Chapter Twenty One.The Smuggler’s Vault.The appearance of young Gaffin at Hurlston must be accounted for.The old mill on the cliff, which belonged to Sir Reginald Castleton, was in a somewhat decayed condition, and had long been unoccupied, when a short time before the period at which our story commences, a stranger, calling himself Miles Gaffin, a miller by trade, called on Mr Groocock, and offered to take it. As he was ready to give a better rent than the steward expected to receive, he was glad to let it.Miles Gaffin had occupied the mill for about a year, when, leaving it in charge of his man, he disappeared for a time and returned with a wife and three boys, whom he placed in a neat cottage at some little distance from the mill. His wife was a foreigner, of dark complexion, who spoke no English, a care-worn, spirit-broken woman, it was said.She had little or no intercourse with her neighbours, who were unable to find out anything about her; indeed, either by her husband’s order or her own wish, she never admitted any of them within her doors.Some time after Miles Gaffin had been established at the mill, a lugger appeared off the coast, on board which he was seen to go. He had previously declared to Mr Groocock, notwithstanding his sunburnt countenance and undoubted sailor-like look, that he knew nothing of nautical affairs.Mr Groocock began to suspect that he had been deceived in the matter on finding that Gaffin had sailed away in the lugger, and did not return for many weeks.He confessed with a laugh when he next met the steward that he was really fond of the sea, and that whenever his business would allow him, he proposed taking a trip to indulge his fancy. He went so far even to invite Mr Groocock to accompany him, his offer, however, as may be supposed, being declined.On one side of the mill the ground sloped rapidly down for twenty feet or more, and here a house was erected, the roof of which reached scarcely higher than the basement of the mill itself, so that the arms on which the sails were stretched could pass freely over it. This building had been in even a more dilapidated condition than the mill itself. The lower portion was used as a stable, where the miller kept his horse, the upper contained two rooms. Miles Gaffin had partially repaired the house, and had had the two rooms fitted up as sleeping apartments, that he might, as he said, put up any guest whom he could not accommodate in his own house. From the time he had taken possession of it he had, however, admitted none of his neighbours, though it was rumoured that strange men who had landed from the suspicious lugger had been observed entering the house, and sometimes leaving it, either on foot or on horseback, and making their way inland; lights also had been seen at all hours of the night when certainly the mill itself was not at work. It was remarked, too, by several of the fishermen in the neighbourhood, that the stranger had been carrying on some work or other either inside the house or below the mill, as they had observed a large quantity of earth which had been thrown down over the cliff, and though part of it had been washed away by the spring tides, it still went on increasing. When one of them made an observation to him on the subject, he replied promptly that he had heard a noise one night, and had no doubt that part of the cliff had given way. However, considering the risk there was, should such have been the case, of his mill being carried down bodily to the beach, he took the matter very coolly.From time to time a still larger quantity of earth was observed, and it was whispered by one or two of his more sagacious neighbours that Miles Gaffin must be excavating a vault beneath his mill, possibly for the purpose of forming a granary in which to store corn purchased by him when prices were low. Why, however, he had not employed any of the labourers in the neighbourhood, or why he should have the work carried on in secret, no one could determine. Still the idea prevailed that a vault of some sort had been formed; but after a time the matter was forgotten. No one, indeed, had much fancy for asking the miller inquisitive questions, as he generally gave such replies as to make people wish that they had not put them. He was, indeed, looked upon as a morose, haughty man, who, considering himself superior to the other inhabitants of the village, was not inclined to allow any familiarity. He had never been known to seek for custom. He had brought a man with him to work the mill who was even more surly and morose than his master. Poor Dusty Dick, as he was called, was deaf and dumb, so that he could only express his feelings by his looks, and they were unprepossessing in the extreme. When corn was brought he ground it and returned the proper quantity of flour on receiving payment, though he would never give it up without that.The miller wished it to be understood that he ground his neighbour’s corn as a favour, and that his chief profits arose from turning into flour the wheat which came by sea on board the lugger. This statement was borne out by the large number of sacks which her crew were frequently seen landing. Waggons from a distance also frequently arrived, and being loaded with flour, were sent off again to the places from whence they came. The miller’s business, however, it was evident, was not a steady one; sometimes for weeks together the long arms of the mill were only seen working for a few hours now and then, and at others the miller and his companions were as busy as bees, while the sails went spinning round at a great rate, as if trying to make amends for lost time.Miles Gaffin continued to make frequent voyages in the lugger, of which he was generally supposed to be the owner. Sometimes he was several months together absent. When he came back he was so busy at the mill that he was seldom seen at the cottage where his family resided.As soon as his boys were old enough he sent them away to school. When they came back for their holidays they were noted chiefly for being the most noisy, wild, and worst mannered lads in the place, especially held in dread by Miss Pemberton, who had frequently rebuked them when she saw them playing games on a Sunday in the village, and had received rude answers in return. The youngest was, notwithstanding, a fine, manly looking boy, and the only one ever seen in his father’s company.On one occasion Gaffin had taken him on board the lugger, but the lad had not returned, and it was said that he had been knocked overboard in a gale of wind, and drowned.On Gaffin’s return after this event, his wife, as it was supposed, on his suddenly communicating the boy’s death, became ill. A doctor was sent for, but the stroke had gone too far home for human cure, and in a short time the hapless woman breathed her last.On this Miles sent back his sons to school, and from that time, greatly to the relief of Miss Pemberton, they did not make their appearance in the village. He gave up his cottage, and after that took up his abode, when at Hurlston, entirely at the mill-house.A short time before the reappearance of his son at Hurlston, as just mentioned, he had himself, after a considerable absence, returned. He had been of late unsuccessful in his undertakings, whatever they were, and even Dusty Dick, as he observed his master’s countenance, thought it prudent, as much as possible, to keep out of his way.Several strangers had come with him on board the lugger, and had taken possession of one of the rooms in the mill-house, while he occupied the other. They were personages unaccustomed apparently to soft beds or luxuries of any sort, so that they were perfectly at home in the roughly furnished room; and when they wished to sleep they found, when wrapped in their cloaks, all the comfort they desired.Besides a couple of tressel beds, a long deal table, with benches on either side, were the chief articles of furniture.The miller and his guests were seated round the table, on which stood the remnants of their supper. Their conversation related chiefly to an adventure in which they had lately been engaged, while political subjects were also discussed.“Now, mates,” said Gaffin, rising, “I have got business to attend to before I turn in, but I will leave you to put on your night-caps whenever you have a fancy.”“This is the only night-cap I ever put on,” answered one of the men, pouring out half a tumbler of brandy. “It serves for night-cap and blanket too, and keeps a fellow from dreaming, an occupation I have no fancy for.”“You are not going to leave us yet, captain, are you? We have not reached the small hours of the night,” said a second. “Another stoup of liquor, man; we are on firm ground, and no king’s cruisers are in chase of us; you need not fear if it sends you to sleep, or makes you see double for once in a way.”Gaffin still, however, refused to sit down again, even though other urgent appeals were made to him, couched in much coarser language, interlarded with not a few strange oaths, which need not be repeated.“I have told you, mates, that I have business to attend to. Amuse yourselves as you list, only don’t get to brawling, or burn the house down in your revels; if you do, remember you will chance to burn with it before your time comes.”The smuggler captain, for such he appeared to be considered by his ruffianly companions, without again speaking left the room.He repaired at once to his own chamber, and sitting down at a table, on which a lamp burned, he opened a desk, took a huge pocket-book from his coat, and began to examine several documents which it contained.“I must raise the wind by fair means or foul to satisfy my fellows, as well as to make another venture before I cry die. Unless that is as unsuccessful as the last, I shall soon redeem my fortunes.”He sat for some time ruminating, now and then turning to his papers, and casting up accounts. Suddenly a thought occurred to him.“How came I so long to forget the chest I got only off the wreck from which old Halliburt saved the little girl?” he muttered. “Though I took out not a few valuables, there were all sorts of things at the bottom of the chest, which, now I think of it, I never turned over. I will have a look at them this very night. Even a few gold pieces would be welcome, and it was evidently the treasure chest of some Indian nabob or other, his ill-gotten gains from the wretched natives he had fleeced and cheated.”He went to a chest of drawers in which he found a key.“This must be it,” he said, “by its foreign make.”Taking the lamp he left the chamber, and descended the stairs. The sound of boisterous revelry proceeded from the room where his guests were assembled.“The drunken brutes are not likely to disturb me,” he growled out, “and Dick is fast asleep in his loft.”Going across the stable, on removing a heap of straw he found a low door, which opened with a key he produced from his pocket. Going through it, he closed it carefully behind him.He now stood in a low vaulted cavern, the earth supported by upright pieces of stout timber, with flat boards above them, which prevented the sandy soil in which it was cut from falling in. This was the excavation which he, with a few trusty companions, had formed many years ago.Various sorts of goods were piled up in it—casks of spirits, bales of tobacco, silk, and several other articles. In a recess at the further end was a large chest.After several attempts, for the lock from disuse was rusted, he opened it, and placing the lamp, resting on a piece of board, at one corner of the chest, he sat down on a cask by its side. On first glancing into it there appeared to be little or nothing within; but, on examining it further, he found that there was a large tray at the bottom, which apparently, on some former hurried examination, had escaped his notice. On lifting this a number of articles were revealed closely packed; they were mostly cases of various sizes. There was a jewelled-handled sword, a curious dagger, and a brace of richly ornamented pistols, two or three silver bowls and cups, and other articles which had probably been presented by native princes or other wealthy men to the owner of the chest. Several of the cases contained jewels evidently of great value, which, as they glittered in the light, the smuggler gazed at with intense satisfaction.“And I have had all this wealth at my command and never knew of it,” he muttered. “I guessed the girl must have had wealthy friends, and as this chest must have belonged to them, it would have been worth my while to get hold of her. As, however, they have never appeared, I have been saved the trouble and expense she would have been to me, and now this store comes just in the nick of time when I want it most. The only difficulty will be to dispose of all these things without raising suspicion as to how I came by them. Still, at the worst, I can but tell the truth should questions be asked, and prove that I got them from a wreck. At all events, there are Jews enough in London who will give me cash for them, though it may cost me not a little trouble to wring their proper value out of the close-fisted hypocrites.”Such were the thoughts which occupied the smuggler’s mind as he examined in succession the articles which have been mentioned.At last he came to another case or writing-desk, which was locked.“I may as well overhaul the whole at once,” he thought. “I must get this opened somehow.”A sailor’s strong knife was the only implement at hand. He broke off a portion of the blade in making the attempt. At length he succeeded, though he injured the case in the operation. Placing the desk on his knees, he examined the contents, which consisted of a number of papers, title-deeds, official documents in oriental characters, and other papers apparently of value, together with several bills of exchange for a large amount, and rolls of gold coin.“Ah, ah! these will save me from going to the Jews as yet,” he exclaimed. “I will keep the jewels and other things till any future necessity compels me to part with them.”Having examined the coin to assure himself that he was not mistaken, he was glancing carelessly over the papers, when his eye fell on a name which attracted his attention. He eagerly read through the paper, and then looked for another and another. A deep frown settled on his brow, while a look of satisfaction kindled in his eye.“If Satan himself had been asked to do my command, he could not please me better than this,” he exclaimed. “I can now more amply than I had expected accomplish the design I have for years waited for. And while I enrich myself, I shall without risk humble those I have good reason to hate.”He was now lost in thought, now again glancing over the papers.“They and the other things will be safer here, where they have lain so long, than in the house which may get burned down through some drunken spree by the fellows I have to harbour. But the coin may as well go into my pockets at once,” he said to himself, as he put back the desk with its contents in the chest.Having replaced the tray, he brought some straw from another part of the vault, and threw in a sufficient quantity to conceal it should by any chance the chest be opened by any one else.“This will make it be supposed that there is nothing below,” he said to himself, as he closed the lid and locked it.At length leaving the vault, he returned to his chamber. His companions’ revels had ceased, and now loud snores only came from the room where they were sleeping. He threw himself on his bed, but his busy brain was too hard at work to allow him to sleep.
