A Jacobite Exile Page 2

  Chapter 2: Denounced.

  "Charlie," Sir Marmaduke said on the following morning, atbreakfast, "it is quite possible that that villain who acted asspy, and that other villain who employed him--I need not mentionnames--may swear an information against me, and I may be arrested,on the charge of being concerned in a plot. I am not much afraid ofit, if they do. The most they could say is that I was prepared totake up arms, if his majesty crossed from France; but, as there arethousands and thousands of men ready to do the same, they may fineme, perhaps, but I should say that is all. However, what I want tosay to you is, keep out of the way, if they come. I shall makelight of the affair, while you, being pretty hot tempered, mightsay things that would irritate them, while they could be of noassistance to me. Therefore, I would rather that you were kept outof it, altogether. I shall want you here. In my absence, there mustbe somebody to look after things.

  "Mind that rascal John Dormay does not put his foot inside thehouse, while I am away. That fellow is playing some deep game,though I don't quite know what it is. I suppose he wants to win thegoodwill of the authorities, by showing his activity and zeal; and,of course, he will imagine that no one has any idea that he hasbeen in communication with this spy. We have got a hold over him,and, when I come back, I will have it out with him. He is notpopular now, and, if it were known that he had been working againstme, his wife's kinsman, behind my back, my friends about here wouldmake the country too hot to hold him."

  "Yes, father; but please do not let him guess that we have learntit from Ciceley. You see, that is the only way we know about it."

  "Yes, you are right there. I will be careful that he shall not knowthe little maid has anything to do with it. But we will think ofthat, afterwards; maybe nothing will come of it, after all. But, ifanything does, mind, my orders are that you keep away from thehouse, while they are in it. When you come back, Banks will tellyou what has happened.

  "You had better take your horse, and go for a ride now. Not overthere, Charlie. I know, if you happened to meet that fellow, hewould read in your face that you knew the part he had been playing,and, should nothing come of the business, I don't want him to knowthat, at present. The fellow can henceforth do us no harm, for weshall be on our guard against eavesdroppers; and, for the sake ofcousin Celia and the child, I do not want an open breach. I do notsee the man often, myself, and I will take good care I don't putmyself in the way of meeting him, for the present, at any rate.Don't ride over there today."

  "Very well, father. I will ride over and see Harry Jervoise. Ipromised him that I would come over one day this week."

  It was a ten-mile ride, and, as he entered the courtyard of Mr.Jervoise's fine old mansion, he leapt off his horse, and threw thereins over a post. A servant came out.

  "The master wishes to speak to you, Master Carstairs."

  "No ill news, I hope, Charlie?" Mr. Jervoise asked anxiously, asthe lad was shown into the room, where his host was standing besidethe carved chimney piece.

  "No, sir, there is nothing new. My father thought that I had betterbe away today, in case any trouble should arise out of what tookplace yesterday, so I rode over to see Harry. I promised to do so,one day this week."

  "That is right. Does Sir Marmaduke think, then, that he will bearrested?"

  "I don't know that he expects it, sir, but he says that it ispossible."

  "I do not see that they have anything to go upon, Charlie. As weagreed last night, that spy never had any opportunity ofoverhearing us before, and, certainly, he can have heard nothingyesterday. The fellow can only say what many people know, or couldknow, if they liked; that half a dozen of Sir Marmaduke's friendsrode over to take supper with him. They can make nothing out ofthat."

  "No, sir; and my father said that, at the worst, it could be butthe matter of a fine."

  "Quite so, lad; but I don't even see how it could amount to that.You will find Harry somewhere about the house. He has said nothingto me about going out."

  Harry Jervoise was just the same age as Charlie, and was hisgreatest friend. They were both enthusiastic in the cause of theStuarts, equally vehement in their expressions of contempt for theDutch king, equally anxious for the coming of him whom theyregarded as their lawful monarch. They spent the morning together,as usual; went first to the stables and patted and talked to theirhorses; then they played at bowls on the lawn; after which, theyhad a bout of sword play; and, having thus let off some of theiranimal spirits, sat down and talked of the glorious times to come,when the king was to have his own again.

