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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.
