and with blood
upon our hands. Not that blood frightens me, for I have stood face to
face with men in fair fight, and never felt a death-blow given so weigh
on my soul; but these two men came to a tricksy kind of end, and yet I
could not help it. 'Tis true that all my life I've served the
Contraband, but no man ever knew me do a foul action; and now I do not
like that men should call me felon, and like it less that they should
call thee felon too. Perhaps there may be after all some curse that hangs
about this stone, and leads to ruin those that handle it. I cannot say,
for I am not a Parson Glennie in these things; but Blackbeard in an evil
mood may have tied the treasure up to be a curse to any that use it for
themselves. What do we want with this thing at all? I have got money to
be touched at need; we may lie quiet this side the Channel, where thou
shalt learn an honest trade, and when the mischief has blown over we will
go back to Moonfleet. So let the jewel be, John; shall we not let the
jewel be?'

He spoke earnestly, and most earnestly at the end, taking me by the hand
and looking me full in the face. But I could not look him back again, and
turned my eyes away, for I was wilful, and would not bring myself to let
the diamond go. Yet all the while I thought that what he said was true,
and I remembered that sermon that Mr. Glennie preached, saying that life
was like a 'Y', and that to each comes a time when two ways part, and
where he must choose whether he will take the broad and sloping road or
the steep and narrow path. So now I guessed that long ago I had chosen
the broad road, and now was but walking farther down it in seeking after
this evil treasure, and still I could not bear to give all up, and
persuaded myself that it was a child's folly to madly fling away so fine
a stone. So instead of listening to good advice from one so much older
than me, I set to work to talk him over, and persuaded him that if we got
the diamond again, and ever could sell it, we would give the money to
build up the Mohune almshouses, knowing well in my heart that I never
meant to do any such thing. Thus at the last Elzevir, who was the
stubbornest of men, and never yielded, was overborne by his great love to
me, and yielded here.

It was ten o'clock before we set out together, to go again to
Aldobrand's, meaning to climb the garden wall and get the stone. I walked
quickly enough, and talked all the time to silence my own misgivi