  Late in the afternoon, Charlie mounted his horse and rode for home.When within half a mile of the house, a man stepped out into theroad in front of him.

  "Hullo, Banks, what is it? No bad news, I hope?"

  And he leapt from his horse, alarmed at the pallor of the oldbutler's face.

  "Yes, Master Charles, I have some very bad news, and have beenwaiting for the last two hours here, so as to stop you going to thehouse."

  "Why shouldn't I go to the house?"

  "Because there are a dozen soldiers, and three or four constablesthere."

  "And my father?"

  "They have taken him away."

  "This is bad news, Banks; but I know that he thought that it mightbe so. But it will not be very serious; it is only a question of afine," he said.

  The butler shook his head, sadly.

  "It is worse than that, Master Charles. It is worse than youthink."

  "Well, tell me all about it, Banks," Charlie said, feeling muchalarmed at the old man's manner.

  "Well, sir, at three this afternoon, two magistrates, John Cockshawand William Peters--"

  ("Both bitter Whigs," Charlie put in.)

  "--Rode up to the door. They had with them six constables, andtwenty troopers."

  "There were enough of them, then," Charlie said. "Did they think myfather was going to arm you all, and defend the place?"

  "I don't know, sir, but that is the number that came. Themagistrates, and the constables, and four of the soldiers came intothe house. Sir Marmaduke met them in the hall.

  "'To what do I owe the honour of this visit?' he said, quite coldand haughty.

  "'We have come, Sir Marmaduke Carstairs, to arrest you, on thecharge of being concerned in a treasonable plot against the king'slife.'

  "Sir Marmaduke laughed out loud.

  "'I have no design on the life of William of Orange, or of anyother man,' he said. 'I do not pretend to love him; in that matterthere are thousands in this realm with me; but, as for a designagainst his life, I should say, gentlemen, there are few who knowme, even among men like yourselves, whose politics are opposed tomine, who would for a moment credit such a foul insinuation.'

  "'We have nothing to do with that matter, Sir Marmaduke,' JohnCockshaw said. 'We are acting upon a sworn information to thateffect.'

  "Sir Marmaduke was angry, now.

  "'I can guess the name of the dog who signed it,' he said, 'and,kinsman though he is by marriage, I will force the lie down histhroat.'

  "Then he cooled down again.

  "'Well, gentlemen, you have to do your duty. What do you desirenext?'

  "'Our duty is, next, to search the house, for any treasonabledocuments that may be concealed here.'

  "'Search away, gentlemen,' Sir Marmaduke said, seating himself inone of the settles. 'The house is open to you. My butler, JamesBanks, will go round with you, and will open for you any cupboardor chest that may be locked.'

  "The magistrates nodded to the four soldiers. Two of them tooktheir post near the chair, one at the outside door, and one at theother end of the room. Sir Marmaduke said nothing, but shrugged hisshoulders, and then began to play with the ears of the littlespaniel, Fido, that had jumped up on his knees.

  "'We will first go into the study,' John Cockshaw said; and I ledthem there.

  "They went straight to the cabinet with the pull-down desk, whereSir Marmaduke writes when he does write, which is not often. It waslocked, and I went to Sir Marmaduk
e for the key.

  "'You will find it in that French vase on the mantel,' he said. 'Idon't open the desk once in three months, and should lose the key,if I carried it with me.'

  "I went to the mantel, turned the vase over, and the key droppedout.

  "'Sir Marmaduke has nothing to hide, gentlemen,' I said, 'so, yousee, he keeps the key here.'

  "I went to the cabinet, and put the key in. As I did so I said:

  "'Look, gentlemen, someone has opened, or tried to open, this desk.Here is a mark, as if a knife had been thrust in to shoot thebolt.'

  "They looked where I pointed, and William Peters said to Cockshaw,'It is as the man says. Someone has been trying to force thelock--one of the varlets, probably, who thought the knight mightkeep his money here.'

  "'It can be of no importance, one way or the other,' Cockshaw saidroughly.

  "'Probably not, Mr. Cockshaw, but, at the same time I will make anote of it.'

  "I turned the key, and pulled down the door that makes a desk. Theyseemed to know all about it, for, without looking at the papers inthe pigeonholes, they pulled open the lower drawer, and took twoforeign-looking letters out from it. I will do them the justice tosay that they both looked sorry, as they opened them, and looked atthe writing.