The appearance of young Gaffin at Hurlston must be accounted for.
The old mill on the cliff, which belonged to Sir Reginald Castleton, was in a somewhat decayed condition, and had long been unoccupied, when a short time before the period at which our story commences, a stranger, calling himself Miles Gaffin, a miller by trade, called on Mr Groocock, and offered to take it. As he was ready to give a better rent than the steward expected to receive, he was glad to let it.
Miles Gaffin had occupied the mill for about a year, when, leaving it in charge of his man, he disappeared for a time and returned with a wife and three boys, whom he placed in a neat cottage at some little distance from the mill. His wife was a foreigner, of dark complexion, who spoke no English, a care-worn, spirit-broken woman, it was said.
She had little or no intercourse with her neighbours, who were unable to find out anything about her; indeed, either by her husband’s order or her own wish, she never admitted any of them within her doors.
Some time after Miles Gaffin had been established at the mill, a lugger appeared off the coast, on board which he was seen to go. He had previously declared to Mr Groocock, notwithstanding his sunburnt countenance and undoubted sailor-like look, that he knew nothing of nautical affairs.
Mr Groocock began to suspect that he had been deceived in the matter on finding that Gaffin had sailed away in the lugger, and did not return for many weeks.
He confessed with a laugh when he next met the steward that he was really fond of the sea, and that whenever his business would allow him, he proposed taking a trip to indulge his fancy. He went so far even to invite Mr Groocock to accompany him, his offer, however, as may be supposed, being declined.
On one side of the mill the ground sloped rapidly down for twenty feet or more, and here a house was erected, the roof of which reached scarcely higher than the basement of the mill itself, so that the arms on which the sails were stretched could pass freely over it. This building had been in even a more dilapidated condition than the mill itself. The lower portion was used as a stable, where the miller kept his horse, the upper contained two rooms. Miles Gaffin had partially repaired the house, and had had the two rooms fitted up as sleeping apartments, that he might, as he said, put up any guest whom he could not accommodate in his own house. From the time he had taken possession of it he had, however, admitted none of his neighbours, though it was rumoured that strange men who had landed from the suspicious lugger had been observed entering the house, and sometimes leaving it, either on foot or on horseback, and making their way inland; lights also had been seen at all hours of the night when certainly the mill itself was not at work. It was remarked, too, by several of the fishermen in the neighbourhood, that the stranger had been carrying on some work or other either inside the house or below the mill, as they had observed a large quantity of earth which had been thrown down over the cliff, and though part of it had been washed away by the spring tides, it still went on increasing. When one of them made an observation to him on the subject, he replied promptly that he had heard a noise one night, and had no doubt that part of the cliff had given way. However, considering the risk there was, should such have been the case, of his mill being carried down bodily to the beach, he took the matter very coolly.
From time to time a still larger quantity of earth was observed, and it was whispered by one or two of his more sagacious neighbours that Miles Gaffin must be excavating a vault beneath his mill, possibly for the purpose of forming a granary in which to store corn purchased by him when prices were low. Why, however, he had not employed any of the labourers in the neighbourhood, or why he should have the work carried on in secret, no one could determine. Still the idea prevailed that a vault of some sort had been formed; but after a time the matter was forgotten. No one, indeed, had much fancy for asking the miller inquisitive questions, as he generally gave such replies as to make people wish that they had not put them. He was, indeed, looked upon as a morose, haughty man, who, considering himself superior to the other inhabitants of the village, was not inclined to allow any familiarity. He had never been known to seek for custom. He had brought a man with him to work the mill who was even more surly and morose than his master. Poor Dusty Dick, as he was called, was deaf and dumb, so that he could only express his feelings by his looks, and they were unprepossessing in the extreme. When corn was brought he ground it and returned the proper quantity of flour on receiving payment, though he would never give it up without that.
The miller wished it to be understood that he ground his neighbour’s corn as a favour, and that his chief profits arose from turning into flour the wheat which came by sea on board the lugger. This statement was borne out by the large number of sacks which her crew were frequently seen landing. Waggons from a distance also frequently arrived, and being loaded with flour, were sent off again to the places from whence they came. The miller’s business, however, it was evident, was not a steady one; sometimes for weeks together the long arms of the mill were only seen working for a few hours now and then, and at others the miller and his companions were as busy as bees, while the sails went spinning round at a great rate, as if trying to make amends for lost time.
Miles Gaffin continued to make frequent voyages in the lugger, of which he was generally supposed to be the owner. Sometimes he was several months together absent. When he came back he was so busy at the mill that he was seldom seen at the cottage where his family resided.
As soon as his boys were old enough he sent them away to school. When they came back for their holidays they were noted chiefly for being the most noisy, wild, and worst mannered lads in the place, especially held in dread by Miss Pemberton, who had frequently rebuked them when she saw them playing games on a Sunday in the village, and had received rude answers in return. The youngest was, notwithstanding, a fine, manly looking boy, and the only one ever seen in his father’s company.
On one occasion Gaffin had taken him on board the lugger, but the lad had not returned, and it was said that he had been knocked overboard in a gale of wind, and drowned.
On Gaffin’s return after this event, his wife, as it was supposed, on his suddenly communicating the boy’s death, became ill. A doctor was sent for, but the stroke had gone too far home for human cure, and in a short time the hapless woman breathed her last.
On this Miles sent back his sons to school, and from that time, greatly to the relief of Miss Pemberton, they did not make their appearance in the village. He gave up his cottage, and after that took up his abode, when at Hurlston, entirely at the mill-house.
A short time before the reappearance of his son at Hurlston, as just mentioned, he had himself, after a considerable absence, returned. He had been of late unsuccessful in his undertakings, whatever they were, and even Dusty Dick, as he observed his master’s countenance, thought it prudent, as much as possible, to keep out of his way.
Several strangers had come with him on board the lugger, and had taken possession of one of the rooms in the mill-house, while he occupied the other. They were personages unaccustomed apparently to soft beds or luxuries of any sort, so that they were perfectly at home in the roughly furnished room; and when they wished to sleep they found, when wrapped in their cloaks, all the comfort they desired.
Besides a couple of tressel beds, a long deal table, with benches on either side, were the chief articles of furniture.
The miller and his guests were seated round the table, on which stood the remnants of their supper. Their conversation related chiefly to an adventure in which they had lately been engaged, while political subjects were also discussed.
“Now, mates,” said Gaffin, rising, “I have got business to attend to before I turn in, but I will leave you to put on your night-caps whenever you have a fancy.”
“This is the only night-cap I ever put on,” answered one of the men, pouring out half a tumbler of brandy. “It serves for night-cap and blanket too, and keeps a fellow from dreaming, an occupation I have no fancy for.”
“You are not going to leave us yet, captain, are you? We have not reached the small hours of the night,” said a second. “Another stoup of liquor, man; we are on firm ground, and no king’s cruisers are in chase of us; you need not fear if it sends you to sleep, or makes you see double for once in a way.”
Gaffin still, however, refused to sit down again, even though other urgent appeals were made to him, couched in much coarser language, interlarded with not a few strange oaths, which need not be repeated.
“I have told you, mates, that I have business to attend to. Amuse yourselves as you list, only don’t get to brawling, or burn the house down in your revels; if you do, remember you will chance to burn with it before your time comes.”
The smuggler captain, for such he appeared to be considered by his ruffianly companions, without again speaking left the room.
He repaired at once to his own chamber, and sitting down at a table, on which a lamp burned, he opened a desk, took a huge pocket-book from his coat, and began to examine several documents which it contained.
“I must raise the wind by fair means or foul to satisfy my fellows, as well as to make another venture before I cry die. Unless that is as unsuccessful as the last, I shall soon redeem my fortunes.”
He sat for some time ruminating, now and then turning to his papers, and casting up accounts. Suddenly a thought occurred to him.
“How came I so long to forget the chest I got only off the wreck from which old Halliburt saved the little girl?” he muttered. “Though I took out not a few valuables, there were all sorts of things at the bottom of the chest, which, now I think of it, I never turned over. I will have a look at them this very night. Even a few gold pieces would be welcome, and it was evidently the treasure chest of some Indian nabob or other, his ill-gotten gains from the wretched natives he had fleeced and cheated.”
He went to a chest of drawers in which he found a key.
“This must be it,” he said, “by its foreign make.”
Taking the lamp he left the chamber, and descended the stairs. The sound of boisterous revelry proceeded from the room where his guests were assembled.
“The drunken brutes are not likely to disturb me,” he growled out, “and Dick is fast asleep in his loft.”
Going across the stable, on removing a heap of straw he found a low door, which opened with a key he produced from his pocket. Going through it, he closed it carefully behind him.
He now stood in a low vaulted cavern, the earth supported by upright pieces of stout timber, with flat boards above them, which prevented the sandy soil in which it was cut from falling in. This was the excavation which he, with a few trusty companions, had formed many years ago.
Various sorts of goods were piled up in it—casks of spirits, bales of tobacco, silk, and several other articles. In a recess at the further end was a large chest.
After several attempts, for the lock from disuse was rusted, he opened it, and placing the lamp, resting on a piece of board, at one corner of the chest, he sat down on a cask by its side. On first glancing into it there appeared to be little or nothing within; but, on examining it further, he found that there was a large tray at the bottom, which apparently, on some former hurried examination, had escaped his notice. On lifting this a number of articles were revealed closely packed; they were mostly cases of various sizes. There was a jewelled-handled sword, a curious dagger, and a brace of richly ornamented pistols, two or three silver bowls and cups, and other articles which had probably been presented by native princes or other wealthy men to the owner of the chest. Several of the cases contained jewels evidently of great value, which, as they glittered in the light, the smuggler gazed at with intense satisfaction.
