Chapter 21 Chapter Seventeen
That Friday was the last sunny day in a month.At night, the weather changed, and the wind from the south became northeasterly, bringing rain first, followed by frost and snow.The next morning it was hard to imagine that it had been summer for three weeks: the primroses and crocuses hid under the snow, the larks were silent, and the young shoots of the young trees were beaten black.How dreary, cold, and gloomy the morning was going by!My master stays in his house and does not come out; so I occupy this lonely parlour, and make it a nursery: there I sit, with a wailing baby on my lap, Shaking to and fro while watching the still blowing snow pile up outside the open window, when the door opened and someone came in, panting and laughing!My anger was far greater than my astonishment at the time.I thought it was a maid and called out:
"Well! how dare you be naughty here; what would Mr. Linton say if he heard you?"
"Forgive me!" replied a familiar voice, "but I know Edgar is not up yet, and I can't control myself." The speaker walked towards the fire, panting, and pressed his hands on his waist.
"I've run all the way from Wuthering Heights!" she went on, after a pause, "sometimes it's just death. I can't count how many times I've fallen. Oh, I'm in pain all over! Don't panic! Wait until I can explain I'll explain in time! Do a good job and go out and order the carriage to drive me to Gimmerton, and then the servants will find some clothes in my wardrobe."
The intruder was Mrs Heathcliff.Her situation is too ridiculous: her hair is hanging on her shoulders, dripping with snow and rain; Fits better; short-sleeved crop top, nothing on head and neck.The blouse was of thin silk, and stuck to her wetly, and her feet were protected only by thin slippers; besides, there was a deep gash under one ear, from which only the cold stopped the profuse bleeding. , a white face that has been scratched and beaten, and a body that is too tired to support, you can imagine that when I settled down to look at her carefully, my initial panic was not reduced much.
"My dear lady," cried I, "I'm not going anywhere, nor will I hear anything, unless you change every garment into dry ones; and of course you can't go to Gimmerton to-night, so There is no need to order the carriage either."
"Of course I must," said she, "whether on foot or in a carriage, but I have no objection to dressing decently--and ah, now look how the blood runs down my neck! It was excruciatingly painful."
She insisted that I complete her instructions before I was allowed to touch her, and it was not until I had the groom ready and one of the maids put away some necessary clothes that I obtained her permission to bind her wounds and help her. She changes clothes.
"Now, Ellen," said she, when my work was over, and she was sitting in an easy chair by the fire with a cup of tea, "you sit across from me, and leave poor Catherine's child aside. : I don't like to look at her! Don't you think I don't feel sorry for Catherine just because I made such a stupid look when I came in. I cried too, and cried hard—yes, more than anyone who has reason to cry. Wept a little more. We parted without reconciliation, you remember, and I couldn't forgive myself. But, for all that, I'm not going to pity him—the beast! Oh, pass me the poker! It's The last of his things around me!" She took off the gold ring from her middle finger and threw it on the floor. "I'll break it!" she went on, tapping with childish rage, "and I'll burn it!" She picked up the ruined thing and threw it into the coals. "Why! If he tells me to go back, he'll have to buy another one. He might come to me and annoy Edgar. I daren't stay here lest he be mean, and besides, Edgar's not kind, Don't I? I don't ask his help, nor give him any more trouble. Makes me hide here; but if I hadn't heard he wasn't here, I'd have to stay in the kitchen and wash my face , warm and warm, tell you to fetch what I want, and go away, to any place where my accursed demon incarnation can't find it! Oh, he is so angry! If he catches me! What a pity Earnshaw is no match for his strength; if Hindley can do it, I won't run away until I see him all smashed!"
"Well, don't talk so fast, ma'am!" I interrupted her, "you'll loosen the handkerchief I put in your face, and that wound will bleed again. Have some tea and take a breather. Don't laugh." La: In this house, in your situation, laughing is very inappropriate!"
"That's an undeniable truth," she replied. "Listen to that child! She's been crying on and on—take her away, and keep me from hearing her cry for an hour; I won't stay long."