  "'It is too true,' Peters said. 'Here is enough to hang a dozenmen.'

  "They tumbled all the other papers into a sack, that one of theconstables had brought with him. Then they searched all the otherfurniture, but they evidently did not expect to find anything. Thenthey went back into the hall.

  "'Well, gentlemen,' Sir Marmaduke said, 'have you found anything ofa terrible kind?'

  "'We have found, I regret to say,' John Cockshaw said, 'the lettersof which we were in search, in your private cabinet--letters thatprove, beyond all doubt, that you are concerned in a plot similarto that discovered three years ago, to assassinate his majesty theking.'

  "Sir Marmaduke sprang to his feet.

  "'You have found letters of that kind in my cabinet?' he said, in adazed sort of way.

  "The magistrate bowed, but did not speak.

  "'Then, sir,' Sir Marmaduke exclaimed, 'you have found letters thatI have never seen. You have found letters that must have beenplaced there by some scoundrel, who plotted my ruin. I assert toyou, on the honour of a gentleman, that no such letters have evermet my eye, and that, if such a proposition had been made to me, Icare not by whom, I would have struck to the ground the man whooffered me such an insult.'

  "'We are sorry, Sir Marmaduke Carstairs,' Mr. Peters said, 'mostsorry, both of us, that it should have fallen to our duty to takeso painful a proceeding against a neighbour; but, you see, thematter is beyond us. We have received a sworn information that youare engaged in such a plot. We are told that you are in the habitof locking up papers of importance in a certain cabinet, and therewe find papers of a most damnatory kind. We most sincerely trustthat you may be able to prove your innocence in the matter, but wehave nothing to do but to take you with us, as a prisoner, toLancaster.'

  "Sir Marmaduke unbuckled his sword, and laid it by. He was quieterthan I thought he could be, in such a strait, for he has alwaysbeen by nature, as you know, choleric.

  "'I am ready, gentlemen,' he said.

  "Peters whispered in Cockshaw's ear.

  "'Ah yes,' the other said, 'I had well-nigh forgotten,' and heturned to me. 'Where is Master Charles Carstairs?'

  "'He is not in the house,' I said. 'He rode away this morning, anddid not tell me where he was going.'

  "'When do you expect him back?'

  "'I do not expect him at all,' I said. 'When Master Charles ridesout to visit his friends, he sometimes stays away for a day ortwo.'

  "'Is it supposed,' Sir Marmaduke asked coldly, 'that my son is alsomixed up in this precious scheme?'

  "'It is sworn that he was privy to it,' John Cockshaw said, 'andis, therefore, included in the orders for arrest.'

  "Sir Marmaduke did not speak, but he shut his lips tight, and hishand went to where the hilt of his sword would have been. Two ofthe constables went out and questioned the grooms, and found thatyou had, as I said, ridden off. When they came back, there was sometalk between the magistrates, and then, as I said, four constablesand some soldiers were left in the house. Sir Marmaduke's horse wasbrought round, and he rode away, with the magistrates and the othersoldiers."

  "I am quite sure, Banks, that my father could have known nothing ofthose letters, or of any plot against William's life. I have heardhim speak so often of the assassination plot, and how disgracefulit was, and how, apart from its wickedness, it had damaged thecause, that I am certain he would not have listened to a word aboutanother such business."

  "I am sure of that, too," the old butler said; "but that is not thequestion, Master Charles. There are the papers. We know that SirMarmaduke did not put them there, and that he did not know thatthey were there. But how is it to be proved, sir? Everyone knowsthat Sir Marmaduke is a Jacobite, and is regarded as the head ofthe party in this part of the country. He has enemies, and one ofthem, no doubt, has played this evil trick upon him, and theputting of your name in shows what the motive is."

  "But it is ridiculous, Banks. Who could believe that such a matteras this would be confided to a lad of my age?"

  "They might not believe it in their hearts, but people oftenbelieve what suits their interest. This accusation touches SirMarmaduke's life; and his estate, even if his life were spared,would be confiscated. In such a case, it might be granted toanyone, and possibly even to the son of him they would call thetraitor. But the accusation that the son was concerned, or was, atany rate, privy to the crime intended by the father, would set allagainst him, and public opinion would approve of the estatespassing away from him altogether.

