As he left the dirty waiting-room, and the invisible man with the
lantern, the clock over the door marked five minutes past eight.
Although it was more than twelve hours since he had eaten food, he was
not (owing to having passed so much of the day in sleep) so hungry as he
might have been. Nevertheless, appreciating what a task was before him,
he would have given any thing that he could call his own for a good meal
before starting. But he had handed over his last cent to the conductor,
and now, time pressed him.
He was young and strong, and no one was more tireless in walking than
he; his joints were firm as iron, yet supple and springy; his muscles
tough and lean, of immense enduring power; his lungs were deep, and he
breathed easily through his nostrils; his gait was long and elastic;
but, had he been twice the man he was, the journey upon which he was now
started would have been no child's play; being what he was, it was
nothing less than a hazard of life and death. But Bressant seemed to
think the peril quite worth encountering, in consideration of the chance
of arriving by noon next day at the Parsonage-door; and, for the first
time in his life, he felt grateful to God for the mighty bones and
sinews he had given him. This was the time to use them, if they were
paralyzed forever after!
Having gained the road, he set off with a long, swinging stride, such as
the Indians use, half-way between a walk and a run. As long as he could
keep that up, he would be making six miles an hour--a mile and a half
over the necessary rate; but he well knew he would need all his surplus
before morning broke, and was determined to make it as large as possible
before want of food weakened him. The road, except for the snow, was
favorable for speed, being nearly level and tolerably straight; but the
flakes flying into his eyes made it impossible to be sure of his
footing; and the various ruts and inequalities, common to all American
turn-pikes, and aggravated by the half-frozen snow covering, caused him
several slips and stumbles; trifling matters enough at other times, but
now, when every unnecessary breath and false step would count up
terribly, in the end, quite sufficiently serious.
The vigorous motion, however, sent the blood singing through his body
from head to foot. He felt exhilarated and braced. The driving snow
melted pleasantly on his warm face, and ran down into his
thickly-curling beard, crusted over with frozen breath and sleet. The
cold air came long and refreshingly into his wide-open nostrils. He took
off his fur cap and threw open the breast of his pea-jacket. His
exuberant physical sensations wrought a corresponding effect upon his
previous mental gloom: he found himself looking to the future with
dawnings of a new hope and cheerfulness. At no time in his life had he
felt himself existing through so wide and full a range. He was a man now
in full breadth and height, and, as he looked back upon his previous
life, he could trace, as from a lofty vantage-ground, the plan and
bearing of his former thoughts and deeds.