you, as a sign
20that I do it. In the days when all these things are to be answered for, I summon your brother, the worst of the bad
21race, to answer for them separately. I mark this cross of blood upon him, as a sign that I do it.' "Twice, he put his
22hand to the wound in his breast, and with his forefinger drew a cross in the air. He stood for an instant with the
23finger yet raised, and as it dropped, he dropped with it, and I laid him down dead. **** "When I returned to the bedside
24of the young woman, I found her raving in precisely the same order of continuity. I knew that this might last for many
25hours, and that it would probably end in the silence of the grave. "I repeated the medicines I had given her, and I sat
26at the side of the bed until the night was far advanced. She never abated the piercing quality of her shrieks, never
27stumbled in the distinctness or the order of her words. They were always 'My husband, my father, and my brother! One,
28two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve. Hush!' "This lasted twenty-six hours from the time
29when I first saw her. I had come and gone twice, and was again sitting by her, when she began to falter. I did what
30little could be done to assist that opportunity, and by-and-bye she sank into a lethargy, and lay like the dead. "It was
31as if the wind and rain had lulled at last, after a long and fearful storm. I released her arms, and called the woman to
32assist me to compose her figure and the dress she had torn. It was then that I knew her condition to be that of one in
33whom the first expectations of being a mother have arisen; and it was then that I lost the little hope I had had of her.
34"'Is she dead?' asked the Marquis, whom I will still describe as the elder brother, coming booted into the room from his
35horse. "'Not dead,' said I; 'but like to die.' "'What strength there is in these common bodies!' he said, looking down
36at her with some curiosity. "'There is prodigious strength,' I answered him, 'in sorrow and despair.' "He first laughed
37at my words, and then frowned at them. He moved a chair with his foot near to mine, ordered the woman away, and said in
38a subdued voice, "'Doctor, finding my brother in this difficulty with these hinds, I recommended that your aid should be
39invited. Your reputation is high, and, as a young man with your fortune to make, you are probably mindful of your
40interest. The things that you see here, are things to be seen, and not spoken of.' "I listened to the patient's
41breathing, and avoided answering. "'Do you honour me with your attention, Doctor?' "'Monsieur,' said I, 'in my
42profession, the communications of patients are always received in confidence.' I was guarded in my answer, for I was
43troubled in my mind with what I had heard and seen. "Her breathing was so difficult to trace, that I carefully tried the
44pulse and the heart. There was life, and no more. Looking round as I resumed my seat, I found both the brothers intent
45upon me. **** "I write with so much difficulty, the cold is so severe, I am so fearful of being detected and consigned
46to an underground cell and total darkness, that I must abridge this narrative. There is no confusion or failure in my
47memory; it can recall, and could detail, every word that was ever spoken between me and those brothers. "She lingered
48for a week. Towards the last, I could understand some few syllables that she said to me, by placing my ear close to her
49lips. She asked me where she was, and I told her; who I was, and I told her. It was in vain that I asked her for her
50family name. She faintly shook her head upon the pillow, and kept her secret, as the boy had done. "I had no opportunity
51of asking her any question, until I had told the brothers she was sinking fast, and could not live another day. Until
52then, though no one was ever presented to her consciousness save the woman and myself, one or other of them had always
53jealously sat behind the curtain at the head of the bed when I was there. But when it came to that, they seemed careless
54what communication I might hold with her; as if--the thought passed through my mind--I were dying too. "I always
55observed that their pride bitterly resented the younger brother's (as I call him) having crossed swords with a peasant,
56and that peasant a boy. The only consideration that appeared to affect the mind of either of them was the consideration
57that this was highly degrading to the family, and was ridiculous. As often as I caught the younger brother's eyes, their
58expression reminded me that he disliked me deeply, for knowing what I knew from the boy. He was smoother and more polite
59to me than the elder; but I saw this. I also saw that I was an incumbrance in the mind of the elder, too. "My patient
60died, two hours before midnight--at a time, by my watch, answering almost to the minute when I had first seen her. I was
61alone with her, when her forlorn young head drooped gently on one side, and all her earthly wrongs and sorrows ended.
62"The brothers were waiting in a room down-stairs, impatient to ride away. I had heard them, alone at the bedside,
63striking their boots with their riding-whips, and loitering up and down. "'At last she is dead?' said the elder, when I
64went in. "'She is dead,' said I. "'I congratulate you, my brother,' were his words as he turned round. "He had before
65offered me money, which I had postponed taking. He now gave me a rouleau of gold. I took it from his hand, but laid it
66on the table. I had considered the question, and had resolved to accept nothing. "'Pray excuse me,' said I. 'Under the
67circumstances, no.'
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