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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/24094-8.txt b/24094-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..12826bf --- /dev/null +++ b/24094-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10597 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Beautiful Wretch; The Pupil of +Aurelius; and The Four Macnicols, by William Black + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Beautiful Wretch; The Pupil of Aurelius; and The Four Macnicols + +Author: William Black + +Release Date: December 31, 2007 [EBook #24094] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEAUTIFUL WRETCH ET AL. *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + +THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH + + +BY + +WILLIAM BLACK + + + +AUTHOR OF 'MACLEOD OF DARE,' 'SUNRISE,' ETC. + + + +NEW EDITION + + + +LONDON + +MACMILLAN AND CO. + +1882 + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER + + I. Singing Sal + II. In Brunswick Terrace + III. A First Ball + IV. The Same + V. The Same + VI. First Impressions + VII. Auf Der Reise + VIII. Snow and Mist and Sunlight + IX. The Serenata + X. Jinny + XI. Transformation + XII. New Possibilities + XIII. Ormuzd and Ahriman + XIV. At Home + XV. A Message + XVI. Reveries + XVII. The Accepted Suitor + XVIII. A White World + XIX. Breaking Down + XX. The Shadow + XXI. Danger Ahead + XXII. A Catastrophe + XXIII. At Last + XXIV. 'Bring Home the Bride so Fair!' + + + + +THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. + + +CHAPTER I. + +SINGING SAL. + +On a certain golden afternoon in August, when the sea was as still and +radiant as the vaulted blue overhead, and when the earth was lying so +hushed and silent that you would have thought it was listening for the +chirp of the small birds among the gorse, a young girl of about +seventeen or so was walking over the downs that undulate, wave on wave, +from Newhaven all along the coast to Brighton. This young lady was +tall for her age; slim of form; and she had a graceful carriage; her +face was fair and markedly freckled; her nose was piquant rather than +classical; her hair, which was of a ruddy gold hue, was rebellious, and +strayed about her ears and neck in accidental wisps and rings: her +grayish or gray-blue eyes were reserved and thoughtful rather than +shrewd and observant. No, she was not beautiful; but she had a face +that attracted interest; and though her look was timid and retiring, +nevertheless her eyes could, on occasion, light up with a sudden humour +that was inclined to be sarcastic. So busy, indeed, was she generally, +on these solitary wanderings of hers, with her own thoughts and +fancies, that sometimes she laughed to herself--a low, quiet little +laugh that none but herself could hear. + +This was Miss Anne Beresford, who was called by her sisters Nan. But +it was an old friend of the family, and one of England's most famous +sailors, who, at a very early period of her career, had bestowed on her +the sobriquet of the Beautiful Wretch; and that partly because she was +a pretty and winning child, and partly because she was in the habit of +saying surprisingly irreverent things. Now, all children say +irreverent things, simply because they read the highest mysteries by +the light of their own small experiences; but Nan Beresford's guesses +at the supernatural were more than usually audacious. When, for +example, she arrived at the conclusion that fairies were never seen in +the daytime for the reason that God had had them all 'fwied for his +bweakfast,' it was clear that she was bringing a quite independent mind +to bear on the phenomena of the universe around her. And then, of +course, all sorts of sayings that she never uttered or thought of were +attributed to her. Whenever a story was particularly wicked, it was +sure to be put down to Nan Beresford. The old Admiral, who had at the +outset given her that nickname, spent a great deal of time that might +have been profitably employed otherwise in deliberately inventing +impieties, each of which was bruited about in certain circles as 'Nan's +last;' and if you happened to meet him anywhere between the United +Service Club and Spring Gardens, completely self-absorbed, his face +brimming over with laughter, you might be sure he was just putting on a +finishing touch. Rather than abandon one of these self-invented +stories of his, I think he would have parted with any half-dozen of his +crosses and medals; but indeed this last would not have been difficult, +for he had served in every part of the world where a ship would float, +and honours and dignities had been showered upon him. + +Naturally, there came a time when these stories had to cease; but Nan +Beresford preserved her independent way of looking at things, and she +was clearly the clever one of the family. Moreover, with all her +retiring ways, she was always quite capable of holding her own. Her +elder sisters were handsome, and a good many young gentlemen, amongst +others, came about the house; some of whom, thinking to be facetious, +would occasionally begin to tease Miss Nan, she being the youngest +admitted to lunch or afternoon tea. But this shy, freckled young +person, whose eyes could laugh up so quickly, had a nimbleness of wit +and dexterity of fence that usually left her antagonist exceedingly +sorry. One can imagine a gay young swallow darting about in the +evening, having quite satisfied himself as to food, and thinking only +in his frolicsome way of chevying and frightening the innocent insect +tribe. But what if, by dire mischance, he should dart at something and +find he had seized--a wasp! Some of the merry young gentlemen were +glad to leave the Beautiful Wretch alone. + +However, all these things must now be looked upon as bygones. +Seventeen has come; its dignity and seriousness have followed upon the +frolics of untutored youth; and the sweet charm of maidenhood has +smoothed down such angularities as were formerly permissible. If Miss +Anne Beresford shows her independence now, it is mostly in a sort of +half-declared contempt of sentimentalities and flirtations--of which, +to be sure, she sees a good deal around her. She likes to be alone; +she reads much; she has ideas; she worships Mr. Huxley; and she needs +no other company than her own when she goes off on long explorations of +curving shore or inland vale. On this particular afternoon, for +example, she was walking all the way to Brighton from Newhaven, having +already walked to the latter place in the morning; and as her light and +free step carried her over the close, warm, thyme-scented turf, she was +smiling to herself--at some incident, no doubt, that her memory had +recalled. + +Well, at this moment some one addressed her. + +'Young lady!' + +She had been vaguely aware that a woman was sitting there, by the side +of some furze bushes; but she had kept her eyes away, being a little +afraid of tramps. On being challenged, however, she turned and looked, +and then she saw that this was no ordinary tramp, but an itinerant +musician well known along the south coast by the name of Singing Sal. +She was a good-looking, trimly-dressed, strapping wench of +five-and-twenty, with a sun-tanned face, brilliant white teeth when she +laughed, and big brown eyes that were at once friendly and audacious in +their scrutiny. She looked indeed more like a farmer's daughter +dressed for market-day; but on one side of her, on the green-sward, lay +a guitar; and on the other, a little leather wallet that she had +unstrapped. Apparently she had been having a nap on this warm +afternoon, for she was smoothing down her black hair. + +'I beg your pardon, Miss,' she said, with very great respect, but with +a sort of timidly friendly look in her eyes, 'but I have often seen you +as you was walking along the downs; and many's the time I have wished +to have a word with you, if there was nobody by. Yes, and many's the +time I have thought about you.' + +Nan Beresford hesitated for a second whether she should stay or not. +But she knew this young woman very well by sight; and her appearance +and manner were alike extremely prepossessing. Nan had heard her sing, +but never speak; and she was surprised by the correct way in which she +spoke; she had scarcely anything of the Sussex intonation. + +'Yes,' said Singing Sal, looking up at the young lady, 'many's the time +that I have thought I should like to tell you what I've been thinking +about you, as I saw you go by. I've often been thinking that if one +could only see into it, the mind of a young lady like you--brought up +like you in the middle of nothing but kindness and goodness--why, it +must be the most beautiful thing in the world. Just like that out +there--clear and silver-like.' + +She nodded in the direction of the sea--where the pale blue plain was +touched here and there with silver and golden reflections. Nan was +embarrassed; nevertheless she remained. There was something winning +about the fresh-coloured, frank-eyed lass. + +'And I think I have seen a little bit into your mind, Miss,' said she, +with a smile. 'Would you look at this--if I may make so bold?' + +There was a bit of red silk round her neck, and attached to it was a +florin. She held up the perforated coin, and glanced at the face of +the young girl. Nan Beresford blushed. + +'You remember, Miss? That was the night as I was singing in front of +the Old Ship, though what I did that for I don't know; I prefer my own +friends and my own haunts. But do you know what I said to myself when +I got to my lodgings that night? I said, "What was the young lady +thinking of when she gave you that florin? It wasn't an accident; for +she took it carefully out of her purse. And it wasn't because she +thought you were starving; for you don't look like that. No, she gave +it to you that you might think it enough for one night's earnings, and +go away home, and not be stared at any longer by a crowd of men. That +was what the young lady was thinking in her mind; and if ever you spend +that two shillings, Sal, you'll be a mean wretch." And many's the time +I thought I would like to speak to ye, Miss, if only as it might be to +ask your name.' + +This woman was frank even to boldness in her scrutiny, and her manner +was rough and ready; but there was a touch of something fine about +her--something true, downright, unmistakable--that somehow won people's +confidence. Nan Beresford drew nearer to her, though she remained +standing. + +'Is there anything----?' said Nan; and then she stopped. She was about +to ask if there was anything she could do for this new acquaintance; +but she suddenly reflected that the young woman was smartly dressed and +apparently well-to-do. Singing Sal quickly broke in on her +embarrassment. + +'Yes,' she said, smiling, 'you don't like my making a show of +myself--singing for coppers in the street. But isn't there worse than +that among the people you live among, Miss? Mind, I see life in the +rough; I can't always choose my company; and I have to take things as +they come; but when I hear of very fine young ladies--mind, not poor +girls driven by starvation, or forced to support a sick mother, or +kicked out of doors by a drunken father--and these fine ladies going +and selling themselves for so many thousands a year and a swell +carriage--well, it sounds queer, I think. But I'm sure, Miss,' she +said, regarding the girl, 'you won't make a marriage for money. You +don't look like that.' + +Again Nan Beresford flushed hastily; and she said, with a touch of +anger, 'I prefer not to speak of such things. I am tired of listening +to women who can talk of nothing but sweethearts and marriage. Surely +there are other matters of as much importance----' + +But then it occurred to her that this was scarcely civil; so she turned +to this pleasant-looking stranger and said, with a grave courtesy, 'I +presume you are returning to Brighton?' + +'Yes, I am.' + +'To remain there?' + +Sal laughed in her quiet way. + +'Lord love you, my dear young lady, I never saw the town yet that could +hold me for more than a couple o' nights. I live in the open. This is +what I like best--open sea, open sky, open downs. I do believe my +forefathers were either gipsies, or else they had had a good dose o' +the treadmill; for I'm never content but when I'm on the trudge--wet +weather or fine, all's the same to me; but foursquare walls I can't +endure.' + +'I am afraid you must lead a very solitary life,' said Nan, with +sincere compassion. + +'Why, bless you, Miss, the world is full of things, said the other +cheerfully; 'and as you tramp along there's always something turning up +for you to look at. Oh, I've plenty of friends, too, for the matter of +that. I bring a bit of news to the farms, and sometimes toys for the +coastguardsmen's children--else the women would get jealous; and I have +an eye for the mackerel-shoals, for the fishermen; and I know where the +sailors are, if there's any sport going on. Yes, I have a good many +friends, Miss. I can tell you it would be a bad business for any one +who laid a finger on me, anywheres between Dover and Portsmouth; I +think the word would be passed along pretty quick. Not that I can't +take care o' myself,' added Sal with a modest smile. 'I'm not afraid +to be out o' nights, when I know where my bed is; and sometimes I can +do without that. Why, that is the best of all the tramps--a clear +moonlight night along these downs; and you have the whole world to +yourself; everything and everybody asleep, except maybe a watchdog up +at one of the farms. And the ships out at sea--you can tell whether +they're going up or down Channel by the red or the green light, and you +think of the poor chap at the helm, and hope he'll get soon home to his +wife and children. That is a real fine tramp, Miss; you want to sing +almost, and yet it's too beautiful to be broken by a sound. And then +there's a fortnight in the Spring when the birds come over--oh! that's +wonderful. If you start about half-past two or a quarter to three, you +get in amongst them; and the first thing you hear is the whistle, +quick, and sharp, and yet far away, of the curlews. Then you begin to +feel that they are passing overhead; you can't see anything; it is like +a whisper filling all the air; the darkness is just full of wings--soft +and soft; you're afraid to put up your hand in case you might hurt some +poor creature at the end of its long voyage; and you listen and listen +as you walk along, waiting for the gray daylight in the east, to show +them where to pick up some food in the fields. Ah! Miss, if you only +had the courage to rise as early as that----' + +'Oh, I will--I will!' said Nan eagerly, quite forgetting what her +mother might have to say about this strange acquaintance. 'But what +has made you take to such a way of living? You are very well educated.' + +'You are kind to say so, Miss,' remarked Singing Sal, who was evidently +greatly pleased. 'But it's little education I ever got, except from +two or three books I have made companions of, like. I kept my father's +shop in Tunbridge until he married a second time; then it grew too hot +for me, rather; and so I took to the road, and I've never regretted it. +Human nature is what I like to look at; and if I may make so bold as to +say it, I guess there's more human nature among the poor folk than +among the rich. But I'll tell you about that some other time,' she +added, returning to her ordinary free-and-easy manner. 'I see you want +to go. You've looked at your watch twice.' + +'But you're going to Brighton also?' said Nan, somewhat timidly. + +'Not with you, Miss,' was the prompt reply. 'No, no. But perhaps, if +it is not making too free, you will be so friendly as to tell me your +name?' + +'My name is Anne Beresford, and I live in Brunswick Terrace,' said Nan. + +'Thank ye kindly, Miss,' said Singing Sal, regarding the young lady +with great friendliness and respect. 'Maybe I shall see you some other +day on the downs, for I think you are as fond of them as I am myself. +Good-bye, Miss.' + +She rose with some sense of natural courtesy. But she rather turned +away, also; and she kept her hands behind her. So Nan bade her +good-bye in return; and continued on her way along the lonely cliffs. + +Some considerable time thereafter, when Nan Beresford was nearing +Brighton, she turned and looked behind her; and she could make out, on +the summit of one of the rounded undulations towards Rottingdean, the +figure of a woman, whom she at once guessed to be Singing Sal. That +solitary figure was impressive there--high up on the edge of the slope; +the still, shining sea far below her; and all around her and illumining +her, as it were, the reddening glow flooding over from the westering +sun. Nan--perhaps moved by some subtle compunction, perhaps only in +token of friendly remembrance--took out her handkerchief and waved it +twice; but there was no response. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +IN BRUNSWICK TERRACE. + +That same afternoon all Brighton was astir with curiosity because of a +large vessel that had slowly come in from the west before an almost +imperceptible breeze. She came unusually, and, as some thought, +dangerously close in shore; and no doubt she looked even larger than +she really was, for she had every stitch of canvas set, from her royals +down to her lower studding sails, that stood out on each side like +great bat's wings; while all this mass of sail was dark in shadow +against the western glow. As the spectators watched her, those among +them who knew a little about nautical matters guessed that this must be +a man-of-war from the rapidity with which she began to furl her +sails--letting the golden light shine along between her spars; while +they further concluded, from the fact that only a kedge was thrown out +at her bows, that her stay in these shallow waters would be brief. + +Now we must see how the advent of this stranger was regarded by the +occupants of a certain drawing-room in Brunswick Terrace. These were +five--a mother, son, and three daughters; and as they will all appear, +more or less, in the following history, it may be as well to introduce +them now and categorically to the reader. + +First of all came Lady Beresford herself--an elderly, sallow-faced, +weak-looking woman, the widow of a General Officer who had got his +K.C.B.-ship for long service in India. She had a nervous system that +she worshipped as a sort of fetish; and in turn the obliging divinity +relieved her from many of the cares and troubles of this wearyful +world. For how could she submit to any discomfort or privation (the +family were not very well off for their station in life); or how could +she receive objectionable visitors, or investigate cases of harrowing +distress, or remonstrate with careless livery-stable keepers, or call +to account extortionate milliners when this precious nervous system had +to be considered? Lady Beresford turned away from these things and +ordered round her bath-chair, and was taken out to the end of the Pier, +that she might be soothed by the music and the sea air. + +The eldest daughter in this drawing-room (the eldest daughter of the +family was married and in India) had not much nervousness about her. +She was a handsome, tall, blonde girl of the clear-cut English type, +cold and even proud in manner, strict in the performance of all her +duties, and not very charitable in her criticism of others. She had a +good figure; she dressed well; clear health shone in her pale fair face +and bright cold eyes. She was a daring horsewoman. Her brother called +her 'Nails,' which was a final contraction for 'Old Hard-as-Nails.' + +The next sister, Edith, that same graceless youth was in the habit of +calling 'The Sentimental.' She was the darkest of the family, and the +most beautiful also, where every one was more or less good-looking. +She had soft brown hair, dark blue-gray eyes of the tenderest +expression, and a beseeching innocent look. She was fond of music; +played and sang very fairly herself; but she was most admirable as a +listener. In a room filled with half-murmuring people, she alone +remained mute and devoted; her chair drawn close to the piano; her form +motionless. It is true her brother boldly attributed Edith's strict +observance of this attitude to the fact that she knew she had a +striking profile, and that in no other way could she be so well seen by +the room. But then there are some people who will say anything. + +In point of family order Nan Beresford came next; but, as we have seen, +she was at this moment away out on the downs, marching briskly, and +much pleased with herself and the world generally. + +'The Baby' was the youngest of the sisters--a pretty child of fifteen; +a trifle spoiled and bad-tempered, otherwise characterless enough. So +now we may pass on to the personage who considered himself of chief +consequence in the house--Mr. Thomas Beresford, the only son, who now +stood at the window, thrumming on the panes, to the infinite annoyance +of his mother. He was an exceedingly handsome boy of about eighteen, +slightly built, tall, and dressed with an elaborate precision. The lad +was clever enough, and good-natured enough, but he had been spoiled all +his life long--first by his sisters, and then by the men who wanted to +marry his sisters. He harried and worried the whole household +indiscriminately, but he was especially hard upon Nan. He said Nan had +a character that he wished to form. Girls wanted roughing. There was +far too much flimsiness and fashionability about their social circle. +In time he trusted to be able to make something out of Nan. + +Well, he was thrumming contemplatively on the window-panes, watching +this big dark ship come along from the west. + +'Thomas, I wish you would cease that distressing noise,' said his +mother, with a plaintive sigh. + +He ceased his thrumming and took to whistling. + +'Tom,' said the musical sister, 'I do wish you wouldn't try to pick up +new airs. You can't do it. Why don't you keep to "Home, Sweet Home," +or "In a Cottage near a Wood"----' + +But, to give effect to this remonstrance, she had turned in her chair +in which she was reading, and, in so doing, came in sight of the +window, and the sea, and the new arrival there. + +'Oh!' she exclaimed, 'what a beautiful large yacht!' + +The youth at the window shrugged his shoulders. + +'Well, you _are_ a fool,' he said politely. + +'Thank you,' she replied. + +'I'll tell you what--it's a man-o'-war brig,' continued he, with an air +of importance. 'And what's more, I hope the fellow knows where he's +coming to. I don't see them taking any soundings; and the notion of +bringing a man-o'-war in here----' + +He went and got an opera-glass, and returned to the window. He would +make observations; perhaps, if need were, he might put off in a small +boat and offer to assist in the navigation of the ship. + +'Young women,' he exclaimed, suddenly, 'a light strikes me. That's the +_Fly-by-night_.' + +'You pretend you can make out the ship's name at that distance,' said +the eldest sister, with the slightest of smiles. + +'Not with the glass, but by the intuition of genius,' he retorted, +coolly. 'What's more, I can tell you the name of her commanding +officer, Miss Nails. Which his initials are Francis Holford King.' + +'King!' said his mother with but little interest. 'Oh yes; I remember.' + +'And he's coming to pay you a visit; that's what's the matter,' +continued the youth, still with the glass raised. 'Nails, you'd better +hide that novel, and pretend you've been sewing. Beauty [this was an +alternative name for the second sister], are you at the proper angle? +Baby, smooth out your pinafore.' + +'Thomas, I insist on your treating your sisters with more respect!' his +mother said, angrily. + +'Well, I should almost like to be that fellow,' continued Thomas, with +perfect good-humour. 'Fancy: at five-and-twenty, commanding a ten-gun +brig! He has brains, that chap; not like the others that come fooling +around here. Why, old Stratherne told me all about him. They made him +a Lieutenant when he was just of age.' + +'With your abilities, Tom,' said his eldest sister, 'I suppose you'll +be commanding one of her Majesty's ships, too, when you're +five-and-twenty.' + +He was not at all crushed by the sarcasm. + +'My abilities,' he said, still looking through the glass, 'are, I know, +remarkable; but I think, on the whole, a rich widow will be more in my +line of country.' + +By this time all the girls had come to the window to watch the busy +scene without--the small sailing-boats and rowing-boats passing and +repassing under the bows and stern of the brig, their occupants staring +at the guns in the open ports or listening to the fiddling on the +forecastle, where the men were dancing. But the interest of the +Beresfords was concentrated rather on the gig that waited below, at the +foot of the accommodation-ladder, with five blue-jackets in her. They +saw an officer descend and step into the stern of the gig; then she was +shoved off, and simultaneously the oars struck the water. In a very +few minutes the bow of the boat was run up on the beach, the gangboard +put out, and then the officer stepped ashore. + +'Oh, my! ain't we resplendent?' remarked the brother of the girls, +apparently to himself. 'But it will be mortally awkward, young sir, if +your ship should get aground, with the tide ebbing. Lawks-a-mussy! a +court-martial. Even your first-class certificates, and Sir George +Stratherne, and all the Lords put together, couldn't get you out of +that. And, then, the ignominy of it! _Question_: What on earth made +you take the _Fly-by-Night_ in to Brighton? _Answer_: Please, sir--ax +yer pardon, sir!--I only wanted to spoon one o' them doosid pretty +Beresford girls.' + +'Thomas, leave the room!' said his mother, in a violent rage. + +Thomas could not help it; he had to go. But he said as he passed by +her, + +'Take care, mother; you are involving yourself in something serious. +Her Majesty's brig _Fly-by-Night_ will be aground in about two +twinkles!' + +A few minutes later Lady Beresford was handed a card, inscribed +'Lieutenant Francis Holford King, R.N.;' and shortly thereafter the +owner of the card presented himself in the drawing-room. Now, there +can be no doubt that her Majesty's uniform, especially when women-folk +are the spectators, lends a certain dignity to the human figure; but, +even in ordinary dress, this new-comer would have seemed to most a +manly-looking, well-built young fellow, who had some decision in his +face, and a very straightforward way of looking at people. He was of +middle height, slight and square-shouldered; his forehead square; his +hair black, likewise the short moustache twisted at the ends; while his +eyes were of that singularly dark and luminous blue that one never +sees, oddly enough, except in the eyes of sailors. However, there was +nothing of the robustious, shiver-my-timbers, conventional sailor about +him; his manner was somewhat reserved; he had a touch of gravity beyond +his years; perhaps he had acquired it through being put at an early age +in command of so many men; but it never forsook him--not even in the +ward-room, among his brother officers. + +He seemed shy, also. When he had shaken hands with Lady Beresford and +her daughters, and sat down, there was a distinct flush on the +sun-brown face, and he proceeded to say, hastily, + +'I--I heard you had come down here at the end of the season, Lady +Beresford--Admiral Stratherne told me--and I had a telegram to send +off; so I thought I might take the chance of finding you not gone +abroad yet.' + +'I am not going abroad this year,' Lady Beresford said, wearily. +'Really my nerves cannot stand the perpetual fatigue and worry of the +railway stations and hotels. But the girls are going--by themselves. +It is becoming quite common now. They don't want even to have a maid +with them; and really I am ashamed of the attention I require----' + +'Nan is going with us too,' said Miss Beresford, staring into the +fireplace, where there was no fire. + +'Oh! indeed,' said the grave young lieutenant. + +'She has never been abroad before. Won't her eyes grow big! She has a +great capacity for wonder and admiration; she will do all our reverence +for us at the proper shrines.' + +'You have seen Sir George recently, then?' said Lady Beresford. + +'At Portsmouth last week. They were all down from the Admiralty.' + +'What a dear old gentleman he is!' she said. + +'He is the finest sailor and the best-hearted gentleman in her +Majesty's service--and that's not saying a small thing,' was the +answer, prompt and straight. + +'You are a great pet of his,' said Miss Beresford, 'are you not?' + +'He has been a very good friend to me. But you needn't imagine it is +because of that I respect him--that I more than respect him--I love +him.' + +There was a touch of earnestness in his voice and in the simplicity of +the phrase, that made Miss Beresford regard him for a second with +almost wondering eyes. She had never seen, for her part, anything +about Sir George Stratherne to be enthusiastic about. + +However, she had to continue the conversation unaided, for her mother +was too languid. Beauty had got into an effective position, and was +content to be silent, while the Baby was useless. So she said with a +smile, + +'I hope Sir George won't have to find fault with you for bringing your +ship into these shallow waters. Tom--my brother Tom, you know--is very +anxious about it. I think he would like to give you his advice.' + +'I should be glad to have it,' said Lieutenant King, with befitting +gravity, 'but I do not think we are in any great danger. And how is +your brother?' + +'Oh, very well; I mean very ill. Worse than ever. I wish you could +take him with you for a cruise or two.' + +'As they used to take a cask of raw Madeira,' said he, laughing +heartily, 'to fine down? Well, you're right about one thing; there's +some good stuff in the lad. He might fine down to something good. But +he is not in proper guidance.' + +'He is in no guidance at all,' sighed his mother. + +'Is he going abroad with you?' + +'Not he,' said Miss Beresford. 'He wouldn't be bothered with us girls. +He will see us as far as Newhaven, perhaps, and make brutal jokes all +the way about the Channel.' + +'You are going soon, then?' said he. Somehow there was a kind of +constraint about this young lieutenant's manner. He seemed to be +thinking of something or some one else. His remarks and questions were +of the most conventional sort. + +'On the 1st of September I think we shall be ready to start.' + +'And are you going far?' he said, in the same preoccupied way. + +'To Lucerne, first, I imagine; and then over the Splügen, when it is +cool enough to go into Italy.' + +'Oh, indeed!' said he. And then he added, after a pause, 'Oh, indeed!' + +Then he rose. + +'I see my man has got back,' he said. 'I am sorry, Lady Beresford, I +cannot ask you to bring your daughters to look over the ship; we must +be off directly. Some other time, perhaps. It would give me very +great pleasure, indeed. I hope, Miss Beresford, you will have a +pleasant journey. I have been thinking of going abroad myself this +autumn if I can get sufficient leave. Will you remember me to your +brother Tom?' + +He bade them good-bye, and left. They were silent until they saw him +cross over the King's Road. Then the business of criticism began. + +'He doesn't talk like a sailor at all,' said the Baby, with a pout. +'He talks just like anybody.' + +'At all events he is very good-looking,' said Beauty, warmly. 'He has +the loveliest eyes I ever saw in a man. And his hands--did you notice +his gloves?' + +'A sailor shouldn't wear gloves,' said the Baby, who had not seen +Lieutenant King before, but had heard of him, and was disappointed that +he did not correspond to the nautical heroes she had read of. + +'I think gold lace is far better on blue than on scarlet,' said Beauty. +'I think blue and gold looks better than anything in a ball-room.' + +'He didn't tell us a single wonderful story,' said the disappointed +Baby. + +But Mary Beresford's comment was more odd still. She glanced at her +mother, and laughed. 'Mother, he didn't even once mention Nan's name.' + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +A FIRST BALL. + +Nevertheless, Lieutenant King was quite as well acquainted with Nan +Beresford as he was with the other members of the family--and this was +how he came to know her. The Beresfords had for many years been the +intimate friends of the Strathernes; and though they saw less of each +other since Lady Beresford, on becoming a widow, had gone to live +permanently in Brighton, still the London season brought them in a +measure together again. Lady Beresford took rooms in Bruton Street +during the fashionable months of the year for herself and her grown-up +daughters; and from time to time, and as a great treat, Nan was allowed +to come up for a few days from Brighton. On these rare occasions, if +Sir George heard of the Beautiful Wretch being in town, nothing would +do but that she should come with her mother and sisters to lunch in +Spring Gardens--he being at this time Senior Naval Lord. And Nan was +rejoiced. She was not at all a foolish young virgin; she was well +aware of the affection the old Admiral had for her; and while she +heartily reciprocated it, she knew that his special patronage of her +gave her a sort of distinction among her sisters. + +Well, one of these opportunities arrived, and Nan, not a little elated, +but outwardly very demure, drove away with her mother and sisters, in a +hired brougham, to New Street. In due course they arrived at their +destination, and they had just got inside the door when, as chance +would have it, Sir George himself came from the dining-room into the +hall. He was a wiry-looking, handsome, elderly man, with grizzled +hair, a firm face, and the kindliest of gray eyes; while on this +occasion he was very gorgeously attired, for he had already dressed for +a Levee, and, moreover, it was a Collar Day. It was extraordinary to +see how naturally Nan went up to him, taking it for granted he would +scarcely have a word for anybody else. And he hadn't. Of course he +shook hands with Lady Beresford and Mary and Edith, and welcomed them +in a kind of way; but it was Nan that he seized with both hands; and it +was Nan that he himself escorted upstairs to the drawing-room; and it +was Nan that he presented to Lady Stratherne, just as if there was +nobody else in the world. Lady Stratherne, though she was also a +miracle of kindness, knew her duties better, and busied herself with +the others, leaving those two to themselves. + +'Well, now,' said the old sailor, briskly, 'what is our first dance to +be?' + +'I beg your pardon, Sir George?' she said. + +'Why, don't you know, girl, that you're coming to the ball?' + +'What ball, Sir George?' said she, quite innocently. + +What ball, indeed! And she had heard her sisters speak of nothing else +for a fortnight. + +'Why, my ball; our ball, everybody's ball! Why, don't you know that +the world is going to stand still on Thursday night--in amazement. And +if you didn't know, now you know; and that's the ball you're coming to, +as sure as my name is Jack Horner--now, now, I've set my mind on it----' + +Nan was no longer a hypocrite. Her heart began to beat rapidly--not +with joy, but with fright. + +'Oh, Sir George, I--I never was at a ball--I--I never go out--mamma +would never dream----' + +He turned and sung across the room-- + +'Mother!' + +The lady who was addressed in this homely fashion was herself far from +homely: she was a distinguished-looking woman, with pale, refined +features, and a singularly intelligent and sweet expression. + +'Mother, this girl is coming to the ball on Thursday, whether she likes +it or not. I want a partner; I insist on having a partner. Get a card +and invite her--a card all to herself--her name in capital letters--the +honour of the company of the BEAUTIFUL WRETCH: will that do?' + +Lady Stratherne said nothing at all, but regarded the other mother with +a sort of puzzled smile. + +'Oh, Sir George!' Lady Beresford protested, 'it is impossible. Thank +you very much--but it is impossible----' + +'Impossible!' he cried. 'We don't know what that is at the Admiralty. +The men who write in the newspapers expect us to be able to do +everything at a moment's notice; and of course they're right; and so of +course we can do it. And so can you; the end of the argument being +that Nan is coming to our ball on Thursday night, as I'm a living +Dutchman.' + +But the matter was not so easily settled. There was a fierce fight. +It was ridiculous that a school-girl, who ought to be walking two and +two along the Marine Parade, should go to one of the big balls of the +London season. How could a ball-dress be got ready by Thursday night? +And so forth: and so forth. Sir George paid no attention to all this +firing of cotton pellets. She was coming to the ball on Thursday +night, he maintained with a dogged obstinacy worthy of Nelson. And the +end of it was that before they went down to lunch it had been finally +agreed that Nan was to come to this ball; her mother remarking to Lady +Stratherne, with a sigh of resignation-- + +'I can't imagine what Sir George sees in that gawky child.' + +Now, we have it on the best authority--or what ought to be the best +authority--that is to say, we have it from a multitude of lady-writers, +that the prospect of going to a first ball is one of the great joys of +a young girl's life. The present writer, at all events, is not bold +enough to impeach such an array of witnesses, and will only state the +simple fact that in the case of Nan Beresford this prospect filled her +mind with nothing but terror and dismay. It was in all sincerity that +she had besought Sir George to let her off; though she might as well +have gone down on her knees to the Monument. He could not understand +why a young girl of seventeen should be really reluctant to go to a +dance--and a very pretty dance, too, for the rooms were to be decorated +with flags. And when Nan told her mother and sisters that she would +far rather not go to the ball, her mother fancied she was afraid that +her dress, being hurriedly made, would not compare well with her +sisters' long studied costumes, while the sisters simply said to each +other, 'Oh, she knows she can't dance.' + +There was some little truth in this last remark. Although she lived in +a well-frequented house, where there were plenty of people coming and +going, Nan had grown up very much apart. She had her own ways and +occupations, which were mostly solitary. And dancing had never been a +favourite amusement of hers. Of course, in the evening, when some +young people were present, there was frequently a carpet-dance +improvised; and then sometimes Nan was dragged in to make up a set at +some square dance. She got through it mechanically; but it afforded +her no special pleasure; and as for round dances, she said they made +her giddy, and so she got excused. Giddy she said; and yet she could +walk, without the slightest sensation in the brain, along the extreme +verge of those high chalk-cliffs, to watch the jackdaws, and hawks, and +gulls at nest-building time, and she could swing for an hour in a +trapeze, so long as the seat was comfortable and you gave her a book to +read. + +Not that she at all played the part of Cinderella in the house. Her +mother was exceedingly fond of her--partly, perhaps, because Nan alone +took the trouble to humour all her mysterious nerve-miseries; while her +sisters tolerated her, though they thought her unsocial. Even this +dress, when it did appear--and a thousand times Nan had inwardly prayed +that it might not be ready in time--was quite as pretty as theirs. It +was very pretty indeed; but somehow, Nan, as she regarded herself in +the big mirror, convinced herself that there was not enough of her to +carry off a ball-dress. Her sisters had a certain 'presence' that a +grand costume became. She thought she was too thin--that she looked +more like a school-girl than ever; and she wished that she were not +freckled. When, at last, she was in the carriage with the others--Mr. +Thomas had gone in a hansom rather than ride with the coachman--she +said, cunningly, + +'Mamma, dear, I am sure you will be excited with speaking to so many +old friends; and you know your nerves cannot stand it. Let me sit by +you, and take as much of the talk as I can. I really don't care to +dance. I would rather not dance. I would far rather sit by you, +mamma. And I am sure it is not necessary for us to stay long; it will +do you such a deal of harm.' + +Lady Beresford sighed. + +'When one has grown-up daughters----,' she said almost to herself. + +'Mamma, dear,' said Nan, eagerly, 'would you rather stay at home? +Wouldn't you rather stay at home? and I will keep you company----' + +'Don't be silly, child,' said her eldest sister. 'Do you think your +dress cost nothing?' + +The worst time of all was the waiting in Spring Gardens, where there +was a block of carriages. It was all darkness, and expectation, and +the hopeless sense that, being imprisoned in this slowly moving line, +there was no escape. But when they were once at the entrance, and when +Nan got a glimpse at the hall, her courage revived wonderfully. There +was such a crowd of people--coming, going, waiting, looking for +friends, and arranging dresses--that she felt that she could slip into +this self-interested throng, and be lost from observation altogether. +She began to be forgetful of herself. When they were going up the +stairs she heard names after names announced that she was quite +familiar with--either through the newspapers or through the +conversation at luncheon-tables; and she was almost anxious to get +quickly up to have a glimpse at these celebrated people. When she got +to the landing, she did not see Lady Stratherne at all; for her eyes +were filled with wonder at the blaze of light and colour beyond--the +draperies of flags, and masses of chandeliers--and she said, under her +breath, 'Oh, mamma, isn't it beautiful!' The next thing she heard was +'Nan, dear, how well you are looking! What beautiful forget-me-nots!' +and in a startled way she found that she was shaking hands with Lady +Stratherne, whose kind eyes were regarding her with a momentary +approval. Instinctively, however, she knew from the way that her +hostess's eyes had turned to the next comers--there were far too many +loiterers about this landing, and Lady Stratherne had enough to do to +prevent a dead block on the stairs--that she need not stay to speak; so +she followed her mother and sisters into the large, brilliantly-lit +room. Oh, how glad she was that it was crammed with this dense +busily-occupied crowd! She felt quite safe; she felt happy; she was +pleased that those few forget-me-nots looked nice. And there was no +dancing at all. 'Oh, mamma, tell me who all the people are,' she said. +She began to consider herself quite at home in the middle of such a +crowd of strangers; she had only to be delighted with the blaze of +colour, the brilliant costumes, the scent of flowers, the wonders of +diamonds. + +Momentarily her great good fortune increased. Friends of Lady +Beresford began to come round her; and they made a sort of circle, as +it were; and Nan found she could keep herself just a little bit outside +of it, seeing everything, herself unseen. Her cup of happiness was +full. She had passed the ordeal unscathed. Why, it was nothing! All +the people were engaged with themselves; there was not a sound of +music; nothing but a hum of talking, and always that bewildering glow +of light and colour, and here and there a figure and face suddenly +revealing to her somebody she recognised from photographs and portraits +in the illustrated papers. She was becoming quite lost to herself. +She could have stood there for ever. She was not thinking of Nan +Beresford at all when---- + +When suddenly there was a long low growl from a violoncello. Her heart +sank. + +Almost at the same moment she saw another little group--of elderly men, +mostly--open out at one corner of the room near her; and the next thing +she knew was that Sir George's keen eyes had caught sight of her. He +was by her side in a second. + +'What,' said he, 'standing all alone? Why, where's Charley? What's +Charley about? Lady Beresford, how are you? Ah, Mary? Edith, you are +lovelier every day. But where is that rascal Charley? I must find a +partner for my sweet-heart----' + +'Oh, please, Sir George,' said Nan, with her heart beating fast. + +But by this time there was a noise of preparatory music, and in the +middle of the crowd there was something visible like the formation of a +double line. At the same instant young Charley Stratherne came +hurriedly along, with an eagle eye for possible partners. Him his +father instantly seized. + +'Where's Frank King? Go and get Frank King. I want Frank King.' + +And behold, Frank King was at his elbow! + +'Sir George----?' + +'Oh, that's you, Frank King. Ask this young lady if she will dance +with you----' + +'Come on, Frank,' said the youthful M.C., in his hurried bewilderment +of duty. 'You'll just do. Let me introduce you to Miss Anne +Beresford. Lieutenant King. They want a couple at the other end.' + +So he disappeared in the crowd; and Nan found herself in the possession +of this young naval officer, who seemed to take matters very coolly, +considering that they were wanted right at the top of the spacious +assembly-room. Happily, she heard from the music that it was the +Lancers that was about to begin; so she was not entirely dismayed. + +'I suppose we shall get through somehow,' said he, surveying the close +mass of people with the eye of a strategist. The clearing of the space +in the middle had naturally made the surrounding crowd denser. + +'I think it will be difficult,' said she, timidly. + +'Well, we can try this end,' said he, about to lead her in that +direction. + +'Oh!' she said, very earnestly, 'I am sure we shall only embarrass them +if we have another set at this end. And--and--I am not anxious to +dance the Lancers. I would as soon not,' she said. + +Then for the first time it seemed that he turned towards her; and as +she happened to be looking up at him to impress on him that she would +as soon not dance, she instantaneously lowered her eyes and sought +refuge in the little scented programme. + +'Perhaps,' said he, after the fifteenth part of a second, 'perhaps you +would give me a dance that you like better.' + +Her innocent answer was to hand him her programme, upon which there was +as yet not a scrap of writing. So, when that matter was arranged, he +said to her, + +'Would you like to see this dance, then? It's very pretty, when you +are at a little distance. And I know how to get to that recess there; +it's raised a few inches, you know; and I think you could see.' + +'Oh! I should like that!' she said. How grateful she was to him! + +They made their way to this side recess, which had been built out, +temporarily, from the drawing-room, for the sake of additional space. +It was decorated with trailing-plants, trained on trellis-work; and two +or three circles of red candles, amid so much green foliage, had a +pretty effect. There were a few people standing about and looking on +at the dancing, or talking; it was possible to talk, for here the music +was softened. + +Nan's companion led her to a raised bench, from which she could see +very well; but even as she sat down, and while she was so glad to have +been relieved from dancing out there amid all those people, she was +touched by some strange misgivings. It was her duty to have danced. +She had been presented with a partner; and if only she had not shown +herself reluctant, she knew very well he could have found places for +them. Were not officers always fond of dancing? And then it suddenly +occurred to her that she ought to try to make him some amends. She +ought to entertain him with brilliant conversation, as it were. +Meanwhile, what was he doing? Not thinking of her--except as a booby, +a child who could not talk. No doubt he was looking out at all those +beautiful women there, and wishing he was not imprisoned in this corner. + +Nan timidly raised her eyes, and instantly dropped them again. He had +been for the moment looking at the forget-me-nots in her hair. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE SAME. + +Nan was growing desperate. Speak she must, if only to let him know +that she was sensible of his kindness in affording her this blissful +relief; for she believed it was entirely on her account that he had +proposed to sit out the dance. So she said, wildly, + +'You go to a great many balls, I suppose?' + +'Oh, dear no,' he said. 'I am not much ashore.' + +Of course. She might have known. Was there not an air of command +about him, young as he was? No doubt he held far too important a +position to waste time on idle entertainments. + +'I mean earlier--as a midshipman,' she stammered. 'You must have been +to many places, and--and--I thought the life of a midshipman was +nothing but parties and balls, along with a great deal of mischief. +That is what one reads, you know, about the young gentlemen--always +tumbling into trouble, and always getting happily out of it, and always +amusing themselves just as much as they amuse others.' + +This was not so bad. Nan's face had brightened; she regarded him with +her clear eyes. + +'You are thinking of Captain Marryat,' said he, laughing. 'But times +have changed sadly for the middy since then. It isn't all beer and +skittles now. Nowadays, the poor chap can scarcely call his soul his +own; and if he is going in for his Three Ones----' + +'I beg your pardon; what is that?' she said, with a grave interest. + +'Trifling little things,' said he, jocosely. 'Only first-class +certificates in gunnery, seamanship, and mathematics; then, to finish +up with, the unhappy youth has to look forward to an interview or two +with the hydrographer, who isn't at all a gentleman to be made a fool +of.' + +How was it that she knew instinctively that this young officer had got +his Three Ones--nay, that he had carried them off easily, triumphantly? +What was there in his manner, or the shape of his forehead, or his +expression, that rendered her perfectly certain that he had nothing to +fear from all the hydrographers ever born? + +'Why, even in my time, I can remember, when the middy was allowed a +good deal more law,' he continued; and now he had sat down beside her, +and her eyes met his quite frankly. 'I remember a fearful scene at +Cherbourg, at a ball there; that was when the fleet went over, and +there was a great round of festivities. Well, this ball, I think, was +given by the Mayor--I am not quite sure; but, at all events, the +midshipmites were invited with the rest, and those who could get leave +went of course. Well, we had the run of the refreshment-room, and we +used it. There was far too much champagne, and all our seniors were in +the ball-room,--the Duke of Somerset, and the whole of them,--so we set +to work to chaff the waiters in unknown tongues. Anything more patient +or friendly than the conduct of these amiable creatures I never saw. +They entirely entered into the spirit of the thing, and grinned and +nodded in high glee when we inquired about their mothers and +sisters--in English, of course; and then we tried bad French on them, +and Welsh, with a touch of Lancashire thrown in; and then they grinned +all the more, and shrugged their shoulders. My chum Greville was the +worst, I think; he kept asking for all sorts of ridiculous things, and +was very angry when he couldn't get them. "_Avez-vous du vin de +Cockalorum_?" he asked of one fellow: of course Greville spoke real +true-blue English-French. "_Coque-a-lorrrrme_?" said the waiter. "_Je +crois que non, Monsieur----._" "_Pourquoi n'avez vous pas du vin de +Cockalorum_?" said Greville, with great indignation. "_C'est une chose +monstrueuse. Nous sommes les invités de la grande nation Francaise; +nous sommes les officiers de sa Majesté la Reine d'Angleterre; et vous +n'avez pas du vin de Cockalorum!_" There was enough of other wine, at +all events,' added Frank King. 'I am afraid there was a good deal of +headache next morning among the younger officers of her Majesty's +fleet.' + +'Weren't you afraid,' said Nan, who had forgotten what shyness was by +this time; 'weren't you afraid the French might be tempted to take a +mean advantage and capture the fleet bodily?' + +'It would have been no more mean advantage,' said he, with a laugh, +'than we used to take in fighting them when they were sea-sick.' + +'Sailors sea-sick?' she exclaimed. + +'Yes, that's just where it was,' he said, and the friendly interest he +displayed in this young lady was very wonderful. Already they seemed +to have known each other for a quite indefinite time. 'Mind you, +people laugh nowadays at the old belief that one English sailor was as +good as seven French ones. But it was quite true; and the explanation +is simple enough. The fact was that the English kept such a strict +blockade of the French ports that the French sailors never had a proper +chance of finding their sea legs. They never got out. When they did +come out they had to fight; and how can you expect a sea-sick man to +fight? But I was talking of that chum of mine, Greville. He was the +coolest hand I ever came across. Once he and I--when we were mids, you +know--had to go down by rail from Genoa to Spezia----' + +At this moment the music slowly ceased; and the kaleidoscopic groups +out there, that had been going through all sorts of interminglings and +combinations, lost cohesion, as it were, and melted away into the +murmuring and amorphous crowd. Miss Nan knew very well that she ought +now to return to her mamma; but how was she to break in upon this +story? When one has already begun to tell you something, more +particularly when that something is about himself and an old +companion--and especially if you do not wish to be perplexed with +invitations to dance--it is not polite to interrupt. + +So the young lieutenant, taking no notice whatever of the cessation of +the dancing, continued his story, and told several more, which Miss Nan +found intensely interesting--so absorbing, indeed, that she met the +eyes of her companion without any abashment, and frequently laughed in +her low, quiet way. These two seemed very friendly, and heedless of +what was going on around them; and might, in fact, have continued +talking for a quite indefinite time had not, all of a sudden, Charley +Stratherne come up, followed by a tall man with a long yellow beard; +and before Nan knew what had happened, she was being led away to pierce +the great throng that had now grown very dense indeed, a waltze having +already begun. As for the young lieutenant, he somewhat abruptly +declined his friend's offer to find him a partner. + +'You have plenty of dancing men; there won't be room to move shortly.' + +Charley Stratherne was too busy to stay and ask why his friend refused +to dance, and would not even remain in the ball-room; the next second +he was off. Then the young lieutenant managed to make his way through +the crowd to the door; and as there were still plenty of people +arriving, he succeeded in passing his hostess unobserved and making his +way downstairs. + +He entered the brilliantly-decorated but quite empty supper-room, and +sat down. One of the servants happened to come in and stared at him. + +'Look here,' said he, 'could you get me an evening paper?' + +'Oh yes, sir,' said the man: and he went off and speedily returned with +the newspaper. + +Frank King sat down, turned his back to the table, and was soon all by +himself in this long chamber, apparently deeply absorbed in the +evening's news. What he really was doing, however, was listening to +the music overhead. + +Meanwhile, Nan got through the waltz somehow. The crush was so great +that her partner, who was not much of a pilot, generally succeeded in +steering her into some little side bay, where they came slowly to rest +by mere friction, or else landed her right in the middle of the room, +where there was a throng of unskilful dancers become stationary in +spite of themselves. At last she was surrendered again to her mother's +care. + +'Well, Nan,' said Lady Beresford, with an amused look, 'how did you get +on?' + +'You mean how much did I get off?' said she. + +'I believe I'm all in rags. And that elephant of a man bumped me +against every person in the room.' + +Here the Admiral came along--bustling as was his wont, talking to +everybody at the same time, and invariably putting his hand on the +shoulder of those whom he knew best, to give effect to his speech. + +'Well, well, my girl,' he said, 'how did you like your partner? Did he +amuse you? Did he compliment you on the roses in your cheeks--ah, +that's the Brighton air, that is.' + +'Oh, if you mean Lieutenant King,' said Nan, without any hesitation or +embarrassment, 'I think he is very amusing indeed--very. And very +clever, too, is he not? + +'Oh yes, he's a smart young fellow--a smart young fellow is Frank King. +We've had an eye on him for some time back.' + +'I should say now,' remarked Nan, with a wise air, 'that he had got his +Three Ones?' + +The Admiral stared at her, and then burst out laughing. + +'You young impertinence! What do you know about the Three Ones? He +had got his certificates before he was one-and-twenty. But here, I +will tell you something.' + +He took her a step aside. + +'Hush, now--hush-sh. It is a State secret. Don't say a word. But +I'll tell you what we're going to do with Frank King to-morrow; we're +going to give him the command of the _Fly-by-Night_. What do you think +of that for a lieutenant of five-and-twenty?' + +'If he has relatives, I suppose they will be very proud,' said Nan. + +'Relatives? Don't you know the Kings of Kingscourt? But there now, I +mustn't keep you talking; I suppose you're engaged for every dance. +Mind you are down at supper while I'm there; I will drink a glass of +wine to the roses in your cheeks----' + +And so he was off again before she could say, as she greatly wished to +say--'Oh, Sir George, I would rather talk to you than have to do any +more dancing. Surely there are enough people dancing.' + +Then she looked round the room for some considerable time. At last she +said to herself contentedly, + +'Yes, I thought he was too clever looking to care about dancing, and I +don't wonder he has gone home. But it would have been nice if I had +had the chance to tell him he was going to have the command of the +_Fly-by-Night_.' + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE SAME. + +The night passed quickly, and amid all this bewilderment of music and +dancing and introductions, Nan very soon forgot even the existence of +the young Lieutenant whose acquaintance she had made. Moreover, the +succession of these rapid excitements left no room for anything +resembling stage-fright--although, it is true, each time the band began +anew she felt a little throb. But Lady Stratherne, who had now all her +guests assembled, was so indefatigable in seeing that Nan should not be +left neglected, and the dancing in this crowd was so much a matter of +experiment and accident, and the fact that she was introduced to one or +two partners who seemed no more expert than herself, was so reassuring, +that on the whole Nan was very much delighted in her demure way, and +that delight showed itself in her face and in her clear bright eyes. +Her hair was a little wild, and she had lost some of her +forget-me-nots, and there were one or two flying tags that had got +dissociated from the skirt of her dress; but was not that all part of +the play? Nan's cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were pleased and +bright; the only thing that troubled her in this whirl of excitement +was an occasional qualm about her mother. Had she not promised to keep +the poor mamma company? But a time would come, and then she would make +amends by being particularly affectionate. + +The time did come. On consulting the programme Nan found opposite the +next dance a scrawl that might be made out to be 'F. H. King;' and then +she bethought herself of the young sailor. Well, he had left. That +was very opportune. She would devote the time of this dance to her +mother, and take her into the tea-room, and ask which of her old +friends she had met, and even offer to go home with her if she felt +fatigued. + +'Mamma,' she said to Lady Beresford, 'don't you think I've done enough? +England can't expect you to do more than your duty, even with all those +flags overhead. Come away, and I will get you some tea, though what +would be better for you still would be some B. and S.' + +'Nan, how dare you!' said her mother, angrily, and glancing round at +the same time. 'You may use such expressions, if you like, when you +are with your brother. Pray don't disgrace the whole family when you +are elsewhere.' + +'Mamma, dear,' said Nan, contritely, 'it is madness, pure madness. The +excitement of my first ball has got into my brain----' + +'Into your what?' said her mother, with a smile. Nan, and Nan alone, +could pacify her in a second. + +At the same moment the band began again; and somehow Nan, looking up, +found before her some one who was no other than the young Lieutenant +she had met at the beginning of the evening. She was somewhat +bewildered by this Jack-in-the-box sort of appearance. + +'I think you promised me this next dance, Miss Beresford,' said he. He +was a grave-looking young man for his years--a Corsican Brother--the +Ghost in _Hamlet_. She did not know what to make of him. + +'I thought you had left,' she stammered. 'You have not been dancing?' + +'No, I have not been dancing,' he repeated. + +'I will come back to you soon, mamma,' she said, and she put her hand +on his arm, and moved away with him. + +'The fact is,' said he, 'I don't like much being introduced to +strangers. Most girls stare at you so, with a sort of hold-off air, +and it is so difficult to get on pleasant and friendly terms with them.' + +'I should not have thought you were so shy,' said Nan, with an honest +laugh. + +He flushed a little, and said-- + +'If you've lived most of your life on board ship, you may feel a little +bit awkward; but mind,' he added with some eagerness, 'sometimes, not +often (once in half a dozen years, maybe), you meet with a girl who is +quite different from the others, quite different. You know it at once +from her manner, and you can make friends with her with the greatest +ease, simply because she is intelligent and quick in appreciation, and +not affected in her ways, or stiff.' + +This eager encomium passed upon an imaginary person struck Nan as being +somewhat out of place; for the waltz had already begun, and she wanted +to get back to her mamma: whereas this Lieutenant King seemed to wish +to stand there and talk to her. + +'Of course, that's special good luck for a sailor,' said he with a +smile, 'to be able to make friends in a short time; for it's only a +short time he has. Ashore to-day, and off to-morrow again; and what's +worse, out of sight out of mind.' + +'Oh, not always,' said Nan, cheerfully. + +'Oh yes, it is,' he said; 'people on shore are too much concerned among +themselves to think about the people away at sea. Why, you yourself +now; after you leave this house to-night you will completely forget +that there are such things as either ships or sailors until you come +back here to another ball, and then the bunting will remind you.' + +'Now there you are quite wrong,' said she firmly, 'for I see ships and +sailors every day of my life.' + +'Why, how is that?' he exclaimed with great interest. + +'We live in Brighton,' said Nan simply, 'and I walk a good deal along +the downs towards Newhaven, you know. The ships are a good way off, +generally; still, you watch them, and you are interested in them.' + +'You walk along the downs between Brighton and Newhaven?' he said, as +if that was an extraordinary matter. 'Alone?' + +'Usually.' + +'When I am passing I will look out for you; I will imagine that I can +see you.' + +Nan thought this was idle talk, so she said with a smile, + +'Shall we give up this dance too? The fact is, I want to take mamma +and get her some tea, or an ice, or something.' + +'Oh, don't do that!' said he eagerly; 'introduce me to her, and I will +take you both down to supper. There are some people there already----' + +'But I must not go down--not yet,' said Nan, remembering her youth. + +'Why not?' said he boldly. 'I know Lady Stratherne well enough for +anything. Why, nothing could be more natural. Of course you will come +down with your mamma.' + +'I'm very hungry, and that's the truth,' said Nan; 'for I was too +excited or frightened to think about dinner. But if I went down now, +wouldn't they think it was a little bit----' + +She was about to say 'cheeky,' but she remembered in time that this was +not her brother. He broke in abruptly-- + +'Never mind what any one thinks; come away, Miss Beresford, and +introduce me to your mamma.' + +Then he looked at the various couples rapidly moving round that open +space to the sound of the seductive music, and he said, rather +wistfully-- + +'Don't you think we might have one turn? I shall not dance again this +evening.' + +'Oh yes, certainly, if you wish it,' she said, quite blithely; and she +gave him her fan to hold, and arranged her train, and a couple of +seconds thereafter they were lost in that slowly circling whirlpool of +muslin and silk and satin. + +When they came out of it again he was introduced to Lady Beresford, and +although he was quite anxiously humble and courteous to the elder lady, +he would hear of nothing but that she and Nan should forthwith go +downstairs to supper. By and by there would be too great a crush. It +was a kindness to Lady Stratherne to go before everybody else wanted a +place. And Miss Anne was hungry, which was a great matter. + +Lady Beresford looked at Nan, but that young lady was unconscious. The +end of it was that these three very speedily found themselves below, in +the supper-room, where as yet there were only a number of elderly +people who had grown tired of the duties of chaperoning. And they had +scarcely sat down when Frank King, who was most assiduous in his +attentions to Lady Beresford, and scarcely saw Nan at all, discovered +that the mamma knew certain relatives of his, and knew all about his +own family, and had even on one occasion visited Kingscourt a good many +years ago. Lady Beresford was very kind to him. He was a +pleasant-mannered, clever-looking young man, and he had a distinguished +air that lent value to the little courtesies he paid. She even said, +as they were talking of chance meetings and the like, that she would be +glad if he called on them while she and her daughters were in London. + +'May I be allowed to call on you at Brighton, some day, Lady +Beresford?' he said quickly. 'The fact is, my leave is out; I have to +rejoin my ship at Portsmouth to-morrow.' + +At this Nan pricked up her ears. She suddenly remembered that to her +had been entrusted the covert intelligence of his promotion. But was +it necessary it should be kept so great a secret, she asked herself, +rather breathlessly, and with her heart beginning to beat quickly? If +he were to know on the morrow, why not now? It would make him very +happy; it would indeed add a few hours of happiness to his life; and +surely Sir George Stratherne, who was the very soul of kindness, would +rather approve? + +Well, she let these two talk on for a time; she wished to be discreet; +she wished to be less nervous. For was it not a great event in the +career of a young man? And how might he take it? She said to herself, +'The old monarchs used to kill the messengers who brought them bad +news, and they used to give heaps of presents to those who brought them +good news. I am glad I shall be able to tell him of his promotion, for +he has been so excessively kind to mamma.' + +She waited her opportunity. + +'Oh, Lieutenant King, do you know a ship called the _Fly-by-Night_?' +she said, quite casually, and in an off-hand way. + +'Yes,' he said, regarding her with some surprise. 'She's what they +call a school-brig--a training brig. I think she's at Plymouth.' + +'A training-brig?' said Nan, innocently. 'Then they want a clever +officer, I suppose, to be in command of a training-brig.' + +'Yes, they want a smart fellow,' said he, without any great interest; +and he was about to turn to Lady Beresford again when Nan continued-- + +'Would it--would it surprise you if you heard you were to be +transferred to the _Fly-by-Night_?' + +'I shouldn't like to hear of it,' said he, laughing; 'I am satisfied +where I am.' + +'But I mean to command her.' + +'I'm afraid that's a long way off yet,' said he, lightly. + +'Oh no, it isn't,' said Nan timorously. 'I am sure it is no great +secret--you will know to-morrow--you are to be appointed to-morrow to +the command of the _Fly-by-Night_! + +His face flushed a deep red. + +'You are joking, Miss Beresford.' + +'Oh no, I am not,' said Nan, hastily. 'Sir George told me to-night; I +am not joking at all----Captain King,' said she, at a wild venture. + +For an instant she saw his under lip quiver. He sat quite silent. +Then he said-- + +'That is Sir George's doing--if it is possible.' + +He had scarcely uttered the words when the Admiral himself appeared, +bringing in a little old lady with a portentous head-dress. Nan +instantly conjectured that she must be a dowager-duchess, for she +thought that no one but a dowager-duchess would dare to wear such a +thing. + +Sir George paused as he passed them. + +'Hillo, here's my sweetheart. I told you I wanted to drink a glass of +wine with you. Doing your duty, Frank King? When's your leave out?' + +'I am going down to Portsmouth to-morrow, Sir George.' + +'No, no; you'll have a message from the Admiralty to-morrow. I didn't +see you dancing to-night; you young fellows are getting lazy.' + +He passed on. Nan looked triumphantly across the corner of the table. +Frank King said--laughing off his embarrassment-- + +'I have a vague impression that I ought to thank you for it, Miss +Beresford; and I don't know how. I hope it is true. They never gave +me a hint of it. You would have thought Charley Stratherne would have +known.' + +'It was very imprudent of my daughter,' said Lady Beresford, severely, +'to mention such a thing; but Sir George makes a pet of her, and I hope +no harm has been done.' + +Frank King warmly protested. How could any harm be done? And he +redoubled his attentions to Lady Beresford. Not only that, but when +they returned to the ball-room he was very anxious to be introduced to +Nan's sisters, and was most polite to them, though he did not ask them +for a dance. Moreover, he got hold of Charley Stratherne, and through +him made the acquaintance of Mr. Tom Beresford; and these three, having +adjourned for a time to a certain remote snuggery where were sherry and +soda and cigarettes, Frank King was quite content to accept from Mr. +Tom hints concerning things about town. There was in especial a famous +'lion comique'--the Great Dunse, or the Jolly Ass, or some such +creature--about whom Mr. Tom was much exercised; and Frank King +professed himself quite interested in hearing about this person. The +grave young Lieutenant was indeed extraordinarily complaisant this +evening. He was unusually talkative--when he was not a most attentive +listener. You would have thought that he had acquired a sudden +admiration for the brilliant social qualities of Mr. Tom, and that he +had never heard such good stories before. + +Well, the Beresfords left about three; and that was the end of Nan's +first ball. On the whole she had every reason to be pleased. She had +acquitted herself fairly well; she had gratified the soft-hearted old +Admiral; she hadn't fallen in love with anybody; and she had seen a +number of celebrated persons in whom she was interested. She thought +she had done a kindness, too, in telling Lieutenant King beforehand of +his appointment. + +She was surprised, however, and a little bit annoyed when, on the +afternoon of the next day but one, her brother Tom brought in this same +Frank King to five o'clock tea. He said, with something of a blush, +that he wished to tell her that her news had been true; he had heard +from the Admiralty that morning, and he wished to thank her. Nan was +somewhat cold in her manner; she had thought with some pride that he +was not like the other gentlemen who came about the house in the +afternoon. She had seen enough of them and their idleness, and aimless +flirtations, and languid airs. She had taken Frank King to be of +firmer stuff, and not likely to waste his time at afternoon teas. + +He was kind and polite enough, no doubt, and he distributed his +attentions in the most impartial manner--even including two young lady +visitors to whom he was introduced; but Nan seized an early opportunity +of slipping away to her own room, where she resumed certain very +serious studies that occupied her mind at this time. When she came +downstairs again Lieutenant King was gone. + +On the following day her holiday ended, and she went down to Brighton. +Many a time she thought of the ball, and always with a pleasurable +recollection. When, however, she happened to think of Frank King--and +it was seldom--it was always with a slight touch of disappointment. No +doubt his leave was extended; probably he was still in town, and +repeating those afternoon calls in Bruton Street. As for Nan, she +honestly did not care to which train of admirers he might attach +himself--whether he was to be Mary's captive or Edith's slave. But she +was disappointed. + +'I did think he was a little bit different from the others,' she would +say to herself; and then she would turn to Mr. Lockyer's last +discoveries in spectrum analysis. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +FIRST IMPRESSIONS. + +'Nan, do you see that ship out there?' said Mary Beresford. + +'I saw it as I came along,' said Nan. This was the afternoon on which +she had fallen in with Singing Sal. Nan was rather tired after her long +walk, and was not inclined to show much interest in that now lessening +vessel, which was slowly sinking into the dusk of the west. + +'Do you know what her name is?' said Mary Beresford, still regarding her +younger sister. + +'No,' said Nan. 'I heard people say she was a man-of-war.' + +'That is the _Fly-by-Night_.' + +'Oh, indeed,' said Nan, with no greater interest than before. + +'And Lieutenant King has just called here,' the elder sister said, +pointedly. + +'Oh, indeed,' said Nan. 'I wish I had been in; I should like to have +seen him in uniform.' + +That was all she said, and all she thought; for now there were far more +serious things than ballrooms and young lieutenants occupying Nan's +attention. She and her sisters were going abroad--she for the first +time; and she was busy with foreign languages, and lives of the great +painters, and catalogues, and guide-books, and dressing-cases. The world +she hoped to plunge into on the following week was, in her imagination, +composed of nothing but cathedrals and picture-galleries; and she could +have wished that the picture-galleries might contain nothing but the +labours of Botticelli and Andrea del Sarto. The clear ethereal beauty +and tenderness of the one, the solemn thoughtfulness of the other: these +were things that filled her mind with a mysterious gladness, as if +something had been added to her own life. Rubens she cordially hated. +Of Titian she had as yet seen hardly anything. + +At last the wonderful day of setting out arrived, and Mr. Tom graciously +consented to accompany his sisters as far as Newhaven. It was towards +the afternoon that they started, in an open carriage, the maid on the box +beside the coachman. Tom was making facetious remarks about south-west +gales, and his two elder sisters were angrily remonstrating with him. +Nan was silent. She had not a thought for the ships and sailors out +there, or for any pensive young officer bitterly saying to himself that +out of sight was out of mind; and she had forgotten for a moment all +about Singing Sal and her free-and-easy ways. Nan's mind was at this +time filled with Dante, and Florence, and the young Raphael, and the Doge +wedding the Adriatic, and Pompeii, and Savonarola, and goodness knows +what else. When they reached Newhaven--when they forced her to descend +from the carriage--her eyes had a bewildered look. She had not seen +Newhaven at all. She had been watching the execution of Savonarola--she +standing in the middle of the great crowd in a square in Florence. + +They stayed the night at the hotel at Newhaven. Next morning falsified +all Mr. Tom's malicious forecasts; the weather was fine, and they had a +smooth passage across. In due time they reached Paris. + +To Nan, Paris meant picture-galleries. The streets were new-looking, +non-historical, filled with commonplace people; but in the +picture-galleries she was with great names, in great times. + +'Nan,' her sisters remonstrated, 'what is the use of dawdling over +pictures like this? The Old Masters are all alike. There are plenty of +Holy Families and broken-necked angels in England. Why don't you put off +all this till you get back to the National Gallery?' + +Fortunately, Nan was the most biddable of companions. She seemed to be +in dreamland. You could do what you liked with her if only you allowed +her to gaze with her great eyes, and think, and be silent. + +Now it is unnecessary to follow in detail the various journeyings and +adventures of these three young ladies and their maid; we may pass on to +a certain evening when they found themselves in Lucerne. It was an +exceedingly hot evening; and after dinner the crowd in this great hotel +had been glad to pour out into the spacious verandah, which was formed by +a succession of arches all hanging with evergreens. There they formed +little groups round the small tables, lit up by the orange glow streaming +out from the windows of the hotel, some taking coffee, some smoking, all +chatting idly. + +'It feels like thunder,' said Mary Beresford to her sister Edith. 'It +would be odd if we were to have a real thunderstorm just after listening +to the imitation one in the cathedral.' + +'The _vox humana_ stop is better at some things than at others,' said +Miss Edith, critically. 'In the chanting the boys' voices are good, and +the tenor voices are good; but the bass is too musical. You hear that it +is the organ. And it vibrates too much.' + +'They must make a good deal of money by it,' said the elder sister, 'in +the tourist season. I am sure there were a hundred people there.' + +'I wish I knew the name of the piece. I should like to try one or two of +the airs.' + +'It was considerate of them to finish up in time to let us get back for +the _table d'hôte_.' + +'Sooner or later that organ will shake the Cathedral to bits: the +vibrations were fearful. I thought there was a great deal too much +noise. You lose effect when you pile up the agony like that: people only +want to stop their ears to prevent their heads being split.' + +So they chatted on. But what was it that Nan, who had accompanied them, +had heard as she sat in the great, empty, dimly-lit Cathedral, with her +hands clasped, her head bent forward on them, her eyes closed? Or, +rather, what was it that she saw?