I rang the bell, put her in the care of a servant, and questioned her what had caused her to escape from Wuthering Heights in such disastrous circumstances, and, since she refused to stay with me, what was she going to do? where to go.
"I should, I'd like to stay," she answered, "to be with Edgar; to take care of the children, to kill two birds with one stone, and because the Grange is my real home. But I tell you he won't let me! You think Can he watch me get fat and happy--to think that we are living in peace and not trying to spoil our comfort? Now, I am satisfied that I know for sure that he hates me, and hates me to such an extent. Level: He was very annoyed at hearing me or seeing me, and I noticed that when I came up to him, the muscles in his face twisted involuntarily into an expression of hatred; There is good reason to hate him, and a part of an old dislike. It is enough to convince me that if I managed to escape, he would not follow me all over England; therefore I must go, I I no longer have the original desire to be willing to be killed by him; I would rather he kill himself! He extinguished my love so effectively, so I am at ease. I can remember how I loved him; Vaguely imagining I would still love him, if—no, no, even if he had doted on me, the devil's nature would show. Catherine knew him perfectly, and yet had a peculiarity of valuing him so devotedly. Monster! May he be erased from the world and from my memory!"
"Stop it, stop it! He's still human," I said. "Be merciful; there are worse men than him!"
"He's not human," she retorted. "I have no right to ask mercy from him. I gave him my heart, and he crushed it and threw it back to me. People feel with their hearts, Ellen; I can't sympathize with him without mine; and though he'll groan and bleed for Catherine henceforth till the day he dies, I can't sympathize with him, no, really, really, I do. No!" Here Isabella began to cry; but, wiping the tears from her eyelashes at once, she began again, "You ask me, what drove me to run away at last? Was I forced to Made this plan, because I've fanned his anger a little higher than his malice. Pulling out nerves with red-hot pliers takes more calm than beating heads. He's been thrown away by me The diabolical prudence of which he boasted was about to commit a violent murder. I experienced a pleasure at the thought of provoking him; this pleasure awakened my instinct of self-preservation, so I fled openly; if I If it falls into his hands again, he will definitely take revenge on me severely."
"Yesterday, you know, Mr. Earnshaw was supposed to be at the funeral. He kept himself consciously sober--quite sober; and didn't go to bed like crazy at six and get up drunk at twelve, as usual. Then, He got up, but suicidally sullen, as unfit for church as he was for dancing; he went nowhere, but sat by the fire, gulping down mugs of schnapps or brandy. go down.
"Heathcliff—I shudder at the very mention of that name! He has been a stranger in the family from last Sunday to this day. Whether the angels fed him, or his kind in hell, I can't tell but he hasn't dined with us for nearly a week. When he comes home at dawn, he goes upstairs to his bedroom; locks himself in there--as if anyone would want to go with him! There he stayed, praying like a Methodist, but the gods he prayed to were mere insensible dust; and God, when he mentioned it, was strangely like his own and his father! Having said these precious prayers--often procrastinating until his voice was hoarse and choked--he went away again; always straight to the Grange! I wondered Edgar did not seek A policeman, lock him up! As for me, though I feel sorry for Catherine, I cannot but regard this time of release from humiliating oppression as a holiday.
"I have regained my energy, and I can listen to Joseph's endless sermons without crying, and I can't tiptoe about the house like a frightened thief like I used to. Don't think that no matter what Joseph says, I would have wept; but he and Hareton are very loathsome companions. I'd rather sit with Hindley, and listen to his dreadful speech, than with this 'little master' and his trusty assistant, the wretched old man. Well! when Heathcliff is at home, I am often obliged to seek company in the kitchen, or starve in those dank unoccupied bedrooms; A table and a chair were set up in the corner of the hall by the fire, and whatever Mr. Earnshaw was doing, he did not interfere with my arrangement. He was much quieter than usual, if he was left undisturbed; more somber. , less depressed, less angry. Joseph affirms that he believes he is a different man: that God touched his heart and he was saved, 'like a fire'. I see signs of this improvement too , very surprised; but that has nothing to do with me.
