The Woman in White: Hartright 10

Summary

Storytime for Grownups: Episode - The Woman in White: Hartright 10

Release Date: April 28, 2025

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Overview

In this episode of Storytime for Grownups, host Faith Moore delves into Chapter 10 of Wilkie Collins' classic novel, The Woman in White. Designed to make classic literature accessible and enjoyable, Faith reads selected passages from the chapter, interspersed with insightful commentary and analysis. This episode offers both a narrative recap and a deeper exploration of the themes and character developments within the text.

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Chapter 10 Summary

Faith Moore begins by summarizing the events leading into Chapter 10:

• Walter Hartright continues his investigation into the mysterious circumstances surrounding Sir Percival Glyde. Previously, Walter discovered that Sir Percival's parents' marriage was officially recorded, dispelling his initial suspicions about their legitimacy.

As Chapter 10 unfolds, Walter faces escalating dangers:

• Following and Surveillance: Walter notices two men trailing him from Mrs. Catherick's house to the train station, observing his actions meticulously (03:26). Their persistent surveillance suggests that Sir Percival has deeper, possibly sinister motives.

• Detention in Knowlesbury: While traveling to Knowlesbury, Walter is ambushed and falsely accused of assault by Sir Percival's men. Using his wit, Walter manages to secure bail through the assistance of Mr. Dawson, a trusted doctor, thereby avoiding prolonged detention (15:44).

• Discovery of the Forgery: At Mr. Wansborough's office, Walter uncovers a crucial discrepancy in the marriage registers. The official records confirm Sir Percival's legitimate marriage, but a secondary, more secure copy hints at possible tampering or forgery, raising suspicions about Sir Percival's true identity and legitimacy (23:02).

• Confrontation and Climax: Determined to expose Sir Percival's secrets, Walter attempts to gather concrete evidence. His quest leads him back to the old church vestry, where he confronts imminent danger as Sir Percival's men attempt to obstruct his investigation. The tension culminates in a dramatic scene where Walter and the parish clerk discover the vestry ablaze, underscoring the perilous stakes of Walter's pursuit (36:56).

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Analysis and Discussion

Throughout the reading of Chapter 10, Faith Moore and the Co-Host provide thoughtful analysis, enhancing the listener's understanding of the narrative's complexities.

Character Development

• Walter Hartright's Determination: Walter's unwavering resolve is a central theme. As the co-host notes at [05:06], "Walter is back in detective mode," highlighting his transition from a passive observer to an active seeker of truth.

• Sir Percival Glyde's Menacing Presence: The persistent surveillance and eventual confrontation emphasize Sir Percival's influence and the lengths he will go to protect his secrets. At [09:01], the co-host remarks, "Sir Percival has anticipated that Walter will go to Mrs. Catherick," illustrating the antagonist's strategic mindset.

Themes

• Legitimacy and Social Standing: The discovery of the marriage register's discrepancies brings to light the era's obsession with legitimacy and social status. As discussed, "A marriage turned a sexual relationship from a horrible sin into a virtue" ([11:34]), underscoring the societal pressures and the devastating impact of illegitimacy.

• The Pursuit of Truth vs. Personal Safety: Walter's quest for truth places him in constant danger, balancing moral integrity against personal safety. The co-host advises listeners not to feel "obligated to outguess Walter" ([06:15]), emphasizing that engagement with the story can be both immersive and enjoyable without the pressure of solving the mystery.

Notable Quotes

• Faith Moore at [09:56]:
  "The registration isn't guarded, leading to potential tampering if someone wanted to do that."
  This highlights the vulnerability of crucial evidence and foreshadows the forthcoming conspiracy.

• Co-Host at [12:06]:
  "Being able to prove that a marriage happened and that your marriage was legitimate was incredibly important in the social structure of the day."
  This contextualizes the significance of the marriage register within the story's societal framework.

• Faith Moore at [23:30]:
  "He had heard of his father's copy of the register, but had not even seen it himself."
  This reveals the layers of secrecy and the lengths characters will go to conceal the truth.

Narrative Techniques

• Suspense and Foreshadowing: The chapter masterfully builds suspense through Walter's encounters and the ominous actions of Sir Percival's men. For instance, when Walter observes the men quickening their pace only to pull back ([00:42]-[01:10]), it hints at their hidden agendas.

• Symbolism of Fire: The vestry's fire symbolizes the destructive lengths to which Sir Percival will go to protect his secrets. The chaotic scene of the burning vestry mirrors the turmoil and chaos in Walter's investigation ([36:56]).

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Conclusion

This episode of Storytime for Grownups offers a compelling exploration of The Woman in White through the detailed reading and insightful commentary by Faith Moore and the co-host. By dissecting Chapter 10, listeners gain a deeper appreciation of the novel's intricate plot, character motivations, and underlying themes.

Faith encourages listeners to engage with the material at their own pace, whether by actively solving the mystery alongside Walter or by immersing themselves in the unfolding drama without the scrutiny of deductions. This balanced approach makes classic literature both accessible and enjoyable for a modern audience.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Faith Moore [03:26]:
  "Walter follows Sir Percival's servant to the train station, intensifying the mystery surrounding his actions."

• Co-Host [06:15]:
  "You don't have to be trying to outguess Walter at every turn. It's not a race."

• Faith Moore [09:56]:
  "The marriage register's insecurity raises serious doubts about its authenticity."

• Co-Host [12:06]:
  "Proving the legitimacy of a marriage was crucial for social standing during that era."

• Faith Moore [23:30]:
  "The clerk was unaware of the duplicate register's existence beyond hearing about it from his father."

• Co-Host [36:56]:
  "Walter's confrontation at the church vestry marks a pivotal moment in his investigation."

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Engage with Us

This episode continues the journey through The Woman in White. Join us next time as we unravel more of Walter Hartright's quest for truth and justice.

For feedback, questions, or to share your thoughts, visit faithkmoore.com/contact. Don't forget to subscribe, leave a five-star review, and support our independent podcast through donations if you can. Your support helps us bring more classic literature to life!

Transcript

[Faith Moore]

Hello and welcome to Storytime for Grown Ups. I'm Faith Moore and this season we're reading the Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. Each episode I'll read a few chapters from the book, pausing from time to time to give brief explanations so it's easier to follow along. It's like an audiobook with built in notes. So brew a pot of tea, find a cozy chair and settle in. It's story time.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Hello there. Is it spring where you are? It is suddenly spring where I am and I'm like a different person. It's like I thought it was fine, I thought it was me and then suddenly spring and I'm just feeling filled with, I don't know, joy, I guess. I'm just so happy. I hope that you're happy too, and I'm thrilled to be here with you and to keep reading this amazing book. What, what a joy, how amazing this is and how lucky I am to get to share this with you guys.