“And I have had all this wealth at my command and never knew of it,” he muttered. “I guessed the girl must have had wealthy friends, and as this chest must have belonged to them, it would have been worth my while to get hold of her. As, however, they have never appeared, I have been saved the trouble and expense she would have been to me, and now this store comes just in the nick of time when I want it most. The only difficulty will be to dispose of all these things without raising suspicion as to how I came by them. Still, at the worst, I can but tell the truth should questions be asked, and prove that I got them from a wreck. At all events, there are Jews enough in London who will give me cash for them, though it may cost me not a little trouble to wring their proper value out of the close-fisted hypocrites.”
Such were the thoughts which occupied the smuggler’s mind as he examined in succession the articles which have been mentioned.
At last he came to another case or writing-desk, which was locked.
“I may as well overhaul the whole at once,” he thought. “I must get this opened somehow.”
A sailor’s strong knife was the only implement at hand. He broke off a portion of the blade in making the attempt. At length he succeeded, though he injured the case in the operation. Placing the desk on his knees, he examined the contents, which consisted of a number of papers, title-deeds, official documents in oriental characters, and other papers apparently of value, together with several bills of exchange for a large amount, and rolls of gold coin.
“Ah, ah! these will save me from going to the Jews as yet,” he exclaimed. “I will keep the jewels and other things till any future necessity compels me to part with them.”
Having examined the coin to assure himself that he was not mistaken, he was glancing carelessly over the papers, when his eye fell on a name which attracted his attention. He eagerly read through the paper, and then looked for another and another. A deep frown settled on his brow, while a look of satisfaction kindled in his eye.
“If Satan himself had been asked to do my command, he could not please me better than this,” he exclaimed. “I can now more amply than I had expected accomplish the design I have for years waited for. And while I enrich myself, I shall without risk humble those I have good reason to hate.”
He was now lost in thought, now again glancing over the papers.
“They and the other things will be safer here, where they have lain so long, than in the house which may get burned down through some drunken spree by the fellows I have to harbour. But the coin may as well go into my pockets at once,” he said to himself, as he put back the desk with its contents in the chest.
Having replaced the tray, he brought some straw from another part of the vault, and threw in a sufficient quantity to conceal it should by any chance the chest be opened by any one else.
“This will make it be supposed that there is nothing below,” he said to himself, as he closed the lid and locked it.
At length leaving the vault, he returned to his chamber. His companions’ revels had ceased, and now loud snores only came from the room where they were sleeping. He threw himself on his bed, but his busy brain was too hard at work to allow him to sleep.
Chapter Twenty Two.Miles Gaffin, Junior.Miles Gaffin lay on his bed turning over in his thoughts the information he had obtained, and considering how he could gain the most advantage from it. Returning to the table, he sat down to write. He was a man of decision. With him to propose was to act. “My son Myles,” he wrote, for it was not his wont to use terms of endearment, “you are to come here at once. Tell Mr Crotch so from me; you need not say more to him. I want you to make your fortune by a way to which you will not object marrying a young and pretty wife. When you come you shall know more about the matter. Get a good rig out, so as to appear to advantage. Wait at the Texford Arms, where I will meet you, but don’t come to the mill. From your father, Miles Gaffin.”The letter was speedily sealed and directed, and sent off the next morning to the post by one of his companions, who, by that time, was sufficiently sober to undertake the errand.Gaffin’s lugger, theLively, lay at anchor off the mill. She had no contraband goods on board, so that a visit from the revenue officers need not be feared. He had previously intended going away in her, but he now was anxious to see his son before he sailed. His difficulty, in the meantime, was to dispose of his guests. They, however, as long as his supply of liquor and provisions lasted, would be content to remain where they were. He had no wish to bring his son among them, for bad as he himself was, he had, since the loss of his youngest boy, kept his other two children ignorant of his mode of life, though it was possible that the eldest might have suspected it from circumstances which he must have remembered in his younger days.Gaffin waited with more patience than he generally exercised, till he calculated that a sufficient time had elapsed to allow of his son’s arrival. He then walked down to the little inn in the village.Just as he readied it, a post-chaise drove up to the door, out of which stepped a young man, whom he recognised as Miles, though he had not seen him for the last three or four years.“You are my son, Miles, I conclude,” said Gaffin.“You are my father, I suppose,” answered the young man in the same tone.“You are right,” said Gaffin. “Pay the post-boy, and let him bring your portmanteau into the house. I will order a room, and we will talk over the matter in hand.”The landlady having shown Gaffin into a room, young Miles did as he was directed, and followed him.“Well, I want to know more about this business you sent for me about,” said the young man, throwing himself into a chair. “I have done as you told me, and I hope you think I have got a good chance.”Gaffin surveyed his son for a moment.“Yes, you will do, as far as that goes,” he answered. “Now listen to me; I don’t want to be asked questions, but do you trust to me and go ahead. There is a young girl whom you remember when you were a boy. She was found on board a wreck by Adam Halliburt, the fisherman, and brought up by him and his wife. Two old ladies here took a fancy to her, and have given her an education which has made her fit to be the wife of any gentleman in the land. She is pretty, too, and everything a young fellow could wish for. I happen to know to a certainty that she is a prize worth winning. When you have seen her, I am much mistaken if you would not give your eyes to have her, without asking any questions, and I am not going to answer them, if you do. I have your interests at heart, and wish to serve you in the matter.”“I have no doubt you have, but I should like to have a look at the girl before I decide,” answered young Miles.“That you can do to-morrow at church where she is sure to be, and when you have seen her don’t let there be any shilly shallying; make up to her at once, most girls like to be won in an off-hand manner, and just do you go and tell her how you have seen her and fallen in love with her, and all that sort of thing. I daresay you have had some experience already.”“Pretty well in a sort of way,” answered the young man in a conceited tone. “If I have got your word that she is worth winning, you will find I am not backward, and I hope, before long, to give a good report of progress.”Gaffin, satisfied that his son would do all he desired, charged him to keep himself quiet and not get into any scrapes while at Hurlston.“People here will know you are my son, so just get a good name for yourself, and whatever they may think, they cannot say you are not a fit match for the old fisherman’s foster-daughter,” and Gaffin gave way to a laugh such as he rarely indulged in. “I will come down here again and have a talk with you after you have seen the girl. Now there is one thing more I have got to say, though I do not know to a cute fellow like you whether the caution is necessary; don’t go and be blabbing to others of what you are about.”“I have been too long with Mr Crotch not to know how to keep a secret,” answered the young man; “and I fancy I can manage this affair as I have done several others for my employer. I do not mean love affairs though, but matters of business in which I have given him perfect satisfaction, he tells me.”The conference over, Gaffin again charged his son to behave himself, and with no more show of affection than he had exhibited on the young man’s arrival, took his departure and returned to the mill.He kept within doors endeavouring to maintain order among his lawless associates. He wished not to be seen in company with his son, or to let it be supposed that he was instigating him in his siege on Maiden May’s heart. From the accounts he had received from Mr Crotch of that young gentleman’s talents, he believed that he could allow the matter to rest securely in his hands. If impudence was to carry the day young Miles would come off victorious, as he was known to possess no inconsiderable amount of that quality.Gaffin had an excuse for remaining at the mill, as a larger quantity of grist than usual had been brought, and, for a wonder, its long arms with the sails stretched out went merrily round and round, giving Dusty Dick ample employment. The smuggler’s crew grumbled at not having their dinner cooked in time. Dusty Dick had to take charge of the kitchen in addition to his other duties, and the mill required his attention. Gaffin had accordingly to serve out an additional supply of liquor to keep his guests quiet. He succeeded so effectually that, seasoned as they were, one and all were soon unable to quit the house, leaving him at liberty to attend to his own affairs.“The beasts,” he said, as he looked in upon the drunken ruffians, some sleeping with their heads on the table, others fallen under it, and others stretched their length on the beds, or at the side of the room. “They will stay there quiet enough till I want them, and no one is likely to come prying this way to disturb their slumbers.”Securely bolting the door of the house he passed by a back way into the mill, where, after giving some directions to Dusty Dick, he descended to the beach. A small boat lay there which he was able to launch by himself, and pulling off in her he went on board the lugger. He had left the most trusted part of his crew in her, including his mate, Tom Fidget, on whom he could always rely, not that Tom objected to get drunk “at proper times and seasons,” as he observed, but duty first and pleasure afterwards was his maxim. His notions of duty were, to be sure, somewhat lax, according to the strict rules of morality, and his only idea of pleasure was a drunken spree on shore when he could leave the craft without risk of her suffering damage either from wind and weather, or the officers of the law. He was a bullet-headed fellow, with a figure almost as wide as long, small keen eyes, and a turned up nose scarcely perceptible beyond his puffed out copper-coloured cheeks.Pipe in mouth he was taking his usual fisherman’s walk, when the captain stepped on board.“The craft shall not be kept here longer than can be helped, Tom, and you must be ready to start at a moment’s notice,” he observed. “I have some business to attend to first, however, so it won’t be for a day or two, though that does not matter, as the weather promises to hold fine. Only keep the fellows sober, for I have as many drunken men on shore as I can manage, and it won’t do to have all the hands in the same state. The next time it will be your turn to go on shore, and you may then drink as much liquor as you can hold, and enjoy yourself to your heart’s content.”Gaffin having given these directions, returned on shore again. Several days passed and Gaffin again went in the evening to the Texford Arms to meet his hopeful son. The young gentleman was in, the landlady answered, in the room upstairs.“Well, what progress have you made?” asked Gaffin, as he entered and found young Miles lounging lazily alone, a pipe in his mouth and a glass of brandy and water by his side.“I thought I knew something about girls,” was the answer, “and that I could come round her much as I have done with others, who wouldn’t think themselves much beneath her, in our town, and I was not going to be stopped by any nonsense.”“I don’t want to hear what you thought, but what you did,” said his father.“Well, you shall, if that’s your wish,” answered Miles. “I went to church on Sunday and had a good look at her, and thought she saw me with my eyes fixed on her from one end of the service to the other, but she hurried home among a lot of people, and I hadn’t a chance of getting alongside to put in a word. For three whole days she never showed outside the gates, and I thought at last of going and calling on the old ladies with a story I had got up, but when I came to learn what sort of people they are, I found that would not do. Then I thought of another plan.”“I tell you I don’t want your thought’s,” growled Gaffin. “What were your acts?”“That’s what I was coming to,” answered Miles. “As ill-luck would have it I was off watch when she slipped out, and I discovered had gone down to old Halliburt’s. You may be sure I kept a look-out for her on her return. I saw her coming along, and thought I had got the game in my own hands, but by—” and he swore a fearful oath, “the girl was altogether different to those I have had to do with. Beautiful, I believe you, she is, but as haughty as if she was a born princess; and just as I was going to show her what sort of a fellow I was, she slipped away and ran off towards a young chap and took his arm, just as if she had been accustomed to keep company with him. I watched them as they went by, and he seemed to be looking for me in no very friendly mood, for I saw him double his fists, and he was not the sort of fellow I wished to come to close quarters with, or I would have gone up to him and asked what he meant by carrying off the girl I was talking to.”“The long and short of it,” said Gaffin, as soon as he could master his anger, “is that you frightened the young lady, and got a rebuff which you might have expected. But as for the young fellow, I know who he is, and he won’t interfere with you. Just do you go on and persevere, and if you do not succeed we must try other means. Marry the girl I am determined you shall, whether she likes it or not, and I can depend upon you. Remember I am not one to have my plans thwarted, least of all by my own son.”“I will not thwart them, you may trust me for that,” answered Miles. “The girl is about as pretty as I ever set eyes on, and I am obliged to you for putting me up to the matter. But, I say, I should like to know more about her. You led me to suppose that there is some secret you had got hold of—what is it?”“That’s nothing to you at present. Your business is to win the girl, whether she is a fisherman’s or a lord’s daughter. She was brought up as the Halliburt’s child, though I suppose she knows that she is not, yet she has no reason to think much of herself, except on account of her good looks, and those, from what I have heard of the old ladies she lives with, they would have taught her not to pride herself on.”Gaffin’s last directions to his son were to keep himself quiet for a time, and to wait his opportunity for again meeting May under more favourable circumstances.“I will write to Crotch and tell him that a matter of importance keeps you from returning just yet, and if good luck attends us you may not see his face again. I will not say that though, eh?” and Gaffin indulged in a chuckle, the nearest approach he ever made to a laugh.
