Romance : A Chronicle of the Adventures of John
Kemp in England and Jamaica By Joseph Conrad
(Copyright, 1904, by McClure, Phillips & Co.)
CHAPTER VI. Continued.
Q K8CAPK seemed impoHSible;
I then on the third duy the thing
A I ftimn tn tuts. The wav was
found. CaHtro, who nerved me
ilh If Carlos' kouI hud passed into
i.uoy, but looked at me with a saturn
dlsdafn, hud arranged it all with
my
Ine
Father Antonio.
It win the day of the burial of Carlos
and Don Ralthasar. That saino day Castro
bud heurd that a ship had been neon be
calmed a Ion; way out to sea. It wan a
groat opportunity; mid tho funeral proces
sion would give tho occasion for liiy e c li e.
There wati In Uki -Medio, a inull Spanish
towns amongst the respectable part of tha
population, a confratornlty fur burying the
dcud, "Tho Brothers of Pity," who, clothed
in black robes and cowls, with only two
holes for th eyes, carrlid the dead to their
resting place, unrecognizable und unrecog
nised In that pious work. A "Brother of
Pity" dresrt would be brought for me Into
Father Antonio's room. CaHtro was confi
dent as to hU ability of getting a boat. It
would be a very small and dangerous one,
but what would I have, If I neither killed
my enemy nor let anyone else kill hlra for
wo, he commented with number sarcasm.
Karly in the day I bad a short interview
with Heraphliia. She was resolute. Then,
long before dark, I slipped into Father An
tonio's room, where I was to stay until the
moment to come out ajid mingle with the
throng of othei II rot hers of Pity. Once
with the bodies in the crypt of the cathe
dral, I was to await Beraphlna there, srd,
together, we should slip through a ride
door onto the shore. Cesar, to throw any
observer off the scent (three Eugarenos
were to be admitted to see the bodies put
In their coffins), posted two of the Rlfgo
negroes with loaded muskets on guard be
fore the door of my empty room, as 1 to
protect me.
it, fallen very dark Castro
brought mo the black robes, a puir ot heavy
pistols to gird on under them and tho
heavy staff topped by a crucifix. He had
an uir of sarcastic protest In the dim light
or my room, and he explained with exag
geratedly plain words precisely what I was
to do which, as a matter of fact, was
neither more nor less than merely follow
ing In his own footsteps.
"And, oh, senor," he said sarcastically,
"if you desire again to pillow your htad
upon the breast of your mother; If you
would again ee your plster, who, alas! by
bewitching my Carlos, Is at the heart of ail
our troubles; If you desire again to see that
dismal land of yours, which politeness for
bids nui to curse, I would beg of you
not to let the mad fury of your nation
break loose In the midst of these thieves
and scoundrels."
He peered Intently Into the spectacled
eyeholes of my cowl, and laid his hand
on his sword-hilt. His small figure, tightly
clothed In black velvet from chin to knee,
swayed gently backwards and forwards In
tho light of the dim candle, and his gro
tcsu.ua shadow flitted over the ghostly
walls of the great room. He stood gating
silently for a minute, then turned smartly
on his heels, and, with a gesture of sar
donic respect, threw open the door for me."
"Pray, senor," he Btiid, "that the moon
may not rise too soon."
We went swiftly down the colonades for
the last time, In the pitch darkness and
Into the blackness of the vast archway.
The clumping staff of my heavy cructdx
draw hollow echoes from tho flagstones.
In the deep sort of cave behind us, lit by
a dim lanthorn, the negroes waited to
unbar the doors. Castro himself begun to
tnutter over his beads. Suddenly be, said:
"It Is the lust time I shall stand here.
Mow, there s not any more a pluce for ma
on the earth."
