swanIcanhardlymakeitseempossiblethathe’sgone！“
“NeithercanI，Shadrach。Andtothinkthatyouandme，hisoldpartnersandlifelongchumsasyoumightsay，hadn’tseennorspokentohimforovertwoyears。Itmakesmefeelbad。Badandsortofconscience-struck。“
“Iknow；soitdoesme，inaway。Andyetitwasn’tourfault，Zoeth。YouknowaswellasIdothatMarcellusdidn’twanttoseeus。Wewasovertoseehimlastandhescarcelysaidawordwhilewewasthere。Youandmedidallthetalkin’andhejustsetandlookedatus——whenhewasn’tlookin’atthefloor。Ineversawsuchachangeinaman。Weasked——yes，byfire，wefairlybeggedhimtocomeandstaywithusforaspell，butheneverdid。Nowitain’tnofurtherfromOstabletoSouthHarnissthanitisfromSouthHarnisstoOstable。Ifhe’dwantedtocomehecould；ifhe’dwantedtoseeushecould。Wewenttoseehim，didn’twe；andWEhadastoreandabusinesstoleave。Heain’thadanybusinesssincehegiveupgoin’tosea。He——“
“Sshh！Shh！“interruptedMr。Hamilton，mildly，“don’ttalkthatway，Shadrach。Don’tfindfaultwiththedead。“
“Findfault！Iain’tfindin’fault。IthoughtasmuchofMarcellusHallasanymanonearth，andnobodyfeelsworseabouthisbein’