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diff --git a/40883-8.txt b/40883-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index f0ba2ea..0000000 --- a/40883-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9597 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Katerfelto, by G. J. Whyte-Melville - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Katerfelto - A Story of Exmoor - -Author: G. J. Whyte-Melville - -Illustrator: H. Hope Crealocke - -Release Date: September 28, 2012 [EBook #40883] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KATERFELTO *** - - - - -Produced by Suzanne Shell, Ayeshah Ali and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - -[Illustration: Front Cover.] - - -[Illustration: AT GAZE. Frontispiece] - - - -KATERFELTO - -A Story of Exmoor. - -BY - -G.J. WHYTE-MELVILLE, - -AUTHOR OF "DIGBY GRAND," "CERISE," "UNCLE JOHN," ETC. - -WITH ILLUSTRATIONS - -BY COL. H. HOPE CREALOCKE, C.B. - -LONDON: - -CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY. - -1875. - - [_All rights reserved._] - - - - -LONDON: - -BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO., PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS. - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - "AT GAZE" (_Frontispiece_) PAGE - - "UNDER THE GUARD" 8 - - "WESTWARD HO!" 96 - - "WELL OUT OF IT" 152 - - "THE LESSON LEARNT" 165 - - "THE TALE TOLD" 183 - - "MOONLIGHT" 206 - - "MOVED!" 215 - - "BEAT" 228 - - "SET UP" 229 - - "NECK OR NOTHING" 280 - - "THE GIPSY'S BRIDE" 286 - - - - - - - - -KATERFELTO: - -A STORY OF EXMOOR. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -DEADMAN'S ALLEY. - - -On the last day of April, 1763, John Wilkes, refusing to enter into his -recognisances to appear before the Court of Queen's Bench, was committed -to the Tower by warrant of my Lords Egremont and Halifax, His Majesty's -two principal Secretaries of State. - -Defiance of constituted authority has never wanted sympathy from that -British public which entertains, nevertheless, a profound respect for -law. Mr. Wilkes became a hero in consequence; and while many a jug of -beer was thereafter emptied, and many a bottle of wine cracked to his -health, diverse street songs, more or less execrable, were composed in -honour of the so-called patriot, whose personal popularity was -incontestable, notwithstanding the unprepossessing exterior, that has -passed into a proverb. - -Of these, none were perhaps so absurd as the following ditty, chanted by -a chairman more than half drunk, under the windows of a tavern in Covent -Garden, notwithstanding the protestations of some half-dozen gentlemen, -who, seated at supper in an upper chamber, held that their tastes and -opinions were equally outraged by the persistency of the singer below. - -"King Nabuchodonosor," whined the chairman. - -"Hold that cursed noise!" exclaimed one of the gentlemen from the -window. - -"King Nabuchodonosor," repeated the chairman in all the aggravating -monotony of a minor key. - -"You knave!" roared a second voice--"I'll come down and beat you to a -jelly, if you speak another syllable!" - -A volley of oaths succeeded this threat, but their object stood fire -manfully under the discharge, and fixing his eyes on vacancy, proceeded -with his song-- - - "'King Nabuchodonosor - Lived in a golden palace; - He fed from a golden dish, and drank - His swipes from a golden chalice. - _But_ John Wilkes he was for Middlesex, - And they chose him for knight of the shire; - For he made a fool of Alderman Bull, - And called Parson Tooke a liar!' - -"Hurrah!" continued the vocalist, who had lost his hat, waving a scratch -wig round his bare scalp with an abortive attempt to cheer. "King -Nabu--Nabu--cho--donosor was a mighty man"--shaking his head with -unimpaired solemnity--"a mighty man, no doubt, - - '_But_ John Wilkes he was for Middlesex, - And they chose him for knight of the shire.' - -Hip, hip--Hurrah!" - -A burst of laughter rang from the party in the tavern, and a gentleman -in a laced waistcoat shut down the window after throwing out a -crown-piece to the singer in the street. - -Night was falling, the air felt chilly, though it was summer, and the -party, who had drank several bottles of port, gathered round the fire -over a steaming bowl of punch. - -They were of all ages between twenty and fifty. One of them wore a wig, -another powder, a third had brushed his luxuriant hair to the poll of -his neck and tied it in a plain black bow. Their long-waisted coats were -cut to an ample width at skirt and sleeves; their waistcoats heavily -bound with lace. Knots of ribbon adorned the knees of their breeches, -their shoes were fastened with buckles, and each man carried sword and -snuff-box. To drink, to fence, to "lug out" as it was called, on slight -provocation, to sing a good song, tell a broad story, and spill a deal -of snuff in its recital, were, at this period, the necessary -accomplishments of a gentleman. - -The room in which these worthies had assembled seemed more comfortable -than luxurious. Its bare floor was sanded, and the chairs, long-legged, -high-backed and narrow-seated, were little suggestive of repose, but the -mahogany table had been rubbed till it shone like glass, the wood-fire -blazed and crackled, lighting up the crimson hangings that festooned the -windows, and though the candles were but tallow, there flared enough of -them to bring into relief a few pictures with which the unpapered walls -were hung. These works of art, being without exception of a sporting -tendency, were treated in a realistic style, and seemed indeed to have -been painted by the same master:--A fighting-cock, spurred, trimmed, and -prepared for battle, standing on the very tip-toe of defiance. A horse -with a preternaturally small head, and the shortest possible tail, -galloping over Newmarket Heath, to win, as set forth in large print -below, "a match or plate of the value of fifty guineas." The portrait of -a celebrated prize-fighter, armed with a broadsword, of a noted boxer in -position, stripped to the waist. Lastly, an ambitious composition, -consisting of scarlet frocks, jack-boots, cocked hats, tired horses and -baying hounds, grouped round a central figure brandishing a dead fox, -and labelled "The Victory of obtaining the Brush." - -One of the party had taken on himself to ladle out the punch. Its -effects soon became apparent in the heightened colour and increased -volubility of the company. Voices rose, two or three at once. A song was -demanded, a glass broken. In the natural course of events, somebody -called a toast. - -"Blue-Eyes!" shouted a handsome young fellow flushed with drink, waving -his glass above his head. - -"A fine!" objected the punch-ladler, judicially. "By the laws of our -society, no member has leave to pledge a female toast. It leads to -mischief. Gentlemen, we have decided to draw the line, and we draw it at -beauty. Call something else!" - -"Then here's John Wilkes!" laughed the first speaker. "He's ugly enough -in all conscience. John Wilkes! His good health and deliverance--with -three!" - -"Hold!" exclaimed a beetle-browed, square-shouldered man of forty or -more, turning down his glass; "I protest against the toast. John Wilkes -ought still to be fast by the heels in the Tower of London. If he had -his deserts John Wilkes would never have come out again, alive or dead, -and nobody but a d--d Jacobite, and traitor to His Majesty King George, -would venture to call such a toast in this worshipful company. I stand -to what I say, John Garnet. It's you to play next!" - -Each man looked at his neighbour. The punch-ladler half rose to -interfere, but shortly plumped into his seat again, finding himself, it -may be, not quite steady on his legs, while the young gentleman, thus -offensively addressed, clenched his glass, as if to hurl it in the last -speaker's face. Controlling himself, however, with obvious effort, he -broke into a forced laugh, glanced at his rapier, standing in a corner -of the room, and observed quietly, "If you desire to fasten a quarrel -on me, Mr. Gale, this is neither a fitting time nor place." - -"Quarrel!" exclaimed the man behind the punch-bowl; "no gentleman, drunk -or sober, would be fain to quarrel on John Wilkes' behalf. Sure, he can -take his own part with the best or worst of us, and Mr. Gale was only -playing the ball back to your service, John Garnet. You began the jest, -bad or good. Be reasonable, gentlemen. Fill your glasses, and let us -wash away all unkindness. Here's to you both!" - -Mr. Gale, though something of a bully, was not, in the main, an -ill-natured man. He squared his shoulders, filled his glass, and pledged -the person he had insulted with an indifference that almost amounted to -additional provocation. Confident in his personal strength and skill -with his weapon, Mr. Gale, to use his own phraseology, was accustomed to -consider himself Cock of the Walk in every society he frequented. Nine -men out of ten are willing to accept bluster for courage, and give the -wall readily enough to him who assumes it as a right. The tenth is made -of sterner stuff, resists the pretension, and exposes too often a white -feather lurking under the fowl's wing, that crowed so lustily and -strutted with so defiant a gait. - -All this passed through the mind of John Garnet, completely sobered by -his wrangle, while he sipped punch in silence, meditating reprisals -before the night was past. - -This young gentleman, whom nature and fortune seemed to have intended -for better things, was at present wasting health and energy in a life of -pleasure that failed egregiously to please, but that succeeded in -draining the resources of a slender purse to their lowest ebb. He came -of an old family, and indeed, but for the attainder that deprived his -father of lands and title, would have been the owner of large estates in -the North, and addressed by tenantry or neighbours as Sir John--that -father, devoted body and soul to the Stuarts, died at Rome, beggared -and broken-hearted, leaving his son little besides his blessing, and an -injunction never to abandon the good cause, but bequeathing to him the -personal beauty and well-knit frame that Acts of Parliament were -powerless to alienate. The young man's laughing eyes, rich colour, dark -hair, and handsome features were in keeping with a light muscular -figure, a stature slightly above the average, and an easy jaunty -bearing, set off by a rich dress, particularly pleasing to feminine -taste. Hence, while he repudiated the title of which he had been -deprived, it became a jest among his intimates to call him "plain John -Garnet," a jest of which the point was perhaps more appreciated by the -other sex, than by his own. - -Plain John Garnet looked somewhat preoccupied now, sitting moodily over -his punch, and the influence of his demeanour seemed to steal upon the -company in general. Mr. Gale, indeed, held forth loudly on horse-racing, -cock-fighting, and such congenial topics, but spent his breath for an -inattentive audience, not to be interested even by a dissertation on -West-country wrestling in all its branches--the Cornish hug, the -Devonshire shoulder-grip, and the West Somerset "rough-and-tumble catch -where you can." - -At an earlier hour than usual the reckoning was called, and the guests, -not very steady, assumed their swords and hats to pass downstairs into -the street. Mr. Gale by accident, John Garnet by design, were the last -to leave the room. - -The latter placed himself before the door, observing in a quiet tone, -that the other's reckoning was not yet wholly paid up. "How so?" asked -Gale, in his loud, authoritative voice. "The oldest member has taken my -half-guinea, and entered it in due course. Will you satisfy yourself, my -young friend, by calling the landlord to produce his club-books? Pooh, -pooh! young sir: the punch is strong, and you have drunk too much! -Stand aside, I say, and let me pass!" - -He did not like the set look of John Garnet's mouth; he liked less the -low firm tones in which that gentleman repeated his assertion. - -"You may or may not be in debt to the club--it is their affair. You owe -an apology to one of the members--that is mine." - -"Apology!" stormed the other. "Apology! what do you mean, sir? This is -insolence. Don't attempt to bully _me_, sir! Again I say, at your peril, -let me pass!" - -"Do you refuse it?" asked John Garnet, in a low voice, setting his lips -tighter while he spoke. - -"I do!" was the angry reply. "And what then?" - -"Nothing unusual," said the other, while he moved out of the way. - -"Drawer! Please to show us an empty room." - -A frightened waiter, with a face as white as his napkin, opened the door -of an adjoining chamber, set a candle on the chimney-piece, and motioned -the gentlemen in. - -Garnet bowed profoundly, making way for his senior to pass. The other -looked about him in uncertainty, and felt his heart sink, while he heard -the voices of their departing companions, already in the street. - -He had little inclination to his task. For one moment the burly, -square-shouldered man wished himself safe at home; the next, that -intermittent courage which comes to most of us, in proportion as it is -wanted, braced his nerves for the inevitable encounter and its result. -He grasped his rapier, ready to draw at a moment's notice, while the -other coolly locked the door. - -The waiter, fresh on the town, and unused to such brawls, ran down to -summon his master, who was busy over the house accounts in a small -parlour below. Till the landlord had added up one column and carried -its balance to the next, he paid no attention, though his astonished -servant stood pale and trembling before him, with a corkscrew in his -mouth and a bottle under his arm. Then both rushed upstairs in a -prodigious hurry, just too late to prevent mischief. - -While yet in the passage they could hear a scuffle of feet, a clink of -steel, a smothered oath, and a groan; but as they reached the door it -was opened from inside, and John Garnet stood before them, panting, -excited, his waistcoat torn, his dress awry, with the candle in his -hand. - -"There is a gentleman badly hurt in that room," said he. "Better send -for a surgeon at once, and get a coach to take him home." Then he blew -out the candle, slipped downstairs in the dark, and so into the street. - -The gentleman was indeed so badly hurt that all the energies of the -household were concentrated on the sufferer. Nobody had a thought to -spare for the assailant till long after pursuit would have been too -late. Mr. Gale was wounded in the fore-arm, and had received a -sword-thrust through the lungs. With the landlord's assistance he made -shift to walk into a bedchamber, where they undressed and laid him -carefully down; but before a surgeon could arrive there was obviously no -hope, and he only lived long enough to assure the doctor, in the -presence of two witnesses, that the quarrel had been of his own making, -and was fought out according to the usual rules of fair-play. - -"I was a fool not to close with him," murmured the dying man, reflecting -ruefully on the personal strength he had misapplied. "But the rogue is a -pretty swordsman; quick, well-taught, supple as an eel, and--I forgive -him!" - -Then he turned on his side, as the landlord subsequently stated, and -thereafter spoke never a word more, good or bad. - -[Illustration: UNDER THE GUARD.] - -John Garnet, meanwhile, made the best of his way into -the street, with the intention of proceeding straight to his lodgings, -and riding out of London next morning at break of day. Duels, though of -no rare occurrence, were serious matters even in a time when every man -carried a small-sword by his breeches-pocket; and to be taken -red-handed, as it were, from the slaughter of an adversary, would have -entailed unpleasant consequences to liberty, if not to life. While it -had been established that a gentleman was bound to defend his honour -with cold steel, it seemed also understood that in such encounters even -victory might be purchased at too dear a price. Nevertheless, so riotous -were the habits of the day, encouraging to the utmost card-playing and -the free use of wine, so lax was the administration of the law, and so -stringent the code of public opinion, that scarcely a week passed -without an encounter, more or less bloody, between men of education and -intellect, who would have considered themselves dishonoured had they not -been ready at any moment to support a jest, an argument, or an insult, -with naked steel. John Garnet, therefore, observing an ancient watchman -pacing his sluggish rounds, turned aside into a bye-street rather than -confront this guardian of the peace; and hastening on as he became less -certain of the locality, was aware that his strength began to fail, and -felt his shirt clinging to his body, wet and clammy with something that -must be blood. - -For an instant he thought of turning back into the more frequented -thoroughfare; but the hum of voices, and increasing tread of feet, -seemed too suggestive of discovery, and he stumbled onwards, in faint -hope of reaching the dwelling of some obscure barber-surgeon who might -staunch his wounds, and send for a coach to take him home. - -Twice he reeled against the wall of a certain dark passage, called -Deadman's Alley, down which he staggered with uneven steps, and had -almost decided that he must sink into the gutter, and lie where he fell -till a passer-by should pick him up, when he descried a red lamp in a -window ahead, and summoned all his strength to make for it as his last -hope. Half blind, half stupefied, he groped and blundered on, with a -dull, strange fancy that he was on the deck of a ship, labouring in a -heavy sea while she made for a harbour-light, that seemed continually to -dip and disappear behind the waves. The illusion, though not so vivid, -was similar to a dream, and the languor that accompanied it something -akin to sleep; till in a moment, while through his brain there came a -whirr as in the works of a watch when it runs down, the light widened, -broke into a hundred shafts of fire, went out and all was dark. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -PORLOCK BAY. - - -High-water in Porlock Bay. The tide upon the turn--sand-pipers, great -and small, dipping, nodding, stalking to and fro, or flitting along its -margin waiting for the ebb; a gull riding smoothly outside on an -untroubled surface, calm as the soft sky overhead, that smiled lovingly -down on the Severn Sea. Landward, a strip of green and level meadows, -fringed by luxuriant woodlands, fair with the gorgeous hues of summer; -stalwart oak, towering elm, spreading walnut, stately Spanish chestnut, -hardy mountain ash, and scattered high on the steep, above dotted thorns -and spreading hazels, outposts, as it were, of delicate feathering -birches, to guard the borders of the forest and the waste; fairyland -brought here to upper earth, with all its changing phases, and variety -of splendour. The wild-bird from her nest in Horner Woods needed but a -dozen strokes of her wing to reach the open moorland that stretched and -widened ridge by ridge, and shoulder by shoulder, till its rich carpet -of heather was lost in the warm haze that came down on Dunkerry Beacon, -like a veil from the sky. - -Far away towards Devon lay a land of freedom and solitude, haunt of the -bittern and the red deer, intersected by many a silent coombe and -brawling river, to expand at last on the purple slopes of Brendon, or -the wet grassy plains of Exmoor. Travelling over that interminable -distance, the sense of sight could not but weary for very gladness, and -turned well pleased to rest itself on the white cliffs of the Welsh -coast opposite, and the faint blue of the intervening waters, calm and -still, like the eyes of a girl, whose being has never yet been stirred -into passion by the storm. - -Above, below, around, Porlock Bay was decked in her fairest garb. Earth, -air, and water seemed holding jubilee; but the loveliest object in -earth, air, or water was a maiden seated on a point of rock, washed by -the drowsy lap and murmur of the tide, who seemed pondering deeply yet -in simple happy thought--a maiden of comely features and gracious -presence, the sweetest lass from Bossington Point to Bideford Bay, -nimble with needle, tongue and finger, courteous, quick-witted, brave, -tender-hearted, the light of a household, the darling of a hamlet, the -toast of three counties,--and her name was Nelly Carew. - -She had sat the best part of an hour without moving from her place, -therefore she could not be waiting for an expected arrival. She swung -her straw hat backwards and forwards by its broad blue ribbon, with the -regularity of a pendulum; therefore her meditations could have been of -no agitating kind, and she looked straight into the horizon, neither -upward like those who live in the future, nor downwards like those who -ponder on the past. Nevertheless, her reflections must have been of an -engrossing nature, for she started at a man's footstep on the shingle, -and the healthy colour mantled in her cheek, while she rose and put out -her hand to be grasped in that of a square-shouldered, rough-looking -personage, whose greeting, though perfectly respectful, seemed more -cordial than polite. - -"Good even, Mistress Nelly," said the new comer, in a deep sonorous -voice; "and a penny for your thoughts, if I may be so bold; for thinking -you were, my pretty lass, I'll wager a bodkin, of something very nigh -your heart." - -She turned her blue eyes--and Nelly Carew's blue eyes made fools of the -opposite sex at short notice--full in the speaker's face. - -"Indeed, Parson," she answered, "you never spoke a truer word in the -pulpit, nor out of it. I've turned it over in my mind till I'm dazed -with thinking, and I can't get her to sit, do what I will." - -"Sit!" exclaimed the other. "Where and how?" - -"Why, the speckled hen to be sure!" answered Nelly, rather impatiently. -"If she addles all these as she addled the last hatch, I'll forswear -keeping fowls, that I will--it puts me past my patience. How do you -contrive with yours, Mr. Gale? though to be sure, if I was a parson, -like you, I wouldn't keep game-cocks. I couldn't have the heart to see -the poor things fight!" - -Parson Gale made no attempt to justify this secular amusement. He was -one of those ecclesiastics, too common a hundred years ago, who looked -upon his preferment and his parish as a layman of the present day looks -on a sporting manor and a hunting-box. Burly, middle-aged, and athletic, -there were few men between Bodmin and Barnstaple who could vie with the -parson in tying a fly, setting a trimmer, tailing an otter, handling a -game-cock, using fists and cudgel, wrestling a fall, and on occasion -emptying a gallon of cider or a jack of double ale. Nay, he knew how to -harbour a stag, and ride the moor after him when the pack were laid on, -with the keenest sportsman of the West, and if to these accomplishments -are added no little skill in cattle doctoring, and some practical -knowledge of natural history, it is not to be supposed that the Reverend -Abner Gale found much leisure for those classical and theological -studies, to which he had never shown the slightest inclination. - -"It is but their nature," said the Parson, reverting to the game-cocks, -of which he owned a choice and undefeated breed. "It comes as natural -for them to fight, as for me to drink when I'm dry, or for your old -grandfather to sit and nod over the fire. Or for yourself, Mistress -Nelly,"--here the parson hesitated and tapped his heavy riding boots -with his heavier whip,--"to bloom here in the fresh air of the Channel, -like a rose in a bow-pot. There's a many would fain gather the rose, -only they dursn't ask for fear of being denied." - -The latter part of the sentence was spoken low enough for Nelly, even if -she heard it, to ignore. - -"And what brought you here this afternoon?" she inquired in her frankest -tones. "It's a long ride across the moor, Parson, even for _you_, and -not much of a place when you get to it. If it had been Bridgewater now, -or Barnstaple, sure you would have seen a score of neighbours, men and -women, to tell you the news, and wind up the night with a junket or may -be a dance. But here," and Nelly burst into a merry laugh, "our only -news is that the speckled hen seems as obstinate as a mule, and Farmer -Veal brought a roan nag horse home this morning from Exeter. I daresay -you've seen it already. As to dancing, if you must needs dance, Parson -Gale, it will have to be with grandfather or me!" - -"And I'd dance all night with both," he answered, "to be sure of a kind -word from one of them in the morning. Do you really care to know what -brought me here to-day, Mistress Nelly, and will you promise not to be -hard on me if I tell you the truth?" - -There was something ludicrous in the contrast of his rough exterior and -timid manner while he spoke. He was a thick, square-made man, built for -strength rather than activity, with a coarse though comely face, bearing -the traces of a hard out-of-door life, not without occasional excesses -in feasting and conviviality. His short grizzled hair made him look more -than his age, but in spite of his clumsy figure, there was a lightness -in his step, an activity in his gestures, such as seldom outlasts the -turning point of forty. He was dressed in a full-skirted riding coat, an -ample waistcoat that had once been black, soiled leather breeches, and -rusty boots, garnished with a pair of well-cleaned spurs. Even on foot -and up to his ankles in shingle, the man looked like a good rider, and a -daring resolute fellow in all matters of bodily effort or peril, not -without a certain reckless good humour that often accompanies laxity of -principle and habits of self-indulgence. Many women would have seen -something attractive even now in his burly strength and manly bearing; -would have thought it worth while, perhaps, to wean him from his -game-cocks and his boon companions, to tempt him back into the paths of -sobriety, good government, and moderation. Among such reformers he would -fain have counted Nelly Carew. - -"You must tell it me in the house then," said she, rising hastily, and -looking up at the sky, as if in dread of a coming shower. "It's time I -was back with grandfather to give him his posset--I left it simmering on -the hob more than an hour ago. Poor grandfather! He never complains, but -I fear he frets if I keep away from him long. It must be dull for him -sure, after the life he led once, dukes and princes and counts of the -empire and what not--why, his very snuff-box belonged to Prince Eugene; -and now he has nobody to speak to but me! Come in, Mr. Gale, and -welcome; it will freshen him up a bit to see a new face, for I think he -seems poorly this morning; you may walk straight into the parlour; you -know your way well enough--while I go and look after supper. You'll eat -a morsel with us, won't you, before your ride across the moor?" - -Thus staving off any further explanation of the parson's hints, Nelly -Carew led the way to the pretty and commodious cottage she called her -home, stopping at the door to prune a broken twig from the myrtle that -flourished by the porch as luxuriously as though North Devon were the -South of France. Parson Gale, noting the trim garden, the well-ordered -flower-beds, the newly-thatched roof, and general air of cleanliness and -decency that pervaded the establishment, could not repress a strong -desire to own the treasure thus comfortably bestowed. There was the -casket. Would he ever succeed in carrying off its jewel to make the -light of his own hearth the ornament on his own breast? - -It seemed but yesterday she came here a smiling little lass of nine or -ten, the darling of that worn-out soldier, whose life had commenced so -eventfully, to dribble out its remaining sands in so quiet and obscure a -retreat. Of old Carew's history he only knew thus much, that the veteran -had passed a wild unbridled youth, a stormy and reckless manhood; that -he had been tried for rebellion in '15, and risked his head, already -grey, once more in '45, escaping imprisonment and even death on both -occasions by the interposition of powerful friends and in consideration -of his services on the Continent during the war. Even John, Duke of -Marlborough, spoke out for the man he had seen at Malplaquet, holding -his own with a pike against three of the Black Musketeers, and who -carried his weapon in a cool salute to his commander the instant he had -beaten them off. But Carew never prospered, despite his dauntless -courage and undoubted military skill. Now some fatal duel, now some wild -outrage on discipline and propriety brought him into disgrace with the -authorities, and men who were unborn when he first smelt powder, -commanded regiments and brigades, while he remained a simple lieutenant, -with a slender income, a handsome person, and a reputation for daring -alone. - -Such characters marry hastily and improvidently. Carew's wife died when -her first child was born, a handsome little rogue, who grew to man's -estate the very counterpart in person and disposition of his graceless -sire. He, too, married early and in defiance of prudential -considerations, gambled, drank, quarrelled with his father, and lost his -life in a duel before they had made friends. Old Carew's hair turned -grey, and his proud form began to stoop soon after his son's death, for -he loved the boy dearly, none the less perhaps because of those very -qualities he thought it right to reprove. Then he took the widow and her -little girl to live with him at a small freehold he inherited near -Porlock; but young Mistress Carew did not long survive her husband, and -the old man found himself at threescore years and ten the sole companion -of a demure little damsel not yet in her teens, whose every look, word, -and gesture reminded him cruelly of the son he had loved and lost. - -These two became inseparable. The child's mother had imparted to her a -few simple accomplishments--needlework, house-keeping, a little singing, -a little music, the French language--as she had herself acquired it in a -convent abroad; above all, those womanly ways that not one woman in ten -really possesses, and that make the charm of what is called society no -less than the happiness of home. - -Little Nelly was still in her black frock when, taking a Sunday walk -hand-in-hand with her grandfather, she looked up in his face, and thus -accosted him:-- - -"When I'm big," said she, "I'll have a little girl of my own. I shall -take her out-a-walking, and be kind to her, as you are to me. You won't -like her better than me, grandfather, will you?" - -"You may be sure of that, Nelly," was his answer, while he marvelled how -this blue-eyed mite had come to be dearer to him than all his loves and -memories of the past; wishing he could have shaped his whole life -differently for her sake. - -"I shall always be your little girl, grandfather," continued Nelly; "I -couldn't do without _you_, and you couldn't do without _me_, so you need -not be afraid of my ever going away to leave you--I promise--there!" - -"But, if you marry, Nelly?" said he, laughing, for to his little maid -this affirmation was the most solemn form of oath. - -"I shall _never_ marry," answered Nelly, with exceeding decision, "no -more shall my little girl." - -And now it seemed the old warrior's turn to be dependent on the grown -woman he had loved and cherished in her childhood. It was true enough -that he fretted and pined for her if she stayed many hours out of his -sight. It was pitiable to mark how, day by day, the intellect failed in -proportion as the goodly form dwindled to decay. The old oak that had -reared its branches so sturdily was bowed and sapless now. The soldier -of Oudenarde and Malplaquet, who had sat at table with Marlborough and -Prince Eugene, was fit for little more than to doze in an easy-chair, -longing for his grandchild's home-coming, and nodding, as Parson Gale -said, feebly over the fire. - -Even that worthy felt struck with something of awe and apprehension -while he looked on the wasted limbs that he had heard quoted by old -neighbours for their strength, and reflected that the time was coming -when he too would no longer be able to sit a horse or wrestle a fall. -What had he to look forward to? What resources against that day of -debility and stagnation, unless, indeed, he could prevail in his suit -with Nelly Carew? Therefore did Parson Gale exert all his powers of -conversation, hoping to render himself agreeable to the girl as she -passed in and out, furthering the preparations for their simple meal. He -drew on his memory, his mother-wit, and his invention for subjects that -might be interesting to both his companions. For old Carew he detailed -at great length the particulars of a wrestling-match, and subsequent -drinking bout, at both of which he had lately assisted in his own -parish; while to Nelly he expatiated on the convenience of his kitchen, -the coolness of his larder, the luxuries of his best parlour in the -parsonage at home; but, in spite of all his efforts, he experienced a -dim sense of failure and depression. Notwithstanding his calling, the -man was superstitious rather than religious; and when he rose to take -leave, could not forbear expressing a conviction that some great -misfortune must be impending on him or his. - -"I've heard tell of men feeling just like me," said he, holding Nelly's -hand rather longer than good breeding required, "and being found next -morning stark dead on the moor. There was a woman up at my place only -last Martinmas, and she says, 'Parson,' says she, 'there's something -coming to me that's past praying for; I know as well as if I saw it. I'm -that down-hearted I don't seem to fill my bodice, and there's a din in -both my ears like the waves of a flood-tide, so as I can't scarce hear -myself speak.' It wasn't a month before her only brother got drowned off -the Lizard, and will you tell me now, Mistress Nelly, as you did once -before, that such warnings are but idle fancies and old women's fables? -I'm down-hearted too; I'm not ashamed to say so. And when it's fallen on -me, whatever it is, I should like to know who will care a pinch of snuff -what's gone with wild Abner Gale?" - -"I wouldn't speak so, if I were you," answered the girl, who, having -disengaged her hand, was now standing at the cottage door to see him -mount for his homeward ride across the moor. "There are plenty of all -sorts to welcome you when you come, and wish you 'good-speed' when you -go away--you that have so many friends." - -"Friends!" repeated the Parson, turning his mare's head homewards, with -a bitter smile. "The church wouldn't hold my acquaintance, but the -pulpit is large enough for my _friends_!" - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -WAIF. - - -Deadman's Alley was at all times a secluded thoroughfare; after dark, -indeed, its echoes rarely woke to the sound of a footstep; and the watch -reflecting, perhaps, that such loneliness saved them a deal of trouble, -abstained from disturbing its repose. An empty cask, a bale of goods, or -a human body thrown aside in Deadman's Alley, might have remained there -many hours without attracting the notice or obstructing the transit of a -passenger. - -John Garnet, however, was unusually fortunate, for he had wallowed in -the gutter but a few minutes, when a girl's step came dancing along the -alley, and the lightest foot in London tripped over him as he lay at -length upon the stones, not quite unconscious, yet altogether powerless -to move. The girl, who had nearly fallen, recovered her footing with the -activity of a cat; and smothering an exclamation in some outlandish -tongue, peered down through the darkness to discover the nature of her -stumbling-block. Then she felt that her naked ankles, for she wore no -stockings, were wet with blood. In an instant she flew to the little red -lamp, for which John Garnet had been making when he fell, tapped hard at -the latticed window whence it shone; and after a hurried whisper with -some one inside, returned in equal haste, accompanied by an old man -wearing a skull-cap and black velvet gown. Together they lifted their -burden in a deliberate business-like manner, as though they traded -habitually in such goods, and carried it into their dwelling, carefully -securing the shutters of the lattice, and closing the door. - -When John Garnet recovered his senses he thought he must be dreaming, so -like a trick of Fancy was the scene to which he awoke. Above him hung -heavy bed-curtains of a rich brocade, under his head was a laced pillow, -and he lay on a scarlet coverlet bound with a border of blue. His eyes, -travelling lazily round the room, rested on a silver lamp, fed by some -aromatic oil; and when he closed them again, wearied by the exertion, -gentle hands pressed a cordial to his lips, and a consoling voice -whispered in his ear: - -"Courage, my young friend. Do not attempt to raise your head. Another -sip, Waif. Good. In five minutes he will come-to." - -In five minutes he _did_ come to, and found strength to ask what had -happened and where he was? - -"The first question you must answer for yourself," said the grave old -man who sat by his bedside, with a finger on his pulse. "To the second I -reply, make your mind easy, you are in the house and under the care of -the celebrated Doctor Katerfelto, who has won more games of skill -against death than any practitioner now alive. Waif, bring me the roll -of lint that stands on the top shelf in the surgery. Look in the middle -drawer for some red salve, and put that flask out of my patient's -reach." - -The girl had left the room, and was back again quicker than John -Garnet's languid senses could follow her movements. When she returned -with these simple remedies, he did not fail to mark the softness of her -dark eyes, the subdued grace of her bearing, the sweet and loving pity -that seemed to pervade her whole being while she hovered about his -couch, and administered skilfully to the wants of a wounded man. Nor was -this tenderness, this sympathy, this almost maternal solicitude, in -accordance with her general habits, in keeping with her type of form and -feature. She looked more like a panther of the wilderness than the nurse -in a sick room. The lithe and supple frame, the light and noiseless -gait, the quick stealthy turn of ear and eye and limb, ready on the -instant for attack, defence, or flight, all this partook of the fierce, -feline nature, and all this she inherited from that mysterious race to -which she belonged, whose origin history has failed to discover, whose -destiny conjecture is at a loss to guess. From her gipsy ancestors she -derived her tameless glances, her nimble strength, her shapely limbs -with their delicate extremities, her swarthy savage beauty and light -untiring step. From them, too, came the wild blood that boiled under -restraint or contradiction, the unbridled passions that knew no curb of -custom nor of conscience, the cunning that could conceal them till -occasion offered, the recklessness that would then indulge them freely -without pity or remorse. - -John Garnet had never yet seen anything so beautiful as this tawny girl -bending over his couch, with gold coins studding her jetty hair, with -collar and bracelets of gold round her neck and wrists, with a shawled -robe of scarlet and orange reaching to her naked ankles, and broad -buckles of gold in her red-heeled shoes. - -He thought of Cleopatra, young whole-hearted, and untainted by the kiss -of an emperor; of the Queen of Sheba, before she fathomed the wisdom of -Solomon. Then he thought the dark eyes looked at him more than kindly, -and fell to wondering how she came here, and what relation she bore to -this old man in the velvet gown who sat by his pillow with a grave -attentive face. But the cordial was doing its work. Ere his wounds had -been dressed, the salve spread, and the lint bandages deftly swathed -round his body, John Garnet's senses lost themselves once more in -oblivion; the last words he heard were in the doctor's voice. Listening -for the girl's answer he fell sound asleep. - -"There is no fear now," said Katerfelto reflectively. "Shall I say there -is no hope? He would have made a beautiful subject, and I wanted just -such an one, to bring my new discovery to perfection. Look at his chest, -Waif. Did you ever see a finer specimen? Some men in my place would be -incapable of this self-denial." - -Waif, as he called her, turned pale under her tawny skin, but there was -a fierce glitter in her eyes while she answered, "I thought he was dead -you may be sure, that was why I brought you out to him. He'll get well -now. So much the better! Patron! you dare not do it." - -The old man smiled, stroking his velvet gown with a white well-cared-for -hand. - -"Dare not, or will not, or shall not," he replied. "It little matters -which. No. It is an interesting case as it stands, and to cure him will -be almost as instructive as to cut him up. Science, Waif, exacts from us -great sacrifices, but she has also her rewards. The man will live, I -think. Live probably to be ungrateful. Meanwhile, let us see who and -what he is." - -Thus speaking, and with a marvellous dexterity the result of long -practice, he turned every one of the sleeper's pockets inside out, felt -in his cravat, his bosom, his waistband, leaving no part of his dress -unsearched, yet without in the slightest degree disturbing his repose. -The girl, holding the lamp to assist, looked down on the prostrate -figure, with a new sensation growing up in her heart, a vague wild -longing that seemed to covet no less than to pity and admire. - -"The outcome is unequal to the pains bestowed," said Katerfelto, holding -up a light purse, a tavern bill, and a valueless snuff-box, as the -fruit of his exertions. "Yet the man is well-born, Waif, and well-to-do, -or I am mistaken. In due time we shall know more about him; there is no -hurry. He cannot leave that bed for a week, nor this house, I should -say, for a month. It's a beautiful case. Beautiful! the other -gentleman's sword must have gone through to the very hilt!" - -"Patron! will he die?" asked Waif with a tremble of the lip she tried -hard to conceal. - -"Most assuredly!" was the answer. "So will you, and so shall I. But not -of such a scratch as _this_, while under _my_ care! No! No! We will set -him on his legs, Waif, in less than a fortnight. Then he will pay his -doctor's bill, walk off with a huge appetite, and we shall see him no -more." - -Her face, over which every shade of hope and fear had passed while she -listened, looked very grave and earnest now. - -"Am I to nurse him, Patron?" said she; "we can keep him safe and quiet -in here, and I can see after his wants while you attend to the people -that come to consult you, patients and----" - -"Fools--" added the old man. "Fools, who are yet so wise in their folly -as to purchase ease of mind at a price they would grudge for health of -body. It's a worse trade, Waif, to set a broken leg than to heal a -broken heart. We want skill, learning, splints, bandages, and anatomy -for the one, but a little cunning and a bold guess will answer all -purposes for the other. There are many men and more women who would -laugh in my face if I told them their head was a workshop and their -heart a pump; yet they can believe the whole of their future life is -contained in a pack of cards. You and I, Waif, have thriven well in a -world of fools--and the fools thrive too--why, I know not. The wisest -people on earth are _your_ people, but they have never prospered. Is it -best to be true, simple, honest? I cannot answer--I have never tried." - -"I will do everything you tell me," persisted Waif, taking for granted -the permission she was so eager to obtain. "I can creep about the -chamber like a mouse; I never want to sleep, nor eat, nor drink, nor go -out into the filthy muddy streets. I know every phial in the surgery as -well as yourself. Hand him over to me, Patron, and I will promise to -bring him through." - -He eyed her narrowly, and she seemed conscious of his scrutiny, for she -turned her head away and busied herself in adjustment of the -bed-clothes. Then he laughed a little mocking laugh, and proceeded to -give directions for the treatment of their patient. - -"You must watch him," he insisted, and though she muttered, "you needn't -tell me that!" finished his say without noticing the interruption. "You -must watch him narrowly; if he wakes, give him one more spoonful of the -cordial; if he is restless after that, come to me. If he wanders in his -sleep mark every word he utters, and remember it. Such drivellings are -not of the slightest importance, but interesting, very interesting, in a -medical point of view. Good-night, Waif. Do exactly as I bid you, and if -all goes well, do not wake me till sunrise." - -Then he trimmed the lamp, listened at the lattice, and retired, leaving -the girl alone with her patient. - -How quiet she sat! moving not so much as a finger, with her large dark -eyes fixed on the floor, and her thoughts like restless sea-birds flying -here, there, everywhere; now skimming the Past, now soaring into the -Future, finally gathering out of all quarters to settle themselves on -the Present. From the moment when Katerfelto, or the Patron, as she -called him, left the room, she seemed to have entered on a new life, to -have risen in her own esteem, to have accepted responsibilities of which -she was proud, to have become a gentler, fairer, softer being, more -susceptible to pleasure and to pain. She only knew there was a great -change; she did not know that she was passing into Fairy Land by the -gate through which there is no return. - -Behind her lay rugged mountain and dreary moor, paths that soil and -blister weary feet, barren uplands yielding scanty harvest in return for -daily toil, a scorching sun, a drenching rain, mocking winds that whirl, -and buffet, and moan. Before her opened the dazzling vistas of a magic -region: gleaming rivers, golden skies, velvet lawns fretted with gems, -bending flowers laden with perfume; glade and thicket, field and forest -bathed in glows of unearthly beauty, rich in tints of unearthly -splendour, teeming with fruits of unearthly hues. Would she not enter in -and rest? Would she not reach forth her hand to gather, and smell, and -taste? Had she not wild longings, vague curiosity, unreasonable daring? -Was she not a woman to the core? How could she tell that the Fairy Land -was a glamour, the lustre a delusion, the beauty a snare? that serpents -were coiling in the grass, that poison lurked in the flowers, that the -fruits turned to dust and ashes on the lip? How could she foresee the -time when she would yearn and strive and pray to get back to the outer -world? In vain! Those who have once passed its gate and tasted the -fruits in that fairy garden have to do with middle earth no more. Their -phantoms may indeed remain among us, but themselves are far away in the -enchanted country, pacing their weary round without a respite, -fulfilling their endless penance in the listless apathy of despair. - -Once the sleeping man turned with a low, deep sigh of comfort, as in -relief from pain. Waifs dark eyes gleamed on him with glances of -unspeakable tenderness and admiration. How noble he looked lying there -in his wounds, like a dead prince. How graceful was the recumbent form; -how luxuriant the dark brown hair escaped from its black riband to -wander over the pillow; how white and shapely the strong hand opened -loosely on the coverlet. This, then, was what they called a gentleman. -She had seen gentlemen in the streets, or when they came to consult the -Patron, but never under such favourable conditions for examination as -now. What was _she_ in comparison? She, the drudge of a charlatan, -half-quack, half-conjuror? How could there be anything in common between -them? She stirred uneasily in her chair, rose, crept to the bedside, and -laid her slim, dusky hand by the side of his. - -Waif's hands, in spite of hard work and hard weather, were beautiful -with the beauty of her race; long, lithe, and delicate; the slender -fingers and filbert-shaped nails concealed a vigour of grasp and -tenacity denied to the broad coarse fist of many a powerful man. She -smiled as she compared them with those of the sleeping patient; and her -smile grew brighter while she reflected that she was herself the -superior in those advantages of birth she so esteemed in him. Yes, the -oldest blood in England seemed a mere puddle compared with hers. Where -was the English gentleman who could trace his pedigree back for a -hundred generations without break or blemish, to ancestors who had -served the Pharaohs and set taskwork for the Jews, who even in that -remote time boasted themselves lineal descendants of an illustrious line -that was only lost with every other record of history in the dim -obscurity of the Past. - -All this Waif had learned beneath the stars, on Bagshot Heath or Barnes -Common, sitting over the camp-fires in the steam of the camp-kettles, -filled with spoils from neighbouring hen-roosts, stolen by the high-born -patriarchs and princes of her tribe. - -But she was a good nurse, notwithstanding her royal descent and -barbarian bringing-up. Twenty times during the night she smoothed her -patient's pillows and straightened his bed-clothes, watching with -experienced eye and ear for symptoms of weakness or relapse. Never once -did she relax her vigilance, nor so much as relieve her slender, supple -form by leaning back in her chair. Unlike most watchers, for _her_ the -minutes seemed to fly on golden wings, and when the grey light of dawn -began to steal through the shutter, dulling the lamp still burning in -that sick chamber, she could have reproached the summer morning for -coming so soon. - -Yet it had been a long night to Waif in fact, if not in appearance. -Those watchful hours had brought for her the great change that comes -once in a lifetime. An ancient philosopher compared our terrestrial -career to the letter Y. He has been quoted till we are tired of him, but -none the less must we acknowledge the force of his illustration. As we -travel along the road we must needs arrive, some in the morning, some in -the middle of the day, some (and these last are much to be pitied) not -till the afternoon, at a point where two paths branch out in different -directions. There is a guide-post indeed, but it stands so high above -our heads that we seldom look at it, choosing rather to trust our -passions and inclinations for directions on the way. So we turn to right -or left as nature, habit, or convenience prompts us, and on the turn -thus taken depends our future journey, and the hope of ever reaching -home. - -It was broad day when John Garnet woke and tried to sit up in bed. -"Where am I?" was his first exclamation, rubbing his eyes with the hand -his bandages left free. "And why am I trussed up like a fowl that's been -skewered? Ah! I remember now. I _have_ been skewered, and you've been -nursing me, my pretty maid. I fear I have given you a vast deal of -trouble and shall give you more before I can stand up." - -She bent over him like a mother over her child. It was such happiness to -protect and soothe him, to feel that he might even owe his life to her. - -"Do not try to move yet," said she; "you are safe and in good hands. The -longer you stay with us the better we shall be pleased." - -"Will _you_ nurse me?" he asked gaily, unconscious of the tremble that -ran through her frame, while she bowed her head in answer. - -"Then I don't care how long it is!" he laughed. "With such a pretty -nurse I should like never to get well!" - -The blood flew to her face, reddening brow and temples, with a blush of -pride and exquisite pleasure, rather than of resentment or shame. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -THE OLD STORY. - - -Katerfelto's business seemed to bring him in contact with persons of -every class and character. Men and women were coming to the surgery at -all hours of the day and night; the former generally armed, the latter -sometimes masked, all muffled in cloaks or riding-hoods, as if their -purpose necessitated secrecy and disguise. It did not escape John -Garnet's observation, lying idle on his sick bed, that the conversations -he overheard were carried on in a subdued voice, and that everything -connected with the doctor's house in Deadman's Alley seemed tainted with -a breath of mystery, suspicion, and intrigue. - -To this effect he unburthened his mind while watching Waifs stealthy -movements as she arranged the room some few mornings after his arrival, -and insisted by word and gesture on the necessity of his lying perfectly -still if he wanted to get well. - -"Waif," said he, in that pleasant, careless voice, which had already -taught the girl's eye to brighten and her heart to leap, "is the Patron -a wizard, a Jacobite agent, a second Guy Fawkes, or only a great prince -in disguise? Why is everything in this house, even to laying the plates -for dinner, done with secrecy and caution? Why does nobody speak but in -whispers, and why is each succeeding visitor kept waiting in the -passage till his predecessor has been dismissed? Why do the ladies come -here on foot, my pretty lass, and what does it all mean?" - -"Don't call me that!" she exclaimed impatiently. "I'm _not_ a pretty -lass! It's the way you would speak to a milkmaid. Call me Waif." - -"Waif," he repeated. "There's another mystery. Who ever heard of a girl -like you being called Waif? Who gave you that name? Not that you ever -had godfathers or godmothers, I suppose. But where did you get it and -how?" - -"The Patron has called me Waif ever since I was a little child," said -she simply. "I was known as Thyra with our own people, but of course, -when he bought me, he was bound to change my name." - -"Bought you!" John Garnet gasped for breath and gave such a bounce among -the bed-clothes as to loosen his bandages. Her clever fingers readjusted -them without delay. - -"Bought me," she repeated, "and took me away with him the same day. I -cried to leave Fin and old Broomstick, but to be sure I was very little -and it was very cold." - -"Oh! you cried to leave Fin and old Broomstick," said he in undisguised -astonishment. "May I ask who _they_ were?" - -"Fin was one of our own lads," she answered; "they said I was to be his -wife when we grew up. I don't think I minded leaving Fin so much, but -Broomstick had carried me ever since I was born, and my heart was sore -to wish the poor old donkey good-bye." - -"But how could all this be done against your will?" continued John -Garnet. - -"I had no will one way nor the other," she answered. "Of course when I -was paid for he might do as he chose. I felt the change at first, but I -liked it well enough after a time. I am very glad of it now." - -This last with her face turned away, and in a whisper that escaped his -notice. - -"Was he good to you?" asked the other, feeling his free British -instincts sadly outraged by the girl's disclosures. "If he wasn't, he -ought to have his neck wrung!" - -"Oh, yes!" she replied, eagerly, but with a shrinking look in her bright -black eyes. "I have nothing to complain of from the Patron. Nothing! I -hated my shoes at first, and eating with a knife and fork; but the -Patron gave me beautiful clothes, and ornaments of gold, real gold. I -soon learned to like being well-dressed, and after a time I didn't so -much mind sleeping under a roof. But oh! how I missed the lights in the -sky! I used to wake up in the night crying, because I thought they had -gone out for ever, and I should see them shining no more." - -"But what on earth did he want you for?" was the natural inquiry. "What -did he do with you after he bought and carried you away?" - -"We didn't always live here," she answered. "We do not always live here -now. At first, the Patron took me about all over the country. I daresay -I know a good many more places than you do. We went to every fair and -merry-making, down in the West, as far as the Land's End. It must be a -very dark night for me to lose my way on Dartmoor, or anywhere in the -Valley of the Exe, or among the coombes between Badgeworthy water and -Taunton town. That was the first place I danced at to please the people -in the fair. The Patron gave me this gold collar next morning, and I've -worn it ever since. Would you like me to dance for you now, or sing? Or -shall I tell you your fortune? I'll do anything to please you. Only say -what it shall be." - -The shy and pleading glance that accompanied this accommodating avowal -would have melted a harder heart than John Garnet's. - -"Tell me of yourself," was his answer; "that pleases me more than -anything else you can talk about." - -Her bright smile revealed a dazzling row of teeth. "There is not much to -tell," said she. "We made money, and we spent money. Sometimes we went -to the races, and the Patron used to come in to supper with his pockets -full of gold. Sometimes the people laughed at us, and then we never -stayed till nightfall. Once--it was at Devizes--they hooted us out of -the town; a man threw a stone at me which struck me in the shoulder. It -bled a good deal. Look, there's the mark!" - -She pulled her dress down and revealed a cicatrice on a shape that would -have made a model for a sculptor. "I flew at him!" she continued, with a -fierce glitter in her eyes, "and drew my knife. I would have stabbed -him, but the Patron pulled me away. I should like to see that man again. -I should know his face among ten thousand, and I would kill him wherever -we met. Then we came here and the Patron left off travelling so much. He -says he began at the wrong end, and went to seek the fools, instead of -letting the fools come and seek him. I used to think I liked moving -about better than always sticking in the same place, but I don't think -so now." - -"And the fools that come so readily to seek the Patron," asked John -Garnet--"what sort of fools are these?" - -"The wisest sort," answered the girl. "Many a time I have heard him say -that those who come for information, begin by telling him all they want -to know. The Patron never seems to listen, but his ears are very sharp. -Besides, he can always find out things in a hundred ways, watching the -fire and the stars, or reading the cards. The last is the easiest, only -they sometimes come up wrong, but the stars _never_ deceive." - -She spoke with implicit faith. For this girl, there was an inscrutable -power that ruled supreme over all earthly fortunes, and dominated all -mortal efforts. She called it Fate, and believed that its decrees were -revealed in the cracklings of a wood fire, the combinations on a table -of numerals, the presence of the knave of spades in a hand of diamonds, -no less than in those tablets of fire that her ancestors had studied, -when the Pyramids were as yet unfinished, when the Chaldæan was still -learning the alphabet of that wondrous language he discovered in the -stars of heaven. - -"Then the Patron is a fortune-teller," continued John Garnet, looking -with undisguised admiration in his companion's face. "I thought he was a -doctor--I am sure he has doctored _me_ to some purpose. I feel as if I -should be out of bed to-morrow, and in the saddle next day. Perhaps it's -your nursing, pretty Waif; but I seem to get stronger every hour." - -It was a tell-tale face, and changed colour often under the clear, -swarthy skin. John Garnet, however (and perhaps this was why women liked -him well), detected but slowly the interest he created in the opposite -sex; and Waif might have blushed till she was scarlet before he found -out the truth, had she not pressed both hands to her bosom with a -gesture of pain, and exclaimed, in a choking voice: - -"Then you will go away, and I shall never see you again!" - -He glanced sharply in her face. The black eyes were fixed and tearless, -but there was a world of patient, hopeless sorrow in their gaze; and -through John Garnet's heart ran a thrill of something sweeter and keener -than pity--something not far removed from love. - -"Waif," said he, in the kind, mellow tones she knew so well, "Waif, my -pretty maid, shall you be sorry when I have to go away?" - -She looked straight in his eyes while he could have counted ten. Then -over her dark, delicate face came, as it were, a ripple, that told how -deeply she was moved. One instant her slender figure waved like a willow -in the wind, the next she had fallen forward on her knees, clasping his -hand to her lips and forehead, while she wept convulsively; but, before -he had recovered his astonishment sufficiently to soothe her with word -or caress, she leaped to her feet, and glided like a phantom from the -room. - -"Here's a coil!" said John Garnet to himself, making an abortive effort -to rise, that sufficiently convinced him he had over-rated his strength. - -"Why the devil couldn't I let her go on, and keep my own foolish tongue -between my teeth? It's always the way with _me_. I speak, and then I'm -sorry for it. Am I sorry for it now? I doubt if I am. She's the -prettiest lass, for all her tawny skin, I've seen since I came out of -the North; and there's no harm done after all. I wonder how long I shall -be kept lying here? A week more, at least. Say a week. The time will -pass all the quicker with this gipsy beauty to talk to; and if she _do_ -care for me a little more than is good for her, why I suppose she can't -help it. No more can I. What eyes she has, and what hair! I could find -it in my heart to wish she was not quite so handsome; but that's not my -fault. Thyra's a pretty name, though outlandish--much better than Waif. -I shall call her Thyra when she comes back. It won't be long first, I'll -wager a guinea!" - -But he would have lost his guinea. Noon passed, and afternoon, and day -drew to an end, but brought no Waif with its lengthening shadows. When -his usual supper-time arrived, he began to grow fretful and impatient, -as much perhaps from cravings of the stomach as the heart. A step in the -passage, the bump of a tray against his door, restored him to good -humour; but it was with a feeling of disappointment, keen enough to dull -the vigorous appetite of convalescence, that he saw the skull-cap and -velvet gown of his host, instead of Waif with her scarlet draperies and -jetty gold-studded hair. When a girl has told a man she likes him, he -always wants to hear the avowal again. - -"My young friend," said Katerfelto, in the low grave voice to which he -owed so much of his influence, "I have brought you to eat and drink: -food plain and nourishing, drink that shall restore, and not inflame. -The tongue is clean, the eye clear, the pulse full, if a little -irregular. My coming into the room suddenly flurried you, no doubt. If -you go on well through the night, to-morrow I shall pronounce you -convalescent. I never speak without being sure. When Constantine -Katerfelto uses the word 'convalescent,' a patient may order his boots -to be blacked and his spurs cleaned." - -"You've brought me through right well, Doctor," replied John Garnet, -glancing at the door, "you and Waif together. You must give the nurse -some of the credit! She's been very careful and attentive. I think she -has hardly left me for an hour at a time, till--till to-day." - -How differently thirty and sixty look upon the absence of eighteen! - -"Waif's a good girl," answered the Doctor, coolly; "and for a mere -child, shows a fair amount of intelligence. I am glad you are satisfied -with her." - -"She--she's not ill to-day, I hope," hazarded the patient, eating, -however, heartily enough, notwithstanding the anxiety to be inferred -from his inquiry. - -"Ah!" was the answer; "you know very little of Waif, or you would -scarcely ask such a question. None of her race are ever _ill_, any more -than the beasts of prey. They die, indeed, but it is like the wolf and -the jackal, in some forest-den. Skill, science, experience, are of no -avail. It's in the blood--nothing can cure them when they have once lain -down. I've tried it a score of times, and failed." - -"Is she a thorough-bred gipsy?" he asked, for it was pleasant to talk of -her, even to this unsympathising old man. - -"As the Queen of Sheba," assented the other. "Some day, perhaps, when we -are better acquainted, I may tell you more of her history; but I give -not my friendship lightly," he added, with a scrutinising glance from -his shining grey eyes; "it is offered only to those who owe me, or to -whom I owe, a heavy debt of gratitude." - -"I am sure I ought to be grateful to you," said John Garnet, "and so I -_am_; but I can do nothing to prove it till you get me off this bed, and -out of this room. Then, Doctor, speak up boldly. Say what you want, and -I am your man!" - -The other laughed a noiseless laugh, peculiar to himself. "You owe me -but little as yet," said he; "perhaps you may live to be deeper in my -debt than for the healing of a scratch. Not that I mean to say the -scratch was a trifling one. I tell you honestly, many a surgeon would -have given your case up as hopeless; and you ought to be thankful, if -you young men ever _are_ thankful, that you fell into my hands. No; for -a bold, enterprising fellow, in the prime of life and strength, whose -fingers, as I guess, close round his hilt pretty readily, I might do -something better than stop a hole in the side. There are paths to -fortune, plenty of them, for men who look upward and onward, steep it -may be, and leading through miry places, not seldom slippery with blood. -To a bold spirit this is half the charm! You are lying here, unable to -leave your bed to-day; but do you not long for the time when you shall -be riding wild horses, pledging lawless healths, drinking, dicing, and -brawling once more? When the frost is bitter, and the earth white with -snow, and the robin hops to your window for crumbs, do you not look -forward to the opening spring, the soft south wind, the coming of the -blackbird at last?" - -A look of intelligence passed between them, and the sick man's eye -brightened. It was the pass-word of a losing, nay, of a ruined cause. -The handful of Jacobites remaining in England had not yet relinquished -all hope of his return, who had proved indeed a bird of ill-omen, -blacker than night, to those whose loyalty waged life and lands on his -behalf. - -"Nay, Doctor," said the other, with a flush of pride on his face, "the -blackbird's whistle has cost us simply all we had, but not one of us -ever complained; we bought defeat too dear." - -"I know you, John Garnet," answered Katerfelto. "You come of a trusty -race." - -"Know me!" repeated the other, "How did you find me out? I would have -told you without hesitation, but you never asked my name--no more did -Waif." - -"I know a great many things," replied the charlatan. "In many ways you -could not understand, unless you had studied, as I have, the hidden -mysteries of Heaven and Earth, and of places under the Earth. I know -that the Garnets lost titles and lands for the--for the Black-bird--we -will say. I know that the last of them would leap from that bed, -bandages and all, to burn powder and draw steel if the yellow beak did -but so much as whistle from its garden in the South." - -"You learned all that in the 'Annual Register' or the 'North Britain,'" -said John Garnet, proudly, "but how did you guess I belonged to the -family who have been so loyal, so constant, and proved themselves -such--fools?" - -Katerfelto smiled. "Fools," he replied, "are my special study. As the -worm feeds the blackbird, so the fool feeds the philosopher. You are no -fool notwithstanding, and yet I know all about you. There was a -supper-party t'other night--a jest--an altercation--a duel--without -witnesses--without witnesses, mark you. When a man is killed under those -circumstances, the law sometimes brings it in--murder!" - -John Garnet turned pale. The truth of his host's surmises affected him -no less than the consideration of the danger he had incurred. It did not -strike him that Katerfelto's guesses, however shrewd, were the mere -offspring of analogy and observation. A wounded man at midnight inferred -an after-supper brawl, while the fact of his staggering into Deadman's -Alley faint from loss of blood, alone and unassisted, argued the absence -of seconds, one of whom would doubtless have conveyed his principal to a -place of safety, while the identity of that principal must long since -have become the talk of this town. - -"You know everything," he murmured. "Everything--I wish you could tell -me whether the poor fellow I ran through the brisket is alive." - -For reasons of his own the charlatan was anxious to impress his patient -with a conviction of his powerful character and superior intelligence. - -"Not so," said he, with an air of extreme frankness. "I have no -knowledge, for I have taken no trouble to learn. If I can spare the time -to-night, when the moon goes down, I will set those to work who shall -bring me all the information I require in less than forty-eight hours." - -John Garnet, though scarcely a model Christian, was a good Catholic. He -crossed himself and faltered a feeble protest against the employment of -evil spirits or unorthodox powers of the air. - -"I had rather not get well at all," said he, "than be cured by magic or -witchcraft! I would leave the house this minute if I believed you were -more than a doctor! I'll wager a fair stake and risk my life any day, -but I won't sit down to play for my soul!" - -"Your soul!" echoed Katerfelto, with his characteristic laugh. "My young -friend, what should I do with your soul if I won it? My concern is with -men's bodies, their energies, their courage, and their intellect. I -shall set you on your legs in a week, and you can carry your soul about -with you, if you have one, wherever you like. In the meantime keep -quiet, take your medicine, drugs of the veriest earth--earthy; eat your -food and drink your posset, prepared by no fairy hands, but those of a -woman, real flesh and blood, with a human temper, worse, I daresay, than -that of many average fiends, and so get well. In a few days I will talk -to you again on matters of business to our mutual advantage. Meantime I -relegate you once more to the care of Waif." - -His spirits rose at once, and he bade the charlatan good-night with an -excess of cordiality not lost on that shrewd observer, who was as good -as his word, for his voice could be heard in the passage bidding Waif -hasten her house-work and watch by the patient till he slept, a mandate -the gipsy-girl obeyed to the letter, returning without delay to her -former post, but taking up a station in the obscurity where John Garnet -could not see her face. Neither did she vouchsafe a syllable of greeting -or explanation, so that the patient felt uncomfortably hurt and -perplexed. - -"Have I offended you?" he asked at length, in an humble tone, -contrasting piteously with the coldness of that in which she replied. - -"Who am I, to be offended? My only business is to obey. The Patron bids -me watch here till you sleep." - -So he shut his eyes, yet not too tight, and scanned her the while -covertly beneath their lids, thus detecting on her face, when she turned -it towards him, a look of tender wistful longing, that told only too -plainly the secret of her love. - -Then he drew a deep breath of relief and contentment, satisfied he would -rise a winner from the unequal game and so fell sound asleep. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -A CHARLATAN. - - -In the surgery Katerfelto began to prepare for the reception of his -visitors. Standing at a bright little mirror, he was soon immersed in -the task. A spot of carmine on the cheek-bones, a line or two of paint -round the mouth, about the eyes, and across the forehead added a score -of years to his appearance and made him look a man of eighty. A flowing -white beard, in which his own grey tresses mingled freely, and a black -cloak bordered with crimson, drawn over the velvet gown, completed his -equipment. Surveying the whole in his glass, he drew himself up, with -something of the confidence a knight must have felt when armed from head -to heel. "Come one, come all," he seemed to say, "I am a match for the -best of you, and profitable as is the victory, I am not sure but the -real pleasure consists in the strife!--" - -The plot thickened with nightfall. He was hardly ready before a cautious -tap made itself heard at the street door. Waif, watching her patient's -slumbers, flew to admit the visitor, and was at her post again ere he -had time to pay a single compliment on her good looks. - -In his own opinion, this gentleman was a consummate judge of such -matters. On the points of a horse, or a woman, he held no man so well -qualified to give an opinion, and indeed had spent the greater part of -his fortune in researches after speed and beauty. His accomplishments -were those of his time and class. A better and bolder card-player than -Lord Bellinger never held a trump. He cracked his bottle like an honest -fellow without flinching, played tennis, danced a minuet to admiration, -bowed and took snuff with inimitable grace, fenced beautifully, swore -fearfully, and corrupted his mother tongue into a jargon only -intelligible at Ranelagh or the Cocoa Tree. - -When the cloak was thrown open in which this paragon was enveloped, -Katerfelto did not fail to recognise in that worn, handsome face and -attenuated form the most frequent and productive of his customers. - -"Your lordship is welcome," said the Charlatan, with gracious dignity. -"How liable is our poor glimmering of human science to error; the -mistake of a decimal caused me to expect you nearly an hour ago." - -"What? You knew it!" replied the other, not without an oath. "Why, -Katerfelto, you know everything! Yes, here I am. It's not very difficult -to guess why. Have you found out anything more? Who is she? And what is -she? How much longer am I to go on toasting her without so much as -knowing her name, haunted by those clear, cold eyes, that proud, -delicate face, that queenly shape and air? Tell me all about her, now at -once! Here! I've brought you the stuff in a bag. Look at it, man. Does -it make your eyes shine and your mouth water? It cost me six hours' work -to get that little purse together last night at the Cocoa Tree. Never -_were_ such cards! Never _was_ such luck!" - -"Fortune is a woman," answered the other. "Like all women, coy to be -wooed, but grateful to be won." - -"She hath played me more slippery tricks than I choose to count," -laughed his lordship. "It may be that I solicit her too often, and trust -her too fondly. Last night she did me a rare jade's turn! Look ye here, -man; I had won a cool four thousand at picquet, and St. Leger wanted to -leave off. I was always too strong for him at picquet. Well, sir, four -thousand was no use to me, but eight would have taken my lady's diamonds -out of pawn, and I offered him one more chance, double or quits." - -"I know you did," observed Katerfelto with the utmost effrontery, "and -left off quits; I wish I had been at your lordship's elbow." - -"I wish you had!" replied the other; "for I believe you are the devil -himself, or in close league with him. However, I did not come here to -prate about my luck, and I have little time to waste; my lady thinks I -am at Ranelagh. She's to meet me there later. Now business is business, -my good friend; what have you done for me?" - -"Little and yet enough," answered the other. "You will meet somebody at -Ranelagh to-night; you are to be wary and cautious. Do not seem to -recognise her till you find her unattended. You may then speak three -words, no more. It is her express stipulation. They will be answered in -due time. She goes to Ranelagh early and remains only an hour." - -"Then I had better be off!" exclaimed his lordship, pressing a purse -into Katerfelto's hand. "What? are you so ceremonious? Must you needs -come to the door yourself? Where's the pretty gipsy lass? I saw her not -ten minutes ago. I say, Katerfelto, if ever you sell her back into -bondage, let me have the refusal. By Jupiter! if I was to put that girl -into velvet and brocade I could take the town by storm." - -"Your lordship does her too much honour," answered Katerfelto, bowing -profoundly while he opened the door, but there was a malicious twinkle -in his eye, and a curl of scorn about the corners of his mouth, to belie -the outward show of deference with which he dismissed his visitor. - -The latter had been gone but a few minutes ere a sedan-chair was set -down at the end of Deadman's Alley, and a lady closely veiled, carrying -a riding mask, not over her face, but in her hand, alighted with some -trepidation, peering up and down the passage, as if fearful of being -observed, while she made for the red lamp in Katerfelto's window. This -visitor was also admitted after a little cautious tap, but, unlike her -predecessor, looked with scorn rather than admiration on Waif's dark -locks and flashing glances. "Tell the Doctor, child," said she, "that I -am not to be disturbed while I consult him, and beware of -eaves-dropping. I do not choose to share my secrets with a waiting-maid, -for all her saucy looks and sallow skin!" - -Waif scarcely heard and certainly did not heed, for her heart was in the -sick-chamber with John Garnet, whither her agile body lost no time in -following it. - -"Your ladyship is early," said Katerfelto, with an obeisance courtly, -but not subservient. "Ranelagh need wait the less impatiently for its -fairest ornament." - -"La, Doctor!" was the answer, "who could have told you I was going to -Ranelagh? I protest you know everything. My lord thinks I am there now." - -"My lord will be there as surely as my lady," answered the other. "But -it was not to learn his lordship's movements that your ladyship came -here!" - -"Fie, Doctor!" she replied; "what woman of fashion cares to know the -doings of a husband? I have a crow to pluck with you. Do you remember -what you promised me the last time I was here?" - -"Triumphs by the hundred," said he; "compliments by the thousand; -conquests and flatteries innumerable. Better than these, a run of luck -with the cards that should last a week." - -"And I wore it out in a night," she complained. "Whist, ombre, picquet, -and three-card loo, I have never risen a winner but once since I came -here last. You dare not deceive me, Doctor; nay, you would not deceive a -woman, I am sure. Can you--_couldn't_ you put me in the way of winning a -game or two? I protest I shall have to pawn my diamonds else." - -No one knew better than the doctor that this expedient had been resorted -to long ago, and her ladyship was at present wearing paste; but he did -not say so. - -"Are you willing to learn?" he asked, with his quiet sarcastic smile. -"An hour's practice every day for ten days would make your ladyship -independent of chance and all its fluctuations. Chance, forsooth! -there's no such thing. Do you think I trust to chance when I direct your -actions and forecaste your future? Fate is the ruling power of the -universe; but science and skill, the quick brain and the ready -hand--these may control Fate." - -On a weak mind so high-sounding a sentence, meaning nothing, took no -small effect. She blushed, she simpered, she bit her lips, she -hesitated. - -"I should like it prodigiously," she said, with a nervous laugh, "if--if -it wasn't dishonest, you know; and--and if it couldn't be found out!" - -He took a pack of cards from a drawer. "Observe my fingers," he began, -but she interrupted him with a faint scream. - -"Not now!" she exclaimed; "some other time, Doctor. I'm so frightened! -I'm sure I heard somebody at the door. It _is_ cheating, you know. -Besides, I must be at Ranelagh in an hour, and I have to dress, all but -my head, that was done this morning. I wish I hadn't come. La! I know I -could never find courage. Let me out, please. This is between ourselves, -of course. Shall I find you to-morrow night at the same time?" - -Assuring her that he never left his post, Katerfelto ushered her -ladyship with much ceremony to the door, which was opened by Waif, on -whom the departing visitor found nothing better to bestow than a look of -supreme indifference and scorn. - -Not so the next comer. Hardly had the chairmen, who winked at each other -as they took up their precious burden, moved a dozen paces, when a heavy -step was heard in Deadman's Alley, and a burly figure, that seemed to -ignore all considerations of secrecy and disguise, stopped at -Katerfelto's door to thump till it shook again. - -Undoing the fastening, hastily as she might, Waif found herself -confronted by a stout middle-aged person, in a rusty black riding suit, -who looked as if he had been taking hasty refreshment, washed down by -strong potations, as indeed was the case. - -Parson Gale--for it was none other--had ridden post from Exmoor to -London on receiving the news of his brother's death in a midnight brawl. -Arrived in the metropolis, he lost no time in communicating with the -officers of justice; and from the particulars thus furnished, satisfied -himself that the affray took place without witnesses, and that the -survivor had escaped. The Parson swore a great oath that he would avenge -the crime, and if the perpetrator was above ground, hunt him down to -death. His difficulty was to find out where John Garnet lay concealed. -Every day, and all day long, he pursued his inquiries, without success. -Tired and hungry, while sitting at his tavern supper he chanced to hear -Katerfelto spoken of as a cunning man, for whom there were no secrets in -this world or the next; and having ascertained the locality of Deadman's -Alley, finished his bottle, and started without delay on his search. - -The apparition of Waif, in answer to his summons, may have surprised him -a little; but when a pretty lass was in question, Parson Gale was never -at a loss; he recovered his astonishment in time to chuck her under the -chin, and bestow on her a most unwelcome caress. The girl's eyes -glittered, and her lithe fingers stole to the knife at her girdle. He -caught her by the wrist, and kissed her again. She disengaged herself, -with one dexterous twirl, and pushed rather than ushered this unwelcome -admirer into the presence of Katerfelto; muttering, in her own -outlandish tongue, something that sounded less like a blessing than a -curse. - -When roused to wrath, it was her nature to resent an insult or an injury -on the spot; but if immediate retaliation seemed impossible, to wait for -an opportunity with untiring patience, not to be diverted from its -purpose by any considerations of clemency or forgiveness. - -"If I can learn something about _you_," she thought, "I shall know when -and where to strike. Before our reckoning is over, you will wish your -lips had been seared with a red-hot iron, rather than laid to mine -against my will!" Then, casting one loving look towards the chamber in -which John Garnet was sleeping, she took up her post at the door of the -surgery, and listened eagerly to the conversation within. - -"I'm a plain man, Doctor," began Parson Gale, in his rough, frank tones. -"I speak the truth mostly myself, and expect others will speak it to me. -Now I am told that you know more, good and bad, than ever another person -in this great wicked town. That's what brought me here." - -Katerfelto nodded gravely. "Good and bad," said he, "are relative terms. -Knowledge cannot of itself be evil, whether it be gleaned from the -crowded footway or the solitary moor. Wisdom crieth aloud, could we but -hear her, from the dome of St. Paul's, no less than from the purple -outline of the Quantock Hills and the brown ridge under Dunkerry -Beacon." - -The mention of these familiar places startled his listener; and -Katerfelto, who had already detected the kindly West-country accent, did -not fail to notice his surprise. - -"I believe you _are_ a conjuror," said the Parson, "as sure as I am not! -Well--if you can tell me where I came _from_, perhaps you will tell me -what I came _for_." - -The charlatan smiled. "You wish to learn something very near your -heart," said he, watching the other's countenance. - -"Not quite the nearest and dearest of all! yet a matter of great -importance. A matter of life and death." - -For a bow drawn at a venture, it was a good shot, and the arrow reached -its mark. - -"That's enough!" exclaimed the Parson. "You're the man to tell me what I -want. Name your price. 'Tis blood-money, and I'm not going to stand for -a guinea one way or the other!" - -"Justice must be done first!" said Katerfelto with exceeding gravity. -"Let me hear your own tale in your own words, and rely on my help." - -Thus encouraged, the Parson embarked on a narrative of his brother's -duel, but little exaggerated, nor indeed very different from the facts -set forth above, interspersing his account with dire threats of -vengeance and solemn oaths, whereat Waif's blood ran cold, that he would -take no rest till he had discovered and hunted down the perpetrator of -this _murder_, as he persisted in calling it, to the death! - -Listening at the keyhole, she lost not a syllable of their conversation, -and the gipsy-girl vowed in her heart to come between the avenger and -his victim, aye, even though she must steep her hands in blood, and -swing for it on Tyburn-tree. - -Little by little Katerfelto gathered enough from Parson Gale's -repetitions, threats, and assertions, to feel sure that his patient in -the next room was the individual whom the visitor wished to identify and -bring to justice. In his plotting brain such a complication was simply -a problem to be solved, a sum to be worked out, a plot to be elaborated -for his own advantage. With a gravity not lost on the West-country -parson, who, for all his mother wit, felt overawed by the other's -assumption of superior intelligence, he promised to furnish the -information required, as soon as he should himself have consulted those -spiritual intelligences he held at command. - -"You shall come again when the moon is full," said he, accepting the -broad pieces which his visitor thrust on him clumsily enough. "Ere then -I shall discover his hiding-place, though he have taken refuge forty -fathoms deep, below the sea. But, mark you--I am not a man of blood, and -I make no promise to deliver him into your hand." - -Again Waif's fingers stole to her knife, while the Parson's savage laugh -grated on her ear. - -"Show me where the deer is harboured," said he, passing into the street. -"I can do all the rest myself. The Lord have mercy on him, for I will -not, when once I set him up to bay!" - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -MY LORD AND MY LADY. - - -They occupied separate apartments now. There had been a time indeed when -Lord and Lady Bellinger might have competed for the flitch of bacon at -Dunmow, so well satisfied was each with the other, for weeks, nay -months, after a marriage of vanity, with some little inclination. Was -not my lord the best-dressed man at court? Had not my lady the finest -hand, the tightest waist, the loftiest head-gear in London? Did not both -exist only in the atmosphere of the great world, sacrificing to the airs -and graces time, health, money, and reputation? Many tastes had they in -common, some vices, not a few follies, prejudices, and frivolities; yet -they soon began to differ, and after passing through the customary -phases of disappointment, pique, resentment, and disgust, subsided into -a sullen, stony indifference that was perhaps the most hopeless -condition of all. Rarely meeting, except at meals, or in the presence of -others, they had few opportunities for quarrelling; when they did fall -out, it is only fair to say that her ladyship usually took the -initiative. Let us give her precedence, therefore, now. - -She is seldom stirring before noon. The sun is already at mid-heaven -when she rings for her chocolate, sighs, yawns, thrusts on her small -feet her smaller slippers, wriggles into a much-embroidered morning -gown, and totters across the room to look at herself in the glass. The -face she sees therein reflected affords, alas! a history and a moral. - -Its features are delicate, and the smile that has now become rigid from -force of habit was once very flexible and sweet, but late hours and -false excitement have scored premature wrinkles round the eyes, and the -free use of paint has served to deaden, and, as it were, rough-cast the -surface of the skin. Lady Bellinger was never _quite_ a pretty woman, -though with the advantages of dress, manner, and candle-light she could -hold her own in general society against many a professed beauty, and -counted her ball-room conquests in numbers that, if they did not satisfy -her rapacity, were quite enough for her reputation. This border-land -between good looks and an ordinary exterior is, perhaps, the most -dangerous ground of all. Vanity is excited, but not gratified. Wit, -vivacity, freedom of gesture and conversation are called in to -supplement the charms that nature has left imperfect. The player grows -more reckless as the game goes on, and at last no stake is thought too -high to risk on a winning card. - -The face she is studying wears a mournful expression to-day. Weary, -perhaps, rather than dissatisfied, for she won twenty guineas last night -at _ombre_, and overheard Sir Hector Bellairs ask who she was; that -refined young gentleman, a rising light at Newmarket and the Cocoa Tree, -adding with an oath, "She has a game look about her, like a wild, -thoroughbred mare!" - -And yet, was it worth while, she pondered lazily, to tremble half an -hour over the cards for twenty guineas? Were the pains lavished on dress -and toilet to yield no higher triumph than Sir Hector's silly -comparison, or the sneer with which it was received by the man he -addressed? Harry St. Leger used to admire her once, at least he told her -so, and now--he only smiled at Sir Hector's idle talk, and turned away -to a little bread-and-butter miss, whose round blue eyes were becoming -the rage of the town. What could men see to rave about in such chits as -these? Why, the little creature was not even well-dressed, and had -hardly so much as learned to ogle and handle a fan! Was it possible that -innocence, simplicity, natural red and white, could presume to contend -with such a position, such millinery, and such experiences as hers? Lady -Bellinger sighed to think how she was thrown away. What depths there -were in her loving heart that had never been fathomed; what passions in -her mature womanhood that had never been aroused. Alas! those depths -could have been baled out with a thimble; those passions, affections, -caprices, call them what you will, were three parts simulated, and the -fourth only skin-deep. Nevertheless, she esteemed herself a lovable -woman, wasted and misunderstood. She had a headache, she had the spleen, -the vapours. Ranelagh was very tiresome last night. The lights still -danced before her eyes, the hum of conversation still vibrated in her -ears. Resting her heavy head on the dressing-table, she seemed to live -the whole scene over again. - -What a medley and confusion it was! Women with enormous head-dresses, -wide hoops and high-heeled shoes, patched, powdered, painted, -courtesying, smirking, and grimacing. "Your ladyship is vastly kind. -Shall wait on you with pleasure. Not _real_ di'monds, ma'am? I protest. -I have it from the best authority. Fie! my lord, I thought you were more -gallant. The Earl, as I live. Come back from the grand tour with a wife! -Whose wife? La! Sir Marmaduke, I vow you make me blush. The king hath -had another interview with the favourite. Angry words, and post-horses -ordered on the north road. Too good news to be true. Mrs. Betty, you -look charmingly. What conquests you must have made at the Bath. Here's -the bishop! Madam, your humble servant;" and so on till the stream of -nothings swelled into an unintelligible babble. And out of this -concourse of so-called friends, this turmoil of so-called conversation, -was there one form amongst the throng that could call the blood to her -cheek, the light to her eye? One voice that fell sweetly on her ear, -that woke an echo responsive in her heart? Yes, on reflection there was -one--nay, there were two or three--half-a-dozen--a score--but it seemed -that, of late, her charms had ceased to work, her glances to fascinate. -Ten compliments--she counted them on her fingers--made the sum total of -her triumphs last night. Harry St. Leger devoted himself to the -bread-and-butter hoyden. The handsome colonel had drunk too freely of -claret to be available. The marquis was wholly taken up with Mistress -Masters (who, and what, she was nobody knew!) Two or three snuff-taking -admirers simpered, but did not commit themselves. The duke passed her -with a bow, and it was a weary world! - -As she came to this conclusion, a tap at the door announced the arrival -of her waiting-maid with the daily dish of chocolate. Contrary to -custom, that demure person did not depart after she set it down. - -"What is it, child?" asked Lady Bellinger, not very good-humouredly, -because of her reflections. "Speak up, and don't stand staring there as -if you'd seen a ghost!" - -"It's my lord," answered the waiting-maid, tossing her head, in -imitation of her mistress. "My lord bade me ask your ladyship if you -were up, and if you could see him now directly, before he gets into his -coach." - -"My lord!" repeated his wife, in a tone of surprise, that sufficiently -attested the infrequency of such visits, "what _can_ my lord want with -me at this early hour? How am I looking, child? Quick! Give me those -drops off the chimney-piece--a clean cap, the one trimmed with pink, -you fool!--Put a touch of colour in my cheeks; I declare my face is like -death! Draw that window-curtain. Now you may tell him he can come in." - -Lord Bellinger entered accordingly, dressed in great splendour, with -cane, hat, and snuff-box in hand. Thus encumbered, he made shift, -nevertheless, to take the tips of his wife's fingers and carry them to -his lips, inquiring at the same time how her ladyship did, and whether -she had slept well. - -Her ladyship had not closed an eye, of course. She was feverish, poorly, -and far from strong! Thus establishing a position of defence from the -first. - -"Zounds! madam," exclaimed he, "so much the better--you will the more -readily hear what I have to say." - -My lord, to do him justice, was a good-tempered man enough, but this -morning found him, for many reasons, in the worst of humours. Last -night's gathering to him, no less than to his lady, had been replete -with disappointment and vexation. Like many others, he attended Ranelagh -with a variety of motives, among which, pleasure, even in his own sense -of the term, was perhaps the least engrossing. In the first place, he -desired to show himself before the world accompanied by her ladyship, -scandal having been busy with both their names of late, and "the town" -telling each other significantly that "there must soon be a break-up in -_that_ establishment. My lady's goings on, madam, I protest, are -inexcusable, and my lord's extravagance, I have it from the best -authority, really beyond belief!" Therefore he thought well to appear in -this public place prosperous, smiling, debonair, and on the best of -terms with his wife. - -Their exit, however, like their entrance, had been badly timed. They -neither came nor went away together; and his own staunch ally, Harry St. -Leger, who was also a professed admirer of Lady Bellinger, thought well -to whisper in his ear, "Look ye, Fred, I never turn my back on a friend. -If it _must_ come to a smash, or a split, remember I stand fast by your -lordship, sink or swim!" This was failure the first. - -Then a great man, one of his Majesty's ministers, had informed him -pretty roundly that the appointment he held at Court was not wholly a -sinecure, and the time had come at which he must prove his loyalty by -activity in the service of his king. That he was expected, in short, to -proceed without delay to his own western county, of which he held the -lieutenancy, there to carry out certain instructions which he would -receive next day at the minister's private residence, in time to -commence his journey the same afternoon. To a man for whom the pleasures -of London were as the air he breathed, such a notification was like a -sentence of death. Yet he dared not and could not refuse. This was -trouble the second. - -Many minor matters helped to swell the list of his annoyances. Bellairs -gave him the latest news from Newmarket, to the effect that his own -horse had been beaten in the great race by a head. Sir Horace had it -from the best authority that his nominee would lose his election. One -neighbouring landowner in the West took him by the button-hole, to -impart grievous suspicions of his lordship's steward, and another -announced threatenings of disease amongst the sheep. Altogether, had it -not been for the interview with his unknown charmer, promised by -Katerfelto, he would have passed a sadly uncomfortable evening. This -anticipation, however, was the drop that sweetened the whole cup, and -when amongst the crowd he caught a glimpse of her graceful head and -white shoulders, the world's malice, the minister's injunctions, the -lost race, the dishonest steward, and the foot-rot in West Somerset, -were alike obliterated and forgotten. - -He waited for some time, as directed, to accost her when alone. At last, -her cavalier crossed the room on some errand of his own, and he found -his opportunity. "Madam," he whispered, "this is the moment for which I -have languished ever since I had the privilege of beholding your face. -Do not deny me now the happiness of hearing your voice." - -She looked at him over her fan, with large eyes of astonishment, in -which, nevertheless, his experience detected a gleam of gratified vanity -and amusement. - -The fan was not withdrawn; the gloved-hand that held it was taper and -well-shaped--the rounded arm, white and beautiful. For the hundredth -time Lord Bellinger believed that for the _first_ time he was in love. -Still she spoke not, and the moments were precious. Her cavalier would -surely return without delay. - -"Only tell me, I implore you," continued his lordship, "when we shall -meet again--where can I see you? Where can I write to you? In what way -can I prove how ardently I long to cast myself at your feet--to serve -you as the humblest of your slaves?" - -He spoke in an agitated whisper; not without its effect--a softer -expression shone in her eyes, and she lowered her fan to reply. Alas, -for the disillusion! instantaneous as it was complete! - -The beautiful face might only be beautiful while the lips were closed; -when they parted for speech they discovered black and unsightly teeth, -separated by gaps and cavities neither few nor far between. - -Quick as Lord Bellinger had been to fall in love, he was yet quicker to -fall out. Ere a word could escape the lady, his cure had been effected, -and with a dexterity that nothing but long practice could have ensured, -he effected his retreat after a profound bow, a devoted glance, and a -deep sigh. - -"You are watched," he whispered, "so I will take my leave. Do not forget -me. Soon we shall meet again." - -Nevertheless he went home from Ranelagh feeling strongly at variance -with the world in general, and himself in particular. - -Therefore his mood, notwithstanding his courteous entrance, was none of -the most amiable when he paid this morning visit to her ladyship; -therefore the tone in which he couched it was little calculated to -sweeten the unpalatable communication he had to make. - -"Zounds! madam," said his lordship, "you will the more readily hear what -I have to say." - -"Sure you need not swear," she replied, with frigid dignity. "No -gentleman swears so early in the day." - -He laughed, and continued more good-humouredly, "Your ladyship is very -happy in town, are you not?" - -"Your lordship must be a fool to ask such a question," she returned -sharply. "If you neglected me less, you would know that in my position, -and with my health, it is ridiculous to talk of being happy anywhere!" - -"And yet you look charmingly," continued her husband, scanning his own -handsome person in the glass. - -"Compared to faces which your lordship is in the habit of studying, mine -is perhaps tolerably well-favoured," said she; "but nothing is so -deceptive as one's appearance, and the air of this town is simply -killing me by inches." - -"Then it shall do murder no longer," he answered kindly; "I must leave -for the West this very afternoon. My coach is waiting at the door to -take me to the minister's. There is not a moment to be lost. It is the -king's business; I suppose I ought to say, God bless him!" - -"Well?" she asked coldly, "what concern is that of mine?" - -"Will you not come with me?" was his reply. "We have been living -separate lives too long. Perhaps each of us is better than the other -thinks. Let us give it a trial and see if we cannot be happy together -for a few weeks. We have been very uncomfortable apart for a good many -years." - -The tears were rising to her eyes. A kind word or a caress might have -turned the balance even now; but it was his lordship's habit to assume -carelessness of manner at the moment he was most interested, and instead -of putting his arm round her waist, he busied himself adjusting cravat -and ruffles in the glass. She felt and showed she was annoyed. - -"I cannot leave town," she objected, "at a moment's notice. I wonder you -can ask such a thing." - -He looked in her face disappointed, and perhaps a little hurt. - -"My lady," said he, "you're a puzzle!" - -"My lord," said she, "you're a brute!" - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -READY AND WILLING. - - -They left town together notwithstanding; and although my lady altered -her mind with every mile, now extolling her own sense of wifely duty, -now bewailing her want of firmness and consistency, yet by the time she -arrived at Hounslow, where they were to sleep, she had become reconciled -to the society of her husband and her enforced journey to the West. - -Such impressionable natures, from which emotion so easily passes away, -enjoy at least this advantage--that one swallow makes for them an -immediate summer, one glimpse of sunshine absorbs the memory of a month -of storms. - -Lord Bellinger, too, seemed in the highest spirits. Though his back must -be turned on London and all its pleasures, his inconstant nature could -nevertheless find enjoyment in the mere act of change. Moreover, an hour -before departure, he had effected a loan of ready-money from the -accommodating Katerfelto, who waited on him at his residence in -Leicester Square, so completely disguised that Waif herself could hardly -have recognised the respectable-looking citizen, in a brown suit and -tie-wig, with ample cambric neckerchief concealing his long beard, who -was ushered into his lordship's own apartment the moment he entered the -house. - -Lord Bellinger prided himself on the rapidity with which he transacted -affairs of moment. No doubt his method was peculiar to himself. - -"Katerfelto," said he, surveying the brown suit and tie-wig with grave -curiosity, "I must have five hundred guineas in gold--now, in half an -hour." - -"Impossible, my lord," answered his visitor. "The time is too short; but -you can have it in three-quarters." - -"I like doing business with _you_," rejoined his lordship. "I never knew -you _make_ difficulties, nor found you unable to overcome them. I want -the money directly, because I leave for the West this afternoon; but I -consent to give you another quarter of an hour." - -"Your lordship is vastly obliging," replied Katerfelto, with his -peculiar smile. "I must trouble you to sign this little acknowledgment -of the debt." - -He drew a sheet of paper from his pocket, filled in certain blank spaces -at the writing-table, and spread it before his lordship, with an air of -excusing himself for the liberty he was obliged to take. - -It was Lord Bellinger's boast that he never refused to draw his sword, -drink his bottle, stake his money, or sign his name; yet he made a wry -face, and threw his pen into the inkstand with a curse, after it had -performed its office. - -"I'm in a corner," said he, "or you would never have had me on such -exorbitant terms. The king's business must not stand to cool. Hang it, -man! if it had been my own, not a usurer in the town should have bit me -like this!" - -"Your lordship is in haste," answered Katerfelto; "and his Majesty's -commands cannot be too speedily obeyed. I trust," he added, carelessly, -"there is no fear of disaffection in the West." - -"State secrets!" answered Bellinger, with a laugh. "How can I tell? I -have not yet seen the minister. I go to him in an hour for final -instructions." - -Though Katerfelto was pondering deeply, his tone seemed lighter than -usual, while he asked how the other had been amused the night before at -Ranelagh; observing, "It is not your lordship's custom to leave an -adventure half accomplished." - -"No more of that!" exclaimed Lord Bellinger. "These are but the pastimes -of a man who has little serious business on hand. Ambition, you know, is -a specific for love. If I play my part well, Katerfelto, I have reason -to believe that the next time I borrow your money it will be for an -earl!" - -"Good luck attend your lordship," answered the other, turning to depart. -"As you are strong, be merciful." - -My lord laughed, and snapped his fingers. "In half an hour," said he, "I -shall have the lives and estates of some half-dozen gentlemen in my -pocket. Intrigue, my good friend, is all very well; but for real sport, -give me the great game. If your spiritual informants can travel so far, -they will shortly bring you stirring news from the West." - -"The vicissitudes of this material world affect me but little," answered -Katerfelto, "save in so far as they aid my researches among the -boundless regions of science and futurity. I am but a man of thought, -while your lordship is a man of action. If, in my humble capacity, I can -serve you, command me; and so I take my leave." - -"He's an honest fellow enough, I protest," thought his lordship, as the -door closed, "though his terms are confoundedly high! Money seems like -everything else; if you want it, you must pay for it--through the nose -too! But he's an honest fellow, no doubt." - -The "honest fellow," meantime, plodding thoughtfully home to Deadman's -Alley, busied himself in elaborate calculations of time, distance, -expense, and other matters tending to subvert the minister's intention, -and render nugatory Lord Bellinger's mission to the West. - -He lost not a moment in visiting John Garnet, whom he found sitting up -in an easy-chair, half-dressed, but so swathed in bandages that he could -hardly move. - -Dismissing Waif, who was in attendance as usual, he laid a finger on his -patient's wrist, and marked the strong full beat of the pulse in grave -approval. - -"How much longer are you going to keep me here?" exclaimed John Garnet, -with some impatience. "I've been telling Waif, for the last three days, -I am as strong as I ever was in my life." - -"Get up," replied the doctor, "and lift that chair from the floor. So. -Do you feel as if a dog were licking a raw place in your side?" - -"I feel that I ought to be in the saddle," replied the other, "a hundred -miles from your close, smoky town. If it wasn't for these cursed -bandages, I should never know that I had a side at all." - -"Off with them, then!" said Katerfelto, suiting the action to the word -by unwinding their folds. "See now the fruits of a little knowledge and -a little patience. These wounds have healed, as we call it, at the first -intention. Do not be so ready with bare steel again; or, if you must -needs brawl, keep your sword-arm bent, and your point moving in a -narrower circle." - -John Garnet's eyes brightened with pleasure, but his face fell a moment -afterwards. - -"You have restored me to life," said he, "and I cannot even pay you a -surgeon's fee. I tell you plainly, I have not ten guineas in the world." - -"We are comrades in the same service," answered the Doctor, quietly. -"There is no question of guineas between you and me. Will you ride a -hundred miles on an errand, in which we are equally interested, and cry -quits?" - -"To the end of the world!" answered John Garnet; "only I have not a -horse to my name." - -There was a simple earnestness in his tone that sufficiently vouched for -his fidelity. Katerfelto, scanning narrowly the resolute countenance and -strong active frame, smiled to think that here was a tool shaped -expressly for his purpose. - -"I might find horseflesh," said he, "if you can find spurs. Will you be -ready to mount to-night on my errand, if it should be necessary? My -errand," he repeated, in a low, impressive whisper, "and the king's!" - -"God bless him!" answered Garnet, while each looked meaningly in the -other's face. "I have those in my interest," continued the Charlatan, -"aye, at the very council table, who keep me well informed from hour to -hour. You will dine as usual. You will crack a bottle of our best, to -the king's health. Before sunset, I will tell you when to pull on your -boots." - -While he spoke a knock was heard at the door, and Waif, glancing softly -at John Garnet, brought the Patron a letter left by a man who looked -like the light-porter of some city warehouse. It contained these lines: - -"The invoices are already forwarded. Prices ruling high; hemp likely to -rise. Realise at once, not a moment to be lost." - -Twice Katerfelto perused it with an anxious brow, then he turned to John -Garnet, and observed, carelessly: - -"A stroll before dinner will do you no harm. Come with me to the next -street, I want your opinion of a horse I keep there." - -So congenial a request met with an eager affirmative. In the flush of -returning health, John Garnet longed keenly for the fresh outward air. -And to see a horse again, even in another man's stable, was a return to -life and all that made life enjoyable once more. - -The Doctor wrapped himself, though it was summer, in a long black cloak -and drew a square cap down to his very eyebrows, before he crossed the -threshold, precautions which seemed scarcely necessary for purposes of -concealment, inasmuch as he led his visitor along two or three -unfrequented bye-lanes, to an old tumble-down building, that looked more -like a dilapidated pigeon-house, than the dwelling of so noble an animal -as the horse. - -"Enter," said he, unlocking the door. "The husk looks of the roughest, -but there is a kernel within." - -John Garnet was surprised to find the stable roomy, commodious, well -ventilated, and amply supplied with all necessaries for the comfort of -its inmate. "If the casket is mean," said he, "at least it seems well -lined, and water-tight. Let us open that shutter, Doctor, for a glimpse -at the jewel it contains." - -It was a jewel! An exclamation of wonder and admiration escaped the -visitor's lips, as daylight, thus admitted, revealed to him the beauty -and symmetry of the animal he came to inspect. From boyhood he had spent -much of his time in the saddle, found a store of pleasure and legitimate -excitement in the companionship of his horse, and here seemed the very -flower and perfection of the whole equine race. - -It was not that the sloping shoulders, the deep girth, the flat legs, -the round firm feet, the full, well-turned back, and lengthy quarters -denoted strength and speed unequalled, but there was also that -proportion and harmony of all the parts, which Nature is careful to -preserve when she means to turn out some masterpiece of her craft. John -Garnet said as much; and Katerfelto, man of science though he was, could -not conceal a certain prim satisfaction, which every man alive betrays -when congratulated on the superiority of his steed. - -"I am a poor judge," observed the Charlatan, whom no earthly -consideration would have induced to bestride the paragon before them; -"but I imagine the creature is as good as it looks." - -"That I'll swear he is!" replied John Garnet, fairly putting his arm -round the taper muzzle, that nestled kindly to his embrace. "If I had -seen nothing but this beautiful little head, with its full bright eyes, -and fine transparent ears, I would have backed him against any horse in -England for all I am worth in the world. Not much to be sure," he added, -with a laugh, "but you should have carried it for me, old man; and I -don't think the additional weight would have caused you to falter at the -post." - -He patted the hard, smooth neck, and strong, firm crest while he spoke; -and the animal, though an entire horse, in the full vigour of good food -and high condition, responded lovingly and gently to his caress. - -"He knows you already," said Katerfelto; "he will know you better before -you have done with him. Listen, John Garnet: what would you give me for -that grey horse as he stands?" - -"Five hundred guineas!" answered John Garnet, laughing, "if I had them. -Ten years of my life, as I haven't five hundred pence in the world!" - -"He is yours!" replied the other. "You shall ride him out of London -to-night." - -John Garnet's eyes brightened. "I do not know who and what you are even -now," said he, "but you seem the best friend I ever had. Frankly, -Doctor, I already owe you more than I can hope to pay. In my opinion, -you have bought me, body and bones, at a high price; and I am ready to -do your bidding, be it what it will." - -"You speak like a man of sense," answered Katerfelto. "Come back to the -house, Waif shall find us some dinner, with a bottle of good old -Burgundy, and I will give you instructions at once." - -They returned, therefore, to Deadman's Alley, threading the bye-streets -with the same secrecy as before. Katerfelto informed his companion, as -they walked, how he became the owner of so matchless an animal--the last -possession, it must be admitted, with which John Garnet would have -credited his physician. "I obtained him," said the latter, "even as I -obtained Waif, and from the same people. Only, I paid hard gold for the -child; whereas, they let me have the horse for nothing." - -"And yet, they may have stolen both," observed his listener. - -The other shook his head. "Waif is a gipsy," said he, "pure bred, or I -should never have encumbered myself with her. No; they are a strange -people. Their honesty is not like our honesty, neither, indeed, is their -fraud; but they have their notions of fair dealing too. They brought me -the horse to pay a debt of honour." - -John Garnet opened his eyes. "A debt of honour!" repeated the Charlatan. - -"The rogues had robbed me of some valuable jewels while I was sojourning -in their tents during the illness of an old reprobate, whom they called -their duke, and whom I attended without demanding a fee. Repenting of -such ingratitude too late, for the jewels were beyond recovery, they -sent me the highest-priced article they could lay hands on, and it -proved to be the very horse you are to ride out of London to-night. How -they came by him, it was useless to inquire; but they assured me--and I -have no reason to doubt their word--that the owner would never cause -inconvenience by appearing to assert his claim." - -"Do you think, then, they _murdered_ him?" exclaimed John Garnet, in an -accent of dismay. - -"Very probably!" replied the other. "But I had little curiosity on the -subject; it was no affair of mine." - -The silence that ensued, lasted to the door of the surgery, and, indeed, -with small interruption during the progress of dinner. When that meal -was taken away, and Waif, with many a backward glance, had departed and -shut the door, Katerfelto filled the glasses, smacked his lips over the -Burgundy, and thus delivered himself: - -"They would hang you, my good sir, if they could catch you; and this I -consider a sufficient reason for your leaving London to-night." - -John Garnet gasped, and set his wine down untasted. For some time he had -entertained uncomfortable misgivings to this effect. It was not -reassuring to hear them corroborated by so sagacious a person as his -host. "Chance-medley is not a hanging matter," said he, in a shaking -voice. - -"But _murder_ is," answered Katerfelto; "and murder I fear they would -bring it in. Why, in the name of all that is hasty, my young friend, did -you not take a couple of gentlemen into that dark room, and exchange a -pass or two in the presence of witnesses? See how the matter stands as -it would be submitted to a jury. An altercation, brooded over for more -than an hour; a quarrel, not in hot blood, but on reflection; and the -company gone. The lights out; the younger man escapes, and the elder is -found stabbed to death on the floor! It looks ugly, you must confess." - -"I have thought so more than once," replied John Garnet, much disturbed. -"Do you mean they will try me for--for--my life?" He got the question -out with difficulty, and swallowing a mouthful of wine fancied it tasted -like blood. - -"I mean nothing of the kind," said the other. "I mean you never to be -placed in such a position. I mean you to be a score of miles away -to-night. I mean to rescue your name, to save your life, and to make -your fortune." - -"How so?" asked John Garnet, taking comfort while he emptied his glass. - -For answer, Katerfelto made an almost imperceptible sign with one of his -fingers, to which the other responded by a word, whispered so low that -its import was to be gathered less by the sound than the movement of his -lips. - -"I was sure of it!" exclaimed the Charlatan. "I could have sworn from -the first you were one of _us_. I may speak freely now. John Garnet, I -call upon you this day to ride for the king!" - -"To the gates of hell!" was the reckless answer. "And as much farther as -your good horse will carry me. I am ready to start this minute." - -"Softly," said the other. "I neither require so prompt a departure, nor -so long a journey. You need not mount for another hour. You need not -ride so far as the Land's End. The business I shall entrust you with -demands courage, secrecy, and some little ingenuity. I believe you -possess all. To win, opens a path to rank, fortune, and the choicest -honours royal gratitude can bestow. To lose, leaves you no worse than -you are now, for at least you will have a fair chance of escape." - -"I ask for nothing better," replied the young man. "Only tell me what to -do, and how to do it." - -Katerfelto pushed the bottle to his guest. "You will need a good horse," -said he, "and good pistols. These I can supply. You have a good sword -and a good mother-wit of your own. It may be you will want them all to -carry out our plans. Success is a peerage at least. Failure means high -treason, so you know what you undertake." - -"I never shrank from a large stake," replied John Garnet, excitedly. -"Deal out the cards, and leave me to play the hand!" - -"This then is the game," continued his host. "Lord Bellinger took coach -to-day for his lieutenancy in the West, carrying with him certain -warrants from the Secretary of State, which must never reach their -destination. You understand. His lordship travels with his own horses, -and can scarce perform the journey in less than a week. Her ladyship -accompanies her husband, and they sleep to-night at Hounslow, fourteen -miles from here at the farthest. Such, my young friend, is the alacrity -with which his servants obey the commands of King George. Without a -boast, I think our side could give them a lesson in promptitude. I -myself knew all about those warrants before the ink was dry. I could -tell you now every word that passed between Lord Bellinger and the -minister, far more accurately than my lord himself, who, to do him -justice, has a retentive memory for trifles, but entertains the -profoundest aversion to every kind of business. Briefly, these warrants -must be destroyed before the end of the week, and I look to you for a -speedy completion of the job." - -John Garnet pondered. Pledged as he had been from boyhood, to the losing -cause, compromised, by the fatal termination of his late brawl, with the -laws of his country, and indebted for life, no less than the means of -living, to this strange practitioner of many mysterious arts, the -thought of shrinking from the task, thus thrust upon him, never entered -his mind; but he could not conceal from himself that the undertaking was -one of life and death, to be accepted resolutely indeed, but not without -every precaution to ensure success. - -"My lord travels in his own coach, you say," he observed, thoughtfully. -"How many servants does he take, and are they well armed?" - -"Three or four at most," replied Katerfelto, "without counting her -ladyship's waiting-maid, and one of these rides on ahead to prepare for -his reception, stage by stage, during the journey. They carry a -blunderbuss and two brace of pistols among them, no more." - -"How far will he proceed in a day?" asked the other. "The roads are at -their best just now and the nights at their shortest." - -"From twenty to thirty miles," answered Katerfelto. "His lordship -travels in a light coach with six good horses. You had better not -overtake him till to-morrow night. But these details I confide to your -own wisdom and discernment. In this purse are a hundred guineas. In that -cupboard a saddle, bridle, and brace of pistols. Spend the money, -founder the horse, use the weapons at your discretion, but the warrants -must be in the fire before his lordship crosses the borders of Somerset, -and the gentlemen named in them must be warned, at all risks of life and -death." - -"I understand," said John Garnet, "though I do not yet see how to set -about the job." - -"It can be done in three ways," observed Katerfelto. "The warrants will -be carefully looked after. To put them in your own pocket, you must -corrupt the servants, make love to my lady, or rob my lord." - -John Garnet considered a moment before he answered. "I think the best -plan will be to rob my lord." - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -A HEAVY STAKE. - - -The travellers spent their first night agreeably enough. The weather was -fine, the inn at Hounslow roomy and luxurious. My lady seemed pleased -with the fresh eggs, the country cream. My lord found amusement in the -airs and graces of his hostess, who was more than flattered by the -notice of so fine a gentleman. Even the servants were good enough to -express approval of the ale, the lodging, and the change. Our whole -party started next morning in good humour, and the very waiting-maid, -who had been in tears for the first six miles out of London, protested -that under certain conditions the country might be almost tolerable. - -My lord's first footman, a stout high-coloured personage in charge of -the blunderbuss, was unremitting in his attentions, and Mistress Rachel, -as she was called, in the absence of higher game, condescended to -receive his homage with the favour five-and-forty shows to -five-and-twenty. At a subsequent period indeed she declared "he hadn't -the heart of a hen!" but for the present seemed satisfied to accept him -as he was. - -Such a favourable state of things could not be expected to last -four-and-twenty hours. At noon of the second day it began to rain, a -trace broke, a horse cast a shoe, the man with the blunderbuss proved -useless in a difficulty, Mistress Rachel grew despondent, my lady -sulked, my lord swore, the unwieldy vehicle creaked, groaned, swung, and -finally stopped in the middle of a hill. - -"Let me out!" screamed Lady Bellinger, whose nervous system was of the -weakest, and on whose temper fear had an exasperating effect. "I'd -rather walk. I _will_ get out, I'll go back,--Richard!