For when the soldiers brought the body back, the men stood at their
doors and cursed the clay, and some of the fishwives spat at it; and old
Mother Veitch, who kept house for him, swore he had never paid her a
penny of wages, and that she was afear'd to stop under the same roof with
such an evil corpse. So out she goes from the Manor House, leaving that
poor child alone in it with her dead father; and there were not wanting
some to say it was all a judgement; and called to mind how Elzevir had
been once left alone with his dead son at the Why Not? But in the village
there was not a man that doubted that 'twas Block had sent Maskew to his
account, nor did I doubt it either, till a tale got abroad that he was
killed by a stray shot fired by the Posse from the cliff. And when they
took the hue-and-cry papers to the Manor House for his lass, as next of
kin, to sign the requisition, she would not set her name to it, saying
that Block had never lifted his hand against her father when they met at
Moonfleet or on the road, and that she never would believe he was the man
to let his anger sleep so long and then attack an enemy in cold blood.
And as for thee, she knew thee for a trusty lad, who would not do such
things himself, nor yet stand by whilst others did them.'
Now what Ratsey said was sweeter than any music in my ears, and I felt
myself a better man, as anyone must of whom a true woman speaks well, and
that I must live uprightly to deserve such praise.
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