--for this seemed to be a picture in +music. She saw a small chapel far away up in the mountains, the +trembling red rays in the windows looking strange above the snow. She +heard the monks at their midnight chanting--low, and sad, and distant. +And then it seemed, as she listened, as if the stars overhead were being +blurred out, and a murmuring wind came down the gorge, and the air grew +cold. The darkness deepened; the wind rose and moaned through the pine +forests; then an angry gust swept along, so that the intoning of the +monks was lost altogether. There was a rumble of distant +thunder--overhead, among the unseen peaks. But still, unconscious of the +threatening storm, those within the small building went on with their +holy office, and there were snatches of the clear singing of boys--so +faint that you could scarcely hear; and again the strong, sad, sombre +voices of the men. Then the tempest broke, fierce and terrible: the +elements seemed mingled together. She lost sight of the chapel in the +whirling snow; the heavens rattled overhead; and the wind swept down so +that the whole earth trembled. A horror of wrath and darkness has +overwhelmed the world; and what of the patient choristers now? No longer +are their voices heard amid the appalling fury of the hurricane; the +sudden lightning-flash reveals nothing in the blackness; the powers of +evil have overcome; and the universe has lost its hope. But now there +comes a lull; and suddenly--far away, and faint, and triumphant--rises +the song of reliance and joy. The demons of the night mutter and moan; +but the divine song rises clearer and more clear. It is the voice of +faith, silver-toned and sweet; and the very heavens themselves seem to +listen; and the thunders rumble away into the valleys; and the stars, +shining, and calm, and benignant, come out again over the mountain-peaks. +And lo! once more she can descry the faint red rays above the snow; and +she can almost see the choristers within the little building; and she +listens to the silver-clear song; and her heart is filled with a strange +new gladness and trust. What must she do to keep it there for ever? By +what signal self-sacrifice--by what devotion of a whole life-time--by +what patient and continuous duty--shall she secure to herself this divine +peace, so that the storms and terrors and trials of the world may sweep +by it powerless and unregarded? + +When she rose and blindly followed her sisters, she was all trembling, +and there was a great lump in her throat. She was, indeed, in that +half-hysterical state in which rash resolves are sometimes made that may +determine the course of a human life. But Nan had the sense to know that +she was in this state; and she had enough firmness of character to enable +her to reason with herself. She walked, silent, with her sisters from +the Cathedral to the hotel; and she was reasoning with herself all the +time. She was saying to herself that she had had a glimpse, an +impression of something divinely beautiful and touching, that at some +time or other might influence or even determine her course of life. When +that time came she could remember. But not now--_not now_. She was not +going to resolve to become a Catholic, or join a sisterhood, or give +herself up to the service of the poor, merely because this wonderful +music had filled her heart with emotion. It was necessary that she +should think of something hard and practical--something that would be the +embodiment of common sense. She would force herself to think of that. +And, casting about, she determined to think--about Singing Sal! + +It was rather hard upon Sal, who had a touch of vanity, and was quite +conscious of what she deemed the romantic side of her way of life, that +she should be taken as the sort of incarnation of the prosaic. +Nevertheless, all through that _table d'hôte_ dinner, Nan kept to her +self-imposed task, and was busying herself about the wages of the +coastguardsmen, and the probable cost of mackerel, and the chances of +Sal's having to face a westerly squall of wind and rain when she was +breasting the steep hill rising from Newhaven. Was Sal singing that +night before the Old Ship? Or was she in the little _cul-de-sac_ near +the Town-hall where the public-house was that the fishermen called in at +on their way home? Nan was apparently dining at the _table d'hôte_ of a +hotel in Lucerne; but in reality she spent that evening in Brighton. + +And she was still thinking of Brighton when, as has been related, there +was a migration from the dining-saloon to the verandah outside; so that +she did not hear much of what her sisters were saying. + +'We are certainly going to have a real thunderstorm after the imitation +one,' Miss Beresford repeated. 'Do you hear that?' + +There was a low rumble of thunder; likewise some pattering of rain-drops +on the leaves outside. + +'It won't be half as fine though,' said the musical sister. + +There was a sudden white flash of light that revealed in a surprising +manner the sharp outline of Pilatus; then darkness and a crashing peal of +thunder. The rain began to pour; and some passers by took shelter under +the densely-foliaged trees fronting the gravelled terrace of the hotel. +The light that came through the tall windows fell on those dark figures; +but dimly. + +Nan had been thinking so much of Brighton, and Sal, and the downs, and +ships and sailors, that when this orange glow fell on a gentleman whom +she thought she recognised as Lieutenant Frank King she was scarcely +astonished. She looked hard through the dusk; yes, surely it was he. + +'Mary,' she said, but without any great interest, 'isn't that Lieutenant +King standing by that farthest tree?' + +The eldest sister also peered through the obscurity. + +'Well, yes, it is. What an extraordinary thing! Oh, I remember, he said +he was going abroad. But what a curious coincidence! Why don't you go +and speak to him, Nan?' + +'Why should I go and speak to him?' said Nan. 'I should only get wet.' + +'What can have brought him here?' said Edith. + +'Not his ship, at all events,' said Mary Beresford, smartly. 'It's only +Shakspeare who can create seaports inland.' + +'You ought to know better than that,' said Nan with some asperity, for +she was very valiant in protecting her intellectual heroes against the +attacks of a flippant criticism. 'You ought to know that at one time the +Kingdom of Bohemia had seaports on the Adriatic; every school-girl knows +that nowadays.' + +'They didn't when I was at school,' said Mary Beresford. 'But aren't you +going to speak to Lieutenant King, Nan?' + +'Oh, he won't want to be bothered with a lot of girls,' said Nan; and she +refused to stir. + +A few seconds thereafter, though there was still an occasional flash of +lightning, the rain slackened somewhat; and the young Lieutenant--who was +clad in a travelling-suit of gray, by-the-way, and looked remarkably like +the other young Englishmen loitering about the front of the +hotel--emerged from his shelter, shook the rain-drops from his sleeves, +and passed on into the dark. + +The very next morning the Beresfords left Lucerne for Zurich. They +stayed there three days--Nan busy all the time in teaching herself how to +propel a boat with two oars, her face to the bow; and she liked to +practise most in moonlight. Then they left Zurich one afternoon, and +made their way southward into the mountainous region adjacent to the +sombre Wallensee. The stormy sunset deepened and died out; rain, rain, +rain pursued them all the way to Chur. They got to their hotel there in +an omnibus that jolted through the mud and the darkness. + +But next morning, when Nan Beresford went to the window of the little +sitting-room and looked abroad, she uttered a cry of surprise that was +also meant as a call to wake her sleeping sisters. She stepped out on to +a wooden balcony, and found herself poised high above the flooded river +that was roaring down its channel, while in front of her was the most +vivid and brilliant of pictures, the background formed by a vast +semicircle of hills. She had it all to herself on this lovely +morning--the fresh air and sunlight; the plunging river below; the +terraced gardens on the opposite bank; over that again, the tumbled-about +collection of gleaming white houses, and green casements, and red roofs, +and old towers and belfries; and then, higher still, and enclosing, as it +were, the picturesque little town, the great ethereal amphitheatre of +pale blue mountains, with here and there a sprinkling of snow glittering +sharply, as if it were quite close at hand. How fresh and cold the +morning air was, after the sultry atmosphere of the lakes! How beautiful +the snow was! Nan did not like to be alone. She wished to share her +delight with some one. 'Edith! Edith!' she called. There was no answer. + +Suddenly she found she was no longer the solitary possessor of this +brilliant little picture. Happening to turn her head somewhat, she +perceived some one coming across the bridge; and, after a minute's +surprise and doubt and astonishment, she convinced herself that the +stranger was no other than Frank King. The discovery startled her. This +time it could be no mere coincidence. Surely he was following them? +Could it be possible that he had come with bad news from Brighton? + +She did not stay to waken her sisters. She hastily put on her hat and +went downstairs; and the first person she saw was Lieutenant King +himself, who was calmly looking over the list of arrivals. + + + + +to be infectious; even Nan felt herself smiling, though she thought +that the commander of a man-of-war ought not to go on like this. And +how could Frank King, who had been practically all his life at sea, +know so much about the rustics in Wiltshire? How could he have gone +through those poaching adventures, for example? She knew that +Kingscourt was in Wiltshire; but if, as he had told her, he was in the +navy when the English fleet paid its famous visit to Cherbourg, he must +have left Wiltshire when he was a very small boy indeed. + +They got higher and higher into the mountains as the evening fell, and +the mists closed down upon them. Outside they heard nothing but the +rattle of the rain on the top of the carriage, and the tinkle of the +horses' bells. By and by the lamps were lit. Later they were in +absolute blackness--plunging through the streaming night; but they were +contented enough. + +When the carriage stopped they were quite surprised. Splügen already! +And where was the inn? Frank King sprang out, and found himself in a +sort of big square, with the rain pelting down, and the building +opposite him apparently closed. But presently a man appeared with a +lantern, who informed him that they could have beds certainly, but in +the _dépendance_, as the hotel was overcrowded. Then the gentleman +with the lantern disappeared. + +It was fortunate, indeed, for these young ladies that they had a male +protector and champion with them; for the bad weather had detained many +people, the hotel was crammed full, and as this was the _table d'hôte_ +hour, the landlord and all his staff, with every disposition in the +world to be obliging, were at their wits' end. Every one was wanted in +the dining-chamber: how could any one look after the new arrivals, or +show them their rooms on the other side of the square, or attend to +their luggage? Now it was that this young sailor began to show a touch +of authority. First of all he got the young ladies to descend, and +bundled them into the little reading-room; that was clearing the decks +for action. The last they saw of him was that he had seized a man by +the collar and was quietly, but firmly, taking him to the door, +addressing him the while in an extraordinary mixture of French and +German concerning luggage, and rooms, and the necessity of a lantern to +show people across the square. In about a quarter of an hour he +returned, dripping wet. + +'Well, that's all settled,' he said, cheerfully, as he dried his face +with his handkerchief. 'I've seen the rooms--very big, and bare, and +cold, but the best they have. And I've left Miss Parsons in the +kitchen, tearing her hair over some things that have got wet. And I've +got four places at the _table d'hôte_, which is going on. Now, if you +wish to go and see your rooms and dress for dinner, there is a little +girl waiting with a lantern; or if you prefer going in to the _table +d'hôte_ at once----' + +CHAPTER VIII. + +SNOW AND MIST AND SUNLIGHT + +The desolation of that next morning! A wonder of snow outside the +windows--the large dark flakes slowly, noiselessly passing the panes; +snow on the open space fronting the great, gaunt hostelry; snow on the +small spire of the church; and snow on the far reaches of the hills, +retreating up there into the gray mists, where every pine-tree was a +sharp black thing on the broad expanse of white. The girls were +greatly downcast. They had their breakfast brought to them in the big +cold room; they took it hurriedly, with scarcely a word. They saw +Parsons rushing across the square; when she came in there were flakes +of snow in her hair, and her fingers were blue with cold. + +'The English go abroad for pleasure,' said Edith, with sarcasm. + +By and by they heard the jingle of the bells outside, and on going +below they found Frank King in the doorway, encased from head to foot +in an ulster. + +'This is indeed luck--this is great luck,' said he, blithely. + +'Luck do you call it?' said Edith Beresford. + +'Certainly,' said he; 'the first snow of the year! Most opportune. Of +course you must see the Splügen Pass in snow.' + +'We shan't see anything,' said Edith in gloom. + +'Never mind,' said Miss Beresford, good-naturedly; 'we shall have +crossed the Alps in a snowstorm, and that sounds well. And I daresay +we shall amuse ourselves somehow. Do you feel inclined to give up your +carriage to-day again?' + +She had turned to Frank King. There was a smile on her face, for she +guessed that it was no great sacrifice on his part. Moreover, she had +enjoyed that drive the day before; the presence of a fourth person +broke the monotony of the talking of three girls together. It is +needless to add that Frank King eagerly welcomed her proposal, and in +due course the two carriages drove away from the big, bare hostelry to +enter the unknown mountain-world. + +A strange world they found it, when once they had left the level of the +little valley and begun to climb the steep and twisting road cut on the +face of the mountain. The aspect of things changed every few minutes, +as the rolling mists slowly blotted out this or that portion of the +landscape, or settled down so close that they could see nothing but the +wet snow in the road, and the black-stemmed pines beyond, with their +green branches stretching out towards them through the pall of cloud. +Then sometimes they would look down into extraordinary gulfs of +mist--extraordinary because, far below them, they would find the top of +a fir-tree, the branches laden with snow, the tree itself apparently +resting on nothing--floating in mid air. It was a phantasmal world +altogether, the most cheerful feature of it being that at last the snow +had ceased to fall. + +This decided Nan to get out for a walk. + +'You will be wet through,' her elder sister exclaimed. + +'My boots are thick,' said Nan, 'and Parsons has my waterproof.' + +When she had got down, and disappeared, Miss Beresford said, + +'She is a strange girl; she always wants to be alone.' + +'She seems to think a great deal, and she always thinks in her own +way,' said Frank King. 'No doubt she prefers to be alone; but--but +don't you think I ought to get out and see that she is all right?' + +'There are no brigands in these mountains, are there?' said Miss +Beresford, laughing. + +'And she can't lose her way,' said the more serious Edith, 'unless she +were to fall over the side.' + +'I think I will get out,' he said, and he called to the driver. + +He found that Nan was already some way ahead, or rather overhead; but +he soon overtook her. She was startled when she saw him, for the snow +had deadened the sound of his approach. + +'I believe it will clear soon,' he said at a venture. + +'It is altogether very strange,' Nan said in something of a lower +voice. 'The fir-trees laden with snow like that, the cold, the gloom: +it looks like some bygone Christmas come back suddenly. It is strange +to find yourself in another part of the year: yesterday, summer; +to-day, winter. I should not be surprised to meet a cart filled with +holly, or to hear the bells ringing for morning service.' + +'You know there are people who never see winter,' said he; 'I wonder +what it feels like when you move from place to place so as to live in a +perpetual spring and summer.' + +'I don't think it can be the real spring,' she said, after a second. +'The summer, I suppose, is the same anywhere; it hasn't the newness and +the strangeness of the spring. Wouldn't it be a nice thing now to be +able to take some poor English lady who has been compelled to live all +the early months of each year in the south, among hot-house sort of +things, and just to show her for a minute a little English village in +the real spring time, such as she must have known when she was a girl, +with the daffodils in the cottage gardens, and the young leaves on the +elm and the hawthorn. And perhaps a lark would be singing high up; and +there might be a scent of wallflower; and the children coming home with +daisy wreaths. She would cry, perhaps; but she would like it better +than the hot-house flowers and the Riviera. There are some things that +have a wonderful way of bringing back old memories--the first smell of +wallflower in the spring is one, and the first fall of snow in the +winter. And there's an old-fashioned kind of musky smell, too, that +always means Sunday clothes, and a tall pew, and a village choir.' + +'But you seem to have a strong faculty of association,' said young +Frank King, who was far more interested in Nan than in musk. + +'I don't know,' she said carelessly. 'I don't study myself much. But +I know I have a strong bump of locality--isn't that what they call it? +I wish I had been born in a splendid place. I wish I had been born +among great mountains, or amongst remote sea islands, or even beautiful +lake scenery; and I know I should have loved my native place +passionately and yearned for it; and I should have thought it was the +most beautiful place in the world--especially when I was away from +it--for that's the usual way. But when you are born in London and live +in Brighton, you can't make much out of that.' + +Then she added with some compunction, + +'Not but that I am very fond of the south coast. I know it so well; +and of course you get fond of anything that you are very intimate with, +especially if other people don't know much about it. And there is far +more solitariness about the south coast than the people imagine who +come down to the Bedford Hotel for a week.' + +'You are a great walker, are you not?' he said. + +'Oh no; but I walk a good deal.' + +'And always alone?' + +'Generally. It is very seldom I have a companion. Do you know Singing +Sal?' + +'Singing Sal? No. How should I? Who is she?' + +'A kind of tramping musician,' said Nan, with a grave smile. 'She is a +friend of the fishermen and coastguardsmen and sailors down there; I +daresay some of your men must have heard of her. She is a good-looking +woman, and very pleasant in her manner, and quite intelligent. I have +seen her very often, but I never made her acquaintance till the week +before last.' + +'Her acquaintance!' + +'Yes,' said Nan, simply; 'and I mean to renew it when I get back, if +mamma will let me. Singing Sal knows far more about the coast than I +do, and I want to learn more. . . . Oh, look!' + +Both of them had been for some time aware of a vague luminousness +surrounding them, as if the sun wanted to get through the masses of +vapour; but at this moment she, happening to turn her head, found that +the wind had in one direction swept away the mist, and behold, far away +in the valley beneath them, they could see the village of Splügen, +shining quite yellow in the sunlight. Then the clouds slowly closed +over the golden little picture, and they turned and walked on. But in +front of them, overhead, the wind was still at work, and there were +threads of keen blue now appearing over the twisting vapours. Things +began to be more cheerful. Both the carriages behind had been thrown +open. Nan's face looked pink, after one's eyes had got so used to the +whiteness of the snow. + +'I suppose there are no people so warmly attached to their country as +the Swiss are, she said (she was not ordinarily a chatterbox, but the +cold, keen air seemed to have vivified her). 'I am very glad the big +thieves of the world left Switzerland alone. It would have been a +shame to steal this little bit from so brave a people. Do you know the +song of the Swiss soldier in the trenches at Strasburg? I think it is +one of the most pathetic songs in the world.' + +'No, I don't,' he said. How delighted he was to let her ramble on in +this way, revealing the clear, beautiful soul, as Singing Sal might +have thought. + +'He tells the story himself,' she continued. 'It is the sound of the +Alphorn that has brought this sorrow to him, he says. He was in the +trenches at night, and he heard the sound of the Alphorn far away, and +nothing would do but that he must try to escape and reach his +fatherland by swimming the river. Then he is taken, and brought before +the officers, and condemned to be shot; and he only asks his brother +soldiers to fire straight---- But I am not going to spoil it.' + +She put her hand up furtively for a second to her eyes, and then she +said cheerfully-- + +'I have had enough walking. Suppose we wait for the carriage?' + +'I think I ought to apologise to you, Miss Anne,' said he. 'You prefer +walking by yourself--I ought not to have come and bothered you.' + +'It is of no consequence,' said Nan, looking back for the carriage, 'so +long as you haven't wet your feet.' + +They got into the carriage and continued on their way; and very soon it +became apparent, from the flashes of sunlight and gleams of blue, that +they had worked their way up through the cloud-layers. In process of +time, indeed, they got clear of the mists altogether, and emerged on to +the higher valleys of the Alps--vast, sterile, the white snow-plains +glittering in the sun, except where the rocks showed through in points +of intense black. There were no longer any pines. They were in a +world of snow and barren rocks and brilliant sunlight, with a cold +luminous blue sky overhead; themselves the only living creatures +visible; their voices sounding strangely distinct in the silence. + +When they were quite at the summit of the pass, a smurr, as we say in +Scotland, came over; but it did not last. By the time they had got the +drags on the wheels, the vast gorge before them--descending and winding +until it disappeared in a wall of mountains of the deepest blue--was +again filled with sunlight; and now they began to be a little bit +sheltered from the wind as the horses trotted and splashed through the +wet snow, carrying them away down into Italy. + +They lunched at Campo Dolcino, still some thousands of feet above the +level of the sea. Then on again, swinging away at a rapid pace down +into a mighty valley; rattling through galleries cut in the solid rock; +then out again into the grateful sunlight; taking the sharp curves of +the road at the same breakneck speed; with always below them--and so +far below them that it was silent--a rushing river sweeping down +between fair pastures and dots of villages. As the evening fell, this +clatter of hoofs and wheels came to a sudden end; for they were +entering the town of Chiavenna, and there you must go at walking pace +through the narrow little thoroughfares. It was strange for them to +come down from the snow-world into this ordinary little town, and to +find in the hotel not only all sorts of products of a high +civilisation, but even people who were speaking the familiar English +tongue. + +There was a telegram addressed 'Lieutenant F. H. King, R.N.,' in the +case in the bureau; when Frank King had got it out and read it he was +silent for a second or two. + +'I hope there is no bad news,' said Miss Beresford, in a kindly way. +She was not a very sympathetic person; but Frank King had brightened up +their tour during these last two days, and she was in a measure +grateful to him. + +'No,' he said, absently. 'Oh no, not bad news. The telegram is from +the officer I left in charge of the _Fly-by-Night_; I rather think that +I shall be setting out for home again in a couple of days.' + +'Oh, I am sorry for that,' she said, quite naturally. + +'You go on again to-morrow, Miss Beresford?' + +'We were proposing to do so.' + +'And where do you think of going to when you get to Lake Como?' + +'Bellagio, most probably.' + +'Oh, well, I will go with you as far as Bellagio, if I may,' he said, +somewhat thoughtfully. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE SERENATA. + +Next morning also he was preoccupied and anxious, insomuch that even +Nan noticed it, and good-naturedly hoped he had had no bad news. He +started somewhat. + +'No, oh no,' he said. 'Only the telegram I got last night makes it +necessary for me to start for home to-morrow.' + +'Then, at least,' said Nan cheerfully, 'you will see Lake Como before +you go.' + +Her eldest sister smiled in her superior way. + +'Nan's head is full of romance,' she said. 'She expects to see the +Como of the print-shops: don't you, Nan? Blue water and golden boats, +and pink hills, and Claude Melnotte's castle lifting its--whatever was +it?--to eternal summer. I am afraid the quotation is not quite +correct.' + +And the truth was that, despite this warning, Nan did seem somewhat +disappointed, when, after hours of rattling and splashing along a muddy +road, they came upon a stretch of dirty, chalky-green water that in a +manner mirrored the gray and barren crags above it. + +'That isn't Como!' cried Nan. 'It can't be.' + +'Oh, but it is,' Miss Beresford said, laughing. 'At least it's the +upper end of it.' + +But Nan would not believe it; and when at last they reached Colico, and +fought their way through the crowd of swarthy good-for-nothings who +strove to attach themselves to every scrap of luggage, and when they +had got on board the steamer and secured commanding positions on the +upper deck, then Nan declared that they were about to see the real Lake +of Como. It was observed that the young sailor glanced once or twice +rather anxiously at the sky and the seething clouds. + +Well, they sailed away down through this stretch of pallid green water, +that was here and there ruffled with wind, and here and there smooth +enough to reflect the silver-gray sky; and they called at successive +little villages; and they began to be anxious about a certain banking +up of purple clouds in the south-west. They forgot about the eternal +summer, and got out their waterproofs. They were glad to find +themselves drawing near to Bellagio, and its big hotels, and villas, +and terraced gardens. The wind had risen; the driven green water was +here and there hissing white; and just as they were landing, a pink +flash of lightning darted across that dense wall of purple cloud, and +there was a long and reverberating rattle of thunder. + +'It seems to me we have just got in in time,' said Frank King in the +hall of the hotel. + +The storm increased in fury. The girls could scarcely dress for dinner +through being attracted to the window by the witches' cantrips outside. +The thunder blackness in the south-west had deepened; the wind was +whirling by great masses of vapour; the water was springing high along +the terraces; and the trees in the terraced gardens were blown this way +and that, even though their branches were heavy with rain. Then it was +that Edith Beresford said-- + +'Nan, you ought to persuade Lieutenant King to stay over another day. +He hasn't seen Como. This isn't Como.' + +'I?' said Nan, sharply. 'What have I to do with it? He can go or stay +as he pleases.' + +'Besides,' continued Edith, 'in consequence of this _tempo cattivo_----' + +'I suppose that means weather that rains cats and dogs,' said Nan, +whose anger was of the briefest duration. + +'----the grand _Serenata_ is put off till to-morrow night. Now he +ought to stay and see the illuminations of the boats.' + +'The illuminations,' said Nan. 'I should think he had something else +to think of.' + +Nevertheless, when, at dinner, Miss Edith was good enough to put these +considerations before Lieutenant King, he seemed very anxious to +assent, and he at once called for a time-table; and eventually made out +that by taking the night train somewhere or other, he could remain at +Bellagio over the next day. And he was rewarded, so far as the weather +went. The morning was quite Como-like--fair and blue and calm; the sun +shining on the far wooded hills, and on the sparkling little villages +at their foot; the green lake still running high, with here and there a +white tip breaking; a blaze of sunlight on the gardens below--on the +green acacia-branches and the masses of scarlet salvia--and on the +white hot terraces where the lizards lay basking. + +It was a long, idle, delicious day; and somehow he contrived to be near +Nan most of the time. He was always anxious to know what she thought +about this or about that; he directed her attention to various things; +he sometimes talked to her about his ship--and about what sailors +thought of when they were far from home and friends. They went out on +the lake--these four; the hot sun had stilled the water somewhat; +reclining in the cushioned stern of the boat, in the shelter of the +awning, they could hear the bells on shore faint and distant. Or they +walked in that long allée leading from one end of the gardens--the +double line of short chestnuts offering cool and pleasant shadow; the +water lapping along the stone parapet beside them; and between each two +of the stems a framed picture, as it were, of the lake and the +velvet-soft slopes beyond. It was all very pretty, they said. It was +a trifle common-place, perhaps; there were a good many hotels and +little excursion steamers about; and perhaps here and there a +suggestion of the toy-shop. But it was pretty. Indeed, towards +sunset, it was very nearly becoming something more. Then the colours +in the skies deepened; in the shadows below the villages were lost +altogether; and the mountains, growing more and more sombre under the +rich gold above began to be almost fine. One half forgot the +Cockneyism and familiarity of the place, and for a moment had a glimpse +of the true loneliness and solemnity of the hills. + +As the dusk fell they began to bethink themselves of what was before +them. + +'It would have been a bad thing for the musicians from La Scala if they +had attempted to go out last evening,' Miss Beresford remarked. + +'It will be a bad thing for us,' said Edith, who was the musical one, +'if we attempt to go on board their steamer this evening. It will be +far too loud. You should never be too near. And, especially where +there is water, music sounds so well at some distance.' + +'You can hire a small boat, then,' said Nan. 'They are all putting up +their Chinese lanterns.' + +'Oh, I wouldn't advise that,' said Frank King, quickly. 'I don't think +it would be safe.' + +'A sailor afraid of boats!' said Miss Edith with a laugh. + +'Oh, as for that,' said Nan, warmly, 'every one knows that it's those +who are most ignorant of boats who are most reckless in them. It's +very easy to be brave if you're stupidly ignorant. I know papa used to +say it was always the most experienced sportsman who took most care +about unloading his gun on going into a house. Why, if you're walking +along the pier, and see some young fools standing up in a boat and +rocking it until the gunwale touches the water, you may be sure they're +haberdashers down from the borough for a day, who have never been in a +boat before.' + +In the dusk they could not see that Frank King's face flushed with +pleasure at this warm defence; but he only said quietly, + +'You see there will be ten or twelve steamers churning about in the +dark; and if some careless boatman were to make a mistake--or lose his +head--you might be under the paddles in a second. I think you should +either get on board or stay ashore; and I should say you were as well +off here as anywhere. You will see the procession on the lake very +well; and even if they should halt over there at Cadenabbia for the +music, we could hear it here excellently.' + +'It is very good advice, Edith,' said Miss Beresford, seriously. 'I +don't at all like small boats. And there goes the first dinner-bell; +so let's make haste.' + +At dinner Frank King did not say much; he seemed to be thinking of his +departure on the morrow. Once, however, when they happened to be +talking about Brighton, he looked across the table to Nan, and said, + +'Oh, by the way, what was the name of the woman you told me about--whom +you met on the downs?' + +'Singing Sal,' answered Nan, with composure. + +'I shall ask about her when I get to Portsmouth,' he said. + +'She is seldom in the big towns; she prefers tramping by herself along +the country roads.' + +'Is this another of Nan's _protegées_?' asked Miss Beresford. 'She +knows the most extraordinary people. She is like the children when +they are sent down to the beach when the tide is low; they are always +most delighted with the monstrous and hideous things they can pick up.' + +'You must have seen Singing Sal,' said Nan quietly. 'And she is +neither monstrous nor hideous. She is very well dressed, and she sings +with a great deal of feeling.' + +'Perhaps she will come and have afternoon tea with us?' said Edith, +with a sarcastic air. + +'I don't think she would find it interesting enough,' Nan answered, +calmly. + +When, after dinner, they went out on to the balcony above the garden, +they found that the wonders of the night had already begun. Far on the +other side of the lake the houses of Cadenabbia were all ablaze with +millions of small gold points, the yellow glow from which glimmered +down on the black water. Then in the garden here, there were rows upon +rows of Chinese lanterns, of all colours, just moving in the almost +imperceptible breeze; while along the shore, the villas had their +frontage-walls decorated with brilliant lines of illuminated cups, each +a crimson, or white, or emerald star. Moreover, at the steps of the +terrace below, there was a great bustle of boats; and each boat had its +pink paper lantern glowing like a huge firefly in the darkness; and +there was a confusion of chaffering and calling with brightly dressed +figures descending by the light of torches, and disappearing into the +unknown. Then these boats began to move away--with their glow-worm +lanterns swaying in the black night. The hotel seemed almost deserted. +There was silence along the shores. + +By and by, at a great distance, they beheld a wonderful thing come +slowly into view--far away in the open space of darkness that they knew +to be the lake. It was at first only a glow of crimson; but as it came +nearer, this glow separated into points, each point a ruby-coloured +shaft of fire, and they saw that this must be a steamer illuminated by +red lamps. And then another steamer, and another, came sailing up, +with different colours gleaming; until one, far higher than the +others--a great mass of glittering gold--appeared in the midst of them, +and round this all the fleet of small boats, that were, of course, only +distinguishable by their parti-coloured lanterns, seemed to gather. + +'That is the steamer that has the musicians, clearly,' said Frank King. + +'Yes; but I don't hear any music,' answered Edith, in a voice that +seemed rather ominous. + +They sat and waited. The last of the guests had got into the small +boats and gone away; they were left alone in front of the big hotel. +The moon was rising behind the hills in the south, and already the +surface of the lake was beginning to declare itself--a dull blue-black. + +'I cannot hear the least sound; is it possible they can be playing?' +said Edith, disappointedly. + +It was a beautiful spectacle, at all events, even if there were no +sound accompanying it. For now the moon had risen clear, and there was +a pale soft light all along the northern hills, and just enough +radiance lying over the bosom of the lake to show the darkness of the +hulls of the distant steamers. And then, as they watched, some order +seemed to grow out of that confusion of coloured lights; the high +golden mass drew away; and then the others followed, until the long +undulating line seemed like some splendid meteor in the night. There +was no sound. Cadenabbia, with all its yellow fire, was as clearly +deserted as this Bellagio here, with all its paper lanterns and +coloured cups. The procession had slowly departed. The _Serenata_ was +taking place somewhere else. The gardens of this hotel were silent but +for the occasional voices of Frank King and his companions. + +Well, they laughed away their disappointment; and chatted pleasantly, +and enjoyed the beautiful night, until Miss Beresford thought it was +time for them to go indoors. + +'But where's Nan?' she said. 'That girl is never to be found.' + +'I think I can find her,' said Frank King, rising hastily. He had been +regarding for some time back that long allée between the chestnuts, and +a dark figure there that was slowly pacing up and down, occasionally +crossing the patches of moonlight. When he had got about half-way +along, he found Nan leaning with her elbows on the parapet, and looking +out on the moonlit lake. + +'Oh, Miss Anne,' he said, 'your sister wants you to come indoors.' + +'All right,' she said cheerfully, raising herself and preparing to go. + +'But I want to say a word to you,' he said hurriedly. 'I have been +trying for an opportunity these two days. I hope you won't think it +strange or premature or impertinent----' + +'Oh no,' said Nan, with a sudden fear of she knew not what; 'but let us +go indoors.' + +'No, here, now,' he pleaded. 'Only one moment. I know we are young; +perhaps I should not ask you to pledge yourself, but all I ask for is +to be allowed to hope. Surely you understand. Nan, will you be my +wife--some day?' + +He would have taken her hand; but she withdrew quickly, and said with a +sort of gasp-- + +'Oh, I am so sorry. I had no idea. It must be my fault, I am sure; +but I did not know--I was not thinking of such a thing for a moment----' + +'But you will give me leave to hope?' he said. 'I mean some day--not +now.' + +'Oh no, no!' she said with an earnestness that was almost piteous. 'If +I have made a mistake before, this must be clear now. Oh, don't think +of such a thing. It never could be--never, never. I am very sorry if +I have pained you; but--but you don't know anything about me; and you +will soon forget, for we are both far too young--at least I am--to +think of such things; and--and I am very, very sorry.' + +'But do you mean that I am never to think of it again, even as a hope?' +he said, slowly. + +'Oh, I do mean that--I do! If there has been a mistake, let it be +clear now. Can I not be your friend?' + +She held out her hand. After a second or so of hesitation, he took it. + +'I know more of you than you suspect,' he said slowly, and with a touch +of hopelessness in his voice. 'I could see what you were the first +half-hour I had spoken to you. And I know you know your own mind, and +that you are sincere. Well, I had hoped for something else; but even +your friendship will be valuable to me--when I have had a little time +to forget.' + +'Oh, thank you, thank you!' said Nan, somewhat incoherently. 'I know +you will be wise. You have your profession to think of; that is of far +more importance. I know you will be wise, and generous too, and +forgive me if the fault has been mine. Now, we will not speak of any +such thing again; let it be as if it had never been. Come.' + +He pressed her hand in silence--it was a token of good-bye. These two +did not see each other again for more than three years. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +JINNY. + +One night towards the end of that interval a strange scene occurred in +the old manor-house of Kingscourt, Wiltshire. From an early part of +the evening it was apparent that something unusual was about to take +place. The sleepy old mansion was all astir, a big fire blazed in the +fireplace of the hall, and even the long corridor, which was in effect +a picture-gallery, and ordinarily looked rather grim with its oak +panelling and dusky portraits and trophies of arms, had been so +brilliantly lit up that it seemed almost cheerful. + +There was no cheerfulness, however, on the face of the lord of the +manor himself; and there was nothing but a keen and anxious sympathy in +the regard of his friend the Vicar, who had come to keep him company. +The former, Stephen Holford King, was a hale old man of over seventy, +with a smoothly-shaven face grown red with exposure to the weather, +silvery short-cropped hair, and fine, impressive features. His old +college friend, the Rev. Mr. Lynnton, was a smaller man, and somewhat +younger, though his pale face had a sad expression, as though he had +come through much trouble. He also was clean shaven, which added +character to his clear-cut features. His chest was narrow, and he +stooped a little. + +'It is kind of you to come early, Vicar,' said the taller man, who +seemed much agitated in spite of his outwardly firm demeanour. 'It +will be a terrible ordeal for my poor wife. I wish the evening were +over.' + +'You must face it like a man, friend King,' said the other. 'You have +acted rightly, great as the pain must be to yourself. It is the young +man's last chance, and surely he accepts it or he would not be coming +at all. And--she--also.' + +'If only he hadn't married her--if only he hadn't married her. She +might have ruined him in pocket, as she has ruined others before; but, +to come in here----' + +He glanced at the portraits along the walls; he seemed scarcely to know +what he was saying. + +'You might preach a sermon from what I am suffering now, Vicar. Oh, I +deserve it. My pride has been taken down at last. But the punishment +is hard----' + +'Pardon me, friend King; but you exaggerate surely. Surely a certain +measure of family pride is justifiable; it ought to nerve a man to be +worthy of those who have gone before him. Nor have I ever thought that +your feeling about your name being a heritage that you had to guard +jealously and piously was otherwise than just----' + +'Five centuries, Vicar--for five centuries the Kings of Kingscourt, +whether knights or commoners, have been gentlemen--gentlemen every man +of them; and this is the end!' + +'But even now, old friend, you must not look at the blackest side of +things. Alfred may requite you yet by his conduct for the tremendous +sacrifice you and Mrs. King are making. He has committed a social +crime; but surely that is better than living in sin----.' + +'Vicar, I know you have tried to look only at the cheerful side of +things, as far as your cloth will permit, and I trust in God that +something may yet come of it; but if not--if this last appeal to him +produces nothing more than the others--then there is a final +alternative that may help me to save Kingscourt and the family name.' + +'What is that?' his friend said, eagerly. + +'I will not speak of it now; we must hope for the best.' + +At this moment there was heard the rumbling of carriage wheels outside, +and the old man started. + +'Come, let us go into the hall,' he said quickly; and then he added, in +a lower and agitated voice, 'Vicar, do you think my poor wife +will--will have to kiss this woman? That is what she dreads. That is +what terrifies her.' + +The pale-faced clergyman seemed embarrassed, and said hastily, + +'There will be some confusion, no doubt. Come, friend King, pull +yourself together. You are welcoming home your son and his +newly-married wife, remember.' + +The great bell rang, the servants swarmed into the hall, the door was +opened, and outside, in the darkness, the carriage lamps were visible, +shining down on the broad steps. At the same moment a lady came along +from the corridor; a tall, elderly woman, with a pale, sweet face, +quite white hair done up in old-fashioned little curls, and with eyes +of a sad, benign expression. She seemed to be very pleased and +cheerful; it was only the Vicar, who shook hands with her, who knew +that her whole frame was trembling. + +'So you have come to welcome home the bride, Mr. Lynnton,' she said, in +a clear voice, so that every one could hear. 'Alfred will be pleased +to see you again, after his long absence. They say that being so much +abroad has greatly improved him.' + +'It could not well improve his appearance, Mrs. King; he was always a +handsome lad,' said the Vicar--his eyes still turned towards the door. + +This was, indeed, a strikingly handsome man who now came up the +steps--taller and more massive than his brother Frank, lighter also in +hair and eyes. At this first glance one scarcely noticed that his face +was somewhat flushed, and that the light blue eyes had a sort of +uncertain nervous throb in them. + +'My wife, mother.' + +The Vicar stared with astonishment. This pretty, bright-faced little +thing did not look more than eighteen or nineteen, though in fact she +was five-and-twenty; and in her tight-fitting ulster and plain gray +hat, and quiet yellow-gray gloves, she looked the very embodiment of +girlish grace, and neatness, and decorum. + +The white-haired woman took this new visitor by both hands. + +'I am glad you have come, my dear,' said she, without any quaver of the +voice, and she kissed her first on one cheek and then on the other. +'But you must be tired with your long journey. Come, I will show you +your dressing-room; they have taken some tea up for you.' + +'And to-night we dine at seven, my dear,' said the father of the house, +addressing her at the same time, 'for we thought you might be hungry +after your journey. So don't take too much time in dressing, my dear; +we are plain folks; we will see all your finery another night. +Higgins, have Mrs. Alfred's boxes taken up at once.' + +Mrs. Alfred meanwhile stood looking a little puzzled, a little amused, +but not at all shy. She seemed to consider it rather a good joke. + +'Go on, Jinny,' her husband said to her lazily; 'I shan't dress.' + +'That is an old privilege of Alfred's, my dear,' said Mrs. King, +leading the new-comer away. 'His father, now, hasn't missed dressing +for dinner one evening since we were married, except the night the +vicarage took fire. But I suppose young men are not so ceremonious +now. Here is your room, my dear; Catherine is bringing some hot water, +and she will open your boxes for you.' + +And the old lady herself went and stirred up the fire, and drew the low +easy chair nearer to the little table where the tea-things were, and +continued talking in the kindliest way to her new guest until the maid +arrived. Mrs. Alfred had said nothing at all, but she seemed contented +and amused. + +At seven o'clock every one had assembled in the drawing-room except +Mrs. Alfred. The Vicar's wife had arrived: she was a stout, +anxious-eyed little woman, who was obviously alarmed, and talked much +to assure those around her that she was quite at ease. Mr. Alfred +himself was lazy, good-natured, indifferent--he had drunk two or three +glasses of sherry meanwhile to pass the time. + +Punctually at seven Mrs. Alfred appeared. She looked more prim and +nice and neat than ever in this black silk dress with old lace on the +open square in front and on the cuffs of the tight sleeves. + +'Mrs. Lynnton--my daughter Jinny,' said the old white-haired lady, +introducing the new-comer to the Vicar's wife. + +Dinner was announced, and the big folding doors thrown open. + +'My dear,' said Mr. King to his wife, 'I must take in Mrs. Alfred. It +is a welcome home, you know. Alfred, you take in Mrs. Lynnton. Come +along, child.' + +And he gave her his arm with great ceremony, and led her into the long, +old-fashioned dining-room, which was a blaze of candles, and gave her +the seat at his right hand, and immediately called for a fire-screen +lest the fire should be too much. + +'Or will you sit the other side, my dear?' said he. + +'Oh no, sir,' she said, very prettily, out of compliment to his age. +'Oh no, sir, I am best pleased to sit where you wish me to sit.' + +For by this time the amused look had gone out of her face, and she +seemed to have grown sensible of the great kindness these people were +trying to show her. + +Dinner went on, and the conversation rested mainly between Mr. Alfred, +who was asking questions about the people in the neighbourhood, and the +Vicar, who answered him. But when anything amusing was said, it was +addressed to Mrs. Alfred, or else they looked to see whether she was +pleased; and she received a great deal of attention from the old +gentleman next her, and had many kind things said to her by his wife. +But Mrs. Alfred's face grew more and more strange. She seemed +depressed and troubled--timid at the same time and self-conscious; once +or twice her lips were tremulous. And then all at once she rose, and +quickly went to where Mrs. King sat, and threw herself on her knees, +and clasped the old lady's knees, and burst into a wild fit of sobbing +and crying. The old lady turned very pale, and put her hand on the +younger woman's head gently. The servants pretended to see nothing. +Mr. Alfred flushed angrily, and said-- + +'Jinny, don't make a fool of yourself. Go back to your seat.' + +Then the elder woman raised her, with a tenderness and compassion not +altogether assumed, and led her back, saying-- + +'You are tired, my dear. I thought you looked tired, my dear. We will +let you go soon to bed tonight.' + +Then everybody talked at once, and the little incident seemed easily +forgotten. Moreover, as the evening progressed, old Stephen King +convinced himself that he had done what was best for the bygone Kings +of Kingscourt and any Kings of Kingscourt there might be. He would pay +off his son's debts once more. These two would be content to remain +for years in the country, till bygones should be bygones elsewhere; and +even in the country the neighbours might pretend to a convenient +ignorance. The Vicar would help him. + +The Vicar and his wife left about ten; Mr. and Mrs. Alfred retired +early; the various agitations that had shaken the old silver-haired +dame gave place to a quiescence that was in a measure hopeful. Then +sleep overtook the old manor-house, and the silence of the night. + +About midnight there was a loud crash in the dining-room. Certain of +the servants slept on the ground-floor for safety's sake; and the first +one--indeed, the only one--to be thoroughly aroused by this sudden +noise was the butler, a young man who had inherited the position from +his father. He jumped up, hastily donned some clothes, and carried a +light along to the room, wisely thinking that if it was only a picture +that had fallen he need not alarm the whole household. At the same +time he went cautiously, for he did not wish to be seized by the throat +unawares. + +He found the dining-room door open, and something, in the dark inside, +lying prone on the floor. He pushed forward his candle, and to his +horror found it was Mrs. Alfred, who was slowly raising herself by both +hands. + +'Oh, ma'am, what has happened?' he cried. + +'Be quiet. Where's the brandy?' she said, angrily; and then she put +her hand to the side of her forehead. 'I've struck my head against +something.' + +This young man was a miracle of discretion, but he was startled. She +did not talk incoherently, and yet she could not rise. + +'Is it Mr. Alfred, ma'am? Shall I take him some brandy? I hope he +isn't ill, ma'am?' he said in a breath. + +'Mr. Alfred, you fool! He's been dead drunk in bed for more than an +hour. Where's the brandy? Why don't you leave the spirit-stand out, +you miserly thief?' + +Then he saw how matters stood; and though he was frightened a little, +he was prudent. He went and got some brandy and water in a tumbler; he +coaxed her to go upstairs; he assisted her up; and then, having put her +quietly into her room, he returned downstairs, and locked the +dining-room door, putting the key in his pocket. + +This incident the young butler kept discreetly to himself; he was not +going to imperil his situation by telling such a story about his future +master and mistress. All the same, the old father and mother began to +grow very uneasy. Mrs. Alfred was too unwell to appear next day, nor +would she see any one. She wanted brandy, however, to keep her system +up. The following day the same legend was repeated. On the evening of +that day Alfred King sought out his father in the study, and said he +wanted to speak to him. + +'Look here, father, it's no use. I'll tell the truth. I came down +here to humbug you, and get some more money out of you. But what's the +good?--if Jinny had the wealth of the Rothschilds she'd run through it +in a fortnight; and then her first trick would be to cut me. Oh, I +know her; she's not a bad sort; but she's been brought up to be what +she is, and she doesn't mean anything shabby, anything more than a cat +thinks itself cruel when it plays with a mouse. Well, no matter.' + +He rang the bell, ordered some brandy and soda, and continued: + +'Now, I've got some pride in the old place, too, father: I don't want +to see Jinny send Kingscourt spinning the moment you die. Well, this +is what I propose. I'm no good. I'm played out. I've had my turn. +Well, now, if you'll clear off my debts this time, and start me free +with 5000 pounds--giving it in trust to somebody--so that I can have my +200 pounds or 250 pounds a year--then I'll consent to quash the entail; +you bring home Frank, and give him Kingscourt. That's better than +being a sailor, and he'll look after the old place.' + +The old man regarded him calmly, but also with a strange, wistful, sad +look. + +'I had thought of it. But is there no other way, Alfred?' + +'No. I'm broke. I'm done. If you want to save Kingscourt, that's the +only way.' + +'And you?' + +'I've had my turn; I can't complain. Sooner or later Jinny'll bolt. +Then I'll go to the States and try my hand at something.' + +'Do you know they've just made Frank commander?' + +'He'll be glad to leave the navy, all the same. Fellows can't marry +while they're in the navy.' + +'What are your debts now, Alfred?' + +Here the brandy and soda was brought in, which gave him time to think. + +'I don't know exactly. Two brutes have got hold of me. I should fancy +they could all be choked off with 8000 pounds--say 9000 pounds.' + +'14,000 pounds--it will be a heavy charge on the estate.' + +'But I shall be off it. What's more, father, if Frank comes home, and +gets married, and plays the good boy and all that kind of thing, don't +let him get it into his head that I am jealous of him, or that he has +supplanted me. Frank is a fine chap. Tell him it was my proposal; and +I hope he'll be a better son to you than I have been. Well, is it a +bargain, father?' + +The old man thought for some time, and at length said, + +'Yes.' + +'Well, then, there's another thing. Jinny's stumbled against something +and got a black eye. Let's get her out of the house without the +servants seeing her--this evening, after dusk. And I'll meet you any +day you like at Shaen and Maskell's.' + +This, then, was how it came about that Commander Francis Holford King, +R.N., was summoned home from the West Indies, where he had been with +his ship, the _Hellespont_. He was grave for his years; and he was +more manly in figure, somehow, and certainly browner of face, than when +we last saw him at Bellagio, on Lake Como; but as he sailed past the +Eddystone Light and entered the smooth waters of Plymouth Sound, there +was something within him that told him his heart had not quite +forgotten all its old memories. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +TRANSFORMATION. + +Captain Frank was everything and did everything that his parents could +have hoped for, except in one direction: he would have nothing said +about marriage. He came home without a murmur; he never uttered a word +of regret about his giving up a profession that he had fair hopes of +advancement in; he adopted his new set of duties with cheerfulness, and +entered with zest into the festivities of the season. For the leaf was +beginning to fall, and all the people about were preparing to shoot the +covers, so that parties had to be made up and invitations issued, and +there soon came to be a general stir throughout the countryside. +Captain Frank, though he was not much of a shot, took his share in all +these things; but he held aloof from womankind, and would not have his +marriage even spoken of by his most intimate relatives. + +What was the man made of that he could resist a scene like this? +Imagine an open glade in a beautiful Wiltshire wood on the morning +after a slight fall of snow. The skies are blue, and the world is full +of clear sunlight; the hollies are intensely green over the white of +the snow; here and there on the bare branches are a few red leaves. +Also on the snow itself there is a stain of brownish red in some +places, where the light air of the morning has shaken down withered +needles from a tall pine-tree. Then there is a distant, sharp flutter; +the noise increases; suddenly a beautiful thing--a meteor of bronze and +crimson--comes whirring along at a tremendous pace; Captain Frank +blazes away with one barrel and misses; before he knows where he is the +pheasant seems a couple of miles off in the silver and blue of the sky, +and he does not care to send the second barrel on a roving commission. +He puts his gun over his shoulder, and returns to his pensive +contemplation of the glittering green hollies, and the white snow, and +the maze of bare branches going up into the blue. + +But a new figure appears in the midst of this English-looking scene. A +very pretty young lady comes along smiling--her pink cheeks looking all +the pinker, and her blue eyes all the bluer, because of the white snow +and also the white fur round her neck. This is pretty Mary Coventry, +who is staying at present at Kingscourt. She has the brightest of +smiles, and the whitest of teeth. + +'Cousin Frank,' she says, 'where do you gentlemen lunch to-day?' + +'Look here,' he answers, 'you've come right up the line between the +guns and the beaters.' + +'Oh, that's all right,' she says, gaily. 'I know your father doesn't +allow shooting at ground game into cover.' + +'Lunch is to be up at the Hill Farm.' + +'Oh, that's the very thing. I want a long walk. And I will help +Higgins to have everything ready for you.' + +'It will be very rough and tumble. You had much better go back home to +lunch.' + +'But I have come for the very purpose! I have brought sugar and +cinnamon to mull the claret for you. You will find it scalding hot +when you come.' + +A hare ran by some dozen yards off: he did not fire. + +'I see I am in your way. Good-bye for the present.' + +'Good-bye. If you do mean to go up to the Hill Farm, you had better +keep to the road. Or else,' he added, laughing, 'Mr. Ferrers will have +something to say to you.' + +'Well,' said pretty Mary Coventry to herself, as she passed on and into +the road, 'he did not even thank me for all my trouble. And I always +thought sailors were supposed to be nice. But perhaps he is lamenting +some blackamoor sweetheart in Patagonia, and won't take any notice of +anybody.' + +It was about a week after this that Captain Frank, having run up to +town, met a young gentleman in Piccadilly whom he seemed to recognise. +He looked again--yes, it could be no other than Tom Beresford. But it +was Tom Beresford transformed. Mr. Tom was now of age; he had his +club, which he much frequented; he had assumed the air and manner of a +man about town. That is to say, although he was clever enough and had +a sufficient touch of humour, he cultivated a languid stare, and was +chary of speech; and although he was a well-built young fellow, he +walked with his elbows out and his knees in, as if the tightness of his +trousers and his boots made it nigh impossible for him to walk at all. +Moreover, his dress was more rigidly correct than ever; and of course +he carried the inevitable cane--inevitable as the walking-stick of the +Athenian. + +Frank King went up to him eagerly. + +'Hallo, Beresford, how are you?' + +'How are you?' was the answer, as a slight boyish blush somewhat +interfered with the dignity of Mr. Tom. 'How are you? I heard you +were at home again. I heard of you through the Strathernes.' + +'And I heard of you in the same way,' said Captain King, who seemed +greatly pleased to meet an old friend. 'I'll turn and walk with you. +I've nothing particular to do.' + +'Will you come and lunch with me?' said Mr. Tom (he had recovered +himself after the inadvertent blush). 'We can walk along to the club.' + +'Yes, I will; said Frank King, heartily. 'Which is your club?' + +'The Waterloo. They call it that because it isn't in Waterloo Place. +It's in Regent Street.' + +'All right,' said the other; but instantly he began to pursue his +inquiries. 'Yes, I heard of you and your family from the Strathernes. +There have been great changes since I left England. Your eldest sister +is married, is she not?' + +'You mean Moll: yes. They live in town--a small house back there in +Mayfair. He used to be a richer man,' observed Mr. Tom, +contemplatively, 'before he took silk.' + +'But they are going to make him a judge, I hear.' + +'Faith, then, I hope he'll never have to try me,' said Mr. Tom, with an +air of conviction. 'He and I never could hit it off. I hate pompous +people, and people who give themselves airs. Now, I took a liking to +you the first five minutes I saw you.' + +Captain King was dutifully grateful for this condescension. He said he +also hated pompous people--he couldn't bear them. And then he asked +about Tom's sister Edith. + +'She's engaged to be married, isn't she?' + +'It's my belief,' said Mr. Tom, with a smile, 'that she has engaged +herself to both of them, just to make sure; and that she can't make up +her mind which to send off. I don't wonder at her pulling a wry mouth +about having to marry a soda-water manufacturer; but Soda-water isn't +half a bad sort of fellow, and he is fearfully rich. You see he is +particularly beaming just now, for there have been two or three blazing +hot summers running, and the demand must have been tremendous. Then +young Thynne, he's no end of a swell, no doubt; but you may be cousin +to all kinds of earls and dukes without their giving you anything. I +should fancy his father lets him have two or three hundred a year. I +should like to see the Sentimental get along with that! You can't live +on a fellow's ancestry. I think she should take Soda-water, even if he +hasn't got anything like a father to speak of. And even if he hasn't +got a father--this was what Nan said--he might be equally "_sans pčre +et sans reproche_."' + +'It was your sister Anne said that, was it?' remarked Frank King, +quickly. + +'That was in her saucy days,' said Mr. Tom, sadly. 'It's quite +different now. Now she's on the pious lay.' + +'The what?' said Frank King. It was clear that, however Mr. Tom had +altered, he had not chosen to improve his manner of speech. + +'Oh, High Church and reredoses,' said the irreverent youth. 'Silver +embroideries, don't you know, and visiting the poor, and catching all +sorts of confounded infection. And then I suppose she'll end by +marrying that curate that's always about the house. What a shame it +is! She used to be such a brick. And to go and marry a curate.' + +'I heard of that, too,' said Captain Frank, with a bit of a sigh. It +was indeed among the first things he had heard after returning to +England. + +By this time they had reached Mr. Tom's club, which was pleasantly +situated at a corner of the great thoroughfare, so that it had from its +coffee-room windows a spacious view, and was altogether a light and +cheerful sort of place. + +'But you don't ask about the Baby,' said Mr. Tom, as he was entering +his friend's name in the strangers' book--the Waterloo being a +hospitable little club that allowed visitors to come in at any hour. +'And the Baby _is_ in a hole.' + +'Well, it must be a sad thing for a baby to be in a hole; but I don't +quite understand,' said Captain King. + +'Don't you remember the Baby? The youngest--Madge?' + +'Oh. Well, I only saw her once, I think. What is the matter with her?' + +'First pick out what you want for lunch, and then I'll tell you.' + +This was easily done; and the two friends sat down at a small +window-table, which enabled them to glance out at the passing crowd, +and even as far as the Duke of York's column and the tops of the trees +in St. James's Park. + +'You see my sisters have all been wards in Chancery. I was also,' said +Mr. Tom, with a slight blush; for he was no more than six months +escaped from tutelage. 'I suppose the executors funked something about +my father's will; at all events, they flung the whole thing in. Well, +no great harm has come of it; not so much cost or worry as you would +expect. Only the girls have had bad times of it about their +sweethearts. I mean the Baby----' + +'The Baby! How old is she?' + +'Eighteen; and uncommonly good-looking, I think. Have some sherry. +Well, the Baby made the acquaintance at somebody's house of a young +fellow--son of a barrister--not a farthing but what he picks up at +pool. I don't think she meant anything--I don't a bit. There's a lot +of that kind of nonsense goes on down there: Nan is the only one who +has kept clear out of it. Well, the guardians didn't see it; and they +went to the Court, and they got the Vice-Chancellor to issue an order +forbidding young Hanbury from having any sort of communication with +Madge. Now, you know, if you play any games with an order of that sort +hanging over you, it's the very devil. It is. Won't you have some +pickles?' + +'And how is Miss Madge affected by the order?' asked Captain King. + +'Oh,' said this garrulous youth, who had entirely forgotten his +cultivated, reticent manner in meeting this old friend, 'she pretends +to be greatly hurt, and thinks it cruel and heart-breaking and all the +rest of it; but that's only her fun, don't you know? She's precious +glad to get out of it, that's my belief; and nobody knew better than +herself he wouldn't do at all. Finished? Come and have a game of +billiards then.' + +They went upstairs to a long, low-roofed apartment, in which were two +tables. They lit cigars, chose their cues, and fell to work. Frank +King had not played half-a-dozen strokes when Mr. Tom said, generously-- + +'I will put you on thirty points.' + +They played five minutes longer. + +'Look here, I will give you another thirty.' + +'Sixty in a hundred?' said King, laughing. 'Well, that is rather a +confession of bad play.' + +'Oh, as for that,' said Mr. Tom, 'I don't see that a naval officer +should be ashamed of playing badly at billiards. He should be proud of +it. I shan't glory in it if I beat you.' + +Mr. Tom was really very friendly. After a couple of games or so he +said-- + +'Look here, it's nearly four o'clock. I am going down to Brighton by +the 4.30. Will you come down and see my mother and the girls? I am +afraid we can't put you up; but you can get a bedroom at the Norfolk or +Prince's; and we dine at eight.' + +Frank King hesitated for a minute or two. Ever since he had come to +England he had had a strange wish to see Nan Beresford, even though he +had heard she was going to be married. He wished to see whether she +had turned out to be what he had predicted to himself; whether she +retained those peculiar distinctions of character and expression and +manner that had so attracted him; somehow he thought he would like just +to shake hands with her for a moment, and see once before him those +clear, blue-gray, shy, humorous eyes. But this proposal was too +sudden. His heart jumped with a quick dismay. He was not prepared. + +Nevertheless, Tom Beresford insisted. Was Captain King staying at a +hotel? No; he had got a bedroom in Cleveland Row. That was the very +thing; they could stop the hansom there on their way to Victoria +Station. The girls would be glad to see him. They had always been +watching his whereabouts abroad, in the Admiralty appointments in the +newspapers. + +At last, with some little unexpressed dread, Frank King consented; and +together they made their way to Victoria Station. + +'You know,' said Mr. Tom, apologetically, in the Pullman, 'I've been +talking a lot about my sisters; but I tell you honestly I don't see any +girls to beat them anywhere. I don't. The Sentimental is rather +stupid, perhaps; but then she scores by her music. Nan's the one for +my money, though. She isn't the prettiest; but set her down at any +dinner table, and you can lay odds on her against the field. I believe +there are a dozen old gentlemen who have got her name in their +will--not that she cares for worldly things any more--it is all +sanctity now. I wish to goodness somebody would----' + +But Mr. Tom had a little discretion. He said no more. + +'I suppose they are all very much changed in appearance,' Frank King +said, thoughtfully. 'I shouldn't be surprised if I scarcely recognised +them.' + +'Oh, yes, they are. And I will confess that Nan has improved in one +way. She isn't as cheeky as she used to be; she's awfully +good-natured--she'd do anything for you. When I get into trouble, I +know Nan will be my sheet-anchor.' + +'Then I hope the cable will hold,' said Frank King. + +They reached Brighton. Tom Beresford found his companion strangely +silent and preoccupied. The fact was that Captain Frank was very +unusually agitated. He hoped she might not be alone. Then he strove +to convince himself that she must be quite altered now. She must be +quite different from the young girl who walked up the Splügen Pass with +him. Then she was scarcely over seventeen; now she was over twenty. +He would see some one he might fail to recognise; not the Nan of former +days; not the Nan that had long ago enchained him with her frank odd +ways, and her true eyes. + +They drove first to a hotel, and secured a bed; then they went to +Brunswick Terrace. When they went upstairs to the drawing-room, they +found it empty. + +'They can't be all out,' said Mr. Tom; 'I'll go and find them.' + +He left; and Captain Frank began to try to quiet down this uncalled-for +perturbation. Why should he fear to see her? The past was over. +Never was any decision given more irrevocably; even if there had been +any question as to an open future, that had been disposed of by the +news that had met him on his return to England. It ought only to be a +pleasure to him to see her. He thought she would welcome him in a kind +way; and he would show her that he quite accepted circumstances as they +were. Only--and this he kept repeating to himself--he must expect to +be disillusionised. Nan would no longer be that former Nan. Some of +the freshness and the young wonder would be gone; she would be eligible +as a friend; that, on the whole, was better. + +Well, the door opened, and he turned quickly, and then his heart +jumped. No; she had not changed at all, he said to himself, as she +advanced towards him with a smile and a frankly extended hand. The +same pleasant eyes, the same graceful, lithe figure, the same soft +voice, as she said-- + +'Oh, how do you do, Captain King?' + +And yet he was bewildered. There was something strange. + +'I--I am very glad to see you again, Miss Anne,' he stammered. + +She looked at him for a moment, puzzled, and then she said, with a +quiet smile,-- + +'Oh, but I'm not Nan. I see you have forgotten me. I'm Madge.' + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +NEW POSSIBILITIES. + +'Many people have told me I am very like what Nan used to be,' +continued Miss Madge, pleasantly. 'And there is a photograph of +her----. Let me see, where is it?' + +She went to a table and opened an album, his eyes following her with +wonder and a vague bewildered delight. For this was a new acquisition +to the world--another Nan, a Nan free from all hateful ties, a Nan not +engaged to be married. Presently she returned with a card in her hand. + +'It was taken at Rome the time Nan went to Italy. That's more than +three years now. I think myself it is like me, though it is rather too +young for me.' + +It was indeed remarkably like this Madge who now stood beside him. But +yet sure enough it was Nan--the Nan that he remembered walking about +the brilliant hot gardens at Bellagio. Here she was standing at a +table, her head bent down, her hand placed on an open book. It was a +pretty attitude, but it hid Nan's eyes. + +'Yes, it would do capitally as a portrait of you,' he said quickly; 'no +wonder I was mistaken. And your sister Edith, has she grown up to be +like your eldest sister in the same way?' + +'Oh no; Edith never was like the rest of us. Edith is dark, you know.' + +Any further discussion of Miss Edith's appearance was stopped by the +entrance of that young lady herself, who was preceded by her mamma. +Lady Beresford received Captain King very kindly, and repeated her +son's invitation that he should dine with them that evening. And had +he seen the Strathernes since his return? And how long did he propose +remaining in Brighton? And which hotel was he staying at? + +The fact is, Captain King was still a little bewildered. He answered +as he best could Lady Beresford's questions, and also replied to some +profound remarks of Miss Edith's concerning the rough weather in the +Channel; but all the time his eyes were inadvertently straying to the +younger girl, who had gone to restore Nan's portrait to its place, and +he was astonished to see how this family likeness could extend even to +the pose of the figure and the motion of the hand. He could almost +have believed now that that was Nan there, only he had been told that +the real Nan--no doubt very much altered--was for the time being +staying with some friends at Lewes. + +In due time he went away to his hotel to dress for dinner--an operation +that was somewhat mechanically performed. He was thinking chiefly of +what Mr. Tom had told him at the Waterloo Club concerning the young +gentleman who had been warned off by the Vice-Chancellor. He had taken +little interest in the story then; now he was anxious to recollect it. +Certainly Miss Madge did not seem to have suffered much from that +separation. + +When he returned to Brunswick Terrace he found that the only other +guest of the evening had arrived, and was in the drawing-room with the +family. From the manner in which this gentleman held himself aloof +from Miss Edith, and did not even speak to her or appear to recognise +her presence, Frank King concluded that he must be Miss Edith's +suitor--no other, indeed, than the person whom Mr. Tom had called +Soda-water. Soda-water, if this were he, was a man of about +five-and-thirty, of middle height, fresh complexioned and of wiry +build, looking more like an M. F. H., in fact, than anything else. His +clothes seemed to fit well, but perhaps that was because he had a good +figure. In the middle of his spacious shirt front shone a large opal, +surrounded with small diamonds. + +Captain King had the honour of taking Lady Beresford down to dinner, +and he sat between her and Miss Madge. It soon became apparent that +there was going to be no lack of conversation. John Roberts, the +soda-water manufacturer, was a man who had a large enjoyment of life, +and liked to let people know it, though without the least ostentation +or pretence on his part. He took it for granted that all his +neighbours must necessarily be as keenly interested as himself in the +horse he had ridden that morning to the meet of the Southdown +foxhounds, and in the run from Henderley Wood through the Buxted covers +to Crowborough village. But then he was not at all bound up in either +foxhounds or harriers. He was as deeply interested as any one present +in the fancy-dress ball of the next week, and knew all the most +striking costumes that were being prepared. No matter what it +was,--old oak, the proposed importation of Chinese servants, port wine, +diamonds, black Wedgwood, hunters, furred driving coats, anything, in +short, that was sensible, and practical, and English, and conduced to +man's solid comfort and welfare in this far too speculative and +visionary world,--he talked about all such things with vigour, +precision, and delight. The substantial, healthy look of him was +something in a room. Joy radiated from him. When you heard him +describe how damsons could best be preserved, you could make sure that +there was a firm and healthy digestion; he was not one of the wretched +creatures who prolong their depressed existence by means of Angostura +bitters, and only wake up to an occasional flicker of life at the +instigation of sour champagne. + +This talk of the joyous Roberts was chiefly addressed to Lady +Beresford, so it gave Frank King plenty of opportunity of making the +acquaintance of Nan's youngest sister. And she seemed anxious to be +very pleasant and kind to him. She wanted to know all about +Kingscourt, and what shooting they had had. She told him how they +passed the day at Brighton, and incidentally mentioned that they +generally walked on the pier in the morning. + +'But you won't be going to-morrow, will you?' he said quickly. + +'Why not?' she said. + +'I am afraid the weather promises to be wild. The wind is south-west, +and freshening. Listen!' + +There was a faint, intermittent, monotonous rumble outside, that told +of the breaking of the sea on the beach. + +'That ground swell generally comes before a storm,' he said. 'I +thought it looked bad as I came along.' + +'Why should you prophesy evil?' she said, petulantly. + +'Oh, well, let us look at the chances on the other side,' he said, with +good-humour. 'The best of Brighton is that there is nothing to catch +and hold the clouds: so, with a fresh southerly wind you may have them +blown away inland, and then you will have breaks of fine weather. And +then the streets dry up quickly in Brighton.' + +'But all that means that it's going to be a wet day,' she said, as if +he were responsible. + +'With breaks, I hope,' he answered, cheerfully. 'And then, you know, +living at Brighton, you ought to be half a sailor--you shouldn't mind a +shower.' + +'Oh, but I do,' she said. 'It's all very well for Nan to get on her +thick boots and her waterproof and go splashing away across ploughed +fields. I wonder what the house would be like if every one went on in +that way, and came home all over mud.' + +However, Madge soon repented of her petulance, and was quite +attentively kind to the new guest, even reproving him for not attending +to his dinner, and letting things pass. + +Dinner over, Mr. Tom took his mother's seat, and somewhat grandly sent +round the wine. As nobody took any, and as starting subjects of +interest was not Mr. Tom's strong point, he suddenly proposed that they +should go into the billiard-room and send for the girls. This was +acceded to at once. + +Now billiards is a game in which a good deal of favour can be shown, in +a more or less open way. Mr. Tom, having no one of sufficient skill to +match himself against, chose to mark, and directed the remaining four +to have a double-handed game. Mr. Roberts immediately declared that +Madge and himself would play Captain King and Miss Edith. This was +assented to in silence, though Madge did not look well pleased, and the +game began. + +Very soon Mr. Tom said-- + +'What's the matter with you, Madge? Are you playing dark? Have you +got money on?' + +Frank King followed Madge, and it was most extraordinary how she was +always missing by a hairsbreadth, and leaving balls over pockets. + +'What do you mean, Madge?' Mr. Tom protested. 'Why didn't you put the +white ball in and go into baulk?' + +'I don't play Whitechapel,' said Madge, proudly. + +Frank King and his partner seemed to be getting on very well; somehow, +Madge and the joyous Roberts did not score. + +'Look here,' said Mr. Tom, addressing the company at large after she +had missed an easy shot, 'she's only humbugging; she's a first-rate +player; she could give any one of you thirty in a hundred and make you +wish you had never been born. I say it's all humbug; she's a +first-rate player. Why, she once beat me, playing even!' + +But even this protest did not hinder Frank King and Edith coming out +triumphant winners; and Madge did not seem at all depressed by her +defeat, though she said apologetically to Mr. Roberts that one could +not play one's best always. + +Mr. Tom perceived that this would not do, so he fell back on pool +(penny and sixpenny), so that each should fight for his own hand. He +himself took a ball, but, being strong and also magnanimous, would have +no more than two lives. + +Here, however, a strange thing happened. Frank King's ball was yellow, +Madge's green, Mr. Tom's brown. Now, by some mysterious process, that +yellow ball was always in a commanding position near the middle of the +table, while, when Mr. Tom came to play, the green ball was as +invariably under a cushion. + +'Well, you are a sniggler, Madge,' said her brother, becoming very +angry. 'You play for not a single thing but the cushion. I didn't +think you cared so much for twopence-halfpenny in coppers.' + +'How can I play out when you follow?' said Madge; but even that +flattery of his skill was unavailing. + +'Wait a bit,' said he; 'I'll catch you. You can't always sniggle +successfully. Even Roberts himself--I beg your pardon Mr. Roberts, it +was the other Roberts I meant--couldn't always get under the cushion. +Wait a bit.' + +There was no doubt that Madge was a most provoking and persistent +sniggler. She would play for nothing, and the consequence was that +Frank King, to his own intense astonishment, found himself possessed of +his original three lives, while everybody else's lives were slowly +dwindling down. She played with such judgment, indeed, that Mr. Tom at +length got seriously angry, and began to hit wildly at the green ball +in the savage hope of fluking it, the inevitable result being that he +ran in himself twice, and departed from the game, and from the room +too, saying he was going to smoke a cigar. + +Then these four diverged into various varieties of the game, in all of +which Madge was Frank King's champion and instructress; and he was very +grateful to her, and tried to do his best, though he was chiefly +engaged in thinking that her clear blue-gray eyes were so singularly +like Nan's eyes. Indeed, Madge had now to put forth all her skill, for +he and she were playing partners against the other two, and it was but +little help she got from him. + +'I am very sorry,' he said to her, after making a fearfully bad shot. +'I ought to apologise.' + +'At all events, don't always leave the red ball over a pocket,' she +said, sharply; but that may have been less temper than an evidence that +she was really in earnest about the game. + +Moreover, they came out victors after all, and she was greatly pleased; +and she modestly disclaimed what he said about her having done all the +scoring, and said she thought he played very well considering how few +opportunities he must have had of practising. As she said so--looking +frankly towards him--he thought that was just the way Nan would have +spoken. The pleasant and refined expression of the mouth was just the +same, and there was the same careless grace of the fair hair that +escaped from its bonds in fascinating tangles. He thought her face was +a little less freckled than Nan's--perhaps she did not brave the +sunlight and the sea air so much. + +The evening passed with a wonderful rapidity; when Mr. Tom came back +again into the room, followed by a servant bringing seltzer-water and +things, they found it was nearly eleven. + +'I must bid your mamma good-night and be off,' said Frank King to Madge. + +'Oh,' she said, 'it is unnecessary; mamma goes to her room early. She +will make her excuses to you to-morrow.' + +In an instant the pale, pretty face had flushed up. + +'I mean when you call again, if you are not going back to London at +once,' she stammered. + +'Oh no,' he said quite eagerly, 'I am not going back to London at once; +I may stay here some little time. And, of course, I shall call and see +your mamma again if I may--perhaps to-morrow.' + +'Then we may see you again,' she said pleasantly, as she offered him +her hand. 