diff options
Diffstat (limited to '43786-8.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 43786-8.txt | 9149 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 9149 deletions
diff --git a/43786-8.txt b/43786-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c78d209..0000000 --- a/43786-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9149 +0,0 @@ - A GENTLEMAN-AT-ARMS - - - - -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 http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - - - -Title: A Gentleman-at-arms - Being passages in the life of Sir Christopher Rudd, Knight -Author: Herbert Strang -Release Date: September 21, 2013 [EBook #43786] -Language: English -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A GENTLEMAN-AT-ARMS *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines. - - - - -[Illustration: SUDDENLY THERE WAS A ROAR OF MUSKETS, AND THROUGH THE -SMOKE I SAW THE SPANIARDS RUSHING TOWARDS US] - - - - - A GENTLEMAN-AT-ARMS: - - BEING PASSAGES IN THE LIFE OF - SIR CHRISTOPHER RUDD, KNIGHT, - AS RELATED BY HIMSELF IN THE - YEAR 1641 AND NOW SET FORTH BY - - - HERBERT STRANG - - - - WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY - CYRUS CUNEO - AND T. H. ROBINSON - - - - LONDON - HENRY FROWDE - HODDER & STOUGHTON - - - - [Illustration: Title page] - - - - - _First printed in 1914_ - - - - - *CONTENTS* - - -INTRODUCTORY - - -THE FIRST PART - -CHRISTOPHER RUDD'S ADVENTURE IN HISPANIOLA, AND THE STRANGE STORY OF -CAPTAIN Q - - -THE SECOND PART - -CHRISTOPHER RUDD'S ADVENTURE IN FRANCE, AND HIS BORROWING OF THE WHITE -PLUME OF HENRY OF NAVARRE - - -THE THIRD PART - -CHRISTOPHER RUDD'S ADVENTURE IN THE LOW COUNTRIES, AND HIS QUAINT DEVICE -OF THE SILVER SHOT - - -THE FOURTH PART - -CHRISTOPHER RUDD'S ADVENTURE IN SPAIN, AND THE FASHION IN WHICH HE -PLAYED THE PART OF A PHYSICIAN - - -THE FIFTH PART - -CHRISTOPHER RUDD'S ADVENTURE IN IRELAND, AND THE MANNER OF HIS WINNING A -WIFE - - -POSTSCRIPT - - - - - *LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS* - - - COLOUR PLATES BY CYRUS CUNEO - -SUDDENLY THERE WAS A ROAR OF MUSKETS, AND THROUGH THE SMOKE I SAW THE -SPANIARDS RUSHING TOWARDS US (see p. 52) . . . _Frontispiece_ - -I BEHELD THE MAN KNEELING BEFORE AN OPEN CHEST, GLOATING OVER IT, -PLUNGING HIS HANDS INTO IT - -THE SIEUR DE LANGRES GAVE ONE CHOKING SIGH, AND FELL AT THE KING'S FEET - -RAISING HIS SWORD HIGH ABOVE HIS HEAD, HE BROUGHT IT DOWN WITH A -VEHEMENT STROKE - -PINNING HIM DOWN UPON A CHAIR, I BADE HIM STERNLY GIVE HEED TO CERTAIN -CONDITIONS ON WHICH I WOULD SPARE HIS LIFE - -DOWN HE WENT UPON THE COBBLES, AND I STOOD OVER HIM WHILE HE LAY AND -GROANED - -INSTANTLY RAOUL WAS AT DON YGNACIO'S THROAT - -I FOUND MY LADY KNEELING BESIDE ME, HOLDING A CUP - - - - DRAWINGS BY T. H. ROBINSON - -I LAY HID UNTIL THE MAN HAD COME FORTH AND GONE HIS WAY - -HE CAUGHT THE SWIMMER AS HE WAS ON THE POINT OF SINKING - -THE SPANIARDS LEAPT INTO THE RAVINE AND CLAMBERED UP THE OTHER SIDE - -THE SWIFTNESS OF OUR ONSET TOOK THE SPANIARDS ALL ABACK - -WE OPENED THE CHESTS IN HIS PRESENCE - -I FELT A SHARP PANG IN THE CALF OF MY LEFT LEG - -A FIGURE SPRANG AT ME OUT OF THE DARK ENTRY - -I SAW A MAN LYING IN A HUDDLED HEAP - -WE CREPT SOFTLY AS FOXES TOWARD THE WALL - -"SIR, YOU COME FROM THE ILLUSTRIOUS PRINCE MAURICE OF NASSAU?" - -RIGHT MERRY WERE THE CITIZENS AT THE SUCCESS OF OUR ENTERPRISE - -VOLMAR READ THE LETTER BY THE AID OF A LANTERN - -I BEHELD THREE MEN AS BLACK BLOTS MOVING IN THE DARKNESS - -"TO-MORROW THE ORDER WILL BE GIVEN TO THE CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD TO ARREST -YOU" - -I TOLD HIM VERY SHORTLY, AND NEVER IN MY LIFE HAVE I SEEN SO PITEOUS A -SPECTACLE AS THAT LITTLE ROUND RUBICUND MAN - -I FOUND SIR WALTER IN HIS GARDEN - -HE THRUST INTO MY HAND SOME PAPERS - -I MADE BOLD TO ACCOST HIM - -I BETOOK MYSELF TO AN APOTHECARY'S - -"OUT OF MY SIGHT, RAPSCALLION!" - -SHOWING HIM MY DAGGER, I BADE HIM HOLD HIS PEACE - -HE PLIED THE WHIP RIGHT MERRILY - -THEY DID BUT MOCK ME WITH JEERS AND HORRID EXECRATIONS - -"I WILL SURELY EXECUTE UPON YOU ANY VIOLENCE OR INDIGNITY THAT MY FATHER -MAY SUFFER" - -GATHERING MY SPEED, IN FOUR LEAPS I WAS UPON HIM - -HE CLUTCHED ME BY THE ARM AND POINTED TO A REGIMENT OF DUSKY SHAPES - -I CROSSED THE GUARD OF RORY MAC SHANE, AND GAVE HIM THE POINT OF MY -SWORD - -"HOW NOW, MY BULLY ROOK!" - -HEADINGS ON PAGES . . . 17, 81, 129, 217, 311 - -TAILPIECES ON PAGES . . . 75, 123, 209, 304, 382 - - - - - *INTRODUCTORY* - - -The Rudds, like many another ancient family, have come down in the -world, as the saying goes. They no longer live on the toil of others, -but work for their own livelihood. They no longer own manors, or follow -their feudal lords to court in armour; but here and there about the -world, in business, at the Bar, in the Army or administrative offices, -they worthily sustain the honour of their name. - -The present head of the family cherishes an heirloom, which has -descended from father to son through three centuries. It has no -commercial value; it would not fetch a shilling in the auction room: -indeed, the mere hint of selling it would shock a Rudd. It is a flat -leather case, discoloured, frayed at the edges, almost worn out with -age. But upon its side may still be seen faint traces of the initials -C.R., and within it lies a bundle of faded papers, with the following -inscription on the cover: - - -_Certeyn Passages in the Life of Syr Christopher Rudde, knyghte, related -by himselfe in the yeare of our Lorde 1641, and written down by his -grandsonne Stephen._ - - -It is easy to understand why this old manuscript is treasured by the -Rudd family. The "certain passages" in their ancestor's life are -interesting in themselves, as narratives of romantic adventure in -various countries of the old world and the new. They give incidental -pictures of remarkable scenes and personages, and throw not a little -light on the manners and conditions of bygone times. Above all, they -seem to me to portray an English gentleman of the great age of -Elizabeth--a gentleman who had a proper pride in his country without -scorning others, and was ever ready to draw his sword chivalrously in -the cause of freedom and justice. - -The grandson, Stephen Rudd, professes to have written these stories as -they were told him by his grandfather; but I cannot help suspecting that -he dealt with them somewhat as the parliamentary reporters of the -present day are said to deal with the speeches delivered on the floor of -the House--arranging, giving form and coherence. You can detect in the -style echoes of the prose of Elizabeth's day, but it is on the whole -less coloured, less vigorous, more formal, in the manner of the Caroline -writers; and it has not the unconstraint of a man talking at ease in his -armchair. The events related are separated by wide intervals of time, -and Stephen has filled up the gaps with brief accounts of the course of -public affairs, as well as of the personal history of his grandfather. -In printing these along with Sir Christopher's stories, I have thought -it best, for the sake of uniformity, to modernise the spelling: there -would be no object in perplexing the reader with such antique forms, for -instance, as _beesyde_, _woordes_ and _tunge_. - -Sir Christopher's first story plunges at once into an adventure of his -seventeenth year, and it is perhaps advisable to preface it with a few -particulars of his earlier life. He was born, it appears, on July 15, -1571, the son of a country gentleman who owned a manor on the outskirts -of the New Forest. This was the year of the discovery of the Norfolk -plot against the life of Queen Elizabeth, and the opening of a period of -great moment in the history of England and Europe. The boy was six -years old when Drake set sail on his famous voyage to the Pacific; and -during the next few years he must have heard many stirring events talked -about in his father's hall--Alva's persecutions in the Netherlands, the -assassination of the Prince of Orange, the buccaneering exploits of the -English sea-dogs. At the age of twelve he entered William of Wykeham's -great school at Winchester, and we may imagine how eagerly he discussed -with his school fellows such items of exciting news as filtered through -from the greater world. It is not surprising that his imagination was -fired, that the lust of adventure gripped him, and that at last the call -proved irresistible, bringing his schooldays to an abrupt end, and -luring him forth to a career of activity and enterprise. - - -HERBERT STRANG - - - - - *THE FIRST PART* - - - *CHRISTOPHER RUDD'S ADVENTURE IN - HISPANIOLA, AND THE STRANGE STORY OF - CAPTAIN Q.* - - - -[Illustration: headpiece to First Part] - - - *I* - - -I was a lank youth of sixteen years when I fell into the hands of the -Spaniards of Hispaniola--an accident wherein my grandam saw the hand of -Providence chastising a prodigal son; but of that you shall judge. - -In the summer of the year 1587, riding from school home by way of -Southampton, I was told there of a brigantine then fitting out, to -convey forth a company of gentlemen adventurers to the Spanish Main in -quest of treasure. Sir Francis Drake had lately come home from spoiling -the Spaniards' ships in the harbour of Cadiz, and the ports of our south -coast were ringing with the tale of his wondrous doings; and I, being -known for a lad of quick blood and gamesome temper, was resolved to go -where Francis Drake had gone aforetime, and gain somewhat of the wealth -then lying open to adventurers bold to pluck the King of Spain's beard. -Wherefore one fine night I stole from my bed-chamber, hied me to the -quay at Southampton, and bestowed myself secretly aboard the good ship -_Elizabeth_. - -Of my discovery in the hold, and the cuffs I got, and the probation I -was put to, and my admission thereafter to the company of gentlemen -adventurers, I will say nothing. The _Elizabeth_ made in due time the -coast of Hispaniola, and when Hilary Rawdon, the captain, sent a party -of his crew ashore to fill their water-casks, I must needs accompany -them; 'twas the first land we had touched for two weary months, and I -felt a desperate urgency to stretch my legs. And while we were about -our business, up comes a posse of Spaniards swiftly out of the woods, -and there is a sudden onfall and a sharp tussle, and our party, being -outnumbered three to one, is sore discomfited and utterly put to the -rout, but not until all save myself and another are slain, and I find -myself on my back, with a Spanish bullet in my leg. And you see me now -borne away among the victors, and when I am healed of my wound, I learn -that I am a slave on the lands of a most noble hidalgo of Spain, one Don -Alfonso de Silva de Marabona, and an admiral to boot. - -Now I had left home to spoil the Spaniards and with no other intent; -wherefore to toil and sweat under a hot sun on the fields of a Spanish -admiral, however noble, was no whit to my liking. Moreover, Don Alfonso -proved an exceeding hard taskmaster, and bore heavily upon me his -prisoner, a thing that was perhaps no cause for wonder, seeing that of -all who had suffered when Master Drake sacked San Domingo, he had -suffered the most. His mansion had been plundered and burnt; his pride -had been wounded by the despite done to his galleons; and when a -Spaniard is hurt both in pride and in pocket, he is not like to prove -himself a very generous foe. And so I was in a manner the scapegoat for -Master Drake's offences, and had in good sooth to smart for it. My -noble master made no ado about commanding me to be flogged if he were -not content with me; and to rub the juice of lemons, laced with salt and -pepper, into the wounds made by the lash, is a marvellous shrewd way -(though nowise commendable) of fostering penitence and remorse. - -But in this unhappy plight I was not left without a friend. One midday, -when I was resting from my toil in the fields, there came to me a spare -and sallow boy, somewhat younger than myself, and spoke courteously to -me in a kind of French, the which I, being by no means without my -rudiments, made shift to understand. I soon perceived that we had a -something in common, namely, a heavy and grievous grudge against Don -Alfonso de Silva de Marabona, the which became a bond of unity betwixt -us. Antonio (so was he named) was nephew to the admiral, and dependent -on him--though his father had been a rich man,--by him, moreover, -treated with great rigour. Ere long I was well acquainted with -Antonio's doleful case. It was eleven years since his father the elder -Antonio had sailed away for Spain, being summoned thither about some -question of law concerning his estates in Castile. He took with him, in -the galleon _San Felipe_, a store of treasure belonging to his brother -the admiral, together with a yet costlier freight for behoof of his -Catholic Majesty of Spain. And there was Antonio, a motherless infant -of four years, left in his uncle's charge, his father purposing to -return for him in the following summer, by the which time he hoped to -have set his affairs in order. - -The stormy season of the year was at hand when he departed, and divers -of his friends had warned him against the perils of the long voyage. -But Don Antonio feared the elements less than the French and English -rovers who then infested the seas, and he had indeed chosen this time -advisedly, for that it was little likely to tempt the pirates from their -lairs. It fell out, however, that he had not left port above three days -when a great tempest arose, suddenly, as the manner is in those regions, -and to the wonted terrors of the tornado was added an earthquake, with -fierce rumblings and vast upheavals of the soil, so that the admiral -made great lament about his brother and the wealth he had in charge. -Don Antonio came no more to Hispaniola; the galleon _San Felipe_ was -heard of never more; and his son had remained under the austere -governance of Don Alfonso, who showed him no kindness, but ever seemed -to look upon him as a burthen. When Antonio came to the age of twelve, -he inquired of his uncle whether the estates of his late father would -not one day be his; but the admiral made answer that he had long since -purchased the property from his brother, who had purposed sometime to -quit the island and spend the remnant of his days in Spain. - -Such was Antonio's story, as he told it to me. He called his uncle a -fiend; as for me, I called him, in the English manner, Old Marrow-bones; -we both signified one and the same thing--that we held him in loathing -and abhorrence. This was our bond of union, and soon it became our -custom to meet daily and rehearse our woes in consort. Antonio was ever -careful to keep these our meetings secret, since he knew that, coming -perchance to the admiral's ears, they would be deemed a cause of -offence, and be punished, beyond doubt, with many stripes. - -But to dub your enemy with opprobrious names brings you no contentment, -and does him no hurt. In no great while I began to consider of some -means whereby I might contrive to slip the leash of my illustrious -master. Having made Antonio swear by all his saints that he would not -betray me, I took counsel with him; indeed, I essayed to persuade the -boy to put all to the hazard, and make his escape with me. But Antonio -could not screw his resolution to this pitch. He was content to throw -himself with right good-will into the perfecting of my plans. And so it -came to pass that one fine day, about sunset, I took French leave (as -the saying is) and set off on my lonely way to liberty. I had nothing -upon me save my garments, and a long machete (so their knives are -called) given me by Antonio; but as Samson slew countless Philistines -with the jawbone of an ass, and David laid Goliath low with a pebble -from the brook; so I, though I did not liken myself to those heroes of -old, yet knew myself to be a fellow-countryman with Francis Drake, and -needed no doughtier ensample to inspire me. - -Following Antonio's wise and prudent counsel I set my face towards the -north-west angle of the island, for the reason that, parted from it by -only a narrow strip of sea, there lay the smaller island of Tortuga, -where it was possible that some countrymen of my own might be. Tortuga -had been at some time a settlement of the Spaniards, but they had now -abandoned it, and if an English ship should chance to have put in to -water there, or to burn the barnacles off its hull, I might light upon -the crew and join myself to them, and so bring my tribulations to an -end. And after near a week's trudging--with herbs for my meat and water -from the streams for my drink--I came one day to the further shore of -Hispaniola, and with great gladness beheld the strange hump-backed -island, like a monstrous tortoise floating on the sea, for which cause -it was named Tortuga. - -A day or two I spent in roaming to and fro, gazing hungrily seawards for -a ship. And when none appeared, I bethought me that I should certainly -be none the worse conditioned--nay, I might be a great deal the -better--if I should cross to the smaller island and there make my abode. -Having once been the habitation of Christian folk, methought it would -retain some remnants of its former plantations, so that I need not want -for food; and of a surety, with a wider expanse of sea before me, I -should be in better case to spy a passing vessel than if I remained on -Hispaniola. I was minded at first to swim the channel--'twould be no -great feat--but, observing at the water's edge a pair of ground-sharks -lying in wait for a toothsome meal, I gave up this design very readily, -and considered of some safer way. - -There were woods growing almost to the shore. To a boy with his mind -set on it, and a sharp knife to his hand, the making of a raft is a task -of no great labour or hardship. 'Twas the work of two days to lop -branches meet for my purpose, strip them, and bind them together with -strands of bejuca, a climbing plant of serviceable sort; and on the -third day I launched my raft, and oared myself across the still water, -being companied by a disappointed shark the better part of the way. I -went ashore in some fear and trembling lest I should meet Spaniards, or -other hostile men; but I saw no sign of present habitation, and wandered -for near a day without lighting on any traces of mankind. But at length -in my course I spied a heap of wood ashes, and some rinds of fruit, and -a little beyond a broken hen-coop, whereby I knew that men sometimes -resorted to the island, as Antonio had said. It came into my mind that -my late companions of the _Elizabeth_ had perchance set foot here no -long while before me, and I felt a great longing to look on them again. -I wondered where they might be, whether they had fought the Spaniards on -the Main and gained great treasure, or whether they had given up their -quest and sailed away for home. - -Some days I spent in solitude, never straying far from the coast, lest I -should be out of sight if a ship came near. There was food in -plenty--such is the bounty of Providence in those climes; and of nights -I ensconced myself in a little hut I built of branches in a nook on the -shore. - -One evening as I roamed upon the cliff, and with vain longing scanned -the sea, on a sudden I espied, moving among the tree trunks on my right -hand, a patch of red. In great perturbation of spirit I sprang behind a -tree. I had not seen clearly what the object was: it might be a man, it -might be a beast. In the wildernesses about the middle of Hispaniola -there were, I knew, herds of wild dogs and boars, a terror to human -kind; and a fear beset me lest Tortuga also were the haunt of savage -creatures, which might come upon me in the night. Meseemed I must at -the least resolve my doubts, wherefore I went forward stealthily, -bending among creeping plants, skipping from trunk to trunk, straining -my eyes for another glimpse of that patch of red. For some little while -I sought in vain, and I was in a sweat of apprehension lest I should -stumble into danger; but after stalking for near half-an-hour, as I -supposed, of a sudden I saw some moving thing among the trees within a -hundred paces of me. Even as I watched, a quaint and marvellous figure -came forth into a little open space--the form of a man, arrayed from -doublet to shoes in garments of bright red. His head was bare; a rapier -hung at his side; and as I looked he plucked the weapon by the hilts, -and made sundry passes in the air, going from me slowly into the -woodland. Never in my life had I beheld a man so oddly apparelled, and -to find such an one here, on this lone island of Tortuga, set me athrill -with admiration. I deemed that I should have no security of mind until -I had learnt somewhat of this stranger, and whether there were others -with him; wherefore with stealthy steps I followed him into the -woodland, and there, after near losing him, I saw him enter a little hut -set in the midst of a narrow laund. From behind a tree I watched the -red man. He kindled a fire, and I looked for him to cook his supper; -but instead, he laid himself down on a bed of dried grass, so that the -smoke from the fire might be carried by the light wind across him, the -which in a moment I guessed to be his device for warding off the -insects; I had suffered many things from their appetite in the nights I -had slept in the woods of Hispaniola. - -Seeing that the red man had composed himself to sleep, I returned -quietly to my hut on the shore, and when I fell asleep dreamed that I -beheld him defending at the rapier's point young Antonio against the -whip of the noble admiral Don Alfonso de Silva de Marabona. I rose with -the sun and stole back to the woodland, in hope to see the man quit his -sleeping-place and to gain some light upon his manner of life and his -doings upon this lone island. But the hut was empty; its inhabitant was -already astir. Not that day nor for several days after did I set eyes -on him again; but one high noon I had a glimpse of him roaming along the -cliff, and while I was following, a great way off, he suddenly vanished -from my sight as 'twere into the earth. - -The numbness of terror seized upon me; I stood fixed to the ground, -never doubting (being then but a boy) that 'twas the foul fiend in his -very person who had descended into the bowels of the earth. But -bethinking me that I had discerned no horns upon his head, nor the tail -that was his proper appendage, but, instead, a rapier such as mortal men -use, I plucked up heart to draw nigh to the spot where he had -disappeared. And when I came to it, 'twas not, as I feared, a chasm, -horrid with blue flame and sulphurous fume, but a short, steep path in -the cliff-side. - -Gathering my courage, I trod with wary steps until I came to a small -opening in the cliff. And when I had overcome my tearfulness and -ventured to peep in, I was struck with a great amazement, for I beheld a -vast vaulted chamber. There came some little daylight into it through -fissures in its further wall, and when my eyes had grown accustomed to -the twilight, and comprehended the whole space, I saw there, before and -below me, the hull of a galleon, lying somewhat upon its side, with a -little water about its keel. And as I looked, I beheld the red man how -he waded to the vessel, whose side he ascended by a ladder of rope, and -then, having gained the deck, he was no more to be seen. - -I stood rooted in amazement. I durst not follow the red man further, -conceiving that in a land where all save Spaniards were intruders, the -odds were that he was of that race, and that to accost him, even to -discover myself to him, might put my life in jeopardy. Besides, the -man's aspect, and my remembrance of the fierceness of his sword-play as -I saw it in my dream, counselled wariness: he was not a man to approach -but with caution. Moreover, I was in presence of a great marvel, -perceiving no means whereby the galleon had come into this vault. Save -for the narrow entrance, and the jagged rents in the walls, the chamber -was wholly enclosed; nor was there any passage whereby so great a vessel -could have been hauled in from the sea. - -Perplexed and bewildered, I waited long, but vainly, for the red man to -show himself again. Then, when from sheer weariness and hunger I was in -a mind to return to the cliff, I beheld him rise from below deck, -descend by the ladder, and, again wading through the water, make towards -me. Incontinently and in silence I fled, but halted when I gained the -cliff, and lay hid until the man had come forth and gone his way. -Whereupon I stole back and descended to the floor of the vault, to -quench, if I might, my burning curiosity. - -[Illustration: I LAY HID UNTIL THE MAN HAD COME FORTH AND GONE HIS WAY] - -I walked about the vessel, and when I came to the stern, I started back, -smitten with stark amazement. Her name was painted in great golden -letters there; I read it: 'twas SAN FELIPE, the name of the galleon -wherein the father of my friend Antonio had sailed from San Domingo -eleven years since, and which had never more been heard of. - -I thought of witchcraft, and questioned whether 'twere not the very work -of the devil, for sure no mortal hands had brought the vessel through -solid walls into this rock-bound chamber. But the galleon itself was in -truth a thing of substance; thee were real shells at the brink of the -water; the water itself (when I dipped my finger and licked it) was -salt; beyond doubt the vault had communication with the sea. And even -while I stood there I perceived the water to be rising; 'twas deeper now -than when the man had first waded through it to the vessel. In haste I -made the full circuit of the place, searching for an entrance, but in -vain. Save the fissures letting in the light, there was not a hole -through which a rat might wriggle, nor could I find the passage by which -the water came. - -In much perplexity, oppressed by the wonder of it, I left the place by -and by and returned to my hut. But I could not long withhold myself -from the cavern, the which lured and (in a manner) beckoned me by some -strange spell. Next day I came again to it, and did as I had seen the -red man do--to wit, waded through the water and climbed on board. My -feet had scarce touched the deck when I beheld the red form standing in -the narrow entrance at the further end of the vault. Quick as thought I -slipped into hiding on the lofty poop and there kept watch. The man -came aboard and descended by the companion, and a little after I heard -the tinkling of metal. I was drawn as by strong cords to learn what he -was doing, and crept silently as a mouse after him to the cabin. As I -drew near I heard again the clink of metal, and when I came to the door -I beheld the man kneeling before an open chest, gloating over it, -plunging his hands into it, bathing them in the pieces of eight that -filled it to the brim. - -[Illustration: I BEHELD THE MAN KNEELING BEFORE AN OPEN CHEST, GLOATING -OVER IT, PLUNGING HIS HANDS INTO IT] - -Spellbound, I stood and gazed. This discovery did but deepen the -wonder. I questioned whether this were Antonio's father, who had never -sailed to Spain at all, but by some strange means, belike with the help -of demons, had brought the vessel hither. And then, as I mused, the red -man seemed to become aware by some subtle sense that he was not alone. -Suddenly he turned his head, espied me, sprang to his feet, and, -whipping out his rapier, leapt with a fierce cry towards me. I turned -to flee, being unarmed save for my machete, the which was no match for a -rapier. But I was a thought too late. The red man was upon my heels -ere I could slip overboard, crying out upon me in words which I was too -busy saving my life to heed. - -Then began a hot chase round the deck of the galleon, the which might -have continued until the pursuer, being the elder, became exhausted, had -not I espied, in my running, a half-pike lying over against the -bulwarks. This I snatched up, and put myself in a posture of defence. -"Voleur! voleur!" cried the red man, glaring at me; and now I had -certainty he was no Spaniard. We fought, and doubtless I had fared ill -but for my youth and the exercise I had had in this very opposition of -pike against sword upon the voyage in the _Elizabeth_. I was but -sixteen; the Frenchman wore the grave aspect of a man of fifty; and -though he fought as one well practised in the handling of his weapon, -'twas with a stiffness and want of sureness that bespoke disuse. - -Yet 'twas a desperate fight. Once and again I came very near to lose my -life, and escaped the Frenchman's point solely by my nimbleness. Twice, -indeed, the weapon found my flesh; there was blood upon my sleeve. And -then came my opportunity. The Frenchman in lunging at me over-reached -himself, and I brought my pike down with all my strength upon his arm. -His rapier fell to the deck, and before he could recover himself I -sprang upon him, and, by a trick of wrestling I had learnt in bouts at -our country fairs, threw him upon his back. - -And there were we two, he stretched on the deck, I pinning him down, and -both of us breathing hard, and gazing each into the other's eyes. Then I -spoke in French: what I said I know not; but he smiled, a vacant smile -that made me sorry I had hurt him. - -"Thou art one of my children," he said. "How didst thou escape?" - -By this, and the strangeness of his smile, I knew that his wits were -wandering, and deemed it best to humour him. - -"Yes, one of your children," I made answer, understanding the word -_enfants_ as doubtless he intended, as meaning his company, or crew. -"You were mistaken, sir; and I hope I have not broken your arm." - -"It is bruised, not broken," said the man, lifting it and smiling upon -me again. "I do not remember thy name, but thou shalt be my corporal." - -"Wherein I am mightily favoured," said I. "Marvellously, too, I have -forgotten your name, mon Capitaine." - -"My name!" he said, in manifest puzzlement. "My name!" And then, -smiling once more, he said, "I cannot tell. It is so long, so long -since I heard it. My children called me Captain, but that was before -the storm. I forget many things; my children left me; they were reft -from me by the storm; they died--all but you; and I cannot remember your -name! They called me Captain; and in truth I am Captain, by the choice -and election of the great Condé. Yes, the great Condé made me Captain, a -stripling from Quimperlé." - -"Captain Q," said I, on the spur of the moment. - -He looked puzzled; then the same smile, like the empty smile of a babe, -beamed upon his face, and he said-- - -"Captain Q; and thou shalt be Corporal R. Is it not so?" - -"And so it is," I said. "My name is Rudd; I am an Englishman." - -"And we will fight the Spaniards together, shall we not? They must -never get my gold--never!" - -"Indeed they shall not!" I replied. "And now let us go out into the -open, and I will bathe your arm at a brook. 'Tis pity we did not -remember each other sooner." - -"Ah, but it is such a long time!" said Captain Q. - -We went out together, and after I had bathed his arm ('twas bruised from -elbow to wrist) the Captain invited me to his hut, and to a share of his -dinner of herbs. - -Such was the strange beginning of a friendship that endured for near -forty years. Though he was by so much my elder, he dealt with me as -though I had been his brother. We roamed the shore together, together -fished and snared animals in the woods, and would have shared the same -lodging but that I preferred to keep my little hut on the shore, where I -had fresher air and was within close call of any ship that should chance -to pass in the night. Little by little I pieced together the story of -the rock-girt galleon and of Captain Q. He could not talk in orderly -sequence for long together, but whatsoever the subject of our discourse, -he would break off to prattle of his childhood in the little village of -Quimperlé, and of his youth and manhood to the time when destiny brought -him to Tortuga. He was a Huguenot, and had fought under Condé at St. -Denis, and under Admiral Coligny at Jarnac. After the dread day of St. -Bartholomew he fled from France, and became a corsair in his own vessel, -haunting the coasts of the Spanish Main. One day he fell in with the -galleon _San Felipe_, and took it after a long fight. His own ship -being small, he put his crew aboard the galleon, and the crew and -company of the galleon upon his ship, and then sailed away for Tortuga, -designing to land there and divide the spoil. And his little vessel, -with the Spaniards on board, had gone down before his very eyes, having -received sore damage in the action. - -Before the _San Felipe_ made Tortuga she was caught in a great storm, -which swept upon her suddenly and sent her masts by the board. During a -lull she was warped into a cove on the Tortuga coast, and there -refitted. Then, as she was being towed out, all hands busy in the work, -the sea was cast up by a great earthquake; the cliffs on either hand -were upheaved and flung sheer upon the vessel, killing outright every -man upon it and in the boats save only the Captain and two or three -beside. The Captain was struck on the head by a fragment of rock, and -thrown senseless to the deck. (And here, as he told the story, he -lifted his long, grizzling locks and showed a great seam upon his -skull.) When he came to himself all was at first mere blankness to him. -He got upon his feet, lost in amaze to behold the galleon encompassed by -a vault of rock, and tended the few men that had survived the cataclysm, -but they lingered for a little and then all died, leaving him alone. - -Little by little the past came back to him, and he was not aware of any -change in himself save that his memory played him tricks. But I -perceived that the shock and the blow on the head had done his -intellects more harm than he knew. He had long fits of silence, wherein -he would sit and gaze vacantly out to sea, or would march with drawn -sword into the woodland, seeking an enemy that had come to steal his -gold. Other whiles he would weave baskets of grass, humming little -songs, or babbling in the manner of children. He never ceased to regard -me as one of his whilom crew, and in my pity I said nought to undeceive -him. - -He knew not how long he had dwelt upon the island. I asked him whether -he had been alone all the time, and why he had not discovered himself to -the French and English pirates who had doubtless sometimes come ashore. - -He smiled cunningly, and said, "Could I trust them? They were not my -friends. Say that I told them of the ship, and the great treasure it -contained, think you they would not have desired it for their own, and -taken it from me, and left me poor? I trusted La Noue" (his thoughts -were straying to his youth and the siege of La Rochelle): "all men -trusted him. He was saved at Jarnac." - -And then he fell a-musing. At another time he told me that he had been -minded once to join a party that had landed, telling them nothing, with -intent to return at some convenient season for his treasure. But he -feared lest during his absence it should be discovered, and he might -return only to find that the vessel had been stripped bare. The -treasure was the sole thing he clung to; he could not bring himself to -part from it even for a day; once a day at the least he descended into -the cabin and feasted his eyes on the great store of gold and jewels. -He had become a miser. And so he carefully shunned such men as had come -ashore; and once he had been near to starving, when a crew encamped -beneath the cliff wherein was the entrance to his cavern, and remained -there for several days, he not daring to issue forth for food, lest he -should be seen. - -I marvelled often that the Captain never showed any distrust of me. He -took me often into the cabin, and sometimes set me to count the money -piece by piece, and to display the jewels on the lids of the chests. -Indeed, he took, methought, a childish pleasure in thus exhibiting his -wealth, and when the precious things were all set in array before him, -he would gaze from them to me with a simple pride and contentation which -I found infinitely moving. - - - - *II* - - -Thus many days passed. I looked often out to sea for a friendly ship, -but none touched on the island, and those that sailed by were Spanish -built, and I durst not hail them. - -One night a great storm arose. Rain fell in floods, thunder roared all -around, the sky was by moments ablaze with lightning such as I had never -seen. Driven from my hut, I wended my way toilsomely through the -blinding torrents to the cavern, and took shelter for the remainder of -the night with Captain Q on board the galleon. Towards morning the fury -of the storm abated, but the wind was still high, and when we left our -refuge and stood on the cliff, so that the sunbeams might dry our -drenched garments, we espied a ship fast on the rocks a little distance -from shore. The sea was tempestuous: mighty waves smote and battered -upon the vessel, and I perceived very clearly that she was fast going to -pieces. - -While we stood watching, and pitying the poor wights gathered upon deck, -a man sprang overboard with a rope, and struck out for the land, the -waves buffeting him sorely, dashing over him, so that many times he -seemed to have sunk to the bottom. Stirred by the spectacle, the -Captain put off his caution and timorousness, and stepped forth from -behind the rock where hitherto he had stood at gaze. His red garb -flashed upon the eye of the swimmer, and methought I heard a despairing -cry for help. On the instant I ran down to the shore, with Captain Q at -my side. Half witless as he was in general, the Captain had all his -faculties at this moment of great need. With me he plunged to his waist -into the sea, with no less calmness than a man might wade a brook, and -caught the swimmer as he was on the point of sinking. And as we hauled -him safe ashore, I lifted my voice in a shout of joy: for the -half-drowned seaman was none other than Richard Ball, boatswain of my -own ship, the _Elizabeth_. - -[Illustration: HE CAUGHT THE SWIMMER AS HE WAS ON THE POINT OF SINKING] - -"Why, Dick, man," I cried, "'tis you!" - -"God bless 'ee!" panted the man, and then, unable to speak more, he -pointed to the wreck, and seemed to urge that something should be done -for his messmates there. - -And now Captain Q once more showed the mettle of a man. Catching up the -rope that was looped about the boatswain's body, he called to me to help -him to lash it about a rock; and when this was done, the crew and the -adventurers came along it one by one, hand over hand, from the vessel, -until all, to the number of thirty-seven, were safe on shore. Joyously -I greeted them, calling each man by name. Hilary Rawdon, the captain, -came the last; and he had but set his feet upon the strand when the -hapless vessel fell apart, and was swept away upon the waves. - -Groans and cries of lamentation broke from the shipwrecked mariners; -their grief at the loss of their vessel for a time outweighed all -thankfulness for their escape from death. But Hilary clapped me on the -back, and wrung my hand, and cried-- - -"Gramercy, lad, but 'tis good to see thee once again. Verily I believed -thee dead, and what was I to say to thy good folk at home?" - -And then we fell a-talking eagerly, and the other adventurers flocked -about us, desiring to know what had befallen me since the day when I -went ashore on Hispaniola and returned not. And I was so rapt with joy -at the sight of my friends that I laughed, and for sheer gladness -greeted them again by name--"Tom Hawke, old friend!" and "Harry Loveday, -my bawcock!"--and was so possessed by my ecstasy that I forgot Captain Q -until Hilary recalled me to the present with a question-- - -"And who is our blood-red friend, old lad?" - -I swung myself about. The Frenchman was gone. - -"'Tis Captain Q," I said, and was about to tell more, when I caught -myself up, in doubt of what the Captain would say if his secret were -disclosed. Having trusted me, peradventure he would deem himself -betrayed if I should make any revelation. 'Twas borne upon me that I -must needs consult with him before telling any whit of his story. - -"Methinks your Captain Kew is of a backward disposition, seeing that he -hath departed without our thanks," said Hilary. "We must e'en go after -him, my lad. But let us hear all that hath happed to thee since we gave -thee up for dead." - -I told how I was taken prisoner, and of my captivity and servitude under -Don Alfonso de Silva de Marabona, and Tom Hawke, in his boyish way, -instantly caught at the name, and wished he might live to pluck Old -Marrow-bones by the beard. Then I told of my escape and journey to -Tortuga, where I had been, as I guessed, a matter of a month. - -"And your Captain Kew, what of him?" asked Hilary. "Is he of the Kews -of Ditchingham, and how came he here?" - -And I saw that the secret must come out. If I did not myself tell it, -my friends would certainly not rest until they had discovered it for -themselves, and 'twas not unlike that Captain Q would fare very ill at -their hands, and lose all the treasure whereby he set such store. -Better that his story should be told by one who had fellow-feeling for -him than that all should be left to chance. So I took Hilary Rawdon -aside and acquainted him with my discoveries. - -"Why, 'tis he that is the thief," cried Hilary when he had heard all. -"We have as good a right to the treasure as he." - -"Some of it belongs by right to Antonio de Marabona, whom his uncle has -defrauded," I replied. - -"Tuts, lad, in this part of the world it belongs to them that can take -it. Did we not sail hither, I ask you, in quest of treasure? Have we -not lost men and suffered shipwreck in this very adventure against the -Queen's enemies? Should we not have captured this very galleon had we -come but eleven years ago? Is not your answer 'Yes,' and 'Yes,' and -'Yes'?" - -He looked at me with triumph. Certainly there was no gainsaying his -reasoning, though the third of his questions had a smack of -inconsequence that bid for laughter. But I made a condition, as seemed -to me just. - -"Give me your word," I said, "that Captain Q shall suffer no hurt, and -shall have a fair share of the treasure. As for Antonio, I fear me he -must suffer for having been born a Spaniard." - -"He is no worse off than he was," said Hilary. "The galleon, as he -believes, lies at the bottom of the sea; and I trow if you returned to -him, and brought him here, and restored to him what was once his, Tom -Hawke or Harry Loveday, or one of the mariners, would incontinently -knock him on the head (being a Spaniard), and all be as before. And as -for Captain Q, 'tis the fortune of war, my lad; we take from him what he -himself took." - -"Yet 'tis by his help that you, and Tom Hawke, and Harry Loveday, and -all the mariners, are this moment alive," I said. - -"True, old lad," said he, "and we must not forget it. But come, let us -wend to this wondrous vault of his, and see with our own eyes the marvel -you tell us of." - -With us we took only Hawke and Loveday, leaving the mariners to their -devices. This was at my wish, for I feared lest the men, if they in -their present distress should learn of rich treasure so close at hand, -should forget gratitude and discipline, and leap like hungry wolves upon -their prey. They were good seamen, and honest souls withal, but lawless -and ill-taught, and possessed with a marvellous scorn of men of other -race. And now they stood upon the beach and bemoaned their fate, and -cursed the day when they sailed out of Southampton on this ill-starred -and bootless quest. - -We four went on to the cavern. Captain Q seemed to have expected us, -for when we came to the entrance, there was he, sword in hand, ready to -dispute our advance. Tom Hawke, a wild young spirit, was for rushing -upon him there and then, and beating him down by main force, and indeed -he stepped forward to cross swords with the Frenchman. But I could not -endure that my friend should be dealt with thus, and calling Tom Hawke -back (who indeed already repented of his discourtesy), I proposed that -we should humour the Frenchman--call him Captain, place ourselves at his -orders, and promise to attempt to make a passage for the vessel, so that -he might once more sail the seas with a merry crew. - -"I'faith, a right excellent conceit!" cried Hilary. "I salute you, -Captain Q," he added, with a profound bow. "Unfold to him our purpose, -Kitt." - -And I went before them and spoke to the Captain, and when he understood -he smiled with pleasure, dropped his point, and, with a commanding -gesture that mightily became him, bade us bring up his new company to -set about the work. - -"Oui, certainement, mon Capitaine," said Hilary; and when by and by the -men, in sober mood, came up, and the matter was put to them, "Ay, ay, -sir," cried Richard Ball, the boatswain; "Ay, ay, sir," the men chimed -in, and the Captain led us into the cavern. - -Cries of astonishment broke from the men's lips when they saw that -miracle of Nature, and of admiration as they walked around about the -galleon and marked her noble lines. - -"A rare craft indeed!" said Hilary. "She is worth a fortune to us, -Kitt, even without the treasure she contains. And that same treasure, -my lad--I yearn to dip my fingers into it." - -"Wait; let me bargain with Captain Q," I said, and I followed the -Frenchman up the ladder to the deck, and stood long in talk with him. -When I returned to my friends I told them that the Captain was willing -to share a great portion of his gold among them, if they would bring the -vessel to the sea and rig her for a voyage. - -"Vive le Capitaine Q!" cried Hilary, and the whole company broke forth -into lusty cheers. The Captain's eyes gleamed with pleasure; he called -them his children, vowing to lead them a-roving and do great despite -upon the Spaniards. But his face darkened when Hilary offered to mount -on board and inspect the treasure. - -"No, no," he cried; "that is for none to see but my corporal." - -And I persuaded my friends to accept the denial for the time, and to -accompany me in a circuit of the cavern to find a spot where a passage -might be made to the sea. - -The fore-part of the cavern, towards the cliff, was much encumbered with -fragments of rock, large and small. The sides were of rock; if the -fore-wall was of rock also, 'twas clear that with all the tools we had -at hand--pikes and belaying-pins, and such-like gear--'twould be -impossible to open a passage. With gunpowder we might have blasted the -rock but for the water which flowed in at every tide, and so shut us -from access to the lower part of the wall. But if this were of earth, -the task was one that could be compassed with time and patience. 'Twas -our first concern to discover the thickness of the wall, and to this end -Richard Ball clambered on to the loftiest of the rocky fragments, and -another man mounted upon his shoulders, so that he might reach to one of -the narrow fissures that let the daylight in. And then, by passing a -pike through it, he proved by the report of a man without that the wall -was no more than six feet thick. - -Next, our task was to remove a number of rocks that lay without like a -natural rampart about the base of the cliff, and were washed by a strong -current. Ropes, whereof the galleon held a plenty, were fixed about -them, and by dint of much hauling, the rocks were displaced one by one, -and being removed, the sea entered the cavern more freely, though 'twas -clear that the water in it would never be of depth enough to float the -galleon. - -As soon as the tide was gone down, we essayed to pierce a hole through -the wall a little above the water level. To our great joy, we found -that this portion of the wall was of earth, and before the tide rose -again the men had cut a narrow tunnel through to the base of the cliff. -It being night by the time this was done, the men made for themselves -beds of grass and leaves upon the skirts of the woodland, being divided -into watches as on board ship. - -With morning light we took up our task again. We perceived that the ebb -tide had carried away a great deal of the loose earth, and so made the -tunnel wider. The men toiled all day by companies, increasing the -passage both in width and height, the sides and roof being shored up -with timber from the woods against a fall of earth from above. Captain -Q watched the labour with a childish curiosity, and, in pursuance of my -plan of humouring him, I now and then prompted him with commands to give -the men, and they responded with obsequious and cheerful cries of "Ay, -ay, sir," winking to each other the while. - -So the work went on, day after day, until an opening had been made of -width enough for the passage of the galleon. There was a danger now -lest it might be espied from a passing ship, the which to prevent, the -men brought down great armfuls of brushwood from above, and arranged -them to form a screen. A sentinel was posted at a point on the rising -ground behind the cliff to give warning of any vessel that should -approach. While some of the men had been employed at the hole, others, -the more skilful of the crew, were set to work to caulk the seams of the -galleon, to fell trees for new masts and spars, and to repair the sails -which were found on board. By the time this was accomplished, nought -remained but to dislodge the rocks that still choked the passage-way -from the cavern. Some of these were so large as to require the labour -of our whole company to remove them. We had hauled away many and laid -them at the foot of the cliff, when one day, a week or more after the -beginning of the work, the sentinel gave out that he saw two vessels -beating up against the wind towards the island. - -"Maybe they are the Spaniards that were in chase of us when we were -wrecked," said Hilary. "'Tis not unlike they have come to see what has -become of us. Mayhap they saw us run aground, and I doubt not would -have been here before but that the wind has been too strong against them -all this while." - -Our whole company being gathered in the cavern, arms were served out to -the men from the galleon's armoury in case the Spaniards should land. -The news of their coming wrought marvellously upon Captain Q. He -sharpened his sword, donned a breastplate, and told the men, with great -exaltation of spirit, that the moment was at hand when we should rove -the seas and deal doughtily with our enemies. - -The vessels came slowly towards us, and anchored a little westward of -the cavern. We saw two boats put off from each, filled with men wearing -the leather hats and steel cuirasses of the Spanish soldiery. Spying at -them with Hilary, I reckoned that they must number sixty or more. They -landed at a point near where my hut had been, and 'twas soon plain from -their cries that they had come upon parts of the wreckage of the -_Elizabeth_. Some of them ascended the cliff, and went into the -woodland, doubtless to gather fruits; whereupon I quitted the cavern, -and stealthily made my way up, to see what they were about. I entered -the woods after them, and witnessed their stark amazement when they -lighted upon signs of the recent felling of trees. Anon they hasted -back to their main body on the beach; a council was held, and then the -whole company, save only a few men left to guard the boats, set forth -with the manifest purpose to search for the woodcutters. - -Thereupon Tom Hawke proposed we should seize the boats and row out to -the galleons and board them. But this bold device Hilary would by no -means countenance. Besides that we knew not what force of men there -might still be left on the vessels, we must needs go at the very least -two hundred yards in the open ere we could win to the boats, in full -sight of the men on guard. The alarm would be given, and the Spaniards -might be upon us before we could put off. But since the advantage is -ever with the attack, I made bold to put forward another plan, to wit, -that we should quit the cavern, steal into the woods, and lay an ambush -for the men that were prowling there. This proposal was debated for a -while among our assembly, and being presently approved by all, Captain -Q, who comprehended everything with perfect soundness of mind, set off -with drawn sword in the quality of leader. - -We stole out of the cavern secretly by favour of the brushwood screen, -and followed him in great quiet round the shoulder of the cliff, winding -about thence until we gained the wood. There we stood fast, and I went -alone among the trees to discover the direction of the Spaniards' march. -I crept in and out as a hunter might stalk his quarry, and by and by -perceived them proceeding slowly, in close ranks, silently, and with -their matches already kindled. I knew that the course they were taking -would bring them in due time to a ravine, narrow, and of no great depth, -that wound through the woodland, a little brook running along its -bottom. Bethinking me that, could we gain the further side of the -ravine, we should be in rare good case to deal with the Spaniards, I -sped back to my friends, acquainted them with what I had seen, and led -them swiftly through the wood. - -We had no sooner taken post in the copse I had designed for our ambush, -than we espied the Spaniards coming directly towards us. And then 'twas -Captain Q who made our dispositions. However disordered his wits might -be in common matters, he lacked nothing in the parts of a skilful -commander. Keeping ten with him, of whom I was one, he bade the rest to -steal down the ravine, ascend the nearer bank at a convenient spot, and, -when they should hear sounds of a fray with us, come with great speed -and fall upon the enemy in the rear. Hilary departed very willingly on -this errand, and we ten remained close in hiding with Captain Q. I -marked how his eyes gleamed, and his lips pressed firmly the one upon -the other, and I was fain to conclude he had a very great courage and -delight in battle. - -His design was to wait until the Spaniards came to the brink of the -ravine, and then salute them with a volley. But just as it was the -vivid red of his garments that first drew my eyes to him, so now the -same brightness made our situation known to the enemy before they came -within gunshot of us. One of them spied him, and cried out; the company -halted and blew upon their matches; then their captain called to us in a -loud voice to yield ourselves, and when we made no answer, he bade his -men advance. They pressed forward until they were come within a few -paces of the ravine, and set up their muskets on the rests to have good -aim at us. And then, to be beforehand with them, Captain Q gave us the -word to fire, the which we obeyed all ten together, whereby a half-dozen -of the Spaniards fell; and while in all haste we primed our weapons -again, their captain divided his company into two bands, and sent them -to right and left to scale the ravine and come through the wood upon our -flanks. To a seasoned man of war, as doubtless he was, the fewness of -our numbers was made apparent when we discharged our guns. - -There was not a man of us but knew we stood in great peril. The enemy -was of Spain's finest soldiery, and though by the grace of God we -English have beaten them many times on field and flood, we have had -proofs enough of their valour. If our friends should fail to come at -point to our aid, we could not by any means prevail against them. But -Captain Q bade us set our backs against trees, half of us facing to the -right, half to the left, and we stood there ready to do what Englishmen -might against our Queen's enemies. - -We could not hear their approach; doubtless they hoped to creep close to -us and then overwhelm us in one general assault. My heart smote upon my -ribs, and my lips grew wondrous dry; 'tis no mean trial to a man to -stand thus awaiting an enemy whom he cannot see, and knowing that in one -swift moment he may be at grips with death. And suddenly there was a -roar of muskets, and immediately afterwards, through the smoke, I saw -the Spaniards rushing towards us. My musket was in its rest; blindly -and with fumbling fingers I set my match to the touch-hole and pulled -the cock, and, having fired my shot, drew my sword and stood to defend -myself. Our volley had checked the onrush, but only for a moment, and I -saw a crowd of Spaniards leaping as it were straight upon me. Then -Captain Q came to my side, crying out that we would fight shoulder to -shoulder, and his presence and cheerful words filled me with a new -courage. - -The enemy were yet a dozen paces from us, and we had our swords -outthrust to meet them, when the air rang with English shouts, and a -great din of firing, and some of the Spaniards fell on their faces, and -rose not again. The rest came to a halt, threw a glance behind, and -beheld our men, with Hilary at their head, springing like deer from the -edge of the ravine. This sight was enough for their stomachs. The -Spaniards fled as one man, leapt into the ravine, clambered up the other -side, and made all speed by the way they had come, to regain their -boats. Our men ran after them, and pursued them to the verge of the -woodland, and would have continued to the very margin of the sea, but -Captain Q forbade them, fearing that, if the enemy saw the smallness of -our company, they would rally, and on the open strand would have us at -advantage. And so we did not show ourselves much beyond the line of -trees, but stood there and watched the Spaniards as they hasted down to -the shore, and, embarking on their boats, returned to the galleons. - -[Illustration: THE SPANIARDS LEAPT INTO THE RAVINE AND CLAMBERED UP THE -OTHER SIDE] - -The tale of our loss was exceeding small. One poor fellow was killed, -four had received hurts, but slight. We were all wondrous merry at the -happy issue of our ambush, and Captain Q put on the high look and -swelling port of a conqueror. - - - - *III* - - -The enemy having departed, we wondered what they would do, scarce -supposing that they would sail away without making another attempt upon -us. Yet it appeared that this was their purpose, for as soon as the -boats were hoisted aboard, the anchors were weighed, and the ships stood -away towards the west of the island. This put Captain Q in a fury. He -commanded the men to make all speed to finish and complete their task at -the cavern, so that he might sail out and pursue the vessels. But this -was mere foolishness, and I humoured him with talk of other fights in -store. Hilary Rawdon again dispatched a sentinel up the hill, bidding -him to post himself at a spot whence he could see, with the aid of a -perspective glass, the channel between Tortuga and Hispaniola. It had -come into his mind that the Spaniards had perchance sailed away merely -to land on the southern shore of the island, with the intent to march -again upon us unawares. But the man told us by and by that one of the -ships had heaved-to in the channel to the south, while the other was -making all sail to the westward. - -"'Tis bound for St. John of Goave or San Domingo, without doubt," said -Hilary, "to bring back a force sufficient to annihilate us." - -"What grace have we before they can return?" I asked. - -"Maybe a week, maybe more. 'Tis always 'to-morrow' with the Spaniards. -They put off both the evil day and the good, and many's the time they -have come to grief for no other reason than their habit of -procrastination. We will make all speed, Kitt. 'Twould be a sin to let -this great treasure fall into their hands through any sloth of ours." - -The men worked with right good-will, hauling away the rocks from the -entrance of the cavern, until they left the passage clear. But even at -high tide there was no depth of water sufficient to float the galleon, -and we must needs take thought how to bring her to the sea. We soon -proved, to our great joy, that she rested on sand, and we had but to dig -beneath her, and to cut a channel, and with the flood tide we could haul -her out. But we could not begin this work until the next low tide, when -the water in the cavern, having now a free outlet, flowed away. We -built a dam to prevent its return, and then, by dint of toiling -steadily, some resting while the others worked, we contrived in two days -to grave out a dock wherein the vessel might ride. The work was done -with great quietness, for the enemy's galleon was anchored but a few -miles away, and 'twas very necessary that no sound should provoke them -to come and spy what we were about. The mariners knew how much hung on -their being left undisturbed until the ship could be rigged and towed -out to sea, and they put a great restraint upon themselves. There was -risk enough in the chance that a Spanish ship might appear off the -coast. The spectacle of a dismantled hull could not fail to attract her -notice, and if she should be a ship of war there was little hope that -the _San Felipe_ would ever sail the sea again. - -To step the masts was no trifling business. The stump of the old -mainmast was broken off low down and jaggedly, and 'twas a full day's -work for the most skilful of the _Elizabeth's_ carpenters to fit the -stump for the pine stem they had prepared. The mast itself was but -roughly finished. It was not stripped of its bark: the time would not -serve for niceties; Hilary indeed doubted whether, with the utmost -expedition, we should have the vessel in navigable trim before the -galleons returned. By good luck the stump of the mizzen had not been -snapped off so low as the others; and a jury mast was rigged in a third -of the time the mainmast had taken. - -The _San Felipe_ had no boats, all she had carried having been stove in -during the earthquake and washed away. But a boat of some sort was -needful to tow the vessel out; wherefore, while some men were scraping -the hull, and others rigging the spars, the rest hastened to the woods -and worked with might and main to fashion a canoe of cedar. Though we -employed every minute of daylight, the men taking turns to rest in the -hot hours, 'twas full ten days before the work was done. And then one -afternoon, when we were lying on the cliffs basking in ease we had not -known for many a day, the sentinel espied three sail low down on the -horizon to the west. - -"Without doubt the Dons are coming back for us," cried Hilary. Then in -French he asked Captain Q, with a show of deference, to give us his -commands. - -"We will sail forth and fight them," cried the dauntless Captain. - -"'Tis a brave saying," said Harry Loveday; "but methinks 'twere best to -sail out by night and make what speed we may for home. We have the -treasure, and though I am as ready as any man to fight when there is -somewhat to be gained by fighting, I hold that in our present case, with -the enemy maybe four to one, 'twould best beseem us to secure what we -have. 