[Faith Moore]

Thank you for being here.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Don't Forget tomorrow. Tomorrow, April 29th at 8pm Eastern is Tea time and we can be joyful together. We can hang out together over in the drawing room. And if you don't know what I'm talking about or you're not a member.

[Faith Moore]

But you'd like to join Tea Time.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Please scroll down into the show notes, click on the link and you'll find more information there.

[Faith Moore]

I know a lot of you have.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Signed up to be landed gentry since the last time that we had tea together, and I'm hoping that you guys can make it. I'm really looking forward to seeing some new faces or I guess hearing some new voices in Tea Time this time. And of course I'm looking forward to chatting with my old friends, those of you who have been here for a while now. So don't forget to come and join us there.

[Faith Moore]

And since the weather is changing, at.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Least where I am, don't forget to buy your T shirts, get some merch, get some short sleeve shirts now that it's getting warm. I just bought myself two. I bought myself Woman in White and Jane Eyre because I didn't have those ones yet actually, so I just got those. Hopefully they're going to come in the mail. I got baby blue and green, I think. And I'm really looking forward to wearing.

[Faith Moore]

My Storytime for Grown Ups merch out in the world.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Is that weird to wear my own podcast on my body?

[Faith Moore]

Perhaps.

[Unknown Co-Host]

But I'm going to do it anyway and I hope that you will too. And then maybe somebody will say, hey.

[Faith Moore]

What'S storytime for grown ups?

[Unknown Co-Host]

And you can make a new friend and wouldn't that be great? So I hope you'll just check out all the links that are there in the show notes.

[Faith Moore]

And of course the link to contact.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Me is faithk moore.com click on contact or it's also there in the show notes as well. Okay, let's get into it. So last time we read Heart Wright's narrative, chapter nine, and today we're going to read chapter ten. Before I do the recap, as always, please don't forget to subscribe. Tap the five stars if you're enjoying the show. Leave a positive review, tell a friend, scream it from the rooftops, wear your merch, do all those things so that we can grow this show and have many more books to come. And thank you to those of you who have done that are doing that are planning to do it. Oh, and also, if you don't want to be a member but you would like to help support the show financially, you can do that too. You can just make a donation. The link is also in the show notes for that. All right, let's do the recap. So where we left off, as Walter is leaving Mrs. Catherick's house, he sees.

[Faith Moore]

The servant of Sir Percival's that he.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Saw at Blackwater Park.

[Faith Moore]

So he follows him to the train.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Station and he hears him buy a ticket to Blackwater.

[Faith Moore]

Walter then goes back to his hotel.

[Unknown Co-Host]

To decide what to do next. He decides that the next day he's going to go and check out the.

[Faith Moore]

Vestry of the old church and check the marriage registry there. He's wondering if maybe Sir Percival's secret is that his parents weren't married.

[Unknown Co-Host]

So he goes there the next day.

[Faith Moore]

And finds Sir Percival's men posted outside.

[Unknown Co-Host]

But they don't approach him. And so he finds the clerk and asks to be shown into the vestry. The clerk is this very kind of cheerful, chatty old guy and he takes.

[Faith Moore]

Walter to the back door of the.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Church and he lets him in through this old big door with this stiff lock. And inside the place is a mess and there are old presses everywhere and a bunch of boxes filled with straw.

[Faith Moore]

And the window has been bricked up.

[Unknown Co-Host]

And the only light coming in is through this skylight.

[Faith Moore]

And Walter asks to see the marriage.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Register and he's also asking why it's not safely locked away. The clerk tells him that they keep a second copy in an office in town in case anything happens to this one.

[Faith Moore]

So Walter finds the marriage of Sir.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Percival's parents in the register, which rules out the theory that they weren't married. The marriage is written at the bottom.

[Faith Moore]

Of the page and seems to have.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Been kind of squeezed in.

[Faith Moore]

And so Walter asks for the address.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Of the lawyer who keeps the second copy. And as he's leaving, he is followed by the two men and Sir Percival's.

[Faith Moore]

Servant, him suspect that actually there is.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Still a secret hidden at the church. Okay, so I'm going to read one comment today. It's from Katherine Sharp.

[Faith Moore]

Catherine writes, well, at this point, I'm.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Going to let Walter do the sleuthing.

[Faith Moore]

I did not expect the crime in.

[Unknown Co-Host]

The vestry twist, nor the let's find out all about percival's mom plotline.

[Faith Moore]

Mr. Collins has too much up his sleeve for me to keep up, much less imagine that I could be a step ahead.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Still enjoying the story though, and eager to find out the secret. Okay, so yeah, Walter is back in detective mode, right? We had this little interlude, this little domestic interlude, but he's back in it. He's finding the guy who can let him into the vestry. He's calculating backwards from Percival's age to try and figure out the date of his parents marriage. He's combing through church records looking for the marriage. He's making a bunch of hypotheses and then trying to test them based on the evidence and the various narratives he's heard and everything. And so when Walter goes back into detective mode, it can be easy for us to feel like we have to go back into detective mode too.

[Faith Moore]

And for some of us, that might feel sort of exhausting.

[Unknown Co-Host]

And that's why I picked Catherine's letter today. We kind of talked about this before, but it really bears repeating.

[Faith Moore]

There isn't a right way to follow.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Along with this story.

[Faith Moore]

You don't have to be trying to outguess Walter at every turn. It's not a race.

[Unknown Co-Host]

It's not a competition or something where you win. If you guessed the secret before Wilkie Collins reveals it to us or whatever, it can be fun to guess. It can feel good to have your guesses revealed to be true. And if that is fun to you, then do it, please, you should do it. But it is also completely acceptable and.

[Faith Moore]

Encouraged even to do what Catherine is.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Doing and let Walter be the detective. Okay, because you are not actually a detective, unless you actually are, in which case that's really cool. But you're probably not investigating the case of Sir Percival's secret. So you're not a detective.

[Faith Moore]

You're A reader. That's your job.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Your job is to read and enjoy this book. Your job is to feel all the feels. Basically, that's kind of it. So you're not bad at reading this type of book. If you don't like to guess at the solution, it's totally fine to just watch those dominoes fall. It's fine to let Walter put all the pieces together and then go, oh, cool, or whatever once it's all revealed. You're not somehow inferior if you don't guess the ending. I mean, this whole situation is in really good hands. Okay, Like Walter is sort of this truth finding, vengeance getting machine at this point. And he basically tells us that. Right? Here's what he says.

