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Page 33
He turned his back on us and sipped his drink under the heedless,
deep, untroubled gaze of Mrs. Nature, and passed out softly and
harmlessly as he had come in.
Reverie stood up like a man surprised and ill at ease. He turned to
me. "I know him only by repute, by hearsay," he said with an effort.
"He is a stranger to us all, indeed, sir--to all."
Obstinate, with a very flushed face, thrust his hand into his
breeches' pocket. "Nay, sir," he said, "my purse is yet here. What
more would you have?"
At which Pliable laughed, turning to the women.
I put on my hat and followed Reverie to the door.
"Excuse me, sir," I said, "but I have no desire to stay in this house
over-night. And if you would kindly direct me to the nearest way out
of the village, I will have my horse saddled now and be off."
And then I noticed that Superstition stood in the light of the doorway
looking down on us.
"There's Christian's way," he said, as if involuntarily....
"Lodge with me to-night," Reverie answered, "and in the morning you
shall choose which way to go you will."
I thanked him heartily and turned in to find Rosinante.
The night was now fine, but moist and sultry, and misty in the
distance. It was late, too, for few candles gleamed beneath the
moonlight from the windows round about the smooth village-green. Even
as we set out, I leading Rosinante by her bridle, and Superstition on
my left hand, out of heavenly Leo a bright star wheeled, fading as it
fell. And soon high hedges hid utterly the "World's End" behind us,
out of sight and sound.
I observed when the trees had laid their burdened branches overhead,
and the thick-flowered bushes begun to straiten our way, that this Mr.
Superstition who had desired to accompany us was of a very different
courage from that his manner at the inn seemed to profess.
He walked with almost as much caution and ungainliness as Mistrust,
his deep and shining eyes busily searching the gloom to left and right
of him. Indeed, those same dark eyes of his reminded me not a little
of Mrs. Nature's, they were so full of what they could not tell.
He was on foot; my new friend Reverie, like myself, led his horse, a
pale, lovely creature with delicate nostrils and deep-smouldering
eyes.
"You must think me very bold to force my company on you," said
Superstition awkwardly, turning to Reverie, "but my house is never so
mute with horror as in these moody summer nights when thunder is in
the air. See there!" he cried.
As if the distant sky had opened, the large, bright, harmless
lightning quivered and was gone, revealing on the opposing hills
forest above forest unutterably dark and still.
"Surely," I said, "that is not the way Christian took?"
"They say," Reverie answered, "the Valley of the Shadow of Death lies
between those hills."
"But Atheist," I said, "_that_ acid little man, did he indeed walk
there alone?"
"I have heard," muttered Superstition, putting out his hand, "'tis
fear only that maketh afraid. Atheist has no fear."
"But what of Cruelty," I said, "and Liveloose?"
"Why," answered Superstition, "Cruelty works cunningest when he is
afraid; and Liveloose never talks about himself. None the less there's
not a tree but casts a shadow. I met once an earnest yet very popular
young gentleman of the name of Science, who explained almost
everything on earth to me so clearly, and patiently, and fatherly, I
thought I should evermore sleep in peace. But we met at noon. Believe
me, sir, I would have followed Christian and his friend Hopeful very
willingly long since; for as for Cruelty and Obstinate and all that
clumsy rabble, I heed them not. Indeed my cousin Mistrust _did_ go,
and as you see returned with a caution; and a poor young school-fellow
of mine, Jack Ignorance, came to an awful end. But it is because I owe
partly to Christian and not all to myself this horrible solitude in
which I walk that I dare not risk a deeper. It would be, I feel sure.
And so I very willingly beheld Faithful burned; it restored my
confidence. And here, sir," he added, almost with gaiety, "lives my
friend Mrs. Simple, a widow. She enjoys my company and my old fables,
and we keep the blinds down against these mountains, and candles
burning against the brighter lightnings."
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