'Twas for treasure we came, not for needless knocks." - -"There is much reason in thee, Harry," said Hilary, "and I own if 'twere -sure we should escape these villain Dons and come safe to an English -haven, I might think thy counsel just. But consider: the wind is light; -our vessel is in no trim to make good sailing; and if the wind holds as -at this present we could scarce run out of sight of the Spaniards before -dawn. 'Tis full moon: we should be discerned from a great way off; and -when they see us they can run us down. Furthermore, the guns on our -galleon are light metal, and we have no great store of powder and ball, -so that we are in no case to fight a war-ship, furnished, beyond doubt, -with heavy guns. Remember, we barely outsailed the Spaniards even when -we were in our own well-found (but ill-fated) _Elizabeth_; and if we -could not stand to fight two, as all agreed we could not, how much less -can we stand to fight three?" - -While Hilary was thus reasoning, Captain Q, who, having given his voice -for fighting, was confident we should obey without question, had gotten -himself away, so that we were left to converse at our pleasure. I well -knew that, by dint of my artifices of persuasion, I could bring the -Captain to believe that, whatsoever resolution we might come to, it -sprang from him. - -"Well, then," said Tom Hawke in answer to Hilary, "if we must not run, -for fear of being overhauled, what is left for us to do? If we cannot -fight three Spanish ships on the high sea, assuredly we cannot fight the -crews of them on land, and 'tis certain as to-morrow's sunrise that we -must be discovered here." - -"What if Captain Q be right?" said I. "Is not the bold course the best? -If we bide here and wait to be attacked, the event will be even as Tom -says: the don Spaniards outnumber us, and with all the will in the world -we can scarce hold out against them. But might we not attack the vessel -at anchor before the three others join with her? Aboard of her we might -show a clean pair of heels to the Dons." - -"Why didst not speak before, Kitt?" cried Hilary. "The time is -fleeting, and while we still prate these vessels are sailing ever -nearer. In sooth, yours is the way, and we will obey Captain Q's -command." - -We had cast down the dam that had been raised, and the tide being at the -flood, the sea filled our dock, and we saw with great delight the _San -Felipe_ float upright on her keel. The most of us got aboard her; the -rest towed her out of the cavern; then they also came aboard, and -Captain Q looked round with pleasure on his company. - -Having hoisted the sails (poor patched things as they were), we set a -course eastward along the shore, the wind blowing from the north-east. -Our design was to round the island and come with the wind down upon the -galleon at her anchorage off the south coast. We hoped in the -night-time we might surprise her and take possession of her, and then -slip her cables and make away before the three vessels we had seen could -beat up against the wind. - -The wind being so contrary, we could make no good offing, and were in -some peril of running on sunken rocks, to say nothing of that other -peril of meeting an enemy's ship or flotilla. But by sunset we came -safe at the north-eastern corner of the island. We rounded the eastern -side, sailing large, and turned into the channel betwixt Hispaniola and -Tortuga even as the moon rose upon our right hand. A black night would -have most favoured our design of capturing the galleon; but our master -said we had first to come at her, and being ignorant of the channel, he -was right glad to have some light upon the course. - -The southern shore of Tortuga bends at its middle somewhat to the -north-west, so that for a time the galleon was hidden from our eyes, and -we could keep the mid-channel without risk of being seen. But when we -had come to that point, our master was fain to steer somewhat nearer to -the cliffs: 'twould mayhap ruin our scheme if we were espied too soon by -the Spaniards, wherefore he said we had best avail ourselves of the -shadows where we could. Hilary and I stood at the helm beside the -master, and we were troubled when we felt the keel graze a sandbank. At -the fall of night the wind had freshened, and we were making a fair -speed, so that if the vessel struck there would be but a small chance of -hauling her off, even if she did not spring a leak and take water. By -good luck and the care of our master we escaped these perils of shoals, -and drew nearer to our goal. - -We did not doubt a good watch would be kept on board the galleon, the -which had taken up her present station, as we reckoned, so as to guard -against any attempt of ours to cross to Hispaniola on rafts or canoes. -Doubtless, also, they would have their guns ready loaded and their -matches kindled; and maybe the vessel was riding on a spring cable. -Hilary bade the most of our men to lie down out of sight, so that when -the Spaniards should behold us, as they must soon do, they might not -take alarm from a crowded deck. - -"We must be wary, Kitt," said Hilary to me. "'Twould be rank ill-luck if -she should slip her cable and stand away to meet the galleons out of the -west, and maybe fire a gun to give 'em warning." - -Being nearer shore, the _San Felipe_ went more slowly than when she was -out in mid-channel. We crept round the jutting points and across the -coves very stealthily, the men holding perfect silence, so that the -Spaniards on the vessel lying at anchor had no warning of our approach -and nearness until, as we fetched about a low spit of land, we came to a -straight reach of the channel, and beheld the enemy half-a-mile distant. -Since secrecy was no longer to be maintained, Hilary bade the master to -steer full into the broad path of the moonlight, so that we might be -distinctly seen. With his perspective glass the sentinel on the vessel -would discover the _San Felipe_ to be of Spanish build, and we trusted -that he would suppose her to be a friend. At Hilary's bidding some of -our men made ready their grappling-irons, and so we drew nearer to the -anchorage. - -A light moved on the ship's deck, and we judged that we must now have -been seen. As soon, therefore, as we came within hailing distance, -Hilary commanded Richard Ball, who had some Spanish, to go into the bows -and question what the vessel was. - -"The galleon _Bonaventura_, of his Catholic Majesty of Spain," came the -answer to his shout. "Heave-to, or we fire! Who are you?" - -"The galleon _San Felipe_, chased by corsairs," cried Ball. "Can we -anchor hereby?" - -"Aye. Heave-to; we will send a boat. Are the corsairs dogs of -English?" - -"English and French," says Ball, cocking an eye at Captain Q, who was -reclining below the level of our bulwarks, so that his red garments -should not betray us. - -"Cry that our helm is injured, and we will lower sail," said Hilary. - -This Ball did, and our master bade the men to lower sail; but before -'twas done we had run very near to the _Bonaventura_, and there was -enough way on our vessel to bring her alongside. We had come within a -cable length of the Spaniard when we saw her boat let down, and then, -our helm being put up, we drifted still closer upon the enemy. - -"Bid them beware, or we shall be foul of them," said Hilary. - -And as Ball cried aloud, we heard much old swearing on the -_Bonaventura's_ decks, the which were at this time thronged with men. -The captain (as Ball informed us) cursed our damaged helm very heartily, -it being answerable, as he supposed, for this imminent risk of fouling. -But in truth our helm was in right good trim, and the master chuckled in -merry sort as he ran the _San Felipe_ close alongside of the -_Bonaventura_, their bulwarks just touching. - -And then, at the word from Hilary, our men cast their grapnels aboard, -and our whole company, with machetes and half-pikes from the _San -Felipe's_ armoury, leapt upon the _Bonaventura's_ deck. Captain Q was -the first to board, and the Spaniards cried out in amazement when they -saw his tall red figure springing towards them, rapier in hand, and with -two score men behind, all silent, for Hilary had commanded them to hold -their peace, lest the other vessels should be near at hand. - -The swiftness of our onset took the Spaniards all aback. Some of them, -being unarmed, shrank away from us; the rest gathered about their -captain at the mainmast, where they stood to ward off our attack, and -for some five minutes held us at bay. 'Twas a hand-to-hand encounter; -there were no fire-arms used; steel clashed on steel, and many shrewd -knocks were given and taken. But, saving in point of numbers, the odds -were all against the hapless Spaniards. The very look of Captain Q, his -strange garb, his war-lit countenance, had some part in daunting them, -and as we pressed vehemently upon them, Hilary and Tom Hawke in the -fore-front, they fell into a panic, and cast down their arms, crying for -quarter. Hilary bade our men instantly seize them and carry them below, -and within a little they were all safe bestowed and battened under -hatches. - -[Illustration: THE SWIFTNESS OF OUR ONSET TOOK THE SPANIARDS ALL ABACK] - -And now I espied their boat that had been lowered making all speed to -the westward, and I asked Hilary whether we should not pursue them, -believing that their intent was to acquaint those on the approaching -galleons with what had befallen. - -"Let 'em go," cried he, with a laugh. "If they do fall in with the -vessels and tell them their tale, we shall be departed ere they can -bring them to us." - -"And they will not reach them," said Tom Hawke. "See, the boat has run -upon a reef." - -'Twas even as he had said. The crew strove hard to pull the boat clear, -but without avail, and then they leapt overboard and waded waist-deep -towards the shore. Not all of them came safe to it. On a sudden we -heard a blood-curdling scream, and then another. Beyond question some -of the hapless men had fallen a prey to ground-sharks. - - - - *IV* - - -The _Bonaventura_ having thus become ours, we made haste to bring to her -such useful stores as the _San Felipe_ contained, and the chests holding -the treasure. I went with Captain Q into the cabin, and observed with -what pangs he saw his chests in the hands of our men. He stood on watch -when they were set on a cradle for slinging on deck; and followed every -movement with a jealous eye until the chests were bestowed in the cabin -of the _Bonaventura_. They were three in number, two large and one -small, and when the two former had been removed, Captain Q appeared -content, and was for leaving the third behind. I remembered that I had -never seen this one open, and knowing what delight he took in -contemplating and fingering the contents of the others, I could not but -suppose that the smallest chest held things of little worth. Seeing -that the Captain appeared in a mind to leave it, I asked him whether -that was his intent, and he replied that it held nought but old papers, -accounts, and bills of lading, and such-like things, and told me very -courteously that I might have it for my own. 'Twas not a gift I greatly -valued, but I would not vex him by refusing it, and so I made one of the -men convey it to the _Bonaventura_. - -While the mariners were busied about transferring the things from the -one vessel to the other, Hilary took counsel with his friends as -touching the disposal of the Spanish prisoners now huddled in the hold. -I spoke for carrying them with us, and putting them ashore either on -some island we should pass on our homeward voyage, or on the coast of -Spain when we had crossed the ocean. But Tom Hawke cried out very -stoutly against this. - -"Why should we burden ourselves with them?" he said. "The ship will -sail the lighter without them; and bethink ye what a monstrous deal of -food they will consume! Let us batten them down in the hold of the _San -Felipe_ and so leave them." - -"As I live, a right good notion!" said Hilary. "Be sure they will be -found when the other vessels come up, and 'twould please me mightily an -I could see the meeting. 'Twill be a cause of delay also, for they will -assuredly tell what has befallen them, and every minute thus filled will -better our chances of escape." - -"But they will increase our enemies' force, and, moreover, we shall lose -as many minutes in carrying them from this vessel to the _San Felipe_," -said I. - -"Which we shall gain by the lightening of our freight," replied Hilary. -"And we will e'en set about it at once, while the men are still bringing -the goods aboard." - -Whereupon the Spaniards were brought up in small parties and conveyed to -the _San Felipe_. And then, all things being ready, the _Bonaventura_ -cast off and made sail, beating up against the wind as she retraced the -course we had followed before. - -The sun was rising as she came out into the open sea beyond the -south-eastern corner of the island. 'Twas Hilary's design to set a -straight course for England. - -"There is treasure enough aboard," he said, "and did we essay to gain -more we might lose what we have. Remember the dog in the fable; let us -not lose the substance by grasping at the shadow." - -"I fear me we shall have trouble with Captain Q," I said. "His mind is -set on taking up his old trade of corsair, and he will not readily quit -these haunts of the sea-rovers." - -"Then he will e'en be a Jonah, and we had best cast him at once -overboard," cried Tom Hawke. - -"Nay, let us leave him to Kitt," said Hilary. "Mind ye how Kitt wrought -upon us with his tongue when we discovered him in the hold? Kitt shall -be our ambassador." - -As we made the north-eastern corner of the island we espied, far away to -the west, two Spanish galleons making what speed they could against the -wind, and, we doubted not, coming in chase of us. At sight of them -Captain Q was beset by a great excitement, and called upon our master to -heave-to and await the villain Dons. - -"Ay, ay, sir," was the ready reply. But seeing that the moment was now -come when I must employ my best arts to bring him to accord with us -(and, for all that Hilary had said, I had no great faith in my tongue's -persuasiveness), I led him apart, and by degrees brought him to an -understanding of the resolution to which we had come. 'Twas for some -time a question whether the Captain's passion for fight or his avarice -would get the better of it in his unstable mind, but the balance turned -in our favour when I took him down into the cabin, and, pointing to the -treasure-chests, asked him whether he could endure to risk the loss of -things so precious. He stood in deep thought for a while; then, heaving -a great sigh, he yielded. - -All that day the Spaniards continued to hold us in chase, and when with -the veering of the wind they gained somewhat upon us, I marked how the -eyes of Captain Q lit up as it seemed that we must fight in our own -despite. But they dropped away again, and at nightfall were hull down -upon the sea-line, and when next morning's sun arose they were nowhere -to be seen. - -From that time the Captain fell into a settled melancholy. 'Twould seem -that the sudden changes that were come about in his life, after eleven -years of solitude, had put a strain upon his already enfeebled intellect -'twas unable to bear. He sat for long hours on deck, gazing towards the -shores he would never see again, silent, taking no heed of us or of -aught that happened around him. Nay, he ceased to watch over his -treasure with the same jealousy, and when Hilary and the other -adventurers could no longer curb their impatience, but demanded to see -the wealth which they were to share, he consented, with a wan and feeble -smile. We opened the chests in his presence, only Hilary, Tom Hawke, -and I being there with him. - -[Illustration: WE OPENED THE CHESTS IN HIS PRESENCE] - -My report had prepared my friends to see gold and jewels of great price, -but they were none the less amazed beyond measure when the contents of -the chests were displayed before them. One, the property of Don Alfonso -de Silva de Marabona (his name was writ in full upon the cover), held -enough to make us all rich beyond our dreams. The other, consigned to -his Catholic Majesty King Philip himself, was filled with rare gems, the -value whereof we could not so much as guess. "By my beard, Kitt," cried -Hilary, "'twas a rarely kind fate that sent thee as slave to thy Admiral -Marrow-bones. We might have roved the seas full ten years without -getting a tithe of this treasure." - -"And it vexes me sorely to think that my friend Antonio can profit -nothing by it," said I. - -"Reck nothing of him," cried Tom Hawke. "What does that little chest of -thine contain? Let us see, old lad." - -"'Tis only papers, as Captain Q told me," said I, looking for -confirmation at the Captain, who, however, sat listless and inattentive -in his chair. - -"Well, let us see them," said Hilary. "Maybe they will give us the true -value of this store of gems." - -We opened the chest, and Tom Hawke sniffed and hemmed when he saw that -it held indeed nought but a few documents, somewhat mildewed and yellow. -They were all writ in the Spanish tongue, not one of us could read them; -and though Richard Ball had some skill in speaking the language, he -confessed when I asked him that he could not even read his own native -English, and so was not like to be of service here. We laid the -parchments again in the chest, I promising myself that when we came to -port I would have them overlooked by some one who was well acquainted -with the language of Castile. - -The _Bonaventura_ made quick sailing, and we had fair weather until we -came off the Azores, where we suffered a heavy buffeting from a storm. -Somewhat battered, our galleon sailed into Southampton Water one day in -March of 1588. Captain Q had aged ten years in his aspect during the -two months' voyage. He rarely broke his silence, yielded with a patient -smile to my least suggestion, and seemed even to have forgotten the -treasure which had once been so dear to him. When it came to be -divided, a tenth share was set apart by general consent for the poor -witless gentleman, and being well placed through the offices of an -attorney of our town, the Captain might live in his own house and enjoy -great comfort for the rest of his days. One-third was apportioned among -the mariners, every man of them becoming possessor of means sufficient -to keep him luxuriously for his rank and condition. An eighth was -allotted to me, and the remainder parted out among Hilary and his -fellow-adventurers. - -As soon as might be I placed the documents from my chest in the hands of -a man well skilled in the Spanish tongue. And then to my great joy -'twas proved that one of them had a vast importance for my friend -Antonio. The story told him by the admiral, his uncle, was false. Don -Antonio, so far from having sold his estates in Hispaniola to his -brother, had in fact purchased the admiral's estates; the document in -question was a conveyance drawn up in due form according to the law of -Spain. Having learnt this, I was hot set to have the document conveyed -to Antonio, so that the wrong he had suffered might be undone. It may -well be conceived that, in that year when the great Armada was being -fitted out against us, there was no communication between us and Spain, -and if I had waited until the two nations were reconciled, 'tis like -that the admiral would have enjoyed his ill-got wealth for long years -undisturbed. But I found means, through some excellent friends, to -dispatch the document to Don Antonio's lawyers in Madrid (their name -being writ upon it) by way of Paris; and many years afterwards, when I -had a humble place at her Majesty's court, I learnt through the Spanish -ambassador that right had been done. - -Eighteen years ago, when I journeyed to Madrid for behoof of Prince -Charles, there seeking a bride, ('twas on my return that King James made -me a knight), I found my old friend Antonio a grandee of Spain, and a -very stout and (I must own) pompous gentleman. He did not recognise me: -indeed, 'twas not to be expected that he should, seeing that when he had -known me my cheeks were as smooth as the palm of your hand, and the hair -of my head thick and strong; whereas now I am bearded like the pard (as -Will Shakespeare says), and my locks, alas! are sparse and grizzled. -But when I made myself known to him he clipped me by the hand, and -thanked me with exceeding warmth for what I had been able to do for his -good. Moreover, he told me that his own uncle Don Alfonso had been -aboard the foremost galleon of those two that stood in chase of us when -we sailed away that day from Tortuga. The noble admiral was cast into a -wondrous amazement when he came upon the _San Felipe_, the which had -been so long lost, and lived ever after in a constant dread lest his -ill-doing should be brought to light. This wrought so heavily upon his -mind that it became disordered, and when the full tale of his crime was -brought in due time from Spain he sank into a dotage and shortly after -died. Don Antonio was pleased to give me, in remembrance of our ancient -friendship, a signet ring which had been his father's, and I have it in -my cabinet, not caring overmuch to wear such gauds. - -As for Captain Q, he dwelt for many a year in the house we bought for -him at Bitterne, across the river. I saw him often; his wits were quite -gone, poor gentleman! and he remembered nothing of the strange -happenings that brought us together. 'Tis forty years and more since I -made a journey to the little village of Quimperlé in Brittany, in hope -that I might discover somewhat of the family of one who must have been a -notable figure there in his youth. 'Twas a bootless quest. Some of the -more ancient inhabitants remembered a young Huguenot named Marcel de -Monteray who had fought in the wars of religion, and had been, 'twas -said, a captain in the army of Condé; but he had never returned to his -native place, and all his kinsfolk were long since dead. Whether Marcel -de Monteray and Captain Q were the same person I do not know, and never -shall. When I spoke the name in the Captain's hearing it brought -nothing to his remembrance. To all Southampton, as to me, he was ever a -mysterious personage. As Captain Q he lived, and when his time came to -die (and he was then of a very great age), as Captain Q he was buried. - - -[Illustration: tailpiece to First Part] - - - - *Interim* - - -My grandfather told me that upon his return, after near a year's -absence, his parents' joy was such that they forbore to upbraid and -scold him; indeed, they killed for him the fatted calf, as it were, and -made much of him. His father was for putting him again to school, but -he protested that he had had enough of schooling, and desired nothing -more than to follow a man's vocation. Thereto his father consented, -provided he first kept a term or two at one of the Inns of Court, and -learnt so much of law as would suffice for a justice of the peace when -he should have come to man's estate. - -It was in the summer after his return that the great fleet upon which -the King of Spain had spent so much pains and treasure came at last to -invade our shores; and my grandfather, being then at home, hied him to -Southampton, to learn the course of its progress. He watched enviously -the English vessels sail out from the haven, even the smacks and -shallops being filled with young lads and gentlemen of the county eager -to bear their part in the fray, or at the least to witness the unequal -combat between the cumbersome great vessels of the Spaniards and the -light, nimble ships that my Lord Howard commanded, with his lieutenants -Drake and Hawkins and Frobisher and the rest. To serve with those great -seamen was not permitted him, but he accompanied Sir George Carey when -he ran out in a pinnace on the night of July 24, and found himself, as -he wrote, "in the midst of round shot, flying as thick as musket-balls -in a skirmish on land." But for the strict command of his father, -doubtless he would have followed the Armada up the Channel, and beheld -how it was stung and chevied, and finally discomfited in the Calais -roads. - -About twelve months thereafter, claiming the fulfilment of his father's -promise, he joined himself to the company that his friend and captain -Hilary Rawdon was raising for service under King Henry of Navarre, whose -fortunes were at that time at a turning point. King Henry III, his -cousin, had fallen to the assassin's knife, and Henry of Navarre should -then have ascended the throne of France; but he was of the Huguenot -party, and the Catholic League was bent upon crushing the Huguenots and -excluding Henry from the enjoyment of his heritage. The army of the -League, commanded by the Duke of Mayenne, held Paris; and Henry, -desiring to put an end to the religious struggle that rent France -asunder, and to make himself master of a united kingdom, saw himself -constrained to fight for his crown. His army was choice and sound, but -small, and in his extremity he sought the help of Queen Elizabeth, who -sent him aid in money and men, and permitted gentlemen to enlist -voluntarily under his flag. Many flocked to him, both as upholding his -rightful cause, and from the love of adventure, and hatred of the -Spaniards, with whom the Leaguers were in alliance. At that time my -grandfather, his age being but eighteen, was moved rather by the latter -considerations than by the former, though in after years the justice of -a cause held ever the foremost place in his mind. - -Henry of Navarre had broken up the siege of Paris and withdrawn with his -army into Normandy, hoping thereby to tempt the Duke of Mayenne to -follow him, and so enforce him to a decisive battle. Mayenne, on his -side, issuing forth from the city, had sworn to drive the Bearnais into -the sea, or to bring him back in chains. Such was the posture of -affairs when that adventure befell my grandfather which I set down as he -told it me, as now follows. - - - - - *THE SECOND PART* - - - *CHRISTOPHER RUDD'S ADVENTURE IN FRANCE, - AND HIS BORROWING OF THE WHITE PLUME - OF HENRY OF NAVARRE* - - - -[Illustration: headpiece to Second Part] - - - *I* - - -When I survey the backward of my life, and con over its accidents and -adventures, my thoughts are drawn as by a magnet to one point of -time--the moment when, through mirk and darkness, benighted in a strange -place, I saw the glimmer of a light. - -'Twas as foul a night as ever I saw: the sky black as Erebus; the wind -howling like unnumbered poor lost souls; the rain, that smote me full in -the face as I rode, stinging my flesh as each particular drop were a -barb of fire. I pulled my cloak about me, and bent low over the pommel, -to gain some shelter from the storm; but little comfort had I thereby, -for the rain beat in betwixt my neck and the collar, and, moreover, my -horse's hoofs cast up a plentiful bespattering of mud from the sodden -road. - -My outer man being thus discommoded, I was yet more ill at ease in my -mind, for I had some little while suspected, and was now assured, that I -had lost my way. I had ridden that road but once before, when I made -one of Hilary Rawdon's troop that he took from Dieppe on outpost duty to -St Jacques. By this time, according to my recollection, I should have -come to the Bethune river, by whose bank the road runs nearly straight -to Arques; but having met with some hindrance in my journey, night had -overtaken me or ever I was aware, and with the darkness came the sudden -bursting of the storm. What with the one and the other I could not -doubt that I had strayed into one of the by-roads about Dampierre, and -was now as helpless as a mariner without compass or glimpse of star. - -I was musing how best to escape out of this pother when, on a sudden -lifting of my head, I saw upon my left hand, level with my eyes, the -blurred twinkle of the light. With a muttered benediction I turned my -horse's head towards it, resolved, whether it shone from prince's -mansion or shepherd's cot, to beg shelter there until the fury of the -storm was abated. But I had not ridden above five yards before I found -myself checked by a quickset hedge, the which made me to dismount and -lead my horse up and down, seeking for some gate or gap whereby I might -approach the light. Within a little my groping hand taught me that the -hedge was neighbour to a low wall, and searching further, I knew that -the wall was ruinous, the top being ragged and uneven where bricks or -stones had fallen away. Then, touching a gatepost, and so learning that -the gate was removed, I was on the point of leading my horse through the -gap when my good genius whispered a hint of caution. Hilary Rawdon had -dispatched me back on an errand of moment to the King; I should prove -but a sorry messenger if, for my comfort's sake, I ran into any peril; -'twas meet that I should first find out what manner of house this was; -for all I could tell, it might harbour an enemy. With this thought I -led my horse across the lane ('twas no more), and coming after a few -paces to a clump of trees, I hitched his bridle to a bough, took a -pistol from the holster, and made my way afoot through the mire towards -the beacon light. - -The mud lay very thick, and there were besides many obstacles in the -path, whereon I stumbled, being unable to see them for the darkness. -Nevertheless, I picked my way among them as well as I could, holding my -sword close lest it should clash upon a stone, and so came to the house, -the which I perceived now to be of a good largeness. The ray shone -through a chink in the shutter of a window some few feet above my head. -The door was at my left hand, at the top of a flight of steps. Being -resolved not to seek admittance until I had learnt somewhat of the -inmates, I clambered upon the window-sill, the which being very wide -gave me good foothold, and setting my eyes to the chink, I peered into -the room. - -My eyes were at first dazzled, from so long being in the dark; but -within a little I saw two men seated at a table, between me and the -light, the which came from two large candles set close together. Their -backs were towards me, so that I could not tell with any certainty what -manner of men they were; but from their shape I judged them not to be of -the labouring kind; and indeed the room, so much of it as I could see, -the chink in the shutter being but narrow, appeared to be an apartment -of some splendour. - -Now I had been sent by Hilary Rawdon to let King Henry know that the -Duke of Mayenne was moving towards him from the eastward with a great -army, without doubt intending to give him battle, word having been -brought to St Jacques by a peasant that the duke was no more than forty -miles away. The house whereto I had come could not be above four or -five miles from the King's camp at Arques, wherefore it might be -supposed that these men were friends of the King. Yet it crossed my -mind that they might peradventure be Leaguers, and while I was in any -uncertainty I durst not seek shelter with them, nor could I with any -conscience proceed on my way. It behoved me, therefore, to make some -further discovery, if that were possible, and having no satisfaction in -what I had seen, I descended from my perch, and treading very warily, -crept along the wall at my right hand, purposing to make the circuit of -the house, in the hope to learn something more. By good hap the rain had -now ceased, the sky was clearing, and, the month being August, the -darkness was not so deep as heretofore; indeed, the stars were now -visible, and there was a lightness that seemed to foretell the rising of -the moon. - -The house was all in darkness, save where I had seen the light. When I -came to the corner I saw a smaller building some dozen rods apart, and -there, as I passed it, I heard the sound of horses drawing their -halters, whereby I guessed it to be the stables. And I perceived now -many signs of disorder in the garden--statues overthrown and broken, -fragments of wood and porcelain, and other things which led me to -believe that the house had lately been put to the sack, and made me go -with the more caution. Stealing through the garden to the back of the -house, I found a door, which, when I pushed it, yielded an inch or two, -but no more, by reason of some barricade behind. A little beyond it, -however, I came to a window hanging loose upon its hinges; and after I -had waited a moment to be sure that I was neither seen nor heard, I -squeezed my body through, and entered a small room which, when my eyes -became accustomed to the dimness, I perceived to be empty. There was a -door at the left hand. Holding my sword under my arm, I drew my dagger, -and crept across the room to the door, which, when I came to it, I found -to be ajar. I pulled it towards me, desisting for a moment when it -creaked, and listening, with a fear that the sound might have been -heard. But there was nothing to alarm me, and having opened the door -just so wide as that I might pass through, I came out into a long wide -hall, which I could not doubt led to the chief entrance. - -Here I paused, as well to recover breath--for my excitement had winded -me--as to listen again. From my right came the low rumble of voices, -and in an interval of silence I heard on my left hand, towards the main -entrance, as I guessed, the sound of deep breathing as of a man asleep. -Though the storm had ceased, there was still a slight moaning of the -wind as its gusts took the eaves, and trusting to this to shroud my -movements, I crept along the passage in the direction whence I had heard -the voices, which came more clearly to my ear, yet muffled, as I -advanced. Thus I arrived at a door on my left hand, and perceiving this -to be open, I entered very stealthily, and saw that I was in a large and -lofty chamber divided in two by a curtain. - -I heard the voices yet more clearly now, but not distinctly, so that I -could not catch the words. There were one or two shafts of light coming -through the curtain, which when I ventured to draw near to it I found to -be old and torn. Peeping through a rent that was just below the level -of my head, I saw, not two men, but four, seated at the table, all -masked, and wearing, as I perceived in the case of the two men whose -faces were towards me, their cloaks being thrown back, the cuirasses of -men of war. I listened very eagerly, to catch something of their -discourse, but they were at a good distance from me, and spoke in low -tones, so that I heard but a word here and there, and could not by any -means piece them together. This irked me not a little, but I durst not -part the curtain, for then I should have been in full view of the men on -the further side of the table, whose backs I had seen when I peeped -through the shutter; and I was troubled, also, by having, as it were, to -strain one ear towards them and the other towards the man at the end of -the hall, who might wake at any moment and, for all I knew, come to this -very room. So in much impatience and fearfulness I listened, and went -hot and cold when I caught the word "Bearnais," for that was the name by -which the Leaguers called the King, and I had reason to suspect by this -that these men were no friends of his. And by and by I heard other -names, "Rosny" and "Biron," the King's friends, and then all again -became confused, until one of the two that had their faces from me leant -back in his chair, lifting his arms above his head as if to stretch -himself, and said very clearly, and yet without raising his voice: "It -were easy to snare the game, but the keepers are wary." - -While I was still wondering what these words might mean, and vague -surmise was making me uneasy, I heard very faintly the neighing of a -horse, and a moment afterwards an answering whinny, but this much -louder. The men had given over talking, and he that had last spoken -still lay back in his chair, with his hands clasped behind his head, and -so he remained while a man might count ten. Then of a sudden he -straightened himself, flinging his hands apart, and leant across the -table, and said: "The second horse is in the open." The men over -against him looked at each other, their eyes glittering strangely -through the masks, and I waited to see no more, for I could not doubt -that the second horse was my own, and it was time for me to go. As -quickly as I might, yet with great quietness, I stepped across the room -towards the door, and had but just got myself out into the hall when I -heard the grating sound of chairs pushed back as when men rise in a -hurry, and saw a light flash through the doorway as the curtain was -parted. With my heart in my mouth I fled on tiptoe along the hall and -into the room I had first entered, and had not even time to close the -door behind me when the men passed, their spurs ringing as they trod. I -heard them come to the great door, and one of them kick the sleeping -sentry, and then the door was thrown open with a mighty creaking, and I -knew that they were betwixt me and my horse. - -In a moment I skipped out by the window, delaying just so long as -sufficed to replace it as it had first hung, and being now outside, -stood to consider of my course. I saw with thankfulness that the sky -had again become clouded, so that all was now near as dark as before. -Men were calling to one another in the garden, and since they could -hardly as yet have discovered the whereabouts of my horse, I thought I -could do no better than make my way back as straightly as I could to the -clump of trees where I had left him, trusting to luck and the darkness. -I had gone but a few steps when I stumbled against a man, and believed -myself undone; but he said: "Do you see anything?" and composing my -voice I answered: "Nothing," and then left him and sped on, scarce -believing in my good fortune. So with many a stumble and shrewd knock -upon my shins, making all haste yet moving with such quietness as was -possible, I came to the wall, and without waiting to seek the gateway I -scrambled over, and fell upon my face in the mud. For this I cared -nothing, only that in my fall my sword clashed against a stone, and a -shout from the enclosure warned me that the alarm was given. I was on -my feet in a trice, and sprang across the lane, in desperate fear lest -my horse might whinny again and bring the enemy upon me ere I could -loose him and mount. In my agitation of mind I could not remember -whether the clump of trees was on my right hand or my left, but a break -in the flying scud gave me so much light as to show me what I sought, -and I had just reached it and was plunging through the undergrowth when -I heard the clash of steel as the men scrambled over the wall like as I -had done, and their voices calling one to another as they asked whether -they saw any man. - -So dark was it in the copse that I could not see my horse, and I doubt -whether I should have found him in time if he, hearing my approach, had -not whinnied and so led me in the right direction. I unloosed his -bridle in haste, but had no sooner vaulted into the saddle than a man -ran up behind me, and cried out to the others that he had me. I set -spurs to my horse, but at the moment of his springing forward I felt a -sharp pang in the calf of my left leg, and the man let forth a vehement -oath when the horse carried me beyond his reach. Bending low in the -saddle to shun the branches of the trees, the which swept my cheeks and -dealt me many smarting wounds, I put my horse to the gallop, incommoded -by finding that one of my stirrups was gone, and knowing never a whit -whether I was riding towards Arques or from it. I came out of the copse -into a road, and hearing no sounds of pursuit,--indeed scarce expecting -any, since the men were not mounted--I gave the horse his head, and -breasting an incline we came to a small hamlet, where I did not scruple -to knock at one of the cottages until a window was opened, and a peasant -sleepily demanded what I lacked. From him I learnt that I was but a -stone's throw from the Bethune river, which gave me great comfort, and -so I spurred on, and by and by came to the bridge by Archelles, and so -on until I gained the marshy plain below Arques where the King was -encamped, never stopping until I was challenged by the outposts. - -[Illustration: I FELT A SHARP PANG IN THE CALF OF MY LEFT LEG] - -The day was now breaking, and since my news was important--both that -which I brought from Hilary Rawdon and that which I had discovered for -myself--I demanded to be led instantly to Rosny, with whom I had some -slight acquaintance, having been commended to him in a letter by my Lord -Seymour when I joined Hilary Rawdon's troop. Rosny at first seeing me -broke into a fit of laughter, the which was not to be wondered at, -seeing that my garments were drenched through and through, and my face -was muddy both from splashes and from my fall, and withal I walked -somewhat stiffly from the wound in my leg. But he looked grave enough -when I told him in brief what news I carried, and he would have me -accompany him at once to the King, whom he doubted not to find already -astir, though the morning was yet young. (I had not then heard the -saying of Pope Sixtus V, who foretold that the Bearnais would come off -conqueror because he did not remain so long abed as the Duke of Mayenne -at table; but I knew of the King's habit of rising early, the which was -indeed a cause of grumbling among the sluggards of his Court.) - -King Henry smiled in his beard when Rosny presented me to him, but heard -me soberly enough when I gave him Hilary Rawdon's message, to wit, that -the Duke of Mayenne was drawing nigh with twenty-five thousand foot and -eight thousand horse to give him battle. - -"What shall we do against so great a host with our poor three thousand?" -said the King to Marshal Biron that stood by. "Ventre-saint-gris! Is it -not hard to be a king without a kingdom, a husband without a wife, and a -warrior without money?" - -Here Rosny said that I had more to tell, and the King, pursing his lips -so that his long nose seemed to touch his chin, bade me say on. I told -him of my seeing the light, and of all that followed thereafter, saving -only the matter of my wound, and when I had done, he said sharply -between his teeth-- - -"Well, what then?" - -(His words in truth were "_Mais encore?_" but 'tis meet I turn French -into English in telling my story now.) - -"I know no more, Sire," I said in answer, "but I suspect the men I saw -were Leaguers, and were plotting secretly to seize your person, or to do -some other mischief, and 'twere well to send a party to take them, or if -that be too late, to go not from the camp without a strong guard." - -"What!" cries the King; "shall I cage myself like a song-bird, or tether -myself like a drudging ass? Ventre-saint-gris! my dear friends have -already counselled me that I seek refuge speedily in your country; but I -tell you that while I continue at the head of even a handful of -Frenchmen, such counsel 'tis impossible for me to follow. As for plots, -a fig for them all! Did I not listen but yesterday to a tale of a plot, -as shadowy as yours? There may be such plots afoot; let there be. The -assassin of my late cousin will not lack of imitators. But shall we -start at shadows, or flee like a cook-wench at sight of a mouse? The -men you saw, as like as not, were bandits, discoursing on the spoils -they expect to reap from the ambushing of some rich Churchman. Plots! -I am aweary of the word." - -This reception was so little like what I had looked for that I felt -abashed and, I own, somewhat ruffled also. The King's courage was known -of all men, but I hold that to neglect a warning is not courage, but -mere foolhardiness. While I was meditating whether I should urge the -matter, the King suddenly hailed a burly man that was riding slowly a -few short paces from his tent. - -"Hola, Lameray," he said, "send a dozen men to the château of St -Aubyn-le-cauf--which is beyond doubt the place of your adventure, Master -Rudd--and seize any man you find therein. Master Rudd will tell you -more at large," and with that he turned away, jesting with Rosny. - -The man whom the King had called Lameray dismounted from his horse, -which I perceived to be much bespattered with mud, and coming towards me -with a sort of roll in his gait, he said, in a full, harsh voice-- - -"Master Rudd will tell me more at large?" - -There was certainly something of insolency in his tone, and being -already ruffled with the King's manner of receiving my news, I did not -feel very amiably disposed towards this stranger, who looked at me under -his beaver with a glance of mockery. - -"Master Rudd, if it please him, will tell me more at large," says the -man again, while I was still considering of how I should deal with him. - -"You heard the King's command, Master Lameray----" - -"Pardon--De Lameray," says he, interrupting me. - -"De Lameray," I said, making a bow. "The château of St Aubyn-le-cauf, -your nobility may not be aware, lies something less than two miles along -the road towards Dampierre, and if you hurry you may yet be in time to -do the King's bidding." - -"And perhaps Master Rudd would be pleased to accompany me?" he said, -smiling upon me. - -"No," I said shortly, and thinking that perhaps his mockery sprang of my -dirty and dishevelled aspect, I left him there, and strode away, with a -bare acknowledgment of his salutation, to the quarters I had formerly -occupied in the camp. There, having bathed and got me into clean -raiment, and bound up the wound in my leg, no great matter, and eaten -pretty ravenously, I set off to find Raoul de Torcy, who was of my own -age, and had been my particular friend ever since I came to France. - -"What news of the camp?" I said, after I had greeted him, for having -been absent for a fortnight I knew nothing of what had happened of late. - -"The question I myself would ask," he said, "for I only returned from -Paris last night." - -"From Paris?" I said. - -"Yes. I set off thither the very day after you left us, having friends -there who are also very good friends of the King, and yet know all the -counsels of the Leaguers. I rode thence the day before yesterday, -bearing news of a plot to kill the King." - -"Another?" I exclaimed. - -"I know not what you mean by 'another,' my friend; but there is -assuredly one afoot, and I rode apace with the news, and was chased -well-nigh all the way from Paris by a fellow that had the very cut of a -Leaguer. But I shook him off yesterday evening, just before the storm -broke, and came safe into camp, and little enough I had for my pains." - -"Why, did the King flout you too?" I asked. - -"He laughed, and took it very lightly. 'Another?' says he, just as you -did: 'I hear of plots as regularly as I eat my dinner.' And then he -went off arm in arm with Rosny and paid no more heed to me." - -Whereupon I told him of my own errand, and of what I had seen at the -château, and how the King had received me. - -"I love our Henry," said Raoul, with a shrug, when I had made an end; -"but I sometimes question whether he be not too careless to make a good -king for France. However, we have done our part; if any ill befalls -him, it will not be for want of warning." - -I asked him then who was this Monsieur de Lameray that the King had -dispatched to the château, and he said he had never heard the man's -name; but encountering Jean Prévost as we sauntered forth from his -lodging, we put the question to him, and he told us that the Baron de -Lameray had lately come into the camp and offered his sword to the King, -with three score gentlemen well mounted and equipped. He had been a -Leaguer, but it was no more uncommon then than now for warriors to shift -their allegiance, and Henry, who dearly loved a good sword, had welcomed -right heartily this notable accession to his party, and smiled upon him -so graciously that certain of his well-tried servants were displeased -thereat. Whereupon Raoul shrugged again, complaining of the fickleness -of kings' favour. - - - - *II* - - -On the night of that day, I rode with Raoul and a dozen more to the -lodging of the Marquis de Contades in Dieppe, he having bidden us to -supper and a game of tric-trac. The company was very merry, but I was -aweary with having been up all the night before, and what with our -host's good cheer and the heaviness of the air I could scarce keep my -eyes open. Ever and anon I wandered to the window to cool myself, -wishing with all my heart that the company would break up, whereof I had -little hope, such jovial entertainments being commonly prolonged far -towards morning. Looking forth one time into the silent and empty -street, I saw a shadow move in a doorway on the further side, and felt a -passing wonder as to who might be lurking there so late, concluding that -'twas some poor townsman on the lookout to earn a few doits by holding a -stirrup or some such petty service. When I returned into the room the -marquis rallied me on my air of weariness, and on my telling him that I -had been long without sleep, he was pleased to admit my excuses, and -bade me get away to my bed. I went down the stairs very gladly, to walk -to the inn where I had left my horse and my servant, and had taken a -pace or two before I remembered the shadow in the doorway. I looked up -then to see whether the man was still there, and in that very moment a -figure sprang at me out of the dark entry, and I saw in the starlight a -long dagger uplifted against the sky. I had no time to draw my own -weapon, but my lucky remembrance of the man having saved me from being -taken wholly by surprise, I dropped suddenly to the ground, and my -assailant stumbled over me in the vehemence of his onset. Before he -could recover his footing I was upon him, but could do no more than grip -his right arm, and we fell together. There we were, rolling over and -over, and in the heat and fury of the struggle I heard the footsteps of -other men on the cobbles, and a voice asking in a hoarse and breathless -whisper which was the Englishman, and another answer: "'Tis no matter; -the fool has botched it; strike anywhere!" and then the man I was -gripping cried out with pain, for one of the newcomers had stooped and -stabbed him, and as he loosened his hold upon me he screamed again, and -I knew that in a moment one of these hacking swords must find me out. - -[Illustration: A FIGURE SPRANG AT ME OUT OF THE DARK ENTRY] - -But as I grappled the assassin to me to shield myself, there came to my -ears a shouting and the clink and clatter of spurred boots upon the -stones, and three of the four men above me took instantly to their -heels. The fourth remained, still bending over us, and I heard his -pants, and though I could not see his sword-arm, being partly underneath -the body of my first assailant, I saw his other arm, lifted in the act -to lunge. The fingers of his hand being distended, in that brief moment -I observed that his little finger was amissing. - -My companions, called forth by the cries and the sound of the scuffle, -now came running up, and the man, with a growl of rage, straightened -himself and sped away into the night. I rose, bruised and very scant of -breath, and when I told them in a word what had happened, they were for -pursuing the villains. But the time, though brief, was sufficient for -them to make good their escape, and it was vain to think of overtaking -them in the darkness of those streets, with many crooks and corners and -narrow alleys; so they came back after going a few paces, and while some -asked me whether I was hurt, others bent down to look at the fallen man, -who was stark dead. A torch being brought from the marquis's lodging, -they saw the device upon the man's coat, and some one cried that it was -one of De Lameray's men. At this Raoul looked at me, and I at him, but -we said nothing to our companions, having much food for thought. The -party being thus broken up, those of the guests that belonged to the -camp at Arques got their horses and rode back with me, and when we -arrived at the camp Raoul accompanied me, late as it was, to the -lodgings of Rosny, to whom we recounted, when we had roused him up, both -what had befallen and what our suspicions were. He heard us gravely, and -then bade us get to our beds, saying that the matter must be looked to -in the morning. - -I was glad enough to seek my couch, and fell asleep instantly; but all -on a sudden I awaked and sat up with a start, a strange discovery having -come upon me in the midst of my sleep. I was again peeping through the -curtain at the château of St Aubyn-le-cauf; again I saw the man leaning -back in his chair, and then unclasping his hands as he rose; and now my -recollection acquainted me with something which had scarce made any -impression at the moment of my actual beholding: the man's left hand had -lacked a finger! I could not doubt that the man in the château and he -of the late adventure in Dieppe were one and the same; and I had now -some inkling of the reason why my life was attempted. _Dead men tell no -tales_. My tale was already told, and the King had not hearkened; but I -had somewhat new to add to it, and maybe he would not again turn me a -deaf ear. - -I had but just broken my fast when a lackey came to command my -attendance on the King. I found His Majesty with Rosny in his tent, and -the Baron de Lameray was there too, and as I entered and made my -obeisance he said something under his breath that set the King -a-laughing. - -"Well, my friend," said Henry, "what is this I hear of tavern brawling -in the streets of my good town of Dieppe?" - -"I know not what you may have heard, Sire," I said, "nor can I answer -for the doings of others; but an attempt was made upon my life last -night," and then I told him the whole story as I have told it you. - -"And who were these would-be assassins?" asked the King when I had done. - -"The fellow that was killed, Sire, was said to wear the livery of my -lord here," I replied, glancing towards Lameray; "and as for the others, -I know no more than that I saw the hand of one of them, and it lacked a -finger." - -At this Lameray took a step forward, and glaring very darkly upon me -demanded whether I hinted at him. Whereupon I smiled very pleasantly, -and glancing at his hands, which were cased in gauntlets, as the manner -of the camp was, I said-- - -"I have not the honour of knowing with what afflictions Providence has -been pleased to visit Monsieur de Lameray." - -The King laughed, and even Rosny's grave face relaxed a little; but -Lameray frowned, and said with some heat: "I have already explained to -His Majesty that at the time of this fracas I had not returned from the -errand which he was pleased to entrust to me, and of that the gentlemen -of my company can bear witness." - -"And your château was empty, my good Rudd," said the King. - -"I scarce expected otherwise, Sire," I said, "the men having had -warning. And as to that matter, it is a slight thing, no doubt, but one -of those I saw there had suffered the same misfortune as Monsieur de -Lameray, if I take his words aright: he had but three fingers on his -left hand." - -The King cast a searching glance upon Lameray, who did not change -countenance, but said with a sneer-- - -"It seems that Monsieur Rudd is beset with visions of conspirators -lacking a finger. Maybe he is little practised in the use of the -sword." - -"I wield my sword with the right hand, Monsieur de Lameray," I said; and -then the King, whose countenance had regained its wonted serenity, asked -me why I had said nought of the three-fingered man when I told him of -what I had seen in the château. This question put me in a confusion, -for it was an ill matter to explain to the King that his manner of -receiving my news had ruffled me, or that the remembrance had not come -to me until the middle of the night, for that might very well seem to be -a dream, or even an invention. I stammered in this quandary, and, I -doubt not, looked as much embarrassed as I felt; and the King laughed -somewhat impatiently, and turning to Rosny asked why he troubled him -with these brawls and midnight robberies. Without waiting for an answer -he bade us depart, vouchsafing to me no word save the bare command, but -telling Monsieur de Lameray that he would do well in future to keep his -lackeys more firmly in hand. - -I returned to my quarters in high indignation, marvelling also at the -King's strange simplicity, for I believed now with the utmost assurance -that the man I had seen in the château and he I had seen in the street -were Monsieur de Lameray and no other. And an hour or two after I found -that I was not alone in this suspicion, for Rosny himself came to me and -asked me to be wary, and to acquaint him immediately of anything I might -see or hear further. "We must put things to the proof," he said in his -brief way. When I told him that Hilary Rawdon had expected me to return -to St Jacques after accomplishing my errand, Rosny replied that I must -not do so, but remain at Arques. "And see that you do not stray from -the camp alone, my friend," he said, "if you value your skin as I value -mine." And so he left me. - - - - *III* - - -It is ill work kicking one's heels in camp when no fighting is toward, -and I was glad enough when a servant of Jean Prévost's came to me in the -afternoon with a request from his master that I would join him and a few -more in a gallop. I donned my doublet--the same which I had worn on the -night of my ride--and chancing to put my hand into its inner pocket, I -felt some small thing which, when I took it out, I found to be a thin -roll of paper. For a brief space I looked at it in a kind of -puzzlement, turning it over in my fingers, at a loss to know how I had -gotten it. And then, in a flash, it came back to me. I told you that -before I lost my way near the château of St Aubyn-le-cauf, I had already -met with some hindrance in my journey, and I declare that the surprising -events that had happened afterwards had clean driven it from my memory; -but now I remembered it perfectly. About two miles out of St Jacques, -just as the dusk was falling, and a drizzle of rain, I came to a -cross-roads, and saw a man lying in a huddled heap by the roadside. I -got off my horse to look more closely at him, and when I bent over him, -I saw that he was stretched in a pool of blood, and there were great -gashes in his doublet, not such clean cuts as a rapier makes, but jagged -rents, the work of coarser instruments. I spoke to him, and he opened -his eyes and groaned feebly, and then endeavoured to speak; but he was -plainly very far gone, and I could make nothing of his mutterings. I -looked around to see if there was any house whereto I might convey the -man, who I supposed had been beset by footpads, but there was no -dwelling at hand, and I was considering whether I should lift him on to -my horse, when he lifted his hand painfully, and gave me a roll of -paper. I asked him what it was, and what I should do with it, and he -tried to tell me; but though his lips moved no articulate sound came -from them, and even as I looked at him he heaved a great sigh, and his -head fell back, and I knew that he was dead. What I might have done had -not my errand been urgent I cannot tell; but since I could do nothing -for him I delayed but to compose his huddled limbs, and mounted my horse -again, thrusting the paper into my pocket, where it had since lain -forgotten. Such things happened often in the lawless and distracted -France of that time, so that it is no wonder it went out of my head when -I had matters of greater moment to think of. - -[Illustration: I SAW A MAN LYING IN A HUDDLED HEAP] - -Having found the paper, I unrolled it to see what it might be. It -contained a few words plainly written, and yet I could not read them, -for they were of no tongue that ever I heard of, and I was not long in -concluding that they were writ in what is called a cipher. I rolled the -paper again and put it back into my pocket, thinking to show it to Rosny -by and by; but meeting Raoul de Torcy as I left my lodging, I spoke of -it to him, telling him how I came by it. When I described the poor -wretch who had been thus done to death, Raoul said 'twas like the -horseman who had followed him from Paris, and begged me to leave the -paper with him, for he had some skill in reading ciphers, and guessed -that if the man had been a Leaguer, as he supposed, the writing might -prove useful to the King. - -I rode out with Jean Prévost's party, and after a hard gallop we were -walking our horses when we were overtaken by the King himself, with -Rosny and half-a-dozen more. The King looked over his shoulder as he -rode by, and told me with a laugh that he was going to my château, as he -called it, to look for the three-fingered gentleman, or at least to lay -the ghost. I did not relish his mockery, nor the quizzing of my -companions, who were importunate in asking what he meant, but I forbore -to tell them, Rosny having charged me to say nothing of the matter. A -little after we turned our horses and rode slowly back. - -I had not been above five minutes in my quarters when Raoul burst into -my apartment in a great heat, and cried to me that he had read the -cipher. - -"And what's more," said he, "it was intended for me myself! That poor -fellow you found murdered was not a Leaguer after all, but had been -dispatched from Paris hot upon my heels by my friends there." - -"And what is the message he brought in such haste?" I asked. - -"Why, hark to it," he said, thereupon reading from the paper: "'The -mischief purposed against the King will be wrought by a feigning friend, -who has lately joined himself to the royal forces. We do not yet know -his name, but will acquaint you with that as soon as it is discovered.' -Who should that be but Lameray?" - -"Where is Lameray?" I cried instantly, remembering that the King had -ridden out but sparely attended, so that if it was designed to seize him -no better opportunity could present itself. When Raoul told me that he -had not seen the baron all that day I sprang up in haste, saying that it -were well we should make inquiry; and calling to my servant to saddle my -best horse, I went out with Raoul to seek Charles de Martigny, who knew -everything. From him we learnt that Lameray had ridden forth some while -before with his troop to hunt in the forest of Arques across the river. -Martigny remarked some excitement in our demeanour, and asked whether I -had some new grudge against the baron; whereupon I told him what we had -learnt, saying when I ended, "'Tis to be hoped he is hunting fair game." - -"We must go and acquaint Rosny," said Martigny at once. - -"Rosny has ridden out with the King--to lay the ghost of the -three-fingered man," I said, with a kind of scorn. - -"What!" cried he. "To St Aubyn-le-cauf? That is not far from the forest -of Arques." - -"True," said I coolly. - -"And the King may be at this moment in the extremity of danger," he -cried. "What you will do I know not, but as for me, I go straight to -Biron and ask him to gather a troop and ride out instantly to defend the -King." - -"And be snubbed for your pains," said I, telling him then of the -warnings I had already given. "We should be admirable laughing-stocks -for the camp," I added, "did we discover a mare's nest again." - -This had some weight with both of them, for a Frenchman of all men loves -not to appear ridiculous. We concluded then to say nothing as yet to -Biron, but to ride across the river, we three together, and see for -ourselves the manner of Lameray's hunting. Within a few minutes we set -forth, and as we descended the further side of the bridge of Archelles, -we perceived far away a cloud of dust on the road that skirted the -forest, and it moved in the direction of St Aubyn-le-cauf. It was -plainly caused by a numerous body of horsemen, and the same thought -flashed in the minds of all of us: Monsieur de Lameray's hunting -expedition was a mere blind, and he was now riding to seize the King. -That very instant I set spurs to my horse and galloped down the road -that ran alongside the river, which would bring me to the château sooner -than Lameray, I hoped, even though he had the start of me, he following -a more winding road, and remoter from the camp. The King should at -least be warned, and if this third time he slighted the warning, or it -were proved needless--well, I could but swallow my chagrin, and resolve -to mind my own business for the future. My two companions galloped after -me, but I soon began to outstrip them, my steed being a noble beast of -Arab strain, and, indeed, the envy of the camp. Seeing them left -behind, so that they could not hope to be first with the news, I turned -in my saddle and called to Martigny that he might now go to Biron, and -let him bring out a company if he chose. Martigny, who was in some -dudgeon, as I could see, because he could not overtake me, reined up and -turned back towards the camp; but Raoul held on his course, and he being -my particular friend, I allowed him to come up with me, and we galloped -on together. I was glad of his company, for he knew of a short cut -across the fields, and we sped on, leaping walls and ditches at some -peril of our horses' knees, until we breasted a hillock, and saw the -château lying amid its gardens half a mile away. And at that same -moment, far to the left, we caught the glint of the setting sun upon a -line of steel helmets, making at full speed towards the same goal as -ourselves. Luckily we were nearer, and putting our horses to a fierce -gallop down the slope, we came betimes to the château, where we expected -to find the King. - -But when we entered there was no man there, and we were thinking that we -had had our ride for nought, when, looking from a window, we saw Henry's -white plume nodding among his company as he approached leisurely from -the direction of Dampierre. 