Мхи старой усадьбы
Roger Malvin's Burial
Alowmoan,whichtoldhissuccess,andbywhichevenanimalscarsexpresstheirdyingagony,wasunheededbyReubenBourne.Whatweretherecollectionsnowbreakinguponhim?
ThethicketintowhichReubenhadfiredwasnearthesummitofaswellofland,andwasclusteredaroundthebaseofarock,which,intheshapeandsmoothnessofoneofitssurfaces,wasnotunlikeagiganticgravestone.Asifreflectedinamirror,itslikenesswasinReuben’smemory.Heevenrecognizedtheveinswhichseemedtoformaninscriptioninforgottencharacters:everythingremainedthesame,exceptthatathickcovertofbushesshroudedthelowerpartoftherock,andwouldhavehiddenRogerMalvinhadhestillbeensittingthere.YetinthenextmomentReuben’seyewascaughtbyanotherchangethattimehadeffectedsincehelaststoodwherehewasnowstandingagainbehindtheearthyrootsoftheuptorntree.Thesaplingtowhichhehadboundthebloodstainedsymbolofhisvowhadincreasedandstrengthenedintoanoak,farindeedfromitsmaturity,butwithnomeanspreadofshadowybranches.TherewasonesingularityobservableinthistreewhichmadeReubentremble.Themiddleandlowerbrancheswereinluxuriantlife,andanexcessofvegetationhadfringedthetrunkalmosttotheground;butablighthadapparentlystrickentheupperpartoftheoak,andtheverytopmostboughwaswithered,sapless,andutterlydead.Reubenrememberedhowthelittlebannerhadflutteredonthattopmostbough,whenitwasgreenandlovely,eighteenyearsbefore.
