Oh! I forgot. He's dead. But he will come
again, won't he? He was crucified four times, you know, and he must
ha' come four times for that. Would they crucify him again, sir?'
'No, they wouldn't crucify him now--in England at least. They would
only laugh at him, shake their heads at what he told them, as much
as to say it wasn't true, and sneer and mock at him in some of the
newspapers.'
'Oh dear! I've been very wicked.'
'But you won't be so any more.'
'No, no, no. I won't, I won't, I won't.'
She talked hurriedly, almost wildly. The coarse old woman tapped
her forehead with her finger. Falconer took the girl's hand.
'What is your name?' he said.
'Nell.'
'What more?'
'Nothing more.'
'Well, Nelly,' said Falconer.
'How kind of you to call me Nelly!' interrupted the poor girl. 'They
always calls me Nell, just.'
'Nelly,' repeated Falconer, 'I will send a lady here to-morrow to
take you away with her, if you like, and tell you how you must do to
find Jesus.--People always find him that want to find him.'
The elderly woman with the rough voice, who had not spoken since he
whispered to her, now interposed with a kind of cowed fierceness.
'Don't go putting humbug into my child's head now, Mr.
Falconer--'ticing her away from her home. Everybody knows my Nell's
been an idiot since ever she was born. Poor child!'
'I ain't your child,' cried the girl, passionately. 'I ain't
nobody's child.
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