“By my boy, I was giv to understand as Compeyson
was out on them marshes too. Upon my soul, I
half believe he escaped in his terror, to get quit
of me, not knowing it was me as had got ashore.
I hunted him down. I smashed his face.
‘And now,’ says I ’as the worst
thing I can do, caring nothing for myself, I’ll
drag you back.’ And I’d have swum
off, towing him by the hair, if it had come to that,
and I’d a got him aboard without the soldiers.
“Of course he’d much the best of it to
the last — his character was so good.
He had escaped when he was made half-wild by me and
my murderous intentions; and his punishment was light.
I was put in irons, brought to trial again, and sent
for life. I didn’t stop for life, dear
boy and Pip’s comrade, being here.”
“He wiped himself again, as he had done before,
and then slowly took his tangle of tobacco from his
pocket, and plucked his pipe from his button-hole,
and slowly filled it, and began to smoke.
“Is he dead?” I asked, after a silence.
“Is who dead, dear boy?”
“Compeyson.”
“He hopes I am, if he’s alive, you may
be sure,” with a fierce look. “I
never heerd no more of him.”
Herbert had been writing with his pencil in the cover
of a book. He softly pushed the book over to
me, as Provis stood smoking with his eyes on the fire,
and I read in it:
“Young Havisham’s name was Arthur.
Compeyson is the man who professed to be Miss Havisham’s
lover.”
I shut the book and nodded slightly to Herbert, and
put the book by; but we neither of us said anything,
and both looked at Provis as he stood smoking by the
fire.
Why should I pause to ask how much of my shrinking
from Provis might be traced to Estella? Why
should I loiter on my road, to compare the state of
mind in which I had tried to rid myself of the stain
of the prison before meeting her at the coach-office,
with the state of mind in which I now reflected on
the abyss between Estella in her pride and beauty,
and the returned transport whom I harboured?
The road would be none the smoother for it, the end
would be none the better for it, he would not be helped,
nor I extenuated.
A new fear had been engendered in my mind by his narrative;
or rather, his narrative had given form and purpose
to the fear that was already there. If Compeyson
were alive and should discover his return, I could
hardly doubt the consequence. That, Compeyson
stood in mortal fear of him, neither of the two could
know much better than I; and that, any such man as
that man had been described to be, would hesitate
to release himself for good from a dreaded enemy by
the safe means of becoming an informer, was scarcely
to be imagined.
Never had I breathed, and never would I breathe —
or so I resolved - a word of Estella to Provis.
But, I said to Herbert that before I could go abroad,
I must see both Estella and Miss Havisham. This
was when we were left alone on the night of the day
when Provis told us his story. I resolved to
go out to Richmond next day, and I went.