'Good-night; Edith and I will leave you to your billiards +and cigars. And I hope your prophecies are not going to interfere with +our morning walk to-morrow. When there is a heavy sea coming in you +see it very well from the New Pier. Good-night.' + +Miss Madge went upstairs to her room, but instead of composing her mind +to sleep, she took out writing materials and wrote this letter: + +'Dear old Mother Nan--You won't guess who is below at this moment--11 +p.m.--playing billiards with Tom and Mr. Roberts. Captain King. If I +were he I would call myself Holford King, for that sounds better. +Edith says he is greatly improved, and she always said he was +nice-looking. I think he is improved. He was not in uniform, of +course, which was a pity, for I remember him before; but at all events +he wore neat, plain gold studs, and not a great big diamond or opal. I +can't bear men wearing jewels like that; why don't they wear a string +of pearls round their neck? I have been in such a fright. H. sent me +a letter--not in his own handwriting. Isn't it silly? I don't want my +name in the papers. Tom says they will put him in prison "like +winking" if he is not careful. It is stupid; and of course I shall not +answer it, or have anything to do with him. Mr. Roberts dined here +this evening. I think he has too much to say for himself. I like +quiet and gentlemanly men. Captain King and his party got 135 +pheasants last Thursday, to say nothing of hares and rabbits; so I +suppose they have good shooting. I wish they would ask Tom. _C. J._ +has disappeared from Brighton, so far as I can make out; and I beleive +(_sic_) he is haunting the neighbourhood of Lewes, looking out for a +certain old Mother Hubbard. Happily he has got nothing to fear from +the Chancery people: I suppose they daren't interfere with the Church. +My sealskin coat has come back; it is beautiful now, and I have got a +hat and feather exactly the same colour as my Indian red skirt, so I +think they will go very well together. The sealskin looks blacker than +it was. The sea is rough to-night, but I hope to get down the Pier +to-morrow morning. Brighton is fearfully crowded just now, and you +should come away from that sleepy old Lewes, and have a look at your +friends. Good-night, dear Nan. MADGE.' + +CHAPTER XIII. + +ORMUZD AND AHRIMAN. + +The woman is not born who can quite forget the man who has once asked +her to become his wife, even though at the moment she may have rejected +the offer without a thought of hesitation. Life with her, as with all +of us, is so much a matter of experiment, and so rarely turns out to be +what one anticipated, that even when she is married, and surrounded +with children, husband, and friends, she cannot but at times bethink +herself of that proposal, and wonder what would have happened if she +had accepted it. Would her own life have been fuller, happier, less +occupied with trivial and sordid cares? Would he have become as great +and famous if she had married him, and hampered him with early ties? +Might not she--supposing things to have gone the other way--have saved +him from utter ruin, and have given him courage and hope? After all, +there is nothing more important in the world than human happiness; and +as the simple 'Yes' or 'No' of maidenhood may decide the happiness of +not one but two lives, that is why it is a matter of universal interest +in song and story; and that is why quite elderly people, removed by +half a century from such frivolities themselves, but nevertheless +possessed of memory and a little imagination, and still conscious that +life has been throughout a puzzle and a game of chance, and that even +in their case it might have turned out very differently, find +themselves awaiting with a strange curiosity and anxiety the decision +of some child of seventeen, knowing no more of the world than a baby +dormouse. + +On the other hand, the woman who does not marry is still less likely to +forget such an offer. Here, plainly enough, was a turning-point in her +life; what has happened since she owes to her decision then. And as an +unmarried life is naturally and necessarily an unfulfilled life, where +no great duty or purpose steps in to stop the gap, it is but little +wonder if in moments of disquietude or unrest the mind should travel +away in strange speculations, and if the memory of a particular person +should be kept very green indeed. Nan Beresford, at the age of twenty, +would have been greatly shocked if you had told her that during the +past three years she had been almost continually thinking about the +young sailor whom she had rejected at Bellagio. Had she not been most +explicit--even eagerly explicit? Had she not experienced an +extraordinary sense of relief when he was well away from the place, and +when she could prove to herself in close self-examination that she was +in no way to blame for what had occurred? She was a little sorry for +him, it is true; but she could not believe that it was a very serious +matter. He would soon forget that idle dream in the brisk realities of +his profession, and he would show that he was not like those other +young men who came fluttering round her sisters with their simmering +sentimentalities and vain flirtations. Above all, she had been +explicit. That episode was over and closed. It was attached to +Bellagio; leaving Bellagio, they would leave it also behind. And she +was glad to get away from Bellagio. + +Yes; Nan would have been greatly shocked if you had told her that +during these three years she had been frequently thinking of Frank +King--except, of course, in the way any one may think of an officer in +Her Majesty's Navy, whose name sometimes appears in the Admiralty +appointments in the newspapers. Her mind was set on far other and +higher things. It was the churches and pictures of Italy that began +it--the frescoes in the cloisters, the patient sculpture, telling of +the devotion of lives, even the patient needlework on the altars. She +seemed to breathe the atmosphere of an Age of Faith. And when, after a +long period of delightful reverie abroad, and mystical enjoyment of +music and architecture and painting, all combining to place their +noblest gifts at the service of religion, she returned to her familiar +home in Brighton, some vague desire still remained her heart that she +might be able to make something beautiful of her life, something less +selfish and worldly than the lives of most she saw around her. And it +so happened that among her friends those who seemed to her most earnest +in their faith and most ready to help the poor and the suffering--those +who had the highest ideals of existence and strove faithfully to reach +these--were mainly among the High Church folk. Insensibly she drew +nearer and nearer to them. She took no interest at all in any of the +controversies then raging about the position of the Ritualists in the +Church of England; it was persons, not principles, that claimed her +regard; and when she saw that So-and-so and So-and-so in her own small +circle of friends were living, or striving to live, pure and noble and +self-sacrificing lives, she threw in her lot with them, and she was +warmly welcomed. For Nan was popular in a way. All that acerbity of +her younger years had now ripened into a sort of sweet and tolerant +good-humour. Tom Beresford called her a Papist, and angrily told her +to give up 'that incense-dodge;' but he was very fond of her all the +same, and honoured her alone with his confidence, and would have no one +say any ill of her. Nay, for her sake he consented to be civil to the +Rev. Mr. Jacomb. + +Of Charles Jacomb it needs only be said at present that he had recently +been transferred to an extremely High Church at Brighton from an +equally High Church in a large, populous, and poor parish in the +south-east of London, where the semi-Catholic services had succeeded in +attracting a considerable number of people, who otherwise would +probably have gone to no church at all. It was his description of his +work in this neighbourhood that had won for him the respect and warm +esteem of Nan Beresford. The work was hard. The services were almost +continuous; there was a great deal of visitation to be got through; in +these labours he naturally ran against cases of distress that no human +being could withstand; and he had 60 pounds a year. Moreover, there +were no delicate compensations such as attend the labours of curates in +some more favoured places. There was not--Mr. Jacomb emphatically +remarked--there was not a gentleman in the parish. When he went to +Brighton he had considerably less work, and a great deal more of +dinners and society, and pleasant attentions. And Mr. Jacomb, while he +was a devoted, earnest, and hard-working priest, was also an +Englishman, and liked his dinner, and that was how he became acquainted +with the Beresfords, and gradually grew to be an intimate friend of the +family. His attentions to Nan were marked, and she knew it. She knew, +although he had said nothing to her about it, that he wished her to be +his wife; and though she would rather have been enabled to devote her +life to some good end in some other way, was not this the only way open +to her? By herself, she was so helpless to do anything. So many of +her friends seemed to cultivate religion as a higher species of +emotion--a sort of luxurious satisfaction that ended with themselves. +Nan wanted to do something. If Mr. Jacomb had still been in the +south-east of London, working on his 60 pounds a year, Nan would have +had no doubt as to what she ought to do. + +But Nan had very serious doubt; more than that, she sometimes broke +down, and delivered herself over to the devil. At such times a strange +yearning would take possession of her; the atmosphere of exalted +religious emotion in which she lived would begin to feel stifling; at +all costs, she would have to get out of this hot-house, and gain a +breath of brisk sea air. And then she would steal away like a guilty +thing on one of her long land cruises along the coast; and she would +patiently talk to the old shepherds on the downs, and wait for their +laconic answers; and she would make observations to the coastguardsmen +about the weather; and always her eyes, which were very clear and +long-sighted, were on the outlook for Singing Sal. Then if by some +rare and happy chance she did run across that free-and-easy vagrant, +they always had a long chat together--Sal very respectful, the young +lady very matter-of-fact; and generally the talk came round to be about +sailors. Nan Beresford had got to know the rig of every vessel that +sailed the sea. Further than that, she herself was unaware that every +morning as she opened the newspaper she inadvertently turned first of +all to the 'Naval and Military Intelligence,' until + +she had acquired an extraordinary knowledge of the goings and comings +and foreign stations of Her Majesty's ships. And if she sometimes +reflected that most officers were transferred to home stations for a +time, or took their leave in the ordinary way, and also that she had +never heard of Captain King--for she saw he had been made Commander on +account of some special service--being in England, was it not natural +that she might have a secret consciousness that she was perhaps +responsible for his long banishment? + +But these solitary prowls along the coast, and these conferences with +Singing Sal, were wrong; and she knew they were wrong; and she went +back to the calmer atmosphere of those beautiful services in which the +commonplace, vulgar world outside was forgotten. She grew, indeed, to +have a mysterious feeling that to her the Rev. Charles Jacomb +personified religion, and that Singing Sal, in like manner, was a sort +of high priestess of Nature; and that they were in deadly antagonism. +They were Ormuzd and Ahriman. She was a strangely fanciful young +woman, and she dwelt much on this thing, until, half fearing certain +untoward doubts and promptings of her heart, she began to think that if +now and at once Mr. Jacomb would only ask her to be his wife, she would +avoid all perils and confusions by directly accepting him, and so +decide her future for ever. + +But that morning that brought her Madge's letter saying that Captain +Frank King was in Brighton, Nan was singularly disturbed. She was +staying with the Rev. Mr. Clark and his wife--an old couple who liked +to have their house brightened occasionally by the presence of some one +of younger years. They were good people--very, very good; and a little +tedious. Nan, however, was allowed considerable liberty, and was +sometimes away the whole day from breakfast-time till dinner. + +Madge had written her letter in a hurry; but did not post it, in her +inconsequential fashion, until the afternoon of the next day, so that +Nan got it on the morning of the following day. She read and re-read +it; and then, somehow, she wanted to think about it in the open--under +the wide skies, near the wide sea. She wanted to go out--and think. +And she was a little bit terrified to find that her heart was beating +fast. + +She made some excuse or other after breakfast, and departed. It was a +clear, beautiful December morning, the sun shining brilliantly on the +evergreens and on the red houses of the bright, clean, picturesque, +English-looking old town. She went down to the station, and waited for +the first train going to Newhaven. When it came in, she took her +place, and away the train went, at no breakneck speed, down the wide +valley of the Ouse, which, even on this cold December morning, looked +pleasant and cheerful enough. For here and there the river caught a +steely-blue light from the sky overhead; and the sunshine shone along +the round chalk hills; and there were little patches of villages far +away among the dusk of the leafless trees, where the church spire +rising into the blue seemed to attract the wheeling of pigeons. To Nan +it was all a familiar scene; she frequently spent the day in this +fashion. + +Nan was now three years older than when we last saw her at Bellagio. +Perhaps she had not grown much prettier--and she never had great +pretensions that way; but along with the angularity, so to speak, of +her ways of thinking, she had also lost the boniness of her figure. +She was now more fully formed, though her figure was still slender and +graceful; and she had acquired a grave and sweet expression, that spoke +of a very kindly, humorous, tolerant nature within. Children came to +her readily; and she let them pull her hair. She was incapable of a +harsh judgment. The world seemed beautiful to her; and she enjoyed +living--especially when she was on the high downs overlooking the sea. + +This getting out into the open was on this occasion a great relief to +her. She argued with herself. What did it matter to her whether Frank +King were in Brighton, or even that he had been at the house in +Brunswick Terrace, dining, and playing billiards? He had probably +forgotten that ever he had been at Bellagio. She was glad the weather +was fine. No doubt her sisters would soon be setting out for their +morning stroll down the pier. + +Nan had taken her ticket for Newhaven Wharf, with a vague intention of +walking from thence by the short cut to Seaford, and from Seaford to +Alfriston, and so back to Lewes. However, when the train stopped she +thought she would have a look at the harbour, and very pretty and +bright and busy it appeared on this clear morning; the brass and copper +of the steamers all polished up, flags flying, the sun brilliant on the +green water of the estuary and on the blue water of the ponds beyond +that were ruffled with the wind. Then, just below her, came in the +ferry-boat. She thought she would cross (though that was not the way +to Seaford). When she got to the other side, the slopes leading up to +the fort seemed temptingly high; she knew that from the summit of the +downs this morning one would have a splendid view. And so, perhaps +from mere habit, she took the old familiar road--past the coastguard +station, past the pools of ruffled water, up the valley by the +farmstead, and so on to the high and solitary downs overlooking the +wide moving, shining sea. + +Brighton ought to be fair and beautiful on such a morning as this; +perhaps by-and-by she might come to have a glimpse of the pale yellow +terraces of the distant town. No doubt by this time Edith and Madge +were on the pier--Madge with her red skirt and black sealskin coat. +Madge always dressed smartly--perhaps even a trifle boldly. The band +would be playing now. In the sheltered places it would be almost warm; +there you could sit down and talk and watch the ships go by. She +supposed that in course of time they would go back for luncheon. That +was always a merry meal at home. They generally had visitors whom they +had met casually--on the pier, or in the King's Road. + +So Nan was thinking and dreaming as she walked idly along, when her +attention was suddenly arrested by a sound as of music. She looked +round; there was no human being in sight; and the telegraph wires, +which sometimes deceived the ear, were far too far away. Then as she +went on again, she discovered whence the sound proceeded--from a little +wooden hut facing the sea, which had probably been erected there as a +shelter for the coastguardsmen. As she drew nearer, she recognised the +staccato twanging of a guitar; so she made sure this was Singing Sal. +She drew nearer still--her footsteps unheard on the smooth turf--and +then she discovered that Sal was singing away to herself, not for +amusement, as was her wont, but for practice. There were continual +repetitions. Nan got quite close to the hut, and listened. + +Singing Sal was doing her very best. She was singing with very great +effect; and she had a hard, clear voice that could make itself heard, +if it was not of very fine quality. But what struck Nan was the clever +fashion in which this woman was imitating the Newcastle burr. It was a +pitman's song, with a refrain something like this-- + + _Ho thy way_,[1] my bonnie bairn, + _Ho thy way_, upon my airm, + _Ho thy way_, thou still may learn + To say Dada sae bonnie. + +It was very clear that Sal was proud of her performance; and she had a +good right to be, for she had caught the guttural accent to perfection. +For the rest it was an instructive song to be sung as a lullaby to a +child; for this was what Nan more or less made out amid the various +experiments and repetitions:-- + + Oh, Johnnie is a clever lad; + Last neet he fuddled all he had; + This morn he wasna very bad; + He looked the best of ony! + + When Johnnie's drunk he'll tak a knife, + And threaten sair to hae my life: + Wha wadna be a pitman's wife, + To hae a lad like Johnnie! + + Yonder's Johnnie coming noo; + He looks the best of a' the crew! + They've all gone to the barley moo, + To hae a glass wi' Johnny. + + So let's go get the bacon fried, + And let us mak a clean fireside, + And when he comes he will thee ride + Upon his knee sae cannie. + + _Ho thy way_, my bonnie bairn, + _Ho thy way_, upon my airm, + _Ho thy way_, thou still may learn + To say Dada sae bonnie! + +But this was likely to go on for ever; so Nan quietly stepped round to +the door of the hut, where she found Singing Sal sitting on the little +cross bench, entirely occupied with her guitar and the new song. When +she looked up, on finding the door darkened, she did not scream; her +nerves were not excitable. + +'Oh, dear me, is it you, Miss?' she said. 'No wonder I did not hear +ye; for I was making enough noise myself. I hope you are very well, +Miss; it is many a day since I have seen you on the downs.' + +'I have been living in Lewes for some time,' said Nan. 'I have been +listening to the song you were singing. That is not the kind of song +that sailors like, is it?' + +So they had begun about sailors again; and the good genius Ormuzd was +clean forgotten. + + + +[1] A corruption, I am told, of 'haud thy way'--'hold on thy way.' The +song is a common one in the North of England. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +AT HOME. + +All that night, as Frank King had feared, a heavy gale from the +south-west raged furiously; the wind shaking the houses with violent +gusts; the sea thundering along the beach. But in the morning, when +Brighton awoke, it found that the worst of the storm had passed over, +leaving only a disturbed and dangerous look about the elements, and +also a singular clearness in the air, so that the low hard colours of +water and land and sky were strangely intense and vivid. Near the +shore the sea had been beaten into a muddy brown; then that melted into +a cold green farther out; and that again deepened and deepened until it +was lost in a narrow line of ominous purple, black just where the sea +met the vague and vaporous gray sky. In fact, at this moment, the +seaward view from any Brighton window resembled nothing so much as an +attempt at water-colour that a schoolgirl has got into a hopeless mess +through washing and washing away at her skies, until she has got her +heaviest colour smudged over the horizon-line. + +But then that was only temporary. Every few minutes another change +would steal over this strange, shifting, clear, dark world. Sometimes +a long streak of sunny green--as sharp as the edge of a knife--far out +at sea told that there was some unseen rift declaring itself overhead +in that watery sky. Then a pale grayness would come up from the +south-west and slowly cover over Worthing as with a veil; and then +again that could be seen to go trailing away inland, and the long spur +beyond the bay appear blacker than ever. Sometimes too, as if in +contrast with all these cold hard tones and colours, a wonder of light +would slowly concentrate on the far cliffs in the east, until Seaford +Head became a mass of glorified golden white, hung apparently between +sea and sky. Altogether, it was not a day to tempt fashionable folk to +go out for their accustomed promenade; and assuredly it was not a day, +supposing them bent on going out, to suggest that they should be too +elaborate about their costume. + +Nevertheless, when Miss Madge Beresford came into the billiard-room, +where her brother was patiently practising the spot stroke, her +appearance seemed to produce a great effect. + +'Well, we _have_ got on a swagger dress this time!' cried Mr. Tom, who, +though he had never been to Oxford, was a genuine free-trader in slang, +and was ready to import it from anywhere. + +He stared at her--at her dark Indian-red hat and skirt, and her long +tight-fitting black sealskin coat--and she bore the scrutiny patiently. + +'You are not going out on a morning like this?' he said, at length. + +'There is no rain now; and the streets are quite dry,' pleaded Madge. +'I know it's going to be fine.' + +'It's no use, Baby. There won't be a soul to admire your new dress. +Better go and finish those slippers for me.' + +He proceeded with his billiards. + +'Won't you come, Tom?' she said. 'I went to the bazaar with you, when +you wanted to see Kate Harman.' + +'Wanted to see Kate Harman?' he said, contemptuously. 'Couldn't +anybody see Kate Harman who paid half-a-crown at the door?' + +'But I took you up and introduced you to her.' + +'Introduced me to her! What introduction do you need at a stall at a +bazaar, except to pay a couple of sovereigns for a shilling's worth of +scent? Who told you I wanted to speak to Kate Harman? I'll tell you +what it is, Baby; it's very unladylike to impute motives.' + +'I never did anything of the kind,' said his sister, hotly. 'Never.' + +She did not quite understand what accusation had been brought against +her; but she did not like the sound of the word 'unladylike.' + +'Very well,' said he, laying down his cue, 'since you say I am +incapable of speaking the truth, I suppose I must go and walk up and +down the pier with you. There's one thing sure: I shan't be stared at.' + +So he went and got his hat and cane and gloves, and when he had +buttoned himself all over into the smallest possible compass, he called +for his sister, and together they went out into the gusty, clear, +sea-scented morning. + +They had the spacious thoroughfare nearly to themselves, though the +pavements were fairly dry now. For the day was wild-looking still, the +occasional gleam of sunlight was spectral and watery, and a black +shadow melting into a soft gray told of showers falling far away at +sea. At a great many drawing-room windows, coffee-room windows, club +windows, were people standing, their hands behind their back, +apparently uncertain whether or not to venture out. And no doubt some +of these, remarking Tom and Madge Beresford pass, must have thought +they formed a very handsome couple--the tall, well-built young fellow +who looked three-and-twenty, though he was not so much, and the pretty +girl of eighteen who also had a good figure and walked well. Their +features were much alike too; most would have guessed them to be +brother and sister. + +'I observe,' remarked Mr. Tom, profoundly, as he gazed with admiration +at his own boots, 'that when I come out with you, Baby, I have to do +all the talking. When I go out with Nan, now, she does it all and I am +amused. It isn't that I am selfish; but a girl come to your time of +life--a woman indeed--ought to cultivate the art of amusing people. +There is a want of originality about you----' + +'There is a want of politeness about you,' said Miss Madge, calmly. + +'There is not that flow of ideas that helps one to pass the time. Now +that ought to be the business of women. Men who have the hard work of +the world to get through require to be entertained, and women should +make a study of it, and learn to be amusing----' + +'You won't talk like that to your rich widow,' said his sister, 'when +you have to go to her for a cheque.' + +'Now, there's what I would call a sort of vacuity in your mind,' he +continued, bending his cane from time to time on the pavement, 'that +might be filled up with something. You might read the newspapers. You +might get to know that a Conservative Government and a Liberal +Government are not in office at the same time--not generally, at least.' + +'Tom,' she said, 'do you think you could get Captain King to come to +the Hunt ball?' + +He glanced at her suspiciously. + +'Captain King?' said he. 'How do you know I am going to see Captain +King again? How do you know that he did not go back to town this +morning?' + +'Because,' she answered, with her eyes fixed on some distant object, +'because I can see him on the pier.' + +Tom Beresford had a quick, dark suspicion that he had been made a fool +of, even while he was lecturing his sister on her ignorance; but he was +not going to admit anything of the kind. + +'Yes,' he said, carelessly, 'I fancy that is King coming along. I hope +he won't be gone before we get there; I want him to tell me where he +gets his boots. Mine aren't bad, you know,' he said, glancing +approvingly at these important objects, 'but there's a style about his +that I rather fancy.' + +'Don't forget about the ball, Tom,' said his sister; 'it would be very +nice if we could get up a little party amongst ourselves.' + +But Tom, as he walked along, continued to glance down at his glazed +boots in a thoughtful and preoccupied manner; it was clear that his +mind was charged concerning them. + +Frank King was on the pier, and very few others besides, except the +musicians in their box. He threw away a cigar, and came forward +quickly. His face expressed much pleasure, though he regarded Madge +Beresford with something of timidity. + +'I was afraid you would not venture out on such a morning,' he said, +looking at the clear blue-gray eyes that were immediately turned away. + +Her manner was civil, but that was all. She shook hands with him, of +course, and regarded him for half a second; but then she turned aside +somewhat, so that he and Tom might talk together. For he was Mr. Tom's +friend, and no doubt they might have something to say to each other +about boots or cigars, or such things. + +However, the three of them very soon found themselves walking together, +up towards the end of the empty pier, and Tom was in an amazingly good +humour, and did his best to amuse this new friend. They sat down where +they were sheltered from the gusts of wind, and listened a little to +the music, and talked a great deal--though Madge chiefly listened. +Madge pretended to be mostly interested in the music, and in the few +more people who had now been tempted to come down the pier; but she +knew that while her brother and Captain King were very busy talking, +the latter was very frequently regarding her. What she did not know +was that he was trying to make himself believe that that was Nan who +was sitting there. + +Then they went for a stroll again, and they looked at the kiosques, and +they took refuge from a few passing drops of rain; and they hurried to +see a heavy fishing-smack go by the end of the pier, beating out +against the south-westerly wind. And although Frank King again and +again addressed her, as was demanded of him, she did not enter much +into conversation with him. He was Tom's friend, she let it be +understood. Nevertheless, she met his eyes once or twice, and she had +a pleasant and amiable look. + +She began to think that there must be something very striking and +attractive about this young sailor, when even her brother Tom--who +seemed to consider that the whole world should wait upon his +highness--so clearly went out of his way to make himself agreeable. +Not only that, but when they had had enough of the pier, and had taken +a stroll or two along the King's Road, bringing the time to nearly one +o'clock, what must Mr. Tom do but insist that Frank King should come in +and lunch with them? + +'Well, I will,' said he, 'if you will dine with me at the hotel in the +evening. Dining by yourself at a hotel is not exhilarating.' + +'But you'd far better dine with us too,' said Mr. Tom, boldly. + +'Oh, I can't do that,' said Frank King--but with a slight increase of +colour, which showed that he wished he could. 'Even as it is, I am +afraid Lady Beresford will think it rather cool if I turn up again now.' + +'Oh, you don't know what Brighton is at this time of year,' said Mr. +Tom. 'All the resident people like ourselves keep open house, don't +you know? and very glad to. We never know how many are coming in to +lunch; but then they put up with anything; and it's great fun; it's an +occupation for idle people. Then, when you've got a billiard-table, +they can turn to that on wet days. Or Edith can give them some music; +they say she's rather a swell at it. You see, everybody is in Brighton +in December, with friends or in hotels; and, as I say, it's a case of +open house and take your chance.' + +'We are more formal, and a little duller, in Wiltshire,' said Frank +King. 'I wish you'd come to Kingscourt for a few days. We haven't +shot the best of the covers yet.' + +Those who thought that Tom Beresford was a foolish youth knew nothing +about him. Without a hum or a ha he said-- + +'Yes, I will. When?' + +'I'm going back for Christmas. Of course you'll have to stay here with +your sisters. As soon after that as you can manage.' + +'I could come to you on the 27th or 28th.' + +'That's settled then. I will write and let you know about trains and +things.' + +As luck, good or ill, would have it, there was no other visitor at +lunch; the party consisting of Lady Beresford, her two daughters, Mr. +Tom, and Captain Frank King. But Mr. Tom was in high spirits over this +prospective visit to Kingscourt, and was most amiable to everybody and +everything; he even said that he himself would go through to Lewes and +fetch Nan home for Christmas. + +Now this was odd: that, whenever Nan's name was mentioned, Frank King +always glanced up with a quick look, as if he were surprised. Was he +beginning to believe, then, as he had tried to make himself believe, +that this was the real Nan Beresford now on the other side of the +table? Was he surprised to be reminded of the other Nan far away--and +now no doubt greatly altered from her former self? Madge Beresford was +aware that her neighbour opposite regarded her very frequently--and she +pretended not to be conscious of it; but once or twice when she looked +up and her eyes met his, she thought there was an oddly wistful or even +puzzled expression in those dark blue eyes that Edith was always +talking about. + +After luncheon Lady Beresford retired to her room, as was her wont; the +two young ladies went upstairs to the drawing-room, and Captain King +accompanied them, for Madge had asked him to advise her about the +rigging of some boats she had been sketching. Mr. Tom remained below +to practise the spot stroke. + +In the drawing-room Miss Edith hoped that her playing a little would +not interfere with their artistic pursuits; and Madge went and got her +sketch-book and water-colours, and carried them to a small table at one +of the windows, and sat down. Captain King remained standing. + +The sketches, to tell the truth, were as bad as bad could be. They +were all experimental things, done out of her own head, aiming at a +land of the beautiful, unknown to anybody on earth but the +chromo-lithographer. The actual sea was out there, staring her in the +face, and there were boats on the beach and boats on the water; but +instead of trying her hand at anything before her, she must needs +imagine lovely pictures, mostly of blue and pink, with goats perched on +brown crags, and an ill-drawn eagle soaring over an Alpine peak. There +were, however, one or two sketches of mist or moonlight or thunderstorm +that had certainly a weird and eerie effect; but it was not necessary +to tell the spectator that these had been got in moments of impatience +when, after laborious trials at brilliant-hued scenes, the angry artist +had taken up a big brush and washed the whole thing into +chaos--thereby, to her astonishment, reaching something, she did not +know exactly what, that was at all events mysterious and harmonious in +tone. + +But it was the shipping about which she had sought his advice. The +little white dots on blue lakes that were supposed to be feluccas or +barchettas he passed; but when it came to a big sailing-boat lying on a +beach, and that beach presumably Cornish, from the colour of the rocks, +he made a civil and even timid remonstrance. + +'I don't think I would have the mast quite in the middle of the boat, +if I were you,' said he, gently. + +'I thought it always was,' she said--and yet if she had gone to the +window she might have seen. + +'If it is a lugger, you see,' he continued, giving her all sorts of +chances of escape, 'the mast would be at the bow. And if it is a +cutter, you would still have to put the mast farther forward, and give +her a boom and a bowsprit. Or if it is a yawl, then you would have a +little jigger-mast astern--about there----' + +'Oh, I can't be expected to know things like that,' she said. +'Scientific accuracy isn't wanted. They're only sketches.' + +'Yes; oh yes,' he said. + +'Won't that boat do?' she demanded. + +'Oh yes, it will do,' he said, fearful of offending her. 'It isn't +exactly where they put masts, you know; but then few people know about +boats or care about them.' + +She was not very well pleased; but she continued to show him more +sketches, until Mr. Tom came up to see when they were coming to +billiards. + +'I shouldn't have shown you these at all,' she said, 'I don't take +interest in them myself. I would far rather draw and paint flowers; +but we never have any flowers now except those waxen-looking heaths and +that flaming pointsettia over there.' + +'What did you call it, Madge?' said Mr. Tom. + +'I called it pointsettia,' she said, with dignity. + +'Gamekeeper's Greek, I should say,' he remarked, with his hands in his +pockets. 'A cross between a pointer and a setter. You shouldn't use +long words, Madge. Come along down.' + +But this mention of flowers put a new idea into the head of Captain +Frank King. That very morning he had passed a window where he had seen +all sorts of beautiful blossoms, many of them lying in cotton +wool--pink and white camellias, white hyacinths, scarlet geraniums, +lilies of the valley, and what not. Now might he not be permitted to +send Miss Margaret a selection of these rare blossoms--not as a formal +bouquet at all, but merely for the purposes of painting? They would +simply be materials for an artist; and they would look well in a pretty +basket, on a soft cushion of wool. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +A MESSAGE. + +Frank King could never exactly define what peculiarities of mind, or +person, or manner it was that had so singularly attracted him in Nan +Beresford, though he had spent many a meditative hour on board ship in +thinking about her. In any case, that boyish fancy was one that a few +years' absence might very well have been expected to cure. But the +very opposite had happened. Perhaps it was the mere hopelessness of +the thing that made him brood the more over it, until it took +possession of his life altogether. He kept resolutely abroad, so that +he had but few chances of falling in love with somebody else, which is +the usual remedy in such cases. When at length he was summoned home, +about the first news that reached him was of Nan's contemplated +marriage. He was not surprised. And when he consented to go down to +Brighton with her brother, it was that he might have just one more +glimpse of one whom he always had known was lost to him. He had +nothing to reproach her or himself with. It was all a misfortune, and +nothing more. But his life had been changed for him by that mere +boyish fancy. + +Then came that wonderful new hope. Nan was away; Nan was impossible; +but here was the very counterpart of Nan; and why should he not +transfer all that lingering love and admiration from the one sister to +the other who so closely resembled her? It was the prompting of +despair as much as anything else. He argued with himself. He tried to +make himself believe that this was really Nan--only grown a year or so +older than the Nan whom he had last seen at Como. Of course there must +be differences; people changed with the changing years. Sometimes he +turned away, so that he might only hear her; and her voice was like +Nan's. + +Now, if Frank King was busy persuading himself that this transference +of affection was not only natural and possible, but indeed the easiest +and simplest thing in the world, it must be admitted that he obtained +every help and encouragement from Madge Beresford herself. She was +more than kind to him; she was attentive; she professed great respect +for his opinions; and she did her best to conceal--or rather let us say +subdue--her bad temper. And they were very much together during these +two or three days. Frank King, being on such intimate terms of +friendship with Mr. Tom, had almost become an inmate of the house. His +being carried off to lunch, when they met him in the rooming, was a +matter of course. Then he watched Madge paint, and listened to Edith's +music; or they all went downstairs and played billiards, and by that +time it was the hour for the afternoon promenade. It was no matter to +them that December afternoons are short, and sometimes cold; one's +health must be preserved despite the weather; and then again, Brighton +looked very picturesque in the gathering dusk, with the long rows of +her golden lamps. To observe this properly, however, you ought to go +out on the pier; and although at that hour at that time of the year +there is not a human being to be found there, that need not interfere +with your appreciation of the golden-lit spectacle. + +Moreover, Mr. Tom was a tyrant. When he had settled that Captain King +might as well remain to dinner, instead of going away to dine by +himself at his hotel, it was no use for Captain King to resist. And +then Tom's invitation, for mere courtesy sake, had to be repeated by +Lady Beresford, and prettily seconded by the two girls. No such +favours, be it observed, were showered on the effervescent Roberts or +on young Thynne; Mr. Tom had taken the sailor suitor under his +protection; there was to be a distinction drawn. + +One night, just after Frank King had left, Tom and his sister were by +themselves in the billiard-room. + +'I want to speak to you, Madge,' said he, in a tone that meant +something serious. + +'Very well, then.' + +'Now, none of your airs and pretence,' he said. 'You needn't try to +gammon me.' + +'If you would talk English, one might understand you,' she said, +spitefully. + +'You understand me well enough. When you were on the pier, this +morning your eyes were just as wide open as anybody's. And again this +afternoon, when you were up on the Marine Parade.' + +Madge flushed a little, but said nothing. + +'You know as well as anybody that that fellow Hanbury is hanging +about,' said Tom, regarding her with suspicion. 'He is always +loitering round, dodging after you. And I won't have it. I'll write +to the Chief Clerk if he doesn't mind.' + +'I don't suppose the Chief Clerk and the Vice-Chancellor and the whole +lot of them,' said Madge, pretending to be much interested in the tip +of her cue, 'can expel a person from Brighton who is doing no harm.' + +'Doing no harm? If you didn't encourage him, do you think he'd hang +about like that? If he knew distinctly you wanted him to be off, do +you think he'd spend his time slinking about the streets? I believe he +has been writing to you again.' + +This was quite a random shot, but it told. + +'He sent me one letter--not in his own handwriting,' Madge confessed, +diffidently. + +'Show it to me!' + +'I can't. I burned it. I was afraid. Tom, you wouldn't get the poor +fellow into trouble!' + +'I've no patience with you!' he said angrily. 'Why can't you be fair +and aboveboard? Why don't you send the fellow about his business at +once----' + +'Well, I have.' + +'Why don't you settle the thing straight? You know Frank King wants to +marry you: anybody can see that. Why don't you have him, and be done +with it?' + +Madge turned away a little, and said with a very pretty smile, + +'And so I would, if he would ask me.' + +Well, Mr. Tom thought he knew something of the ways of womankind, from +having been brought up among so many; but this fairly took his breath +away. He stared at her. He laid down his cue. + +'Well, I'm smashed,' he said at length. And then he added slowly, 'I'm +glad I've got nothing to do with you women. I believe you'd roast any +fellow alive, and then cut him into bits for fourpence-half-penny. It +isn't more than three months since you were crying your eyes out about +that fellow Hanbury----' + +'You were as anxious as any one he should be sent away,' retorted +Madge. 'It appears I can't please every one. Perhaps, on the whole, +it would be as well to continue the game, for I only want three to be +out.' + +Tom gave up. He continued the game, and played so savagely and so well +that poor Madge never got her three. And he did not recur to that +subject except to say the last thing at night, as the girls were +leaving-- + +'Look here, Madge, that fellow Hanbury had better take care.' + +'I suppose he can look after himself,' said Madge. 'I have nothing to +do with him. Only you can't expect me not to be sorry for him. And +how am I to send him away when I dare not speak to him? And do you +think the streets of Brighton belong to me?' + +Tom again gave up, but was more convinced than ever that women were +strange creatures, who could not be straightforward even when they +tried. From that and similar generalisations, however, he invariably +excepted Nan. Nan did not belong to womankind as considered as a +section of the human race. Nan was Nan. + +The next afternoon Captain King called to say good-bye. He found the +girls very busy over Christmas cards. Madge was painting little +studies of flowers for exceptionally favoured people, and she invited +him to look over these. + +'They are very pretty,' he said. 'I hope the people who are fortunate +enough to get them will value them. I mean they are not like ordinary +Christmas cards.' + +'Oh, if you like them,' said Madge, modestly, 'you might take one for +yourself.' + +'May I?' he said, regarding her, 'and may I choose the one?' + +'Oh yes, certainly,' she answered, + +'I know the one I should like to take,' he said, still regarding her. +'This one.' + +It was a little bit of forget-me-not, very nicely painted--from memory. +He showed it to her. + +'May I take this one with me?' he said. + +'Yes,' she answered, in a very low voice, and with her eyes cast down. + +After that there was a brief silence, only broken by the sound of Miss +Edith's pen, that young lady being at the other side of the table +addressing envelopes. + +Captain Frank went back to Wiltshire, greatly treasuring that bit of +cardboard, and making it the basis of many audacious guesses at the +future. Nan came home from Lewes for Christmas; and Madge was +particularly affectionate towards her. + +'What pretty flowers you have!' Nan said, just after she had +arrived--the first time, indeed, she went into the dining-room. + +'Yes,' Madge answered, 'Captain King sent me flowers once or twice, and +some of them have kept very well. But I wish they wouldn't wire them.' + +Nan turned away quickly towards the window, and said nothing. + +Then Tom went down to Wiltshire, and was most warmly received at +Kingscourt. Also pretty Mary Coventry, who was still staying in the +house, was kind to this handsome, conceited boy; and he was rather +smitten; but he kept a tight hold on himself. + +'No,' he said to himself, 'I'm not going to marry any woman; I know too +much about them.' + +He had a royal time of it altogether; but most of all he enjoyed the +quieter days, when he and Frank King went shooting rabbits on the +heath. It was sharp, brisk work in the cold weather, better than +standing in wet ploughed fields outside woods and waiting until both +toes and fingers got benumbed. There was no formality in this +business, and no ladies turning up at lunch, and no heart-breaking when +one missed. Frank King was excessively kind to him. Not caring very +much for shooting himself, he was content to become Mr. Tom's henchman; +and they got on very well together. Further, in the smoking-room at +night these two were thrown on each other's conversation--for old Mr. +King did not smoke--and it was remarkable how interesting Captain King +found his friend's talk. It was mostly about Madge and her sisters; +and Frank King listened eagerly, and always would have Mr. Tom have +another cigarette, while he was busy drawing imaginative pictures, and +convincing himself more and more that Madge was no other than Nan, and +that life had begun again for him, with all sorts of beautiful +possibilities in it. For he could not be blind to the marked favour +that the young lady had shown him; and he had long ceased to have any +fear of the shadowy Hanbury who was skulking somewhere unregarded in +the background. + +At length one night Captain Frank, in a burst of confidence, told Mr. +Tom all about it, and asked him to say honestly what he thought the +chances were. Would Lady Beresford have any objection? Would Miss +Margaret consider he had not known her sufficiently long or intimately? +What was Mr. Tom's own opinion? + +Mr. Tom flushed uneasily. + +'I--well, you see--I keep out of that kind of thing as a rule. Women +have such confounded queer ways. You're sure to put your foot into it +if you intermeddle. These girls are always worrying people about their +sweethearts--all but Nan. I wish to goodness they were all married; my +life is made a burden to me amongst them.' + +'But what do you think, Beresford? Haven't you any opinion? What +would you do in a similar case?' + +'I?' said Mr. Tom, with a laugh, 'I suppose I should ask the girl; and +if she didn't like to say yes, she could do the other thing.' + +'But--do you think there would be a chance?' + +'Write and see,' said Mr. Tom, with another laugh; further than that he +would not interfere. + +Frank King considered for a time; and at last boldly determined to act +on this advice. He sat up late that night, concocting a skilful, +cautious, appealing letter; and as he re-wrote it carefully, all by +himself, in the silence, it seemed to him almost as if he were +beseeching Nan to reconsider the verdict she had given at Bellagio more +than three years before. Life would begin all over again if only she +would say yes. Sometimes he found himself thinking of that ball in +Spring Gardens; and of her startled shyness, and of her winning +confidence, and anxious wish to please; until he recollected that it +was Madge to whom he was writing, and that Madge had never been to the +ball at all. + +This fateful missive was left to be despatched the first thing in the +morning; and at the very least there must needs be two or three days' +interval. But it cannot be said that he passed this time in terrible +anxiety. He was secretly hopeful; so much so that he had begged Mr. +Tom, who ought to have gone back before this time, to wait another day +or so. His private reason was that he hoped to accompany Madge's +brother to Brighton. + +All the same, the crisis of a man's life cannot approach without +causing some mental disturbance, even in the most hopeful. Long before +the Kingscourt family had assembled round the breakfast-table, Frank +King had ridden over, on these two or three cold mornings, to the +postal town, which was nearly two miles off, so that he should not have +to wait for the arrival of the bag. And at last came a letter with the +Brighton postmark. He glanced at the handwriting, and thought it was +Madge's. That was enough. He put it in his pocket without opening it; +went out and got on his horse; and went well outside the little town +into the quietude of the lanes before putting his hand into his pocket +again and taking the letter out. + +No, he was not very apprehensive about the result, or he could not have +carried the letter thus far unopened. But all the same the contents +surprised him. He had expected, at the worst, some mild refusal on the +ground of haste; and, at the best, an evasive hint that he might come +to Brighton and talk to Lady Beresford. But all the writing on this +sheet of paper consisted of two words, '_From Madge;_' and what +accompanied them was a bit of forget-me-not--not painted, this time, +but a bit of the real flower. It was a pretty notion. It confessed +much, without saying much. There was a sort of maiden reticence about +it, and yet kindness, and hope. What Frank King did not know was +this--that it was Nan Beresford who had suggested that answer to his +letter. + +He never knew how he got home that morning. He was all in a tempest of +eagerness and delight; he scarcely lived in to-day--it was next day. +It was the future that seemed to be around him. He burst into his +friend's bed-room before the breakfast gong had sounded. + +'Beresford, I'll go with you whenever you like now. Whenever you like. +I'm going to Brighton with you, I mean.' + +'Oh, that's it, is it?' said Mr. Tom, without looking up--he was tying +his shoes. + +'I've heard from your sister, you know----' + +'I thought so. It's all right then, is it?' + +'I hope so. I'm very glad it's settled. And you know I don't want to +turn you out of the house; but you've been very kind, waiting a day or +two longer; and I _should_ like to get to Brighton at once.' + +'I'll start in five minutes if you like,' said Mr. Tom, coolly, having +finished with his shoes. 'And I suppose I ought to congratulate you. +Well, I do. She's a very good sort of a girl. Only----' + +He hesitated. It was inauspicious. + +'What do you mean?' said Captain Frank. + +'Well, I've seen a good deal about women and their goings on, don't you +know?' said Mr. Tom, with a sort of shrug. 'They're always changing +and chopping and twisting about. The best way is to marry them +offhand, and take the nonsense out of them.' + +Captain Frank laughed. This was not at all alarming. And when it +became secretly known that Captain Frank was immediately going to +Brighton to secure his promised bride, there was a great, though +discreet rejoicing at Kingscourt; and even pretty Mary Coventry came +with her demure and laughing congratulations; and Mr. Tom was made more +of than ever during the few hours longer that he remained in the house. +Frank King had not time to think about Nan now; it was Madge Beresford +who had sent him that bit of forget-me-not. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +REVERIES. + +No sooner had Nan come back to Brighton again, and been installed once +more in her former position, than the whole house seemed to be pervaded +by a quite new sense of satisfaction, the cause of which was not even +guessed at. The wheels of the domestic machinery worked far more +smoothly; even the servants seemed to partake of the general brightness +and cheerfulness. Edith, the stupid sister, put it down to the +Christmas-time, and congratulated herself on her evergreens on the +walls. Mr. Tom observed that the house was far better managed when Nan +was at home: that meant that he found his slippers when he wanted them, +and that there was always a taper on the chimneypiece in the +billiard-room. Lady Beresford had all her little whims attended to; and +as for Madge, that young lady was greatly delighted to have a safe and +sure confidante. For she was much exercised at this time both with her +fears about Mr. Hanbury, who followed her about like a ghost, kept +silent by the dread of Vice-Chancellors and tipstaffs, and her vain +little hopes about Captain Frank King, whose intentions were scarcely a +matter of doubt. Nan listened in her grave, sweet way that had earned +for her, from Madge, the name of 'Old Mother Nan;' and then would say +some nice thing to her sister; and then would carry her away on some +charitable enterprise. + +For this was the Christmas time; and what with continual choral +services, and evergreens, and unearthly music in the still cold nights, +there was a sort of exaltation in the air; and Nan wished to be +practical. In consequence, Lady Beresford was gravely oppressed. + +'I do believe, Nan,' she said, vexedly, one morning as she was writing +out a cheque--'I do believe your only notion of Christianity is the +giving away coals.' + +'And a very good notion too,' said Tom, who would allow no one to say +anything against Nan. + +But then came that fateful letter from Frank King. It arrived on a +January morning--on a clear and brilliant forenoon, just as Nan and her +younger sister were going out for a walk, tempted by the sunlight and +the colours of the sea. Madge herself took it from the postman at the +door; glanced at the address, hastily opened the envelope, and guessed +at, rather than read, the contents. + +'Oh, Nan,' she said hurriedly, 'wait a moment. There is +something--something I want to speak to you about--come into the +dining-room--oh, do you know what this is, Nan?--Captain King has +written.' + +'Yes, dear,' said Nan, calmly and kindly, as she followed her into the +empty dining-room. + +'I must not show you the letter, must I?' said the younger sister, +eagerly, though she was herself still reading and re-reading it. 'But +you know what it is, Nan. And I must send an answer--oh, dear, what +shall I do?' + +'You ought to know, Madge,' her sister said. 'You were not unprepared, +surely. I thought you expected it. I thought you would have had your +mind made up.' + +'But it is so dreadful--so sudden--so terrible! Look at my hands--I am +all shaking. Oh, Nan, what would you do--what would you do if you were +me?' + +Nan seemed to be thinking of something far away; it was after a second +that she recalled herself to this question, and then she answered with +some astonishment-- + +'Don't you know your own mind, Madge?' + +'Well, I do in a way,' said the younger sister, still staring at the +letter. 'I like him well enough. I think it would do very well; and +there would be no trouble with any one. I am sorry for that poor fellow +Hanbury; but what _is_ the use of his hanging about, and keeping one +nervous? There is no use in it all--nothing but bother. And I know +Captain King is very fond of me, and I think he would be very kind; and +you know he is not going to sea again. And mamma would be pleased. Do +you think I should go to her now?' + +'What is the use of going to any one until you know what your mind is?' + +If the unhappy Hanbury could only have seen his sweetheart at this +moment--staring blankly at the open letter, with a doubt on her face +which was most probably inspired by some vague and tender recollection +of himself! What might not have happened if only he could have +intervened at this crisis, and appealed to her with eyes and speech, and +implored her to defy these terrible authorities in London? But Madge +kept looking at the letter; and then she shut it together; and then she +said with decision-- + +'I think it's the best thing I can do. Wait a minute, Nan; I'll go and +tell mamma.' + +When she came downstairs again she was quite radiant and eager in her +joy. + +'Oh, I'm so glad it's all settled and over. I'm so glad there'll be no +more worry and bother. And really Captain King is one of the +nicest-looking men we know--Edith has always said so--and he is so quiet +and pleasant in his manner, and very amusing too: that is because he has +no pretence. And grateful for small kindnesses; I suppose being so long +at sea, and not seeing so many people, he hasn't got blasé. Then he +never pretends to be bored--but why are you so solemn, Nan; doesn't it +please you?' + +Nan kissed her sister. + +'I hope you will be very happy, dear,' she said, in her grave, kind way. + +'Then I suppose I must answer his letter at once,' continued Madge, in +her excited way. 'But how am I to do it, Nan? See how my fingers are +all shaking; I couldn't write. And it would take me a month to find out +what to say--and here you are being kept in, when you are always wanting +to be out in the open air----' + +'Oh, don't mind me, Madge. I will stay in with pleasure, if you want +me.' + +'But you shan't stay in on my account, dear Mother Nan--not a bit of +it--not for all the men in the world. And yet I ought to send him a +message. I ought to write.' + +'I think, Madge,' the elder sister said, slowly, 'if that is any trouble +to you, you might send him a message he would understand, without your +writing much--a flower, perhaps----' + +'But what sort of flower?' said the younger sister, eagerly. + +Nan's face flushed somewhat, and she seemed embarrassed and slow to +answer. + +'You--you should know yourself,' she said, turning her eyes aside. 'Any +flower, perhaps--a bit of--of forget-me-not----' + +'Of course that would do very well; but where could you get +forget-me-nots just now?' + +Nan again hesitated; she seemed to be forcing herself to speak. + +'There's a little bit in a button-hole in ----'s window,' she said, at +last; 'I saw it there yesterday at least.' + +'Dear Mother Nan,' said Madge, enthusiastically, 'you are as clever as +twenty Vice-Chancellors! We will walk along at once, and see if it is +still there. And in the meantime I will write a word on a sheet of +paper--I can manage that anyway--and you might address an envelope----' + +'Oh no, I couldn't do that,' said Nan, inadvertently shrinking back. + +'Very well, I will struggle through it,' said Madge, blithely; and she +went and got writing-materials, and scrawled the few words necessary. + +They went out into the beautiful clear cold morning, and walked along +through the crowd of promenaders with their fresh-coloured faces and +furs telling of the wintry weather. And in due course of time they +arrived at the florist's window, and found the bit of forget-me-not +still in the little nosegay. Madge made no secret of her intention. +She opened up the nosegay on the counter of the shop; took out the piece +of forget-me-not; put it in the folded sheet of paper; and then +carefully--but with fingers no longer trembling--closed the envelope. +When they had come out again, and gone and posted the letter, they found +themselves at a standstill. + +'Now I know you would like a longer walk, Nan,' said the younger sister, +'and I am sure you won't mind if I go back at once. I do so want to +write a long letter to Mary. And I haven't told Edith yet, you know.' + +To this also Nan consented; and so Madge departed. Nan, left to +herself, looked for a moment or two, somewhat wistfully, at the far +breadths of the shining water; and then turned and walked slowly and +thoughtfully along one of the wider thoroughfares leading up from the +sea. The world seemed too bright and eager and busy out here; she +wished to be alone, and in the dusk; and in this thoroughfare there was +a church, spacious and gloomy, that was kept open all the week round. +Half unconsciously to herself she walked in that direction. So absorbed +was she that, when she reached the entrance, she scarcely perceived that +there were some persons standing about. From the clear light of the sun +she passed into a long covered way that was almost dark; there was a low +sound of music issuing from the building; it was a refuge she was +seeking; and she vaguely hoped that there would be few people within. + +But just as she gained the entrance proper, and was about to enter the +dark and dusky place before her, behold! here was a great smiling throng +coming along the aisle, headed by a bridegroom and a white-clothed +bride. The music that was gaily pealing through the building was the +'Wedding March' that no familiarity robs of its majestic swing and +melody. Nan had suddenly a sort of guilty self-consciousness. She felt +she had no business even to look on at bridal processions. She passed +in by another door into that space of dark and empty pews; and very soon +the bridal people were all gone from the place, and apparently no one +was left but the white-surpliced performers at the organ in the choir. + +That choir was a beautiful thing away beyond the dusk. The sunlight +entering by the stained-glass windows filled it with a softly golden +glory; so that the splendours of the altar, and the tall brass +candlesticks, and the seven swinging lamps, and the organ itself, were +all suffused with it, and seemed to belong to some other world far away. +And then, after the 'Wedding March' was over, there was a pause of +silence, and a slight sound of feet in the echoing building behind; and +then the music began again--something distant, and sad, and yearning, +like the cry of a soul seeking for light in the dark, for comfort in +despair. Nan, in her solitary pew, bowed her head and covered her face +with her hands. This music was less picturesque, perhaps, than that she +had heard in the cathedral at Lucerne, but it had more of a human cry in +it; it was an appeal for guidance--for light--for light in the darkness +of the world. The tears were running down Nan's face. And then there +came into a neighbouring pew a woman dressed in a peculiar costume, all +in black; and she, too, knelt down, and covered her face with her hands. +And Nan would fain have gone to her and said-- + +'Oh, sister, take me with you and teach me. You have chosen your path +in the world--the path of charity and good-will and peace; let me help +you; let me give myself to the poor and the sick. There must be +something somewhere for me to do in the world. Take me into your +sisterhood; I am not afraid of hardship; let me be of some little use to +those who are wretched and weary in heart.' + +By and by that lady in black rose, went into the open space fronting the +altar, knelt one knee slightly, and then left. Presently Nan followed +her, her head bent down somewhat, and her heart not very light. + +Just as she was leaving the interior of the church, some one stepped out +of the vestry, followed her for a second, and then addressed her. She +turned and recognised Mr. Jacomb. He had not been officiating; he was +in ordinary clerical costume; and there was something in the primness of +that costume that suited his appearance. For he was a singularly +clean-looking man; his face smooth shaven; his complexion of the fairest +white and pink; his hair yellow almost to whiteness; his eyes gray, +clear, and kindly. For the rest, he was about six-and-thirty; of +stoutish build; and he generally wore a pleasant and complacent smile, +as if the world had treated him kindly, despite his experiences in that +poor parish in the south-east of London, and as if, whatever might +happen to him, anxiety was not likely to put a premature end to his +existence. + +'Dear me,' said he, 'what a coincidence! I saw your sister Madge about +twenty minutes ago. She seemed very happy about something or other.' + +'Mr. Jacomb,' said Nan, 'do you know the lady who left a minute ago?' + +'No,' said he, wondering a little at the earnestness--or rather the +absentness--of her manner. 'I only caught a glimpse of her. She +belongs to one of the visiting sisterhoods.' + +Nan was silent for a second or two. + +'You came to the wedding, of course?' continued Mr. Jacomb, cheerfully. +'A capital match, that, for young De la Poer. She will have 18,000 +pounds a year when her mother dies; and she is pretty too. She puts a +little side on, perhaps, when she's talking to strangers; but that's +nothing. His brother was at Oxford when I was there, I remember--an +awfully fast fellow; but they say all the sons of clergymen are; the +other swing of the pendulum, you know. There's a medium in all things; +and if one generation gives itself over too much to piety, the next goes +as far the other way. I suppose it's human nature.' + +This air of agreeable levity--this odour of worldliness (which was in +great measure assumed)--did not seem to accord well with Nan's present +mood. She was disturbed--uncertain--yearning for something she knew not +what--and the echoes of that strange cry in the music were still in her +soul. Mr. Jacomb's airs of being a man of the world--of being a +clergyman who scorned to attach any esoteric mystery to his cloth, or to +expect to be treated with a particular reverence--might put him on easy +terms of friendship with Nan's sisters; but they only made Nan +regretful, and sometimes even impatient. Did he imagine the assumption +of flippancy made him appear younger than he really was? In any case it +was bad policy so far as Nan was concerned. Nan was a born worshipper. +She was bound to believe in something or somebody. And the story she +had heard of the Rev. Charles Jacomb's assiduous, earnest, uncomplaining +labour in that big parish had at the very outset won for him her great +regard. He did not understand how he was destroying her childlike faith +in him by his saturnine little jokes. + +'Mr. Jacomb,' said Nan, timidly, 'I should be so greatly obliged to you +if you could find out something more for me about those sisterhoods. +They must do a great deal of good. And their dress is such a +protection; they can go anywhere without fear of rudeness or insult. I +suppose it is not a difficult thing to get admission----' + +He was staring at her in amazement. + +'But not for you--not for you!' he cried. 'Why, it is preposterous for +you to think of such a thing. There are plenty who have nothing else in +the world to look forward to. You have all your life before you yet. +My dear Miss Anne, you must not indulge in day-dreams. Look at your +sister Madge. Oh, by-the-way, she said something about your mamma +having sent me a note this morning, asking me to dine with you on Friday +evening; and then remembering, after the note was posted, that on that +evening you had taken a box for the pantomime. Well, there needs be no +trouble about that, if I may join your party to go there also.' + +Nan said nothing; but perhaps there was the slightest trace of surprise, +or interrogation in her look. Immediately he said-- + +'Oh, I very much approve of pantomimes, from a professional point of +view--I do, really. You see, the imagination of most people is very +dull--it wants a stimulus--and I am perfectly certain, if the truth were +known, that the great majority of people in this country have derived +their pictorial notions of heaven from the transformation-scenes in +pantomimes. I am certain of it. John Martin's pictures--the only other +alternative--are not striking enough. So, on the whole, I very much +approve of pantomimes; and I shall be very glad to go with you on +Friday, if I may.' + +Nan made some excuse, shook hands with him, and went. She walked home +hurriedly, she knew not why; it almost seemed as though she wanted to +leave something well behind her. And she was very kind to her sisters +for the remainder of that day; but somewhat grave. + +Meanwhile, Madge's letter to her married sister in London had been sent. +And the first answer to it was contained in a postscript to a letter +addressed by Mary Beresford to her mother. This was the postscript:-- + +'_What is this nonsense Madge writes to me about herself and Holford +King? Has Captain King got it into his head that he would like to marry +his deceased wife's sister?_' + +Lady Beresford threw the letter aside with a sigh, wishing people would +not write in conundrums. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +THE ACCEPTED SUITOR. + +'Oh, Nan, here is the cab. What shall I say to him? What am I to say +to him?' + +'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then +she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the +window. + +But after all it was not so serious a matter. Some one came into the +room, and Madge turned. + +'May I call you Madge?' said he, holding both her hands. + +She answered, with her eyes cast down-- + +'I suppose I must call you Frank.' + +That was all, for at the same moment Mr. Tom was heard calling to his +mother and sisters that Captain King had arrived; and directly after, +Lady Beresford and Edith entered the room, followed by Mr. Tom, who was +declaring that they must have dinner put forward to six o'clock, if +they were all to go to the pantomime. + +There was a little embarrassment--not much. Frank King kept looking +towards the door. He wondered why Nan had not come with the others. +He was curious to see how much she had changed. Perhaps he should not +even recognise her? Without scarcely knowing why, he was hoping she +might not be quite like the Nan of former days. + +Mr. Tom consulted his watch again. + +'Shall I ring and tell them to hurry on dinner, mother?' + +'We cannot alter the dinner hour now,' Lady Beresford said, +plaintively. 'It has already been altered once. Both Mr. Roberts and +Mr. Jacomb promised to come at half-past six, so that you might all go +to the pantomime together in good time.' + +'What?' cried Mr. Tom. 'Jacomb? Did you say Jacomb, mother?' + +'I said Mr. Roberts and Mr. Jacomb,' said his mother. + +'And what the etcetera is he doing in that gallery!' exclaimed Mr. Tom. +'Well, I guess we shall have a high old time of it at dinner. +Soda-water and incense. But there's one thing they always agree about. +Get them on to port-wine vintages, and they run together like a brace +of greyhounds.' + +Here Captain King begged to be excused, as there was but little time +for him to go along to his hotel and get dressed for this early dinner. +When--being accompanied to the door by Mr. Tom himself--he had left, +Madge said-- + +'How do you like him, mamma? Are you pleased with him?' + +'He has not spoken to me yet, you know,' said the mother, wearily; she +had had to go through several such scenes, and they worried her. + +'Oh, but it's all arranged,' Madge said, cheerfully. 'He won't bother +you about a solemn interview. It's all arranged. How did you think he +looked, Edith? I do hope he won't lose that brown colour by not going +back to sea; it suits him; I don't like pastey-faced men. Now, Mr. +Jacomb isn't pastey-faced, although he is a clergyman. By-the-way, +what has become of Nan?' + +Nan had been quite forgotten. Perhaps she was dressing early, or +looking after the dinner-table; at all events, it was time for the +other sisters to go and get ready also. + +Punctual to the moment, Captain King arrived at the door, and entered, +and went upstairs. He was not a little excited. Now he would see +Nan--and not only her, but also this clergyman, whom he was also +curious to see. At such a moment--arriving as Madge's accepted +suitor--it was not Nan that he ought to have been thinking about. But +it was Nan whom his-first quick glance round the drawing-room sought +out; and instantly he knew she was not there. + +Everybody else was, however. Mr. Roberts, with his conspicuous red +opal and diamonds, was standing on the hearth-rug with his back to the +fire, talking to Lady Beresford, who was cushioned up in an easy-chair. +Mr. Jacomb was entertaining the two sisters, Edith and Madge, who were +laughing considerably. Mr. Tom was walking about with his hands in his +pockets, ferocious, for dinner was already eighteen seconds late. + +Frank King had not much time to study the looks or manners of this +clergyman, to whom he was briefly introduced; for already his +attention, which was at the moment exceedingly acute, was drawn to the +opening of the door. It was Nan who slipped in, quietly. Apparently +she had seen the others before; for when she caught sight of him, she +at once advanced towards him, with a grave, quiet smile on her face, +and an outstretched hand. + +'Oh, how do you do, Captain King,' she said, in the most friendly way, +and without the least trace of embarrassment. + +Of course she looked at his eyes as she said so. Perhaps she did not +notice the strange, startled look that had dwelt there for an instant +as he regarded her--a look as if he had seen some one whom he had not +expected to see--some one whom he almost feared to see. He could not +speak, indeed. For the moment he had really lost command of himself, +and seemed bewildered. Then he stammered-- + +'How do you do, Miss Anne? I am glad to see you looking so well. +You--you have not altered much--anything--during these last three or +four years.' + +'Oh, Nan has altered a great deal I can tell you,' said Mr. Tom; 'and +for the better. She isn't half as saucy as she used to be.' + +But Nan had turned to her mother, to say privately-- + +'They are quite ready, mamma. The shades just came in time; and the +candles are all lit now.' + +Then she turned to Captain King again. If she was acting +non-embarrassment, she was acting very well. The clear, friendly, +gray-blue eyes regarded him with frankness; there was no touch of +tell-tale colour in the fair, piquant, freckled face; she smiled, as if +to one in whom she had perfect confidence. + +'It is so kind of you,' she said, 'to have let my brother pay you a +visit to Kingscourt; I am afraid he must be dull here sometimes. And +he says he enjoyed it immensely, and that every one was so kind to him. +I hope he didn't disgrace himself--I mean in the shooting; you see he +has not had a great deal of practice.' + +'Oh, he shot very well,' said Captain Frank King, somewhat hurriedly. +'Oh yes, very well. I should call him a very good shot. I am glad he +liked his visit.' But Frank King was not looking into Nan's eyes as he +spoke. + +Then some one at the door said, 'Dinner is served, your Ladyship;' and +the company arranged themselves according to order, and went +downstairs. It fell to Captain King's lot to go down last, with Lady +Beresford; but when they reached the dining-table he found that his +neighbour was to be Madge, and he was glad of that. + +Nan was opposite to him; he had discovered that at the first glance, +and thereafter he rather avoided looking that way. He endeavoured to +entertain Lady Beresford, and occasionally spoke a little to Madge; but +he was somewhat preoccupied on the whole; and very frequently he might +have been caught regarding the clergyman-guest with an earnest +scrutiny. Mr. Jacomb, to do him justice, was making himself the friend +of everybody. He could talk well and pleasantly; he had a number of +little jokes and stories; and he was making himself generally +agreeable. The efflorescent Roberts was anxious to know--as anxious, +that is, as a very devoted regard for his _menu_ would permit--the +precise position held by a certain High Churchman who was being harried +and worried by the law courts at this time; but Mr. Jacomb, with great +prudence, would have nothing to say on such subjects. He laughed the +whole matter off. He preferred to tell anecdotes about his Oxford +days; and gave you to understand that these were not far removed from +the present time. You might have guessed that he and his companions +were the least little bit wild. The names of highly respectable +dignitaries in the Church were associated with stories of scrapes that +were quite alarming, and with sayings that just bordered here and there +on the irreverent. But then, to a clergyman much is permitted; for it +is his business to know where the line should be drawn; other people +might not feel quite so safe. + +All this time Captain Frank King was intently regarding Mr. Jacomb; and +Nan saw it. The smile died away from her face. She grew +self-absorbed; she scarcely lifted her eyes. + +'Nan, what's the matter with you?' said her brother Tom to her, +privately. 'You're not going to cry, are you?' + +She looked up with her frank, clear eyes, and said-- + +'I was trying to remember some lines near the beginning of _Faust_. +They are about a clergyman and a comedian.' + +This was beyond Mr. Tom; and so he said nothing. But what Nan had +meant had been uttered in a moment of bitterness, and was entirely +unjust. Mr. Jacomb was not failing in any proper respect for his +sacred calling. But he was among some young people; he hoped they +would not think his costume coercive; he wished to let them know that +his youth also had only been the other day, as it were, and that he +appreciated a joke as well as any one. If his speech at the moment was +frivolous--and, indeed, intentionally frivolous--his life had not been +frivolous. He had never intrigued or cajoled for preferment, but had +done the work that lay nearest him. At Oxford he had toadied no one. +And his 'record,' as the Americans say, in that parish in the southeast +of London, was unblemished and even noble. + +But he made a hash of it that evening, somehow. Nan Beresford grew +more and more depressed and disheartened--almost ashamed. If Frank +King had not been there, perhaps she would have cared less; but she +knew--without daring to look--that Frank King was regarding and +listening with an earnest and cruel scrutiny. + +When the time came for their starting for the theatre, Nan disappeared. +Tom began to make a noise, and then the message came that, Please sir, +Miss Anne had a headache, and might she be excused? Tom made a further +noise, and declared that the whole thing must be put off. Go to see a +pantomime without Nan he would not. Then a further message came from +Miss Anne, saying that she would be greatly distressed if they did not +go; and so, after no end of growling and grumbling, Mr. Tom put his +party into two cabs and took them off. Nan heard the roll of the +wheels lessen and cease. + +It was about half-past eleven that night that someone noisily entered +Nan's room, and lit the gas. Nan opening her eyes--for she was in bed +and asleep--beheld a figure there, all white with snow. + +'Oh, Nan,' said this new-comer, in great excitement, 'I must tell you +all about it. There has been such fun. Never such a gale known on the +south coast----' + +'Child!' said the now thoroughly awakened sister, 'go at once and take +off your things. You will be wet through!' + +'Oh, this is nothing,' said Madge, whose pink cheeks showed what she +had faced. 