CHAPTER X.
_Giving an account of the strange catastrophe of the precedingadventure, which drew poor Adams into fresh calamities; and who thewoman was who owed the preservation of her chastity to hisvictorious arm._
The silence of Adams, added to the darkness of the night and lonelinessof the place, struck dreadful apprehension into the poor woman's mind;she began to fear as great an enemy in her deliverer as he haddelivered her from; and as she had not light enough to discover the ageof Adams, and the benevolence visible in his countenance, she suspectedhe had used her as some very honest men have used their country; and hadrescued her out of the hands of one rifler in order to rifle herhimself. Such were the suspicions she drew from his silence; but indeedthey were ill-grounded. He stood over his vanquished enemy, wiselyweighing in his mind the objections which might be made to either of thetwo methods of proceeding mentioned in the last chapter, his judgmentsometimes inclining to the one, and sometimes to the other; for bothseemed to him so equally advisable and so equally dangerous, thatprobably he would have ended his days, at least two or three of them, onthat very spot, before he had taken any resolution; at length he liftedup his eyes, and spied a light at a distance, to which he instantlyaddressed himself with _Heus tu, traveller, heus tu!_ He presently heardseveral voices, and perceived the light approaching toward him. Thepersons who attended the light began some to laugh, others to sing, andothers to hollow, at which the woman testified some fear (for she hadconcealed her suspicions of the parson himself); but Adams said, "Be ofgood cheer, damsel, and repose thy trust in the same Providence whichhath hitherto protected thee, and never will forsake the innocent."These people, who now approached, were no other, reader, than a set ofyoung fellows, who came to these bushes in pursuit of a diversion whichthey call bird-batting. This, if you are ignorant of it (as perhaps ifthou hast never travelled beyond Kensington, Islington, Hackney, or theBorough, thou mayst be), I will inform thee, is performed by holding alarge clap-net before a lanthorn, and at the same time beating thebushes; for the birds, when they are disturbed from their places ofrest, or roost, immediately make to the light, and so are inticedwithin the net. Adams immediately told them what happened, and desiredthem to hold the lanthorn to the face of the man on the ground, for hefeared he had smote him fatally. But indeed his fears were frivolous;for the fellow, though he had been stunned by the last blow he received,had long since recovered his senses, and, finding himself quit of Adams,had listened attentively to the discourse between him and the youngwoman; for whose departure he had patiently waited, that he mightlikewise withdraw himself, having no longer hopes of succeeding in hisdesires, which were moreover almost as well cooled by Mr Adams as theycould have been by the young woman herself had he obtained his utmostwish. This fellow, who had a readiness at improving any accident,thought he might now play a better part than that of a dead man; and,accordingly, the moment the candle was held to his face he leapt up,and, laying hold on Adams, cried out, "No, villain, I am not dead,though you and your wicked whore might well think me so, after thebarbarous cruelties you have exercised on me. Gentlemen," said he, "youare luckily come to the assistance of a poor traveller, who wouldotherwise have been robbed and murdered by this vile man and woman, wholed me hither out of my way from the high-road, and both falling on mehave used me as you see." Adams was going to answer, when one of theyoung fellows cried, "D--n them, let's carry them both before thejustice." The poor woman began to tremble, and Adams lifted up hisvoice, but in vain. Three or four of them laid hands on him; and oneholding the lanthorn to his face, they all agreed he had the mostvillainous countenance they ever beheld; and an attorney's clerk, whowas of the company, declared he was sure he had remembered him at thebar. As to the woman, her hair was dishevelled in the struggle, and hernose had bled; so that they could not perceive whether she was handsomeor ugly, but they said her fright plainly discovered her guilt. Andsearching her pockets, as they did those of Adams, for money, which thefellow said he had lost, they found in her pocket a purse with some goldin it, which abundantly convinced them, especially as the fellow offeredto swear to it. Mr Adams was found to have no more than one halfpennyabout him. This the clerk said "was a great presumption that he was anold offender, by cunningly giving all the booty to the woman." To whichall the rest readily assented.
This accident promising them better sport than what they had proposed,they quitted their intention of catching birds, and unanimously resolvedto proceed to the justice with the offenders. Being informed what adesperate fellow Adams was, they tied his hands behind him; and, havinghid their nets among the bushes, and the lanthorn being carried beforethem, they placed the two prisoners in their front, and then began theirmarch; Adams not only submitting patiently to his own fate, butcomforting and encouraging his companion under her sufferings.
