diff options
Diffstat (limited to '49282.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 49282.txt | 6210 |
1 files changed, 0 insertions, 6210 deletions
diff --git a/49282.txt b/49282.txt deleted file mode 100644 index c3e9d64..0000000 --- a/49282.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6210 +0,0 @@ - THE CHRONICLES OF THE IMP - - - - -This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United -States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are -located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Chronicles of the Imp -Author: Jeffery Farnol -Release Date: June 25, 2015 [EBook #49282] -Language: English -Character set encoding: US-ASCII - - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHRONICLES OF THE IMP *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines. - - - - - -[Illustration: "_Edging my way, therefore, still further along the -branch, I kicked out in a desperate endeavour to reach the boat._"] - - - - - *THE CHRONICLES - OF THE IMP* - - A ROMANCE - - - BY - - JEFFERY FARNOL - - AUTHOR OF "THE BROAD HIGHWAY," "THE MONEY MOON," - "THE AMATEUR GENTLEMAN," "THE HON. MR. TAWNISH," - "BELTANE THE SMITH" - - - - ALSO - AN APPRECIATION - THE AUTHOR AND HIS WORK - BY CLEMENT K. SHORTER - - - - NEW AND CHEAPER EDITION - - - - LONDON - SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON & CO., LTD. - 1915 - - - - - *JEFFERY FARNOL AND HIS WORK* - - _An Appreciation_ - - BY - - CLEMENT K. SHORTER - - -Mr. Jeffery Farnol is an Englishman, and his best-known book, _The Broad -Highway_, is redolent of the atmosphere of his native country. -Nevertheless it was written in the United States of America, and perhaps -it has enjoyed its greatest popularity there. Yet three American -publishers refused the book, and so Mr. Farnol is one of a long list of -authors who have worked their way through much tribulation to success. -I confess that such episodes in the romance of publishing attract me -mightily. I rather like to hear of the short-sighted publisher who -rejects an author's book and finds out, when too late, that he has lost -money and reputation by his lack of prescience. And I like also to hear -the story of the loyal friend who, reading a manuscript, stands by his -judgment and introduces that friend to a publisher, with the happiest -results for both. That is Mr. Farnol's personal romance. The friend in -question was Mr. Shirley Byron Jevons, to whom the manuscript was sent -from America. Mr. Jevons, after an enthusiastic perusal, carried it to -Mr. Fred J. Rymer, a director of Sampson Low, Marston & Co., the -publishers. The book was published, and a sale throughout the -English-speaking world of 600,000 was the result. I hope I may be -forgiven for recalling that Mr. Rymer brought the manuscript to me. -Well do I remember his enthusiasm and my lack of it. I have read too -many manuscripts in my life as an editor ever to wish to usurp the -duties of a publisher or of a publisher's literary adviser. I should -hate the life. Think of that publisher and what he would feel about you -if perchance you had persuaded him to refuse this or that "best-seller," -as our American friends call the very popular book. Imagine the feelings -of the publishers whose readers advised them to refuse Charlotte -Bronte's _Professor_ without at the same time persuading the author to -write a _Jane Eyre_. But Mr. Rymer was an old acquaintance and I -promised to read his new-found story. I added the remark, I remember, -that I was rather used to publishers counting their geese as swans. Mr. -Rymer told me long afterwards that he brought the book to me because he -knew of my devotion to George Borrow. - -In any case I read _The Broad Highway_ with avidity, and recognised at -once--as who would not have done?--that here was a striking addition to -picaresque romances, that the author had not read _Don Quixote, Gil -Blas_, and the best stories by Defoe and Fielding for nothing, nor had -he walked along the broad highways of England without observation and -profit any more than had the creator of _Lavengro_ and _Romany Rye_. -For the vast multitude of readers of each epoch the dictum of Emerson -stands: "Every age must write its own books." It is of no use for the -pedantic critic to affirm, with pontifical fervour, that Cervantes and -Le Sage and Defoe are masters of literature and that our contemporaries -are but pigmies in comparison. The great reading public of any age will -not be bullied into reading the authors who have reached the dignity of -classics. The writer who can catch some element of the spirit of the -"masters" and modernise it, is destined to win the favour of the crowd. -And thus Mr. Jeffery Farnol has entered into his kingdom. - -Mr. Farnol was born in Birmingham some thirty-six years ago. His early -years were spent at Lee, in Kent, where he and a younger brother Ewart, -who fell in the Boer War, went to school. Our author recalls with -gratitude that his mother never failed to believe in his possession of a -literary gift, and had, in his boyhood, hopes of seeing him an author, -and faith that he would be a successful one. But circumstances seemed -to throw him into a quite different kind of activity, and everything -pointed to the probability that his livelihood would be obtained in a -world remote from literature. Schooldays were followed by an -apprenticeship to engineering in London and in Birmingham. His -experience included the work of the smithy, which must have been of -service to him when he came to write _The Broad Highway_. Very badly -equipped for the struggle of life in a strange land he rashly betook -himself to New York, where his wife--he married when quite young--had -friends. I imagine that a great gulf is fixed between the world to -which Mr. Farnol introduces us in his romances and the early struggles -that he met with in New York. For a long period he was a scene painter -at the Astor Theatre, "and must," a friend assures us, "have daubed -miles of scenery in his time." His income from this work was -supplemented by the sale of occasional short stories. And then, in this -most practical of cities, amid an atmosphere of up-to-dateness and -progress of which those who only know the quieter ways of London can -form no idea, he wrote his romance of an unprogressive world with stage -coaches, boxers, and idyllic love--the world that Mr. Austin Dobson has -so happily presented in his poem, "A Gentleman of the Old School": - - He lived in that past Georgian day, - When men were less inclined to say - That "Time is Gold," and overlay - With toil their pleasure; - He held some land, and dwelt thereon,-- - Where, I forget,--the house is gone; - His Christian name, I think, was John,-- - His surname, Leisure. - -Then followed some unhappy days which lengthened into months during -which the author of _The Broad Highway_ was endeavouring to find a -publisher. Three separate publishing houses in New York refused the -book; two turned it down without ceremony; a third gave as a reason that -it was "too long and too English." One of the actors of the Astor -Theatre was about to fulfil an engagement in Boston, and offered to show -the manuscript to a publisher in that city. Long months afterwards that -friend returned to New York, and Mr. Farnol found to his chagrin that he -had forgotten all about his promise. The unlucky story was still at the -bottom of his trunk. The author, now almost in despair, sent the -manuscript to his wife, who was residing at Engelwood, New Jersey, and -asked her to burn it. But his wife had the happy thought of sending it -to England--to Mr. Shirley Jevons, who was then occupying the editorial -chair of _The Sportsman_, and was a friend of the family. Mr. Jevons -read it with enthusiasm, and with such results as we have already noted. -The book sold like wildfire. The author returned to England to win -further laurels. Here I find a pleasant coincidence in the fact that -the London firm of Sampson Low, having accepted the story, offered it to -Little, Brown & Co. of Boston, where their accomplished representative, -Mr. Herbert Jenkins, at once perceived the merits of the story and -acquired the American rights. This, it seems, was the very firm to -which Mr. Farnol's actor-friend intended to show the manuscript and -forgot to keep his promise. _The Broad Highway_, as I have said, sold -in hundreds of thousands. It has appeared in an edition de luxe with -beautiful illustrations by C. E. Brock. It is a breezy, healthy book, -as unpretentious as it is sincere. Neither its author nor his friends -need to worry themselves as to whether it is a masterpiece of -literature. For our day, at least, it has added to the stock of -harmless pleasures. To the critic who complains that "it is but an -exercise in archaeology," and that the author "has never felt what he -has written but has gathered it up from books," one can but reply in the -language of Goldsmith's Mr. Burchell, "Fudge." It is still possible in -England, in spite of its railway trains and its mechanical development, -to feel the impulse which inspired Charles Dickens, George Borrow, and -all the masters of the picaresque romance, who have in days gone by -travelled with delight through the countryside, seeking adventures and -finding them. "I felt some desire," says Lavengro, "to meet with one of -those adventures which, upon the roads of England, are as plentiful as -blackberries in autumn." Mr. Farnol has a talent for recreating such -adventures, and he is perfectly frank with his readers, anticipating a -certain type of criticism. "Whereas the writing of books was once a -painful art," he makes Peter Vibart say in _The Broad Highway_, "it has -of late become a trick very easy of accomplishment, requiring no regard -for probability and little thought, so long as it is packed sufficiently -full of impossible incidents through which a ridiculous heroine and a -more absurd hero duly sigh their appointed way to the last chapter. -Whereas books were once a power, they are of late degenerated into -things of amusement, with which to kill an idle hour, and be promptly -forgotten the next." - -One might almost have believed that it was impossible to accomplish the -"trick" twice and to provide yet a second adventure story as good as the -first, but this our author has achieved in _The Amateur Gentleman_, -where the adventures of Barnabas, the son of the prize-fighter, are as -varied and exciting as those of Peter Vibart in the earlier romance. Mr. -Farnol has been responsible for yet two other stories, _The Money Moon_ -and _The Honourable Mr. Tawnish_, but nothing has he written quite in -the lines of _The Chronicles of the Imp_. Here indeed is a simple story -with which we may pass a pleasant hour. I hope you will like the Imp -and his Aunt as much as I have done. Alone among the successful authors -of our generation--among those, that is, whose work runs into -circulations of hundreds of thousands--Mr. Farnol wins me by his -unpretentiousness. He has no gospel to preach, no crude law of life to -enunciate. He is content to entertain and amuse, to give us sunny hours -of recreation, and never more than now are writers of this order needed -for our solace. - - - - - *CONTENTS* - -CHAP. - - I. Treasure Trove - II. The Sheriff of Nottingham - III. The Desperadoes - IV. At the Three Jolly Anglers - V. The Episode of the Indian's Aunt - VI. The Outlaw - VII. The Blasted Oak - VIII. The Land of Heart's Delight - - - - - *THE CHRONICLES OF THE IMP* - - - - *CHAPTER I* - - *TREASURE TROVE* - - -I sat fishing. I had not caught anything, of course--I rarely do, nor -am I fond of fishing in the very smallest degree, but I fished -assiduously all the same, because circumstances demanded it. - -It had all come about through Lady Warburton, Lisbeth's maternal aunt. -Who Lisbeth is you will learn if you trouble to read these veracious -narratives--suffice it for the present that she has been an orphan from -her youth up, with no living relative save her married sister Julia and -her Aunt (with a capital A)--the Lady Warburton aforesaid. - -Lady Warburton is small and somewhat bony, with a sharp chin and a -sharper nose, and invariably uses a lorgnette; also, she is possessed of -much worldly goods. - -Precisely a week ago Lady Warburton had requested me to call upon -her--had regarded me with a curious exactitude through her lorgnette, -and gently though firmly (Lady Warburton is always firm) had suggested -that Elizabeth, though a dear child, was young and inclined to be a -little self-willed. That she (Lady Warburton) was of opinion that -Elizabeth had mistaken the friendship which had existed between us so -long for something stronger. That although she (Lady Warburton) quite -appreciated the fact that one who wrote books was not necessarily -immoral--still I was, of course, a terrible Bohemian, and the air of -Bohemia was not calculated to conduce to that degree of matrimonial -harmony which she (Lady Warburton) as Elizabeth's Aunt, standing to her -in place of a mother, could wish for. That, therefore, under these -circumstances, my attentions were--etc. etc. - -Here I would say in justice to myself that despite the torrent of her -eloquence I had at first made some attempt at resistance; but who could -hope to contend successfully against a woman possessed of such an -indomitable nose and chin, and one, moreover, who could level a jewelled -lorgnette with such deadly precision? Still, had Lisbeth been beside me, -things might have been different even then; but she had gone away into -the country--so Lady Warburton had informed me. Thus, alone and at her -mercy, she had succeeded in wringing from me a half promise that I would -cease my attentions for the space of six months, "just to give dear -Elizabeth time to learn her own heart in regard to the matter." - -This was last Monday. On the Wednesday following, as I wandered -aimlessly along Piccadilly, at odds with fortune and myself, but -especially with myself, my eye encountered the Duchess of Chelsea. - -The Duchess is familiarly known as the "Conversational Brook" from the -fact that when once she begins she goes on for ever. Hence, being in my -then frame of mind, it was with a feeling of rebellion that I obeyed the -summons of her parasol and crossed over to the brougham. - -"So she's gone away?" was her greeting as I raised my hat--"Lisbeth," -she nodded, "I happened to hear something about her, you know." - -It is strange, perhaps, but the Duchess generally does "happen to hear" -something about everything. - -"And you actually allowed yourself to be bullied into making that -promise--Dick! Dick! I'm ashamed of you." - -"How was I to help myself?" I began. "You see----" - -"Poor boy!" said the Duchess, patting me affectionately with the handle -of her parasol, "it wasn't to be expected, of course. You see, I know -her--many, many years ago I was at school with Agatha Warburton." - -"But she probably didn't use lorgnettes then, and----" - -"Her nose was just as sharp though--'peaky,' I used to call it," nodded -the Duchess. "And she has actually sent Lisbeth away--dear child--and to -such a horrid, quiet little place, too, where she'll have nobody to talk -to but that young Selwyn----" - -"I beg pardon, Duchess, but----" - -"Horace Selwyn, of Selwyn Park--cousin to Lord Selwyn, of Brankesmere. -Agatha has been scheming for it a long time, under the rose, you know. -Of course, it would be a good match in a way--wealthy, and all that--but -I must say he bores me horribly--so very serious and precise!" - -"Really!" I exclaimed, "do you mean to say----" - -"I expect she will have them married before they know it--Agatha's -dreadfully determined. Her character lies in her nose and chin." - -"But Lisbeth is not a child--she has a will of her own, and----" - -"True," nodded the Duchess, "but is it a match for Agatha's chin? And -then, too, it is rather more than possible that you are become the -object of her bitterest scorn by now." - -"But, my dear Duchess----" - -"Oh, Agatha is a born diplomat. Of course she has written before this, -and, without actually saying it, has managed to convey the fact that you -are a monster of perfidy; and Lisbeth, poor child, who is probably -crying her eyes out, or imagining she hates you, is ready to accept the -first proposal she receives out of pure pique." - -"What on earth can I do?" I exclaimed. - -"You might go fishing," the Duchess suggested thoughtfully. - -"Fishing!" I repeated, "--er, to be sure, but----" - -"Riverdale is a very pretty place, they tell me," pursued the Duchess in -the same thoughtful tone; "there is a house there, a fine old place, -called Fane Court. It stands facing the river, and adjoins Selwyn Park, -I believe." - -"Duchess," I exclaimed, as I jotted down the address upon my cuff, "I -owe you a debt of gratitude that I can never----" - -"Tut, tut!" said her Grace. - -"I think I'll start to-day, and----" - -"You really couldn't do better," nodded the Duchess. - - -And so it befell that upon this August afternoon I sat in the shade of -the alders fishing, with the smoke of my pipe floating up into the -sunshine. - -By adroit questioning I had elicited from mine host of the Three Jolly -Anglers the precise whereabouts of Fane Court, the abode of Lisbeth's -sister, and, guided by his directions, had chosen this sequestered spot, -where by simply turning my head I could catch a glimpse of its tall -chimneys above the swaying green of tree-tops. - -It is a fair thing upon a hot summer's afternoon, within some shady -bower, to lie upon one's back and stare up through a network of branches -into the limitless blue beyond, while the air is full of the stir of -leaves, and the murmur of water among the reeds. Or, propped on lazy -elbow, to watch perspiring wretches, short of breath and purple of -visage, urge boats up stream or down, each deluding himself into the -belief that he is enjoying it. Life under such conditions may seem very -fair, as I say; yet I was not happy. The words of the Duchess seemed -everywhere about me. - -"You are become the object of her bitterest scorn by now," sobbed the -wind. - -"You are become," etc. etc., moaned the river. It was therefore with no -little trepidation that I looked forward to my meeting with Lisbeth. - -It was at this moment that the bushes parted and a boy appeared. He was -a somewhat diminutive boy, clad in a velvet suit with a lace collar, -both of which were plentifully bespattered with mud. He carried his -shoes and stockings beneath one arm, and in the other hand swung a hazel -branch. He stood with his little brown legs well apart, regarding me -with a critical eye; but when at length he spoke his attitude was -decidedly friendly. - -"Hallo, man!" - -"Hallo," I returned; "and who may you be?" - -"Well," he answered gravely, "my real name is Reginald Augustus, but -they call me 'The Imp.'" - -"I can well believe it," I said, eyeing his muddy person. - -"If you please, what is an imp?" - -"An imp," I explained, "is a sort of an--angel." - -"But," he demurred, after a moment's thought, "I haven't got any wings -an' things--or a trumpet." - -"Your kind never do have wings, or trumpets." - -"Oh, I see," he said; and sitting down began to wipe the mud from his -legs with his stockings. - -"Rather muddy, aren't you?" I hinted. The boy cast a furtive glance at -his draggled person. - -"'Fraid I'm a teeny bit wet, too," he said hesitatingly. "You see, I've -been playing at 'Romans,' an' I had to wade, you know, 'cause was the -standard-bearer who jumped into the sea waving his sword an' crying, -'Follow me!' You remember him, don't you?--he's in the history book." - -"To be sure," I nodded; "a truly heroic character. But if you were the -Romans, where were the Ancient Britons?" - -"Oh, they were the reeds, you know; you ought to have seen me slay them. -It was fine; they went down like--like----" - -"Corn before the sickle," I suggested. - -"Yes, just!" he cried; "the battle raged for hours." - -"You must be rather tired." - -"'Course not," he answered, with an indignant look. "I'm not a -girl--an' I'm nearly nine, too." - -"I gather from your tone that you are not partial to the sex--you don't -like girls, eh, Imp?" - -"Should think not," he returned; "silly things, girls are. There's -Dorothy, you know; we were playing at executions the other day--she was -Mary Queen of Scots an' I was the headsman. I made a lovely axe with -wood and silver paper, you know; an' when I cut her head off she cried -awfully, an' I only gave her the weeniest little tap--an' they sent me -to bed at six o'clock for it. I believe she cried on purpose--awfully -caddish, wasn't it?" - -"My dear Imp," said I, "the older you grow the more the depravity of the -sex will become apparent to you." - -"Do you know, I like you," he said, regarding me thoughtfully. "I think -you are fine." - -"Now that's very nice of you, Imp; in common with my kind I have a -weakness for flattery--please go on." - -"I mean, I think you are jolly." - -"As to that," I said, shaking my head and sighing, "appearances are -often very deceptive; at the heart of many a fair blossom there is a -canker-worm." - -"I'm awfull' fond of worms, too," said the Imp. - -"Indeed?" - -"Yes. I got a pocketful yesterday, only Auntie found out an' made me -let them all go again." - -"Ah--yes," I said sympathetically; "that was the woman of it." - -"I've only got one left now," continued the Imp; and thrusting a hand -into the pocket of his knickerbockers he drew forth six inches or so of -slimy worm and held it out to me upon his small, grimy palm. - -"He's nice and fat!" I said. - -"Yes," nodded the Imp; "I caught him under the gooseberry bushes;" and -dropping it back into his pocket he proceeded to don his shoes and -stockings. - -"'Fraid I'm a bit muddy," he said suddenly. - -"Oh, you might be worse," I answered reassuringly. - -"Do you think they'll notice it?" he inquired, contorting himself -horribly in order to view the small of his back. - -"Well," I hesitated, "it all depends, you know." - -"I don't mind Dorothy, or Betty the cook, or the governess--it's Auntie -Lisbeth I'm thinking about." - -"Auntie--who?" I exclaimed, regardless of grammar. - -"Auntie Lisbeth," repeated the Imp. - -"What is she like?" - -"Oh, she's grown up big, only she's nice. She came to take care of -Dorothy an' me while mother goes away to get nice an' strong--oh, Auntie -Lisbeth's jolly, you know." - -"With black hair and blue eyes?" The Imp nodded. - -"And a dimple at the corner of her mouth?" I went on dreamily. - -"An' do you know my Auntie Lisbeth?" - -"I think it extremely probable--in fact, I'm sure of it." - -"Then you might lend me your handkerchief, please; I tied mine to a bush -for a flag, you know, an' it blew away." - -"You'd better come here and I'll give you a rub down, my Imp." He -obeyed, with many profuse expressions of gratitude. - -"Have you got any Aunties?" he inquired, as I laboured upon his miry -person. - -"No," I answered, shaking my head; "unfortunately mine are all Aunts, -and that is vastly different." - -"Oh," said the Imp, regarding me with a puzzled expression; "are they -nice--I mean do they ever read to you out of the history book, an help -you to sail boats, an' paddle?" - -"Paddle?" I repeated. - -"Yes. My Aunt Lisbeth does. The other day we got up awfull' early an' -went for a walk, an' we came to the river, so we took off our shoes an' -stockings an' we paddled; it was ever so jolly, you know. An' when -Auntie wasn't looking I found a frog an' put it in her stocking." - -"Highly strategic, my Imp! Well?" - -"It was awfull' funny," he said, smiling dreamily. "When she went to -put 'em on she gave a little high-up scream, like Dorothy does when I -pinch her a bit--an' then she throwed them both away, 'cause she was -afraid there was frogs in both of them. Then she put on her shoes -without any stockings at all, so I hid them." - -"Where?" I cried eagerly. - -"Reggie!" called a voice some distance away--a voice I recognised with a -thrill. "Reggie!" - -"Imp, would you like half a crown?" - -"'Course I would; but you might clean my back, please!" and he began -rubbing himself feverishly with his cap, after the fashion of a -scrubbing-brush. - -"Look here," I said, pulling out the coin, "tell me where you hid -them--quick--and I'll give you this." The Imp held out his hand, but, -even as he did so, the bushes parted, and Lisbeth stood before us. She -gave a little low cry of surprise at sight of me, and then frowned. - -"You?" she exclaimed. - -"Yes," I answered, raising my cap. And there I stopped, trying -frantically to remember the speech I had so carefully prepared--the -greeting which was to have explained my conduct and disarmed her -resentment at the very outset. But, rack my brain as I would, I could -think of nothing but the reproach in her eyes--her disdainful mouth and -chin--and that one haunting phrase-- - -"'I suppose I am become the object of your bitterest scorn by now?'" I -found myself saying. - -"My Aunt informed me of--of everything, and naturally----" - -"Let me explain," I began. - -"Really, it is not at all necessary." - -"But, Lisbeth, I must--I insist----" - -"Reginald," she said, turning toward the Imp, who was still busy with -his cap, "it's nearly tea-time, and--why, whatever have you been doing -to yourself?" - -"For the last half-hour," I interposed, "we have been exchanging our -opinions on the sex." - -"An' talking 'bout worms," added the Imp. "This man is fond of worms, -too, Auntie Lisbeth--I like him." - -"Thanks," I said; "but let me beg of you to drop your very distant mode -of address. Call me Uncle Dick." - -"But you're not my Uncle Dick, you know," he demurred. - -"Not yet, perhaps; but there's no knowing what may happen some day if -your Auntie thinks us worthy--so take time by the forelock, my Imp, and -call me Uncle Dick." - -Whatever Lisbeth might or might not have said was checked by the patter -of footsteps, and a little girl tripped into view, with a small, fluffy -kitten cuddled in her arms. - -"Oh, Auntie Lisbeth," she began, but stopped to stare at me over the -back of the fluffy kitten. - -"Hallo, Dorothy!" cried the Imp; "this is Uncle Dick. You can come an' -shake hands with him if you like." - -"I didn't know I had an Uncle Dick," said Dorothy, hesitating. - -"Oh yes; it's all right," answered the Imp reassuringly. "I found him, -you know, an' he likes worms, too!" - -Dorothy gave me her hand demurely. - -"How do you do, Uncle Dick?" she said in a quaint, old-fashioned way. -"Reginald is always finding things, you know, an' he likes worms, too!" - -From somewhere near by there came the silvery chime of a bell. - -"Why, there's the tea-bell!" exclaimed Lisbeth; "and, Reginald, you have -to change those muddy clothes. Say good-bye to Mr. Brent, children, and -come along." - -"Imp," I whispered, as the others turned away, "where did you hide those -stockings?" And I slipped the half-crown into his ready palm. - -"Along the river there's a tree--very big an' awfull' fat, you know, -with a lot of stickie-out branches, an' a hole in its stomach--they're -in there." - -"Reginald!" called Lisbeth. - -"Up stream or down?" - -"That way," he answered, pointing vaguely down stream; and with a nod -that brought the yellow curls over his eyes he scampered off. - -"Along the river," I repeated, "in a big, fat tree with a lot of -stickie-out branches!" It sounded a trifle indefinite, I thought--still -I could but try. So having packed up my rod I set out upon the search. - -It was strange, perhaps, but nearly every tree I saw seemed to be either -"big" or "fat"--and all of them had "stickie-out" branches. - -Thus the sun was already low in the west, and I was lighting my fifth -pipe when I at length observed the tree in question. - -A great pollard oak it was, standing upon the very edge of the stream, -easily distinguishable by its unusual size and the fact that at some -time or another it had been riven by lightning. After all, the Imp's -description had been in the main correct; it was "fat," immensely fat; -and I hurried joyfully forward. - -I was still some way off when I saw the distinct flutter of a white -skirt, and--yes, sure enough, there was Lisbeth, walking quickly, too, -and she was a great deal nearer the tree than I. - -Prompted by a sudden conviction I dropped my rod and began to run. -Immediately Lisbeth began running too. I threw away my creel and -sprinted for all I was worth. I had earned some small fame at this sort -of thing in my university days, yet I arrived at the tree with only a -very few yards to spare. Throwing myself upon my knees, I commenced a -feverish search, and presently--more by good fortune than anything -else--my random fingers encountered a soft silken bundle. When Lisbeth -came up, flushed and panting, I held them in my hands. - -"Give them to me!" she cried. - -"I'm sorry----" - -"Please," she begged. - -"I'm very sorry----" - -"Mr. Brent," said Lisbeth, drawing herself up, "I'll trouble you for -my--them." - -"Pardon me, Lisbeth," I answered, "but if I remember anything of the law -of 'treasure-trove' one of these should go to the Crown, and one belongs -to me." - -Lisbeth grew quite angry--one of her few bad traits. - -"You will give them up at once--immediately." - -"On the contrary," I said very gently, "seeing the Crown can have no use -for one, I shall keep them both to dream over when the nights are long -and lonely." - -Lisbeth