"Last night, I sat in my corner reading some old books until twelve o'clock. It was snowing outside, and my thoughts kept turning to the cemetery and the new grave, and it seemed so easy to go upstairs. Misery! As soon as my eyes dared to lift from the page before me, a melancholy spectacle immediately took its place on the page. Hindley sat opposite, with his head in his hands; or was meditating on the same thing. He had He stopped drinking, to the point worse than losing his mind, he didn't move or speak for two or three hours. There was no sound from inside or outside the house, only the whimpering wind shook the windows from time to time, and the light of the coals There was a light crack, and now and then the scissors of the candles as they snipped off the long wicks; Hareton and Joseph must have gone to bed, and it was so desolate, so desolate! I read and sighed, for seeing It seemed as if all the joy in the world was gone, never to be regained.
"At last the dismal silence was broken by the rattling of the kitchen latch: Heathcliff returned from the vigil, a little earlier than usual; due to the sudden storm, I suppose. The latch We heard him go around another doorway to come in. I stood up, and I felt an irresistible expression on my lips, which caused my companion, who was staring at the door, to turn his head and look. with me.
"'I'll keep him out five minutes,' he cried. 'You won't object, will you?'
"'No, you can keep him out all night for me,' I answered. 'That's it! Put the key in the keyhole, and draw the bolt.'
"Earnshaw finished this before his visitor came to the door; then he came, moved his chair across from my table, and leaned back, with blazing resentment in his eyes, and wanted Look for sympathy in my eyes. Since he looked and felt like an assassin, he wasn't sure if he could find sympathy in my eyes; but he found it enough encouragement to speak up.
"'You and I,' said he, 'have a great debt to settle with that man out there! If we were not cowards, we could settle together. Are you as weak as your brother? Will you bear it to the end, a little? Don't you want revenge too?"
"'I can't stand it now,' I replied, 'I like a revenge that doesn't involve me, but conspiracy and violence are two-pointed spears, and they can wound those who use them more than stabs. Enemies that wound them more severely.'
"'Conspiracy and violence for conspiracy and violence is a fair reward!' cried Hindley. 'I ask you nothing else, Mrs. Heathcliff, but sit still. Tell me now, will you not? I assure you that seeing this fiend's life end with your own eyes will give you as much pleasure as I have; he'll kill you unless you strike first; he'll ruin me too. Damned villain! As if he had mastered the place already! Promise me to be silent, and before the bell strikes—three minutes to one—you'll be a free woman!'
"He took from his breast the weapon which I have described to you in my letter, and was about to blow out the candle. But I snatched it from him, and seized him by the arm.
"'I can't be silent!' said I. 'You mustn't touch him. Just keep the door shut and be silent!'
"'No! I have made up my mind, and I swear to God I will carry it out!'
cried the desperate thing. 'Whatever becomes of yourself, I will do you a favor, and do Hareton justice too!You needn't bother to defend me, Catherine is dead.No man alive would regret me, or be ashamed of me, if I had cut my throat now—it was the end! '
"I might as well have fought a bear, or reasoned with a madman. My only recourse was to run to the window and warn the victim he had planned of the fate that awaited him.
"'You'd better get somewhere else tonight!' I cried, almost in a triumphant tone. 'Mr. Earnshaw is going to shoot you if you insist on coming in.'
"'You'd better open the door, you--' he answered, calling me by some elegant name which I disdain to repeat.