'I left a whole avalanche in the hall. The streets are a +foot deep already. Not a cab to be got. We had to fight our way from +the theatre arm in arm; the wind and snow were like to lift us off our +feet altogether. Frank said it reminded him of Canada. All the +gentlemen are below; Tom would have them come in to get them some +mulled claret.' + +Madge's ejaculatory sentences came to an end simply for want of breath. +She was all panting. + +'Such a laughing there was! Frank and I ran full tilt against a +gentleman who was coming full sail before the wind. "Hard-a-port!" +Frank cried. There was an awful smash. My hat blew off; and we hid in +a doorway till Frank got it back again.' + +At Nan's earnest entreaties, her younger sister at last consented to +take off her outer garments and robe herself in some of Nan's--meantime +shaking a good deal of snow on to the carpet. Then she came and sat +down. + +'I must tell you all about it, dear Nan,' she said, 'for I am so happy; +and it has been such a delightful evening. You can't imagine what a +splendid companion Frank is--taking everything free and easy, and +always in such a good humour. Well, we went to the theatre; and of +course Edith wanted to show herself off, so I had the corner of the box +with the curtains, and Frank sat next me, of course--it was +"Cinderella"--beautiful!--I never saw such brilliant costumes; and even +Edith was delighted with the way they sang the music. Mind, we didn't +know that by this time the storm had begun. It was all like fairyland. +But am I tiring you, Nan?' said Madge with a sudden compunction. +'Would you rather go to sleep again?' + +'Oh no, dear.' + +'Is your headache any better?' + +'A great deal.' + +'Shall I get you some eau-de-cologne?' + +'Oh no.' + +'Does it sound strange to you that I should call him Frank? It did to +me at first. But of course it had to be done; so I had to get over it.' + +'You don't seem to have had much difficulty,' said Nan, with an odd +kind of smile. + +'Well,' Madge confessed, 'he isn't like other men. There's no pretence +about him. He makes friends with you at once. And you can't be very +formal with any one who is lugging you through the snow.' + +'No, of course not,' said Nan gravely. 'I was not saying there could +be anything wrong in calling him Frank.' + +'Well, the pantomime; did I tell you how good it was? Mr. Roberts says +he never saw such beautifully-designed dresses in London; and the music +was lovely--oh! if you had heard Cinderella, how she sang, you would +have fallen in love with her, Nan. We all did. Then we had ices. +There's a song which Cinderella sings Frank promised to get for me; but +I can't sing. All I'm good for is to show off Edith.' + +'You ought to practise more, dear.' + +'But it's no good once you are married. You always drop it. If I have +any time I'll take to painting. You see you have no idea, in a house +like this, the amount of trouble there is in keeping up a place like +Kingscourt.' + +'But you know, Madge, Mrs. Holford King is there.' + +'She can't be there always; she's very well up in years,' said the +practical Madge. 'And you know the whole estate is now definitely +settled on Frank--though there are some heavy mortgages. We shan't be +able to entertain much for the first few years, I daresay--but we shall +always be glad to have you, Nan.' + +Nan did not say anything; she turned her face away a little bit. + +'Nan,' said her sister, presently, 'didn't Mary and Edith have a notion +that Captain King was at one time rather fond of you?' + +Nan's face flushed hastily. + +'They--they--imagined something of that kind, I believe.' + +'But was it true?' + +Nan raised herself up, and took her sister's hand in her two hands. + +'You see, dear,' she said, gently, and with her eyes cast down, 'young +men--I mean very young men--have often passing fancies that don't mean +very much. Later on they make their serious choice.' + +'But,' said Madge, persistently, 'but I suppose he never really asked +you to be his wife?' + +'His wife!' said Nan, with well-simulated surprise. 'Recollect, Madge, +I was just over seventeen. You don't promise to be anybody's wife at +an age like that; you are only a child then.' + +'I am only eighteen,' said Madge. + +'But there is a great difference. And recollect that Captain King is +now older, and knows better what his wishes are, and what way his +happiness lies. You ought to be very proud, Madge; and you should try +to make him proud of you also.' + +'Oh, I will, Nan; I will really. I wish you would teach me a lot of +things.' + +'What things?' + +'Oh, you know. All the sort of stuff that you know. Tidal waves and +things.' + +'But Captain King won't have anything more to do with tidal waves.' + +'Then we'll go round the shops to-morrow, Nan; and you'll tell me about +Chippendale furniture and blue china.' + +'Don't you think there will be enough of that at Kingscourt; and just +such things as you couldn't get to buy in any shops?' + +'Then what am I to do, Nan?' + +'You can try to be a good wife, dear; and that's better than anything.' + +Madge rose. + +'I'll let you off, Nan. But I do feel terribly selfish. I haven't +said a single word about you----' + +'Oh, but I don't want anything said about me,' said Nan, almost in +alarm. + +'Well, you know, Nan, everybody says this: that a clergyman's wife has +more opportunities of doing good than any other woman; for, you see, +they are in the middle of it all, and they can interfere as no one else +can, and it is expected of them, and the poor people don't object to +them as they might to others.' + +'Oh, I think that is quite true,' said Nan, thoughtfully--perhaps with +a slight sigh. 'Yes, I have often thought of that.' + +'And you know, dear, that was what Providence meant you to be,' said +Madge, with a friendly smile. 'That is just what you were made for--to +be kind to other people. Good-night, old Mother Nan!' + +'Good-night, dear.' + +They kissed each other; and Madge turned off the gas and left. +Presently, however, Madge returned, opened the door, and came in on +tiptoe. + +'Nan, you are not asleep yet?' + +'Of course not.' + +'I wanted to ask you, Nan; do you think he would like me to work a pair +of slippers for him?' + +'No doubt he would,' was the quiet answer. + +'For I was thinking it would be so nice if you would come with me +to-morrow and help me to choose the materials; and then, you see, Nan, +you might sketch me some design, out of your own head, for you are so +clever at those things, and that would be better than a shop pattern. +And then,' added Madge, 'I should tell him it was your design.' + +Nan paused for a second. + +'I will do whatever you want, Madge--but you must not say that I made +the design for you. It won't be worth much at the best. I would +rather have nothing said about it, dear.' + +'Very well, Nan; that's just like you.' + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +A WHITE WORLD. + +Next morning it still snowed and blew hard; no one could go out; it was +clearly a day to be devoted to indoor amusements. And then Frank King, +despite the state of the streets and the absence of cabs, made his way +along, and was eagerly welcomed. As Mr. Tom's companion he was to +spend the whole day there. Billiards, music, lunch, painting--they +would pass the time somehow. And meanwhile the gusts of wind rattled +the windows; and the whirling snow blurred out the sea; and Mr. Tom +kept on big fires. + +Nan remained in her own room. When Madge went up to bring her down she +found her reading Thomas ŕ Kempis. + +'Frank has asked twice where you were,' Madge remonstrated. + +'But that is not a command,' said Nan, with a smile. 'I should have +thought, judging by the sound, that you were being very well amused +below.' + +Madge went away, and in about an hour after came back. She found that +her sister had put away _De Imitatione Christi_, and was at her desk. + +'Writing! To whom?' + +'To the Editor of the _Times_', said Nan, laughing at her sister's +instantaneous dismay. + +'The _Times_? Are you going to turn a blue-stocking, Nan?' + +'Oh no; it's only about blankets. You can read the letter; do you +think he will print it?' + +This was the letter which Madge read, and which was written in a sort +of handwriting that some editors would be glad to see oftener:-- + +'Dear Sir--The Government interfere to punish a milkman who adulterates +milk with water; and I wish to put the question in your columns why +they should not also punish the manufacturers who dress blankets with +arsenic? Surely it is a matter of equal importance. Poor people can +get along without milk, unless there are very small children in the +house; but when they have insufficient food, and insufficient fire, and +scant clothes, and perhaps also a leaky roof, a good warm pair of +blankets is almost a necessity. You cannot imagine what a compensation +it is, especially in weather like the present; but how are the +charitably disposed to take such a gift to a poor household when it may +become the instrument of death or serious illness? Dear Sir, I hope +you will call upon the Government to put down this wicked practice; and +I am, yours respectfully, AN ENGLISH GIRL.' + +'Oh, that's all right,' said Madge, who had feared that her sister had +taken to literature; 'that's quite the right thing for you. Of course, +a clergyman's wife must know all about blankets, and soup-kitchens, and +things.' + +Nan flushed a little, and said quickly and with an embarrassed smile-- + +'I thought of putting in something about his "eloquent pen" or his +"generous advocacy," but I suppose he gets a great deal of that kind of +flattery, and isn't to be taken in. I think I will leave it as it is. +It is really most shameful that such things should be allowed.' + +'When are you coming down to see Frank?' + +'By and by, dear. I am going now to get mamma her egg and port wine.' + +'I know Frank wants to see you.' + +'Oh, indeed,' she said, quietly, as she folded up the letter. + +That memorable snowstorm raged all day; the shops fronting the sea were +shut; the whole place looked like some vast deserted white City of the +Dead. But towards evening the squalls moderated; that fine, +penetrating, crystalline snow ceased to come in whirls and gusts; and +people began to get about, the black figures making their way over or +through the heavy drifts, or striking for such places as the force of +the wind had driven bare. Here and there shovels were in requisition +to open a pathway; it was clearly thought that the gale was over; the +Beresfords and their guest began to speak of an excursion next day to +Stanmer Park, lest peradventure it might be possible to have a lane or +two swept on the ice for a little skating. + +The next morning proved to be brilliantly beautiful; and they were all +up and away betimes on their somewhat hopeless quest. All, that is to +say, except Nan: for she had sundry pensioners to look after, who were +likely to have fared ill during the inclement weather. Nan put on her +thickest boots and her ulster, and went out into the world of snow. +The skies were blue and clear; the air was fresh and keen; it was a +relief to be out after that monotonous confinement in the house. + +Nan went her rounds, and wished she was a millionaire, for the fine +snow had penetrated everywhere, and there was great distress. Perhaps +she was really trying to imagine herself a cleryman's wife; at all +events, when she had grown tired, and perhaps a little heart-sick, it +was no wonder that she should think of going into that church, which +was always open, for a little rest, and solace, and soothing quiet. + +This was what she honestly meant to do--and, moreover, it was with no +expectation of meeting Mr. Jacomb there, for it was almost certain that +he also would be off on a round of visitations. She had a craving for +quiet; perhaps some slow, grateful music would be filling the air; +there would be silence in the vast, hushed place. + +Well, it was by the merest accident that her eyes happened to light on +a vessel that was scudding up channel under double-reefed topsails, and +she stood for a minute to watch it. Then she, also inadvertently, +perceived that the coastguardsman over the way had come out of his +little box, and was similarly watching the vessel--through his +telescope. Nan hesitated for a second. The snow was deep, though a +kind of path had been trodden a few yards farther along. Then she +walked quickly on till she came to that path, crossed, went back to the +coastguardsman, and addressed him, with a roseate glow on her cheek. + +'Oh, I beg your pardon--but--but--I suppose you know Singing Sal?' + +'Yes, Miss,' said the little Celtic-looking man with the brown beard. +He was evidently surprised. + +'Do you know where she is? I hope she wasn't in the storm yesterday? +She hasn't been along this way lately?' + +'No, Miss; not that I knows of.' + +'Thank you, I am very much obliged.' + +'Wait a minute, Miss--Wednesday--yes, it was last night, I believe, as +Sal was to sing at a concert at Updene. Yes, it was. Some o' my mates +at Cuckmere got leave to go.' + +'Updene farm?' + +'Yes, Miss,' said the wiry little sailor with a grin. 'That's +promotion for Sal--to sing at a concert.' + +'I don't see why she should not sing at a concert,' said Nan, regarding +him with her clear gray eyes, so that the grin instantly vanished from +his face. 'I've heard much worse singing at many a concert. Then, if +she was at Updene last night, she would most likely come along here +to-day.' + +'I don't know, Miss,' said the man, who knew much less about Singing +Sal's ways than did Miss Anne Beresford. 'Mayhap the concert didn't +come off, along of the snow.' + +Nan again thanked him, and continued on her way--eastward. She was +thinking. Somehow she had quite forgotten about the church. The air +around her was wonderfully keen and exhilarating; the skies overhead +were intensely blue; out there on the downs the soft, white snow would +be beautiful. Nan walked on at a brisker pace, and her spirits rose. +The sunlight seemed to get into her veins. And then her footing +required a great deal of attention, and she had plenty of active +exercise; for though here and there the force of the wind had left the +roads almost bare, elsewhere the snow had formed long drifts of three +to five feet in depth, and these had either to be got round or plunged +through. Then, up Kemp-Town way, where there is less traffic, her +difficulties increased. The keen air seemed to make her easily +breathless. But at all events she felt comfortably warm, and the sun +felt hot on her cheek. + +She had at length persuaded herself that she was anxious about Singing +Sal's safety. Many people must have perished in that snowstorm--caught +unawares on the lonely downs. At all events, she could ask at one or +two of the coastguard stations if anything had been heard of Sal. It +was just possible she might meet her, if the entertainment at Updene +farm had come off. + +At Black Rock station they had heard nothing; but she went on all the +same. For now this was a wonderful and beautiful landscape all around +her, up on these high cliffs; and the novelty of it delighted her, +though the bewildering white somewhat dazzled her eyes. Towards the +edge of the cliffs, where the wind had swept across, there was +generally not more than an inch or two of snow--hard and crisp, with +traceries of birds' feet on it, like long strings of lace; but a few +yards on her left the snow had got banked up in the most peculiar +drifts, resembling in a curious manner the higher ranges of the Alps. +Sometimes, however, the snow became deep here also; so that she had to +betake herself to the road, where the farmers' men around had already +cut a way through the deeper stoppages; and there she found herself +going along a white gallery--yellow-white on the left, where the +sunlight fell on the snow, but an intense blue on the right, where the +crystalline snow, in shadow, reflected the blue of the sky overhead. +And still she ploughed on her way, with all her pulses tingling with +life and gladness; for this wonder of yellow whiteness and blue +whiteness, and the sunlight, and the keen air, all lent themselves to a +kind of fascination; and she scarcely perceived that her usual +landmarks were gone: it was enough for her to keep walking, stumbling, +sinking, avoiding the deeper drifts, and farther and farther losing +herself in the solitariness of this white, hushed world. + +Then, far away, and showing very black against the white, she perceived +the figure of a woman, and instantly jumped to the conclusion that that +must be Singing Sal. But what was Sal--if it were she--about? That +dark figure was wildly swaying one arm like an orator declaiming to an +excited assemblage. Had the dramatic stimulus of the previous night's +entertainment--Nan asked herself--got into the woman's brain? Was she +reciting poetry to that extravagant gesturing? Nan walked more slowly +now, and took breath; while the woman, whoever she was, evidently was +coming along at a swinging pace. + +No; that was no dramatic gesture. It was too monotonous. It looked +more as if she were sowing--to imperceptible furrows. Nan's eyes were +very long-sighted, but this thing puzzled her altogether. She now +certainly looked like a farmer's man scattering seed-corn. + +Singing Sal saw and recognised her young-lady friend at some distance, +and seemed to moderate her gestures, though these did not quite cease. +When she came up, Nan said to her, + +'What are you doing?' + +'Well, Miss,' she said, with a bright smile--her face was quite red +with the cold air, and her hair not so smooth as she generally kept +it--'my arm does ache, to tell the truth. And my barley's nearly done. +I have tried to scatter it wide, so as the finches and larks may have a +chance, even when the jackdaws and rooks are at it.' + +'Are you scattering food for the birds, then?' + +'They're starved out in this weather, Miss; and then the boys come out +wi' their guns; and the dicky-laggers are after them too----' + +'The what?' + +'The bird-catchers, Miss. If I was a farmer now, I'd take a horsewhip, +I would, and I'd send those gentry double quick back to Whitechapel. +And the gentle-folks, Miss, it isn't right of them to encourage the +trapping of larks when there's plenty of other food to be got. Well, +my three-penn'orth o' barley that I bought in Newhaven is near done +now.' + +She looked into the little wallet that she had twisted round in front +of her. + +'Oh, if you don't mind,' said Nan, eagerly, 'I will give you a +shilling--or two or three shillings--to get some more.' + +'You could do better than that, Miss,' said Sal. 'Maybe you know some +one that lives in Lewes Crescent?' + +'Yes, I do.' + +'Well, ye see, Miss, there's such a lot o' birds as won't eat grain at +all; and if you was to get the key of the garden in Lewes Crescent, and +get a man to sweep the snow off a bit of the grass, and your friends +might throw down some mutton bones and scraps from the kitchen, and the +birds from far and near would find it out--being easily seen, as it +might be. Half the thrushes and blackbirds along this countryside 'll +be dead before this snow gives out.' + +'Oh, I will go back at once and do that,' said Nan, readily. + +'Look how they've been running about all the morning,' said this +fresh-coloured, dark-eyed woman, regarding the traceries on the snow at +her feet. 'Most of them larks--you can see the spur. And that's a +rook with his big heavy claws. And there's a hare, Miss--I should say +he was trotting as light as could be--and there's nothing uglier than a +trotting hare--he's like a race-horse walking--all stiff and jolting, +because of the high aunches--haunches, Miss. They're all +bewildered-like, birds and beasts the same. I saw the pad of a fox +close by Rottingdean; he must have come a long way to try for a +poultry-yard. And, what's rarer, I saw a covey of partridges, Miss, +settle down on the sea as I was coming along by Saltdean Gap. They was +tired out, poor things, and not driven before the wind either, but +fighting against it, and going out to sea blind-like; and then I saw +them sink down on to the water, and then the waves knocked them about +anyway. I hear there was a wonderful sight of brent geese up by +Berling Gap yesterday--but I'm keeping you standing in the cold, +Miss----' + +'I will walk back with you,' said Nan, turning. + +'No, Miss. No, thank you, Miss,' said Sal, sturdily. + +'But only as far as Lewes Crescent,' said Nan, with a gentle laugh. +'You know I am going to stop there for the mutton bones. I want to +know what has happened to you since the last time I saw you--that's a +good while ago now.' + +'Two things, Miss, has happened that I'm proud of;' said Sal, as the +two set out to face the brisk westerly wind. 'I was taking a turn +through Surrey, and when I was at ----, they told me that a great poet +lived close by there--Mr. ----' + +'Of course every one knows Mr. ----,' said Nan. + +'I didn't,' said Sal, rather shamefacedly. 'You see, Miss, the two I +showed you are enough company for me; and I haven't got money to buy +books wi'. Well, I was passing near the old gentleman's house, and he +came out, and he spoke to me as we went along the road. He said he had +seen me reading the afternoon before, on the common; and he began to +speak about poetry; and then he asked me if I had read any of Mr. +----'s, without saying he was himself. I was sorry to say no, Miss, +for he was such a kind old gentleman; but he said he would send me +them; and most like they're waiting for me now at Goring, where I gave +him an address. Lor', the questions he asked me!--about Shakespeare +and Burns--you know, Miss, I had them in my bag; and then about myself. +I shouldn't wonder if he wrote a poem about me.' + +'Well, that's modest,' said Nan, with another quiet laugh. + +Sal did not at all like that gentle reproof. + +'It isn't my pride, Miss; it's what he said to me that I go by,' she +retorted. 'I didn't ask him.' + +'If he does, all England will hear about you then,' said Nan. 'And +now, what was the other thing?' + +Sal again grew shamefaced a little. She opened the inner side of her +wallet, took out a soiled, weather-beaten copy of the _Globe_ +Shakespeare, and from it extracted a letter. + +'Perhaps you would like to read it yourself, Miss,' she suggested. + +Nan took it, and had little difficulty in deciphering its contents, +though the language was occasionally a trifle hyperbolical. It +contained nothing less than an offer of marriage addressed to Sal by a +sailor in one of Her Majesty's ironclads, who said that he was tired of +the sea, and that, if Sal would give up her wandering life, so would +he, and he would retire into the coastguard. He pointed out the +sacrifices he was ready to make for her; for it appeared that he was a +petty officer. No matter; he was willing to become simple A.B. again; +for he had his 'feelin's;' and if so be as she would become his wife, +then they would have a good weather-proof cottage, a bit of garden, and +three-and-fourpence a day. It was a most business-like, sensible offer. + +'And I'm sure I could do something for him,' Nan eagerly said. 'I +think I could get him promotion. The Senior Naval Lord of the +Admiralty is a friend of mine. And wouldn't it be better for you?' + +'No, Miss,' said Sal, with an odd kind of smile. 'I was glad to get +the letter, for it shows I'm respected. But I'm not going to be caged +yet. I never saw or heard of the man I would marry--except it might +have been Robbie Burns, if he was still alive. Sometimes when I've +been reading a bit, coming along the downs all by myself like, I've +seen somebody in the distance; and I've said to myself, "Well, now, if +that was only to turn out to be that black-a-vised Ayrshire ploughman, +it would be all over with me; it would be 'Whistle and I'll come to ye, +my lad.'" And then some shambling fellow of a labourer has come along, +straw-haired, bent-backed, twisted-kneed, and scarcely enough spirit in +him to say, "Marnin t' ye--good marnin t' ye, wench!"' + +'You are very independent,' said the sage Nan. 'And that's all very +well, as long as your health lasts. But you might become ill. You +would want relatives and friends, and a home. And in the coastguard +houses you would have a very comfortable home, and a garden to look +after; and your husband might get promotion.' + +'If ever I marry,' said Sal, shaking her head, 'it won't be one of the +man-of-war's men. They've just as little spirit or independence as the +day labourers. They've had it all crushed out of them by the hard +usage of the officers.' + +'Oh, how can you say so!' said Nan, warmly. 'The officers are English +gentlemen. In former days there may have been cruelty, but I am +certain that exists no longer. I know several officers: kinder-hearted +men don't exist. Why, there is a captain in the navy----' + +She stopped in great embarrassment. But Singing Sal, not heeding, +said, laconically-- + +'It ain't the captain, Miss. He's too great a gentleman to interfere. +It's the first lieutenant, who can make the ship a hell upon earth if +he has a mind to. Ah! Miss, it's little you know of the discipline +that goes on on board a man-o'-war. There's no human being could stand +it who wasn't brought up to it. The merchantmen can't stand it, and +won't stand it; that's where the officers find a difficulty when the +Reserves are called out. You wouldn't find a man-o'-war's man marching +up to the First Lord of the Admiralty with a lump of salt beef in his +hand and asking him if it was fit to eat. And this Lord, Miss, being a +civilian like, he never thought of having the man clapped in irons: +"Throw it overboard," says he. "I will see that no more o' that kind +of stuff is issued to Her Majesty's fleet." That was the story I +heard, Miss; the men were laughing about it at Beachy Head. And then, +in the merchantmen Jack has a better chance, if he is a smart +fellow----' + +And so forth. They had once more got on to the subject of sailors and +officers, regarded from their different points of view; and it was not +until they had reached Brighton that the sight of Lewes Crescent +reminded Nan that she had now to part from her companion and go in +search of mutton bones for the thrushes and blackbirds. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +BREAKING DOWN. + +Not only was she successful in this work of charity, but she must needs +also institute a similar system of outdoor relief at her own end of the +town; so that it was nearly dusk when she re-entered the house in +Brunswick Terrace. She did not think of asking if there were any +visitors; she went upstairs; perceived that the drawing-room door was +an inch or two open, and was just about to enter when she heard voices. +Inadvertently she paused. + +It was Mr. Jacomb's voice. Then her mother said-- + +'I married happily myself, and I have never tried to influence my +daughters----' + +Nan shrank back, like a guilty thing. She had only listened to +discover whether it was some one she knew who had called; but these few +words of her mother's made her heart jump. She stole away noiselessly +to her own room. She sat down, anxious and agitated, fearing she +scarcely knew what. + +She was not long left in suspense. Her mother came into the room and +shut the door. + +'I thought I heard you come in, Nan,' she said; 'and it's lucky you +have, for Mr. Jacomb is here.' + +'But I don't want to see Mr. Jacomb, mamma,' she said, breathlessly. + +'He wants to see you,' her mother said, quietly; 'and I suppose you +know what it is about.' + +'I--I suppose so--yes, I can guess----. Oh, mother, dear!' cried Nan, +going and clinging to her mother. 'Do me this great kindness! I can't +see him. I don't want to see him. Mother, you will go and speak to +him for me!' + +'Well, that is extraordinary,' said Lady Beresford, who, however, had +far too great a respect for her nerves to become excited over this +matter or anything else. 'That's a strange request. I have just told +him I would not interfere. Of course I don't consider it a good match; +you might do a great deal better from a worldly point of view. But you +have always been peculiar, Nan. If you think it would be for your +happiness to become a poor clergyman's wife, I will not oppose it. At +the same time, I have always thought you might do better----' + +'Oh, mother, don't you understand?' Nan broke in. 'It's to ask him to +go away! I'm so sorry. If he had spoken before, I would have told him +before----' + +'You mean you refuse him, and I am to take the message,' said her +mother, staring at her. 'That is all?' + +The girl was silent. + +'I must say, Nan, you have been acting very strangely. You have lead +us all to believe that you were going to marry him. Why did you let +the man come about the house?' + +'Don't speak like that to me, mother,' said Nan, with her under lip +beginning to quiver. 'I--I tried to think of it. I knew he wanted me +to be his wife; I thought it might be right; I thought I could do +something that way; and--and I tried to persuade myself. But I can't +marry him, mother--I can't--I don't wish to marry any one--I never will +marry----' + +'Don't talk nonsense, child!' said her mother, severely, for there was +a sort of tendency towards excitement in the atmosphere. 'Let me +understand clearly. I suppose you know your own mind. I am to go and +tell this man definitely that you won't marry him?' + +'Mother, don't put it in that harsh way. Tell him I am very sorry. +Tell him I tried hard to think of it. Tell him I am sorry he has +waited so long; but if he had asked sooner----' + +'He would have had the same answer?' + +The girl's faced flushed red, and she said in a strange sort of a way-- + +'Yes--perhaps so--I think it must have been the same answer at any +time. Oh, I never, never could have brought myself to marry him! +Mother, does it look cruel--does it look as if I had treated him +badly?' she added, in the same anxious way. + +'No, I would not say that,' answered her mother, calmly. 'A man must +take his chance; and until he speaks he can't have an answer. I do not +think Mr. Jacomb has any reason to complain--except, perhaps, that you +don't go yourself and hear what he has to say----' + +'Oh, mother, I couldn't do that. It would only be pain for both of us. +And then I don't refuse him, you see, mother; that's something----' + +Lady Beresford was uncertain. The truth was, she was not at all sorry +to be the bearer of this message--even at the cost of a little +trouble--for she did think that her daughter ought to marry into a +better position in life. But she had just been listening to what Mr. +Jacomb had to say for himself; and he had said a good deal, not only +about himself but about Nan, and her disposition, and what would best +secure her happiness, and so forth. Lady Beresford had been just a +little bit impressed, and the question was whether Nan ought not to be +invited to a fair consideration of the matter as represented by Mr. +Jacomb himself. + +'Well, Nan, if your mind is quite clear about it----' + +'Oh it is, mother,' she answered eagerly, 'quite--quite----' + +That was an end. Her mother left the room, slowly; Nan listened for +her footsteps until she heard her go into the drawing-room and close +the door. Her first thought was to lock herself in, so that there +should be no appeal. Her next was that it was excessively mean and +cruel of her to experience this wonderful sense of relief, now that the +die was irrevocably cast. + +'If there was anything I could do for him,' she was +thinking--'anything--anything but that;' and then she listened again to +the stillness until she heard a bell ring, and the drawing-room door +open again, and some one descend the stairs into the hall. She felt +guilty and sorry at the same time. She wished she could do something +by way of compensation. He would not think it was mere heartlessness? +For indeed she had tried. And would she not have done him a far +greater wrong if she had married him without being able to give him her +whole heart? + +Nan went to the window; but it was too dark for her to see anything. +She took it for granted he had gone away. She was glad, and ashamed of +herself for being glad. She reproved herself. And then she had a +vague sort of feeling that she would wear sackcloth and ashes--or try +to be ten times kinder to everybody--or do something, anything, no +matter what--to atone for this very unmistakable sense of gladness that +seemed to pervade her whole being. She couldn't help it, because it +was there; but she would do something by way of compensation. And the +first thing she could think of was to go and brush the billiard-table +with such thoroughness that Mr. Tom, when he came home should say he +had never seen it in such good condition before. + +That was a roaring party that somewhat later came in--all flushed faces +and high spirits and delight; for they had walked all the way from +Falmer over the downs, under the guidance of the Canadian experience of +Frank King; and they had had wonderful adventures with the snow-drifts; +and the night was beautiful--a crescent moon in the south, and high up +in the south-east the gleaming belt of Orion. And Nan greatly entered +into the joy of these adventurers, and wished to hear more of their +futile efforts at skating; and was asking this one and the other about +everything--until she found Mr. Tom's eyes fixed on her. + +'Nan,' said he, with scrutiny and decision, 'you've been in the country +to-day, walking.' + +She admitted she had. + +'And you had for your luncheon a bit of bread and an apple.' + +'I generally take that as a precaution,' Nan said, simply. + +'I thought so,' said Mr. Tom, with great satisfaction at his own +shrewdness. 'I can tell in a minute. For you always come back looking +highly pleased with yourself and inclined to be cheeky. I don't like +the look of you when you're too set up. Your tongue gets too sharp. +I'd advise you people to look out.' + +Nan's conscience smote her. Was she so glad, then, that even outsiders +saw it in her face? She became graver; and she vowed that she would be +most reticent at dinner. Had she not promised to herself to try to be +ten times kinder to everybody? + +And she very soon, at dinner, had an opportunity of displaying her +generosity. They were busy making havoc of the manner of a +distinguished person who was much talked of at that time, and whom they +had all chanced to meet. Now Nan ordinarily was very intolerant of +affectation; but had she not promised to be ten times kinder to +everybody? So she struck in in defence of this lady. + +'But it is her nature to be affected,' said Nan. 'She is quite true to +herself. That is her disposition. It wouldn't be natural for her to +try not to be affected. She was born with that disposition. Look at +the idiotic grimaces that infants make when they try to show they are +pleased. And Mrs. ---- wouldn't be herself at all if she wasn't +affected. She might as well try to leave off her affectations as her +clothes. She couldn't go about without any.' + +'She goes about with precious little,' said Mr. Tom, who strongly +disapproved of scanty ball-dresses. And then he added, 'But that's Nan +all over. She's always for making the best of everything and +everybody. It's always the best possible world with her.' + +'And isn't that wise,' said Frank King, with a laugh, 'considering it's +the only one we've got to live in at present?' + +Nan was very bright and cheerful during this dinner, and Captain Frank +King was most markedly attentive to her, and interested in her talking. +When Nan began to speak, he seemed to consider that the whole table +ought to listen; and his was the first look that approved, and the +first laugh that followed. Then he discovered that she knew all sorts +of out-of-the-way things that an ordinary young lady could by no +possibility have been expected to know. It was more than ever clear to +him that these solitary wanderings had taught her something. Where had +she acquired all this familiarity, for example, with details about his +own profession--or what had been his profession? + +They went on to talk of the jeers of cabmen at each other, and how +sharp some of them were. Then again they began to talk about other +common sayings--the very origin of which had been forgotten; and Frank +King spoke of a taunt which was an infallible recipe for driving a +bargee mad--'_Who choked the boy with duff?_'--though nobody, not the +bargees themselves, now knew anything whatever about the tragic +incident that must have happened sometime and somewhere. + +'Yes,' said Nan at once, 'and there is another like that that the +collier-boats can't stand. If you call out to a collier, "_There's a +rat in your chains_" he'd drive his schooner ashore to get after you.' + +'I suppose you have tried,' said her mother, with calm dignity. + +'I believe Nan spends most of her time,' said the Beauty, 'in making +mud-pies with the boys in Shoreham Harbour.' + +'Never you mind, Nan,' her brother said to encourage her. 'Next time +we go to Newhaven, you'll call out to the colliers, "_There's a rat in +your chains_," and I'll stop behind a wall and watch them beating you.' + +All during that dinner Nan was both amused and amusing, until a +trifling little incident occurred. She and Frank King on the other +side of the table had almost monopolised the conversation, although +quite unwittingly; and everybody seemed to regard this as a matter of +course. Now it happened that Madge, who sat next her betrothed, made +some slight remark to him. Perhaps he did not hear. At all events, he +did not answer, but addressed Nan instead, with reference to something +she had just been saying about lifeboats. Instantly, a hurt expression +came over Madge's face, and as instantly Nan saw it. From that moment +she grew more reserved. She avoided addressing herself directly to +Captain Frank King. She devoted herself chiefly to her mother; and +when, at the end of dinner, they adjourned in a body to the +billiard-room (with the happy indifference of youth) she followed Lady +Beresford up to the drawing-room and would herself make tea for her. + +'Do you know, Nan,' she said, quite plainly, 'that whenever you are in +the room Frank pays no attention to any one else?' + +'I thought he was doing his best to amuse everybody at dinner,' Nan +said--though she did not raise her eyes. 'He told some very good +stories.' + +'Yes, to you,' Madge insisted. Then she added, 'You know I like it. I +hope he will always be good friends with all the family: for you see, +Nan, it will be lonely for me at Kingscourt for a while, and of course +I should like to have somebody from Brighton always in the house. And +I know he admires you very much. He's always talking about your +character, and your disposition, and your temperament, as if he had +been studying you like a doctor. I suppose I've got no character, or +he would talk about that sometimes. I don't understand it--that +talking about something inside you, as if it was something separate +from yourself; and calling it all kinds of sentiments and virtues, as +if it was clockwork you couldn't see. I don't see anything like that +in you, Nan--except that you are very kind, you know--but not so +different from other people--as he seems to think.' + +'It doesn't much matter what he thinks, does it?' suggested Nan, gently. + +'Oh no, of course not,' Madge said, promptly. 'He said I was a very +good skater, considering the horrid condition of the ice. They have a +large lake at Kingscourt.' Then after a pause, 'Nan, where did you +learn all that about the lighthouses and the birds at night?' + +'Oh, that? I really don't know. What about it?--it is of no +consequence.' + +'But it interests people.' + +'It ought not to interest you, or Captain King either. You will have +to think of very different things at Kingscourt.' + +'When you and Mr. Jacomb come to Kings----' + +'Madge,' said Nan, quickly, 'you must not say anything like that. I do +not mean to marry Mr. Jacomb, if that is what you mean.' + +'No? Honour bright?' + +'I shall not marry Mr. Jacomb; and I am not likely to marry any one,' +she said, calmly. 'There are other things one can give one's life to, +I suppose. It would be strange if there were not.' + +Madge thought for a second or two. + +'Oh, Nan,' she said cheerfully, 'it would be so nice to have an +old-maid sister at Kingscourt. She could do such a lot of things, and +be so nice and helpful, without the fuss and pretension of a married +woman. It would be really delightful to have you at Kingscourt!' + +'I hope, dear, you will be happy at Kingscourt,' said Nan, in a +somewhat lower voice. + +'I shall never be quite happy until you come to stay there,' said +Madge, with decision. + +'You will have plenty of occupation,' said Nan, absently. 'I have been +thinking if a war broke out I should like to go as one of the nurses; +and of course that wants training beforehand. There must be an +institution of some kind, I suppose. Now, good-night, dear.' + +'Good-night, Mother Nan. But we are not going to let you go away into +wars. You are coming to Kingscourt. I know Frank will insist on it. +And it would just be the very place for you; you see you would be in +nobody's way; and you always were so fond of giving help. Oh, Nan,' +her sister suddenly said, 'what is the matter? You are crying! What +is it, Nan?' + +Nan rose quickly. + +'Crying? No--no--never mind, Madge--I am tired +rather--there--good-night.' + +She got her sister out of the room only in time. Her overstrained +calmness had at length given way. She threw herself on the bed, and +burst into a passion of weeping; and thus she lay far into the night, +stifling her sobs so that no one should hear. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +THE SHADOW. + +The process of disenchantment is one of the saddest and one of the +commonest things in life; whether the cause of it be the golden youth +who, apparently a very Bayard before marriage, after marriage gradually +reveals himself to be hopelessly selfish, or develops a craving for +brandy, or becomes merely brutal and ill-tempered; or whether it is the +creature of all angelic gifts and graces who, after her marriage, +destroys the romance of domestic life by her slatternly ways, or sinks +into the condition of a confirmed sigher, or in time discovers to her +husband that he has married a woman comprising in herself, to use the +American phrase, nine distinct sorts of a born fool. These discoveries +are common in life; but they generally follow marriage, which gives +ample opportunities for study. Before marriage man and maid meet but +at intervals; and then both are alike on their best behaviour. The +slattern is no slattern now; she is always dainty and nice and neat; +the golden youth is generous to a fault, and noble in all his ways; and +if either or both should be somewhat foolish, or even downright stupid, +the lack of wisdom is concealed by a tender smile or a soft touch of +the hand. It is the dream-time of life; and it is not usual for one to +awake until it is over. + +But it was different with Frank King. The conditions in which he was +placed were altogether peculiar. He had made two gigantic +mistakes--the first in imagining that any two human beings could be +alike: the second in imagining that, even if they were alike, he could +transfer his affection from the one to the other--and he was now +engaged in a hopeless and terrible struggle to convince himself that +these were not mistakes. He would not see that Madge Beresford was +very different from Nan. He was determined to find in her all he had +hoped to find. He argued with himself that she was just like Nan, as +Nan had been at her age. Madge was so kind, and good, and nice; of +course it would all come right in the end. + +At the same time, he never wished to be alone with Madge, as is the +habit of lovers. Nor if he was suddenly interested in anything did he +naturally turn to her, and call her attention. On the other hand, the +little social circle did not seem complete when Nan, with her grave +humour, and her quiet smile, and her gentle, kindly ways, was absent. +When she came into the room, then satisfaction and rest were in the +very air. If there was a brighter green on the sea, where a gleam of +wintry sunshine struck the roughened waters, whose eyes but Nan's could +see that properly? It was she whom he addressed on all occasions; +perhaps unwittingly. It seemed so easy to talk to Nan. For the rest, +he shut his eyes to other considerations. From the strange fascination +and delight that house in Brunswick Terrace always had for him, he knew +he must be in love with somebody there; and who could that be but Madge +Beresford, seeing that he was engaged to her? + +Unhappily for poor Madge, Frank King was now called home by the old +people at Kingscourt; and for a time, at least, all correspondence +between him and his betrothed would obviously have to be by letter. +Madge was in great straits. A look, a smile, a touch of the fingers +may make up for lack of ideas; but letter-writing peremptorily demands +them, of some kind or another. As usual, Madge came to her elder +sister. + +'Oh, Nan, I do so hate letter-writing. I promised to write every +morning. I don't know what in the world to say. It is such a +nuisance.' + +Nan was silent; of late she had tried to withdraw as much as possible +from these confidences of her sister's; but not very successfully. +Madge clung to her. Lady Beresford would not be bothered. Edith was +busy with her own affairs. But Nan--old Mother Nan--who had nothing to +think of but other people, might as well begin and play the old maid at +once, and give counsel in these distressing affairs. + +'I wish you would tell me what to say,' continued Madge, quite coolly. + +'I? Oh, I cannot,' said Nan, almost shuddering, and turning away. + +'But you know what interests him; for he's always talking to you,' +persisted Madge, good-naturedly. 'Anybody but me would be jealous; but +I'm not. The day before yesterday Mrs. ---- went by; and I asked him +to look at her hair, that every one is raving about; and he plainly +told me your hair was the prettiest he had ever seen. Now, I don't +call that polite. He might have said "except yours," if only for the +look of the thing. But I don't mind--not a bit I'm very glad he likes +you, Nan----' + +'Madge! Madge!' + +It was almost a cry wrung from the heart. But in an instant she had +controlled herself again. She turned to her sister, and said with +great apparent calmness, + +'Surely, dear, you ought to know what to write. These are things that +cannot be advised about. Letters of that kind are secret----' + +'Oh, I don't care about that. I think it is stupid,' said Madge at +once. 'There is no use having any pretence about it. And I don't know +in the world what to write about. Look,--I have begun about the +Kenyons' invitation, and asked him whether he'd mind my going. I like +those little dances better than the big balls----' + +She held out the letter she had begun. But Nan would not even look at +it. + +'It isn't usual, is it, Madge,' she said, hurriedly, 'for a girl who is +engaged to go out to a dance by herself?' + +'But we are all going!' + +'You know what I mean. It is a compliment you should pay him not to +go.' + +'Well,' said Madge somewhat defiantly, 'I don't know about that. One +does as one is done by. And I don't think he'd care if I went and +danced the whole night through--even with Jack Hanbury.' + +'Oh, how can you say such a thing!' said her sister, staring at her; +for this was a new development altogether. + +But Madge was not to be put down. + +'Oh, I am not such a fool. I can see well enough. There isn't much +romance about the whole affair; and that's the short and the long of +it. Of course it's a very good arrangement for both of us, I believe; +and that's what they say now-a-days--marriages are "arranged."' + +'I don't know what you mean Madge! You never spoke like that before.' + +'Perhaps I was afraid of frightening you; for you have high and mighty +notions of things, dear Nan, for all your mouse-like ways. But don't I +see very well that he is marrying to please his parents; and to settle +down and be the good boy of the family? That's the meaning of the +whole thing----' + +'You don't mean to say, Madge,' said the elder sister, though she +hesitated, and seemed to have to force herself to ask the question, +'You don't mean to say you think he does not--love you?' + +At this Madge flushed up a little, and said-- + +'Oh, well, I suppose he does, in a kind of way, though he doesn't take +much trouble about saying it. It isn't of much consequence; we shall +have plenty of time afterwards. Mind, if only Jack Hanbury could get +invited by the Kenyons, and I were to dance two or three times with +him, and Frank get to hear of it, I suppose there would be a noble +rampage: _then_ he might speak out a little more.' + +'Have you been dreaming Madge?' said Nan, again staring at her sister. +'What has put such monstrous things into your head? Mr. Hanbury--at +the Kenyons'--and you would dance with him!' + +'Well, why not?' said Madge, with a frown; for this difficulty about +the letter-writing had clearly operated on her temper and made her +impatient. 'All the world isn't supposed to know about the +Vice-Chancellor's warning. Why shouldn't he be invited by the Kenyons? +And why should he know that I am going? And why, if we both happen to +be there, shouldn't we dance together? Human beings are human beings, +in spite of Vice-Chancellors. They can't lock up a man for dancing +with you? At all events, they can't lock me up, even if Jack is there.' + +'Madge, put these things out of your head. You won't go to the +Kenyons', for Captain King would not like it----' + +'I don't think he'd take the trouble to object,' Madge interjected. + +'And Mr. Hanbury won't be there; and there will be no dancing, and no +quarrel. If you wish to write to Captain King about what will interest +him, write about what interests yourself. That he is sure to be +interested in----' + +'Well, but that is exactly what I can't write to him about. I know +what I am interested in well enough. Edith has just told me Mr. +Roberts has been pressing her to fix a time for their marriage. She +thinks the end of April; so that they could be back in London for the +latter end of the season. Now I think that would do very well for us +too--and it is always nice for two sisters to get married on the same +day--only Frank has never asked me a word about it, and how am I to +write to him about it? So you see, wise Mother Nan, I can't write to +him about what interests me.' + +Nan had started somewhat when she heard this proposal; it seemed +strange to her. + +'April?' she said. 'You've known Captain King a very short time, +Madge. You were not thinking of getting married in April next?' + +'Perhaps I'd better wait until I'm asked,' said Madge, with a laugh, as +she turned to go away. 'Well, if you won't tell me what to write +about, I must go and get this bothered letter done somehow. I do +believe the best way will be to write about you; that will interest him +anyway.' + +Frank King remained away for a few weeks, and during this time the +first symptoms appeared of the coming spring. The days began to +lengthen, there were crocuses in the gardens, there were reports of +primroses and sweet violets in the woods about Horsham; in London +Parliament was sitting, and in Brighton well-known faces were +recognisable amongst the promenaders on the Saturday afternoons. Then +Mr. Roberts, as Edith's accepted suitor, received many invitations to +the house in Brunswick Terrace; and in return was most indefatigable in +arranging riding-parties, driving-parties, walking-parties, with in +each case a good hotel for luncheon as his objective point. Madge +joined in these diversions with great good-will; and made them the +excuse for the shortness of the letters addressed to Kingscourt. Nan +went also; she was glad to get into the country on any pretence; and +she seemed merry enough. When Mr. Roberts drove along the King's Road +with these three comely damsels under his escort, he was a proud man; +and he may have comforted himself with the question, that as beer +sometimes led to a baronetcy, why shouldn't soda-water? + +Strangely enough, Nan had entirely ceased making inquiries about +sisterhoods and institutions for the training of nurses. She seemed +quite reconciled to the situation of things as they were. She did not +cease her long absences from the house; but every one knew that on +these occasions she was off on one of her solitary wanderings; and she +came home in the evening apparently more contented than ever. She had +even brought herself to speak of Madge's married life, which at first +she would not do. + +'You see,' she said to her sister on one occasion, 'if you and Edith +get married on the same day, I must remain and take care of mamma; she +must not be left quite alone.' + +'Oh, as for that,' said Madge, 'Mrs. Arthurs does better than the whole +of us; and I'm not going to have you made a prisoner of. I'm going to +have a room at Kingscourt called "Nan's room," and it shall have no +other name as long as I am there. Then we shall have a proper house in +London by and by; and of course you'll come up for the season, and see +all the gaieties. I think we ought to have one of the red houses just +by Prince's; that would be handy for everything; and you might come up, +Nan, and help me to buy things for it. And you shall have a room there +too, you shall; and you may decorate it and furnish it just as you +like. I know quite well what you would like--the room small; the +woodwork all bluey-white; plenty of Venetian embroidery flung about; +all the fire-place brass; some of those green Persian plates over the +mantelpiece; about thirteen thousand Chinese fans arranged like +fireworks on the walls; a fearful quantity of books and a low +easy-chair; red candles; and in the middle of the whole thing a nasty, +dirty, little beggar-girl to feed and pet----' + +'I think, Madge,' her sister said, gravely, 'that you should not set +your heart on a town-house at all. Remember, old Mr. King is giving +his son Kingscourt at a great sacrifice. As I understand it, it will +be a long time before the family estate is what it has been; and you +would be very ungrateful if you were extravagant----' + +'Oh, I don't see that,' said Madge. 'They are conferring no favour on +me. I don't see why I should economise. I am marrying for fun, not +for love.' + +She blurted out this inadvertently--to Nan's amazement and horror--but +instantly retracted it, with the blood rushing to her temples. + +'Of course I don't mean that, Nan--how could I have been so stupid! I +don't mean _that--exactly_. What I mean is that it doesn't seem to me +as if it was supposed to be a very fearfully romantic match, and all +that kind of thing. It's a very good arrangement; but it isn't I who +ought to be expected to make sacrifices----' + +'But surely your husband's interests will be yours!' exclaimed Nan. + +'Oh yes, certainly,' her sister said, somewhat indifferently. 'No +doubt that's true, in a way. Quite true, in a kind of way. Still, +there are limits; and I should not like to be buried alive for ever in +the country.' + +Then she sighed. + +'Poor Jack!' she said. + +She went to the window. + +'When I marry, I know at least one who will be sorry. I can fancy him +walking up and down there--looking at the house as he used to do; and, +oh! so grateful if only you went to the window for a moment. He will +see it in the papers, I suppose.' + +She turned to her sister, and said, triumphantly-- + +'Well, the Vice-Chancellor was done that time!' + +'What time?' + +'Valentine's morning. You can send flowers without any kind of writing +to be traced. Do you think I don't know who sent me the flowers?' + +'At all events, you should not be proud of it. You should be sorry. +It is a very great pity----' + +'Yes, that's what I think,' said Madge. 'How can I help pitying him? +It wouldn't be natural not to pity him, Vice-chancellor or no +Vice-chancellor. I hate that man.' + +'I say it is a great pity that Mr. Hanbury does not accept his +dismissal as inevitable; and as for you, Madge, you ought not even to +think of him. Captain King sent you that beautiful card-case on +Valentine's morning; that is what you should remember.' + +'Captain King could send me a white elephant if he chose,' said Madge, +spitefully. 'There's no danger to him in anything he does. It's +different with poor Jack.' + +'Madge,' said her sister, seriously, 'do you know that you are talking +as if you looked forward to this marriage with regret?' + +'Oh no, I don't--I'm not such a fool,' said Madge, plainly. 'I know +it's stupid to think about Jack Hanbury; but still, one has got a +little feeling.' + +Then she laughed. + +'I will tell you another secret, Nan. If he daren't write to me he can +send me things. He sent me a book--a novel--and I know he meant me to +think the hero himself. For he was disappointed in love, too, and +wrote beautifully about his sufferings, and at last the poor fellow +blew his brains out.' + +'Well, Mr. Hanbury couldn't do that, at all events--for reasons,' Nan +said. + +'Now that is a very bad joke,' said Madge, in a sudden outburst of +temper; 'an old, stupid, bad joke, that has been made a hundred times. +I'm ashamed of you, Nan. They say you have a great sense of humour; +that's when you say things they can't understand; and they pretend to +have a great sense of humour too. But where's the humour in that?' + +'But Madge, dear,' said Nan, gently, 'I didn't mean to say anything +against Mr. Hanbury----' + +'In any case, there is one in this house who does not despise Mr. +Hanbury for being poor,' said Madge, hotly. 'It isn't his fault that +his papa and mamma haven't given him money and sent him out into the +world to buy a wife!' + +And therewith she quickly went to the door and opened it, and went out +and shut it again with something very closely resembling a slam. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +DANGER AHEAD. + +Nan waited the return of Frank King with the deepest anxiety. She +would see nothing in these wild words of Madge's but an ebullition of +temper. She could not bring herself to believe that her own sister--a +girl with everything around her she could desire in the world--would +deliberately enter upon one of those hateful marriages of convenience. +It was true, Nan had to confess to herself, that Madge was not very +impressionable. There was no great depth in her nature. Then she was +a trifle vain, and liked admiration; and she was evidently pleased to +have a handsome and certainly eligible suitor. But no--it was +impossible that she had really meant what she said. When Captain King +came back, then the true state of affairs would be seen. Madge was not +going to marry for money or position--or even out of spite. + +And when Frank King did come back, matters looked very well at first. +Madge received him in a very nice, friendly fashion, and was pleased by +certain messages from the old folks at Kingscourt. Nan's fears began +to fade away. Nothing more was heard of Jack Hanbury. So far as Madge +was concerned everything seemed right. + +But Nan, who was very anxious, and on that account unusually sensitive, +seemed to detect something strange in Frank King's manner. He had +nothing of the gay audacity of an accepted suitor. When he paid Madge +any little attention, it appeared almost an effort. He was preoccupied +and thoughtful; sometimes, after regarding Madge in silence, he would +apparently wake up to the consciousness that he ought to be more +attentive to her; but there did not seem to be much joyousness in their +relationship. When these two happened to be together--during the +morning stroll down the pier, or on the way home from church, or seated +at a concert--they did not seem to have many things to speak about +Frank King grew more and more grave; and Nan saw it, and wondered, and +quite failed to guess at the reason. + +The fact was that he had now discovered what terrible mistake he had +made. He could blind himself no longer. Madge was not Nan; nor +anything approaching to Nan; they were as different as day and night. +Face to face with this discovery, he asked himself what he ought to do. +Clearly, if he had made a mistake, it was his first duty that no one +else should suffer by it. Because he was disappointed in not finding +in Madge certain qualities and characteristics he had expected to find, +he was not going to withdraw from an engagement he had voluntarily +entered into. It was not Madge's fault. If the prospect of this +marriage pleased her, he was bound to fulfil his promise. After all, +Madge had her own qualities. Might they not wear as well through the +rough work of the world, even if they had not for him the fascination +he had hoped for? In any case, the disappointment should be his, not +hers. She should not suffer any slight. And then he would make +another desperate resolve to be very affectionate and attentive to her; +resolves which usually ended in his carrying to her some little present +of flowers, or something like that, having presented which, he would +turn and talk to Nan. + +'I say, Beresford,' he suddenly observed, one night at dinner, 'I have +an invitation to go salmon-fishing in Ireland. Will you come?' + +'Well, but----' Madge interposed with an injured air, as if she ought +to have been consulted first. + +'I should like it tremendously!' said Mr. Tom, with a rush. + +'I am told the scenery in the neighbourhood is very fine,' continued +Captain King; 'at all events we are sure to think so half a dozen years +hence. That is one of the grand points about one's memory; you forget +all the trivial details and discomforts, and only remember the best.' + +He quite naturally turned to Nan. + +'I am sure, Miss Nan,' he said, 'you have quite a series of beautiful +little pictures in your mind about that Splügen excursion. Don't you +remember the drive along the Via Mala, in the shut-up carriage--the +darkness outside--and the swish of the rain----' + +'Well,' said Madge, somewhat spitefully, 'considering you were in a +closed carriage and driving through darkness, I don't see much of a +beautiful picture to remember!' + +He did not seem to heed. It was Nan he was addressing; and there was a +pleased light in her eyes. Reminiscences are to some people very +delightful things. + +'And you recollect the crowded saloon in the Splügen inn, and the snug +little corner we got near the stove, and the little table. That's +where you discovered the use of stupid people at dinner-parties----' + +'What's that?' Mr. Tom demanded to know. + +'It's a secret,' Captain King answered, with a laugh. 'And I think you +were rather down-hearted next morning--until we began to get up through +the clouds. That is a picture to remember at all events--a Christmas +picture in summer time. Do you remember how green the pines looked +above the snow? And how blue the sky was when the mist got driven +over? And how business-like you looked in your ulster--buttoned up to +the chin for resolute Alpine work. I fancy I can hear now the very +chirp of your boots on the wet snow--it was very silent away up there.' + +'I know,' said Nan, somewhat shamefacedly, 'that when I saw +"_Ristoratore_" stuck up on the house near the top, I thought it was a +place for restoring people found in the snow, until I heard the driver +call out "_Du, hole Schnapps_."' + +'Wasn't that a wild whirl down the other side!' he continued, +delightedly. 'But you should have come into the Customs-house with me +when I went to declare my cigars. You see it wouldn't do for me, who +might one day get a coastguard appointment, to try on any smuggling. +But I did remonstrate. I said I had already paid at Paris and at +Basel; and that it was hard to have to pay three import dues on my +cigars. Well, they were very civil. They said they couldn't help it. +"Why not buy your cigars in the country where you smoke them?" asked an +old gentleman in spectacles. "Because, Monsieur," I answered him, with +the usual cheek of the English, "I prefer to smoke cigars made of +tobacco." But he was quite polite. After charging me eighteen francs, +he bowed me out, and said "a rivederla;" to which I responded "Oh no, +thank you;" and then I found you and your sisters all laughing at me, +as if I had been before a police-magistrate to be admonished.' + +'You don't forget all the disagreeable details, then?' said Nan, with a +smile. + +But the smile vanished from her face when he began to talk about +Bellagio. He did so without any covert intention. It was always a joy +to him to think or talk about the time that he and the three sisters +spent together far away there in the south. And it was only about the +Serenata and the procession of illuminated boats that he was thinking +at this moment. + +'I suppose they will sooner or later have all our ships and steamers +lit with the electric light; and everything will be ghastly white and +ghastly black. But do you remember how soft and beautiful the masses +of yellow stars were when the boats came along the lake in the +darkness? It was indeed a lovely night. And I think we had the best +of it--sitting there in the garden. I know I for one didn't miss the +music a bit. And then it was still more lovely when the moon rose; and +you could see the water, and the mountains on the other side, and even +the houses by the shore. I remember there was a bush somewhere near us +that scented all the air----' + +Madge had been regarding her sister closely. + +'It must have been a magical night,' she said quickly, 'for Nan's face +has got quite white just thinking of it.' + +He started. A quick glance at the girl beside him showed him that she +was indeed pale; her eyes cast down; her hand trembling. Instantly he +said, in a confused hurry,-- + +'You see, Miss Anne, there was some delay about the concert. One +steamer did really come back to Bellagio. We had our serenade all the +same--that is to say, any who were awake. You see, they did not intend +to swindle you----' + +'Oh, no! oh, no!' said Nan; and then, conscious that Madge was still +regarding her, she added with a desperate effort at composure,-- + +'We heard some pretty music on the water at Venice. Edith picked up +some of the airs. She will play them to you after dinner.' + +That same night, as usual, Madge came into Nan's room, just before +going off. + +'Nan,' she said, looking straight at her, 'what was it upset you about +Frank's reminding you of Bellagio?' + +'Bellagio?' repeated Nan, with an effort to appear unconscious, but +with her eyes turned away. + +'Yes; you know very well.' + +'I know that I was thinking of something quite different from anything +that Captain King was saying,' Nan said, at length. 'And--and it is of +no consequence to you, Madge, believe me.' + +Madge regarded her suspiciously for a second, and then said, with an +air of triumph, + +'At all events, he isn't going to Ireland.' + +'Oh, indeed,' Nan answered, gently. 'Well I'm glad; I suppose you +prefer his not going?' + +'It nearly came to a quarrel, I know,' said Madge, frankly. 'I thought +it just a bit too cool. At all events, he ought to pretend to care a +little for me.' + +'Oh, Madge, how can you say such things? Care for you--and he has +asked you to be his wife? Could he care for you more than that?' + +'He has never even thanked me for not going to the Kenyons' ball,' said +Madge, who appeared to imagine that Nan was responsible for everything +Captain King did or did not do. + +'Surely he would take it for granted you would not go!' remonstrated +the elder sister. + +'But he takes everything for granted. And he scarcely ever thinks it +worth while to speak to me. And I know it will be a regular bore when +we go to Kingscourt, with the old people still there, and me not +mistress at all; and what am I to do?' + +She poured out this string of wild complaints rapidly and angrily. + +'Good-night, Madge,' said Nan; 'I am rather tired to-night.' + +'Good-night. But I can tell you if he hadn't given up Ireland, there +would have been a row.' + +It was altogether a strange condition of affairs; and next day it was +apparently made worse. There had been a stiffish gale blowing all +night from the south; and in the morning, though the sky was cloudless, +there was a heavy sea running, so that from the windows they saw white +masses of foam springing into the air--hurled back by the sea-wall at +the end of Medina Terrace. When Captain King came along Mr. Tom at +once proposed they should all of them take a stroll as far as the +Terrace; for now the tide was full up and the foam was springing into +the blue sky to a most unusual height. And, indeed, when they arrived +they found a pretty big crowd collected; a good many of whom had +obviously been caught unawares by the shifting and swirling masses of +spray. It was a curious sight. First the great wave came rolling on +with but little beyond an ominous hissing noise; then there was a heavy +shock that made the earth tremble, and at the same moment a roar as of +thunder; then into the clear sky rose a huge wall of gray, illuminated +by the sunlight, and showing clearly and blackly the big stones and +smaller shingle that had been caught and whirled up in the seething +mass. Occasionally a plank of drift timber was similarly whirled +up--some thirty or forty feet; disappearing altogether again as it fell +crashing into the roar of the retreating wave. It was a spectacle, +moreover, that changed every few seconds, as the heavy volumes of the +sea hit the breakwater at different angles. The air was thick with the +salt spray; and hot with the sunlight--even on this March morning. + +Then it became time for Mr. Tom and Captain Frank to go and witness a +challenge game of rackets that had been much talked of; and the girls +walked back with them as far as Brunswick Terrace, Madge being with +Frank King. + +'Why is it one never sees Mr. Jacomb now?' he asked of his companion. + +'I saw him only the other day,' she said evasively. + +'But he does not come to the house, does he?' + +'N--no,' said Madge. + +'Has he left Brighton?' + +'Oh no,' answered Madge, and she drew his attention to a brig that was +making up Channel under very scant sail indeed. + +'I daresay he has a good deal of work to do,' said Frank King absently. +'When are they going to be married?' + +Madge saw that the revelation could be put off no longer. + +'Oh, but they are not going to be married. Nan isn't going to be +married at all.' + +He stared at her, as if he had scarcely heard her aright; and then he +said slowly-- + +'Nan isn't going to be married? Why have you never told me before?' + +'Oh, it is a private family matter,' said Madge, petulantly. 'It is +not to be talked about. Besides, how could I know it would interest +you?' + +He remained perfectly silent and thoughtful. They walked along. Madge +began to think she had been too ungracious. + +'I suppose she tried to bring herself to it for a time,' she said, more +gently. 'She has wonderful ideas, Nan has; and I suppose she thought +she could do a deal of good as a clergyman's wife. For my part, I +don't see what she could do more than she does at present. It's just +what she's fit for. Poor people don't resent her going into their +houses as they would if it was you or I. She manages it somehow. +That's how she gets to know all about out-of-the-way sort of things; +she's practical; and people think it strange that a young lady like her +should know the ways and habits of common people; and that's why she +interests them when she talks. There's nothing wonderful in it. +Anybody can find out what the profit is on selling oranges, if you like +to go and talk to a hideous old wretch who is smelling of gin. But I +don't say anything against Nan. It's her way. It's what she was +intended for by Providence, I do believe. But she was sold that time +she wanted to get up a little committee to send a constant supply of +books and magazines to the lighthouses--circulating you know. She +wrote to Sir George about it; and found the Admiralty did that already.' + +There was a strange, hopeless, tired look on this man's face. He did +not seem to hear her. He appeared to know nothing of what was going on +around him. + +When they reached the door of the house, he said,-- + +'Good-bye!' + +'Good-bye?' she repeated, inquiringly. 'I thought we were all going to +see the Exhibition of Paintings this afternoon.' + +'I think I must go up to London for a few days,' he said, with some +hesitation. 'There--is some business----' + +She said no more; but turned and went indoors without a word. He bade +good-bye to Edith and to Nan--not looking into Nan's face at all. Then +he left with the brother, and Mr. Tom was silent, for his friend King +seemed much disturbed about something, and he did not wish to worry him. + +As for Madge, she chose to work herself into a pretty passion, though +she said nothing. That she should have been boasting of her triumph in +inducing, or forcing, him to give up that visit to Ireland only to find +him going off to London without warning or explanation, was altogether +insufferable. She was gloomy and morose all the afternoon; would not +go to see the pictures; refused to come in and speak to certain +callers; and at dinner made a little show of sarcasm that did not hurt +anybody very much. + +The evening brought her a letter. Thus it ran:-- + +'Dear Madge--I thought you looked angry when you went indoors this +morning. Don't quarrel about such a trifle as my going to London. I +shall be back in two or three days; and hope to bring with me the big +photograph of Kingscourt, if they have got any copies printed yet. + +'Your FRANK.' + + +'From whom is your letter, Madge?' Lady Beresford said, incidentally. + +'From Frank, mamma,' said the young lady, as she quietly and +determinedly walked across the room and--thrust it into the fire! + +That same night Miss Madge also wrote a note; but the odd thing was +that the writing of both note and address was in a disguised hand. And +when, some little time thereafter, the others were in the +billiard-room, it was Madge herself who slipped out from the house and +went and dropped that missive into the nearest pillar letter-box. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +A CATASTROPHE. + +However, Madge's ill-temper was never of long duration; and at this +particular time, instead of sinking farther into sulks over the absence +of her lover, she grew day by day more joyous and generous and +affectionate. The change was most marked; and Nan, who was her +sister's chief confidant, could not make it out at all. Her gaiety +became almost hysterical; and her kindness to everybody in the house +ran to extravagance. She bought trinkets for the servants. She +presented Mr. Tom with a boot-jack mounted in silver; and he was +pleased to say that it was the first sensible present he had ever known +a girl make. But it was towards Nan that she was most particularly +affectionate and caressing. + +'You know I'm not clever, Nan,' she said, in a burst of confidence, +'and I haven't got clockworks in my brain, and I daresay I'm not +interesting--_to everybody_. But I know girls who are stupider than I +am who are made plenty of. And of course, if you don't have any +romance when you're young, when are you likely to get it after?' + +'But I don't know what you mean, Madge!' Nan exclaimed. + +Nor did Madge explain at the moment. She continued-- + +'I believe it was you, Nan, who told me of the young lady who remarked, +"What's the use of temptation if you don't yield to it?"' + +'That was only a joke,' said Nan, with her demure smile. + +'Oh, I think there's sense in it,' said the practical Madge. 'It +doesn't do to be too wise when you're young.' + +'It so seldom happens, Madge!' said her sister. + +'There you are again, old Mother Hubbard, with your preaching! But I'm +not going to quarrel with you this time. I want your advice. I want +you to tell me what little thing I should buy for Frank, just to be +friends all round, don't you know?' + +'Friends? Yes, I hope so!' said Nan, with a grave smile. 'But how can +I tell you, Madge? I don't know, as you ought to know, what Captain +King has in the way of cigar-cases or such things----' + +'But call him Frank, Nan! Do, to please me. And I know he would like +it.' + +'Some time I may,' said Nan evasively. 'Afterwards, perhaps.' + +'When you come to Kingscourt,' said Madge, with a curious kind of laugh. + +Nan was silent, and turned away; she never seemed to wish to speak of +Kingscourt or her going there. + +Frank King's stay in London was prolonged for some reason or other; at +length he announced his intention of returning to Brighton on a +particular Thursday. On the Tuesday night Nan and Madge arranged that +they would get fresh flowers the next day for the decoration of the +rooms. + +'And this is what I will do for you, Madge, as it is a special +occasion,' remarked Miss Anne, with grave patronage. 'If you will get +up early tomorrow, I will take you to a place, not more than four miles +off, where you will find any quantity of hart's-tongue fern. It is a +deep ditch, I suppose a quarter of a mile long, and the banks are +covered. Of course I don't want any one to know, for it is so near +Brighton it would be harried for the shops; but I will show you the +place, as you will soon be going away now; and we can take a basket.' + +'But how did you find it out, Nan?' + +'Some one showed it to me.' + +'The singing-woman, I suppose?' + +'Yes. Think of that. I believe she could get twopence a root; and she +might fill a cart there. But she won't touch one.' + +'No,' said Edith, with a superior smile. 'She leaves that for young +ladies who could very well afford to go to a florist's.' + +'What I shall take won't hurt,' said Nan, meekly. + +So, next morning, Nan got up about eight; dressed, and was ready to +start. That is to say, she never arranged her programme for the day +with the slightest respect to meals. So long as she could get an apple +and a piece of bread to put in her pocket she felt provided against +everything. However, she thought she would go along to Madge's room, +and see if that young lady had ideas about breakfast. + +Madge's room was empty; and Nan thought it strange she should have gone +downstairs without knocking at her door in passing. But when Nan also +went below she found that Madge had left the house before any one was +up. She could not understand it at all. + +Mr. Tom came down. + +'Oh,' said he, indifferently, 'she wants to be mighty clever and find +out those ferns for herself.' + +'But I did not tell her where they were. I only said they were on the +road to ----' said Nan, naming the place: the writer has reasons of his +own for not being more explicit. + +'All the cleverer if she can find out. The cheek of the young party is +pyramidal,' said Mr. Tom, as he rang for breakfast. + +But at lunch, also, Madge had not turned up. + +'It is very extraordinary,' said Lady Beresford, though she was too +languid to be deeply concerned. + +'Oh no, it isn't, mother,' said Mr. Tom. 'It's all Nan's fault. Nan +has infected her. The Baby, you'll see, has taken to tramping about +the country with gipsies; and prowling about farmers' kitchens; and +catching leverets, and stuff. We lives on the simple fruits of the +earth, my dears; we eats of the root, and we drinks of the spring; but +that doesn't prevent us having a whacking appetite somewhere about +seven forty-five. Edith, my love, pass me the cayenne-pepper.' + +'Boys shouldn't use cayenne-pepper,' said Nan. + +'And babies should speak only when they're spoken to,' he observed. +'Mother, dear, I have arrived at the opinion that Madge has run away +with young Hanbury. I am certain of it. The young gentleman is fool +enough for anything----' + +'You always were spiteful against Mr. Hanbury,' said Edith, 'because +his feet are smaller than yours.' + +'My love,' retorted Mr. Tom, with imperturbable good-nature, 'his feet +may be small. It is in his stupidity that he is really great. Jack +Hanbury can only be described in the words of the American poet: he is +a commodious ass.' + +Now this conjecture of Mr. Tom's about the cause of Madge's +disappearance was only a piece of gay facetiousness. It never did +really occur to him that any one--that any creature with a head capable +of being broken--would have the wild audacity to run away with one of +his sisters, while he, Mr. Tom Beresford, was to the fore. But that +afternoon post brought Nan a letter. She was amazed to see by the +handwriting that it was from Madge; she was still more alarmed when she +read these words, scrawled with a trembling hand, and in pencil: + +'Dearest, dearest Nan, don't be angry. By the time you get this Jack +and I will be married. It is all for the best, dear Nan; and you will +pacify them; and it is no use following us; for we shall be in France +until it is all smoothed down. Not a single bridesmaid--we +daren't--but what wouldn't I do for Jack's sake? It is time I did +something to make up for all he has suffered--he was looking so ill--in +another month he would have _died_. He worships me. You never saw +anything like it. Jack has just come back; so good-bye; from your +loving, loving sister, MARGARET HANBURY.