moment she was
silent, looking down at the rough fingers, the coarse nails, the
blistered palm.

Then still holding the hand in hers, she looked up, then round at every
face which was turned fixedly upon her. Thus she encountered the eyes of
the men and women, present here only to witness an unwonted spectacle,
then those of the kindly squire, of Lady Sue, of Mistress de Chavasse,
and of her other lad--Richard--all of whom had instinctively followed
her down the short flagged path in the wake of her strange and prophetic
pilgrimage.

Lastly her eyes met those of Marmaduke de Chavasse. Then she spoke
slowly in a low muffled voice, which gradually grew more loud and more
full of passionate strength.

"Aye! the Lord is just," she said, "the Lord is great! It is the dead
which shall rise again and proclaim the innocence of the just, and the
guilt of the wicked."

She paused a while, and stooped to kiss the marble-like hand which she
held tightly grasped in hers.

"Adam!" she murmured, "Adam, my boy! ... my lad! ..."

The men and women looked on, stupidly staring, not understanding yet,
what new tragedy had suddenly taken the place of the old.

"Aunt, aunt dear," whispered Lambert, who had pushed his way forward,
and now put his arm round the old woman, for she had begun to sway,
"what is the matter, dear?" he repeated anxiously, "what does it mean?"

And conquering his own sense of horror and repulsion, he tried to
disengage the cold and rigid hand of the dead from the trembling grasp
of the Quakeress. But she would not relinquish her hold, only she turned
and looked steadily at the young lad, whilst her voice rose firm and
harsh above the loud patter of the rain and the moaning of the wind
through the distant; trees.

"It means, my lad," she said, "it means all of you ... that what I said
was true ... that Adam is innocent of crime ... for he lies here dead
... and the Lord will see that his death shall not remain unavenged."

Once more she kissed the rough hand, beautiful now with that cold beauty
which the rigidity of death imparts; then she replaced it reverently,
silently, and fell upon her knees in the wet mud, beside the coffin.

CHAPTER XXXIX

THE HOME-COMING OF ADAM LAMBERT

All heads were bent; none of the ignorant folk who stood around would
have dared even to look at the old woman kneeling beside that rough deal
box which contained the body of her lad. A reverent feeling had killed
all