  "But now, sir, what do you think you had best do?"

  "Of course I shall go on, Banks, and let them take me to join myfather in Lancaster jail. Do you think I would run away?"

  "No, sir, I don't think you would run away. I am sure you would notrun away from fear, but I would not let them lay hands on me, untilI had thought the matter well over. You might be able to do moregood to Sir Marmaduke were you free, than you could do if you werecaged up with him. He has enemies, we know, who are doing theirbest to ruin him, and, as you see, they are anxious that you, too,should be shut up within four walls."

  "You are right, Banks. At any rate, I will ride back and consultMr. Jervoise. Besides, he ought to be warned, for he, too, may bearrested on the same charge. How did you get away without beingnoticed?"

  "I said that I felt ill--and I was not speaking falsely--at SirMarmaduke's arrest, and would lie down. They are keeping a sharplookout at the stables, and have a soldier at each door, to seethat no one leaves the house, but I went out by that old passagethat comes out among the ruins of the monastery."

  "I know, Banks. My father showed it to me, three years ago."

  "I shall go back that way again, sir, and no one will know that Ihave left the house. You know the trick of the sliding panel,Master Charles?"

  "Yes, I know it, and if I should want to come into the house again,I will come that way, Banks."

  "Here is a purse," the butler said. "You may want money, sir.Should you want more, there is a store hidden away, in the hidingplace under the floor of the Priest's Chamber, at the other end ofthe passage. Do you know that?"

  "I know the Priest's Chamber of course, because you go through thatto get to the long passage, but I don't know of any special hidingplace there."

  "Doubtless, Sir Marmaduke did not think it necessary to show it youthen, sir, but he would have done it later on, so I do not considerthat I am breaking my oath of secrecy in telling you. You know thelittle narrow loophole in the corner?"

  "Yes, of course. There is no other that gives light to the room. Itis hidden from view outside by the ivy."

  "Well, sir, you count four bricks below that, and you press hard onthe next, that is the fifth, then you will hear a click, then youpress hard with yo
ur heel at the corner, in the angle of the flagbelow, and you will find the other corner rise. Then you get holdof it and lift it up, and below there is a stone chamber, two feetlong and about eighteen inches wide and deep. It was made toconceal papers in the old days, and I believe food was always keptthere, in case the chamber had to be used in haste.

  "Sir Marmaduke uses it as a store place for his money. He has laidby a good deal every year, knowing that money would be wanted whentroops had to be raised. I was with him about three weeks ago, whenhe put in there half the rents that had been paid in. So, if youwant money for any purpose, you will know where to find it."

  "Thank you, Banks. It may be very useful to have such a store,now."

  "Where shall I send to you, sir, if I have any news that it isurgent you should know of?"

  "Send to Mr. Jervoise, Banks. If I am not there, he will know whereI am to be found."

  "I will send Will Ticehurst, Master Charles. He is a stout lad, anda shrewd one, and I know there is nothing that he would not do foryou. But you had best stop no longer. Should they find out that Iam not in the house, they will guess that I have come to warn you,and may send out a party to search."

  Charlie at once mounted, and rode back to Mr. Jervoise's.

  "I expected you back," that gentleman said, as he entered. "Badnews travels apace, and, an hour since, a man brought in the newsthat Sir Marmaduke had been seen riding, evidently a prisoner,surrounded by soldiers, on the road towards Lancaster. So thatvillain we chased last night must have learnt something. I supposethey will be here tomorrow, but I do not see what serious chargethey can have against us. We have neither collected arms, nor takenany steps towards a rising. We have talked over what we might do,if there were a landing made from France, but, as there may be nolanding, that is a very vague charge."

  "Unfortunately, that is not the charge against my father. It is amuch more serious business."

  And Charlie repeated the substance of what Banks had told him,interrupted occasionally by indignant ejaculations from Mr.Jervoise.

  "It is an infamous plot," he said, when the lad had concluded hisstory. "Infamous! There was never a word said of such a scheme, andno one who knows your father would believe it for an instant."