--Robin! open the -door." - -"Don't be a fool!" exclaimed my lord, as the carriage got into motion -once more. "How can you go back, Ellen? You're forty miles from London -if you're a yard." - -My lady's head-dress vibrated with anger. "I am a fool indeed," she -replied, "or I shouldn't be here! And this is the reward of my devotion -as a wife. This is your return for my accompanying you into exile. Lord -Bellinger, I _will_ speak. Indifference I am accustomed to. Unkindness I -have put up with for many a long day, patient, and forbearing, while my -heart was broke, but I have a spirit ("you have indeed," muttered his -lordship), though you try your best to crush it, and ill-usage I will -submit to no longer." - -It is possible her husband might have entered a more energetic protest -than the "d--d nonsense" he whispered under his breath, but that his -attention was diverted at this juncture to the beauty and action of a -horse passing at a gallop, ridden by a young man whose seat and bearing -did justice to the animal he bestrode. When Lord Bellinger, who thrust -himself half out of the carriage to follow the pair with his eyes, -subsided into his seat, he had forgotten all about their dispute in this -new excitement; my lady, however, with her face buried in a -handkerchief, continued to sob at intervals, till they reached their -destination for the night. - -This was a comfortable hostelry enough, yet lacking many of the luxuries -that rendered the inn at Hounslow so agreeable a resting-place. Mistress -Rachel, alighting with a hand on the shoulder of her admirer, expressed -alarm lest it might be tenanted by ghosts; whereat the latter's comely -cheek turned pale, while he resolved incontinently to fortify his -courage with beer. The new arrivals had no reason to complain of their -reception. The servants were amply regaled in the kitchen, a good supper -was served for my lord and my lady in the parlour. The choicer meal -vanished in profound silence, which Lord Bellinger tried more than once -to break; but, finding his efforts ineffectual, and knowing by -experience the obstinacy of his wife's reserve when she was "out of -spirits," he gave up the attempt, and applied himself to the Burgundy -his host brought in person. He finished the bottle as her ladyship, in -dignified silence, retired to bed; and ringing the bell for another, -felt creeping over him the accustomed longing for cards, dice, -company--some excitement in which to spend the evening. - -"Landlord," said he, as that stout and stolid personage entered the room -with a cobwebbed bottle and a corkscrew, "can you play picquet?" - -The landlord smiled foolishly. He did not know what his lordship was -driving at. - -"Fetch a pack of cards," continued my lord, "and I will teach you." - -The landlord excused himself in considerable alarm. "It was too much -honour," he said; "he doubted he was too old to learn. Would his -lordship like a toast of bread and an olive with his wine?" - -"I had rather deal than drink," answered Lord Bellinger, "though I'm in -the humour for both. If there's nobody in the house to play a game at -whist or ombre, send round to the stable, and tell the ostler I will try -my luck with him at all-fours." - -The landlord stared; but a bright thought struck him, and he observed: -"There's a gentleman in the Sunflower who arrived this afternoon. He -looks like a gentleman who wouldn't object to a game of cards, or -anything in that way." - -"Bravo, Boniface," was the answer. "Carry him my respects--Lord -Bellinger's respects--with a bottle of your best, and say, if he is at -leisure I shall be happy to wait on him at once." - -The landlord delivered his message with alacrity, and in less than five -minutes John Garnet answered it in person at his lordship's door. He had -come to this hostelry for the very purpose of obtaining the introduction -he now found so easy; and rather regretted the amount of thought he had -wasted after supper in considering how he should make Lord Bellinger's -acquaintance, and gain his confidence sufficiently to betray it. With -his best bow and pleasantest smile, "plain John Garnet" stood on the -threshold, and assured the other that no consideration would have -induced him to permit his lordship to ascend to the Sunflower till he -had himself come down to conduct him upstairs, if he would so far honour -his humble apartment, where he would at once direct preparations to be -made for the reception of his noble visitor. - -"Zounds, man!" answered the other, who at this period of the evening was -seldom disposed to stand on ceremony, "we want nothing but a bottle of -Burgundy and a pack of cards. They are both on that table. Let us sit -down at once and make the most of our time." - -"Agreed," replied his guest; "and your lordship shall choose the game -and the stakes." - -"What say you to picquet?" asked the nobleman, opening the Burgundy, -"Ten guineas a game. Twenty--fifty, if you like?" - -John Garnet, reflecting that he knew nothing of his adversary's force, -and was himself no great performer, modestly chose the lowest stake, and -proceeded to play his hand with as much care as his own preoccupation -and the strange position in which he found himself permitted. Picquet is -a game requiring, no less than skill and practice, undivided attention. -John Garnet could not forbear glancing about the room for some symptoms -of the documents he desired to make his own; wondering if they were kept -in his lordship's pockets, in her ladyship's baggage, under charge of -the servants. It is not surprising that at the end of the first game he -found himself the better by two glasses of moderate Burgundy, and the -worse by ten golden pieces stamped with the image of King George. He -ventured a second game, and with the same result. - -To do Lord Bellinger justice, he was not a rapacious gambler. He loved -winning well enough, but would rather lose heavily than not play at all. -"I am too strong for you," said he; "I ought to have told you picquet is -my especial game." - -But when did a loser ever admit the superiority of an adversary's skill? - -"Your lordship held good cards," answered John Garnet; "my luck is the -likelier to turn. I call for a fresh pack." - -So the waiter was summoned, and more cards, with another bottle of wine, -were brought in. Lord Bellinger began to feel the old wild impulses -rising in his heart; and John Garnet, a desperate man, bound on a -desperate errand, had no disinclination to venture Katerfelto's money in -an undertaking that compromised his own head. - -After two more games, Lord Bellinger had won a hundred guineas; and John -Garnet was at the end of his resources. - -"My lord," said he, "a man does not journey a-horseback with the Bank of -England in his pocket. I have lost to your lordship as much as I can -afford to pay." - -He spoke with some ill-humour, and rose from the table as though to take -his leave. - -"One more game," pleaded Lord Bellinger, who would have paid his last -guinea rather than go to bed before midnight. "Sit down again, my good -sir; if we cannot play for money, we can play for money's worth." - -John Garnet obeyed, with a forced smile. To be a good loser was -considered one of the essentials in the character of a gentleman; and he -would have sunk in his own, no less than in his companion's esteem, had -he declined the unequal contest for so paltry an excuse as want of -means. - -"That is a fine horse you rode here," continued his lordship, shuffling -the cards. "If you like to put a price on him, I will stake the sum -named against the animal." - -"Five hundred!" answered John Garnet. - -"Agreed," said the other, though the five hundred guineas he had -borrowed from Katerfelto constituted all the funds he possessed in the -world. - -So they played one more game, and again Fortune smiled on Lord -Bellinger, who emptied his glass with a smack, having despoiled his -adversary of the grey horse and one hundred guineas in gold. - -It seemed an unpromising beginning, but John Garnet's courage rose with -the exigencies of his position. He pulled a purse from his pocket, and -counted down on the table one hundred guineas, piece by piece, with a -good-humoured smile. - -"No doubt," said he, "your lordship will give me my revenge at some -future time. I shall leave the horse in charge of your lordship's -servants to-morrow morning. I can pledge you my word he is as good as he -looks." - -"What do you call him?" asked the other, carelessly. - -"Katerfelto," answered John Garnet, taken by surprise, and blurting out -the word that first occurred to him, because it would have seemed so -strange to hesitate at the name of his own horse. - -Lord Bellinger started. "Do _you_ know Katerfelto?" said he. "I have -always believed that man must be the devil in person!" - -"I got the horse with that name," answered John Garnet, "and his new -owner can alter it at pleasure; but as I must be a-foot, literally -a-foot, early to-morrow morning, I will now take my leave, and wish your -lordship good-night." - -So, with many profound bows, the pair separated, and the loser, to his -extreme disgust, heard Lord Bellinger's door carefully locked on the -inside. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -STRONG AS DEATH. - - -To have lost a hundred guineas after supper was bad enough, but to yield -possession of the best horse he ever owned, and pursue Lord Bellinger -into the West on foot, or by the tardy progress of a stage-waggon, was -not to be thought of. - -He never intended permanently to part with either, or John Garnet would -have been more loth to risk his horse and to pay up his gold. The money -must be recovered, and Katerfelto, as he now determined to call the -animal, must be retained at all hazards. Pondering these matters deeply, -the unlucky card-player only waited till the lights were out and the -hotel became quiet, to put his plans in execution. An hour after -midnight he had drawn off his boots, and satisfied himself that his -lordship's door was securely fastened. He must find another opportunity -of taking by violence that which he now despaired of gaining by -artifice; and he stole out to the stable, there to saddle his horse and -effect his escape. Though by no means satisfied with his night's work, -he did not consider he had entirely wasted time or money. In the course -of conversation, he had made himself acquainted with Lord Bellinger's -intended movements, and could prepare for a bold stroke. "If I had been -more fortunate with the cards," he thought, "I might have improved my -acquaintance sufficiently to join them as a travelling-companion, -perhaps accompanying my lord and my lady in their coach. It would have -been easier then to effect my purpose, though I do _not_ think I could -have found it in me to make love to her ladyship any more than to her -waiting-maid. But I never held a card! That hundred guineas I paid down -on the table I must have back again, as surely as I do not mean to part -with my good grey horse. There is only one way. I must seize the -warrants, and recover my money with the strong hand. Some unknown -highwayman may bear the blame, and if I can get off, I will lose no time -in gaining the West Country, and warning the honest squires of Devon and -Somerset that they are in danger. Nothing venture, nothing have! I'm in -it now, over shoes, over boots! Let me think. Highway robbery. It's an -ugly word, and a hanging matter, but so is high treason; and if every -neck that risks the noose must be stretched, why, as I heard those -player fellows sing last winter-- - - "I wonder there ain't better companie - Under Tyburn tree!" - -Thus meditating, John Garnet, who had made himself acquainted with the -geography of the hotel and its surroundings, proceeded noiselessly to -the stable, not without anxious glances toward the East, where that -forerunner of morning, the false dawn, was already visible. - -A true horseman, he had identified himself so completely with his steed, -and busied himself so earnestly about its wants, that Katerfelto neighed -with pleasure to acknowledge the friendly presence as he approached its -stall thus stealthily and in the dark. While he hurried to the horse's -head, that he might silence this untoward greeting, a slim figure rose -from below the manger and glided like a phantom to the door. John Garnet -was no less prompt than resolute. In an instant he had seized this -shadowy intruder by the throat. Outcry and escape were alike -impossible; but his hand opened as if it grasped a red-hot iron, when a -half-stifled voice, that he remembered only too well, murmured, "Hold! -do not hurt me. I am here to serve you. I will follow you to the end of -the world." - -"Waif!" he exclaimed, in an accent that, smothered as it was, denoted -the very extremity of surprise; but even while he spoke, the figure slid -through the dark stable out into the night. - -For a few seconds John Garnet was persuaded that he must be -dreaming--the meeting had been so sudden, so unexpected, and so soon -over. When he realised the fact, his surprise amounted to dismay. That -this impracticable gipsy-girl should have followed him, watched him, and -made herself acquainted with his movements, seemed a fatal climax to the -disasters of the night. For one disheartening minute he thought of -riding back to London, returning Katerfelto to his former owner, and -abandoning the whole project. Then he reflected, that under any -circumstances he must make his escape before daylight, and so saddled -his horse with what alacrity he might. Dawn was breaking as he led the -animal out of the court-yard softly and at a walk, though its tramp was -smothered in the snores of a stalwart ostler who slept in a loft above, -for protection of the stables, and a red streak of sunrise bound the -eastern horizon, to which he looked back on emerging from a belt of -coppice that skirted the high-road a mile from the inn. Bold as he was, -Katerfelto shied at an object moving in the brushwood, while a slim -boyish figure sprang out, laid its hand on the horse's shoulder, and -looked wistfully up in the rider's face. - -Waif--for it was none other--attired as a country lad, and only the more -beautiful for her disguise, seemed to anticipate no less affectionate a -greeting than she was prepared to offer. But already she knew every -change of the face she had studied so fatally, and her own fell, while -she marked the displeasure that settled on the brows and about the lips -she loved. - -"Speak to me," she murmured, "for pity's sake. I tracked you so -patiently, and followed you so far!" - -"Waif, why are you here?" he asked, while his heart smote him to think -of the distance travelled by that slender form, those shapely delicate -limbs. - -"I could not bear you to go away," replied the girl, laying his hand to -her heart and pressing her cheek against Katerfelto's warm shoulder. "I -could not live without you; and for the matter of that, you could not -live without _me_. If I had let you go by yourself, every mile you rode -was a mile towards your grave." - -They were pacing on together, Waif walking at his stirrup with a free -untiring step, that the good horse must have fairly broken into a trot -to leave behind. John Garnet looked at her with an astonishment in which -there was no little interest and admiration. - -"What mean you?" said he, "and how came the Doctor to let you go?" - -"I never asked the Patron's leave," was her answer, "because, if he had -forbidden me, I should have lain down to die. No; when you rode out of -London, I was scarcely half an hour behind. The Patron must have been -very angry when he found me gone. What do I care? I care for nobody but -_you_. I knew where to get these clothes well enough. Do you like me in -them? I might have had a horse from our people before I had done a day's -journey, but I thought I could be nearer you on foot, and I've walked -all the way. I'm not tired. I'd walk as far again only to hear your -voice." - -John Garnet was in utter perplexity. Such a phase in his affairs he had -never contemplated, yet there seemed something so ridiculous in his -position, bound on a political adventure thus attended, that he could -not forbear a laugh. - -"Nonsense, my lass!" said he kindly enough. "You must go back; indeed -you must. I won't have you come a step farther. You ought never to have -followed me at all." - -The tears were in Waif's dark eyes, and she raised them to his face with -the pleading, reproachful look of a dog that you chide when he knows he -is doing right. - -"Not follow you!" she repeated. "How am I not to follow you, when you -are going into danger? I can share it even if I cannot keep it off; and -you tell me I must go back to London! You cannot mean it. I don't think -you quite understand." - -"That's the truest word you have said yet," was his answer; "but I do -understand that, for your own sake, you ought not to be here now. Still, -if you persist in accompanying 'a beggar on horseback,' you ought to -have your share of the saddle, till we get down." - -With these words, he took her by the hand, and braced his foot in the -stirrup to afford a purchase for her ascent. In one bound she stood on -his instep, light and buoyant as a bird; in another, she was seated -before him with her arm round his neck, and her comely smiling face very -near his own. It might have been the exertion, or the novelty of the -position, or something he whispered, with his lips close to hers, that -turned Waif crimson, and then deadly pale. She seemed more out of breath -now, clinging to the rider, than she had been awhile ago walking beside -his horse. Katerfelto, in obedience to his master's hand, broke into a -canter; before she spoke another word, they were nearing a hamlet, of -which the smoke was visible above the trees, when she made shift to ask -in a trembling voice if she might not be set down, and taken up again -when they had passed through? For answer, John Garnet laughed, and -increasing his pace, dashed along the street at a gallop. When he -relapsed once more into a walk, the startled villagers had been left -two miles behind. - -Waif's nerves were of the firmest, and she had now recovered some of her -self-possession, no easy matter for a woman who finds herself seated on -the same horse with the man she loves. Her heart beat fast indeed, and -the colour came and went in her cheek; but she could review the -situation calmly, and resolved that now was the time to explain all she -had done, all she intended to do in John Garnet's behalf. Even those -women, whose station renders them slaves of custom, like other slaves, -assume the wildest freedom when they have elected to throw off the yoke; -but this gipsy-girl, an unsophisticated child of nature, had no scruples -to vanquish, no social laws to break, found nothing to restrain the -ardent expression of her feelings, save the innate delicacy of a proud -and loving heart. - -It was not, therefore, without such a blush and downward glance, as few -men could have withstood, and none, perhaps, less firmly than John -Garnet, that she announced her resolution. - -"I shall hold by you to the last. I shall never desert you till you have -performed your task in safety. It is right you should know it. -But--but--I cannot expect to accompany you like this. Only promise that -you will not try to leave me behind, and never fear, but I can find my -way from place to place, and be at hand when I am wanted, without -shaming you by my presence. The gipsy-girl is proud to give her life for -_you_, though you may blush to acknowledge one of my people as your -friend!" - -"Blush!" repeated John Garnet, and perhaps because their faces were so -near together, the blushing seemed all on the other side. "I would never -blush to own a true friend; and Waif, my pretty lass, you have proved -yourself more than a friend to-day. You say that I am in danger; I know -well enough that I soon shall be; but my head is out of the halter as -yet, and I see not how you could help if it were in!" - -"Out of the halter!" said Waif. "How little you fear and how little you -seem to care! Do you think I was not listening at the door when Abner -Gale came to the Patron thirsting for the man's blood who took his -brother's life? You know not our people, John Garnet, nor the gifts that -nature bestows on us, instead of hearth and home, bed and board, gold -and silver, houses and land. Do you believe the gipsy can forget a path -once trod, a voice once heard, a face once seen? I was dancing in -Taunton Fair, when Abner Gale, one of your priests, as you call them, -tossed me a bit of silver, with a coarse laugh and a brutal jest. The -gipsy has no feelings to wound, no character to sustain, no honour to -defend, but she has the instincts and the memory of a dog for friend or -foe! Parson Gale had better have bitten his tongue through and kept his -silver in his pocket. I know his home, his habits, his haunts, his -vices, as I know my own ten fingers. I listened because I hated _him_. -But when I heard more, I listened on, because--because I loved _you_!" - -It was wrong, no doubt, scandalous, shocking, if not entirely without -excuse; but something in the proximity of those two young faces again -made the girl blush deeper than before. - -"There are no secrets too close for the Patron," continued Waif, "and as -you have seen, people come from far and near to consult his art. This -man's errand was to discover your hiding-place and hunt you down to -death. He gave the Patron money--golden guineas--I heard them jingle. He -was in earnest--bitter earnest, and so am I!" - -"But what said the Patron?" asked her listener. "I thought he was my -friend." - -"The Patron is every man's friend," answered Waif, "who is willing to do -him service, or to pay him gold. He promised to betray you when the moon -was full, but that very night he sent you out of London on his own -affairs, and I followed close, lest evil should befall, for I knew you -were journeying to the West." - -Laughing lightly, he asked if that was a dangerous quarter, and whether -the Wise Men, who came there from the East, were ancestors of her own? - -But Waif scorned to enter on the subject of genealogy with one who could -neither believe nor understand her claims to a descent co-eval with the -earliest history of man. Her tone was grave and almost stern, while she -looked him steadfastly in the face, and proceeded with her warning. - -"When a stag goes down to the water, where an enemy waits to take away -his life, the voice of a child, or the wave of a woman's hand, is enough -to turn him back into the moor. Abner Gale lives in the very country to -which you are bound. I know the man, John Garnet, and I will save you -from his vengeance, though I swing for it--there! Now will you let me -come with you and help you as best I can?" - -John Garnet did not hesitate long. True, he was unable to stifle certain -scruples, while he reflected on the dangers into which this wilful girl -was running of her own accord, on her loss of character, if indeed she -had any character to lose, and the inconvenience he would himself -experience in accounting for such a travelling companion, however well -disguised; above all, on the advantage he was taking of a professed -devotion, that exchanged, as he could not but admit, the pure gold of -sincere affection for a baser metal, compounded of gratitude, vanity, -and self-indulgence. But men have seldom far to seek for an excuse when -they would do that which is pleasant and convenient rather than right; -so John Garnet persuaded himself that to make this beautiful girl an -assistant of his schemes, and comrade in his dangers, was an act of -self-denial and loyalty vouching for his fealty to the exile whom he -called his lawful king. - -"Agreed!" said he; "and, now, Waif, if you are really to help me, I must -tell you my plans." - -He never forgot this ride through the summer's afternoon. The yellow -light that glimmered in copse and dingle. The glare on the white road -they travelled. The distant lake that gleamed like a sheet of -silver--the brook at his feet, that brawled and gurgled and broke into -bubbles of gold. The bloom of wild flowers, the song of birds, the -murmur of the breeze, the lowing of kine, the deep rich meadows, the -stretching uplands, and, over all, that sunny haze which veiled without -hiding the distance, and added its crowning grace to the beauties of a -landscape that became fairer and fairer, the further he journeyed -towards the West. - -Katerfelto paced proudly on, while John Garnet poured in a willing ear -the details of his journey, and the manner in which he proposed to turn -the tables on an adversary who had despoiled him of his money, and could -lay claim to his horse. It was difficult to make her understand how the -stake could have been lost. - -"For," said Waif, "the Patron bids the cards come out just as he likes. -It seems so easy, if a man has only the use of eyes and hands! This lord -must be very clever with his fingers, cleverer even than _you_!" - -"It's not all cleverness," he answered, impatiently. "There's such a -thing as luck, and I never held a card all night." - -Waif stared and made a motion with her slender fingers, the import of -which it was impossible to misunderstand. - -"But that would have been dishonourable," protested John Garnet. - -"Dishonourable!" repeated Waif. "Why? When you sit down, you do not mean -to be beat. It is only a trial of skill, like a race or a -wrestling-match. Let the best man win. Why is it dishonourable?" - -Despairing to explain to this untutored mind the code of fair-play as -practised amongst so-called men of honour, John Garnet proceeded to -discuss the means by which, in a few hours, he hoped to equalise the -chances of Fortune, and reimburse himself for his previous losses. Of -his scheme Waif greatly approved, holding, nevertheless, to her first -opinion, that it would have been wiser to win by fraud than to lose by -ill-luck, but promising her hearty assistance in all parts of the plan -he proposed to carry out. - -Thus conversing, they arrived at the outskirts of a country town; and -here, before John Garnet could suggest that he should alight and lead -the horse on foot, thus to avoid the remarks that might be provoked by -its double burden, Waif glided like water from the saddle, slipped -through a tangled hedge by the way-side, and disappeared. In vain, -standing high in his stirrups, he peeped and peered over the obstacle; -in vain he galloped to the gate, and searched and traversed the whole -meadow, calling her loudly by name. The girl had vanished; and riding -thoughtfully into the town, her late companion, for the second time -since daybreak, wondered whether he was under the spell of some unholy -witchcraft, or was really awake and in his right mind. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -MARLBOROUGH DOWNS. - - -"Ah! them was good times for we! I often wish as we'd Galloping Jack -back again." - -The speaker, a lame old ostler, clattering about his stable-yard in -wooden clogs, with a bucket in each hand, addressed himself to an unseen -individual at the taproom window, who blew out large clouds of -tobacco-smoke in reply. - -"He was free, he was!" continued the ostler, "as free with a guinea as -you and me with a shilling. I'll wager a quart as he was a gentleman -born, right or wrong. Such gold lace as he wore! and such horses as he -rode, to be sure!" - -The old man seemed lost in admiration of the memories called up by -Galloping Jack. - -"What's gone with him?" asked the unseen smoker in the taproom. - -"What's gone with 'em all?" said the other, angrily. "A nightcap and a -nosegay, I doubt, like the rest. But he loved his perfession, did -Galloping Jack; an' many's the pleasant ride he took across the Down, -and what not, afore he mounted his wooden horse on Tyburn Hill." - -"We'll hope it never came to that," replied the other, with something of -amusement in his tone. - -"Ah! I'm afeared it's past hoping and praying for too," said the ostler. -"But it's a gentleman's trade," he added, reverting to his own -professional view of the highwayman's calling; "a gentleman's -trade--I've always said so. Look what cattle they can afford to keep!" - -"You're a judge of such matters, I suppose," observed the smoker in the -taproom. - -"Man and boy," answered the other, "I've been about horses nigh fifty -year. If I don't know a good nag when I see 'un, master, well, I'd -better give out, an' take on with some likelier trade." - -"That's the right sort you dressed over awhile ago," continued the -smoker, leaning out of window, and showing a tall, active frame, -surmounted by a swarthy face, with the eager expression of a hawk. - -The ostler set his bucket down, and winked. - -"You're a judge," said he, "_you_ are, and so you ought. There's a many -passes through your hands, Master Cooper, but I never see you with such -a nag as this here. He's a cut above _you_, everyway--he is." - -"That's a good one!" answered the dark man, with a boastful laugh. "Why, -Ike, you old fool! I tell you I owned that very horse myself, and I -_gave_ him--gave him away as a present to a friend of mine." - -"But how came Galloping Jack to part with him?" asked the ostler, much -interested. "I knowed the horse, bless ye, as well as the horse knowed -me, when he came into the yard not two hours back; but he's in the hands -of a real gentleman now, and as pretty a rider as ever drew a rein -through his fingers. There was something about his seat as put me in -mind of Jack, too, and something in the way he carried his hands; but I -can't call to mind seeing Jack without a mask on. Speak up, Master -Cooper: it couldn't be the man himself, could it now? I never heerd as -he'd swung for sure." - -"Who knows!" answered the other, with a harsh laugh. "_You_ water your -horses, and mind your own business, Ike, and I'll tell the drawer to -give you a pot of ale when you come into the house." - -Now John Garnet, sitting after dinner at an open window above the -stable-yard, overheard the foregoing conversation, and resolved -straightway to take advantage of his own likeness to the missing hero, -whose horse he had so strangely appropriated. Katerfelto seemed well -known in these parts as the property of Galloping Jack, and, indeed, an -animal of such remarkable beauty was sure to be recognised by anyone -concerned with horses who had ever seen it before. If the rider's -figure, too, resembled the highwayman, who had been in the habit of -concealing his features in a mask, it was quite possible that he, John -Garnet, riding the best horse in England, might, so long as it suited -his purpose, be mistaken for the enterprising person known on the Great -Western Road as Galloping Jack. - -At a glance he perceived how such a confusion of characters would -facilitate a project he had been maturing all day--a project that, after -a few hours' rest and refreshment at the wayside inn, it seemed quite -practicable to carry out before nightfall. To rob a coach single-handed, -that contained four well-armed men, of whom he had reason to suppose one -at least would fight to the death, seemed a bold stroke; but while he -looked to the loading of his pistols, the fitting of his saddle, the -feeding and bridling of his horse, and all the details on which his very -life depended, he entertained but little fear for the result. His plan, -though desperate in its nature, was not without discretion. He had -ridden for two days ahead of Lord Bellinger's carriage, and had now -turned back on his track. By sunset he calculated that the travellers -would arrive at a solitary clump of trees he had marked in the lonely -plain, on Marlborough Downs. Here he might conceal himself, shoot one of -the horses, as it passed, and leaping out, stun my lord with the -butt-end of his pistol. The servants, he hoped, would be so -panic-stricken, that in the confusion he might possess himself of the -papers he required, and rely on Katerfelto's speed to make his escape. -All this he had confided to Waif, and now Waif was not forthcoming, -though she had promised him assistance, of some mysterious nature she -seemed unwilling to explain. Well, he must do it single-handed, that was -all, and let Galloping Jack bear the blame. - -The landlord looked after him with approval as he rode out of the inn -yard an hour before sunset. His wife and her maids lavished admiring -glances on the handsome coat and graceful seat of this comely horseman; -while old Ike, drawing his hand down Katerfelto's firm smooth quarters, -blessed him as he went. Golden opinions had the stranger won from each -and all; yet each and all, if examined on oath, would have sworn they -believed him to be a man who earned his daily bread by crimes that the -law punished with death. Who but a highwayman would order so costly a -dinner, such choice wine, and leave both almost untouched? Who but a -highwayman would bow to the very kitchen scullion like a courtier, while -he scattered a handful of silver in her dirty apron, or fling a guinea -(his last guinea) at old Ike's head, whilst the ostler held the stirrup -for him to get on. They looked meaningly in each other's faces as he -disappeared, riding steadily towards the endless down, and old Ike, with -the tears standing in his eyes, clattered back to his brooms and -stable-pails, muttering, "He always wur free-handed, an' now he's gone -his ways again for good, an' I sha'n't never see him no more!" - -John Garnet rode slowly on at a pace that should husband Katerfelto's -powers. The sun was already set when he arrived at the clump of trees -where he meant to lie in ambush; but he passed it, unwillingly enough, -and affected to proceed on his journey; for lonely as seemed the wide -expanse of down, its solitude was broken by a motionless figure, to all -appearance intently on the watch. - -His business admitted of no observers. After a moment's hesitation he -turned on his track, and rode straight to the figure, as if to ask his -way. - -In the twilight, he made out a tall dark man, who might have been a -shepherd but for want of sheep and sheep-dog, and who never moved a limb -while he approached. - -"My friend," said the horseman, "I have forgotten something at the inn I -left an hour ago. If you will take a message back you shall have a -crown-piece for your pains." - -The other pointed to the London road. "I can earn a crown-piece without -walking three miles for it," said he, "and so can _you_, Master Garnet, -if you'll stay where you are." - -John Garnet fairly started at the sound of his own name. - -"Who the devil are _you_?" he exclaimed, "and what are you doing here?" - -"I am here on _your_ business," was the unexpected answer. "You're about -a tough job, sir, and you'll do it, never fear, but not single-handed." - -"I don't know what you mean," replied the other; adding, after a -moment's consideration, "did I not see you this afternoon smoking in the -taproom of the inn?" - -"Very like," said the man, composedly. "I've seen _you_ many more times -than ever you've seen _me_. Why, now, you look quite astonished that a -gentleman can be put down by a plain man! Well, it's no use beating -about the bush, I'm here to look after you because Thyra bade me come." - -"Thyra!" repeated John Garnet, with an air of sudden enlightenment: -"what, Waif do you mean? Why you must be Fin Cooper." - -"That's my name in your patter," said the gipsy; "now I'll tell you my -business. Stay, all that will keep: I hear the roll of wheels. In ten -minutes the coach we are both looking for will be plodding up the hill. -Go in with a will! Do it your own way, there'll be plenty to help when -the time comes. Take what you want, and leave us, Romanies, the -pickings. There's half a score here that go share and share alike." - -John Garnet had little time to demand an explanation, or indeed to make -up his mind. Already he could distinguish Lord Bellinger's coach -labouring slowly up a slight ascent, crowned by the clump of trees -before mentioned. He withdrew himself into their shelter, and scanned, -as well as the failing light permitted, the strength of the party he had -determined to attack. It happened that the servant whose duty it was to -ride ahead from stage to stage had fallen to the rear; and this -accounted for his missing that fore-runner, on whom he had calculated to -warn him that his prey was drawing near. This increased the defending -force to five; including my lord, a coachman, and two footmen; of whom -one carried a blunderbuss, and was impeded moreover by the charge of -Mistress Rachel. - -Of his own auxiliaries he knew nothing. Wherever the half-score -mentioned by Fin Cooper were concealed, not a man but the tall gipsy had -yet shown himself, and _he_ seemed unarmed by so much as a stick. -Nevertheless, the coach was close upon them now. Lady Bellinger's -peevish tones might already be heard from the inside. - -Unseen in the black shadow of the trees, he took a pistol from his -holsters--Katerfelto standing like a rock--and sighted the near wheeler. -Simultaneously with the report of the weapon and two female shrieks, the -animal fell dead, shot through the brain, bringing down its coach-fellow -across its body, in a confused turmoil of snortings, plungings, and -broken harness. - -In an instant my lord had whipped out of the carriage, sword in hand, -with his coat torn up the back from the vigour with which my lady pulled -at it in her fright. Determined, nevertheless, to sell his life dearly, -and ready, to do him justice, for a fight at any odds, right or wrong. - -The mounted servant, crying "Thieves!" and "Murder!" turned his horse, -and rode away at a gallop; while the footman who carried the -blunderbuss, shaking himself clear of Mistress Rachel, dropped on his -knees, and begged pitifully for life. - -His fellow, however, being of a bolder nature, snatched the weapon out -of his hand to point it full in John Garnet's face, and pulled the -trigger like a hero. - -It only flashed in the pan; somebody had been tampering with the -firearms at the last stopping-place. The assailant was in no real danger -but from Lord Bellinger's naked steel. That nobleman made at him -fiercely enough; and though Katerfelto answered rein and spur, as if -well-trained in such hand-to-hand conflicts, John Garnet might have been -obliged to use fatal means in self-defence, but that half-a-dozen -figures sprang like magic from amongst the trees; a cloak was thrown -over my lord's head, while he was dragged to the earth; the servants -were securely gagged and bound; my lady and Mistress Rachel compelled -with hideous threats to keep silence; and the original aggressor found -himself at liberty to rifle the carriage unmolested, and take what he -required. - -There was no difficulty in finding the warrants. With these, and the -hundred guineas he had lost, safe in his pocket, John Garnet turned -Katerfelto's head towards the down, pausing one moment to thank the -gipsies for their timely aid, and impress on them the necessity of mercy -towards their captives. In that moment Waif's hand clasped his own, and -Waif's voice murmured in his ear: - -[Illustration: WESTWARD-HO!] - -"My tribe have done you good service, leave the rest to me. I do not say -farewell, for it would break my heart to think we should not meet -again!" - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -A PECULIAR PEOPLE. - - -It is only fair to state that Lord Bellinger writhed and struggled with -a vigour not to have been expected from his attenuated frame, much to -the delight of his captors, who were inclined to treat him more -leniently than if he had submitted, like his footman, without show of -resistance. This champion they kicked and belaboured to some purpose, -while they pinioned his fellow-servant, from whose readier hands they -had wrested the harmless blunderbuss, and threatened him in frightful -language if he ventured to stir a finger. To my lady, though insisting -that she should retain her seat in the carriage, they behaved with -extreme politeness. She was afterwards heard, indeed, to protest that -the robber-chief, as she called Fin Cooper, seemed a perfect gentleman; -that he had a distinguished air, and for a black man--though, in a -general way, she could not abide black men (Lord Bellinger being as -black as a crow)--was by no means ill-looking. - -Mistress Rachel, too, while frightened and hysterical, as behoved her -station, clung persistently to the arm of a stout gipsy, who mounted -guard over her person, entreating him, in piteous terms, to respect her -youth, and, above all, to protect her from the insults of his comrades; -lavishing on him tender glances, and contrasting his assured demeanour -with the cowardice of her late admirer, whose very teeth chattered for -dismay. My lord, in the meantime, with a swarthy fellow at each limb, -lay helpless on his back, cursing volubly, but losing neither presence -of mind nor temper. Indeed, when he had sufficiently relieved his -feelings by such ebullitions, and perceived that no violence was offered -to Lady Bellinger or her maid, the situation seemed to strike him as -ludicrous, and, bursting into a laugh, he called on the gipsies to -release him, promising, on his honour, that no further resistance should -be offered by himself, or his servants, to the continuation of their -frolic. - -Fin Cooper took him at his word. Exchanging a few short sentences with -Waif in his own Romany language, unintelligible to the captives, he -raised Lord Bellinger to his feet and restored the rapier which had been -wrested from that struggling nobleman. - -"You are a _Gorgio Raia_," said he, "and I but a _Romany Chal_. -Nevertheless, there is honour among thieves, and I'll trust yours if -you'll trust mine." "I cannot speak your language," answered his -lordship; "but your manners are those of a perfect gentleman. Pray -select from my coach whatever articles you fancy, except her ladyship, -my wife, whose health does not admit of her taking exercise on foot, and -I would venture to suggest that, in rifling the sword case, no violence -be used. It contains three bottles of excellent Chambertin, which it -would be a pity to break. I can only regret that I am not better -prepared to entertain so large a party." - -"You're made of the right stuff," answered Fin Cooper; "and another time -you'll know that a _Romany Chal_ means a gipsy lad, and a _Gorgio Raia_ -a nobleman of the Gentiles. We'll drink your health, my lord, never -fear, and give yourself and your lady a share, if you'll condescend to -wet your lips on the same cup with us. Now, pals," he added, turning to -the gang, "take what you want and let us be off. High Toby's a good game -for the winner, but it's best to play it out before the moon gets up." - -The gipsies then proceeded to appropriate the contents of the coach, -exchanging grins and smiles and whispered congratulations in their own -language on the value of their prize. - -Only Waif stood aloof, gazing into the darkness, where the grey horse -and his rider had long ago disappeared. - -Presently a scream from my lady announced that some tawny hand was laid -on her jewel-case. "My diamonds!" she exclaimed; and tears of real -distress rose in her eyes, as she raised them to Fin Cooper's face. "Oh! -sir! I beseech you, let me keep my diamonds. For pity's sake, do not -send me back into the great world naked and ashamed, without so much as -a clasp of brilliants to fasten round my neck!" - -"I do believe as her ladyship would rather lose her maid than her -jewels," whispered Rachel, with a glance at her swarthy guardian, that -intimated no great disinclination to be retained as a pledge instead. - -My lord laughed. "I would play you for the set, and welcome," said he. -"But though you will find a pack of cards in every pocket of the coach, -the devil a guinea have I left to stake. It's a pity," he added, "for -just now I'm in a vein of luck. Only last night I won five games running -of our friend on the grey horse, though it seems to be his turn now!" - -"Galloping Jack is hard to beat at any game he chooses to play," -answered the gipsy, in whose ear Waif had whispered a few hurried words. -"Nevertheless, win or lose, he's far enough by this time. It takes a -bird of the air to catch Jack when he gets his spurs into the grey." - -"Confound him!" said his lordship heartily, reflecting that, by all the -rules of fair-play, this enterprising highwayman was now riding into -safety with _his_ money on _his_ horse. "Drink up your liquor, my good -friends, and let us make some arrangements for the future. I presume -you do not wish us to remain unsheltered on the downs all night?" - -"Not an inch will I stir without my diamonds!" exclaimed his wife. "Mind -that, my lord. If they go into captivity, I go too!" - -"And I humbly hope, as is my bounden duty, to attend your ladyship," -added Mistress Rachel, trying hard to blush, while she stole another -look in her guardian's gipsy face. - -Fin Cooper scratched his handsome black head in some perplexity. Of all -incumbrances, the last he would have chosen was a lady of quality, with -her waiting gentlewoman. How was he to get them to the tents? What was -he to do with them when there? If retained as hostages they would give -more trouble than they were worth; and such a speculation promised no -great profit, for Lord Bellinger's easy indifference seemed to infer -neither high ransom nor prompt payment. Fin would rather have foregone -jewels, lady, and lady's-maid, than be hampered with all three. - -Again he consulted Waif, and, after the interchange of a few brief -sentences in their own language, of which my lord, listening intently -for all his assumed carelessness, could only catch the words "fakement" -(a piece of work), "fashono" (fictitious), and "balanser" (a pound -sterling), cleared his brows, and made a profound bow to her ladyship, -with all the politeness of a dancing-master. - -"The Romany in his tent," said he, "can be courteous as the Gorgio in -his castle. If the Rawnie (lady) sets such store by her gew-gaws, let -her keep them and welcome! When she walks in her jewels among the great -ones of the earth, she will think not unkindly of the Romany raklo (the -gipsy lad) who wished her good luck and good speed on Marlborough -Downs." - -He had learned from Waif, whose experience while in the Patron's service -taught her many a strange secret, that the diamonds were but paste, -and, with characteristic promptitude, seized the opportunity of -affecting a princely magnificence at trifling cost. - -Her ladyship, who must have known, while she obstinately ignored, the -truth, was disappointed beyond measure. In her own circle many romantic -stories were told of the courtesy shown by highwaymen to ladies of -gentle birth. She expected no less than to redeem her jewels by some -such harmless gallantries as those practised in a game of forfeits, and -would have felt little disinclination to dance a rigadoon by moonlight -on the level turf with this well-made gipsy for a partner. It seemed a -bad compliment that he should give her up the best share of his booty, -and never so much as ask to kiss her hand in return. - -My lord burst out laughing, and offered his snuff-box. "By St. George," -said he, "you must be the king of the gipsies himself. A man who -presents a lady with a set of diamonds, and makes no more to-do than I -would about a bunch of flowers, ought to sit on a throne; and, excuse my -freedom, in an unpatched pair of breeches. May I ask the gentleman's -name to whom her ladyship is so deeply indebted, and whose generosity is -only equalled by the simplicity of his dress?" - -The gipsy's black eyes shot a cunning glance in his lordship's face. Its -expression was so good-humoured and mirthful, that it was obvious no -insult could be intended; and the slender hand that had stolen like -lightning to a knife in his girdle was as quickly withdrawn. - -"They call me Fin Cooper," said he, frankly, "in the patter of the -Gorgios; but if your lordship ever condescends to visit our -camping-ground, ask for Kaulo Vardo-mescro (Black Cooper), and you shall -receive a brother's welcome in the tents. Prala (brother), there is my -hand upon it!" - -With a gravity that was in itself ridiculous, the pair shook hands; -while my lady, in tones of extreme impatience, demanded "how much longer -they were to remain on the open down, and what was to be done next?" - -Again there was a whispered consultation among the gipsies, and again -Waif was called into council. Fin Cooper then addressed his prisoners -with a calm dignity, such as Lord Bellinger had many times seen -attempted unsuccessfully in the legislative chamber to which he -belonged. - -"My lord," said he, "and especially my lady, it gives me great -uneasiness that I should be obliged to cause you inconvenience. My -brothers, however, will not hear of your being released till they have -gained two hours' start. By that time," he added, looking up at the -stars, "it will be nearly eleven o'clock. You will find a good inn, not -three miles from this spot, where I will take care that beds and supper -are prepared. You will, I hope, be comfortably lodged before midnight. -In the meantime, it will be necessary to secure your acquiescence by -binding you hand and foot. Excuse the liberty, my lord and my lady, it -is but for a couple of hours." - -"And who is to unbind us when eleven o'clock strikes?" asked her -ladyship, in tones of exceeding disquiet. - -"Unless you leave somebody on purpose!" added Mistress Rachel, with a -titter. - -"I don't see the necessity," observed my lord, tapping his snuff-box; -"you have trusted my honour once to-night, why not put me on my _parole_ -again?" - -Fin Cooper pondered. It seemed a good jest enough to leave the party he -had captured huddled together on the open down, tied hand and foot, as -it were, in imaginary fetters by Lord Bellinger's word of honour alone; -but how if his lordship, treating the whole affair also as a jest, -should turn the tables, and proceed to raise the country in pursuit -directly his captors had withdrawn? On whose side would the laugh be -then? - -It speaks well, both for gipsy and nobleman, that Fin's hesitation was -of no long continuance. - -"I think the Gorgio means fair," he whispered to Waif, "for all he wears -a clean shirt on his back. Am I a fool to trust him, my sister, or is he -fool enough to respect my trust? We could hardly, without hurting them, -tie them up so tight but that they might release one another in the -space of two hours; and this job will look quite black enough as it -stands, without cruelty. It's highway robbery, Thyra, and, I fear, -something like what the Gorgios call high treason to boot! You are wise, -my sister, and know these Gentiles well; counsel me what to do." - -Waif reflected for a moment ere she answered, gipsy-like, by a parable. - -"Do you remember, brother," said she, "how one night in the apple-water -country, on the banks of the Wye, we took a rooster off his perch, and -brought the poor dazed chiriclo (bird) into our empty barn by the light -of a single lanthorn? How Mother Stanley bade us lay the fowl's bill -against the bare boards, and draw from it a line of white chalk to the -far edge of the threshing-floor? and how the helpless creature never so -much as lifted its beak from the spot to which it believed itself tied? -Brother, you speak the truth when you say I know the Gorgios. They are -like that foolish barn-door fowl. This Raya here is a game-cock of their -choicest breed. At his own time, in his own way, he will strut, and -fight, and crow as lustily as the best chanticleer of them all; but tie -him up in his word of honour, and he will no more stir an inch out of -that imaginary circle than Aunt Stanley's fowl moved from the line of -chalk on our barn floor. I have spoken brother, let us go hence." - -The gipsy turned to his prisoner. "My lord," said he, "I will trust -your lordship's word. You shall promise, as a gentleman, not to stir in -your own person, nor to permit one of your people to leave this spot, -till two hours of the night are fairly past. On this understanding your -whole party shall at once be set free, and the Romanies will take their -leave, humbly wishing your lordship good-night." - -"You'll give me back my watch," said Lord Bellinger, feeling in his -empty fob, with a shrug of his shoulders, "or how shall I know when the -time is expired, and we may put the horses to?" - -Fin Cooper laughed. He liked a man who never threw a chance away, while -at the same time he knew the value of a heavy gold watch set in -diamonds. - -"Look well at that fir-tree, my lord," said he, pointing upwards; "when -the moon, now rising, has cleared the second branch from the top two -hours will have elapsed, and you can depart." - -"If you know the time so exactly without a watch," replied his lordship, -"you can have no use for mine. However, it's a pretty keepsake enough, -and you're welcome to it. But harky'e, my friend, one word before you -go. Is there no chance of our being beset by other gentlemen of your -profession? You've left nothing for them to take, 'tis true, except the -clothes on our backs; but the disappointment might make them harder to -deal with than you have been yourselves. You couldn't afford us a guard, -could you? That pretty boy, for instance," glancing at Waif, who shrank -hastily behind the others, "and a couple of stout fellows, in case there -should be a fight." - -Nobody but Mistress Rachel seemed disappointed at the gipsy's answer. - -"It is needless," he said; "our patrin will hold you unharmed, as if -your coach was surrounded by an escort of Light Horse." - -"Your patrin? What is that?" asked my lord. - -"The sign that none of our people will pass unnoticed," said the gipsy; -"that not one of the profession dare disregard, from the best galloping -gentleman on the road to the poor cly-faker who pulls an old woman's -petticoat off a hedge. I will set it for you at once." - -Thus speaking, he drew his knife from the sheath, and cut three crosses, -side by side, in the turf, north, south, east, and west of the party. -This done, the word was given to march; and in less than a minute these -strange assailants, who seemed to have the facility of deer and other -wild animals in availing themselves of any irregularity in the ground, -had disappeared from the surface of the downs, though a moon already -nearly full was shining brightly above the horizon. - -My lord looked after them in silence as they vanished. Then, turning to -his wife, observed, with a meaning smile, "They have left you your -diamonds, my dear. I wonder where they learned to know brilliants from -paste?" - -Her ladyship, an image of outraged dignity, was sitting bolt upright in -the back of the coach. - -"Their leader is a perfect gentleman," she replied, "and would no more -rob a lady of her trinkets than he would allude to her misfortunes. -There are noblemen of position who might take example by the gracious -manners and high bearing of this mysterious gipsy." - -The taunt, if meant for such, was lost on her husband. "Two hours," he -yawned; "two hours all but five minutes at the best. How shall we get -through two mortal hours? There is moonlight--that's a comfort; and our -friends have left us the cards. I will sit in the coach, and play your -ladyship a game at picquet." - -"What shall we play for?" said my lady. - -"For love!" said my lord, and began to deal. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -MARY LEE. - - -Threading like a herd of red deer the slight undulations of the down, it -took the gipsies but a few minutes to withdraw from the scene of their -late outrage. In less than an hour they had approached their own -camping-ground, where the tents were already pitched by wives and -comrades, the kettles already singing over the twinkling fires of their -bivouac. They travelled fast, at a long swinging trot, shifting their -bundles from one to another as they went. Fin Cooper and Waif remained -in rear of the party, the former arguing that it was the post of danger, -and, on this consideration, though she seemed unwilling to lag behind -the others, insisting that the girl should bear him company. - -Waif was anxious and preoccupied, strangely unlike herself. The black -Vardo-mescro had not failed to notice the change, nor was it in his -nature to keep silence when aroused. Looking suspiciously in his -companion's face, he sang a scrap of an old Romany ditty, that may be -thus rendered:-- - - "In the month of flowers, between the showers, the cuckoo sings - all day. - But the maiden weeps, while the Romany sleeps, and the Gorgio - gallops away. - Too soon, too soon, they are fading in June, and the cuckoo has - changed his say. - And the maiden is dead, and the spring-time fled, when the Gorgio - galloped away." - -His voice was rich and mellow, yet something of harshness in its tones -betrayed the discord within. - -"What do you mean by that?" asked Waif, her black eyebrows coming down -in an angry scowl over her black eyes. - -"You can interpret it for yourself," was his answer. "Thyra, do you -remember the red Quantock hills, and the deep leafy coombes in the -'broom-pickers' country' long ago?" - -He spoke in Romany, and she replied in the same language. It stung him -to observe that she could not express herself so readily in their own -gipsy tongue as in that of the Gentiles, with whom she had passed so -many years. - -"I remember," said Waif, carelessly. "What of that?" - -He looked hurt, and a fierce gleam shot from his dark eyes. - -"There was a little gipsy-girl on those red hills," he answered, "who -came to her gipsy-boy for every earthly thing she wanted, from a bunch -of violets in the ditch to a bit of mistletoe on the topmost branch of -the old oak-tree, who stretched her little arms for him to carry her on -the tramp when she was tired, who stroked his face every morning at -sunrise, and kissed him every night when he lay down to sleep. - -"For that little lass the gipsy-boy would have shed all the blood in his -young body, and he was but ten years old and five--not yet a man, nor -grown to man's stature, but a man in heart, and a giant in his love for -the comely, delicate gipsy-girl. So he begged hard of father and mother, -uncles and aunts, and he went into her tent with a gift, and prayed of -her people that they would give him Thyra to be his wife. They promised, -Thyra, do you remember? They promised. They were of the old black race, -and the promise of a Lovel is like the oath of a Stanley or a Lee." - -"It was so long ago!" pleaded Waif, in rather a trembling voice. "You -were always very good to me, Fin. I won't deny it; but it was so long -ago!" - -His face softened; his voice was very sad and tender, while he repeated -her words. - -"So long ago! and yet I see it as clear as if it had been but -yesterday--the fire smouldering at the tent-door--the moonshine, -silver-white on the Severn Sea--the old grandfather sitting within, -shaping a wooden peg with his knife--and my little wife crouching in the -corner with her black eyes wide open, like the red hind's calf I had -noosed a week before in Cloutsham Ball. Long ago! Yes, Thyra, it _is_ -long ago; and every day that has gone by, every night that I have seen -it all again in my dreams, scores and brands it deeper and deeper in my -true gipsy heart. There is no 'long ago' for you and me, Thyra. We have -been one ever since that night when you were promised me by the comely -Lovels over the camp-fire. Nothing but death can part us now. My sweet -lass, I will be kind and true, for mine you surely are, and always will -be." - -To a woman whose heart was still in her own keeping, there would have -been something inexpressibly touching in the tender glance of those -eyes, naturally so fierce and keen; in the gentle tones of that voice, -usually so hard, imperious, and clear. She could not but contrast the -gipsy's absorbing devotion with John Garnet's joyous, good-humoured -carelessness, and shuddered to think how she loved the first and how she -was beloved by the second! She temporised--she prevaricated--she said -one thing and meant another. Was she not a woman, though a gipsy? - -"There would be time enough," she protested, "to consider all these -matters when the tribe moved farther West to take up their winter -quarters in the 'wrestlers' country,' amongst the Cornish tors and -valleys. There was much to be done first; tents to strike, a long -journey to be made, to-night's job to be effaced by a speedy change of -quarters; and you know as well as I do, Fin," she added, smiling sweetly -in his face, "that a storm is brewing down in the West where we are -bound, and the same wind that brings the Kaulo-chiriclo--the blackbird, -as the Gorgios call him--back to his own nest, will blow many a -'balanser' of good red gold into the pockets of the Romany lad who runs -his errands. For my part, I hope with all my heart he'll win!" - -"What matters it to us?" he replied. "Let the Gorgios fight it out among -themselves, and cut each other's throats for a name, like fools as they -are! King George, or King Charles, or King James, none of them will put -a fowl in the Romany's kettle, nor a broad piece in his palm, but for -service rendered and risk run. We must help ourselves, Thyra, take what -we want, and keep all we can. Our hand may well be against every man, -for is not every man's hand against us? For ages we have been a race -apart, and we must continue so for ever. No Romany lad may wed with the -noblest lady of the Gorgios; and for the Romany lass who listens to love -in another tongue, we do not shame her before our people, but we conceal -her, Thyra, we hide her away, where neither father nor mother, uncle nor -aunt, Romany nor Gorgio, shall ever find her again!" - -His voice had grown thick and hoarse, while drops of sweat stood on the -tawny face, now turned to ashen grey. Waif trembled like a leaf. - -"I know it," she said; "our people never forgive, Fin, and they never -forget." - -There was a ring of pride in the last sentence--tribute to the absent -lover, whom even now she could not bring herself to wish she might put -out of her mind. - -They walked on in silence. She had taken his bundle, and thus laden -carried it with a step as free and untiring as his own. They were half a -mile behind the other gipsies, pacing side by side in the moonshine over -the lonely down. A light twinkled from a solitary farm many a mile away, -and once only was the stillness broken by the honest bark of a -sheep-dog. The calm pure air, the sweet summer night, the quiet, the -expanse, were all suggestive of those dreams which have so large a -portion in life's reality. Her thoughts were far away beyond that -western horizon, with the grey horse and its rider. She absolutely -started when her companion's voice roused her from the abstraction in -which she was plunged. - -He had been watching her narrowly. Fin Cooper was as dexterous a gipsy -as ever stalked a red-deer, noosed a hare, or swung a kettle. Versed in -the lore, as in the malpractices of his people, he knew how to tell -fortunes by cards or palmistry; to interpret the _patrin_ of his -comrades, the signs of the zodiac, even the stars of heaven; but he -could not read a woman's heart. This was the last moment he should have -chosen to inculcate a lesson of fidelity and obedience on his promised -wife. - -"Thyra," said he, while she turned on him a pale and dreamy face, "did -your people never tell you the story of Mary Lee?" - -"I have heard something about her," she stammered, with a frightened -look. "She died, didn't she? or was lost? I--I forget the rights of it." - -"I will tell it you now," said he. "Take every word to heart, Thyra, and -forget rather the mother that bore you, than Mary Lee's fault and its -punishment. - -"She was a beautiful gipsy-girl, sister, such another as yourself, with -eyes like stars, and a voice to coax the bird off a tree. She lived with -her grandam, old Mother Lee, and her uncle, a stern, thick-set Romany, -who seldom spoke, and never smiled. They said he killed a squire's -keeper before their tribe came south out of the potato-country, and knew -Norwich gaol, inside and out, as well as I know the knife in my belt. -Many a time, when I was a little lad, I've seen Mary lifting the kettle -off its hook before their tent; and if it hadn't been for _you_, Thyra, -and the word of the Lovels, I should have thought her the likeliest lass -that ever put a bodkin in a knot of black hair; so did a good many -more--Stanleys, Hearnes, Coopers; she might have had the pick of them, -besides the best of her own tribe, and the comeliest of the comely -Lovels to boot. I've seen many a good round fought, aye, and knives -drawn, too, for a chance word from Mary Lee. - -"And she wouldn't so much as throw away a look on the best of us! When -Jack Marshall beat the Gorgio light-weight in fifty minutes, and brought -her the battle-money before he had scarce washed his face or pulled his -shirt on, she called him a fighting blackguard for his pains. We said in -the tents that, gipsy or gentile, the man wasn't born yet who could put -the charm on Mary Lee. - -"She did little work at home; and, except for lifting a kettle, or -setting a tent-peg, kept her hands as clean as a lady's; but she went -out by herself to fairs and races, _dukkering_ for the Gorgios and those -who tell fortunes to the gentlefolks, and came back with gold in both -hands. The old grandmother's kettle was never empty, and they gave her -plenty of liberty to do what she liked. Sometimes she would stay away a -month at a time. - -"One summer afternoon a little boy, who had been stealing nuts in a wood -a mile or two from the camp, came back with a gentleman's riding-glove -that he had picked up amongst the hazels. Mary laughed when she saw it, -and bought it of the child for a crooked sixpence and a whistle. A week -after, when they asked her what she had done with the glove, she said it -was lost. That set some of our people thinking. - -"Then she went off again about harvest; and after she'd been gone a -week, Barney Smith came into the camp, with a strange story that he had -seen a Gorgio lady, the living image of Mary Lee, sitting at an open -window in 'the book-fellows' town' at the time of Oxford Races. Barney -was doing a little business there with a pedlar's box on his own -account. Though it was a hundred miles off, he came back directly; but -when he talked of the pearls and satins she wore, and the black spots on -her face, with powder in her hair, we all said Barney must have been -drunk or dreaming. That night her uncle sat up to put new soles on his -shoes, and next morning he left the camp at daybreak. - -"I was but a lad, Thyra, and as busy as a squirrel. When a week passed, -then a month, and still no tidings came of Mary Lee, I went across the -Vinney Ridge to the tents of her people and watched. We were lingering -in the 'swine-herds' country,' among the deer in the New Forest, and -good times we had, I can tell you, with fat venison in the kettles, and -firewood for the cutting. I harboured a buck in Bolderwood once, and -watched him for seven hours on a stretch. I've watched longer than that -for _you_, Thyra. I watched nearly as long on behalf of Mary Lee. - -"The moon had gone down, and the false dawn was peeping between the -stems of the old oaks, when I caught sight of a square, thick figure -threading the track among the trees that led to the Lees' camp. I leaped -up, and took him by the hand. He was trembling all over. 