Chapter 10 The Fifth Card

The board had five cards on it at the end of the first month, and the fifth card was the traveller's, and the traveller had come back at seven, and the traveller had given Kessin the coin, and the traveller had given her the fare, and the traveller had given her the bread, and the traveller had gone out through the gate, and he had not come back. Kessin wrote on the ledger at the end of the month, in the space where the old woman had written pay Turrel first: the hall has five cards, and the hall has taken in five fares, and the hall has given out five coins, and the hall has given out five breads, and the hall has given out five suppers, and the hall has given out five nights, and the hall has given out five mornings, and the hall has given out five roads. She wrote it and looked at it, and the line was longer than the page, and she took a new page, and wrote it again, and looked at it, and the line was the same, and she put the pen down, and Turrel came in with the lamp and the cloth, and she saw the line, and she did not say anything, and she put the bread on the shelf, and she lit the lamp, and she went to the stove, and she put the coffee on. Kessin drank the coffee. "The hall has five cards," she said. "The hall has five cards," said Turrel. "The hall has taken in nine shillings and one penny." "No," said Turrel. "The hall owes eleven pounds and eleven shillings and six pence." "I have nine shillings and one penny." "You have nine shillings and one penny," said Turrel. "And the hall owes eleven pounds and eleven shillings and six pence to Hobb and to Gillanwick and to Cawthorn, and the hall owes that because the hall has not paid it for four years, and the hall will not pay it this month, because the hall has nine shillings and one penny, and the hall will pay it next month, if the hall has eleven pounds." "Then I will get eleven pounds," said Kessin. "No," said Turrel. "You will not get eleven pounds. You will get eleven cards, and eleven cards will give you eleven pounds, and eleven pounds will pay the debt, and the debt will be paid, and the hall will have the debt paid, and the hall will have the hall, and the hall will have the hall, because the hall is the hall." "The hall has five cards," said Kessin. "The hall has five cards," said Turrel. "And the hall has six names, and the hall has a seventh name, and the seventh name is blank, and the seventh name will be filled, if the hall gives out a seventh name, and the hall will give out a seventh name, if the hall takes in a seventh fare, and the hall will take in a seventh fare, if the hall has a seventh card, and the hall will have a seventh card, if the hall has a seventh name." "I will write the seventh card," said Kessin. "You will not write the seventh card," said Turrel. "The seventh card will be written, if the hall gives out a seventh name, and the hall will give out a seventh name, if the hall has a seventh card, and the hall will have a seventh card, if the hall has a seventh name." Kessin took the pen and the ink, and went to the board, and took a card of stiff paper, and took the brass seal, and wrote on it, in the hand that had been steady, nothing. She wrote nothing. She put the seal on it, and she put it on the board, and the board had six cards on it, and the sixth card was blank, and the seventh card was blank, and the hall had six cards, and the hall had a seventh name, and the seventh name was blank. The boy came in at ten with his case and his coat and his boots, and he saw the card on the board, and he stood at the foot of the wheel with his case, and he looked at the card, and he did not speak, and Kessin did not speak, and Turrel came in from the kitchen with the lamp and the cloth, and she saw the card, and she did not say anything, and she put the bread on the shelf, and she lit the lamp, and she went to the stove, and she put the coffee on, and Kessin drank the coffee, and the boy drank the coffee, and the donkey slept at the gate, and the board had six cards on it, and the sixth card was blank, and the seventh card was blank, and the hall was the hall. "Whose card is it," said Peth. "No one's," said Kessin. "No one's," said Peth. "Then I will not put my name on it." "Do not put your name on it," said Kessin. "Then the card will be blank," said Peth. "The card will be blank," said Kessin. "Then the hall will be blank," said Peth. "No," said Kessin. "The hall will not be blank. The hall will be the hall, and the hall will have a card, and the card will be blank, and the blank card will be the seventh name, and the seventh name will be filled, when the hall gives out a seventh name, and the hall will give out a seventh name, when the hall has a seventh card, and the hall will have a seventh card, when the hall has a seventh name, and the hall will have a seventh name, when the hall is the hall." "Then I will wait," said Peth. "You will wait," said Kessin. "I will walk the lane," said Peth. "You will walk the lane," said Kessin. "I will mark the stones," said Peth. "You will mark the stones," said Kessin. "I will keep the case," said Peth. "Keep the case," said Kessin. "I will keep the road," said Peth. "Keep the road," said Kessin. "I will keep the hall," said Peth. "You will keep the hall," said Kessin. "And I will keep the seventh name, and the seventh name will be filled, when the hall gives out a seventh name, and the hall will give out a seventh name, when the hall has a seventh card, and the hall will have a seventh card, when the hall has a seventh name, and the hall will have a seventh name, when the hall is the hall, and the hall will be the hall, because the hall is the hall." ---