""I don't care about that,' I retorted. 'Come in and get shot, if you want.I have done my duty. '
"And having said that, I closed the window, and returned to my place by the fire; too little hypocrisy was at my disposal to pretend to be anxious about the danger which threatened him. Earnshaw cursed me furiously. , I'm sure I'm still in love with that scoundrel, who cursed me with all kinds of names for the meanness I showed, while I, in my heart (conscience never reproached me), was Think, what a blessing it would be to Heathcliff if he would save him from his misery! And what a blessing it would be to me if he would send Heathcliff where he should be! As I sit While thus thinking, Heathcliff knocked down a window behind me with a blow, and his dark face peered ominously in. The bars of the window were too close for his shoulders to squeeze in. I Smiling, proud of his imagined safety, his hair and clothes were white with snow, and his sharp barbarian teeth, bared with cold and rage, gleamed in the dark.
"'Isabella, let me in, or I'll make you regret it,' he grinned, as Joseph said.
"'I can't do murder,' I answered. 'Mr. Hindley is standing guard with a knife and live pistol.'
"'Let me in by the kitchen door,' said he.
"'Hindley will come before me,' I answered; 'your love is so pitiful that it cannot bear a heavy snow! You let us sleep soundly in summer when the moon is shining, but in winter As soon as the gale returns, you'll have to find shelter! If I were you, Heathcliff, I'd lie straight on her grave and die like a faithful dog. Now of course It's not worth living in this world anymore! Is it? You've given me the impression very clearly that Catherine was all the joy of your life: I can't imagine how you'd want to live after losing her.'
"'There he is, isn't he?' exclaimed my companion, rushing to the window. 'If I could stretch out my arm, I could beat him!'
"I'm afraid, Alan, that you'll think me really wicked; but you don't know the whole facts, so don't judge. I'm not going to aid or abet, even in an attempt to take his life. I wished he was dead, as I must; and was therefore very, very disappointed when he threw himself on Earnshaw's weapon, and snatched it from him! Paralyzed.
"The gun went off, and the knife bounced back, slicing the wrist of the gunner. Heathcliff pulled back hard, slit a long slit in the flesh, and stuffed the bleeding weapon back into his pocket." Then he picked up a stone, knocked down the frame between the two windows, and jumped in. His adversary, already in excruciating pain, and with a profuse gushing of blood from an artery or great vessel, , and fell unconscious. The villain kicked him, stomped on him, and kept banging his head against the flagstones, while holding me with one hand to prevent me from calling Joseph. He exerted superhuman self-control. Restraining himself saved his life, but at last he gave up, out of breath, and dragged his apparently lifeless body to the side of the high-backed chair, where they tore off the sleeves of Earnshaw's coat and The brusqueness of the man wrapped up the wound, and while it was being bandaged he spat and cursed with the same vigor as when he had been kicked. As soon as I was free I hurried to the old servants, and he grasped it little by little. The meaning of my panic-stricken narration, I hurried downstairs, panting heavily when he went downstairs two steps at a time.
"'Now, what? Now, what?'
"'There's a way,' roared Heathcliff. 'Your master is mad; if he lives another month, I'll send him to the asylum. What on earth did you keep me out of, don't you? Toothy dog? Don't mumble there, come, I don't want to nurse him. Wipe that puddle off, and watch out for sparks from your candles—that's more than mixed brandy!'
"'Did you murder him?' cried Joseph, throwing up his hands and rolling his eyes upward. 'I never saw anything like it, may the Lord—'
"Heathcliff gave him a push, just enough to knock him down on his knees in the pool of blood, and threw him another towel, but instead of drying his hands, he crossed his hands and began to pray. His The odd phrase made me laugh out loud. I was in a state of fearlessness; in fact, I was as desperate as some convicts are under the gallows.
"'Ah, I forgot you,' said the tyrant. 'You ought to do it, kneel down. You conspire with him against me, don't you, Viper? Well, that's what you ought to do !'