--Do you know who that is, Nan?' + +Nan, not a little frightened, took the letter to her brother, and gave +it him without a word. But Mr. Tom's rage was at once prompt and +voluble. That she should have disgraced the family--for, of course, +the whole thing would be in the papers! That she should have cheated +and jilted his most particular friend! But as for this fellow +Hanbury---- + +'I said it all along. I told you what would come of it! I knew that +fellow was haunting her like a shadow. Well, we'll see how a shadow +likes being locked up on bread and water. Oh, it's no use your +protesting, Nan; I will let the law take its course. We'll see how he +likes that. "Stone walls do not a prison make"--that's what love-sick +fellows say; don't they? Wait a bit. Mr. Jack Hanbury will find that +stone walls make a very good imitation of a prison, at all events----' + +'But, Tom--dear Tom,' Nan pleaded, 'it is no use making matters worse. +Let us try to make them better. If Madge is married, it can't be +helped now. We must make the best of it----' + +He paid no attention to her; he was still staring at the ill-written +letter. + +'That's all gammon about their going to France. He hasn't money for +travelling. She spent all hers in nick-nacks--to propitiate people, +the sneak! They're in London.' + +He looked at his watch. + +'I can just catch the 5.45 express. Nan, you go and tell the others; +they needn't squawk about it all over Brighton.' + +'What are you going to do, Tom?' said his sister, breathlessly. + +'Find out where they are first. Then Colonel Fitzgerald and Mr. Mason +must take it up. Then Mr. Jack Hanbury will suddenly find himself +inside Millbank prison.' + +She caught him by the hand. + +'Tom, is it wise?' she pleaded again. 'They are married. What is the +use of revenge? You don't want to make your own sister miserable?----' + +'She has brought it on herself,' he said, roughly. + +'Then that is what I am to think of you,' she said, regarding him, +'that some day I may hear you talk in that way about me?' + +He never could resist the appeal of Nan's clear, faithful eyes. + +'You wouldn't be such a fool,' he said. 'And they won't touch Madge. +It's only that fellow they'll go for--the mean hound, to marry a girl +for her money.' + +'How do you know it was for her money, Tom?' Nan pleaded. 'I am +certain they were fond of each other----' + +'I don't want to miss my train,' said he. 'You go and tell the +maternal I'm off to London. I suppose you don't know the address of +Hanbury's father?' + +'No, I don't.' + +'Well, I'm off. Ta, ta!' + +So the irate Mr. Tom departed. But in the comparative silence of the +Pullman car the fury of his rage began to abate; and it dawned upon him +that, after all, Nan's counsel might have something in it. No doubt +these two young fools--as he mentally termed them--were married by this +time. He still clung to the idea that Jack Hanbury deserved +punishment--a horsewhipping or something of the kind; but Madge was +Madge. She was silly; and she had 'got into a hole;' still, she was +Madge. She might be let off with a serious lecture on her folly and on +her disregard of what she owed to the other members of the family. +Only, the first thing was to find out their whereabouts. + +On arriving in London he drove to his club, and after some little +searching discovered that Mr. Gregory Hanbury's address was Adelphi +Terrace, whither he at once repaired. Mr. Hanbury was at dinner. He +sent up his card nevertheless, and asked to be allowed to see Mr. +Hanbury on particular business. The answer was a request that he would +step upstairs into the dining-room. + +He found that occupied by two gentlemen who were dining together at the +upper end of a large table. One came forward to meet him. He took it +for granted this was Mr. Hanbury--a slight, short man, with black hair +and eyes, and a very stiff white cravat. + +'Mr. Beresford,' said he, 'I can guess what has brought you here. Let +me introduce you to my brother--Major Hanbury. It is an unfortunate +business.' + +The other gentleman--also slight and short, but with a sun-browned, +dried-up face, and big gray moustache--bowed and resumed his seat. + +'You know, then, that your son has run away with my sister,' said Mr. +Tom, somewhat hotly--though he had determined to keep his temper. +'Perhaps you know also where they are?' + +'No farther,' said the black-haired gentleman, with perfect calmness, +'than that I believe them to be in London. It is only about a couple +of hours since I heard of the whole affair. I immediately sent for my +brother. It is a most distressing business altogether. Of course you +are chiefly concerned for your sister; but my son is in a far more +serious position.' + +'Yes, I should think so!' exclaimed Mr. Tom. 'I should think he was! +But you don't know where they are?' + +'No; I only know they are in London. I received a letter from my son +this afternoon, asking me to intercede for him with the Court of +Chancery; and it is from this letter that I learn how serious his +position is--more serious than he seems to imagine. He appears to +think that now the marriage has taken place, the Vice-Chancellor will +condone everything----' + +'He won't: I will take good care that he shan't!' Mr. Tom said. + +'My dear sir, I am sorry to say that my son is in a very awkward +situation, even although no personal vindictiveness be shown towards +him. Your sister is not of age, I believe?' + +'Of course not. She's just turned eighteen.' + +'Ah. Then you see, Jack had to declare that she was of age. And he +appears to have stated that he had resided three weeks in the parish, +whereat he only came up from Brighton yesterday morning. And, again, +marrying in the direct teeth of an order of the Court--I am afraid, +sir, that he is in a bad enough predicament without any personal +vengeance being shown him.' + +This seemed to strike Mr. Tom. + +'I don't hit a man when he's down. I will let the law take its course. +I shan't interfere.' + +'Don't you think, sir,' said this man with the calm black eyes and the +quiet manner, 'that it might be wiser, in the interests of your sister, +if you were to help us to arrange some amicable settlement which we +could put before the Court? I believe the guardians of the young lady +were very much misinformed about my son's character and his intentions +with regard to her. I am certain that it was not her fortune that +attracted him, or that could have led him into the perilous position he +now occupies. Now, if we could go before the Vice-Chancellor, and say, +"The marriage is not so unsuitable, after all. The young man comes of +a highly respectable family. His relations (that is, my brother and +myself, sir) are willing to place a substantial sum at his disposal for +investment in a sound business--indeed there is a brewery at +Southampton that my brother has just been speaking of----"' + +'A brewery!' exclaimed Mr. Tom; but he instantly recollected that beer +was as good as soda-water from a social point of view. + +'And if we could say to the Vice-Chancellor that the friends of the +young lady were willing to condone his offence--always providing, of +course, and naturally, that your sister's fortune should be strictly +settled upon herself--then, perhaps, he might be let off with a humble +apology to the Court; and the young people be left to their own +happiness. My dear sir, we lawyers see so much of the inevitable +hardship of human life that when a chance occurs of friendly +compromise----' + +'That's all very well,' blurted out Mr. Tom. 'But I call it very mean +and shabby of him to inveigle my sister away like that. She was +engaged to be married to an old friend of mine; a much better fellow, +I'll be bound! I call it very shabby.' + +'My dear sir,' said the lawyer, placidly, 'I do not seek for a moment +to excuse my son's conduct, except to remind you that at a certain +period of life romance counts for something. I believe many young +ladies are like the young lady in the play--I really forget what her +name was--who was disappointed to find that she was not to be run away +with. However, that is a different matter. I put it to you whether it +would not be better for every one concerned if we were to try to arrive +at an amicable arrangement, and give the young people a fair start in +life.' + +'Of course I can't answer for all our side,' said Mr. Tom, promptly. +'You'd better come with me to-morrow, and we'll talk it over with +Colonel Fitzgerald and Mr. Mason. I don't bear malice. I think what +you say is fair and right--if the settlement is strict. And if it came +to be a question of interceding, there's an old friend of ours, Sir +George Stratherne, who, I know, knows the Vice-chancellor very +intimately----' + +'My dear sir!' the lawyer protested, with either real or affected +horror, 'do not breathe such a thing!--do not think of such a thing. +The duty of the Vice-chancellor to his wards is of the extremest kind; +his decisions are beyond suspicion; what we have got to say we must say +in open court.' + +'But if they were to lock your son up in prison,' said Mr. Tom, with a +gentle smile, 'that couldn't prevent Sir George taking my sister to +call on the Vice-Chancellor some afternoon at his own house. And Madge +is rather pretty. And she might cry.' + +'Will you take a glass of wine, Mr. Beresford?' said the lawyer, +effusively; for he saw that he had quite won over Mr. Tom to his side. + +'No, thank you,' said the latter, rising; 'I must apologise for +interrupting your dinner. I'll look up Colonel Fitzgerald and Mason +to-morrow morning; and bring them along here most likely; that will be +the simplest way. I suppose you are likely to know sooner than any one +where these two fugitives have got to?' + +'I think so. I have sent an advertisement to the morning papers. I +shall certainly counsel my son to surrender at once and throw himself +on the mercy of the Court. My dear sir, I am exceedingly obliged to +you for your kindness, your very great kindness in calling.' + +'Oh, don't mention it,' said Mr. Tom, going to the door. And then he +added, ruefully, 'Now I've got to go and hunt up my friend; and tell +him that my own sister has jilted him. You've no idea what a treat +that will be!' + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +AT LAST. + +He found Frank King in the little room in Cleveland Row, alone, sitting +before the fire, a shut book on the small table beside him. + +'I've got bad news for you, King,' he said, bluntly. 'I wish it hadn't +been my sister. But you know what women are. It's better to have +nothing at all to do with them.' + +'But what is it?' Frank King said, with some alarm on his face. + +'Madge has bolted.' + +'Madge has bolted?' the other repeated, staring at Mr. Tom in a +bewildered sort of way. + +'Yes. Gone and married that fellow Hanbury. This morning. I'm very +sorry I have to come to you with a story like that about my own sister.' + +Mr. Tom was very much surprised to find his friend jump up from the +chair and seize him by the arm. + +'Do you know this, Beresford,' he said, in great excitement, 'you have +taken a millstone from my neck. I have been sitting wondering whether +I shouldn't cut my throat at once, or make off for Australia----' + +'Oh, come, I say!' interposed Mr. Tom, with a quick flush. + +'Oh, you needn't think I have anything to say against your sister,' +exclaimed his friend--on whose face there was a sudden and quite +radiant gladness. 'You don't understand it at all, Beresford. It will +take some explanation. But I assure you you could not have brought me +pleasanter news; and yet I have not a word to say against your sister. +I know that is a privilege you reserve for yourself; and quite right +too.' + +It was manifestly clear that Captain King was not shamming +satisfaction; not for many a day had his face looked so bright. + +'Well, I'm glad you take it that way,' said Mr. Tom. 'I thought you +would be cut up. Most fellows are; though they pretend not to be. I +really do believe you're rather glad that Madge has given you the slip.' + +'Sit down, Beresford, and I will tell you all about it. I proposed to +your sister Anne years ago.' + +'To Nan? Why wasn't I told?' + +'These things are not generally preached from the house-tops. She +refused me point-blank; and I knew she was a girl who knew her own +mind. Then I rejoined my ship; and remained mostly abroad for a long +time. I fancied it would all blow over; but it didn't; I was harder +hit than I thought; and then, you know, sailors are driven to think of +bygone things. Well, you remember when I came home--when I met you in +the street. I thought I should like to have just another glimpse of +Nan--of Miss Anne, I mean--before she married the parson. Do you +remember my going into the drawing-room? Madge was there--the perfect +image of Nan! Indeed; I thought at first she was Nan herself. And +wasn't it natural I should imagine the two sisters must be alike in +disposition too? And then, as it was hopeless about Nan, I fancied--I +imagined--well, the truth is, I made a most confounded mistake, +Beresford; and the only thing I have been thinking of, day and night, +of late, was what was the proper and manly thing to do--whether to tell +Madge frankly--or whether to say nothing, with the hope that after +marriage it would all come right. And now you needn't wonder at my +being precious glad she has herself settled the affair; and there is +not a human being in the world more heartily wishes her lifelong +happiness than I do. And I wish to goodness I knew some way of letting +her know that too.' + +Tom stretched out his legs--his hands were in his pockets--and said, +contemplatively,-- + +'So you thought Madge was the same as Nan. I could have told you +different, if you had asked me. You thought you could find another +girl like Nan. If you want to try, you'll have to step out. By the +time you've found her, the Wandering Jew 'll be a fool compared to you. +Girls like Nan don't grow on every blackberry bush.' + +'I know that,' said Frank King, with a sigh. + +Then Mr. Tom looked at his watch. + +'I'm very hungry,' said he. 'Have you dined?' + +'No, I have not. I was going to walk along to the club when you came +in.' + +'Come with me to the Waterloo. You see, something must be done about +these two ninnies. He must get something to do; and set to work. The +Baby has never been accustomed to live up a tree. She must have a +proper house.' + +Frank King got his coat and hat; and they both went out. He was +thinking of his own affairs mostly--and of this singular sense of +relief that seemed to permeate him; Mr. Tom, on the other hand, was +discussing the various aspects of the elopement, more particularly with +regard to the Court of Chancery. During dinner the two friends arrived +at the conclusion that people generally would look upon the affair as a +harmless, or even humorous, escapade; and that the Court, seeing that +the thing was done, would allow the young people to go their way, with +a suitable admonition. + +This was not quite what happened, however. To begin with, there was a +clamour of contention and advice among guardians and friends; there +were anonymous appeals to the runaways in agony-columns; there were +futile attempts made to pacify the Court of Chancery. All the +Beresfords came up to town, except Nan, who remained to look after the +Brighton house. The chief difficulty of the moment was to discover the +whereabouts of Mr. John Hanbury. That gentleman was coy; and wanted to +find out something of what was likely to happen to him if he emerged +from his hiding-place. At last it was conveyed to him that he was only +making matters worse; then he wrote from certain furnished apartments +in a house on the south-west side of Regent's Park; finally, there was +a series of business interviews, and it was arranged that on a +particular day he should attend the Court and hear the decision of the +Vice-Chancellor. + +On that fateful morning, poor Madge, her pretty eyes all bedimmed with +tears, and her lips tremulous, was with her sisters and mother in the +rooms in Bruton Street; the gentlemen only attended the Court. Jack +Hanbury was looking exceedingly nervous and pale. And indeed, when the +case came on, and the Vice-chancellor began to make certain +observations, even Mr. Tom, whose care for the future of his sister had +now quite overcome all his scorn for that fellow Hanbury, grew somewhat +alarmed. The Court did not all appear inclined to take the +free-and-easy view of the matter that had been anticipated. The +Vice-Chancellor's sentences, one after the other, seemed to become more +and more severe, as he described the gross conduct and contempt of +which this young man had been guilty. He deplored the condition of the +law in England, which allowed persons to get married on the strength of +false statements. He wound up his lecture, which had a conciseness and +pertinence about it not often found in lectures, by the brief +announcement that he should forthwith make an order committing Mr. John +Hanbury to Holloway Prison. + +There was an ominous silence for a brief second or so. Then the Court +was addressed by Mr. Rupert--who was Mary Beresford's husband, and a +fairly well-known Q.C.--who made a very humble and touching little +appeal. He said he represented the relatives of the young lady; he was +himself a near relative; and they were all inclined to beg his Lordship +to take a merciful view of the case. They did not think the young man, +though he had acted most improperly, was inspired by mercenary motives. +He was now in Court; and was anxious to make the most profound apology. +If his Lordship---- + +But at this moment his Lordship, by the slightest of gestures, seemed +to intimate that Mr. Rupert was only wasting time; and the end of it +was that Mr. Jack Hanbury, after having heard a little more lecturing +on the heinousness of his conduct, found himself under the charge of +the tipstaff of the Court, with Holloway prison as his destination. It +was not to be considered as a humorous escapade after all. + +'Madge will have a fit,' said Mr. Tom, when they were outside again. +'Some one must go and tell her. I shan't.' + +'I knew he must be committed,' said Mr. Rupert to the young man's +father. 'There was no help for that; his contempt of Court was too +heinous. Now the proper thing to do is to let him have a little dose +of prison--the authority of the Court must be vindicated, naturally; +and then we must have a definite scheme for the establishment of the +young man in business before we beg the Court to reconsider the matter. +I mean, you must name a sum; and it must be ready. And then there must +be an understanding that Miss Beresford--I mean Mrs. Hanbury's--small +fortune shall be settled on herself.' + +'My advice,' remarked Mr. Tom, 'is that Madge should go herself and see +the Vice-Chancellor. She might do the pathetic business--a wife and +not a widow, or whatever the poetry of the thing is. I think it's +deuced hard lines to lock up a fellow for merely humbugging an old +parson up in Kentish Town. Why shouldn't people get married when they +want to? Fancy having to live three weeks in Kentish Town! I wouldn't +live three weeks in Kentish Town to marry a Duchess.' + +'I am afraid,' said Mr. Rupert, drily, 'that the Vice-chancellor is too +familiar with the sight of pretty damsels in distress. I think, Mr. +Hanbury, if you can produce a deed of partnership with your friends in +Southampton, that would be more likely to influence the Court. On our +side we agree. And of course there must be a humble apology from the +young man himself. We had better wait a week, or a fortnight, and then +renew the application. I will go myself and tell the young lady what +has happened.' + +Madge did not go into a fit at all; but what she did do was to decline +positively to remain in Bruton Street. No; back she would go to the +rooms that her dear Jack had taken for her. They might come to see her +there if they liked; but that was her home; it was her place as a wife +to remain in the home that her husband had chosen for her. Madge did +not cry as much as had been expected; she was angry and indignant, and +she said hard things about the condition of the law in England; and she +had a vague belief that her brother Tom was a renegade and traitor and +coward because he did not challenge the Vice-Chancellor to a duel on +Calais sands. + +Nevertheless, in her enforced widowhood, Madge found time to write the +enclosed letter--nay, she went first of all to the trouble of walking +down Baker Street until she came to a shop where she could get very +pretty and nicely scented notepaper for the purpose:-- + +'DEAR FRANK--Tom brought me yesterday your very manly and generous +letter, and I must write and thank you for your kind wishes for my +happiness. It's dreadful to think that persons should be shut up in +prison, when everybody is agreed it is needless--merely to satisfy a +form. You are very kind in what you say; you were always kind to +me--kinder than I deserved. But I didn't think you would mind very +much my running away; for I am sure you care far more for Nan than you +ever cared for me; and now Edith declares that Nan has been in love +with you all the time. I hear you have been doing everything in your +power towards getting poor Jack out of prison; and so I thought I would +do you a good turn also. You might take this letter to Nan, and ask +her if every word in it isn't true--unless you think you've had enough +of our family already. Dear Frank, I am so glad you forgive me; and +when I get out of my present deep distress I hope you will come and see +us and be like old friends.--Yours sincerely, MADGE HANBURY.' + + +At this present moment Captain King, as they still call him (for all +these things happened not so long ago), considers this letter the most +valuable he ever received. Not any message from home announcing to the +schoolboy that a hamper would speedily arrive; not any communication +from the Admiralty after he had arrived at man's estate; nay, not any +one of Nan's numerous love-letters--witty, and tender, and clever, as +these were--had for him anything like the gigantic importance of this +letter. It is needless to say that, very shortly after the receipt of +it, and without saying a word to anybody, he slipped down to Brighton, +and got a room at the Norfolk. + +It was so strange to think that Nan was a little way along there; and +that there was still a chance that that same Nan--the wonder of the +world with whose going away from him the world had got quite altered +somehow--might still be his! It bewildered him as yet. To think of +Nan at Kingscourt!--her presence filling the house with sunlight; +charming everybody with her quiet, humorous ways, and her +self-possession, and her sweetness, and the faithfulness of her frank, +clear eyes! And all his thinking came back to the one point. This was +now Nan herself he had a chance of winning; not any imaginary Nan; not +any substitute; not any vision to be wavering this way and that; but +the very Nan herself. And if it was true--if the real Nan, after all, +was to go hand-in-hand through life with him--where, of all the places +in the world, should they first go to together? To that far-away inn +at Splügen, surely! Now it would be his own Nan who would sit at the +small table, and laugh with her shining, clear eyes. She would walk +with him up the steep Pass; the sunlight on her pink cheeks; he would +hear the chirp of her boots on the wet snow. + +Amid all this wild whirl of hope and doubt and delightful assurance, it +was hard to have to wait for an opportunity of speaking to Nan alone. +He would not go to the house, lest there should be visitors, or some +one staying there; he would rather catch Nan on one of her pilgrimages +in the country or along the downs, with solitude and silence to aid him +in his prayer. But that chance seemed far off. He watched for Nan +incessantly; and his sharp sailor's eyes followed her keenly, while he +kept at a considerable distance. But Nan seemed to be very busy at +this time. Again and again he was tempted to speak to her as she came +out of this or that shop, or when he saw her carrying an armful of toys +into some small back street. But he was afraid. There was so much to +win; so much to lose. He guessed that sooner or later the vagrant +blood in Nan would drive her to seek the solitariness of the high +cliffs over the sea. + +It turned out differently, however. One squally and stormy morning he +saw her leave the house, her ulster buttoned up, her hat well down over +her brows. He let her pass the hotel, and slipped out afterwards. By +and by she turned up into the town, and finally entered a stationer's +shop, where there was a public library. No doubt she had merely come +to order some books, he said to himself, downheartedly, and would go +straight back again. + +However, on coming out, he noticed her glance up at the driven sky, +where the clouds were breaking here and there. Then she went down East +Street towards the sea. Then she passed the Aquarium by the lower +road. This he could not understand at all, as she generally kept to +the cliffs. + +He soon discovered her intention. There was a heavy sea rolling in; +and she had always had a great delight in watching the big waves come +swinging past the head of the Chain Pier. That, indeed, turned out to +be her destination. When he had seen the slight, girlish-looking +figure well away out there, he also went on the Pier, and followed. + +It is needless to say that there was not a human being out there at the +end. Tags and rags of flying clouds were sending showers of rain +spinning across; between them great bursts of sunlight flooded the sea; +and the vast green masses of water shone as they broke on the wooden +piles and thundered on below. When he reached the head of the Pier, he +found that Nan, who fancied herself entirely alone, was resting her two +elbows on the bar, and so holding on her hat, as she looked down on the +mighty volumes of water that broke and rushed roaring below. + +He touched her on the shoulder; she jumped up with a start, and turned, +growing a little pale as she confronted him. He, also, had an +apprehensive look in his eyes--perhaps it was that that frightened her. + +'Nothing has happened to Madge?' she said, quickly. + +'No. But come over there to the shelter. I wish to show you a letter +she has written.' + +A few steps brought them to a sudden silence; it was like stepping from +the outer air into a diving-bell. + +'Nan, I want you to read this letter, and tell me if it is true.' + +He gave it her; she read it; then slowly, very slowly, the one hand +holding the letter dropped, and she stood there silent, her eyes +downcast. + +'Nan, I have loved you since the very first night I ever saw you. I +tried to make believe that Madge was you; Madge herself has saved us +from what might have happened through that desperate mistake. And you, +Nan--you are free now--there is no one in the way--is it true what +Edith says?' + +'It isn't quite true,' said Nan, in a very low voice; and her fingers +were making sad work with Madge's letter. 'I mean--if she means--what +you can say--since the very first night that we met. But I think at +least--it is true--since'--and here Nan looked up at him with her +faithful eyes, and in them there was something that was neither +laughing nor crying, but was strangely near to both--'since--since ever +we parted at Como!' + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +'BRING HOME THE BRIDE SO FAIR!' + +'Poor Jack!' that was all Madge's cry. She did not care what +arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested. +She did not want her fortune settled on herself. To her it did not +matter whether the brewery was in Southampton or in Jerusalem. All her +piteous appeal was that her dear Jack should be got out of prison; and +the opinion that she had formed of the gross tyranny, and cruelty, and +obstinacy of English law was of a character that dare not be set forth +here. + +'What is the use of it?' she would say. 'What good can it do except to +keep people miserable?' + +'My dear child,' the sighing and sorely-troubled mother would answer, +'the Vice-Chancellor has admitted that it can do no good. But the +authority of the Court must be vindicated----' + +'It is nothing but a mean and contemptible revenge?' exclaimed Madge. + +However, Mr. Tom took a much more cool and business-like view of the +matter. + +'When he is let out,' he remarked, 'I hope the Vice-chancellor will +make the other side pay the costs of all these applications and +proceedings. I don't see why we should pay, simply because Jack +Hanbury went and made an ass of himself.' + +'I beg you to remember that you are speaking of my husband?' said +Madge, with a sudden fierceness. + +'Oh, well, but didn't he?' Mr. Tom said. 'What was the use of bolting +like that, when he knew he must be laid by the heels? Why didn't he go +to his father and uncle to begin with, and get them to make this +arrangement they have now, and then have gone to the chief clerk and +showed him that there was no objection anywhere----' + +'It was because you were all against him,' said poor Madge, beginning +to cry. 'Everybody--everybody. And now he may be shut up there for a +whole year--or two years----' + +'Oh, but he isn't so badly off,' said Mr. Tom, soothingly. 'You can +see they treat him very well. By Jingo, if it was the treadmill, +now--that would exercise his toes for him. I tried it once in York +Castle; and I can tell you when you find this thing pawing at you over +your head it's like an elephant having a game with you. Never mind, +Madge. Don't cry. Look here; I'll bet you five sovereigns to one that +they let him out on the next application--that's for Thursday. Are you +on?' + +'Do you mean it?' she said, looking up. + +'I do.' + +It was wonderful how quickly the light came into her face. + +'Then there is a chance?' she said. 'I can't believe the others; for +they are only trying to comfort me. But if you would bet on it, +Tom--then there's really a chance.' + +'Bet's off. You should have snapped at it, Madge. Never mind, you'll +have your dear Jack: that'll do instead.' + +That afternoon Mary Beresford, now Mrs. Rupert, called, and Mr. Tom, +with much dignity of manner, came into the room holding an open letter +in his hand, + +'Ladies and gentlemen,' he said, 'and friends assembled, I have a piece +of news for you. Mr. Francis Holford King, late Commander in Her +Majesty's Navy, has just contracted a--what d'ye call it?--kind of +engagement with Miss Anne Beresford of that ilk. It strikes me this is +what is termed consolation-stakes----' + +'There you are quite wrong,' said Madge, promptly and cheerfully. 'He +meant to make me the consolation-stakes: for it was Nan that he wanted +to marry all the way through.' + +'Well, I shall be glad to see you all married,' said Tom. 'I've had +enough bother with you.' + +'You look quite worn out,' his eldest sister remarked. + +'At least,' he said, sitting down in an easy-chair and stretching out +his legs, 'at least I have gained some wisdom. I see the puzzlement +you girls are in who haven't got to earn your own living. You don't +know what on earth to do with yourselves. You read Ruskin, and think +you should be earnest; but you don't know what to be earnest about. +Then you take to improving your mind; and cram your head full of +earth-currents, and equinoxes, and eclipses of the moon. But what does +it all come to? You can't do anything with it. Even if you could come +and tell me that a lime-burner in Jupiter has thrown his wig into the +fire, and so altered the spectrum, what's that to me? Then you have a +go at philanthropy--that's more practical; Sunday-school teaching, +mending children's clothes, doing for other people what they ought to +do for themselves, and generally cultivating pauperism. Then, lo and +behold! in the middle of all this there comes by a good-looking young +fellow; and phew! all your grand ideas are off like smoke; and it's all +"Dear Jack!" and "Dear Alfred!" and "I'll go to the ends of the earth +with my sodger laddie!" Oh, I know what life is. I see you girls +begin with all your fine ideas, and reading up, and earnestness----' + +'I suppose, then, there is no such thing as the formation of +character,' said his eldest sister, calmly. + +'The formation of character!' exclaimed Mr. Tom. 'Out of books? Why, +the only one among you who has any character worth mentioning is Nan. +Do you think she got it out of books? No, she didn't. She got it--she +got it----' + +Here Mr. Tom paused for a second; but only to make a wilder dash. + +'----out of the sunlight! There's a grand poetical idea for you. Nan +has been more in the open than any of you; and the sunlight has filled +her brain, and her mind, and her disposition altogether----' + +'I presume that also accounts for the redness of her hair?' said Mrs. +Rupert. + +Tom rose to his feet. There was an air of resignation on his face as +he left the room. He said, half to himself, + +'Well, Nature was right in making me a man. I couldn't have mustered +up half enough spite to make a passable woman.' + +Now, the end of the Madge and Jack episode was in this wise. On the +second application the Vice-Chancellor flatly refused to release the +young man from prison. His gross offence had not yet been purged. It +was quite true, his Lordship admitted, that the young lady and the +guardians and relatives on both sides were also sharing in this +punishment; and it was unfortunate. Moreover, arrangements had now +been made which seemed to render the marriage a perfectly eligible one, +if only it had been properly brought about. Nevertheless the Court +could not overlook the young man's conduct; in prison he was; and in +prison he must remain. + +More tears on the part of Madge. More advice from Mr. Tom that she +should go and plead with the Vice-Chancellor herself; he was sure her +pretty, weeping eyes would soften the flintiest heart. Correspondence +addressed by Captain Frank King to Admiral Sir George Stratherne, +K.C.B., containing suggestions not in consonance with the lofty +integrity of British courts of law. + +Then, at last, the Vice-chancellor relented. Mr. Hanbury had given an +undertaking to execute any settlement the Court might think fit with +regard to the young lady's property. Then he must pay all costs of the +proceedings, likewise the guardians' costs. This being so, his +Lordship was disposed to take a merciful view of the case; and would +make an order discharging the young man from prison. + +'Oh, Jack,' poor Madge exclaimed, when he was restored to her, 'shall I +ever forget what you have suffered for my sake?' + +Jack looked rather foolish among all these people; but at last he +plucked up courage, and went and made a straightforward apology to Lady +Beresford; and said he hoped this piece of folly would soon be +forgotten; and that Madge would be happy after all. The sisters were +disposed to pet him. Tom tolerated him a little. Then there was a +general bustle; for they were all (including Frank King) going down +again to Brighton; and they made a large party. + +How clear the air and the sunlight were after the close atmosphere of +London! The shining sea--the fresh breeze blowing in--the busy +brightness and cheerfulness of the King's Road--it all seemed new and +delightful again! And of course amidst the general clamour and +commotion of getting into the house, who was to take much notice of +Nan, or watch her self-conscious shyness, or regard the manner in which +she received Frank King after his absence? You see, Nan was always +wanted to do things, or fetch things, or send for things. 'She's a +house-keeperish kind of young party,' Tom used to say of her, when he +had coolly sent her to look out his shooting-boots. + +The spring-time was come; not only was the sunshine clearer, and the +wind from the sea softer and fresher, but human nature, also, grew +conscious of vague anticipations and an indefinable delight, Flowers +from the sheltered valleys behind the downs began to appear in the +streets. The year was opening; soon the colours of the summer would +shining over the land. + +'Nan-nie,' said Frank King to her who was most occasions now his only +and dear companion, they were walking along one of the country ways, +'don't you think June is a good month to get married in?' + +'Frank dear,' she said, 'I haven't had much experience.' + +'Now, look here, Nan,' he said--the others were a long way ahead, and +he could scold her as he liked. 'You may have some strong +points--wisdom, perhaps--and a capacity for extracting money out of +people for lifeboats--and a knack of boxing the ears of small boys whom +you find shying stones at sparrows--I say you may have your strong +points; but flippancy isn't one of them. And this is a very serious +matter.' + +'I know it is,' said Nan, demurely. 'And far more serious than you +imagine. For, do you know, Frank, that the moment I get married I +shall cease to be responsible for the direction of my own life +altogether. You alone will be responsible. Whatever you say I should +do, I will do; what you say I must think, or believe, or try for, that +will be my guide. Don't you know that I have been trying all my life +to get rid of the responsibility of deciding for myself? I nearly +ended--like such a lot of people!--in "going over to the Church." Oh, +Frank,' she said, 'I think if it hadn't been for you I should have +married a clergyman, and been good.' + +She laughed a little, soft, low laugh; and continued: + +'No, I think that never could have happened. But I should have done +something--gone into one of those visiting sisterhoods, or got trained +as a nurse--you don't know what a good hospital nurse you spoiled in +me. However, now that is not my business. Undine got a soul when she +married; I give up mine. I shall efface myself. It's you who have to +tell me what to think, and believe, and try to do.' + +'Very well,' said he. 'I shall begin by advising you to give up +cultivating the acquaintance of tinkers and gipsies; and first of all +to resolve not to speak again to Singing Sal.' + +'Oh, but that's foolish--that is unnecessary!' she said, with a stare; +and he burst out laughing. + +'Here we are at the outset!' he said. 'But don't you think, Nan-nie, +you might let things go on as they are? You haven't done so badly +after all. Do you know that people don't altogether detest you? Some +of them would even say that you made the world a little brighter and +pleasanter for those around you; and that is always something.' + +'But it's so little,' said Nan. 'And--and I had thought of--of I don't +know what, I believe--in that Cathedral at Lucerne--and now I am going +to do just like everybody else. It's rather sneaky.' + +'What is?' he asked. 'To be a good woman?' + +'Oh, you are not philosophical,' she said. 'And me--me too. My brain, +what there was of it, is clean gone; my heart has got complete mastery. +It is really ludicrous that my highest ambition, and my highest +delight, should be to be able to say "I love you," and to go on saying +it any number of times. But then, dear Frank, when all this nonsense +is over between us, then we will set to work and try and do some good. +There must be something for us to do in the world.' + +'Oh yes, no doubt,' he said, 'and do you know when I think this +nonsense will be over between you and me, Nan?--when you and I are +lying dead together in Kingscourt churchyard.' + +She touched his hand with her hand--for a moment. + +'And perhaps not even then, Frank.' + + * * * * * * + +Well, it was a double wedding, after all; and Mr. Roberts was +determined that it should be memorable in Brighton, if music, and +flowers, and public charities would serve. Then Mr. and Mrs. Jack +Hanbury were to come along from Southampton; and Mr. Jacomb had, in the +most frank and manly fashion, himself asked permission to assist at the +marriage ceremony. There were, of course, many presents; two of which +were especially grateful to Nan. The first was a dragon-fly in rubies +and diamonds, the box enclosing which was wrapped round by a sheet of +note-paper really belonging to Her Majesty, and hailing from Whitehall. +These were the words scrawled on the sheet of paper:-- + +'_This is for the wedding of the BEAUTIFUL WRETCH, who has now +completed the list of her atrocities by jilting her oldest +sweetheart.--G. S._' + +The second present that was particularly prized by Nan carries us on to +the wedding-day. It was one of the clearest of clear June days; a +fresh southerly wind tempering the heat; there was scarcely a cloud in +the blue. How these rumours get about it is impossible to say; but a +good many people seemed to have discovered that there was to be a +double wedding; and there was an unusual crowd about the entrance to +the church and along both sides of the roofed portico. Among these +people was one who attracted a little mild polite curiosity. She was a +country-looking, fresh-complexioned young woman, who was smartly +dressed and trim as to ribbons and such things; and she held in her +hand a basket of fairly good size and of fancy wicker-work. And this +basket, those nearest her could see, held nothing else than a mass of +wild roses, all with the thorns carefully removed from the stems, and +set in a bed of moss and sweetbrier leaves. It was such a bouquet, +surely, as had never been presented to a bride before--if, indeed, it +was, intended for the bride. + +That was soon to be seen. The great organ was still pealing out +Mendelssohn's 'Wedding March' (Mr. Tom had offered to give 10 pounds to +the poor-box of the choir if the choristers would play instead the +Swedish 'Bring home the bride so fair!')--(forgetting that there were +two brides, and that Edith was dark) when the first of the bridal +procession came along, Edith and her husband and her bridesmaids. Then +came Nan. As she was passing, the fresh-coloured wench timidly stepped +forward and offered her the basket of wild roses. Nan stopped; glanced +at her, and recognised her; and then, to the wonder of the crowd, they +saw the young bride take the basket with her trembling white-gloved +fingers, while the other hand was boldly put forward to shake hands +with the country lass. Singing Sal was greatly taken aback; but she +took Nan's hand for the briefest second, and managed to say something +quite incoherent about 'long life and happiness, Miss--I beg your +pardon, Miss--Ma'am;' and then the gleaming procession passed on. + +Nan was very proud of that basket of wild flowers. She would not part +with it. She had it placed before her on the table when all the people +had assembled and sat down. And perhaps there was one there who, +looking alternately at the bright-eyed bride who sat beside him, and at +that basket of wild roses, red, and white, and pink, and whitish-red +and whitish-pink, may have said to himself that there was no red one +there half so red as her lips, and no white one half so white as her +clear and shining soul. + + +FINIS. + + + + + +THE PUPIL OF AURELIUS + + +BY + +WILLIAM BLACK + + + +AUTHOR OF 'MACLEOD OF DARE,' 'SUNRISE,' ETC. + + + +NEW EDITION + + + +LONDON + +MACMILLAN AND CO. + +1882 + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER + + I. A Blow Faced + II. Alone in London + III. A Fellow-sufferer + IV. A Resolve + V. Treasure Trove + VI. The End of the Episode + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +A BLOW FACED. + +On a Sunday morning in the early part of November 1878 a stranger +arrived at Euston Square, and passed from the gloom of the station into +the brighter air of the London streets, there pausing for a second or +two to look around him. He was a man of about fifty, short, thin, +wiry, square-shouldered; his features firm even to sternness, and +hardened by exposure to wind and weather; his hair gray; his beard also +gray and clipped short. The harshness of his face, however, was in a +measure tempered by the look of his eyes; these were calm and +contemplative, perhaps even with a shade of melancholy in them. For +the rest, he was well and warmly clad in home-spun cloth; and he +carried with him a small hand-bag, which appeared to be his only +luggage. + +He hesitated only for a moment. As he turned off to the left he met +two labourers coming along. + +'This is the way to London Bridge, is it not?' he asked, slowly, and +with a strong northern accent. + +'Yes, sir,' said one of them; and then, as he looked after the +departing stranger, he took the pipe from his mouth and grinned, and +said to his companion, + +'Scottie means to walk it.' + +The new-comer's next encounter was less satisfactory. A drunken-faced +woman jumped up from a door-step and begged for alms. He had not seen +her. Instinctively his hand went to his pocket. Then he glanced at +her. + +'No!' he said, with unnecessary severity, and passed on. + +But instantly the woman was transformed into a cursing and swearing +virago. She followed him, making the little thoroughfare resound with +her shrill abuse. Most people would, in such circumstances, have +looked out for a policeman, or tried to get away somewhere, but this +man turned round and stood still and regarded the woman. There was +neither anger nor surprise nor scorn in his look, but a calm +observation. He listened to her foul language, as if wishing to +understand it; and he regarded the bloated face and bleared eyes. The +woman was not prepared for this examination. With another parting +volley she slunk off. Then the new-comer continued on his way, saying +only to himself: + +'It is strange. I do not think that God could have meant any of His +creatures to be like that.' + +Now let us see what manner of man this was who was passing into the +larger space and wan sunlight of Euston Road, making for London Bridge, +with but little hurry, and always with his eyes regarding the withered +trees, or the closed shops, or the early omnibuses, with an observation +that had no curiosity in it, rather as if these were mere passing +phenomena that left no permanent impression on a mind too busily +occupied with its own speculations. + +His name was John Douglas. His father had been a small shipowner in +Greenock, and, dying, had left this, his eldest son, a fortune of about +10,000 pounds. John Douglas, after patient judgment of the matter, +arrived at the conclusion that it was far from just and fitting that he +should have the exclusive use of this money, so he lent 7000 pounds, or +thereabouts, to his two younger brothers, who forthwith took it, and, +unhappily, themselves also, to the bottom of the sea, in a vessel +which, recklessly, they had not insured. Thereupon John Douglas, +having still over 3000 pounds, invested it in what was then considered +a safe concern, and finding his wants very few and very simple, +repaired to the Renfrewshire coast, and found there a small cottage +overlooking the Firth of Clyde and the sea, where he could live cheaply +and comfortably. And he did live there very comfortably and +contentedly, though not quite to the satisfaction of his neighbours, +who resented the intrusion amongst them of a man who minded his own +business, who would not listen to any tittle-tattle, who was absolutely +indifferent as to what opinion, good or ill, they might have of him, +and who took long and solitary walks among the hills on Sundays as on +other days. + +It ought to be said here at the outset that this man's character is not +set up as in any way an exemplar. If mankind at large were so many +John Douglases the world would not get on at all. We should have no +iron bridges built, or Atlantic cables laid, or financial companies +started, and we certainly should not have any man-killing machines a +million or half-a-million strong; whereas every well-conducted person +knows that such things are now-a-days absolutely necessary. The truth +is, that John Douglas, or Captain Douglas, as the neighbours called him +with a kind of grudging respect, was a skulker from the battle of +humanity. What he wanted was a beach of white sand, a hot day, a blue +sea, a book, a pipe, and the absence of his fellow-creatures. He was +kind to such people as he was forced to meet; and he was a favourite +amongst the children in that part, for he bought them toys and +sweetmeats when he went to Greenock; but he preferred the society of +his books to that of his neighbours, and he was impatient of idle talk. +Indeed, what was the use of their conversing with a man who was far +more interested in the first blossoming of the furze in spring than in +a Cabinet crisis, and who would go away and search for birds' nests in +the woods, for the mere pleasure of looking at them, when the whole +civilised world, from the Cloch Lighthouse all the way to Largs, was +convulsed with the news that minister in a parish adjacent had been +heard to say something disrespectful about Calvin? + +The three books, one or other of which John Douglas usually carried +with him on his rambles by sea-shore or through some country lanes, +were the New Testament, Marcus Aurelius, and Tannahill's Poems; but +perhaps it was the wise Emperor with whom he most closely communed as +the waves rippled along the sand, and the shifting lights crossed the +clear blue of the Arran hills. He had so entered into the spirit of +that proud and patient stoicism, that he considered himself proof +against anything that might happen to him in life or in death. It was +a voice from far away, it is true--muffled, as if from the tomb; but it +was human, sympathetic, kindly in the main. + +'Every moment think steadily as a Roman and a man to do what thou hast +in hand with perfect and simple dignity, and feeling of affection, and +freedom, and justice; and to give thyself relief from all other +thoughts. And thou wilt give thyself relief, if thou doest every act +of thy life as if it were the last, laying aside all carelessness and +passionate aversion from the commands of reason, and all hypocrisy, and +self-love, and discontent with the portion which has been given to +thee. Thou seest how few the things are, the which if a man lays hold +of, he is able to live a life which flows in quiet, and is like the +existence of the gods; for the gods, on their part, will require +nothing more from him who observes these things.' + +And again: + +'If thou workest at that which is before thee, following right reason +seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to +distract thee, but keeping thy divine part pure, as if thou shouldst be +bound to give it back immediately; if thou holdest to this, expecting +nothing, fearing nothing, but satisfied with thy present activity +according to nature, and with heroic truth in every word and sound +which thou utterest, thou wilt live happy. And there is no man who is +able to prevent this.' + +Or if one should not find any great work in the world to tackle?-- + +'Always bear this in mind, that very little indeed is necessary for +living a happy life. And because thou hast despaired of becoming a +dialectician, and skilled in the knowledge of nature, do not for this +reason renounce the hope of being both free and modest and social and +obedient to God.' + +Or has one been injured?-- + +'The best way of avenging thyself is not to become like the wrongdoer.' + +Why should one desire praise or fear blame?-- + +'Which of these things is beautiful because it is praised, or spoiled +by being blamed? Is such a thing as an emerald made worse than it was +if it is not praised? or gold, ivory, purple, a lyre, a little knife, a +flower, a shrub?' + +John Douglas knew nothing of the opinion in which he was held by his +neighbours; and, if he had known, he would not have heeded one jot. + +Now it was in the waning of the year, when the great fuchsia-tree +covering the front of Braeside Cottage had dropped all its dark-red +bells, and when the rowan-trees along the road were yellowing, though +masses of the scarlet berries still remained to delight the eye, that +the news of the breaking of the City of Glasgow Bank came to these +parts. There were those who knew that the residue of Captain Douglas's +small fortune was invested in that flourishing concern, which had been +paying dividends of 10 and 11 per cent; and they also suspected that he +would know nothing of the terrible crash, for he seldom read +newspapers. But not one of them would go and take the bad news to him. +If he had not been a very sociable man, it was not through pride. He +had done many generous actions. The children were fond of him. They +waited for himself to find out the misfortune that had overtaken him. + +Douglas's first intimation was contained in a letter sent him by a +solicitor in Greenock. The vague reference to what had happened he did +not understand at first; but he called his old housekeeper and bade her +to bring him the newspapers of the last few days; and then he sat down, +quietly and composedly, and read the story of his ruin. + +First came rumours about a certain bank. Then the definite statement +that the City of Glasgow Bank had suspended payment. Then guesses at +the deficit, beginning with 3,000,000 pounds, along with indignant +comments about the manner in which the business of the bank had been +conducted, and commiseration for the shareholders, the large majority +of whom, it was anticipated, would have to surrender every farthing of +which they were possessed. + +Douglas read on and read through; and was neither shocked nor +bewildered. He even remembered something about an official +communication which he had opened a day or two before, and hastily +dropped in order to fling a book at a strange cat that had come into +the garden, and was cowering in wait for a chaffinch. He scarcely knew +enough of business to understand who the creditors were; but he could +perceive that if they had even 2,000,000 pounds owing to them, the +first calls would far more than sweep away his little property and +leave him a beggar. Very well. He looked at the newspapers again; +there was nothing in these crumpled sheets that could hurt him. A +branch of a tree blown down by the wind on the top of his head could +hurt him; or a chimney-pot falling from a roof; or a horse lifting its +leg and kicking him; but a newspaper report he could thrust into the +fire. He looked out of the window; the broad waters of the Firth were +all ruffled into a dark blue by the morning breeze, and the sunlight +shone along the yellow shores of Innellan; and far in the south Arran's +jagged peaks were a clear blue among the silvery clouds: these things +could not be altered by anything happening in Glasgow. He looked at +his hands; there were ten fingers there that had not done much work in +the world; surely it was time they should try? And surely they could +win for him bread and milk, or at the worst bread and water? In the +meantime the thought of the cat had recalled to him that he had not as +yet scattered crumbs for the birds that morning. That was the first +thing to be done; and so he went and did it. + +There can be no doubt that this contemptuous indifference was largely +the result of the teachings of Marcus Aurelius, which this solitary man +had drank in until they seemed to have got absorbed into his very +blood. But there was something more; there was a vein of personal +pride of a very distinct kind. He would not admit to himself that any +number of bank-directors in Glasgow or elsewhere had the power to harm +him. Moreover, when, after waiting a considerable time to see how +things would go, he went to Greenock to consult the solicitor who had +written to him, and to whom he was known, this stubborn pride and +independence came out more strongly than ever. + +'The question is,' said he, in his slow, emphatic way, 'do I owe the +money, or do I not owe the money?' + +'No doubt of it, Captain Douglas,' the other remonstrated; 'you are +morally as well as legally bound. But the liquidators are human +beings; they do not wish to press for the uttermost farthing; and well +they know that this first call of 500 pounds on every 100 pounds of +stock will ruin many and many a poor creature, and turn him or her out +into the world. There is even a talk of a Relief Fund; I believe the +Lord Provost of Glasgow and other gentlemen----' + +John Douglas's face flushed quickly. + +'I wish not to hear of such things,' he said, with a touch of +resentment. Then he added more slowly, 'I will take money from no man. +I will earn my own living; if I cannot do that, what title have I to +live at all? But I will take this obligation from you yourself, Mr. +Campbell; if you will lend me five pounds, which I will repay to you. +And I would like to take with me a few portraits, of my family and +forbears, that can be of no use to any one; and one or two books +likewise; then the rest can go to the liquidators, to roup or scatter +to the winds as they see fit. I am a man of few words; I will repay +you the money, if my health remains to me; and it will be enough to +carry me to London and start me there.' + +'To London!' said the tall fair man in spectacles. + +'It is the great labour market of the world; it is natural I should go +there. Besides, there is another thing,' he added, with a trifle of +embarrassment. 'Our family were well known in these parts in former +years, and respected. I know not what I may have to turn my hand to. +I will begin where I can be alone.' + +He was a wilful man, and he had his way. He got the five pounds and +the few pictures, and the three books named above; and when he entered +the third-class carriage that was to bear him through the night to +London, it was without fear. He had ten fingers, and he could live on +a crust of bread and a drink of clear water. What was the hardship? +Had not the great Emperor himself counted it among the blessings of his +life--one of the things for which he was ever to be grateful--that he +had been taught to work with his own hands? + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +ALONE IN LONDON. + +This, then, was the man who now found himself in the sickly daylight of +the great city, walking along the wide thoroughfare on this Sunday +morning. The grim and grizzled face was somewhat tired looking after +the long and wakeful journey, and the dark eyes were fatigued and +melancholy; but his step was light and firm. And it was well that it +was so. He had been in other large towns before, but not in this one; +and as he had determined to make for London Bridge, to get lodgings +near there,--seeing that that looked on the map to be about the centre +of the commercial district,--he had traced out the safest route, by +Pentonville Road and City Road down to the Bank. As he trudged and +trudged, however, and no Bank made its appearance, he gradually woke +himself out of that dreamy and contemplative mood. He began to make +inquiries about distance and so forth. The driver of a four-wheeled +cab, his purple bemuddled face lighting up with a dull sort of humour, +gave him a facetious invitation to get inside the tumble-down old +vehicle. The conductors of one or two passing omnibuses hailed him; +and he gathered from their 'Benk! Benk!' that at least he was in the +right direction. But he was not going to spend money causelessly; so +he trudged on. + +At length, when he got to the wide square fronting the Royal Exchange, +the solitariness of the place struck him with a strange chill. All the +great buildings closed and deserted; not a habitable-looking house +anywhere. But there were numbers of people passing along the +thoroughfares--mostly groups of young men of about two-and-twenty, +tallow-faced, round-shouldered, wearing over-coats and billycock hats, +and smoking short pipes; and there were crowded omnibuses coming +rolling along (what a difference was this roar and rabble from the +quiet of the Sabbath morning far away there on the northern coast!), +and these people must live somewhere. So again he contentedly trudged +on; down King William Street; over the bridge spanning the misty river; +along the Borough Road; until he arrived at Union Street. He had so +far failed in his quest for lodgings; but in Union Street he espied a +coffee-house; and as he had become both tired and hungry, he entered +the dingy little place, sat down, and ordered a cup of coffee and a +roll and butter. + +It was a kind of shelter, after all; though everything was dreadfully +dirty, and there was a heavy odour in the place. The waiter brought +him a greasy newspaper; but he put it aside. Then came his breakfast. +The butter was not touchable; but he reflected that it was a luxury +which he, living on another man's money, had had no right to order. +When he had paid back the 5 pounds, he would consider the question of +butter--though not butter such as this. He ate the dry roll, and +managed to swallow the strangely-tasting coffee; then he fell asleep; +and was eventually wakened by the ringing of church bells. + +So, having paid his shot, he wandered out again into the pale and misty +sunlight; and as he had been struck by the appearance of St. Saviour's +in crossing the bridge, he strolled back thither, and entered the +church, and sat down in a pew. He remained through the earlier part of +the service; but when the sermon began, he left. The streets were now +quite busy, though the shops were closed. It was not like Sunday on +the shores of the Firth of Clyde. + +'In any case,' he was thinking, 'it can be no great breaking of the +Sabbath that a man should provide himself with a lodging to cover his +head.' + +Eventually, after much patient wandering and inquiring, he found a +house in the Southwark-bridge Road--he was attracted to it by the +presence of one or two flower-boxes on the window-sills--where he was +offered a small, fairly neat and clean bedroom for the sum of +three-and-sixpence per week. Thereupon the bargain was closed; and +John Douglas found himself established at least with headquarters, from +whence he could issue to fight his battle with the great forces of +London. + +Well, day after day--nay, week after week--passed, and all his efforts +to obtain employment, had resulted in nothing. It was not through any +shame-facedness or fastidiousness or false pride. He was ready to do +anything. Many people thought this man a maniac, who calmly walked in +and offered, in his slow, methodic Scotch speech, to copy letters for +them, or do anything that could be pointed out to him, confessing, on +interrogation, that he had been in no employment before, and could +therefore produce no testimonials as to character or fitness. On his +own showing, there was nothing special he could do; though he had +bought a little treatise on book-keeping, and occasionally studied it +in the evenings. As he walked about the streets and observed how all +the people around him seemed to be fully occupied, and busy and +contented, it occurred to him as strange that they should all have +fallen into these grooves so naturally. He looked at the clerk giving +out tickets at a railway station, and thought, he could do that also. +Perhaps the business of the young men who every morning were to be seen +inside the big windows of the drapers' shops in the Borough Road, +decorating the place with ribbons and gowns, demanded a special +knowledge that he had not acquired; but it could not be difficult, for +example, to be a policeman? They seemed happy enough; good-natured; +sometimes even with a word of chaff for the costermonger whom they +ordered to move on, him and his barrow. + +These not very anxious experiments, and quite idle speculations about +the uses of various forms of labour, might have gone on indefinitely +but for the very certain fact that Douglas's small stock of money was +being slowly but surely exhausted. Slowly, it is true; for he had +wholly given up tobacco; his dinner was a roll or a biscuit eaten in +the street; and as his landlady charged him sixpence for each +scuttleful of coals, he preferred to keep himself warm on these now +bitterly cold evenings by tramping about outside and looking at the +shops. That good woman, by the way, was sorely disappointed in this +new lodger, out of whom she could make no indirect profit; and she had +a waspish tongue. John Douglas regarded her taunts--almost amounting +to open insult--with a patient and mild curiosity. It was a little bit +of psychological study, and more interesting than book-keeping by +double entry. Meantime, things were becoming very serious; with all +his penuriousness, he had arrived at his last half-sovereign. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +A FELLOW-SUFFERER. + +One night, a few minutes after nine, Douglas was returning home along +one of the badly-lit little thoroughfares in the Borough, when he saw +the figure of a woman slowly subside on to the pavement in front of +him. She did not fall; she trembled on to her knees as it were, and +then lay prone--near a doorstep. Well, he had grown familiar with the +sights of London streets; but even if the woman were drunk, as he +imagined, he would lift her up, until some policeman came along. + +He went forward. It was not a woman, but a young girl of about +seventeen or so, who did not seem a drunken person. + +'My lass, what is the matter with ye?' he said, kneeling down to get +hold of her. + +'Oh, I am so ill--I am so ill!' the girl moaned, apparently to herself. + +He tried to raise her. She was quite white, and almost insensible. +Then she seemed to come to; she struggled up a bit, and sought to +support herself by the handle of the door. + +'I shall be all right,' she gasped. 'I am quite well. Don't tell +them. I am quite well--it was my knees that gave way----' + +'Where do ye live, my lass?' said he, taking hold of her arm to support +her; for he thought she was going to sink to the ground again. + +'Number twelve.' + +'In this street?' + +She did not answer, + +'Come, I will help ye home, then.' + +'No, no!' she said, in the same gasping way; 'I will sit down here a +few minutes. I shall be all right. I--I am quite well----' + +'Ye are not going to sit down on a doorstep on a night like this,' he +said, severely. 'Come, pull yourself together, my lass. If it is +number twelve, you have only a few yards.' + +He half-dragged and half-carried her along. He knocked loudly at the +door. There came to it a tall, black-a-vised woman, who, the moment +she saw the girl, cried out-- + +'Oh, Mary Ann, are you took bad again?' + +'No--don't tell them,' the girl said, as she staggered into the narrow +passage. 'They'll turn me off. They said so the last time. I shall +be all right. But my head--is so bad.' + +They got her into the dingy little parlour, and laid her down on the +horse-hair covered couch. Her hand was clasped to her head, and her +whole frame was shivering violently, as if with cold. + +John Douglas, living that recluse life up there in the north, had never +before had to deal directly with sickness, and he was terribly anxious +and alarmed. What was he to do? His first wild notion, observing the +violent shivering, was to order hot whisky-and-water; then he thought +it would be better to send for a doctor. But the tall, dark woman did +not seem inclined to go or send for any doctor. She stood regarding +the girl quite apathetically. + +'Poor Mary Anne!' she said, watching her, as if she were a dog in a +fit. 'She wasn't took as bad as this before. She's been starving +herself, she has, to keep her mother and her young sisters; and she +can't stand all day in the shop as she used to. I've seen it a-coming +on.' + +'God bless me, woman,' said Douglas, angrily, 'we must do something +instead of standing and looking at the poor lass. Cannot you tell me +where the nearest doctor is? Has one been attending her?' + +'Poor Mary Ann,' the woman said, composedly; 'she'll come out of it; +but it's worse this time. A doctor? She couldn't afford to have a +doctor, she couldn't. A doctor would be bringing physic; she can't pay +for physic, she can't. She owes me three weeks' rent, and I ain't ast +for it once, not once. Thirteen hours a day standing behind a counter +is too much for a slip of a girl like that. Poor Mary Anne! Is your +head bad, my dear?' + +Douglas made use of a phrase which is not to be found anywhere in the +writings of Marcus Aurelius, and hurriedly left the house. He made for +the nearest chemist's shop, and asked the youth there where he should +find a doctor. The youth glanced towards the back room, and said Dr. +Sweeney was at hand. Dr. Sweeney was summoned, and appeared: a +hard-headed-looking youngish man, whom Douglas immediately bore away +with him. + +The young Irish doctor did not seem much concerned when he saw his +patient. He seemed to be familiar with such cases. He said the girl +must be put to bed at once. She was merely suffering from a feverish +attack, on a system weakened by exhaustion and fatigue. Then he began +to question the landlady. + +The usual story. Girl in a draper's shop; mother and sisters in the +country; sends them most of her earnings; probably does not take enough +food; long hours; constant standing; drinking tea to stave off hunger; +and so forth. Douglas listened in silence. + +'And when she recovers from this attack, slight or severe,' he said at +length, 'what would restore that young lass to a proper state of +health?--can ye say that, doctor?' + +'I can say it easily,' said the young Irishman, with a sarcastic smile. +'I can prescribe the remedies; and there are plenty of such cases; +unfortunately the patients are not in a position to follow my +prescriptions. I should prescribe good food, and fewer hours of work, +and an occasional week in the country air. It is easy to talk of such +things.' + +'Ay, that is so,' said Douglas, absently. + +He went home. He took from his pocket the biscuit, wrapped in a bit of +newspaper, that he had meant for his supper; but he put it on the top +of a little chest of drawers, thinking it would do for his breakfast in +the morning, and he would save so much. Then he went to the little +stock of money in his locked-up bag, and found there eight shillings +and sixpence. He took seven shillings of it, and went out again into +the cold night, and walked along to the house where the sick girl was. + +'Mistress,' he said to the landlady, in his slow, staid way, 'I have +brought ye a little money that ye may buy any small things the lass may +want; it is all I can spare the now; I will call in the morning and see +how she is.' + +'You needn't do that,' said the tall woman. 'Poor Mary Anne--she'll be +at the shop.' + +'She shall not be at the shop!' he said, with a frown. 'Are ye a mad +woman? The girl is ill.' + +'She'll have to be at the shop, or lose her place,' said the landlady, +with composure. 'There's too many young girls after situations +now-a-days, and they won't be bothered with weakly ones.' + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +A RESOLVE. + +However, as it turned out, there was to be no shop for Mary Anne the +next day or for many a day to come. When John Douglas called in the +morning, he was informed that she was 'delirious-like.' She was +imploring the doctor--who had been there an hour before--not to let her +lose her situation. She was talking about her mother and sisters in an +incoherent way; also about one Pete, who appeared to have gone away to +Australia and never written since. Douglas looked at the girl, lying +there with her flushed face, closed eyes, and troubled breathing, +unconscious of his presence, only twisting the bed-clothes about with +her hot hands. + +'Poor Mary Ann,' the landlady said contemplatively. 'If she dies, +she'll 'ave to be buried by the work'us. And if she lives, she'll be +worse off than ever; for they won't take a girl with cropped hair into +a shop, and the fear of infection besides. She ain't got a friend in +the world, she ain't; except her own people, and they're only a drain +on the poor thing. Poor Mary Ann! she have had a bad time of it. +Perhaps it would be kinder in Providence if He took her; for who's to +pay for her keep if she gets through the fever? Not that I would ask +to be paid for her lodging; I ain't one like that; there's her room, +and welcome; that's what I says to my husband when he come home last +night; and neither him nor me's afraid of fever, nor would turn out a +poor thing as have been took. But law! it would be months afore she'd +get another place; and she ain't got nobody to look after her.' + +'What have you done with the money I gave you last night?' he asked. + +'There it lies, sir--on the mantel-shelf. It ain't for me to touch; it +is for the doctor to give his orders about that money.' + +'Just put this eighteenpence to it, mistress, and ask the doctor what +the poor lass may want. It is all I happen to have with me the now.' + +Then he left; and walked away with an unusual air of determination He +was not downcast because he had parted with his last sixpence. + +'It is even better thus,' this stern-faced man was saying to himself, +'for now we must face facts, and get rid of speculation. Let us begin +at the beginning--with one's ten fingers! Poor lass! It is a dreadful +place, a great city like this; it has no compassion. Surely, in the +country, she would not be so utterly thrown down in the race. Surely, +some one would say, "_At meal-time come thou hither and eat of the +bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar;_" and would command the young +men and say to them, "_Let her glean even among the sheaves, and +reproach her not. And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose +for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not._" +Poor lass! poor lass! Even that cadaverous-jawed, Tennants'-stalk of a +woman thinks it would be better for her to die.' + +He walked quickly, his lips firm. It was a miserable morning; the +noisy thoroughfares full of mist and wet and mud; drifts of sleet +swooping round corners; the air raw and cold. The river was scarcely +visible when he crossed London Bridge; the steamers and ships were like +ghosts in the fog. He made his way as quickly as he could through the +crowded streets, until he reached Tower Hill; then he passed up into +the Minories; there he paused in front of one or two shops, in the +windows of which were the most miscellaneous objects--old clothes, +waterproof leggings, tin cans, and what not. At last he entered one of +these places, and after a great deal of haggling and argument, he +exchanged his coat of gray home-spun for a much shabbier looking dingy +blue over-coat, that appeared the kind of thing a pilot would wear. To +this was added a woollen comforter; there was no money in the +transaction. Douglas wrapped the comforter round his neck there and +then, and put on the coat; when he stepped out again into the mud and +snow and murky atmosphere, his appearance was much more reconcilable +with the neighbourhood. + +Still walking quickly, he went down to the London and St. Katherine +Docks, passing under the shadow of the gaunt walls; and then along that +dismal thoroughfare, Nightingale Lane, that looks like a passage +between two great prisons; until at last, with moderate pace, and with +a certain anxious, nervous look, as if he did not wish himself to be +seen, he arrived at the entrance to a space at the corner of the London +Dock, which was enclosed with some rusted iron railings, and partially +roofed over. + +In this shed, shivering in the cold, and occasionally moving so as to +avoid the whirling of the sleet, stood a number of most miserable +looking wretches, men and lads. John Douglas knew very well who these +were, and what they were there for. Here, so far as he had learned, +was the only place in London where a starving creature could get work, +without a character or qualification of any kind. Hither came those +who, through drink, or idleness, or sheer misfortune, had got right +down to the foot of the social ladder; waiting patiently in the dim +hope that some extra pressure of work inside would occur to give them +an hour or two's employment. Well, he did not hesitate long. He +seized a moment when the attention of these poor devils had been +attracted by some sound to the other side of the grating (where the +foreman was expected to appear), and glided in among the group, hoping +to be unperceived. + +But what sharp eyes hunger makes! They had no sooner turned hopelessly +away again, than every man and lad of them caught sight of the +stranger. They did not resent his intrusion. They regarded him with +curiosity, and with apathy. He looked well-to-do for that kind of +work. Perhaps if he were one of the lucky ones, he would stand a pot +of beer on coming out in the afternoon. + +But to their great astonishment, they were all to be lucky ones that +morning. The foreman appeared, ran his eye over the group, and engaged +the whole of them for the day,--all, except one dazed, drunken-looking +tatterdemalion of sixty or so, whom he warned off by name. Almost +before he knew where he was, John Douglas found himself at work in the +docks, at fivepence an hour. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +TREASURE TROVE. + +The work was very easy, it seemed to him. What it might be in the +warehouses he knew not; but here his business was simply to haul a +small and light truck, carrying two boxes of oranges, from the +unloading steamer along the side of the basin to the barge which was +receiving them. The work was light, and there were pauses; moreover, +the snow had ceased, and the surroundings--the ships and barges and +what not--were picturesque enough; the scent of the oranges was +pleasant. And his companions, these poor wrecks of humanity who had +drifted into this curious, quiet little pool, were in the main +good-humoured, though most of them seemed too depressed to speak much. +Of course they instantly called him 'Scottie.' Scottie got through his +short day's work with satisfaction; and when at four o'clock the great +bell began to toll, and when his wages, two shillings and a penny, were +paid him, and when he set out for the gate, he was much contented, and +was considering that, if he did his work diligently and respectfully +and in silence, it was not at all unlikely that the foreman would take +him on as a regular hand, at four-and-twenty shillings a week. + +He was thus thinking, and he had got almost to the gate, when something +ahead of him occurred that made him shrink back with a look of dismay +in his face. He saw that each man as he passed through the portal held +up his arms while one of the gatekeepers passed his hands over his +clothes. They were being searched. Douglas stood still; his whole +spirit in angry revolt. He would rather give up his day's wage, the +coat off his back, the cap from his head--anything than have to go +through this shameful ordeal. He looked back: could he not get out by +the wicket at which he entered, at the other end of the docks? + +'Come on, Scottie; you ain't been prigging oranges, eh?' said one of +his mates, laughing at him. + +Now it was quite clear that this searching of the outgoing labourers +was in most cases merely formal; but when the gatekeepers saw this man +hanging back, they naturally concluded he had been stealing. They +called to him to come along. He hesitated no longer. With a grim air +he advanced and held up his arms in the usual way. He would betray no +shame. Doubtless it was a necessary precaution. And as he had stolen +nothing, they could not hurt him by merely suspecting him. + +But this gatekeeper's inspection was minute; and when he came to some +slight protuberance on the breast of the coat, which, indeed, Douglas +himself had not noticed, he demanded to know what it was. Nay, he had +the coat taken off. On examination, a part of the lining of the coat +was found to have been cut open and carefully sewn together again. + +'Took all that trouble?' said the gatekeeper, glancing at him. + +'I did not know there was any pocket there,' said Douglas, hurriedly; +'I got the coat only this morning.' + +'Oh, indeed,' said the other, with a slight derisive laugh. 'I +shouldn't wonder if we found some tobacco all the same.' + +The lining was ripped open, in the presence of the little crowd of +labourers, carmen, stevedores, and so forth, who, seeing something +unusual going on, had collected. Douglas certainly looked very guilty. +His face was burning red; and the natural sternness of his features +made him look as if he were angry at being detected. But, on the other +hand, the expression on the face of the big yellow-bearded gate-keeper +changed very suddenly, when he took from inside the lining a little +oblong parchment bag, flat and dirty, and opened it, and drew out a +thin packet of what turned out to be Bank of England notes. Not many, +it is true; but a marvel all the same. The gatekeeper glanced at the +culprit again, and said good-humouredly, + +'Bought that coat this morning? Then you're in luck's way, my man, +that's all I can say. We don't keep them kind o' goods in our +warehouses. There ye are.' + +He once more examined the dirty little parchment bag all over; there +was no scrap of writing on it, or on any of the notes. + +'There ye are,' he said, giving him back both the coat and the valuable +package. 