actually stamped her foot at me, and I tucked "them" into my -pocket. - -"How did you know they--they were here?" she inquired after a pause. - -"I was directed to a tree with 'stickie-out' branches," I answered. - -"Oh, that Imp!" she exclaimed, and stamped her foot again. - -"Do you know, I've grown quite attached to that nephew of mine already?" -I said. - -"He's not a nephew of yours," cried Lisbeth quite hotly. - -"Not legally, perhaps; that is where you might be of such assistance to -us, Lisbeth. A boy with only an aunt here and there, is unbalanced, so -to speak; he requires the stronger influence of an uncle. Not," I -continued hastily, "that I would depreciate aunts--by the way, he has -but one, I believe?" Lisbeth nodded coldly. - -"Of course," I nodded, "and very lucky in that one--extremely fortunate. -Now, years ago, when I was a boy, I had three, and all of them blanks, -so to speak. I mean none of them ever read to me out of the history -book, or helped me to sail boats, or paddled and lost their---- No, -mine used to lecture me about my hair and nails, I remember, and glare -at me over the big tea-urn until I choked into my teacup. A truly -desolate childhood mine. I had no big-fisted uncle to thump me -persuasively when I needed it; had fortune granted me one I might have -been a very different man, Lisbeth. You behold in me a horrible example -of what one may become whose boyhood has been denuded of uncles." - -"If you will be so very obliging as to return my--my property." - -"My dear Lisbeth," I sighed, "be reasonable; suppose we talk of -something else"--and I attempted, though quite vainly, to direct her -attention to the glories of the sunset. - -A fallen tree lay near by, upon which Lisbeth seated herself with a -certain determined set of her little round chin that I knew well. - -"And how long do you intend keeping me here?" she asked in a resigned -tone. - -"Always, if I had my way." - -"Really?" she said, and whole volumes could never describe all the scorn -she managed to put into that single word. "You see," she continued, -"after what Aunt Agatha wrote and told me----" - -"Lisbeth," I broke in, "if you'll only----" - -"I naturally supposed----" - -"If you'll only let me explain----" - -"That you would abide by the promise you made her and wait----" - -"Until you knew your own heart," I put in. "The question is how long -will it take you? Probably, if you would allow me to teach you----" - -"Your presence here now stamps you as--as horribly deceitful!" - -"Undoubtedly," I nodded; "but, you see, when I was foolish enough to -give that promise, your very excellent Aunt made no reference to her -intentions regarding a certain Mr. Selwyn." - -"Oh!" exclaimed Lisbeth. And feeling that I had made a point, I -continued with redoubled ardour: - -"She gave me to understand that she merely wished you to have time to -know your own heart in the matter. Now, as I said before, how long will -it take you to find out, Lisbeth?" - -She sat, chin in hand, staring straight before her, and her black brows -were still drawn together in a frown. But I watched her mouth--just -where the scarlet underlip curved up to meet its fellow. - -Lisbeth's mouth is a trifle wide, perhaps, and rather full-lipped, and -somewhere at one corner--I can never be quite certain of its exact -location, because its appearance is, as a rule, so very meteoric--but -somewhere there is a dimple. Now, if ever there was an arrant traitor -in this world it is that dimple; for let her expression be ever so -guileless, let her wistful eyes be raised with a look of tears in their -blue depths, despite herself that dimple will spring into life and undo -it all in a moment. So it was now; even as I watched, it quivered round -her lips, and feeling herself betrayed, the frown vanished altogether -and she smiled. - -"And now, Dick, suppose you give me my--my----" - -"Conditionally," I said, sitting down beside her. - -The sun had set, and from somewhere among the purple shadows of the wood -the rich, deep notes of a blackbird came to us, with pauses now and -then, filled in with the rustle of leaves and the distant lowing of -cows. - -"Not far from the village of Down in Kent," I began dreamily, "there -stands an old house with quaint, high-gabled roofs and twisted Tudor -chimneys. Many years ago it was the home of fair ladies and gallant -gentlemen, but its glory is long past. And yet, Lisbeth, when I think -of it at such an hour as this, and with you beside me, I begin to wonder -if we could not manage between us to bring back the old order of -things." - -Lisbeth was silent. - -"It has a wonderful old-fashioned rose garden, and you are fond of -roses, Lisbeth." - -"Yes," she murmured; "I'm very fond of roses." - -"They would be in full bloom now," I suggested. - -There was another pause, during which the blackbird performed three or -four difficult arias with astonishing ease and precision. - -"Aunt Agatha is fond of roses, too!" said Lisbeth at last very gravely. -"Poor dear Aunt, I wonder what she would say if she could see us now?" - -"Such things are better left to the imagination," I answered. - -"I ought to write and tell her," murmured Lisbeth. - -"But you won't do that, of course?" - -"No, I won't do that, if----" - -"Well?" - -"If you will give me--them." - -"One," I demurred. - -"Both!" - -"On one condition, then--just once, Lisbeth?" - -Her lips were very near, her lashes drooped, and for one delicious -moment she hesitated. Then I felt a little tug at my coat pocket, and -springing to her feet she was away with "them" clutched in her hand. - -"Trickery!" I cried, and started in pursuit. - -There is a path through the woods leading to the Shrubbery at Fane -Court. Down this she fled, and her laughter came to me on the wind. I -was close upon her when she reached the gate, and darting through, -turned, flushed but triumphant. - -"I've won!" she mocked, nodding her head at me. - -"Who can cope with the duplicity of a woman?" I retorted. "But, -Lisbeth, you will give me one--just one?" - -"It would spoil the pair." - -"Oh, very well," I sighed, "good-night, Lisbeth," and lifting my cap I -turned away. - -There came a ripple of laughter behind me, something struck me softly -upon the cheek, and, stooping, I picked up that which lay half unrolled -at my feet, but when I looked round Lisbeth was gone. - -So presently I thrust "them" into my pocket and walked back slowly along -the river path toward the hospitable shelter of the Three Jolly Anglers. - - - - - *CHAPTER II* - - *THE SHERIFF OF NOTTINGHAM* - - -To sit beside a river on a golden afternoon listening to its whispered -melody, while the air about one is fragrant with summer, and heavy with -the drone of unseen wings!--What ordinary mortal could wish for more? - -And yet, though conscious of this fair world about me, I was still -uncontent, for my world was incomplete--nay, lacked its most essential -charm, and I sat with my ears on the stretch, waiting for Lisbeth's -chance footstep on the path and the soft whisper of her skirts. - -The French are indeed a great people, for among many other things they -alone have caught that magic sound a woman's garments make as she walks, -and given it to the world in the one word "_frou-frou_." - -O wondrous word! O word sublime! How full art thou of delicate -suggestion! Truly there can be no sweeter sound to ears masculine upon -a golden summer afternoon--or any other time, for that matter--than the -soft "_frou-frou_" that tells him _She_ is coming. - -At this point my thoughts were interrupted by something which hurtled -through the air and splashed into the water at my feet. Glancing at -this object, I recognised the loud-toned cricket cap affected by the -Imp, and reaching for it, I fished it out on the end of my rod. It was -a hideous thing of red, white, blue, and green--a really horrible -affair, and therefore much prized by its owner, as I knew. - -Behind me the bank rose some four or five feet, crowned with willows and -underbrush, from the other side of which there now came a prodigious -rustling and panting. Rising to my feet, therefore, I parted the leaves -with extreme care, and beheld the Imp himself. - -He was armed to the teeth--that is to say, a wooden sword swung at his -thigh, a tin bugle depended from his belt, and he carried a bow and -arrow. Opposite him, was another boy, particularly ragged at knee and -elbow, who stood with hands thrust into his pockets and grinned. - -"Base caitiff, hold!" cried the Imp, fitting an arrow to the string; -"stand an' deliver. Give me my cap, thou varlet, thou!" The boy's grin -expanded. - -"Give me my cap, base slave, or I'll shoot you--by my troth!" As he -spoke the Imp aimed his arrow, whereupon the boy ducked promptly. - -"I ain't got yer cap," he grinned from the shelter of his arm. "It's -been an' gone an' throwed itself into the river!" The Imp let fly his -arrow, which was answered by a yell from the Base Varlet. - -"Yah!" he cried derisively as the Imp drew his sword with a melodramatic -flourish. "Yah! put down that stick an' I'll fight yer." - -The Imp indignantly repudiated his trusty weapon being called "a -stick"--"an' I don't think," he went on, "that Robin Hood ever fought -without his sword. Let's see what the book says," and he drew a very -crumpled paper-covered volume from, his pocket, which he consulted with -knitted brows, while the Base Varlet watched him, open-mouthed. - -"Oh yes," nodded the Imp; "it's all right. Listen to this!" and he read -as follows in a stern, deep voice: - -"'Then Robin tossed aside his trusty blade, an' laying bare his knotted -arm, approached the dastardly ruffian with many a merry quip and jest, -prepared for the fierce death-grip.'" - -Hereupon the Imp laid aside his book and weapons and proceeded to roll -up his sleeve, having done which to his satisfaction, he faced round -upon the Base Varlet. - -"Have at ye, dastardly ruffian!" he cried, and therewith ensued a -battle, fierce and fell. - -If his antagonist had it in height, the Imp made up for it in weight--he -is a particularly solid Imp--and thus the struggle lasted for some five -minutes without any appreciable advantage to either, when, in eluding -one of the enemy's desperate rushes, the Imp stumbled, lost his balance, -and next moment I had caught him in my arms. For a space "the enemy" -remained panting on the bank above, and then with another yell turned -and darted off among the bushes. - -"Hallo, Imp!" I said. - -"Hallo, Uncle Dick!" he returned. - -"Hurt?" I inquired. - -"Wounded a bit in the nose, you know," he answered, mopping that organ -with his handkerchief; "but did you see me punch 'yon varlet' in the -eye?" - -"Did you, Imp?" - -"I think so, Uncle Dick; only I do wish I'd made him surrender. The -book says that Robin Hood always made his enemies 'surrender an' beg -their life on trembling knee!' Oh, it must be fine to see your enemies -on their knee!" - -"Especially if they tremble," I added. - -"Do you s'pose that boy--I mean 'yon base varlet' would have -surrendered?" - -"Not a doubt of it--if he hadn't happened to push you over the bank -first." - -"Oh!" murmured the Imp rather dubiously. - -"By the way," I said, "where is your Auntie Lisbeth?" - -"Well, I chased her up the big apple-tree with my bow an' arrow." - -"Of course," I nodded. "Very right and proper!" - -"You see," he explained, "I wanted her to be a wild elephant an' she -wouldn't." - -"Extremely disobliging of her!" - -"Yes, wasn't it? So when she was right up I took away the ladder an' -hid it." - -"Highly strategic, my Imp." - -"So then I turned into Robin Hood, I hung my cap on a bush to shoot at, -you know, an' 'the Base Varlet' came up an' ran off with it." - -"And there it is," I said, pointing to where it lay. The Imp received -it with profuse thanks, and, having wrung out the water, clapped it upon -his curls and sat down beside me. - -"I found another man who wants to be my uncle," he began. - -"Oh, indeed?" - -"Yes; but I don't want any more, you know." - -"Of course not. One like me suffices for your everyday needs--eh, my -Imp?" - -The Imp nodded. "It was yesterday," he continued. "He came to see -Auntie Lisbeth, an' I found them in the summer-house in the orchard. -An' I heard him say, 'Miss Elizabeth, you're prettier than ever!'" - -"Did he though, confound him!" - -"Yes, an' then Auntie Lisbeth looked silly, an' then he saw me behind a -tree an' he looked silly, too. Then he said, 'Come here, little man!' -An' I went, you know, though I do hate to be called 'little man.' Then -he said he'd give me a shilling if I'd call him Uncle Frank." - -"And what did you answer?" - -"'Fraid I'm awfull' wicked," sighed the Imp, shaking his head, "'cause I -told him a story." - -"Did you, Imp?" - -"Yes. I said I didn't want his shilling, an' I do, you know, most -awfully, to buy a spring-pistol with." - -"Oh, well, we'll see what can be done about the spring-pistol," I -answered. "And so you don't like him, eh?" - -"Should think not," returned the Imp promptly. "He's always so--so -awfull' clean, an' wears a little moustache with teeny sharp points on -it." - -"Anyone who does that deserves all he gets," I said, shaking my head. -"And what is his name?" - -"The Honourable Frank Selwyn, an' he lives at Selwyn Park--the next -house to ours." - -"Oho!" I exclaimed, and whistled. - -"Uncle Dick," said the Imp, breaking in upon a somewhat unpleasant train -of thought conjured up by this intelligence, "will you come an' be -'Little-John under the merry greenwood tree'? Do." - -"Why, what do you know about 'the merry greenwood,' Imp?" - -"Oh, lots!" he answered, hastily pulling out the tattered book. "This -is all about Robin Hood an' Little-John. Ben, the gardener's boy, lent -it to me. Robin Hood was a fine chap, an' so was Little-John, an' they -used to set ambushes an' capture the Sheriff of Nottingham an' all sorts -of caddish barons, an' tie them to trees." - -"My Imp," I said, shaking my head, "the times are sadly changed. One -cannot tie barons--caddish or otherwise--to trees in these degenerate -days." - -"No, I s'pose not," sighed the Imp dolefully; "but I do wish you would -be Little-John, Uncle Dick." - -"'Oh, certainly, Imp, if it will make you any happier; though of a -truth, bold Robin," I continued after the manner of the story-books, -"Little-John hath a mind to bide awhile and commune with himself here; -yet give but one blast upon thy bugle horn and thou shalt find my arm -and quarter-staff ready and willing enough, I'll warrant you!" - -"That sounds awfull' fine, Uncle Dick, only--you haven't got a -quarter-staff, you know." - -"Yea, 'tis here!" I answered, and detached the lower joint of my -fishing-rod. The Imp rose, and folding his arms, surveyed me as Robin -Hood himself might have done--that is to say, with an "eye of fire." - -"So be it, my faithful Little-John," quoth he; "meet me at the Blasted -Oak at midnight. An' if I shout for help--I mean blow my bugle--you'll -come an' rescue me, won't you, Uncle Dick?" - -"Ay; trust me for that," I answered, all unsuspecting. - -"'Tis well!" nodded the Imp; and with a wave of his hand he turned and -scrambling up the bank disappeared. - -Of the existence of Mr. Selwyn I was already aware, having been notified -in this particular by the Duchess, as I have told in the foregoing -narrative. - -Now, a rival in air--in the abstract, so to speak--is one thing, but a -rival who was on a sufficiently intimate footing to deal in personal -compliments, and above all, one who was already approved of and -encouraged by the powers that be, in the person of Lady -Warburton--Lisbeth's formidable aunt--was another consideration -altogether. - -"Miss Elizabeth, you're prettier than ever!" - -Somehow the expression rankled. - -What right had he to tell her such things?--and in a summer-house, -too;--the insufferable audacity of the fellow! - -A pipe being indispensable to the occasion, I took out my matchbox, only -to find that it contained but a solitary vesta. - -The afternoon had been hot and still hitherto, with never so much as a -breath of wind stirring; but no sooner did I prepare to strike that -match than from somewhere there came a sudden flaw of wind that ruffled -the glassy waters of the river and set every leaf whispering. Waiting -until what I took to be a favourable opportunity, with infinite -precaution I struck a light. It flickered in a sickly fashion for a -moment between my sheltering palms, and immediately expired. - -This is but one example of that "Spirit of the Perverse" pervading all -things mundane which we poor mortals are called upon to bear as best we -may. Therefore I tossed aside the charred match, and, having searched -fruitlessly through my pockets for another, waited philosophically for -some "good Samaritan" to come along. The bank I have mentioned sloped -away gently on my left, thus affording an uninterrupted view of the -path. - -Now as my eyes followed this winding path I beheld an individual some -distance away who crawled upon his hands and knees, evidently searching -for something. As I watched, he succeeded in raking a Panama hat from -beneath a bush, and, having dusted it carefully with his handkerchief, -replaced it upon his head and continued his advance. - -With some faint hope that there might be a loose match hiding away in -some corner of my pockets, I went through them again more carefully, but -alas! with no better success; whereupon I gave it up and turned to -glance at the approaching figure. - -My astonishment may be readily imagined when I beheld him in precisely -the same attitude as before--that is to say, upon his hands and knees. - -I was yet puzzling over this phenomenon when he again raked out the -Panama on the end of the hunting-crop he carried, dusted it as before, -looking about him the while with a bewildered air, and, setting it -firmly upon his head, came down the path. - -He was a tall young fellow, scrupulously neat and well groomed from the -polish of his brown riding-boots to his small, sleek moustache, which -was parted with elaborate care and twisted into two fine points. There -was about his whole person an indefinable air of self-complacent -satisfaction, but he carried his personality in his moustache, so to -speak, which, though small, as I say, and precise to a hair, yet -obtruded itself upon one in a vaguely unpleasant way. Noticing all -this, I thought I might make a very good guess as to his identity if -need were. - -All at once, as I watched him--like a bird rising from her nest the -devoted Panama rose in the air, turned over once or twice and fluttered -(I use the word figuratively) into a bramble bush. Bad language was -writ large in every line of his body as he stood looking about him, the -hunting-crop quivering in his grasp. - -It was at this precise juncture that his eye encountered me, and, -pausing only to recover his unfortunate headgear, he strode toward where -I sat. - -"Do you know anything about this?" he inquired in a somewhat aggressive -manner, holding up a length of black thread. - -"A piece of ordinary pack-thread," I answered, affecting to examine it -with a critical eye. - -"Do you know anything about it?" he said again, evidently in a very bad -temper. - -"Sir," I answered, "I do not." - -"Because if I thought you did----" - -"Sir," I broke in, "you'll excuse me, but that seems a very remarkable -hat of yours." - -"I repeat, if I thought you did----" - -"Of course," I went on, "each to his taste, but personally I prefer one -with less 'gymnastic' and more 'stay-at-home' qualities." - -The hunting-crop was raised threateningly. - -"Mr. Selwyn?" I inquired in a conversational tone. - -The hunting-crop hesitated and was lowered. - -"Well, sir?" - -"Ah, I thought so," I said, bowing; "permit me to trespass upon your -generosity to the extent of a match--or, say, a couple." - -Mr. Selwyn remained staring down at me for a moment, and I saw the -points of his moustache positively curling with indignation. Then, -without deigning a reply, he turned on his heel and strode away. He had -not gone more than thirty or forty paces, however, when I heard him stop -and mutter savagely--I did not need to look to learn the reason--I admit -I chuckled. But my merriment was short-lived, for a moment later came -the feeble squeak of a horn followed by a shout and the Imp's voice -upraised in dire distress. - -"Little-John! Little-John! to the rescue!" it called. - -I hesitated, for I will freely confess that when I had made that promise -to the Imp it was with small expectation that I should be called upon to -fulfil it. Still, a promise is a promise; so I sighed, and picking up -the joint of my fishing-rod, clambered up the bank. Glancing in the -direction of the cries, I beheld Robin Hood struggling in the foe's -indignant grasp. - -Now, there were but two methods of procedure open to me as I could -see--the serious or the frankly grotesque. Naturally I chose the -latter, and, quarter-staff on shoulder, I swaggered down the path with -an air that Little-John himself might well have envied. - -"Beshrew me!" I cried, confronting the amazed Mr. Selwyn. "Who dares -lay hands on bold Robin Hood? Away, base rogue, hie thee hence, or I am -like to fetch thee a dour ding on that pate o' thine!" - -Mr. Selwyn loosed the Imp and stared at me in speechless amazement, as -well he might. - -"Look ye, master," I continued, entering into the spirit of the thing, -"no man lays hand on Robin Hood whiles Little-John can twirl a staff or -draw a bow-string--no!" - -The Imp, retired to a safe distance, stood hearkening in a transport -till, bethinking him of his part, he fished out the tattered book and -began surreptitiously turning over the pages; as for Mr. Selwyn, he only -fumbled at his moustache and stared. - -"Aye, but I know thee," I went on again; "by thy sly and crafty look, by -thy scalloped cape and chain of office, I know thee for that same -Sheriff of Nottingham that hath sworn to our undoing. Go to! didst -think to take Robin--in the greenwood? Out upon thee! Thy years should -have taught thee better wisdom. Out upon thee!" - -"Now will I feed"--began the Imp, with the book carefully held behind -him--"now will I feed fat mine vengeance--to thy knees for a scurvy -rascal!" - -"Aye," I nodded, "'twere well he should do penance on his marrow-bones -from hither to Nottingham Town; but as thou art strong--be merciful, -Robin." - -Mr. Selwyn still curled the point of his moustache. - -"Are you mad," he inquired, "or only drunk?" - -"As to that, good master Sheriff, it doth concern thee nothing--but mark -you! 'tis an ill thing to venture within the greenwood whiles Robin Hood -and Little-John be abroad." - -Mr. Selwyn shrugged his shoulders and turned to the Imp. - -"I am on my way to see your Aunt Elizabeth, and shall make it my -particular care to inform her of your conduct, and see that you are -properly punished. As for you, sir," he continued, addressing me, "I -shall inform the police that there is a madman at large." - -At this double-barrelled threat the Imp was plainly much dismayed, and -coming up beside me, slipped his hand into mine, and I promptly pocketed -it. - -"Sweet master Sheriff," I said, sweeping off my cap in true outlaw -fashion, "the way is long and something lonely; methinks--we will -therefore e'en accompany you, and may perchance lighten the tedium with -quip and quirk and a merry stave or so." - -Seeing the angry rejoinder upon Mr. Selwyn's lips, I burst forth -incontinent into the following ditty, the words extemporised to the tune -of "Bonnie Dundee": - - "There lived a sheriff in Nottinghamshire, - With a hey derry down and a down; - He was fond of good beef, but was fonder of beer, - With a hey derry down and a down." - - -By the time we reached the Shrubbery gate the Imp was in an ecstasy, and -Mr. Selwyn once more reduced to speechless indignation and astonishment. -Here our ways diverged, Mr. Selwyn turning toward the house, while the -Imp and I made our way to the orchard at the rear. - -"Uncle Dick," he said, halting suddenly, "do you think he will -tell--really?" - -"My dear Imp," I answered, "a man who wears 'points on his moustache' is -capable of anything." - -"Then I shall be sent to bed for it, I know I shall!" - -"To run into a thread tied across the path must have been very -annoying," I said, shaking my head thoughtfully, "especially with a -bran-new hat!" - -"They were only 'ambushes,' you know, Uncle Dick." - -"To be sure," I nodded. "Now, observe, my Imp, here is a shilling; go -and buy that spring-pistol you were speaking of, and take your time -about it; I'll see what can be done in the meanwhile." - -The Imp was reduced to incoherent thanks. - -"That's all right," I said, "but you had better hurry off." - -He obeyed with alacrity, disappearing in the direction of the village, -while I went on towards the orchard to find Lisbeth. And presently, -sure enough, I did find her--that is to say, part of her, for the -foliage of that particular tree happened to be very thick, and I could -see nothing of her but a foot. - -A small and shapely foot it was that swung audaciously to and fro; a -foot in a ridiculously out-of-place little patent-leather shoe. - -I approached softly, with the soul of me in my eyes, so to speak, yet, -despite my caution, she seemed to become aware of my presence in some -way--the foot faltered in its swing and vanished as the leaves were -parted, and Lisbeth looked down at me. - -"Oh, it's you?" she said, and I fancied she seemed quite pleased. -"You'll find a step-ladder somewhere about--it can't be very far." - -"Thanks," I answered, "but I don't want one." - -"No; but I do; I want to get down. That little wretched Imp hid the -ladder, and I've been here all the afternoon," she wailed. - -"But then you refused to be an elephant you know," I reminded her. - -"He shall go to bed for it--directly after tea!" she said. - -"Lisbeth," I returned, "I firmly believe your nature to be altogether -too sweet and forgiving---" - -"I want to come down!" - -"Certainly," I said; "put your left foot in my right hand, take firm -hold of the branch above, and let yourself sink gently into my arms." - -"Oh!" she exclaimed suddenly, "here's Mr. Selwyn coming," and following -her glance, I saw a distinct Panama approaching. - -"Lisbeth," said I, "are you anxious to see him?" - -"In this ridiculous situation--of course not!" - -"Very well then, hide--just sit there and leave matters to me and----" - -"Hush," she whispered, and at that moment Selwyn emerged into full view. -Catching sight of me he stopped in evident surprise. - -"I was told I should find Miss Elizabeth here," he said stiffly. - -"It would almost appear that you had been misinformed," I answered. For -a moment he seemed undecided what to do. Would he go away? I wondered. -Evidently not for after glancing about him he sat himself down upon a -rustic seat near by with a certain resolute air that I did not like. I -must get rid of him at all hazards. - -"Sir," said I, "can I trespass on your generosity to the extent of a -match--or say a couple?" After a brief hesitation he drew out a very -neat silver match-box, which he handed to me. - -"A fine day, sir?" I said, puffing at my pipe. - -Mr. Selwyn made no reply. - -"I hear that the crops are looking particularly healthy this year," I -went on. - -Mr. Selwyn appeared to be utterly lost in the contemplation of an -adjacent tree. - -"To my mind an old apple-tree is singularly picturesque," I began again. -"Nice nobbly branches, don't you know?" - -Mr. Selwyn began to fidget. - -"And then," I pursued, "they tell me that apples are so good for the -blood." - -Mr. Selwyn shifted his gaze to the toe of his riding-boot, and for a -space there was silence, so much so, indeed, that an inquisitive rabbit -crept up and sat down to watch us with much interest, until--evidently -remembering some pressing engagement--he disappeared with a flash of his -white tail. - -"Talking of rabbits," said I, "they are quite a pest in Australia, I -believe, and are exterminated by the thousand; I have often wondered if -a syndicate could not be formed to acquire the skins. This idea, so far -as I know, is original, but you are quite welcome to it." - -Mr. Selwyn rose abruptly to his feet. - -"I once in my boyhood possessed a rabbit--of the lop-eared variety," I -continued, "which over-ate itself and died. I remember I attempted to -skin it with dire results----" - -"Sir," said Mr. Selwyn, "I beg to inform you that I am not interested in -rabbits, lop-eared or otherwise; nor do I propose to become so; -furthermore----" - -But at this moment of my triumph, even as he turned to depart, something -small and white fluttered down from the branches above, and the next -moment Selwyn had stooped and picked up a lace handkerchief. Then, -while he stared at it and I at him, there came a ripple of laughter and -Lisbeth peered down at us through the leaves. - -"My handkerchief--thank you," she said, as Selwyn stood somewhat taken -aback by her sudden appearance. - -"The trees hereabouts certainly bear very remarkable, not to say -delightful fruit," he said. - -"And as you will remember, I was always particularly fond of -apple-trees," I interpolated. - -"Mr. Selwyn," smiled Lisbeth, "let me introduce you to Mr. Brent." - -"Sir," I said, "I am delighted to make your acquaintance; have heard Her -Grace of Chelsea speak of you--her friends are mine, I trust?" - -Mr. Selwyn's