"He shook me until my teeth rattled, and thrust me against Joseph, who said his prayers calmly, then got up, and swore he would set off for the Grange at once. Mr. Linton was a magistrate, and he would have had a hand in the matter if he had had fifty wives dead. His determination was so great that Heathcliff thought it necessary to compel me to recount briefly what happened. I repeat; while I reluctantly answered his question, and told the story of the matter, he approached me, full of anger. It took a lot of effort, especially with my forced answers, to satisfy the old man, made him know that Heathcliff was not the first to strike; at any rate Mr. Earnshaw soon convinced him that he was still alive; Perceived. Heathcliff, knowing that his adversary was ignorant of the treatment of his stupor, called him drunken; and told him not to see him in any more ferocious ways, but advised him to go to bed. He drew this decent exhortation. Afterwards, I was glad to leave us; and Hindley lay stretched by the fire. I too went away to my own room, amazed myself at the thought of my escape so easily.
"It was about half an hour before noon when I came down this morning. Mr. Earnshaw sat by the fire, very ill; and the fiend incarnate, almost equally haggard and pale, was leaning against the chimney. Neither of them seemed to want to eat, and I waited until everything was cold on the table before I began to eat myself. Nothing could stop me from enjoying my meal, glancing now and then at my two silent companions, thinking that It was very comfortable, because my conscience was at peace, and I experienced a certain contentment and superiority. When I had finished, I ventured up to the fire, skirted Earnshaw's chair, and knelt in the corner beside him to warm it. .
"Heathcliff did not glance in my direction, but I stared up, and studied his features almost calmly, as if it had been turned to stone. His forehead, which I had thought to be very Masculinity, now I feel it has become very vicious, has a thick cloud; his eyes with a monster's fierce light are almost extinguished from lack of sleep, and perhaps from crying, because the eyelashes are wet; his lips Lost the ferocious mocking expression, but was sealed by an indescribably sad expression. If this was someone else, I would hide my face when I saw such sadness. Now it is him, and I am very satisfied; It may seem a little mean to insult a fallen enemy, but I cannot lose the opportunity of thrusting; his weakness is the only time when I can taste the pleasure of revenge."
"Pooh, pooh, miss!" I interrupted her. "You'll be supposed to never have opened a Bible in your life. If God afflicts your enemies, surely you should be content. To add yours to the torments God inflicts on him would be base and presumptuous. "
"Generally I can, Ellen," she went on, "but no amount of misfortune may be enough for Heathcliff unless I do the same. If I cause him pain, and he Knowing that I am the cause of this pain, I would have wished him less. Oh, how much I have hated him. There is but one circumstance which would give me hope of pardoning him. That is, if I could An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and every time he wrings me, I'll wring him too, and let him suffer from me too. Since he hurt me first, let him beg for mercy first; and then—when the time comes, Ellen, I might show you a little magnanimity. But I can't avenge him, so I can't forgive him. Hindley asked for some water, and I handed him a glass, and asked how he was?
"'Not so badly as I'd like,' he answered. 'But I'm sore all over, except my arms, as if I'd fought a horde of brats.'
"'Yes, that's not surprising at all,' I interjected, 'and Catherine used to boast that she shielded you from Xu's body: she meant that some people would not to hurt you. It's a good thing the dead don't really rise from their graves, otherwise she would have seen a sight that irritated her last night! Your breasts and shoulders weren't broken and cut, were you?'
"'I can't tell,' he answered, 'but what do you mean by that? Does he dare to hit me when I'm down?'
"'He stomped on you, kicked you, and knocked you to the ground,' I whispered. 'His mouth drools, and he tries to crush you with his teeth; for he's only half human: not half, I'm afraid."
"Mr. Earnshaw, like me, looked up into the face of our common enemy, who was so lost in his grief that he seemed oblivious to anything about him: the longer he stood, the more The gloomy thoughts on his face were also more obvious.
"'Ah, if only God would give me strength to strangle him in my last agony, I would gladly go to hell,' groaned the impatient man, writhed to his feet, and sank back in his chair in despair. I realized that I should not fight anymore.
"'No, it's enough for him to have killed one of you,' I cried. 'At the Grange, everyone knows your sister would be alive today if it hadn't been for Mr. Heathcliff. He's better loved than hated. When I think of how happy we were--how happy Catherine was before he came--I'm going to curse me now.'