  "Yes, sir, but the judges, who do not know him, may believe it. Nodoubt those who put those papers there, will bring forward evidenceto back it up."

  "I am afraid that will be the case. It is serious for us all," Mr.Jervoise said thoughtfully. "That man will be prepared to swearthat he heard the plot discussed by us all. They seized yourfather, today, as being the principal and most important of thoseconcerned in it, but we may all find ourselves in the same casetomorrow. I must think it over.

  "It is well that your man warned you. You had best not stay heretonight, for the house may be surrounded at daybreak. Harry shallgo over, with you, to one of my tenants, and you can both sleepthere. It will not be necessary for you to leave for another two orthree hours. You had better go to him now; supper will be served inhalf an hour. I will talk with you again, afterwards."

  Harry was waiting outside the door, having also heard the news ofSir Marmaduke's arrest.

  "It is villainous!" he exclaimed, when he heard the whole story."No doubt you are right, and that John Dormay is at the bottom ofit all. The villain ought to be slain."

  "He deserves it, Harry; and, if I thought it would do good, I wouldgladly fight him, but I fear that it would do harm. Such ascoundrel must needs be a coward, and he might call for aid, and Imight be dragged off to Lancaster. Moreover, he is Ciceley'sfather, and my cousin Celia's husband, and, were I to kill him, itwould separate me altogether from them. However, I shall in allthings be guided by your father. He will know what best ought to bedone.

  "It is likely that he, too, may be arrested. This is evidently adeep plot, and your father thinks that, although the papers alonemay not be sufficient to convict my father, the spy we had in ourhouse will be ready to swear that he heard your father, and mine,and the others, making arrangements for the murder of William ofOrange; and their own word to the contrary would count but littleagainst such evidence, backed by those papers."

  They talked together for half an hour, and were then summoned tosupper. Nothing was said, upon the subject, until the servitors hadretired, and the meal was cleared away. Mr. Jervoise was, like SirMarmaduke, a widower.

  "I have been thinking it all over," he said, when they were alone."I have determined to ride, at once, to consult some of my friends,and to warn them of what has taken place. That is clearly my duty.I shall not return until I learn whether warrants are out for myapprehension. Of course, the evidence is not so strong against meas it is against Sir Marmaduke; still, the spy's evidence wouldtell as much against me as against him.

  "You will go up, Harry, with your friend, to Pincot's farm. It liesso far in the hills that it would probably be one of the last to besearched, and, if a very sharp lookout is kept there, a body of menriding up the valley would be seen over a mile away, and therewould be plenty of time to take to the hills. There Charlie hadbetter remain, until he hears from me.

  "You can return here, Harry, in the morning, for there is noprobability whatever of your being included in any warrant ofarrest. It could only relate to us, who were in the habit ofmeeting at Sir Marmaduke's. You will ride over to the farm eachday, and tell Charlie any news you may have learnt, or take anymessage I may send you for him.

  "We must do nothing hastily. The first thing to learn, if possible,is whether any of us are included in the charge of being concernedin a plot against William's life. In the next place, who are thewitnesses, and what evidence they intend to give. No doubt the mostimportant is the man who was placed as a spy at Sir Marmaduke's."

  "As I know his face, sir," Charlie said eagerly, "could I not findhim, and either force him to acknowledge that it is all false, orelse kill him? I should be in my right in doing that, surely, sincehe is trying to swear away my father's life by false evidence."

  "I should say nothing against that, lad. If ever a fellow deservedkilling he does; that is, next to his rascally employer. But hisdeath would harm rather than benefit us. It would be assumed, ofcourse, that we had removed him to prevent his giving evidenceagainst us. No doubt his depositions have been taken down, and theywould then be assumed to be true, and we should be worse off thanif he could be confronted with us, face to face, in the court. Wemust let the matter rest, at present."

  "Would it be possible to get my father out of prison, sir? I amsure I can get a dozen men, from among the tenants and grooms, whowould gladly risk their lives for him."