Miles Gaffin lay on his bed turning over in his thoughts the information he had obtained, and considering how he could gain the most advantage from it. Returning to the table, he sat down to write. He was a man of decision. With him to propose was to act. “My son Myles,” he wrote, for it was not his wont to use terms of endearment, “you are to come here at once. Tell Mr Crotch so from me; you need not say more to him. I want you to make your fortune by a way to which you will not object marrying a young and pretty wife. When you come you shall know more about the matter. Get a good rig out, so as to appear to advantage. Wait at the Texford Arms, where I will meet you, but don’t come to the mill. From your father, Miles Gaffin.”
The letter was speedily sealed and directed, and sent off the next morning to the post by one of his companions, who, by that time, was sufficiently sober to undertake the errand.
Gaffin’s lugger, theLively, lay at anchor off the mill. She had no contraband goods on board, so that a visit from the revenue officers need not be feared. He had previously intended going away in her, but he now was anxious to see his son before he sailed. His difficulty, in the meantime, was to dispose of his guests. They, however, as long as his supply of liquor and provisions lasted, would be content to remain where they were. He had no wish to bring his son among them, for bad as he himself was, he had, since the loss of his youngest boy, kept his other two children ignorant of his mode of life, though it was possible that the eldest might have suspected it from circumstances which he must have remembered in his younger days.
Gaffin waited with more patience than he generally exercised, till he calculated that a sufficient time had elapsed to allow of his son’s arrival. He then walked down to the little inn in the village.
Just as he readied it, a post-chaise drove up to the door, out of which stepped a young man, whom he recognised as Miles, though he had not seen him for the last three or four years.
“You are my son, Miles, I conclude,” said Gaffin.
“You are my father, I suppose,” answered the young man in the same tone.
“You are right,” said Gaffin. “Pay the post-boy, and let him bring your portmanteau into the house. I will order a room, and we will talk over the matter in hand.”
The landlady having shown Gaffin into a room, young Miles did as he was directed, and followed him.
“Well, I want to know more about this business you sent for me about,” said the young man, throwing himself into a chair. “I have done as you told me, and I hope you think I have got a good chance.”
Gaffin surveyed his son for a moment.
“Yes, you will do, as far as that goes,” he answered. “Now listen to me; I don’t want to be asked questions, but do you trust to me and go ahead. There is a young girl whom you remember when you were a boy. She was found on board a wreck by Adam Halliburt, the fisherman, and brought up by him and his wife. Two old ladies here took a fancy to her, and have given her an education which has made her fit to be the wife of any gentleman in the land. She is pretty, too, and everything a young fellow could wish for. I happen to know to a certainty that she is a prize worth winning. When you have seen her, I am much mistaken if you would not give your eyes to have her, without asking any questions, and I am not going to answer them, if you do. I have your interests at heart, and wish to serve you in the matter.”
“I have no doubt you have, but I should like to have a look at the girl before I decide,” answered young Miles.
“That you can do to-morrow at church where she is sure to be, and when you have seen her don’t let there be any shilly shallying; make up to her at once, most girls like to be won in an off-hand manner, and just do you go and tell her how you have seen her and fallen in love with her, and all that sort of thing. I daresay you have had some experience already.”
“Pretty well in a sort of way,” answered the young man in a conceited tone. “If I have got your word that she is worth winning, you will find I am not backward, and I hope, before long, to give a good report of progress.”
Gaffin, satisfied that his son would do all he desired, charged him to keep himself quiet and not get into any scrapes while at Hurlston.
“People here will know you are my son, so just get a good name for yourself, and whatever they may think, they cannot say you are not a fit match for the old fisherman’s foster-daughter,” and Gaffin gave way to a laugh such as he rarely indulged in. “I will come down here again and have a talk with you after you have seen the girl. Now there is one thing more I have got to say, though I do not know to a cute fellow like you whether the caution is necessary; don’t go and be blabbing to others of what you are about.”
“I have been too long with Mr Crotch not to know how to keep a secret,” answered the young man; “and I fancy I can manage this affair as I have done several others for my employer. I do not mean love affairs though, but matters of business in which I have given him perfect satisfaction, he tells me.”
The conference over, Gaffin again charged his son to behave himself, and with no more show of affection than he had exhibited on the young man’s arrival, took his departure and returned to the mill.
He kept within doors endeavouring to maintain order among his lawless associates. He wished not to be seen in company with his son, or to let it be supposed that he was instigating him in his siege on Maiden May’s heart. From the accounts he had received from Mr Crotch of that young gentleman’s talents, he believed that he could allow the matter to rest securely in his hands. If impudence was to carry the day young Miles would come off victorious, as he was known to possess no inconsiderable amount of that quality.
Gaffin had an excuse for remaining at the mill, as a larger quantity of grist than usual had been brought, and, for a wonder, its long arms with the sails stretched out went merrily round and round, giving Dusty Dick ample employment. The smuggler’s crew grumbled at not having their dinner cooked in time. Dusty Dick had to take charge of the kitchen in addition to his other duties, and the mill required his attention. Gaffin had accordingly to serve out an additional supply of liquor to keep his guests quiet. He succeeded so effectually that, seasoned as they were, one and all were soon unable to quit the house, leaving him at liberty to attend to his own affairs.
“The beasts,” he said, as he looked in upon the drunken ruffians, some sleeping with their heads on the table, others fallen under it, and others stretched their length on the beds, or at the side of the room. “They will stay there quiet enough till I want them, and no one is likely to come prying this way to disturb their slumbers.”
Securely bolting the door of the house he passed by a back way into the mill, where, after giving some directions to Dusty Dick, he descended to the beach. A small boat lay there which he was able to launch by himself, and pulling off in her he went on board the lugger. He had left the most trusted part of his crew in her, including his mate, Tom Fidget, on whom he could always rely, not that Tom objected to get drunk “at proper times and seasons,” as he observed, but duty first and pleasure afterwards was his maxim. His notions of duty were, to be sure, somewhat lax, according to the strict rules of morality, and his only idea of pleasure was a drunken spree on shore when he could leave the craft without risk of her suffering damage either from wind and weather, or the officers of the law. He was a bullet-headed fellow, with a figure almost as wide as long, small keen eyes, and a turned up nose scarcely perceptible beyond his puffed out copper-coloured cheeks.
Pipe in mouth he was taking his usual fisherman’s walk, when the captain stepped on board.
“The craft shall not be kept here longer than can be helped, Tom, and you must be ready to start at a moment’s notice,” he observed. “I have some business to attend to first, however, so it won’t be for a day or two, though that does not matter, as the weather promises to hold fine. Only keep the fellows sober, for I have as many drunken men on shore as I can manage, and it won’t do to have all the hands in the same state. The next time it will be your turn to go on shore, and you may then drink as much liquor as you can hold, and enjoy yourself to your heart’s content.”
Gaffin having given these directions, returned on shore again. Several days passed and Gaffin again went in the evening to the Texford Arms to meet his hopeful son. The young gentleman was in, the landlady answered, in the room upstairs.
“Well, what progress have you made?” asked Gaffin, as he entered and found young Miles lounging lazily alone, a pipe in his mouth and a glass of brandy and water by his side.
“I thought I knew something about girls,” was the answer, “and that I could come round her much as I have done with others, who wouldn’t think themselves much beneath her, in our town, and I was not going to be stopped by any nonsense.”
“I don’t want to hear what you thought, but what you did,” said his father.
“Well, you shall, if that’s your wish,” answered Miles. “I went to church on Sunday and had a good look at her, and thought she saw me with my eyes fixed on her from one end of the service to the other, but she hurried home among a lot of people, and I hadn’t a chance of getting alongside to put in a word. For three whole days she never showed outside the gates, and I thought at last of going and calling on the old ladies with a story I had got up, but when I came to learn what sort of people they are, I found that would not do. Then I thought of another plan.”
“I tell you I don’t want your thought’s,” growled Gaffin. “What were your acts?”
“That’s what I was coming to,” answered Miles. “As ill-luck would have it I was off watch when she slipped out, and I discovered had gone down to old Halliburt’s. You may be sure I kept a look-out for her on her return. I saw her coming along, and thought I had got the game in my own hands, but by—” and he swore a fearful oath, “the girl was altogether different to those I have had to do with. Beautiful, I believe you, she is, but as haughty as if she was a born princess; and just as I was going to show her what sort of a fellow I was, she slipped away and ran off towards a young chap and took his arm, just as if she had been accustomed to keep company with him. I watched them as they went by, and he seemed to be looking for me in no very friendly mood, for I saw him double his fists, and he was not the sort of fellow I wished to come to close quarters with, or I would have gone up to him and asked what he meant by carrying off the girl I was talking to.”
“The long and short of it,” said Gaffin, as soon as he could master his anger, “is that you frightened the young lady, and got a rebuff which you might have expected. But as for the young fellow, I know who he is, and he won’t interfere with you. Just do you go on and persevere, and if you do not succeed we must try other means. Marry the girl I am determined you shall, whether she likes it or not, and I can depend upon you. Remember I am not one to have my plans thwarted, least of all by my own son.”
“I will not thwart them, you may trust me for that,” answered Miles. “The girl is about as pretty as I ever set eyes on, and I am obliged to you for putting me up to the matter. But, I say, I should like to know more about her. You led me to suppose that there is some secret you had got hold of—what is it?”
“That’s nothing to you at present. Your business is to win the girl, whether she is a fisherman’s or a lord’s daughter. She was brought up as the Halliburt’s child, though I suppose she knows that she is not, yet she has no reason to think much of herself, except on account of her good looks, and those, from what I have heard of the old ladies she lives with, they would have taught her not to pride herself on.”
Gaffin’s last directions to his son were to keep himself quiet for a time, and to wait his opportunity for again meeting May under more favourable circumstances.
