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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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: When a witch is young</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Philip Verrill Mighels</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 5, 2022 [eBook #68249]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Mary Glenn Krause, Charlene Taylor, Barry Abrahamsen, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHEN A WITCH IS YOUNG ***</div> - -<div class='figcenter id001'> -<img src='images/cover.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div> - <h1 class='c001'>WHEN A WITCH IS YOUNG</h1> -</div> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c002' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div>═════════════════════════════</div> - <div><span class='c004'><em class='gesperrt'>WHEN A WITCH</em></span></div> - <div>─────────────────────</div> - <div><span class='c004'>❦ <em class='gesperrt'>IS YOUNG</em> ❦</span></div> - <div>═════════════════════════════</div> - <div><span class='c005'><em class='gesperrt'><span class="blackletter">A Historical Novel</span></em></span></div> - <div>─────────────────────</div> - <div><span class='c004'>B y 4 — 1 9 — 6 9</span></div> - <div>═════════════════════════════</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c006'> </p> -<div class='figcenter id002'> -<img src='images/publogo.jpg' alt='' class='ig001' /> -</div> -<p class='c007'> </p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c008'> - <div>═════════════════════════════</div> - <div><em class='gesperrt'>R. F. FENNO & COMPANY</em></div> - <div><span class='c009'><span class='sc'>9 and 11 East 16th Street</span>, <i>New York</i></span></div> - <div>─────────────────────</div> - <div>1901</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1901</div> - <div>By R. F. FENNO & COMPANY</div> - <div>In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c002' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_iii'>iii</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CONTENTS.</h2> -</div> -<hr class='c011' /> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='c012'>PART I.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='17%' /> -<col width='68%' /> -<col width='13%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c013'><span class='xsmall'>CHAPTER</span></td> - <td class='c014'> </td> - <td class='c015'><span class='xsmall'>PAGE</span></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>I.</td> - <td class='c014'>Le Roi est Mort</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_9'>9</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>II.</td> - <td class='c014'>A Friendship of Chance</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_14'>14</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>III.</td> - <td class='c014'>The Germ of a Passion</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_22'>22</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='c012'>PART II.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='17%' /> -<col width='68%' /> -<col width='13%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>I.</td> - <td class='c014'>A Rover and his Retinue</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_27'>27</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>II.</td> - <td class='c014'>An Ungodly Performance</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_36'>36</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>III.</td> - <td class='c014'>’Twixt Cup and Lip</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_45'>45</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>IV.</td> - <td class='c014'>The Opening of a Vista</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_53'>53</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>V.</td> - <td class='c014'>A Weighty Confidence</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_62'>62</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>VI.</td> - <td class='c014'>Pan’s Brother and the Nymph</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_71'>71</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>VII.</td> - <td class='c014'>The Meeting in the Greenwood</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_78'>78</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>VIII.</td> - <td class='c014'>Paying the Fiddler</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_86'>86</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>IX.</td> - <td class='c014'>A Matter of State</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_94'>94</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>X.</td> - <td class='c014'>To Foil a Spy</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_100'>100</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XI.</td> - <td class='c014'>Dangerous Tributes</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_105'>105</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XII.</td> - <td class='c014'>Hours that Grow Dark</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_110'>110</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XIII.</td> - <td class='c014'>A Kiss Deferred</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_121'>121</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XIV.</td> - <td class='c014'>Overtures from the Enemy</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_133'>133</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XV.</td> - <td class='c014'>Love’s Inviting Light</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_140'>140</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'><span class='pageno' id='Page_iv'>iv</span>XVI.</td> - <td class='c014'>Garde’s Lonely Vigil</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_149'>149</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XVII.</td> - <td class='c014'>A Night Attack</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_153'>153</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XVIII.</td> - <td class='c014'>The Glint of Treasure</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_160'>160</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XIX.</td> - <td class='c014'>Mutiny</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_164'>164</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XX.</td> - <td class='c014'>Garde’s Extremity</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_171'>171</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XXI.</td> - <td class='c014'>Randolph’s Courtship</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_180'>180</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XXII.</td> - <td class='c014'>David’s Coercion</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_187'>187</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XXIII.</td> - <td class='c014'>Goody’s Boy</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_193'>193</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XXIV.</td> - <td class='c014'>A Greenwood Meeting</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_200'>200</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XXV.</td> - <td class='c014'>Love’s Traps for Confessions</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_213'>213</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XXVI.</td> - <td class='c014'>A Holiday Ended</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_221'>221</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XXVII.</td> - <td class='c014'>In Boston Town</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_228'>228</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XXVIII.</td> - <td class='c014'>Love’s Garden</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_234'>234</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XXIX.</td> - <td class='c014'>The Enemy in Power</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_243'>243</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XXX.</td> - <td class='c014'>A Fight at the Tavern</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_249'>249</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XXXI.</td> - <td class='c014'>A Refugee</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_255'>255</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XXXII.</td> - <td class='c014'>A Foster Parent</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_260'>260</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XXXIII.</td> - <td class='c014'>Repudiated Silver</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_269'>269</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XXXIV.</td> - <td class='c014'>Lodgings for the Retinue</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_275'>275</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XXXV.</td> - <td class='c014'>Garde Obtains the Jail Keys</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_280'>280</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XXXVI.</td> - <td class='c014'>Garde’s Ordeal</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_287'>287</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XXXVII.</td> - <td class='c014'>Rats in the Armory</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_296'>296</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XXXVIII.</td> - <td class='c014'>Love’s Long Good-by</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_303'>303</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XXXIX.</td> - <td class='c014'>Mutations</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_308'>308</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XL.</td> - <td class='c014'>Golden Oysters</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_314'>314</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XLI.</td> - <td class='c014'>Fate’s Devious Ways</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_319'>319</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XLII.</td> - <td class='c014'>Little Ruses and Waiting</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_327'>327</a></td> - </tr> -</table> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='c012'>PART III.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<table class='table0' summary=''> -<colgroup> -<col width='17%' /> -<col width='68%' /> -<col width='13%' /> -</colgroup> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>I.</td> - <td class='c014'>A Topic at Court</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_335'>335</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>II.</td> - <td class='c014'>Illness in the Family</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_342'>342</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'><span class='pageno' id='Page_v'>v</span>III.</td> - <td class='c014'>Foiled Purposes</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_345'>345</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>IV.</td> - <td class='c014'>Making History</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_350'>350</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>V.</td> - <td class='c014'>Old Acquaintances</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_357'>357</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>VI.</td> - <td class='c014'>Juggling with Fire</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_362'>362</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>VII.</td> - <td class='c014'>A Beef-eater Passes</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_368'>368</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>VIII.</td> - <td class='c014'>A Woman Scorned</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_371'>371</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>IX.</td> - <td class='c014'>Revelations</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_382'>382</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>X.</td> - <td class='c014'>After Six Years</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_392'>392</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XI.</td> - <td class='c014'>A Blow in the Dark</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_398'>398</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XII.</td> - <td class='c014'>Adam's Nurse</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_403'>403</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XIII.</td> - <td class='c014'>Goody in the Toils</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_407'>407</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XIV.</td> - <td class='c014'>Garde’s Subterfuge</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_414'>414</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XV.</td> - <td class='c014'>The Midnight Trial</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_425'>425</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XVI.</td> - <td class='c014'>The Gauntlet Run</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_436'>436</a></td> - </tr> - <tr> - <td class='c013'>XVII.</td> - <td class='c014'>Bewitched</td> - <td class='c015'><a href='#Page_442'>442</a></td> - </tr> -</table> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span><span class='c016'>WHEN A WITCH IS YOUNG.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<hr class='c017' /> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='c018'>PART I.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER I.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>LE ROI EST MORT.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>The</span> first, the last—the only King the Americans ever -had, was dead. It was the 13th day of August, in the -year 1676. The human emotions of the Puritan people -of Massachusetts tugged at the shackles of a long repression -and broke them asunder, in the seemly town -of Plymouth. King Philip, the mighty Sachem of the -Wampanoag Indians, had been slain. His warriors -were scattered and slaughtered. His war was ended.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Through the streets of Plymouth poured a vast throng -of people. Men, women and children, they ran and -walked, surrounding a buff-colored army that filled the -thoroughfares like a turgid flood. This was the regiment -which Captain Benjamin Church had led to the -final camp of King Philip, in the swamps at Mt. Hope -and Pocasset, where the last scene in the sanguinary -drama had been enacted.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Here was a troop of sixty horse, with officers. They -were well mounted, caparisoned with glittering back, -breast and headpiece, and armed with clanking sword, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>shouldered carbine, and great pistols, that flopped at -the waist. Behind them were foot-soldiers, brown -Puritans—stern, mirth-denying, lusty at fighting. Some -of these bore no weapon other than a pike. Another -frequently had upon him sword, pistol and carbine. -Above the heads of these men on foot waved a thin -forest of pike-staves, on the tips of which bright steel -threw back the dazzling rays of the sun. There was -clatter of scabbards on the pavement, thud and thud -of hoofs and feet in the roadway, and above all, shouts -of men and gabble of children.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There were hordes on either side of this human flood, -pushing and crowding to gain the front of the column, -while a similar aggregation hung back upon the flank -of the regiment, hooting, craning necks and racing to -keep pace with the steady, long strides of the soldiers. -This division of interest was caused by the two counter -attractions of the pageant. Thus at the front, a red -Indian was leading the march with a wild, half-dancing -step, while he contorted his body weirdly for the purpose -of displaying to all beholders the ghastly proof of -victory—the head of the great King Philip. This Indian -ally might have stood for the mockery of a drum-major, -heading a march of doom.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The spectators, racing, crowding, following, took a -crazed delight in beholding this gory head. Love, -anger, joy, the daily emotions of man, were habitually -so repressed by these serious people that now it seemed -as if they reveled as in an orgie of shuddering and -gasping, to give vent to their pent-up natures. They -laughed, they skipped on nimble feet, they sang praises. -The young men and women snatched the occasion, with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>its looseness of deportment, to look unbridled feelings -into one another’s eyes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The other attraction, in the rear, was a captive, a -mere boy, as white as any in the multitude, and paler -than the palest. Tall and lithe as he was, his age was -scarcely a whit above fourteen. He was dressed as an -Indian; he bore himself like a sullen brave. At his -side was old Annawon, the last of King Philip’s councilors, -who, having surrendered under a promise of -“good quarter” was even now being led to his execution.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The interest centered, however, in the boy. Through -the stoicism which he labored to hold as a mask upon -his face, the signs of anguish played like an undercurrent. -In all the throng he had but a single friend, -the Red-man with whom he was marching. He looked -about at the pitiless embankment of faces. Near him -a score of nimble boys were running, a frantic desire to -strike him depicted in their eyes. Further away a tall -man was moving, perforce, with the tide. On his -shoulder he bore a little Puritan maiden, who might -have been crushed had he placed her on her feet. She -was looking at the boy-captive with eyes that seemed a -deeper brown for their very compassion. She clung -to the man who held her, with a tense little fist. Her -other tiny hand was pressed upon her cheek till all -about each small finger was white, in the bonny apple-blush -of her color. It seemed as if she must cry out to -the young prisoner, in sympathy.</p> - -<p class='c007'>While the boy was gazing back his answer to the -child—a quiver in consequence almost loosening his -lip—an urchin near him abruptly cast a stone that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>struck him smartly in the side. With a panther-like -motion the captive launched himself upon his assailant -and bore him to earth in a second. The old councillor, -Annawon, spoke some soft, quick word at which -the lad in buckskin immediately abandoned his overthrown -antagonist and regained his place in the march. -His eyes blinked swiftly, but in vain, for tears, of anger -and pain, forced their way between his lids and so to -his cheeks, when he dashed them swiftly away on his -sleeve.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The foot-soldiers scurried forward and closed in about -their dangerous charge. The bawling youths of Plymouth -seemed to multiply by magic. But their opportunities -for committing further mischief were presently -destroyed. The pageant was passing Plymouth jail. -An officer hustled ten of his men about the boy-prisoner -and wedged them through the press of people toward -this place of gloom. Above the clamor then rose a -voice, and in the Indian tongue the boy-captive heard -the words:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Farewell, Little-Standing-Panther.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was old Annawon, who had divined that there -would be no other parting with the lad, who was the -only creature which the war had left on earth for him -to love.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The boy cried: “Farewell,” and the passage through -the people closed behind him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Those who looked beheld old Annawon smile faintly -and sadly. It was the only expression which had played -across his face since his surrender, and there was never -another.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Through nearly every street the glad procession -<span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span>wound. At length, the head of the butchered King -Philip was thrust upon an iron stake, which was planted -deeply in the ground. Governor Winslow then requested -that the people disperse to their several homes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The night at length came down—night the beneficent, -that cloaks the tokens of men’s barbarisms. Then -the moon arose, casting a pale, cold light, lest remorse -lose her way. What a passionless calm settled upon -the sleeping village!</p> - -<p class='c007'>At last, with a tread as silent as that of death itself, -an active figure crept from shadow to shadow, in the -streets which the moon had silver-plated. The lone -human being came to the square wherein was planted -the stake with the moon-softened head upon it. The -visitor was the white boy-captive, dressed in his Indian -toggery. He had escaped from the jail.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the moonlight he came forward slowly. He halted -and extended his arms toward the stake with its motionless -burden. He approached in reverence, murmuring -brokenly in the Indian tongue:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Metacomet—Metacomet,——my foster-father,——I -have come.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He knelt upon the ground and clasping the cold iron -stake in his arms, he sobbed and sobbed, as if his heart -would break.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER II.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>A FRIENDSHIP OF CHANCE.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Through</span> the gray mist of Plymouth’s dawn there -came a sound of footsteps, and then a murmur of melodious -humming, somewhat controlled and yet too -sturdy and joyous to be readily accounted for in the -strict Puritan village. Presently, looming out of the -uncertain light, appeared the roughly-hewn figure of a -young man of five and twenty. He was singing to himself, -as he hastened with big strides through the -deserted streets.</p> - -<p class='c007'>On the point of passing the place where the gibbeted -head of King Philip made a rude exclamation point in -the calm of gray Plymouth, the early riser suddenly -noted the curled-up form of a human being on the -ground, his arm loosely bent about the iron stake, his -head resting loosely against it, his eyes fast closed in -the sleep of exhaustion. The man started slightly, -halted and ceased his singing.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He blinked his eyes for a moment, shifted his feet -uneasily and rubbed stoutly at his jaw, as he gazed in -perplexity at the picture before him. He then tip-toed -as if to go on, quietly, about his own business. He -glanced at the head, then back to the boy, from -whose lips, in his sleep, a little moan escaped. The -visitor noted the traces where tears had channeled down -<span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>the lad’s pale cheeks. There was something unescapable -in the attitude of the bare golden head against the -stake. The man stopped and laid his big hand gently -on the half-curled locks.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Instantly the boy awoke, leaped to his feet and fell -down again, from sheer stiffness, staring at the man -with eyes somewhat wild. He arose again at once, -more steadily, overcoming the cramps in his muscles -doggedly, never ceasing for a second to watch the man -who had waked him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I give you good morrow,” said the man. “It -seems to me you have need of a friend, since you have -clearly lost one that you much esteemed.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was persuasion and honesty in the stranger’s -warm-blue eyes, good nature in his broad, smooth face -and a large capacity for affection denoted in his somewhat -sensuous mouth. Such a look of friendship and -utter sincerity as he bestowed on the startled and defiant -boy before him could not have been easily counterfeited. -The youthful know sincerity by intuition.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Who are you?” said the boy, his voice hoarse and -weakened. “What would anybody want with me?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My name is William Phipps,” said the stranger, -simply. “I am a ship-builder of Boston. If you have -no better friend, perhaps I would do till you can find -one. I am on my way to Boston now. If you need a -friend and would like to leave Plymouth, you may come -with me, unless you feel you cannot trust any one about -this village.” He paused a moment and then added, -“I think you must be the boy I heard of, Adam Rust, -brought in with the captured Indians.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My name is Adam Rust,” the boy admitted. “I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>have no friends left. If you have been helping to kill -the Wampanoags I would rather not try to be your -friend. But I know I would like you and I should be -glad to go to Boston, or any place away from here.” In -the daylight he could not bear to look up at the head -above him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have been too busy to fight,” said William Phipps, -employing the same excuse he had used for friends with -recruiting proclivities. “And I have been too happy,” -he added, as if involuntarily. “So, you see, there is -no reason why I should not be your friend. Have you -had any breakfast?” He put out his hand to shake.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No,” said Adam. He lost his hand in the big fist -which Phipps presented, and restrained himself from -crying by making a mighty effort. He had gone without -eating for two days, but he said nothing about it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then,” said Phipps heartily, “the sooner we start -the better. We can get something hot on the brig.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He began his long striding again. Adam hesitated a -moment. He looked up at the features above him, his -heart gushing full of emotion.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Some inarticulate farewell, in the Indian tongue, he -breathed through his quivering lips. His eyes grew -dimmed. He fancied he saw a smile of farewell and of -encouragement play intangibly on those still, saddened -lineaments, and so he held forth his arms for a second -and then turned away to join his new-found protector.</p> - -<p class='c007'>William Phipps, having thought the boy to be following -more closely than he was, stopped to let him catch -up. Thus he noted the look of anguish with which the -lad was leaving that grim remnant of King Philip -behind. Phipps was one of Nature’s “motherly men”—hardly -<span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>ever more numerous than rocs’ eggs on the -earth. He felt his heart go forth to Adam Rust. Therefore -it was that he looked down in the boy’s face, time -after time, as they walked along together. Thus they -came to the water-front and wharves, at the end of one -of which the brig “Captain Spencer” was swinging.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This ship belongs to me and I made her,” said -Phipps, with candid pride in his achievement. “You -shall see that she sails right merrily.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>They went aboard. A few sailors scrubbing down -the deck, barefooted and with sleeves at elbow, now -abandoned their task temporarily, at the command of -the mate, who had seen his captain coming, to hoist -sail and let go the hawsers. The chuckle in the blocks, -as the sailors heaved and hauled at the ropes, gave -Adam Rust a pleasure he had never before experienced.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Breakfast being not yet prepared for service, Phipps -conducted his foundling about the craft for a look at -her beauties. When Adam had putted the muzzle of -the brig’s gun and felt the weight of a naked sword in -his fist, in the armory, the buoyancy of his youth put -new color in his cheeks and a sparkle in his eyes. He -was a bright-natural, companionable lad, who grew -friendly and smiled his way into one’s affections rapidly, -but naturally. When he and Phipps had come up -again to the deck, after breakfast, they felt as if they -had always been friends.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The brig was under way. Shorewards the gray old -Atlantic was wrinkled under the fretful annoyance of a -brisk, salty breeze. The ship was slipping prettily up -the coast, with stately courtesies to the stern rocks that -stood like guardians to the land.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>“I think we shall find you were born for a sailor, -Adam,” said the master of the craft. “I can give you -my word it is more joy and life to sail a ship than to -make one. And some day——” but he halted. The -modest boasts, with which he warmed the heart of his -well-beloved wife, were a bit too sacred for repetition, -even to a boy so winning. “But,” he concluded, “perhaps -you would like to tell me something of yourself.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus encouraged Adam related his story. He was -the son of John Rust, a chivalrous gentleman, an affectionate -husband and a serious man, with a light heart -and a ready wit. John Rust had been the friend of the -Indians and the mediator between them and the whites -until the sheer perfidy of the Puritans had rendered him -hopeless of retaining the confidence of the Red men, -when he had abandoned the office. Adam’s mother had -been dead for something more than four years. Afflicted -by his sense of loss, John Rust had become a -strange man, a restless soul hopelessly searching for -that other self, as knights of old once sought the holy -grail.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He went forth alone into the trackless wilderness -that led endlessly into the west. Although the father -and son had been knit together in their affections by -long talks, long ranges together in the forests and by -the lessons which the man had imparted, yet when John -Rust had gone on his unearthly quest, he could not -bear the thought of taking young Adam with him into -the wilds.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He had therefore left the boy with his friends, the -lad’s natural guardians, the honorable nation of Wampanoags. -“Keep him here, teach him of your wisdom, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>make him one of your young warriors,” he had said when -he went, “so that when I return I may know him for -his worth.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>King Philip, the mighty Sachem of the tribe, had -thereafter been as a foster-father to the boy. For more -than two years the Red-man had believed John Rust to -have found his final lodge, and this was the truth. And -perhaps he had also found his holy grail. He perished -alone in the trackless forest. Adam had learned his -wood-lore of his red brothers. He was stout, lithe, -wiry and nimble. He rode a horse like the torso of a -centaur. He was a bit of a boaster, in a frank and -healthy way.</p> - -<p class='c007'>King Philip’s war, ascribed, as to causes, to “the -passion of the English for territory; their confidence -that God had opened up America for their exclusive -occupancy; their contempt for the Indians and their -utter disregard for their rights,” had come inexorably -upon the Wampanoags. In its vortex of action, movement, -success and failure at last for the Indians, Adam -Rust had been whirled along with Metacomet. He had -never been permitted by King Philip to fight against -his “white brothers,” but he had assisted to plan for the -safety of the old men, women and children, in procuring -game and in constructing shelters. He had learned -to love these silently suffering people with all his heart. -The fights, the hardships, the doom, coming inevitably -upon the hopeless Wampanoags, had made the boy a -man, in some of the innermost recesses of a heart’s -suffering. He had seen the last sad remnants of the -Wampanoags, the Pocassets and the Narragansetts -scatter, to perish in the dismal swamps. He had witnessed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>the death of King Philip, brought upon him by -a treacherous fellow Red-man. And then he had -marched in that grim procession.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam made no attempt to convey an idea of the magnitude -of his loss. It would not have been possible. -There is something in human nature which can never -be convinced that death has utterly stilled a beloved -voice and quenched the fire of the soul showing through -a pair of eyes endeared by companionship. This in -Adam made him feel, even as he told his tale to William -Phipps, that he was somehow deserting his faithful -friends.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Bareheaded on the sun-lit deck as he told his story, -lithe in his gestures, splendidly scornful when he imitated -the great chieftains of the tribes, and then like -a young Viking as at last he finished his narrative and -looked far and wide on the sparkling sea, in joyousness -at the newer chapter which seemed to open to the very -horizons themselves before him, Adam awakened the -lusty youth and daring in William Phipps and the -dreams of a world’s career always present in his brain.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The man’s eyes sparkled, as he spun the wheel that -guided the brig, bounding beneath their feet. A restlessness -seized upon the spirit in his breast.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Adam,” he said, “do you like this ship?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes!—oh, it makes me feel like shouting!” the boy -exclaimed. “I wish I could straddle it, like a horse, -and make it go faster and wilder, ’way off there—and -everywhere! Oh, don’t it make you breathe!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then,” said Phipps, repressing his own love of such -a madness as Adam had voiced, “let us go for a long sail -together. I have long had in mind a voyage for trading -<span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span>to Hispaniola. If you would like to go with me, -I will get the brig ready in a week.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>For his answer young Adam leaped as if he would -spur the ship in the ribs and ride her to the end of the -earth forthwith.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER III.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>THE GERM OF A PASSION.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>A bonnie</span> little Puritan maid, Mistress Garde Merrill, -stood in the open doorway at her home, fervently -hugging her kitten. The sunlight seemed almost like -beaten gold, so tangibly did it lay upon the house, the -vines that climbed the wall, and the garden full of old-fashioned -flowers.</p> - -<p class='c007'>A few leaves, which had escaped from the trees, in a -longing to extend their field of romping, were being -whirled about in a brisk zephyr that spun in a corner. -A sense of warmth and fragrance made all the world -seem wantoning in its own loveliness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Little Garde, watching the frolic of the leaves, and -thinking them pretty elves and fairies, dancing, presently -looked up into the solemn visage of a passing -citizen, who had paused at the gate.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Mistress Merrill,” he said, gravely, after a moment’s -inspection of the bright, enchanting little face, “your -eyes have not the Puritan spirit of meekness.” Thereupon -he departed on his way, sadly shaking his head.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde’s eyes, in all truth, were dancing right joyously; -and dancing was not accounted a Puritan devotion. -Such brown, light-ensnaring eyes could not, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>however, constrain themselves to melancholy. No -more could the apple-red of her smooth, round cheeks -retreat from the ardor of the sun. As for her hair, like -strands on strands of spun mahogany, no power on -earth could have disentangled its nets wherein the rays -of golden light had meshed and intermeshed themselves. -In her brightness of color, with her black and -white kitten on her arm, the child was a dainty little -human jewel.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She was watching a bee and a butterfly when a shadow -fell again into the yard, among the flowers, at the entrance. -Garde felt her attention drawn and centered -at once. She found herself looking not so much at a -bareheaded boy, as fairly into the depths of his very -blue and steadfast eyes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The visitor stood there with his hands clasping two -of the pickets of which the gate was fashioned. He had -seen everything in the garden at one glance, but he was -looking at Garde. His eyes began laughingly, then -seriously, but always frankly, to ask a favor.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I prithee come in,” said Garde, as one a little struck -with wonder.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The boy came in. Garde met him in the path and -gave him her kitten. He took it, apparently because -she gave it, and not because he was inordinately fond -of cats. It seemed to Garde that she knew this boy, -and yet he had on a suit that suggested a young sailor, -and she had never made the acquaintance of any sailors -whatsoever. If he would only look elsewhere than -at her face, she thought, perhaps she could remember.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“See them,” she said, and she pointed to where the -leaves were once more capering in the corner.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>The boy looked, but his gaze would swing back to its -North, which it found in two brown eyes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I saw you that day in Plymouth,” he said. “And -I got out of their old jail, and I didn’t see anybody else -that looked kind or nice among all those people.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh!” said Garde, suddenly remembering everything, -“oh, you were—that boy marching with the -old Indian. I was so sorry. And I am so glad that you -got away. I am real glad you came to see me. Grandfather -and I were down there for a visit—so I saw you. -Oh dear me!” She looked at her young visitor with -eyes open wide by amazement. It seemed almost too -much to believe that the very boy she had seen and so -pitied and liked, in that terrible procession at Plymouth, -should actually be standing here before her in her -grandfather’s garden! “Oh dear me!” she presently -said again.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I hate Plymouth!” said the boy, “but I like -Boston.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am so glad,” said Garde. “Will you tell me your -name? Mine is Garde Merrill.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The boy said: “My name is Adam Rust.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I was named for all my aunts,” the maid imparted, -as if eager to set a troublesome matter straight at once, -“Gertrude, Abigail, Rosella, Dorothy and Elizabeth. -The first letters of their names spell G-A-R-D-E, -Garde.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Her visitor was rendered speechless for a moment. -“Metacomet and all the Indians used to call me Little-Standing-Panther,” -he then said, boyishly, not to be -outdone in the matter of names.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Metacomet—King Philip? Oh, then you are the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>boy that used to live with the Indians, and that was -how they got you!” gasped the little maid. “Grandfather -told auntie all about it. Oh, I wish I could live -with the Indians! I am very, very sorry they got you! -But I am glad you came to see me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam flushed with innocent and modest pride, thus -to impress his small admirer, who was named so -formidably. He thought that nothing so pleasant -had ever happened in all his life.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is too sad to live with Indians,” he answered. -A mist seemed to obscure the light in his eyes and -to cast a shadow between them and the sweet face at -which he was looking with frank admiration. The -cloud passed, however, as clouds will in the summer, -and his gaze was again one of illuminated smiles. “I -am a sailor now,” he said, with a little boast in his -voice. “To-morrow morning we are going to start for -Hispaniola.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh dear me!” said Garde, in sheer despair of an -adequate expression of her many emotions. Then she -added contritely: “I mustn’t say ‘Oh dear me!’ but—oh -dear—I wish I might.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I shan’t mind,” said Adam.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wish I could go to Hispaniola, too,” said Garde, -honestly. “I hate to be kept here as quiet as a clock -that doesn’t go. I suppose you couldn’t take me? Let’s -sit down with the kitten and think it over together.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t think we could take any girls,” said Adam, -seating himself at her side on the porch, “but I could -bring you back something when I come.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, let’s talk all about what we would rather have -most,” Garde responded.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>So their fingers mingled in the fur of the kitten and -they talked of fabulous things with which the West -Indies were reported to abound. His golden hair, and -her hair so darkly red, made the picture in the sunlight -a thing complete in its brightness and beauty. The -wind floated a few stray filaments, richly red as mahogany, -from the masses on Garde’s pretty brow, across to -the ringlets on Adam’s temple. To and fro, over these -delicate copper wires, stretched for its purpose, the -sweet love that comes first to a lad and a maid, danced -with electrical activity.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If you are going to-morrow,” said Garde, “you -must see all the flowers and everything now.” She therefore -took him by the hand and led him about the garden, -first she, then he, and then she once -more carrying the kitten.</p> - -<p class='c007'>They were still in the midst of their explorations of -the garden, which required that each part should be -visited several times, when the gate opened and in -walked Garde’s tall, stern-looking grandfather.</p> - -<p class='c007'>David Donner rubbed his eyes in amazement, hardly -believing that his senses could actually be recording a -picture of his granddaughter, hand in hand with some -utter stranger of a boy, in his own precincts. He came -quickly toward the pair, making a sound that came -within an ell of being a shout.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde looked up in sudden affright. Adam regarded -the visitor calmly and without emotion. Having first -dropped the young sailor’s hand, Garde now resolutely -screwed her little warm fingers back into the boy’s fist.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Grandfather,” she said boldly, “I shall sail to-morrow -for Hispaniola.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>David Donner, at this, was so suddenly filled with -steam pressure, which he felt constrained to repress, -that his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Go away, boy,” he said to Adam. “Mistress Merrill, -your conduct is quite uncalled for.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Having divined that his sister had deserted her post -and gone, as was her wont, to the nearest neighbor’s, -for a snack of gossip, he glared at Adam, swooped down -upon Garde and caught her up in his arms abruptly, -kitten and all.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Her hold on Adam’s hand being rudely wrenched -asunder, Garde felt her heart break incontinently. She -began to weep without restraint, in fact, furiously. She -also kicked, and was also deporting herself when the -door was slammed behind the forms of herself, her kitten -and her grandfather, a moment later.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam looked once where she had gone. His face had -assumed a stolidity which he was far from feeling. He -walked to the gate and went away, without once turning -to look back at the house.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Mistress Garde, confronted by David Donner at close -quarters, soon regained her maidenly composure and -wept surreptitiously on the stomach of the kitten. At -length she looked up in defiance at the silent old man.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have changed the name of my kitten,” she said. -“His name is Little-Standing-Panther!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Her grandfather, to whom this outbreak seemed -something of an indication of mental disorder, on her -part, stared at the child dumbly. Not without some -justification for her deductions, Garde thought him -quelled. In a spirit of reckless defiance, and likewise -to give some vent to her feelings, she suddenly threw -<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>her arms about the bedewed kitten, on its pillow, -pressed her face against its fur and said to it, fervently:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Little-Standing-Panther, I love you, and love you -and love you!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Grandfather Donner looked up in alarm. “Tut, tut, -my child,” said he, “love is a passion.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span><span class='c018'>PART II.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER I.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>A ROVER AND HIS RETINUE.</span></h2> -</div> -<div class='lg-container-b c021'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>His only gold was in his hair;</div> - <div class='line in2'>He had no silver hoard;</div> - <div class='line'>But steel he had, enow to spare—</div> - <div class='line in2'>In his thews and in his sword!</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Toward</span> the close of a glorious day in September, -1683, William Phipps beheld a smart brig nose her way -up the harbor of Boston, and drop in her anchor in the -field of water wherein his ship-yard thrust its toes. A -small boat then presently put forth and made straight -for the ship-yard landing, where three men calmly -alighted, throwing ashore a small heap of shabby-genteel-looking -baggage.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Somewhat annoyed, thus to have his precincts employed -by any Tom, Dick and Harry of chance, Phipps -stepped from between the ribs of a ship’s skeleton, -which was being daily articulated, and strode toward -the intruders. Then a rumble, which ought to have -been a shout, broke from his lips, about the same second -that a roar of joy appeared to leap out of the foremost -of the strangers, who had landed and who were coming -boldly forward.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>William Phipps and the leader of the invading trio -then rushed hotly together and collided, giving each -other a bear-like hug from which the ship-builder presently -extricated himself at a thought of how he might -be shocking all or any good Puritans who might chance -to be witnessing the scene.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, shatter my hilt! and God bless you! if it -isn’t your same old beloved self!” said the stranger, -heartily.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My boy! Bless your eyes, Adam, I never thought -to see you again!” said bluff William Phipps. “You -big young rascal! You full-rigged ship! Where have -you come from? What do you mean by making me swear -myself into purgatory at your carelessness in getting -yourself killed? You twenty-gun frigate—you—you -big——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He left off for very constraint, for his throat blocked -up, despite his most heroic efforts. He and Adam -Rust began to roar with laughter, the tears in their -eyes needing some excuse. Meantime the two companions -who had come with the young rover, stood -gazing about them, in patience, and likewise looking -in wonder on the two men before them.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was reason enough to look, for Adam and -Phipps were a pair to command attention. It seemed -as if a founder had used the big ship-builder as a pattern -on which to refine his art in casting the younger -man. Adam’s back was a trifle narrower; his chest -was a bit wider; he was trimmer at the waist, neater -at the thigh, longer-armed. His hands were smaller, -just as his movements were quicker and lighter.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Although Adam’s hair crowned him with tawny -<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>ringlets of gold, while that of Phipps was browner, and -though the young fellow wore a small mustache, in -contrast, to the smooth-shaved face of his friend, it -might yet be said that the two men looked alike. Both -were bronzed by weather, both had steadfast eyes with -the same frank expression, the same blue tint and the -same integrity about them.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In their dress the two men differed. William Phipps, -whatsoever he might indulge himself in doing when -away on the sea, conformed to the dark-brown simplicity -of the Puritans when in Boston. Adam, on the -other hand, wore a brown velvet coat which, though -at present somewhat faded and moulting, had once been -fine feathers in England. His waistcoat had been of -royal purple, before its nap fled before the onslaughts -of the clothes-brush, while his breeches were of a -time-tanned forest green which disappeared into the maw -of his wide-topped leather boots. He wore at his hip -a veteran blade of steel, in a scabbard as battered as -the outer gate of a stronghold. When not in his fighting -fist, the hilt of this weapon contented itself with -caresses from his softer hand, the left.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The two men having shaken hands for the third time, -and having looked each other over from head to foot, -and laughed and asked each other a dozen questions, to -which neither had returned any answers, Adam suddenly -remembered his comrades, waiting in the background. -He turned to them now, not without affection.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Here, Pike and Halberd,” he said, “you must meet -my third father, Captain William Phipps, a noble man -to whom you will owe allegiance all your miserable -<span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span>lives. William, these are my beef-eaters. Don’t ask -me where I got them. They are neither out of jail nor -heaven. But they have let me save their lives and feed -them and clothe them, and they are valiant, faithful -rascals. To know them is to love them, and not to -know them is to be snubbed by Satan. They have been -my double shadow for a year, sharing my prosperous -condition like two peers of the realm.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The beef-eaters grinned as they exchanged salutations -with Phipps. Pike was a short individual, inclined -to be fat, even when on the slimmest of rations. -The pupils of his eyes were like two suns that had risen -above the horizon of his lower lids, only to obscure -themselves under the cloud-like lids above. Their expression, -especially when he gazed upward into Adam’s -face, was something too appealingly saint-like and -beseeching for anything mortal to possess. Halberd was -a ladder of a man up which everything, save success, -had clambered to paint expressions on his face, which -was grave and melancholy to the verge of the ludicrous. -He had two little bunches of muscle, each of which -stuck out like half a walnut, at the corners of his jaws, -where they had grown and developed as a result of his -clamping his molars together, in a determination to do -or to be something which had, apparently, never as -yet transpired.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The two looked about as much like beef-eaters as -a mouse looks like a man-eater. They were ragged, -where not fantastic, in their apparel; they were obviously -fitter for a feast than a fight, for the sea had -depleted both of their hoardings of vigor and courage.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Sire,” said Halberd, theatrically, “we have had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>nothing but good reports of you for a year.” Whether -he placed his hand on his heart or his stomach, as he -said this, and what he meant to convey as his meaning, -could never be wholly clear.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We shall be honored to fight for you, if need arise,” -said Pike, who panted somewhat, on all occasions, -“while there is a breath in our bodies.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is a privilege to know you both,” said Phipps, -whose gravity was as dry as tinder.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Any friend of the Sachem’s is a friend of ours,” -responded Halberd. He said this grandly and made a -profound bow.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The ‘Sachem’?” repeated Phipps, and he looked -at Adam, inquiringly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam had the grace to blush a trifle, thus to be -caught in one of the harmless little boasts in which he -had indulged himself, over sea. “Just a foolish habit -the two have gotten into,” he murmured.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ah,” said William Phipps. “Well, then, Sachem, -it will soon be growing dark, you had best come home -with me to dinner.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Involuntarily Adam turned about to look at the beef-eaters. -Their eyes had abruptly taken on a preternatural -brightness at the word dinner.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have much to ask you and much to tell you,” -Phipps added. “And the goodwife would exact this -honor if she knew you were come.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The invitation did not include Adam’s retinue. He -swallowed, as if the delicious odors of one of Goodwife -Phipp’s dinners were about to escape him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well,” he said, “the honors are all the other way -about, but—the fact is—a previous engagement—I—I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>have promised a rousing hot din—I have accepted -an invitation to dine with the beef-eaters, at the Crow -and Arrow.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The ship-builder knew all about those “rousing hot -dinners” of cold eel-pie, potatoes and mustard, for which -the Crow and Arrow tavern was not exactly famous. -He looked at Adam, to whom as their sachem the -beef-eaters appealed with their eyes, like two faithful -animals. Adam was regarding the pair silently, a faint -smile of cheer and camaraderie on his face.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But—but my invitation included our friends,” -Phipps hastened to say. “Come, come, the tavern -can wait till to-morrow. Gentlemen, you will certainly -not disappoint me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“’Tis well spoken that the tavern can wait,” said -Pike.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“To disappoint the friend of the Sachem would be a -grievous thing,” said Halberd. “Let the galled tavern -sweat with impatience.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>They would all have started away together at once, -had not Phipps noted the heap of baggage, left untidily -upon his landing when the travelers arrived.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well,” said he, “Adam, you know the way to the -house, suppose you and your friends carry your worldly -goods to the tavern, engage your apartments, and then -follow me on. I, in the meantime, can hasten home -to apprise the wife that you are coming, with the -beef-eaters, and she can therefore make due preparations -in honor of the event.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This is good sense,” said Adam. “Go along, or we -shall be there before you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Phipps, with a half dozen backward looks at his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>guests and their shabby chattels, made his way out of -the ship-yard without further delay. Adam and his -retinue gripped three or four parcels apiece and started, -with clank of sword, and in some discomfort, for the -Crow and Arrow.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER II.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>AN UNGODLY PERFORMANCE.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Adam Rust</span> knew the Crow and Arrow more by that -repute which had traveled back to England, through -the medium of young stalwarts and sailors, than he did -from personal acquaintance with its charms. He had -seen the place frequently enough, when first he came -to Boston with William Phipps, but the town had expanded -much since then and bore an air of unfamiliarity. -The young man and his beef-eaters therefore -wandered somewhat from their course.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Being overladen and dressed out of the ordinary -fashion, the trio soon found themselves attracting -attention, particularly from certain of the youths of -the quarter and the rough characters incidental to -shipping and the neighborhood thereof. Adam was -carrying a long box, somewhat decrepit with age. It -swung against his legs and struck an occasional post, -or a corner, held insecurely as it was by his little finger -only, which was passed through a brass handle. In -this manner, and with a growing cluster of curious -persons beginning to follow on behind, the party were -in sight of the tavern at last, when this long box of -Adam’s abruptly opened and spilled out a richly darkened -old violin.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>With a short exclamation of impatience, Adam halted -and dropped his other bundles. Over these tall Halberd -fell, with a great clatter of weapons, tin box and shaken -bones. Adam fended him off from the violin, snatched -it up and scrutinized it with the eager concern which a -mother might bestow upon a delicate child. He found -it uninjured, but, as it might have been smashed, he -clung to it fondly, reluctant to place it again in its -treacherous case.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Naturally the downfall of Halberd had delighted the -gamin and the sailors following. These formed a -cluster about the party, and their numbers drew additional -spectators rapidly. A number of seafaring men -shoved stoutly forward, their eyes glistening at sight -of the musical instrument.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I say, give us something, then, on that there red -boy!” demanded one of the men, as healthy a looking -rascal as ever drew breath.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You look a bonny lad, come on—there’s a good -un,” said another.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Rattle her guts,” said a third. “We ain’t heard -the like of a fiddle since we came to this town of -preachers.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam looked quietly about him. He knew most of -the fellows about in the rude circle for rough English -rovers who would love him if he played, or knock him -and his belongings playfully into the street if he refused. -He was not accustomed to churlishness; moreover, he -felt particularly in the mood for playing. The ruddy -sunset, the warm breath of the passing day, the very -taste of American air, seemed lusty and joyous, despite -the rigid Puritanical spirit of the mirth-denying people -<span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span>of the colony. He took up the bow, twanged the -strings, tightened two that had become laggard, and -jumped into the middle of a rollicking composition that -seemed to bubble up out of the body of the violin and -tumble off into the crowd in a species of mad delight.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Had the instrument been a spirit of wine, richly dark -red as old port, and rendered alive by the frolicking -bow, it could not have thrown off more merry snatches -of melody’s mirth. It chuckled, it caught its breath, -like a fat old monk at his laughing, it broke out in -guffaws of hilarity, till not a soul in the audience -could keep his feet seemly beneath him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The sailors danced, boldly, though clumsily. Their -faces beamed with innocent drunkenness, for drunk they -were, with what seemed like the fumes and taste of -this wine of sound. They had been denied it so long -that it went to their heads at the first draught.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Across the street, issuing quietly and, he hoped, unobserved, -from a door that led into the tavern, a Puritan -father now appeared, wiping his mouth as a man has -no occasion for doing unless he had recently dipped his -upper lip into a mug. He suddenly halted, at the -sound of music from over the way. He frowned at the -now somewhat dense assemblage of boys and citizens -surrounding Adam Rust, and worked up a mask of -severity on his face from which it had been temporarily -absent. He opened his mouth, as if to speak, and then, -realizing that he might not be heard at this distance -from them, moved a rod toward his fellow-beings and -took a stand in the street.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At this moment an ominous snap resounded above -both the playing and its accompaniment of scuffling feet -<span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>and gruff explosions of enjoyment and hearty appreciation. -Instantly Adam ceased playing. He had felt a -string writhe beneath his fingers. The man in the roadway -grasped at the moment instantly, to raise his voice.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Begone, disperse, you vagabonds!” he said. -“What is the meaning of this ungodly performance? -Disperse, I say, you are bedeviled by this shameless -disciple of Satan!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam, intent on his violin, which he found had not -broken but had merely slipped a string, heard this -tirade, naturally, as did all the others. A few boys -sneaked immediately about the cluster of men and -sped away, as if from some terrible wrath to come.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Who is yon sufferer for melancholy?” said Adam, -looking carelessly at the would-be interrupter. Then -suddenly a gleam came into his eye, as he recognized in -the man one of the harsh hypocrites who had been -among the few zealots who had imprisoned him, years -before. “Halberd,” he added, “fetch the gentleman -forward. Methinks he fain would dance and make -merry among us.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>His opening question had been hailed with snorts of -amusement; his proposal ignited all the roguishness in -the crowd. Halberd, nothing loth to add his quota to -the general fun, strode forward at once, way being made -by the admiring throng, and he bowed profoundly before -the bridling admonisher in the street. Then without -warning, he scampered nimbly to the rear of the man of -severity, took him by the collar and the slack of his -knickerbockers and hustled him precipitately into the -gathering.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam began to play at once. The spectators gathered -<span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span>about the astonished and indignant person of severity, -thirsty for fun.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You evidently wanted to dance, therefore by all -means commence,” said Adam.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are a veritable limb of Satan!” said the man. -“You shall be reported for this unseemly——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Halberd,” interrupted Adam, “the gentleman is -as shy and timid as your veriest girl. Could you not -persuade him to dance?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I was born for persuasion,” said Halberd. Thereupon -he drew from his belt a pistol, most formidable, -whether loaded or not, and pushed its metal lips against -the neck of the hedged-in Puritan, whom he continued -to restrain by the collar. “Make merry for this -goodly company by doing a few dainty steps,” he -requested.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The crowd pushed in closer and roared with delight. -Some one among them knocked the reluctant dancer’s -knees forward. He almost fell down.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He’s beginning!” cried Adam, and he went for his -fiddle with the bow as if he were fencing with a dozen -pirates.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Dance!” commanded Halberd, “dance!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Terpsichore’s victim was not a man of sand. Drops -of perspiration oozed out on his forehead. A look of -abject fear drove the mask of severity from his face. -He jumped up and down ridiculously, his knees knocking -together for his castanets.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Faster!” cried Adam, fiddling like a madman.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Faster!” echoed Halberd, with his pistol-muzzle -nosing in the dancer’s ribs.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The man jumped higher, but not faster; he was too -<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>weakened by cowardice. The sailors joined in. They -could not keep their feet on the ground. The contagion -spread. Pike and Halberd joined the hopping. -The offending admonisher looked about at them in -a frenzy of despair, afraid of who might be witnessing -his exhibition. He was a sorry dancer, for he was so -eager to please that he flopped his arms deliriously, as -if to convince his beholders of his willingness to make -himself as entertaining as possible. When he suddenly -collapsed and fell down, Adam ceased playing. The -crowd settled on the pavement and applauded.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“For shame, good friend,” said Adam, solemnly, -“now that I observe your garb, I am shocked and -amazed at your conduct. Friends, let us go to the tavern -and report this gentleman’s unseemly behavior. In -payment for the fiddling, you may fetch my bales of -goods and merchandise.” He waved to his shabby baggage -and led the way to the Crow and Arrow, which -had long before disgorged nearly all of its company, and -its landlord, to add to the audience in the street.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Flinging up his only piece of gold, the young rover -ordered refreshment for all who crowded into the -tavern, and while they were drinking, he dragged the -beef-eaters, with all the “bales of merchandise,” away -to the meager apartments provided above stairs in the -sorry hostelry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the darkness of the hall, he ran heavily against -some one who was just on the point of quitting a room. -The innocent person was bowled endways.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Confound your impudence!” said the voice -of a man. “Why don’t you look where you are -going?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>“I couldn’t see for fools in the way,” retorted Adam. -“I am no king, requiring you to fall before me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I can’t see your face, but I can see that you are an -arrant knave,” said the other hotly. “You never -could have had a proper drubbing, or you would be -less reckless of your speech!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have always been pitted to fight with bragging -rascals of about your size and ability with a weapon, -else I might have been drubbed,” Adam flung back, -laying his hand on his sword as he spoke. “It shames -my steel to think of engaging a ten-pin!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“By all tokens, sir, you are blind, as well as idiotic, -to walk into death so heedlessly. Be good enough to -follow me into the yard.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, fie on a death that flees and entreats me to -follow,” was Adam’s answer. “I rolled you once in -this hall; I can do so again. Halberd—Pike, candles -to place at the head and feet of death!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The beef-eaters, having reached the apartments appointed -for their use, had heard the disturbance in the -hall, and expecting trouble, had already lighted the -candles. With three of these they now came forth. -The hall would have been light enough had it been in -communication with the outside world and the twilight, -but as it was, it was nearly dark.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I grieve for your mother,” sneered the stranger, -whose sword could be heard backing out of its scabbard. -“You must be young to be so spendthrift of -your life.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“On the contrary, you will find what a miser I am, -even as to the drops of my blood,” said Adam. “No -one ever yet accused the Sachem——”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>“The Sachem!” interrupted the other voice.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Halberd, who had sheltered the candle he bore with -his hand, now threw its light on the face of the man -near by him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Shatter my hilt!” exclaimed young Rust, -“Wainsworth!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Odds walruses!” said the man addressed as -Wainsworth, “what a pretty pair of fools we are. By -gad, Adam, to think I wouldn’t know you by your -voice!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam had leaped forward, while his sword was -diving back into its sheath. He caught Wainsworth -by the hand and all but wrung it off.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Bless your old soul,” he said, “why didn’t you -say who you were?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I was kept busy listening to you telling me who -and what I was,” Wainsworth assured him, good-naturedly. -“I never heard so much truth in all my -life.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I never thought to be so incontinently found out -myself,” Adam confessed contritely. “But as long as -I have found you, I feel as good as if I had fought a -good fight and wiped my blade. Indeed, Henry, I am -tremendously glad to see you. How did you get here? -When did you come? What a blundering fool I was!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come in, come in to my castle,” said Wainsworth, -turning back to the apartment he had been quitting -when knocked over. “Bring in your friends. You -shall all share in my dinner. I’m a ship, burdened -with news for cargo to be unloaded. Come in here; -we’ll talk all night.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But I am due at a dinner already, with my beef-eaters,” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>said Rust. “I have been delayed past all -reason now, but——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You weren’t delayed by our duel of words, I -trust?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, no, but I have kept our host waiting, nevertheless. -I shall be back before the night’s worn -through, however, and then I am yours till breath fails -me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Haste away then, Sachem Rust, for the sooner you -are gone the sooner I shall see you returned; and I -shall consume myself with impatience till I can tell -you of the sweetest plight mortal man ever got himself -tangled in. I’ve got to tell you, for no one else on -earth would answer. Begone, then. Good-by, and -hasten back.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam bade him au revoir, for he felt that already -William Phipps must be thinking him sadly remiss and -ungracious.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Preparations as to evening dress were soon completed. -They consisted in a brisk wash of face and hands for -the trio, not one of the party being endowed with a -second suit of clothing. Thus they were upon the -road, walking soberly, though diligently, toward the -Captain’s residence, before the twilight had begun to -fade.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER III.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>’TWIXT CUP AND LIP.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>With</span> appetites still further whetted by their various -diversions, the comrades were hardly made happier -when Adam found that once more the many years’ -growth of Boston town confused him. It was something -of a walk to the Phipps’ domicile from the Crow -and Arrow the best one could do. With devious windings -added, it became the next thing to provoking.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Aha, at last I know where we are,” said Adam, -finally. “These streets are as bad as London’s. But -ten minutes more and we shall be at the board.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If this is not so,” said Halberd, gravely, with a -memory of seeing Adam part with the last money -which they possessed, “it would be a kindness to let -us lie down and perish here.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This is a most unlikely-looking street,” added -Pike, dolefully.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What do you know of Boston streets?” inquired -Adam, who had a doubt or two of the place himself. -“Good beef-eaters, if you weary, wait here for a moment, -till I can run a little along this road, to see -where it leads. If it is right I will presently whistle; -if wrong I can the sooner return.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The beef-eaters with one accord sat down upon a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>block of stone, while their leader strode hastily up a -passage which was in reality an alley, at the rear of a -number of residences. With a hope that he would soon -emerge into a street which he thought should be in the -neighborhood, Adam almost ran. Thus he disappeared -about a turn of the lane.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He had gone less than twenty rods when he found -himself approaching a small assemblage of boys, who -were yelling, in suppressed voices, and gathering stones -which they were throwing with wild aim into a corner, -where the coming darkness had already formed a -center of shadows. Rust was well among these young -scamps before they were aware of his presence. One -urchin had by this secured a long stick with which he -advanced, the others making room to let him through, -to poke and jab at something which the lads had evidently -driven to bay where it could not escape. Yet -so afraid did the young rogues appear to be that this -something would yet fly upon them and do them great -harm, that Adam walked at once among them, touching -one upon the shoulder.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The witch!” screamed this lad, as if the devil -himself had clutched him. With yells of terror all -the boys scudded swiftly away, for a matter of twenty -feet, and then turned about to look at Rust. Seeing a -man merely, they were reassured. It is a singular and -doubtless a fortunate matter that there was never such -a thing conceived as a male witch.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What have you here?” said Adam, pleasantly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A witch’s cat!” cried one of the boldest youths, -re-approaching. “We drove it in the corner to stone -it to death!”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>Now Adam had a lingering fondness for cats, from a -time not many years past.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A witch’s cat?” he repeated. “What nonsense! -What harm can a poor cat do to big healthy boys like -you? There are no witches, you young varlets.” He -went into the corner and peered about eagerly, to find -the dumb victim of the mad superstition then subtly -growing in that Massachusetts colony.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There was a witch and she ran away, screaming!” -scolded back the bold spokesman of the group of boys, -now gaining courage to edge nearer. “She ran away -through this garden!” He pointed to a rear yard, -leading off the alley to a house not far distant.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She made me cough up pins and needles,” asserted -another young liar, glibly. “And a monster black -monkey with cock’s feet followed her when she ran.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He’s a prince of the powers of air himself,” whispered -another lad, in awe-stricken tones.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam had found the cat, a middle-aged animal, -frightened, hurt, soiled, but intelligent, since it knew -it was being protected at last. He lifted it forth from -its small retreat, finding it to be a heavy, black-and-white -specimen, too inoffensive to scratch and claw, -even in its terror.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You young——” he started to say.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Here she comes! Here she comes!” yelled one of -the lads, interrupting. “Two of them! Run for your -lives!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The self-scared young cowards, screaming like so -many demons, darted down the alley as fast as their -legs would let them go. Adam looked where one had -pointed and beheld, indeed, two female figures coming -<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>on a distracted run through the near-by yard, toward -him as he was standing with the cat in his arms.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Although the first veil of darkness was already drawn -through the air, Rust could see that they were two -young women who were coming. The one who led, he -then noted, was a plain, but a sweet, wholesome-looking -girl, who was evidently much excited. He stepped -forward toward her, with the cat, divining it was the -animal she had come for, and so for the moment he -neglected to glance at the second young woman.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When he did look at her she was not far and he -caught his breath quickly. “Shatter my hilt!” was -the thought that leaped into his brain, “they do have -young witches here after all!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Advancing to the middle of the alley he made a profound -bow, as the foremost girl came pantingly from -the garden gate. The girl, seeing him now for the -first time, halted abruptly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good evening,” said Adam, “may I have the honor -of restoring your pet? He is excellently well behaved -and, I trust, not seriously hurt.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The girl walked timidly toward him. Her face -flushed rosy red with pleasure and confusion. Her -companion, having been caught on a rosebush, in the -garden, was delayed and was stooping to disentangle her -skirt from the thorns.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, sir, you are very kind,” stammered the girl -confronting Adam. “I thought they would kill him. -He isn’t mine, but I also hold him——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The second young lady now came hastily out at the -gate. Adam had been too polite to look past number -one, in search for the one he thought so witching, but -<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>now his heart bounded to see her coming. She ran -precipitately at him, breaking in upon her companion’s -speech.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, Standing-Panther,” she cried, impetuously, -“my own dear, darling love, why did you ever come -out to such a place?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She plucked her pet from Adam’s arm in one swoop. -Rust, at the old name, which he had buried with -memories that sorely harrowed his soul, dropped his -hat, which he had doffed, and raising his hand to his -cheek in wonder, stared at the girl before him with -widened eyes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“At—at your service, Miss—Mistress Gar—Mistress -Merrill,” he stuttered.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde, a vision of beauty distraught, suddenly looked -up in his face. Frank amazement was depicted in her -glorious eyes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I beg—your pardon,” stammered Adam, “I see -you were speaking to your cat, and not to me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You!—Adam!—Mr.—Mr. Rust!” she exclaimed. -A red-hot blush surged upward, flooding her face, her -neck and even her delicate ears. “Not Little-Standing—Oh -dear me! Why, Prudence, what did I say? -It—it isn’t really——” she stopped in confusion.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Adam Rust, Kneeling Panther at your service,” -supplied the rover. He made a bow that was truly -splendid, with a long sweep of his hat and a touch of -his knee on the pavement, that for sheer grace could -not have been equaled in Boston. “Miss—Mistress -Merrill, you have not quite forgotten that you commissioned -me to bring you something from Hispaniola?” -he added.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span>“But you—but you have grown so,” said Garde, -still as red as a rose. “And to meet like this—that -was such a long time ago. I—I thank you for saving -my cat. I—we—Prudence, you must thank Mr. Rust.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Prudence, on whom Adam had scarcely looked, since -seeing Garde, had been standing there looking at Rust -with a sudden-born love in her eyes that was almost -adoration. She had developed, out of the Puritanical -spirit of the times, a control of her various emotions -that Garde would never possess. Therefore she had -herself in hand at a second’s notice.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have thanked Mr. Rust,” she answered, quietly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde was stealing a look at Adam the second he -turned in politeness to Prudence.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This was no service at all,” he said. “Pray expend -no further words upon it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, Adam, I am so glad——” burst from Garde’s -lips impetuously, but she checked her utterance the -instant his glance came flashing back to hers, and -added. “I mean, Mr. Rust, I am so glad the cat -wasn’t hurt, and, Prudence, we must surely return to -the house at once.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This was not at all what Garde had started to say, -nor what she wanted to say; but though it was the -same Adam, quite to her heart’s satisfaction, yet he -was now a man, and a maidenly diffidence shamed her -riotous gladness, and—Prudence was present.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But,” said Adam, fumbling in a pocket over the -region of his heart, “the trinket I brought you from -Hispaniola?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, marry, it has kept so well all these years,” said -Garde roguishly, “surely it must still keep till—surely -<span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>anyway till daylight. Really, sir, we must thank you -again and return before it is actually dark.” She gave -him one look which, had he been a woman, he would -readily have interpreted, but being a man, somewhat -of its significance was lost upon him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But now I know I have kept it too long already,” -he insisted, still tugging at the stubborn pocket. -“Surely——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It will be the riper for keeping a little longer,” -said Garde, almost impatient with him for not seeing -that she wanted to receive it only when they two were -alone together. “We thank you once more, for saving -Little-Standing-Panther, and so—good night,”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But when—what day?—to-morrow?” cried the -eager rover. “When may I give it?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh stupid!” said Garde to herself, almost vexed at -his lack of understanding and tact. Aloud she called -back, “Did you say good night? Prudence, say good -night again to Mr. Rust.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Prudence called good night once more, this making -her third time, and Adam was left there in the alley -alone. He went to the gate and, leaning over it, clutched -two of its pickets in his hands, as once before he had -done to another gate, and stood there gazing ardently -into the gathering darkness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At length, with a heavy sigh, of joy and impatience -blended, he strode a little down the lane. Then he -strode back. So, up and down he paraded, for fifteen -minutes. At the end of this time he suddenly bethought -him of the beef-eaters and the dinner at William Phipp’s. -He then hastened, tardily enough, back the way he had -originally come.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>Eager to find his companions, yet completely scatterbrained -by the meeting with Garde, the sight of her radiant -beauty, and the chaos of plans for seeing her again at -daylight, which were teeming in his head, he fairly fell -over the outstretched feet of his faithful followers -before he saw them.</p> - -<p class='c007'>They were still sitting upon the block of stone. They -had interlocked their arms, for mutual support, and -then had fallen fast asleep, worn out with the long day -and made weak by a longer fast.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good old beef-eaters,” said Adam, affectionately, -and gently shaking them by the shoulders, he aroused -them, got them on their feet and guided them out of -the alley. By great good fortune, he came to a land-mark -he remembered from his short sojourn in Boston, -years before. With this as a bearing, he made good -time to the Captain’s house. They met William Phipps -at the gate, going forth to hunt them up.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We have sauntered along,” said Adam, carelessly, -“for such air as this is a tonic to the appetite.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER IV.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>THE OPENING OF A VISTA.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>For</span> a man who had taken so much tonic, Adam had -but indifferent relish for the savory and altogether comforting -little dinner which Goodwife Phipps had kept -all warm and waiting for the coming of her guests. His -head was filled with love and with altercations between -hope that Garde had meant this and fears that she -might have meant that, and with conjuring up all her -speeches and glances, till he could hardly have told -whether he was afoot or horseback.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But if their leader neglected his opportunities, the -beef-eaters made good the reputation for three, as -swordsmen with knife and fork. Fortunately Goodwife -Phipps had provided amply. But a fowl became a -glistening skeleton; a hot meat-pie was represented at -last by a dish that yawned like an empty chasm; a -pyramid of Indian maize became a scattered wreckage -of cobs, and potatoes, bread and pudding vanished into -mere memories of what they once had been.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam, although he said nothing, talked like an -auctioneer, during the meal, to divert what he could of -the attention which his retinue perforce attracted to -their appetites. This innocent ruse was not lost on -the charming little wife of William Phipps. She was -a sweet little woman, plump, black-haired, brown-eyed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>and gifted by Nature with much vivacity, in her wit -and in her engaging manners. She was older than her -husband, having been the widow of one merchant Hull, -when she and the Captain wedded. They were a happy -couple, being indeed un-Puritanly joyous in their -partnership. She had taken a great liking to Adam, -when Phipps first brought him home. Now that he -was a man, she liked him none the less, yet she saw -that he would always be a big, straightforward boy. She -watched him now with pleasure, listening to his quips -and sallies of nonsense, and nodding motherly at his -evident concern for his two forlorn beef-eaters, so obviously -attached to him by ties of affection.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The dinner being at length come to an end, with -great satisfaction to all concerned, Adam counseled the -expanded beef-eaters to fare to the Crow and Arrow, -lest in their absence anything befall to prevent their -occupancy of the selected apartments. As nothing was -to be had to drink where they were, the worthy two -were glad to act upon his suggestion. Accordingly -Adam and his hosts were left to themselves, whereupon -they fell upon a banquet of narrative and reminiscence -forthwith.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now, Adam, tell us all about where you have been, -and what you have done, and all about everything,” -said Mrs. Phipps, putting her plump elbows on the -table, which she had swiftly cleared of the dinner -wreckage. “Just begin at the day you left, with William, -and tell us all there is. But tell us first, have you -fallen in love? Of course you must have, but I do -hope you will like one of our own girls best.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I fear you would have me begin at the last end first, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>after all,” said Adam, thinking how recently he had -fallen victim to Eros. “My tale is brief and of no interest. -William bade me cultivate the society of gentlemen, -when he sent me to England. Well, I had fencing -and fiddling of an Italian nobleman; I have fought -with holy friars and princes; I have sworn strange -oaths with prelates and bishops; I have danced with -nuns and duchesses; I have ridden to hounds with curs -and Kings. If I have not learned drinking, gambling, -love-making, dueling, swearing and sundry other pretty -accomplishments, then beshrew me for a clod and call -the court no place for schooling. I am richer than I -was, since I may look up at any moment and see you -both at a glance. By the same token I am happier. -As to my heart, I’ll take oath I left it in Boston. And -there you have me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, this sounds very naughty indeed,” said Mrs. -Phipps.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I never counseled you to apprentice yourself to -the devil,” said Phipps. “You were first to learn -navigation, of some——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, of that I neglected to speak,” interrupted the -rover. “William, you will never make an anchor out -of sea foam, nor a solid ship’s master out of me, else -my first or my last preceptor would have finished me -off roundly.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Who was your latest chief?” the Captain inquired.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Captain William Kidd,” said Adam, “a generous -friend, a fearless and skilful seaman, and as bold a -fighting man as ever clutched a hilt. I met him at -Barcelona, shipped with him for Bristol, fell in with -my beef-eaters, got rid of my money and pushed my -<span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>sword through a pup—Lord Something-or-other——and -was still in time to catch Captain Kidd at Portsmouth -for New York. But I can’t bark enough for a sea-dog, -as Kidd was good enough to tell me himself.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>William Phipps nodded and nodded. Outwardly he -was calm enough; inwardly he stewed with heat. Adam -had but added fuel to the fever of unrest and thirst for -adventure with which he had been born. He was not -jealous of all that his protégé had accomplished ahead -of himself—indeed, he had furthered the lad’s advancement, -at the expense of his own sense of bereavement -when he and Adam parted,—but he was consumed -with impatience to be hewing at the great career for -which he had from boyhood felt himself destined. A -light of determination burned in his eyes. He saw -that the boy before him had utterly outstripped him—the -boy to whom he had imparted all his own meager, -self-acquired education. Not for a moment did he regret -that from Hispaniola he had sent the lad to England, -with a fellow-captain, nor would he for any price -have stripped his protégé of one single experience, but -his mouth grew dry with the lust for adventure that -was glowing within him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>His wife saw these indications. She understood what -was passing in his mind. Before she had even sighed -to herself, as a woman must, who feels herself on the -brink of a separation from one she truly loves, she consented -mentally to what she knew he would presently -suggest. What she was thus prepared for, came sooner -than she had expected it might.