But
when he attempted to act upon that very sensible de-
cision a burly dog came browsing out and disputed
his right. Inexpressibly frightened, and believing,
no doubt (with some reason, too), that brutes with-
out meant brutality within, he hobbled away from
all the houses, and with grey, wet fields to right of
him and grey, wet fields to left of him--with the
rain half blinding him and the night coming in mist
and darkness, held his way along the road that
leads to Greenton. That is to say, the road leads
those to Greenton who succeed in passing the Oak
Hill Cemetery. A considerable number every year
do not.
Jo did not.
They found him there the next morning, very wet,
very cold, but no longer hungry. He had apparently
entered the cemetery gate--hoping, perhaps, that it
led to a house where there was no dog--and gone
blundering about in the darkness, falling over many
a grave, no doubt, until he had tired of it all and
given up. The little body lay upon one side, with one
soiled cheek upon one soiled hand, the other hand
tucked away among the rags to make it warm, the
other cheek washed clean and white at last, as for
a kiss from one of God's great angels. It was ob-
served--though nothing was thought of it at the
time, the body being as yet unidentified--that the
little fellow was lying upon the grave of Hetty Par-
low. The grave, however, had not opened to re-
ceive him.
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