[Faith Moore]

He says, whatever result events might be.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Destined to produce, I resolve to pursue my own course straight to the end in view, without stopping or turning aside for Sir Percival or for anyone. Okay?

[Faith Moore]

So nothing is going to stop him.

[Unknown Co-Host]

From getting at the truth, not even our potential confusion at this point. So if you want something other than these minute details to cling on to, which would be totally understandable, cling on.

[Faith Moore]

To the fact that this net is.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Clearly closing tighter and tighter around Walter. Right, and what is the net? Well, it's the fact that eventually Sir Percival is going to feel that Walter has become so dangerous to him, right? Because he's gotten so close to the secret that he's going to have to get involved personally. Okay, here's what Walter says.

[Faith Moore]

Before many days were over, there seemed.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Every likelihood now that he and I might meet. Okay, so that's ominous. But it's also kind of exciting, right?

[Faith Moore]

That's not stuffy.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Church, vestries and long stories about whether or not people were having affairs. That's our hero and our villain or one of our villains, at least on a collision course that will necessarily end in some kind of drama.

[Faith Moore]

Right?

[Unknown Co-Host]

And we can feel this net tightening. We can feel Sir Percival himself kind of looming closer and closer in the way that Sir Percival's goons essentially keep showing up at the places that Walter is going. It means that Walter is on the right track.

[Faith Moore]

Right?

[Unknown Co-Host]

I mean, here's what Walter says.

[Faith Moore]

He says, if I had wanted any further proof that my investigations had taken.

[Unknown Co-Host]

The right direction, at last, the plan now adopted for watching me would have supplied it. Okay, so Sir Percival has anticipated that Walter will go to Mrs. Catherick because going to Mrs. Catherick will get him closer to the secret. And Sir Percival has also clearly anticipated that Walter will then go to the vestry of the church because the goons are waiting for him there as well. And even though nothing actually seems amiss.

[Faith Moore]

In the church records, the record of the marriage is there.

[Unknown Co-Host]

The fact of Percival's guys waiting for Walter there implies that there actually is something in the vestry for Walter to discover and that when he discovers it, Sir Percival himself might show up. Okay, here's what Walter says smoothly and fairly. As appearances looked in the vestry, there.

[Faith Moore]

Was something wrong beneath them. There was something in the register book.

[Unknown Co-Host]

For aught I knew that I had not discovered yet.

[Faith Moore]

So there's something there.

[Unknown Co-Host]

And when he gets at it, it might be too close for comfort and Percival might sort of pop up.

[Faith Moore]

He might appear.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Right. It's sort of like. This is a weird analogy, but it's sort of like the boss at the.

[Faith Moore]

End of a video game level.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Like at the end of the level called what is Submersible's Secret? Walter will have to fight the boss called Sir Percival. He's not the final boss, okay? That's Count Fosco.

[Faith Moore]

But he is a boss in the game. And Walter is getting closer and closer.

[Unknown Co-Host]

To the end of this level, even if he doesn't yet see how he's going to get there. So if we don't want to get bogged down by the details, that's the drama, okay? Walter is on a collision course towards Sir Percival, and there is sure to be danger ahead. Something dramatic, right, Will happen when they meet. If we do want to get bogged down by details, we have a few clues now. Okay, we know that the entry recording.

[Faith Moore]

The marriage of Sir Percival's parents was.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Kind of squeezed in at the bottom of a page, which could mean nothing, but it could be suspicious.

[Faith Moore]

We know there's a copy of this.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Register in another town, so it's possible to maybe check and see if the marriage is listed in both of those places. And we know that the marriage registry.

[Faith Moore]

Is not particularly well guarded or protected in the vestry and therefore could be.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Tampered with if someone wanted to do that. Right? Here's what Walter says. He says, I was struck by the insecurity of the place in which the register was kept.

[Faith Moore]

The door of the press was warped and cracked with age, and the lock was of the smallest and commonest kind. I could have forced it easily with.

[Unknown Co-Host]

The walking stick I carried in my hand, which is actually pretty bad because.

[Faith Moore]

So much rode in that time period.

[Unknown Co-Host]

On the fact of people being married, right? A marriage turned a sexual relationship from a horrible sin into a virtue.

[Faith Moore]

Sex out of wedlock produced bastard children.

[Unknown Co-Host]

And stained the reputation forever of the woman. But sex within wedlock was approved of because it created children. It was what you were supposed to do.

[Faith Moore]

A marriage caused legitimate children so that.

[Unknown Co-Host]

They could inherit in a line of succession that oftentimes went back centuries, whereas illegitimate children were not allowed to inherit. So being able to prove that a.

[Faith Moore]

Marriage happened and that your marriage was.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Legitimate was incredibly important in the social structure of the day. So Walter is kind of shocked to find these documents so badly guarded. So we know the register isn't guarded.

[Faith Moore]

The entry for Sir Percival's parents marriage.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Looks a little weird and there's a copy of the register somewhere else. So for those of you trying to work things out before Walter, that's what you've got to go on in terms of figuring out Sir Percival's secret. And for those of you who just want to sit back and let the.

[Faith Moore]

Story flow over you, you've got the.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Coming boss fight between Walter and Sir Percival.

[Faith Moore]

So take your pick.

[Unknown Co-Host]

And honestly, really, seriously, truly, there is no wrong choice. Okay? So whatever you choose, we're going to keep going.

[Faith Moore]

Let's keep going. And of course, don't forget to write to me faithkmoor.com click on contact.

[Unknown Co-Host]

And please do join us tomorrow the 29th at 8pm Eastern for tea time. All right, let's get started with heart rights narrative Chapter 10 of the Woman.

[Faith Moore]

In White by Wilkie Collins.

[Unknown Co-Host]

It's story time.

[Faith Moore]

10. Once out of sight of the church, I pressed forward briskly on my way to Knowlesbury. The road was for the most part straight and level. Whenever I looked back over it, I saw the two spies steadily following me for the greater part of the way. They kept at a safe distance behind, but once or twice they quickened their pace as if with the purpose of overtaking me, then stopped, consulted together, and fell back again to their former position. They had some special object evidently in view, and they seemed to be hesitating or differing about the best means of accomplishing it. I could not guess exactly what their design might be, but I felt serious doubts of reaching Knowlesbury without some mischance happening to me on the way. These doubts were realized. I had just entered on a lonely part of the road with a sharp turn at some distance ahead, and had just concluded, calculating by time that I must be getting near to the town, when I suddenly heard the steps of the men close behind me. Before I could look round, one of.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Them, the man by whom I had.