"Perhaps Heathcliff paid more attention to the truth of the words than to the tone of the speaker. I saw his attention aroused, for the tears ran down his eyelashes, and in a choked sigh Sobbing, I stared at him, laughed contemptuously, and the clouded windows of hell (his eyes) flashed at me; at any rate, the man who usually looked like a demon was so bleak and depressed, so I took the liberty of laughing again.
"'Get up, and get out of my sight,' said the sad man.
"At least, I suppose he uttered the words, though his voice was indistinct.
"'I beg your pardon,' replied I, 'but I love Catherine too; and her brother needs service, and for her sake I must fill that place. Now that she is dead, I see Hindley as I see her : Hindley's eyes would be exactly like hers, if you hadn't tried to gouge them out, and make them so black and red; and her—'
"'Get up, you wretched idiot, before I trample you to death!' he cried, making a movement which made me move.
"'But,' I continued, preparing to run, 'if poor Catherine really trusts you to take the ridiculous, base, depraved title of Mrs Heathcliff, she too will soon end up here. Step field! She will not bear your abominable manner in peace; she will vent her distaste and hatred.'
"The back of the high-backed chair and Earnshaw himself separated me from him; so he didn't want to come up to me either: just grabbed a table knife from the table and hurled it at my head. Under the ear, interrupting what I was saying; but, drawing my knife, I ran to the door, and said another; which I hope penetrated deeper than his darts. My last glance was Saw him come rushing, and was held back by his master's arms about the waist; and they both fell down by the hearth, clinging to each other. As I ran through the kitchen, I told Joseph to hurry to his master; I knocked down Hareton, He was hoisting a litter of puppies on the back of a chair by the door; and like a soul escaped from a cleansing house, I ran, jumped, and flew down the steep road; then dodged the detour, Straight across the moor, rolling down the bank, wading through the marsh: in fact I was in a hurry straight for the light of the grange lampstand. I would rather be doomed to live forever in hell than under the roof of Wuthering Heights again stay overnight."
Isabella pauses: takes a sip of tea.Then she got up, and told me to put her hat on, and put on a big shawl I had brought her.I begged her to stay another hour, but she would not listen; she got up a chair, kissed the portraits of Edgar and Catherine, and doing the same to me, took Vannie into the carriage; The dog found her mistress again, barking with joy.She went away, and never came here again, but when things settled down a little, she established regular correspondence with my master, whose new residence, I believe, was in the South, near London; Within a few months a son was born there, named Linton, and from the first she reported him to be a sickly wayward creature.
Heathcliff met me one day in the village, and asked me where she lived.I refuse to tell him.He said it didn't matter, as long as she was careful not to come to her brother: since he had to support her, she shouldn't be with Edgar.Although I didn't say it, he found out where she lived and the existence of the child from other servants.Still he left her alone; and I suppose she might thank him for his antipathy for this magnanimity.When he saw me, he used to ask about the baby; and when he heard his name, he said with a wry smile:
"They want me to hate him too, don't they?"
"I don't think they want you to know anything about the kid," I replied.
"But I'll have him," he said, "when I need him. They'll see!"
Happily his mother died before that time came; it was about thirteen years after Catherine's death, and Linton was twelve, perhaps a little older.
On the day of Isabella's sudden arrival, I had no opportunity to tell my master.He avoided talking, and he was not in the mood to discuss anything.When I managed to get him to listen to me, I saw that his sister's departure from her husband pleased him; he hated her husband to a depth that his soft nature could hardly admit.His antipathy is so acute and acute that he avoids any place where he is likely to see or hear Heathcliff.Grief, and that revulsion, reduced him to a true hermit, who resigned from the magistrates, did not even go to church, avoided every opportunity to go to the village, and lived within his gardens a complete and peaceful life. I just go for a walk alone in the wilderness sometimes, visit his wife's grave, and change my way of life, and this is mostly at night or early in the morning when there are no tourists.But he was too kind to be completely unhappy for long.Nor did he pray that Catherine's soul should haunt her.Time is resigned, and brings a melancholy sweeter than everyday joy.He remembers her with ardent, tender love, and her yearning for a better world;
He had no doubt that she was in a better world.