'Twas plain he had no suspicion of danger, -and I was in a ferment lest Lameray should fall upon him before he could -gain what shelter the château afforded. I ran out immediately and leapt -upon my horse's back, and flew like the wind to meet the King. As soon -as I came to him I poured out my news in a breathless flood, and he -laughed right heartily; but at this Rosny clutched at his bridle, and -saying sternly, "Are you mad, Sire?" he made his own horse gallop, -fairly lugging the King's along with him. - -"Can we defend the garden?" Rosny whispered to me as I rode close beside -him. I reminded him that the walls were ruinous and there was no gate, -and he pressed his lips together and frowned with that fixed look he had -when confronted by a difficulty. We said no more, and presently coming -to the garden wall at the back, we found Raoul there, having opened a -small wicket-gate for us, and he cried to us to haste, Lameray being not -a quarter-mile up the lane. We passed through one by one, the gate -being not wide enough for two--eleven of us in all--and then Henry, who, -careless and pleasure-loving as he was, was yet quick in counsel and -swift in action, asked whether the great door was open. When Raoul said -it was, the King bade us all ride our horses after him up the steps into -the great hall, the which we had but just done, Rosny being the last to -enter, when Lameray and his men came pouring through the gateway from -the lane. We slammed the door in great haste, and slid the bolts, the -King with great readiness commanding some to bolt the shutters of the -windows also, and to see what could be done to defend every part of the -house. And having given this order he removed his hat and his purple -cloak and set them on the table in the very room where I had seen the -men, and catching sight of me as I slipped a bar into its place at the -window, he swore his customary oath, and said, very pleasantly but with -a touch of malice-- - -"I shall owe you something for making me sweat, my good Rudd, if this -turns out to be another of your hallucinations." - -Before I could frame my lips to any reply, there was a hammering at the -great door and a voice demanding admittance. - -"Ask him what brings him here," said the King to Rosny, who went -accordingly to the porter's wicket beside the door, and opening the -shutter demanded to know who knocked and what his errand was. Spying -through a loophole of the shutter of my window I saw that the space in -front of the château was thronged with horsemen, in number full sixty, -all armed and accoutred. - -"'Tis I, the Baron de Lameray," cried the full harsh voice. - -"And your errand, Monsieur de Lameray?" said Rosny. - -"That, with your leave, Monsieur de Rosny, is for the ears of my master -the King alone." - -"Tell him he may come in--alone," said the King, with a chuckle. - -Rosny delivered the message, adding of his own motion that the door -should not be opened until the baron had removed his men beyond the -wall. At this, Lameray broke forth in indignation, demanding to know -whether the King mistrusted him, and Rosny vouchsafing no answer, he -stood for a space gnawing his lip, and then, casting a sharp and furious -glance over the front of the house, the which was shuttered in all its -lower part, he turned swiftly about and led his men out through the -gateway. The King laughed, and bade us throw open the shutters, and -when Rosny began to remonstrate with him he smote his thigh and cried, -"Ventre-saint-gris! Dost think I will be mewed up here as though I were -a craven?" Accordingly we opened the shutters, and the King began to -march up and down the floor, expecting Monsieur de Lameray to return on -foot. And within a minute we saw the baron coming alone through the -gateway, and the King commanded that the door should be opened to him; -but before this could be done, Raoul de Torcy ran down-stairs from an -upper room whence he had been watching all that passed outside, and -cried that the men, having tethered their horses in the copse beyond the -lane (the same where I had left my horse on that night) were creeping -round the wall towards the back of the house. And then Henry's face -took on a wonderful sternness, and bidding Rosny still leave the door -closed, he sent all of us but two to keep a watch upon the back until he -should summon us. He called to me as I was going, and said, "I will -borrow one of your pistols, my friend," being unarmed save for his -sword. - -We went to take up our posts, I directing myself with Raoul to the -window through which I had made an entrance. 'Twas plain we could not -defend it, for the shutters as well as the window itself hung loose upon -their hinges. We therefore determined to quit that room and raise a -barricade against its door that opened into the great hall. We were -hauling tables and chairs to set against it when we heard Lameray again -speaking through the porter's wicket, saying that his errand brooked no -delay, and asking that the King would himself come to the door and speak -with him. - -"Open the door and let him in," cried the King, with a smile. - -Rosny began to draw the bolts, but at the same instant there was a -marvellous heavy thud upon the back door, whose timbers groaned and -creaked, and as Raoul and I ran to it to see whether its fastenings -would hold we heard a shot, and immediately afterwards the slamming of -the shutter of the porter's wicket, and some one cried that Lameray had -fired at Rosny, who, however, expecting something of the sort, had kept -himself out of harm's way and was not touched. 'Twas plain that Lameray -and his ruffians were resolved to put all to the hazard, and I doubt not -that the Duke of Mayenne had promised them a very great reward if they -should either kill the King or take him alive. And I own I quaked with -fear lest they should accomplish their purpose, for we were but eleven, -and they sixty or more, and the defences of the place were so paltry -that it would be nothing short of a miracle if we kept them out. - -By this time the shutters of the front windows had been closed and -fastened again, so that the house was in darkness save for a little -light that came from the upper floor. While some of our party were -hasting to pile barricadoes against the doors leading into the hall, -their work being greatly incommoded by the presence of the horses, I -bethought me that we might do some damage among the enemy by firing at -them out of an upper window. Accordingly I ran up the stairs by myself, -and found that there was but one window opening on the back of the -house, where the attack was being made, Lameray knowing very well that -this side was not able to withstand a stout assault. I stood at the -window for a little to comprehend what was proceeding beneath, and saw a -crowd of men gathered about the door, and others entering the window -into the room I had crossed on my way to the hall. Then, bending -forward, I fired my pistol into the midst of the throng, which instantly -fell apart, one man dropping to the ground, and Lameray shouting to the -rest to save themselves and enter by the window. They did his bidding, -but very soon I saw some issue forth and seize upon one of the broken -statues that strewed the garden, and this they proceeded to carry -through the window into the room, designing, as I guessed, to employ it -as a battering ram against the inner door. I had charged my pistol -again, and firing just as the last of the men entered, I was lucky -enough to hit his right arm, which fell useless at his side. - -Since I could now do no more above, I hastened back to the hall, and -knew by the shouts and the blows upon the door that the enemy were -making a very vigorous assault upon it. I knew that the timbers could -not long endure so mighty a battering, and the barricado that we had -raised against it would prove itself a very sorry defence. But the -King, who was perfectly calm, and wore as serene a countenance as if he -were playing a sett at tennis, stood in the midst of the hall, speaking -brief words of cheer; and ever and anon our little party fired their -pistols through the door, setting the muzzles close to the timber, not -without effect, as we knew by the groans and cries from without. There -came answering shots, the enemy desisting from their battering for this -purpose, and first a horse near me screamed most pitifully, and then the -Sieur de Langres gave one choking sigh, and fell at the King's feet with -a bullet in his breast. - -[Illustration: THE SIEUR DE LANGRES GAVE ONE CHOKING SIGH, AND FELL AT -THE KING'S FEET] - -"Courage, my friends!" cried the King. "They have us in a trap, but they -shall not get us until we have slain four for one." - -"Navarre! Navarre!" we shouted in consort, the hall ringing with our -cries, and from beyond the door we heard confused shouts of "Guise! -Mayenne! Lameray!" - -I observed that Rosny stood in front of the King, to protect him, which -the King remarking, he plucked Rosny by the sleeve and said, in a gay -and easy tone, "Nay, nay, mon cher, what says the Psalmist? 'The Lord -is my shield and buckler.' Wouldst usurp the prerogative of the -Almighty?" Rosny stepped aside at the King's urging, and I told him -that Martigny had ridden back to warn the Marshal de Biron, and if we -could only hold out for yet a little, I made no doubt the marshal would -come with a troop sufficient to put our enemies to the rout. But at that -moment, as if to mock my words, there was a loud crack, and we knew that -the woodwork of the door was giving way. By good hap a heavy table -stood at the place where the board was splintered, so that it was not -driven in; and four of our party firing together through the door, we -heard cries of pain mingled with the jubilant shouts which had hailed -this breach in our defences. - -But it was very plain that we could resist but little longer, and unless -Biron should come within a few minutes, our case would be desperate -indeed. In a fever of trouble I strove to think of some way whereby we -might save the King, for I believed then, and I know now, that the loss -of so great a man would have been a sore calamity for France and the -world. And as I beat my wits on this matter, on a sudden I chanced to -remember Henry's hat and cloak that lay on the table in the great salon, -and a device rushed into my mind. I durst not tell the King, who would -assuredly have forbid it; but I drew Rosny aside, and whispered it to -him. A light beamed upon his troubled face, and he bade me go, but -secretly, lest the King should observe me. Accordingly I sought my -friend Raoul, and desired him to draw the bolts of the great door as -silently as might be, and to be ready to throw it open at a word. And -then I crept into the salon, and taking the plumed hat and cloak from -the table I donned them, and returned into the hall. Meanwhile Rosny -had informed the King that Biron had been warned, and had led him up the -stairs to a window in the front of the house, whence they might overlook -a great space of the country and peradventure spy the marshal coming. -The way being thus cleared for me, I mounted my horse, there in the -hall, and giving Raoul the word, he flung the door open, and I dashed -out, my horse leaping the steps at one stride. - -The enemy were all at the rear part of the house, so that there was none -to see me as I galloped at a headlong pace towards the lane. But as I -passed the stables they caught sight of me, as I designed they should, -and then there was such a yell of consternation and rage as I had never -heard before. A shot flew after me, but fell short, and in a trice I -swept through the gateway, wheeled suddenly to the left, and set my -horse to an easy canter, for it was not part of my plan to gallop clean -away. I heard the shouts of the men as they swarmed after me, and -turning in my saddle, yet keeping my face pretty well concealed, I saw -them scurry into the copse where their horses were tethered, Lameray -first among them. The dusk of evening and an autumn haze hung over the -ground, so that I had good hope they would be deceived by the plume and -the cloak, and not observe that the form thus clad was not that of Henry -of Navarre, but of his humble servant Christopher Rudd. - -I had ridden but a few hundred yards up the lane when they came dashing -out of the copse after me, Lameray again the first. And now that I had -drawn them into pursuit, as I had purposed, I gave my good horse his -head, and galloped on at a round pace. Soon I left the lane, leaping -the hedge into a field, not for easiness of going, but to entice the -enemy after me, and thereby give the King the opportunity of riding -forth with his party and reaching camp before me. The hunt followed my -lead with excellent witlessness; taking a flying look at them I -perceived that nearly every man of them was joining in the chase; and my -blood tingles now, old man as I am, when I remember the joy that leapt -in my veins as I rode, springing over hedges and ditches, the pack in -full cry after me. Verily I believe that my horse was as merry as I -myself, though he may have wondered where was the fox, not knowing that -I myself was the quarry of that hunt. - -My steed, as I have said, was the envy of the camp, and at the pace -whereto I set him he soon outdistanced all the pursuers save only -Lameray, who bestrode a fine roan but little less in value than my own -horse. One by one the others dropt off, but he still kept within the -same distance of me, and I wondered whether he would have the temerity -to pursue me up to the very skirts of the camp and perchance into the -arms of Biron. Glancing over my shoulder (yet careful to shield my face -with my arm), I saw that a dyke I had just leapt had been too much for -every one of my pursuers but him, and recollecting his insolency towards -me, and the attempt on my life, and above all, his slur upon my -swordsmanship, I resolved to try conclusions with him, and prove upon -his body the foul traitor he was. Accordingly I put my horse at a low -wall, barely clearing an unexpected ditch that lay beyond it, and -reining up, wheeled about and awaited my enemy a dozen yards upon the -further side. He came up at a wild and reckless pace, and, traitor -though he was, I could not but admire the dexterity of his manage as he -leapt the wall at the very place of my crossing. Seeing me biding for -him, with no care now to shroud my countenance, he drew his sword at the -moment of leaping, and came at me in a fury. But his horse lost a -little speed in taking the ditch, and since I set spurs to mine as soon -as Lameray's alighted, we met with a mighty shock, and my steed being -lighter than his was forced back upon his haunches. In this manner I -escaped the point of his sword outthrust towards me, and causing my -horse to swerve, I heard Lameray's snarl of rage as he was carried a few -paces beyond. In a twinkling he was about, and lifting his sword high -above his head, he brought it down with a vehement stroke that, had it -touched me, would assuredly have cleft my head in twain, or my arm from -the shoulder. But my good steed answered perfectly to the pressure of -my heel upon his flank, and swerving, saved me by a hair's breadth. And -then, at the same moment that I heard a great shouting far away, I -lunged swiftly, and by good hap my point entered his throat. With one -dreadful sob he fell backwards over the crupper, and the traitor was no -more. - -[Illustration: RAISING HIS SWORD HIGH ABOVE HIS HEAD, HE BROUGHT IT DOWN -WITH A VEHEMENT STROKE] - -It needs not to tell how Biron, with three-score of his choicest -cavaliers, rode out from camp with Martigny, having lost some little -time in saddling, and came full upon a portion of Lameray's troop just -as they returned to the lane. The King and his little band having -sallied forth, and being on the further side of them, they were shut up -as in a vice, and full two-score of them were slain. Nor does it become -me to relate all that King Henry said to me when he sought me out, I -having ridden straight into Arques when I had taken Lameray's sword as a -trophy. I might, if I chose, write myself the Baron de St Aubyn in the -peerage of France, since thus royally did the King see fit to reward me; -but having been born an Englishman I have no great love for outlandish -titles, though, maybe, if I enjoyed a marquis's rank I might not be so -squeamish. Go to my cabinet yonder; there you will find, set together -in one place, a white plume, a cloak, and a sword. These the King was -pleased to give me. Peradventure in years to come, when your grandsons -visit you, you will set these relics in state before them, and tell over -again the story of the lonely château and the Baron de Lameray. - - -[Illustration: tailpiece to Second Part] - - - - *Interim* - - -A few days after this notable adventure, the Duke of Mayenne encamped -over against Arques, and made sundry assaults upon King Henry's -entrenchments, being baffled at all points. Then, hearing that new -forces were drawing near from the east, and that five thousand good -English soldiers were upon the sea, he withdrew himself into Picardy, -the King marching close upon his heels up to the very walls of Paris, -the suburbs whereof he took, and gave over to pillage. But winter -coming on, he stayed not to open a siege, but withdrew to Tours, -sallying forth thence when he heard that Mayenne was again afoot. Many -strong places in Normandy yielded themselves up to him, and in the -middle of March in the next year he gave battle to Mayenne at Ivry, -where, when Fortune seemed to be turning against him, he called -cheerfully upon his nobles and gentlemen, and they following him charged -into the thick of the fray, his white plume waving in the midst. And -among the thirty horsemen that came forth with him out of the mellay was -my grandfather, who bore ever after on his neck the scar of a sword cut -dealt him on that glorious day. - -After this victory my grandfather accompanied the King in his march upon -Paris, to which city Henry laid siege, straitly shutting it up all that -summer, so that they lacked food, and devoured horses and asses, dogs -and rats, and even little balls of clay and powdered bones. But the -Duke of Parma coming out of the Low Countries with an army of Spaniards, -the King was enforced to strike his camp and haste to meet this doughty -foe. Nevertheless there was no battle betwixt them, for Henry was in no -wise strong enough to match the Duke, nor indeed was he equal to him in -the art of war, though none could be bolder or more daring in the field. -Being therefore outdone, he drew back his forces, and the city was -opened to the Spaniards, who threw into it a plenty of victuals and -lifted the people out of their misery. - -It were too long to tell of all the skirmishes, the marchings and -countermarchings, the captures and surprises, wherein my grandfather -bore his part for three years from that time. But in July 1593, the -King professed himself of the Catholic faith, to the joy of the greater -part of the nation, and the confusion of his enemies. City after city -opened its gates to him; by the end of that year France had peace, and -many of the English gentlemen that had fought for the King returned to -their own country, my grandfather being among them. He told me that the -main cause of his return was Queen Elizabeth's displeasure with Henry -for that he had changed his religion, but it is known that the Queen -nevertheless withdrew not her support from him, and methinks my -grandfather himself no longer held him in the same degree of respect, -for he abhorred a turncoat, and I know that he grieved because, as all -men knew, the King forsook his faith without sincerity and for the mere -bauble of a crown. My father was used to remind him how Naaman the -Syrian bowed himself in the house of Rimmon, and is held of many to be -blameless; and how King Henry did in truth by his conversion compose the -French nation to peace and order; whereat my grandfather would cry, "How -now! would you do ill that good may come?" and so put him to silence. - -However, having returned to London, my grandfather obtained by the -interest of a noble friend the promise of a place among the Queen's -Guard. Yet it was some while ere he entered into this honourable -office, for being sent by my Lord Burghley upon an errand to Flanders, -he was led by chance, or more truly by the hand of Providence, to employ -his sword in defence of the liberties of the commonweal there. The -Provinces had been struggling for five and twenty years against the -oppression of the Spanish King and his minions, of whom the Duke of Alva -in especial left a name for iron sternness and cruelty. Like as in the -case of King Henry of Navarre, Queen Elizabeth lent aid to the suffering -folk; many of her chiefest men were captains in their army, and became -governors of their towns, and did many right honest and praiseworthy -deeds in their behoof. And among the stories that my grandfather told -me, none pleased me better than this that now follows, wherein he -relates a quaint and pleasant conceit that he devised for the undoing of -a traitor. - - - - - *THE THIRD PART* - - - *CHRISTOPHER RUDD'S ADVENTURE IN THE - LOW COUNTRIES, AND HIS QUAINT - DEVICE OF THE SILVER SHOT* - - - -[Illustration: headpiece to Third Part] - - - - *I* - - -I could wish that I had been born somewhat earlier into the world, for -then I had had no cause, in these my latter years, to feel shame for my -country, nor to look into the future with any disquietude. This our -England stood upon a pinnacle of renown and majesty that year when the -Spaniards' Armada was shattered by the winds of God and the shot of Sir -Francis Drake. Queen Elizabeth went down to her grave in a blaze of -glory; but in the reign of her successor the lustre of our name was -dimmed. At this present the sky is black with clouds, and there is -rumbling and muttering of thunder. Pray God our Ship of State may -weather the imminent storm! - -Chiefly I could wish to have been of an elder generation, because then I -might have had a full share in that great struggle for liberty which our -neighbours of the Low Countries long time maintained with stout heart -against the Spaniard. I did, indeed, ply my sword in their behoof, -among the voluntaries whom our queen suffered to engage in that service; -but I came late to it, when a great part of the journey work was already -done. Prince William, named the Silent, had fallen to the assassin's -knife while I was yet at school; and by the hand of that pattern of all -princely virtues the foundations of the Republic had been well and truly -laid. Yet had he bequeathed a vast heritage of toil to his son, Prince -Maurice, whom I must hold to be the peerless instructor of this age in -the art of war. By his side I dealt many a dint for freedom, and it -would need a month of talking so much as to tell over the sieges and -stratagems, the ambuscades and sharp encounters, wherein I bore my part -with that worthy prince. But at the very beginning of my service there -befell me a noteworthy adventure which I look back upon with a certain -joyous contentment; and that I will relate, craving your patience. - -In the autumn of 1593 I was sent for one day to wait upon my Lord -Burghley at Cecil House in the Strand. I found him exceeding sick in -body, with a look of death upon his aged countenance; but his mind was -sound and firm as ever, and he laid his commands upon me with all his -wonted clearness and precision. - -I had but lately quit the service of His Majesty of France. The Queen, -my mistress, bore so ill King Henry's submission to the Roman Church as -she could not endure the continuance of any of her servants in his -employment. Thus I chanced to be for the nonce at large, and ready for -the charge the Lord Treasurer committed to me. - -Since the villainous treachery of Sir William Stanley and Sir Rowland -Yorke in delivering the town of Deventer to the Spaniards, the -Netherlanders had harboured a natural suspicion and distrust of the good -faith of our English captains. Especially was there a present dread lest -the town of Ostend should be betrayed by its English garrison. To clear -our fame of this withering blight, the Queen had determined to admonish -Sir Edward Norris, governor of that place, bidding him to keep a wary -watch upon his captains and soldiers, to enforce them rigorously in -their duty, and to hang up without remorse any that should be discovered -in communication with the enemy. To this end she indited with her own -hand a letter to Sir Edward, the which, together with his own formal -despatch, the Lord Treasurer delivered to me for conveyance to Flanders. - -This was a charge that jumped well with my inclination. I had no love -for the soft air of courts or the mincing manners of a carpet knight, -and having learnt from my Lord Burghley that, my errand being -accomplished, the Queen would not stay me from serving Prince Maurice, I -took passage very willingly in a hoy bound for Flushing, where I landed -some time in the month of October. - -It needs not to tell of my journey to Ostend and my meeting with Sir -Edward Norris. Having delivered to him my letters, I departed as soon -as with good manners I might, and, accompanied only by my servant, took -my way to the camp of Sir Francis Vere, the principal general of our -English levies since my Lord Leicester departed from the Low Countries. -Sir Francis greeted me right boisterously, and put a troop of horse -immediately at my command. - -'Tis a matter well established that a man may have all the qualities of -a captain and leader of men, and yet lack those higher parts that are -requisite in a general. Sir Francis was in person the very image and -model of a man of war. Of good stature, with a well-knit body and a -princely countenance, his hair close-clipped and his brown beard spread -spade-shaped upon his breast, he made a noble figure in his Milan -corselet inlaid with gold and his ruff of point-lace. Bold and resolute -in action, he was nevertheless heady, prone to anger, and full of -whimsies, whereby in great affairs he was apt to be looked on with a -certain mistrust, both in the council and in the field. I had not been -long with him before I perceived that he entertained a most violent -hatred and jealousy of Prince Maurice, and looked upon the Netherlanders -with a sour contempt. - -I learnt from him the posture of affairs in the Low Countries at that -time. The Spaniards had of late taken sundry strong places of note, and -were closely investing sundry others. Prince Maurice, being but ill -provided, could do little towards the relief of those beleaguered towns, -and while gathering strength thereto held himself mainly to the -defensive. This loitering and idleness provoked Sir Francis to wrath, -who would chafe and chide, and avouch that 'twould be profitable to the -country if the whole breed of Nassaus were rid out of the way. - -It chanced that one day I sallied forth with a handful of men towards a -small city then besieged by the Spaniards, to discover if I might the -strength and disposition of the enemy. For reasons that will presently -appear I had liever not tell the true name of this place, but will call -it Bargen. - -We rode forth one misty afternoon, and picked our way not without -trouble among the runnels and made watercourses wherewith that flat and -marshy land abounds. Perceiving no sign of the enemy, I was tempted to -approach more closely to their lines than consorted with prudence. As -we rode by a narrow bridle path betwixt a patch of woodland and a field -in stubble, on a sudden, from among the trees, cloaked in a measure by -the mist, there sprang upon us a troop of corseleted horsemen. They -had, I doubted not, got wind of my approach, and lain in wait under -covert of the wood to cut me off. - -Some of our fine gentlemen that showed their bravery at court were wont -to boast that one Englishman was a match for five Spaniards; but such -vainglorious brag is bemocked by those who, as I myself, have -encountered those doughty warriors in the field. The Spaniard may be a -paltry adversary on the seas, though even there I have met with some -that were no mean fellows. Howbeit on land I found them valorous and -redoubtable foemen, whom to despise would argue a pitiful ignorance and -marvellous ill reckoning. - -I had with me six or seven stout fellows, good swordsmen and well -seasoned to war; but our enemy numbered a full score, who smote upon us -like thunder and bore us down by sheer weight and fury. In my time I -have been in many a sore strait and hazard, but never stood I in such -jeopardy as when two of my men were cast headlong from their saddles and -the Spaniards held the rest of us like rats in a trap. We had not time -to wheel about and trust to the speed of our horses; the utmost that we -could do was to back among the trees and play the man. There was a -mighty clashing of steel upon armour as we gave stroke for stroke; but -the enemy beset us vehemently, and had well-nigh encompassed us without -hope of life, when, in the twinkling of an eye, there leapt from the -depths of the wood a half-score of wild and unkempt figures, that flung -themselves with exceeding heat and fury into the thick of the mellay, -making marvellous quick play with their short knives, both upon the -horses and the bodies of the Spaniards, at the joints of their harness. - -This timely interposition put new heart into my stout fellows, who plied -their swords with such manful resolution as made the Spaniards, already -confused and baffled by the waspish newcomers, take thought for their -safety and seek to draw out of danger. In short, within two minutes -such of them as had not fallen betook themselves to flight, spurring -their steeds every man in a contrary direction. My men in the fervency -of victory made to pursue them; whereupon, being in no mind to be -enticed further within the enemy's lines, I halloed to them loudly to -refrain. They reined up and cantered back to me, save one headstrong -and reckless fellow, John Temple by name, who pressed hard on the heels -of the rearmost Spaniard, and was soon lost to sight beyond the confines -of the wood. - -Very well content with this happy issue from our troubles, I turned -about to see more clearly what manner of men were those that had wrought -our deliverance. Their aspect and garb bespoke them as boors of the -country, for they wore rough smocks, round fur bonnets, and breeches of -wondrous largeness and of a blue colour; yet they had not on their feet -the wooden clogs of use and wont, but went barefoot for swiftness. I was -minded to offer them some recompense for their service, and being as yet -too new in the country to have gained anything of their speech, I bade -one of my men, who had been long among Netherlandish folk, acquaint them -with my purpose. Whereupon a young man who had hitherto held himself -backward and aloof, stepped forth, and addressing me in execrable -French, said-- - -"Sir, we covet no reward, having done that which we have done in the -service of our country, and for behoof of those that serve her also." - -Taking more particular note of this young man, I perceived that neither -in favour nor in speech did he match the others of his company. - -"Sir," said I, "we are beholden to you. I would fain know your name." - -With some hesitancy he replied-- - -"Sir, call me Van der Kloof; 'twill serve as well as another." - -I gave him a hard look, to ensure that I might know him again; but -having made it a rule of conduct never to pry or meddle with matters -that do not concern me, I forbore further question. Whereupon the young -man told me of his own accord how that he had lain in the wood for a -good while, keeping watch on the Spaniards, our late adversaries, who -had come from the direction of Bargen, and were going, as he thought, -towards the camp of Verdugo, the Spanish governor. I got from him -sundry informations concerning matters in Bargen, though not so much as -I should have liked. - -The hour was now growing late, and John Temple had not yet returned. I -had thought that, when he found himself without support from us, he -would ride back without delay, and his continued absence made me fear -for his safety. Though by his stupidity or obstinacy he deserved no -better than to fall into the hands of the Spaniards, I was loth to lose -any man of my charge; accordingly, we rode warily some short distance -after him. But when we found him not, we turned about and made towards -our own camp, only desiring Van der Kloof, if he should meet with -Temple, to bid him follow hard after us. - -We were within a bowshot of our camp when Temple overtook us. His horse -was in a great heat and foam, and the man himself was in a sorry case, -having a great gash in his cheek, his morion gone, his doublet slashed -and bedabbled with blood. - -"How now, sirrah!" I cried to him as he rode among us. "Art deaf, that -thou didst not hear my command, or a mere addle-pate, to go alone into -the midst of a host?" And I rated him very roundly, I do assure you. -The man said not a whit in his proper defence, but pled that being at -the very heels of a Spaniard who had dealt hardly with him in the fight, -he could not endure to leave him without giving him a Roland for his -Oliver. The chase was longer than his expectation; and the Spaniard, -seeing him persistent, on a sudden wheeled about and met him face to -face. They two fought it out, and after a long and laboursome bout, -whereof Temple bore many eloquent and grievous tokens, he overcame his -adversary and made his quietus. - -And then he displayed before me the spoils of this engagement, to wit, a -fine Toledo blade; a belt of good Cordovan leather, the pouch filled -with Spanish dollars; and a jewelled ring of gold. And when I had told -him that he might keep these for himself, he brought forth from under -his belt a strip of paper, and put it into my hand. - -"This I espied, sir," he said, "through a rent in the don's doublet, and -seeing there was writing thereupon, being no scholar myself, I fished it -out for your worship's perusal." - -Thinking 'twas some love billet that the hapless Spaniard had worn -against his heart, I was in a manner loth to take it. But I bethought -myself directly after that in time of war it behoves a man to suspect -all and trust none, and in this mind I spread open the paper and bent my -eyes upon it. And then I was not a little discontented at the -meagreness of what I read. 'Twas nothing but a table of stores, writ in -the Spanish tongue: so many tubs of powder, so many chests of the same, -so many spare pikes, so many double bullets for the calivers, so many -bullets for the matchlocks, so many round shot for the sakers and -culverins--in truth, I did not read every article, being persuaded that -the fellow from whom the paper was taken was some pitiful storekeeper, a -man of no account. Yet I stowed it within my doublet, from a mere habit -of prudence, and rode on, telling the man Temple jestingly that my share -of the booty was paltry by comparison with his. - - - - *II* - - -It was dark when I came to my lodging, and learnt from my servant that -Sir Francis Vere, some while before, had sent to seek me. I made haste -to attend the general, whom I found alone at his supper. - -"Ha, Rudd," he cried to me in his great voice, "I am glad to see thee, -lad." (He was but ten years my elder, but let that pass.) "How hast -fared?" - -I rehearsed very shortly the particulars of my excursion, and those few -matters I had learnt of the Dutchman; but held my peace as touching the -paper Temple had given me, deeming that to be of no moment. Sir Francis -made me compliments on my good hap in coming off with a whole skin, and -then, bidding me share his meal, pushed a letter over the table towards -me. - -"Read that," said he, "and tell me your mind upon it." - -The letter, I found, was from Prince Maurice himself, concerning Bargen, -the place from before which I had even now returned. The Prince was -troubled in mind about its safety. It had been some two months besieged -by the Spaniards, and he was as yet unable to stir towards its relief, -being himself menaced by a greater force, the which he believed to be -looking for some movement on his part thitherward, with the intent to -fall upon him as he marched. The city had hitherto made a good defence, -but there had come to his ears rumours of a weak-kneed party in the -council, and he feared lest, as the labour and hardship of the defence -waxed greater, the tottering loyalty of these burghers should fail -utterly, and they deliver up their city into the enemy's hands. In this -strait he besought the aid of Sir Francis, requesting him to use all -endeavours to save the place, chiefly by strengthening the hands of -those burghers among the council that were still trusty and faithful. - -"A murrain on him!" cried Sir Francis, as I set the letter down. "Why -does he sit still, this Prince Do-Nothing? Did he strike a blow I would -give him a mighty backing, but 'tis not in me to play the nurse, and -cosset faint-hearts. He must seek another man for that job, one of his -own slow Dutchmen, pardy!" - -But it flashed upon me in a moment that the Prince had shown wisdom and -discretion in seeking an Englishman for this part. I had learnt already -that there was great jealousy between the several cities; each was in a -manner a little republic; and the burghers of one city would be apt to -look with ill-favour upon any man from another who should offer to teach -them their duty. The like resentment would not be stirred up by an -Englishman, more especially if he were commended to them as one expert -in war and cunning in counsel. In this I thought Prince Maurice had -done wisely, and so I told Sir Francis. He looked at me very sharply, -fingering his beard, and then smote upon the table and cried with a -great laugh: - -"By the Lord Harry, thou art the man!" - -I stared at him, at the first not understanding his intent. He laughed -again, and said: - -"Who so fit for this business as Master Christopher Rudd, expert in war, -as witness his exploits with Henry of Navarre; cunning in counsel, as -witness his lecture and admonition at this very table! You shall go -into Bargen; you shall take in hand the instruction of the burghers; you -shall strengthen the weak hands and confirm the feeble knees; a Daniel -come to judgment!" - -I did not relish his mockery, nor in any wise covet the office he would -thrust upon me. But his laughter stung me to a great heat (though I -showed it not), and, not counting the cost as an older man had done, I -determined in my mind that I would do this thing, come of it what might. -Whereupon, feigning to take him in merry mood, I smote upon the table -likewise, declared 'twas a right royal jest, and vowed that on the -morrow I would make my way privily through the enemy's lines into -Bargen, and instal myself tutor among the mynheers. Sir Francis -applauded me, still in sport, not supposing that I had spoken soberly -and in earnest. - -When I came to reflect upon it in my own chamber I questioned whether I -were not clean witless, for the task I had taken upon myself was fitter -for a man well acquainted with these burghers than for a man raw and -untried. Nevertheless, having put the halter about my own neck, I could -blame none but myself if I was hanged withal, and from sheer pride of -soul I was steadfast to my purpose. - -Accordingly, the next day, without any more speech of Sir Francis, I -went about quietly to get myself a trusty Dutchman who should guide me -into Bargen. By good fortune I lighted upon a man that not only knew -English, but had himself gone in and out of the city by a secret way, in -despite of the Spaniards. In the dusk we set forth from the camp, with -my servant, and rode to a lonely mill some few miles from Bargen, half -ruined and burnt in a foray the year before. There we left our horses, -which the Dutchman engaged to lead back to the camp, and went down to -the river hard by, where, in a clump of rushes, we found his raft -cunningly concealed. - -It being now dark, we got upon the raft, and oared ourselves warily and -in silence down the stream, until we came to a spit or nose of land that -was at this season partly submerged and in winter-time wholly. Here we -stepped ashore, being within a short bowshot of the Spaniards' trenches. -At this hour of the night none but the sentinels were stirring, and, as -my guide well knew, the guard hereabout was negligent and unwary. - -We crept softly as foxes toward the wall, and as we crawled up the -glacis a voice challenged us, and I heard the click of a firelock. My -guide made answer in a whisper, and immediately after two rope ladders -were let down from the wall, upon which we nimbly mounted to the -parapet. There we were confronted by a posse of the burgher guard, armed -at all points, and my Dutchman presented me to their captain, saying, -according to my instruction, that I was come on business of great moment -from Prince Maurice. - -[Illustration: WE CREPT SOFTLY AS FOXES TOWARD THE WALL] - -The Captain would have led me instantly to the presence of the -Burgomaster, but on my assuring him that my errand was not so urgent as -that I should disturb that worthy gentleman's rest so unseasonably, he -offered to find me a comfortable lodging for the night. We went -together, my servant following, through the dark and silent streets, the -Captain telling me that I should lodge in the house of the widow of the -late Burgomaster, who had been slain in a skirmish the year before. -When I said that I was loth to intrude upon the lady at so late an hour, -the Captain declared that Meffrouw Verhoeff would deem it in no wise an -intrusion; indeed, he said that I should find a table ready laid, my -hostess having a son among the guard for whom she watched on all those -nights when he was abroad. - -Within a little I found myself at the entrance of a house wherein a lamp -shone. At the Captain's knock the door was opened, and a voice asked, -"Is it you, Jan?" the speaker not perceiving at the first who we were. -The Captain presenting me as an envoy from Prince Maurice, and an -Englishman, a soft hand caught mine, and drew me into the house, and I -made my salutation to a little old lady, very comely and personable, -with a widow's cap and snow-white ruff, who greeted me in English and -bade me very heartily welcome. She would hear no excuses upon the -lateness of the hour; but led me into her parlour, then left me while -she bestowed my servant, and returning, entreated me to do honour to the -viands with which her table was sparely spread. - -Mistress Verhoeff entertained me as I ate with many particulars of the -siege. I was not long of discovering that her small body was the seat -of a very fiery and unquenchable spirit; and in truth, while she spoke -of the brave deeds done in defence of the city, her cheeks glowed and -her eyes sparkled so that she seemed young again. There had been much -suffering, she told me; but her folk had learnt to suffer, and of a -surety could endure even more grievous afflictions than had yet befallen -them. - -At these words methought there was trouble in her voice, and I wondered -whether she was aware of the rumours whereof Prince Maurice had made -mention in his letter to Sir Francis Vere. - -She spoke of her dead husband, and of her living son, who was this night -on guard at the wall. - -"Had his father but lived," she said, "my boy had beyond question held -great place, in the field or the council chamber; but now, alack! he -trails a pike among the common men." - -While we were yet conversing, there was a step without, and a young man -entered to us. He stood amazed to behold a stranger with his mother, but -upon her making me known to him, he gave me a courteous salutation and -sat himself at the board. Now I never lose the remembrance of a face -once seen, and at the first glance I could have avouched that this young -man was the same that did me service two days before. Yet the form of -his countenance was something changed, and his apparel was wholly -bettered, and when he made not the least sign that he knew me, I was -tempted to doubt my memory had for once cozened me. We spoke of -indifferent matters, and then, with the intent to put him to the test, I -said bluntly-- - -"Sir, have you knowledge or acquaintance of one Mynheer Van der Kloof?" - -"I know no man living of that name," he answered me. - -"I crave your pardon, sir," said I, "but truly I would fain meet that -same mynheer again, that I might renew my thanks for a timely service he -rendered me." - -"What was that, sir?" the lady asked; and her son seemed to wait upon my -words with mere curiosity. - -I related my adventure of two days before, and my hostess averred that -Mynheer Van der Kloof was no man of Bargen, seeing that neither was -there any family of that name in the city, nor could any force of -burghers have been without the walls, the place having been straitly -invested for two months past. This in my secret thought I took leave to -doubt, but I could not in courtesy urge my opinion, and we left speaking -of the matter. Shortly thereafter the lady herself conducted me to my -chamber, where I was soon comfortably established between the sheets, as -white and fragrant as ever I slept in. - - - - *III* - - -On the morrow, very early, I was waited upon by a sergeant come express -to conduct me to the Burgomaster, whom the Captain of the Guard had -informed of my arrival. I must acknowledge that in the cold and sober -light of morning I felt myself to be in something of a pickle. I had -announced myself as an emissary from Prince Maurice, but I had no letter -of commendation in his hand, nor, in truth, had I so much as set eyes on -him. Furthermore, I was a stranger to all in the city, and being little -more than a boy,--my years were twenty-two, though, like Portia in Will -Shakespeare's play, I was elder than my looks--being little more than a -boy, I say, I doubted of the reception I should meet with among the -grave and solemn burghers of the city council. I could but trust to a -bold front and mother wit to carry me through my enterprise, and I took -some comfort from the reflection that Hollanders were said to be -somewhat dull and heavy. Accordingly, having trimmed myself with -exceeding care, and donned the fresh and sumptuous apparel, meet for an -ambassador, which my servant had brought, I set forth with assured mien -and measured gait, looking neither to the right hand nor to the left -upon the gaping onlookers that had gathered in the streets. - -Being ushered with much solemnity by the sergeant into the -council-chamber, I found myself in presence of a round dozen burghers -clad in brave attire, and seated at their table in order of precedency, -as I judged. I cast a swift look round as I gave them salutation, at -the first taking particular note of none but the Burgomaster at the head -of the table, whose aspect tickled me with secret merriment. He was a -round pursy little man, clean shaven, with double chins resting on his -chain of office, and moist and vagrant eyes that did not meet my gaze -steadily. I judged him to be pompous and self-conceited, withal of -little stability of mind, and, as we say in our homely way, fussy. With -hem and haw he addressed me in French, his voice being thick, and -speaking as there were a pebble in his mouth. - -"Sir, you come from the illustrious Prince Maurice of Nassau?" he said. - -[Illustration: "SIR, YOU COME FROM THE ILLUSTRIOUS PRINCE MAURICE OF -NASSAU?"] - -For answer I bowed. - -"You bring a letter under his hand and seal?" he proceeded. - -I hold that to speak truth is ever the best course; wherefore, attuning -my voice to a confident serenity, I replied-- - -"Sir, I bear no letter, but I will in a few words explain to the -worshipful council my presence in your city. His illustrious Highness, -tendering your welfare, and moved by your stout and manful resistance to -the Spaniard, hath writ to my General, Sir Francis Vere, requiring him -to send to you one of his captains, both as a witness of his Highness' -satisfaction, and with the intent to lend you aid and support. The -choice fell upon me, Christopher Rudd, unworthy though I be, by reason -of some slight knowledge in warfare gained in the service of His Majesty -of France. Such small skill as I am master of, therefore, is yours to -dispose of, albeit the measures you have taken up to this present are so -aptly conceived and so doughtily executed that I deem my part to be that -of admirer rather than counsellor." - -This pretty speech appeared to give the burghers some satisfaction, but -I perceived that the Burgomaster's right-hand neighbour, a lank -beetle-browed fellow of swarthy hue and Castilian cast of feature, shot -me a keen and questioning glance out of his narrow eyes. "This fellow -is worth the watching," I thought; but I let not my eyes dwell upon him -beyond the moment. - -After some further debate I was made partaker in their deliberations. -From one and another I gathered information about the course of the -siege and the measures of defence they had concerted, and I was not long -of discovering, by hint and suggestion, the rift that Prince Maurice had -suspected. The most part of the council were true men, bold and stout -of heart; but there were two or three that let fall doubts and wagged -their heads, with sighs and doleful looks. And I began to perceive a -certain method in this despondency, more especially on the part of the -lank man aforesaid, for which reason I found myself intently observing -all that he spake. He was most bitter and vehement in denouncing the -Spaniards, and prated very big about withstanding them to the last -breath; yet these heroical counsels of his were ever accompanied with a -croak and quaver, as that famine was a fouler enemy than the sword, and -that all those that escaped from the one or the other would surely be -hanged by the Spaniards. By this means, I perceived, he at once -cunningly magnified his own steadfastness and resolution, and instilled -dire apprehension and dismal foreboding into the minds of his weaker -brethren. - -While I thus noted the strange policy of this man, I took a certain -amusement from the mien and conduct of the worthy Burgomaster. Now he -was at the top of resolution, now in the depth of black despair; now -breathing out fire and fury, now lamenting the scant provision of -victuals and munitions, and questioning whether any man's life was worth -a doit. The change from one mood to the other was so sudden, as the -deliberations of the council swayed this way and that under the -dexterous handling of the lank man, that I set the Burgomaster down as a -weakling, a reed shaken in the wind, and made some question in my mind -whether the destinies of the town were safe under his governance. - -Upon the breaking up of the council, I was conducted by the Burgomaster -and the Captain of the Guard around the defences of the city, being -accompanied also by the lean and black-browed councillor of whom I have -spoken. When I had taken note of all, it was dinner time, and the -Burgomaster bid me make that meal with him in his own house. This I was -very willing to do, since I found the little man a continual -entertainment. The lank fellow and the Captain of the Guard were my -table-mates, and we fared as handsomely as you could expect in a -beleaguered city. In truth, it was not a sumptuous repast; but the -meagreness of the fare was in some sort countervailed by the bewitching -presence of the Burgomaster's daughter. Remember, I was but young; a -bright eye and a rosy cheek, when matched with a gracious mien and a -sweet and tuneable voice, cast a spell upon me; and the fair beauty of -Mistress Jacqueline had made amends for meaner fare, even for dry bread -and indifferent water. - -I perceived that the Burgomaster's lanky friend bent an amorous eye upon -the damsel, spoke her fair and softly, and sought every way to render -himself pleasing in her sight; and that the Burgomaster watched this -underplay with great contentment. But I perceived also--and I own it -gave me a joy quite beyond reason--that Mistress Jacqueline received -these attentions with a serene indifference, which I told myself would -have been a positive coldness and scorn but for dread of her father's -displeasure. - -We walked away together, the Captain of the Guard and I, and as we went -I informed myself discreetly on sundry matters whereon I had some -curiosity. The lean lank rascal--so I called him already--was named -Mynheer Cosmo Volmar, a Spaniard on his mother's side, president of the -gild of locksmiths in the city, and keeper of the stores. He was known -to be paying his court to Mistress Jacqueline, and had her father's good -will. The lady had, however, been betrothed aforetime to Jan Verhoeff, -son of the late Burgomaster and of the widow lady, my hostess, and the -match had been broken off by her father when it was discovered, on the -death of Mynheer Verhoeff, that he had left but a paltry heritage. Of -all the burgher families in Bargen, the Verhoeffs had suffered the most -grievous loss during the war; yet the exceeding smallness of the late -Burgomaster's estate was a cause of wonderment in the city. The young -lovers bore their parting very hardly; and though Mynheer Volmar's suit -was approved and furthered by her father Mynheer Warmond, the present -Burgomaster, Mistress Jacqueline had as yet looked upon it but frostily. - -These particulars were pleasing to me, for I saw that I had come into a -coil wherein affairs of state and domestic matters were close -interwoven. I was never so well pleased as when I had a tangle to -unravel; and the enterprise I had taken upon myself in merry sport bade -fair to give me unlooked-for entertainment. - - - - *IV* - - -On the afternoon of that day, the Spaniards made a very hot assault at a -breach in the wall hard by the north gate of the city. From the -commencement of the siege this had been the chief mark of their -ordnance, the which had cast upon it as many as a thousand shot a day. -But the burghers had diligently repaired by night the mischief wrought -in daytime, so that the damage was but small; and the assaults which the -besiegers had already made upon the breach had been repelled with no -great difficulty. - -Nevertheless, on this day the attack was exceeding fierce. The -Spaniards swarmed into the breach, and endeavoured mightily at push of -pike to bear down our defences. Our burghers met them with heroical -courage, and quit themselves well in the close fighting upon the wall. I -was not sorry that the assault had been delivered so soon after my -entrance into the city, for I had thereby occasion to win the good -favour of the burghers by lending them aid, thereby getting me a shrewd -knock or two. There was no question of generalship or high strategy; it -was sheer journeyman fighting. In this I observed that the Captain of -the Guard played a right valiant part, and I saw with a good deal of -satisfaction that young Jan Verhoeff pressed ever into the thickest of -the fray, and plied his pike with commendable spirit. The tide of -battle carried me more than once to his side, and I marked his face alit -with the joy of the true warrior. We beat back the invaders, though not -without losing many of our ripest pikemen and calivermen, a heavy toll -upon our success. - -It had not escaped my observation that the city fathers were scarce so -forward at this critical moment as loyalty and good example required. I -saw neither the Burgomaster nor Mynheer Volmar, but I learnt that -certain of the council had posted themselves very valiantly at such -parts of the defences as were not at that time threatened. As I -returned with Jan Verhoeff to his mother's house I overheard two -burghers speaking together of this witness to their rulers' valiancy, -and Jan shot a look at me that seemed to question whether I nourished -doubts of the worthy fathers. I said nothing on that head, but spoke of -the tough work we had been through, the which I hoped would discourage -the enemy from attempting another assault for some time. I said too that -since he must be very weary, he would be loth to serve among the night -watch, whereupon he told me that he was free for that night, his turn of -duty coming upon every second day. - -I mention this because, in the middle of the night, as I lay cogitating -a scheme I purposed to put next day before the Captain of the Guard, I -heard the young man, whose room was beside mine, descend the stairs and -go forth of the house. This circumstance caused me to wonder somewhat -what his errand might be, for after the fatigue of the day it must be a -thing of moment that could draw him from his bed. But being deeply -concerned with matters of my own, I gave over thinking of him, and only -remembered his going forth when I saw him pale and hard of eye at our -breakfast in the morning. The good lady his mother asked if he had not -slept well. "Passably," he answered, and said no more, whereby I knew -that, whatsoever his errand had been, it was to be kept secret from his -mother. - -I lost no time in seeking out the Captain of the Guard, to acquaint him -with the fruit of my cogitations in the night. He had already confessed -to me that he had but small training in the arts of war; wherefore, -being already assured of his fidelity and of his doughtiness in fight, I -had no squeamishness in offering him my counsel, which a more tried -warrior might have taken amiss. - -I first pointed out to him certain weak places in the defences of the -city; to wit, the neighbourhood of a mill, where the city wall had not -been strengthened because of some fancied assurance that the mill race -was protection enough; and also the rampart by the church, where a thick -clump of trees without