bow was rather more than distant. - -"I have already had the pleasure of meeting this--this very original -gentleman before, and under rather peculiar circumstances, Miss -Elizabeth," he said, and forthwith plunged into an account of the whole -affair of the "ambushes," while Lisbeth, perched upon her lofty throne, -surveyed us with an ever-growing astonishment. - -"Whatever does it all mean?" she inquired as Mr. Selwyn made an end. - -"You must know then," I explained, leaning upon my quarter-staff, "the -Imp took it into his head to become Robin Hood; I was Little-John, and -Mr. Selwyn here was so very obliging as to enact the role of Sheriff of -Nottingham----" - -"I beg your pardon," exclaimed Mr. Selwyn indignantly, turning upon me -with a fiery eye. - -"Everyone recollects the immortal exploits of Robin and his 'merrie -men,'" I continued, "and you will, of course, remember that they had a -habit of capturing the Sheriff and tying him up to trees and things. -Naturally the Imp did not proceed to that extreme. He contented himself -with merely capturing the Sheriff's hat. I think that you will agree -that those 'ambushes' worked like a charm, Mr. Selwyn?" - -"Miss Elizabeth," he said, disdaining any reply, "I am aware of the -affection you lavish upon your nephew; I hope that you will take -measures to restrain him from such pranks--such very disgraceful -pranks--in the future. I myself should suggest a change of -companionship" (here he glanced at me) "as the most salutary method. -Good afternoon, Miss Elizabeth." So saying, Mr. Selwyn raised his hat, -bowed stiffly to me, and, turning upon an indignant heel, strode -haughtily away. - -"Well!" exclaimed Lisbeth with a look of very real concern. - -"Very well, indeed!" I nodded; "we are alone at last." - -"Oh, Dick! but to have offended him like this!" - -"A highly estimable young gentleman," I said, "though deplorably lacking -in that saving sense of humour which----" - -"Aunt Agatha seems to think a great deal of him." - -"So I understand," I nodded. - -"Only this morning I received a letter from her, in which, among other -things, she pointed out what a very excellent match he would be." - -"And what do you think?" - -"Oh, I agree with her, of course; his family dates back ages and ages -before the Conqueror, and he has two or three estates besides Selwyn -Park, and one in Scotland." - -"Do you know, Lisbeth, that reminds me of another house--not at all big -or splendid, but of great age; a house which stands not far from the -village of Down, in Kent; a house which is going to rack and ruin for -want of a mistress. Sometimes, just as evening comes on, I think it -must dream of the light feet and gentle hands it has known so many years -ago, and feels its loneliness more than ever." - -"Poor old house!" said Lisbeth softly. - -"Yes, a house is very human, Lisbeth, especially an old one, and feels -the need of that loving care which only a woman can bestow, just as we -do ourselves." - -"Dear old house!" said Lisbeth, more softly than before. - -"How much longer must it wait--when will you come and care for it, -Lisbeth?" - -She started, and I thought her cheeks seemed a trifle pinker than usual -as her eyes met mine. - -"Dick," she said wistfully, "I do wish you would get the ladder; it's -horribly uncomfortable to sit in a tree for hours and----" - -"First of all, Lisbeth, you will forgive the Imp--full and freely, won't -you?" - -"He shall go to bed without any tea whatever." - -"That will be rank cruelty, Lisbeth; remember he is a growing boy." - -"And I have been perched up here--between heaven and earth--all the -afternoon." - -"Then why not come down?" I inquired. - -"If you will only get the ladder----" - -"If you will just put your right foot in my----" - -"I won't!" said Lisbeth. - -"As you please," I nodded, and sitting down, mechanically took out my -pipe and began to fill it, while she opened her book, frowning. And -after she had read very studiously for perhaps two minutes, she drew out -and consulted her watch. I did the same. - -"A quarter to five!" I said. - -Lisbeth glanced down at me with the air of one who is deliberating upon -two courses of action, and when at length she spoke, every trace of -irritation had vanished completely. - -"Dick, I'm awfully hungry." - -"So am I," I nodded. - -"It _would_ be nice to have tea here under the trees, wouldn't it?" - -"It would be positively idyllic!" I said. - -"Then if you will please find that ladder----" - -"If you will promise to forgive the Imp----" - -"Certainly not!" she retorted. - -"So be it!" I sighed, and sat down again. As I did so she launched her -book at me. - -"Wretch!" she exclaimed. - -"Which means that you are ready to descend?" I inquired, rising and -depositing the maltreated volume side by side with my pipe on a rustic -table near by; "very good. Place your right foot in----" - -"Oh, all right," she said quite pettishly, and next moment I had her in -my arms. - -"Dick! put me down--at once!" - -"One moment, Lisbeth; that boy is a growing boy----" - -"And shall go to bed without any tea!" she broke in. - -"Very well, then," I said, and reading the purpose in my eyes, she -attempted, quite vainly, to turn her head aside. - -"You will find it quite useless to struggle, Lisbeth," I warned. "Your -only course is to remember that he is a growing boy." - -"And you are a brute!" she cried. - -"Undoubtedly," I answered, bending my head nearer her petulant lips. -"But think of the Imp in bed, lying there, sleepless, tealess, and -growing all the while as fast as he can." - -Lisbeth surrendered, of course, but my triumph was greatly tempered with -disappointment. - -"You will then forgive him for the 'ambushes' and cherish him with much -tea?" I stipulated, winking away a tress of hair that tickled most -provokingly. - -"Yes," said Lisbeth. - -"And no bed until the usual hour?" - -"No," she answered, quite subdued; "and now please do put me down." So -I sighed and perforce obeyed. - -She stood for a moment patting her rebellious hair into order with deft, -white fingers, looking up at me meanwhile with a laugh in her eyes that -seemed almost a challenge. I took a hasty step toward her, but as I did -so the Imp hove into view. - -"Hallo, Auntie Lisbeth!" he exclaimed, eyeing her wonderingly; then his -glance wandered round as if in quest of something. - -"How did she do it, Uncle Dick?" he inquired. - -"Do what, my Imp?" - -"Why, get out of the tree?" - -I smiled and looked at Lisbeth. - -"Did she climb down?" - -"No," said I, shaking my head. - -"Did she--jump down?" - -"No, she didn't jump down." - -"Well, did she--did she fly down?" - -"No, nor fly down--she just came down." - -"Yes, but how did she----" - -"Reginald," said Lisbeth, "run and tell the maids to bring tea out -here--for three." - -"Three?" echoed the Imp. "But Dorothy has gone out to tea, you know--is -Uncle Dick going to----" - -"To be sure, Imp," I nodded. - -"Oh, that is fine--hurrah, Little-John!" he cried, and darted off. - -"And you, Lisbeth?" I said, imprisoning her hands. "Are you glad also?" - -Lisbeth did not speak, yet I was satisfied nevertheless. - - - - - *CHAPTER III* - - *THE DESPERADOES* - - -Fane Court stands bowered in trees, with a wide stretch of the greenest -of green lawns sloping down to the river stairs. - -They are quaint old stairs, with a marble rail and carved balusters, -worn and crumbling, yet whose decay is half hid by the kindly green of -lichens and mosses; stairs indeed for an idle fellow to dream over on a -hot summer's afternoon--and they were, moreover, a favourite haunt of -Lisbeth. It was here that I had moored my boat, therefore, and now lay -back, pipe in mouth and with a cushion beneath my head, in that blissful -state between sleeping and waking. - -Now, as I lay, from the blue wreaths of my pipe I wove me fair fancies: - -And lo! the stairs were no longer deserted; there were fine gentlemen, -patched and powdered, in silks and satins, with shoe-buckles that -flashed in the sun; there were dainty ladies in quilted petticoats and -flowered gowns, with most wonderful coiffures; and there was Lisbeth, -fairer and daintier than them all, and there, too, was I. And behold -how demurely she curtsied and smiled behind her ivory fan! With what a -grace I took a pinch of snuff! With what an air I bowed with hand on -heart! Then, somehow, it seemed we were alone, she on the top stair, I -on the lower. And standing thus raised my arms to her with an appealing -gesture. Her eyes looked down into mine, the patch quivered at the -corner of her scarlet mouth, and there beside it was the dimple. Beneath -her petticoat I saw her foot in a little pink satin shoe come slowly -toward me and stop again. I watched, scarce breathing, for it seemed my -fate hung in the balance. Would she come down to Love and me, or---- - -"Ship ahoy!" cried a voice, and in that moment my dream vanished. I -sighed, and looking round, beheld a head peering at me over the -balustrade--a head bound up in a bandanna handkerchief of large pattern -and vivid colouring. - -"Why, Imp!" I exclaimed. But my surprise abated when he emerged into -full view. - -About his waist was a broad-buckled belt, which supported a wooden -cutlass, two or three murderous wooden daggers and a brace of toy -pistols; while upon his legs were a pair of top-boots many sizes too -large for him, so that walking required no little care. Yet on the -whole his appearance was decidedly effective. There could be no -mistake--he was a blood-thirsty pirate! - -The Imp is an artist to his grimy finger-tips. - -"Avast, shipmate!" I cried. "How's the wind?" - -"Oh," he exclaimed, falling over his boots with eagerness, "do take me -in your boat, an' let's be pirates, will you, Uncle Dick?" - -"Well, that depends. Where is your Auntie Lisbeth?" - -"Mr. Selwyn is going to row her and Dorothy up the river." - -"Oh! he is!" - -"Yes, an' they won't take me." - -"Why not, my Imp?" - -"'Cause they're 'fraid I should upset the boat. So I thought I'd come -an' ask you to be a pirate, you know. I'll lend you my best dagger an' -one of my pistols. Will you, Uncle Dick?" - -"Come aboard, shipmate, if you are for Hispaniola, the Tortugas, and the -Spanish Main," said I, whereupon he scrambled in, losing a boot -overboard in his haste, which necessitated much intricate angling with -the boathook ere it was recovered. - -"They're Peter's, you know," he explained, as he emptied out the water. -"I took them out of the harness-room; a pirate must have boots, you -know, but I'm afraid Peter'll say things." - -"Not a doubt of it when he sees them," I said as we pushed off. - -"I wish," he began, looking round thoughtfully after a minute or so, "I -wish we could get a plank or a yard-arm from somewhere." - -"What for, my Imp?" - -"Why, don't you remember, pirates always had a plank for people to -'walk,' you know, an' used to 'swing them up to the yard-arm'?" - -"You seem to know all about it," I said, as I pulled slowly down stream. - -"Oh yes; I read it all in _Scarlet Sam, the Scourge of the South Seas_. -Scarlet Sam was fine. He used to stride up and down the quarterdeck an' -flourish his cutlass, an' his eyes would roll, an' he'd foam at the -mouth, an'----" - -"Knock everybody into the 'lee scuppers,'" I put in. - -"Yes," cried the Imp in a tone of unfeigned surprise. "How did you know -that, Uncle Dick?" - -"Once upon a time," I said, as I swung lazily at the sculls, "I was a -boy myself, and read a lot about a gentleman named 'Beetle-browed Ben.' -I tell you, Imp, he was a terror for foaming and stamping, if you like, -and used to flog three or four people every morning, just to get an -appetite for breakfast." The Imp regarded me with round eyes. - -"And then he was a very wonderful man in other ways. You see, he was -always getting himself shot through the head, or run through the body, -but it never hurt Beetle-browed Ben--not a bit of it." - -"An' did he 'swing people at the yard-arm--with a bitter smile'?" - -"Lots of 'em!" I answered. - -"An' make them 'walk the plank--with a horrid laugh'?" - -"By the hundreds!" - -"An' 'maroon them on a desolate island--with a low chuckle'?" - -"Many a time," I answered; "and generally with a chuckle." - -"Oh, I should like to read about him!" said the Imp with a deep sigh; -"will you lend me your book about him, Uncle Dick?" - -I shook my head. "Unfortunately, that, together with many other valued -possessions, has been ravaged from me by the ruthless maw of Time," I -replied sadly. - -The Imp sat plunged in deep thought, trailing his fingers pensively in -the water. - -"And so your Auntie Lisbeth is going for a row with Mr. Selwyn, is she?" -I said. - -"Yes, an' I told her she could come an' be a pirate with me if she -liked--but she wouldn't." - -"Strange!" I murmured. - -"Uncle Dick, do you think Auntie Lisbeth is in love with Mr. Selwyn?" - -"What?" I exclaimed, and stopped rowing. - -"I mean, do you think Mr. Selwyn is in love with Auntie Lisbeth?" - -"My Imp, I'm afraid he is. Why?" - -"'Cause cook says he is, an' so does Jane, an' they know all about love, -you know. I've heard them read it out of a book lots an' lots of times. -But I think love is awfull' silly, don't you, Uncle Dick?" - -"Occasionally I greatly fear so," I sighed. - -"You wouldn't go loving anybody, would you, Uncle Dick?" - -"Not if I could help it," I answered, shaking my head; "but I do love -someone, and that's the worst of it." - -"Oh!" exclaimed the Imp, but in a tone more of sorrow than anger. - -"Don't be too hard on me, Imp," I said; "your turn may come when you are -older; you may love somebody one of these days." - -The Imp frowned and shook his head. "No," he answered sternly; "when I -grow up big I shall keep ferrets. Ben, the gardener's boy, has one with -the littlest, teeniest pink nose you ever saw." - -"Certainly a ferret has its advantage," I mused. "A ferret will not -frown upon one one minute and flash a dimple at one the next. And then, -again, a ferret cannot be reasonably supposed to possess an aunt. There -is something to be said for your idea after all, Imp." - -"Why, then, let's be pirates, Uncle Dick," he said with an air of -finality. "I think I'll be Scarlet Sam, 'cause I know all about him, -an' you can be Timothy Bone, the boatswain." - -"Aye, aye, sir," I responded promptly; "only I say, Imp, don't roll your -eyes so frightfully or you may roll yourself overboard." - -Scorning reply, he drew his cutlass, and setting it between his teeth in -most approved pirate fashion, sat, pistol in hand, frowning frantically -at creation in general. - -"Starboard your helm--starboard!" he cried, removing his weapon for the -purpose. - -"Starboard it is!" I answered. - -"Clear away for action!" growled the Imp. "Double-shot the carronades, -and, bo'sun, pipe all hands to quarters." - -Hereupon I executed a lively imitation of a boatswain's whistle. - -Most children are blessed with imagination, but the Imp in this respect -is gifted beyond his years. For him there is no such thing as -"pretence"; he has but to close his eyes a moment to open them upon a -new and a very real world of his own--the golden world of Romance, -wherein so few of us are privileged to walk in these cold days of common -sense. And yet it is a very fair world, peopled with giants and fairies; -where castles lift their grim, embattled towers; where magic woods and -forests cast their shade, full of strange beasts; where knights ride -forth with lance in rest and their armour shining in the sun. And right -well we know them. There is Roland, Sir William Wallace, and Hereward -the Wake; Ivanhoe, the Black Knight, and bold Robin Hood. And there, -too, is King Arthur with his Knights of the Round Table--but the throng -is very great, and who could name them all? - -So the Imp and I sailed away into this wonderful world of romance aboard -our gallant vessel, which, like any other pirate ship that ever -existed--in books or out of them--"luffed, and filling upon another -tack, stood away in pursuit of the Spanish treasure galleon in the -offing." - -What pen could justly describe the fight which followed--how guns roared -and pistols flashed, while the air was full of shouts and cries and the -thundering din of battle; how Scarlet Sam foamed and stamped and -flourished his cutlass; how Timothy Bone piped his whistle as a bo'sun -should? We had already sunk five great galleons and were hard at work -with a sixth, which was evidently in a bad way, when Scarlet Sam ceased -foaming and pointed over my shoulder with his dripping blade. - -"Sail ho!" he cried. - -"Where away?" I called back. - -"Three points on the weather bow." - -As he spoke came the sound of oars, and turning my head, I saw a skiff -approaching, sculled by a man in irreproachable flannels and straw hat. - -"Why, it's--it's him!" cried the Imp suddenly. "Heave to, there!" he -bellowed in the voice of Scarlet Sam. "Heave to, or I'll sink you!" -Almost with the words, and before I could prevent him, he gave a sharp -tug to the rudder-lines; there was an angry exclamation behind me, a -shock, a splintering of wood, and I found myself face to face with Mr. -Selwyn, flushed and hatless. - -Mr. Selwyn exclaimed, and proceeded to fish for his hat with the shaft -of his broken oar. - -The Imp sat for a moment half frightened at his handiwork, then rose to -his feet, cutlass in hand, but I punted him gently back into his seat -with my foot. - -"Really," I began, "I'm awfully sorry, you know--er----" - -"May I inquire," said Mr. Selwyn cuttingly, as he surveyed his dripping -hat--"may I inquire how it all happened?" - -"A most deplorable accident, I assure you. If I can tow you back I shall -be delighted, and as for the damage----" - -"The damage is trifling, thanks," he returned icily; "it is the delay -that I find annoying." - -"You have my very humblest apologies," I said meekly. "If I can be of -any service----" - -Mr. Selwyn stopped me with a wave of his hand. - -"Thank you, I think I can manage," he said; "but I should rather like to -know how it happened. You are unused to rowing, I presume?" - -"Sir," I answered, "it was chiefly owing to the hot-headedness of -Scarlet Sam, the Scourge of the South Seas." - -"I beg your pardon?" said Mr. Selwyn with raised brows. - -"Sir," I went on, "at this moment you probably believe yourself to be -Mr. Selwyn of Selwyn Park. Allow me to dispel that illusion; you are, -on the contrary, Don Pedro Vasquez da Silva, commanding the _Esmeralda_ -galleasse, bound out of Santa Cruz. In us you behold Scarlet Sam and -Timothy Bone, of the good ship _Black Death_, with the 'skull and -crossbones' fluttering at our peak. If you don't see it, that is not -our fault." - -Mr. Selwyn stared at me in wide-eyed astonishment, then shrugging his -shoulders, turned his back upon me and paddled away as best he might. - -"Well, Imp," I said, "you've done it this time!" - -"'Fraid I have," he returned; "but oh! wasn't it grand--and all that -about Don Pedro an' the treasure galleon! I do wish I knew as much as -you do, Uncle Dick. I'd be a real pirate then." - -"Heaven forfend!" I exclaimed. - -So I presently turned and rowed back upstream, not a little perturbed in -my mind as to the outcome of the adventure. - -"Not a word, mind!" I cautioned as I caught sight of a certain dainty -figure watching our approach from the shade of her parasol. The Imp -nodded, sighed, and sheathed his cutlass. - -"Well!" said Lisbeth as we glided up to the water-stairs; "I wonder what -mischief you have been after together?" - -"We have been floating upon a river of dreams," I answered, rising and -lifting my hat; "we have likewise discoursed of many things. In the -words of the immortal Carroll: - - "'Of shoes, and ships, and sealing-wax, and cabbages, - and----'" - - -"Pirates!" burst out the Imp. - -"This dream river of ours," I went on, quelling him with a glance, "has -carried us to you, which is very right and proper. Dream rivers always -should, more especially when you sit - - "''Mid sunshine throned, and all alone.'" - - -"But I'm not all alone, Dick." - -"No; I'm here," said a voice, and Dorothy appeared with her small and -very fluffy kitten under her arm as usual. "We are waiting for Mr. -Selwyn, you know. We've waited, oh! a long, long time, but he hasn't -come, and Auntie says he's a wretch and----" - -"Dorothy!" exclaimed Lisbeth, frowning. - -"Yes, you did, Auntie," said Dorothy, nodding her head. "I heard you -when Louise ran up a tree and I had to coax her back; and I have a clean -frock on, too, and Louise will be, oh, so disappointed!" Here she -kissed the fluffy kitten on the nose. "So he is a wretch; don't you -think so, Uncle Dick?" - -"Such delay is highly reprehensible," I nodded. - -"I'm glad you've come, Uncle Dick, and so is Auntie. She was -hoping----" - -"That will do, Dorothy!" Lisbeth interrupted. - -"I wonder what she was hoping?" I sighed. - -"If you say another word, Dorothy, I won't tell you any more about the -Fairy Prince, said Lisbeth. - -"Why, then," I continued, seeing the threat had the desired effect, -"since Mr. Selwyn hasn't turned up, perhaps you would care to----" - ---"Be a pirate!" put in the Imp. - -"To come for a row with us?" I corrected. - ---"Aboard the good ship _Black Death_," he went on, "'with the skull an' -crossbones at our peak.'" - -"Thanks," said Lisbeth, "but really, I don't think I should. What a -horrible name!" - -"What's in a name? a boat by any other----" I misquoted. "If you like, -we'll call it the _Joyful Hope_, bound for the Land of Heart's Delight." - -Lisbeth shook her head, but I fancied the dimple peeped at me for a -moment. - -"It would be a pity to disappoint Louise," I said, reaching up to stroke -the fluffy kitten. - -"Yes," cried Dorothy, "do let's go, Auntie." - -"For the sake of Louise," I urged and held out my arms to her. Lisbeth -was standing on the top stair and I on the lower, in exactly the same -attitudes as I had beheld in my vision. I saw her foot come slowly -toward me and stop again; her red lips quivered into a smile, and lo, -there was the dimple! Dorothy saw it, too--children are wonderfully -quick in such matters--and next moment was ensconced in the boat, Louise -in her lap, and there was nothing left for Lisbeth but to follow. - -The Imp went forward to keep a "look-out," and finding a length of -fishing-line, announced his intention of "heaving the lead." - -I have upon several occasions ridden with Lisbeth--she is a good -horsewoman--frequently danced with her, but never before had I been with -her in a boat. The novelty of it was therefore decidedly pleasing, the -more so as she sat so close that by furtively reaching out a foot I -could just touch the hem of her dress. - -"Uncle Dick," said Dorothy, looking up at me with her big grey eyes, -"where is the Land of Heart's Delight?" - -"It lies beyond the River of Dreams," I answered. - -"Is it far away?" - -"I'm afraid it is, Dorothy." - -"Oh!--and hard to get to?" - -"Yes; though it depends altogether upon who is at the helm." - -Lisbeth very slowly began to tie a knot in the rudder-line. - -"Well, Auntie's steering now. Could she get us there?" - -"Yes, she could get us there, if she would." - -"Oh!" cried Dorothy, "do--do steer for the Land of Heart's Delight, -Auntie Lisbeth; it sounds so pretty, and I'm sure Louise would like it -ever so much." - -But Lisbeth only laughed, and tied another knot in the rudder-line. - -"The Land of Heart's Delight!" repeated Dorothy. "It sounds rather like -Auntie's tale of the Fairy Prince. His name was Trueheart." - -"And what was Prince Trueheart like?" I inquired. - -"Fine!" broke in the Imp. "He used to fight dragons, you know." - -"And he lived in a palace of crystal," continued Dorothy, "and he was so -good and kind that the birds used to make friends with him!" - -"An' he wore gold armour, an' a big feather in his helmet!" supplemented -the Imp. - -"And of course he loved the beautiful princess," I ended. - -"Yes," nodded Dorothy; "but how did you know there was a beautiful -princess?" - -"Uncle Dick knows everything, of course," returned the Imp -sententiously. - -"Do you think the beautiful princess loved the prince, Dorothy?" I -asked, glancing at Lisbeth's averted face. - -"Well," answered Dorothy, pursing her mouth thoughtfully, "I don't know, -Uncle Dick; you see, Auntie hasn't got to that yet, but everybody loves -somebody sometime, you know. Betty--she's our cook, you know--Betty -says all nice tales end up in marrying and living happy ever after." - -"Not a doubt of it," said I, resting on my oars. "What do you think, -Lisbeth?" She leaned back and regarded me demurely beneath her long -lashes for a moment. - -"I think," she answered, "that it would be much nicer if you would go on -rowing." - -"One more question," I said. "Tell me, has this Prince Trueheart got a -moustache?" - -"Like Mr. Selwyn?" cried the Imp; "should think not. The prince was a -fine chap, an' used to kill dragons, you know." - -"Ah! I'm glad of that," I murmured, passing my fingers across my shaven -upper lip; "very glad indeed." - -Lisbeth laughed, but I saw her colour deepen, and she looked away. - -"Oh, it must be lovely to kill a dragon!" sighed the Imp. - -Now, as he spoke, chancing to look round, I saw in the distance a man in -a boat, who rowed most lustily--and the man wore a Panama. - -Hereupon, taking a fresh grip upon my long sculls, I began to row--to -row, indeed, as I had not done for many a year, with a long, steady -stroke that made the skiff fairly leap. - -Who does not know that feeling of exhilaration as the blades grip the -water and the gentle lapping at the bow swells into a gurgling song? The -memorable time when I had "stroked" Cambridge to victory was nothing to -this. Then it was but empty glory that hung in the balance, while -now----! - -I settled my feet more firmly, and lengthening my stroke, pulled with a -will. Lisbeth sat up, and I saw her fingers tighten upon the -rudder-line. - -"You asked me to row, you know," I said in response to her look. - -"Yo-ho!" roared Scarlet Sam in the gruffest of nautical tones. "By the -deep nine, an' the wind's a-lee, so heave, my mariners all--O!" - -At first we began to gain considerably upon our pursuer, but presently I -saw him turn his head, saw the Panama tossed aside as Mr. Selwyn settled -down to real business--and the struggle began. - -Very soon, probably owing to the fixedness of my gaze, or my unremitting -exertion or both, Lisbeth seemed to become aware of the situation, and -turned to look over her shoulder. I set my teeth as I waited to meet her -indignant look, for I had determined to continue the struggle, come what -might. But when at last she did confront me her eyes were shining, her -cheeks were flushed, and there actually was--the dimple. - -"Sit still, children," she said, and that was all; but for one moment -her eyes looked into mine. - -The old river has witnessed many a hard-fought race in its time, but -never was there one more hotly contested than this. Never was the song -of the water more pleasant to my ear, never was the spring and bend of -the long sculls more grateful, as the banks swept by faster and faster. -No pirate straining every inch of canvas to escape well-merited capture, -no smuggler fleeing for some sheltered cove, with the revenue cutter -close astern, ever experienced a keener excitement than did we. - -The Imp was in a perfect ecstasy of delight; even Dorothy forgot her -beloved Louise for the time, while Lisbeth leaned toward me, the -tiller-lines over her shoulders, her lips parted and a light in her eyes -I had never seen there before. And yet Selwyn hung fast in our rear, if -he was deficient in a sense of humour, he could certainly row. - -"He was an Oxford Blue," said Lisbeth, speaking almost in a whisper, -"and he has an empty boat!" - -I longed to kiss the point of her little tan shoe or the hem of her -dress for those impulsive words, and tried to tell her so with my -eyes--breath was too precious just then. Whether she understood or not -I won't be sure, but I fancy she did from the way her lashes drooped. - -"Oh, my eyes!" bellowed Scarlet Sam; "keep her to it, quartermaster, an' -take a turn at the mizzen-shrouds!" - -When I again glanced at our pursuer I saw that he was gaining. Yes, -there could be no mistake; slowly but surely, try as I would, the -distance between us lessened and lessened, until he was so near that I -could discern the very parting of his back hair. So perforce, bowing to -the inevitable, I ceased my exertions, contenting myself with a long, -easy stroke. Thus by the time he was alongside I had in some measure -regained my breath. - -"Miss--Eliz--beth," he panted, very hot of face and moist of brow, "must -beg--the--favour--of few words with you." - -"With pleasure, Mr. Selwyn," answered Lisbeth, radiant with smiles; "as -many as you wish." Forthwith Mr. Selwyn panted out his indictment -against the desperadoes of the _Black Death_, while the Imp glanced -apprehensively from him to Lisbeth and stole his hand furtively into -mine. - -"I should not have troubled you with this, Miss Elizabeth," Selwyn -ended, "but that I would not have you think me neglectful of an -appointment, especially with you." - -"Indeed, Mr. Selwyn, I am very grateful to you for opening my eyes to -such a--a----" - -"Very deplorable accident," I put in. - -"I--I was perfectly certain," she continued, without so much as glancing -in my direction, "that