Moreover, there are places in the world where he can find comfort and give affection.As I said, there were days when he didn't seem to care about the little offspring of the dead man, but the indifference melted as quickly as snow in April, and before the little thing could utter a word, Or before she took a sloppy step, she had already seized Linton's heart.The child's name was Catherine; but he never called her by her full name, any more than he ever called the first Catherine by Jane; probably because of Heathcliff's habit of calling her so.This little thing was always called Katie: to him it was both distinct and related to her mother, and his affection for her was more due to her than to her being his own. Because of the relationship with Catherine.
I have always compared him with Hindley Earnshaw, and cannot satisfactorily explain why they behaved so oppositely under similar circumstances.They were both amorous husbands, and they both loved their children; I don't understand why they didn't go the same way, good or bad.But, I thought, Hindley, undoubtedly a more sensible man, was worse and weaker.When his ship hit the rocks, the captain abandoned his duty, and the crew, instead of trying to save the ship, were so dismayed and confused that there was no hope of saving their unfortunate ship, Linton, on the contrary, showed the true courage of a faithful and pious soul, trusting in God, and God comforting him.The one is in hope, the other in despair; each has chosen his own destiny, and each has his place.But you will not want to hear me preach, Mr. Lockwood, and you will judge all this as I do.At least, you'll think you can judge for yourself, and that's fine.
Earnshaw's death had been expected, and it followed that of his sister, within less than six months.We live on this side of the Grange, and no one ever comes to tell us, even a few words, about Earnshaw's dying condition.All I know is what I heard when I went to help with the aftermath.It was Kenneth who came to report this to my master.
