Considering all that had befallen during the last half-hour or
so, it was not very surprising, I think, that I should have
forgotten the very existence of this woman Charmian, even though
she had been chiefly instrumental in bringing it all about, and
to have her recalled to my recollection thus suddenly (and,
moreover, the possibility that I must meet with and talk to her)
perturbed me greatly, and I remained, for some time, quite
oblivious to wind and rain, all engrossed by the thought of this
woman.
"A dark, fierce, Amazonian creature!" I told myself, who had
(abhorrent thought) already attempted one man's life to-night;
furthermore, a tall woman, and strong (therefore unmaidenly),
with eyes that gleamed wild in the shadow of her hair. And yet
my dismay arose not so much from any of these as from the fact
that she was a woman, and, consequently, beyond my ken.
Hitherto I had regarded the sex very much from a distance, and a
little askance, as creatures naturally illogical, and given to
unreasoning impulse; delicate, ethereal beings whose lives were
made up of petty trifles and vanities, who were sent into this
gross world to be admired, petted, occasionally worshipped, and
frequently married.
Indeed, my education, in this direction, had been shockingly
neglected thus far, not so much from lack of inclination (for who
can deny the fascination of the Sex?) as for lack of time and
opportunity; for when, as a young gentleman of means and great
expectations, I should have been writing sonnets to the eyebrow
of some "ladye fayre," or surreptitiously wooing some farmer's
daughter, in common with my kind, I was hearkening to the plaint
of some Greek or Roman lover, or chuckling over old Brantome.
Thus, women were to me practically an unknown quantity, as yet,
and hence it was with no little trepidation that I now started
out for the cottage, and this truly Amazonian Charmian, unless
she had disappeared as suddenly as she had come (which I found
myself devoutly hoping).
As I went, I became conscious that I was bleeding copiously above
the brow, that my throat was much swollen, and that the thumb of
my right hand pained exceedingly at the least touch; added to
which was a dizziness of the head, and a general soreness of
body, that testified to the strength of my opponent's fists.
On I stumbled, my head bent low against the stinging rain, and
with uncertain, clumsy feet, for reaction had come, and with it a
deadly faintness. Twigs swung out of the darkness to lash at and
catch me as I passed, invisible trees creaked and groaned above
and around me, and once, as I paused to make more certain of my
direction, a dim, vague mass plunged down athwart my path with a
rending crash.