let’sbeoff。““Itwouldn’tbebetterfortheetobescarceabit，wouldit，andleavemetogoandfindoutwhat’sup？Hehas，perhaps，gettensomecrotchetintohisheadthou’rtanaccomplice，andislayingatrapforthee。““I’mnotafeard!“saidJem；“I’vedonenoughtwrong，andknownoughtwrong，aboutyonpoordeadlad；thoughI’llownIhadevilthoughtsonceonatime。Folkcan’tmistakelongifoncethey’llsearchintothetruth。I’llgoandgivetheoldgentlemanallthesatisfactioninmypower，nowitcaninjurenoone。I’dmyownreasonsforwantingtoseehimbesides，anditallfallsinrightenoughforme。Jobwasalittlere-assuredbyJem’sboldness；butstill，ifthetruthmustbetold，hewishedtheyoungmanwouldfollowhisadvice，andleavehimtosoundMrCarson’s。intentions。MeanwhileJaneWilsonhaddonnedherSundaysuitofblack，andsetoffonhererrandofcondolence。Shefeltnervousanduneasyattheideaofthemoralsayingsandtextswhichshefanciedwereexpectedfromvisitorsonoccasionslikethepresent；andpreparedmanyagoodsetspeechasshewalkedtowardsthehouseofmourning。Asshegentlyopenedthedoor，Marysittingidlybythefire，caughtaglimpseofher，——ofJem’smother，——oftheearlyfriendofherdeadparents，——ofthekindministertomanyalittlewantindaysofchildhood，——androseandcameandfellaboutherneck，withmanyasobandmoan，saying，“Oh，he’sgone——he’sdead——allgone——alldead，andIamleftaloneI““Poorwench!poor，poorwench!“saidJaneWilson，tenderlykissingher。
“Thou’rtnotalone，sodonnottakeonso。I’llsaynoughtofHimwho’sabove，forthouknowestHeisevertheorphan’sfriend；butthinkonJem!
nay，Mary，dear，thinkonme!I’mbutafrabbitwomanattimes，butI’veaheartwithinmethroughallmytemper，andthoushaltbeasadaughterhenceforward，——asmineownewe-lamb。Jemshallnotlovetheebetterinhisway，thanIwillinmine；andthou’ltbearwithmyturns，Mary，knowingthatinmysoulGodseesthelovethatshalleverbethine，ifthou’lttakemeforthymother，andspeaknomoreofbeingalone。“MrsWilsonwasweepingherselflongbeforeshehadendedthisspeech，whichwassodifferenttoallshehadplannedtosay，andfromalltheformalpietyshehadlaidinstoreforthevisit；forthiswasheart’spiety，andneedednogarnishoftextstomakeittruereligion，pureandundefiled。Theysattogetheronthesamechair，theirarmsencirclingeachother；
theyweptforthesamedead；theyhadthesamehope，andtrust，andoverflowingloveintheliving。Fromthattimeforward，hardlyapassingclouddimmedthehappyconfidenceoftheirintercourse；evenbyJemwouldhismother’stempersoonerbeirritatedthanbyMary；beforethelattersherepressedheroccasionalnervousill-humourtillthehabitofindulgingitwasperceptiblydecreased。YearsafterwardsinconversationwithJem，hewasstartledbyachanceexpressionwhichdroppedfromhismother’slips；itimpliedaknowledgeofJohnBarton’scrime。ItwasmanyalongdaysincetheyhadseenanyManchesterpeoplewhocouldhaverevealedthesecretifindeeditwasknowninManchester，againstwhichJemhadguardedineverypossibleway。
Andhewasledtoinquirefirstastotheextent，andthenastothesourceofherknowledge。ItwasMaryherselfwhohadtoldall。Foronthemorningtowhichthischapterprincipallyrelates，asMarysatweeping，andasMrsWilsoncomfortedherbyeverytenderestwordandcaress，sherevealed，tothedismayedandastonishedJane，thestingofherdeepsorrow；thecrimewhichstainedherdeadfather’smemory。ShewasquiteunconsciousthatJemhadkeptitsecretfromhismother；