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Adam,” said Phipps, somewhat huskily, “I have -been waiting for something—I never knew what—to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>come along and start me off after the fortune I have -promised to get for the wife.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are fortune enough for me, dear,” Mrs. -Phipps interposed, in spite of herself. “I should be -satisfied to live like this forever.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I know,” said the Captain, “but I promised you -should have a fair brick house in the Green Lane, to -the north, and I mean that you shall have it. Adam, -you are the something I have been waiting for, but -what with my worrying, over thinking you probably -dead, I have never realized the truth till this night.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And what may it be my privilege to do?” said -Adam.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Go with me to recover a fortune, sunk in a wreck. -She rests on a reef in the Bahamas, in a few fathoms -of water. She was laded with gold and went down -with every ounce. I’ve got the maps, and now that I’ve -got you, bless your heart, we can sail in a week!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And how have you learned of this sunken treasure?” -said Adam, who for some reason appeared not -at all boyishly eager to set off on this new adventure. -“Has somebody given you this tale and the maps as -the price for a well-built brig?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I had the information from a Spaniard, who died -at my ship-yard,” said Phipps. “He was the sole -survivor of the wrecked vessel. I gave him work. He was -grateful. Death seized him suddenly, but before the -end came, he told me his tale, he said, as a measure of -gratitude, directing me to feel in his pockets for the -maps, which I did. I have waited for what I now am -certain was your return.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well,” said Adam, thoughtfully, twisting the ends -<span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>of his small mustache, “you couldn’t easily have paid -me a greater compliment, I am sure; but, my dear -friend, you place me in an awkward position.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Awkward position? What awkward position?” -said Phipps. “Here you are a good swordsman, a man -of some knowledge, and the companion I would select -of all the men I know.” Here Adam bowed solemnly. -“Now what is to hinder us from making this venture -together? What do you mean by this awkward position -business?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I mean,” said the rover, “that I seem to serve no -better purpose, the moment I return to Boston, than to -separate you two good people. Now I am sensitive -about a thing like that. I don’t like to be the cause of -such a separation.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What nonsense, you——” started the Captain.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I prepared my mind for William’s adventure, long -ago,” interrupted Mrs. Phipps. “If he doesn’t go with -you, he will go with some one else. And as long as he -is bent on going in the end, I should feel so much better, -Adam, if you were with him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam bowed to them both, again. He was glad to -do this, as he was, in point of fact, somewhat confused -as to what to say.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There, you young rascal,” said Phipps, “that -knocks away your shores and you are launched before -you know it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But,” suggested Adam, with an air of great solicitude -for his friend’s interests, “do you really think any -wild-goose chase of this description could be as solid -and certain and wholesome as the ship-building business? -Would I be justified in encouraging you, Captain -<span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>Phipps, to leave your established business for such -a wild——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Wild?” interposed Phipps. “You—you—now -look here, what do you mean—you, by your own -accounts, the wildest young scamp afloat? Wild? As -if anything could be too wild for you. There is something -at the bottom of all this. Now out with it!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why, William!” said Goodwife Phipps, “where -are your eyes? Why, Adam must have a sweetheart in -Boston!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Rust flushed hotly. His eyes would not, for all his -pulling at them, refrain from dancing. He conjured -up an immediate fit of coughing, and therefore held a -handkerchief before his face.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Phipps looked at him suspiciously. “Is that what -ails you?” he demanded. “Is that why you are so -hot to remain here in Boston?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now I leave it to you both, as two good, sensible -people,” said Rust, artfully, “how could such a catastrophe -have happened? I left Boston seven years ago, -while a mere cub, and I have been here now less than -that many hours. Do you think that between sunset -and my coming here I could have saved some fair -angel’s life—or the life of her—her—well, say her pet -panther? Does that seem likely, or reasonable, -say?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wouldn’t dare trust you not to be saving a dozen,” -grumbled Phipps. “When a man has associated with -gentlemen, you never can reckon on his conduct.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Of course it does seem absurd, Adam, I admit,” -said Mrs. Phipps, who was enjoying the conversation -mightily. “I had to make some suggestion. And—oh, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span>why, perhaps some young lady has recently arrived -here from the old country. Is that it, Adam?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I give you my word of honor that no young lady -has come to Boston, since I went abroad, for whom I -care a brass farthing,” Adam assured his hostess. “The -further you go in this, the more innocent you will find -me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then are you turned lazy, or what is it that ails -you,” inquired the Captain, “that you fail to leap, as, -by my word, I had thought you would, to embrace this -opportunity?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, oh, poor dear Adam,” said the Captain’s wife, -interrupting any answer Rust might have been framing, -“perhaps I know what it is, at last.” She went to her -husband quickly and whispered something in his ear.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Hum!” said Phipps, who was inclined to be a bit -short with his protégé for his many equivocal answers, -“Why couldn’t he say so at once? See here, Adam, -what’s all this rigmarole about your pride? If you -haven’t got any money, what’s the odds to me? Who’s -asking you to furnish any funds? I’ve got the brig -and I’ve got provisions and arms in plenty. If that is -what ails you, drop it, sir, drop it!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam, willing to share another’s money as readily -as he would give his own last penny to a friend, had -thought of nothing half so remote as this to offer as an -excuse for remaining in Boston, under the same sky -with Garde. But now that it was broached, he fathered -it as quickly and affectionately as if he had indeed been -its parent.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I had hoped it would not be unreasonable for me to -crave a few days’ grace before giving you my answer to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>your generous proposition,” he said, “for I am not -without hopes of replenishing our treasury at an early -date.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But in the meantime——” started Phipps.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Dearest,” interrupted his wife, with feminine tenderness -of thought for any innocent pride, “surely you -have no mind to sail to-night? And there are so many -things for Adam to tell.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The Captain, who had been drawing down his brow, -in that serious keep-at-it spirit which through all his -life was the backbone of his remarkable, self-made success, -slacked off the intensity of his mood and smiled -at his wife, indulgently. He loved her and he loved -Adam above anything else in the world.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Get you behind me, golden treasure,” he said, with -a wave of his big, wholesome hand. “Adam, I would -rather hear you talk than to pocket rubies.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I must be cautious lest I bankrupt myself by telling -all I know this evening,” said Adam. “Indeed, -dear friends, it grows late already. I must set my beef-eaters -the good example of keeping seemly hours.” He -arose to go before the sunken treasure topic should -again break out, with its many fascinations and pitfalls.</p> - -<p class='c007'>His hosts protested against his leaving, yet they -presently discovered that the hour was, as he said, no -longer early. He therefore departed and wended his -way through the now deserted streets, toward the Crow -and Arrow, his heart bounding with joyousness, his -brain awhirl with memories of everything of the evening, -save the discussion of the sunken treasure.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER V.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>A WEIGHTY CONFIDENCE.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>At</span> the tavern, when Adam entered, Halberd had -succumbed to a plethora of comfort, which had followed -too soon on the paucity thereof, which had been the -program of the three for many weeks. He was snoring -fiercely in a corner. Pike, on the other hand, was -inflated with life and activity of speech. He was -bragging eloquently, not only of his own prowess, but -also of that of Halberd and Adam as well.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam heard the end of a peroration of self-appraisement -in which the doughty Pike announced that one of -his recent feats had been the slaying of two murderous, -giant pirates with his naked fists.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Among the sailors, dock-hands and tavern-loafers -who made up the auditors who were being entertained -by these flights of narrative, was a little, red-nosed, -white-eyed man of no significance, who now stood up -and removed his coat.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If you would like to have a bit of fun with me,” -said he. “I’ll play one of those pirates, till we see -what you can do.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Pike looked at him ruefully, rubbing his chin while -thinking what to answer to this challenge. He then -waved his hand, grandly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good sir,” he said, “the Sachem, my honored associate, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>has such an appetite for these encounters that -until he shall be satisfied I would have no heart to deprive -him of such good material as I can see you would -make for a fight. Doubtless I can arrange for him to -do you the honor you seek, after which I shall be pleased -to weep at your funeral.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I would rather fight with him than you,” said the -would-be belligerent, “but before he comes, if you would -like to have your neck broken——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Satisfied that this business had gone far enough, -Adam strode into the tap-room, where the jovial spirits -had congregated.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My friends,” he interrupted, “you can put your -necks to better purpose by pouring something down -them. Landlord, attend my guests. Pike——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the pirate-exterminator had fled, first edging to -the door, at the appearance of his chief, and then -clattering up the stairs to the rooms above with a noise -like cavalry in full retreat.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But if you would like to fight,” started the accommodating -manikin, still in process of baring his drum-stick -arms, “why, Mr. Sachem——” but he was not permitted -to finish.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Leave off the gab,” said a burly sailor. Clapping -his private tankard—a thing of enormous dimensions—fairly -over the little head of the challenger, he snuffed -him completely and suddenly lifted him bodily to the -top of the bar, amid the guffaws of the entire company.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Rust lost no time in arousing Halberd, whom he -herded to the apartments aloft with brief ceremony.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Wainsworth, who had been sitting up in his room, -writing letters while he waited for Adam’s return, now -<span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>heard his friend coming and opened his door to bid him -welcome. With another big hand-shake, and a smile -over their recent mis-encounter, the two went into the -lighted apartment, Wainsworth closing the door behind -him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It’s a wonder you find me anything more than a -small heap of ashes,” said Wainsworth, “for I have -fairly burned and smoked with my eagerness to see you -back.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I can smell the smoke,” said Adam. “How very -like tobacco it is. And now that I am here I presume -you are quite put out.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are not in love or your wits would be as dull -as mine,” his friend replied. “But sit down, sit down, -and tell me all about yourself.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I thought you wanted to do the telling.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I do, confound you, but——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What’s all this?” interrupted Adam. He had -caught sight, on the table, of two glittering heaps of -money, English coins, piled in two apparently equal -divisions on the cloth.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That? Oh, nothing, your share and mine,” said -Wainsworth, taking Adam’s hat and sweeping one of -the heaps into its maw with utter unconcern. “Stow -it away and be seated.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, but——” started Rust.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Stow it, stow it!” interrupted Wainsworth. “I -didn’t bother you with buts and whyfores when you -divided with me. I have something of more importance -to chat about.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This is ten times as much as I gave to you,” objected -Adam, doggedly.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>“You gave me ten times more than you kept yourself, -when it meant ten times as great a favor. I am -mean enough only to divide even,” answered Wainsworth. -“Say anything more about it, and I shall pitch -my share out of the window.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>As a matter of fact, Rust had impoverished himself -for this friend, when in England, at a moment most -vital in Wainsworth’s career. He had no argument, -therefore, against accepting this present, much-needed -capital. He placed the clinking coins in his pocket, -not without a sense of deep obligation to his friend. It -made one more bond between them, cementing more -firmly than ever that affectionate regard between them, -on the strength of which either would have made a -great personal sacrifice for the other. No sooner, however, -had Adam cleared his hat and weighted his -clothing with the money, than he realized that the only -good argument he had possessed to oppose to Captain -Phipps’ scheme to take him away from Boston, namely, -his poverty, was now utterly nullified. He started as if -to speak, but it was already too late. If the Captain -found him out, what could he say or do?</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now then,” said Wainsworth, “we can talk.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am an empty urn, waiting to be filled with your -tales and confessions,” said Adam.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Wainsworth settled back in his chair and stroked his -small imperial, hung on his under lip. “Yes, we can -talk,” he repeated. He sat upright again, and once -more leaned backward. “I don’t know where to begin,” -he admitted.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You might start off by saying you’re in love.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Who told you I’m in love? I haven’t said so. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>You’d be in love yourself, if ever you had met her. -She’s a beauty, Adam! She’s divine! She’s glorious! -Odds walruses, you’d be clean crazy about her! Why, -you would simply rave—you couldn’t be as calm as I am -if you knew her, Adam! She’s the loveliest, sweetest, -most heavenly angel that ever walked the earth! Why, -I can’t give you an idea! She,—she, she just takes -your breath! There is nothing in Boston like her—nothing -in the world. Why, man, you couldn’t sit still -if you had ever seen her!” He got up and paced the -room madly. “You could no more sit there and tell -me about her as I am telling you than you could drink -the ocean!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, I suppose I couldn’t.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Of course you couldn’t. I’m an older man than -you are—a whole year older—and I know what I am -talking about. You would go raving mad, if you saw -her. She is the most exquisite—Adam! She’s peerless!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then you are in love?” said Adam. “Up to this -last moment I thought there might be some doubts -about it, but I begin to suspect perhaps you are.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Love? In love? My dear boy, you don’t know -what love is! I adore her! I worship her! I would -lay down my life for her! I would die ten thousand -deaths for her, and then say I loved her still!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That would be a remarkable post-mortem power of -speech,” said Adam. “And I suppose she loves you -as fervently as you love her.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Of course she does—that is,—now, now why would -you ask such a silly question as that? A love like mine -just reaches forth and surrounds her; and it couldn’t -<span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>do that if she didn’t—well, you know how those things -are.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, certainly. If she loves you and you love her, -that makes it complete, and as I am a bit tired, and -this leaves no more to be said——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But there is more to be said! Why don’t you ask -me some questions?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Silly questions?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No! Of course not! Some plain, common-sense -questions.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, then, is she beautiful?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Odds walruses, Adam, she is the most beautiful -girl that ever breathed. She surpasses rubies and diamonds -and pearls. She eclipses——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ah, but is she lovely?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Lovely?—She’s a dream of loveliness. I wish you -could see her! You would throw stones at your grandmother, -if you could see how lovely she is. Lovely!—Can’t -you invent some better word—something that -means more? Lovely doesn’t express it. Go on, go -on, ask me something more!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, well, is she pretty or plain?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She is most radiantly beautiful.—Look here, Adam, -you think I am an ass.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My dear old fellow, I didn’t stop to think.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are making fun of me!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Impossible, Henry. You told me to ask you some -simple questions. Does she live here in Boston?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She does, of course she does, or I shouldn’t be here, -should I? She lives here and Boston has become my -Heaven!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, well, thanks for your hospitality. Let’s see,—is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span>she beauti—but I may have asked that before.” He -yawned and rubbed his eyes to keep them open. “Oh, -I do think of another. What is her name?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Her name?” chuckled Wainsworth, walking up -and down in an ecstasy of delight. “Her name is the -prettiest name in the universe. It’s Garde—Garde -Merrill—Garde! Oh, you just love to say Garde, Garde, -Garde!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam started, suddenly awake and alert. He passed -his hand across his eyes stiffly. His face became as -pale as paper. Wainsworth was still walking restlessly -up and down, intent on his own emotions.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It’s a name like a perfume,” he went on. “Garde, -Garde. You can’t think how that name would cling -to a man’s memory for years—how it rings in a man’s -brain—how it plays upon his soul!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam was thinking like lightning. Garde!—She -loved Wainsworth—he had said so. It was this that -had made her appear so restrained, unnatural, eager to -return to the house. This was why her answers had -been so evasive. The whole situation broke in on him -with a vividness that stunned his senses.</p> - -<p class='c007'>A mad thought chased through his brain. It was -that, if he had spoken first, this moment of insupportable -pain could have been avoided, but that Wainsworth -having spoken first had acquired rights, which he, as -a friend, loving him dearly, would be bound to respect. -He thought of the money he had just accepted from -this brother-like friend. He saw the impossibility of -ever saying to Henry that he too loved Garde Merrill—had -loved her for seven years—had heard her name -pealing like the bell of his own very being in his soul! -<span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>But no—he couldn’t have spoken! He knew that. He -would never dare to say that she loved him, in return -for the love he had fostered for her, these seven years. -No, he could not have spoken of her like this to any -soul, under any circumstances. To him her name was -too precious to be pronounced above a whisper to his -own beating heart. He did not realize that, by that -very token of her sacredness to him, he loved her far -more deeply, far more sublimely than could any man -who would say her name over and over and babble of -his love.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He only knew that his brain was reeling. He could -only see that Wainsworth, for whom he would have -sacrificed almost anything, was all engrossed in this -love which must mean so much. He only realized that -all at once he had lost his right to tell this dearly beloved -friend the truth, and with this he had also lost -the right, as an honorable comrade, to plead his own -soul’s yearning at the door of Garde’s heart.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Wainsworth, in his ecstatic strolling and ringing of -praises, was tolling a knell for Adam, saying “Garde” -and then “Garde” and again presently “Garde,” which -was the only word, in all his rapid talk that reached -the other’s ears.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam arose, unsteadily. Wainsworth had not observed -his well-concealed agitation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I—must be going,” said Rust, huskily, turning his -face away from the light. He tried to feign another -yawn. “I am no longer good company. Good night.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What, going?” said Henry, catching him affectionately -by the shoulders. “Ah, Adam, I suppose I -am a bit foolish, but forgive me. You don’t know -<span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>what it is to love as I have learned to love. And, dear -friend, it has made me love you more—if possible—than -ever.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good night, Henry,” said Adam, controlling his -voice with difficulty. “Good night—and God bless -you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Say ‘God bless Mistress Garde Merrill’—for my -sake,” said Henry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam looked at him oddly and repeated the words -like a mere machine.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c000' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER VI.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>PAN’S BROTHER AND THE NYMPH.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Adam</span> returned to his room attempting to pucker his -lips for a careless whistle which failed to materialize. -He had evolved a rude but logical philosophy of his -own for every phase of life; but what philosophy ever -fooled the maker thereof, with its sophistries?</p> - -<p class='c007'>The beef-eaters were snoring so ominously that Adam -was constrained to think of two volcanoes threatening -immediate eruptions.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Poor old boys!” he said to himself. There was no -particular reason for this, save that he felt he must -pity something, and self-pity he abhorred. He was trying -not to think of the one companion that always -drew his emotions out of his reluctant heart and gave -them expression—his violin.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Standing in the middle of the floor, without a light -in the room, he reasoned with himself. He said to his -inner being that doubtless Wainsworth loved her more -than he did anyway; that he, Adam, having carried -away a boyish memory, which he had haloed with -romanticism for seven years, could not call his emotions -love. Moreover, he had as yet only seen her in -the dark, and might not be at all attracted by her true -self in the daylight. Naturally, also, Wainsworth had -as much right in the premises as any man on earth, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>no man could expect a girl to remember a mere homely -lad for seven years and know that he loved her, or that -he thought he did, and so reciprocate the affection and -calmly await his return. Clearly he was an absurd -creature, for he had fostered some silly notion in his -heart, or brain, that Garde was feeling toward him, all -these years, as he felt toward her. It was fortunate he -had found everything out so soon. The thing to do -now was to think of something else.</p> - -<p class='c007'>All the while he was thus philosophizing, he had a -perfect subconsciousness that told him the violin would -win—that soon or late it would drag his feelings out of -him, in its own incomparable tones. He only paused -there arguing the matter because he hated to give in -without a fight. That violin always won. It must -not be permitted to arrogate to itself an absolute -mastery over his moods.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Presently, beginning to admit that he would yet -have to tuck the instrument under his chin, whether or -no, he worked out a compromise. He would not play -it, or sound it, or fondle it in the town. If it wanted -to voice things and would do it—well, he would carry -it out into the woods.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Feeling that he had, in a measure, conquered, Rust -stole silently across the apartment to the corner in -which he had placed the violin with his own loving -hands, lifted the case without making a sound and -crept out as if he had been a thief, pressing the box -somewhat rigidly against his heart.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He reached the street without difficulty. The town -was asleep. A dog barking, a mile away, and then a -foolish cock, crowing because he had waked, were the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span>only sounds breaking over all Boston. The last thin -rind of the moon had just risen. In the light it cast, -the houses and shadows seemed but a mystic painting, -in deep purple, blacks and grays. Silently as Adam -could walk, these houses caught up the echo of his -footfalls, and whispered it on, from one to another, as if -it had been a pass-word to motionless sentinels.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He came to the Common, discerning Beacon Hill, -dimly visible, off to the right. With grass under foot -he walked more rapidly. Past the watch-house and the -powder-house, in the center of the Common, he strode, -on to Fox Hill and then to the Roxbury Flats, stretching -wide and far, to the west of the town.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Being now far from all the houses, alone in an area -of silence, Adam modified his gait. He even stood -perfectly still, listening, for what he could not have -heard, gazing far away, at scenes and forms that had -no existence. Night and solitude wrought upon him -to make him again the boy who had lived that free, -natural existence with the Indians. His tongue could -not utter, his imagination could not conceive, anything -concrete or tangible out of the melancholy ecstasy -which the night aroused in his being and which seemed -to demand some outward response from his spirit. He -felt as if inspiration, to say something, or to do something, -were about to be born in his breast, but always -it eluded him, always it was just beyond him and all -he could do, as his thought pursued it, was to dwell -upon the sublimity breathing across the bosom of -Nature and so fairly into his face.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He had come away without his hat. Bareheaded, at -times with his eyes closed, the better to appreciate the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>earth in its slumber, he fairly wantoned in the coolness, -the sweetness and the beauty of the hour. Thus it -was past three o’clock in the morning when at length -he came to the woods.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Man might build a palace of gold and brilliants, or -Nature grow an edifice of leaves all resplendent with -purples, reds, yellows and emeralds, but, when night -spread her mantle, these gems of color and radiance -might as well be of ebon. It is the sun that gilds, -that burnishes, that lays on the tints of the mighty -canvas; and when he goes, all color, all glitter and all -beauty, save of form, have ceased to be.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam saw the trees standing dark and still, their -great black limbs outstretched like arms, with upturned -hands, suppliant for alms of weather. There was something -brotherly in the trees, toward the Indians, Adam -thought, and therefore they were his big brothers also. -He had even seen the trees retreating backward to the -West, as the Red men had done, falling before the -march of the great white family.</p> - -<p class='c007'>If Nature has aught of awe in her dark hours, she -keeps it in the woods. The silence, disturbed by the -mystical murmuring of leaves, the reaching forth of -the undergrowth, to feel the passer-by in the depth of -shadows, the tangled roots that hold the wariest feet -until some small animal—like a child of the forest—can -scamper away to safety, all these things make such -a place seem sentient, breathing with a life which man -knows not of, but feels, when alone in its midst.</p> - -<p class='c007'>To Adam all these things betokened welcome. His -mood became one of peculiar exultation, almost, but -not quite, cheer. As a discouraged child might say, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>“I don’t care, my mother loves me, anyway, whether -anybody else does or not,” so Adam’s spirit was feeling, -“If there is no one else to love me, at least I am -loved by the trees.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>With this little joy at his heart, he penetrated yet a bit -further into the absolute darkness, and sitting down -upon a log, which had given his shins a hearty welcome, -he removed his violin from its case and felt it over -with fond hands and put its smooth cheek against his -own cheek, before he would go on to the further ecstasy -which his musical embrace became when he played to -tell of his moods.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now something jolly, my Mistress,” he said to the -instrument, as if he had doubts of the violin’s intentions. -“Don’t be doleful.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Like a fencer, getting in a sharp attack, to surprise -the adversary at the outset, he jumped the bow on to -the strings with a brisk, debonair movement that -struck out sparks of music, light and low as if they -were played for fairies. It was a sally which soon -changed for something more sober. It might have -seemed that the fencer found a foe worthy his steel and -took a calmer method in the sword-play. Then a moment -later it would have appeared that Adam was on -the defensive.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As a matter of fact, it was next to impossible for Rust -to play bright, lively snatches of melody, this night, -try as he might. The long notes, with the quality of -a wail in them, got in between the staccato sparkles. -When Adam thought of the Indians, their minor compositions -transmitted themselves through his fingers -into sound, before he was aware. He had braced himself -<span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>stiffly on philosophy all the way to this forest-theater, -but to little avail. He presently stopped -playing altogether.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If he loves her and she loves him,” he told himself, -resolutely, “why, then, it is much better that two -should be happy than that all three should finally be -made miserable by some other arrangement, which a -man like me, in his selfishness, might hope to make. -It’s a man’s duty, under such circumstances, to dance -at the wedding and be a jolly chap, and——hunt around -for another girl.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He attacked the violin again, when it was apparently -off guard, and rattled off a cheerful ditty before the -instrument could catch its breath, so to speak. Then -a single note taunted him with a memory, and the -violin nearly sobbed, for a second, till the jig could -recover its balance. The strings next caught at a laggard -phrase and suddenly bore in a relentless contemplation -of the future and its barren promise. The -brighter tones died away again. So went the battle.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Trying his best to compel the violin to laugh and -accept the situation, while the instrument strove to -sigh, Adam played an odd composition of alternating -sadness and careless jollity, the outpouring being the -absolute speech of his soul.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He played on and on. Inasmuch as his philosophy -was as right as any human reasoning is likely to be, -Adam’s more cheerful nature won. But the victory -was not decided, no more than it was permanent. Yet -he was at last the master of the situation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Heedless of the time as he had been, in his complete -absorption, Rust had not observed the coming of morning. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span>Nevertheless the sun was up, and between the -branches of the trees it had flung a topaz spot of color -at his feet—a largess of light and warmth. Without -thinking about it, or paying any attention to it, Adam -had fixed his eyes on this patch of gold.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Suddenly his senses became aware that the spot had -been blotted out of existence. He looked up and beheld -a vision of loveliness—as fair a nymph as ever enjoyed -a background of trees.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was Garde.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER VII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>THE MEETING IN THE GREENWOOD.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>With</span> her glorious mahogany-colored hair loose in -masses on her shoulders, with her eyes inquiring, and -her lips slightly parted as she stole forward, thrilled -with the exquisite beauty of Adam’s playing, in such -a temple of perfect harmonies, Garde appeared like the -very spirit of the forest, drawn from sacred bowers by -the force of love that vibrated the instrument’s strings.</p> - -<p class='c007'>No bark of pine tree was browner than her eyes; -no berries were redder than her lips, nor the color that -climbed upward in her cheeks, the white of which was -as that of the fir beneath its outer covering. As some -forest dryad, maidenly and diffident, she held her hand -above her heart when Adam looked up and discovered -her presence.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The man leaped to his feet, like one startled from -sleep. It almost seemed as if a dream had brought -him this radiant figure. No word came, for a moment, -to his lips.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why—it’s you!” said Garde.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Garde!—Miss—Mistress Merrill!” said Adam, -stammering. “By my hilt, I—the—the wonder is ’tis -you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Not at all,” corrected Garde, recovering something -that passed for composure. “I come here frequently, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>to gather herbs and simples for Goody Dune, but for -you to be here, and playing—like that——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,” agreed Adam, when he had waited in vain -for her to finish, “perhaps it is an intrusion. You—you -came away from the town early.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why did you come here to play?” she asked. -Her own nature so yearned over the forest and things -beautiful, her own emotions were so wrought upon by -the sublimity of earth’s chancels of silence, that she -felt her soul longing for its kindred companion, who -must be one reverent, yet joyous, where Nature ruled. -She wanted Adam to pour forth the tale of his brotherhood -with the trees and the loneliness of his heart, that -would make him thus to play in such a place and at -such a time. While she looked at him, the love she -had fostered from her childhood was matured in one -glorious blush that welled upward from her bosom to -her very eyes themselves.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam had looked at her but once. It was a long -look, somewhat sad, as of one parting with a dear companion. -In that moment he had known how wholly -and absolutely he loved her. His pretended doubts -of the night before had fled as with the darkness. -The daylight in her eyes and on her face had made him -henceforth a sun-worshiper, since the sun revealed her -in such purity of beauty.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the great delight which had bounded in his breast -at seeing her there, he had momentarily forgotten his -conversation with Wainsworth. When she asked him -why he had come to the woods, he would fain have -knelt before her, to speak of his love, to tell of his anguish -and to plead his cause, by every leap of his heart, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>but he had remembered his friend and his old Indian -schooling in stoicism gathered upon him, doubtless for -the very presence of the firs and pines, so solemn and -Indianesque about him. He put on a mask he had -worn over melancholy often.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why, I came here for practise, of which I am sadly -in need,” he said. “When once I played before King -Pirate and his court of buccaneers, I was like to be -hung for failing, after a mere six hours of steady scraping -at the strings. If you came for simples, verily you -have found a simple performer and simple tunes.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde was painfully disappointed in him. His flippancy -had, as he intended it should, deceived her. -She shut that little door of her heart through which -her soul had been about to emerge, ready to reveal -itself to and to speak welcome to its mate. She did not -cease to love him, emotional though she was, for love -is like a tincture, or an attar,—once it is poured out, -not even an ocean of water can so dilute it as to leave -no trace of its fragrance, and not until the last drop -in the ocean is drained can it all be removed or destroyed. -No, she was pained. She desired to retreat, -to take back the overture which, to her mind, had been -a species of abandon of her safeguards and so patent -that she could not conceive that Adam had failed to -note its significance. Yet she gave him up for a soulless -Pan reluctantly. That playing, which had drawn -her, psychically, physically, irresistibly to his side, -could have no part with things flippant. It had been -to her like a heart-cry, which it seemed that her heart -alone could answer. And when she had found that it -was Adam playing—her Adam—she had with difficulty -<span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>restrained herself from running to him and sobbing -out the ecstasy suddenly awakened within her. The -memory of the music he had made was still upon her -and she was timidly hopeful again when she said:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How long have you been practising here?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam mistook this for a little barb of sarcasm. His -mind was morbid on the subject of Wainsworth and of -Garde’s evasiveness of the evening before. He put on -more of the motley.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Not half long enough,” he said, “by the violence -I still do to melody; and yet too long by half, since I -have frightened the birds from the forest. There is -always too much of bad playing, but it takes much bad -practising to make a good performer. I am better at -playing a jig. Shall I try, in your honor?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Thank you, if you please, no, I would rather you -would not,” said Garde. It was her first Puritanical -touch. If she had given him permission to play his jig, -very many things might have been altered, for Adam -would have revealed himself and would have opened her -heart-doors once again, such a mastery over everything -debonair in his nature would the violin have assumed, -with its spell of deeper emotions, inevitable—with -Garde so near.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam laughed, well enough to appear careless. “I -commend your judgment,” he said, “though I have -always thought, even after last night,—ah, by the way, -where is your companion, Mistress Prudence somebody?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He had parried his own tendency to get back to the -tender subjects and memories flooding his heart, but -not in a manner to gladden Garde. Indeed, the ring of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>artificiality in everything he said made her less and less -happy.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Her name is Prudence Soam. She is my cousin, -and she is at home,” said Garde, quietly. “If you -would care to see her again, I will tell her of your wish.” -She could readily understand how any one might like -Prudence, knowing what a sweet, good girl her cousin -was, but it caused her an acute pain to think she had -cherished the image of Adam in her heart for seven -years, only to find now that he had been inconstant.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She suddenly thought of the meeting of the evening -before. Adam’s willingness to present her—in the presence -of Prudence—with that something which he had -brought her from his first trip to Hispaniola, appeared -to her now in a light, not of his stupidity, but of his -deliberate intention to show her that he had not preserved -a sacred dream of their childhood friendship, as -she had so fondly hoped he had. She even wondered -if he might not have seen, known and cared for Prudence -before. She concluded that he cared for Prudence now, -and certainly not for herself. Then she thought he -might think of that something, which he had wished -so to give her—that something from Hispaniola,—and -she feared he might present it to her now. This would -have been too much to bear, under the circumstances.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam was indeed thinking on this very subject, but -Wainsworth—his friend—arose like a specter in his -meditations, and all that Garde had said had confirmed -him in his belief of her coldness to himself, so that he -preferred to seem to forget the trinket, which would -have been at once the token of his love and constancy.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Mistress Prudence Soam,” Adam repeated, replying -<span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>to Garde’s last remarks. “Indeed I should be but a -sorry clod, not to wish to see her again. Does she also -come searching for simples?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No,” replied Garde, a little dully. “But I thank -you for reminding me that I must set about my task. -Therefore I must bid you good day.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam thought something would snap inside his breast. -There was the sunlight, streaming through the aisles -of the trees; there was Garde, whom he loved beyond -anything of earth, setting off alone when he should be -at her side, culling her herbs, touching her hands as -he gave her the aromatic leaves that he too knew so well, -and looking into Paradise through her eyes, that had -so danced when first he knew them. But what of -Wainsworth? What of the honor of a friend to a -friend?</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good day,” he echoed, with a mock gaiety that -struck painfully on the ears of both. “I trust your -quest will be as successful as I could wish your life to -be happy.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He hesitated a moment, for it was hard to part thus. -Garde had hoped he might volunteer to go along and -carry the tiny basket she held on her arm, for a woman’s -love can never be so discouraged as not to have a new -little hope every other moment that something may -happen to set matters aright in spite of all. But Adam -did not dare to prolong this test of his honor to Wainsworth. -He felt that his head was reeling, but with a -stately bow he took a final, lingering look at the sweetest -vision he had ever seen, and started away.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde, steadied by her pride, returned his bow and -walked further into the woods.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>Adam felt that he must pause and turn; that the -“Garde!” that welled up from his heart would burst -through his lips in spite of all he could do. With his -violin clasped beneath his arm, however, he conquered -himself, absolutely, and never so much as turned about -again to see where the wood-nymph had gone.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But Garde could not so slay her dearest impulse. -She turned before she had gone ten steps. Looking -back, she saw Adam, bareheaded, crowned by his golden -ringlets,—through which the sunbeams were thrust -like fingers of gilt,—trailing his sword, clutching his -violin, striding off in his boots as lithely as a panther -and bearing up under his faded brown coat as proudly -as a king.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, Adam!” she said, faintly, but he was already -too far away to hear the little wood-note which her -voice had made.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He disappeared. She knew he would soon be clear -of the trees. Reluctantly at first, and then eagerly, -though silently, she flitted along from tree to tree, -where he had gone, till at length she came to the edge -of the forest.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam, heavy with Wainsworth’s gold, was walking -less buoyantly now. He was far out on the flat, heading -southward, not exactly toward Boston. Garde -watched him yearningly, going, going and never once -looking backward to where he had left her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She could bear no more. She sank down on the -moss at the foot of a tree, and leaning against the -gnarled old trunk, she covered her face with her hands -and cried, heart-brokenly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Had she watched but a moment longer, she would -<span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>have seen Adam halt, slowly turn about, and with his -hand at his lips gaze toward the woods steadily for -fully a minute. Then with a slow gesture he waved a -kiss back to where she was and once more went upon -his way.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The man had no mind to walk through Boston in -daylight, with his violin naked in his hands. Keeping -therefore southward, he came at length to the upper -part of the harbor. Here he engaged a boatman with -a sloop to convey him down to the ship-yard of Captain -William Phipps.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The worthy ship-builder soon made him welcome.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“William,” said Adam, “I have replenished the -treasury, as I said I might, and I have made up my -mind to join you in your treasure-hunting expedition.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER VIII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>PAYING THE FIDDLER.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Assume</span> a cheerfulness, if you have it not, and it -may presently grow upon you. This happened to Adam, -so that when he left Captain Phipps, to return to the -tavern for his breakfast and to seek out the beef-eaters, -his mood was almost volatile again. There is much -virtue in having something other than one’s troubles -to think upon. The sunken treasure afforded Adam a -topic.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He made his way to his apartments in the Crow and -Arrow by the stairs at the rear. He found the rooms -empty. Beef-eaters, bag and baggage were gone. Even -the violin-case was not to be found.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Somewhat surprised that his faithful followers would -so desert him, or at least move the family habitation -without consulting their comrade, and on notice so -brief, Rust knocked on Wainsworth’s door, to ask -him if he had seen anything of the worthy Pike and -Halberd. But Wainsworth too was out.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Upon proceeding post haste down to the tap-room, -Adam broke in upon a scene of armistice, after a first -shock of war. Standing at bay, with drawn swords, -the shabby chattels of the trio in a corner behind them, -were the beef-eaters, confronting and defying the landlord -and several valiant citizens, in the midst of whom -<span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>was the small individual who had so much desired to -fight, on the previous evening, and who was now -haranguing the opposing forces volubly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Here comes the master-vagabond now!” he cried, -the moment Adam appeared in the room. “Now, -sirs, for your proof that you are not a pack of wandering -beggars and braggarts!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“At last!” cried Halberd and Pike, together, coming -quickly forward to grasp their comrade in arms by the -hands.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We have defended your good name and possessions!” -said Pike.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We have flung the lie into the teeth of these -varlets!” added Halberd. “You have come in good -time.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What’s the meaning of all this business?” demanded -Adam, of the assembled company.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Every one started to talk or to shout at once. Adam -heard such things as:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They have called you and us a lot of penniless -beggars and pirates!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What are you but a swaggering bully?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are a fiddling limb of Satan!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The landlord said, more moderately, “I did but -desire to protect my house in its good repute.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The fierce little white-eyed man waved both his fists.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“These dogs,” he snapped to Adam, “have boasted -that you are loaded down with gold!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, they mentioned gold,” said the landlord, -tentatively.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Gold?” said Adam. “Is it a crime to have no -gold? How much gold would you see?” he pulled -<span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span>his two hands from his pockets and scattered heaps of -yellow sovereigns on the table.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The beef-eaters nearly collapsed with amazement, at -the sight of this wealth. The landlord fell to rubbing -his hands with ecstasy.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You unseemly traducers of fair gentlemen,” he -said, with virtuous indignation, to the belligerents -behind him, “how dare you come here to insult and -to villify my guests?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He probably stole it,” cried the incorrigible little -white-eyed terrier. “He has naught to do but to -make God-fearing men——and his betters, at that—dance -against their will in the public streets!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ah,” said Adam, striding forward and purposely -bending with great show of looking down to where the -little man was standing, “so you have come to pay the -fiddler for the sport which your friend enjoyed yesterday -evening? How little he reckons my fiddling -worth. This is so sad that nothing short of a breakfast -can console me. Landlord——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Braggart! knave!” cried the little man, interrupting. -“I offer to fight you again! You dare not -fight!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The smaller the dog the rarer the punishments and -the larger the arrogance.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Shatter my hilt!” said Adam, “you and another -gnat would devour me whole.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Without warning, and yet gently, Rust took him by -the collar, twirled him about so that he could lay his -other hand on the trousers of the midget, and hoisting -him off his feet, though he kicked and made a disturbance -with yelling and raving, carried him at once to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>the open window of the tavern and dropped him out, -on the sidewalk beneath.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Three or four partisans, who had backed up little -white-eyes and the landlord, now edged toward the -door. Adam made one motion in their direction and -they got out with becoming alacrity.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Lock that door till we have had our breakfast,” Rust -commanded.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The landlord had no more than complied, than the -little rat, dropped from the window, came banging -against the barrier on the outside, demanding admittance -vociferously.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Who is yon whiffet?” Adam asked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“His name is Psalms Higgler,” laughed the landlord, -with fine hypocrisy. “How bravely you served him, -and rightly too.” He rubbed his hands gleefully.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And his friend who sent him hither, he that danced -so divertingly, what may be his name?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Isaiah Pinchbecker, you doubtless mean. And -what will you have for breakfast, sire?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I will have you carry my bales of merchandise back -to my apartments,” said Adam, who did not propose to -move out of the house until he felt inclined, preferring -to remain there and command respect for himself and -the beef-eaters, even while he knew that the landlord -had joined the miserable snappers at his heels. “And -look to it you move smartly and return to order something -to eat.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The landlord, spurred by the sight of the gold, and -eager to make all possible amends for the errors of -judgment he had committed, staggered up the stairs, -panting like a grampus.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>Adam now turned to his comrades, who recited three -times over the incidents of the morning, which consisted -chiefly of the charges made by Psalms Higgler, -evidently at the instigation of Pinchbecker—the nimble-footed—and -which had so nearly culminated in their -expulsion from the tavern.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Tempest in a teapot as it had been, the business was -an indication of feelings which went as deep as politics, -in which the whole colony had been simmering for -years. Moreover, the incident was not yet concluded.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The same year which had witnessed King Philip’s -war, at the close of which Adam had gone away, one of -the greatest mischief-makers with whom the Colonists -had ever been called upon to deal, Edward Randolph, -had come to Boston with a design to despoil the colony -of its charter. He had worked openly, in some directions, -secretly in others. He had enlisted malcontents, -dissenters-from-everything, hypocrites and men with -private greeds, in his Tory following. Among these -were Pinchbecker, his friend, the landlord of the Crow -and Arrow, Psalms Higgler and many others of their -ilk.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now Pinchbecker came under the category of hypocrites. -He assumed the Puritans’ manners, speech and -customs, and did, in fact, despise some of the looser -habits of the Royalists, though he was their willing -tool, working for future favor and gain. He had therefore -felt himself sorely aggrieved when compelled to -his dance, in a public highway, and having first egged -on his little terrier, Psalms, had then repaired to -Edward Randolph, himself, for redress of his wrongs.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph, thinking he smelt a bluff and ready Tory -<span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>lot, in Adam, and his company, found occasion to visit -the tavern without delay. He arrived while Rust and -the beef-eaters were still at their breakfast. He entered -the house at the rear and ordered a drink at the bar.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Motioning the landlord to silence, that worthy being -much astonished to see him so early, Randolph presently -turned about, as if he had not before observed the -trio at table.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Gentlemen,” he said, “I drink ill when I drink -alone; will you not permit me to order something in -which you can join me?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam looked up. “Thank you,” he said, “it is our -misfortune to have ordered, just as you were coming in.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The misfortune is mine,” insisted Randolph. He -drank alone.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Rust had taken in the visitor’s details at a glance. -The man was of medium size and nervous temperament. -He had a great brow, heavy with perceptive faculties, -at the expense of those of reflection. His eyes were -deep-set, round, intense and close together, the nose -that divided them being as thin and curved as a beak. -His lips were thin and tight-shutting. He looked like -a human bird-of-prey.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“By your dress and manner you are recently from -England,” said the man, sauntering leisurely toward -Adam, when he had smacked his lips and set down his -mug.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“By your courtesy,” said Adam, “you are a student, -curious to know your fellow-beings.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph laughed. “Curious?” said he. “You -do me wrong. I care neither who nor what a gentleman -is, so long as he is witty and blest with humor. Your -<span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>repute and the tale of your love for dancing have preceded -you, sir. I confess I was tempted to come here -and see you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I beseech you for an opportunity to say that I was -merely charitable,” said Rust. “I ordered the dance -to amuse my beef-eaters. Perhaps you are a dancer -yourself?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph bit his lip. He was not getting on to his -liking. He smiled, however, and said:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have few graces, after I have mentioned a sense -of admiration——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And blandishment,” put in Adam, who frankly disliked -the man.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Say appreciation, rather,” corrected Randolph. “I -have had a hearty laugh over that dance. I wish I had -been there to see it; such merriment is so rare in -Massachusetts.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Nearly as rare as introductions between gentlemen,” -Adam answered.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He tipped up his mug and drank the last of his brew -carelessly. Randolph turned red with anger. His gray -eyes looked like cold fire, yet he was still unwilling to -accept defeat in his effort to find out the bent of Adam’s -political views.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We live in a time when the stoutest friends and -companions in good causes might be lost to each other -by formality,” he said, with a smile doing its best to -bend his features. “I must beg your pardon, if I -seem——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He was interrupted by the entrance, at this moment, -of William Phipps, who came in at the door which the -landlord had quietly unbolted.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span>“What, Adam, not yet done with eating?” he called -out, bluntly. “Come, come, I have been waiting this -long time for you and your friends to have a look over -the brig.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“With you at once,” rejoined the rover.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He and the beef-eaters knocked over their heavy -chairs and stools, as they arose from the table. Phipps -looked at Randolph. The two men nodded, distantly -and somewhat frowningly. Without so much as glancing -at Randolph, Adam and his retinue walked to the -door and so away, with the Captain.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph needed no further intimation of Adam’s -probable leanings, politically, than this obvious camaraderie -with Phipps—who was a patriot as immovable -and staunch as a rock fortress. He clenched his fists -and ground his molars savagely.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Curse the young fool!” he said. “I’ll make him -wish for a civil tongue to be hung in his head!”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER IX.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>A MATTER OF STATE.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Mistress Garde Merrill</span>, having several hours before -delivered her simples and aromatic leaves to old -Goody Dune, just outside the limits of the town, stood -looking out of the window, at her Uncle John Soam’s -home, where she was visiting. Thus it was that she saw -her grandfather, David Donner enter the gate. Two -minutes afterward she beheld the unusual sight of three -Governors come into the garden together.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The first was ex-Governor Leverett, that stern old -Roundhead, the ex-Captain of Cromwell’s horse. At -his side was Governor Winslow, up from Plymouth, on -grave affairs. Behind them was an older man, and perhaps -a wiser one, Governor Simon Bradstreet, still hale -and hearty after fifty-three years of service to the -colonies.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Bringing up the rear of the little procession was Henry -Wainsworth, private secretary to Leverett. He looked -toward the windows in the hope of seeing Garde, but -that young lady stepped silently back into the shadows, -for she had no desire to be seen.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Neither David Donner nor the other visitors came to -the house, nor even to the front door thereof. It was -a fine day, so that the garden seemed all smiles. A -cow was mooing lustily and chickens were singing in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>their contentment. These sounds were interspersed -with the hawing of a saw, and then with hammer -strokes, these latter disturbances issuing from a newly -constructed granary and cow-shed which John Soam, -Garde’s uncle, had recently afforded.</p> - -<p class='c007'>David Donner, who had known that he would find -Goodman Soam in this shed, had tracked across the -garden without ceremony. The governors and Wainsworth, -having confidence that Donner knew what he -was doing, followed where he led, to the center whence -the clatter of industry proceeded.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The hammer-pounding had abated nothing, nor did -it cease when the three grave citizens and Wainsworth -had entered the house and ranged themselves silently -beside David Donner, to whom they could not well -speak for the din. They nodded to their friend, however, -and looked up, like students of astronomy all of -one mind, at Goodman Soam above them.</p> - -<p class='c007'>John Soam had never been reputed a carpenter of -talent in Boston. However, here he was, standing on -the head of a barrel and obviously completing the task -of ceiling this room of the granary, for his head, shoulders -and arms were out of sight, in the darksome region -above the ceiling, while part of his body and his -legs, below, moved in vigorous jerks as he pounded into -place and nailed what appeared to be the last board -but one which would be needed to complete the job on -which he was so commendably engaged.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It seemed to his visitors that they had never before -seen Goodman Soam in so tight an orifice as was the -one from which he now protruded. They waited in -patience for the nailing to cease, conversation being impossible -<span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span>meantime. John was, by all reckoning, a -thorough workman, for he drove home nail after nail, -without ceasing for so much as a breath.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At length the board was secured to the carpenter’s -satisfaction, for he ceased to hammer and could be -heard to feel his work lovingly as he examined its -beauties in the half light in which he had labored.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good morrow, John Soam,” now said Governor -Leverett, having first coughed behind his hand. “Here -are several fellow-townsmen come to your place.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>John was seen to give a squirm. “Oh, good morrow,” -said he, his voice muffled by the ceiling between him -and his friends. “I have been doing a little work. -Wait a moment, good friend, till I may gather my nails -and tools.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The five good men waited, hearing John scramble the -nails together with a few metallic clinks.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We went first to your house, David,” said John Winslow -to David Donner. “We came to see you and -John Soam, as promised, on a matter of some gravity.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>John Soam now, upon making an effort to retreat out -of the slender orifice which he had left when he nailed -in his board, found his chest and shoulders thicker than -his waist. He wriggled. This being of no avail to extricate -him, he struggled. A convulsion of activity then -seized upon him. He attempted to sit down, he dragged -at himself, he began to do unseemly things. But he could -not get out. He had hammered in his own head and -arms, with many good nails in the board.</p> - -<p class='c007'>His friends below him now overheard a sound which, -in a simian, if simians talked at all, would have been a -curse. John wrestled as if demons, expert in catch-as-catch-can, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>were restraining him up there in the attic. -He kicked about, with a violence so great as to overthrow -the barrel whereon he had been standing. For a second -his two blind feet felt about for his whilom support -in an agony of helplessness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Goodman Leverett,” he then bawled, in tones of -repressed emotion, “will you put back that barrel for -a moment, till I may come down?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If you will constrain your legs to seemly conduct, -I will,” said the governor. He and David Donner -having received a kick apiece, now reinstated Goodman -Soam’s pedestal.</p> - -<p class='c007'>John became quiescent for a moment. His friends -shifted about, uneasily.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“May we help you in any respect, John?” inquired -Winslow.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Are you fastened in?” added Simon Bradstreet.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Might we not pull him down?” suggested Wainsworth.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My friends, how many be you?” said the hot, muffled -voice of John.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Five,” said one of the solemn governors. “Shall -we give you a little assistance?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It would only be a little I should want,” said the -carpenter, dropping the nails he had clung to in desperation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The five gentlemen disposed themselves about John’s -anatomy and pulled at his legs with united strength, -grasping the cloth of his trousers for the purpose.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Enough! enough!” roared John, after a moment -of hopeless pain and wriggling.</p> - -<p class='c007'>His warning came belated. His trousers were of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>good stuff enow, but trousers have their limitations. -They parted, slightly above the uneven line of gripping -hands, and came away in ragged banners.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The five citizens were horrified. So was John. Two of -the gentlemen, with the booty taken from their friend, -fell heavily to the floor.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Dear me, this was most uncalled for,” said David -Donner.</p> - -<p class='c007'>John Soam tried to draw his legs up under his coat, -vainly. He made terrible sounds of anguish, in his -nakedness below and his loneliness up above the ceiling. -His fellow-citizens, undecided as to whether they -should go outside, for the sake of modesty, or remain -and lend further aid to John, looked at one another inquiringly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“John,” then said Leverett, somewhat sternly, -“would you council us to get an ax and knock out -the board you have hammered into place?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,” bawled the carpenter, “there be two axes in -the corner. Let them both be employed!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have chopped down a tree in my youth,” said -David Donner.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He therefore took one of the axes, while Governor -Winslow took the second.</p> - -<p class='c007'>They were then at a loss to reach the ceiling, wherefore -it became necessary for the good men to build up a -platform, of boxes and boards, while John Soam’s legs -tried to hide, one behind the other.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The platform being hastily constructed, the ax-men -mounted and began to swing ill-directed blows upward -at the stubborn board which the carpenter had hammered -in so thoroughly.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>No more than three blows had been delivered when -John made protest, howling lustily for the purpose, as -the ax-men failed at first to hear him, while busy with -their work of salvation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It jars me rudely,” he roared out, unable wholly to -repress his feelings. “It’s hellish.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ahem,” said Governor Leverett. “What would -you council us to do next, friend Soam?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Saw the board,” counseled John. “It was a rare -good fit, but it had best be sawed.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The platform was now changed and one after another -the five citizens plied the saw, for the board was wet, -and to saw above one’s head is irksome in a high degree. -Yet at length the cut was made, at one end, -and those below could thrust the imprisoning plank -upward. Being still stoutly nailed at the further end, -the board scraped off some buttons, erstwhile sewn to -John’s waistcoat, and it otherwise harassed him before -it was high enough to permit the carpenter to emerge -from his attic. He appeared at last, however, red of -countenance and in a fine condition to do some private -blaspheming, had the opportunity been present for the -exercise of this, man’s inalienable function. His friends -were immeasurably relieved to see him, safe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Friend John,” said David Donner, “we have come -hither on matters of state. When you are rehabilitated -we shall, I believe, be glad of your further counsel.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER X.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>TO FOIL A SPY.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>His</span> friends, forming a hollow square, now escorted -John to the house at a quick walk. He disappeared -like a Jack into its box, when the door was finally -opened, while the grave citizens entered the parlor and -awaited his return. Clothed decorously once more, he -was presently with them again, when the council of -five, with Wainsworth sitting near, drew up to the -heavy, oaken table.</p> - -<p class='c007'>They now listened to Governor Winslow, who had -journeyed from Plymouth for this meeting.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have begun to lose hope,” he said, “that we -shall be able to postpone much longer the day of evil. -We thought our charter was threatened ten or twelve -years ago and we have held it by sheer power of procrastination -and tactics of elusiveness, but Randolph -has been with us here in Boston for seven years, and the -harm he did to our independence in seventy-six has -been accumulating interest in trouble for us, one might -say, ever since. He has mastered our methods; he is -closing in upon us every day. It is now a desperate -case, requiring a desperate remedy. The only question -is, what means can we undertake to offset some of the -ill repute in which he has caused King Charles to hold -us, and to nullify his further machinations.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span>“It would not be safe, would it, to expel the man -Randolph from the colony?” said Leverett, who had -first coughed behind his hand.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh no,” said Donner.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Such an action would precipitate difficulties with -the King,” added Simon Bradstreet.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And we would not dare to restrain him from further -evil work?” John Soam inquired.</p> - -<p class='c007'>His friends shook their heads.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We know well enough that he has gathered much -testimony from persons willing to swear falsely, as to -the grants to Gorges and Mason, in Maine and New -Hampshire,” said David Donner. “Might we not go -over this same ground and procure true, sworn testimony -and statements from more credible persons, with -which to refute him?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That would have been well advised seven years ago,” -said Bradstreet, who had a way of tweaking his own -nose when he began to speak, “but at that time we -were still engrossed with, and alarmed by, the war with -King Philip, and moreover we knew nothing of Randolph’s -methods. It would have done well then, but -now it is too late—much too late—for that sort of -work.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have thought upon the matter long and seriously,” -said Winslow. “I can see no way so good as to send -an agent from among ourselves to England, to intercede -with Charles and to plead our cause personally at -the Court, day after day.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>David Donner knew what was coming. He glared -at an imaginary Stuart family.</p> - -<p class='c007'>John Soam said: “I can see the wisdom of such a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>course. I consider that when Goodman Simon Bradstreet -went to London before, he did this colony great -service. That was—let me see—why, twenty-three -good long years since. Are you of a mind to go once -more, Friend Simon?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am an old man,” said Bradstreet, tweaking his -nose with extra vigor. “A younger wit would be of -far more service.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>With his four score of years on his head Simon Bradstreet -yet did injustice to his immortal youth and -energy. The council knew that it was the gall and -wormwood which he had manfully swallowed, twenty-three -years before, when he went to Charles the Second -to congratulate him upon his restoration to the throne, -that wrought upon him now more than did the infirmities -of age.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If we prove successful in finding an agent from -among us, Friend Soam,” said Winslow, “will you be -one with us to find money for his pilgrimage?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And whom would you have in mind?” John -cautiously replied.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The governors turned with one accord to David -Donner.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They have asked this service of me,” said David.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Leverett said: “There is no one else so free, so -gifted and so bountifully supplied with knowledge of -these colonies. Nor is there any one among us whose -comprehension of the intrigues and artifices employed -by Randolph is so reliable.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We have none among us more diplomatic and -logical and yet adherent to the cause of truth,” added -Winslow.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span>“I feel sure, David, you are the fittest man in -Boston for this important undertaking,” John Soam -said, gravely.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And we could count on you to furnish some of the -necessary funds, if Donner will go, could we not?” -asked Winslow, striking while the Soam iron was hot.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You may, to be sure,” John responded, more slowly. -“But David has not yet indicated whether he will -undertake this mission or no.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This was, indeed, the crucial point. Strict old -Puritan that he was, despiser of ostentations, father -already of that spirit of independence and Americanism -being sown broadcast in New England, David Donner -had already made many a wry face over the prospect -of serving the colony by an expedient so bitter as he -conceived this present task to be.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have debated this matter, since I had my first intimation -of what to expect from Governor Winslow,” -he said, pursing up his mouth as if he were about to -swallow a brew of hoarhound. “I am not a young -man myself. I may never return to this land. But—if -it is the prompting of your wisdom to send me, I -cannot refuse to serve this colony and these earnest, -toiling people.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Of the joy which his colleagues felt there was no sign -apparent. For that matter, they would be as sad at -losing Donner from their circle as they would be glad -to send him on his mission. Their lives were made up -of joyless duties, woven as a woof through a warp of -joyless worship.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But among his hearers there was Wainsworth, and -he was glad, not so much to have the severe old man -<span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>going abroad, as to know that Mistress Garde Merrill -would now in all probability remain permanently with -John Soam and his wife, who were good-natured, -affectionate people. Indeed Mrs. Soam was a natural -woman, more delighted when she was fostering or encouraging -a mating, ’twixt youthful hearts, than she -was when kneading dough into loaves that looked like -fat, dimpled babies, and this is saying more than might -readily be supposed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus when, soon after, the meeting had broken up -and the Governors had stiffly departed, it was but -natural that Henry should discover, innocently enough, -that he had left a bundle of papers behind. It was -quite as natural, also, that upon returning and purposely -knocking at the door of the family living-room, whereas -the papers should have been still in the parlor, he should -be admitted by Goodwife Soam and asked in most cordially, -and sent with Garde to look for the truant -documents.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XI.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>DANGEROUS TRIBUTES.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Eloquent</span> as Wainsworth had proved himself, in the -presence of Adam, he was but an indifferent love’s-man, -now that he found himself alone with Garde.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wanted to come back for—for the papers,” he -stammered.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,” said Garde, whose spirit of elfishness Henry -always aroused, “they would soon have missed you -sorely.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Would they—What, papers?—Oh, you are making -fun of——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am making a search to find them,” interrupted -Garde. “Here they are. I am so sorry they have -detained you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Thank you—oh, thank you,” said Henry, still -stumbling confusedly. “It is such a lovely day I -thought I should like to come back and—and—and see—if -I had really left them here.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, such a lovely day would make any one wish to -do the same thing,” said Garde, gravely. “Now that -you have them, you must be very happy again.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, oh yes—no, no, the papers haven’t made me -happy.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then I am sorry you are sad,” said Garde. “Perhaps -<span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span>the lovely day outside will make you feel more -joyous again.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But I am not sad,” protested Henry, getting momentarily -redder. “I wanted to say—I wanted to -come back——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, you did say so, to get the papers.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No—yes!—but I wanted to say——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That you had left them, because it was such a -lovely day?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, of course, but—no, no, I wanted to say—church!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, they are church papers, Mr. Wainsworth?” -asked Garde innocently.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, I—I wanted to say it is such a lovely day——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You have said so many things that you may have -mentioned the day before.” Garde’s eyes were dancing, -but he had hardly dared to look at her face, lest his -tongue should fail him utterly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He now fixed his attention on the table with all his -power of will.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wanted to say, if the Sabbath is a lovely day, like -this, may I not walk to meeting with you and David -Donner?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Piqued somewhat by the way Adam had treated her, -Garde instantly saw a possible opportunity of arousing -Adam’s jealousy. He would doubtless attend meeting. -He might see her with Henry. As Prudence would -also be there, with her father, there might be further -developments.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If it is a lovely day, Mr. Wainsworth,” she answered, -“I think Granther Donner will be glad of -your company, but if it is not a lovely day, Granther -<span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>and I will have to get along as best we may, alone, I -suppose.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, I meant any sort of a day!” cried Wainsworth, -desperately. “If the Sabbath is any sort of a day. I -only said if it was as lovely as to-day because any day, -would be a lovely day, if——” and there he stuck.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If it were as lovely as to-day,” Garde supplied.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,” said Henry, hopelessly. “Then—then that -is settled?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do you mean the weather? It ought to be settled, -I should think.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, I mean that I am to go with you and David -Donner to meeting, no matter what sort of a day it is.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I think Granther will be glad of your company,” -said Garde again. She led the way back to the living-room -before Henry could frame any more of his tumble-down -speeches.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Prudence and her mother were both here, now, and -both looked up to smile at Wainsworth, whom they had -grown to like for his evident sincerity. Mrs. Soam -was a pleasant woman, with a double chin from which -it seemed all manner of comfortable little chucklings of -good-nature took their start. She should have been -the mother of several boys, for she liked nice boys and -felt a sense of motherhood over all she knew. Prudence -was not at all like her mother. Her face was -small and serious. She spoke with a quaint drawl. -Although quite as old as Garde, she appeared so unsophisticated -and childish, so quiet and unassertive -that no one would have looked to find womanly emotions, -in her breast.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, Henry,” said Mrs. Soam, who always called -<span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>“her boys” by their first names, “how have you been -and what have you been doing? Have you heard from -England recently? How was your mother, when you -heard?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She was quite well, thank you,” said Henry, who -could talk to Garde’s aunt without confusion, “but I -have not heard from her recently. Oh—I nearly forgot—I -have heard from England, in a manner. That -is, a friend I knew there, arrived in Boston only yesterday.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes? And who was that?” said Mrs. Soam.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde had started to go up-stairs to her own apartment, -which she shared with Prudence, but she halted -at the door and came back, for Wainsworth said:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“His name is Adam Rust.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde and Prudence both took up some knitting and -began to ply the needles, over which their eyes were -bent, intently.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,” said Mrs. Soam, encouragingly. “Is he a -Puritan?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t know,” said Wainsworth, frankly. “I -think perhaps he is. At any rate, he belongs here, I -feel sure. But wherever he belongs, or whatever he is, -he’s a splendid fellow. I was riding to hounds when -we met. My horse threw me, and my foot was caught -in the stirrup. I was being dragged when Rust stopped -my run-away horse. He is one of the most superb horsemen -I ever knew.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why, do you mean that he saved your life?” inquired -Goodwife Soam. “It must have been a terrible -moment.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I haven’t much brains, but I was about to lose what -<span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>I had,” said Wainsworth, generously. “He came in -the nick of time. And afterwards, when I happened to -be a bit short of funds—as a man will, you know, -sometimes—why, he loaned me nearly every penny he -had in the world!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Was that not most improvident?” said the listener.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I suppose it was. You know, you wouldn’t -call him exactly provident. He is too good-hearted -a fellow to be that, you know. He is one of those -fellows you can tell anything about yourself. I tell -him everything.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He looked up at Garde, as he said this, wishing he -could tell her the half that he had confided to Rust. -She never lifted her eyes, however, from her knitting.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And what did he tell you of your mother?” asked -Mrs. Soam.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, nothing. He never knew the mater.” -Henry tried to think what Adam had told him. “He -just—well, told me of a few general matters.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde listened eagerly, almost breathlessly, dwelling -on every word concerning Rust, but her aunt returned -once more to the subject of Wainsworth’s mother and -no more was heard of Adam, for Henry presently bade -them all good day and proceeded to follow, belated as -he was, where his chief had gone, at the close of the -meeting.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When he disappeared, Garde dropped her knitting -and went quietly up the stairs, for the purpose of being -alone, to think.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>HOURS THAT GROW DARK.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Captain William Phipps</span> was as eager as a boy, now -that he had definitely settled on the purpose which -had for its object the quest of the sunken treasure. -Therefore he and Adam and the beef-eaters worked unceasingly -to prepare the brig, “Captain Spencer,” for -the cruise to the Bahamas.</p> - -<p class='c007'>What with provisioning the craft, enlisting more -trustworthy men for the voyage and refitting a somewhat -depleted and inefficient arsenal, Phipps waxed -brusque and impatient. He had desired to get away -from Boston not later than Saturday afternoon, but as -the tasks before them had been tackled by Adam and -the rest of them on Friday morning, the worthy Captain’s -ambition to be on the sea on the Sabbath—a day -for which he had little liking—was vain. Saturday -night therefore approached and Phipps fumed, for he -could not so outrage the Puritans’ sense of things -Godly as to sail on Sunday, wherefore the departure -had perforce to be postponed till Monday morning.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam, with an exaggerated sense of honor, had -resisted the longing to go by night to that same alley in -which he had rescued Garde’s cat and met that young -lady with Mistress Prudence Soam. He spent the time -with his beef-eaters and with Wainsworth, making -<span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span>merry for these music-hungering friends on the violin, -which now seemed to him more than ever the one thing -left him on which to concentrate the love of his affectionate -nature.</p> - -<p class='c007'>On Sunday morning Captain Phipps betook himself -to his brig, as she lay in mid-stream, to pother about -by himself, while Adam dutifully escorted Goodwife -Phipps to meeting, at South Church, which was nearer -than the old church and more popular as well.