Offence and Defence—I’m Satisfied—Fond of Solitude—Possession of Property—Chal Devlehi—Winding Path. And when I heard Mr. Petulengro talk in this manner, which I had never heard him do before, and which I can only account for by his being fasting and ill-tempered, I had of course no other alternative than to accept his challenge; so I put myself into a posture which I deemed the best both for offence and defence, and the tussle commenced; and when it had endured for about half an hour, Mr. Petulengro said, “Brother, there is much blood on your face; you had better wipe it off;” and when I had wiped it off, and again resumed my former attitude, Mr. Petulengro said, “I think enough has been done, brother, in the affair of the old woman; I have, moreover, tried what you are able to do, and find you, as I thought, less apt with the naked mawleys than the stuffed gloves; nay, brother, put your hands down, I’m satisfied; blood has been shed, which is all that can be reasonably expected for an old woman who carried so much brimstone about her as Mrs. Herne.” So the struggle ended, and we resumed our route, Mr. Petulengro sitting sideways upon his I declined his offer, assigning as a reason the recent death of Mrs. Herne, of which I was the cause, although innocent. “A pretty life I should lead with those two,” said I, “when they came to know it.” “Pooh,” said Mr. Petulengro, “they will never know it. I shan’t blab, and as for Leonora, that girl has a head on her shoulders.” “Unlike the woman in the sign,” said I, “whose head is cut off. You speak nonsense, Mr. Petulengro; as long as a woman has a head on her shoulders she’ll talk,—but, leaving women out of the case, it is impossible to keep anything a secret; an old master of mine told me so long ago. I have moreover another reason for declining your offer. I am at present not disposed for society. I am become fond of solitude. I wish I could find some quiet place to which I could retire to hold communion with my own thoughts, and practise, if I thought fit, either of my trades.” “What trades?” said Mr. Petulengro. “Why, the one which I have lately been engaged in, or my “And how do you know that I have got wherewithal to pay the reckoning?” I demanded. “Brother,” said Mr. Petulengro, “I was just now looking in your face, which exhibited the very look of a person conscious of the possession of property; there was nothing hungry or sneaking in it. Pay the reckoning, brother.” And when we were once more upon the road, Mr. Petulengro began to talk of the place which he conceived would serve me as a retreat under present circumstances. “I tell you frankly, brother, that it is a queer kind of place, and I am not very fond of pitching my tent in it, it is so surprisingly dreary. It is a deep dingle in the midst of a large field, on an estate about which there has been a lawsuit for some years past. I dare say you will be quiet enough, for the nearest town is five miles distant, and there are only a few huts and hedge public-houses in the neighbourhood. Brother, I am fond of solitude myself, but not that kind of solitude; I like a quiet heath, where I can Shortly after this discourse we reached a milestone, and a few yards from the milestone, on the left hand, was a cross road. Thereupon Mr. Petulengro said, “Brother, my path lies to the left; if you choose to go with me to my camp, good; if not, Chal Devlehi.” |