the wall offered good cover to the enemy -resolutely assaulting. The Captain was very quick to see these -deficiencies when I had mentioned them, and perfectly ready to make them -good. - -From this I proceeded to a further matter. - -"Sir," I said to him, "your men did right nobly yesterday; yet methinks -we should not be content merely with having beat back the Spaniards. To -endue them with a true respect for us, and our men with a true respect -for themselves, it needs to repay them in their own coin: I mean, to -sally out and fall upon them unawares, at some convenient spot of their -camp." - -He turned upon me a troubled countenance, and said-- - -"Sir, I doubt not of the soundness of your reasoning, nor of the good -that would spring from a successful sally; but I question if we should -prosper. My men are stout of heart, and behind their walls fight with -sturdy resolution; but they are not bred to war, being in the main -simple burghers that have taken up arms by mere necessity: and beyond -the walls I fear lest their skill should not match with their courage." - -Whereupon I set myself with patience to overcome his diffidence, -confirming my arguments with instances from the wars of King Henry of -Navarre. Having brought him to my mind, we repaired together to the -council chamber, where the council met every morning, and I laid my -scheme before the assembled fathers, employing a rhetorical manner of -exposition for which I was beholden to my study of Cicero his orations. -The little Burgomaster took fire from my rhetoric, and, to my secret -amusement, began to deliver himself of sundry fine sentiments in tune. -He swore that, were he captain, he would do this and that, force a -footing here and seize a place of vantage there, and smite those -Amalekites (so he termed the Spaniards), even as Joshua, the son of Nun. - -This was my opportunity. While his face was still red with warlike -ardour, and the fumes of his valiance filled the air, I addressed him in -words wherein I sought to infuse deference mingled with admiration. - -"Worshipful sir," said I, "happy is the city whose head is of so -valorous and undauntable a spirit. With joy I hail you as leader of our -foray, whom to follow will make me proud, as I doubt not it will make -also the Captain of the Guard and every man of this devoted garrison." - -At this the Burgomaster bridled and looked round upon the councillors -with an assured and dauntless mien. The eyes of the Captain of the -Guard twinkled, but for me alone; and on the dark countenance of Mynheer -Volmar I observed a sneer. - -My plan was devised, in fact, to procure, if we could, a quantity of -food from the Spaniards' camp, such as, in our present dearth, would be -exceeding acceptable. I advised that our attack should be made at dusk, -when the enemy were cooking their evening meal, and upon that part of -their camp where the cooking was chiefly done, if we might judge by the -number of the fires in that quarter. It was also, as I had perceived, -the quarter least amply defended, and most easily assailable from our -side. By my scheme, a strong muster of the burghers should engage the -attention of the Spaniards on the ramparts near the church, while an -elect body of two hundred and fifty, with a support of equal number, -should sally forth at the mill, fall swiftly upon the camp, lay hands on -all that we could, and retire into the city under cover of the support. - -I will not try your patience with relating in gross the history of this -enterprise or of the many others, small and great, wherein I had a part -while I sojourned in Bargen. I mention it for no other reason than -because it was the first of those that I devised, of which some came to -less happy issues, when the Spaniards grew more wary. In truth, my -remembrance of the most of these is but dim, and this the first would -hardly be so clear in my mind were it not close inmeshed with the -behaviour of Mynheer Warmond the Burgomaster, who from that time -established for himself a name for valour which his less courageous -doings thereafter could not wholly dim. - -For all his brave words at the council, when it came to the point the -little man set forth sundry doubts in respect of his fitness to lead our -sally. Being a man of full habit, and one that went heavily upon his -pins, he feared lest his tardiness of gait should put a check upon us -more nimble footers. Whereto I answered that, stayed up and furthered -by two sturdy burghers of proved celerity, one on either side, and fired -with his own lusty spirit, he would out of question not lag a yard -length behind the nimblest of us. Whereupon he confessed that he was -never equal to himself in the dark, and my answer was that he had but to -keep his eyes steadfastly fixed on the lights in the Spaniards' camp -before him. In short, to every objection of this nature I had my answer -ready, nor would I allow that we could have any assurance of success -unless he were our leader. - -'Twas falling dusk, and mirky, when, all things being ready, we issued -forth of the gate in utter silence, the Burgomaster toddling with scant -breath at my side. We made such haste as that we were nigh upon the -Spanish trenches ere we were discovered. Having swiftly dispatched the -few sentinels that held watch at this quarter, we sped over the trench -and ran, as though 'twas a race for a prize, across the space of open -ground that sundered it from the camp. Here there were but few of the -enemy afoot, and they busied for the most part with cooking, the main of -the force being gathered in front of the gate by the church, where the -burghers had been mustered with blare of trumpet and tuck of drum to -deceive them. These busy cooks, as soon as they espied us, took -incontinently to their heels, sending up a great cry and clamour for -help; whereupon some companies of the enemy, which had been standing to -arms at no greater distance than two or three furlongs, came towards us -at full stretch of legs, kindling their matches as they ran. I posted -fourscore of our party to deal with them, while the rest of us made -diligent perquisition in the enemy's pantry. Thus we gained time enough -to seize as much victual as we could carry, which done, at a blast of my -whistle we turned our backs upon the camp and made all convenient speed -towards our own walls. - -Being cumbered with divers big and unwieldy burdens, even with making -the utmost expedition we were not able to compass our safety before the -vanward of the enemy burst upon us. With the fourscore men aforesaid, -some pikemen, some arquebusiers, I held our rearward, having by me the -worshipful Burgomaster, whom indeed I had been at pains to hold within -reach. At our first coming to the camp, when the cookmen fled, the -little Burgomaster was like to split with his heroical valiance and -untameable fury. Crying havoc upon the Castilian dogs he brandished his -tuck with no small peril to his own party. But when it came to -plundering, his warlike ardour was assuaged in admiration of the -flesh-pots. He caught up a long chain of bag-puddings, such as had not -been seen in Bargen for many a day, and cast it in a merry sport about -his neck, as it were insignia of his office. Then, still holding his -tuck bare with his right hand, he seized with his left a monstrous hog's -ham, and so laden was ready to decamp with his booty. - -The Spaniards hotly pursuing us, I perceived that the Burgomaster's -valour was now all melted away, and that he was beset by a shaking fear -and trepidation. The ground over which we ran was exceeding rugged, and -the little round man puffed and gurgled as he tripped upon hindrances, -striving to keep pace with our covering party, but perilously encumbered -by the dangling puddings and the massy ham. Beholding his plight, one -of the burghers in mere kindness, or peradventure out of a licorous -appetite, sought to aid him by relieving him of this part of his load; -but the Burgomaster clung to it the more closely, protesting vehemently -that he would not be robbed, and beseeching us to succour and sustain -him. - -Running thus in the twilight, he struck his foot upon a tussock of -grass, and fell headlong, and lay groaning and shrieking for help, -unable to rise by reason of his hands being engaged, the one with his -sword, the other with the ham; for even in this extremity he clave -manfully to his weapon, and covetously to his provender. I stayed my -steps to lift him up, and by this delay saw myself overtaken by four or -five of the Spaniards, who came about to overwhelm us. Summoning to me -two of our pikemen that were happily within call, I faced about with -them to beat off this attack upon our rear, knowing well that if we -could not scatter them we must needs fly immediately for our lives, -since we could hear the shouts of a numerous body hasting towards us -from the camp. - -At this pass did the Burgomaster achieve high and imperishable renown. -The foremost of the Spaniards, charging full upon us, thrust out his -sword towards the breast of Mynheer Warmond, and had surely then let out -his life but that by good hap I interposed my own blade, and struck the -Spaniard's weapon from his hand. But the fury of his onset threw him -clean upon the Burgomaster, who, letting his sword fall, but cleaving -valorously to the ham, flung his arms about the Spaniard's neck and -brought him heavily to the ground. Behold then a spectacle whereat the -gods might laugh; upon the ground a marvellous medley of legs, arms, -bag-puddings and ham, out of which issued a most admirable discordance -of Spanish and Low Dutch. - -Being joined at this time by others of our party, we were able to hold -the pursuers at bay while I sought to disentangle the Burgomaster from -his adversary. This was no light achievement, for the little man, -clasping his foe in strength of malice and with the tight embrace of one -drowning, yet never loosing the ham, could scarce be persuaded that he -was not in the article of death. Being at length put asunder, they were -both got upon their feet, and we hurried them at a good round pace -towards the wall. Here our supporting party was drawn up, the which -directed a volley of bullets over our heads at the pursuers; and these -being further discomfited by the shot from sundry culverins parked -within the ramparts, the pursuit was checked, and we got safe within the -city, having lost but two or three. - -Right merry were the citizens at the success of our enterprise. Some -ran to the church tower and set the bells a-ringing; others fired off -cannon until the Captain of the Guard peremptorily forbade that wastage -of powder. Our plunder was carried to the market square, and given in -charge of an officer appointed to dispense it for the benefit of all. -From this ordinance the Burgomaster's ham and bag-puddings were exempt, -they being considered meet and convenient rewards of his prowess; -moreover, he straitly refused to give them up, and marched through the -street in a glow of triumph, bearing proudly his spoils. - -[Illustration: RIGHT MERRY WERE THE CITIZENS AT THE SUCCESS OF OUR -ENTERPRISE] - -The Spaniard who had fallen victim to Mynheer Warmond's puddings and ham -was proved to be a captain of some note; and none having seen the manner -of his capture save myself, who held my peace thereupon, the Burgomaster -won great praise for that he had taken with his own hand, on the field -of battle, one of the enemy's captains. He showed himself a very -glutton for applause, and I was careful to feed his appetite to the -full, because I saw that, having this large conceit of himself, and a -reputation to maintain, he was the less likely to become subject to the -timorous and faint-hearted members of the council. A hero in his own -despite, he vexed me often with his thrasonical airs and vainglorious -trumpetings of his own virtue; but I bore with him, believing that in so -doing I should best serve my cause. - - - - *V* - - -For some while I have said nothing of Mynheer Volmar, not because he -holds any lesser place in this history, but because he had no part in -the enterprise that I have just recounted, the which nevertheless -concerned him dearly, as you shall see. - -Mynheer Volmar had spoken of our enterprise as a hair-brained adventure, -the device of a very madman, and a mere courting of disaster. A -prophet, whether of good or ill, likes not that his predictions should -belie and mock him; and Volmar, when his prophecies fell out so wide of -the mark, looked upon me, the begetter of the design, ever more sourly -than he was wont. And when the Burgomaster at our next council leant -rather upon my opinion than upon the opinion of his familiar, I -perceived by some sixth sense, as it were, that Volmar entertained a -violent ill-will against me, albeit he was at great pains to cloak his -hatred under a guise of careless indifferency. - -For this reason I deemed it fitting to improve my knowledge of that -councillor. I learnt from my friend, the Captain of the Guard, that -Volmar was well-reputed in the city, having much goods laid up, and yet -being open-handed. He was charged with keeping the stores of munition -and with the defence of a certain portion of the walls, and was very -diligent in these offices. It was his custom, every Sunday forenoon -about nine of the clock, that day and hour having been commended to him -by one well skilled in astrology, to fire off a culverin upon the -Spaniards from the parapet of his own ward. The Captain of the Guard, -upon my asking what purpose might be served by this quaint device, -assured me with great gravity that, a shot being fired at a moment shown -as propitious by the conjunction of the planets, the Spaniards would -never stir that day, and the burghers might pay their devotions in -church without fear of disturbance. I marvelled at so strange a -mingling of heathenish superstition with Christian piety, but I forbore -to speak my mind upon it, deeming every man entitled to believe as he -listeth. - -On the night but one following our sally I was returning at a late hour, -and alone, from making a round of the defences. When I came near the -house of Mistress Verhoeff, where I still made my lodging, I heard the -scuffling of a hurried footstep, and espied, though dimly, a man -slinking into a narrow alley upon the further side of the street. I saw -this, without considering it; and I might have thought of it no more but -that I heard my hostess' son stealthily quit the house maybe an hour -after. Then putting the one thing with the other, I began to wonder, -and cogitate, and question whether there were not something in the wind. -It came into my mind that the man I had seen afore had been disturbed at -my coming, and slunk away to escape me; and I began to suspect that Jan -Verhoeff and he were partners in some secret night work, I knew not -what. - -I was in my own room, but not yet abed; and, smelling a matter for -inquiry, I crept down the stairs, carrying my boots, and these I donned -at the door, and then followed the young man up the street. I had taken -but a few steps when I was aware that two figures were in front of me, -the one dogging the other close like a shadow. They were proceeding -towards the walls, to that place where a breach had been made and was -now repaired in part. The sky being clear and bright with stars, I held -the two men in sight until they came near the breach aforesaid, where -the foremost vanished away, and the latter stood fast, at some little -distance, as he were keeping watch. So did I likewise. There I stayed -some while, until the man, as though weary of waiting, turned about and -walked back by the way he had come, and then, with the intent that I -might see him more closely, I hid myself behind a jutting mass of -masonry which the man must needs pass by. - -I was now able to perceive, as he came towards me, that he was lofty of -stature, and, passing me within a yard or two, his gait seemed to me to -be that of the lanky councillor Mynheer Volmar. This was a whet upon my -curiosity, for I weened it strange that this man should be spying upon -his vanquished rival, whom in the fallen state of his fortunes he had no -cause to fear as pretender to the hand of Mistress Jacqueline. - -When he had gone beyond earshot, I took my way to the wall, and there I -was immediately challenged by the sentinel. On my giving the word the -man recognized me, and made me a decent salutation. I inquired of him -whether he had taken note of any strange movement or stirring among the -Spaniards, or of any roaming person on our side of the wall; and he -declared that neither on the one side nor the other had he seen aught, -nor any person save only the sentinel next to him on the defences. -Whereupon I returned to my lodging, not a little perplexed. - -On my descending next morning to break my fast with Mistress Verhoeff as -my custom was, I found the good dame in sore affliction and distress. -It had just been told her that her son was at that time lying a prisoner -in the bailey, having been seized in the middle of the night by a posse -of halberdiers. It was charged against him, so 'twas reported, that he -was a spy for the enemy; for he had been discovered making his way over -the wall, and being searched, papers were found upon him that gave -colour to this accusation. - -This news, following so sudden on what I had seen overnight, set my wits -a-jogging, and I began to smell a rat, as we say. But my consideration -of the matter was broken in upon by the piteous outcry of my hostess, -who with many tears and lamentable entreaties besought me to save her -son. She declared that the young man's honesty was beyond impeachment; -that it was some monstrous error; that he was a true man, like his -father before him; and when I asked what had taken him abroad at so -unseasonable an hour, on a night when his duty did not call him to the -ramparts, she protested that some enemy must have lured and enticed him -forth, of set purpose to undo him. I gave her my honest opinion that -the young man was innocent, and engaged to do what I could on his -behalf, yet owning that I was at a loss what means I might conveniently -take. - -After some deliberation I determined that I must first visit the -prisoner, and inquire for myself into his case. To this end I repaired -to the Burgomaster, by whose allowance alone would the gates of the -bailey be opened to me. I was not overmuch astonished when he denied my -request, averring that the young man was a villainous rascal, whose -guilt was manifest, and whom he would assuredly hang as a warning to all -traitors. By this I perceived that the Burgomaster had judged the -prisoner aforehand, the reason whereof was his established misliking. In -my course through the world I have oft-times observed that a man that -has wronged his neighbour will scarce pardon him; and I held that the -Burgomaster had done the lad a wrong in crossing his love for no cause -save a worldly misfortune that time might cure. I made bold to inform -Mynheer Warmond that in my country a man is held to be innocent until he -is proved guilty; and then I was not a little incensed when he, shifting -his ground, roundly declared that the less I meddled with this matter -the better for me. There were already whispers against me, he said, and -the having taken up my abode in the widow's house would incline some to -suspect that I was privy to the son's iniquity. Indeed, he counselled me -to seek a new lodging without delay. - -At this I could scarce hold my patience; but reflecting that angry words -could avail me nothing, having also a shrewd notion as to the -fountain-head whence this slander and calumny sprang, I swallowed my -wrath, and by dint of coaxing and wheedling got from the Burgomaster the -authority I sought. So armed, I hasted to the bailey, and being -admitted, found the young man herded with as pretty a set of rogues as -ever I saw. The warder gave me leave, after the passing of a trifle of -money, to speak with the prisoner in a room apart, and thither we betook -ourselves. - -Now I did not love Mynheer Jan Verhoeff. We had had little -communication; in truth, he shunned me, and when we met at table he -seldom opened his lips save only to engulf his food, whereby I had come -to look upon him as a morose and lubberly fellow. Furthermore, I -misliked his goings and comings secretly by night, and his denial of the -service he had done me; for I was firmly persuaded that Verhoeff and Van -der Kloof were one and the same. Wherefore, when we were closeted in -that little room of the bailey, and he opposed a sullen and stubborn -silence to my proffer of help, I was ready to wash my hands of his -affair and let him hang. But remembering the widow lady his mother, and -bethinking me that his ungracious bearing perchance were nothing but the -austerity of an honest man wronged, I curbed my impatience and set -myself to reason with him. - -I showed him how his secret sallies by night, whatsoever their purpose -might be, must needs breed suspicion in the minds of those burdened with -the defence of the city, and that if his intent were honest, to reveal -it could at the least work him no harm. And, hinting that I myself -harboured certain suspicions, the which he might aid me to resolve, I at -length prevailed upon him to make full confession and disclosure. And -this is what he told me. - -Being near the Burgomaster's house one evening (for what purpose I -forbore to inquire), he had seen Mynheer Volmar issue forth, and, -instead of making straight for his own house, stand a while looking -heedfully around, and then proceed towards the ramparts, in the furtive -manner of one that avoids observation. Bearing him ill-will as his -supplanter in the graces of Mistress Jacqueline, and suspecting he knew -not what, Verhoeff dogged him circumspectly to the wall, and there -beheld him sit upon a culverin and gaze intently towards the trenches of -the enemy. A sentinel was pacing up and down, and to him Volmar -addressed a few words in a whisper, whereupon he stood fast, and Volmar -hastened to the embrasure of the parapet. Immediately thereafter, -Verhoeff caught the sound of a low whistle, followed eftsoon by a faint -answer, as it were an echo, from below. Then Volmar drew some white -thing from his pocket, wound a cord about it, and, as it appeared to -Verhoeff, let it down into the moat. In a little there came again a -dull and hollow sound, and Volmar withdrew himself and returned into the -city, murmuring a word to the sentinel as he passed. - -On the morrow Verhoeff took pains to inform himself of the name of the -sentinel at that place, and was not astonished to find that he was of -Mynheer Volmar's household. In that time of trouble every man, -whatsoever his rank and condition, had his part in the city's defence. - -From that day Verhoeff kept diligent watch upon the councillor, and -discovered that he hied him stealthily to the ramparts every Wednesday, -and in like manner let down what was doubtless a paper, the which was -received by a man in the moat beneath, and conveyed by him, swimming, to -the further side. - -Here was treason, of a surety. Verhoeff debated with himself whether he -should broach it to the Captain of the Guard or the Burgomaster; but he -bethought him that he had not as yet sufficient proof, and that, -moreover, the charge might be set down to the spleen and malice of a -beaten rival. Wherefore he determined to hold his peace until he had -gotten some clear and manifest proof of the treason he suspected. - -One Wednesday night, therefore, he slid into the moat, and swam to the -other side, intending to lie in wait for the receiver as he returned -with the letter, and wrest it from him. But making wary approach to the -spot over against the gun whereon Volmar was wont to sit, he was -nonplussed to find three or four Spanish footmen, awaiting their -comrade. Verhoeff kept himself close until the swimmer joined them, and -then, recking nothing of his peril, followed the party as they stole -silently back to their lines. While they jested with the sentinel that -challenged them, he crept into the camp, and watched in secret what -should befall. The footmen proceeded together a few paces; then all but -one turned aside, they bidding him good-night, and he continuing on his -way towards a large tent, the which, after a brief parley with some one -within, he entered. Verhoeff swiftly stole to the back side of the -tent, designing to cut a hole in the wall and spy upon what was done; -but a light shone from beneath a flap in the canvas, which raising, he -beheld a man in shirt and hose sodden with water, standing before -another in a long night-robe, who was reading by the light of a candle a -paper which had beyond doubt been brought by the swimmer from the city. -Having finished his perusal, this man said-- - -"Good. Our friend within is diligent. To-morrow you will convey this -to the Lord General Verdugo. Take your accustomed party, and have a -care, for this paper must not miscarry; I know what a lusty fire-eater -you are." - -The swimmer laughed and made a salutation, and so departed. - -Verhoeff itched to lay hands on that paper, yet durst not follow the man -through the camp. But a device came into his mind whereby he might -perchance obtain it. He crept and wriggled out of the camp, which was -not guarded so needfully as it behoved to be, and when he was beyond the -outward trenches he betook himself with all expedition, not to the city, -but towards a hamlet where his father had held an estate in the days of -his prosperity. There he gathered half a score of trusty men that would -serve him faithfully for his father's sake, and with them took post in a -wood which the Spaniard must pass next day when he carried the paper to -his general. And 'twas by the happy accident of his lying in wait there -that he was able to render me service that day. In despite of the -captain's warning, the messenger was tempted by the smallness of my -party to attack us, whereby Verhoeff's plan to seize upon the letter was -discomfited, for my plight made him show himself sooner than he had -intended. - -Being foiled, then, and baulked of his purpose by the Spaniards' flight, -he was fain to wend his way back to the city, and entered it at dead of -night by a secret way known to him. At my appearance on the morrow -thereafter he was somewhat discommoded, being desirous that his doings -should not be published among the burghers, and yet too high-stomached -to entreat my silence. Hence he sought to brazen it out with me, and -had since held himself aloof. - -From that time he kept a most vigilant watch upon Volmar's doings, by -night and day; and it seemed that his patience would be rewarded, for on -this last night, having swum the moat, he had found the Spaniard, that -was go-between, unattended, and after a fierce struggle had overcome and -slain him. Searching among his garments he discovered a leathern pouch, -the which, on his slitting it, yielded up a paper. This he bestowed in -his pocket, and crossed the moat, but upon climbing the parapet fell -clean into the hands of a party of the burgher guard, drawn thither -either by the sound of his struggle with the Spaniard, or, as seemed -more like, placed there advisedly by Volmar. - -While he stood among his captors, protesting and almost persuading them -that he was a true man and no traitor, Volmar himself appeared and -feigned great astonishment to see him. One of the guard related the -cause and manner of the arrest, whereupon the councillor declared -roundly that there had been some error, and proposed that the matter -should be put to the proof by searching Verhoeff. This being done, the -letter was brought to light, the which Volmar then tore open and read by -the aid of a dark lantern. He put on a grave and sorrowful look, and -gave the letter into the hand of the officer of the guard, and he -likewise read it, and immediately cried out that Verhoeff was proved a -villainous traitor. Upon this Verhoeff in a fury declared that he had -wrested the letter from a Spaniard who had brought it from the city, and -from Volmar himself, a saying that provoked a burst of scornful laughter -from the officer of the guard and a look of pity from the councillor. -The officer commanded that he should be instantly conveyed to the bailey -and placed under a strong guard, and Volmar bestowed the letter in his -doublet, avouching that he would lay it before the Burgomaster and -council on the morrow. - -[Illustration: VOLMAR READ THE LETTER BY THE AID OF A LANTERN] - -This was the story in brief as Verhoeff told it to me, and I made no -doubt he spoke the truth. But I saw that in youthful heat and imprudence -he had committed a grievous error in launching an accusation against the -councillor, more especially because he was wholly ignorant of what the -letter contained; he had not read it, nor had it been read aloud. -Moreover, the secrecy and stealth of his own deeds, the quitting of the -city without leave asked, gave strength to the suspicion and mistrust of -the officer of the guard. Yet I confessed that in my heart of hearts I -did not doubt Volmar was a villain and had entrapped Verhoeff for his -own ends; but how to bring his villainy home to him, when he held all -the cards, as we say, it outdid my wit to determine. - -Nevertheless I engaged myself to do all that in me lay on behalf of the -young man, and bidding him be of good cheer I betook myself to the -council chamber, where the matter would without doubt be deliberated -upon. - - - - *VI* - - -The burghers were in full session when I entered the chamber, and I -perceived that thunder was in the air. At my entrance they cast very -lowering looks upon me; there was some whispering among them, and the -Burgomaster shot me a crooked glance, and seemed to return a mute answer -to something that Volmar, his neighbour of the right hand, had just -said. Feigning blindness to these signs and tokens of trouble, I moved -with easy gait to my place at the table, cast my hat upon it, and -inquired of the Burgomaster what was the news of the day. - -"Sir, sir," said the little man, his pendent chin shaking like the -wattle of a turkey-cock, "this levity ill beseems you. You are aware -that we have a traitor in our midst, a viper warmed in our bosom; you -have even now come from speech with him. I pray the villain has -confessed his sins." - -"Why no, Mynheer," I said smoothly, "the villain is impenitent, and -professes that he has done nought save in love and loyalty to the city. -Surely the good repute of his family might dispose you, sirs, to -hesitate before you condemn him unheard." - -"His family, his family!" stuttered the Burgomaster, whom I perceived to -be in his most exalted and arrogant mood. "Hold, sir; peruse this -epistle, and say then whether he be not deserving of the extreme -penalty." - -The letter came to me by the hands of the six or seven councillors that -sat between me and the Burgomaster, of whom some scowled, some glared, -some looked compassionately upon me. I took the paper and cast an eye -upon it, and immediately I understood that Jan Verhoeff was in even -worse case than I had supposed. 'Twas a very brief epistle, with no -superscription nor any signature at the end, written not by any man -within the city, but by an enemy without. It warned the nameless -receiver that the customary messenger having been slain, by Dutch -peasants as 'twas thought, and his dispatch stolen, the last message had -not come to the general's hand; but the writer opined that the city -could not endure many days longer, and urged the receiver to employ all -his arts upon he knew whom, and furthermore to certify that person that -when by his good offices the city should be delivered up, his goods -should be spared to him, with a share of the general booty. - -"Sir," said the Burgomaster, when I had read the letter, "you behold a -manifest proof of the traitor's villainy. He sends word of our hapless -state to the enemy; he employs cunning machinations upon some -ill-affected person in our city; he is sowing treason in our good -field." - -I made bold to say that there was no proof of the letter having been -intended for Mynheer Verhoeff, whereupon he bade me look upon the cover, -and when I did so I perceived, very faintly inscribed there, the letters -J.V. - -As I was considering this, suspecting that those letters had been -inscribed upon the paper since it was wrested from Verhoeff, Mynheer -Volmar spoke. He said that, clear though the testimony seemed to be, he -would plead for mercy for the young man. His fortune being so much -diminished from that whereto he had been born, he had without doubt been -put to a fierce temptation. "And since," he proceeded, "I myself suffer -at his hands, inasmuch as he sought to cast suspicion on me, whose whole -concern is the welfare of the city, I may most fitly raise my voice in -beseeching my brethren to remember the services rendered in time past by -the young man's father, and, mindful of them, to deal mercifully with -the son; not to bring him to trial and put him to open shame, but to -hold him safe in ward while the city is still compassed about, and then -to banish him without scandal to the common weal." - -Perceiving the drift of this, and divining that Volmar had his own good -reasons for cloaking the matter, I said with some bluntness that 'twas -time to show mercy when guilt was proved. Volmar took me up insolently, -declaring that I had no right nor title to speak on such a matter, and -that being a stranger, come among them uncommended, and a house-mate -with this abandoned traitor, I had best walk warily and manage my -tongue, lest I found my own neck in jeopardy. - -At this discourse, and the murmurs of approval that broke from certain -of the councillors, I was pricked to indignation, and might have said -more than wisdom warranted had not the Burgomaster, plainly ill at ease, -interposed himself as peace-maker. I had reason to bless his -intervention, because I was thereby hindered from saying in my haste -that which I should assuredly have repented at my leisure. For it -happened that the Burgomaster calling for the next business, Volmar -brought forth the list of stores that it was in his duty to lay before -the council every week. This he read out, the councillors harkening -with gloomy countenances to the tale of diminished victuals and -munitions of war. When he had made an end, the document strayed about -the table, and presently came to the hand of the burgher next me, who -held it in such manner that I was able to see it clearly. And then -within my soul I cried blessings on the Burgomaster, in that he had -checked my tongue, for so soon as my eyes fell upon this paper, I knew -in a moment that the handwriting was the same as that upon the paper -which John Temple had taken from the Spaniard, and which I had, even -now, folded in my pocket. - -I veiled my eyelids, lest my eyes should betray the joy of my discovery, -for this did not rob me wholly of my caution, and I knew that I must -first satisfy myself beyond doubt that the writings were the same. This -could only be achieved by setting the two papers one against the other -for comparison, and I saw not any means of doing this secretly. But -within a little, chance gave me the opportunity I sought. The -councillor that had the paper set it down upon the table, and joined -with the others in talking of the trial to which Jan Verhoeff was to be -brought on the morrow. While they were thus engaged I laid my hand upon -the paper, and possessed myself of it; then, affecting a perfect -indifference to the matter of their discourse, I rose from my place and -went to the window, and there, turning my back upon the company, I drew -from my pocket the paper John Temple had given me, and set it side by -side with the other for just so long as sufficed me to compare them, and -prove the writings to be in the selfsame hand. Which done, I took a -turn about the chamber, and coming in due time to my place I laid the -second paper where it had been before, and soon after departed. - -I saw myself now deeply engaged in a matter after my own heart. "'Tis -Time's glory," saith Will Shakespeare, "to unmask falsehood and bring -truth to light"; and here was I a fellow-worker with Time. I considered -within myself what course I should take. I might at once make -disclosure of my discovery; but Volmar was so slippery a fellow that I -might easily trip unless I had some further evidence of his villainy to -lay before the council. Without doubt he would have ready some -plausible explanation, the which might recoil upon me, being a stranger -and one not held in high esteem. I resolved therefore to bide my time -and say nought until I had my evidence all compact--unless indeed Jan -Verhoeff were in extremity of peril. - -The young man was brought to trial at the time appointed. I was not -present in court, deeming it best to hold aloof until I could employ my -apparatus to good effect. The only testimony that I myself might have -given, touching the charge made against Verhoeff, was that I had seen -him steal to the walls by night with Volmar at his heels, and this could -not have turned to his favour. The evidence against him was so slight -and thin-spun, that in time of peace, and before a just tribunal, it -would not have been held sufficient to hang a dog; but his present -judges being the magistrates of the city, with the Burgomaster as -president, and all men's minds being sore troubled about the city's -welfare, the verdict was given against him, and he was sentenced to be -hanged on the tenth day thereafter. - -The news was brought to me in my room by the young man's mother, who was -utterly broken with grief and shame. She had never a doubt of his -innocency, and besought me with many tears and supplications to save -him. I had much ado to refrain from giving her positive assurance that -her son should not die; but I deemed it better for my purpose that she -should suffer ten days of suspense and anguish than that we should come -under any suspicion by reason of her serenity and ease of mind. I put -her off, therefore, with unsubstantial words of comfort. But my policy -was undone that same evening, for about the hour of supper there came to -the house a female figure close enshrouded in hood and cloak; and asking -speech with me, she was admitted to the chamber wherein I sat with the -widow lady, and casting off her hood revealed the wan, sorrowful face of -Mistress Jacqueline, the Burgomaster's daughter. - -"Oh, sir," she cried, flinging herself upon her knees and clasping her -hands piteously, "oh, sir, save my lover! My father condemned him, but -he is, I know, the cat's-paw of wicked men. Sir, I beseech you, save my -lover!" - -I raised her up, and my resolution utterly melted away. I did for the -sweetheart what I had refused to do for the mother, assuring her that -Jan Verhoeff should not die, I myself would prevent it; but it was -necessary, for the due punishment of those that conspired against him, -that none should so much as guess at anything being adventured on his -behalf. At this the women were mightily cheered, but the widow bore me -a grudge in that I had before withheld this solace from her; and I -cannot say but that I deserved it. - -I had no certain plan for establishing the treason of Mynheer Volmar; -but I was resolved to keep a close watch upon him, deeming it likely -that in mere self-confidence he would take a false step. While with -exceeding care I held myself in the background, I contrived to learn all -that was requisite about his doings. On Sunday I made one of the throng -of spectators that witnessed his discharge of a single shot upon the -Spanish lines, the which, as the Captain of the Guard had told me, was -the charm whereby the city was protected for that day. I observed that -the shot was brought from the store by Volmar's own servant; Volmar -himself loaded the culverin, trained it, and set the match to the -touch-hole. The burghers, with their wives and children, looked on as -at a mystery, and when the shot fell upon some loose earth near the -trenches, casting up a cloud of dust, they nodded and smiled, and some -clapped their hands; and then they all went forthwith to church, Volmar -leading the way. - -I was on the point of following them, thinking no little scorn of such -mummery as I had just witnessed, when, on casting my eye over the -parapet, I observed a Spaniard move slowly towards the spot where the -ball had fallen. He stood for a brief space as if contemplating the -effect wrought thereby, and then returned within the camp. - -Now there was something in the Spaniard's mien that bred a certain doubt -in my mind. He had moved slowly, in the manner of a loiterer; and if -this was the true measure of his interest, why, I questioned within -myself, had he issued from the trenches at all, to observe the spot -where a ball had fallen harmlessly, as one had fallen many a Sunday -before? His demeanour was not that of a man truly curious. I sought in -my mind for some likely explanation of his strange action, and the more -I thought upon it, the more puzzled and suspicious I became. But there -was nothing to be done on the instant, so I spoke to the sentinel on the -parapet, bidding him acquaint me if he saw any further movement among -the Spaniards, and then I found the Captain of the Guard, whom I asked -to issue the same command to the men that should keep watch in turn for -the rest of the day. - -At eventide, nothing having been reported to me, I resolved to go forth -myself so soon as it became dark and examine the place where the shot -had struck. It was an enterprise, I knew, that stood me in some danger, -for I might be captured by the Spaniards, or by the burgher guard on my -return, and this would bring me under suspicion, and was like to land me -in the selfsame nobble as that wherein Jan Verhoeff already lay. I -thought for a while of securing myself by acquainting the Captain of the -Guard aforehand with my purpose, but seeing that I could have given him -no reason for it save by making a clean breast of my suspicions, the -which I was loth to do, I held my peace, resolving to take my risk. - -Jan Verhoeff had disclosed to me, when I spoke with him in the bailey, -the means whereby he had left the city. In the repairs that had been -made hastily in the wall battered by the enemy, timber had been -employed, and at one place there were two massy logs with a narrow space -between, through which he had squeezed himself, and so come within a few -spans of the moat. Thither I made my way by a roundabout course as soon -as it was dark, and, choosing a moment when no sentinel was within -hearing, I slipped into the moat, having left my boots at the foot of -the wall, and swam across as quietly as an otter might have done. - -On coming to the other side I bent my body low, and crept towards the -Spanish lines, holding my dagger in my right hand. I had observed that -the shot fell within a short space of the end of a garden wall which had -been almost razed to the ground by the burghers' shots in the first hot -days of the leaguer. To the right of this stood the stump of a tree. -These were my landmarks, for the shot had come to earth somewhere -between the tree and the end of the wall. In the darkness I could not -hope to see the pit that the shot had made, but must find it by the -touch of my feet. - -I crept along by the wall, noiseless in my stockings, and coming to the -end of it, bent myself yet lower and groped towards the tree. This I -attained without having made any discovery, whereupon I turned about and -went back, taking a course somewhat nearer to the moat, and so came -again to the wall, having discovered nothing. Yet once more I sought -the tree, now choosing a course nearer to the trenches, in which -direction I heard the dull murmur of voices, yet not so near as to cause -me any present disquietude; and so I groped along the ground until I -came to a little hollow, where I halted, thinking it a likely place. -There I dug away the earth with my hands, making no more noise than a -mouse, and anon my fingers struck upon something hard and cold and -round, the which, after a little more digging with hands and dagger, I -unearthed, and found to be a round shot, as I had hoped. With this in -my hands I stole along towards the shelter of the wall. - -Hardly had I come there when I heard voices, somewhat louder than those -I had heard before, and immediately after footsteps, coming towards me. -I dare go no farther, but crouched behind the brickwork, which was no -more than three spans high, holding my breath, and peering over the -jagged edge of the wall. And I beheld three men as black blots moving -in the darkness towards the very spot I had lately left. One of the -three held a dark lantern, by whose light, turned from the city, the -others began to search the ground. I heard them utter words of -satisfaction when they came to the hole, and then I could not forbear -chuckling, for the men, probing with their pikes, and finding nothing, -let forth cries of astonishment, together with an oath or two. They -consulted one with another, and one proposed that they should search -around; but this the man that held the lantern scouted, declaring that -he had no manner of doubt the place where they then stood was the end of -their quest. Nevertheless his comrades prowled and probed, now to the -right, anon to the left, and once came so near me that I gripped my -dagger tight, ready to buy my safety with good steel. But they -withdrew, and stood for some while talking together of this strange -thing, and presently gat them back to their trenches, in marvellous -puzzlement. - -[Illustration: I BEHELD THREE MEN AS BLACK BLOTS MOVING IN THE DARKNESS] - -Thereupon I crept back to the moat, carrying the shot, and having swum -across and recovered my boots, the which I could not pull over my wet -stockings, I clambered up between the balks of timber, looked about to -certify myself the coast was clear, and hastened by the same circuit to -the widow's house. - -There my servant was in wait for me, according to my bidding. I took -him to my room, and setting the round shot before him, commanded him to -examine it. He was a handy fellow, and had the rudiments of more trades -than one. It was not long before he discovered, in the surface of the -iron, a knob or boss, exceeding small, the which being touched, a narrow -channel was revealed, wherein lay a short tube of the thickness of a -finger. - -"'Tis good locksmith's work, sir," he said with admiration, putting the -tube into my hand. I looked therein, and discovered a small roll of -paper, the which, upon my spreading it out, I saw was covered with -writing in the Spanish tongue, and in the very hand of Volmar, but with -no name either at head or at foot. I read the writing with a vast -curiosity and eagerness, and what I read was this-- - -"_The victuals will last but one week longer. One of my foes will be -hanged; the Englishman I go about to remove. Attack the wall over -against the market. I vouch that in ten days the city will yield._" - -Here was proof of as pretty a piece of villainy as the mind of man could -conceive. Verhoeff was to be hanged; I myself to be removed; the wall -over against the market was that which the Burgomaster had in charge, -and the attack was to be directed thereupon with the intent to harass -him and bring him to a frame of mind meet for surrender. A pretty plot -indeed, and one that I rejoiced to have the means of circumventing. - -I dismissed my servant and sat myself down to consider my ways. 'Twas -necessary to my purpose that Volmar should be utterly confounded. I -could brook no chance of his wriggling out of the full exposure of his -guilt. Wherefore it seemed to me inexpedient that I should at once carry -the traitorous letter to the council, for he had many friends therein, -whom he might easily persuade that the writing was but a cunning -imitation of his own, done by myself out of the despite and enmity I -bore him; nor indeed could I explain how I had come by the paper, but by -owning that I had gone from the city without authority, a thing he would -find means to twist to my disadvantage. The end of my cogitation was -that I resolved still to bide my time, not doubting that within the week -something would happen to point my road clearly. - -When I went abroad next day I perceived that black care had seized upon -the people. The scarcity of victuals was known of all, and as the -meaner folk felt the pinch of hunger more dearly they broke forth into -murmurs and complaints. Dark looks were cast upon me as I took my way -to the council chamber, and still darker met me there. Mindful of -Volmar's intent to have me removed, I looked for some instant charge to -be brought against me, as though I were a Jonah in the city; but nought -was said openly, and I concluded that I must be on my guard against some -secret machination--a knife in my back, or a stray bullet did I but show -myself upon the ramparts. I was heedful, therefore, that day and the -days succeeding, to go only in the middle of the street, and to keep -within the house after nightfall, not deeming it any mark of valour to -jeopardize the happiness of three good folk and the safety of the city -by running into any needless danger. - -As day followed day, I became aware that the people's discontent and -queasiness was being fomented by the agents of Volmar, though that -two-faced villain was most fervent, at the meetings of the council, in -admonishing the burghers to endure to the end. Day after day the -Spaniards plied their artillery upon the walls, chiefly upon that -portion where the Burgomaster was in charge of the defences. The -masonry was sore battered, many of the burghers were slain or maimed, -and the Burgomaster himself, who endeavoured still to sustain the -reputation he had achieved in that night sally, was struck upon the -elbow by a fragment of stone, whereby the little man was afflicted more -heavily in mind than in body. In his one ear, so to speak, Volmar -whispered counsels of despair under a mask of encouragement; in the -other I spoke words of comfort and good cheer, assuring him that, could -he but resist a little longer, Prince Maurice would come to his succour, -as he had promised. My influence, I knew, was sapped by Volmar's -guileful insinuations, and I could not doubt that finally I should be -worsted unless I could prove Volmar to be the traitor he was. - -As the straits of the citizens waxed more grievous, secret messengers -were sent forth, to implore aid of Sir Francis Vere and of Prince -Maurice; but these men never delivered their messages, as was afterwards -discovered, and doubtless Volmar had found means to acquaint the -Spaniards with their errand, albeit by means that never came to light. -Though I kept as good a watch upon him as I could, and my servant did -likewise, we could not find him out in aught that would give us a handle -against him, and with the passing of time I grew discomfortable in mind, -fearing lest Jan Verhoeff's ten days' respite should slip away before I -had my proofs ready. And I was the more uneasy because I perceived that -the ill-will of the burghers towards me increased and spread day by day. -Their good favour, which I had at the first procured by my diligence in -assisting the defence, had now given place to mistrust and malignity, -fostered by Volmar's minions; and I knew that this canker was eating -ever more deeply into the souls of the populace. - - - - *VII* - - -On the night of Saturday, a device came into my mind whereby I might -bring the truth to light in a manner that could not be gainsaid. It was -high time, for a great assembly of the citizens had been holden that -day, whereat sundry burghers of good standing openly advised that terms -should be made with the enemy. There wanted but three days of the -period set by Volmar for the surrender of the city, and on the Monday -morning Jan Verhoeff was to die. At this assembly, when I essayed to -speak to the people, there arose a great uproar in one quarter of the -square, where I perceived certain of Volmar's creatures to be gathered. -Amid the clamour I heard cries of "Spy!" "Traitor!" and sundry other -scandalous appellatives; and a stone being cast at me, the Burgomaster -commanded me to withdraw out of the throng, lest a general riot should -ensue. Therefore, I say, it was high time I did somewhat, and a device -came in happy hour into my mind. - -To perform it I must needs make an accomplice, albeit unwitting, of the -Captain of the Guard. He was a man of a most steadfast courage, diligent -in his duty, a staunch friend to me, and one that would never yield to -the enemy save at the uttermost extremity: a pattern of that loyalty and -stubborn valour whereby his nation has won liberty and immortal fame; a -man withal simple of soul, as witness his belief in the astrological -foolery whereof I have made mention. I resolved to turn this very -simplicity to account. - -I repaired to his house, where he was supping after the fatigues of the -day, and after reminding him that the next day was Sunday, I declared -that I had discovered a flaw in Mynheer Volmar's talisman. I affected -to have a certain skill in reading the stars, and my study of the -heavens had shown me that the customary Sunday truce could only be -assured by firing a shot of silver, instead of an iron ball as was wont. - -"I thank you, sir," said he, accepting my statement with the faith of a -child. "We must acquaint Mynheer Volmar withal; for there is but little -time to make the silver shot before the Sabbath breaks." - -"By your good favour, sir," said I, "this matter must be held a secret -'twixt us two. By the opposition of Jupiter with Mars, and the -quartility of Saturn with Venus, I apprehend that the imparting of this -matter to any wight whatsoever save only yourself will let loose upon us -and the city a myriad evil influences, and all the good we may have of -it will be utterly undone." - -This I enforced with a long discourse in which I mingled the jargon of -the astrologers with a noble array of tags from my Latin grammar, -knowing that the captain had no skill in that tongue. - -"We will keep it close," he said, having heard me gravely. "Let us go -forthwith and cast a silver ball in the armoury. I will employ thereto -some of my own plate; nothing of all my goods would I withhold from the -service of the city." - -We went at once about this task, and the ball having been cast, the -Captain of the Guard took it home with him, promising to bring it forth -at the due moment on the morrow. - -"We must be ready to encounter some opposition from Mynheer Volmar," I -said on leaving him. "He is like to take ill aught that may seem to -bring in question his reading of the stars." - -"Beshrew that," answered the captain. "All that pertains to the defence -of the city is in my charge, and things must be done as I command." - -"Without doubt, sir," said I. "Yet you must look for wrath, yea, even -stout resistance on the part of Mynheer Volmar, and I know not what ill -consequence may ensue if he has his way." - -And so I wrought the simple captain to a strong resolution to defy -Volmar, and bear down any opposition he might make. - -On the morrow I set forth betimes for the ramparts. Among the concourse -of people going afoot to witness the firing of the Sunday shot I espied -the Burgomaster and his daughter, and accosted them with a civil -salutation. The Burgomaster looked exceeding ill at ease, shunned my -eye, and presently turned me a cold shoulder, conversing with a -neighbour. Thereupon Mistress Jacqueline lightly touched my sleeve, and -I fell back a pace with her. I observed that her face was very wan and -haggard, and was moved to pity her. - -"Sir," she said in a whisper, "shall Jan die to-morrow?" - -"Courage!" I said, in her tone. "All will yet be well." - -"I have a thing to say," she proceeded. "Last night I heard my father -talking with--you know whom. To-morrow the order will be given to the -Captain of the Guard to arrest you." - -[Illustration: "TO-MORROW THE ORDER WILL BE GIVEN TO THE CAPTAIN OF THE -GUARD TO ARREST YOU"] - -"So ho!" I said under my breath. "I thank you, mistress. Time will -show." - -We said no more, but went on among the others. - -When we came to the ramparts, Volmar's man was even then bringing a shot -from the storehouse, and Volmar himself stood waiting by the culverin. -But the Captain of the Guard, so soon as he saw me, stepped forth with -the silver shot in his hand, and entered upon a discourse with Volmar, -acquainting him with his purpose and the reason thereof, but not naming -me as the author. While they conversed a dark and wrathful look lowered -upon Volmar's swarthy countenance, and he protested stoutly against any -meddling with the course indicated by the stars; but when the Captain of -the Guard showed himself resolute, Volmar shrugged his shoulders with an -air of disdain and stood aside, as one that disavows all part and lot in -an act of folly. Seeing his man standing there still holding the iron -shot, he bade him set it down, and smiled upon the gaping throng that -gazed as upon some high and mystic rite. - -Now it was necessary to my purpose that nothing should start a suspicion -in Volmar's mind or render him in any way uneasy; for which reason I had -up to this present held myself backward among the press. But it was -also necessary that I should possess myself of Volmar's shot; wherefore, -while all eyes were intent upon the Captain of the Guard ramming the -silver shot into the culverin, I whispered my servant to go privily and -scratch a double cross upon the iron ball where it lay, the which he -accomplished without being observed. - -The Captain of the Guard, doing all things with a portentous gravity of -demeanour, had now charged the culverin, and, to the great wonderment of -the populace, he beckoned me forward and placed the burning match in my -hands and bade me fire the gun. I had no skill in artillery work, but I -accepted the task with becoming modesty, and trained the piece as near -as I could upon a flag that waved on the Spanish trenches. Then putting -the match to the touch-hole, I stood back, the shot flew forth, and the -sight of all was obscured by the thick smoke. But a moment after a great -shout broke from the assembled multitude, and looking to see what -occasioned it, I beheld with amazement that the flag no longer flaunted -it upon the trench. My shot, fired at a venture, had, I suppose, -stricken the flagstaff in two. - -The Captain of the Guard made me many compliments on my skill, and the -folk that stood around looked on me somewhat more kindly, taking the -fall of the flag as an omen of good. Volmar darted upon me a look of -venom, and then glanced in the manner of one fearful and uneasy towards -his own shot; but seeing it lie where the man had placed it, he had no -more qualms or misgiving. Then the good folk departed cheerfully to -church, and Volmar, bidding his man carry the iron shot back to the -storehouse, joined himself to the throng and walked by the side of -Mistress Jacqueline, who cast down her eyes and said no word in answer -to his soft speeches. - -I went beside the Captain of the Guard, and entered the church among the -rearmost; but during the singing of the psalm I slipped away quietly to -the storehouse, found the shot by means of the mark that my servant had -made upon it, and conveyed it to my lodging. Upon opening it, I -discovered a small roll of paper, with this writing-- - - -"_The Burgomaster is come to a reasonable frame of mind. To-morrow the -Englishman will be arrested; on the next day in the Council I shall -declare that our scarcity of victuals and munition forbids a longer -resistance; and a trusty friend will make formal proposition that we -yield the city._" - - -Having now the game in my hands, I ate my meagre dinner with a good -relish, and immediately thereafter set forth to visit Mynheer Cosmo -Volmar. He had just risen from his meal, very comfortably replete, for -notwithstanding the general shortness of provisions he had contrived to -procure himself a sufficiency of good food and wine. Secure in his -approaching triumph, he smiled in his beard when I was ushered in, and -bade me seat myself with a courtesy that he had never shown me -heretofore. - -"Mynheer," I said gravely, "the city is in parlous case. The Prince is -tardy in coming to our succour, and I fear we can scarce hold out -another week." - -"Why, sir," said he, "are you become chicken-hearted?