you would never have kept me waiting without -sufficient reason. And now, Mr. Brent, if you will be so obliging as to -take us to the bank, Mr. Selwyn shall row us back--if he will." - -"Delighted!" he murmured. - -"I ordered tea served in the orchard at five o'clock," smiled Lisbeth, -"and it is only just four, so----" - -"Which bank would you prefer," I inquired--"the right or the left?" - -"The nearest," said Lisbeth. - -"Which should you think was the nearest, Mr. Selwyn?" I queried. - -Disdaining any reply, Selwyn ran his skiff ashore, and I obediently -followed. Without waiting for my assistance, Lisbeth deftly made the -exchange from one boat to the other, followed more slowly by Dorothy. - -"Come, Reginald," she said, as Selwyn made ready to push off; "we're -waiting for you." The Imp squatted closer to me. - -"Reginald Augustus!" said Lisbeth. The Imp shuffled uneasily. - -"Are you coming?" inquired Lisbeth. - -"I--I'd rather be a pirate with Uncle Dick, please, Auntie Lisbeth," he -said at last. - -"Very well," nodded Lisbeth with an air of finality; "then of course I -must punish you." But her tone was strangely gentle, and as she turned -away I'll vow I saw the ghost of that dimple--yes, I'll vow it. - -So we sat very lonely and dejected, the Imp and I, desperadoes though we -were, as we watched Selwyn's boat grow smaller and smaller until it was -lost round a bend in the river. - -"'Spect I shall get sent to bed for this," said the Imp after a long -pause. - -"I think it more than probable, my Imp." - -"But then, it was a very fine race--oh, beautiful!" he sighed; "an' I -couldn't desert my ship an' Timothy Bone, an' leave you here all by -yourself--now could I, Uncle Dick?" - -"Of course not, Imp." - -"What are you thinking about, Uncle Dick?" he inquired, as I stared, -chin in hand, at nothing in particular. - -"I was wondering, Imp, where the River of Dreams was going to lead me, -after all." - -"To the Land of Heart's Delight, of course," he answered promptly; "you -said so, you know, an' you never tell lies, Uncle Dick--never." - - - - - *CHAPTER IV* - - *AT THE THREE JOLLY ANGLERS* - - -The Three Jolly Anglers is an inn of a distinctly jovial aspect, with -its toppling gables, its creaking sign, and its bright lattices, which, -like merry little twinkling eyes, look down upon the eternal river -to-day with the same half-waggish, half-kindly air as they have done for -generations. - -Upon its battered sign, if you look closely enough, you may still see -the Three Anglers themselves, somewhat worn and dim with time and stress -of weather, yet preserving their jollity through it all with an heroic -fortitude--as they doubtless will do until they fade away altogether. - -It is an inn with raftered ceilings and narrow, winding passageways; an -inn with long low chambers full of unexpected nooks and corners, with -great four-post beds built for tired giants it would seem, and wide deep -chimneys reminiscent of Gargantuan rounds of beef; an inn whose very -walls seem to exude comfort, as it were--the solid comfortable comfort -of a bygone age. - -Of all the many rooms here to be found I love best that which is called -the Sanded Parlour. Never were wainscoted walls of a mellower tone, -never was pewter more gleaming, never were things more bright and -speckless, from the worn quaint andirons on the hearth to the -brass-bound blunderbuss, with the two ancient fishing-rods above. At -one end of the room was a long low casement, and here I leaned, watching -the river near by, and listening to its never-ceasing murmur. I had -dined an hour ago; the beef had been excellent--it always is at the -Three Jolly Anglers; also my pipe seemed to have an added flavour. - -Yet, despite all this, I did not enjoy that supreme content--that -philosophical calm which such beef and such surroundings surely -warranted. But then, who ever heard of Love and Philosophy going -together? - -Away over the uplands a round harvest moon was beginning to rise, -flecking the shadowy waters with patches of silver, and, borne to my -ears upon the warm still air, came the throb of distant violins. This -served only to deepen my melancholy, reminding me that somebody or other -was giving a ball to-night; and Lisbeth was there, and Mr. Selwyn was -there, of course, and I--I was here--alone with the brass-bound -blunderbuss, the ancient fishing-rods, and the antique andirons on the -hearth; with none to talk to save the moon, and the jasmine that had -crept in at the open casement. And, noting the splendour of the night, I -experienced towards Lisbeth a feeling of pained surprise that she should -prefer the heat and garish glitter of a ballroom to walking beneath such -a moon with me. - -Indeed, it was a wondrous night! one of those warm still nights which -seem full of vague and untold possibilities! A night with magic in the -air, when elves and fairies dance within their grassy rings, or, hiding -amid the shade of trees, peep out at one between the leaves; or again, -some gallant knight on mighty steed may come pacing slowly from the -forest shadows, with the moonlight bright upon his armour. - -Yes, surely there was magic in the air to-night! I half-wished that some -enchanter might, by a stroke of his fairy wand, roll back the years and -leave me in the brutal, virile, Good Old Times, when men wooed and won -their loves by might and strength of arm, and not by gold, as is so -often the case in these days of ours. To be mounted upon my fiery -steed, lance in hand and sword on thigh, riding down the leafy alleys of -the woods yonder, led by the throbbing, sighing melody. To burst upon -the astonished dancers like a thunder-clap; to swing her up to my -saddle-bow, and, clasped in each other's arms, to plunge into the green -mystery of forest. - -My fancies had carried me thus far when I became aware of a small -furtive figure dodging from one patch of shadow to another. Leaning -from the window I made out the form of a somewhat disreputable urchin, -who, dropping upon hands and knees, proceeded to crawl towards me over -the grass with a show of the most elaborate caution. - -"Hallo!" I exclaimed, "halt and give the counter-sign!" The urchin sat -up on his heels and stared at me with a pair of very round bright eyes. - -"Please, are you Mr. Uncle Dick?" he inquired. - -"Oh," I said, "you come from the Imp, I presume." The boy nodded a -round head, at the same time fumbling with something in his pocket. - -"And who may you be?" I inquired conversationally. - -"I'm Ben, I am." - -"The gardener's boy?" Again the round head nodded acquiescence, as with -much writhing and twisting he succeeded in drawing a heterogeneous -collection of articles from his pocket, whence he selected a very dirty -and crumpled piece of paper. - -"He wants a ladder so's he can git out, but it's too big fer me to lift, -so he told me to give you this here so's you would come an' rescue -him--please, Mr. Uncle Dick." With which lucid explanation Ben handed -me the crumpled note. - -Spreading it out upon the window-sill, I managed to make out as follows: - - -"DEAR UNKEL DICK,--I'm riting this with my hart's blood bekors I'm a -prisner in a gloomie dungun. It isn't really my heart's blood it's only -red ink, so don't worry. Aunty lisbath cent me to bed just after tea -bekors she said i'm norty, and when she'd gone Nurse locked me in so i -can't get out and i'm tired of being a prisner, so please i want you to -get the ladda and let me eskape, please unkel dick, will you.--yours -till deth, - -"REGINALD AUGUSTUS." - -"Auntie was reading Ivanhoe to us and i've been the _Black Knight_ and -you can be Gurth the swine-herd if you like." - - -"So that's the way of it?" I said. "Well! well! such an appeal shall -not go unanswered, at least. Wait there, my trusty Benjamin, and I'll -be with you anon." Pausing only to refill my tobacco-pouch and get my -cap, I sallied out into the fragrant night, and set off along the river, -the faithful Benjamin trotting at my heels. - -Very soon we were skirting blooming flowerbeds and crossing trim lawns, -until at length we reached a certain wing of the house, from a window of -which a pillow-case was dangling by means of a string. - -"That's for provisions!" volunteered Ben. "We pertended he was starving, -so he lets it down, an' I fill it with onions out of the vegetable -garden." - -At this moment the curly head of the Imp appeared at the window, -followed by the major portion of his person. - -"Oh, Uncle Dick!" he cried, in a loud stage-whisper, "I think you had -better be the Black Knight, 'cause you're so big, you know." - -"Imp," I said, "get in at once! Do you want to break your neck?" - -The Imp obediently wriggled into safety. - -"The ladder's in the tool-house, Uncle Dick--Ben'll show you. Will you -get it, please?" he pleaded in a wheedling tone. - -"First of all, my Imp, why did your Auntie Lisbeth send you to bed--had -you been a very naughty boy?" - -"No-o," he answered, after a moment's pause, "I don't think I was so -very naughty--I only painted Dorothy like an Indian chief--green, with -red spots, an' she looked fine, you know." - -"Green, with red spots!" I repeated. - -"Yes; only Auntie didn't seem to like it." - -"I fear your Auntie Lisbeth lacks an eye for colour." - -"Yes, 'fraid so; she sent me to bed for it, you know." - -"Still, Imp, under the circumstances, I think it would be best if you -got undressed and to sleep." - -"Oh, but I can't, Uncle Dick!" - -"Why not, my Imp?" - -"'Cause the moon's so very bright, an' everything looks so fine down -there, an' I'm sure there's fairies about--Moon-fairies, you know--and -I'm miserable." - -"Miserable, Imp?" - -"Yes, Auntie Lisbeth never came to kiss me good-night, an' so I can't go -to sleep, Uncle Dick!" - -"Why, that alters the case, certainly." - -"Yes, an' the ladder's in the tool-house." - -"Imp," I said, as I turned to follow Benjamin, "oh, you Imp!" - -There are few things in this world more difficult to manage than a -common or garden ladder; among other peculiarities it has a most -unpleasant knack of kicking out suddenly just as everything appears to -be going smoothly, which is apt to prove disconcerting to the novice. -However, after sundry mishaps of the kind, I eventually got it reared up -to the window, and a moment afterwards the Imp had climbed down and -stood beside me, drawing the breath of freedom. - -As a precautionary measure we proceeded to hide the ladder in a clump of -rhododendrons hard by, and had but just done so when Benjamin uttered a -cry of warning and took to his heels, while the Imp and I sought shelter -behind a friendly tree. And not a whit too soon, for, scarcely had we -done so, when two figures came round a corner of the house--two figures -who walked very slowly and very close together. - -"Why, it's Betty--the cook, you know--an' Peter!" whispered the Imp. - -Almost opposite our hiding-place Betty paused to sigh heavily and stare -up at the moon. - -"Oh, Peter!" she murmured, "look at that there orb!" - -"Ar!" said Peter, gazing obediently upward. - -"Peter, ain't it 'eavingly; don't it stir your very soul?" - -"Ar!" said Peter. - -"Peter, are you sure you loves me more than that Susan thing at the -doctor's?" - -A corduroy coat-sleeve crept slowly about Betty's plump waist, and there -came the unmistakable sound of a kiss. - -"Really and truly, Peter?" - -"Ar!" said Peter. - -The kissing sound was repeated, and they walked on once more, only -closer than ever now on account of the corduroy coat-sleeve. - -"Those two are in love, you know," nodded the Imp. "Peter says the -cheese-cakes she makes are enough to drive any man into marrying her, -whether he wants to or not, an' I heard Betty telling Jane that she -adored Peter, 'cause he had so much soul! Why is it," he inquired -thoughtfully, as he watched the two out of sight, "why is it, Uncle -Dick, that people in love always look so silly?" - -"Do you think so?" I asked, as I paused to light my pipe. - -"'Course I do!" returned the Imp; "what's anyone got to put their arm -round girls for, just as if they wanted holding up?--I think it's -awfull' silly!" - -"Of course it is, Imp--your wisdom is unassailable. Still, do you know, -I can understand a man being foolish enough to do it--occasionally." - -"But you never would, Uncle Dick?" - -"Alas, Imp!" I said, shaking my head, "Fortune seems to preclude all -chances of it." - -"'Course you wouldn't," he exclaimed; "an' Ivanhoe wouldn't----" - -"Ah, but he did!" I put in; "have you forgotten Rowena?" - -"Oh!" cried the Imp dolefully, "do you really think he ever put his arm -round her?" - -"Sure of it," I nodded. - -The Imp seemed much cast down and even shocked. - -"But there was the Black Knight," he said, brightening suddenly; -"Richard of the Lion Heart, you know--he never did!" - -"Not while he was fighting, of course, but afterwards, if history is to -be believed, he very frequently did; and we are all alike, -Imp--everybody does sooner or later." - -"But why? Why should anyone want to put their arm round a girl, Uncle -Dick?" - -"For the simple reason that the girl is there to put it round, I -suppose. And now, Imp, let us talk of fish." - -Instinctively we had wandered towards the river, and now we stood to -watch the broad, silver path made by the moon across the mystery of its -waters. - -"I love to see the shine upon the river like that," said the Imp -dreamily; "Auntie Lisbeth says it's the path that the Moon-fairies come -down by to bring you nice dreams when you've been good. I've got out of -bed lots of times an' watched an' watched, but I've never seen them -come. Do you think there are fairies in the moon, Uncle Dick?" - -"Undoubtedly," I answered; "how else does it keep so bright? I used to -wonder once how they managed to make it shine so." - -"It must need lots of rubbing!" said the Imp; "I wonder if they ever get -tired?" - -"Of course they do, Imp, and disheartened, too, sometimes, like the rest -of us, and then everything is black, and people wonder where the moon -is. But they are very brave, these Moon-fairies, and they never quite -lose hope, you know; so they presently go back to their rubbing and -polishing, always starting at one edge. And in a little while we see it -begin to shine again, very small and thin at first, like a----" - -"Thumb-nail!" - -"Yes, just like a thumb-nail; and so they go on working and working at -it until it gets as big and round and bright as it is to-night." - -Thus we walked together through a fairy world, the Imp and I, while -above the murmur of the waters, above the sighing of the trees, came the -soft tremulous melody of the violins. - -"I do wish I had lived when there were knights like Ivanhoe," burst out -the Imp suddenly; "it must have been fine to knock a man off his horse -with your lance." - -"Always supposing he didn't knock you off first, Imp." - -"Oh! I should have been the sort of knight that nobody could knock off, -you know. An' I'd have wandered about on my faithful charger, fighting -all sorts of caddish barons and caitiffs, an' slaying giants; an' I'd -have rescued lovely ladies from castles grim--though I wouldn't have put -my arm round them, of course! - -"Perish the thought, my Imp!" - -"Uncle Dick!" he said insinuatingly, "I do wish you'd be the Black -Knight, an' let me be Ivanhoe." - -"But there are no caitiffs and things left for us to fight, Imp, and no -lovely ladies to rescue from castles grim, alas!" - -Now we had been walking on, drawn almost imperceptibly by the magic -thread of the melody, which had led us, by devious paths, to a low stone -wall, beyond which we could see the gleam of lighted windows and the -twinkle of fairy lamps among the trees. And over there, amid the music -and laughter, was Lisbeth in all the glory of her beauty, happy, of -course, and light-hearted; and here, beneath the moon, was I. - -"We could pretend this was a castle grim, you know, Uncle Dick, full of -dungeons an' turrets, an' that we were going to rescue Auntie Lisbeth." - -"Imp," I said, "that's really a great idea." - -"I wish I'd brought my trusty sword," he sighed, searching about for -something to supply its place; "I left it under my pillow, you know." -Very soon, however, he had procured two sticks, somewhat thin and -wobbly, yet which, by the magic of imagination, became transformed into -formidable two-edged swords, with one of which he armed me, the other he -flourished above his head. - -"Forward, gallant knights!" he cried; "the breach! the breach! On! on! -St. George for Merrie England!" With the words he clambered upon the -wall and disappeared upon the other side. - -For a moment I hesitated, and then, inspired by the music and the -thought of Lisbeth, I followed suit. It was all very mad, of course, -but who cared for sanity on such a night--certainly not I. - -"Careful now, Imp!" I cautioned; "if anyone should see us they'll take -us for thieves, or lunatics, beyond a doubt." - -We found ourselves in an enclosed garden with a walk which led between -rows of fruit trees. Following this, it brought us out upon a broad -stretch of lawn, with here and there a great tree, and beyond, the -gleaming windows of the house. Filled with the spirit of adventure, we -approached, keeping in the shadow as much as possible, until we could -see figures that strolled to and fro upon the terrace or promenaded the -walks below. - -The excitement of dodging our way among so many people was intense; time -and again we were only saved from detection by more than one wandering -couple, owing to the fact that all their attention was centred in -themselves. For instance, we were skirmishing round a clump of laurels, -to gain the shadow of the terrace, when we almost ran into the arms of a -pair; but they didn't see us, for the very good reason that she was -staring at the moon, and he at her. - -"So sweet of you, Archibald!" she was saying. - -"What did she call him 'bald for, Uncle Dick?" inquired the Imp in a -loud stage-whisper, as I dragged him down behind the laurels. "He's not -a bit bald, you know! An' I say, Uncle Dick, did you see his arm? It -was round----" - -"Yes--yes!" I nodded. - -"Just like Peter's, you know." - -"Yes--yes, I saw." - -"I wonder why she called him----" - -"Hush!" I broke in, "his name is Archibald, I suppose." - -"Well, I hope when I grow up nobody will ever call me----" - -"Hush!" I said again, "not a word--there's your Auntie Lisbeth!" She -was, indeed, standing upon the terrace, within a yard of our -hiding-place, and beside her was Mr. Selwyn. - -"Uncle Dick," whispered the irrepressible Imp, "do you think if we watch -long enough that Mr. Selwyn will put his arm round----" - -"Shut up!" I whispered savagely. - -Lisbeth was clad in a long, trailing gown of dove-coloured silk--one of -those close-fitting garments that make the uninitiated, such as myself, -wonder how they are ever got on. - -Mr. Selwyn stood beside her with a plate of ice-cream in his hand, which -he handed to her, and they sat down. As I watched her and noticed her -weary, bored air, and how wistfully she gazed up at the silver disc of -the moon, I experienced a feeling of decided satisfaction. - -"Yes," said Lisbeth, toying absently with the ice-cream, "he painted -Dorothy's face with stripes of red and green enamel, and goodness only -knows how we can ever get it all off!" - -Mr. Selwyn was duly shocked, and murmured something about the "efficacy -of turpentine" in such an emergency. - -"Of course, I had to punish him," continued Lisbeth, "so I sent him to -bed immediately after tea, and never went to say good-night, or tuck him -up as I usually do, and it has been worrying me all the evening." - -Mr. Selwyn was sure that he was all right, and positively certain that -at this moment he was wrapped in balmy slumber. Despite my warning -grasp, the Imp chuckled, but we were saved by the band striking up. Mr. -Selwyn rose, giving his arm to Lisbeth, and they re-entered the -ballroom. One by one the other couples followed suit until the long -terrace deserted. - -Now, upon Lisbeth's deserted chair, showing wonderfully pink in the soft -glow of the Chinese lanterns, was the ice-cream. - -"Uncle Dick," said the Imp in his thoughtful way, "I think I'll be a -bandit for a bit." - -"Anything you like," I answered rashly, "so long as we get away while we -can." - -"All right," he whispered, "I won't be a minute," and before I could -stop him he had scrambled down the steps and fallen to upon the -ice-cream. - -The wonderful celerity with which the Imp wolfed down that ice-cream was -positively awe-inspiring. In less time almost than it takes to tell, -the plate was empty. Yet scarcely had he swallowed the last mouthful -when he heard Mr. Selwyn's voice close by. In his haste the Imp dropped -his cap, a glaring affair of red and white, and before he could recover -it, Lisbeth reappeared, followed by Mr. Selwyn. - -"It certainly is more pleasant out here!" he was saying. - -Lisbeth came straight towards the cap--it was a moral impossibility that -she could fail to see it--yet she sank into her chair without word or -sign. Mr. Selwyn, on the contrary, stood with the empty ice plate in -his hand, staring at it in wide-eyed astonishment. - -"It's gone!" he exclaimed. - -"Oh!" said Lisbeth. - -"Most extraordinary!" said Mr. Selwyn, fixing his monocle and staring -harder than ever; "I wonder where it can have got to?" - -"Perhaps it melted!" Lisbeth suggested, "and I should so have loved an -ice!" she sighed. - -"Then, of course, I'll get you another, with pleasure," he said, and -hurried off, eyeing the plate dubiously as he went. - -No sooner was Lisbeth alone than she kicked aside the train of her dress -and picked up the tell-tale cap. - -"Imp!" she whispered, rising to her feet, "Imp, come here at once, sir!" - -There was a moment's breathless pause, and then the Imp squirmed himself -into view. - -"Hallo, Auntie Lisbeth!" he said, with a cheerfulness wholly assumed. - -"Oh!" she cried distressfully, "whatever does this mean; what are you -doing here? Oh, you naughty boy!" - -"Lisbeth," I said, as I rose in my turn and confronted her, "do not -blame the child--the fault is mine--let me explain; by means of a -ladder----" - -"Not here," she whispered, glancing nervously towards the ballroom. - -"Then come where I can." - -"Impossible!" - -"Not at all; you have only to descend these steps and we can talk -undisturbed." - -"Ridiculous!" she said, stooping to replace the Imp's cap; but being -thus temptingly within reach, she was next moment beside us in the -shadows. - -"Dick, how could you, how dared you?" - -"You see, I had to explain," I answered very humbly; "I really couldn't -allow this poor child to bear the blame of my fault----" - -"I'm not a 'poor child,' Uncle Dick," expostulated the Imp; "I'm a -gallant knight and----" - -"--The blame of my fault, Lisbeth," I continued. "I alone must face -your just resentment, for----" - -"Hush!" she whispered, glancing hastily about. - -"--For, by means of a ladder, Lisbeth, a common or garden ladder----" - -"Oh, do be quiet!" she said, and laid her hand upon my lips, which I -immediately imprisoned there, but for a moment only; the next it was -snatched away as there came the unmistakable sound of someone -approaching. - -"Come along, Auntie Lisbeth," whispered the Imp; "fear not, we'll rescue -you." - -Oh! surely there was magic in the air to-night; for, with a swift, -dexterous movement, Lisbeth had swept her long train across her arm, and -we were running hand in hand, all three of us, running across lawns and -down winding paths between yew hedges, sometimes so close together that -I could feel a tress of her fragrant hair brushing my face with a touch -almost like a caress. Surely, surely, there was magic in the air -to-night! - -Suddenly Lisbeth stopped, flushed and panting. - -"Well!" she exclaimed, staring from me to the Imp, and back again, "was -ever anything so mad!" - -"Everything is mad to-night," I said; "it's the moon!" - -"To think of my running away like this with two--two----" - -"Interlopers," I suggested. - -"I really ought to be very, very angry with you--both of you," she said, -trying to frown. - -"No, don't be angry with us, Auntie Lisbeth," pleaded the Imp, "'cause -you are a lovely lady in a castle grim, an' we are two gallant knights, -so we had to come an' rescue you; an' you never came to kiss me -good-night, an' I'm awfull' sorry 'bout painting Dorothy's -face--really!" - -"Imp," cried Lisbeth, falling on her knees, regardless of her silks and -laces, "Imp, come and kiss me." The Imp drew out a decidedly grubby -handkerchief, and, having rubbed his lips with it, obeyed. - -"Now, Uncle Dick!" he said, and offered me the grubby handkerchief. -Lisbeth actually blushed. - -"Reginald!" she exclaimed, "whatever put such an idea into your head?" - -"Oh! everybody's always kissing somebody, you know," he nodded; "an' -it's Uncle Dick's turn now." - -Lisbeth rose from her knees and began to pat her rebellious hair into -order. Now, as she raised her arms, her shawl very naturally slipped to -the ground; and standing there, with her eyes laughing up at me beneath -their dark lashes, with the moonlight in her hair, she had never seemed -quite so bewilderingly beautiful before. - -"Dick," she said, "I must go back at once--before they miss me." - -"Go back!" I repeated; "never--that is, not yet." - -"But suppose anyone saw us!" she said, with a hairpin in her mouth. - -"They shan't," I answered; "you will see to that, won't you, Imp?" - -"'Course I will, Uncle Dick!" - -"Then go you, Sir Knight, and keep faithful ward behind yon apple-tree, -and let no base varlet hither come; that is, if you see anyone, be sure -to tell me." - -The Imp saluted and promptly disappeared behind the apple-tree in -question, while I stood watching Lisbeth's dexterous fingers and -striving to remember a line from Keats, descriptive of a beautiful woman -in the moonlight, before I could call it to mind, however, Lisbeth -interrupted me. - -"Don't you think you might pick up my shawl instead of staring at me as -if I was----" - -"The most beautiful woman in the world!" I put in. - -"Who is catching her death of cold," she laughed, yet for all her light -tone her eyes drooped before mine as I obediently wrapped the shawl -about her, in the doing of which, my arm being round her, very naturally -stayed there, and--wonder of wonders, was not repulsed. And at this -very moment, from the shadowy trees behind us, came the rich clear song -of a nightingale. - -Oh, most certainly the air was full of magic to-night! - -"Dick," said Lisbeth very softly, as the trilling notes died away, "I -thought one could only dream such a night as this is." - -"And yet life might hold many such for you and me, if you would only let -it, Lisbeth," I reminded her. She did not answer. - -"Not far from the village of Down, in Kent," I began. - -"There stands a house," she put in, staring up at the moon with dreamy -eyes. - -"Yes." - -"A very old house, with twisted Tudor chimneys and pointed gables--you -see, I have it all by heart, Dick--a house with wide stairways and long -panelled chambers----" - -"Very empty and desolate at present," I added. "And, amongst other -things, there is a rose garden--they call it My Lady's Garden, Lisbeth, -though no lady has trod its winding paths for years and years. But I -have dreamed, many and many a time, that we stood among the roses, she -and I, upon just such another night as this is. So I keep the old house -ready and the gardens freshly trimmed, ready for my lady's coming; must -I wait much longer, Lisbeth?" As I ended the nightingale took up the -story, pleading my cause for me, filling the air with a melody now -appealing, now commanding, until it gradually died away in one long note -of passionate entreaty. - -Lisbeth sighed and turned towards me, but, as she did so, I felt a tug -at my coat, and, looking round, beheld the Imp. - -"Uncle Dick," he said, his eyes studiously averted, doubtless on account -of the position of my arm, "here's Mr. Selwyn!" - -With a sudden exclamation Lisbeth started from me and gathered up her -skirts to run. - -"Where away, my Imp?" - -"Coming across the lawn." - -"Reginald," I said solemnly, "listen to me; you must sally out upon him -with lance in rest, tell him you are a Knight-errant, wishful to uphold -the glory of that faire ladye, your Auntie Lisbeth, and, whatever -happens, you must manage to keep him away from here. Do you understand?" - -"Yes; only I do wish I'd brought my trusty sword, you know," he sighed. - -"Never mind that now, Imp." - -"Will Auntie Lisbeth be quite----" - -"She will be all right." - -"I suppose if you put your arm----" - -"Never mind my arm, Imp, go!" - -"Then fare thee well!" said he, and, with a melodramatic flourish of his -lance, trotted off. - -"What did he mean about your arm, Dick?" - -"Probably this," I answered, slipping it around her again. - -"But you must get away at once," whispered Lisbeth; "if Mr. Selwyn -should see you----" - -"I intend that he shall. Oh, it will be quite simple; while he is -talking to me you can get back to the----" - -"Hush!" she whispered, laying her fingers on my lips; "listen!" - -"Hallo, Mr. Selwyn!" came in the Imp's familiar tones. - -"Why, good gracious!" exclaimed another voice, much too near to be -pleasant, "what on earth are you doing here--and at this time of night?" - -"Looking for base varlets!" - -"Don't you know that all