'There's some as would advertise in the papers about that +money; and there's some as would go to Scotland Yard, and expect to get +something; and there's some, seein' as there's no writin', as would +stick to it, and set up a shop. Where did you buy the coat, my man?' + +'At an outfitter's in the Minories--it was an exchange for my own,' +said Douglas hastily; he was anxious above all things, money or no +money, to get away from this crowd of curious faces. + +'An outfitter! yes, it's a fine name. Anyhow, the money don't belong +to _him_. Most likely, now, that coat belonged to some seafaring man +as got drownded, and the poor chap's things sold. Pass on there, my +lads!' + +Douglas escaped from the crowd, and got away. He was greatly +bewildered and excited; not often in his life had he come through so +much in so short a time. He walked hard, and did not stop until he sat +down in his own little room, in the cold and dark. + +Hour after hour he sat there, himself fighting with himself; or rather +his consciousness of what was right fighting with his great desire to +do something to help that luckless child, lying there a few streets +farther off, friendless, poverty-stricken, fever-stricken, with the +most hopeless of futures before her. He argued with himself that no +doubt the gatekeeper's guess was correct; the money had belonged to +some sailor or pilot, who had been drowned, and his personal effects, +whether found on his dead body, or perhaps in the hold of a derelict, +sold. Certainly these notes did not belong to the old-clothes' man in +the Minories. It almost seemed as if a special act of Providence had +placed this money at his disposal to succour this helpless one in her +sickness, and support and strengthen her in her convalescence. As for +himself, he never dreamed of touching it for his own uses. He had +found out at last one way of earning his own living. But even if he +were to be permanently employed, at twenty-four shillings a week, how +could he save enough out of that to give this girl generous +nourishment, and a little wine, and country air, when she should get +well enough again? In the meantime, were her mother and sisters to +starve? And it never occurred to him to ask why he should take this +sudden interest in this stranger girl or in her family. The fact was, +he had never before been confronted with so clear a case of hardship +and distress. The solitariness, the helplessness of the child appealed +to him: it was as if he had seen a wren threatened by a hawk, or a +rabbit seized by a weasel. He could not help interfering, and doing +his utmost. + +And how could this money of a dead and unknown man be put to a better +use? Was he to go and bury it in Scotland Yard? Was he to advertise +for a crowd of impostors to claim it? He lit the gas and examined the +notes. There were seven--35 pounds--a fortune! He saw the girl in a +little cottage, the window open to let the first of the spring air into +the room, she lying well wrapped up on a couch, a few wild-flowers on +the table, daffodils and primroses from the woods, pink-tipped daisies +from the banks, the red dead-nettle from the hedge-rows, and perhaps +herself, to please him, and out of gratitude as it were, reading some +of Tannahill's songs, 'Loudon's bonnie woods and braes,' 'Langsyne, +beside the woodland burn,' 'Keen blows the wind o'er the Braes o' +Gleniffer,' 'We'll meet beside the dusky glen on yon burn side.' Poor +child! she had probably seen but little of the country during her hard +life. Would she be surprised when all the hawthorn came out, and the +lanes were scented? Perhaps he would be able to teach her a little of +the beauty of simple things, and remove from her mind the poor ideas +about what is great and admirable and desirable begotten in a large +city. 'Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin +not; and yet I say unto you that Solomon in all his glory was not +arrayed like one of these.' No doubt her notion of what was most +beautiful and desirable in the world was to be dressed in satin, and +driving in a coach, with powdered footmen behind, to a Royal +Drawing-room. + +All this was so specious and plausible. The money lying there seemed +to belong to him more than to any other. And what good might be done +with it! Even if the real owner were alive, surely he would assent. +Thirty-five pounds: ten pounds to be put into a savings bank in her +name; the rest to clear off the doctor's bill, give a weekly allowance +to her people, and enable her to get a couple of months, or even more, +with strict economy, in the country, before returning to the hard, dull +work of London. + +'I did not know,' he said aloud, in his slow, deliberate Scotch way, +'that money could have such value.' + +By-and-by he rose, put the notes into the bag again, and that in his +pocket; then he turned off the gas and went out, thinking he would walk +round and see how the girl was getting on. That is to say, he tried to +make himself believe that that was all there was in his mind; but he +knew very well that there was something else. There was a haunting, +uneasy consciousness. Suddenly, at the corner of the street, instead +of turning eastward as he should have done, he abruptly turned in the +other direction, and began to walk quickly. 'The money is not mine; I +will have none of it,' was his ultimate and fixed decision. 'No +dreams, man; no temptation. The first step to perdition is no doubt +smooth enough. If I can do the lass a good turn, it must be with my +own money.' + +He walked to Scotland Yard, finding it without difficulty, for he knew +all the familiar features of London on the map; and there he told his +story, and delivered up the money, and left his address. He departed +with a light heart. Nay, when he had crossed Westminster Bridge again, +he looked out for a poor-looking coffee-house, and went in and had some +coffee and a roll, and thought he never had enjoyed any dinner more. +He looked at the evening paper, too, and then went out again into the +wet streets, and continued his way. He was further cheered by hearing +that the sick girl, though still feverish and perfectly weak and +prostrate, had not, in the doctor's opinion, caught any serious malady, +and only wanted time and care, and afterwards some better nourishment, +to bring her round. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE END OF THE EPISODE. + +So with courage and patience, and with a final gulp about that +searching business, he returned to his work at the docks, and very soon +got engaged as a permanent hand. He was a favourite with the foremen, +for he was industrious and minded his own business; but he was greatly +disliked by his companions. They would not believe, and he was at no +pains to convince them, that he had not kept the found money; and they +had expected him, if ever he returned to the docks, to stand treat +liberally. They were angry at Scottie's stinginess, and took to +taunting him. These casual jeers he heeded no more than the idle wind; +they could not hurt. + +His savings slowly increased, his only serious expenditure being his +weekly rent. When, each morning at twelve o'clock, the great bell rang +in the docks, and the men and women came in with their baskets and +barrows, his dinner consisted of a couple of penny sausage-rolls ('bags +of mystery,' his mates called them), and these were really quite fresh +and clean and wholesome-looking. In the afternoon or evening he +generally went round to the house where the girl, Mary Ann Ellis, was +now so far recovered that she could sit propped up in bed for an hour +or so; and he would have a chat with her and her landlady, and a cup of +tea, with bread and butter--for which he privately paid. He found this +girl interesting, simple, and intensely grateful, but ignorant to a +degree that he had not thought possible in a human being capable of +reading. In one respect this was lucky, for she believed any nonsense +he told her; and the quite imaginary associations of ladies and +gentlemen for the dispensing of needful charity received her most +earnest thanks for those little sums that were sent to her mother, or +that enabled her to pay off her doctor's weekly bill. + +One day John Douglas was leaving the docks as usual, when he was +overtaken by a tall and handsome young fellow, whom he knew to be +connected with the Customs department. + +'I say, aren't you the man that found a lot of money?' + +Douglas had grown sulky, or rather suspicious of foolery, and was +inclined to keep his own counsel. But the accent of this stranger went +straight to his heart; he had not heard the Scotch way of speaking for +many a day. So he turned and regarded the young man, and frankly told +him what he had done with the money. This led to further questions, +for the younger man's curiosity was aroused. It was the City of +Glasgow Bank, then? But why take to such work as this? Couldn't he +get into some office? Did he know a little of book-keeping? + +The upshot of all this was that, about a week after, John Douglas found +himself installed as clerk at a tall desk in the back-room of a +co-operative store connected with the docks, at a salary of two pounds +a week; and the first and immediate result of this was that the +mysterious charitable associations of which he was apparently the +agent, commissioned him to inform Mary Ann Ellis that she need not try +to get any situation for at least two months' time, because fourteen +shillings a week would be paid to her during that period, to enable her +to get thoroughly well again. + +John Douglas grew to be a proud man. He was proud of having paid off +that five pounds, and standing free of all the world; he was proud of +his gradually-increasing account at the Government Savings Bank as a +guarantee against future ill; but he was proudest of all of his +patient, whose convalescence he in a measure attributed to himself. +The days were longer now, and the weather fine; on the clear evenings, +or Saturday afternoons, these two would get into an omnibus, and go +away out to Camberwell Green, or Kennington Park, or Clapham Common, +and sit on a bench, and watch the young folks enjoying their sports and +diversions. He was better dressed now, and she had got into the way of +calling him 'Sir.' He told her a great deal about Scotland, and the +mountains, and the glens with the birch-trees and waterfalls; but he +always got into a difficulty when he came to the sea, which she had +never seen. She could not understand that. + +'Now, lassie, look at that piece of water there,' he would say to her, +at the pond on Clapham Common. 'Cannot you imagine its going out and +out until it gets far beyond the trees and houses yonder, until it gets +beyond everything, and meets the sky?' + +'I see what you mean, sir,' she would say; 'but I can't understand it: +for I can't help thinking, if there was nothing on the other side to +hold it up, it must tumble down. How can water hold itself up in the +air?' + +'Dear, dear me, lass!' he would say impatiently, 'have I not explained +to ye how everything in the world, land and hills and everything, is +held together?' + +'Yes, sir; but water shifts so,' she would say; and he would take to +something else. + +The two months went by, and she got stronger and stronger, though +sometimes she grew a little anxious about her chances of getting +another situation. During this constant companionship, he had become +much attached--in a compassionate sort of fashion--to this child whom +chance had thrown in his way. He could see her good points, and her +weak ones. She was of a kindly disposition; truthful, he thought; with +no very distinct religion, but she had a general desire to be good; +simple and frugal in her ways of living,--though this was a necessity, +and she had no idea of frugality being in itself a virtue. On the +other hand, her views as to what was most to be desired in life were +simply the result of the atmosphere in which she had lived; and she +confessed to him that the most beautiful thing she had ever seen was +the arrivals at a Mansion House ball--the coloured stair-cloth, the +beautiful ladies, the brilliant uniforms. Her knowledge of politics +was entirely derived from the cartoons of the comic journals in the +shop windows; and she had any quantity of vague and vulgar prejudices +about Catholics, Radicals, and Jews. But this patient listener, who +seemed interested in her foolish little opinions, was a largely +tolerant man. Such things were; let us make the best of them,--that +was what he seemed to say. And as all the phenomena of the universe +appeared to him to be worthy of respectful attention--even if one did +not go the length of vexing one's self about any one of them--he was +willing to learn that, in the opinion of this profound observer, the +Catholic priests were bad men, who would let you do anything that was +wrong if only you paid them enough money for absolution. + +One evening, when he went round as usual, he found Mary Ann in great +excitement; she had evidently been crying, and now she was laughing in +a half-crying way. + +'What is the matter, lassie?' said he severely, for he did not like +'scenes.' + +'Oh, sir, Pete has written--at last--at last!' she said, crying all the +more, but in a glad sort of way, and looking again at the letter she +held in her two hands. + +'But who is Pete?' + +'My sweetheart, sir; I never said anything about him--I thought he had +forgotten us--but now he says he wouldn't write until he had good news, +and now there is good news enough,--oh yes, there is! there is! For he +has got a good place, and good prospects--and here is money to take me +out, and my mother and sisters, too--all except fifteen pounds, Pete +says, and that he'll send in three months' time. Oh, sir! you don't +know what a good fellow Pete is!' + +John Douglas sat down. His heart felt a little heavy; he scarcely knew +why. But he began to ask a few questions, in a slow matter-of-fact +way; and he did not remain long. He saw that the girl wanted to read +and re-read the good news to herself, and draw pictures of all that was +coming. + +The next afternoon Mary Ann got a note from him, with an enclosure. +Thus it ran:-- + + +'DEAR CHILD--You need not wait through three months of uncertainty. I +enclose for you what will make up the passage-money, and also pay the +expenses of your mother and sisters' coming to London. Accept this +quietly and sensibly, and do not make any fuss about it, nor when I see +you. I shall be busy this evening, and may not call. + +'Your friend, + 'JOHN DOUGLAS.' + + +But all the same Mary Ann came round quickly, and with her the tall, +gaunt, dark, composed landlady; and there was a great scene, Mary Ann +crying and accusing herself of unheard-of stupidity for not having +guessed that he all along had been her benefactor; and he, on the other +hand, sternly bidding her hold her peace and not talk foolishness. + +'Ye did me a great service, ye foolish lass,' he said; 'ye made me take +to actual work when I was merely idling and loitering about. Ye gave +me an object to work for, and pleasant companionship for a space, and +now, if I must find something else, that is as it has been ordered; and +I maun bide my time.' + +A few days afterwards he saw the mother when she arrived--a poor, limp +sort of creature--and the two bewildered little girls. He could not, +because of office work, go with them, as he had wished, to Southampton; +but he accompanied them to the railway station, early in the morning, +and bade them farewell. And as he turned away, he said to himself, + +'These poor creatures I shall doubtless see no more in this world; but +they will have a little regard for me, perhaps, while they live, and +that is something. And now I will consider myself free to spend a +trifle of money on myself, when I get it saved again; and I will use it +during the holidays they speak of to take a trip back home again, and +see the old place, and that the graves of my people are taken care of. +And I may be able to make dispositions, too, so that when I'm taken I +may be placed there also; for it is but natural that one should wish to +rest among one's own.' + + +THE END. + + + + + +THE FOUR MACNICOLS + + +BY + +WILLIAM BLACK + + + +AUTHOR OF 'MACLEOD OF DARE,' 'SUNRISE,' ETC. + + + + + +NEW EDITION + + + +LONDON + +MACMILLAN AND CO. + +1882 + + + + +[NOTE.--The following sketch of the founding of a Co-operative +Association by four Scotch boys was originally meant for young people; +but subsequently the writer ventured to think that it might prove +equally interesting, or even more interesting, to grown-up folk, +especially as parts of it are based on fact; and so it is now printed +here for the first time.] + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER + + I. Juventus Mundi + II. The Last of the Games + III. Altered Circumstances + IV. Further Endeavour + V. The High Road + + + + +THE FOUR MACNICOLS. + + +CHAPTER I. + +JUVENTUS MUNDI. + +It was on a bright and glorious morning in July that the great +chieftain, Robert of the Red Hand, accompanied by his kinsmen and +allies, put to sea in his war-galley, resolved to sweep the Spanish +main free of all his enemies, and thereafter to hold high revel in the +halls of Eilean-na-Rona. At least, that was how it appeared to the +imagination of the great chieftain himself, though the simple facts of +the case were a trifle less romantic. For this Robert of the Red Hand, +more familiarly known as Rob MacNicol, or even as plain Rob, was an +active, stout-sinewed, black-eyed lad of seventeen, whose only mark of +chieftainship apparently was that, unlike his brothers, he wore shoes +and stockings; these three relatives constituted his allies and +kinsmen; the so-called Spanish main was in reality an arm of the sea +better known in the Hebrides as Loch Scrone; and the war-galley was an +old, ramshackle, battered, and betarred boat belonging generally to the +fishing-village of Erisaig; for, indeed, the boat was so old and so +battered that nobody now seemed to claim any special ownership of it. + +These four MacNicols,--Robert, Neil, Nicol, and Duncan,--were, it must +be admitted, an idle and graceless set, living for the most part a +hand-to-mouth, amphibious, curlew-like kind of life, and far more given +to aimless voyages in boats not belonging to them than inclined to turn +their hand to any honest labour. But this must be said in their excuse +that no boy or lad born in the village of Erisaig could by any means +whatsoever be brought to think of becoming anything else than a +fisherman. It was impossible to induce them to apprentice themselves +to any ordinary trade. They would wait until they were old enough to +go after the herring, like the others; that was man's work; that was +something like; that was different from staying ashore and twiddling +one's fingers over a pair of somebody else's shoes, or laboriously +shaping a block of sandstone for somebody else's house. This Rob +MacNicol, for example: it was only for want of a greater career that he +had constituted himself a dreaded sea-rover, a stern chieftain, etc. +etc. His secret ambition--his great and constant and secret +ambition--went far farther than that. It was to be of man's estate, +broad-shouldered and heavy-bearded; to wear huge black boots up to his +thighs, and a blue flannel jersey; to have a peaked cap (not forgetting +a brass button on each side by way of smartness); and then to come +along, in the afternoon, with a yellow oilskin tied up in a bundle, to +the wharf where the herring fleet lay, the admiration and the envy of +all the miserable creatures condemned to stay ashore. + +In the meantime--in these days of joyous idleness, while as yet the +cares and troubles which this history will have to chronicle were far +away from him and his simply because they were unknown--Rob MacNicol, +if he could not be a fisherman, could be an imaginary chieftain, and in +that capacity he gave his orders as one who knew how to make himself +obeyed. As soon as they had shoved the boat clear of the smacks, the +jib was promptly set; the big lumps of stone that served for ballast +were duly shifted; the lug-sail, as black as pitch and full of holes, +was hoisted, and the halyards made fast; then the sheet was hauled in +by Nicol MacNicol, who had been ordered to the helm; and finally the +shaky old nondescript craft began to creep through the blue waters of +Erisaig Bay. It was a lovely morning; the light breeze from the land +seemed steady enough; altogether, nothing could have been more +auspicious for the setting out of the great chieftain and his kinsmen. + +But great as he is, he is not above fearing the criticism of people +ashore on his method of handling a boat. Rob, from his proud position +at the bow, darted an angry glance at his helmsman. + +'Keep her full, will ye?' he growled in an undertone. 'Do ye call that +steering, ye gomeril? Run her by Daft Sandy's boat? It is no better +than a cowherd you are at the steering.' + +This Daft Sandy, who will turn up in our history by-and-by, was a +half-witted old man, who spent his life in fishing for flounders from a +rotten old punt he had become possessed of. He earned a sort of living +that way; and seldom went near the shore during the day except to beg +for a herring or two for bait, when the boats came in. He got the +bait, but in an ignominious way; for the boys, stripping the nets, +generally saved up the 'broken' herring in order to pelt Daft Sandy +with the fragments when he came near. That is to say, they indulged in +this amiable sport except when Rob MacNicol happened to be about. That +youth had been heard to remark that the first he caught at this game +would pay a sudden visit to the dead dog-fish lying beneath the clear +waters of the harbour; and it was very well known among the urchins of +Erisaig that the eldest MacNicol had very little scruple about taking +the law into his own hand. When he found a bigger boy thrashing a +smaller one, he invariably thrashed the bigger one, just to keep things +even, as it were; and he had invented for the better guidance of his +brethren and associates a series of somewhat stringent rules and +punishments, to which, it must be acknowledged, he cheerfully submitted +himself. At the same time, he was aware that even the most moral and +high-principled government has occasionally to assert itself with rude +physical force; and although his hand was not particularly red, as +might have been expected, it was uncommonly hard, and a cuff from it +was understood to produce the most startling lightning effects in the +region of the eye. + +Well, as they were nearing Daft Sandy's punt, Rob called out to him, + +'Sandy, have ye had any luck the day?' + +The little, bent, blear-eyed old man looked up from his hand-lines. + +'No mich.' + +As the boat was gliding past Rob flung a couple of herring into the +punt. + +'There's some bait for ye.' + +'Ay; and where are ye for going, Robert?' the old man said, as they +passed. 'Tak' heed. It's squally outside.' + +There was no answer; for at this moment the quick eye of the chieftain +detected one of his kinsmen in the commission of a heinous crime. +Tempted by the light and steady breeze, Nicol had given way to +idleness, and had made fast the main-sheet, instead of holding it in +his hand, ready for all emergencies. This, and not unnaturally, on +such a squally coast, Rob MacNicol had constituted an altogether +unforgivable offence; and his first impulse was to jump down to the +stern of the boat and give the helmsman, caught _in flagrante delicto_, +a sounding whack on the side of the head. But a graver sense of +justice prevailed. He summoned a court-martial. Nicol, catching the +eye of his brother, hastily tried to undo the sheet from the pin; but +it was too late. The crime had been committed; there were two +witnesses, besides the judge, who was also the jury. The judge and +jury forthwith pronounced sentence: Nicol MacNicol to forfeit one penny +to the fund being secretly stored up for the purchase of a set of +bag-pipes, or to be lowered by the shoulders until his feet should +touch the ground in the dungeon of Eilean-na-Rona Castle. He was left +to decide which alternative he would accept; and it must be said that +the culprit, after a minute or two's sulking, perceived the justice of +the sentence, and calmly said he would take the dungeon. + +'Ye think I'm feared?' he said contemptuously, to Neil and Duncan, who +were grinning at him. 'Wha was it that gruppit the whutteruck[1]? And +is there anything worse than whutterucks in that hole in the castle?' + +'Ye'll find out, Nicol, my man,' said his cousin Neil. 'There's +warlocks. And they'll grup ye by the legs.' + +'I'll save the penny anyway,' said Nicol, to whom a penny was a thing +of known and substantial value. + +Now if any proof had been needed that Rob MacNicol's stringent sailing +rules were a matter of stern necessity, it was quickly forthcoming. On +this beautiful summer morning, with the sea smooth and blue around +them, they were sailing along as pleasantly as might be. But they had +scarcely got through the narrow channel leading from the harbour, and +were just emerging into Loch Scrone, when a squall of wind came tearing +along and hit the boat so that the lug-sail was almost flattened on to +the water. + +'Run her up! Haul in your sheet!' yelled Rob to the frightened +steersman. + +Well it was at such a moment that the main sheet was free to be hauled +in; for as the bow was put up to the wind, the varying squall caught +her on the other beam and threw her over, so that she shipped a bucket +or two of water. Had the water got into the belly of the sail, the +weight would have dragged her down; but Rob instantly got rid of this +danger by springing to the halyards, and, the moment the crank craft +strove to right herself, bringing sail and yard rattling down into the +boat. By this time, so fierce was the squall, a pretty heavy sea had +sprung up, and altogether things looked very ugly. When they allowed +the jib to fill, even that was enough to send the boat over, and she +had already a dangerous lot of water surging among the ballast; while, +when they were forced to put her head to the wind, she drifted with a +heavily running tide, and right to leeward was a long reef of rocks +that would inevitably crunch her into matchwood. The younger brothers +said not a word, but looked at Rob, ready to obey his slightest +gesture, and Rob stood by the mast calling out from time to time to +Nicol. + +Matters grew worse. It was no use trying merely to keep her head to +the wind, for she was drifting rapidly, and the first shock on the +rocks would send her and her stone ballast to the bottom. On the other +hand, there was no open sea-room to let her run away before the wind +with a straining jib. At all hazards it was necessary to fight her +clear of that long ledge of rock, even if the wind threatened to tear +the mast out of the boat. So Rob himself sprang down to the stern and +took the tiller. + +'Duncan, Neil, stand by the halyards now! When I sing out to ye, hoist +her--be ready now!' + +He had his eye on the rocks all this time. On the highest of them was +a tall iron perch, painted scarlet--a warning to sailors; but from that +point long shelves and spurs ran out, the yellow surface of barnacles +growing greener and greener as they went deeper into the sea. Already +Rob MacNicol could make out some of these submarine reefs even through +the turbulent water. + +'Now then, boys; up with her! Quick now!' + +It was a venturesome business; but there was no help for it. The +moment the sail was half hoisted, a gust caught the boat and drove her +over until her gunwale again scooped up a lot of the hissing water. +But as she righted, staggering all the while, it was clear there was +some good way on her, and Rob, having had recourse to desperate +remedies, was determined to give her enough of the wind. Down again +went the gunwale to the hissing water; and the strain on the rotten +sheets of the old boat was so great that it was a wonder everything did +not go by the board. But now there was a joyous hissing of foam at the +bow; she was forging ahead; if she could only stand the pressure, in a +minute or so she would be clear of the rocks. Rob still kept his eye +on these treacherous shelves of yellow-green. Then he sang out, + +'Down with her, boys!' + +The black lug-sail rattled into the boat; there was nothing left now +but the straining jib. + +'Slack the lee-jib sheet!' + +The next minute he had put his helm gently up; the bow of the boat fell +away from the wind; and presently--just as they had time to see the +green depths of the rocks they had succeeded in weathering--the +war-galley of the great chieftain was spinning away down Loch Scrone, +racing with the racing waves, the wind tearing and hauling at her +bellied-out jib. + +'Hurrah, my lads! we'll soon be at Eilean-na-Rona now, eh?' Rob shouted. + +He did not seem much put about by that narrow escape. Squalls were +common on this coast, and it was the business of one aspiring to be a +fisherman to take things as they came. + +'Come, set to work and bale out the boat, you bare-shanks lot! How +d'ye think she can sail with the half of Loch Scrone inside her?' + +Thus admonished, the younger brothers were soon among the stone ballast +baling out the surging water with such rude utensils as they could +find. But the squall was of no great duration. The wind moderated in +force; then it woke up again, and brought a smart shower of rain +across; then, as if by magic, the heavens suddenly cleared, a burst of +hot sunlight fell around them, the sea grew intensely blue, the far +hills on the other side of Loch Scrone began to shine green in the +yellow light, and all that was left to tell of the squall that had very +nearly put an end to the great chieftain and all his clan was a quickly +running sea, now all sparkling in diamonds. + +The danger being thus over, Rob once more delivered the tiller into the +charge of his brother Nicol, and went forward to his post of +observation at the bow. About the only bit of the imaginative voyage +on which he had started that had a solid basis in fact was the +existence of an old castle--or rather the ruins of what had once been a +castle--on the island called Eilean-na-Rona; and now that they were +racing down Loch Scrone, that small island was drawing nearer, and +already they could make out the dark tower and ivied walls of the +ancient keep. Far darker than the tower itself were the legends +connected with this stronghold of former times; but for these the +brothers MacNicol, who had seized on the place as their own, cared +little. It is true, they had some dread of the dungeon, and none of +them would have liked to visit Eilean-na-Rona at night; but in the +daytime the old ruins formed an excellent retreat, where they could +play such high jinks or hold such courtly tournaments as they chose. + +They ran the boat into a little creek of the uninhabited island, +driving her right up on the beach for safety's sake, there being no +anchor. Then--Neil carrying a small basket the while and Duncan a coil +of rope--they passed through a wood of young larches and spruce, the +air smelling strongly of bracken and meadow-sweet after the rain; and +finally they reached the rocky eminence on which stood the ruins. +There was no way up, for tourists did not come that way, and the owner +of the island, who was a farmer on the mainland, had but little care +for antiquities. However, the lads found no difficulty. They swarmed +up the face of the crags like so many squirrels, and found themselves +on a grassy plateau which had once formed the outer courtyard of the +keep. Around this plateau were fragments of what in former days had +been a massive wall, but most of the crumbling masonry was hidden under +ivy and weeds. In front of them, again, rose the great tower with its +arched and gloomy entrance, and its one or two small windows, in the +clefts of which bunches of wallflower were growing. The only sign of +life about the old castle or the uninhabited island was given by two or +three jackdaws that wheeled about overhead, and cawed harshly in +resentment of this intrusion. + +The great chieftain, Robert of the Red Hand, having now assembled his +kinsmen and allies in the ancient halls of Eilean-na-Rona, proceeded to +speak as follows. + +'Nicol, my man, ye have been tried and convicted.' + +'I ken that,' was Nicol's philosophical reply. + +'Ye had no business to make fast the sheet of the lug-sail; ye might +have drooned the lot of us.' + +Nicol nodded. He had sinned, and was prepared to suffer. + +'Have ye ought to say against your being lowered into the dungeon?' + +'I have not. Do you think I'm feared?' said Nicol scornfully. + +'Ye will not pay the penny?' + +'Deil a penny will I pay!' + +'Nicol,' said his cousin Neil, with some touch of compassion--for +indeed he knew that the dungeon was a gruesome place--'Nicol, maybe you +have not got a penny?' + +'Well, I have not,' said Nicol. + +'Will I lend ye one?' + +'What would be the use of that?' said Nicol; 'I would have to pay it +back. Do you think I'm feared? I tell you I am not feared.' + +So there was nothing for it but to get the rope and pass it under +Nicol's arms, fastening it securely at his back. Thus bound, the +culprit was marched through the archway of the old tower into an +apartment that was but feebly lit by the reflected glare coming from +without. The other boys, as well as Nicol, walked very carefully over +the dank-smelling earth, until they came to what seemed to be a large +hole dug out of the ground, and black as midnight. This was the +dungeon into which Nicol was to be lowered, that he might expiate his +offence before the high revels began. + + + +[1] _Anglicč_, seized hold of the weasel. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE LAST OF THE GAMES. + +But before proceeding to relate how the captive clansman was lowered +into the dungeon of the castle on Eilean-na-Rona, it will be necessary +to explain why he did not choose to purchase his liberty by the payment +of the sum of one penny. Pennies among the boys of Erisaig, and more +especially among the MacNicols, were an exceedingly scarce commodity. +The father of the three MacNicols, who was also burdened with the +charge of their orphan cousin Neil, was a hand on board the steamer +_Glenara Castle_, and very seldom came ashore. He had but small wages; +and it was all he could do, in the bringing up of the boys, to pay a +certain sum for their lodging and schooling, leaving them pretty much +to cadge for themselves as regarded food and clothes. Their food, +mostly porridge, potatoes, and fish of their own catching, cost little; +and they did not spend much money on clothes, especially in summer +time, when no Erisaig boy--except Rob MacNicol, who was a distinguished +person--would submit to the encumbrance of shoes and stockings. +Nevertheless, for various purposes, money was necessary to them; and +this they obtained by going down in the morning, when the herring boats +came in, and helping the men to strip the nets. The men were generally +tired out and sleepy with their long night's work; and if they had had +anything like a good haul, they were glad to give these lads twopence +or threepence apiece to undertake the labour of lifting the nets, yard +by yard, out of the hold, shaking out the silvery fish and dexterously +extricating those that had got more firmly enmeshed. Moreover, it was +a work the boys delighted in. If it was not the rose, it was near the +rose. If it was not for them as yet to sail away in the afternoon, +watched by all the village, at least they could take this small part in +the great herring trade. And when they had shaken out the last of the +nets, and received their wages, they stepped ashore with a certain +pride; and generally they put both hands in their pockets as a real +fisherman would do; and perhaps they would walk along the quays with a +slight lurch, as if they, also, had been cramped up all the long night +through, and felt somewhat unused to walking on first getting back to +land. + +Now these MacNicol boys, again imitating the well-to-do among the +fishermen, had each an account at the savings bank; and the pence they +got were carefully hoarded up. For if they wanted a new Glengarry cap, +or if they wanted to buy a book telling them of all kinds of tremendous +adventures at sea, or if it became necessary to purchase some more +fishing-hooks at the grocer's shop, it was their own small store of +wealth they had to look to; and so it came about that a penny was +something to be seriously considered. When Rob MacNicol had to impose +a fine of one penny, he knew it was a dire punishment; and if there was +any alternative, the fine was rarely paid. The fund, therefore, which +he had started for the purchase of an old and disused set of bagpipes, +and which was to be made up of those fines, did not grow apace. Of +course, being a chieftain, he must needs have a piper. The revels in +the halls of Eilean-na-Rona lacked half their impressiveness through +the want of the pipes. No doubt, Rob had a sort of suspicion that, if +ever they should grow rich enough to buy the old set of bagpipes, he +would have to play them himself; but even the most ignorant person can +perceive that to be one's own piper must at least be better than to +have no piper at all. + +And now the captive Nicol MacNicol was led to the edge of this black +pit in the floor of the lower hall of the castle. On several occasions +one or other of the boys had been lowered, for slighter offences, into +this dungeon; but no one had ever been condemned to go to the +bottom--if bottom there were. But Nicol did not flinch. He was +satisfied of the justice of his sentence. He was aware he deserved the +punishment. Above all he was determined to save that penny. + +At the same time, when the other three had poised themselves so as to +lower the rope gradually, and when he found himself descending into +that black mole, he looked rather nervously below him. Of course he +could see nothing. But there was a vague tradition that this dungeon +was haunted by ghosts, vampires, warlocks, and other unholy things; and +there was a chill, strange, earthy odour arising from it; and the walls +that he scraped against were slimy and damp. He uttered no word, +however; and those above kept slowly paying out the coil of rope. + +Rob became somewhat concerned. + +'It'll be no easy job to pull him back,' he said in a whisper. + +'It's as deep as the dungeon they put Donald Gorm Môr into,' said his +cousin Neil. + +'Maybe there's no bottom at all,' said Duncan, rather awe-stricken. + +Suddenly a fearful thing happened. There was a cry from below--a quick +cry of alarm; and at the same moment they were startled by a wild +whizzing and whirring around them, as if a legend of fiends had rushed +out of the pit. With a shriek of fright Duncan sprang back from the +edge of the dungeon; and that with such force that he knocked over his +two companions. Moreover, in falling, they let go the rope; when they +rose again they looked round in the twilight, but could find no trace +of it. It had slipped over the edge. And there was no sound from +below. + +Rob was the first to regain his senses. He rushed to the edge of the +hole and stooped over. + +'Nicol, are ye there?' + +His heart jumped within him when he heard his brother's voice. + +'Yes, I am; and the rope too. How am I to get up?' + +Rob turned quickly. + +'Duncan, down to the boat with ye! Loosen the lug-sail halyards, and +bring them up--quick, quick!' + +Duncan was off like a young roe. He slid down the crags; he dashed +through the larch-wood; he jumped into the boat on the beach. +Presently he was making his way as quickly back again, the halyards +coiled round his arm so as not to prevent his climbing. + +'Nicol!' shouted Rob. + +'Ay?' + +'I am lowering the halyards to ye. Fasten them to the end of the rope.' + +'I canna see them.' + +'Grope all round till ye come to them.' + +And so, in process of time, the end of the rope was hauled up, and +thereafter--to the great relief of every one--and to his own, no doubt, +Nicol appeared alive and well, though somewhat anxious to get away from +the neighbourhood of that dungeon. He went immediately out into the +warm summer air, followed by the others. + +'Man, what a fright I got!' he said at last, having recovered his +speech. + +'Ay, and so did we,' Neil admitted. + +'What was't?' said he, timidly; as if almost afraid to put his own +fears and suspicions into words. + +'I dinna ken,' Neil said, looking rather frightened. + +'Ye dinna ken!' Rob MacNicol said, with a scornful laugh. 'Ye ought to +ken, then. It was nothing but a lot of bats; and Duncan yelled as if +he had seen twenty warlocks; and knocked us over, so that we lost the +rope. Come! boys, begin your games now; the steamer will be in early +the day.' + +Well, it seemed easier to dismiss superstitious fears out here in the +sunlight. Perhaps it had been only bats, after all. Warlocks did not +whirr in the air--at least, they were understood not to do so. Witches +were supposed to reserve their aerial performances for the night-time. +Perhaps it was only bats, as Rob asserted. Indeed, it would be +safer--especially in Rob's presence--to accept his explanation of the +mystery. At the same time the younger boys occasionally darted a +stealthy glance backward to that gloomy apartment that had so suddenly +become alive with unknown things. + +Then the games began. Rob had come to the conclusion that a wise +chieftain should foster a love for national sports and pastimes; and to +that end he had invented a system of marks, the winning of a large +number of which entitled the holder to pecuniary or other reward. As +for himself, his part was that of spectator and arbiter; he handicapped +the competitors; he declared the prizes. On this occasion he ensconced +himself in a niche of the ruins, where he was out of the glare of the +sun, and gracefully surrounded by masses of ivy; while his relatives +hauled out to the middle of the green plateau several trunks of +fir-trees, of various sizes, that had been carefully lopped and pruned +for the purpose of 'tossing the caber.' Well, they 'tossed the caber,' +they 'put the stone,' they had wrestling-matches and other trials of +strength, Rob the while surveying the scene with a critical eye, and +reckoning up the proper number of marks. But now some milder +diversions followed. Three or four planks, rudely nailed together, and +forming a piece of rough flooring about two or three yards square, were +hauled out from an archway, placed on the grass, and a piece of +tarpaulin thrown over it. Then two of the boys took out their +Jew's-harps--alas! alas! that was the only musical instrument within +their reach, until the coveted bagpipes should be purchased--and gaily +struck up with 'Green grow the rashes, O!' as a preliminary flourish. +What was this now? What but a performance of the famous sword-dance by +that renowned and valiant henchman, Nicol MacNicol of Erisaig, in the +kingdom of Scotland! Nicol, failing a couple of broadswords or four +dirks, had got two pieces of rusty old iron and placed them cross-wise +on the extemporised floor. With what skill and nimbleness he proceeded +to execute this sword-dance,--which is no doubt the survival of some +ancient mystic rite,--with what elegance he pointed his toes and held +his arms akimbo; with what amazing dexterity, in all the evolutions of +the dance, he avoided touching the bits of iron; nay, with what +intrepidity, at the most critical moment, he held his arms aloft and +victoriously snapped his thumbs, it wants a Homeric chronicler to tell. +It needs only be said here that, after it, Neil's 'Highland Fling' was +a comparative failure, though he, better than most, could give that +outflung quiver of the foot which few can properly acquire, and without +which the dancer of the 'Highland Fling' might just as well go home and +go to bed. The great chieftain, having regarded these and other +performances with an observant eye, and having awarded so many marks to +this one and to that, declared the games over, and invited the +competitors one and all to a royal banquet. + +It was a good deal more wholesome than most banquets, for it consisted +of a scone and a glass of fresh milk apiece--butter being as yet beyond +the means of the MacNicols. And it was a good deal more sensible than +most banquets, for there was no speech-making after it. But there was +some interesting conversation. + +'Nicol, what did ye find in the dungeon?' Duncan said. + +'Oh, man, it was a gruesome place,' said Nicol, who did not want to +make too little of the perils he had encountered. + +'What did ye see?' + +'How could I see anything? But I felt plenty on the way down; and I'm +sure it's fu' o' creeping things and beasts. And then when I was near +the foot, I put my hand on something leevin', and it flew up and hit +me; and in a meenit the whole place was alive. Man, what a noise it +was! And then down came the rope, and I fell; and I got sich a dour on +the head!' + +'Nothing but bats!' said Rob, contemptuously. + +'I think it was houlets,' [1] said Duncan, confidently; 'for there was +one in the wood when I was gaun through, and I nearly ran my head +against him. He was sitting in one of the larches--man, he made a +noise!' + +'Ye've got your heads filled with nothing but witches and warlocks the +day!' said Rob, impatiently, as he rose to his feet. 'Come, and get +the things into the basket. We maun be back in Erisaig before the +_Glenara_ comes in.' + +Very soon thereafter the small party made their way down again to the +shore, and entered the war-galley of the chieftain, the halyards being +restored to their proper use. There were no more signs of any squall; +but the light steady breeze was contrary; and as Robert of the Red Hand +was rather anxious to get back before the steamer should arrive, and as +he prided himself on his steering, he himself took the tiller, his +cousin Neil being posted as look-out forward. + +It was a tedious business this beating up against the contrary wind; +but there was nothing the MacNicols delighted in so much as in sailing, +and they had grown to be expert in handling a boat. And it needed all +their skill to get anything out of these repeated tacks with this old +craft, that had a sneaking sort of fashion of falling away to leeward. +However, they had the constant excitement of putting about; and the day +was fine; and they were greatly refreshed after their arduous pastimes +by that banquet of scones and milk. Nor did they know that this was to +be the last day of their careless boyish idleness; that never again +would the great chieftain, heedless of what the morrow might bring +forth, hold these high frolics in the halls of Eilean-na-Rona. + +Patience and perseverance will beat even contrary winds; and at last, +after one long tack stretching almost to the other side of Loch Scrone, +they put about and managed to make the entrance to the harbour, just +weathering the rocks that had nearly destroyed them on their setting +out. But here another difficulty waited them. Under the shelter of +the low-lying hills, the harbour was in a dead calm. No sooner had +they passed the rocks than they found themselves on water as smooth as +glass, and there were no oars in the boat. For this oversight Rob +MacNicol was not responsible; the fact being that oars were valuable in +Erisaig, and not easily to be borrowed, whereas this old boat was at +anybody's disposal. There was nothing for it but to sit and wait for a +puff of wind. + +Suddenly they heard a sound--the distant throbbing of the _Glenara's_ +paddles. Rob grew anxious. This old boat was right in the fairway of +the steamer; and the question was whether, in coming round the point, +she would see them in time to slow. + +'I wish we were out of here,' said he. + +As a last resource, he threw the tiller into the boat, took up the +helm, and tried to use this as a sort of paddle. But this was scarcely +of any avail; and they could hear, though they could not see, that the +steamer was almost at the point. + +The next moment she appeared; and it seemed to them in their fright +that she was almost upon them--towering away over them with her +gigantic bulk. They heard the scream of the steam-whistle, and the +sharp 'ping! ping!' of the indicator, as the captain tried to have the +engines reversed. + +It was too late. The way on the steamer carried her on, even when her +paddles were stopped; and the next second her bows had gone clean into +the old tarred boat, cutting her almost in two and heeling her over. + +She sank at once. Then the passengers of the steamer rushed to the +side to see what should become of the lads struggling in the water; the +mate threw overboard to them a couple of life-buoys; and the captain +shouted out to have a boat lowered. There was a great confusion. + +Meanwhile, all this had been witnessed by the father of the MacNicols, +who had stood for a second or two as if paralysed. Then a sort of +spasm of action seized him, and, apparently not knowing what he was +about, he threw open the gangway abaft the paddle-box and sprang into +the sea. + + + +[1] _Anglicč_, owls. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +ALTERED CIRCUMSTANCES. + +Even with this big steamer coming right down on them, Rob MacNicol did +not lose his head. He knew that his two brothers and his cousin Neil +could swim like water-rats; and as for himself, though he would have +given a good deal to get rid of his boots, he did not fear being able +to get ashore. + +But there was no time to think. + +'Jump clear of the boat!' he shouted to his companions. + +The next second came the dreadful crash. The frail old boat seemed to +be pressed onwards and downwards, as if the steamer had run right over +her. Then Rob found himself in the water, and very deep in the water +too. The next thing he perceived was a great greenish-white thing over +his head; and as he knew that that was the hull of the steamer, he +struck away from it with all the strength at his disposal. He +remembered afterwards experiencing a sort of hatred of that shining +green thing, and thinking it looked hideous and dangerous, like a shark. + +However, the next moment he rose to the surface, blew the water out of +his mouth, and looked around. There was a life-buoy within a yard of +him, and the people on the steamer were calling to him to lay hold of +it; but he had never touched one of these things, and he preferred to +trust to himself, heavy as he felt his boots to be. It was the others +he was looking after. Neil, he perceived, was already off for the +shore, swimming hand over hand, as if a swordfish were after him. +Nicol was being hauled up the side of the steamer at the end of a rope, +just as he had been hauled up from the Eilean-na-Rona dungeon; and his +brother Duncan had seized hold of the helm that had been cast loose +when the boat went down. Satisfied that every one was safe, Rob +himself struck out for the side of the steamer, and was speedily hauled +on board, presently finding himself on deck with his two dripping +companions. + +The strange thing was that his father was nowhere to be seen, and even +the captain looked round and asked where John MacNicol was. At the +same moment a woman, all trembling, came forward and asked the mate if +they had got the man out. + +'What man?' said he. + +She said she had been standing by the paddle-box, and that one of the +sailors, the moment the accident had occurred, had opened the gangway +and jumped into the water, no doubt with the intention of rescuing the +boys. She had not seen him come up again, for just as he went down the +steamer backed. + +At this news there was some little consternation. The mate called +aloud for John MacNicol; there was no answer. He ran to the other side +of the steamer; nothing was visible on the smooth water. They searched +everywhere, and the boat that had been lowered was pulled about, but +the search was in vain. The woman's story was the only explanation of +this strange disappearance; but the sailors suspected more than they +dared to suggest to the bewildered lads. They suspected that old +MacNicol had dropped into the water just before the paddles had made +their first backward revolution, and that in coming to the surface he +had been struck by one of the floats. They said nothing of this, +however; and as the search proved to be quite useless, the _Glenara_ +steamed slowly onward to the quay. + +It was not until the next afternoon that they recovered the body of old +MacNicol; and from certain appearances on the corpse, it was clear that +he had been struck down by the paddles in his effort to reach and help +his sons. That was a sad evening for Rob MacNicol. It was his first +introduction to the cruel facts of life. And amid his sorrow for the +loss of one who, in a sort of rough and reticent way, had been very +kind and even affectionate to him, Rob was vaguely aware that on +himself now rested the responsibility for the upbringing of his two +brothers and his cousin. He sat up late that night, long after the +others were asleep, thinking of what he should do. In the midst of +this silence the door was quietly opened, and Daft Sandy came into the +small room. + +'What do ye want at this time o' night?' said Rob angrily, for he had +been startled. + +The old, bent, half-witted man looked cautiously at the bed, in which +Neil lay fast asleep. + +'Whisht, Rob, my man,' he said in a whisper; 'I waited till every one +in Erisaig was asleep. Ay, ay! it's a bad day this day for you. And +what are ye going to do now, Rob? Ye'll be taking to the fishing?' + +'Oh, ay; I'll be taking to the fishing!' said Rob bitterly, for he had +been having his dreams also, and had turned from them with a sigh. 'Of +course I'll be taking to the fishing! And maybe ye'll tell me where I +am to get 40 pounds to buy a boat, and where I am to get 30 pounds to +buy nets? Maybe ye'll tell me that, Sandy?' + +'The bank----' + +'What does the bank ken about me? They would as soon think of throwing +the money into Loch Scrone.' + +'But ye ken, Rob, Coll Macdougall would give ye a share in his boat for +12 pounds.' + +'Twelve pounds! Man, ye're just daft, Sandy. Where am I to get 12 +pounds?' + +'Well, well, Rob,' said the old man coming nearer, and speaking still +more mysteriously, 'listen to what I tell ye. Some day or other ye'll +be taking to the fishing; and when that day comes I will put something +in your way. Ay, ay; the fishermen about Erisaig dinna know +everything; come to me, Rob, my man, and I'll tell ye something about +the herring. Ye are a good lad, Rob; many's the herring I've got from +ye when I wouldna go near the shore for they mischievous bairns; and +when once ye have a boat and nets o' your own I will tell ye something. +Daft Sandy is no so daft, maybe. Have ye ony tobacco, Rob?' + +Rob said he had no tobacco; and making sure that Daft Sandy had come to +him with a pack of nonsense merely as an excuse to borrow money for +tobacco, he bundled him out of the house and went to bed. + +Rob was anxious that his brothers and cousin, and himself, should +present a respectable appearance at the funeral; and in these humble +preparations nearly all their small savings were swallowed up. The +funeral expenses were paid by the Steamboat Company. Then after the +funeral, the few people who were present departed to their own homes, +no doubt imagining that the MacNicol boys would be able to live as +hitherto they had lived--that is, anyhow. + +But there was a kindly man called Jamieson, who kept the grocery shop, +and he called Rob in as the boys passed home. + +'Rob,' said he, 'ye maun be doing something now. There's a cousin of +mine has a whisky shop in the Saltmarket in Glasgow, and I could get ye +a place there.' + +Rob's very gorge rose at the notion of his having to serve in a whisky +shop in Glasgow. That would be to abandon all the proud ambitions of +his life. Nevertheless, he had been thinking seriously about the duty +he owed to these lads, his companions, who were now dependent on him. +So he swallowed his pride and said, + +'How much would he give me?' + +'I think I could get him to give ye four shillings a week. That would +keep ye very well.' + +'Keep me?' said Rob. 'Ay, but what's to become o' Duncan and Neil and +Nicol?' + +'They must shift for themselves,' the grocer answered. + +'That winna do,' said Rob, and he left the shop. + +He overtook his companions and asked them to go along to some rocks +overlooking the harbour. They sat down there--the harbour below them +with all its picturesque boats, and masses of drying nets, and what not. + +'Neil,' said Rob to his cousin, 'we'll have to think about things now. +There will be no more Eilean-na-Rona for us. We have just about as +much left as will pay the lodgings this week, and Nicol must go three +nights a week to the night school. What we get for stripping the nets +'ll no do now.' + +'It will not,' said Neil. + +'Mr. Jamieson was offering me a place in Glasgow, but it is not very +good, and I think we will do better if we keep together. Neil,' said +he, 'if we had only a net, do ye not think we could trawl for cuddies?' +[1] + +And again he said, 'Neil, do ye not think we could make a net for +ourselves out of the old rags lying at the shed?' + +And again he said, 'Do ye think that Peter, the tailor, would lend us +his old boat for a shilling a week?' + +It was clear that Rob had been carefully considering the details of +this scheme of co-operation. And it was eagerly welcomed, not only by +Neil, but also by the brothers Duncan and Nicol, who had been +frightened by the thought of Rob going away to Glasgow. The youngest +of all, Nicol, boldly declared that he could mend nets as well as any +man in Erisaig. + +No sooner was the scheme thoroughly discussed, than it was determined, +under Rob's direction, to set to work at once. The woman who kept the +lodgings and cooked their food for them had intimated to them that they +need be in no hurry to pay her for a week or two until they should find +some employment; but they had need of money, or the equivalent of +money, in other directions. Might not old Peter, who was a grumbling +and ill-tempered person, insist on being paid in advance? Then, before +they could begin to make a net out of the torn and rejected pieces +lying about the shed, they must needs have a ball of twine. So Rob +bade his brothers and cousin go away and get their rude fishing-rods +and betake themselves to the rocks at the mouth of the harbour, and see +what fish they could get for him during the afternoon. + +Meanwhile he himself went along to the shed which was used as a sort of +storage-house by some of the fishermen; and here he found lying about +plenty of pieces of net that had been cast aside in the process of +mending. This business of mending the nets is the last straw on the +back of the tired-out fisherman. When he has met with an accident to +his nets during the night, when he has fouled on some rocks in dragging +them in for example, it is a desperately fatiguing affair to set to +work to mend them when he gets ashore, dead beat with the labours of +the morning. The fishermen, for what reason I do not know, will not +entrust this work to their wives; they will rather, after having been +out all night, keep at it themselves, though they drop off to sleep +every few minutes. It is not to be wondered at, then, that often, +instead of trying to laboriously mend holes here or there, they should +cut out a large piece of torn net bodily and tack on a fresh piece. +The consequence is, that in a place like Erisaig there is generally +plenty of netting to be got for the asking; which is a good thing for +gardeners who want to protect currant bushes from the blackbirds, and +who will take the trouble to patch the pieces together. + +Rob was allowed to pick out a large number of pieces that he thought +might serve his purpose; and these he carried off home. But then came +the question of floats and sinkers. Sufficient pieces of cork to form +the floats might in time be got about the beach; but the sinkers had +all been removed from the cast-away netting. In this extremity, Rob +bethought of rigging up a couple of guy-poles, as the salmon-fishers +call them, one for each end of the small seine he had in view; so that +these guy-poles, with a lump of lead at the lower end, would keep the +net vertical while it was being dragged through the water. All this +took up the best part of the afternoon; for he had to cadge about +before he could get a couple of stout poles; and he had to bargain with +the blacksmith for a lump of lead. Then he walked along to the point +where the other MacNicols were busy fishing. + +They had been lucky with their lines and bait. On the rocks beside +them lay two or three small codling, a large flounder, two good-sized +lythe, and nearly a dozen saithe. Rob got hold of these; washed them +clean to make them look fresh and smart; put a string through their +gills, and marched off with them to the village. + +He felt no shame in trying to sell fish: was it not the whole trade of +the village? He walked into the grocer's shop. + +'Will ye buy some fish?' said he, 'they're fresh.' + +The grocer looked at them. + +'What do you want?' + +'A ball of twine.' + +'Let me tell ye this, Rob,' said the grocer, severely, 'that a lad in +your place should be thinking of something else than fleein' a dragon.' +[2] + +'I dinna want to flee any dragon,' said Rob, 'I want to mend a net.' + +'Oh, that is quite different,' said the grocer; and then he added, with +a good-natured laugh, 'Are ye going to be a fisherman, Rob?' + +'I will see,' Rob said. + +So he had his ball of twine--and a very large one it was. Off he set +to his companions. + +'Come away, boys, I have other work for ye. Now, Nicol, my man, ye'll +show us what ye can do in the mending of nets. Ye havena been telling +lies?' + +Well, it took them several days of very hard and constant work before +they rigged up something resembling a small seine; and then Rob affixed +his guy-poles; and they went to the grocer and got from him a lot of +old rope on the promise to give him a few fresh fish whenever they +happened to have a good haul. Then Rob proceeded to his fateful +interview with Peter the tailor. + +Peter was a sour-visaged, gray-headed old man, who wore horn-rimmed +spectacles. He was sitting cross-legged on his bench when Rob entered. + +'Peter, will ye lend me your boat?' + +'I will not.' + +'Why will ye no lend me the boat?' + +'Do I want it sunk, as ye sunk that boat the other day? Go away with +ye. Ye're an idle lot, you MacNicols. Ye'll be drooned some day.' + +'We want it for the fishing, Peter,' said Rob, who took no notice of +the tailor's ill-temper. 'I'll give ye a shilling a week for the loan +o't.' + +'A shilling a week!' said Peter with a laugh. 'A shilling a week! +Where's your shilling?' + +'There,' said Rob, putting it plump down on the bench. + +The tailor looked at the shilling; took it up, bit it, and put it in +his pocket. + +'Very well,' said he, 'but mind, if ye sink my boat, ye'll have three +pounds to pay.' + +Rob went back eager and joyous. Forthwith, a thorough inspection of +the boat was set about by the lads in conjunction; they tested the +oars; they tested the thole-pins; they had a new piece of cork put into +the bottom. For that evening, when it grew a little more towards dusk, +they would make their first cast with their net. + +Yes; and that evening, when it had quite turned to dusk, the people of +Erisaig were startled with a new proclamation. It was Neil MacNicol, +standing in front of the cottages, and boldly calling forth these words: + +"IS THERE ANY ONE WANTING CUDDIES? THERE ARE CUDDIES TO BE SOLD AT THE +WEST SLIP, FOR A SIXPENCE A HUNDERD!" + + + +[1] 'Cuddies' is the familiar name in those parts for young saithe. +'Trawling,' again, means there the use of an ordinary seine. + +[2] 'Fleein' a dragon'--flying a kite. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +FURTHER ENDEAVOUR. + +That was indeed an anxious time when the four MacNicols proceeded to +try the net on which they had spent so much forethought and labour. +They had no great expectation of catching fish this evening; their +object was rather to try whether the ropes would hold, whether the +floats would be sufficient, and whether Rob's guy-poles would keep the +net vertical. So they got into the tailor's boat, and rowed away round +the point to a sandy bay where they had nothing to fear from rocks on +this their first experiment. + +It was, as has been mentioned in the previous chapter, nearly dusk--an +excellent time for catching saithe, if saithe were about. The net had +been carefully placed in the stern of the boat, so that it would run +out easily, the rope attached to the guy-pole neatly coiled on the top. +Rob was very silent as his two brothers pulled away at the long oars. +He knew what depended on this trial. They had just enough money left +to settle with their landlady on the following evening; and Nicol's +school-fees had to be paid in advance. + +They rowed quietly into this little bay, which, though of a sandy +bottom, was pretty deep. Rob had resolved to take the whole +responsibility of the experiment on himself. He landed his brothers +and his cousin, giving the latter the end of the rope attached to the +guy-pole; then he quietly pulled away again from the shore. + +When the length of the rope was exhausted, he himself took the guy-pole +and gently dropped it over, to prevent splashing; and as he did so the +net began to pay out. He pulled slowly, just to see how the thing +would work; and it seemed to work very well. The net went out freely, +and apparently sank properly; from the top of the guy-pole to the stern +of the boat you could see nothing but the line of the floats on the +smooth water. But the net was a small one: soon it would be exhausted; +so Rob began to pull round towards the shore again. At the same time +Neil, who had had his instructions, began to haul in his end of the net +gently, so that by and by, when Rob had run the boat on the beach, and +jumped out with his rope in his hand, the line of floats began to form +a semicircle that was gradually narrowing and coming nearer the shore. + +It was a moment of great excitement, and not a word was spoken. For +although this was ostensibly only a trial to see how the net would +work, each lad in his secret heart was wondering whether there might +not be a haul of fish captured from the mysterious deep; and not one of +them, not Rob himself, could tell whether this very considerable weight +they were gradually pulling in was the weight of the net merely, or the +weight of fish, or the weight of seaweed. + +The semicircle of the floats came nearer and nearer, all eyes striving +to pierce the clear water. + +'I hope the rope'll no break,' said Rob, anxiously, for the weight was +great. + +'And it's only seaweed!' said Duncan, in a tone of great disappointment. + +But Rob's eye had been caught by some unusual appearance in the water. +It seemed troubled somehow; and more especially near the line of floats. + +'Is it?' said he; and he hastily bade Duncan take the rope and haul it +gently in. He himself began to take up handfuls of small stones, and +fling them into the sea close by the two guy-poles, so that the fish +should be frightened back into the net. And as the semicircle grew +still smaller, it was very obvious that, though there might be seaweed +in the net, it was not all seaweed. By this time the guy-poles had +been got ashore; they were now hauling at the net itself. + +'Quicker now, boys!' Rob called out. 'Man alive, look at that!' + +All the space of water now enclosed by the net was seen to be in a +state of commotion; the net itself was being violently shaken; here and +there a fish leapt into the air. + +'Steady, boys! Don't jerk, or ye'll tear the net to bits!' Rob called +out in great excitement. + +For behold! when they had hauled this great weight up on the shore with +a final swoop, there was something there that almost bewildered them--a +living mass of fish floundering about in the wet seaweed--some +springing into the air--others flopping out on to the sand--many +helplessly entangled in the meshes. It was a wonderful sight; but +their astonishment and delight had to give place to action. + +'Run for the boat, Nicol! There's more where they came from!' Rob +shouted. + +Nicol rushed along to the boat; shoved her out; pulled her along to +where his companions were; and backed her, stern in. They had no +bucket; they had to fling the fish into the bottom of the boat. But +this business of stripping the nets--shaking out the seaweed and +freeing the enmeshed fish--was familiar to them; and they all worked +with a will. There was neither a dog-fish nor a conger in all the +haul, so they had no fears for their hands. In less than a quarter of +an hour the net was back in the boat, properly arranged, and Rob ready +to start again--at a place farther along the beach. + +They were soon full of eagerness. In fact, they were too eager; and +this time they hauled in with such might and main that, just as the +guy-poles were nearing the shore, the rope attached to one of them +broke. But Rob instantly jumped into the water, seized the pole +itself, and hauled it out with him. Here, also, they had a +considerable take of fish; but there was a heavy weight of seaweed +besides; and one or two rents showed that they had pulled the net over +rocks. So they went back to the former ground; and so successful were +they, and so eagerly did they work, that when the coming darkness +warned them to return to Erisaig, they had the stern of the boat nearly +full of very fairly-sized saithe. + +Neil regarded this wonderful treasure of the deep, as he laboured away +at his oar. + +'Man, Rob, who could have expected such a lot? And what will ye do +with them now? Will ye send them to Glasgow by the _Glenara_?--I think +Mr. M'Aulay would lend us a box or two. Or will ye clean them and dry +them, and sell them from a barrow?' + +'We canna start two or three trades all at once,' said Rob, after a +minute or two. 'I think we'll sell them straight off, if the folk are +no in bed. Ye'll gang and see, Neil; and I'll count the fish at the +slip.' + +'And what will I say ye will take for them?' + +'I think I would ask a sixpence a hundred,' said Rob, slowly; for he +had been considering that question for the last ten minutes. + +At length they got in to the slip; and Neil at once proceeded to inform +the inhabitants of Erisaig, who were still lounging about in the dusk, +that for sixpence a hundred they could have fine fresh 'cuddies.' It +might be thought that in a place like Erisaig, which was one of the +headquarters of the herring-trade, it would be difficult to sell fish +of any description. But the fact was that the herring were generally +contracted for by the agents of the salesmen, and shipped directly for +Glasgow, so that they were but rarely retailed in Erisaig itself; +moreover, people accustomed to herring their whole life through +preferred variety--a freshly-caught mackerel, or flounder, or what not. +Perhaps, however, it was more curiosity than anything else that brought +the neighbours along to the west slip, to see what the MacNicols had +been about. + +Well, there was a good deal of laughing and jeering, especially on the +part of the men (these were idlers: the fishermen were all gone away in +the boats); but the women, who had to provide for their households, +knew when they had a cheap bargain; and the sale of the 'cuddies' +proceeded briskly. Indeed, when the people had gone away again, and +the four lads were by themselves on the quay, there was not a single +'cuddy' left--except a dozen that Rob had put into a can of water, to +be given to the grocer in the morning as part payment for the loan of +the ropes. + +'What do ye make it altogether?' said Neil to Rob, who was counting the +money. + +'Three shillings and ninepence.' + +'Three shillings and ninepence! Man, that's a lot. Will ye put it in +the savings bank?' + +'No, I will not,' said Rob. 'I'm no satisfied with the net, Neil. We +must have better ropes all the way round; and whatever money we can +spare we maun spend on the net. Man, think of this now: if we were to +fall in with a big haul of herring or Johnnie-Dories, and lose them +through the breaking of the net, I think ye would jist sit down and +greet.' + +It was wise counsel, as events showed. For one afternoon, some ten +days afterwards, they set out as usual. They had been having varying +success; but they had earned more than enough to pay their landlady, +the tailor, and the schoolmaster; and every farthing beyond these +necessary expenses they had spent on the net. They had replaced all +the rotten pieces with sound twine; they had got new ropes; they had +deepened it, moreover, and added some more sinkers to help the +guy-poles. Well, on this afternoon, Duncan and Nicol, being the two +youngest, were as usual pulling away to one of the small quiet bays, +and Rob was idly looking around him, when he saw something on the +surface of the sea at some distance off that excited a sudden interest. +It was what the fishermen call 'broken water'--a seething produced by a +shoal of fish. + +'Look, look, Neil!' he cried. 'It's either mackerel or herring; will +we try for them?' + +The greatest excitement at once prevailed on board. The younger +brothers pulled their hardest to make for that rough patch on the +water. Rob undid the rope from the guy-pole, and got this last ready +to drop overboard. He knew very well that they ought to have had two +boats to execute this manoeuvre; but was there not a chance for them if +they were to row hard, in a circle, and pick up the other end of the +net when they came to it? So Neil took a third oar: two rowing one +side and one the other was just what they wanted. + +They came nearer and nearer that strange hissing of the water. They +kept rather away from it: and Rob quietly dropped the guy-pole over, +paying out the net rapidly, so that it should not be dragged after the +boat. Then the three lads pulled hard, and in a circle, so that at +last they were sending the bow of the boat straight towards the +floating guy-pole. The other guy-pole was near the stern of the boat, +the rope made fast to one of the thwarts. In a few minutes Rob had +caught this first guy-pole: they were now possessed of the two ends of +the net. + +But the water had grown suddenly quiet. Had the fish dived and escaped +them? There was not the motion of a fin anywhere: and yet the net +seemed heavy to haul. + +'Rob,' said Neil, almost in a whisper, 'we've got them!' + +'We havena got them,' was the reply; 'but they're in the net. Man, I +wonder if it'll stand out.' + +Then it was that the diligent patching and the strong tackle told. The +question was not with regard to the strength of the net, it was rather +with regard to the strength of the younger lads; for they had succeeded +in enclosing a goodly portion of a large shoal of mackerel, and the +weight seemed more than they could get into the boat. But even the +strength of the younger ones seemed to grow into the strength of giants +when they saw through the clear water a great moving mass like +quicksilver. And then the wild excitement of hauling in; the +difficulty of it; the danger of the fish escaping; the warning cries of +Rob; the clatter made by the mackerel; the possibility of swamping the +boat altogether, as all the four were straining their utmost at one +side. Indeed, by an awkward tilt at one moment some hundred or two of +the mackerel were seen to glide away; but perhaps that rendered it all +the more practicable to get into the boat what remained. When that +heaving, sparkling, jerking mass of quicksilver at last was +captured--shining all through the brown meshes of the net--the younger +lads sat down quite exhausted, wet through, and happy. + +'Man, Rob, what do you think of that?' said Neil in amazement. + +'What do I think?' said Rob; 'I think that if we could get two or three +more hauls like that I would soon buy a share in Coll MacDougall's boat +and go after the herring.' + +They had no more thought that afternoon of 'cuddy'-fishing after this +famous take. Rob and Neil--the younger ones having had their +share--rowed back to Erisaig; then Rob left the boat at the slip, and +walked up to the office of the fish-salesman. + +'What will ye give me for mackerel?' he said. + +The salesman laughed at him, thinking he had caught a few with rods and +flies. + +'I'm no buying mackerel,' said he; 'no by the half-dozen.' + +'I've half a boat load,' said Rob. + +The salesman glanced towards the slip, and saw the tailor's boat pretty +low in the water. + +'Is that mackerel?' + +'Yes, it is mackerel.' + +'Where were you buying them?' + +'I was not buying them anywhere. I caught them myself--my brothers and +me.' + +'I do not believe you.' + +'I cannot help that, then,' said Rob. 'But where had I the money to +buy mackerel from any one?' + +The salesman glanced at the boat again. + +'I'll go down to the slip with you.' + +So he and Rob together walked down to the slip, and the salesmen had a +look at the mackerel. Apparently he had arrived at the conclusion +that, after all, Rob was not likely to have bought a cargo of mackerel +as a commercial speculation. + +'Well, I will buy the mackerel from you,' he said. 'I will give you +half-a-crown the hundred for them.' + +'Half-a-crown!' said Rob. 'I will take three-and-sixpence the hundred +for them.' + +'I will not give it to you. But I will give you three shillings the +hundred, and a good price, too.' + +'Very well, then,' said Rob. + +So the MacNicols got altogether 2 pounds 8 shillings for that load of +mackerel: and out of that Rob spent the eight shillings on still +further improving the net; the 2 pounds going into the savings bank. +It is to be imagined that after this they kept a pretty sharp look-out +for 'broken water;' but of course they could not expect to run across a +shoal of mackerel every day. + +However, as time went on, with bad luck and with good, and by dint of +hard and constant work whatever the luck was, the sum in the savings +bank slowly increased; and at last Rob announced to his companions that +they had saved enough to enable him to purchase a share in Coll +MacDougall's boat. Neil and Duncan and Nicol were sorely disinclined +to part with Rob; but yet they saw clearly enough that he was getting +too old to remain at the cuddy-fishing, and they knew they could now +work that line of business quite well by themselves. What Rob said was +this: + +'You see it is a great chance for all of us that I should get a share +in the boat; for what I make at the herring-fishing will go into the +bank along with what you make at the trawling by the shore. And who +knows, if we all work hard enough, who knows but we may have a +herring-skiff all to ourselves some day? And that would be a fine +thing to have a herring-skiff to ourselves, and our own nets; and all +that we earned our own, and not in debt to any one whatever.' + +Of course that was a dream of the future; for a herring-skiff costs a +considerable sum of money, and so do nets. But in the meantime they +were all agreed that what Rob counselled was wise; and a share in Coll +MacDougall's boat was accordingly purchased, after a great deal of +bargaining. + +A proud lad was Rob MacNicol the afternoon he came along to the wharf +to take his place in the boat that was now partly his own. His +brothers and cousin were there to see him (envious a little, perhaps; +but proud also, for part of their money had gone to buy the share). He +had likewise purchased second-hand a huge pair of boots that were as +soft and pliable as grease could make them; and he carried a brand-new +yellow oilskin in his hand that crackled as he walked. Neil, Duncan, +and Nicol watched him throw his oilskin into the boat, and go forward +to the bow, and take his place there at the oar; and they knew very +well that if there was any one who could pull a huge oar better than +Rob MacNicol, it was not in Erisaig that that person was to be found. +Then the big herring-skiff passed away out to the point in the red glow +of the evening; and Rob had achieved the first great ambition of his +life. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE HIGH ROAD. + +That was not a very good year for the herring-fishing on this part of +the coast; but at all events Rob MacNicol learned all the lore of the +fishermen, and grew as skilled as any of them in guessing at the +whereabouts of the herring; while at the end of the season he had more +than replaced the 12 pounds he had used of the common fund. Then he +returned to the tailor's boat, and worked with his brothers and cousin. +He was proud to know that he had a share in a fishing-skiff; but he was +not too proud to turn his hand to anything else that might help. + +These MacNicol boys had grown to be greatly respected in Erisaig. The +audacity of four 'wastrel laddies' setting up to be fishermen on their +own account had at first amused the neighbours; but their success and +their conduct generally, soon raised them above ridicule; and the women +especially were warm in their commendation. They saw how Rob gradually +improved the appearance of his brothers and cousin. All of them had +boots and stockings now. Not only that, but they had white shirts and +jackets of blue cloth to go to church with on Sunday; and each of them +put twopence in the collection-plate just as if they had all been sons +of a rich shopkeeper. Moreover, they were setting an example to the +other boys about. Four of these, indeed, combined to start a +cuddy-fishing business similar to that of Rob's. Neil was rather +angry; but Rob was not afraid of any competition. He asked the new +boys to come and see how he had rigged up the guy-poles. He said there +were plenty of fish in the sea; and the market was large enough. But +when the new boys asked him to lend them some money to buy new ropes he +distinctly declined. He had got on without borrowing himself. + +It was a long and dreary winter; but Nicol had nearly finished with his +schooling; and the seine-net had been largely added to; and every inch +of it overhauled. Then the cuddy-fishing began again; and soon Rob, +who was now nearly eighteen, and remarkably firm-set for his age, would +be away after the herring. + +One day, as Rob was going along the main thoroughfare of Erisaig, the +banker called him into his office. + +'Rob,' said he, 'have ye seen the skiff[1] at the building-yard?' + +'Ay,' said Rob rather wistfully, for many a time he had stood and +looked at the beautiful lines of the new craft. 