--you that came -hither expressly to encourage and sustain us! Little you know the -spirit of our burghers if you suppose that, even in this darksome hour, -they will yield up the city." - -"Truly the spirit of the most of them is undaunted," I said; "and I -could well believe that, but for the malign presence and pestilent -contriving of traitors, they would endure even yet." - -"Ah! Traitors!" said he. "Well, we hang a traitor to-morrow, and his -fate will teach a wholesome lesson to any that be like-minded." - -"It may be that others will hang with him," said I, fixing my eyes upon -him. "Will you lend me your ear while I relate a story? It chanced -that some few weeks ago, being set upon in the country yonder by a troop -of Spaniards, I and my little company were only saved by the timely help -of certain peasants, whereby we put the enemy to rout. But a man of my -party, pursuing them, overtook and slew one of them, and possessed -himself of a paper that he carried in his doublet." - -Here I made a pause. - -"Proceed, sir," said he, smiling. "I protest the beginning is very -well." - -"That paper," I continued, with measured gravity, "I hold now in my -pocket, together with two others, the which have come into my possession -in strange wise since I entered your city; and most strange, they are -writ in the selfsame hand as the first. Moreover, they are one and all -of the same tenor, to wit, dwelling on the dire straits whereinto this -city has fallen, and furnishing hints concerning a party within the -walls--a party of one or mayhap two or three--that is plotting to render -up the city into the hands of the enemy." While I spoke I fastened my -eyes intently upon him, and I saw the fashion of his countenance suffer -a change, and in his eyes a look of hate and terror commingled. I went -on:--"Sir, they are simple souls that believe the stars order our lives -and destinies, and it were easy to persuade such that a shot, whether it -be of silver or of iron, fired under planetary influence, should cast as -it were a spell even upon a ruthless foe. Yet methinks their simplicity -would suffer a rude shock did they know that a round shot may carry a -message, not from the heavens, mystically, but----" - -And here my speech had a sudden end, for Volmar, his face livid with -rage and fear, leapt from his seat, whipped out his sword, and flew upon -me with the ferocity of a wild beast. But that a stool stood between -us, a stumbling block to him in his fury, I had peradventure been -pierced to the heart or ever I could draw my own weapon. That obstacle -gave me a bare respite. My sword was out and met his clashing, and for -the space of five minutes we thrust and lunged, parried and riposted, in -the middle of the floor, over the table, by the mantel, in the corners, -as the stress of combat carried us. I had always the advantage of him -in that I was calm and master of myself, whereas he was drunken with -rage, maddened by hate, and desperately fearful of the gallows he had -set up for Jan Verhoeff. In mere swordsmanship he was not far from being -my equal; had he been in truth my equal, his skill might have prevailed -even over his fury. Suffice it to say that after a hot bout of some five -minutes I struck his sword from his hand, and pinning him down upon a -chair, with my blade at his throat, I bade him sternly give heed to -certain conditions on which I would spare his vile and wretched life. - -[Illustration: PINNING HIM DOWN UPON A CHAIR, I BADE HIM STERNLY GIVE -HEED TO CERTAIN CONDITIONS ON WHICH I WOULD SPARE HIS LIFE] - -These were, first, that he should write, at my dictation, a full -confession of his guilt and treasons, such as should at the same time -clear Jan Verhoeff from the accusation made against him. Second, that he -should quit the city that night by seven of the clock, and until then -keep within doors. The clemency of these conditions wondrously -astonished him; and perceiving that he was utterly at my mercy, he -accepted them without demur. Within an hour I had his confession, -sealed, in my pocket, together with the other papers in his hand. - -You may wonder that I showed mercy to so heinous a villain: hear my -reasons. I might have slain him; but then I should have had no -confession, such as I needed to right Jan Verhoeff. I might have -extorted the confession from him, and then delivered him to the council -for formal trial and meet punishment; but then many things would have -come to light that it were best to keep hidden, especially the -questionable part played by the Burgomaster, the which for the sake of -the city, and more also for the sake of Mistress Jacqueline, I would -fain leave enshrouded. Furthermore, I had now the hold upon goodman -Burgomaster that I needed to assure the happiness of two young souls. - -Leaving Volmar a shrunken heap in his chair, and being fully assured -that Bargen would be no more troubled with him, I made my way to Mynheer -Warmond's house. As I came to the door, there issued forth the Captain -of the Guard, whose countenance put on a most sorrowful look when he -beheld me. He halted upon the threshold, heaved a sigh, then took me by -the sleeve and said-- - -"Sir, I hold a warrant for your arrest under the hand and seal of the -Burgomaster, and to be executed at seven of the clock to-morrow -morning." - -"Let not that trouble you," said I, and had he been my own countryman, -in my gaiety of heart I should have poked him in the ribs; such a -pleasantry is inexpedient with a Dutch burgher. "Come for me here within -a half hour, and I avouch your warrant will be annulled." - -He left me, wondering. - -I entered to the Burgomaster, who fell a-trembling when he saw me, and -demanded with a stammering tongue what my business was with him upon the -Sabbath. I told him very shortly, and never in my life have I seen so -piteous a spectacle as that little round rubicund man at the hearing of -my story. His conscience pricked him sore, in that he had harkened to -ill counsels and dallied with the thought of surrendering. His lips -quivered, his limbs shook as with palsy, and with the back of his hand -he brushed away the tears that coursed down his fat cheeks. He besought -me very earnestly to advise him what he must do, mingling together in -lamentable outcry his good name and his daughter that loved him. - -[Illustration: I TOLD HIM VERY SHORTLY, AND NEVER IN MY LIFE HAVE I SEEN -SO PITEOUS A SPECTACLE AS THAT LITTLE ROUND RUBICUND MAN AT THE HEARING -OF MY STORY] - -"Mynheer," said I, "there are two things you may do. The first is, to -keep silence. This unhappy business is known wholly to none but you, -Cosmo Volmar, and myself--and in part to my servant and Jan Verhoeff, -who have their reasons for holding their peace. The second is, to undo -the wrong you have done your daughter and her promised husband. Thus -you will both preserve the reputation for courage you won at the point -of the ham bone"--(I could not withhold this quip)--"and win a new -renown for fatherly indulgence and magnanimity of soul." - -Upon this the Burgomaster looked somewhat more cheerfully; but again his -face fell, and he turned away his eyes, as with a faltering voice he -told me that he had ordered my arrest. - -"And here is the Captain of the Guard," said I, as I heard his clanking -step without, "come for the cancelment of your warrant." - -The Burgomaster was overcome with humiliation when aware that I knew -already of the warrant. He tore the paper passionately across, and wept -hot tears when he placed the captain's hand in mine and bade him cherish -me as an honest man. There was ever something of the play actor about -goodman Burgomaster. - -And now I have told my story. You may like to know that the city did -not yield to the Spaniards, but held out for a good month beyond, and -was then relieved by Prince Maurice, who advanced through a fierce -rainstorm at the head of a large and well-furnished army. I was -presented to him on his entrance by Sir Francis Vere, who with a grave -countenance related how he had chosen me, as one expert in war and -cunning in counsel, to assist the burghers in their extremity. When the -Prince had thanked me in the name of the United States of the -Netherlands, and invited me to continue in his service, Sir Francis drew -me aside and said in my ear-- - -"Thou'rt a cunning rascal, and be hanged to thee." - -But I leave you to say whether 'twas cunning that served me best. - -The praises and blessings heaped upon me by the two ladies, the mother -and the sweetheart of Jan Verhoeff, were dearer to me even than the -commendation of Prince Maurice. Methinks it is better to make two or -three happy than to take a fenced city. In the spring of the next year -Jan wrote me word that he had been made councillor and town clerk of -Bargen, and was now the husband of pretty Mistress Jacqueline. - -I had almost forgot to say that such pricks of conscience as beset me -for permitting Volmar to escape a traitor's doom were stilled but a few -days after he in secret quitted the city. His dead body was then -discovered in the moat. Whether he was drowned in swimming, or removed -(as he would have said) by the Spaniards for that he had failed them, I -know not; only I believe in my heart that justice was done. - - -[Illustration: tailpiece to Third Part] - - - - *Interim* - - -Many a time and oft did my grandfather sing the praises of Prince -Maurice of Nassau, whom he loved as a man, revered as a prince, and -admired as a warrior. He told me that this stout and worthy Prince had -studied the art of war from a boy up, and made many innovations in the -practice thereof, for the which this age is to him much beholden; -namely, he armed his horsemen with the carbine instead of the lance, and -taught his soldiers the true use of the spade in siege work. Before his -time men of war were wont to scorn that humble tool, and to look upon -such as handled it as boors and rascals. My grandfather was with him in -the three months' siege of Groningen, and beheld with admiration the -work of his sappers and miners, how they drove mines in the shape of the -letter Y beneath the walls of the city, and springing them one night, -the north ravelin was blown up into the air with forty of the garrison, -of whom one was cast alive and sound at his very feet in the besiegers' -camp. - -He told me too how in the summer of the year 1595, he came very near to -losing his life. Prince Maurice had raised the siege of Grol, drawing -back before the troops of Christopher Mondragon, a little old man of -ninety-two, who had practised war from his youth, yet without receiving -a wound. The Prince laid an ambush for this marvellous warrior, and set -his cousin Philip to accomplish it; but the old man heard of what was -toward, and took measures to counter it, so that when, about daybreak, -Count Philip sent forward a handful of men to pounce upon the enemy's -pickets, they saw themselves faced by a great number of Spanish horsemen -drawn up in order. Whereof when tidings were conveyed to Count Philip, -he donned his casque, and drew his sword, and putting spurs to his -horse, galloped into the lane that divided him from the Spaniards, being -followed at the first only by four of his nobles, and then by others of -his horsemen, among whom my grandfather was one. - -And when they were shut in that narrow pass, up started the Spaniards on -the watery pasture lands on either hand, and fired their guns at them -very hotly. Count Philip was shot through the body from a harquebus, -which, by reason of its closeness, set his clothes a-fire, and the -flames could not be quenched save by rolling him, all wounded as he was, -among the sand and heather. When he sought to mount his horse and ride -away, his strength failed him, and he fell to the ground and was taken -prisoner and carried away dying. My grandfather, following in the -charge, was thrown from his horse in the disorder and confusion, and -only saved himself by crawling through the hedge, and swimming the river -that ran by the margin of the field. - -A matter of three months thereafter, my grandfather was with Sir Francis -Vere when that valiant captain was sent by Prince Maurice to take the -castle of Weerd. Upon Sir Francis demanding that the warden of the -castle should yield it up, that doughty commander refused him with -scorn, albeit he had no more than a score and six men at his back. But -when Sir Francis opened upon the place with his artillery, these folk -fell into a panic and laid open their gates. Their captain claimed the -honours of war, but Sir Francis made answer that he should have no -honours but halters for the stiff-necked simple men that had dared to -defend their hovel against ordnance. Whereupon he made the six and -twenty draw lots with black and white straws, and they that drew the -white were immediately hanged, save only the thirteenth, to whom his -life was given after that he had consented to do hangman's work upon his -fellows. The noose was cast first about the neck of their captain, but -the rope parting asunder, certain of Sir Francis' men held him under the -water of the ditch until he was drowned. My grandfather fell out with -Sir Francis upon this matter, deeming his truculency to be unworthy of a -gentleman; and when the troops went into winter quarters, he took ship -and returned to England, bearing a richly gilt sword, the gift of Prince -Maurice. - -He then took up his place in the Queen's Guard, but had accomplished -scarce four months in the royal service when that adventure befell which -follows next in order. It was known that King Philip was making ready a -fleet of sixty sail to invade Ireland, and Sir Walter Raleigh was -instant that the Queen's ministers should destroy that fleet in Spanish -waters, saying that "expedition in a little is better than much too -late." At that time the Spaniards were rejoicing in that Hawkins and -Drake had come to grief in their enterprise against Panama, and were -dead of a broken heart. Sir Walter's counsel was deemed good, and the -Queen, enraged with the King of Spain for that he was abetting the Irish -rebel Tyrone, fitted out ninety-six sail to convey 14,000 Englishmen to -the harbour of Cadiz, setting over them Lord Admiral Howard and the Earl -of Essex, and granting to Raleigh the command of twenty-two ships. -Contrary winds delayed their setting forth, the which, as Sir Walter -affirmed, caused him deeper grief than he ever felt for anything of this -world. And Providence so fashioned it that my grandfather performed a -hardy feat in Cadiz harbour a good month before Sir Walter set sail, as -you shall now read. - - - - - *THE FOURTH PART* - - - *CHRISTOPHER RUDD'S ADVENTURE IN SPAIN, - AND THE FASHION IN WHICH HE PLAYED - THE PART OF A PHYSICIAN* - - - -[Illustration: headpiece to Fourth Part] - - - *I* - - -It has never been my lot to hold great place, whether in the employment -of Queen Bess, or of her successor, King James; and when I think how -sorely fortune hath buffeted some noble persons that served those -monarchs, I count myself lucky in my obscurity. - -Of all the noble men with whom I ever had to do, Sir Walter Raleigh was -in my computation beyond compare the noblest. It frets me still, after -forty years, that I was not of his company on that famous voyage to -Cadiz when, as he writes in his History, "we stayed not to pick any -lock, but brake open the doors, and, having rifled all, threw the key -into the fire"; by the which figure he signifies the capture and -destruction of that great town, with vast spoils both of merchandise and -money. I was stayed but by accident, or, more truly, by the hand of -God, who had other work for me, as you shall hear. - -It chanced that one day, about Easter of the year 1596, I had been to -visit Sir Walter in his house at Mile End, where he then lived to take -the country air, and because, being out of favour with the Queen, his -lodging in her great house by the Thames was not much to his liking. In -name he was still Captain of the Guard and Warden of the Stannaries, but -the former office was performed by one Master John Best, and the latter -was, I think, in abeyance. He had but lately returned from his voyage -to Guiana, and was even then occupied with the writing of the book -wherein he relates his doings there, together with certain wonders that -I must hold to be fables. It is clean against nature that men should -have eyes in their shoulders and mouths in their breasts. - -I had visited him, I say, and sat talking very late, finding him wrapt -up in his project against Cadiz, where a Spanish fleet was fitting out -with the intent to invade Ireland. It was understood, when I left him, -that I should be one of his company in the _Warspright_, provided I -could obtain leave from the Queen to quit my place in the royal Guard -for a season. I rode back to Westminster, and, having stabled my horse, -was proceeding on foot to my lodging, in a little mean street by the -river, when it seemed to me on a sudden that I heard footsteps, as of -one dogging me. It was very late, as I said; all honest folks (myself -excepted) were abed; and having a modest love of myself, I halted and -whipped out my sword, peering into the darkness, and stretching my ears -for the sound that had brought me to a check. But all was silent as the -grave, and I laughed a little when it came into my mind that -peradventure 'twas no more than the echo of my own footsteps. Whereupon -I put up my sword and went on, my thoughts being busy with the matters -of Sir Walter's glowing discourse. - -While I was thus rapt away, building, I doubt not, fantastical castles -in Spain, on a sudden I was set upon by a hulking fellow that threw -himself upon me out of a dark alley-way. The first warning I had of him -was a sharp crack as the bludgeon he aimed at me struck a shop-sign that -hung low over the street; but for this, without question I had suffered -a broken skull. Even so I lacked time to draw sword or dagger, for the -man flung aside his club and sprang upon me, grappling me to himself -with a grip of iron. For a moment I yielded, out of policy, to his -embrace, being careful, nathless, to maintain my footing; then, being -very well practised in wrestling, and having good command of my breath, -I dipt my arms about his middle and, with an ease that amazed me, gave -him the backfall. Down he went upon the cobbles, and I stood over him -while he lay and groaned. - -[Illustration: DOWN HE WENT UPON THE COBBLES, AND I STOOD OVER HIM WHILE -HE LAY AND GROANED] - -At this hour of the night it were vain to look for any help from the -watch, and I was in the mind to leave the fellow where he lay. Yet -having a certain curiosity to see what manner of man he was, I felt in -my fob for the steel and flint I was wont to carry, and when I found -them not, only then remembered that I had left them on Sir Walter's -table; he had borrowed them of me to light his pipe of tobacco, the -which was a wondrous strange thing in those days. (That is Sir Walter's -pipe, yonder in my cabinet; he gave it me for a keepsake a little while -ere he died.) Having no light at command I resolved to bring the man to -my own door, but a few steps distant; wherefore I stooped and hoisted -him to his feet, and then took him by the collar with one hand, and with -the other held my naked sword to his posteriors, and so marched him -before me up the street. When we came to my door, and my servant opened -to my knock, I thrust the man in front of me so that he stood within the -light of the lamp. - -He was a sorry knave, now that I beheld him clearly: a very ragged -Robin, as foul in person as ever I saw. But I understood now the reason -why I had so easily thrown him, for his countenance, so much of it as I -could discern through a thick and tangled beard, was wan and sunken; his -eyes shone with that glitter which bespeaks famine or fever; and his -body, goodly in its proportions, was bent and shrunken together. In -good sooth I had no cause to be vain of my prowess, and when the fellow -turned his burning eyes upon me, regarding me sullenly, yet with no -touch of fear, I was seized with compassion, and bade my servant go -fetch meat and drink. He went about my bidding sluggishly, halting ever -and anon to cast a backward glance, as though doubting the policy of -playing good Samaritan to so uncouth and villainous an oaf. While he was -absent I told the man that since he would surely be hanged for his -attempt upon me, 'twere well he should eat and so fortify himself -against his destiny. What I said in jest he took in earnest; but -whether it be true or not, as I have heard tell, that with the hangman's -noose dangling before him a criminal has no relish for food, certainly -this man fell with very keen tooth upon my viands, and cleaned the -platter with marvellous celerity. - -Having dispatched my servant to bed, I sat me on the table and -questioned the man, why he had waylaid me. He was loth to speak, but by -little and little I drew from him his history, which he related not as -one seeking to move pity, but by way of recompense, so it seemed to me, -for the hospitality he had received. With his first words I own my -heart warmed to him, for his speech smacked of my own country in the -west, though intermixed with many quaint outlandish terms. His story I -will relate in brief. - -His name was William Stubbs, and he was born at Winterbourne Abbas, not -a great way from my own birthplace. He had gone young to sea, and made -several voyages with Master Cavendish, having indeed served as boatswain -in the _Desire_ with that worthy seaman and commander. He had roved the -Spanish Main, and I proved his veracity in that particular by putting to -him sundry questions begotten of my own knowledge. 'Twas plain that he -had the common fault of seamen, spending his gains more quickly then he -earned them, roistering it on shore while his money lasted, and when all -was spent going to sea again in quest of more. But I perceived as he -proceeded in his discourse that he was better than most in natural wit, -and had made more profit of his adventures, in knowledge if not in pelf. -He had a passable facility in both the French and the Spanish tongues, -and his head was stuffed with a great quantity of curious information, -which made me wonder that he had sunk so low as to become a common -footpad. - -The reason of that I learnt in order. Being on board the _Revenge_ in -that unlucky voyage of Sir Richard Grenville, he fell with many of his -comrades into the hands of the Spaniards, who dealt with him very -scurvily, as their custom is, and finally condemned him to the galleys. -For three long years he was chained to an oar, and suffered all the -miseries of unhappy prisoners in the like case. But it befell one day -that the galley wherein he rowed fell foul of a Dutch vessel, which -opened upon it with valorous broadsides, and after making havoc as well -among the slaves as the crew, finally rammed it with great vehemency and -stove a hole in its side. In the hottest of the fight, a round shot -broke the chain that held Stubbs to his oar, and, seizing the moment -when the Dutchman rammed and all was confusion, he leapt overboard and -swam to that vessel, whose side he clambered up by the main chains. He -came very near perishing at the hands of the crew, who at first supposed -him to be a rascal; but when they learnt his true condition, they hauled -him aboard with comfortable words, and brought him after many days to -their own country. Thence he contrived to reach London, only to fall on -evil hap, for his sufferings in captivity had sapped his strength, and, -when he sought employment in his own trade he found no master mariner -willing to accept him. Thus, reduced by sickness and famine, in his -desperate strait he bethought him of conquering fortune on the highway, -but was now ready to believe, seeing the unhappy issue of his first -essay in that line of life, that he was at odds with Fate, and must -needs, as he said, "kick the beam and ha' done with it." - -When I heard this piteous story, and saw upon the man's neck and wrists -the scars that were full proof, to all that knew the Spaniards, of his -having rowed in their galleys, my anger against him was wholly quenched. -I told him heartily that he should not hang for me, and then, perceiving -that my good food had wrought upon his sickly frame, I bade him get -himself into a closet wherein my servant kept my boots and sleep there -for the night, promising to see him again in the morning, and perchance -do somewhat to set him on his feet. The man was clean staggered by this -kindness, as I could plainly see; but he did not thank me; and when he -had crept into the closet and flung himself down heedless upon the -floor, I turned the key in the lock for security's sake and went to my -bed. - -My servant was in a pretty fret and fume when he found the man there -asleep in the morning, and eyed me with a disfavour that made me feel -guilty towards him: a good servant hath in him something of the tyrant. -When I bade him give my guest water for washing (whereof he was in great -need), and meat and beer, his silence was a clear rebuke. But when he -came again after doing my bidding he had somewhat to tell me. - -"The rogue asked me your name, sir," quoth he, "and when I told him, he -asked further whether you were akin to one Master Christopher Rudd of -Shirley." - -"And what said you?" I asked, knowing my servant. - -"I said, sir, that he were best wash himself." - -"A proper answer," said I, laughing. "When he has eaten, bring him to -me." - -And when the man came before me, cleaned of his foulness and with his -beard trimmed, I saw that he was a goodly fellow, and felt the more -sorry for him. - -"You asked of one Master Christopher Rudd of Shirley," I said; "what -have you to do with him?" - -"Are you his kin, sir?" he asked doubtfully. - -"We are of one family," I said, "and now you will answer my question." - -And then he told me a story that filled me with as much trouble as -amazement. Chained to him, on his galley, had been a young Frenchman, -whom, even before their common misery had made them friends, he had -surmised to be a man of rank. When they had learnt to trust each other, -the Frenchman and he often talked together of the chances of escape, and -each promised the other that, should fortune favour him, he would use -his endeavours for behoof of him that was left. Stubbs said that, for -his part, he feared he could do little, being an Englishman; whereupon -the Frenchman told him that he had sundry good friends among the -English, notably Christopher Rudd, of whom indeed he had been a close -comrade in the service of King Henry of Navarre. - -At this I pricked up my ears, and inquired eagerly for the Frenchman's -name. Thereupon Stubbs rolled up his sleeves, and showed me, branded -upon his arm, the letters "R. de T.," confessing that he had forgot the -name, which indeed did not come easily to his tongue. I needed no more, -but knew instantly that the luckless galley-slave could be none other -than Raoul de Torcy, who had been my boon fellow when I was in France, -and my companion that time when I had the good hap to win King Henry's -favour. I bade Stubbs describe with circumstance the look and character -of the Frenchman, and though he was unapt at such a task, his uncouth -phrases gave me the assurance I sought, and I could have no manner of -doubt that the man now swinking and sweating in one of the worst -tortures ever devised by the wit of man was indeed my dear friend. - -I taxed Stubbs narrowly, to discover by what mishap Raoul, a gentleman -of France, had fallen to so pitiful an extremity, but on this point it -appeared that Raoul himself was at a loss. He had been kidnapped one -day in Calais, cast on board a vessel, and carried to Cadiz: who were -his captors, and what moved them to it, were matters hidden from him. - -Cadiz being the place of Raoul's exile, I instantly bethought me of my -talk overnight with Sir Walter Raleigh, and saw in his projected -enterprise a means of wresting my friend from his bondage. Accordingly -I sent my servant for my horse, purposing to ride again to Mile End and -acquaint Sir Walter with what I had heard. I gave money to Stubbs -wherewith to buy new raiment, bidding him return to my house and await -me, and above all to avoid any debate with my servant, the which might -easily end in broken heads. - -I found Sir Walter in his garden, smoking a pipe of tobacco, and setting -potatoes, the new root that he had brought from the Indies, in the earth -in the manner they call dibbling. He heard me attentively, and let out -a round oath or two, and said that assuredly I might make the -enlargement of my friend my personal charge in the adventure. - -[Illustration: I FOUND SIR WALTER IN HIS GARDEN] - -"But you must know, Rudd," he said, "that the project is as yet a -secret, and indeed there is no surety that the Queen will give consent -thereto. Her Grace frowns on me most malevolently, and there are many -hindrances to surmount ere I come by her august approval. Were it not -better to ransom your friend? I doubt not he hath kinsmen that are -ignorant of his plight, and would bestir themselves did they but know -it." - -I answered him that Raoul had spoken to me of an uncle, but as to -ransom, Raoul himself must have thought thereon. Without doubt he would -have acquainted the Spaniards with his rank, and their cupidity would -not have refused to bargain for his enlargement, unless, peradventure, -they had weightier reasons for holding him a prisoner. To this Sir -Walter assented, and confessed that he saw nothing for it but to wait -until the Queen's pleasure in the matter of the intended voyage was -known, and with that I had to be content. - -I returned to my lodging, sore downcast and perplexed. Stubbs was -already there, new clothed in decent garments, and very personable. I -fell a-talking to him, and in the midst a thought came suddenly to me. -I knew the strange waywardness of the Queen, how she would one moment -consent, the next deny her words with hearty swearing; it might be -months, or even years, before Sir Walter had his way. It troubled me -sorely to think that Raoul should endure his wretched lot while her -Highness played see-saw, and I bethought me that I might at least voyage -to France and see the kinsmen who were, I doubted not, mourning Raoul's -disappearance, and might perchance devise with them some plan for his -deliverance. And since the testimony of an eye-witness is ever more -effectual than report at second-hand, I resolved to take my mariner with -me, so as they might have from his own lips the tale he told me. I -forbore to ask consent of the Queen to my absence, being resolved to -hazard my place rather than my design. - -We set off next day, riding to Dover, where we embarked upon a -packet-boat, and so came, after much tossing and discomfort, to Calais. -This being the port where Raoul had been kidnapped three years before, -as Stubbs told me, I made discreet inquiry among the harbour people -whether they knew aught of that villainy, being careful to name no -names. But none had any knowledge of the matter, whereupon we rode on -at once to Dieppe, both because that was the nearest port to Raoul's -château, and because our common friend Jean Prévost dwelt there, whom I -purposed to take into my confidence. - -'Twas drawing towards evening when we came to the town and reined up at -the door of the _Belle Etoile_, a hostelry that I knew very well. The -host, honest Jacques Aicard, remembered me, though it was near seven -years since he last saw me, and welcomed me very heartily. The -goodman's face was rueful when he ushered me to a room. - -"'Tis pity, monsieur," he said, "that I have no better chamber to offer, -but my best room is bespoke. But if monsieur will be content with this -for a night or two, be sure that he shall have the best when my other -visitor departs." - -I assured him that the room would do very well, since I did not purpose -to make a long stay. - -"Ah, monsieur," he said, "that is sad news. I would that I had more -guests like monsieur," a piece of arrant flattery whereat I smiled. -'Tis true that honest Jacques loved an Englishman. - -Having seen Stubbs also provided, I hastened forth, and by good luck -found Jean Prévost at home. He likewise welcomed me with great -heartiness, and, after our salutations, as he set wine before me, he -opened upon the very matter which had brought me to him. - -"Would that Raoul were with us!" he said. "How we three laughed! But I -fear me we shall never see him more." - -"He disappeared; that I know," said I. "Tell me how it befell." - -"Why, three years ago he rode to Calais, with the intent to sail to the -Low Countries, and use his sword against the Spaniards. We have never -heard of him since. Whether he was wrecked, or fell in Flanders, we -know not. He vanished utterly away." - -"And what of his estate?" I asked. - -"His uncle holds it, the Count de Sarney. You have heard Raoul speak of -him. He was a Leaguer, and there was a coldness between them. Indeed, -though their châteaux lie but five miles apart, they had no dealings one -with the other for many years. But the breach was healed when Henry -became king, and after that Raoul had disappeared none was so busy as -the Count in seeking for him. He sent emissaries at his own charges to -Flanders to inquire diligently in all likely quarters, and 'twas a full -year before he entered upon his heritage. He lives at Torcy, much by -himself, and we see little of him." - -"Raoul lugs an oar in a galley at Cadiz," I said with a very quiet -voice. - -Jean leapt from his seat as though a wasp had stung him. - -"A galley-slave! Impossible! Incredible!" he cried. - -"Both credible and possible," I said, and then I told him all, as I have -told you. - -"Mon Dieu!" cried Jean, when I had made an end. "We must not wait while -your Queen dallies. A ransom! I know a score of his friends who will -give bonds for goodly sums----" - -"Ay, truly," I said, interrupting him, "and the first of them should be -his uncle and heir." - -Jean stopped in his restless pacing of the floor, and looked at me very -strangely. - -"Why yes," he said, "his uncle, to be sure. But the Count is -close-fisted; 'twas indeed a surprise to all the country-side when, -after that he had entered into possession of Torcy--an estate of greater -worth than his own--he showed himself a very niggard." - -"Think you that he would refuse his mite in so good a cause?" I said. - -Again Jean looked strangely at me, and for a while was silent. Then he -said slowly-- - -"My friend, I ween we had best say nought to the Count de Sarney." - -"Nevertheless, I go to him to-morrow," I replied. "Miser he may be, and -'tis clean against his interest, to be sure, to bring back the lawful -owner of Torcy, and thereby dispossess himself. Yet if his duty be put -to him, as I shall put it, I doubt not he will comply." - -"I will go with you," said Jean. - -"Nay, I am minded to go alone, or rather with none but my mariner. -'Twill be better so. Be assured I will acquaint you with the issue. And -I beg you, Jean," I said earnestly, "that you speak no word of what I -have told you, at least for this present time." - -"I will be mute as a fish," said he, "but I shall think the more." - - - - *II* - - -On the morrow, early in the morning, we saddled our horses, Stubbs and -I, a thing we always performed ourselves, Stubbs somewhat fumblingly, I -own, until practice gave him deftness and ease. 'Twas thirty miles to -Torcy, that lay southerly from Dieppe, but we made such good speed that -the sun was not yet in the zenith when we arrived at the château. The -Count was within doors, said the lackey that opened the great gate of -the park to us, and we rode up the avenue of chestnuts, just bourgeoning -into leaf, and came after some three furlongs to the house. - -The man that admitted me, an ancient retainer of Raoul's whom I knew -very well, changed hue when he saw me, and asked me with trembling voice -whether I had brought news of his master. I did not give him a direct -answer, but bade him lead me at once to the Count, feeling not a little -pleasure that the new lord still kept the old man in his service. He -conducted me through the passages that I had last trod with Raoul -himself, and brought me into the little chamber wherein I had passed -many a merry evening with my friend. Stubbs meanwhile remained in the -outer porch, ready to follow me at my summons. - -I waited some while before the Count entered. He was a man of mean -stature, very lean and dry, and with a grave cast of countenance wherein -I discerned no likeness to the jolly favour of his nephew. - -"I have not the honour," he began courteously as I bowed to him, and -dealt me a shrewd look. - -"Assuredly not, monsieur," I replied. "My name is Christopher Rudd, and -I was once comrade to your nephew, whose fate has given such deep -trouble to his friends." - -"Ah yes, my poor nephew! Methinks I recall your name, monsieur, if you -are the same that fought with Raoul in the late contention, now so -happily concluded. Be seated, monsieur; I am charmed to meet one that -was his friend. You will honour me by taking a cup of wine?" - -He rang for a servant, and bade him bring wine and cakes, and also to -request the company of Monsieur Armand. Before the man returned there -entered into the room a solemn-visaged youth, clad in black with white -ruffles at his wrists. - -"My son, monsieur," said the Count. "He is but lately returned from -Paris, where he has studied medicine and philosophy, not that I purpose -that he should be either a physician or a philosopher, but because I -deem it well that he, being my heir, but ill-fitted by reason of a -delicate constitution for the pursuit of arms, should have some tincture -of humane letters and of the beneficent art of healing. Situated as we -are, somewhat remote from towns, it is fitting that one who will in due -time be lord of many poor folks should be able to minister to them in -their afflictions." - -"A right worthy and commendable desire," I said, looking at the youth, -whose solemnity of countenance somewhat tickled me. - -The Count proceeded to expound the usefulness of philosophy, not -interrupting his discourse when the servant returned with wine and -delicacies which, being sharp-set after my ride, I devoured with relish. -My host was so courteously bent on entertaining me that for a good while -I found no opportunity of broaching the purpose of my visit, and more -than once I thought of Stubbs waiting without, and certainly as hungry -as myself. But perceiving at length in the Count's physiognomy a look -that said clearly, despite his courtesy, that he thought it time my -visit came to an end, I profited by a slight lull in his discourse to -say-- - -"And my friend Raoul, monsieur--has nothing been heard of him?" - -"Nothing, monsieur," he said with a sigh. "I fear we cannot hope to see -him again, and the pain of his loss is embittered by our ignorance of -his fate, whether he lies at the bottom of the sea, or perchance in some -nameless grave." - -"I rejoice, then," said I, "that I can assuage that bitterness, even -though the knowledge has a bitterness of its own. Your nephew, -monsieur, is at this moment, unless death has released him, suffering -the tortures of a galley-slave in Spain." - -A cry from the solemn youth caused me to look at him, and I own I was -glad to see a spark of life in his dead face. - -"What a monstrous thing!" he cried. "Was he taken prisoner in Flanders, -monsieur?" - -"Nay," I said, "he never fought in Flanders. He travelled no further -than Calais. He was there kidnapped at the harbour, and thence conveyed -to Cadiz. 'Twas the work of private enemies, beyond doubt." - -"Will you tell us how you came by this amazing news, monsieur?" said the -Count, in his thin cold voice. - -Whereupon I related the whole story with circumstance, from the time -when I was beset that night as I returned to my lodging. The Count -listened to me with a courteous interest, but a look of compassion stole -upon his face. - -"It is incredible, monsieur," he said, when I ended my tale. "My poor -nephew had no private enemies: none can know better than you how well -beloved he was of all. Even in the height of our broils here he had no -personal foes, and though he and I were for a time at variance, yet when -the realm settled itself in peace and order we forgot our public -differences, and Raoul and Armand became deeply attached the one to the -other; is it not so, Armand?" - -"It is indeed," said the youth eagerly. "Raoul and I were as brothers, -and his loss has been my greatest sorrow." - -I could not doubt he spoke truth: his eyes shone as he spoke. Nor could -I wonder that his father was incredulous, for Raoul was indeed a man -whom it were strange to hate. - -"I have a man without who rowed in the self-same galley with Raoul," I -said. "With your leave I will send for him, monsieur, and you may -verify my story from his own lips." - -The Count assented with the same smile of weary tolerance. Within a -little Stubbs came to us, looking ill at ease, and twisting his bonnet -between his hands as he stood waiting our pleasure. At my bidding he -related the story as I have told it, and rolled back his sleeve to show -the letters "R. de T." there branded. His French was uncouth and -villainously inexact, yet not so base but that his meaning was clear. -The Count questioned him searchingly, almost as an advocate seeks to -shake the testimony of a witness; but the man held to his tale in its -main parts, answering only "J'ne savons pas"--such was his barbarous -form--when the matter in question was beyond his ken. - -Having dismissed the man, I asked the Count whether he were not now -perfectly convinced of his nephew's fate. He looked upon me with that -same smile of pity, and gave me an answer that, I confess, enraged me. - -"I felicitate you, monsieur," said he, "on your goodness of heart, but -until this moment I was not aware that credulity could be laid to the -charge of a man of your nation. I had rather looked upon Englishmen as -sceptical, and not easily imposed upon. This man is certainly a liar: -you yourself were witness of his confusion. He has played upon your -benevolence, and, for myself, I regard it as monstrous that you should -have been prevailed upon to make so long a journey for so bootless a -reason. Nevertheless it has given me great pleasure to meet and converse -with you; and now that you are here, I would beg you to do me the honour -to remain my guest for a week at least." - -"I thank you, monsieur," I said as civilly as I could, though in truth I -was inly raging. "But so far from regarding the seaman as a liar, I do -thoroughly believe his story." - -"And I too," quoth Armand. - -"But, my good friend," said the Count, "see the unlikelihood of it. -Suppose that Raoul were indeed in the galleys, it were a simple matter -for a man of his rank and condition to purchase his release, and be sure -that by this time, and long before this, application would have been -made to me for his ransom, the which I need not say would have been -instantly dispatched. Is not that reasonable?" - -I could not but own that it was, remembering that I had myself used the -self-same argument with Sir Walter Raleigh. - -"Furthermore," the Count proceeded, "say that I offered a large sum for -his ransom, the Spaniards, if they have any reason for holding Raoul a -prisoner, would certainly find some one to personate him, and release -some knave that fully merits the punishment he suffers. And so you and -I should look merely ridiculous." - -There was so much reason in what the Count said that I was baffled. His -unbelief, I thought, might be in some measure sprung from a reluctancy -to relinquish the estate he now enjoyed, the which was not to be -wondered at: and yet I deemed it unnatural that a kinsman should be more -incredulous than a man bound to Raoul by no ties of blood. At a loss -how to combat his arguments, I presently took my leave, excusing myself -from accepting the invitation he pressed upon me. - -I found that Stubbs had been fed by the ancient servitor, and set off -with him towards Dieppe. Our horses proved themselves but indifferent -steeds in respect of endurance, and we were slow upon the road, so that -it was already dark when we reached our hostelry. Being wearied with -the journey, as well as exceeding vexed in mind, I was in no mood for -aught but a good supper and then bed, and I deferred to acquaint Jean -Prévost with my barren errand until the morrow. Stubbs gave me a hard -look when I bade him good-night, as though he would fain question me on -the present posture of the affair; but I told him nothing, being -resolved first to hear what Jean had to say. - -I was mighty astonished next afternoon by Jean's manner of receiving my -intelligence. Whereas he had been as sure as I myself that Raoul and the -galley-slave were one and the same, he now wore a dubious look, and -stroked his chin, and declared there was much reason in what the Count -had said. - -"Raoul is not the only name beginning with R," he said, "nor Torcy with -T. Moreover this mariner of yours, you tell me, sought to enter into -your good graces by cracking your skull, and is not thereby certified to -be an honest man. The manifest friendliness of the Count's son, and the -Count's own diligence in seeking his nephew, give no prop to the -suspicion I own I entertained, that they were privy to the crime, for -the sake of gaining Raoul's inheritance. I am fain to believe that -there is dupery, or at least error." - -I answered him somewhat hotly that I was no dupe, nor did I believe that -Stubbs had erred, and asked whether we could not set on foot a proper -inquiry. To this he replied that, France and Spain being at war, such a -course must be beset with manifold difficulties. - -"Yet," he said, "there is one way. Address yourself to some merchant in -Antwerp that hath trading concerns in Cadiz. Such an one, if heedful -and discreet, could put your mariner's story to the test, and I doubt -not, knowing their love of lucre, there be many good men in Antwerp that -would take this task upon them, for a fit recompense." - -This counsel seeming good to me, I left him after a little, and instead -of returning directly to my lodging, I wended to the harbour, and -inquired what vessel sailed thence to Antwerp, and when. 'Twas told me -that a trading vessel would leave the port on the morrow, whereupon I -counted myself lucky, for none other would depart for a fortnight. I -took passage in the vessel for myself and Stubbs, paying good English -money, and bespeaking a sufficient quantity of food, more relishable -than that which mariners are in general wont to eat. - -By the time I came again to the _Belle Etoile_ the sun was setting. I -entered in, very well content with what I had done, and ran full against -Stubbs, who was lurking within the doorway. He took me by the sleeve -and drew me hastily to my room, where, having shut the door, he thrust -into my hands some papers, and I perceived that the seals thereof had -been broken. - -[Illustration: HE THRUST INTO MY HAND SOME PAPERS] - -"What is this?" I said in amazement, beholding signs of great trouble in -the man's countenance. - -"Read, sir, read, and quickly, for the love of God!" he said, and -incontinently flung out of the room. - -I took up one of the papers to examine it, and saw that it bore the -superscription, "To Don Ygnacio de Acosta, at Cadiz." The others were -addressed to grandees in Seville and elsewhere in the south of Spain. I -was still holding them unopened, perplexed about my man's strange -excitement, when he came back with the same haste into the room and -asked me in a fever whether I had read them. - -"Why, no," I said, "I may not read letters that are not addressed to me. -What is all this to-do?" - -He groaned, and cursed his fate because he was himself unable to read. -And then, pouring out his words in a very torrent, he told me that, a -little after my departure, there had come to the inn the young man whom -he had seen in the château Torcy, namely, Armand de Sarney, the Count's -son. Old Jacques conducted the youth to his bedchamber: 'twas plain -that he was the expected guest for whom the best room had been bespoke. -Stubbs perceived that he bore with him a wallet such as are commonly -used by gentlemen for holding letters. Having seen his baggage bestowed -in the chamber, the youth descended, but without the wallet, and issued -forth into the street. Stubbs watched him until he was out of sight, -then stole a tip-toe to the room, slit open the wallet, and withdrew its -contents, the papers that he had laid in my hands. - -"But why?" I asked, staggered by this act of criminal presumption, and -thinking the man must be demented. - -"Because thiccy count be a rare villain, sir," cried Stubbs hoarsely. -"I bean't a fule; I kept my eyes upon him when you sat there a-crackin' -with him, and if he don't know more'n he ought about thiccy young -Frenchman, your friend, I'll go to the gallows happy. Read the names, -sir, read 'un so that I can hear; quick, for he may be back along." - -In a great wonderment I complied. - -"Don Antonio de Herrera, Don Miguel de Leon y Buegas; Don Ygnacio de -Acosta----" - -"There! There!" he cried. "I knew it, be jowned! 'Tis the captain of -the galleys, the Don Spaniard that has laid many a stripe on my bare -back. Read the letter." - -Again he left me in a great hurry, and I guessed now that he was gone to -keep a watch against the return of Armand de Sarney. - -I was in a quandary. Imprimis, 'twas a dastardly deed to break open the -wallet and the seals, and not consonant with plain honesty. Yet I could -but acknowledge that a letter writ by the Count de Sarney to the captain -of the galleys was a grave cause of suspicion, more especially seeing -that the Count had not told me he was acquainted with the Spaniard, as -assuredly an innocent man would have done. And so, reflecting that the -seal was broken beyond mending, and that my friend's welfare--nay, -perchance, his very life--was at stake, I felt it behoved me to satisfy -myself on the matter, and do as my Lord Burghley and Sir Francis -Walsingham had done when they discovered those devilish plots against -the Queen's highness. - -Accordingly I spread open the letter addressed to Don Ygnacio de Acosta, -and as I read it all compunction died within me, and I fumed with rage. -After the customary salutations, this is what I read-- - - -"The bearer of this letter is my only son, Armand de Sarney, whom I -commit to your benevolence. Having gained some repute in Paris by his -diligence in the study of philosophy and the sciences, above all in -medicine, he is desirous of perfecting himself in this last, the which I -hold to be both a science and an art, by inquiring into the Moorish -system, for which purpose I deem it well, though I am loth to part with -him, that he should voyage to Seville, the fame of whose schools has -gone out into all the corners of the world. He bears with him letters -from good friends in Paris to your most renowned doctors, and to your -loving care do I especially commend him. - -"I profit by his journey to send you a bill of exchange, drawn on our -good friends at Antwerp, and beg that you will pardon my backwardness in -that I have withheld it beyond the wonted time. - -"The sickness whereof you wrote is now, I trust, wholly passed away, and -with all felicitations I subscribe myself your loving cousin, - -"HENRI DE SARNEY. - -"_Postscriptum_.--I unseal this letter to add that since it was written -I have been visited by an Englishman, who has learnt by the mouth of an -escaped slave somewhat concerning a prisoner, who, he affirms, is -chained to an oar in one of your galleys. The English are a stubborn -and stiff-necked race, and this man has their vices in full measure, -being the same that brought to nought the carefully-laid plans of the -lamented Monsieur de Lameray. In heat and waywardness he may seek to -pick locks and break fetters. Have a care therefore." - - -This letter, I say, put me in a fume. Some parts of it I comprehended -not, and the whole was composed with great cunning; but I saw clearly -enough that the Count de Sarney was well aware of his nephew's grievous -plight, and, furthermore, I suspected that he had had a hand in bringing -it about. For a brief space I was so mastered by my wrath as that I was -in a manner bereft of my wits; but running my eyes again over the lines, -I came on a sudden to a resolution, and none too soon, for Stubbs -returned swiftly into the room and told me that the young man in black -was at that moment making towards the inn. Thrusting the papers into my -doublet, I hastened to the door, and there awaited his coming. - -As he was in the act of going past, the passage being dark, I stepped -forth and besought him to honour me with his company for a few minutes. -His solemn face bore witness to his surprise at seeing me in his own -inn, but I caught no trace either of alarm or embarrassment. He came -into my room, and, having closed the door upon him, I said-- - -"It has come to my knowledge, monsieur, that you are about to voyage -into Spain." - -"It is true, monsieur, and I rejoice that I shall be able to inquire -myself for my poor cousin, though my father scouts your story." - -I read honesty in the lad's countenance, and grieved that it behoved me -to play upon him. - -"I have to tell you, monsieur," I said very gravely, "that you stand in -imminent peril. Your country is at war with Spain. 'Tis believed that -monsieur the Count is in treasonable correspondence with the Spanish -court. 'Tis known that you are conveying a subsidy to an officer of -their navy, and there are charges of even graver import, which in sum -bring your father within danger of the extreme penalty." - -The hue of the lad's face altered to an ashen colour, and he caught his -breath. - -"It is false, abominably false, monsieur," he gasped. - -"Pray God it be so, monsieur!" said I, pitying him. "The unhappy fact -is that papers of suspicious tenor have been discovered among your -baggage, and 'tis only by good luck that I am able to warn you in time. -Examine your papers. You will find that search has been made during -your absence, and documents incriminating in character have been -abstracted." - -Trembling with fear the lad hastened to his own room, and came back in -as great a panic as ever I saw. - -"It is an error, monsieur," he cried; "my father is no traitor: he can -explain. Mon Dieu! what can I do?" - -"I will tell you, monsieur," I said. "Be assured that I acquit you of -all guilty knowledge. The affair is known only to myself and one other -whose silence I can command, and do you but follow my counsel you will -be safe. Having fought in the army of Navarre, and being beholden to -King Henry, I cannot suffer you to quit France; you will not voyage to -Spain. But neither can I proceed over harshly against one so youthful. -You were best hasten directly to Paris, and resume your studies there. -You will pass me your word not to communicate with your father until I -give you leave. He will be in no anxiety concerning you, believing you -gone to Seville. But I warn you that if you, directly or indirectly, -communicate with him, or with any one whatsoever in Spain, I will not -answer for the sea of troubles whereinto both you and he will be -plunged. I trust that things are not wholly what they seem, and be sure -that none will more greatly rejoice than I if it be proved that the -escutcheon of your house is without stain." - -"I thank you, monsieur," said the lad brokenly. "I will do your behest -in all points, sure, as I am, that time will bear me out." - -"Stay," I said, as he made to quit the room; "are you known at the port, -monsieur?" - -"Nay, I have never travelled by sea," he replied, wondering. - -"You are skilled in medicine," I proceeded, "and without doubt can name -some authentic treatise wherein one ignorant of the art can gain some -inkling of its mysteries." - -"Assuredly, monsieur," said he, "there is none to be compared with the -great work of Ambrose Parey, the renowned chirurgeon of King Henry III. -I have it in the original Latin, and shall esteem myself honoured if you -will accept it at my hand." - -"Right willingly, monsieur," I said, "and though my Latin grows rusty -with disuse, yet I doubt not I can make a shift to understand at least -one phrase in two." - -He departed to his room, returning ere long with a weighty tome with -which, I could see, he was loth to part. Having bid each other adieu, -he went from me, and since the hour was too late to permit of his riding -forth that same night, he dismissed the man that had accompanied him -from Torcy, and sought his bed. He rose betimes in the morning, and -from my window I saw him ride eastward, leaving his baggage to be -dispatched after him by the carrier. - -When I had seen him well upon his way I skipped into my clothes, having -as yet stood unclad at the window, and made haste to find old Toutain -the tailor, whom I knew very well, and who had his shop on one of the -quays abutting on what they call the avant port. He broke out into -ecstasies of delight on seeing me, but I cut him short, and told him in -one brief minute what I required of him, which was that within five -hours he should rig me in the full apparel of a student of medicine. He -protested with great volubility and play of hands that it could not be -done, whereupon I told him brutally of our English saying, that "a -tailor is but the ninth part of a man," and so stung him into a better -mind. In a trice I had chosen the stuff, and Toutain took my -measurements, the while he put me through a stiff interrogatory as to my -new profession, where I purposed to study, and what not. I leave you to -guess what a rack I put my invention upon to satisfy him. Within a bare -quarter of an hour afterwards I was back at the _Belle Etoile_, breaking -my fast upon a savoury omelet and other comestibles that suit with the -French palate better than with ours. - -Toutain himself brought me my new raiment half-an-hour before the term, -by the which time I had made Stubbs shave off my infant beard and the -mustachio that graced my lip. The stout little tailor preened himself -like a cock robin when he beheld how becomingly his handiwork sat upon -me, and departed gaily clinking the sound English nobles wherewith I -paid him. - -I had kept close all day, so as the metamorphosis the razor had wrought -upon my lineaments should not excite an idle curiosity. At the proper -time I sallied forth with Stubbs, he carrying my baggage and the great -tome of Ambrose Parey, and made towards the harbour, composing my -countenance to that grave solemnity which the disciples of Æsculapius -commonly affect. I was taken aback for a moment when I saw Jean Prévost -standing in wait at the quay, having come to bid me God-speed. I -checked his cry of amazement, and bade him, as he loved me, say nought -to a soul of my affairs, whereof I told him no more than that I was -sailing to Antwerp, as he had himself advised. Then I went on board, -announcing myself as Monsieur Armand de Sarney, and was taken with -obsequious respect to the place allotted to me. Stubbs went forward -among the crew, and I had no fear of any mischance through him, for a -seaman amongst seamen, whatever their nation, is a bird of their own -feather. - -I observed after a little that the skipper was in a fret, continually -pacing the deck and casting troubled glances at the tide. Presently I -made bold to accost him, and asked why he tarried. His answer was an -unwitting stab to the proper pride of an Englishman, but yet a -comfortable testimony to the perfectness of my disguise. - -[Illustration: I MADE BOLD TO ACCOST HIM] - -"We wait for a pestilent Englishman, monsieur," he said raspingly, "a -sluggard eater of beef, that will come up when the tide fails and expect -us to sail against wind and weather to please his almightiness. And he -must needs fill the boat with meat enough for a regiment: our provision -is not good enough for him." - -"I would delay for no Englishman alive," I said, "and as for his -creature comforts, divide them among your mariners: I will see to it -that you suffer nought." - -Very soon thereafter he did indeed cast off. I responded with a grave -salutation to Jean's wafture of his bonnet, and sat me down on a coil of -rope to digest as well as I might Ambrose Parey his Latin. - -We made good passage to Antwerp, where I did not delay to visit the -goldsmith upon whom the Count de Sarney's bill of exchange was drawn. -He held me in no suspicion, and was vastly serviceable in negotiating -with the skipper of a vessel bound for Cadiz, as well as in conducting -the other necessary parts of my business. I was some little troubled in -my mind what course to pursue with my mariner. I proposed to him that, -seeing the risks of my adventure, he should take ship for London, -carrying a letter from me to Sir Walter Raleigh, who I made no doubt -would find him employment. But he begged me so earnestly to permit him -to accompany me that I yielded, though not without misgiving. I showed -him that for a runagate slave to venture himself in Cadiz would be a -mere running into the lion's jaws, to which he answered that, whereas on -the galley his head and face were shaved, he was now as shaggy as a -bear, and so would not easily be known of any man, slave or free. -Furthermore I showed him how in Spain he could not hope to pass either -for a Spaniard or a Frenchman, whereupon, with a readiness that raised -him in my estimation, he said that he would pass very well for a -Muscovite, and invented a fable of his having escaped fifteen years -before from the clutches of Ivan the Terrible, and conveyed himself -aboard a vessel of Sweden. To this he gave countenance by venting a -torrent of outlandish phrases, assuring me 'twas a mingle-mangle of sea -terms employed by the Muscovites and the Swedes; whereat I laughed very -heartily, and declared that he at least would have been at no loss among -the builders of Babel. The matter being thus settled to our mutual -contentment, we tarried a few days in Antwerp until the time of our -vessel's sailing, and then embarked together on an adventure whereof -neither of us foresaw the end. - - - - *III* - - -'Twas a fair bright day when we put into the harbour of Cadiz, and I set -foot in that comely town. We took up our lodging in an inn (called -_venta_ in the Castilian tongue) built all of stone, as indeed are all -the buildings, whether large or small. I spent a day in learning my way -about the town, or, as Stubbs worded it, taking my bearings, and could -not but admire its goodly cathedral and abbey, and its exceeding fine -college of the Jesuits. The streets were for the most part so narrow, -none being commonly broader than Watling Street in London, as but two -men or three at the most together could in any reasonable sort march -through them, and I was somewhat astonied to see that the town was -altogether without glass, save only the churches. Yet the windows were -fair and comely, having grates of iron to them, and large folding leaves -of wainscot or the like. - -Having attained a reasonable knowledge of the place, I made my way on -the second day to the large flat-topped house (as are they all) which I -had learnt to be the mansion of Don Ygnacio de Acosta. Before I left -Antwerp I had taken pains to seal up the Count de Sarney's epistle (God -pardon my duplicity!), and this I presented to a servant of exceeding -magnificence at the door; the Spaniards call such majordomo: by whom I -was after a tedious waiting conducted to the presence of the Captain of -the Galleys. The Spaniards, as all the world knows, have the name for -the nicest punctilio and courtliness, but I own that the Captain -received me none too graciously. Indeed, his