little boys--all nice little boys--should have -been in bed hours ago?" - -"But I'm not a nice little boy; I'm a Knight-errant; would you like to -get a lance, Mr. Selwyn, an' break it with me to the glory of my Auntie -Lisbeth?" - -"The question is, what has become of her?" said Mr. Selwyn. We waited -almost breathlessly for the answer. - -"Oh! I 'specks she's somewhere looking at the moon; everybody looks at -the moon, you know; Betty does, an' the lady with the man with a funny -name 'bout being bald, an'----" - -"I think you had better come up to the house," said Mr. Selwyn. - -"Do you think you could get me an ice-cream if I did?" asked the Imp -persuasively; "nice an' pink, you know, with----" - -"An ice!" repeated Mr. Selwyn; "I wonder how many you have had already -to-night?" - -The time for action was come. - -"Lisbeth," I said, "we must go; such happiness as this could not last; -how should it? I think it is given us to dream over in less happy days. -For me it will be a memory to treasure always, and yet there might be -one thing more--a little thing, Lisbeth--can you guess?" She did not -speak, but I saw the dimple come and go at the corner of her mouth, so I -stooped and kissed her. For a moment, all too brief, we stood thus, -with the glory of the moonlight about us; then I was hurrying across the -lawn after Selwyn and the Imp. - -"Ah, Mr. Selwyn!" I said as I overtook them, "so you have found him, -have you?" Mr. Selwyn turned to regard me, surprise writ large upon -him, from the points of his immaculate patent-leather shoes to the -parting of his no less immaculate hair. - -"So very good of you," I continued; "you see he is such a difficult -object to recover when once he gets mislaid; really, I'm awfully -obliged." Mr. Selwyn's attitude was politely formal. He bowed. - -"What is it to-night?" he inquired. "Pirates? - -"Hardly so bad as that," I returned; "to-night the air is full of the -clash of armour and the ring of steel; if you do not hear it, that is -not our fault." - -"An' the woods are full of caddish barons and caitiff knaves, you know, -aren't they, Uncle Dick?" - -"Certainly," I nodded, "with lance and spear-point twinkling through the -gloom; but in the silver glory of the moon, Mr. Selwyn, walk errant -damozels and ladyes faire, and again, if you don't see them, the loss is -yours." As I spoke, away upon the terrace a grey shadow paused a moment -ere it was swallowed in the brilliance of the ballroom; seeing which I -did not mind the slightly superior smile that curved Mr. Selwyn's very -precise moustache; after all, my rhapsody had not been altogether thrown -away. - -As I ended, the opening bars of a waltz floated out to us. Mr. Selwyn -glanced back over his shoulder. - -"Ah! I suppose you can find your way out?" he inquired. - -"Oh yes, thanks." - -"Then if you will excuse me, I think I'll leave you to--ah--to do it; -the next dance is beginning, and--ah----" - -"Certainly," I said, "of course--good-night, and much obliged--really!" - -Mr. Selwyn bowed, and, turning away, left us to our own resources. - -"I should have liked another ice, Uncle Dick," sighed the Imp -regretfully. - -"Knights never ate ice-cream!" I said, as we set off along the nearest -path. - -"Uncle Dick," said the Imp suddenly, "do you s'pose Mr. Selwyn wants to -put his arm round Auntie Lis----" - -"Possibly!" - -"An' do you s'pose that Auntie Lisbeth wants Mr. Selwyn to----" - -"I don't know--of course not--er--kindly shut up, will you, Imp?" - -"I only wanted to know, you know," he murmured. - -Therewith we walked on in silence, and I fell to dreaming of Lisbeth -again, of how she had sighed, of the look in her eyes as she turned to -me with her answer trembling on her lips--the answer which the Imp had -inadvertently cut short. - -In this frame of mind I drew near to that corner of the garden where she -had stood with me, that quiet shady corner which henceforth would remain -enshrined within my memory for her sake, which---- - -I stopped suddenly short at the sight of two figures--one in the cap and -apron of a waiting-maid and the other in the gorgeous plush and gold -braid of a footman; and they were standing upon the very spot where -Lisbeth and I had stood, and in almost the exact attitude--it was -desecration. - -I stood stock-still despite the Imp's frantic tugs at my coat, all other -feelings swallowed up in one of half-amused resentment. Then the -resplendent footman happened to turn his head, presently espied me, and -removing his plush-clad arm from the waist of the trim maid-servant, and -doubling his fists, strode towards us with a truly terrible mien. - -"And w'ot might your game be?" he inquired, with that supercilious air -inseparable from plush and gold braid. "Oh, I know your kind, I do--I -know yer!" - -"Then, fellow," quoth I, "I know not thee." - -"Don't get trying to come over me," said he indignantly. "The question -is, w'ot are you 'anging round 'ere for?" - -Now, possibly deceived by my pacific attitude, or inspired by the bright -eyes of the trim maid-servant, he seized me, none too gently, by the -collar, to the horrified dismay of the Imp. - -"Nay, but I will give thee monies----" - -"You are a-going to come up to the 'ouse with me, and none of your -nonsense, either; d'ye 'ear?" - -"Then must I needs smite thee for a barbarous dog--hence--base -slave--begone!" - -Wherewith I delivered what is technically known in "sporting" circles as -a "right hook to the ear," followed by a "left swing to the chin," and -my assailant immediately disappeared behind a bush, with a flash of pink -silk calves and buckled shoes. Then, while the trim maid-servant filled -the air with her lamentations, the Imp and I ran hot-foot for the wall, -over which I bundled him neck and crop, and we set off pell-mell along -the river-path. - -"Oh, Uncle Dick," he panted, "how--how fine you are! You knocked yon -footman--I mean varlet--from his saddle like--like anything. Oh, I do -wish you would play like this every night!" - -"Heaven forbid!" I exclaimed fervently. - -Coming at last to the Shrubbery gate, we paused awhile to regain our -breath. - -"Uncle Dick," said the Imp, regarding me with a thoughtful eye, "did you -see his arm--I mean before you smote him 'hip and thigh'?" - -"I did." - -"It was round her waist." - -"Imp, it was." - -"Just like Peter's?" - -"Yes." - -"An' the man with the funny name?" - -"Archibald's, yes." - -"An'--an'----" - -"And mine," I put in, seeing he paused. - -"Uncle Dick--why?" - -"Ah! who knows, Imp--perhaps it was the Moon-magic. And now, by my -troth! 'tis full time all good knights were snoring, so hey for bed and -the Slumber-world!" - -The ladder was dragged from its hiding-place, and the Imp, having -mounted, watched me from his window as I returned it to the laurels for -very obvious reasons. - -"We didn't see any fairies, did we, Uncle Dick?" - -"Well, I think I did, Imp, just for a moment; I may have been mistaken, -of course; but anyhow, it has been a very wonderful night all the same. -And so--fare thee well, fair Knight!" - - - - - *CHAPTER V* - - *THE EPISODE OF THE INDIAN'S AUNT* - - -The sun blazed down, as any truly self-respecting sun should, on a fine -August afternoon; yet its heat was tempered by a soft, cool breeze that -just stirred the leaves above my head. - -The river was busy whispering many things to the reeds, things which, -had I been wise enough to understand, might have helped me to write many -wonderful books, for, as it is so very old, and has both seen and heard -so much, it is naturally very wise. But alas! being ignorant of the -language of rivers, I had to content myself with my own dreams, and the -large, speckled frog that sat beside me, watching the flow of the river -with his big, gold-rimmed eyes. - -He was happy enough, I was sure. There was a complacent satisfaction in -every line of his fat mottled body. And as I watched him my mind very -naturally reverted to the _Pickwick Papers_, and I repeated Mrs. Leo -Hunter's deathless ode, beginning: - - "Can I see thee panting, dying, - On a log, - Expiring frog!" - - -The big, green frog beside me listened with polite attention, but, on -the whole, seemed strangely unmoved. Remembering the book in my pocket, -I took it out; an old book, with battered leathern covers, which has -passed through many hands since it was first published, more than two -hundred years ago. - -Indeed it is a wonderful, a most delightful book, known to the world as -_The Compleat Angler_, in which, to be sure, one may read something of -fish and fishing, but more about old Izaak's lovable self, his sunny -streams and shady pools, his buxom milkmaids, and sequestered inns, and -his kindly animadversions upon men and things in general. Yet, as I -say, he does occasionally speak of fish and fishing, and amongst other -matters, concerning live frogs as bait, after describing the properest -method of impaling one upon the hook, he ends with this injunction-- - -"Treat it as though you loved it, that it may live the longer!" - -Up till now the frog had preserved his polite attentiveness in a manner -highly creditable to his upbringing, but this proved too much; his -overcharged feelings burst from him in a hoarse croak, and he -disappeared into the river with a splash. - -"Good afternoon, Uncle Dick!" said a voice at my elbow, and looking -round, I beheld Dorothy. Beneath one arm she carried the fluffy kitten, -and in the other hand a scrap of paper. - -"I promised Reginald to give you this," she continued, "and--oh yes--I -was to say 'Hist!' first." - -"Really! And why were you to say 'Hist'?" - -"Oh, because all Indians always say 'Hist!' you know." - -"To be sure they do," I answered; "but am I to understand that you are -an Indian?" - -"Not to-day," replied Dorothy, shaking her head. "Last time Reginald -painted me Auntie was awfull' angry--it took her and nurse ages to get -it all off--the war-paint, I mean--so I'm afraid I can't be an Indian -again!" - -"That's very unfortunate!" I said. - -"Yes, isn't it; but nobody can be an Indian chief without any war-paint, -can they?" - -"Certainly not," I answered. "You seem to know a great deal about it." - -"Oh yes," nodded Dorothy. "Reginald has a book all about Indians and -full of pictures--and here's the letter," she ended, and slipped it into -my hand. - -Smoothing out its many folds and creases, I read aloud, as follows: - - -"_To my pail-face brother:_ - -"'Ere another moon, Spotted Snaik will be upon the war-path, and red -goar shall flo in buckkit-fulls." - - -"It sounds dreadful, doesn't it?" said Dorothy, hugging her kitten. - -"Horrible!" I returned. - -"He got it out of the book, you know," she went on, "but I put in the -part about the buckets--a bucket holds such an awful lot, don't you -think? But there's some more on the other page." Obediently I turned, -and read: - - -"'ere another moon, scalps shall dangel at belt of Spotted Snaik, for in -his futsteps lurks distruksion. But fear not pail-face, thou art my -brother--fairwell. - -"Sined "SPOTTED SNAIK." - - -"There was lots more, but we couldn't get it in," said Dorothy. -Squeezed up into a corner I found this postscript; - - -"If you will come and be an Indian Cheef unkel dick, I will make you a -spear, and you can be Fanged Wolf. He was a fine chap and nobody could -beat him except Spotted Snaik, will you Unkel dick?" - - -"He wants you to write an answer, and I'm to take it to him," said -Dorothy. - -"Fanged Wolf!" I repeated; "no, I'm afraid not. I shouldn't object so -much to becoming a red-skin--for a time--but Fanged Wolf! Really, -Dorothy, I'm afraid I couldn't manage that." - -"He was very brave," returned Dorothy, "and awfull' strong, and -could--could 'throw his lance with such unerring aim as to pin his foe -to the nearest tree--in the twinkle of an eye.' That's in the book, you -know." - -"There certainly must be a great deal of satisfaction in pinning one's -foe to a tree," I nodded. - -"Y-e-e-s, I suppose so," said Dorothy rather dubiously. - -"And where is Spotted Snake--I mean, what is he doing?" - -"Oh, he's down by the river, with his bow and arrow, scouting for -canoes. It was great fun! He shot at a man in a boat--and nearly hit -him, and the man got very angry indeed, so we had to hide among the -bushes, just like real Indians. Oh, it was fine!" - -"But your Auntie Lisbeth said you weren't to play near the river, you -know," I said. - -"That's what I told him," returned Dorothy, "but he said that Indians -didn't have any aunts, and then I didn't know what to say. What do you -think about it, Uncle Dick?" - -"Well," I answered, "now I come to consider, I can't remember ever -having heard of an Indian's aunt." - -"Poor things!" said Dorothy, giving the fluffy kitten a kiss between the -ears. - -"Yes, it's hard on them, perhaps, and yet," I added thoughtfully, "an -aunt is sometimes rather a mixed blessing. Still, whether an Indian -possesses an aunt or not, the fact remains that water has an unpleasant -habit of wetting one, and, on the whole, I think I'll go and see what -Spotted Snake is up to." - -"Then I think I'll come with you a little way," said Dorothy, as I rose. -"You see, I have to get Louise her afternoon's milk." - -"And how is Louise?" I inquired, pulling the fluffy kitten's nearest -ear. - -"Very well, thank you," answered Dorothy demurely; "but oh, dear me! -kittens 'are such a constant source of worry and anxiety'! Auntie -Lisbeth sometimes says that about Reginald and me. I wonder what she -would say if we were kittens!" - -"By the by, where is your Auntie Lisbeth?" I asked, in a strictly -conversational tone. - -"Well, she's lying in the old boat." - -"In the old boat!" I repeated. - -"Yes," nodded Dorothy; "when it's nice and warm and sleepy, like to-day, -she takes a book, and a pillow, and a sunshade, and she goes and lies in -the old boat under the water-stairs. There, just look at this naughty -Louise!" she broke off, as the kitten scrambled up to her shoulder and -stood there, balancing itself very dexterously with curious angular -movements of its tail; "that's because she thinks I've forgotten her -milk, you know; she's dreadfully impatient, but I suppose I must humour -her this once. 'Good afternoon!'" And, having given me her hand in her -demure old-fashioned way, Dorothy hurried off, the kitten still perched -upon her shoulder, its tail jerking spasmodically with her every step. - -In a little while I came in view of the Water-stairs, yet, although I -paused more than once to look about me, I saw no sign of the Imp. -Thinking he was most probably in "ambush" somewhere, I continued my way, -whistling a tune to attract his notice. Ten minutes or more elapsed, -however, without any sign of him, and I was already close to the stairs, -when I stopped whistling all at once, and, holding my breath, crept -forward on tiptoe. - -There before me was the old boat, and in it--her cheek upon a crimson -cushion and the sun making a glory of her tumbled hair--was -Lisbeth--asleep. - -Being come as near as I dared for fear of waking her, I sat down, and -lighting my pipe, fell to watching her--the up-curving shadow of her -lashes, the gleam of teeth between the scarlet of her parted lips. And -from the heavy braids of her hair my glance wandered down to the little -tan shoe peeping at me beneath her skirt, and I called to mind how -Goethe has said: - -"A pretty foot is not only a continual joy, but it is the one element of -beauty that defies the assaults of Time." - -Sometimes a butterfly hovered past, a bee filled the air with his drone, -or a bird settled for a moment upon the stairs near by to preen a -ruffled feather, while soft and drowsy with distance came the ceaseless -roar of the weir. - -I do not know how long I had sat thus, supremely content, when I was -suddenly aroused by a rustling close at hand. - -"Hist!" - -I looked up sharply, and beheld a head, a head adorned with sundry -feathers, and a face hideously streaked with red and green paint; but -there was no mistaking those golden curls--it was the Imp! - -"Hist!" he repeated, bringing out the word with a prolonged hiss, and -then--before I could even guess at his intention--there was the swift -gleam of a knife, a splash of the severed painter, and caught by the -tide the old boat swung out and was adrift. - -The Imp stood gazing on his handiwork with wide eyes, and then as I -leaped to my feet something in my look seemed to frighten him, for -without a word he turned and fled. - -But all my attention was centred in the boat, which was drifting slowly -into mid-stream with Lisbeth still fast asleep. And as I watched its -sluggish progress, with a sudden chill I remembered the weir, which -foamed and roared only a short half-mile away. If the boat once got -drawn into that----! - -Now, I am quite aware that under these circumstances the right and -proper thing for me to have done, would have been to throw aside my -coat, tear off my boots, etc., and "boldly breast the foamy flood." But -I did neither, for the simple reason that once within the "foamy flood" -aforesaid, there would have been very little chance of my ever getting -out again, for--let me confess the fact with the blush of shame--I am no -swimmer. - -Yet I was not idle, far otherwise. Having judged the distance between -the drifting boat and the bank, I began running along, seeking the thing -I wanted. And presently, sure enough, I found it--a great pollard oak, -growing upon the edge of the water, that identical tree with the -"stickie-out" branches which has already figured in these narratives. - -Hastily swinging myself up, I got astride the lowest branch, which -projected out over the water. I had distanced the boat by some hundred -yards, and as I sat there I watched its drift, one minute full of hope, -and the next as miserably uncertain. - -My obvious intention was to crawl out upon the branch until it bent with -my weight, and so let myself into, or as near the boat as possible. - -It was close now, so close that I could see the gleam of Lisbeth's hair -and the point of the little tan shoe. With my eyes on this, I writhed -my way along the bough, which bent more and more as I neared the end. -Here I hung, swaying up and down and to and fro in a highly unpleasant -manner, while I waited the crucial moment. - -Never upon this whole round earth did anything creep as that boat did. -There was a majestic deliberation in its progress that positively -maddened me. I remember to have once read an article somewhere upon the -"Sensibility of Material Things," or something of the sort, which I had -forgotten long since, but as I hung there suspended between heaven and -earth, it came back to me with a rush, and I was perfectly certain that, -recognising my precarious position, that time-worn, ancient boat checked -its speed on purpose. - -But all things have an end, and so, little by little the blunt bow crept -nearer until it was in the very shade of my tree. Grasping the branch, -I let myself swing at arm's length; and then I found that I was at least -a foot too near the bank. Edging my way, therefore, still further along -the branch, I kicked out in a desperate endeavour to reach the boat, -and, the bough swaying with me, caught my toe inside the gunwale, drew -it under me, and loosing my grasp, was sprawling upon my hands and -knees, but safe aboard. - -To pick myself up was the work of a moment, yet scarcely had I done so, -when Lisbeth opened her eyes, and sitting up, stared about her. - -"Why--where am I?" she exclaimed. - -"On the river," I answered cheerfully. "Glorious afternoon, Lisbeth, -isn't it?" - -"How--in--the--world did you get here?" she inquired. - -"Well," I answered, "I might say I dropped in, as it were." - -Lisbeth brushed the hair from her temples, and turned to me with an -imperious gesture. - -"Then please take me back at once," she said. - -"I would with pleasure," I returned, "only that you forgot to bring the -oars." - -"Why, then, we are adrift!" she said, staring at me with frightened -eyes, and clasping her hands nervously. - -"We are," I nodded; "but, then, it's perfect weather for boating, -Lisbeth!" and I began to look about for something that might serve as a -paddle. But the stretchers had disappeared long since--the old tub was -a sheer hulk, so to speak. An attempt to tear up a floor board resulted -only in a broken nail and bleeding fingers; so I presently desisted, -and, rolling up my sleeves, endeavoured to paddle with my hands; but, -finding this equally futile, I resumed my coat, and took out pipe and -tobacco. - -"Oh, Dick, is there nothing you can do?" she asked, with a brave attempt -to steady the quiver in her voice. - -"With your permission, I'll smoke, Lisbeth." - -"But the weir!" she cried. "Have you forgotten the weir?" - -"No," I answered, shaking my head; "it has a way of obtruding itself on -one's notice----" - -"Oh, it sounds hateful--hateful!" she said with a shiver. - -"Like a strong wind among trees!" I nodded, as I filled my pipe. We -were approaching a part of the river where it makes a sharp bend to the -right; and well I knew what lay beyond--the row of posts, painted white, -with the foam and bubble of seething water below. We should round that -bend in about ten minutes, I judged; long before then we might see a -boat, to be sure; if not--well, if the worst happened, I could but do my -best; in the meantime I would smoke a pipe; but I will admit my fingers -trembled as I struck a match. - -"It sounds horribly close!" said Lisbeth. - -"Sound is very deceptive, you know," I answered. - -"Only last month a boat went over, and the man was drowned!" shuddered -Lisbeth. - -"Poor chap!" I said. "Of course it's different at night--the river is -awfully deserted then, you know, and----" - -"But it happened in broad daylight!" said Lisbeth, almost in a whisper. -She was sitting half turned from me, her gaze fixed on the bend of the -river, and by chance her restless hand had found and begun to fumble -with the severed painter. - -So we drifted on, watching the gliding banks, while every moment the -roar of the weir grew louder and more threatening. - -"Dick," she said suddenly, "we can never pass that awful place without -oars!" and she began to tie knots in the rope with fingers that shook -pitifully. - -"Oh, I don't know!" I returned, with an assumption of ease I was very -far from feeling; "and then, of course, we are bound to meet a boat or -something----" - -"But suppose we don't?" - -"Oh, well, we aren't there yet--and--er--let's talk of fish." - -"Ah, Dick," she cried, "how can you treat the matter so lightly when we -may be tossing down there in that awful water so very soon? We can never -pass that weir without oars, and you know it, and--and--oh, Dick, why -did you do it--how could you have been so mad?" - -"Do what?" I inquired, staring. - -With a sudden gesture she rose to her knees and fronted me. - -"This!" she cried, and held up the severed painter. "It has been cut! -Oh, Dick, Dick, how could you be so mad?" - -"Lisbeth!" I exclaimed, "do you mean to say that you think----" - -"I know!" she broke in, and turning away, hid her face in her hands. - -We were not so very far from the bend now, and seeing this, a sudden -inspiration came upon me, by means of which I might prove her mind -towards me once and for all; and as she kneeled before me with averted -face, I leaned forward and took her hands in mine. - -"Lisbeth," I said, "supposing I did cut the boat adrift, like a--a -fool--endangering your life for a mad, thoughtless whim--could you -forgive me?" - -For a long moment she remained without answering, then very slowly she -raised her head. - -"Oh, Dick!" was all she said, but in her eyes I read the wonder of -wonders. - -"But, Lisbeth," I stammered, "could you still love me--even--even if, -through my folly, the worst should happen and we--we----" - -"I don't think I shall be so very much afraid, Dick, if you will hold me -close like this," she whispered. - -The voice of the weir had swelled into a roar by now, yet I paid little -heed; for me, all fear was swallowed up in a great wondering happiness. - -"Dick," she whispered, "you will hold me tight, you will not let me go -when--when----" - -"Never," I answered; "nothing could ever take you from me now." - -As I spoke I raised my eyes, and glancing about beheld something which -altered the whole aspect of affairs--something which changed tragedy -into comedy all in a moment--a boat was coming slowly round the bend. - -"Lisbeth, look up!" With a sigh she obeyed, her clasp tightening on -mine, and a dreadful expectation in her eyes. Then all at once it was -gone, her pale cheeks grew suddenly scarlet, and she slipped from my -arms; and thereafter I noticed how very carefully her eyes avoided mine. - -The boat came slowly into view, impelled by one who rowed with exactly -that amount of splashing which speaks the true-born Cockney. By dint of -much exertion and more splashing he presently ranged alongside in answer -to my hail. - -"W'ot--a haccident then?" he inquired. - -"Something of the sort," I nodded. "Will you be so kind as to tow us to -the bank yonder?" - -"Hanythink to hoblige!" he grinned, and having made fast the painter, -proceeded to splash us to _terra firma_. Which done, he grinned again, -waved his hat, and splashed upon his way. I made the boat secure and -turned to Lisbeth. She was staring away towards the weir. - -"Lisbeth," I began. - -"I thought just now that--that it was the end!" she said, and shivered. - -"And at such times," I added, "one sometimes says things one would not -have said under ordinary circumstances. My dear, I quite -understand--quite, and I'll try to forget--you needn't fear." - -"Do you think you can?" she asked, turning to look at me. - -"I can but try," I answered. Now, as I spoke, I wasn't sure, but I -thought I saw the pale ghost of the dimple by her mouth. - -We walked back side by side along the river-path, very silently for the -most part, yet more than once I caught her regarding me covertly, and -with a puzzled air. - -"Well?" I said at last tentatively. - -"I was wondering why you did it, Dick. Oh, it was mean! cruel! wicked! -How could you?" - -"Oh, well"--and I shrugged my shoulders, anathematising the Imp mentally -the while. - -"If I hadn't noticed that the rope was freshly cut, I should have -thought it an accident," she went on. - -"Naturally!" I said. - -"And then, again, how came you in the boat?" - -"To be sure!" I nodded. - -"Still, I can scarcely believe that you would wilfully jeopardise both -our lives--my life!" - -"A man who would do such a thing," I exclaimed, carried away by the heat -of the moment, "would be a--a----" - -"Yes," said Lisbeth quickly, "he would." - -"--And utterly beyond the pale of all forgiveness!" - -"Yes," said Lisbeth, "of course." - -"And," I was beginning again, but meeting her searching glance, stopped. -"And you forgave me, Lisbeth," I ended. - -"Did I?" she said, with raised brows. - -"Didn't you?" - -"Not that I remember." - -"In the boat?" - -"I never _said_ so." - -"Not in words, perhaps, but you implied as much." Lisbeth had the grace -to blush. - -"Do I understand that I am not forgiven after all?" - -"Not until I know why you did such a mad, thoughtless trick," she -answered, with that determined set of her chin which I knew so well. - -That I should thus shoulder the responsibility for the Imp's misdeeds -was ridiculous, and wrong as it was unjust, for if ever boy deserved -punishment, that boy was the Imp. And yet, probably because he was the -Imp, or because of that schoolboy honour which forbids "sneaking," and -which I carried with me still, I held my peace; seeing which, Lisbeth -turned and left me. - -I stood where I was, with head bent in an attitude suggestive of -innocence, broken hopes, and gentle resignation, but in vain; she never -once looked back. Still, martyr though I was, the knowledge that I had -immolated myself upon the altar of friendship filled me with a sense of -conscious virtue that I found not ill-pleasing. Howbeit, seeing I am -but human after all, I sat down, and refilling my pipe, fell once more -anathematising the Imp. - -"Hist!" - -A small shape flittered from behind an adjacent tree, and lo! the -subject of my thoughts stood before me. - -"Imp," I said, "come here." He obeyed readily. "When you cut that rope -and set your Auntie Lisbeth adrift, you didn't remember the man who was -drowned in the weir last month, did you?" - -"No!" he answered, staring. - -"Of course not," I nodded; "but all the same it is not your fault that -your Auntie Lisbeth is not drowned--just as he was." - -"Oh!" exclaimed the Imp, and his beloved bow slipped from his nerveless -fingers. - -"Imp," I went on, "it was a wicked thing to cut that rope, a mean, cruel -trick. Don't you think so?" - -"I 'specks it was, Uncle Dick." - -"Don't you think you ought to be punished?" He nodded. "Very well," I -answered, "I'll punish you myself. Go and cut me a nice, straight -switch," and I handed him my open penknife. Round-eyed, the Imp obeyed, -and for a space there was a prodigious cracking and snapping of sticks. -In a little while he returned with three, also the blade of my knife was -broken, for which he was profusely apologetic. - -"Now," I said, as I selected the weapon fittest for the purpose, "I am -going to strike you hard on either hand with this stick--that is, if you -think you deserve it." - -"Was Auntie Lisbeth nearly drowned--really?" he