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was a solemn, black procession of Puritans that -walked decorously to meeting in the sunlight. The -day was one of almost unseemly beauty, for Nature was -fairly barbarous in the colors which she wore like jewels. -There was riotous gladness in the breeze that tipped -back the bonnets from many a pretty face, to let the -sun have a look at peach-bloom cheeks; there was -a deviltry in the warmth that the girls felt first at their -ankles, where thin stockings only protected them; and -there was a twitter and chirrup of birds in the air.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In their homely black and their stiff white collars, -the men were as solemn as posts. No bells sounded, -either from afar, with mellowed pealings, nor nearer -with persistent nagging. Men, women and children -alike walked with their eyes steadfastly fixed on the -ground.</p> - -<p class='c007'>However, there were two pairs of eyes less meek. -They were Adam’s and Garde’s. It therefore came to -pass that each discovered the other, before the church -portals were reached. Garde’s heart began to beat as -if it were knocking to call Adam’s attention. Adam’s -hammered as if it were forging more fetters to bind him -tighter in his love.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span>Garde, with her grandfather and Wainsworth, preceded -Rust and Mrs. Phipps into the sanctuary. Adam -followed eagerly, and yet as one about to enter a prison. -He had seen Wainsworth, but Henry, in his ecstasy, had -contented himself with looking devotedly at Garde’s -little shoes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Inside the church, Garde sat somewhat toward the -back, while Adam, with the men, occupied a bench at -the side of the building from which he could see Mistress -Merrill’s profile perfectly, as often as he dared to -look in her direction.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde, with much resolution, permitted herself not -so much as one tiny flicker of a glance toward Adam, -all during the time of service. She felt him looking at -her, however, from time to time, and rejoiced that her -little ruse to make him stirred up and mayhap jealous -was succeeding. The flush of maidenhood’s beauty -which had mounted to her cheek, the moment she -found that Adam was near, remained throughout the -morning.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Later to church than any other, a man, alone, and -none too reverent, entered the door and took a seat -on the side, from which he could scan many of the faces -in the place. It was Randolph. He had come there -for the sole purpose of looking about him, his reasons -being various, but none of them Godly. He shut his -mouth grimly at beholding Adam present, but when his -gaze finally rested on Garde, all the more radiantly -beautiful for the simplicity of her dress, it became fixed, -first, then covetous, and finally passionate.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was not until the meeting was finished that Garde -ventured to take a sly glance at Adam. Her gaze met -<span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span>his. She saw and comprehended, then, such a fathomless -sadness in his look, before he could drop his gaze, -that she was instantly most penitent over what she had -done.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was the same look she had seen in his eyes that -day when he had marched as a captive, at the end of -King Philip’s war—a look she never had, and never -could, forget.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As for Rust, he had confirmed to his satisfaction, all -that Wainsworth had told him. If he had not been -convinced before and ready to renounce his own hopes, -he was quite persuaded and determined now. He -thought how fortunate it was that Phipps had the brig -all ready to sail on the morrow. It was very much better -to end the matter with the smallest possible delay.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He spent the afternoon with Phipps and the beef-eaters -on the ship. To his credit, he made himself an -agreeable and cheerful companion. Indeed, what with -the songs he had sung for Wainsworth and the others, -and the spirit of his raillery, boasting and readiness to -fight or to fiddle, he had succeeded in deceiving them -all as to the nature under his waistcoat.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Yet when the night was come and the magnet which -had been drawing and drawing him to that alley, sacred -to the memory of Garde’s cat, once more exercised its -influence, more powerfully than ever, he became a -restless creature.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It has been said that man justifies himself in whatsoever -he does. Adam thought he needed justification -for desiring to go once, just once, into that alley, -wherefore he prepared his mind with several excuses. -Armed with these he at length slipped away from the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>Crow and Arrow and found his way to the rear of -that house into which he had seen Garde and Prudence -disappear, on that memorable first night in -Boston.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Had Rust come to this trysting-place at the same -hour on the two previous evenings, he would have met -Mistress Merrill face to face. Garde, in her impulsive -eagerness to see him again, had waited for little debating -before she slipped from the house, to see if he -might not have come to deliver that certain trinket -from Hispaniola. Her cousin Prudence, more diffident, -had desired to come forth also, but she had -lacked Garde’s readiness of execution and courage. -However she had not lacked the incentive, and as no -maiden is utterly awed, in the presence of a tender -passion, Mistress Prudence had at length steeled her -heart, and to-night she came tripping diffidently forth, -not long after Adam’s arrival on the scene.</p> - -<p class='c007'>So silently had Prudence come that Adam, who -might have arranged otherwise, suddenly found himself -confronted, before he had made up his mind whether -he wished any one might appear or not.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why, good evening, Mr. Rust,” said Prudence, -with a little gasp at her own daring, “why, I was just -walking in the garden and couldn’t think who it might -be, here by the gate. Why, how strange we should -meet!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam had said good evening, waving a salute grandly -with his hat, the moment Prudence had spoken, for he -had realized instantly that she was not Garde and his -presence of mind had risen to the occasion without -delay.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>“I—wandered up here looking, for—for distressed -cats,” said Adam.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, did you?” said Prudence, innocently. “That -was real noble.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam hated to have anything he did called noble. -He therefore hastened to do penance, in a measure, for -his slightly inaccurate statement.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am bound to confess,” he added, “that I did -have a faint hope that I might see either you or Mistress -Merrill—or both—to say good-by, for to-morrow I am -off again, for a jaunt on the sea.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Going away?” echoed Prudence. “Oh, why, -Garde might be disappointed, not to see you and say -good-by.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam thought this was sweet of Prudence, as indeed -it was. He could have mentioned some disappointments -himself, but he refrained from doing so. He -thought, in a somewhat bitterly philosophical vein, that -perhaps it was better as it was, better that he should -not see Garde again, under the circumstances.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are very kind,” he said. “Perhaps it would -not be asking too much of you to get you to take a -small packet—in fact, I have presumed to provide myself -with two little packages, which I trust you and -Mistress Merrill will receive, merely as tokens of a -rover’s amusement in the little event of a few evenings -ago, and of a pleasant memory which the episode will -furnish for otherwise lonely moments.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He had indeed made up two small parcels, intending -behind the ruse of making a small gift to both Garde -and Prudence, to bestow thus the present to Garde -brought from Hispaniola and long delayed as to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>delivery. He therefore took these carefully wrapped -trinkets from his pocket and held them forth.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If I might prevail upon your good nature,” he said, -“to accept this one and to give this other into the -hands of Mistress Merrill, I should be grateful to you -for the favor.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Fate takes obvious delight in making her weavings -complete. It was inevitable that Garde should come -out to that garden gate, while Adam and Prudence -were talking there together, and that she should therefore -see Adam, presenting something to her cousin, -and should at once proceed to place an erroneous construction -on the situation. Angered, humiliated and -hurt, she fled back to the house, as Prudence was accepting -the proffered trinkets and regretfully bidding -Adam Rust good-by.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was hardly feasible so to conceal herself in the -house that Prudence would be long in searching her -out, when at length that quiet and pleased young lady -came back to the house, hence Garde accepted Adam’s -present before she exactly comprehended what she was -doing.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Prudence, having performed her duty, when the gift -had passed to its rightful owner, hastened away to open -her own packet, in privacy. She found an old Spanish -doubloon in the bit of paper, and though a trifle disappointed -that she did not discover an accompanying -inscription, was nevertheless gladdened to the very core -of her being.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde, rebellious and ready to weep with conflicting -emotions, which had not been assuaged by hearing -Prudence tell how innocently she had happened to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>meet Mr. Rust, felt like flinging Adam’s gift upon the -floor and stamping it flat with her lively little foot. -But the tenderness of the love she had fostered so long, -and the slight hope to which she still clung, combined -with her natural curiosity, proved too strong for resistance. -She opened the neatly tied and folded paper.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Inside was a golden brooch of exquisite workmanship, -a treasure absolutely irresistible to any beauty-loving -young woman. But her gaze flew to a secondary -little wad of paper, folded as a note. This she tore -open with nerveless fingers.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“From Hispaniola,” Adam had written, simply.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Under this he had penned a quatrain of rather obscure -meaning and weakly versification:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c022'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“It always haps, when there are three,</div> - <div class='line in1'>But two can bide in unity;</div> - <div class='line in1'>That two may long their gladness keep,</div> - <div class='line in1'>The third should bury sorrow deep.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c023'>Garde read these lines and then read them again, -more puzzled by the second perusal than she had been -by the first. She began then to feel wounded. She -was ready to cry. The brooch had made her heart -bound with joy. Then she remembered that Adam -had procured it for her years before, since when his -affections might have been transferred, his ideals might -have been altered and the sense in which he gave it -her might have been reduced to something utterly unromantic. -He might indeed have given it to her only -because of his desire to keep a foolish promise made in -his boyhood.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The lines were not an explanation of his conduct. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>If they meant that she was a third party, interfering -with the happiness of himself and Prudence, then the -unkindness of it all was not the full depth of its possibilities—it -was impudent, arrogant and fairly hateful, -in that light.</p> - -<p class='c007'>On the other hand, could it be possible that Adam -did not mean that she was such a third party as the -lines indicated, and if so, what did he mean? Was he -himself such a third party? This appeared impossible -on the very face of it, for not only was Garde not -interested in, and happy with, some other person, but -if she had been, Adam could not possibly have known -it, and certainly, in the two times they had met, she had -given him no reason for supposing that anything of the -sort could exist.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was too much for her wearied brain to cope with. -She had puzzled over Adam’s conduct every moment -since their meeting in the woods, till she could think -no more. There was the beautiful brooch, and here -were these ominous, enigmatical lines. All she knew -was that she was very unhappy.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam, in the meantime, made progress back to the -tavern as if he were all but becalmed and had no more -than steerage way at the best. He had only one thing -to be glad about, and that was that his beef-eaters -would not be at the Crow and Arrow to meet him. -They had already taken up quarters on the brig. -There Adam expected to join them, with the last of -his worldly goods, when he should have taken final -leave of Wainsworth.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When he reached his solitary apartments, however, -he was sorry the faithful old beef-eaters were not there -<span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span>to give him welcome, for the place was dark and cheerless. -He lighted his candle and looked about the -room with melancholy interest.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Presently his attention was attracted to a number of -bright spots on the floor, irregular patches, from which -the light was reflected somewhat dully. Candle in -hand he walked toward the corner where these glittering -objects were strewn about. With a sudden misgiving -he noted that his violin case had been brought -out from the place of concealment in which he had -carefully kept it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Bending forward, with one hand poised in an attitude -of arrested action, he stared at the litter on the -floor, his face becoming colorless as he stood there, -numbed. A low moan came from between his lips—such -a sound as he had made in his sleep, as he once -lay curled up at the foot of the stake on which King -Philip’s head was impaled.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The fragments on the floor were the scraps and -litter of his violin. There was not one piece as large -as three of his fingers. Isaiah Pinchbecker and Psalms -Higgler had taken their revenge.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Slowly Adam knelt down and gathered the bits of -wood in a little heap, lovingly. He was not enraged. -A lover who finds his sweetheart murdered cannot at -first be filled with anger. Adam gathered every little -scrap and splinter. He tried to fit little fragments -together; he tried to efface heel-marks and bits of -boot-grime from some of the pieces, as if he searched -for features which he loved.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It seemed as if he could not realize that the violin -was actually destroyed. He looked away from it and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>then back at the small heap beneath his hands, like -one half expecting to wake from a dream and find -everything as it had been before something unthinkable -occurred.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Perhaps a woman who had given to her child, willingly -and absolutely, the mastery over her every emotion, -thought and hope, and who had come upon the -body of that child, slain and mutilated, could have -understood what lonely Adam Rust underwent.</p> - -<p class='c007'>For like such a woman, conceiving a fear that the -despoilers might return and rob her even of the body -of her child, the man presently, in a fever of excitement, -took every patch, shred and chip of the red wood -and hiding it carefully inside his waistcoat, dropped -himself down from the window to the earth and went -away in the darkness, like a wild thing pursued.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XIII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>A KISS DEFERRED.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Garde</span>, when she had questioned her cousin Prudence, -until there was little or nothing concerning -Adam’s visit and farewell at the gate which she did not -know, was still far from being certain of anything in -connection with the whole predicament.</p> - -<p class='c007'>One thing, however, gave her a small measure of -comfort. This was that her brooch was much more -beautiful than the Spanish doubloon Adam had given -to Prudence. Yet this comfort grew cold as she reflected -that even if Adam did possibly like her as much -as he did Prudence, he had written her those incomprehensible -lines about burying sorrow, and he had -gone away, she knew not where, or in what manner, -without even giving her an opportunity of bidding him -God-speed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Mistress Merrill was not impulsive and nimble-witted -without having resources at command, when occasion -demanded. She was up ahead of the ordinary lark, on -Monday morning, making straight for the home of old -Goody Dune, for whom she frequently gathered -simples.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Goody Dune had not contented herself in life with -simples only. She had gathered complexities of wisdom -<span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>and the things abstruse in life, for many a year. She -was a wrinkled old woman whom children, kittens, -dogs, horses and all things guided by instinct always -sought in friendship at once. Anyone with patience -enough to reconstruct her face on the lines it must -once have worn, in her youth, would have found personal -beauty still indicated in the old woman’s countenance. -Her eyes still ensnared pretty lights of humor; -her lips were still of that soft texture which in youth -is so charming and in old age too flexible over vacancies -where teeth are gone. Her hair was plentiful and so -entirely gray that one might have looked at it closely -and then have said: “Yes, the black ones seem to be -coming; they will soon be getting quite thick.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Never yet had Garde been able to get to Goody’s -house sufficiently early to knock on the door. Goody -always opened it to receive her. And always the old -woman’s great black cat stood up, on top of the tall -clock, on which she had been lying but the moment -before, now arching her back and stretching, to add -her welcome to that of her mistress.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The room never had ceased to have its fascinations -for Garde, since the first time she had seen it, in her -childhood. The small bags, which hung from the -rafters, along with pendants made of herbs, roots and -bulbs, might have contained gold and precious gems, -for all that Garde knew to the contrary, while the dark -cupboard and the great chest increased the possibilities -of the place, which would have been so grand to rummage -in, had it not been for the brass warming-pan, so -terribly like a watchful moon, forever looking down -from the wall. Then lastly, and mostly, in some -<span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span>particulars, there was Rex, the jackdaw, a veritable -concentration of all the dark arts and wisdoms extant.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good morning, my dear,” said Goody, as Garde -entered, breathless with her haste, “you have come to -see me early.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She’s in love,” said the jackdaw, gravely.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, dear me!” gasped the girl.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Rex, you wicked one,” expostulated Goody, mildly. -“Never mind, my dear, he found you out that morning -last week.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This was the truth for Goody had said these very -same words, several times, in the presence of Rex, no -more than five minutes after Garde had gone, that day -when she and Adam had met in the forest.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But I—oh, Goody, Rex is really wicked,” said -Garde. “But I do so need you to tell me something.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Who doesn’t,” answered Goody. “What a pity it -would be if I could never save anyone in the world -from some little pain, or some mistake, and yet”—she -shook her head, smiling half sadly—“how few -human beings are willing even to listen. They must -all burn their fingers and learn for themselves.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Fools!” said the jackdaw, “fools, fools, fools. -I’m a fool myself.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Fortunately Garde was not unaccustomed to these -interruptions on the part of the knowing bird, so that, -although he always made her pause and look at him, -as if she expected to see how he did it, when he spoke, -she was now enabled to tell Goody her troubles with -quite as much rapidity as coherence.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She held back nothing. She told all about her -original glimpse of Adam in the Plymouth procession, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>of their meeting, her immediate regard for him, then -and there, the long fostering of her affection, and the -events of the days just past. This done, she produced -her slip of paper, on which Adam had written his -mediocre verse, and laid it before the wise woman to -be deciphered.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Goody read the lines several times. “How old are -you now, my dear?” she asked, and then she added, -“It hasn’t anything to do with your worries; it is only -for my own foolish gratification that I ask.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am eighteen,” said Garde.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I should have been puzzled myself, at eighteen,” -said the old woman. She looked into vacancy, -for a moment, dwelling on some fond memory that -brought her sad smile to her withered lips again. -“But you need not be worried. He loves you, dear, -as indeed he should, but for some reason or other he -believes you care for somebody else, and he is therefore -taking himself away. Believing as he does, he is certainly -right, as well as brave, in going away.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But I don’t love—like any one else,” protested -Garde. “And I don’t see how or why he ever got -such an idea into his head. He doesn’t know anybody -that I know. He went to meeting with Mrs. Phipps—Oh! -oh—Mr. Wainsworth!—He does know Mr. Wainsworth.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, dearie, and does Mr. Wainsworth seem to -fancy you, or anything of that sort?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And Mr. Wainsworth told us he had seen Adam, -and that he told him everything,” said Garde, thinking -for herself and musing aloud. “Oh, dear me!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, dear me!” said Rex, derisively.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span>“And do you know where your Adam is going, and -when?” inquired Goody. “Those ought to be your -main considerations now.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why, to-day,” answered Garde. “But I don’t -know where, or anything else about it. What shall I -do? If he goes away like that, I may never see him -again!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Did you say he went to meeting with Goodwife -Phipps?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,—yes, I saw him myself.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then you can be almost certain that he is off somewhere -with Captain William Phipps, for a more restless, -sea-hankering man never lived and remained so -good as Captain Phipps.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I might have thought of that!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then you ought to be able to think of something -to do this very morning,” said Goody, a little, pretty -color burning up in her wrinkled cheeks. “It is still -early, and you have good stout legs.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde suddenly jumped up and kissed her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good-by!” she said. “Oh, thank you, thank -you, so much! But—haven’t you something I can -take to—to Captain Phipps?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Goody immediately supplied her with a small package. -“Take him this tea,” she said. “No sailor -should ever go to sea without it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde sped away, as if on the wings of impulse.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She’s in love! she’s in love!” screamed the jackdaw, -hilariously. As she ran, Garde could hear him -clapping his wings against his body, in noisy applauding.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Running and walking alternately, by the quieter -<span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>streets and lanes, meeting no one on her way, Garde -finally arrived in sight of the ship-yard belonging to William -Phipps. Her first impulsive thought had by now -had time to abate somewhat and give place to a more -sober reflection. Mistress Merrill began to wonder -what she would say, if she did manage to see Adam -Rust. It had been by a swift inspiration, almost an -instinct of a maidenly young woman, that she had -provided herself with an excuse for racing to this place. -No modest girl could bear the thought of seeming to -run after a man, or to say anything bold to him, or -anything calculated to show that she held herself in -any way other than proudly aloof, where he must bring -his love, if he would sue for her favor.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She thought of all this as she went. She also began -to think that perhaps Goody Dune might be mistaken. -If Adam were found and he did not love her after all, -not for all the world would he get one sign from her -that she loved him or cared for him one tiny bit, or -cared whether he went or remained.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She was breathless, rosy as a cherry and excited. -Her hair had fallen down and the plaits had loosened. -It hung about her face and nestled against her creamy -throat like strands of ebony, richly copper-plated. Her -dark eyes were flashing; her lips were parted, revealing -her teeth like little white soldiers in a row. As she -ran, her skirts whipped upward, in curves, about the -roundest and trimmest ankles imaginable.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She now observed a small boat, approaching the -landing. Out in the stream the sails of the “Captain -Spencer” were rising like clouds. Garde then discovered -the figure of a tall man, who had been sitting on a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>heap of logs, for he arose and went toward the dory, -which had evidently come from the ship to fetch him. -She recognized familiar outlines and the drag of the -sword which the man was wearing.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Adam!” she cried. “Oh, Adam, wait!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>But she was still too far away to be heard. Adam -continued leisurely walking toward the landing. Then -the sailor who had rowed ashore for Rust, saw the picturesque -figure coming toward them so swiftly, and -pointed her out to Adam.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Rust was puzzled for a moment. Then he knew it -was Garde. His heart turned a double somersault in -his breast. He felt himself grow red to the tips of his -ears. He walked toward the girl as one uncertain of -what is expected of him next.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde stopped running, when some distance away, -and came on more slowly, brushing a wisp of hair from -her face. Suddenly afraid of what she had done, uncertain -of what she would or could say, to explain her -presence so that he would think no less of her than before, -she was glad he had not heard her call out his -name, but she was tremendously excited. Her eyes -shone like brown jewels. Her bosom was heaving -rapidly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why—good morning, Mistress Merrill,” said -Adam.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh—it is you—Mr. Rust!” said Garde, in the -surprise which a woman can feign on a second’s notice. -“Why, I thought—why, good morning. I thought I -might find Captain Phipps here, and Goody Dune -wished me to give him this tea, and she heard—she -heard he was going away this morning.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span>“Oh! thank you, very much,” said Adam, a little -thickly, in his tremendous excitement, which he was -endeavoring to restrain. “Goody Dune was very -thoughtful, and you were kind to come.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But Goody didn’t tell me I should find you here,” -said Garde, truthfully enough. She had never felt so -stirred in her life. But outwardly she was beginning -to be calm. “You told Prudence you were going -away. Can it be possible that you are going with Captain -Phipps?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, this morning,” said Adam.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then there was a silence for a moment. Garde -hardly knew what to say next. If she should make the -slightest advance and he should receive it coldly, or -derisively, or without understanding, she would die of -mortification. The pause became dreadful to bear—to -them both.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I got—Prudence gave me the brooch—from Hispaniola,” -Garde stammered, presently.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam saw it. It was rising and falling like a little -golden ship, on her bosom. He felt himself somewhat -at sea. If he could only have blurted out that he loved -her—if it had not been for Wainsworth, what a moment -this would have been!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am glad you like it,” he said.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde felt that there was little encouragement in -this remark. “You will not forget to give the tea to -Captain Phipps, will you?” she said. “I think I must -now return.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wish you had brought this tea down here for -me!” said Rust suddenly, no longer answerable to his -loyalty to Wainsworth.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>Garde had wished he would say these very words. -She had rehearsed the answer she would make if he did. -Her heart, had it been a bird beating its wings, could -not have fluttered more wildly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If I had come down here to see you, it would only -have been to tell you that you have made some mistake,” -she said, averting her gaze from his and looking -on the ground.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam trembled, uncontrollably, violently. She saw -it in his hand.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do you mean——” he said.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,” said Garde, raising her eyes to his frankly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then I can love you! I do love you! I’ll come -back here and marry you, sweetheart! I shall love you -and tell you I love you and love you!” he burst forth -passionately. “My little Garde! my love! my sweetheart!—my -little wife that I shall have and love till my -heart is full!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde gasped for breath in the whirlwind of his -words, that swept her fairly off her feet. Her hand -had been on a post, where she had been picking away -little particles of bark. Adam took it. His big hand -encompassed it all about. She felt his soul rush to his -fingers, to meet the throbbing of her own emotions.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, Adam!” was all she could say for a moment.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Garde!” he replied, “my Garde—my love! Why -didn’t you tell me about it before?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You—you were the one,” she said, somewhat regaining -her footing. “You were going away without -even saying good-by.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I thought——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, you thought such silly things,” interrupted -<span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>Garde, impulsively, yet joyfully. “You thought I -could like somebody else, and that is why you were going -away—without even asking. And I don’t know -why you ever came to see me the first time and made -me name my cat Standing-Panther, if you were going -to think such things as that.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam laughed. It was a sudden bubbling over of -his spirits. He was the bright-eyed, joyous boy again, -all at once.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Poor Henry—poor Henry!” he said, with irrepressible -mirth and gladness. “But he never loved you as -I love you, sweetheart! He couldn’t! I love you so -that I would cut down an army to get you and run away -with you here in my arms though all the demons of -earth should follow!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh but, Adam—you mustn’t!” said Garde, as Rust -was about to demonstrate the ardor of which he had -spoken.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What, sweetheart, not one little kiss?” he said.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why, no, of course not, Adam,” she answered him, -blushing prettily.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Aren’t we betrothed?” he demanded.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have not said I will marry you, have I, Adam?” -she said, roguishly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But you shall, sweetheart. I love you so much -that you can’t help it! I love you so it seems as if I -shall explode! I love you, dear! Do you hear me say -it? I love you! I love you, Garde. You do love me, -sweetheart—just a little?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I—love you a lit——,” Garde was saying.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A-d-a-m R-u-s-t.——come—aboard!” came a great -voice across the harbor, from the brig out in the stream.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span>“Beg pardon, sir, the Capting’s calling,” shouted -the sailor, who had rowed ashore for Rust.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam waved him a dumb reply. “Then you will -give me one little kiss, for good-by, sweetheart?” he -begged.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No—it’s too soon,” said Garde. “Besides——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But I am going away,” interrupted Adam. “And -I have loved you seven years!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, you are not going away now—not now, when -we have just found out there was some mistake?” said -Garde.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have promised to go, and therefore I must,” said -Adam. “And I have to go and get that fortune now, -so that I can come back and marry you, sweetheart! I -must keep my promise to Captain Phipps.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But you won’t stay away for seven years again, will -you, Adam?” inquired Garde, looking at him wistfully -and candidly now, with all her love in her eyes. “If -you do——” she left the sentence unfinished.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, I will not,” Adam assured her. “But if I remained -away for fifty years, I should love you and love -you still. And will you love me, dearest, as long as -that?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I shall love you longer than that,” answered -Garde. She was not impulsive now, but her manner -was sweetly earnest, therefore it was more beautiful -than all her other beauty. “I shall always love you -now, Adam,” she added. “It seems to me as if I always -had.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>William Phipps roared across the water once again.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam’s less tumultuous, more enduring love, came -into his eyes. He thought the caress of her long look -<span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>was sweeter than the kiss Garde might have given -him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I shall have to go,” he murmured. “God bless -you and keep you, sweetheart. Good-by, dear Garde.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good-by, Adam,” said Garde. “I shall pray for -your swift return.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He swept her little hand to his lips for a second and -then strode away.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde placed her other hand over the tingling fingers -he had kissed, as if to prevent the caress from escaping.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As he went out over the water, she waved her tiny -handkerchief to him, and permitted two warm tears to -trickle down her face.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam’s memory of her was of her pretty, brown figure, -seen from afar, and the look in her eyes, which he -felt that no space could dim in his vision.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XIV.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>OVERTURES FROM THE ENEMY.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Against</span> his long journey across the Atlantic, David -Donner made preparations that consumed no small -amount of time. A sufficient quantity of money had -been subscribed by the patriots who were so concerned -for the charter, but this was one of the least important -details of Donner’s contemplated venture. As a matter -of fact, the Puritans had acquired the arts of procrastination -patiently and laboriously, for this had proved -their most efficient weapon of defense, in those days of -struggling against the Stuart dynasty, and therefore -the cream of the putting-off science permeated the very -being of David Donner. He nursed his preparations -till they grew and flourished.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Two ships bound for England sailed without him. -He was quite calm as he contemplated further events -of a like nature. At length his fellow-citizens, eager -to have him at his work, expostulated with him, mildly. -His answer astounded them all. He said he had reasons -for believing that Edward Randolph was beginning to -feel inclined toward more kindliness of spirit with -regard to the Colony and the men who had built it -there in the wilderness. Randolph had made overtures -of friendship to him. He appeared to be a more -<span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>agreeable person than any one of them had heretofore -believed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph, indeed, was fairly wooing the old man’s -regard. He had begun by nodding, pleasantly, when -he and Donner passed in the streets. He had followed -this up by halting at Donner’s gate and admiring his -flowers, for which the old man had a secret passion.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If I could dissuade him from his evil purposes,” -said David to his colleagues, “if I could win his favor -for the charter, and so enlist his services with us, -instead of against us, I should be of vastly more service -to Massachusetts by remaining here than I could be if -I were to go to the Court of Charles.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Nevertheless the governors held the promise of David -Donner sacred. He would go as agreed, unless he -could shortly furnish something substantial as a result -of this coy flirtation of Randolph’s to gain his good -opinion.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It had been observed that Randolph had been a regular -attendant at South Church for several Sundays. -This new departure of his had been at first regarded -with suspicion. Coupled with his attention to David, -however, it began to look honest and therefore hopeful.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Grandfather Donner was pothering about in his -garden, on one of these mornings, when Randolph -paused at the gate, as he had frequently done, and -asked leave of the old man to present him with a small -rose-tree, having even then a beautiful rose upon it, to -plant in some sunny corner of the place.</p> - -<p class='c007'>No olive branch of peace could have opened Donner’s -heart more effectually than did this simple matter.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span>“Come in, friend,” said he. “Come in.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It has always seemed a pity to me,” said Randolph, -“that men whose political ideas may happen to differ -should not be friendly in other particulars, with no -more thought of their daily affairs than they would -have of the clothing upon their backs.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Just so,” said David, who thought the time propitious -for missionary work at home, “but I should -think, however, that with your youth and earnestness -you might have a great future before you, as one of us, -working as we work, hoping as we hope, and helping to -build this new commonwealth on a rock of solidity and -unity.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have thought of that,” said the heavy-browed -visitor. “But how would a man proceed to accomplish -a result so remote from one like myself?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Would you plant it here, or next to the wall?” -said David, holding the rose-tree in his hand and looking -about for a suitable place in which to tuck its -roots.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I would plant it here, by all means,” said Randolph.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Donner began to dig in the earth with a knife. -“Well,” said he, “I should say you would do best to -get married and adopt our ways, and labor with us to -maintain our government and rights.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph’s deep-set eyes gleamed with satisfaction. -He said: “You may not be surprised to know that I -have had such an ambition as this. Could I look for -your encouragement and support, if I entertained the -idea of marrying, here among your people, and making -my life with your lives?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span>“Why, to be sure, friend. I would be the first to -welcome the attachment of your heart and your interests -among us. And have you looked with favor upon -some one of our young women?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph noted with pleasure that the rose-tree was -firmly planted and the earth about it patted and pressed -down almost affectionately. “It would hardly be fair,” -he said, “to give one flower, only to ask for another.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Would you have some of my poor flowers?” said -the old man, innocently. “Why you shall, then, anything -you like.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I spoke of my hopes that I have dared to entertain,” -said the visitor. “I referred to the fairest flower in all -Boston, indeed in all Massachusetts.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Donner looked up at him quickly. He rose to his -feet, having been down on one knee to plant the rose. -“Have I understood you aright?” he said.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It has slipped from my tongue unguardedly,” said -the younger man. “Your encouragement of my hopes -led me to this confidence. But I feel I can speak to -you almost as if you were in the attitude of a father. -I can come to you where I could not come to any other -man in Boston. I have seen Mistress Merrill, in the -simplicity and piety of her life, and this has made me -wish to become one of you, working with you and living -your lives. Can you not encourage me so far as this?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>David Donner was all but rendered speechless. Such -a thought as that Garde had grown up and blossomed had -never entered his mind. But not only to find that this -was so, but also to have Edward Randolph—the enemy—desiring -this alliance, this was more than he could -think of, for a moment. He had egged the man on, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span>while he had some vague idea of some other young -woman in mind—some other man’s daughter, or granddaughter,—he -had been ready to abet such an arrangement, -gladly, for the good of the colony, but to find -that it was Garde that Randolph wanted—this was -indeed a bolt from a clear sky.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Friend,” he said, finally, “I shall have to think -this over.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I feared it would sound abrupt,” said the visitor, -“yet it is not a sudden fancy with me. It has been -my constant thought for many weeks. I have even -foreseen difficulties. I have worked so many years -apparently against the interests most dear to the -colonists.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Donner nodded at him, for this sounded frank. But -the old man’s thoughts were afield, wandering, for the -proposition came home to him with tremendous significance.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But,” resumed Randolph, “any man can conceive -that an agent must do, to the best of his ability, that -which he honestly believes to be his duty, howsoever -unpleasant the task imposed upon him may finally appear.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“True,” said David, still vaguely.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have done my work as well as I could,” the man -went on. “I have accumulated matter of vast significance. -I am almost sorry that I have done so thoroughly -well, the task appointed me, and still all this work -might make me the better fitted for citizenship among -you, if I follow out your suggestion.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Donner was not insensible of the threat which this -artful speech implied, the threat that all this accumulated -<span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span>matter and knowledge would be used against -the colony and the charter, if this man were not made -one of their number. But Garde was not to be lightly -weighed in the balance. Randolph’s frankness partially -disarmed the old man; and the life of the charter, he -felt, was the life of their independence, their manhood, -their very being. The tiny roots and tendrils of American -patriotism grew from the very hearts of those -early fathers of liberty.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This is a matter which would much concern -Mistress Merrill,” said Donner. “I made the error of -trying to coerce her mother. I shall never coerce -Garde.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I trust not,” replied his guest. “And yet I hope -you will think upon the matter and mayhap speak to -Mistress Merrill in this regard, for although I am in a -conflict, ’twixt my duty to my King and the high regard -which I have been constrained to place with you -and your people, through Mistress Merrill, yet I fear -I am eager to be remiss with Charles, rather than a -traitor to my own heart.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I will think upon it,” said David, slowly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph thanked him, spoke of the rose again and -went his way. He was a gardener himself, and having -planted his seed, knew enough not to dig it up to see if -it had yet begun to sprout.</p> - -<p class='c007'>David Donner sat down to think, not of Garde and not -of all that Randolph’s visit signified, but of Garde’s -mother and his harshness when her heart had burgeoned -with aspirations for itself, and of the pain and wretchedness -he had brought to all concerned. He thought of -the mad little elopement into which he had driven his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span>daughter, which had ended so disastrously to the honest -but poverty-overtaken father of her child. Then he -thought of the home-coming, the birth of Garde and -the death of the forlorn little mother. He could hear -again her faint words of forgiveness; he could see again -her wan smile on her faded lips; he could still feel the -weak, white hands that raised to slip themselves about -his neck and which, when he had put them down, he -folded on her breast, still forever.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have never coerced little Garde,” he said aloud, -“never, Ruth, never.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XV.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>LOVE’S INVITING LIGHT.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Something</span> had happened to Mistress Garde Merrill, -even as far back as upon that first Sunday at Meeting, -when Adam had been beneath the South Church roof, -where she could see him from the corners of her eyes. -Love had left its sign-manual upon her. She had -suddenly become illumined from within, by her heart’s -emotions, so that she appeared to shine from afar, in -the somewhat gray and unjoyous lives of the Puritan -young men about her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus it was that, in addition to Randolph, who attended -the service solely for the purpose of feasting his -eyes upon her beauty, there was always Wainsworth, -who heard nothing of the Meeting’s cheerless proceedings. -And there was also young Piety Tootbaker, who -knew not at which shrine he was worshiping, from -Sunday to Sunday.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde was half the time at her uncle, John Soam’s. -This fact increased the facilities for the young men to -seek her presence, for the Soams were life-loving people, -in spite of their Puritan conformity to the somewhat -melancholy and smileless practices of the day. Moreover, -John Soam, who thought himself something of a -farmer, as well as a carpenter and Jack-of-all-genius, -not infrequently impressed the would-be suitors into -<span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span>various duties with which he was amusing himself about -his place.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Piety Tootbaker was a fat young man of modest wealth -in his own right, his father having died leaving Piety -his sole heir. He was a heavy lump, who came often -and said next to nothing, so that his intentions might -have lain anywhere between Prudence, Garde and the -family cow, for aught that any one could ascertain -definitely. He was John Soam’s easiest prey, when the -farmer or carpenter, as the case might be, was seized -with a desire to work.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph contented himself with courting David -Donner. He felt no small contempt for Wainsworth -and Tootbaker, whose movements he was stealthily -watching. He had placed his reliance on power always, -and with complete success. The present was no time -to alter his usual tactics.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Grandfather Donner, left alone with his thoughts, -arrived at no conclusions rashly. He went systematically -to work on his friends, to get from each an expression -of belief that Randolph, if he would become -one of them, working for instead of against them, -would be a valuable factor for the preservation of the -charter. This opinion he readily secured, especially as -he gave no hint, as yet, of the method by which Randolph’s -conversion was finally to be accomplished. -Indeed so much promise could his friends discern in the -securing of an end so commendable, that David Donner -began to justify himself in the thought of aiding this -matter with all reasonable power. He encouraged -the growth of a better opinion of Randolph, in his own -mind. He argued the man’s case with his friends, with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span>fanatical insistence, until they perforce admitted virtues -in Randolph’s disposition, heretofore quite overlooked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus he wrought upon himself until, mentally, he -accepted the ex-enemy as his grandson-in-law, to whom -he was willing to extend his welcome, if not actually his -love. With this development of the case, his dislike -for the journey to England increased, while, far from -abating, his concern for the charter grew the more -active, as he dreamed of preserving it here at his own -home.</p> - -<p class='c007'>His state of mind was not a thing at which he arrived -immaturely. The proposition had come to him with -something of a shock. He had never contemplated -Garde’s marriage at all. She was still a child to him, -or at least, she had been, up to the moment when -Randolph spoke. Not the least difficult of his tasks -with himself had been that of compelling himself to -admit that Garde had actually arrived at the threshold -of womanhood—that she was marriageable. This having -been finally accomplished, Randolph had half won -his battle.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As long as Garde would presently desire to marry, then -why not Randolph, especially as such an alliance would -be of such tremendous political significance? Yet he -continued still to tell himself that Ruth’s child should -not be coerced in any direction whither she was not -counseled by her heart and her own inclination to proceed. -He could see no reason, however, why she should -entertain any notions which might be at variance with -his own. Nevertheless it was not without emotion -that he finally summoned Garde to the interview in -which he meant to broach the proposition.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span>“My child,” he began, “I have desired to have a -talk with you, which bears upon matters of some -importance to you and of vast significance to the -state.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, Grandther,” said Garde dutifully, and she sat -down with her knitting. “I suppose you are going to -England at last.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That remains to be seen,” said David. “The need -for something to be done is great. No loyal soul in all -our commonwealth could wish for aught but a chance -to serve this colony in her present straits. Have you -great love for Massachusetts and her people, Garde?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Is not love a passion?” she answered, without raising -her eyes from her work.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Love of one’s country is not an unseemly passion,” -said her grandfather.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then I have for Massachusetts a seemly regard,” -said Mistress Merrill, who had given all her love elsewhere.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And could you sacrifice somewhat of your personal -thoughts, and mayhap desires, for the colony? Could -you be a little patriot in the hour of your country’s -need, my child?” asked the old man, his look intent -upon her face.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde thought he doubtless referred to his projected -trip abroad. She was inclined to believe that she could -endure the personal sacrifice of living with the Soams -during his absence.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I should try to be dutiful,” she answered.</p> - -<p class='c007'>David Donner felt his old heart knocking on his ribs. -It was a moment of much intensity for him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You have always been a dutiful daughter,” he said. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span>“Have you ever had a thought, child, of the womanhood -come upon you, and that mayhap you will one day -become a wife now, and be as other women, a child no -longer?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Any young woman would think on these matters -by nature,” replied Garde, sagely. “But I have -thought of nothing to occur soon, as to such a matter.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, no, to be sure,” said David, nervously. “Yet -I have desired to speak with you upon this subject, for -an estimable young man has asked me to do this in his -favor.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde, who had believed his thought anywhere but -here, looked up at him quickly. She saw the old man’s -face drawn and eager, his eyes bright with the flame of -incipient fanaticism. She was wholly at a loss to understand -him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A young man?” she repeated. “Some one has -spoken to you thus of me?” For a moment her -thought ran wildly to Adam. Could it be possible that -he had returned and spoken to Grandther Donner -already?</p> - -<p class='c007'>Donner cleared his throat. He was pale, for he had -not come to this moment without some violence to his -own conscience.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My child,” he said, a little huskily, “a great opportunity -is offered to you to render a vast service to your -country—to Massachusetts. Edward Randolph, who -has long been against us, has come to me with an earnest -desire to become one of us, working with us and not -against us longer, and asking your hand in marriage, -to cement the unity of his interests and hopes with -ours. He appears to be an earnest, sincere man, at last -<span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span>heartily in sympathy with our struggles, and worthy of -good citizenship among us. I have told him I would -speak to you upon this matter, Garde, and take him -your answer.” He paused and mopped his forehead -with his handkerchief.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde could hardly believe her ears. She looked at -her grandfather oddly. The color left her cheeks, for -a moment, only to rush back in a flood at thought of -Adam and the betrothal, to her so sacred. She had no -thought whatsoever, during that interval, of the colony, -or of patriotism, or of anything save what this proposition -meant to Adam and to her. As for Randolph, she -know him only by sight, and her instinct had prompted -her to shun him, if not to loathe him. Her impulse -was to start to her feet and cry out a shrill repudiation -of the man’s offer. But the sight of Donner’s face -awed her. She had never seen him look like this before. -She remained seated. She resumed her knitting.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But I do not even know Mr. Randolph,” she said, -mildly. “I have not been taught to trust or to respect -him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But if we have done him injustice,” said David, -eagerly, “surely we must welcome an opportunity to -correct it. He has worked against us, it is true. He -could overthrow our charter, but he chooses rather to -become one of our number. If I go abroad, I may fail -at the Court of Charles. If we can save our charter -here at home, it will be the grandest thing we have ever -done. And you can do it, my child—you can do this -great thing! You will, I feel you will!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde was a little terrified. The old man’s anxiety -<span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>was almost dreadful to see. Had he been laying bare -a steel crow-bar in his nature, she could not have comprehended -more thoroughly the stubbornness which she -felt opposition to him now would discover in her grandfather.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This comes to me so suddenly,” she said, “that I -cannot at once think upon it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But you can think what it means to the colony!” -said the man, passionately. “You would wish to save -the charter! Mr. Randolph has become my friend. I -have found that my former estimate of his character -was false. He can take away our charter in a moment—his -work is done. But he also can save us! He -shall save us! Are you a daughter of this commonwealth—a -daughter of a patriot? You can save the -charter. Oh, what a glorious honor! You will let me -take your answer back?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde’s color had gone again, not to return. This -was a moment that frightened her heart. No one could -have lived there as she had done and not be saturated -with the hopes and fears of the colonists, not be trembling -for the government, the independence, the manhood -they had builded up on those stern rocks. In -her first baby utterances she had lisped the word -“Charter.” For ten years their charter had been their -Holy Grail to those American men and women of Massachusetts. -The air was pregnant with patriotism. -The Charter had hung trembling in the balance month -after month, ever since Cromwell’s son had abdicated -the English throne and Charles had sat in power once -again. Garde could not have been the true daughter -of America she was, had she not thrilled first with the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span>possibilities of this fateful moment, before her soul shivered -at the price she would have to pay to perform this -splendid-seeming deed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Sense of duty had been bred and ingrained in the -children of that hour. It held a sway well-nigh incredible -in youthful minds. It fell athwart Garde’s -thought with appalling weight. And yet her soul -leaped to Adam’s arms for protection, as her heart -bounded to his with love. She felt as if she could -crash through the window and run away, to the woods,——anywhere, -to escape even the contemplation of this -thing. Had it not been for her knitting she felt she -must have done something dreadful. As it was she -seemed to tie herself into the pattern—the wilder self—and -so to gain a sense of calmness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I could hardly answer this so soon,” she said. -“Haste first leaves no time for thought after.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Thought, child?” demanded the old man, on whom -her calmness acted as her mother’s had before her. -“Can you wish to hesitate, when the whole state -stands breathless for your answer?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And did you hold me so lightly that you said, ‘Yes,’ -the moment this was presented to you?” said Garde. -“Grandther, I was but a young girl this morning. -What has a moment done to make me such a woman as -this?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But our charter—our government—our liberty, -child!” cried David, raising his two shaking hands -above his head. “You can save them all!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And is it so light a matter for me to become the -mother of our liberty?” said Garde, on whom the spirit -of wisdom had strangely descended, no doubt from -<span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span>Goody Dune. “Grandther, you would wish to think -of this yourself.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She had risen from her seat. She faced her grandfather -and he saw her eyes nearly on a level with his -own. A look of her mother, sad, appealing, forgiving, -played intangibly across her face. The old man’s look -seemed to follow its transit. He passed his nervous -fingers along his brow. The fire died away in his eyes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then think it over,” he said, huskily. “Think it -over, my child, think it over. I will not coerce your -decision. No, I’ll not coerce her, Ruth, no, no, I’ll -not!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He moved to the door, as one in a dream, and left the -room.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XVI.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>GARDE’S LONELY VIGIL.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>David Donner</span> was not to be deterred for long, by -the shadow of a memory which he had seen flit like a -ghost of his past, across Garde’s features. He was arriving -at that age when a man’s memory is not so strong -as in years past and when the events of the day at hand -seem therefore the more important. He fretted under -his promise to go abroad, desiring this to be abrogated -by his fellow-colonists, and this could only be done -when he should persuade them that the charter would -be saved, or at least his country better served, by his -remaining where he was. He had not as yet spoken to -his colleagues of Randolph’s proposition. He was waiting -for Garde to give him her answer.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The girl watched the old man narrowly, to see how -long she could wait, for her answer was no more ready -after a week than it had been on the first day. This -was not entirely because her affections were placed elsewhere. -She was a little patriot, otherwise her love for -Adam would have prompted her reply at once, and -from hot lips. She was undergoing a genuine struggle -with herself. If it were true that she could save the -charter, should she permit her own happiness or Adam’s -to stand before the happiness and rights of all the -Massachusetts people? Had not Adam himself written -<span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>that when there are three and only two could be happy, -the one, representing the minority, should suffer sorrow, -that the greater number might preserve their joy? -Then, when she and Adam were only two, how much -more they should endure sorrow, when all the people of -that colony weighed against them in the question.</p> - -<p class='c007'>No, it was not a simple matter in which her own desires -could speak out above the clamor of duty. And -yet, she could not feel the truth of Randolph’s position -and promise. Suppose he had not the ability, so to -save the charter as her grandfather believed he would. -Suppose, having the power, he should prove dishonest, -when once he had won his desire. What was there in -a wife to tie him to his obligation? If politics had -prompted him to go so far, would they not continue to -prompt him further, after the marriage had given him -his way? To sacrifice herself and Adam was to Garde -a mighty thing. She was capable of any heroism, but -her mind and her nature exacted that it be not specious. -No travail of motherhood ever gave a more acute or -prolonged agony than was Garde’s portion as she strove -to give birth to a wise and right resolution.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Her grandfather, in the meantime, waxed more and -more impatient. It had been his habit from early manhood -to have his own way. In avoiding precisely the -difficulties into which he had fallen with Garde’s mother, -he felt that he was on the safe side in his promise not -to coerce his grandchild. This gave him the greater -latitude in which to bring pressure upon her from what -he conceived to be another standpoint. Yet that repression -of his feelings and passions which he had -practised for long among the Puritans, made him more -<span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span>patient with Garde’s indecision than would otherwise -have been the case. He became childishly eager, more -than harshly insistent, in this frame of mind. He -coaxed her many times in a day, to see what her bravery -and loyalty could do.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Christmas and New Year were long past, and still -Garde had made no decision. In the spring, when she -could make no more excuses for delaying, she told her -grandfather how gladly she would comply with his -wishes, if only she could know, absolutely, that Randolph -would keep faith with the colonists and secure -them their charter against all need for anxiety. This -was her honest word. It came from her heart as if -every word had been jagged, leaving her wounded and -all but ill.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Let Mr. Randolph prove that he will work for our -good with the King,” she said. “Let him secure us -but one year of ease from this constant worry—let him -show us a year of the favor he can win from Charles, -and then I shall be content. This is not much that I -ask. If his heart is so set upon me as he says, surely -he could wait this time and do these things. A true -regard could wait for as many years as Jacob served for -Rachel.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>With this decision, which he regarded as a binding -promise, and which he represented to Randolph as a -betrothal, David Donner had to be content. Randolph -could not, without betraying intended perfidy, object -to conditions so wisely conceived. Argument was precluded. -Grimly shutting his jaws, the man consented -to the arrangement, for else he must have abandoned -his quest altogether.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span>As the months wore on, he went regularly to South -Church, there to sit out the service, which he detested -like poison, for the purpose of fixing his eyes upon -Garde, as if he had been a beauty-vulture, only to be -satisfied by gazing upon her until he was all but self-hypnotized. -As for Garde, conscious as she was that -the man thus stared in her direction, she never so much -as once gave his eyes an answering glance. She did -not love him; there should never be any pretense, -come what might, that she did. Her thoughts and her -heart beats were true to Adam, and so should remain -to the end.</p> - -<p class='c007'>David Donner told his colleagues in triumph of what -he had done, of the answer Garde had made and of the -hope they had for the future. He had justified himself -in remaining in Boston.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The measure of the power wielded, even at the throne -of England by Edward, Randolph could never have been -estimated in Massachusetts, but month after month -slipped away while the charter remained intact and the -men of that anxious colony breathed with a sense of -relief which none had felt before, in nearly a score of -years.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde, with what hope her year’s respite inspired, -began her lonely wait and watch for Adam’s return.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XVII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>A NIGHT ATTACK.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>The</span> night was a thing of perfection, on the sea. -The moon rode aloft and its light danced merrily on the -tips of the waves. A smart breeze pouted the sails on -the “Captain Spencer” till she plowed her way like a -skimming albatross through the phosphorescence of the -southern field of ocean.</p> - -<p class='c007'>On deck the beef-eaters, Adam and William Phipps, -with the mate and a jovial boatswain, were in high -spirits. They were nearing their goal, after a run -which would have awakened some sort of a rollicking -devil in a deacon. Captain Phipps had felt a spell of -bubbling coming upon him for days. It always did, the -moment he dropped Boston out of sight, over the green, -serrated edge of the riotous Atlantic. Therefore he -had broken off the neck of a bottle of good, red juice, -which had lain for a year in the hold of the brig, and -this liquified comfort had circulated generously.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The beef-eaters, arm in arm, were now spraddling -about the deck in a dance of which Terpsichore had -never been guilty, even in her A B C’s of the art. The -boatswain was furnishing music from a tin pipe, the -one virtue of which was that it was tireless.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At length he altered the tune, or at least, so he said, -and after a bar or two of the measure had lost itself in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span>the sails and shrouds, Adam cleared his throat for a -song.</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c022'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>“In the Northern sea I loved a maid,</div> - <div class='line in4'>As cold as a polar bear,</div> - <div class='line in2'>But of taking cold I was not afraid—</div> - <div class='line in8'>Sing too rel le roo,</div> - <div class='line in8'>And the wine is red—</div> - <div class='line in2'>For a kiss is a kiss, most anywhere,</div> - <div class='line in4'>When a man’s heart goes to his head.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ho! the heart of a man is an onion, boys,</div> - <div class='line in2'>An onion, boys, with a shedding skin.</div> - <div class='line'>And it never gets old, for you off with its hide,</div> - <div class='line in2'>When you meet a new love, and it’s fresh within!</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>In the southern sea I loved a lass,</div> - <div class='line in4'>As warm as a day in June;</div> - <div class='line in2'>And oh that a summer should ever pass—</div> - <div class='line in8'>Sing too rel le roo.</div> - <div class='line in8'>And the wine is red—</div> - <div class='line in2'>For my summer, my lads, was gone too soon,</div> - <div class='line in2'>With a man’s heart gone to his head.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ho, the heart of a man, etc.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>In the Western seas I loved a miss,</div> - <div class='line in4'>As shy as the sharks that swim;</div> - <div class='line in2'>And it’s duties we owe to the art of the kiss—</div> - <div class='line in8'>Sing too rel le roo,</div> - <div class='line in8'>And the wine is red—</div> - <div class='line in2'>If a maiden so shy should be took with a whim,</div> - <div class='line in4'>And a man’s heart gone to his head.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>Ho, the heart of a man is an onion, boys,</div> - <div class='line in2'>An onion, boys, with a shedding skin.</div> - <div class='line'>And it never grows old, for you off with its hide,</div> - <div class='line in2'>When you meet a new love, and it’s fresh within!”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c023'><span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span>There were more of these verses, one to fit every sea, -of which there be more than seven, as the song proved. -The beef-eaters and Captain Phipps joined in the -chorus, for the boatswain gave it a rare flavor of -music.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At the wheel, the second mate had jammed a marlin -spike between the spokes, to hold the brig on the -wind, and sitting cosily down had gone fast asleep. -The lookout aloft had become absorbed in the singing, -to which he was bending every attention. In the midst -of a chorus, which might and might not have been the -finale of Adam’s ditty, there was a sudden alarm that -rang from one end to the other of the brig, and all too -abruptly a black hulk of a ship, with never a light, -came sizzling the brine in her speed, the length of a -few anchor-chains away, and made for the “Spencer” -with dire intent.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The music ceased as if it had been cut off with a -knife. Scuttling swiftly to the side of the ship and -then bawling orders, and chasing to the armory in hot -haste, Phipps, Adam and the others yelled that a pirate -was upon them. The words, like an incantation of -marvelous potency, summoned men like so many -gnomes, from hatches, companion-ways and fo’castle, -on the instant.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The brig’s deck suddenly swarmed with its own -men, running hither and thither, shouting, stumbling, -swearing, while Phipps and Rust came darting back -with arms full of cutlasses, pistols and muskets, -gathered helter-skelter, and now thrown with a great -clatter upon the planking.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Scrambling here to arm themselves, the sailors heard -<span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span>a crunch, felt the brig shudder beneath their feet and -beheld half a dozen iron hooks come flying over the -gunwale from the pirate, and saw them jerk snug up to -the rail, as the raiders pulled taut on the lines that -quickly lashed the two vessels together.</p> - -<p class='c007'>A black cascade of men came leaping from the pirate, -landing heavily on the “Spencer’s” deck. Their pistols -blazed yellow exclamation points of fire, as the men -struck on their feet, and then with a clash of steel on -steel, Rust, Phipps and half a score of sailors rushed -upon the invaders and a mad scuffle and melée ensued.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Rust was conscious of a few things about him in the -confusion. He thought how cold the naked blades -looked, slashing in the moonlight; he heard the yells -and curses against the background of a slapping sail -that was making a sound like a weird alarm; he felt -the strength of the big rascal, who was cutting at him -with that brute force and disregard for skill which is so -deadly to engage. He thought the fellow would slice -his saber in two. He lost no time in feinting. The -brute of a buccaneer lurched forward to sweep his -blade clean through Adam’s body and then suddenly a -moonbeam seemed to cleave its way through the -ruffian’s neck. He dropped his sword and spun around -with his head lolling sideways and went down.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam rushed to the taff-rail. The pirate ship was -straining at the ropes by which her hooks secured the -two black hulks together. Smiting these taut ropes -with mad fury, Rust saw the pirate drift away and the -gulf of water widen between the two vessels, while the -scoundrels aboard the robber-ship yelled a discordant -chorus of curses.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span>Then back into the fray, the din of which was rising, -as wounded men smarted and yelled and rushed upon -one another anew, like snarling wolves, Adam darted, -pistoling a creature who came running upon him and -then heaving him overboard as the fellow writhed on -the planks.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The sailors of the “Spencer” had somewhat the -best of the conflict, which was a match in scuffling -hotly all over the deck. Less than a dozen of the -pirates had been able to leap aboard before the vessels -were apart, and their bawlings for help to their ship -had been rendered vain, for the moment, by Adam’s -prompt action in cutting the lines. However, the sea-scoundrels -were versed in fighting, where the sailors -were merely rough-and-tumble sons of Cain whose rage -was their principal accoutrement. They were at their -adversaries, hammer and tongs. They were wrestling -with some, hacking at others, swearing at all. It was -a small pandemonium in which it was next to impossible -to distinguish friend from foe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Phipps, like the woodsman from Maine that he was, -hewed his way from one group to another, shouting to -his men, hoarsely. The beef-eaters, as inseparable as -when they were dancing, chose but one man between -them, and one such they peeled to a horrid core, as -the demon rushed upon their sharpened weapons.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam stepped in a crawling line of gore, its head -silver-tipped in the moonlight, and slipped till it -wrenched him to hold his footing. He saw the sailors -crowding three of the pirates to the rail and, joining -them, battered the cutlasses from their fists and helped -to hoist them bodily over and into the sea.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>The din had hardly abated anything of its volume. -The scene was one of the maddest activity. But the -robbers not already done for, were now at bay against -the masts, the capstan or the rail. One tripped backward -over a coil of rope. The next instant he was -screaming help and murder at the top of his lungs. -This he continued even after a dreadful rattle and -spluttering came in his voice.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Over the reddened decks one or two wounded creatures -were crawling, one wiping gore from his face -and flinging it off his fingers. Swords and pistols lay -about. One dying human was lying on his side, -with his arm extended and his index finger slowly -crooked and straightened and crooked again, as if he -beckoned to death to come more quickly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The sail began to slap at the mast again, as the brig -swung bow on in the wind and stopped in stays. The -croaked curses of the pirates, on their ship, which was -now again drawing swiftly toward the “Spencer,” made -Adam and Phipps suddenly run to the brig’s brass gun, -which was looking dumbly forth toward the pirate.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Rust had filled his pocket with loose powder. The -cannon was already loaded. He poured a small pyramid -of powder on the vent and he and Phipps, with -the combined strength of two giants, slewed the piece -around till a ball from the pirate could have been tossed -into its yawning muzzle.</p> - -<p class='c007'>From the galley, the cook came running with blazing -coals on a shovel. He had been watching the gun. -The pirate missed her mark. She came up in stays, just -as the “Spencer” got again on the wind. The bows -of the robber-craft were almost in touch with the brig.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span>Adam saw that the cannon would fail to sweep the -pirate’s decks—that the shot would be practically -wasted, if it went at the gun’s present elevation. With a -sudden impulse he leaped astride its smooth, brass nose -and bore it down, depressing the muzzle toward the -water, just as the crazy cook turned his shovel upside -down on the primed vent.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was suddenly a deafening roar. The concussion -shook every man’s feet from under him. The gun -leaped backward, like a bucking horse, and Rust went -sprawling on the decks, for he had been left abruptly, -with no support beneath him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The shot tore a hole in the pirate the size of a hogshead, -squarely on her water-line, in her starboard bow. -She came about in the wind and the sea rushed into -her hold in a torrent.</p> - -<p class='c007'>A dreadful silence ensued when the air was clear of -the detonation. Then a moan from a dying wretch on -the “Spencer’s” deck seemed to touch into being a -chorus of yells from the doomed pirate, where the -murderous crew found themselves armed to the teeth -and yet sinking, defenseless, into the very jaws of -death. Their sails slackened again and shook with a -sound as of funeral shrouds.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The “Spencer” scudded away into the boulevard of -silver which the moon was paving with its light. The -sinking pirate gathered the cannon’s smoke about her -and settled swiftly, but not in silence, into the grave -that fitted so snugly about its body.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XVIII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>THE GLINT OF TREASURE.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>The</span> brig “Captain Spencer,” came duly to her goal at -the green Bahamas. What with wounds received from -the pirates, who had called so unceremoniously, and -from sea-sickness, which they always had, the beef-eaters -were glad of the sight of land. Phipps and Rust -were filled with rejoicings by reason of the dreams they -had of thrusting a naked arm apiece into the sea and -fetching up handfuls of gold with which to return to -two sweet women in Boston.</p> - -<p class='c007'>All hands were presently doomed to disappointment. -Phipps learned that his treasure-ship was indeed a fact, -but that she was small, both in tonnage and her burden -of Spanish coins, that she lay in many fathoms of -water and that, indeed, she was scarcely worth serious -attention.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Phipps was, however, a popular man at these bits of -jeweled land in the emerald sea. He had traded there -on several occasions, making friends always. Thus it -came that a hobbling old salt, whom he had befriended -in a scrimmage, consoled him with the information of -a large treasure-ship, sunk somewhere in the neighborhood -of Hispaniola. He resolved at once to pursue -this matter to the end, for which purpose the “Captain -Spencer” would be wholly inadequate, as the Spanish -<span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span>Main was as filled with pirates as the sky may be of -buzzards over dying caravans.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With the approval of the entire party, the brig was -now headed for England, Adam and Phipps feeling -confident of their ability to secure a larger ship for -their enterprise.</p> - -<p class='c007'>On familiar soil when the “Spencer” at length -came to anchor, off the tower of London, in the -Thames, Adam had little difficulty in finding a market -for the brig. With the proceeds of the sale in his -pockets, William Phipps, under Adam’s tuition, blossomed -out as a gentleman of no little personal attractiveness. -Adam, as one born to the purple, donned a -handsome attire and swaggered with all the elegance -of a prince.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He was soon in the midst of his former acquaintances, -with one of whom he fought a duel at the end of the -first week, requiring his vanquished foe, who was only -sufficiently wounded to be satisfied, to kneel in humility -and to wipe the victor’s blade clean of his own red -juice, on the hem of his coat.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Rust until now had never had occasion to regret the -disfavor in which Charles Stuart held him, since a certain -distinguished lady had declared the “Sachem” to be -vastly more entertaining than his Majesty with ready -narratives. However, he was undismayed, for with -James, fated so soon to be king, he was amazingly -friendly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>William Phipps, for his part, needed but one introduction -and no recommendation. Above all things -temporal, James reveled in naval adventure. Blunt, -gallant Captain Phipps appealed to him instantly. The -<span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span>tale of the treasure-ship set him aflame with eagerness -to go with this adventurous company to the western -Indies, where he could readily picture himself, Phipps -and Adam fighting their way to the rotting strongholds -of the Spanish galleon, sunk there half a century before.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With an alacrity which was of a highly complimentary -character to Phipps and Rust, the Prince procured a -fine vessel, the “Rose-Algier,” with a crew of ninety-five -men and an armament of eighteen guns, and gave -her into the trust of his friends for their enterprise. -It was agreed that inasmuch as he thus found the ship -and the expenses of the venture, he should have ninety -per cent. of whatsoever treasure should be recovered, -Phipps declaring for himself and Adam how contented -they would be with the remaining one-tenth.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Late in the year, which was 1684, the “Rose-Algier” -bore away for Hispaniola, Phipps, Adam, and -the faithful beef-eaters, whom seasickness nor peril -could drive from Adam’s side, soon beginning to wonder -what manner of crew it was with which they had -shipped. A few weeks later, King Charles the Second -died. James ascended the throne. Thus the treasure-seekers -were backed by the English monarch and his -government.</p> - -<p class='c007'>A sunken ship has frequently proved to be a small -thing, and the ocean a large one, to the seeker, eager for -its cargo. The “Rose-Algier” dipped into all manner -of harbors and her master asked all manner of people -all manner of questions, to no avail. The months -slipped by, in this tedious occupation, the crew grew -weary of a voyage so profitless and so entirely unpromising.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span>The grumblings of mutiny have a way of keeping below -decks, where they simmer volcanically. Nevertheless -the beef-eaters heard something of the discontent -in the fo’castle, where the ruffians of the crew were for -seizing the vessel, running up the black flag and turning -pirate forthwith. The Rose was a swift, great bird -upon the waves, she was armed to the teeth, she was -well provisioned. What more could be desired for buccaneering? -And piracy paid its disciples handsomely. -Spain and France, particularly, had a hundred argosies -in constant flight between the West Indies and -home. Gold was the commonest burden of all. Your -pirate was a dare-devil, whose life was reputed to be one -long round of adventure, drinking and looting. All -pirates either died happy or hung, and anything was -better than this pothering about in a good ship, seeking -for treasure that was sunk admittedly, while millions of -treasure was afloat and nearly all to be had for the asking. -With precious few exceptions the crew agreed -that this was true enough for every practical purpose.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XIX.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>MUTINY.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Fortunately</span> mutinies frequently come to a head -prematurely. On the “Rose” a jealousy hatched between -rival factions of the plotters, so that before they -were any of them in actual readiness, one faction, in -order to be ahead of and therefore in command over -the other, rushed upon the quarter-deck one night -and made a sudden descent on Captain Phipps, who -happened for the moment to be there alone.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Phipps became renowned for his presence of mind -and courage. On this occasion he promptly knocked -down three or four of the ruffians, and then with a -loaded revolver and a handy marlin spike, he awed the -others into submission before the alarm had even time -to spread. The malefactors being summarily placed in -irons and thrown into the hold, the insurrection below -decks retired into the dark corners, to knit itself anew -into shape.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The sailors now recognized the necessity for uniting -their forces. Moreover, the faction which had been -less precipitate, gained the confidence of those half-coward, -half-demon followers, or human jackals, who -were willing to urge the lions of the fo’castle on to -strike the blows of death, content if they could then -sneak upon the scene for a feast of remains. Thus a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>better plan was laid, while the mutineers dissembled -and lulled even the suspicious Phipps into a sense of security -that he had not possessed before the overt outbreak, -which he had been able to quell single-handed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The plotters found no opportunity of effecting their -designs for several weeks. At length, however, Phipps -steered his vessel into a tiny harbor, bitten by the sea -into the side of a small, uninhabited island, which was -even minus a name. This he did for the purpose of -reshipping the stores, in the hold, a recent storm having -shifted this cargo until the “Rose” listed to port -dangerously, and leaked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The crew, in silence and obediently enough, constructed -a bridge to shore and carried the stores to -land, heaping them up in piles, on the beach.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The unlading being accomplished, the crew desired -permission to rest in the shade of the near-by woods. -This was granted. Once in retirement here, they conceived -a plan without delay whereby the ship should -fall into their hands that night.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Already they had managed to purloin a complement -of arms. They had knives, a few pistols, hatchets and -several cutlasses. The stores being ashore, the ship -was at their mercy. Their plan was simple enough. -They would remain away from the shore until seven -o’clock, when they would proceed to the ship in a -body, overpower Phipps, Rust, the beef-eaters and the -few other faithful souls on board, seize the “Rose” -and leave her captain and his friends on the island, to -starve. There was but one element lacking—the -ship’s carpenter. The “Rose” having sprung a leak, -in the storm, was regarded by the sailors as no longer -<span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>seaworthy, until the carpenter should put her right. -He therefore became a necessary adjunct to their -numbers.