The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-11-22
ST 8 - !:
The Hearts
Highway s4hf :;
OJ
MARY E.
WILKINS
copyrisht. 1890. by DOUBLEDAY. PAGE q CO.


the heaviness of sweetness of tn
knees had knocked together when M
brothers manservant and the physi
clan, one on each side of me, led In,
from the bed TO the bench.
So very weak was / that morning
after my feverish night. that although
the physician had let little more BLOOD
to counteract it, l verify seemed TO for
get the stocks and what / was TO un
| dergo Of disgrace and ignominy. being
| principally glad that the window was
| to the west and that burning sun which
had so fretted me shut out.
The physician, long since dead, and
! an old man at that date, was exceed
ingly silent, eying everybody with al
anxious corrugation of brows over
sharp eyes, and he had always a ner
| vous clutch Of his hands to accompany
| the glance, as if for lancets or the
necks of medicine TASKS, never leay.
I ing a patient unless he had killed or
/ cured He had visited me with as
i much faithfulness as if 1 had been the
| governor, and yet with no kindness, and
/ I know not to this day whether he
! was for or against the king, or bled
both sides impartially. He looked at
/ me with no compassion, and / might,
| from his manner. as well have been
going to be set on a throne as in the
| stocks, but he counted my pulse beats
and then bled me-
My brother Johns man, however,
whom he had brought from England
and whom l had known as a boy and
4 t<I<, 20 ,;xtx
he being one of the village lads, shaved
me as if it had been for my execution,
and often l. somewhat daZed by the
loss of blood, looking at him, saw the
great tears trickling down his cheeks.
A soft hearted man he was, who had
met with sore troubles, having lost his
family, wife and three little ones,
after which he returned to England
and entered my brothers service,
though he had been brought up indie
pendently, being the son of an inn
keeper.
Something there was about this gen.
tie, downcast man, adding the weight
of my sorrow to his own. which would
have aroused me to courage If, as 1
said before, l had not been in such a
state of body that for the time my con-
seriousness of what was to come was
cloudeS
There I sat on my bench leaning
stiffiy back against the prison wall, a
strange buzzing i'm my ears, and I
scarcely knew nor sensed it when Par
son Downs entered hurriedly and leant
over me. whispering that If / would
and could, my chance to escape was
outside.
''Thc feetest horse I'm the colony"
said he. "and. Harry. I have seen Dick
Barry, and il thou cnnst but ride to
the turn of the road thou wilt be met
by Black Betty and guided to a safe
place: AID the jailer hath drunk over
much Burgundy to which I treated
him. and If thou canst. Harry
Then he stopped and looked ut me
and turned angrily TO the physician.
who was packing up his Iancets and
walls 10 depart MY God. sir.'' he
cried. do you kill or eure1 You have
not bled him again. Lord, Lord. had
but u lancet and n purge for the spirit
an you for tho ieah. there would be not
only no sin. but no souls left In the
colony! You have not bied him again,
sir?"
But Martyr Jennings paid no more
heed To him than II he had been part
of the prison wall, and, indeed. l doubt
IL he ever needed any one who had not
need OF either his nostrums or his
lancet, and after last look at my
bandages he went away.
Then Parson Downs and my brothers
man looked at each other.
1T is OF no use. sir" said the man,
whose name was Will Wicket. poor
Master Wingfeld cannot ride horse.
He is far too weak" And with that |
verify the tears rolled down his cheeks, |
so womanish had he grown by reason
of the sore trials to which he had been |
put.
Faith, and 1 believe he would fall |
off at the first motion of the horse"
agreed Parson Downs, with a great |
scowl. 1 looked at and listened TO them |
both, with a curious feeling that they |
were talking about some one else, such |
was my weakness and giddiness from /
that last blood letting.
Then Parson Downs, with an excla-
nation which might have sounded odd
ly enough if heard from the pulpit, but /
which may. after all, have done honor
TO his heart, fetched out a flask of 4
brandy from his pocket and babe Will /
Wicket find mug somewhere, which .
be did speedily, and he gave me a
drink which put new life into me,
though it was still out of the question
for me TO ride that fiery horse which
stood paving outside the prison. And
Just here l would like to say that 1
never forgot. nor ceased to be grateful
for. the kindly interest in me and the
risk which the parson was disposed
to take for my sake that day. A great
risk indeed it would have been. and
would doubtless have cost him his liv-
ing. had l ridden across country on
that famous horse of his. But he seem
ed not 10 think of that, but shook his
Harry Sitting on his bench
a.