inquired. - -"Very nearly, and was only saved by a chance." - -"All right, Uncle Dick, hit me," he said, and held out his hand. The -stick whizzed and fell--once--twice. I saw his face grow scarlet and -the tears leap to his eyes, but he uttered no sound. - -"Did it hurt very much, my Imp?" I inquired, as I tossed the stick -aside. - -He nodded, not trusting himself to speak, while I turned to light my -pipe, wasting three matches quite fruitlessly. - -"Uncle Dick," he burst out at last, struggling manfully against his -sobs, "I--I'm awfull'--sorry----" - -"Oh, it's all right now, Imp. Shake hands!" Joyfully the little, grimy -fingers clasped mine, and from that moment, I think, there grew up -between us a new understanding. - -"Why, Imp, my darling, you're crying!" exclaimed a voice, and, with a -rustle of skirts, Lisbeth was down before him on her knees. - -"I know I am--'cause I'm awfull' sorry--an' Uncle Dick's whipped my -hands--an' I'm glad!" - -"Whipped your hands?" cried Lisbeth, clasping him closer, and glaring at -me "Whipped your hands? How dare he? What for?" - -"'Cause I cut the rope an' let the boat go away with you an' you might -have been drowned dead in the weir, an' I'm awfull glad Uncle Dick -whipped me!" - -"O-h-h!" exclaimed Lisbeth, and it was a very long-drawn "oh!" indeed. - -"I don't know what made me do it," continued the Imp. "I 'specks it was -my new knife--it was so nice an' sharp, you know." - -"Well, it's all right now, my Imp," I said, fumbling for a match in a -singularly clumsy manner. "If you ask me, I think we are all better -friends than ever--or should be. I know I should be fonder of your -Auntie Lisbeth even than before, and take greater care of her, if I were -you. And--and now take her in to tea, my Imp, and--and see that she has -plenty to eat," and, lifting my hat, I turned away. But Lisbeth was -beside me, and her hand was on my arm before I had gone a yard. - -"We are having tea in the same old place--under the trees. If you would -care to--to--would you?" - -"Yes, do--oh, do, Uncle Dick!" cried the Imp. "I'll go and tell Jane to -set a place for you," and he bounded off. - -"I didn't hit him very hard," I said, breaking a somewhat awkward -silence; "but, you see, there are some things a gentleman cannot do. I -think he understands now." - -"Oh, Dick!" she said very softly; "and to think I could imagine you had -done such a thing--you! and to think that you should let me think you -had done such a thing--and all to shield that Imp! Oh, Dick! no wonder -he is so fond of you. He never talks of anyone but you--I grow quite -jealous sometimes. But, Dick, how did _you_ get into that boat?" - -"By means of a tree with 'stickie-out' branches." - -"Do you mean to say----" - -"That, as I told you before, I dropped in, as it were." - -"But supposing you had slipped?" - -"But I didn't." - -"And you can't swim a stroke!" - -"Not that I know of." - -"Oh, Dick! can you ever forgive me?" - -"On three conditions." - -"Well?" - -"First, that you let me remember everything you said to me while we were -drifting down to the weir." - -"That depends, Dick. And the second?" - -"The second lies in the fact that not far from the village of Down, in -Kent, there stands an old house--a quaint old place that is badly in -want of someone to live in it--an old house that is lonely for a woman's -sweet presence and gentle, busy hands, Lisbeth!" - -"And the third?" she asked very softly. - -"Surely you can guess that?" - -"No, I can't, and, besides, there's Dorothy coming--and--oh, Dick!" - -"Why, Auntie," exclaimed Dorothy, as she came up, "how red you are! I -knew you'd get sunburned, lying in that old boat without a parasol! -But, then, she will do it, Uncle Dick--oh, she will do it!" - - - - - *CHAPTER VI* - - *THE OUTLAW* - - -Everybody knew old Jasper Trent, the Crimean veteran who had helped to -beat the "Roosians and the Proosians," and who, so it was rumoured, had -more wounds upon his worn, bent body than there were months in the year. - -The whole village was proud of old Jasper, proud of his age, proud of -his wounds, and proud of the medals that shone resplendent upon his -shrunken breast. - -Any day he might have been seen hobbling along by the river, or -pottering among the flowers in his little garden, but oftener still -sitting on the bench in the sunshine beside the door of the Three Jolly -Anglers. - -Indeed, they made a fitting pair, the worn old soldier and the ancient -inn, alike both long behind the times, dreaming of the past, rather than -the future, which seemed to me like an invisible bond between them. -Thus, when old Jasper fell ill, and, taking to his bed, had it moved -opposite the window where he could lie with his eyes upon the battered -gables of the inn--I for one could understand the reason. - -The Three Jolly Anglers is indeed ancient, its early records long since -lost beneath the dust of centuries; yet the years have but served to -mellow it. Men have lived and died, nations have waxed and waned, still -it stands, all unchanged beside the river, watching the Great Tragedy -which we call "Life" with that same look of supreme wisdom, that -half-waggish, half-kindly air, which I have already mentioned once -before. - -Those Sons of the Soil, who meet regularly within its walls, are -horny-handed, and for the most part grey of head and bent with over-much -following of the plough. Quiet of voice are they, and profoundly sedate -of gesture, while upon their wrinkled brows there sits that spirit of -calm content which it is given so few of us to know. - -Chief among these, and held in much respect, was old Jasper Trent. -Within their circle he had been wont to sit ensconced in his elbow-chair -beside the hearth, by his long use and custom, and not to be usurped; -and while the smoke rose slowly from their pipe-bowls he would recount -some tale of battle and sudden death--now in the freezing trenches -before Sebastopol, now upon the blood-stained heights of Inkermann. -Yet, and I noticed it was always towards the end of his second tankard, -the old man would lose the thread of his story, whatever it might be, -and take up the topic of "The Bye Jarge." - -I was at first naturally perplexed as to whom he could mean, until Mr. -Amos Baggett, the landlord, informed me on the quiet that the "bye -Jarge" was none other than old Jasper's only son--a man now some forty -years of age--who, though promising well in his youth, had "gone -wrong"--and was at that moment serving a long term of imprisonment for -burglary; further, that upon the day of his son's conviction old Jasper -had had a "stroke," and was never quite the same after, all recollection -of the event being completely blotted from his mind, so that he -persisted in thinking and speaking of his son as still a boy. - -"That bye were a wonder!" he would say, looking round with a kindling -eye. "Went away to make 'is fortun', 'e did. Oh, 'e were a gen'us, -were that bye Jarge! You, Amos Baggett, were 'e a gen'us or were 'e -not?" - -"'E were!" Mr. Baggett would answer, with a slow nod. - -"Look'ee, sir, do'ee see that theer clock?"--and he would point with a -bony, tremulous finger--"stopped it were--got sum'mat wrong wi' its -inn'ards--wouldn't stir a finger--dead it were! But that bye Jarge 'e -see it, 'e did--give it a look over, 'e did, an' wi' nout but 'is two -'ands set it a-goin' good as ever! You, Silas Madden, you remember as -'e done it wi' 'is two 'ands?" - -"'Is two 'ands!" Silas would repeat solemnly. - -"An' it's gone ever since!" old Jasper would croak triumphantly. "Oh! -'e were a gen'us, were my bye Jarge. 'E'll come a-marchin' back to 'is -old feyther, some day, wi' 'is pockets stuffed full o' money an' -banknotes--I knaw--I knaw, old Jasper bean't a fule." - -And herewith, lifting up his old, cracked voice, he would strike up "The -British Grenadiers," in which the rest would presently join full -lustily, waving their long-stemmed pipes in unison. - -So the old fellow would sit, singing the praises of his scapegrace son, -while his hearers would nod solemn heads, fostering old Jasper's -innocent delusion for the sake of his white hairs and the medals upon -his breast. - -But now, he was down with "the rheumatics," and from what Lisbeth told -me when I met her on her way to and from his cottage, it was rather more -than likely that the high-backed elbow-chair would know him no more. - -Upon the old fellow's illness, Lisbeth had promptly set herself to see -that he was made comfortable, for Jasper was a lonely old man--had -installed a competent nurse beside him, and made it a custom morning and -evening to go and see that all was well. - -It was for this reason that I sat upon the Shrubbery gate towards nine -o'clock of a certain evening, swinging my legs and listening for the -sound of her step along the path. In the fullness of time she came, -and, getting off my perch, I took the heavy basket from her arm, as was -usual. - -"Dick," she said as we walked on side by side, "really I'm getting quite -worried about that Imp." - -"What has he been up to this time?" I inquired. - -"I'm afraid he must be ill." - -"He looked anything but ill yesterday," I answered reassuringly. - -"Yes, I know he looks healthy enough," said Lisbeth, wrinkling her -brows; "but lately he has developed such an enormous appetite. Oh, -Dick, it's awful!" - -"My poor girl," I retorted, shaking my head, "the genus 'Boy' is -distinguished by the two attributes dirt and appetite. You should know -that by this time. I myself have harrowing recollections of huge piles -of bread and butter, of vast slabs of cake--damp and 'soggy,' and of -mysterious hue--of glutinous mixtures purporting to be 'stick-jaw,' one -inch of which was warranted to render coherent speech impossible for ten -minutes at least, And then the joy of bolting things fiercely in the -shade of the pantry, with one's ears on the stretch for foes! I -sometimes find myself sighing over the remembrance, even in these days. -Don't worry about the Imp's appetite; believe me, it is quite -unnecessary." - -"Oh, but I can't help it," said Lisbeth; "it seems somehow so--so weird. -For instance, this morning for breakfast he had first his usual -porridge, then five pieces of bread and butter, and after that a large -slice of ham--quite a big piece, Dick! And he ate it all so quickly. I -turned away to ask Jane for the toast, and when I looked at his plate -again it was empty, he had eaten every bit, and even asked for more. Of -course I refused, so he tried to get Dorothy to give him hers in -exchange for a broken pocket-knife. It was just the same at dinner. He -ate the whole leg of a chicken, and after that a wing, and then some of -the breast, and would have gone on until he had finished everything, I'm -sure, if I hadn't stopped him, though I let him eat as long as I dared. -Then at tea he had six slices of bread and butter, one after the other, -not counting toast and cake. He has been like this for the last two -days--and--oh yes, cook told me to-night that she found him actually -eating dry bread just before he went up to bed. Dry bread--think of it! -Oh, Dick, what can be the matter with him?" - -"It certainly sounds mysterious," I answered, "especially as regards the -dry bread; but that of itself suggests a theory, which, as the detective -says in the story, 'I will not divulge just yet'; only don't worry, -Lisbeth, the Imp is all right." - -Being now come to old Jasper's cottage, which stands a little apart from -the village in a bylane, Lisbeth paused and held out her hand for the -basket. - -"Don't wait for me to-night," she said. "I ordered Peter to fetch me in -the dog-cart; you see, I may be late." - -"Is the old chap so very ill?" - -"Very, very ill, Dick." - -"Poor old Jasper!" I exclaimed. - -"Poor old Jasper!" she sighed, and her eyes were brimful of tenderness. - -"He is very old and feeble," I said, drawing her close, under pretence -of handing her the basket; "and yet, with your gentle hand to smooth my -pillow, and your eyes to look into mine, I could almost wish----" - -"Hush, Dick!" - -"Peter or no Peter, I think I'll wait--unless you really wish me to say -'Good-night' now?" But with a dexterous turn she eluded me, and waving -her hand hurried up the rose-bordered path. - -An hour, or even two, does not seem so very long when one's mind is so -full of happy thoughts as mine was. Thus, I was filling my pipe and -looking philosophically about for a likely spot in which to keep my -vigil, when I was aware of a rustling close by, and, as I watched, a -small figure stepped from the shadow of the hedge out into the -moonlight. - -"Hallo, Uncle Dick!" said a voice. - -"Imp!" I exclaimed; "what does this mean? You ought to have been in bed -over an hour ago!" - -"So I was," he answered, with his guileless smile; "only I got up again, -you know." - -"So it seems!" I nodded. - -"An' I followed you an' Auntie Lisbeth all the way, too." - -"Did you though?" - -"Yes, an' I dropped one of the parcels an' lost a sausage, but you never -heard." - -"Lost a sausage!" I repeated, staring. - -"Oh, it's all right, you know," he hastened to assure me; "I found it -again, an' it wasn't hurt a bit." - -"Imp," I said sternly, "come here, I want to talk to you." - -"Just a minute, Uncle Dick, while I get my parcels. I want you to help -me to carry them, please, and with the words he dived under the hedge, -to emerge, a moment later, with his arms full of unwieldy packages, -which he laid at my feet in a row. - -"Why, what on earth have you got there, Imp?" - -"This," he said, pointing to the first, "is jam an' ham an' a piece of -bread; this next one is cakes an' sardines, an' this one is bread an' -butter that I saved from my tea." - -"Quite a collection!" I nodded. "Suppose you tell me what you mean to -do with them." - -"Well, they're for my outlaw. You remember the other day I wanted to -play at being outlaws? Well, two days ago, as I was tracking a base -caitiff through the woods with my trusty bow and arrow, I found a real -outlaw in the old boat-house." - -"Ah! and what is he like?" I inquired. - -"Oh, just like an outlaw--only funny, you know, an' most awfull' hungry. -Are all outlaws always so very hungry, Uncle Dick?"' - -"I believe they generally are, Imp. And he looks 'funny,' you say?" - -"Yes; I mean his clothes are funny--all over marks like little crosses, -only they aren't crosses." - -"Like this?" I inquired; and picking up a piece of stick I drew a -broad-arrow upon the path. - -"Yes, just like that!" cried the Imp, in a tone of amazement. "How did -you know? You're awfull' clever, Uncle Dick!" - -"And he is in the old boat-house, is he?" I said, as I picked up an -armful of packages. "'Lead on, Macduff!'" - -"Mind that parcel, please, Uncle Dick; it's the one I dropped an' lost -the sausage out of--there's one trying to escape now!" - -Having reduced the recalcitrant sausage to a due sense of law and order, -we proceeded toward the old boat-house--a dismal, dismantled affair, -some half-mile or so down stream. - -"And what sort of a fellow is your outlaw, Imp?" - -"Well, I 'spected he'd be awfull' fierce an' want to hold me for ransom, -but he didn't; he's quite quiet, for an outlaw, with grey hair and big -eyes, an' eats an awful lot." - -"So you saved him your breakfast and dinner, did you?" - -"Oh yes; an' my tea, too. Auntie Lisbeth got awfull' angry 'cause she -said I ate too fast; an' Dorothy was frightened an' wouldn't sit by me -'cause she was 'fraid I'd burst--so frightfully silly of her!" - -"By the way, you didn't tell me what you have there," I said, pointing -to a huge, misshapen, newspaper parcel that he carried beneath one arm. - -"Oh, it's a shirt, an' a coat, an' a pair of trousers of Peter's." - -"Did Peter give them to you?" - -"'Course not; I took them. You see, my outlaw got tired of being an -outlaw, so he asked me to get him some 'togs,' meaning clothes, you -know, so I went an' looked in the stable an' found these." - -"You don't mean to say that you stole them, Imp?" - -"'Course not!" he answered reproachfully. "I left Peter sixpence an' a -note to say I would pay him for them when I got my pocket-money." - -"Ah, to be sure!" I nodded. - -We were close to the old boat-house now, and upon the Imp's earnest -solicitations I handed over my bundles and hid behind a tree, because, -as he pointed out, "His outlaw might not like me to see him just at -first." - -Having opened each package with great care and laid out their contents -upon a log near by, the Imp approached the ruined building with signs of -the most elaborate caution, and gave three loud, double knocks. Now -casting my eyes about, I espied a short, heavy stick, and, picking it -up, poised it in my hand ready in the event of possible contingencies. - -The situation was decidedly unpleasant, I confess, for I expected -nothing less than to be engaged in a desperate hand-to-hand struggle -within the next few minutes; therefore I waited in some suspense, -straining my eyes towards the shadows with my fingers clasped tight upon -my bludgeon. - -Then all at once I saw a shape, ghostly and undefined, flit swiftly from -the gloom of the boat-house, and next moment a convict was standing -beside the Imp, gaunt and tall and wild-looking in the moonlight. - -His hideous clothes, stained with mud and the green slime of his -hiding-places, hung upon him in tatters, and his eyes, deep-sunken in -his pallid face, gleamed with an unnatural brightness as he glanced -swiftly about him--a miserable, hunted creature, worn by fatigue and -pinched with want and suffering. - -"Did ye get 'em, sonny?" he inquired, in a hoarse, rasping voice. - -"Ay, ay, comrade," returned the Imp; "all's well!" - -"Bless ye for that, sonny!" he exclaimed, and with the words he fell to -upon the food, devouring each morsel as it was handed to him with a -frightful voracity, while his burning, restless eyes glared about him, -never still for a moment. - -Now as I noticed his wasted form and shaking limbs, I knew that I could -master him with one hand. My weapon slipped from my slackened grasp, -but at the sound, slight though it was, he turned and began to run. He -had not gone five yards, however, when he tripped and fell, and before -he could rise I was standing over him. He lay there at my feet, -perfectly still, blinking up at me with red-rimmed eyes. - -"All right, master," he said at last; "you've got me!" - -But with the words he suddenly rolled himself towards the river, yet as -he struggled to his knees I pinned him down again. - -"Oh, sir, you won't go for to give me up to them?" he panted. "I've -never done you no wrong. Don't send me back to it again, sir." - -"'Course not," cried the Imp, laying his hand upon my arm; "this is only -Uncle Dick. He won't hurt you; will you, Uncle Dick?" - -"That depends," I answered, keeping tight hold of the tattered coat -collar. "Tell me, what brings you hanging round here?" - -"Used to live up in these parts once, master." - -"Who are you?" - -"Convict 49, as broke jail over a week ago an' would ha' died but for -the little 'un there," and he nodded towards the Imp. - -The convict, as I say, was a tall, thin fellow, with a cadaverous face -lined with suffering, while the hair at his temples was prematurely -white. And as I looked at him, it occurred to me that the suffering -which had set its mark so deeply upon him was not altogether the grosser -anguish of the body. Now for your criminal who can still feel morally -there is surely hope. I think so, anyhow! For a long moment there was -silence, while I stared into the haggard face below, and the Imp looked -from one to the other of us, utterly at a loss. - -"I wonder if you ever heard tell of 'the bye Jarge,'" I said suddenly. - -The convict started so violently that the jacket tore in my grasp. - -"How--how did ye know?" he gasped, and stared at me with dropped jaw. - -"I think I know your father." - -"My feyther," he muttered; "old Jasper--'e ain't dead, then?" - -"Not yet," I answered; "come, get up, and I'll tell you more while you -eat." Mechanically he obeyed, sitting with his glowing eyes fixed upon -my face the while I told him of old Jasper's lapse of memory and present -illness. - -"Then 'e don't remember as I'm a thief an' convict 49, master?" - -"No; he thinks and speaks of you always as a boy and a pattern son." - -The man uttered a strange cry, and flinging himself upon his knees -buried his face in his hands. - -"Come," I said, tapping him on the shoulder; "take off those things," -and, nodding to the Imp, he immediately began unwrapping Peter's -garments. - -"What, master," cried the convict, starting up, "are you goin' to let me -see 'im afore you give me up?" - -"Yes," I nodded; "only be quick." - -In less than five minutes the tattered prison dress was lying in the bed -of the river, and we were making our way along the path towards old -Jasper's cottage. - -The convict spoke but once, and that as we reached the cottage gate: - -"Is he very ill, sir?" - -"Very ill," I said. He stood for a moment, inhaling the fragrance of -the roses in great breaths, and staring about him; then with an abrupt -gesture he opened the little gate, and gliding up the path with his -furtive, stealthy footstep, he knocked at the door. - -For some half-hour the Imp and I strolled to and fro in the moonlight, -during which he related to me much about his outlaw and the many "ruses -he had employed to get him provision." How upon one occasion, to escape -the watchful eyes of Auntie Lisbeth, he had been compelled to hide a -slice of jam tart in the trousers pockets, to the detriment of each; how -Dorothy had watched him everywhere in the momentary expectation of -"something happening"; how Jane and Peter and cook would stand and stare -and shake their heads at him because he ate such a lot, "an' the worst -of it was, I was awfull' hungry all the time, you know, Uncle Dick!" -This and much more he told me as we waited there in the moonlight. - -At last the cottage door opened and the convict came out. He did not -join us at once, but remained staring away towards the river, though I -saw him jerk his sleeve across his eyes more than once in his furtive, -stealthy fashion, but when at last he came up to us his face was firm -and resolute. - -"Did you see old Jasper?" I asked. - -"Yes, sir, I saw him." - -"Is he any better?" - -"Much better--he died in my arms, sir. An' now I'm ready to go back, -there's a police station in the village." He stopped suddenly and -turned to stare back at the lighted windows of the cottage, and when he -spoke again his voice sounded hoarser than ever. - -"Thought I'd come back from furrin parts, 'e did, wi' my pockets stuffed -full o' gold an' banknotes. Called me 'is bye Jarge, 'e did!" and again -he brushed his cuff across his eyes. - -"Master, I don't know who ye may be, but I'm grateful to ye an' more -than grateful, sir. An' now I'm ready to go back an' finish my time." - -"How much longer is that?" - -"Three years, sir." - -"And when you come out, what shall you do then?" - -"Start all over again, sir; try to get some honest work an' live -straight." - -"Do you think you can?" - -"I know I can, sir. Ye see, he died in my arms, called me 'is bye -Jarge, said 'e were proud of me, 'e did! A man can begin again an' live -straight an' square wi' a memory the like o' that to help him." - -"Then why not begin to-night?" - -He passed a tremulous hand through his silver hair, and stared at me -with incredulous eyes. - -"Begin--to-night," he half whispered. - -"I have an old house among the Kentish hop gardens," I went on; "no one -lives there at present except the caretaker, but it is within the bounds -of probability that I may go to stay there--some day. Now the gardens -need trimming, and I'm very fond of flowers. Do you suppose you could -make the place look decent in--say, a month?" - -"Sir," he said in a strange, broken voice, "you ain't jokin' with me, -are you?" - -"I could pay you a pound a week; what do you say?" - -He tried to speak, but his lips quivered, and he turned his back upon us -very suddenly. I tore a page from my pocket-book and scrawled a hasty -note to my caretaker. - -"Here is the address," I said, tapping him on the shoulder, "You will -find no difficulty. I will write again to-night. You must of course -have money to get there and may need to buy a few necessaries besides; -here is your first week's wages in advance," and I thrust a sovereign -into his hand. He stared down at it with blinking eyes, shuffling -awkwardly with his feet, and at that moment his face seemed very worn, -and lined, and his hair very grey, yet I had a feeling that I should not -regret my quixotic action in the end. - -"Sir," he faltered--"sir, do ye mean----?" and stopped. - -"I mean that to-night 'the bye Jarge' has a chance to make a new -beginning, a chance to become the man his father always thought he would -be. Of course, I may be a fool to trust you. That only time will show; -but, you see, I had a great respect for old Jasper. And, now that you -have the address, you'd better go; stay, though, you must have a hat; -folks might wonder--take this," and I handed him my cap. - -"Sir, I can't thank ye now, I never can. It--it won't come; but----" -With a nervous, awkward gesture he caught my hand, suddenly pressed it -to his lips, and was gone down the lane. - -Thus it was that old Jasper's "bye Jarge" went out to make a trial of -life a second time, and as I watched him striding through the moonlight, -his head erect, very different from the shambling creature he had been, -it seemed to me that the felon was already ousted by the man. - -"I 'specks he forgot all 'bout me!" said the Imp disconsolately. - -"No," I answered, shaking my head; "I don't think he will ever forget -you, my Imp." - -"I s'pose he's awfull' fond of you, Uncle Dick?" - -"Not that I know of." - -"Then why did he kiss your hand?" - -"Oh, well--er--perhaps it is a way he has!" - -"He didn't kiss mine," said the Imp. - -A door opened and closed very softly, and Lisbeth came towards us down -the path, whereupon the Imp immediately "took cover" in the ditch. - -"He is dead, Dick!" she said, as I opened the gate. "He died in his -son's arms--the George he was always talking about. And oh, Dick, he -died trying to sing 'The British Grenadiers.'" - -"Poor old Jasper!" I said. - -"His son was a convict once, wasn't he?" - -"Yes." - -"It was strange that he should come back as he did--just in time; it -almost seems like the hand of Providence, doesn't it, Dick?" - -"Yes." Lisbeth was standing with her elbows upon the gate and her chin -in her hands, staring up at the moon, and I saw that her eyes were wet -with tears. - -"Why, where is your cap?" she exclaimed, when at last she condescended -to look at me. - -"On the head of an escaped convict," I answered. - -"Do you mean----" - -"The 'bye Jarge,'" I nodded. - -"Oh, Dick!" - -"Yes, Lisbeth; it was a ridiculous piece of sentiment, I admit. Your -law-abiding level-headed citizen would doubtless be highly shocked, not -to say scandalised; likewise the Law might get up on its hind legs and -kick--quite unpleasantly; but all the same, I did it." - -"You were never what one might call--very 'level-headed,' were you, -Dick?" - -"No, I'm afraid not." - -"And, do you know, I think that is the very reason why I--good -gracious!