“Don’t you want a little something to drink?” I said.  “Tell me where I can get you something.”

She didn’t answer, but began looking from one side to the other.  “Is he swallowed?” said she in a whisper, with her eyes starting out of her head.

“Swallowed?” said I.  “Who?”

“Davy,” said she.

“Oh, your young man,” said I.  “He is all right, unless he hurt himself jumping over the hedge.  I saw him run away just as fast as he could.”

“And the spirit?” said she.  I looked hard at her.

“What has happened to you?” said I.  “How did you come to faint?”

She was getting quieter, but she still looked wildly out of her eyes, and kept her back turned toward the bit of grass, as if she was afraid to look in that direction.

“What happened to you?” said I again, for I wanted to know what she thought about my sudden appearance.  It took some little time for her to get ready to answer, and then she said: 

“Was you frightened, lady?  Did you have to come in here?  I’m sorry you found me swooned.  I don’t know how long I was swooned.  Davy and me was sitting here talking about having the banns called, and it was a sorry talk, lady, for the vicar, he’s told me four times I should not marry Davy, because he says he is a Radical; but for all that Davy and me wants the banns called all the same, but not knowing how we was to have it done, for the vicar, he’s so set against Davy, and Davy, he had just got done saying to me that he was going to marry me, vicar or no vicar, banns or no banns, come what might, when that very minute, with an awful hiss, something flashed in front of us, dazzling my eyes so that I shut them and screamed, and then when I opened them again, there, in the yard back of us, was a great white spirit twice as high as the cow stable, with one eye in the middle of its forehead, turning around like a firework.  I don’t remember anything after that, and I don’t know how long I was lying here when you came and found me, lady, but I know what it means.  There is a curse on our marriage, and Davy and me will never be man and wife.”  And then she fell to groaning and moaning.

I felt like laughing when I thought how much like a church ghost I must have looked, standing there in solid white with my arms stretched out; but the poor girl was in such a dreadful state of mind that I sat down beside her and began to comfort her by telling her just what had happened, and that she ought to be very glad that I had found a place to turn into, and had not gone on down the hill and dashed myself into little pieces at the bottom.  But it wasn’t easy to cheer her up.

“Oh, Davy’s gone,” said she.  “He’ll never come back for fear of the curse.  He’ll be off with his uncle to sea.  I’ll never lay eyes on Davy again.”

Just at that moment I heard somebody calling my name, and looking through the house I saw Jone at the front door and two men behind him.  As I ran through the hall I saw that the two men with Jone was Mr. Poplington and a young fellow with a pale face and trembling legs.