“I will write to Crotch and tell him that a matter of importance keeps you from returning just yet, and if good luck attends us you may not see his face again. I will not say that though, eh?” and Gaffin indulged in a chuckle, the nearest approach he ever made to a laugh.
Chapter Twenty Three.Caught in a Thunderstorm.Harry’s ship had been paid off, and Headland having received his promotion, the two friends started in a post-chaise and four for London. It would have been unbecoming for two naval officers, with their pockets full of prize money, to travel in a less dignified way. The last time Harry had come that road it had been on the top of a coach.Captain Headland had been very little on shore in England, and everything was new to him and full of interest. The country girls at the cottage doors struck him especially.“I had no idea English women were so pretty,” he observed.Harry laughed.“I thought your philosophy would soon be capsized. If you think them attractive, I suspect that you will find the girls of higher rank enchanting.”They remained in town to attend a levee, when Captain Headland was presented on his promotion, and Harry on his return from foreign service. Headland was in no hurry to leave London, for never having before been in the big city, he found so much to interest him; but Harry was anxious to be at home. Julia had written him word that they hoped to have a number of visitors, and intended to give a fête in honour of his return.They posted to Texford, agreeing that a pair of horses would take them there as fast as four, which their dignity no longer required.Headland received a warm welcome from Sir Ralph and Lady Castleton as their son’s friend, and Julia extended her hand as if she had known him all her life. He thought her a very charming girl, and wondered that Harry had never spoken to him of her beauty. Her frankness soon set him at his ease. He had mixed but little in ladies’ society, and at first felt awkward. Algernon was kind and polite, but was somewhat cold and stiff in his manner, like his father, and Headland suspected that he should never be very intimate with him.Next morning Julia volunteered to show several of the guests who had lately arrived, including Captain Headland, over the grounds. Algernon had in the meantime asked Harry to ride with him, and invited their guest to join them.“Miss Castleton has engaged me to be one of the walking party, and as I am no great horseman you will, I hope, excuse me.”Harry begged that he would do as he had promised. He wished to ride with Algernon to enjoy some private conversation. He had been struck by his brother’s changed appearance. He had a short teasing cough, of which, however, he made light, observing that it generally disappeared with the warm weather, though it annoyed him a little longer that year.The brothers had much to talk about after their long separation. Harry enquired if any authentic account of their uncle’s death had been received. Algernon replied that though their father and Mr Shallard had made every possible enquiry, the only fact they had learned was that the ship he had sailed in had never been heard of, and that there was no doubt she had gone down in a hurricane which had occurred during the time she must have been at sea.“It would be a trying state of things if our uncle were after all to make his appearance and claim the title and property,” observed Algernon. “I suspect that our father would be very unwilling to give them up, and possession is nine-tenths of the law.”“Surely he would not hesitate if convinced of our uncle’s identity,” said Harry, “and would be thankful to welcome his brother back to life.”“He is so firmly convinced of his death that it would be difficult to persuade him to the contrary,” replied Algernon. “For my own part I am not ambitious of becoming a baronet, and as far as I am individually concerned I should be ready to welcome with sincerity our long lost uncle.”“So should I,” cried Harry warmly, “and surely our father with his political interest can, if he chooses, obtain a baronetcy for himself.”“He would prefer exerting that influence in gaining a higher rank,” observed Algernon with a sigh. “He wished me to be in parliament, but he only a few days ago, greatly to my relief, acknowledged that he was afraid my health for the present would not enable me to stand the wear and tear I should have to undergo in the ‘house.’ I am afraid that it has greatly disappointed him. He probably will wish you to take the place he intended for me.”Harry laughed heartily.“I in parliament,” he exclaimed, “I should indeed feel like a fish out of water. I wish to stick to the service, and hope to get my flag some day.”“But there are naval men in parliament, and you may do that notwithstanding,” said Algernon.“I do not wish to disobey him, but the very thoughts of the life I should have to lead, talking and debating, or worse, listening to long debates in the close atmosphere of the House of Commons, would make me miserable. So, pray, if he suggests such a thing to you, tell him you are sure that I should not like it, and beg him to let me off.”Algernon promised to do as his brother wished.They had taken the way to the downs to the south of Hurlston.Harry enquired for their cousins, the Miss Pembertons. On hearing that they were still living there he proposed paying them a visit.“To tell you the truth, I have not called since we came to Texford,” answered Algernon. “You know that they have peculiar notions. Our father, looking upon them as puritanical dissenters, has no wish to have them at the house. I have not seen the old ladies for some years. I remember that they did not make a very favourable impression on me when I met them last.”“I suppose I may call on them,” said Harry. “They were kind to me when I was a boy, and I liked cousin Mary, as we called her.”“Yes, there can be no objection to your going,” answered Algernon. “They will not consider it necessary to return your visit, and will look upon it as a kindness.”The young men had been riding on further than they had intended, and being engaged in conversation while passing along lanes with high hedges on either side, they had not observed a storm gathering in the sky. Emerging from the lanes Harry invited his brother to take a gallop across the wide extended downs spread out before them, and thus they did not observe till they turned the thunder clouds sweeping up rapidly towards them.“We shall get wet jackets, I suspect, before we reach home,” observed Harry.“I hope not,” answered his brother, “for I have been especially charged to avoid the damp and cold, and I feel somewhat heated. I wish there was some place where we could get shelter.”“I am very sorry that I led you on, for I see no shed or cottage anywhere,” said Harry, gazing round; “and I am afraid we shall have the rain down upon us before many minutes. Our shortest way to the nearest house at Hurlston will, I suspect, be across the downs. Come along, there is no time to spare.”They put their horses into a gallop. The downs though at a distance appearing to be level, were intercepted by several deep ravines, and the young men had not gone far before they were compelled to turn inland by coming to one of the most rugged and wild of these ravines, the side of which was too steep to allow them to ride down it.A little further Harry observed a place which he thought they could descend without difficulty, and thus save some distance. As he reached the bottom, followed by Algernon, he saw nestling under a rock on one side a hut built party of rough stones, and partly of the planks of some wreck cast on shore. At the same moment a bright flash of lightning darted from the clouds, followed by a crashing peal of thunder, when immediately down came the rain.“We may, at all events, find shelter in yonder hut,” said Harry, “though it seems scarcely large enough to admit our horses, but I will hold them while you go inside.”They made their way down the ravine, when Algernon dismounting pushed open the door and ran in, while Harry leading the horses followed him.At the further end of the hut a woman was seated on a stool before the wood fire blazing on the hearth, over which she bent, apparently engaged in watching the contents of an iron pot boiling on it.“Who dares intrude unbidden into my mansion,” she shrieked out in a wild unearthly tone, which made Algernon start back.Her long grey hair hung down on either side of her colourless face,from which beamed forth a pair of wild eyes, glowing with the fire of madness. Her dress being of the same sombre hue as was everything in the hut, had as Algernon entered prevented him from observing her till she turned her face full upon him.She rose as she spoke, confronting the two young men. “Who are you?” she repeated; “speak, or begone, and trouble me not.”“I beg your pardon for entering without leave,” said Algernon; “but the rain is coming down so heavily that we should have been wet through in another minute, and there is no other shelter at hand.”“That’s no answer to my question,” she exclaimed. “What care I for rain or storm; let the lightning flash and the thunder roar, and do its worst. Go your way, I say, and leave me to my solitude.”“My brother would suffer should he get wet,” said Harry, stepping in. “And I must beg you, my good lady, not to be annoyed if we remain till the storm is over; it will probably pass away in half an hour, and we beg not to interrupt you in what you are about.”“You are fair spoken, young sir, but you have not answered my question. Who are you, I ask again?”“We are the sons of Sir Ralph Castleton, and we discovered your hut by chance, while looking for a place to obtain shelter from the rain.”“Spawn of the viper, how dare ye come hither to seek for shelter beneath my roof?” exclaimed the woman in a voice which made the young men start, so shrill and fierce did it sound, high above the roar of the thunder, the howling of the wind, and the pattering of the rain.“A fit time ye have chosen to come and mock at me; but I have powers at my command to overwhelm you in a moment. See, the heavens fight on my side.”As she spoke a bright flash of lightning darted down the glen, which, with the crashing peal of thunder that followed, made the horses snort and plunge so violently, that Harry had no little difficulty in holding them, and was drawn out from the doorway in which he had been standing.“And you deem yourself the heir of Texford,” she continued in the same tone, gazing with her wild eyes intently fixed on Algernon. “Though you rejoice in youth and wealth, I see death stamped on your brow; and before many months have passed away, instead of dwelling in your proud and lordly hall, you will have become a tenant of the silent tomb. I can command the elements, and can read the future. It was I who summoned this storm to drive you hither that you might hear your fate, that fate which the stars last night revealed to me. Ah! ah! ah! you now wish that you had passed by instead of seeking shelter beneath my roof; but your destiny drove you hither, and against that you fight in vain.”Algernon feeling that it would be wiser not to reply to the wild ravings of the strange creature looked anxiously out of the hut, strongly inclined, in spite of the rain, to make his escape. Harry, who, having been engaged with the horses, had not heard what she first said, now brought them back again, and stood once more beneath the roof of the hut.“At all events now we are here, my good woman, I hope you will not object to our remaining till the storm is over,” he said, hoping that by speaking in a quiet tone he might calm her temper.“I invited you not to come, I welcomed you not when you did come, and my curses will follow you when you go,” she shrieked out.“We really had better not stay,” said Algernon to Harry. “I cannot understand what has irritated the poor woman, and I fear nothing we can say will have the effect of soothing her.”“I cannot consent to your going out and getting wet through,” said Harry; “so notwithstanding what she says we must stay till the rain has ceased.”“My good woman, I really think you are mistaken with regard to us,” said Harry, turning to the mad woman. “When we saw your cottage we were not aware that it was inhabited, and as we have taken up your time in interrupting you in what you were about, we shall be glad if you will accept a present as a recompense;” and Harry, giving the reins to Algernon to hold, took out half-a-guinea, and offered it to their hostess.“You cannot bribe me to reverse the orders of fate,” she shrieked out, snatching the coin from his hand and throwing it into the fire, and uttering a piercing shriek she frantically waved about her arms, now high above her head, now pointing at them with threatening gestures, till Algernon declared that he could stand it no longer. In vain Harry entreated him to remain till the rain had altogether ceased.The old woman shouted and shrieked louder and louder, encouraged possibly by observing the effect her behaviour had produced on the eldest of the brothers. At last the rain moderating, Algernon rushed out of the hut.“This is not to be endured,” he exclaimed, as he mounted his horse.Harry followed his example, and they rode up the glen as fast as the rugged nature of the road would allow them, the wild shrieks and cries of Mad Sal, as she watched them from the door of her hut, sounding in their ears till they gained the open downs.“I am glad we are out of hearing of that dreadful old creature,” said Algernon, as they galloped along. “I hope she will not prove a true prophetess.”“I don’t believe in wizards or witches,” answered Harry, “although sometimes by chance their predictions may appear to be fulfilled; and we should be foolish if we allowed the nonsense she talked to weigh on our spirits. I am very sure that the thread of our lives will not be cut shorter from anything she can do, and she certainly will not make me the less willing to go afloat, and fight as readily as I should have done had we not fallen in with her. She has evidently some dislike to the name of Castleton, and hearing us mention it, vented her feelings by trying to frighten us.”“Poor woman, she is perfectly mad. I am curious to learn who she is,” observed Algernon. “Perhaps Groocock or some of the Hurlston people may know.”Although the rain had moderated, the young men were nearly wet through before they had made their way across the down; and instead of stopping at Hurlston, as they had intended, they rode on to Texford.In spite of the exercise he had taken, Algernon complained of the cold, and Harry observed that he shivered several times. As he, however, hurried to his room immediately on his arrival, and changed his wet things, his brother hoped he would not suffer.