[Faith Moore]

Been followed in London, passed rapidly on my left side and hustled me with his shoulder. I had been more irritated by the manner in which he and his companion had dogged my steps all the way from old Welmingham than I was myself aware of, and I unfortunately pushed the fellow away smartly with my open hand. He instantly shouted for help. His companion, the tall man in the gamekeeper's clothes, sprang to my right side, and the next moment the two scoundrels held me, pinioned between them in the middle of the road. The conviction that a trap had been laid for me, and the vexation of knowing that I had fallen into it, fortunately restrained me from making my position still worse by an unavailing struggle with two men, one of whom would in all probability have been more than a match for me. Single handed, I repressed the first natural movement by which I had attempted to shake them off, and looked about to see if there was any person near to whom I could appeal. A labourer was at work in an adjoining field who must have witnessed all that had passed. I called to him to follow us to the town. He shook his head with stolid obstinacy and walked away in the direction of a cottage which stood back from the high road. At the same time, the men who held me between them declared their intention of charging me with an assault. I was cool enough and wise enough.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Now to make no opposition.

[Faith Moore]

Drop your hold of my arms, I said, and I will go with you to the town. The man in the gamekeeper's dress roughly refused, but the shorter man was sharp enough to look to consequences and not to let his companion commit himself by unnecessary violence. He made a sign to the other, and I walked on between them with my arms free. So these guys are trying to get Walter arrested for assault, and they see that if they seem to be manhandling him, then their case won't look as good. We reached the turning in the road, and there, close before us, were the suburbs of Knowlesbury. One of the local policemen was walking along the path by the roadside. The men at once appealed to him. He replied that the magistrate was then sitting at the town hall and recommended that we should appear before him immediately. We went on to the town hall. The clerk made out a formal summons and the charge was preferred against me with the customary exaggeration and the customary perversion of the truth on such occasions. The magistrate, an ill tempered man with.

[Unknown Co-Host]

A sour enjoyment in the exercise of.

[Faith Moore]

His power, inquired if anyone on or near the road had witnessed the assault. And greatly to my surprise, the complainant admitted the presence of the laborer in the field. So one of the men who is trying to get him arrested admitted that a field labourer saw what had happened.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Which is surprising to Walter, because Walter.

[Faith Moore]

Knows that he is not at fault.

[Unknown Co-Host]

I was enlightened, however, as to the.

[Faith Moore]

Object of the admission. By the magistrate's next words, he remanded me at once for the production of.

[Unknown Co-Host]

The witness, expressing at the same time.

[Faith Moore]

His willingness to take bail for my reappearance if I could produce one responsible surety to offer it. If I had been known in the town, he would have liberated me on my own recognizances. But as I was a total stranger, it was necessary that I should find responsible bail. The whole object of the stratagem was now disclosed to me. It had been so managed as to make a remand necessary in a town where I was a perfect stranger and where I could not hope to get my liberty on bail. The remand merely extended over three days until the next sitting of the magistrate. But in that time, while I was in confinement, Sir Percival might use any means he pleased to embarrass my future proceedingsperhaps to screen himself from detection altogether without the slightest fear of any hindrance on my part. At the end of the three days, the charge would no doubt be withdrawn and the attendance of the witness would be perfectly useless. So this whole thing is to get Walter to be stuck in this town for three days so that Sir Percival can cover his bases and hide whatever secret Walter was about to discover.

[Unknown Co-Host]

After the three days, Walter assumes the case will just be dropped.

[Faith Moore]

My indignation, I may almost say my despair at this mischievous check to all further progress, so base and trifling in itself and yet so disheartening and so serious in its probable results, quite unfitted me at first to reflect on the best means of extricating myself from the dilemma in which I now stood. I had the folly to call for writing materials and to think of privately communicating my real position to the magistrate. The hopelessness and the imprudence of this proceeding failed to strike me before I.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Had actually written the opening lines of the letter.

[Faith Moore]

It was not till I had pushed the paper away, not till, I am.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Ashamed to say, I had almost allowed.

[Faith Moore]

The vexation of my helpless position to conquer me, that a course of action suddenly occurred to my mind, which Sir Percival had probably not anticipated and which might set me free again in a few hours. I determined to communicate the situation in which I was placed to Mr. Dawson of Oak Lodge. I had visited this gentleman's house, it may be remembered, at the time of my first inquiries in the Blackwater park neighborhood. And I had presented to him a letter of introduction from Ms. Halcomb in which she recommended me to his friendly attention. In the strongest terms. So Mr. Dawson, remember, is the doctor.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Who came to Blackwater park when Marian was sick.

[Faith Moore]

I now wrote, referring to this letter and to what I had previously told Mr. Dawson of the delicate and dangerous nature of my inquiries. I had not revealed to him the truth about Laura, having merely described my errand of being of the utmost importance to private family interests with which Ms. Halcombe was concerned. Using the same caution. Still, I now accounted for my presence at Knowlesbury in the same manner. And I put it to the doctor to say whether the trust reposed in me by a lady whom he well knew and the hospitality I had myself received in his house justified me or not in asking him to come to my assistance in a place where I was quite friendless. I obtained permission to hire a messenger to drive away at once with my letter in a conveyance which might be used to bring the doctor back immediately. Oak Lodge was on the Knowlesbury side of Blackwater. The man declared he could drive there in 40 minutes and could bring Mr. Dawson back in 40 more. I directed him to follow the doctor wherever he might happen to be if he was not at home, and then sat down to wait for the result with all the patience and all the hope that I could summon to help me.

[Unknown Co-Host]

So if someone can vouch for Walter.

[Faith Moore]

He doesn't have to stay in jail for the three days. He can just leave and then reappear for the hearing. Sir Percival's men assumed that Walter didn't know anyone nearby and that he would be confined for the three days. It was not quite half past one when the messenger departed. Before half past three he returned and brought the doctor with him. Mr. Dawson's kindness and the delicacy with which he treated his prompt assistance quite as a matter of course, almost overpowered me. The bail required was offered and accepted immediately. Before 4 o'clock on that afternoon I was shaking hands warmly with the good old doctor, a free man again in the streets of Knowlesbury. Mr. Dawson hospitably invited me to go back with him to Oak Lodge and take up my quarters there for the night. I could only reply that my time was not my own. And I could only ask him to let me pay my visit in a few days when I might repeat my thanks and offer to him all the explanations which I felt to be only his due, but which I was not then in a position to make. We parted with friendly assurances on both sides, and I turned my steps at once to Mr. Wansborough's office in the High Street. Time was now of the last importance. The news of my being free on bail would reach Sir Percival to an absolute certainty before night. If the next few hours did not put me in a position to justify his worst fears and to hold him helpless at my mercy, I might lose every inch of the ground I had gained, never to recover it again. The unscrupulous nature of the man, the local influence he possessed, the desperate peril of exposure with which my blindfold inquiries threatened him, all warned me to press on to positive discovery without the useless waste of a single minute. I had found time to think while I was waiting for Mr. Dawson's arrival, and I had well employed it. Certain portions of the conversation of the talkative old clerk, which had wearied me at the time, now recurred to my memory with a new significance, and a suspicion crossed my mind darkly which had.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Not occurred to me while I was.