'She's a splendid +boat.' + +'And ye've seen the new drift-net in the shed?' + +'Ay, I have that.' + +'Well, ye see, Rob,' continued Mr. Bailie, regarding him with a +good-natured look; 'I had the boat built and the net bought as a kind +of speculation; and I was thinking of getting a crew through from +Tarbert. They say the herring are beginning to come about some of the +western lochs. Now I have been hearing a good deal about you, Rob, +from the neighbours. They say that you, and your brothers and cousin, +are sober and diligent lads; and that you are good seamen, and careful. +Then you have been a while at the herring fishing yourself. Now do you +think you could manage that new boat?' + +'Me!' said Rob, with his eyes staring, and his face aflame. + +'I go by what the neighbours say, Rob. They say ye are a prudent lad, +not over venturesome; and I think I could trust my property to ye. +What say ye?' + +In his excitement at the notion of being made master of such a +beautiful craft, Rob forgot the respect he ought to have shown in +addressing so great a person as the banker. He blurted out-- + +'Man, I would just like to try!' + +'I will pay ye a certain sum per week while the fishing lasts,' +continued Mr. Bailie, 'and ye will hire what crew ye think fit. +Likewise I will give ye a percentage on the takes. Will that do?' + +Rob was quite bewildered. All he could say was-- + +'I am obliged to ye, sir. Will ye wait for a minute till I see Neil.' + +And very soon the wild rumour ran through Erisaig that no other than +Rob MacNicol had been appointed master of the new skiff, the _Mary of +Argyle_; and that he had taken his brothers and cousin as his crew. +Some of the women shook their heads; and said it was a shame to let +such mere lads go to the herring-fishing--for some night or other they +would be drowned; but the men, who knew something of Rob's seamanship, +had no fear at all; and their only doubt was about the younger lads +being up to the heavy work of hauling in the nets in the morning. + +But their youth was a fault that would mend week by week. In the +meantime, Rob, having sold out his share in MacDougall's boat, bought +jerseys and black boots and yellow oil-skins for his companions; so +that the new crew, if they were rather slightly built, looked smart +enough, as they went down to the slip to overhaul the _Mary of Argyle_. + +With what a pride they regarded the long and shapely lines of her--the +yellow beams shining with varnish; the tall mast at the bow, with its +stout cordage; the brand-new stove, that was to boil their tea for them +in the long watches of the night; the magnificent oars; the new sheets +and sails--everything spick and span. And this great mass of ruddy +netting lying in the shed, with its perfect floats and accurate +sinkers--this was not like the makeshift that had captured the cuddies. + +Then on the morning that the _Mary of Argyle_ put to sea on her trial +trip, her owner was on board; but he merely sat on a thwart. It was +Rob who was at the tiller; Rob wanted to try the boat; the owner wanted +to observe the crew. And first of all she sailed lightly out of the +harbour, with the wind on her beam; then outside, the breeze being +fresher, they let her away down Loch Scrone, with the brilliant new +lug-sail bellying out; then they brought her round, and fought her up +against the stiff wind--Rob's brief words of command being obeyed with +the rapidity of lightning. + +'Well, what do ye think of her?' said Mr. Bailie to his young skipper. + +Rob's face was aglow with pride. + +'I think she's like a race-horse!' he said. 'I think she would lick +any boat in Erisaig Bay.' + +'But it is not to run races I have handed her over to ye. You must be +careful, Rob; and run back if there's any squally weather about. I'll +no be vexed if you're over cautious. For ye know if anything was to +happen to one of they lads, the people would say I had done wrong in +lippening[2] a boat to such a young crew.' + +'Well, sir,' said Rob, boldly, 'ye have seen them work the boat. Do +they look like lads who do not know what sailing a boat is?' + +Mr. Bailie laughed, and said no more. + +Then came the afternoon on which they were to set out for the first +time after the herring. All Erisaig came out to see; and Rob was a +proud lad as he stepped on board (with the lazy indifference of the +trained fisherman very well imitated) and took his seat as stroke oar. +The afternoon was lovely; there was not a breath of wind; the setting +sun shone over the bay; and the _Mary of Argyle_ went away across the +shining waters with the long white oars dipping with the precision of +clock-work. It was not until they were at the mouth of the harbour +that something occurred which seemed likely to turn this brave +setting-out into ridicule. + +This was Daft Sandy, who rowed his punt right across the path of the +_Mary of Argyle_, and, as she came up, called to Rob. + +'What is it ye want?' Rob called to him. + +'I want to come on board, Rob,' the old man said, as he now rowed his +punt up to the stern of the skiff. + +'I have no tobacco, and I have no whisky,' Rob said, impatiently. +'There'll be no tobacco or whisky on board this boat so long as I have +anything to do with her; so ye needna come for that, Sandy.' + +'It's no for that,' said Daft Sandy, as, with the painter of his boat +in one hand, he gripped the stern of the skiff with the other. + +Now Rob was angry. Many of the Erisaig people would still be watching +their setting-out; and was it to be supposed that they had taken this +doited old body as one of the crew? But then Daft Sandy was at this +moment clambering into the boat; and Rob could not get up and fight +with an old man, who would probably tumble into the water. + +'Rob,' said he, in a whisper, as he fastened the painter of his punt, +'I promised I would tell ye something. I'll show ye how to find the +herring.' + +'You!' said Rob, derisively. + +'Ay, me, Rob, I'll make a rich man of you. I will tell you something +about the herring that not any one in Erisaig knows--that not any one +in Scotland knows.' + +'Why havena ye made a rich man of yourself, Sandy?' said Rob, with more +good nature. + +The half-witted creature did not seem to see the point of this remark. + +'Ay, ay,' he said, 'many is the time I was thinking of telling this one +or telling that one; but when I would go near it was always "Daft +Sandy!" and "Daft Sandy!" and there was always the peltin' wi' the +broken herring--except from you, Rob. And I was saying to myself that +when Rob MacNicol has a boat of his own, then I will show him how to +find the herring, and no one will know but himself.' + +By this time the MacNicols had taken to their oars again; and they had +pulled outside the harbour, the old punt still astern. Then Rob had to +speak plainly. + +'Look here, Sandy, I will not put ye ashore by force. But I canna have +your punt at the stern of the boat. It'll be in the way of the nets.' + +But the old man was more eager than ever. If they would only pull into +the bay hard by, he would anchor the punt and leave it. He begged Rob +to take him for that night's fishing. He had discovered a sure sign of +the presence of herring--unknown to any of the fishermen. What was the +phosphorescence in the sea?--the nights were too clear for that. What +was the mere breaking of the water?--a moving shoal that might escape. +But this sign that the old man had discovered went to show the presence +of large masses of the fish, stationary and deep: it was the appearance +on the surface of the water of small air-bubbles. He was sure of it. +He had watched it. It was a secret worth a bankful of money. And +again, he besought Rob to let him accompany him; Rob had stopped the +lads when they were throwing herring at him; Rob alone should have the +benefit of this valuable discovery of his. + +Rob MacNicol was doubtful; for he had never heard of this thing before; +but he could not resist the importunities of the old half-witted +creature. They pulled in and anchored the punt; then they set forth +again, rowing slowly as the light faded out of the sky, and keeping a +watch all around on the almost glassy seas. + +There was no sign of any herring; no solan geese sweeping down; no +breaking of the water; and none of the other boats, so far as they +could make out, had as yet shot their nets. The night was coming on, +and they were far away from Erisaig; but still old Sandy kept up his +watch, studying the surface of the water, as if he expected to find +pearls floating there. And at last, in great excitement, he grasped +Rob's arm. Leaning over the side of the boat, they could just make out +in the dusk a great quantity of minute air-bubbles rising to the +surface of the sea. + +'Put some stones along with the sinkers, Rob,' the old man said in a +whisper, as if he were afraid of the herring hearing; 'go deep, deep, +deep.' + +Well, they quietly let out the seemingly interminable drift-net as they +pulled gently along, and when that was accomplished they took in the +long oars again. Nicol lit up the little stove, and proceeded to boil +the tea. The bundle containing their supper was opened, and Sandy had +his share and his can of tea like the others. + +They had a long time of waiting to get over through the still summer +night, but still Rob was strangely excited, wondering whether Sandy had +really, in pottering about, discovered a new indication of the +whereabouts of the herring, or whether he was to go back to Erisaig in +the morning with empty nets. There was another thing too. Had he +shown himself too credulous before his companions? Had he done right +in listening to what might be only a foolish tale? The others began to +doze off; Rob not. He did not sleep a wink all night. + +Well, to let out a long drift-net, which sometimes goes as deep as +fifteen fathoms, is an easy affair, but to haul it in again is a sore +task; and when it happens to be laden, and heavily-laden, with +silver-gleaming fish, that is a break-back business for four young +lads. But there is such a thing as the nervous, eager, joyous, +strength of success; and if you are hauling in yard after yard of a +dripping net, only to find the brown meshes all bestarred with the +silver herring,--then even young lads can work like men. Daft Sandy +was laughing all the while. + +'Rob, my man, what think ye o' the air-bubbles now? Maybe Daft Sandy +is no sae daft. And do you think I would be going and telling any one +but yourself, Rob? Do you think I would be going and telling any one +that was throwing the broken herring at me, and always a curse for me +when I went near the skiffs, and not once a glass of whisky for an old +man? Well, Rob, I will not ask you for a glass of whisky. If you say +it is a teetotal boat, it is a teetotal boat; but you will not forget +to give me whole herring for bait when you are going out of the bay?' + +Rob could not speak; he was breathless. Nor was their work nearly done +when they had got in the net with all its splendid gleaming treasure. +There was not a breath of wind; they had to set to work to pull the +heavy boat back to Erisaig. The gray of the dawn gave way to a glowing +sunrise; when they at length reached the quay, dead-beat with fatigue +and want of sleep, the people were all about. + +They were dead-beat; but there were ten crans of herring in that boat. +And you should have seen Rob's air when he counselled Neil and Duncan +and Nicol to go away home and have a sleep, and when he loftily called +on two or three of the boys on the quay to come in and strip the nets. +But the three MacNicols were far too excited to go away. They wanted +to see the great heap of fish ladled out in baskets on to the quay. +Mr. Bailie came along not long after that, and shook hands with Rob, +and congratulated him; for it turned out that while not another Erisaig +boat had that night got more than from two to three crans, the _Mary of +Argyle_ had turned ten crans--as good herring as ever were got out of +Loch Scrone. + +Well, the MacNicol lads were now in a fair way of earning an +independent and honourable living, and this sketch of how they had +struggled into that position from being mere wastrels--living about the +shore like so many curlews--may fitly cease here. Sometimes they had +good luck, and sometimes bad luck; but always they had the advantage of +that additional means of discovering the whereabouts of the herring +that had been imparted to them by Daft Sandy. And the last that the +present writer heard of them was this, that they had bought outright +the _Mary of Argyle_ and her nets from the banker; and that they were +building for themselves a small stone cottage on the slope of the hill +above Erisaig; and that Daft Sandy had been taken away from the +persecution of the harbour boys to become a sort of general +major-domo--cook, gardener, and mender of nets. Moreover, each of the +MacNicols has his separate bank account now; each has got a silver +watch; and Rob was saying the other day that he thought that he and his +brothers and his cousin ought to take a trip to London (as soon as the +herring-fishing was over), for perhaps they might see the Queen there, +and at any rate they could go and have a look at Smithfield, where the +English beheaded Sir William Wallace. + + + + +FINIS. + + + +[1] Though the herring-skiffs are so-called, they are comparatively +large and powerful boats, and will stand a heavy sea. + +[2] _Lippening_--trusting. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Beautiful Wretch; The Pupil of +Aurelius; and The Four Macnicols, by William Black + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEAUTIFUL WRETCH ET AL. *** + +***** This file should be named 24094-8.txt or 24094-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/0/9/24094/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/24094-8.zip b/24094-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7866241 --- /dev/null +++ b/24094-8.zip diff --git a/24094.txt b/24094.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..55d91e8 --- /dev/null +++ b/24094.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10597 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Beautiful Wretch; The Pupil of +Aurelius; and The Four Macnicols, by William Black + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Beautiful Wretch; The Pupil of Aurelius; and The Four Macnicols + +Author: William Black + +Release Date: December 31, 2007 [EBook #24094] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEAUTIFUL WRETCH ET AL. *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + +THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH + + +BY + +WILLIAM BLACK + + + +AUTHOR OF 'MACLEOD OF DARE,' 'SUNRISE,' ETC. + + + +NEW EDITION + + + +LONDON + +MACMILLAN AND CO. + +1882 + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER + + I. Singing Sal + II. In Brunswick Terrace + III. A First Ball + IV. The Same + V. The Same + VI. First Impressions + VII. Auf Der Reise + VIII. Snow and Mist and Sunlight + IX. The Serenata + X. Jinny + XI. Transformation + XII. New Possibilities + XIII. Ormuzd and Ahriman + XIV. At Home + XV. A Message + XVI. Reveries + XVII. The Accepted Suitor + XVIII. A White World + XIX. Breaking Down + XX. The Shadow + XXI. Danger Ahead + XXII. A Catastrophe + XXIII. At Last + XXIV. 'Bring Home the Bride so Fair!' + + + + +THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH. + + +CHAPTER I. + +SINGING SAL. + +On a certain golden afternoon in August, when the sea was as still and +radiant as the vaulted blue overhead, and when the earth was lying so +hushed and silent that you would have thought it was listening for the +chirp of the small birds among the gorse, a young girl of about +seventeen or so was walking over the downs that undulate, wave on wave, +from Newhaven all along the coast to Brighton. This young lady was +tall for her age; slim of form; and she had a graceful carriage; her +face was fair and markedly freckled; her nose was piquant rather than +classical; her hair, which was of a ruddy gold hue, was rebellious, and +strayed about her ears and neck in accidental wisps and rings: her +grayish or gray-blue eyes were reserved and thoughtful rather than +shrewd and observant. No, she was not beautiful; but she had a face +that attracted interest; and though her look was timid and retiring, +nevertheless her eyes could, on occasion, light up with a sudden humour +that was inclined to be sarcastic. So busy, indeed, was she generally, +on these solitary wanderings of hers, with her own thoughts and +fancies, that sometimes she laughed to herself--a low, quiet little +laugh that none but herself could hear. + +This was Miss Anne Beresford, who was called by her sisters Nan. But +it was an old friend of the family, and one of England's most famous +sailors, who, at a very early period of her career, had bestowed on her +the sobriquet of the Beautiful Wretch; and that partly because she was +a pretty and winning child, and partly because she was in the habit of +saying surprisingly irreverent things. Now, all children say +irreverent things, simply because they read the highest mysteries by +the light of their own small experiences; but Nan Beresford's guesses +at the supernatural were more than usually audacious. When, for +example, she arrived at the conclusion that fairies were never seen in +the daytime for the reason that God had had them all 'fwied for his +bweakfast,' it was clear that she was bringing a quite independent mind +to bear on the phenomena of the universe around her. And then, of +course, all sorts of sayings that she never uttered or thought of were +attributed to her. Whenever a story was particularly wicked, it was +sure to be put down to Nan Beresford. The old Admiral, who had at the +outset given her that nickname, spent a great deal of time that might +have been profitably employed otherwise in deliberately inventing +impieties, each of which was bruited about in certain circles as 'Nan's +last;' and if you happened to meet him anywhere between the United +Service Club and Spring Gardens, completely self-absorbed, his face +brimming over with laughter, you might be sure he was just putting on a +finishing touch. Rather than abandon one of these self-invented +stories of his, I think he would have parted with any half-dozen of his +crosses and medals; but indeed this last would not have been difficult, +for he had served in every part of the world where a ship would float, +and honours and dignities had been showered upon him. + +Naturally, there came a time when these stories had to cease; but Nan +Beresford preserved her independent way of looking at things, and she +was clearly the clever one of the family. Moreover, with all her +retiring ways, she was always quite capable of holding her own. Her +elder sisters were handsome, and a good many young gentlemen, amongst +others, came about the house; some of whom, thinking to be facetious, +would occasionally begin to tease Miss Nan, she being the youngest +admitted to lunch or afternoon tea. But this shy, freckled young +person, whose eyes could laugh up so quickly, had a nimbleness of wit +and dexterity of fence that usually left her antagonist exceedingly +sorry. One can imagine a gay young swallow darting about in the +evening, having quite satisfied himself as to food, and thinking only +in his frolicsome way of chevying and frightening the innocent insect +tribe. But what if, by dire mischance, he should dart at something and +find he had seized--a wasp! Some of the merry young gentlemen were +glad to leave the Beautiful Wretch alone. + +However, all these things must now be looked upon as bygones. +Seventeen has come; its dignity and seriousness have followed upon the +frolics of untutored youth; and the sweet charm of maidenhood has +smoothed down such angularities as were formerly permissible. If Miss +Anne Beresford shows her independence now, it is mostly in a sort of +half-declared contempt of sentimentalities and flirtations--of which, +to be sure, she sees a good deal around her. She likes to be alone; +she reads much; she has ideas; she worships Mr. Huxley; and she needs +no other company than her own when she goes off on long explorations of +curving shore or inland vale. On this particular afternoon, for +example, she was walking all the way to Brighton from Newhaven, having +already walked to the latter place in the morning; and as her light and +free step carried her over the close, warm, thyme-scented turf, she was +smiling to herself--at some incident, no doubt, that her memory had +recalled. + +Well, at this moment some one addressed her. + +'Young lady!' + +She had been vaguely aware that a woman was sitting there, by the side +of some furze bushes; but she had kept her eyes away, being a little +afraid of tramps. On being challenged, however, she turned and looked, +and then she saw that this was no ordinary tramp, but an itinerant +musician well known along the south coast by the name of Singing Sal. +She was a good-looking, trimly-dressed, strapping wench of +five-and-twenty, with a sun-tanned face, brilliant white teeth when she +laughed, and big brown eyes that were at once friendly and audacious in +their scrutiny. She looked indeed more like a farmer's daughter +dressed for market-day; but on one side of her, on the green-sward, lay +a guitar; and on the other, a little leather wallet that she had +unstrapped. Apparently she had been having a nap on this warm +afternoon, for she was smoothing down her black hair. + +'I beg your pardon, Miss,' she said, with very great respect, but with +a sort of timidly friendly look in her eyes, 'but I have often seen you +as you was walking along the downs; and many's the time I have wished +to have a word with you, if there was nobody by. Yes, and many's the +time I have thought about you.' + +Nan Beresford hesitated for a second whether she should stay or not. +But she knew this young woman very well by sight; and her appearance +and manner were alike extremely prepossessing. Nan had heard her sing, +but never speak; and she was surprised by the correct way in which she +spoke; she had scarcely anything of the Sussex intonation. + +'Yes,' said Singing Sal, looking up at the young lady, 'many's the time +that I have thought I should like to tell you what I've been thinking +about you, as I saw you go by. I've often been thinking that if one +could only see into it, the mind of a young lady like you--brought up +like you in the middle of nothing but kindness and goodness--why, it +must be the most beautiful thing in the world. Just like that out +there--clear and silver-like.' + +She nodded in the direction of the sea--where the pale blue plain was +touched here and there with silver and golden reflections. Nan was +embarrassed; nevertheless she remained. There was something winning +about the fresh-coloured, frank-eyed lass. + +'And I think I have seen a little bit into your mind, Miss,' said she, +with a smile. 'Would you look at this--if I may make so bold?' + +There was a bit of red silk round her neck, and attached to it was a +florin. She held up the perforated coin, and glanced at the face of +the young girl. Nan Beresford blushed. + +'You remember, Miss? That was the night as I was singing in front of +the Old Ship, though what I did that for I don't know; I prefer my own +friends and my own haunts. But do you know what I said to myself when +I got to my lodgings that night? I said, "What was the young lady +thinking of when she gave you that florin? It wasn't an accident; for +she took it carefully out of her purse. And it wasn't because she +thought you were starving; for you don't look like that. No, she gave +it to you that you might think it enough for one night's earnings, and +go away home, and not be stared at any longer by a crowd of men. That +was what the young lady was thinking in her mind; and if ever you spend +that two shillings, Sal, you'll be a mean wretch." And many's the time +I thought I would like to speak to ye, Miss, if only as it might be to +ask your name.' + +This woman was frank even to boldness in her scrutiny, and her manner +was rough and ready; but there was a touch of something fine about +her--something true, downright, unmistakable--that somehow won people's +confidence. Nan Beresford drew nearer to her, though she remained +standing. + +'Is there anything----?' said Nan; and then she stopped. She was about +to ask if there was anything she could do for this new acquaintance; +but she suddenly reflected that the young woman was smartly dressed and +apparently well-to-do. Singing Sal quickly broke in on her +embarrassment. + +'Yes,' she said, smiling, 'you don't like my making a show of +myself--singing for coppers in the street. But isn't there worse than +that among the people you live among, Miss? Mind, I see life in the +rough; I can't always choose my company; and I have to take things as +they come; but when I hear of very fine young ladies--mind, not poor +girls driven by starvation, or forced to support a sick mother, or +kicked out of doors by a drunken father--and these fine ladies going +and selling themselves for so many thousands a year and a swell +carriage--well, it sounds queer, I think. But I'm sure, Miss,' she +said, regarding the girl, 'you won't make a marriage for money. You +don't look like that.' + +Again Nan Beresford flushed hastily; and she said, with a touch of +anger, 'I prefer not to speak of such things. I am tired of listening +to women who can talk of nothing but sweethearts and marriage. Surely +there are other matters of as much importance----' + +But then it occurred to her that this was scarcely civil; so she turned +to this pleasant-looking stranger and said, with a grave courtesy, 'I +presume you are returning to Brighton?' + +'Yes, I am.' + +'To remain there?' + +Sal laughed in her quiet way. + +'Lord love you, my dear young lady, I never saw the town yet that could +hold me for more than a couple o' nights. I live in the open. This is +what I like best--open sea, open sky, open downs. I do believe my +forefathers were either gipsies, or else they had had a good dose o' +the treadmill; for I'm never content but when I'm on the trudge--wet +weather or fine, all's the same to me; but foursquare walls I can't +endure.' + +'I am afraid you must lead a very solitary life,' said Nan, with +sincere compassion. + +'Why, bless you, Miss, the world is full of things, said the other +cheerfully; 'and as you tramp along there's always something turning up +for you to look at. Oh, I've plenty of friends, too, for the matter of +that. I bring a bit of news to the farms, and sometimes toys for the +coastguardsmen's children--else the women would get jealous; and I have +an eye for the mackerel-shoals, for the fishermen; and I know where the +sailors are, if there's any sport going on. Yes, I have a good many +friends, Miss. I can tell you it would be a bad business for any one +who laid a finger on me, anywheres between Dover and Portsmouth; I +think the word would be passed along pretty quick. Not that I can't +take care o' myself,' added Sal with a modest smile. 'I'm not afraid +to be out o' nights, when I know where my bed is; and sometimes I can +do without that. Why, that is the best of all the tramps--a clear +moonlight night along these downs; and you have the whole world to +yourself; everything and everybody asleep, except maybe a watchdog up +at one of the farms. And the ships out at sea--you can tell whether +they're going up or down Channel by the red or the green light, and you +think of the poor chap at the helm, and hope he'll get soon home to his +wife and children. That is a real fine tramp, Miss; you want to sing +almost, and yet it's too beautiful to be broken by a sound. And then +there's a fortnight in the Spring when the birds come over--oh! that's +wonderful. If you start about half-past two or a quarter to three, you +get in amongst them; and the first thing you hear is the whistle, +quick, and sharp, and yet far away, of the curlews. Then you begin to +feel that they are passing overhead; you can't see anything; it is like +a whisper filling all the air; the darkness is just full of wings--soft +and soft; you're afraid to put up your hand in case you might hurt some +poor creature at the end of its long voyage; and you listen and listen +as you walk along, waiting for the gray daylight in the east, to show +them where to pick up some food in the fields. Ah! Miss, if you only +had the courage to rise as early as that----' + +'Oh, I will--I will!' said Nan eagerly, quite forgetting what her +mother might have to say about this strange acquaintance. 'But what +has made you take to such a way of living? You are very well educated.' + +'You are kind to say so, Miss,' remarked Singing Sal, who was evidently +greatly pleased. 'But it's little education I ever got, except from +two or three books I have made companions of, like. I kept my father's +shop in Tunbridge until he married a second time; then it grew too hot +for me, rather; and so I took to the road, and I've never regretted it. +Human nature is what I like to look at; and if I may make so bold as to +say it, I guess there's more human nature among the poor folk than +among the rich. But I'll tell you about that some other time,' she +added, returning to her ordinary free-and-easy manner. 'I see you want +to go. You've looked at your watch twice.' + +'But you're going to Brighton also?' said Nan, somewhat timidly. + +'Not with you, Miss,' was the prompt reply. 'No, no. But perhaps, if +it is not making too free, you will be so friendly as to tell me your +name?' + +'My name is Anne Beresford, and I live in Brunswick Terrace,' said Nan. + +'Thank ye kindly, Miss,' said Singing Sal, regarding the young lady +with great friendliness and respect. 'Maybe I shall see you some other +day on the downs, for I think you are as fond of them as I am myself. +Good-bye, Miss.' + +She rose with some sense of natural courtesy. But she rather turned +away, also; and she kept her hands behind her. So Nan bade her +good-bye in return; and continued on her way along the lonely cliffs. + +Some considerable time thereafter, when Nan Beresford was nearing +Brighton, she turned and looked behind her; and she could make out, on +the summit of one of the rounded undulations towards Rottingdean, the +figure of a woman, whom she at once guessed to be Singing Sal. That +solitary figure was impressive there--high up on the edge of the slope; +the still, shining sea far below her; and all around her and illumining +her, as it were, the reddening glow flooding over from the westering +sun. Nan--perhaps moved by some subtle compunction, perhaps only in +token of friendly remembrance--took out her handkerchief and waved it +twice; but there was no response. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +IN BRUNSWICK TERRACE. + +That same afternoon all Brighton was astir with curiosity because of a +large vessel that had slowly come in from the west before an almost +imperceptible breeze. She came unusually, and, as some thought, +dangerously close in shore; and no doubt she looked even larger than +she really was, for she had every stitch of canvas set, from her royals +down to her lower studding sails, that stood out on each side like +great bat's wings; while all this mass of sail was dark in shadow +against the western glow. As the spectators watched her, those among +them who knew a little about nautical matters guessed that this must be +a man-of-war from the rapidity with which she began to furl her +sails--letting the golden light shine along between her spars; while +they further concluded, from the fact that only a kedge was thrown out +at her bows, that her stay in these shallow waters would be brief. + +Now we must see how the advent of this stranger was regarded by the +occupants of a certain drawing-room in Brunswick Terrace. These were +five--a mother, son, and three daughters; and as they will all appear, +more or less, in the following history, it may be as well to introduce +them now and categorically to the reader. + +First of all came Lady Beresford herself--an elderly, sallow-faced, +weak-looking woman, the widow of a General Officer who had got his +K.C.B.-ship for long service in India. She had a nervous system that +she worshipped as a sort of fetish; and in turn the obliging divinity +relieved her from many of the cares and troubles of this wearyful +world. For how could she submit to any discomfort or privation (the +family were not very well off for their station in life); or how could +she receive objectionable visitors, or investigate cases of harrowing +distress, or remonstrate with careless livery-stable keepers, or call +to account extortionate milliners when this precious nervous system had +to be considered? Lady Beresford turned away from these things and +ordered round her bath-chair, and was taken out to the end of the Pier, +that she might be soothed by the music and the sea air. + +The eldest daughter in this drawing-room (the eldest daughter of the +family was married and in India) had not much nervousness about her. +She was a handsome, tall, blonde girl of the clear-cut English type, +cold and even proud in manner, strict in the performance of all her +duties, and not very charitable in her criticism of others. She had a +good figure; she dressed well; clear health shone in her pale fair face +and bright cold eyes. She was a daring horsewoman. Her brother called +her 'Nails,' which was a final contraction for 'Old Hard-as-Nails.' + +The next sister, Edith, that same graceless youth was in the habit of +calling 'The Sentimental.' She was the darkest of the family, and the +most beautiful also, where every one was more or less good-looking. +She had soft brown hair, dark blue-gray eyes of the tenderest +expression, and a beseeching innocent look. She was fond of music; +played and sang very fairly herself; but she was most admirable as a +listener. In a room filled with half-murmuring people, she alone +remained mute and devoted; her chair drawn close to the piano; her form +motionless. It is true her brother boldly attributed Edith's strict +observance of this attitude to the fact that she knew she had a +striking profile, and that in no other way could she be so well seen by +the room. But then there are some people who will say anything. + +In point of family order Nan Beresford came next; but, as we have seen, +she was at this moment away out on the downs, marching briskly, and +much pleased with herself and the world generally. + +'The Baby' was the youngest of the sisters--a pretty child of fifteen; +a trifle spoiled and bad-tempered, otherwise characterless enough. So +now we may pass on to the personage who considered himself of chief +consequence in the house--Mr. Thomas Beresford, the only son, who now +stood at the window, thrumming on the panes, to the infinite annoyance +of his mother. He was an exceedingly handsome boy of about eighteen, +slightly built, tall, and dressed with an elaborate precision. The lad +was clever enough, and good-natured enough, but he had been spoiled all +his life long--first by his sisters, and then by the men who wanted to +marry his sisters. He harried and worried the whole household +indiscriminately, but he was especially hard upon Nan. He said Nan had +a character that he wished to form. Girls wanted roughing. There was +far too much flimsiness and fashionability about their social circle. +In time he trusted to be able to make something out of Nan. + +Well, he was thrumming contemplatively on the window-panes, watching +this big dark ship come along from the west. + +'Thomas, I wish you would cease that distressing noise,' said his +mother, with a plaintive sigh. + +He ceased his thrumming and took to whistling. + +'Tom,' said the musical sister, 'I do wish you wouldn't try to pick up +new airs. You can't do it. Why don't you keep to "Home, Sweet Home," +or "In a Cottage near a Wood"----' + +But, to give effect to this remonstrance, she had turned in her chair +in which she was reading, and, in so doing, came in sight of the +window, and the sea, and the new arrival there. + +'Oh!' she exclaimed, 'what a beautiful large yacht!' + +The youth at the window shrugged his shoulders. + +'Well, you _are_ a fool,' he said politely. + +'Thank you,' she replied. + +'I'll tell you what--it's a man-o'-war brig,' continued he, with an air +of importance. 'And what's more, I hope the fellow knows where he's +coming to. I don't see them taking any soundings; and the notion of +bringing a man-o'-war in here----' + +He went and got an opera-glass, and returned to the window. He would +make observations; perhaps, if need were, he might put off in a small +boat and offer to assist in the navigation of the ship. + +'Young women,' he exclaimed, suddenly, 'a light strikes me. That's the +_Fly-by-night_.' + +'You pretend you can make out the ship's name at that distance,' said +the eldest sister, with the slightest of smiles. + +'Not with the glass, but by the intuition of genius,' he retorted, +coolly. 'What's more, I can tell you the name of her commanding +officer, Miss Nails. Which his initials are Francis Holford King.' + +'King!' said his mother with but little interest. 'Oh yes; I remember.' + +'And he's coming to pay you a visit; that's what's the matter,' +continued the youth, still with the glass raised. 'Nails, you'd better +hide that novel, and pretend you've been sewing. Beauty [this was an +alternative name for the second sister], are you at the proper angle? +Baby, smooth out your pinafore.' + +'Thomas, I insist on your treating your sisters with more respect!' his +mother said, angrily. + +'Well, I should almost like to be that fellow,' continued Thomas, with +perfect good-humour. 'Fancy: at five-and-twenty, commanding a ten-gun +brig! He has brains, that chap; not like the others that come fooling +around here. Why, old Stratherne told me all about him. They made him +a Lieutenant when he was just of age.' + +'With your abilities, Tom,' said his eldest sister, 'I suppose you'll +be commanding one of her Majesty's ships, too, when you're +five-and-twenty.' + +He was not at all crushed by the sarcasm. + +'My abilities,' he said, still looking through the glass, 'are, I know, +remarkable; but I think, on the whole, a rich widow will be more in my +line of country.' + +By this time all the girls had come to the window to watch the busy +scene without--the small sailing-boats and rowing-boats passing and +repassing under the bows and stern of the brig, their occupants staring +at the guns in the open ports or listening to the fiddling on the +forecastle, where the men were dancing. But the interest of the +Beresfords was concentrated rather on the gig that waited below, at the +foot of the accommodation-ladder, with five blue-jackets in her. They +saw an officer descend and step into the stern of the gig; then she was +shoved off, and simultaneously the oars struck the water. In a very +few minutes the bow of the boat was run up on the beach, the gangboard +put out, and then the officer stepped ashore. + +'Oh, my! ain't we resplendent?' remarked the brother of the girls, +apparently to himself. 'But it will be mortally awkward, young sir, if +your ship should get aground, with the tide ebbing. Lawks-a-mussy! a +court-martial. Even your first-class certificates, and Sir George +Stratherne, and all the Lords put together, couldn't get you out of +that. And, then, the ignominy of it! _Question_: What on earth made +you take the _Fly-by-Night_ in to Brighton? _Answer_: Please, sir--ax +yer pardon, sir!--I only wanted to spoon one o' them doosid pretty +Beresford girls.' + +'Thomas, leave the room!' said his mother, in a violent rage. + +Thomas could not help it; he had to go. But he said as he passed by +her, + +'Take care, mother; you are involving yourself in something serious. +Her Majesty's brig _Fly-by-Night_ will be aground in about two +twinkles!' + +A few minutes later Lady Beresford was handed a card, inscribed +'Lieutenant Francis Holford King, R.N.;' and shortly thereafter the +owner of the card presented himself in the drawing-room. Now, there +can be no doubt that her Majesty's uniform, especially when women-folk +are the spectators, lends a certain dignity to the human figure; but, +even in ordinary dress, this new-comer would have seemed to most a +manly-looking, well-built young fellow, who had some decision in his +face, and a very straightforward way of looking at people. He was of +middle height, slight and square-shouldered; his forehead square; his +hair black, likewise the short moustache twisted at the ends; while his +eyes were of that singularly dark and luminous blue that one never +sees, oddly enough, except in the eyes of sailors. However, there was +nothing of the robustious, shiver-my-timbers, conventional sailor about +him; his manner was somewhat reserved; he had a touch of gravity beyond +his years; perhaps he had acquired it through being put at an early age +in command of so many men; but it never forsook him--not even in the +ward-room, among his brother officers. + +He seemed shy, also. When he had shaken hands with Lady Beresford and +her daughters, and sat down, there was a distinct flush on the +sun-brown face, and he proceeded to say, hastily, + +'I--I heard you had come down here at the end of the season, Lady +Beresford--Admiral Stratherne told me--and I had a telegram to send +off; so I thought I might take the chance of finding you not gone +abroad yet.' + +'I am not going abroad this year,' Lady Beresford said, wearily. +'Really my nerves cannot stand the perpetual fatigue and worry of the +railway stations and hotels. But the girls are going--by themselves. +It is becoming quite common now. They don't want even to have a maid +with them; and really I am ashamed of the attention I require----' + +'Nan is going with us too,' said Miss Beresford, staring into the +fireplace, where there was no fire. + +'Oh! indeed,' said the grave young lieutenant. + +'She has never been abroad before. Won't her eyes grow big! She has a +great capacity for wonder and admiration; she will do all our reverence +for us at the proper shrines.' + +'You have seen Sir George recently, then?' said Lady Beresford. + +'At Portsmouth last week. They were all down from the Admiralty.' + +'What a dear old gentleman he is!' she said. + +'He is the finest sailor and the best-hearted gentleman in her +Majesty's service--and that's not saying a small thing,' was the +answer, prompt and straight. + +'You are a great pet of his,' said Miss Beresford, 'are you not?' + +'He has been a very good friend to me. But you needn't imagine it is +because of that I respect him--that I more than respect him--I love +him.' + +There was a touch of earnestness in his voice and in the simplicity of +the phrase, that made Miss Beresford regard him for a second with +almost wondering eyes. She had never seen, for her part, anything +about Sir George Stratherne to be enthusiastic about. + +However, she had to continue the conversation unaided, for her mother +was too languid. Beauty had got into an effective position, and was +content to be silent, while the Baby was useless. So she said with a +smile, + +'I hope Sir George won't have to find fault with you for bringing your +ship into these shallow waters. Tom--my brother Tom, you know--is very +anxious about it. I think he would like to give you his advice.' + +'I should be glad to have it,' said Lieutenant King, with befitting +gravity, 'but I do not think we are in any great danger. And how is +your brother?' + +'Oh, very well; I mean very ill. Worse than ever. I wish you could +take him with you for a cruise or two.' + +'As they used to take a cask of raw Madeira,' said he, laughing +heartily, 'to fine down? Well, you're right about one thing; there's +some good stuff in the lad. He might fine down to something good. But +he is not in proper guidance.' + +'He is in no guidance at all,' sighed his mother. + +'Is he going abroad with you?' + +'Not he,' said Miss Beresford. 'He wouldn't be bothered with us girls. +He will see us as far as Newhaven, perhaps, and make brutal jokes all +the way about the Channel.' + +'You are going soon, then?' said he. Somehow there was a kind of +constraint about this young lieutenant's manner. He seemed to be +thinking of something or some one else. His remarks and questions were +of the most conventional sort. + +'On the 1st of September I think we shall be ready to start.' + +'And are you going far?' he said, in the same preoccupied way. + +'To Lucerne, first, I imagine; and then over the Splugen, when it is +cool enough to go into Italy.' + +'Oh, indeed!' said he. And then he added, after a pause, 'Oh, indeed!' + +Then he rose. + +'I see my man has got back,' he said. 'I am sorry, Lady Beresford, I +cannot ask you to bring your daughters to look over the ship; we must +be off directly. Some other time, perhaps. It would give me very +great pleasure, indeed. I hope, Miss Beresford, you will have a +pleasant journey. I have been thinking of going abroad myself this +autumn if I can get sufficient leave. Will you remember me to your +brother Tom?' + +He bade them good-bye, and left. They were silent until they saw him +cross over the King's Road. Then the business of criticism began. + +'He doesn't talk like a sailor at all,' said the Baby, with a pout. +'He talks just like anybody.' + +'At all events he is very good-looking,' said Beauty, warmly. 'He has +the loveliest eyes I ever saw in a man. And his hands--did you notice +his gloves?' + +'A sailor shouldn't wear gloves,' said the Baby, who had not seen +Lieutenant King before, but had heard of him, and was disappointed that +he did not correspond to the nautical heroes she had read of. + +'I think gold lace is far better on blue than on scarlet,' said Beauty. +'I think blue and gold looks better than anything in a ball-room.' + +'He didn't tell us a single wonderful story,' said the disappointed +Baby. + +But Mary Beresford's comment was more odd still. She glanced at her +mother, and laughed. 'Mother, he didn't even once mention Nan's name.' + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +A FIRST BALL. + +Nevertheless, Lieutenant King was quite as well acquainted with Nan +Beresford as he was with the other members of the family--and this was +how he came to know her. The Beresfords had for many years been the +intimate friends of the Strathernes; and though they saw less of each +other since Lady Beresford, on becoming a widow, had gone to live +permanently in Brighton, still the London season brought them in a +measure together again. Lady Beresford took rooms in Bruton Street +during the fashionable months of the year for herself and her grown-up +daughters; and from time to time, and as a great treat, Nan was allowed +to come up for a few days from Brighton. On these rare occasions, if +Sir George heard of the Beautiful Wretch being in town, nothing would +do but that she should come with her mother and sisters to lunch in +Spring Gardens--he being at this time Senior Naval Lord. And Nan was +rejoiced. She was not at all a foolish young virgin; she was well +aware of the affection the old Admiral had for her; and while she +heartily reciprocated it, she knew that his special patronage of her +gave her a sort of distinction among her sisters. + +Well, one of these opportunities arrived, and Nan, not a little elated, +but outwardly very demure, drove away with her mother and sisters, in a +hired brougham, to New Street. In due course they arrived at their +destination, and they had just got inside the door when, as chance +would have it, Sir George himself came from the dining-room into the +hall. He was a wiry-looking, handsome, elderly man, with grizzled +hair, a firm face, and the kindliest of gray eyes; while on this +occasion he was very gorgeously attired, for he had already dressed for +a Levee, and, moreover, it was a Collar Day. It was extraordinary to +see how naturally Nan went up to him, taking it for granted he would +scarcely have a word for anybody else. And he hadn't. Of course he +shook hands with Lady Beresford and Mary and Edith, and welcomed them +in a kind of way; but it was Nan that he seized with both hands; and it +was Nan that he himself escorted upstairs to the drawing-room; and it +was Nan that he presented to Lady Stratherne, just as if there was +nobody else in the world. Lady Stratherne, though she was also a +miracle of kindness, knew her duties better, and busied herself with +the others, leaving those two to themselves. + +'Well, now,' said the old sailor, briskly, 'what is our first dance to +be?' + +'I beg your pardon, Sir George?' she said. + +'Why, don't you know, girl, that you're coming to the ball?' + +'What ball, Sir George?' said she, quite innocently. + +What ball, indeed! And she had heard her sisters speak of nothing else +for a fortnight. + +'Why, my ball; our ball, everybody's ball! Why, don't you know that +the world is going to stand still on Thursday night--in amazement. And +if you didn't know, now you know; and that's the ball you're coming to, +as sure as my name is Jack Horner--now, now, I've set my mind on it----' + +Nan was no longer a hypocrite. Her heart began to beat rapidly--not +with joy, but with fright. + +'Oh, Sir George, I--I never was at a ball--I--I never go out--mamma +would never dream----' + +He turned and sung across the room-- + +'Mother!' + +The lady who was addressed in this homely fashion was herself far from +homely: she was a distinguished-looking woman, with pale, refined +features, and a singularly intelligent and sweet expression. + +'Mother, this girl is coming to the ball on Thursday, whether she likes +it or not. I want a partner; I insist on having a partner. Get a card +and invite her--a card all to herself--her name in capital letters--the +honour of the company of the BEAUTIFUL WRETCH: will that do?' + +Lady Stratherne said nothing at all, but regarded the other mother with +a sort of puzzled smile. + +'Oh, Sir George!' Lady Beresford protested, 'it is impossible. Thank +you very much--but it is impossible----' + +'Impossible!' he cried. 'We don't know what that is at the Admiralty. +The men who write in the newspapers expect us to be able to do +everything at a moment's notice; and of course they're right; and so of +course we can do it. And so can you; the end of the argument being +that Nan is coming to our ball on Thursday night, as I'm a living +Dutchman.' + +But the matter was not so easily settled. There was a fierce fight. +It was ridiculous that a school-girl, who ought to be walking two and +two along the Marine Parade, should go to one of the big balls of the +London season. How could a ball-dress be got ready by Thursday night? +And so forth: and so forth. Sir George paid no attention to all this +firing of cotton pellets. She was coming to the ball on Thursday +night, he maintained with a dogged obstinacy worthy of Nelson. And the +end of it was that before they went down to lunch it had been finally +agreed that Nan was to come to this ball; her mother remarking to Lady +Stratherne, with a sigh of resignation-- + +'I can't imagine what Sir George sees in that gawky child.' + +Now, we have it on the best authority--or what ought to be the best +authority--that is to say, we have it from a multitude of lady-writers, +that the prospect of going to a first ball is one of the great joys of +a young girl's life. The present writer, at all events, is not bold +enough to impeach such an array of witnesses, and will only state the +simple fact that in the case of Nan Beresford this prospect filled her +mind with nothing but terror and dismay. It was in all sincerity that +she had besought Sir George to let her off; though she might as well +have gone down on her knees to the Monument. He could not understand +why a young girl of seventeen should be really reluctant to go to a +dance--and a very pretty dance, too, for the rooms were to be decorated +with flags. And when Nan told her mother and sisters that she would +far rather not go to the ball, her mother fancied she was afraid that +her dress, being hurriedly made, would not compare well with her +sisters' long studied costumes, while the sisters simply said to each +other, 'Oh, she knows she can't dance.' + +There was some little truth in this last remark. Although she lived in +a well-frequented house, where there were plenty of people coming and +going, Nan had grown up very much apart. She had her own ways and +occupations, which were mostly solitary. And dancing had never been a +favourite amusement of hers. Of course, in the evening, when some +young people were present, there was frequently a carpet-dance +improvised; and then sometimes Nan was dragged in to make up a set at +some square dance. She got through it mechanically; but it afforded +her no special pleasure; and as for round dances, she said they made +her giddy, and so she got excused. Giddy she said; and yet she could +walk, without the slightest sensation in the brain, along the extreme +verge of those high chalk-cliffs, to watch the jackdaws, and hawks, and +gulls at nest-building time, and she could swing for an hour in a +trapeze, so long as the seat was comfortable and you gave her a book to +read. + +Not that she at all played the part of Cinderella in the house. Her +mother was exceedingly fond of her--partly, perhaps, because Nan alone +took the trouble to humour all her mysterious nerve-miseries; while her +sisters tolerated her, though they thought her unsocial. Even this +dress, when it did appear--and a thousand times Nan had inwardly prayed +that it might not be ready in time--was quite as pretty as theirs. It +was very pretty indeed; but somehow, Nan, as she regarded herself in +the big mirror, convinced herself that there was not enough of her to +carry off a ball-dress. Her sisters had a certain 'presence' that a +grand costume became. She thought she was too thin--that she looked +more like a school-girl than ever; and she wished that she were not +freckled. When, at last, she was in the carriage with the others--Mr. +Thomas had gone in a hansom rather than ride with the coachman--she +said, cunningly, + +'Mamma, dear, I am sure you will be excited with speaking to so many +old friends; and you know your nerves cannot stand it. Let me sit by +you, and take as much of the talk as I can. I really don't care to +dance. I would rather not dance. I would far rather sit by you, +mamma. And I am sure it is not necessary for us to stay long; it will +do you such a deal of harm.' + +Lady Beresford sighed. + +'When one has grown-up daughters----,' she said almost to herself. + +'Mamma, dear,' said Nan, eagerly, 'would you rather stay at home? +Wouldn't you rather stay at home? and I will keep you company----' + +'Don't be silly, child,' said her eldest sister. 'Do you think your +dress cost nothing?' + +The worst time of all was the waiting in Spring Gardens, where there +was a block of carriages. It was all darkness, and expectation, and +the hopeless sense that, being imprisoned in this slowly moving line, +there was no escape. But when they were once at the entrance, and when +Nan got a glimpse at the hall, her courage revived wonderfully. There +was such a crowd of people--coming, going, waiting, looking for +friends, and arranging dresses--that she felt that she could slip into +this self-interested throng, and be lost from observation altogether. +She began to be forgetful of herself. When they were going up the +stairs she heard names after names announced that she was quite +familiar with--either through the newspapers or through the +conversation at luncheon-tables; and she was almost anxious to get +quickly up to have a glimpse at these celebrated people. When she got +to the landing, she did not see Lady Stratherne at all; for her eyes +were filled with wonder at the blaze of light and colour beyond--the +draperies of flags, and masses of chandeliers--and she said, under her +breath, 'Oh, mamma, isn't it beautiful!' The next thing she heard was +'Nan, dear, how well you are looking! What beautiful forget-me-nots!' +and in a startled way she found that she was shaking hands with Lady +Stratherne, whose kind eyes were regarding her with a momentary +approval. Instinctively, however, she knew from the way that her +hostess's eyes had turned to the next comers--there were far too many +loiterers about this landing, and Lady Stratherne had enough to do to +prevent a dead block on the stairs--that she need not stay to speak; so +she followed her mother and sisters into the large, brilliantly-lit +room. Oh, how glad she was that it was crammed with this dense +busily-occupied crowd! She felt quite safe; she felt happy; she was +pleased that those few forget-me-nots looked nice. And there was no +dancing at all. 'Oh, mamma, tell me who all the people are,' she said. +She began to consider herself quite at home in the middle of such a +crowd of strangers; she had only to be delighted with the blaze of +colour, the brilliant costumes, the scent of flowers, the wonders of +diamonds. + +Momentarily her great good fortune increased. Friends of Lady +Beresford began to come round her; and they made a sort of circle, as +it were; and Nan found she could keep herself just a little bit outside +of it, seeing everything, herself unseen. Her cup of happiness was +full. She had passed the ordeal unscathed. Why, it was nothing! All +the people were engaged with themselves; there was not a sound of +music; nothing but a hum of talking, and always that bewildering glow +of light and colour, and here and there a figure and face suddenly +revealing to her somebody she recognised from photographs and portraits +in the illustrated papers. She was becoming quite lost to herself. +She could have stood there for ever. She was not thinking of Nan +Beresford at all when---- + +When suddenly there was a long low growl from a violoncello. Her heart +sank. + +Almost at the same moment she saw another little group--of elderly men, +mostly--open out at one corner of the room near her; and the next thing +she knew was that Sir George's keen eyes had caught sight of her. He +was by her side in a second. + +'What,' said he, 'standing all alone? Why, where's Charley? What's +Charley about? Lady Beresford, how are you? Ah, Mary? Edith, you are +lovelier every day. But where is that rascal Charley? I must find a +partner for my sweet-heart----' + +'Oh, please, Sir George,' said Nan, with her heart beating fast. + +But by this time there was a noise of preparatory music, and in the +middle of the crowd there was something visible like the formation of a +double line. At the same instant young Charley Stratherne came +hurriedly along, with an eagle eye for possible partners. Him his +father instantly seized. + +'Where's Frank King? Go and get Frank King. I want Frank King.' + +And behold, Frank King was at his elbow! + +'Sir George----?' + +'Oh, that's you, Frank King. Ask this young lady if she will dance +with you----' + +'Come on, Frank,' said the youthful M.C., in his hurried bewilderment +of duty. 'You'll just do. Let me introduce you to Miss Anne +Beresford. Lieutenant King. They want a couple at the other end.' + +So he disappeared in the crowd; and Nan found herself in the possession +of this young naval officer, who seemed to take matters very coolly, +considering that they were wanted right at the top of the spacious +assembly-room. Happily, she heard from the music that it was the +Lancers that was about to begin; so she was not entirely dismayed. + +'I suppose we shall get through somehow,' said he, surveying the close +mass of people with the eye of a strategist. The clearing of the space +in the middle had naturally made the surrounding crowd denser. + +'I think it will be difficult,' said she, timidly. + +'Well, we can try this end,' said he, about to lead her in that +direction. + +'Oh!' she said, very earnestly, 'I am sure we shall only embarrass them +if we have another set at this end. And--and--I am not anxious to +dance the Lancers. I would as soon not,' she said. + +Then for the first time it seemed that he turned towards her; and as +she happened to be looking up at him to impress on him that she would +as soon not dance, she instantaneously lowered her eyes and sought +refuge in the little scented programme. + +'Perhaps,' said he, after the fifteenth part of a second, 'perhaps you +would give me a dance that you like better.' + +Her innocent answer was to hand him her programme, upon which there was +as yet not a scrap of writing. So, when that matter was arranged, he +said to her, + +'Would you like to see this dance, then? It's very pretty, when you +are at a little distance. And I know how to get to that recess there; +it's raised a few inches, you know; and I think you could see.' + +'Oh! I should like that!' she said. How grateful she was to him! + +They made their way to this side recess, which had been built out, +temporarily, from the drawing-room, for the sake of additional space. +It was decorated with trailing-plants, trained on trellis-work; and two +or three circles of red candles, amid so much green foliage, had a +pretty effect. There were a few people standing about and looking on +at the dancing, or talking; it was possible to talk, for here the music +was softened. + +Nan's companion led her to a raised bench, from which she could see +very well; but even as she sat down, and while she was so glad to have +been relieved from dancing out there amid all those people, she was +touched by some strange misgivings. It was her duty to have danced. +She had been presented with a partner; and if only she had not shown +herself reluctant, she knew very well he could have found places for +them. Were not officers always fond of dancing? And then it suddenly +occurred to her that she ought to try to make him some amends. She +ought to entertain him with brilliant conversation, as it were. +Meanwhile, what was he doing? Not thinking of her--except as a booby, +a child who could not talk. No doubt he was looking out at all those +beautiful women there, and wishing he was not imprisoned in this corner. + +Nan timidly raised her eyes, and instantly dropped them again. He had +been for the moment looking at the forget-me-nots in her hair. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE SAME. + +Nan was growing desperate. Speak she must, if only to let him know +that she was sensible of his kindness in affording her this blissful +relief; for she believed it was entirely on her account that he had +proposed to sit out the dance. So she said, wildly, + +'You go to a great many balls, I suppose?' + +'Oh, dear no,' he said. 'I am not much ashore.' + +Of course. She might have known. Was there not an air of command +about him, young as he was? No doubt he held far too important a +position to waste time on idle entertainments. + +'I mean earlier--as a midshipman,' she stammered. 'You must have been +to many places, and--and--I thought the life of a midshipman was +nothing but parties and balls, along with a great deal of mischief. +That is what one reads, you know, about the young gentlemen--always +tumbling into trouble, and always getting happily out of it, and always +amusing themselves just as much as they amuse others.' + +This was not so bad. Nan's face had brightened; she regarded him with +her clear eyes. + +'You are thinking of Captain Marryat,' said he, laughing. 'But times +have changed sadly for the middy since then. It isn't all beer and +skittles now. Nowadays, the poor chap can scarcely call his soul his +own; and if he is going in for his Three Ones----' + +'I beg your pardon; what is that?' she said, with a grave interest. + +'Trifling little things,' said he, jocosely. 'Only first-class +certificates in gunnery, seamanship, and mathematics; then, to finish +up with, the unhappy youth has to look forward to an interview or two +with the hydrographer, who isn't at all a gentleman to be made a fool +of.' + +How was it that she knew instinctively that this young officer had got +his Three Ones--nay, that he had carried them off easily, triumphantly? +What was there in his manner, or the shape of his forehead, or his +expression, that rendered her perfectly certain that he had nothing to +fear from all the hydrographers ever born? + +'Why, even in my time, I can remember, when the middy was allowed a +good deal more law,' he continued; and now he had sat down beside her, +and her eyes met his quite frankly. 'I remember a fearful scene at +Cherbourg, at a ball there; that was when the fleet went over, and +there was a great round of festivities. Well, this ball, I think, was +given by the Mayor--I am not quite sure; but, at all events, the +midshipmites were invited with the rest, and those who could get leave +went of course. Well, we had the run of the refreshment-room, and we +used it. There was far too much champagne, and all our seniors were in +the ball-room,--the Duke of Somerset, and the whole of them,--so we set +to work to chaff the waiters in unknown tongues. Anything more patient +or friendly than the conduct of these amiable creatures I never saw. +They entirely entered into the spirit of the thing, and grinned and +nodded in high glee when we inquired about their mothers and +sisters--in English, of course; and then we tried bad French on them, +and Welsh, with a touch of Lancashire thrown in; and then they grinned +all the more, and shrugged their shoulders. My chum Greville was the +worst, I think; he kept asking for all sorts of ridiculous things, and +was very angry when he couldn't get them. "_Avez-vous du vin de +Cockalorum_?" he asked of one fellow: of course Greville spoke real +true-blue English-French. "_Coque-a-lorrrrme_?" said the waiter. "_Je +crois que non, Monsieur----._" "_Pourquoi n'avez vous pas du vin de +Cockalorum_?" said Greville, with great indignation. "_C'est une chose +monstrueuse. Nous sommes les invites de la grande nation Francaise; +nous sommes les officiers de sa Majeste la Reine d'Angleterre; et vous +n'avez pas du vin de Cockalorum!_" There was enough of other wine, at +all events,' added Frank King. 'I am afraid there was a good deal of +headache next morning among the younger officers of her Majesty's +fleet.' + +'Weren't you afraid,' said Nan, who had forgotten what shyness was by +this time; 'weren't you afraid the French might be tempted to take a +mean advantage and capture the fleet bodily?' + +'It would have been no more mean advantage,' said he, with a laugh, +'than we used to take in fighting them when they were sea-sick.' + +'Sailors sea-sick?' she exclaimed. + +'Yes, that's just where it was,' he said, and the friendly interest he +displayed in this young lady was very wonderful. Already they seemed +to have known each other for a quite indefinite time. 'Mind you, +people laugh nowadays at the old belief that one English sailor was as +good as seven French ones. But it was quite true; and the explanation +is simple enough. The fact was that the English kept such a strict +blockade of the French ports that the French sailors never had a proper +chance of finding their sea legs. They never got out. When they did +come out they had to fight; and how can you expect a sea-sick man to +fight? But I was talking of that chum of mine, Greville. He was the +coolest hand I ever came across. Once he and I--when we were mids, you +know--had to go down by rail from Genoa to Spezia----' + +At this moment the music slowly ceased; and the kaleidoscopic groups +out there, that had been going through all sorts of interminglings and +combinations, lost cohesion, as it were, and melted away into the +murmuring and amorphous crowd. Miss Nan knew very well that she ought +now to return to her mamma; but how was she to break in upon this +story? When one has already begun to tell you something, more +particularly when that something is about himself and an old +companion--and especially if you do not wish to be perplexed with +invitations to dance--it is not polite to interrupt. + +So the young lieutenant, taking no notice whatever of the cessation of +the dancing, continued his story, and told several more, which Miss Nan +found intensely interesting--so absorbing, indeed, that she met the +eyes of her companion without any abashment, and frequently laughed in +her low, quiet way. These two seemed very friendly, and heedless of +what was going on around them; and might, in fact, have continued +talking for a quite indefinite time had not, all of a sudden, Charley +Stratherne come up, followed by a tall man with a long yellow beard; +and before Nan knew what had happened, she was being led away to pierce +the great throng that had now grown very dense indeed, a waltze having +already begun. As for the young lieutenant, he somewhat abruptly +declined his friend's offer to find him a partner. + +'You have plenty of dancing men; there won't be room to move shortly.' + +Charley Stratherne was too busy to stay and ask why his friend refused +to dance, and would not even remain in the ball-room; the next second +he was off. Then the young lieutenant managed to make his way through +the crowd to the door; and as there were still plenty of people +arriving, he succeeded in passing his hostess unobserved and making his +way downstairs. + +He entered the brilliantly-decorated but quite empty supper-room, and +sat down. One of the servants happened to come in and stared at him. + +'Look here,' said he, 'could you get me an evening paper?' + +'Oh yes, sir,' said the man: and he went off and speedily returned with +the newspaper. + +Frank King sat down, turned his back to the table, and was soon all by +himself in this long chamber, apparently deeply absorbed in the +evening's news. What he really was doing, however, was listening to +the music overhead. + +Meanwhile, Nan got through the waltz somehow. The crush was so great +that her partner, who was not much of a pilot, generally succeeded in +steering her into some little side bay, where they came slowly to rest +by mere friction, or else landed her right in the middle of the room, +where there was a throng of unskilful dancers become stationary in +spite of themselves. At last she was surrendered again to her mother's +care. + +'Well, Nan,' said Lady Beresford, with an amused look, 'how did you get +on?' + +'You mean how much did I get off?' said she. + +'I believe I'm all in rags. And that elephant of a man bumped me +against every person in the room.' + +Here the Admiral came along--bustling as was his wont, talking to +everybody at the same time, and invariably putting his hand on the +shoulder of those whom he knew best, to give effect to his speech. + +'Well, well, my girl,' he said, 'how did you like your partner? Did he +amuse you? Did he compliment you on the roses in your cheeks--ah, +that's the Brighton air, that is.' + +'Oh, if you mean Lieutenant King,' said Nan, without any hesitation or +embarrassment, 'I think he is very amusing indeed--very. And very +clever, too, is he not? + +'Oh yes, he's a smart young fellow--a smart young fellow is Frank King. +We've had an eye on him for some time back.' + +'I should say now,' remarked Nan, with a wise air, 'that he had got his +Three Ones?' + +The Admiral stared at her, and then burst out laughing. + +'You young impertinence! What do you know about the Three Ones? He +had got his certificates before he was one-and-twenty. But here, I +will tell you something.' + +He took her a step aside. + +'Hush, now--hush-sh. It is a State secret. Don't say a word. But +I'll tell you what we're going to do with Frank King to-morrow; we're +going to give him the command of the _Fly-by-Night_. What do you think +of that for a lieutenant of five-and-twenty?' + +'If he has relatives, I suppose they will be very proud,' said Nan. + +'Relatives? Don't you know the Kings of Kingscourt? But there now, I +mustn't keep you talking; I suppose you're engaged for every dance. +Mind you are down at supper while I'm there; I will drink a glass of +wine to the roses in your cheeks----' + +And so he was off again before she could say, as she greatly wished to +say--'Oh, Sir George, I would rather talk to you than have to do any +more dancing. Surely there are enough people dancing.' + +Then she looked round the room for some considerable time. At last she +said to herself contentedly, + +'Yes, I thought he was too clever looking to care about dancing, and I +don't wonder he has gone home. But it would have been nice if I had +had the chance to tell him he was going to have the command of the +_Fly-by-Night_.' + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE SAME. + +The night passed quickly, and amid all this bewilderment of music and +dancing and introductions, Nan very soon forgot even the existence of +the young Lieutenant whose acquaintance she had made. Moreover, the +succession of these rapid excitements left no room for anything +resembling stage-fright--although, it is true, each time the band began +anew she felt a little throb. But Lady Stratherne, who had now all her +guests assembled, was so indefatigable in seeing that Nan should not be +left neglected, and the dancing in this crowd was so much a matter of +experiment and accident, and the fact that she was introduced to one or +two partners who seemed no more expert than herself, was so reassuring, +that on the whole Nan was very much delighted in her demure way, and +that delight showed itself in her face and in her clear bright eyes. +Her hair was a little wild, and she had lost some of her +forget-me-nots, and there were one or two flying tags that had got +dissociated from the skirt of her dress; but was not that all part of +the play? Nan's cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were pleased and +bright; the only thing that troubled her in this whirl of excitement +was an occasional qualm about her mother. Had she not promised to keep +the poor mamma company? But a time would come, and then she would make +amends by being particularly affectionate. + +The time did come. On consulting the programme Nan found opposite the +next dance a scrawl that might be made out to be 'F. H. King;' and then +she bethought herself of the young sailor. Well, he had left. That +was very opportune. She would devote the time of this dance to her +mother, and take her into the tea-room, and ask which of her old +friends she had met, and even offer to go home with her if she felt +fatigued. + +'Mamma,' she said to Lady Beresford, 'don't you think I've done enough? +England can't expect you to do more than your duty, even with all those +flags overhead. Come away, and I will get you some tea, though what +would be better for you still would be some B. and S.' + +'Nan, how dare you!' said her mother, angrily, and glancing round at +the same time. 'You may use such expressions, if you like, when you +are with your brother. Pray don't disgrace the whole family when you +are elsewhere.' + +'Mamma, dear,' said Nan, contritely, 'it is madness, pure madness. The +excitement of my first ball has got into my brain----' + +'Into your what?' said her mother, with a smile. Nan, and Nan alone, +could pacify her in a second. + +At the same moment the band began again; and somehow Nan, looking up, +found before her some one who was no other than the young Lieutenant +she had met at the beginning of the evening. She was somewhat +bewildered by this Jack-in-the-box sort of appearance. + +'I think you promised me this next dance, Miss Beresford,' said he. He +was a grave-looking young man for his years--a Corsican Brother--the +Ghost in _Hamlet_. She did not know what to make of him. + +'I thought you had left,' she stammered. 'You have not been dancing?' + +'No, I have not been dancing,' he repeated. + +'I will come back to you soon, mamma,' she said, and she put her hand +on his arm, and moved away with him. + +'The fact is,' said he, 'I don't like much being introduced to +strangers. Most girls stare at you so, with a sort of hold-off air, +and it is so difficult to get on pleasant and friendly terms with them.' + +'I should not have thought you were so shy,' said Nan, with an honest +laugh. + +He flushed a little, and said-- + +'If you've lived most of your life on board ship, you may feel a little +bit awkward; but mind,' he added with some eagerness, 'sometimes, not +often (once in half a dozen years, maybe), you meet with a girl who is +quite different from the others, quite different. You know it at once +from her manner, and you can make friends with her with the greatest +ease, simply because she is intelligent and quick in appreciation, and +not affected in her ways, or stiff.' + +This eager encomium passed upon an imaginary person struck Nan as being +somewhat out of place; for the waltz had already begun, and she wanted +to get back to her mamma: whereas this Lieutenant King seemed to wish +to stand there and talk to her. + +'Of course, that's special good luck for a sailor,' said he with a +smile, 'to be able to make friends in a short time; for it's only a +short time he has. Ashore to-day, and off to-morrow again; and what's +worse, out of sight out of mind.' + +'Oh, not always,' said Nan, cheerfully. + +'Oh yes, it is,' he said; 'people on shore are too much concerned among +themselves to think about the people away at sea. Why, you yourself +now; after you leave this house to-night you will completely forget +that there are such things as either ships or sailors until you come +back here to another ball, and then the bunting will remind you.' + +'Now there you are quite wrong,' said she firmly, 'for I see ships and +sailors every day of my life.' + +'Why, how is that?' he exclaimed with great interest. + +'We live in Brighton,' said Nan simply, 'and I walk a good deal along +the downs towards Newhaven, you know. The ships are a good way off, +generally; still, you watch them, and you are interested in them.' + +'You walk along the downs between Brighton and Newhaven?' he said, as +if that was an extraordinary matter. 'Alone?' + +'Usually.' + +'When I am passing I will look out for you; I will imagine that I can +see you.' + +Nan thought this was idle talk, so she said with a smile, + +'Shall we give up this dance too? The fact is, I want to take mamma +and get her some tea, or an ice, or something.' + +'Oh, don't do that!' said he eagerly; 'introduce me to her, and I will +take you both down to supper. There are some people there already----' + +'But I must not go down--not yet,' said Nan, remembering her youth. + +'Why not?' said he boldly. 'I know Lady Stratherne well enough for +anything. Why, nothing could be more natural. Of course you will come +down with your mamma.' + +'I'm very hungry, and that's the truth,' said Nan; 'for I was too +excited or frightened to think about dinner. But if I went down now, +wouldn't they think it was a little bit----' + +She was about to say 'cheeky,' but she remembered in time that this was +not her brother. He broke in abruptly-- + +'Never mind what any one thinks; come away, Miss Beresford, and +introduce me to your mamma.' + +Then he looked at the various couples rapidly moving round that open +space to the sound of the seductive music, and he said, rather +wistfully-- + +'Don't you think we might have one turn? I shall not dance again this +evening.' + +'Oh yes, certainly, if you wish it,' she said, quite blithely; and she +gave him her fan to hold, and arranged her train, and a couple of +seconds thereafter they were lost in that slowly circling whirlpool of +muslin and silk and satin. + +When they came out of it again he was introduced to Lady Beresford, and +although he was quite anxiously humble and courteous to the elder lady, +he would hear of nothing but that she and Nan should forthwith go +downstairs to supper. By and by there would be too great a crush. It +was a kindness to Lady Stratherne to go before everybody else wanted a +place. And Miss Anne was hungry, which was a great matter. + +Lady Beresford looked at Nan, but that young lady was unconscious. The +end of it was that these three very speedily found themselves below, in +the supper-room, where as yet there were only a number of elderly +people who had grown tired of the duties of chaperoning. And they had +scarcely sat down when Frank King, who was most assiduous in his +attentions to Lady Beresford, and scarcely saw Nan at all, discovered +that the mamma knew certain relatives of his, and knew all about his +own family, and had even on one occasion visited Kingscourt a good many +years ago. Lady Beresford was very kind to him. He was a +pleasant-mannered, clever-looking young man, and he had a distinguished +air that lent value to the little courtesies he paid. She even said, +as they were talking of chance meetings and the like, that she would be +glad if he called on them while she and her daughters were in London. + +'May I be allowed to call on you at Brighton, some day, Lady +Beresford?' he said quickly. 