"What about Valmai?" said Cardo.
"That she was gone, like many another, over the side of the path."
"For heaven's sake, tell me what are you driving at?"
"I am telling you if you wass quiet and let me alone. That night Essec
Powell cum home from chapel in a devil of temper, and he call Valmai a
thief to steal his brother's money from him, and worse names than that,
an' he turn her out of the house that night, pwr thing, pwr thing!"
Cardo groaned and clenched his fists.
"Well! the wind wass blowing, and the snow wass fallin' shockin', and I
could not let her carry her big bundle of clothes and she in the
condition she wass--"
"Condition?" gasped Cardo, "what do you mean?"
Shoni looked at him with keen, searching eyes.
"Cardo Wynne," he said, "I wass ussed to think you an honest,
straightforward man, though you wass a churchman, and are you mean to
tell me now that you donno that Valmai Powell have a small child on the
30th June last year?"
"As God is my witness, Shoni, this is the first breath I have heard of
such a thing; but she was my wife, why then should her uncle have
turned her out?"
"But she nevare tell us that, see you, she nevare speak a word about
that, and only now lately Betto have told that the Vicare wass tell her
she was marry to you! and everybody is wonder why she didn't tell
before, instead of bear the nasty looks and words of the women. Oh! I
can tell you Gwen here look pretty flat when she hear the news she wass
married, and I did laugh in the corner of my mouth, 'cos she bin so
nasty to Valmai. Well! I went with her over the Rock Bridge, and we go
to Nance's cottage, and she cry, and Nance cry, and there I leave them,
and the next morning before the sun is thinking to get up, I take her
box and the rest of her clothes over in a boat, and she and Nance kom
out early to meet me--and for long time nobody knew she wass there--and
there her small child wass born. Here, sit down, sir, on my
wheelbarrow; this news is shake you very much, I see."
Cardo felt compelled to take the proffered seat on the wheelbarrow, so
completely overcome was he by Shoni's information.
"Go on, Shoni," he said, "make haste."
"Well! she wass walk up and down the shore, and always looking out over
the sea; the sailors wass often watch her. 'She may look and look,'
they say, 'but he will nevare kom back!' And at last her child die."