Ureal Hashes of light began to make
suddenly visible the tall pillars of the im
mense, mournful place, and after a long
time, absolutely without a sound, save the
sputter of enormous torches, an Incredibly
ghostly body of figures, black-robed from
head to foot, with large eyeholes peering
fantastically, swayed Into the great arch
of the hall. Abovo them was the enor
mous black coffin. It was a sight so np
palllng and unexpected that 1 stood gazing
at them without any power to move, until
I remembered that I, too, was such a
figure. And then, with un ejaculation of
Impatience, Tomas Castro caught ul my
hand uud whirled mo arouucU
The great doors had swung noiselessly
open, and tho black night, bespangled with
little flames, was framed in front of me.
Ho suddenly unsheathed his portentous
sword, and, hanging his great hat upon his
maimed arm, stalked, a pathetic and sin
ister figure of grief, down tho great steps.
I followed him in the vivid and extraor
dinary compulsion of the sinister body that,
like one fabulous and enormous monster,
swayed impenetrably after me.
My heart boat till my head was In a
tumultuous whirl, when thus, at last, I
even as her great gTiefs were to me In
visible and unassuagable. Outside the lines
were the crowd of rapscallions In red Jack
ets, their women and children all the popu
lation of the A Idea. Bajo, groaning. The
whole crowd got into motion round us, the
white mules, plunging frantically, the coach
swaying. Ahead of me marched the sar
donic, gallantly grotesque figure of true
Tomas, his sword point up, his motions al
ways Jaunty. Ahead of him, again, were
the white robes of many priests, a cluster
of tall candles, a great Jeweled cross, and
turned me suddenly faint; my ears buzzed
and I heard strange sounds.
The cathedral was a mass of heads.
Everyone In Rio Medio was present, or
came trooping behind us. The better class
was clustered near the blaxe of gilding,
mottled marble, wax flowers and black and
purple drapery that vaulted over the two
black coffin 8 In the choir. Down in the
unlit body of the church the riffraff of
O'Brien kept the doors.
Monks began to sing; a great brass In
strument grunted lamentably; In the body
-I OFFERED YOTT MY FIPf.UTY. Si-iNOR. A8 YOIT ARM A CAHAILERO I CHARGB YOU TO REMEMBER.
SAVE ME, SENOR. Bl'KAK TO THOSE MEN. FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR HONOR, SENOR!"
stepped out of that house but I suppose my
grim roues cloaked my emotions though,
seeing very clearly through the eyeholes.
It was almost Incredible to me that I was
not myself seen. Rut these Profilers
of Pity were it secret society, known to no
man except their spiritual head, who chosu
them In turn, and not knowing even each
oilier. Their good deeds of charity were, In
tliat way. done by pure stealth. Ami It
happened that their spiritual director was
the Father Antonio himself. At tlie foot of
tho palace steps, drawn bark out of our
way, stood the great Khus coach of state,
containing, even then, the woman who was
all the world to me, invisible to me, unat
tainable to tue, not to bo comforted by uis.
a tall saint's figure swaying, more than
shoulder high, und disappearing up above
Into the darkness. For me, under my cowl,
It was suffocatingly hot, but I seemed to
move forward, following, swept along with
out any volition of my own. It appeared an
immensely long Journey; and then, as we
went at last up the cat lied ral steps, u voice
crietl harshly, "Ieafh to the heretic I" My
heart stood still. 1 clutched frantically at
the handle of a pistol that I could not dis
engage from folds of black cloth. Put, as
a matter of fact, the cry was purely a gen
eral one; I was supposed to tie shut up iu
the palace still.
. The sudden Blow, the hush, the warm
breath Ct kucense, and the blaxe of ligb
of the building there was silence. Th
bishop and his supporters moved about
SB if aimlessly In front of the altar; the
chains of gold censors clicked ceaselessly.
Suraphlna's head hud sunk forward out
of my sight. Ail the heads of the cathedral
bowed down, and suddenly from around the
side of a stall a hand touched mine, and a
voice sold, "It Is time." Very softly, as it
It were part of the rite, I was drawn
around the stall through a door in the
side of the screen. As we went out. In
his turnings, the old bishop gnve us the
benediction. Then the door closed on the
glory of his robes and In a minute, In the
dark new?, we were rustling down a circular
narrow staircase Into the dimness of
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