first words, after a -briefer greeting than was seemly, were a complaint of the Count's delay -in dispatching the draft, the which had occasioned Don Ygnacio to take a -loan from a Jew of his town at a usurious rate of interest. I made -humble excuses on my father's behalf: you are to remember that I -personated Armand de Sarney: and it needed no wondrous shrewdness to -discern, by the manner of the Spaniard's putting up the papers in his -cabinet, that he was of a right avaricious nature. When he read the -postscriptum wherein the Count de Sarney warned him against a meddlesome -Englishman, he seemed to me to resemble a cock ruffling his feathers. -He poured scorn upon the Count's fears and alarms, asking me whether -Cadiz was Calais or even Cartagena that it lay open to any English -adventurer. I might have reminded him how Sir Francis Drake burnt the -King's galleys in this very harbour, but I forbore; nor would he have -taken any profit of it, for the unquenchable pride and self-sufficiency -of the Spaniards after so many buffets and calamities is one of the -wonders of the age. - -With great condescension Don Ygnacio offered me a lodging in his house -until such time as I should pursue my way to Seville, and I guessed that -his manner was nicely proportioned to the remote degree of his -relationship to my supposed father. Moreover it bespoke no great relish -for the company of a mere student. None the less I thanked him in terms -whose warmth would have befitted one that had done me unimaginable -honour, but declined his proffered hospitality, saying that even on my -travels I diligently pursued my studies, so that I was in no wise suited -to the thronging life of the world wherein so high a magnifico moved. -His countenance confirmed the justness of my surmise. Then, summoning -my gravest look, I said-- - -"I devote the greater part of my time, señor, to the investigation of -the ills that affect the _Ramus stomachichus_, wherewith I have -perceived, even in the so little time I have sojourned in your town, -that many of its inhabitants are afflicted. My father bade me inquire -very particularly after your health, the which by your last advice was -not all that could be wished. I fear that the _Ramus stomachichus_ is -the seat of your disorder, and I trust that the treatment of your -physician is meeting with the desired success." - -I threw this out as a bait, and to my exceeding joy I saw that it was -swallowed as greedily as a gudgeon snaps up a worm. Don Ygnacio was a -mountainous man, as Stubbs had told me on the voyage, with the girth but -not the hardness of an oak, his face like dough with two raisins for -eyes, his whole frame betokening a consuming love of the flesh-pots and -strong liquors. During my speech, delivered with a measured gravity, -his face put on a look of great dolefulness, and broke out into a sweat. - -"I cannot sleep," said he, in most dolorous accents. - -"A certain sign," said I, nodding my head gravely. - -"I dream of horrors," said he. - -"Devils, and serpents, dark dens and caves, sepulchres, and dead -corpses," said I, quoting the words of Ambrose Parey, which I had -diligently conned on board ship, "all arising from the putrefaction and -inflammation of the _Ramus stomachichus_, together with the afflux of -noisome humours to the brain. The diaphragm hath a close community with -that organ, by the nerves of the sixth conjugation which are carried in -the stomach." - -"I reel in the street," said he, with lamentable groans, "and when I lay -my head on the pillow, I hear noises like the sound of many waters." - -I shook my head solemnly, having at the moment no more of Ambrose -Parey's sentences at my command. Taking him delicately by the wrist, I -put my finger on his pulse, which in truth fluttered unsteadily. - -"Show me your tongue," I said, and could barely avoid laughing at the -grimace he made when he displayed that monstrous organ. - -Then, presuming on his manifest discomposure, I dealt him a lusty buffet -above the fifth rib, so that he catched at his breath, and at his outcry -I inquired solicitously whether he felt any pain. - -"The pains of Gehenna," he said, groaning. - -I was mute, bending on him a mournful look, whereat his excitation of -mind did but increase. - -"I pray you, cousin, be open with me," he said. "I will steel my heart -to bear it." - -"Your case is not utterly hopeless," I replied with deliberation, having -first hemmed and hawed in the style approved of the faculty, "but it -demands careful treatment. Methinks from the symptoms that it has -hitherto been treated somewhat negligently. I will return to my lodging -and ponder upon it, consulting Fernelius, his _Pathologia_" (a work I -had seen named in the pages of Ambrose Parey). "To-morrow, by your good -leave, I will see you again. The true course is not to be lightly -determined, but I trust that my art has resources wherewith to counter -the worst symptoms of your distemper and perchance to work a cure." - -"Do so, good cousin," he said. "Come early, I pray you, and by St. -Iago, I shall know how to recompense you becomingly." - -I took my leave, and when the door was between us, gave a loose to my -merriment, hastily composing my features when the majordomo approached -to conduct me to the street. - -I returned to my inn, and buried my nose for some while in the folio; -then betook myself to an apothecary's, where I purchased a quantity of -barley creams, poppy seeds, and seeds of lettuce, purslain, and sorrel, -commanding him to make a decoction of them and have it ready against I -came on the morrow. This was a prescription of Ambrose Parey. I bade -him also compound an admixture of the infusion of sundry simples, -exceeding nauseous, yet like to do no great hurt, to wit, valerian, -quassia, a trifling quantity of colocynthis (which grows very -plentifully in Spain), and _pix atra_, by the which you shall understand -common tar. This also, a bolus of my own devising, I commanded the man -to have in readiness, and then found that I had a good relish for my -dinner. - -[Illustration: I BETOOK MYSELF TO AN APOTHECARY'S] - -Stubbs had already shown me where the king's galleys lay; 'twas off the -east side of the town, betwixt the island and the mainland. They were -four in number: these were the principal galleys, there being sixteen of -an inferior sort that rode nigh to the bulwark of _St. Philip_, at the -north-east extremity of the town. A strong fortification of stone-work -ran from this bulwark towards the water-side, having its southern end -beside the king's storehouse of provision and munition for his ships of -war. Here, moreover, was the barrack in which certain of the -galley-slaves were cabined at night, for when the galleys lay idle the -greater number of the oarsmen was employed on shore in sundry laborious -exercises--repairing the fortifications and the like. A little way -southward of this barrack was a rampire of earth built close against the -sea-wall, and furnished with three great pieces of ordnance. This kind -of bulwark is called in military parlance a _terrapleno_. There was in -the inner harbour also a fleet of near forty merchant vessels, making -ready for the American voyage, and a goodly number of galleons and -galliasses for the intended invasion of Ireland. - -I marvelled greatly at the bravado of my companion as we passed through -the marketplace, thronged with folk of all conditions--orange-sellers, -horse-dealers, chapmen and hucksters innumerable--and came near to the -barrack wherein he had spent many hours in anguish both of body and -mind. He showed me the two portions of the building, and the window of -the very room where he had lain. He showed me also a mighty fine galley -lying in a manner of dock near to the king's storehouse, and on my -asking a wayfarer what the vessel did there, he told me 'twas the galley -of Don Ygnacio de Acosta being new furbished and fitted for sea. A great -way off I saw some of the slaves, with shaven polls, and naked save for -a strip of cloth about their loins, moving hither and thither about -their labour, under guard of soldiers armed with halberds and -arquebuses. A hot fire of wrath raged within me when I thought that my -bosom friend perchance toiled among them, but I gave great heed so as -that I should not approach them too nearly, lest he might spy me and by -some gesture ruin the plan I had conceived for his salvation. - -As we were returning to our inn from this inquisition, by way of the -market-place, I observed that many curious glances were cast upon us, -and being in some dubience how to account for this, I was at first ready -to fear that some suspicion was entertained of me and my purposes, or -else that some person had recognized my companion despite his shaggy -locks and beard. But on a sudden the true explication smote upon my -slumbering wits, and I took myself to task for my heedlessness. Stubbs -was attired in the common garb of sailor men, and I perceived that it -must indeed seem passing strange to the Spaniards, of all people the -stiffest on decorum and punctilio, to see a grave student of medicine in -familiar converse with a man so meanly habited. No sooner did this -illumination flash upon my mind than I bid Stubbs leave me, giving him -at the same time money wherewith to buy him a Spanish gaberdine, which -would in some sort cloak his quality. I went on to my inn alone, -pondering upon how prone men are, when devising machinations of great -poise and moment, to omit some small trifling matter, which lacking, all -their cunning is like to turn to futility. - -Sallying forth of the inn about three of the clock, I went to my -apothecary's, and took from him the vials containing the preparations he -had compounded for me, together with a small Turkey sponge and a new -medicine glass nicely graduated. These I gave into the hands of Stubbs, -now clad in a capacious gaberdine that suited with his quality as my -henchman, and bade him follow me at a reasonable interval. At the door -of Don Ygnacio's house I received them from him again, and being -admitted as before by the don's gentleman-usher, I found my grandee -awaiting me in a quivering expectancy. His heavy countenance lightened -at sight of me, and he told me with plentiful groaning that he had not -shut an eye all the night through, but tossed wakeful and tormented upon -his bed. I felt of his pulse and scanned his furred and sickly tongue, -and then, mustering all my new-gotten lore, I discoursed very learnedly -for the space of five minutes upon the distempers of the _Ramus -stomachichus_, ending my allocution somewhat as follows-- - -"Having now full assurance, señor, as well by the observation of my -senses as also by your own description, that this is in good sooth the -distemper whereof you suffer, I must tell you in all sobriety that 'tis -high time 'twere taken in hand ere it grow beyond remedy. My counsel is -that you instantly command the attendance of a skilful surgeon." - -"Ods my soul!" he cried (for so I render his words in our homely -English), "I have employed surgeons without number, and they bleed me, -both of blood and money. Do you undertake me, good cousin; but do not -let my blood, I pray you, for I am not a whit better for all the gallons -they have drawn from my exhausted veins." - -I affected to shrink from the conduct of so serious a case, on the score -of my youth and pupillary condition, and of the high nobility of his -captainship; but the more backward I showed myself, so much the more -instancy did he employ; in brief, he would take no denial. Whereupon I -insisted that he must follow my directions without reck or hesitation, -the which he avowed himself ready to do in all points. Accordingly I -stripped the wrappings from my vials, and poured from the larger of them -into the medicine glass, with the nicest measurement, a good dram of the -villainous admixture, and called for water to allay it, and this I added -with deliberate care, he keeping a wary watch on all my movements. I -then bade him drink it at a draught, the which he did, afterwards -spluttering and wrying his countenance to such a picture of abhorrence -as came nigh to overset my studied gravity. - -"Ay de mi! ay de mi!" he groaned; "'tis a very vile draught, cousin, a -very villainous concoction. Must I discomfit my inwards with the whole -bottle?" - -"Thrice a day, señor, you must take your dose," I said. - -"Permit me at least to qualify the savour of it: it is so exceeding -nasty and rough upon the tongue," he said pleadingly. - -"One sole glass of sherris," said I, with a great show of reluctancy; -"no more, or the merits of this most potent medicine will be utterly -quelled." - -He drank the wine with great relish, eyeing the decanter very wistfully -as I set it out of his reach. Then calling for a basin, I poured into -it a little of the contents of my second vial, and dipping the sponge -into the liquid, I delicately anointed his sweating brows, telling him -'twas a sure begetter of sleep tranquil as a child's. - -"Your hand is rather that of a swordsman than of a physician, cousin," -he said, thereby giving me a wrench in my soul, lest he began to suspect -me. But he proceeded: "Yet it is delicate in its touch as a woman's; -you give me great comfort, cousin." - -I continued to bathe his temples until I had wrought him to a fair -placidity; then admonishing him to be punctual in taking his doses of -the former admixture, I left him, promising to visit him again on the -morrow. - -My next concern was to certify myself that Raoul was still among the -galley-slaves, and whether he was of those that remained aboard or of -those that were employed ashore. To this end I dispatched Stubbs to the -sea-wall in the afternoon, a little before the time when, as he had told -me, the day's work was wont to end, there to keep a watch. He returned -soon after sunset, and told me that he had seen his whilom comrade among -those that were marched into the barracks. I inquired eagerly how he -looked, and my heart was very bitter when he replied that my friend was -worn to a shadow, with lamentable sunken cheeks and haggard eyes. -Nevertheless I rejoiced that he was yet alive, and comforted with this -assurance I bent my mind to the working out of the plan I had devised -for his deliverance. - -On the morrow I went somewhat earlier to see my patient, whom I found -wondrously gracious, for that he had slept a good four hours without -waking. Indeed, he believed himself to be already cured, and I had much -ado to persuade him to take his dose. I showed him that his distemper -being of long standing, it was sheer madness to suppose that it could be -wholly banished in so short a space of time, and proceeded to expound -the necessity of continuing not only in the course he had begun, but -also in a subsidiary treatment which I would forthwith explain. - -Don Ygnacio, as I have said, was of enormous bulk, and the ills from -which he suffered, when they were not merely figments of a disordered -imagination, proceeded from too instant a devotion to meat and drink and -an over-softness of living. In a word, his greatest need was temperance -in these things, together with a more frequent use of his muscles. -Accordingly I made him strip to his shirt and stand in his stocking feet -in the middle of the room, and then put him through such simple -exercises as the Dutch captains use with the common soldiers--extensions -of the arms, bending of the trunk, and so forth. It was matter for -merriment to see the great hulks, at my urging, make desperate endeavour -to touch his toes, and come not within half a yard of accomplishing it. -I kept him at these motions, paying no heed to his protestations, for a -good half-hour, by the which time I had wrought him to a fine heat and -perspiration, so that when finally I permitted him to sink back upon the -cushions of his divan he was more wholesomely tired, I warrant, then he -had been ever in his life before. While he sat and fanned himself, and -quaffed slowly the cup of sherris I allowed for his refreshment, I made -him a neat discourse for which I was beholden not to Master Ambrose -Parey, but to my own wit. 'Twas sound sense as well as a furtherance of -my device. - -"You must know, señor," I said, "that this distemper of yours never -assails men of spare frames and active bodies. The husbandman, the -mariner, the poor scavenger of the street never suffer in this wise, nor -is their _Ramus stomachichus_ ever in peril of dissolution. In truth, -their bodily exercise does but strengthen the nerves in all their -conjugations, so that their inward parts perform their offices to -perfection, and furthermore furnish to them in some sort an armour -against the assaults of disease. For a speaking ensample you have the -slaves of your galleys, those reprobates whom you have in your august -charge. Did ever you know one of them to suffer from any derangement of -the _Ramus stomachichus_?" - -Since I conjectured Don Ygnacio's knowledge of the anatomy of man to be -less than my own, and that was infinitely little, I got the answer that -I expected, with the addition that if any galley-slave should have the -impudency to suffer from a gentleman's complaint, he would certainly be -cured by the bastinado. - -"Now therefore," I continued, here drawing largely upon my invention, -for a purpose, as you are to see--"now therefore, it is one of the -miracles of our nature that a man beset by this dreadful distemper, -being set in juxtaposition with a man of exceeding spareness, but -otherwise sound in his members and organs, the infirmity of the one is -in a manner fortified by the wholeness of the other, or as Spegelius -hath it in his renowned tractate, the debility of the one is engraffed -and mingled with the virtue of the other. The trial of this remedy is -attended with sundry notable perils and incommodities, wherefore it is -not to be lightly undertaken, and I leave it for this present until we -have made a proper experimentum of the more vulgar means." - -The captain heard this with great attention, and made me many -compliments on the profundity of my learning, though he might have read -Spegelius his tractate from cover to cover without finding the passage -that I gave forth with so great unction. Leaving the precious seed to -germinate, I betook myself away in high contentment, though not without -a qualm and tremor at the lengths whereto my audacity was carrying me. - -Having sought my faithful attendant, I dispatched him to make sundry -purchases at the armourers of the town, a knife at one, a dagger at -another, small weapons in goodly number, but not more than one weapon at -any one shop, lest suspicion or curiosity should be excited. These -weapons, when he brought them to the inn, I bade him enfold them in -strips of cloth I held in readiness, and wrap them in two several -parcels. While this was adoing, I took my way to the sea-wall, noting -very particularly the positions of the four galleys, the extent of water -betwixt them and the shore, the manner in which the shore curved to a -point, and all other information that was necessary to the execution of -my plan. As I walked hither and thither, I was observed by a captain of -soldiers that chanced, as it seemed, to be taking the air by the -sea-wall, and who accosted me, asking me with a kind of truculency what -I did there. - -"Noble excellency," I replied, "I am but a poor student of medicine of -the French nation, making a brief sojourn in this your town." - -"A Frenchman, and I warrant me a spy!" he cried, and hailing a soldier -from the guard-house near by, he assured me that I should soon company -with rats and beetles in the castle dungeon. - -"Beseech you, señor," I said, "my illustrious cousin Don Ygnacio de -Acosta, captain of the royal galleys, will have somewhat to say to that. -Come with me straightway to his house, and we shall learn if such -immodesty of language pleasures him." - -My bold and assured mien daunted this strutting fellow, and he began -incontinently to make excuse how that he wot not of my condition, and -craved my pardon for the unmannerliness whereinto he had been betrayed. -I took him very coldly, and set forth to return to my inn. This is a -slight matter, unworthy of mention but for that which ensued. - -That same evening, a little before the hour when the slaves were wont to -be immured in their barrack, I came to the door of Don Ygnacio's house -and inquired of the majordomo how the worshipful captain did. - -"Desperately sick, señor," he replied. "He has but now commanded me to -summon hither Don Diaz de Rotta, physician to the constable of the -castle." - -"Is the messenger gone forth?" I demanded, in no little perturbation, -for the presence of a true physician was like not only to undo all my -stratagems, but also to stand me in a pretty hobble. Hearing that the -lackey was even then donning his outdoor livery (for among the Spaniards -punctilio rules over high and low alike), I bade him stay the man until -I should have seen his excellency. - -When I entered to him I was amazed beyond measure to see his pitiful -condition. He lay back on his divan, uttering most dismal groans, his -countenance of a deathly pallor, and his eyes astare as with the very -fear of death. He thrust out a feeble arm when he saw me, and cried in -a faint voice-- - -"Out of my sight, rapscallion! You have killed me with your vile -nostrums." - -[Illustration: "OUT OF MY SIGHT, RAPSCALLION!"] - -My terror and amazement were little less than his own, for I knew my -drugs to be harmless, albeit nauseous, and I could not come at any -reasonable explanation of his distemperature. - -I inquired of the majordomo, who had followed me into the room, the time -when this alteration had manifested itself, and his answer removed all -my apprehensions that Don Ygnacio was in imminent peril of dissolution. -He had eaten a very hearty dinner soon after I left him, and fallen -asleep, but was awakened by a violent commotion in his inward parts, and -had been, to put it in plain English, as sick as a dog. It was told me -afterwards by my good friend and physician Sir Miles Ruddall that my -drugs themselves would not have wrought so mightily upon him but for the -unwonted exercise whereto he had been enforced, and his monstrous -gluttony thereafter. Having a shrewd suspicion that this was all that -ailed him, I made him drink a cup of sherris mingled with cognac, and -spoke soothingly to him, resolving with a stubborn hardness of heart to -turn his incapacity to my own purposes. I upbraided him, mildly, yet -with earnestness, for that his imprudence had well-nigh undone all my -cure, and avouched that it was high time to attempt the experimentum I -had formerly suggested. - -"I am very sure," said I, "that there will be found among your -galley-slaves a man of the right degree of leanness to accommodate your -excellency, and I will instantly command your coach to attend you, so -that we may go down to their place and make trial of this sovereign -remedy without delay." - -The strong liquors had already revived him, and his face was recovering -its proper ruddiness. Likewise his spirit took on its natural hue, the -proof whereof was his exceeding fierce outcry. - -"Ods my valiancy!" he cried, "shall I join skins with a rascal, I, -hidalgo of Spain? Never will I permit such scum to approach my person." - -"Truly, señor," said I, "it is impossible to conceive a gentleman of -your exalted rank coming within a span's-length of a mean rascal, but I -opine that there are among the slaves some of reputable condition, -perchance some English prisoners, or Flemings, only they are in general -of a brawny lustiness that suiteth not with the experimentum." - -"Why, so there is, now you put me in mind of it," he said with a -brightened eye. "There is a Frenchman, a notorious reprobate, but that -is nothing against his rank, which is but little less than my own. And -for leanness a rake could hardly match him; his leanness is not far -short of transparency." - -"That is right good hap," said I, raging inwardly that he should speak -thus of my friend, for I made no doubt it was he. After fortifying him -with more wine, I linked my arm with his, and took him slowly to his -coach, and when we had mounted into it, gave the word to the driver to -convey us to the barrack. We halted for a brief space at the inn, and I -brought out my henchman, carrying the two parcels which, as I told Don -Ygnacio, held things needful for our trial. I bade Stubbs perch himself -beside the driver, and we went on. - -We had to pass on our way the small dock wherein the captain's galley -lay, and here I let fall a word of admiration of the fine lines of the -vessel, asking very innocently whether it were one of the royal galleys -of his charge. - -"It is my own vessel," he said with much complacency, and then nothing -would content him but I must instantly go with him and see the vessel -more closely. It was plain he held it in high esteem, and since I had a -reason of my own for desiring a nearer acquaintance with it, I yielded -to his wish in the manner of one humouring a sick person. He was by -this time, in truth, so nearly returned to his wonted state that I began -to fear lest he should declare the experiment of transfusion -unnecessary. I accompanied him aboard the vessel, where he showed me -the place for the crew, and those for the rowers and the soldiers, and -his own place, very richly caparisoned; also the piles of arms and some -barrels of gunpowder. Having admired the galley and all its -appurtenances with great fluency of utterance, I entreated him to -proceed to the barrack, advising him that the day was already far spent, -and it were best to accomplish our purpose before the chill of night -descended on us. And so we came to the barrack. - - - - *IV* - - -Notwithstanding, or maybe by reason of, the marvellous good hap that had -attended all my devices up to this present time, I was aware of a -flutter of disquietude about my heart as I followed Don Ygnacio into the -building. What I purposed doing must needs be done very quickly, and -one untoward accident might very well prick the bladder of my imposture -and wreathe a noose about my neck. I had laid my plans as warily as I -might, and now all stood upon my composure, the degree of -brazen-facedness I could muster, and the degree to which the Spaniard -could be gulled. - -We came first, having entered the passage, to the guard-room, where some -dozen soldiers were assembled, casting the dice and taking their ease. -The door of a room adjacent to it stood open, and there my eyes lit upon -the captain that had accosted me by the sea-wall, who, when he beheld -me, rose up from his seat with trepidation, believing without doubt that -I had brought his general to punish him. I paid not the least heed to -him, and he made haste at Don Ygnacio's bidding to go to the hall -beyond, where the galley-slaves were confined, and bring forth the -Frenchman. - -When he was gone I asked Don Ygnacio whether there were not some private -room where we might do our business, since it was not seemly that we -should be at the gaze of so many goggling eyes while the experimentum -was a-doing. He led me to a small ante-chamber some few steps along the -passage towards the hall, Stubbs remaining with his parcels at the door -of the guard-room, perfectly at ease, though he stood within -arm's-length of the men that had formerly oppressed him. Presently I -heard a clanking of chains, and the captain returned, bringing with him -a lean and lanky scarecrow of a man, naked save for his loin-cloth, his -poll and face being shaven clean. It smote me to the heart to see in -his hollow eyes and sunken cheeks the altered lineaments of my dear -friend, erstwhile comely and jocund as any you would see. He lifted his -eyes as he came in, and regarded Don Ygnacio with a look of gall, not -turning his gaze upon me. - -"A sorry knave," said the Spaniard to me. "Think you, cousin, there is -enough virtue in him for our business?" - -"We can but try, excellency," I said, and at the words Raoul shivered -and looked at me with such amazement that I feared lest an unlucky word -should betray me. I dealt upon him a sudden and meaning frown, the -which escaped the observation of the others, they having eyes for the -slave alone. To my exceeding joy he had the wit to take me, and cast -down his eyes in the manner of one that hath no more hold upon the -world. Then I turned to Don Ygnacio and said: - -"He hath a wild look, señor. It were meet that we have two soldiers -here with us, so that we may make our trial in comfort and security." - -"Certes," he replied, "we have already Captain Badillo; we will have a -man from the guard-room." - -"By your pardon, señor," I said, "the señor captain did me the honour to -affront me a while ago, and his presence at this time will so trouble -the conjugations of the nerves, the which needs must be in perfect -tranquillity, as to imperil the good success of our undertaking." - -"It was a lamentable error, excellency," stammered the captain. "I wot -not that the worthy physician was akin to your excellency." - -"Go, sirrah," said Don Ygnacio sternly. "Who affronts my kin affronts -me. Send hither two men from the guard-room." - -I was never better pleased in my life than when the captain departed, -for the two common ignorant soldiers would be much less like to suspect -me. Thereupon I called to Stubbs to bring in the parcels, and when he -came, a little behind the soldiers, I shut the door, bade him undo one -of his bundles, and said gravely that all would soon be ready for the -experimentum. - -Stubbs loosed the ropes and laid them, in the manner of a careful -servant, beside the bundle. From this when it was unrolled he took first -three strips of a dark cloth, about an ell long, which he laid over his -arm. Then he brought forth a small roll of white canvas and gave it to -me. I motioned him to withdraw to a little distance, as also the -soldiers; then I made Raoul stand a few paces from Don Ygnacio, facing -him. Posting myself betwixt the two, I drew from my pocket a small box -of powder of chalk, and unrolled the canvas, yet so that the Spaniard -might not see its inner side, and with solemn circumstance I dusted it -with the powder. This done, I stretched it out between my arms, and -making two strides towards Raoul I bade him look intently thereupon -while I counted ten. I heard Don Ygnacio breathing hard behind me as I -gravely told the numbers one by one, and when Raoul informed me with his -eyes that he had read the words I had carefully imprinted on the canvas -(they were: "Grip the Spaniard by the neck whenas I give the sign") I -rolled up the canvas and stepped slowly backward, beckoning with the one -hand Don Ygnacio, with the other Stubbs and the soldiers, to draw near. - -You are now to observe that Raoul and Don Ygnacio were within a -hand-breadth of each other, that one of the soldiers was close to me, -and the second beside Stubbs. All was silent. On a sudden I let forth, -very sharply but without raising my voice, the one word "Now!" -Instantly Raoul was at Don Ygnacio's throat; I closed with my soldier -and held him in a strangling embrace; and Stubbs, with the neatness of a -skilled hand, dealt his man a blow that stretched him senseless on the -floor. Quick as thought he handed to us two of the cloths that he had -upon his arm, and we clapped them into the mouths of our prisoners, he -doing the like with the third. So sudden were our motions that there -had been not the least opportunity of resisting us, and though Don -Ygnacio offered to cry out before the gag was comfortably settled -between his teeth, Raoul bade him in a fierce whisper be silent or his -life was forfeit. It was short work to truss them with the ropes, -thanks to Stubbs his deftness, and I knew with infinite gladness of -heart that the first part of my device was accomplished. - -[Illustration: INSTANTLY RAOUL WAS AT DON YGNACIO'S THROAT] - -There was still much to do, and our peril was but beginning. In two -words I acquainted Raoul with my plan. I asked him how many soldiers -were on guard among the galley-slaves; he told me four, and every one -had a key to the padlocks wherewith they were fettered to the wall. My -design was to set free the slaves, seize upon the Captain-General's -galley, the which he had so obligingly shown me, and put to sea. It was -necessary to our success that the soldiers in the guard-room should be -silenced, and also the Captain Badillo, if he was yet at hand; but since -we could not hope, being but three, to overcome a dozen men, we must -perforce first set free the slaves, by whose assistance the feat might -be easily compassed. Moreover, there was great need for haste, Stubbs -having told me that it was drawing near the time when the cookmen were -wont to bring in the slaves' supper from the outhouses. - -I opened the door stealthily, and peered along the passage to the -guard-room. There was none in sight, but neither was there so much -noise proceeding from the room as I should have liked. Nevertheless, -since our case was desperate and would not abide long rumination, we -durst not stay for the nice weighing of chances, but had to act at once. -I had had the soldiers brought into the room for a purpose, namely, that -we might dress ourselves in their garments and so gain some covert for -our device. I bade Stubbs strip the two soldiers of their gaberdines, -and these we donned, he and I, and then proceeded with all quietness -along the passage to the slaves' hall, Raoul being carried betwixt us, -so that the clanking of his chains might not draw the soldiers forth of -the guard-room. - -Coming to the door of the hall we set Raoul down, and thrust him before -us into the room, entering close behind him. I saw in a quick glance -the miserable slaves lying in a long row by the wall, and four soldiers -conversing in a group about the middle of the room. The dusk of evening -forbade them to perceive at once that the two supposed soldiers that had -entered were not their comrades, and when at our approach they were -certified thereof they had not the time to collect their wits, for -Stubbs, by a little the foremost, smote one of them a dint that sent him -headlong against the wall, and then immediately grappled with another. -Meanwhile Raoul and I had not been idle, each dealing with his man, and -in a few moments we had all four at our feet, begging for mercy. - -This had not passed without some noise, but having been careful to shut -the stout oaken door behind me I had a reasonable hope that the sound -would not have penetrated to the guard-room. The clamour that might have -been feared from the slaves did not arise, so great was their -consternation. I asked Raoul to acquaint them with our design, whiles -that with Stubbs' aid I stripped the soldiers of their outer garments -and their arms, and trussed and gagged them as we had done afore with -the others. - -Raoul told the men that all who could muster their courage had a good -chance of escape, but they must in all points obey me, a countryman of -the great Dragon (so Sir Francis Drake was commonly known among them), -who had come to their succour, and had already made a prisoner of Don -Ygnacio. He promised them hard work, and maybe their fill of fighting, -and adjured every man that had no stomach for it to remain in his -fetters rather than irk the rest. Then we went swiftly from one to -another, unlocking their chains with the keys we had taken from the -soldiers. Never a man of them elected to remain, and though Raoul was -for leaving certain of them that he knew to be poor-spirited, I deemed -it best to release them all, lest those that were left should raise an -uproar and so bring us into danger. - -We arrayed four of the stoutest of them in the garments we had taken -from the soldiers, covering their shaven heads with the morions that -hung on pegs to the wall. Then with these four and four others, Raoul -remaining in the hall, we ran swiftly down the passage to the -guard-room, burst open the door, and by the vehemency of our onset -overthrew the soldiers there in marvellous brief time. Stubbs and -myself we set to a-trussing the fellows, but the slaves contemned such -delicate work, and gave quietus to their whilom oppressors with such -weapons as came first to hand. - -While we were in the midst of this hurly-burly, on a sudden lifting of -my eyes I saw Captain Badillo standing in the door betwixt the -guard-room and his own apartment, and gazing at us in the manner of one -bereft of his wits. I left trussing my fellow and sprang towards the -captain, whom I caught by the scruff of his neck, and, showing him my -dagger, bade him hold his peace on peril of his life. At that same -conjuncture some one cried that the cookmen were crossing the outer -court, bearing hugeous baskets of biscuit and great two-handed caldrons -of meagre broth, as they were wont to do at this time. Extremity, I -must believe, sharpens a man's wits, for in the twinkling of an eye I -thrust the captain into the passage and towards the outer door, straitly -charging him to bid the men carry their burdens to the Captain-General's -galley, since he had taken a sudden purpose to go a cruise. I had -Spanish enough, to be sure, to give the command myself, but I knew it -would come with authority from Captain Badillo, whereas from me, a -stranger, it might be slighted. My naked dagger was sufficient -enforcement of my bidding, and in a trice I saw with satisfaction the -cookmen change their course and stagger with their loads to the -quayside. By this means I obtained for the slaves a modest dole of -food, whereof I doubted not they stood in need. - -[Illustration: SHOWING HIM MY DAGGER, I BADE HIM HOLD HIS PEACE] - -Hasting back to the slaves' hall, I found that Raoul had ranged them all -in readiness for departure. I had bidden Stubbs see to it that the -slaves in the guard-room should don as much as they could of the -soldiers' garments and cover their bald pates with their morions, and -bring also the weapons from his bundles, and then, myself going at the -head, holding Captain Badillo by the sleeve, we marched out and made our -way as swiftly as we might without sign of hurry to where the galley -awaited us. There was a sentry at the gate of the munition-house some -two-score paces distant, but the dusk in some sort enshrouded us, and -certain it is we came to the galley without molestation or so much as a -cry. - -But there a peril that I had not foreseen lay in wait for us. The -cookmen, having bestowed their burdens aboard, stood carelessly on the -quay to witness our embarkation. A dozen of the slaves had shipped -themselves before these men were aware of aught amiss; but then one -spied the villainous countenance of a notorious desperado beneath a -soldier's morion, and communicating his discovery to his fellows, they -with one consent took to their heels and fled towards their quarters -with hue and cry. Sundry of them were felled by the slaves whom they -encountered, but the rest got themselves clear away, and it was plain -that ere long the alarm would be sounded in every part of the town. I -cast Captain Badillo into the galley, and urged the rest of the men to -quicken their speed, and they came helter-skelter, falling one over -another in their haste. - -Now it seemed that all were aboard, but I had not observed Stubbs among -them, and began to fear lest he had been intercepted. But I then -perceived him, and three of the galley-slaves, staggering towards me -with a heavy burden which as they drew near I discerned to be none other -than the mountainous bulk of Don Ygnacio de Acosta. I cried to them to -hasten their steps, the which they did, and arriving at the quayside -they let their load fall with no more tenderness than if it had been a -bale of merchandise, and the Captain-General fell with a monstrous -thwack upon the galley's deck. - -At Raoul's bidding the men had already gotten out the sweeps. But at -this the eleventh hour I observed a pile of sails lying over against the -sea-wall, and I commanded Stubbs and those with him to bring them to the -galley. The men who were aboard, in their haste to depart, had slipped -the moorings, and could hardly be restrained from pushing off without -us. I heard Raoul upbraid them with great vehemency, and ask them how -they supposed they could escape with oars alone, whereupon they left -their striving and gave us time to tumble the sails in among them. Then -the rest of us leapt aboard, I last of all, and the slaves, thrusting -their oars with desperate violence against the quay-wall, drove the -rocking vessel out into the basin. - -It was high time, for already there was stir and hubbub not a great way -from the quay, and at the very moment when we sheered off a shot was -fired, I doubt not by the sentry at the munition-house. Through the -gathering dusk I saw a concourse of folk swarm upon the sea-wall and the -quay, there being not a few soldiers among them. But all things had -been done so suddenly as that none but the sentry had had time to kindle -his match, and the galley was come forth out of the dock ere they -arrived at the quay. Shouting and cursing they ran hither and thither, -in a perfect medley and confusion, there being as yet none to direct -them what they should do. I could not forbear making them a most -courteous salutation with my hat, though I fear the darkness and their -fury forbade them to mark the exceeding grace of it. - -Turning to observe how things were ordered, I perceived that Raoul, -whose knowledge of the harbour was the fruit of long and bitter travail, -had established himself at the helm. I descended to the lower deck, -where Stubbs had put himself over the oarsmen, who were set in their due -ranks, and tugged at the sweeps with a vigour wherewith they had never -laboured before, I warrant you. In sooth, Stubbs was constrained to bid -them moderate their ardour, inasmuch as there lay a reef of rocks on the -starboard side, and it would go hard with us if we by any ill-hap ran -upon them. But the resolute and assured look upon their faces, -villainous and forbidding as the most part were, confirmed me in my -belief that, barring any untoward accident, we should in no long time be -beyond reach of pursuers. - -The harbour of Cadiz, you are to understand, hath a northward trend to -the mouth of the river Guadaloto, whence the coast of the mainland runs -north-westerly until we come to the mouth of the Guadalquivir. Four -galleys, as I have said, were at anchor nigh the munition-house, and at -the bulwark of Saint Philip at the north-east extremity of the island -lay other sixteen. The first four we had already passed, but we must -run the gauntlet of the sixteen, the which when we should have done we -had nought to fear save perchance from the ordnance established on the -coast of the bay of Caleta. I knew right well that notwithstanding the -clamour that filled the town, where alarm bells were dinning amain, some -time must needs be consumed before the occasion of the pother was -thoroughly known, and the galleys could be put in fair trim to pursue -us. So indeed the event answered to my expectation, for we came pretty -near to the mouth of the harbour without anything whatsoever happening -to mar our security. - -It was now dark, yet not so black but that we could see our course, and -besides there were the lights of the town to serve our helmsman as guide -posts. That the town was mightily astir was demonstrated by a shot that -was belched out upon us by one of the great pieces mounted on the -bulwark of Saint Philip. But it did us no harm, unless some slight -defacement of our figurehead that I observed next day was the work of -this shot. Taking warning, Raoul steered the vessel hard over against -the mainland, though I deplored the loss of time we suffered thereby. -Indeed, but for this circuit which we made, and which, being a prudent -measure, I could not gainsay, verily I believe we should have run out -into the open sea without any let or hindrance whatsoever. But it -happed that as we again bore westward, I perceived the black shape of a -galley move from its anchorage in our wake, and presently after other of -the same sort. This gave me no manner of apprehension, for we were -fully manned, and our men, rowing for their very lives, were not like to -be outdone by the hapless slaves in our pursuers, even though they were -urged by the whip. - -We were in another case when, as we came abreast of the point at the -northern extremity of the bay of Caleta, a galley shot forth by the -skirts of the rocks and made great speed to sea, not directly towards -us, but taking a slantwise course with intent to head us off, as seamen -say. It was a hard matter in the darkness to make a nice reckoning, yet -I thought we should outstrip even this the most threatening of our -pursuers. Being ware of a steady fair breeze off the land, I deemed it -mere foolishness to neglect it; accordingly I bade Stubbs choose some -few men among the oarsmen that were mariners, and send them on deck to -bend the sails. This proceeding caused us to lose way somewhat, the -sails having been cast aboard without any care, and so needing time to -order them rightly. And when I saw that the captain of the galley in -chase of us had foregone me, and being now come into the wind had -already gotten his sails ahoist, I was not a little dismayed. -Bethinking me of Don Ygnacio and Captain Badillo, hitherto mere idle -passengers and burdensome, I resolved to put them to the oars, not -without a secret relish in the thought that they would now taste of the -toil they had heretofore inflicted upon the slaves. With my own hands -therefore I cast Don Ygnacio loose, and bundled both him and the lesser -captain to the lower part of the vessel, giving them into the charge of -my good Stubbs, with a strait injunction that he should urge them to a -decent industry. I did not see with my own eyes how they accommodated -themselves to their task, because I returned to the deck to look to the -sails and also to keep a watch on the enemy. But Stubbs told me -afterwards that he plied the whip right merrily on the backs of those -two proud Spaniards, and so wrought them to a just activity, to the -great delectation of the galley-slaves, who themselves rowed with the -more cheerfulness, beholding their tormentors dealt with after the -manner they delighted in. - -[Illustration: HE PLIED THE WHIP RIGHT MERRILY] - -When our sails took the wind, the speed of the galley sensibly -increased, but it was not long before I was troubled to see that our -pursuer was gaining on us. She had far outstripped her consorts, the -which indeed were no longer visible, and might be left out of the -reckoning. The darkness was waxing deeper, and I could scarce have seen -our resolute pursuer had we not come opposite to the extreme westward -point of the island, where, before the friary of Saint Sebastian, a -great fire had been kindled, without doubt of set purpose to enfurther -the chase. It was the customary place where beacon fires were made, to -give warning of danger on the side of the sea. The ruddy glare, shining -forth over the water, showed me that the galley was no more than two -furlongs astern. We made all the speed we might, but I could not but -perceive that the pursuer crept ever nearer, and I began to be exceeding -apprehensive. Her oarsmen, having rowed not above a quarter of the -distance we had come, must needs be fresh by comparison with my own men, -who had been straining at the oar without remission for close upon an -hour. Furthermore, she would certainly have soldiers aboard her, maybe -to the number of fifty or more, and we had no sufficiency of arms -wherewith to oppose them. - -We had come beyond the cast of the beacon fire, into a vast impenetrable -blackness. Pacing the deck in sore travail of spirit, and setting my -wits on the rack if haply I might devise some stratagem that should -profit us, on a sudden I spied by the fore hatch a large vessel of iron -shaped like a round bucket, and pierced with holes, which I knew was -designed to hold fire, whether for cooking or for illumination. I stood -for a while chewing upon a device which the sight of this vessel had set -a-working in my mind, and then hied me to Raoul to make him partner of -the merry conceit I had fashioned. He heard it joyfully, and I went -without delay to put it in practice. - -I gathered together some shreds of canvas and rope ends and stuffed them -lightly into the vessel, mixing them plentifully with grease that was -employed about the rowlocks, and liquid tar out of pots left in the -galley by the men that had been caulking her. Then I thrust two short -pikes through the topmost holes of the vessel opposite one to the other, -as it were at the cardinal points of the circumference, and stopped the -others as well as I could. This done I strewed upon the top a handful -of gunpowder, and set in the midst a length of slow match that might be -two or three minutes in burning. Having kindled the match at its utmost -end, I let down the vessel over the stern into the water, and with great -satisfaction watched it float in our wake until nought was visible in -the darkness save the red glow of the match. Then I ran below and bade -Stubbs put the rowers to a very frenzy of labour, so that we might draw -as far as we could from the pursuer while that their strength endured. - -Returning to the deck I beheld my beacon burst into a bright flare; and -the pursuer coming upon it, I saw the galley with great clearness, and -sparkling reflections from the morions and harness of the soldiers that -were aboard. I knew that so long as the light endured our own galley -must be wholly hid from their eyes, and besides, they would be perplexed -to know the meaning of the light, and might even suppose it to betoken a -floating mine whereof they must be ware. Without doubt it would delay -them somewhat, and give me the few minutes I needed for the full -accomplishment of my design. - -As soon as I saw the galley come within the circle of light I gave the -word to Raoul, who put up the helm, so that our vessel swung round in a -wide circuit until she was a cable length of her former course. I had -already commanded the slaves to cease from rowing, lest the sound of -their oars should acquaint the enemy with our movement. As we came -round I saw the galley draw out from the radiance, and heard the voices -of the men upon her. She sped directly forward, following the course -her captain supposed us to have taken. - -When she was almost abreast of us, and scarce three fathom length away, -I bade the rowers pull with all their might, and Raoul steered straight -for the galley. The rattle of the oars must have apprised the enemy -that we were nearer than they supposed, but they were not thoroughly -aware of us until we were upon them. Then, as they spied our vessel -looming big out of the darkness, there was a great outcry among them, -and it appeared that divers commands were given, for one moment she -seemed to be swinging round to oppose the imminent shock, the next she -held on her course as if endeavouring to evade us. By her greater speed -she might without difficulty have drawn clear, but in bearing up she -lost way, and so enabled us to diminish the gap between her and our -galley. - -Under the sturdy strokes of our oarsmen the galley in a manner leapt -towards her. We were greeted with a pretty hot salvo from her -musketeers, but there were no more than two or three of us upon the -deck, and we were flat on our faces, all save Raoul, so that what with -the sway and toss of the vessels and the flurried aim they took, we -suffered no hurt. While the smoke still hung in the air there was a -mighty crash: the bow of our galley had cut the other a little abaft of -the mainmast. Being fashioned for this very device of ramming, our beak -had, I doubted not, stove a hole in her side, whereas I could not -suppose that we had been endamaged, though the vessel quivered from stem -to stern. - -Immediately after we struck I commanded the oarsmen to back water, by -which means, and the cunning handling of the helm, we withdrew a space. -From the enemy's galley came loud shouts of fear and consternation, and -I heard some say that she was sinking. It troubled me that, to save our -own skins, we had perforce imperilled the lives of three-score hapless -slaves that had done us no wrong, but were indeed in a like case with -our own men; but the breeze brought with it the rattle of the oars of -the galleys that had first set off to pursue us, and I could very well -leave the men of the foundering vessel to be rescued by their fellows. -Our need was to draw clear away as swiftly as we might. Accordingly I -commanded our men again to ply their oars, and this they did the more -willingly, despite their fatigue, because they exulted in the crippling -of their adversaries. - -We were now come into the open sea. Our men pulled with measured -strokes for a full half-hour before I deemed it prudent to suffer any -intermission. Then I bade them lie upon their oars while I hearkened -for sounds of our pursuers. There was not so much as a whisper. I could -not but believe that the commanders of the galleys had given over the -attempt to come up with us. Yet, as I took counsel with Raoul, I durst -not rest thoroughly assured that all danger was past, nor all need for -labour and watchfulness vanished. The galleons in the harbour would -surely make sail as soon as they could be put in trim, and scour the sea -for leagues around. Furthermore, we might fall in with some vessel -homeward bound, or perchance outward bound from Lisbon to the Americas. -It behoved us then to be very wary, and, as our proverb says, not to -holla until we were out of the wood. - -Our men, having fasted since the morning and toiled very hard, were in -dire need of food, and I hazarded to rest for so long as they might take -their fill of the broth and biscuit which the cookmen had brought -aboard, bidding them spare enough for another meal. We should not be -utterly safe until we made a French port, Bordeaux being the most -likely, and we were distant thence, at the very least reckoning, upwards -of three hundred leagues. Within a single day we must needs be in dire -straits for food, but I had conceived a plan for supplying ourselves so -soon as we were free from the immediate fear of pursuit. - -When we had all eaten and drunk very heartily, though in good sooth the -fare was of the poorest, we sped on again, the men taking turns to row, -and so continued all that night. We directed our course at a venture, -but at break of day we saw with thankfulness that we were not a great -way from the shore. There was no safety for us but in boldness; -accordingly Raoul steered directly for the land, that was very barren -hereabout, and we put into a small bay, and ran the vessel abeach, -purposing to lie up there and take our rest. I parted the whole company -into watches, and we slept by turns, the men of each watch being -straitly charged not to stray from the low beach to higher ground. -While we stayed in that place I saw several galleys and one great -galleon cruising in the offing, which I guessed to be hunting for us; -but we were very well hid, and I thought it would scarce come into the -heads of the Spaniards that we had adventured ourselves ashore. - -During one of the watches I talked long with Raoul concerning the -occasion of my venturing upon this course for his behoof. He was in -perfect ignorance of the complicity of the Count de Sarney in his -kidnapping, and was loath to believe that his uncle could have descended -to such a depth of villainy. I was at no pains to bring him to my own -persuasion, being content to leave the unravelling of the plot until we -should come safely to his home. He drew from me the full tale of my -adventures, breaking into a great gust of laughter when I related the -manner of my dealing with Don Ygnacio. I assured him that he owed all -to my honest mariner William Stubbs, on whom he bestowed thanks without -stint, promising me in secret that, if we got safe to Torcy, he would -reward him with much more than barren words. - -We lay in that spot for near six hours, and then, having consumed all -our food, saw ourselves faced by the prospect of famine. Certain of the -galley-slaves, who were for the most part desperate and abandoned -ruffians that richly deserved their fate, began to murmur, and not -without reason, for it is no profit to a man to leap out of the -frying-pan into the fire. In this strait I bethought me of the use -whereto I had imagined putting our noble prisoners, Don Ygnacio and -Captain Badillo. We launched our galley when the tide was full, and -mounting into her, coasted along for a league or two until we descried a -village of fishers nestling in a hollow between the cliffs. We then ran -ashore, and made Don Ygnacio write on his tables a formal requisition -for meat and wine, signing it with his full name and titles. And I went -up the land with Stubbs and Captain Badillo, together with a dozen of -the galley-slaves bearing baskets and buckets; and giving the captain to -know that I would certainly use my dagger upon him if he by word, deed, -or even with wink of eye betrayed us, we marched boldly to the village, -where he presented his mandate to the people, and received from them -enough to supply our instant needs. When I saw how grudgingly they -furnished us, I pitied the poor folk, and wished with all my heart that -I could pay them, suspecting that the minions of the Spanish king were -not over scrupulous in honouring this sort of debt; but my purse was -well-nigh empty, and I could only trust that Providence would in due -season repay them a hundredfold. - -The story we gave out was that the Captain-General of the King's galleys -was making a voyage to inspect the coast, and we found this served us to -a miracle among the ignorant fisher folk, both at this place and at the -many other villages on the coast of Portugal where we made like -perquisitions on the days succeeding. We pursued our way every night, -and rested every day, choosing only small paltry places whereat to -obtain food, and such as we might adventure into without raising a wind -of suspicion. Nowhere did we come within an ace of danger save at one -village, whose parish priest, a canon of Salamanca, would not be stayed -from paying a visit of ceremony to the illustrious and worshipful -Captain-General. It was a marvellous whimsical thing to behold their -meeting, the priest offering gracious incense of flattery to the royal -officer, who received his compliments and felicitations, I being at his -elbow, in a mood betwixt dudgeon and impotent rage. I caught a look of -puzzlement on the worthy canon's face as he made his adieu, and I fear -me he carried to his humble parsonage a blighted estimate of the -courtliness of princes' servants. As for me, I thanked my stars that -the peril of discovery had as it were but lightly brushed us. - -Our plan of hugging the coast, yet not so close as to risk our bottom on -rocks or shoals, kept us far away from the track of sea-going vessels, -and the weather being exceedingly fair, we accomplished fifteen or -twenty leagues a day without danger from the elements or man. The -voyage was tedious beyond telling, but I did not grudge it, for joy at -beholding the amelioration it wrought in the health of my dear friend. -I laughed often to think how the transfusion I had proposed in trickery -to Don Ygnacio was in process of accomplishment by the agency of nature. -He became leaner in proportion as Raoul indued flesh, and my scrupulous -care that he should not have the means to overeat, but should perform a -fitting share of labour at the oar, did not only reduce his bulk, but -also brought his body to a healthful condition whereto he had been -strange for many a year. He showed me no gratitude, and paid me no -fees, though I declare without boasting that I did more for him than any -physician or chirurgeon that ever mixed a powder or wielded a scalpel. - -I used my endeavour to wrest from him a full confession of his -villainies, but he would never admit further than what we knew: that he -had received moneys from his cousin the Count de Sarney. As for the -kidnapping, he avouched most solemnly that he was as ignorant as -innocent in respect of it; but inasmuch as Raoul had acquainted him of -his name and condition, and besought him with many promises to set him -free, I concluded that he had found his best interest in playing the -horse-leech upon his cousin. - -We came in due time to Bordeaux, where our story, when it leaked out, -became a nine-days' wonder. I am very sure it would have mightily -pleased the Sieur Michel de Montaigne, had he been yet alive; of whose -Essays I purchased a very pretty copy before I departed. We sold the -galley at a price much above its value, to a rich noble of Perigord, who -declared his intention of keeping it for his private pleasure, and for a -perpetual memorial of the gullibility of Spaniards. Every galley-slave -received his freedom and his proper share of the purchase money, though -I confess I was uneasy in my mind when I thought of such rapscallions -being loosed among honest people. We delivered Don Ygnacio and Captain -Badillo to the mayor, who threw them into prison until he should advise -himself concerning their future. Then one fair day I took ship with -Raoul and worthy Stubbs in a vessel bound for Calais, being somewhat in -pocket by my adventure. - - - - *V* - - -In the interim between our departure from Cadiz and our arrival at -Calais, Raoul's hairs grew again both on his face and on his head, -albeit I observed with sorrow a many flecks of grey among them. Besides -those and sundry scars and callosities, there was no other enduring mark -upon him of his long torture in the galleys when he came ashore with me. -We stayed in Calais only so long as that he might provide himself with -decent apparel, and then we rode on hired horses, Stubbs following, to -Dieppe. There we betook ourselves to Jean Prévost, to learn what had -happened during the two months of my absence. He welcomed Raoul with -boisterous demonstrations of delight, and having heard our story, cried -out