'You are -welcome back, Uncle Ryley,' says I. 'You have made a long journey, -uncle; have you returned empty-handed, or did you find what you went to -seek?' - -"'The shoes are worn from my feet, brother,' was his answer. 'For three -days and three nights I have gone without food or rest; but I took what -I wanted, Fin, and I can hold up my head once more among my people.' - -"'Did you hear any news of Mary?' was my next question, and my heart -rose to my mouth while I asked it, for he was a strong, fierce man, who -would strike with fist or steel if he was angered, and never give you a -chance. I could scarce believe it was Ryley Lee who answered in that -weak, low voice, with a cheek that had turned grey, like the ashes of a -wood-fire in the dim morning light. - -"'It is well with her,' was all he said, 'but you will see Mary in our -tents no more.' - -"'She is dead!' burst from my lips, for there seemed a smell of blood in -my nostrils, and the pale streaks of dawn grew crimson between the -trees. - -"'It is well with her,' he repeated, turning from me into his tent. -'Mary Lee has left her people--dead or alive we shall see her no more.' - -"Then I knew she had paid the price it costs the Romany maiden who loves -a Gorgio too well!" - -Waif had changed colour more than once during the above recital; but -though she looked very pale now, there was a firm, hard expression in -her face that denoted some fixed purpose no consideration should set -aside. - -"'The hawk does not mate with the barn-door fowl,' said she, 'and the -Romany chal marries with the Romany chi, for surely we are one people; -but this affects neither you nor me, Fin. If gipsies cannot trust each -other, how shall we hold our own against the Gentiles? Mary Lee was a -good-for-nothing hussey; Uncle Ryley a cruel, blood-thirsty monster; and -here we are at the camp. Take your bundle, Fin, I've carried it till I'm -tired. Yes; I'll shake hands with you. Good-night.'" - -Extricating herself impatiently from the embrace of her affianced -husband, who succeeded, however, in pressing his lips against her brow, -she disappeared within one of the tents, leaving Fin Cooper outside, a -prey to contending feelings, among which jealousy and suspicion were in -the ascendant. He loved the girl: of that he was quite sure, and in such -a character, love is a fearful motive power for good or evil. It -possesses also a keen instinct of reciprocity, not to be deceived, and -few conditions are more pitiable than that of a strong wilful -temperament, persuading itself, against its own convictions, that it is -not exchanging gold for silver, that the ship which carries its whole -freight is not sinking hourly beneath its feet. - -The gipsy would have been angered, even to baring of steel, by any -comrade who had warned him of that which his heart began to tell him too -plainly, though he dared not admit it to himself, who had hinted that -Thyra loved another, and that other, one of the forbidden race--which, -for all his Romany pride and Romany prejudices, he could not but -acknowledge superior in every respect to his own. But he knew it, -nevertheless, and only waited an opportunity to avenge himself on the -rival, whom he had identified, almost to certainty, with John Garnet, -_alias_ Galloping Jack, the highwayman. Even now, he thought it might -not be too late to detach Waif from her unworthy and impossible -attachment. Far into the night Fin Cooper tossed and turned from side to -side, restless and sleepless, because of his wrongs, his memories, and -his feverish longing to have his hand on John Garnet's throat. - -Waif, too, was uneasy and wakeful. She had not listened to the tale of -Mary Lee, without accepting its moral for a warning to herself. Well she -knew that in the bloody code of her people, to love a Gorgio was an -offence punished by death. And she loved a Gorgio! Aye, loved him, as -she thought with a thrill of pride, essentially womanly in the exquisite -pleasure it evoked, the more deeply and dearly for the penalty. No -pale-faced girl could care for him like that! When the time came, she -would give him her life, as she had given him her love, without a murmur -or a reproach. - -Perhaps, at that moment, he was looking at the very star on which her -eyes were fixed, as it twinkled through the gaps in her brown -weather-worn tent. Perhaps, who knows, in another life, to be spent up -there amongst those stars, they might find themselves together? and so -Waif's dark eyes closed in that other life, on which we enter every -night, and the girl sank into a peaceful sleep, dreaming calmly of her -love. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -ON THE SCENT. - - -Wittingly or unwittingly, nobody ever offended Katerfelto without -regretting it. To do him justice, the Charlatan had every intention of -screening John Garnet from the avenger of blood, when he started his -patient on the Western Road, in pursuit of Lord Bellinger's ponderous -coach-and-six. The young man, he thought, would prove a useful tool -enough, and he had no objection to do him a kindness into the bargain, -provided it cost nothing, and would turn to his own advantage; but, when -he discovered Waif was missing too, before the good grey horse and its -rider had been six hours out of London, he at once connected the girl's -flight with _his_ absence, whom she had nursed so tenderly, and in a -quiet, remorseless way vowed vengeance upon both. - -John Garnet's mission, if fulfilled at all, must be carried out within -three days at farthest. When accomplished, it mattered little what -became of the messenger. Perhaps the sooner he was set aside the better. -What was the cost of a man and horse, valuable as might be the latter, -compared with the interest at stake, with the gains and losses of the -great game in which every player waged life and fortune on the result? - -Parson Gale, wearying sadly of London, and longing for his moorland -hills, found himself no longer put off with mysterious hints, and -unintelligible jargon; but, to use his own metaphor, was laid on the -line, like a bloodhound resolving to track it, inch for inch, till he -pinned his quarry by the throat. - -Many misgivings had the Parson during this, perhaps the most -unpleasant, week he ever spent in his life. Orthodox in his opinions, -however lax in his practice, it went cruelly against the grain to -believe that in seeking Katerfelto's assistance he was tampering with -the powers of darkness. Many a time, after his coarse pot-house -supper, was his sleep haunted by grotesque visions of the evil one, -carrying to eternal torment a figure in boots, bands, and cassock, -that he recognised for his own. His knees used to shake, and his short -grizzled hair to stand on end, when the Charlatan, leading him into a -dark room, bade him wait patiently, while inquiries were made of -certain intelligences that ought to have done with things of earth, -yet betrayed a marvellous interest in earthly trifles, earthly -follies, and earthly cares. The minutes seemed lengthened into hours -while he sat motionless, expecting every moment to behold the pale -violet gleam of a corpse-light, to feel the faint flutter of -spirit-fingers, catch the faint breath of spirit-whispers--worst of -all, to be threatened with the personal manifestation of some -obtrusive spirit itself. - -Katerfelto, who possessed a strong sense of humour, and enjoyed a joke -for its own sake, even though he had none with whom to share it, used to -describe at length the discipline, the gradations, the daily life, -scenery, and vegetable productions of the spirit-world; counting its -spheres, explaining its mysteries, and insisting strongly on the -somewhat thick-witted good-nature of its inhabitants. - -The Parson's nerves were of no sensitive fibre. He possessed his share -of English bull-dog courage. Give him a beef-steak, a tankard of ale, -and, - - "Had a Paynim host before him stood, - He had charged them through and through;" - -but he was not proof against dangers of which he had no experience, and -could form no conception. The crowning dread of his life at this period -was the apparition of some luminous figure, clad in misty robes of -white, prepared to answer his questions evasively in a hollow whisper, -lift him bodily into space for pure fun, and lay in his hand a flower of -no terrestrial growth, fresh and fragrant, but wet with the dews of -another world. It never _did_ appear to him, and very thankful he felt -that it did not! - -It was, therefore, with no slight feelings of relief, that on his last -visit to Deadman's Alley, he found the Charlatan dressed to go abroad, -and was invited by that unaccountable person to partake of a bottle by -daylight, rather than await a manifestation, fasting, in the dark. - -"Your servant, sir," said the Parson, flinging his shovel hat in the -corner, while he filled his glass without a second bidding. "This looks -like business, Doctor, at last. Indeed, I am sick to death of the town -life, and the town ways. But for your message, I should have been on the -good bay nag horse, half a day's journey towards Exeter by this time." - -"Do they use you so badly, then?" asked Katerfelto with a smile, while -he scanned him keenly from under his bushy eyebrows. "Do they not treat -Abner Gale with proper respect as a West-country gentleman, a noted -sportsman, and a pillar of the Church? In sad truth, it is a perverse -and ignorant generation." - -"Now you're bamming me, Doctor," replied the other, good-humouredly. -"But a man is entitled to his jest who gives such wine as this. My -service to you. Yes, I'll take a second glass the more willingly, as I -shall not have another chance. I leave London to-morrow at sunrise, -weather permitting, and before high noon, as we say in the West, whether -or no!" - -"Is it purse or patience that you have worn out?" asked Katerfelto; -"there are means of replenishing the one and repairing the other." - -"Both!" answered the Parson. "A man had as well be in the Fleet prison, -as the coffee-room of a Covent-garden hotel! I seem to pay hard money -for every breath I draw, and not to breathe freely after all! I'm an -early stirrer, Doctor! man and boy, winter and summer I've been used to -see the sun rise. Ah! you can breathe in my country like a grampus, if -you choose. Well, I come down to break my fast at a reasonable hour, and -not a creature is afoot in the whole house but the cat and me. Presently -steals in a slipshod drawer, unbraced, uncombed, unwashed, and scarce -half-awake. The varlet fetches a toast and tankard, may be, with a -knotch from the musty end of a chine that the rats have gnawned in the -night. I fling it at his head; I cuff him soundly; I kick him round the -room in my stocking-feet, for the other knave will not have cleaned my -boots till noon. Presently I drink my beer, and forgive him; but to make -peace with the rogue costs me a crown. At last I get my coat and hat -brushed, band fitted, boots blacked, and sally forth into the streets. -They're full, Doctor, a man can scarce turn himself round; yet do I feel -so lonely, that if I was a woman or a child, I should sit down and cry. - -"I might ride through Exmoor half a summer's day and never set eyes on a -human face, but the curlew seems to know me as he flits by, with a quiet -call of greeting and a wave of his wide brown wing--the red hinds, -leading their calves along the ridges, look kindly over their shoulders, -and turn their handsome heads to gaze after me, till they disappear. -Why, the very breeze, whispering among the rushes, has been pilfering in -my own garden, not so many miles away. You know no more than a blind man -what morning means till you've seen the sun rise in North Devon! I wish -I was back there now. I _will_ be back there next week if I'm alive!" - -"But surely, Doctor," observed Katerfelto, with a covert smile, "a man -of your presence finds no difficulty in making acquaintances and even -friends. The Londoners are not an inhospitable people, and are said to -be exceedingly kind to a stranger if he has but money in his pockets." - -"Kind enough!" answered the other, "so long as it costs nothing. They'll -find fair words, I grant, and plenty of them, at the rate of a guinea -a-piece. It was but yesterday two ladies gave me good-morrow from their -coach so heartily, I made sure I must have met them on Taunton -race-course or may be in the Cathedral close at Exeter. 'Welcome to -London, Doctor,' says one, 'how did you leave your friends in the West?' -'You don't remember _me_, Doctor,' laughs the other, as comely a wench -as you'll see this side of Devizes 'but I haven't forgotten you, and I -wish I _could_.' So I off with my hat, and up into the coach without -another word, thinking for sure I had fallen among friends at last, and -would you believe it? the first was an old harridan that might have been -my mother, and the second hussy had scarce a tooth in her head, besides -being raddled with red paint, and smelling of brandy fit to knock you -down! Nay, I have done with your London once for all. If I make good -speed, I'll be home in time for Dulverton Feast. I'll have no need to -look about for friends there, and I can tell you, Doctor, I've been -parched with strong ale and heady port, till I long for a gallon of -cider, if it cost me five shillings a quart. Now we'll go to business, -by your leave. If you've any more to say in my matters, out with it! Any -way, bad or good, let us settle up and part friends!" - -"I have constrained those to do my bidding who can furnish the -intelligence you require," answered Katerfelto solemnly. "To-night, if -you have the courage." - -"Nay, nay!" interrupted the Parson, his jolly face blanching at the -suggestion, "your word is quite enough, Doctor. I neither doubt _you_ -nor _them_. Name your price, and let us have done with it!" - -"Go home, then," continued the Charlatan, "with what speed you can make. -Amongst your own West-country hills you will find your enemy and the -slayer of your kinsman, John Garnet by name; a proper youth, -able-bodied, and an expert swordsman. If I bade you spare him, would you -listen one moment to my plea?" - -He was not listening now. "John Garnet," he repeated, "John Garnet," -grinding the syllables between his teeth as he branded the name into his -memory. - -"Look out, John Garnet, and keep your hands up the first time you come -across Abner Gale!" - -Katerfelto had seen too much of mankind and their worst passions, to be -easily moved; but he felt his blood curdle while he marked the Parson's -rubicund cheek turn to a sallow white. If ever there was _murder_ in a -man's face, he read it now. Perhaps for one short moment he felt -compunction, but the weakness was soon over. "He is better out of the -way," thought Katerfelto, "and things must take their course." - -Thus it fell out that the West-country parson was riding steadily -homeward over Marlborough Downs the same evening Lord Bellinger's coach -was rifled by the gipsies, and its owner left a captive in the thraldom -of his own word of honour till the moon rose. - -Notwithstanding the nature of his errand, Abner Gale seemed in high -health and spirits. - -It was delightful to breathe a free, fresh air, untainted by the smells -of London--to see the sky come down to a wide horizon uninterrupted by -streets and houses--to feel beneath him the strong elastic action of his -good bay horse, and to taste at different halting-places a sound and -wholesome ale unadulterated by the tricks of metropolitan trade. To use -his own words, he was "as happy as a king," yet he never wavered for an -instant in his merciless purpose, never hesitated as to how he should -act when he came face to face with his foe! - -Riding along the down, the two subjects nearest his heart were his -supper and his revenge. - -The moon was sailing high and clear in an unclouded sky. Suddenly the -Parson drew rein, sitting for an instant motionless as a statue: then, -urging his horse with hand and heel, arrived at a gallop in the midst of -the unaccountable little party, of which he had caught sight. - -The scene was ridiculous, grotesque, strange enough for a dream. Two -strapping servants in bright liveries paced to and fro, looking -thoroughly frightened and ashamed, none the less, that both were armed -to the teeth. A middle-aged person in faded finery sat on the ground -apart, weeping feebly and wringing her hands. Five horses harnessed to a -coach stood patiently on the solitary down, while one lay dead at their -feet, and inside the coach were a gentleman and lady calmly playing -cards! Abner Gale pulling up suddenly amongst them, created no little -consternation. The footmen went down on their knees, the middle-aged -person screamed and fell on her back, the horses pricked their ears and -snorted, while a quiet voice inside the coach was heard to exclaim, -"_Re-pique_, my lady! What? Another gentleman of the road, and on a bay -horse this time! Perhaps, sir, before proceeding to business, you will -kindly allow us to finish our game!" - -Lord Bellinger played a winning card, and thrust his head out of the -window, laughing heartily at the discomfiture of his domestics. - -"Can I help you?" said the new arrival, in his rough blunt tones. "I am -an honest man enough as times go. A poor West-country parson, at your -service, and my name is Abner Gale." - -"Mr. Gale," replied his lordship, taking off his hat, "let me present -you to Lady Bellinger. If you are of the church militant, reverend sir, -you should have been here an hour or two ago; you might have seen some -fine sport, and taken a turn at it yourself, to the tune of 'Wigs on the -Green.' It's too late now, but I think we could have told a different -story could I have found something like a _man_ to back me up!" - -If levelled at his servants, the taunt fell harmless. Their wits were -still abroad, but they felt comforted and reassured to learn that the -second highwayman was but a parson after all! - -"Have you met with an accident, my lord?" asked Gale, with a clumsy bow, -"ill-usage, or misadventure of any kind? Command my services, I beg, on -behalf of yourself and her ladyship." - -"The moon! the moon!" exclaimed Lady Bellinger, much to the Parson's -disturbance, who thought she had gone mad. "It's over the tree! It's -eleven o'clock! Don't stop another minute! Let us drive to the inn at -once, and try to forget, only I never _shall_ forget this dreadful -night!" - -So my lord and the servants, with the powerful assistance of their new -auxiliary, got the heavy coach once more into motion, my lady so far -remembering the parson's existence, as to entreat that he would ride -close beside the wheel, and, if need be, defend them with his life! - -The procession soon reached its destination, the same inn at which John -Garnet had dined. Driving into the yard without its full complement of -horses, the servants in a high state of excitement, everybody talking at -once, it was obvious the coach had been attacked by a highwayman. The -old ostler smiled and winked, the landlord smiled and looked at his -wife, the wife smiled and shook her head, the cook smiled, the -scullions smiled, everybody seemed interested and well pleased, more -particularly when it transpired that the assailant, having taken what he -wanted, had made his escape uninjured by so much as a scratch. None -seemed astonished when his lordship, inquiring eagerly for particulars -as to the robber and his grey horse, mentioned that the only clue he had -obtained to his identity was the name of Galloping Jack. The landlord, -of course, knew nothing. A landlord never _does_ know anything. The -ostler, on cross-examination by the stupidest of Lord Bellinger's -footmen, had no recollection of any grey horse in particular. So many -grey horses were put up in their stables, coming and going to -Marlborough market and what-not? How was he to distinguish which was -which, while the maids, preparing my lady's chamber, and airing my -lady's bed, furnished Mistress Rachel with so marvellous an account of -Galloping Jack, his exploits and enormities, that the waiting -gentlewoman could not mention his name without a shudder, connecting -him, by some inexplicable process of reasoning, with all the myths and -terrible personages she had ever heard of, such as St. George and the -Dragon, Blue-beard, and Herod of Jewry, surnamed the Great. - -But Abner Gale, who accepted his lordship's invitation to supper, and -cracked a bottle with him afterwards, though he prudently excused -himself from playing cards, had a clear remembrance of the noted grey -horse, whose speed and endurance were once the topic of every -market-table and every drinking-bout in his own country. From Lord -Bellinger's description of the animal on which his assailant was -mounted; and which, by all the rules of gaming, my lord considered his -own property, the Parson gathered that it could be none other than the -famous grey, and that its rider must have been the celebrated -highwayman, whose features were always masked, but whose figure was so -well known at all fairs, races, cock-fights, and other sporting or -social gatherings in the West. Parson Gale, indeed, had only seen the -horse once, and then for an instant, dismounted, as it was led off to -the stable, but his admiring eye had taken its whole frame in at a -glance, and he could recall its make-and-shape, its points and action, -as vividly as those of his own good nag that he had ridden many scores -and hundreds of miles. - -"I always understood the man was hanged," murmured the Parson, as he -laid his head on his pillow, "but I should know the horse among ten -thousand!" - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -LESS THAN KIN. - - -Again is Nelly Carew sitting among the rocks in Porlock Bay, but the -tide is out now, and a broad sweep of wet sand stretches before her to a -low and level line of white that seems receding farther and farther -towards the chalk-bluffs of the distant Welsh coast. The faint moan of -the ebb is melancholy enough, and heavy clouds gathering down Channel, -against the wind, denote a coming storm, but gleams of sun are still -slanting athwart them in pale shafts of light, and there is a colour in -Nelly's cheek, a lustre in her eye, little in accordance with the dull -stagnation of slack water, the heavy atmosphere of a thunder-storm, -speaking rather of bright thoughts, tranquil happiness, the springtide -of health and youth and hope. - -Keen observers might indeed detect a shade more colour than usual in the -soft cheeks, a deeper blue in the speaking eyes; but, when young women -sit by the sea, in pleasant company, such tokens are neither unusual nor -out of place. - -And Nelly Carew is not alone. By the merest accident--for how could he -tell that this was her favourite haunt in the afternoon?--a gentleman, -with whom she had lately made acquaintance, happened to stroll in the -same direction as herself. Two lonely figures, breaking the solitude of -a wide level sea-board, if they have ever met before, cannot avoid each -other, without rudeness. A start--a stop--a bow--a little hesitation on -one side, a little blushing on the other, and John Garnet found himself -seated on a slab of rock at Nelly Carew's feet, looking dreamily out to -seaward, exceedingly well satisfied with his place. - -The exploit and accompanying outrage, of which Galloping Jack must -henceforth bear the blame, had been thoroughly carried out. The warrants -were burnt, the attainted persons warned in time to escape. Some had -fled the country--all had taken precautions for their own safety; and, -thanks to Katerfelto's speed and endurance, so quickly had this been -done, so suddenly had the assailant of Marlborough Downs shown himself -in the market-place at Taunton, that, like Dick Turpin of immortal -memory, he might have proved an _alibi_ in any court of law, thanks to -the extraordinary powers of his steed. Many an honest West-country -gentleman made it an excuse for an extra glass now, that, after the -king's health (not specified by name), he must devote a bumper to -Galloping Jack and the good grey horse! But John Garnet was acute enough -to leave on the shoulders of that mysterious highwayman the whole burden -of guilt he had incurred in the eyes of justice. From his neighbours -over the border, in his own North country, he had learnt the wisdom of -an excellent maxim, "Jouk an' let the jaw gae bye!" In other words, -"Duck your head, and keep under shelter till the storm be past." - -He might remain in hiding, he thought, among these western wilds till -the indignation of the Government had blown over, the hue and cry become -somewhat dulled. Then he hoped to get quietly on board a fishing-boat, -put out into the wide Atlantic, and so, working his way back again up -Channel, land in safety at some port on the coast of France. In the mean -time, all he had to do was to keep quiet, and leave the grey horse shut -up in the stable as much as possible. Casting about for a harbour of -refuge, he hit upon the little village of Porlock, a cluster of houses -embosomed in wooded hills, washed by silver waves, shut in from all the -world by moor and mountain, purple peak, and bare grey headland, clothed -in tropical vegetation, calm, beautiful, and secluded as the first -paradise of mankind. Here he thought he would be secure and tranquil. -Here he determined to take refuge for days and weeks, if only he could -endure the dull, cheerless monotony to which he must make up his mind. -That he should find a soul to speak to, he had never anticipated, much -less did he dream that here was his Fate, waiting for him with her soft -blue eyes, in this peaceful little hamlet, down by the Severn Sea. - -For exercise of the good horse, he would ride Katerfelto on the sands at -midnight, but a man of his habits could not remain indoors all day. Soon -gathering courage from impunity, he would leave his humble lodgings -betimes to wander about the neighbourhood, drinking in its beauty, -making himself familiar with every winding coombe, darkling forest, and -stretching moorland for half-a-score of miles around. - -Thus it fell out that, returning from one of these expeditions at -sunset, he overtook Nelly's grandfather, very infirm and feeble now, -toiling painfully down a steep incline towards his home. - -John Garnet was essentially good-natured, with that good-nature which -springs from a good heart. In an instant he had offered the old man his -arm, and Nelly, who went out to meet him, was not a little surprised to -see her grandfather leaning on a straight-made, handsome young fellow, -in an embroidered waistcoat and laced hat, talking volubly, and to all -appearance much pleased with his new acquaintance. - -If she thought the stranger good-looking (she declared afterwards she -never thought about it at all) be sure she did not admit so much, even -to herself, though conscious she was pleased--a feeling she attributed -to the improvement in her grandfather's spirits, and his obvious delight -in his new friend's society. - -Old Carew, shut out for so many years from the conversation of such men -as himself, men of action and adventure, men of the busy world, felt -like the blind restored to sight, when he heard once more the familiar -tones, the familiar terms, that took him back a score of years at least. -It was pleasant to recognise the well-remembered trick of phrase and -gesture, that is not to be caught by imitation, nor purchased -second-hand. "The man's a gentleman," thought old Carew, "a _real_ -gentleman; and how unlike Parson Gale!" - -He bade him stay to supper of course. He opened in his honour one of the -dozen bottles of choice Rhine wine that had lasted as many years. He -chatted, he chuckled, he coughed and wheezed, and told his stories, and -fought his battles, and enjoyed his evening thoroughly, while Nelly sat -silent at her needle-work, grateful to the visitor who made grandfather -so happy. - -John Garnet was a good listener, none the less perhaps that his -attention often wandered to the blue eyes in the corner of the room, -eyes that rarely met his own, and when they did were immediately cast -down; but he put in his exclamations of astonishment, admiration, and -approval at the right places, sympathising with the old man's memories, -gentle to his foibles, tolerant of his garrulity--and all honour to him -for it, say I. - -You do not know what it is to live in the past, you young men who still -possess the illimitable inheritance of the future, an account that it -seems impossible to overdraw. Even the present is hardly good enough to -satisfy you, and you cheat yourselves out of no little happiness by -anticipating to-morrow, when you should be content with the enjoyment of -to-day. But wait a few years, wait till the to-morrows begin to look -scantier and scantier, while the yesterdays are counted by -thousands--wait till all that made the pride, the excitement, the -happiness of life, is an experience, and not a hope--till the good horse -has been forgotten by all but yourself--the true love has been cold in -her grave for years--the very laurels you have won are become withered -garlands, put away in some neglected hiding-place, only to be brought -out again when the mourners hang them round your tomb! Then you will -know the happiness of living once more, if only for an hour, if only -till the glass is empty, or the tobacco burnt to ashes, in the glowing, -thrilling memories of an imperishable past. Imperishable, for is it not, -in truth, the only reality? Imperishable, for it cleaves to us during -life. Imperishable, for we are taught to believe that it goes with us -into eternity. - -You may make an old man happy at trifling cost, if you will only yield a -few minutes of patient attention, while he wanders back through its -well-remembered maze, and loses himself dreamily in the labyrinth we -call life. - -Nelly never knew her grandfather so communicative. He talked till he was -thoroughly tired out. Marlborough, Prince Eugene, the vineyards of -France, the swamps of the low countries, London coffee-houses, foreign -theatres, dice, duelling, midnight revels, and the fierce joys of the -old roaring Mohock days--he had something to recall of each, and seemed -nothing loth to embark on his adventurous godless career once again. - -But his voice grew weaker, his chin sank on his breast, the light in his -eye, that had flickered up in transient gleams, dimmed visibly, and the -guest resisting his host's quavering entreaties to remain, discreetly -took leave, thereby earning golden opinions of Nelly Carew. She opened -the door for him herself. She even condescended to shake hands, and -wished him good-night, with a grateful smile. Walking home to his -lodgings, through the balmy summer air, with slow and lingering steps, -John Garnet began to think that his term of retirement would be no such -dreary penance after all, that, under certain conditions, a man might do -worse than settle down to vegetate at Porlock for the rest of his life. - -Had he forgotten Waif? No! he told himself. A thousand times, No! He was -grateful to her; he was interested in her; he pitied the girl from his -heart; but hers was not the whisper that seemed floating on the night -breeze in his ear, and it was a pair of blue eyes that peered at him out -of the twilight gloom whichever way he turned. Blue eyes, calm, deep, -and beautiful as the summer sky and the summer sea. - -We ought to be ashamed of ourselves, but, alas! there is too much truth -in the adage, "We always believe our first love is our last, and our -last love our first!" - -John Garnet was like the rest of mankind. Still, it had not come to that -yet. - -So pleasant an introduction, and under such conditions, soon ripened -into something more than acquaintance. It was not long before John -Garnet and Nelly Carew became fast friends. They were surprised to find -how many tastes they had, how many sympathies and ideas, in common. -Sitting together on that bare ledge of rock amongst the sand, though a -week ago they had been utter strangers, each seemed to have known the -other for years. - -When a man and his wife are silent while together, they have generally -quarrelled and are not going to make up; but when two young people of -opposite sexes, who have never broached the subject of matrimony, sit -together out-of-doors without opening their lips, there is strong -likelihood that they are progressing insensibly towards that holy state -in which they will have a legal right to hate each other as much as they -please! - -It may be that she was the one who felt their silence most irksome, but -the girl broke it at last with the following feminine piece of -injustice: - -"How dull you _must_ find it here, after the life you've been accustomed -to! I'm sure I wonder you don't have a fit of the spleen. I've heard -grandfather say he felt it dreadfully at first." - -"Mistress Carew," he answered--while the blue eyes shot a reproachful -glance, that almost said, why don't you call me Nelly?--"Mistress Carew, -I am _not_ your grandfather!" - -"You've been grave enough," she replied, with a little nervous laugh, -"this while past, to be anybody's grandfather. I've been wondering what -you could see down Channel yonder that seemed to take up all your -attention!" - -This ought to have been encouraging. She was watching him, then, -following the direction of his eyes, trying to make out his thoughts. -Strange to say, John Garnet, usually so debonair and ready of speech, -seemed at a loss for a reply. - -"I was wondering"--he hesitated and looked down, while Nelly, whose work -had been idly folded in her lap, began plying her needle very fast--"I -was wondering whether it could really be less than a week since I first -came to Porlock?" - -She had been pondering the same marvel herself, but took care not to -express her astonishment. - -"It's not--not at all the kind of place you expected, is it?" - -Nelly thought it strange that her heart should beat, and her breath come -quick, in asking so simple a question. - -He tried to catch her eye, but she steadily refused to look at him, -while he answered, "I thought it would be a prison and a purgatory. I -never dreamed it was to prove a Para--" - -He stopped short without finishing the word, for she had grown deadly -pale, and her blue eyes, looking over his head at something beyond and -behind him, were dilated with actual fear. Turning in the same -direction, he could detect no more alarming object than a stout -square-built man, in a black riding suit, walking leisurely towards them -through the soft sand. - -"Good-morrow, Mistress Carew," said Abner Gale's harsh voice, while the -scowl that accompanied his greeting gave it more the character of a ban -than a blessing. "They told me in the village I should find you here or -hereabouts, but I didn't think to see you so well attended. My service -to _you_, sir," scanning John Garnet from head to foot. "A warm day -this, but pleasant enough to be taking a young woman a walk by the -sea-shore." - -There was something offensive in the man's tone and manner. At any other -time John Garnet would probably have resented his intrusion on the spot, -but his attention was now so entirely taken up with Nelly's -discomposure, that he failed to notice those indications of a wish to -brawl, which he was generally only too ready to indulge. - -Parson Gale was indeed in the worst of humours. Only the night before he -had reached his home, and yet no sooner had he broken his morning fast, -than, after a visit to his Spanish pointer, a cursory glance at his -Irish pigs, but taking no thought whatever for his Devonshire parish, he -was in the saddle again to get a glimpse of Nelly Carew. Following the -devious tracks of Exmoor, with the instinct of the wild sheep, the wild -ponies, or the wilder red-deer, he threaded the coombe into Badgeworthy, -crossed its foaming waters at his accustomed ford, climbed and clattered -amongst the rocks, cantered freely over the heather, and paced down the -hill into Porlock like a man in a dream--for his whole mind was filled -with the fair face and the blue eyes that he had hungered to look on for -weeks. Though familiar with every acre of the forest and the moor, he -would never have reached his destination, but that his horse knew the -way as well as his master, having travelled it many a time of late. - -It was characteristic of the man that he should not have ridden straight -to old Carew's cottage, and gone frankly in to see his friends. He -stabled his horse instead at a little farm on the outskirts of the -village, and hovered stealthily about its vicinity, hoping to meet some -one who would tell him how matters had been going on in his absence. - -He did not remain long in suspense. Ere half an hour elapsed, a -shambling, ill-looking youth, wearing "poacher" written in every line of -his face as plain as print, slouched up and touched his hat, waiting -however to be questioned, with an awkward grin that denoted how his -natural insolence was kept in check by the Parson's quick temper and -reputation for physical prowess. "He be soon up, be wor Pa'yson," was -the verdict of his parishioners, "and main ready with his hands, right -or w'hrong." - -"What, Ike!" said Mr. Gale, assuming a cordiality he did not feel, for -to do him justice he hated a poacher, especially in the vicinity of -deer; "not hanged yet, nor even sent to Botany Bay? What hast been doing -then these so many weeks? Has it been slack time with thee while I've -been away?" - -"Much as usual, Pay'son," answered Ike, in the broadest dialect of West -Somerset, which it is needless to reproduce here. "It's you gentlefolk -that knows what change means. Frolics, too. There's not much of that for -poor chaps like us!" - -"What, is there no news in the place, then?" asked the Parson. "Never a -fresh nag in Farmer Veal's stable? Never a strange face stopped to take -a drink of cider at the Wheat Sheaf or the Crown?" - -Small as it was, Porlock boasted two beershops, and Ike was familiar -with both. - -"There be one strange face," answered the latter, with a cunning leer; -"but it's little cider that gets inside of _he_--beer neither. The best -of wine in his glass, and the best of nags in his stable, gold lace on -his coat, fine linen on his back, a sword in his belt, and a warm -welcome from the likeliest lass in the West Country--that's what _he_ -has. Folks like me must put up with a drink of cider, when they can get -it. I'm main thirsty now, Pa'yson." - -"What do you mean?" asked Gale, in no little disquietude, but putting -silver, nevertheless, in the other's dirty hand. - -"They say he do be a kinsman of Mistress Nelly, for sure," answered Ike. -"And it's like enough. They can't let him be, neither her nor the old -man, by day or night. I do know well he do be in and out of the house at -all hours, like a dog in a fair." - -Roused beyond endurance, the Parson clenched his heavy riding-whip; and, -but that he bit his lip till the blood came, in an effort to control -himself, would have given his informant the full benefit of its weight. - -Ike never knew how near he was having his head broke then and there. - -"Do you mean that old Master Carew has a kinsman paying him a visit?" he -asked; and while he spoke Abner Gale wondered at the resolution with -which he kept down his wrath. "When did he come, lad? can ye tell, now? -And how soon is he going away?" - -But Ike, whose fingers were itching to spend in drink the money he had -earned so easily, did not care to sustain farther cross-examination. - -"Them sort comes and goes like the shadows on Brendon Moor," said he. -"It's you and me, Master Gale, no offence, as stands to it, blow high -blow low, like Dunkerry Beacon. I don't want to breed no mischief, and I -don't want to tell no lies. There's others can say more than me. My -service to you, Pa'yson, and thanking you kindly. If you've an odd job -for a poor chap, I'm to be heard of mostly at the Wheat Sheaf; and I'll -not forget to drink your honour's good health." - -Thus speaking, Ike slunk off; and the Parson, with scowling brows, -proceeded to Nelly's favourite haunt by the sea-shore. - -What a bright fresh morning it had been, when he heard the lark singing -on Exmoor a few short hours ago? Was it the gathering thunder-storm that -made the sky so dark, the air so stifling, now? - -A woman's tact seldom fails her at need. Mistress Nelly's greeting was -just sufficiently cordial to soothe the Parson into decent behaviour, -without exceeding the limits of such kindly reception as seemed due to -her grandfather's friend. Ere John Garnet had ceased wondering what -there was in this new comer to move her so much, she had cleared her -brows, steadied her voice, and extended her hand with a pleasant smile. -At that moment, perhaps, the Parson knew for the first time, by the -jealousy she was capable of arousing, how fiercely he loved her. And it -may have been at the same moment that John Garnet discovered something -he had never realised before. - -An ass between two bundles of hay has always been accepted as the -illustration of a false position. Surely a young lady with an admirer on -each hand, one of whom she knows she hates, while the other she dreads -to acknowledge she is beginning to like, must be equally at a loss on -which side to incline. What is she to say or leave unsaid? What is she -to do or leave undone? Nelly Carew wished John Garnet had never come, -wished he would go away; wished a spring-tide would flow in that moment, -and float the Parson bodily up to Bossington Point, down to Barnstaple -Bay, out into the wide Atlantic, where she might never set eyes on him -again! Succour came when most she wanted it. A few heavy drops, a gust -of wind, a flash, and a thunder-roll. In five minutes it was obvious -that unless they hastened back to the village, all three would be -drenched to the skin. With an imploring look at John Garnet, she made -him understand he was to leave her without asking why. How delightful -it was to feel that he caught her meaning at once, and obeyed! Then she -hurried the Parson to her grandfather's cottage, at a pace that admitted -of no explanation; and once over the threshold disappeared in her own -chamber, with that plea of headache (thunder always gave her a headache) -which must have been Eve's excuse when she did not want to work in the -garden with Adam. - -Finding he was not likely to see her again, Abner Gale made but a short -visit. As he rode home across Exmoor, the sky was clear, the birds were -singing, the long rank grass sprang fresh and green from its recent -wetting, flags and rushes were dressed out with rain-drops glistening -like jewels in the afternoon sun. But the Parson rode slowly and -heavily, looking steadfastly between his horse's ears. Now and again he -shook his head, or bit his lip, or glared round him with a troubled -scowl, suggestive of annoyance and apprehension, as if he doubted there -was still thunder in the air. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -MORE THAN KIND. - - -"He understood me at once," thought Nelly, whose headache left her the -moment she entered her own room. "How gentle he always seems, and how -nice. I wonder who and what he is? Grandfather says there can be no -mistake about his being well-born, and a man of fashion. Parson Gale -often boasts _he_ is not a man of fashion; but I know I like a man of -fashion best. I wonder when I shall see him again. Not that I want to -see him one bit; only he must have thought me so rude to leave like -that, and I ought to explain. How angry Mr. Gale looked, and how cross -he seemed all the way home. What does it matter to me? What need I care -how cross he is? Only--only I wish I was never going to set eyes on him -again!" - -Now this was hardly justice--perhaps I should rather say it was woman's -justice. In the absence of other society, the time had been when Nelly -was well pleased to accept, in a dignified distant kind of way, the -Parson's homage, and felt flattered, if not gratified, by his obvious -devotion to herself; now she seemed instinctively to shrink from him as -from an enemy. And why? Because John Garnet had merry eyes and a ruddy -cheek? Because he was the first specimen of his class she had ever met? -Or because they were thrown together, two comely young people, in this -pretty little village by the sea? She could not have given a reason--no -more can I. - -Twenty-four hours did not elapse, of course, before they met again. She -looked timidly in his face, and put out her hand. He might be offended, -she thought, and felt rather disappointed to have no opportunity of -begging pardon; but his frank and pleasant manner was so reassuring, -that she wondered how she could have dreaded their meeting so much, and -why she spent all the morning thinking of it. Nelly was always wondering -now, and for the first time in her life had forgotten to take -grandfather's posset off the hob last night before it was smoked. - -It is no doubt provoking not to be able to irritate a man if you wish; -but Nelly had hardly yet arrived at that stage in the malady which -desires a quarrel for the pleasure of making up. - -"You--you didn't get wet," she said, timidly, "when we were all obliged -to hurry home yesterday. The showers here are very heavy, and apt -to--to----" - -"Wet a man to the skin," he said, laughing; "so they are everywhere -else. I was sorry to lose your pleasant society, Mistress Carew; but, -thinking the strange gentleman might be an old friend of your -grandfather, I did not wish to intrude, and walked home as fast as I -could." - -She shot a grateful glance at him. "Yes," she observed, in rather a -marked tone, "he _is_ a friend of grandfather's rather than of mine, -though I have known him ever since I was a little girl." - -"Is that so very long, Mistress Carew?" he asked, with another of his -pleasant smiles. - -They were walking through the orchard behind her home, along a path that -led to the shore. She stopped and plucked some wild flowers from the -hedge, perhaps to hide a blush. - -"I have a favour to ask you," she said, in a low voice, and stooping -her head over the posy. "Do not say Mistress Carew--I don't like it. I -had rather _you_ would call me Nelly." - -There was the least possible inflection of voice on the pronoun, just -enough to make John Garnet's heart beat as it had never beat before. - -"Nelly," he repeated, "will you give me one of those flowers?" - -"You may take the whole bunch," she answered, "I only gathered them for -you." But she walked on so fast after this gratifying avowal, that it -was impossible to tell her one word of the old tale that was rising to -his lips. - -All that day she took care not to be alone with him another minute. From -the orchard she took him to the beach, where the villagers were -collecting sea-weed; thence to a field where harvest was already nearly -done; home by the cow-house, with its attendant milkmaid; and so back to -grandfather's parlour, where she poured out his evening draught of cider -with her own hands. - -Why Nelly should have cried like a naughty child when she laid her head -on the pillow; why she should have woke before daybreak, and risen at -sunrise to put new ribbons in her dress of a colour she had lately heard -somebody say he liked, is more than I can take upon me to explain. I can -understand, however, why John Garnet lay a-bed longer than usual that -same morning, and turned on the other side, hoping to go to sleep again, -that he might dream another dream like the last about Nelly Carew. - -Abner Gale's dreams, if he had any, would seem to have been of no such -pleasant nature, for he was stirring with the dawn, breakfasting -fiercely before sunrise, on Devonshire mutton and strong ale, cursing, -notwithstanding his profession, each of his servants in turn for imputed -shortcomings, from his cherry-cheeked parlour-maid to the man who fed -the pigs. In and out the house, and through the precincts of the -farm-yard, or "barton," as he called it, the master's eye was only less -dreaded than his tongue, his tongue than his hand. Yet was he well -served too, with the scrupulous obedience of fear. - -He would fain have mounted his horse and ridden across the moor in the -direction of Porlock again to-day, but even Abner Gale was compelled to -pay some respect to the decencies of life, and even such a parish as his -exacted a few hours' attention after an absence of weeks. - -There were conditions to be written out for a wrestling-match between -two rival champions; arrangements to be made for supplying the ringers -with unlimited cider at their approaching feast; a badger recently drawn -to visit; and some terrier-puppies just opening their eyes on this -wicked world, to inspect. - -Also, there was a child to be baptised, a matter that would keep, and a -wench to be married, a matter that would _not_. - -"For to-day," thought the Parson, "I have got my hands full; to-morrow I -shall be free again, and it's strange if I fail to find out something -more of your goings on, Mistress Nelly, and put a spoke in the wheel of -that young spark down by the water-side, who seems to make himself so -much at home!" - -Though he never saw him before, though he had not the vaguest notion -that John Garnet was the man he had sworn to hunt to death, some -antagonistic instinct caused him to hate this man with a deadly hatred, -scarcely to be accounted for, even by that jealousy which is -proverbially cruel as the grave. - -In no appropriate frame of mind, the Parson was about to don his frayed -and dirty canonicals for administration of that matrimonial rite it -would be unwise to delay, when his quick eye caught sight of a man -riding on the moor, whose appearance caused him to cast aside his -sacred vestments with an oath, and rush to the door, carrying a brimming -jug of cider in his hand. - -Mr. Gale swore when he was pleased, and when he was angry, when he rode -and when he walked, when he worked and when he rested. Altogether he -swore a good deal between morning and night. - -"It's the harbourer!" he exclaimed, steadying the vessel not to spill a -drop; "the harbourer, as I'm a living sinner, Red Rube!" he shouted, -while the new arrival drew the rein at the mounting-block, "stop and wet -your whistle--you're always welcome, and you're always dry." - -Red Rube, whose real name was Reuben Rudd, needed no second bidding. -Raising the jug to his weather-tanned face, he took a hearty pull, a -pull that nearly emptied its contents. - -The Parson scanned him approvingly. Rube wiped his mouth on his sleeve, -and sat motionless in the saddle without a word. - -He was a man of seventy at least, short, shrunken, withered, and tough -as shoe-leather, with a keen grey eye, set in countless wrinkles, that -seemed traced in the red-brown skin with the point of a needle. He rode -a broken-kneed Exmoor pony, low in condition, but as hard as nails. -Sportsman was written in every line of his face, every turn of his -limbs, yet his steed, saddle, bridle, and the clothes on his back would -have been dear at five pounds. - -Like a ghost, it was Rube's custom not to speak till he was spoken to. -His answers too were ghostly and mysterious, and he loved to vanish like -a ghost when he had delivered his pithy say. - -Presently, in such a whisper as denotes respectful confidence, the -Parson broke silence. - -"Three inches?" he asked, with the utmost concern. - -"And a quarter," was the reply. "Twenty-two score and may-be a pound -over. The slot was less than an hour old at sunrise." - -"Rights?" asked the Parson. - -"A warrantable deer," answered Rube, and each mused in silence for more -than a minute. - -"It's a pity," observed the Parson, after a pause, "there's no knowing -where he may get to by next week. These heavy deer travel a long way -when they're not hurried. It's hard to say where he may be when we want -him. There ought to be no Sundays in the hunting season." - -So self-evident a proposition seemed not to require assent; Red Rube -held his peace, and looked at the empty cider-jug. Taking the hint, Gale -entered the house, and returned with it refilled. The old man's eye -glittered, and he indulged in another pull. It seemed to loosen his -tongue. "That be main good zider," said he, shortening his reins and -applying his one spur to the pony's ribs, as though to depart, but -turning in his saddle, with an after-thought for a few last words. - -"I wur down Lapford way yesterday," said he, with a chuckle, "and hoam -by Rose Ash. I larned reading, Pa'yson, three-score years ago and more, -afore I took to the deer. There's money to be made by reading, I -tell'ee, and money means drink." - -"What do _you_ mean?" asked Gale. - -"I mean there's hand-bills up at both places, offering a hundred guineas -reward; that's what I mean," replied the old man, kindling to -excitement. "Him as rode the grey stallion has been about again. -Galloping Jack they always called 'un that spoke of 'un to _me_--and if -a man could steal a view of 'un, or get the wind of 'un, or so much as -slot 'un where he harbours, 'tis a hundred golden guineas paid down in -hand. I've moved many a right stag in my time, Master Gale, but never -such a noble head as that." - -Then, as fearing his loquacity must have compromised him in the eyes of -so good a sportsman, Red Rube departed at a gallop, and was seen no -more. - -Abner Gale looked after him, with a smile. Lord Bellinger then had taken -his advice, and adopted the most likely means of bringing to justice the -perpetrator of an outrage that was both highway robbery and high -treason. It interested the Parson but little save in so far as the grey -horse was concerned. If its rider should come to the gallows he would do -all he knew to put that noble beast in his own stable. In imagination, -he was already galloping it over Exmoor, to go and see Nelly Carew. - -Then the Parson sighed and swore, and sighed again, and put on his dingy -cassock to marry the tardy couple who had waited so long. - -He tied them up, however, fast and sure, before the stroke of noon, -pocketing his fees with considerable satisfaction, for Mr. Gale took no -delight in the gratuitous administrations of the Church, little thinking -that, even while he pronounced the blessing, which it did not strike him -seemed a mockery from such lips as his, John Garnet was turning out into -the sunshine, fresh and fair, like a bridegroom himself, to wait upon -Mistress Carew. - -That gentleman lay long in bed without dreaming the pleasant dream -again, so bethought him at last that it would be more to the purpose to -rise and pursue the reality, than lose his time in sighing after the -shadow. He was very far gone now. The posy she had given him stood in -water at his bedside, every hour of the day seemed wasted that was not -spent with this blue-eyed girl, and he never gave Waif a thought for -more than a moment at a time. - -Bold, blithe, and buoyant, he whistled a merry air as he strode up the -village street, thinking of his first, last love, like a cock-bird in -full plumage going to look for its mate He seemed to moult a feather or -two though, as he passed the village stocks, on the posts of which, for -want of a more prominent elevation, were posted two conspicuous -hand-bills, beginning with a gigantic "Whereas," and continuing through -a long and minute description of his own person, to the offer of one -hundred guineas for his capture, dead or alive; the whole concluding -with a flourish, in capital letters, to the glory of "Our Sovereign Lord -the King." - -He went on to see Nelly all the same, but resolved that he would put off -to a more convenient season something he meant to have told her to-day. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -THE HARBOURER. - - -Nature is always beautiful in her morning, evening, and noon-day -dresses, her fits of rage, her languor of repose, her storms, her calms, -her shadows, sunshine, tears, and smiles; but never perhaps are we so -conscious of her charms, as when abroad before daybreak, in a -mountainous country, we see her growing, line by line, out of darkness -into day. - -First, through the hush of night, there steals a cool, soft breath, like -the sigh of some spirit of morning, longing for the dawn. Soon, swelling -to a breeze, it stirs the cloud on the moor, the leaf in the copse. A -bird awakes and twitters in its nest. Anon, in joyful chorus, answering -notes pipe shrill and clear, through all the woodland, while a pale -streak of light, low and level on the eastern ridges, peeps above the -sky line. Great black masses stand out from the gloom, in deeper shadows -and broader touches, soon to resolve themselves, as the eye masters -their shapes, into rock and coombe, hill, valley, and hanging wood. But -now the pale streak has changed to crimson, underlined with a yellow -seam, the mountain puts on his crown of fire, and the highest tree-tops, -in glade and valley, are tinged with flame, while, far and near, pointed -peaks, rugged tors, purple heather, dusky moorland, all are tipped with -gold. Then, in his blazing chariot, the lord of light comes up to run -his course, and night is past and man goes forth to his labour until -the evening, and the harbourer's day's work is done. - -"Red Rube," if he worshipped the sun at all, worshipped him less in love -than fear, dreading, above all things, that his beams should cause the -dews to evaporate from the sward, and harden into an unimpressionable -surface the yielding clay beneath each sheltering bank, or round each -bubbling spring. Rube believed that, for beauty and majesty, no object -in the world could vie with the beam, and branches, the "Brow Bay and -Tray" of a warrantable deer, yet he had not been a nurse-child of -Nature, in all her seasons and all her moods, without learning her -lessons, and imbibing for his foster-mother an instinctive love, only -the deeper that it was unconscious, unsuspected, and in spite of -himself. - -Is not this the secret of our attachment to field sports, and do not -those which bring us face to face with Nature retain their fascination -when every other pastime or excitement has palled on the satiated -senses, the weary world-worn heart? - -That noblest beast of chase, the wild stag, in the West of England, has -a lordly habit of feasting during night, and seeking repose in the small -hours towards dawn of day. Gliding, like a ghost, through cornfield and -orchard, he travels many a league after sundown, feeding on the best -that moorland soil and scanty harvests can afford, nibbling the -half-ripened ears on one hill-farm at midnight, flinging the turnips -overhead in wasteful profusion on another ten miles off, within an hour; -seeking, before dawn, the shelter of some wooded coombe, in which he -means to harbour, at an equal distance from both. Restless, wary, -vigilant, he is always on the move, and habitually suspicious of an -enemy. It is to master, by man's intellect, man's powers of observation, -the superior speed, finer instinct, and craftier nature of the brute, -that "Red Rube" has been "after the deer" from boyhood, acquiring in the -experience of many seasons so intimate a knowledge of their haunts and -habits, that, in spite of age, infirmity, and a confirmed tendency to -drink, he has earned an unchallenged right to call himself the most -skilful "Harbourer" in the West. - -The ground must indeed be hard, and the "slot," or print of the animal's -feet, many hours old to baffle Red Rube, who, stooping to the line like -a blood-hound, reads off, as from a book, the size, sex, weight, and age -of the passing deer, the pace at which it was travelling, its distance -ahead, and the probability of its affording a run. Therefore it was his -custom to be abroad long before daybreak, guiding his Exmoor pony, only -less wise and wary than himself, through broken paths and winding -tracks, by bog, boulder, and precipice, with an instinct, unerring as -that of the wild animal he went to seek. In the first twilight of -morning he would hobble the pony at the head of some remote coombe that -bordered on the moor; and prowling stealthily down its windings, would -begin his quest in the different haunts that he knew were frequented by -deer. He seldom made a cast in vain. Ere the light was strong enough to -distinguish it, he usually came upon the footprint of his game. Then he -stopped, examined it carefully, pondered, and made up his mind. If the -slot were three inches wide at the heel, after due allowance for nature -of ground and rate of speed, it would be that of a six-year-old hart at -least, carrying nine or ten branches on his two antlers, having, in -forester's language, "his rights," and to be described therefore as "a -warrantable deer." Such considerations would cause "Rube" to grin--he -never laughed--and to take a pull at his flask. - -Following up the track to some deep impervious woodland, in which it was -again lost, he would make a circuit of many miles round its verge, with -or without the pony, in order to make sure that his quarry had not gone -on, and here an intimate acquaintance with its habits, and the passes -through which it would be likely to emerge, saved him many an hour of -fruitless search. Ere the sun was high he had so contracted the circle, -by ascertaining where the stag was _not_, that he could point out the -very copse, almost the very thicket, in which it lay ensconced. Again to -use woodsman's language, he had fairly "harboured his deer." - -Then Rube's responsibility was over, and his day's work done. - -Thus, it fell out, that on a cool grey morning, late in harvest, our -harbourer, stooping and prying over a level glade of turf by the -water-side, in the deep shadows of Horner Wood, came to a stop; and, -kneeling down, began to examine very closely a track that seemed to have -crossed the stream, and broken into a gallop towards the hill. It was no -cloven foot; and, consequently, neither deer nor devil, as Rube observed -to himself, with a grim smile; but the hoof-mark of a horse, shod with -iron, and going at speed, nor was this in any way remarkable, but that -the shoes were forged by no West-country blacksmith, and Rube was far -too practised a woodsman to pass such a slot without inquiry or remark. - -"A horse," he muttered, "and a good one. Here's a stride of nigh six -yards, and every foot down at once in a ring I could cover with my hat! -And, here again, when the rider's hand turned him from that boggy bit, -see how he cut the moss out of the bank, and sprang back to the turf as -light as a brocket. But them shoes was never welded this side Taunton -town. That's what beats _me_! Parson Gale? Well, the Parson it might be, -only this is an up-country horse for sure. Up-country rider, too, or he -would have turned into the wood 'stead of keeping the track. No. He's -not heading for Exmoor, isn't this one. May be he'll double back before -sunup, and I'll fresh find him here in the coombe, if I only keep quiet -and lie close!" - -So Rube put his ear to the ground, listened, grinned, took a suck at his -flask, and coiled himself down, like some beast of prey, on the watch. - -He did not wait long. His lair was hardly warm ere he started to his -feet, at a crashing of branches within a hundred yards, a bounce, a -splash, an oath in a man's voice, and the snorting of a horse, plunging -and struggling through a bog. - -In the solitudes of the West, as in the Arabian desert, every man you -meet must be a friend or enemy; but in Somerset and Devon, till you have -proved him the latter, you believe him to be the former. Rube ran to -help, and saw the best nag he had ever set eyes on, up to its girths in -a swamp, sinking deeper and deeper with every plunge. - -The rider, already clear of his saddle, and imbedded over his boots in -the green yielding slime, did his best to aid and encourage his horse by -word and gesture, but the bog became only deeper and softer with every -struggle, while to turn back seemed as difficult, and almost as -hazardous as to charge through. - -But that aid was near, a fossil man and horse, in perfect preservation, -might have been found centuries hence in a stratum below the surface, -puzzling the geologists of the future as to how they got there. - -"Right hand, I tell'ee! push 'un to the right, man!" exclaimed Rube, -springing eagerly from his lurking-place. "This patch o' flag be the -only sound spot fur a landyard's round--Steady, lad! Let 'un catch wind -theer a bit, and he'll come through." - -Presence of mind, that essential quality of a horseman, was never -wanting to John Garnet. Guiding Katerfelto to the little knot of rushes -indicated, which, true to their nature, afforded foothold where they -grew, he paused for a breathing-space, ere, patting his horse's neck -with a word of endearment, he roused him to another effort, that, after -a plunge or two, placed him in safety, with a bank of sound heather -beneath his feet. - -The grey trembled all over, his eye rolled, his nostril dilated; but, -with a prolonged snort and a shake, he recovered his composure, rubbing -his handsome head against his master, as though to congratulate him on -their joint escape. "We'll never go there again, my boy!" said the -rider, whom this treacherous surface had so deceived, adding, as though -he did well to be angry, "why it looks like the best bit of gallopin' -ground in the whole coombe!" - -Red Rube grinned. To one born and bred on Exmoor, this was a jest that -palled with no amount of repetition. These tempting islands of green -sward, smooth and level as a lake, while affording, indeed, but little -firmer support, seem designed by nature to lure a horseman from another -country to his downfall. But was this a horseman from another country? -The harbourer's keen grey eye had taken him in at a glance, just as it -would have mastered the points, size, and weight of a warrantable deer -in the brief second during which the creature bounded across a ride. -From the lace on his hat to the spur on his soiled boot, Red Rube had -reckoned up John Garnet, as it were, to the very counting of the buttons -on his coat. From Katerfelto's taper muzzle, to the last hair in his -tail, he had, in the same instant, so impressed the whole animal on his -mind, that he could have sworn to its identity under any circumstances, -at any future time. It struck him, even while man and horse were -struggling in the bog, that they answered the description of that -highwayman for whose capture so large a reward was offered in the -hand-bills; and it was from no considerations of humanity or fair-play -that the old man refrained from knocking the stranger on the head, when -he had him at disadvantage, un-horsed and knee-deep in a slough. - -His reasons were extremely practical. In the first place, he had no -weapon with which he could hope to contend successfully against a -younger and stronger man; in the second, he could not bring himself to -believe that so experienced a West-country rider as Galloping Jack would -have fallen into a trap like this. "A bog," as he said, "so black and -ugly, that even Varmer Viall's cows, poor things, do have the sense to -keep out!" - -[Illustration: WELL OUT OF IT.] - -"Well, it might have been worse!" replied John Garnet, good-humouredly, -while he swung himself into the saddle, and put a crown-piece in Red -Rube's hand. "You halloaed in time, my friend, or I should have missed -the rushes, and never got out at all. I am beholden to you, and I won't -forget it. This is the best horse in England, and I wouldn't have done -him a mischief for more money than you could count." - -The old man's fingers closed readily on the silver. "You be making for -Porlock!" said he. "You do seem strange hereabouts. My day's work is -done, and I don't mind if I show you the way." - -John Garnet laughed--"I know the way well enough," he answered. "But why -should you have done work when most men are just going to begin?" - -Red Rube's grey eye twinkled. He laid his horny hand on Katerfelto's -mane and looked in the rider's face, with a cunning leer. "Every man to -his trade," said he. "My business lies betwixt the dark and the -daylight. Yours, may-be, takes you out of a warm bed when the moon's up. -I've been backwards and forwards on the moor, fifty years or more, and -no harm come of it yet. It's safer riding, may-be, than the road." - -"Not with such cursed bogs as these about," replied the other, -carelessly. "Bogs that would swallow a coach-and-six: only I don't -suppose you ever saw a coach-and-six in this wild outlandish country!" - -"You're a stranger may-be?" asked Rube, sorely perplexed, for how could -this horseman so resemble Galloping Jack, yet betray such practical -ignorance of the moor and its peculiarities? "A stranger from up the -country, no doubt, though you do handle your horse prettily enough, and -sit in your saddle like a rock. May-be you never heard of 'slotting' a -stag, twenty score weight, with a back like a bullock, and all his -rights fairly counted, into a lone quiet coombe, where you harboured him -so close you could touch him with the top joint of a trout-rod? May-be -you never saw an old black-and-tan twenty-six inch tufter, with long -flapping ears and hanging jowl, as steady as a clock, and as wise as a -bishop, snuffle and quest and traverse, till he owned the scent with a -roar, deeper, louder, fuller of music than the organ I heard in Exeter -fifty years ago, when I was a boy. May-be, I'm only wasting my breath. -You up-country gentlemen know nothing of our sport on the moor." - -The spark had caught. That strange enthusiasm common to all votaries of -the chase brightened John Garnet's eye, while he continued the other's -narrative of an imaginary stag hunt. - -"Then, with a crash of broken twigs and leafy branches, up he starts -from a brake of deep green hazels,--stares about him for half a minute, -time enough to count his points, and look him over--turns his head from -side to side, displaying his mighty neck and noble width of beam, lays -his antlers back, and leaves the wood at a springing trot, too proud to -hurry himself, and deliberating calmly where he shall go next. Presently -we lose sight of him, to emerge a mile off on the open moor. When he -treads heather he breaks into a gallop, and speeds away like an arrow -from a bow. You have moved him fairly now. Take up your tufters and let -us lay on the pack." - -"Right you are!" exclaimed Rube, holding his breath in sheer excitement. -"You've been there before, I'll wager a gallon!" - -"Talk of music and the organ in Exeter Cathedral!" proceeded John -Garnet, "thirty couple of such voices as these would silence a battery -of cannon. They spread like a lady's fan; they swarm like a hive of -bees. Soon they settle into their places and stream across the moor, -like horses in stride and speed, like lions in strength and energy, and -fierce desire for blood. Now's your time, old man. You sit down in your -saddle and say to yourself, there is nothing on earth worth living for -compared to such moments as these." - -"_My_ work is over when you come to that," said Rube, adding -respectfully, "You're a true sportsman, sir. If I do know how to harbour -a stag, you do know how to hunt him, I'll warrant. Yet I never saw you -out with us on the moor here, as I can call to mind." - -"Do you think there is no hunting but in the West?" replied John Garnet. -"We have red deer in my country, and hounds that can set them up to bay. -Horses, too, and men who dare ride them as straight as a bird of the air -can fly. There's many a horn wound, and many a pair of spurs going from -morning till night, all the season through, in the canny North." - -"Like enough!" answered Rube. "But I'll always maintain that the moor is -the moor. When your honour has once forded Badgeworthy water, you'll -never want to follow hounds in any other country again." - -"And that shall be before I am many days older," replied John Garnet, -reflecting what an agreeable addition to the amusements of his -retirement would be this favourite pursuit; and remembering also, no -doubt, that Mistress Carew, on the wonderful white pony that fed in the -orchard, was a keen votary of the chase. "Do _you_ find a good stag, -and, unless we get into a bog again, my grey horse and I will try to see -him killed." - -"I'll do my best," said Rube; and with a clumsy obeisance, turned back -towards the moor, looking after John Garnet's figure as it disappeared -amongst the giant stems of Horner Wood, with a puzzled expression on his -quaint old face. This frank, well-spoken stranger was a riddle he could -not read; "a slot," as he would have expressed it, that left him "at -fault." The man might be a robber and an outlaw; but at any rate he rode -to admiration, was cordial, open-handed, and a sportsman to the -back-bone. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -"LISTEN AND LEARN IT." - - -"And you never told me your life was in danger, never said that a -careless word might ruin both of us at a blow. Dear heart, surely you -might have trusted _me_." - -It was Nelly Carew's voice, and her brow was pressed to John Garnet's -shoulder, while she spoke. The red-cheeked apples hanging overhead in -her grandfather's orchard had ripened less quickly under a hot harvest -sun, than the love that a few short days brought to maturity in the -maiden's heart. She could not believe that a month ago she had never so -much as heard of the man whose presence now seemed a condition of -existence, like the very air she breathed. Could she be the same Nelly -Carew, whose whole being was once engrossed in grandfather's posset and -the incubations of the speckled hen. Or was it all a dream. If a dream, -she only prayed she might never wake again. - -"Why should I have told you?" he asked. "It could but make you anxious -and unhappy, dearest; we have surely enough of difficulty and vexation -as it is. Besides," he added, in a higher tone, "how was I to know, -Nelly, that you liked me well enough to care?" - -There came a very kind look in the blue eyes--"Didn't you guess?" she -whispered, softly. "Didn't you think it very strange of me, that day, -when I gave you the posy out of the hedge?" - -There is a pleasant fiction amongst lovers, that the tender passages to -which they constantly refer, must have taken place in the remote past. -Nelly spoke of _that_ day as if the time since elapsed was to be counted -by years, instead of hours. - -"I thought you the dearest, and the best, and the loveliest girl on -earth!" was the appropriate reply; "and now I could almost find it in my -heart to wish we had never met. For _your_ sake, Nelly, not for -mine--not for mine." - -They were the old conventional words which have probably been the -prelude to every rupture of attachments since men grew weary and women -false; yet it was impossible to look in John Garnet's face, or listen to -the tone of his voice, and doubt that this was the outcry of an -unselfish heart, so loving, that it longed for the happiness of another, -rather than its own. - -Nelly's eyes filled with tears. "I care for you," she said--"I care for -you; that's enough! If you were to go to prison, I should go with you. -If you were to die, dear heart, I should die too." - -The girl spoke truth. Who shall account for these sudden overmastering -passions, that take possession of humanity to defy all considerations of -self-esteem, self-preservation, probability, fitness, and, especially, -common sense? A man passes a shape in the street, catches the glance of -an eye at a window, the turn of an ear in a playhouse, and straightway, -as in the taking of an epidemic, his whole system becomes impregnated -with a strange and subtle poison, for which there is no antidote, and -but one remedy. The disease must run its course. In a few days the fever -is at its height, the delirium paramount, liver deranged, appetite -impaired, brain seriously affected, and the patient, to all intents and -purposes, raving mad. He is haunted by delusions; an inevitable figure -is always dancing before his eyes; he forgets his business and friends, -his nearest and dearest; neglects his mother, sisters, aunts, cousins, -and in some aggravated cases, even his wife. His sleep is broken, his -eye wild, his speech incoherent. His fellows shun him like a leper, and -he rejoices in this enforced isolation. He meets with no encouragement -and little sympathy. Fresh constitutions, as yet unimpaired, and old -battered patients who have recovered from the disease, shrug their -shoulders and say, "Poor devil! he's in love;" but these observers -entertain for him less of pity than contempt. The calamity is accepted -as a dispensation, and nobody thinks it worth while to offer a syllable -of comfort or advice, because experience has shown that the illness must -at last be cured by indulgence, or die a lingering death in -disappointment. - -A woman, too, is liable to the same disorder, contracted even more -unreasonably, and with less apparent cause. Her symptoms, if not so -obtrusive, or troublesome to others, are none the less dangerous to -herself. In some cases, happily but rare, they prove incurable. It is of -_men_ that the poet says: "They have died and worms have eaten them, but -not for love." - -Nelly Carew, whose life had hitherto flowed on in a calm unruffled -stream, little thought the gentle, scarce perceptible pleasure she -experienced in a stranger's society, on the memorable evening when she -addressed him for the first time, to thank him for his courtesy, while -he helped her grandfather home, must soon grow into a hunger of the -heart, that nothing but absolute reciprocity could appease. The second -time she saw him, she feared the third time, she admitted the fourth, -she gloried in her enslavement. They had known each other barely a week, -when Nelly discovered and confessed that henceforth, if life was to be -passed apart from John Garnet, she would rather elect to die. He, too, -surrendered at discretion, or rather without discretion, so soon as the -blue eyes opened fire. Wilfully blind to his ruined prospects and his -false position, he abandoned himself to the happiness of the hour, -forgetting the past, ignoring the future--Waif, Katerfelto, Lord -Bellinger, robbery, high treason, and Tyburn-hill, while he held Nelly -Carew's hand, and looked lovingly in her delicate face under the -apple-trees by Porlock Bay. - -"I need not go to prison, and I need not die," he answered, lightly. -"This is a secure hiding-place enough. I should like to stay here for -the rest of my life." - -"It must be very dull!" observed Nelly, plaiting the hem of her apron. -"I wonder how long it would take for you to weary of us all?" - -There could be but one answer to such an accusation, and he was ready -with it before she could explain. - -"Weary!" he repeated, "weary of Porlock! weary of _you_, Nelly, from -whom I never mean to part! How can you say such things. You know you did -not mean it!" And again Nelly's disclaimer was stifled on her lips. - -"Besides," he added, gaily, "What can a man want to make him happy more -than I have here? The sweetest girl in the world to walk with, and the -best horse in England to ride. I gave him a ten-mile stretch on the moor -this morning, while you were fast asleep and dreaming. _Were_ you -dreaming, Nelly?" - -"Never mind my dreams," she answered, blushing. "If I _did_ dream of -somebody, I'm not going to say so. Tell me about your ride." - -"I met a strange old man," he continued, "so weird-looking, that in the -North we should have thought him something uncanny, a Brownie, at least, -or a wandering spirit of the moor. Not that he was a jack-o'-lanthorn -nor will-o'-the-wisp, for he showed me the way out, instead of luring me -_into_ a bog, or I should have been there now." - -"You must never try to cross our moors without _me_," said Nelly, -gravely, "or somebody who knows them well, to take care of you." - -"Will you take care of me?" and "never mind, that is not the question -now," were two necessary interpolations before John Garnet could -proceed. - -"The man knew his ground, every inch of it," he continued, "and offered -to put me in the right way for home. His pony, he said, was hobbled at -the head of the coombe, but he seemed to think very little of walking -ten miles out of his road, and he looked between seventy and eighty." - -"It must have been Red Rube!" exclaimed Nelly, joyfully. "Did he say -there were deer in Horner Woods? Oh! how I long for a gallop over the -moor after a stag, and--with you!" - -John Garnet pondered. There would be little risk, he thought, in joining -these West-country gentlemen in the hunting-field. Most of them were of -his own way of thinking in politics, and for many, his ready audacity -had preserved, at least temporarily, both life and lands. Even if -recognised, it was unlikely he would be denounced; and then, the -temptation! To ride Katerfelto far ahead of meaner steeds from ridge to -ridge and coombe to coombe, sweeping over mountain and moor as though on -the wings of an eagle, to hover at last alone in his glory above the -dying deer, while a burst of music from the good hounds pealing louder -than its roar, announced in a crash of triumph that here, under the -deafening waterfall, they had set him up to bay! - -Yes, he would have a ride, he resolved, in pursuit of the red deer, at -any risk and at any cost! - -"Who talked about dreaming?" she said, "and who is dreaming now? Where -have your thoughts flown to all in a minute? They are miles and miles -from Porlock. I can see it in your face." - -She had already arrived at the stage of jealousy--jealousy, that was -fain to be mistress of his thoughts, no less than of his words, deeds, -looks, and actions. Truly, for Nelly, the pleasantest part of the whole -delusion was even now at an end. To be on the brink is delightful, but -to fall in love is more than uncomfortable; it is a process akin to -pain. The fire looks bright and cheerful enough, but wisdom warms its -hands thereat, while folly burns its fingers to the bone. - -"I was thinking how comely you must look on the white pony with your -hair blown about by the Exmoor breezes," said he; and Nelly seemed so -pleased with his answer, that the rest of their conversation was carried -on in whispers, too low to be overheard even by the "little bird on the -green tree," but of which the purport may be gathered from a final -sentence delivered by John Garnet in a louder tone, as of a man who -resolves to carry his point in defiance of all obstacles. - -"Then I may come up and speak to your grandfather this afternoon?" - -She acquiesced with a timid little nod and a bright blush, that she -stooped her head to hide, retiring with swift and noiseless steps -towards her home. - -But whatever passages of folly between these young people may have -escaped notice from the "little bird on the green tree," whose own -love-songs must seem to it so much more rational than "what he is -saying, what answereth she," there crouched behind the hedge of the -orchard one whose dark eye and tawny ear missed not the lowest whisper, -the lightest gesture--whose tameless heart quivered and throbbed with -every syllable, every caress, as at the stroke of a knife. If women are -all jealous, even in the silks and satins and conventional fetters of -civilized life, what must be the jealousy of a savage nature -unreclaimed by education, untamed by principle, untaught by the -selfishness that is so essential a constituent of respectability and -good sense? It is possessed by a devil, who tears and rends it, refusing -to be cast out. - -Waif, or Thyra, as she was called by her own people, had journeyed with -them into the West-country nothing loth, for she knew they were -following in the track of the man she loved. Restored to her tribe after -an absence of many years, her familiarity with the habits of the Gorgios -rendered her an exceedingly valuable acquisition. She had the knack of -_dukkering_, or telling fortunes, with a tact that brought in handfuls -of silver, and many a "_balanser_" in red gold; therefore she came and -went unquestioned in the tents; could be absent at all hours, and for as -long as she pleased. Nor, so soon as she found herself within reach of -John Garnet's retreat, was she slow to take advantage of her liberty. - -A dozen miles afoot, across the moorland heather and along the -sweet-scented Somersetshire lanes, was an easy journey to Waif's supple -frame and light untiring tread. The honest carriers, leading their -string of pack-horses, looked after her in open-mouthed admiration, with -blessings, homely but sincere, on her strange swarthy beauty, so well -set off by the short scarlet cloak and the gold in her raven hair. A -house-wife possessing the old faith would cross herself perhaps, or her -gossip, a Primitive Methodist, would mutter a charm against witchcraft -as the dark girl passed; but the country-folk generally, though -regarding her people with little favour, were not proof against Waif's -flashing eyes and flattering tongue, while she returned their -"good-morrow" and promised them good luck. One stout farmer, riding a -half-broken colt, insisted on stopping to have his fortune told, -crossing his broad palm with a silver shilling, and demanding in return -a shilling's worth of her craft. "Three groats, uncle," said Waif, -looking up in his jolly face with a roguish leer, while the colt -fidgetted, and the rider, half pleased, half ashamed, hid his confusion -in a "Woa! drat ye, stan' still!" and a sheepish laugh. - -"Three is a lucky number, good gentleman. - - "'Three silver groats, - Three women's lives, - Three cows, three calves, - Three scolding wives. - The first to lie at your side, - The second to lie at your feet, - The third a widow, a witch, and a bride, - To sew your winding-sheet.'" - -The man, who had been twice married, and was not indisposed for another -venture, rode on in no slight perplexity, pondering this mysterious -doggrel, and more convinced than ever that the gipsy-folk, as he called -them, possessed some dark and dreadful knowledge, unlimited in scope and -embracing the future as the past. - -With a beating heart, that yet danced in her bosom under a sense of her -own happiness, Waif drew near the village of Porlock. She had decided to -exercise the utmost caution in approaching John Garnet's refuge, lest -her presence should in any way compromise his safety, or afford a clue -to his hiding-place. For one of her race, this was no difficult task. -Her gipsy experiences had taught her long ago to take advantage of every -irregularity of surface, even in so open a plain as Marlborough Downs; -and in such a country as West Somerset, with its narrow lanes, high -tangled hedges, scattered brakes, impervious copses, valleys, coombes, -and forests, rugged mountains, and broken moor, Waif could glide from -point to point as secretly and almost as swiftly as the very wild deer, -to which she bore some vague and fanciful resemblance. Since she told -the farmer his fortune three leagues off, no mortal eye had rested on -her form till she caught sight of the man she loved, within three hundred -feet. - -[Illustration: THE LESSON LEARNT.] - -Why did her colour fade, her breath come quick, her blood run icy cold? -There was a white dress by John Garnet's side, and that unaccountable -intuition, swift and subtle as the electric spark--that instinct of the -heart, which never hesitates and is never mistaken, told her the truth. -This was the meeting for which she had so longed, to compass which she -had cajoled Fin Cooper, deceived her people, and travelled afoot across -the heather all these weary miles! Waif trembled and her knees shook; -for the first time in her life she turned sick and faint. - -That cruel pain of hers though was not of the kind to gain relief from -insensibility. On the contrary, all her faculties seemed preternaturally -sharpened, while she writhed her slim body like a snake through tufted -grass and broad dock leaves, and all the luxuriant vegetation of the -adjoining meadow, to a hedge that fenced the orchard, where, parting the -tangled branches in her noiseless hands, she peered through, with the -eager, hopeless gaze of an outcast spirit looking on the paradise it has -lost. Not a smile, not a glance, not an unwise gesture of that fond, -foolish pair escaped the watcher. When John Garnet stooped to kiss -Nelly's brow, it seemed as if molten lead had dropped on her own and -seared it to the brain. Then it was that the white teeth clenched to -keep back a little piteous cry, and the nimble fingers stole to her -knife, as though she must needs bury it in his breast, whom she loved, -or hers, the rival's, whom she hated, or, better still, deep and -quivering to the very haft, in her own! - -But strong as is the passion of jealousy, it is not, especially in the -female breast, without an element of curiosity that is stronger still. - -To scream, to stab, to make any overt disturbance, would be to declare -her presence and debar her from hearing more. Waif bit her lip till the -blood came, and nerved herself to listen. Thus, as the lovers paced to -and fro, taking short turns, after the manner of their kind, and -stopping altogether in often-repeated pauses, for the interchange of -superfluous endearments, she made herself mistress of their secret and -overheard all their conversation. She learned, not without a bitter -pang, how short was John Garnet's sojourn in this fatal vicinity, where -she had been so soon and so easily forgotten. She learned the penalty -that would be exacted for his late exploit, in which she had herself -taken part, should his identity with the reputed highwayman be -discovered by those who were already on his track. She learned in a -brief period of eaves-dropping, that seemed an eternity of misery, more -of his daring courage and good-humoured recklessness--of those very -qualities she most admired and loved in him--than she ever knew before. -And, lastly, she learned that the whole scaffolding on which she so -unconsciously built the edifice of her future had crumbled into ruins -and crushed her own heart in its collapse. - -Waif had no God to whom she could pray in this agony of sorrow; but -looking round in wild appeal to sea and sky and mountain as though they -were sentient beings, her large dark eyes seemed to plead with Nature, -the only mother she knew, and to demand, in mute upbraiding, why her -punishment was greater than she could bear? - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -DUKE MICHAEL OF EGYPT. - - -A thorough gipsy bred and born, Waif so far resembled a wild animal of -the woods, that, when sore stricken, she instinctively sought her home. -Scarce knowing how, she sped back to the encampment of her people, swift -and straight as the red hind, that neither fails nor falters, though she -carries a bullet in her breast. It was not because she expected to find -comfort there, nor relief, nor even a moment's respite from pain, but -she felt constrained to keep moving, always moving, at the utmost speed -she could command, though as she flitted lightly from moor to moor, it -seemed to her benumbed and dizzy brain that she herself stood still, -while the acres of heather she traversed passed like running water -beneath her feet. - -Yet the sun was already down when she turned the head of a deep and -lonely coombe, which her tribe had chosen for their resting-place, and -caught sight of the little points of fire that dotted its heathery -ridge, toned down to dusky purple under the crimson flushes of the -evening sky. Kettles were already simmering before the brown, -weather-worn tents, and that happy hour of food and rest had arrived -which seems to recompense the gipsy for all the hardships of his -wandering lot, to make amends for toil and risk, rough usage, and coarse -fare, the frown of justice, the ban of society, an outlaw's life, and, -too often, a felon's grave. - -To-night, however, more than its usual tendency to revelry and rejoicing -seemed to pervade the camp. In the first place, this particular tribe -were honoured by the presence of their chief, a crafty old gentleman, -who chose to call himself "Duke Michael of Egypt," doubtless in memory -of that celebrated vagabond, who, early in the fifteenth century, led -his ragged troop through Saxony and Switzerland, leaving behind him, if -we may believe the old chroniclers, a better character than might have -been expected for good behaviour and honesty--nay, paying in hard money -for such articles as he required from the peasantry in the countries -through which he passed; an example, it is hardly necessary to observe, -scrupulously avoided by the Duke Michael with whom we have to do. This -worthy made it a rule, no doubt, to deny himself nothing he wanted that -might be had for the taking; and few matters, he often boasted, were too -hot or too heavy for his conveyance, but he could not have been induced -to give anything in exchange. - -It was as natural for his Grace to steal as to shape a tent-peg, mend a -kettle, or tell a lie. Yet in bearing and costume he varied probably but -little from his predecessor of the Middle Ages, as that nobleman's -likeness has been handed down in the rude woodcuts of the period. There -was the battered hat with a coarse and dirty kerchief rolled round its -brim, the pair of patched, ill-mended shoes, slashed at the toes and -slippered at the heel, of leggings worn and stained with mud from every -soil, the gaudy blanket rent and frayed to hide the greasy coat and -fouler skin beneath, with many another token of dirt, vermin, and -dishonesty to pervade the man from head to foot, and proclaim him an -outcast from his kind. The lapse of more than three centuries had done -but little to civilize or improve a Duke Michael of Egypt. - -Yet the battered hat perched on those abundant locks, now white as snow, -once black as the raven's wing, covered a brain that might have served -a statesman, for its keen perception, cool audacity, quiet -cunning--above all, for its administrative powers. That is no mean -intellect which can reign with dignity and rule with force, though the -palace be but a dingy tent, the subjects a gipsy tribe. Duke Michael -possessed the secret of government; and to-night, being more drunk than -usual, was better than ever assured of his authority and the loyalty of -his people. So loud were the bursts of hilarity in and about the great -man's tent, that Waif paused to listen on a ridge of moor overlooking -the camp, and forgot in her surprise, for perhaps the space of a second, -the pain gnawing at her heart. It was recalled ere she could be -conscious of relief. - -Fin Cooper's tall form, growing on her, as it were, in the twilight, was -already at her side, his voice whispering in her ear--"I've watched for -you, Thyra," said he, "since long before noon. The camp seems lonely and -empty when you leave it for a day; and I often wonder now how we could -do without you so many years! But what has been our sister's good luck? -Has she returned with pockets full of gold? Has she deceived and fleeced -the Gorgio, and stolen the very heart out of his breast?" - -Waif smiled a bitter smile. "The Gorgio turns the tables sometimes, -Fin," she answered. "When you deal out the cards to play, how can you -tell who is to rise up winner?" - -He looked sharply in her face. "You're tired," said he; "you that never -used to be tired, no more than the wild deer in the forest, the wild -bird in the air. Thyra! Thyra!" he added, and his voice came low and -husky, as if an enemy's hand gripped his throat, "there's something dark -come between you and me! Something that dims the light in your eye, and -takes the colour out of your face. What is it? Speak, girl, and tell the -truth. There's times when I could put my knife into you, and make an -end of it once for all. I'll do it some day, I know; I feel like it -now!" - -In her exceeding misery, but for the last sentence she might have told -him her secret then and there; but to threaten Waif was to throw stones -into the air that would fall back perpendicularly on a man's head. The -gipsy girl recovered her strength and courage in the drawing of a -breath. "That's a game for two players!" she answered fiercely. "I've -worn a knife, too, Fin, as long as I can remember, and I keep it sharper -than yours, I daresay. But what's the use of you and me wrangling? I'm -not bound to tell _you_ where I've been--when I go out--and when I come -in. You're not my master, brother; not _yet_!" - -She was sufficiently a woman to put just such an emphasis on the last -word as changed his mood like magic. In a moment he was her slave again, -ready to do her bidding, obey her lightest wish, no less eagerly than -when he went bird's-nesting for her in his boyhood, long years ago. - -"But you'll tell me some day," he pleaded, bending his tall form to look -in the girl's face. "You'll keep nothing from Fin, when we hang the -kettle at our own tent-door in the camp of the _Vardo-mescros_, and my -brothers troop in by scores to have a look at Fin Cooper's beautiful -wife; you'll tell me all your secrets then, Thyra, won't you? - -"Perhaps!" answered Waif. "In the meantime, will you tell _me_ what -makes this stir and noise amongst our people? They are swarming down -yonder like bees about a hive." - -"Duke Michael came in at noon," answered Fin, "and the kettles have been -singing in the smoke ever since. He brought the cart and the donkey and -both his wives from the cudgel-players' country" (Cornwall), "and never -halted but once to do a bit of tinkering on a moorland farm, till he -turned the head of the coombe here in our very midst. The women were so -tired, that Lura would have fallen flat to the ground if I hadn't caught -her in my arms, and lifted her out of the cart. Old Maggie was little -better, though she boasts that the Bosvilles of the Border want neither -food nor rest if they can get enough to drink; but the Duke tossed off a -_coro_ of brandy, pitched his tent, lit his fire, swung his kettle, and -went into business at once, as if he were thirty years old, instead of -getting on for ninety! There's been eating and drinking in plenty ever -since. Not a Romany will lie down sober to-night, Thyra, but _me_, and -I've you to thank for it!" He spoke in the plaintive tone of one who has -sustained injury from a beloved hand, but relents and forgives. - -A fresh burst of laughter, with the chorus of a song, led by stentorian -lungs, reached them where they stood. On Waif's strung nerves and weary -frame it jarred acutely; but Fin turned his head to listen with obvious -approval. "That's the Gorgio!" he exclaimed; "the mellowest voice and -the best man of his weight, this side Barnstaple, be the other who he -may! If we'd known more about him, we'd never played him such a trick to -bring him here!" - -"What Gorgio?" asked the girl, for whom there was but one in the world, -her foolish heart beating fast, with a wild hope that in some impossible -manner John Garnet might even now be a visitor to the gipsies' camp. - -"Why, the Parson, as they call him," answered Fin; "the jolly Exmoor -parson, who can tail an otter, harbour a stag, ride a colt, sing a song, -wrestle a fall, aye, and empty a pitcher, with the cleverest Romany lad -of us all. I wouldn't undertake him myself, Thyra, single-handed, not if -he was sober. We laid a trap for him, howsoever, and into it he fell; -so, here he is! Thyra, what makes you tremble? Do you know anything of -this roystering parson? I've heard strange stories of his doings on the -country side. Girl! you'll make me kill you now before you've done!" -His jealousy needed but a breath to fan it into flame, yet was to be -appeased no less quickly than aroused. - -"You're a fool, Fin!" she said with a laugh, which, though forced, -seemed reassuring to her lover. "It's neither you nor this parson of -yours that would make _me_ tremble. Keep your hands off and behave -yourself, or I'll go home this minute! I know the man you speak of, but -I never heard any good of him. How did our people bring him into the -camp, and why?" - -Fin's brow cleared, while he answered her question with a laugh. "The -Parson," he explained, "rears the best breed of fighting-cocks in the -West of England. There was one in his pen this morning, good enough to -take the crow out of the gamest _chiriclo_ that ever wore spurs. He's -safe in my tent now, with his head in a stocking to keep him quiet. This -day week, at Devizes, he'll be worth ten, aye, twenty guineas in red -gold. But the money would never have come my way, if little Ryley and me -hadn't 'ticed the Parson here!" - -"How so?" asked Waif listlessly, for her thoughts were travelling far -away. - -"When he means winning," said Fin, "he trains the birds himself; and -it's a job, as I've been told, to get him away from them for an hour. It -would take a better Romany than me, Thyra, or little Ryley either, to -_chore_ so much as a clout off a clothes-line if the Parson was within a -mile of the place. So how do you think we worked it? Why, we got up a -wrestling-match on the cross, you know, between Humpy Hearne and black -James Lee, in honour of our old man's visit, and we 'ticed the Parson -into the camp to see fair. He knows the rules of the ring and keeps them -all in his head as plain as print. He's the sort that would sooner ride -fifty miles to a fight than five to a prayer-meeting. So he up and puts -the saddle on, and down the coombe he swings at a gallop, as if he'd a -spare neck in each pocket, and leaps off before old Michael, with his -shovel hat in his hand. 'It's not every day,' says he, 'in our West -country, that a parson comes to visit a duke. Let's have a drink,' says -he, 'deep enough to do credit to both!' and with that he empties a -half-pint horn of brandy, and throws it over his left shoulder for luck. -There was a cheer you might have heard at Taunton. Our old Duke wasn't -to be bragged at such a game as that. He answered fair and honest, gill -for gill; so down they sat on a blanket by the tent-door, and they've -been at it ever since. In the meantime, little Ryley he slips round over -the moor and brings the _chiriclo_ back with him, coop and all. It's a -beautiful bird, Thyra. I'll show it you to-morrow as soon as it's light; -but if I'd known the Parson could sing so good a song, he should never -have lost a feather out of its wing, for Ryley and me!" - -Waif seemed thoughtful and preoccupied. Presently she looked up and said -quietly, "I must go and show myself to our old Duke, Fin, before he's -too far gone to see me. Will you come down to the tents? and, Fin, don't -you speak unkindly, that's a good lad, and don't you take much notice of -what I say and do. I've had a long walk in the hot harvest sun, and I'm -not quite myself to-day, that's the truth!" - -So she put her hand in his, and threading some half-score of tents, -every one of which was deserted for the great attraction of the Duke's -presence, soon reached an open space, where some thirty or forty -gipsies, men, women, and children, crouched round a scanty fire, -laughing, drinking, smoking, and all talking at once. - -It was a wild scene. Every now and then a gipsy would throw on another -faggot, and the pale flickering streaks of flame brought into shifting, -shadowy relief the grotesque figures of which the circle was composed. -In the background stood a common tinker's cart, though it seemed -wonderful that anything on wheels could have arrived in safety at this -remote and solitary nook, surrounded by leagues of moor; while the -donkey that drew it, calmly browsed and meditated in the enjoyment of -well-earned repose. Propping his back against the shaft, and raised some -inches from the ground by his own and his wives' blankets doubled -beneath him, Duke Michael of Egypt sat in state, with a short black pipe -in his hand and a pewter measure containing gin and cider at his knee. -Even Waif, accustomed as she was to many a strange sight amongst her -strange people, marvelled as she gazed. - -His dress, though ragged and filthy in the extreme, was made of costly -materials and the brightest colours, his coat being of fine blue cloth -dotted by spade-guineas instead of buttons; his waistcoat, faded -scarlet, bound with tawdry gold-lace; the very link that fastened his -stained flannel shirt at the throat was a gold seven-shilling piece! It -was thus that he loved to display the riches, of which he was as proud -as if they were the fruits of an honest calling. At one extremity of -this magnificence, stockingless feet peeped through a pair of rent and -clouted shoes; while, at the other, a woollen nightcap under a battered -hat, crowned the snow-white poll that contrasted ludicrously with his -swarthy face, tanned nearly black, and seamed with so many wrinkles that -it looked more like morocco leather than a human skin. - -Yet, even now, the dark eyes beneath their shaggy brows sparkled with -intelligence and fire; the deep voice, in which he passed his jest or -trolled his chorus, spoke of health and strength and vital energies -unimpaired by age. He had removed the pipe from his mouth, and was -pledging Parson Gale for the twentieth time, when Waif stepped into the -firelight, bowed her head in a graceful obeisance, and stood silent -before him with her arms crossed on her breast. - -The old man stared at this beautiful apparition for some seconds without -a word, obviously congratulating himself, the tribe, and the Romany -people in general, on the possession of so favourable a specimen of -their race. Presently he chuckled, took a pull at his flagon, and spoke -out: - -"Aye, aye," said he, "it's _you_, is it, my pretty lass? No need to tell -me who you are, my _rinkeny tawny_, my delicate brown beauty! There's -not such another face as that in the tribe, nor there hasn't been since -Lura there tripped over the Border out of Cumberland to be an old man's -wife, who had one too many already. And that's a score of years ago, and -more. Parson Gale! Parson Gale, I say, can your Reverence show us such a -pair of eyes in North Devon? I dare you to do it; or such a walk, such a -shape, such a foot and ankle as that. We have but one Thyra in the -tribe, Parson, and there she stands. Don't be shame-faced, man! look at -her well." - -But for an impatient tap of the little foot, Waif might have been a -statue, so immovably did she retain a posture of humility that the -etiquette of Duke Michael's court prescribed on a first presentation. -Even among the gipsies there rose a murmur of admiration, called forth -by her unusual beauty and assured bearing, suggestive of modesty and -self-respect. The Parson, a veteran toper, was still sober enough, -notwithstanding his potations, to recognise the girl he had seen and -insulted at Katerfelto's door. He was also wise enough to reflect that -here, amongst her friends and kinsmen, any allusion to that meeting -would be injudicious and unsafe. The gipsies were ready with their -knives, their blood was heated with drinking, the coombe was lonely and -secluded; his horse stood tethered two hundred yards off, and he was a -long way from home. He glanced respectfully, almost imploringly, in -Waif's face, while he replied with a discretion for which he deserved -some credit: - -"There's many a likely lass in North Devon, my lord duke, though I won't -say they come up to the beauty and wisdom of the Egyptians, but I'm no -great judge of such matters myself. They don't belong to my cloth and my -calling. I know a good dog when I see him, or a game-cock; I can tell -the points of a pacing nag, or the slot of a warrantable deer; but when -you talk of black eyes and blue, chestnut hair and brown, I'm at -fault--that's where _I_ am. No, no; I'm a far better judge of your -strong ale." - -"Well said, Parson!" exclaimed the duke, "you're one of my sort, I see; -and a right good fellow, too. Ah! if your Reverence and I could make the -world again, wouldn't we put fewer women in it, and more drink? Go your -ways, my lass," he added, nodding to Waif; "you're black enough, and -comely enough, to turn an older head than mine, and I guess I'm not very -far from a hundred. My service to you, Parson, we'll trouble no more -about the petticoats. The night is young, and that cask not half empty -yet." - -But Waif, while she retired, bestowed on Abner Gale a glance of such -deep meaning as to puzzle him exceedingly. While he passed the cup and -the jest with his entertainers, discussed the past wrestling-bout, of -which he was good enough to express approval, and even condescended to -sing a song in praise of that manly exercise, his thoughts persistently -reverted to the tawny delicate face with its mournful beauty, the large -dark eyes that looked into his own so sad and wistful, yet with fierce -impatient longing, like those of some wild animal from whom men have -taken away its young. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -TEMPTED SORE. - - -There were few better horses in the West of England than Parson Gale's -black nag Cassock, a beast on which he had performed many surprising -feats of speed and endurance for trifling wagers amongst his friends. It -speaks well for the favourable impression made by their clerical guest -on his entertainers that the gipsies allowed him to retain possession of -so valuable a steed, when nothing would have been easier than to slip -its halter, and convey it secretly out of the camp while its master was -engaged in his debauch. These strange people, however, respected their -own peculiar principles of justice and fair-dealing, even in a life of -robbery and fraud. Holding somewhat stringent notions on the laws of -hospitality, they were, moreover, much fascinated by the Parson's -freedom of manners and great absorbent powers. Cassock, therefore, was -liberally supplied with the best forage they had to give; and when at -last, in spite of the duke's protestations and the entreaties of his -court, Abner Gale declared his intention of departing at once to travel -home by moonlight, a score of tawny hands were ready to adjust saddle -and bridle, to hold the stirrup while he mounted, and to wave a -good-speed after him as he rode away. - -Only Fin Cooper, a born horse-dealer and horse-stealer, regretted the -scruples of his tribe. "What was the use of plying the Gorgio with ale -and brandy," he murmured, as he lay down to sleep in his tattered -blanket, "if he is to leave the Romanies no poorer than he came to these -tents? I could have _chored_ that _gry_, that good black nag, aye, -stolen it twenty times over, while they emptied their cask by the fire, -and sold it back again, as likely as not, to the Parson himself fresh -and sober at Barnstaple Fair before harvest was done. And now I should -like to know how any one of us is the better for this visit? though he -sings a good song, I'll not deny, and takes his drink as free as old -Michael himself." Then, hearing the game-cock he had stolen stirring in -its coop, Fin thought better of his grievances and dropped asleep, -soothed by the reflection that the hospitality of his people had not -been without some return, nor his own ingenuity wholly thrown away. - -In the meantime Parson Gale, sitting rather loose in the saddle, was -rounding the head of the coombe in which he had been so hospitably -treated, with a wandering eye, flushed cheek, and brain dizzy, from the -strength of his potations. A harvest moon, high in heaven, flooded the -moor with light, so that the good horse picked his way through the -heather, avoiding the level patches of bog as easily as at noon-day. -Cassock had learned from a foal to mind his own footsteps, to look out -for himself in the scanty pastures he shared with the mountain sheep or -wild red-deer on the hills where he was bred, and could skim the -rush-grown swamps around the Black Pits of Exmoor, safe and swift as the -very bittern that flitted across those lonely haunts. Going freely from -his shoulders, but collected and prepared for effort behind the saddle, -with head low, ears pointed, and the froth flying lightly from his bit, -as he swayed at every stride to the turn of his rider's hand, he could -sweep along at a gallop over ground where an unaccustomed horse would -have stuck fast up to its girths before it had gone fifty yards. That -sense, too, which we call instinct in the brute, because of its -superiority to the power we call reason in the man, forbade him to -venture on any surface wholly incapable of affording foothold; and it -would have required all the persuasions of consummate horsemanship from -his rider to beguile Cassock into a real, unmitigated, fathomless -Devonshire bog. The horse was bred on the moor, and on the moor had -never yet met his match. To-night he seemed more careful than usual, -edging from side to side under his burden, as though conscious that on -him, the drinker of water, must devolve the duty of balancing his -master, the drinker of ale! He knew his way home, too, and could have -found it like a dog; nor would he have objected to increase the pace -considerably had he received the slightest indication that his lord was -inclined for a gallop. - -The Parson, however, had fallen into a meditative mood; such a mood as -might possess a rough imaginative nature amongst the fairest scenes in -England on a mellow autumn night. He paced along the sheep-track Cassock -had selected at a walk, now stroking his horse's neck with maudlin -kindness, now looking about him over the moonlit heather in affable -approval; anon sighing deeply, and raising his eyes to heaven, with a -meaningless smile. - -Yet was his brain busy too, busy with stirring memories, morbid fancies, -wild speculations--all the grotesque ideas that crowd into a man's mind -when imagination is stimulated and judgment warped by the influence of -strong drink. He seemed lifted, as it were, out of himself, and -incorporated with that external nature of which he was perhaps a more -faithful worshipper than he knew. He felt as if he could ride the -moonbeam with the fairies, join in its moan with the spirit of the -waterfall, shout aloud with the spirit of the air, or chase over its -mountain ridges the spirit of the moor. Speaking words of encouragement -to Cassock, he started at the sound of his own voice. The brushing of -his horse's legs, knee-deep in heather, made his blood run cold, for it -seemed to him that some phantom rider was at his heels. What if the -devil in person, on a coal-black steed, were to come alongside and -accost him, daring him to some break-neck gallop over rocks and -precipices, that his own dead body and his horse's might be found, -crushed and mangled in their fall, when the sun rose? He had heard of -such things, and said to himself he would scorn to refuse the challenge, -and would defy the devil then and there, less in the confidence of a -good conscience than in the evil courage of despair. He wished, though, -that he had filled his flask down yonder before he left the gipsy-tents. -A nip of brandy would do him a world of good just now, and keep out the -night air. Then, with the inconsistency of his condition, he threw open -his waistcoat and loosened the kerchief round his throat. - -Presently the man within the man, the working partner in the firm, who -never sleeps, never gets drunk, never loses his consciousness nor his -identity, even when contusions or alcohol have numbed to insensibility -his associate's weaker brain; the man who reproves us when we are -wicked, who laughs at us when we are fools; to whom we make apologies -for weakness, and excuses for crime, began to separate himself, as it -were, from the _corporeal_ Parson Gale, and take him to task with -half-indulgent cynicism, for the shortcomings of which both inner and -outer man were fully conscious. Said the one to the other, "See now, I -knew how it would be! You are at your old tricks again, Abner Gale, -though you promised me yourself, only last week after Mounsey Revel, it -should be the last time till Martinmas! You're not ashamed of it--not a -bit! You're a good fellow, you say, and cannot refuse a cup when it's -offered in good fellowship. All very well, my friend, but _respice -finem_! There's Latin for you. Ah! you knew a bit of Latin once; I -don't think it ever did you much good; but _keep your eye forward_! You -can do that still when you ride to hounds across the moor. Look to the -result. Already your hand has begun to shake; you can scarce button the -knees of your breeches till you've had your morning draught, and you -couldn't tie a fly to save your life. Already you know what it is to -hear a buzzing in your ears, and feel a shooting pain in your joints. -The last time you wrestled a fall with little Tremaine, he threw you -easily with a cross-buttock, and he is but a ten-stone man. It won't do, -Abner Gale--it can't go on! You'll be losing your nerve next, and what -is to become of you then? Cassock, my boy, you'll hardly know your -master when he's afraid to ride! but it hasn't come to that yet. Take a -pull, my lad, before it's too late. You've seen many a man as sober as a -judge, who is as happy as a king! It wouldn't be such a bad life, after -all, to shoot, and hunt, and fish, where you know every hazel in the -copse, every tuft on the heather, every pebble in the stream; to look -after your parish, speak a kind word to your poor, and come back at -night, hungry and happy, to meet a loving welcome in your own home. Pull -yourself together, Abner Gale; for all your reddened face and grizzled -hair, there's many an older man than _you_ goes wooing still. What more -should a girl want than bone and muscle, a good heart, and an easy -temper,--your temper is easy enough when you're not put out,--a joint at -the kitchen fire, and a slate roof over her head? So why should the -likeliest lass in all the West Country say nay? Abner Gale! Abner Gale! -there was one chance left, and may-be you lost it to-day, getting drunk -with a parcel of tinkers and gipsies on the open moor." - -Then the outer man reined in his horse; and while Cassock cropped the -luxuriant heather under his nose, looked long and wistfully over a waste -of uplands to where the moonlight broke in glints of gold upon the -Severn Sea. Below him yonder lay the sweep of Porlock Bay, and not a -stone's-throw from its edge, lulled by the lap and ripple of the tide, -slept the only woman on earth he wished to call his wife. - -But was it too late? Each by each, he recapitulated, with a certain grim -humour (for the night-air had not yet thoroughly sobered him), the -advances he had hazarded, the rebuffs he had received. Were these not -sufficiently explicit? Were those but the resources of maidenly reserve -and shame?