  "Lancaster jail is a very strong place," Mr. Jervoise said, "and Ifear there is no possibility of rescuing him from it. Of course, atpresent we cannot say where the trial will take place. A commissionmay be sent down, to hold a special assizes at Lancaster, or thetrial may take place in London. At any rate, nothing whatever canbe done, until we know more. I have means of learning what takesplace at Lancaster, for we have friends there, as well as at mostother places. When I hear from them the exact nature of the charge,the evidence that will be given, and the names of those accused ofbeing mixed up in this pretended plot, I shall be better able tosay what is to be done.

  "Now, I must mount and ride without further delay. I have to visitall our friends who met at Lynnwood, and it will take me untiltomorrow morning to see and confer with them."

  A few minutes after Mr. Jervoise had ridden off, his son andCharlie also mounted. A man went with them, with a supply oftorches, for, although Harry knew the road--which was little betterthan a sheep track--well enough during the day, his father thoughthe might find it difficult, if not impossible, to follow it on adark night.

  They congratulated themselves upon the precaution taken, beforethey had gone very far, for there was no moon, the sky wasovercast, and a drizzling rain had begun to come down. They couldhardly see their horses' heads, and had proceeded but a shortdistance, when it became necessary for their guide to light atorc
h. It took them, therefore, over two hours to reach themountain farm.

  They were expected, otherwise the household would have been asleep.Mr. Jervoise had, as soon as he determined upon their going there,sent off a man on horseback, who, riding fast, had arrived beforenight set in. There was, therefore, a great turf fire glowing onthe hearth when they arrived, and a hearty welcome awaiting themfrom the farmer, his wife, and daughters. Harry had, by hisfather's advice, brought two changes of clothes in a valise, butthey were so completely soaked to the skin that they decided theywould, after drinking a horn of hot-spiced ale that had beenprepared for them, go at once to bed, where, in spite of thestirring events of the day, both went off to sleep, as soon astheir heads touched the pillows.

  The sun was shining brightly, when they woke. The mists had clearedoff, although they still hung round the head of Ingleborough, sixmiles away, and on some of the other hilltops. The change ofweather had an inspiriting effect, and they went down to breakfastin a brighter and more hopeful frame of mind. As soon as the mealwas over, Harry started for home.

  "I hope it won't be long before I can see you again, Harry,"Charlie said, as he stood by the horse.

  "I hope not, indeed; but there is no saying. My father's orders arethat I am to stay at home, if people come and take possession, andsend a man off to you with the news privately, but that, if no onecomes, I may myself bring you over any news there is; so I may beback here this afternoon."

  "I shall be looking out for you, Harry. Remember, it will behorribly dull for me up here, wondering and fretting as to what isgoing on."

  "I know, Charlie; and you shall hear, as soon as I get the smallestscrap of news. If I were you, I would go for a good walk among thehills. It will be much better for you than moping here. At anyrate, you are not likely to get any news for some hours to come."

  Charlie took the advice, and started among the hills, not returninguntil the midday meal was ready. Before he had finished his dinnerthere was a tap at the door, and then a young fellow, whom he knewto be employed in Mr. Jervoise's stables, looked in. Charlie sprangto his feet.

  "What's the news?" he asked.

  "Master Harry bade me tell you, sir, that a magistrate, and fourconstables, and ten soldier men came today, at nine o'clock. He hadreturned but a half-hour when they rode up. They had an order forthe arrest of Mr. Jervoise, and have been searching the house, highand low, for papers. No one is allowed to leave the place, butMaster Harry came out to the stables and gave me his orders, and Idid not find much difficulty in slipping out without their noticingme. Mr. Harry said that he had no news of Mr. Jervoise, nor anyother news, save what I have told you. He bade me return at onceas, later on, he may want to send me again. I was to be mostcareful that no one should see me when I got back, and, if I wascaught, I was on no account to say where I had been to."

  The farmer insisted upon the young fellow sitting down at thetable, and taking some food, before he started to go back. Herequired no pressing, but, as soon as his hunger was satisfied, hestarted again at a brisk run, which he kept up as long as Charlie'seye could follow him down the valley.