--what is that?" She pointed toward the shadow of the hedge. - -"Merely the Imp," I answered; "but never mind that--tell me what you -were going to say--'the very reason why you'--what?" - -"Reginald!" said Lisbeth, unheeding my question, "come here, sir!" Very -sheepishly the Imp crept forth from the ditch, and coming up beside me, -stole his hand into mine, and I put it in my pocket. - -"Reginald," she repeated, looking from one to the other of us with that -expression which always renews within me the memory of my boyish -misdeeds, "why are you not asleep in bed?" - -"'Cause I had to go an' feed my outlaw, Auntie Lisbeth." - -"And," I put in to create a diversion, "incidentally I've discovered the -secret of his 'enormous appetite.' It is explained in three words, to -wit, 'the bye Jarge.'" - -"Do you mean to say----" began Lisbeth. - -"Fed him regularly twice a day," I went on, "and nearly famished himself -in the doing of it--you remember the dry-bread incident?" - -"Imp!" cried Lisbeth; "Imp!" And she had him next moment in her arms. - -"But Uncle Dick gave him a whole sovereign, you know," he began; -"an'----" - -"I sent him to a certain house, Lisbeth," I said, as her eyes met mine; -"an old house that stands not far from the village of Down, in Kent, to -prune the roses and things. I should like it to be looking its best -when we get there; and----" - -"An' my outlaw kissed Uncle Dick's hand," pursued the Imp. "Don't you -think he must love him an awful lot?" - -"I gave him a month to do it in," I went on; "but a month seems much too -long when one comes to consider--what do you think, Lisbeth?" - -"I think that I hear the wheels of the dog-cart!" she cried. Sure -enough, a moment later Peter hove in view, and great was his -astonishment at the sight of "Master Reginald." - -"Peter," I said, "Miss Elizabeth has changed her mind, and will walk -back with us; and--er--by the way, I understand that Master Reginald -purchased a coat, a shirt, and a pair of trousers of you, for which he -has already paid a deposit of sixpence. Now, if you will let me know -their value----" - -"That's hall right, Mr. Brent, sir. Betwixt you and me, sir, they -wasn't up to much, nohow, the coat being tightish, sir--tightish--and -the trousis uncommon short in the leg for a man o' my hinches, sir." - -"Nevertheless," said I, "a coat's a coat, and a pair of trousers are -indubitably a pair of trousers, and nothing can alter the fact; so if -you will send me a bill some time, I shall be glad." - -"Very good, Mr. Brent, sir." Saying which, Peter touched his hat, and -turning, drove away. - -"Now," I said, as I rejoined Lisbeth and the Imp, "I shall be glad if -you will tell me how long it should take for my garden to look fair -enough to welcome you?" - -"Oh, well, it depends upon the gardener, and the weather, and--and heaps -of things," she answered, flashing her dimple at me. - -"On the contrary," I retorted, shaking my head, "it depends altogether -upon the whim of the most beautiful, tempting----" - -"Supposing," sighed Lisbeth, "supposing we talk of fish!" - -"You haven't been fishing lately, Uncle Dick," put in the Imp. - -"I've had no cause to," I answered; "you see, I am guilty of such things -only when life assumes a grey monotony of hue and everything is a flat, -dreary desolation. Do you understand, Imp?" - -"Not 'zackly--but it sounds fine! Auntie Lisbeth," he said suddenly, as -we paused at the Shrubbery gate, "don't you think my outlaw must be -very, very fond of Uncle Dick to kiss his hand?" - -"Why, of course he must," nodded Lisbeth. - -"If," he went on thoughtfully, "if you loved somebody--very much--would -you kiss their hand, Auntie Lisbeth?" - -"I don't know--of course not!" - -"But why not--s'posing their hand was nice an' clean?" - -"Oh, well--really, I don't know. Imp, run along to bed, do." - -"You'll come and tuck me up, an' kiss me good-night, won't you?" - -"To be sure I will," nodded Lisbeth. - -"Why, then, I'll go," said the Imp; and with a wave of the hand to me he -went. - -"Dick," said Lisbeth, staring up at the moon, "it was very unwise of -you, to say the least of it, to set a desperate criminal at large." - -"I'm afraid it was, Lisbeth; but then I saw there was good in the -fellow, you know, and--er----" - -"Dick," she said again, and then laughed suddenly, with the dimple in -full evidence, "you foolish old Dick--you know you would have done it -anyway for the sake of that old man." - -"Poor old Jasper!" I said; "I'm really afraid I should." Then a -wonderful thing happened; for as I reached out my hand to her, she -caught it suddenly in hers, and before I knew, had pressed her lips upon -it--and so was gone. - - - - - *CHAPTER VII* - - *THE BLASTED OAK* - - -I had quarrelled with Lisbeth; had quarrelled beyond all hope of -redemption and forgiveness, desperately, irrevocably, and it had all -come about through a handkerchief--Mr. Selwyn's handkerchief. - -At a casual glance this may appear all very absurd, not to say petty; -but then I have frequently noticed that insignificant things very often -serve for the foundation of great; and incidentally quite a surprising -number of lives have been ruined by a handkerchief. - -The circumstances were briefly these: In the first place, I had received -the following letter from the Duchess, which had perturbed me not a -little: - - -"MY DEAR DICK,--I hear that that Agatha Warburton creature has written -threatening to cut off our dear Lisbeth with the proverbial shilling -unless she complies with her wish and marries Mr. Selwyn within the -year. Did you ever know of anything so disgusting? - -"If I were Lisbeth, and possessed such a 'creature' for an aunt, I'd see -her in Timbuctoo first--I would! But then, I forget the poor child has -nothing in the world, and you little more, and 'love in a cottage' is -all very well, Dick, up to a certain time. Of course, it is all right -in novels, but you are neither of you in a novel, and that is the worst -of it. If Providence had seen fit to make me Lisbeth's aunt, now, -things might have been very different; but alas! it was not to be. -Under the circumstances, the best thing you can do, for her sake and -your own, is to turn your back upon Arcadia and try to forget it all as -soon as possible in the swirl of London and everyday life.--Yours, -CHARLOTTE C. - -"P.S.--Of course Romance is dead ages and ages ago; still, it really -would be nice if you could manage to run off with her some fine night!" - - -Thus the fiat had gone forth, the time of waiting was accomplished; -to-day Lisbeth must choose between Selwyn and myself. - -This thought was in my mind as I strode along the river path, filling me -with that strange exhilaration which comes, I suppose, to most of us -when we face some climax in our lives. - -But now the great question, How would she decide? leaped up and began to -haunt me. Because a woman smiles upon a man, he is surely a most -prodigious fool to flatter himself that she loves him, therefore. How -would she decide? Nay, indeed; what choice had she between affluence -and penury? Selwyn was wealthy and favoured by her aunt, Lady -Warburton, while as for me, my case was altogether the reverse. And now -I called to mind how Lisbeth had always avoided coming to any -understanding with me, putting me off on one pretence or another, but -always with infinite tact. So Fear came to me, and Doubt began to rear -its head; my step grew slower and slower, till, reaching the Shrubbery -gate, I leaned there in doubt whether to proceed or not. Summoning up -my resolution, however, I went on, turning in the direction of the -orchard, where I knew she often sat of a morning to read or make a -pretence of sewing. - -I had gone but a little way when I caught sight of two distant figures -walking slowly across the lawn, and recognised Lisbeth and Mr. Selwyn. - -The sight of him here at such a time was decidedly unpleasant, and I -hurried on, wondering what could have brought him so early. - -Beneath Lisbeth's favourite tree, an ancient apple-tree so gnarled and -rugged that it seemed to have spent all its days tying itself into all -manner of impossible knots--in the shade of this tree, I say, there was -a rustic seat and table, upon which was a work-basket, a book, and a -handkerchief. It was a large, decidedly masculine handkerchief, and as -my eyes encountered it, by some unfortunate chance I noticed a monogram -embroidered in one corner--an extremely neat, precise monogram, with the -letters "F.S." I recognised it at once as the property of Mr. Selwyn. - -Ordinarily I should have thought nothing of it, but to-day it was -different; for there are times in one's life when the most foolish -things become pregnant of infinite possibilities; when the veriest -trifles assume overwhelming proportions, filling and blotting out the -universe. - -So it was now, and as I stared down at the handkerchief, the Doubt -within me grew suddenly into Certainty. - -I was pacing restlessly up and down when I saw Lisbeth approaching; her -cheeks seemed more flushed than usual, and her hand trembled as she gave -it to me. - -"Why, whatever is the matter with you?" she said; "you look so--so -strange, Dick." - -"I received a letter from the Duchess this morning." - -"Did you?" - -"Yes; in which she tells me your Aunt has threatened to----" - -"Cut me off with a shilling," nodded Lisbeth, crossing over to the -table. - -"Yes," I said again. - -"Well?" - -"Well?" - -"Oh, for goodness' sake, Dick, stop tramping up and down like a--a caged -bear, and sit down--do!" - -I obeyed; yet as I did so I saw her with the tail of my eye whip up the -handkerchief and tuck it beneath the laces at her bosom. - -"Lisbeth," said I, without turning my head, "why hide it--there?" - -Her face flushed painfully, her lips quivered, and for a moment she -could find no answer; then she tried to laugh it off. - -"Because I--I wanted to, I suppose." - -"Obviously!" I retorted, and, rising, bowed and turned to go. - -"Stay a moment, Dick. I have something to tell you." - -"Thank you, but I think I can guess." - -"Can you?" - -"Oh yes." - -"Aren't you just a little bit theatrical, Dick?" Now, as she spoke she -drew out Selwyn's handkerchief and began to tie and untie knots in it. - -"Dick," she went on--and now she was tracing out Selwyn's monogram with -her finger--"you tell me you know that Aunt Agatha has threatened to -disinherit me; can you realise what that would mean to me, I wonder?" - -"Only in some small part," I answered bitterly; "but it would be awful -for you, of course--good-bye to society and all the rest of it--no more -ball-gowns or hats and things from Paris, and----" - -"And bearing all this in mind," she put in, "and knowing me as you do, -perhaps you can make another guess and tell me what I am likely to do -under these circumstances?" - -Now, had I been anything but a preposterous ass, my answer would have -been different; but then I was not myself, and I could not help noticing -how tenderly her finger traced out those two letters "F.S.," so I -laughed rather brutally and answered-- - -"Follow the instinct of your sex and stick to the Paris hats and -things." - -I heard her breath catch, and turning away, she began to flutter the -pages of the book upon the table. - -"And you were always so clever at guessing, weren't you?" she said after -a moment, keeping her face averted. - -"At least it has saved your explaining the situation, and you should be -thankful for that." - -The book slipped suddenly to the ground and lay, all unheeded, and she -began to laugh in a strange high key. Wondering, I took a step toward -her; but as I did so she fled from me, running toward the house, never -stopping or slackening speed, until I had lost sight of her altogether. - -Thus the whole miserable business had befallen, dazing me by its very -suddenness like a "bolt from the blue." I had returned to the Three -Jolly Anglers, determined to follow the advice of the Duchess and return -to London by the next train. Yet, after passing a sleepless night, here -I was sitting in my old place beneath the alders pretending to fish. - -The river was laughing among the reed, just as merrily as ever, bees -hummed and butterflies wheeled and hovered--life and the world were very -fair. Yet for once I was blind to it all; moreover, my pipe refused to -"draw"--pieces of grass, twigs, and my pen-knife were alike unavailing. - -So I sat there, brooding upon the fickleness of womankind, as many -another has done before me, and many will doubtless do after, alack! - -And the sum of my thoughts was this: Lisbeth had deceived me; the hour -of trial had found her weak; my idol was only common clay, after all. -And yet she had but preferred wealth to comparative poverty, which -surely according to all the rules of common sense, had shown her -possessed of a wisdom beyond her years. And who was I to sit and grieve -over it? Under the same circumstances ninety-nine women out of a -hundred would have chosen precisely the same course; but then to me -Lisbeth had always seemed the one exempt--the hundredth woman; moreover, -there be times when love, unreasoning and illogical, is infinitely more -beautiful than this much-vaunted common sense. - -This and much more was in my mind as I sat fumbling with my useless pipe -and staring with unseeing eyes at the flow of the river. My thoughts, -however, were presently interrupted by something soft rubbing against -me, and looking down, I beheld Dorothy's fluffy kitten, Louise. Upon my -attempting to pick her up, she bounded from me in that remarkable -sideways fashion peculiar to her kind, and stood regarding me from a -distance, her tail straight up in the air and her mouth opening and -shutting without a sound. At length, having given vent to a very feeble -attempt at a mew, she zig-zagged to me, and, climbing upon my knee, -immediately fell into a purring slumber. - -"Hallo, Uncle Dick!--I mean, what ho, Little-John!" cried a voice, and -looking over my shoulder carefully, so as not to disturb the balance of -"Louise," I beheld the Imp. It needed but a glance at the bow in his -hand, the three arrows in his belt, and the feather in his cap, to tell -me who he was for the time being. - -"How now, Robin?" I inquired. - -"I'm a bitter, disappointed man, Uncle Dick!" he answered, putting up a -hand to feel if his feather was in place. - -"Are you?" - -"Yes; the book says that Robin Hood was 'bitter an' disappointed,' an' -so am I!" - -"Why, how's that?" - -The Imp folded his arms and regarded me with a terrific frown. - -"It's all the fault of my Auntie Lisbeth!" he said in a tragic voice. - -"Sit down, my Imp, and tell me all about it." - -"Well," he began, laying aside his "trusty sword," and seating himself -at my elbow, "she got awfull' angry with me yesterday, awfull' angry, -indeed, and she wouldn't play with me or anything; an' when I tried to -be friends with her an' asked her to pretend she was a hippopotamus, -'cause I was a mighty hunter, you know, she just said, 'Reginald, go -away an' don't bother me!'" - -"You surprise me, Imp!" - -"But that's not the worst of it," he continued, shaking his head -gloomily; "she didn't come to 'tuck me up' an' kiss me good-night like -she always does. I lay awake hours an' hours waiting for her, you know; -but she never came, an' so I've left her!" - -"Left her!" I repeated. - -"For ever an' ever!" he said, nodding a stern brow. "I 'specks she'll -be awfull' sorry some day." - -"But where shall you go to?" - -"I'm thinking of Persia!" he said darkly. - -"Oh!" - -"It's nice an' far, you know, an' I might meet Aladdin with the -wonderful lamp." - -"Alas, Imp, I fear not," I answered, shaking my head; "and besides, it -will take a long, long time to get there, and where shall you sleep at -night?" - -The Imp frowned harder than ever, staring straight before him as one who -wrestles with some mighty problem; then his brow cleared and he spoke in -this wise: - -"Henceforth, Uncle Dick, my roof shall be the broad expanse of heaven, -an'--an'--wait a minute!" he broke off, and, lugging something from his -pocket, disclosed a tattered, paper-covered volume (the Imp's books are -always tattered), and hastily turning the pages, paused at a certain -paragraph and read as follows: - -"'Henceforth my roof shall be the broad expanse of heaven, an' all -tyrants shall learn to tremble at my name!' Doesn't that sound fine, -Uncle Dick? I tried to get Ben--you know, the gardener's boy--to come -an' live in the 'greenwood' with me a bit and help to make 'tyrants' -tremble, but he said he was 'fraid his mother might find him some day, -an' he wouldn't, so I'm going to make them tremble all by myself, unless -you will come an' be Little-John, like you were once before--oh, do!" - -Before I could answer, hearing footsteps, I looked round, and my heart -leaped, for there was Lisbeth coming down the path. - -Her head was drooping, and she walked with a listless air. Now, as I -watched I forgot everything but that she looked sad, and troubled, and -more beautiful than ever, and that I loved her. Instinctively I rose, -lifting my cap. She started, and for the fraction of a second her eyes -looked into mine, then she passed serenely on her way. I might have -been a stick or stone for all the further notice she bestowed. - -Side by side, the Imp and I watched her go, until the last gleam of her -white skirt had vanished amid the green. Then he folded his arms and -turned to me. - -"So be it!" he said, with an air of stern finality; "an' now, what is a -'blasted oak,' please?" - -"A blasted oak?" I repeated. - -"If you please, Uncle Dick." - -"Well, it's an oak-tree that has been struck by lightning." - -"Like the one with the 'stickie-out' branches, where I once hid Auntie -Lis--Her stockings?" - -I nodded, and, sitting down, began to pack up my fishing-rod and things. - -"I'm glad of that," pursued the Imp thoughtfully. "Robin Hood was -always saying to somebody, 'Hie thee to the blasted oak at midnight!' -an' it's nice to have one handy, you know." - -I only said "Yes," and sighed. - -"'Whence that doleful visage,' Uncle Dick--I mean, Little-John? Is -Auntie angry with you, too?" - -"Yes," I answered, and sighed again. - -"Oh!" said the Imp, staring, "an' do you feel like--like--wait a -minute"--and once more he drew out and consulted the tattered -volume--"'do you feel like hanging yourself in your sword-belt to the -arm of yonder tree?'" he asked eagerly, with his finger upon a certain -paragraph. - -"Very like it, my Imp." - -"Or--or 'hurling yourself from the topmost pinnacle of yon lofty crag?'" - -"Yes, Imp; the 'loftier' the better." - -"Then you must be in love, like Alan-a-Dale; he was going to hang -himself, an' 'hurl himself off the topmost pinnacle,' you know, only -Robin Hood said, 'Whence that doleful visage?' an' stopped him--you -remember?' - -"To be sure," I nodded. - -"An' so you are really in love with my Auntie Lis--Her, are you?" - -"Yes." - -"Is that why she's angry with you?" - -"Probably." - -The Imp was silent, apparently plunged once more in a profound -meditation. - -"'Fraid there's something wrong with her," he said at last, shaking his -head; "she's always getting angry with everybody 'bout something--you -an' me an' Mr. Selwyn----" - -"Mr. Selwyn!" I exclaimed. "Imp, what do you mean?" - -"Well, she got cross with me first--an' over such a little thing too! -We were in the orchard, an' I spilt some lemonade on her gown--only -about half a glass, you know, an' when she went to wipe it off she -hadn't a handkerchief, an' 'course I had none. So she told me to fetch -one, an' I was just going when Mr. Selwyn came, so I said, 'Would he -lend Auntie Lisbeth his handkerchief, 'cause she wanted one to wipe her -dress?' an' he said 'Delighted!' Then Auntie frowned at me an' shook -her head when he wasn't looking. But Mr. Selwyn took out his -handkerchief, an' got down on his knees, an' began to wipe off the -lemonade, telling her something 'bout his 'heart,' an' wishing he could -'kneel at her feet for ever'! Auntie got awfull' red, and told him to -stand up, but he wouldn't; an' then she looked at me so awfull' cross -that I thought I'd better leave, so while she was saying, 'Rise, Mr. -Selwyn--do!' I ran away, only I could tell she was awfull' angry with -Mr. Selwyn--an' that's all!" - -I rose to my knees, and caught the Imp by the shoulders. - -"Imp," I cried, "are you sure--quite sure that she was angry with Mr. -Selwyn yesterday morning?" - -"'Course I am. I always know when Auntie Lisbeth's angry. An' now -let's go an' play at 'Blasted Oaks.'" - -"Anything you like, Imp, so long as we find her." - -"You're forgetting your fishing-rod an'----" - -"Bother the fishing-rod!" I exclaimed, and set off hurriedly in the -direction Lisbeth had taken. - -The Imp trotted beside me, stumbling frequently over his "trusty sword" -and issuing numberless commands in a hoarse, fierce voice to an -imaginary "band of outlaws." As for me, I strode on unheeding, for my -mind was filled with a fast-growing suspicion that I had judged Lisbeth -like a hasty fool. - -In this manner we scoured the neighbourhood very thoroughly, but with no -success. However, we continued our search with unabated ardour--along -the river path to the water-stairs and from thence by way of the gardens -to the orchard; but not a sign of Lisbeth. The shrubbery and paddock -yielded a like result, and having interrogated Peter in the -harness-room, he informed us that "Miss Helezabeth was hout along with -Miss Dorothy." - -At last, after more than an hour of this sort of thing, even the Imp -grew discouraged and suggested "turning pirates." - -Our wanderings had led by devious paths, and now, as luck would have it, -we found ourselves beneath "the blasted oak." - -We sat down very solemnly side by side, and for a long time there was -silence. - -"It's fine to make 'tyrants tremble,' isn't it, Uncle Dick?" said the -Imp at last. - -"Assuredly," I nodded. - -"But I should have liked to kiss Auntie Lisbeth good-bye first, an' -Dorothy an' Louise----" - -"What do you mean, my Imp?" - -"Oh, you know, Uncle Dick! 'My roof henceforth shall be the broad -expanse.' I'm going to fight giants an'--an' all sorts of cads, you -know. An' then, if ever I get to Persia an' do find the wonderful lamp, -I can wish everything all right again, an' we should all be 'happy ever -after'--you an' Auntie Lisbeth an' Dorothy an' me; an' we could live in -a palace with slaves. Oh, it would be fine!" - -"Yes, it's an excellent idea, Imp, but on the whole slightly risky, -because it's just possible that you might never find the lamp; besides, -you'll have to stop here, after all, because, you see, I'm going away -myself." - -"Then let's go away together, Uncle Dick, do!" - -"Impossible, my Imp; who will look after your Auntie Lisbeth and Dorothy -and Louise?" - -"I forgot that," he answered ruefully. - -"And they need a deal of taking care of," I added. - -"'Fraid they do," he nodded; "but there's Peter," he suggested, -brightening. - -"Peter certainly knows how to look after horses, but that is not quite -the same. Lend me your 'trusty sword.'" - -He rose, and drawing it from his belt, handed it to me with a flourish. - -"You remember in the old times, Imp, when knights rode out to battle, it -was customary for them when they made a solemn promise to kiss the -cross-hilt of their swords, just to show they meant to keep it. So now -I ask you to go back to your Auntie Lisbeth, to take care of her, to -shield and guard her from all things evil, and never to forget that you -are her loyal and true knight; and now kiss your sword in token, will -you?" and I passed back the weapon. - -"Yes," he answered, with glistening eyes, "I will, on my honour," and he -kissed the sword. - -"Good!" I exclaimed. "Thank you, Imp." - -"But are you really going away?" he inquired, looking at me with a -troubled face. - -"Yes!" - -"Must you go?" - -"Yes." - -"Will you promise to come back some day--soon?" - -"Yes, I promise." - -"On your honour?" - -"On my honour!" I repeated, and in my turn I obediently kissed his -extended sword-hilt. - -"Are you going to-night, Uncle Dick?" - -"I start very early in the morning, so you see we had better say -'good-bye' now, my Imp." - -"Oh!" he said, and stared away down the river. Now, in the buttonhole -of my coat there hung a fading rosebud which Lisbeth had given me two -days ago, and acting on impulse, I took it out. - -"Imp," I said, "when you get back, I want you to give this to your -Auntie Lisbeth and say--er--never mind, just give it to her, will you?" - -"Yes, Uncle Dick," he said, taking it from me, but keeping his face -turned away. - -"And now good-bye, Imp!" - -"Good-bye!" he answered, still without looking at me. - -"Won't you shake hands?" - -He thrust out a grimy little palm, and as I clasped it I saw a big tear -roll down his cheek. - -"You'll come back soon--very soon--Uncle Dick?" - -"Yes, I'll come back, my Imp." - -And thus it was we parted, the Imp and I, beneath the "blasted oak," and -I know my heart was strangely heavy as I turned away and left him. - -After I had gone some distance I paused to look back. He still stood -where I had left him, but his face was hidden in his arms as he leaned -sobbing against the twisted trunk of the great tree. - -All the way to the Three Jolly Anglers and during the rest of the -evening the thought of the little desolate figure haunted me, so much so -that, having sent away my dinner untasted, I took pen and ink and wrote -him a letter, enclosing with it my penknife, which I had often seen him -regard with "the eye of desire," despite the blade he had broken upon a -certain memorable occasion. This done, I became possessed of a -determination to send some message to Lisbeth also--just a few brief -words which should yet reveal to her something of the thoughts I bore -her ere I passed out of her life for ever. - -For over an hour I sat there, chewing the stem of my useless pipe and -racking my brain, but the "few brief words" obstinately refused to come. - -Nine o'clock chimed mournfully from the Norman tower of the church hard -by, yet still my pen was idle and the paper before me blank; also I -became conscious of a tapping somewhere close at hand, now stopping, now -beginning again, whose wearisome iteration so irritated my fractious -nerves that I flung down my pen and rose. - -The noise seemed to come from the vicinity of the window. Crossing to -it, therefore, I flung the casement suddenly open, and found myself -staring into a round face, in which were set two very round eyes and a -button of a nose, the whole surmounted by a shock of red hair. - -"'Allo, Mr. Uncle Dick!" - -It needed but this and a second glance at the round face to assure me -that it pertained to Ben, the gardener's boy. - -"What, my noble Benjamin?" I exclaimed. - -"No, it's me!" answered the redoubtable Ben. "'E said I was to give you -this an' tell you, 'Life an' death!'" As he spoke he held out a roll of -paper tied about the middle with a boot lace; which done, the round head -grinned, nodded, and disappeared from my ken. Unwinding the boot lace, -I spread out the paper and read the following words, scrawled in pencil: - - -"Hi the to the Blarsted Oke and all will be forgiven. Come back to your -luving frends and bigones shall be bigones. Look to the hole in the -trunk there of. - -"Sined, - "ROBIN, Outlaw and Knight. - -"P.S.--I mean where i hid her stockings--you no." - - -I stood for some time with this truly mysterious document in my hand, in -two minds what to do about it; if I went, the chances were that I should -run against the Imp, and there would be a second leave-taking, which in -my present mood I had small taste for. On the other hand, there was a -possibility that something might have transpired which I should do well -to know. - -And yet what more could transpire? Lisbeth had made her choice, my -dream was over, to-morrow I should return to London--and there was an -end of it all; still---- - -In this pitiful state of vacillation I remained for some time, but in -the end curiosity and a fugitive hope gained the day, and, taking my -cap, I sallied forth. - -It was, as Stevenson would say, "a wonderful night of stars," and the -air was full of their soft, quivering light, for the moon was late and -had not risen as yet. As I stepped from the inn door, somebody in the -tap-room struck up "Tom Bowling" in a rough but not unmusical voice; and -the plaintive melody seemed somehow to become part of the night. - -Truly my feet trod a path of "faerie," carpeted with soft mosses, a path -winding along beside a river of shadows, on whose dark tide stars were -floating. I walked slowly, breathing the fragrance of the night and -watching the great silver moon creeping slowly up the spangled sky. So -I presently came to the "blasted oak." The hole in the trunk needed -little searching for. I remembered it well enough, and thrusting in my -hand, drew out a folded paper. Holding this close to my eyes, I managed -with no little difficulty to decipher this message: - - -"Don't go unkel dick bekors Auntie lisbeth wants you and i want you to. -I heard her say so to herself in the libree and she was crying to, and -didn't see me there but i was. And she said O Dick i want you so, out -loud bekors she didn't no I was there. And i no she was crying bekors i -saw the tiers. And this is true on my onner. - -"Sined, - "Yore true frend and Knight, - "REGINALD AUGUSTUS." - - -A revulsion of feeling swept over me as I read. Ah! if only I could -believe she had said such words--my beautiful, proud Lisbeth. - -Alas! dear Imp, how was it possible to believe you? And because I knew -it could not possibly be true, and because I would have given my life to -know that it was true, I began to read the note all over again. - -Suddenly I started and looked round; surely that was a sob! But the -moon's level rays served only to show the utter loneliness about me. It -was imagination, of course, and yet it had sounded very real. - -And she said, "Oh, Dick, I want you so!" - -The river lapped softly against the bank, and somewhere above my head -the leaves rustled dismally. - -"Dear little Imp, if it were only true!" - -Once again the sound came to me, low and restrained, but a sob -unmistakably. - -On the other side of the giant tree I beheld a figure half sitting, half -lying. The shadow was deep here, but as I stooped the kindly moon sent -down a shaft of silver light, and I saw a lovely, startled face, with -great, tear-dimmed eyes. - -"Lisbeth!" I exclaimed; then, prompted by a sudden thought, I glanced -hastily around. - -"I am alone," she said, interpreting my thought aright. - -"But--here--and--and at such an hour!" I stammered foolishly. She -seemed to be upon her feet in one movement, fronting me with flashing -eyes. - -"I came to look for the Imp. I found this on his pillow. Perhaps you -will explain?" and she handed me a crumpled paper. - - -"DEAR AUNTIE LISBATH" (I read)--"Unkel dick is going away bekors he is -in luv with you and you are angry with him. Will you come at nine -o'clock to the Blarsted oke, where I hid yore stokkings if you want to -kiss me and be kind to me again, come to me bekors I want someboddie to -be nice to me now he is gone. - -"yore luving sorry Imp. - -"P.S.