Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Charles Franks
and the Distributed Proofreading Team
1876
Early the next morning, after Richard had left the cottage forRaglan castle, mistress Rees was awaked by the sound of a heavy blowagainst her door. When with difficulty she had opened it, Richard orhis dead body, she knew not which, fell across her threshold. Likepoor Marquis, he had come to her for help and healing.
When he got out of the quarry, he made for the highroad, but missingthe way the dog had brought him, had some hard work in reaching it;and long before he arrived—at the cottage, what with his wound, hisloss of blood, his double wetting, his sleeplessness after mistressWatson's potion, want of food, disappointment and fatigue, he was ina high fever. The last mile or two he had walked in delirium, buthappily with the one dominant idea of getting help from mother Rees.The poor woman was greatly shocked to find that the teeth of thetrap had closed upon her favourite and mangled him so terribly. Adrop or two of one of her restoratives, however, soon brought himround so far that he was able to crawl to the chair on which he hadsat the night before, now ages agone as it seemed, where he now satshivering and glowing alternately, until with trembling hands thegood woman had prepared her own bed for him.
'Thou hast left thy doublet behind thee,' she said, 'and I warrantme the cake I gave thee in the pouch thereof! Hadst thou eaten ofthat, thou hadst not come to this pass.'
But Richard scarcely heard her voice. His one mental consciousnesswas the longing desire to lay his aching head on the pillow, and endall effort.
Finding his wound appeared very tolerably dressed, Mrs. Rees wouldnot disturb the bandages. She gave him a cooling draught, andwatched by him till he fell asleep. Then she tidied her house,dressed herself, and got everything in order for nursing him. Shewould have sent at once to Redware to let his father know where andin what condition he was, but not a single person came near thecottage the whole day, and she dared not leave him before the feverhad subsided. He raved a good deal, generally in the delusion that