Whilst they were on their way the clerk informed the rest that thisadventure would prove a very beneficial one; for that they would all beentitled to their proportions of L80 for apprehending the robbers. Thisoccasioned a contention concerning the parts which they had severallyborne in taking them; one insisting he ought to have the greatest share,for he had first laid his hands on Adams; another claiming a superiorpart for having first held the lanthorn to the man's face on the ground,by which, he said, "the whole was discovered." The clerk claimedfour-fifths of the reward for having proposed to search the prisoners,and likewise the carrying them before the justice: he said, "Indeed, instrict justice, he ought to have the whole." These claims, however,they at last consented to refer to a future decision, but seemed all toagree that the clerk was entitled to a moiety. They then debated whatmoney should be allotted to the young fellow who had been employed onlyin holding the nets. He very modestly said, "That he did not apprehendany large proportion would fall to his share, but hoped they would allowhim something; he desired them to consider that they had assigned theirnets to his care, which prevented him from being as forward as any inlaying hold of the robbers" (for so those innocent people were called);"that if he had not occupied the nets, some other must;" concluding,however, "that he should be contented with the smallest shareimaginable, and should think that rather their bounty than his merit."But they were all unanimous in excluding him from any part whatever, theclerk particularly swearing, "If they gave him a shilling they might dowhat they pleased with the rest; for he would not concern himself withthe affair." This contention was so hot, and so totally engaged theattention of all the parties, that a dexterous nimble thief, had he beenin Mr Adams's situation, would have taken care to have given the justiceno trouble that evening. Indeed, it required not the art of a Sheppardto escape, especially as the darkness of the night would have so muchbefriended him; but Adams trusted rather to his innocence than hisheels, and, without thinking of flight, which was easy, or resistance(which was impossible, as there were six lusty young fellows, besidesthe villain himself, present), he walked with perfect resignation theway they thought proper to conduct him.
Adams frequently vented himself in ejaculations during their journey; atlast, poor Joseph Andrews occurring to his mind, he could not refrainsighing forth his name, which being heard by his companion inaffliction, she cried with some vehemence, "Sure I should know thatvoice; you cannot certainly, sir, be Mr Abraham Adams?"--"Indeed,damsel," says he, "that is my name; there is something also in yourvoice which persuades me I have heard it before."--"La! sir," says she,"don't you remember poor Fanny?"--"How, Fanny!" answered Adams: "indeedI very well remember you; what can have brought you hither?"--"I havetold you, sir," replied she, "I was travelling towards London; but Ithought you mentioned Joseph Andrews; pray what is become of him?"--"Ileft him, child, this afternoon," said Adams, "in the stage-coach, inhis way towards our parish, whither he is going to see you."--"To seeme! La, sir," answered Fanny, "sure you jeer me; what should he be goingto see me for?"--"Can you ask that?" replied Adams. "I hope, Fanny, youare not inconstant; I assure you he deserves much better of you."--"La!Mr Adams," said she, "what is Mr Joseph
to me? I am sure I never hadanything to say to him, but as one fellow-servant might to another."--"Iam sorry to hear this," said Adams; "a virtuous passion for a young manis what no woman need be ashamed of. You either do not tell me truth, oryou are false to a very worthy man." Adams then told her what hadhappened at the inn, to which she listened very attentively; and a sighoften escaped from her, notwithstanding her utmost endeavours to thecontrary; nor could she prevent herself from asking a thousandquestions, which would have assured any one but Adams, who never sawfarther into people than they desired to let him, of the truth of apassion she endeavoured to conceal. Indeed, the fact was, that this poorgirl, having heard of Joseph's misfortune, by some of the servantsbelonging to the coach which we have formerly mentioned to have stopt atthe inn while the poor youth was confined to his bed, that instantabandoned the cow she was milking, and, taking with her a little bundleof clothes under her arm, and all the money she was worth in her ownpurse, without consulting any one, immediately set forward in pursuit ofone whom, notwithstanding her shyness to the parson, she loved withinexpressible violence, though with the purest and most delicatepassion. This shyness, therefore, as we trust it will recommend hercharacter to all our female readers, and not greatly surprize such ofour males as are well acquainted with the younger part of the other sex,we shall not give ourselves any trouble to vindicate.