Harry’s ship had been paid off, and Headland having received his promotion, the two friends started in a post-chaise and four for London. It would have been unbecoming for two naval officers, with their pockets full of prize money, to travel in a less dignified way. The last time Harry had come that road it had been on the top of a coach.
Captain Headland had been very little on shore in England, and everything was new to him and full of interest. The country girls at the cottage doors struck him especially.
“I had no idea English women were so pretty,” he observed.
Harry laughed.
“I thought your philosophy would soon be capsized. If you think them attractive, I suspect that you will find the girls of higher rank enchanting.”
They remained in town to attend a levee, when Captain Headland was presented on his promotion, and Harry on his return from foreign service. Headland was in no hurry to leave London, for never having before been in the big city, he found so much to interest him; but Harry was anxious to be at home. Julia had written him word that they hoped to have a number of visitors, and intended to give a fête in honour of his return.
They posted to Texford, agreeing that a pair of horses would take them there as fast as four, which their dignity no longer required.
Headland received a warm welcome from Sir Ralph and Lady Castleton as their son’s friend, and Julia extended her hand as if she had known him all her life. He thought her a very charming girl, and wondered that Harry had never spoken to him of her beauty. Her frankness soon set him at his ease. He had mixed but little in ladies’ society, and at first felt awkward. Algernon was kind and polite, but was somewhat cold and stiff in his manner, like his father, and Headland suspected that he should never be very intimate with him.
Next morning Julia volunteered to show several of the guests who had lately arrived, including Captain Headland, over the grounds. Algernon had in the meantime asked Harry to ride with him, and invited their guest to join them.
“Miss Castleton has engaged me to be one of the walking party, and as I am no great horseman you will, I hope, excuse me.”
Harry begged that he would do as he had promised. He wished to ride with Algernon to enjoy some private conversation. He had been struck by his brother’s changed appearance. He had a short teasing cough, of which, however, he made light, observing that it generally disappeared with the warm weather, though it annoyed him a little longer that year.
The brothers had much to talk about after their long separation. Harry enquired if any authentic account of their uncle’s death had been received. Algernon replied that though their father and Mr Shallard had made every possible enquiry, the only fact they had learned was that the ship he had sailed in had never been heard of, and that there was no doubt she had gone down in a hurricane which had occurred during the time she must have been at sea.
“It would be a trying state of things if our uncle were after all to make his appearance and claim the title and property,” observed Algernon. “I suspect that our father would be very unwilling to give them up, and possession is nine-tenths of the law.”
“Surely he would not hesitate if convinced of our uncle’s identity,” said Harry, “and would be thankful to welcome his brother back to life.”
“He is so firmly convinced of his death that it would be difficult to persuade him to the contrary,” replied Algernon. “For my own part I am not ambitious of becoming a baronet, and as far as I am individually concerned I should be ready to welcome with sincerity our long lost uncle.”
“So should I,” cried Harry warmly, “and surely our father with his political interest can, if he chooses, obtain a baronetcy for himself.”
“He would prefer exerting that influence in gaining a higher rank,” observed Algernon with a sigh. “He wished me to be in parliament, but he only a few days ago, greatly to my relief, acknowledged that he was afraid my health for the present would not enable me to stand the wear and tear I should have to undergo in the ‘house.’ I am afraid that it has greatly disappointed him. He probably will wish you to take the place he intended for me.”
Harry laughed heartily.
“I in parliament,” he exclaimed, “I should indeed feel like a fish out of water. I wish to stick to the service, and hope to get my flag some day.”
“But there are naval men in parliament, and you may do that notwithstanding,” said Algernon.
“I do not wish to disobey him, but the very thoughts of the life I should have to lead, talking and debating, or worse, listening to long debates in the close atmosphere of the House of Commons, would make me miserable. So, pray, if he suggests such a thing to you, tell him you are sure that I should not like it, and beg him to let me off.”
Algernon promised to do as his brother wished.
They had taken the way to the downs to the south of Hurlston.
Harry enquired for their cousins, the Miss Pembertons. On hearing that they were still living there he proposed paying them a visit.
“To tell you the truth, I have not called since we came to Texford,” answered Algernon. “You know that they have peculiar notions. Our father, looking upon them as puritanical dissenters, has no wish to have them at the house. I have not seen the old ladies for some years. I remember that they did not make a very favourable impression on me when I met them last.”
“I suppose I may call on them,” said Harry. “They were kind to me when I was a boy, and I liked cousin Mary, as we called her.”
“Yes, there can be no objection to your going,” answered Algernon. “They will not consider it necessary to return your visit, and will look upon it as a kindness.”
The young men had been riding on further than they had intended, and being engaged in conversation while passing along lanes with high hedges on either side, they had not observed a storm gathering in the sky. Emerging from the lanes Harry invited his brother to take a gallop across the wide extended downs spread out before them, and thus they did not observe till they turned the thunder clouds sweeping up rapidly towards them.
“We shall get wet jackets, I suspect, before we reach home,” observed Harry.
“I hope not,” answered his brother, “for I have been especially charged to avoid the damp and cold, and I feel somewhat heated. I wish there was some place where we could get shelter.”
“I am very sorry that I led you on, for I see no shed or cottage anywhere,” said Harry, gazing round; “and I am afraid we shall have the rain down upon us before many minutes. Our shortest way to the nearest house at Hurlston will, I suspect, be across the downs. Come along, there is no time to spare.”
They put their horses into a gallop. The downs though at a distance appearing to be level, were intercepted by several deep ravines, and the young men had not gone far before they were compelled to turn inland by coming to one of the most rugged and wild of these ravines, the side of which was too steep to allow them to ride down it.
A little further Harry observed a place which he thought they could descend without difficulty, and thus save some distance. As he reached the bottom, followed by Algernon, he saw nestling under a rock on one side a hut built party of rough stones, and partly of the planks of some wreck cast on shore. At the same moment a bright flash of lightning darted from the clouds, followed by a crashing peal of thunder, when immediately down came the rain.
“We may, at all events, find shelter in yonder hut,” said Harry, “though it seems scarcely large enough to admit our horses, but I will hold them while you go inside.”
They made their way down the ravine, when Algernon dismounting pushed open the door and ran in, while Harry leading the horses followed him.
At the further end of the hut a woman was seated on a stool before the wood fire blazing on the hearth, over which she bent, apparently engaged in watching the contents of an iron pot boiling on it.
“Who dares intrude unbidden into my mansion,” she shrieked out in a wild unearthly tone, which made Algernon start back.
Her long grey hair hung down on either side of her colourless face,from which beamed forth a pair of wild eyes, glowing with the fire of madness. Her dress being of the same sombre hue as was everything in the hut, had as Algernon entered prevented him from observing her till she turned her face full upon him.
She rose as she spoke, confronting the two young men. “Who are you?” she repeated; “speak, or begone, and trouble me not.”
“I beg your pardon for entering without leave,” said Algernon; “but the rain is coming down so heavily that we should have been wet through in another minute, and there is no other shelter at hand.”
“That’s no answer to my question,” she exclaimed. “What care I for rain or storm; let the lightning flash and the thunder roar, and do its worst. Go your way, I say, and leave me to my solitude.”
“My brother would suffer should he get wet,” said Harry, stepping in. “And I must beg you, my good lady, not to be annoyed if we remain till the storm is over; it will probably pass away in half an hour, and we beg not to interrupt you in what you are about.”
“You are fair spoken, young sir, but you have not answered my question. Who are you, I ask again?”
“We are the sons of Sir Ralph Castleton, and we discovered your hut by chance, while looking for a place to obtain shelter from the rain.”
“Spawn of the viper, how dare ye come hither to seek for shelter beneath my roof?” exclaimed the woman in a voice which made the young men start, so shrill and fierce did it sound, high above the roar of the thunder, the howling of the wind, and the pattering of the rain.
“A fit time ye have chosen to come and mock at me; but I have powers at my command to overwhelm you in a moment. See, the heavens fight on my side.”
As she spoke a bright flash of lightning darted down the glen, which, with the crashing peal of thunder that followed, made the horses snort and plunge so violently, that Harry had no little difficulty in holding them, and was drawn out from the doorway in which he had been standing.
“And you deem yourself the heir of Texford,” she continued in the same tone, gazing with her wild eyes intently fixed on Algernon. “Though you rejoice in youth and wealth, I see death stamped on your brow; and before many months have passed away, instead of dwelling in your proud and lordly hall, you will have become a tenant of the silent tomb. I can command the elements, and can read the future. It was I who summoned this storm to drive you hither that you might hear your fate, that fate which the stars last night revealed to me. Ah! ah! ah! you now wish that you had passed by instead of seeking shelter beneath my roof; but your destiny drove you hither, and against that you fight in vain.”
Algernon feeling that it would be wiser not to reply to the wild ravings of the strange creature looked anxiously out of the hut, strongly inclined, in spite of the rain, to make his escape. Harry, who, having been engaged with the horses, had not heard what she first said, now brought them back again, and stood once more beneath the roof of the hut.
“At all events now we are here, my good woman, I hope you will not object to our remaining till the storm is over,” he said, hoping that by speaking in a quiet tone he might calm her temper.
“I invited you not to come, I welcomed you not when you did come, and my curses will follow you when you go,” she shrieked out.
“We really had better not stay,” said Algernon to Harry. “I cannot understand what has irritated the poor woman, and I fear nothing we can say will have the effect of soothing her.”
“I cannot consent to your going out and getting wet through,” said Harry; “so notwithstanding what she says we must stay till the rain has ceased.”
“My good woman, I really think you are mistaken with regard to us,” said Harry, turning to the mad woman. “When we saw your cottage we were not aware that it was inhabited, and as we have taken up your time in interrupting you in what you were about, we shall be glad if you will accept a present as a recompense;” and Harry, giving the reins to Algernon to hold, took out half-a-guinea, and offered it to their hostess.
“You cannot bribe me to reverse the orders of fate,” she shrieked out, snatching the coin from his hand and throwing it into the fire, and uttering a piercing shriek she frantically waved about her arms, now high above her head, now pointing at them with threatening gestures, till Algernon declared that he could stand it no longer. In vain Harry entreated him to remain till the rain had altogether ceased.
The old woman shouted and shrieked louder and louder, encouraged possibly by observing the effect her behaviour had produced on the eldest of the brothers. At last the rain moderating, Algernon rushed out of the hut.