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The carpenter, on being summoned to appear among -them by the crew, listened to their plan with horror. -However, he was not a coward and he had his wits -about him. He nodded as if in approval of the plan, -the more readily, perhaps, as he was threatened with -death if he dared refuse to become one of the murderous -gang. Then he informed them that some of his -tools he would much require, to further the plot.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He was sent aboard the ship, with a guard beside -him, who had undertaken to see that he permitted no -leakage of the crew’s little game into the ears of the -Captain. However, this carpenter was a man of resources. -He was suddenly overpowered by illness, on -which pretense he went below. Then, breaking into a -run, he came to the Captain’s cabin, where Adam was -singing the song of his loves. Bidding Rust to continue, -as if nothing was happening, he swiftly communicated -his news to William Phipps.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Go back at once and pretend to assist in their deviltry,” -commanded Phipps. “Make no sign of anything, -save compliance with their wishes, and leave the -rest to me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The carpenter rejoined his guard so soon that they -were entirely satisfied. They conveyed him ashore, with -his tools, and joining their mates again, waited with -what patience they could muster, for the fateful hour -of seven to arrive.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Phipps had now two hours in which to prepare to -defend the ship. Unfortunately some of the guns had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>been landed with the stores. Adam volunteered to -draw the loads from these, and this he accomplished, -with highly satisfactory speed. But it would have -been the work of hours to re-transfer the stores to the -hold, hence they were left on shore to themselves.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With close on ninety armed, desperate brutes against -them, the handful of men on the “Rose” were hardly -in an enviable position. The first thing they did was -to remove the bridge which had been constructed between -the ship and the shore. The remaining guns on -board were then dragged and slewed around till they -covered the approach from the woods, by which the -mutineers would be obliged to come. There was -nothing to be done, then, but to wait.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The crew were not disappointing. They appeared -duly, their savagery whetted to a fine edge by the -burly ruffian who had assumed command of their force. -Phipps had prepared his speech. He hailed the men, -in his big, gruff voice and commanded them to halt -where they were, on pain of instant annihilation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Go near the stores,” he cried, “and I will blow -you in splatters against those trees!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The cowed scoundrels edged back toward the woods. -All the muttered threats of their leader, of what he -would do if they refused to charge, were empty to the -wretches who could look into the chasm-like mouths -of a dozen guns. There courage oozed out of their -veins. They were already defeated.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Phipps, aware that a similar number of dummies -would be equally dangerous, now, had his faithful followers -run out the bridge again and bring aboard the -stores, without which it would have been madness to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>sail. This work consumed no small amount of time. -But it was finally concluded.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now then,” said Phipps, when the situation was -all in his favor, “I shall pull up anchor and leave you -rogues to the fate you had prepared for me. You can -stay here and starve and rot!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This brought the mutineers to tears, and to pleading -on their knees. They were willing to come to any -nameable terms, if only he would spare them this terrible -fate. They threw down their arms, in token of -absolute surrender, begging quarter of any description.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Inasmuch as so large a vessel could not have been -sailed without a crew, Phipps received them back, the -ring-leaders in chains, and doubled the vigor of his -mastery.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But, Adam,” he said, “it’s no use with these -scoundrels. They will drive me back to England yet, -with none of the treasure.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Distrustful of the brutes he had between decks, -Phipps now sailed for Jamaica, where he quickly discharged -nearly every man Jack of his mutinous crew -and took on a new lot of sailors. This was not a matter -of a few days, it required nearly a fortnight of time, -Phipps being exceedingly particular as to the men he -selected. In the meantime two things occurred which -gave no little anxiety to the treasure-seeking captain. -Rust fell ill, with an attack of tropical fever, and a -letter arrived from Goodwife Phipps in which she -begged to know if her lord and master were still alive, -and if so, would he not speedily return to Boston and -give no further heed to fortune’s beckoning.</p> - -<p class='c007'>William Phipps had seen men sicken and die in these -<span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span>latitudes. Adam, attended faithfully by the beef-eaters, -took the fever lightly, as he seemed to take -everything of life. Nevertheless he was weak, when -the heat had somewhat abated in his body, and in no -fit condition to remain in the tropics.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Adam,” said the Captain, gravely, having schooled -himself for a day and night together for this moment, -“I have about concluded that the ‘Rose’ is no longer -fit for this service. I shall return to Hispaniola, but -unless I shall make out the galleon in a few weeks, I -shall sail again to England, for a newer ship.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“All right,” said Adam. “I shall be ready this -afternoon.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well,” said Phipps, hemming and hawing, “the -fact is, Adam, you are quite unfit to remain about these -islands. Besides, I should be glad of a messenger to -send back to Mrs. Phipps in Boston. I would suggest, -therefore, that you return thither, on a frigate, sailing -to-morrow morning, and if it chance that I go to England -and again return to Hispaniola, you could meet -me here and help me to find the treasure.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Rust seemed to hesitate before making his reply. -He was sure there was a treasure for him in Boston, -but he had begun to have his doubts as to the sunken, -or any other sort of available, gold in the Spanish Main. -Yet he did not wish to appear eager to abandon the -quest, and his heart was above all else loyal to Phipps.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If I should, by great good fortune, discover the -treasure,” continued the Captain, “you shall suffer no -loss for your absence, for your services have been ten -times over rendered already.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Much as he was affected by the friendship which -<span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span>prompted Phipps to assure him of this, Adam was not -in the least concerned with thoughts of the treasure, -nor influenced by this generous plan which his friend -had formulated. But being a reasonable being, in some -directions, and being perhaps unreasonably inclined in -others, as for instance, toward Massachusetts, he saw -the wisdom of the Captain’s arrangements, and therefore -bade his friend an affectionate farewell, on the -following day, and sailed for the north, with the beef-eaters -close at his heels.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XX.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>GARDE’S EXTREMITY.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Had</span> prayers been able to reach him and summon -him back to Boston, Adam would have been there long -before the fever overtook him at Jamaica. Garde, -more alone than she had ever been in her life, had appealed -to the stars, to the wind, to the tides of the sea, -to convey her yearnings to Adam and to bid him hasten -to her side. She was alone because she, only, distrusted -Randolph. She was alone because she felt no longer -the slightest companionship with her grandfather, because -even Wainsworth and Tootbaker respected the -provisional betrothal she had made with Randolph and -because not to Prudence nor even to Goody Dune had -she felt she could confide her cares and the breaking of -her heart, under the present painful circumstances.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Her distrust of Randolph had grown, despite the fact -that, in a measure, the threats against the charter had -ceased and a pseudo peace contented the patriots with -the thought that their difficulties had been finally remedied -by the alliance to which they all now looked -forward with abnormal interest and confidence.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde had maintained her right of immunity from -the attentions of Randolph, consistently and steadfastly. -She had never given him the single glance, at -Meeting, or elsewhere, for which he was becoming -<span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>crazed. The light of malice that burned in his eyes -was a thing that Garde felt, occultly. It was a threat -to break her will, some day; it was tigerish in its animal -hunger. No creature of prey ever lay in wait for its -victim more ready to pounce, to overpower and to drag -away to its den the coveted object of its greed and -passion.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the months had winged heavily away on their -somber-colored pinions, and the moment for which -Garde had hoped, when she set the one year’s time of -probation had never come—the moment of Adam’s return. -The second Christmas, so joyless with the Puritans, -was far off, with the other departed days of -winter. The snow had melted; the tender shoots of -grass were returning, in hordes, like little green armies; -the first buds were breaking the cold, dank soil and -peeking forth, while still close wrapped, as if to say: -“Is it time?” And only Garde would have pushed -them back, only Garde, usually so joyous in the returning -of warmth and beauty, would have held to the edge -of the mantle of snow, to retain it where it lay.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Her heart was beating like a lead clapper, that tolled -against the bell of her soul, day and night, for the fear -that was on her of the coming week, when her -year of respite would end. Already her grandfather -looked at her with fanatical eagerness in his eyes, and -rubbed his shaking hands with delight. He had no -eyes to see that she was pale, that she started at sounds -as she had never done before, fearing that Randolph -had come a few days too soon, to claim and to carry -her off. The old man’s one idea was the safety of the -charter. To secure this, no sacrifice could have been -<span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span>too great. But as a matter of fact, David Donner had -no conception of the sacrifice which he was requiring. -Such zealots rarely have.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In despair, three days before her dreaded hour should -arrive, Garde hastened like a child, afraid of an ogre, -to Goody Dune. The evening was cold, for the sky -was overcast, the wind was blowing from the north and -a few scattered speckles of snow flew spitefully through -the air.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“B-u-h-h—it’s cold! B-u-h-h—it’s cold!” said the -jackdaw, when Garde came in at the door. The bird -was echoing the past winter’s history of what poor old -Goody had suffered, alone in her hut.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, dearie,” said the old woman, who was evidently -making preparations to go out, on some mission -of her own, “you look as if you too are in need of some -of the simples you gathered in the summer.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is nothing simple that I need,” said Garde. “I -have come for wisdom and help. Oh, Goody, I don’t -know what I shall do. I wish so I had come to you -sooner!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You must stop trembling first,” said Goody. -“Here, take this cup of tea. It is going to be a bitter -night.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She had prepared the drink for herself, to fortify -her meager warmth of body against the wind, into -which she expected to go on an errand, presently.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is not from the cold; it is inside that I am -trembling,” confessed the girl. But she took the cup, -obediently. “If you can do nothing to help me, I could -wish the cold would never let me go back to my home!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There, there, drink the tea,” said Goody, after -<span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span>giving her one penetrative glance. For young women -to feel that terrible demi-mania of desiring self-destruction -was not new to Goody Dune. She had gone through -the stages herself. She knew almost exactly the conditions -which universally promote the emotion in the -young of her sex.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I know that Adam has never returned,” she said, -slowly. “You have had no word, even. I have seen -that in your eyes. But, dear me, have you no abiding -faith and hope, child? In the spring——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh it isn’t that, Goody!” broke in Garde. “I -could wait—I could wait for him fifty years, patiently—yes, -patiently. I love him. But you don’t know -what has happened. I have never told you. What -was the use! They made me promise;—and if Adam -knew—he might never come back. No—he would not -come back. And I love even the very places where his -shadow fell, in the forest—and the log he was sitting -on. I love the gate where his hands rested—I love -everything he ever touched!” Her hands pressed upon -her bosom, where, beneath her frock, she wore the -brooch from Hispaniola.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Goody had never seen her in such a mood. She had -never heard such passion from her lips. But by the -memory of her own heart-break, she caught at the -sinister cry of something promised.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And have you given yourself in promise to somebody -else?” she asked, quietly, but somewhat severely.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Grandther forced me. What could I do?” said -Garde, feverishly. “What could anybody do, with the -charter being taken away? If I could save it, I ought -to save it! But he will never, never keep his word! -<span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span>He is deceiving them all,—I feel it! I know it! He -is a wicked man! But you will tell me what to do. -You must tell me what to do!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Sit down, dearie,” said the old woman, calmly. -“You must tell me all about it. I cannot prescribe, -even simples, until you let me know what you are driving -at, you know. Now who is this he, through whom -you are to save the charter?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t know how it ever happened,” said Garde. -“He was always known to be the enemy of the colony, -but he did something to Grandther, who has never -been the same man since Mr. Randolph——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Edward Randolph!” interrupted Goody, with a -sudden vehemence, the like of which she had never before -betrayed to Garde. “Did you say Edward Randolph? -Have you promised to marry him, to save the -charter? There, there, sit down and tell me your -story, quietly. Only, do make haste.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde wondered, momentarily, at the old woman’s -abrupt outburst. It served to give her a new hold on -herself, for it broke her own morbid thought and excitement. -She told Goody what had happened to mar -her happiness almost before Adam’s kiss had ceased to -burn on her fingers. She told it brokenly, incoherently, -for she knew all the details of the story so vividly that -she could not realize that Goody was not also in possession -of the entire fabric of thoughts and struggles -which had brought about her grandfather’s cherished -end. However, Goody Dune was a woman, and quick-minded -and astute at that. She patched as rapidly as -Garde gave her the irregular fragments of the tale. -She had shut her mouth tightly at the end of her own -<span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span>outburst, and it seemed to Garde her lips had grown -harder since. Her eyes were certainly snapping crisply. -Goody was aroused.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come with me,” she presently said, interrupting -Garde’s outpourings again. “When you came I was -starting to go where it would be well for you to follow, -before the hour grows later.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But, Goody, won’t you tell me what to do?” said -Garde, in anguish.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You will know what to do, when you go home,” -said the old woman, somewhat grimly. “I know -Edward Randolph by his works.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She led the way out into the gathering twilight without -further delay. Garde shivered a little, as the cold -wind struck her again, but she followed, eagerly, with -wonder in her heart and a little awe of Goody, in her -tortured mind. What could the old woman mean? -Where could she now be hastening?</p> - -<p class='c007'>Goody proceeded with a straightness that argued -familiarity with the route, and fixity of purpose in her -mind. She went by alleys that led down toward the -water, where fisher-folk had builded little shanties on -the rocks above the roar of the harbor breakers.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am taking you to see another young woman,” she -said. “She was pretty too, and she had no parents. -Her mother died five years ago, and her father, James -Hodder, was lost in the storm, last spring. She was -an easy prey, you see. Poor Hester! and only fifteen.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde looked at the old woman in wonder. All this -half muttered preface to something coming, served to -make her heart beat so hard that she could hear it, -painfully.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>“What is it about her?” she asked, breathlessly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Goody made no answer. She had reached the door -of one of the huts, and pushing it open she entered, -Garde, pale and large-eyed, close behind her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ned—oh Ned!” came a half sob, half chortle of -joy from somewhere in the darkness of the place. -Garde felt shivers go down her entire form.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Not Ned yet, my love,” said Goody, in a voice so -cooing that Garde hardly knew it. “Presently, dear, -presently. He is sure to come back to-night. Dear -me, we must have a light and see how we’re doing.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde had heard a little moan which Goody’s cooing -had not sufficed to smother. Then there had been -the sound of a stifled sob. Goody went to the dying -embers in the chimney-place, to get a light for a tallow -dip on which she had put her hand with unerring -familiarity with the furnishings of the place. The -voice, with tears and patience in its syllables, came again:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He will come—back, to-night? He—didn’t come—last -night. He hasn’t—come for a—week.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh yes, he will surely come to-night,” crooned -Goody, at the fireplace. “But how is the little -dollie?” Garde was leaning back against the door, -heavily. Her eyes were staring into the utter darkness -with which the place was filled. She felt the presence -of a woman on a bed of motherhood. She was -ready to sink on the floor, with terrible apprehensions. -The woman on the bed made some heroic effort to calm -herself, and to answer Goody’s question.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She’s sleeping,” she said. “She was so cold, but -I have got her warm again.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The tallow dip now flared. Goody shielded it cautiously -<span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span>as it sputtered and then she arose to her feet. -Between her fingers the light spread, throwing great, -grotesque shadows of her hand on the walls, in one -direction and a larger adumbration of her head in the -other. Garde saw the couch, which she had known -was in the corner. She also saw a white face, too thin -to be pretty, and all of a soul’s being and anguish concentrated -in two great eyes. Her own eyes were blazing -with the emotions by which she was possessed. As -if there had been some great affinity between them, the -young woman on the couch was looking at Garde the -moment the dip illumined the room.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Who’s that?” said the startled Hester on the couch.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A friend, a friend, dear,” said Goody. “I brought -her to see you. She knows Edward.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She—she knows Ned?” said the wasted young -mother, raising herself up, abruptly. “Let me see her. -Oh, oh,—you are so pretty! But you won’t take him -away from me—you won’t take him, please? He does -really love me—he didn’t mean what he said. He must -love me, now. He hasn’t seen our little baby, or he -would love me more than anything in the world. You -wouldn’t take him away from me—now?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>As Hester sat there, propped up by one thin, white -arm, brushing her hair from her face and leaning -eagerly toward her visitor, Garde could only put her -hand to her cheek and shake her head. Her bosom -rose and fell in the agitation which was shaking her -whole being.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I am so glad—oh, I knew you wouldn’t,” said -the girl on the couch. “You couldn’t have the heart, -could you? See—see!”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>Weakened as she was, she made a great effort to rally -her strength and dragged a little bundle forth from between -the blankets and her own throbbing bosom, where -she had kept it partially warm. She was stifling sobs -all the time she was speaking. Her nerveless fingers -sought in the folds with instinctive tenderness, to uncover -a tiny face, as immobile as marble. “It’s our -little child,” said the mother. “She looks so like him. -He would have to love me now—you see he couldn’t -help it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Goody took the babe in her arms. Garde saw everything. -She saw the tidy poverty of the hut. She saw -the ghost of the girlish beauty, which this abandoned -mother had once possessed. She saw the young creature -tuck in, next her bosom, ecstatically, a worn-out -stocking—a man’s stocking.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde wanted to flee, but Goody brought her the babe—a -little doll indeed. Goody took her hand, for Garde -seemed stricken with helplessness, and placed it lightly -on the tiny, white face of the child. The girl drew it -away with a shudder. The babe was dead.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Go home, dearie,” said Goody, in a croon. “You -will know what to do. God makes few of the marriages -laid at His door, but He does make some of these. -Hester has a right to believe He made her a wife—else -why a mother?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde opened the door and ran out, glad, oh so glad -it was cold!</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XXI.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>RANDOLPH’S COURTSHIP.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Garde</span> fled home as if some unthinkable fate were in -pursuit. She was haunted by the look she had seen in -the eyes of that girl-mother, back in the hut. She -could hear the young thing still begging her not to rob -her of the man who had taken her all and given her an -ineradicable shame in exchange.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Yet beneath every other emotion, Garde felt a sense -of exultation. The estimate of her instinct was confirmed—Randolph -was perfidy itself. Not a soul among -the Puritans, she believed, could do aught but support -her against this man. And if only she could wrench -herself free, how gladly would she welcome the penance -of waiting years for Adam, in payment for her act, -which she felt was disloyalty, in consenting to the provisional -betrothal into which she had been forced!</p> - -<p class='c007'>Her grandfather now would have to be the first to -protect her from the dread fate which had come so near, -she thought. To confuse politics and the personal affairs -of her narrow life is the privilege of the sex to which -Garde belonged. She planned, as she darted through -the wind-swept streets. She would tell it all to -Grandfather Donner, and then he should save her the ordeal -of meeting Edward Randolph in any manner whatsoever. -She gave no thought to the charter, nor to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>what the man with the power he wielded would do in -revenge to their liberties, now that he would find himself -baffled, at the end of his term of waiting.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She yearned for Adam. She could tell him, now, -what she had been driven to do, whereas before this -she had always wished him to come, yet had shrunk -from the thought of confessing what she had permitted -to be done. Yes, she could lay it all bare before him -now, and fairly scourge herself with her own reproaches, -joyously. What an exquisite pleasure it would be to -ask his forgiveness thus, and not at first receive it, and -then at last be taken home to his arms and his love! -For her thoughts, her heart-beats, her soul’s longings -had all been constant to him, and to him alone. She -would like to tell him all this. And she would let him -kiss her, now. For through what hours had she wished, -when she had thought they might never meet in that -way again, that his kiss had been placed upon her lips -that day of their parting. She almost frightened herself -with the thought of how that one kiss on her fingers -might have been his only kiss. But the next moment -she tingled with ecstasy, to think she was free and that -some day he would come back, and then she would -know how to love him and to cherish him as never -before she could have known.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus glowing one moment, with love’s own reveries, -and chilling the next, with sudden reminders of what -had just been and what might still be, she reached her -grandfather’s house, where she had been staying with -the old man for the past year, with only rare visits to -the Soams. She went in by the kitchen door. This -apartment being dark, she passed through to the dining-room, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span>which was lighted but unoccupied, hence she continued -on to the parlor, where she fancied she heard -voices. Entering here, she could have fallen to the -floor in sheer astonishment and fright.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She found herself confronting her grandfather and -Edward Randolph himself.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ah, here she is, you see,” said David Donner, rubbing -his hands together, delightedly. “I thought she -couldn’t be far away. My child, Mr. Randolph has -come to have a little chat. Natural enough, I should -think.” He chuckled with pleasure, adding: “Dear -me, I mustn’t forget to cover my rose, on a night like -this.” With fatuous smiles, that ill suited his grim old -visage, he quitted the room, in a sprightly, playful -manner, and left Garde facing Randolph, alone.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good evening, Mistress Merrill,” said the man, -fastening the hungry gaze of his deep-set eyes upon her -face. “I am glad to see you looking so well.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good evening, sir, and thank you,” said Garde, in -a voice scarcely audible. She had become suddenly -pale. She trembled. She looked at the man as one -fascinated by a baleful point of light.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It seemed but reasonable that I should call and see -you, since our betrothal is so soon to end in our marriage,” -said Randolph, moving slowly toward her, as if -to prolong his own anticipation of standing where he -could reach her at last. “I have been very patient, -have I not, my pretty sweetheart?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You—have been very—patient,” echoed Garde, -helplessly and panting like a spent doe, to catch her -breath.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And I have kept my word,” he went on, still slowly -<span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span>approaching. “Massachusetts has her charter, and -now—I have my wife.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He put out his hand, like a talon, to clutch her fast.</p> - -<p class='c007'>One convulsive shiver seemed to break the spell which -had held Garde enthralled. She leaped away, her eyes -blazing, her lips quivering, her frame shaken with -emotion.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No!” she cried. “No! Don’t touch me! Keep -away! I loathe you! I know what you are! Keep -away,—I can’t bear you!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What’s this?” said the man, scowling, till his -great brow threw a sinister shadow as far down as his -cheek bones. “Have a care, my dear Garde. We -made our bargain a year ago. This is no time -for kittenish pranks. Come back here where you -were.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>His tone was authoritative. The gleam in his eyes -was a warning against disobedience. But Garde could -be no further frightened than he had made her by his -mere presence. She stood there, alert for the first -sign which would send her running, if need be, to jump -through the window.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I shall never touch you, nor go near you!” she -said. “There is no bargain between us. I would -rather die than to be your wife! I know what you are, -I say. I have been to Hester Hodder’s, to-night! I -have seen her. I know what you are!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph took hold of his lip and pinched it viciously. -He glared at the girl in silence, for a moment. -“This has nothing to do with me,” he said. “You -have made some mistake.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I made a terrible mistake when I first submitted to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span>this loathsome plan,” said Garde, gaining courage as -she spoke. “I always distrusted you, despised you. -Do you think I would trust a man to save our charter -who wouldn’t save a woman’s honor—who would do -what you have done? You may go—you may go away! -I loathe you! I scorn you! Oh, I have found you out -in time!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This is silly talk, Mistress Merrill,” said the man. -“I know nothing of your Hester Hodder.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde made a gesture expressive of disgust and impatience.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But all this has no bearing on anything one way or -the other,” Randolph continued. “You must not forget -that I have as much power over the charter and the -colony as ever—in fact, more. I have become the -friend of these people, but you can make me their -enemy with a very little of your nonsense. Come, now, -let us be two sensible beings and not begin our union -by quar——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If you have had any power to do us injury,” interrupted -Garde, “we will find it done. You wouldn’t -dare to trust yourself. I have a fear, such as I never -had before, of the harm you have doubtless done this -colony, darkly, in the year just passed.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde had a way, fairly uncanny, of saying terrible -truths, as if from some sort of inspiration, which came -upon her unawares. Randolph had his pockets full of -documents, at that moment, which lay there like a mine -of explosives, ready to shatter the charter and government, -almost at his whisper of command. His mind -could conceive of nothing so exquisite in treachery, to -these people that he hated, and in vengeance against -<span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span>Garde, for the attitude she had always assumed toward -him, as to marry her first and then to destroy the charter -afterward. This had been his dream for more than the -year. He had waited for its climax as patiently as a -cat will wait before a hole till the mouse shall reappear. -Garde’s words were as so many poignards, only that -they failed to strike him in a fatal spot. They stung -him to greater fury than he had ever felt and to a hotter -determination to humble the girl and to reduce -Massachusetts to abject servility and despair.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The man saw that this was an ill time to threaten -Garde. She was not made of the wax which his sophistries -had substituted for the metal once in David Donner’s -composition.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You have entertained some strange ideas of me, -Mistress Merrill, for which I am at a loss to account,” -he said, more quietly. “I feel sure we merely misunderstand -each other. Have I not shown, for a -year, that my one wish is to prove myself a staunch -friend of these good people and worthy of your esteem? -I am willing to do anything further, if you can think -of anything you would like to suggest, before we are -married.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We shall never be married,” said the girl, self-possessed, -now, and calm enough to be fairly judicial. “If -you wish to win my respect, go and marry Hester Hodder, -and let your child not be buried in shame.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The man winced, but not visibly. He took his lip in -his fingers again and pinched it till it was white. He -realized that in her present frame of mind, Garde was -utterly incorrigible. He only made matters worse by -remaining where she was. He knew of a trick worth -<span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span>two of prolonging this interview. Yet he must retire -in good order.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I must tell you once more,” he said, “that I know -nothing about this person of whom you speak. I regret -that something has prejudiced your mind against -me, especially when you insist upon doing me this -wrong. Let me say good night, for I am sure I shall -find you in an altered mood to-morrow.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good night,” said Garde, icily.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The man smiled and went out, closing the door as if -it had been the bars of a cage, which he had dared to -enter, at the risk of frightening his prey to death.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He went out into the garden and called to David -Donner.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XXII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>DAVID’S COERCION.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>David Donner</span> came in from that interview in the -garden an angered fanatic. The bitter cold of the -night had entered into his soul, with all the heaped-up -threats which Randolph had hurled at his head.</p> - -<p class='c007'>These threats had not been fired at David loudly nor -fiercely. Randolph had told him of Garde’s insubordination, -of her charges and of her repudiation of her -promise. He had shown that whether her allegations as -to Hester Hodder were true or false, they had nothing -to do with Massachusetts politics. He had then opened -up with his main battery—a recital of the power he had -steadily accumulated, during the past year, and of -his intention to use it, immediately, if Donner and -Garde now failed in the slightest particular to keep -their share of the bargain.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Donner became nearly crazed. For a year he had -dwelt with fondness upon the topic of the charter and -of how he had saved it, until nothing else could get -foothold in his mind. Indeed he had become mildly -insane upon the subject. He had counted the days, -and finally the hours waiting for the final ratification -of the contract with Randolph, whose influence with -King James had exceeded even that which he had exercised -<span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span>when Charles sat upon the throne. To reflect -that now, at the eleventh hour, the mere whim of a silly -girl could destroy this whole fabric and sweep away -their jealously guarded liberty and independence, at a -single breath, nearly made a maniac of the old man.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Hester Hodder was as nothing. A hundred such -women, with their dead babes, would have been as -nothing, compared to the safety of the charter. What -had Garde been born for, if she was not to save the -day, when her promise was made and when she alone -stood between ruin and the colony? What was her -girlish folly, that it should stand in the path forbidding -the colony its existence? What should be her -very life, when the matter against it weighed so -ponderously?</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thinking what his compatriots would say, if they -should learn of this latest turn of affairs, Donner wrung -his hands in agony, and then clenched them in rage. -For twenty years the charter had fluttered between life -and death. For the last year it had gained in strength -till it seemed that all danger had passed. No religious -fanaticism, no zeal of inquisitions ever possessed a -man’s soul, heart and brain more thoroughly than his -patriotism possessed Grandfather Donner.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When he went into the house, his trembling, bony -hands were as cold as those of a skeleton. He was half -crying, with his utter vexation and fear for the charter, -and yet he ground his teeth, in his anger and stubborn -determination to compel his grandchild to adhere -to her promise. When he came to where Garde -was awaiting his return indoors, she mistook the mad -light in his eyes for righteous indignation at Randolph’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span>perfidy, of which she believed he had become -apprised.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, Grandther,” she said, running trustingly toward -him and beginning already to cry, from her stress -of emotions. “I am so glad you have come back to -protect me!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Protect you? Protect you?” he almost screamed, -clutching her by the shoulders, so fiercely that the cold -and the pain which he caused seemed to penetrate her -through and through. “What madness have you committed? -What have you done? The charter,—the -charter—the charter!—you shall save the charter! Do -you hear me? You shall keep your promise and -save the colony!” He shook her till the girl was -gasping. She could think of nothing but a hideous -nightmare.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, he hasn’t told you, Grandther,” she cried. “If -you knew the truth you would turn him from the door! -I have seen poor Hester and her baby. I cannot bear -to think of him—I should die!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You—you—you traitor!” stammered the old man, -in his mania. “You—you betray the colony! You -are mad, mad! You promised. You made your own -conditions. You have deceived me. You would play -us false, now—now, when our liberties are taking heart. -But you shall not! What? You come home here -with this silly story, you—you, the daughter of a -Donner—and ready to tear up the charter for your -silly notions. No—no! no! no!—you shall marry -this man! You shall keep this your bargain! The -charter—you shall save the charter!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, but, Grandther, the story is true,” said Garde, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span>wringing her hands. “He is the one that is false. And -I thought you would hold me too precious for such a -thing as——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Enough!” commanded the crazed old man. “My -word—the colony’s word—has been given. The bargain -shall be kept. This has gone too far already. To -think that for one moment you would so jeopardize the -charter! I am stricken with shame at your want of -honor at this crisis of our liberties!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde still failed to believe she heard her grandfather -correctly. She still hoped his impatience would abate -sufficiently for her to tell of what she had seen. It -could not be possible that a Puritan, so high-minded -and strict for moral conduct, could know what she -knew and still insist upon this infamous marriage. To -her, at that moment, it was virtue and honor that were -all important to be saved, the charter and the colony -that had become insignificant.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If you had touched that little dead baby,” she said. -“If you had heard Hester begging, Grandther—oh, -you would have kept your promise,—you would never -coerce me in this terrible——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Stop! stop!” cried Donner, madly, angered -almost beyond control by this appeal, which was so -unbearably remindful of her mother. “I have not -coerced you, never! You made your promise freely. -The honor of the colony, and more than that, the -safety of the charter, now hang upon your faith in keeping -your own agreement. And you shall keep it—for -the family pride—for the colony’s good name! This -story—what is the woman?—what is her child?—what -is anything, when our liberty and independence tremble -<span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span>in the balance? No more—I’ll hear no more of -this,—not a word!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde brushed a wisp of her red-black hair from her -forehead. Her great brown eyes were fastened wide -open by amazement. Her lips alone contained any -color. How red they seemed against the white of her -oval face! Her eyebrows seemed like two curved black -brands on her brow. She looked at her grandfather in -silence. It was positively incredible that he had said -what she had heard, she thought. If Hester and her -child and “everything” were held of so little worth, -why—what of herself? Had it come to this? Was it -admittedly and shamelessly a sacrifice of her very soul, -to a creature only waiting to have his way first before -destroying the charter later?</p> - -<p class='c007'>To the pure, natural mind of the girl, Randolph had -become as translucent as water, in his plotted perfidies. -It appeared impossible that any man could still believe -in his lies. She would have spoken of this, but the -sight of the fanatical old man before her, sealed her -lips. She recognized the light in his eyes at last. At -any other moment her pity would have fluttered forth -to him, yearningly, her little mother instinct would -have taken her on the wings of concern to smooth the -care-channeled wrinkles from his brow, but now all -these tenderer emotions had fled away, in fear and awe. -She said nothing further. There was nothing left to -say, nothing that would have any weight against -mania. At length even her gaze fell before the wild -look with which David Donner confronted her, insanely.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now then,” said the old man, at length, in a voice -<span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span>made raucous by his recent passions, “you may go to -bed and prepare your mind for obedience.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good night, dear Grandther,” said Garde, by force -of habit, and with nothing more, she passed from the -room.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XXIII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>GOODY’S BOY.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>The</span> right of Spring to exercise idiosyncrasies of -weather was conceded, doubtless, by the first man. -Spring is well known to be female, for this very proclivity -of changing her mind as to what she will do -next. Having been a spitfire nearly all night, Spring -smiled in the morning, as balmy as if she had caught -the fancy of some tropical zephyr, that hastened rashly -northward to catch her for a kiss.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The first ray of the sun found itself entangled in the -hair of Mistress Merrill. Garde had not slept during -the night. She had not gone to bed, nor had she prepared -her mind for obedience to her grandfather’s -commands. She had spent the hours sitting at the -window, waiting for the morning.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She now sped swiftly through the unawakened streets, -a prey to a sense of fear that she was being pursued. -From time to time she cast a quick glance across her -shoulder, but there was no one following. There was -hardly a sound, save that a few birds—hardy little -scouts, ahead of the northward-creeping caravan of -summer—twittered and set up rival centers of melody -in the trees.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was no hesitation in the girl’s footsteps. She -<span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span>knew where she was going. Goody Dune’s was the -only place where she could go, with her present resolutions. -She had come to a logical conclusion, as to -what was now to be done, shortly after leaving David -Donner. Her mouth was firmly set, where determination -had come to abide.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As always, she found Goody stirring about, with her -door wide open, when she came to the tidy little home. -Goody beheld her coming before she reached the gate. -Peering into her face knowingly, the old woman gave a -little shake to her head. She was adept at deciphering -the hieroglyphics which human emotions write upon -brows and lips and eyes, especially in the faces of the -young.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“So your grandfather insists and you are going to -run away?” she said, as Garde came eagerly up the -garden path to the door.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,” said Garde, in some awe of the wise old -woman and her means of acquiring knowledge, “and I -want you to help me,—oh, you must help me—just as -fast as you can! How did you know?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I could see that you were deeply troubled, and I -know exactly what a girl like you would do,” said -Goody. “I was the same kind of a girl, once, myself. -Now tell me, first, where are you going.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t know,” said Garde, “I think to Plymouth, -to my aunt Rosella.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You would do well to make up your mind on that -point,” said Goody. “And how are you going, shall -you sail, or ride, or walk?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I shall run,” said Garde.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If you walk it will last longer,” said the old woman, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span>with just a suspicion of a smile. “Then, those two -points being settled, have you brought anything to eat, -in your pocket?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No—no, I didn’t wait for anything. I shan’t want -anything to eat for days. I don’t feel like eating, and -I don’t know when I ever shall.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And no blankets to sleep in?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh no, Goody, how could I?” said Garde.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Let me see; it is something like forty or fifty miles -to Plymouth,” Goody mused. “Have you thought how -it would look if a young woman were seen, running -night and day for sixty miles? You know many people -walk from Plymouth here.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,” said Garde, eagerly. “That is the only -trouble. I want you to do something for me, or tell -me what to do. Everybody would see a girl and if -Grandther were told, he would have me caught and -brought back—and I would rather die!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Goody laughed at her now, more than half gaily. -Her own eyes twinkled with delight over the venture. -“What would be the good of all the things my friends -have given me, all these years, if I did not use them at -such a time as this?” she asked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, have you got anything I could really use?” -Garde responded. “What is it? What can you do? -I mustn’t wait,—they will catch me, just as sure as the -world!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Not if I make you invisible,” chucked Goody. She -dived into a chest she had opened and began to paw, in -an orderly manner, at a heap of clothing which the box -contained. She presently drew forth a complete suit of -clothing for a boy. “There,” she continued, “go into -<span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span>the next room and put those on, as fast as ever you are -a mind to.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Those?” said the astonished Garde. “But these -are——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I know. They will make you invisible—as a -girl. Do you wish to be seen? If not, go and put -them on and let me get at something else. We still -have other fish to fry.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But——” started Garde, when Goody pushed her -into the next apartment.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Goody continued to rummage in the chest, producing -a hat, much the worse for age, a pair of stout shoes, a -stick and a large, red handkerchief. Into this handkerchief -she knotted a number of slices of bread, some -pickles and some cold meat. She then secured it on -the end of the stick, and dropped inside it a little wad -of money, tied in a parcel by itself.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde now returned, blushing as red as a rose and -bending her legs inward at the knee most shyly, -although anything prettier could hardly be conceived, -and there was no one present save the old woman to -look, anyway.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh dear me!” said the jackdaw. “Oh dear me!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Stand up stiffly on your pins,” commanded Goody. -“You are not invisible as a girl at all. Come, now, be -a man.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But—Goody——” gasped Garde. “I—I really -can’t——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, you can. You must,” corrected the old -woman. “Or else you can give up running away -altogether.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh no, no!”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_197'>197</span>“Then do as I tell you. Feet more apart, knees -stiff. That’s better.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But, I feel—I feel so—so cold.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Where, in your face? Nonsense. Now try on -this hat.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Goody adjusted the hat. It was much too small to -cover all of Garde’s glorious hair.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This will have to come off,” said the old woman.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh!” was all Garde could reply.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It did seem a pity, but the business in hand was -altogether grim. The scissors snipped briskly. The -hat presently covered a quaint, pretty head with close-cropped -locks. Garde caught the gleam in Goody’s eyes, -for Goody could not but admire her for a most handsome -and irresistible boy, and again the blushes leaped -into her cheeks, and those tell-tale knees began to try to -hide one another.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Goody shook her head. “Any one would still know -you for Garde Merrill,” she confessed, “whether they -had ever known you before or not.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then what shall I do? I might as well go back -to my own clothes,” said the girl eagerly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You remain where you are,” instructed her mentor. -“If you are going to run away successfully, you must -muster up your courage. But perhaps you prefer to go -back to——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No! I’ll——do anything,” interrupted Garde. A -sudden horror of the thought of going back, or of being -caught and taken back, to Randolph and all the rest of -it, put good steel into her shoulders and some also into -her legs. “Please make haste and let me be starting,” -she added. “They may be coming at any moment!”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>Goody lost but little time in thinking. She produced -a cup, from her shelf of decoctions, and dabbling her -finger into its contents she proceeded to stain the girl’s -face a rich brown color, which made her more handsome -than ever, if possible, but which masked her so -completely that her own reflection would not have -known her. The brown stuff went into her pretty ears -and all around her plump pretty throat and even on top -of her eyelids as they were closed, for Goody was something -of an artist. When she had finished, she regarded -her work critically.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The angel Gabriel wouldn’t know you now, himself,” -she said. “When you wish to get it off, use vinegar. -Take your stick and your little pack, put it over -your shoulder, so, and now you are ready. Would you -like something to eat before you go?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh no,” gasped the girl, frightened half out of her -wits, at the prospect of going forth into the world with -two pretty, visible legs to walk withal. “I—I couldn’t -eat anything. I—wait a minute. I—I think I would -like a little drink of water.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Goody gave her a dipper full, of which she took one -miniature sip.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do I—do I look—terrible?” she faltered.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You look like a farmer’s boy—a lout of a country -lad,” said Goody. “So, good-by, young man. My -last word is, forget you have got any legs, or you will -surely be detected.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Legs!” said the jackdaw, glad of a new word. -“Legs! Legs!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I couldn’t—wear anything—over them, could I?” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span>said Garde, timidly, having jumped when Rex croaked -so suddenly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You can wear a wedding gown over them, if you -prefer,” said the old woman, grimly, and suggestively. -“I really expected you to do better than this.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well—I will!” said the poor child, resolutely. -“Good-by, dear Goody. I shall always love you, more -than ever, for this.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Goody kissed her, as she bent affectionately forward, -and patted her motherly on the back. “That’s a good -boy,” she said.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She opened the door and Garde went forth. The -open air made her conscious of her attire instantly. -But she did her best, shy and unboyish as the effort -was.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I forgot to ask,” she said, glad to get one more -moment in which to get ready. “How is Hester? -How was she when you saw her last?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Goody’s face darkened. “I saw her the first thing -this morning,” she said. “Some one must have called -last night, after I left. Hester is dead.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XXIV.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>A GREENWOOD MEETING.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Adam Rust</span>, sailing northward, grew more and more -hearty once again with every day, although his pulse-beat -quickened almost hourly, with a fever of impatience -which began to fasten itself upon him. He was -quite himself again, long before the ship arrived at the -port of New York. But the beef-eaters were a sorry -pair, for the sea still took its revenge upon them for -Adam’s total disregard of its powers, and the passage -had been exceptionally rough.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was no more than natural that Pike and Halberd, -on arriving as far as New Amsterdam, should desire to -have done with the boisterous Atlantic. Adam, on the -other hand, was in such a fever to go on to Boston that, -had no ships been available, and no other means possible, -he would have been tempted to swim. As it was, -there was no vessel putting for the north to any point -beyond Plymouth for a week, so that Adam determined -to sail that far and either to catch another captain -there, who would convey him onward, or to walk the -remaining distance alone.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The beef-eaters, seeming absolutely in need of a rest -from their adventures on the water, reluctantly saw -the “Sachem” depart without them, they in the meantime -remaining with Captain William Kidd, at his New -<span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span>York home, expecting to go on to Boston with him -later. This had been the first time that Rust had been -more glad than otherwise to be for a brief season without -his faithful followers. But never before had the -conditions of his going to Boston been the same.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus, on a fine day in April, Adam found himself -landed in the old town, of which he had no pleasant -memories. He would have confined his inspection of -and visit to Plymouth to the docks, had not a hurried -tour of inquiry elicited the information that no vessels -were due to sail to Boston for two or three days. To -remain in the place for such a time as that was not to -be thought of on any account.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Providing himself with a small parcel of food, at one -of the taverns, Adam was soon striding through a street -of the town, which he remembered vividly as one -wherein he had walked on a former occasion, as a captive -boy, in a procession of fanatical Puritans. The -memory was far from being pleasant.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He would have avoided the place, had he known his -way sufficiently well, but before he knew it was so -very near, he had come to that square in which -the stake with King Philip’s head upon it had once -been set.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He looked at the plain surroundings of the locality -with a reminiscence of melancholy stealing upon him. -He fancied he saw the precise spot where the stake had -stood. It brought back a flood of memories, of his -days spent with the Wampanoags, his companionship -with King Philip, the war and then the end. The -sequent thought was of his first glimpse of Garde, held -in her grandfather’s arms and looking across the bank -<span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span>of merciless faces with a never-to-be-forgotten sympathy -in her sweet, brown eyes. Dwelling then in fondness -upon the recollection of his first meeting with William -Phipps, the rover felt that, as his last sadness here had -been an augury of better times to come, so this present -moment might presage a happiness even greater. With -this comforting thought to spur him on to Boston, he -quitted the square and was soon leaving the outskirts -of Plymouth behind him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Spring seemed to be getting ready for some great -event. She was trimming herself with blossoms and -virgin grass, and she was warm with all her eagerness -to make herself lovely. Adam opened his mouth to -breathe in the fragrance exhaled by flirt Nature. He -walked swiftly, for there was resilience under foot as -well as in his being.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If Garde were somewhere near, the day could -hardly be lovelier,” he said, half aloud. “She must -be breathing in this direction.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>His glance was invited here and attracted there. -Wherever it rested, Nature met it with a smile. Adam -felt like hugging a tree, yet no single tree was that -elusive spirit of Nature which he so longed to clasp and -to hold in his arms. But if he was mocked by the -ethereal presence of beauty too diffuse to be held, by a -redolence too subtle to be defined, and by bird notes too -fleeting to be retained, yet he was charmed, caressed, -sublimated by the omnipresence of Nature’s loveliness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At noon he was ten good miles from Plymouth and -trailing his sword through a wood, where one could -feel that some goddess of intangible and exquisite entity -<span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span>had just escaped being seen, by fleeing into the -aisles of the trees, leaving an aroma of warmth, pine-breath -and incense to baffle bees behind her. Where a -little brook tinkled upon pebbles, for cymbals, he got -down on his knees and had a long drink. Hearing -voices, where some party seemed approaching, he arose -and went forward, presently coming to a cross-road in -the forest, where he beheld a scene that aroused his -momentary indignation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It amounted to little. Three young country clods -had evidently been pursuing a fourth young fellow, who -was scarcely more than a boy, and shorter than any in -the group, and now, having come up to him, at the -cross-roads, had “cornered” him up against a tree and -were executing something like an Indian war-dance -about him, as he stood attempting to face all three -at once.</p> - -<p class='c007'>They began to yell and to run in at their captive, -who was striking at them awkwardly and not more than -half-heartedly with a stick, in order, apparently, to -prevent them from snatching away his hat. It was entirely -too unequal, this sham combat, to accord with -Adam’s notions of fair play. He started to run toward -the group.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Here!” he shouted. “Here, wait a bit,—I’ll take -a hand, to make it even.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The youth against the tree saw him coming before -the others were aware of his presence. When Adam -shouted, however, they turned about quickly enough, -and yelling in added delight at being chased, they made -off briskly, running back on the cross-road, the way -they had come.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span>Adam strode more leisurely toward the boy who -remained leaning, in obvious confusion of emotions, -against the tree. He saw a remarkably handsome, -brown-complexioned youth, with delicate features, large -eyes, that gazed upon him in wonder, and exquisitely -rounded legs, one of which was nervously bent inward -at the knee.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was Garde.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Fortunately she had seen him before he came close. -Therefore the little involuntary cry of gladness which -had risen to her lips, had been too faint for him to -catch, at a distance. Then in the moment when her -persecutors had been scampering away, she had grasped -at the opportunity to control her emotions to the extent -of deciding, in one second of timid and maidenly -thoughts, that never, never would she reveal herself to -Adam, if she could help it, while dressed in these awful -garments. She must act the boy now, or she would -perish with mortification. Luckily the blush that leaped -to her cheeks was masked by Goody’s brown stain. -Nevertheless she panted with excitement and her bosom -would not be quiescent.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good morning,” said Adam, coming forward and -doffing his hat, which he felt that he must do to a -youth so gentle and so handsome. “You were making -a very pretty fight, but it lacked somewhat of vigor. -The next time, slash this way, and that way; guard -against assault with your other arm, so, and do your -cutting at their heads.” He had drawn his sword with -which to illustrate, and flourished it lustily at the imaginary -enemy, after which he added: “Now then, -who are you any way, and where are you bound?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span>“Good—good morning,” faltered Garde, in a voice -scarcely more than audible. “I am—I am not used to -fighting.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, I should say not,” said Adam, trying to make -his voice delicate and sweet, in imitation of hers. -“You must speak up, boy, the same as you would fight, -roaring thus: ‘What ho, varlets!’ on your right, and -‘Have at you, knaves!’ on your left. Shatter my hilt! -I haven’t seen so girlish a boy since Will Shakspeare’s -play. Stand out here and let us get acquainted, for I -think I shall like you, though you do fight and roar so -ill.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Immensely relieved to find that he did not suspect -her identity, Garde summoned all the courage which -ten days away from home had sprouted in her being. -Moreover, she knew that if the deception was to be -made successful, she must act her part with all her -ability. She therefore left the tree, against which she -had continued to lean and stood forth, with what bravery -she could muster.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And who may you be?” she managed to inquire.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ha, that’s better,” said Adam. “Don’t be afraid -to speak up. A dog that barks at once seldom has need -to bite. And you have the making of a man in you -yet. You could be taller, but let that pass. You have -fine, sturdy legs; your eye is clear. Why, you have -nothing to blush for. What ails the lad?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The red beneath the brown stain was too ardent to be -hidden. Garde’s gaze fell before his admiring look.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You—haven’t told me your name,” she faltered, -heroically striving to stand stiffly and to conjure a voice -to change the subject withal.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>“So I haven’t,” Adam agreed. “I asked you for -yours first, but no matter. I am a mad lover, on my -way to Boston. My name is Rust, with a spice of the -old Adam thrown in. If you are going in the same -direction, I shall be glad of your company.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde was going in the same direction. She had -never reached so far as Plymouth. Footsore and weary, -she had trudged along, going less than ten miles a day, -stopping at night with the farming people, the wives of -whom she had found most kind, and so at last had arrived -at a farm near by these cross-roads, unable to go -any further. She had therefore rested several days, and -only this very morning she had learned, by word from -another traveler, that David Donner, suddenly afflicted -by the double woe of finding her gone and himself -cursed by Randolph, who had immediately set in motion -his machinery for depriving Massachusetts of its charter, -was on his back, delirious and ill, perhaps unto -death.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She was going back, all contritely, yearning over the -old man, who had taken the place of her parents for so -many years, and weighted down with a sense of the -wretchedness attending life. It was not that her resolution -to escape Randolph had abated one particle of -its stiffness, that she was turning about to retrace her -steps, it was merely that her womanly love, her budding -mother-instinct, her loyalty and gratitude for her grandfather’s -many years of kindness and patience,—that all -these made no other thought possible.</p> - -<p class='c007'>And now to learn that Adam was traveling to Boston -also, that she should have him for her strong protector -and comrade, this filled her with such a gush of delight -<span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span>that she with difficulty restrained herself from crying, -in joy, and the tendency to give up and lean upon his -supporting arm.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At sight of him, indeed, before her mortification had -come upon her, for the costume, in which it seemed to -her she would rather be seen by any other person in the -world than Adam, she had nearly run to his arms and -sobbed out her gladness. It would have been so wholly -sweet to obey this impulse. Her love for the big, handsome -fellow had leaped so exultantly in her breast, again -to see him and to hear his voice, when she had been so -beset with troubles. But she had denied herself splendidly, -and now every moment strengthened her determination -to play her part to the end. Yet what joy it -would be to travel back to Boston, through the greenwood, -by his side.</p> - -<p class='c007'>And being not without her sense of humor, Garde -conceived many entertaining possibilities which might -be elicited from the situation, the standpoint of man -to man being so wholly different from anything heretofore -presented to her ken.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,” she said, in answer to Adam’s last remark, -“I am going to Boston—or near there,—but you may -find that I cannot walk fast, nor very far, in a day. -My walking will doubtless prove to be like my fighting. -So that if you are so mad with—with love, and so eager -to hasten, perhaps——” and she left the sentence unfinished.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well,” said Adam, pulling his mustache smartly, -“I confess I am a bit hot on foot, and so you would be, -young man, if by any good fortune you knew my sweetheart, -yet I like you well enough, and my lady has such -<span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span>a heart that she would counsel me to go slower, if need -be, to lend any comfort or companionship to a youth so -gentle as yourself.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am sure she would,” said Garde, readily enough.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Are you, though? One would think you knew -her,” said Adam. “Don’t plume yourself on this -matter so prematurely. Come, let us start.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“One moment, please, till I can tie my shoe,” said -Garde, who felt such merriment bubbling up in her -heart that she was constrained to bend downward to the -ground quickly, to hide her smiles.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam stood waiting, glancing around at the woods, -wondering which way his heart had flown, on its lightsome -wings, in that temple of beauty. Garde looked -up at him slyly. He was dressed in great brown -boots, that came above his knees, brown velvet trousers, -a wine-colored velvet coat, with a leather jerkin over -it, sleeveless and long enough to reach to the tops -of his boots, almost, and on his head he wore a large -slouch hat, becoming and finishing to his striking -figure.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde was looking at the back of his head rapturously -when he started to turn, to see why she made the tying -process so deliberate.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am ready,” she said, cheerily, springing to her -feet. “Is this the road?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“By all the promptings of my heart, it is,” said -Adam. “But, by the way, you have not yet told me -your name, my boy.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh,—why—why my name is—John Rosella.” She -had thought of her aunt’s first name, on the spur of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_209'>209</span>the moment, and John had been the simplest and first -thing which had popped into her head.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“John Rosella,” repeated Adam. “It sounds like -Spanish. That would account for your dark complexion.” -He looked at her critically. “Yes, you are a -nice, gentle boy. Have you ever been in love?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“With—with a girl? never!” said Garde, trembling -with delight and fear of being detected, especially if -she answered too many questions. “Do tell me all -about your lady—lady love.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s a bit too precious to tell to any man,” Adam -assured her, gravely. “And yet, you are so nearly like -a girl that I can almost tell you about her.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What is her name?” asked Garde, catching her -breath in little quick gasps.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Her name? Ah, I hardly tell it to myself, often. -But her name would sound sweet in these woods. Her -name is—now, mark you, don’t you ask me to repeat it -again. Never mind her name, anyway.... Well, -it’s Garde. You will have to be contented with that. -Ah, but she is the sweetest, most beautiful little woman -in the world. Her loveliness goes all through, the same -as beauty is everywhere in these woods. It’s her nature -to be lovely.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>His voice became an utterance of melody. It seemed -a part of the forest tones. He had taken off his hat, -for in his mind Garde stood before him, a smiling -dream, even as Garde actually walked beside him, a -smiling reality.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Is she tall?” said Mistress Merrill.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, somewhat taller than you,” said Adam, “Being -gentle and likeable you might make one think upon her, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>but her voice is sweeter than yours, and, well—she is a -girl, and you are merely girlish.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Have you loved her long?” said Garde, again casting -her gaze upon the ground, as she walked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Years!” said Rust. “I have loved her all my life, -for I never began to live till I saw her first, and I loved -her the moment I saw her.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And does she love you?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ah, now you approach forbidden ground. It would -be a sacrilege for me to prate—even here in these woods—of -her sweet thoughts. I have told you too much already. -You are a very devil of a boy, to have gotten so -much from me, touching on this subject. I’ll be sworn, -I don’t know why I have let you draw me out like this. -But I stop you here. It is no concern of yours whether -she likes me or not.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh,” said Garde. Then she added slyly, “I should -think she would.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I thank you and warn you, in a breath, young -man,” Adam replied. “You have gotten the best of -me already. Let good enough alone.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde loved him the more for the sacredness in which -he held her name and the inclination of her heart. She -loved him for the modesty which crept into his speech -and deportment when least expected. Loving him -thus, so fully, and in this realm, so made for the growth -of tender passions, she found it difficult to cease her -questions. It was so wholly delightful to hear him -repeat, again and again, how he loved her. She was, -however, obedient by nature, and now cautious by circumstance.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Perhaps you will tell me of your travels,” she said, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span>this subject being next in importance to hearing of his -great affection. “I am sure you could relate much of -interest, if you are so minded.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And how shall you know I have traveled?” said -the man.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why—” Garde found herself confused, having -thoughtlessly spoken on a matter of which she did -actually know, yet of which she must seem to be in -ignorance. “Why—I would know this from your appearance—your -dress, to which the young men here -are not accustomed. Have you not recently come from -over sea?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have,” said the rover, satisfied with her answer. -“I went away seeking my fortune—which still remains -to be sought.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, well, never mind,” said Garde, who for the -moment was his partner, to share all his disappointments. -“I mean—I mean you don’t seem to mind,” -she added. “I should like to hear you tell about your -adventures.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam, who felt that he could talk to this boy by the -hour, was nothing loath to narrate his wanderings, the -more especially as he had always found it difficult sufficiently -to praise his friend William Phipps. Therefore, -as they walked onward together, Garde thrilling -with her love, and turning her eyes fondly upon him, -whensoever he was unaware, Adam told and retold of -the fights, the hopes, the storms, the success in England, -and the illness which had finally given him his -leave to go home to his sweetheart.</p> - -<p class='c007'>No lover of Nature ever lingered more fondly over -the sighs of trees, the fanning by of fragrant zephyrs, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span>or the love-tales sung by the birds, than did Garde on -his every word. And, inasmuch as she could not cling -to his arm, when he recited the perils through which he -had come, she artfully coaxed him back to declarations -of love for his sweetheart, from time to time, to give -some satisfaction to her yearning.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XXV.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>LOVE’S TRAPS FOR CONFESSIONS.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Some</span> time before nightfall, the two having shared -their luncheons together and wandered on, through -the delightful patches of sunlight, slanting through -the trees, they came upon one of the farms where -Garde had already tested the hospitality of the good -people residing by the highway.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Here, by a little dexterity, and through Adam’s -generosity toward the delicate boy, to whom he had -taken such a fancy, Garde occupied the spare apartment -she had made her own when headed in the other -direction, and Adam contented himself in the hay-loft -of the barn.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the morning they were up betimes, to greet another -smiling sun, and so resumed their leisurely -journey toward the north. At noon they halted as before, -and made a meal of the stock of bread and other -provisions they had been able to secure at the farm-house.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde sat upon a mossy bank, while Adam reclined -on a stone, somewhat below her woodland throne. -Adam looked at her so long and so steadfastly that she -grew most uneasy, lest he were about to pierce her -disguise.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_214'>214</span>“What are you looking at?” she said, with an -attempt to be boyishly pert.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I was looking at your legs,” said Adam, frankly. -“They are uncommonly symmetrical, but a shade too -pretty for a boy.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde immediately bent the plump objects of interest -underneath her and sat on her heels.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You find a great deal of fault with me,” she said, -a little vexed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It’s because you have faults, as a boy,” Adam told -her, honestly. “You know, my lad, you could be a -bit sturdier and none the worse. And yet, I like you -immensely as you are. Perhaps if you were changed, -you would lose some charm and spoil it all. I shall have -to let you be, and content myself with you as you are.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, thank you,” said Garde, already smiling at -him again, to herself. “Then please make no more -remarks about me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“About your legs? Well, I won’t, since you appear -so sensitive about them. Mind you, they will do well -enough, after all.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Shall we go on?” Garde asked him. She was a -little weary and would have been glad of further rest, -but she found she was much more comfortable when -they were walking side by side.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam was up at once, for walk they never so fast, he -felt he could by no means come up with his thoughts -and desires, which had run so far ahead of them always.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Never mind what I say,” said he, as they resumed -the onward march. “I have to have my say out, -when I think it. And you know you do puzzle me -constantly.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span>“I don’t see why, or how,” said Garde.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It’s because I seem to think I have seen you somewhere -before. And yet I know that is impossible, -hence I am driven to think of your girlishness, for an -explanation.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde said: “I think this is very much in your -imagination, Adam Rust.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Not a bit of it,” corrected her comrade. “You -were patterned for a girl, my boy, depend upon it. -There was some mistake, or some bit of trickery, when -you became one of us. Why, a man couldn’t even -think a little oath, in your presence.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then is it not better that I was raised somewhat -after the manner of girls?” said Garde, complimented -as much by the reverent tone in his voice as by what he -had said. “Does not the rearing I have known serve -some good purpose, if what you say is so?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“By my faith, yes. But then you do admit that -you were treated in your younger days, somewhat as a -girl?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I hope it is no shame to confess this is so,” she -answered, looking down on the ground to hide the -dancing of her eyes. “I was treated somewhat in this -manner and I was even dressed as a girl, at times.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ah, that accounts for your bashfulness and so -forth. But you need not blush for this. Bless your -heart, a man’s the better for it, if he has something of -the woman in his heart—and even in his hand.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am glad to hear you say so,” murmured the girl.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, yes, it’s all right,” said Adam magnanimously. -He looked at her with frank admiration. “Only it is -something of a pity you were not a girl, you know.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_216'>216</span>“Oh. But why?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Because you would be such an one as a man could -love.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But not you, Adam Rust. You have said you love -a sweetheart already.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I do—mightily! But if you were a girl I would -enjoy finding a man worthy to love you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But this is unseemly. You forget that I am a -boy.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, for some reason or other, it is easy to forget -that. But I was merely supposing. Say that a man -had come along when you were dressed as a girl—why, -what then?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What then indeed,” said she, with some spirit, -“would you have talked like this to me, of—of love?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, I wouldn’t,” said Rust, stoutly enough. “It -would then have been quite another matter. As it is, -you play the deuce with my brain and fancy. I start -in to talk to you as man to man, and then I think you -are almost better fitted to be a girl—and you admit -you were raised somewhat in that manner, so what can -one expect?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, what if your sweetheart heard you speaking -thus?” said Garde, who was enjoying the situation -the more for the very danger of it. “Should you like -to have her hear you telling me I should have made a -girl that a man could—could love?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You being a boy, why not?” Adam made answer. -“Ah, she is too present in my thought and feeling for -me to say anything I would be loth for her to hear.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>They had arrived at the edge of a brook which was -somewhat swelled by the snow, back on the hills, melting -<span class='pageno' id='Page_217'>217</span>in the genial warmth of the sun. It was nothing -for Adam to stride across, stepping from rock to rock, -but Garde hesitated, her femininity uppermost in a -moment, despite her utmost efforts to be boyish.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Here, give us your hand,” said big Adam, turning -back to help her over. “Now, then, jump!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thrilling with the delight of his warm, strong fingers -closing so firmly on her own, Garde came across the -brook in safety and then reluctantly released her grip -from his.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam had not escaped unscathed from this contact -of love, with which she was fairly thrilling. He looked -at her oddly, when they were safe again on the further -side. Garde caught her breath, in fear that she had -betrayed herself at last, in that moment of weakness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are too much for me, John,” Adam admitted, -shaking his head in puzzlement. “You are a strange -boy.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I thought it was all explained,” Garde replied, -anxious to get him quieted on the subject. “How far -should you say it is to Boston?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I think I begin to work it out a little,” the man -went on, musingly. “It’s because you remind me of -some one I have known.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do I?” said Garde, half afraid of her question. -“Of whom?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t quite know,” he confessed, looking at her -earnestly. “And yet I ought to be able to tell. It -was some one I liked, I am sure.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“As much as you did your sweetheart?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam seemed not to hear this question. “Your -<span class='pageno' id='Page_218'>218</span>complexion,” he resumed, “makes me think of a sweet -maid I knew at Jamaica.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And yet your eyes are like those of a lovely French -damsel that I met, one time.” Here he sighed. -“Your hands bring back a memory of a charming -Countess at the court of Charles. Some of your ways -make me think of a nice little Indian Princess I once -knew; while your ankles—but you don’t care to hear -about your ankles.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde was duly shocked. She knew not what to -think of Adam, who was revealing such astonishing -epochs in his life. This was terrible. Yet she wished, -or almost wished, he had gone on, just a little further, -though she dared not encourage him to do so, right as -it might be for her to know it if his heart had strayed -elsewhere, at any time during his absence. She was -alarmed, curious, piqued. She forgot that she was a -boy to whom he had spoken.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It seems to me,” she presently answered, “that I -remind you of nothing but the ladies and maids of these -countries where you have traveled.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, you don’t remind me of the lads, that I admit,” -said Adam.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde made up her mind to profit by the occasion. -She piled her little courage up to the top-most mark.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And who was the little maid of Jamaica?” she -asked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, she was as sweet a little thing as ever prattled -Spanish,” Rust replied, with a reminiscent look in his -eyes. “You would have liked her, I know.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde entertained and reserved her own opinion on -<span class='pageno' id='Page_219'>219</span>that point. “Well—did she like you?” she asked, -indifferently.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh yes, she said she did, and I am sure you could -depend upon her to tell the truth. She used to like to -sit on my knee, dear little thing!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde gasped. It was fortunate that Adam’s mind -was occupied with memories. His perfidy was coming -forth finely. She knew not whether she wished to cry -or to stamp her foot in anger. She controlled her impulses -heroically.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“About how old was she?” was her next question.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Three, I should say,” said Adam. “She was a -pitiful little thing, more than pretty. In a way she -made me think of Garde, so I couldn’t help but like -her.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde was flooded, all through her being, with feelings -of love and penitence. To think that she had entertained -for a moment a notion that Adam—and -yet, stay, there were the others,—dames and countesses. -They could not all have been mere tots of children. -Then she wondered if it were fair, thus to try to trap -the poor fellow and take advantage of him, to make him -confess these subjects as to another man. Of course for -his own good it might be better to let him tell. And -she would understand him so much more thoroughly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Was the French damsel only three also?” she summoned -courage to inquire.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh dear, no. She was three and ninety, but still -sprightly in the minuet and with eyes that could easily -have lighted the sun again, had he chanced to go out. -I shouldn’t have been sorry to have her for a mother—except -<span class='pageno' id='Page_220'>220</span>that I flatter myself I had a better one—once -upon a time.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde would have felt like a coward indeed, had she -desired to ask him of any of the others. Having done -him a little measure of injustice, she made it up to him -by loving him the more, now that she found him so innocent. -Nevertheless she had ears to listen with when -he volunteered some information about the countess he -had seen and admired at the court of Charles.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It turned out, however, that he had merely seen her -safely married to one of his royal friends, for whose -happiness he had the most sincere of wishes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde felt her spirit of daring and merriment return. -It was so tempting to play around the point of her identity -that she could not altogether resist the impulse of -her nature, to keep him talking.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I seem to be happy in reminding you of many persons,” -she said. “But I think I would rather remind -you of some one else. Since you claim to be so much -in love, it would compliment me more if I could remind -you of your Mistress Garde.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Maybe you would,” said Adam, “only that I am -getting so near to Boston that such a reminiscence, in -a boy, would be sheer impertinence.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_221'>221</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XXVI.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>A HOLIDAY ENDED.