"Now God help me!" I cried, as I hurried on after the woman; "and bring me there in time." There! Where? To the place of the dead. It was there that I had to seek her.
"How long had she been in that house before I fainted?" I asked, fearfully.
A pang shot through me. "Tell me," I cried, hoarsely, "when she was buried."
"O God!" I groaned, and I could say no more; but with new strength given to me in that hour of agony I rushed on.
It was by the eastern shore of the island. A wide flat was there, washed on one side by the river. Here more than a thousand mounds arose. Alas! could I ever hope to find her!
"Do you know where they have laid her?" I asked, tremblingly.
The moon beamed out brightly from behind a cloud, illumining the waste of mounds. The river murmured solemnly along the shore. All my senses were overwhelmed in the madness of that hour. The moon seemed enlarged to the dimensions of a sky; the murmur of the river sounded like a cataract, and in the vast murmur I heard voices which seemed then like the voices of the dead. But the lustre of that exaggerated glow, and the booming concord of fancied spirit-voices were all contemned as trifles. I cared for nothing either natural or supernatural. Only one thought was present--the place where she was laid.
We reached it at last. At the end of a row of graves we stopped. "Here," said the woman, "are twelve graves. These were made last night. These are those twelve which you saw."
"There," replied the woman, pointing to one which was the third from the end.
"Do not deceive me!" I cried, imploringly. "Are you sure? For I will tear up all these till I find her."
"I am sure, for I was the one who buried her. I and a man--"
I seized the spade and turned up the soil. I labored incessantly for what seemed an endless period. I had thrown out much earth but had not yet reached her. I felt my fitful strength failing me. My mind, too, seemed entering into a state of delirium. At last my knees gave way, and I sank down just as my spade touched something which gave back a hollow sound.
My knees gave way, and I sank down. But I would not give up. I tore up handfuls of earth and threw them into the air.
"Oh, Edith!" I cried, "I am here! I am coming! I am coming!"