“This is not to be endured,” he exclaimed, as he mounted his horse.
Harry followed his example, and they rode up the glen as fast as the rugged nature of the road would allow them, the wild shrieks and cries of Mad Sal, as she watched them from the door of her hut, sounding in their ears till they gained the open downs.
“I am glad we are out of hearing of that dreadful old creature,” said Algernon, as they galloped along. “I hope she will not prove a true prophetess.”
“I don’t believe in wizards or witches,” answered Harry, “although sometimes by chance their predictions may appear to be fulfilled; and we should be foolish if we allowed the nonsense she talked to weigh on our spirits. I am very sure that the thread of our lives will not be cut shorter from anything she can do, and she certainly will not make me the less willing to go afloat, and fight as readily as I should have done had we not fallen in with her. She has evidently some dislike to the name of Castleton, and hearing us mention it, vented her feelings by trying to frighten us.”
“Poor woman, she is perfectly mad. I am curious to learn who she is,” observed Algernon. “Perhaps Groocock or some of the Hurlston people may know.”
Although the rain had moderated, the young men were nearly wet through before they had made their way across the down; and instead of stopping at Hurlston, as they had intended, they rode on to Texford.
In spite of the exercise he had taken, Algernon complained of the cold, and Harry observed that he shivered several times. As he, however, hurried to his room immediately on his arrival, and changed his wet things, his brother hoped he would not suffer.
Chapter Twenty Four.Julia Castleton.The party whom Miss Castleton had offered to escort round the—grounds consisted of several ladies and gentlemen, most of them young, with the exception of an old military officer, General Sampson, who, however, was as active and gallant as the youngest, and a matronly dame, Mrs Appleton, who went with the idea that a chaperone would be required on the occasion.As is not unfrequently the case under similar circumstances, the party before long separated. The general and Mrs Appleton had sat down to rest in a summer-house, while the rest of the party went on. The chaperone, on discovering that they had got out of sight, started up, and was hurrying forward to overtake them, when her bonnet, adorned with huge bows, caught in a low hanging bough, and, to her horror, before she could stop her progress, not only was it dragged off, but so was her cap, and the wig she wore beneath. The general doing his utmost to maintain his gravity hastened up to her assistance. At the same moment three of the young ladies, with two of the gentlemen who had accompanied them, having turned back appeared in sight, and hearing her cries hastened towards her. The general, who was short of stature, though of no small width, had, in the meantime, been in vain attempting to unhook the bows from the branch.“Let me, general, let me,” exclaimed poor Mrs Appleton, who was tall and thin; and she made an effort to extricate her bonnet.While she was thus employed, leaving her bare head exposed, her companions reached the spot, trying in vain to stifle their laughter.By the exertions of a tall gentleman of the party, her bonnet was at length set free, and with the assistance of the young ladies was, with the wig and cap, replaced on her head.“Well, my dears, the same accident might have happened to any one of you,” she remarked, with a comical expression, which showed that she was less put out than most people would have been by the occurrence, “though to be sure, as you have only your natural hair beneath your bonnets, that, I conclude, would have stuck faster to your head than mine did, which, as you have discovered, is for convenience sake removable at pleasure.”Captain Headland, on leaving the house, wishing to be polite to all, had addressed himself to three or four of the young ladies in succession, but either finding the conversation uninteresting, or that he could not keep it up, had walked on by the side of Julia. He soon found that his tongue before tied, became perfectly free. She had so many questions to ask about Harry, and the various adventures they had gone through together, that he soon found he had plenty to say. He was led on to speak of himself, of the battles in which they both had taken a part. While he gave her rapid and brilliant accounts of them, he found her often looking up with her bright eyes fixed on his countenance. So interested did she become, that she forgot that she had undertaken to act as guide to the rest of the party. Not till they had walked on a considerable distance, and had reached the opposite side of the lake, did she and the young officer discover that they were not followed.“Our friends cannot be far behind us,” she said. “We ought to go back, and we shall soon meet them. I promised to guide them through the labyrinth which leads to Fair Rosamond’s Bower, as the summer-house on the top of the mound overlooking the lake is called, and no one will otherwise be able to find it.”“I was scarcely observing where we were going. What a beautiful view of the lake we have from hence,” remarked Headland, as they turned.“Yes, this is one of the most beautiful; but there are several other lovely points on the shores, especially at the further end,” said Julia. “I intended to have conducted our friends to them. This lake was, I believe, in our great grandfather’s time but little more than a wild-fowl decoy, with almost bare shores. He had trees planted on the banks, and the lagoon deepened and considerably enlarged, while, with the earth and gravel thrown out, mounds were raised which give the picturesque variety you observe to the banks. We have two boats on the lake; but do you not think the model of a man-of-war floating on the surface would add to the picture?”Captain Headland naturally thought so, and said he should be happy to assist Harry in getting one built and rigged.“Oh, I am sure mamma would like it,” said Julia, “and papa, though he might not take much interest in the matter, would not object. Till Harry went to sea, we had no naval men in the family, and neither Sir Reginald nor his predecessor, our great grandfather, took any interest in nautical affairs, as they were fox-hunters and sportsmen.”Captain Headland said he would talk to Harry on the subject, and see what they could do.They continued walking on, but none of their friends appeared, they having, as it happened, turned away from the lake in a totally opposite direction. Julia thought that they might have gone round to the side she had proposed visiting. She therefore led her companion in that direction.Their conversation continued as animated as before. Headland, who had a real taste for the beauties of nature, admired the views which the lake exhibited; the wooded islands, the green points, the drooping trees and weeping willows hanging over the waters, their forms reflected on its surface; stately swans with arched necks which glided by leading their troops of cygnets. The only sounds heard were the splash of the fish as they leaped out of their watery home, the various notes of birds, and the subdued hum of insects flitting in the sunshine, where here and there an opening in the foliage allowed it to penetrate into the otherwise shady walk.They at length reached the end of the lake; it was the furthest point almost in the grounds from the house.Just then the storm which had overtaken Algernon and Harry burst above Texford. It had come on so suddenly that not till a loud peal of thunder crashed almost above their heads were they aware of its approach.“I fear the rain will come down before we can reach the house, Miss Castleton,” observed Captain Headland. “If there is a boat near at hand I might row you across the lake, which would both shorten the distance and save you the fatigue of walking.”“One of the boats is generally kept a little further on, and if you think we can go faster by water, I shall be much obliged to you.”Before the boat was reached heavy drops of rain began to fall.“There is a summer-house close at hand overlooking the lake,” said Julia, and led her companion to it.They had scarcely got under shelter when the rain descended in torrents.Julia and Captain Headland naturally renewed the interesting conversation in which they had before been engaged, not aware how time went by. Every minute the young officer was in Julia’s society, forgetting his previous resolutions, he admired her more and more.It was so evident that she had unintentionally separated from their companions that he did not for one moment think her forward or designing. With her delicate and refined beauty he had been struck from the first, and was now still more pleased with her animated and intelligent conversation.“I wonder Harry did not speak more to me about her,” he thought, “though perhaps he might have fancied had he praised her I might have supposed he wished to offer her as an attraction to me to visit Texford. However, I am convinced that such a thought never entered his mind.”Although the rain at length ceased, the walks were so wet that Julia confessed she should prefer crossing the lake to returning home by land.At the other end of the lake an artificial stream of sufficient depth for the boat, known as the Serpentine, meandered through the grounds and reached almost to the house. There were several rustic bridges which crossed it here and there, but they were of sufficient height to allow the boat to pass under them. Julia having told Headland where he could find the boat while she remained in the summer-house, he went to fetch it. As it was kept under a shed it was perfectly dry. He handed her into it, and pushing off from the bank they commenced their voyage.The sun again shone forth brightly, and the air felt fresh and pure after the storm. For some distance he rowed close to the shore where a number of water-lilies floated on the surface. He had seldom seen such beautiful flowers. He described, however, the marine gardens in the Eastern seas visible through the clear water for an immense depth below the surface.“Have you been much in the East?” asked Julia.“I believe I was born there,” he answered, forgetting his intention of not speaking of himself. “Indeed my early days were at all events passed in that part of the world. I have been at sea the greater portion of my life, and have comparatively but little knowledge of the shore or the dwellers on it. I had no notion that there were such beautiful places as this appears to me in England. I conclude there are not many such.”“Oh, yes,” said Julia. “There are many far more magnificent and extensive, though I might not admire them more than this, and certainly should not love them so much. Though we have not been here very long, I spent months when I was a girl with our uncle Sir Reginald, and became greatly attached to the place. We did not know at the time that we should ever come to live here, as papa’s elder brother was then alive. Though he has not since been heard of he is supposed to be dead, and papa consequently came into possession of the title and estates.”Julia said this not feeling that there was any necessity for keeping the matter a secret from their guest indeed she would not have been surprised had he replied that her brother had told him of the circumstances.Headland rowed slowly over the calm water. He was in no hurry to finish the voyage, and the young lady seemed to enjoy the scenery. Now and then he stopped and let the boat float quietly on, that they might admire some fresh point of view.“Do you sketch, Captain Headland?” asked Julia.He replied that he had had no opportunity of taking lessons in his younger days, except now and then from a mess-mate who had enjoyed the advantage on shore, though he was accustomed to draw ships and to sketch the outlines of the coasts that he might recognise them on subsequent visits, but that now, with the probability of remaining on shore, he should be glad to study the art.“I should like to come out on the lake and make some sketches,” said Julia. “I have hitherto had no one to row the boat, and Algernon can seldom be tempted on the water; indeed, he is not much of an oarsman.”Captain Headland expressed the pleasure it would give him to be of service in that capacity, and Julia said she should be glad to take advantage of his offer.At length they reached the end of the lake and entered the Serpentine. There was just room to row the boat along between the grassy banks. Here and there the trees overhung the channel, and sometimes they had to bend down to avoid the branches.They had nearly reached the end where there were some stone steps with a gravel walk above them, leading directly to the house, and a rustic bridge spanning the stream.The old general who had taken post on the bridge, and had been for some time watching their approach, hailed them.“Hilloa! gallant son of Neptune, I congratulate you on discovering our missing Ariadne who was to have been our guide through the labyrinthine walks of Texford. Fortunately we missed our way, and found ourselves close to the house just as the storm came on.”“I must apologise, General Sampson, for leaving you and our other friends; but we had got to some distance before we discovered that you were not following,” said Julia, somewhat annoyed at the general’s remarks.“The truth is, my dear young lady, it is we who have to apologise to you for not keeping pace with your fairy-like movements, and fearing that Sir Ralph and Lady Castleton might justly blame me as the senior of the party for deserting you, I hurried out as soon as the rain ceased in the hopes of finding you before you reached the house, to entreat you to offer some excuse for my conduct. But I suspect the captain is chiefly to blame, and if you will enter into a compact with me we will sacrifice him.”“I am ready to be the victim should Miss Castleton consider any excuse necessary,” said Captain Headland, as he handed Julia out of the boat, while the old general stood on the top of the steps.They walked together to the house, the latter talking in the same style as before. Julia ran in, glad to escape him.“You will be a lucky dog, captain, if you succeed in securing so fair a prize,” whispered the general, giving the young officer a not very gentle dig in the ribs. “I have entertained some thoughts in that direction myself, but I see that a soldier has no chance with a naval man as his rival.”“Really, general, you allow your imagination to go too fast. I am a comparative stranger to Miss Castleton, and have no merit which could justify me in hoping—”“Of course, of course, my young friend we must all feel our personal want of merit when a lady is concerned. Nevertheless she may possibly regard you in a more favourable light than you suppose, from the reports we have heard of your gallant deeds.”