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Having</span> the fortune to be overtaken by a good-natured -farmer, who was trotting his horses northward, -along their road, from a trip to market, the travelers -got the benefit of a lift that landed them within a few -hours’ walk of Boston. However, as the farmer’s journey -ended where there were no accommodations, and -there was still another hour of light, which would suffice -to bring them to a small hostelry, where Garde -knew she could make such arrangements as she desired, -they tramped onward as before.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With every step that brought them further toward -their destination Adam waxed more and more impatient -to hurry, while Garde found her courage and her -footsteps lagging.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She had momentarily forgotten her troubles, in the -joy of being with Adam, strolling for hours through -the vales of peace and loveliness, but now her tribulations -returned, with compound interest. She yearned -over her smitten grandfather, yet she feared for what he -might do, when he should see her again within his reach, -for if he had been well-nigh insane when she saw him -last, how much more violent he might now have become.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She trembled likewise at the thought of Randolph, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_222'>222</span>and the measures of revenge which he might adopt, -backed by the power which was sufficient to uphold or -to overthrow the charter. From these meditations she -was tempted to fly to Adam’s arms and implore his protection. -It afforded her infinite relief to think that he -would at least be near. If the worst came of her returning, -she would manage to go to him, by some -means, she was certain, and under the stress of circumstances -she would not be deemed immodest in beseeching -his protection, for which purpose she would consent -immediately to become his wife.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Eager to justify herself in what she had done, refusing -to believe that honor had been as nothing and Randolph’s -promises all important, she framed many introductions -to the subject, before she could finally begin -to question her fellow-traveler upon it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She then began by reciting to him somewhat of the -news of Boston town. She told of the fear for the -charter, which had become a mania with the older -patriots, of the baleful power of Randolph and of the -culminations which at last he was beginning to work -against the colony. Adam waxed so wroth against -Randolph, whom he remembered distinctly, that she -was much encouraged to go on with a hypothetical case -which she soon invented.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She dared not connect the name of Randolph directly -with her story and questions, lest Adam, when he -arrived in Boston, should learn more, concerning the -whole wretched business, and know it was she who had -undergone the ordeal. Also it required a great concentration -of her courage, backed by repeated assurances to -herself that Adam thought her a youth, before she -<span class='pageno' id='Page_223'>223</span>could approach the subject in any manner whatsoever. -Yet she knew she would have no such opportunity to -speak to him again with anything like the freedom -which was now possible, and Goody Dune had made -her a sensible young woman.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Suppose,” she finally said, “that a man who had -influence with the King threatened to use all his power -against the colony and its charter, if some young girl -should refuse to become his wife. Would it be her -duty to marry the man?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That would depend on her spirit of patriotism,” -said Adam. “If she believed she could save the colony -from a grave danger, it seems to me she ought to do -so.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes—I think so too,” said Garde, honestly. “But -suppose she found out that the man had been very -false.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“In what manner?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well,—that he had deceived another young woman.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do you mean betrayed some other young woman?” -said Adam bluntly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde averted her gaze and answered: “Yes.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, suppose this was so, then what is your question?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The question is, what do you think the first young -woman should do then—after she found out that—that -this was true?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That would depend again on the particular young -woman,” said Rust, who believed he was speaking as -man to man, and who knew that when women are -betrayed it is not always the fault wholly of the male-being -in the case. “If she wanted to save the charter, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_224'>224</span>or anything of that sort, I don’t see how this would -alter the case particularly.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You wouldn’t excuse the man?” said Garde, turning -pale under her brown stain.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam had in mind a painful incident which had -occurred in the life of a friend of his in England. “I -might,” he answered. “Possibly a great deal could be -said in defense of the poor devil, in some way or -another.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But,” insisted Garde, somewhat desperately, “if -you were a girl you wouldn’t marry such a man?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If I were a girl and I loved him,” said Rust, still -thinking of the case of his friend, “why—I think -perhaps I should.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But if you hated and loathed him?” Garde almost -cried.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, that is quite a different matter. If hate -entered in, I should welcome any excuse to get away. -In the actual case of which I was thinking, it seems to -me the girl ought to forgive——But I had forgotten -all about the element of the charter, which we were supposing -was to figure in the case.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde cared for nothing further about the discussion. -He had justified her, at least partially. She had -always felt that Randolph would have betrayed the -colony, even had she sacrificed herself and Adam, to -marry him, as her grandfather had desired. She was -now a little troubled that Adam could think so nearly -as her grandfather had done; that he could really condone -such a terrible dishonor in a fellow-man. Had it -not been that, under cover of her present disguise she -had proved how true and good her Adam was, she would -<span class='pageno' id='Page_225'>225</span>have been pained and perhaps worried by his latitude -of thought. She had to finish the subject, so she -said:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If she—this girl—not only hated the man, but felt -sure he would not keep his promise to do good for the -charter, but would deceive her and every one else, just -as he had deceived the other girl—then what ought she -to do?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It would be high time, under those circumstances,” -replied her companion, “to refuse absolutely, or to -ship on the first departing vessel, or to do anything else -that would be quick and to the point.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That is just what I think,” said Garde, now well -satisfied.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It’s more important for us, my boy, to think of -what we shall do when we arrive in Boston, to-morrow,” -Adam now remarked. “By the way, do you know -anybody there?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde hesitated before answering. She had to be -clever. “Nobody there will know me when I get -there,” she said, “unless it is some one I might once -have known.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Rust did not analyze the ambiguity of this reply. He -was engrossed with other reflections.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Have you got any money?” he asked her next. -“Because if you haven’t you can have the half of mine,—not -much to speak of, but enough to feed you and -put you to bed. I hope to get into some better tavern -than the Crow and Arrow.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Thank you,” said Garde, looking at him slyly with -a tender light of love in her eyes, “I think I have -enough for a time.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_226'>226</span>“If we stop at the same tavern, and have our meals -served together, it will cost you less,” Adam informed -her practically, “and besides, I have grown so fond of -you, my boy, that I should be sorry to lose sight of you, -in the town.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But the sooner you lose sight of me, the sooner you -will see your sweetheart,” said Garde, with difficulty -restraining her lips from curving in a smile.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ah, but I shall wish her to know you,” said Adam, -generously. “For to no one else save you have I ever -been able to talk of my love for her sweet self, and this -is something of a miracle. As I think upon it, you do -remind me of her often, by your voice, though it is not -so sweet as hers, as I may have said before, and by -other tokens, which I am at a loss to define. But -because of these things, I would fight for you, and with -her sweet approval.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am sure of it,” said Garde. “I trust you will -have great joy when you find her again. And you may -tell her for me, if you will, that——well, that she should -love you with her whole soul,——but she does already, I -am sure.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are a kind as well as a gentle boy,” said Adam -to her gravely. “I am glad it could be no matter to -her for me to like you so exceedingly, you being a boy,——but, -boy, you do bedevil my brain with your girlish -ways. I shall never explain you, I’ll be sworn.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Here is where we turn, for the night’s rest,” Garde -replied, avoiding the puzzled look which Rust directed -to her face. “We have had a pleasant journey of it -together. I shall never forget it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Let’s wait till it’s finished before we sum it up,” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_227'>227</span>said Adam. “To-morrow we have a few more hours, -ere we reach the town, and these may be the pleasantest -of all.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Yet when the boy said good night to him, after their -supper, he felt a strange sense of loss for which he was -wholly unable to account.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the morning the matter was somewhat explained. -The boy had arisen before the sun and gone on her way -without him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was not without a little pang in his heart that the -rover trudged onward, alone.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_228'>228</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XXVII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>IN BOSTON TOWN.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Garde</span> fairly ran, when she made her early morning -start. She had not been able to think of any other -solution of the problem of getting back to her own -proper sphere without permitting Adam to become -aware of the whole situation. She had not come to her -resolution to cope with the difficulty thus without many -little sighs of regret and a few little fears of what might -be the consequences. Nevertheless, she had seen the -necessity of prompt action, after which she had felt a -desire only for haste. She was, however, buoyed up -by the glad thought that Adam would not be long behind -her, in his march to town, hence she would soon -be seeing him there, under circumstances which would -make it possible to accept his love and to lean upon -his strong, protecting arm.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The sun was no more than an hour up in the sky -when she came to the outskirts of Boston and ran -quickly on to Goody Dune’s. Goody was not at all surprised -to see her thus returning. Indeed she had looked -to see her back at least a week earlier. The old woman, -preparing against this moment, had plaited the long locks -of hair which Garde had been obliged to leave behind, -and these she helped the truant to wind upon her head, -with some semblance of natural growth, an effect which -<span class='pageno' id='Page_229'>229</span>she heightened by providing a small lace cap, which -made of Mistress Merrill a very demure-appearing little -person.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The brown stain rapidly succumbed to Goody’s treatment -with vinegar. Garde emerged from the mask as -rosy and cream white as an apple, for the open air and -the days with Adam had wrought such evidence of -health and happiness upon her that not the dread of -what she might discover at home, nor any excitement -of being in the land of her enemy, could make any paleness -in her face of more than a moment’s duration. She -was too excited to eat, although Goody tried to urge -her to take even a cup of tea, and so she went on to -her grandfather’s house, and let herself in, at the rear.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As Granther Donner’s sister had passed away a number -of years before, he had been left quite to himself -when Garde decamped. But when his illness came so -suddenly upon him, Mrs. Soam and Prudence, both -persuaded that Garde was almost, if not entirely, in the -right, appeared dutifully at his bedside as ministering -angels.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus Garde, upon entering the kitchen, found her -Aunt Gertrude engaged in preparing a breakfast. The -good lady was startled.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why—Garde!” she gasped. “Oh, dear me, is it -really you? Child, where have you been? Oh, David -is very ill indeed. I am so glad you have come home!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I came because I heard he was ill,” said Garde, who -was more calm than might have been expected. “I -didn’t know you were here. It was real good of you to -come, dear aunty. I suppose you will scold me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It was all a terrible thing,” said her aunt, “but -<span class='pageno' id='Page_230'>230</span>John says he thinks Mr. Randolph meant to take away -our charter anyway.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I am sure of it!” cried Garde, so glad to hear -of a partisan. “If I hadn’t believed that, I don’t -think I should ever have run away. Oh, thank you, so -much, dear aunty! I am so glad. God bless Uncle -John! I knew I was right!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But your uncle and all of us are very sad,” her -aunt proceeded to add. “They don’t think we will -have the charter through the summer. It is a terrible -time, but they all say that Randolph must have been -getting ready, or he couldn’t have done so much so -quickly. It is a sad day for Massachusetts. But, there, -run in and see David, do,—but, dearie, don’t be surprised -if he doesn’t seem to know you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the dining-room Garde and Prudence met, a moment -later.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good morning, Garde,” said the cousin, without -the slightest sign of emotion.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde kissed her, impulsively. “Oh, I am so glad -to see you, dear!” she said. Indeed love had so wrought -upon her that she felt she had never so cared for any -one before as she did for all these dear ones now.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She hastened on to her grandfather, and Prudence -was left there, looking where her cousin had gone and -solemnly wishing she also might do something emotional -and startling.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But a few hours only sufficed to reduce the spirit of -wildness and youthful exhilaration which Garde had -brought with her back from the road in the forest. To -hear the old patriot raving, childishly, and crying and -praying over the charter and over Garde as a baby, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_231'>231</span>which was the way he seemed to remember his grandchild, -was a thing that rent her heart and drove all joy -from the life of care into which she came, in her mood -of penitence and quiet.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The days slipped by and became weeks. Prudence -returned to her father at once. Goodwife Soam remained -to help Garde over the crisis, and then she too -left the girl with the stricken old man, who had become -a prattling child, on whom the word “Charter” acted -like a shock to make him instantly insane against his -daughter’s child.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the meantime Adam Rust, having come to Boston -in a moment when excitement, despair and bitter feeling, -such as the town nor the colony had ever known -before, and which completely altered the Puritan people, -had heard a garbled story of Randolph’s perfidy -and his attempt to marry Garde which made his blood -boil. Fortunately the fact that Garde had run away -had been kept so close a secret, that more persons had -heard how devotedly she was attending David Donner -than knew any hint of her escapade. Adam having -first paid his respects to Mrs. Phipps, to whom he delivered -the Captain’s messages and letters, had found -himself apartments in a tavern quite removed from the -Crow and Arrow, where he had been able easily to avoid -all his former acquaintances of Boston. He might -have desired to search out Wainsworth, but Henry was -away at Salem. Randolph, of whom Adam naturally -thought, had betaken himself to New York, there to -conclude some details of snatching the charter from -the colony of Massachusetts.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Once settled, Adam lost no time in searching for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_232'>232</span>Garde. Thus he was soon made aware of the state of -the Donner household, into the affairs of which it would -have been anything but thoughtful and kind to obtrude -his presence. With a courteous patience he set himself -to wait for a seemly moment in which to apprise Garde of -his reappearance. He told himself that, as she had no -intimation that he had returned to Boston, it would be a -greater kindness to keep himself in the background, -until her trials should be lessened.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Naturally all these various matters had somewhat -obliterated from his mind the thoughts of the youth -with whom he had traveled from the environs of Plymouth. -While he was curbing his spirit and his too -impatient love, a message arrived, in care of Goodwife -Phipps, from Captain William Kidd, to the effect that -the beef-eaters, far from recuperating after their voyage, -had become seriously ill, and were begging each day -for the “Sachem.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Rust had been contemplating the acceptance of an -offer from Mrs. Phipps to assume command at the ship-yard, -the foreman in charge being then arrogating powers -unto himself which were not at all quieting. Adam -reflected that if he took this place he could settle down, -marry his sweetheart presently, and become a sober -citizen.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With the advent of the message from the beef-eaters, -he was completely at a loss to know what to do. He -yearned over these faithful companions, whose affection -had been repeatedly demonstrated, under circumstances -the most trying. If they should die while -he remained away, selfishly denying them so little a -thing as his presence, he would never obtain his own -<span class='pageno' id='Page_233'>233</span>forgiveness. Yet he could not go to New York, or -any other where on earth, without first having at least -seen Garde. Indeed he reflected now that mayhap it -had been a mistaken kindness for him to remain away -from her side so long. Should he not have gone to her -long before, and offered what service he could render -in her trial?</p> - -<p class='c007'>As a matter of fact he had been kind as it was, for -Garde had hardly enjoyed a moment in which to do so -much as to think of love and her lover. Her grandfather -had occupied her attention day and night. -She had stinted him in nothing, else with her spirit of -penitence upon her—for all that she had helped to -hasten upon him—she could never have had any peace -of mind nor contentment in her soul.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But at last, when the old man was out of danger, -sitting in his chair by the hour, she had time to think -of Adam again and to wonder why it was that he had -never attempted to see her. She answered herself by -saying it was better that he had not done so, but then, -when she suddenly thought that he might have heard -all manner of wild stories, and might indeed have gone -away, angered and not understanding the truth, she -yearned for him feverishly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As if the message of her love flew unerringly to him, -Adam suddenly, in the midst of thinking of going to -the beef-eaters, determined to see his sweetheart, cost -what it might.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_234'>234</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XXVIII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>LOVE’S GARDEN.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>After</span> nearly a week of rain and dull, gray skies, the -weather was again entrancing. The warm, soporific -breeze which played through the house lulled Grandther -Donner off to sleep, as he sat in his chair, staring at -vacancy and rubbing his thumb across the ends of his -fingers.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde, responding to the mood of coming summer, -could not resist the impulse to go out into the garden, -which to her would always be associated with her childish -meeting with Adam Rust, and which therefore now -made of her yearning to see him a positive force.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus it doubtless appeared to her as an answer to -her longing when she felt a presence and glanced up at -the gate, to see him standing there, as he had so many -years before, with two of the pickets clasped in his -big, strong hands.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Her heart gave a leap that almost hurt, so suddenly -did it send the ecstasy bounding through her veins. -Yet so sublimated was the look on Adam’s face, as, -with parted lips and visible color rising and falling in -his face, he gazed at her, steadfastly, and as one entranced, -that she went toward him as slowly as if -walking might disturb the spell.</p> - -<p class='c007'>One of her hands, like a homing dove, came up to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_235'>235</span>press on her bosom above her heart. She was pale, for -the cares of those weeks had bleached the rose-tints -from her cheeks. Nevertheless, the moment painted -them with vestal flames of love’s own lamp, as she -looked into Adam’s eyes and saw the tender passion -abiding there.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Adam, I prithee come in,” she said, in a soft -murmur, unconsciously repeating what she had said -when first he had leaned upon this gate.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As one approaching something sacred, Adam came -in and took her two hands in his. He raised them -slowly to his lips, and then pressed them together -against his breast.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Garde,” he said, almost whispering. “Garde. -My little Garde.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, Adam,” she answered.</p> - -<p class='c007'>They looked at one another and smiled, she through -shining tears. Then they laughed, for there were no -words, there was nothing which could absolutely express -their overflowing joy, but their laughing, which -was wholly spontaneous, came the nearest.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I have been so afraid this moment would -never come,” said Garde, presently, when she could -trust herself to speak. “It has been such a long, long -time to wait.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I love you. Garde, dearest, I love you,” said -Adam. “I love to say that I love you. I could say -it all day: ‘Garde, I love you. Garde, I love you, -dear, and love you.’ I have told every star in the -heavens to tell you how I love you, dear. But I would -rather tell you myself. Let me see you. Let me look -at you, sweetheart.” He still held her hands, but at -<span class='pageno' id='Page_236'>236</span>arms’ length away, and looked at her blushing face with -such an adoration in his eyes as she had never beheld.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Indeed, Adam’s passion had swept her from her feet. -It possessed her, enveloped her form, held her enthralled -in an ecstasy so profound that she gasped to catch her -breath, while her heart leaped as if it were pealing out -her happiness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>They were standing thus, oblivions of everything, -when a sour-visaged Puritan, passing by the gate, halted -a moment to look at them malignantly. It was none -other than Isaiah Pinchbecker, the scolding hypocrite -who had danced to Adam’s fiddling, several years before. -He suddenly gave himself a nudge in the ribs. -His eyes lighted up with grim satisfaction. He had -recognized the rover, and with news in his narrow -head he hastened away, prodding himself assiduously -as he went.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the meantime, Grandther Donner, whose naps -lasted hardly as long as forty winks, had awakened. -He started from his sleep as if he had suddenly caught -himself neglecting to watch the charter. Glancing -hastily about the room, he missed Garde at once. In -his brain, two cells had broken their walls so that their -substance commingled, till Garde and the charter seemed -at times the same, and always so interlinked that he -dared not let her go a yard from his sight.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He tottered to his feet, and rubbing his thumb -diligently across the ends of his fingers, went out at -the open door, toward his grandchild, guided by some -sense which in an animal is often highly developed. -He came upon the scene in the garden just as Adam, -after looking his heart full, nearly to bursting, had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_237'>237</span>drawn Garde close again, to kiss her hands in uncontainable -joy.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At sight of Adam’s costume, which was not a great -departure from that of the Royalists of the day, in -contradistinction from that of the Puritans, David -Donner flew into a violent rage. He raised his two -palsied hands above his head and screamed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Garde!” he cried, “Garde! Kill that man—Kill -him!—kill him! The charter! The King’s -devil! Kill him! He’s ripping the charter to pieces -with his teeth!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He came running toward them, clawing his nails -down across his face till he made his pale cheeks bleed, -and tore out little waving filaments, like gossamer, from -his snow-white hair. Almost at their feet he fell full -length, where he struck at the soil and dug in his -finger nails, frantically, all the while making terrible -sounds in his paroxysm, most dreadful to hear.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam and Garde had started, he merely alert in the -presence of the unexpected, she in a fear that sent the -color from her face so abruptly that it seemed she must -swoon at once. She uttered one little cry, clung galvanically -to Adam’s fingers for a second, and then bent -quickly down to place her hand on the old man’s -head.</p> - -<p class='c007'>His delirious fury lasted but a moment. It then -subsided as quickly as it had come, leaving him limp, -exhausted, dull-eyed and panting like some run-down -animal. A more pitiable sight than he then became, as -he began to weep, shaken by the convulsive sobs which -sometimes possess the frame of a man, Adam hoped he -should never be obliged to witness.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_238'>238</span>Well as he understood that the sight of himself had -precipitated this painful episode, Adam was also now -aware that the old man, for the moment, saw and comprehended -nothing. He therefore lifted him tenderly -up in his arms and carried him into the house, placing -him gently down on a lounge which he readily saw had -been recently employed for the old man’s couch.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde had followed, her hands clasped together, the -look of a tired mother in her face, making it infinitely -sweet and patient.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Garde, dear, forgive me,” said Adam. “I came -too soon to see you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh Adam!” she said, sadly. “In a few days, a -week, dear, he is sure to be better.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Is there anything I can do?” said Adam, from -the depths of his distress and sympathy and love.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, he is coming back to himself. Go, Adam, -please,” said Garde, “don’t wait, dear, please. Come -back to the gate, this evening.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam went without so much as waiting to say good-by, -for Garde had turned to her grandfather quickly, -and anything further he might have said he abandoned, -when David feebly spoke.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Depressed by the whole affair immeasurably, Adam -was still too exalted by love’s great flight to dwell for -long upon old Donner’s mania. His worries for Garde, -in her tribulations, however, were strewn like sad -flowers of thought through his reverie. He longed to -help her, yet he knew how utterly impossible such a -thing would be.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Walking aimlessly, he came before long to the harbor -shore. The melted emerald and sapphire, which the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_239'>239</span>sea was rolling against the rocks, with sparkles of captured -sunlight glinting endlessly through and upon -the lazy billows, gave him the greatest possible sense -of delight. He sat down on a rock where the green -velvet moss had dried like fur, after a wetting.</p> - -<p class='c007'>No king on a throne ever detected more evidences -of the world’s gladness than did the rover, thinking -away the hours of that balmy afternoon. He forgot -all about dinner, when the sun went down, and he had -nearly forgotten old man Donner, when at length he -started to his feet, in the twilight, in love with the -evening for having come so soon, although half an -hour before he had been thinking the day would never -end.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He was soon at the gate in front of Donner’s house, -listening, watching the darkened windows, holding his -breath as every fragrant zephyr trailed its perfumes by, -thinking Garde was coming, preceded by the redolence -attendant on her loveliness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But he had many such breathless moments of suspense, -in vain. Evening glided into the arms of night. -The hours winged by, on raven wings, and still no -Garde appeared. Adam paced up and down, restoring, -time after time, the picture of Garde as he had -seen her, during those precious few moments before -the interruption.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He was not conscious of the flight of time. He was -well content to be near where his lady was and to wait -there, knowing that she knew he was waiting, thinking -of her, as he knew she was thinking of him. He -clasped his hands back of his head; then he folded his -arms, the better to press on his heart; then he stopped -<span class='pageno' id='Page_240'>240</span>and tossed kisses to the silent house, after which he -again walked back and forth, pausing to listen, and -then going on as before.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At length, near midnight, he stood looking up at -the stars, completely absorbed in a dream he was -fashioning to suit himself.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was a faint flutter.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Adam—oh, are you there?” said a sweet voice, -subdued and a bit tremulous. “Oh, I am so glad you -didn’t go away, discouraged.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam had turned about instantly, a glad sound upon -his lips. In one stride he reached the gate and caught -her two trembling hands where they rested on the -pickets.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Dearest!” he murmured to her joyously. “At -last!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I can only stop a minute, Adam,” said Garde, who -was quaking a little, lest her grandfather wake and -come again into the garden. “He has been very restless, -and he wouldn’t go to sleep, and he wakes up so -easily! But I couldn’t let you go away like that. And -I have tried to come out five times, but he woke up -every time, and now I must say good night, Adam, -and run right back at once.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, but I love you so,” said Adam, illogically. “If -you must go, though, you must. I know I can never -tell you how much I love you, dearest.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, Adam!” she said, expressing more than he -did, poor fellow, in all his protestations. “Oh, dear! -I really must go, Adam. But in about a week I am -sure he will be much better.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Shan’t I see you for a week?” said he.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_241'>241</span>“It might be better not,” she answered, “if we could -wait.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I could go down to see my poor old beef-eaters, I -suppose,” Adam mused.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In relating his travels, on the road, he had told Garde -of the beef-eaters, so that now, although she said nothing -to betray herself, she understood what he meant.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And then you’ll come back, as soon as you can, in -a few days, or a week?” she asked. “Oh, dear—it is -too bad. But, Adam, I must not remain another single -minute. I must say good night, dear, and run.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam had remained on his own side of the gate, -retaining her hands, which he had kissed repeatedly, -till they fairly burned with their tingling. He now -reached over the gate and took her sweet face between -his two big palms.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good night, dearest little love,” he said, and slowly -leaning forward, he kissed her, once—then he kissed her -three times more.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She started slowly away, looking back at him -lovingly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, Garde!” he whispered.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She stopped and came fluttering back to meet him. -He had let himself in at the gate with one quick movement. -He took her home to his arms and held her -in breathless joy against his throbbing heart. With -love in her eyes her face was turned upward to his -own.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My Adam!” she said, with all the fervor of her -nature.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My love! My darling!” he responded.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He kissed her again. It was a warm, sweet kiss that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_242'>242</span>brought their very souls to their lips. Then he dropped -down on his knee and kissed her hands and pressed -their fragrant palms against his face.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My love!” he said. “My own love!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She nestled in his arms yet once again. She gave -him the one more kiss that burned on her lips to be -taken, and then she fled swiftly to the house.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_243'>243</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XXIX.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>THE ENEMY IN POWER.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Adam</span> found his faithful beef-eaters on the verge of -the grave. The miserable old rogues had no better -sense than to be pining to death like two masterless dogs. -They had been ill enough, in all conscience, and even -somewhat mentally disordered, but there had been no -sufficient grounds for the pair to believe themselves -abandoned by their “Sachem,” and there had been absolutely -no excuse for them to refuse to eat.</p> - -<p class='c007'>However, the rascals nearly “wagged” themselves to -pieces when Rust was finally beside them, and the way -they laughed was most suggestively like the glad whimpering -of two dumbly loving animals expressing their -joy. Adam would have scolded the two for having -brought themselves to such a condition of weakness -and bones, only that he had not the heart to do this -justice to the case.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was, however, no such thing as getting the old -fellows back on their pins in a week, nor yet in two, -nor three. They even hesitated, after he had come, -between running backward toward their long sleep and -coming along with him to vales of renewed health. -They were like affectionate creatures divided between -two masters. The grim visitor had come so near to winning -<span class='pageno' id='Page_244'>244</span>them both, with his beckoning, that they appeared -to think it their duty to die.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam, however, was a persuasive force. He had won -them away from themselves before; he won them again -on this occasion. Captain Kidd, a braw Scotsman, -who ordinarily dropped his native dialect, having little -affection for his country, his father having suffered tortures -for becoming a non-conformist clergyman, felt he -must needs relapse into something barbaric to express -himself on the beef-eaters.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Of all the twas that ere twad,” said he, “you’re -muckle the strangest twa.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>By this he meant to convey that of all the couples -that ever mated, the two old rascals were the oddest -pair.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The convalescence being a slow affair, Adam was -obliged to give up all thought of returning immediately -to Boston. Yet so hopeful was he that every day -would perform some miracle of restoring the strength -to the muscles and the meat to the bones of his retinue, -that it was not until he had been away from Garde -for more than three weeks that he finally wrote to tell -her of why he had failed to return. But the letter, for -some unknown reason, was never delivered.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At length, however, what with the fulness of summer -come upon them and the hope which Adam had -inspired in their breasts, the beef-eaters became padded -out to the fulness of their old-time grandeur, and once -more swaggered about and bragged of their prowess.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam’s money had, by this time, dwindled down to -a sum which was not at all difficult to transport from -place to place, nor even from pocket to pocket. Having -<span class='pageno' id='Page_245'>245</span>no heart to put the retinue on shipboard, to convey -them to Massachusetts, he sacrificed nearly his -last bit of coin to secure them passage, by coach and -wagon, from Manhattan to Boston. This left him -either one of two expedients for himself. He could -walk, or he could make shift to secure a passage by -vessel, giving work as payment for the favor. He -argued that once in Boston he would accept the position -offered by Goodwife Phipps at the ship-yard, and -hither also would he take his followers, so that by honest -toil they might all be happy and continue their time-sealed -companionship, and desert the rolling-stone business -as an occupation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was not without misgivings that the beef-eaters -accepted this arrangement. But being obedient things -that would willingly have gone into fire, or the sea itself, -at Adam’s command or wish, they meekly bade him -a temporary adieu and saw him depart before them, a -ship being several days ahead of the coach in point of -time for departing.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the meantime, history had been making fast in -Boston. The crafty Randolph, whose coup had long -been prepared, had returned from New Amsterdam, -bearing a commission from the King of England -declaring the charter null and void and delegating upon -him power to form a new provisional government for -the colony of Massachusetts. Great tracts of territory, -comprising New Hampshire, Maine and other areas, -were lopped off from the province at one fell blow. -Randolph created Joseph Dudley provisional governor, -Dudley having long been seeking his favor, against this -final moment of changes. The courts fell into the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_246'>246</span>hands of the newly-elected power. The soldiers, constabulary, -everything assumed an ultra-English tone -and arrogance. The people clenched their fists and -wrought their passions up to a point where rebellions are -lighted in a night.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Yet Boston was a loyal town, obedient to its liege -lord and nearly as eager to serve him and to do him -homage as it was to preserve its liberties and the independence, -which gradual development had created and -long usage had confirmed as inalienable, in the belief -of all the patriotic citizens. Stoughton and Bradstreet, -beholding the revolutionary tendency, which would -have plunged the colony most unwisely into a sea of -trouble, submitted to the new order of things, which -for long they had seen coming, inevitably, out of the -malignant spirit in which the Stuart dynasty had -always desired to govern these non-conformist hard-heads.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There were many creatures in Boston swift to join -the Tory party, under Randolph, for the plums of -official recognition. Thus this party rapidly assumed -considerable dimensions, and therefore power, to add to -that of which the King himself was the fountain-head.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Boston at that time was a prosperous town of something -more than six thousand souls. It was substantially -built, if crookedly, for the most part of wood. Yet -there was a fair sprinkling of brick houses along its -cow-path streets, and a few were of stone, which, in -several instances, had been brought to this undeveloped -land from England. The town was distinctly English, -both as to customs and thoughts, but the seeds which -hardihood had sown, were to grow the pillars of Americanism—synonymous -<span class='pageno' id='Page_247'>247</span>with a spirit of Democracy sufficient -to inspire the world!</p> - -<p class='c007'>Naturally Isaiah Pinchbecker became a master-jackal -under the new régime. Psalms Higgler, the lesser -light of lick-spittling, became, by the same token, a -lesser carnivora, but no less hungry to be feeding on -the foe-masters of the recent past. And Pinchbecker, -having found Adam in the town, was alert to find him -again.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Yet not even Pinchbecker, with his knife-edge mind, -devoted to evolving schemes of vengeance, could have -comprehended the tigerish joy with which Randolph -remembered Adam Rust, from that morning in the -Crow and Arrow, and with which he now put two and -two together, to arrive at Adam’s relationship with -Garde Merrill.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph was a subtle schemer, never fathomed by -the Puritans, against whom he displayed such an implacable -hatred. He was far too wise ever to appear as -the point, when a thrust of revenge was to be delivered. -He never for a moment relaxed his obsequious demeanor, -nor his air of injured guiltlessness. Like all men of -power, he had much material, self-offered, from which -to choose his henchmen. He had chosen Pinchbecker -wisely, for a hypocrite, a fawner, and an arrant knave -who could work endless harm, in an underhanded -fashion. But for his more aggressive employment he -attached to his service a great, burly brute, with a face -like a mastiff’s, an intelligence like a sloth’s, and a -courage like that of a badger. This masterpiece of -human animalism responded to the name of “Gallows,” -for once a man had been hanged on his back, as in early -<span class='pageno' id='Page_248'>248</span>English-Irish usage, and of this he was matchlessly -proud.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam arrived in the midst of that first elation -of Randolph and his following, the like of which -is frequently the cause of reaction so violent as to quite -reverse the fates themselves. But although the Puritans -hated Dudley, almost more than Randolph, for -traitorously joining the party of destruction, their -growlings checked nothing of the all-importance which -the creatures in power felt and made their fellow-beings -feel. A spirit of sullen brooding settled on the people.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Unaware that Rust had been away from Boston, -since he had seen him that day in Donner’s garden -with Mistress Merrill, Pinchbecker had been seeking -for him diligently, ever since Randolph’s return. But -believing that his quarry would be found eventually in -the vicinity of the Crow and Arrow, his field of investigations -was narrow.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It had naturally happened, however, that Adam had -quite forgotten to tell the beef-eaters of his change of -abode in Boston. They would therefore proceed to -the old tavern immediately upon their arrival. He -thought of this before he landed. Having come ashore -at twilight, he made it his duty to stroll to the Crow -and Arrow, for the purpose of leaving a message for -Pike and Halberd, when at last they should come to -the town.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_249'>249</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XXX.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>A FIGHT AT THE TAVERN.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>It</span> was a quiet time of the day, in a quiet part of the -city. Adam discerned one or two individuals only and -was not concerned with noting that he was suddenly -preceded by a noiseless person, who hastened ahead of -him to the tavern. The rover was much more occupied -in observing the beauties of a horse that stood hitched -to a post across the way from the public house.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The animal, a fine bay, imported from England, was -the property of one of Randolph’s followers, a drinking -young dandy with questionable ambitions and many -extravagant tastes. Charmed by the horse’s impatience, -as evinced by his pawing at the ground, Adam was -tempted to get astride his back for a gallop.</p> - -<p class='c007'>However, after standing for a moment on the sidewalk, -while his gaze caressed the champing animal, he -turned and passed on into the tavern. Desiring to conclude -his business as speedily as possible, he was somewhat -annoyed to find the way to the bar, in front of -the landlord, completely blocked by a great hulk of a -creature, with a sword loosely girt about his loins, and -two or three others, of whom the rover took less notice.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“By your leave,” he said, politely, not yet suspicious -of the odd silence which had fallen on the company at -his entrance, “I would like to get to the——”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_250'>250</span>“What!” roared the big lout, whom he had slightly -touched upon the arm. “Who the devil are you? -Keep your hands off of me, you fool!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The person on whom Adam looked was Gallows, -whose face, florid almost to being purple, was so -savagely contorted as to comprise an insult in itself.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My cross-eyed friend,” retorted Adam, whose temper -had risen without delay, “have done looking at yourself, -if you would see no fool. If you will tell me which -hand I put on you, I’ll cut it off, else I may live to see -it rot!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The company had turned about at once. Pinchbecker -was there, with his satellite, Psalms Higgler, the -little white-eyed scamp that Adam had once dropped -from the near-by window. The foppish young Englishman, -who owned the horse outside, was likewise in the -party. They all saw the burly Gallows turn to them -hopelessly, befuddled by Adam’s answer.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You be a fool!” he roared again, his eyes bulging -out of their sockets in his wrath, “and I be the fool-killer!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The company guffawed at this, the monster’s solitary -sally of wit.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are a liar by the fact that you live,” said Rust. -“Bah, you disgust me with the thought of having the -duties, which you have so patently and outrageously -neglected, thrust upon me. Begone. There’s no fire -to roast a barbecue, if I should be minded to spit -you!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The creature looked again at his fellows, who had -obviously egged him on.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He insults you right prettily, good Gallows,” said -<span class='pageno' id='Page_251'>251</span>the dandy, who was himself a rascal banished from his -own country. “But he dare not fight you, we can see -it plainly.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“With you thrown in, I dare say there might be a -moment’s sport in a most unsavory blood-letting,” said -Rust, whose hand went to his sword-hilt calmly. “I -should want some fresh air if I stuck either one of you -carrion-fed buzzards.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Gallows knew by this that it was time to draw his -blade. “You be a fool and I be the fool-killer,” he -roared as before, this being his best hold on language -to suit the occasion. Only now he came for Adam like -a butcher.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Outside—go outside, gentlemen!” cried the landlord -excitedly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Go outside!” said the voice of some one who was -not visible. It was Randolph, concealed in the adjoining -room and watching the proceedings through a -narrow crack, where he had opened the door.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Go on out, and I’ll fight you!” bellowed Gallows.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“After you,” said Rust, whose blade was out and -being swiftly passed under his exacting eye. “Go out -first. You will need one more breath than I.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The brute obeyed, as if he had to do so and knew it, -receiving Adam’s order like the clod he was.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The other creatures made such a scrambling to see -the show, and otherwise evinced such an abnormal interest -in the coming fight, that Adam had no trouble in -divining that the whole affair had been prearranged, -and that if he did not get killed, he would be arrested, -should he slay his opponent. He concluded he was -something of a match for the whole outfit.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_252'>252</span>“Have at you, mountain of foul meat,” he said, as -he tossed down his hat. “What a mess you will make, -done in slices!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The young dandy laughed, despite himself, from his -place by the door.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Gallows needed no further exasperations. He came -marching up to Rust and made a hack at him, mighty -enough and vicious enough to break down the stoutest -guard and cleave through a man’s whole body as -well.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Rust had expected no less than such a stroke. He -spared his steel the task of parrying the Gallows’ slash. -Nimbly leaping aside, he made a motion that had something -debonair in its execution, and cut a ghastly big -flap, like a steak, from the monster’s cheek.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The fellow let out an awful bellow and ran at his -opponent, striking at him like a mad Hercules.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Spare yourself, fool-killer,” said Adam. He dared -to bow, as he dodged a mighty onslaught, in which -Gallows used his sword like a hatchet, and then he -flicked the giant’s ear away, bodily, taking something -also of his jowl, for good measure.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The great hulk stamped about there like an ox, the -blood hastening down from his face and being flung in -spatters about him. Adam next cut him deeply in the -muscle of his great left arm.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I warm to my work,” he said, as he darted actively -away and back. “Gentlemen, is your choice for -a wing or a leg of the ill-smelling bird?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The dandy, fresh from England, guffawed and cried -“Bravo!” He had been born a gentleman, in spite of -himself.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_253'>253</span>The fight was a travesty on equality. The monster -was absolutely helpless. He was simply a vast machine -for butchery, but he must needs first catch his victim -before he could perform his offices. He was a terrible -sight, with his great sword raised on high, or ripping -downward through the air, as he ran, half blinded by -his own gore, to catch the rover, who played with him, -slicing him handily, determined not to kill the beast -and so to incur a penalty for murder.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The creatures inside the tavern, appalled by the exhibition -they had brought about, saw that their monster -was soon to be a staggering tower of blood and wounds.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Don’t let him get away! Kill him! Kill him!” -said the voice of Randolph, from behind the others.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam heard him. He saw Pinchbecker shrink back -at once. Psalms Higgler, however, glad of an excuse -and ready to take advantage of a man already sufficiently -beset, came scrambling out. The foppish gentleman -was too much of a sport to take a hand against -such a single swordsman as he found in Rust.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Aware that he was to have no chance, and convinced -abruptly that these wretches had plotted to kill him, -Adam deftly avoided Gallows, as the dreadful brute -came again upon him, and slashing the fellow’s leg -behind the knee, ham-strung him instantly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Roaring like a wounded bull, the creature dropped -down on his side, and then got upon his hands and -knees and commenced to crawl, wiping out his eyes -with his reddened hands.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Unable to restrain his rage, and fearing his intended -victim would yet avoid him, Higgler being already at -bay and disarmed, Randolph came abruptly out from -<span class='pageno' id='Page_254'>254</span>the tavern himself, pistol in hand, to perform the task -which otherwise was doomed to failure.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Call the guard!” he cried. “Call the guard!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam had been waiting for some such treachery. He -cut at the pistol the second it rose, knocking it endways -and slicing Randolph’s arm, superficially, from -near the wrist to the elbow. He waited then for nothing -more.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Across the road, before any one guessed his intention, -he was up on the back of the horse, before the yelled -protest of the English gentleman came to his ears.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Gentlemen all,” he called to the group, “good -evening.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Clapping his heels to the ribs of the restive animal, -he rode madly away, just as Isaiah Pinchbecker, with -half a dozen constables came running frantically upon -the scene.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_255'>255</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XXXI.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>A REFUGEE.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Irresponsibly</span> joyous, thus to be in a saddle, on a -spirited horse, Rust was soon dashing across the common -and turning about like a centaur, for ease and -grace, glanced back to see who might be joining in the -race. His naked sword was still in his hand. It was -red from point to hilt. He wiped it on the horse, -thereby causing the animal to plunge and to run in a -frenzy of nervousness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam chortled. The affair from beginning to end, -from his present standpoint, appealed to his sense of -humor. The consequences of his adventure would be -presented to his mind soon enough. He merely knew -now that he had won out of a tight corner, as a gentleman -should, that a glorious animal was bounding beneath -him and, that sweet night air came rushing upon -him as if it opened its arms to receive him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Aware that he would soon be pursued, and mentally -acknowledging that the horse was not his own, he rode -to a farm-house about a mile or so out from the town, -and there dismounted. Reluctantly he said farewell to -the charger, bidding the farmer have the animal returned -to Boston in the morning, with his thanks and -compliments. For the service he presented the wondering -man with a piece of silver, the last he had of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_256'>256</span>small amount left him after paying the fares of the -beef-eaters up to Massachusetts.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Coolly inviting himself to have a bite of the farmer’s -scanty supper, he bade the man good night, about five -minutes before the mounted constables came riding -hotly to the place. He even heard them, when they -left the farm and began to scour the woods to jump -him up. At this he smiled with rare good humor, confident -of the powers of superior wood-craft to baffle -anybody or anything in all Massachusetts, save alone -an Indian.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Understanding all the delighted chucklings of the -forest as he did, he felt at once secure among the trees, -as one of the family. Moreover he loved to be wandering -in the woods at night. He continued to walk, on -and on, beginning to wonder at last what he really intended -to do. Then, at the thought of Garde, who -might be expecting to see him, and whom he very much -desired again to see, he waxed somewhat impatient with -this enforced flight from the town where she was.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The more he thought upon it, then, the more impossible -it seemed for him to return. Against Randolph, -enthroned in power, and against all his wretched -disciples, he could not expect to breathe a word which -would avail to get him justice. It would be sheer -madness to make the attempt. The creatures would -charge him with all the crimes on the calendar, and, -swearing all to one statement, would convict him of -anything they chose. The whole affair had been -planned to beat him, or worse, and to a galling extent -it had quite succeeded. He was balked, completely -and absolutely, in whatsoever direction his meditations -<span class='pageno' id='Page_257'>257</span>turned. To try to see Garde would be fairly suicidal. -Not to see her, especially after his promises, would be, -to a man so much in love as he, a living death.</p> - -<p class='c007'>And again, the beef-eaters. What was to become of -his faithful retinue? They would arrive there, only -to find that he had again deserted them, leaving them -wholly at the mercy of Randolph and his jackals. These -demons would not be slow at recognizing who and -what Pike and Halberd were, from episodes of the past. -The two would go straight into the lion’s mouth, at -the Crow and Arrow.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He thought at first of going to Plymouth. He could -write to Garde from there, he reflected, and also to -Halberd and Pike. But he soon concluded that this -would be to walk merely into the other end of the -enemy’s trap, for no good or comforting purpose. -New York presented itself as a jurisdiction where Randolph’s -arm would have no power to do him harm. -But New York was a long way off. If he went there, -not only would he miss seeing Garde, but he could not -warn his retinue in time to keep them out of Randolph’s -clutches.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The business was maddening. He began to think, -as a consequence of dwelling on the hopelessness of his -own situation, that Randolph would be aiming next at -Garde herself, in wreaking his dastardly vengeance for -his past defeats. This was intolerable. He halted, -there in the dark woods, swaying between the good -sense of hiding and the nonsense of going straight back -to the town, to carry Garde away from the harpies, -bodily.</p> - -<p class='c007'>A picture of old David Donner, stricken, helpless, a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_258'>258</span>child, arose in his mind, to confront him and to mock -his Quixotic scheme. He could not carry both Garde -and her grandfather away to New York, nor even to -the woods. He was penniless. This was not the only -obstacle, even supposing Donner would consent so to -flee, which was not at all likely.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was also certain that Garde would not permit him -to carry her off and leave the old man behind. But at -least, he finally thought, he could go back to the town -and be near, to protect her, if occasion should require -a sword and a ready wit. Could he but manage to do -this—to go there secretly and remain there unknown—he -could gather his beef-eaters about him and together -they could and would combat an army!</p> - -<p class='c007'>But how to go back and be undetected, that was the -question. In the first place he despised the idea of -doing anything that did not smack of absolute boldness -and fearlessness. Yet Boston was a seething -whirlpool of Randolph’s power, at this time. Simply -to be caught like a rat and killed like a pest would add -nothing of glory to his name, nor could it materially -add to Garde’s happiness and safety.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Driven into a corner of his brain, as it were, by all -these moves and counter-moves on the chess-board of -the situation, he presently conceived a plan which -made him hug himself in sheer delight.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He would simply disguise himself as an Indian and -go to town to make a treaty with Randolph, the Big-man-afraid-to-be-chief.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This so tickled his fancy that, had an Indian settlement -been near at hand, he would have been inside his -buckskins and war-paint and back to Boston ahead of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_259'>259</span>the constables themselves. In such a guise, he told -himself, he could manage to see his sweetheart, he -could get his beef-eaters clear of danger, baffle his foes, -and arrange to carry both Garde and her grandfather -away to safety.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the first consideration was, where should he find -an Indian? He was aware that the Red men had been -pushed backward and westward miles from the towns -of the whites. It was years since he had roamed -through the forests and mountains——years since he had -known where his old-time, red brothers built their -lodges. There could be but one means of finding a -camp, namely: to walk onward, to penetrate fairly to -the edge of the wilderness beyond.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Nothing daunted by the thought of distance, he -struck out for the west. Like the Indians themselves, -he could smell the points of the sunrise and sunset, -unerringly. With boyish joy in his thoughts, and in -the dreams he fashioned of the hair-breadth events -that would happen when he arrived in the town in his -toggery, he plodded along all night, happy once more -and contented.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_260'>260</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XXXII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>A FOSTER PARENT.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Adam</span> covered many a mile before the morning. -Mindless of his hunger, spurred by the thought that -he must soon be back in Boston, he felt that the further -he went the more he must hasten. Thus he -marched straight on till noon.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He rested briefly at this time, filled his craving -stomach with water, and again made a start. In fifteen -minutes he came upon a clearing, at the edge of a little -valley where up-jutting rocks were as plentiful as -houses in a city. Pausing for a moment, to ascertain -the nature of the place, and to prepare himself against -possible surprise, he presently approached a small log -hut, of more than usually rude construction.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There appeared to be no signs whatsoever of life -about the place. No smoke ascended from the -chimney; there was no animal in sight, not even so -much as a dog.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam glanced hurriedly about the acre or so of land, -beholding evidences of recent work. A tree had been -felled, not far away, within the week. In a neat little -patch of tilled soil, green corn stood two feet high and -growing promisingly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Going to the cabin-door he knocked first and gave it -a push afterward, for it was not latched, although it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_261'>261</span>was nearly closed. There being no response from the -inside, he entered. The light entered with him. It -revealed a strange and dreadful scene.</p> - -<p class='c007'>On the floor lay a man, dressed, half raised on his -elbow, looking up at the visitor with staring eyes, while -he moved his lips without making a sound. A few -feet away sat a little brown baby-boy, clothed only in -a tiny shirt. He looked up at big Adam wistfully. -Strewn about were a few utensils for cooking, a bag -which had once contained flour, the dust of which was -in patches everywhere, and an empty water-bucket and -dipper, with all the bedding and blankets from a rude -wooden bunk, built against the wall.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In amazement Adam stood looking at the man. In -the haggard face, with its unkempt beard and glassy -eyes he fancied he saw something familiar. Memory -knocked to enter his brain. Then, with a suddenness -that gave him a shock, he recognized a man he had -known in England—an elder brother of Henry Wainsworth, -supposed to have died years before—drowned -while attempting to escape from an unjust sentence -of imprisonment for treason.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Wainsworth!” he said, “good faith! what is the -meaning of this?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The man sank back on the floor, a ghost of a smile -passing across his face. He moved his lips again, but -Adam heard not a word.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Bending quickly down, he became aware that the -man was begging for water. He caught up the bucket -and hastened forth, presently finding the spring, to -which a little path had been worn in the grass.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Back at once, he placed the dipper to the dried-out -<span class='pageno' id='Page_262'>262</span>lips and saw this fellow-being drink with an evidence -of joy such as can only come to the dying. Wainsworth -shivered a little, as the dipper left his teeth, and jerked -his hand toward the silent child, sitting so near, on the -floor. Adam comprehended. He gave more of the -water to the small, brown baby. It patted the dipper -with its tiny hands and looked up at him dumbly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What in the world has happened here?” said -Rust.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Making a mighty effort, the man on the floor partially -raised his head and arms. He looked at Adam with a -hungering light in his eyes. “I’m—done—for,” he -said, thickly and feebly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam hustled together the blankets on the floor and -made a pillow, which he placed for Wainsworth to lie -on. “Shall I put you into the bed?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The man shook his head. “I’m crushed,” he said, -winking from his eyes the already gathering film that -tells of the coming end. “Tree—fell—killed the—wife. -I—crawled—here.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam looked at him helplessly. He knew the man -was dying. He felt what agonies the man must have -suffered. “Man!” he said, “can’t I get you something -to eat?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Wainsworth waved his hand toward the wreckage -strewed on the floor. “Nothing—here,” he said. -Then he made a great effort, the obvious rally of his -strength. “Save the—boy,” he implored. “Give him -a—chance.... Don’t—tell—about me. I married—his -mother—Narragansett—God bless—her.... Give—him—a—chance.... -Thanks.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>As he mentioned the child’s mother, his eyes gave up -<span class='pageno' id='Page_263'>263</span>two tears—crystals, which might have represented his -soul, for it had quietly escaped from his broken body.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam, kneeling above him, looked for a moment at -his still face, on which the shadow of a smile rested. -Then he looked at the little, brown youngster, half -Narragansett Indian, gazing up in his countenance with -a timid, questioning look, winking his big black eyes -slowly, and quite as deliberately moving his tiny toes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was not a situation to be thought out nor coped -with easily. To have found any human being in this -terrible plight would have been enough, but to have -found Henry Wainsworth’s brother thus, and to have -him tell such a brief, shocking story, and make of his -visitor all the things which Adam would have to become -at once, was enough to make him stand there wondering -and wondering upon it all.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You poor little rascal,” he said to the child, at last.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He selected a shovel and a pick, from some tools -which he noted, in a corner, and laying aside his sword, -he went to work, on the preface to his duties, out by -the patch of corn where he found the pretty, young -Indian mother, clasped and held down to earth in an -all too ardent embrace, by an arm of the fallen tree.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When he had padded up the mound over the two -closed human volumes, he was faint with hunger. He -carried the tools again to the house, and stood as before, -looking at the baby-boy, who still sat where he had left -him, on the floor.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I suppose you are hungry, you little brown -man,” he said. “I must see what there is to be had.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was little opportunity for extended explorations. -The one room had contained the all of Wainsworth and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_264'>264</span>his Narragansett partner. Rust soon found himself -wondering what the two had lived upon. What flour -and meal there had been, the man, despite his two -crushed legs, had pulled down, from a box-like cupboard, -on the wall, together with a bit of dried meat. Of the -latter only a dry fragment remained, still tied to a -string, while of the meal and flour, only the empty bags -gave evidence that they once had existed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was no way possible for Adam to know that in -the forest, not far away, the lone woodsman had set his -traps, for squirrels and rabbits, nor that fifteen minutes’ -walk from the door a trout stream had furnished its -quota to the daily fare. He only knew that there was -nothing edible to be found here now. There was salt, -a bit of grease, on a clean white chip of pine, and a half -gourd, filled with broken-up leaves, which had doubtless -been steeped for some manner of tea or drink.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Partner,” he said, to the child, “someone has -been enforcing sumptuary laws upon us. I hesitate in -deciding whether we shall take our water salted or -fresh.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>With his hand on the hilt of his sword he regarded -the youngster earnestly. Nothing prettier than the -little naked fellow could have been imagined, howbeit -he was not so plump as a child of his age should be, for -the lack of nourishment had already told upon him -markedly. Adam felt convinced, from various indications, -that the tree which had done its deadly work -had fallen about a week before, and that Wainsworth -had not been able to do anything more than to crawl to -the cabin, to die, neither for himself or the child.</p> - -<p class='c007'>For a time the rover wondered what he must do. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_265'>265</span>His own plans had nearly disappeared from his mind. -He reflected that a child so brown as this, so obviously -half a little Narragansett, would be ill received by the -whites. The Indians would be far more likely to -cherish the small man, according to his worth. He -therefore believed the best thing he could do would be -to push onward, in the hope of finding an Indian settlement -soon. There were several reasons, still remaining -unaltered, why it would be wiser not to take the -child to Boston.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, our faces are dirty, partner,” he said, at the -end of a long cogitation, in which the baby had never -ceased to look up in his countenance and wink his big -eyes, wistfully. “Let’s go out and have a bath.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He took the tiny chap up in his arms and carried him -forth to the spring. Here, in the warm sunlight, he -got down on his knees in the grass, bathed his protégé, -over and over again, for the pleasure it seemed to -give the child and the joy it was to himself, to feel the -little wet, naked fellow in his hands.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The sun performed the offices of a towel. Without -putting his tiny shirt back upon him, Adam rolled the -small bronze bit of humanity about his back, patting -his velvety arms and thighs and laughing like the -grown-up boy he was, till the little chap gurgled and -crowed in tremendous delight. But it having been -only the freshness of the water, air and sunlight which -had somewhat invigorated the baby, he presently appeared -to grow a little dull and weary. Adam became -aware that it was time to be moving. He washed out -the child’s wee shirt and hung it through his belt to -dry as they went. Then taking a light blanket from -<span class='pageno' id='Page_266'>266</span>the cabin, for the child’s use at night, he left the cabin -behind and proceeded onward as before.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He walked till late in the afternoon without discovering -so much as a sign of the Indian settlement he was -seeking. By this time his own pangs of hunger had -become excruciating. It was still too early in the -summer for berries or nuts to be ripe, and the half -green things which he found where the sun shone the -warmest were in no manner fit to be offered to the child, -as food.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Arriving at another small valley, as the sun was dipping -into the western tree-tops, the rover sat down for -a rest, and to plan something better than this random -wandering toward the sunset. He had chuckled encouragement -to the child from time to time, laughing -in the little fellow’s face, but hardly had he caught at -the subtle signs on the small face, at which a mother-parent -would have stared wild-eyed in agony.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now, however, as he sat the tiny man on the grass -before him, he saw in the baby’s eyes such a look as -pierced him to the quick. For a moment the infinite -wistfulness, the dumb questioning, the uncomplaining -silence of it, made him think, or hope, the child was -only sad. He got down on all fours at once.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Partner,” said he, jovially, “you are disappointed -in me. I make poor shift as a mother. Do you want -to be cuddled, or would you rather be tickled?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He laid the little chap gently on his back and tried -to repeat the frolic of the earlier hours. He rolled the -small bronze body in the grass, as before, and petted -him fondly. But the baby merely winked his eyes. -He seemed about to cry, but he made no sound. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_267'>267</span>Adam’s fingers ceased their play, for the joy departed -from them swiftly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Maybe you’re tired and sleepy,” he crooned. -“Shall I put on your shirt and sing you a little Indian -lullaby? Yes? That’s what he wants, little tired -scamp.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He adjusted the abbreviated shirt, awkwardly, but -tenderly, after which he held his partner in his arms -and hummed and sang the words of a Wampanoag -song, which he had heard in his boyhood, times without -number. The song started with addresses to some -of the elements, thus:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c022'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Little Brook, it is night,</div> - <div class='line'>Be quiet, and let my baby sleep.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Little wind, it is night,</div> - <div class='line'>Go away, and let my baby sleep.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Little storm, it is night,</div> - <div class='line'>Be still, and let my baby sleep.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Little wolf, it is night,</div> - <div class='line'>Howl not, and let my baby sleep.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c023'>and after many verses monotonously soothing, came an -incantation:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c022'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Great Spirit, I place my babe</div> - <div class='line'>Upon the soft fur of thy breast,</div> - <div class='line'>Knowing Thou wilt protect,</div> - <div class='line'>As I cannot protect;</div> - <div class='line'>And therefore, oh Great Spirit,</div> - <div class='line'>Guard my child in slumber.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c023'>Adam sang this song like a pleading. But his little -<span class='pageno' id='Page_268'>268</span>partner could not sleep, or feared to sleep. Then the -rover looked at the tiny face and realized that the child -would soon be dying of starvation. At this he started -to his feet, abruptly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He had undergone the pains of hunger often, himself; -he was not impatient now with the pangs in his -stomach, nor the weakness in his muscles. But he -could not bear the thought of the child so perishing, -here in the wilderness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He saw poor Wainsworth again, and heard him beg -that the child be given a chance. He thought of the -man’s shattered life, his escape from persecution, his -isolation, in which he had preferred the society of his -Indian wife and child to association with his kind. -Then he blamed himself for coming further into this -deserted region, when he knew that by going back, at -least he could find something for the child to eat—something -that would save its life!</p> - -<p class='c007'>But he could not forget that he himself was a refugee. -Wrongly or rightly, Randolph was still on his -track. Nothing in his own case had been altered, but -the case was no longer one concerning himself alone. -He took the child on his arm, where he had carried -him already many miles, and faced about.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Partner, let them take me,” he said. “I wish -them joy of it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He started back for Boston, for in the child’s present -extremity, the nearest place where he could be sure of -finding food was the only one worthy a thought.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_269'>269</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XXXIII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>REPUDIATED SILVER.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Sometime</span>, along toward the middle of the night, -Adam tripped, on a root which lay in his path, and in -catching himself so that his small partner should not -be injured, he sprained his foot. He proceeded onward -without sparing the member, however, for he had begun -to feel a fever of impatience.</p> - -<p class='c007'>His foot swelled. It finally pained him excessively, -so that he limped. He wore away the night, but when -the morning came, he was obliged to snatch an hour of -sleep, so great was the sense of exhaustion come upon -him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>His face had become pale. With his hair unkempt, -his eyes expressive of the fever in his veins and his -mouth somewhat drawn, he was not a little haggard, as -he resumed his lame, onward march. The child in his -arms was no burden to his enduring strength, but as a -load on his heart the little chap was heavy indeed. -Sleeping, the miniature man appeared to be sinking in -a final rest, so wan had his tiny face become. Waking, -he gazed at Adam with such a dumb inquiry ever -present in his great, wistful eyes, that Rust began to -wish he would complain—would cry, would make some -little sound to break his baby silence.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_270'>270</span>They were obliged to rest frequently, throughout the -day. Try as he might, Adam could not cover the -ground rapidly. Whenever he resumed walking, after -sitting for a moment on a log, or a rock, he found his -foot had become so bad that, in the late afternoon, he -gave up halting thus altogether.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The twilight came upon him, then the night-fall. -At last, with a smothered cry of delight on his lips, he -saw the gleam of a light. He had come to the farm-house -where he had stopped to return the English -dandy’s horse and to eat his last supper. Thinking -thereby to disguise himself, even if only slightly, he -halted, threw off his leather jerkin, sword and coat, -turned the latter inside out and concealed his weapon -and outside garment in the brush. Thus altered in -appearance, he dragged his aching foot across the space -between the woods and the house, where he knocked -upon the door and entered.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Who’s there?” cried the farmer, in a fright which -recent events had instilled in his being. He was a -shaking old bachelor, suspected by many who knew -him of being a miser with a great horde of gold on his -premises.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam was confronted by the man, as soon as he -stepped across the threshold.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Food, man,” he said, hoarsely. “Food, or this -child will die!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The man recognized him instantly. He fairly -quaked with dread.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Go out! Go out!” he cried. “I’ve no food -here—I’ve nothing here!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Peace!” commanded Adam. “Bring me forth -<span class='pageno' id='Page_271'>271</span>something to eat for the child, you knave, or I shall -find it for myself.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He looked terrible enough to execute a much more -dreadful threat. The farmer retreated before him, -cringing and whining.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have nothing, or you should have it,” he said, -with a whimper. “My neighbors—ten minutes’ walk -up the clearing—go to them. They have plenty, and -I have nothing.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam remembered the scantiness of the fare he had -tasted here before. Nevertheless it had been food, and -anything now might save his little partner’s life.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then you go, friend,” he ordered. “Make -haste and bring me what you can, from your neighbors’!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The man seemed about to refuse. He changed his -mind abruptly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’ll go. I’ll go!” he hastened to say, and without -his hat, or waiting for anything further, he hobbled -out at the door and was gone.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Rust lost no time in ransacking the cupboard. To -his unspeakable disappointment he found that the man -had not spoken wide of the truth. There was as little -here, in the way of a few gnawed crusts of bread and a -rind of cheese, as might well stand between nothing -and something to eat and to feed to a starving child. -His heart sank within him. But then he thought that -inasmuch as the farmer had told the truth about his -larder, he would be the more likely to have spoken -correctly about the neighbors. He would soon be back -with something fit for the wee Narragansett.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam looked at the baby-boy compassionately. The -<span class='pageno' id='Page_272'>272</span>little fellow was awake, looking up, winking slowly, -asking his dumb, wistful question with his eyes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam patted him softly while he waited. “I’m a -wretched mother, little partner,” he said. “But we’ll -soon have you banqueting, now. Can’t you speak up a -little bit? Don’t you want to give old Adam just one -little smile? No? Well, never mind. Little man is -tired.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He had placed his charge in a chair. Soon growing -impatient, he limped about the room, crunching a crust -of bread in his teeth, abstractedly. Unable to endure -the suspense, he went again to the cupboard and threw -everything down, in his search for something fit for the -child. There was nothing more than he had seen before. -He went to the water pail and drank, for his -mouth had found the crust a poor substitute for food.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Yet no sooner had he sipped the water than a sense -of the deliciousness of the dry bread pervaded his being. -He ran to gather up the other crusts at once and -limped to the child in a frenzy of gladness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Here, little man,” he said, kneeling down on the -floor. “If you can only chew that up and then take a -sip of water, you will think the King’s kitchen has -opened.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He gently thrust a small piece of the rock-hard bread -between the little chap’s lips, where, to his intense disappointment, -it remained.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Can’t you chew it?” he said. “Just try, for old -Adam.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The child was too weak to do anything but wink. -Its appealing gaze was more than Adam could stand.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What can Adam do for the little man?” he said.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_273'>273</span>He limped painfully back and forth again. The -farmer should have returned before this. What could -be keeping the wretch? The rover saw that the little -life was fluttering, uncertainly, not yet sure of its wings -on which to fly away.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have it!” he cried, in sudden exultation. -“Bread and water!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He hobbled across the room, snatched up a cup, -crunched a fistful of crusts in his hand, put them in his -cup and filled it half to the top with water. Then -he stirred the hard pieces with his finger and crushed -them smaller and padded them up against the side of -the vessel, working the mass softer in feverish haste. -Impatient to get results, he put the cup to the baby’s -lips.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Drink,” he coaxed. “Take a little, like a good -partner. Can’t you take a little weeny bit?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Groaning, thus to find the small Narragansett so -weak, he hobbled about to find a spoon, with which he -came hastily limping back. To his joy then, he saw a -little of the slightly nutritious water disappear between -the silent lips. He crooned with delight, hitched himself -closer and plied his spoon clumsily, but with all the -patience of a woman.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The child began to take the nourishment with interest.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam was happy in the midst of this new-found -expedient, when the door behind him was suddenly -thrown open, violently, and in burst half a dozen -constables, armed to the teeth and panting wildly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Give up! I arrest you in the name of the King!” -cried the foremost of the men. He presented a pistol -at the head of the kneeling man. “Take him!” he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_274'>274</span>screamed to his following, and before Rust could so -much as rise, on his wounded foot, he was suddenly -struggling in a mass of men who had fallen upon him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He got to his feet. He knocked three of the constables -endways. But his strength was gone quickly, -so long had he been famished, and so far had he taxed -his endurance. They overpowered him, making a noise -of mad confusion. They threw him toward a chair. -He made one cry of anguish and protest. Three of the -scrambling clods fell together upon the little partner, -and when they arose, his little heart had ceased to beat.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The farmer-miser now came worming his way through -the door. He was laughing like a wolf.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You’ve got him!” he cried. “I told you! I told -you! Heh, heh, heh. I’m not in league with thieves -and murderers. Here, here, take your silver! I’ll -none of your silver!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He took from his pocket the coin which the rover had -paid him to take back the Englishman’s horse and -threw it hysterically down at Adam’s feet.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_275'>275</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XXXIV.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>LODGINGS FOR THE RETINUE.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>The</span> beef-eaters arrived in the afternoon of the same -day that Adam was arrested. Alighting from the coach, -they did exactly what he had feared they would. They -wended their way promptly to the Crow and Arrow.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph and his henchmen, having missed their -intended prey, at their first attempt, were engaged -elsewhere in the town, attempting to make good their -failure. Believing Rust would return and attempt to -see Mistress Merrill, Randolph kept one or two of his -creatures in the vicinity of David Donner’s house day -and night. But Gallows, being for the time totally disabled, -had been domiciled at the tavern, in a small -apartment off the tap-room, where he spent many hours -of the day roaring out his exceeding displeasure at the -turn of events and the consequences thereof, into which -his friends had brought him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Pike and Halberd appeared at the inn when the place -was all but deserted. Naturally the tavern had become -popular with the Royalists, but it had been gradually -falling into disfavor with sailors and dock hands for -several years.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Striding haughtily into the place, the beef-eaters -accosted the landlord familiarly.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_276'>276</span>“My good fellow,” said little Pike, “be kind enough -to let the Sachem know that we have arrived and wait -upon his pleasure.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And assure him of the excellence of our health,” -said Halberd.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t know what you mean,” said the landlord, -eying the pair suspiciously and cudgeling his brains to -remember where and when he had seen them before. -“I have no Mr. Sachem in the house.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He has no Mr. Sachem in the house,” said the -beef-eaters, in chorus, turning to one another with -raised eyebrows and indulgent smiles.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This surpasses belief,” said Halberd.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My good friend, you mistook what we said,” added -Pike. “We are inquiring for The Sachem—not Mr. -Sachem, but The Sachem.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t know the Sachem,” said the landlord, -frowning upon the guests. “What do you want?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He don’t know the Sachem!” said the comrades, -again in chorus. They looked perfectly incredulous.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then I pity you for your loss,” Pike remarked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But if he is not at this house, where is he?” asked -Halberd.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Tell us where to find him and we will burden you -with wealth,” Pike added, grandly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The landlord began to be certain they were crazy. -“How should I know who it is you seek?” he -asked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Water! fetch me water!” roared Gallows, from -the adjoining room.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What disturbance is this?” Halberd wanted to -know. He strode to the door and looked in at the mountain -<span class='pageno' id='Page_277'>277</span>of meat, propped up in bed, poulticed and patched -past all semblance to himself. “Friend,” Halberd said -to him, boldly, “your voice needs bleeding.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ha!” bellowed Gallows, “you be a fool and I be -the fool-killer! Let me get——Howtch!” He made -this latter exclamation on attempting to rise from his -lair.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Halberd and Pike both fell to the rear a step, at the -awful voice of the brute, but no sooner did they see him -sink helplessly down on the couch than they laughed -in eloquent scorn.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I should enjoy nothing better than to slay something -large, before dinner,” little Pike remarked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Tut. This is my recreation,” said Halberd. -“Come forth, friend, till I warm some cold steel in -your belly.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Leave be!” commanded the landlord, coming forward -to shut the door between the rooms, and flapping -his apron at the belligerent beef-eaters. “Let me -know your wants, if you have them, and if not, be off -about your business.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Sensibly spoken,” said Halberd. “All we desire of -you is that you let the Sachem know we are come.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But I said I didn’t know this Sachem!” cried the -exasperated boniface.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“True, true,” said Pike. “But it seems too monstrous -to be so.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But,” put in Halberd, “you must remember that -wealthy young nobleman, who paved our way with -gold, when we were with you a number of years ago. -Surely you cannot yet have spent what we scattered in -your house?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_278'>278</span>“And you will certainly remember the drubbing we -gave those varlets, with the flat of our swords, here in -this very room—some dozen of the fellows there were -in all,” added the other of the pair. “They dared to -insinuate that we were beggars—aye, beggars, forsooth!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The landlord remembered them now, clearly enough. -He restrained himself from calling them vile names, -by making an effort truly heroic.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, to be sure, I do recall it now,” he said, cunningly. -“I believe your Sachem did even call here, to -ask if you had come. Yes, yes. I think he said he -meant to return here this afternoon again. Was he not -a tall, noble-looking gentleman?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Like a king,” said Pike.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“With a manner like this,” added Halberd, strutting -and swaggering across the room. “He should have -walked in over several prostrate forms, in the manner -of a prince and our associate.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The same, the very same,” agreed the landlord. -“He is certain to be here within the hour. Sit down, -gentlemen, and let me serve you, and then I shall be -honored to have a look about, myself, to see if I may -not find him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Said like a scholar,” Halberd assured him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We do this honor to your house for his sake,” Pike -added.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The two sat them down and the landlord hustled -them out the vilest drink he could draw, tampered -with, as it was, to add some crude substance, the effect -of which on the brain was overpowering. The fellow -saw the beef-eaters drinking and waited for nothing -<span class='pageno' id='Page_279'>279</span>more. He scampered away from the rear of his place, -as fast as his limbs could convey him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Fifteen minutes later a small army of constables -arrived, captured the two brain-fuddled beef-eaters -without the slightest resistance and carried them off to -the sumptuous apartments of the city jail. There, with -aching heads and crestfallen countenances, they discovered -themselves to be, when the baleful effects of -their drink had somewhat abated.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“By my fighting hand!” said Halberd, “I’d not be -sworn that we have not been tricked.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_280'>280</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XXXV.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>GARDE OBTAINS THE JAIL KEYS.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Unbeknown</span> to his retinue, Adam was accommodated -in the same jail where Pike and Halberd had been -landed while the evening was still comparatively young. -The body of the little Narragansett, brutally snatched -from Adam’s arms, had likewise been brought into -Boston.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph had lost no time in having Rust examined -and declared a prisoner of the state, charged with a -whole category of crimes against the peace and dignity -of the King. To all of this, and to nearly all of their -questions, Rust had made no reply whatsoever. He -realized the uselessness of pitting his one voice against -those of half a dozen perjured rascals, who came about -him the moment it was known he had finally been -taken, ready to swear to anything which would be -likeliest to jeopardize his life.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus, before half-past eight that night, the whole of -Boston was wagging its tongue over an astonishing -story, instigated at once by Edward Randolph. This -dangerous, blood-thirsty rascal, Rust, had been taken -in the forest, whither he had fled to join his Indian -wife, and in his struggles to avoid arrest he had slain -his half-Indian child.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This was the indictment, mildly expressed, that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_281'>281</span>reached the ears of Garde Merrill concerning her lover. -She was simply appalled. It was unbelievable, it was -monstrous. She scorned to think it could possibly be -true. And yet, if he had been in Boston several days -before, as the story had it, why had she known nothing -about it? The whole thing had been a gross fabrication. -He could not have been in the town and going to -a tavern to mix in a horrid brawl. He would certainly -have come to see her immediately on his arrival. He -had promised to return in about a week from a visit to -the beef-eaters.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When she got as far as that, she suddenly tried to -stop thinking. He had been gone many weeks instead -of the one; the beef-eaters had not been with him -when he had the alleged fight, nor when he was captured, -and he had mentioned to her, on their walk -from Plymouth, that he had once stopped at the Crow -and Arrow, where the brawl was reported to have taken -place.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Nearly frantic with the terrible thoughts in her -head, Garde hastened to John Soam’s to get what she -could of sober truth, which John would have as no one -else might in the town.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She was mentally distraught when she came to her -uncle’s. She had carried a dish belonging to her aunt -Gertrude, to make an excuse for her late evening visit. -She was more glad than she could have said that Prudence -was away, for her cousin knew something of her -feeling for Adam.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde, having been made welcome, had no need to -ask questions. John Soam was telling the story of the -night with countless repetitions. His wife cross-examined -<span class='pageno' id='Page_282'>282</span>him in every direction which her womanly ingenuity -could suggest.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus Garde discovered that it was undeniably true -that Adam had been in town several days before; that -he had been engaged in a terrible fight, in which he -had inflicted grave injuries on Randolph and one of -his “peaceable officers”; that he had then escaped -back to the woods, from which, it was alleged, he had -emerged solely for this fighting, and that, when captured, -he had a half-Indian child in his possession.</p> - -<p class='c007'>John Soam had seen the body of the child himself. -He had heard the examination, in his capacity of clerk -to the court and magistrates. Rust was lame, he said, -and he was a sullen man, who had returned no answers -but such as cut wittily. He had not denied that the -child was his own. He had absolutely refused to say -whose it was and how he came to have it. He had -come to the farmer’s house, at the edge of the woods, -for purposes of robbery. There was every reason to -believe that he had consorted with the Indians, and -that the child was his. It was a pretty child, but -many thought it looked as if it had been shockingly -abused. There could be no doubt that, when he had -found himself being taken, he had profited by the confusion -to slay the little half-Indian boy.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde’s horror grew as she listened. She remembered -terrible things that Adam had told her when he -believed her a youth. He had excused Randolph’s -conduct with Hester Hodder, hinting broadly that, in -a case he had in mind, he thought another young -woman—in this instance Garde herself—ought to forgive -such a treachery to honor. He had even mentioned -<span class='pageno' id='Page_283'>283</span>that she, when dressed as a boy and browned, -reminded him of a young Indian woman whom he had -known and liked. He had lived with the Indians as a -boy; he had gone back to them as a man.</p> - -<p class='c007'>All those other dreadful half-confessions, in this new -light, looked no longer innocent—the French damsel, -the Countess, and the others. He had deceived her -about going to New York to see the beef-eaters, she -told herself, in agony. He had gone to the forest instead. -And God only knew what things he had done -in those silent woods! Had he abandoned the mother -of his child, as Randolph had done——or had he committed -something worse? for Hester, in the similar -instance, had died so strangely.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At least it was plain that before Adam could marry -again he would be obliged to abandon that Indian -woman. And what if she were Indian? Was she less -a woman? Would she suffer less agony? Garde -thought of Hester, and of how the wild young thing -had begged her not to take away the man who had so -cruelly wronged her. The picture was almost more -than she could bear. The whole affair fell upon her -heart with a weight that crushed her happiness into a -shapeless, dying thing. In whatsoever direction she -turned, Adam’s own actions and words confronted her -with the blank wall of hideous truth.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She knew now why, after he had walked all the way -to Boston at her side, he had failed to appear at -Grandther Donner’s, for days and days. She saw it -all, plainly—horribly plainly. It was so absolutely unescapable. -And yet, he had seemed so honest; he had -spoken so of love; he had so convinced her heart and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_284'>284</span>her soul of his purity, nobility and worth! She loved -him still. She could not avoid this. It had grown up -with her; it had become a part of her very being. She -would love him always, but—she could not become his -wife—not after this—never! The thought of such a -thing made her shiver. His perfidy was almost greater -than Randolph’s—as an Indian woman would have -been so much more innocent and trustful than even -Hester.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Her heart cried. “Oh!” and yet again, “Oh!” in -its anguish. If he had only left some little loophole -for doubt—if he had only denied their accusations—if -only he had not said those terrible things to her, upon -the highway, perhaps——“No, no, no, no,” she cried, -in her soul; this was compromising with loathsome dishonor. -Far better it was that the awful truth was so -indisputably established! It left her no ground for -excusing his deeds, at the dictates of her unreasoning -love! Yet, oh, it had been so sweet to believe in him, -to love him without reserve, to trust her very soul in -his keeping! She wrung her hands under the table, -as she listened, with ears that seemed traitors to her -love, to all that her uncle could add to the story.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She soon learned that Adam was Randolph’s particular -prisoner; that there had been some old-time -grudge between them, and that the crafty man of -power would undoubtedly make an effort to hang his -captive.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At this her womanly inconsequence was suddenly -aroused. He might be guilty, but she had always -thought him noble and good. She would never marry -him, after this, but she would love him forever. He -<span class='pageno' id='Page_285'>285</span>had been her idol, her king. He must live, for at -least she had a right to keep enshrined in her heart the -thought of him, pulsating heart to heart with her, as -once he had. No! He must not be permitted to die—not -like this—not in infamy—not at the hands of -this monster of iniquity—this Randolph!</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was not that she had the slightest hope that he -could ever be the same to her again, or that she should -ever wish to see him again, but at least he had a right -to live, to redeem himself, partially, perhaps to suffer -and to sorrow for his deeds. Indeed he must so live—he -must so redeem himself for her sake—to justify the -love and the trust she had given him out of her heart!</p> - -<p class='c007'>She felt that she should choke if she did not soon -get out in the air. She wanted to run to the prison, -hammer with her fist on the gate, demand admittance -and set him free—free from Randolph’s clutches. But -she knew this was madness. Her mouth grew parched -and dry with her excitement, so tremendously held in -control. How could she manage to get him free? -Oh, if only she dared to tell her uncle John and get -him to help her!</p> - -<p class='c007'>He had the duplicate keys to every door in the jail. -He brought them home night after night and hung -them up on—There they were, now! They hung -there within reach of her hand! Her heart knocked -and beat in her bosom, as if it were hammering down -the barriers to Adam’s cell. She weaved dizzily, with -the possibilities of the moment. Just to take those -keys and run—that was all, and the trick would be -done. He could go—and their love would be a thing -of living death!</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_286'>286</span>She meant to take those keys. The impulse swayed -her whole being. She felt she would die rather than -miss her opportunity. With clenched hands and with -set jaws she arose to her feet.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I must be going home,” she said, with apparent -calm. “Oh, what was that?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What was what?” said her aunt and uncle together.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why—some noise, in the other room,” she said -with a tremor easily simulated, in her excited state. -“I am sure I heard something in there, moving!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Hum—let’s see,” said John.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It might be that I left the window open,” said -Goodwife Soam.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The man took the lamp, opened the door to the adjoining -apartment, and went in, followed by his wife. -Garde, with a gasp, and a clutching at her heart, lifted -the keys from their nail and dropped them into her -pocket with a barely audible jingle. She followed her -aunt a second later.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why, it was—nothing, after all,” she said, weaving -a trifle in her stress of emotion and nervousness. “But -the window was up, as you said. I’m glad that was -all. Good night.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good night,” said John Soam and his wife, from -the window which John was pushing down, and without -waiting another minute, Garde let herself out and -sped away in the darkness.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_287'>287</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XXXVI.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>GARDE’S ORDEAL.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>How</span> to get the keys into Adam’s possession, now -that she had them in her own, was the first question -that presented itself to the mind of Garde. Her ruse -at her uncle’s had been so quickly and easily planned -and executed that she had almost fancied Adam freed -already. Yet as she hastened homeward, filled with -conflicting emotions of excitement, grief and despair, -she soon comprehended that her task had not as yet -really begun.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Could she only ascertain in what portion of the -prison the rover was incarcerated, she thought it might -be possible to convey him the keys through the window, -provided he had one in his cell. Thinking of -this, she naturally remembered the jailer’s wife, a poor -ailing creature, who lived in the building, with her -husband, and to whom Goody Dune had ministered, -times without number, frequently sending Garde with -simples to relieve her of multitudinous aches and pains. -This was her cue. She could take her some of the -herbs of which a plentiful stock had been collected in -the Donner household, for the use of her grandfather.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Fortunately David Donner had so far progressed, if -not toward recovery, then at least toward change, that -he slept for hours, like a weary child, waking after -<span class='pageno' id='Page_288'>288</span>dreamless slumber all pink and prattling. He was -thus asleep when she came to the house. She was -therefore soon on her way to the prison, her simples in -a small basket, hung on her arm.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The hour was unusual for any one thus to be visiting -the jailer’s wife, so that the good woman, when Garde -came in, after knocking, was obviously surprised at the -honor.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, Mrs. Weaver,” said the girl, hurriedly, “I heard -you had been having trouble here to-day, and I knew -how it always upsets you, and Goody had given me all -these simples to bring, three days ago, so I thought I -had better bring them to you the moment I knew you -were being so worried.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was a fact that the jailer’s wife was invariably -very much distressed when guests were thrust upon their -hospitality. She always feared at first that they would -get away, and afterward that they would not, as her abhorrence -and then her sympathy came respectively into -play. She also conjectured all manner of terrible -things that might at any moment happen to Blessedness -Weaver, her worthy husband. To-night she was -particularly nervous, owing to the sudden increase in -the jail’s population and the blood-freezing details and -rumors afloat as to the nature of the company -assembled under the roof of the building.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Dear me, lassie,” she said, in answer to Garde’s -well-chosen speech, “do come in directly. I am that -fidgety and poorly, the night! Lauk, lassie, but you -are a dear, thoughtful heart, and I shall never forget -you for this. And we have such terrible gentlemen, -the night!”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_289'>289</span>She always called the guests gentlemen, till she -found out which way lay the sympathies of a given -visitor, when they all became rogues, forthwith, if she -found herself encouraged to this violent language. -Later on, again, when her sympathies for their plight -were aroused, they were restored to their former social -appellations.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I am so sorry for you!” said Garde. “I had -heard of one prisoner; but could you have had more -than one?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Lauk, yes,” said the woman rolling her eyes -heavenward. “They took the principal rogue in the -woods, I believe, but they captured his two brutal companions -at the Crow and Arrow in the afternoon.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This was news to Garde. She recognized the beef-eaters -from this vivid description. If Adam had his -friends at his side, he must be much more contented, -and they would all be planning to escape.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And so all three are under lock and key, safely together?” -she said, innocently. “How fortunate!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh dear me, no,” corrected Mrs. Weaver. “The -two taken by daylight are together in the southern -exposure, while the last one was thrust in the -dungeon. Oh Lauk, Mistress, but he is a terrible -man!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde felt her heart sink, even though it never ceased -for a moment to beat so hard that it pained her. Adam -in a dungeon! How in the world could she ever manage -to get the keys to him now? Dungeons, she knew, -were under the ground; they were dank, death-dealing -places, with moldy straw in one corner and with slimy -rocks for walls. She could have cried in her sudden -<span class='pageno' id='Page_290'>290</span>wretchedness of spirit, although it could never mean -anything to her, whether Adam lived or died, in -prison or out. However, she mastered herself splendidly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A dungeon?” she said. “Oh, I didn’t know you -had a dungeon here. It must be very deep down in the -earth.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It’s a creepy place; oh lauk, it’s that creepy!” -said the woman. “But it’s not so deep, dearie. It’s -nine steps down. I’ve counted the steps many’s the -time. But it is where we puts the monstrously wicked -rogues, such as this bloodthirsty man! And it’s that -dark, my dear—oh lauk, what a place to spend the -night!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Of course it must be dark,” said Garde, suppressing -her eagerness. “They couldn’t have a window in such -a place as that.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Indeed we have, though; we’ve a window in every -room in the place,” corrected the jailer’s wife, with -commendable pride in the architectural arrangements. -“Oh yes, it has its window, no bigger than my hand, -lassie, and slanting up through the rock, but it’s a rare -little light it lets in to the poor gentlemen down -below!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’m glad he—the prisoners here have some light,” -said Garde, honestly, “but I don’t see where such a -window could be.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It’s on the dark side of the house, night and day -the same,” explained Mrs. Weaver. “It’s around on -the dark side, where no one would find it in a month of -Sundays, just about the length of my foot above the -ground. Such a small thing it is, and the light it lets -<span class='pageno' id='Page_291'>291</span>in is that little! Oh lauk, I’m feeling worse to be -thinking upon it!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then you mustn’t talk about it any more,” Garde -assured her, sympathetically. “And I must be going -home. I do hope the simples will make you better, and -I’m so glad I came. I must say good night, for I suppose -you will all be going to bed very soon.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I shall be there directly,” Mrs. Weaver informed -her, “but dear me, Blessedness won’t be touching a -pillow for an hour, and then he’ll sleep with his stockings -on. He always does the first night with new -rogues in the house. Good night, dearie, and God bless -you for a sweet child.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde went out and walked slowly toward Grandther -Donner’s. She had an hour to wear away, for -she would not dare to be searching about the jail before -the jailer at least retired to his couch.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The time was one of dread and chills. Her teeth -chattered, not from any suggestion of cold in the night -air, but from the nervous strain of this time of suspense. -She had never been so frightened of any action in her -life, as she was when at length she crept back to the -prison, through the dark, deserted streets, and began -to search about to find the tiny window of which Mrs. -Weaver had spoken.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There were two dark sides to the building. One was -constantly in the shadow of a tavern, which almost -abutted against it, while the other was on the northern -face of the building, in a narrow street. Garde went -first to the northern exposure, for in order to get at the -other shaded side, she would have been obliged to climb -a low, brick wall.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_292'>292</span>Scarcely had she more than come to her destination, -and begun her feverish search, before she heard the -sound of distant footsteps, which rapidly approached. -She crouched in a black little niche, in fear, with a -violent commotion in her breast which threatened to -drop her down in a swoon. Almost stepping on her -toes, some pedestrian passed, leaving the girl so horribly -weak that she shut her eyes and leaned against the wall, -laboring to get her breath.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Nerved again by the things Mrs. Weaver had told -her, she came out of her hiding-place, after several -minutes, and feeling the cold rock-wall she passed -eagerly along, shaking with her chill and fearing to -breathe too loud, in the silence.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She was doomed here to bitter disappointment. The -window was not to be found. She searched again and -again, unwilling to give it up, but it was not there. -She realized that she must climb the brick barrier, and -try on the other side of the building.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She found the wall not difficult to surmount, but -when she jumped down, on the further side, she -struck on a heap of broken crockery, thrown out from -the tavern.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She crouched down instantly, for the noise she had -made attracted the notice of some one in the public -house. A door at the rear of the hostelry was thrown -open and a man looked out. He appeared to be looking -straight at her and listening.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Must have been a cat,” he said, to somebody back -in the house, and he disappeared and closed the door.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde could not have been any more wrought upon -than the whole affair had made her already. She could -<span class='pageno' id='Page_293'>293</span>not become calm. She could merely wait for moments -of partial relief from overwhelming emotions.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus in time she was creeping along again, feeling -the dark stone as before and peering vainly and desperately -into the shadows which lay so densely upon the -whole enclosure. Hastily she traversed the whole -length of the wall. She arrived at the far end, ready -to sink down and cry in anguish. She had not discovered -the window.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Back again she went, choking back hysterical sobs -and bruising her delicate hands on the rough rocks, as -she played with her fingers along that grim, dark pile. -She failed again.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Sitting where she was, in the grass, which was growing -rank in the place, she clasped her hands in despair. -She would have to give it up. There was some mistake. -There was no window.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Yet once more she would try. She could not give it -up. The dungeon’s horrors and the terrible character -of Edward Randolph made her fear that if the morning -came before Adam was free, he would no longer -have need for freedom, nor light.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Slowly, this time, and digging at the base of the -stone-wall that rose above her, she felt down to the very -roots of the grass, for the aperture which represented a -window. To her unspeakable joy, her fingers suddenly -ran into an absolute hole in the solid rock, in a matted -growth of roots and grass, which had grown up about it!</p> - -<p class='c007'>She sank down, momentarily overcome with this discovery. -It was too much to believe. She felt she was -almost dying, so insupportable was the agitation of her -heart. But she presently clutched at the grass and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_294'>294</span>tore it away in a mad fever of haste. She dug, with -her fingers and her finger nails. She could smell the -odor of the bruised grass, and then the wholesome -fragrance of earth. She had soon uncovered a small -square opening, no larger, as the jailer’s wife had said, -than a good-sized hand.</p> - -<p class='c007'>On her knees as she was, she bent her head down to -a level with the hole and put her lips close to the opening. -She tried to speak, but such a faintness came -upon her that she could not utter a sound. She had -worked with a tremendous resolution toward this end, -and now the flood of thoughts of everything said and -done that evening, came upon her and rendered her -dumb, with emotion and dread.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Making a great effort she essayed to speak again. -Once more she failed. But she waited doggedly, for -the power she knew would not desert her in the end. -Thus for the third time she mustered all her strength -and leaned down to the window.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Adam,” she said, faintly, and then she waited, -breathlessly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was no response. There was not a sound from -that tomb, the dankness of which she now began to -detect in her nostrils.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Adam!” she repeated, this time more strongly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Some subterranean rustling then came to her ears.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Adam! Oh, Adam!” she said, in a voice that -trembled uncontrollably.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Who’s that? Who’s speaking? Is it you, John -Rosella?” came in a rumble from the dungeon.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She failed to recognize his voice, so altered did the -passage from his place of imprisonment make it.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_295'>295</span>“Oh, is that you, Adam—Mr. Rust?” she asked, -trembling violently.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Garde!” he said, joyously. “Garde! Oh, my -darling! Yes, it’s I. Where are you? What have -you done?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde felt her strength leave her treacherously. -Thus to hear the endearing names leap upward to her -from that terrible place was too much to bear, after all -she had learned.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Here—here are the keys,” she whispered down to -him, haltingly. “And your friends—your two companions—they -are also in the prison. I hope—I hope -you can find your way out. I am dropping them down—the -keys. Here they come.” She tossed the bunch, -which she had taken from her pocket with nerveless -fingers, and now she heard the metallic clink, as they -struck the floor, come faintly up through the aperture.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam was starting to say something. She dared not -wait to listen. Now that her task was done, she knew -she would absolutely collapse, if she did not at once -bestir herself to flee.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I mustn’t stop!” she said to him, a little wildly. -“Be careful. Good-by,” and without even waiting to -hear him answer, she arose, thrust a bunch of grass -back into place over the opening, and hastened away.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_296'>296</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XXXVII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>RATS IN THE ARMORY.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Adam’s</span> disappointment, when he got no more responses -to the eager questions and blessings he breathed -upward to his unseen sweetheart, was keener than all -the anguish he had felt at being so foully imprisoned. -He had caught up the keys, quickly enough, but when -he failed to catch any more of her trembling words he -felt more deserted and surrounded by the blackness -than he had been in all this new experience. However, -his heart was soon tripping with gladness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At least it was Garde who had come to save him. -Love was his guardian angel. He could face the world -full of foes, after this. He grew impatient, abruptly, -to get out of the dungeon at once and go to Garde—his -brave, darling Garde!</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then he thought of the beef-eaters. He had fancied -he heard their voices, as Randolph’s men had been taking -him into the prison corridor. It had seemed impossible -that they had already arrived and been apprehended -till he remembered how many days it had been -since last he had seen them.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Having been asleep when Garde first called down to -him, through the tiny air-passage, the rover was a -little refreshed. But he was still nearly famished for -something to eat, having been provided only with a dry -<span class='pageno' id='Page_297'>297</span>chunk of bread, as large as his fist, and a jug of water. -He was also quite lame, for he had not been able to do -anything for his wounded foot.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Nevertheless he was alert, now, for his slumber of an -hour had been profoundly deep and his constitution -was one of great elasticity, rapidly responding to the -most inconsiderable restorative influence. He hobbled -about in his small den, finding the door without difficulty, -after which he tried the lock with key after key, -on the bunch, until he thought he had rejected all, -when his high hopes came swiftly tumbling down.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The key to the dungeon had not been found among -the lot on the ring!</p> - -<p class='c007'>In his weakened condition this apparent discovery -was prostrating in its dire effect. He suffered more -than he would have done had there been no attempt -made to free him at all. He felt cold beads of perspiration -break out on his brow. Hope for himself and the -beef-eaters, snatched away almost as soon as given, unnerved -him. Nevertheless he pulled himself together, -to try every key in the bunch again.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The first one he handled entered the lock and threw -back the bolt.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Cautiously swinging the door open, he suddenly -started, at the sound of some one approaching in the -corridor. In a second he was back in the dark hole -and had locked the door again upon himself. Weaver, -the jailer, making an unusual round of the premises, -came down the dungeon-steps and tried the door. -Satisfied that all was well, he proceeded onward to his -bed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam lost little time in again starting forth. This -<span class='pageno' id='Page_298'>298</span>time he locked the dungeon and took his bunch of keys -with him. He climbed the nine steps, which the jailer’s -wife had so frequently counted, and found himself in -the corridor, which was lighted by a single lamp, which -was small and odorous. Noting his bearings, he limped -along toward the cell where he thought he had heard -the beef-eaters talking.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was no sound to give him guidance now, and -there were several doors confronting him, behind any -one of which his retinue might be locked. It was a -matter presenting necessities for nicety in judgment. -If he were to open the door on some wrong prisoner, -the ensuing disturbance would be most unfortunate. -Moreover, he did not know but what there might be -guards galore in some of the jail-apartments. It would -not do to call, or to whisper, for the sake of attracting -the beef-eaters’ attention, for obvious reasons.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was nothing for it but to open door after door -till he found the faithful pair. Luckily the doors were -numbered, and he found there were corresponding -numbers on the keys. There being no choice, he unlocked -the first door he saw. Shifting the bolt cautiously, -he was presently able to listen for anything like -a sound inside the cell.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He could hear nothing. The room was empty. To -the next door he went, and repeated his simple experiment. -This apartment proved to be, not a cell, but a -place in which all manner of rubbish had been thrown. -It also contained swords, pistols, some blunderbusses -and other arms. The room, indeed, was the prison -armory. Adam nodded at this discovery as being good, -but it left him as far as before from his friends. Leaving -<span class='pageno' id='Page_299'>299</span>this door unlocked, he went back in the other direction -and tried again.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Listening now, as before, upon opening a second cell, -he heard snoring. Better than this, it was snoring that -he knew. He went in and nudged the retinue with his -foot.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What, ho! Who knocks?” said Halberd, in a sleepy -growl.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Be quiet,” said Adam. “Get up, the two of you, -quickly. We are about to seek more commodious -apartments.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The Sachem!” said Pike.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Who else,” answered Halberd. “Sire, I have been -expecting this kindness these three hours.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You may expect to be hanged, in the morning, if -you do not shut your mouth and come with me instantly,” -said Rust.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I was dreaming of my wedding with a fair princess,” -said Pike. “These are no days of chivalry, -when a man will leave so sweet a damsel in so vile a -place.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What have you done with your swords and side -arms?” the Sachem demanded, in a whisper. “Did -they take them from you?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They did. Else we had slain the whole score of -rascals that took us,” said Halberd.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Make haste, then, till we arm anew,” instructed the -rover.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He locked the door behind them and led the way to -the armory at once. They had gone half the distance -to the place when there came a clanking of opening -doors, a rattle of scabbards, a rumble of muffled voices -<span class='pageno' id='Page_300'>300</span>and the tramp of many feet, around in the angle of the -corridor, leading to the outside world.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Quick! Quick!” commanded Adam, and darting -forward, lame foot and all, to the armory-door, he opened -it, thrust in the beef-eaters, with a word of admonition -to beware of making a noise, and closed the barrier, -only as Randolph and six of his creatures came tiptoeing -down the passage and stopped fairly opposite -where Adam was standing.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The rover reached out in the dark of the room they -were in, as he braced silently against the door, and -felt his hand come in contact with a sword, which he -had noted when first he peered into the room. He -could hear the men outside, whispering.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Weaver was with them, pale and frightened at what -he knew these midnight visitors contemplated doing. -He dared not make the slightest protest; his master -stood before him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Here, is this the room above the dungeon?” said -Randolph. He laid his hand on the knob, the inside -mate of which Adam was holding.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, sir, this is the room, here upon the other side,” -said Weaver. “It’s a few steps further along.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The private executioners, with their chief, were -moving away, when one of the beef-eaters stepped upon -something on the floor of the armory, making a sound -that seemed terrific.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What was that?” demanded Randolph, quickly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We have rats in the property chamber,” said -Weaver, honestly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It sounded too big for rats,” said the voice of -Psalms Higgler, whom Adam readily identified.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_301'>301</span>“We may look there if you like,” said the jailer.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Never mind the rats at present,” dictated Randolph. -“Show us the room above the cellar.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The other door could then be heard to open and to -close behind the visitors. Adam snatched up swords -for three on the instant.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Here, take it—and not a word,” he breathed, -thrusting a weapon upon each of his trembling companions. -“If they come for us—fight!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Silently and slowly he reopened the door, having -buckled a sword upon him. There came a light patter -of footsteps on the corridor floor. Just as the rover -was stepping forth, Psalms Higgler, who had not been -satisfied with the theory of the rats, came gliding to the -spot. He and Adam suddenly faced one another, a -foot apart. The startled little monster stared wildly -for the briefest part of a second and then would have -fallen back, yelling like a demon to raise the alarm.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Pouncing upon him, without a sound, yet with the -terrible strength and nimbleness of a tiger, Adam -clutched him fiercely by the neck, with both his powerful -hands, and choking back the yell already starting -to the creature’s lips, lifted him bodily off the floor, to -prevent him from kicking upon it, to raise a disturbance, -and carried him, squirming and writhing, to the -door by which the visitors had so recently entered.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Open the door! Open the door and get out!” -ordered Rust of his followers, sternly, never for a moment -relaxing his grip or his lift on Higgler. “Lift -the bar! Lift it! There!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The door swung open. The beef-eaters sprang outside, -trying both to go at once. The commotion they -<span class='pageno' id='Page_302'>302</span>made rang through the building. Adam was after -them swiftly, forgetting to limp, as he felt the outside -air in his face.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Higgler by this was becoming absolutely limp. -Adam dropped him on the ground, where he lay, -barely left alive and unable to move or to speak.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam had the keys in his pocket, the largest one -uppermost. This was the one to this outside door. -He could hear the men inside running toward the spot -and already shouting the alarm. He dared to lock -the door, deliberately, and to pull out the key and put -it again in his pocket. Then he calmly drew the borrowed -sword from its scabbard, rammed its end smartly -home, in the key-hole and snapped it off short, spiking -the aperture completely.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Already the beef-eaters were running up the street. -Psalms Higgler was drawing his breath in awful gasps, -where he lay.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good friend, farewell,” said Rust to him, cheerfully. -“I shall be pleased to report you an excellent -rat-catcher, at the earliest opportunity afforded.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He disappeared from Higgler’s ken in a twinkling -and soon overtook his retinue, making good time for -the country.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_303'>303</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XXXVIII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>LOVE’S LONG GOOD-BY.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Aware</span> that his ruse in locking the jail upon his -jailers would hold them only till they could think of -taking off the lock and knocking out the sword-end, -Adam was nevertheless determined upon going to David -Donner’s residence, for the purpose of seeing Mistress -Garde.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With this purpose in view, and expecting his pursuers -to be soon on a keen race for the open flats, -which he had been known to cross before, in his successful -escape to the woods, he led his retinue straight -off at right angles from such a course, and brought -them in fifteen minutes to the silent ship-yard of -William Phipps.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Here, with small ado, they climbed the fence and -struck across the enclosure, past the gaunt skeleton of -a ship, growing on the ways, and so came to a quiet bit -of water, at the private landing, where three small -boats were moored in safety.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The trio were soon aboard the lightest skiff and rowing -her westward, with silent, effectual strokes. -Guided by the rover, the beef-eaters steered for the -shore, and after a ten-minute pull Adam landed near -the spot where he had sat upon a rock, waiting for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_304'>304</span>night, on the occasion of his last meeting with his -sweetheart.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Wait for me here,” he said. “I shall not be long.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He was soon at the gate and then in the garden. -There was not a sound to be heard. The house was -dark. He raised a little whistle, as he slowly walked -about the place, watching the windows intently.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde heard him. She was up. She had not had a -moment of peace or freedom from dreadful suspense -since arriving at the house, while waiting, listening, -starting at all those uncanny sounds of stretching, in -which a building will indulge itself at night. Greater -unhappiness or despair she had never known, nor -greater worry, fearing that Adam would come, and -then fearing more that he would not.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When she heard him whistle, her heart seemed suddenly -dislodged in her bosom. Her breath came -laboredly. She opened the window in the kitchen, -this room being furthest from her grandfather’s apartment, -and saw Adam limp eagerly toward her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Garde!—Sweetheart!” he said.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh—oh, you—you got away,” she faltered, faintly. -“Here, I have—tied you up—a luncheon. Take it, -please, and—and you had better go—at once.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“God bless you!” said Adam, stuffing the parcel -she gave him inside his coat. “I have brought you -back the keys. My Garde! My own blessed sweetheart. -Oh, Garde, dearest, come out to me, just for a -moment—just for one little good-by.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I—I cannot,” Garde said, fighting heroically against -the greatest temptation she had ever known. “We -must say——good-by, now, and I must——”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_305'>305</span>“Yes, I know, dear,” he broke in impetuously, “but -just for a moment, just——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He was at the window. He tried to take her hands, -to draw her toward him. She shrank away with an -action so strange that his sentence died on his lips. -“Why, Garde,” he said, “can’t I even touch your -hands?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She shook her head. He could barely see her, in the -pale light which the stars diffused.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I—I must never see—never see you—again,” she -stammered, painfully, “we must say—say good-by.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You must never——Garde—why—we must say—But, -Garde, dear,—I don’t understand you. What -does all this mean?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, please go—now,” she said. “That is all—all -I can say. It must be good-by.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam was made dumb for a moment. He stared at -her unbelievingly. He passed his hand across his -brow, as if he feared his fasting and long-endured labors -had weakened his mind.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What in heaven’s name has happened?” he said, -as if partially to himself. “Am I Adam Rust? Are -you Garde? Say good-by?——Dearest, has anything -happened?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She nodded to him, forcing back the sob that arose -in her throat. “Something—something has happened,” -she repeated. For maidenly shame she could not -broach the subject of the Indian child.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He was silent for a moment before replying.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But you came to-night and gave me the keys, an -hour or so ago,” he said, in wonderment and confusion. -“You did that?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_306'>306</span>“I—couldn’t—do less,” she answered, mastering her -love and anguish by a mighty resolution.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do you mean—you would have done the same for -anybody?” he asked. And seeing her nod an affirmative -he gave a little laugh. “I am crazy now, or I -have been crazy before,” he told himself. “Something -has happened. Something—Of course—it couldn’t -help happening, in time. Some one has told you——I -might have known it would happen.... And yet—you -once said you could wait for me fifty years. And I believed -it.... Well, I thank you. I have been amused.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>His broken sentences seemed to Garde to fill in the -possible gaps of the story—to make his confession -complete. But Adam had, in reality, stopped himself -on the verge of accusing her of listening to the love-making -of some one other than himself, in his absence.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She made no reply to what he had said. She felt -there was absolutely nothing she could say. Her heart -would have cried out to him wildly. When he spoke -so lightly of the fifty years which she could have -waited, she swayed where she stood, ready to drop. -Almost one atom more of impulse and she would have -thrown herself in his arms, crying out her love passionately, -in defiance of the story of his perfidy. But -her honor, her maidenly resolution, steeled her in the -nick of time. Though her heart should break, she -could not accept the gilded offer of such a love.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, Garde—sweetheart, forgive me,” said Adam, -after a moment of terrible silence. “I have wronged -you. Forgive me and tell me it is all some nightmare—some -dreadful——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The night stillness was broken by the sound of men -<span class='pageno' id='Page_307'>307</span>running swiftly up the street. Randolph had thought -of the possibility of Adam’s visit to Mistress Merrill.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde heard and comprehended. Rust heard and -was careless.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, go, Ad—Mr. Rust, please go at once,” pleaded -the girl already closing down the window.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Garde! Garde!—not forever?” cried the man in -a last despair.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Forever,” she answered, so faintly that he barely -heard, and then the window came down to its place.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Limping back into the shadow, at the rear of the -garden, Adam lay out full length on the ground, as -two tiptoeing figures entered the gate and came sneaking -silently about the somber house. He saw them -make a circuit of the garden. One of them walked to -within a rod of where he lay—therefore within a rod of -death,—and then turned uncertainly away and retired -from the place with his fellow-hound.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The rover heard them go on up the street, hurriedly -making toward the woods. He came back to the place -by the window, at last, and whistled softly once again, -unable to believe that what he had heard could be so. -There must be some explanation, if only he could get -it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was no response, partially for the reason that -Garde had sunk down upon the floor, on the other side -of the window, in a dead faint.</p> - -<p class='c007'>His lameness fully upon him again, Adam hobbled a -few steps away, halted to look back, yearningly, and -then once more dragged himself off, to join the faithful -beef-eaters, waiting in patience with the boat.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_308'>308</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XXXIX.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>MUTATIONS.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>While</span> Garde, heart-broken, pale and ill, was restoring -her uncle’s keys to their accustomed hook, in the -morning, Adam and his retinue were taking a much-needed -sleep in the woods.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Having recovered his own good sword and his leather -jerkin, from the place where he had concealed them, on -the evening of his capture, he had led the beef-eaters -into a maze of trees where no one in Boston could have -found them, and here he was doing his best to prove -himself a cheerful and worthy companion, to share their -natural distresses.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Refusing at first to eat of the luncheon provided by -Garde, the rover finally yielded to the importunities of -his companions, and thereby got much-needed refreshment. -By noon they were far on their way toward New -Amsterdam, their only safe destination. They kept -close to the edge of the woods, as they went, remaining -thereby in touch with the farms, on which they depended, -in their penniless condition, for something to -eat.</p> - -<p class='c007'>By sheer perversity, Adam wore away his lameness. -He bathed his foot often and he also wrapped it in -leaves, the beneficent qualities of which he had learned -from the Indians, years before, and this did as much, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_309'>309</span>or more, than his doggedness to make repairs in the -injured tendons.</p> - -<p class='c007'>They were many days on this wearisome march which -contrasted, for Adam, so harshly with that other stroll, -to Boston, from Plymouth. On many occasions they -went hungry for a day and a night together. But what -with cheer and good water, they lost nothing of their -health.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With boots beginning to gape at the toes, and with -raiment dusty and faded, they arrived, at last, at the -modest house, at the corner of Cedar and William -streets, in New Amsterdam, where Captain William -Kidd resided with his wife. Here they were made -welcome. On behalf of himself and his comrades, Adam -presently secured a working passage to Hispaniola, -where he meant to rejoin William Phipps, in the search -for the sunken treasure. He could think of nothing -else to do, and he had no longer the slightest desire to -remain on American soil.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Prior to sailing, however, he wrote a long, detailed -account of his finding the man and his Indian child, -with all the incidents related thereto, which he forwarded -straight to Henry Wainsworth. This concluded -his duties. He only regretted, he said in his letter to -Henry, that he could not apprise him of what disposition -had been made of the body of the little man, -Henry’s nephew, when the minions of Randolph took -it in their charge.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This letter came duly into Henry Wainsworth’s possession. -Having been aware, as no other man in Massachusetts -was, that his refugee brother was living his -isolated life in the woods, Henry was much overcome -<span class='pageno' id='Page_310'>310</span>by this sad intelligence. He made what cautious inquiries -he dared, with the purpose of ascertaining what -had become of the little body. He then made a -pilgrimage into the woods, stood above the grave which -Adam had made, and then, taking a few worthless -trinkets, as mementoes, from the deserted cabin, he -came sadly away.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But not Henry’s sadness, nor yet that of Garde, -served to do more than to signalize the sense of affliction -which the citizens of the colony felt had come upon -them. They had been a joyless people, with their -minds and their bodies dressed in the somber hues suggested -by a morbid condition of religious meditation, -but at least they had enjoyed the freedom for which -they had come so far and fought so persistently. With -their charter gone, and the swift descent upon them of -the many things which they had found intolerable in -England, they were a melancholy, hopeless people indeed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But even as Garde’s sorrow typified that of her fellow-beings, -so did the fortitude and uncomplaining courage, -with which she endured her burden, typify the -stolid suffering of the citizens of Massachusetts, in this -hour of their first great “national” woe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The summer ripened and passed. The autumn -heralded the ermine-robed King Winter, with glorious -pageantry. The trees put on their cloth of gold and -crimson, and when the hoary monarch came, the millions -of leaves strewed his path, and, prostrate before -his march, laid their matchless tapestry beneath his -merciless feet.</p> - -<p class='c007'>During all this time Randolph had made no sign toward -<span class='pageno' id='Page_311'>311</span>his revenge upon Garde, for the scorn with which -she had cast him from her side. No petty vengeance -would gratify his malignant spirit. The whole colony -must suffer for this indignity, and Garde and her -grandfather should feel his hand mightily, when all was -ready. He prepared his way with extreme caution. -He was never hurried. He laid wires to perform his -mischief far ahead. Indeed he lingered almost too -long, in his greed to prolong his own anticipation of -what was to be.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus in December of that year, 1686, the frigate -“Kingfisher,” from England, brought to the colony -their newly-appointed Governor, Sir Edmund Andros, -who assumed the reins of power with an absolute thoroughness -which left Randolph somewhat shorn of his -capacity for working evil.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Andros, who had formerly been Governor for New -York, for a matter of three years, was a person of commendable -character, in many respects, but the policy -which he had come to put into being and force was -stupid, oppressive and offensive to the people he had to -govern. Being the thorough Tory that he was, he enforced -the policy with a vigor which brought upon him -the detestation of the Puritans, who visited the errors -he was ordered to commit upon his own less guilty -head.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The Puritans, in the extremes to which they had -fled, in their separation from the English forms of worship, -had adopted a rigid simplicity in which the whole -fabric of ceremonials had been swept away bodily. -They rang no bells for their divine service; they regarded -marriage as a civil contract, purely; they -<span class='pageno' id='Page_312'>312</span>observed no festivals nor holidays of the church; they -buried their dead in stolid silence. They abhorred the -English rites.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Governor Andros inaugurated countless ceremonies. -That very Christmas the English party of Boston held -high revel in the city. The Puritans refused to close -their shops, or to join either in rites or merriment. -They brought in their fire-wood and went about their -business, grim-faced and scowling darkly upon the innovations -come among them, with their fascinations for -the young and their enchantment of the frivolous.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The offenses against their rigid notions increased -rapidly. In February they beheld, with horror, the -introduction of a new invention of the devil. One -Joseph Mayhem paraded in the main street of Boston -with a rooster fastened on his back,—where it flapped -its wings frantically,—while in his hand the fellow -carried a bell, on which he made a dreadful din as -he walked. Behind him came a number of ruffians, -blindfolded and armed with cart-whips. Under pretense -of striking at Mayhem and the chanticleer, they -cut at the passers-by, roaring with laughter and otherwise -increasing the attention which their conduct -attracted. This exhibition was thought to smack of -Papacy and the hated days of Laud.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The church itself was invaded. There was as yet no -Church of England in the town. Governor Andros -therefore attended with the Puritans, at their own -house of meeting, but to their unnameable horror, he -compelled Goodman Needham, the sexton, to ring the -bell, according to English usage.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Rebellion being impossible, the Puritans nursed their -<span class='pageno' id='Page_313'>313</span>grievances in sullen stolidity. They were powerless, -but never hopeless of their opportunity still to come.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Taxation came as a consequence of the pomp in which -the new Governor conceived it to be his right to exist, -as well as the natural result of his glowing reports to -England that the people could be made to disgorge and -would not resist.</p> - -<p class='c007'>To crown their heritage of woe, Edward Randolph, -profiting by their already established fanaticism and -ripeness for the folly, subtly introduced and finally -fastened upon them that curse of superstitious ignorance, -which was doomed to become such a blot upon -their page of history—the “detection” of and persecutions -for witchcraft.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_314'>314</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XL.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>GOLDEN OYSTERS.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Captain William Phipps</span>, when Adam left him at -Jamaica, had returned, as he had said he intended, to -the waters wherein the old Spanish galleon, with her -golden treasure, was supposed to have sunk. He had -met with a small measure of luck, for an old sailor had -pointed out what he alleged to be the exact reef of -rocks on which the galleon had split, half a century before. -This spot was a few leagues to the north of Port -de la Plata.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Having examined the place without success, Phipps -had then discovered that his crew was not reliable and -the ship not much better, in point of soundness. He -had therefore headed for England, coming in due season -to anchor in the Thames.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Undaunted by the failure which his enterprise had -been, he sought out the King, reported what he had -done, and requested the use of another ship and a better -lot of men.</p> - -<p class='c007'>James was amused and entertained. He commended -the bold skipper on his courage and his tenacity of purpose; -he believed his story. But he shook his head -at the thought of furnishing funds and a new ship and -crew for further adventures with pirates and mutineers -in the Spanish Main.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_315'>315</span>However, at the Court, Captain Phipps had made -influential friends. He was admired for his manly -qualities; he was trusted as a man of exceptional integrity. -The Duke of Albemarle, with several friends, -agreed again to back the doughty Captain for the venture. -They secured a new charter for the business -from the King; they found a good staunch ship. -Away went Phipps, with a hope so high that nothing -could have served to suppress it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was when the captain arrived once more at Port -de la Plata that Adam Rust and the beef-eaters joined -him. The meeting was one in which the demonstration -of a great and enduring affection between the two big -men was the more affecting because of its utter simplicity -and quietness. Adam was welcomed to his -share in the new promise with that great spirit of generosity -and justice which characterized everything that -Phipps was ever known to do.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The preparations for a careful search were pushed -ahead rapidly. A small, stout boat was built and -launched, near the fatal reef, while the ship was anchored -at some distance away, in less treacherous water.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Daily the small boat put forth and the reef was examined, -but to no avail. It was found that the shelf -of rock, which had broken the old galleon, ended so -abruptly as to form a sheer drop of many fathoms, -whereas a few feet away it was only a ship’s-hold distance -from the surface. It was conjectured then that -the galleon had struck, had filled with water and so had -fallen over the edge of the submerged precipice, -where she would lay forever, undisturbed by prodding -man.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_316'>316</span>The search was at length abandoned as being futile. -The small boat, being slowly rowed away, Adam beheld -a plant, of many colors and rare beauty, growing on -the reef below them, in the clear, emerald water. He -requested a diver to fetch it up. The boat was halted -and overboard went the man. He was soon seen -spraddling like some singular creature, back up through -the brine. He had fetched the plant and he told of -having seen on the bottom the encrusted gun of some -sunken vessel.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At Adam’s eager command he returned again to the -spot and presently arose to the surface with an ingot of -silver, slimy and dark, clutched firmly in his hands. -The treasure was found!</p> - -<p class='c007'>Putting for the ship at once, where Captain Phipps -was somewhat laboriously writing a long report of the -second failure, the rover gave the almost incredible -news, that set the whole ship afire with amazement -and joy.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The entire crew were speedily pressed into service. -The work was prosecuted with vigor. Adam looked -upon this treasure, coming so late into his sight and -life, with a grim smile upon his lips and with scorn in -his eyes. He saw the divers fetch up masses of bullion, -first, then golden oysters, encrusted with calcareous -matter, then broken bags bursting with their largess of -Spanish doubloons, and finally precious stones, shimmering, -untarnished, in the sunlight.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was a feverish time. Day after day went by and -the boats were filled with fortunes. It seemed as if -the more they took, the more they found. The gold -on top hid gold underneath.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_317'>317</span>An old shipmate of Captain Phipps’ whose imagination -the ship-builder had fired, months before, -arrived from Providence. He was able so easily to fill -his boat with gold that he went raving crazy and died -in a lunatic asylum at Bermuda.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The provisions on the ship began to run low, before -the examination of the sunken wreck was complete. -Moreover the sailors, their avariciousness aroused by -the sight of all these riches, which daily they were -snatching from the sea, for other men to enjoy, grew -restive and threatened to take a contagion of mutiny.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Treasure to the value of three hundred thousand -pounds had been recovered, and much still remained -untouched. Phipps determined to sail with what he -had, planning to return to the field in the future. He -enjoined silence and secrecy on all the sailors, but the -word leaked out and adventurers gathering from far -and near, the rotting galleon was despoiled of everything -she had hoarded so jealously and successfully -throughout the years.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Phipps brought his vessel in safety to England. The -enormous success which had attended his efforts so -aroused the cupidity of certain of the King’s retainers -that they advised James to confiscate the entire treasure, -on the ground that Phipps had withheld such -information, on his former return, as would have induced -the crown to finance the second enterprise, had -the truth been told.</p> - -<p class='c007'>King James, however, was too honorable a monarch -to resort to trickery so infamous. Instead he commended -the captain in the highest terms, made him -an intimate of his court, knighted him Sir William -<span class='pageno' id='Page_318'>318</span>Phipps and invited him to become an Englishman and -reside with them there for the remainder of his life.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Phipps received his honors modestly. He was too -patriotic to desert America and bluntly said so to his -King. He and Adam received, as their share of the -treasure, the one tenth agreed upon, amounting to -thirty thousand pounds, of which sum all that the -Captain could prevail upon Rust to accept was a third, -a sum, the rover said, far in excess of the needs of his -retinue and himself.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_319'>319</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XLI.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>FATE’S DEVIOUS WAYS.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>At</span> Boston it was not a matter of many months before -Henry Wainsworth and piety Tootbaker, having been -made aware that Garde was no longer provisionally betrothed -to Randolph, resumed their former hopes and -attentions, as to attending Meeting and paying sundry -little visits to the Soams, when Garde could be expected -to be seen.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde had become a subdued little person, wishing -only that she might not be seen by any one as she came -and went on her simple rounds of daily life. Her -grandfather had recovered so that once more he pothered -about in his garden and read in his Bible and -busied himself with prattle, more childish than wise.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The old man saw little of his compatriots. He lived -as one only partially awake from a recent dread. He -never discussed the colony’s politics, for his friends, -when they came to see him, spared him the ordeal -which invariably resulted from a mention of the word -charter. On this topic he was quite mad. Almost -galvanically, the word produced in his brain a mania, -half fear, half fury, in which he seemed to conceive -that Garde was the author of woes to which nothing -could ever give expression. In such a mood, he was -savagery itself, toward the patient girl.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_320'>320</span>Gradually, so gradually that she could not have said -when the impression commenced to grow upon her, Garde -discovered that Henry Wainsworth was exceedingly -kind, thoughtful and soothing, in her joyless existence. -There was something kindred in his own isolation, and in -his very bashfulness, or timidity, for it kept him so often -silent, when he was with her alone. She had always respected -Henry. His patient devotion could not but touch -her at length. It was not so much a flattery as it was a -faithfulness, through all the discouragements she had -given him always.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This line of thought having been awakened in her -breast, she noted more of the little, insignificant signs -which go to make up the sum of a man’s real regard—the -regard on which a woman can safely rely as one to -endure and to grow.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the soreness of her heart, it was almost sweet to -think of Henry’s quiet attentions. It was calming. -It lent a little spot of warmth and color to her otherwise -cheerless life. She could never love him, as she -had loved Adam—nay, as she loved him still,—but the -dreariness of her present days might find relief in a new -sort of life. Out of the duties, which as a housewife -she would experience daily, surely a trust, an esteem -for Henry, great enough almost to be called a love, -would come, with the years.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She yearned to bury her sorrow. It was not a healthy, -wholesome thing for any young woman to foster. She -had enjoyed her day of love, yes—her years of love. -She had felt like a widowed bride. To her, Adam’s -kisses had been like the first sacred emblems of their -marriage. She had not been able to conceive of permitting -<span class='pageno' id='Page_321'>321</span>such caresses until she should feel that their souls -were mated and their hearts already wedded. But it -could never be the duty of a woman to mourn such a loss -till she died. And then—this newly contemplated -union would make her forget.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But, if she could encourage Henry toward this possibility -of a union such as she thought upon, it would -be her duty to be more cheerful, more living in the -every-day hours that were, instead of dreaming sadly -and morbidly upon her heart-break of the past.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was not with a sense of gratifying her own longing -for happiness that she finally thought a marriage with -Henry possible; there was a sense of combating her -own selfishness in it. It was a selfishness, it was pampering -the morbid in her nature, she felt, to continue -indefinitely in a “widowhood” of Adam’s love. It -must also be admitted that Garde was human, wherefore -the element of pique was not absolutely lacking in -her being. No woman would ever wish a man she had -rejected to believe that she could not, or would not, -marry elsewhere. She would wish to show that other -opportunities were not lacking, as well as she would -desire to have him know that her heart was not broken -beyond repair.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Having spent at least a month upon these introspective -and other meditations, Garde appeared to Wainsworth -so much more bright and beautiful that there -was no containing his emotions. The poor fellow nearly -broke his neck, metaphorically speaking, in a vain attempt -to ask her to become his wife, on the first occasion -afforded, after he made his discovery of her alteration -in moods and appearance.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_322'>322</span>It was of no use to screw up his courage. It would -not stick. He determined to write what he could not -utter, and then, when a moment should be propitious, -to deliver his written declaration into her hand, to be -read when he had fled the scene. To this end he composed -an elegant and eloquent epistle.</p> - -<p class='c007'>To avoid any possibility of making mistakes, Henry -carefully deposited his letter in the pocket of the coat -he always wore to Meeting. This pocket had been heretofore -employed as a receptacle for things precious -over which he desired to exercise particular care.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Having without difficulty obtained permission from -Garde to walk at her side to church and back, poor -Wainsworth lost appetite and sleep, while waiting for -the fateful day. When it came, he was in a nervous -plight which revealed to Garde the whole state of his -mind. She felt her sympathy for him expand in her -bosom till she hoped it would burgeon into love. Had -he gone with her into her aunt Gertrude’s home, after -the service, Garde would doubtless have helped to simplify -what she was well aware he wished to say, but, alas -for the timid lover, he dared not, on this occasion, so -jeopardize his courage.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He knew that if ever he got inside the house and -faced her, alone, he would not be able even to deliver -his letter. But out of doors his nerve was steadier. -Therefore, at the gate having fortified himself against -the moment, he nervously drew from his pocket a good-sized -packet of paper and put it shakingly into her hand.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wish—I wish you would read—this letter,” he -stammered. “Good-by. I—I hope you will read it -quite through.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_323'>323</span>Garde looked at him compassionately. He was only -made the more confused. He bowed himself away with -a nervousness painful to see.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Poor Henry!” said Garde, with a little smile to herself. -She knew what to expect in the document and -vaguely she wondered if she would not feel more at -peace when she had consented to become his wife. -Her memory of words and looks, behind which the -figure of Adam, the sad boy-captive, the love-irradiated -champion of her cat, and then the melancholy violinist -in the woods—this had all, of late, been more than -usually strong upon her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde’s cat had died within the week just passed. -This event had served to open up old tombs, containing -her dead dreams. She had almost caught herself wishing -she had taken less to heart the story of Adam’s -perfidy, or at least that she might never have heard the -story at all. But when she had shaken off the spell -which this past would persist in weaving about her, she -was resolved to accept Henry Wainsworth, so that her -duty might compel her to forget.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With a half melancholy sense of sealing her own sentence -of banishment from her land of bitter-sweet memories, -she delayed the moment of unfolding Henry’s -letter. When she found herself alone, she laid it down -before her, on the table, and looked at it with lackluster -eyes. But presently, then, having tossed off the -reverie which was stealing upon her, she sighed once, -heavily, and took up the papers with a resolute hand.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She opened the stiff sheets and bent them straight. -She read “Dear friend,” and thought Henry’s writing -had altered. Her eyes then sped along a number of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_324'>324</span>lines and she started with a new, tense interest in the -document.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The letter she held in her hands was the one which -Adam Rust had penned to Wainsworth, concerning his -brother.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why!” she presently said, aloud, “why—he -couldn’t have meant—” yet Henry, she recalled, had -asked her particularly to read all the pages through.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She had only made a start into Adam’s narrative, yet -her heart had begun to leap till she could barely endure -its commotion. She spread the sheets out before her -on the table, with nervous fingers. She read swiftly, -greedily. Her bosom heaved with the tumult of suddenly -stirred emotions. She made a glad little noise, -as she read, for the undercurrent of her thought was -of a wild exultation to find that Adam was innocent, -that she was justified in loving him now, as she had been -justified always—that her instinct had guided her -rightly when she had helped him to break from the -prison.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Her eyes were widely dilated. Her pent-up emotions -swayed her till she suddenly clutched up the sheets and -crumpled them in joy against her bounding heart.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Adam!” she said, half aloud. “Oh, Adam! My -Adam!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She bent above the letter again, crooning involuntarily, -in the revelation of Adam made again his noble self -by the lines he had written so simply and innocently -here upon the paper. She was reading, but having, -almost in the first few lines, discovered so much that -her intuition had far out-raced her eyes, she was hardly -comprehending the sentences that ran so swiftly beneath -<span class='pageno' id='Page_325'>325</span>her gaze, so abandoned were her senses to the -sudden hope and the overwhelming joy which the revelation -compelled. She kissed the papers. She laid -her cheek upon them, she surrounded them warmly -with her arms.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She felt so glad that she had loved him in spite of that -horrible story! Her soul leaped with exultation. She -would not be obliged to marry Wainsworth, to forget. -She would never forget! She would wait for Adam -now—if need be till Judgment Day itself!</p> - -<p class='c007'>She kissed Adam’s writing again. She fondled it -lovingly. It restored him. It gave her back her right -to love him. It was too much to think upon or to try -to express.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She had only half read it; the sense of the story had -escaped her grasp. It had been enough that Adam was -guiltless. Her breath came fast; the color had flamed -to her cheeks. Her eyes were glowing with the love -which she had welcomed home to her throbbing -heart.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She had risen, unable to control herself, so abruptly -and unexpectedly had the discovery come upon her. -Now she sat down again at the table and read the letter -more carefully. It was such a sad little story.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Unfortunately I sprained my ankle, and this delayed -me,” she read, where Adam had written. She -pictured him now, limping through the forest, with the -little brown child, and her heart yearned over his suffering, -his patience and his self-sacrifice in coming back to -the cruel fate in store for him, there in Boston.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She thought of him then in the prison. She blessed -the instinct of love which had made her go to his aid. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_326'>326</span>He was not an outlaw. He was not a renegade. He -was her own Adam.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then she thought of the moment in which she had -sent him away. After all the heart-breaking trials he -had already endured, she had added the final cruelty. -She remembered how he had limped, when she saw him -starting off, just before she had fainted at the window, -that terrible night. Longing to call him back, now, and -to cry out her love,—that had never died,—her trust, -which should now endure for ever, and her plea to be forgiven, -she fancied she heard him again saying: “Garde! -Garde!—not forever?” and she felt a great sob rising in -her throat.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, Adam!” she said, as if from the depths of her -heart.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The hot tears, of joy and sadness blended, suddenly -gave vent to the pent-up emotions within her. They -rolled swiftly down across her face and splashed in great -blots on the writing.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_327'>327</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XLII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>LITTLE RUSES, AND WAITING.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>When</span> she had recovered somewhat of her calm again, -Garde found herself confronted by several difficulties -with which she would be obliged to cope. In the first -place she had ruined Adam’s letter to Henry Wainsworth, -crumpling the sheets and permitting her tears to -fall upon their surfaces, till no one save herself, aided -by love, could have deciphered some of the sentences -at all.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the second place, if Henry had really intended to -ask her hand in marriage, as she could not avoid believing, -there might be complications in that direction -at an early date. She could only resolve, upon this -point, that she must not, under any circumstances, permit -Henry to make his proposal, either orally or through -the medium of another letter.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As to this letter, from Adam to Henry, it was certainly -of a private character, but Henry had asked her to read -it, and now she could not have disguised the fact that -she had done so. She could not see how she could possibly -return it to Henry at all, under the circumstances. -She could not bear to think of letting him see the evidence -of her emotions, wrought upon it. Moreover, -it was precious to her. She felt entitled to own it. To -her it meant far more than it possibly could to any other -<span class='pageno' id='Page_328'>328</span>person in the world. She resolved to make a fair copy -of it, for Henry, while she herself would retain the -original—in Adam’s own writing.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Her third proposition was the most vital of them all. -She could not think of what she should do to repair the -harm which she alone, after all, had done, when she -sent Adam away with that little word “Forever!” -How should she let him know of the infamous story -which she had been made to believe? How should she -convince him, even supposing she could reach him with -a word, that the story had left no room in her mind for -doubt of its truth? How could she manage to persuade -him that she had loved him always; that she knew at -last of the wrong she had done him; that she begged -his forgiveness; that she should wait for him even longer -than the fifty years of which he had spoken on that last -agonizing night?</p> - -<p class='c007'>He might not forgive her, she told herself. It might -be too late already. She knew not where he had gone, -or what he had done. He too might have thought of -marriage with somebody else—to try to forget.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As a result of her brain cudgeling, to know what she -would do to make Adam aware that she had made a -great mistake and desired his forgiveness, she determined -to write him a letter. Having decided, she wrote -at once. Had she waited a little longer, her letter -might have been more quiet in its reserve, but it could -not then have been so utterly spontaneous, nor expressive -of the great love she bore him, kept alive during -all those months of doubt and agony.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As it was, the little outburst was sufficiently dignified; -and it was sweet, and frank. She told him that she had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_329'>329</span>read his letter to Henry, and that suddenly she had -known of the great wrong she had done him. She -mentioned that a dreadful story had been fastened upon -him, with all too terrible semblances of truth and justice. -She begged his forgiveness in a hundred runes. -Finally, when she had finished, she signed it “Garde—John -Rosella,” in memory of her walk with him through -the woods, from near Plymouth to Boston.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Not without blushes and little involuntary thrills of -delight did she add the name which confessed the tale -of that wonderful walk, but she felt that Adam would -know, by this very confession, how deep for him must -be her love and trust and how contrite was the spirit in -which she desired his forgiveness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This epistle having at length been disposed of to her -satisfaction, she made the fair copy of Adam’s letter to -Henry and sent it to Wainsworth at once, with a short -note of explanation that some moisture having fallen -upon the original, making it quite illegible and indeed -destroying it utterly, for his use, she felt she could do -no less than to make this reparation. She likewise expressed -the compliment she felt it was to herself that -Henry had desired her to know of this sad affair in the -life of his brother, but that she had been so affected by -the tale that she must beg him not to permit her to -read any further letters for some time to come.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This was a masterly composition, for poor Wainsworth -destroyed the proposing epistle he had written at such -infinite pains, and for a time, wholly abandoned any -thought of speaking of marriage. He was exceedingly -mortified to think he had made such a blunder as to -give her the letter which he had guarded so cautiously. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_330'>330</span>Timidity settled upon him, especially as he noted another, -altogether incomprehensible change in Garde’s -demeanor, when next they met.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Having despatched her letter to Adam, Garde felt a -happiness grow and expand in her bosom daily. She -expected the wait to be a long one, till a letter, or some -other manner of a reply, could come from Adam. -Goodwife Phipps, of whom she had artfully contrived -to get the rover’s address, had assured her of the very -great number of weeks that elapsed between communications -from William, in answer to the fond little flock -of letters which she was constantly launching forth to -the distant island across the sea. But when weeks became -months, and time fled onward inexorably, with -never a sign or a word in return for what she had written, -she had many moments in which sad, vain regrets -and confirmed despair took possession of her thoughts.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She was a resigned, patient girl, however, with her -impulses curbed, for the sadness of the times, aside -from her own little affairs, cast a gloom upon the colony -which seemed to deepen rather than to promise ever to -dissolve.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Her heart felt that the fifty years had passed many -times over her head, when, after a longer time than -Mrs. Phipps had mentioned as sufficient to bring even -a delayed reply had passed, and nothing had come from -Adam Rust. Garde watched for the ships to come, one -by one, her hopes rising always as the white sails appeared, -and then falling invariably, when no small -messenger came to her hand. She lived from ship to -ship, and sent her own little argosies of thought traveling -wistfully across the seas, hoping they might come -<span class='pageno' id='Page_331'>331</span>to harbor in Adam’s heart at last and so convey to him -her yearning to hear just a word, or to see him just -once again.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the meantime, she could not endure the thought -that either Henry Wainsworth or Piety Tootbaker -should even so much as think of her as if they stood in -Adam’s place. She therefore went to work with all her -maidenly arts, to render such a situation impossible, in -the case of either of the would-be suitors.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus she contrived to tell the faithful Henry that -Prudence Soam was very fond of him indeed. For this -she had a ground work of fact. She then conveyed to -Prudence the intelligence that Henry was thinking upon -her most fondly. This also began soon to be true -enough, for Henry had been flattered, not a little, by -the news he heard and did look at Prudence with a new -and wondering interest. He likewise underwent a process -of added intelligence in which he realized that -Garde was not for him, howsoever much he might have -dreamed, or would be able to dream in the future. It -was remarkable, then, how soon the timid Henry and -the diffident Prudence began to understand one -another. Prudence, who had never had a sweetheart -before, blossomed out with pretty little ways and with -catching blushes and looks of brightness in her eyes -that made her a revelation, not only to Henry but to -Garde herself. And Henry became really happy and -almost bold.</p> - -<p class='c007'>For Piety, alas, there was no Prudence available. -Garde racked her brains for a plan to fit the case of -Tootbaker’s state of mind. At length, when John -Soam began to talk to his wife about the colony patriots -<span class='pageno' id='Page_332'>332</span>again desiring that money which had never been -used to send David Donner abroad, for the purpose of -sending somebody else, in the spring, Garde knew exactly -what to do.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She would manage to send Piety Tootbaker away to -England. She went to work in this direction without -delay. Her success was not a thing of sudden growth. -It took no little time and persuasion to fire Piety with -an ambition to serve his country by going so far from -his comfortable home and his equally comfortable -wooing, in which he believed he was making actual -progress.</p> - -<p class='c007'>For their agent extraordinary, to plead their cause -at the Court of King James, the colonists selected -Increase Mather, a man at once astute, agreeable and -afflicted with religious convictions which had every barnacle -of superstition that ever lived, attached upon -them. Piety Tootbaker was to go as his clerk and -secretary.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The preparations for sending Mather abroad were -conducted with no small degree of secrecy. Nevertheless -Edward Randolph became aware of what was being -contemplated, for his hypocritical Puritan agents were -everywhere and in all affairs of state, or even of private -business.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Permitting the scheme to ripen, Randolph waited -until almost the moment for Mather’s sailing. He then -swooped down upon the enterprise and attempted to -arrest Mather, on the process of some sham prosecution. -The patriots, incensed almost to the point of rebellion, -played cunning for cunning. They delayed the departure -of the ship, the captain of which was a staunch -<span class='pageno' id='Page_333'>333</span>“American,” and then hustled Mather aboard under -cover of darkness, and so sent him off on his mission.</p> - -<p class='c007'>For a week after Piety had gone, Garde felt such a -sense of relief that she almost persuaded herself she -was happy in her long wait for Adam, or for a word -which might finally come. But the months again -began their dreary procession, and her fear that Adam -was lost to her forever deepened and laid its burden -more and more upon her heart.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Yet there came a day when, a ship having arrived in -the harbor, and her hope having greeted it wistfully, -only to flutter back to her own patient bosom again, a -letter did actually come to her hand.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was not particularly neat; it looked as if it might -have been opened before it came to her possession, but -her heart bounded wildly when she saw it, and her -fingers trembled as she broke it open to read its contents.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then her joy vanished. The letter was from Piety -Tootbaker. He announced, as if to break the intelligence -to her frankly, that the voyage had made him so -exceedingly ill that he had determined never to trust -himself upon the billows again. He would therefore -reside hereafter in England, which was “a pleasing -countrie and much more merrie than Boston.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I shall never, never get an answer to my letter,” -said Garde to herself, made sadder by the arrival of -Piety’s letter, which proved that letters could actually -come from over the sea. “He will never, never reply, -I know.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She was not far mistaken, for Adam had never received -her letter. It had fallen into the hands of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_334'>334</span>Edward Randolph, who had constituted himself censor -of communications sent abroad from Massachusetts. -Malignantly he was keeping those love-scented sheets, -against the day of his vengeance.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div><span class='pageno' id='Page_335'>335</span><span class='c018'>PART III.</span></div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER I.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>A TOPIC AT COURT.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>In</span> the midst of a gay throng, in the production of -which the Court of King James lagged little, if any, -behind that of his brother, Charles, Adam Rust and -Captain Phipps were prime favorites. Sir William, -who had adopted a cane, gave no promise that he would -ever be at home with the disciples of the minuet and -the hunt, while Adam seemed a very part of the social -mechanism.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Richly dressed, ready with his wit and his sword, -handsome, wealthy enough to attract the soft glances -of dames of all ages and degrees, he was a puzzle to the -blunt captain, who had marked a change that had come -upon him between going home from Jamaica and coming -back again to help in recovering the treasure.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Whitehall was ablaze with light and warmth, which -were reflected from myriad sparkling jewels and from -rosy cheeks. The King had disappointed his guests, -nevertheless they were not at a loss to find amusement. -Ready as ever to entertain, either with a song for the -ladies or a duel with the men, Adam was pressed for a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_336'>336</span>roundel to fit the merry hour. He had found a glass -which responded with a particularly musical tinkle to -the tap of his finger. He held it up before the admiring -company and rang it crisply. Catching the key -from its mellifluous tintinnabulation he began his song:</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b c022'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>“Oh your jolliest girl is your cup of sack,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Your Mistress Sack, with her warm, brown eyes;</div> - <div class='line'>She’ll love you, and never she’ll turn her back,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Nor leave you a thought</div> - <div class='line in4'>In her meshes uncaught,</div> - <div class='line in2'>And never you’ll know if she lies.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>“Then it’s drink, drink, drink,</div> - <div class='line in2'>And you’ll never have need to think;</div> - <div class='line in6'>And it’s fol de rol,</div> - <div class='line in6'>And who has use for a brain?</div> - <div class='line in2'>With your cup that loves your lip,</div> - <div class='line in2'>You need fear no faithless slip,</div> - <div class='line in2'>And your heart will never know the stabs of pain.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>“Oh your languorous maid is your glass of wine,</div> - <div class='line in4'>Your Lady Amour, with her ruby kiss.</div> - <div class='line in2'>She suffers no rivals, or thinking—in fine,</div> - <div class='line in6'>She owns all your soul</div> - <div class='line in6'>And she takes for her toll</div> - <div class='line in4'>A payment in dull-witted bliss.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in4'>“Then drink, drink, drink, etc.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'>“Oh, your mistress for faith is your poison cup.</div> - <div class='line in4'>Your poison cup, with its juice of death.</div> - <div class='line in2'>She’ll hold you, ha! ha! till the Doomsday’s up,</div> - <div class='line in6'>In her passion’s embrace,</div> - <div class='line in6'>And so close to her face</div> - <div class='line in4'>That you’ll never get time for a breath.</div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line in2'><span class='pageno' id='Page_337'>337</span>“Then it’s drink, drink, drink,</div> - <div class='line in2'>And you never of love need think;</div> - <div class='line in6'>And it’s fol de rol,</div> - <div class='line in6'>For who has use for a heart?</div> - <div class='line in2'>With a cup that loves your lip,</div> - <div class='line in2'>You need fear no faithless slip,</div> - <div class='line in2'>Nor feel the pangs of any pains that dart.”</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c023'>Not being at all certain that they knew what he -meant, the company applauded with great enthusiasm.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But, my dear sir,” said a nobleman, with a head on -him hardly bigger nor less wrinkled than a last winter’s -apple, and a stomach as big as a tun, “you have not -tasted a drink to-night. Demme, look at me, sir. I -love my sack and my wine. I know nothing of your -poison cup, and I have no wish to, demme. But, sir, I -think you have no bowels for drinking.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My lord, you furnish the bowels and I will furnish -the brains to know about drinking,” said Adam. “By -my faith, no drink ever yet went to your head.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, sir! I’m proud of it, demme,” said his lordship. -“I have drunk up a fortune, and where is it?—It’s -gone.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Distill your breath and get it back,” suggested -Rust.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What’s that? Demme, you are laughing at me, -sir.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Never!” said Adam, decisively. “Above all persons -you make me sober. Breathe toward our friend -the Viscount. He has ever wished fortune to wing in -his direction.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The Viscount? Where? Demme, yes. My dear -<span class='pageno' id='Page_338'>338</span>old chap, how are you?” and turning, inconsequently, -to a friend whose little eyes seemed to swim around in -the florid sea of his face, his lordship was deserted by -the rover. Sauntering through a cluster of friends who -would have detained him, Adam approached a window, -where he sat himself down on a miniature divan.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Here he had but a second to himself, for while somebody -else was preparing to sing to the company, a -beautiful little lady, with eyes that were fairly purple -in their depths of blue, came and took the seat beside -him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, Mr. Rust,” she said, “what a strange song -that was. Why, but you know nothing of wine and -sack, and poison. Oh, why did you say poison? That -was dreadful. And why should you wish never to -think of love? What has poor little love ever done to -you?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You must remember, Lady Violet,” said Adam, -“that before I sang I had not seen you, to speak a -word, during the entire evening.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Lady Violet blushed. “That hasn’t anything to do -with anything,” she said.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam replied: “That makes me equivalent to -nothing.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It doesn’t,” the lady protested. “You mix me all -up. I don’t believe you know anything more about -love than you do about drinking.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do you counsel me to learn of these arts?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, not of drinking—certainly not, Mr. Rust.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If we eliminate the drinking, that only leaves the -love.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, but I—I didn’t say that I—I don’t wish to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_339'>339</span>counsel you at all. You twist about everything I -say.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And you twist about every man you meet,” retorted -Adam.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I do not!” she objected. “How rude you are -to say so. I don’t even like all the men I meet, and if -I did——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You mean, then, that you twist only the ones like -myself, that you like.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t! I——You make me say things I don’t -want to say.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then I shall make you say that you love me desperately,” -said Adam, complacently.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Mr. Rust!” she gasped. “I—I—I——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If you are going to say it now, let me know,” Adam -interrupted.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She was blushing furiously. She did love him, just -about as Rust had described, but he had never guessed -it and was merely toying with the one absorbing and -universal topic of the court.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I—I am not going to say anything of the kind!” -she stammered.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then that proves my case,” Adam announced, -judicially. “I cannot compel you to say anything at -all that is not already at the point of your tongue.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You—you are very rude,” she said, helplessly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“So I have been told by Lady Margaret,” Adam -confessed. “Here she is herself. Lady Margaret, we -are having quite a discussion. Tell us, if a man tries -to make a lady say she loves him desperately, is he necessarily -rude?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>A superb young widow, who was gradually emerging -<span class='pageno' id='Page_340'>340</span>from her mourning black, and who had come to the -gathering with her father, halted in front of the two -on the small divan and looked them over.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Dear Lady Violet,” said the new comer, “your -brother and Lord Kilkrankie are looking for you everywhere.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, thank you, so much,” said the confused little -lady, and without waiting for anything further she -jumped up and fled from the scene. She was vexed at -and distrustful of Lady Margaret; but she could not -remain and give her battle.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The second lady took Violet’s seat, calmly. “What -have you been saying of love to that little, brainless -child?” she said. “You haven’t been making love to -her, surely?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh no,” said Adam, “I was occupying my time -till you should come along and make love to me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You wretch,” she said, with perfect calm. “You -wouldn’t know love if you saw it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Is it so rare at Court?” he inquired. “Perhaps I -should spend my time better in looking at you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Don’t be silly,” she said. “But tell me, what is -your opinion, really, of love.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It makes a poor fare for dinner, a poor coat in -the winter, and a poor comfort when you are dead,” -said Rust. “It tricks the clever; it’s the wandering -Jew of emotions. If you wish me to do you an injury, -bid me to love you forthwith.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Where have you learned, that you speak with such -wisdom?” said Lady Margaret. “Surely not such a -child as Violet——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You do yourself an injustice,” Adam interrupted.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_341'>341</span>“Adam,” she said, “this is the sort of thing you -say to all the women.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And which of your friends would you ask me to -neglect?” he asked. “A woman’s judgment is the -one thing I lack.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are a heartless wretch!” she announced.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“On the contrary, I am a wretch of a thousand -hearts,” he corrected. “How long would you continue -to love me if I had any less?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Adam! I don’t love you, and you know it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That leaves a vacancy in my life which I shall fill -at once,” he told her. “Wait—perhaps I can catch -the eye of the Countess.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The Countess had one of the most catchable eyes -imaginable. She came up immediately.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Margaret says she no longer loves me,” said the incorrigible -Rust, “I shall give her place to you.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_342'>342</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER II.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>ILLNESS IN THE FAMILY.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Sick</span> of the women, to all of whom he made love, -openly, to avoid being thought serious by any; weary -of the specious show, which failed to bring him the -forgetfulness he craved, Adam left the assemblage -early and went to search out the beef-eaters, at their -humble quarters.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Improvidents that they were, Pike and Halberd had -soon dispersed the not inconsiderable sum of money -which Adam had divided between them, since which -time he had provided the pair with their lodgings, keep, -clothing and amusements.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The night being fine and the air soon reviving the -rover’s livelier moods of delight in sheer existence, he -found himself loitering along, stopping to look in the -windows of the scattered shops still open for the tag-ends -of the day’s trading. It was only the little knick-knack -shops, old curio dens and lesser establishments -that still had their lights aglow, but it happened that -these were the particular ones in which Adam took an -interest.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He stopped before one of the dingiest for fifteen -minutes, carefully scanning a considerable collection -of violins which the window contained. At length his -eye lighted, he muttered something half exclamatory -<span class='pageno' id='Page_343'>343</span>and went into the shop at once. The dealer knew him -and nodded delightedly, glad to have him again in his -place, as he had fully expected when he placed the -rare old fiddle which Rust had seen, in his window.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam bought the instrument with all the eagerness -of the confirmed connoisseur and went his way contented.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When he came to the tavern where the beef-eaters -made their abode, he found little Pike dangerously ill -with pleurisy and thinking of shuffling off forlornly -into his next existence.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The one thing which alone could transform Adam -Rust into the cheerful fellow he had been before his -veneer of cynicism came upon him, was illness in his -family. He refused to let his beef-eaters think of dying. -They were his tie to everything he still held dear.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He pulled off his coat and went to work on Pike, -whose spirits he raised with songs, raillery and cheer, -and whose fever he lowered with teas and bitter drinks, -which he steeped himself, from various herbs and roots, -the specific qualities of which he had known from the -Indians.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The Court saw no more of the reckless Adam for a -week. At the end of this time he had coaxed the faithful -Pike to something like his former health again, -when he announced his intention of going to Spain, to -add to his growing collection of violins. He therefore -said good-by to Sir William Phipps and went off with -his beef-eaters both in charge.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Having learned that the Pyrenees afforded splendid -possibilities for building up depleted health and -strength, the rover domiciled himself and companions -<span class='pageno' id='Page_344'>344</span>in a spot that was charmingly lonely. And William -Phipps, when Adam’s first letter arrived, wondered -vaguely what manner of violins his comrade was finding -in the mountains.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_345'>345</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER III.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>FOILED PURPOSES.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Increase Mather</span> met with a dignified and polite -reception at the Court of the King, for Sir William -Phipps, with all his influence and persuasiveness, prepared -the way for the envoy extraordinary to approach -the master of the colonies.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Sir William even constituted himself another champion -of downtrodden Massachusetts, and added his -importunities to those of Mather, to induce James to -re-establish the rights and territory of the colony and -to give it back its beloved charter.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We love you much, Sir William,” said the King, -with a firmness which was never to be shaken, “but -we cannot accede to your wishes. Anything but this -that you will ask shall be granted.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Disappointed, but never disconcerted, Sir William -conferred with Mather, whom he was obliged to assure -that nothing that either of them could say to him now -would beget an alteration of King James’s decision. -Mather, persistent, suave and convinced of the justice -of his cause, determined to remain in touch with the -Court and the King’s retainers, until sheer patience -and persistence should win what persuasion could not.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Phipps, knowing only too well the disposition of the -King, when once his word was passed, determined that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_346'>346</span>he could do more for his country if present in the -colony than he could by remaining in London. Reminding -the King that he had already granted him any -other favor than the restoration of the colony’s charter, -he announced his desire to be appointed Sheriff of -New England.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Regretting to lose the hearty Captain from his company, -James nevertheless kept his word by complying -with Sir William’s request. The appointment was duly -made and confirmed. Leaving Mather behind him, -Phipps returned to Boston and set about the administration -of his new-made duties, with more ardor -than cunning, with more honesty than diplomacy.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It is doubtful if William Phipps ever had a more -aggravating experience, in all his adventures, with -mutineers and pirates, than he underwent at the hands -of Randolph and Governor Andros. He was not a man -of finished education. Born in Maine, in a family of -twenty-one children, he had been obliged to commence -the round of shifting for himself at an early age. He -had apprenticed himself to a ship-carpenter at eighteen -and then had come to Boston four years later, when he -went to work and taught himself to read and to write.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Hampered now, by this lack of early opportunities, -insulted, and finding his most sincere efforts nullified -and his plans constantly frustrated, by the delays and -artifices of the council under Andros, he was made -heartily sick of the whole situation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>His return to Boston, however, was not marked entirely -by chagrin and discouragement. He had his -wife with him, and herein lay the greatest happiness -which ever came into his eventful life. He built her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_347'>347</span>the “fair brick house, in the Green Lane,” which he -had promised, years before, and he endeared many of -the staunch patriots, who beheld his efforts to help -them, sadly, though with admiration.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Although Garde had never known how very intimate -indeed had been the relations of Captain Phipps and -Adam, yet she was aware that they had been much -together. She had naturally learned, in common with -all the inhabitants of Boston, that Sir William had -found the treasure he had spent so many years in seeking, -but she had never known that when she sent Adam -away he had gone to Hispaniola to join the searching -expedition. Therefore she was in ignorance of the fact -that Adam was wealthy.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But, after all, she was only concerned with Adam’s -present whereabouts, and the reasons why, after all -these months and months of waiting—it being now two -full years since that last tragic meeting—he had never -relented sufficiently to write, or to send her a word.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As time had gone on, she had become more and more -convinced, either that Adam intended never to forgive -her, or that he had married some one else and therefore -could not, in honor, think longer upon her. Her belief -inclined toward the first explanation. She confessed -that she had done him a great wrong, especially -as she had never even so much as permitted him to -deny the story of the Indian child, but she argued that -had she been in his place and forgiveness had been so -earnestly implored, she could not have had the heart to -refuse.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was the one little sad privilege left her, to make -up her mind she would wait, till death, if need be, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_348'>348</span>patiently, lovingly, till Adam should one day know she -loved him and that she was keeping herself sacred for -his claiming. And if he never did come to claim her, -still she would love him. If death came to take her, -she would go to death as a bride would go to church, -to wait the coming of her love.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the frame of mind which her vigil had begotten, -fortified by her sense of maidenly pride and diffidence, -it was utterly impossible for her to think of going -either to Sir William Phipps, or to his wife, to ask for -information concerning Adam. She was aware that -the Captain doubtless knew of Adam’s whereabouts, -his position in life and whether or not he was married, -but if Adam chose to remain silent, disdainful and unforgiving, -she would rather die than go to a stranger to -ask about him, or to send him anything further, in the -way of a word or a letter.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As a matter of fact, Garde had attempted to send -another little letter, a year after the first one had gone, -but it too had fallen into the clutches of Randolph. -The creature had destroyed it, as containing nothing -of importance to any of his machinations, for it merely -asked the rover if he had received the first epistle.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus Garde’s golden opportunity slipped away unused, -and her life narrowed down, more and more, to -the simple duties of taking what care she could of the -white-haired old man, her grandfather, who rubbed his -thumb across the ends of his fingers endlessly, although -he was slowly being restored to his old-time activity of -mind and body.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Utterly disheartened, by the futility of his desires -and efforts to serve his country in his capacity of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_349'>349</span>Sheriff, Sir William Phipps was glad to receive a letter -that came from Increase Mather, informing him that -the time was drawing near for renewed labors to be -attempted in England. Responding to this, he deserted -his useless office and sailed for London in the -midst of the winter season.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The opportunity of which Garde might have availed -herself, to learn something of Adam, was gone. She -knew not what she had done, or what she had lost.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Phipps came to England at a moment when epochs -were fairly in the process of crystalization.</p> - -<p class='c007'>King James, the last of Britain’s Roman Catholic -monarchs, had been obliged to abdicate his throne and -to flee to Ireland for his life.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_350'>350</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER IV.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>MAKING HISTORY.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Unthroned</span> and uncrowned as he was, James, for -some inexplicable reason, still entertained a wild idea -that the colonies, the patriots of which he had taken -no pains to endear to his cause or himself, would still -remain loyal and contented to acquiesce in his dominion. -He made all haste to communicate with Sir William -Phipps, as a representative of New England whom he -had always honored and esteemed. He offered to appoint -the Captain his Governor of all New England, -with plenary powers, in almost any direction, concerning -the old charter and all.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Promptly and with the blunt wisdom which marked -his course through life, Phipps refused the honor. -Catholicism had never appealed to his sense of good -government, and loyalty to the English throne, from -which the colonies had their being, was deeply ingrained -in his nature. Gratitude to James for past favors, to -which he felt he was somewhat entitled, was a large -quality in Sir William, but between gratitude and folly -he drew a sturdy line.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With Increase Mather, Phipps went to work at once -at the Court of William of Orange, who with Mary ascended -the British throne early in 1689. Intelligence -as to the sinister machinations of Randolph and Andros -<span class='pageno' id='Page_351'>351</span>leaked through the censorship, and came to Mather -and the Captain. Their case was strengthened. The -Prince of Orange was bound, by all the faith of his -Protestant principles, to grant what release he might to -the American colonies from the oppressors placed in -power by the Stuarts.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The new King’s declaration of his sway was conveyed -in haste to the American shores. It was taken overland -from Virginia to Massachusetts. The spirit of -the Puritans, which had simmered so long, began to -make the sounds of boiling.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Andros, mighty in his sovereignty, arrested the messenger -who had fetched the news, but the news had -leaped from lip to lip, and the torch had been applied -to combustible thought.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In March, John Winslow confirmed the declaration -of the new monarchs. The people now gathered together -their all-but-forgotten muskets and pikes. -Against the flood-tide coming toward him, Governor -Andros reared a barricade of threats. The frigate -“Rose” was lying in the harbor, bristling with guns -that showed like so many sinister, black fangs. Her -decks were alive with soldiers. The Governor demanded -the submission and disarmament of the people, -on pain of death. He declared his intention of employing -the cannon and arsenal of the frigate forthwith, -if the angry disturbances did not immediately cease.</p> - -<p class='c007'>On the 18th of April the patriots were prepared with -their answer. The captain of the frigate, with nearly -all of his officers, had come ashore, to hold a conference -with Andros and Randolph. The Puritans suddenly -swooped down upon them and captured every -<span class='pageno' id='Page_352'>352</span>Jack of the lot. The frigate was thus put out of -action at one clever stroke.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Now rolled the alarm of beaten drums through the -martial city of Boston. In their old Indian-fighting -regalia, the citizens swarmed from their houses into -the streets. They set up their ensign on Beacon Hill, -at the edge of the Common, they fired a signal gun for -action, and falling upon Randolph and many of the -council, which Andros had collected about him, they -rushed them to jail and took possession of the town.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The proclamation of King William was read, with -loud acclaim. The excited populace surged in the -narrow, crooked highways. The leaders demanded of -Andros that he surrender both his office and himself. -The man refused and fled to his stronghold, whence he -defied the patriots and continued to the last to declare -his power, though like water now fast escaping from -his grasp.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Surrounding their ex-master they made him a prisoner, -not a refugee, and at length he gave in and was -captured and sent to confinement, along with the -others of his recent government.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With an instinct for conventions, the citizens were -soon assembled. Howsoever great had been their heat -in their moment of rebellion and triumph, they were -calm enough to be wise when the time arrived to declare -for themselves. They reinstated Bradstreet and the -Council of ’86. They declared the old Government in -force and their former charter <i>ipso facto</i> restored, -unimpaired by the interim of nearly three years of maladministration.</p> - -<p class='c007'>William and Mary received the report of all these -<span class='pageno' id='Page_353'>353</span>swiftly terminated proceedings with a favor which was -not unblended with astonishment. Admiring the -Protestant spirit, which it had become their own -special province to uphold, they lost no time in confirming -the entire course of actions, even to the temporary -resumption of their old charter privileges and -powers, by the patriots across the sea. And there, for -a time, they were contented to permit the matter to -rest. The affairs of England they had found so completely -engrossing that they had no time to spare toward -regranting a specific charter to Massachusetts.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Increase Mather, suspicions of privileges and liberties -not absolutely signed, sealed and delivered, remained -at his post, working continuously and sedulously to -obtain that monarchical support and confirmation of -the colony’s prerogatives which his many compatriots -had sent him to secure.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Sir William Phipps, on the other hand, realized the -busy state of mind in which William and Mary had -been so abruptly plunged, and he therefore deferred -further work with Mather for a time more suitable. -Then, when he learned that the French Catholics in -America had formed alliances with the Indians and -were already overrunning the Protestant territory and -committing daily depredations, he made up his mind -once more to return to the field of action, in which he -might be able to render more effective service than he -could by remaining in England.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He arrived in the summer of that fateful year, ’89, -and offered himself to Bradstreet at once. The period -of warfare in which he thereupon engaged was one of -great length and of much bitterness.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_354'>354</span>Alternating defeat and victory left the advantages -with the French and Indians, so far as hopes of ultimate -success were concerned. The colonists had to make -such long, tedious marches that decisive victories for -their arms were almost impossible. The enemy gained -in confidence, audacity and numbers.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In despair the General Court finally offered two -sloops of war, free, together with all the profits of -plunder which might result from the enterprise, to -any man who would undertake to reduce to ashes -Penobscot, St. John’s and Port Royal, the seats of the -French and Indian power. The offer attracted Phipps, -who foresaw, in the execution of the task, an infinite -amount of adventure and action.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He enlisted men for the undertaking. Yet matters -grew worse with such alarming rapidity that before the -enterprise could be placed in readiness for work, it became -necessary to raise a small fleet of vessels prepared -for war-like operations. Thus seven sloops and seven -hundred men, under command of Sir William, sailed -away to the North on their sinister errand.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Port Royal, secure and arrogant, in her fancied isolation -from attack, was surprised and taken. The -French were routed with great loss. The town was -looted until hardly so much as a sauce-pan was left by -the thorough-going warriors of New England. The -plunder, while not enormously valuable, nevertheless -was sufficient to help materially in meeting the expenses -of the venture. But its indirect effect on the colonists -was not so happy. Cupidity is so often the jackal that -follows righteous indignation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The Puritans foresaw opportunities to punish the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_355'>355</span>enemy, at the enemy’s own expense. A second expedition, -to go against Quebec, was planned, the patriots -expecting in confidence that, like the first, it would -surely succeed, if Phipps were at its head, and that the -plunder would more than repay the initial expenses of -the expedition.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Sir William, having expressed his doubts of the wisdom -of this over-ambitious scheme, nevertheless commanded -the fleet once more as it sailed away, eager for -further conquest.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The enterprise was doomed to failure from the first. -It dragged out interminably, it developed jealousies, it -was ill-planned. Such a bedraggled, failure-smitten -lot of lame-duck sloops returned to Boston that the -council were simply appalled. They had expended so -much of their meager hoard of funds on the venture, -that the treasury was practically bankrupted.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Blame rained upon the head of Phipps, for not having -succeeded against impossible conditions. Driven -to extremities, by the woeful lack of plunder, the colony-fathers -were obliged, for the first time in their -history, to issue paper currency. The notes ranged in -value from denominations of two shillings up to ten -pounds.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Still an undimmed patriot, ready to serve his country -in whatsoever direction an opportunity was afforded, -Williams Phipps gave his gold for the colony’s bills, -absorbing thus a very considerable sum. His example -induced investments in the paper from all directions. -Nevertheless the currency soon came tumbling down in -value, till a pound in paper was worth less than three-fourths -of its face.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_356'>356</span>The sailors, and other working people, lost heavily, -in these times of trouble and weakened confidence. -Yet eventually the money was all redeemed at par by -the Massachusetts government.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Sir William, weary of being reviled for his pains, returned -to England once again and resumed his labors -with Increase Mather, to secure to the colony a definite -charter.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_357'>357</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER V.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>OLD ACQUAINTANCES.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Adam Rust</span> failed, even in the intricacies of collecting -violins and the pursuit of health for the old beef-eaters, -to find the depths of forgetfulness she sought, -but which could not come to a nature such as his had -always been. Indeed seclusion, away from the gaiety -of Court and his fellow-beings seemed rather to develop -the old, half-forgotten memories in his brain, whereon -had once been shadowed the sufferings of King Philip, -his Indian foster-father, and all his race of hunted -people.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The beef-eaters, also, were not absolutely contented, -away from their own country and the haunts wherein -they were wont to brag, to drink and to swagger. -Yielding at last to their importunities, Adam returned -with the pair to London.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Once in the foggy capital again, he was soon pounced -upon, by old associates, with whom he found it exhilarating -once again to consort. A treatise on rare violins -and their makers, over which he had labored and -pondered for months, or even years, was now neglected.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He sharpened his wits, had a look at his sword and -brightened up his disused tinsel of conversation. He -soon began to believe the greatest forgetfulness, after -all, is where the Babel of tongues is loudest, and that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_358'>358</span>the most absolute solitude is to be found in the midst -of the largest throng.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The social functions of the new King were fewer, less -brilliant and not to be compared, in point of popularity, -with those of James. The Dukes, the Marchionesses -and lesser lights were therefore constrained to make the -more of their private parties. There was, in consequence, -no stint of hunting, drinking and dancing—all -as condiments poured about the omniprevalent piece de -resistance—making love.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At the Duchess of Kindlen’s, Adam found the set he -had known particularly well. He was welcomed back to -their circle as a long-lost fixture without whose presence -no one was at all able to explain how they had managed -to go on existing. They fitted him back in his niche -with a promptness which might have been flattering, had -he not been aware that they wished merely to feed upon -him as a new entertainer, or an old one refurbished.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He was not surprised to learn that Lady Violet had -been married in his absence. He was duly informed -of this event, which he described as an irreparable -calamity in his life, by Lady Margaret, who was more -of a brilliant blossom of feminine charm and enticements -than even before.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But you, my dear Lady Margaret,” he said, “you -have been true to my memory? You have never learned -to love another?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I never learned to love you, Adam,” she said.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then it must have been a matter of spontaneous -combustion,” he concluded. “You always did manage -your compliments adroitly.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Confirmed villain,” she answered, “a woman would -<span class='pageno' id='Page_359'>359</span>be mad who loved such a bubble of flattering reflections -as you have always been.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I was not accusing you of sanity,” he told her -frankly. “I was merely inquiring whether or not you -have learned to love somebody else, in my absence.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And if I had, what then?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I should wish to pause for reflection, before determining -whether I should be more sorry for the other -fellow or for myself.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Fiend!” she said, mildly, “you shall never know.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Know what?—know where to place my sympathy?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You shall never know whether I have learned to -love another, or not.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, neither will you—that one’s consolation.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But at least I shall know how I feel toward you, -Adam Rust.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“So shall I,” said the cheerful Adam. “I have -always known. If you should say you were dying, I -should know you were dying to run away with me, -forthwith. It’s not your fault, you can’t help it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I never dreamed of such a thing in my life!” she -said.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then you ought at once to consult a physician for -a bad case of insomnia. I thought your eyes looked a -bit weary.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You vile thing!” she answered. “Ted never said -such a thing as that in his life.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then you have been trying to learn to love Ted? -I thought you had a faithless look about you—all except -about your eyes. Alas, from the way you talk I -know you must be married already to this Ted.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_360'>360</span>“I’m not!” she said, unguardedly. “I refused only -to-night to set the day.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This was a thoughtfulness toward me I had not expected,” -said Rust, complacently. “But you are betrothed, -and this was unkind.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Unkind to whom?” she demanded.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“To Ted—and to me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You will like Ted,” she told him, more artfully.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“At the other end of a duel, yes—immensely.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He’s a terrible swordsman,” she said, to urge him -on.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yet how poorly he fenced with you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What do you mean?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You won. You got him—poor devil.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Wretch! Ted at least would never pick on a -woman.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If it’s Ted Suffle,” said Rust, “I saw him pick on -his teeth, to-night, and that is worse——in company.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“His tooth aches terribly!” said Lady Margaret, -defending poor Suffle gallantly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He indulges in too much sweets,” Adam remarked, -unmoved. “Treat him the way you do me and he’ll -soon be better.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wish Ted could hear the way you talk to me,” -she said.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If he could hear the things you say to me, he would -demand that duel quicker,” Rust responded. “Tell -me something outrageous to say to the fellow, so that -he will be obliged to challenge.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Nonsense,” she said, looking at him slyly, “don’t -be silly. You wouldn’t fight a duel over me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ah, but think what a lot of ladies would think me -<span class='pageno' id='Page_361'>361</span>a hero,” he replied with enthusiasm. “And I might -also be banished from the country. You can never tell -where luck and lightning will strike next.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Go away, Adam,” she said. “You are perfectly -monstrous.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’ll go and have a look at Ted,” he answered, -calmly. “If he is a gentleman he will probably insult -me without delay.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>To Lady Margaret’s utter dismay and astonishment, -he sauntered off at once and actually went to where -Suffle was standing, and had himself presented.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have asked for this honor,” he said, “the sooner -to offer my best congratulations on your betrothal. -Lady Margaret has told me a little about it. She is -the happiest girl I have ever seen in all my life.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are a good chap to say so,” said Suffle. “Do -you know, I fancied I should like you, Mr. Rust, the -moment I saw you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I should like to give you my friendship as a wedding -present,” Adam told him, honestly, knowing at -once that Suffle was a fellow he could really somewhat -like. Then he added, more equivocally: “I have -known Lady Margaret so long that I shall take great -happiness in seeing the consummation of this happy -event.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_362'>362</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER VI.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>JUGGLING WITH FIRE.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Lady Margaret</span> was a beautiful woman. The next -time he met her, Adam realized that this was true. -He stood looking down upon her, where she sat on a -low divan which was made to throw two persons very -close together, and into which he had avoided squeezing. -The young woman looked up at him winningly, -a slumberous passion in her garnet-brown eyes. Her -creamy white bosom rose and fell in a calm voluptuousness, -the twin beauties of which were more than suggested.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Rust could not recall that he had ever seen shoulders -more superb, nor a throat more delightfully round and -built upward in curves to the perfect chin at the top. -In contrast with her lustrously dark eyes and her almost -black eyebrows, spanning her forehead with their -dainty arches, her old-gold hair was an amazing crown -of loveliness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She had led him away from the company, “to look -for Ted,” with an art which had for once deceived the -crafty rover completely. Now, as he looked upon her, -assuming a coldness it was utterly impossible to feel, -and be a man, he noted a beauty in her bare arms -which made him think of the perfect lines of a tiger’s -paw. He could have suggested nothing to make them -more splendid.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_363'>363</span>Indeed she was well-nigh matchless as a creation of -nature and polite society. Her shimmering satin -gown clung to her form as if ardently. Her pretty -gold-slippered feet and her slender ankles, in red -silk, open-work stockings, defied a glance to ignore -them.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Adam,” she said, smiling up at him archly, “I -wish you were a girl—just for a few moments, you -know.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You would suffer by the contrast between us,” -said Rust.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You would know what a—what a bore he is,” she -went on, regardless of his comment. “And it would -serve you right.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You doubtless mean the King,” he replied. -“Your expedients are cruel. Make anything out of -me—a camel, if you like,—but not a girl.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I mean Ted,” she said, a little desperately. “You -know I mean Ted. You know what a bore he is.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then you have spoiled him since morning.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You have no right to be the only man who isn’t a -bore,” she went on.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You’ll be telling me I am the only man you ever -loved, in a moment,” he answered. “I can feel it -coming.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And if I did,” she said with a passionate glance, -“what then?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam was frightened, as he had never been before in -his life. He took out his handkerchief and flecked a -bit of dust from his boot, nonchalantly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I should advise you to be bled for fever,” he -said. “And I should know the old affection you had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_364'>364</span>for me once had departed forever. Couldn’t you break -my heart in some simpler way, dear Lady Margaret?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It was all your fault for going away,” she told him. -“You knew I liked you before you went away.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh yes,” he responded gaily, “but I saw that your -passionate love for me was waning, so I went away to -kindle it over again.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do be serious for a moment,” she murmured, vexed -with his calmness and his raillery. “You know Ted -is a dreadful bore.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then since you have given him the love that once -was mine, my cue is to become a bore instanter.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You would never know it, if I loved you madly,” -she said, looking up into his face with her declaration -centered in her eyes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I would,” he corrected, placidly. “If you -loved me madly you would tell me about it; you know -you would.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Her breath came fast. Her bosom rose and fell -rapidly. “You wouldn’t believe me if I did,” she -said.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If you told me you loved me madly,” said Adam, -“I should know you didn’t. So please let me go on -with my fond delusions.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She was silent a moment. He could feel her burning -gaze on his face. “Adam,” she said presently, -“do sit down.” She moved to make half room enough -for him on the divan.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What, and make you stand?” he replied. -“Never!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She placed her hand on the arm of the seat, where -she knew his fingers would return when he had finished -<span class='pageno' id='Page_365'>365</span>scratching at a tiny white speck on his coat-lappel. -He observed her motion and thrust his fist in his -pocket.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I am dying,” she presently whispered, after -another silence.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How interesting,” Adam cheerfully commented. -“What are you dying for, a glass of water, or a new -set of diamonds?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You know what I am dying for,” she said, tremulously, -in a voice hardly above a whisper. “You said -if I were dying, you—you would know what for.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, did I?” Adam mused. He was pale behind -his calm. His hands were perspiring, coldly. “Yes, -of course. I said you would be dying to run away -with me. And now you would try to prove that this -was all wrong. My dear Lady Margaret, this is unkind.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She arose from her seat. She was driven to her wits’ -end for anything to say.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Silly boy,” she answered, as she came toward him, -and then she quickly added: “Oh, Adam, would you -mind just clasping this strap?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The strap was a narrow bit of finery which crossed -her bare shoulder. She had artfully loosened the golden -clasp and now came to present shoulder, strap, clasp -and all for re-arrangement.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There is nothing I can do with greater ease,” said -Rust, “There you are,—done already.” He had performed -his office with amazing dexterity and with a -touch so fleeting that she would never have known -when it alighted.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, you haven’t done it right, my dear foolish -<span class='pageno' id='Page_366'>366</span>Adam,” she said, with a delicious little chuckle. “I’ll -put my arm across your shoulder, so. Now, make it -right, do, Adam, please.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She dropped her exquisite arm on his shoulder as she -spoke and edged closer. She turned so that her face -was so near to his that he could feel how glowing warm -she was. Her breath fanned against his cheek, hotly. -The man felt a sense of intoxication stealing upon him. -Yet he was fixing the clasp as briefly as before, when -she made a movement with her slipper.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I am falling,” she said in a little cry, and -throwing both arms about him, to support herself, she -was clasped close to his breast, for a moment, before he -could seem to re-establish her balance. In that brief -time a mad horde of thoughts ran riotously through his -brain. She was beautiful; she loved him; she had -fascinated something in him always. Could he not be -happy, loving her and having her love in return? Why -not run away with her—to the Continent—anywhere—and -fill the aching void in his nature with love and -caresses!</p> - -<p class='c007'>His heart was beating furiously. He trembled. A -fever leaped into his brain. Through his arms shot a -galvanic contraction, as they halted in the act of closing -about the superb, slender figure he was holding. It -seemed as if he must kiss her, on her lips, her throat—her -shoulder!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Adam, I am dying!” she whispered to him again, -as he held her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Don’t die standing up,” he said, with a sudden recovery -of the mastery over himself. “Sit down and -do it calmly.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_367'>367</span>He swayed her aside, and there was nothing she could -do but to take the seat she had occupied before.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How provoking of me to trip on my gown,” she -said, looking up at him sullenly. “Do you think we -shall have snow to-morrow?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I shall pray against a precipitation of icebergs,” said -Adam. “There is nothing suggestive of love in ice.”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_368'>368</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER VII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>A BEEF-EATER PASSES.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>The</span> rigors of the London winter pursued the beef-eaters -relentlessly, tapping them remindfully on the -shoulder, now and again, with a cold, or a spell of -bronchitis, and then, under cover of a fog, some deadly -affliction fastened upon the pair all at once. The rover -found them, after an absence from their quarters of -two days, so ill that first one and then the other was -crawling from his bed to minister to his comrade, so -that both grew rapidly worse.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam looked at the two of them ruefully, when at -length he came to where they were. He had never -known them ill in this manner before. They cared -nothing for eating; they slept but little. Their eyes -were bright. They were perfectly cheerful, in a feeble -sort of way. After the Sachem had come they declared -they wanted for nothing, provided he would talk to -them, sing a little and let them lie there and see him, -or hear him play on his favorite violin.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He brought them every comfort which money could -buy. He cooked for them, served them and ate at their -board—which was a board indeed, reaching from one -bed to the other, where they could easily get at what he -spread on its surface for their pleasure. But the choice -wines he fetched, and the fruits and the delicate bits of -game and fish, remained almost wholly untasted.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_369'>369</span>Adam was soon at a loss to know what to do. He -tried to get at their symptoms.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Pike, you rogue,” he said, “I want to know where -you feel bad. You are ill, you know; now where is the -pain?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“By my sword-stroke,” said Pike, in a worn-down -voice, “I have no pain. I may be tired, to-day, but to-morrow, -bring me a pirate and I shall eat him without -the trouble of slicing him first.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Tired, that’s it,” agreed Halberd. “I’m a bit tired -myself, this afternoon, but by cock’s crow to-morrow I -could enjoy pulling the tail out of a lion and beating -the beast to death with the bloody end of it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, doesn’t your stomach ache, or your head -hurt you?” insisted Adam. “When you cough like -that, doesn’t it hurt your chest?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, I like it, for the tickling,” said Halberd.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The two old scamps were afraid of being taken across -the channel to Spain again, or down into France, or -perhaps across to Morocco. After three days of his -“tinkering” unsuccessfully, with his faithful companions, -Adam called in a doctor.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The worthy physician promptly bled the two patients. -Little Pike became quieter, if possible, than before. -Halberd, on the contrary, was somewhat wrought up in -his feelings.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“By my steel!” said he, when the doctor had departed, -“this puny Sir Nostrum has let more of my -juice with his nonsense than ever was taken by swordsman -out of my carcass. Faith! I’ll pulp the fellow, -and he comes again!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam laughed, for Halberd suddenly got back a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_370'>370</span>monstrous appetite. He likewise abounded in pains, -which he permitted the Sachem to soothe; and he -otherwise improved past all belief. He had been a little -ill, and his sympathy with Pike had made his ailment -mischievous.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Pike, however, had no such rally in him. He put in -his time smoothing the coverlet with slow, feeble movements, -while he lay there looking at Adam with dumb -affection until one could almost fancy he was wagging -a tail, with weak, joyful jerks.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He got the Sachem to sing him the love song of the -many seas, for Pike had once had a heart full of love -for a maiden himself, and while the experience was -nothing jollier than a funeral on the day set for the -wedding, nevertheless he liked the lively song, with all -its various maids and misses mentioned, for he conceived -them all to be the self-same girl, after all, -simply transported to different climes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>While Adam was singing and playing, with the merriest -spirit he could conjure, the wistful old Pike had -the impudence to close his eyes and die.</p> - -<p class='c007'>A faint smile lingered on his face; whether as a result -of his joke on Adam and Halberd, or his pleasure -derived from the song, could never be known.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_371'>371</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER VIII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>A WOMAN SCORNED.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Sir William Phipps</span> and Increase Mather, together -with the other Puritan patriots who made up the small -band of charter-hunters at the Court of William and -Mary, worked consistently, if not harmoniously, toward -their end.</p> - -<p class='c007'>They found their monarch disposed to permit them -to do about as they pleased, when at length he comprehended -their situation and the needs of Massachusetts. -His attorney-general was ordered to draw -up a charter, on the broad lines suggested by the -American council. No sooner did they get it into -their hands, however, than they fell into heated discussions -over trifling divergencies which they found between -it and the older charter, which they had come -to regard with almost idolatrous awe and reverence.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The new charter granted them many liberties and -privileges which the old one had not contained. Time -even proved the new one to be the better document for -the colony, but despite these facts, and the further fact -that it restored to their dominion the provinces of -Maine, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia, to the St. -Lawrence River, they found much at which to grumble.</p> - -<p class='c007'>However, they finally accepted what they had, with -what show of gratitude they were able to simulate. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_372'>372</span>Their disaffection doubtless had its purpose, and it -might have been fruitful of the further concession -which they gained, namely, the privilege of nominating -their own next Governor.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Here, for once, they were quite unanimous. They -requested that Sir William Phipps be appointed. They -knew that without the priceless services which he had -rendered the cause, during all his sojourn in England, -they might never have received a tithe of what was -now secured to their country with all possible stability.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The nomination of Captain Phipps was made complete -by the King without delay. He was constituted -Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the Province -of Massachusetts Bay, in New England, and -likewise Captain-General of the Colonies of Connecticut -and Rhode Island.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Weighted down with these new responsibilities, he -went seeking for Adam Rust, at the gay salon of the -Duchess of Kindlen, noted in its day for its scope and -the liberties acceded to the guests who assembled in -its spacious halls.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Having heard from a mutual friend that Sir William -would be looking him up at the Duchess’, Adam repaired -to the scene rather more early than was his -custom. He had seen but little of the captain for a -matter of several years. He was chiding himself upon -the negligence by which this had been made possible, -when he arrived at the house.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The funeral of the faithful Pike, and the plight of -the lorn old Halberd, since losing his comrade, had -depressed Adam’s spirits immeasurably. Halberd had -<span class='pageno' id='Page_373'>373</span>been following him about, dumbly, ever since the -dire event in the family. He said but little; he made -no complaints of his loneliness. He simply hung on -Adam’s footsteps, like a homeless old dog, whose one -remaining instinct is faithfulness and undying affection, -waiting for his master when he came from the brightly-lighted -houses, pleased and excited whenever he could -have the Sachem to talk with on the topic of Pike’s -many virtues and traits of character that confirmed -him in his fellow’s affections.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam had taken the lorn beef-eater into his own -apartments, where he could keep a more careful watch -over his health and his negative happiness. No friend -among all his noble acquaintances had such a hold on -Adam’s heart as had this bragging old remnant of his -retinue, and to none did he drop the mask of frivolity -as he did before this companion, whom nothing could -discourage nor alter.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus he had been glad to think of going no more -where the Duchess, Lady Margaret and the others -assembled, with their tinsel show, their thinly-plated -talk, their gambling and amours, but had contemplated -going away with Halberd, into Nature’s simpler walks -and profounder beauties.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The garish glitter struck inharmoniously upon him, -as he walked impatiently through the brilliant rooms, -in a search for Sir William Phipps, who had not yet -arrived. He presently found himself confronted by -Suffle, who, in turn, had been looking about for Lady -Margaret.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How do you do?” said Suffle, at once. “My dear -Rust, I am charmed to see you again. I have been -<span class='pageno' id='Page_374'>374</span>wanting to see you, ’pon my word. Would you mind -just giving me a few minutes’ talk?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“One of my greatest delights is derived from listening -to a brilliant conversationalist,” said Rust. “Where -shall we go?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There is no one as yet in the dice-box,” said the -other. “If you don’t mind, we might stroll in there -by ourselves.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Saying, “I am yours to command,” Adam followed -leisurely behind his friend to the now empty room employed -nightly for gambling.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It’s rather a delicate business—what I have to say,” -confessed Suffle, by way of a preface, “but you are a -frank, decent fellow, that a man can talk to, well—openly—don’t -you know.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Thanks,” said Adam. “If it is anything about -Lady Margaret, let us be sensible, by all means.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s devilish clever of you, old chap,” responded -Suffle, evidently much relieved already. “Of course -you know how matters stand.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I would never be sure of where anything stood, -that had a woman for an element in its make-up.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I know. That’s clever, too—deucedly clever. -Perhaps I had better put it plainly.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do, I beg of you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now—you are a frank, sensible man. Now—do -you really like—you know—love, you know—Lady -Margaret,—just speaking as man to man, sensibly, as -you so cleverly said?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Would you force me to become either ungallant or -a traitor?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Not at all, I——”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_375'>375</span>“Well, let us say that I am ungallant, since we are -to be frank,” said Rust. “I will even admit that I am -ungallant.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good,” said Suffle. “That’s what I thought—I -mean, you know——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I know what you mean. Proceed.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I feel very much relieved. You are a decent -sort, Rust—a deucedly decent sort. Now I am very -fond of Lady Margaret. I have learned to be, you -know. My uncle requires me to marry her, don’t you -see, or be cut off with a brass farthing. So I have -learned to be deucedly fond of her, you know.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Very reasonable and like a man,” said Adam.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I fancy so myself. I am coming to the -point.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then there is a point?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh dear me, yes. You see, as you don’t care for -Lady Margaret, that way, and I do——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why then, to be sure, take her and let me give -you my blessing,” Rust interrupted. “I will do this -with all my heart.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Thanks, old chap, but that is not quite the point,” -Suffle assured him. “The fact of the matter is, she -rather likes you, Rust, you know. I’m bound to admit -she does, though God knows why, and we are two -sensible men, you know, and that is what I wanted to -talk about.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You do me too great an honor,” Adam assured -him. “But what would you have me do?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why—that’s just the point. Of course I wouldn’t -like to ask you to clear out of the country——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Don’t let modesty stand in your way, my -<span class='pageno' id='Page_376'>376</span>dear Suffle. This favor would be nothing—a mere -trifle.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh no, now, I wouldn’t permit it,” said Suffle, -magnanimously. “But you are such a deucedly clever -fellow, don’t you know, that I thought you might be -able to devise something, something to—well, you -know.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, oh yes,” said Adam, pulling calmly at his long -golden mustache. He meditated for a moment and -idly picked up a dice-box, placed in readiness for the -evening’s play upon the table. “Do you ever fripper -away your time with these? If you do, perhaps we -might arrange a little harmless device without much -trouble.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>At one of the doors, the figure of Lady Margaret -appeared and disappeared as Suffle expressed his eagerness -to know what the plan in Adam’s head might be. -Although she had glided swiftly from room to room in -search of Rust, Lady Margaret had frowned when she -saw him in company with her fiancé, and petulantly -beating her fan in her fragrant little palm, she had -gone back around toward a secondary entrance, in -which a heavy curtain hung. She was vaguely wondering -what the two could find to talk about together, -and to what extent they were gambling, that they went -at the dice thus early.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She now met Sir William Phipps, Governor-elect of -New England, who had finally arrived and who was -scanning the gathering company for a sight of Adam -Rust.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, how well you are looking, Sir William,” she -cried to Phipps, delightedly.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_377'>377</span>“I am looking for a friend,” said the captain, with -his customary bluntness. “But thank you, Lady -Margaret, thank you, heartily.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If you are looking for a friend, why, look over my -head?” she said to him, prettily. “Oh, you dear Colonial -Governors are such delightfully honest people. -We all have to like you, really.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have found some honest men in England,” said -the Captain, with conviction. “The Puritans are -growing numerous among your people.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Lady Margaret laughed, spontaneously enough. -“And what about our women?” she said. “Do you -find them at all—well, charming?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Some are as bold as a pirate,” he said, without intending -anything personal. He could see many ropes -and clusters of jewels, gleaming from afar. “And -some of them must have plundered many a good ship -of her treasure,” he added. “If I don’t put about and -do some cruising, I shall never speak that boy to-night.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He bowed, somewhat jerkily, and sauntered off. -Lady Margaret continued on her way around toward -that curtained door, on the other side of which she had -seen Rust and Suffle with the dice.</p> - -<p class='c007'>William Phipps spent no further time in conversing -with the women, beyond a word as he passed, so that -finally he came to the gambling apartment, where he -found his protégé. Knitting his brows for a second, -in an ill-concealed annoyance, to see Adam Rust engaged -in such a pursuit as this, he stood there in the -doorway, hoping to catch Adam’s eye and so to admonish -him silently for indulging even a moment’s -whim at this vice.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_378'>378</span>“One thousand more,” said Adam, somewhat hotly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Sir William pricked up his ears in amazement.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Lost again!” Rust exclaimed. “The devil is in -the dice!” His back was toward the curtained door. -There was a mirror, however, directly across the room. -Watching the glass he presently beheld the reflection -of a movement, where the tapestry swayed behind -him. “Three thousand now, or nothing!” he added, -desperately.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The dice rattled out of the box in the silence that -followed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It’s luck,” said Suffle, scooping up the dice to -throw again.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It’s sorcery!” exclaimed the rover, in evident heat. -“Come, sir, I have two thousand left. I’ll stake it all -on a single throw!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Phipps would have interfered, had it been in any -place but a private house, where the scandal would -spread so swiftly. He twitched in nervousness, as he -gripped the cane with which he would have liked to -knock the dice-box endways.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The throw was completed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’m done!” said Rust. “I’ve nothing more to -stake!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, come,” said Suffle, tauntingly, “play your -sword, your—surely you must have something you -prize. What, no resources? Must we cease the play -so soon?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My sword? No!” said Adam, with temper. -“But stay; since you speak so slightingly of my sword, -I have one more stake to offer.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“By all means name it and play.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_379'>379</span>“My stake, sir, is the Lady Margaret,” Adam -growled at him, angrily. “Betrothed to you, she -loves me more. Come, sir, stake me a thousand -against my chances to win her and take her away from -you, heart and soul. A thousand, sir, and if you can -win it—your field shall be open, you shall hear nor -fear no more from me!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“By my faith,” said Suffle, rising, as Adam had -done, “you hold this lady lightly, that you prattle of -her name like this. Better I should run you through, -for an arrant knave.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Bah!” said Rust, “you think more of your winnings -than you do of your lady. You hesitate and -scold over a paltry thousand. Stake it, man, or by my -troth I shall tell her what valuation you put upon her -worth.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Lady Margaret’s face appeared for a second at the -curtain. It was white with rage.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You insult this lady with your monstrous proposition,” -cried Suffle.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And you insult her worse, with your parsimony!” -came the swift retort.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is calumny for you to say she loves you!” -Suffle growled.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yet stake me, sir, or you shall see me get her and -laugh at your stinginess,” Rust flung at him banteringly. -“Come, sir, one more moment and I withdraw -the offer.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Done!” said Suffle, “for by ’sdeath, my fortune -shall prove you a liar! Throw the dice.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam threw and counted. “My luck has changed -at last,” he said, in triumph.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_380'>380</span>“We shall see,” retorted Suffle, and flinging the -dice he sat down and roared with laughter.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Lost!” said Adam, tragically. “So be it. To -the devil with you, sir; and I wish you joy of your -winnings.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He strode from the table, met Sir William Phipps -at the door, winked at him merrily and so drew him -out in the hall.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What’s this? What’s this?” said the Governor, -excitedly. “I come here to see you, with news on my -tongue, and find you—like this!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Tush, William,” said Adam, laughing boyishly, -and as cool as a fish. “I was betting in farthings. I -must have lost a hundred. Did you think the luck -was all with Suffle?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But, sir, this—this lady?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There is more than one way to cure a woman of a -heart’s distemper,” said the young man, cheerfully. -“Lady Margaret was just there, behind the curtain. -But this is wasting time. What is your news?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Phipps looked at him in wonder, for a moment, then -shaking his head, sadly, he presently drew his hand -down across his face, to his double chin, as if to wipe -out a smile, which had come out of his eyes and traveled -all over his countenance.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Adam,” he said, “they have made me Governor of -the colony, and I want you to go home with me to -Boston.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam said nothing, for a moment, then he answered: -“Let’s get out of this. I want some fresher air to -think it over in.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>They were soon walking out at the gate, arm in arm. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_381'>381</span>The air was not only fresh, it was bitter cold. When -they turned to go down the street, Adam having first -looked about, without seeing what he sought, old Halberd -issued from a niche, where he had been dancing -to keep himself warm, and followed along behind his -master.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, now that you have thought it over,” said -Phipps, at last, “what do you say?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam had thought it over, from a thousand standpoints. -The magnet at Boston had drawn him and -drawn him so long that he felt his whole soul was already -across the Atlantic. Why fight his longing any -further? Why not at least go home, look the proposition -in the face and perhaps be disillusionized?</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’m your man,” he said, as if to catch himself before -he should alter his mind. “When are you sailing?”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_382'>382</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER IX.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>REVELATIONS.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>When</span> the Andros government came to an end, -Edward Randolph had languished in jail for a brief time -only. The Puritans were chiefly angered at his master, -whom they had finally put aboard a ship and sent away -from the country. Thus the more mischievous spirit, -and author of many of their wrongs, escaped to work -his malignant will upon them for years.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph was so crafty, so insidious, and willing to -remain so in the background, that until it was quite -too late to redeem their position, the Puritans failed -even to suspect him of the monstrous iniquities he induced -them to commit upon one another. The witchcraft -persecutions, which he fastened upon them, had -not originated in his brain, fertile as that organ was -for the growth of things diabolical. He got his cue -from England, where thousands of persons perished, -at the stake and otherwise, convicted on fantastic -testimony of practising arts that were black and -mysterious.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph, realizing that Boston had been made too -warm for active operations, began his work in Salem. -That center offered him exceptional opportunities. -The growth of the dread disease was appalling. History -<span class='pageno' id='Page_383'>383</span>which would convey an adequate idea of this -criminal fanaticism should be bound in charred human -skin.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Boston was duly afflicted with the scourge. Randolph -then returned, quietly, and so manipulated his -work and his dupes, from behind his own scenes, that -scores of old women were charged with and convicted -of witchcraft, in Randolph’s hope of wreaking his -vengeance thus on whatsoever old woman it might have -been who had told Garde Merrill of his affair with -Hester Hodder. Having never been able to ascertain -that this person was Goody Dune, he was sweeping his -net in all waters, to make sure of his prey, in the same -merciless spirit that Herod slew all the male infants, -to accomplish his terrible purpose.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When Governor Phipps, with Adam Rust and Increase -Mather, arrived at Boston, in the frigate “Nonsuch,” -in May, 1692, the prisons were crowded full of witches, -for the smell of whose burning or rotting flesh scores of -fanatical maniacs were clamoring.</p> - -<p class='c007'>All Massachusetts had known that William Phipps, -the Governor who had risen so mightily from the ranks -of the working men among them, was coming. The -name of the lane wherein his house had been built -was altered to Charter street, in his honor; the citizens -beat their drums; the disciples of gladness in the -stomach arranged for a banquet; the hordes marched -in joy and with pomp and Puritan splendor, which -lacked nothing in ceremony, as Sir William was conducted -to his house and then to the public dinner. -Even the fanatics waxed enthusiastic and developed -symptoms of being yet more greatly pursued and bewitched -<span class='pageno' id='Page_384'>384</span>by the witches whose incarceration they had -already procured.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the madness, confusion and excess of glee, two -persons were more inwardly stirred than all the others, -not by the arrival of William Phipps, but by that of -Adam Rust. One was Garde, to whose ears and heart -the story of Adam’s return came swiftly flying. The -other was Edward Randolph, who saw an opportunity -for deviltry for which he had waited so long that he had -almost despaired of ever tasting its bitter-sweet. With -his own eyes he beheld Adam Rust, and he grinned.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At the end of that long, fatiguing day, Rust retired -to the privacy of his tavern apartments, secured haphazard, -during one of the moments less filled than the -others with pressing events. Here he sat him down -for the purpose of thinking. He wondered why he -had come to Boston again, and what he would do, now -that at last he lived under the same sky with Garde, -hearing the same sounds she was hearing, breathing -the same fragrance of the Spring that stole to her. -Should he try to see her? Perhaps. But to speak to -her—no, he thought he could make no advance in this -direction. But he could learn whether she had married, -as of course she must have done, long before, and -then—well, something in him ought to be satisfied—that -something which had urged him so inexorably to -return and to make this moment possible.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the midst of his reveries, he heard a knock upon -his door. It was poor old Halberd, doubtless, who had -been so forlorn and so ill on the ocean. He had left -him asleep, but, no matter, he would be glad to see him, -privacy of thought notwithstanding.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_385'>385</span>“Come in,” he said. “Come in.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The door opened, not as Halberd was wont to perform -an act so simple, and Adam was conscious that a -stranger had intruded upon him. He looked up, -winked his eyes and looked more intently, as if absolutely -incredulous that he was awake and sane.</p> - -<p class='c007'>His visitor was Edward Randolph.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Mr. Rust, I am glad to see you again in Boston,” -said the man, coming forward in a tentative manner -and smiling by sheer force of effort. “You didn’t -expect me, but I have taken this early opportunity of -calling, to say I know what a great wrong I did you in -the past, and to make what reparation I can.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The devil could do no more,” said Adam, looking -him over calmly. “And I doubt if the devil ever had -your impertinence.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You do me wrong,” Randolph assured him, -meekly. “I could do no less than to come here and -tender what apologies I may, and to do you a small -favor. I was grossly misled, concerning your worth -and your courage, by spiteful persons who had, as I now -understand, some personal grudge.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“As I knew but two men in the town, when first I -had the honor of appraising you for a rascal,” said -Adam, “your tale pleases me but indifferently well. -As for favors, I have none to ask of you, and none to -grant.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yet, if only in a Christian spirit,” the fellow insisted, -“you must permit me to beg your pardon for -my errors of the past. I have long regretted my grievous -mistake of judgment, and for that long I have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_386'>386</span>desired an opportunity of showing my mortification -and doing you the one kindness in my power.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“In the spirit of the Christian crusaders,” said -Rust, “I feel that I could deny you little. You would -do well, sir, to retire in good order while my indisposition -to throw you through the window is still upon -me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But, my dear Mr. Rust, you don’t know what an -injury you are doing to yourself,” the visitor went on. -“If you knew how cruelly we were both wronged, -almost at the same time and by the same person, you -would listen, if only for that one compassion.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have been wronged in Boston,” Adam agreed, -ominously, “and shatter my hilt if I know why I hesitate -to redress myself while I may.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But I did you no wrong to your heart, sir. Our -injuries were both of the heart,” Randolph reiterated, -persistently. “Look, sir, I had a heart, six years ago, -and I felt it cruelly trampled under foot—the same -foot that trampled upon yours, and here——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Beware!” Adam growled. “I shall cut out your -tongue, for little more. Begone, sir, and thank your -God at every step you take, that you still live—if you -value your life at all; and this I am driven to doubt.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Here, here!” replied Randolph, nervously, and -with shaking fingers he drew from his pocket a packet -of paper folded in the form of a letter. “You will -never believe me till I show you this. But I lay my -heart open—I expose my wounds, to prove how you -wrong me. Read it, read it—the letter she sent me—and -then I shall be willing to bide by your answer.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam could not fail to be impressed by the man’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_387'>387</span>tenacity of purpose. Being a just man, he had a faint -suspicion dart through his head that, after all, the man -might not have known what he was doing when he -committed all his fiendish acts, years before. There -had never been any sufficient reason for what he had -done, that Adam knew. He took the letter, briefly to -see what it was the fellow meant and wanted.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He began to read, and then to feel that the man had -obviously undergone some trial, severe and not readily -to be forgotten. It was Garde’s own letter to himself -he was reading.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She sent me that and then broke my heart after,” -said Randolph, speaking in a low, emotional voice, -while Adam looked at the letter. “As if she had not -shattered my life sufficiently before.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’m sorry for you,” said Rust, after a moment. -“Here, I don’t care to pry into your letter. Take it, -and go in peace.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But read it, read it. You don’t know who wrote -it,” said Randolph, who was white with excitement. -“I shouldn’t have come to you here with my mortifying -apologies, if there had not been a bond between -us.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam gave him a look, as of one baffled by an inscrutable -mystery. He could not comprehend his -visitor’s meaning. Then suddenly a flush leaped into -his face, as he remembered something he had heard in -those by-gone days, when he walked with that youth, -whose very name he could not recall, from Plymouth -to Boston.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He read the letter again with a new interest, a terrible -interest. He had gone away from Garde—sent -<span class='pageno' id='Page_388'>388</span>away—with a stab in his heart, from which he had -never been able to recover. He had thought at first -she sent him away as a renegade, a fugitive from -pseudo-justice, whom to have loved openly would be a -disgrace. He had thought then that perhaps she -loved Wainsworth, or even this Randolph. He had -thought till he nearly went crazy, for circumstances -had compelled him to flee from Boston for his life, and -therefore to flee from all explanations which might have -been made. Garde having released him from jail, he had -been driven to think she believed him innocent. She -had said she could do no less. Then he had been left -no belief to stand on but that of her loving some one -else more than she did himself. She had admitted -that something had happened. Cornered thus, he had -found the case hopeless, and thoughts of return to -Boston then had seemed to him madness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This letter, now in his hand, confirmed all those -more terrible thoughts and beliefs. She had done some -wrong to Randolph, too, as she here confessed in her -letter. She had believed some infamous story against -him, and now prayed his forgiveness. And what, in -God’s name, had she then added to this first wrong to -the man, that Randolph now was so bitter?</p> - -<p class='c007'>Terribly stirred, he raced his glance over the pages -and so to the little quaintly affectionate ending. Then -he read her signature, “Garde—John Rosella.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>John Rosella!—the name of that youth! She! -Garde!</p> - -<p class='c007'>He felt he should suddenly go mad. That boy he had -so learned to love—had been Garde! She had written -this letter—she had signed that name, which meant so -<span class='pageno' id='Page_389'>389</span>much to him and to her, and so little to any one -else!</p> - -<p class='c007'>He made a strange little sound, and then he began -to read the letter over again, from the first, letting -every word, every syllable, sink into his soul with its -comfort and its fragrance of love. He forgot that -Randolph stood there before him. He was oblivious -of everything. He was on that highroad again. He -was standing with Garde in the garden at midnight, -her kisses still warm on his lips.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You see there is a bond between us,” said Randolph.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam ceased reading, galvanically. But for a -second he did not raise his eyes. He folded the letter -and held it in his hand. He arose to his feet and -slowly moved between Randolph and the door.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There is a bond between us,” he agreed, speaking -with nice deliberation. “It is something more than -a bond. It’s a tie of blood and bone and suffering.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I thought you would see it,” said Randolph. -“This was all I came to tell you,—this, and my sense of -having done you wrong.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh yes, I see it,” said Adam, turning the key in the -lock and putting it calmly in his pocket, “I see it all -clearly. By the way, sir, who is John Rosella, if I may -ask?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph had become pale. His eyes were growing -wild. He had watched Rust lock the door with quaking -dread.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“John Rosella?” he repeated, with a sickening -sense of having overlooked something important, which -he had thought an insignificant trifle; “why, that is -<span class='pageno' id='Page_390'>390</span>merely the—her middle names. Her full name is -Garde John Rosella Merrill.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I trust you are gentleman enough to fight,” said -Rust, placing the letter in his pocket, “for I shall tell -you, sir, that you are a liar, a scoundrel, a murderous -blackguard.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Walking up to the staring wretch, calmly, Adam -slapped his face till the blow resounded in the room -and Halberd came hastening to the door to know what -could be the matter.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I rang the bell,” said Rust, who opened the door -with great deliberation. “Bring a sword for one. -The gentleman wishes to fight.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What do you mean, sir?” said the trembling -coward. “Give me back my letter. I shall leave -this place at once!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Will you jump through the window?” Adam -inquired, with mock concern. “Don’t call that letter -yours again, or I may not let you off with a mere -killing.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Halberd came with his sword. Adam drew his own -good blade from the battered scabbard he had always -retained, and looked at the edge and the point, critically.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I refuse to fight you!” said Randolph, who had -once seen that terrible length of steel at play. “I -demand to be released from this place!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Rust went up and slapped him again. “Get up just -manhood enough to raise that sword,” Adam implored. -“Take it and strike any sort of a foul blow at me—one -of your foulest—do! you dog.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The craven tried to make a run at the door. Adam -<span class='pageno' id='Page_391'>391</span>pushed him back and kicked him again toward the -center of the room.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This is murder! I refuse to fight with such a -villain!” cried the fellow. “Let me out, or I shall -call for help.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You wouldn’t dare to let anybody know you are in -town,” said Rust, contemptuously. “Howl, do howl, -and let me tell the public what you are. Halberd, -alas, there is no manhood in it. Therefore fetch me -the whip I saw in your apartments, for a sad bit of -business.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>To all of Randolph’s protests and wild chatterings -of fear and hatred, Rust was deaf. He took the whip, -which Halberd presently brought, and proceeded to cut -Randolph across the face, the legs, the shoulders and -the hands till the craven smarted with a score of -purple welts.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Halberd, you may clean your boots afterward,” -Adam said at last. “Be good enough to kick the dog -from the room.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Halberd placed but two of his aids to departure, and -then, Rust opening the door, the craven flew madly -out and away, a maniac in appearance, an assassin in -his state of mind.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_392'>392</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER X.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>AFTER SIX YEARS.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>At</span> Grandther Donner’s house, Garde had passed -the day with her heart so fluttering between hope and -fear that she was all unstrung by the time the evening -arrived. She could bear it no longer, then, and with -a shawl on her head she started out to go to the Soams’ -to learn what she might of the many events of the -hour.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the garden she paused. The stillness, the calm, -the redolence of Spring, burgeoning into maidenly -summer, brought back to her mind that similar time, -six long years before, when she and Adam had met -here among the flowers, for that brief time of joy.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The fire of love, kept so sacred by the vestal virgin -spirit of her nature, burned upward in her cheeks, as -warm, as ardent as ever, after these years of her lonely -vigil.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But would he ever stand there again, in the garden? -Would he ever more clasp her hands on the pickets of -the gate? Or would he now prove disdainful, proud -of his friendship with the new Governor, aloof and -silent, as he had been since she sent him her letter?</p> - -<p class='c007'>No matter what might be, she so hungered to hear -some word of his coming, some meager description of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_393'>393</span>how he looked, some mere hearsay of how he bore -himself, that it seemed as if she must consume herself -with impatience on her way to her uncle’s.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the dusk which was swiftly descending on the -face of the world, she closed the gate behind her and -started along the road, her face so pale and yet so -eager, in her yearning, that it was almost luminous. -She was presently conscious that some one, dimly visible, -ahead, was rapidly approaching. She drew her -shawl a little more closely about her face and quickened -her footsteps, the sooner to pass this pedestrian.</p> - -<p class='c007'>A metallic tinkle came to her ears and made her -heart give an extra bound, she knew not why. It had -simply sounded like a scabbard, beating its small -accompaniment to sturdy strides. She looked up, -timidly, to see who it was that carried a sword into -such a quiet part of Boston. Then she halted and -suddenly placed her hand out, to the near-by fence, -for a moment’s support.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The man was almost passing her by, where she stood. -He halted. He made some odd little sound, and then -he remained there, looking upon her, his hand coming -involuntarily up to his heart.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde looked up in his face, without fear, but not -without sadness, wistfully—with the inquiry of six long -years in her steadfast eyes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Garde,” said Adam, in a voice she barely heard, -“Garde—I have—come home. I never got your letter -till to-night.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She could not answer, for a moment.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I—have been waiting,” she then said, and striving -to hold her lips from trembling, she let two great tears -<span class='pageno' id='Page_394'>394</span>trickle slowly across her face as she still looked up in -his eyes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was nothing he could say. He read her whole -story of faithfulness and of suffering, her epic of a love -that could not die, in that one long look. Slowly he -went up to her and taking her face in his hands he -kissed away the tears from her cheeks. He put her -head gently against his breast and let her cry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She still held to the fence, as if she dared not too -suddenly lean on his love, without which she had -learned to live so long. But gradually, as he held her -there, saying nothing, but softly kissing her hair and the -one little hand he had taken in his own, her arms crept -upward about his shoulders and her heart beat against -his, in a peace surpassing anything of earth.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My Garde,” he finally began to whisper, over and -over again, “my own Garde—my darling, precious -Garde.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, this may all be wrong, Adam,” she answered -him, after a time. “I don’t understand it. We don’t -know what has happened, in all these years. Oh, how -did you happen to come?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You drew me, sweetheart,” he said, in a voice -made tremulous with emotion. “I have had no peace -till now. I have loved you so! I have dreamed of -you so! But I never knew—till to-night, when I got -your letter.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You—never got it till to-night? Oh Adam,” she -said. “Oh, Adam, I have been so punished for the -wrong I did. Oh, you can never, never forgive me!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There, there, sweetheart,” he said to her soothingly, -letting her cry out the sobs she had stifled so -<span class='pageno' id='Page_395'>395</span>vainly. “Forgive you, dear? You had no need to -ask for forgiveness—you who came to me there in that -jail—you, whose sweet little motherly spirit so provided -for my poor old beef-eaters, when they were hungry -and fleeing for their lives. Dearest, I don’t see how -you did it, when I was a hunted renegade, a fugitive, -with doubled infamies piled upon my head. Oh, -forgive me, dear, that ever I doubted my own little -mate.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, I should never have believed them—not all -the world!” she protested. “My Adam. My -Adam.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>With his strong arm about her, and her head leaned -in confidence and love on his shoulder, he led her -back to the garden, at once the scene of their joys and -tragedies.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He enthroned her on the steps of the porch, where -as a child she had been enthroned, when he as her boy-lover -had sat, as now, at her feet and listened to the -dainty caresses of her voice. Only now he held her -hand in his and placed it on his cheek and kissed it -fondly, as he listened and told her of how he had come -at last to receive the letter.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At this she was frightened. She wanted to cradle -his head upon her bosom, now, and hold forth a hand -to shield him from danger. She felt that the perils for -them both were clustered about his fearless head and -that hers was the right to protect.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, please be careful, Adam, dear,” she implored. -“That man is a terrible man. Oh, I wish you had let -him go. You will be careful, dear. You must be -careful, and watchful, every moment.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_396'>396</span>His reply was a kiss and a boyish laugh. Now that -he had her once more, he said, and now that nothing -should ever part them again, his world was complete, -and there were no dangers, nor evils, nor sorrows.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then he begged her to tell him of the years that had -passed. He petted her fondly, as she spoke of her -long, long wait. She seemed to him thrice more -beautiful, in the calm and dignity of her womanhood, -which had laid not so much as a faded petal on her -beauty and her endless youth.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He exchanged a history of heart-aches, matching -with one of his own every pang she had ever endured. -There was something ecstatic, now, in the light of -their new-found rapture, in recounting those long days -of sadness and despair. Every pain thus rehearsed -drew them the closer, till their love took on a sacredness, -as if suffering and constancy had wedded them long -before. Like parents who have buried the children -they loved, they were made subdued and yet more -truly fervent, more absolute in the divine passion which -held them heart to heart.</p> - -<p class='c007'>And so, at last, when Garde was sure that Adam ought -to go, they walked hand in hand to the gate together.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Sweetheart, let me go outside, for a moment,” said -Adam, quickly shutting the barrier between them. -“Now, with your two dear hands in mine, it is just as -it was six years ago. The night is the same, your -beauty is the same, our hearts and love are the same as -before, and nothing has ever come between us—except -this gate.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He kissed her hands and her sweet face, as he had -done on that other happy night.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_397'>397</span>“And we can open the gate,” said Garde, in a little -croon of delight.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam laughed, like the boy he was. He flung open -the gate and went inside and took her in his arms, -kissing her upon the lips, rapturously, time after time.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh Garde, I love you so!” he said. “I love you! -I adore you, my own little mate!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I could have waited fifty years,” she answered him, -nestling close and patting his hand as she held it, in -excess of joy, to her heart. “Oh Adam! My Adam!”</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_398'>398</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XI.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>A BLOW IN THE DARK.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>The</span> rover, so lost in exalted happiness that he hardly -knew where he was going, when at length he said his -final good night to Garde, was not aware that the faithful -old Halberd finally fell into his tracks behind him -and followed him off toward the tavern.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Immensely relieved again to see his master, whom -he had not been able to locate before, the old beef-eater -was soon convinced that Adam was in a mood the -like of which had not appeared in the family for many -a day. He therefore glided silently after the dreamer, -a rod or so to the rear, waiting until Adam should turn -about, as was his wont, to bid him walk at his side.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But to-night the Sachem was so thoroughly engrossed -with his love and his forming plans, that he completely -forgot to think of his lorn retinue, and therefore the -beef-eater felt more alone and sad than usual. There -was nothing in Boston, save Adam, with which he -could associate any thoughts of jollier days. There -was nothing but Adam left in the world, to which to -devote the great fund of affection and devotion in his -simple breast.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But he was making no complaint, not even to himself. -Whatever the Sachem did was right. Nothing -that Adam could have done would have driven him -<span class='pageno' id='Page_399'>399</span>away, nor have altered his love by so much as one jot. -All he desired was the privilege of loving his master, -at whose heels he would have followed, though the -path led to Hell itself, and this with never so much as -a question, nor a murmur of hesitation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The moon had been silvering the roofs of the houses -for some time, and Adam and Halberd wended their -way, in their short procession, through the deserted -business streets of the town. Masses of shadow lay -upon the sidewalk, where Adam was striding buoyantly -along.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Within fifteen feet of him, and between him and -Adam, suddenly Halberd heard a sound that made him -halt where he stood. Three figures, their faces masked -with black cloth, ran out from a deep doorway, where -they had crowded back, for concealment, and darted -upon the rover, walking unconsciously onward.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Sachem! Sachem!” cried the beef-eater, wildly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He darted forward, in time to see Adam turn to receive -a stab in the neck and a blow on the head that -sent him to earth before he could even so much as -raise a hand to ward off his murderous assailants.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Dragging his sword from his scabbard as he ran, old -Halberd leaped frantically into the midst of the three -asassins, ready to battle against any odds conceivable, -in this the climax-moment of his loyalty.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He struck but a single blow, which fell upon one of -the bludgeons held by the masked ruffians. He -screamed out his terrible tocsin of anguish and rage. -Then a blow from behind him crushed in his skull and -he fell across the master he had striven to serve, a -corpse.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_400'>400</span>Waiting for nothing further, the three figures sped -away, down the street, dived into the darkness of an -alley and were gone, past all finding, when a few startled -citizens opened their windows or doors and looked -out on the street to see what the awful cries of Halberd -had betokened.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I see something—down on the sidewalk,” said the -voice of one of the men. “The lantern, wife, the -lantern!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What is it? What is it?” called another, from -across the way.</p> - -<p class='c007'>And others answering, that they knew not what it -meant, or that it had sounded like some terrible deed -being done, there were presently half a dozen awed -men coming forth, when their neighbor appeared at his -door with his light.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The black, still heap which had been seen from a -window smote them all with horror. A dark stream, -from which the light was suggestively reflected, already -trickled to the gutter. They lifted Halberd from the -second prostrate form and found that Adam was -swiftly bleeding to death from a ghastly wound in the -neck, from which the life-fluid was leaping out in -gushes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Turn him over, turn him over!” commanded -the man with the lantern. “Run to my house and -ask the wife for everything to tie up an artery—bandages, -too!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He knelt down in the red stream. Digging his -fingers into the gaping, red mouth of the wound, he -clutched upon the severed artery with a skill at once -brutal and sure. The gushes ceased, almost entirely.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_401'>401</span>Adam’s face, already deathly white, had been turned -upward.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Saints preserve us!” said one of the citizens. -“It’s the bosom friend of the Governor!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then we know where to take him, if he doesn’t -die in spite of me,” said the skilful surgeon who had -pounced upon the wound. “Look to the other man -and see if he too, is bleeding.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>One of the other men had already loosened the collar -about old Halberd’s neck. Another came to assist -him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He’s bleeding a little, from the back of his head,” -said he. “O Lord! He’s dead!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The doctor’s wife came running to the place herself, -with her husband’s case in which he had a score of -cunning tools and the needs of his craft.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The good woman pushed the men aside and with an -assurance and a courage almost totally unknown in her -sex, at the time, in such a case as this, bent down -above the wounded man and lent to her husband the -nimble fingers and the quick comprehension without -which he might easily have failed to prevent that -deadly loss of blood.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As it was, Rust was at the door of death. The turn -he had made, when Halberd called out in alarm, had -saved him from inevitable death. The steel driven so -viciously into his neck, would have severed the jugular -vein completely had he turned the fraction of a -second less soon than he did, or an inch less far.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The blow on his temple had glanced, so that half -the power, which in the case of Halberd had crushed -in the skull instantly, had been lost, nevertheless it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_402'>402</span>had served to render him wholly unconscious. Therefore, -two hours later, when brave little Mrs. Phipps -got him laid in a clean, sweet couch, he looked like -death, and his heart-beat was feeble and faintly fluttering -between mere life and the Great Stillness.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_403'>403</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>ADAM’S NURSE.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>When</span> the intelligence of the almost unparalleled -crime spread with terror and awe in its wake through -Boston, in the morning, Garde heard it like a knell—a -fatality almost to have been expected, when she -and Adam had been at last so happy. She did not -faint. Not even a moan escaped her lips. She turned -white and remained white.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Grandther,” she said to the old man who owed his -restoration to health and almost complete soundness -of mind to her ministrations, “I am betrothed to this -friend of our new Governor’s. I shall go to attend -him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She left her grandfather staring at her in wonder, -and with only her shawl on her head, she went to the -“fair brick house” which William Phipps had built -for his wife at the corner of Salem and Charter streets -in the town.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am betrothed to Adam Rust,” she repeated, -simply. “I have come to attend him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>As if poor Garde had not already, in six years of -waiting and hoping and vain regrets, sufficiently suffered -for a moment’s lack of faith in her lover, the anguish -now came upon her in a flood tide. Adam no -sooner recovered a heart-beat strong enough to give -<span class='pageno' id='Page_404'>404</span>promise of renewed steadiness, than he lapsed from his -unconscious condition into one of delirium.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Had Garde been wholly in ignorance of his past and -his life of many tragedies, she would have been doomed -to learn of all of it now. He lived it all over, a hundred -times, and told of it, brokenly, excitedly, at times -with sallies of witty sentences, but for the most part in -the sighs with which his life had filled his heart to overflowing, -but to which he had never before given utterance.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She knew now what the boy had suffered when King -Philip, the Sachem of the Wampanoags, was slain, -with the people of his nation. She felt the pangs he -had felt when, on first returning to Boston, he had believed -himself supplanted in Garde’s affections by his -friend Henry Wainsworth. She heard him croon to -the little Narragansett child, as he limped again -through the forest. And then she sounded the depths -of a man’s despair when the whole world and the woman -he loves drive him forth, abased.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Yet much as she suffered with him in this long rehearsal -of his heartaches, there was still one little consolation -to her soul.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The one name only that he spoke, and spoke again -and again, in murmurs of love and in heart-cries of -agony, was—Garde.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Having acquired her skill in the harsh school where -her grandfather’s illness had been the master, Garde -could almost have rejoiced in this reparation she was -making to Adam for what she had contributed to his -pangs in the past, had it not been that his hovering so -at the edge of death frightened all other emotions than -<span class='pageno' id='Page_405'>405</span>alarm from her breast. Nevertheless she believed he -would live. He could not die, she insisted to herself, -while she gave him a love so vast and so sustaining.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This feeling was fairly an instinct. And the truth -in which it was grounded came struggling to the fore, -one morning, when Adam opened his eyes, after his -first refreshing sleep, and laughed at her gayly, if a -little weakly, to see her there, bending down above him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“John Rosella,” he said, “I have been dreaming -of you—the sweetest boy that ever lived.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, Adam,” said Garde, suddenly crimsoning. -“Oh—now you—you mustn’t talk. You must go back -to sleep at once.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam was drowsy, despite himself. “I remember—every -word—we said,” he murmured, “and every—look -of your sweet—sweet face.” And then he fell -again into peaceful slumber.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Arrived so far as this toward recovery, he made -rapid progress. Healthy and wholesome as he was, -sound, from habits of clean, right living, he mended -almost too fast, according to Garde’s ideas of convalescence, -for she feared he would rise in revolt, over -soon, and do himself an injury by abandoning care -and comfort before she could pronounce him quite -himself.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In reality there had been but little more than his loss -of blood to contend with, save that his state of mind -had engendered a fever, as a result of all he had undergone, -so that when this latter was allayed and -the wound in his neck was healing with astonishing -rapidity, his strength came back to his muscles and -limbs by leaps and bounds. Therefore, despite her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_406'>406</span>solicitude, Garde was soon happy to see him again on -his feet and making his way about the house, his face -a little wan and white, but the twinkle in his eye as -merry as the light in a jewel.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He could furnish no accurate or reliable information -as to whom his murderous assailants had been. He -could only conjecture that Randolph had been at the -bottom of the affair, from motives of vengeance. This -was the truth. But the disappearance of Randolph -from Boston was reckoned so variously, as having taken -place anywhere from two days to three years before, -that nothing could be reliably determined.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Moreover, it sufficed for Adam and Garde that they -were here, in the land of the living, together, and -though it made the rover feel sad to think of the loss of -his last beef-eater, the faithful old Halberd.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_407'>407</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XIII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>GOODY IN THE TOILS.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>The</span> worthy Puritan citizens of Boston fêted Governor -Phipps in one breath and asked him to make -concessions of his powers to his council in the next. -They worked themselves weary with enthusiasm over -his advent and then they wore him out with exactions, -with their epidemic of persecuting witches and with -the faults they found with his methods of life and -government.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Sir William had not been long in his new harness, -when he was heard to wish he again had his broadax -in hand and were building a ship of less dimensions -than one of state. A little of his old love for his calling -and the men it had gathered about him was expressed -in a dinner which he gave to ship-carpenters, from -whose ranks he was proud to have risen, as he told them -and told the world. He had a hasty temper, as a result -of having been so long a captain on the sea, accustomed -to absolute obedience at the word of command. Yet -his squalls of anger were soon blown over, leaving him -merry, honest and lovable as before.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Unfortunately Governor Phipps was largely under -the influence of Increase Mather and his son, the -Reverend Cotton Mather, who were both as mad fanatics -on the topic of religion and witchcraft as one could -<span class='pageno' id='Page_408'>408</span>have found in a day’s walk. The influence over -Phipps had been gained by the elder Mather in -England, where he and Sir William were so long associated -in their efforts to right their colony and its -charter.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Witchcraft persecutions, having fairly run amuck in -England, Increase Mather had enjoyed exceptional opportunities -for observing the various phenomena developed -by this dreadful disease. He arrived in Boston -after Randolph had succeeded far beyond the dreams -of his own malice in starting the madness on its terrible -career. The field offered an attraction not to be -withstood, by either of the Mathers. They were soon -fairly gorging themselves on the wonders of the invisible -world, testimonies and barbarous punishments.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Lieutenant-Governor Stoughton was an active figure -in all this lamentable business. Phipps was dragged -into the maelstrom bodily. He pitied the frightened -wretches in the prisons and secretly instructed his -jailers to be remiss in their duties of chaining, ironing -and otherwise inflicting needless punishment on these -helpless mortals.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The more effectually and quietly to turn the fearful -tide, so appallingly engulfing the minds of the -wrought-up populace, Phipps organized a court of -Oyer and Terminer, wherein he sat himself, with seven -magistrates, to try the wretched old women, dragged -screaming to the farcical examinations. At these -trials, devilish children swore away the lives of fellow-creatures, -abandoned alike by their kind and by their -God. In this court of his own making, William Phipps -was slowly and surely putting a stop to the mania, for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_409'>409</span>the horrors of some of the executions sent a thrill of -fright and dread through the whole of Boston.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Exercising his power of pardoning, and then expending -his own money to assist them to flee from the -state, William Phipps saved so many defenseless -women that he fairly broke the fabric of the awful -mania in twain. Early after his arrival, however, he -was called away to Plymouth. No sooner was his back -turned than the zealots pounced, tooth and nail, upon -a new crop of witches and hailed them before the -court, on trial for their lives, in haste before the Governor -should return to work his leniency upon them.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus it came about that Garde, having exhausted -the small supply of simples possessed by herself and -Goodwife Phipps, went to Goody Dune’s and there -witnessed the work of a witch-hunting mob.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was a warm, summery morning, fit jewel for the -year’s diadem of things beautiful. Cries, yells, of pretended -fear, and harsh, discordant prayers, screamed -into the air, assailed Garde’s ears before she could yet -see the little flower-surrounded hut where Goody lived. -She felt a sudden misgiving strike through her heart -as she hastened onward.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She came upon the scene in a moment. Nearly fifty -men and boys, with a sprinkling of mere girls and one -or two women, were storming the small stronghold of -the old wise woman, who had done so much for those -afflicted by ailments and troubles. Indeed in the -crowd there were many citizens who had blessed her -name and the wisdom by which she had mended their -bodily woes. But all now were mad with excitement. -Some were purposely frothing at the mouth. A dozen -<span class='pageno' id='Page_410'>410</span>leaped frantically about, declaring they were being -pinched and bitten by the demons that Goody was -actuating to malice. Young boys slily put nails and -pins in their mouths and then spat them forth, to show -what evils were then and there being perpetrated upon -them.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The tidy little garden was trampled to pitiable -wreckage of flowers and vines. The house was being -boldly entered by a few lusty knaves, with Psalms -Higgler and Isaiah Pinchbecker in their midst. -Sounds of wild beating, upon the pans and kettles -inside, made half the assembled people turn pale with -self-induced fear, which they loved to experience.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Suddenly Goody’s old black cat came bounding forth. -The men, boys and women fell down in affright, -screaming that the devil was upon them. To add -to their horror and superstitious dismay, the jackdaw, -Rex, came flying out. He perched for a moment on -the ridge and then circled once or twice about the -house. He was wounded, for the ruffians in the cottage -had beaten him savagely, with sticks and whips. He -was bedraggled; for they had thrown water upon him. -His feathers were all awry. He was altogether a sorry -spectacle.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“B-u-h-h—it’s cold,” called the bird. “Fools, fools, -fools!” and flapping his ragged wings so that they -clapped against his sides as he flew, he started straight -for the woods and was soon out of sight.</p> - -<p class='c007'>If the witch-hunters had been smitten with delightful -fear before, they were appalled by this terrible -bird. They fell down upon their knees and wept and -prayed and made a thousand and one mysterious signs -<span class='pageno' id='Page_411'>411</span>by which evil could be averted. Those who knew in -their hearts that the whole thing, up to this, had been -humbug and fraud, now quaked with a fear that was -genuine. The devil himself had said some horrible, -unthinkable rigmarole which would doubtless cast -a spell upon them such as they would never be rid of -again in their lives. Their children would be born -with fishes’ tails, with asses’ legs, with seven heads. -Above the wails of anguish, which arose on the air, -came the shouts of the captors of Goody Dune. They -were now seen dragging her forth with hooks, which -were supposed to insulate the operator from the evils -which a witch could otherwise pronounce upon her -enemies with dire and withering effect. And then it -was seen what the shouting of triumph was.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Each of the captors bore a Bible in his hand from -which he read, haphazard, at the top of his voice as he -walked, thus disinfecting himself, or fumigating himself, -as it were, to prevent him from catching the evil -which was hovering about the witch, like an aureole of -dangerous microbes of the devil’s own breeding.</p> - -<p class='c007'>No sooner did old Goody’s well-known form appear -than the fanatics in the garden fled in a panic for the -gate, howling and wailing their prayers more loudly -than before, but pushing and jostling one another and -falling endways, as they tried to run and to look behind -them at the same time. They must see everything, -whatever the cost.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The men were seen to be armed with pitchforks. -There is nothing in the way of a weapon which your -devil so abhors as a pitchfork, in the hands of any one -save himself.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_412'>412</span>This noisy, mad procession moved in great disorder -out into the highway, where Garde had paused, dismayed -and concerned for Goody. She saw the wise -old woman walking calmly along with her captors, for -Goody, unlike the witches of lesser wisdom, knew too -much to cry out wild protests against this infamy, and -so to convict herself of uttering curses, spells and -blasphemies on the public roads. She looked about -her, at men and women she had relieved of pains, and -at children whose early ailments she had exorcised with -her simples.</p> - -<p class='c007'>They were all now possessed of the devil, in good -faith, for the mad capers they cut to show that Goody -was all potent to produce the most fiendish and heinous -results upon them could only have been invented out -of the sheer deviltry which is one of the component -parts of the human animal.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Helpless, terrified by these maniacs about her, Garde -could only lean against the fence and hold her place -while the running, neck-twisting people went by.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, poor dear Goody,” she murmured to herself, -involuntarily.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The old wise woman looked across the bank of bobbing -heads about her and half smiled, in a weary, hopeless -manner that sent a pang straight to Garde’s heart. -She knew that Goody was saying, “Never mind me, -dear,” and this only made it all the more unendurable.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Goody had been hustled by in a moment. The dust -arose from the scurrying feet. The hobble-de-hoy -pageant went rapidly toward the town, its numbers being -momentarily augumented, as fresh persons heard the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_413'>413</span>disturbance rising and coming near, on the summer -air, and joined the throng.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Unwilling to let her friend be conveyed thus away -without her even knowing where she was now to be -taken, Garde followed the last of the stragglers, and so -saw the crowd become a mob, in the more populous -streets of the town, and finally beheld Goody hurried -to one of the prisons and shut out of sight behind the -doors.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The jail was the one into which, six years before, -Adam Rust had been so infamously thrown.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_414'>414</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XIV.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>GARDE’S SUBTERFUGE.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Nearly</span> as strong and well as ever, Adam Rust -heard Garde’s excited and desperate tale of Goody’s -capture with an indignation which far outran her own. -He failed to realize, at first, the full import of Goody’s -position. Then, as Garde made him understand the -almost inevitable execution, staring this old woman-friend -in the face, at the end of a trial from which -Truth would fly moaning, with her hands to her ears, -the rover would have buckled on his sword and gone to -batter down the jail to set the old wise woman free, -had his sweetheart not restrained him with all her -powers of dissuasion.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, we have got to be far more clever than that,” -she said. “We have got to get her out of there -quietly—so quietly that we can get her away—a long -way off, before the awful crowds shall find it out. -Help me to do this. Help me to get her out cunningly, -or we shall fail—and to-night it will all be too late.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Couldn’t the Governor pardon her out?” said -Adam. “Why has he gone away at such a time? -Here, couldn’t Mrs. Phipps write a pardon? We -could take it to the jailer, and try him. If he then -refused to release our friend, we could try with a little -gold in his hand. Mrs. Phipps—Mrs. Phipps,” he -called to the Captain’s wife.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_415'>415</span>The plump little woman would have done anything -on earth for Adam—her boy—and for Garde, whom -she loved no less, but she shook her head at this new -proposal. The potentialities of the position in which -William’s sudden elevation had placed her still gave -her a little fright to contemplate. She knew nothing -of the powers of a Governor, still less of those of a -Governor’s wife.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I would be glad to do this thing, dear Adam,” she -said, “for your sake, or Garde’s, or even for old Goody -herself, but can I? Would I dare? I fear you hardly -know the temper of these people on this question of -witches. They are mad.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Try it,” said Adam. “We can do no less than to -give it a trial. The jailer will know of no reason for -limiting the Governor’s prerogatives, nor even those of -his good wife. Write what I shall dictate, and let us -make the attempt. A bit of boldness is often as good -as an army.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Never able to resist when Adam begged or even suggested, -Goodwife Phipps wrote, as he directed, one of -the most sweeping and imperious pardons ever reduced -to cold language. This being duly sanded, and approved, -Rust folded it up and placed it safely in his -pocket.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now then, John Rosella,” he said to Garde, who -blushed prettily, in spite of her many conflicting emotions, -“even supposing this works its charm, we have -only then made a good beginning. I must have a -horse on which to convey old Goody out of the reach -of harm, when they find she has slipped between their -fingers. And the horse must be my own. No more -<span class='pageno' id='Page_416'>416</span>borrowed horses will do for me. Therefore content -your mind, sweetheart, while I go forth to make my -needed purchases.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He kissed her, while Goodwife Phipps bustled off -importantly about her duties, and reassuring her that -all should yet be well for Goody, he went out into the -glorious sunlight, and felt his old-time vigor spring -forward—from the warmth and the joyousness of -Nature—to meet him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the matter of finding a horse in Boston was not -one to be disposed of lightly. He hunted far and wide, -for of those which were offered for sale, many were -old, a few were lame and others were vicious. These -latter he would have liked, for himself, since they -challenged him, their spirit against his, but foregoing -the pleasant anticipation of a battle royal, he rejected -offers right and left, until he had used up the morning -completely, and at length felt obliged to be satisfied -with a somewhat undersized bay, who nevertheless -seemed strong and otherwise fit for the business in -hand.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde in the meantime had grown nervous with impatience, -afraid as she was, of one of those swift, inhuman -trials of Goody which so often were the subterfuges -of the fanatics for rushing a person pre-condemned, -to the death from which there was no -escape.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have thought the matter over calmly,” said Adam, -who knew nothing of real calmness in a moment of daring, -“and I feel certain we shall double our chances of -success by waiting till dark, or near it, when the jailer -might be persuaded to think we could get her away unnoticed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_417'>417</span>noticed by the rabble, and so might consent to -the plan, when otherwise he would think he must -refuse.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was reason in this, as Garde could see. -Making Adam promise to take a rest, before the time -should be ripe for their enterprise, she went home to -David Donner, to set things to rights, and otherwise -to keep abreast of her little housewifely duties. She -found the old man excited, by a call which had come -for his services, at noon.</p> - -<p class='c007'>One of the seven magistrates who sat in the court of -Oyer and Terminer, to try the witches, had fallen ill. -David had been requested to assume his place. At -this wholly unexpected news, Garde felt her heart leap -with a sudden rejoicing. If the worst came, Goody -would have at least one friend at the trial, to whose -words of wisdom the Council had so frequently listened. -She ran to the old man and gave him a kiss.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I am so glad, dear Grandther,” she said. -“They know how wise you are and just!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Thankee, child, thankee,” said the white-haired -old man, smiling with the pleasure which the whole -transaction had excited in his hungering breast. -“They recognize me—a little—at last.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Yet so eager had the girl become, and so frightened -of what the results were almost certain to be, if Goody -ever came to her trial, during the absence of Governor -Phipps, that she and Adam were hastening off to the -jail the moment the twilight began to descend on the -town.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Jailer Weaver owes me some little favor,” she said -as they came to the place, “and he really owes a great -<span class='pageno' id='Page_418'>418</span>deal to Goody.” Her voice was shaking, her teeth -felt inclined to chatter, so excited was all this business -making her feel.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Vivid recollections of those terrible moments in -which she had come to see Mrs. Weaver and then had -hovered about the prison, to liberate Adam, made her -cling to his arm in terror of what they were now about -to attempt.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam himself, wondering if the jailer would by any -chance remember his face, and the break he and the -poor old beef-eaters had made, had the boldness and -the love of adventure come surging up in his heart, -till he petted the hilt of his sword with a clenching -fist.</p> - -<p class='c007'>They entered at the door of that portion of the -prison building where the Weavers made their residence, -as this would excite no suspicion on the part -of the few pedestrians in the street. The nature -of their business being partially secret, they chose to -interview the jailer in the room which answered for his -parlor.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Weaver was a man who constantly raised and lowered -his eyebrows—a habit he had gained through years of -alternately scowling at his guests and then looking -puzzled or surprised that, being so innocent as they -always were, they should still be brought to such a -place. He listened to Adam’s flowery and courtly address, -in which he announced the advent of Goody’s -pardon, with at least a hundred of these eyebrow contortions.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But the Governor never pardons before a trial,” -he said. “Else, how should he know but what he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_419'>419</span>was pardoning a very guilty person indeed? If he had -pardoned her, or if he will pardon her, after the trial, -I shall be glad to give her freedom, poor soul. But -you see she hasn’t even been tried, and moreover this -pardon comes from the Governor’s good lady.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Garde’s heart sank. The man was so unanswerably -logical.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But, my good man,” said Adam, “I tell you this -would be the Governor’s pleasure. And the Governor -stands in the shoes of the King, in matters of grave -importance. Now call in any one and ask if I am not -the Governor’s friend—his secretary, indeed.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I know your face,” said Weaver, who remembered -Adam well enough, as a former guest of the house, but -who chose to say nothing on delicate subjects. “I -saw you with Sir William the day he landed. Oh, -aye, you are his friend, I know that well. But——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good!” Adam interrupted. “Then, the Governor—who -stands, mind you, in the King’s shoes, in -this matter, is away. I, being his friend, for the moment -take his place. Therefore I stand in the King’s -shoes myself, and I desire this woman’s pardon! -Bring forth your ink, and I shall add my signature to -the document, in the King’s name.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Weaver was bewildered. This reasoning was as clear -as a bell, yet he knew what the angry mobs would soon -be demanding from his stronghold.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But—but there can be no pardon, as I said, till -after trial,” he stammered.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What!” said Rust striding back and forth, while -Garde looked on and trembled, “do you refuse to -obey your King?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_420'>420</span>“Oh, sir, alas, no,” said the jailer. “But what can -I do?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do? Do? My friend, do you value your daily -bread? Do you wish to retain your office? Or shall -the Governor grant your dismissal?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This was touching the man on a spot where he could -endure no pressure. He quailed, for he found himself -between the devil—as represented by the fanatical -spirit of the mob—and the deep sea into which the loss -of his place would plunge him at once.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, don’t turn me out!” he begged, convinced -well enough of Adam’s power with the Governor. “I -would do anything to please you, sir, and I have done -much already to please the Governor. I am an old -man, sir, and we have saved nothing, and we know no -other trade, and many people hate us. There would -be no place for me and mine. Do not turn us away -for this.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t wish to turn you away,” said Adam. “I -merely ask you to release this woman.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She has never done any harm,” put in Garde. -“She has been very good to your wife and you. Surely -you could spare her this.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I would, Miss, I would,” said the wretched man. -“I am sick to death of this terrible craze of witches, -but what can I do? If I do not release her, I shall -lose my place and starve. If I do let her go, I shall -have all the mobs down upon me, when they find there -is no witch for trial. How can I show them a paper, -instead of a prisoner? My life might pay the forfeit.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_421'>421</span>“Oh, Adam, this is terrible,” said Garde. “What -can we do?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“After trial, you can surely get her pardoned,” the -man insisted. “You have the power. You can save -her then.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, they will never wait!” cried the girl. “They -may try her to-night, and find her guilty and hang her -the first thing in the morning!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Weaver turned pale. He knew that what she said -might in all probability be true.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But I cannot give them a bit of paper instead of a -prisoner,” he repeated. “If you will bring me some -one else, who will vouch for the mob’s respect of your -pardon, as you vouch for the Governor——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We’ve got to have her,” interrupted Adam. “You -can say she escaped, by her power of witchcraft. Release -her, or look your last on these cheerful walls.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, but, Adam,” said Garde, “why should we make -such misery and trouble for one person—for two persons, -indeed with Mrs. Weaver—in trying to save -another? I like these good people. They are very -kind to their prisoners. They have spent much of -their own money to give them little comforts. Can we -not think of some other way, as good as this, to get -poor Goody out and do no harm to innocent people?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Weaver was ready to break into tears. He started -to repeat, “Bring me some one to——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh! Oh, I know! I know what to do!” cried -Garde, interrupting. “All you need is some one else -to blame, when they find she is gone! It would never -be your fault if some one took her place. It would be -a trick on you, when they found it out. I’ll take her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_422'>422</span>place. I’ll take her place, because when they find out -they are starting to try only me, they will have to -laugh it off as a joke. And Grandther is one of the -magistrates—appointed to-day—so they will have to -let me go—and Goody will be far away, by then—and -no one will get into trouble!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“So one could blame me—nor they wouldn’t,” said -Weaver, slowly, “but as for you, Miss——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then we can do it!” Garde broke in, a little -wildly. “Oh, hurry! we might he too late. You can -put me wherever Goody is, and I can change clothes -with her, and then, Adam——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, but——” started Adam.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, let me, dear. I shan’t mind it a bit. And in -the morning it will all be over, and Goody will be safe, -and no one harmed—and there is no other way. And -I want to! Oh, Goody has been like a mother to me! -I must do it. Please don’t say anything more. Mr. -Weaver, take me to Goody now!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You brave little woman!” said Adam, his own -courage leaping to greet this intrepid spirit in his -sweetheart. “I believe you can do it! We shall -win!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come back as early as you can,” said Garde, on -whom a thought of the lonely part of the business was -suddenly impressed. “It won’t seem long. And -when it is over, I shall feel so glad I could do a little -thing for Goody. We must hurry. Every moment -may be precious!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But, lassie——” the jailer tried to insist once more, -“you——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Please don’t talk any more,” said Garde. “Take -<span class='pageno' id='Page_423'>423</span>me to her now. And when somebody looking like me -comes back, let her go out by Mrs. Weaver’s door -with Mr. Rust.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I, but——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“In the King’s name, no more talk,” interrupted -Adam. Then he turned to Garde. “You won’t be -timid, little mate?” he said. “I shall not be gone -past midnight at the most.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I shall be so glad to think I am leaving Goody in -your strong, dear hands,” said Garde, with a smile of -love in her eyes. “Good-by, dear,—good night, till -the morning.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She kissed him, and smiling at him bravely, followed -the jailer, who saw that his place in the jail depended -now on compliance with Adam’s and Garde’s demand. -The tremulous pressure of her little hand in his remained -with Adam when she had gone. He wondered -if he were doing well, thus to let his sweetheart assume -poor Goody’s place. Then his own boldness of spirit -rebuked him and he laughed at the imaginary scene -of the magistrates, when they should finally discover -their trial to be nothing but a farce.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Weaver meantime took a candle in his hand and led -the way down the corridor of the prison. Garde -hesitated when she saw him descending the steps.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why—where is she?” she asked, timidly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“In the dungeon, lass,” said the jailer. “I was -over sorry, but it could not be helped. We are full -everywhere else. But I shall leave you the light, and -anything you like for comfort. Only, if you hear any -one coming, blow out the candle straightway, or I -shall be in a peck of troubles.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_424'>424</span>Quelling her sense of terror, and thinking of -Goody, alone in that darkness, with such dreadful -fates awaiting her reappearance among the people, she -promised herself again it would soon be over, and so -followed resolutely down into the hole where Adam -had once been locked, in those long-past days of -despair.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_425'>425</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XV.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>THE MIDNIGHT TRIAL.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>Goody Dune</span> was a frightened and pitiable spectacle, -with her age and the terrors of the dungeon and coming -execution upon her. She struggled in an effort to -maintain a show of composure, at sight of Garde and -the jailer. Nevertheless she would not, at first, listen -to a word of the plan of substitution, to get her away -from the prison.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When at last she had fairly overridden Goody’s objections, -and had made her complete the exchange of -garments, Garde kissed her with all the affection of a -daughter, and sent her forth to Adam’s protection. -She then heard the lock in the dungeon-door shoot -squeakingly into place with a little thrill of fear, which -nothing human and womanly could have escaped.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She listened to the footfalls receding down the corridor, -and then the utter silence of the place began to -make itself ring in her ears. She looked about her, by -the aid of the flickering light which the tallow dip was -furnishing, at the barren walls, the shadows, and the -heap of straw in the corner. At all this she gave a -little shiver of dread.</p> - -<p class='c007'>All the excitement which had buoyed her up to -make this moment possible escaped from her rapidly. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_426'>426</span>She began to think how Goody must have felt, till her -moment of deliverance came. Then she thought of -what Adam had endured when, lame, hungry, exhausted -and defamed, he had been thrown with violence into this -horrible hole, from which he could have had no thought -of being rescued.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She took the candle in hand and went in search of -the tiny window, down through which she had dropped -him the keys. When she saw it, she gave a little -shudder, to note how small it was, and how it permitted -no light to enter the place.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Returning then to a paper, filled with bread and -butter, pie, cake and cold meat, which Weaver had -fetched her, while she and Goody had been exchanging -garments, she tried to eat a little, to occupy her time -and her thoughts. But she could only take a sip of -the milk, which stood beside the paper, and a nibble at -the bread. To eat, while in her present state of mind, -was out of the question.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The stillness seemed to increase. She felt little -creeps of chill running down her shoulders. What a -terrible thing it would be to have no hope of leaving -this fearful cellar! Suppose anything should happen -to Adam, to prevent him from returning! How long -would it be till morning? Surely she must have -been there nearly an hour already. She clasped her -hands, that were cold as ice. She almost wished she -had not tried this solution of the difficulty. Then she -remembered the wise old woman, who had made her -neighbors’ children her own care—as she had no sons -nor daughters of her own—and who had been sister, -mother and friend to Hester Hodder, and guardian -<span class='pageno' id='Page_427'>427</span>angel, teacher and kindly spirit over herself. This -made her calmer, for a time, and again courageous.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When once more the dread of the place and the -ringing silence and the doubts that seemed to lurk in -the shadows, came stealing back, she thought of Adam, -rehearsing every incident in every time they had ever -met. And thus she lingered long over that walk from -Plymouth to Boston.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the midst of sweet reveries which really did much -to dissipate her qualms and chills, she heard someone -walking heavily along in the corridor above her. -Swiftly calling to mind what the jailer had said about -the light, she blew it out and stood trembling with -nervousness, waiting for the door to open before -her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the sounds of heavy boots on the upper floor -presently halted. Then they retreated. She breathed -more freely. And then—she suddenly felt the darkness -all about her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Fear that some one had been about to enter had, for -the moment, made her oblivious of the curtain of -gloom which closed in so thickly when she blew out -the candle. Now, when she realized that she could -not again ignite that wick, a horror spread through -her, till she closed her eyes and sank on the floor in -despair.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The time that passed was interminable. She had -not thought of how terrible the dungeon would be -without the candle. She could almost have screamed, -thus to be so deprived of the kindly light which had -made the place comparatively cheerful. But she -pulled up her resolution once again, thinking how -<span class='pageno' id='Page_428'>428</span>Goody and Adam had endured nothing but darkness, -and with no hope of succor such as she could see illuminating -her hours of dread.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Midnight came at last and found Garde unstrung. -When the tramp of many feet rang above her, at last, -she welcomed the thought that some one was near. -She hoped it was morning and that Adam had returned. -But then she heard a jangle of keys, and -footfalls on the steps leading down to where she was, -and her heart stood still.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the natural consternation which the hour, the -darkness and the suspense had brought upon her, she -hastily hid her head and face in Goody’s shawl, and -bending over, to represent the older woman, she -tremblingly saw the door swing open and heard the -jailer command her to come forth.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With her heart beating violently and her knees -quaking beneath her, Garde came out, relieved in -some ways to flee from that awful hole of darkness, -but frightened, when she saw the array of stern-faced -men, who had come, as she instantly comprehended, -to take her away to a trial.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was not one among the five or six men that -she knew. She remembered the faces of Pinchbecker -and Higgler, having seen them in the morning, when -Goody was taken, but the others were witnesses that -Randolph had sent from Salem, experts in swearing -away the lives of witches. They too had been present -at the capture of Goody.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Undetected as she was, Garde was surrounded by -this sinister group of men, and was marched away, -out of the jail, into the sweet summer’s night air, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_429'>429</span>so down a deserted street, to a building she had never -entered before in her life.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Hardly had the prison been left behind when Adam -Rust, swiftly returning, after having readily provided -for the safe escape of Goody Dune, came galloping into -Boston, his brain on fire with a scheme of boldness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He had made up his mind to ride straight to the -prison, demand admittance, compel the jailer to deliver -Garde up at once, carry her straight to a parson’s, -marry his sweetheart forthwith, and then take her off -to New Amsterdam. Weaver could blame the rescue -of the witch to him and be welcome. He could even -permit Adam to tie him and gag him, to make the -story more complete, but submit he should, or Rust -would know the reason. His wild ride had begotten -the scheme in his adventure-hungry mind.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He knew the residence of the parson who had -married Henry Wainsworth and Prudence Soam, the -week before he and Phipps had returned to Massachusetts, -for Garde had told him all the particulars, time -after time—having marriage in her own sweet thought, -as indeed she should. He therefore went first to this -parson’s, knocked hotly on the door, to get him out -of bed, and bade him be prepared to perform the ceremony -within the hour.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The parson had readily agreed, being a man amenable -to sense and to the luster of gold in the palm, wherefore -Adam had gone swiftly off to work the <i>tour de -force</i> on which all else depended. He arrived at the -jail when Garde had been gone for fifteen minutes. -Here he learned with amazement of the midnight trial -to which she had been so summarily led.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_430'>430</span>Trembling like a leaf, Garde was conducted into a -chamber adjoining the room wherein the dread magistrates -were sitting, with their minds already convinced -that this was a case so flagrant that to permit the witch -to live through the night would be to impair the -heavenly heritage of every soul in Boston.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Here the girl was left, in charge of Gallows and two -other ruffianly brutes, whose immunity from the evil -powers of witches had been thoroughly established in -former cases. In the meantime her accusers had gone -before the magistrates, ahead of herself, to relate the -unspeakable things of which Goody Dune had been -guilty.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Shaking, not daring to look up, nor to utter a sound, -Garde had tried to summon the courage to throw off -the whole disguise, laugh at her captors and declare -who she was, but before she should arrive in the presence -of Grandther Donner, who would protect her -and verify her story, at least as to who she was, she could -not possibly make the attempt.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Terribly wrought upon by the suspense of waiting -to be summoned before that stern tribunal of injustice, -Garde began to think of the anger which these unmirthful -men might show, when she revealed the joke before -their astounded eyes. She swayed, weakly, almost -ready to swoon, so great became her alarm.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She could hear the high voices of Psalms Higgler -and Isaiah Pinchbecker, penetrating through the door. -They were giving their testimony, in which they had -been so well coached by Edward Randolph, who was -even now in there among the witnesses, disguised, and -keeping as much as possible in the background.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_431'>431</span>The door presently opened and Garde was bidden to -enter. Her heart pounded with tumultuous strokes in -her breast. She could barely put one foot before the -other. She caught at the door-frame to prop herself -up as she entered the dimly-lighted, shadow-haunted -room.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then her gaze leaped swiftly up where the magistrates -were sitting. She saw strangers only—men she -knew in the town, but not David Donner. She felt she -should faint, when one of the men turned about, and -she recognized her grandfather, looking feverish, wild-eyed -and hardly sane. This was why she had not -known him sooner.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, Grandther!” she suddenly cried. “It’s I! -It’s Garde! Oh, save me! Oh, take me home!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>She flung off Goody’s shawl, and darting forward ran -to her grandfather’s side and threw her arms like a -child about his neck, where she sobbed hysterically and -laughed and begged him to take her away.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The court was smitten with astonishment from which -no one could, for the moment, recover.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph had pressed quickly forward. But he now -retired again into the shadow.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What’s this? What’s this?” demanded the chief -of the magistrates, sternly. “What business is this? -What does this mean? Where is——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Witchcraft! A young witch! Cheated! We are -cheated! The young witch has cheated us of the old -witch!” cried Pinchbecker, shrilly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My child! My child!” said David Donner. “This -is no witch, fellow-magistrates and friends.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She has cheated us of the old witch!” repeated -<span class='pageno' id='Page_432'>432</span>Pinchbecker wildly. “She has daily consorted with a -notorious witch. She has aided a witch to escape. -She is a witch herself! We know them thus! She is -a dangerous witch! She is a terrible young witch!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How comes this?” said the chief again, excitedly. -His associates also demanded to know how this business -came to be possible, and what was its meaning. -The room was filled with the shrill cries of the men denouncing -Garde more stridently than before, and with -the exclamations of astonishment and shouts to know -what had become of the witch they had come there to try.</p> - -<p class='c007'>During all this confusion, Garde was clinging to her -grandfather and begging him to take her home.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Have the girl stand forth,” commanded the chief -magistrate. “We must know how this business has -happened.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Three of the men laid hold of Garde and took her -from her wondering grandfather’s side. She regained -her composure by making a mighty effort.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Goody Dune was no witch!” she cried. “You all -know what a good, kind woman she has been among -you for years—till this madness came upon us! She -is a good woman—and I love her, for all she has done. -She is not a witch—you know she is not a witch!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The witnesses, who knew all the ways in which -witches were to be detected, raised their voices at once, -in protest.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Order in the Court!” commanded the magistrate. -“Young woman, have you connived to let this Goody -Dune escape?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She was no witch!” repeated Garde, courageously -now. “I knew you would try to send her to the gallows. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_433'>433</span>I knew she was fore-condemned! I could do -no less—and you men could have done no less, had you -been less mad!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Blasphemy!” cried Higgler. “She is convicted -out of her own mouth!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“When a witch is young,” cried Pinchbecker, “she -can work ten times more awful evils and arts!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>One of the magistrates spoke: “No woman ever yet -was beautiful and clever both at one time. If she be -the one, she cannot be the other. This young woman, -being both, is clearly a witch!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She’s a witch—worse than the other!” screamed -another of the witnesses. “Condemn her! Condemn -her!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, Grandther,” cried Garde, “take me away -from these terrible men!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph now came sneaking forth, out of the -shadow.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This is that same young woman,” he cried, “who -lost the colony its charter!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The charter!” screamed David Donner, instantly -a maniac. “The charter! She lost us the charter! -Witch! The charter! Condemn her! Kill her! -The charter! She! She! She! Kill her!—Where -is she? The charter! The charter! The charter!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>With his two bony, palsied hands raised high above -his head, like fearful talons, with his white hair awry -over his brow, with his eyes blazing with maniacal fire, -the old man had suddenly stood up and now he came -staggering forward, screaming in a blood-chilling voice -and making such an apparition of horror that the men -fell backward from his path.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_434'>434</span>“Oh Grandther! Grandther!” cried Garde, holding -forth her arms and going toward him, to catch him -as she saw him come stumbling toward her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Witch!” screamed the old man shrilly. “Kill -her! Kill her! I never coerced her! The charter! -Witch! Witch! The charter!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He suddenly choked. He clutched at his heart in a -wild, spasmodic manner, and with froth bursting from -his lips, he fell headlong to the floor and was dead.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She has killed him!” cried Higgler. “She has -killed him with her hellish power!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Witch! A murderous young witch!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Condemn her! Condemn her!” came in a terrible -chorus.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“To the gallows! Hale her to the gallows!” Randolph -added from the rear.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The man called Gallows thought this referred to -him. He grinned. He and the two brutes who had -handled many defenseless witches before, came -toward the girl, who stood as if petrified, her hand -pressed against her heart in dumb anguish.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Suddenly the door was thrown open and in there came -Governor Phipps, cane in hand, periwig adjusted, cloak -of office on his shoulders. He was blowing his nose as -he entered, so that no one saw his face plainly, yet all -knew the tall, commanding figure and the dress.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What, a trial, at night, and without me?” he -roared, in a towering rage, which many present had -already learned to fear. “Is this your province, you -magistrates, assembled to deal out justice? Do you -heckle a defenseless woman like this? Disperse!—the -whole of you, instantly. I command it! If you have -<span class='pageno' id='Page_435'>435</span>condemned, I pardon. The prisoner will leave the -court with me!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The men, craven that they were, he could deceive, -but Garde knew the voice, the gait, the bearing of her -lover. She sprang to his side with a little cry of -gladness and clung to him wildly, as his strong arm -swung boldly about her waist. She could hardly -more than stand, so tremendous had been the stress of -her fearful emotions.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Scorning to expend further scolding or shaming upon -them, and comprehending that delay had no part in -his game, Adam turned his back on the slinking company -and strode away, half supporting Garde, who hung -so limply in his hold.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph, baffled, afraid to reveal himself by denouncing -the imposture which he had been only a -second behind Garde in detecting, stole close to his -henchmen and whispered the truth in their ears.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Higgler and Pinchbecker, conscious of the blood of -Adam on their hands, felt their knees knock suddenly -together. The man must be the very devil himself.</p> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_436'>436</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XVI.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>THE GAUNTLET RUN.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>With</span> his bride up behind him on his horse, the -rover spurred swiftly away from the parson’s, still within -the hour, in which he had promised to return to his -wedding. Unafraid of whatsoever the world, before -or behind, might contain, while her lover-husband -lived at her side, Garde felt a sense of exhilaration, at -leaving Boston, such as she had never known in all -her life.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With her grandfather dead and Goody no longer at -the little cottage on the skirts of town, she had no -ties remaining, save those at the houses of Soam and -Phipps. And what were these, when weighed in the -balance against Adam Rust—her Adam,—her mighty -lord?</p> - -<p class='c007'>Trembling and clinging as she was, he had carried -her off. Gladly she had gone to the parson’s. Her -heart now rejoiced, as he told her that Massachusetts -was behind them forever. For its people, with their -harsh, mirthless lives of austerity and fanaticism, she -had only love enough to give them her pity. But her -life was life indeed, when, ever and anon, Adam halted -the horse, lest she fear a fall, and twisted about to -give her a kiss and a chuckle of love and to tell of the -way he had cheated the mob and the court of their -witches.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_437'>437</span>“Make no doubt of it, you are a witch—one of -the sweetest, cleverest, bravest, most adorable little -witches that ever lived,” he said, “and I love you and -love you for it, my darling wife!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>They had left the town early in the morning. By -break of day they were not so far from Boston as Adam -could have wished. The horse had been wearied by -carrying double, when he conveyed Goody Dune to a -place of safety,—so that the old woman could subsequently -join himself and Garde in New Amsterdam,—and -therefore he had halted the animal humanely, -from time to time, as the load under which the good -beast was now working was not a trifle.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Having avoided the main road, for the greater part -of the remaining hours of darkness, Adam deemed it -safe at last to return to the highway, as he thought it -unlikely they had been pursued under any circumstances. -Thus the sun came up as they were quietly -jogging along toward a copse of trees through which -the road went winding with many an invitation of -beauty to beckon them on.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Crossing a noisy little brook, the rover permitted the -horse to stop for a drink. Not to be wasting the precious -time, Adam turned himself half way around in -the saddle, as he had done so frequently before, and -gave his bride a fair morning salute.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He had then barely ridden the horse a rod from the -stream, when, without the slightest warning, the figure -of Gallows, mounted on a great black steed, suddenly -broke from cover among the trees and bore down upon -them.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The great hulk, sword in hand, made a quick dash -<span class='pageno' id='Page_438'>438</span>toward the defenceless two, and slashed at Garde with -all his fearful might.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Jerking his horse nearly out of the road, Adam -swung from the line of the brute’s cowardly stroke, yet -before he could do aught to prevent it, Gallows righted, -flung out his leaden fist and dragged the girl fairly off -from her seat, till she struck on the back of her head, -among the rocks of the road, and lay there unconscious, -and almost beneath the tread of the horse’s prancing -feet.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then the monster spurred at his horse and turning -him back, rode to drive him madly over the prostrate -form in the dust.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Making a short, sharp cry of anger, Adam whipped -out his sword and dashed upon the murderous butcher -before he could get within fifteen feet of Garde, where -she lay in the sunlight.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Gallows had plenty of time to see him coming. The -two met in a tremendous collision of steel on steel -that sounded a clangor through the woods and sent the -two swords flying from their owners’ grips.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Disarmed, the pair thudded together in a swift and -hot embrace, sawing their horses close in, the more -firmly and straight erect to hold their seats.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You be a fool and I be the fool-killer!” roared -Gallows, hoarsely. He tugged with his giant strength, -to drag Adam fairly across to his own big saddle, where -he could either break his back or beat him to death -with the butt of a pistol, which he was trying to draw -with the hand that held the reins.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Slipping his wrist under the chin and his hand -around to the fellow’s massive shoulder, Adam tilted -<span class='pageno' id='Page_439'>439</span>back the heavy head with a force so great that Gallows -was glad to release his hold, else he would surely have -toppled from his perch.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The horses leaped a little apart. Back their riders -jerked them. Again the two big human forms shot together, -and clung in a fierce embrace, like two massive -chunks of iron, welded together by their impact. Once -more Gallows used his great brute strength, while -Rust employed his wit and got his same terrible leverage -on the monster’s neck.</p> - -<p class='c007'>For a moment Gallows fought to try to break the -hold, and to drag his opponent headlong from his -horse, by kicking Adam’s animal stoutly in the flank. -But Adam was inflicting such an agony upon him as -he could not endure. They broke away, only to rush -for the third time, back to this giant wrestling.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The fool will never learn. I shall kill him yet!” -cried Rust to himself, for he went for Gallows’s neck -as before and got it again in his hold.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He threw a tremendous strength into the struggle. -Gallows let out a bellow. Releasing the reins, he threw -both his arms about his foe and deliberately fell from -his seat, with the intention of crushing Rust beneath -his weight, on the ground.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Adam’s turn in the air was the work of the expert -wrestler. The horses shied nervously away.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The two were up on their feet and telescoped abruptly -in one compact, struggling mass, as if two malleable -statues of heroic size had suddenly been bent -and intertwisted together.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With his ox-like force Gallows began to force Adam -backward. Adam let him expend himself in this -<span class='pageno' id='Page_440'>440</span>manner for a moment. He then discovered the great -hulk’s design. He meant to force the rover to where -Garde was still lying, and so to trample upon her till -the life should be stamped and ground from her helpless -form.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Randolph had sent him to commit this final infamy.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The rage that leaped up in Adam’s breast was a terrible -thing. He feinted to drop as if in exhaustion. -Gallows loosened his hold to snatch a better one, at -once. In that second Adam dealt him a blow in the -stomach that all but felled him where he stood.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Before he could straighten to recover, Rust was upon -him like a tiger. Getting around the great brute’s -side, he threw both hands around the short, thick neck -and twisted himself into position so that he and Gallows -were placed nearly back to back. Then with one -movement he lifted at the man’s whole weight, with -the monster’s head as a lever, hauled fiercely backward. -Into the action he threw such a mighty rush of strength -that Gallows was hoisted bodily off the ground, for a -second, and then his neck gave forth a tremendous snap -and was broken so fearfully that one of the jagged ends -of a vertebra stabbed outward through the flesh, and -dripped with red.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The whole dead weight of the fellow’s carcass rested -for a second on Rust’s back and shoulder, and then -Adam let him fall to the ground, where, like a slain -hog, he rolled heavily over and moved no more.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Panting, fierce-eyed, ready to slay him again, Adam -stood above the body for a moment, his jaws set, his -fists clenched hard in the rage still upon him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then he heard a little moan, and turning about saw -<span class='pageno' id='Page_441'>441</span>Garde, attempting to raise herself upward, in the road. -He ran to her instantly and propped her up on his -knee.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Dearest, dearest,” he said, “are you badly hurt? -Garde, let me help you. Don’t look—don’t look -there. It’s all right. Here, let me get you back to -the shade.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He took her up tenderly in his arms and carried her -out of the road to a near-by bank of moss. Here he -sat her down, with her back to a tree, and ran to fill -his hat with water from the stream.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The two horses, having stopped to take a supplementary -drink, and a nibble at the grass, were easily caught. -The rover secured them both and tied them quickly to -a bush, with the dragging reins. Then back to Garde -he ran with the water.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, thank you, dear,” she said, “I don’t think I -am hurt. But with the fright, and the fall, I think -I must have fainted.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Thank God!” said Adam, as she drank from his -hat and smiled in his face, a little faintly, but with an -infinite love in her two brown eyes. “Thank God, -for this delivery. There will be no more trouble. I -feel it! I know it. At last we have run the gauntlet.”</p> -<hr class='c024' /> -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_442'>442</span> - <h2 class='c010'>CHAPTER XVII.<br /> <br /><span class='c019'>BEWITCHED.</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c020'><span class='sc'>In</span> his tidy little house in New Amsterdam, Adam -sat reading a letter from Governor William Phipps, -written at Boston.</p> - -<p class='c025'>“I forgyve you y<sup>r</sup> merrie empersonashun and all ye -other things alsoe, save y<sup>e</sup> going away without goode-bye,” -he read, “but let it pass. I w<sup>d</sup> write to say God -Blesse you bothe. And as I have never known such a -goode blade as y<sup>rs</sup> in fight, I w<sup>d</sup> offer you to make you -my commander of ye forces to goe in war against ye -French, where they do threat to harasse our peeple as -of yore——”</p> - -<p class='c023'>Adam halted here and looked up at the battered old -sword on the wall. His thought went truant, to his -helpmate, away for a few minutes’ walk to Goody -Dune’s. He shook his head at the Governor’s generous -offer.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, well, William,” he said aloud, “I don’t know. -I don’t know what may be the matter, but—no more -fighting for me, old comrade. I think it must be that -I—am bewitched.”</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c003'> - <div>THE END.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003' /> -</div> -<p class='c007'> </p> -<div class='tnbox'> - - <ul class='ul_1 c003'> - <li>Transcriber’s Notes: - <ul class='ul_2'> - <li>Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected. - </li> - <li>Typographical errors were silently corrected. - </li> - <li>Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant - form was found in this book. - </li> - </ul> - </li> - </ul> - -</div> -<p class='c007'> </p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WHEN A WITCH IS YOUNG ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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. 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