--He said he would like to hang himself in his sword-belt to the -arm of yonder tree and hurl himself from yon topmost pinnakel, so I know -he is in luv with you." - - -"Oh, blessed Imp!" - -"And now where is he?" she demanded. - -"Lisbeth, I don't know." - -"You don't know! Then why are you here?" - -For answer I held out the letter I had found, and watched while she read -the words I could not believe. - -Her hat was off, and the moon made wonderful lights in the coils of her -black hair. She was wearing an indoor gown of some thin material that -clung, revealing the gracious lines of her supple figure, and in the -magic of the moon she seemed some young goddess of the woods--tall and -fair and strong, yet infinitely womanly. - -Now as she finished reading she turned suddenly away, yet not before I -had seen the tell-tale colour glowing in her cheeks--a slow wave which -surged over her from brow to chin, and chin to the round, white column -of her throat. - -"And she said, 'Oh, Dick, I want you so!' I read aloud. - -"Oh," Lisbeth murmured. - -"Lisbeth, is it true?" - -She stood with her face averted, twisting the letter in her fingers. - -"Lisbeth!" I said, and took a step nearer. Still she did not speak, but -her hands came out to me with a swift, passionate gesture, and her eyes -looked into mine; and surely none were ever more sweet, with the new -shyness in their depths and the tears glistening on their lashes. - -And in that moment Doubt and Fear were swallowed up in a great joy, and -I forgot all things save that Lisbeth was before me and that I loved -her. - -The moon, risen now, had made a broad path of silver across the shadowy -river to our very feet, and I remembered how the Imp had once told me -that it was there for the moon fairies to come down by when they bring -us happy dreams. Surely, the air was full of moon fairies to-night. - -"Oh, Imp, thrice blessed Imp!" - -"But--but Selwyn?" I groaned at last. - -"Well?" - -"If you love him----" - -"But I don't!" - -"But if you are to marry him----" - -"But I'm not. I was going to tell you so in the orchard yesterday, but -you gave me no chance; you preferred to guess, and, of course, guessed -wrong altogether. I knew it made you wretched, and I was glad of it, -and meant to keep you so a long, long time; but when I looked up and saw -you standing there so very, very miserable, Dick, I couldn't keep it up -any longer, because I was so dreadfully wretched myself, you know." - -"Can you ever forgive me?" - -"That depends, Dick." - -"On what?" - -Lisbeth stooped, and, picking up her hat, began to put it on. - -"Depends on what?" I repeated. - -Her hat was on now, but for a while she did not answer, her eyes upon -the "fairy path." When at last she spoke her voice was very low and -tender. - -"'Not far from the village of Down, in Kent, there is a house,'" she -began, "'a very old house, with pointed gables and panelled chambers, -but empty to-night and desolate.' You see I remember it all," she broke -off. - -"Yes, you remember it all," I repeated, wondering. - -"Dick--I--I want you to--take me there. I've thought of it all so often. -Take me there, Dick." - -"Lisbeth, do you mean it?" - -"It has been the dream of my life for a long time now--to work for you -there, to take care of you, Dick--you need such a deal, such a great -deal of taking care of--to walk with you in the old rose garden; but I'm -a beggar now, you know, though I shan't mind a bit if--if you want me, -Dick." - -"Want you?" I cried, and with the words I drew her close and kissed her. - -Now, from somewhere in the tree above came a sudden crack and mighty -snapping of twigs. - -"All right, Uncle Dick!" cried a voice; "it's only the branch. Don't -worry." - -"Imp!" I exclaimed. - -"I'm coming, Uncle Dick," he answered, and with much exertion and heavy -breathing he presently emerged into view and squirmed himself safely to -earth. For a moment he stood looking from one to the other of us, then -he turned to Lisbeth. - -"Won't you forgive me, too, Auntie Lisbeth, please?" he said. - -"Forgive you?" she cried, and, falling on her knees, gathered him in her -arms. - -"I'm glad I didn't go to Persia, after all, Uncle Dick," he said over -her shoulder. - -"Persia?" repeated Lisbeth wonderingly. - -"Oh yes; you were so angry with Uncle Dick an' me--so frightfull' angry, -you know, that I was going to try to find the 'wonderful lamp' so I -could wish everything all right again an' all of us 'live happy ever -after'; but the blasted oak did just as well, an' was nicer, somehow, -wasn't it?" - -"Infinitely nicer," I answered. - -"An' you will never be angry with Uncle Dick or me any more, will you, -Auntie--that is, not frightfull' angry, you know?" - -"Never any more, dear." - -"On your honour?" - -"On my honour!" she repeated, smiling, but there were tears in her -voice. - -Very gravely the Imp drew his "trusty sword," which she, following his -instructions, obediently kissed. - -"And now," cried he, "we are all happy again, aren't we?" - -"More happy than I ever hoped or dreamed to be," answered Lisbeth, still -upon her knees; "and oh, Imp--dear little Imp, come and kiss me." - - - - - *CHAPTER VIII* - - *THE LAND OF HEART'S DELIGHT* - - -Surely there never was and never could be such another morning as this? -Ever since the first peep of dawn a blackbird had been singing to me -from the fragrant syringa-bush that blossomed just beneath my window. -Each morning I had wakened to the joyous melody of his golden song. But -to-day the order was reversed. I had sat there at my open casement, -breathing the sweet purity of the morning, watching the eastern sky turn -slowly from pearl-grey to saffron and from saffron to deepest crimson, -until at last the new-risen sun had filled all the world with his glory. -And then this blackbird of mine had begun--very hoarse at first, trying -a note now and then in a tentative sort of fashion, as though still -drowsy and not quite sure of himself, but little by little his notes had -grown longer, richer, mellower, until here he was pouring out his soul -in an ecstasy. - -Ah! surely there never was, there never could be, such another morning -as this! - -Out of the green twilight of the woods a gentle wind was blowing, laden -with the scent of earth and hidden flowers. Dewdrops twinkled in the -grass and hung glistening from every leaf and twig, and beyond all was -the sheen of the murmurous river. - -The blackbird was in full song now, and by degrees others joined -in--thrush, and lark, and linnet, with the humbler voices of the -farmyard--until the sunny air was vibrant with the chorus. - -Presently a man in a sleeved waistcoat crossed the paddock, whistling -lustily, and from somewhere below there rose a merry clatter of plates -and dishes; and thus the old inn, which had seen so many mornings, woke -up to yet another. - -But there never was, there never could be, just such another morning as -this was! - -And in a little while, having dressed with more than usual care, I went -downstairs to find my breakfast awaiting me in the Sanded Parlour, -having ordered it for this early hour the night previously--ham and eggs -and fragrant coffee, what mortal could wish for more? - -And while I ate, waited on by the rosy-cheeked chambermaid, in came -Master Amos Baggett, mine host, to pass the time of day, and likewise to -assure me that my baggage should catch the early train; who, when I -rose, my meal at an end, paused to wipe his honest hand quite needlessly -upon his snowy apron ere he wished me "Good-bye." - -So having duly remembered the aforesaid rosy-cheeked chambermaid, the -obsequious "Boots," and the grinning ostler, I sallied forth into the -sunshine, and crossing the green, where stood the battered sign-post, I -came to a flight of rough steps, at the foot of which my boat was -moored. In I stepped, cast loose the painter, and shipping the sculls, -shot out into the stream. - -No, there never was, there never could be, just such another morning as -this, for to-day I was to marry Lisbeth, and every stroke of the oar -carried me nearer to her and happiness. - -Gaily the alders bent and nodded to me; joyfully the birds piped and -sang; merrily the water laughed and chattered against my prow as I rowed -through the golden morning. - -Long before the hour appointed I reached the water-stairs at Fane Court, -and, tying my skiff, lighted my pipe and watched the smoke rise slowly -into the still air while I tried "to possess my soul in patience." - -Sitting thus, I dreamed many a fair dream of the new life that was to -be, and made many resolutions, as a man should upon his wedding morn. - -And at last came Lisbeth herself, swiftly, lightly, as fair and sweet -and fresh as the morning, who yet paused awhile to lean upon the -balustrade and look down at me beneath the brim of her hat. Up I rose -and stretched out my hands to her, but she still stood there, and I saw -her cheeks were flushed and her eyes shy and tender. - -So once more we stood upon the old water-stairs, she on the top stair, I -on the lower; and again I saw the little foot beneath her skirt come -slowly towards me and hesitate. - -"Dick," she said, "you know that Aunt Agatha has cut me -off--disinherited me altogether--you have had time to think it all -over?" - -"Yes." - -"And you are quite--quite sure?" - -"Quite! I think I have been so all my life." - -"I'm penniless now, Dick, a beggar, with nothing in the world but the -clothes I wear." - -"Yes," I said, catching her hands in mine, "my beggar-maid; the -loveliest, noblest, sweetest that ever stooped to bestow her love on -man." - -"Dick, how glorious everything is this morning--the earth, the sky, and -the river!" - -"It is our wedding morning!" said I. - -"Our wedding-day," she repeated in a whisper. - -"And there never was just such a morning as this," said I. - -"But, Dick, all days cannot be as this--there must come clouds and storm -sometimes, and--and--oh, Dick! are you sure that you will never, never -regret--" - -"I love you, Lisbeth, in the shadow as well as the sunshine--love you -ever and always." And so, the little foot hesitating no longer, Lisbeth -came down to me. - -Oh, never again could there be such another morning as this! - -"Ahoy!" - -I looked round with a start, and there, his cap cocked rakishly over one -eye, his "murderous cutlass" at his hip and his arms folded across his -chest, stood "Scarlet Sam, the Terror of the South Seas." - -"Imp!" cried Lisbeth. - -"Avast!" cried he in lusty tones; "where-away?" - -I glanced helplessly at Lisbeth and she at me. - -"Where away, shipmate?" he bellowed in nautical fashion, but before I -could find a suitable answer Dorothy made her appearance with the fluffy -kitten "Louise" cuddled under her arm as usual. - -"How do you do?" she said demurely; "it's awfully nice to get up so -early, isn't it? We heard Auntie creeping about on tippity-toes, you -know, so we came, too. Reginald said she was pretending to be burglars, -but I think she's going 'paddling.' Are you, Auntie?" - -"No, dear; not this morning," answered Lisbeth, shaking her head. - -"Then you are going for a row in Uncle Dick's boat. How fine!" - -"An' you'll take us with you, won't you, Uncle Dick?" cried the Imp -eagerly. "We'll be pirates. I'll be 'Scarlet Sam,' an' you can be -'Timothy Bone, the bo'sun,' like you were last time." - -"Impossible, my Imp," I said firmly. He looked at me incredulously for -a moment, then, seeing I meant it, his lip began to quiver. - -"I didn't think 'T-Timothy B-Bone' would ever desert me," he said, and -turned away. - -"Oh, Auntie!" exclaimed Dorothy, "won't you take us?" - -"Dear--not this morning." - -"Are you going far, then, Uncle Dick?" - -"Yes, very far," I answered, glancing uneasily from the Imp's drooping -figure to Lisbeth. - -"I wonder where?" - -"Oh--well--er--down the river," I stammered, quite at a loss. - -"Y-e-s, but where?" persisted Dorothy. - -"Well, to--er--to----" - -"To the 'Land of Heart's Delight,'" Lisbeth put in, "and you may come -with us, after all, if Uncle Dick will take you." - -"To be sure he will, if your Auntie requires it," I cried, "so step -aboard, my hearties, and lively!" In a moment the Imp's hand was in -mine, and he was smiling up at me with wet lashes. - -"I knew 'Timothy Bone' could never be a--a 'mutinous rogue,'" he said, -and turned to aid Dorothy aboard with the air of an admiral on his -flagship. - -And now, all being ready, he unhitched the painter, or, as he said, -"slipped our cable," and we glided out into midstream. - -"A ship," he said thoughtfully, "always has a name. What shall we call -this one? Last time we were 'pirates' and she was the _Black -Death_----" - -"Never mind last time, Imp," I broke in; "to-day she is the _Joyful -Hope_." - -"That doesn't sound very 'pirate-y,' somehow," he responded, with a -disparaging shake of the head, "but I s'pose it will have to do." - -And so, upon that summer morning, the good ship _Joyful Hope_ set sail -for the "Land of Heart's Delight," and surely no vessel of her size ever -carried quite such a cargo of happiness before or since. - -And once again "Scarlet Sam" stamped upon the "quarter-deck" and roared -orders anent "lee-shrouds" and "weather braces," with divers injunctions -concerning the "helm," while his eyes rolled and he flourished his -"murderous cutlass" as he had done upon a certain other memorable -occasion. - -Never, never again could there be just such another morning as this--for -two of us at least. - -On we went, past rush and sedge and weeping willow, by roaring weir and -cavernous lock, into the shadow of grim stone bridges and out again into -the sunshine, past shady woods and green uplands, until at length we -"cast anchor" before a flight of steps leading up to a particularly worn -stone gateway surmounted by a crumbling stone cross. - -"Why," exclaimed the Imp, staring, "this is a church!" - -"Imp," I nodded, "I believe it is." - -"But to-day isn't Sunday, you know," he remonstrated, seeing it was our -intention to land. - -"Never mind that, Imp; 'the better the deed, the better the day, you -know.'" - -On we went, Dorothy and the Imp in front, while Lisbeth and I brought up -the rear, and she slipped her hand into mine. In the porch we came upon -an aged woman busy with a broom and a very large duster, who, catching -sight of us, dropped first the duster and then the broom, and stood -staring in open-mouthed astonishment. - -And there, in the dim old church, with the morning sun making a glory of -the window above our heads, and with the birds for our choristers, the -vows were exchanged and the blessing pronounced that gave Lisbeth and -her future into my keeping; yet I think we were both conscious of those -two small figures in the gloom of the great pew behind, who stared in -round-eyed wonderment. - -The register duly signed, and all formalities over and done, we go out -into the sunshine; and once more the aged woman, richer now by half a -crown, is reduced to mute astonishment, so that speech is beyond her, -when the Imp, lifting his feathered cap, politely wishes her "good -morning." - -Once more aboard the _Joyful Hope_, there ensued an awkward pause, -during which Lisbeth looked at the children and I at her. - -"We must take them back home," she said at last. - -"We shall miss our train, Lisbeth." - -"But," and here she blushed most delightfully, "there is really no -hurry; we can take a--a later one." - -"So be it," I said, and laid our course accordingly. - -For a time there was silence, during which the Imp, as if in momentary -expectation of an attack by bloodthirsty foes, scowled about him, pistol -in hand, keeping, as he said, "his weather eye lifting," while Dorothy -glanced from Lisbeth to me and back again with puzzled brows. - -"I do believe you have been marrying each other!" she said suddenly. -The Imp forgot all about his "weather eye" and stared aghast. - -"'Course not," he cried at last. "Uncle Dick wouldn't do such a thing, -would you, Uncle Dick?" - -"Imp, I have--I do confess it." - -"Oh!" he exclaimed in a tone of deepest tragedy. "And you let him go -and do it, Auntie Lisbeth?" - -"He was so very, very persistent, Imp," she said, actually turning -crimson beneath his reproachful eye. - -"Don't be too hard on us, Imp," I pleaded. - -"I s'pose it can't be helped now," he said, a little mollified, but -frowning sternly, nevertheless. - -"No," I answered, with my eyes upon Lisbeth's lovely, blushing face, "it -certainly can't be helped now." - -"And you'll never do it again?" - -"Never again, Imp." - -"Then I forgive you, only why--why did you do it?" - -"Well, you see, my Imp, I have an old house in the country, a very cosy -old place, but it's lonely, horribly lonely, to live by oneself. I've -wanted somebody to help me to live in it for a long time, but nobody -would, you know, Imp. At last your Auntie Lisbeth has promised to take -care of the house and me, to fill the desolate rooms with her voice and -sweet presence, and my empty life with her life. You can't quite -understand how much this means to me now, Imp, but you will some day, -perhaps." - -"But are you going to take our Auntie Lisbeth away from us?" cried -Dorothy. - -"Yes, dear," I answered, "but----" - -"Oh, I don't like that one bit!" exclaimed the Imp. - -"But you shall come there and stay with us us often as you wish," said -Lisbeth. - -"That would be perfectly beautiful!" cried Dorothy. - -"Yes, but when?" inquired the Imp gloomily. - -"Soon," I answered. - -"Very soon!" said Lisbeth. - -"Will you promise to be 'Timothy Bone, the bo'sun,' an' the 'Black -Knight,' an' 'Little-John' whenever I want you to, Uncle Dick?" - -"I will, Imp." - -"An' make me a long sword with a--a 'deadly point'?" - -"Yes," I nodded, "and show you some real ones, too." - -"Real ones?" he cried. - -"Oh yes, and armour as well; there's lots of it in the old house, you -know." - -"Let's go now!" he cried, nearly upsetting the boat in his eagerness. - -"Oh! Oh, Dick!" cried Lisbeth at this moment, "Dick--there's aunt!" - -"Aunt?" I repeated. - -"Aunt Agatha, and she sees us; look!" - -Turning my head, I beheld a most unexpected sight. Advancing directly -upon us was the old boat, that identical, weather-beaten tub of a boat -in which Lisbeth and I had come so near ending our lives together, the -which has already been told in these Chronicles. On the rowing-thwart -sat Peter, the coachman, and in the stern-sheets, very grim and stiff in -the back, her lorgnette to her eyes, was Lady Warburton. - -Escape was quite out of the question, and in half a dozen strokes of the -oar we were alongside and close under the battery of the lorgnette. - -"Elizabeth," she began, in her most ponderous manner, ignoring my -presence altogether, "Elizabeth, child, I blush for you." - -"Then, aunt, please don't," cried Lisbeth; "I can do quite enough of -that for myself. I'm always blushing lately," and as if to prove her -words she immediately proceeded to do so. - -"Elizabeth," proceeded Lady Warburton, making great play with her -lorgnette, "your very shameless, ungrateful letter I received last -night. This morning I arose at an objectionably early hour, travelled -down in a draughty train, and here I am out on a damp and nasty river in -a leaky boat, with my feet horribly wet, but determined to save you from -an act which you may repent all your days." - -"Excuse me," I said, bowing deeply, "but such heroic devotion cannot be -sufficiently appreciated and admired. In Lisbeth's name I beg to thank -you; nevertheless----" - -"Mr. Brent, I believe?" she said in a tone of faint surprise, as though -noticing my presence for the first time. - -"At your service, madam!" I answered, with another bow. - -"Then I must ask you to convey my ward back to Fane Court immediately; -she and the children will accompany me to London at once." - -"My dear Lady Warburton," I said, fronting the lorgnette with really -admirable fortitude, "it grieves me to deny you this request, but, -believe me, it is impossible!" - -"Impossible!" she repeated. - -"Quite!" I answered. "You here behold the good ship _Joyful Hope_, -bound for the 'Land of Heart's Delight,' and we aboard are all -determined on our course." - -"'An' the wind blows fair, an' our helm's a-lee, so it's heave, my -mariners, all--O!'" cried the Imp in his nautical voice. - -"Dear me!" ejaculated Lady Warburton, staring. "Elizabeth, be so -obliging as to tell me what it all means. Why have you dragged these -children from their beds to come philandering upon a horrid river at -such an hour?" - -"Excuse me, aunt, but she didn't drag us," protested the Imp, bowing -exactly as I had done a moment before. - -"Oh no, we came," nodded Dorothy. - -"An' we've been getting married, you know," said the Imp. - -"And it was all very, very beautiful," added Dorothy. - -"Married!" cried Lady Warburton in a tone of horror; "married!" - -"They would do it, you know," sighed the Imp. - -"And quite right, too," said Dorothy; "everybody always marries -somebody, some time; it's very fashionable at present. Mamma did, and -so shall I when I grow up, I suppose." - -"Goodness gracious, child!" exclaimed Lady Warburton. - -"I s'pose you're angry 'bout it, aunt," pursued the Imp. "I was at -first--just a weeny bit; but you see Uncle Dick has a wonderful house -with swords an' armour, but empty, an' he wanted to keep somebody in it -to see that everything was nice, I s'pose, an' sing, you know, an' take -care of his life. Auntie Lisbeth can sing, an' she wanted to go, so I -forgave them." - -"Oh, indeed, Reginald?" said Lady Warburton in a rather queer voice, and -I saw the corners of her high thin nose quiver strangely. - -"Beggin' your pardon, ma'am," said Peter at this moment, touching his -cap, "I don't know much about boats, my line bein' 'osses, but I do -think as this 'ere boat is a-goin' to sink." - -"Then row for the shore instantly," said Lady Warburton firmly, "and -should I never reach it alive"--here she brought her lorgnette to bear -on Lisbeth--"I say if I _do_ meet a watery grave this day, my epitaph -shall be, 'Drowned by the Ingratitude of a Niece.'" - -However, this gloomy tragedy being happily averted, and Lady Warburton -safely landed, I, at a nod from Lisbeth, rowed to the bank likewise, and -we all disembarked together. - -Now, as kind Fortune would have it, and Fortune was very kind that -morning, the place where we stood was within a stone's-throw of the -Three Jolly Anglers, and wafted to us on the warm, still air there came -a wondrous fragrance, far sweeter and more alluring to the hungry than -the breath of roses or honeysuckle--the delightful aroma of frying -bacon. - -Lady Warburton faced us, her parasol tucked beneath her arm, looking -very much like a military officer on parade. - -"Dorothy and Reginald," she said in a short, sharp voice of command, -"bid good-bye to your Auntie Lisbeth and accompany me home at once." - -"No, no," cried Lisbeth, with hands stretched out appealingly, "you will -not leave us like this, Aunt--for the sake of the love I shall always -bear you, and--and----" - -"Elizabeth, I cared for you from your babyhood up. Ingratitude is my -return. I watched you grow from child to woman. I planned out a future -for you; you broke those plans. I might tell you that I am a lonely, -disappointed old woman, who loved you much more than she thought, but I -won't!" - -"Dear, dear Aunt Agatha, did you love me so much, and I never guessed; -you wouldn't let me, you see. Ah! do not think me ungrateful, but when -a woman comes to marry she must choose for herself, as I have done; and -I am happy, dear, and proud of my choice--proud to have won the true -love of a true man; only do not think I am ungrateful. And if this must -be good-bye, do not let us part like this--for my sake and your sake and -the sake of my--husband." - -Lady Warburton had turned away, and there ensued a somewhat embarrassing -pause. - -"Elizabeth," she said suddenly, "if I don't mistake, somebody is frying -bacon somewhere, and I'm ravenously hungry." - -"So am I," cried the Imp. - -"And so am I," Dorothy chimed in. - -"Then suppose we have breakfast," I suggested, and in almost less time -than it takes to tell I was leading the way across the green with Lady -Warburton on my arm--actually leaning on my arm. - -And now who so surprised to see us as honest Amos Baggett, ushering us -with many bows and smiles into the Sanded Parlour, where breakfast was -soon ready; and who so quick and dexterous in attending to our wants as -the rosy-cheeked chambermaid? - -And what a breakfast that was! Never had the antique andirons on the -hearth, the pewter plates and dishes upon the walls, the brass-bound -blunderbuss above the mantel seemed so bright and polished before, and -surely never had they gleamed upon a merrier company. To be sure, the -Imp's remarks were somewhat few and far between, but that was simply on -account of the blackberry jam. - -"I suppose you are both ridiculously happy," said Lady Warburton, eyeing -us over her coffee-cup. - -"Most absurdly!" answered Lisbeth, blushing all in a moment. - -"Preposterously!" I nodded. - -"Of course!" said Lady Warburton, and setting down her cup, she sighed, -while I wondered what memories her narrow life could hold. - -"Uncle Dick," said the Imp suddenly, "do you s'pose Scarlet Sam ever ate -blackberry jam?" - -"Undoubtedly, my Imp, when he could get it." This appeared greatly to -relieve his mind, for he took another helping. - -But all things must have an end, alas!--even such a breakfast as this, -and presently we were out in the sunshine again, standing beneath the -weather-beaten sign whereon three faded fishermen fished with faded rods -in a faded stream; while away down the road we could see Peter already -approaching with the carriage. - -"And now I suppose you are going?" said Lady Warburton. - -"There is a train at half-past ten," I answered. - -"An' we are going too!" said Dorothy. - -"Yes, we're quite ready, Uncle Dick!" cried the Imp, thrusting his -pistols into his belt. - -"But you wouldn't leave me all alone, would you, children?" asked Lady -Warburton, and there was a certain wistfulness in her sharp face that -seemed new to it. - -"'Course not," sighed the Imp, "only----" - -"We must stay and take care of her, Reginald," nodded Dorothy -decisively. - -"Yes, I'll take care of you, Aunt, with lance, battle-axe, an' sword, by -day an' night," said the Imp, "only--I should have liked to see Uncle -Dick's wonderful house, with the real swords an' armour, in the Land of -Heart's Delight--some day, you know." - -"And so you shall!" cried Lady Warburton, and she actually stooped to -kiss him, and then Dorothy, rather "pecky" kisses, perhaps, but very -genuine kisses notwithstanding. - -"Richard," she said, giving me her hand, "we shall come down to your -wonderful house--all three of us, next week, so be prepared--now be -off--both of you." - -"Then you forgive me, Aunt?" asked Lisbeth, hesitating. - -"Well, I don't quite know yet, Lisbeth; but, my dear, I'll tell you -something I have never mentioned to a living soul but you: if I had -acted forty years ago as you did to-day, I should have been a very -different creature from the cross-grained old woman you think me. -There--there's a kiss, but as for forgiving you--that is quite another -matter, I must have time to think it over. Good-bye, my dear: and, -Richard, fill her life with happiness, to make up for mine, if you can. -Children, bid good-bye to your Auntie--and Uncle Dick!" - -"You won't forget the sword with the 'deadly point,' will you, Uncle -Dick?" - -"I won't forget, my Imp!" Hereupon he tried to smile, but his trembling -lips refused, and snatching his hand from mine, he turned away; as for -Dorothy, she was sobbing into the fur of the fluffy kitten. - -Then I helped Lisbeth aboard the _Joyful Hope_, loving her the more for -the tears that gleamed beneath her long lashes, and "casting loose," we -glided out into the stream. - -There they stood, the two children, with the white-haired figure between -them, Dorothy holding up the round-eyed "Louise," for a parting glimpse, -and the Imp flourishing his cutlass, until a bend of the river hid them -from view. - -So Lisbeth and I sailed on together through the golden morning to the -"Land of Heart's Delight." - - - - LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, - DUKE STREET, STAMFORD STREET, S.E., AND GREAT WINDMILL STREET, W. - - - - - - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CHRONICLES OF THE IMP *** - - - - -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/49282 - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law 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_ in the United States with eBooks not protected -by U.S. copyright law. 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 unprotected by copyright law 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 in the United - States and most other parts of the world 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 . - If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to - check the laws of the country where you are located before using - this ebook. - -*1.E.2.* If an individual Project Gutenberg(tm) electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (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 The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, 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 -works not protected by U.S. copyright law 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 in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, 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 not protected by copyright 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. |