"Hello, Nelly," said he, riding into the yard one morning so early that he could not fail to surprise me, thinking he must have come with bad news. "Now it's your turn and my turn to go to the funeral. Do you think who left without saying goodbye this time?"
"Who?" I asked nervously.
“怎么，猜呀！”他回嘴，下了马，把他的马缰吊在门边的钩上。“把你的围裙角捏起来吧：我断定你一定用得着。”
“该不是希刺克厉夫先生吧？”我叫出来。
“什么！你会为他掉眼泪吗？”医生说。“不，希刺克厉夫是个结实的年轻人：今天他气色好得很哪，我刚才还看见他来着。自从他失去他那位夫人后，他很快又发胖啦。”
“那么，是谁呢，肯尼兹先生？”我焦急地又问。
“辛德雷·恩萧！你的老朋友辛德雷，”他回答，“也是说我坏话的朋友：不过他骂了我这么久，也未免太过分了。瞧，我说我们会有眼泪吧。可是高兴点吧！他死得很有性格：酩酊大醉。可怜的孩子！我也很难过。一个人总不能不惋惜一个老伙伴呀，尽管他有着人们想象不出的坏行为，而且也对我使过一些流氓手段，好像他才二十七岁吧；也正是你的年龄；谁会想到你们是同年生的呢？”
我承认这个打击比林惇夫人之死所给的震动还大些；往日的联想在我心里久久不能消逝；我坐在门廊里，哭得像在哭自己亲人似的，要肯尼兹先生另找个仆人引他去见人。我自己禁不住在思忖着，“他可曾受到公平的待遇？”不论我在干什么事，这个疑问总使我烦恼。它是那样执拗地纠缠着我，以致我决定请假到呼啸山庄去，帮着料理后事。林惇先生很不愿意答应，可是我说起死者无亲无故的情况而娓娓动听地请求着；我又提到我的旧主人又是我的共乳兄弟，有权要我去为他效劳，正如有权要他自己办事一样。此外，我又提醒林惇先生，那个孩子哈里顿是他的妻子的内侄，既是没有更近的亲人，他就该作他的保护人；他应该，而且必须去追询遗产的下落，并且照料与他内兄有关的事情。他在当时是不便过问这类事的，但他吩咐我跟他的律师说去；终于他准许我去了。他的律师也曾是恩萧的律师，我到村里去了，并且请他一起去。他摇摇头，劝我别惹希刺克厉夫；可以肯定，一旦真相大白，那就会发现哈里顿同乞丐是差不了多少的。
“他的父亲是负债死去的，”他说，“全部财产都抵押了，现在这位合法继承人的唯一机会，就是应该让他在债权人心里引起一点好感，这样他还可以对他客气些。”
当我到达山庄时，我解释说我来看看一切是不是都搞得还像样；带着极度悲哀的神情出现的约瑟夫对于我的到来表示满意。希刺克厉夫先生说他看不出来这地方有什么事需要我，可是如果我愿意的话，也可以留下来，安排出殡的事。
“正确地讲，”他说，“那个傻瓜的尸首应该埋在十字路口，不用任何一种仪式。昨天下午我碰巧离开他十分钟，就在那会儿，他关上大厅的两扇门，不要我进去，他就整夜喝酒，故意大醉而死，我们今天早上是打开房门进去的，因为我们听见他哼得像匹马似的；他就在那儿，躺在高背椅子上：即使咒骂他，剥掉他的头皮，也弄不醒他。我派人去请肯尼兹，他来了，可是那时候这个畜生已经变成死尸了，他已经死了，冷了，而且僵硬了；因此你得承认再拨弄他也是没用了。”
老仆人证实了这段叙述，可是咕噜着：
“我倒巴不得他去请医生哩！我侍候主人当然比他好点——我走时，他还没死，一点死的样子也没有！”
我坚持要把丧礼办得体面点。希刺克厉夫先生说在这方面可以由我作主，只是，他要我记住办这场丧事的钱是从他口袋里掏出来的。他保持一种严酷的、漠不关心的态度，既无欢乐的表示，也没有悲哀的神色，如果有什么的话，那只有在顺利完成一件艰难工作时，所具有的感到一种满足的冷酷表情。的确，我有一次看见在他的神色里有着近乎狂喜的样子：那正是在人们把灵柩抬出屋子的时候。他还有那份虚伪去装个吊丧者：在跟着哈里顿出去之前，他把这不幸的孩子举起来放在桌上，带着特别的兴趣咕噜着，“现在，我的好孩子，你是我的了！我们要看看用同样的风吹扭它，这棵树会不会像另外一棵树长得那样弯曲！”那个天真无邪的东西挺喜欢这段话：他玩着希刺克厉夫的胡子，抚摩着他的脸，可是我猜出这话的意思，便尖刻地说，“那孩子一定得跟我回画眉田庄去，先生。在这世界上，这孩子和你丝毫不相干。”
“林惇是这么说的吗？”他质问。
“当然——他叫我来领他的。”我回答。
“好吧，”这个恶棍说，“现在我们不要争辩这件事吧，可是我很想自己带个小孩子；所以通知你主人说，如果他打算带走他，我就得要我自己的孩子补这个缺。我才不会一声不吭地让哈里顿走，可我是一定要那一个回来！记住告诉他吧。”
这个暗示已够使我束手无策了。我回去后，把这话的内容重说了一遍，埃德加·林惇本来就没多大兴趣，就从此不再提及要去干涉了”。就算他有意，我想他也不会成功。
客人如今是呼啸山庄的主人了，他掌握不可动摇的所有权，而且向律师证明——律师又转过来向林惇先生证明——恩萧已经抵押了他所有的每一码土地，换成现款，满足了他的赌博狂；而他，希刺克厉夫，是承受抵押的人。于是，哈里顿原该是附近一带的第一流绅士，却落到完全靠他父亲的多年仇人来养活的地步。他在他自己的家里倒像个仆人一样，还被剥夺了领取工钱的权利；他是翻不了身了，这是由于他的无亲无故，而且自己还根本不知道他在受人欺侮了。