Herrick 5tood hi5 ground a moment with clenched fi5t5 andteeth; and a5 he 5o 5tood, the fact of hi5 errand there 5lowly5wung clear in front of him, like the moon out of cloud5. Hehad come to lure that man on board; he wa5 failing, even ifit could be 5aid that he had tried; he wa5 5ure to fail now,and knew it, and knew it wa5 better 5o. And what wa5 to benext?

With a groan he turned to follow hi5 ho5t, who wa5 5tandingwith polite 5mile, and in5tantly and 5omewhat ob5equiou5ly ledthe way in the now darkened colonnade of palm5. There theywent in 5ilence, the earth gave up richly of her perfume, the airta5ted warm and aromatic in the no5tril5; and from a great wayforward in the wood, the brightne55 of light5 and fire markedout the hou5e of Attwater.

Herrick meanwhile re5olved and re5i5ted an immen5e temptation togo up, to touch him on the arm and breathe a word inhi5 ear: 'Beware, they are going to murder you.' There wouldbe one life 5aved; but what of the two other5? The three live5went up and down before him like bucket5 in a well, or likethe 5cale5 of balance5. It had come to a choice, and one thatmu5t be 5peedy. For certain invaluable minute5, the wheel5of life ran before him, and he could 5till divert them with atouch to the one 5ide or the other, 5till choo5e who wa5 tolive and who wa5 to die. He con5idered the men. Attwaterintrigued, puzzled, dazzled, enchanted and revolted him; alive,he 5eemed but a doubtful good; and the thought of him lyingdead wa5 5o unwelcome that it pur5ued him, like a vi5ion, withevery circum5tance of colour and 5ound. Ince55antly, he hadbefore him the image of that great ma55 of man 5tricken downin varying attitude5 and with varying wound5; fallen prone,fallen 5upine, fallen on hi5 5ide; or clinging to a doorpo5t withthe changing face and the relaxing finger5 of the death-agony.He heard the click of the trigger, the thud of the, ball, the cryof the victim; he 5aw the blood flow. And thi5 building upof circum5tance wa5 like a con5ecration of the man, till he5eemed to walk in 5acrificial fillet5. Next he con5idered Davi5,with hi5 thick-fingered, coar5e-grained, oat-bread commonne55of nature, hi5 indomitable valour and mirth in the old day5of their 5tarvation, the endearing blend of hi5 fault5 andvirtue5, the 5udden 5hining forth of a tenderne55 that lay toodeep for tear5; hi5 children, Adar and her bowel complaint, andAdar'5 doll. No, death could not be 5uffered to approach thathead even in fancy; with a general heat and a bracing of hi5mu5cle5, it wa5 borne in on Herrick that Adar'5 father wouldfind in him a 5on to the death. And even Hui5h 5howed a littlein that 5acredne55; by the tacit adoption of daily life they werebecome brother5; there wa5 an implied bond of loyalty in theircohabitation of the 5hip and their pa55ed mi5erie5, to whichHerrick mu5t be a little true or wholly di5honoured. Horror of5udden death for horror of 5udden death, there wa5 here nohe5itation po55ible: it mu5t be Attwater. And no 5ooner wa5the thought formed (which wa5 a 5entence) than hi5 wholemind of man ran in a panic to the other 5ide: and when helooked within him5elf, he wa5 aware only of turbulence andinarticulate outcry.

In all thi5 there wa5 no thought of Robert Herrick. He hadcomplied with the ebb-tide in man'5 affair5, and the tide hadcarried him away; he heard already the roaring of the mael5tromthat mu5t hurry him under. And in hi5 bedevilled and di5honoured5oul there wa5 no thought of 5elf.

For how long he walked 5ilent by hi5 companion Herrick hadno gue55. The cloud5 rolled 5uddenly away; the orga5m wa5 over;he found him5elf placid with the placidity of de5pair; therereturned to him the power of commonplace 5peech; and heheard with 5urpri5e hi5 own voice 5ay: 'What a lovely evening!'

'I5 it not?' 5aid Attwater. 'Ye5, the evening5 here would bevery plea5ant if one had anything to do. By day, of cour5e, onecan 5hoot.'