--Or was there somebody she liked better? - -Bright and clear as the colouring of a picture came back the scene he -had witnessed when he found the stranger, sitting on the rocks by her -side. She had been more silent than common, he remembered, after the new -visitor took his leave; but he never thought her so beautiful, never -noted so deep a lustre in her eye, so rich a colour in her cheek. Was it -possible? Such things had happened before. Could it be that she already -loved this come-by-chance, and that he, Parson Gale, must be worsted in -the one object of his life; must run second in the race he would barter -his very soul to win? - -And now, had the devil been, indeed, following on his track, had he -ridden alongside, stirrup to stirrup, and offered him his fiendish -assistance, the evil spirit could not have more fully possessed the man -than while he ground a savage curse between his teeth, on himself, his -horse, his fellows, the brute creation, all nature, animate and -inanimate, to think that he should have lost Nelly Carew, the girl he -had coveted from her childhood, to an unknown stranger, the acquaintance -of a day. Somebody must pay for it. There should be no mistake about -that! Perhaps it was less Nelly's fault than her new friend's, this -young springald, who came into the West forsooth, with his town-bred -manners and his town-made clothes, to rob honest men of their own. But -town or country, the best of them should not poach on Parson Gale's moor -without hearing of it. He only wished he could find out something more -about him, that was all. If the devil himself offered to back him up -now, he would drive no hard bargain, but pay fair market price for his -help! - -[Illustration: THE TALE TOLD.] - -Cassock started violently, with a loud and prolonged snort. A more sober -rider might have been both alarmed and unseated, so suddenly did the -animal swerve aside from a dusky figure that rose against the sky out of -its very path; but a good horseman's balance seems little influenced by -unsteadiness of brain, and the Parson felt a thrill of triumph rather -than fear, in the wild fancy that his awful wish had been granted, and -the powers of evil had consented to afford him the assistance he -required. - -"Speak up!" he exclaimed, in a fierce and threatening voice, the more -angrily, perhaps, that he felt his flesh creep with superstitious dread. -"If you come straight from hell, I'll have a word with you before you go -back. Steady, Cassock, my lad. What, you know her, do ye? and it's only -the little gipsy-lass, after all!" - -The figure, dim and phantom-like as it stood there beneath the moon, -threw back its scarlet hood, and revealed to the Parson's excited -senses, no spirit from below, but Waif's tangible beauty, pale indeed, -and careworn, yet strangely attractive still, with its wild, sad eyes, -and wealth of raven hair. - -She laid her hand on Cassock's neck, and the horse tolerated her caress, -though his restless backward-moving ear showed he was only half -reassured. - -"I know you!" said Waif. "I've seen you before. I watched you from our -tents, and waited here to make sure Parson Gale, I can tell you -something you would give ten years of your life to know." - -She had waylaid him purposely at the bend of the coombe, that he could -not but pass to reach the level moor, arriving by a path only accessible -to an active hill-climber on foot, so that even had he come round at a -gallop, she must have been here before him. - -"Can you tell me my fortune, pretty lass?" returned Gale, with a forced -attempt at gallantry. "Give me hold of that slender little hand, and -I'll put a silver groat in it, if I have one left in the world." - -He leaned over his horse's shoulder while he spoke, preserving his -balance with some difficulty. Waif, keeping well out of reach, gave no -encouragement to his assumed familiarity. - -"Forget," she said, "for the time, that I am a gipsy, and that you are a -priest. Parson Gale, I know the wish that is nearest your heart this -very moment. You look for health, ease, happiness, and a good name like -your neighbours, but you would give the soul out of your body for -revenge!" - -He started; the certainty with which she had fathomed his desire, and -named its price, recalled the speculations of a few minutes back. Again -some nameless fear of the supernatural crept over him, and he shuddered -to think that for the compassing of his own eternal destruction, the -gipsy-girl's shape and semblance might have been assumed by the Prince -of Darkness, who thus accosted him face to face. He had seen a Romish -priest cross himself under a similar terror. He would have liked now to -make the holy sign, and wondered would it be any use? - -Waif, if she understood, only despised his hesitation. "I can give you -what you want," she said, "and I ask nothing of you in return." Though -spoken in a low voice, almost a whisper, every syllable passed through -her firm-set lips, hard, cruel, and distinct. - -With returning confidence rose the coarse overbearing manner that had -already lost this man so many friends. "Nothing for nothing," said he -with a brutal laugh. "Come, lass, exchange is no robbery; speak what you -have to say, and take a kiss from an honest fellow in return." - -Her delicate face expressed a loathing that the vainest of men must have -observed: but Waif had a task to perform, and she went through with it -systematically, to the bitter end. - -"The man you seek," she said, "is in your reach. The man who slew your -brother sleeps to-night within three leagues of you, in the hamlet by -Porlock Bay. When you stand face to face with John Garnet, tell him that -the gipsy-girl he betrayed delivered him into your hand." - -The words were hardly spoken before she disappeared behind the abrupt -ridge of moor that overhung the coombe, with a rapidity that seemed, -indeed, like the vanishing of a ghost. Ere the Parson could realise the -startling fact, that this stranger, whom he already hated with an -instinctive hatred, was the man he had sought in vain for weeks, -swearing to hunt him down to death in atonement for a brother's -blood--she was gone; and he rubbed his eyes in sheer amazement, almost -doubting, even now, whether this had been a vision of fancy, or a -creature of real flesh and blood. - -None the less did he resolve to take advantage of her communication, and -riding homeward across the moor, completely sobered by this mysterious -interview, determined to lose no time in setting about the destruction -of his enemy. - -But Waif, traversing aimlessly up and down, wandered through the woods -till the moon set, regardless of cold, discomfort, or fatigue, callous -even to the weight of misery that benumbed her brain, causing her to -move unconsciously, here and there, with smooth mechanical gait, like -one who walks abroad, having mind and senses fettered in the thraldom of -a dream. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -THE COLD SHOULDER. - - -Lady Bellinger at least was pleased. When her lord, reflecting that the -robbery he had sustained would render abortive his journey to the West, -ordered the horses' heads to be turned for London, his wife accepted -this alteration in their plans with a fervour of gratitude that -sufficiently indicated her dread of a prolonged _tête-à-tête_ with her -husband. Nor was his lordship unwilling to resume the dissipations of -the town, though entertaining shrewd misgivings as to the reception he -was likely to meet with from the sovereign and his ministers. In war, in -politics, or in love--in public affairs, as in private, there is no -excuse for failure! Success does not necessarily imply merit; but merit, -in the eyes of mankind, is a less valuable quality than success. There -have been shrewd and prosperous managers of the world's most important -matters, who have gone so far as to lay down this practical rule: "Never -employ an unlucky man!" - -Lady Bellinger was not obliged to have recourse to her drops more than -half-a-dozen times between Hounslow and London on the return journey. -She contradicted my lord hardly twice as often, and was good enough to -express a qualified approval of the scenery, the weather, even the -roads, which last were execrable. Mistress Rachel, too, seemed pleased -to think she was on her way back to civilized life, fresh from an -adventure that made her a heroine in her own eyes. The champion with the -blunderbuss was already reinstated in her favour; the other servants, by -dint of frequent excuses for their poltroonery, and by talking the -matter over till they had multiplied a hundred-fold the number and -weapons of their assailants, were persuaded they had shown a fair amount -of courage; and the whole party, with the exception of its chief, drove -back in the highest spirits through the leafy glades of Kensington, to -their town residence in Leicester Square. But Lord Bellinger's heart -sank as he approached his home. Even for a man of pleasure there is -something exceedingly fascinating in a political career, and here had he -failed the very first time he was put to trial! It is hard to fall and -break one's neck from the very lowest round of the ladder! Had he -managed his business discreetly and well, no doubt his name would have -been entered on that mysterious roll which prime ministers are supposed -to keep, for the advancement of their friends and supporters, -apportioning rewards for service, as an animal's food is regulated by -its work. To support in many divisions, a baronetcy; to expenditure in a -few elections, a peerage; for one timely change of opinion, an earldom; -and so on. But it seemed to Lord Bellinger that he had played his stake -in the great game--and lost! - -No sooner did he arrive at home, than, sending for a modish barber to -powder and arrange his hair, he dressed with exceeding splendour--a -ceremony his lordship never neglected, and to which he owed much of his -social success, assumed cane, sword, and snuff-box, called a chair, and -caused himself to be carried straightway to the Cocoa Tree Club and -Coffee-house. It was early in the afternoon, and several gentlemen were -absent at their country-seats, yet this resort of loungers and idlers -seemed sufficiently full. With the self-consciousness of human nature, -an instinct, that years of worldly training cannot wholly eradicate, -Lord Bellinger believed that his recent failure had made him a marked -man; and observing a knot of members congregated in the room, one of -whom held the scanty sheet of the _North Briton_ in his hand, felt -persuaded they must be engaged in discussing his politics, his -shortcomings, his inefficiency as a lord-lieutenant, and even his -character as a gentleman. There was something of disappointment mingled -with a sense of relief to observe that his arrival caused no break in -their conversation, created no more sensation than if one of the waiters -had entered and withdrawn. It is unpleasant, no doubt, to occupy public -attention only to be abused; but it is more unpleasant still to be -ignored entirely, and to find that when we thought the world was talking -about us, our name has never been mentioned at all. - -"I'll be judged by Bellinger!" exclaimed the gentleman who held the -paper, looking at the new-comer over the others' heads. "Bellinger -knows; Bellinger shall decide; Bellinger never leaves town even for a -day. Five guineas, Bellinger gives it in my favour!" - -"Done!" said a little man in a plum-coloured suit, with enormous ruffles -at his wrists, offering his snuff-box to the referee, who looked from -one to the other in vague surprise. - -"The fact is this," said the little man; "our friend Sir Alexander, -there, has been reading an account in the _North Briton_ of a fellow who -lives somewhere near Covent Garden, and keeps a kind of prophesy shop, -where half the ladies in town go to learn each other's secrets, and tell -their own. The newspaper affirms that he has been driving this trade for -years; and though all the while the prophet, or whatever he calls -himself, is a spy from over the water, that our ministry never found it -out! Sir Alexander vows it's impossible, and appeals to you, my lord, as -knowing more of the town and its wicked ways than any man in this room. -What say you, Bellinger? I have only five guineas on it; but if I had -five hundred, I would abide by your award!" - -Lord Bellinger's presence of mind rarely deserted him; and although with -the topic thus broached, the possibility of Katerfelto's treachery -flashed across his brain, he answered quietly: "You do me too much -honour, my lord; I cannot give an opinion. I have been in the country -more than a week." - -"The country!" repeated half-a-dozen voices, in tones of surprise and -incredulity. "Bellinger in the country! What, in the name of all that is -innocent, should take you to the country? You who have never slept a -night out of town since you came of age. Think of the risks! You might -have caught milk-fever or chicken-pox! We must believe it, my lord, -because your lordship says so." - -"It only shows how little a fellow is missed!" replied Lord Bellinger, -not too well pleased to find his absence had been unnoticed by those -among whom he considered himself a man of mark. "Did you never hear of -my coach being robbed; money and papers carried off; myself, my lady, -and my servants made prisoners on _parole_ by a band of gipsies, and a -highwayman riding a grey horse? On my honour, gentlemen, I believe not -one of you cares a brass farthing for any earthly thing that takes place -beyond ten miles from London or two from Newmarket!" - -He spoke bitterly, and with an energy so unlike his usual careless -manner, that the man in the plum-coloured coat gazed at him in -undisguised astonishment. - -"A grey horse!" repeated this nobleman, tapping his snuff-box. "The -best-actioned horse I ever saw in my life was a grey, and belonged to a -highwayman--a fellow they called Galloping Jack. It must have been the -very man!" - -"Two to one against him!" interrupted a bystander. "Ten guineas to five, -my lord, that no gentleman of the road would show such bad taste as to -rob Bellinger, or such deplorable ignorance as to suppose his purse was -worth taking." - -"I'll go you halves," said a tall youth. "I remember the grey horse, and -the man in the mask who rode him; what became of the horse I never -heard, but the man was hanged at Tyburn last November!" - -In the confusion of tongues created by this statement, offering, as it -did, a wide field for speculation, and originating many wagers on the -personal identity of the robber in the mask, Bellinger felt an arm -thrust under his own to withdraw him from the noisy circle into the -recess of a bay-window fronting the street, while a friendly voice -whispered in his ear: "Welcome back, my lord. I knew you had left the -town, if no one else did. I wish from my soul these gipsies and robbers, -and other scoundrels had turned you back before you reached Kensington!" - -It was Harry St. Leger who spoke, his comrade and associate in many a -scene of pleasure and dissipation little removed from vice, yet a -staunch friend nevertheless--not to be detached by misfortune, nor -daunted by disgrace. Such cases are less rare than those who hold by the -laws of ethics might suppose. The growth of the bog-myrtle is fresh and -fair, its fibres are tough and clinging, though it takes root in the -blackest and miriest of swamps. Harry St. Leger would have offered him -his last guinea ungrudgingly, and with no less flippant a jest, than he -would have shed his last drop of blood in a duel, to share his friend's -quarrel, as principal or second, or anything he pleased. - -"Why so, Harry?" asked Lord Bellinger. "Have you seen the minister? What -have you heard?" - -"They're in a devil of a stew down there," answered the other, -intimating with a jerk of his head the locality in which his Majesty's -Council conducted their deliberations. "They've had an enemy in the -camp, it seems, ever since the late king's death. Our Gracious himself -has been sitting on a powder-barrel, only he does not believe it; and -would care very little if he did. They've plenty of courage, _that_ -family, I must admit; we can't say as much for the others. Well, the -Scotchman is in a fearful state! The only thief-taker in the town who -knows a thief when he sees one, or how to take him, or can be persuaded -to try, was with the minister more than two hours yesterday. The other -side will put up somebody to ask a question directly Parliament meets. -The House is very ticklish about treachery. There's no saying how things -might go; and he dare not--no, he _dare_ not risk a general election. -The 'man in the street' says it's all _your_ doing. Fred, mind I know -nothing for certain." - -Lord Bellinger pondered. "Has anybody confessed anything?" he asked, -after some consideration. - -"Nobody who _had_ anything to confess!" answered his friend with a -smile. "The only man who could have told them what they wanted to know -wisely took himself out of the way. That idiotic newspaper which Sir -Alexander has been flourishing over his empty head made a better shot -than usual. There _has_ been a spy among us, no doubt, and rumour -mentions one or two names, I dare _not_. The fortune-teller, I can well -believe, had a finger in the pie; and people go so far as to say that -meetings were held in his house between staunch Hanoverian friends of -yours and mine, and other friends of ours who are supposed to be over -the water and unable to come back. Also, that arms were found in his -cellar, and gunpowder under his bed! All this goes in at one ear and out -at the other; but there's an ugly story about some royal warrants that -were never served; and I can tell you for certain, a very great man -holds your lordship to blame." - -"Because my cowardly servants wouldn't back me up, and I couldn't fight -a score of men single-handed!" exclaimed Lord Bellinger indignantly. -"Those were the very warrants that gaol-bird took out of my coach. I see -the whole thing now, and how cleverly it was done! I'm in a false -position, Harry, to say the least of it. The treason I don't so much -mind; but I cannot bear to think I should have been so 'bit.' Harry! -Harry! I shall be the laugh of the town!" - -"'Faith, when the town comes to learn it, I think you will!" replied his -friend. "But, in the meantime, 'tis as much a secret as anything _can_ -be that is known to half-a-dozen people. I'm the only man in this room -who has heard a word of it, you may see that for yourself. The conjuror, -or whatever he is, has departed without beat of drum. I need hardly -observe, that when they sent to arrest him he had eight-and-forty hours' -start. The house was shut up, and they were forced to break in the door. -I am told, when they did search it, they found an empty bottle on the -table, an empty chair at the fire-place, and an empty skull on the -chimney-piece. There were no directions left where the owner was to be -found; but I understand many very respectable people want him sadly now -he's gone!" - -"That's another difficulty," mused Lord Bellinger. "We shall never get -money at such short notice from anybody else. If you paid enough for it, -you could take it away with you then and there. He was a most useful -person, and I shall miss him prodigiously for one. However, that is not -the question. Harry, you have a head on your shoulders; what would you -do in my place?" - -"Get into my chair, and wait on the minister at once," answered his -friend. "When a man knows he is in the wrong, he should always take the -bull by the horns. The Scotchman believes you have been tampering with -the other side, and thinking it more formidable than it is, will scarce -venture to break with your lordship, once for all. It is but a game of -brag, Fred, and the boldest player wins. We will sup here together at -nine o'-the-clock, and you shall tell me how you came off." - -So Lord Bellinger, taking his friend's advice, mounted gravely into his -chair, and caused himself to be set down without delay at the minister's -official residence, where he found the great man holding a levee, -composed of the many who came to ask for something, and the few who -returned to give thanks. - -It chafed his lordship in no slight degree to be kept waiting in the -ante-room, while meaner men, not half so well-dressed, were admitted to -the presence of the minister. His own equals in rank and position nodded -to him as they passed in and out, but their greetings at such a time -were necessarily short and formal, so that he was unable to gather from -their manner how widely his failure had become known, or how deeply he -was supposed to be disgraced. It was not till the mayor of a country -town, a doctor of divinity, and a poor author who had helped to line -many a trunk, were admitted before him, that his patience utterly -failed. He was in the act of desiring his chair to be called, when a -grave man, addressing him in broad Scotch, held open the door of the -inner chamber, with an austere bow. - -There were some half-score persons present, bearing the proudest names, -holding the highest offices in the country. Lord Bellinger's quick eye -did not fail to mark how each looked eagerly from the new-comer to the -minister, as though to observe the nature of his reception. - -More erect than usual, for his blood was up, but with the graceful -bearing that never deserted him, his lordship stepped across the room -and made a low bow, almost defiant in the excess of courtesy which it -seemed to affect. The minister, who was engaged with a paper in his -hand, did not return the salutation for more than a minute. Lord -Bellinger ground his teeth, and the bystanders glanced in each other's -faces. - -Presently the great man raised his head, stared coldly at his visitor, -and returned his obeisance without a word. - -The bystanders breathed freely; there was no more doubt, then, of their -chief's displeasure, and they believed the interest of the scene was -past. But, as they told each other afterwards, "Bellinger was a very -awkward fellow to set down!" - -"My lord," said he, "I have waited on your lordship in self-defence." - -"My lord," was the answer, "your lordship's explanations must be made in -public, and reserved for another place." - -Then the minister turned on him a broad, ungainly back; and he knew that -in the Game of Brag, concerning which Harry St. Leger spoke so -hopefully, he had come off second best. - -But he did not fail to keep his appointment at the Cocoa Tree, arriving -there, indeed, somewhat earlier than the hour agreed on, and with an -appetite no whit impaired by the contrarieties he had experienced. "It's -the country air, I suppose," he observed lightly to his friend. "'Faith, -Harry, should I be forced to retire into the country altogether it won't -break my heart, if I'm always to be as hungry as now. Waiter! what can -we have for supper?" - -"Aitch-bone of beef, my lord," was the answer. "Beg pardon, my lord, his -grace has finished the aitch-bone; his grace never eats anything else. -Cold game-pie, cold chicken and tongue, cold partridges, wild duck or -teal, cold shoulder of mutton." - -"Anything but _that_, you knave!" replied his lordship, with a laugh. -"No, no, Harry; I've had enough cold shoulder to-day to last me the rest -of my life!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -DULVERTON REVEL. - - -"Thee be'est a drunken old twoad!" exclaimed a buxom countrywoman, -apple-faced and dark-haired, to her laughing mate, not the least in -tones of conjugal reproof, but rather as a delighted damsel of the -present time might say to her degenerate admirer; "how _can_ you be so -silly!" while the strapping fellow's sides shook, and his honest face -grinned from ear to ear at such homely jests and simple sights as both -had trudged half-a-score of miles into Dulverton to enjoy. It was an -hour or so after noon, and the Revel seemed at its height. Two or three -booths offered the indispensable refreshment of cheese, cold meat, and -cider. On the floor of a waggon, which formed his primitive stage, a -jack-pudding, as he was called, performed certain antics, affording -inexhaustible amusement to the spectators, who were never tired of -watching him inflate his cheeks, loll out his tongue, eat lighted -candle-ends, or feign to pull straws out of his eye. A fat lady, a -giant, and a dwarf were respectively portrayed on the sides of a van, in -which all three were supposed to be domiciled; while a drum, fiddle, and -brass instrument played appropriate airs without ceasing and cruelly out -of time. The rustics, many of them stout moorland men from the wilds of -Brendon and Dunkerry, or borderers of North Devon and West Somerset, -with here and there a swarthy, broad-shouldered visitor all the way from -Cornwall, strolled about, gaping, grinning, and drinking, in a high -state of contentment and delight, each with a ruddy-faced damsel at his -elbow, to whom, as occasion served, he offered his boisterous jest or -rude and hearty salute. These gallants were mostly fine specimens of -manhood, tall, straight, and well-limbed, with a frank, fearless air -about them, as though equally ready for a feast and a fray. The women, -while of lower stature in proportion, were exceedingly comely, some even -beautiful, dark-haired, dark-eyed, delicate of features, and with the -bloom of health mantling in their cheeks. One and all wore garments of -bright colours and daring contrasts. One and all drank freely of cider -and other liquors. One and all seemed resolved thoroughly to enjoy the -present, and make the most of Dulverton Revel, seeing that it came but -once a year. - -The band had just concluded a flourish of more than ordinary discord, -when a new arrival enhanced the excitement of the scene, causing a rush -from all quarters to encircle the strange vehicle, partly van, partly -cart, from which a pair of piebald horses, adorned with bells, were -unharnessed and turned loose to graze. With a dexterity that supplied -the want of screws, bolts, and such mechanical appliances, its occupant -quickly converted his carriage into a stage, on which articles of dress, -perfumery, and domestic use were exposed for sale; while he moved nimbly -about, flourishing over his head and displaying in turn laces, threads, -scissors, thimbles, a mousetrap, a gridiron, and a warming-pan, to the -intense delight of the bystanders. He was a meagre, active-looking man, -who might have been any age above fifty, wearing large green spectacles -to adorn a pale face and red nose, dressed in a blue coat bedizened with -gold lace, a red waistcoat, bright yellow breeches, silk stockings, and -an outrageously large cocked hat. Though his gestures were ludicrous, -and his jokes received with peals of laughter, his voice was grave, even -sad, and he never smiled; yet he had not occupied his post ten minutes -before every other attraction of the Revel was deserted in his favour. -The jack-pudding ceased his contortions, and embraced the opportunity to -swallow a mouthful of real brandy instead of artificial fire. The giant, -dwarf, and stout lady remained unsolicited in the retirement from which -they had not yet emerged; and even the strains of the band died away -into empty air without eliciting a single protest of disapproval or -regret. Dulverton Revel congregated itself round the stranger, and the -stranger seemed in all respects equal to the position. - -"Haste thee, wench!" said every Jack to his Gill, accompanying the hint -with a dig in his lady's ribs; "Thic' be the vun o' the vair, I tell -'ee! Do 'ee lose never a morsel. Gie I a buss, that's a good wench, and -I'll warrant I'll vind thee a fairing!" After which elegant address, and -a struggle for the salute thus purchased in advance, the rustic pair -elbowed their way into the circle round the cart in a high state of glee -and delight. - -The proprietor addressed his audience with the utmost volubility, -offering them, one after another, the different wares exposed for sale, -and making appropriate remarks on each. An ointment for sore eyes, that -would enable the purchaser to see through a brick wall; a salve for sore -lips, that would cause the opposite sex to imprint kisses whenever they -came within reach; a pocket mirror that, looked into by sunrise on -May-day, would reflect the future sweetheart's face; a mousetrap that -rid the house of vermin from the moment it was set on the kitchen floor; -a warming-pan, that retained conjugal love and discovered conjugal -infidelity; lastly, a pair of female garters, the only pair left in -stock, manufactured expressly for the Queen of Egypt, and possessing the -miraculous power of rendering their wearer invisible in the dark! - -After brisk competition these desirable appendages were knocked down to -a demure and blushing damsel, who was forthwith requested, in a -stentorian voice, to "try them on at once, and see how they fit." - -Ere the laugh, elicited by this audacious suggestion, could die out, the -vendor's eye, travelling round that circle of grinning faces, had -recognised two acquaintances in the crowd. Also, and this seemed of -greater moment, he suspected they recognised him in return. Of these the -first was a square, thick-set man, in clerical attire, being indeed none -other than Parson Gale. The second, tall, slender, swarthy, supple of -limb, and graceful of gesture, was Fin Cooper, the gipsy. Each attended -Dulverton Revel less for pleasure than business. The Parson, sore of -heart, and brooding over his wrongs, was yet so far hampered by the -necessities of domestic life that he had been obliged to ride down from -the moor to this festivity for the purpose of engaging a kitchen wench, -and his establishment bearing no high character for regularity and -decorum, there appeared some difficulty in filling the situation. - -In those convivial times, no affair, even of the most private nature, -could be conducted without a great deal to drink, and the Parson, -pledging one honest farmer after another in hard cider, dashed with -villainous brandy, had arrived at a very morose and uncomfortable state, -sober enough in head, but fierce, bitter, and sullenly despondent at -heart. - -Not so Fin Cooper. That worthy, who was indeed a temperate fellow by -preference, whose frame had been toughened from childhood by continuous -exercise, and who never slept under a roof in his life, possessed a -constitution on which no stimulant less powerful than raw spirit seemed -to produce the slightest effect. On the present occasion he had reasons -of his own for keeping his wits at their brightest. Dulverton Revels, -like all other gatherings of the Gorgios, afforded to every true Romany -many opportunities for gain and peculation. There was jewellery to be -exchanged with ardent suitors and the objects of their admiration. There -were games to be played at cards with yokels patient of loss. There were -horses to be sold, swapped, or even stolen, when occasion offered. There -were a thousand ways and means, all more or less profitable, by which -the gipsy could take advantage of his natural prey. - -But Fin Cooper had yet another object, causing the dark eye to glance -from face to face in restless search, the tawny hand to steal -unconsciously under the wide sash that swathed his waist towards the -handle of his knife. His suspicions that the girl he loved had set her -heart on a ruffling Gorgio, confirmed themselves day by day. Dulverton -feast would be a convenient place of meeting, and he had told Thyra that -he himself meant to be twenty miles off. If she held an assignation here -with her Gentile lover, he might be a witness to their interview, might -verify her bitterest fears, and satisfy himself of the worst! Fin -Cooper's face was evil to contemplate while he revolved this -contingency, and the salesman, delivering the garters to his blushing -customer, did not fail to draw his own conclusions from its scowl. - -As for Parson Gale, he stood before the cart for several minutes in mute -astonishment. Then he rubbed his eyes, stared, and exclaimed, -"Katerfelto! as I'm a living sinner!" while he brought his broad hands -together with a vigorous smack. - -His exclamation was not lost on its object. The latter glanced -stealthily round, bowed profoundly to his auditors, made them a little -speech, in which, with many jocose allusions, he informed them he was -about to shut up shop that he might eat his "bit of dinner," with a -promise to re-open again at three o'clock, and in a very few minutes the -cart had resumed its usual appearance and the proprietor had -disappeared. - -Half-an-hour later, behind a canvas screen, on the outskirts of the -Fair, a priest and a gipsy might have been seen in earnest conversation, -pacing to and fro, while they glanced about them as if loth to be -overheard, though a donkey rolling on its back, and a horse tugging at a -truss of hay, were the only eaves-droppers they had to fear. The gipsy's -air was respectful, even deferential, while he listened to his -companion. The latter seemed annoyed and distrustful. In his cunning, -clever face might be read an expression of disappointment and something -amounting to self-reproach. - -"How long is it since I dwelt with your people in their tents and did my -best to withhold the old Petulengro from the journey that grows easier -at every step; it must be more than seven years?" asked the priest. - -"Seven years and seven months, oh' my father!" replied Fin Cooper, "and -you promised to teach me how to read the stars aright the night before -you went away." - -"Yet you knew me to-day, Fin! knew me dressed up like a jack-pudding who -tumbles to amuse a score of clowns in a fair?" - -"I would know you, father, if you were buried and dug up again. I would -know you in another life, if there _is_ another life. Some things the -gipsy never forgets. Father, I am your servant; all I have is yours. It -is not much. Only a quick eye, a ready hand, and a sharp knife. Do you -not _wish_ to be known?" - -There was no mistaking his meaning. Katerfelto, notwithstanding his -perturbation, felt a thrill of triumph thus to have imposed on the -credulity of this rude yet keen-sighted nature. There is professional -vanity in every calling, even in that of the professional impostor. - -"My life is in danger, Fin," answered the Charlatan gravely, "so far as -it may be threatened by any casualty of this lower world. Worse than -that, I might lose my liberty, if I could be identified here, for the -sage and philosopher, who always made it his boast that he is the -gipsy's friend. Therefore I came to the West in the disguise you saw me -wear an hour ago. Therefore I speak to you now, dressed as one of those -Jesuit priests whom your people have so often sheltered at their need; -therefore will I appeal to them for a refuge till I can steal down to -the coast and put the blue sea between the gipsy's friend and those who -would do him harm. _Shoon tu_, dost thou listen, my son? Said I well?" - -"_Tatchipen si, Meero Dado!_ You speak truth, oh! my father," answered -the other. "And you will lodge with us to-night on the moor. The fullest -platter shall smoke, and the softest blanket be spread, for the gipsy's -friend!" - -Katerfelto shook his head. "If I came to your tent and claimed my own, -Fin," he asked, "would your welcome be so hearty and free?" - -The gipsy's face fell. "I love her," he said. "She was given to me long -before you bought her from our people. You told me I should have her -back at some future time, father, the morning you took her away. I -reminded her of it only yesterday." - -The other glanced sharply at him from under his bushy eyebrows. This was -scarcely as he expected. Judging from all he knew, he calculated that -Waif must have accompanied John Garnet into the West, and had vowed from -the moment he discovered her flight, that he would be revenged on both, -while he supposed they were in hiding together. He now saw that she must -either have required the assistance of her tribe or found it impossible -to elude their observation. He knew quite enough of the girl to be sure -that even while with her own people she would find opportunities to meet -her lover, and from that lover, lately his own emissary, he was still -inclined to exact the penalty, that all paid, sooner or later, who ran -counter to the designs of Katerfelto. - -"Keep her in your tents, Fin," said he with a smile, "and fear no -hindrance from me. But remember, though she is of a wandering nature, -and comes of a wandering race, a Romany lass may wander too free and too -far." - -Fin's dark face turned black as night. "I understand you, father," he -muttered. "You mean, you mean, that she has a Gorgio lover!" - -The veins in his handsome throat swelled while he spoke, and his voice -came so thick it was hardly intelligible. "I mean," answered Katerfelto -coolly, "that he whom the Gorgios call John Garnet is better out of the -way, both for you and for me and for Waif. He knows too much, and he -dares too much. Your eyes are as keen as a hawk's, Fin. Can you not see -that as he cozened me out of my horse, he would cozen you out of your -bride?" - -The gipsy's low, smothered laugh seemed the very reverse of mirth. - -"There is no better sheath for a Romany's blade," he answered, "than the -bowels of a pampered Gorgio." - -"My son," replied the other, "wisdom is the child of experience. Let -King George take the trouble off your hands, and pay you besides a purse -of gold for your forbearance. John Garnet's is a hanging matter, and a -reward of one hundred guineas is offered for his apprehension. Set the -bloodhounds on him at once, and the thing is done. Better by far keep -that long knife of yours for cutting your bread and cheese!" - -"I helped him," said Fin thoughtfully, "helped him, because Thyra bade -me, as frankly as if he had really been poor Galloping Jack come down -from Tyburn-tree. The bloodhounds might turn round and lay hold of the -informer. Counsel me, father. I can right myself so easily with three -inches of steel!" - -The other shook his head. No man alive had fewer scruples of mercy or -forbearance, but it was Katerfelto's nature to plot rather than execute. -While he would have felt no qualms in concocting or administering a -subtle poison, he shrank from the very idea of personal contest and -shedding of blood. "A hundred guineas of red gold," he answered; "think -of that, Fin, and then talk about a hand's breadth of bare steel! You -cannot compare them. Be advised by me, my son, and you will rid yourself -of a rival, win a bride, and gain a wedding-portion all in one sentence. -That Exmoor Parson. I saw him here to-day. I would venture a wager he is -drinking in one of the booths now. Watch for him riding home. He is a -magistrate; never fear him for that. Lay your hand on his horse's mane -and say to him in the king's name, 'I can show you the man you -want--follow me!'" - -"But would he not ask for the hundred guineas and get them himself?" -argued the gipsy, who, with all his strong passions, had a keen eye to -the main chance. "There is no justice nor fair dealing on either side -between the Romany and the Gorgio." - -For the first time during their interview Katerfelto laughed outright. - -"My son," he said, "I think I can trust you to look after your own -interests without assistance from me. When you have delivered John -Garnet into the hands of Abner Gale you will have accomplished your -object and mine. For my own part I will not return into the Fair. I need -hardly ask, Fin, if you are here alone?" - -"We are like the hooded crows, my father," answered Fin. "When you see -one of us you may be sure there are others not far off. We must needs -hang together, or the Romany would soon be swept from the face of the -earth." - -"Then let one of your people drive my cart to Exeter," continued -Katerfelto. "He will know where to leave it with no questions asked. As -for me, my son, I must make my way to your tents without losing an hour. -I have changed my disguise once to-day. I can change it a score of -times, if necessary; yet I would not that roystering Parson had -recognised me but now in the Fair." - -"I shall be alone with him on the moor presently," said Fin Cooper, in a -tone of meaning. "My father, do you desire that he should tell no tales? -Shall I silence him once for all?" - -Katerfelto pondered. "Not at present, Fin," he answered, after a pause. -"It will be better to make use of him when we want him, and put him on -the right scent. If a hound runs counter, the farther he goes the -farther he is left behind!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -A WARRANTABLE DEER. - - -Meantime John Garnet, enjoying the golden hours at Porlock with the -carelessness of his nature, thought no more of the toils that surrounded -him than the wild deer of the forest thought of the many preparations -made for its capture; of the good horses stabled, the staunch hounds -fed, the distances travelled by lords and ladies, the laced coats -tarnished, the bright spurs reddened, the jingling of bit and bridle, -the gathering of horsemen and varlets, the energy expended in a chase -that must be followed with so much pomp and circumstance for its -especial downfall. Large and stately, gliding from field to field, it -passed through the twilight, like some majestic ghost, to crop the yet -unharvested grain, or tear the juicy turnips from the earth, with -appetite unimpaired by misgivings of to-morrow, rejoicing in its pride -of strength, trusting implicitly in those fleet, shapely limbs that bore -it lightly over its native moor, as the wild-bird's pinions waft her -through the air. - -How many centuries have elapsed since the fatal morning that saw the Red -King mount for his last ride through the stately stems of Bolderwood! -How many since that woful hunting in Chevy Chase which began in joyous -notes of hound and horn, to end in the battle-cry of the Percy, the -sword strokes of the Douglas, and the pouring out like water of the -bravest, noblest, gentlest blood two countries could afford! Yet has the -pursuit of the wild animal by the instinct of the tame continued to be -the favourite sport of Englishmen from those rude times to our own, -while now, as then, many a bold, adventurous nature, panting for an -outlet to its energies, finds engrossing occupation in the pleasures of -the chase. - -Taken in good sense and moderation, as each man's discretion teaches him -to judge, the draught thus offered by a bountiful providence, which -provides for our mental health the sweet no less freely than the bitter, -is exhilarating in the extreme. It rouses our manly qualities of mind -and body, excites our intellectual faculties and our muscular powers, -braces the nervous system, stimulates to healthy effort the vital force -of arm and heart and brain. Many of the most distinguished men in every -time have been "fond of hunting." Few men "fond of hunting" but are -frank of nature, kindly, generous, unselfish, and good fellows, to say -the least! - -If such a position be granted, it follows that all hunting, conducted in -a spirit of humanity and fair play, is more or less to be esteemed. The -stout sexagenarian who halts his steady cob on a hill, and from that -point of vantage watches in the valley below his ten couple of beagles -unwinding and puzzling out the line of a hare that has just crossed -under his pony's nose, without assisting them by so much as a whisper, -is a sportsman to the back-bone. No music on this lower earth can ravish -his ears like the tuneful cry of his little darlings, who are indeed -nothing loth to hear their own voices, and refuse to hunt a yard without -assuring each other that it is all right. No triumph can afford him -greater pleasure than his ride home to dinner with a hare dangling -across his saddle, honestly killed by the patience and perseverance of -that tedious pursuit which has fairly wearied her to death! and when he -lays his head on his pillow, before his closing eyes passes a vision of -Challenger opening in the turnips, of Rock-wood and Reveller feathering -with scarce a whimper up the stony lane. - -Surely his enjoyment is undeniable as that of his converse, the -scarlet-coated hero in vigorous manhood, who bestrides three hundred -guineas' worth of blood and symmetry, while he watches a gorse covert -shaking under the researches of twenty couple of high-bred fox hounds, -wild with eagerness to push up their game and dash after him over the -sea of grass that lies spread around, like falcons on the wing. A -physiologist might study to advantage the countenance of the rider; an -artist would long to portray on canvas the attitude of the horse. - -These two friends, loving each other dearly, are moved by a common -sympathy. Simultaneously the eyes of each brighten, and their hearts -beat fast. A crash of music from two score merry voices proclaims that a -fox has been found, a hat held up against the sky-line, and, after a -discreet interval, one long, ringing holloa announce that he is away! -That joyous excitement for which some men are content to live, and even -in a few sad cases to die, has begun in good earnest now, and trifling, -puerile as it may seem, I doubt whether any pursuit in life affords for -the moment such intense gratification as "a quick thing over a grass -country, strongly enclosed, in a good place, and only half-a-dozen men -with the hounds!" - -Rider and horse, I say, are moved by a common sympathy, science and -conduct being furnished by the man, strength, speed, and courage by -the brute. From field to field they speed rejoicing, facing and -surmounting each obstacle as it presents itself, with a varied -dexterity of hand and eye that amounts to artistic skill, and even -should unforeseen difficulty or treacherous foothold entail a downfall, -rising together, parted, but not at variance, each perfectly satisfied w -ith the efforts of his friend. Then, when the rattling burst is over, -and the hounds are baying round a good fox who has never turned his -head from the distant covert that killing pace alone forbade him to -reach, how fond the caress laid by stained glove on reeking neck, how -proudly affectionate the muttered words of praise, a generous animal -interprets by their tone. "You're the best horse in England. I never -was so well carried in my life!" - -[Illustration: MOONLIGHT.] - -But of all forest creatures hunted by our forefathers and ourselves, the -stag has been considered from time immemorial the noblest beast of -chase. His nature has been the study of princes, his pursuit the sport -of kings. The education of royalty itself would once have been thought -incomplete without a thorough knowledge of his haunts and habits, while -books were written, and authorities quoted, on the formalities with -which his courteous persecutors deemed it becoming that he should be -hunted to death. To this day the royal and gallant sport flourishes in -West Somerset and North Devon with its former vigour. When George the -Third was king, that wild, romantic western county was already famous -for staunch hounds, untiring horses, and daring riders, no less than for -the strength, size, and lasting qualities of its red deer. - -An animal that can fly twenty miles on end for life, and die with its -back to a rock, undaunted in defeat, a true gentleman to the last, is -surely no unworthy object of pursuit. - -But what are these shadows that cross the Barle by moonlight, with the -water dripping like molten silver off their sides as they emerge one by -one from the glistening stream to disappear again in the black night of -its overhanging woods? And is not that their king who lags behind, with -beam and branches of those wide-spread horns flashing in points of white -as he stoops his crowned head to drink, and passes on? No shadow this, -but a stately beast in all the strength and beauty of its prime. A stag -of size and substance, with goodly fat on his ribs and many tines on his -antlers. Thickening, too, somewhat in the neck, for already the clear -air of an autumn night tells of early frosts, and soon the peaceful -majesty of his repose will change to turmoil of love and war. In the -meantime he feeds lazily on, turning without apparent object in a -different direction from the herd. - -Thus he wanders over a broad surface of country--now cropping the rank -grasses that border the Exe, ere he dashes through its swift and shallow -stream as though disdaining a bath that only reaches to his knees. Anon -dallying with the standing oats, that pine thin and scanty on a bare -hill farm, by the verge of the forest; then crossing the swampy skirts -of Exmoor at his long jerking trot, to rouse the bittern and the curlew -from their rest, he makes his way by many a broken path and devious -sheep-track to the impervious coppices and steep wooded declivities of -Cloutsham Ball. It is an hour or two before dawn when he reaches this -well-known haunt, and the lordly beast, penetrating to its inmost -thicket, lays himself down with the intention of sleeping undisturbed -till late in the day. - -With an indolent hoist of his haunches, that hardly seemed an effort, he -has cleared the hazel-grown bank round his resting-place in a spring -that covered some five or six yards, but left imbedded in the yielding -clay a distinct impression of his cloven feet. Therefore Red Rube, -stooping over the slot at daybreak, chuckles inwardly, and observes to -his flask, "a warrantable deer!" kneeling down to examine the footprint -more closely, and measure its width by the fingers of his own brown -hand. Then he takes a wide circuit, embracing several favourite passes -for deer, and satisfies himself that, save one light hart or "brocket," -as he calls it, not another animal of the species is this morning -harboured in Cloutsham Ball. - -The stag-hounds are to meet some two miles off to the eastward. It must -be travelling that distance with the sun in his eyes that causes Red -Rube to blink and grin and occasionally hiccough all the way to their -accustomed trysting-place. - -He is there betimes with his broken-kneed pony, yet two riders have -arrived before him. Rube chuckles and sidles up to them. - -"Your servant, Mistress Carew--your servant, your honour," says he, in a -deferential tone. "The spurs had need be sharp to-day, master. I'll -warrant there'll be wicked riding, with the likeliest lass in Devon -looking on!" - -Nelly Carew deserved the epithet. The close-fitting blue habit so well -set off her trim figure, the saucy little hat was so becoming to her -fresh delicate face, that it seemed no wonder John Garnet's eyes should -be fixed on his beautiful companion rather than on the opposite ridge of -moor, over which hounds and horsemen were expected every moment to -appear. - -And Nelly, too, was more than proud of her cavalier. How handsome she -thought him, and how princely, with his dark eyes, his ruddy cheeks, his -pleasant, careless smile, and clustering hair. Never another rider in -the West, thought Nelly, could sit his horse so fairly, and where in the -bounds of England was the steed to compare with Katerfelto? "I used to -think Cowslip the most beautiful creature in the world," said she, -patting her favourite's neck; "but your horse has quite put me out of -conceit with mine." - -"I know _who_ is the most beautiful creature in the world," answered -John Garnet, not unconscious that he had arrived at the idiotic stage of -his malady. "I have never seen her equal, and never shall; but we'll -argue that point going home," he added, while his bright eye grew -brighter. "There's no time to wrangle now, sweet Mistress Nelly, for -here come the hounds!" - -Cowslip and Katerfelto raised their heads at the same moment, with -pointed ears and eager, solemn eyes; the grey indulging in a snort of -approval and delight. - -The cavalcade, consisting of huntsman, hounds, a whipper-in, and half a -score of sportsmen, were to be seen filing across the moor in slanting -line down the opposite hill. - -John Garnet tightened his girths. "It won't be long before the fun -begins," observed this impatient young man. - -Nelly laughed. "When you know our country better," said she, "you will -find out that a mile in distance with a coombe to cross, sometimes means -a good half hour's-ride. Let us go and meet them," she added, putting -Cowslip into a canter. "Here comes my aversion, Master Gale." - -The Parson, mounted on his staunch black nag, was within a bow-shot, -trotting softly through the heather, husbanding strength for the -exertions of the day. Even to John Garnet's eyes, prejudiced as he was -by Nelly's dislike, there seemed much to admire in the bearing of man -and horse. The free, stealing action, the close and easy seat, the light -hand, the well-bitted mouth, the confidence of the one, the docility of -the other, and the good understanding prevailing between them, argued a -partnership that prided itself on encountering difficulties and setting -danger at defiance in concert. - -"He looks like _business_, that parson of yours," said John Garnet to -his companion, as they bounded away together; "if he's half as good in -the pulpit as he seems in the saddle they ought to make him a bishop!" - -Nelly's only answer was a little grimace of disgust, followed by a -loving smile. - -Meeting the assemblage of stag-hunting sportsmen, already increased by -fresh arrivals, who turned up from every quarter as if they were the -natural growth of the moor, John Garnet could not but observe that many -a practised eye travelled approvingly over the symmetrical shape of -Katerfelto ere it rested on the better known beauty of Mistress Carew. -The honest squires whispered each other with nods, winks, and looks of -intelligence. - -"'Tis a rare bit of horseflesh!" said one in a faded scarlet -hunting-frock with tarnished lace. "Strong as a yoke of bullocks, and -light as a January brocket. Seems to me, neighbour, I've seen that nag -before." - -"Like enough," was the answer. "Thof I never thought to clap eyes on's -rider again. That's the lad robbed Sir Humphrey and his three varlets -single-handed a twelvemonth gone last Whitsuntide, by Upcot Sheepwash, -and showed six hours afterwards in the market at Taunton town. It's -fifty miles, squire, if it's a furlong. Aye, aye, a good horse, -neighbour, and a bad trade." - -"I heard tell he was hanged!" said the listener, opening round eyes of -astonishment. - -"He did ought to have been," replied the other. "But Galloping Jack had -good friends in the West, and a good friend he's been himself, not so -long ago neither, to one or two honest fellows you and me would be main -vexed to see called to account. Live and let live, says I, but if we -find a right stag in yonder hazels who knows his way to the sea, why, -that grey horse and his rider are bound to be at one end of the hunt, -and I leave it to you, neighbour, to say which!" - -With these words he dismounted heavily to adjust girths and bridle, for -Red Rube was already in close confabulation with the huntsman, and -business seemed about to begin. - -The harbourer looked more than half-drunk, yet not for an instant was -that sagacity of his at fault which partook rather of animal instinct -than human experience. - -"The old stag will move the brocket," said he, with a laborious wink, -"and it's _your_ business to drive him to the moor, Abel. I'll warrant I -bring you within a land-yard of 'un, and all as _you've_ got to do is to -catch 'un if you can!" - -"Tancred and Tarquin will do that much," replied Abel, a man of few -words, and in less than a minute those venerable "tufters" were -uncoupled and at his horse's heels, forcing their way through the -tangled underwood. - -To control twenty couple of hounds hunting different lines is no easy -matter. One or two are held in command without difficulty, so that their -staunch pursuit may be transferred from scent to scent till they have -forced the right deer into the open, when they can be stopped, while the -body of the pack are brought up and laid on. Then for the crash, the -chorus the jubilee! Hark together! Hark! and Forrard away!! - -The brocket's heart beats fast at the first note of the "tufters," and -well it may. Tancred and Tarquin are two majestic black and tan hounds, -six and twenty inches high, with sweeping ears, pendant jowls, and large -lengthy frames, nearly as heavy as himself. For one palpitating moment -the wild deer's instinct prompts him to leap from his lair, and scouring -at speed across the moor to seek the distant fastnesses of Swincombe, -the gorge of Badgeworthy, or wheeling down-wind, like a bird on the -wing, by Culbone slopes, to take refuge in the hanging woods of -Glenthorne where they fringe the Severn Sea. But the next, a deep, loud, -and melodious roar, seems to paralyse his very heart, and he crouches to -the earth, scarce daring to move an ear. Suddenly the branches crash -behind him, an antlered head looms wide and stately between him and the -sky, while he leaps to his nimble feet in a bound that is hastened by -the sharp thrust of a horn against his haunch. In less than a minute the -old stag couches in the young one's lair, and the brocket, scared with -fear, is darting across the moor like an arrow from a bow. - -[Illustration: MOVED!] - -"Hark back, Tancred! Tarquin! TARQUIN! hark back!" Morose and solemn, -conscientiously, yet sore against the grain, these veterans desist from -their pursuit, soon to be rewarded for this disciplined sagacity by a -nobler quarry, a higher and stronger scent. But for a leap that covers -twenty feet of distance, and lifts his antlers twice his own height in -air, the old stag's flank would be torn by Tancred's reeking muzzle, his -haunches crushed under Tarquin's weighty paws. But no! with half-a-dozen -bounds he crashes through the hazels, speeds up a narrow glade, and -emerges stately and triumphant on the open moor. - -Standing erect upon an eminence against the sky, he pauses one instant, -as if to afford his pursuers an opportunity of noting his grand -proportions and noble width of head. All eyes are turned towards him in -admiration and delight. - -"Beautiful!" exclaims Parson Gale, forgetting the existence of John -Garnet and the terms of his own wicked oath. - -"Beautiful!" whisper the lovers, exchanging a lover's glance, while -Katerfelto's rider feels a thrill of delight creep through his whole -frame with the consciousness of his horse's speed and endurance; nor can -Nelly herself spare him more than half her attention, so taken up is she -with the gallant appearance of the deer. - -"Beautiful!" echo the honest squires and yeomen, already speculating on -the line, and anticipating the severity of the chase, while Red Rube, -with his hand pressing Abel's knee, who is laying on his hounds with a -cheer, thus delivers himself:-- - -"Brow, Bay, and Tray, I tell'ee, with four on the top! All his rights, -as I am a living sinner, a warrantable deer, if ever there was one, or -I'll eat'un, horns and all!