It was an October afternoon.  A storm had been lowering and partially breaking over the town for three days, and that day there was a glare of murky light from the cloud that made the common people think that the end of the world was come.  When the ship struck, the fisher-people ran out of the town to the shore nearest her, and this boy would have run out with them and been among the foremost but that a very pious and charitable lady of the place had besought him to take her with him.  There was a great rain and wind, and it was with difficulty that he led the lady out and helped her down to the shore.  By that time the wreck had been dashed to pieces, and the fishermen were bringing in the dead bodies of the crew.  There was a woman among them, and when they brought her body in, they did not lay it with the bodies of the sailors, but carried it respectfully and laid it close to the lady who stood in the shelter of some rocks.  The wet clothes had fallen back from her breast—­the boy remembered it well, for it had been his first sight of death, and his heart was touched by the girl’s youth and beauty.  He had not seen her again, for he had gone to help with the boats, and the fishermen’s wives had run at the lady’s bidding and brought coverings to wrap her in.

The Jewish father then told the dying man about the amulet.  He said that, to the best of his memory, some such thing had been about the neck of the dead girl, but that he was certain that none of the fisher-people would have been bad enough to steal from the dead.  They entreated him to think well what he said, and to consider again if there was no doubtful character there who might have had the opportunity and the baseness to commit the crime.  At that the dying man fell into profound thought, and when he looked at them again the fever-flush had mounted to his face, and there was a light in his eyes.  He told them that if there was any one upon the shore that day who would have done such a thing it was the very rich and pious lady that he himself had taken to the wreck.  She had been alone with the body when she sent the other women for wrappings.  They thought that perhaps his mind was wandering, and left him, promising to return next day; but when they came again he was dead.

‘I have learned since I came here,’ said the Jew, ’that he was the son of the old man who lives in the great house down there among the trees.’

They both looked down at the park.  The leafless elms stood up like giant feathers in the white mist of the moonbeams, and the chimney-stacks of the house threw a deep shadow on the shining roof.