"So be it, young sir; then permit me to wish you a very, 'Good
day!'" and, touching the brim of his hat with the long stem of
his pipe, the Venerable Man turned and left me.
Howbeit, though I looked diligently on all hands, I saw nothing
of Simon or the Ancient; thus evening was falling as, bending my
steps homeward, I came to a part of the Fair where drinking-booths
had been set up, and where they were preparing to roast an ox
whole, as is the immemorial custom. Drinking was going on,
with its usual accompaniment of boisterous merriment and rough
horseplay--the vulgarity of which ever annoys me. Two or three
times I was rudely jostled as I made my way along, so that my
temper was already something the worse, when, turning aside to
avoid all this, I came full upon two fellows, well-to-do farmers,
by their look, who held a struggling girl between them--to each
of whom I reached out a hand, and, gripping them firmly by
their collars, brought their two heads together with a sounding
crack--and then I saw that the girl was Prudence. Next moment
we were running, hand in hand, with the two fellows roaring in
pursuit. But Prudence was wonderfully fleet and light of foot,
wherefore, doubling and turning among carts, tents, and booths,
we had soon outstripped our pursuers, and rid ourselves of them
altogether. In spite of which Prudence still ran on till,
catching her foot in some obstacle, she tripped, and would have
fallen but for my arm.
And looking down into her flushed face, glowing through the sweet
disorder of her glossy curls, I could not but think how lovely
she was. But, as I watched, the color fled from her cheeks, her
eyes dilated, and she started away from me.
Now, turning hastily, I saw that we were standing close by a
certain small, dirty, and disreputable-looking tent, the canvas
of which had been slit with a knife--and my movement had been
quick enough to enable me to see a face vanish through the
canvas. And, fleeting though the glimpse had been, yet, in the
lowering brow, the baleful glare of the eye, and the set of the
great jaw, I had seen Death.
And, after we had walked on a while together, looking at Prue, I
noticed that she trembled.
"Oh, Mr. Peter," she whispered, glancing back over her shoulder,
"did ye see?"
"Yes, Prudence, I saw." And, speaking, I also glanced back
towards the villainous little tent, and though the face appeared
no more, I was aware, nevertheless, of a sudden misgiving that
was almost like a foreboding of evil to come; for in those
features, disfigured though they were with black rage and
passion, I had recognized the face of Black George.