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -AT FAULT. - - -In the first ten minutes of a run with hounds everything else must needs -be forgotten, for in these minutes men cast to the winds all earthly -considerations but one, viz., how to get as close to the chase as -possible, and keep there! It is not too much to say that a league of -heather had been traversed at speed ere Parson Gale found he could spare -a thought for anything but the holding together of Cassock, and the -making the most of that good horse's powers. - -His skilful riding, however, and intimate knowledge of the country, soon -enabled him to draw rein on a slope of rising ground, while the line of -chase, bending towards him where he stood, afforded a general survey of -the whole pageant as it swept on. - -The hounds, stringing in file through its tall luxuriant heather, -threaded the deep, dim coombe he had skirted so judiciously, in a -sinuous line, like some spotted serpent of gigantic length. Seen from -the vantage ground above, they seemed to be running at no great pace, -though with much energy and determination; but John Garnet, who had -plunged into the valley at their sterns, could have told a different -tale. It taxed even Katerfelto's powers to keep on terms with them as -they rose the opposite hill, Tarquin and Tancred swinging along at head -with a steady persistency that implied endurance till the close of day. -Except the stranger on the grey horse, not another rider was within a -mile of the pack. Abel had adopted the same line, though not quite so -skilfully, thought the Parson, as himself, and was leading his active, -cat-like little horse up a precipitous ascent to regain the ground he -had lost. Mistress Nelly could be seen on the white pony, a speck in the -distance, making for some rocks on the moor, where her experience taught -her the deer was likely to pass, and was followed by no inconsiderable -cavalcade. Other sportsmen rode at speed for other points, some in bold -relief against the sky-line, some mere spots of red on the brown expanse -of moor, all with their horses' heads in different directions, yet each -persuaded that his own line was the best and would eventually land him -alone with the hounds! - -Alas for the fallacies of experience itself when pitted against chance! -Alas for the caution of age and the cunning of wood-craft! Alas for the -heavy-weight rider and the horse that knew not how to gallop! After this -one turn, of which the Parson so readily took advantage, the stag never -paused nor wavered, but sped across the open straight as an arrow, six -miles on end, without halt or hindrance, and the hounds ran him without -a check. - -"Curse him! curse him! how he rides!" muttered the Parson, watching that -grey horse sail over the moor, in smooth and easy stride, like the -stroke of a bird's wing, while John Garnet sat home in the saddle, and -chose his ground with the judgment of one born and bred in the West. -Katerfelto carried his master without difficulty alongside of the -hounds; Parson Gale, half-a-mile off, with no immediate prospect of -getting nearer, admired and envied the daring rider, even while he swore -to have his blood. - -Half-a-mile astern, in an enclosed country, is bad enough but to be -half-a-mile behind a good horse crossing Exmoor at speed with a pack of -hounds in front, is virtually to be in another kingdom! To save his -life, the Parson could not come within hailing distance of his foe, do -what he would. - -Yet he tried his wickedest! Cassock's sides were scored with the -unaccustomed spur. Cassock's speed was taxed unfairly up steep incline -and over level marsh. The black nag was as good a beast as ever looked -through a bridle, but he carried a stone and a half more weight, and had -neither the blood, nor the size, nor the speed and scope of Katerfelto. -"He's a heavy deer," muttered the Parson, with an unclerical oath and a -strong pull at his horse. "He'll hang in Badgeworthy woods, or 'soil' in -Badgeworthy water. It's the only chance in the game now, for at such a -pace as this, the farther I ride the farther I am left behind!" - -Not once in a season, not once in ten seasons, had the Parson been so -out in his reckoning. The wild red deer while he is the noblest and most -courageous of those forest creatures that trust for safety to their -speed, is also the most eccentric and unaccountable in his flight. Let -us borrow the grey-speckled wings of the moor-buzzard hunting leisurely -overhead, and accompany our stag through the rush-grown swamps of -Exmoor, as he crosses its undulating surface at that free pitching -gallop which he seems so rarely to hasten in alarm, or to modify from -fatigue. - -His taper head and noble antlers are thrown slightly back, his dark and -gentle eye seems fuller than in repose, but brightened by a -consciousness of intelligence rather than by the tension of anxiety or -distress. His nostrils are spread to catch the taint of an enemy in the -breeze, and his mouth is open, while he is yet fresh and full of -strength. When he closes it, there will be many a reeking flank besides -his own, for wind and limb will have failed at last, and the only force -left him then will be the courage to die. In the meantime he is all -energy, vitality, and speed. To be hunted is but a generous rivalry that -tests the powers in which his spirit takes pride, that wages his own -endurance and sagacity against the hostile instinct of his natural enemy -the hound. Speeding over the moor, it seems that he can mock at the -untiring hate of Tarquin, Tancred, and their comrades, yelling on his -track, fierce, busy, and persevering, but many a furlong in the rear. - -Badgeworthy woods and copses frown darkling before him. Badgeworthy -water brawls in foaming jets and rippling eddies at his feet. The covert -would seem to offer safety and concealment, the river to afford at least -refreshment and temporary respite from pursuit. With a strange and -wilful pertinacity, for which Parson Gale, labouring hopelessly behind, -is at a loss to account, he shoots away from this tempting refuge of -wood and water, coasting a precipitous hill that overhangs the stream, -to speed along its dangerous incline at a pace that seems but to -increase with the prospect of fresh exertions in an open country, -unbroken by coombe, covert, or ravine for miles. - -Even John Garnet, standing in his stirrups and easing Katerfelto, who -has not yet demanded any such indulgence, begins to ask himself how long -this kind of thing can last. - -The sun is already high in a blue, cloudless heaven--blunt, grey -boulders studding the steep hill-side stand out in high relief, shilt -and shingle glitter on the bare tops above, and bushy tufts of heather -fade to a dusky purple below; but here and there green moss lies dank -and soft round many a bubbling spring, while a breeze from the north -fills lungs and nostrils with its cool, clear air, so that the deer, -taking the wind sideways as it takes the hill, bounds on with -ever-increasing speed, refreshed, invigorated, full of strength, and -running still! The dark, impervious glades, the deep precipitous ravines -of Widdecombe are frowning yonder in the distance, though many a mile of -moorland intervenes; they seem to offer a secure retreat, and even if he -should be driven through that stronghold, and forced into the open once -more, shall he not make his point in the cliffs beyond Combe Martin, -steering for yonder thread of blue on the horizon, that promises death -or freedom in the Severn Sea! - -Who shall say that all this calculation, this strategy, this reflection, -is so far below reason, as to be called instinct? Even Red Rube, many a -mile behind on his pony, taxing his resources of intellect and cunning, -backed by the observation of fifty years, that he may arrive somehow at -the finish in time to hear the "bay," confesses he is but a fool when -his wits are pitted against those of a deer driven to its last shifts. - -He is riding slowly and doggedly, due west, without a soul in sight. He -could not explain why he should have chosen this direction, but some -mysterious instinct of the hunter tells him that thus only has he the -slightest chance of seeing any more of the chase. - -In the meantime vexation, confusion, and distress prevail for many a -weary mile of rocky steep, tangled heather, and holding swamp. Here a -good horse, floundering to the girths, emerges from the mire with a -throbbing flank and staring eye that tell too plainly their own sad -tale. His master, pretty well exhausted also in the struggle, standing -hopelessly on foot, while friends and neighbours, in but little better -plight, come labouring past, each man riding faster than his horse, and -pointing eagerly forward to that distance he must never hope to reach. - -The last of the string, whose powers are dying out like the flame of a -candle, sinks from a false and labouring trot to a reeling walk, which -soon collapses in a dead stop. - -"I've shot my bolt too, neighbour!" says the defeated sportsman to his -comrade in distress. "It's many a long day since we've seen such a brush -as this over Exmoor, and I'd try to finish the run now in my boots, only -I've grown so plaguy lusty for climbing these hills!" - -So they lead their horses homeward despondently enough, with many a -longing, lingering look at those lessening forms that are yet far in -rear of the actual chase, and many a speculation as to when it will end, -what direction it will take, and who are the lucky ones with the hounds. - -There can be no run so good in reality as that which we lose in -imagination when beaten off by exigencies of country or pace. - -Tancred and Tarquin are leading no longer. The grandson of the former, -nearly an inch higher than himself, has come to the front, and for the -first time since his puppyhood vindicates the purity of his lineage, and -proves the staunch, determined qualities of his race. He has never -hitherto run at head, but now, when the pace is best, he takes the scent -from his grandsire by sheer force of nose and wind and speed. Not -another hound in the pack can wrest from him his post of honour in the -front; and it is a pity that John Garnet, who knows nothing about him, -and cares as little, should be the only man near enough to mark the -excellence of his performance. Were they but there to see it, the young -hound's dash and style, tempered by undeviating steadiness in pursuit, -would fill Abel's eyes with tears, and call forth a blessing from Parson -Gale's lips! - -That keen sportsman is cursing volubly instead, though none the less -does he take every advantage of ground, cut off every angle, and avoid -every swamp in the line; therefore Cassock gallops steadily on at a -fair, regulated pace, which neither increases nor decreases the -disheartening interval between his rider and the hounds. - -"I would give five years of my life," mutters the Parson, "to be lifted -up by some supernatural power and set down half-a-mile, just half-a-mile -farther on!--ten to be riding that grey horse instead of the man who -owns him! But the reckoning must come at last, and may my right hand -wither at the wrist if I make it not the fuller and deadlier for every -hour it is delayed!" - -John Garnet, speeding away in front, on excellent terms with the hounds, -and as happy as a king, little thought of the malice and hatred -following in his track, little thought, indeed, of anything--unless it -were Nelly Carew's blue eyes--but the keen enjoyment of his favourite -pursuit. He was far too practised a horseman, however, to forget in his -enthusiasm the normal rules of his art, and reflected more than once -that although he had never ridden an animal to be compared with him, yet -Katerfelto was but a horse after all, and so far like other horses that -at last his long powerful gallop must come to an end. Therefore he -spared him as much as was compatible with his resolution not to leave -the hounds, and kept his eye forward with considerable judgment and -sagacity, so that when opportunity offered he might never throw a chance -away. - -Thus, while the pack, guided by Tancred's grandson, who bore the -imposing name of Thunderer, dived into a precipitous ravine, he rode -judiciously along its edge, and pulled his horse into a trot, while he -watched them swarming and bustling through the gigantic growth of -heather that fringed several hundred feet of an almost perpendicular -incline. From thence he scanned the ground in front to find a more -practicable descent, and down it he plunged without hesitation so soon -as the hounds, giving tongue freely, dashed into the water below. It was -a shallow, darkling stream, breaking and brawling over ledges of granite -between high, steep banks, clothed in tangled underwood, and John Garnet -could not but hope that now the deer had taken soil, and soon would -burst on his ear that loud and welcome chorus called the "bay." It -disappointed him a little to observe the pack cross the stream, borne -downward by its current, wading, swimming, shaking their ears and -sides, while Thunderer informed them loudly that he was in possession of -the scent. - -It disappointed him still more when the grey horse had splashed and -struggled through from bank to bank, that the hounds, whose noses had -never yet been off the line for an instant, should be looking about them -on the further side with heads up and wistful faces gazing in his own as -though half ashamed of failure, half pleading for assistance. There was -no doubt they had come to a check, and appealed to the horseman for help -he was unable to afford. The ground rose steep and high, the darkling -copse that clothed these abrupt hill-sides shut out the light of day. -John Garnet was at a loss. Had the deer lain down? or was it forward -still, and in which direction? He naturally looked for Tancred to inform -him, but Tancred was nowhere to be seen. - -The Parson, meanwhile, labouring doggedly on, had caught a distant -glimpse of the hounds even as they disappeared over the brink of this -precipitous coombe, in time to play a bold stroke that merited success. -He determined not to cross the valley at all, but to steer for that side -of it on which the line of chase now seemed to lie, and so hoped to come -in on the deer, refreshed by the bath he never doubted it had indulged -in, as it rose the hill once more and made for the open moor. Urging -Cassock to further effort, he increased the pace for a stretch of -another mile, but when he halted his good horse--who stopped willingly -enough at the wished-for station--not a living object was to be seen -dotting the brown expanse, not a sound to be heard but the wail of the -curlew flitting softly over the waste. Deer and hounds and John Garnet -must have sunk into the earth! The solitude seemed unbroken, the chase -had come to a standstill, and the Parson was at fault! - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -AT BAY. - - -Tancred, a marvel of canine sagacity, had good reason for deserting his -comrades, to engage in some quiet researches of his own. It is -unnecessary to inform those who love stag-hunting--and those who do not -will hardly care to learn--that scent often hangs over running water, -and travels downwards with the moving stream; therefore the deer, wading -craftily towards the river's source, emerged on its farther bank, -refreshed and strengthened by the bath, at some considerable distance -above the place where it plunged in. Such tactics were only in -accordance with the calculation and reflection we call _instinct_; but -Tancred was possessed of _instinct_ too, and remembered, no doubt, many -a cast he had made on similar occasions with successful result. The old -hound, therefore, assuming an expression of ludicrous solemnity, dashed -through the water, to enter without delay, on a close scrutiny of his -own, along the opposite bank, in the reverse direction from that -mistaken line on which his grandson was insisting with unbecoming -clamour, and snuffled at every pebble, poked his black nose into every -tuft of brushwood, grass, or heather he came across. Soon, with a flap -of his pendant ears, a lash of his stern against his mighty ribs, up -went the wise and handsome head in a roar of triumph--a roar that, for -the first, struck terror to the red-deer's heart, some furlongs on in -front--a roar that brought the old hound's comrades to his side, with an -alacrity sufficiently denoting how, by the best of all judges, this lord -of the kennel was trusted and revered. - -"He's forward!" exclaimed John Garnet, plunging through briar and -brushwood, with the rein on Katerfelto's neck. "Hold up, old man! we -shall soon be in the open again; and, by George, this is the best run -you or I ever saw in our lives." - -These words of encouragement were addressed by the rider to his horse, -as the latter scrambled sideways up a bank that would have taxed the -agility of a goat. Gaining the top they were rewarded by a spectacle -that seemed equally to the taste of each. Through an open wood of grand -old oaks, standing wide apart, ran twenty couple of powerful -stag-hounds, majestic in shape, gigantic in stature, deep and rich in -colour, stringing somewhat, it may be, as they passed in and out the -gnarled substantial stems, but shaking the very acorns from the autumn -boughs above, as that leafy canopy trembled to the music of their full -sonorous cry. Katerfelto's neck swelled with delight, while he reached -at his bridle for liberty to go faster still. The sunbeams broke and -sparkled overhead amongst the flickering green, the waving ferns lowered -their banners in graceful homage as they bent and yielded underfoot, the -dark moor, visible here and there through the trees, stretched to the -horizon in front. The whole pageant seemed too beautiful for reality, -and John Garnet felt as if he were hunting in a dream. - -Emerging once more on the open, he found he was no longer alone with the -hounds. "That must be a good black horse," he said to himself, and -thought no more about it; for although, as a stranger in the county, he -believed the run to have been perfectly straight, he was no ungenerous -rival, and felt rather gratified that his pleasure should be shared by -one who could appreciate its charm. He might want assistance too, he -reflected, at the finish; for to kill a stag at bay, and rescue his -carcase from the fangs of a pack of hounds, however tired, that had "set -him up," was no pleasant job to undertake single-handed in the wilds of -Devon. Therefore he greeted the appearance of Parson Gale, galloping -steadily towards him, with an encouraging wave of the arm, and a jolly -cheer. - -The Parson's knowledge of wood-craft had served him at last. Of the few -turns the deer made out of its direct line, this at least had been in -his favour. It was in a strange tumult of mingled exultation and -malignity, that he now found himself almost within speaking distance of -his rival, well within hearing of the hounds. "It must soon be over," -thought the Parson, "and he shall not boast he rode clean away from -Abner Gale after all! Anyhow, Master Garnet, the deer cannot surely -travel much farther, and then comes the reckoning between you and me." - -But one notable peculiarity of this wild stag-hunting in the West, is -the impossibility of calculating on the endurance of a red-deer. A light -young hart, four or five years old, unencumbered by flesh, and with the -elasticity of youth in every limb, can naturally skim the surface of his -native wastes like a creature with wings; but it is strange, that on -occasion, though rarely, a stag should be found with branching antlers -to prove his maturity, and broad well-furnished back to denote his -weight, that can yet stand before a pack of hounds, toiling after him at -steady three-quarter speed, over every kind of ground, for twenty, and -even thirty miles on end. We can gauge to a nicety the lasting qualities -of our horse--we have a shrewd guess at about what stage of the -proceedings even such staunch hounds as Tancred and Tarquin must begin -to flag; but the powers of a hunted stag defy speculation, or as old -Rube observed, in his more sober and reflective moments, "'Tis a creatur -three parts con-trairiness and only a quarter venison. Why, even I can't -always tell ye where to vind 'un, nor which road he'll think well to -travel, nor how fur he'll go. Them as made 'un knows, I'll warrant; but -there's many a deer lies in the forest, as is one too many for Red -Rube!" - -It may be that the breeze was from the north, bringing with it the keen -salt savour of the sea; it may be that the deer, reckoning up its -remaining strength, felt unable to traverse all that width of broken -country which must intervene, ere it could reach the sheltering heights -of Seven Ash, or the dark gorge that shuts in Combe-Martin Cove, between -the cliffs; for turning short to the right, it set its head resolutely -upward, and the pace became more severe with every stride. The line too -was exceedingly trying to hounds and horses, from the undulating nature -of the ground, intersected at every mile with deep and narrow -coombes--unseen, till it was too late, by judicious coasting, to avoid -their laborious steeps. Up and down these the deer travelled obliquely, -using the broken sheep-tracks that afforded but little foothold to a -hound, and none whatever to a horse. Katerfelto began to lean on his -bridle, and Cassock, following at a respectful distance, relapsed into a -trot. Their riders also wished from their hearts that the thing would -come to an end. There is but little satisfaction in the finest run on -record if, spite of troubles, triumphs, pains, and perils, we never get -to the finish after all. - -But to one individual the turn thus taken at so critical a period of the -chase was welcomed with exceeding gratitude and delight. Red Rube, on -the broken-kneed pony, had hung perseveringly on the line instinct -rather than experience prompted him to adopt. Steadily adhering to his -western course, and keeping the high ground, he was fortunate enough to -hit on the chord of the arc, and travelled less than a mile for every -two covered by the chase. Therefore, halting above the green slopes of -Paracombe to listen, his ears tingled, and his heart thrilled while he -caught the dear familiar cry. "They do run ov 'un still!" exclaimed the -old man, his grey eye sparkling, and the colour rising in his wrinkled -cheek; "and they do come nigher momently, for sure. He do mean 'soilin' -in the Lynn, I'll warrant, but they'll set him up this side Waters-meet, -I'll wager a gallon!" Then he consulted that elaborate map of the -country he carried in his head, and admonished the broken-kneed pony -with a touch of his single spur. - -Now, Red Rube's proficiency in stag-hunting and Parson Gale's only -differed in degree, nor was the divine very far behind the harbourer in -knowledge of their favourite pursuit. He too, could make his guess at -the probable termination of the run, and husbanded Cassock's powers to -the utmost, with shrewd misgivings, lest his horse should prove unable -to outlast the deer. - -Yes, the good stag must falter and fail ere long. His russet hide is -blackened now with sweat and mire, his eye starts wild and blood-shot -from his reeking head; he stops more than once to take breath and -listen, but toiling on again labours heavily in his gait, and sways from -side to side. Facing a steep hill, he breasts it gallantly, and for the -first time since he left his harbour, scales the ascent in a direct line -for the top. Parson Gale, a mile behind, catches a glimpse of him in the -act, and plies his spurs freely, for he knows that now the game is -played out. - -[Illustration: BEAT!] - -[Illustration: SET UP!] - -John Garnet too, who obtains a nearer view, is not surprised to see the -stag come faintly back, ere he has mounted half-way up, and plunge -downward into a thickly-wooded valley, dark and silent, but for the -brawling of a distant torrent in its depths. Crashing through the leafy -underwood with a cry that grows louder, fiercer, and yet more musical, -as they come nearer and nearer their game, Thunderer, Tarquin, Tancred, -and the rest, dash eagerly forward, with flaming eyes, impatient of delay, -and heads flung up at frequent intervals, as each hound catches its -ravishing particles, and owns the transport afforded by the scent of a -sinking deer. Crossing and recrossing the stream downwards, always -downwards, they plunge and splash through the water, on the track of -their prey, rousing the echoes with a yell and chorus that announce -their certain triumph, and cruel thirst for blood. - -Nearer, clearer, deadlier, every moment, it rouses all the red deer's -instincts of courage and defiance. If fight he must, he will fight at -the best advantage and to the bitter end! His pitiless foes are not a -hundred paces off, not twenty, not ten. But for a bound those failing -limbs could only make in extremity of despair, they must have been upon -him now, and would have got him down, had he not leaped out of their -very jaws, to a ledge of water-worn granite, whence he slips deftly into -a pool that reaches his brisket, and takes up a position of defence, -with his back to an overhanging rock. - -Right well he knows the advantage of standing firm on his legs, while -his assailants must swim to the attack; and, lowering his head, delivers -the thrusts of those formidable antlers with deadly effect. Hound after -hound dashes in for the death-grapple, only to turn aside, worsted, if -not overcome. Tarquin and Tancred, swimming warily out of distance, are -watching their opportunity; and Thunderer, seamed from shoulder to -flank, dripping with blood and water, bays wrathfully from the shore. -Facing his death in the deep wild glades and rocky glens of beautiful -Waters-meet, the stag seems undaunted still and undefeated, as when -fresh from his leafy lair, bold and triumphant, he spurned the red -mountain heather on the moor by Cloutsham Ball. - -Admiration, dashed with pity, thrills John Garnet's heart, while he -contemplates the noble creature thus defending himself, like a true -knight, against overwhelming odds; but the hunter's instinct of -destruction rises paramount, and, leaping lightly from his horse, he -scrambles over the wet and slippery boulders, with some vague notion of -affording assistance to the hounds. - -It is not till he gains the rock beneath which the deer has taken -refuge, and comes near enough to touch the animal with his whip, that he -realises his own helplessness. He carries no hunting-knife, and his only -weapons, a brace of horse-pistols, are safe in Katerfelto's holsters, a -hundred yards above him in the wood. - -But Abner Gale is not thus to be caught at a disadvantage, and unarmed. -He too has dismounted; and, rather from instinct than reflection, runs -in behind the quarry, with eight inches of bare steel in his hand. The -Parson is an adept in all ceremonies of the chase, and no man knows -better how to administer its death-stroke to a hunted deer. - -The roar of the torrent, the continuous baying of the pack, drown all -other noises; and John Garnet, stooping over the stag, while considering -whether he shall noose the beast in his whip, and try to hold it till -assistance arrives, little thinks so fierce an enemy stands behind him, -with his arm up to strike! - -Now, it is but justice to say, that the Parson, running in upon the -red-deer thus "set-up," and holding its own against the hounds, was -wholly moved by the force of habit and the instincts of his craft. He, -too, had pressed forward when he heard "the bay," and, leaving Cassock -beside the grey horse, had rushed down with all the speed his heavy -riding-boots permitted, to cut the stag's throat from behind. - -It was only when he looked from that hated rival, unconscious of his -presence, and within arm's length, to the steel in his hand, that the -hideous temptation came upon him; and while the sky seemed turning -crimson, and the river running blood, through the stupefying roar of the -water and deafening clamour of the hounds, a whisper from hell, in the -Tempter's own voice, bade him "Slay! slay!--Smite and spare not!" - -Men undergo strange experiences at such moments, and live a long time in -the dealing of a thrust, or the drawing of a trigger! Parson Gale, -glancing wildly round, believed that no human eye was on his movements, -believed that, save for himself and his victim, the solitude was -unbroken by human presence, believed that the devil in person was at -hand to help him in his crime, and that this hellish tinge of crimson -colouring sky and wood and water was a reflection from his wings! - -His eye had already marked the spot where, between the shoulders of that -laced hunting-coat, he could plant a blow that should pierce the very -heart. He nerved himself, set his teeth, and raised his hand. - -One convulsive effort of the braced sinews, one flash of the descending -steel, a choking sob, a gasping cry, a hoarse rattle of the hard-drawn -parting breath, and all would have been over; but even while the knife -quivered in air, John Garnet turned his head, leaped to his feet, and -caught his enemy by the wrist. - -A yell of rage from the grey stallion, jealous of Cassock's approach, -and rearing on end for an unprovoked assault, attracted his attention -and saved his rider's life. - -The green leaves shining in the sun wove bowers of Fairyland overhead, -the torrent plunged, and roared, and tumbled in foaming eddies round -that translucent pool, shining like silver through the dark tangled -beauties of wooded Waters-meet. - -Above stood two strong men, rigid, motionless as statues for the space -of a full minute, locked in each other's grasp, and below, leaping, -swimming, dashing, retreating, traversing to and fro, the noblest pack -of hounds in Europe clamoured round the stag at bay! - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -A BROAD HINT. - - -"Hold on, Parson! you've been and dropped your knife!" said a rough -voice in Abner Gale's ear, while a dexterous snatch twitched the weapon -out of his fingers. "Shame! gentlemen, shame!" continued Red Rube--for -it was none other than the harbourer, who thus struggled up in the nick -of time--"that two such noble riders should dispute about the honour of -blooding a pack of hounds!" - -Then stooping nimbly down, and seizing its branching antlers with one -hand, while with the other he drew the Parson's hunting-knife across the -stag's throat, he observed that in the huntsman's absence it was a -harbourer's right to administer its death-stroke to the deer. Slowly, -proudly, the stately creature's head drooped to the level of those -eddying waters, already mantling in crimson circles with its blood. -Fiercely, savagely, maddened by the work of slaughter, leaping and -tumbling over each other in their eagerness to tear their prey, the -hounds threw themselves on the carcase, and it required the efforts of -all three men to preserve it from being foully mangled in their fangs. - -Side by side, in silence, yet assisting each other and Red Rube, with -all their skill in wood-craft, the foes who had but now been grappling -in a death struggle, drew ashore, dismembered, and disembowelled the -dead stag, as if their only consideration were the authorised -distribution of its venison, and proper recompense of the hounds with -blood. - -It was not till the prescribed obsequies were fulfilled, till lights and -liver had been set aside, the head sawn off, the "slot," or forefoot, -carefully severed for preservation, in memorial of so fine a run, the -paunch swallowed in eager gulps by the famished hounds, while Tancred -and Thunderer growled at the two ends of a yard of entrails, and Red -Rube, with bare, blood-stained arms, wiped the Parson's knife on a tuft -of grass, but forbore returning it to its owner, that John Garnet, -finding a moment's leisure, observed how three or four of the most -fortunate riders had arrived, as though dropped from the clouds, in time -to witness the finish before all was over. Amongst them he looked in -vain for the pretty white pony and Nelly Carew. - -In the congratulations exchanged, the ebullitions of excitement indulged -in by these triumphant sportsmen, the Parson's moody scowl escaped -remark, save by one, whose whole life was spent in noting these trifling -signs by which important results are indicated to the observing. Red -Rube drew his own conclusions from the attitude in which he found those -two foremost riders at the crowning catastrophe of the chase, and was -satisfied, while he marked his sullen glances and vindictive brow, that -the Parson entertained some deeper and deadlier grudge against the more -successful sportsman than could arise from a mere question of priority -in cutting the deer's throat. - -Now, Red Rube knew Abner Gale's character as well as he knew the surface -of Exmoor Forest, and wanted none to tell him that the Parson's hatred -meant persecution, by all means, fair and foul, even unto death! To John -Garnet the harbourer had taken one of those fancies so often entertained -by the old for those who might be their grandsons. He liked the young -man's pleasant face and frank kindly manners; his enthusiasm for the -chase; above all, his skill in the saddle and daring style of -horsemanship; nor thought him less deserving because of a shrewd -suspicion that he was the identical highwayman for whose capture a -reward of one hundred guineas had been offered by his Sovereign Lord the -King. Therefore--and it shows how high John Garnet must have stood in -his opinion--Rube refrained from giving information of his hiding-place, -and claiming that large sum of money for himself. Therefore, also, he -determined that, so far as he could prevent it, the Parson should do no -mischief to this promising young stag-hunter; whom, moreover, he highly -admired for his recklessness in thus appearing openly while so high a -price was on his head. In short, he loved his new acquaintance better -than his old friend and fellow-sportsman, better even--and it is saying -a great deal--than one hundred guineas in gold! - -It is needless to observe that of those who reached the finish at -Waters-meet before the "bay" was over, Abel the huntsman arrived first, -making his appearance, indeed, immediately after Rube had cut the stag's -throat. There seemed nothing more to be done therefore, when the hounds, -now thoroughly tired and footsore, had been satisfied, the jaded horses -remounted, and the riders' different versions of their own doings -exhausted for the present, than to jog slowly home, each in his own -direction, with a happy chance of meeting more than one defeated -sportsman, to whom he might repeat the oft-told tale, never weary of -recapitulating the pace, distance, severity, triumphant conclusion, and -whole chain of events that marked this memorable run. - -John Garnet, turning to remount his horse, was surprised to find the -animal in the custody of Red Rube, who handed his rein, and held his -stirrup with an officious alacrity foreign to his usual manner. The -rider's first thought, no doubt, was for the well-being of his steed, -after so exhausting a performance; yet did he not fail to remark a -peculiar expression on the harbourer's countenance, and the nervous -haste with which the old man helped him into the saddle, pocketing the -gratuity forced on him unconsciously, and by instinct as it seemed, -without a word of thanks. - -It was not till he had satisfied himself of Katerfelto's soundness, and -felt the horse break gaily into a trot, stepping free and true, that he -gave a thought to Rube's flurried gestures and strange anxiety to start -him on his homeward way, dismissing the subject from his mind without -further comment, in the natural conclusion that the harbourer was drunk. - -Then he abandoned himself to the exciting memories of the last few -hours, exulting, as well he might, in the extraordinary speed and -stamina of his favourite. - -Meantime Parson Gale, seeking in vain for his hunting-knife, with a -moody brow and many curses on his own carelessness in losing this -favourite weapon, returned to his trusty Cassock, with the intention, no -doubt, of following his rival, and calling on his brother-sportsmen to -seize him in the name of the king. He was no mean judge of such matters, -and in their late trial of strength found John Garnet fully his match. -Unarmed, therefore, he determined not to encounter his enemy hand to -hand, regretting his own folly in yielding to passion and endeavouring -to slay him at disadvantage, thus warning him of danger, and setting him -on his guard. How much better, thought the Parson, to track him as old -Tancred tracked a deer, never slackening in effort, never off the scent, -never turning aside for any consideration, till he had run him -ruthlessly down, delivered him into the hands of justice, and seen the -last of him on Tyburn Hill. - -It seemed to Abner Gale that his brother's blood cried out from the very -stones, not to be silenced nor appeased till his adversary stood in the -hangman's cart, with the nightcap over his face, and the fatal nosegay -in his hand. - -The poor black horse, however, instigated by no such thirst for -vengeance, and desiring only the warmth and rest of its distant stable, -was felt to be in a sorry plight so soon as it was burdened once more -with the weight it had carried so gallantly through the day. Sore, -stiff, and weary, it was hopeless to expect from it anything more than -the very slowest trot. It bore besides, on crest and shoulder, marks of -the grey stallion's unprovoked assault; nor were these calculated to -soothe the vindictive feelings of its master. Many a bitter curse he -ground between his teeth, reflecting that, for the present, he must -abandon all hope of following up his enemy, and, for his angry mood -forbade him to join in the talk of his excited brother-sportsmen, plod -his homeward way as best he might alone. - -How different were his feelings from those of the half-dozen friends and -neighbours, who had not half such good cause to be satisfied with their -own performances in the chase. These laughed and jested merrily, in -frank, hearty good-humour, praising the run, the country, each other's -riding, and by implication their own, the huntsman, the harbourer, the -stag, the horses, and the hounds. One or two trudged a-foot up and down -the steep inclines beside their weary steeds, all did their best to ease -and indulge the staunch animals that had carried them so well; and each, -while claiming for the rider a large share of credit due to the horse, -betrayed in his bearing the self-satisfaction of a man who has performed -a good action, rather than the sullen preoccupied air of one, like Abner -Gale, who meditates a crime! - -Though in the West of England, as in Ireland, distances from point to -point seem held of less account than in other parts of the kingdom, -those are a dozen or so of very long miles, that stretch from -Waters-meet to Porlock, after a good run with stag hounds, on a horse -that has been galloping all day. We should indeed be surprised could we -calculate the extent of country over which the powerful stride of a -hunter sweeps in such a chase as I have endeavoured to describe; and -should marvel yet more, were it possible to ascertain the exact distance -traversed by a hound. The endurance of either animal seems truly -wonderful when put to the test; but the real horseman is ever -considerate to his "gallant and honourable friend," holding stoutly by -the maxim-- - - "Up hill spare me, - Down hill bear me, - On the level never fear me;" - -and believing this triplet of doggrel to contain the first principles of -his art. - -John Garnet, therefore, although he had long since discovered Katerfelto -to be one of those rare horses that can begin again at the end of the -day, did by no means suffer him to go his own pace home, restraining his -generous impulses and riding him steadily along at very moderate speed. - -I do not affirm, however, that his thoughts were entirely monopolised by -this partner of his labours and his triumphs, or that he did not glance -anxiously about him, from time to time, in search of the well-known -figure on the white pony, that occupied the first place in his fancy, -and indeed the inmost citadel of his heart. - -He was beginning to find those hours very wearisome which were spent -apart from Nelly; and after its excitement had subsided, even so gallant -a chase as that which he had lately witnessed, was felt to be no -equivalent for absence from her side. - -There are moments when reflection seems to be forced on the most -thoughtless of men; when the dream vanishes the illusion is dispelled, -and they catch a glimpse of life as it is, not as they wish it to be. -John Garnet, riding softly through the heather, reviewed the events of -the last few weeks by the light of common-sense, and wondered how this -wild expedition of his, and wilder infatuation, was to end? That liberty -and life were endangered by his offences against the law he had long -been assured; but it was only to-day, and by the merest accident, he had -discovered that here, in the vicinity of his hiding-place, lurked an -enemy who thirsted for his blood. There was no mistaking the expression -of the Parson's face; and had he not caught and held the uplifted wrist -in a grasp more powerful than its own, he felt that his life-blood would -have mingled in the eddies of Waters-meet with that of the dying deer. -Now, when the excitement of the strife was past, he shuddered to think -of the hideous peril he had gone through, appreciating at the same time -the vindictive hatred of such an enemy, whose brother he had slain in a -midnight brawl, whose sweetheart he suspected he had won from him on the -sands of Porlock Bay. In his place, thought John Garnet, he would have -been as savage, no doubt; but, come what might--banishment, -imprisonment, hanging, or a stand-up encounter man to man--nothing -should ever force him to give up Nelly Carew! - -His nerves must surely have been shaken by the severe exertions and -strange experiences of the day; for a horse's head appearing suddenly at -his knee, while its footfall was unheard amongst the heather, caused him -to start violently, and lay his hand on the pistol in his holster. - -Red Rube grinned in his face while he brought the broken-kneed pony -alongside of Katerfelto. "Zeems as though a man couldn't forget the -tricks of his trade, Captain," said the harbourer, with a cunning leer. -"Here have I been slotting o'_you_ better nor two mile on end, as though -you'd been a right stag with three on the top--that's my calling. There -are _you_, out with the barkers, finger on trigger, stand and -deliver!--that's yours." - -In vain John Garnet denied and expostulated, protesting, indeed, that he -was wholly ignorant of the other's meaning, and did but make an -involuntary gesture towards his weapon from an instinct of self-defence. -Rube was not so to be put off, and continued his remonstrances in a tone -of confidential sympathy, with his hand on the grey horse's mane. - -"There's a time for a deer to move, and a time for a deer to couch," -said the harbourer, using the familiar metaphors of his calling. "A time -for 'un to stand at bay, and a time for 'un to break the bay. When a -deer vinds itself hard pressed, and never a stick of covert for miles, -the sensible creetur 'takes soil,'--do 'ee hearken to me, Captain, it -takes soil, I say, and vinds its safety many a time in the salt sea. -'Tis not so fur from Porlock to Ilfracombe, but that theer good grey -horse could cover the distance in half a day." - -He sidled farther off as he spoke, and seemed lost in contemplation of -Katerfelto's points and symmetry, as he trotted by his side. - -"What should I do at Ilfracombe when I got there?" asked John Garnet; -adding, impatiently, "Man alive! speak no longer in parables. If you've -anything to say, out with it, and tell me what you mean!" - -Rube looked behind, before, and on each side; then he drew nearer and -whispered-- - -"There be a price on thic' head o' yourn', Captain, a longish price, -too. May-be more than it be worth." - -"I know it," answered John Garnet; "I've seen the bills. It's an easy -way to get a hundred guineas, Rube. Why don't you earn the money -yourself?" - -The old man looked hurt. "It's not honest wood-craft," said he. "Every -beast of chase has a right to be hunted in season, and with a fair -start. The hounds are on your track, Captain, I give you fair warning; -but that's not all. There's one, a coarse black dog (Rube chuckled while -he enunciated this conceit), as will never be off the line so long as -the game is a-foot, nor leave the slot till he has the deer by the -throat. Do you think you deceived _me_ awhile ago, when you two stood in -a dead-lock together on yonder slab of stone? Double on him, Captain, I -do tell 'ee, double on him, that's what _you've_ got to do. I've friends -at Ilfracombe, free-traders they call 'em down there, they'd take any -young man aboard as was well known to Red Rube. This here wind will -serve, and I do know 'twill stay in the North for days together now, as -though 'twere nailed there. God speed ye, young man. You mind what I -tell 'ee. Keep your own counsel, and take a good hold of your horse's -head!" - -Then he shook the pony's bridle, turned briskly down a coombe, and -disappeared. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -A HARD BARGAIN. - - -Plodding wearily on, in the shuffling, dogged, continuous jog-trot that -takes a tired hunter home, Cassock presently pricked his ears, and -increased the pace of his own accord, while his rider's heart beat fast, -for rising an acclivity not a bow-shot in front, fluttered the blue -riding-habit that enclosed her pretty shape, nodded the feather in the -saucy little hat, that could be worn so jauntily by none but Nelly -Carew. Cowslip had failed to make up its lost ground in time for her to -see the end of the run, and Nelly was riding soberly home, full of -pleasant thoughts and fancies that grouped themselves round a figure on -a grey horse, skimming the brown moorland, far ahead of all competitors, -and when last seen, alone with the hounds! - -"Good even, Mistress Nelly," said the Parson, ranging alongside, with an -awkward bow. "Nothing amiss, I hope, with Cowslip, nor its rider. 'Tis -not often the pair of you give in before the deer, but you must confess -that for this once Abner Gale and the old black nag had the better of -pretty Mistress Carew." His voice, hoarse and thick with conflicting -feelings, startled her from her day-dream. Nelly's colour rose, and the -consciousness that he observed it caused her to blush deeper in mingled -vexation and shame. - -"I made a fatal mistake at starting," said she, with a nervous little -laugh and a full stop. - -"A great many women do that!" grunted the Parson. - -"And all my calculations were wrong," continued Nelly, without noticing -the interruption. "If the deer had passed under Dunkerry Beacon, like -the big black stag last year, and taken soil in the Barle, down by -Landacre Bridge, for instance, or at Withy-pool, where would you all -have been then? Your turn to-day, Master Gale, mine to-morrow. That's -the rule of stag-hunting, and it seems the same for most things in -life." - -She spoke with a flurried manner and an affectation of gaiety he did not -fail to detect. The Parson's restless eye and moody brow frightened her, -and glancing round on the solitude of the moor, she wished herself back -with grandfather, safe at home. - -"I would it were the same thing in life," he answered sullenly. "A bold, -straightforward man who meant fair, and feared nothing, might have a -chance of holding his own, then, and wouldn't see his place taken by the -first new-comer with thicker lace on his coat and more brass on his -forehead. Your park-fed deer is well enough, Mistress Nelly, for them -that don't know better, but who in their senses would compare it with a -real wild Exmoor stag?" - -"I don't understand you!" said the girl, looking in vain for a -companion, and wondering what had become of all the defeated riders who -must be plodding steadily home. - -"Then I'll speak out!" replied the Parson, "and remember, what Abner -Gale says that he sticks to, for good and for evil, mind. _For good and -for evil!_ I'm a plain man, Mistress Carew." - -"Not so very plain, for your age, you know!" Nelly could not resist -saying, though dreadfully frightened. But he continued without noticing -the interruption-- - -"A plain man, and may-be I han't learned any of the monkey tricks your -town-bred gentlemen bring here into the West, thinking to carry all -before them, with a hoist of the eyebrows, a fool's grin, and a -dancing-master's bow. But at least I'm honest, if I'm nothing more, not -afraid to show my face by light of day, nor to speak my mind in any -company, from my Lord Bellinger down to Dick Boss the sheriff's officer, -who has got a job in hand that will take him all his time, judging by -what I saw to-day." - -"Dick Boss! Sheriff's officer!" repeated Nelly, pale and aghast, for -already she knew too well John Garnet's danger. "What have I to do with -these matters? Why do you say such things to me?" - -Though the Parson's voice softened while he answered, in Nelly's ear it -sounded harsher than before. - -"Why, Mistress Nelly?" he repeated. "I marvel that you can ask me so -simple a question. Why do I watch every look of your blue eyes, every -word from your sweet lips? Why do I feel a different man in your -presence, and hover about you like that moor-buzzard up there hovers -over the bare brow of the mountain, wheeling, poising, watching, waiting -patiently till he may stoop and carry off his prize?" - -"Waiting to tear it in pieces, you mean!" replied Nelly, angrily. -"You're talking nonsense, Master Gale. If buzzard you be, I at least am -not going to become your prey." - -The sun was sinking to the brown level of the moor at their backs. The -long shadows thrown before them, as they rode softly side by side, might -have belonged to a pair of plighted lovers, so woven together were they, -and intermingled on the broad expanse of heather, deepening to a browner -russet and a redder gold with every moment of departing day. - -Yet in one bosom rankled wild, unsatisfied longings, jealousy, -suspicion, rage of wounded pride; in the other, contempt, loathing, and -a passionate hatred, the more embittered that it was dashed with fear. - -"You carry it with a high hand, Mistress Carew," said the Parson, losing -the command he had tried to keep over a temper only too apt to rise -beyond control. "You might have learned before now 'tis a waste of time -to ride the great horse with me. I have the power, aye! and more than -half the mind, to bring you down from your saddle there, in that tuft of -heather, on your knees. You may smile--you look parlous handsome when -you smile--but I'm not one to speak out of my turn, I tell ye. I know -_everything_, and I've got his life in my hand!" - -Of all her fair and noble qualities, a woman's hypocrisy is sometimes -the fairest and the noblest. Unlike the rougher sex, it is when she is -most unselfish that she seems most artful to deceive. Had her power been -equal to her will, Nelly Carew's natural inclination, and indeed her -earnest desire, had been to strike this man down, and trample him under -Cowslip's hoofs, not perhaps to death, but to bodily injury and -degradation, yet she commanded herself with an effort beyond all praise, -and smiled sweetly in his face, while she observed-- - -"Something has put you out to-day, Master Gale. I suppose that is why -you want to quarrel with your best friends. You never spoke to _me_ so -sharp before. Is it Cassock's fault, or mine, or whose, that your good -nag could not keep up with that grey horse on the open moor? The -creature seemed to have the wings of a bird. If that's all, sure 'tis no -disgrace to be beaten when a man does his best." - -Though her tone seemed easy and unconstrained, she felt cruelly anxious, -and resolved at any cost to learn how far Abner Gale's enmity was to be -feared on her lover's behalf. - -"The grey horse is a good one, I'll not deny," said the Parson. "Too -good for his master and his master's trade, though the beast has saved -the man from hanging many a time and oft. I'm surprised at your -grandfather, Mistress Nelly. I'm more surprised at yourself, that you -can consort with such a jail-bird. He is a disgrace to us all, coming -here to Porlock as though he could find no better place to hide in from -the hue and cry." - -"Do you mean Master Garnet?" exclaimed Nelly, with flashing eyes, while -she stifled a sob of wrath and fear that rose from her heart. - -"I mean Galloping Jack, the highwayman," answered Gale, "a villain who -should have swung, by rights, at Tyburn, last autumn, whom I devoutly -hope to see hanged before the fifth of November next!" - -"You showed me his dying speech and confession yourself," answered the -girl, with tight-set lips that kept down some overmastering emotion by -sheer force of will. "Come, Master Gale, you know as well as I do that -John Garnet is no common thief with a black vizard and a speedy horse, -no mere moonlight robber to stop a coach for plunder on the king's -highway. He has done something worse than that. Out with it; you used to -have no secrets from your friends. Tell me what it is!" - -Parson Gale was in the habit of declaring that a man who told a lie -should possess a good memory. He wished he had stuck more consistently -to this maxim, and had not, by his forgetfulness, thus laid his own -statement open to denial. The wisest course, he thought, would be to -take the bull by the horns. - -"I only hoped to shame you out of your fancy, Mistress Nelly," said he, -with a transparent affectation of friendliness and sincerity. "I know -this man has assumed the title of a famous highwayman for disguise. He -is no more Galloping Jack than I am. He is Master John Garnet, _plain_ -John Garnet, as I have heard them call him, in ridicule, I fancy, of his -waiting-maid's face and mop of curling hair. Wanted for robbing his -Majesty's Government. Wanted for high treason. Wanted for murder done in -Covent Garden, brought home to him by evidence no court of justice can -gainsay, and as sure to swing, on one, and all of these counts, as I -hope I am to get home to supper this blessed night!" - -She had grown paler and paler with every accusation in the catalogue of -her lover's crimes. She looked as if she must have fallen fainting from -the saddle, yet never for an instant did she lose her presence of mind, -nor forego her resolution to save John Garnet how she could! - -"I can't bring myself to believe it is as bad as you say," she answered -carelessly. "But I thought there was something unusual about the -gentleman, I'll not deny. 'Tis grandfather who will miss him if he comes -to harm. Grandfather took to him, you know, as he never took to a -stranger before. You must have seen that yourself." - -"And _you_, Mistress Nelly," said the Parson, bringing his weary horse -nearer the white pony's side, "did not _you_ take to this stranger too, -and for the sake of a new face flout the old friends who had loved you -all your life?" - -"La! Master Gale," was the feminine reply, "you talk of loves and -likings as though we could put them on and off like our hose and -farthingales. Sure you never thought me one to forget an old friend for -the sake of a new face, comely though it be?" - -"And you do not really care for this bedizened Jack-a-napes?" he -exclaimed, while his voice shook with an emotion that betrayed how -deeply the admission touched his feelings. - -"I love him!" answered Nelly, watching her listener as the steersman -watches an angry sky. "Yes, I love him--for grandfather's sake!" - -Even in the anxiety and agitation of the moment, even through all the -scorn and loathing she felt for the attentions of her unwelcome -admirer, it could not but gratify her vanity to mark the changes that -passed over his rough, weather-worn face with every word she uttered, -every inflection of her voice. She had only suspected the Parson loved -her when she first discovered her own love for John Garnet. She was sure -of it now, and could almost have found it in her heart to pity him, for -the utter hopelessness of his suit; but this was no time to indulge in -such weakness. Abner Gale's affection was a powerful engine, and she -must use it to save John Garnet's life. - -Looking very beautiful, and trusting to her beauty as man trusts to his -intellect, the brute to its strength and speed, she glanced her blue -eyes shyly in his face, and added, after a becoming little pause of -hesitation, "Why--Why should all this interest _you_, Master Gale?" - -"Because I love you!" he exclaimed. "Love you, Nelly Carew, more than -anything and everything in earth or heaven! I'm old and rough, I -know--not fit to black the shoes on your pretty feet. I've been a -brawler and a sot, and--and--worse than that, drinking and roystering at -feasts and revels, while all the time my heart was sore for the sweetest -lass in Devon, to think I wasn't good enough, nor comely enough, so much -as to kiss the tips of her fingers, nor to sip with her on the same cup. -But I'd be a different man if you was only to hold up your hand. It -would be no trouble to leave liquor and wrestling-bouts, fairs, and -fiddlings, roaring lads and saucy wenches, at your bidding. Nay, more -than that, Mistress Nelly, I could go back from the great oath I swore, -if you did but hold up your finger, and forgive my bitterest enemy for -your sake!" - -"Why should you _have_ enemies, you that are so frank and hearty?" asked -Nelly, fairly alarmed at the strength of the feelings she had aroused, -while determined to profit by them at any cost. - -The Parson reined in his horse, and unconsciously she followed his -example. - -"The man John Garnet," said he, in a deep, hoarse voice, "took my -brother's life--stabbed him in the dark, Mistress Nelly, without friends -or witnesses, and that man I have sworn never to leave till with my own -eyes I see him laid in a murderer's grave. To-day an accursed chance -delivered him out of my hand, when my knife was almost at his throat. -The next time he shall not escape so well. Dick Boss and I, with a few -stout lads to help, mean having him safe in Taunton Gaol before the week -is out. And this is the gallant, pretty Mistress Nelly, I was fool -enough to think had made such way in your good graces as to supplant -your old friend Abner Gale!" - -How she hated him, sitting there, square and resolute, on his horse! The -unwelcome suitor, the implacable enemy, the avenger thirsting for the -blood of one whom she only loved more madly, more devotedly, because of -his danger and his need! Her blue eyes burned with unaccustomed fire, -her cheek glowed with a deep, angry crimson, and Parson Gale, marking -her emotion, believed it was called forth by affection for himself! - -He looked at her in speechless admiration for the space of a full -minute, then he burst out with a sob: - -"Have pity on me, Mistress Nelly, have pity on me! I love you so! I love -you so!" - -She had reviewed the whole position, taken in every detail of the -situation during this eventful pause, and made her crowning manoeuvre -with the skill of that subtlest of all tacticians--a woman at her wit's -end! - -"It's very easy to talk!" she observed, demurely, "but I was always one -that liked to see a man prove his words. If you--you _really_ cared for -me, you would do what I ask, wouldn't you, Master Gale? and never want -to know the reason why!" - -"Ask it!" exclaimed the Parson, "and if I say no, beautiful Mistress -Nelly, then say no to _me_, when I plead for something dearer and more -precious than the light of day and the very air I breathe!" - -She knew too well the compact implied by so enthusiastic an assent, but -hesitated not for a single instant. - -"You will spare Master Garnet," she said, in a steady, monotonous voice, -"and give him time to get clear out of the country, for my--my -grandfather's sake." - -"On one condition!" - -"On _any_ condition," she murmured, and the brown moors, the evening -sky, seemed to spin round so fast that she turned faint and giddy in the -whirl. - -There was no question of deception, no loop-hole for mental reservation -and eventual escape. In the balance hung her lover's safety against her -own utter destruction. Could there be a doubt into which scale would be -flung the deciding weight of a woman's self-sacrificing devotion, a -woman's uncalculating love? - -"You will be my wife, Mistress Nelly Carew, if I pledge myself to let -this man go free?" said the Parson, in slow, distinct syllables, while a -grin of triumph, none the less hateful for the affection it expressed, -rendered his face more hideous than ever in her eyes. - -"I will be your wife, Master Abner Gale, if you pledge yourself to let -this man go free!" she repeated, in clear, incisive tones that seemed -the echo of his own. - -"And you promise never to speak to him nor see him again?" - -"And I promise never to see him, nor speak to him again!" - -"It's a bargain." - -"It's a bargain." - -Then they shook hands, and although Abner Gale would fain have ratified -this strange betrothal with a kiss, there was something in Nelly's face -that absolutely cowed him, and he forbore. - -They soon separated where their respective paths diverged. The Parson -made his way over the moor, wondering that he did not feel more elated -with his triumph, while Nelly rode home alone, looking into vacancy with -a white face and fixed, tearless eyes, that seemed to express neither -sorrow nor impatience, nor fear, but only mute wonder, and an -uncomplaining, apathetic despair. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -SELF-SACRIFICE. - - -"Weather-wise--fool otherwise," is a West-country proverb that by no -means applied to Red Rube. The harbourer, who had taken a judicious view -of John Garnet's position, and gave him sensible advice under the -circumstances, proved also a reliable prophet, even in so uncertain a -prediction as the quarter from which the wind would blow. It remained, -as he expected, in the north, and a keen frost setting in on the night -of the great chase from Cloutsham-Ball, gave promise of an earlier -winter than was either expected or desired in the fertile coombes of -West Somerset and North Devon. The honest yeomen-farmers looked grave -and shook their heads. There were apples yet ungathered in late -orchards, oats standing in sheaves on bare hill-farms; the cold weather -would bring the stags on, too, and put an end to their favourite sport. -Nobody wanted to begin winter in October, while old people dreaded the -effects of an unseasonably low temperature, or neighbours who were a few -years, or even a few months, older than themselves. - -More than one venerable inhabitant of Porlock, noting his shrunken form -and feeble gait, was heard to express a fear that, with the close of -autumn, it would "go hard with Master Carew," and the veteran himself, -though he kept his opinion from Nelly, little hoped to see the buds and -blossoms of another spring. He felt that Death was coming like a giant -on the mountains, casting his shadow before him as he advanced with -swift and noiseless strides, nor, but for the leaving of his grandchild, -did it seem so hard to follow the host of friends and comrades who had -preceded him to the unknown country beyond the deep, dark, narrow -stream. A brave man is seldom deceived in such matters. Old Carew, -taking to his bed, gaunt and weary, an hour before Nelly came home, knew -he would never leave it again alive. - -Guiding Cowslip deftly down the hill into Porlock, the girl believed her -cup of misery was full. She told herself it could not hold another drop. -Severed from the love of her life at a single blow, dealt by her own -hand--bound to the man she loathed and feared and hated, by her own -promise--pledged never to see nor speak to John Garnet again--forbidden -even to warn him that he must fly! No! Honour or dishonour, she would -_not_ hold to this part of the contract! He must learn the truth from -her own lips, and then, though he should heap curses on her perfidy, she -would bid him farewell for ever, and live out, as best she might, the -life of misery and desolation she had chosen for his sake! - -It formed no part of her calculations that he should be waiting for her -at her own door, that, lighting down from her pony in the dusk of -evening, she should leap into his arms, and find herself folded in a -close embrace against his heart. - -"Oh! you musn't! you musn't!" was all Nelly had strength to say, for one -happy moment, ere she released herself and stood apart, trembling in -every limb. Then, even in the failing light, she observed that his face -was very grave, and she missed the gay, careless ring in his tone, that -possessed so strange a charm for her loving ear. She had never heard him -speak so sadly before. - -"Sweetheart," he whispered, "my own Nelly, I looked for you all the way -home, and waited here till you came back, because I had something to -say that it was right you should hear to-night. I have not the heart to -say it now. I was going away to-morrow morning, only for a time, Nelly, -but I cannot leave you in your distress. I must stay and help you to -keep up your courage, dear heart, and to take care of grandfather. He is -ill--very ill, I fear, my pretty lass, and asked for you before he went -to lie down; but try not to be frightened, dear heart, if--if--he -doesn't seem to know you at first, when you go to his bedside!" - -With a little cry of pity and terror she bounded from him while he -spoke, and sped like a lapwing to her grandfather's chamber, leaving -John Garnet standing by the porch, with Cowslip's bridle on his arm, in -the last stage of perplexity and distress. - -Leading the pony to the stable, he felt utterly at a loss what to do. - -Courageous as he was, and too reckless of his own safety, he could not -but feel that his position here in the hiding-place he had chosen became -more dangerous every hour. Red Rube's warning did but corroborate his -own suspicions, and when he reflected on Parson Gale's unscrupulous -hatred, which would leave no stone unturned to deliver him into the -hangman's hands, his common sense told him there was but one chance of -escape left, while the plan advised by the harbourer, of taking boat at -Ilfracombe, seemed the only practicable means of flight. - -So soon, therefore, the next day, as Katerfelto was recovered from the -effects of his exertions, he had intended to make for that little -seaport, and embark forthwith, sending the grey horse back to Porlock by -a trusty hand, to remain in Mistress Carew's care till its owner's -return. He promised himself one more interview with Nelly, when, for the -fiftieth time, they might exchange vows of unalterable affection, and -so would go his way, despondent indeed and unhappy, yet not wholly -despairing of better days to come. - -And now old Carew's dangerous illness, of which he was advised the -moment he got off his horse, scattered all these projects to the winds. -While he waited for Nelly's return, that he might prepare her to expect -the worst, he resolved that no consideration of safety for himself -should part him from the woman he loved, so long as his presence could -cheer and console her grief. - -After a restless night, and an early visit to Katerfelto's stable, where -it was satisfactory to find the grey horse, fresh and lively, rested -from his hard day, John Garnet presented himself at Carew's door, and -was surprised to be received by Nelly herself, who had not been to bed, -yet looked none the less beautiful for the pale face and weary eyes, -that spoke of some trial even sorer and sadder than the watch in a sick -chamber, than the cruel suspense of hope and fear, when life seems to -hang on a thread, that wears itself slowly away. - -He would have caught her in his arms, but she motioned him to keep back -with a scared, wistful look, and a ghastly smile, that chilled him to -the heart. - -"He is conscious," she said. "I thought you would wish to know. There is -yet a hope, and God is merciful. Surely I am not to lose all in one day -at one blow!" - -"He will get well, sweetheart," answered John Garnet, hopefully, "and -live, I pray, for many a long year to come. In a few weeks he will be -strong enough to leave his bed, and, Nelly, he will be able to give me -the girl I love with his own hand." - -The last sentence he whispered in her ear, but she started away from -him, and her face, pale enough before, turned white to the very lips. - -"Silence!" she exclaimed, fiercely. "You must never speak to me like -that again!" - -But for the pity of it, his blank amazement would have seemed absolutely -ludicrous. It was as though some soft and gentle bird that he loved and -cherished had turned on him, with the gaping beak and battling wings of -an infuriated hawk! - -"What mean you?" he gasped. "What is it? Nelly! Sweetheart! What have I -done?" - -"To save him from death! To save him from death!" The words seemed -ringing in her brain, or she never could have nerved herself for the -task she had undertaken. - -"We have not gone too far to draw back, Master Garnet," she said. "There -is a time for all things. Let there be no more fooling between you and -me!" - -She spoke lightly, even flippantly, though she felt her heart breaking. -Surely there is no courage like that of a woman who makes up her mind to -lead a forlorn hope. - -"Fooling!" he repeated; "fooling! Do you mean to affirm that you have -been _fooling_ me all the time? Explain yourself, Mistress Carew. Have -you found a new sweetheart, or is this but a sorry jest to try the -temper of the old?" - -She bowed her head in assent. If she made him angry, she thought it -would be easier to effect a rupture. And yet, to part from him unkindly! -ah! if she could but fall down then and there, tell him the truth, and -die! - -He felt utterly perplexed, astounded, incredulous, yet wounded to the -very heart. It seemed so impossible she should have ceased to care for -him, even while the announcement was on her very lips. Stiffly, and with -an offended air, extremely unlike the frank and kindly bearing that was -one of John Garnet's characteristics, he made a low bow, and observed -quietly: - -"No lady need fear persecution from me. Forgive my repeating to you, -Mistress Carew, that I loved you dearly, and believed you cared for me -in return." - -"I know it," she said, and but for a choking sensation in her throat -would have added something more. - -"I have deceived myself strangely, it seems," he continued, trying to -meet her eyes, which she kept averted from his face. "Nevertheless, I -think I am entitled to demand the cause of this sudden dismissal. I -should not like to lose my _respect_ for you, Mistress Carew, even -though I must try to forget my own unreasonable love." - -Still that catching in the throat. She loosened the black velvet band -round her neck, before she could answer. - -"Master Garnet," she said, "it is not good for you to be here. You ought -never to have come. I blame myself you have not sooner gone away. -Believe me, the air of Porlock means death. If you--you ever cared for -me, as you say, depart at once, to-day, this very hour, and put the blue -sea between us, for _my_ sake!" - -"For _your_ sake?" This was surely a new experience of the sex, thought -John Garnet; was ever woman so incomprehensible? Was ever woman so -lovely, and so beloved? - -"For my sake," she repeated, and the blue eyes met his own without -flinching. "Master Garnet, I am going to be married, and your presence -here conduces neither to my happiness nor your own." - -"Married? Tell me at least the name of the man you have chosen." - -There was no bitterness in his tone. Only a deep sorrow and a kindly -interest that told of unselfish affection, wounded but not destroyed. - -"Parson Gale," she answered, speaking very fast and glancing wildly -about her. "Does it surprise you? Is it strange? Does it not seem like a -jest?" She burst into a painful laugh, shrill, harsh, and by no means -suggestive of mirth. He looked anxiously in her face, wondering more and -more. - -"Mistress Carew," he said, in a grave earnest voice, "I pray you may be -happy!" and offered his hand. - -She caught it in both her own, with a low, sobbing cry, pressed it to -her heart, her lips, her eyes now streaming with tears, flung it from -her in hysteric violence, and rushed out of his presence, leaving John -Garnet utterly bewildered and dismayed. - -Even now he could not bring himself to admit that all was over between -them, though wholly unable to account for his sweetheart's inexplicable -conduct, and completely at a loss what to think, and what to believe. - -Later in the day, wandering restlessly to and fro, unwilling to leave -its vicinity, he observed Parson Gale ride through the village of -Porlock, dismount at old Carew's door, tie his horse there by the -bridle, and enter the house without farther ceremony. Then, for the -first time in his life, he felt that keen pang of jealousy, which is at -once the test, and the punishment of love. - -The Parson, notwithstanding certain misgivings, smothered in his own -breast, that his wooing, although successful, was attended by many -hindrances and drawbacks, had attired himself, as became his new -character, with unusual care and splendour. The rusty old riding suit -was replaced by a glossy black coat and waistcoat. His boots were clean, -his spurs bright, and a new steel buckle shone in the band of his hat. -More than one acquaintance whom he met in his ride, grinned admiringly, -and asked himself, in his own vernacular, "Wot the dickens Payson wur up -to now?" - -But Abner Gale, like the rest of mankind, was doomed to learn, that, in -a love chase, as in a stag hunt, checks, disappointments, falls, and -other casualties must be encountered and endured. He had bought his -pearl at a great price, no less than the loss of his revenge, and it -seemed there should be nothing to do now, but to stretch out his hand -and place the jewel in his breast. He felt sore and angry, like a man -defrauded of his rights, or overreached in a bargain, to find himself -kept waiting nearly an hour in old Carew's parlour, and greeted at last -by Nelly, with a pale, serious face, and eyes full of tears. - -He was a brisk suitor enough, to do him justice, entertaining no very -exalted notions of women's coyness and delicacy, but holding rather to -certain old-fashioned maxims inculcating promptitude and decision, -protesting that "faint heart never won fair lady," and always impatient -to "strike while the iron was hot." Yet even Parson Gale felt abashed to -meet that serious, heart-broken gaze, and he could no more have offered -to kiss her cheek than if she had been a queen on the throne. - -Coldly, quietly, as though there were nothing more between them than the -intercourse of common acquaintance, she informed him of her -grandfather's illness, and her own fears for its result, adding that he -required constant attendance; and Master Gale must not think her uncivil -or inhospitable if she could spare him only a few minutes of her company -in this climax of sorrow and distress. - -Perhaps she never thought so well of him as when he released her hand -with that respect which real misery commands from the roughest of -natures, while he bade her, in a tone of unfeigned sympathy, "Keep her -heart up, and never say die; for while there's life there's hope!" - -"Not for _me_, Master Gale!" answered poor Nelly, now breaking down -completely. "Oh! grandfather, grandfather! I had but _you_ in the -world!" Then she hid her face in her hands, and he saw by the action of -her shoulders that she was sobbing as if her heart would break.--He -dashed a tear from his own rough cheek. - -"I'll take my leave now, Mistress Nelly," said he, "only wishing I could -be of service to you, or do you good. Is there _nothing_ you can think -of? I'd go fasting and bare-foot from here to--to Jerusalem!" declared -the Parson, who had not an idea where it was, "if I thought I could take -the weight of a feather off the burden you have to bear!" - -She only waved him away with one hand, keeping her tear-stained face -buried in the other. He had already reached the door, when a bright -thought suggested itself, and he turned back. - -"Mistress Nelly!" he exclaimed, "if there's a doctor in England can cure -good Master Carew, I know where he is to be found. I'll wager a gallon I -bring him to this house within four hours of the present time." The -familiar expression denoted that Parson Gale was thoroughly in earnest. - -Nelly looked up through her tears. "God bless you for your kindness, at -anyrate," she sobbed. "What is he? Who is he? Send for him at once!" - -He turned, with his hand on the door. "The man is in hiding," he -answered, "and may be afraid to come, for there is a price on his head. -But this is a case of life and death, and if he refuses, I'll tie him -hand and foot, by George, bundle him on to a horse, and carry him with -me at a gallop across the moor!" - -With this valorous promise, Abner Gale swung himself into the saddle, -and in a few seconds was clattering up the stony lane from Porlock at -his utmost speed. Regardless of his new clothes and the lustre of his -boots, he pursued his way at the same headlong pace, through deep -coombes and shallow streams, miry swamps, and tufted banks of heather, -till he gained the open moor, and only drew bridle when he reached that -lone and sequestered valley in which the gipsies had pitched their camp. -Through it he rode like a madman, scattering the swarthy little -half-naked children to right and left beneath his horse's feet. At the -door of a brown weather-stained tent, sat Fin Cooper mending a kettle, -and here the Parson halted with a jerk. - -"Where's the priest?" said he. "I want him this instant. 'Tis to save a -man's life!" - -"What priest?" asked Fin, looking lazily up from his work. - -"Katerfelto," explained Gale. - -"Katerfelto," repeated the gipsy. "He would not thank you for calling -him by his name!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -SELF-DEFENCE. - - -He did _not_ thank him. The Charlatan, who had closely shaven his -venerable beard, and adopted, with their reserved demeanour, the precise -and sombre habit of the Jesuits, was sitting down to an excellent stew, -whereof the savour, notwithstanding his preoccupation, rose gratefully -to the Parson's nostrils. But his business admitted of no delay, even -for such temptation as a mess of game and venison cooked gipsy-fashion; -and, laying his heavy hand on the other's shoulder, he addressed him by -name, bidding him shortly "rise and get to the saddle, since a patient -was dying for want of him. And even to those who knew it best, 'twas a -sorry pastime riding the moor in the dark!" - -Katerfelto started, looking about uneasily, for Dick Boss and his -satellites. "Hush! good Master Gale," said he; "a man may have more -names than one, and I am known as Father Constant here. The person you -speak of fled the country a week ago. You owe him some gratitude, or I -am mistaken. 'Twould be a scurvy trick to lay the bloodhounds on his -track." - -"Never fear, man!" answered the Parson, heartily. "Safe and undisturbed -as a November stag shalt thou remain, so long as thou harbourest with -us? 'Tis but a cast of thy trade I am asking thee, as though I bade Fin -Cooper do me a bit of tinkering on a worn-out kettle. We must have thee -down at Porlock to stop a hole in a man's life. Fin is putting a saddle -on the sure-footed roan even now. I take no denial, Master Katerfelto. -If you come not of good will, I shall carry you thither by force." - -"Needs must, when the devil drives," answered the other; "and the -proverb seems to hold good with a West-country parson. But, I pray you, -let us ride softly and fairly. Lancets and scalpels are none the better -for shaking, and I had as lief be hanged by King George, as break my -neck in a Devonshire bog!" - -Nervous of temperament, loving his ease, and unaccustomed to the saddle, -there yet lurked in Katerfelto that professional instinct which seems to -pervade every disciple of the healing science. He left his dinner -unfinished for a scamper over the moor, regretful indeed, yet with -admirable promptitude in the hope of saving a fellow-creature's life. He -had practised medicine and surgery before he took to conspiracy and -imposition, entertained sufficient confidence in his own skill, -believing it greater than it was; and, but for the Parson's reckless -speed, and the rough nature of the ground they traversed, would have -experienced a doctor's gratification in the excitement of a new case, -and the exercise of his art. But that rushing, reckless, headlong ride -put to flight all thoughts save those of immediate self-preservation. -Fin Cooper's roan, no matter how he came by it, was a swift and -sure-footed galloway, with a hard mouth and a determined will of its -own. The Parson had no sooner mounted, than he urged his horse to a -gallop, and proceeded at that pace up and down the steepest hills, along -the most broken paths, over the roughest ground, and through the tallest -heather without pause or hesitation; while the galloway, not to be -outdone, followed close in its leader's track, now leaping a hidden -ditch, now swerving sharply aside to avoid a ravine, anon plunging -through a bog up to its girths, with snorts of emulation and defiance. -Finally, when the Parson came to an abrupt halt in the gloom of Horner -Woods, it bumped against his horse's quarters with a jerk, that fairly -shot Katerfelto out of the saddle on its neck and ears. - -"I pray you give me a moment's breathing space," urged the discomfited -rider as he shuffled back into his seat, "else I warn you, Master Gale, -you will bring the dead to heal the living when we arrive at our -patient's door!" - -"Where there's life, there's hope," answered the Parson, who, in his -abstraction, regarded his companion's distress no more than the -difficulties in their way. "We are close at hand now. I can hear the -tide whispering in the bay. Oh! Master Katerfelto, rescue me this one -man from the grasp of death, and ask Abner Gale what you will in return. -I am not so bad as you think, and--and--bad as I am, I never went back -from my word!" - -"I'll do my best," promised the other, observing, with exceeding -gratification, that their horses' hoofs now rang on a sound, hard road, -and that the scanty lights which marked the village of Porlock were -within a quarter of a mile. - -Dismounting at old Carew's door, the Parson ushered Katerfelto into -Nelly's presence, and while he felt reassured to learn that her -grandfather was still alive, could not but mark with deep concern the -ravages a few hours of distress and vexation had made on the sweet face -of his promised wife. He seemed, however, to recognise one consolation -in the midst of all his troubles and anxieties--John Garnet must be far -enough off by this time, and there was nothing more to fear from the -rival, whose absence he had purchased at the price of his own revenge. -In his self-satisfaction, the Parson almost fancied himself a benevolent -and forgiving man, with virtues only now coming to maturity, who -deserved to be happy because he was good. - -Establishing the Doctor in Carew's house, under his grand-daughter's -care, Abner Gale had the grace to take his own departure without delay, -and rode home through the dark, elated at the successful issue of his -enterprise, and the matrimonial prospects opening before him, but -unmoved by Nelly's wan looks and obvious misery, as by the north wind -that blew so keen at his back in angry gusts, powdering the sleeves of -his riding-coat with something whiter than sleet, something, that a -month later in the year he would have called snow. - -"She never could live a week in that old house," muttered the Parson, -turning his collar up to his ears, "unprotected and alone. She would -come home to Abner Gale's roof, for sure, as kind and willing as a bird -to the nest. It won't be long first, my beauty, for, if this is to be -winter in earnest, the cold will bring the old man down like an apple -off a tree!" - -And the Parson was right. Carew's life was indeed ebbing swiftly and -surely away; yet much had to come and go, even at this quiet village of -Porlock, before his shattered storm-worn bark could reach her peaceful -moorings in that Fair Haven--"where the wicked cease from troubling and -the weary are at rest." - -Katerfelto did his duty, and Nelly scarcely left the patient's bedside -for a minute at a time. If skill and attention could have saved him, old -Carew might have been kept alive for many a week to come; but the last -few grains in the hour-glass seem to dribble away the fastest, and it -was no more obvious to the doctor who watched, than to the girl who -prayed, that with sinking strength and failing vitality, the question -was no longer of days, but of hours. - -In this her sore distress, how could John Garnet find it in his heart to -leave the neighbourhood of the woman he loved? How could he bear to -think of her loneliness, protected only by the hateful attentions of -Parson Gale? He lingered on imprudently enough, visiting the house at -frequent intervals for news of the dying man, and pressing many a -crown-piece on the sorrowful servant, who was the only person visible to -answer his inquiries. - -Yet his pale and anxious looks had been marked by loving eyes, swimming -in tears because of his constancy, his danger, and the promise that -forbade further warning or expostulation. Herself unseen, Nelly caught a -glimpse of her lover more than once--and so did Katerfelto. - -His presence filled the Charlatan with indignation and alarm. They had -been concerned together in a conspiracy against the Government, and -either of them, so argued Katerfelto, could hang the other. If John -Garnet recognised him, it was more than probable that he would endeavour -to secure his own safety, or at least a commutation of capital -punishment, by informing against his confederate. - -The grey horse, the arms, the money, all would be traced back to the -master-spirit that originated the plot, and there would be no escape for -him then! John Garnet must be destroyed at once, without scruple and -without delay. The means were close at hand. The Parson made no secret -of his attachment to Nelly Carew, and Katerfelto seemed to know by -instinct that in such a character as Gale's, jealousy once aroused could -be lulled by nothing short of a deadly and final revenge. After all, he -did but act in self-defence! He owed John Garnet a grudge, perhaps, for -the abduction of Waif; but it was no question of petty injuries or -reprisals now. Simply a choice of evils. John Garnet or himself had to -pay the penalty of high-treason at Tyburn. Of course, it must be John -Garnet! - -So, when Parson Gale rode down to Porlock on his daily visit of inquiry, -the Charlatan motioned him into the little parlour, and closed the door -on their conference, with a mysterious face. - -"My business here," he began, in his dry, sarcastic tone, "lies with -symptoms rather than affections, and concerns the liver more than the -heart. Nevertheless, I can understand men's devices, though I cannot -sympathise with their follies, and I see well enough, Master Gale, there -is no price you would grudge to pay for a pair of blue eyes that are -sore with weeping and watching in the chamber overhead." - -"What of that?" asked the other abruptly; for Nelly's persistent -avoidance of him on the plea of her grandfather's danger vexed him to -the heart. - -"Not much, in my opinion," answered Katerfelto; "but it may be something -in yours. The same cause produces different effects. You carry a pebble -in your pocket without inconvenience, but put it in your shoe, and I -defy you to walk across the room. You love this girl, Master Gale, and I -know it. Do you want to lose her?" - -The Parson must have been very much in earnest, for he neither stormed -nor swore, but only turned a shade paler, and said, in a low, thick -voice, "Lose her!--I had rather lose my own soul!" - -"Then look a little closer after her," was the reply. "There's another -man within a stone's-throw who loves blue eyes, may be as well as you -do. He comes to the house daily. Aye, half-a-dozen times a day!" - -"What manner of man?" asked the Parson, still in the same low, -concentrated voice. - -"A straight, handsome young spark," answered Katerfelto, "with bright -eyes and dark clustering hair. Tush, Master Gale, you know him well -enough--'tis none other than my former patient, 'plain' John Garnet!" - -"When was he here last?" - -"To-day--not an hour ago--a few minutes before you arrived. Stay, -Master Gale--you seem in a prodigious hurry to be gone. See! you have -forgotten your riding-glove." - -"Give it Master Garnet when next he comes," said the Parson, in no -louder tones than before, but with a look in his eyes that made even -Katerfelto's blood run cold, "and tell him from me the harbourer shall -not claim his right next time I set my stag up to bay. He will know what -I mean. Oh! Nelly, Nelly!" he murmured, with a sob, while he unhitched -his bridle from the garden palings, "I would have kept to my bargain if -you had kept to yours!" - -The Charlatan, returning to his medical duties perfectly satisfied that -his object was in course of accomplishment, observed that Nelly was not -as usual in attendance on her grandfather. She entered the room, -however, within a minute or two, so pale and calm, that he had not the -least suspicion she could have overheard any part of his conversation -with the Parson. - -Nevertheless, that evening, John Garnet found on his supper-table a -letter, the first he had ever received from her, bearing no signature, -and consisting only of the following lines: - -"They have resolved on your destruction. Fly at once. Perhaps hereafter -I shall see you again. Think no more of what I said. I will never marry -him. I had rather die first." - -That was all, but it set John Garnet acting as well as thinking. His -preparations were soon made, a small valise was packed, his arms were -carefully examined and fresh primed, finally he visited his horse in the -stable, saw to his corn, his shoes, his saddle and bridle, all the -requirements indispensable for the morrow, when, with the first -appearance of day, he would have to ride for his life. - -Lastly, he passed once more under Nelly's windows, and watched, with a -strange, sad longing, the point of light that denoted her vigil by the -dying man's bed. Then he turned back to his lodging for a few hours' -rest, more depressed and sick at heart than he had ever felt before. The -north wind howled angrily, stripping their autumn leaves in scores from -the bending boughs of the orchard, while every now and then, an -ungathered apple came to the ground with a thud. It was a dreary night, -pain and sorrow within, cold and desolation without. A hopeless mourner -above, a weary watcher below, for something told John Garnet that old -Carew's life was ebbing away with every passing minute, and that death -was busy up yonder, while here the snow fell thick and fast. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -REMORSE. - - -In the gipsies' camp a night of snow and storm was accepted without a -murmur, and provided against in a spirit of ingenuity and forethought -peculiar to such wayfarers, as love the shelter of no roof so well as -the canopy of heaven. Fin Cooper in his tent, at the door of which -crackled a liberal fire of roots and brushwood, filling the interior -with warmth, and indeed smoke, declared himself as happy as a king! He -had all his comforts about him, and most of his possessions within call, -nor wanted a sufficient share of such superfluities as made the luxuries -of his hard unsophisticated life. There was a dressed skin for his -couch, a good blanket for his coverlet, and a soft shawl doubled over an -anker of brandy for his pillow. In the kettle steamed a hare, a brace of -partridges, and a haunch from the fore-quarter of a red-deer. With food, -rest, and warmth, good liquor in his cup and good tobacco in his pipe, -Fin could not but admit that, so long as his tent held waterproof, he -was not much to be pitied, even on a Devonshire moor under an early fall -of snow. To-night, also, he considered himself more fortunate than -usual, as he shared these advantages with no less welcome a visitor than -Waif, accompanied, for reasons of propriety, by her grandmother, an old -Egyptian, reputed to have once been handsome, and of fascinating -demeanour, now, to say the least, a remarkable person in appearance, -grim, taciturn, given to drink, and seldom condescending to remove a -short black pipe from her mouth. - -His promised wife, on the contrary, seemed in high spirits, as she was -unquestionably in great beauty. Her black eyes, flushed and sparkled, -her tawny cheek glowed with a rich deep crimson, while her manner -betrayed no little self-assertion, her tone something, amounting almost -to defiance, when addressed by her future lord. Talkative she never had -been from childhood, but to-night she was less taciturn than usual, and -seemed strangely eager to break such occasional silence as gave scope -for her own thoughts. - -Fin, looking on her with admiring eyes, did not fail to notice that in -figure she had grown thin, to leanness, and that there shone a -brilliancy, unnatural even for a gipsy, in the uneasy glances that -watched his movements so narrowly, yet never rested for an instant on -his face. - -Thyra always seemed unlike other girls, thought Fin, and this -preoccupation, no doubt, was but the slyness of love. - -He took her hand, while the old beldame was busy refilling her pipe, and -raised the slender, shapely fingers to his lips, with a comely grace, -that a gipsy wears no less naturally than a prince of the blood. - -"To-morrow, Thyra," said he, "you will make Fin Cooper the happiest man -alive. To-morrow we shall be one in the sight of all our people, never -to part again. The parson of the Gorgios joins a couple by the hand, -like a brace of thieves chained together in the dock, but the Romipen of -the Romany, a true gipsy marriage, solders them heart to heart, as I -would weld tin and copper into brass! To-morrow, my lass, you will be -mine. To-night I am altogether yours. Ask me what you will, beautiful -Thyra, I can deny you nothing at such a time as this!" - -Her hand remained in his while he spoke: when he dropped it she shivered -from head to foot. - -"I am cold," she murmured, "so cold. There will be snow to-morrow, Fin, -deep snow, amongst these hills. The Gorgio bride wears white on her -marriage-day. A Romany lass might do worse than follow the example." - -Her fixed gaze, that seemed looking on some object miles and miles away, -her sorrowful tone, so quiet and so very weary, disturbed him. He caught -her hand once more, and would have drawn her into his arms, but for the -shake and snort of a horse at the tent-door, and Parson Gale's -well-known voice, bidding him rouse and show himself, with a tass of -brandy in his hand. - -A man who has little to offer is usually very hospitable. Fin sprang -forward to welcome the intruder, with cordial alacrity, and summoned a -bare-legged urchin from half-a-score within call, to lead the Parson's -horse into a sheltered nook behind the adjoining copse, where two or -three donkeys were pulling at a truss of hay. Abner Gale was then -hurried into the tent, and supplied with brandy; the inclemency of the -weather rendering that liquor unusually grateful to his burly frame. - -"All friends, here?" asked the Parson, holding the untasted cup in his -hand. - -"All friends," replied Fin Cooper. "The old woman is stone deaf, and -this time to-morrow Thyra will be my wife!" - -Gale was equal to the occasion. Ere Waif could turn her head, he -imprinted a kiss on her cheek, and tossed off the brandy to her health. - -"I claim my priest's dues," said he gallantly, "the first right to -salute a bride. And now to business, Fin. Not a moment is to be lost. I -want to borrow the sure-footed roan again to-night. I'll pay you -handsome this time." - -With the lofty politeness of men who deal in horses honestly or -otherwise, Fin ignored the question of money altogether. - -"Oh! that's nothing between me and you," said the gipsy; "but the last -journey you went our roan might as well have been stag-hunting. You must -have galloped him a dozen miles on end without drawing bridle. 'Tis a -good little beast as was ever bred on the moor, but I needn't tell you, -Parson, that horseflesh is not iron. What do you want with him, now?" - -"To mount Dick Boss," was the answer. - -Fin made a wry face, and Waif held her breath. A sheriff's officer -seemed the last person to whom it was natural for a gipsy to lend his -horse. - -Parson Gale put his head out at the tent-door, looked about him into the -dark night through which snow-flakes were falling thick; and, having -satisfied himself, he could not be overheard, proceeded to unfold his -plans, the more frankly that he had every reason to count on the -assistance of both his listeners. - -"There's money be to got by the job," said he, with an evil scowl on his -heavy brows. "Blood-money, but what of that? We will share and share -alike. This pretty lass of yours, Fin, she found out where the deer -harboured. You and Dick Boss, and another handy chap or two, shall help -me take him, and when King George comes down with the reward, God bless -him--there will be twenty guineas each to spend in drink! If that won't -make a blithe wedding, Fin Cooper, I'll engage to remain a bachelor till -my dying day!" - -The gipsy was a man of business. "And your share, Parson?" he asked, -calculating the sum to be divided with great exactitude. - -"I don't desire to be paid," replied the Parson. "I do it for the -sport!" - -Waif leaped from her seat, with flashing eyes, and her hand on the -knife she always wore, but sank back laughing wildly, and speaking in -short disjointed gasps. - -"Good!" she said. "Good! He's the right sort, Fin, this Gorgio. Bid him -tell us how he means to set about the job." - -Fin Cooper, turning to the Parson, thought he had never seen so wicked a -smile as that which gleamed in Gale's eyes, and curled round his mouth -while he repeated, "I do it for the sport, lad; he's a right deer, I -tell ye; and if I don't set him up to-morrow, I swear I'll never go -hunting again." - -"That's why you want the roan?" asked Fin, turning the matter over in -his mind, as a question of profit and loss. - -"Right," answered the Parson; "Dick Boss must be on a good nag, and so -must I. If John Garnet should get the wind of us, he'll show a clean -pair of heels, you may take your oath. But what of that? Let worst come -to worst, four mounted men spreading wide, and knowing every yard of the -ground, ought to ride him down, though the grey horse had a wing at each -foot instead of an iron shoe. But that's not my plan. Hark ye, Fin; -we'll be in the saddle before daybreak, and we'll take him while he's -asleep." - -Waif stirred uneasily, but only muttered again, "Good! good! Mind what -he says, Fin, for surely the Gorgio speaks fair." - -"'Tis as easy as drinking out of a glass," continued the Parson, scarce -noticing her interruption. "Dick Boss and the roan, his two men riding -their own nags, yourself, Fin, on something that can gallop a bit, I -never knew you without one--and game old Cassock to bring me along with -the best of ye. It would be a rare chase, lad--I could almost wish he -might slip through our fingers, and ride for it over the moor, but he'll -never have the chance, Fin; he'll never have the chance!" - -"Suppose he shows fight, Parson," suggested the gipsy, who was a bold -fellow enough on occasion, but regarded such matters with a keen eye to -business. "'Tis none of your dunghill fowls this, but a cock of the -game, with never a morsel of white in his wing, put him down where you -will. Suppose he lugs out on Dick Boss, and whistles a brace of balls -into you and me?" - -"I'm not afraid of him," answered Gale; "it makes no difference in the -reward, Fin, whether we take him dead or alive." - -"Come back, Thyra!" exclaimed the gipsy, with more of a husband's -authority than was yet permissible in his tone. "Where are you going, -lass? Come back, I tell ye." - -She was already through the tent-door, but returned at his bidding. -"It's stifling hot in here, Fin," she said; "I should have choked but -for that mouthful of fresh air." - -"And you were so cold a while ago," he replied, watching her narrowly. -"Parson Gale," he added, turning to his visitor, "take the roan and -welcome. The lad will show you where to find him. I'll meet you at the -head of the coombe an hour before daybreak. It's a job that won't work -well in the dark; but the less time we put off the better when once the -sun's up. Will you take another cup of brandy, Parson? You've a cold -ride before you, and we've not done with the snow yet." - -But Gale declined, and Waif, who suffered nothing to escape her notice, -argued from this unusual abstinence an intense longing to work out the -project of his revenge. - -So John Garnet was to be in the power of his enemies, bound hand and -foot, delivered over to a shameful death, with to-morrow's dawn, and it -wanted but three hours of daylight now. John Garnet, with his merry -eyes, his winning smile, and frank, kindly face. Was this to be the end -of all? The nightcap, and the nosegay, and the hangman's cart rumbling -over the stones on Tyburn-hill. John Garnet, the man she used to love so -dearly she would have followed him bare-footed through the world. And -it was _her_ doing--_her_ revenge. Yes! If she had driven a knife into -his throat she could not more surely have slain him, than when she -betrayed the secret of his hiding-place, and denounced him to Parson -Gale. The man she used to love, the man she loved so fondly, so madly -still. Now that it was too late, the whole tide of her feelings seemed -to turn, and she would have given her own life freely, then and there, -to save him, aye even for the blue-eyed girl, whom from the moment she -saw them whispering together in the orchard she hated, with the fierce, -pitiless hatred of her race. - -She gasped for breath, the tent and its occupants swam before her eyes; -a deadly faintness seemed to hang fetters of ice about her limbs, and -she turned sick, with a maddening fear, lest the strength and hardihood -she had so prized might fail her, in this, the extremity of her need. - -Fin Cooper watched her with shrewd suspicious glances. The gipsy, a man -of few words, but keen in perception, and ready of resource, drew his -own conclusions from the restlessness he could not fail to notice in his -promised wife, and resolved not to let her out of his sight till he -started on horseback to join Parson Gale and his satellites. Once in the -saddle, he had no fear that Waif could outstrip them, or give John -Garnet warning of his danger, till he was safe in their hands. - -So he sat and smoked in silence, stretching his legs across his own -tent-door, while Waif gnawed her lip in an agony of remorse within, and -the snow fell fast through the darkness without. But towards dawn the -air turned colder and the sky began to clear. Fin Cooper rose, shook -himself, drank a mouthful of brandy, and bestowing a sarcastic nod on -its inmates, left the tent to saddle his horse and depart. In a moment -the girl slipped out behind him, and, lightly clad as she was, sped -through the sleeping encampment, swift and noiseless as a deer. Her -grandmother, waking from a doze, never doubted but that Thyra had -returned to her own tent, and unwilling to face the night-air, composed -herself to sleep again with the pipe still in her mouth. Fin Cooper, -riding steadily up the coombe, chuckled to think how he had outwitted -his bride, and stifled the pangs of jealousy it seemed so unreasonable -to entertain, now that the lapse of an hour or two must deliver his -rival into his hand, while the swarm of gipsies he left behind him, -huddled up in their blankets under their canvas coverings, snored -healthily and loud, thinking little, and caring less, about the pearl of -their tribe, her anguish, her sorrows, her coming espousals, or, indeed, -anything but their own warmth, comfort, and repose. - -So Waif sped on, fast as her supple limbs could carry her, through the -copse, and up the coombe, and across the moor, wrapped in its cheerless -shroud, stretching, as it seemed in her impatience, to a limitless -expanse that mortal foot could never compass, mortal eye was powerless -to scan. Oh! for the wings of the curlew! Oh! for the speed of the -red-deer. She would give all the rest of her life, willingly, -thankfully, for two leagues, only two leagues, less to traverse, for two -hours, only two hours more to spare. Was it the snow that showed -everything so distinctly, or was this really the light of morning -stealing, cold and pitiless, over a world of white? Toiling, hurrying, -panting, all agape with pain and fear, she yet found breath to curse the -coming day. And still she hardly knew how or why she was straining nerve -and sinew in this desperate race. There could be nothing in common now, -between herself and the man whom she hated so bitterly, yet loved so -well. He had deceived her, aye, as he had deceived many another, before -it came to her turn (here Waif's small white teeth closed hard on her -dainty lip), and would deceive more, no doubt, hereafter, with the same -alluring smile, if through her agency he should escape the penalty of -his misdeeds, and survive for future treachery. How could he be so -false, so cruel, so heartless? Were all men like this, Fin Cooper and -the rest, or was John Garnet a vile exception to his kind? She knew not, -she cared not. Good or bad, she loved him! she loved him! how could she -ever have thought otherwise? and she would do all in her power to save -him, cost what it might. - -Oh, that endless stretch of moor--those weary dragging miles! Curse -them! Curse them! It was broad daylight already, and she had only now -caught sight of the Severn Sea, lowering a dark and sullen line beyond -the snowy waste. A band of iron seemed to enclose her head, a weight to -drag at each of her limbs, a cold hand to tighten round her heart. What -if her strength were to fail, and she should be too late after all. - -To see him once again!--once again! Only to look in his face and die! -She would be content then, and ask for nothing more. But the time -passed, ah! so quickly, and her lagging feet so laboured in the -snow-drifts, that he might be taken long before she could arrive at -Porlock, and even then the only mercy she asked of heaven might be -denied. - -Her lips were parched and dry, her knees trembled, she could hold out at -such exhausting speed no longer, and yet she had scarce accomplished -half the distance to her goal. She knew that deep, dark ravine well, -narrowing yonder in her front to some eight or nine yards from bank to -bank. It would save more than a mile could she cross it at that point -where the blighted fir-tree stood. Above and below it widened into a -deep precipitous coombe, tangled with brushwood, through which a silver -thread of running water laughed and whispered many a fathom down in its -slippery bed of stones. No. It was too far to leap, and she must go -round. She lost heart utterly; and the wind, rising once more in -mocking gusts, seemed to flout and buffet her, driving another -snow-storm in her face. - -But on its wings it carried a dull, smothered beat, faint and distant, -yet drawing nearer with each regular monotonous foot-fall. It was the -tramp of horses, galloping at speed over the snowy surface of the moor; -and Waif, eager, erect, motionless, listening with every nerve, as the -red hind listens to the tufters, made out distinctly that the nearest -rider was far ahead of two or three others in pursuit. - -As the blinding storm passed over, that death-chase came fairly into -view. Along the side of the opposite hill swept two horsemen at headlong -pace, the one a quarter of a mile before the other, and increasing his -distance with every stride. A third laboured hopelessly in the rear; and -two more, one of whom she recognised as her affianced husband, were -making for the head of the coombe, with the obvious intention of hemming -in and cutting off the object of their pursuit. - -Keener even than a gipsy's eye-sight, the instincts of love and hate -told Waif that the first rider was John Garnet, the second Abner Gale. - -"Have I found thee, oh, mine enemy!" muttered the Parson, plying Cassock -with his spurs, while he scanned the ravine before them, and reflected, -not without a grim humour, how impossible it seemed that any creature -unprovided with wings should reach the other side. He knew that deep and -yawning chasm, where the fir-tree stood, well as he knew his own -stable-door; but he did _not_ know the grey horse's dauntless courage, -nor the recklessness of a man like John Garnet riding for his life! - -Waif, however, could understand and rely on both. Tearing the 'kerchief -from her bosom while she ran, she hurried down to the deep precipitous -edge at its narrowest part, and waved for the man she loved her signal -to come on. - -How _like_ him, she thought, to spare a hand, even at such a crisis, and -raise his hat from his comely head ere he forced it firmly down and set -his horse going for the leap. - -"By George! you _are_ a flyer!" said John Garnet, as Katerfelto, -pricking his ears and shortening his stride while he increased his pace, -bounded freely from bank to bank, detaching, however, with his hind feet -a large portion of earth and shingle, that went rumbling and rattling -down many a perpendicular fathom into the abyss. So that, even while the -words were on the rider's lips, the horse stumbled and fell as he -landed, rolling forward on his side and shoulder in the snow. - -John Garnet, who never let go his reins, was up in an instant; whilst -the horse rose almost as nimbly, with wild eye and spreading nostril, -snorting in terror and defiance, scared alike by his exploit and his -fall. - -Plunging forward, the buckle of his throat-lash gave way, the bit -slipped out of his mouth, and Katerfelto scoured riderless into the -waste, leaving John Garnet standing on his feet, with the bridle in his -hand. A shout of triumph from the pursuers, who were already rounding -the head of the coombe, warned him that they had seen the catastrophe, -and were prepared to take advantage of it. Unarmed and dismounted they -could ride him down now, they thought, at their leisure, let the grey -horse go where he might. - -Among the many faults of his character, none could tax Abner Gale with -want of promptitude or decision in an emergency. No sooner was he -satisfied that his enemy meant to charge boldly the obstacle in front, -than he too, urged no less by vanity than hatred, made up his mind, -while he caught hold of the black horse's head, to ride at it, -neck-or-nothing, and take his chance! - -[Illustration: NECK-OR-NOTHING.] - -John Garnet was hardly down and up again, ere the Parson, sitting firmly -in the saddle, had forced his horse at the leap, even to the very brink. -But, wiser than his master, poor Cassock was fain to be excused. Alas! -the rider's strength of seat and hands and limbs, above all, his -indomitable _will_, would take no denial, and the gallant old horse -made his effort too late! Chesting the opposite bank, the concussion -shot the hapless pair, as if from a catapult, to the very bottom of the -chasm. - -Even in the turmoil of her feelings, Waif turned sick, while her -imagination, rather than her senses, told her the hideous truth; but -John Garnet, peering over the brink to where a dead man and horse, with -hardly a bone unbroken in either of their frames, lay rolled up in a -ghastly heap, could not help murmuring, "'Tis a pity sure, for vile as -he is, a scoundrel not worth hanging, no better rider, nor bolder, ever -buckled on a pair of spurs!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -REPARATION. - - -But there was no time for interchange of sentiments, regretful or -otherwise, at such a crisis. Fin Cooper and Dick Boss had already -coasted round the coombe, and were hastening down its side to the fatal -spot. Katerfelto, carrying his rider's saddle, valise, and pistols, -galloped across them masterless, into the waste. John Garnet, dismounted -and disarmed, for even the short sword he wore had been jerked out of -its belt in his desperate ride, felt that he must surrender at -discretion. What chance had he against two resolute men on horseback, -who knew the moor, were provided with fire-arms, and had legal authority -to use them if required. - -"The game's up, Waif," said he, "but you and I have played it out, my -lass, to the very last card! I was thinking of you only this morning at -daybreak when I stole away from Porlock, and my friends over yonder set -up a shout of rage to see my tracks not three minutes old in the snow! -If I had but known the country! Well, well! 'Twas a rare burst and a -noble leap! You showed me the only spot where it could be done, and I -understood with the first wave of your arm; but how came you to be here, -my pretty Waif, in the nick of time?" - -Oh! the kind cruel voice! the kind cruel words! It was snowing fast, -and the wet Waif dashed from her eyelashes might not have been tears -after all. - -"I knew they meant to kill you!" she sobbed. "I heard their vile, wicked -plot, and Fin kept me a prisoner in his tent lest I should warn you. Ah! -they little knew Waif, if they thought she could sit and count her -fingers when _you_ were in danger! I swore to save you, and I will! -Thank your God, if you Gorgios have one, for this snow-storm. No man -living can see twenty paces before him while it lasts. Take off your -boots!" - -He stared, wondering if she had gone mad, but Waif was already on her -knees dragging at one of his feet with all her might. - -She continued, in an eager, hurried whisper, without desisting for a -moment from her task: "Close by here, under the birch-tree, is a -sheep-track that will lead you safe to the bottom of the coombe. Keep in -the brushwood by the water-side, and follow the stream. A mile lower -down you will come to Red Rube's hut. They will never think of looking -for you there. Tell him Thyra Lovel sent you, and he will hide you for -my sake. Farewell, Master Garnet. I--I wish you good luck, and--do -not--do not quite forget Waif!" - -Ere she had done speaking, his heavy riding-boots were drawn on her own -shapely limbs. Then she turned away to plunge through the snow without -another word. - -He stretched his arms towards her. For one brief moment she stood -looking at him, less like a woman of real flesh and blood, than some -visionary phantom of the night. To his dying day, John Garnet never -forgot that figure of the gipsy-girl, her pale face, her raven hair, the -folds of her scarlet hood seen through the slanting downfall of the -storm. Those solemn eyes, with their yearning gaze, seemed still bent on -him, long after the slender shape had vanished in that grey and -thickening gloom; vanished for ever, to return no more but in his -dreams. - -Shouts at no great distance warned him that he must attend to his own -safety, and, slipping cautiously into the coombe, he obeyed Waif's -directions to the letter, keeping studiously under cover in the -brushwood, and making his way along the bed of the stream, as nimbly as -lacerated feet, protected only by hose, would allow. Ere he reached Red -Rube's hut, where he found the harbourer at home and willing to give him -shelter, he had plenty of time to reflect on his future plans, and to -appreciate the devotion and self-sacrifice of the girl whose heart he -had won so lightly and cared so little to retain. Pangs he felt, no -doubt, of pity, regret, even remorse, but through them all, he could not -but admit, that one glance from Nelly Carew's blue eyes would be enough -to make him forget his own thoughtless frivolity, and the gipsy's -unreasoning, incontrollable affection that was now risking dear life for -his sake. - -He could not but acknowledge the dangers she must incur toiling through -the snow in his heavy riding-boots, that she might draw his pursuers -from the path he actually followed. She might perish of cold and -exhaustion on the open moor. She might be buried in some snow-drift from -which she had not strength to extricate herself. Worse than all, when -overtaken and caught, what fatal penalty might not be exacted by the -vengeance of that half-savage husband whom she had deceived for the sake -of her Gentile love. - -If Waif herself entertained any such misgivings, they were swallowed up -in the single consideration of out-witting his pursuers, to save John -Garnet from death. - -So she plunged and laboured on, faint, breathless, weary, sustained only -by the one earnest aim of her brave and loving heart, listening eagerly -for the voices of those who were on her track, and exulting, with -fierce and bitter triumph, to lead them farther and farther from their -prey. - -One more mile. If her strength would last but for one more mile, he must -have reached his refuge then, and she would be content to lie down and -die. Shrouded in a snow-drift on her wedding-day. (She laughed to -herself at the conceit) and married, like a Gorgio bride, all in white! - -Fin Cooper and Dick Boss, galloping down to the spot at which the grey -horse fell, made sure of his rider at such a grievous disadvantage, and -laughed, while they pointed out to each other the heavy footmarks -printed off distinctly in the snow. - -"He'll not travel far in them boots, wading through the drifts!" -remarked Dick Boss, who was little given to conversation at the best of -times. - -"'Tis our hunted stag," answered Fin, showing his white teeth, with a -pitiless laugh; "he's beginning to weary already, I can tell, by the -slot!" - -So they followed, with renewed ardour, upward, always upward into the -hill, and pointing for the wildest part of the moor. - -But the horses were beginning to tire, toiling more than fetlock deep in -snow, and the blinding flakes that lashed the faces of their riders not -only shrouded everything from their view, but filled up and obliterated -the track on which they depended for guidance and success. "We are beat, -man!" said Dick, drawing rein, sulkily, and wringing the heavy snow from -his sleeves and holsters. "There's not a drop of blood left unfroze in -my body, and I shall give out!" turning his bridle at the same time -doggedly down hill, while the gipsy, trusting to his knowledge of the -country, declared his own intention of making a wide sweep forward, -hoping thus to catch a glimpse of the pedestrian, and ride him down, so -soon as the storm modified sufficiently to distinguish an object at ten -paces' distance. - -Once parted, the two men had no chance of coming together again. The -sheriff's officer, through sheer good luck did eventually find his way -back to Porlock, but Fin Cooper wandered aimlessly on many a mile -further into the wilderness. He, too, was at last obliged to confess -himself defeated. Not only baffled in his search, but lost, like an -overfed Gorgio, on the moor. - -The snow, falling and fallen, so completely effaced or altered every -familiar land-mark, that he rode blindly round and round, ashamed to -admit he was unable to find his way out of this weary, interminable, -undulating waste of white. - -After a hundred mistakes, a hundred disappointments, he came to a -standstill perforce. Floundering through a deep snow-drift, he was -compelled to halt and take a survey of the misty surface, over which -every passing moment made it more unsafe to travel. The storm, that had -raged and lulled at intervals, now lifted for a time, disclosing at a -hundred paces' distance something that caused Fin to start in his -saddle, and brought a blasphemy of malice and exultation to his lips. - -Yonder, almost within pistol-shot, lay a motionless heap half buried, -half revealed, and yes, his keen hawk's eye did not deceive him, a -horseman's heavy boot protruded from the snow! - -With a cry of triumph he spurred eagerly to the spot, and leaped from -the saddle in such fierce and hungry hate as impels the pounce of a wild -cat--the swoop of a bird of prey. - -[Illustration: THE GIPSY'S BRIDE.] - -She lay dead--stone dead. The girl he had loved all these years. The -woman that to-day, this very day was to have been his wife! And he -thought it was John Garnet, whose life he had thirsted to take for a -reward of twenty guineas. Twenty guineas to spend in rioting and -drunkenness at his wedding feast! He burst into so wild a shriek of -laughter as startled the very horse, from which he had dismounted, -and fell on his knees beside the rigid form, that he had last seen -warm and supple, clothed with living grace and beauty in his tent. - -It seemed impossible. She had not surely lain there many minutes, and -yet how stiff she had grown and cold! Against that fixed grey face he -laid his own, and tried hard in his agony to breathe life into those -pale parted lips, but it was hoping against hope, and while he swore -that it could not, should not be, his bursting heart told him the truth, -and he knew that Thyra Lovel's deep dark eyes would look on him again, -gladly or sadly, never more! Even in his utter misery he saw it all: the -ingenious shift, the false track, the artifice by which she had -outwitted him, and led him skilfully off the line of his pursuit, to -spend his wedding-day with her here, locked in each other's arms, the -only occupants of the frozen, desolate waste. - -The gipsy's mood was very pitiful and tender while he sat and watched by -her corpse in the falling snow, waiting till his horse should be -sufficiently rested to carry a double burthen, thinking, more in sorrow -than in anger, of their two blighted lives, and the love he had given so -lavishly without return, wondering in his heathen reasonings why these -things were so, wishing in his despair that the storm would fall thicker -and thicker to wrap them for ever on this their marriage-bed in its -shroud of eternal white. - -After a few days, however, all traces of winter again disappeared from -those smiling valleys and shaggy woodlands that border the Severn Sea. -Not a patch of white was left to spot the swarthy uplands where Dunkerry -Beacon lords it over the moor, and along the warm sheltered coast from -Watermouth to Watchet, summer seemed to have returned only softer and -kinder for her desertion. But the fairest flower in Devon languished and -faded in the genial sunshine, more obviously than she had drooped -beneath the storm. Nelly Carew, in deep mourning for her grandfather, -looking none the less beautiful in her sorrow, felt so lonely and -unprotected now, that in her moments of despondency she almost wished -she could die too, like the others, and be at rest. - -Katerfelto vainly endeavoured to persuade her that by accompanying him -in his flight to the Continent she might probably join John Garnet, who -must surely have preceded them to some of the usual refuges for such -political outlaws, believing, no doubt, that, accompanied by so -beautiful an associate, he could ply his old trade with every prospect -of success; but the girl's own sense of right forbade her to think for -an instant of such a scheme, and he, too, went his way, after Master -Carew's funeral, leaving Nelly entirely forsaken and alone. The -neighbours, though liberal in expressions of sympathy, and offers of -help which was not required, shook their heads and whispered to each -other that there was something unlucky about the lass--things went wrong -with all who took a fancy to her. The old grandfather, who couldn't keep -his eyes off her, and thought gold wasn't good enough for her to eat -off, he died--well--a man in years certainly, but still very little over -eighty after all! Then there was that godless parson who broke his neck -just above the Witches' Wash-pot, and indeed every bone of his body, so -that they could scarce straighten him decently for burial. Was he not a -lover of Mistress Nelly's? - -As to the young spark, a comely lad, forsooth, and a gallant, who came -and went with his grey horse like a flash of lightning, so that nobody -in Porlock ever knew what was gone with him, why it wasn't likely, was -it? that she would ever set eyes on _him_ again! Altogether, Nelly felt -very unhappy and despondent. It seemed hard, at her age, to be left so -friendless, so utterly alone in the world. - -But one afternoon, when the days were at their shortest, came a letter -by the weekly post from Taunton, stamped with a French mark, tied in a -bright new ribbon, and directed in a bold masculine hand to Mistress -Nelly Carew. - -From the date of its receipt the neighbours could not but observe how -the girl's eye grew brighter, and the colour returned to her cheek. The -hope that had nearly died out in her heart began to bloom once more, and -her trust came back in John Garnet, just as poor Waif's did, but with -better reason, and a happier result. - -She learned that powerful friends had made interest for this proscribed -young gentleman at court. The king was a thorough Englishman, placable, -courageous, extremely averse to severity when an enemy was conquered and -under foot. John Garnet counted on a free pardon, and even hinted at the -possibility of the northern estates reverting hereafter to their -rightful owner. Lord Bellinger had made a famous speech on the Cider -Bill, which brought him into notice, and gave him, for the time, -considerable influence. This influence he had exerted in Master Garnet's -favour, reasoning, with characteristic inconsequence, that but for the -exploit attributed to Galloping Jack, of which his penetration had -discovered the real originator, he would have been buried alive in the -West at the very time when he seized his opportunity to distinguish -himself in the House of Lords. Nelly must be patient and constant, as -the writer vowed to be himself. There was a good time coming, and she -must wait. - -That Nelly _did_ wait, I gather from a picture in the possession of the -Garnet family, representing a woman in the bloom of youth, with a pair -of outrageously beautiful blue eyes, smiling from under a mushroom hat, -on a child in a white frock and coral necklace at her feet. The whole -purporting, as set forth in gold letters on a corner of the canvas, to -be a portrait of Dame Elinor Garnet and her eldest son. If this be -indeed the Nelly Carew of his desperate expedition into Devon, I can -readily understand that sickness of heart which came over Waif, when -peering stealthily into the orchard at Porlock, she espied so comely a -damsel in affectionate converse with the man she loved. - -But what became of the good grey horse? Tradition, on the authority of -Red Rube, affirms that he was never retaken after his bridle broke, but -passed on rejoicing, to life-long freedom in the moor. The harbourer was -wont to declare that as soon as he had forwarded his rider, whom he kept -in close hiding for a week, to the little coast town whence an escape -was arranged by sea, he himself set out in pursuit of the incomparable -stallion, determined to tax all his science and ingenuity for the -capture of such a valuable prize. The very first day of his search, he -came upon the saddle and furniture from which the horse had kicked -himself clear. And many a time afterwards, he followed the iron-shod -hoof marks till the iron too had dropped off, leaving only the print of -a smooth oval foot, with the patience and persistency of his trade; but -shyer, and warier than any red-deer, the animal never allowed him to -come within hearing, and seldom within sight. Doubtless he joined those -herds of wild horses and ponies, which to this day roam through the -remote coombes and moorland wastes of West Somerset and North Devon, -free and unrestrained as the very breeze that sweeps across the scanty -herbage on which they feed. Here it is to be presumed that he fulfilled -his destiny, doing good in his generation, for even now, when some bold -and reckless rider has been carried more gallantly than usual, in one of -those wild, glorious, but exhausting runs that seem peculiar to the -West, he lays a loving hand on the reeking neck of his favourite, and -observes, triumphantly, "It always tells at the finish. You never get to -the end of them when they've a strain of blood that goes back to old -Katerfelto!" - - - THE END. - - - BRADBURY, AGNEW, & CO., PRINTERS, WHITEFRIARS - - - * * * * * - -Transcriber's Note: - -Punctuation has been standardised. Spelling and hyphenation have been -retained as they appear in the original publication. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Katerfelto, by G. J. Whyte-Melville - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK KATERFELTO *** - -***** This file should be named 40883-8.txt or 40883-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/8/8/40883/ - -Produced by Suzanne Shell, Ayeshah Ali and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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