The party whom Miss Castleton had offered to escort round the—grounds consisted of several ladies and gentlemen, most of them young, with the exception of an old military officer, General Sampson, who, however, was as active and gallant as the youngest, and a matronly dame, Mrs Appleton, who went with the idea that a chaperone would be required on the occasion.
As is not unfrequently the case under similar circumstances, the party before long separated. The general and Mrs Appleton had sat down to rest in a summer-house, while the rest of the party went on. The chaperone, on discovering that they had got out of sight, started up, and was hurrying forward to overtake them, when her bonnet, adorned with huge bows, caught in a low hanging bough, and, to her horror, before she could stop her progress, not only was it dragged off, but so was her cap, and the wig she wore beneath. The general doing his utmost to maintain his gravity hastened up to her assistance. At the same moment three of the young ladies, with two of the gentlemen who had accompanied them, having turned back appeared in sight, and hearing her cries hastened towards her. The general, who was short of stature, though of no small width, had, in the meantime, been in vain attempting to unhook the bows from the branch.
“Let me, general, let me,” exclaimed poor Mrs Appleton, who was tall and thin; and she made an effort to extricate her bonnet.
While she was thus employed, leaving her bare head exposed, her companions reached the spot, trying in vain to stifle their laughter.
By the exertions of a tall gentleman of the party, her bonnet was at length set free, and with the assistance of the young ladies was, with the wig and cap, replaced on her head.
“Well, my dears, the same accident might have happened to any one of you,” she remarked, with a comical expression, which showed that she was less put out than most people would have been by the occurrence, “though to be sure, as you have only your natural hair beneath your bonnets, that, I conclude, would have stuck faster to your head than mine did, which, as you have discovered, is for convenience sake removable at pleasure.”
Captain Headland, on leaving the house, wishing to be polite to all, had addressed himself to three or four of the young ladies in succession, but either finding the conversation uninteresting, or that he could not keep it up, had walked on by the side of Julia. He soon found that his tongue before tied, became perfectly free. She had so many questions to ask about Harry, and the various adventures they had gone through together, that he soon found he had plenty to say. He was led on to speak of himself, of the battles in which they both had taken a part. While he gave her rapid and brilliant accounts of them, he found her often looking up with her bright eyes fixed on his countenance. So interested did she become, that she forgot that she had undertaken to act as guide to the rest of the party. Not till they had walked on a considerable distance, and had reached the opposite side of the lake, did she and the young officer discover that they were not followed.
“Our friends cannot be far behind us,” she said. “We ought to go back, and we shall soon meet them. I promised to guide them through the labyrinth which leads to Fair Rosamond’s Bower, as the summer-house on the top of the mound overlooking the lake is called, and no one will otherwise be able to find it.”
“I was scarcely observing where we were going. What a beautiful view of the lake we have from hence,” remarked Headland, as they turned.
“Yes, this is one of the most beautiful; but there are several other lovely points on the shores, especially at the further end,” said Julia. “I intended to have conducted our friends to them. This lake was, I believe, in our great grandfather’s time but little more than a wild-fowl decoy, with almost bare shores. He had trees planted on the banks, and the lagoon deepened and considerably enlarged, while, with the earth and gravel thrown out, mounds were raised which give the picturesque variety you observe to the banks. We have two boats on the lake; but do you not think the model of a man-of-war floating on the surface would add to the picture?”
Captain Headland naturally thought so, and said he should be happy to assist Harry in getting one built and rigged.
“Oh, I am sure mamma would like it,” said Julia, “and papa, though he might not take much interest in the matter, would not object. Till Harry went to sea, we had no naval men in the family, and neither Sir Reginald nor his predecessor, our great grandfather, took any interest in nautical affairs, as they were fox-hunters and sportsmen.”
Captain Headland said he would talk to Harry on the subject, and see what they could do.
They continued walking on, but none of their friends appeared, they having, as it happened, turned away from the lake in a totally opposite direction. Julia thought that they might have gone round to the side she had proposed visiting. She therefore led her companion in that direction.
Their conversation continued as animated as before. Headland, who had a real taste for the beauties of nature, admired the views which the lake exhibited; the wooded islands, the green points, the drooping trees and weeping willows hanging over the waters, their forms reflected on its surface; stately swans with arched necks which glided by leading their troops of cygnets. The only sounds heard were the splash of the fish as they leaped out of their watery home, the various notes of birds, and the subdued hum of insects flitting in the sunshine, where here and there an opening in the foliage allowed it to penetrate into the otherwise shady walk.
They at length reached the end of the lake; it was the furthest point almost in the grounds from the house.
Just then the storm which had overtaken Algernon and Harry burst above Texford. It had come on so suddenly that not till a loud peal of thunder crashed almost above their heads were they aware of its approach.
“I fear the rain will come down before we can reach the house, Miss Castleton,” observed Captain Headland. “If there is a boat near at hand I might row you across the lake, which would both shorten the distance and save you the fatigue of walking.”
“One of the boats is generally kept a little further on, and if you think we can go faster by water, I shall be much obliged to you.”
Before the boat was reached heavy drops of rain began to fall.
“There is a summer-house close at hand overlooking the lake,” said Julia, and led her companion to it.
They had scarcely got under shelter when the rain descended in torrents.
Julia and Captain Headland naturally renewed the interesting conversation in which they had before been engaged, not aware how time went by. Every minute the young officer was in Julia’s society, forgetting his previous resolutions, he admired her more and more.
It was so evident that she had unintentionally separated from their companions that he did not for one moment think her forward or designing. With her delicate and refined beauty he had been struck from the first, and was now still more pleased with her animated and intelligent conversation.
“I wonder Harry did not speak more to me about her,” he thought, “though perhaps he might have fancied had he praised her I might have supposed he wished to offer her as an attraction to me to visit Texford. However, I am convinced that such a thought never entered his mind.”
Although the rain at length ceased, the walks were so wet that Julia confessed she should prefer crossing the lake to returning home by land.
At the other end of the lake an artificial stream of sufficient depth for the boat, known as the Serpentine, meandered through the grounds and reached almost to the house. There were several rustic bridges which crossed it here and there, but they were of sufficient height to allow the boat to pass under them. Julia having told Headland where he could find the boat while she remained in the summer-house, he went to fetch it. As it was kept under a shed it was perfectly dry. He handed her into it, and pushing off from the bank they commenced their voyage.
The sun again shone forth brightly, and the air felt fresh and pure after the storm. For some distance he rowed close to the shore where a number of water-lilies floated on the surface. He had seldom seen such beautiful flowers. He described, however, the marine gardens in the Eastern seas visible through the clear water for an immense depth below the surface.
“Have you been much in the East?” asked Julia.
“I believe I was born there,” he answered, forgetting his intention of not speaking of himself. “Indeed my early days were at all events passed in that part of the world. I have been at sea the greater portion of my life, and have comparatively but little knowledge of the shore or the dwellers on it. I had no notion that there were such beautiful places as this appears to me in England. I conclude there are not many such.”
“Oh, yes,” said Julia. “There are many far more magnificent and extensive, though I might not admire them more than this, and certainly should not love them so much. Though we have not been here very long, I spent months when I was a girl with our uncle Sir Reginald, and became greatly attached to the place. We did not know at the time that we should ever come to live here, as papa’s elder brother was then alive. Though he has not since been heard of he is supposed to be dead, and papa consequently came into possession of the title and estates.”
Julia said this not feeling that there was any necessity for keeping the matter a secret from their guest indeed she would not have been surprised had he replied that her brother had told him of the circumstances.
Headland rowed slowly over the calm water. He was in no hurry to finish the voyage, and the young lady seemed to enjoy the scenery. Now and then he stopped and let the boat float quietly on, that they might admire some fresh point of view.
“Do you sketch, Captain Headland?” asked Julia.
He replied that he had had no opportunity of taking lessons in his younger days, except now and then from a mess-mate who had enjoyed the advantage on shore, though he was accustomed to draw ships and to sketch the outlines of the coasts that he might recognise them on subsequent visits, but that now, with the probability of remaining on shore, he should be glad to study the art.
“I should like to come out on the lake and make some sketches,” said Julia. “I have hitherto had no one to row the boat, and Algernon can seldom be tempted on the water; indeed, he is not much of an oarsman.”
Captain Headland expressed the pleasure it would give him to be of service in that capacity, and Julia said she should be glad to take advantage of his offer.
At length they reached the end of the lake and entered the Serpentine. There was just room to row the boat along between the grassy banks. Here and there the trees overhung the channel, and sometimes they had to bend down to avoid the branches.
They had nearly reached the end where there were some stone steps with a gravel walk above them, leading directly to the house, and a rustic bridge spanning the stream.
The old general who had taken post on the bridge, and had been for some time watching their approach, hailed them.
“Hilloa! gallant son of Neptune, I congratulate you on discovering our missing Ariadne who was to have been our guide through the labyrinthine walks of Texford. Fortunately we missed our way, and found ourselves close to the house just as the storm came on.”
“I must apologise, General Sampson, for leaving you and our other friends; but we had got to some distance before we discovered that you were not following,” said Julia, somewhat annoyed at the general’s remarks.
“The truth is, my dear young lady, it is we who have to apologise to you for not keeping pace with your fairy-like movements, and fearing that Sir Ralph and Lady Castleton might justly blame me as the senior of the party for deserting you, I hurried out as soon as the rain ceased in the hopes of finding you before you reached the house, to entreat you to offer some excuse for my conduct. But I suspect the captain is chiefly to blame, and if you will enter into a compact with me we will sacrifice him.”
“I am ready to be the victim should Miss Castleton consider any excuse necessary,” said Captain Headland, as he handed Julia out of the boat, while the old general stood on the top of the steps.
They walked together to the house, the latter talking in the same style as before. Julia ran in, glad to escape him.
“You will be a lucky dog, captain, if you succeed in securing so fair a prize,” whispered the general, giving the young officer a not very gentle dig in the ribs. “I have entertained some thoughts in that direction myself, but I see that a soldier has no chance with a naval man as his rival.”
“Really, general, you allow your imagination to go too fast. I am a comparative stranger to Miss Castleton, and have no merit which could justify me in hoping—”
“Of course, of course, my young friend we must all feel our personal want of merit when a lady is concerned. Nevertheless she may possibly regard you in a more favourable light than you suppose, from the reports we have heard of your gallant deeds.”