in a fury that he would drive his sword through the carcass of the -Count de Sarney, and so rid the world of a villain. But I prevailed -upon him to leave us to our own courses with the Count, whereupon he -told us that the Count had but lately sold his own little domain, the -which we took to be an evident sign of his perfect security. - -Next day we rode all four to Torcy, and never did I see pleasure so -admirably pictured on a man's countenance as it was when the old -faithful servitor opened to us and beheld his true master. He lifted up -his old cracked voice and called to his fellows, and they came pell-mell -from the kitchen and offices, and leapt and laughed in the right Gallic -manner, which we sober Englishmen are apt to find ridiculous. Their -clamour drew the Count from his cabinet, and he stood at the head of the -stairs as still as a stone, his countenance taking the colour of wax -when he beheld Raoul at my side, and Stubbs capering (sore against his -will) in the arms of a buxom buttery maid. The miserable wretch -wreathed his lips to a smile, and said, mumbling in dreadful sort-- - -"Welcome, my dear nephew; I had given you up for dead." - -"You have kept my house warm for me, monsieur," said Raoul, with a fine -self-mastery; but Jean Prévost sprang up the stairs, and taking the -Count by the collar, bundled him down and out at the door without -ceremony. Raoul dispatched a man after him with his hat and cloak, and -he went away and sought shelter, as we afterward learnt, in the house of -one of his old retainers. - -We made diligent search in the cabinet for evidence of his villainy, -finding nought save a book of accounts wherein were set down the sums he -had paid to Don Ygnacio de Acosta, the addition of which mounted to a -monstrous figure. Raoul bade his servants gather up all the Count's -chattels ready to be conveyed to him, and having put all things in order -for his own occupancy he returned with us to Dieppe, where we spent a -merry night at Jean Prévost's house. - -We did not delay to seek the king's commissary, before whom we laid the -whole matter. He took down our depositions, and examined the -account-book, and delivered his opinion at great length, the which was, -in brief, that we had nothing to convict the Count of the felony of -kidnapping, though we might reasonably presume it; but that Raoul might -bring a suit against him in the king's court for restitution of the -moneys he had disbursed. This he did, and I had word, many months -after, that the slow-footed law upheld his claim, and that the Count, -being unable to acquit himself of so heavy a debt, was reduced to -beggary and thrown into prison, there to remain at the king's pleasure. -With great magnanimity Raoul relented towards him for the sake of his -son Armand, whom he sought out in Paris, and, being perfectly assured of -his innocency, endowed him with a pension sufficient to keep his father -in a decent penury. - -As for me, long ere this was accomplished I had returned with Stubbs -(rejoicing in Raoul's liberal largess, and bound to my service for ever) -to my own land. I was not wholly at ease in my mind, for I had absented -myself from my duty in the Queen's Guard without her august leave, and -had no expectation but that she would visit my fault upon me somewhat -grievously. I betook me to the Palace on the day after my return, and -learnt from my comrades that the Queen had been highly incensed against -me, and had sworn to show me bitter marks of her anger. - -I took up my post in the corridor at the proper hour, and had been there -but a brief while, when her Highness herself issued from her cabinet -unattended. She halted at sight of me, and, frowning heavily, cried in -shrill and shrewish accents (and it went to my heart that she was now -most apparently an old woman)-- - -"How now, sirrah? Dost dare show thy ugly face to me?" - -"As for my ugliness, madam," said I, "that is as God pleases." - -"It does not please me that thou hast hog's bristles on thy countenance" -(my beard and mustachio, in truth, were as yet somewhat like a field of -stubble). "Where hast thou been, monkey?" - -I told her Grace that I had come from working some mischief among the -galleys of her brother of Spain, whereupon she let forth a round oath, -exceeding disparaging to the said brother, and bid me go with her into -her chamber and inform her more particularly on that matter. I related -the incidents in their due order, and when I came to that part where I -had made the Captain-General swallow my vile admixture, she burst forth -in a fit of laughter so immoderate that I feared lest, tight-laced as -she was, she should do herself a hurt. - -"Well, well, I pardon thee, my sweet Chris," she said, when I had made -an end; "but I must e'en have my moiety of the spoils." - -And 'tis sober truth that her Grace made me tell over into her royal -palm a half of the French crowns that I had brought back with me. I -confess 'twas not an exact reckoning, for knowing her Grace's -propensity, I had been careful to make a subtraction from the full sum -before I named it, a fault which I trust will be held to be venial, and -not laid against me by honest men. - -Her Grace's anger being thus mollified, I made bold to proffer a -petition whereon I set much store, to wit, that she would suffer me to -join myself to Sir Walter Raleigh for his voyage, the ships being at -that time, as I had already learnt, on the point of sailing from -Plymouth. - -"Ods my bodikins!" cried the Queen; "hast thou lost thy silly heart to -some Spanish slut, that thou art burning to return among the -garlic-eaters?" - -"I assure your Highness' Grace," said I, "that in all my wanderings I -have never beheld a damsel whose eyes could lure me from devotion to my -Queen." - -At this her Grace showed as much pleasure as she were a girl of sixteen, -and I looked for her to consent to my petition; but in this I was -deceived. - -"Well, well," she said, "thou'rt a proper bold rascal, but I can't have -all my lovers running about the wicked world, in danger of falling into -divers snares and temptations. No; ods my life, thou shan't go," she -cried in a passion, "and if I see any mumping and glooming, to the Tower -with thee!" - -I smiled as amiably as I could, and vowed that I had no pleasure save -her Highness' will; but I own that I nourish to this day a remnant -grudge against my old mistress, for that she hindered me from serving -with Sir Walter in that world-renowned enterprise. - - -[Illustration: tailpiece to Fourth Part] - - - - *Interim* - - -That feat of Sir Walter Raleigh was a wondrous achievement that any man -might envy without blame. The English fleet came to anchor off Cadiz on -June 20, 1596. Sir Walter's voice had great weight with the generals, -and it was by his counsel and ordering that the enterprise was ruled. -His device was to attack the galleons lying there in the haven and after -assail the town, and so was it performed. Himself led the van ward in -the _Warspright_, and ran through a fierce cannonade from the fort of -Puntal and the galleys, esteeming them but as wasps in respect of the -powerfulness of the others, and making no answer save by blare of -trumpet to each discharge. And he dropped anchor close over against the -_St. Philip_ and the _St. Andrew_, the greatest of all the galleons, and -the same which had overpowered in the Azores the little _Revenge_ -wherein Sir Richard Grenville died gloriously, winning deathless fame. -Three hours the _Warspright_ fought those great ships, and was near -sinking; nevertheless Raleigh would not yield precedence to my Lord -Essex or the Lord Admiral, but thrust himself athwart the channel, so as -he was sure none should out-start him again for that day. - -And so he set on to grapple the _St. Philip_, and the Spaniards fell -into a panic, and that galleon with three others tried to run aground, -tumbling into the sea soldiers in heaps, so thick as if coals had been -poured out of a sack. Straightway two were taken or ever their captains -were able to turn them; but the _St. Philip_ was blown up by her -captain, and a multitude of men were drowned or scorched with the -flames. And Raleigh received in the leg from a spent shot a grievous -wound, interlaced and deformed with splinters. - -Thereupon my Lord Essex hasted to land, and put to rout eight hundred -horse that stood against him, and by eight of the clock the English were -masters of the market-place, the forts, and the whole town save only the -castle, which held out till break of day. And the citizens were -constrained to pay a hundred and twenty thousand crowns for their -ransom, and moreover all the rich merchandise of the town fell to the -English as spoils of war. And Sir Walter's valiant deeds purchased -again the favour of the Queen, and she willed he should come to the -Palace, and received him graciously, holding much private talk and -riding abroad with him. - -My grandfather, who was of a goodly presence, had taken the eye of the -Queen, and she lifted him out of the Guard and made him one of her fifty -gentlemen pensioners, albeit he was full young for such a place. These -gentlemen were appointed to attend the Queen on all ceremonious -occasions, bearing a gilt axe upon a staff, and to serve about the -Palace, the which offices were little to his liking. And his father -dying about this time, he went down into Hampshire to take up his -inheritance, and was much busied about his estates, and exercising as -justice of the peace that little law he had learned in the Inner Temple. -But he was again lodging in London when my Lord Essex, having botched up -his work in Ireland, and taking reproof like a spoilt child, gave rein -to his ill-temper, and hatched treason against his long-suffering -Mistress. My grandfather often spoke to me sorrowfully of that -headstrong young lord, and related sundry of his foolhardy doings--how -he locked into an inner chamber the Chancellor, the Chief Justice, and -other grave men who had resorted to his house to inquire the cause of -the assemblage of armed men there; how he rode boisterously through the -streets, brandishing his sword, and calling upon the populace to follow -him; and how finally he lost his head on the block. - -A short while thereafter, my grandfather sailed to Ireland, where befell -him the last great adventure, and, as he was wont to say, the most -fortunate, of his life. The O'Neill, called Earl of Tyrone, had been -long time a thorn in the side of Queen Elizabeth, taking gold from the -King of Spain to sustain his treasons, and in the year 1597 making open -war upon the English governor. He did great despite upon the people of -the Plantation, and lurking in the forests, long defied the English -soldiery. My Lord Mountjoy, whom the Queen had sent to Ireland as her -deputy in the room of Essex, being resolved to make an end of the -rebellion, ravaged and wasted the country, driving off the cattle, -starving the people, and fortifying all the passes through the woods. -And you shall read now how my grandfather once more, and for the last -time, drew his sword, and the strange fashion whereby he was led to put -it up again, for ever. - - - - - *THE FIFTH PART* - - - *CHRISTOPHER RUDD'S ADVENTURE IN IRELAND, - AND THE MANNER OF HIS WINNING A WIFE* - - - -[Illustration: headpiece to Fifth Part] - - - - *I* - - -I hold it ill that a man should be under no constraint to labour for his -bread. To have a competency is indeed a comfortable thing; but being so -possessed, a man lacks a spur to high emprise, and his faculties are -like to wither and decay. - -It was my fortune to receive from my father a property sufficient to -supply the needs of the body; and the gear I added thereto in divers -enterprises and adventures gave me the wherewithal to maintain a decent -port before the world, and even at the Court of the Queen's Majesty, -where a man had need be of some substance. But my ambition did not soar -a high pitch: I was content to play a modest part on the world's stage; -and when I fell out of humour, as sometimes I did, with the fevered life -at Court, I withdrew myself to my little estate in the country, and -there lived rustically among the boors and the pigs. - -Nevertheless, from having seen many men and cities in my time, I was not -long of finding this rustical employment stale upon me. After some few -months I would begin to yearn again for the stir and bustle of London, -where I might at the least whet my wits that had grown dull and rusty -among my simple country fellows. One such time, in the late autumn of -the year 1601, my years then numbering thirty, I rode out of Hampshire -to London, and took up my lodging in King Street, in Westminster, -rejoicing to meet my old friends again, to hear the clash of wits, and -feed my mind on the marvellous inventions of Will Shakespeare and Ben -Jonson and other ornaments and luminaries of that glorious age. - -I found that two great matters were in men's mouths, whereof the one was -the exceeding melancholy whereinto the Queen had sunk since the -beheading of my Lord Essex; the other, the rising of the O'Neill -(otherwise the Earl of Tyrone) in Ireland, and the descent of some -thousands of Spaniards upon the harbour of Kinsale to enfurther that -base ungrateful traitor. King Philip having failed in his endeavour to -get a grip upon the throat of England, was seeking to annoy her -extremities, like as a blister upon the heel or a corn upon the toe. I -acknowledge that this news of his impudency made me itch and sweat to -flesh my sword again on those enemies of my country; but I dallied -somewhat, supposing that my Lord Mountjoy, who was now Lord Deputy in my -Lord Essex his room, would speedily make his account with the Irish -rebels and their Spanish consorts. Furthermore, Ireland had always -shown me a forbidding aspect: I had heard much of its wildness, its -thick woods and filthy bogs, its savage and uncouth people, from men -that had served the Queen there and got thereby small thanks and less -renown; and I had read of these matters also in the book of Master -Spenser, whereof a written copy (for it was not put in print until many -years after) had come into my hands. For these reasons, therefore, I -was no ways in the mind to adventure myself across the Irish Sea. - -But that winter, a day or two before Christmas, Sir Oliver St. John -arrived in London out of that distressful country, bearing letters from -the Lord Deputy and his council wherein they set down the exceeding hard -straits in which they rested for want of provisions and men. They -related how they had annoyed all parts of the town of Kinsale with the -battery of their ordnance, so as the breach was almost assaultable, -insomuch that they were not without hope of the enemy yielding, or of -their being able to enter the town by force. But a thousand more -Spaniards had lately sailed into Castlehaven with great store of -munition and artillery; and moreover the Spanish commander had besought -the O'Neill to haste to relieve him, who had accordingly come and -encamped not far from the town with eight thousand men or more. The -Lord Deputy therefore earnestly entreated the Lords of the Council in -England to despatch to him without delay four thousand good footmen at -the least, with victuals, munition, and money. - -These urgent messages occasioned a notable stir among the Lords of the -Council, and being laid before the Queen by master secretary Cecil, -kindled her to an extremity of rage. Her Majesty had already been at -great charges to sustain the Lord Deputy in his dealings with the rebels -and their Spanish aids, and being ever loth to untie her purse-strings, -she bemoaned exceedingly the ruinous expense which this demand of the -Lord Mountjoy would cast upon her. Yet had she a proud spirit that ill -brooked the thought of Spain planting a foot in any part whatsoever of -her dominions, and she was torn betwixt her parsimony and her care for -the common weal. - -It chanced that, having gone to Greenwich, where the Queen then was, to -bear my part in the revels that were performed at Christmas-time, I came -in the eye of Her Majesty one day as she passed through the hall. She -stayed her walk (alas! how tottering!), and as I rose up from bending my -knee, my heart smote me to see how thin and frail her body was, albeit -her eye still flashed and glittered with the fire of her unquenchable -spirit. - -"So, sirrah," quoth she, "you are come again out of your pigsty to -refresh your snout with more delectable odours." - -Her Majesty was ever hard of tongue, and she bore me a grudge for that I -had demitted the humble office I had one time held at her Court. - -"Madam," I said, "I have come like Eurydice, out of Tartarus into the -bounteous light of the sun." - -"Ods fish! dost think to win me by thy flattery?" she said; nevertheless -methought she was not ill-pleased. But she went on, in a pitiful shrill -voice: "What does a proper man here in idlesse, conning soft speeches -and inditing silly verses to silly wenches, when my kingdom of Ireland -lieth in peril for lack of swords! Go to, rascal; an thou wouldst -pleasure me, show thyself a man, and vex me not with lip service and the -antics of an ape." - -Then, wellnigh breaking in two with her churchyard cough, she passed on, -leaving me a sorry spectacle of confusion. - -Methought that now I could do no other thing than take up the challenge -which my wrathful Mistress had flung at me. In two breaths she had -called me swine and ape, and I grudged that in this her feeble old age -she should hold me in low esteem. 'Twas too plain that she was not long -for this world, and the desire to please her, together with my old -longing for a bout with the Spaniards, prevailed upon me to join myself -to those voluntaries that were proffering their service in Ireland. -Accordingly I wrote a brief epistle to her Majesty, acquainting her of -my design, and received for answer two lines in a quivering hand. - -"Chris, thou'rt a good lad. God bless thee with perseverance. Thy -loving sovereign, E.R." - - - - *II* - - -In such manner it came to pass that, one day about the middle of -January, I found myself sailing into Kinsale harbour, my ship having -aboard her many gentlemen that were voluntaries like myself, and some -portion of the new levies for which the Lord Deputy had made petition. I -stretched my ears for the sound of guns and the blast of war trumpets, -but there was a great stillness and peace that smote me with dread of -ill news. However, on coming to land, I discovered as much with -disappointment as with joy that the Spaniards had yielded themselves by -articles of capitulation a few days before, that the O'Neill had been -beaten back from the English camp with sore discomfiture, and his men -scattered to the four winds. Though I rejoiced in the good success of -the Lord Deputy's arms, I was vexed that I had come too late to deal a -blow against the Spaniard, more especially as I foresaw a weary campaign -against the native rebels. - -It fell out according to my expectation. The Lord Deputy, furnished -with new supplies of men and munition, marched through the land, -burning, wasting, harrowing without ruth, and hanging such chief rebels -as fell into his hands. As it ever is in war, they that suffered most -were the poor peasantry of the country: and seeing daily their -lamentable estate, finding everywhere men dead of famine, insomuch that -in one day's journey we saw upwards of a thousand men lying unburied, my -heart sickened of this work, and I thought to return home. Could I but -have looked into the future, I should have seen divers sorry experiences -through which it was my destiny to pass; but that which is to come is -mercifully hid from us. I foresaw neither what I was to suffer, nor -that great blessing which Providence bestowed on me, whereby I have ever -regarded my going to Ireland as the most fortunate and happy event of -all that ever befell me. - -That island is covered in every part with thick forest and vast swamps -and bogs, from which arise exhalations exceeding noisome as well to the -native people as to our English. From camping oft on the borders of -such oozy fens I took an Irish ague, suffering sharp pains in all my -limbs, with shivering and vomiting, my teeth chattering, my head -oppressed with ringing noises intolerable. So sore was I beset by this -most malignant distemper as that all my strength departed from me; I -could neither sit my horse nor march afoot, and was afflicted with so -desperate a languor and exhaustion that I believed myself nigh unto -death. Being in so dreadful a case, I must needs be left behind in a -small fort, that had lately been constructed to command a ford on the -border of O'Neill's country; and I am sure that when my companions shook -my hand and bade me farewell, none expected ever to see me in life -again. But by the mercy of God and the devotion of my servant (there -was no physician in that place) I recovered of my fever; and within ten -days or so I felt myself ready to make a push towards the army that had -gone before. - -We had learnt by scourers that our people were then distant some thirty -miles across the hills, intending to advance further towards the north. -By this it was plain that I must needs hasten if I would come up with -them, and there was the more reason for this in that the hills were -known to be the haunt and covert of rebels. But I had good hope that, -being furnished with a noble horse, and accompanied with my stout and -mettlesome servant, and three tall natives of the country, of proven -loyalty, I might compass the journey of thirty miles in security. I -acknowledge that, having been occupied of late in hunting a broken -rabble, I held the enemy in lighter esteem than I ought; and when I look -back upon the matter, I feel some scorn of my recklessness, and deem -that in what befell me I had no more than my desert. - -We set forth at daybreak one morning, one of the Irishmen leading us, -and took our way into the hills. I knew somewhat of the trials and -hardships of travel in Ireland, but they were as nought by comparison -with that which I encountered that day. The country was covered with -close and almost impassable woods, intersected with watercourses of -depth sufficient to render hazardous their crossing; and we pierced the -woods but to find ourselves in swamp or morass. I was by this time aware -of the treacherous nature of these quaggy places; but in spite of all -our heedfulness, and notwithstanding that three of us were natives well -skilled in their country's discommodities, we had ofttimes much ado to -hold our course. Ever and anon we saw ourselves forced to go round -about; and although our guide ordered our going with as diligent -carefulness as he might, many times we had need to quit our saddles and -lend aid to our horses, to draw them from the deceitful mire of the -swamps, in such sort that we made but poor going, and by the middle part -of the day had accomplished a mere trifle of our journey. - -As we were picking our steps thus gingerly over an expanse of spongy -ground, overhung by a low beetling cliff, there befell an accident upon -which I cannot look back without a mortifying pang, seeing that I was, -for all my thirty years, a veteran in war. In all our journey up to -that moment we had seen neither man nor any living thing save only the -small animals of the woods, and some few wild cattle that smelt us afar -off, and vanished from our sight more quickly than eye could follow. On -a sudden, before we were aware, there descended upon us from the midst -of the bushes on the rock aforesaid a thick shower of spears and stones. -A fragment of rock smote upon my headpiece with such violence as -wellnigh to stun me; and my horse, made frantic by the sudden onset and -the fierce cries of the men in ambush, swerved from the narrow track -whereon we were riding, and carried me into the swamp. Dizzy with the -shock, I lost my manage of the beast, which, plunging to regain his -footing, cast me headlong from my saddle. - -When I came to myself, I saw my horse in the hands of two kernes, as -they are named in that country--rude and ragged fellows, barefoot, -half-naked, and armed with light darts and a long and deadly knife which -they call a skene. These two were hauling upon my horse's bridle, to -bring the scrambling beast upon the dry ground. One of my Irishmen lay -like a senseless log, with a dart in his body; another and my servant -were overthrown, and the kernes were standing over them; the third -Irishman, as I saw, had wheeled his horse, and was spurring along the -track, I supposed to bring help. I made no doubt but that the rascals, -when they had finished their work upon my followers, would deal likewise -with me, whom they had left hitherto, seeing me dazed and bewildered by -my fall. - -But I perceived, after a brief space, that these ragged and unkempt -creatures took no step towards me, but stood at gaze, their fierce eyes -glittering with I knew not what excitation of mind. I was still in my -wonderment, bracing myself to withstand the assault which I supposed -they intended against me, when I came to a sudden knowledge of my true -situation. I lay upon a thin crust of earth overlying the yielding bog, -and already I felt it sinking under my weight. I had not been so short -a time in the country but I knew in what extremity of peril I lay, and -this knowledge serving as a goad to my numbness, I strove to lift myself -from the clammy embrace of the bog that was beginning to suck me down. - -And now my mind was smitten with the fear of death, and I take no shame -from the terror that beset me. A man may face his foes, and not quail, -with a weapon in his hand; but to lie helpless in the clutch of an enemy -against which neither weapon nor courage is of any avail is a condition -to turn the stoutest heart to water. I cried aloud to those kernes that -stood upon the bank, choosing rather to die swiftly by their knives than -to choke and smother in that slow torment. They did but mock me with -jeers and horrid execrations, uttered in their barbarous tongue,[#] and -their delight became doubly manifest when with every motion of my -ineffectual limbs I did but assist the bog. The more desperately I -strove to free myself, the more closely did the pitiless morass cling -about me and clog me, like to that loathly creature of which mariners -tell, that winds innumerable tentacles about its living prey and digests -it to a jelly. Presently I could no more move my limbs, and when I -sought to purchase succour from those that stood by, offering great -rewards whereby every one of those paupers might have become a petty -Croesus among his kind, they sat them down like spectators at a play, to -feast their eyes upon my agony, even as in ancient days the Romans saw -without compassion the holy martyrs yield up their lives beneath the -claws of Nubian lions. And when I saw that neither promises nor -entreaties would prevail with them, by reason mayhap that they knew not -what I said, I wrapped myself in despair and silence, endeavouring, as a -Christian ought, to contemplate the inevitable end with quiet mind. - - -[#] It must be remembered that Englishmen of Christopher Rudd's time -were ignorant of the Irish civilization and literature which their -ancestors had destroyed, and were even more apt than their descendants -to decry what they did not understand.--H.S. - - -[Illustration: THEY DID BUT MOCK ME WITH JEERS AND HORRID EXECRATIONS] - -I had sunk wellnigh to my shoulder-blades, and as it were a mist was -hovering before my eyes, when the sound of a horse galloping awoke my -slumbering senses, and I looked up, thinking to see my Irishman -returning. The kernes had risen to their feet, and turned their backs -upon me, and their vociferous clamour fell to a great silence. And -gazing beyond them, I saw, not my Irishman, but a young maiden, upon a -hobby of the country, riding with loose rein at the very brink of the -cliff above. Distraught and speechless, I gazed in amaze and -wonderment, as this radiant creature brought her hobby to a stand on the -height over against me. She cast one glance at me, and I heard a voice -like a silver bell rung sharply, and at her words the kernes were set in -motion as they were puppets moved by invisible strings, and with one -consent, yet sullenly, they hasted to obey her behests. Having loosed -the bridles of my servant's horse and of the maiden's hobby, they knit -them together, and one of the men cast this rope of leather upon the bog -towards me. Mustering my remnant strength I caught it, and passed it -over my head and beneath my armpits, whereupon some few of the kernes -laid hold of it at the end, and with mighty hauling heaved me from my -slimy bed. So strong was the embrace wherein I had been clasped that I -came to the bank in my stocking feet, having left my boots in that -ravenous maw. - -In this sorry plight my aspect was as filthy and foul as Odysseus when -he showed himself to the maiden Nausicaa. My Nausicaa smiled upon -viewing me, and when I could find no words wherewith to utter the -gratitude of my swelling spirit, her lips parted, and that silvery voice -uttered words in my own tongue, which fell the more sweetly upon my ear -by reason of their quaintness of accent. - -"I am troubled, sir," said she, "at this your incommodity, but no herald -announced your coming, whereby we might furnish guides. Haply your -messenger went astray?" - -I perceived that she mocked me, but being too far spent to answer her in -kind, I was content to relate briefly what had befallen me. She smiled -again, and said lightly-- - -"My kernes did what seemed good to them, at no man's bidding. I pray -you accept our hospitality, so that we can repair in some measure the -coldness of your welcome in this our country." - -Then she turned upon the kernes that stood glooming by, and spake a few -words to them in their own tongue; and after she had assured me that -they would do me no harm, and bid me accompany them, she sped back -towards the quarter whence she had come, riding without bridle, a marvel -to behold. - - - - *III* - - -I would fain have had further speech with the damsel, to know more fully -what was intended towards me; 'twas plain that she was of much -consideration with these ragged ruffians, with whom her lightest word -was law; and in truth I wondered not at their tame submission, for -though her age was, as I guessed, not above twenty years, she had a most -commanding and imperial mien, and a manner of speech that enforced -obedience. - -Having set me upon my horse, and likewise upon his my Irishman that was -wounded, my servant and the other Irishman being compelled to remain -afoot, the kernes led us along the path over the hillside, one of them -bearing my pistol, another my sword, which he had taken from my belt. -Thus as we marched, my mind was busy with these late accidents, and with -my fair saviour, whose hair methought was of the hue of red gold, and -her eyes of an incomparable blue. From such meditation I shook myself, -to take note, as beseemed one in my case, of the nature of the country -we were traversing. I perceived that the track, very rugged and narrow, -wound steeply up the hillside, giving but few glimpses of any prospect. -But on a sudden, coming to the summit, I beheld a very fair and -delightful landscape, that put me in mind of the country in Devon. -Betwixt the hill whereon I stood, and another like to it, above a mile -distant, there lay a pleasant valley of emerald green, and in the midst -thereof a lake or mere, and a silvery stream feeding it from the high -ground above. But that which held the eye more especially in this -delectable prospect was a castle in the midst of the lake--a fortress of -stone built in the Norman style, of no great magnitude, but having a -keep, a courtyard, and divers appurtenances. 'Twas a goodly spectacle, -this hoary shape engoldened by the sunlight, girt about with blue water, -and all encompassed by the living green. - -At the end of the lake nearest to us, I perceived the semblance of a -jetty framed of wood, whereto a vessel like unto our Thames wherries was -moored; and both on the vessel and the jetty I saw sundry folk, and -likewise a few assembled in the courtyard. In the castle wall was a -water-gate, which now lay open, bounded above by the teeth of a -portcullis. - -We stayed not our march, but descended the hillside towards the lake. -And as I drew nearer, I perceived that the castle was in ill repair, the -stonework weatherworn and crumbling, and the iron of the portcullis -exceeding rusty, so that I misdoubted whether it were possible to be -raised. Methought the place was of very ancient date, perchance of the -time when, for our woe, Strongbow set his foot upon this -country--destined to be a continual nursery of trouble to her English -governors. - -When we were come to the waterside, a man met me from the jetty, and -speaking in the English of a five-years' bairn, invited me to enter the -wherry. This I did, with my own men and some of those that were with -us, and we were ferried over the lake, and into the castle by the -water-gate, through a covered way that led from the lake into the -courtyard. - -Alighting from the wherry and ascending some few ragged stone steps, I -found myself in the courtyard amid a strange medley of beasts and men. -There were cattle, swine, and poultry enclosed in tumbledown pens, and -set against the walls were rude cabins of wood overlaid with turfs, -which I supposed to be the dwellings of serving men and retainers. Of -mankind there were in the courtyard about a score, men, women and -children, the men being for the greater part well stricken in years. -All these folk gazed upon me as you see peasants gaze at quaint -outlandish monsters in a country fair. My men were taken, by command -already given, into one of the cabins aforesaid; but I myself was -ushered through a postern into the keep, and up a winding stair to a -chamber barely furnished with a stool and a truckle bed, whereon was -laid in a heap a suit of woollen garments. These I donned with much -contentment in exchange for my own sodden and miry raiment, a man -standing at the door with his back to me all the time, a courtesy I -little expected in such savages. When I was dry clad he conducted me -down the stairs into a lofty and spacious hall, where food of the -English sort was spread upon a table. With this I was mightily -refreshed and strengthened, for hard fortune had not bereft me of -appetite, though I acknowledge my satisfaction was tempered by the -recollection that I who had fought in campaigns with the greatest -captains of the age had fallen an inglorious victim to a handful of wild -Irish kernes. - -Some while after the remains of my repast had been removed, and I was -drumming my heels alone and in idleness, the door opened, and the maiden -entered, and with her an old and withered dame of forbidding aspect and -mien. A smile flickered upon the maiden's countenance as she beheld me, -clad in coarse and ill-fitting garments, making my bow as courtly as to -a queen. - -"Our fare is poorer than I could wish," she said, "but 'tis our -necessity at fault, not our good will." - -"I thank you, mistress," said I, "and would fain beg that the same fare -may be provided for my men, one of whom, I fear, was somewhat incommoded -in the late misadventure." - -"Their wants are supplied, sir," quoth she coldly; "and as for you, I -desire that you will rest in such comfort as our poor means and the -straitness of our dwelling may afford." - -"In troth, mistress," said I, "I have known worse quarters and leaner -fare; but desiring that you be at no more pains or charges in my behoof, -I purpose with your leave to get me hence with all commendable speed as -soon as my garments are dried, not forgetting that I owe my life to -you." - -At this she smiled again. - -"Of what value your life may be to you or to your countrymen I know -not," she said, "but at this present time it is of some worth to me." - -"I am honoured, madam," said I in some puzzlement. - -And then, seeing my wonder writ on my face, she laughed outright. - -"I fear me, good sir, we are scarcely of one mind," she said. "Loth as -I am to enforce you with any restraint, yet needs must I tell you that -for a time you shall rest content to remain my guest." - -"Shall, madam?" said I, with a lift of the eyes. - -"Shall, sir," she repeated. "You shall be a hostage, a pledge for the -fair treatment of my father." - -"What have I to do with your father?" I asked, in my bewilderment. - -"This: that your general has sworn to hang my father so soon as he lays -hands on him, wherefore I have despatched a letter to your general to -let him know that I have you in ward, and will surely execute upon you -any violence or indignity that my father may suffer." - -[Illustration: "I WILL SURELY EXECUTE UPON YOU ANY VIOLENCE OR INDIGNITY -THAT MY FATHER MAY SUFFER"] - -This she said with a firm voice, smiting the table with her little hand; -and I knew in my heart that what she said, that the fair termagant would -surely do. - -"And may I presume to ask, madam," said I, "the name of the gentleman -upon whose safety my own salvation hangs?" - -"His name, sir, is Kedagh O'Hagan: and yours?" - -"A name of much less mark: Christopher Rudd, at your service." - -"A knight?" - -"Nay, madam, a plain gentleman." - -She smiled a little at this, and continued-- - -"Well, Master Christopher Rudd, give me the word of a plain gentleman -that you will use no endeavour to flee away, and I give you the freedom -of this castle, such as it is." - -"I thank you, madam, for your good will," said I, "but I have a larger -notion of freedom. With your leave I will put no fetters on my -discretion." - -"Nor I on your limbs, and yet you shall be confined," said she; and -after the exchange of sundry civil nothings between us, she departed -with the ancient dame, who had stood by the while with arms folded upon -her hips, and lips pressed together grimly. - -The door was closed upon them, and by the voices that came to me through -the timber I knew that two men had been set to guard me. - -I had much to speculate upon in my solitude. This Kedagh O'Hagan, the -damsel's father, was a notorious rebel, and a doughty lieutenant of the -O'Neill. I knew that my general, Sir Arthur Chichester, had vowed to -hang him, as she had said; but seeing that the fellow was slippery as an -eel and had escaped us not a few times, I saw myself doomed in all -likelihood to a long imprisonment unless peradventure I could make my -escape. Moreover, if by any foul chance he should lose his life, the -gallows was my certain destination, an ignominious end which I could not -contemplate with any comfort or serenity. - -From meditating on this I came to think of my fair hostess. I had seen -full many a glorious beauty at the Queen's Court, and in France when I -served King Henry, but none that so bewitched and teased me as this -Irish maiden, with her red-gold hair, and her eyes of unsoundable blue, -and her coral lips that curled the one above the other when she smiled. -And the dulcet fluting of her voice, breathing out pure English with a -faint smack of something outlandish and yet most pleasing, remained -singing in my ears. Moreover her bold and mettlesome spirit, yet not a -whit unmaidenly, liked me well, and I considered within myself that I -could be well content to enjoy her society during the few days which I -needed for the perfect recovery of my strength. Her converse, methought, -would sweeten my confinement until I should make my escape, whereto I -was resolved. - -I remained in that chamber while daylight endured, now ruminating, now -reading in the one or two books that my fair jailer had set there for -me--some poems of Master Spenser, Tottel's _Miscellany_, and sundry -other volumes which I marvelled to find in that barbarous land; and it -chancing that my supper was brought to me by that man that had some -smattering of English, I fell on talk with him, to learn somewhat, if I -might, of his fair mistress. Her name was Sheila, he told me--quaint -and pretty to my ears; she was her father's sole child, and the apple of -his eye. She had dwelt some time in England, her father having been -carried there a hostage, but loved Ireland, said the man. He told me -also that she was vehemently besought in marriage by a young chieftain -of that neighbourhood, one Rory Mac Shane, betwixt whose family and her -own there was an ancient feud. 'Twas Mac Shane's purpose to end the -feud by this alliance, but he was looked upon with loathing both by the -maiden and by her father, not only because of the inveterate enmity -between the two houses, but also because they misliked the man himself, -a robustious unlettered fellow, a foul liver, and one that constantly -besotted himself with usquebagh, a vile drink of the country. Mac Shane -had sworn, so it was told me, to wed the maiden, will she, nill she, for -which reason had her father conveyed her to this castle in the lake, as -being more easily defended than his greater seat a few miles distant. I -had ofttimes heard of the raids made one upon another by these petty -Irish chiefs, and my informant did not question but that some time, when -occasion served, Mac Shane would seek to attain his end by violence. In -this case I could not but marvel that O'Hagan had left his daughter, and -withdrawn the main part of his people to assist O'Neill; but reflected -that he must know his own business best, and so dismissed the matter. - - - - *IV* - - -At fall of night I was led upstairs again to the small chamber wherein I -had made my change of clothes. The door was locked and barred upon me, -and by divers faint noises that I heard I knew that sentinels were set -without to guard me. Being wondrous fatigued I slept very soundly, and -was awakened only when a sunbeam falling athwart my bed struck upon my -eyes. I rose up, and all being silent, made a more thorough survey of my -room than I had done afore. 'Twas by measurement of my paces not above -ten feet square, and had a single window, not closed with glass, looking -upon the lake forty or fifty feet beneath. The wall was thick, and the -window was splayed inwards, being upwards of an ell in breadth on the -inner side, but no more than three spans on the outer; and here 'twas -divided in twain from top to bottom by a bar of iron, set in the -stonework. - -This bar I perceived to be deeply rusted, like the iron of the -portcullis above the water-gate, and methought I could with a vehement -wrench or two force it from its sockets, and so leave a clear space and -a way of escape. But when I leant upon the sill and contemplated the -water beneath, of whose depth I was ignorant, I was somewhat mistrustful -of my success if I should attempt so great a dive. My further -meditation of this matter was hindered by the noise of unlocking and -unbarring, and I was seated upon my bed when a man entered, to bid me -descend to break my fast in the chamber below. - -The second day of my imprisonment was like unto the first, save that my -fair chatelaine did not deign to visit me, but sent me greetings by her -servitor. At this, without any reason, I was somewhat vexed, having -counted on seeing her comeliness and hearing the music of her speech. I -took no pleasure in reading of Colin Clout or Astrophel, laying down my -book, and striding about the room in dudgeon. But as I went I pondered -that matter of escaping by the window, which, though narrow, would let -me through, my body having been marvellously thinned by my late -sickness. My splash into the water, if 'twere heard by one of my -guards, would bring a boat in chase of me ere I could win to the bank, -swam I never so strongly. And if by good luck I were neither heard nor -seen, yet I misdoubted of my safety, for I was in poor health, unarmed, -ignorant of the country, and in no case to adventure myself in a -guideless journey over those rugged hills, the haunt and lair of maybe -thousands of the wild Irish, ay, and with a hue and cry ringing behind -me. What with these my doubts and fears, and the neglect (as I called -it) of the mistress of the castle, the day lingered out very -discomfortably, and I went to my bed at odds with myself and all men. - -On the next day, after breakfast, my servant Stubbs was admitted to me. -He told me that he and my Irishmen were treated very handsomely, the -lady of the castle herself visiting them twice a day and inquiring of -their welfare. - -"She's a beauty, sir," said the man heartily. - -"And my neck is in a noose," said I, feeling a twinge of jealousy in -that Stubbs had been favoured above me, and I told him of my being a -hostage for the life of the maid's father. - -"Why, then, the general will have a care that he comes to no harm," said -Stubbs, "seeing that an English gentleman is of more value than many -mere Irish." - -"In his own conceit," said that sweet and tunable voice, and the lady -came into the room, attended as before by her ancient dame of the sour -visage. "Good morrow, Master Rudd." - -"Good morrow, Mistress Sheila," said I, shooting a look at her as I made -my bow. - -A flush mantled her cheek at this hearing of her name. - -"I brook no plots nor complots between you two," said she. "I bade your -servant attend you as a grace, Master Rudd." - -"For which you have my hearty thanks, madam," said I. "The conversation -of your servitor is a child's babble, and the reading of your books -breeds only discontent." - -"You have but to give your word, and you are free to range this castle, -sir," said she. - -"'Twould be but to beat my wings against the bars of my cage," said I. - -"A bird, quotha!" said she, laughing. "His feathers are ruffled, and he -stints his song." - -"He has no mate, madam," said I; and after more bandying of words, she -departed again. - -So passed some few days, the while I nursed my strength for the attempt -whereon I was resolved. The lady paid me fitful visits, and I looked -for them ever more wistfully. Once, when I had not seen her for thirty -hours or more, I dared to read aloud at her entrance, from the book of -Master Spenser's sonnets upon my knees, the concluding verses-- - - "Dark is my day, whiles her fair light I miss, - And dead my life that wants such lively bliss;" - -whereupon she took the book from my hand, averring that such woebegone -stuff would but addle my wits. She spoke as one chiding a froward -child, and I acknowledged to myself that she had dealt tenderly with my -presumption. One day when she came to me I perceived that all was not -well with her. Her bright hue was faded, her eye was sad, and whereas -she was wont to be merry with quips, answering me right saucily, her -spirit was now leaden. She heard me in silence, and heaved many a sigh. -I guessed that she had received ill news, and by little and little I got -from her what it was that so much troubled her. She told me that the -O'Neill had been signally worsted, and was withdrawing himself deeper -into his mountain fastnesses. She feared for her father's safety, and -then, with a flash of her old spirit, she struck my table and declared -right vehemently-- - -"If my father is taken, and suffers what is threatened against him, I -vow, Master Rudd, that you shall dangle from the castle wall, a feast -for kites and crows." - -And then she broke into a passion of weeping and fled out of the room. - -This news came as a rude shock to the contentment into which I had let -myself be lulled; and fearing lest in the heat of battle Kedagh O'Hagan -should come to harm even against the commandment of my general, I saw -that it behoved me, if I would put my neck beyond jeopardy, to slip the -noose at once. I had no manner of doubt that the girl would do even as -she had said, out of duty, though I believed that she held me in no -disfavour in my proper person. - -I determined therefore to put my plan in practice in the early part of -that night, so that, if I should come safe to shore, I might have the -hours of darkness to cover my flight. But my design was frustrated by -much coming and going betwixt the shore and the castle. It was plain -that some enterprise was afoot, and from my little window looking forth, -I watched the daylight sink into night without any diminution of the -busy movements below. - -But when the small hours crept on, and all around was wrapt in an -immense stillness, and a snoring in two several tones proclaimed that my -guardians were asleep, I clambered up into the embrasure, and, employing -one of the legs of my truckle bed as a lever, with as little noise as -might be, I forced the rusty iron bar from its sockets; which done, I -loosed part of my outer garments, and having made them into a bundle -with my boots, I tore my coverlid into strips and knit them into a cord, -and tied my bundle to one end of it. The other end I knotted about the -bar, which I laid transversely across the window, and then let down the -bundle into the depths towards the lake. - -Upon hauling it up I discovered that it was dry, whereby I learnt that -my rope was not of length sufficient to touch the water, though having -used all my convenient bedding I knew that it could not fall far short. -I deemed neither the rope nor the bar stout enough to bear my own -weight, and saw that I must needs dive into the lake, and take my -chance. Accordingly I turned myself sideways, and so contrived to -squeeze my shoulders through the narrow opening, not without fear lest I -should lose my balance, and topple down in a heap without the -opportunity of poising for the clean dive that would best ensure my -safety and cause the least noise. - -Having let down my bundle again, I was now able to see (for the summer -sky had some luminancy) that it came within a little of the water. As I -crouched there upon the sill I was in no little tremor and dread, for if -there should be a watchman upon the keep, as was most like, he would -scarce but hear the splash I should make. I stretched my ears for sounds -within and without, below and above, and when all was yet silent I -gathered myself together, and without poising, for which there was no -room, I lifted myself on a sudden, and extending my arms above me made -the best shift I could for the dive. - -'Twas as though I hurled myself upon stone, so mighty was the shock of -my entering the water. Methought in my confusion of wits 'twas an age -before I came to the surface, gasping for my breath. In a daze I trod -water until my senses were some little restored; then, hearkening with -all my ears, but hearing nought, I swam close beneath the wall, until I -found my bundle dangling, and thereupon tugging upon the cord I snapped -it, and set the bundle upon my head. There I held it with one hand, -while with the other I struck out towards the shore; at which arriving I -scrambled up the bank, and sped away as fleetly as I might to the -shelter of a copse hard by. Here, all winded as I was with swift -running after my dive and swim, I made short work of stripping off my -wet clothes, and donning the dry raiment and the boots which I had -brought in my bundle; which done, I wrung out my sodden things, tied -them about my back with the cord, and making a cast as well as I could -for the English fort I had lately left, I turned my back upon the lake -and the castle, and issued forth from among the trees to plod over those -unknown barren hills. - - - - *V* - - -The sky, as I told you, rendered a pale light, it being high summer; and -I was rather dismayed than pleasured when I saw the moon's pale sphere -stretching a bow beyond the further hills. The more light, the less -chance of shunning an enemy. Truly, I could have been thankful for a -lanthorn upon my path, for I had need to go slowly and heedfully, lest I -should find myself embogged, of which my one experience was more than -enough. I laboured over the ground, making small headway, for where -'twas not marshy 'twas rugged and bestrewn with loose stones, and where -'twas none of these, I was annoyed with pestering thorns or entangled -underwood. And the short summer darkness was already dissolving with -the dawn. - -I looked back over the way I had come, and saw the lake not above two -miles off, below me, and the castle rose-tinted in the sun's ray. Even -now, I thought, the nimble kernes, whose fleetness of foot exceeds that -of a horse, might run me down, if my escape had become known. I -considered whether to seek a hiding-place, in some bosky covert or some -brier-clad hole in the hills; but bethought myself that I must then lie -quiet all day without food, and maybe lose myself when I came forth in -the night. It seemed to me best to keep right on, watching my steps, -and shrouding myself with such brushwood and overhanging cliffs as I -might encounter on my way. - -Presently after I had thus resolved, I came unawares out of the -trackless ground upon a beaten path, which methought led in the -direction of my course. To follow this path stood me in some danger of -meeting my foes; yet I should make speedier progress upon it, and have -my eyes for scanning the country instead of for taking heed of bogs or -pitfalls. Therefore I cast away all scruples of timidity and struck -with assured gait into the path. - -'Twas not long before I repented of my temerity. On a sudden I heard a -patter of feet before me, and ere I could slip aside for hiding there -came into my sight, round a bend in the path, a man of lofty stature, -running as for a prize. At one and the same instant we halted upon our -feet, the runner and I, being divided by no more than thirty paces. I -had but just perceived by his garb that the man was an Irishman when he -leapt from the path down a shelving grassy bank at his right hand, and -bounded like a hunted stag towards a clump of woodland no great distance -away. - -Bethinking me in a flash that every Irishman hereabout was an enemy, and -that this man, were he to escape, might fetch a horde of his wild -fellows upon my track, I sprang after him, in my soul doubting whether -with my utmost endeavour I could overtake him. For some little time the -man outsped me, but coming to the skirts of the woodland he suddenly -stumbled, sought desperately to recover his footing, and then sank upon -the ground. Gathering my speed, in four leaps I was upon him, and -closed with him, expecting that he would strive with me for the mastery; -but he lay limp and lumpish in my hands, his eyes beseeching mercy. So -stout of frame he was, I was no little amazed at my easy victory, until -I saw by his laboured breathing, the quivering of his nostrils, and the -pallor of his cheeks, that he was utterly spent. This put me in a -quandary. I had a mind to leave him and go my way; but in a moment I -saw that I might perchance make some profit of him. Taking a portion of -the cord about my bundle, I bound his hands behind him, and when the -heaving of his naked breast was somewhat stilled, I bade him arise and -lead me to the English camp, fearing the while lest he should be of the -wild barbarians that knew no tongue but their own. But at my words he -looked me in the face, and told me that the English were many miles -away, marching northward. - -[Illustration: GATHERING MY SPEED, IN FOUR LEAPS I WAS UPON HIM] - -I asked him how he knew, whereupon he said that he had himself been -among them. Questioning him further, by degrees I learnt that he was -one of the band that had followed Kedagh O'Hagan into the field. Two -days before a battle had been fought betwixt the rebels and the army of -my general, and this man had been taken, but having escaped by night, he -had fled for refuge to the cabin of his sister, whose husband was a -henchman to Rory Mac Shane. The husband being absent, the man had -learnt in talk with his sister that Mac Shane had gathered his men, with -the intent to fall upon the lake-castle of O'Hagan while he was footing -it with the rebels, and to carry away the maiden whom he had sworn to -wed. At this news the man, in loyal service to his chief, brake from -his sister, and ran all night over the hills to warn his mistress of the -peril threatening her. Being not yet recovered of the fatigue of -marching and the stress of battle; having, moreover, followed an -indirect and winding course to avoid the raiders of Rory Mac Shane, who -were already on foot; the man had overtaxed his strength in running, and -so fallen helpless into my hands. - -In my course through the world I had gained some skill in reading men, -and was not easily deceived when those I had to do with were artless and -simple, not versed in the tricks of courtiers, nor trained to mask their -thoughts like the ambassadors of kings. The man's bearing was honest; -his story fitted both with his present sorry case and with what I had -heard before; briefly, I did not doubt him. And when I inquired of him -where these raiders might be, and he told me that they were not above -three miles from the place where we then stood, and full in my path, I -could not but look upon this encounter as a fortunate accident for me. - -And now I had perforce to choose what I must do. I could not proceed in -safety until Mac Shane and his raiders were no longer between me and my -goal, and I considered whether I should hide myself a while, and let the -man continue his journey, and so warn his mistress of what was to come; -or, making assurance doubly sure, I might hold him in hiding with me -until the danger of interception was past, then leave him well tied up, -and go my way: in which case the lady must remain unwarned. And as I -thought thereon, and my mind's eye dwelt upon that piece of loveliness, -forlorn in her ruinous castle, with few to help her, and remembered what -I had been told of this Rory Mac Shane, a violent and besotted savage, -on a sudden I felt the blood rush to my temples, and without more ado, -scarce knowing what secret motive impelled me, I caught up my prisoner, -unloosed his bonds, bade him pluck up heart, and, supporting his -half-fainting form with my arm, set forth with hasty step towards the -quarter whence I had come. - -For all that I was cumbered with the poor wretch, I made better speed -back than forth, because he knew the way, and avoided rough and quaggy -places. The morning was yet young, wanting something of four o' the -clock when we came to the lake-side, and I felt a passion of wrath -spring within me at what had formerly served me well--namely, the -culpable neglect of watch and ward upon the castle. There was no -lookout man posted upon the keep; not a soul stirring on battlements or -in courtyard: a heinous lack of precaution which could not but set on -edge the nerves of any man with the least experience of war. -God-a-mercy, thought I, is this the Irish manner of guarding fair -ladies? No eye had spied us as we descended the hillside; and when, at -the water's brink, we set up a loud halloo, we might have been wolves -howling in a wilderness for all the stir we made. - -Ofttimes as we came the Irishman had glanced back timorously along the -path, and now he clutched me by the arm and stretching forth his hand, -pointed to a regiment of dusky shapes moving against the sky behind us; -which seeing, and being in no manner of doubt what they were, I made a -trumpet of my hands and let forth a shout like to split my lungs. And -then, above the broken parapet of the tower, a woman's form appeared, -and stood there a brief space at gaze, then vanished from my sight. -Still bellowing my loudest, I saw men moving in the courtyard, and -presently from the water-gate the wherry shot forth under the strokes of -two oarsmen. The Irishman by my side called to them in their own -tongue, and they made great haste, and we waded into the lake to meet -them, and leapt into the vessel, which swung about and conveyed us with -all speed over the water and through the gate. I perceived the -countenances of these oarsmen how they were blank with stark amazement, -their eyes resting upon me as upon one risen from the dead; and the -women in the courtyard crossed themselves and fell back from me as I -passed among them, and 'twas told me afterward they held me for a -wizard. - -[Illustration: HE CLUTCHED ME BY THE ARM AND POINTED TO A REGIMENT OF -DUSKY SHAPES] - -And there at the postern leading into the keep stood my lady, very -straight and still, a high colour in her cheeks and a fire in her eyes. -I bent myself, saluting her, and said-- - -"I fear me, madam, I seem thankless in quitting the castle without -paying my respects to its fair mistress, but you were, I trust, lapped -in quiet slumber when your caged night-bird took wing. Yet am I soon -come back to roost, for it chanced that in my flight I crossed a -servitor of yours, and he----" - -"And he snared the simple fowl, and brought him to be plucked," she -said, with a curling lip. - -"Simple fool, in good sooth, I may be, madam," said I, "yet 'twas not he -carried me back, but rather that which he carried." - -She looked in puzzlement from me to the Irishman, and from him again to -me, and I would very willingly have engaged further in tossing the ball -but for the grave news I bore. Breaking off suddenly, I told her with -seriousness than within the fourth part of an hour Rory Mac Shane with -his posse of rascals would be at her gates. - -"It behoves your folk to show," I said, "that they can fight better than -they watch; and with your leave, while your man here tells his tale in -gross, I will make bold to set things in order for defence." - -I did not wait for an answer, but turned abruptly from her (noting how -her wrath was kindled against me), and sought my servant and the -Irishmen my comrades in captivity. Them I informed of what was toward, -and gave commands for the Irishmen to convey to their fellow countrymen. -My assured mien and peremptory speech carried it with them, and with -Mistress Sheila too, who was so much taken aback by my masterfulness, as -well as engrossed with the tale poured out in the Irish tongue by her -man, as that she was in a manner fixed and immovable like a monument. - -But this posture endured but a little. Being informed of all that had -happened, she came flying to me in the midst of the courtyard, and a -wondrous light shone upon her face, and she thrust out her hands towards -me, and cried-- - -"Oh, sir, I crave your pardon, and I thank you." - -I took her hand and kissed it in the manner of a courtier, yet mayhap -with something less formality. - -"But haste, sir!" she cried again. "The wherry is yours. Get you, you -and your men, to the other side, and escape while yet there is time." - -"Madam," I said, "I and my men have no other wish than to serve you." - -"I beseech you, endanger not your life in a quarrel that is not your -own," she said. - -"I trow I make it my own," said I, with a forthright quick look. An -instant our glances clung; then she veiled her enkindling eyes, and -turning aside hastily, clasped hands with the sour-faced dame who had -now come forth, a fearsome dragon, from the postern door. - - - - *VI* - - -My heart sang as I went about the business of my assumed captaincy. She -left all to me, and ever and anon as I was in the midst of my activities -I saw her eyes fasten upon me and smile encouragement and sweet trust. -I was in my element now that war's alarm was sounding. Never in my life -before had I addressed myself to fight so gaily as now. I had fought -for treasure, for dear friends, for a noble king, for honour and truth -and liberty; but never, as it chanced, had it fallen to my lot to battle -for a lady. And when I thought of Rory Mac Shane--faugh! what a -mouthful of ugliness his name!