[Faith Moore]

In the vestry on my way to Knowlesbury. I had only proposed to apply to Mr. Wansborough for information on the subject of Sir Percival's mother. My object now was to examine the duplicate register of Old Welmingham Church. So he's suddenly wondering if the registry in the church is different from the copy at the lawyer's office. Mr. Wansborough was in his office when I inquired for him. He was a jovial, red faced, easy.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Looking man, more like a country squire.

[Faith Moore]

Than a lawyer, and he seemed to be both surprised and amused by my application. He had heard of his father's copy of the register, but had not even seen it himself. It had never been inquired after, and it was no doubt in the strong room among other papers that had not.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Been disturbed since his father's death. It was a pity, Mr. Wansborough said.

[Faith Moore]

That the old gentleman was not alive to hear his precious copy asked for at last. He would have written his favourite hobby harder than ever. Now, how had I come to hear of the copy?

[Unknown Co-Host]

Was it through anybody in the town?

[Faith Moore]

I parried the question as well as I could. It was impossible at this stage of the investigation to be too cautious, and it was just as well not to let Mr. Wansborough know prematurely that I had already examined the original register. I described myself, therefore, as pursuing a family inquiry, to the object of which every possible saving of time was of great importance. I was anxious to send certain particulars to London by that day's post and one look at the duplicate register. Paying, of course, the necessary fees might supply what I required and save me a further journey to old Welmingham. I added that in the event of my subsequently requiring a copy of the original register, I should make application to Mr. Wansborough's office to furnish me with the document. After this explanation, no objection was made to producing the copy. A clerk was sent to the strong room and, after some delay, returned with the volume. It was of exactly the same size as the volume in the registry, the only difference being that the copy was more smartly bound. I took it with me to an unoccupied desk. My hands were trembling. My head was burning hot. I felt the necessity of concealing my agitation as well as I could from the persons about me in the room before I ventured on opening the book. On the blank page at the beginning to which I first turned were traced some lines in faded ink. They contained these copy of the marriage register of Welmingham Parish Church, executed under my orders, and afterwards compared entry by entry with the original by myself. Signed Robert Wansborough, vestry clerk. Below this note there was a line added in another handwriting as follows, extending from the 1st of January, 1800 to the 30th of June, 1815. I turn to the month of September, 1803. I found the marriage of the man whose Christian name was the same as my own. I found the double register of the marriages of the two brothers.

[Unknown Co-Host]

And between these entries at the bottom.

[Faith Moore]

Of the page, nothing, not a vestige of the entry which recorded the marriage of Sir Felix Glyde and Cecelia Jane Elster in the register of the church. My heart gave a great bound and throbbed as if it would stifle me. I looked again. I was afraid to believe the evidence of my own eyes. No, not a doubt. The marriage was not there. The entries on the copy occupied exactly the same places on the page as the entries in the original. The last entry on one page recorded the marriage of the man with my Christian name. Below it there was a blank space, a space evidently left because it was too narrow to contain the entry of the marriages of the two brothers, which in the copy, as in the original, occupied the top of the next page. That space told the whole story. There it must have remained in the church register from 1803, when the marriages had been solemnized and the copy had been made, to 1827, when Sir Percival appeared at Old Welmingham. Here at Knowlesbury was the chance of committing the Forgery shown to me in the copy. And there at old Welmingham was the forgery committed in the register of the church, meaning someone could add in a marriage that never happened because there had been just space enough left at the bottom of the page to do it. My head turned giddy. I held by the desk to keep myself from falling. Of all the suspicions which had struck me in relation to that desperate man, not one had been near the truth. The idea that he was not Sir Percival Glyde at all, that he had no more claim to the baronetcy and to Blackwater park than the poorest labourer who worked on the estate, had never once occurred to my mind. At one time I had thought he might be Anne Catherick's father. At another time I had thought he might have been Anne Catherick's husband. The offense of which he was really guilty had been from first to last beyond the widest reach of my imagination. So if Sir Percival's parents were never married, then Percival is illegitimate and therefore not entitled to be a baronet or to own Blackwater Park. The paltry means by which the fraud had been effected. The magnitude and daring of the crime that it represented, the horror of the consequences involved in its discovery overwhelmed me. Who could wonder now at the brute restlessness of the wretch's life? At his desperate alternations between abject duplicity and reckless violence. At the madness of guilty distrust which had made him in prison and Catharic in the asylum and had given him over to the vile conspiracy against his wife on the bare suspicion that the one and the other knew his terrible secret. The disclosure of that secret might in past years have hanged him, might now transport him for life. So he's saying that punishment for pretending to be a member of the nobility.

[Unknown Co-Host]

When you're not used to be execution.

[Faith Moore]

By hanging and now is transport to a penal colony. The disclosure of that secret, even if the sufferers by his deception spared him the penalties of the law, would deprive him at one blow of the name, the rank, the estate, the whole social existence that he had usurped. Even if whoever the actual heir to the title and estate is doesn't press charges, Sir Percival would become a low born man with no social claims. This was the secret and it was mine. A word from me and house, lands, baronetcy were gone from him forever. A word from me and he was driven out into the world. A nameless, penniless, friendless outcast. The man's whole future hung on my lips and he knew it. By this time, as certainly as I did so, Walter now has what he needs to get Percival to confess to.

[Unknown Co-Host]

What he did to Laura and Anne.

[Faith Moore]

But Percival knows he has it.

[Unknown Co-Host]

So now Walter is in danger.

[Faith Moore]

The last thought steadied me. Interests far more precious than my own depended on the caution which must now guide my slightest actions. There was no possible treachery which Sir Percival might not attempt against me. In the danger and desperation of his position, he would be staggered by no risks. He would recoil at no crime. He would literally hesitate at nothing to save himself. I considered for a minute. My first necessity was to secure positive evidence in writing of the discovery that I had just made, and, in the event of any personal misadventure happening to me, to place that evidence beyond Sir Percival's reach. The copy of the register was sure to be safe in Mr. Wansborough's strong room, but the position of the original in the vestry was, as I had seen with my own eyes, anything but secure. In this emergency, I resolved to return to the church, to apply again to the clerk and to take the necessary extract from the register before I slept that night. I was not then aware that a legally certified copy was necessary and that no document, merely drawn out by myself could claim the proper importance as a proof. I was not aware of this, and my determination to keep my present proceedings a secret prevented me from asking any questions which might have procured the necessary information.

[Unknown Co-Host]

So he's going to make a copy.

[Faith Moore]

Of the forgery in the church, but he doesn't know that his own copy.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Wouldn'T stand up in a court of law.

[Faith Moore]

My one anxiety was the anxiety to get back to old Welmingham. I made the best excuses I could for the discomposure in my face and manner which Mr. Wansborough had already noticed, laid the necessary fee on his table, arranged that I should write to him in a day or two, and left the office with my head in a whirl and my blood throbbing through my veins at fever heat. It was just getting dark. The idea occurred to me that I might be followed again and attacked on the high road. My walking stick was a light one, of little or no use for purposes of defence. I stopped before leaving Knowlesbury and bought a stout country cudgel, short and heavy at the head with this homely weapon. If any one man tried to stop me, I was a match for him. If more than one attacked me, I could trust to my heels. In my school days, I had been a noted runner, and I had not wanted for practice since in the latter time of my experience in Central America, I started from the town at brisk pace and kept the middle of the road. A small, misty rain was falling, and it was impossible for the first half of the way to make sure whether I was followed or not. But at the last half of my journey, when I supposed myself to be about two miles from the church, I saw a man run by me in the rain, and then heard the gate of a field by the roadside shut too sharply. I kept straight on with my cudgel ready in my hand, my ears on the alert and my eyes straining to see through the mist and the darkness. Before I had advanced a hundred yards, there was a rustling in the hedge on my right, and three men sprang out into the road. I drew aside on the instant to the footpath. The two foremost men were carried beyond me before they could check themselves. The third was quick as lightning. He stopped, half turned, and struck at me with his stick. The blow was aimed at hazard and was not a severe one. It fell on my left shoulder. I returned it heavily on his head. He staggered back and jostled his two companions. Just as they were both rushing at me, this circumstance gave me a moment's start. I slipped by them and took to the middle of the road again. At the top of my speed, the two unhurt men pursued me. They were both good runners. The road was smooth and level, and for the first five minutes or more I was conscious that I did not gain on them. It was perilous work to run for long. In the darkness I could barely see the dim black line of the hedges on either side, and any chance obstacle in the road would have thrown me down to a certainty ere long I felt the ground changing. It descended from the level at a turn and then rose again. Beyond downhill, the men rather gained on me, but uphill I began to distance them. The rapid, regular thump of their feet grew fainter on my ear, and I calculated by the sound that I was far enough in advance to take to the fields with a good chance of their passing me in the darkness. Diverging to the footpath, I made for the first break that I could guess at rather than see in the hedge. It proved to be a closed gate. I vaulted over and, finding myself in a field, kept across it steadily with my back to the road, I heard the men pass the gate, still running, then in a minute more heard one of them call to the other to come back. It was no matter what they did. Now I was out of their sight and out of their hearing. I kept straight across the field, and when I had reached the farther extremity of it, waited there for a minute to recover my breath. It was impossible to venture back to the road, but I was determined nevertheless to get to Old Welmingham that evening. Neither moon nor stars appeared to guide me. I only knew that I had kept the wind and rain at my back on leaving Knowlesbury, and if I now kept them at my back still, I might at least be certain of not advancing altogether in the wrong direction. Proceeding on this plan, I crossed the country, meeting with no worse obstacles than hedges, ditches and thickets, which every now and then obliged me to alter my course for a little while, until I found myself on a hillside with the ground sloping away steeply before me. I descended to the bottom of the hollow, squeezed my way through a hedge, and got out into a lane. Having turned to the right on leaving the road, I now turned to the left on the chance of regaining the line from which I had wandered. After following the muddy windings of the lane for 10 minutes or more, I saw a cottage with a light in one of the windows. The garden gate was open to the lane, and I went in at once to inquire my way. Before I could knock at the door, it was suddenly opened and a man came running out with a lighted lantern in his hand. He stopped and held it up at the sight of me. We both started as we saw each other. My wanderings had led me round the outskirts of the village and had brought me out at the lower end of it. I was back at Old Welmingham and the man with the lantern was no other than my acquaintance of the morning, the parish clerk. His manner appeared to have altered strangely.

[Unknown Co-Host]

In the interval since I had last seen him.

[Faith Moore]

He looked suspicious and confused. His ruddy cheeks were deeply flushed, and his first words when he spoke were quite unintelligible to me. Where are the keys? He asked. Have you taken them? What keys? I repeated. I have just this moment come from Knowlesbury. What keys do you mean? The keys of the vestry. Lord save us and help us. What shall I do? The keys are gone. Do you hear? Cried the old man, shaking the lantern.

[Unknown Co-Host]

At me in his agitation.

[Faith Moore]

The keys are gone. How? When? Who can have taken them?

[Unknown Co-Host]

I don't know, said the clerk, staring about him wildly in the darkness.

[Faith Moore]

I've only just got back. I told you I had a long.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Day'S work this morning.

[Faith Moore]

I locked the door and shut the windows down. It's open now. The window's open. Look Somebody has got in there and taken the keys. He turned to the casement window to show me that it was wide open. The door of the lantern came loose from its fastening as he swayed it round, and the wind blew the candle out instantly. Get another light, I said, and let us both go to the vestry together. Quick, quick. I hurried him into the house. The treachery that I had every reason to expect, the treachery that might deprive me of every advantage I had gained was at that moment perhaps in the process of accomplishment. Meaning if someone destroys the forgery, then Walter can't prove it ever happened. My impatience to reach the church was so great that I could not remain inactive in the cottage while the clerk lit the lantern again, I walked out down the garden path into the lane. Before I had advanced 10 paces, a man approached me from the direction leading to the church. He spoke respectfully as we met. I could not see his face, but judging by his voice only, he was a perfect stranger to me. I beg your pardon, Sir Percival, he began. I stopped him before he could say more. The darkness misleads you, I said. I am not Sir Percival. The man drew back directly. I thought it was my master, he muttered in a confused, doubtful way. You expected to meet your master here? I was told to wait in the lane.

[Unknown Co-Host]

With that answer, he retraced his steps.

[Faith Moore]

I looked back at the cottage and saw the clerk coming out with the lantern lighted once more. I took the old man's arm to help him on the more quickly. We hastened along the lane and passed the person who had accosted me. As well as I could see by the light of the lantern, he was a servant out of livery. Who's that? Whispered the clerk. Does he know anything about the keys? We won't wait to ask him, I replied. We will go on to the vestry first. The church was not visible even by daytime until the end of the lane was reached. As we mounted the rising ground which led to the building. From that point, one of the village children, a boy, came close up to us, attracted by the light we carried, and recognized the clerk. I say, master, said the boy, pulling officiously at the clerk's coat. There be someone up yonder in the church, I heard. Unlock the door hisself. I heard him strike a light with a match. So he's saying there's someone in the church. He heard them unlock the door and light a match. The clerk trembled and leaned against me heavily. Come, come, I said encouragingly. We are not too late. We will catch the man, whoever he is. Keep the lantern and follow me as fast as you can. I mounted the hill rapidly. The dark mass of the church tower was the first object I discerned dimly against the night sky. As I turned aside to get round to the vestry, I heard heavy footsteps close to me. The servant had ascended to the church after us. I don't mean any harm, he said when I turned round on him. I'm only looking for my master. The tones in which he spoke betrayed unmistakable fear. I took no notice of him and went on. The instant I turned the corner and came in view of the vestry, I saw the lantern skylight on the roof. Brilliantly lit up from within, it shone out with dazzling brightness against the murky, starless sky. I hurried through the churchyard to the door. As I got near, there was a strange smell stealing out on the damp night air. I heard a snapping noise inside. I saw the light above grow brighter and brighter. A pane of the glass cracked. I ran to the door and put my hand on it. The vestry was on fire before I could move, before I could draw my breath. After that discovery, I was horror struck by a heavy thump against the door. From the inside, I heard the key worked violently in the lock. I heard a man's voice behind the door raised to a dreadful shrillness, screaming for help. The servant who had followed me staggered back, shuddering, and dropped to his knees. Oh, my God, he said.

[Unknown Co-Host]

It's Sir Percival.

[Faith Moore]

As the words passed his lips, the clerk joined us, and at the same moment there was another and a last grating turn of the key in the lock. The Lord have mercy on his soul, said the old man. He is doomed and dead.

[Unknown Co-Host]

He has hampered the lock, meaning he's.

[Faith Moore]

Done something to the lock so the door won't open. I rushed to the door. The one absorbing purpose that had filled all my thoughts, that had controlled all my actions for weeks and weeks past, vanished in an instant from my mind. All remembrance of the heartless injury the man's crimes had inflicted, of the love, the innocence, the happiness he had pitilessly laid waste of the oath I had sworn in my own heart to summon him to the terrible reckoning that he deserved passed from my memory like a dream. I remembered nothing but the horror of his situation. I felt nothing but the natural human impulse to save him from a frightful death. Try the other door.

[Unknown Co-Host]

I shouted.

[Faith Moore]

Try the door. Into the church. The lock's hampered. You're a dead man if you waste another moment on it. There had been no renewed cry for help when the key was turned for the last time. There was no sound now of any kind to give token that he was still alive. I heard nothing but the quickening crackle of the flames and the sharp snap of the glass in the skylight above. I looked round at my two companions. The servant had risen to his feet. He had taken the lantern and was holding it up vacantly at the door. Terror seemed to have struck him with downright idiocy. He waited at my heels. He followed me about when I moved like a dog. The clerk sat crouched up on one of the tombstones, shivering and moaning to himself. The one moment in which I looked at them was enough to show me that they were both helpless, hardly knowing what I did. Acting desperately on the first impulse that occurred to me, I seized the servant and pushed him against the vestry wall. Stoop, I said, and hold by the stones. I am going to climb over you to the roof. I am going to break the skylight and give him some air. The man trembled from head to foot, but he held firm. I got on his back with my cudgel in my mouth, seized the parapet with both hands, and was instantly on the roof. In the frantic hurry and agitation of the moment, it never struck me that I might let out the flame. Instead of letting in the air, I struck at the skylight and battered in the cracked, loosened glass. At a blow, the fire leaped out like a wild beast from its lair. If the wind had not chanced in the position I occupied to set it away from me, my exertions might have ended then and there. I crouched on the roof as the smoke poured out above me with the flame. The gleams and flashes of the light showed me the servant's face staring up vacantly under the wall. The clerk risen to his feet on the tombstone, wringing his hands in despair. And the scant population of the village, haggard men and terrified women clustered beyond in the churchyard, all appearing and disappearing in the red of the dreadful glare, in the black of the choking smoke. And the man beneath my feet, the man suffocating, burning, dying. So near us all, so utterly beyond our reach. The thought half maddened me. I lowered myself from the roof by my hands and dropped to the ground. The key of the church.

[Unknown Co-Host]

I shouted to the clerk.

[Faith Moore]

We must try it that way. We may save him yet if we can burst open the inner door. No, no, no. Cried the old man.

[Unknown Co-Host]

No hope.

[Faith Moore]

The church key and the vestry key are on the same ring, both inside there. Oh, sir, he is past Saving?

[Unknown Co-Host]

He's dust and ashes.

[Faith Moore]

By this time they'll see the fire.

[Unknown Co-Host]

From the town, said a voice from.

[Faith Moore]

Among the men behind me. There's a engine in the town. They'll save the church. Meaning they have a fire engine and they could put out the fire. I called to that man. He had his wits about him. I called him to come and speak to me. It would be a quarter of an hour at least before the town engine could reach us. The horror of remaining inactive all that time was more than I could face. In defiance of my own reason. I persuaded myself that the doomed and lost wretch in the vestry might still be lying senseless on the floor, might not be dead. Yet if we broke open the door, might we save him? I knew the strength of the heavy lock. I knew the thickness of the nailed oak. I knew the hopelessness of assailing the one and the other by ordinary means. But surely there were beams still left in the dismantled cottages near the church. What if we got one and used it as a battering ram against the door? The thought leaped through me like the fire leaping out of the shattered skylight. I appealed to the man who had spoken first of the fire engine in the town. Have you got your pickaxes handy? Yes, they had. And a hatchet and a saw and a bit of rope. Yes, yes, yes. I ran down among the villagers with the lantern in my hand. Five shillings apiece to every man who helps me. They started into life at the words. That ravenous second hunger of poverty. The hunger for money roused them into tumult and activity. In a moment, two of you for more lanterns if you have them. Two of you for the pickaxes and the tools. The rest after me to find the beam. They cheered. With shrill, starveling voices they cheered. The women and the children fled back on either side. We rushed in a body down the churchyard path to the first empty cottage. Not a man was left behind but the clerk. The poor old clerk standing on the flat tombstone, sobbing and wailing over the church. The servant was still at my heels. His white, helpless, panic stricken face was close over my shoulder as we pushed into the cottage. There were rafters from the torn down floor above lying loose on the ground, but they were too light. A beam ran across over our heads, but not out of reach of our arms and our pickaxes. A beam fast at each end in the ruined wall, with ceiling and flooring all ripped away and a great gap in the roof above open to the sky. We attacked the beam at both Ends at once. God, how it held. How the brick and mortar of the wall resisted us. We struck and tugged and tore. The beam gave at one end. It came down with a lump of brickwork. After it. There was a scream from the women, all huddled in the doorway to look at us. A shout from the men, two of them down, but not hurt. Another tug altogether, and the beam was loose at both ends. We raised it and gave the word to clear the doorway. Now for the work, now for the rush at the door. There is the fire streaming into the sky, streaming brighter than ever to light us. Steady along the churchyard path, steady with the beam for a rush at the door. 1, 2, 3, and off. Out rings the cheering again irrepressibly. We have shaken it already. The hinges must give if the lock won't. Another run with the beam. 1, 2, 3, and off. It's loose. The stealthy fire darts at us through the crevice all round it. Another and a last rush. The door falls in with a crash. A great hush of awe, a stillness of breathless expectation possesses every living soul of us. We look for the body. The scorching heat on our faces drives us back. We see nothing above, below, all through the room, we see nothing but a sheet of living fire. Where is he? Whispered the servant, staring vacantly at the flames.

[Unknown Co-Host]

He's dust and ashes, said the clerk.

[Faith Moore]

And the books are dust and ashes. And oh, sirs, the church will be.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Dust and ashes soon.

[Faith Moore]

Those were the only two who spoke. When they were silent again, nothing stirred in the stillness but the bubble and the crackle of the flames. Hark. A harsh rattling sound in the distance. Then the hollow beat of horses, hoofs at full gallop. Then the low roar, the all predominant tumult of hundreds of human voices clamouring and shouting together. The engine at last. The people about me all turned from the fire and ran eagerly to the brow of the hill. The old clerk tried to go with the rest, but his strength was exhausted. I saw him holding by one of the tombstones. Save the church.

[Unknown Co-Host]

He cried out faintly, as if the.

[Faith Moore]

Firemen could hear him already. Save the church. The only man who never moved was the servant. There he stood, his eyes still fastened on the flames in a changeless, vacant stare. I spoke to him. I shook him by the arm. He was past rousing. He only whispered once more. Where is he? In 10 minutes the engine was in position. The well at the back of the church was feeding it, and the hose was carried to the doorway of the vestry. If help had been wanted from me I could not have afforded it now my energy of will was gone. My strength was exhausted. The turmoil of my thoughts was fearfully and suddenly stilled. Now I knew that he was dead. I stood useless and helpless, looking, looking, looking into the burning room. I saw the fire slowly conquered. The brightness of the glare faded, the steam rose in white clouds, and the smouldering heaps of embers showed red and black through it on the floor. There was a pause, then an advance altogether of the firemen and the police which blocked up the doorway. Then a consultation in low voices, and then two men were detached from the rest and sent out of the churchyard through the crowd. The crowd drew back on either side in dead silence to let them pass. After a while a great shudder ran through the people and the living lane widened slowly. The men came back along it with a door from one of the empty houses. They carried it to the vestry and went in. The police closed again round the doorway and men stole out from among the crowd by twos and threes and stood behind them to be the first to see. Others waited near to be the first to hear. Women and children were among these last. The tidings from the vestry began to flow out among the crowd. They dropped slowly from mouth to mouth till they reached the place where I was standing. I heard the questions and answers repeated again and again in low, eager tones all round me. Have they found him? Yes. Where? Against the door, on his face. Which door? The door that goes into the church. His head was against it. He was down on his face. Is his face burnt? No. Yes, it is. No, scorched, not burnt. He lay on his face, I tell you. Who was he? A lord, they say. No, not a lord, sir. Something, sir means knight and baronite, too, no. Yes, it does. What did he want in there? No good, you may depend on it.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Did he do it on purpose?

[Faith Moore]

Burn himself on purpose? I don't mean himself. I mean the vestry. Is he dreadful to look at? Dreadful. Not about the face, though. No, no, not so much about the face. Don't anybody know him? There's a man says he does. Who? A servant, they say. But he's struck stupid like, and the police don't believe him. Don't anybody else know who it is? Hush. The loud, clear voice of a man in authority silenced the low hum of talking all round me in an instant. Where is the gentleman who tried to save him?

[Unknown Co-Host]

Said the voice.

[Faith Moore]

Here, sir, here he is. Dozens of eager faces pressed about me. Dozens of eager arms parted the crowd. The man in authority came up to me with a lantern in his hand. This way, sir, if you please, he said quietly. I was unable to speak to him. I was unable to resist him. When he took my arm. I tried to say that I had never seen the dead man in his lifetime, that there was no hope of identifying him by means of a stranger like me. But the words failed on my lips. I was faint and silent and helpless. Do you know him, sir? I was standing inside a circle of men. Three of them opposite to me were holding lanterns low down to the ground. Their eyes, and the eyes of all the rest were fixed silently and expectantly on my face. I knew what was at my feet. I knew why they were holding the lantern so low to the ground.

[Unknown Co-Host]

Can you identify him, sir?

[Faith Moore]

My eyes dropped slowly at first. I saw nothing under them but a coarse canvas cloth. The dripping of the rain on it was audible in the dreadful silence. I looked up along the cloth and there at the end, stark and grim and black in the yellow light, there was his dead face. So for the first and last time I saw him. So the visitation of God ruled that he and I should meet. Thank you so much for listening. I'd love to know what you thought of the chapters. Is there anything you'd like me to clarify? Did something particularly interest you? Please go to my website, faithkmoore.com, click on Contact and send me your questions and thoughts. Or you can click on the link in the Show Notes to contact me. I'll feature one or two of your entries at the start of the next episode. Speaking of links, don't forget to take a look at the other links in the show notes. You can learn more about me, check out our merch store, or pick up one of my books. Before I go, I'd like to ask a quick favor. This is an independent podcast. It's produced, recorded and marketed by me, so I need your help. Spread the word about the show by posting about it on social media or texting a link to your friends. Subscribe, tap those five stars and leave a positive review wherever you're listening. If you are able to support the show financially, there's a link in the Show Notes to make a donation. I would really, really appreciate it. Alright everyone, story time is over. To be continued.