  Although the boy by no means wished Mr. Jervoise to be involved inhis father's trouble, Charlie could not help feeling a certainamount of pleasure at the news. He thought it certain that, if hisfather escaped, he would have to leave the country, and that hewould, in that case, take him as companion in his flight. If Mr.Jervoise and Harry also left the country, it would be vastly morepleasant for both his father and himself. Where they would go to,or what they would do, he had no idea, but it seemed to him thatexile among strangers would be bearable, if he had his friend withhim. It would not last many years, for surely the often talked-oflanding could not be very much longer delayed; then they wouldreturn, share in the triumph of the Stuart cause, and resume theirlife at Lynnwood, and reckon with those who had brought this foulcharge against them.

  That the Jacobite cause could fail to triumph was a contingency towhich Charlie did not give even a thought. He had been taught thatit was a just and holy cause. All his school friends, as well asthe gentlemen who visited his father, were firm adherents of it,and he believed that the same sentiments must everywhere prevail.There was, then, nothing but the troops of William to reckon with,and these could hardly oppose a rising of the English people,backed by aid from France.

  It was not until after dark that the messenger returned.

  "Master Harry bade me tell you, sir, that a gipsy boy he had neverseen before has brought him a little note from his father. He willnot return at present, but, if Mr. Harry can manage to slip awayunnoticed in the afternoon, tomorrow, he is to come here. He is notto come direct, but to make a circuit, lest he should be watchedand followed, and it may be that the master will meet him here."

  Charlie was very glad to hear this. Harry could, of course, givehim little news of what was going on outside the house, but Mr.Jervoise might be able to tell him something about his father,especially as he had said he had means of learning what went on inLancaster jail.

  He was longing to be doing something. It seemed intolerable to himthat he should be wandering aimlessly among the hills, while hisfather was lying in Lancaster, with a charge affecting his lifehanging over him. What he could do he knew not, but anything wouldbe better than doing nothing. Mr. Jervoise had seemed to think thatit was out of the question to attempt a rescue from Lancaster; butsurely, if he could get together forty or fifty determined fellows,a sudden assault upon the place might be successful.

  Then he set to work reckoning up the grooms, the younger tenants,and the sons of the older ones, and jotted down the names oftwenty-seven who he thought might join in the attempt.

  "If Harry could get twenty-three from his people, that would makeit up to the number," he said. "Of course, I don't know what thedifficulties to be encountered may be. I have ridden there with myfather, and I know that the castle is a strong one, but I did notnotice it very particularly. The first thing to do will be to goand examine it closely. No doubt ladders will be required, but wecould make rope ladders, and take them into the town in a cart,hidden under faggots, or something of that sort.

  "I do hope Mr. Jervoise will come tomorrow. It is horrible waitinghere in suspense."

  The next morning, the hours seemed endless. Half a dozen times hewent restlessly in and out, walking a little distance up the hillrising from the valley, and returning again, with the vain ideathat Mr. Jervoise might have arrived.

  Still more slowly did the time appear to go, after dinner. He wasgetting into a fever of impatience and anxiety, when, about fiveo'clock, he saw a figure coming down the hillside from the right.It was too far away to recognize with certainty, but, by the rapidpace at which he descended the hill, he had little doubt that itwas Harry, and he at once started, at the top of his speed, to meethim.

  The doubt was soon changed into a certainty. When, a few hundredyards up the hill, he met his friend, both were almost breathless.Harry was the first to gasp out:

  "Has my father arrived?"

  "Not yet."

  Harry threw himself down on the short grass, with an exclamation ofthankfulness.

  "I have run nearly every foot of the way," he said, as soon as hegot his breath a little. "I had awful difficulty in getting out.One of the constables kept in the same room with me, and followedme wherever I went. They evidently thought I might hear from myfather, or try to send him a message. At last, I got desperate, andran upstairs to that room next mine, and closed and locked the doorafter me. You know the ivy grows high up the wall there, anddirectly I got in, I threw open the casement and climbed down byit. It gave way two or three times, and I thought I was gone, but Istuck to it, and managed each time to get a fresh hold. The momentI was down, I ran along by the foot of the wall until I got roundbehind, made a dash into that clump of fir trees, crawled along ina ditch till I thought I was safe, and then made a run for it. Iwas so afraid of being followed that I have been at least threemiles round, but I don't mind, now that my f
ather hasn't arrived. Iwas in such a fright that he might come and go before I got here."