--I laughed within myself, and _Io -triumphe_ rang a joyous peal in my head. - -But I must come back to my tale. - -Leaving my good fellow Stubbs, who had catched fire from me, to muster -all the serviceable varlets in the courtyard, I made haste to mount to -the top of the keep, to judge how long a time for preparation I had -before the enemy should come. They were, as I guessed, a good mile -away. I descended, and as swiftly as might be I ranged through all the -castle, now wholly open to me, and observed in my hasty survey those -points where it was most vulnerable. Meantime I had commanded that all -weapons of every sort should be carried into the courtyard, and coming -there again, I parted them among the garrison, a pitiful poor rabble as -was ever mustered to defend a fortress. There were not so many as I had -seen when first I came to the place, and I began to suspect that some -faint-hearted rascals had hidden themselves away in tenderness for their -skins. But when I turned to the lady to ask of this matter--she stood -queenly on the step of the postern--she told me that the night before -she had dispatched sundry stout fellows with munition and victuals to -her father, who had sent word that he was in dire straits, cooped up in -a wild place by the English forces. By this I knew the meaning of that -coming and going which had delayed my flight, yet for which I was now -beyond measure thankful, seeing that otherwise I should have got clean -away (so I flattered myself), and my lady had been lost. - -Yet this diminishment of my forces was a grievous matter, as I saw very -well when, going again to the battlemented roof, I descried the enemy -pouring down the hillside, a rout of nigh two hundred men, but not -marching in the ordered ranks of disciplined soldiers. They were all -afoot, a rabble of half-naked kernes, equipped some with darts, some -with bows and arrows, a mere few with matchlocks. I saw with great -thankfulness that they had no artillery, so that we need fear no -battering and breaching of the walls. And then, wondering how they -purposed to come across the lake, I perceived that many of them bore -massy bundles, the nature whereof I could not determine. And as I stood -peering over the parapet, I was aware that Mistress Sheila was at my -side, and turned to her, asking without preface what those bundles might -be. She told me that they were boats, made of the hides of beasts -strained over a framework of osiers. - -"An armada, sooth!" I cried, feigning a cheerfulness I did not own. -"King Rory apes King Philip, and comes a-wooing with a fleet." - -She flashed me a look, and her lips quivered. - -"You are not afraid, mistress?" said I. - -"Was your Queen afraid with her captains about her?" she said; and in a -murmur, soft as a mavis' evening note, she added: "I trust my captain -too." - -And she laid in my hand my own sword, which had been taken from me when -I was lugged from the slough. - -"List to me, mistress," I said, stilling my leaping pulse, for our peril -was near. "Do you bring all the women and children to this place, and -when I have descended, bolt the door upon me. You and they will be safe -here, while we beat off the enemy below." - -She nodded her head, and fled away, coming back a while after with the -beldam and the rest of the women, young and old, all huddling like silly -sheep, moaning and crying, spite of the rebukes of their high-hearted -mistress. I bade her good-bye and sped down the stairs, hearing the -grating of the bolt behind me, and came to the courtyard, where the men -were assembled expecting me. - -I had already resolved upon my plan of defence. Our chiefest danger, as -I saw, was that the enemy, when they had crossed the lake, would by some -means mount the ruinous wall of the courtyard, that rose but three men's -height above the water, and so swarm upon us. This wall was upwards of -two hundred ells in circuit, not of a perfect roundure, but irregular, -according to the shape of the rock whereon the castle was built. With -my few men it would go hard with us to hold so long a line, and I -foresaw that if the enemy pushed us with any vigour, we must needs give -way before them. But I had determined upon resisting them at the wall so -long time as we might, and when we could no longer withstand them, we -should withdraw ourselves into the keep, where even with a handful I -deemed it possible to fend them off and endure if need be a long siege. - -When I had posted my men at divers points along the wall, suddenly I -bethought me of the water-gate, which gave entrance directly into the -courtyard. I remembered that the portcullis was raised, and had the -look of being immovable; but 'twas madness to leave the gate utterly -without defence, and so I called Stubbs to my side, and bade him find -tools wherewith we might endeavour to remedy this discommodity. While he -was gone about this quest, I looked around, and beheld with no little -indignation the Lady Sheila standing at the postern of the keep, -watching me. - -"Get you up to the roof, mistress," I said peremptorily, hasting to her. -"This is no place for you." - -"How now!" she cried. "Am I a maid-servant to be commanded hither and -thither? Mistress of this castle I stay, sir, and go where I will." - -"Must I e'en carry you?" I said, very foolishly, not knowing thoroughly -the quality of the maid. - -"Sirrah, you were best not try," she said, and when I, still in my folly -(and yet 'twas for her good), stretched out my hands to do as I had -said, she fetched me a buffet that sent me reeling. - -"Virago!" I cried, my ear stinging with the blow. - -"Upstart!" she made answer, and then with a swift change she said -meekly: "I pray you, good Master Rudd, let me stay." - -Before I could answer, Stubbs came to me with the tools, and since time -was precious I went at once with him to the gate, and by dint of hewing -and hacking we contrived to drop the portcullis, and so shut up the -entrance that might otherwise have been our undoing. Which was no -sooner done than a loud cry summoned me to the wall, and mounting -thereon I saw the rabblement gathered on the further shore, and in the -forefront a man of vast stature with a head like a bull-calf, and fat -red cheeks bulging out from a shaggy mane the colour of hay. He wore no -cap, but his form was clad in a loose tunic of saffron hue, leather -trews to his ankles, and great shoes of undressed hide. Flourishing a -two-handed sword, he bellowed something in the execrable tongue of these -savages, and my Irishman at my side said that he called upon the Lady -Sheila to yield up the castle and make her humble submission. - -"Methinks his name should be Roarer Mac Shane," said I, and I went to -inform the damsel of his demand. "What is your answer, mistress, to -this windy swain? He is young and over-grown, which may excuse the -tempestuous manner of his wooing." - -"Tell him I deny him and defy him," she cried ringingly. "I am daughter -of Kedagh O'Hagan!" - -When this was repeated by my Irishman, Mac Shane vented another blast of -foul breath, and at his command a company of his ruffians hied them to -the woods towards the north side of the lake, and fell to cutting -timber, which they proceeded to fashion into rafts, binding the logs -together with ropes they had brought with them: manifestly Mac Shane had -not expected the lady to spring into his arms. While this was doing, -others of the ragged crew built light ladders, setting at the top iron -hooks wherewith to catch the wall. These preparations were little to my -liking, and I saw that there was rough work before us. - -And now becoming aware of my emptiness, for I had neither eaten nor -drunk since my supper overnight, I considered there was time to make a -meal, without overhaste, for 'twould certainly be an hour or two ere the -rafts and ladders were finished. My fair lady served me with her own -hands, and paid me little heed when I said she must be sparing of -victuals, but heaped upon my platter plenty of broiled flesh garnished -with shamrock, a herb of the country, with fair white bread, butter -(somewhat rancid), and a great horn of mead. - -"Great warriors must needs be great eaters," she said, sitting -composedly over against the window near to the ancient gossip her -companion, whom she had fetched from above, and who had never yet said a -word in my hearing. - -"But not great eaters great warriors," said I, in her vein. - -"No, or swine would be the most warlike of beasts," she said. Then, -resting her chin upon her hand: "Tell me, Master Captain Rudd, the -manner of your escape. My women say you are a necromancer." - -"Why, mistress, then by my black art conjured myself into the shape of a -simple fowl, and spread my wings, and hey!" - -"Tush! Tell me true," she said. "Such fables are for children." - -"Well then," said I, "since I may not be a bird, what say you to a -fish?" - -"I cannot abide 'em, save broiled, and with sauce," she said. - -"Then may the broiling I shall suffer this day, and the sauce of good -hard knocks, bring me to the top of your good favour," said I. "But, -indeed, I swim like a fish, and dive like a duck----" - -"Or a goose?" she caught me up. - -"But with no quackery," said I, "I heaved myself up to my window-sill-- - -"Then you should have been trussed," she said. - -"Nay, madam, the trust is yours," said I; "and from the sill I leapt -into your lake, and so got myself, somewhat damp and muddied, to the -further shore." - -"And without a wound?" she said, catching at her breath. - -"Save in my heart," I said in a low voice. - -"What! hath any Englishman a heart?" she said; and then as I glanced at -the frowning dame beside her, she cried right merrily-- - -"Oh, she knows no English!" and then with some confusion and haste she -asked me of the Queen and the Court, and led me insensibly to relate to -her some particulars of my past life, whereby the time sped away so -fast, and I had so far forgotten the posture of our affairs, that I -suffered a shock when Stubbs came running to me and said that the -Irishmen were setting across. I called myself an ass, snatched my -sword, and made to the door. - -"God bless thee with perseverance!" said the maid softly, using the -Queen's words in that brief epistle, which I had shown to her in our -discourse; and with those sweet tones making melody in my heart I went -forth to try a bout with Rory Mac Shane. - - - - *VII* - - -When I came to the wall I beheld a half-score of the hide-boats being -propelled over the lake, and four or five of the new-made platforms, -each one pressed down by the burthen of men upon it. The number of our -assailants was, I suppose, above a hundred, and against them we had less -than a score. These by my appointment had taken post along the wall, -having, besides their weapons, fragments of rock gathered from the -ruinous battlements, stink-pots of homely device, and such other -missiles as the people had been able to prepare. Of firearms we had but -two old rusty pieces, my own pistol and the guns of my men having been -sent away the night before with the succours dispatched to Kedagh -O'Hagan. But I observed joyfully that our assaulters were in little -better case in that regard, for when their quaint, unsteady vessels had -come within shot of us, they discharged upon us only two or three -bullets, which did us no harm, so ill-directed were they. My man Stubbs -and another fellow gave them a shot apiece in reply, or rather they -would have done, had not Stubbs' musket burst in his hand, one of the -fragments striking his brow and stunning him for some time. He bore the -mark of it to his dying day. - -As for the other men, I had charged them to do nothing until the -adversary should come directly beneath the wall. In their haste and -eagerness they did not all obey my behest, but the most part did, so -that the vessels, when they drew in under, were assailed by a tempest of -missiles which did much execution, and sent one of the frail barks of -hide topsy-turvy to the bottom. Our garrison suffered no hurt at this -first onset, save that one foolish old man, forgetful of my warning to -cover himself with the wall, peered over to see what had been done, and -fell with a dart in his throat. - -But we being so few, certain of the enemy's vessels escaped hurt -altogether; and were no sooner beneath the wall than their crews hoisted -the ladders, and fixing the hooks in crevices and gaps of the stonework, -began incontinently to swarm aloft. Even the ladders were more in -number than all the men of the garrison, and had Rory Mac Shane -possessed a jot of generalship, it would have gone hardly with us. But -he had taken no care that all his men should begin to mount at the same -instant. Every man did what seemed good in his own eyes, so that we -were able to run from one ladder to another, and with push of pike, or -knife-thrust, or indeed with bare fists, to hurl the climbers down into -the water or upon their platforms, ere they could make good their -footing on the wall. This was, moreover, the easier for us, inasmuch as -only one man could ascend each ladder at one time. - -Yet we were hard put to it, I assure you. I had posted Stubbs at one -end of our spread line, holding myself at the other, both of us ready to -hasten to any spot that might seem more desperately menaced. So nimble -were the attackers that we had much ado to convey ourselves with speed -enough from point to point, and I am sure that neither he nor I had ever -in our lives before so vigorously bestirred ourselves. Not once nor -twice did we come in the bare nick of time where the danger threatened, -and it being midday, and hot, we were soon reeking with our sweat. - -From the beginning I had marked Rory Mac Shane himself, and kept as -close a watch upon him as in the press and hurry I could. Being, as I -have said, a man of monstrous bulk, he was not so nimble in his motions -as the leaner fry, nor did not essay to mount upon a ladder among the -first. But as I turned from dealing with one hardy climber, I espied -Mac Shane, a good way off, swing himself from the top of his ladder and -throw one leg across the wall, plying a doughty sword against an ancient -servitor that sought to stay him with his pike. At the very instant of -my espying him, he cleft the pike shaft clean through with his blade, -and dealt the old man so grievous a wound that he dropt to the ground, -coughing out his life-blood. I had leapt towards him, and immediately -afterwards came upon him a-tilt; and having the advantage of him, as -being balanced insecurely on the wall, I doubt not I should have sped -him but that the dying man lay heaped between us. Whereby my sweeping -stroke failed somewhat of its full momentum, and Mac Shane turned my -sword aside as it was in the very act of falling upon his head. But -giving back before my onslaught, he was dislodged from his perch, and -toppled with a lusty shout backward into the water. - -I had not time to look what had become of him, even had it been prudent -to show my head above the parapet, being drawn to another part of the -wall on a like errand. But after a minute or two, when I noted a -faltering in the attack, I supposed that he had at the least got some -damage, and hoped that it was grievous enough to render him unable for -further fighting. There came no more men up the ladders; which seeing, -we clambered upon the wall, and beheld the whole rout setting their -craft towards the shore, some few, who had lost their standing, swimming -by their side. We sped them on their way with a shower of whatsoever -missiles we could first lay hands upon, and discovered that in the hurry -of their flight they had left two of their ladders still hooked upon the -wall. These we took as trophies. I was nowise ill-pleased to see Rory -Mac Shane in his boat bearing marks of his discomfiture, his yellow hair -falling lank like seaweed over his cheeks, and his obese frame seeming -somewhat shrunken by reason that his sodden clothing hung more closely -upon him. - -When I turned from observing him, the Lady Sheila met me, bearing a -brimming cup of mead. - -"'Tis nectar, from a hand fair as Hebe's," said I, quaffing deeply. - -The lustre left her face, and she looked stonily upon me, whereat in -some surprise I said-- - -"Why, mistress, have I said aught amiss?" - -"Nay, sir, what you say is naught to me, but--but I like not to be -equalled with some English wench." - -"Good now!" said I, and could not forbear smiling. "Know you, mistress, -that Hebe was no English wench, but a fair maiden of most illustrious -lineage, daughter of gods, herself a goddess, eternally young, and her -office was to bear the wine-cup of the high Olympians, and I bethink me -she was given as wife to Hercules himself." - -"Oh, mock me not with your Hebes and your Hercules!" she cried in a pet. -"I wish I had not brought you drink." - -"Nay, madam, for that I thank you heartily; and I shall hope to give you -a better opinion of those of whom the poets sing, after this business is -concluded." - -"A long after, I fear me," she said, with a look of trouble. - -"Why no; I trow we have taught them a lesson," I said. - -"You English are puffed up with your own conceit," she cried scornfully. -"Think you an Irishman, and Rory Mac Shane, will be daunted by one -failure? He is reputed the best fighter of all men hereabout. But -indeed, Master Rudd"--and 'twas marvellous how sudden her mood would -change--"indeed, we talk idly, when my poor servants lie wounded. Help -me, good sir, to tend them." - -"Two are past help, madam," I said gravely; "the rest have suffered -little hurt." - -She flew from me to the old man slain by Rory Mac Shane, and I saw the -fair maid drop upon her knees, and breathe a prayer with moist eyes for -the poor soul departed. - -There was peace and a great quietude all that afternoon, though I took -it to be that ominous calm which oft precedes a storm. Ever and anon -there came to my ears from the distant woodland the ringing of axes, and -I guessed that more ladders were to be made, and my heart sank; for with -twice the number the adversaries would be too many for us to deal with -piecemeal. But the day wore to evening, and the sun went down, and yet -there was nothing done. I had set watchmen upon the battlements, to -inform me if they saw aught; but when the country was blanketed in -darkness, and the silence was unbroken save by the croaking of frogs -about the margin of the lake, I supposed that our foes were taking their -rest, to fortify themselves against the labours of another day. - -It wanted an hour or two of midnight when my man Stubbs came to me from -his outpost on the walls, and told me that the fleet of rafts and -hide-boats had put forth from the shore, and was approaching in a -ghostly silence. Now I have never held it a part of valiancy in a true -warrior to oppose himself to invincible odds. My men being so few and -weak, 'twas against reason that they should withstand a more numerous -foe, who, taught by precedent mishap, would without question avoid their -former errors, and, covered by the darkness, set up their ladders more -thickly than we could counter. I shrank from throwing lives away -vainly, and saw that we must abandon our outer rampart, and shut -ourselves within the keep, whereto there was but one entrance, from the -courtyard, and behind whose massy door I thought we should be safe. -Accordingly I gathered all my company and withdrew them into the keep, -barring the door with my own hand, and I sent the men into the -watch-house above the door, bidding them hurl their missiles upon the -heads of the enemy when they should make to assault us. - -My prescience was approved ere many minutes were past. Looking from a -window in the keep, I saw the wall thick with dark shapes mounting from -innumerable ladders, and leaping down into the courtyard with scarce a -sound. Some of them turned about, and began to haul on ropes, and there -came over the wall two or three of their rafts, whereat I wondered, not -divining what purpose these could serve. But in a little I saw their -cunning device, for the Irishmen hoisted the rafts upon their shoulders, -and employing them in the manner of what the Romans called a testudo, -advanced, thus defended, towards the door of the keep. The missiles -launched on them from above bounded off from those broad shields, as I -knew by hearing rather than sight, for being now come within the shadow -of the keep they were no longer visible. - -Expecting a vehement onset upon the door, I ran down and posted myself -with Stubbs and two or three more at the foot of the stairway. Mistress -O'Hagan, in defiance of my express charge, had not taken refuge upon the -roof with her household women, but stayed in a little room hard by the -first winding of the stair. As it fell out, this flat obstinacy turned -to our advantage. - -We waited there at the foot of the stair, holding our weapons in -readiness; but when, after some time, no assault was made upon the door, -I began to be uneasy, and wished I might contrive to see what was -a-doing. We were in utter darkness, and such poor candles as were -commonly used would not suffice to cast an effectual light a yard length -beyond the wall; but a thought coming into my head, I bade Stubbs take -command of the men, and running upstairs to the lady, asked her if she -had any means of making torches or flares. Instantly she led me by a -back stair to a lower room where was a quantity of tow, and while I -shredded this and fashioned it to my purpose, she fetched me a pot of -swine's lard and two long and slender chains. Then returning to the -upper room, we kindled these flares, and let them down over the -window-sill into the courtyard, amid a great outcry from the enemy. By -their light we saw the courtyard swarming with men, and our people were -able to take surer aim with their missiles; but we had little good of -them, as you shall see. - -I observed that the penthouse of rafts was still about the door, and was -much perplexed as to what was a-doing there. On a sudden the rafts fell -with a clatter upon the ground, and the men whom they had sheltered ran -swiftly towards the wall, whither their comrades had retreated so as -they might be the farthest possible from our missiles. The meaning of -their behaviour flashed upon my mind, and in my haste letting fall the -chain I held, I caught Mistress Sheila about the waist, and carried her -swiftly into her inner room. I had but just set her down, she still -grasping her chain, when from below there burst a shattering din, and -the keep seemed to rock upon its base. Springing down the stairs, I -rushed into the bitter smother of gunpowder smoke, and saw by the light -of my dropped flare, that shone through a rent in the door, the men I -had left thrown down in a heap upon the floor. One of them was dead, -but the rest, though bruised and shaken, recovered from their benumbment -in time to stand with me upon the lowest stairs, before the enemy, -leaping across the courtyard, came with fierce shouts to enter by the -breach they had made. - -Happily it was so narrow as that only two men could come through -abreast, and the stair wound in such sort that we had free play for our -right arms, while the enemy were impeded by the round of the wall. So -close cramped were we that there was no place for the subtleties of -fence, in which we might have had some superiority over our less skilled -adversaries. Stubbs and I, standing the lowest, plied our swords, made -for nicer work, with mere vehemency, beating aside the weapons of our -assailants, and using our points whenever we could. Behind us were two -Irishmen armed with pikes, which they thrust between us, with no small -risk to ourselves; and yet higher, a man hurled stones over our heads -upon the thickening crowd. - -The stairway rang with the clash of steel, the shouts of the enemy, and -the groans of such as fell to our weapons. So little light had we from -the expiring flare, and so confused was the mellay, that for some little -while I was unable to discern the form of him I especially sought; but -at length I perceived Rory Mac Shane striding over the prone bodies at -the foot of the stairs, and mounting among three or four of his men. I -was thinking to hazard a swift descent upon him, but anon a musket shot -from the door struck the pikeman behind me, and he lurched against me, -so that I could barely keep my feet. Another of my good Irishmen -stooped to lift the pike that had fallen from his comrade's hand, and in -defending him I crossed the guard of Rory Mac Shane, and gave him the -point of my sword in the throat at the opening of his tunic. He skipped -back in time to escape mortal hurt, and at that instant a man one step -below him lunged fiercely, and thrust the point of his long spear -through the calf of my right leg. Mac Shane was roaring with pain, and -upon his stepping back to staunch his wound, his followers drew away, -giving us some respite, whereby I was able to make a shift to bind my -handkerchief about my hurt. As I bent down I staggered and would have -fallen but for the sustaining arm of Stubbs. My faintness filled me -with dread; I would have given a world for a cup of water; and I -sickened with dismay as I thought of what the end might be if my -draining blood left me no strength to endure the fight. - -[Illustration: I CROSSED THE GUARD OF RORY MAC SHANE, AND GAVE HIM THE -POINT OF MY SWORD] - -The intermission was brief. Mac Shane gathered a little group about -him, and setting up before them a portion of one of their rafts, they -charged with the utmost impetuosity up the stairs. We were driven -before them, hacking vainly at their shield. I cried to the man above -me to stand by the door at the first landing; then bidding Stubbs run -for his life, I made one more desperate onslaught upon the raft, and -limping up with what speed I might, I slammed the door in the face of -the enemy, and fell in much pain and giddiness upon the floor. - -There coming out of my swoon I found my lady kneeling beside me, holding -a cup from which she had poured wine between my lips. By the light of a -candle which Stubbs had kindled I saw her face, ashy pale, but bending -upon me so sweetly compassionate a look as shed upon my spirit abundant -solace for my pain. I asked if all was well, and heard with no little -amazement that an hour had gone since I shut-to the door, which the -enemy had refrained as yet from anyways assaulting. I conjectured that -they were biding their time till morning illumined the scene, being in -no dubiety of the ultimate act, since they had us caged like rats in a -trap. Indeed, they might wait for famine to vanquish us, unless -perchance they had some dread of the return of Kedagh O'Hagan. That we -could resist them long had no hope at all, for the upper doors might be -forced more easily than the great door below, and we should be pressed -back to the roof, where, overpowered by their greater numbers, we must -succumb. It seemed that my eyes were the index to my thoughts, for -looking earnestly upon me, the lady said-- - -[Illustration: I FOUND MY LADY KNEELING BESIDE ME, HOLDING A CUP] - -"Good sir, you shall suffer no more for me. 'Tis not meet that a -stranger lose his life in so poor a cause." - -"Nay, madam," said I, "the cause is good, and the stranger not so -strange neither. Besides, what will you do?" - -"I will purchase your safety by yielding of the castle," said she. - -"And Rory Mac Shane?" I hinted. - -She winced a little, and a shudder ran through her. - -"There is always the lake," she said in a whisper. - -"O that I had a troop of Hilary Rawdon's men, or Toby Caulfeild's, or -any other my companions?" I groaned out, as the meaning of her words -smote upon my perception. And then, to ease the time, she questioned me -of those friends I had mentioned; and as we talked of matchless doings -by land and sea, beguiling thus our anxious spirits, the dawn crept upon -us, and the sweet descant of a lark's song floated in at the open -window. - -"'Hark, hark, the lark at heaven's gate sings,'" I said, using Will -Shakespeare's words. "Methinks that warble is of good augury for us." - -And as I rose stiffly to my feet, I heard faintly through the door the -clash and rumble of armed men stirring below. - -"Get you upon the roof, mistress," I said hastily, taking my sword, and -though I spoke masterfully, in a manner that had angered her before, she -made no opposition, but flitted away, turning at the bend of the stair -to give me a last look, mute but eloquent. - -I dispatched all the men but three to the roof, bidding them hold the -trap open for the final retreat. Hardly were they gone when there -resounded a shattering blow upon the door. With my three men I stood -upon the stairway, commending myself to God, and presently the door fell -in before the redoubled assaults of a ram which the enemy had contrived -to make, and there burst upon us Rory Mac Shane and a cluster of his -minions. They were beset by so fierce a hail of stones from above that -they gave back, but returned directly, bearing the shield of wood which -we had aforetime proved invulnerable. Little by little the vehemency of -their onset drove us back from one step to another. One of my Irishmen -gasped out his life as a musket shot channelled his lungs. I heard my -good Stubbs groan, and knew by and by that a dart had transfixed his -arm. In that extremity I looked for Sergeant Death to lay his -peremptory arrest upon me; but on a sudden, from above, I heard my -lady's voice cry with a ringing gladness that help was at hand. Whether -the adversary understood her words I know not, but their import was not -to be mistaken. Their fierce shouts sank to a sudden stillness; their -ascent was stayed; and from below there rose the cries of men stricken -with astonishment and fear. And as our near opponents halted in the -pause of irresolution, I took a leap, and lighting full upon their -wooden shield, dashed it and the men beneath pell-mell to the landing. -And Rory Mac Shane, casting up his arms when he found himself staggering -backward, bared his great breast to the unchecked thrust of my sword, -which passing clean through him bored a passage for his soul. - - - - *VIII* - - -"How now, my bully rook!" sang a well-remembered bluff voice in my ear -some while after, for my ill-bound wound had bled afresh, and I had lain -as one dead. "What! hast cheated man's last enemy yet once again?" - -[Illustration: "HOW NOW, MY BULLY ROOK!"] - -And lifting my eyes I beheld the round ruby countenance of my comrade -Toby Caulfeild, that commanded a troop of horse in the army of the Lord -Deputy. - -"All's well?" I asked him feebly. - -"All's well that ends well," said he, "though I misdoubt the end's not -yet." - -"My Lady Sheila?" I said. - -"Ah yes, I have heard the name," said he drily. "For a good hour you -have done nothing but prattle of Sheilas and Hebes, and Hercules and -roarers, mingling Christian and heathen in such sort that my very ears -blushed to hear you." - -"What is done?" said I. - -"Sundry things that cannot be undone," said he, "namely, many ruffians -sent to their account, many more so slashed and carved that all the -surgeons in Christendom could not make of them aught but patchwork. We -came in time to finish your work, my Chris, but only just in time." - -"I heard the lark singing," said I, wandering somewhat in my wits. - -"And shall again," said he; "but indeed I know a song worthy two of -that, and that was carolled by the rosy lips of a most enchanting -damsel. Hark! I hear it even now." - -And I too heard the low, sweet music of my lady's voice, trolling a -ditty in a chamber not far away. And there broke into it the loud, -rough utterance of a man, speaking words in the Irish tongue, and the -song ceased. - -"What rude unmannerly lubber----" I was beginning, but Toby checked me. - -"Tush! a father stands on no ceremony with his child," he said. - -"Her father!" said I. - -"Ay, her father, Kedagh O'Hagan, the arrantest rebel and the jolliest -old swasher that ever 'scaped hanging. Hark while I tell you. We were -in full cry after the O'Neill when a tatterdemalion kerne came hot-foot -after us, bearing a letter very fairly writ but somewhat indictable in -the article of spelling, addressed to our general; the which perusing, -he read a very painful threat to hang you up if O'Hagan should suffer so -much as the clipping of a hair. He twitched his brows--you know his -way--and said that having fallen into the hands of some apparent -termagant or vixenish shrew you must e'en abide his leisure, swearing -roundly that Christopher Rudd's head was nought in comparison with the -rascal O'Neill. - -"Well, it chanced some days after that we snared this Kedagh O'Hagan in -our toils, and our general, who loves you heartily, gave him into my -hands and bade him bring me to his lair, charging me to hang him in his -own courtyard if you had been diminished by the paring of a nail. Last -night, as we rode over yond hills, we saw a great way off two red fires -descend as from the sky, and kindle their image in a space of water -beneath. The sight put O'Hagan into a fret and fume, he declaring the -lights portended some menace to his castle. We made all the speed we -could, but what with the rough pathless hills and the villainous reechy -fens, we had to go so far about that 'twas morning ere we came to the -place. And as we issued forth of the wood yonder we saw the roof filled -with women, of whom one at sight of us waved a handkercher as if to say -'Haste! haste!' Coming to the water's edge, and finding no craft to -ferry us across, we swam our horses, and some of us mounted the wall by -ladders we saw hooked there for our conveniency, and so fell upon the -pack of howling Irishmen in the courtyard and about the door. And when -we had done our work, and the old man rushed panting up the stairs, -raging for his daughter, he found her here with your head in her lap, -dropping salt tears of happiness." - -I pressed his hand and thanked him for the service he had done me. - -"Well, lad, well, 'tis nought," said he. "Come now, your tale. I must -hear about this pickle you fell into, and all the process of your -adventures." - -I told him how I had been embogged, and brought hither to the castle, -and how I had borne my part in defending it against the desperadoes; but -I said no whit of my escape by diving, nor of my return. When I came to -the end of my brief relation, Toby regarded me very whimsically. - -"So, so, my Chris," he said, "you deem your old friend Toby to be -unworthy of your confidence. Why, man, I knew all that, and a great deal -more; for I took the pains, when the damsel had related all to her -father in a torrent of Irishry--the which methinks hath its melodies--I -took the pains, I say, to persuade her to rehearse the same in English, -which she did with a pretty smack of her tongue that pleased me -mightily. She showed me the window whence you made your monstrous dive, -waxed eloquent upon your chivalry in coming back to defend her, called -you her noble captain, and, in short, so worked upon my inflammable -heart that it pricked and stung with jealousy, and I wished I had been -in your room." - -Hereupon our converse was broken off by the entrance of the maiden -herself, leading by the hand a tall old man of a majestical and warlike -presence. She brought him to my bedside, and spoke softly for his ear -alone; and he thanked me with a noble grace and courtesy, and offered me -the hospitality of his castle until my wound should be thoroughly -healed. - -When they had departed, Toby Caulfeild heaved a windy sigh. - -"Good lack, I envy thee, Chris!" he said. "Never a maiden looked on me -with such adorable eyes." - -"I did not mark her eyes," said I. - -"No, you had eyes for the old man alone," said he. "I warrant she will -look on me otherwise when I go hence, for the general charged me, if all -was well with you, to convey the prisoner straightly back to camp. What -am I to tell him of you, Chris?" - -"It needs not that you tell him anything," I answered. "I shall come -with you." - -"Tush, man, 'twill be a month ere you can sit a horse in any comfort," -said he. "I know that, though I am no leech. And something whispers me -that your fighting days are over. Never again shall we outface the -murderous cannon together, never again mount side by side into the -deadly breach. Alack, old lad, and wellaway!" - -"You talk a deal of nonsensical nothing, Toby," said I. "My organs are -sound enough; shall I cease to bear arms for a paltry poke i' the leg?" - -"Ah, lad, I doubt your organs be not so sound as you suppose;" and -saying this he sighed again, and smiled whimsically when I asked him if -I had unawares been wounded in another part. "Time will show," said he. -"Now I must get me to horse, though I dread the lady's anger when I tell -her I must take her father hence." - -But after some time he came back in great cheerfulness of spirit. - -"She received me sweetly," he said, "avowed 'twas hard for a daughter to -part from her father, but I must do my duty; said she had confidence in -the courtesy of English gentlemen and knew we should treat her father -well; assured me that you should have all good care and tendance, and -thanked Heaven that Master Rudd had so true a friend. Then she smiled -bewitchingly upon me, gave me her hand, and looked as though the -greatest pleasure in life I could do her was to turn my back and hie me -away. What will the Queen say, Chris?" - -He laughed heartily at my bewilderment upon this question, then sighed -again, shook my hand mournfully, and so departed. - -It needs not to tell of those few weeks I spent in sickness on my couch, -yet weeks of bliss and unimaginable contentment. My lady spent the -greater part of every day with me, bringing me confections made by her -own fair hands, smoothing my pillow, tending me with kind ministrations, -reading to me prettily out of her books, and hanging upon my lips when I -related, as she bade me, somewhat of my adventures. One day, when -reading out of Master Spenser's book, she faltered at those lines-- - - "Where they do feed on Nectar heavenly-wise, - With Hercules and Hebe and the rest," - -and with a pretty blush she listened as I told her those enchanting -fables of the antique world. - -"And I was jealous of Hebe!" she said. - -"'That canker-worm, that monster, Jealousy!'" I quoted from the same -poem. "But why jealous of Hebe, mistress?" I asked. - -"Because I was a witless, silly child," she said. "Jealous of a -goddess, indeed! But I knew not then she was a goddess." - -"You thought she was a maiden like yourself?" I said. - -"Not like myself," she said, "but fairer." - -"Was there ever fairer?" said I, under my breath. - -"Tell me, are there many pretty ladies at your Queen's Court?" she said. - -I feigned to consider deeply, and rehearsed the names of some known to -me, praising this one and that, and marking how her breath came and -went. - -"But no one durst say a good word of any in the hearing of the Queen," -said I. "She must ever be the fairest, the wittiest, the best -proportioned, the most nobly endowed both in body and mind. Do you -know, mistress, the Queen hath banished and even cast into prison many a -man that has dared to wed one of her ladies?" - -"Is she so unkind?" she said. - -"And when Toby Caulfeild was leaving me he said, 'What will the Queen -say, Chris?' and my doltish pate did not understand him." - -"Why, that is simple," she said. "He meant that the Queen would be sore -grieved at hearing of your hurt. With her own hand she wrote, 'Thy -loving sovereign.'" - -"She will love me no more when she knows that I love thee," said I, -laying my hand upon hers. - -She let it rest so for a little, and her cheeks went from red to pale, -and from pale to red again. Then her hand stole from mine, and clasped -the other upon her lap. - -"Ay, none but thee," I said, seeking her eyes beneath the covert of -their lids. I breathed her name. I reached out my hand and gently -unclasped her twining fingers, and with a lift of the eyes she gave me -my answer. - -"Let the Queen say what she will!" I cried in my joy. "There is a -little place in our south country, Sheila, within sound of the sea, in a -fair forest, near soft-running brooks. I would not exchange it for a -king's palace. Good-bye the Camp, good-bye the pomp and glitter of the -Court. There will we nest ourselves, my sweet, away from the noise and -racket of the world." - - -Toby Caulfeild was approved a true prophet. My fighting days were done. -We took up our abode, Sheila and I, on my little manor, out of the -current of war and intrigue, untouched by the discords that rent England -asunder when the great Queen had gone to her rest. I never saw the -Queen again after that Christmas when she goaded me to fight; what she -would have said on hearing that I had wed an Irish maiden without her -royal consent could only be guessed. When I returned with my bride from -Ireland, the Queen was deep sunk in a lethargy, and the joys and sorrows -of mortality were beyond her ken. - - -[Illustration: tailpiece to Fifth Part] - - - - - *Postscript* - - -My grandfather took his bride home in the summer of the year 1603, and -there they lived in great happiness and contentment, rarely stirring -abroad save to make brief and sudden visits to London and to their many -friends. My father, their sole child, was born in October of the year -1604, and when he came to the age of eleven, he was sent to the school -at Winchester, whence in due order he proceeded to the New College at -Oxford. - -All these years did my grandfather hold himself aloof from the Court, -being much troubled in his mind about the foolish and heady courses of -King James. My lady grandmother told me, I remember, how that on the -day when he had news of the beheading of his old captain Sir Walter -Raleigh, he shut himself up in his chamber, and for very sorrow would -neither see nor speak with any of his household. And methinks I hear -still his full round voice rehearsing to me the famous verses which Sir -Walter wrote, the night before his death, in the Bible of the Dean of -Westminster. "He lived and died a gentleman, boy," said he to me; "and -if you would know the true signification of that word 'gentleman,' read -Castillo's _Book of the Courtier_, in Mr. Hoby's translation, though in -truth you will find all and more in the 15th Psalm." - -In the summer of the year 1623 there came to him a gentleman post-haste -from London, bearing a letter from a very great person bidding him -journey without delay to Westminster. Being beholden to the writer, he -must needs comply, though apprehensive of trouble in his quiet life. -And after two days a messenger brought from him a letter wherein he -wrote that he had been commanded to cross over to France, and ride with -all imaginable speed into Spain, on an errand of great moment. My -grandmother was sorely disquieted at this news, more especially because -he told her no more, nor indeed did she learn the cause of his going -until he returned in time to keep my father's birthday. - -It was on this wise. There had been talk for many years of a marriage -between the Infanta Maria, daughter of King Philip IV of Spain, and our -Prince Charles (now King, though a prisoner), a match very little to the -liking of our English people. But King James hoped by this alliance to -aid the cause of his son-in-law the Elector Palatine, and he carried the -business so far as that nothing was wanting except the Pope's -dispensation, whereby alone could a Catholic princess wed with a -heretic. - -Now the Prince of Wales, at that time three and twenty years of age, was -a thoughtless unsteady youth, deserving well the fond name of Baby -Charles bestowed upon him by his doting father. In consort with his -boon friend the Marquis (afterwards Duke) of Buckingham, he conceived -the lunatic fancy of going himself to Madrid, with the intent to hasten -the match, and woo the Princess in person. Wherefore in February of -that year the two headstrong young men, disguised with false beards, and -calling themselves Tom and John Smith, set forth from Newhall, crossed -the sea from Dover, and rode through France into Spain, where they were -received, having thrown off their disguise, with due honour. But, being -light-minded, they ran foul of the stiff ceremoniousness of the Spanish -Court and gave deep offence, the Prince by his levity, the Marquis by -his insolency. It was deemed fit that the Infanta should be approached -only with the forms of State; yet the Prince, seeing her walk alone in a -garden, leapt over the wall and made love to her, whereat she screamed -and fled from this too ardent wooing. The Spaniards, moreover, held it -unseemly that the Marquis, a subject, sat in his dressing-gown at the -Prince's table, turned his back upon him in public places, and bent -himself forward to stare unmannerly at the Infanta. And the Marquis was -continually at odds with Olivarez, the Spanish minister, used him -haughtily, and browbeat him without measure whether in word or deed. To -be brief, they played the fool. - -In the summer, when a month had gone by without any word arriving from -the Prince, who had been wont before to write often to his father, King -James, then afflicted with the gout, and sick also in mind, conceived -that his dear Baby Charles stood in peril of captivity, and went about -wringing his hands, and crying with tears that his only sweet son would -never see his old dear dad again. Whereupon the great person aforesaid -resolved to send some staid and discreet person privily to Madrid to -have an eye upon the Prince, and to bring him away, even by kidnapping, -if he were in truth menaced by any danger. And bethinking him of my -grandfather, and how he had acquit himself well in many divers -adventures, and moreover had had dealings with the Spaniards, he sent -for him and dispatched him forth on that errand. - -As it fell out, my grandfather had his pains for nought. The Prince, -with that deceitfulness which has brought his present woes upon him, -having made promises which he knew he could never perform, departed from -Madrid, leaving, as the custom with royal persons is, a proxy to wed the -Infanta, ten days after the Pope's dispensation should come to hand, -although he was in truth already minded to break off the match. Upon -his return, the great person acquainted King James with what he had -done, and the King sent for my grandfather, and blessed him with many -tears, and dubbed him knight. - -Thereafter Sir Christopher dwelt only in the country, beholding with -troubled eyes the headlong gait of Baby Charles after that he became -King. - -In the year 1624 my father, having proceeded Master of Arts at Oxford, -became parson of a parish in Wiltshire, and wedded the daughter of a -neighbour gentleman, and in the next year I was born. When I was -sixteen, and a scholar of Winchester, my grandfather related to me the -passages of his life which I have set forth in these writings. Five -years afterward, when the Rebellion was at its height, and my father -held obstinately for the King, he was haled before the Committee of -Sequestration, and charged in that he had incited his parishioners to -attend the King's rendezvous at Austin's Cross and also helped the royal -garrison at Longford Castle. By this Committee being ejected from his -living, he returned to his father's house, and there abode. And in the -next year, on November 15, the very day when King Charles crept into -Carisbrooke Castle, my grandfather died, to the sorrow of us who had the -chiefest cause to love him, and of the friends and neighbours among whom -he had lived in all honour and righteousness. - - - - - RICHARD CLAY & SONS, LIMITED, - BRUNSWICK STREET, STAMFORD STREET, S.E., - AND BUNGAY, SUFFOLK. - - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A GENTLEMAN-AT-ARMS *** - - - - -A Word from Project Gutenberg - - -We will update this book if we find any errors. - -This book can be found under: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/43786 - -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. Special rules, set forth in the -General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and -distributing Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic works to protect the -Project Gutenberg(tm) concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a -registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, -unless you receive specific permission. If you do not charge anything -for copies of this eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may -use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative -works, reports, performances and research. They may be modified and -printed and given away - you may do practically _anything_ with public -domain eBooks. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, -especially commercial redistribution. - - - -The Full Project Gutenberg License - - -_Please read this before you distribute or use this work._ - -To protect the Project Gutenberg(tm) mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or -any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project -Gutenberg(tm) License available with this file or online at -http://www.gutenberg.org/license. - - -Section 1. General Terms of Use & Redistributing Project Gutenberg(tm) -electronic works - - -*1.A.* By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg(tm) -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the -terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all -copies of Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic works in your possession. If -you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project -Gutenberg(tm) electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the -terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or -entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. - -*1.B.* "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things -that you can do with most Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic works even -without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph -1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg(tm) electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement -and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic -works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -*1.C.* The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of -Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic works. Nearly all the individual works -in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an -individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are -located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you -from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating -derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project -Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the -Project Gutenberg(tm) mission of promoting free access to electronic -works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg(tm) works in compliance with -the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg(tm) name -associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this -agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full -Project Gutenberg(tm) License when you share it without charge with -others. - - -*1.D.* The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in -a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check -the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement -before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or -creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project -Gutenberg(tm) work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning -the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United -States. - -*1.E.* Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -*1.E.1.* The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg(tm) License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg(tm) work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - 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 http://www.gutenberg.org - -*1.E.2.* If an individual Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic work is -derived from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating -that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can -be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying -any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a -work with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on -the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs -1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the -Project Gutenberg(tm) trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or -1.E.9. - -*1.E.3.* If an individual Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic work is -posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and -distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and -any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg(tm) License for all works posted -with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of -this work. - -*1.E.4.* Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project -Gutenberg(tm) License terms from this work, or any files containing a -part of this work or any other work associated with Project -Gutenberg(tm). - -*1.E.5.* Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg(tm) License. - -*1.E.6.* You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any -word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or -distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg(tm) work in a format other than -"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version -posted on the official Project Gutenberg(tm) web site -(http://www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or -expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a -means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original -"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include -the full Project Gutenberg(tm) License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -*1.E.7.* Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg(tm) works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -*1.E.8.* You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic works -provided that - - - You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg(tm) works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg(tm) trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - - - You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg(tm) - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg(tm) - works. - - - You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - - - You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg(tm) works. - - -*1.E.9.* If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg(tm) electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael -Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg(tm) trademark. Contact the -Foundation as set forth in Section 3. below. - -*1.F.* - -*1.F.1.* Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg(tm) collection. -Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic works, and the -medium on which they may be stored, may contain "Defects," such as, but -not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription -errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a -defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer -codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. - -*1.F.2.* LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg(tm) trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg(tm) electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. -YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, -BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN -PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND -ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR -ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES -EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. - -*1.F.3.* LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with -your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with -the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a -refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity -providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to -receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy -is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further -opportunities to fix the problem. - -*1.F.4.* Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS,' WITH NO OTHER -WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO -WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -*1.F.5.* Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. -If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the -law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be -interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by -the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any -provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. - -*1.F.6.* INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic works in accordance -with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, -promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic works, -harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, -that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do -or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg(tm) -work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any -Project Gutenberg(tm) work, and (c) any Defect you cause. - - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg(tm) - - -Project Gutenberg(tm) is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers -including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists -because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from -people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need, is critical to reaching Project Gutenberg(tm)'s -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg(tm) collection will remain -freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and -permanent future for Project Gutenberg(tm) and future generations. To -learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and -how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the -Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org . - - -Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive -Foundation - - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state -of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue -Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification number is -64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at -http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf . Contributions to the -Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the -full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. -S. Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered -throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at 809 -North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email -business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact -information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official page -at http://www.pglaf.org - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation - - -Project Gutenberg(tm) depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where -we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state -visit http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any -statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside -the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways -including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, -please visit: http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate - - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic -works. - - -Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg(tm) -concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared -with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project -Gutenberg(tm) eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg(tm) eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. unless -a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks -in compliance with any particular paper edition. - -Each eBook is in a subdirectory of the same number as the eBook's eBook -number, often in several formats including plain vanilla ASCII, -compressed (zipped), HTML and others. - -Corrected _editions_ of our eBooks replace the old file and take over -the old filename and etext number. The replaced older file is renamed. -_Versions_ based on separate sources are treated as new eBooks receiving -new filenames and etext numbers. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: - - http://www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg(tm), -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |