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diff --git a/old/narab10.txt b/old/narab10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9b46bc6 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/narab10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11971 @@ +The Project Gutenberg Etext of New Arabian Nights, by Stevenson +#36 in our series by Robert Louis Stevenson + + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world, be sure to check +the copyright laws for your country before posting these files!! + +Please take a look at the important information in this header. +We encourage you to keep this file on your own disk, keeping an +electronic path open for the next readers. Do not remove this. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**Etexts Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*These Etexts Prepared By Hundreds of Volunteers and Donations* + +Information on contacting Project Gutenberg to get Etexts, and +further information is included below. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +New Arabian Nights by Robert Louis Stevenson +Scanned and proofed by David Price +ccx074@coventry.ac.uk + + + + + +NEW ARABIAN NIGHTS + + + + +Contents: + +The Suicide Club +The Rajah's Diamond +The Pavilion on the Links +A Lodging for the Night - a Story of Francis Villon +The Sire de Maletroit's Door +Providence and the Guitar + + + + +THE SUICIDE CLUB + + + + +STORY OF THE YOUNG MAN WITH THE CREAM TARTS + + + +During his residence in London, the accomplished Prince Florizel of +Bohemia gained the affection of all classes by the seduction of his +manner and by a well-considered generosity. He was a remarkable +man even by what was known of him; and that was but a small part of +what he actually did. Although of a placid temper in ordinary +circumstances, and accustomed to take the world with as much +philosophy as any ploughman, the Prince of Bohemia was not without +a taste for ways of life more adventurous and eccentric than that +to which he was destined by his birth. Now and then, when he fell +into a low humour, when there was no laughable play to witness in +any of the London theatres, and when the season of the year was +unsuitable to those field sports in which he excelled all +competitors, he would summon his confidant and Master of the Horse, +Colonel Geraldine, and bid him prepare himself against an evening +ramble. The Master of the Horse was a young officer of a brave and +even temerarious disposition. He greeted the news with delight, +and hastened to make ready. Long practice and a varied +acquaintance of life had given him a singular facility in disguise; +he could adapt not only his face and bearing, but his voice and +almost his thoughts, to those of any rank, character, or nation; +and in this way he diverted attention from the Prince, and +sometimes gained admission for the pair into strange societies. +The civil authorities were never taken into the secret of these +adventures; the imperturbable courage of the one and the ready +invention and chivalrous devotion of the other had brought them +through a score of dangerous passes; and they grew in confidence as +time went on. + +One evening in March they were driven by a sharp fall of sleet into +an Oyster Bar in the immediate neighbourhood of Leicester Square. +Colonel Geraldine was dressed and painted to represent a person +connected with the Press in reduced circumstances; while the Prince +had, as usual, travestied his appearance by the addition of false +whiskers and a pair of large adhesive eyebrows. These lent him a +shaggy and weather-beaten air, which, for one of his urbanity, +formed the most impenetrable disguise. Thus equipped, the +commander and his satellite sipped their brandy and soda in +security. + +The bar was full of guests, male and female; but though more than +one of these offered to fall into talk with our adventurers, none +of them promised to grow interesting upon a nearer acquaintance. +There was nothing present but the lees of London and the +commonplace of disrespectability; and the Prince had already fallen +to yawning, and was beginning to grow weary of the whole excursion, +when the swing doors were pushed violently open, and a young man, +followed by a couple of commissionaires, entered the bar. Each of +the commissionaires carried a large dish of cream tarts under a +cover, which they at once removed; and the young man made the round +of the company, and pressed these confections upon every one's +acceptance with an exaggerated courtesy. Sometimes his offer was +laughingly accepted; sometimes it was firmly, or even harshly, +rejected. In these latter cases the new-comer always ate the tart +himself, with some more or less humorous commentary. + +At last he accosted Prince Florizel. + +"Sir," said he, with a profound obeisance, proffering the tart at +the same time between his thumb and forefinger, "will you so far +honour an entire stranger? I can answer for the quality of the +pastry, having eaten two dozen and three of them myself since five +o'clock." + +"I am in the habit," replied the Prince, "of looking not so much to +the nature of a gift as to the spirit in which it is offered." + +"The spirit, sir," returned the young man, with another bow, "is +one of mockery." + +"Mockery?" repeated Florizel. "And whom do you propose to mock?" + +"I am not here to expound my philosophy," replied the other, "but +to distribute these cream tarts. If I mention that I heartily +include myself in the ridicule of the transaction, I hope you will +consider honour satisfied and condescend. If not, you will +constrain me to eat my twenty-eighth, and I own to being weary of +the exercise." + +"You touch me," said the Prince, "and I have all the will in the +world to rescue you from this dilemma, but upon one condition. If +my friend and I eat your cakes - for which we have neither of us +any natural inclination - we shall expect you to join us at supper +by way of recompense." + +The young man seemed to reflect. + +"I have still several dozen upon hand," he said at last; "and that +will make it necessary for me to visit several more bars before my +great affair is concluded. This will take some time; and if you +are hungry - " + +The Prince interrupted him with a polite gesture. + +"My friend and I will accompany you," he said; "for we have already +a deep interest in your very agreeable mode of passing an evening. +And now that the preliminaries of peace are settled, allow me to +sign the treaty for both." + +And the Prince swallowed the tart with the best grace imaginable. + +"It is delicious," said he. + +"I perceive you are a connoisseur," replied the young man. + +Colonel Geraldine likewise did honour to the pastry; and every one +in that bar having now either accepted or refused his delicacies, +the young man with the cream tarts led the way to another and +similar establishment. The two commissionaires, who seemed to have +grown accustomed to their absurd employment, followed immediately +after; and the Prince and the Colonel brought up the rear, arm in +arm, and smiling to each other as they went. In this order the +company visited two other taverns, where scenes were enacted of a +like nature to that already described - some refusing, some +accepting, the favours of this vagabond hospitality, and the young +man himself eating each rejected tart. + +On leaving the third saloon the young man counted his store. There +were but nine remaining, three in one tray and six in the other. + +"Gentlemen," said he, addressing himself to his two new followers, +"I am unwilling to delay your supper. I am positively sure you +must be hungry. I feel that I owe you a special consideration. +And on this great day for me, when I am closing a career of folly +by my most conspicuously silly action, I wish to behave handsomely +to all who give me countenance. Gentlemen, you shall wait no +longer. Although my constitution is shattered by previous +excesses, at the risk of my life I liquidate the suspensory +condition." + +With these words he crushed the nine remaining tarts into his +mouth, and swallowed them at a single movement each. Then, turning +to the commissionaires, he gave them a couple of sovereigns. + +"I have to thank you," said be, "for your extraordinary patience." + +And he dismissed them with a bow apiece. For some seconds he stood +looking at the purse from which he had just paid his assistants, +then, with a laugh, he tossed it into the middle of the street, and +signified his readiness for supper. + +In a small French restaurant in Soho, which had enjoyed an +exaggerated reputation for some little while, but had already begun +to be forgotten, and in a private room up two pair of stairs, the +three companions made a very elegant supper, and drank three or +four bottles of champagne, talking the while upon indifferent +subjects. The young man was fluent and gay, but he laughed louder +than was natural in a person of polite breeding; his hands trembled +violently, and his voice took sudden and surprising inflections, +which seemed to be independent of his will. The dessert had been +cleared away, and all three had lighted their cigars, when the +Prince addressed him in these words:- + +"You will, I am sure, pardon my curiosity. What I have seen of you +has greatly pleased but even more puzzled me. And though I should +be loth to seem indiscreet, I must tell you that my friend and I +are persons very well worthy to be entrusted with a secret. We +have many of our own, which we are continually revealing to +improper ears. And if, as I suppose, your story is a silly one, +you need have no delicacy with us, who are two of the silliest men +in England. My name is Godall, Theophilus Godall; my friend is +Major Alfred Hammersmith - or at least, such is the name by which +he chooses to be known. We pass our lives entirely in the search +for extravagant adventures; and there is no extravagance with which +we are not capable of sympathy." + +"I like you, Mr. Godall," returned the young man; "you inspire me +with a natural confidence; and I have not the slightest objection +to your friend the Major, whom I take to be a nobleman in +masquerade. At least, I am sure he is no soldier." + +The Colonel smiled at this compliment to the perfection of his art; +and the young man went on in a more animated manner. + +"There is every reason why I should not tell you my story. Perhaps +that is just the reason why I am going to do so. At least, you +seem so well prepared to hear a tale of silliness that I cannot +find it in my heart to disappoint you. My name, in spite of your +example, I shall keep to myself. My age is not essential to the +narrative. I am descended from my ancestors by ordinary +generation, and from them I inherited the very eligible human +tenement which I still occupy and a fortune of three hundred pounds +a year. I suppose they also handed on to me a hare-brain humour, +which it has been my chief delight to indulge. I received a good +education. I can play the violin nearly well enough to earn money +in the orchestra of a penny gaff, but not quite. The same remark +applies to the flute and the French horn. I learned enough of +whist to lose about a hundred a year at that scientific game. My +acquaintance with French was sufficient to enable me to squander +money in Paris with almost the same facility as in London. In +short, I am a person full of manly accomplishments. I have had +every sort of adventure, including a duel about nothing. Only two +months ago I met a young lady exactly suited to my taste in mind +and body; I found my heart melt; I saw that I had come upon my fate +at last, and was in the way to fall in love. But when I came to +reckon up what remained to me of my capital, I found it amounted to +something less than four hundred pounds! I ask you fairly - can a +man who respects himself fall in love on four hundred pounds? I +concluded, certainly not; left the presence of my charmer, and +slightly accelerating my usual rate of expenditure, came this +morning to my last eighty pounds. This I divided into two equal +parts; forty I reserved for a particular purpose; the remaining +forty I was to dissipate before the night. I have passed a very +entertaining day, and played many farces besides that of the cream +tarts which procured me the advantage of your acquaintance; for I +was determined, as I told you, to bring a foolish career to a still +more foolish conclusion; and when you saw me throw my purse into +the street, the forty pounds were at an end. Now you know me as +well as I know myself: a fool, but consistent in his folly; and, +as I will ask you to believe, neither a whimperer nor a coward." + +From the whole tone of the young man's statement it was plain that +he harboured very bitter and contemptuous thoughts about himself. +His auditors were led to imagine that his love affair was nearer +his heart than he admitted, and that he had a design on his own +life. The farce of the cream tarts began to have very much the air +of a tragedy in disguise. + +"Why, is this not odd," broke out Geraldine, giving a look to +Prince Florizel, "that we three fellows should have met by the +merest accident in so large a wilderness as London, and should be +so nearly in the same condition?" + +"How?" cried the young man. "Are you, too, ruined? Is this supper +a folly like my cream tarts? Has the devil brought three of his +own together for a last carouse?" + +"The devil, depend upon it, can sometimes do a very gentlemanly +thing," returned Prince Florizel; "and I am so much touched by this +coincidence, that, although we are not entirely in the same case, I +am going to put an end to the disparity. Let your heroic treatment +of the last cream tarts be my example." + +So saying, the Prince drew out his purse and took from it a small +bundle of bank-notes. + +"You see, I was a week or so behind you, but I mean to catch you up +and come neck and neck into the winning-post," he continued. +"This," laying one of the notes upon the table, "will suffice for +the bill. As for the rest - " + +He tossed them into the fire, and they went up the chimney in a +single blaze. + +The young man tried to catch his arm, but as the table was between +them his interference came too late. + +"Unhappy man," he cried, "you should not have burned them all! You +should have kept forty pounds." + +"Forty pounds!" repeated the Prince. "Why, in heaven's name, forty +pounds?" + +"Why not eighty?" cried the Colonel; "for to my certain knowledge +there must have been a hundred in the bundle." + +"It was only forty pounds he needed," said the young man gloomily. +"But without them there is no admission. The rule is strict. +Forty pounds for each. Accursed life, where a man cannot even die +without money!" + +The Prince and the Colonel exchanged glances. "Explain yourself," +said the latter. "I have still a pocket-book tolerably well lined, +and I need not say how readily I should share my wealth with +Godall. But I must know to what end: you must certainly tell us +what you mean." + +The young man seemed to awaken; he looked uneasily from one to the +other, and his face flushed deeply. + +"You are not fooling me?" he asked. "You are indeed ruined men +like me?" + +"Indeed, I am for my part," replied the Colonel. + +"And for mine," said the Prince, "I have given you proof. Who but +a ruined man would throw his notes into the fire? The action +speaks for itself." + +"A ruined man - yes," returned the other suspiciously, "or else a +millionaire." + +"Enough, sir," said the Prince; "I have said so, and I am not +accustomed to have my word remain in doubt." + +"Ruined?" said the young man. "Are you ruined, like me? Are you, +after a life of indulgence, come to such a pass that you can only +indulge yourself in one thing more? Are you" - he kept lowering +his voice as he went on - "are you going to give yourselves that +last indulgence? Are you going to avoid the consequences of your +folly by the one infallible and easy path? Are you going to give +the slip to the sheriff's officers of conscience by the one open +door?" + +Suddenly he broke off and attempted to laugh. + +"Here is your health!" he cried, emptying his glass, "and good +night to you, my merry ruined men." + +Colonel Geraldine caught him by the arm as he was about to rise. + +"You lack confidence in us," he said, "and you are wrong. To all +your questions I make answer in the affirmative. But I am not so +timid, and can speak the Queen's English plainly. We too, like +yourself, have had enough of life, and are determined to die. +Sooner or later, alone or together, we meant to seek out death and +beard him where he lies ready. Since we have met you, and your +case is more pressing, let it be to-night - and at once - and, if +you will, all three together. Such a penniless trio," he cried, +"should go arm in arm into the halls of Pluto, and give each other +some countenance among the shades!" + +Geraldine had hit exactly on the manners and intonations that +became the part he was playing. The Prince himself was disturbed, +and looked over at his confidant with a shade of doubt. As for the +young man, the flush came back darkly into his cheek, and his eyes +threw out a spark of light. + +"You are the men for me!" he cried, with an almost terrible gaiety. +"Shake hands upon the bargain!" (his hand was cold and wet). "You +little know in what a company you will begin the march! You little +know in what a happy moment for yourselves you partook of my cream +tarts! I am only a unit, but I am a unit in an army. I know +Death's private door. I am one of his familiars, and can show you +into eternity without ceremony and yet without scandal." + +They called upon him eagerly to explain his meaning. + +"Can you muster eighty pounds between you?" he demanded. + +Geraldine ostentatiously consulted his pocket-book, and replied in +the affirmative. + +"Fortunate beings!" cried the young man. "Forty pounds is the +entry money of the Suicide Club." + +"The Suicide Club," said the Prince, "why, what the devil is that?" + +"Listen," said the young man; "this is the age of conveniences, and +I have to tell you of the last perfection of the sort. We have +affairs in different places; and hence railways were invented. +Railways separated us infallibly from our friends; and so +telegraphs were made that we might communicate speedier at great +distances. Even in hotels we have lifts to spare us a climb of +some hundred steps. Now, we know that life is only a stage to play +the fool upon as long as the part amuses us. There was one more +convenience lacking to modern comfort; a decent, easy way to quit +that stage; the back stairs to liberty; or, as I said this moment, +Death's private door. This, my two fellow-rebels, is supplied by +the Suicide Club. Do not suppose that you and I are alone, or even +exceptional in the highly reasonable desire that we profess. A +large number of our fellowmen, who have grown heartily sick of the +performance in which they are expected to join daily and all their +lives long, are only kept from flight by one or two considerations. +Some have families who would be shocked, or even blamed, if the +matter became public; others have a weakness at heart and recoil +from the circumstances of death. That is, to some extent, my own +experience. I cannot put a pistol to my head and draw the trigger; +for something stronger than myself withholds the act; and although +I loathe life, I have not strength enough in my body to take hold +of death and be done with it. For such as I, and for all who +desire to be out of the coil without posthumous scandal, the +Suicide Club has been inaugurated. How this has been managed, what +is its history, or what may be its ramifications in other lands, I +am myself uninformed; and what I know of its constitution, I am not +at liberty to communicate to you. To this extent, however, I am at +your service. If you are truly tired of life, I will introduce you +to-night to a meeting; and if not to-night, at least some time +within the week, you will be easily relieved of your existences. +It is now (consulting his watch) eleven; by half-past, at latest, +we must leave this place; so that you have half-an-hour before you +to consider my proposal. It is more serious than a cream tart," he +added, with a smile; "and I suspect more palatable." + +"More serious, certainly," returned Colonel Geraldine; "and as it +is so much more so, will you allow me five minutes' speech in +private with my friend, Mr. Godall?" + +"It is only fair," answered the young man. "If you will permit, I +will retire." + +"You will be very obliging," said the Colonel. + +As soon as the two were alone - "What," said Prince Florizel, "is +the use of this confabulation, Geraldine? I see you are flurried, +whereas my mind is very tranquilly made up. I will see the end of +this." + +"Your Highness," said the Colonel, turning pale; "let me ask you to +consider the importance of your life, not only to your friends, but +to the public interest. 'If not to-night,' said this madman; but +supposing that to-night some irreparable disaster were to overtake +your Highness's person, what, let me ask you, what would be my +despair, and what the concern and disaster of a great nation?" + +"I will see the end of this," repeated the Prince in his most +deliberate tones; "and have the kindness, Colonel Geraldine, to +remember and respect your word of honour as a gentleman. Under no +circumstances, recollect, nor without my special authority, are you +to betray the incognito under which I choose to go abroad. These +were my commands, which I now reiterate. And now," he added, "let +me ask you to call for the bill." + +Colonel Geraldine bowed in submission; but he had a very white face +as he summoned the young man of the cream tarts, and issued his +directions to the waiter. The Prince preserved his undisturbed +demeanour, and described a Palais Royal farce to the young suicide +with great humour and gusto. He avoided the Colonel's appealing +looks without ostentation, and selected another cheroot with more +than usual care. Indeed, he was now the only man of the party who +kept any command over his nerves. + +The bill was discharged, the Prince giving the whole change of the +note to the astonished waiter; and the three drove off in a four- +wheeler. They were not long upon the way before the cab stopped at +the entrance to a rather dark court. Here all descended. + +After Geraldine had paid the fare, the young man turned, and +addressed Prince Florizel as follows:- + +"It is still time, Mr. Godall, to make good your escape into +thraldom. And for you too, Major Hammersmith. Reflect well before +you take another step; and if your hearts say no - here are the +cross-roads." + +"Lead on, sir," said the Prince. "I am not the man to go back from +a thing once said." + +"Your coolness does me good," replied their guide. "I have never +seen any one so unmoved at this conjuncture; and yet you are not +the first whom I have escorted to this door. More than one of my +friends has preceded me, where I knew I must shortly follow. But +this is of no interest to you. Wait me here for only a few +moments; I shall return as soon as I have arranged the +preliminaries of your introduction." + +And with that the young man, waving his hand to his companions, +turned into the court, entered a doorway and disappeared. + +"Of all our follies," said Colonel Geraldine in a low voice, "this +is the wildest and most dangerous." + +"I perfectly believe so," returned the Prince. + +"We have still," pursued the Colonel, "a moment to ourselves. Let +me beseech your Highness to profit by the opportunity and retire. +The consequences of this step are so dark, and may be so grave, +that I feel myself justified in pushing a little farther than usual +the liberty which your Highness is so condescending as to allow me +in private." + +"Am I to understand that Colonel Geraldine is afraid?" asked his +Highness, taking his cheroot from his lips, and looking keenly into +the other's face. + +"My fear is certainly not personal," replied the other proudly; "of +that your Highness may rest well assured." + +"I had supposed as much," returned the Prince, with undisturbed +good humour; "but I was unwilling to remind you of the difference +in our stations. No more - no more," he added, seeing Geraldine +about to apologise, "you stand excused." + +And he smoked placidly, leaning against a railing, until the young +man returned. + +"Well," he asked, "has our reception been arranged?" + +"Follow me," was the reply. "The President will see you in the +cabinet. And let me warn you to be frank in your answers. I have +stood your guarantee; but the club requires a searching inquiry +before admission; for the indiscretion of a single member would +lead to the dispersion of the whole society for ever." + +The Prince and Geraldine put their heads together for a moment. +"Bear me out in this," said the one; and "bear me out in that," +said the other; and by boldly taking up the characters of men with +whom both were acquainted, they had come to an agreement in a +twinkling, and were ready to follow their guide into the +President's cabinet. + +There were no formidable obstacles to pass. The outer door stood +open; the door of the cabinet was ajar; and there, in a small but +very high apartment, the young man left them once more. + +"He will be here immediately," he said, with a nod, as he +disappeared. + +Voices were audible in the cabinet through the folding doors which +formed one end; and now and then the noise of a champagne cork, +followed by a burst of laughter, intervened among the sounds of +conversation. A single tall window looked out upon the river and +the embankment; and by the disposition of the lights they judged +themselves not far from Charing Cross station. The furniture was +scanty, and the coverings worn to the thread; and there was nothing +movable except a hand-bell in the centre of a round table, and the +hats and coats of a considerable party hung round the wall on pegs. + +"What sort of a den is this?" said Geraldine. + +"That is what I have come to see," replied the Prince. "If they +keep live devils on the premises, the thing may grow amusing." + +Just then the folding door was opened no more than was necessary +for the passage of a human body; and there entered at the same +moment a louder buzz of talk, and the redoubtable President of the +Suicide Club. The President was a man of fifty or upwards; large +and rambling in his gait, with shaggy side whiskers, a bald top to +his head, and a veiled grey eye, which now and then emitted a +twinkle. His mouth, which embraced a large cigar, he kept +continually screwing round and round and from side to side, as he +looked sagaciously and coldly at the strangers. He was dressed in +light tweeds, with his neck very open in a striped shirt collar; +and carried a minute book under one arm. + +"Good evening," said he, after he had closed the door behind him. +"I am told you wish to speak with me." + +"We have a desire, sir, to join the Suicide Club," replied the +Colonel. + +The President rolled his cigar about in his mouth. "What is that?" +he said abruptly. + +"Pardon me," returned the Colonel, "but I believe you are the +person best qualified to give us information on that point." + +"I?" cried the President. "A Suicide Club? Come, come! this is a +frolic for All Fools' Day. I can make allowances for gentlemen who +get merry in their liquor; but let there be an end to this." + +"Call your Club what you will," said the Colonel, "you have some +company behind these doors, and we insist on joining it." + +"Sir," returned the President curtly, "you have made a mistake. +This is a private house, and you must leave it instantly." + +The Prince had remained quietly in his seat throughout this little +colloquy; but now, when the Colonel looked over to him, as much as +to say, "Take your answer and come away, for God's sake!" he drew +his cheroot from his mouth, and spoke - + +"I have come here," said he, "upon the invitation of a friend of +yours. He has doubtless informed you of my intention in thus +intruding on your party. Let me remind you that a person in my +circumstances has exceedingly little to bind him, and is not at all +likely to tolerate much rudeness. I am a very quiet man, as a +usual thing; but, my dear sir, you are either going to oblige me in +the little matter of which you are aware, or you shall very +bitterly repent that you ever admitted me to your ante-chamber." + +The President laughed aloud. + +"That is the way to speak," said he. "You are a man who is a man. +You know the way to my heart, and can do what you like with me. +Will you," he continued, addressing Geraldine, "will you step aside +for a few minutes? I shall finish first with your companion, and +some of the club's formalities require to be fulfilled in private." + +With these words he opened the door of a small closet, into which +he shut the Colonel. + +"I believe in you," he said to Florizel, as soon as they were +alone; "but are you sure of your friend?" + +"Not so sure as I am of myself, though he has more cogent reasons," +answered Florizel, "but sure enough to bring him here without +alarm. He has had enough to cure the most tenacious man of life. +He was cashiered the other day for cheating at cards." + +"A good reason, I daresay," replied the President; "at least, we +have another in the same case, and I feel sure of him. Have you +also been in the Service, may I ask?" + +"I have," was the reply; "but I was too lazy, I left it early." + +"What is your reason for being tired of life?" pursued the +President. + +"The same, as near as I can make out," answered the Prince; +"unadulterated laziness." + +The President started. "D-n it," said he, "you must have something +better than that." + +"I have no more money," added Florizel. "That is also a vexation, +without doubt. It brings my sense of idleness to an acute point." + +The President rolled his cigar round in his mouth for some seconds, +directing his gaze straight into the eyes of this unusual neophyte; +but the Prince supported his scrutiny with unabashed good temper. + +"If I had not a deal of experience," said the President at last, "I +should turn you off. But I know the world; and this much any way, +that the most frivolous excuses for a suicide are often the +toughest to stand by. And when I downright like a man, as I do +you, sir, I would rather strain the regulation than deny him." + +The Prince and the Colonel, one after the other, were subjected to +a long and particular interrogatory: the Prince alone; but +Geraldine in the presence of the Prince, so that the President +might observe the countenance of the one while the other was being +warmly cross-examined. The result was satisfactory; and the +President, after having booked a few details of each case, produced +a form of oath to be accepted. Nothing could be conceived more +passive than the obedience promised, or more stringent than the +terms by which the juror bound himself. The man who forfeited a +pledge so awful could scarcely have a rag of honour or any of the +consolations of religion left to him. Florizel signed the +document, but not without a shudder; the Colonel followed his +example with an air of great depression. Then the President +received the entry money; and without more ado, introduced the two +friends into the smoking-room of the Suicide Club. + +The smoking-room of the Suicide Club was the same height as the +cabinet into which it opened, but much larger, and papered from top +to bottom with an imitation of oak wainscot. A large and cheerful +fire and a number of gas-jets illuminated the company. The Prince +and his follower made the number up to eighteen. Most of the party +were smoking, and drinking champagne; a feverish hilarity reigned, +with sudden and rather ghastly pauses. + +"Is this a full meeting?" asked the Prince. + +"Middling," said the President. "By the way," he added, "if you +have any money, it is usual to offer some champagne. It keeps up a +good spirit, and is one of my own little perquisites." + +"Hammersmith," said Florizel, "I may leave the champagne to you." + +And with that he turned away and began to go round among the +guests. Accustomed to play the host in the highest circles, he +charmed and dominated all whom he approached; there was something +at once winning and authoritative in his address; and his +extraordinary coolness gave him yet another distinction in this +half maniacal society. As he went from one to another he kept both +his eyes and ears open, and soon began to gain a general idea of +the people among whom he found himself. As in all other places of +resort, one type predominated: people in the prime of youth, with +every show of intelligence and sensibility in their appearance, but +with little promise of strength or the quality that makes success. +Few were much above thirty, and not a few were still in their +teens. They stood, leaning on tables and shifting on their feet; +sometimes they smoked extraordinarily fast, and sometimes they let +their cigars go out; some talked well, but the conversation of +others was plainly the result of nervous tension, and was equally +without wit or purport. As each new bottle of champagne was +opened, there was a manifest improvement in gaiety. Only two were +seated - one in a chair in the recess of the window, with his head +hanging and his hands plunged deep into his trouser pockets, pale, +visibly moist with perspiration, saying never a word, a very wreck +of soul and body; the other sat on the divan close by the chimney, +and attracted notice by a trenchant dissimilarity from all the +rest. He was probably upwards of forty, but he looked fully ten +years older; and Florizel thought he had never seen a man more +naturally hideous, nor one more ravaged by disease and ruinous +excitements. He was no more than skin and bone, was partly +paralysed, and wore spectacles of such unusual power, that his eyes +appeared through the glasses greatly magnified and distorted in +shape. Except the Prince and the President, he was the only person +in the room who preserved the composure of ordinary life. + +There was little decency among the members of the club. Some +boasted of the disgraceful actions, the consequences of which had +reduced them to seek refuge in death; and the others listened +without disapproval. There was a tacit understanding against moral +judgments; and whoever passed the club doors enjoyed already some +of the immunities of the tomb. They drank to each other's +memories, and to those of notable suicides in the past. They +compared and developed their different views of death - some +declaring that it was no more than blackness and cessation; others +full of a hope that that very night they should be scaling the +stars and commencing with the mighty dead. + +"To the eternal memory of Baron Trenck, the type of suicides!" +cried one. "He went out of a small cell into a smaller, that he +might come forth again to freedom." + +"For my part," said a second, "I wish no more than a bandage for my +eyes and cotton for my ears. Only they have no cotton thick enough +in this world." + +A third was for reading the mysteries of life in a future state; +and a fourth professed that he would never have joined the club, if +he had not been induced to believe in Mr. Darwin. + +"I could not bear," said this remarkable suicide, "to be descended +from an ape." + +Altogether, the Prince was disappointed by the bearing and +conversation of the members. + +"It does not seem to me," he thought, "a matter for so much +disturbance. If a man has made up his mind to kill himself, let +him do it, in God's name, like a gentleman. This flutter and big +talk is out of place." + +In the meanwhile Colonel Geraldine was a prey to the blackest +apprehensions; the club and its rules were still a mystery, and he +looked round the room for some one who should be able to set his +mind at rest. In this survey his eye lighted on the paralytic +person with the strong spectacles; and seeing him so exceedingly +tranquil, he besought the President, who was going in and out of +the room under a pressure of business, to present him to the +gentleman on the divan. + +The functionary explained the needlessness of all such formalities +within the club, but nevertheless presented Mr. Hammersmith to Mr. +Malthus. + +Mr. Malthus looked at the Colonel curiously, and then requested him +to take a seat upon his right. + +"You are a new-comer," he said, "and wish information? You have +come to the proper source. It is two years since I first visited +this charming club." + +The Colonel breathed again. If Mr. Malthus had frequented the +place for two years there could be little danger for the Prince in +a single evening. But Geraldine was none the less astonished, and +began to suspect a mystification. + +"What!" cried he, "two years! I thought - but indeed I see I have +been made the subject of a pleasantry." + +"By no means," replied Mr. Malthus mildly. "My case is peculiar. +I am not, properly speaking, a suicide at all; but, as it were, an +honorary member. I rarely visit the club twice in two months. My +infirmity and the kindness of the President have procured me these +little immunities, for which besides I pay at an advanced rate. +Even as it is my luck has been extraordinary." + +"I am afraid," said the Colonel, "that I must ask you to be more +explicit. You must remember that I am still most imperfectly +acquainted with the rules of the club." + +"An ordinary member who comes here in search of death like +yourself," replied the paralytic, "returns every evening until +fortune favours him. He can even, if he is penniless, get board +and lodging from the President: very fair, I believe, and clean, +although, of course, not luxurious; that could hardly be, +considering the exiguity (if I may so express myself) of the +subscription. And then the President's company is a delicacy in +itself." + +"Indeed!" cried Geraldine, "he had not greatly prepossessed me." + +"Ah!" said Mr. Malthus, "you do not know the man: the drollest +fellow! What stories! What cynicism! He knows life to admiration +and, between ourselves, is probably the most corrupt rogue in +Christendom." + +"And he also," asked the Colonel, "is a permanency - like yourself, +if I may say so without offence?" + +"Indeed, he is a permanency in a very different sense from me," +replied Mr. Malthus. "I have hem graciously spared, but I must go +at last. Now he never plays. He shuffles and deals for the club, +and makes the necessary arrangements. That man, my dear Mr. +Hammersmith, is the very soul of ingenuity. For three years he has +pursued in London his useful and, I think I may add, his artistic +calling; and not so much as a whisper of suspicion has been once +aroused. I believe him myself to be inspired. You doubtless +remember the celebrated case, six months ago, of the gentleman who +was accidentally poisoned in a chemists shop? That was one of the +least rich, one of the least racy, of his notions; but then, how +simple! and how safe!" + +"You astound me," said the Colonel. "Was that unfortunate +gentleman one of the - " He was about to say "victims"; but +bethinking himself in time, he substituted - "members of the club?" + +In the same flash of thought, it occurred to him that Mr. Malthus +himself had not at all spoken in the tone of one who is in love +with death; and he added hurriedly: + +"But I perceive I am still in the dark. You speak of shuffling and +dealing; pray for what end? And since you seem rather unwilling to +die than otherwise, I must own that I cannot conceive what brings +you here at all." + +"You say truly that you are in the dark," replied Mr. Malthus with +more animation. "Why, my dear sir, this club is the temple of +intoxication. If my enfeebled health could support the excitement +more often, you may depend upon it I should be more often here. It +requires all the sense of duty engendered by a long habit of ill- +health and careful regimen, to keep me from excess in this, which +is, I may say, my last dissipation. I have tried them all, sir," +he went on, laying his hand on Geraldine's arm, "all without +exception, and I declare to you, upon my honour, there is not one +of them that has not been grossly and untruthfully overrated. +People trifle with love. Now, I deny that love is a strong +passion. Fear is the strong passion; it is with fear that you must +trifle, if you wish to taste the intensest joys of living. Envy me +- envy me, sir," he added with a chuckle, "I am a coward!" + +Geraldine could scarcely repress a movement of repulsion for this +deplorable wretch; but he commanded himself with an effort, and +continued his inquiries. + +"How, sir," he asked, "is the excitement so artfully prolonged? and +where is there any element of uncertainty?" + +"I must tell you how the victim for every evening is selected," +returned Mr. Malthus; "and not only the victim, but another member, +who is to be the instrument in the club's hands, and death's high +priest for that occasion." + +"Good God!" said the Colonel, "do they then kill each other?" + +"The trouble of suicide is removed in that way," returned Malthus +with a nod. + +"Merciful heavens!" ejaculated the Colonel, "and may you - may I - +may the - my friend I mean - may any of us be pitched upon this +evening as the slayer of another man's body and immortal spirit? +Can such things be possible among men born of women? Oh! infamy of +infamies!" + +He was about to rise in his horror, when he caught the Prince's +eye. It was fixed upon him from across the room with a frowning +and angry stare. And in a moment Geraldine recovered his +composure. + +"After all," he added, "why not? And since you say the game is +interesting, VOGUE LA GALERE - I follow the club!" + +Mr. Malthus had keenly enjoyed the Colonel's amazement and disgust. +He had the vanity of wickedness; and it pleased him to see another +man give way to a generous movement, while he felt himself, in his +entire corruption, superior to such emotions. + +"You now, after your first moment of surprise," said he, "are in a +position to appreciate the delights of our society. You can see +how it combines the excitement of a gaming-table, a duel, and a +Roman amphitheatre. The Pagans did well enough; I cordially admire +the refinement of their minds; but it has been reserved for a +Christian country to attain this extreme, this quintessence, this +absolute of poignancy. You will understand how vapid are all +amusements to a man who has acquired a taste for this one. The +game we play," he continued, "is one of extreme simplicity. A full +pack - but I perceive you are about to see the thing in progress. +Will you lend me the help of your arm? I am unfortunately +paralysed." + +Indeed, just as Mr. Malthus was beginning his description, another +pair of folding-doors was thrown open, and the whole club began to +pass, not without some hurry, into the adjoining room. It was +similar in every respect to the one from which it was entered, but +somewhat differently furnished. The centre was occupied by a long +green table, at which the President sat shuffling a pack of cards +with great particularity. Even with the stick and the Colonel's +arm, Mr. Malthus walked with so much difficulty that every one was +seated before this pair and the Prince, who had waited for them, +entered the apartment; and, in consequence, the three took seats +close together at the lower end of the board. + +"It is a pack of fifty-two," whispered Mr. Malthus. "Watch for the +ace of spades, which is the sign of death, and the ace of clubs, +which designates the official of the night. Happy, happy young +men!" he added. "You have good eyes, and can follow the game. +Alas! I cannot tell an ace from a deuce across the table." + +And he proceeded to equip himself with a second pair of spectacles. + +"I must at least watch the faces," he explained. + +The Colonel rapidly informed his friend of all that he had learned +from the honorary member, and of the horrible alternative that lay +before them. The Prince was conscious of a deadly chill and a +contraction about his heart; he swallowed with difficulty, and +looked from side to side like a man in a maze. + +"One bold stroke," whispered the Colonel, "and we may still +escape." + +But the suggestion recalled the Prince's spirits. + +"Silence!" said be. "Let me see that you can play like a gentleman +for any stake, however serious." + +And he looked about him, once more to all appearance at his ease, +although his heart beat thickly, and he was conscious of an +unpleasant heat in his bosom. The members were all very quiet and +intent; every one was pale, but none so pale as Mr. Malthus. His +eyes protruded; his head kept nodding involuntarily upon his spine; +his hands found their way, one after the other, to his mouth, where +they made clutches at his tremulous and ashen lips. It was plain +that the honorary member enjoyed his membership on very startling +terms. + +"Attention, gentlemen!" said the President. + +And he began slowly dealing the cards about the table in the +reverse direction, pausing until each man had shown his card. +Nearly every one hesitated; and sometimes you would see a player's +fingers stumble more than once before he could turn over the +momentous slip of pasteboard. As the Prince's turn drew nearer, he +was conscious of a growing and almost suffocating excitement; but +he had somewhat of the gambler's nature, and recognised almost with +astonishment, that there was a degree of pleasure in his +sensations. The nine of clubs fell to his lot; the three of spades +was dealt to Geraldine; and the queen of hearts to Mr. Malthus, who +was unable to suppress a sob of relief. The young man of the cream +tarts almost immediately afterwards turned over the ace of clubs, +and remained frozen with horror, the card still resting on his +finger; he had not come there to kill, but to be killed; and the +Prince in his generous sympathy with his position almost forgot the +peril that still hung over himself and his friend. + +The deal was coming round again, and still Death's card had not +come out. The players held their respiration, and only breathed by +gasps. The Prince received another club; Geraldine had a diamond; +but when Mr. Malthus turned up his card a horrible noise, like that +of something breaking, issued from his mouth; and he rose from his +seat and sat down again, with no sign of his paralysis. It was the +ace of spades. The honorary member had trifled once too often with +his terrors. + +Conversation broke out again almost at once. The players relaxed +their rigid attitudes, and began to rise from the table and stroll +back by twos and threes into the smoking-room. The President +stretched his arms and yawned, like a man who has finished his +day's work. But Mr. Malthus sat in his place, with his head in his +hands, and his hands upon the table, drunk and motionless - a thing +stricken down. + +The Prince and Geraldine made their escape at once. In the cold +night air their horror of what they had witnessed was redoubled. + +"Alas!" cried the Prince, "to be bound by an oath in such a matter! +to allow this wholesale trade in murder to be continued with profit +and impunity! If I but dared to forfeit my pledge!" + +"That is impossible for your Highness," replied the Colonel, "whose +honour is the honour of Bohemia. But I dare, and may with +propriety, forfeit mine." + +"Geraldine," said the Prince, "if your honour suffers in any of the +adventures into which you follow me, not only will I never pardon +you, but - what I believe will much more sensibly affect you - I +should never forgive myself." + +"I receive your Highness's commands," replied the Colonel. "Shall +we go from this accursed spot?" + +"Yes," said the Prince. "Call a cab in Heaven's name, and let me +try to forget in slumber the memory of this night's disgrace." + +But it was notable that he carefully read the name of the court +before he left it. + +The next morning, as soon as the Prince was stirring, Colonel +Geraldine brought him a daily newspaper, with the following +paragraph marked:- + +"MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT. - This morning, about two o'clock, Mr. +Bartholomew Malthus, of 16 Chepstow Place, Westbourne Grove, on his +way home from a party at a friend's house, fell over the upper +parapet in Trafalgar Square, fracturing his skull and breaking a +leg and an arm. Death was instantaneous. Mr. Malthus, accompanied +by a friend, was engaged in looking for a cab at the time of the +unfortunate occurrence. As Mr. Malthus was paralytic, it is +thought that his fall may have been occasioned by another seizure. +The unhappy gentleman was well known in the most respectable +circles, and his loss will be widely and deeply deplored." + +"If ever a soul went straight to Hell," said Geraldine solemnly, +"it was that paralytic man's." + +The Prince buried his face in his hands, and remained silent. + +"I am almost rejoiced," continued the Colonel, "to know that he is +dead. But for our young man of the cream tarts I confess my heart +bleeds." + +"Geraldine," said the Prince, raising his face, "that unhappy lad +was last night as innocent as you and I; and this morning the guilt +of blood is on his soul. When I think of the President, my heart +grows sick within me. I do not know how it shall be done, but I +shall have that scoundrel at my mercy as there is a God in heaven. +What an experience, what a lesson, was that game of cards!" + +"One," said the Colonel, "never to be repeated." + +The Prince remained so long without replying, that Geraldine grew +alarmed. + +"You cannot mean to return," he said. "You have suffered too much +and seen too much horror already. The duties of your high position +forbid the repetition of the hazard." + +"There is much in what you say," replied Prince Florizel, "and I am +not altogether pleased with my own determination. Alas! in the +clothes of the greatest potentate, what is there but a man? I +never felt my weakness more acutely than now, Geraldine, but it is +stronger than I. Can I cease to interest myself in the fortunes of +the unhappy young man who supped with us some hours ago? Can I +leave the President to follow his nefarious career unwatched? Can +I begin an adventure so entrancing, and not follow it to an end? +No, Geraldine: you ask of the Prince more than the man is able to +perform. To-night, once more, we take our places at the table of +the Suicide Club." + +Colonel Geraldine fell upon his knees. + +"Will your Highness take my life?" he cried. "It is his - his +freely; but do not, O do not! let him ask me to countenance so +terrible a risk." + +"Colonel Geraldine," replied the Prince, with some haughtiness of +manner, "your life is absolutely your own. I only looked for +obedience; and when that is unwillingly rendered, I shall look for +that no longer. I add one word your: importunity in this affair +has been sufficient." + +The Master of the Horse regained his feet at once. + +"Your Highness," he said, "may I be excused in my attendance this +afternoon? I dare not, as an honourable man, venture a second time +into that fatal house until I have perfectly ordered my affairs. +Your Highness shall meet, I promise him, with no more opposition +from the most devoted and grateful of his servants." + +"My dear Geraldine," returned Prince Florizel, "I always regret +when you oblige me to remember my rank. Dispose of your day as you +think fit, but be here before eleven in the same disguise." + +The club, on this second evening, was not so fully attended; and +when Geraldine and the Prince arrived, there were not above half-a- +dozen persons in the smoking-room. His Highness took the President +aside and congratulated him warmly on the demise of Mr. Malthus. + +"I like," he said, "to meet with capacity, and certainly find much +of it in you. Your profession is of a very delicate nature, but I +see you are well qualified to conduct it with success and secrecy." + +The President was somewhat affected by these compliments from one +of his Highness's superior bearing. He acknowledged them almost +with humility. + +"Poor Malthy!" he added, "I shall hardly know the club without him. +The most of my patrons are boys, sir, and poetical boys, who are +not much company for me. Not but what Malthy had some poetry, too; +but it was of a kind that I could understand." + +"I can readily imagine you should find yourself in sympathy with +Mr. Malthus," returned the Prince. "He struck me as a man of a +very original disposition." + +The young man of the cream tarts was in the room, but painfully +depressed and silent. His late companions sought in vain to lead +him into conversation. + +"How bitterly I wish," he cried, "that I had never brought you to +this infamous abode! Begone, while you are clean-handed. If you +could have heard the old man scream as he fell, and the noise of +his bones upon the pavement! Wish me, if you have any kindness to +so fallen a being - wish the ace of spades for me to-night!" + +A few more members dropped in as the evening went on, but the club +did not muster more than the devil's dozen when they took their +places at the table. The Prince was again conscious of a certain +joy in his alarms; but he was astonished to see Geraldine so much +more self-possessed than on the night before. + +"It is extraordinary," thought the Prince, "that a will, made or +unmade, should so greatly influence a young man's spirit." + +"Attention, gentlemen!" said the President, and he began to deal. + +Three times the cards went all round the table, and neither of the +marked cards had yet fallen from his hand. The excitement as he +began the fourth distribution was overwhelming. There were just +cards enough to go once more entirely round. The Prince, who sat +second from the dealer's left, would receive, in the reverse mode +of dealing practised at the club, the second last card. The third +player turned up a black ace - it was the ace of clubs. The next +received a diamond, the next a heart, and so on; but the ace of +spades was still undelivered. At last, Geraldine, who sat upon the +Prince's left, turned his card; it was an ace, but the ace of +hearts. + +When Prince Florizel saw his fate upon the table in front of him, +his heart stood still. He was a brave man, but the sweat poured +off his face. There were exactly fifty chances out of a hundred +that he was doomed. He reversed the card; it was the ace of +spades. A loud roaring filled his brain, and the table swam before +his eyes. He heard the player on his right break into a fit of +laughter that sounded between mirth and disappointment; he saw the +company rapidly dispersing, but his mind was full of other +thoughts. He recognised how foolish, how criminal, had been his +conduct. In perfect health, in the prime of his years, the heir to +a throne, he had gambled away his future and that of a brave and +loyal country. "God," he cried, "God forgive me!" And with that, +the confusion of his senses passed away, and he regained his self- +possession in a moment. + +To his surprise Geraldine had disappeared. There was no one in the +card-room but his destined butcher consulting with the President, +and the young man of the cream tarts, who slipped up to the Prince, +and whispered in his ear:- + +"I would give a million, if I had it, for your luck." + +His Highness could not help reflecting, as the young man departed, +that he would have sold his opportunity for a much more moderate +sum. + +The whispered conference now came to an end. The holder of the ace +of clubs left the room with a look of intelligence, and the +President, approaching the unfortunate Prince, proffered him his +hand. + +"I am pleased to have met you, sir," said he, "and pleased to have +been in a position to do you this trifling service. At least, you +cannot complain of delay. On the second evening - what a stroke of +luck!" + +The Prince endeavoured in vain to articulate something in response, +but his mouth was dry and his tongue seemed paralysed. + +"You feel a little sickish?" asked the President, with some show of +solicitude. "Most gentlemen do. Will you take a little brandy?" + +The Prince signified in the affirmative, and the other immediately +filled some of the spirit into a tumbler. + +"Poor old Malthy!" ejaculated the President, as the Prince drained +the glass. "He drank near upon a pint, and little enough good it +seemed to do him!" + +"I am more amenable to treatment," said the Prince, a good deal +revived. "I am my own man again at once, as you perceive. And so, +let me ask you, what are my directions?" + +"You will proceed along the Strand in the direction of the City, +and on the left-hand pavement, until you meet the gentleman who has +just left the room. He will continue your instructions, and him +you will have the kindness to obey; the authority of the club is +vested in his person for the night. And now," added the President, +"I wish you a pleasant walk." + +Florizel acknowledged the salutation rather awkwardly, and took his +leave. He passed through the smoking-room, where the bulk of the +players were still consuming champagne, some of which he had +himself ordered and paid for; and he was surprised to find himself +cursing them in his heart. He put on his hat and greatcoat in the +cabinet, and selected his umbrella from a corner. The familiarity +of these acts, and the thought that he was about them for the last +time, betrayed him into a fit of laughter which sounded +unpleasantly in his own ears. He conceived a reluctance to leave +the cabinet, and turned instead to the window. The sight of the +lamps and the darkness recalled him to himself. + +"Come, come, I must be a man," he thought, "and tear myself away." + +At the corner of Box Court three men fell upon Prince Florizel and +he was unceremoniously thrust into a carriage, which at once drove +rapidly away. There was already an occupant. + +"Will your Highness pardon my zeal?" said a well known voice. + +The Prince threw himself upon the Colonel's neck in a passion of +relief. + +"How can I ever thank you?" he cried. "And how was this effected?" + +Although he had been willing to march upon his doom, he was +overjoyed to yield to friendly violence, and return once more to +life and hope. + +"You can thank me effectually enough," replied the Colonel, "by +avoiding all such dangers in the future. And as for your second +question, all has been managed by the simplest means. I arranged +this afternoon with a celebrated detective. Secrecy has been +promised and paid for. Your own servants have been principally +engaged in the affair. The house in Box Court has been surrounded +since nightfall, and this, which is one of your own carriages, has +been awaiting you for nearly an hour." + +"And the miserable creature who was to have slain me - what of +him?" inquired the Prince. + +"He was pinioned as he left the club," replied the Colonel, "and +now awaits your sentence at the Palace, where he will soon be +joined by his accomplices." + +"Geraldine," said the Prince, "you have saved me against my +explicit orders, and you have done well. I owe you not only my +life, but a lesson; and I should be unworthy of my rank if I did +not show myself grateful to my teacher. Let it be yours to choose +the manner." + +There was a pause, during which the carriage continued to speed +through the streets, and the two men were each buried in his own +reflections. The silence was broken by Colonel Geraldine. + +"Your Highness," said he, "has by this time a considerable body of +prisoners. There is at least one criminal among the number to whom +justice should be dealt. Our oath forbids us all recourse to law; +and discretion would forbid it equally if the oath were loosened. +May I inquire your Highness's intention?" + +"It is decided," answered Florizel; "the President must fall in +duel. It only remains to choose his adversary." + +"Your Highness has permitted me to name my own recompense," said +the Colonel. "Will he permit me to ask the appointment of my +brother? It is an honourable post, but I dare assure your Highness +that the lad will acquit himself with credit." + +"You ask me an ungracious favour," said the Prince, "but I must +refuse you nothing." + +The Colonel kissed his hand with the greatest affection; and at +that moment the carriage rolled under the archway of the Prince's +splendid residence. + +An hour after, Florizel in his official robes, and covered with all +the orders of Bohemia, received the members of the Suicide Club. + +"Foolish and wicked men," said he, "as many of you as have been +driven into this strait by the lack of fortune shall receive +employment and remuneration from my officers. Those who suffer +under a sense of guilt must have recourse to a higher and more +generous Potentate than I. I feel pity for all of you, deeper than +you can imagine; to-morrow you shall tell me your stories; and as +you answer more frankly, I shall be the more able to remedy your +misfortunes. As for you," he added, turning to the President, "I +should only offend a person of your parts by any offer of +assistance; but I have instead a piece of diversion to propose to +you. Here," laying his hand on the shoulder of Colonel Geraldine's +young brother, "is an officer of mine who desires to make a little +tour upon the Continent; and I ask you, as a favour, to accompany +him on this excursion. Do you," he went on, changing his tone, "do +you shoot well with the pistol? Because you may have need of that +accomplishment. When two men go travelling together, it is best to +be prepared for all. Let me add that, if by any chance you should +lose young Mr. Geraldine upon the way, I shall always have another +member of my household to place at your disposal; and I am known, +Mr. President, to have long eyesight, and as long an arm." + +With these words, said with much sternness, the Prince concluded +his address. Next morning the members of the club were suitably +provided for by his munificence, and the President set forth upon +his travels, under the supervision of Mr. Geraldine, and a pair of +faithful and adroit lackeys, well trained in the Prince's +household. Not content with this, discreet agents were put in +possession of the house in Box Court, and all letters or visitors +for the Suicide Club or its officials were to be examined by Prince +Florizel in person. + +Here (says my Arabian author) ends THE STORY OF THE YOUNG MAN WITH +THE CREAM TARTS, who is now a comfortable householder in Wigmore +Street, Cavendish Square. The number, for obvious reasons, I +suppress. Those who care to pursue the adventures of Prince +Florizel and the President of the Suicide Club, may read the +HISTORY OF THE PHYSICIAN AND THE SARATOGA TRUNK. + + + +STORY OF THE PHYSICIAN AND THE SARATOGA TRUNK + + + +MR. SILAS Q. SCUDDAMORE was a young American of a simple and +harmless disposition, which was the more to his credit as he came +from New England - a quarter of the New World not precisely famous +for those qualities. Although he was exceedingly rich, he kept a +note of all his expenses in a little paper pocket-book; and he had +chosen to study the attractions of Paris from the seventh story of +what is called a furnished hotel, in the Latin Quarter. There was +a great deal of habit in his penuriousness; and his virtue, which +was very remarkable among his associates, was principally founded +upon diffidence and youth. + +The next room to his was inhabited by a lady, very attractive in +her air and very elegant in toilette, whom, on his first arrival, +he had taken for a Countess. In course of time he had learned that +she was known by the name of Madame Zephyrine, and that whatever +station she occupied in life it was not that of a person of title. +Madame Zephyrine, probably in the hope of enchanting the young +American, used to flaunt by him on the stairs with a civil +inclination, a word of course, and a knock-down look out of her +black eyes, and disappear in a rustle of silk, and with the +revelation of an admirable foot and ankle. But these advances, so +far from encouraging Mr. Scuddamore, plunged him into the depths of +depression and bashfulness. She had come to him several times for +a light, or to apologise for the imaginary depredations of her +poodle; but his mouth was closed in the presence of so superior a +being, his French promptly left him, and he could only stare and +stammer until she was gone. The slenderness of their intercourse +did not prevent him from throwing out insinuations of a very +glorious order when he was safely alone with a few males. + +The room on the other side of the American's - for there were three +rooms on a floor in the hotel - was tenanted by an old English +physician of rather doubtful reputation. Dr. Noel, for that was +his name, had been forced to leave London, where he enjoyed a large +and increasing practice; and it was hinted that the police had been +the instigators of this change of scene. At least he, who had made +something of a figure in earlier life, now dwelt in the Latin +Quarter in great simplicity and solitude, and devoted much of his +time to study. Mr. Scuddamore had made his acquaintance, and the +pair would now and then dine together frugally in a restaurant +across the street. + +Silas Q. Scuddamore had many little vices of the more respectable +order, and was not restrained by delicacy from indulging them in +many rather doubtful ways. Chief among his foibles stood +curiosity. He was a born gossip; and life, and especially those +parts of it in which he had no experience, interested him to the +degree of passion. He was a pert, invincible questioner, pushing +his inquiries with equal pertinacity and indiscretion; he had been +observed, when he took a letter to the post, to weigh it in his +hand, to turn it over and over, and to study the address with care; +and when he found a flaw in the partition between his room and +Madame Zephyrine's, instead of filling it up, he enlarged and +improved the opening, and made use of it as a spy-hole on his +neighbour's affairs. + +One day, in the end of March, his curiosity growing as it was +indulged, he enlarged the hole a little further, so that he might +command another corner of the room. That evening, when he went as +usual to inspect Madame Zephyrine's movements, he was astonished to +find the aperture obscured in an odd manner on the other side, and +still more abashed when the obstacle was suddenly withdrawn and a +titter of laughter reached his ears. Some of the plaster had +evidently betrayed the secret of his spy-hole, and his neighbour +had been returning the compliment in kind. Mr. Scuddamore was +moved to a very acute feeling of annoyance; he condemned Madame +Zephyrine unmercifully; he even blamed himself; but when he found, +next day, that she had taken no means to baulk him of his favourite +pastime, he continued to profit by her carelessness, and gratify +his idle curiosity. + +That next day Madame Zephyrine received a long visit from a tall, +loosely-built man of fifty or upwards, whom Silas had not hitherto +seen. His tweed suit and coloured shirt, no less than his shaggy +side-whiskers, identified him as a Britisher, and his dull grey eye +affected Silas with a sense of cold. He kept screwing his mouth +from side to side and round and round during the whole colloquy, +which was carried on in whispers. More than once it seemed to the +young New Englander as if their gestures indicated his own +apartment; but the only thing definite he could gather by the most +scrupulous attention was this remark made by the Englishman in a +somewhat higher key, as if in answer to some reluctance or +opposition. + +"I have studied his taste to a nicety, and I tell you again and +again you are the only woman of the sort that I can lay my hands +on." + +In answer to this, Madame Zephyrine sighed, and appeared by a +gesture to resign herself, like one yielding to unqualified +authority. + +That afternoon the observatory was finally blinded, a wardrobe +having been drawn in front of it upon the other side; and while +Silas was still lamenting over this misfortune, which he attributed +to the Britisher's malign suggestion, the concierge brought him up +a letter in a female handwriting. It was conceived in French of no +very rigorous orthography, bore no signature, and in the most +encouraging terms invited the young American to be present in a +certain part of the Bullier Ball at eleven o'clock that night. +Curiosity and timidity fought a long battle in his heart; sometimes +he was all virtue, sometimes all fire and daring; and the result of +it was that, long before ten, Mr. Silas Q. Scuddamore presented +himself in unimpeachable attire at the door of the Bullier Ball +Rooms, and paid his entry money with a sense of reckless devilry +that was not without its charm. + +It was Carnival time, and the Ball was very full and noisy. The +lights and the crowd at first rather abashed our young adventurer, +and then, mounting to his brain with a sort of intoxication, put +him in possession of more than his own share of manhood. He felt +ready to face the devil, and strutted in the ballroom with the +swagger of a cavalier. While he was thus parading, he became aware +of Madame Zephyrine and her Britisher in conference behind a +pillar. The cat-like spirit of eaves-dropping overcame him at +once. He stole nearer and nearer on the couple from behind, until +he was within earshot. + +"That is the man," the Britisher was saying; "there - with the long +blond hair - speaking to a girl in green." + +Silas identified a very handsome young fellow of small stature, who +was plainly the object of this designation. + +"It is well," said Madame Zephyrine. "I shall do my utmost. But, +remember, the best of us may fail in such a matter." + +"Tut!" returned her companion; "I answer for the result. Have I +not chosen you from thirty? Go; but be wary of the Prince. I +cannot think what cursed accident has brought him here to-night. +As if there were not a dozen balls in Paris better worth his notice +than this riot of students and counter-jumpers! See him where he +sits, more like a reigning Emperor at home than a Prince upon his +holidays!" + +Silas was again lucky. He observed a person of rather a full +build, strikingly handsome, and of a very stately and courteous +demeanour, seated at table with another handsome young man, several +years his junior, who addressed him with conspicuous deference. +The name of Prince struck gratefully on Silas's Republican hearing, +and the aspect of the person to whom that name was applied +exercised its usual charm upon his mind. He left Madame Zephyrine +and her Englishman to take care of each other, and threading his +way through the assembly, approached the table which the Prince and +his confidant had honoured with their choice. + +"I tell you, Geraldine," the former was saying, "the action is +madness. Yourself (I am glad to remember it) chose your brother +for this perilous service, and you are bound in duty to have a +guard upon his conduct. He has consented to delay so many days in +Paris; that was already an imprudence, considering the character of +the man he has to deal with; but now, when he is within eight-and- +forty hours of his departure, when he is within two or three days +of the decisive trial, I ask you, is this a place for him to spend +his time? He should be in a gallery at practice; he should be +sleeping long hours and taking moderate exercise on foot; he should +be on a rigorous diet, without white wines or brandy. Does the dog +imagine we are all playing comedy? The thing is deadly earnest, +Geraldine." + +"I know the lad too well to interfere," replied Colonel Geraldine, +"and well enough not to be alarmed. He is more cautious than you +fancy, and of an indomitable spirit. If it had been a woman I +should not say so much, but I trust the President to him and the +two valets without an instant's apprehension." + +"I am gratified to hear you say so," replied the Prince; "but my +mind is not at rest. These servants are well-trained spies, and +already has not this miscreant succeeded three times in eluding +their observation and spending several hours on end in private, and +most likely dangerous, affairs? An amateur might have lost him by +accident, but if Rudolph and Jerome were thrown off the scent, it +must have been done on purpose, and by a man who had a cogent +reason and exceptional resources." + +"I believe the question is now one between my brother and myself," +replied Geraldine, with a shade of offence in his tone. + +"I permit it to be so, Colonel Geraldine," returned Prince +Florizel. "Perhaps, for that very reason, you should be all the +more ready to accept my counsels. But enough. That girl in yellow +dances well." + +And the talk veered into the ordinary topics of a Paris ballroom in +the Carnival. + +Silas remembered where he was, and that the hour was already near +at hand when he ought to be upon the scene of his assignation. The +more he reflected the less he liked the prospect, and as at that +moment an eddy in the crowd began to draw him in the direction of +the door, he suffered it to carry him away without resistance. The +eddy stranded him in a corner under the gallery, where his ear was +immediately struck with the voice of Madame Zephyrine. She was +speaking in French with the young man of the blond locks who had +been pointed out by the strange Britisher not half-an-hour before. + +"I have a character at stake," she said, "or I would put no other +condition than my heart recommends. But you have only to say so +much to the porter, and he will let you go by without a word." + +"But why this talk of debt?" objected her companion. + +"Heavens!" said she, "do you think I do not understand my own +hotel?" + +And she went by, clinging affectionately to her companion's arm. + +This put Silas in mind of his billet. + +"Ten minutes hence," thought he, "and I may be walking with as +beautiful a woman as that, and even better dressed - perhaps a real +lady, possibly a woman or title." + +And then he remembered the spelling, and was a little downcast. + +"But it may have been written by her maid," he imagined. + +The clock was only a few minutes from the hour, and this immediate +proximity set his heart beating at a curious and rather +disagreeable speed. He reflected with relief that he was in no way +bound to put in an appearance. Virtue and cowardice were together, +and he made once more for the door, but this time of his own +accord, and battling against the stream of people which was now +moving in a contrary direction. Perhaps this prolonged resistance +wearied him, or perhaps he was in that frame of mind when merely to +continue in the same determination for a certain number of minutes +produces a reaction and a different purpose. Certainly, at least, +he wheeled about for a third time, and did not stop until he had +found a place of concealment within a few yards of the appointed +place. + +Here he went through an agony of spirit, in which he several times +prayed to God for help, for Silas had been devoutly educated. He +had now not the least inclination for the meeting; nothing kept him +from flight but a silly fear lest he should be thought unmanly; but +this was so powerful that it kept head against all other motives; +and although it could not decide him to advance, prevented him from +definitely running away. At last the clock indicated ten minutes +past the hour. Young Scuddamore's spirit began to rise; he peered +round the corner and saw no one at the place of meeting; doubtless +his unknown correspondent had wearied and gone away. He became as +bold as he had formerly been timid. It seemed to him that if he +came at all to the appointment, however late, he was clear from the +charge of cowardice. Nay, now he began to suspect a hoax, and +actually complimented himself on his shrewdness in having suspected +and outmanoeuvred his mystifiers. So very idle a thing is a boy's +mind! + +Armed with these reflections, he advanced boldly from his corner; +but he had not taken above a couple of steps before a hand was laid +upon his arm. He turned and beheld a lady cast in a very large +mould and with somewhat stately features, but bearing no mark of +severity in her looks. + +"I see that you are a very self-confident lady-killer," said she; +"for you make yourself expected. But I was determined to meet you. +When a woman has once so far forgotten herself as to make the first +advance, she has long ago left behind her all considerations of +petty pride." + +Silas was overwhelmed by the size and attractions of his +correspondent and the suddenness with which she had fallen upon +him. But she soon set him at his ease. She was very towardly and +lenient in her behaviour; she led him on to make pleasantries, and +then applauded him to the echo; and in a very short time, between +blandishments and a liberal exhibition of warm brandy, she had not +only induced him to fancy himself in love, but to declare his +passion with the greatest vehemence. + +"Alas!" she said; "I do not know whether I ought not to deplore +this moment, great as is the pleasure you give me by your words. +Hitherto I was alone to suffer; now, poor boy, there will be two. +I am not my own mistress. I dare not ask you to visit me at my own +house, for I am watched by jealous eyes. Let me see," she added; +"I am older than you, although so much weaker; and while I trust in +your courage and determination, I must employ my own knowledge of +the world for our mutual benefit. Where do you live?" + +He told her that he lodged in a furnished hotel, and named the +street and number. + +She seemed to reflect for some minutes, with an effort of mind. + +"I see," she said at last. "You will be faithful and obedient, +will you not?" + +Silas assured her eagerly of his fidelity. + +"To-morrow night, then," she continued, with an encouraging smile, +"you must remain at home all the evening; and if any friends should +visit you, dismiss them at once on any pretext that most readily +presents itself. Your door is probably shut by ten?" she asked. + +"By eleven," answered Silas. + +"At a quarter past eleven," pursued the lady, "leave the house. +Merely cry for the door to be opened, and be sure you fall into no +talk with the porter, as that might ruin everything. Go straight +to the corner where the Luxembourg Gardens join the Boulevard; +there you will find me waiting you. I trust you to follow my +advice from point to point: and remember, if you fail me in only +one particular, you will bring the sharpest trouble on a woman +whose only fault is to have seen and loved you." + +"I cannot see the use of all these instructions," said Silas. + +"I believe you are already beginning to treat me as a master," she +cried, tapping him with her fan upon the arm. "Patience, patience! +that should come in time. A woman loves to be obeyed at first, +although afterwards she finds her pleasure in obeying. Do as I ask +you, for Heaven's sake, or I will answer for nothing. Indeed, now +I think of it," she added, with the manner of one who has just seen +further into a difficulty, "I find a better plan of keeping +importunate visitors away. Tell the porter to admit no one for +you, except a person who may come that night to claim a debt; and +speak with some feeling, as though you feared the interview, so +that he may take your words in earnest." + +"I think you may trust me to protect myself against intruders," he +said, not without a little pique. + +"That is how I should prefer the thing arranged," she answered +coldly. "I know you men; you think nothing of a woman's +reputation." + +Silas blushed and somewhat hung his head; for the scheme he had in +view had involved a little vain-glorying before his acquaintances. + +"Above all," she added, "do not speak to the porter as you come +out." + +"And why?" said he. "Of all your instructions, that seems to me +the least important." + +"You at first doubted the wisdom of some of the others, which you +now see to be very necessary," she replied. "Believe me, this also +has its uses; in time you will see them; and what am I to think of +your affection, if you refuse me such trifles at our first +interview?" + +Silas confounded himself in explanations and apologies; in the +middle of these she looked up at the clock and clapped her hands +together with a suppressed scream. + +"Heavens!" she cried, "is it so late? I have not an instant to +lose. Alas, we poor women, what slaves we are! What have I not +risked for you already?" + +And after repeating her directions, which she artfully combined +with caresses and the most abandoned looks, she bade him farewell +and disappeared among the crowd. + +The whole of the next day Silas was filled with a sense of great +importance; he was now sure she was a countess; and when evening +came he minutely obeyed her orders and was at the corner of the +Luxembourg Gardens by the hour appointed. No one was there. He +waited nearly half-an-hour, looking in the face of every one who +passed or loitered near the spot; he even visited the neighbouring +corners of the Boulevard and made a complete circuit of the garden +railings; but there was no beautiful countess to throw herself into +his arms. At last, and most reluctantly, he began to retrace his +steps towards his hotel. On the way he remembered the words he had +heard pass between Madame Zephyrine and the blond young man, and +they gave him an indefinite uneasiness. + +"It appears," he reflected, "that every one has to tell lies to our +porter." + +He rang the bell, the door opened before him, and the porter in his +bed-clothes came to offer him a light. + +"Has he gone?" inquired the porter. + +"He? Whom do you mean?" asked Silas, somewhat sharply, for he was +irritated by his disappointment. + +"I did not notice him go out," continued the porter, "but I trust +you paid him. We do not care, in this house, to have lodgers who +cannot meet their liabilities." + +"What the devil do you mean?" demanded Silas rudely. "I cannot +understand a word of this farrago." + +"The short blond young man who came for his debt," returned the +other. "Him it is I mean. Who else should it be, when I had your +orders to admit no one else?" + +"Why, good God, of course he never came," retorted Silas. + +"I believe what I believe," returned the porter, putting his tongue +into his cheek with a most roguish air. + +"You are an insolent scoundrel," cried Silas, and, feeling that he +had made a ridiculous exhibition of asperity, and at the same time +bewildered by a dozen alarms, he turned and began to run upstairs. + +"Do you not want a light then?" cried the porter. + +But Silas only hurried the faster, and did not pause until he had +reached the seventh landing and stood in front of his own door. +There he waited a moment to recover his breath, assailed by the +worst forebodings and almost dreading to enter the room. + +When at last he did so he was relieved to find it dark, and to all +appearance, untenanted. He drew a long breath. Here he was, home +again in safety, and this should be his last folly as certainly as +it had been his first. The matches stood on a little table by the +bed, and he began to grope his way in that direction. As he moved, +his apprehensions grew upon him once more, and he was pleased, when +his foot encountered an obstacle, to find it nothing more alarming +than a chair. At last he touched curtains. From the position of +the window, which was faintly visible, he knew he must be at the +foot of the bed, and had only to feel his way along it in order to +reach the table in question. + +He lowered his hand, but what it touched was not simply a +counterpane - it was a counterpane with something underneath it +like the outline of a human leg. Silas withdrew his arm and stood +a moment petrified. + +"What, what," he thought, "can this betoken?" + +He listened intently, but there was no sound of breathing. Once +more, with a great effort, he reached out the end of his finger to +the spot he had already touched; but this time he leaped back half +a yard, and stood shivering and fixed with terror. There was +something in his bed. What it was he knew not, but there was +something there. + +It was some seconds before he could move. Then, guided by an +instinct, he fell straight upon the matches, and keeping his back +towards the bed lighted a candle. As soon as the flame had +kindled, he turned slowly round and looked for what he feared to +see. Sure enough, there was the worst of his imaginations +realised. The coverlid was drawn carefully up over the pillow, but +it moulded the outline of a human body lying motionless; and when +he dashed forward and flung aside the sheets, he beheld the blond +young man whom he had seen in the Bullier Ball the night before, +his eyes open and without speculation, his face swollen and +blackened, and a thin stream of blood trickling from his nostrils. + +Silas uttered a long, tremulous wail, dropped the candle, and fell +on his knees beside the bed. + +Silas was awakened from the stupor into which his terrible +discovery had plunged him by a prolonged but discreet tapping at +the door. It took him some seconds to remember his position; and +when he hastened to prevent anyone from entering it was already too +late. Dr. Noel, in a tall night-cap, carrying a lamp which lighted +up his long white countenance, sidling in his gait, and peering and +cocking his head like some sort of bird, pushed the door slowly +open, and advanced into the middle of the room. + +"I thought I heard a cry," began the Doctor, "and fearing you might +be unwell I did not hesitate to offer this intrusion." + +Silas, with a flushed face and a fearful beating heart, kept +between the Doctor and the bed; but he found no voice to answer. + +"You are in the dark," pursued the Doctor; "and yet you have not +even begun to prepare for rest. You will not easily persuade me +against my own eyesight; and your face declares most eloquently +that you require either a friend or a physician - which is it to +be? Let me feel your pulse, for that is often a just reporter of +the heart." + +He advanced to Silas, who still retreated before him backwards, and +sought to take him by the wrist; but the strain on the young +American's nerves had become too great for endurance. He avoided +the Doctor with a febrile movement, and, throwing himself upon the +floor, burst into a flood of weeping. + +As soon as Dr. Noel perceived the dead man in the bed his face +darkened; and hurrying back to the door which he had left ajar, he +hastily closed and double-locked it. + +"Up!" he cried, addressing Silas in strident tones; "this is no +time for weeping. What have you done? How came this body in your +room? Speak freely to one who may be helpful. Do you imagine I +would ruin you? Do you think this piece of dead flesh on your +pillow can alter in any degree the sympathy with which you have +inspired me? Credulous youth, the horror with which blind and +unjust law regards an action never attaches to the doer in the eyes +of those who love him; and if I saw the friend of my heart return +to me out of seas of blood he would be in no way changed in my +affection. Raise yourself," he said; "good and ill are a chimera; +there is nought in life except destiny, and however you may be +circumstanced there is one at your side who will help you to the +last." + +Thus encouraged, Silas gathered himself together, and in a broken +voice, and helped out by the Doctor's interrogations, contrived at +last to put him in possession of the facts. But the conversation +between the Prince and Geraldine he altogether omitted, as he had +understood little of its purport, and had no idea that it was in +any way related to his own misadventure. + +"Alas!" cried Dr. Noel, "I am much abused, or you have fallen +innocently into the most dangerous hands in Europe. Poor boy, what +a pit has been dug for your simplicity! into what a deadly peril +have your unwary feet been conducted! This man," he said, "this +Englishman, whom you twice saw, and whom I suspect to be the soul +of the contrivance, can you describe him? Was he young or old? +tall or short?" + +But Silas, who, for all his curiosity, had not a seeing eye in his +head, was able to supply nothing but meagre generalities, which it +was impossible to recognise. + +"I would have it a piece of education in all schools!" cried the +Doctor angrily. "Where is the use of eyesight and articulate +speech if a man cannot observe and recollect the features of his +enemy? I, who know all the gangs of Europe, might have identified +him, and gained new weapons for your defence. Cultivate this art +in future, my poor boy; you may find it of momentous service." + +"The future!" repeated Silas. "What future is there left for me +except the gallows?" + +"Youth is but a cowardly season," returned the Doctor; "and a man's +own troubles look blacker than they are. I am old, and yet I never +despair." + +"Can I tell such a story to the police?" demanded Silas. + +"Assuredly not," replied the Doctor. "From what I see already of +the machination in which you have been involved, your case is +desperate upon that side; and for the narrow eye of the authorities +you are infallibly the guilty person. And remember that we only +know a portion of the plot; and the same infamous contrivers have +doubtless arranged many other circumstances which would be elicited +by a police inquiry, and help to fix the guilt more certainly upon +your innocence." + +"I am then lost, indeed!" cried Silas. + +"I have not said so," answered Dr. Noel "for I am a cautious man." + +"But look at this!" objected Silas, pointing to the body. "Here is +this object in my bed; not to be explained, not to be disposed of, +not to be regarded without horror." + +"Horror?" replied the Doctor. "No. When this sort of clock has +run down, it is no more to me than an ingenious piece of mechanism, +to be investigated with the bistoury. When blood is once cold and +stagnant, it is no longer human blood; when flesh is once dead, it +is no longer that flesh which we desire in our lovers and respect +in our friends. The grace, the attraction, the terror, have all +gone from it with the animating spirit. Accustom yourself to look +upon it with composure; for if my scheme is practicable you will +have to live some days in constant proximity to that which now so +greatly horrifies you." + +"Your scheme?" cried Silas. "What is that? Tell me speedily, +Doctor; for I have scarcely courage enough to continue to exist." + +Without replying, Doctor Noel turned towards the bed, and proceeded +to examine the corpse. + +"Quite dead," he murmured. "Yes, as I had supposed, the pockets +empty. Yes, and the name cut off the shirt. Their work has been +done thoroughly and well. Fortunately, he is of small stature." + +Silas followed these words with an extreme anxiety. At last the +Doctor, his autopsy completed, took a chair and addressed the young +American with a smile. + +"Since I came into your room," said he, "although my ears and my +tongue have been so busy, I have not suffered my eyes to remain +idle. I noted a little while ago that you have there, in the +corner, one of those monstrous constructions which your fellow- +countrymen carry with them into all quarters of the globe - in a +word, a Saratoga trunk. Until this moment I have never been able +to conceive the utility of these erections; but then I began to +have a glimmer. Whether it was for convenience in the slave trade, +or to obviate the results of too ready an employment of the bowie- +knife, I cannot bring myself to decide. But one thing I see +plainly - the object of such a box is to contain a human body. + +"Surely," cried Silas, "surely this is not a time for jesting." + +"Although I may express myself with some degree of pleasantry," +replied the Doctor, "the purport of my words is entirely serious. +And the first thing we have to do, my young friend, is to empty +your coffer of all that it contains." + +Silas, obeying the authority of Doctor Noel, put himself at his +disposition. The Saratoga trunk was soon gutted of its contents, +which made a considerable litter on the floor; and then - Silas +taking the heels and the Doctor supporting the shoulders - the body +of the murdered man was carried from the bed, and, after some +difficulty, doubled up and inserted whole into the empty box. With +an effort on the part of both, the lid was forced down upon this +unusual baggage, and the trunk was locked and corded by the +Doctor's own hand, while Silas disposed of what had been taken out +between the closet and a chest of drawers. + +"Now," said the Doctor, "the first step has been taken on the way +to your deliverance. To-morrow, or rather to-day, it must be your +task to allay the suspicions of your porter, paying him all that +you owe; while you may trust me to make the arrangements necessary +to a safe conclusion. Meantime, follow me to my room, where I +shall give you a safe and powerful opiate; for, whatever you do, +you must have rest." + +The next day was the longest in Silas's memory; it seemed as if it +would never be done. He denied himself to his friends, and sat in +a corner with his eyes fixed upon the Saratoga trunk in dismal +contemplation. His own former indiscretions were now returned upon +him in kind; for the observatory had been once more opened, and he +was conscious of an almost continual study from Madame Zephyrine's +apartment. So distressing did this become, that he was at last +obliged to block up the spy-hole from his own side; and when he was +thus secured from observation he spent a considerable portion of +his time in contrite tears and prayer. + +Late in the evening Dr. Noel entered the room carrying in his hand +a pair of sealed envelopes without address, one somewhat bulky, and +the other so slim as to seem without enclosure. + +"Silas," he said, seating himself at the table, "the time has now +come for me to explain my plan for your salvation. To-morrow +morning, at an early hour, Prince Florizel of Bohemia returns to +London, after having diverted himself for a few days with the +Parisian Carnival. It was my fortune, a good while ago, to do +Colonel Geraldine, his Master of the Horse, one of those services, +so common in my profession, which are never forgotten upon either +side. I have no need to explain to you the nature of the +obligation under which he was laid; suffice it to say that I knew +him ready to serve me in any practicable manner. Now, it was +necessary for you to gain London with your trunk unopened. To this +the Custom House seemed to oppose a fatal difficulty; but I +bethought me that the baggage of so considerable a person as the +Prince, is, as a matter of courtesy, passed without examination by +the officers of Custom. I applied to Colonel Geraldine, and +succeeded in obtaining a favourable answer. To-morrow, if you go +before six to the hotel where the Prince lodges, your baggage will +be passed over as a part of his, and you yourself will make the +journey as a member of his suite." + +"It seems to me, as you speak, that I have already seen both the +Prince and Colonel Geraldine; I even overheard some of their +conversation the other evening at the Bullier Ball." + +"It is probable enough; for the Prince loves to mix with all +societies," replied the Doctor. "Once arrived in London," he +pursued, "your task is nearly ended. In this more bulky envelope I +have given you a letter which I dare not address; but in the other +you will find the designation of the house to which you must carry +it along with your box, which will there be taken from you and not +trouble you any more." + +"Alas!" said Silas, "I have every wish to believe you; but how is +it possible? You open up to me a bright prospect, but, I ask you, +is my mind capable of receiving so unlikely a solution? Be more +generous, and let me further understand your meaning." + +The Doctor seemed painfully impressed. + +"Boy," he answered, "you do not know how hard a thing you ask of +me. But be it so. I am now inured to humiliation; and it would be +strange if I refused you this, after having granted you so much. +Know, then, that although I now make so quiet an appearance - +frugal, solitary, addicted to study - when I was younger, my name +was once a rallying-cry among the most astute and dangerous spirits +of London; and while I was outwardly an object for respect and +consideration, my true power resided in the most secret, terrible, +and criminal relations. It is to one of the persons who then +obeyed me that I now address myself to deliver you from your +burden. They were men of many different nations and dexterities, +all bound together by a formidable oath, and working to the same +purposes; the trade of the association was in murder; and I who +speak to you, innocent as I appear, was the chieftain of this +redoubtable crew." + +"What?" cried Silas. "A murderer? And one with whom murder was a +trade? Can I take your hand? Ought I so much as to accept your +services? Dark and criminal old man, would you make an accomplice +of my youth and my distress?" + +The Doctor bitterly laughed. + +"You are difficult to please, Mr. Scuddamore," said he; "but I now +offer you your choice of company between the murdered man and the +murderer. If your conscience is too nice to accept my aid, say so, +and I will immediately leave you. Thenceforward you can deal with +your trunk and its belongings as best suits your upright +conscience." + +"I own myself wrong," replied Silas. "I should have remembered how +generously you offered to shield me, even before I had convinced +you of my innocence, and I continue to listen to your counsels with +gratitude." + +"That is well," returned the Doctor; "and I perceive you are +beginning to learn some of the lessons of experience." + +"At the same time," resumed the New-Englander, "as you confess +yourself accustomed o this tragical business, and the people to +whom you recommend me are your own former associates and friends, +could you not yourself undertake the transport of the box, and rid +me at once of its detested presence?" + +"Upon my word," replied the Doctor, "I admire you cordially. If +you do not think I have already meddled sufficiently in your +concerns, believe me, from my heart I think the contrary. Take or +leave my services as I offer them; and trouble me with no more +words of gratitude, for I value your consideration even more +lightly than I do your intellect. A time will come, if you should +be spared to see a number of years in health of mind, when you will +think differently of all this, and blush for your to-night's +behaviour." + +So saying, the Doctor arose from his chair, repeated his directions +briefly and clearly, and departed from the room without permitting +Silas any time to answer. + +The next morning Silas presented himself at the hotel, where he was +politely received by Colonel Geraldine, and relieved, from that +moment, of all immediate alarm about his trunk and its grisly +contents. The journey passed over without much incident, although +the young man was horrified to overhear the sailors and railway +porters complaining among themselves about the unusual weight of +the Prince's baggage. Silas travelled in a carriage with the +valets, for Prince Florizel chose to be alone with his Master of +the Horse. On board the steamer, however, Silas attracted his +Highness's attention by the melancholy of his air and attitude as +he stood gazing at the pile of baggage; for he was still full of +disquietude about the future. + +"There is a young man," observed the Prince, "who must have some +cause for sorrow." + +"That," replied Geraldine, "is the American for whom I obtained +permission to travel with your suite." + +"You remind me that I have been remiss in courtesy," said Prince +Florizel, and advancing to Silas, he addressed him with the most +exquisite condescension in these words:- "I was charmed, young sir, +to be able to gratify the desire you made known to me through +Colonel Geraldine. Remember, if you please, that I shall be glad +at any future time to lay you under a more serious obligation." + +And he then put some questions as to the political condition of +America, which Silas answered with sense and propriety. + +"You are still a young man," said the Prince; "but I observe you to +be very serious for your years. Perhaps you allow your attention +to be too much occupied with grave studies. But, perhaps, on the +other hand, I am myself indiscreet and touch upon a painful +subject." + +"I have certainly cause to be the most miserable of men," said +Silas; "never has a more innocent person been more dismally +abused." + +"I will not ask you for your confidence," returned Prince Florizel. +"But do not forget that Colonel Geraldine's recommendation is an +unfailing passport; and that I am not only willing, but possibly +more able than many others, to do you a service." + +Silas was delighted with the amiability of this great personage; +but his mind soon returned upon its gloomy preoccupations; for not +even the favour of a Prince to a Republican can discharge a +brooding spirit of its cares. + +The train arrived at Charing Cross, where the officers of the +Revenue respected the baggage of Prince Florizel in the usual +manner. The most elegant equipages were in waiting; and Silas was +driven, along with the rest, to the Prince's residence. There +Colonel Geraldine sought him out, and expressed himself pleased to +have been of any service to a friend of the physician's, for whom +he professed a great consideration. + +"I hope," he added, "that you will find none of your porcelain +injured. Special orders were given along the line to deal tenderly +with the Prince's effects." + +And then, directing the servants to place one of the carriages at +the young gentleman's disposal, and at once to charge the Saratoga +trunk upon the dickey, the Colonel shook hands and excused himself +on account of his occupations in the princely household. + +Silas now broke the seal of the envelope containing the address, +and directed the stately footman to drive him to Box Court, opening +off the Strand. It seemed as if the place were not at all unknown +to the man, for he looked startled and begged a repetition of the +order. It was with a heart full of alarms, that Silas mounted into +the luxurious vehicle, and was driven to his destination. The +entrance to Box Court was too narrow for the passage of a coach; it +was a mere footway between railings, with a post at either end. On +one of these posts was seated a man, who at once jumped down and +exchanged a friendly sign with the driver, while the footman opened +the door and inquired of Silas whether he should take down the +Saratoga trunk, and to what number it should be carried. + +"If you please," said Silas. "To number three." + +The footman and the man who had been sitting on the post, even with +the aid of Silas himself, had hard work to carry in the trunk; and +before it was deposited at the door of the house in question, the +young American was horrified to find a score of loiterers looking +on. But he knocked with as good a countenance as he could muster +up, and presented the other envelope to him who opened. + +"He is not at home," said he, "but if you will leave your letter +and return to-morrow early, I shall be able to inform you whether +and when he can receive your visit. Would you like to leave your +box?" he added. + +"Dearly," cried Silas; and the next moment he repented his +precipitation, and declared, with equal emphasis, that he would +rather carry the box along with him to the hotel. + +The crowd jeered at his indecision and followed him to the carriage +with insulting remarks; and Silas, covered with shame and terror, +implored the servants to conduct him to some quiet and comfortable +house of entertainment in the immediate neighbourhood. + +The Prince's equipage deposited Silas at the Craven Hotel in Craven +Street, and immediately drove away, leaving him alone with the +servants of the inn. The only vacant room, it appeared, was a +little den up four pairs of stairs, and looking towards the back. +To this hermitage, with infinite trouble and complaint, a pair of +stout porters carried the Saratoga trunk. It is needless to +mention that Silas kept closely at their heels throughout the +ascent, and had his heart in his mouth at every corner. A single +false step, he reflected, and the box might go over the banisters +and land its fatal contents, plainly discovered, on the pavement of +the hall. + +Arrived in the room, he sat down on the edge of his bed to recover +from the agony that he had just endured; but he had hardly taken +his position when he was recalled to a sense of his peril by the +action of the boots, who had knelt beside the trunk, and was +proceeding officiously to undo its elaborate fastenings. + +"Let it be!" cried Silas. "I shall want nothing from it while I +stay here." + +"You might have let it lie in the hall, then," growled the man; "a +thing as big and heavy as a church. What you have inside I cannot +fancy. If it is all money, you are a richer man than me." + +"Money?" repeated Silas, in a sudden perturbation. "What do you +mean by money? I have no money, and you are speaking like a fool." + +"All right, captain," retorted the boots with a wink. "There's +nobody will touch your lordship's money. I'm as safe as the bank," +he added; "but as the box is heavy, I shouldn't mind drinking +something to your lordship's health." + +Silas pressed two Napoleons upon his acceptance, apologising, at +the same time, for being obliged to trouble him with foreign money, +and pleading his recent arrival for excuse. And the man, grumbling +with even greater fervour, and looking contemptuously from the +money in his hand to the Saratoga trunk and back again from the one +to the other, at last consented to withdraw. + +For nearly two days the dead body had been packed into Silas's box; +and as soon as he was alone the unfortunate New-Englander nosed all +the cracks and openings with the most passionate attention. But +the weather was cool, and the trunk still managed to contain his +shocking secret. + +He took a chair beside it, and buried his face in his hands, and +his mind in the most profound reflection. If he were not speedily +relieved, no question but he must be speedily discovered. Alone in +a strange city, without friends or accomplices, if the Doctor's +introduction failed him, he was indubitably a lost New-Englander. +He reflected pathetically over his ambitious designs for the +future; he should not now become the hero and spokesman of his +native place of Bangor, Maine; he should not, as he had fondly +anticipated, move on from office to office, from honour to honour; +he might as well divest himself at once of all hope of being +acclaimed President of the United States, and leaving behind him a +statue, in the worst possible style of art, to adorn the Capitol at +Washington. Here he was, chained to a dead Englishman doubled up +inside a Saratoga trunk; whom he must get rid of, or perish from +the rolls of national glory! + +I should be afraid to chronicle the language employed by this young +man to the Doctor, to the murdered man, to Madame Zephyrine, to the +boots of the hotel, to the Prince's servants, and, in a word, to +all who had been ever so remotely connected with his horrible +misfortune. + +He slunk down to dinner about seven at night; but the yellow +coffee-room appalled him, the eyes of the other diners seemed to +rest on his with suspicion, and his mind remained upstairs with the +Saratoga trunk. When the waiter came to offer him cheese, his +nerves were already so much on edge that he leaped half-way out of +his chair and upset the remainder of a pint of ale upon the table- +cloth. + +The fellow offered to show him to the smoking-room when he had +done; and although he would have much preferred to return at once +to his perilous treasure, he had not the courage to refuse, and was +shown downstairs to the black, gas-lit cellar, which formed, and +possibly still forms, the divan of the Craven Hotel. + +Two very sad betting men were playing billiards, attended by a +moist, consumptive marker; and for the moment Silas imagined that +these were the only occupants of the apartment. But at the next +glance his eye fell upon a person smoking in the farthest corner, +with lowered eyes and a most respectable and modest aspect. He +knew at once that he had seen the face before; and, in spite of the +entire change of clothes, recognised the man whom he had found +seated on a post at the entrance to Box Court, and who had helped +him to carry the trunk to and from the carriage. The New-Englander +simply turned and ran, nor did he pause until he had locked and +bolted himself into his bedroom. + +There, all night long, a prey to the most terrible imaginations, he +watched beside the fatal boxful of dead flesh. The suggestion of +the boots that his trunk was full of gold inspired him with all +manner of new terrors, if he so much as dared to close an eye; and +the presence in the smoking-room, and under an obvious disguise, of +the loiterer from Box Court convinced him that he was once more the +centre of obscure machinations. + +Midnight had sounded some time, when, impelled by uneasy +suspicions, Silas opened his bedroom door and peered into the +passage. It was dimly illuminated by a single jet of gas; and some +distance off he perceived a man sleeping on the floor in the +costume of an hotel under-servant. Silas drew near the man on +tiptoe. He lay partly on his back, partly on his side, and his +right forearm concealed his face from recognition. Suddenly, while +the American was still bending over him, the sleeper removed his +arm and opened his eyes, and Silas found himself once more face to +face with the loiterer of Box Court. + +"Good-night, sir," said the man, pleasantly. + +But Silas was too profoundly moved to find an answer, and regained +his room in silence. + +Towards morning, worn out by apprehension, he fell asleep on his +chair, with his head forward on the trunk. In spite of so +constrained an attitude and such a grisly pillow, his slumber was +sound and prolonged, and he was only awakened at a late hour and by +a sharp tapping at the door. + +He hurried to open, and found the boots without. + +"You are the gentleman who called yesterday at Box Court?" he +asked. + +Silas, with a quaver, admitted that he had done so. + +"Then this note is for you," added the servant, proffering a sealed +envelope. + +Silas tore it open, and found inside the words: "Twelve o'clock." + +He was punctual to the hour; the trunk was carried before him by +several stout servants; and he was himself ushered into a room, +where a man sat warming himself before the fire with his back +towards the door. The sound of so many persons entering and +leaving, and the scraping of the trunk as it was deposited upon the +bare boards, were alike unable to attract the notice of the +occupant; and Silas stood waiting, in an agony of fear, until he +should deign to recognise his presence. + +Perhaps five minutes had elapsed before the man turned leisurely +about, and disclosed the features of Prince Florizel of Bohemia. + +"So, sir," he said, with great severity, "this is the manner in +which you abuse my politeness. You join yourselves to persons of +condition, I perceive, for no other purpose than to escape the +consequences of your crimes; and I can readily understand your +embarrassment when I addressed myself to you yesterday." + +"Indeed," cried Silas, "I am innocent of everything except +misfortune." + +And in a hurried voice, and with the greatest ingenuousness, he +recounted to the Prince the whole history of his calamity. + +"I see I have been mistaken," said his Highness, when he had heard +him to an end. "You are no other than a victim, and since I am not +to punish you may be sure I shall do my utmost to help. And now," +he continued, "to business. Open your box at once, and let me see +what it contains." + +Silas changed colour. + +"I almost fear to look upon it," he exclaimed. + +"Nay," replied the Prince, "have you not looked at it already? +This is a form of sentimentality to be resisted. The sight of a +sick man, whom we can still help, should appeal more directly to +the feelings than that of a dead man who is equally beyond help or +harm, love or hatred. Nerve yourself, Mr. Scuddamore," and then, +seeing that Silas still hesitated, "I do not desire to give another +name to my request," he added. + +The young American awoke as if out of a dream, and with a shiver of +repugnance addressed himself to loose the straps and open the lock +of the Saratoga trunk. The Prince stood by, watching with a +composed countenance and his hands behind his back. The body was +quite stiff, and it cost Silas a great effort, both moral and +physical, to dislodge it from its position, and discover the face. + +Prince Florizel started back with an exclamation of painful +surprise. + +"Alas!" he cried, "you little know, Mr. Scuddamore, what a cruel +gift you have brought me. This is a young man of my own suite, the +brother of my trusted friend; and it was upon matters of my own +service that he has thus perished at the hands of violent and +treacherous men. Poor Geraldine," he went on, as if to himself, +"in what words am I to tell you of your brother's fate? How can I +excuse myself in your eyes, or in the eyes of God, for the +presumptuous schemes that led him to this bloody and unnatural +death? Ah, Florizel! Florizel! when will you learn the discretion +that suits mortal life, and be no longer dazzled with the image of +power at your disposal? Power!" he cried; "who is more powerless? +I look upon this young man whom I have sacrificed, Mr. Scuddamore, +and feel how small a thing it is to be a Prince." + +Silas was moved at the sight of his emotion. He tried to murmur +some consolatory words, and burst into tears. + +The Prince, touched by his obvious intention, came up to him and +took him by the hand. + +"Command yourself," said he. "We have both much to learn, and we +shall both be better men for to-day's meeting." + +Silas thanked him in silence with an affectionate look. + +"Write me the address of Doctor Noel on this piece of paper," +continued the Prince, leading him towards the table; "and let me +recommend you, when you are again in Paris, to avoid the society of +that dangerous man. He has acted in this matter on a generous +inspiration; that I must believe; had he been privy to young +Geraldine's death he would never have despatched the body to the +care of the actual criminal." + +"The actual criminal!" repeated Silas in astonishment. + +"Even so," returned the Prince. "This letter, which the +disposition of Almighty Providence has so strangely delivered into +my hands, was addressed to no less a person than the criminal +himself, the infamous President of the Suicide Club. Seek to pry +no further in these perilous affairs, but content yourself with +your own miraculous escape, and leave this house at once. I have +pressing affairs, and must arrange at once about this poor clay, +which was so lately a gallant and handsome youth." + +Silas took a grateful and submissive leave of Prince Florizel, but +he lingered in Box Court until he saw him depart in a splendid +carriage on a visit to Colonel Henderson of the police. Republican +as he was, the young American took off his hat with almost a +sentiment of devotion to the retreating carriage. And the same +night he started by rail on his return to Paris. + + +Here (observes my Arabian author) is the end of THE HISTORY OF THE +PHYSICIAN AND THE SARATOGA TRUNK. Omitting some reflections on the +power of Providence, highly pertinent in the original, but little +suited to our occiddental taste, I shall only add that Mr. +Scuddamore has already begun to mount the ladder of political fame, +and by last advices was the Sheriff of his native town. + + + +THE ADVENTURE OF THE HANSOM CABS + + + +Lieutenant Brackenbury Rich had greatly distinguished himself in +one of the lesser Indian hill wars. He it was who took the +chieftain prisoner with his own hand; his gallantry was universally +applauded; and when he came home, prostrated by an ugly sabre cut +and a protracted jungle fever, society was prepared to welcome the +Lieutenant as a celebrity of minor lustre. But his was a character +remarkable for unaffected modesty; adventure was dear to his heart, +but he cared little for adulation; and he waited at foreign +watering-places and in Algiers until the fame of his exploits had +run through its nine days' vitality and begun to be forgotten. He +arrived in London at last, in the early season, with as little +observation as he could desire; and as he was an orphan and had +none but distant relatives who lived in the provinces, it was +almost as a foreigner that he installed himself in the capital of +the country for which he had shed his blood. + +On the day following his arrival he dined alone at a military club. +He shook hands with a few old comrades, and received their warm +congratulations; but as one and all had some engagement for the +evening, he found himself left entirely to his own resources. He +was in dress, for he had entertained the notion of visiting a +theatre. But the great city was new to him; he had gone from a +provincial school to a military college, and thence direct to the +Eastern Empire; and he promised himself a variety of delights in +this world for exploration. Swinging his cane, he took his way +westward. It was a mild evening, already dark, and now and then +threatening rain. The succession of faces in the lamplight stirred +the Lieutenant's imagination; and it seemed to him as if he could +walk for ever in that stimulating city atmosphere and surrounded by +the mystery of four million private lives. He glanced at the +houses, and marvelled what was passing behind those warmly-lighted +windows; he looked into face after face, and saw them each intent +upon some unknown interest, criminal or kindly. + +"They talk of war," he thought, "but this is the great battlefield +of mankind." + +And then he began to wonder that he should walk so long in this +complicated scene, and not chance upon so much as the shadow of an +adventure for himself. + +"All in good time," he reflected. "I am still a stranger, and +perhaps wear a strange air. But I must be drawn into the eddy +before long." + +The night was already well advanced when a plump of cold rain fell +suddenly out of the darkness. Brackenbury paused under some trees, +and as he did so he caught sight of a hansom cabman making him a +sign that he was disengaged. The circumstance fell in so happily +to the occasion that he at once raised his cane in answer, and had +soon ensconced himself in the London gondola. + +"Where to, sir?" asked the driver. + +"Where you please," said Brackenbury. + +And immediately, at a pace of surprising swiftness, the hansom +drove off through the rain into a maze of villas. One villa was so +like another, each with its front garden, and there was so little +to distinguish the deserted lamp-lit streets and crescents through +which the flying hansom took its way, that Brackenbury soon lost +all idea of direction. + +He would have been tempted to believe that the cabman was amusing +himself by driving him round and round and in and out about a small +quarter, but there was something business-like in the speed which +convinced him of the contrary. The man had an object in view, he +was hastening towards a definite end; and Brackenbury was at once +astonished at the fellow's skill in picking a way through such a +labyrinth, and a little concerned to imagine what was the occasion +of his hurry. He had heard tales of strangers falling ill in +London. Did the driver belong to some bloody and treacherous +association? and was he himself being whirled to a murderous death? + +The thought had scarcely presented itself, when the cab swung +sharply round a corner and pulled up before the garden gate of a +villa in a long and wide road. The house was brilliantly lighted +up. Another hansom had just driven away, and Brackenbury could see +a gentleman being admitted at the front door and received by +several liveried servants. He was surprised that the cabman should +have stopped so immediately in front of a house where a reception +was being held; but he did not doubt it was the result of accident, +and sat placidly smoking where he was, until he heard the trap +thrown open over his head. + +"Here we are, sir," said the driver. + +"Here!" repeated Brackenbury. "Where?" + +"You told me to take you where I pleased, sir," returned the man +with a chuckle, "and here we are." + +It struck Brackenbury that the voice was wonderfully smooth and +courteous for a man in so inferior a position; he remembered the +speed at which he had been driven; and now it occurred to him that +the hansom was more luxuriously appointed than the common run of +public conveyances. + +"I must ask you to explain," said he. "Do you mean to turn me out +into the rain? My good man, I suspect the choice is mine." + +"The choice is certainly yours," replied the driver; "but when I +tell you all, I believe I know how a gentleman of your figure will +decide. There is a gentlemen's party in this house. I do not know +whether the master be a stranger to London and without +acquaintances of his own; or whether he is a man of odd notions. +But certainly I was hired to kidnap single gentlemen in evening +dress, as many as I pleased, but military officers by preference. +You have simply to go in and say that Mr. Morris invited you." + +"Are you Mr. Morris?" inquired the Lieutenant. + +"Oh, no," replied the cabman. "Mr. Morris is the person of the +house." + +"It is not a common way of collecting guests," said Brackenbury: +"but an eccentric man might very well indulge the whim without any +intention to offend. And suppose that I refuse Mr. Morris's +invitation," he went on, "what then?" + +"My orders are to drive you back where I took you from," replied +the man, "and set out to look for others up to midnight. Those who +have no fancy for such an adventure, Mr. Morris said, were not the +guests for him." + +These words decided the Lieutenant on the spot. + +"After all," he reflected, as he descended from the hansom, "I have +not had long to wait for my adventure." + +He had hardly found footing on the side-walk, and was still feeling +in his pocket for the fare, when the cab swung about and drove off +by the way it came at the former break-neck velocity. Brackenbury +shouted after the man, who paid no heed, and continued to drive +away; but the sound of his voice was overheard in the house, the +door was again thrown open, emitting a flood of light upon the +garden, and a servant ran down to meet him holding an umbrella. + +"The cabman has been paid," observed the servant in a very civil +tone; and he proceeded to escort Brackenbury along the path and up +the steps. In the hall several other attendants relieved him of +his hat, cane, and paletot, gave him a ticket with a number in +return, and politely hurried him up a stair adorned with tropical +flowers, to the door of an apartment on the first storey. Here a +grave butler inquired his name, and announcing "Lieutenant +Brackenbury Rich," ushered him into the drawing-room of the house. + +A young man, slender and singularly handsome, came forward and +greeted him with an air at once courtly and affectionate. Hundreds +of candles, of the finest wax, lit up a room that was perfumed, +like the staircase, with a profusion of rare and beautiful +flowering shrubs. A side-table was loaded with tempting viands. +Several servants went to and fro with fruits and goblets of +champagne. The company was perhaps sixteen in number, all men, few +beyond the prime of life, and with hardly an exception, of a +dashing and capable exterior. They were divided into two groups, +one about a roulette board, and the other surrounding a table at +which one of their number held a bank of baccarat. + +"I see," thought Brackenbury, "I am in a private gambling saloon, +and the cabman was a tout." + +His eye had embraced the details, and his mind formed the +conclusion, while his host was still holding him by the hand; and +to him his looks returned from this rapid survey. At a second view +Mr. Morris surprised him still more than on the first. The easy +elegance of his manners, the distinction, amiability, and courage +that appeared upon his features, fitted very ill with the +Lieutenant's preconceptions on the subject of the proprietor of a +hell; and the tone of his conversation seemed to mark him out for a +man of position and merit. Brackenbury found he had an instinctive +liking for his entertainer; and though he chid himself for the +weakness, he was unable to resist a sort of friendly attraction for +Mr. Morris's person and character. + +"I have heard of you, Lieutenant Rich," said Mr. Morris, lowering +his tone; "and believe me I am gratified to make your acquaintance. +Your looks accord with the reputation that has preceded you from +India. And if you will forget for a while the irregularity of your +presentation in my house, I shall feel it not only an honour, but a +genuine pleasure besides. A man who makes a mouthful of barbarian +cavaliers," he added with a laugh, "should not be appalled by a +breach of etiquette, however serious." + +And he led him towards the sideboard and pressed him to partake of +some refreshment. + +"Upon my word," the Lieutenant reflected, "this is one of the +pleasantest fellows and, I do not doubt, one of the most agreeable +societies in London." + +He partook of some champagne, which he found excellent; and +observing that many of the company were already smoking, he lit one +of his own Manillas, and strolled up to the roulette board, where +he sometimes made a stake and sometimes looked on smilingly on the +fortune of others. It was while he was thus idling that he became +aware of a sharp scrutiny to which the whole of the guests were +subjected. Mr. Morris went here and there, ostensibly busied on +hospitable concerns; but he had ever a shrewd glance at disposal; +not a man of the party escaped his sudden, searching looks; he took +stock of the bearing of heavy losers, he valued the amount of the +stakes, he paused behind couples who were deep in conversation; +and, in a word, there was hardly a characteristic of any one +present but he seemed to catch and make a note of it. Brackenbury +began to wonder if this were indeed a gambling hell: it had so +much the air of a private inquisition. He followed Mr. Morris in +all his movements; and although the man had a ready smile, he +seemed to perceive, as it were under a mask, a haggard, careworn, +and preoccupied spirit. The fellows around him laughed and made +their game; but Brackenbury had lost interest in the guests. + +"This Morris," thought he, "is no idler in the room. Some deep +purpose inspires him; let it be mine to fathom it." + +Now and then Mr. Morris would call one of his visitors aside; and +after a brief colloquy in an ante-room, he would return alone, and +the visitors in question reappeared no more. After a certain +number of repetitions, this performance excited Brackenbury's +curiosity to a high degree. He determined to be at the bottom of +this minor mystery at once; and strolling into the ante-room, found +a deep window recess concealed by curtains of the fashionable +green. Here he hurriedly ensconced himself; nor had he to wait +long before the sound of steps and voices drew near him from the +principal apartment. Peering through the division, he saw Mr. +Morris escorting a fat and ruddy personage, with somewhat the look +of a commercial traveller, whom Brackenbury had already remarked +for his coarse laugh and under-bred behaviour at the table. The +pair halted immediately before the window, so that Brackenbury lost +not a word of the following discourse:- + +"I beg you a thousand pardons!" began Mr. Morris, with the most +conciliatory manner; "and, if I appear rude, I am sure you will +readily forgive me. In a place so great as London accidents must +continually happen; and the best that we can hope is to remedy them +with as small delay as possible. I will not deny that I fear you +have made a mistake and honoured my poor house by inadvertence; +for, to speak openly, I cannot at all remember your appearance. +Let me put the question without unnecessary circumlocution - +between gentlemen of honour a word will suffice - Under whose roof +do you suppose yourself to be?" + +"That of Mr. Morris," replied the other, with a prodigious display +of confusion, which had been visibly growing upon him throughout +the last few words. + +"Mr. John or Mr. James Morris?" inquired the host. + +"I really cannot tell you," returned the unfortunate guest. "I am +not personally acquainted with the gentleman, any more than I am +with yourself." + +"I see," said Mr. Morris. "There is another person of the same +name farther down the street; and I have no doubt the policeman +will be able to supply you with his number. Believe me, I +felicitate myself on the misunderstanding which has procured me the +pleasure of your company for so long; and let me express a hope +that we may meet again upon a more regular footing. Meantime, I +would not for the world detain you longer from your friends. +John," he added, raising his voice, "will you see that this +gentleman finds his great-coat?" + +And with the most agreeable air Mr. Morris escorted his visitor as +far as the ante-room door, where he left him under conduct of the +butler. As he passed the window, on his return to the drawing- +room, Brackenbury could hear him utter a profound sigh, as though +his mind was loaded with a great anxiety, and his nerves already +fatigued with the task on which he was engaged. + +For perhaps an hour the hansoms kept arriving with such frequency, +that Mr. Morris had to receive a new guest for every old one that +he sent away, and the company preserved its number undiminished. +But towards the end of that time the arrivals grew few and far +between, and at length ceased entirely, while the process of +elimination was continued with unimpaired activity. The drawing- +room began to look empty: the baccarat was discontinued for lack +of a banker; more than one person said good-night of his own +accord, and was suffered to depart without expostulation; and in +the meanwhile Mr. Morris redoubled in agreeable attentions to those +who stayed behind. He went from group to group and from person to +person with looks of the readiest sympathy and the most pertinent +and pleasing talk; he was not so much like a host as like a +hostess, and there was a feminine coquetry and condescension in his +manner which charmed the hearts of all. + +As the guests grew thinner, Lieutenant Rich strolled for a moment +out of the drawing-room into the hall in quest of fresher air. But +he had no sooner passed the threshold of the ante-chamber than he +was brought to a dead halt by a discovery of the most surprising +nature. The flowering shrubs had disappeared from the staircase; +three large furniture waggons stood before the garden gate; the +servants were busy dismantling the house upon all sides; and some +of them had already donned their great-coats and were preparing to +depart. It was like the end of a country ball, where everything +has been supplied by contract. Brackenbury had indeed some matter +for reflection. First, the guests, who were no real guests after +all, had been dismissed; and now the servants, who could hardly be +genuine servants, were actively dispersing. + +'"Was the whole establishment a sham?" he asked himself. "The +mushroom of a single night which should disappear before morning?" + +Watching a favourable opportunity, Brackenbury dashed upstairs to +the highest regions of the house. It was as he had expected. He +ran from room to room, and saw not a stick of furniture nor so much +as a picture on the walls. Although the house had been painted and +papered, it was not only uninhabited at present, but plainly had +never been inhabited at all. The young officer remembered with +astonishment its specious, settled, and hospitable air on his +arrival + +It was only at a prodigious cost that the imposture could have been +carried out upon so great a scale. + +Who, then, was Mr. Morris? What was his intention in thus playing +the householder for a single night in the remote west of London? +And why did he collect his visitors at hazard from the streets? + +Brackenbury remembered that he had already delayed too long, and +hastened to join the company. Many had left during his absence; +and counting the Lieutenant and his host, there were not more than +five persons in the drawing-room - recently so thronged. Mr. +Morris greeted him, as he re-entered the apartment, with a smile, +and immediately rose to his feet. + +"It is now time, gentlemen," said he, "to explain my purpose in +decoying you from your amusements. I trust you did not find the +evening hang very dully on your hands; but my object, I will +confess it, was not to entertain your leisure, but to help myself +in an unfortunate necessity. You are all gentlemen," he continued, +"your appearance does you that much justice, and I ask for no +better security. Hence, I speak it without concealment, I ask you +to render me a dangerous and delicate service; dangerous because +you may run the hazard of your lives, and delicate because I must +ask an absolute discretion upon all that you shall see or hear. +From an utter stranger the request is almost comically extravagant; +I am well aware of this; and I would add at once, if there be any +one present who has heard enough, if there be one among the party +who recoils from a dangerous confidence and a piece of Quixotic +devotion to he knows not whom - here is my hand ready, and I shall +wish him good-night and God-speed with all the sincerity in the +world." + +A very tall, black man, with a heavy stoop, immediately responded +to this appeal. + +"I commend your frankness, Sir," said he; "and, for my part, I go. +I make no reflections; but I cannot deny that you fill me with +suspicious thoughts. I go myself, as I say; and perhaps you will +think I have no right to add words to my example." + +"On the contrary," replied Mr. Morris, "I am obliged to you for all +you say. It would be impossible to exaggerate the gravity of my +proposal." + +"Well, gentlemen, what do you say?" said the tall man, addressing +the others. "We have had our evening's frolic; shall we all go +homeward peaceably in a body? You will think well of my suggestion +in the morning, when you see the sun again in innocence and +safety." + +The speaker pronounced the last words with an intonation which +added to their force; and his face wore a singular expression, full +of gravity and significance. Another of the company rose hastily, +and, with some appearance of alarm, prepared to take his leave. +There were only two who held their ground, Brackenbury and an old +red-nosed cavalry Major; but these two preserved a nonchalant +demeanour, and, beyond a look of intelligence which they rapidly +exchanged, appeared entirely foreign to the discussion that had +just been terminated. + +Mr. Morris conducted the deserters as far as the door, which he +closed upon their heels; then he turned round, disclosing a +countenance of mingled relief and animation, and addressed the two +officers as follows. + +"I have chosen my men like Joshua in the Bible," said Mr. Morris, +"and I now believe I have the pick of London. Your appearance +pleased my hansom cabmen; then it delighted me; I have watched your +behaviour in a strange company, and under the most unusual +circumstances: I have studied how you played and how you bore your +losses; lastly, I have put you to the test of a staggering +announcement, and you received it like an invitation to dinner. It +is not for nothing," he cried, "that I have been for years the +companion and the pupil of the bravest and wisest potentate in +Europe." + +"At the affair of Bunderchang," observed the Major, "I asked for +twelve volunteers, and every trooper in the ranks replied to my +appeal. But a gaming party is not the same thing as a regiment +under fire. You may be pleased, I suppose, to have found two, and +two who will not fail you at a push. As for the pair who ran away, +I count them among the most pitiful hounds I ever met with. +Lieutenant Rich," he added, addressing Brackenbury, "I have heard +much of you of late; and I cannot doubt but you have also heard of +me. I am Major O'Rooke." + +And the veteran tendered his hand, which was red and tremulous, to +the young Lieutenant. + +"Who has not?" answered Brackenbury. + +"When this little matter is settled," said Mr. Morris, "you will +think I have sufficiently rewarded you; for I could offer neither a +more valuable service than to make him acquainted with the other." + +"And now," said Major O'Rooke, "is it a duel?" + +"A duel after a fashion," replied Mr. Morris, "a duel with unknown +and dangerous enemies, and, as I gravely fear, a duel to the death. +I must ask you," he continued, "to call me Morris no longer; call +me, if you please, Hammersmith; my real name, as well as that of +another person to whom I hope to present you before long, you will +gratify me by not asking and not seeking to discover for +yourselves. Three days ago the person of whom I speak disappeared +suddenly from home; and, until this morning, I received no hint of +his situation. You will fancy my alarm when I tell you that he is +engaged upon a work of private justice. Bound by an unhappy oath, +too lightly sworn, he finds it necessary, without the help of law, +to rid the earth of an insidious and bloody villain. Already two +of our friends, and one of them my own born brother, have perished +in the enterprise. He himself, or I am much deceived, is taken in +the same fatal toils. But at least he still lives and still hopes, +as this billet sufficiently proves." + +And the speaker, no other than Colonel Geraldine, proffered a +letter, thus conceived:- + + +"Major Hammersmith, - On Wednesday, at 3 A.M., you will be admitted +by the small door to the gardens of Rochester House, Regent's Park, +by a man who is entirely in my interest. I must request you not to +fail me by a second. Pray bring my case of swords, and, if you can +find them, one or two gentlemen of conduct and discretion to whom +my person is unknown. My name must not be used in this affair. + +T. GODALL." + + +"From his wisdom alone, if he had no other title," pursued Colonel +Geraldine, when the others had each satisfied his curiosity, "my +friend is a man whose directions should implicitly be followed. I +need not tell you, therefore, that I have not so much as visited +the neighbourhood of Rochester House; and that I am still as wholly +in the dark as either of yourselves as to the nature of my friend's +dilemma. I betook myself, as soon as I had received this order, to +a furnishing contractor, and, in a few hours, the house in which we +now are had assumed its late air of festival. My scheme was at +least original; and I am far from regretting an action which has +procured me the services of Major O'Rooke and Lieutenant +Brackenbury Rich. But the servants in the street will have a +strange awakening. The house which this evening was full of lights +and visitors they will find uninhabited and for sale to-morrow +morning. Thus even the most serious concerns," added the Colonel, +"have a merry side." + +"And let us add a merry ending," said Brackenbury. + +The Colonel consulted his watch. + +"It is now hard on two," he said. "We have an hour before us, and +a swift cab is at the door. Tell me if I may count upon your +help." + +"During a long life," replied Major O'Rooke, "I never took back my +hand from anything, nor so much as hedged a bet." + +Brackenbury signified his readiness in the most becoming terms; and +after they had drunk a glass or two of wine, the Colonel gave each +of them a loaded revolver, and the three mounted into the cab and +drove off for the address in question. + +Rochester House was a magnificent residence on the banks of the +canal. The large extent of the garden isolated it in an unusual +degree from the annoyances of neighbourhood. It seemed the PARC +AUX CERFS of some great nobleman or millionaire. As far as could +be seen from the street, there was not a glimmer of light in any of +the numerous windows of the mansion; and the place had a look of +neglect, as though the master had been long from home. + +The cab was discharged, and the three gentlemen were not long in +discovering the small door, which was a sort of postern in a lane +between two garden walls. It still wanted ten or fifteen minutes +of the appointed time; the rain fell heavily, and the adventurers +sheltered themselves below some pendant ivy, and spoke in low tones +of the approaching trial. + +Suddenly Geraldine raised his finger to command silence, and all +three bent their hearing to the utmost. Through the continuous +noise of the rain, the steps and voices of two men became audible +from the other side of the wall; and, as they drew nearer, +Brackenbury, whose sense of hearing was remarkably acute, could +even distinguish some fragments of their talk. + +"Is the grave dug?" asked one. + +"It is," replied the other; "behind the laurel hedge. When the job +is done, we can cover it with a pile of stakes." + +The first speaker laughed, and the sound of his merriment was +shocking to the listeners on the other side. + +"In an hour from now," he said. + +And by the sound of the steps it was obvious that the pair had +separated, and were proceeding in contrary directions. + +Almost immediately after the postern door was cautiously opened, a +white face was protruded into the lane, and a hand was seen +beckoning to the watchers. In dead silence the three passed the +door, which was immediately locked behind them, and followed their +guide through several garden alleys to the kitchen entrance of the +house. A single candle burned in the great paved kitchen, which +was destitute of the customary furniture; and as the party +proceeded to ascend from thence by a flight of winding stairs, a +prodigious noise of rats testified still more plainly to the +dilapidation of the house. + +Their conductor preceded them, carrying the candle. He was a lean +man, much bent, but still agile; and he turned from time to time +and admonished silence and caution by his gestures. Colonel +Geraldine followed on his heels, the case of swords under one arm, +and a pistol ready in the other. Brackenbury's heart beat thickly. +He perceived that they were still in time; but he judged from the +alacrity of the old man that the hour of action must be near at +hand; and the circumstances of this adventure were so obscure and +menacing, the place seemed so well chosen for the darkest acts, +that an older man than Brackenbury might have been pardoned a +measure of emotion as he closed the procession up the winding +stair. + +At the top the guide threw open a door and ushered the three +officers before him into a small apartment, lighted by a smoky lamp +and the glow of a modest fire. At the chimney corner sat a man in +the early prime of life, and of a stout but courtly and commanding +appearance. His attitude and expression were those of the most +unmoved composure; he was smoking a cheroot with much enjoyment and +deliberation, and on a table by his elbow stood a long glass of +some effervescing beverage which diffused an agreeable odour +through the room. + +"Welcome," said he, extending his hand to Colonel Geraldine. "I +knew I might count on your exactitude." + +"On my devotion," replied the Colonel, with a bow. + +"Present me to your friends," continued the first; and, when that +ceremony had been performed, "I wish, gentlemen," he added, with +the most exquisite affability, "that I could offer you a more +cheerful programme; it is ungracious to inaugurate an acquaintance +upon serious affairs; but the compulsion of events is stronger than +the obligations of good-fellowship. I hope and believe you will be +able to forgive me this unpleasant evening; and for men of your +stamp it will be enough to know that you are conferring a +considerable favour." + +"Your Highness," said the Major, "must pardon my bluntness. I am +unable to hide what I know. For some time back I have suspected +Major Hammersmith, but Mr. Godall is unmistakable. To seek two men +in London unacquainted with Prince Florizel of Bohemia was to ask +too much at Fortune's hands." + +"Prince Florizel!" cried Brackenbury in amazement. + +And he gazed with the deepest interest on the features of the +celebrated personage before him. + +"I shall not lament the loss of my incognito," remarked the Prince, +"for it enables me to thank you with the more authority. You would +have done as much for Mr. Godall, I feel sure, as for the Prince of +Bohemia; but the latter can perhaps do more for you. The gain is +mine," he added, with a courteous gesture. + +And the next moment he was conversing with the two officers about +the Indian army and the native troops, a subject on which, as on +all others, he had a remarkable fund of information and the +soundest views. + +There was something so striking in this man's attitude at a moment +of deadly peril that Brackenbury was overcome with respectful +admiration; nor was he less sensible to the charm of his +conversation or the surprising amenity of his address. Every +gesture, every intonation, was not only noble in itself, but seemed +to ennoble the fortunate mortal for whom it was intended; and +Brackenbury confessed to himself with enthusiasm that this was a +sovereign for whom a brave man might thankfully lay down his life. + +Many minutes had thus passed, when the person who had introduced +them into the house, and who had sat ever since in a corner, and +with his watch in his hand, arose and whispered a word into the +Prince's ear. + +"It is well, Dr. Noel," replied Florizel, aloud; and then +addressing the others, "You will excuse me, gentlemen," he added, +"if I have to leave you in the dark. The moment now approaches." + +Dr. Noel extinguished the lamp. A faint, grey light, premonitory +of the dawn, illuminated the window, but was not sufficient to +illuminate the room; and when the Prince rose to his feet, it was +impossible to distinguish his features or to make a guess at the +nature of the emotion which obviously affected him as he spoke. He +moved towards the door, and placed himself at one side of it in an +attitude of the wariest attention. + +"You will have the kindness," he said, "to maintain the strictest +silence, and to conceal yourselves in the densest of the shadow." + +The three officers and the physician hastened to obey, and for +nearly ten minutes the only sound in Rochester House was occasioned +by the excursions of the rats behind the woodwork. At the end of +that period, a loud creak of a hinge broke in with surprising +distinctness on the silence; and shortly after, the watchers could +distinguish a slow and cautious tread approaching up the kitchen +stair. At every second step the intruder seemed to pause and lend +an ear, and during these intervals, which seemed of an incalculable +duration, a profound disquiet possessed the spirit of the +listeners. Dr. Noel, accustomed as he was to dangerous emotions, +suffered an almost pitiful physical prostration; his breath +whistled in his lungs, his teeth grated one upon another, and his +joints cracked aloud as he nervously shifted his position. + +At last a hand was laid upon the door, and the bolt shot back with +a slight report. There followed another pause, during which +Brackenbury could see the Prince draw himself together noiselessly +as if for some unusual exertion. Then the door opened, letting in +a little more of the light of the morning; and the figure of a man +appeared upon the threshold and stood motionless. He was tall, and +carried a knife in his hand. Even in the twilight they could see +his upper teeth bare and glistening, for his mouth was open like +that of a hound about to leap. The man had evidently been over the +head in water but a minute or two before; and even while he stood +there the drops kept falling from his wet clothes and pattered on +the floor. + +The next moment he crossed the threshold. There was a leap, a +stifled cry, an instantaneous struggle; and before Colonel +Geraldine could spring to his aid, the Prince held the man disarmed +and helpless, by the shoulders + +"Dr. Noel," he said, "you will be so good as to re-light the lamp." + +And relinquishing the charge of his prisoner to Geraldine and +Brackenbury, he crossed the room and set his back against the +chimney-piece. As soon as the lamp had kindled, the party beheld +an unaccustomed sternness on the Prince's features. It was no +longer Florizel, the careless gentleman; it was the Prince of +Bohemia, justly incensed and full of deadly purpose, who now raised +his head and addressed the captive President of the Suicide Club. + +"President," he said, "you have laid your last snare, and your own +feet are taken in it. The day is beginning; it is your last +morning. You have just swum the Regent's Canal; it is your last +bathe in this world. Your old accomplice, Dr. Noel, so far from +betraying me, has delivered you into my hands for judgment. And +the grave you had dug for me this afternoon shall serve, in God's +almighty providence, to hide your own just doom from the curiosity +of mankind. Kneel and pray, sir, if you have a mind that way; for +your time is short, and God is weary of your iniquities." + +The President made no answer either by word or sign; but continued +to hang his head and gaze sullenly on the floor, as though he were +conscious of the Prince's prolonged and unsparing regard. + +"Gentlemen," continued Florizel, resuming the ordinary tone of his +conversation, "this is a fellow who has long eluded me, but whom, +thanks to Dr. Noel, I now have tightly by the heels. To tell the +story of his misdeeds would occupy more time than we can now +afford; but if the canal had contained nothing but the blood of his +victims, I believe the wretch would have been no drier than you see +him. Even in an affair of this sort I desire to preserve the forms +of honour. But I make you the judges, gentlemen - this is more an +execution than a duel and to give the rogue his choice of weapons +would be to push too far a point of etiquette. I cannot afford to +lose my life in such a business," he continued, unlocking the case +of swords; "and as a pistol-bullet travels so often on the wings of +chance, and skill and courage may fall by the most trembling +marksman, I have decided, and I feel sure you will approve my +determination, to put this question to the touch of swords." + +When Brackenbury and Major O'Rooke, to whom these remarks were +particularly addressed, had each intimated his approval, "Quick, +sir," added Prince Florizel to the President, "choose a blade and +do not keep me waiting; I have an impatience to be done with you +for ever." + +For the first time since he was captured and disarmed the President +raised his head, and it was plain that he began instantly to pluck +up courage. + +"Is it to be stand up?" he asked eagerly, "and between you and me?" + +"I mean so far to honour you," replied the Prince. + +"Oh, come!" cried the President. "With a fair field, who knows how +things may happen? I must add that I consider it handsome +behaviour on your Highness's part; and if the worst comes to the +worst I shall die by one of the most gallant gentlemen in Europe." + +And the President, liberated by those who had detained him, stepped +up to the table and began, with minute attention, to select a +sword. He was highly elated, and seemed to feel no doubt that he +should issue victorious from the contest. The spectators grew +alarmed in the face of so entire a confidence, and adjured Prince +Florizel to reconsider his intention. + +"It is but a farce," he answered; "and I think I can promise you, +gentlemen, that it will not be long a-playing." + +"Your Highness will be careful not to over-reach," said Colonel +Geraldine. + +"Geraldine," returned the Prince, "did you ever know me fail in a +debt of honour? I owe you this man's death, and you shall have +it." + +The President at last satisfied himself with one of the rapiers, +and signified his readiness by a gesture that was not devoid of a +rude nobility. The nearness of peril, and the sense of courage, +even to this obnoxious villain, lent an air of manhood and a +certain grace. + +The Prince helped himself at random to a sword. + +"Colonel Geraldine and Doctor Noel," he said, "will have the +goodness to await me in this room. I wish no personal friend of +mine to be involved in this transaction. Major O'Rooke, you are a +man of some years and a settled reputation - let me recommend the +President to your good graces. Lieutenant Rich will be so good as +lend me his attentions: a young man cannot have too much +experience in such affairs." + +"Your Highness," replied Brackenbury, "it is an honour I shall +prize extremely." + +"It is well," returned Prince Florizel; "I shall hope to stand your +friend in more important circumstances." + +And so saying he led the way out of the apartment and down the +kitchen stairs. + +The two men who were thus left alone threw open the window and +leaned out, straining every sense to catch an indication of the +tragical events that were about to follow. The rain was now over; +day had almost come, and the birds were piping in the shrubbery and +on the forest trees of the garden. The Prince and his companions +were visible for a moment as they followed an alley between two +flowering thickets; but at the first corner a clump of foliage +intervened, and they were again concealed from view. This was all +that the Colonel and the Physician had an opportunity to see, and +the garden was so vast, and the place of combat evidently so remote +from the house, that not even the noise of sword-play reached their +ears. + +"He has taken him towards the grave," said Dr. Noel, with a +shudder. + +"God," cried the Colonel, "God defend the right!" + +And they awaited the event in silence, the Doctor shaking with +fear, the Colonel in an agony of sweat. Many minutes must have +elapsed, the day was sensibly broader, and the birds were singing +more heartily in the garden before a sound of returning footsteps +recalled their glances towards the door. It was the Prince and the +two Indian officers who entered. God had defended the right. + +"I am ashamed of my emotion," said Prince Florizel; "I feel it is a +weakness unworthy of my station, but the continued existence of +that hound of hell had begun to prey upon me like a disease, and +his death has more refreshed me than a night of slumber. Look, +Geraldine," he continued, throwing his sword upon the floor, "there +is the blood of the man who killed your brother. It should be a +welcome sight. And yet," he added, "see how strangely we men are +made! my revenge is not yet five minutes old, and already I am +beginning to ask myself if even revenge be attainable on this +precarious stage of life. The ill he did, who can undo it? The +career in which he amassed a huge fortune (for the house itself in +which we stand belonged to him) - that career is now a part of the +destiny of mankind for ever; and I might weary myself making +thrusts in carte until the crack of judgment, and Geraldine's +brother would be none the less dead, and a thousand other innocent +persons would be none the less dishonoured and debauched! The +existence of a man is so small a thing to take, so mighty a thing +to employ! Alas!" he cried, "is there anything in life so +disenchanting as attainment?" + +"God's justice has been done," replied the Doctor. "So much I +behold. The lesson, your Highness, has been a cruel one for me; +and I await my own turn with deadly apprehension." + +"What was I saying?" cried the Prince. "I have punished, and here +is the man beside us who can help me to undo. Ah, Dr. Noel! you +and I have before us many a day of hard and honourable toil; and +perhaps, before we have none, you may have more than redeemed your +early errors." + +"And in the meantime," said the Doctor, "let me go and bury my +oldest friend." + +(And this, observes the erudite Arabian, is the fortunate +conclusion of the tale. The Prince, it is superfluous to mention, +forgot none of those who served him in this great exploit; and to +this day his authority and influence help them forward in their +public career, while his condescending friendship adds a charm to +their private life. To collect, continues my author, all the +strange events in which this Prince has played the part of +Providence were to fill the habitable globe with books. But the +stories which relate to the fortunes of THE RAJAH'S DIAMOND are of +too entertaining a description, says he, to be omitted. Following +prudently in the footsteps of this Oriental, we shall now begin the +series to which he refers with the STORY OF THE BANDBOX.) + + + + +THE RAJAH'S DIAMOND + + + + +STORY OF THE BANDBOX + + + +UP to the age of sixteen, at a private school and afterwards at one +of those great institutions for which England is justly famous, Mr. +Harry Hartley had received the ordinary education of a gentleman. +At that period, he manifested a remarkable distaste for study; and +his only surviving parent being both weak and ignorant, he was +permitted thenceforward to spend his time in the attainment of +petty and purely elegant accomplishments. Two years later, he was +left an orphan and almost a beggar. For all active and industrious +pursuits, Harry was unfitted alike by nature and training. He +could sing romantic ditties, and accompany himself with discretion +on the piano; he was a graceful although a timid cavalier; he had a +pronounced taste for chess; and nature had sent him into the world +with one of the most engaging exteriors that can well be fancied. +Blond and pink, with dove's eyes and a gentle smile, he had an air +of agreeable tenderness and melancholy, and the most submissive and +caressing manners. But when all is said, he was not the man to +lead armaments of war, or direct the councils of a State. + +A fortunate chance and some influence obtained for Harry, at the +time of his bereavement, the position of private secretary to +Major-General Sir Thomas Vandeleur, C.B. Sir Thomas was a man of +sixty, loud-spoken, boisterous, and domineering. For some reason, +some service the nature of which had been often whispered and +repeatedly denied, the Rajah of Kashgar had presented this officer +with the sixth known diamond of the world. The gift transformed +General Vandeleur from a poor into a wealthy man, from an obscure +and unpopular soldier into one of the lions of London society; the +possessor of the Rajah's Diamond was welcome in the most exclusive +circles; and he had found a lady, young, beautiful, and well-born, +who was willing to call the diamond hers even at the price of +marriage with Sir Thomas Vandeleur. It was commonly said at the +time that, as like draws to like, one jewel had attracted another; +certainly Lady Vandeleur was not only a gem of the finest water in +her own person, but she showed herself to the world in a very +costly setting; and she was considered by many respectable +authorities, as one among the three or four best dressed women in +England. + +Harry's duty as secretary was not particularly onerous; but he had +a dislike for all prolonged work; it gave him pain to ink his +lingers; and the charms of Lady Vandeleur and her toilettes drew +him often from the library to the boudoir. He had the prettiest +ways among women, could talk fashions with enjoyment, and was never +more happy than when criticising a shade of ribbon, or running on +an errand to the milliner's. In short, Sir Thomas's correspondence +fell into pitiful arrears, and my Lady had another lady's maid. + +At last the General, who was one of the least patient of military +commanders, arose from his place in a violent access of passion, +and indicated to his secretary that he had no further need for his +services, with one of those explanatory gestures which are most +rarely employed between gentlemen. The door being unfortunately +open, Mr. Hartley fell downstairs head foremost. + +He arose somewhat hurt and very deeply aggrieved. The life in the +General's house precisely suited him; he moved, on a more or less +doubtful footing, in very genteel company, he did little, he ate of +the best, and he had a lukewarm satisfaction in the presence of +Lady Vandeleur, which, in his own heart, he dubbed by a more +emphatic name. + +Immediately after he had been outraged by the military foot, he +hurried to the boudoir and recounted his sorrows. + +"You know very well, my dear Harry," replied Lady Vandeleur, for +she called him by name like a child or a domestic servant, "that +you never by any chance do what the General tells you. No more do +I, you may say. But that is different. A woman can earn her +pardon for a good year of disobedience by a single adroit +submission; and, besides, no one is married to his private +secretary. I shall be sorry to lose you; but since you cannot stay +longer in a house where you have been insulted, I shall wish you +good-bye, and I promise you to make the General smart for his +behaviour." + +Harry's countenance fell; tears came into his eyes, and he gazed on +Lady Vandeleur with a tender reproach. + +"My Lady," said he, "what is an insult? I should think little +indeed of any one who could not forgive them by the score. But to +leave one's friends; to tear up the bonds of affection - " + +He was unable to continue, for his emotion choked him, and he began +to weep. + +Lady Vandeleur looked at him with a curious expression. "This +little fool," she thought, "imagines himself to be in love with me. +Why should he not become my servant instead of the General's? He +is good-natured, obliging, and understands dress; and besides it +will keep him out of mischief. He is positively too pretty to be +unattached." That night she talked over the General, who was +already somewhat ashamed of his vivacity; and Harry was transferred +to the feminine department, where his life was little short of +heavenly. He was always dressed with uncommon nicety, wore +delicate flowers in his button-hole, and could entertain a visitor +with tact and pleasantry. He took a pride in servility to a +beautiful woman; received Lady Vandeleur's commands as so many +marks of favour; and was pleased to exhibit himself before other +men, who derided and despised him, in his character of male lady's- +maid and man milliner. Nor could he think enough of his existence +from a moral point of view. Wickedness seemed to him an +essentially male attribute, and to pass one's days with a delicate +woman, and principally occupied about trimmings, was to inhabit an +enchanted isle among the storms of life. + +One fine morning he came into the drawing-room and began to arrange +some music on the top of the piano. Lady Vandeleur, at the other +end of the apartment, was speaking somewhat eagerly with her +brother, Charlie Pendragon, an elderly young man, much broken with +dissipation, and very lame of one foot. The private secretary, to +whose entrance they paid no regard, could not avoid overhearing a +part of their conversation. + +"To-day or never," said the lady. "Once and for all, it shall be +done to-day." + +"To-day, if it must be," replied the brother, with a sigh. "But it +is a false step, a ruinous step, Clara; and we shall live to repent +it dismally." + +Lady Vandeleur looked her brother steadily and somewhat strangely +in the face. + +"You forget," she said; "the man must die at last." + +"Upon my word, Clara," said Pendragon, "I believe you are the most +heartless rascal in England." + +"You men," she returned, "are so coarsely built, that you can never +appreciate a shade of meaning. You are yourselves rapacious, +violent, immodest, careless of distinction; and yet the least +thought for the future shocks you in a woman. I have no patience +with such stuff. You would despise in a common banker the +imbecility that you expect to find in us." + +"You are very likely right," replied her brother; "you were always +cleverer than I. And, anyway, you know my motto: The family +before all." + +"Yes, Charlie," she returned, taking his hand in hers, "I know your +motto better than you know it yourself. 'And Clara before the +family!' Is not that the second part of it? Indeed, you are the +best of brothers, and I love you dearly." + +Mr. Pendragon got up, looking a little confused by these family +endearments. + +"I had better not be seen," said he. "I understand my part to a +miracle, and I'll keep an eye on the Tame Cat." + +"Do," she replied. "He is an abject creature, and might ruin all." + +She kissed the tips of her fingers to him daintily; and the brother +withdrew by the boudoir and the back stair. + +"Harry," said Lady Vandeleur, turning towards the secretary as soon +as they were alone, "I have a commission for you this morning. But +you shall take a cab; I cannot have my secretary freckled." + +She spoke the last words with emphasis and a look of half-motherly +pride that caused great contentment to poor Harry; and he professed +himself charmed to find an opportunity of serving her. + +"It is another of our great secrets," she went on archly, "and no +one must know of it but my secretary and me. Sir Thomas would make +the saddest disturbance; and if you only knew how weary I am of +these scenes! Oh, Harry, Harry, can you explain to me what makes +you men so violent and unjust? But, indeed, I know you cannot; you +are the only man in the world who knows nothing of these shameful +passions; you are so good, Harry, and so kind; you, at least, can +be a woman's friend; and, do you know? I think you make the others +more ugly by comparison." + +"It is you," said Harry gallantly, "who are so kind to me. You +treat me like - " + +"Like a mother," interposed Lady Vandeleur; "I try to be a mother +to you. Or, at least," she corrected herself with a smile, "almost +a mother. I am afraid I am too young to be your mother really. +Let us say a friend - a dear friend." + +She paused long enough to let her words take effect in Harry's +sentimental quarters, but not long enough to allow him a reply. + +"But all this is beside our purpose," she resumed. "You will find +a bandbox in the left-hand side of the oak wardrobe; it is +underneath the pink slip that I wore on Wednesday with my Mechlin. +You will take it immediately to this address," and she gave him a +paper, "but do not, on any account, let it out of your hands until +you have received a receipt written by myself. Do you understand? +Answer, if you please - answer! This is extremely important, and I +must ask you to pay some attention." + +Harry pacified her by repeating her instructions perfectly; and she +was just going to tell him more when General Vandeleur flung into +the apartment, scarlet with anger, and holding a long and elaborate +milliner's bill in his hand. + +"Will you look at this, madam?" cried he. "Will you have the +goodness to look at this document? I know well enough you married +me for my money, and I hope I can make as great allowances as any +other man in the service; but, as sure as God made me, I mean to +put a period to this disreputable prodigality." + +"Mr. Hartley," said Lady Vandeleur, "I think you understand what +you have to do. May I ask you to see to it at once?" + +"Stop," said the General, addressing Harry, "one word before you +go." And then, turning again to Lady Vandeleur, "What is this +precious fellow's errand?" he demanded. "I trust him no further +than I do yourself, let me tell you. If he had as much as the +rudiments of honesty, he would scorn to stay in this house; and +what he does for his wages is a mystery to all the world. What is +his errand, madam? and why are you hurrying him away?" + +"I supposed you had something to say to me in private," replied the +lady. + +"You spoke about an errand," insisted the General. "Do not attempt +to deceive me in my present state of temper. You certainly spoke +about an errand." + +"If you insist on making your servants privy to our humiliating +dissensions," replied Lady Vandeleur, "perhaps I had better ask Mr. +Hartley to sit down. No?" she continued; "then you may go, Mr. +Hartley. I trust you may remember all that you have heard in this +room; it may be useful to you." + +Harry at once made his escape from the drawing-room; and as he ran +upstairs he could hear the General's voice upraised in declamation, +and the thin tones of Lady Vandeleur planting icy repartees at +every opening. How cordially he admired the wife! How skilfully +she could evade an awkward question! with what secure effrontery +she repeated her instructions under the very guns of the enemy! and +on the other hand, how he detested the husband! + +There had been nothing unfamiliar in the morning's events, for he +was continually in the habit of serving Lady Vandeleur on secret +missions, principally connected with millinery. There was a +skeleton in the house, as he well knew. The bottomless +extravagance and the unknown liabilities of the wife had long since +swallowed her own fortune, and threatened day by day to engulph +that of the husband. Once or twice in every year exposure and ruin +seemed imminent, and Harry kept trotting round to all sorts of +furnishers' shops, telling small fibs, and paying small advances on +the gross amount, until another term was tided over, and the lady +and her faithful secretary breathed again. For Harry, in a double +capacity, was heart and soul upon that side of the war: not only +did he adore Lady Vandeleur and fear and dislike her husband, but +he naturally sympathised with the love of finery, and his own +single extravagance was at the tailor's. + +He found the bandbox where it had been described, arranged his +toilette with care, and left the house. The sun shone brightly; +the distance he had to travel was considerable, and he remembered +with dismay that the General's sudden irruption had prevented Lady +Vandeleur from giving him money for a cab. On this sultry day +there was every chance that his complexion would suffer severely; +and to walk through so much of London with a bandbox on his arm was +a humiliation almost insupportable to a youth of his character. He +paused, and took counsel with himself. The Vandeleurs lived in +Eaton Place; his destination was near Notting Hill; plainly, he +might cross the Park by keeping well in the open and avoiding +populous alleys; and he thanked his stars when he reflected that it +was still comparatively early in the day. + +Anxious to be rid of his incubus, he walked somewhat faster than +his ordinary, and he was already some way through Kensington +Gardens when, in a solitary spot among trees, he found himself +confronted by the General. + +"I beg your pardon, Sir Thomas," observed Harry, politely falling +on one side; for the other stood directly in his path. + +"Where are you going, sir?" asked the General. + +"I am taking a little walk among the trees," replied the lad. + +The General struck the bandbox with his cane. + +"With that thing?" he cried; "you lie, sir, and you know you lie!" + +"Indeed, Sir Thomas," returned Harry, "I am not accustomed to be +questioned in so high a key." + +"You do not understand your position," said the General. "You are +my servant, and a servant of whom I have conceived the most serious +suspicions. How do I know but that your box is full of teaspoons?" + +"It contains a silk hat belonging to a friend," said Harry. + +"Very well," replied General Vandeleur. "Then I want to see your +friend's silk hat. I have," he added grimly, "a singular curiosity +for hats; and I believe you know me to be somewhat positive." + +"I beg your pardon, Sir Thomas, I am exceedingly grieved," Harry +apologised; "but indeed this is a private affair." + +The General caught him roughly by the shoulder with one hand, while +he raised his cane in the most menacing manner with the other. +Harry gave himself up for lost; but at the same moment Heaven +vouchsafed him an unexpected defender in the person of Charlie +Pendragon, who now strode forward from behind the trees. + +"Come, come, General, hold your hand," said he, "this is neither +courteous nor manly." + +"Aha!" cried the General, wheeling round upon his new antagonist, +"Mr. Pendragon! And do you suppose, Mr. Pendragon, that because I +have had the misfortune to marry your sister, I shall suffer myself +to be dogged and thwarted by a discredited and bankrupt libertine +like you? My acquaintance with Lady Vandeleur, sir, has taken away +all my appetite for the other members of her family." + +"And do you fancy, General Vandeleur," retorted Charlie, "that +because my sister has had the misfortune to marry you, she there +and then forfeited her rights and privileges as a lady? I own, +sir, that by that action she did as much as anybody could to +derogate from her position; but to me she is still a Pendragon. I +make it my business to protect her from ungentlemanly outrage, and +if you were ten times her husband I would not permit her liberty to +be restrained, nor her private messengers to be violently +arrested." + +"How is that, Mr. Hartley?" interrogated the General. "Mr. +Pendragon is of my opinion, it appears. He too suspects that Lady +Vandeleur has something to do with your friend's silk hat." + +Charlie saw that he had committed an unpardonable blunder, which he +hastened to repair. + +"How, sir?" he cried; "I suspect, do you say? I suspect nothing. +Only where I find strength abused and a man brutalising his +inferiors, I take the liberty to interfere." + +As he said these words he made a sign to Harry, which the latter +was too dull or too much troubled to understand. + +"In what way am I to construe your attitude, sir?" demanded +Vandeleur. + +"Why, sir, as you please," returned Pendragon. + +The General once more raised his cane, and made a cut for Charlie's +head; but the latter, lame foot and all, evaded the blow with his +umbrella, ran in, and immediately closed with his formidable +adversary. + +"Run, Harry, run!" he cried; "run, you dolt! Harry stood petrified +for a moment, watching the two men sway together in this fierce +embrace; then he turned and took to his heels. When he cast a +glance over his shoulder he saw the General prostrate under +Charlie's knee, but still making desperate efforts to reverse the +situation; and the Gardens seemed to have filled with people, who +were running from all directions towards the scene of fight. This +spectacle lent the secretary wings; and he did not relax his pace +until he had gained the Bayswater road, and plunged at random into +an unfrequented by-street. + +To see two gentlemen of his acquaintance thus brutally mauling each +other was deeply shocking to Harry. He desired to forget the +sight; he desired, above all, to put as great a distance as +possible between himself and General Vandeleur; and in his +eagerness for this he forgot everything about his destination, and +hurried before him headlong and trembling. When he remembered that +Lady Vandeleur was the wife of one and the sister of the other of +these gladiators, his heart was touched with sympathy for a woman +so distressingly misplaced in life. Even his own situation in the +General's household looked hardly so pleasing as usual in the light +of these violent transactions. + +He had walked some little distance, busied with these meditations, +before a slight collision with another passenger reminded him of +the bandbox on his arm. + +"Heavens!" cried he, "where was my head? and whither have I +wandered?" + +Thereupon he consulted the envelope which Lady Vandeleur had given +him. The address was there, but without a name. Harry was simply +directed to ask for "the gentleman who expected a parcel from Lady +Vandeleur," and if he were not at home to await his return. The +gentleman, added the note, should present a receipt in the +handwriting of the lady herself. All this seemed mightily +mysterious, and Harry was above all astonished at the omission of +the name and the formality of the receipt. He had thought little +of this last when he heard it dropped in conversation; but reading +it in cold blood, and taking it in connection with the other +strange particulars, he became convinced that he was engaged in +perilous affairs. For half a moment he had a doubt of Lady +Vandeleur herself; for he found these obscure proceedings somewhat +unworthy of so high a lady, and became more critical when her +secrets were preserved against himself. But her empire over his +spirit was too complete, he dismissed his suspicions, and blamed +himself roundly for having so much as entertained them. + +In one thing, however, his duty and interest, his generosity and +his terrors, coincided - to get rid of the bandbox with the +greatest possible despatch. + +He accosted the first policeman and courteously inquired his way. +It turned out that he was already not far from his destination, and +a walk of a few minutes brought him to a small house in a lane, +freshly painted, and kept with the most scrupulous attention. The +knocker and bell-pull were highly polished; flowering pot-herbs +garnished the sills of the different windows; and curtains of some +rich material concealed the interior from the eyes of curious +passengers. The place had an air of repose and secrecy; and Harry +was so far caught with this spirit that he knocked with more than +usual discretion, and was more than usually careful to remove all +impurity from his boots. + +A servant-maid of some personal attractions immediately opened the +door, and seemed to regard the secretary with no unkind eyes. + +"This is the parcel from Lady Vandeleur," said Harry. + +"I know," replied the maid, with a nod. "But the gentleman is from +home. Will you leave it with me?" + +"I cannot," answered Harry. "I am directed not to part with it but +upon a certain condition, and I must ask you, I am afraid, to let +me wait." + +"Well," said she, "I suppose I may let you wait. I am lonely +enough, I can tell you, and you do not look as though you would eat +a girl. But be sure and do not ask the gentleman's name, for that +I am not to tell you." + +"Do you say so?" cried Harry. "Why, how strange! But indeed for +some time back I walk among surprises. One question I think I may +surely ask without indiscretion: Is he the master of this house?" + +"He is a lodger, and not eight days old at that," returned the +maid. "And now a question for a question: Do you know lady +Vandeleur?" + +"I am her private secretary," replied Harry with a glow of modest +pride. + +"She is pretty, is she not?" pursued the servant. + +"Oh, beautiful!" cried Harry; "wonderfully lovely, and not less +good and kind!" + +"You look kind enough yourself," she retorted; "and I wager you are +worth a dozen Lady Vandeleurs." + +Harry was properly scandalised. + +"I!" he cried. "I am only a secretary!" + +"Do you mean that for me?" said the girl. "Because I am only a +housemaid, if you please." And then, relenting at the sight of +Harry's obvious confusion, "I know you mean nothing of the sort," +she added; "and I like your looks; but I think nothing of your Lady +Vandeleur. Oh, these mistresses!" she cried. "To send out a real +gentleman like you - with a bandbox - in broad day!" + +During this talk they had remained in their original positions - +she on the doorstep, he on the side-walk, bareheaded for the sake +of coolness, and with the bandbox on his arm. But upon this last +speech Harry, who was unable to support such point-blank +compliments to his appearance, nor the encouraging look with which +they were accompanied, began to change his attitude, and glance +from left to right in perturbation. In so doing he turned his face +towards the lower end of the lane, and there, to his indescribable +dismay, his eyes encountered those of General Vandeleur. The +General, in a prodigious fluster of heat, hurry, and indignation, +had been scouring the streets in chase of his brother-in-law; but +so soon as he caught a glimpse of the delinquent secretary, his +purpose changed, his anger flowed into a new channel, and he turned +on his heel and came tearing up the lane with truculent gestures +and vociferations. + +Harry made but one bolt of it into the house, driving the maid +before him; and the door was slammed in his pursuer's countenance. + +"Is there a bar? Will it lock?" asked Harry, while a salvo on the +knocker made the house echo from wall to wall. + +"Why, what is wrong with you?" asked the maid. "Is it this old +gentleman?" + +"If he gets hold of me," whispered Harry, "I am as good as dead. +He has been pursuing me all day, carries a sword-stick, and is an +Indian military officer." + +"These are fine manners," cried the maid. "And what, if you +please, may be his name?" + +"It is the General, my master," answered Harry. "He is after this +bandbox." + +"Did not I tell you?" cried the maid in triumph. "I told you I +thought worse than nothing of your Lady Vandeleur; and if you had +an eye in your head you might see what she is for yourself. An +ungrateful minx, I will be bound for that!" + +The General renewed his attack upon the knocker, and his passion +growing with delay, began to kick and beat upon the panels of the +door. + +"It is lucky," observed the girl, "that I am alone in the house; +your General may hammer until he is weary, and there is none to +open for him. Follow me!" + +So saying she led Harry into the kitchen, where she made him sit +down, and stood by him herself in an affectionate attitude, with a +hand upon his shoulder. The din at the door, so far from abating, +continued to increase in volume, and at each blow the unhappy +secretary was shaken to the heart. + +"What is your name?" asked the girl. + +"Harry Hartley," he replied. + +"Mine," she went on, "is Prudence. Do you like it?" + +"Very much," said Harry. "But hear for a moment how the General +beats upon the door. He will certainly break it in, and then, in +heaven's name, what have I to look for but death?" + +"You put yourself very much about with no occasion," answered +Prudence. "Let your General knock, he will do no more than blister +his hands. Do you think I would keep you here if I were not sure +to save you? Oh, no, I am a good friend to those that please me! +and we have a back door upon another lane. But," she added, +checking him, for he had got upon his feet immediately on this +welcome news, "but I will not show where it is unless you kiss me. +Will you, Harry?" + +"That I will," he cried, remembering his gallantry, "not for your +back door, but because you are good and pretty." + +And he administered two or three cordial salutes, which were +returned to him in kind. + +Then Prudence led him to the back gate, and put her hand upon the +key. + +"Will you come and see me?" she asked. + +"I will indeed," said Harry. "Do not I owe you my life?" + +"And now," she added, opening the door, "run as hard as you can, +for I shall let in the General." + +Harry scarcely required this advice; fear had him by the forelock; +and he addressed himself diligently to flight. A few steps, and he +believed he would escape from his trials, and return to Lady +Vandeleur in honour and safety. But these few steps had not been +taken before he heard a man's voice hailing him by name with many +execrations, and, looking over his shoulder, he beheld Charlie +Pendragon waving him with both arms to return. The shock of this +new incident was so sudden and profound, and Harry was already +worked into so high a state of nervous tension, that he could think +of nothing better than to accelerate his pace, and continue +running. He should certainly have remembered the scene in +Kensington Gardens; he should certainly have concluded that, where +the General was his enemy, Charlie Pendragon could be no other than +a friend. But such was the fever and perturbation of his mind that +he was struck by none of these considerations, and only continued +to run the faster up the lane. + +Charlie, by the sound of his voice and the vile terms that he +hurled after the secretary, was obviously beside himself with rage. +He, too, ran his very best; but, try as he might, the physical +advantages were not upon his side, and his outcries and the fall of +his lame foot on the macadam began to fall farther and farther into +the wake. + +Harry's hopes began once more to arise. The lane was both steep +and narrow, but it was exceedingly solitary, bordered on either +hand by garden walls, overhung with foliage; and, for as far as the +fugitive could see in front of him, there was neither a creature +moving nor an open door. Providence, weary of persecution, was now +offering him an open field for his escape. + +Alas! as he came abreast of a garden door under a tuft of +chestnuts, it was suddenly drawn back, and he could see inside, +upon a garden path, the figure of a butcher's boy with his tray +upon his arm. He had hardly recognised the fact before he was some +steps beyond upon the other side. But the fellow had had time to +observe him; he was evidently much surprised to see a gentleman go +by at so unusual a pace; and he came out into the lane and began to +call after Harry with shouts of ironical encouragement. + +His appearance gave a new idea to Charlie Pendragon, who, although +he was now sadly out of breath, once more upraised his voice. + +"Stop, thief!" he cried. + +And immediately the butcher's boy had taken up the cry and joined +in the pursuit. + +This was a bitter moment for the hunted secretary. It is true that +his terror enabled him once more to improve his pace, and gain with +every step on his pursuers; but he was well aware that he was near +the end of his resources, and should he meet any one coming the +other way, his predicament in the narrow lane would be desperate +indeed. + +"I must find a place of concealment," he thought, "and that within +the next few seconds, or all is over with me in this world." + +Scarcely had the thought crossed his mind than the lane took a +sudden turning; and he found himself hidden from his enemies. +There are circumstances in which even the least energetic of +mankind learn to behave with vigour and decision; and the most +cautious forget their prudence and embrace foolhardy resolutions. +This was one of those occasions for Harry Hartley; and those who +knew him best would have been the most astonished at the lad's +audacity. He stopped dead, flung the bandbox over a garden wall, +and leaping upward with incredible agility and seizing the +copestone with his hands, he tumbled headlong after it into the +garden. + +He came to himself a moment afterwards, seated in a border of small +rosebushes. His hands and knees were cut and bleeding, for the +wall had been protected against such an escalade by a liberal +provision of old bottles; and he was conscious of a general +dislocation and a painful swimming in the head. Facing him across +the garden, which was in admirable order, and set with flowers of +the most delicious perfume, he beheld the back of a house. It was +of considerable extent, and plainly habitable; but, in odd contrast +to the grounds, it was crazy, ill-kept, and of a mean appearance. +On all other sides the circuit of the garden wall appeared +unbroken. + +He took in these features of the scene with mechanical glances, but +his mind was still unable to piece together or draw a rational +conclusion from what he saw. And when he heard footsteps advancing +on the gravel, although he turned his eyes in that direction, it +was with no thought either for defence or flight. + +The new-comer was a large, coarse, and very sordid personage, in +gardening clothes, and with a watering-pot in his left hand. One +less confused would have been affected with some alarm at the sight +of this man's huge proportions and black and lowering eyes. But +Harry was too gravely shaken by his fall to be so much as +terrified; and if he was unable to divert his glances from the +gardener, he remained absolutely passive, and suffered him to draw +near, to take him by the shoulder, and to plant him roughly on his +feet, without a motion of resistance. + +For a moment the two stared into each other's eyes, Harry +fascinated, the man filled with wrath and a cruel, sneering humour. + +"Who are you?" he demanded at last. "Who are you to come flying +over my wall and break my GLOIRE DE DIJONS! What is your name?" he +added, shaking him; "and what may be your business here?" + +Harry could not as much as proffer a word in explanation. + +But just at that moment Pendragon and the butcher's boy went +clumping past, and the sound of their feet and their hoarse cries +echoed loudly in the narrow lane. The gardener had received his +answer; and he looked down into Harry's face with an obnoxious +smile. + +"A thief!" he said. "Upon my word, and a very good thing you must +make of it; for I see you dressed like a gentleman from top to toe. +Are you not ashamed to go about the world in such a trim, with +honest folk, I dare say, glad to buy your cast-off finery second +hand? Speak up, you dog," the man went on; "you can understand +English, I suppose; and I mean to have a bit of talk with you +before I march you to the station." + +"Indeed, sir," said Harry, "this is all a dreadful misconception; +and if you will go with me to Sir Thomas Vandeleur's in Eaton +Place, I can promise that all will be made plain. The most upright +person, as I now perceive, can be led into suspicious positions." + +"My little man," replied the gardener, "I will go with you no +farther than the station-house in the next street. The inspector, +no doubt, will be glad to take a stroll with you as far as Eaton +Place, and have a bit of afternoon tea with your great +acquaintances. Or would you prefer to go direct to the Home +Secretary? Sir Thomas Vandeleur, indeed! Perhaps you think I +don't know a gentleman when I see one, from a common run-the-hedge +like you? Clothes or no clothes, I can read you like a book. Here +is a shirt that maybe cost as much as my Sunday hat; and that coat, +I take it, has never seen the inside of Rag-fair, and then your +boots - " + +The man, whose eyes had fallen upon the ground, stopped short in +his insulting commentary, and remained for a moment looking +intently upon something at his feet. When he spoke his voice was +strangely altered. + +"What, in God's name," said he, "is all this?" + +Harry, following the direction of the man's eyes, beheld a +spectacle that struck him dumb with terror and amazement. In his +fall he had descended vertically upon the bandbox and burst it open +from end to end; thence a great treasure of diamonds had poured +forth, and now lay abroad, part trodden in the soil, part scattered +on the surface in regal and glittering profusion. There was a +magnificent coronet which he had often admired on Lady Vandeleur; +there were rings and brooches, ear-drops and bracelets, and even +unset brilliants rolling here and there among the rosebushes like +drops of morning dew. A princely fortune lay between the two men +upon the ground - a fortune in the most inviting, solid, and +durable form, capable of being carried in an apron, beautiful in +itself, and scattering the sunlight in a million rainbow flashes. + +"Good God!" said Harry, "I am lost!" + +His mind raced backwards into the past with the incalculable +velocity of thought, and he began to comprehend his day's +adventures, to conceive them as a whole, and to recognise the sad +imbroglio in which his own character and fortunes had become +involved. He looked round him as if for help, but he was alone in +the garden, with his scattered diamonds and his redoubtable +interlocutor; and when he gave ear, there was no sound but the +rustle of the leaves and the hurried pulsation of his heart. It +was little wonder if the young man felt himself deserted by his +spirits, and with a broken voice repeated his last ejaculation - "I +am lost!" + +The gardener peered in all directions with an air of guilt; but +there was no face at any of the windows, and he seemed to breathe +again. + +"Pick up a heart," he said, "you fool! The worst of it is done. +Why could you not say at first there was enough for two? Two?" he +repeated, "aye, and for two hundred! But come away from here, +where we may be observed; and, for the love of wisdom, straighten +out your hat and brush your clothes. You could not travel two +steps the figure of fun you look just now." + +While Harry mechanically adopted these suggestions, the gardener, +getting upon his knees, hastily drew together the scattered jewels +and returned them to the bandbox. The touch of these costly +crystals sent a shiver of emotion through the man's stalwart frame; +his face was transfigured, and his eyes shone with concupiscence; +indeed it seemed as if he luxuriously prolonged his occupation, and +dallied with every diamond that he handled. At last, however, it +was done; and, concealing the bandbox in his smock, the gardener +beckoned to Harry and preceded him in the direction of the house. + +Near the door they were met by a young man evidently in holy +orders, dark and strikingly handsome, with a look of mingled +weakness and resolution, and very neatly attired after the manner +of his caste. The gardener was plainly annoyed by this encounter; +but he put as good a face upon it as he could, and accosted the +clergyman with an obsequious and smiling air. + +"Here is a fine afternoon, Mr. Rolles," said he: "a fine +afternoon, as sure as God made it! And here is a young friend of +mine who had a fancy to look at my roses. I took the liberty to +bring him in, for I thought none of the lodgers would object." + +"Speaking for myself," replied the Reverend Mr. Rolles, "I do not; +nor do I fancy any of the rest of us would be more difficult upon +so small a matter. The garden is your own, Mr. Raeburn; we must +none of us forget that; and because you give us liberty to walk +there we should be indeed ungracious if we so far presumed upon +your politeness as to interfere with the convenience of your +friends. But, on second thoughts," he added, "I believe that this +gentleman and I have met before. Mr. Hartley, I think. I regret +to observe that you have had a fall." + +And he offered his hand. + +A sort of maiden dignity and a desire to delay as long as possible +the necessity for explanation moved Harry to refuse this chance of +help, and to deny his own identity. He chose the tender mercies of +the gardener, who was at least unknown to him, rather than the +curiosity and perhaps the doubts of an acquaintance. + +"I fear there is some mistake," said he. "My name is Thomlinson +and I am a friend of Mr. Raeburn's." + +"Indeed?" said Mr. Rolles. "The likeness is amazing." + +Mr. Raeburn, who had been upon thorns throughout this colloquy, now +felt it high time to bring it to a period. + +"I wish you a pleasant saunter, sir," said he. + +And with that he dragged Harry after him into the house, and then +into a chamber on the garden. His first care was to draw down the +blind, for Mr. Rolles still remained where they had left him, in an +attitude of perplexity and thought. Then he emptied the broken +bandbox on the table, and stood before the treasure, thus fully +displayed, with an expression of rapturous greed, and rubbing his +hands upon his thighs. For Harry, the sight of the man's face +under the influence of this base emotion, added another pang to +those he was already suffering. It seemed incredible that, from +his life of pure and delicate trifling, he should be plunged in a +breath among sordid and criminal relations. He could reproach his +conscience with no sinful act; and yet he was now suffering the +punishment of sin in its most acute and cruel forms - the dread of +punishment, the suspicions of the good, and the companionship and +contamination of vile and brutal natures. He felt he could lay his +life down with gladness to escape from the room and the society of +Mr. Raeburn. + +"And now," said the latter, after he had separated the jewels into +two nearly equal parts, and drawn one of them nearer to himself; +"and now," said he, "everything in this world has to be paid for, +and some things sweetly. You must know, Mr. Hartley, if such be +your name, that I am a man of a very easy temper, and good nature +has been my stumbling-block from first to last. I could pocket the +whole of these pretty pebbles, if I chose, and I should like to see +you dare to say a word; but I think I must have taken a liking to +you; for I declare I have not the heart to shave you so close. So, +do you see, in pure kind feeling, I propose that we divide; and +these," indicating the two heaps, "are the proportions that seem to +me just and friendly. Do you see any objection, Mr. Hartley, may I +ask? I am not the man to stick upon a brooch." + +"But, sir," cried Harry, "what you propose to me is impossible. +The jewels are not mine, and I cannot share what is another's, no +matter with whom, nor in what proportions." + + "They are not yours, are they not?" returned Raeburn. "And you +could not share them with anybody, couldn't you? Well now, that is +what I call a pity; for here am I obliged to take you to the +station. The police - think of that," he continued; "think of the +disgrace for your respectable parents; think," he went on, taking +Harry by the wrist; "think of the Colonies and the Day of +Judgment." + +"I cannot help it," wailed Harry. "It is not my fault. You will +not come with me to Eaton Place?" + +"No," replied the man, "I will not, that is certain. And I mean to +divide these playthings with you here." + +And so saying he applied a sudden and severe torsion to the lad's +wrist. + +Harry could not suppress a scream, and the perspiration burst forth +upon his face. Perhaps pain and terror quickened his intelligence, +but certainly at that moment the whole business flashed across him +in another light; and he saw that there was nothing for it but to +accede to the ruffian's proposal, and trust to find the house and +force him to disgorge, under more favourable circumstances, and +when he himself was clear from all suspicion. + +"I agree," he said. + +"There is a lamb," sneered the gardener. "I thought you would +recognise your interests at last. This bandbox," he continued, "I +shall burn with my rubbish; it is a thing that curious folk might +recognise; and as for you, scrape up your gaieties and put them in +your pocket." + +Harry proceeded to obey, Raeburn watching him, and every now and +again his greed rekindled by some bright scintillation, abstracting +another jewel from the secretary's share, and adding it to his own. + +When this was finished, both proceeded to the front door, which +Raeburn cautiously opened to observe the street. This was +apparently clear of passengers; for he suddenly seized Harry by the +nape of the neck, and holding his face downward so that he could +see nothing but the roadway and the doorsteps of the houses, pushed +him violently before him down one street and up another for the +space of perhaps a minute and a half. Harry had counted three +corners before the bully relaxed his grasp, and crying, "Now be off +with you!" sent the lad flying head foremost with a well-directed +and athletic kick. + +When Harry gathered himself up, half-stunned and bleeding freely at +the nose, Mr. Raeburn had entirely disappeared. For the first +time, anger and pain so completely overcame the lad's spirits that +he burst into a fit of tears and remained sobbing in the middle of +the road. + +After he had thus somewhat assuaged his emotion, he began to look +about him and read the names of the streets at whose intersection +he had been deserted by the gardener. He was still in an +unfrequented portion of West London, among villas and large +gardens; but he could see some persons at a window who had +evidently witnessed his misfortune; and almost immediately after a +servant came running from the house and offered him a glass of +water. At the same time, a dirty rogue, who had been slouching +somewhere in the neighbourhood, drew near him from the other side. + +"Poor fellow," said the maid, "how vilely you have been handled, to +be sure! Why, your knees are all cut, and your clothes ruined! Do +you know the wretch who used you so?" + +"That I do!" cried Harry, who was somewhat refreshed by the water; +"and shall run him home in spite of his precautions. He shall pay +dearly for this day's work, I promise you." + +"You had better come into the house and have yourself washed and +brushed," continued the maid. "My mistress will make you welcome, +never fear. And see, I will pick up your hat. Why, love of +mercy!" she screamed, "if you have not dropped diamonds all over +the street!" + +Such was the case; a good half of what remained to him after the +depredations of Mr. Raeburn, had been shaken out of his pockets by +the summersault and once more lay glittering on the ground. He +blessed his fortune that the maid had been so quick of eye; "there +is nothing so bad but it might be worse," thought he; and the +recovery of these few seemed to him almost as great an affair as +the loss of all the rest. But, alas! as he stooped to pick up his +treasures, the loiterer made a rapid onslaught, overset both Harry +and the maid with a movement of his arms, swept up a double handful +of the diamonds, and made off along the street with an amazing +swiftness. + +Harry, as soon as he could get upon his feet, gave chase to the +miscreant with many cries, but the latter was too fleet of foot, +and probably too well acquainted with the locality; for turn where +the pursuer would he could find no traces of the fugitive. + +In the deepest despondency, Harry revisited the scene of his +mishap, where the maid, who was still waiting, very honestly +returned him his hat and the remainder of the fallen diamonds. +Harry thanked her from his heart, and being now in no humour for +economy, made his way to the nearest cab-stand and set off for +Eaton Place by coach. + +The house, on his arrival, seemed in some confusion, as if a +catastrophe had happened in the family; and the servants clustered +together in the hall, and were unable, or perhaps not altogether +anxious, to suppress their merriment at the tatterdemalion figure +of the secretary. He passed them with as good an air of dignity as +he could assume, and made directly for the boudoir. When he opened +the door an astonishing and even menacing spectacle presented +itself to his eyes; for he beheld the General and his wife and, of +all people, Charlie Pendragon, closeted together and speaking with +earnestness and gravity on some important subject. Harry saw at +once that there was little left for him to explain - plenary +confession had plainly been made to the General of the intended +fraud upon his pocket, and the unfortunate miscarriage of the +scheme; and they had all made common cause against a common danger. + +"Thank Heaven!" cried Lady Vandeleur, "here he is! The bandbox, +Harry - the bandbox!" + +But Harry stood before them silent and downcast. + +"Speak!" she cried. "Speak! Where is the bandbox?" + +And the men, with threatening gestures, repeated the demand. + +Harry drew a handful of jewels from his pocket. He was very white. + +"This is all that remains," said he. "I declare before Heaven it +was through no fault of mine; and if you will have patience, +although some are lost, I am afraid, for ever, others, I am sure, +may be still recovered." + +"Alas!" cried Lady Vandeleur, "all our diamonds are gone, and I owe +ninety thousand pounds for dress!" + +"Madam," said the General, "you might have paved the gutter with +your own trash; you might have made debts to fifty times the sum +you mention; you might have robbed me of my mother's coronet and +ring; and Nature might have still so far prevailed that I could +have forgiven you at last. But, madam, you have taken the Rajah's +Diamond - the Eye of Light, as the Orientals poetically termed it - +the Pride of Kashgar! You have taken from me the Rajah's Diamond," +he cried, raising his hands, "and all, madam, all is at an end +between us!" + +"Believe me, General Vandeleur," she replied, "that is one of the +most agreeable speeches that ever I heard from your lips; and since +we are to be ruined, I could almost welcome the change, if it +delivers me from you. You have told me often enough that I married +you for your money; let me tell you now that I always bitterly +repented the bargain; and if you were still marriageable, and had a +diamond bigger than your head, I should counsel even my maid +against a union so uninviting and disastrous. As for you, Mr. +Hartley," she continued, turning on the secretary, "you have +sufficiently exhibited your valuable qualities in this house; we +are now persuaded that you equally lack manhood, sense, and self- +respect; and I can see only one course open for you - to withdraw +instanter, and, if possible, return no more. For your wages you +may rank as a creditor in my late husband's bankruptcy." + +Harry had scarcely comprehended this insulting address before the +General was down upon him with another. + +"And in the meantime," said that personage, "follow me before the +nearest Inspector of Police. You may impose upon a simple-minded +soldier, sir, but the eye of the law will read your disreputable +secret. If I must spend my old age in poverty through your +underhand intriguing with my wife, I mean at least that you shall +not remain unpunished for your pains; and God, sir, will deny me a +very considerable satisfaction if you do not pick oakum from now +until your dying day." + +With that, the General dragged Harry from the apartment, and +hurried him downstairs and along the street to the police-station +of the district. + + +Here (says my Arabian author) ended this deplorable business of the +bandbox. But to the unfortunate Secretary the whole affair was the +beginning of a new and manlier life. The police were easily +persuaded of his innocence; and, after he had given what help he +could in the subsequent investigations, he was even complemented by +one of the chiefs of the detective department on the probity and +simplicity of his behaviour. Several persons interested themselves +in one so unfortunate; and soon after he inherited a sum of money +from a maiden aunt in Worcestershire. With this he married +Prudence, and set sail for Bendigo, or according to another +account, for Trincomalee, exceedingly content, and will the best of +prospects. + + + +STORY OF THE YOUNG MAN IN HOLY ORDERS + + + +The Reverend Mr. Simon Rolles had distinguished himself in the +Moral Sciences, and was more than usually proficient in the study +of Divinity. His essay "On the Christian Doctrine of the Social +Obligations" obtained for him, at the moment of its production, a +certain celebrity in the University of Oxford; and it was +understood in clerical and learned circles that young Mr. Rolles +had in contemplation a considerable work - a folio, it was said - +on the authority of the Fathers of the Church. These attainments, +these ambitious designs, however, were far from helping him to any +preferment; and he was still in quest of his first curacy when a +chance ramble in that part of London, the peaceful and rich aspect +of the garden, a desire for solitude and study, and the cheapness +of the lodging, led him to take up his abode with Mr. Raeburn, the +nurseryman of Stockdove Lane. + +It was his habit every afternoon, after he had worked seven or +eight hours on St. Ambrose or St. Chrysostom, to walk for a while +in meditation among the roses. And this was usually one of the +most productive moments of his day. But even a sincere appetite +for thought, and the excitement of grave problems awaiting +solution, are not always sufficient to preserve the mind of the +philosopher against the petty shocks and contacts of the world. +And when Mr. Rolles found General Vandeleur's secretary, ragged and +bleeding, in the company of his landlord; when he saw both change +colour and seek to avoid his questions; and, above all, when the +former denied his own identity with the most unmoved assurance, he +speedily forgot the Saints and Fathers in the vulgar interest of +curiosity. + +"I cannot be mistaken," thought he. "That is Mr. Hartley beyond a +doubt. How comes he in such a pickle? why does he deny his name? +and what can be his business with that black-looking ruffian, my +landlord?" + +As he was thus reflecting, another peculiar circumstance attracted +his attention. The face of Mr. Raeburn appeared at a low window +next the door; and, as chance directed, his eyes met those of Mr. +Rolles. The nurseryman seemed disconcerted, and even alarmed; and +immediately after the blind of the apartment was pulled sharply +down. + +"This may all be very well," reflected Mr. Rolles; "it may be all +excellently well; but I confess freely that I do not think so. +Suspicious, underhand, untruthful, fearful of observation - I +believe upon my soul," he thought, "the pair are plotting some +disgraceful action." + +The detective that there is in all of us awoke and became clamant +in the bosom of Mr. Rolles; and with a brisk, eager step, that bore +no resemblance to his usual gait, he proceeded to make the circuit +of the garden. When he came to the scene of Harry's escalade, his +eye was at once arrested by a broken rosebush and marks of +trampling on the mould. He looked up, and saw scratches on the +brick, and a rag of trouser floating from a broken bottle. This, +then, was the mode of entrance chosen by Mr. Raeburn's particular +friend! It was thus that General Vandeleur's secretary came to +admire a flower-garden! The young clergyman whistled softly to +himself as he stooped to examine the ground. He could make out +where Harry had landed from his perilous leap; he recognised the +flat foot of Mr. Raeburn where it had sunk deeply in the soil as he +pulled up the Secretary by the collar; nay, on a closer inspection, +he seemed to distinguish the marks of groping fingers, as though +something had been spilt abroad and eagerly collected. + +"Upon my word," he thought, "the thing grows vastly interesting." + +And just then he caught sight of something almost entirely buried +in the earth. In an instant he had disinterred a dainty morocco +case, ornamented and clasped in gilt. It had been trodden heavily +underfoot, and thus escaped the hurried search of Mr. Raeburn. Mr. +Rolles opened the case, and drew a long breath of almost horrified +astonishment; for there lay before him, in a cradle of green +velvet, a diamond of prodigious magnitude and of the finest water. +It was of the bigness of a duck's egg; beautifully shaped, and +without a flaw; and as the sun shone upon it, it gave forth a +lustre like that of electricity, and seemed to burn in his hand +with a thousand internal fires. + +He knew little of precious stones; but the Rajah's Diamond was a +wonder that explained itself; a village child, if he found it, +would run screaming for the nearest cottage; and a savage would +prostrate himself in adoration before so imposing a fetish. The +beauty of the stone flattered the young clergyman's eyes; the +thought of its incalculable value overpowered his intellect. He +knew that what he held in his hand was worth more than many years' +purchase of an archiepiscopal see; that it would build cathedrals +more stately than Ely or Cologne; that he who possessed it was set +free for ever from the primal curse, and might follow his own +inclinations without concern or hurry, without let or hindrance. +And as he suddenly turned it, the rays leaped forth again with +renewed brilliancy, and seemed to pierce his very heart. + +Decisive actions are often taken in a moment and without any +conscious deliverance from the rational parts of man. So it was +now with Mr. Rolles. He glanced hurriedly round; beheld, like Mr. +Raeburn before him, nothing but the sunlit flower-garden, the tall +tree-tops, and the house with blinded windows; and in a trice he +had shut the case, thrust it into his pocket, and was hastening to +his study with the speed of guilt. + +The Reverend Simon Rolles had stolen the Rajah's Diamond. + +Early in the afternoon the police arrived with Harry Hartley. The +nurseryman, who was beside himself with terror, readily discovered +his hoard; and the jewels were identified and inventoried in the +presence of the Secretary. As for Mr. Rolles, he showed himself in +a most obliging temper, communicated what he knew with freedom, and +professed regret that he could do no more to help the officers in +their duty. + +"Still," he added, "I suppose your business is nearly at an end." + +"By no means," replied the man from Scotland Yard; and he narrated +the second robbery of which Harry had been the immediate victim, +and gave the young clergyman a description of the more important +jewels that were still not found, dilating particularly on the +Rajah's Diamond. + +"It must be worth a fortune," observed Mr. Rolles. + +"Ten fortunes - twenty fortunes," cried the officer. + +"The more it is worth," remarked Simon shrewdly, "the more +difficult it must be to sell. Such a thing has a physiognomy not +to be disguised, and I should fancy a man might as easily negotiate +St. Paul's Cathedral." + +"Oh, truly!" said the officer; "but if the thief be a man of any +intelligence, he will cut it into three or four, and there will be +still enough to make him rich." + +"Thank you," said the clergyman. "You cannot imagine how much your +conversation interests me." + +Whereupon the functionary admitted that they knew many strange +things in his profession, and immediately after took his leave. + +Mr. Rolles regained his apartment. It seemed smaller and barer +than usual; the materials for his great work had never presented so +little interest; and he looked upon his library with the eye of +scorn. He took down, volume by volume, several Fathers of the +Church, and glanced them through; but they contained nothing to his +purpose. + +"These old gentlemen," thought he, "are no doubt very valuable +writers, but they seem to me conspicuously ignorant of life. Here +am I, with learning enough to be a Bishop, and I positively do not +know how to dispose of a stolen diamond. I glean a hint from a +common policeman, and, with all my folios, I cannot so much as put +it into execution. This inspires me with very low ideas of +University training." + +Herewith he kicked over his book-shelf and, putting on his hat, +hastened from the house to the club of which he was a member. In +such a place of mundane resort he hoped to find some man of good +counsel and a shrewd experience in life. In the reading-room he +saw many of the country clergy and an Archdeacon; there were three +journalists and a writer upon the Higher Metaphysic, playing pool; +and at dinner only the raff of ordinary club frequenters showed +their commonplace and obliterated countenances. None of these, +thought Mr. Rolles, would know more on dangerous topics than he +knew himself; none of them were fit to give him guidance in his +present strait. At length in the smoking-room, up many weary +stairs, he hit upon a gentleman of somewhat portly build and +dressed with conspicuous plainness. He was smoking a cigar and +reading the FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW; his face was singularly free from +all sign of preoccupation or fatigue; and there was something in +his air which seemed to invite confidence and to expect submission. +The more the young clergyman scrutinised his features, the more he +was convinced that he had fallen on one capable of giving pertinent +advice. + +"Sir," said he, "you will excuse my abruptness; but I judge you +from your appearance to be pre-eminently a man of the world." + +"I have indeed considerable claims to that distinction," replied +the stranger, laying aside his magazine with a look of mingled +amusement and surprise. + +"I, sir," continued the Curate, "am a recluse, a student, a +creature of ink-bottles and patristic folios. A recent event has +brought my folly vividly before my eyes, and I desire to instruct +myself in life. By life," he added, "I do not mean Thackeray's +novels; but the crimes and secret possibilities of our society, and +the principles of wise conduct among exceptional events. I am a +patient reader; can the thing be learnt in books?" + +"You put me in a difficulty," said the stranger. "I confess I have +no great notion of the use of books, except to amuse a railway +journey; although, I believe, there are some very exact treatises +on astronomy, the use of the globes, agriculture, and the art of +making paper flowers. Upon the less apparent provinces of life I +fear you will find nothing truthful. Yet stay," he added, "have +you read Gaboriau?" + +Mr. Rolles admitted he had never even heard the name. + +"You may gather some notions from Gaboriau," resumed the stranger. +"He is at least suggestive; and as he is an author much studied by +Prince Bismarck, you will, at the worst, lose your time in good +society." + +"Sir," said the Curate, "I am infinitely obliged by your +politeness." + +"You have already more than repaid me," returned the other. + +"How?" inquired Simon. + +"By the novelty of your request," replied the gentleman; and with a +polite gesture, as though to ask permission, he resumed the study +of the FORTNIGHTLY REVIEW. + +On his way home Mr. Rolles purchased a work on precious stones and +several of Gaboriau's novels. These last he eagerly skimmed until +an advanced hour in the morning; but although they introduced him +to many new ideas, he could nowhere discover what to do with a +stolen diamond. He was annoyed, moreover, to find the information +scattered amongst romantic story-telling, instead of soberly set +forth after the manner of a manual; and he concluded that, even if +the writer had thought much upon these subjects, he was totally +lacking in educational method. For the character and attainments +of Lecoq, however, he was unable to contain his admiration. + +"He was truly a great creature," ruminated Mr. Rolles. "He knew +the world as I know Paley's Evidences. There was nothing that he +could not carry to a termination with his own hand, and against the +largest odds. Heavens!" he broke out suddenly, "is not this the +lesson? Must I not learn to cut diamonds for myself?" + +It seemed to him as if he had sailed at once out of his +perplexities; he remembered that he knew a jeweller, one B. +Macculloch, in Edinburgh, who would be glad to put him in the way +of the necessary training; a few months, perhaps a few years, of +sordid toil, and he would be sufficiently expert to divide and +sufficiently cunning to dispose with advantage of the Rajah's +Diamond. That done, he might return to pursue his researches at +leisure, a wealthy and luxurious student, envied and respected by +all. Golden visions attended him through his slumber, and he awoke +refreshed and light-hearted with the morning sun. + +Mr. Raeburn's house was on that day to be closed by the police, and +this afforded a pretext for his departure. He cheerfully prepared +his baggage, transported it to King's Cross, where he left it in +the cloak-room, and returned to the club to while away the +afternoon and dine. + +"If you dine here to-day, Rolles," observed an acquaintance, "you +may see two of the most remarkable men in England - Prince Florizel +of Bohemia, and old Jack Vandeleur." + +"I have heard of the Prince," replied Mr. Rolles; "and General +Vandeleur I have even met in society." + +"General Vandeleur is an ass!" returned the other. "This is his +brother John, the biggest adventurer, the best judge of precious +stones, and one of the most acute diplomatists in Europe. Have you +never heard of his duel with the Duc de Val d'Orge? of his exploits +and atrocities when he was Dictator of Paraguay? of his dexterity +in recovering Sir Samuel Levi's jewellery? nor of his services in +the Indian Mutiny - services by which the Government profited, but +which the Government dared not recognise? You make me wonder what +we mean by fame, or even by infamy; for Jack Vandeleur has +prodigious claims to both. Run downstairs," he continued, "take a +table near them, and keep your ears open. You will hear some +strange talk, or I am much misled." + +"But how shall I know them?" inquired the clergyman. + +"Know them!" cried his friend; "why, the Prince is the finest +gentleman in Europe, the only living creature who looks like a +king; and as for Jack Vandeleur, if you can imagine Ulysses at +seventy years of age, and with a sabre-cut across his face, you +have the man before you! Know them, indeed! Why, you could pick +either of them out of a Derby day!" + +Rolles eagerly hurried to the dining-room. It was as his friend +had asserted; it was impossible to mistake the pair in question. +Old John Vandeleur was of a remarkable force of body, and obviously +broken to the most difficult exercises. He had neither the +carriage of a swordsman, nor of a sailor, nor yet of one much +inured to the saddle; but something made up of all these, and the +result and expression of many different habits and dexterities. +His features were bold and aquiline; his expression arrogant and +predatory; his whole appearance that of a swift, violent, +unscrupulous man of action; and his copious white hair and the deep +sabre-cut that traversed his nose and temple added a note of +savagery to a head already remarkable and menacing in itself. + +In his companion, the Prince of Bohemia, Mr. Rolles was astonished +to recognise the gentleman who had recommended him the study of +Gaboriau. Doubtless Prince Florizel, who rarely visited the club, +of which, as of most others, he was an honorary member, had been +waiting for John Vandeleur when Simon accosted him on the previous +evening. + +The other diners had modestly retired into the angles of the room, +and left the distinguished pair in a certain isolation, but the +young clergyman was unrestrained by any sentiment of awe, and, +marching boldly up, took his place at the nearest table. + +The conversation was, indeed, new to the student's ears. The ex- +Dictator of Paraguay stated many extraordinary experiences in +different quarters of the world; and the Prince supplied a +commentary which, to a man of thought, was even more interesting +than the events themselves. Two forms of experience were thus +brought together and laid before the young clergyman; and he did +not know which to admire the most - the desperate actor or the +skilled expert in life; the man who spoke boldly of his own deeds +and perils, or the man who seemed, like a god, to know all things +and to have suffered nothing. The manner of each aptly fitted with +his part in the discourse. The Dictator indulged in brutalities +alike of speech and gesture; his hand opened and shut and fell +roughly on the table; and his voice was loud and heavy. The +Prince, on the other hand, seemed the very type of urbane docility +and quiet; the least movement, the least inflection, had with him a +weightier significance than all the shouts and pantomime of his +companion; and if ever, as must frequently have been the case, he +described some experience personal to himself, it was so aptly +dissimulated as to pass unnoticed with the rest. + +At length the talk wandered on to the late robberies and the +Rajah's Diamond. + +"That diamond would be better in the sea," observed Prince +Florizel. + +"As a Vandeleur," replied the Dictator, "your Highness may imagine +my dissent." + +"I speak on grounds of public policy," pursued the Prince. "Jewels +so valuable should be reserved for the collection of a Prince or +the treasury of a great nation. To hand them about among the +common sort of men is to set a price on Virtue's head; and if the +Rajah of Kashgar - a Prince, I understand, of great enlightenment - +desired vengeance upon the men of Europe, he could hardly have gone +more efficaciously about his purpose than by sending us this apple +of discord. There is no honesty too robust for such a trial. I +myself, who have many duties and many privileges of my own - I +myself, Mr. Vandeleur, could scarce handle the intoxicating crystal +and be safe. As for you, who are a diamond hunter by taste and +profession, I do not believe there is a crime in the calendar you +would not perpetrate - I do not believe you have a friend in the +world whom you would not eagerly betray - I do not know if you have +a family, but if you have I declare you would sacrifice your +children - and all this for what? Not to be richer, nor to have +more comforts or more respect, but simply to call this diamond +yours for a year or two until you die, and now and again to open a +safe and look at it as one looks at a picture." + +"It is true," replied Vandeleur. "I have hunted most things, from +men and women down to mosquitos; I have dived for coral; I have +followed both whales and tigers; and a diamond is the tallest +quarry of the lot. It has beauty and worth; it alone can properly +reward the ardours of the chase. At this moment, as your Highness +may fancy, I am upon the trail; I have a sure knack, a wide +experience; I know every stone of price in my brother's collection +as a shepherd knows his sheep; and I wish I may die if I do not +recover them every one!" + +"Sir Thomas Vandeleur will have great cause to thank you," said the +Prince. + +"I am not so sure," returned the Dictator, with a laugh. "One of +the Vandeleurs will. Thomas or John - Peter or Paul - we are all +apostles." + +"I did not catch your observation," said the Prince with some +disgust. + +And at the same moment the waiter informed Mr. Vandeleur that his +cab was at the door. + +Mr. Rolles glanced at the clock, and saw that he also must be +moving; and the coincidence struck him sharply and unpleasantly, +for he desired to see no more of the diamond hunter. + +Much study having somewhat shaken the young man's nerves, he was in +the habit of travelling in the most luxurious manner; and for the +present journey he had taken a sofa in the sleeping carriage. + +"You will be very comfortable," said the guard; "there is no one in +your compartment, and only one old gentleman in the other end." + +It was close upon the hour, and the tickets were being examined, +when Mr. Rolles beheld this other fellow-passenger ushered by +several porters into his place; certainly, there was not another +man in the world whom he would not have preferred - for it was old +John Vandeleur, the ex-Dictator. + +The sleeping carriages on the Great Northern line were divided into +three compartments - one at each end for travellers, and one in the +centre fitted with the conveniences of a lavatory. A door running +in grooves separated each of the others from the lavatory; but as +there were neither bolts nor locks, the whole suite was practically +common ground. + +When Mr. Rolles had studied his position, he perceived himself +without defence. If the Dictator chose to pay him a visit in the +course of the night, he could do no less than receive it; he had no +means of fortification, and lay open to attack as if he had been +lying in the fields. This situation caused him some agony of mind. +He recalled with alarm the boastful statements of his fellow- +traveller across the dining-table, and the professions of +immorality which he had heard him offering to the disgusted Prince. +Some persons, he remembered to have read, are endowed with a +singular quickness of perception for the neighbourhood of precious +metals; through walls and even at considerable distances they are +said to divine the presence of gold. Might it not be the same with +diamonds? he wondered; and if so, who was more likely to enjoy this +transcendental sense than the person who gloried in the appellation +of the Diamond Hunter? From such a man he recognised that he had +everything to fear, and longed eagerly for the arrival of the day. + +In the meantime he neglected no precaution, concealed his diamond +in the most internal pocket of a system of great-coats, and +devoutly recommended himself to the care of Providence. + +The train pursued its usual even and rapid course; and nearly half +the journey had been accomplished before slumber began to triumph +over uneasiness in the breast of Mr. Rolles. For some time he +resisted its influence; but it grew upon him more and more, and a +little before York he was fain to stretch himself upon one of the +couches and suffer his eyes to close; and almost at the same +instant consciousness deserted the young clergyman. His last +thought was of his terrifying neighbour. + +When he awoke it was still pitch dark, except for the flicker of +the veiled lamp; and the continual roaring and oscillation +testified to the unrelaxed velocity of the train. He sat upright +in a panic, for he had been tormented by the most uneasy dreams; it +was some seconds before he recovered his self-command; and even +after he had resumed a recumbent attitude sleep continued to flee +him, and he lay awake with his brain in a state of violent +agitation, and his eyes fixed upon the lavatory door. He pulled +his clerical felt hat over his brow still farther to shield him +from the light; and he adopted the usual expedients, such as +counting a thousand or banishing thought, by which experienced +invalids are accustomed to woo the approach of sleep. In the case +of Mr. Rolles they proved one and all vain; he was harassed by a +dozen different anxieties - the old man in the other end of the +carriage haunted him in the most alarming shapes; and in whatever +attitude he chose to lie the diamond in his pocket occasioned him a +sensible physical distress. It burned, it was too large, it +bruised his ribs; and there were infinitesimal fractions of a +second in which he had half a mind to throw it from the window. + +While he was thus lying, a strange incident took place. + +The sliding-door into the lavatory stirred a little, and then a +little more, and was finally drawn back for the space of about +twenty inches. The lamp in the lavatory was unshaded, and in the +lighted aperture thus disclosed, Mr. Rolles could see the head of +Mr. Vandeleur in an attitude of deep attention. He was conscious +that the gaze of the Dictator rested intently on his own face; and +the instinct of self-preservation moved him to hold his breath, to +refrain from the least movement, and keeping his eyes lowered, to +watch his visitor from underneath the lashes. After about a +moment, the head was withdrawn and the door of the lavatory +replaced. + +The Dictator had not come to attack, but to observe; his action was +not that of a man threatening another, but that of a man who was +himself threatened; if Mr. Rolles was afraid of him, it appeared +that he, in his turn, was not quite easy on the score of Mr. +Rolles. He had come, it would seem, to make sure that his only +fellow-traveller was asleep; and, when satisfied on that point, he +had at once withdrawn. + +The clergyman leaped to his feet. The extreme of terror had given +place to a reaction of foolhardy daring. He reflected that the +rattle of the flying train concealed all other sounds, and +determined, come what might, to return the visit he had just +received. Divesting himself of his cloak, which might have +interfered with the freedom of his action, he entered the lavatory +and paused to listen. As he had expected, there was nothing to be +heard above the roar of the train's progress; and laying his hand +on the door at the farther side, he proceeded cautiously to draw it +back for about six inches. Then he stopped, and could not contain +an ejaculation of surprise. + +John Vandeleur wore a fur travelling cap with lappets to protect +his ears; and this may have combined with the sound of the express +to keep him in ignorance of what was going forward. It is certain, +at least, that he did not raise his head, but continued without +interruption to pursue his strange employment. Between his feet +stood an open hat-box; in one hand he held the sleeve of his +sealskin great-coat; in the other a formidable knife, with which he +had just slit up the lining of the sleeve. Mr. Rolles had read of +persons carrying money in a belt; and as he had no acquaintance +with any but cricket-belts, he had never been able rightly to +conceive how this was managed. But here was a stranger thing +before his eyes; for John Vandeleur, it appeared, carried diamonds +in the lining of his sleeve; and even as the young clergyman gazed, +he could see one glittering brilliant drop after another into the +hat-box. + +He stood riveted to the spot, following this unusual business with +his eyes. The diamonds were, for the most part, small, and not +easily distinguishable either in shape or fire. Suddenly the +Dictator appeared to find a difficulty; he employed both hands and +stooped over his task; but it was not until after considerable +manoeuvring that he extricated a large tiara of diamonds from the +lining, and held it up for some seconds' examination before he +placed it with the others in the hat-box. The tiara was a ray of +light to Mr. Rolles; he immediately recognised it for a part of the +treasure stolen from Harry Hartley by the loiterer. There was no +room for mistake; it was exactly as the detective had described it; +there were the ruby stars, with a great emerald in the centre; +there were the interlacing crescents; and there were the pear- +shaped pendants, each a single stone, which gave a special value to +Lady Vandeleur's tiara. + +Mr. Rolles was hugely relieved. The Dictator was as deeply in the +affair as he was; neither could tell tales upon the other. In the +first glow of happiness, the clergyman suffered a deep sigh to +escape him; and as his bosom had become choked and his throat dry +during his previous suspense, the sigh was followed by a cough. + +Mr. Vandeleur looked up; his face contracted with the blackest and +most deadly passion; his eyes opened widely, and his under jaw +dropped in an astonishment that was upon the brink of fury. By an +instinctive movement he had covered the hat-box with the coat. For +half a minute the two men stared upon each other in silence. It +was not a long interval, but it sufficed for Mr. Rolles; he was one +of those who think swiftly on dangerous occasions; he decided on a +course of action of a singularly daring nature; and although he +felt he was setting his life upon the hazard, he was the first to +break silence. + +"I beg your pardon," said he. + +The Dictator shivered slightly, and when he spoke his voice was +hoarse. + +"What do you want here?" he asked. + +"I take a particular interest in diamonds," replied Mr. Rolles, +with an air of perfect self-possession. "Two connoisseurs should +be acquainted. I have here a trifle of my own which may perhaps +serve for an introduction." + +And so saying, he quietly took the case from his pocket, showed the +Rajah's Diamond to the Dictator for an instant, and replaced it in +security. + +"It was once your brother's," he added. + +John Vandeleur continued to regard him with a look of almost +painful amazement; but he neither spoke nor moved. + +"I was pleased to observe," resumed the young man, "that we have +gems from the same collection." + +The Dictator's surprise overpowered him. + +"I beg your pardon," he said; "I begin to perceive that I am +growing old! I am positively not prepared for little incidents +like this. But set my mind at rest upon one point: do my eyes +deceive me, or are you indeed a parson?" + +"I am in holy orders," answered Mr. Rolles. + +"Well," cried the other, "as long as I live I will never hear +another word against the cloth!" + +"You flatter me," said Mr. Rolles. + +"Pardon me," replied Vandeleur; "pardon me, young man. You are no +coward, but it still remains to be seen whether you are not the +worst of fools. Perhaps," he continued, leaning back upon his +seat, "perhaps you would oblige me with a few particulars. I must +suppose you had some object in the stupefying impudence of your +proceedings, and I confess I have a curiosity to know it." + +"It is very simple," replied the clergyman; "it proceeds from my +great inexperience of life." + +"I shall be glad to be persuaded," answered Vandeleur. + +Whereupon Mr. Rolles told him the whole story of his connection +with the Rajah's Diamond, from the time he found it in Raeburn's +garden to the time when he left London in the Flying Scotchman. He +added a brief sketch of his feelings and thoughts during the +journey, and concluded in these words:- + +"When I recognised the tiara I knew we were in the same attitude +towards Society, and this inspired me with a hope, which I trust +you will say was not ill-founded, that you might become in some +sense my partner in the difficulties and, of course, the profits of +my situation. To one of your special knowledge and obviously great +experience the negotiation of the diamond would give but little +trouble, while to me it was a matter of impossibility. On the +other part, I judged that I might lose nearly as much by cutting +the diamond, and that not improbably with an unskilful hand, as +might enable me to pay you with proper generosity for your +assistance. The subject was a delicate one to broach; and perhaps +I fell short in delicacy. But I must ask you to remember that for +me the situation was a new one, and I was entirely unacquainted +with the etiquette in use. I believe without vanity that I could +have married or baptized you in a very acceptable manner; but every +man has his own aptitudes, and this sort of bargain was not among +the list of my accomplishments." + +"I do not wish to flatter you," replied Vandeleur; "but upon my +word, you have an unusual disposition for a life of crime. You +have more accomplishments than you imagine; and though I have +encountered a number of rogues in different quarters of the world, +I never met with one so unblushing as yourself. Cheer up, Mr. +Rolles, you are in the right profession at last! As for helping +you, you may command me as you will. I have only a day's business +in Edinburgh on a little matter for my brother; and once that is +concluded, I return to Paris, where I usually reside. If you +please, you may accompany me thither. And before the end of a +month I believe I shall have brought your little business to a +satisfactory conclusion." + +(At this point, contrary to all the canons of his art, our Arabian +author breaks off the STORY OF THE YOUNG MAN IN HOLY ORDERS. I +regret and condemn such practices; but I must follow my original, +and refer the reader for the conclusion of Mr. Rolles' adventures +to the next number of the cycle, the STORY OF THE HOUSE WITH THE +GREEN BLINDS.) + + + +STORY OF THE HOUSE WITH THE GREEN BLINDS + + + +Francis Scrymgeour, a clerk in the Bank of Scotland at Edinburgh, +had attained the age of twenty-five in a sphere of quiet, +creditable, and domestic life. His mother died while he was young; +but his father, a man of sense and probity, had given him an +excellent education at school, and brought him up at home to +orderly and frugal habits. Francis, who was of a docile and +affectionate disposition, profited by these advantages with zeal, +and devoted himself heart and soul to his employment. A walk upon +Saturday afternoon, an occasional dinner with members of his +family, and a yearly tour of a fortnight in the Highlands or even +on the continent of Europe, were his principal distractions, and, +he grew rapidly in favour with his superiors, and enjoyed already a +salary of nearly two hundred pounds a year, with the prospect of an +ultimate advance to almost double that amount. Few young men were +more contented, few more willing and laborious than Francis +Scrymgeour. Sometimes at night, when he had read the daily paper, +he would play upon the flute to amuse his father, for whose +qualities he entertained a great respect. + +One day he received a note from a well-known firm of Writers to the +Signet, requesting the favour of an immediate interview with him. +The letter was marked "Private and Confidential," and had been +addressed to him at the bank, instead of at home - two unusual +circumstances which made him obey the summons with the more +alacrity. The senior member of the firm, a man of much austerity +of manner, made him gravely welcome, requested him to take a seat, +and proceeded to explain the matter in hand in the picked +expressions of a veteran man of business. A person, who must +remain nameless, but of whom the lawyer had every reason to think +well - a man, in short, of some station in the country - desired to +make Francis an annual allowance of five hundred pounds. The +capital was to be placed under the control of the lawyer's firm and +two trustees who must also remain anonymous. There were conditions +annexed to this liberality, but he was of opinion that his new +client would find nothing either excessive or dishonourable in the +terms; and he repeated these two words with emphasis, as though he +desired to commit himself to nothing more. + +Francis asked their nature. + +"The conditions," said the Writer to the Signet, "are, as I have +twice remarked, neither dishonourable nor excessive. At the same +time I cannot conceal from you that they are most unusual. Indeed, +the whole case is very much out of our way; and I should certainly +have refused it had it not been for the reputation of the gentleman +who entrusted it to my care, and, let me add, Mr. Scrymgeour, the +interest I have been led to take in yourself by many complimentary +and, I have no doubt, well-deserved reports." + +Francis entreated him to be more specific. + +"You cannot picture my uneasiness as to these conditions," he said. + +"They are two," replied the lawyer, "only two; and the sum, as you +will remember, is five hundred a-year - and unburdened, I forgot to +add, unburdened." + +And the lawyer raised his eyebrows at him with solemn gusto. + +"The first," he resumed, "is of remarkable simplicity. You must be +in Paris by the afternoon of Sunday, the 15th; there you will find, +at the box-office of the Comedie Francaise, a ticket for admission +taken in your name and waiting you. You are requested to sit out +the whole performance in the seat provided, and that is all." + +"I should certainly have preferred a week-day," replied Francis. " +But, after all, once in a way - " + +"And in Paris, my dear sir," added the lawyer soothingly. "I +believe I am something of a precisian myself, but upon such a +consideration, and in Paris, I should not hesitate an instant." + +And the pair laughed pleasantly together. + +"The other is of more importance," continued the Writer to the +Signet. "It regards your marriage. My client, taking a deep +interest in your welfare, desires to advise you absolutely in the +choice of a wife. Absolutely, you understand," he repeated. + +"Let us be more explicit, if you please," returned Francis. "Am I +to marry any one, maid or widow, black or white, whom this +invisible person chooses to propose?" + +"I was to assure you that suitability of age and position should be +a principle with your benefactor," replied the lawyer. "As to +race, I confess the difficulty had not occurred to me, and I failed +to inquire; but if you like I will make a note of it at once, and +advise you on the earliest opportunity." + +"Sir," said Francis, "it remains to be seen whether this whole +affair is not a most unworthy fraud. The circumstances are +inexplicable - I had almost said incredible; and until I see a +little more daylight, and some plausible motive, I confess I should +be very sorry to put a hand to the transaction. I appeal to you in +this difficulty for information. I must learn what is at the +bottom of it all. If you do not know, cannot guess, or are not at +liberty to tell me, I shall take my hat and go back to my bank as +came." + +"I do not know," answered the lawyer, "but I have an excellent +guess. Your father, and no one else, is at the root of this +apparently unnatural business." + +"My father!" cried Francis, in extreme disdain. "Worthy man, I +know every thought of his mind, every penny of his fortune!" + +"You misinterpret my words," said the lawyer. "I do not refer to +Mr. Scrymgeour, senior; for he is not your father. When he and his +wife came to Edinburgh, you were already nearly one year old, and +you had not yet been three months in their care. The secret has +been well kept; but such is the fact. Your father is unknown, and +I say again that I believe him to be the original of the offers I +am charged at present to transmit to you." + +It would be impossible to exaggerate the astonishment of Francis +Scrymgeour at this unexpected information. He pled this confusion +to the lawyer. + +"Sir," said he, "after a piece of news so startling, you must grant +me some hours for thought. You shall know this evening what +conclusion I have reached." + +The lawyer commended his prudence; and Francis, excusing himself +upon some pretext at the bank, took a long walk into the country, +and fully considered the different steps and aspects of the case. +A pleasant sense of his own importance rendered him the more +deliberate: but the issue was from the first not doubtful. His +whole carnal man leaned irresistibly towards the five hundred a +year, and the strange conditions with which it was burdened; he +discovered in his heart an invincible repugnance to the name of +Scrymgeour, which he had never hitherto disliked; he began to +despise the narrow and unromantic interests of his former life; and +when once his mind was fairly made up, he walked with a new feeling +of strength and freedom, and nourished himself with the gayest +anticipations. + +He said but a word to the lawyer, and immediately received a cheque +for two quarters' arrears; for the allowance was ante-dated from +the first of January. With this in his pocket, he walked home. +The flat in Scotland Street looked mean in his eyes; his nostrils, +for the first time, rebelled against the odour of broth; and he +observed little defects of manner in his adoptive father which +filled him with surprise and almost with disgust. The next day, he +determined, should see him on his way to Paris. + +In that city, where he arrived long before the appointed date, he +put up at a modest hotel frequented by English and Italians, and +devoted himself to improvement in the French tongue; for this +purpose he had a master twice a week, entered into conversation +with loiterers in the Champs Elysees, and nightly frequented the +theatre. He had his whole toilette fashionably renewed; and was +shaved and had his hair dressed every morning by a barber in a +neighbouring street. This gave him something of a foreign air, and +seemed to wipe off the reproach of his past years. + +At length, on the Saturday afternoon, he betook himself to the box- +office of the theatre in the Rue Richelieu. No sooner had he +mentioned his name than the clerk produced the order in an envelope +of which the address was scarcely dry. + +"It has been taken this moment," said the clerk. + +"Indeed!" said Francis. "May I ask what the gentleman was like?" + +"Your friend is easy to describe," replied the official. "He is +old and strong and beautiful, with white hair and a sabre-cut +across his face. You cannot fail to recognise so marked a person." + +"No, indeed," returned Francis; "and I thank you for your +politeness." + +"He cannot yet be far distant," added the clerk. "If you make +haste you might still overtake him." + +Francis did not wait to be twice told; he ran precipitately from +the theatre into the middle of the street and looked in all +directions. More than one white-haired man was within sight; but +though he overtook each of them in succession, all wanted the +sabre-cut. For nearly half-an-hour he tried one street after +another in the neighbourhood, until at length, recognising the +folly of continued search, he started on a walk to compose his +agitated feelings; for this proximity of an encounter with him to +whom he could not doubt he owed the day had profoundly moved the +young man. + +It chanced that his way lay up the Rue Drouot and thence up the Rue +des Martyrs; and chance, in this case, served him better than all +the forethought in the world. For on the outer boulevard he saw +two men in earnest colloquy upon a seat. One was dark, young, and +handsome, secularly dressed, but with an indelible clerical stamp; +the other answered in every particular to the description given him +by the clerk. Francis felt his heart beat high in his bosom; he +knew he was now about to hear the voice of his father; and making a +wide circuit, he noiselessly took his place behind the couple in +question, who were too much interested in their talk to observe +much else. As Francis had expected, the conversation was conducted +in the English language + +"Your suspicions begin to annoy me, Rolles," said the older man. +"I tell you I am doing my utmost; a man cannot lay his hand on +millions in a moment. Have I not taken you up, a mere stranger, +out of pure good-will? Are you not living largely on my bounty?" + +"On your advances, Mr. Vandeleur," corrected the other. + +"Advances, if you choose; and interest instead of goodwill, if you +prefer it," returned Vandeleur angrily. "I am not here to pick +expressions. Business is business; and your business, let me +remind you, is too muddy for such airs. Trust me, or leave me +alone and find some one else; but let us have an end, for God's +sake, of your jeremiads." + +"I am beginning to learn the world," replied the other, "and I see +that you have every reason to play me false, and not one to deal +honestly. I am not here to pick expressions either; you wish the +diamond for yourself; you know you do - you dare not deny it. Have +you not already forged my name, and searched my lodging in my +absence? I understand the cause of your delays; you are lying in +wait; you are the diamond hunter, forsooth; and sooner or later, by +fair means or foul, you'll lay your hands upon it. I tell you, it +must stop; push me much further and I promise you a surprise." + +"It does not become you to use threats," returned Vandeleur. "Two +can play at that. My brother is here in Paris; the police are on +the alert; and if you persist in wearying me with your +caterwauling, I will arrange a little astonishment for you, Mr. +Rolles. But mine shall be once and for all. Do you understand, or +would you prefer me to tell it you in Hebrew? There is an end to +all things, and you have come to the end of my patience. Tuesday, +at seven; not a day, not an hour sooner, not the least part of a +second, if it were to save your life. And if you do not choose to +wait, you may go to the bottomless pit for me, and welcome." + +And so saying, the Dictator arose from the bench, and marched off +in the direction of Montmartre, shaking his head and swinging his +cane with a most furious air; while his companion remained where he +was, in an attitude of great dejection. + +Francis was at the pitch of surprise and horror; his sentiments had +been shocked to the last degree; the hopeful tenderness with which +he had taken his place upon the bench was transformed into +repulsion and despair; old Mr. Scrymgeour, he reflected, was a far +more kindly and creditable parent than this dangerous and violent +intriguer; but he retained his presence of mind, and suffered not a +moment to elapse before he was on the trail of the Dictator. + +That gentleman's fury carried him forward at a brisk pace, and he +was so completely occupied in his angry thoughts that he never so +much as cast a look behind him till he reached his own door. + +His house stood high up in the Rue Lepic, commanding a view of all +Paris and enjoying the pure air of the heights. It was two storeys +high, with green blinds and shutters; and all the windows looking +on the street were hermetically closed. Tops of trees showed over +the high garden wall, and the wall was protected by CHEVAUX-DE- +FRISE. The Dictator paused a moment while he searched his pocket +for a key; and then, opening a gate, disappeared within the +enclosure. + +Francis looked about him; the neighbourhood was very lonely, the +house isolated in its garden. It seemed as if his observation must +here come to an abrupt end. A second glance, however, showed him a +tall house next door presenting a gable to the garden, and in this +gable a single window. He passed to the front and saw a ticket +offering unfurnished lodgings by the month; and, on inquiry, the +room which commanded the Dictator's garden proved to be one of +those to let. Francis did not hesitate a moment; he took the room, +paid an advance upon the rent, and returned to his hotel to seek +his baggage. + +The old man with the sabre-cut might or might not be his father; he +might or he might not be upon the true scent; but he was certainly +on the edge of an exciting mystery, and he promised himself that he +would not relax his observation until he had got to the bottom of +the secret. + +From the window of his new apartment Francis Scrymgeour commanded a +complete view into the garden of the house with the green blinds. +Immediately below him a very comely chestnut with wide boughs +sheltered a pair of rustic tables where people might dine in the +height of summer. On all sides save one a dense vegetation +concealed the soil; but there, between the tables and the house, he +saw a patch of gravel walk leading from the verandah to the garden- +gate. Studying the place from between the boards of the Venetian +shutters, which he durst not open for fear of attracting attention, +Francis observed but little to indicate the manners of the +inhabitants, and that little argued no more than a close reserve +and a taste for solitude. The garden was conventual, the house had +the air of a prison. The green blinds were all drawn down upon the +outside; the door into the verandah was closed; the garden, as far +as he could see it, was left entirely to itself in the evening +sunshine. A modest curl of smoke from a single chimney alone +testified to the presence of living people. + +In order that he might not be entirely idle, and to give a certain +colour to his way of life, Francis had purchased Euclid's Geometry +in French, which he set himself to copy and translate on the top of +his portmanteau and seated on the floor against the wall; for he +was equally without chair or table. From time to time he would +rise and cast a glance into the enclosure of the house with the +green blinds; but the windows remained obstinately closed and the +garden empty. + +Only late in the evening did anything occur to reward his continued +attention. Between nine and ten the sharp tinkle of a bell aroused +him from a fit of dozing; and he sprang to his observatory in time +to hear an important noise of locks being opened and bars removed, +and to see Mr. Vandeleur, carrying a lantern and clothed in a +flowing robe of black velvet with a skull-cap to match, issue from +under the verandah and proceed leisurely towards the garden gate. +The sound of bolts and bars was then repeated; and a moment after +Francis perceived the Dictator escorting into the house, in the +mobile light of the lantern, an individual of the lowest and most +despicable appearance. + +Half-an-hour afterwards the visitor was reconducted to the street; +and Mr. Vandeleur, setting his light upon one of the rustic tables, +finished a cigar with great deliberation under the foliage of the +chestnut. Francis, peering through a clear space among the leaves, +was able to follow his gestures as he threw away the ash or enjoyed +a copious inhalation; and beheld a cloud upon the old man's brow +and a forcible action of the lips, which testified to some deep and +probably painful train of thought. The cigar was already almost at +an end, when the voice of a young girl was heard suddenly crying +the hour from the interior of the house. + +"In a moment," replied John Vandeleur. + +And, with that, he threw away the stump and, taking up the lantern, +sailed away under the verandah for the night. As soon as the door +was closed, absolute darkness fell upon the house; Francis might +try his eyesight as much as he pleased, he could not detect so much +as a single chink of light below a blind; and he concluded, with +great good sense, that the bed-chambers were all upon the other +side. + +Early the next morning (for he was early awake after an +uncomfortable night upon the floor), he saw cause to adopt a +different explanation. The blinds rose, one after another, by +means of a spring in the interior, and disclosed steel shutters +such as we see on the front of shops; these in their turn were +rolled up by a similar contrivance; and for the space of about an +hour, the chambers were left open to the morning air. At the end +of that time Mr. Vandeleur, with his own hand, once more closed the +shutters and replaced the blinds from within. + +While Francis was still marvelling at these precautions, the door +opened and a young girl came forth to look about her in the garden. +It was not two minutes before she re-entered the house, but even in +that short time he saw enough to convince him that she possessed +the most unusual attractions. His curiosity was not only highly +excited by this incident, but his spirits were improved to a still +more notable degree. The alarming manners and more than equivocal +life of his father ceased from that moment to prey upon his mind; +from that moment he embraced his new family with ardour; and +whether the young lady should prove his sister or his wife, he felt +convinced she was an angel in disguise. So much was this the case +that he was seized with a sudden horror when he reflected how +little he really knew, and how possible it was that he had followed +the wrong person when he followed Mr. Vandeleur. + +The porter, whom he consulted, could afford him little information; +but, such as it was, it had a mysterious and questionable sound. +The person next door was an English gentleman of extraordinary +wealth, and proportionately eccentric in his tastes and habits. He +possessed great collections, which he kept in the house beside him; +and it was to protect these that he had fitted the place with steel +shutters, elaborate fastenings, and CHEVAUX-DE-FRISE along the +garden wall. He lived much alone, in spite of some strange +visitors with whom, it seemed, he had business to transact; and +there was no one else in the house, except Mademoiselle and an old +woman servant + +"Is Mademoiselle his daughter?" inquired Francis. + +"Certainly," replied the porter. "Mademoiselle is the daughter of +the house; and strange it is to see how she is made to work. For +all his riches, it is she who goes to market; and every day in the +week you may see her going by with a basket on her arm." + +"And the collections?" asked the other. + +"Sir," said the man, "they are immensely valuable. More I cannot +tell you. Since M. de Vandeleur's arrival no one in the quarter +has so much as passed the door." + +"Suppose not," returned Francis, "you must surely have some notion +what these famous galleries contain. Is it pictures, silks, +statues, jewels, or what?" + +"My faith, sir," said the fellow with a shrug, "it might be +carrots, and still I could not tell you. How should I know? The +house is kept like a garrison, as you perceive." + +And then as Francis was returning disappointed to his room, the +porter called him back. + +"I have just remembered, sir," said he. "M. de Vandeleur has been +in all parts of the world, and I once heard the old woman declare +that he had brought many diamonds back with him. If that be the +truth, there must be a fine show behind those shutters." + +By an early hour on Sunday Francis was in his place at the theatre. +The seat which had been taken for him was only two or three numbers +from the left-hand side, and directly opposite one of the lower +boxes. As the seat had been specially chosen there was doubtless +something to be learned from its position; and he judged by an +instinct that the box upon his right was, in some way or other, to +be connected with the drama in which he ignorantly played a part. +Indeed, it was so situated that its occupants could safely observe +him from beginning to end of the piece, if they were so minded; +while, profiting by the depth, they could screen themselves +sufficiently well from any counter-examination on his side. He +promised himself not to leave it for a moment out of sight; and +whilst he scanned the rest of the theatre, or made a show of +attending to the business of the stage, he always kept a corner of +an eye upon the empty box. + +The second act had been some time in progress, and was even drawing +towards a close, when the door opened and two persons entered and +ensconced themselves in the darkest of the shade. Francis could +hardly control his emotion. It was Mr. Vandeleur and his daughter. +The blood came and went in his arteries and veins with stunning +activity; his ears sang; his head turned. He dared not look lest +he should awake suspicion; his play-bill, which he kept reading +from end to end and over and over again, turned from white to red +before his eyes; and when he cast a glance upon the stage, it +seemed incalculably far away, and he found the voices and gestures +of the actors to the last degree impertinent and absurd. + +From time to time he risked a momentary look in the direction which +principally interested him; and once at least he felt certain that +his eyes encountered those of the young girl. A shock passed over +his body, and he saw all the colours of the rainbow. What would he +not have given to overhear what passed between the Vandeleurs? +What would he not have given for the courage to take up his opera- +glass and steadily inspect their attitude and expression? There, +for aught he knew, his whole life was being decided - and he not +able to interfere, not able even to follow the debate, but +condemned to sit and suffer where he was, in impotent anxiety. + +At last the act came to an end. The curtain fell, and the people +around him began to leave their places, for the interval. It was +only natural that he should follow their example; and if he did so, +it was not only natural but necessary that he should pass +immediately in front of the box in question. Summoning all his +courage, but keeping his eyes lowered, Francis drew near the spot. +His progress was slow, for the old gentleman before him moved with +incredible deliberation, wheezing as he went. What was he to do? +Should he address the Vandeleurs by name as he went by? Should he +take the flower from his button-hole and throw it into the box? +Should he raise his face and direct one long and affectionate look +upon the lady who was either his sister or his betrothed? As he +found himself thus struggling among so many alternatives, he had a +vision of his old equable existence in the bank, and was assailed +by a thought of regret for the past. + +By this time he had arrived directly opposite the box; and although +he was still undetermined what to do or whether to do anything, he +turned his head and lifted his eyes. No sooner had he done so than +he uttered a cry of disappointment and remained rooted to the spot. +The box was empty. During his slow advance Mr. Vandeleur and his +daughter had quietly slipped away. + +A polite person in his rear reminded him that he was stopping the +path; and he moved on again with mechanical footsteps, and suffered +the crowd to carry him unresisting out of the theatre. Once in the +street, the pressure ceasing, he came to a halt, and the cool night +air speedily restored him to the possession of his faculties. He +was surprised to find that his head ached violently, and that he +remembered not one word of the two acts which he had witnessed. As +the excitement wore away, it was succeeded by an overweening +appetite for sleep, and he hailed a cab and drove to his lodging in +a state of extreme exhaustion and some disgust of life. + +Next morning he lay in wait for Miss Vandeleur on her road to +market, and by eight o'clock beheld her stepping down a lane. She +was simply, and even poorly, attired; but in the carriage of her +head and body there was something flexible and noble that would +have lent distinction to the meanest toilette. Even her basket, so +aptly did she carry it, became her like an ornament. It seemed to +Francis, as he slipped into a doorway, that the sunshine followed +and the shadows fled before her as she walked; and he was +conscious, for the first time, of a bird singing in a cage above +the lane. + +He suffered her to pass the doorway, and then, coming forth once +more, addressed her by name from behind. "Miss Vandeleur," said +he. + +She turned and, when she saw who he was, became deadly pale. + +"Pardon me," he continued; "Heaven knows I had no will to startle +you; and, indeed, there should be nothing startling in the presence +of one who wishes you so well as I do. And, believe me, I am +acting rather from necessity than choice. We have many things in +common, and I am sadly in the dark. There is much that I should be +doing, and my hands are tied. I do not know even what to feel, nor +who are my friends and enemies." + +She found her voice with an effort. + +"I do not know who you are," she said. + +"Ah, yes! Miss Vandeleur, you do," returned Francis "better than I +do myself. Indeed, it is on that, above all, that I seek light. +Tell me what you know," he pleaded. "Tell me who I am, who you +are, and how our destinies are intermixed. Give me a little help +with my life, Miss Vandeleur - only a word or two to guide me, only +the name of my father, if you will - and I shall be grateful and +content." + +"I will not attempt to deceive you," she replied. "I know who you +are, but I am not at liberty to say." + +"Tell me, at least, that you have forgiven my presumption, and I +shall wait with all the patience I have," he said. "If I am not to +know, I must do without. It is cruel, but I can bear more upon a +push. Only do not add to my troubles the thought that I have made +an enemy of you." + +"You did only what was natural," she said, "and I have nothing to +forgive you. Farewell." + +"Is it to be FAREWELL?" he asked. + +"Nay, that I do not know myself," she answered. "Farewell for the +present, if you like." + +And with these words she was gone. + +Francis returned to his lodging in a state of considerable +commotion of mind. He made the most trifling progress with his +Euclid for that forenoon, and was more often at the window than at +his improvised writing-table. But beyond seeing the return of Miss +Vandeleur, and the meeting between her and her father, who was +smoking a Trichinopoli cigar in the verandah, there was nothing +notable in the neighbourhood of the house with the green blinds +before the time of the mid-day meal. The young man hastily allayed +his appetite in a neighbouring restaurant, and returned with the +speed of unallayed curiosity to the house in the Rue Lepic. A +mounted servant was leading a saddle-horse to and fro before the +garden wall; and the porter of Francis's lodging was smoking a pipe +against the door-post, absorbed in contemplation of the livery and +the steeds. + +"Look!" he cried to the young man, "what fine cattle! what an +elegant costume! They belong to the brother of M. de Vandeleur, +who is now within upon a visit. He is a great man, a general, in +your country; and you doubtless know him well by reputation." + +"I confess," returned Francis, "that I have never heard of General +Vandeleur before. We have many officers of that grade, and my +pursuits have been exclusively civil." + +"It is he," replied the porter, "who lost the great diamond of the +Indies. Of that at least you must have read often in the papers." + +As soon as Francis could disengage himself from the porter he ran +upstairs and hurried to the window. Immediately below the clear +space in the chestnut leaves, the two gentlemen were seated in +conversation over a cigar. The General, a red, military-looking +man, offered some traces of a family resemblance to his brother; he +had something of the same features, something, although very +little, of the same free and powerful carriage; but he was older, +smaller, and more common in air; his likeness was that of a +caricature, and he seemed altogether a poor and debile being by the +side of the Dictator. + +They spoke in tones so low, leaning over the table with every +appearance of interest, that Francis could catch no more than a +word or two on an occasion. For as little as he heard, he was +convinced that the conversation turned upon himself and his own +career; several times the name of Scrymgeour reached his ear, for +it was easy to distinguish, and still more frequently he fancied he +could distinguish the name Francis. + +At length the General, as if in a hot anger, broke forth into +several violent exclamations. + +"Francis Vandeleur!" he cried, accentuating the last word. +"Francis Vandeleur, I tell you." + +The Dictator made a movement of his whole body, half affirmative, +half contemptuous, but his answer was inaudible to the young man. + +Was he the Francis Vandeleur in question? he wondered. Were they +discussing the name under which he was to be married? Or was the +whole affair a dream and a delusion of his own conceit and self- +absorption? + +After another interval of inaudible talk, dissension seemed again +to arise between the couple underneath the chestnut, and again the +General raised his voice angrily so as to be audible to Francis. + +"My wife?" he cried. "I have done with my wife for good. I will +not hear her name. I am sick of her very name." + +And he swore aloud and beat the table with his fist. + +The Dictator appeared, by his gestures, to pacify him after a +paternal fashion; and a little after he conducted him to the +garden-gate. The pair shook hands affectionately enough; but as +soon as the door had closed behind his visitor, John Vandeleur fell +into a fit of laughter which sounded unkindly and even devilish in +the ears of Francis Scrymgeour. + +So another day had passed, and little more learnt. But the young +man remembered that the morrow was Tuesday, and promised himself +some curious discoveries; all might be well, or all might be ill; +he was sure, at least, to glean some curious information, and, +perhaps, by good luck, get at the heart of the mystery which +surrounded his father and his family. + +As the hour of the dinner drew near many preparations were made in +the garden of the house with the green blinds. That table which +was partly visible to Francis through the chestnut leaves was +destined to serve as a sideboard, and carried relays of plates and +the materials for salad: the other, which was almost entirely +concealed, had been set apart for the diners, and Francis could +catch glimpses of white cloth and silver plate. + +Mr. Rolles arrived, punctual to the minute; he looked like a man +upon his guard, and spoke low and sparingly. The Dictator, on the +other hand, appeared to enjoy an unusual flow of spirits; his +laugh, which was youthful and pleasant to hear, sounded frequently +from the garden; by the modulation and the changes of his voice it +was obvious that he told many droll stories and imitated the +accents of a variety of different nations; and before he and the +young clergyman had finished their vermouth all feeling of distrust +was at an end, and they were talking together like a pair of school +companions. + +At length Miss Vandeleur made her appearance, carrying the soup- +tureen. Mr. Rolles ran to offer her assistance which she +laughingly refused; and there was an interchange of pleasantries +among the trio which seemed to have reference to this primitive +manner of waiting by one of the company. + +"One is more at one's ease," Mr. Vandeleur was heard to declare. + +Next moment they were all three in their places, and Francis could +see as little as he could hear of what passed. But the dinner +seemed to go merrily; there was a perpetual babble of voices and +sound of knives and forks below the chestnut; and Francis, who had +no more than a roll to gnaw, was affected with envy by the comfort +and deliberation of the meal. The party lingered over one dish +after another, and then over a delicate dessert, with a bottle of +old wine carefully uncorked by the hand of the Dictator himself. +As it began to grow dark a lamp was set upon the table and a couple +of candles on the sideboard; for the night was perfectly pure, +starry, and windless. Light overflowed besides from the door and +window in the verandah, so that the garden was fairly illuminated +and the leaves twinkled in the darkness. + +For perhaps the tenth time Miss Vandeleur entered the house; and on +this occasion she returned with the coffee-tray, which she placed +upon the sideboard. At the same moment her father rose from his +seat. + +"The coffee is my province," Francis heard him say. + +And next moment he saw his supposed father standing by the +sideboard in the light of the candles. + +Talking over his shoulder all the while, Mr. Vandeleur poured out +two cups of the brown stimulant, and then, by a rapid act of +prestidigitation, emptied the contents of a tiny phial into the +smaller of the two. The thing was so swiftly done that even +Francis, who looked straight into his face, had hardly time to +perceive the movement before it was completed. And next instant, +and still laughing, Mr. Vandeleur had turned again towards the +table with a cup in either hand. + +"Ere we have done with this," said he, "we may expect our famous +Hebrew." + +It would be impossible to depict the confusion and distress of +Francis Scrymgeour. He saw foul play going forward before his +eyes, and he felt bound to interfere, but knew not how. It might +be a mere pleasantry, and then how should he look if he were to +offer an unnecessary warning? Or again, if it were serious, the +criminal might be his own father, and then how should he not lament +if he were to bring ruin on the author of his days? For the first +time he became conscious of his own position as a spy. To wait +inactive at such a juncture and with such a conflict of sentiments +in his bosom was to suffer the most acute torture; he clung to the +bars of the shutters, his heart beat fast and with irregularity, +and he felt a strong sweat break forth upon his body. + +Several minutes passed. + +He seemed to perceive the conversation die away and grow less and +less in vivacity and volume; but still no sign of any alarming or +even notable event. + +Suddenly the ring of a glass breaking was followed by a faint and +dull sound, as of a person who should have fallen forward with his +head upon the table. At the same moment a piercing scream rose +from the garden. + +"What have you done?" cried Miss Vandeleur. "He is dead!" + +The Dictator replied in a violent whisper, so strong and sibilant +that every word was audible to the watcher at the window. + +"Silence!' said Mr. Vandeleur; "the man is as well as I am. Take +him by the heels whilst I carry him by the shoulders." + +Francis heard Miss Vandeleur break forth into a passion of tears. + +"Do you hear what I say?" resumed the Dictator, in the same tones. +"Or do you wish to quarrel with me? I give you your choice, Miss +Vandeleur." + +There was another pause, and the Dictator spoke again. + +"Take that man by the heels," he said. "I must have him brought +into the house. If I were a little younger, I could help myself +against the world. But now that years and dangers are upon me and +my hands are weakened, I must turn to you for aid." + +"It is a crime," replied the girl. + +"I am your father," said Mr. Vandeleur. + +This appeal seemed to produce its effect. A scuffling noise +followed upon the gravel, a chair was overset, and then Francis saw +the father and daughter stagger across the walk and disappear under +the verandah, bearing the inanimate body of Mr. Rolles embraced +about the knees and shoulders. The young clergyman was limp and +pallid, and his head rolled upon his shoulders at every step. + +Was he alive or dead? Francis, in spite of the Dictator's +declaration, inclined to the latter view. A great crime had been +committed; a great calamity had fallen upon the inhabitants of the +house with the green blinds. To his surprise, Francis found all +horror for the deed swallowed up in sorrow for a girl and an old +man whom he judged to be in the height of peril. A tide of +generous feeling swept into his heart; he, too, would help his +father against man and mankind, against fate and justice; and +casting open the shutters he closed his eyes and threw himself with +out-stretched arms into the foliage of the chestnut. + +Branch after branch slipped from his grasp or broke under his +weight; then he caught a stalwart bough under his armpit, and hung +suspended for a second; and then he let himself drop and fell +heavily against the table. A cry of alarm from the house warned +him that his entrance had not been effected unobserved. He +recovered himself with a stagger, and in three bounds crossed the +intervening space and stood before the door in the verandah. + +In a small apartment, carpeted with matting and surrounded by +glazed cabinets full of rare and costly curios, Mr. Vandeleur was +stooping over the body of Mr. Rolles. He raised himself as Francis +entered, and there was an instantaneous passage of hands. It was +the business of a second; as fast as an eye can wink the thing was +done; the young man had not the time to be sure, but it seemed to +him as if the Dictator had taken something from the curate's +breast, looked at it for the least fraction of time as it lay in +his hand, and then suddenly and swiftly passed it to his daughter. + +All this was over while Francis had still one foot upon the +threshold, and the other raised in air. The next instant he was on +his knees to Mr. Vandeleur. + +"Father!" he cried. "Let me too help you. I will do what you wish +and ask no questions; I will obey you with my life; treat me as a +son, and you will find I have a son's devotion." + +A deplorable explosion of oaths was the Dictator's first reply. + +"Son and father?" he cried. "Father and son? What d-d unnatural +comedy is all this? How do you come in my garden? What do you +want? And who, in God's name, are you?" + +Francis, with a stunned and shamefaced aspect, got upon his feet +again, and stood in silence. + +Then a light seemed to break upon Mr. Vandeleur, and he laughed +aloud + +"I see," cried he. "It is the Scrymgeour. Very well, Mr. +Scrymgeour. Let me tell you in a few words how you stand. You +have entered my private residence by force, or perhaps by fraud, +but certainly with no encouragement from me; and you come at a +moment of some annoyance, a guest having fainted at my table, to +besiege me with your protestations. You are no son of mine. You +are my brother's bastard by a fishwife, if you want to know. I +regard you with an indifference closely bordering on aversion; and +from what I now see of your conduct, I judge your mind to be +exactly suitable to your exterior. I recommend you these +mortifying reflections for your leisure; and, in the meantime, let +me beseech you to rid us of your presence. If I were not +occupied," added the Dictator, with a terrifying oath, "I should +give you the unholiest drubbing ere you went!" + +Francis listened in profound humiliation. He would have fled had +it been possible; but as he had no means of leaving the residence +into which he had so unfortunately penetrated, he could do no more +than stand foolishly where he was. + +It was Miss Vandeleur who broke the silence. + +"Father," she said, "you speak in anger. Mr. Scrymgeour may have +been mistaken, but he meant well and kindly." + +"Thank you for speaking," returned the Dictator. "You remind me of +some other observations which I hold it a point of honour to make +to Mr. Scrymgeour. My brother," he continued, addressing the young +man, "has been foolish enough to give you an allowance; he was +foolish enough and presumptuous enough to propose a match between +you and this young lady. You were exhibited to her two nights ago; +and I rejoice to tell you that she rejected the idea with disgust. +Let me add that I have considerable influence with your father; and +it shall not be my fault if you are not beggared of your allowance +and sent back to your scrivening ere the week be out." + +The tones of the old man's voice were, if possible, more wounding +than his language; Francis felt himself exposed to the most cruel, +blighting, and unbearable contempt; his head turned, and he covered +his face with his hands, uttering at the same time a tearless sob +of agony. But Miss Vandeleur once again interfered in his behalf. + +"Mr. Scrymgeour," she said, speaking in clear and even tones, "you +must not be concerned at my father's harsh expressions. I felt no +disgust for you; on the contrary, I asked an opportunity to make +your better acquaintance. As for what has passed to-night, believe +me it has filled my mind with both pity and esteem." + +Just then Mr. Rolles made a convulsive movement with his arm, which +convinced Francis that he was only drugged, and was beginning to +throw off the influence of the opiate. Mr. Vandeleur stooped over +him and examined his face for an instant. + +"Come, come!" cried he, raising his head. "Let there be an end of +this. And since you are so pleased with his conduct, Miss +Vandeleur, take a candle and show the bastard out." + +The young lady hastened to obey. + +"Thank you," said Francis, as soon as he was alone with her in the +garden. "I thank you from my soul. This has been the bitterest +evening of my life, but it will have always one pleasant +recollection." + +"I spoke as I felt," she replied, "and in justice to you. It made +my heart sorry that you should be so unkindly used." + +By this time they had reached the garden gate; and Miss Vandeleur, +having set the candle on the ground, was already unfastening the +bolts. + +"One word more," said Francis. "This is not for the last time - I +shall see you again, shall I not?" + +"Alas!" she answered. "You have heard my father. What can I do +but obey?" + +"Tell me at least that it is not with your consent," returned +Francis; "tell me that you have no wish to see the last of me." + +"Indeed," replied she, "I have none. You seem to me both brave and +honest." + +"Then," said Francis, "give me a keepsake." + +She paused for a moment, with her hand upon the key; for the +various bars and bolts were all undone, and there was nothing left +but to open the lock. + +"If I agree," she said, "will you promise to do as I tell you from +point to point?" + +"Can you ask?" replied Francis. "I would do so willingly on your +bare word." + +She turned the key and threw open the door. + +"Be it so," said she. "You do not know what you ask, but be it so. +Whatever you hear," she continued, "whatever happens, do not return +to this house; hurry fast until you reach the lighted and populous +quarters of the city; even there be upon your guard. You are in a +greater danger than you fancy. Promise me you will not so much as +look at my keepsake until you are in a place of safety." + +"I promise," replied Francis. + +She put something loosely wrapped in a handkerchief into the young +man's hand; and at the same time, with more strength than he could +have anticipated, she pushed him into the street. + +"Now, run!" she cried. + +He heard the door close behind him, and the noise of the bolts +being replaced. + +"My faith," said he, "since I have promised!" + +And he took to his heels down the lane that leads into the Rue +Ravignan. + +He was not fifty paces from the house with the green blinds when +the most diabolical outcry suddenly arose out of the stillness of +the night. Mechanically he stood still; another passenger followed +his example; in the neighbouring floors he saw people crowding to +the windows; a conflagration could not have produced more +disturbance in this empty quarter. And yet it seemed to be all the +work of a single man, roaring between grief and rage, like a +lioness robbed of her whelps; and Francis was surprised and alarmed +to hear his own name shouted with English imprecations to the wind. + +His first movement was to return to the house; his second, as he +remembered Miss Vandeleur's advice, to continue his flight with +greater expedition than before; and he was in the act of turning to +put his thought in action, when the Dictator, bareheaded, bawling +aloud, his white hair blowing about his head, shot past him like a +ball out of the cannon's mouth, and went careering down the street. + +"That was a close shave," thought Francis to himself. "What he +wants with me, and why he should be so disturbed, I cannot think; +but he is plainly not good company for the moment, and I cannot do +better than follow Miss Vandeleur's advice." + +So saying, he turned to retrace his steps, thinking to double and +descend by the Rue Lepic itself while his pursuer should continue +to follow after him on the other line of street. The plan was ill- +devised: as a matter of fact, he should have taken his seat in the +nearest cafe, and waited there until the first heat of the pursuit +was over. But besides that Francis had no experience and little +natural aptitude for the small war of private life, he was so +unconscious of any evil on his part, that he saw nothing to fear +beyond a disagreeable interview. And to disagreeable interviews he +felt he had already served his apprenticeship that evening; nor +could he suppose that Miss Vandeleur had left anything unsaid. +Indeed, the young man was sore both in body and mind - the one was +all bruised, the other was full of smarting arrows; and he owned to +himself that Mr. Vandeleur was master of a very deadly tongue. + +The thought of his bruises reminded him that he had not only come +without a hat, but that his clothes had considerably suffered in +his descent through the chestnut. At the first magazine he +purchased a cheap wideawake, and had the disorder of his toilet +summarily repaired. The keepsake, still rolled in the +handkerchief, he thrust in the meanwhile into his trousers pocket. + +Not many steps beyond the shop he was conscious of a sudden shock, +a hand upon his throat, an infuriated face close to his own, and an +open mouth bawling curses in his ear. The Dictator, having found +no trace of his quarry, was returning by the other way. Francis +was a stalwart young fellow; but he was no match for his adversary +whether in strength or skill; and after a few ineffectual struggles +he resigned himself entirely to his captor. + +"What do you want with me?" said he. + +"We will talk of that at home," returned the Dictator grimly. + +And he continued to march the young man up hill in the direction of +the house with the green blinds. + +But Francis, although he no longer struggled, was only waiting an +opportunity to make a bold push for freedom. With a sudden jerk he +left the collar of his coat in the hands of Mr. Vandeleur, and once +more made off at his best speed in the direction of the Boulevards. + +The tables were now turned. If the Dictator was the stronger, +Francis, in the top of his youth, was the more fleet of foot, and +he had soon effected his escape among the crowds. Relieved for a +moment, but with a growing sentiment of alarm and wonder in his +mind, be walked briskly until he debauched upon the Place de +l'Opera, lit up like day with electric lamps. + +"This, at least," thought he, "should satisfy Miss Vandeleur." + +And turning to his right along the Boulevards, he entered the Cafe +Americain and ordered some beer. It was both late and early for +the majority of the frequenters of the establishment. Only two or +three persons, all men, were dotted here and there at separate +tables in the hall; and Francis was too much occupied by his own +thoughts to observe their presence. + +He drew the handkerchief from his pocket. The object wrapped in it +proved to be a morocco case, clasped and ornamented in gilt, which +opened by means of a spring, and disclosed to the horrified young +man a diamond of monstrous bigness and extraordinary brilliancy. +The circumstance was so inexplicable, the value of the stone was +plainly so enormous, that Francis sat staring into the open casket +without movement, without conscious thought, like a man stricken +suddenly with idiocy. + +A hand was laid upon his shoulder, lightly but firmly, and a quiet +voice, which yet had in it the ring of command, uttered these words +in his ear - + +"Close the casket, and compose your face." + +Looking up, he beheld a man, still young, of an urbane and tranquil +presence, and dressed with rich simplicity. This personage had +risen from a neighbouring table, and, bringing his glass with him, +had taken a seat beside Francis. + +"Close the casket," repeated the stranger, "and put it quietly back +into your pocket, where I feel persuaded it should never have been. +Try, if you please, to throw off your bewildered air, and act as +though I were one of your acquaintances whom you had met by chance. +So! Touch glasses with me. That is better. I fear, sir, you must +be an amateur." + +And the stranger pronounced these last words with a smile of +peculiar meaning, leaned back in his seat and enjoyed a deep +inhalation of tobacco. + +"For God's sake," said Francis, "tell me who you are and what this +means? Why I should obey your most unusual suggestions I am sure I +know not; but the truth is, I have fallen this evening into so many +perplexing adventures, and all I meet conduct themselves so +strangely, that I think I must either have gone mad or wandered +into another planet. Your face inspires me with confidence; you +seem wise, good, and experienced; tell me, for heaven's sake, why +you accost me in so odd a fashion?" + +"All in due time," replied the stranger. "But I have the first +hand, and you must begin by telling me how the Rajah's Diamond is +in your possession." + +"The Rajah's Diamond!" echoed Francis. + +"I would not speak so loud, if I were you," returned the other. +"But most certainly you have the Rajah's Diamond in your pocket. I +have seen and handled it a score of times in Sir Thomas Vandeleur's +collection." + +"Sir Thomas Vandeleur! The General! My father!" cried Francis. + +"Your father?" repeated the stranger. "I was not aware the General +had any family." + +"I am illegitimate, sir," replied Francis, with a flush. + +The other bowed with gravity. It was a respectful bow, as of a man +silently apologising to his equal; and Francis felt relieved and +comforted, he scarce knew why. The society of this person did him +good; he seemed to touch firm ground; a strong feeling of respect +grew up in his bosom, and mechanically he removed his wideawake as +though in the presence of a superior. + +"I perceive," said the stranger, "that your adventures have not all +been peaceful. Your collar is torn, your face is scratched, you +have a cut upon your temple; you will, perhaps, pardon my curiosity +when I ask you to explain how you came by these injuries, and how +you happen to have stolen property to an enormous value in your +pocket." + +"I must differ from you!" returned Francis hotly. "I possess no +stolen property. And if you refer to the diamond, it was given to +me not an hour ago by Miss Vandeleur in the Rue Lepic." + +"By Miss Vandeleur of the Rue Lepic!" repeated the other. "You +interest me more than you suppose. Pray continue." + +"Heavens!" cried Francis. + +His memory had made a sudden bound. He had seen Mr. Vandeleur take +an article from the breast of his drugged visitor, and that +article, he was now persuaded, was a morocco case. + +"You have a light?" inquired the stranger. + +"Listen," replied Francis. "I know not who you are, but I believe +you to be worthy of confidence and helpful; I find myself in +strange waters; I must have counsel and support, and since you +invite me I shall tell you all." + +And he briefly recounted his experiences since the day when he was +summoned from the bank by his lawyer. + +"Yours is indeed a remarkable history," said the stranger, after +the young man had made an end of his narrative; "and your position +is full of difficulty and peril. Many would counsel you to seek +out your father, and give the diamond to him; but I have other +views. Waiter!" he cried. + +The waiter drew near. + +"Will you ask the manager to speak with me a moment?" said he; and +Francis observed once more, both in his tone and manner, the +evidence of a habit of command. + +The waiter withdrew, and returned in a moment with manager, who +bowed with obsequious respect. + +"What," said he, "can I do to serve you?" + +"Have the goodness," replied the stranger, indicating Francis, "to +tell this gentleman my name." + +"You have the honour, sir," said the functionary, addressing young +Scrymgeour, "to occupy the same table with His Highness Prince +Florizel of Bohemia." + +Francis rose with precipitation, and made a grateful reverence to +the Prince, who bade him resume his seat. + +"I thank you," said Florizel, once more addressing the functionary; +"I am sorry to have deranged you for so small a matter." + +And he dismissed him with a movement of his hand. + +"And now," added the Prince, turning to Francis, "give me the +diamond." + +Without a word the casket was handed over. + +"You have done right," said Florizel, "your sentiments have +properly inspired you, and you will live to be grateful for the +misfortunes of to-night. A man, Mr. Scrymgeour, may fall into a +thousand perplexities, but if his heart be upright and his +intelligence unclouded, he will issue from them all without +dishonour. Let your mind be at rest; your affairs are in my hand; +and with the aid of heaven I am strong enough to bring them to a +good end. Follow me, if you please, to my carriage." + +So saying the Prince arose and, having left a piece of gold for the +waiter, conducted the young man from the cafe and along the +Boulevard to where an unpretentious brougham and a couple of +servants out of livery awaited his arrival. + +"This carriage," said he, "is at your disposal; collect your +baggage as rapidly as you can make it convenient, and my servants +will conduct you to a villa in the neighbourhood of Paris where you +can wait in some degree of comfort until I have had time to arrange +your situation. You will find there a pleasant garden, a library +of good authors, a cook, a cellar, and some good cigars, which I +recommend to your attention. Jerome," he added, turning to one of +the servants, "you have heard what I say; I leave Mr. Scrymgeour in +your charge; you will, I know, be careful of my friend." + +Francis uttered some broken phrases of gratitude. + +"It will be time enough to thank me," said the Prince, "when you +are acknowledged by your father and married to Miss Vandeleur." + +And with that the Prince turned away and strolled leisurely in the +direction of Montmartre. He hailed the first passing cab, gave an +address, and a quarter of an hour afterwards, having discharged the +driver some distance lower, he was knocking at Mr. Vandeleur's +garden gate. + +It was opened with singular precautions by the Dictator in person. + +"Who are you?" he demanded. + +"You must pardon me this late visit, Mr. Vandeleur," replied the +Prince. + +"Your Highness is always welcome," returned Mr. Vandeleur, stepping +back. + +The Prince profited by the open space, and without waiting for his +host walked right into the house and opened the door of the SALON. +Two people were seated there; one was Miss Vandeleur, who bore the +marks of weeping about her eyes, and was still shaken from time to +time by a sob; in the other the Prince recognised the young man who +had consulted him on literary matters about a month before, in a +club smoking-room. + +"Good evening, Miss Vandeleur," said Florizel; "you look fatigued. +Mr. Rolles, I believe? I hope you have profited by the study of +Gaboriau, Mr. Rolles." + +But the young clergyman's temper was too much embittered for +speech; and he contented himself with bowing stiffly, and continued +to gnaw his lip. + +"To what good wind," said Mr. Vandeleur, following his guest, "am I +to attribute the honour of your Highness's presence?" + +"I am come on business," returned the Prince; "on business with +you; as soon as that is settled I shall request Mr. Rolles to +accompany me for a walk. Mr. Rolles," he added with severity, "let +me remind you that I have not yet sat down." + +The clergyman sprang to his feet with an apology; whereupon the +Prince took an armchair beside the table, handed his hat to Mr. +Vandeleur, his cane to Mr. Rolles, and, leaving them standing and +thus menially employed upon his service, spoke as follows:- + +"I have come here, as I said, upon business; but, had I come +looking for pleasure, I could not have been more displeased with my +reception nor more dissatisfied with my company. You, sir," +addressing Mr. Rolles, "you have treated your superior in station +with discourtesy; you, Vandeleur, receive me with a smile, but you +know right well that your hands are not yet cleansed from +misconduct. I do not desire to be interrupted, sir," he added +imperiously; "I am here to speak, and not to listen; and I have to +ask you to hear me with respect, and to obey punctiliously. At the +earliest possible date your daughter shall be married at the +Embassy to my friend, Francis Scrymgeour, your brother's +acknowledged son. You will oblige me by offering not less than ten +thousand pounds dowry. For yourself, I will indicate to you in +writing a mission of some importance in Siam which I destine to +your care. And now, sir, you will answer me in two words whether +or not you agree to these conditions." + +"Your Highness will pardon me," said Mr. Vandeleur, "and permit me, +with all respect, to submit to him two queries?" + +"The permission is granted," replied the Prince. + +"Your Highness," resumed the Dictator, "has called Mr. Scrymgeour +his friend. Believe me, had I known he was thus honoured, I should +have treated him with proportional respect." + +"You interrogate adroitly," said the Prince; "but it will not serve +your turn. You have my commands; if I had never seen that +gentleman before to-night, it would not render them less absolute." + +"Your Highness interprets my meaning with his usual subtlety," +returned Vandeleur. "Once more: I have, unfortunately, put the +police upon the track of Mr. Scrymgeour on a charge of theft; am I +to withdraw or to uphold the accusation?" + +"You will please yourself," replied Florizel. "The question is one +between your conscience and the laws of this land. Give me my hat; +and you, Mr. Rolles, give me my cane and follow me. Miss +Vandeleur, I wish you good evening. I judge," he added to +Vandeleur, "that your silence means unqualified assent." + +"If I can do no better," replied the old man, "I shall submit; but +I warn you openly it shall not be without a struggle." + +"You are old," said the Prince; "but years are disgraceful to the +wicked. Your age is more unwise than the youth of others. Do not +provoke me, or you may find me harder than you dream. This is the +first time that I have fallen across your path in anger; take care +that it be the last." + +With these words, motioning the clergyman to follow, Florizel left +the apartment and directed his steps towards the garden gate; and +the Dictator, following with a candle, gave them light, and once +more undid the elaborate fastenings with which he sought to protect +himself from intrusion. + +"Your daughter is no longer present," said the Prince, turning on +the threshold. "Let me tell you that I understand your threats; +and you have only to lift your hand to bring upon yourself sudden +and irremediable ruin." + +The Dictator made no reply; but as the Prince turned his back upon +him in the lamplight he made a gesture full of menace and insane +fury; and the next moment, slipping round a corner, he was running +at full speed for the nearest cab-stand. + + +(Here, says my Arabian, the thread of events is finally diverted +from THE HOUSE WITH THE GREEN BLINDS. One more adventure, he adds, +and we have done with THE RAJAH'S DIAMOND. That last link in the +chain is known among the inhabitants of Bagdad by the name of THE +ADVENTURE OF PRINCE FLORIZEL AND A DETECTIVE.) + + + +THE ADVENTURE OF PRINCE FLORIZEL AND A DETECTIVE + + + +Prince Florizel walked with Mr. Rolles to the door of a small hotel +where the latter resided. They spoke much together, and the +clergyman was more than once affected to tears by the mingled +severity and tenderness of Florizel's reproaches. + +"I have made ruin of my life," he said at last. "Help me; tell me +what I am to do; I have, alas! neither the virtues of a priest nor +the dexterity of a rogue." + +"Now that you are humbled," said the Prince, "I command no longer; +the repentant have to do with God and not with princes. But if you +will let me advise you, go to Australia as a colonist, seek menial +labour in the open air, and try to forget that you have ever been a +clergyman, or that you ever set eyes on that accursed stone." + +"Accurst indeed!" replied Mr. Rolles. "Where is it now? What +further hurt is it not working for mankind?" + +"It will do no more evil," returned the Prince. "It is here in my +pocket. And this," he added kindly, "will show that I place some +faith in your penitence, young as it is." + +"Suffer me to touch your hand," pleaded Mr. Rolles. + +"No," replied Prince Florizel, "not yet." + +The tone in which he uttered these last words was eloquent in the +ears of the young clergyman; and for some minutes after the Prince +had turned away he stood on the threshold following with his eyes +the retreating figure and invoking the blessing of heaven upon a +man so excellent in counsel. + +For several hours the Prince walked alone in unfrequented streets. +His mind was full of concern; what to do with the diamond, whether +to return it to its owner, whom he judged unworthy of this rare +possession, or to take some sweeping and courageous measure and put +it out of the reach of all mankind at once and for ever, was a +problem too grave to be decided in a moment. The manner in which +it had come into his hands appeared manifestly providential; and as +he took out the jewel and looked at it under the street lamps, its +size and surprising brilliancy inclined him more and more to think +of it as of an unmixed and dangerous evil for the world. + +"God help me!" he thought; "if I look at it much oftener, I shall +begin to grow covetous myself." + +At last, though still uncertain in his mind, he turned his steps +towards the small but elegant mansion on the river-side which had +belonged for centuries to his royal family. The arms of Bohemia +are deeply graved over the door and upon the tall chimneys; +passengers have a look into a green court set with the most costly +flowers, and a stork, the only one in Paris, perches on the gable +all day long and keeps a crowd before the house. Grave servants +are seen passing to and fro within; and from time to time the great +gate is thrown open and a carriage rolls below the arch. For many +reasons this residence was especially dear to the heart of Prince +Florizel; he never drew near to it without enjoying that sentiment +of home-coming so rare in the lives of the great; and on the +present evening he beheld its tall roof and mildly illuminated +windows with unfeigned relief and satisfaction. + +As he was approaching the postern door by which he always entered +when alone, a man stepped forth from the shadow and presented +himself with an obeisance in the Prince's path. + +"I have the honour of addressing Prince Florizel of Bohemia?" said +he. + +"Such is my title," replied the Prince. "What do you want with +me?" + +"I am," said the man, "a detective, and I have to present your +Highness with this billet from the Prefect of Police." + +The Prince took the letter and glanced it through by the light of +the street lamp. It was highly apologetic, but requested him to +follow the bearer to the Prefecture without delay. + +"In short," said Florizel, "I am arrested." + +"Your Highness," replied the officer, "nothing, I am certain, could +be further from the intention of the Prefect. You will observe +that he has not granted a warrant. It is mere formality, or call +it, if you prefer, an obligation that your Highness lays on the +authorities." + +"At the same time," asked the Prince, "if I were to refuse to +follow you?" + +"I will not conceal from your Highness that a considerable +discretion has been granted me," replied the detective with a bow. + +"Upon my word," cried Florizel, "your effrontery astounds me! +Yourself, as an agent, I must pardon; but your superiors shall +dearly smart for their misconduct. What, have you any idea, is the +cause of this impolitic and unconstitutional act? You will observe +that I have as yet neither refused nor consented, and much may +depend on your prompt and ingenuous answer. Let me remind you, +officer, that this is an affair of some gravity." + +"Your Highness," said the detective humbly, "General Vandeleur and +his brother have had the incredible presumption to accuse you of +theft. The famous diamond, they declare, is in your hands. A word +from you in denial will most amply satisfy the Prefect; nay, I go +farther: if your Highness would so far honour a subaltern as to +declare his ignorance of the matter even to myself, I should ask +permission to retire upon the spot." + +Florizel, up to the last moment, had regarded his adventure in the +light of a trifle, only serious upon international considerations. +At the name of Vandeleur the horrible truth broke upon him in a +moment; he was not only arrested, but he was guilty. This was not +only an annoying incident - it was a peril to his honour. What was +he to say? What was he to do? The Rajah's Diamond was indeed an +accursed stone; and it seemed as if he were to be the last victim +to its influence. + +One thing was certain. He could not give the required assurance to +the detective. He must gain time. + +His hesitation had not lasted a second. + +"Be it so," said he, "let us walk together to the Prefecture." + +The man once more bowed, and proceeded to follow Florizel at a +respectful distance in the rear. + +"Approach," said the Prince. "I am in a humour to talk, and, if I +mistake not, now I look at you again, this is not the first time +that we have met." + +"I count it an honour," replied the officer, "that your Highness +should recollect my face. It is eight years since I had the +pleasure of an interview." + +"To remember faces," returned Florizel, "is as much a part of my +profession as it is of yours. Indeed, rightly looked upon, a +Prince and a detective serve in the same corps. We are both +combatants against crime; only mine is the more lucrative and yours +the more dangerous rank, and there is a sense in which both may be +made equally honourable to a good man. I had rather, strange as +you may think it, be a detective of character and parts than a weak +and ignoble sovereign." + +The officer was overwhelmed. + +"Your Highness returns good for evil," said he. "To an act of +presumption he replies by the most amiable condescension." + +"How do you know," replied Florizel, "that I am not seeking to +corrupt you?" + +"Heaven preserve me from the temptation!" cried the detective. + +"I applaud your answer," returned the Prince. "It is that of a +wise and honest man. The world is a great place and stocked with +wealth and beauty, and there is no limit to the rewards that may be +offered. Such an one who would refuse a million of money may sell +his honour for an empire or the love of a woman; and I myself, who +speak to you, have seen occasions so tempting, provocations so +irresistible to the strength of human virtue, that I have been glad +to tread in your steps and recommend myself to the grace of God. +It is thus, thanks to that modest and becoming habit alone," he +added, "that you and I can walk this town together with untarnished +hearts." + +"I had always heard that you were brave," replied the officer, "but +I was not aware that you were wise and pious. You speak the truth, +and you speak it with an accent that moves me to the heart. This +world is indeed a place of trial." + +"We are now," said Florizel, "in the middle of the bridge. Lean +your elbows on the parapet and look over. As the water rushing +below, so the passions and complications of life carry away the +honesty of weak men. Let me tell you a story." + +"I receive your Highness's commands," replied the man. + +And, imitating the Prince, he leaned against the parapet, and +disposed himself to listen. The city was already sunk in slumber; +had it not been for the infinity of lights and the outline of +buildings on the starry sky, they might have been alone beside some +country river. + +"An officer," began Prince Florizel, "a man of courage and conduct, +who had already risen by merit to an eminent rank, and won not only +admiration but respect, visited, in an unfortunate hour for his +peace of mind, the collections of an Indian Prince. Here he beheld +a diamond so extraordinary for size and beauty that from that +instant he had only one desire in life: honour, reputation, +friendship, the love of country, he was ready to sacrifice all for +this lump of sparkling crystal. For three years he served this +semi-barbarian potentate as Jacob served Laban; he falsified +frontiers, he connived at murders, he unjustly condemned and +executed a brother-officer who had the misfortune to displease the +Rajah by some honest freedoms; lastly, at a time of great danger to +his native land, he betrayed a body of his fellow-soldiers, and +suffered them to be defeated and massacred by thousands. In the +end, he had amassed a magnificent fortune, and brought home with +him the coveted diamond. + +"Years passed," continued the Prince, "and at length the diamond is +accidentally lost. It falls into the hands of a simple and +laborious youth, a student, a minister of God, just entering on a +career of usefulness and even distinction. Upon him also the spell +is cast; he deserts everything, his holy calling, his studies, and +flees with the gem into a foreign country. The officer has a +brother, an astute, daring, unscrupulous man, who learns the +clergyman's secret. What does he do? Tell his brother, inform the +police? No; upon this man also the Satanic charm has fallen; he +must have the stone for himself. At the risk of murder, he drugs +the young priest and seizes the prey. And now, by an accident +which is not important to my moral, the jewel passes out of his +custody into that of another, who, terrified at what he sees, gives +it into the keeping of a man in high station and above reproach. + +"The officer's name is Thomas Vandeleur," continued Florizel. "The +stone is called the Rajah's Diamond. And" - suddenly opening his +hand - "you behold it here before your eyes." + +The officer started back with a cry. + +"We have spoken of corruption," said the Prince. "To me this +nugget of bright crystal is as loathsome as though it were crawling +with the worms of death; it is as shocking as though it were +compacted out of innocent blood. I see it here in my hand, and I +know it is shining with hell-fire. I have told you but a hundredth +part of its story; what passed in former ages, to what crimes and +treacheries it incited men of yore, the imagination trembles to +conceive; for years and years it has faithfully served the powers +of hell; enough, I say, of blood, enough of disgrace, enough of +broken lives and friendships; all things come to an end, the evil +like the good; pestilence as well as beautiful music; and as for +this diamond, God forgive me if I do wrong, but its empire ends to- +night." + +The Prince made a sudden movement with his hand, and the jewel, +describing an arc of light, dived with a splash into the flowing +river. + +"Amen," said Florizel with gravity. "I have slain a cockatrice!" + +"God pardon me!" cried the detective. "What have you done? I am a +ruined man." + +"I think," returned the Prince with a smile, "that many well-to-do +people in this city might envy you your ruin." + +"Alas! your Highness!" said the officer, "and you corrupt me after +all?" + +"It seems there was no help for it," replied Florizel. "And now +let us go forward to the Prefecture." + + +Not long after, the marriage of Francis Scrymgeour and Miss +Vandeleur was celebrated in great privacy; and the Prince acted on +that occasion as groomsman. The two Vandeleurs surprised some +rumour of what had happened to the diamond; and their vast diving +operations on the River Seine are the wonder and amusement of the +idle. It is true that through some miscalculation they have chosen +the wrong branch of the river. As for the Prince, that sublime +person, having now served his turn, may go, along with the ARABIAN +AUTHOR, topsy-turvy into space. But if the reader insists on more +specific information, I am happy to say that a recent revolution +hurled him from the throne of Bohemia, in consequence of his +continued absence and edifying neglect of public business; and that +his Highness now keeps a cigar store in Rupert Street, much +frequented by other foreign refugees. I go there from time to time +to smoke and have a chat, and find him as great a creature as in +the days of his prosperity; he has an Olympian air behind the +counter; and although a sedentary life is beginning to tell upon +his waistcoat, he is probably, take him for all in all, the +handsomest tobacconist in London. + + + + +THE PAVILION ON THE LINKS + + + + +CHAPTER I - TELLS HOW I CAMPED IN GRADEN SEA-WOOD, AND BEHELD A +LIGHT IN THE PAVILION + + + +I was a great solitary when I was young. I made it my pride to +keep aloof and suffice for my own entertainment; and I may say that +I had neither friends nor acquaintances until I met that friend who +became my wife and the mother of my children. With one man only +was I on private terms; this was R. Northmour, Esquire, of Graden +Easter, in Scotland. We had met at college; and though there was +not much liking between us, nor even much intimacy, we were so +nearly of a humour that we could associate with ease to both. +Misanthropes, we believed ourselves to be; but I have thought since +that we were only sulky fellows. It was scarcely a companionship, +but a coexistence in unsociability. Northmour's exceptional +violence of temper made it no easy affair for him to keep the peace +with any one but me; and as he respected my silent ways, and let me +come and go as I pleased, I could tolerate his presence without +concern. I think we called each other friends. + +When Northmour took his degree and I decided to leave the +university without one, he invited me on a long visit to Graden +Easter; and it was thus that I first became acquainted with the +scene of my adventures. The mansion-house of Graden stood in a +bleak stretch of country some three miles from the shore of the +German Ocean. It was as large as a barrack; and as it had been +built of a soft stone, liable to consume in the eager air of the +seaside, it was damp and draughty within and half ruinous without. +It was impossible for two young men to lodge with comfort in such a +dwelling. But there stood in the northern part of the estate, in a +wilderness of links and blowing sand-hills, and between a +plantation and the sea, a small Pavilion or Belvidere, of modern +design, which was exactly suited to our wants; and in this +hermitage, speaking little, reading much, and rarely associating +except at meals, Northmour and I spent four tempestuous winter +months. I might have stayed longer; but one March night there +sprang up between us a dispute, which rendered my departure +necessary. Northmour spoke hotly, I remember, and I suppose I must +have made some tart rejoinder. He leaped from his chair and +grappled me; I had to fight, without exaggeration, for my life; and +it was only with a great effort that I mastered him, for he was +near as strong in body as myself, and seemed filled with the devil. +The next morning, we met on our usual terms; but I judged it more +delicate to withdraw; nor did he attempt to dissuade me. + +It was nine years before I revisited the neighbourhood. I +travelled at that time with a tilt cart, a tent, and a cooking- +stove, tramping all day beside the waggon, and at night, whenever +it was possible, gipsying in a cove of the hills, or by the side of +a wood. I believe I visited in this manner most of the wild and +desolate regions both in England and Scotland; and, as I had +neither friends nor relations, I was troubled with no +correspondence, and had nothing in the nature of headquarters, +unless it was the office of my solicitors, from whom I drew my +income twice a year. It was a life in which I delighted; and I +fully thought to have grown old upon the march, and at last died in +a ditch. + +It was my whole business to find desolate corners, where I could +camp without the fear of interruption; and hence, being in another +part of the same shire, I bethought me suddenly of the Pavilion on +the Links. No thoroughfare passed within three miles of it. The +nearest town, and that was but a fisher village, was at a distance +of six or seven. For ten miles of length, and from a depth varying +from three miles to half a mile, this belt of barren country lay +along the sea. The beach, which was the natural approach, was full +of quicksands. Indeed I may say there is hardly a better place of +concealment in the United Kingdom. I determined to pass a week in +the Sea-Wood of Graden Easter, and making a long stage, reached it +about sundown on a wild September day. + +The country, I have said, was mixed sand-hill and links; LINKS +being a Scottish name for sand which has ceased drifting and become +more or less solidly covered with turf. The Pavilion stood on an +even space; a little behind it, the wood began in a hedge of elders +huddled together by the wind; in front, a few tumbled sand-hills +stood between it and the sea. An outcropping of rock had formed a +bastion for the sand, so that there was here a promontory in the +coast-line between two shallow bays; and just beyond the tides, the +rock again cropped out and formed an islet of small dimensions but +strikingly designed. The quicksands were of great extent at low +water, and had an infamous reputation in the country. Close in +shore, between the islet and the promontory, it was said they would +swallow a man in four minutes and a half; but there may have been +little ground for this precision. The district was alive with +rabbits, and haunted by gulls which made a continual piping about +the pavilion. On summer days the outlook was bright and even +gladsome; but at sundown in September, with a high wind, and a +heavy surf rolling in close along the links, the place told of +nothing but dead mariners and sea disaster. A ship beating to +windward on the horizon, and a huge truncheon of wreck half buried +in the sands at my feet, completed the innuendo of the scene. + +The pavilion - it had been built by the last proprietor, +Northmour's uncle, a silly and prodigal virtuoso - presented little +signs of age. It was two storeys in height, Italian in design, +surrounded by a patch of garden in which nothing had prospered but +a few coarse flowers; and looked, with its shuttered windows, not +like a house that had been deserted, but like one that had never +been tenanted by man. Northmour was plainly from home; whether, as +usual, sulking in the cabin of his yacht, or in one of his fitful +and extravagant appearances in the world of society, I had, of +course, no means of guessing. The place had an air of solitude +that daunted even a solitary like myself; the wind cried in the +chimneys with a strange and wailing note; and it was with a sense +of escape, as if I were going indoors, that I turned away and, +driving my cart before me, entered the skirts of the wood. + +The Sea-Wood of Graden had been planted to shelter the cultivated +fields behind, and check the encroachments of the blowing sand. As +you advanced into it from coastward, elders were succeeded by other +hardy shrubs; but the timber was all stunted and bushy; it led a +life of conflict; the trees were accustomed to swing there all +night long in fierce winter tempests; and even in early spring, the +leaves were already flying, and autumn was beginning, in this +exposed plantation. Inland the ground rose into a little hill, +which, along with the islet, served as a sailing mark for seamen. +When the hill was open of the islet to the north, vessels must bear +well to the eastward to clear Graden Ness and the Graden Bullers. +In the lower ground, a streamlet ran among the trees, and, being +dammed with dead leaves and clay of its own carrying, spread out +every here and there, and lay in stagnant pools. One or two ruined +cottages were dotted about the wood; and, according to Northmour, +these were ecclesiastical foundations, and in their time had +sheltered pious hermits. + +I found a den, or small hollow, where there was a spring of pure +water; and there, clearing away the brambles, I pitched the tent, +and made a fire to cook my supper. My horse I picketed farther in +the wood where there was a patch of sward. The banks of the den +not only concealed the light of my fire, but sheltered me from the +wind, which was cold as well as high. + +The life I was leading made me both hardy and frugal. I never +drank but water, and rarely ate anything more costly than oatmeal; +and I required so little sleep, that, although I rose with the peep +of day, I would often lie long awake in the dark or starry watches +of the night. Thus in Graden Sea-Wood, although I fell thankfully +asleep by eight in the evening I was awake again before eleven with +a full possession of my faculties, and no sense of drowsiness or +fatigue. I rose and sat by the fire, watching the trees and clouds +tumultuously tossing and fleeing overhead, and hearkening to the +wind and the rollers along the shore; till at length, growing weary +of inaction, I quitted the den, and strolled towards the borders of +the wood. A young moon, buried in mist, gave a faint illumination +to my steps; and the light grew brighter as I walked forth into the +links. At the same moment, the wind, smelling salt of the open +ocean and carrying particles of sand, struck me with its full +force, so that I had to bow my head. + +When I raised it again to look about me, I was aware of a light in +the pavilion. It was not stationary; but passed from one window to +another, as though some one were reviewing the different apartments +with a lamp or candle. + +I watched it for some seconds in great surprise. When I had +arrived in the afternoon the house had been plainly deserted; now +it was as plainly occupied. It was my first idea that a gang of +thieves might have broken in and be now ransacking Northmour's +cupboards, which were many and not ill supplied. But what should +bring thieves to Graden Easter? And, again, all the shutters had +been thrown open, and it would have been more in the character of +such gentry to close them. I dismissed the notion, and fell back +upon another. Northmour himself must have arrived, and was now +airing and inspecting the pavilion. + +I have said that there was no real affection between this man and +me; but, had I loved him like a brother, I was then so much more in +love with solitude that I should none the less have shunned his +company. As it was, I turned and ran for it; and it was with +genuine satisfaction that I found myself safely back beside the +fire. I had escaped an acquaintance; I should have one more night +in comfort. In the morning, I might either slip away before +Northmour was abroad, or pay him as short a visit as I chose. + +But when morning came, I thought the situation so diverting that I +forgot my shyness. Northmour was at my mercy; I arranged a good +practical jest, though I knew well that my neighbour was not the +man to jest with in security; and, chuckling beforehand over its +success, took my place among the elders at the edge of the wood, +whence I could command the door of the pavilion. The shutters were +all once more closed, which I remember thinking odd; and the house, +with its white walls and green venetians, looked spruce and +habitable in the morning light. Hour after hour passed, and still +no sign of Northmour. I knew him for a sluggard in the morning; +but, as it drew on towards noon, I lost my patience. To say the +truth, I had promised myself to break my fast in the pavilion, and +hunger began to prick me sharply. It was a pity to let the +opportunity go by without some cause for mirth; but the grosser +appetite prevailed, and I relinquished my jest with regret, and +sallied from the wood. + +The appearance of the house affected me, as I drew near, with +disquietude. It seemed unchanged since last evening; and I had +expected it, I scarce knew why, to wear some external signs of +habitation. But no: the windows were all closely shuttered, the +chimneys breathed no smoke, and the front door itself was closely +padlocked. Northmour, therefore, had entered by the back; this was +the natural and, indeed, the necessary conclusion; and you may +judge of my surprise when, on turning the house, I found the back +door similarly secured. + +My mind at once reverted to the original theory of thieves; and I +blamed myself sharply for my last night's inaction. I examined all +the windows on the lower storey, but none of them had been tampered +with; I tried the padlocks, but they were both secure. It thus +became a problem how the thieves, if thieves they were, had managed +to enter the house. They must have got, I reasoned, upon the roof +of the outhouse where Northmour used to keep his photographic +battery; and from thence, either by the window of the study or that +of my old bedroom, completed their burglarious entry. + +I followed what I supposed was their example; and, getting on the +roof, tried the shutters of each room. Both were secure; but I was +not to be beaten; and, with a little force, one of them flew open, +grazing, as it did so, the back of my hand. I remember, I put the +wound to my mouth, and stood for perhaps half a minute licking it +like a dog, and mechanically gazing behind me over the waste links +and the sea; and, in that space of time, my eye made note of a +large schooner yacht some miles to the north-east. Then I threw up +the window and climbed in. + +I went over the house, and nothing can express my mystification. +There was no sign of disorder, but, on the contrary, the rooms were +unusually clean and pleasant. I found fires laid, ready for +lighting; three bedrooms prepared with a luxury quite foreign to +Northmour's habits, and with water in the ewers and the beds turned +down; a table set for three in the dining-room; and an ample supply +of cold meats, game, and vegetables on the pantry shelves. There +were guests expected, that was plain; but why guests, when +Northmour hated society? And, above all, why was the house thus +stealthily prepared at dead of night? and why were the shutters +closed and the doors padlocked? + +I effaced all traces of my visit, and came forth from the window +feeling sobered and concerned. + +The schooner yacht was still in the same place; and it flashed for +a moment through my mind that this might be the RED EARL bringing +the owner of the pavilion and his guests. But the vessel's head +was set the other way. + + + +CHAPTER II - TELLS OF THE NOCTURNAL LANDING FROM THE YACHT + + + +I returned to the den to cook myself a meal, of which I stood in +great need, as well as to care for my horse, whom I had somewhat +neglected in the morning. From time to time I went down to the +edge of the wood; but there was no change in the pavilion, and not +a human creature was seen all day upon the links. The schooner in +the offing was the one touch of life within my range of vision. +She, apparently with no set object, stood off and on or lay to, +hour after hour; but as the evening deepened, she drew steadily +nearer. I became more convinced that she carried Northmour and his +friends, and that they would probably come ashore after dark; not +only because that was of a piece with the secrecy of the +preparations, but because the tide would not have flowed +sufficiently before eleven to cover Graden Floe and the other sea +quags that fortified the shore against invaders. + +All day the wind had been going down, and the sea along with it; +but there was a return towards sunset of the heavy weather of the +day before. The night set in pitch dark. The wind came off the +sea in squalls, like the firing of a battery of cannon; now and +then there was a flaw of rain, and the surf rolled heavier with the +rising tide. I was down at my observatory among the elders, when a +light was run up to the masthead of the schooner, and showed she +was closer in than when I had last seen her by the dying daylight. +I concluded that this must be a signal to Northmour's associates on +shore; and, stepping forth into the links, looked around me for +something in response. + +A small footpath ran along the margin of the wood, and formed the +most direct communication between the pavilion and the mansion- +house; and, as I cast my eyes to that side, I saw a spark of light, +not a quarter of a mile away, and rapidly approaching. From its +uneven course it appeared to be the light of a lantern carried by a +person who followed the windings of the path, and was often +staggered and taken aback by the more violent squalls. I concealed +myself once more among the elders, and waited eagerly for the +newcomer's advance. It proved to be a woman; and, as she passed +within half a rod of my ambush, I was able to recognise the +features. The deaf and silent old dame, who had nursed Northmour +in his childhood, was his associate in this underhand affair. + +I followed her at a little distance, taking advantage of the +innumerable heights and hollows, concealed by the darkness, and +favoured not only by the nurse's deafness, but by the uproar of the +wind and surf. She entered the pavilion, and, going at once to the +upper storey, opened and set a light in one of the windows that +looked towards the sea. Immediately afterwards the light at the +schooner's masthead was run down and extinguished. Its purpose had +been attained, and those on board were sure that they were +expected. The old woman resumed her preparations; although the +other shutters remained closed, I could see a glimmer going to and +fro about the house; and a gush of sparks from one chimney after +another soon told me that the fires were being kindled. + +Northmour and his guests, I was now persuaded, would come ashore as +soon as there was water on the floe. It was a wild night for boat +service; and I felt some alarm mingle with my curiosity as I +reflected on the danger of the landing. My old acquaintance, it +was true, was the most eccentric of men; but the present +eccentricity was both disquieting and lugubrious to consider. A +variety of feelings thus led me towards the beach, where I lay flat +on my face in a hollow within six feet of the track that led to the +pavilion. Thence, I should have the satisfaction of recognising +the arrivals, and, if they should prove to be acquaintances, +greeting them as soon as they had landed. + +Some time before eleven, while the tide was still dangerously low, +a boat's lantern appeared close in shore; and, my attention being +thus awakened, I could perceive another still far to seaward, +violently tossed, and sometimes hidden by the billows. The +weather, which was getting dirtier as the night went on, and the +perilous situation of the yacht upon a lee shore, had probably +driven them to attempt a landing at the earliest possible moment. + +A little afterwards, four yachtsmen carrying a very heavy chest, +and guided by a fifth with a lantern, passed close in front of me +as I lay, and were admitted to the pavilion by the nurse. They +returned to the beach, and passed me a second time with another +chest, larger but apparently not so heavy as the first. A third +time they made the transit; and on this occasion one of the +yachtsmen carried a leather portmanteau, and the others a lady's +trunk and carriage bag. My curiosity was sharply excited. If a +woman were among the guests of Northmour, it would show a change in +his habits and an apostasy from his pet theories of life, well +calculated to fill me with surprise. When he and I dwelt there +together, the pavilion had been a temple of misogyny. And now, one +of the detested sex was to be installed under its roof. I +remembered one or two particulars, a few notes of daintiness and +almost of coquetry which had struck me the day before as I surveyed +the preparations in the house; their purpose was now clear, and I +thought myself dull not to have perceived it from the first. + +While I was thus reflecting, a second lantern drew near me from the +beach. It was carried by a yachtsman whom I had not yet seen, and +who was conducting two other persons to the pavilion. These two +persons were unquestionably the guests for whom the house was made +ready; and, straining eye and ear, I set myself to watch them as +they passed. One was an unusually tall man, in a travelling hat +slouched over his eyes, and a highland cape closely buttoned and +turned up so as to conceal his face. You could make out no more of +him than that he was, as I have said, unusually tall, and walked +feebly with a heavy stoop. By his side, and either clinging to him +or giving him support - I could not make out which - was a young, +tall, and slender figure of a woman. She was extremely pale; but +in the light of the lantern her face was so marred by strong and +changing shadows, that she might equally well have been as ugly as +sin or as beautiful as I afterwards found her to be. + +When they were just abreast of me, the girl made some remark which +was drowned by the noise of the wind. + +"Hush!" said her companion; and there was something in the tone +with which the word was uttered that thrilled and rather shook my +spirits. It seemed to breathe from a bosom labouring under the +deadliest terror; I have never heard another syllable so +expressive; and I still hear it again when I am feverish at night, +and my mind runs upon old times. The man turned towards the girl +as he spoke; I had a glimpse of much red beard and a nose which +seemed to have been broken in youth; and his light eyes seemed +shining in his face with some strong and unpleasant emotion. + +But these two passed on and were admitted in their turn to the +pavilion. + +One by one, or in groups, the seamen returned to the beach. The +wind brought me the sound of a rough voice crying, "Shove off!" +Then, after a pause, another lantern drew near. It was Northmour +alone. + +My wife and I, a man and a woman, have often agreed to wonder how a +person could be, at the same time, so handsome and so repulsive as +Northmour. He had the appearance of a finished gentleman; his face +bore every mark of intelligence and courage; but you had only to +look at him, even in his most amiable moment, to see that he had +the temper of a slaver captain. I never knew a character that was +both explosive and revengeful to the same degree; he combined the +vivacity of the south with the sustained and deadly hatreds of the +north; and both traits were plainly written on his face, which was +a sort of danger signal. In person he was tall, strong, and +active; his hair and complexion very dark; his features handsomely +designed, but spoiled by a menacing expression. + +At that moment he was somewhat paler than by nature; he wore a +heavy frown; and his lips worked, and he looked sharply round him +as he walked, like a man besieged with apprehensions. And yet I +thought he had a look of triumph underlying all, as though he had +already done much, and was near the end of an achievement. + +Partly from a scruple of delicacy - which I dare say came too late +- partly from the pleasure of startling an acquaintance, I desired +to make my presence known to him without delay. + +I got suddenly to my feet, and stepped forward. "Northmour!" said +I. + +I have never had so shocking a surprise in all my days. He leaped +on me without a word; something shone in his hand; and he struck +for my heart with a dagger. At the same moment I knocked him head +over heels. Whether it was my quickness, or his own uncertainty, I +know not; but the blade only grazed my shoulder, while the hilt and +his fist struck me violently on the mouth. + +I fled, but not far. I had often and often observed the +capabilities of the sand-hills for protracted ambush or stealthy +advances and retreats; and, not ten yards from the scene of the +scuffle, plumped down again upon the grass. The lantern had fallen +and gone out. But what was my astonishment to see Northmour slip +at a bound into the pavilion, and hear him bar the door behind him +with a clang of iron! + +He had not pursued me. He had run away. Northmour, whom I knew +for the most implacable and daring of men, had run away! I could +scarce believe my reason; and yet in this strange business, where +all was incredible, there was nothing to make a work about in an +incredibility more or less. For why was the pavilion secretly +prepared? Why had Northmour landed with his guests at dead of +night, in half a gale of wind, and with the floe scarce covered? +Why had he sought to kill me? Had he not recognised my voice? I +wondered. And, above all, how had he come to have a dagger ready +in his hand? A dagger, or even a sharp knife, seemed out of +keeping with the age in which we lived; and a gentleman landing +from his yacht on the shore of his own estate, even although it was +at night and with some mysterious circumstances, does not usually, +as a matter of fact, walk thus prepared for deadly onslaught. The +more I reflected, the further I felt at sea. I recapitulated the +elements of mystery, counting them on my fingers: the pavilion +secretly prepared for guests; the guests landed at the risk of +their lives and to the imminent peril of the yacht; the guests, or +at least one of them, in undisguised and seemingly causeless +terror; Northmour with a naked weapon; Northmour stabbing his most +intimate acquaintance at a word; last, and not least strange, +Northmour fleeing from the man whom he had sought to murder, and +barricading himself, like a hunted creature, behind the door of the +pavilion. Here were at least six separate causes for extreme +surprise; each part and parcel with the others, and forming all +together one consistent story. I felt almost ashamed to believe my +own senses. + +As I thus stood, transfixed with wonder, I began to grow painfully +conscious of the injuries I had received in the scuffle; skulked +round among the sand-hills; and, by a devious path, regained the +shelter of the wood. On the way, the old nurse passed again within +several yards of me, still carrying her lantern, on the return +journey to the mansion-house of Graden. This made a seventh +suspicious feature in the case - Northmour and his guests, it +appeared, were to cook and do the cleaning for themselves, while +the old woman continued to inhabit the big empty barrack among the +policies. There must surely be great cause for secrecy, when so +many inconveniences were confronted to preserve it. + +So thinking, I made my way to the den. For greater security, I +trod out the embers of the fire, and lit my lantern to examine the +wound upon my shoulder. It was a trifling hurt, although it bled +somewhat freely, and I dressed it as well as I could (for its +position made it difficult to reach) with some rag and cold water +from the spring. While I was thus busied, I mentally declared war +against Northmour and his mystery. I am not an angry man by +nature, and I believe there was more curiosity than resentment in +my heart. But war I certainly declared; and, by way of +preparation, I got out my revolver, and, having drawn the charges, +cleaned and reloaded it with scrupulous care. Next I became +preoccupied about my horse. It might break loose, or fall to +neighing, and so betray my camp in the Sea-Wood. I determined to +rid myself of its neighbourhood; and long before dawn I was leading +it over the links in the direction of the fisher village. + + + +CHAPTER III - TELLS HOW I BECAME ACQUAINTED WITH MY WIFE + + + +For two days I skulked round the pavilion, profiting by the uneven +surface of the links. I became an adept in the necessary tactics. +These low hillocks and shallow dells, running one into another, +became a kind of cloak of darkness for my enthralling, but perhaps +dishonourable, pursuit. Yet, in spite of this advantage, I could +learn but little of Northmour or his guests. + +Fresh provisions were brought under cover of darkness by the old +woman from the mansion-house. Northmour, and the young lady, +sometimes together, but more often singly, would walk for an hour +or two at a time on the beach beside the quicksand. I could not +but conclude that this promenade was chosen with an eye to secrecy; +for the spot was open only to the seaward. But it suited me not +less excellently; the highest and most accidented of the sand-hills +immediately adjoined; and from these, lying flat in a hollow, I +could overlook Northmour or the young lady as they walked. + +The tall man seemed to have disappeared. Not only did he never +cross the threshold, but he never so much as showed face at a +window; or, at least, not so far as I could see; for I dared not +creep forward beyond a certain distance in the day, since the upper +floor commanded the bottoms of the links; and at night, when I +could venture farther, the lower windows were barricaded as if to +stand a siege. Sometimes I thought the tall man must be confined +to bed, for I remembered the feebleness of his gait; and sometimes +I thought he must have gone clear away, and that Northmour and the +young lady remained alone together in the pavilion. The idea, even +then, displeased me. + +Whether or not this pair were man and wife, I had seen abundant +reason to doubt the friendliness of their relation. Although I +could hear nothing of what they said, and rarely so much as glean a +decided expression on the face of either, there was a distance, +almost a stiffness, in their bearing which showed them to be either +unfamiliar or at enmity. The girl walked faster when she was with +Northmour than when she was alone; and I conceived that any +inclination between a man and a woman would rather delay than +accelerate the step. Moreover, she kept a good yard free of him, +and trailed her umbrella, as if it were a barrier, on the side +between them. Northmour kept sidling closer; and, as the girl +retired from his advance, their course lay at a sort of diagonal +across the beach, and would have landed them in the surf had it +been long enough continued. But, when this was imminent, the girl +would unostentatiously change sides and put Northmour between her +and the sea. I watched these manoeuvres, for my part, with high +enjoyment and approval, and chuckled to myself at every move. + +On the morning of the third day, she walked alone for some time, +and I perceived, to my great concern, that she was more than once +in tears. You will see that my heart was already interested more +than I supposed. She had a firm yet airy motion of the body, and +carried her head with unimaginable grace; every step was a thing to +look at, and she seemed in my eyes to breathe sweetness and +distinction. + +The day was so agreeable, being calm and sunshiny, with a tranquil +sea, and yet with a healthful piquancy and vigour in the air, that, +contrary to custom, she was tempted forth a second time to walk. +On this occasion she was accompanied by Northmour, and they had +been but a short while on the beach, when I saw him take forcible +possession of her hand. She struggled, and uttered a cry that was +almost a scream. I sprang to my feet, unmindful of my strange +position; but, ere I had taken a step, I saw Northmour bareheaded +and bowing very low, as if to apologise; and dropped again at once +into my ambush. A few words were interchanged; and then, with +another bow, he left the beach to return to the pavilion. He +passed not far from me, and I could see him, flushed and lowering, +and cutting savagely with his cane among the grass. It was not +without satisfaction that I recognised my own handiwork in a great +cut under his right eye, and a considerable discolouration round +the socket. + +For some time the girl remained where he had left her, looking out +past the islet and over the bright sea. Then with a start, as one +who throws off preoccupation and puts energy again upon its mettle, +she broke into a rapid and decisive walk. She also was much +incensed by what had passed. She had forgotten where she was. And +I beheld her walk straight into the borders of the quicksand where +it is most abrupt and dangerous. Two or three steps farther and +her life would have been in serious jeopardy, when I slid down the +face of the sand-hill, which is there precipitous, and, running +half-way forward, called to her to stop. + +She did so, and turned round. There was not a tremor of fear in +her behaviour, and she marched directly up to me like a queen. I +was barefoot, and clad like a common sailor, save for an Egyptian +scarf round my waist; and she probably took me at first for some +one from the fisher village, straying after bait. As for her, when +I thus saw her face to face, her eyes set steadily and imperiously +upon mine, I was filled with admiration and astonishment, and +thought her even more beautiful than I had looked to find her. Nor +could I think enough of one who, acting with so much boldness, yet +preserved a maidenly air that was both quaint and engaging; for my +wife kept an old-fashioned precision of manner through all her +admirable life - an excellent thing in woman, since it sets another +value on her sweet familiarities. + +"What does this mean?" she asked. + +"You were walking," I told her, "directly into Graden Floe." + +"You do not belong to these parts," she said again. "You speak +like an educated man." + +"I believe I have right to that name," said I, "although in this +disguise." + +But her woman's eye had already detected the sash. "Oh!" she said; +"your sash betrays you." + +"You have said the word BETRAY," I resumed. "May I ask you not to +betray me? I was obliged to disclose myself in your interest; but +if Northmour learned my presence it might be worse than +disagreeable for me." + +"Do you know," she asked, "to whom you are speaking?" + +"Not to Mr. Northmour's wife?" I asked, by way of answer. + +She shook her head. All this while she was studying my face with +an embarrassing intentness. Then she broke out - + +"You have an honest face. Be honest like your face, sir, and tell +me what you want and what you are afraid of. Do you think I could +hurt you? I believe you have far more power to injure me! And yet +you do not look unkind. What do you mean - you, a gentleman - by +skulking like a spy about this desolate place? Tell me," she said, +"who is it you hate?" + +"I hate no one," I answered; "and I fear no one face to face. My +name is Cassilis - Frank Cassilis. I lead the life of a vagabond +for my own good pleasure. I am one of Northmour's oldest friends; +and three nights ago, when I addressed him on these links, he +stabbed me in the shoulder with a knife." + +"It was you!" she said. + +"Why he did so," I continued, disregarding the interruption, "is +more than I can guess, and more than I care to know. I have not +many friends, nor am I very susceptible to friendship; but no man +shall drive me from a place by terror. I had camped in Graden Sea- +Wood ere he came; I camp in it still. If you think I mean harm to +you or yours, madam, the remedy is in your hand. Tell him that my +camp is in the Hemlock Den, and to-night he can stab me in safety +while I sleep." + +With this I doffed my cap to her, and scrambled up once more among +the sand-hills. I do not know why, but I felt a prodigious sense +of injustice, and felt like a hero and a martyr; while, as a matter +of fact, I had not a word to say in my defence, nor so much as one +plausible reason to offer for my conduct. I had stayed at Graden +out of a curiosity natural enough, but undignified; and though +there was another motive growing in along with the first, it was +not one which, at that period, I could have properly explained to +the lady of my heart. + +Certainly, that night, I thought of no one else; and, though her +whole conduct and position seemed suspicious, I could not find it +in my heart to entertain a doubt of her integrity. I could have +staked my life that she was clear of blame, and, though all was +dark at the present, that the explanation of the mystery would show +her part in these events to be both right and needful. It was +true, let me cudgel my imagination as I pleased, that I could +invent no theory of her relations to Northmour; but I felt none the +less sure of my conclusion because it was founded on instinct in +place of reason, and, as I may say, went to sleep that night with +the thought of her under my pillow. + +Next day she came out about the same hour alone, and, as soon as +the sand-hills concealed her from the pavilion, drew nearer to the +edge, and called me by name in guarded tones. I was astonished to +observe that she was deadly pale, and seemingly under the influence +of strong emotion. + +"Mr. Cassilis!" she cried; "Mr. Cassilis!" + +I appeared at once, and leaped down upon the beach. A remarkable +air of relief overspread her countenance as soon as she saw me. + +"Oh!" she cried, with a hoarse sound, like one whose bosom has been +lightened of a weight. And then, "Thank God you are still safe!" +she added; "I knew, if you were, you would be here." (Was not this +strange? So swiftly and wisely does Nature prepare our hearts for +these great life-long intimacies, that both my wife and I had been +given a presentiment on this the second day of our acquaintance. I +had even then hoped that she would seek me; she had felt sure that +she would find me.) "Do not," she went, on swiftly, "do not stay +in this place. Promise me that you will sleep no longer in that +wood. You do not know how I suffer; all last night I could not +sleep for thinking of your peril." + +"Peril?" I repeated. "Peril from whom? From Northmour?" + +"Not so," she said. "Did you think I would tell him after what you +said?" + +"Not from Northmour?" I repeated. "Then how? From whom? I see +none to be afraid of." + +"You must not ask me," was her reply, "for I am not free to tell +you. Only believe me, and go hence - believe me, and go away +quickly, quickly, for your life!" + +An appeal to his alarm is never a good plan to rid oneself of a +spirited young man. My obstinacy was but increased by what she +said, and I made it a point of honour to remain. And her +solicitude for my safety still more confirmed me in the resolve. + +"You must not think me inquisitive, madam," I replied; "but, if +Graden is so dangerous a place, you yourself perhaps remain here at +some risk." + +She only looked at me reproachfully. + +"You and your father - " I resumed; but she interrupted me almost +with a gasp. + +"My father! How do you know that?" she cried. + +"I saw you together when you landed," was my answer; and I do not +know why, but it seemed satisfactory to both of us, as indeed it +was the truth. "But," I continued, "you need have no fear from me. +I see you have some reason to be secret, and, you may believe me, +your secret is as safe with me as if I were in Graden Floe. I have +scarce spoken to any one for years; my horse is my only companion, +and even he, poor beast, is not beside me. You see, then, you may +count on me for silence. So tell me the truth, my dear young lady, +are you not in danger?" + +"Mr. Northmour says you are an honourable man," she returned, "and +I believe it when I see you. I will tell you so much; you are +right; we are in dreadful, dreadful danger, and you share it by +remaining where you are." + +"Ah!" said I; "you have heard of me from Northmour? And he gives +me a good character?" + +"I asked him about you last night," was her reply. "I pretended," +she hesitated, "I pretended to have met you long ago, and spoken to +you of him. It was not true; but I could not help myself without +betraying you, and you had put me in a difficulty. He praised you +highly." + +"And - you may permit me one question - does this danger come from +Northmour?" I asked. + +"From Mr. Northmour?" she cried. "Oh no; he stays with us to share +it." + +"While you propose that I should run away?" I said. "You do not +rate me very high." + +"Why should you stay?" she asked. "You are no friend of ours." + +I know not what came over me, for I had not been conscious of a +similar weakness since I was a child, but I was so mortified by +this retort that my eyes pricked and filled with tears, as I +continued to gaze upon her face. + +"No, no," she said, in a changed voice; "I did not mean the words +unkindly." + +"It was I who offended," I said; and I held out my hand with a look +of appeal that somehow touched her, for she gave me hers at once, +and even eagerly. I held it for awhile in mine, and gazed into her +eyes. It was she who first tore her hand away, and, forgetting all +about her request and the promise she had sought to extort, ran at +the top of her speed, and without turning, till she was out of +sight. + +And then I knew that I loved her, and thought in my glad heart that +she - she herself - was not indifferent to my suit. Many a time +she has denied it in after days, but it was with a smiling and not +a serious denial. For my part, I am sure our hands would not have +lain so closely in each other if she had not begun to melt to me +already. And, when all is said, it is no great contention, since, +by her own avowal, she began to love me on the morrow. + +And yet on the morrow very little took place. She came and called +me down as on the day before, upbraided me for lingering at Graden, +and, when she found I was still obdurate, began to ask me more +particularly as to my arrival. I told her by what series of +accidents I had come to witness their disembarkation, and how I had +determined to remain, partly from the interest which had been +wakened in me by Northmour's guests, and partly because of his own +murderous attack. As to the former, I fear I was disingenuous, and +led her to regard herself as having been an attraction to me from +the first moment that I saw her on the links. It relieves my heart +to make this confession even now, when my wife is with God, and +already knows all things, and the honesty of my purpose even in +this; for while she lived, although it often pricked my conscience, +I had never the hardihood to undeceive her. Even a little secret, +in such a married life as ours, is like the rose-leaf which kept +the Princess from her sleep. + +From this the talk branched into other subjects, and I told her +much about my lonely and wandering existence; she, for her part, +giving ear, and saying little. Although we spoke very naturally, +and latterly on topics that might seem indifferent, we were both +sweetly agitated. Too soon it was time for her to go; and we +separated, as if by mutual consent, without shaking hands, for both +knew that, between us, it was no idle ceremony. + +The next, and that was the fourth day of our acquaintance, we met +in the same spot, but early in the morning, with much familiarity +and yet much timidity on either side. When she had once more +spoken about my danger - and that, I understood, was her excuse for +coming - I, who had prepared a great deal of talk during the night, +began to tell her how highly I valued her kind interest, and how no +one had ever cared to hear about my life, nor had I ever cared to +relate it, before yesterday. Suddenly she interrupted me, saying +with vehemence - + +"And yet, if you knew who I was, you would not so much as speak to +me!" + +I told her such a thought was madness, and, little as we had met, I +counted her already a dear friend; but my protestations seemed only +to make her more desperate. + +"My father is in hiding!" she cried. + +"My dear," I said, forgetting for the first time to add "young +lady," "what do I care? If he were in hiding twenty times over, +would it make one thought of change in you?" + +"Ah, but the cause!" she cried, "the cause! It is - " she faltered +for a second - "it is disgraceful to us!" + + + +CHAPTER IV - TELLS IN WHAT A STARTLING MANNER I LEARNED THAT I WAS +NOT ALONE IN GRADEN SEA-WOOD + + + +This was my wife's story, as I drew it from her among tears and +sobs. Her name was Clara Huddlestone: it sounded very beautiful +in my ears; but not so beautiful as that other name of Clara +Cassilis, which she wore during the longer and, I thank God, the +happier portion of her life. Her father, Bernard Huddlestone, had +been a private banker in a very large way of business. Many years +before, his affairs becoming disordered, he had been led to try +dangerous, and at last criminal, expedients to retrieve himself +from ruin. All was in vain; he became more and more cruelly +involved, and found his honour lost at the same moment with his +fortune. About this period, Northmour had been courting his +daughter with great assiduity, though with small encouragement; and +to him, knowing him thus disposed in his favour, Bernard +Huddlestone turned for help in his extremity. It was not merely +ruin and dishonour, nor merely a legal condemnation, that the +unhappy man had brought upon his head. It seems he could have gone +to prison with a light heart. What he feared, what kept him awake +at night or recalled him from slumber into frenzy, was some secret, +sudden, and unlawful attempt upon his life. Hence, he desired to +bury his existence and escape to one of the islands in the South +Pacific, and it was in Northmour's yacht, the RED EARL, that he +designed to go. The yacht picked them up clandestinely upon the +coast of Wales, and had once more deposited them at Graden, till +she could be refitted and provisioned for the longer voyage. Nor +could Clara doubt that her hand had been stipulated as the price of +passage. For, although Northmour was neither unkind nor even +discourteous, he had shown himself in several instances somewhat +overbold in speech and manner. + +I listened, I need not say, with fixed attention, and put many +questions as to the more mysterious part. It was in vain. She had +no clear idea of what the blow was, nor of how it was expected to +fall. Her father's alarm was unfeigned and physically prostrating, +and he had thought more than once of making an unconditional +surrender to the police. But the scheme was finally abandoned, for +he was convinced that not even the strength of our English prisons +could shelter him from his pursuers. He had had many affairs with +Italy, and with Italians resident in London, in the later years of +his business; and these last, as Clara fancied, were somehow +connected with the doom that threatened him. He had shown great +terror at the presence of an Italian seaman on board the RED EARL, +and had bitterly and repeatedly accused Northmour in consequence. +The latter had protested that Beppo (that was the seaman's name) +was a capital fellow, and could be trusted to the death; but Mr. +Huddlestone had continued ever since to declare that all was lost, +that it was only a question of days, and that Beppo would be the +ruin of him yet. + +I regarded the whole story as the hallucination of a mind shaken by +calamity. He had suffered heavy loss by his Italian transactions; +and hence the sight of an Italian was hateful to him, and the +principal part in his nightmare would naturally enough be played by +one of that nation. + +"What your father wants," I said, "is a good doctor and some +calming medicine." + +"But Mr. Northmour?" objected your mother. "He is untroubled by +losses, and yet he shares in this terror." + +I could not help laughing at what I considered her simplicity. + +"My dear," said I, "you have told me yourself what reward he has to +look for. All is fair in love, you must remember; and if Northmour +foments your father's terrors, it is not at all because he is +afraid of any Italian man, but simply because he is infatuated with +a charming English woman." + +She reminded me of his attack upon myself on the night of the +disembarkation, and this I was unable to explain. In short, and +from one thing to another, it was agreed between us, that I should +set out at once for the fisher village, Graden Wester, as it was +called, look up all the newspapers I could find, and see for myself +if there seemed any basis of fact for these continued alarms. The +next morning, at the same hour and place, I was to make my report +to Clara. She said no more on that occasion about my departure; +nor, indeed, did she make it a secret that she clung to the thought +of my proximity as something helpful and pleasant; and, for my +part, I could not have left her, if she had gone upon her knees to +ask it. + +I reached Graden Wester before ten in the forenoon; for in those +days I was an excellent pedestrian, and the distance, as I think I +have said, was little over seven miles; fine walking all the way +upon the springy turf. The village is one of the bleakest on that +coast, which is saying much: there is a church in a hollow; a +miserable haven in the rocks, where many boats have been lost as +they returned from fishing; two or three score of stone houses +arranged along the beach and in two streets, one leading from the +harbour, and another striking out from it at right angles; and, at +the corner of these two, a very dark and cheerless tavern, by way +of principal hotel. + +I had dressed myself somewhat more suitably to my station in life, +and at once called upon the minister in his little manse beside the +graveyard. He knew me, although it was more than nine years since +we had met; and when I told him that I had been long upon a walking +tour, and was behind with the news, readily lent me an armful of +newspapers, dating from a month back to the day before. With these +I sought the tavern, and, ordering some breakfast, sat down to +study the "Huddlestone Failure." + +It had been, it appeared, a very flagrant case. Thousands of +persons were reduced to poverty; and one in particular had blown +out his brains as soon as payment was suspended. It was strange to +myself that, while I read these details, I continued rather to +sympathise with Mr. Huddlestone than with his victims; so complete +already was the empire of my love for my wife. A price was +naturally set upon the banker's head; and, as the case was +inexcusable and the public indignation thoroughly aroused, the +unusual figure of 750 pounds was offered for his capture. He was +reported to have large sums of money in his possession. One day, +he had been heard of in Spain; the next, there was sure +intelligence that he was still lurking between Manchester and +Liverpool, or along the border of Wales; and the day after, a +telegram would announce his arrival in Cuba or Yucatan. But in all +this there was no word of an Italian, nor any sign of mystery. + +In the very last paper, however, there was one item not so clear. +The accountants who were charged to verify the failure had, it +seemed, come upon the traces of a very large number of thousands, +which figured for some time in the transactions of the house of +Huddlestone; but which came from nowhere, and disappeared in the +same mysterious fashion. It was only once referred to by name, and +then under the initials "X. X."; but it had plainly been floated +for the first time into the business at a period of great +depression some six years ago. The name of a distinguished Royal +personage had been mentioned by rumour in connection with this sum. +"The cowardly desperado" - such, I remember, was the editorial +expression - was supposed to have escaped with a large part of this +mysterious fund still in his possession. + +I was still brooding over the fact, and trying to torture it into +some connection with Mr. Huddlestone's danger, when a man entered +the tavern and asked for some bread and cheese with a decided +foreign accent. + +"SIETE ITALIANO?" said I. + +"SI, SIGNOR," was his reply. + +I said it was unusually far north to find one of his compatriots; +at which he shrugged his shoulders, and replied that a man would go +anywhere to find work. What work he could hope to find at Graden +Wester, I was totally unable to conceive; and the incident struck +so unpleasantly upon my mind, that I asked the landlord, while he +was counting me some change, whether he had ever before seen an +Italian in the village. He said he had once seen some Norwegians, +who had been shipwrecked on the other side of Graden Ness and +rescued by the lifeboat from Cauldhaven. + +"No!" said I; "but an Italian, like the man who has just had bread +and cheese." + +"What?" cried he, "yon black-avised fellow wi' the teeth? Was he +an I-talian? Weel, yon's the first that ever I saw, an' I dare say +he's like to be the last." + +Even as he was speaking, I raised my eyes, and, casting a glance +into the street, beheld three men in earnest conversation together, +and not thirty yards away. One of them was my recent companion in +the tavern parlour; the other two, by their handsome, sallow +features and soft hats, should evidently belong to the same race. +A crowd of village children stood around them, gesticulating and +talking gibberish in imitation. The trio looked singularly foreign +to the bleak dirty street in which they were standing, and the dark +grey heaven that overspread them; and I confess my incredulity +received at that moment a shock from which it never recovered. I +might reason with myself as I pleased, but I could not argue down +the effect of what I had seen, and I began to share in the Italian +terror. + +It was already drawing towards the close of the day before I had +returned the newspapers at the manse, and got well forward on to +the links on my way home. I shall never forget that walk. It grew +very cold and boisterous; the wind sang in the short grass about my +feet; thin rain showers came running on the gusts; and an immense +mountain range of clouds began to arise out of the bosom of the +sea. It would be hard to imagine a more dismal evening; and +whether it was from these external influences, or because my nerves +were already affected by what I had heard and seen, my thoughts +were as gloomy as the weather. + +The upper windows of the pavilion commanded a considerable spread +of links in the direction of Graden Wester. To avoid observation, +it was necessary to hug the beach until I had gained cover from the +higher sand-hills on the little headland, when I might strike +across, through the hollows, for the margin of the wood. The sun +was about setting; the tide was low, and all the quicksands +uncovered; and I was moving along, lost in unpleasant thought, when +I was suddenly thunderstruck to perceive the prints of human feet. +They ran parallel to my own course, but low down upon the beach +instead of along the border of the turf; and, when I examined them, +I saw at once, by the size and coarseness of the impression, that +it was a stranger to me and to those in the pavilion who had +recently passed that way. Not only so; but from the recklessness +of the course which he had followed, steering near to the most +formidable portions of the sand, he was as evidently a stranger to +the country and to the ill-repute of Graden beach. + +Step by step I followed the prints; until, a quarter of a mile +farther, I beheld them die away into the south-eastern boundary of +Graden Floe. There, whoever he was, the miserable man had +perished. One or two gulls, who had, perhaps, seen him disappear, +wheeled over his sepulchre with their usual melancholy piping. The +sun had broken through the clouds by a last effort, and coloured +the wide level of quicksands with a dusky purple. I stood for some +time gazing at the spot, chilled and disheartened by my own +reflections, and with a strong and commanding consciousness of +death. I remember wondering how long the tragedy had taken, and +whether his screams had been audible at the pavilion. And then, +making a strong resolution, I was about to tear myself away, when a +gust fiercer than usual fell upon this quarter of the beach, and I +saw now, whirling high in air, now skimming lightly across the +surface of the sands, a soft, black, felt hat, somewhat conical in +shape, such as I had remarked already on the heads of the Italians. + +I believe, but I am not sure, that I uttered a cry. The wind was +driving the hat shoreward, and I ran round the border of the floe +to be ready against its arrival. The gust fell, dropping the hat +for a while upon the quicksand, and then, once more freshening, +landed it a few yards from where I stood. I seized it with the +interest you may imagine. It had seen some service; indeed, it was +rustier than either of those I had seen that day upon the street. +The lining was red, stamped with the name of the maker, which I +have forgotten, and that of the place of manufacture, VENEDIG. +This (it is not yet forgotten) was the name given by the Austrians +to the beautiful city of Venice, then, and for long after, a part +of their dominions. + +The shock was complete. I saw imaginary Italians upon every side; +and for the first, and, I may say, for the last time in my +experience, became overpowered by what is called a panic terror. I +knew nothing, that is, to be afraid of, and yet I admit that I was +heartily afraid; and it was with a sensible reluctance that I +returned to my exposed and solitary camp in the Sea-Wood. + +There I ate some cold porridge which had been left over from the +night before, for I was disinclined to make a fire; and, feeling +strengthened and reassured, dismissed all these fanciful terrors +from my mind, and lay down to sleep with composure. + +How long I may have slept it is impossible for me to guess; but I +was awakened at last by a sudden, blinding flash of light into my +face. It woke me like a blow. In an instant I was upon my knees. +But the light had gone as suddenly as it came. The darkness was +intense. And, as it was blowing great guns from the sea and +pouring with rain, the noises of the storm effectually concealed +all others. + +It was, I dare say, half a minute before I regained my self- +possession. But for two circumstances, I should have thought I had +been awakened by some new and vivid form of nightmare. First, the +flap of my tent, which I had shut carefully when I retired, was now +unfastened; and, second, I could still perceive, with a sharpness +that excluded any theory of hallucination, the smell of hot metal +and of burning oil. The conclusion was obvious. I had been +wakened by some one flashing a bull's-eye lantern in my face. It +had been but a flash, and away. He had seen my face, and then +gone. I asked myself the object of so strange a proceeding, and +the answer came pat. The man, whoever he was, had thought to +recognise me, and he had not. There was yet another question +unresolved; and to this, I may say, I feared to give an answer; if +he had recognised me, what would he have done? + +My fears were immediately diverted from myself, for I saw that I +had been visited in a mistake; and I became persuaded that some +dreadful danger threatened the pavilion. It required some nerve to +issue forth into the black and intricate thicket which surrounded +and overhung the den; but I groped my way to the links, drenched +with rain, beaten upon and deafened by the gusts, and fearing at +every step to lay my hand upon some lurking adversary. The +darkness was so complete that I might have been surrounded by an +army and yet none the wiser, and the uproar of the gale so loud +that my hearing was as useless as my sight. + +For the rest of that night, which seemed interminably long, I +patrolled the vicinity of the pavilion, without seeing a living +creature or hearing any noise but the concert of the wind, the sea, +and the rain. A light in the upper story filtered through a cranny +of the shutter, and kept me company till the approach of dawn. + + + +CHAPTER V - TELLS OF AN INTERVIEW BETWEEN NORTHMOUR, CLARA, AND +MYSELF + + + +With the first peep of day, I retired from the open to my old lair +among the sand-hills, there to await the coming of my wife. The +morning was grey, wild, and melancholy; the wind moderated before +sunrise, and then went about, and blew in puffs from the shore; the +sea began to go down, but the rain still fell without mercy. Over +all the wilderness of links there was not a creature to be seen. +Yet I felt sure the neighbourhood was alive with skulking foes. +The light that had been so suddenly and surprisingly flashed upon +my face as I lay sleeping, and the hat that had been blown ashore +by the wind from over Graden Floe, were two speaking signals of the +peril that environed Clara and the party in the pavilion. + +It was, perhaps, half-past seven, or nearer eight, before I saw the +door open, and that dear figure come towards me in the rain. I was +waiting for her on the beach before she had crossed the sand-hills. + +"I have had such trouble to come!" she cried. "They did not wish +me to go walking in the rain." + +"Clara," I said, "you are not frightened!" + +"No," said she, with a simplicity that filled my heart with +confidence. For my wife was the bravest as well as the best of +women; in my experience, I have not found the two go always +together, but with her they did; and she combined the extreme of +fortitude with the most endearing and beautiful virtues. + +I told her what had happened; and, though her cheek grew visibly +paler, she retained perfect control over her senses. + +"You see now that I am safe," said I, in conclusion. "They do not +mean to harm me; for, had they chosen, I was a dead man last +night." + +She laid her hand upon my arm. + +"And I had no presentiment!" she cried. + +Her accent thrilled me with delight. I put my arm about her, and +strained her to my side; and, before either of us was aware, her +hands were on my shoulders and my lips upon her mouth. Yet up to +that moment no word of love had passed between us. To this day I +remember the touch of her cheek, which was wet and cold with the +rain; and many a time since, when she has been washing her face, I +have kissed it again for the sake of that morning on the beach. +Now that she is taken from me, and I finish my pilgrimage alone, I +recall our old lovingkindnesses and the deep honesty and affection +which united us, and my present loss seems but a trifle in +comparison. + +We may have thus stood for some seconds - for time passes quickly +with lovers - before we were startled by a peal of laughter close +at hand. It was not natural mirth, but seemed to be affected in +order to conceal an angrier feeling. We both turned, though I +still kept my left arm about Clara's waist; nor did she seek to +withdraw herself; and there, a few paces off upon the beach, stood +Northmour, his head lowered, his hands behind his back, his +nostrils white with passion. + +"Ah! Cassilis!" he said, as I disclosed my face. + +"That same," said I; for I was not at all put about. + +"And so, Miss Huddlestone," he continued slowly but savagely, "this +is how you keep your faith to your father and to me? This is the +value you set upon your father's life? And you are so infatuated +with this young gentleman that you must brave ruin, and decency, +and common human caution - " + +"Miss Huddlestone - " I was beginning to interrupt him, when he, in +his turn, cut in brutally - + +"You hold your tongue," said he; "I am speaking to that girl." + +"That girl, as you call her, is my wife," said I; and my wife only +leaned a little nearer, so that I knew she had affirmed my words. + +"Your what?" he cried. "You lie!" + +"Northmour," I said, "we all know you have a bad temper, and I am +the last man to be irritated by words. For all that, I propose +that you speak lower, for I am convinced that we are not alone." + +He looked round him, and it was plain my remark had in some degree +sobered his passion. "What do you mean?" he asked. + +I only said one word: "Italians." + +He swore a round oath, and looked at us, from one to the other. + +"Mr. Cassilis knows all that I know," said my wife. + +"What I want to know," he broke out, "is where the devil Mr. +Cassilis comes from, and what the devil Mr. Cassilis is doing here. +You say you are married; that I do not believe. If you were, +Graden Floe would soon divorce you; four minutes and a half, +Cassilis. I keep my private cemetery for my friends." + +"It took somewhat longer," said I, "for that Italian." + +He looked at me for a moment half daunted, and then, almost +civilly, asked me to tell my story. "You have too much the +advantage of me, Cassilis," he added. I complied of course; and he +listened, with several ejaculations, while I told him how I had +come to Graden: that it was I whom he had tried to murder on the +night of landing; and what I had subsequently seen and heard of the +Italians. + +"Well," said he, when I had done, "it is here at last; there is no +mistake about that. And what, may I ask, do you propose to do?" + +"I propose to stay with you and lend a hand," said I. + +"You are a brave man," he returned, with a peculiar intonation. + +"I am not afraid," said I. + +"And so," he continued, "I am to understand that you two are +married? And you stand up to it before my face, Miss Huddlestone?" + +"We are not yet married," said Clara; "but we shall be as soon as +we can." + +"Bravo!" cried Northmour. "And the bargain? D-n it, you're not a +fool, young woman; I may call a spade a spade with you. How about +the bargain? You know as well as I do what your father's life +depends upon. I have only to put my hands under my coat-tails and +walk away, and his throat would he cut before the evening." + +"Yes, Mr. Northmour," returned Clara, with great spirit; "but that +is what you will never do. You made a bargain that was unworthy of +a gentleman; but you are a gentleman for all that, and you will +never desert a man whom you have begun to help." + +"Aha!" said he. "You think I will give my yacht for nothing? You +think I will risk my life and liberty for love of the old +gentleman; and then, I suppose, be best man at the wedding, to wind +up? Well," he added, with an odd smile, "perhaps you are not +altogether wrong. But ask Cassilis here. HE knows me. Am I a man +to trust? Am I safe and scrupulous? Am I kind?" + +"I know you talk a great deal, and sometimes, I think, very +foolishly," replied Clara, "but I know you are a gentleman, and I +am not the least afraid." + +He looked at her with a peculiar approval and admiration; then, +turning to me, "Do you think I would give her up without a +struggle, Frank?" said he. "I tell you plainly, you look out. The +next time we come to blows - " + +"Will make the third," I interrupted, smiling. + +"Aye, true; so it will," he said. "I had forgotten. Well, the +third time's lucky." + +"The third time, you mean, you will have the crew of the RED EARL +to help," I said. + +"Do you hear him?" he asked, turning to my wife. + +"I hear two men speaking like cowards," said she. "I should +despise myself either to think or speak like that. And neither of +you believe one word that you are saying, which makes it the more +wicked and silly." + +"She's a trump!" cried Northmour. "But she's not yet Mrs. +Cassilis. I say no more. The present is not for me." Then my +wife surprised me. + +"I leave you here," she said suddenly. "My father has been too +long alone. But remember this: you are to be friends, for you are +both good friends to me." + +She has since told me her reason for this step. As long as she +remained, she declares that we two would have continued to quarrel; +and I suppose that she was right, for when she was gone we fell at +once into a sort of confidentiality. + +Northmour stared after her as she went away over the sand-hill + +"She is the only woman in the world!" he exclaimed with an oath. +"Look at her action." + +I, for my part, leaped at this opportunity for a little further +light. + +"See here, Northmour," said I; "we are all in a tight place, are we +not?" + +"I believe you, my boy," he answered, looking me in the eyes, and +with great emphasis. "We have all hell upon us, that's the truth. +You may believe me or not, but I'm afraid of my life." + +"Tell me one thing," said I. "What are they after, these Italians? +What do they want with Mr. Huddlestone?" + +"Don't you know?" he cried. "The black old scamp had CARBONARO +funds on a deposit - two hundred and eighty thousand; and of course +he gambled it away on stocks. There was to have been a revolution +in the Tridentino, or Parma; but the revolution is off, and the +whole wasp's nest is after Huddlestone. We shall all be lucky if +we can save our skins." + +"The CARBONARI!" I exclaimed; "God help him indeed!" + +"Amen!" said Northmour. "And now, look here: I have said that we +are in a fix; and, frankly, I shall be glad of your help. If I +can't save Huddlestone, I want at least to save the girl. Come and +stay in the pavilion; and, there's my hand on it, I shall act as +your friend until the old man is either clear or dead. But," he +added, "once that is settled, you become my rival once again, and I +warn you - mind yourself." + +"Done!" said I; and we shook hands. + +"And now let us go directly to the fort," said Northmour; and he +began to lead the way through the rain. + + + +CHAPTER VI - TELLS OF MY INTRODUCTION TO THE TALL MAN + + + +We were admitted to the pavilion by Clara, and I was surprised by +the completeness and security of the defences. A barricade of +great strength, and yet easy to displace, supported the door +against Any violence from without; and the shutters of the dining- +room, into which I was led directly, and which was feebly +illuminated by a lamp, were even more elaborately fortified. The +panels were strengthened by bars and cross-bars; and these, in +their turn, were kept in position by a system of braces and struts, +some abutting on the floor, some on the roof, and others, in fine, +against the opposite wall of the apartment. It was at once a solid +and well-designed piece of carpentry; and I did not seek to conceal +my admiration. + +"I am the engineer," said Northmour. "You remember the planks in +the garden? Behold them?" + +"I did not know you had so many talents," said I. + +"Are you armed?" he continued, pointing to an array of guns and +pistols, all in admirable order, which stood in line against the +wall or were displayed upon the sideboard. + +"Thank you," I returned; "I have gone armed since our last +encounter. But, to tell you the truth, I have had nothing to eat +since early yesterday evening." + +Northmour produced some cold meat, to which I eagerly set myself, +and a bottle of good Burgundy, by which, wet as I was, I did not +scruple to profit. I have always been an extreme temperance man on +principle; but it is useless to push principle to excess, and on +this occasion I believe that I finished three-quarters of the +bottle. As I ate, I still continued to admire the preparations for +defence. + +"We could stand a siege," I said at length. + +"Ye-es," drawled Northmour; "a very little one, per-haps. It is +not so much the strength of the pavilion I misdoubt; it is the +doubled anger that kills me. If we get to shooting, wild as the +country is some one is sure to hear it, and then - why then it's +the same thing, only different, as they say: caged by law, or +killed by CARBONARI. There's the choice. It is a devilish bad +thing to have the law against you in this world, and so I tell the +old gentleman upstairs. He is quite of my way of thinking." + +"Speaking of that," said I, "what kind of person is he?" + +"Oh, he!" cried the other; "he's a rancid fellow, as far as he +goes. I should like to have his neck wrung to-morrow by all the +devils in Italy. I am not in this affair for him. You take me? I +made a bargain for Missy's hand, and I mean to have it too." + +"That by the way," said I. "I understand. But how will Mr. +Huddlestone take my intrusion?" + +"Leave that to Clara," returned Northmour. + +I could have struck him in the face for this coarse familiarity; +but I respected the truce, as, I am bound to say, did Northmour, +and so long as the danger continued not a cloud arose in our +relation. I bear him this testimony with the most unfeigned +satisfaction; nor am I without pride when I look back upon my own +behaviour. For surely no two men were ever left in a position so +invidious and irritating. + +As soon as I had done eating, we proceeded to inspect the lower +floor. Window by window we tried the different supports, now and +then making an inconsiderable change; and the strokes of the hammer +sounded with startling loudness through the house. I proposed, I +remember, to make loop-holes; but he told me they were already made +in the windows of the upper story. It was an anxious business this +inspection, and left me down-hearted. There were two doors and +five windows to protect, and, counting Clara, only four of us to +defend them against an unknown number of foes. I communicated my +doubts to Northmour, who assured me, with unmoved composure, that +he entirely shared them. + +"Before morning," said he, "we shall all be butchered and buried in +Graden Floe. For me, that is written." + +I could not help shuddering at the mention of the quicksand, but +reminded Northmour that our enemies had spared me in the wood. + +"Do not flatter yourself," said he. "Then you were not in the same +boat with the old gentleman; now you are. It's the floe for all of +us, mark my words." + +I trembled for Clara; and just then her dear voice was heard +calling us to come upstairs. Northmour showed me the way, and, +when he had reached the landing, knocked at the door of what used +to be called MY UNCLE'S BEDROOM, as the founder of the pavilion had +designed it especially for himself. + +"Come in, Northmour; come in, dear Mr. Cassilis," said a voice from +within. + +Pushing open the door, Northmour admitted me before him into the +apartment. As I came in I could see the daughter slipping out by +the side door into the study, which had been prepared as her +bedroom. In the bed, which was drawn back against the wall, +instead of standing, as I had last seen it, boldly across the +window, sat Bernard Huddlestone, the defaulting banker. Little as +I had seen of him by the shifting light of the lantern on the +links, I had no difficulty in recognising him for the same. He had +a long and sallow countenance, surrounded by a long red beard and +side whiskers. His broken nose and high cheekbones gave him +somewhat the air of a Kalmuck, and his light eyes shone with the +excitement of a high fever. He wore a skull-cap of black silk; a +huge Bible lay open before him on the bed, with a pair of gold +spectacles in the place, and a pile of other books lay on the stand +by his side. The green curtains lent a cadaverous shade to his +cheek; and, as he sat propped on pillows, his great stature was +painfully hunched, and his head protruded till it overhung his +knees. I believe if he had not died otherwise, he must have fallen +a victim to consumption in the course of but a very few weeks. + +He held out to me a hand, long, thin, and disagreeably hairy. + +"Come in, come in, Mr. Cassilis," said he. "Another protector - +ahem! - another protector. Always welcome as a friend of my +daughter's, Mr. Cassilis. How they have rallied about me, my +daughter's friends! May God in heaven bless and reward them for +it!" + +I gave him my hand, of course, because I could not help it; but the +sympathy I had been prepared to feel for Clara's father was +immediately soured by his appearance, and the wheedling, unreal +tones in which he spoke. + +"Cassilis is a good man," said Northmour; "worth ten." + +"So I hear," cried Mr. Huddlestone eagerly "so my girl tells me. +Ah, Mr. Cassilis, my sin has found me out, you see! I am very low, +very low; but I hope equally penitent. We must all come to the +throne of grace at last, Mr. Cassilis. For my part, I come late +indeed; but with unfeigned humility, I trust." + +"Fiddle-de-dee!" said Northmour roughly. + +"No, no, dear Northmour!" cried the banker. "You must not say +that; you must not try to shake me. You forget, my dear, good boy, +you forget I may be called this very night before my Maker." + +His excitement was pitiful to behold; and I felt myself grow +indignant with Northmour, whose infidel opinions I well knew, and +heartily derided, as he continued to taunt the poor sinner out of +his humour of repentance. + +"Pooh, my dear Huddlestone!" said he. "You do yourself injustice. +You are a man of the world inside and out, and were up to all kinds +of mischief before I was born. Your conscience is tanned like +South American leather - only you forgot to tan your liver, and +that, if you will believe me, is the seat of the annoyance." + +"Rogue, rogue! bad boy!" said Mr. Huddlestone, shaking his finger. +"I am no precisian, if you come to that; I always hated a +precisian; but I never lost hold of something better through it +all. I have been a bad boy, Mr. Cassilis; I do not seek to deny +that; but it was after my wife's death, and you know, with a +widower, it's a different thing: sinful - I won't say no; but +there is a gradation, we shall hope. And talking of that - Hark!" +he broke out suddenly, his hand raised, his fingers spread, his +face racked with interest and terror. "Only the rain, bless God!" +he added, after a pause, and with indescribable relief. + +For some seconds he lay back among the pillows like a man near to +fainting; then he gathered himself together, and, in somewhat +tremulous tones, began once more to thank me for the share I was +prepared to take in his defence. + +"One question, sir," said I, when he had paused. "Is it true that +you have money with you?" + +He seemed annoyed by the question, but admitted with reluctance +that he had a little. + +"Well," I continued, "it is their money they are after, is it not? +Why not give it up to them?" + +"Ah!" replied he, shaking his head, "I have tried that already, Mr. +Cassilis; and alas that it should be so! but it is blood they +want." + +"Huddlestone, that's a little less than fair," said Northmour. +"You should mention that what you offered them was upwards of two +hundred thousand short. The deficit is worth a reference; it is +for what they call a cool sum, Frank. Then, you see, the fellows +reason in their clear Italian way; and it seems to them, as indeed +it seems to me, that they may just as well have both while they're +about it - money and blood together, by George, and no more trouble +for the extra pleasure." + +"Is it in the pavilion?" I asked. + +"It is; and I wish it were in the bottom of the sea instead," said +Northmour; and then suddenly - "What are you making faces at me +for?" he cried to Mr. Huddlestone, on whom I had unconsciously +turned my back. "Do you think Cassilis would sell you?" + +Mr. Huddlestone protested that nothing had been further from his +mind. + +"It is a good thing," retorted Northmour in his ugliest manner. +"You might end by wearying us. What were you going to say?" he +added, turning to me. + +"I was going to propose an occupation for the afternoon,'' said I. +"Let us carry that money out, piece by piece, and lay it down +before the pavilion door. If the CARBONARI come, why, it's theirs +at any rate." + +"No, no," cried Mr. Huddlestone; "it does not, it cannot belong to +them! It should be distributed PRO RATA among all my creditors." + +"Come now, Huddlestone," said Northmour, "none of that." + +"Well, but my daughter," moaned the wretched man. + +"Your daughter will do well enough. Here are two suitors, Cassilis +and I, neither of us beggars, between whom she has to choose. And +as for yourself, to make an end of arguments, you have no right to +a farthing, and, unless I'm much mistaken, you are going to die." + +It was certainly very cruelly said; but Mr. Huddlestone was a man +who attracted little sympathy; and, although I saw him wince and +shudder, I mentally endorsed the rebuke; nay, I added a +contribution of my own. + +"Northmour and I," I said, "are willing enough to help you to save +your life, but not to escape with stolen property." + +He struggled for a while with himself, as though he were on the +point of giving way to anger, but prudence had the best of the +controversy. + +"My dear boys," he said, "do with me or my money what you will. I +leave all in your hands. Let me compose myself." + +And so we left him, gladly enough I am sure. The last that I saw, +he had once more taken up his great Bible, and with tremulous hands +was adjusting his spectacles to read. + + + +CHAPTER VII - TELLS HOW A WORD WAS CRIED THROUGH THE PAVILION +WINDOW + + + +The recollection of that afternoon will always be graven on my +mind. Northmour and I were persuaded that an attack was imminent; +and if it had been in our power to alter in any way the order of +events, that power would have been used to precipitate rather than +delay the critical moment. The worst was to be anticipated; yet we +could conceive no extremity so miserable as the suspense we were +now suffering. I have never been an eager, though always a great, +reader; but I never knew books so insipid as those which I took up +and cast aside that afternoon in the pavilion. Even talk became +impossible, as the hours went on. One or other was always +listening for some sound, or peering from an upstairs window over +the links. And yet not a sign indicated the presence of our foes. + +We debated over and over again my proposal with regard to the +money; and had we been in complete possession of our faculties, I +am sure we should have condemned it as unwise; but we were +flustered with alarm, grasped at a straw, and determined, although +it was as much as advertising Mr. Huddlestone's presence in the +pavilion, to carry my proposal into effect. + +The sum was part in specie, part in bank paper, and part in +circular notes payable to the name of James Gregory. We took it +out, counted it, enclosed it once more in a despatch-box belonging +to Northmour, and prepared a letter in Italian which he tied to the +handle. It was signed by both of us under oath, and declared that +this was all the money which had escaped the failure of the house +of Huddlestone. This was, perhaps, the maddest action ever +perpetrated by two persons professing to be sane. Had the +despatch-box fallen into other hands than those for which it was +intended, we stood criminally convicted on our own written +testimony; but, as I have said, we were neither of us in a +condition to judge soberly, and had a thirst for action that drove +us to do something, right or wrong, rather than endure the agony of +waiting. Moreover, as we were both convinced that the hollows of +the links were alive with hidden spies upon our movements, we hoped +that our appearance with the box might lead to a parley, and, +perhaps, a compromise. + +It was nearly three when we issued from the pavilion. The rain had +taken off; the sun shone quite cheerfully. + +I have never seen the gulls fly so close about the house or +approach so fearlessly to human beings. On the very doorstep one +flapped heavily past our heads, and uttered its wild cry in my very +ear. + +"There is an omen for you," said Northmour, who like all +freethinkers was much under the influence of superstition. "They +think we are already dead." + +I made some light rejoinder, but it was with half my heart; for the +circumstance had impressed me. + +A yard or two before the gate, on a patch of smooth turf, we set +down the despatch-box; and Northmour waved a white handkerchief +over his head. Nothing replied. We raised our voices, and cried +aloud in Italian that we were there as ambassadors to arrange the +quarrel; but the stillness remained unbroken save by the sea-gulls +and the surf. I had a weight at my heart when we desisted; and I +saw that even Northmour was unusually pale. He looked over his +shoulder nervously, as though he feared that some one had crept +between him and the pavilion door. + +"By God," he said in a whisper, "this is too much for me!" + +I replied in the same key: "Suppose there should be none, after +all!" + +"Look there," he returned, nodding with his head, as though he had +been afraid to point. + +I glanced in the direction indicated; and there, from the northern +quarter of the Sea-Wood, beheld a thin column of smoke rising +steadily against the now cloudless sky. + +"Northmour," I said (we still continued to talk in whispers), "it +is not possible to endure this suspense. I prefer death fifty +times over. Stay you here to watch the pavilion; I will go forward +and make sure, if I have to walk right into their camp." + +He looked once again all round him with puckered eyes, and then +nodded assentingly to my proposal. + +My heart beat like a sledge-hammer as I set out walking rapidly in +the direction of the smoke; and, though up to that moment I had +felt chill and shivering, I was suddenly conscious of a glow of +heat over all my body. The ground in this direction was very +uneven; a hundred men might have lain hidden in as many square +yards about my path. But I had not practised the business in vain, +chose such routes as cut at the very root of concealment, and, by +keeping along the most convenient ridges, commanded several hollows +at a time. It was not long before I was rewarded for my caution. +Coming suddenly on to a mound somewhat more elevated than the +surrounding hummocks, I saw, not thirty yards away, a man bent +almost double, and running as fast as his attitude permitted, along +the bottom of a gully. I had dislodged one of the spies from his +ambush. As soon as I sighted him, I called loudly both in English +and Italian; and he, seeing concealment was no longer possible, +straightened himself out, leaped from the gully, and made off as +straight as an arrow for the borders of the wood. + +It was none of my business to pursue; I had learned what I wanted - +that we were beleaguered and watched in the pavilion; and I +returned at once, and walking as nearly as possible in my old +footsteps, to where Northmour awaited me beside the despatch-box. +He was even paler than when I had left him, and his voice shook a +little. + +"Could you see what he was like?" he asked. + +"He kept his back turned," I replied. + +"Let us get into the house, Frank. I don't think I'm a coward, but +I can stand no more of this," he whispered. + +All was still and sunshiny about the pavilion as we turned to re- +enter it; even the gulls had flown in a wider circuit, and were +seen flickering along the beach and sand-hills; and this loneliness +terrified me more than a regiment under arms. It was not until the +door was barricaded that I could draw a full inspiration and +relieve the weight that lay upon my bosom. Northmour and I +exchanged a steady glance; and I suppose each made his own +reflections on the white and startled aspect of the other. + +"You were right," I said. "All is over. Shake hands, old man, for +the last time." + +"Yes," replied he, "I will shake hands; for, as sure as I am here, +I bear no malice. But, remember, if, by some impossible accident, +we should give the slip to these blackguards, I'll take the upper +hand of you by fair or foul." + +"Oh," said I, "you weary me!" + +He seemed hurt, and walked away in silence to the foot of the +stairs, where he paused. + +"You do not understand," said he. "I am not a swindler, and I +guard myself; that is all. It may weary you or not, Mr. Cassilis, +I do not care a rush; I speak for my own satisfaction, and not for +your amusement. You had better go upstairs and court the girl; for +my part, I stay here." + +"And I stay with you," I returned. "Do you think I would steal a +march, even with your permission?" + +"Frank," he said, smiling, "it's a pity you are an ass, for you +have the makings of a man. I think I must be FEY to-day; you +cannot irritate me even when you try. Do you know," he continued +softly, "I think we are the two most miserable men in England, you +and I? we have got on to thirty without wife or child, or so much +as a shop to look after - poor, pitiful, lost devils, both! And +now we clash about a girl! As if there were not several millions +in the United Kingdom! Ah, Frank, Frank, the one who loses this +throw, be it you or me, he has my pity! It were better for him - +how does the Bible say? - that a millstone were hanged about his +neck and he were cast into the depth of the sea. Let us take a +drink," he concluded suddenly, but without any levity of tone. + +I was touched by his words, and consented. He sat down on the +table in the dining-room, and held up the glass of sherry to his +eye. + +"If you beat me, Frank," he said, "I shall take to drink. What +will you do, if it goes the other way?" + +"God knows," I returned. + +"Well," said he, "here is a toast in the meantime: 'ITALIA +IRREDENTA!'" + +The remainder of the day was passed in the same dreadful tedium and +suspense. I laid the table for dinner, while Northmour and Clara +prepared the meal together in the kitchen. I could hear their talk +as I went to and fro, and was surprised to find it ran all the time +upon myself. Northmour again bracketed us together, and rallied +Clara on a choice of husbands; but he continued to speak of me with +some feeling, and uttered nothing to my prejudice unless he +included himself in the condemnation. This awakened a sense of +gratitude in my heart, which combined with the immediateness of our +peril to fill my eyes with tears. After all, I thought - and +perhaps the thought was laughably vain - we were here three very +noble human beings to perish in defence of a thieving banker. + +Before we sat down to table, I looked forth from an upstairs +window. The day was beginning to decline; the links were utterly +deserted; the despatch-box still lay untouched where we had left it +hours before. + +Mr. Huddlestone, in a long yellow dressing-gown, took one end of +the table, Clara the other; while Northmour and I faced each other +from the sides. The lamp was brightly trimmed; the wine was good; +the viands, although mostly cold, excellent of their sort. We +seemed to have agreed tacitly; all reference to the impending +catastrophe was carefully avoided; and, considering our tragic +circumstances, we made a merrier party than could have been +expected. From time to time, it is true, Northmour or I would rise +from table and make a round of the defences; and, on each of these +occasions, Mr. Huddlestone was recalled to a sense of his tragic +predicament, glanced up with ghastly eyes, and bore for an instant +on his countenance the stamp of terror. But he hastened to empty +his glass, wiped his forehead with his handkerchief, and joined +again in the conversation. + +I was astonished at the wit and information he displayed. Mr. +Huddlestone's was certainly no ordinary character; he had read and +observed for himself; his gifts were sound; and, though I could +never have learned to love the man, I began to understand his +success in business, and the great respect in which he had been +held before his failure. He had, above all, the talent of society; +and though I never heard him speak but on this one and most +unfavourable occasion, I set him down among the most brilliant +conversationalists I ever met. + +He was relating with great gusto, and seemingly no feeling of +shame, the manoeuvres of a scoundrelly commission merchant whom he +had known and studied in his youth, and we were all listening with +an odd mixture of mirth and embarrassment when our little party was +brought abruptly to an end in the most startling manner. + +A noise like that of a wet finger on the window-pane interrupted +Mr. Huddlestone's tale; and in an instant we were all four as white +as paper, and sat tongue-tied and motionless round the table. + +"A snail," I said at last; for I had heard that these animals make +a noise somewhat similar in character. + +"Snail be d-d!" said Northmour. "Hush!" + +The same sound was repeated twice at regular intervals; and then a +formidable voice shouted through the shutters the Italian word +"TRADITORE!" + +Mr. Huddlestone threw his head in the air; his eyelids quivered; +next moment he fell insensible below the table. Northmour and I +had each run to the armoury and seized a gun. Clara was on her +feet with her hand at her throat. + +So we stood waiting, for we thought the hour of attack was +certainly come; but second passed after second, and all but the +surf remained silent in the neighbourhood of the pavilion. + +"Quick," said Northmour; "upstairs with him before they come." + + + +CHAPTER VIII - TELLS THE LAST OF THE TALL MAN + + + +Somehow or other, by hook and crook, and between the three of us, +we got Bernard Huddlestone bundled upstairs and laid upon the bed +in MY UNCLE'S ROOM. During the whole process, which was rough +enough, he gave no sign of consciousness, and he remained, as we +had thrown him, without changing the position of a finger. His +daughter opened his shirt and began to wet his head and bosom; +while Northmour and I ran to the window. The weather continued +clear; the moon, which was now about full, had risen and shed a +very clear light upon the links; yet, strain our eyes as we might, +we could distinguish nothing moving. A few dark spots, more or +less, on the uneven expanse were not to be identified; they might +be crouching men, they might be shadows; it was impossible to be +sure. + +"Thank God," said Northmour, "Aggie is not coming to-night." + +Aggie was the name of the old nurse; he had not thought of her till +now; but that he should think of her at all, was a trait that +surprised me in the man. + +We were again reduced to waiting. Northmour went to the fireplace +and spread his hands before the red embers, as if he were cold. I +followed him mechanically with my eyes, and in so doing turned my +back upon the window. At that moment a very faint report was +audible from without, and a ball shivered a pane of glass, and +buried itself in the shutter two inches from my head. I heard +Clara scream; and though I whipped instantly out of range and into +a corner, she was there, so to speak, before me, beseeching to know +if I were hurt. I felt that I could stand to be shot at every day +and all day long, with such marks of solicitude for a reward; and I +continued to reassure her, with the tenderest caresses and in +complete forgetfulness of our situation, till the voice of +Northmour recalled me to myself. + +"An air-gun," he said. "They wish to make no noise." + +I put Clara aside, and looked at him. He was standing with his +back to the fire and his hands clasped behind him; and I knew by +the black look on his face, that passion was boiling within. I had +seen just such a look before he attacked me, that March night, in +the adjoining chamber; and, though I could make every allowance for +his anger, I confess I trembled for the consequences. He gazed +straight before him; but he could see us with the tail of his eye, +and his temper kept rising like a gale of wind. With regular +battle awaiting us outside, this prospect of an internecine strife +within the walls began to daunt me. + +Suddenly, as I was thus closely watching his expression and +prepared against the worst, I saw a change, a flash, a look of +relief, upon his face. He took up the lamp which stood beside him +on the table, and turned to us with an air of some excitement. + +"There is one point that we must know," said he. "Are they going +to butcher the lot of us, or only Huddlestone? Did they take you +for him, or fire at you for your own BEAUX YEUX?" + +"They took me for him, for certain," I replied. "I am near as +tall, and my head is fair." + +"I am going to make sure," returned Northmour; and he stepped up to +the window, holding the lamp above his head, and stood there, +quietly affronting death, for half a minute. + +Clara sought to rush forward and pull him from the place of danger; +but I had the pardonable selfishness to hold her back by force. + +"Yes," said Northmour, turning coolly from the window; "it's only +Huddlestone they want." + +"Oh, Mr. Northmour!" cried Clara; but found no more to add; the +temerity she had just witnessed seeming beyond the reach of words. + +He, on his part, looked at me, cocking his head, with a fire of +triumph in his eyes; and I understood at once that he had thus +hazarded his life, merely to attract Clara's notice, and depose me +from my position as the hero of the hour. He snapped his fingers. + +"The fire is only beginning," said he. "When they warm up to their +work, they won't be so particular." + +A voice was now heard hailing us from the entrance. From the +window we could see the figure of a man in the moonlight; he stood +motionless, his face uplifted to ours, and a rag of something white +on his extended arm; and as we looked right down upon him, though +he was a good many yards distant on the links, we could see the +moonlight glitter on his eyes. + +He opened his lips again, and spoke for some minutes on end, in a +key so loud that he might have been heard in every corner of the +pavilion, and as far away as the borders of the wood. It was the +same voice that had already shouted "TRADITORE!" through the +shutters of the dining-room; this time it made a complete and clear +statement. If the traitor "Oddlestone" were given up, all others +should be spared; if not, no one should escape to tell the tale. + +"Well, Huddlestone, what do you say to that?" asked Northmour, +turning to the bed. + +Up to that moment the banker had given no sign of life, and I, at +least, had supposed him to be still lying in a faint; but he +replied at once, and in such tones as I have never heard elsewhere, +save from a delirious patient, adjured and besought us not to +desert him. It was the most hideous and abject performance that my +imagination can conceive. + +"Enough," cried Northmour; and then he threw open the window, +leaned out into the night, and in a tone of exultation, and with a +total forgetfulness of what was due to the presence of a lady, +poured out upon the ambassador a string of the most abominable +raillery both in English and Italian, and bade him be gone where he +had come from. I believe that nothing so delighted Northmour at +that moment as the thought that we must all infallibly perish +before the night was out. + +Meantime the Italian put his flag of truce into his pocket, and +disappeared, at a leisurely pace, among the sand-hills. + +"They make honourable war," said Northmour. "They are all +gentlemen and soldiers. For the credit of the thing, I wish we +could change sides - you and I, Frank, and you too, Missy, my +darling - and leave that being on the bed to some one else. Tut! +Don't look shocked! We are all going post to what they call +eternity, and may as well be above-board while there's time. As +far as I'm concerned, if I could first strangle Huddlestone and +then get Clara in my arms, I could die with some pride and +satisfaction. And as it is, by God, I'll have a kiss!" + +Before I could do anything to interfere, he had rudely embraced and +repeatedly kissed the resisting girl. Next moment I had pulled him +away with fury, and flung him heavily against the wall. He laughed +loud and long, and I feared his wits had given way under the +strain; for even in the best of days he had been a sparing and a +quiet laugher. + +"Now, Frank," said he, when his mirth was somewhat appeased, "it's +your turn. Here's my hand. Good-bye; farewell!" Then, seeing me +stand rigid and indignant, and holding Clara to my side - "Man!" he +broke out, "are you angry? Did you think we were going to die with +all the airs and graces of society? I took a kiss; I'm glad I had +it; and now you can take another if you like, and square accounts." + +I turned from him with a feeling of contempt which I did not seek +to dissemble. + +"As you please," said he. "You've been a prig in life; a prig +you'll die." + +And with that he sat down in a chair, a rifle over his knee, and +amused himself with snapping the lock; but I could see that his +ebullition of light spirits (the only one I ever knew him to +display) had already come to an end, and was succeeded by a sullen, +scowling humour. + +All this time our assailants might have been entering the house, +and we been none the wiser; we had in truth almost forgotten the +danger that so imminently overhung our days. But just then Mr. +Huddlestone uttered a cry, and leaped from the bed. + +I asked him what was wrong. + +"Fire!" he cried. "They have set the house on fire!" + +Northmour was on his feet in an instant, and he and I ran through +the door of communication with the study. The room was illuminated +by a red and angry light. Almost at the moment of our entrance, a +tower of flame arose in front of the window, and, with a tingling +report, a pane fell inwards on the carpet. They had set fire to +the lean-to outhouse, where Northmour used to nurse his negatives. + +"Hot work," said Northmour. "Let us try in your old room." + +We ran thither in a breath, threw up the casement, and looked +forth. Along the whole back wall of the pavilion piles of fuel had +been arranged and kindled; and it is probable they had been +drenched with mineral oil, for, in spite of the morning's rain, +they all burned bravely. The fire had taken a firm hold already on +the outhouse, which blazed higher and higher every moment; the back +door was in the centre of a red-hot bonfire; the eaves we could +see, as we looked upward, were already smouldering, for the roof +overhung, and was supported by considerable beams of wood. At the +same time, hot, pungent, and choking volumes of smoke began to fill +the house. There was not a human being to be seen to right or +left. + +"Ah, well!" said Northmour, "here's the end, thank God." + +And we returned to MY UNCLE'S ROOM. Mr. Huddlestone was putting on +his boots, still violently trembling, but with an air of +determination such as I had not hitherto observed. Clara stood +close by him, with her cloak in both hands ready to throw about her +shoulders, and a strange look in her eyes, as if she were half +hopeful, half doubtful of her father. + +"Well, boys and girls," said Northmour, "how about a sally? The +oven is heating; it is not good to stay here and be baked; and, for +my part, I want to come to my hands with them, and be done." + +"There is nothing else left," I replied. + +And both Clara and Mr. Huddlestone, though with a very different +intonation, added, "Nothing." + +As we went downstairs the heat was excessive, and the roaring of +the fire filled our ears; and we had scarce reached the passage +before the stairs window fell in, a branch of flame shot +brandishing through the aperture, and the interior of the pavilion +became lit up with that dreadful and fluctuating glare. At the +same moment we heard the fall of something heavy and inelastic in +the upper story. The whole pavilion, it was plain, had gone alight +like a box of matches, and now not only flamed sky-high to land and +sea, but threatened with every moment to crumble and fall in about +our ears. + +Northmour and I cocked our revolvers. Mr. Huddlestone, who had +already refused a firearm, put us behind him with a manner of +command. + +"Let Clara open the door," said he. "So, if they fire a volley, +she will be protected. And in the meantime stand behind me. I am +the scapegoat; my sins have found me out." + +I heard him, as I stood breathless by his shoulder, with my pistol +ready, pattering off prayers in a tremulous, rapid whisper; and I +confess, horrid as the thought may seem, I despised him for +thinking of supplications in a moment so critical and thrilling. +In the meantime, Clara, who was dead white but still possessed her +faculties, had displaced the barricade from the front door. +Another moment, and she had pulled it open. Firelight and +moonlight illuminated the links with confused and changeful lustre, +and far away against the sky we could see a long trail of glowing +smoke. + +Mr. Huddlestone, filled for the moment with a strength greater than +his own, struck Northmour and myself a back-hander in the chest; +and while we were thus for the moment incapacitated from action, +lifting his arms above his head like one about to dive, he ran +straight forward out of the pavilion. + +"Here am!" he cried - "Huddlestone! Kill me, and spare the +others!" + +His sudden appearance daunted, I suppose, our hidden enemies; for +Northmour and I had time to recover, to seize Clara between us, one +by each arm, and to rush forth to his assistance, ere anything +further had taken place. But scarce had we passed the threshold +when there came near a dozen reports and flashes from every +direction among the hollows of the links. Mr. Huddlestone +staggered, uttered a weird and freezing cry, threw up his arms over +his head, and fell backward on the turf. + +"TRADITORE! TRADITORE!" cried the invisible avengers. + +And just then, a part of the roof of the pavilion fell in, so rapid +was the progress of the fire. A loud, vague, and horrible noise +accompanied the collapse, and a vast volume of flame went soaring +up to heaven. It must have been visible at that moment from twenty +miles out at sea, from the shore at Graden Wester, and far inland +from the peak of Graystiel, the most eastern summit of the Caulder +Hills. Bernard Huddlestone, although God knows what were his +obsequies, had a fine pyre at the moment of his death. + + + +CHAPTER IX - TELLS HOW NORTHMOUR CARRIED OUT HIS THREAT + + + +I should have the greatest difficulty to tell you what followed +next after this tragic circumstance. It is all to me, as I look +back upon it, mixed, strenuous, and ineffectual, like the struggles +of a sleeper in a nightmare. Clara, I remember, uttered a broken +sigh and would have fallen forward to earth, had not Northmour and +I supported her insensible body. I do not think we were attacked; +I do not remember even to have seen an assailant; and I believe we +deserted Mr. Huddlestone without a glance. I only remember running +like a man in a panic, now carrying Clara altogether in my own +arms, now sharing her weight with Northmour, now scuffling +confusedly for the possession of that dear burden. Why we should +have made for my camp in the Hemlock Den, or how we reached it, are +points lost for ever to my recollection. The first moment at which +I became definitely sure, Clara had been suffered to fall against +the outside of my little tent, Northmour and I were tumbling +together on the ground, and he, with contained ferocity, was +striking for my head with the butt of his revolver. He had already +twice wounded me on the scalp; and it is to the consequent loss of +blood that I am tempted to attribute the sudden clearness of my +mind. + +I caught him by the wrist. + +"Northmour," I remember saying, "you can kill me afterwards. Let +us first attend to Clara." + +He was at that moment uppermost. Scarcely had the words passed my +lips, when he had leaped to his feet and ran towards the tent; and +the next moment, he was straining Clara to his heart and covering +her unconscious hands and face with his caresses. + +"Shame!" I cried. "Shame to you, Northmour!" + +And, giddy though I still was, I struck him repeatedly upon the +head and shoulders. + +He relinquished his grasp, and faced me in the broken moonlight. + +"I had you under, and I let you go," said he; "and now you strike +me! Coward!" + +"You are the coward," I retorted. "Did she wish your kisses while +she was still sensible of what she wanted? Not she! And now she +may be dying; and you waste this precious time, and abuse her +helplessness. Stand aside, and let me help her." + +He confronted me for a moment, white and menacing; then suddenly he +stepped aside. + +"Help her then," said he. + +I threw myself on my knees beside her, and loosened, as well as I +was able, her dress and corset; but while I was thus engaged, a +grasp descended on my shoulder. + +"Keep your hands of her," said Northmour fiercely. "Do you think I +have no blood in my veins?" + +"Northmour," I cried, "if you will neither help her yourself, nor +let me do so, do you know that I shall have to kill you?" + +"That is better!" he cried. "Let her die also, where's the harm? +Step aside from that girl! and stand up to fight" + +"You will observe," said I, half rising, "that I have not kissed +her yet." + +"I dare you to," he cried. + +I do not know what possessed me; it was one of the things I am most +ashamed of in my life, though, as my wife used to say, I knew that +my kisses would be always welcome were she dead or living; down I +fell again upon my knees, parted the hair from her forehead, and, +with the dearest respect, laid my lips for a moment on that cold +brow. It was such a caress as a father might have given; it was +such a one as was not unbecoming from a man soon to die to a woman +already dead. + +"And now," said I, "I am at your service, Mr. Northmour." + +But I saw, to my surprise, that he had turned his back upon me. + +"Do you hear?" I asked. + +"Yes," said he, "I do. If you wish to fight, I am ready. If not, +go on and save Clara. All is one to me." + +I did not wait to be twice bidden; but, stooping again over Clara, +continued my efforts to revive her. She still lay white and +lifeless; I began to fear that her sweet spirit had indeed fled +beyond recall, and horror and a sense of utter desolation seized +upon my heart. I called her by name with the most endearing +inflections; I chafed and beat her hands; now I laid her head low, +now supported it against my knee; but all seemed to be in vain, and +the lids still lay heavy on her eyes. + +"Northmour," I said, "there is my hat. For God's sake bring some +water from the spring." + +Almost in a moment he was by my side with the water. "I have +brought it in my own," he said. "You do not grudge me the +privilege?" + +"Northmour," I was beginning to say, as I laved her head and +breast; but he interrupted me savagely. + +"Oh, you hush up!" he said. "The best thing you can do is to say +nothing." + +I had certainly no desire to talk, my mind being swallowed up in +concern for my dear love and her condition; so I continued in +silence to do my best towards her recovery, and, when the hat was +empty, returned it to him, with one word - "More." He had, +perhaps, gone several times upon this errand, when Clara reopened +her eyes. + +"Now," said he, "since she is better, you can spare me, can you +not? I wish you a good night, Mr. Cassilis." + +And with that he was gone among the thicket. I made a fire, for I +had now no fear of the Italians, who had even spared all the little +possessions left in my encampment; and, broken as she was by the +excitement and the hideous catastrophe of the evening, I managed, +in one way or another - by persuasion, encouragement, warmth, and +such simple remedies as I could lay my hand on - to bring her back +to some composure of mind and strength of body. + +Day had already come, when a sharp "Hist!" sounded from the +thicket. I started from the ground; but the voice of Northmour was +heard adding, in the most tranquil tones: "Come here, Cassilis, +and alone; I want to show you something." + +I consulted Clara with my eyes, and, receiving her tacit +permission, left her alone, and clambered out of the den. At some +distance of I saw Northmour leaning against an elder; and, as soon +as he perceived me, he began walking seaward. I had almost +overtaken him as he reached the outskirts of the wood. + +"Look," said he, pausing. + +A couple of steps more brought me out of the foliage. The light of +the morning lay cold and clear over that well-known scene. The +pavilion was but a blackened wreck; the roof had fallen in, one of +the gables had fallen out; and, far and near, the face of the links +was cicatrised with little patches of burnt furze. Thick smoke +still went straight upwards in the windless air of the morning, and +a great pile of ardent cinders filled the bare walls of the house, +like coals in an open grate. Close by the islet a schooner yacht +lay to, and a well-manned boat was pulling vigorously for the +shore. + +"The RED EARL!" I cried. "The RED EARL twelve hours too late!" + +"Feel in your pocket, Frank. Are you armed?" asked Northmour. + +I obeyed him, and I think I must have become deadly pale. My +revolver had been taken from me. + +"You see I have you in my power," he continued. "I disarmed you +last night while you were nursing Clara; but this morning - here - +take your pistol. No thanks!" he cried, holding up his hand. "I +do not like them; that is the only way you can annoy me now." + +He began to walk forward across the links to meet the boat, and I +followed a step or two behind. In front of the pavilion I paused +to see where Mr. Huddlestone had fallen; but there was no sign of +him, nor so much as a trace of blood. + +"Graden Floe," said Northmour. + +He continued to advance till we had come to the head of the beach. + +"No farther, please," said he. "Would you like to take her to +Graden House?" + +"Thank you," replied I; "I shall try to get her to the minister's +at Graden Wester." + +The prow of the boat here grated on the beach, and a sailor jumped +ashore with a line in his hand. + +"Wait a minute, lads!" cried Northmour; and then lower and to my +private ear: "You had better say nothing of all this to her," he +added. + +"On the contrary!" I broke out, "she shall know everything that I +can tell." + +"You do not understand," he returned, with an air of great dignity. +"It will be nothing to her; she expects it of me. Good-bye!" he +added, with a nod. + +I offered him my hand. + +"Excuse me," said he. "It's small, I know; but I can't push things +quite so far as that. I don't wish any sentimental business, to +sit by your hearth a white-haired wanderer, and all that. Quite +the contrary: I hope to God I shall never again clap eyes on +either one of you." + +"Well, God bless you, Northmour!" I said heartily. + +"Oh, yes," he returned. + +He walked down the beach; and the man who was ashore gave him an +arm on board, and then shoved off and leaped into the bows himself. +Northmour took the tiller; the boat rose to the waves, and the oars +between the thole-pins sounded crisp and measured in the morning +air. + +They were not yet half-way to the RED EARL, and I was still +watching their progress, when the sun rose out of the sea. + +One word more, and my story is done. Years after, Northmour was +killed fighting under the colours of Garibaldi for the liberation +of the Tyrol. + + + + +A LODGING FOR THE NIGHT - A STORY OF FRANCIS VILLON + + + + +It was late in November 1456. The snow fell over Paris with +rigorous, relentless persistence; sometimes the wind made a sally +and scattered it in flying vortices; sometimes there was a lull, +and flake after flake descended out of the black night air, silent, +circuitous, interminable. To poor people, looking up under moist +eyebrows, it seemed a wonder where it all came from. Master +Francis Villon had propounded an alternative that afternoon, at a +tavern window: was it only Pagan Jupiter plucking geese upon +Olympus? or were the holy angels moulting? He was only a poor +Master of Arts, he went on; and as the question somewhat touched +upon divinity, he durst not venture to conclude. A silly old +priest from Montargis, who was among the company, treated the young +rascal to a bottle of wine in honour of the jest and the grimaces +with which it was accompanied, and swore on his own white beard +that he had been just such another irreverent dog when he was +Villon's age. + +The air was raw and pointed, but not far below freezing; and the +flakes were large, damp, and adhesive. The whole city was sheeted +up. An army might have marched from end to end and not a footfall +given the alarm. If there were any belated birds in heaven, they +saw the island like a large white patch, and the bridges like slim +white spars, on the black ground of the river. High up overhead +the snow settled among the tracery of the cathedral towers. Many a +niche was drifted full; many a statue wore a long white bonnet on +its grotesque or sainted head. The gargoyles had been transformed +into great false noses, drooping towards the point. The crockets +were like upright pillows swollen on one side. In the intervals of +the wind, there was a dull sound of dripping about the precincts of +the church. + +The cemetery of St. John had taken its own share of the snow. All +the graves were decently covered; tall white housetops stood around +in grave array; worthy burghers were long ago in bed, benightcapped +like their domiciles; there was no light in all the neighbourhood +but a little peep from a lamp that hung swinging in the church +choir, and tossed the shadows to and fro in time to its +oscillations. The clock was hard on ten when the patrol went by +with halberds and a lantern, beating their hands; and they saw +nothing suspicious about the cemetery of St. John. + +Yet there was a small house, backed up against the cemetery wall, +which was still awake, and awake to evil purpose, in that snoring +district. There was not much to betray it from without; only a +stream of warm vapour from the chimney-top, a patch where the snow +melted on the roof, and a few half-obliterated footprints at the +door. But within, behind the shuttered windows, Master Francis +Villon the poet, and some of the thievish crew with whom he +consorted, were keeping the night alive and passing round the +bottle. + +A great pile of living embers diffused a strong and ruddy glow from +the arched chimney. Before this straddled Dom Nicolas, the Picardy +monk, with his skirts picked up and his fat legs bared to the +comfortable warmth. His dilated shadow cut the room in half; and +the firelight only escaped on either side of his broad person, and +in a little pool between his outspread feet. His face had the +beery, bruised appearance of the continual drinker's; it was +covered with a network of congested veins, purple in ordinary +circumstances, but now pale violet, for even with his back to the +fire the cold pinched him on the other side. His cowl had half +fallen back, and made a strange excrescence on either side of his +bull neck. So he straddled, grumbling, and cut the room in half +with the shadow of his portly frame. + +On the right, Villon and Guy Tabary were huddled together over a +scrap of parchment; Villon making a ballade which he was to call +the "Ballade of Roast Fish," and Tabary spluttering admiration at +his shoulder. The poet was a rag of a man, dark, little, and lean, +with hollow cheeks and thin black locks. He carried his four-and- +twenty years with feverish animation. Greed had made folds about +his eyes, evil smiles had puckered his mouth. The wolf and pig +struggled together in his face. It was an eloquent, sharp, ugly, +earthly countenance. His hands were small and prehensile, with +fingers knotted like a cord; and they were continually flickering +in front of him in violent and expressive pantomime. As for +Tabary, a broad, complacent, admiring imbecility breathed from his +squash nose and slobbering lips: he had become a thief, just as he +might have become the most decent of burgesses, by the imperious +chance that rules the lives of human geese and human donkeys. + +At the monk's other hand, Montigny and Thevenin Pensete played a +game of chance. About the first there clung some flavour of good +birth and training, as about a fallen angel; something long, lithe, +and courtly in the person; something aquiline and darkling in the +face. Thevenin, poor soul, was in great feather: he had done a +good stroke of knavery that afternoon in the Faubourg St. Jacques, +and all night he had been gaining from Montigny. A flat smile +illuminated his face; his bald head shone rosily in a garland of +red curls; his little protuberant stomach shook with silent +chucklings as he swept in his gains. + +"Doubles or quits?" said Thevenin. Montigny nodded grimly. + +"Some may prefer to dine in state," wrote Villon, "On bread and +cheese on silver plate. Or - or - help me out, Guido!" + +Tabary giggled. + +"Or parsley on a golden dish," scribbled the poet. + +The wind was freshening without; it drove the snow before it, and +sometimes raised its voice in a victorious whoop, and made +sepulchral grumblings in the chimney. The cold was growing sharper +an the night went on. Villon, protruding his lips, imitated the +gust with something between a whistle and a groan. It was an +eerie, uncomfortable talent of the poet's, much detested by the +Picardy monk. + +"Can't you hear it rattle in the gibbet?" said Villon. "They are +all dancing the devil's jig on nothing, up there. You may dance, +my gallants, you'll be none the warmer! Whew! what a gust! Down +went somebody just now! A medlar the fewer on the three-legged +medlar-tree! - I say, Dom Nicolas, it'll be cold to-night on the +St. Denis Road?" he asked. + +Dom Nicolas winked both his big eyes, and seemed to choke upon his +Adam's apple. Montfaucon, the great grisly Paris gibbet, stood +hard by the St. Denis Road, and the pleasantry touched him on the +raw. As for Tabary, he laughed immoderately over the medlars; he +had never heard anything more light-hearted; and he held his sides +and crowed. Villon fetched him a fillip on the nose, which turned +his mirth into an attack of coughing. + +"Oh, stop that row," said Villon, "and think of rhymes to 'fish'." + +"Doubles or quits," said Montigny doggedly. + +"With all my heart," quoth Thevenin. + +"Is there any more in that bottle?" asked the monk. + +"Open another," said Villon. "How do you ever hope to fill that +big hogshead, your body, with little things like bottles? And how +do you expect to get to heaven? How many angels, do you fancy, can +be spared to carry up a single monk from Picardy? Or do you think +yourself another Elias - and they'll send the coach for you?" + +"HOMINIBUS IMPOSSIBILE," replied the monk, as he filled his glass. + +Tabary was in ecstasies. + +Villon filliped his nose again. + +"Laugh at my jokes, if you like," he said. + +"It was very good," objected Tabary. + +Villon made a face at him. "Think of rhymes to 'fish'," he said. +"What have you to do with Latin? You'll wish you knew none of it +at the great assizes, when the devil calls for Guido Tabary, +clericus - the devil with the hump-back and red-hot finger-nails. +Talking of the devil," he added in a whisper, "look at Montigny!" + +All three peered covertly at the gamester. He did not seem to be +enjoying his luck. His mouth was a little to a side; one nostril +nearly shut, and the other much inflated. The black dog was on his +back, as people say, in terrifying nursery metaphor; and he +breathed hard under the gruesome burden. + +"He looks as if he could knife him," whispered Tabary, with round +eyes. + +The monk shuddered, and turned his face and spread his open hands +to the red embers. It was the cold that thus affected Dom Nicolas, +and not any excess of moral sensibility + +"Come now," said Villon - "about this ballade. How does it run so +far?" And beating time with his hand, he read it aloud to Tabary. + +They were interrupted at the fourth rhyme by a brief and fatal +movement among the gamesters. The round was completed, and +Thevenin was just opening his mouth to claim another victory, when +Montigny leaped up, swift as an adder, and stabbed him to the +heart. The blow took effect before he had time to utter a cry, +before he had time to move. A tremor or two convulsed his frame; +his hands opened and shut, his heels rattled on the floor; then his +head rolled backward over one shoulder with the eyes wide open; and +Thevenin Pensete's spirit had returned to Him who made it. + +Everyone sprang to his feet; but the business was over in two twos. +The four living fellows looked at each other in rather a ghastly +fashion; the dead man contemplating a corner of the roof with a +singular and ugly leer. + +"My God!" said Tabary; and he began to pray in Latin. + +Villon broke out into hysterical laughter. He came a step forward +and ducked a ridiculous bow at Thevenin, and laughed still louder. +Then he sat down suddenly, all of a heap, upon a stool, and +continued laughing bitterly as though he would shake himself to +pieces. + +Montigny recovered his composure first. + +"Let's see what he has about him," he remarked; and he picked the +dead man's pockets with a practised hand, and divided the money +into four equal portions on the table. "There's for you," he said. + +The monk received his share with a deep sigh, and a single stealthy +glance at the dead Thevenin, who was beginning to sink into himself +and topple sideways of the chair. + +"We're all in for it," cried Villon, swallowing his mirth. "It's a +hanging job for every man jack of us that's here - not to speak of +those who aren't." He made a shocking gesture in the air with his +raised right hand, and put out his tongue and threw his head on one +side, so as to counterfeit the appearance of one who has been +hanged. Then he pocketed his share of the spoil, and executed a +shuffle with his feet as if to restore the circulation. + +Tabary was the last to help himself; he made a dash at the money, +and retired to the other end of the apartment. + +Montigny stuck Thevenin upright in the chair, and drew out the +dagger, which was followed by a jet of blood. + +"You fellows had better be moving," he said, as he wiped the blade +on his victim's doublet. + +"I think we had," returned Villon with a gulp. "Damn his fat +head!" he broke out. "It sticks in my throat like phlegm. What +right has a man to have red hair when he is dead?" And he fell all +of a heap again upon the stool, and fairly covered his face with +his hands. + +Montigny and Dom Nicolas laughed aloud, even Tabary feebly chiming +in. + +"Cry baby," said the monk. + +"I always said he was a woman," added Montigny with a sneer. "Sit +up, can't you?" he went on, giving another shake to the murdered +body. "Tread out that fire, Nick!" + +But Nick was better employed; he was quietly taking Villon's purse, +as the poet sat, limp and trembling, on the stool where he had been +making a ballade not three minutes before. Montigny and Tabary +dumbly demanded a share of the booty, which the monk silently +promised as he passed the little bag into the bosom of his gown. +In many ways an artistic nature unfits a man for practical +existence. + +No sooner had the theft been accomplished than Villon shook +himself, jumped to his feet, and began helping to scatter and +extinguish the embers. Meanwhile Montigny opened the door and +cautiously peered into the street. The coast was clear; there was +no meddlesome patrol in sight. Still it was judged wiser to slip +out severally; and as Villon was himself in a hurry to escape from +the neighbourhood of the dead Thevenin, and the rest were in a +still greater hurry to get rid of him before he should discover the +loss of his money, he was the first by general consent to issue +forth into the street. + +The wind had triumphed and swept all the clouds from heaven. Only +a few vapours, as thin as moonlight, fleeting rapidly across the +stars. It was bitter cold; and by a common optical effect, things +seemed almost more definite than in the broadest daylight. The +sleeping city was absolutely still: a company of white hoods, a +field full of little Alps, below the twinkling stars. Villon +cursed his fortune. Would it were still snowing! Now, wherever he +went, he left an indelible trail behind him on the glittering +streets; wherever he went he was still tethered to the house by the +cemetery of St. John; wherever he went he must weave, with his own +plodding feet, the rope that bound him to the crime and would bind +him to the gallows. The leer of the dead man came back to him with +a new significance. He snapped his fingers as if to pluck up his +own spirits, and choosing a street at random, stepped boldly +forward in the snow. + +Two things preoccupied him as he went: the aspect of the gallows +at Montfaucon in this bright windy phase of the night's existence, +for one; and for another, the look of the dead man with his bald +head and garland of red curls. Both struck cold upon his heart, +and he kept quickening his pace as if he could escape from +unpleasant thoughts by mere fleetness of foot. Sometimes he looked +back over his shoulder with a sudden nervous jerk; but he was the +only moving thing in the white streets, except when the wind +swooped round a corner and threw up the snow, which was beginning +to freeze, in spouts of glittering dust. + +Suddenly he saw, a long way before him, a black clump and a couple +of lanterns. The clump was in motion, and the lanterns swung as +though carried by men walking. It was a patrol. And though it was +merely crossing his line of march, he judged it wiser to get out of +eyeshot as speedily as he could. He was not in the humour to be +challenged, and he was conscious of making a very conspicuous mark +upon the snow. Just on his left hand there stood a great hotel, +with some turrets and a large porch before the door; it was half- +ruinous, he remembered, and had long stood empty; and so he made +three steps of it and jumped into the shelter of the porch. It was +pretty dark inside, after the glimmer of the snowy streets, and he +was groping forward with outspread hands, when he stumbled over +some substance which offered an indescribable mixture of +resistances, hard and soft, firm and loose. His heart gave a leap, +and he sprang two steps back and stared dreadfully at the obstacle. +Then he gave a little laugh of relief. It was only a woman, and +she dead. He knelt beside her to make sure upon this latter point. +She was freezing cold, and rigid like a stick. A little ragged +finery fluttered in the wind about her hair, and her cheeks had +been heavily rouged that same afternoon. Her pockets were quite +empty; but in her stocking, underneath the garter, Villon found two +of the small coins that went by the name of whites. It was little +enough; but it was always something; and the poet was moved with a +deep sense of pathos that she should have died before she had spent +her money. That seemed to him a dark and pitiable mystery; and he +looked from the coins in his hand to the dead woman, and back again +to the coins, shaking his head over the riddle of man's life. +Henry V. of England, dying at Vincennes just after he had conquered +France, and this poor jade cut off by a cold draught in a great +man's doorway, before she had time to spend her couple of whites - +it seemed a cruel way to carry on the world. Two whites would have +taken such a little while to squander; and yet it would have been +one more good taste in the mouth, one more smack of the lips, +before the devil got the soul, and the body was left to birds and +vermin. He would like to use all his tallow before the light was +blown out and the lantern broken. + +While these thoughts were passing through his mind, he was feeling, +half mechanically, for his purse. Suddenly his heart stopped +beating; a feeling of cold scales passed up the back of his legs, +and a cold blow seemed to fall upon his scalp. He stood petrified +for a moment; then he felt again with one feverish movement; and +then his loss burst upon him, and he was covered at once with +perspiration. To spendthrifts money is so living and actual - it +is such a thin veil between them and their pleasures! There is +only one limit to their fortune - that of time; and a spendthrift +with only a few crowns is the Emperor of Rome until they are spent. +For such a person to lose his money is to suffer the most shocking +reverse, and fall from heaven to hell, from all to nothing, in a +breath. And all the more if he has put his head in the halter for +it; if he may be hanged to-morrow for that same purse, so dearly +earned, so foolishly departed! Villon stood and cursed; he threw +the two whites into the street; he shook his fist at heaven; he +stamped, and was not horrified to find himself trampling the poor +corpse. Then he began rapidly to retrace his steps towards the +house beside the cemetery. He had forgotten all fear of the +patrol, which was long gone by at any rate, and had no idea but +that of his lost purse. It was in vain that he looked right and +left upon the snow: nothing was to be seen. He had not dropped it +in the streets. Had it fallen in the house? He would have liked +dearly to go in and see; but the idea of the grisly occupant +unmanned him. And he saw besides, as he drew near, that their +efforts to put out the fire had been unsuccessful; on the contrary, +it had broken into a blaze, and a changeful light played in the +chinks of door and window, and revived his terror for the +authorities and Paris gibbet. + +He returned to the hotel with the porch, and groped about upon the +snow for the money he had thrown away in his childish passion. But +he could only find one white; the other had probably struck +sideways and sunk deeply in. With a single white in his pocket, +all his projects for a rousing night in some wild tavern vanished +utterly away. And it was not only pleasure that fled laughing from +his grasp; positive discomfort, positive pain, attacked him as he +stood ruefully before the porch. His perspiration had dried upon +him; and though the wind had now fallen, a binding frost was +setting in stronger with every hour, and be felt benumbed and sick +at heart. What was to be done? Late as was the hour, improbable +as was success, he would try the house of his adopted father, the +chaplain of St. Benoit. + +He ran there all the way, and knocked timidly. There was no +answer. He knocked again and again, taking heart with every +stroke; and at last steps were heard approaching from within. A +barred wicket fell open in the iron-studded door, and emitted a +gush of yellow light. + +"Hold up your face to the wicket," said the chaplain from within. + +"It's only me," whimpered Villon. + +"Oh, it's only you, is it?" returned the chaplain; and he cursed +him with foul unpriestly oaths for disturbing him at such an hour, +and bade him be off to hell, where he came from. + +"My hands are blue to the wrist," pleaded Villon; "my feet are dead +and full of twinges; my nose aches with the sharp air; the cold +lies at my heart. I may be dead before morning. Only this once, +father, and before God I will never ask again!" + +"You should have come earlier," said the ecclesiastic coolly. +"Young men require a lesson now and then." He shut the wicket and +retired deliberately into the interior of the house. + +Villon was beside himself; he beat upon the door with his hands and +feet, and shouted hoarsely after the chaplain. + +"Wormy old fox!" he cried. "If I had my hand under your twist, I +would send you flying headlong into the bottomless pit." + +A door shut in the interior, faintly audible to the poet down long +passages. He passed his hand over his mouth with an oath. And +then the humour of the situation struck him, and he laughed and +looked lightly up to heaven, where the stars seemed to be winking +over his discomfiture. + +What was to be done? It looked very like a night in the frosty +streets. The idea of the dead woman popped into his imagination, +and gave him a hearty fright; what had happened to her in the early +night might very well happen to him before morning. And he so +young! and with such immense possibilities of disorderly amusement +before him! He felt quite pathetic over the notion of his own +fate, as if it had been some one else's, and made a little +imaginative vignette of the scene in the morning when they should +find his body. + +He passed all his chances under review, turning the white between +his thumb and forefinger. Unfortunately he was on bad terms with +some old friends who would once have taken pity on him in such a +plight. He had lampooned them in verses, he had beaten and cheated +them; and yet now, when he was in so close a pinch, he thought +there was at least one who might perhaps relent. It was a chance. +It was worth trying at least, and he would go and see. + +On the way, two little accidents happened to him which coloured his +musings in a very different manner. For, first, he fell in with +the track of a patrol, and walked in it for some hundred yards, +although it lay out of his direction. And this spirited him up; at +least he had confused his trail; for he was still possessed with +the idea of people tracking him all about Paris over the snow, and +collaring him next morning before he was awake. The other matter +affected him very differently. He passed a street corner, where, +not so long before, a woman and her child had been devoured by +wolves. This was just the kind of weather, he reflected, when +wolves might take it into their heads to enter Paris again; and a +lone man in these deserted streets would run the chance of +something worse than a mere scare. He stopped and looked upon the +place with an unpleasant interest - it was a centre where several +lanes intersected each other; and he looked down them all one after +another, and held his breath to listen, lest he should detect some +galloping black things on the snow or hear the sound of howling +between him and the river. He remembered his mother telling him +the story and pointing out the spot, while he was yet a child. His +mother! If he only knew where she lived, he might make sure at +least of shelter. He determined he would inquire upon the morrow; +nay, he would go and see her too, poor old girl! So thinking, he +arrived at his destination - his last hope for the night. + +The house was quite dark, like its neighbours; and yet after a few +taps, he heard a movement overhead, a door opening, and a cautious +voice asking who was there. The poet named himself in a loud +whisper, and waited, not without come trepidation, the result. Nor +had he to wait long. A window was suddenly opened, and a pailful +of slops splashed down upon the doorstep. Villon had not been +unprepared for something of the sort, and had put himself as much +in shelter as the nature of the porch admitted; but for all that, +he was deplorably drenched below the waist. His hose began to +freeze almost at once. Death from cold and exposure stared him in +the face; he remembered he was of phthisical tendency, and began +coughing tentatively. But the gravity of the danger steadied his +nerves. He stopped a few hundred yards from the door where he had +been so rudely used, and reflected with his finger to his nose. He +could only see one way of getting a lodging, and that was to take +it. He had noticed a house not far away, which looked as if it +might be easily broken into, and thither he betook himself +promptly, entertaining himself on the way with the idea of a room +still hot, with a table still loaded with the remains of supper, +where he might pass the rest of the black hours, and whence he +should issue, on the morrow, with an armful of valuable plate. He +even considered on what viands and what wines he should prefer; and +as he was calling the roll of his favourite dainties, roast fish +presented itself to his mind with an odd mixture of amusement and +horror. + +"I shall never finish that ballade," he thought to himself; and +then, with another shudder at the recollection, "Oh, damn his fat +head!" he repeated fervently, and spat upon the snow. + +The house in question looked dark at first sight; but as Villon +made a preliminary inspection in search of the handiest point of +attack, a little twinkle of light caught his eye from behind a +curtained window. + +"The devil!" he thought. "People awake! Some student or some +saint, confound the crew! Can't they get drunk and lie in bed +snoring like their neighbours? What's the good of curfew, and poor +devils of bell-ringers jumping at a rope's end in bell-towers? +What's the use of day, if people sit up all night? The gripes to +them!" He grinned as he saw where his logic was leading him. +"Every man to his business, after all," added he, "and if they're +awake, by the Lord, I may come by a supper honestly for this once, +and cheat the devil." + +He went boldly to the door and knocked with an assured hand. On +both previous occasions, he had knocked timidly and with some dread +of attracting notice; but now when he had just discarded the +thought of a burglarious entry, knocking at a door seemed a mighty +simple and innocent proceeding. The sound of his blows echoed +through the house with thin, phantasmal reverberations, as though +it were quite empty; but these had scarcely died away before a +measured tread drew near, a couple of bolts were withdrawn, and one +wing was opened broadly, as though no guile or fear of guile were +known to those within. A tall figure of a man, muscular and spare, +but a little bent, confronted Villon. The head was massive in +bulk, but finely sculptured; the nose blunt at the bottom, but +refining upward to where it joined a pair of strong and honest +eyebrows; the mouth and eyes surrounded with delicate markings, and +the whole face based upon a thick white beard, boldly and squarely +trimmed. Seen as it was by the light of a flickering hand-lamp, it +looked perhaps nobler than it had a right to do; but it was a fine +face, honourable rather than intelligent, strong, simple, and +righteous. + +"You knock late, sir," said the old man in resonant, courteous +tones. + +Villon cringed, and brought up many servile words of apology; at a +crisis of this sort, the beggar was uppermost in him, and the man +of genius hid his head with confusion. + +"You are cold," repeated the old man, "and hungry? Well, step in." +And he ordered him into the house with a noble enough gesture. + +"Some great seigneur," thought Villon, as his host, setting down +the lamp on the flagged pavement of the entry, shot the bolts once +more into their places. + +"You will pardon me if I go in front," he said, when this was done; +and he preceded the poet upstairs into a large apartment, warmed +with a pan of charcoal and lit by a great lamp hanging from the +roof. It was very bare of furniture: only some gold plate on a +sideboard; some folios; and a stand of armour between the windows. +Some smart tapestry hung upon the walls, representing the +crucifixion of our Lord in one piece, and in another a scene of +shepherds and shepherdesses by a running stream. Over the chimney +was a shield of arms. + +"Will you seat yourself," said the old man, "and forgive me if I +leave you? I am alone in my house to-night, and if you are to eat +I must forage for you myself." + +No sooner was his host gone than Villon leaped from the chair on +which he had just seated himself, and began examining the room, +with the stealth and passion of a cat. He weighed the gold flagons +in his hand, opened all the folios, and investigated the arms upon +the shield, and the stuff with which the seats were lined. He +raised the window curtains, and saw that the windows were set with +rich stained glass in figures, so far as he could see, of martial +import. Then he stood in the middle of the room, drew a long +breath, and retaining it with puffed cheeks, looked round and round +him, turning on his heels, as if to impress every feature of the +apartment on his memory. + +"Seven pieces of plate," he said. "If there had been ten, I would +have risked it. A fine house, and a fine old master, so help me +all the saints!" + +And just then, hearing the old man's tread returning along the +corridor, he stole back to his chair, and began humbly toasting his +wet legs before the charcoal pan. + +His entertainer had a plate of meat in one hand and a jug of wine +in the other. He set down the plate upon the table, motioning +Villon to draw in his chair, and going to the sideboard, brought +back two goblets, which he filled. + +"I drink to your better fortune," he said, gravely touching +Villon's cup with his own. + +"To our better acquaintance," said the poet, growing bold. A mere +man of the people would have been awed by the courtesy of the old +seigneur, but Villon was hardened in that matter; he had made mirth +for great lords before now, and found them as black rascals as +himself. And so he devoted himself to the viands with a ravenous +gusto, while the old man, leaning backward, watched him with +steady, curious eyes. + +"You have blood on your shoulder, my man," he said. Montigny must +have laid his wet right hand upon him as he left the house. He +cursed Montigny in his heart. + +"It was none of my shedding," he stammered. + +"I had not supposed so," returned his host quietly. + +"A brawl?" + +"Well, something of that sort," Villon admitted with a quaver. + +"Perhaps a fellow murdered?" + +"Oh no, not murdered," said the poet, more and more confused. "It +was all fair play - murdered by accident. I had no hand in it, God +strike me dead!" he added fervently. + +"One rogue the fewer, I dare say," observed the master of the +house. + +"You may dare to say that," agreed Villon, infinitely relieved. +"As big a rogue as there is between here and Jerusalem. He turned +up his toes like a lamb. But it was a nasty thing to look at. I +dare say you've seen dead men in your time, my lord?" he added, +glancing at the armour. + +"Many," said the old man. "I have followed the wars, as you +imagine." + +Villon laid down his knife and fork, which he had just taken up +again. + +"Were any of them bald?" he asked. + +"Oh yes, and with hair as white as mine." + +"I don't think I should mind the white so much," said Villon. "His +was red." And he had a return of his shuddering and tendency to +laughter, which he drowned with a great draught of wine. "I'm a +little put out when I think of it," he went on. "I knew him - damn +him! And then the cold gives a man fancies - or the fancies give a +man cold, I don't know which." + +"Have you any money?" asked the old man. + +"I have one white," returned the poet, laughing. "I got it out of +a dead jade's stocking in a porch. She was as dead as Caesar, poor +wench, and as cold as a church, with bits of ribbon sticking in her +hair. This is a hard world in winter for wolves and wenches and +poor rogues like me." + +"I," said the old man, "am Enguerrand de la Feuillee, seigneur de +Brisetout, bailly du Patatrac. Who and what may you be?" + +Villon rose and made a suitable reverence. "I am called Francis +Villon," he said, "a poor Master of Arts of this university. I +know some Latin, and a deal of vice. I can make chansons, +ballades, lais, virelais, and roundels, and I am very fond of wine. +I was born in a garret, and I shall not improbably die upon the +gallows. I may add, my lord, that from this night forward I am +your lordship's very obsequious servant to command." + +"No servant of mine," said the knight; "my guest for this evening, +and no more." + +"A very grateful guest," said Villon politely; and he drank in dumb +show to his entertainer. + +"You are shrewd," began the old man, tapping his forehead, "very +shrewd; you have learning; you are a clerk; and yet you take a +small piece of money off a dead woman in the street. Is it not a +kind of theft?" + +"It is a kind of theft much practised in the wars, my lord." + +"The wars are the field of honour," returned the old man proudly. +"There a man plays his life upon the cast; he fights in the name of +his lord the king, his Lord God, and all their lordships the holy +saints and angels." + +"Put it," said Villon, "that I were really a thief, should I not +play my life also, and against heavier odds?" + +"For gain, but not for honour." + +"Gain?" repeated Villon with a shrug. "Gain! The poor fellow +wants supper, and takes it. So does the soldier in a campaign. +Why, what are all these requisitions we hear so much about? If +they are not gain to those who take them, they are loss enough to +the others. The men-at-arms drink by a good fire, while the +burgher bites his nails to buy them wine and wood. I have seen a +good many ploughmen swinging on trees about the country, ay, I have +seen thirty on one elm, and a very poor figure they made; and when +I asked some one how all these came to be hanged, I was told it was +because they could not scrape together enough crowns to satisfy the +men-at-arms." + +"These things are a necessity of war, which the low-born must +endure with constancy. It is true that some captains drive over +hard; there are spirits in every rank not easily moved by pity; and +indeed many follow arms who are no better than brigands." + +"You see," said the poet, "you cannot separate the soldier from the +brigand; and what is a thief but an isolated brigand with +circumspect manners? I steal a couple of mutton chops, without so +much as disturbing people's sleep; the farmer grumbles a bit, but +sups none the less wholesomely on what remains. You come up +blowing gloriously on a trumpet, take away the whole sheep, and +beat the farmer pitifully into the bargain. I have no trumpet; I +am only Tom, Dick, or Harry; I am a rogue and a dog, and hanging's +too good for me - with all my heart; but just you ask the farmer +which of us he prefers, just find out which of us he lies awake to +curse on cold nights." + +"Look at us two," said his lordship. "I am old, strong, and +honoured. If I were turned from my house to-morrow, hundreds would +be proud to shelter me. Poor people would go out and pass the +night in the streets with their children, if I merely hinted that I +wished to be alone. And I find you up, wandering homeless, and +picking farthings off dead women by the wayside! I fear no man and +nothing; I have seen you tremble and lose countenance at a word. I +wait God's summons contentedly in my own house, or, if it please +the king to call me out again, upon the field of battle. You look +for the gallows; a rough, swift death, without hope or honour. Is +there no difference between these two?" + +"As far as to the moon," Villon acquiesced. "But if I had been +born lord of Brisetout, and you had been the poor scholar Francis, +would the difference have been any the less? Should not I have +been warming my knees at this charcoal pan, and would not you have +been groping for farthings in the snow? Should not I have been the +soldier, and you the thief?" + +"A thief!" cried the old man. "I a thief! If you understood your +words, you would repent them." + +Villon turned out his hands with a gesture of inimitable impudence. +"If your lordship had done me the honour to follow my argument!" he +said. + +"I do you too much honour in submitting to your presence," said the +knight. "Learn to curb your tongue when you speak with old and +honourable men, or some one hastier than I may reprove you in a +sharper fashion." And he rose and paced the lower end of the +apartment, struggling with anger and antipathy. Villon +surreptitiously refilled his cup, and settled himself more +comfortably in the chair, crossing his knees and leaning his head +upon one hand and the elbow against the back of the chair. He was +now replete and warm; and he was in nowise frightened for his host, +having gauged him as justly as was possible between two such +different characters. The night was far spent, and in a very +comfortable fashion after all; and he felt morally certain of a +safe departure on the morrow. + +"Tell me one thing," said the old man, pausing in his walk. "Are +you really a thief?" + +"I claim the sacred rights of hospitality," returned the poet. "My +lord, I am." + +"You are very young," the knight continued. + +"I should never have been so old," replied Villon, showing his +fingers, "if I had not helped myself with these ten talents. They +have been my nursing mothers and my nursing fathers." + +"You may still repent and change." + +"I repent daily," said the poet. "There are few people more given +to repentance than poor Francis. As for change, let somebody +change my circumstances. A man must continue to eat, if it were +only that he may continue to repent." + +"The change must begin in the heart," returned the old man +solemnly. + +"My dear lord," answered Villon, "do you really fancy that I steal +for pleasure? I hate stealing, like any other piece of work or of +danger. My teeth chatter when I see a gallows. But I must eat, I +must drink, I must mix in society of some sort. What the devil! +Man is not a solitary animal - CUI DEUS FAEMINAM TRADIT. Make me +king's pantler - make me abbot of St. Denis; make me bailly of the +Patatrac; and then I shall be changed indeed. But as long as you +leave me the poor scholar Francis Villon, without a farthing, why, +of course, I remain the same." + +"The grace of God is all-powerful." + +"I should be a heretic to question it," said Francis. "It has made +you lord of Brisetout and bailly of the Patatrac; it has given me +nothing but the quick wits under my hat and these ten toes upon my +hands. May I help myself to wine? I thank you respectfully. By +God's grace, you have a very superior vintage." + +The lord of Brisetout walked to and fro with his hands behind his +back. Perhaps he was not yet quite settled in his mind about the +parallel between thieves and soldiers; perhaps Villon had +interested him by some cross-thread of sympathy; perhaps his wits +were simply muddled by so much unfamiliar reasoning; but whatever +the cause, he somehow yearned to convert the young man to a better +way of thinking, and could not make up his mind to drive him forth +again into the street. + +"There is something more than I can understand in this," he said at +length. "Your mouth is full of subtleties, and the devil has led +you very far astray; but the devil is only a very weak spirit +before God's truth, and all his subtleties vanish at a word of true +honour, like darkness at morning. Listen to me once more. I +learned long ago that a gentleman should live chivalrously and +lovingly to God, and the king, and his lady; and though I have seen +many strange things done, I have still striven to command my ways +upon that rule. It is not only written in all noble histories, but +in every man's heart, if he will take care to read. You speak of +food and wine, and I know very well that hunger is a difficult +trial to endure; but you do not speak of other wants; you say +nothing of honour, of faith to God and other men, of courtesy, of +love without reproach. It may be that I am not very wise - and yet +I think I am - but you seem to me like one who has lost his way and +made a great error in life. You are attending to the little wants, +and you have totally forgotten the great and only real ones, like a +man who should be doctoring a toothache on the Judgment Day. For +such things as honour and love and faith are not only nobler than +food and drink, but indeed I think that we desire them more, and +suffer more sharply for their absence. I speak to you as I think +you will most easily understand me. Are you not, while careful to +fill your belly, disregarding another appetite in your heart, which +spoils the pleasure of your life and keeps you continually +wretched?" + +Villon was sensibly nettled under all this sermonising. "You think +I have no sense of honour!" he cried. "I'm poor enough, God knows! +It's hard to see rich people with their gloves, and you blowing in +your hands. An empty belly is a bitter thing, although you speak +so lightly of it. If you had had as many as I, perhaps you would +change your tune. Any way I'm a thief - make the most of that - +but I'm not a devil from hell, God strike me dead. I would have +you to know I've an honour of my own, as good as yours, though I +don't prate about it all day long, as if it was a God's miracle to +have any. It seems quite natural to me; I keep it in its box till +it's wanted. Why now, look you here, how long have I been in this +room with you? Did you not tell me you were alone in the house? +Look at your gold plate! You're strong, if you like, but you're +old and unarmed, and I have my knife. What did I want but a jerk +of the elbow and here would have been you with the cold steel in +your bowels, and there would have been me, linking in the streets, +with an armful of gold cups! Did you suppose I hadn't wit enough +to see that? And I scorned the action. There are your damned +goblets, as safe as in a church; there are you, with your heart +ticking as good as new; and here am I, ready to go out again as +poor as I came in, with my one white that you threw in my teeth! +And you think I have no sense of honour - God strike me dead!" + +The old man stretched out his right arm. "I will tell you what you +are," he said. "You are a rogue, my man, an impudent and a black- +hearted rogue and vagabond. I have passed an hour with you. Oh! +believe me, I feel myself disgraced! And you have eaten and drunk +at my table. But now I am sick at your presence; the day has come, +and the night-bird should be off to his roost. Will you go before, +or after?" + +"Which you please," returned the poet, rising. "I believe you to +be strictly honourable." He thoughtfully emptied his cup. "I wish +I could add you were intelligent," he went on, knocking on his head +with his knuckles. "Age, age! the brains stiff and rheumatic." + +The old man preceded him from a point of self-respect; Villon +followed, whistling, with his thumbs in his girdle. + +"God pity you," said the lord of Brisetout at the door. + +"Good-bye, papa," returned Villon with a yawn. "Many thanks for +the cold mutton." + +The door closed behind him. The dawn was breaking over the white +roofs. A chill, uncomfortable morning ushered in the day. Villon +stood and heartily stretched himself in the middle of the road. + +"A very dull old gentleman," he thought. "I wonder what his +goblets may be worth." + + + + +THE SIRE DE MALETROIT'S DOOR + + + + +Denis de Beaulieu was not yet two-and-twenty, but he counted +himself a grown man, and a very accomplished cavalier into the +bargain. Lads were early formed in that rough, warfaring epoch; +and when one has been in a pitched battle and a dozen raids, has +killed one's man in an honourable fashion, and knows a thing or two +of strategy and mankind, a certain swagger in the gait is surely to +be pardoned. He had put up his horse with due care, and supped +with due deliberation; and then, in a very agreeable frame of mind, +went out to pay a visit in the grey of the evening. It was not a +very wise proceeding on the young man's part. He would have done +better to remain beside the fire or go decently to bed. For the +town was full of the troops of Burgundy and England under a mixed +command; and though Denis was there on safe-conduct, his safe- +conduct was like to serve him little on a chance encounter. + +It was September 1429; the weather had fallen sharp; a flighty +piping wind, laden with showers, beat about the township; and the +dead leaves ran riot along the streets. Here and there a window +was already lighted up; and the noise of men-at-arms making merry +over supper within, came forth in fits and was swallowed up and +carried away by the wind. The night fell swiftly; the flag of +England, fluttering on the spire-top, grew ever fainter and fainter +against the flying clouds - a black speck like a swallow in the +tumultuous, leaden chaos of the sky. As the night fell the wind +rose, and began to hoot under archways and roar amid the tree-tops +in the valley below the town. + +Denis de Beaulieu walked fast and was soon knocking at his friend's +door; but though he promised himself to stay only a little while +and make an early return, his welcome was so pleasant, and he found +so much to delay him, that it was already long past midnight before +he said good-bye upon the threshold. The wind had fallen again in +the meanwhile; the night was as black as the grave; not a star, nor +a glimmer of moonshine, slipped through the canopy of cloud. Denis +was ill-acquainted with the intricate lanes of Chateau Landon; even +by daylight he had found some trouble in picking his way; and in +this absolute darkness he soon lost it altogether. He was certain +of one thing only - to keep mounting the hill; for his friend's +house lay at the lower end, or tail, of Chateau Landon, while the +inn was up at the head, under the great church spire. With this +clue to go upon he stumbled and groped forward, now breathing more +freely in open places where there was a good slice of sky overhead, +now feeling along the wall in stifling closes. It is an eerie and +mysterious position to be thus submerged in opaque blackness in an +almost unknown town. The silence is terrifying in its +possibilities. The touch of cold window bars to the exploring hand +startles the man like the touch of a toad; the inequalities of the +pavement shake his heart into his mouth; a piece of denser darkness +threatens an ambuscade or a chasm in the pathway; and where the air +is brighter, the houses put on strange and bewildering appearances, +as if to lead him farther from his way. For Denis, who had to +regain his inn without attracting notice, there was real danger as +well as mere discomfort in the walk; and he went warily and boldly +at once, and at every corner paused to make an observation. + +He had been for some time threading a lane so narrow that he could +touch a wall with either hand, when it began to open out and go +sharply downward. Plainly this lay no longer in the direction of +his inn; but the hope of a little more light tempted him forward to +reconnoitre. The lane ended in a terrace with a bartizan wall, +which gave an out-look between high houses, as out of an embrasure, +into the valley lying dark and formless several hundred feet below. +Denis looked down, and could discern a few tree-tops waving and a +single speck of brightness where the river ran across a weir. The +weather was clearing up, and the sky had lightened, so as to show +the outline of the heavier clouds and the dark margin of the hills. +By the uncertain glimmer, the house on his left hand should be a +place of some pretensions; it was surmounted by several pinnacles +and turret-tops; the round stern of a chapel, with a fringe of +flying buttresses, projected boldly from the main block; and the +door was sheltered under a deep porch carved with figures and +overhung by two long gargoyles. The windows of the chapel gleamed +through their intricate tracery with a light as of many tapers, and +threw out the buttresses and the peaked roof in a more intense +blackness against the sky. It was plainly the hotel of some great +family of the neighbourhood; and as it reminded Denis of a town +house of his own at Bourges, he stood for some time gazing up at it +and mentally gauging the skill of the architects and the +consideration of the two families. + +There seemed to be no issue to the terrace but the lane by which he +had reached it; he could only retrace his steps, but he had gained +some notion of his whereabouts, and hoped by this means to hit the +main thoroughfare and speedily regain the inn. He was reckoning +without that chapter of accidents which was to make this night +memorable above all others in his career; for he had not gone back +above a hundred yards before he saw a light coming to meet him, and +heard loud voices speaking together in the echoing narrows of the +lane. It was a party of men-at-arms going the night round with +torches. Denis assured himself that they had all been making free +with the wine-bowl, and were in no mood to be particular about +safe-conducts or the niceties of chivalrous war. It was as like as +not that they would kill him like a dog and leave him where he +fell. The situation was inspiriting but nervous. Their own +torches would conceal him from sight, he reflected; and he hoped +that they would drown the noise of his footsteps with their own +empty voices. If he were but fleet and silent, he might evade +their notice altogether. + +Unfortunately, as he turned to beat a retreat, his foot rolled upon +a pebble; he fell against the wall with an ejaculation, and his +sword rang loudly on the stones. Two or three voices demanded who +went there - some in French, some in English; but Denis made no +reply, and ran the faster down the lane. Once upon the terrace, he +paused to look back. They still kept calling after him, and just +then began to double the pace in pursuit, with a considerable clank +of armour, and great tossing of the torchlight to and fro in the +narrow jaws of the passage. + +Denis cast a look around and darted into the porch. There he might +escape observation, or - if that were too much to expect - was in a +capital posture whether for parley or defence. So thinking, he +drew his sword and tried to set his back against the door. To his +surprise, it yielded behind his weight; and though he turned in a +moment, continued to swing back on oiled and noiseless hinges, +until it stood wide open on a black interior. When things fall out +opportunely for the person concerned, he is not apt to be critical +about the how or why, his own immediate personal convenience +seeming a sufficient reason for the strangest oddities and +resolutions in our sublunary things; and so Denis, without a +moment's hesitation, stepped within and partly closed the door +behind him to conceal his place of refuge. Nothing was further +from his thoughts than to close it altogether; but for some +inexplicable reason - perhaps by a spring or a weight - the +ponderous mass of oak whipped itself out of his fingers and clanked +to, with a formidable rumble and a noise like the falling of an +automatic bar. + +The round, at that very moment, debauched upon the terrace and +proceeded to summon him with shouts and curses. He heard them +ferreting in the dark corners; the stock of a lance even rattled +along the outer surface of the door behind which he stood; but +these gentlemen were in too high a humour to be long delayed, and +soon made off down a corkscrew pathway which had escaped Denis's +observation, and passed out of sight and hearing along the +battlements of the town. + +Denis breathed again. He gave them a few minutes' grace for fear +of accidents, and then groped about for some means of opening the +door and slipping forth again. The inner surface was quite smooth, +not a handle, not a moulding, not a projection of any sort. He got +his finger-nails round the edges and pulled, but the mass was +immovable. He shook it, it was as firm as a rock. Denis de +Beaulieu frowned and gave vent to a little noiseless whistle. What +ailed the door? he wondered. Why was it open? How came it to shut +so easily and so effectually after him? There was something +obscure and underhand about all this, that was little to the young +man's fancy. It looked like a snare; and yet who could suppose a +snare in such a quiet by-street and in a house of so prosperous and +even noble an exterior? And yet - snare or no snare, intentionally +or unintentionally - here he was, prettily trapped; and for the +life of him he could see no way out of it again. The darkness +began to weigh upon him. He gave ear; all was silent without, but +within and close by he seemed to catch a faint sighing, a faint +sobbing rustle, a little stealthy creak - as though many persons +were at his side, holding themselves quite still, and governing +even their respiration with the extreme of slyness. The idea went +to his vitals with a shock, and he faced about suddenly as if to +defend his life. Then, for the first time, he became aware of a +light about the level of his eyes and at some distance in the +interior of the house - a vertical thread of light, widening +towards the bottom, such as might escape between two wings of arras +over a doorway. To see anything was a relief to Denis; it was like +a piece of solid ground to a man labouring in a morass; his mind +seized upon it with avidity; and he stood staring at it and trying +to piece together some logical conception of his surroundings. +Plainly there was a flight of steps ascending from his own level to +that of this illuminated doorway; and indeed he thought he could +make out another thread of light, as fine as a needle and as faint +as phosphorescence, which might very well be reflected along the +polished wood of a handrail. Since he had begun to suspect that he +was not alone, his heart had continued to beat with smothering +violence, and an intolerable desire for action of any sort had +possessed itself of his spirit. He was in deadly peril, he +believed. What could be more natural than to mount the staircase, +lift the curtain, and confront his difficulty at once? At least he +would be dealing with something tangible; at least he would be no +longer in the dark. He stepped slowly forward with outstretched +hands, until his foot struck the bottom step; then he rapidly +scaled the stairs, stood for a moment to compose his expression, +lifted the arras and went in. + +He found himself in a large apartment of polished stone. There +were three doors; one on each of three sides; all similarly +curtained with tapestry. The fourth side was occupied by two large +windows and a great stone chimney-piece, carved with the arms of +the Maletroits. Denis recognised the bearings, and was gratified +to find himself in such good hands. The room was strongly +illuminated; but it contained little furniture except a heavy table +and a chair or two, the hearth was innocent of fire, and the +pavement was but sparsely strewn with rushes clearly many days old. + +On a high chair beside the chimney, and directly facing Denis as he +entered, sat a little old gentleman in a fur tippet. He sat with +his legs crossed and his hands folded, and a cup of spiced wine +stood by his elbow on a bracket on the wall. His countenance had a +strongly masculine cast; not properly human, but such as we see in +the bull, the goat, or the domestic boar; something equivocal and +wheedling, something greedy, brutal, and dangerous. The upper lip +was inordinately full, as though swollen by a blow or a toothache; +and the smile, the peaked eyebrows, and the small, strong eyes were +quaintly and almost comically evil in expression. Beautiful white +hair hung straight all round his head, like a saint's, and fell in +a single curl upon the tippet. His beard and moustache were the +pink of venerable sweetness. Age, probably in consequence of +inordinate precautions, had left no mark upon his hands; and the +Maletroit hand was famous. It would be difficult to imagine +anything at once so fleshy and so delicate in design; the taper, +sensual fingers were like those of one of Leonardo's women; the +fork of the thumb made a dimpled protuberance when closed; the +nails were perfectly shaped, and of a dead, surprising whiteness. +It rendered his aspect tenfold more redoubtable, that a man with +hands like these should keep them devoutly folded in his lap like a +virgin martyr - that a man with so intense and startling an +expression of face should sit patiently on his seat and contemplate +people with an unwinking stare, like a god, or a god's statue. His +quiescence seemed ironical and treacherous, it fitted so poorly +with his looks. + +Such was Alain, Sire de Maletroit. + +Denis and he looked silently at each other for a second or two. + +"Pray step in," said the Sire de Maletroit. "I have been expecting +you all the evening." + +He had not risen, but he accompanied his words with a smile and a +slight but courteous inclination of the head. Partly from the +smile, partly from the strange musical murmur with which the Sire +prefaced his observation, Denis felt a strong shudder of disgust go +through his marrow. And what with disgust and honest confusion of +mind, he could scarcely get words together in reply. + +"I fear," he said, "that this is a double accident. I am not the +person you suppose me. It seems you were looking for a visit; but +for my part, nothing was further from my thoughts - nothing could +be more contrary to my wishes - than this intrusion." + +"Well, well," replied the old gentleman indulgently, "here you are, +which is the main point. Seat yourself, my friend, and put +yourself entirely at your ease. We shall arrange our little +affairs presently." + +Denis perceived that the matter was still complicated with some +misconception, and he hastened to continue his explanations. + +"Your door . . . " he began. + +"About my door?" asked the other, raising his peaked eyebrows. "A +little piece of ingenuity." And he shrugged his shoulders. "A +hospitable fancy! By your own account, you were not desirous of +making my acquaintance. We old people look for such reluctance now +and then; and when it touches our honour, we cast about until we +find some way of overcoming it. You arrive uninvited, but believe +me, very welcome." + +"You persist in error, sir," said Denis. "There can be no question +between you and me. I am a stranger in this countryside. My name +is Denis, damoiseau de Beaulieu. If you see me in your house, it +is only - " + +"My young friend," interrupted the other, "you will permit me to +have my own ideas on that subject. They probably differ from yours +at the present moment," he added with a leer, "but time will show +which of us is in the right." + +Denis was convinced he had to do with a lunatic. He seated himself +with a shrug, content to wait the upshot; and a pause ensued, +during which he thought he could distinguish a hurried gabbling as +of prayer from behind the arras immediately opposite him. +Sometimes there seemed to be but one person engaged, sometimes two; +and the vehemence of the voice, low as it was, seemed to indicate +either great haste or an agony of spirit. It occurred to him that +this piece of tapestry covered the entrance to the chapel he had +noticed from without. + +The old gentleman meanwhile surveyed Denis from head to foot with a +smile, and from time to time emitted little noises like a bird or a +mouse, which seemed to indicate a high degree of satisfaction. +This state of matters became rapidly insupportable; and Denis, to +put an end to it, remarked politely that the wind had gone down. + +The old gentleman fell into a fit of silent laughter, so prolonged +and violent that he became quite red in the face. Denis got upon +his feet at once, and put on his hat with a flourish. + +"Sir," he said, "if you are in your wits, you have affronted me +grossly. If you are out of them, I flatter myself I can find +better employment for my brains than to talk with lunatics. My +conscience is clear; you have made a fool of me from the first +moment; you have refused to hear my explanations; and now there is +no power under God will make me stay here any longer; and if I +cannot make my way out in a more decent fashion, I will hack your +door in pieces with my sword." + +The Sire de Maletroit raised his right hand and wagged it at Denis +with the fore and little fingers extended. + +"My dear nephew," he said, "sit down." + +"Nephew!" retorted Denis, "you lie in your throat;" and he snapped +his fingers in his face. + +"Sit down, you rogue!" cried the old gentleman, in a sudden, harsh +voice, like the barking of a dog. "Do you fancy," he went on, +"that when I had made my little contrivance for the door I had +stopped short with that? If you prefer to be bound hand and foot +till your bones ache, rise and try to go away. If you choose to +remain a free young buck, agreeably conversing with an old +gentleman - why, sit where you are in peace, and God be with you." + +"Do you mean I am a prisoner?" demanded Denis. + +"I state the facts," replied the other. "I would rather leave the +conclusion to yourself." + +Denis sat down again. Externally he managed to keep pretty calm; +but within, he was now boiling with anger, now chilled with +apprehension. He no longer felt convinced that he was dealing with +a madman. And if the old gentleman was sane, what, in God's name, +had he to look for? What absurd or tragical adventure had befallen +him? What countenance was he to assume? + +While he was thus unpleasantly reflecting, the arras that overhung +the chapel door was raised, and a tall priest in his robes came +forth and, giving a long, keen stare at Denis, said something in an +undertone to Sire de Maletroit. + +"She is in a better frame of spirit?" asked the latter. + +"She is more resigned, messire," replied the priest. + +"Now the Lord help her, she is hard to please!" sneered the old +gentleman. "A likely stripling - not ill-born - and of her own +choosing, too? Why, what more would the jade have?" + +"The situation is not usual for a young damsel," said the other, +"and somewhat trying to her blushes." + +"She should have thought of that before she began the dance. It +was none of my choosing, God knows that: but since she is in it, +by our Lady, she shall carry it to the end." And then addressing +Denis, "Monsieur de Beaulieu," he asked, "may I present you to my +niece? She has been waiting your arrival, I may say, with even +greater impatience than myself." + +Denis had resigned himself with a good grace - all he desired was +to know the worst of it as speedily as possible; so he rose at +once, and bowed in acquiescence. The Sire de Maletroit followed +his example and limped, with the assistance of the chaplain's arm, +towards the chapel door. The priest pulled aside the arras, and +all three entered. The building had considerable architectural +pretensions. A light groining sprang from six stout columns, and +hung down in two rich pendants from the centre of the vault. The +place terminated behind the altar in a round end, embossed and +honeycombed with a superfluity of ornament in relief, and pierced +by many little windows shaped like stars, trefoils, or wheels. +These windows were imperfectly glazed, so that the night air +circulated freely in the chapel. The tapers, of which there must +have been half a hundred burning on the altar, were unmercifully +blown about; and the light went through many different phases of +brilliancy and semi-eclipse. On the steps in front of the altar +knelt a young girl richly attired as a bride. A chill settled over +Denis as he observed her costume; he fought with desperate energy +against the conclusion that was being thrust upon his mind; it +could not - it should not - be as he feared. + +"Blanche," said the Sire, in his most flute-like tones, "I have +brought a friend to see you, my little girl; turn round and give +him your pretty hand. It is good to be devout; but it is necessary +to be polite, my niece." + +The girl rose to her feet and turned towards the new comers. She +moved all of a piece; and shame and exhaustion were expressed in +every line of her fresh young body; and she held her head down and +kept her eyes upon the pavement, as she came slowly forward. In +the course of her advance, her eyes fell upon Denis de Beaulieu's +feet - feet of which he was justly vain, be it remarked, and wore +in the most elegant accoutrement even while travelling. She paused +- started, as if his yellow boots had conveyed some shocking +meaning - and glanced suddenly up into the wearer's countenance. +Their eyes met; shame gave place to horror and terror in her looks; +the blood left her lips; with a piercing scream she covered her +face with her hands and sank upon the chapel floor. + +"That is not the man!" she cried. "My uncle, that in not the man!" + +The Sire de Maletroit chirped agreeably. "Of course not," he said; +"I expected as much. It was so unfortunate you could not remember +his name." + +"Indeed," she cried, "indeed, I have never seen this person till +this moment - I have never so much as set eyes upon him - I never +wish to see him again. Sir," she said, turning to Denis, "if you +are a gentleman, you will bear me out. Have I ever seen you - have +you ever seen me - before this accursed hour?" + +"To speak for myself, I have never had that pleasure," answered the +young man. "This is the first time, messire, that I have met with +your engaging niece." + +The old gentleman shrugged his shoulders. + +"I am distressed to hear it," he said. "But it is never too late +to begin. I had little more acquaintance with my own late lady ere +I married her; which proves," he added with a grimace, "that these +impromptu marriages may often produce an excellent understanding in +the long-run. As the bridegroom is to have a voice in the matter, +I will give him two hours to make up for lost time before we +proceed with the ceremony." And he turned towards the door, +followed by the clergyman. + +The girl was on her feet in a moment. "My uncle, you cannot be in +earnest," she said. "I declare before God I will stab myself +rather than be forced on that young man. The heart rises at it; +God forbids such marriages; you dishonour your white hair. Oh, my +uncle, pity me! There is not a woman in all the world but would +prefer death to such a nuptial. Is it possible," she added, +faltering - "is it possible that you do not believe me - that you +still think this" - and she pointed at Denis with a tremor of anger +and contempt - "that you still think THIS to be the man?" + +"Frankly," said the old gentleman, pausing on the threshold, "I do. +But let me explain to you once for all, Blanche de Maletroit, my +way of thinking about this affair. When you took it into your head +to dishonour my family and the name that I have borne, in peace and +war, for more than three-score years, you forfeited, not only the +right to question my designs, but that of looking me in the face. +If your father had been alive, he would have spat on you and turned +you out of doors. His was the hand of iron. You may bless your +God you have only to deal with the hand of velvet, mademoiselle. +It was my duty to get you married without delay. Out of pure +goodwill, I have tried to find your own gallant for you. And I +believe I have succeeded. But before God and all the holy angels, +Blanche de Maletroit, if I have not, I care not one jack-straw. So +let me recommend you to be polite to our young friend; for upon my +word, your next groom may be less appetising." + +And with that he went out, with the chaplain at his heels; and the +arras fell behind the pair. + +The girl turned upon Denis with flashing eyes. + +"And what, sir," she demanded, "may be the meaning of all this?" + +"God knows," returned Denis gloomily. "I am a prisoner in this +house, which seems full of mad people. More I know not; and +nothing do I understand." + +"And pray how came you here?" she asked. + +He told her as briefly as he could. "For the rest," he added, +"perhaps you will follow my example, and tell me the answer to all +these riddles, and what, in God's name, is like to be the end of +it." + +She stood silent for a little, and he could see her lips tremble +and her tearless eyes burn with a feverish lustre. Then she +pressed her forehead in both hands. + +"Alas, how my head aches!" she said wearily - "to say nothing of my +poor heart! But it is due to you to know my story, unmaidenly as +it must seem. I am called Blanche de Maletroit; I have been +without father or mother for - oh! for as long as I can recollect, +and indeed I have been most unhappy all my life. Three months ago +a young captain began to stand near me every day in church. I +could see that I pleased him; I am much to blame, but I was so glad +that any one should love me; and when he passed me a letter, I took +it home with me and read it with great pleasure. Since that time +he has written many. He was so anxious to speak with me, poor +fellow! and kept asking me to leave the door open some evening that +we might have two words upon the stair. For he knew how much my +uncle trusted me." She gave something like a sob at that, and it +was a moment before she could go on. "My uncle is a hard man, but +he is very shrewd," she said at last. "He has performed many feats +in war, and was a great person at court, and much trusted by Queen +Isabeau in old days. How he came to suspect me I cannot tell; but +it is hard to keep anything from his knowledge; and this morning, +as we came from mass, he took my hand in his, forced it open, and +read my little billet, walking by my side all the while. When he +had finished, he gave it back to me with great politeness. It +contained another request to have the door left open; and this has +been the ruin of us all. My uncle kept me strictly in my room +until evening, and then ordered me to dress myself as you see me - +a hard mockery for a young girl, do you not think so? I suppose, +when he could not prevail with me to tell him the young captain's +name, he must have laid a trap for him: into which, alas! you have +fallen in the anger of God. I looked for much confusion; for how +could I tell whether he was willing to take me for his wife on +these sharp terms? He might have been trifling with me from the +first; or I might have made myself too cheap in his eyes. But +truly I had not looked for such a shameful punishment as this! I +could not think that God would let a girl be so disgraced before a +young man. And now I have told you all; and I can scarcely hope +that you will not despise me." + +Denis made her a respectful inclination. + +"Madam," he said, "you have honoured me by your confidence. It +remains for me to prove that I am not unworthy of the honour. Is +Messire de Maletroit at hand?" + +"I believe he is writing in the salle without," she answered. + +"May I lead you thither, madam?" asked Denis, offering his hand +with his most courtly bearing. + +She accepted it; and the pair passed out of the chapel, Blanche in +a very drooping and shamefast condition, but Denis strutting and +ruffling in the consciousness of a mission, and the boyish +certainty of accomplishing it with honour. + +The Sire de Maletroit rose to meet them with an ironical obeisance. + +"Sir," said Denis, with the grandest possible air, "I believe I am +to have some say in the matter of this marriage; and let me tell +you at once, I will be no party to forcing the inclination of this +young lady. Had it been freely offered to me, I should have been +proud to accept her hand, for I perceive she is as good as she is +beautiful; but as things are, I have now the honour, messire, of +refusing." + +Blanche looked at him with gratitude in her eyes; but the old +gentleman only smiled and smiled, until his smile grew positively +sickening to Denis. + +"I am afraid," he said, "Monsieur de Beaulieu, that you do not +perfectly understand the choice I have to offer you. Follow me, I +beseech you, to this window." And he led the way to one of the +large windows which stood open on the night. "You observe," he +went on, "there is an iron ring in the upper masonry, and reeved +through that, a very efficacious rope. Now, mark my words; if you +should find your disinclination to my niece's person +insurmountable, I shall have you hanged out of this window before +sunrise. I shall only proceed to such an extremity with the +greatest regret, you may believe me. For it is not at all your +death that I desire, but my niece's establishment in life. At the +same time, it must come to that if you prove obstinate. Your +family, Monsieur de Beaulieu, is very well in its way; but if you +sprang from Charlemagne, you should not refuse the hand of a +Maletroit with impunity - not if she had been as common as the +Paris road - not if she were as hideous as the gargoyle over my +door. Neither my niece nor you, nor my own private feelings, move +me at all in this matter. The honour of my house has been +compromised; I believe you to be the guilty person; at least you +are now in the secret; and you can hardly wonder if I request you +to wipe out the stain. If you will not, your blood be on your own +head! It will be no great satisfaction to me to have your +interesting relics kicking their heels in the breeze below my +windows; but half a loaf is better than no bread, and if I cannot +cure the dishonour, I shall at least stop the scandal." + +There was a pause. + +"I believe there are other ways of settling such imbroglios among +gentlemen," said Denis. "You wear a sword, and I hear you have +used it with distinction." + +The Sire de Maletroit made a signal to the chaplain, who crossed +the room with long silent strides and raised the arras over the +third of the three doors. It was only a moment before he let it +fall again; but Denis had time to see a dusky passage full of armed +men. + +"When I was a little younger, I should have been delighted to +honour you, Monsieur de Beaulieu," said Sire Alain; "but I am now +too old. Faithful retainers are the sinews of age, and I must +employ the strength I have. This is one of the hardest things to +swallow as a man grows up in years; but with a little patience, +even this becomes habitual. You and the lady seem to prefer the +salle for what remains of your two hours; and as I have no desire +to cross your preference, I shall resign it to your use with all +the pleasure in the world. No haste!" he added, holding up his +hand, as he saw a dangerous look come into Denis de Beaulieu's +face. "If your mind revolts against hanging, it will be time +enough two hours hence to throw yourself out of the window or upon +the pikes of my retainers. Two hours of life are always two hours. +A great many things may turn up in even as little a while as that. +And, besides, if I understand her appearance, my niece has still +something to say to you. You will not disfigure your last hours by +a want of politeness to a lady?" + +Denis looked at Blanche, and she made him an imploring gesture. + +It is likely that the old gentleman was hugely pleased at this +symptom of an understanding; for he smiled on both, and added +sweetly: "If you will give me your word of honour, Monsieur de +Beaulieu, to await my return at the end of the two hours before +attempting anything desperate, I shall withdraw my retainers, and +let you speak in greater privacy with mademoiselle." + +Denis again glanced at the girl, who seemed to beseech him to +agree. + +"I give you my word of honour," he said. + +Messire de Maletroit bowed, and proceeded to limp about the +apartment, clearing his throat the while with that odd musical +chirp which had already grown so irritating in the ears of Denis de +Beaulieu. He first possessed himself of some papers which lay upon +the table; then he went to the mouth of the passage and appeared to +give an order to the men behind the arras; and lastly he hobbled +out through the door by which Denis had come in, turning upon the +threshold to address a last smiling bow to the young couple, and +followed by the chaplain with a hand-lamp. + +No sooner were they alone than Blanche advanced towards Denis with +her hands extended. Her face was flushed and excited, and her eyes +shone with tears. + +"You shall not die!" she cried, "you shall marry me after all." + +"You seem to think, madam," replied Denis, "that I stand much in +fear of death." + +"Oh no, no," she said, "I see you are no poltroon. It is for my +own sake - I could not bear to have you slain for such a scruple." + +"I am afraid," returned Denis, "that you underrate the difficulty, +madam. What you may be too generous to refuse, I may be too proud +to accept. In a moment of noble feeling towards me, you forgot +what you perhaps owe to others." + +He had the decency to keep his eyes upon the floor as he said this, +and after he had finished, so as not to spy upon her confusion. +She stood silent for a moment, then walked suddenly away, and +falling on her uncle's chair, fairly burst out sobbing. Denis was +in the acme of embarrassment. He looked round, as if to seek for +inspiration, and seeing a stool, plumped down upon it for something +to do. There he sat, playing with the guard of his rapier, and +wishing himself dead a thousand times over, and buried in the +nastiest kitchen-heap in France. His eyes wandered round the +apartment, but found nothing to arrest them. There were such wide +spaces between the furniture, the light fell so baldly and +cheerlessly over all, the dark outside air looked in so coldly +through the windows, that he thought he had never seen a church so +vast, nor a tomb so melancholy. The regular sobs of Blanche de +Maletroit measured out the time like the ticking of a clock. He +read the device upon the shield over and over again, until his eyes +became obscured; he stared into shadowy corners until he imagined +they were swarming with horrible animals; and every now and again +he awoke with a start, to remember that his last two hours were +running, and death was on the march. + +Oftener and oftener, as the time went on, did his glance settle on +the girl herself. Her face was bowed forward and covered with her +hands, and she was shaken at intervals by the convulsive hiccup of +grief. Even thus she was not an unpleasant object to dwell upon, +so plump and yet so fine, with a warm brown skin, and the most +beautiful hair, Denis thought, in the whole world of womankind. +Her hands were like her uncle's; but they were more in place at the +end of her young arms, and looked infinitely soft and caressing. +He remembered how her blue eyes had shone upon him, full of anger, +pity, and innocence. And the more he dwelt on her perfections, the +uglier death looked, and the more deeply was he smitten with +penitence at her continued tears. Now he felt that no man could +have the courage to leave a world which contained so beautiful a +creature; and now he would have given forty minutes of his last +hour to have unsaid his cruel speech. + +Suddenly a hoarse and ragged peal of cockcrow rose to their ears +from the dark valley below the windows. And this shattering noise +in the silence of all around was like a light in a dark place, and +shook them both out of their reflections. + +"Alas, can I do nothing to help you?" she said, looking up. + +"Madam," replied Denis, with a fine irrelevancy, "if I have said +anything to wound you, believe me, it was for your own sake and not +for mine." + +She thanked him with a tearful look. + +"I feel your position cruelly," he went on. "The world has been +bitter hard on you. Your uncle is a disgrace to mankind. Believe +me, madam, there is no young gentleman in all France but would be +glad of my opportunity, to die in doing you a momentary service." + +"I know already that you can be very brave and generous," she +answered. "What I WANT to know is whether I can serve you - now or +afterwards," she added, with a quaver. + +"Most certainly," he answered with a smile. "Let me sit beside you +as if I were a friend, instead of a foolish intruder; try to forget +how awkwardly we are placed to one another; make my last moments go +pleasantly; and you will do me the chief service possible." + +"You are very gallant," she added, with a yet deeper sadness . . . +"very gallant . . . and it somehow pains me. But draw nearer, if +you please; and if you find anything to say to me, you will at +least make certain of a very friendly listener. Ah! Monsieur de +Beaulieu," she broke forth - "ah! Monsieur de Beaulieu, how can I +look you in the face?" And she fell to weeping again with a +renewed effusion. + +"Madam," said Denis, taking her hand in both of his, "reflect on +the little time I have before me, and the great bitterness into +which I am cast by the sight of your distress. Spare me, in my +last moments, the spectacle of what I cannot cure even with the +sacrifice of my life." + +"I am very selfish," answered Blanche. "I will be braver, Monsieur +de Beaulieu, for your sake. But think if I can do you no kindness +in the future - if you have no friends to whom I could carry your +adieux. Charge me as heavily as you can; every burden will +lighten, by so little, the invaluable gratitude I owe you. Put it +in my power to do something more for you than weep." + +"My mother is married again, and has a young family to care for. +My brother Guichard will inherit my fiefs; and if I am not in +error, that will content him amply for my death. Life is a little +vapour that passeth away, as we are told by those in holy orders. +When a man is in a fair way and sees all life open in front of him, +he seems to himself to make a very important figure in the world. +His horse whinnies to him; the trumpets blow and the girls look out +of window as he rides into town before his company; he receives +many assurances of trust and regard - sometimes by express in a +letter - sometimes face to face, with persons of great consequence +falling on his neck. It is not wonderful if his head is turned for +a time. But once he is dead, were he as brave as Hercules or as +wise as Solomon, he is soon forgotten. It is not ten years since +my father fell, with many other knights around him, in a very +fierce encounter, and I do not think that any one of them, nor so +much as the name of the fight, is now remembered. No, no, madam, +the nearer you come to it, you see that death is a dark and dusty +corner, where a man gets into his tomb and has the door shut after +him till the judgment day. I have few friends just now, and once I +am dead I shall have none." + +"Ah, Monsieur de Beaulieu!" she exclaimed, "you forget Blanche de +Maletroit." + +"You have a sweet nature, madam, and you are pleased to estimate a +little service far beyond its worth." + +"It is not that," she answered. "You mistake me if you think I am +so easily touched by my own concerns. I say so, because you are +the noblest man I have ever met; because I recognise in you a +spirit that would have made even a common person famous in the +land." + +"And yet here I die in a mouse-trap - with no more noise about it +than my own squeaking," answered he. + +A look of pain crossed her face, and she was silent for a little +while. Then a fight came into her eyes, and with a smile she spoke +again. + +"I cannot have my champion think meanly of himself. Any one who +gives his life for another will be met in Paradise by all the +heralds and angels of the Lord God. And you have no such cause to +hang your head. For . . . Pray, do you think me beautiful?" she +asked, with a deep flush. + +"Indeed, madam, I do," he said. + +"I am glad of that," she answered heartily. "Do you think there +are many men in France who have been asked in marriage by a +beautiful maiden - with her own lips - and who have refused her to +her face? I know you men would half despise such a triumph; but +believe me, we women know more of what is precious in love. There +is nothing that should set a person higher in his own esteem; and +we women would prize nothing more dearly." + +"You are very good," he said; "but you cannot make me forget that I +was asked in pity and not for love." + +"I am not so sure of that," she replied, holding down her head. +"Hear me to an end, Monsieur de Beaulieu. I know how you must +despise me; I feel you are right to do so; I am too poor a creature +to occupy one thought of your mind, although, alas! you must die +for me this morning. But when I asked you to marry me, indeed, and +indeed, it was because I respected and admired you, and loved you +with my whole soul, from the very moment that you took my part +against my uncle. If you had seen yourself, and how noble you +looked, you would pity rather than despise me. And now," she went +on, hurriedly checking him with her hand, "although I have laid +aside all reserve and told you so much, remember that I know your +sentiments towards me already. I would not, believe me, being +nobly born, weary you with importunities into consent. I too have +a pride of my own: and I declare before the holy mother of God, if +you should now go back from your word already given, I would no +more marry you than I would marry my uncle's groom." + +Denis smiled a little bitterly. + +"It is a small love," he said, "that shies at a little pride." + +She made no answer, although she probably had her own thoughts. + +"Come hither to the window," he said, with a sigh. "Here is the +dawn." + +And indeed the dawn was already beginning. The hollow of the sky +was full of essential daylight, colourless and clean; and the +valley underneath was flooded with a grey reflection. A few thin +vapours clung in the coves of the forest or lay along the winding +course of the river. The scene disengaged a surprising effect of +stillness, which was hardly interrupted when the cocks began once +more to crow among the steadings. Perhaps the same fellow who had +made so horrid a clangour in the darkness not half-an-hour before, +now sent up the merriest cheer to greet the coming day. A little +wind went bustling and eddying among the tree-tops underneath the +windows. And still the daylight kept flooding insensibly out of +the east, which was soon to grow incandescent and cast up that red- +hot cannon-ball, the rising sun. + +Denis looked out over all this with a bit of a shiver. He had +taken her hand, and retained it in his almost unconsciously. + +"Has the day begun already?" she said; and then, illogically +enough: "the night has been so long! Alas, what shall we say to +my uncle when he returns?" + +"What you will," said Denis, and he pressed her fingers in his. + +She was silent. + +"Blanche," he said, with a swift, uncertain, passionate utterance, +"you have seen whether I fear death. You must know well enough +that I would as gladly leap out of that window into the empty air +as lay a finger on you without your free and full consent. But if +you care for me at all do not let me lose my life in a +misapprehension; for I love you better than the whole world; and +though I will die for you blithely, it would be like all the joys +of Paradise to live on and spend my life in your service." + +As he stopped speaking, a bell began to ring loudly in the interior +of the house; and a clatter of armour in the corridor showed that +the retainers were returning to their post, and the two hours were +at an end. + +"After all that you have heard?" she whispered, leaning towards him +with her lips and eyes. + +"I have heard nothing," he replied. + +"The captain's name was Florimond de Champdivers," she said in his +ear. + +"I did not hear it," he answered, taking her supple body in his +arms and covering her wet face with kisses. + +A melodious chirping was audible behind, followed by a beautiful +chuckle, and the voice of Messire de Maletroit wished his new +nephew a good morning. + + + + +PROVIDENCE AND THE GUITAR + + + + +CHAPTER I + + + +Monsieur Leon Berthelini had a great care of his appearance, and +sedulously suited his deportment to the costume of the hour. He +affected something Spanish in his air, and something of the bandit, +with a flavour of Rembrandt at home. In person he was decidedly +small and inclined to be stout; his face was the picture of good +humour; his dark eyes, which were very expressive, told of a kind +heart, a brisk, merry nature, and the most indefatigable spirits. +If he had worn the clothes of the period you would have set him +down for a hitherto undiscovered hybrid between the barber, the +innkeeper, and the affable dispensing chemist. But in the +outrageous bravery of velvet jacket and flapped hat, with trousers +that were more accurately described as fleshings, a white +handkerchief cavalierly knotted at his neck, a shock of Olympian +curls upon his brow, and his feet shod through all weathers in the +slenderest of Moliere shoes - you had but to look at him and you +knew you were in the presence of a Great Creature. When he wore an +overcoat he scorned to pass the sleeves; a single button held it +round his shoulders; it was tossed backwards after the manner of a +cloak, and carried with the gait and presence of an Almaviva. I am +of opinion that M. Berthelini was nearing forty. But he had a +boy's heart, gloried in his finery, and walked through life like a +child in a perpetual dramatic performance. If he were not Almaviva +after all, it was not for lack of making believe. And he enjoyed +the artist's compensation. If he were not really Almaviva, he was +sometimes just as happy as though he were. + +I have seen him, at moments when he has fancied himself alone with +his Maker, adopt so gay and chivalrous a bearing, and represent his +own part with so much warmth and conscience, that the illusion +became catching, and I believed implicitly in the Great Creature's +pose. + +But, alas! life cannot be entirely conducted on these principles; +man cannot live by Almavivery alone; and the Great Creature, having +failed upon several theatres, was obliged to step down every +evening from his heights, and sing from half-a-dozen to a dozen +comic songs, twang a guitar, keep a country audience in good +humour, and preside finally over the mysteries of a tombola. + +Madame Berthelini, who was art and part with him in these +undignified labours, had perhaps a higher position in the scale of +beings, and enjoyed a natural dignity of her own. But her heart +was not any more rightly placed, for that would have been +impossible; and she had acquired a little air of melancholy, +attractive enough in its way, but not good to see like the +wholesome, sky-scraping, boyish spirits of her lord. + +He, indeed, swam like a kite on a fair wind, high above earthly +troubles. Detonations of temper were not unfrequent in the zones +he travelled; but sulky fogs and tearful depressions were there +alike unknown. A well-delivered blow upon a table, or a noble +attitude, imitated from Melingne or Frederic, relieved his +irritation like a vengeance. Though the heaven had fallen, if he +had played his part with propriety, Berthelini had been content! +And the man's atmosphere, if not his example, reacted on his wife; +for the couple doated on each other, and although you would have +thought they walked in different worlds, yet continued to walk hand +in hand. + +It chanced one day that Monsieur and Madame Berthelini descended +with two boxes and a guitar in a fat case at the station of the +little town of Castel-le-Gachis, and the omnibus carried them with +their effects to the Hotel of the Black Head. This was a dismal, +conventual building in a narrow street, capable of standing siege +when once the gates were shut, and smelling strangely in the +interior of straw and chocolate and old feminine apparel. +Berthelini paused upon the threshold with a painful premonition. +In some former state, it seemed to him, he had visited a hostelry +that smelt not otherwise, and been ill received. + +The landlord, a tragic person in a large felt hat, rose from a +business table under the key-rack, and came forward, removing his +hat with both hands as he did so. + +"Sir, I salute you. May I inquire what is your charge for +artists?" inquired Berthelini, with a courtesy at once splendid and +insinuating. + +"For artists?" said the landlord. His countenance fell and the +smile of welcome disappeared. "Oh, artists!" he added brutally; +"four francs a day." And he turned his back upon these +inconsiderable customers. + +A commercial traveller is received, he also, upon a reduction - yet +is he welcome, yet can he command the fatted calf; but an artist, +had he the manners of an Almaviva, were he dressed like Solomon in +all his glory, is received like a dog and served like a timid lady +travelling alone. + +Accustomed as he was to the rubs of his profession, Berthelini was +unpleasantly affected by the landlord's manner. + +"Elvira," said he to his wife, "mark my words: Castel-le-Gachis is +a tragic folly." + +"Wait till we see what we take," replied Elvira. + +"We shall take nothing," returned Berthelini; "we shall feed upon +insults. I have an eye, Elvira: I have a spirit of divination; +and this place is accursed. The landlord has been discourteous, +the Commissary will be brutal, the audience will be sordid and +uproarious, and you will take a cold upon your throat. We have +been besotted enough to come; the die is cast - it will be a second +Sedan." + +Sedan was a town hateful to the Berthelinis, not only from +patriotism (for they were French, and answered after the flesh to +the somewhat homely name of Duval), but because it had been the +scene of their most sad reverses. In that place they had lain +three weeks in pawn for their hotel bill, and had it not been for a +surprising stroke of fortune they might have been lying there in +pawn until this day. To mention the name of Sedan was for the +Berthelinis to dip the brush in earthquake and eclipse. Count +Almaviva slouched his hat with a gesture expressive of despair, and +even Elvira felt as if ill-fortune had been personally invoked. + +"Let us ask for breakfast," said she, with a woman's tact. + +The Commissary of Police of Castel-le-Gachis was a large red +Commissary, pimpled, and subject to a strong cutaneous +transpiration. I have repeated the name of his office because he +was so very much more a Commissary than a man. The spirit of his +dignity had entered into him. He carried his corporation as if it +were something official. Whenever he insulted a common citizen it +seemed to him as if he were adroitly flattering the Government by a +side wind; in default of dignity he was brutal from an overweening +sense of duty. His office was a den, whence passers-by could hear +rude accents laying down, not the law, but the good pleasure of the +Commissary. + +Six several times in the course of the day did M. Berthelini hurry +thither in quest of the requisite permission for his evening's +entertainment; six several times he found the official was abroad. +Leon Berthelini began to grow quite a familiar figure in the +streets of Castel-le-Gachis; he became a local celebrity, and was +pointed out as "the man who was looking for the Commissary." Idle +children attached themselves to his footsteps, and trotted after +him back and forward between the hotel and the office. Leon might +try as he liked; he might roll cigarettes, he might straddle, he +might cock his hat at a dozen different jaunty inclinations - the +part of Almaviva was, under the circumstances, difficult to play. + +As he passed the market-place upon the seventh excursion the +Commissary was pointed out to him, where he stood, with his +waistcoat unbuttoned and his hands behind his back, to superintend +the sale and measurement of butter. Berthelini threaded his way +through the market stalls and baskets, and accosted the dignitary +with a bow which was a triumph of the histrionic art. + +"I have the honour," he asked, "of meeting M. le Commissaire?" + +The Commissary was affected by the nobility of his address. He +excelled Leon in the depth if not in the airy grace of his +salutation. + +"The honour," said he, "is mine!" + +"I am," continued the strolling-player, "I am, sir, an artist, and +I have permitted myself to interrupt you on an affair of business. +To-night I give a trifling musical entertainment at the Cafe of the +Triumphs of the Plough - permit me to offer you this little +programme - and I have come to ask you for the necessary +authorisation." + +At the word "artist," the Commissary had replaced his hat with the +air of a person who, having condescended too far, should suddenly +remember the duties of his rank. + +"Go, go," said he, "I am busy - I am measuring butter." + +"Heathen Jew!" thought Leon. "Permit me, sir," he resumed aloud. +"I have gone six times already - " + +"Put up your bills if you choose," interrupted the Commissary. "In +an hour or so I will examine your papers at the office. But now +go; I am busy." + +"Measuring butter!" thought Berthelini. "Oh, France, and it is for +this that we made '93!" + +The preparations were soon made; the bills posted, programmes laid +on the dinner-table of every hotel in the town, and a stage erected +at one end of the Cafe of the Triumphs of the Plough; but when Leon +returned to the office, the Commissary was once more abroad. + +"He is like Madame Benoiton," thought Leon, "Fichu Commissaire!" + +And just then he met the man face to face. + +"Here, sir," said he, "are my papers. Will you be pleased to +verify?" + +But the Commissary was now intent upon dinner. + +"No use," he replied, "no use; I am busy; I am quite satisfied. +Give your entertainment." + +And he hurried on. + +"Fichu Commissaire!" thought Leon. + + + +CHAPTER II + + + +The audience was pretty large; and the proprietor of the cafe made +a good thing of it in beer. But the Berthelinis exerted themselves +in vain. + +Leon was radiant in velveteen; he had a rakish way of smoking a +cigarette between his songs that was worth money in itself; he +underlined his comic points, so that the dullest numskull in +Castel-le-Gachis had a notion when to laugh; and he handled his +guitar in a manner worthy of himself. Indeed his play with that +instrument was as good as a whole romantic drama; it was so +dashing, so florid, and so cavalier. + +Elvira, on the other hand, sang her patriotic and romantic songs +with more than usual expression; her voice had charm and plangency; +and as Leon looked at her, in her low-bodied maroon dress, with her +arms bare to the shoulder, and a red flower set provocatively in +her corset, he repeated to himself for the many hundredth time that +she was one of the loveliest creatures in the world of women. + +Alas! when she went round with the tambourine, the golden youth of +Castel-le-Gachis turned from her coldly. Here and there a single +halfpenny was forthcoming; the net result of a collection never +exceeded half a franc; and the Maire himself, after seven different +applications, had contributed exactly twopence. A certain chill +began to settle upon the artists themselves; it seemed as if they +were singing to slugs; Apollo himself might have lost heart with +such an audience. The Berthelinis struggled against the +impression; they put their back into their work, they sang loud and +louder, the guitar twanged like a living thing; and at last Leon +arose in his might, and burst with inimitable conviction into his +great song, "Y a des honnetes gens partout!" Never had he given +more proof of his artistic mastery; it was his intimate, +indefeasible conviction that Castel-le-Gachis formed an exception +to the law he was now lyrically proclaiming, and was peopled +exclusively by thieves and bullies; and yet, as I say, he flung it +down like a challenge, he trolled it forth like an article of +faith; and his face so beamed the while that you would have thought +he must make converts of the benches. + +He was at the top of his register, with his head thrown back and +his mouth open, when the door was thrown violently open, and a pair +of new comers marched noisily into the cafe. It was the +Commissary, followed by the Garde Champetre. + +The undaunted Berthelini still continued to proclaim, "Y a des +honnetes gens partout!" But now the sentiment produced an audible +titter among the audience. Berthelini wondered why; he did not +know the antecedents of the Garde Champetre; he had never heard of +a little story about postage stamps. But the public knew all about +the postage stamps and enjoyed the coincidence hugely. + +The Commissary planted himself upon a vacant chair with somewhat +the air of Cromwell visiting the Rump, and spoke in occasional +whispers to the Garde Champetre, who remained respectfully standing +at his back. The eyes of both were directed upon Berthelini, who +persisted in his statement. + +"Y a des honnetes gens partout," he was just chanting for the +twentieth time; when up got the Commissary upon his feet and waved +brutally to the singer with his cane. + +"Is it me you want?" inquired Leon, stopping in his song. + +"It is you," replied the potentate. + +"Fichu Commissaire!" thought Leon, and he descended from the stage +and made his way to the functionary. + +"How does it happen, sir," said the Commissary, swelling in person, +"that I find you mountebanking in a public cafe without my +permission?" + +"Without?" cried the indignant Leon. "Permit me to remind you - " + +"Come, come, sir!" said the Commissary, "I desire no explanations." + +"I care nothing about what you desire," returned the singer. "I +choose to give them, and I will not be gagged. I am an artist, +sir, a distinction that you cannot comprehend. I received your +permission and stand here upon the strength of it; interfere with +me who dare." + +"You have not got my signature, I tell you," cried the Commissary. +"Show me my signature! Where is my signature?" + +That was just the question; where was his signature? Leon +recognised that he was in a hole; but his spirit rose with the +occasion, and he blustered nobly, tossing back his curls. The +Commissary played up to him in the character of tyrant; and as the +one leaned farther forward, the other leaned farther back - majesty +confronting fury. The audience had transferred their attention to +this new performance, and listened with that silent gravity common +to all Frenchmen in the neighbourhood of the Police. Elvira had +sat down, she was used to these distractions, and it was rather +melancholy than fear that now oppressed her. + +"Another word," cried the Commissary, "and I arrest you." + +"Arrest me?" shouted Leon. "I defy you!" + +"I am the Commissary of Police,' said the official. + +Leon commanded his feelings, and replied, with great delicacy of +innuendo - + +"So it would appear." + +The point was too refined for Castel-le-Gachis; it did not raise a +smile; and as for the Commissary, he simply bade the singer follow +him to his office, and directed his proud footsteps towards the +door. There was nothing for it but to obey. Leon did so with a +proper pantomime of indifference, but it was a leek to eat, and +there was no denying it. + +The Maire had slipped out and was already waiting at the +Commissary's door. Now the Maire, in France, is the refuge of the +oppressed. He stands between his people and the boisterous rigours +of the Police. He can sometimes understand what is said to him; he +is not always puffed up beyond measure by his dignity. 'Tis a +thing worth the knowledge of travellers. When all seems over, and +a man has made up his mind to injustice, he has still, like the +heroes of romance, a little bugle at his belt whereon to blow; and +the Maire, a comfortable DEUS EX MACHINA, may still descend to +deliver him from the minions of the law. The Maire of Castel-le- +Gachis, although inaccessible to the charms of music as retailed by +the Berthelinis, had no hesitation whatever as to the rights of the +matter. He instantly fell foul of the Commissary in very high +terms, and the Commissary, pricked by this humiliation, accepted +battle on the point of fact. The argument lasted some little while +with varying success, until at length victory inclined so plainly +to the Commissary's side that the Maire was fain to reassert +himself by an exercise of authority. He had been out-argued, but +he was still the Maire. And so, turning from his interlocutor, he +briefly but kindly recommended Leon to get back instanter to his +concert. + +"It is already growing late," he added. + +Leon did not wait to be told twice. He returned to the Cafe of the +Triumphs of the Plough with all expedition. Alas! the audience had +melted away during his absence; Elvira was sitting in a very +disconsolate attitude on the guitar-box; she had watched the +company dispersing by twos and threes, and the prolonged spectacle +had somewhat overwhelmed her spirits. Each man, she reflected, +retired with a certain proportion of her earnings in his pocket, +and she saw to-night's board and to-morrow's railway expenses, and +finally even to-morrow's dinner, walk one after another out of the +cafe door and disappear into the night. + +"What was it?" she asked languidly. But Leon did not answer. He +was looking round him on the scene of defeat. Scarce a score of +listeners remained, and these of the least promising sort. The +minute hand of the clock was already climbing upward towards +eleven. + +"It's a lost battle," said he, and then taking up the money-box he +turned it out. "Three francs seventy-five!" he cried, "as against +four of board and six of railway fares; and no time for the +tombola! Elvira, this is Waterloo." And he sat down and passed +both hands desperately among his curls. "O Fichu Commissaire!" he +cried, "Fichu Commissaire!" + +"Let us get the things together and be off," returned Elvira. "We +might try another song, but there is not six halfpence in the +room." + +"Six halfpence?" cried Leon, "six hundred thousand devils! There +is not a human creature in the town - nothing but pigs and dogs and +commissaires! Pray heaven, we get safe to bed." + +"Don't imagine things!" exclaimed Elvira, with a shudder. + +And with that they set to work on their preparations. The tobacco- +jar, the cigarette-holder, the three papers of shirt-studs, which +were to have been the prices of the tombola had the tombola come +off, were made into a bundle with the music; the guitar was stowed +into the fat guitar-case; and Elvira having thrown a thin shawl +about her neck and shoulders, the pair issued from the cafe and set +off for the Black Head. + +As they crossed the market-place the church bell rang out eleven. +It was a dark, mild night, and there was no one in the streets. + +"It is all very fine," said Leon; "but I have a presentiment. The +night is not yet done." + + + +CHAPTER III + + + +The "Black Head" presented not a single chink of light upon the +street, and the carriage gate was closed. + +"This is unprecedented," observed Leon. "An inn closed by five +minutes after eleven! And there were several commercial travellers +in the cafe up to a late hour. Elvira, my heart misgives me. Let +us ring the bell." + +The bell had a potent note; and being swung under the arch it +filled the house from top to bottom with surly, clanging +reverberations. The sound accentuated the conventual appearance of +the building; a wintry sentiment, a thought of prayer and +mortification, took hold upon Elvira's mind; and, as for Leon, he +seemed to be reading the stage directions for a lugubrious fifth +act. + +"This is your fault," said Elvira: "this is what comes of fancying +things!" + +Again Leon pulled the bell-rope; again the solemn tocsin awoke the +echoes of the inn; and ere they had died away, a light glimmered in +the carriage entrance, and a powerful voice was heard upraised and +tremulous with wrath. + +"What's all this?" cried the tragic host through the spars of the +gate. "Hard upon twelve, and you come clamouring like Prussians at +the door of a respectable hotel? Oh!" he cried, "I know you now! +Common singers! People in trouble with the police! And you +present yourselves at midnight like lords and ladies? Be off with +you!" + +"You will permit me to remind you," replied Leon, in thrilling +tones, "that I am a guest in your house, that I am properly +inscribed, and that I have deposited baggage to the value of four +hundred francs." + +"You cannot get in at this hour," returned the man. "This is no +thieves' tavern, for mohocks and night rakes and organ-grinders." + +"Brute!" cried Elvira, for the organ-grinders touched her home. + +"Then I demand my baggage," said Leon, with unabated dignity. + +"I know nothing of your baggage," replied the landlord. + +"You detain my baggage? You dare to detain my baggage?" cried the +singer. + +"Who are you?" returned the landlord. "It is dark - I cannot +recognise you." + +"Very well, then - you detain my baggage," concluded Leon. "You +shall smart for this. I will weary out your life with +persecutions; I will drag you from court to court; if there is +justice to be had in France, it shall be rendered between you and +me. And I will make you a by-word - I will put you in a song - a +scurrilous song - an indecent song - a popular song - which the +boys shall sing to you in the street, and come and howl through +these spars at mid-night!" + +He had gone on raising his voice at every phrase, for all the while +the landlord was very placidly retiring; and now, when the last +glimmer of light had vanished from the arch, and the last footstep +died away in the interior, Leon turned to his wife with a heroic +countenance. + +"Elvira," said he, "I have now a duty in life. I shall destroy +that man as Eugene Sue destroyed the concierge. Let us come at +once to the Gendarmerie and begin our vengeance." + +He picked up the guitar-case, which had been propped against the +wall, and they set forth through the silent and ill-lighted town +with burning hearts. + +The Gendarmerie was concealed beside the telegraph office at the +bottom of a vast court, which was partly laid out in gardens; and +here all the shepherds of the public lay locked in grateful sleep. +It took a deal of knocking to waken one; and he, when he came at +last to the door, could find no other remark but that "it was none +of his business." Leon reasoned with him, threatened him, besought +him; "here," he said, "was Madame Berthelini in evening dress - a +delicate woman - in an interesting condition" - the last was thrown +in, I fancy, for effect; and to all this the man-at-arms made the +same answer: + +"It is none of my business," said he. + +"Very well," said Leon, "then we shall go to the Commissary." +Thither they went; the office was closed and dark; but the house +was close by, and Leon was soon swinging the bell like a madman. +The Commissary's wife appeared at a window. She was a thread-paper +creature, and informed them that the Commissary had not yet come +home. + +"Is he at the Maire's?" demanded Leon. + +She thought that was not unlikely. + +"Where is the Maire's house?" he asked. + +And she gave him some rather vague information on that point. + +"Stay you here, Elvira," said Leon, "lest I should miss him by the +way. If, when I return, I find you here no longer, I shall follow +at once to the Black Head." + +And he set out to find the Maire's. It took him some ten minutes +wandering among blind lanes, and when he arrived it was already +half-an-hour past midnight. A long white garden wall overhung by +some thick chestnuts, a door with a letter-box, and an iron bell- +pull, that was all that could be seen of the Maire's domicile. +Leon took the bell-pull in both hands, and danced furiously upon +the side-walk. The bell itself was just upon the other side of the +wall, it responded to his activity, and scattered an alarming +clangour far and wide into the night. + +A window was thrown open in a house across the street, and a voice +inquired the cause of this untimely uproar. + +"I wish the Maire," said Leon. + +"He has been in bed this hour," returned the voice. + +"He must get up again," retorted Leon, and he was for tackling the +bell-pull once more. + +"You will never make him hear," responded the voice. "The garden +is of great extent, the house is at the farther end, and both the +Maire and his housekeeper are deaf." + +"Aha!" said Leon, pausing. "The Maire is deaf, is he? That +explains." And he thought of the evening's concert with a +momentary feeling of relief. "Ah!" he continued, "and so the Maire +is deaf, and the garden vast, and the house at the far end?" + +"And you might ring all night," added the voice, "and be none the +better for it. You would only keep me awake." + +"Thank you, neighbour," replied the singer. "You shall sleep." + +And he made off again at his best pace for the Commissary's. +Elvira was still walking to and fro before the door. + +"He has not come?" asked Leon. + +"Not he," she replied. + +"Good," returned Leon. "I am sure our man's inside. Let me see +the guitar-case. I shall lay this siege in form, Elvira; I am +angry; I am indignant; I am truculently inclined; but I thank my +Maker I have still a sense of fun. The unjust judge shall be +importuned in a serenade, Elvira. Set him up - and set him up." + +He had the case opened by this time, struck a few chords, and fell +into an attitude which was irresistibly Spanish. + +"Now," he continued, "feel your voice. Are you ready? Follow me!" + +The guitar twanged, and the two voices upraised, in harmony and +with a startling loudness, the chorus of a song of old Beranger's:- + + +"Commissaire! Commissaire! +Colin bat sa menagere." + + +The stones of Castel-le-Gachis thrilled at this audacious +innovation. Hitherto had the night been sacred to repose and +nightcaps; and now what was this? Window after window was opened; +matches scratched, and candles began to flicker; swollen sleepy +faces peered forth into the starlight. There were the two figures +before the Commissary's house, each bolt upright, with head thrown +back and eyes interrogating the starry heavens; the guitar wailed, +shouted, and reverberated like half an orchestra; and the voices, +with a crisp and spirited delivery, hurled the appropriate burden +at the Commissary's window. All the echoes repeated the +functionary's name. It was more like an entr'acte in a farce of +Moliere's than a passage of real life in Castel-le-Gachis. + +The Commissary, if he was not the first, was not the last of the +neighbours to yield to the influence of music, and furiously throw +open the window of his bedroom. He was beside himself with rage. +He leaned far over the window-sill, raying and gesticulating; the +tassel of his white night-cap danced like a thing of life: he +opened his mouth to dimensions hitherto unprecedented, and yet his +voice, instead of escaping from it in a roar, came forth shrill and +choked and tottering. A little more serenading, and it was clear +he would be better acquainted with the apoplexy. + +I scorn to reproduce his language; he touched upon too many serious +topics by the way for a quiet story-teller. Although he was known +for a man who was prompt with his tongue, and had a power of strong +expression at command, he excelled himself so remarkably this night +that one maiden lady, who had got out of bed like the rest to hear +the serenade, was obliged to shut her window at the second clause. +Even what she had heard disquieted her conscience; and next day she +said she scarcely reckoned as a maiden lady any longer. + +Leon tried to explain his predicament, but he received nothing but +threats of arrest by way of answer. + +"If I come down to you!" cried the Commissary. + +"Aye," said Leon, "do!" + +"I will not!" cried the Commissary. + +"You dare not!" answered Leon. + +At that the Commissary closed his window. + +"All is over," said the singer. "The serenade was perhaps ill- +judged. These boors have no sense of humour." + +"Let us get away from here," said Elvira, with a shiver. "All +these people looking - it is so rude and so brutal." And then +giving way once more to passion - "Brutes!" she cried aloud to the +candle-lit spectators - "brutes! brutes! brutes!" + +"Sauve qui peut," said Leon. "You have done it now!" + +And taking the guitar in one hand and the case in the other, he led +the way with something too precipitate to be merely called +precipitation from the scene of this absurd adventure. + + + +CHAPTER IV + + + +To the west of Castel-le-Gachis four rows of venerable lime-trees +formed, in this starry night, a twilit avenue with two side aisles +of pitch darkness. Here and there stone benches were disposed +between the trunks. There was not a breath of wind; a heavy +atmosphere of perfume hung about the alleys; and every leaf stood +stock-still upon its twig. Hither, after vainly knocking at an inn +or two, the Berthelinis came at length to pass the night. After an +amiable contention, Leon insisted on giving his coat to Elvira, and +they sat down together on the first bench in silence. Leon made a +cigarette, which he smoked to an end, looking up into the trees, +and, beyond them, at the constellations, of which he tried vainly +to recall the names. The silence was broken by the church bell; it +rang the four quarters on a light and tinkling measure; then +followed a single deep stroke that died slowly away with a thrill; +and stillness resumed its empire. + +"One," said Leon. "Four hours till daylight. It is warm; it is +starry; I have matches and tobacco. Do not let us exaggerate, +Elvira - the experience is positively charming. I feel a glow +within me; I am born again. This is the poetry of life. Think of +Cooper's novels, my dear." + +"Leon," she said fiercely, "how can you talk such wicked, infamous +nonsense? To pass all night out-of-doors - it is like a nightmare! +We shall die." + +"You suffer yourself to be led away," he replied soothingly. "It +is not unpleasant here; only you brood. Come, now, let us repeat a +scene. Shall we try Alceste and Celimene? No? Or a passage from +the 'Two Orphans'? Come, now, it will occupy your mind; I will +play up to you as I never have played before; I feel art moving in +my bones." + +"Hold your tongue," she cried, "or you will drive me mad! Will +nothing solemnise you - not even this hideous situation?" + +"Oh, hideous!" objected Leon. "Hideous is not the word. Why, +where would you be? 'Dites, la jeune belle, ou voulez-vous +aller?'" he carolled. "Well, now," he went on, opening the guitar- +case, "there's another idea for you - sing. Sing 'Dites, la jeune +belle!' It will compose your spirits, Elvira, I am sure." + +And without waiting an answer he began to strum the symphony. The +first chords awoke a young man who was lying asleep upon a +neighbouring bench. + +"Hullo!" cried the young man, "who are you?" + +"Under which king, Bezonian?" declaimed the artist. "Speak or +die!" + +Or if it was not exactly that, it was something to much the same +purpose from a French tragedy. + +The young man drew near in the twilight. He was a tall, powerful, +gentlemanly fellow, with a somewhat puffy face, dressed in a grey +tweed suit, with a deer-stalker hat of the same material; and as he +now came forward he carried a knapsack slung upon one arm. + +"Are you camping out here too?" he asked, with a strong English +accent. "I'm not sorry for company." + +Leon explained their misadventure; and the other told them that he +was a Cambridge undergraduate on a walking tour, that he had run +short of money, could no longer pay for his night's lodging, had +already been camping out for two nights, and feared he should +require to continue the same manoeuvre for at least two nights +more. + +"Luckily, it's jolly weather," he concluded. + +"You hear that, Elvira," said Leon. "Madame Berthelini," he went +on, "is ridiculously affected by this trifling occurrence. For my +part, I find it romantic and far from uncomfortable; or at least," +he added, shifting on the stone bench, "not quite so uncomfortable +as might have been expected. But pray be seated." + +"Yes," returned the undergraduate, sitting down, "it's rather nice +than otherwise when once you're used to it; only it's devilish +difficult to get washed. I like the fresh air and these stars and +things." + +"Aha!" said Leon, "Monsieur is an artist." + +"An artist?" returned the other, with a blank stare. "Not if I +know it!" + +"Pardon me," said the actor. "What you said this moment about the +orbs of heaven - " + +"Oh, nonsense!" cried the Englishman. "A fellow may admire the +stars and be anything he likes." + +"You have an artist's nature, however, Mr.- I beg your pardon; may +I, without indiscretion, inquire your name?" asked Leon. + +"My name is Stubbs," replied the Englishman. + +"I thank you," returned Leon. "Mine is Berthelini - Leon +Berthelini, ex-artist of the theatres of Montrouge, Belleville, and +Montmartre. Humble as you see me, I have created with applause +more than one important ROLE. The Press were unanimous in praise +of my Howling Devil of the Mountains, in the piece of the same +name. Madame, whom I now present to you, is herself an artist, and +I must not omit to state, a better artist than her husband. She +also is a creator; she created nearly twenty successful songs at +one of the principal Parisian music-halls. But, to continue, I was +saying you had an artist's nature, Monsieur Stubbs, and you must +permit me to be a judge in such a question. I trust you will not +falsify your instincts; let me beseech you to follow the career of +an artist." + +"Thank you," returned Stubbs, with a chuckle. "I'm going to be a +banker." + +"No," said Leon, "do not say so. Not that. A man with such a +nature as yours should not derogate so far. What are a few +privations here and there, so long as you are working for a high +and noble goal?" + +"This fellow's mad," thought Stubbs; "but the woman's rather +pretty, and he's not bad fun himself, if you come to that." What +he said was different. "I thought you said you were an actor?" + +"I certainly did so," replied Leon. "I am one, or, alas! I was." + +"And so you want me to be an actor, do you?" continued the +undergraduate. "Why, man, I could never so much as learn the +stuff; my memory's like a sieve; and as for acting, I've no more +idea than a cat." + +"The stage is not the only course," said Leon. "Be a sculptor, be +a dancer, be a poet or a novelist; follow your heart, in short, and +do some thorough work before you die." + +"And do you call all these things ART?" inquired Stubbs. + +"Why, certainly!" returned Leon. "Are they not all branches?" + +"Oh! I didn't know," replied the Englishman. "I thought an artist +meant a fellow who painted." + +The singer stared at him in some surprise. + +"It is the difference of language," he said at last. "This Tower +of Babel, when shall we have paid for it? If I could speak English +you would follow me more readily." + +"Between you and me, I don't believe I should," replied the other. +"You seem to have thought a devil of a lot about this business. +For my part, I admire the stars, and like to have them shining - +it's so cheery - but hang me if I had an idea it had anything to do +with art! It's not in my line, you see. I'm not intellectual; I +have no end of trouble to scrape through my exams., I can tell you! +But I'm not a bad sort at bottom," he added, seeing his +interlocutor looked distressed even in the dim starshine, "and I +rather like the play, and music, and guitars, and things." + +Leon had a perception that the understanding was incomplete. He +changed the subject. + +"And so you travel on foot?" he continued. "How romantic! How +courageous! And how are you pleased with my land? How does the +scenery affect you among these wild hills of ours?" + +"Well, the fact is," began Stubbs - he was about to say that he +didn't care for scenery, which was not at all true, being, on the +contrary, only an athletic undergraduate pretension; but he had +begun to suspect that Berthelini liked a different sort of meat, +and substituted something else - "The fact is, I think it jolly. +They told me it was no good up here; even the guide-book said so; +but I don't know what they meant. I think it is deuced pretty - +upon my word, I do." + +At this moment, in the most unexpected manner, Elvira burst into +tears. + +"My voice!" she cried. "Leon, if I stay here longer I shall lose +my voice!" + +"You shall not stay another moment," cried the actor. "If I have +to beat in a door, if I have to burn the town, I shall find you +shelter." + +With that he replaced the guitar, and comforting her with some +caresses, drew her arm through his. + +"Monsieur Stubbs," said he, taking of his hat, "the reception I +offer you is rather problematical; but let me beseech you to give +us the pleasure of your society. You are a little embarrassed for +the moment; you must, indeed, permit me to advance what may be +necessary. I ask it as a favour; we must not part so soon after +having met so strangely." + +"Oh, come, you know," said Stubbs, "I can't let a fellow like you - +" And there he paused, feeling somehow or other on a wrong tack. + +"I do not wish to employ menaces," continued Leon, with a smile; +"but if you refuse, indeed I shall not take it kindly." + +"I don't quite see my way out of it," thought the undergraduate; +and then, after a pause, he said, aloud and ungraciously enough, +"All right. I - I'm very much obliged, of course." And he +proceeded to follow them, thinking in his heart, "But it's bad +form, all the same, to force an obligation on a fellow." + + + +CHAPTER V + + + +Leon strode ahead as if he knew exactly where he was going; the +sobs of Madame were still faintly audible, and no one uttered a +word. A dog barked furiously in a courtyard as they went by; then +the church clock struck two, and many domestic clocks followed or +preceded it in piping tones. And just then Berthelini spied a +light. It burned in a small house on the outskirts of the town, +and thither the party now directed their steps. + +"It is always a chance," said Leon. + +The house in question stood back from the street behind an open +space, part garden, part turnip-field; and several outhouses stood +forward from either wing at right angles to the front. One of +these had recently undergone some change. An enormous window, +looking towards the north, had been effected in the wall and roof, +and Leon began to hope it was a studio. + +"If it's only a painter," he said with a chuckle, "ten to one we +get as good a welcome as we want." + +"I thought painters were principally poor," said Stubbs. + +"Ah!" cried Leon, "you do not know the world as I do. The poorer +the better for us!" + +And the trio advanced into the turnip-field. + +The light was in the ground floor; as one window was brightly +illuminated and two others more faintly, it might be supposed that +there was a single lamp in one corner of a large apartment; and a +certain tremulousness and temporary dwindling showed that a live +fire contributed to the effect. The sound of a voice now became +audible; and the trespassers paused to listen. It was pitched in a +high, angry key, but had still a good, full, and masculine note in +it. The utterance was voluble, too voluble even to be quite +distinct; a stream of words, rising and falling, with ever and +again a phrase thrown out by itself, as if the speaker reckoned on +its virtue. + +Suddenly another voice joined in. This time it was a woman's; and +if the man were angry, the woman was incensed to the degree of +fury. There was that absolutely blank composure known to suffering +males; that colourless unnatural speech which shows a spirit +accurately balanced between homicide and hysterics; the tone in +which the best of women sometimes utter words worse than death to +those most dear to them. If Abstract Bones-and-Sepulchre were to +be endowed with the gift of speech, thus, and not otherwise, would +it discourse. Leon was a brave man, and I fear he was somewhat +sceptically given (he had been educated in a Papistical country), +but the habit of childhood prevailed, and he crossed himself +devoutly. He had met several women in his career. It was obvious +that his instinct had not deceived him, for the male voice broke +forth instantly in a towering passion. + +The undergraduate, who had not understood the significance of the +woman's contribution, pricked up his ears at the change upon the +man. + +"There's going to be a free fight," he opined. + +There was another retort from the woman, still calm but a little +higher. + +"Hysterics?" asked Leon of his wife. "Is that the stage +direction?" + +"How should I know?" returned Elvira, somewhat tartly. + +"Oh, woman, woman!" said Leon, beginning to open the guitar-case. +"It is one of the burdens of my life, Monsieur Stubbs; they support +each other; they always pretend there is no system; they say it's +nature. Even Madame Berthelini, who is a dramatic artist!" + +"You are heartless, Leon," said Elvira; "that woman is in trouble." + +"And the man, my angel?" inquired Berthelini, passing the ribbon of +his guitar. "And the man, M'AMOUR?" + +"He is a man," she answered. + +"You hear that?" said Leon to Stubbs. "It is not too late for you. +Mark the intonation. And now," he continued, "what are we to give +them?" + +"Are you going to sing?" asked Stubbs. + +"I am a troubadour," replied Leon. "I claim a welcome by and for +my art. If I were a banker could I do as much?" + +"Well, you wouldn't need, you know," answered the undergraduate. + +"Egad," said Leon, "but that's true. Elvira, that is true." + +"Of course it is," she replied. "Did you not know it?" + +"My dear," answered Leon impressively, "I know nothing but what is +agreeable. Even my knowledge of life is a work of art superiorly +composed. But what are we to give them? It should be something +appropriate." + +Visions of "Let dogs delight" passed through the undergraduate's +mind; but it occurred to him that the poetry was English and that +he did not know the air. Hence he contributed no suggestion. + +"Something about our houselessness," said Elvira. + +"I have it," cried Leon. And he broke forth into a song of Pierre +Dupont's:- + + +"Savez-vous ou gite, +Mai, ce joli mois?" + + +Elvira joined in; so did Stubbs, with a good ear and voice, but an +imperfect acquaintance with the music. Leon and the guitar were +equal to the situation. The actor dispensed his throat-notes with +prodigality and enthusiasm; and, as he looked up to heaven in his +heroic way, tossing the black ringlets, it seemed to him that the +very stars contributed a dumb applause to his efforts, and the +universe lent him its silence for a chorus. That is one of the +best features of the heavenly bodies, that they belong to everybody +in particular; and a man like Leon, a chronic Endymion who managed +to get along without encouragement, is always the world's centre +for himself. + +He alone - and it is to be noted, he was the worst singer of the +three - took the music seriously to heart, and judged the serenade +from a high artistic point of view. Elvira, on the other hand, was +preoccupied about their reception; and, as for Stubbs, he +considered the whole affair in the light of a broad joke. + +"Know you the lair of May, the lovely month?" went the three voices +in the turnip-field. + +The inhabitants were plainly fluttered; the light moved to and fro, +strengthening in one window, paling in another; and then the door +was thrown open, and a man in a blouse appeared on the threshold +carrying a lamp. He was a powerful young fellow, with bewildered +hair and beard, wearing his neck open; his blouse was stained with +oil-colours in a harlequinesque disorder; and there was something +rural in the droop and bagginess of his belted trousers. + +From immediately behind him, and indeed over his shoulder, a +woman's face looked out into the darkness; it was pale and a little +weary, although still young; it wore a dwindling, disappearing +prettiness, soon to be quite gone, and the expression was both +gentle and sour, and reminded one faintly of the taste of certain +drugs. For all that, it was not a face to dislike; when the +prettiness had vanished, it seemed as if a certain pale beauty +might step in to take its place; and as both the mildness and the +asperity were characters of youth, it might be hoped that, with +years, both would merge into a constant, brave, and not unkindly +temper. + +"What is all this?" cried the man. + + + +CHAPTER VI + + + +Leon had his hat in his hand at once. He came forward with his +customary grace; it was a moment which would have earned him a +round of cheering on the stage. Elvira and Stubbs advanced behind +him, like a couple of Admetus's sheep following the god Apollo. + +"Sir," said Leon, "the hour is unpardonably late, and our little +serenade has the air of an impertinence. Believe me, sir, it is an +appeal. Monsieur is an artist, I perceive. We are here three +artists benighted and without shelter, one a woman - a delicate +woman - in evening dress - in an interesting situation. This will +not fail to touch the woman's heart of Madame, whom I perceive +indistinctly behind Monsieur her husband, and whose face speaks +eloquently of a well-regulated mind. Ah! Monsieur, Madame - one +generous movement, and you make three people happy! Two or three +hours beside your fire - I ask it of Monsieur in the name of Art - +I ask it of Madame by the sanctity of womanhood." + +The two, as by a tacit consent, drew back from the door. + +"Come in," said the man. + +"Entrez, Madame," said the woman. + +The door opened directly upon the kitchen of the house, which was +to all appearance the only sitting-room. The furniture was both +plain and scanty; but there were one or two landscapes on the wall +handsomely framed, as if they had already visited the committee- +rooms of an exhibition and been thence extruded. Leon walked up to +the pictures and represented the part of a connoisseur before each +in turn, with his usual dramatic insight and force. The master of +the house, as if irresistibly attracted, followed him from canvas +to canvas with the lamp. Elvira was led directly to the fire, +where she proceeded to warm herself, while Stubbs stood in the +middle of the floor and followed the proceedings of Leon with mild +astonishment in his eyes. + +"You should see them by daylight," said the artist. + +"I promise myself that pleasure," said Leon. "You possess, sir, if +you will permit me an observation, the art of composition to a T." + +"You are very good," returned the other. "But should you not draw +nearer to the fire?" + +"With all my heart," said Leon. + +And the whole party was soon gathered at the table over a hasty and +not an elegant cold supper, washed down with the least of small +wines. Nobody liked the meal, but nobody complained; they put a +good face upon it, one and all, and made a great clattering of +knives and forks. To see Leon eating a single cold sausage was to +see a triumph; by the time he had done he had got through as much +pantomime as would have sufficed for a baron of beef, and he had +the relaxed expression of the over-eaten. + +As Elvira had naturally taken a place by the side of Leon, and +Stubbs as naturally, although I believe unconsciously, by the side +of Elvira, the host and hostess were left together. Yet it was to +be noted that they never addressed a word to each other, nor so +much as suffered their eyes to meet. The interrupted skirmish +still survived in ill-feeling; and the instant the guests departed +it would break forth again as bitterly as ever. The talk wandered +from this to that subject - for with one accord the party had +declared it was too late to go to bed; but those two never relaxed +towards each other; Goneril and Regan in a sisterly tiff were not +more bent on enmity. + +It chanced that Elvira was so much tired by all the little +excitements of the night, that for once she laid aside her company +manners, which were both easy and correct, and in the most natural +manner in the world leaned her head on Leon's shoulder. At the +same time, fatigue suggesting tenderness, she locked the fingers of +her right hand into those of her husband's left; and, half closing +her eyes, dozed off into a golden borderland between sleep and +waking. But all the time she was not aware of what was passing, +and saw the painter's wife studying her with looks between contempt +and envy. + +It occurred to Leon that his constitution demanded the use of some +tobacco; and he undid his fingers from Elvira's in order to roll a +cigarette. It was gently done, and he took care that his +indulgence should in no other way disturb his wife's position. But +it seemed to catch the eye of the painter's wife with a special +significancy. She looked straight before her for an instant, and +then, with a swift and stealthy movement, took hold of her +husband's hand below the table. Alas! she might have spared +herself the dexterity. For the poor fellow was so overcome by this +caress that he stopped with his mouth open in the middle of a word, +and by the expression of his face plainly declared to all the +company that his thoughts had been diverted into softer channels. + +If it had not been rather amiable, it would have been absurdly +droll. His wife at once withdrew her touch; but it was plain she +had to exert some force. Thereupon the young man coloured and +looked for a moment beautiful. + +Leon and Elvira both observed the byplay, and a shock passed from +one to the other; for they were inveterate match-makers, especially +between those who were already married. + +"I beg your pardon," said Leon suddenly. "I see no use in +pretending. Before we came in here we heard sounds indicating - if +I may so express myself - an imperfect harmony." + +"Sir - " began the man. + +But the woman was beforehand. + +"It is quite true," she said. "I see no cause to be ashamed. If +my husband is mad I shall at least do my utmost to prevent the +consequences. Picture to yourself, Monsieur and Madame," she went +on, for she passed Stubbs over, "that this wretched person - a +dauber, an incompetent, not fit to be a sign-painter - receives +this morning an admirable offer from an uncle - an uncle of my own, +my mother's brother, and tenderly beloved - of a clerkship with +nearly a hundred and fifty pounds a year, and that he - picture to +yourself! - he refuses it! Why? For the sake of Art, he says. +Look at his art, I say - look at it! Is it fit to be seen? Ask +him - is it fit to be sold? And it is for this, Monsieur and +Madame, that he condemns me to the most deplorable existence, +without luxuries, without comforts, in a vile suburb of a country +town. O non!" she cried, "non - je ne me tairai pas - c'est plus +fort que moi! I take these gentlemen and this lady for judges - is +this kind? is it decent? is it manly? Do I not deserve better at +his hands after having married him and" - (a visible hitch) - "done +everything in the world to please him." + +I doubt if there were ever a more embarrassed company at a table; +every one looked like a fool; and the husband like the biggest. + +"The art of Monsieur, however," said Elvira, breaking the silence, +"is not wanting in distinction." + +"It has this distinction," said the wife, "that nobody will buy +it." + +"I should have supposed a clerkship - " began Stubbs. + +"Art is Art," swept in Leon. "I salute Art. It is the beautiful, +the divine; it is the spirit of the world, and the pride of life. +But - " And the actor paused. + +"A clerkship - " began Stubbs. + +"I'll tell you what it is," said the painter. "I am an artist, and +as this gentleman says, Art is this and the other; but of course, +if my wife is going to make my life a piece of perdition all day +long, I prefer to go and drown myself out of hand." + +"Go!" said his wife. "I should like to see you!" + +"I was going to say," resumed Stubbs, "that a fellow may be a clerk +and paint almost as much as he likes. I know a fellow in a bank +who makes capital water-colour sketches; he even sold one for +seven-and-six." + +To both the women this seemed a plank of safety; each hopefully +interrogated the countenance of her lord; even Elvira, an artist +herself! - but indeed there must be something permanently +mercantile in the female nature. The two men exchanged a glance; +it was tragic; not otherwise might two philosophers salute, as at +the end of a laborious life each recognised that he was still a +mystery to his disciples. + +Leon arose. + +"Art is Art," he repeated sadly. "It is not water-colour sketches, +nor practising on a piano. It is a life to be lived." + +"And in the meantime people starve!" observed the woman of the +house. "If that's a life, it is not one for me." + +"I'll tell you what," burst forth Leon; "you, Madame, go into +another room and talk it over with my wife; and I'll stay here and +talk it over with your husband. It may come to nothing, but let's +try." + +"I am very willing," replied the young woman; and she proceeded to +light a candle. "This way if you please." And she led Elvira +upstairs into a bedroom. "The fact is," said she, sitting down, +"that my husband cannot paint." + +"No more can mine act," replied Elvira. + +"I should have thought he could," returned the other; "he seems +clever." + +"He is so, and the best of men besides," said Elvira; "but he +cannot act." + +"At least he is not a sheer humbug like mine; he can at least +sing." + +"You mistake Leon," returned his wife warmly. "He does not even +pretend to sing; he has too fine a taste; he does so for a living. +And, believe me, neither of the men are humbugs. They are people +with a mission - which they cannot carry out." + +"Humbug or not," replied the other, "you came very near passing the +night in the fields; and, for my part, I live in terror of +starvation. I should think it was a man's mission to think twice +about his wife. But it appears not. Nothing is their mission but +to play the fool. Oh!" she broke out, "is it not something dreary +to think of that man of mine? If he could only do it, who would +care? But no - not he - no more than I can!" + +"Have you any children?" asked Elvira. + +"No; but then I may." + +"Children change so much," said Elvira, with a sigh. + +And just then from the room below there flew up a sudden snapping +chord on the guitar; one followed after another; then the voice of +Leon joined in; and there was an air being played and sung that +stopped the speech of the two women. The wife of the painter stood +like a person transfixed; Elvira, looking into her eyes, could see +all manner of beautiful memories and kind thoughts that were +passing in and out of her soul with every note; it was a piece of +her youth that went before her; a green French plain, the smell of +apple-flowers, the far and shining ringlets of a river, and the +words and presence of love. + +"Leon has hit the nail," thought Elvira to herself. "I wonder +how." + +The how was plain enough. Leon had asked the painter if there were +no air connected with courtship and pleasant times; and having +learnt what he wished, and allowed an interval to pass, he had +soared forth into + + +"O mon amante, +O mon desir, +Sachons cueillir +L'heure charmante!" + + +"Pardon me, Madame," said the painter's wife, "your husband sings +admirably well." + +"He sings that with some feeling," replied Elvira, critically, +although she was a little moved herself, for the song cut both ways +in the upper chamber; "but it is as an actor and not as a +musician." + +"Life is very sad," said the other; "it so wastes away under one's +fingers." + +"I have not found it so," replied Elvira. "I think the good parts +of it last and grow greater every day." + +"Frankly, how would you advise me?" + +"Frankly, I would let my husband do what he wished. He is +obviously a very loving painter; you have not yet tried him as a +clerk. And you know - if it were only as the possible father of +your children - it is as well to keep him at his best." + +"He is an excellent fellow," said the wife. + + +They kept it up till sunrise with music and all manner of good +fellowship; and at sunrise, while the sky was still temperate and +clear, they separated on the threshold with a thousand excellent +wishes for each other's welfare. Castel-le-Gachis was beginning to +send up its smoke against the golden East; and the church bell was +ringing six. + +"My guitar is a familiar spirit," said Leon, as he and Elvira took +the nearest way towards the inn, "it resuscitated a Commissary, +created an English tourist, and reconciled a man and wife." + +Stubbs, on his part, went off into the morning with reflections of +his own. + +"They are all mad," thought he, "all mad - but wonderfully decent." + + + + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of New Arabian Nights, by Stevenson + |