“We’recomeforoneWilliamWilson，whoiswantedtoproveanalibiinLiverpoolAssizeCourtto-morrow。JamesWilsonistobetriedforamurderdoneonThursdaynightwhenhewaswithWilliamWilson。Anythingmore，missus？“askedtheboatmanofMary，inalowervoice，andtakinghishandsdownfromhismouth。“SayI’mMaryBarton。Oh，theshipisgoingon!Oh，fortheloveofHeaven，askthemtostop。“Theboatmanwasangryatthelittleregardpaidtohissummons，andcalledoutagain；repeatingthemessagewiththenameoftheyoungwomanwhosentit，andinterlardingitwithsailors’oaths。Theshipflewalong——away，——theboatstruggledafter。Theycouldseethecaptaintakehisspeaking-trumpet。Andoh!andalas!
theyheardhiswords。Hesworeadreadfuloath；hecalledMaryadisgracefulname；andhesaidhewouldnotstophisshipforanyone，norcouldhepartwithasinglehand，whoeverswungforit。Thewordscameinunpityingclearnesswiththeirtrumpet-sound。Marysatdownlookinglikeonewhopraysinthedeathagony。ForhereyeswereturneduptothatHeaven，wheremercydwelleth，whileherbluelipsquivered，thoughnosoundcame。Thenshebowedherheadandhiditinherhands。“Hark!yonsailorhailsus。“Shelookedup。Andherheartstoppeditsbeatingtolisten。WilliamWilsonstoodasnearthesternofthevesselashecouldget；andunabletoobtainthetrumpetfromtheangrycaptain，madeatubeofhisownhands。“SohelpmeGod，MaryBarton，I’llcomebackinthepilot-boat，timeenoughtosavethelifeoftheinnocent。““Whatdoeshesay？“askedMary，wildly，asthevoicediedawayintheincreasingdistance，whiletheboatmencheered，intheirkindledsympathywiththeirpassenger。“Whatdoeshesay？“repeatedshe。“Tellme。Icouldnothear。“Shehadheardwithherears，butherbrainrefusedtorecognisethesense。Theyrepeatedhisspeech，allthreespeakingatonce，withmanycomments；
whileMarylookedatthemandthenatthevesselfaraway。“Idon’trightlyknowaboutit，“saidshe，sorrowfully。“Whatisthepilot-boat？“Theytoldher，andshegatheredthemeaningoutofthesailors’slangwhichenvelopedit。Therewasahopestill，althoughsoslightanfaint。“Howfardoesthepilotgowiththeship？“Todifferentdistancestheysaid。SomepilotswouldgoasfarasHolyheadforthechanceofthehomewardboundvessels；othersonlytooktheshipsovertheBanks。Somecaptainsweremorecautiousthanothers，andthepilotshaddifferentways。Thewindwasagainstthehomeward-boundvessels，soperhapsthepilotaboardtheJohnCropperwouldnotcaretogofarout。“Howsoonwouldhecomeback？“Therewerethreeboatmen，andthreevaryingfromtwelvehourstotwodays。
Nay，themanwhogavehisvoteforthelongesttime，onhavinghisjudgmentdisputed，grewstubborn，anddoubledthetime，andthoughtitmightbetheendoftheweekbeforethepilot-boatcamehome。Theybegandisputing，andurgingreasons；andMarytriedtounderstandthem；butindependentlyoftheirnauticallanguage，aveilseemeddrawnoverhermind，andshehadnoclearperceptionofanythingthatpassed。
Herverywordsseemednotherown，andbeyondherpowerofcontrol，forshefoundherselfspeakingquitedifferentlytowhatshemeant。Onebyoneherhopeshadfallenaway，andleftherdesolate；andthoughachanceyetremained，shecouldnolongerhope。Shefeltcertainit，too，wouldfadeandvanish。Shesankintoakindofstupor。Alloutwardobjectsharmonizedwithherdespair，——thegloomyleadensky，——thedeep，darkwatersbelow，ofastillheaviershadeofcolour，——thecold，flat，yellowshoreinthedistance，whichnoraylightenedup，——thenippingcuttingwind。Sheshiveredwithherdepressionofmindandbody。Thesailsweretakendown，ofcourse，onthereturntoLiverpool，andtheprogresstheymade，rowingandtacking，wasveryslow。Thementalkedtogether，disputingaboutthepilotsatfirst，andthenaboutmattersoflocalimportance，inwhichMarywouldhavetakennointerestatanytime，andshegraduallybecamedrowsy；irrepressiblyso，indeed，forinspiteofherjerkingeffortstokeepawakeshesankawaytothebottomoftheboat，andtherelaycouchedonaroughheapofsails，ropes，andtackleofvariouskinds。Themeasuredbeatofthewatersagainstthesidesoftheboat，andthemusicalboomoftilemoredistantwaves，weremorelullingthansilence，andshesleptsound。Oncesheopenedhereyesheavily，anddimlysawtheoldgray，roughboatmanwhohadstoodoutthemostobstinatelyforthefullfarecoveringherwithhisthickpea-jacket。Hehadtakenitoffonpurpose，andwasdoingittenderlyinhisway，butbeforeshecouldrouseherselfuptothankhimshehaddroppedofftosleepagain。Atlast，intheduskortheevening，theyarrivedatthelanding-placefromwhichtheyhadstartedsomehoursbefore。ThemenspoketoMary，butthoughshemechanicallyreplied，shedidnotstir；so，atlength，theywereobligedtoshakeher。Shestoodup，shiveringandpuzzledastoherwhereabouts。“Nowtellmewhereyouareboundto，missus，“saidthegrayoldman，“andmaybeIcanputyouintheway。“Sheslowlycomprehendedwhathesaid，andwentthroughtheprocessofrecollection；