'The fact is, my leave is out; I have to +rejoin my ship at Portsmouth to-morrow.' + +At this Nan pricked up her ears. She suddenly remembered that to her +had been entrusted the covert intelligence of his promotion. But was +it necessary it should be kept so great a secret, she asked herself, +rather breathlessly, and with her heart beginning to beat quickly? If +he were to know on the morrow, why not now? It would make him very +happy; it would indeed add a few hours of happiness to his life; and +surely Sir George Stratherne, who was the very soul of kindness, would +rather approve? + +Well, she let these two talk on for a time; she wished to be discreet; +she wished to be less nervous. For was it not a great event in the +career of a young man? And how might he take it? She said to herself, +'The old monarchs used to kill the messengers who brought them bad +news, and they used to give heaps of presents to those who brought them +good news. I am glad I shall be able to tell him of his promotion, for +he has been so excessively kind to mamma.' + +She waited her opportunity. + +'Oh, Lieutenant King, do you know a ship called the _Fly-by-Night_?' +she said, quite casually, and in an off-hand way. + +'Yes,' he said, regarding her with some surprise. 'She's what they +call a school-brig--a training brig. I think she's at Plymouth.' + +'A training-brig?' said Nan, innocently. 'Then they want a clever +officer, I suppose, to be in command of a training-brig.' + +'Yes, they want a smart fellow,' said he, without any great interest; +and he was about to turn to Lady Beresford again when Nan continued-- + +'Would it--would it surprise you if you heard you were to be +transferred to the _Fly-by-Night_?' + +'I shouldn't like to hear of it,' said he, laughing; 'I am satisfied +where I am.' + +'But I mean to command her.' + +'I'm afraid that's a long way off yet,' said he, lightly. + +'Oh no, it isn't,' said Nan timorously. 'I am sure it is no great +secret--you will know to-morrow--you are to be appointed to-morrow to +the command of the _Fly-by-Night_! + +His face flushed a deep red. + +'You are joking, Miss Beresford.' + +'Oh no, I am not,' said Nan, hastily. 'Sir George told me to-night; I +am not joking at all----Captain King,' said she, at a wild venture. + +For an instant she saw his under lip quiver. He sat quite silent. +Then he said-- + +'That is Sir George's doing--if it is possible.' + +He had scarcely uttered the words when the Admiral himself appeared, +bringing in a little old lady with a portentous head-dress. Nan +instantly conjectured that she must be a dowager-duchess, for she +thought that no one but a dowager-duchess would dare to wear such a +thing. + +Sir George paused as he passed them. + +'Hillo, here's my sweetheart. I told you I wanted to drink a glass of +wine with you. Doing your duty, Frank King? When's your leave out?' + +'I am going down to Portsmouth to-morrow, Sir George.' + +'No, no; you'll have a message from the Admiralty to-morrow. I didn't +see you dancing to-night; you young fellows are getting lazy.' + +He passed on. Nan looked triumphantly across the corner of the table. +Frank King said--laughing off his embarrassment-- + +'I have a vague impression that I ought to thank you for it, Miss +Beresford; and I don't know how. I hope it is true. They never gave +me a hint of it. You would have thought Charley Stratherne would have +known.' + +'It was very imprudent of my daughter,' said Lady Beresford, severely, +'to mention such a thing; but Sir George makes a pet of her, and I hope +no harm has been done.' + +Frank King warmly protested. How could any harm be done? And he +redoubled his attentions to Lady Beresford. Not only that, but when +they returned to the ball-room he was very anxious to be introduced to +Nan's sisters, and was most polite to them, though he did not ask them +for a dance. Moreover, he got hold of Charley Stratherne, and through +him made the acquaintance of Mr. Tom Beresford; and these three, having +adjourned for a time to a certain remote snuggery where were sherry and +soda and cigarettes, Frank King was quite content to accept from Mr. +Tom hints concerning things about town. There was in especial a famous +'lion comique'--the Great Dunse, or the Jolly Ass, or some such +creature--about whom Mr. Tom was much exercised; and Frank King +professed himself quite interested in hearing about this person. The +grave young Lieutenant was indeed extraordinarily complaisant this +evening. He was unusually talkative--when he was not a most attentive +listener. You would have thought that he had acquired a sudden +admiration for the brilliant social qualities of Mr. Tom, and that he +had never heard such good stories before. + +Well, the Beresfords left about three; and that was the end of Nan's +first ball. On the whole she had every reason to be pleased. She had +acquitted herself fairly well; she had gratified the soft-hearted old +Admiral; she hadn't fallen in love with anybody; and she had seen a +number of celebrated persons in whom she was interested. She thought +she had done a kindness, too, in telling Lieutenant King beforehand of +his appointment. + +She was surprised, however, and a little bit annoyed when, on the +afternoon of the next day but one, her brother Tom brought in this same +Frank King to five o'clock tea. He said, with something of a blush, +that he wished to tell her that her news had been true; he had heard +from the Admiralty that morning, and he wished to thank her. Nan was +somewhat cold in her manner; she had thought with some pride that he +was not like the other gentlemen who came about the house in the +afternoon. She had seen enough of them and their idleness, and aimless +flirtations, and languid airs. She had taken Frank King to be of +firmer stuff, and not likely to waste his time at afternoon teas. + +He was kind and polite enough, no doubt, and he distributed his +attentions in the most impartial manner--even including two young lady +visitors to whom he was introduced; but Nan seized an early opportunity +of slipping away to her own room, where she resumed certain very +serious studies that occupied her mind at this time. When she came +downstairs again Lieutenant King was gone. + +On the following day her holiday ended, and she went down to Brighton. +Many a time she thought of the ball, and always with a pleasurable +recollection. When, however, she happened to think of Frank King--and +it was seldom--it was always with a slight touch of disappointment. No +doubt his leave was extended; probably he was still in town, and +repeating those afternoon calls in Bruton Street. As for Nan, she +honestly did not care to which train of admirers he might attach +himself--whether he was to be Mary's captive or Edith's slave. But she +was disappointed. + +'I did think he was a little bit different from the others,' she would +say to herself; and then she would turn to Mr. Lockyer's last +discoveries in spectrum analysis. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +FIRST IMPRESSIONS. + +'Nan, do you see that ship out there?' said Mary Beresford. + +'I saw it as I came along,' said Nan. This was the afternoon on which +she had fallen in with Singing Sal. Nan was rather tired after her long +walk, and was not inclined to show much interest in that now lessening +vessel, which was slowly sinking into the dusk of the west. + +'Do you know what her name is?' said Mary Beresford, still regarding her +younger sister. + +'No,' said Nan. 'I heard people say she was a man-of-war.' + +'That is the _Fly-by-Night_.' + +'Oh, indeed,' said Nan, with no greater interest than before. + +'And Lieutenant King has just called here,' the elder sister said, +pointedly. + +'Oh, indeed,' said Nan. 'I wish I had been in; I should like to have +seen him in uniform.' + +That was all she said, and all she thought; for now there were far more +serious things than ballrooms and young lieutenants occupying Nan's +attention. She and her sisters were going abroad--she for the first +time; and she was busy with foreign languages, and lives of the great +painters, and catalogues, and guide-books, and dressing-cases. The world +she hoped to plunge into on the following week was, in her imagination, +composed of nothing but cathedrals and picture-galleries; and she could +have wished that the picture-galleries might contain nothing but the +labours of Botticelli and Andrea del Sarto. The clear ethereal beauty +and tenderness of the one, the solemn thoughtfulness of the other: these +were things that filled her mind with a mysterious gladness, as if +something had been added to her own life. Rubens she cordially hated. +Of Titian she had as yet seen hardly anything. + +At last the wonderful day of setting out arrived, and Mr. Tom graciously +consented to accompany his sisters as far as Newhaven. It was towards +the afternoon that they started, in an open carriage, the maid on the box +beside the coachman. Tom was making facetious remarks about south-west +gales, and his two elder sisters were angrily remonstrating with him. +Nan was silent. She had not a thought for the ships and sailors out +there, or for any pensive young officer bitterly saying to himself that +out of sight was out of mind; and she had forgotten for a moment all +about Singing Sal and her free-and-easy ways. Nan's mind was at this +time filled with Dante, and Florence, and the young Raphael, and the Doge +wedding the Adriatic, and Pompeii, and Savonarola, and goodness knows +what else. When they reached Newhaven--when they forced her to descend +from the carriage--her eyes had a bewildered look. She had not seen +Newhaven at all. She had been watching the execution of Savonarola--she +standing in the middle of the great crowd in a square in Florence. + +They stayed the night at the hotel at Newhaven. Next morning falsified +all Mr. Tom's malicious forecasts; the weather was fine, and they had a +smooth passage across. In due time they reached Paris. + +To Nan, Paris meant picture-galleries. The streets were new-looking, +non-historical, filled with commonplace people; but in the +picture-galleries she was with great names, in great times. + +'Nan,' her sisters remonstrated, 'what is the use of dawdling over +pictures like this? The Old Masters are all alike. There are plenty of +Holy Families and broken-necked angels in England. Why don't you put off +all this till you get back to the National Gallery?' + +Fortunately, Nan was the most biddable of companions. She seemed to be +in dreamland. You could do what you liked with her if only you allowed +her to gaze with her great eyes, and think, and be silent. + +Now it is unnecessary to follow in detail the various journeyings and +adventures of these three young ladies and their maid; we may pass on to +a certain evening when they found themselves in Lucerne. It was an +exceedingly hot evening; and after dinner the crowd in this great hotel +had been glad to pour out into the spacious verandah, which was formed by +a succession of arches all hanging with evergreens. There they formed +little groups round the small tables, lit up by the orange glow streaming +out from the windows of the hotel, some taking coffee, some smoking, all +chatting idly. + +'It feels like thunder,' said Mary Beresford to her sister Edith. 'It +would be odd if we were to have a real thunderstorm just after listening +to the imitation one in the cathedral.' + +'The _vox humana_ stop is better at some things than at others,' said +Miss Edith, critically. 'In the chanting the boys' voices are good, and +the tenor voices are good; but the bass is too musical. You hear that it +is the organ. And it vibrates too much.' + +'They must make a good deal of money by it,' said the elder sister, 'in +the tourist season. I am sure there were a hundred people there.' + +'I wish I knew the name of the piece. I should like to try one or two of +the airs.' + +'It was considerate of them to finish up in time to let us get back for +the _table d'hote_.' + +'Sooner or later that organ will shake the Cathedral to bits: the +vibrations were fearful. I thought there was a great deal too much +noise. You lose effect when you pile up the agony like that: people only +want to stop their ears to prevent their heads being split.' + +So they chatted on. But what was it that Nan, who had accompanied them, +had heard as she sat in the great, empty, dimly-lit Cathedral, with her +hands clasped, her head bent forward on them, her eyes closed? Or, +rather, what was it that she saw?--for this seemed to be a picture in +music. She saw a small chapel far away up in the mountains, the +trembling red rays in the windows looking strange above the snow. She +heard the monks at their midnight chanting--low, and sad, and distant. +And then it seemed, as she listened, as if the stars overhead were being +blurred out, and a murmuring wind came down the gorge, and the air grew +cold. The darkness deepened; the wind rose and moaned through the pine +forests; then an angry gust swept along, so that the intoning of the +monks was lost altogether. There was a rumble of distant +thunder--overhead, among the unseen peaks. But still, unconscious of the +threatening storm, those within the small building went on with their +holy office, and there were snatches of the clear singing of boys--so +faint that you could scarcely hear; and again the strong, sad, sombre +voices of the men. Then the tempest broke, fierce and terrible: the +elements seemed mingled together. She lost sight of the chapel in the +whirling snow; the heavens rattled overhead; and the wind swept down so +that the whole earth trembled. A horror of wrath and darkness has +overwhelmed the world; and what of the patient choristers now? No longer +are their voices heard amid the appalling fury of the hurricane; the +sudden lightning-flash reveals nothing in the blackness; the powers of +evil have overcome; and the universe has lost its hope. But now there +comes a lull; and suddenly--far away, and faint, and triumphant--rises +the song of reliance and joy. The demons of the night mutter and moan; +but the divine song rises clearer and more clear. It is the voice of +faith, silver-toned and sweet; and the very heavens themselves seem to +listen; and the thunders rumble away into the valleys; and the stars, +shining, and calm, and benignant, come out again over the mountain-peaks. +And lo! once more she can descry the faint red rays above the snow; and +she can almost see the choristers within the little building; and she +listens to the silver-clear song; and her heart is filled with a strange +new gladness and trust. What must she do to keep it there for ever? By +what signal self-sacrifice--by what devotion of a whole life-time--by +what patient and continuous duty--shall she secure to herself this divine +peace, so that the storms and terrors and trials of the world may sweep +by it powerless and unregarded? + +When she rose and blindly followed her sisters, she was all trembling, +and there was a great lump in her throat. She was, indeed, in that +half-hysterical state in which rash resolves are sometimes made that may +determine the course of a human life. But Nan had the sense to know that +she was in this state; and she had enough firmness of character to enable +her to reason with herself. She walked, silent, with her sisters from +the Cathedral to the hotel; and she was reasoning with herself all the +time. She was saying to herself that she had had a glimpse, an +impression of something divinely beautiful and touching, that at some +time or other might influence or even determine her course of life. When +that time came she could remember. But not now--_not now_. She was not +going to resolve to become a Catholic, or join a sisterhood, or give +herself up to the service of the poor, merely because this wonderful +music had filled her heart with emotion. It was necessary that she +should think of something hard and practical--something that would be the +embodiment of common sense. She would force herself to think of that. +And, casting about, she determined to think--about Singing Sal! + +It was rather hard upon Sal, who had a touch of vanity, and was quite +conscious of what she deemed the romantic side of her way of life, that +she should be taken as the sort of incarnation of the prosaic. +Nevertheless, all through that _table d'hote_ dinner, Nan kept to her +self-imposed task, and was busying herself about the wages of the +coastguardsmen, and the probable cost of mackerel, and the chances of +Sal's having to face a westerly squall of wind and rain when she was +breasting the steep hill rising from Newhaven. Was Sal singing that +night before the Old Ship? Or was she in the little _cul-de-sac_ near +the Town-hall where the public-house was that the fishermen called in at +on their way home? Nan was apparently dining at the _table d'hote_ of a +hotel in Lucerne; but in reality she spent that evening in Brighton. + +And she was still thinking of Brighton when, as has been related, there +was a migration from the dining-saloon to the verandah outside; so that +she did not hear much of what her sisters were saying. + +'We are certainly going to have a real thunderstorm after the imitation +one,' Miss Beresford repeated. 'Do you hear that?' + +There was a low rumble of thunder; likewise some pattering of rain-drops +on the leaves outside. + +'It won't be half as fine though,' said the musical sister. + +There was a sudden white flash of light that revealed in a surprising +manner the sharp outline of Pilatus; then darkness and a crashing peal of +thunder. The rain began to pour; and some passers by took shelter under +the densely-foliaged trees fronting the gravelled terrace of the hotel. +The light that came through the tall windows fell on those dark figures; +but dimly. + +Nan had been thinking so much of Brighton, and Sal, and the downs, and +ships and sailors, that when this orange glow fell on a gentleman whom +she thought she recognised as Lieutenant Frank King she was scarcely +astonished. She looked hard through the dusk; yes, surely it was he. + +'Mary,' she said, but without any great interest, 'isn't that Lieutenant +King standing by that farthest tree?' + +The eldest sister also peered through the obscurity. + +'Well, yes, it is. What an extraordinary thing! Oh, I remember, he said +he was going abroad. But what a curious coincidence! Why don't you go +and speak to him, Nan?' + +'Why should I go and speak to him?' said Nan. 'I should only get wet.' + +'What can have brought him here?' said Edith. + +'Not his ship, at all events,' said Mary Beresford, smartly. 'It's only +Shakspeare who can create seaports inland.' + +'You ought to know better than that,' said Nan with some asperity, for +she was very valiant in protecting her intellectual heroes against the +attacks of a flippant criticism. 'You ought to know that at one time the +Kingdom of Bohemia had seaports on the Adriatic; every school-girl knows +that nowadays.' + +'They didn't when I was at school,' said Mary Beresford. 'But aren't you +going to speak to Lieutenant King, Nan?' + +'Oh, he won't want to be bothered with a lot of girls,' said Nan; and she +refused to stir. + +A few seconds thereafter, though there was still an occasional flash of +lightning, the rain slackened somewhat; and the young Lieutenant--who was +clad in a travelling-suit of gray, by-the-way, and looked remarkably like +the other young Englishmen loitering about the front of the +hotel--emerged from his shelter, shook the rain-drops from his sleeves, +and passed on into the dark. + +The very next morning the Beresfords left Lucerne for Zurich. They +stayed there three days--Nan busy all the time in teaching herself how to +propel a boat with two oars, her face to the bow; and she liked to +practise most in moonlight. Then they left Zurich one afternoon, and +made their way southward into the mountainous region adjacent to the +sombre Wallensee. The stormy sunset deepened and died out; rain, rain, +rain pursued them all the way to Chur. They got to their hotel there in +an omnibus that jolted through the mud and the darkness. + +But next morning, when Nan Beresford went to the window of the little +sitting-room and looked abroad, she uttered a cry of surprise that was +also meant as a call to wake her sleeping sisters. She stepped out on to +a wooden balcony, and found herself poised high above the flooded river +that was roaring down its channel, while in front of her was the most +vivid and brilliant of pictures, the background formed by a vast +semicircle of hills. She had it all to herself on this lovely +morning--the fresh air and sunlight; the plunging river below; the +terraced gardens on the opposite bank; over that again, the tumbled-about +collection of gleaming white houses, and green casements, and red roofs, +and old towers and belfries; and then, higher still, and enclosing, as it +were, the picturesque little town, the great ethereal amphitheatre of +pale blue mountains, with here and there a sprinkling of snow glittering +sharply, as if it were quite close at hand. How fresh and cold the +morning air was, after the sultry atmosphere of the lakes! How beautiful +the snow was! Nan did not like to be alone. She wished to share her +delight with some one. 'Edith! Edith!' she called. There was no answer. + +Suddenly she found she was no longer the solitary possessor of this +brilliant little picture. Happening to turn her head somewhat, she +perceived some one coming across the bridge; and, after a minute's +surprise and doubt and astonishment, she convinced herself that the +stranger was no other than Frank King. The discovery startled her. This +time it could be no mere coincidence. Surely he was following them? +Could it be possible that he had come with bad news from Brighton? + +She did not stay to waken her sisters. She hastily put on her hat and +went downstairs; and the first person she saw was Lieutenant King +himself, who was calmly looking over the list of arrivals. + + + + +to be infectious; even Nan felt herself smiling, though she thought +that the commander of a man-of-war ought not to go on like this. And +how could Frank King, who had been practically all his life at sea, +know so much about the rustics in Wiltshire? How could he have gone +through those poaching adventures, for example? She knew that +Kingscourt was in Wiltshire; but if, as he had told her, he was in the +navy when the English fleet paid its famous visit to Cherbourg, he must +have left Wiltshire when he was a very small boy indeed. + +They got higher and higher into the mountains as the evening fell, and +the mists closed down upon them. Outside they heard nothing but the +rattle of the rain on the top of the carriage, and the tinkle of the +horses' bells. By and by the lamps were lit. Later they were in +absolute blackness--plunging through the streaming night; but they were +contented enough. + +When the carriage stopped they were quite surprised. Splugen already! +And where was the inn? Frank King sprang out, and found himself in a +sort of big square, with the rain pelting down, and the building +opposite him apparently closed. But presently a man appeared with a +lantern, who informed him that they could have beds certainly, but in +the _dependance_, as the hotel was overcrowded. Then the gentleman +with the lantern disappeared. + +It was fortunate, indeed, for these young ladies that they had a male +protector and champion with them; for the bad weather had detained many +people, the hotel was crammed full, and as this was the _table d'hote_ +hour, the landlord and all his staff, with every disposition in the +world to be obliging, were at their wits' end. Every one was wanted in +the dining-chamber: how could any one look after the new arrivals, or +show them their rooms on the other side of the square, or attend to +their luggage? Now it was that this young sailor began to show a touch +of authority. First of all he got the young ladies to descend, and +bundled them into the little reading-room; that was clearing the decks +for action. The last they saw of him was that he had seized a man by +the collar and was quietly, but firmly, taking him to the door, +addressing him the while in an extraordinary mixture of French and +German concerning luggage, and rooms, and the necessity of a lantern to +show people across the square. In about a quarter of an hour he +returned, dripping wet. + +'Well, that's all settled,' he said, cheerfully, as he dried his face +with his handkerchief. 'I've seen the rooms--very big, and bare, and +cold, but the best they have. And I've left Miss Parsons in the +kitchen, tearing her hair over some things that have got wet. And I've +got four places at the _table d'hote_, which is going on. Now, if you +wish to go and see your rooms and dress for dinner, there is a little +girl waiting with a lantern; or if you prefer going in to the _table +d'hote_ at once----' + +CHAPTER VIII. + +SNOW AND MIST AND SUNLIGHT + +The desolation of that next morning! A wonder of snow outside the +windows--the large dark flakes slowly, noiselessly passing the panes; +snow on the open space fronting the great, gaunt hostelry; snow on the +small spire of the church; and snow on the far reaches of the hills, +retreating up there into the gray mists, where every pine-tree was a +sharp black thing on the broad expanse of white. The girls were +greatly downcast. They had their breakfast brought to them in the big +cold room; they took it hurriedly, with scarcely a word. They saw +Parsons rushing across the square; when she came in there were flakes +of snow in her hair, and her fingers were blue with cold. + +'The English go abroad for pleasure,' said Edith, with sarcasm. + +By and by they heard the jingle of the bells outside, and on going +below they found Frank King in the doorway, encased from head to foot +in an ulster. + +'This is indeed luck--this is great luck,' said he, blithely. + +'Luck do you call it?' said Edith Beresford. + +'Certainly,' said he; 'the first snow of the year! Most opportune. Of +course you must see the Splugen Pass in snow.' + +'We shan't see anything,' said Edith in gloom. + +'Never mind,' said Miss Beresford, good-naturedly; 'we shall have +crossed the Alps in a snowstorm, and that sounds well. And I daresay +we shall amuse ourselves somehow. Do you feel inclined to give up your +carriage to-day again?' + +She had turned to Frank King. There was a smile on her face, for she +guessed that it was no great sacrifice on his part. Moreover, she had +enjoyed that drive the day before; the presence of a fourth person +broke the monotony of the talking of three girls together. It is +needless to add that Frank King eagerly welcomed her proposal, and in +due course the two carriages drove away from the big, bare hostelry to +enter the unknown mountain-world. + +A strange world they found it, when once they had left the level of the +little valley and begun to climb the steep and twisting road cut on the +face of the mountain. The aspect of things changed every few minutes, +as the rolling mists slowly blotted out this or that portion of the +landscape, or settled down so close that they could see nothing but the +wet snow in the road, and the black-stemmed pines beyond, with their +green branches stretching out towards them through the pall of cloud. +Then sometimes they would look down into extraordinary gulfs of +mist--extraordinary because, far below them, they would find the top of +a fir-tree, the branches laden with snow, the tree itself apparently +resting on nothing--floating in mid air. It was a phantasmal world +altogether, the most cheerful feature of it being that at last the snow +had ceased to fall. + +This decided Nan to get out for a walk. + +'You will be wet through,' her elder sister exclaimed. + +'My boots are thick,' said Nan, 'and Parsons has my waterproof.' + +When she had got down, and disappeared, Miss Beresford said, + +'She is a strange girl; she always wants to be alone.' + +'She seems to think a great deal, and she always thinks in her own +way,' said Frank King. 'No doubt she prefers to be alone; but--but +don't you think I ought to get out and see that she is all right?' + +'There are no brigands in these mountains, are there?' said Miss +Beresford, laughing. + +'And she can't lose her way,' said the more serious Edith, 'unless she +were to fall over the side.' + +'I think I will get out,' he said, and he called to the driver. + +He found that Nan was already some way ahead, or rather overhead; but +he soon overtook her. She was startled when she saw him, for the snow +had deadened the sound of his approach. + +'I believe it will clear soon,' he said at a venture. + +'It is altogether very strange,' Nan said in something of a lower +voice. 'The fir-trees laden with snow like that, the cold, the gloom: +it looks like some bygone Christmas come back suddenly. It is strange +to find yourself in another part of the year: yesterday, summer; +to-day, winter. I should not be surprised to meet a cart filled with +holly, or to hear the bells ringing for morning service.' + +'You know there are people who never see winter,' said he; 'I wonder +what it feels like when you move from place to place so as to live in a +perpetual spring and summer.' + +'I don't think it can be the real spring,' she said, after a second. +'The summer, I suppose, is the same anywhere; it hasn't the newness and +the strangeness of the spring. Wouldn't it be a nice thing now to be +able to take some poor English lady who has been compelled to live all +the early months of each year in the south, among hot-house sort of +things, and just to show her for a minute a little English village in +the real spring time, such as she must have known when she was a girl, +with the daffodils in the cottage gardens, and the young leaves on the +elm and the hawthorn. And perhaps a lark would be singing high up; and +there might be a scent of wallflower; and the children coming home with +daisy wreaths. She would cry, perhaps; but she would like it better +than the hot-house flowers and the Riviera. There are some things that +have a wonderful way of bringing back old memories--the first smell of +wallflower in the spring is one, and the first fall of snow in the +winter. And there's an old-fashioned kind of musky smell, too, that +always means Sunday clothes, and a tall pew, and a village choir.' + +'But you seem to have a strong faculty of association,' said young +Frank King, who was far more interested in Nan than in musk. + +'I don't know,' she said carelessly. 'I don't study myself much. But +I know I have a strong bump of locality--isn't that what they call it? +I wish I had been born in a splendid place. I wish I had been born +among great mountains, or amongst remote sea islands, or even beautiful +lake scenery; and I know I should have loved my native place +passionately and yearned for it; and I should have thought it was the +most beautiful place in the world--especially when I was away from +it--for that's the usual way. But when you are born in London and live +in Brighton, you can't make much out of that.' + +Then she added with some compunction, + +'Not but that I am very fond of the south coast. I know it so well; +and of course you get fond of anything that you are very intimate with, +especially if other people don't know much about it. And there is far +more solitariness about the south coast than the people imagine who +come down to the Bedford Hotel for a week.' + +'You are a great walker, are you not?' he said. + +'Oh no; but I walk a good deal.' + +'And always alone?' + +'Generally. It is very seldom I have a companion. Do you know Singing +Sal?' + +'Singing Sal? No. How should I? Who is she?' + +'A kind of tramping musician,' said Nan, with a grave smile. 'She is a +friend of the fishermen and coastguardsmen and sailors down there; I +daresay some of your men must have heard of her. She is a good-looking +woman, and very pleasant in her manner, and quite intelligent. I have +seen her very often, but I never made her acquaintance till the week +before last.' + +'Her acquaintance!' + +'Yes,' said Nan, simply; 'and I mean to renew it when I get back, if +mamma will let me. Singing Sal knows far more about the coast than I +do, and I want to learn more. . . . Oh, look!' + +Both of them had been for some time aware of a vague luminousness +surrounding them, as if the sun wanted to get through the masses of +vapour; but at this moment she, happening to turn her head, found that +the wind had in one direction swept away the mist, and behold, far away +in the valley beneath them, they could see the village of Splugen, +shining quite yellow in the sunlight. Then the clouds slowly closed +over the golden little picture, and they turned and walked on. But in +front of them, overhead, the wind was still at work, and there were +threads of keen blue now appearing over the twisting vapours. Things +began to be more cheerful. Both the carriages behind had been thrown +open. Nan's face looked pink, after one's eyes had got so used to the +whiteness of the snow. + +'I suppose there are no people so warmly attached to their country as +the Swiss are, she said (she was not ordinarily a chatterbox, but the +cold, keen air seemed to have vivified her). 'I am very glad the big +thieves of the world left Switzerland alone. It would have been a +shame to steal this little bit from so brave a people. Do you know the +song of the Swiss soldier in the trenches at Strasburg? I think it is +one of the most pathetic songs in the world.' + +'No, I don't,' he said. How delighted he was to let her ramble on in +this way, revealing the clear, beautiful soul, as Singing Sal might +have thought. + +'He tells the story himself,' she continued. 'It is the sound of the +Alphorn that has brought this sorrow to him, he says. He was in the +trenches at night, and he heard the sound of the Alphorn far away, and +nothing would do but that he must try to escape and reach his +fatherland by swimming the river. Then he is taken, and brought before +the officers, and condemned to be shot; and he only asks his brother +soldiers to fire straight---- But I am not going to spoil it.' + +She put her hand up furtively for a second to her eyes, and then she +said cheerfully-- + +'I have had enough walking. Suppose we wait for the carriage?' + +'I think I ought to apologise to you, Miss Anne,' said he. 'You prefer +walking by yourself--I ought not to have come and bothered you.' + +'It is of no consequence,' said Nan, looking back for the carriage, 'so +long as you haven't wet your feet.' + +They got into the carriage and continued on their way; and very soon it +became apparent, from the flashes of sunlight and gleams of blue, that +they had worked their way up through the cloud-layers. In process of +time, indeed, they got clear of the mists altogether, and emerged on to +the higher valleys of the Alps--vast, sterile, the white snow-plains +glittering in the sun, except where the rocks showed through in points +of intense black. There were no longer any pines. They were in a +world of snow and barren rocks and brilliant sunlight, with a cold +luminous blue sky overhead; themselves the only living creatures +visible; their voices sounding strangely distinct in the silence. + +When they were quite at the summit of the pass, a smurr, as we say in +Scotland, came over; but it did not last. By the time they had got the +drags on the wheels, the vast gorge before them--descending and winding +until it disappeared in a wall of mountains of the deepest blue--was +again filled with sunlight; and now they began to be a little bit +sheltered from the wind as the horses trotted and splashed through the +wet snow, carrying them away down into Italy. + +They lunched at Campo Dolcino, still some thousands of feet above the +level of the sea. Then on again, swinging away at a rapid pace down +into a mighty valley; rattling through galleries cut in the solid rock; +then out again into the grateful sunlight; taking the sharp curves of +the road at the same breakneck speed; with always below them--and so +far below them that it was silent--a rushing river sweeping down +between fair pastures and dots of villages. As the evening fell, this +clatter of hoofs and wheels came to a sudden end; for they were +entering the town of Chiavenna, and there you must go at walking pace +through the narrow little thoroughfares. It was strange for them to +come down from the snow-world into this ordinary little town, and to +find in the hotel not only all sorts of products of a high +civilisation, but even people who were speaking the familiar English +tongue. + +There was a telegram addressed 'Lieutenant F. H. King, R.N.,' in the +case in the bureau; when Frank King had got it out and read it he was +silent for a second or two. + +'I hope there is no bad news,' said Miss Beresford, in a kindly way. +She was not a very sympathetic person; but Frank King had brightened up +their tour during these last two days, and she was in a measure +grateful to him. + +'No,' he said, absently. 'Oh no, not bad news. The telegram is from +the officer I left in charge of the _Fly-by-Night_; I rather think that +I shall be setting out for home again in a couple of days.' + +'Oh, I am sorry for that,' she said, quite naturally. + +'You go on again to-morrow, Miss Beresford?' + +'We were proposing to do so.' + +'And where do you think of going to when you get to Lake Como?' + +'Bellagio, most probably.' + +'Oh, well, I will go with you as far as Bellagio, if I may,' he said, +somewhat thoughtfully. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +THE SERENATA. + +Next morning also he was preoccupied and anxious, insomuch that even +Nan noticed it, and good-naturedly hoped he had had no bad news. He +started somewhat. + +'No, oh no,' he said. 'Only the telegram I got last night makes it +necessary for me to start for home to-morrow.' + +'Then, at least,' said Nan cheerfully, 'you will see Lake Como before +you go.' + +Her eldest sister smiled in her superior way. + +'Nan's head is full of romance,' she said. 'She expects to see the +Como of the print-shops: don't you, Nan? Blue water and golden boats, +and pink hills, and Claude Melnotte's castle lifting its--whatever was +it?--to eternal summer. I am afraid the quotation is not quite +correct.' + +And the truth was that, despite this warning, Nan did seem somewhat +disappointed, when, after hours of rattling and splashing along a muddy +road, they came upon a stretch of dirty, chalky-green water that in a +manner mirrored the gray and barren crags above it. + +'That isn't Como!' cried Nan. 'It can't be.' + +'Oh, but it is,' Miss Beresford said, laughing. 'At least it's the +upper end of it.' + +But Nan would not believe it; and when at last they reached Colico, and +fought their way through the crowd of swarthy good-for-nothings who +strove to attach themselves to every scrap of luggage, and when they +had got on board the steamer and secured commanding positions on the +upper deck, then Nan declared that they were about to see the real Lake +of Como. It was observed that the young sailor glanced once or twice +rather anxiously at the sky and the seething clouds. + +Well, they sailed away down through this stretch of pallid green water, +that was here and there ruffled with wind, and here and there smooth +enough to reflect the silver-gray sky; and they called at successive +little villages; and they began to be anxious about a certain banking +up of purple clouds in the south-west. They forgot about the eternal +summer, and got out their waterproofs. They were glad to find +themselves drawing near to Bellagio, and its big hotels, and villas, +and terraced gardens. The wind had risen; the driven green water was +here and there hissing white; and just as they were landing, a pink +flash of lightning darted across that dense wall of purple cloud, and +there was a long and reverberating rattle of thunder. + +'It seems to me we have just got in in time,' said Frank King in the +hall of the hotel. + +The storm increased in fury. The girls could scarcely dress for dinner +through being attracted to the window by the witches' cantrips outside. +The thunder blackness in the south-west had deepened; the wind was +whirling by great masses of vapour; the water was springing high along +the terraces; and the trees in the terraced gardens were blown this way +and that, even though their branches were heavy with rain. Then it was +that Edith Beresford said-- + +'Nan, you ought to persuade Lieutenant King to stay over another day. +He hasn't seen Como. This isn't Como.' + +'I?' said Nan, sharply. 'What have I to do with it? He can go or stay +as he pleases.' + +'Besides,' continued Edith, 'in consequence of this _tempo cattivo_----' + +'I suppose that means weather that rains cats and dogs,' said Nan, +whose anger was of the briefest duration. + +'----the grand _Serenata_ is put off till to-morrow night. Now he +ought to stay and see the illuminations of the boats.' + +'The illuminations,' said Nan. 'I should think he had something else +to think of.' + +Nevertheless, when, at dinner, Miss Edith was good enough to put these +considerations before Lieutenant King, he seemed very anxious to +assent, and he at once called for a time-table; and eventually made out +that by taking the night train somewhere or other, he could remain at +Bellagio over the next day. And he was rewarded, so far as the weather +went. The morning was quite Como-like--fair and blue and calm; the sun +shining on the far wooded hills, and on the sparkling little villages +at their foot; the green lake still running high, with here and there a +white tip breaking; a blaze of sunlight on the gardens below--on the +green acacia-branches and the masses of scarlet salvia--and on the +white hot terraces where the lizards lay basking. + +It was a long, idle, delicious day; and somehow he contrived to be near +Nan most of the time. He was always anxious to know what she thought +about this or about that; he directed her attention to various things; +he sometimes talked to her about his ship--and about what sailors +thought of when they were far from home and friends. They went out on +the lake--these four; the hot sun had stilled the water somewhat; +reclining in the cushioned stern of the boat, in the shelter of the +awning, they could hear the bells on shore faint and distant. Or they +walked in that long allee leading from one end of the gardens--the +double line of short chestnuts offering cool and pleasant shadow; the +water lapping along the stone parapet beside them; and between each two +of the stems a framed picture, as it were, of the lake and the +velvet-soft slopes beyond. It was all very pretty, they said. It was +a trifle common-place, perhaps; there were a good many hotels and +little excursion steamers about; and perhaps here and there a +suggestion of the toy-shop. But it was pretty. Indeed, towards +sunset, it was very nearly becoming something more. Then the colours +in the skies deepened; in the shadows below the villages were lost +altogether; and the mountains, growing more and more sombre under the +rich gold above began to be almost fine. One half forgot the +Cockneyism and familiarity of the place, and for a moment had a glimpse +of the true loneliness and solemnity of the hills. + +As the dusk fell they began to bethink themselves of what was before +them. + +'It would have been a bad thing for the musicians from La Scala if they +had attempted to go out last evening,' Miss Beresford remarked. + +'It will be a bad thing for us,' said Edith, who was the musical one, +'if we attempt to go on board their steamer this evening. It will be +far too loud. You should never be too near. And, especially where +there is water, music sounds so well at some distance.' + +'You can hire a small boat, then,' said Nan. 'They are all putting up +their Chinese lanterns.' + +'Oh, I wouldn't advise that,' said Frank King, quickly. 'I don't think +it would be safe.' + +'A sailor afraid of boats!' said Miss Edith with a laugh. + +'Oh, as for that,' said Nan, warmly, 'every one knows that it's those +who are most ignorant of boats who are most reckless in them. It's +very easy to be brave if you're stupidly ignorant. I know papa used to +say it was always the most experienced sportsman who took most care +about unloading his gun on going into a house. Why, if you're walking +along the pier, and see some young fools standing up in a boat and +rocking it until the gunwale touches the water, you may be sure they're +haberdashers down from the borough for a day, who have never been in a +boat before.' + +In the dusk they could not see that Frank King's face flushed with +pleasure at this warm defence; but he only said quietly, + +'You see there will be ten or twelve steamers churning about in the +dark; and if some careless boatman were to make a mistake--or lose his +head--you might be under the paddles in a second. I think you should +either get on board or stay ashore; and I should say you were as well +off here as anywhere. You will see the procession on the lake very +well; and even if they should halt over there at Cadenabbia for the +music, we could hear it here excellently.' + +'It is very good advice, Edith,' said Miss Beresford, seriously. 'I +don't at all like small boats. And there goes the first dinner-bell; +so let's make haste.' + +At dinner Frank King did not say much; he seemed to be thinking of his +departure on the morrow. Once, however, when they happened to be +talking about Brighton, he looked across the table to Nan, and said, + +'Oh, by the way, what was the name of the woman you told me about--whom +you met on the downs?' + +'Singing Sal,' answered Nan, with composure. + +'I shall ask about her when I get to Portsmouth,' he said. + +'She is seldom in the big towns; she prefers tramping by herself along +the country roads.' + +'Is this another of Nan's _protegees_?' asked Miss Beresford. 'She +knows the most extraordinary people. She is like the children when +they are sent down to the beach when the tide is low; they are always +most delighted with the monstrous and hideous things they can pick up.' + +'You must have seen Singing Sal,' said Nan quietly. 'And she is +neither monstrous nor hideous. She is very well dressed, and she sings +with a great deal of feeling.' + +'Perhaps she will come and have afternoon tea with us?' said Edith, +with a sarcastic air. + +'I don't think she would find it interesting enough,' Nan answered, +calmly. + +When, after dinner, they went out on to the balcony above the garden, +they found that the wonders of the night had already begun. Far on the +other side of the lake the houses of Cadenabbia were all ablaze with +millions of small gold points, the yellow glow from which glimmered +down on the black water. Then in the garden here, there were rows upon +rows of Chinese lanterns, of all colours, just moving in the almost +imperceptible breeze; while along the shore, the villas had their +frontage-walls decorated with brilliant lines of illuminated cups, each +a crimson, or white, or emerald star. Moreover, at the steps of the +terrace below, there was a great bustle of boats; and each boat had its +pink paper lantern glowing like a huge firefly in the darkness; and +there was a confusion of chaffering and calling with brightly dressed +figures descending by the light of torches, and disappearing into the +unknown. Then these boats began to move away--with their glow-worm +lanterns swaying in the black night. The hotel seemed almost deserted. +There was silence along the shores. + +By and by, at a great distance, they beheld a wonderful thing come +slowly into view--far away in the open space of darkness that they knew +to be the lake. It was at first only a glow of crimson; but as it came +nearer, this glow separated into points, each point a ruby-coloured +shaft of fire, and they saw that this must be a steamer illuminated by +red lamps. And then another steamer, and another, came sailing up, +with different colours gleaming; until one, far higher than the +others--a great mass of glittering gold--appeared in the midst of them, +and round this all the fleet of small boats, that were, of course, only +distinguishable by their parti-coloured lanterns, seemed to gather. + +'That is the steamer that has the musicians, clearly,' said Frank King. + +'Yes; but I don't hear any music,' answered Edith, in a voice that +seemed rather ominous. + +They sat and waited. The last of the guests had got into the small +boats and gone away; they were left alone in front of the big hotel. +The moon was rising behind the hills in the south, and already the +surface of the lake was beginning to declare itself--a dull blue-black. + +'I cannot hear the least sound; is it possible they can be playing?' +said Edith, disappointedly. + +It was a beautiful spectacle, at all events, even if there were no +sound accompanying it. For now the moon had risen clear, and there was +a pale soft light all along the northern hills, and just enough +radiance lying over the bosom of the lake to show the darkness of the +hulls of the distant steamers. And then, as they watched, some order +seemed to grow out of that confusion of coloured lights; the high +golden mass drew away; and then the others followed, until the long +undulating line seemed like some splendid meteor in the night. There +was no sound. Cadenabbia, with all its yellow fire, was as clearly +deserted as this Bellagio here, with all its paper lanterns and +coloured cups. The procession had slowly departed. The _Serenata_ was +taking place somewhere else. The gardens of this hotel were silent but +for the occasional voices of Frank King and his companions. + +Well, they laughed away their disappointment; and chatted pleasantly, +and enjoyed the beautiful night, until Miss Beresford thought it was +time for them to go indoors. + +'But where's Nan?' she said. 'That girl is never to be found.' + +'I think I can find her,' said Frank King, rising hastily. He had been +regarding for some time back that long allee between the chestnuts, and +a dark figure there that was slowly pacing up and down, occasionally +crossing the patches of moonlight. When he had got about half-way +along, he found Nan leaning with her elbows on the parapet, and looking +out on the moonlit lake. + +'Oh, Miss Anne,' he said, 'your sister wants you to come indoors.' + +'All right,' she said cheerfully, raising herself and preparing to go. + +'But I want to say a word to you,' he said hurriedly. 'I have been +trying for an opportunity these two days. I hope you won't think it +strange or premature or impertinent----' + +'Oh no,' said Nan, with a sudden fear of she knew not what; 'but let us +go indoors.' + +'No, here, now,' he pleaded. 'Only one moment. I know we are young; +perhaps I should not ask you to pledge yourself, but all I ask for is +to be allowed to hope. Surely you understand. Nan, will you be my +wife--some day?' + +He would have taken her hand; but she withdrew quickly, and said with a +sort of gasp-- + +'Oh, I am so sorry. I had no idea. It must be my fault, I am sure; +but I did not know--I was not thinking of such a thing for a moment----' + +'But you will give me leave to hope?' he said. 'I mean some day--not +now.' + +'Oh no, no!' she said with an earnestness that was almost piteous. 'If +I have made a mistake before, this must be clear now. Oh, don't think +of such a thing. It never could be--never, never. I am very sorry if +I have pained you; but--but you don't know anything about me; and you +will soon forget, for we are both far too young--at least I am--to +think of such things; and--and I am very, very sorry.' + +'But do you mean that I am never to think of it again, even as a hope?' +he said, slowly. + +'Oh, I do mean that--I do! If there has been a mistake, let it be +clear now. Can I not be your friend?' + +She held out her hand. After a second or so of hesitation, he took it. + +'I know more of you than you suspect,' he said slowly, and with a touch +of hopelessness in his voice. 'I could see what you were the first +half-hour I had spoken to you. And I know you know your own mind, and +that you are sincere. Well, I had hoped for something else; but even +your friendship will be valuable to me--when I have had a little time +to forget.' + +'Oh, thank you, thank you!' said Nan, somewhat incoherently. 'I know +you will be wise. You have your profession to think of; that is of far +more importance. I know you will be wise, and generous too, and +forgive me if the fault has been mine. Now, we will not speak of any +such thing again; let it be as if it had never been. Come.' + +He pressed her hand in silence--it was a token of good-bye. These two +did not see each other again for more than three years. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +JINNY. + +One night towards the end of that interval a strange scene occurred in +the old manor-house of Kingscourt, Wiltshire. From an early part of +the evening it was apparent that something unusual was about to take +place. The sleepy old mansion was all astir, a big fire blazed in the +fireplace of the hall, and even the long corridor, which was in effect +a picture-gallery, and ordinarily looked rather grim with its oak +panelling and dusky portraits and trophies of arms, had been so +brilliantly lit up that it seemed almost cheerful. + +There was no cheerfulness, however, on the face of the lord of the +manor himself; and there was nothing but a keen and anxious sympathy in +the regard of his friend the Vicar, who had come to keep him company. +The former, Stephen Holford King, was a hale old man of over seventy, +with a smoothly-shaven face grown red with exposure to the weather, +silvery short-cropped hair, and fine, impressive features. His old +college friend, the Rev. Mr. Lynnton, was a smaller man, and somewhat +younger, though his pale face had a sad expression, as though he had +come through much trouble. He also was clean shaven, which added +character to his clear-cut features. His chest was narrow, and he +stooped a little. + +'It is kind of you to come early, Vicar,' said the taller man, who +seemed much agitated in spite of his outwardly firm demeanour. 'It +will be a terrible ordeal for my poor wife. I wish the evening were +over.' + +'You must face it like a man, friend King,' said the other. 'You have +acted rightly, great as the pain must be to yourself. It is the young +man's last chance, and surely he accepts it or he would not be coming +at all. And--she--also.' + +'If only he hadn't married her--if only he hadn't married her. She +might have ruined him in pocket, as she has ruined others before; but, +to come in here----' + +He glanced at the portraits along the walls; he seemed scarcely to know +what he was saying. + +'You might preach a sermon from what I am suffering now, Vicar. Oh, I +deserve it. My pride has been taken down at last. But the punishment +is hard----' + +'Pardon me, friend King; but you exaggerate surely. Surely a certain +measure of family pride is justifiable; it ought to nerve a man to be +worthy of those who have gone before him. Nor have I ever thought that +your feeling about your name being a heritage that you had to guard +jealously and piously was otherwise than just----' + +'Five centuries, Vicar--for five centuries the Kings of Kingscourt, +whether knights or commoners, have been gentlemen--gentlemen every man +of them; and this is the end!' + +'But even now, old friend, you must not look at the blackest side of +things. Alfred may requite you yet by his conduct for the tremendous +sacrifice you and Mrs. King are making. He has committed a social +crime; but surely that is better than living in sin----.' + +'Vicar, I know you have tried to look only at the cheerful side of +things, as far as your cloth will permit, and I trust in God that +something may yet come of it; but if not--if this last appeal to him +produces nothing more than the others--then there is a final +alternative that may help me to save Kingscourt and the family name.' + +'What is that?' his friend said, eagerly. + +'I will not speak of it now; we must hope for the best.' + +At this moment there was heard the rumbling of carriage wheels outside, +and the old man started. + +'Come, let us go into the hall,' he said quickly; and then he added, in +a lower and agitated voice, 'Vicar, do you think my poor wife +will--will have to kiss this woman? That is what she dreads. That is +what terrifies her.' + +The pale-faced clergyman seemed embarrassed, and said hastily, + +'There will be some confusion, no doubt. Come, friend King, pull +yourself together. You are welcoming home your son and his +newly-married wife, remember.' + +The great bell rang, the servants swarmed into the hall, the door was +opened, and outside, in the darkness, the carriage lamps were visible, +shining down on the broad steps. At the same moment a lady came along +from the corridor; a tall, elderly woman, with a pale, sweet face, +quite white hair done up in old-fashioned little curls, and with eyes +of a sad, benign expression. She seemed to be very pleased and +cheerful; it was only the Vicar, who shook hands with her, who knew +that her whole frame was trembling. + +'So you have come to welcome home the bride, Mr. Lynnton,' she said, in +a clear voice, so that every one could hear. 'Alfred will be pleased +to see you again, after his long absence. They say that being so much +abroad has greatly improved him.' + +'It could not well improve his appearance, Mrs. King; he was always a +handsome lad,' said the Vicar--his eyes still turned towards the door. + +This was, indeed, a strikingly handsome man who now came up the +steps--taller and more massive than his brother Frank, lighter also in +hair and eyes. At this first glance one scarcely noticed that his face +was somewhat flushed, and that the light blue eyes had a sort of +uncertain nervous throb in them. + +'My wife, mother.' + +The Vicar stared with astonishment. This pretty, bright-faced little +thing did not look more than eighteen or nineteen, though in fact she +was five-and-twenty; and in her tight-fitting ulster and plain gray +hat, and quiet yellow-gray gloves, she looked the very embodiment of +girlish grace, and neatness, and decorum. + +The white-haired woman took this new visitor by both hands. + +'I am glad you have come, my dear,' said she, without any quaver of the +voice, and she kissed her first on one cheek and then on the other. +'But you must be tired with your long journey. Come, I will show you +your dressing-room; they have taken some tea up for you.' + +'And to-night we dine at seven, my dear,' said the father of the house, +addressing her at the same time, 'for we thought you might be hungry +after your journey. So don't take too much time in dressing, my dear; +we are plain folks; we will see all your finery another night. +Higgins, have Mrs. Alfred's boxes taken up at once.' + +Mrs. Alfred meanwhile stood looking a little puzzled, a little amused, +but not at all shy. She seemed to consider it rather a good joke. + +'Go on, Jinny,' her husband said to her lazily; 'I shan't dress.' + +'That is an old privilege of Alfred's, my dear,' said Mrs. King, +leading the new-comer away. 'His father, now, hasn't missed dressing +for dinner one evening since we were married, except the night the +vicarage took fire. But I suppose young men are not so ceremonious +now. Here is your room, my dear; Catherine is bringing some hot water, +and she will open your boxes for you.' + +And the old lady herself went and stirred up the fire, and drew the low +easy chair nearer to the little table where the tea-things were, and +continued talking in the kindliest way to her new guest until the maid +arrived. Mrs. Alfred had said nothing at all, but she seemed contented +and amused. + +At seven o'clock every one had assembled in the drawing-room except +Mrs. Alfred. The Vicar's wife had arrived: she was a stout, +anxious-eyed little woman, who was obviously alarmed, and talked much +to assure those around her that she was quite at ease. Mr. Alfred +himself was lazy, good-natured, indifferent--he had drunk two or three +glasses of sherry meanwhile to pass the time. + +Punctually at seven Mrs. Alfred appeared. She looked more prim and +nice and neat than ever in this black silk dress with old lace on the +open square in front and on the cuffs of the tight sleeves. + +'Mrs. Lynnton--my daughter Jinny,' said the old white-haired lady, +introducing the new-comer to the Vicar's wife. + +Dinner was announced, and the big folding doors thrown open. + +'My dear,' said Mr. King to his wife, 'I must take in Mrs. Alfred. It +is a welcome home, you know. Alfred, you take in Mrs. Lynnton. Come +along, child.' + +And he gave her his arm with great ceremony, and led her into the long, +old-fashioned dining-room, which was a blaze of candles, and gave her +the seat at his right hand, and immediately called for a fire-screen +lest the fire should be too much. + +'Or will you sit the other side, my dear?' said he. + +'Oh no, sir,' she said, very prettily, out of compliment to his age. +'Oh no, sir, I am best pleased to sit where you wish me to sit.' + +For by this time the amused look had gone out of her face, and she +seemed to have grown sensible of the great kindness these people were +trying to show her. + +Dinner went on, and the conversation rested mainly between Mr. Alfred, +who was asking questions about the people in the neighbourhood, and the +Vicar, who answered him. But when anything amusing was said, it was +addressed to Mrs. Alfred, or else they looked to see whether she was +pleased; and she received a great deal of attention from the old +gentleman next her, and had many kind things said to her by his wife. +But Mrs. Alfred's face grew more and more strange. She seemed +depressed and troubled--timid at the same time and self-conscious; once +or twice her lips were tremulous. And then all at once she rose, and +quickly went to where Mrs. King sat, and threw herself on her knees, +and clasped the old lady's knees, and burst into a wild fit of sobbing +and crying. The old lady turned very pale, and put her hand on the +younger woman's head gently. The servants pretended to see nothing. +Mr. Alfred flushed angrily, and said-- + +'Jinny, don't make a fool of yourself. Go back to your seat.' + +Then the elder woman raised her, with a tenderness and compassion not +altogether assumed, and led her back, saying-- + +'You are tired, my dear. I thought you looked tired, my dear. We will +let you go soon to bed tonight.' + +Then everybody talked at once, and the little incident seemed easily +forgotten. Moreover, as the evening progressed, old Stephen King +convinced himself that he had done what was best for the bygone Kings +of Kingscourt and any Kings of Kingscourt there might be. He would pay +off his son's debts once more. These two would be content to remain +for years in the country, till bygones should be bygones elsewhere; and +even in the country the neighbours might pretend to a convenient +ignorance. The Vicar would help him. + +The Vicar and his wife left about ten; Mr. and Mrs. Alfred retired +early; the various agitations that had shaken the old silver-haired +dame gave place to a quiescence that was in a measure hopeful. Then +sleep overtook the old manor-house, and the silence of the night. + +About midnight there was a loud crash in the dining-room. Certain of +the servants slept on the ground-floor for safety's sake; and the first +one--indeed, the only one--to be thoroughly aroused by this sudden +noise was the butler, a young man who had inherited the position from +his father. He jumped up, hastily donned some clothes, and carried a +light along to the room, wisely thinking that if it was only a picture +that had fallen he need not alarm the whole household. At the same +time he went cautiously, for he did not wish to be seized by the throat +unawares. + +He found the dining-room door open, and something, in the dark inside, +lying prone on the floor. He pushed forward his candle, and to his +horror found it was Mrs. Alfred, who was slowly raising herself by both +hands. + +'Oh, ma'am, what has happened?' he cried. + +'Be quiet. Where's the brandy?' she said, angrily; and then she put +her hand to the side of her forehead. 'I've struck my head against +something.' + +This young man was a miracle of discretion, but he was startled. She +did not talk incoherently, and yet she could not rise. + +'Is it Mr. Alfred, ma'am? Shall I take him some brandy? I hope he +isn't ill, ma'am?' he said in a breath. + +'Mr. Alfred, you fool! He's been dead drunk in bed for more than an +hour. Where's the brandy? Why don't you leave the spirit-stand out, +you miserly thief?' + +Then he saw how matters stood; and though he was frightened a little, +he was prudent. He went and got some brandy and water in a tumbler; he +coaxed her to go upstairs; he assisted her up; and then, having put her +quietly into her room, he returned downstairs, and locked the +dining-room door, putting the key in his pocket. + +This incident the young butler kept discreetly to himself; he was not +going to imperil his situation by telling such a story about his future +master and mistress. All the same, the old father and mother began to +grow very uneasy. Mrs. Alfred was too unwell to appear next day, nor +would she see any one. She wanted brandy, however, to keep her system +up. The following day the same legend was repeated. On the evening of +that day Alfred King sought out his father in the study, and said he +wanted to speak to him. + +'Look here, father, it's no use. I'll tell the truth. I came down +here to humbug you, and get some more money out of you. But what's the +good?--if Jinny had the wealth of the Rothschilds she'd run through it +in a fortnight; and then her first trick would be to cut me. Oh, I +know her; she's not a bad sort; but she's been brought up to be what +she is, and she doesn't mean anything shabby, anything more than a cat +thinks itself cruel when it plays with a mouse. Well, no matter.' + +He rang the bell, ordered some brandy and soda, and continued: + +'Now, I've got some pride in the old place, too, father: I don't want +to see Jinny send Kingscourt spinning the moment you die. Well, this +is what I propose. I'm no good. I'm played out. I've had my turn. +Well, now, if you'll clear off my debts this time, and start me free +with 5000 pounds--giving it in trust to somebody--so that I can have my +200 pounds or 250 pounds a year--then I'll consent to quash the entail; +you bring home Frank, and give him Kingscourt. That's better than +being a sailor, and he'll look after the old place.' + +The old man regarded him calmly, but also with a strange, wistful, sad +look. + +'I had thought of it. But is there no other way, Alfred?' + +'No. I'm broke. I'm done. If you want to save Kingscourt, that's the +only way.' + +'And you?' + +'I've had my turn; I can't complain. Sooner or later Jinny'll bolt. +Then I'll go to the States and try my hand at something.' + +'Do you know they've just made Frank commander?' + +'He'll be glad to leave the navy, all the same. Fellows can't marry +while they're in the navy.' + +'What are your debts now, Alfred?' + +Here the brandy and soda was brought in, which gave him time to think. + +'I don't know exactly. Two brutes have got hold of me. I should fancy +they could all be choked off with 8000 pounds--say 9000 pounds.' + +'14,000 pounds--it will be a heavy charge on the estate.' + +'But I shall be off it. What's more, father, if Frank comes home, and +gets married, and plays the good boy and all that kind of thing, don't +let him get it into his head that I am jealous of him, or that he has +supplanted me. Frank is a fine chap. Tell him it was my proposal; and +I hope he'll be a better son to you than I have been. Well, is it a +bargain, father?' + +The old man thought for some time, and at length said, + +'Yes.' + +'Well, then, there's another thing. Jinny's stumbled against something +and got a black eye. Let's get her out of the house without the +servants seeing her--this evening, after dusk. And I'll meet you any +day you like at Shaen and Maskell's.' + +This, then, was how it came about that Commander Francis Holford King, +R.N., was summoned home from the West Indies, where he had been with +his ship, the _Hellespont_. He was grave for his years; and he was +more manly in figure, somehow, and certainly browner of face, than when +we last saw him at Bellagio, on Lake Como; but as he sailed past the +Eddystone Light and entered the smooth waters of Plymouth Sound, there +was something within him that told him his heart had not quite +forgotten all its old memories. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +TRANSFORMATION. + +Captain Frank was everything and did everything that his parents could +have hoped for, except in one direction: he would have nothing said +about marriage. He came home without a murmur; he never uttered a word +of regret about his giving up a profession that he had fair hopes of +advancement in; he adopted his new set of duties with cheerfulness, and +entered with zest into the festivities of the season. For the leaf was +beginning to fall, and all the people about were preparing to shoot the +covers, so that parties had to be made up and invitations issued, and +there soon came to be a general stir throughout the countryside. +Captain Frank, though he was not much of a shot, took his share in all +these things; but he held aloof from womankind, and would not have his +marriage even spoken of by his most intimate relatives. + +What was the man made of that he could resist a scene like this? +Imagine an open glade in a beautiful Wiltshire wood on the morning +after a slight fall of snow. The skies are blue, and the world is full +of clear sunlight; the hollies are intensely green over the white of +the snow; here and there on the bare branches are a few red leaves. +Also on the snow itself there is a stain of brownish red in some +places, where the light air of the morning has shaken down withered +needles from a tall pine-tree. Then there is a distant, sharp flutter; +the noise increases; suddenly a beautiful thing--a meteor of bronze and +crimson--comes whirring along at a tremendous pace; Captain Frank +blazes away with one barrel and misses; before he knows where he is the +pheasant seems a couple of miles off in the silver and blue of the sky, +and he does not care to send the second barrel on a roving commission. +He puts his gun over his shoulder, and returns to his pensive +contemplation of the glittering green hollies, and the white snow, and +the maze of bare branches going up into the blue. + +But a new figure appears in the midst of this English-looking scene. A +very pretty young lady comes along smiling--her pink cheeks looking all +the pinker, and her blue eyes all the bluer, because of the white snow +and also the white fur round her neck. This is pretty Mary Coventry, +who is staying at present at Kingscourt. She has the brightest of +smiles, and the whitest of teeth. + +'Cousin Frank,' she says, 'where do you gentlemen lunch to-day?' + +'Look here,' he answers, 'you've come right up the line between the +guns and the beaters.' + +'Oh, that's all right,' she says, gaily. 'I know your father doesn't +allow shooting at ground game into cover.' + +'Lunch is to be up at the Hill Farm.' + +'Oh, that's the very thing. I want a long walk. And I will help +Higgins to have everything ready for you.' + +'It will be very rough and tumble. You had much better go back home to +lunch.' + +'But I have come for the very purpose! I have brought sugar and +cinnamon to mull the claret for you. You will find it scalding hot +when you come.' + +A hare ran by some dozen yards off: he did not fire. + +'I see I am in your way. Good-bye for the present.' + +'Good-bye. If you do mean to go up to the Hill Farm, you had better +keep to the road. Or else,' he added, laughing, 'Mr. Ferrers will have +something to say to you.' + +'Well,' said pretty Mary Coventry to herself, as she passed on and into +the road, 'he did not even thank me for all my trouble. And I always +thought sailors were supposed to be nice. But perhaps he is lamenting +some blackamoor sweetheart in Patagonia, and won't take any notice of +anybody.' + +It was about a week after this that Captain Frank, having run up to +town, met a young gentleman in Piccadilly whom he seemed to recognise. +He looked again--yes, it could be no other than Tom Beresford. But it +was Tom Beresford transformed. Mr. Tom was now of age; he had his +club, which he much frequented; he had assumed the air and manner of a +man about town. That is to say, although he was clever enough and had +a sufficient touch of humour, he cultivated a languid stare, and was +chary of speech; and although he was a well-built young fellow, he +walked with his elbows out and his knees in, as if the tightness of his +trousers and his boots made it nigh impossible for him to walk at all. +Moreover, his dress was more rigidly correct than ever; and of course +he carried the inevitable cane--inevitable as the walking-stick of the +Athenian. + +Frank King went up to him eagerly. + +'Hallo, Beresford, how are you?' + +'How are you?' was the answer, as a slight boyish blush somewhat +interfered with the dignity of Mr. Tom. 'How are you? I heard you +were at home again. I heard of you through the Strathernes.' + +'And I heard of you in the same way,' said Captain King, who seemed +greatly pleased to meet an old friend. 'I'll turn and walk with you. +I've nothing particular to do.' + +'Will you come and lunch with me?' said Mr. Tom (he had recovered +himself after the inadvertent blush). 'We can walk along to the club.' + +'Yes, I will; said Frank King, heartily. 'Which is your club?' + +'The Waterloo. They call it that because it isn't in Waterloo Place. +It's in Regent Street.' + +'All right,' said the other; but instantly he began to pursue his +inquiries. 'Yes, I heard of you and your family from the Strathernes. +There have been great changes since I left England. Your eldest sister +is married, is she not?' + +'You mean Moll: yes. They live in town--a small house back there in +Mayfair. He used to be a richer man,' observed Mr. Tom, +contemplatively, 'before he took silk.' + +'But they are going to make him a judge, I hear.' + +'Faith, then, I hope he'll never have to try me,' said Mr. Tom, with an +air of conviction. 'He and I never could hit it off. I hate pompous +people, and people who give themselves airs. Now, I took a liking to +you the first five minutes I saw you.' + +Captain King was dutifully grateful for this condescension. He said he +also hated pompous people--he couldn't bear them. And then he asked +about Tom's sister Edith. + +'She's engaged to be married, isn't she?' + +'It's my belief,' said Mr. Tom, with a smile, 'that she has engaged +herself to both of them, just to make sure; and that she can't make up +her mind which to send off. I don't wonder at her pulling a wry mouth +about having to marry a soda-water manufacturer; but Soda-water isn't +half a bad sort of fellow, and he is fearfully rich. You see he is +particularly beaming just now, for there have been two or three blazing +hot summers running, and the demand must have been tremendous. Then +young Thynne, he's no end of a swell, no doubt; but you may be cousin +to all kinds of earls and dukes without their giving you anything. I +should fancy his father lets him have two or three hundred a year. I +should like to see the Sentimental get along with that! You can't live +on a fellow's ancestry. I think she should take Soda-water, even if he +hasn't got anything like a father to speak of. And even if he hasn't +got a father--this was what Nan said--he might be equally "_sans pere +et sans reproche_."' + +'It was your sister Anne said that, was it?' remarked Frank King, +quickly. + +'That was in her saucy days,' said Mr. Tom, sadly. 'It's quite +different now. Now she's on the pious lay.' + +'The what?' said Frank King. It was clear that, however Mr. Tom had +altered, he had not chosen to improve his manner of speech. + +'Oh, High Church and reredoses,' said the irreverent youth. 'Silver +embroideries, don't you know, and visiting the poor, and catching all +sorts of confounded infection. And then I suppose she'll end by +marrying that curate that's always about the house. What a shame it +is! She used to be such a brick. And to go and marry a curate.' + +'I heard of that, too,' said Captain Frank, with a bit of a sigh. It +was indeed among the first things he had heard after returning to +England. + +By this time they had reached Mr. Tom's club, which was pleasantly +situated at a corner of the great thoroughfare, so that it had from its +coffee-room windows a spacious view, and was altogether a light and +cheerful sort of place. + +'But you don't ask about the Baby,' said Mr. Tom, as he was entering +his friend's name in the strangers' book--the Waterloo being a +hospitable little club that allowed visitors to come in at any hour. +'And the Baby _is_ in a hole.' + +'Well, it must be a sad thing for a baby to be in a hole; but I don't +quite understand,' said Captain King. + +'Don't you remember the Baby? The youngest--Madge?' + +'Oh. Well, I only saw her once, I think. What is the matter with her?' + +'First pick out what you want for lunch, and then I'll tell you.' + +This was easily done; and the two friends sat down at a small +window-table, which enabled them to glance out at the passing crowd, +and even as far as the Duke of York's column and the tops of the trees +in St. James's Park. + +'You see my sisters have all been wards in Chancery. I was also,' said +Mr. Tom, with a slight blush; for he was no more than six months +escaped from tutelage. 'I suppose the executors funked something about +my father's will; at all events, they flung the whole thing in. Well, +no great harm has come of it; not so much cost or worry as you would +expect. Only the girls have had bad times of it about their +sweethearts. I mean the Baby----' + +'The Baby! How old is she?' + +'Eighteen; and uncommonly good-looking, I think. Have some sherry. +Well, the Baby made the acquaintance at somebody's house of a young +fellow--son of a barrister--not a farthing but what he picks up at +pool. I don't think she meant anything--I don't a bit. There's a lot +of that kind of nonsense goes on down there: Nan is the only one who +has kept clear out of it. Well, the guardians didn't see it; and they +went to the Court, and they got the Vice-Chancellor to issue an order +forbidding young Hanbury from having any sort of communication with +Madge. Now, you know, if you play any games with an order of that sort +hanging over you, it's the very devil. It is. Won't you have some +pickles?' + +'And how is Miss Madge affected by the order?' asked Captain King. + +'Oh,' said this garrulous youth, who had entirely forgotten his +cultivated, reticent manner in meeting this old friend, 'she pretends +to be greatly hurt, and thinks it cruel and heart-breaking and all the +rest of it; but that's only her fun, don't you know? She's precious +glad to get out of it, that's my belief; and nobody knew better than +herself he wouldn't do at all. Finished? Come and have a game of +billiards then.' + +They went upstairs to a long, low-roofed apartment, in which were two +tables. They lit cigars, chose their cues, and fell to work. Frank +King had not played half-a-dozen strokes when Mr. Tom said, generously-- + +'I will put you on thirty points.' + +They played five minutes longer. + +'Look here, I will give you another thirty.' + +'Sixty in a hundred?' said King, laughing. 'Well, that is rather a +confession of bad play.' + +'Oh, as for that,' said Mr. Tom, 'I don't see that a naval officer +should be ashamed of playing badly at billiards. He should be proud of +it. I shan't glory in it if I beat you.' + +Mr. Tom was really very friendly. After a couple of games or so he +said-- + +'Look here, it's nearly four o'clock. I am going down to Brighton by +the 4.30. Will you come down and see my mother and the girls? I am +afraid we can't put you up; but you can get a bedroom at the Norfolk or +Prince's; and we dine at eight.' + +Frank King hesitated for a minute or two. Ever since he had come to +England he had had a strange wish to see Nan Beresford, even though he +had heard she was going to be married. He wished to see whether she +had turned out to be what he had predicted to himself; whether she +retained those peculiar distinctions of character and expression and +manner that had so attracted him; somehow he thought he would like just +to shake hands with her for a moment, and see once before him those +clear, blue-gray, shy, humorous eyes. But this proposal was too +sudden. His heart jumped with a quick dismay. He was not prepared. + +Nevertheless, Tom Beresford insisted. Was Captain King staying at a +hotel? No; he had got a bedroom in Cleveland Row. That was the very +thing; they could stop the hansom there on their way to Victoria +Station. The girls would be glad to see him. They had always been +watching his whereabouts abroad, in the Admiralty appointments in the +newspapers. + +At last, with some little unexpressed dread, Frank King consented; and +together they made their way to Victoria Station. + +'You know,' said Mr. Tom, apologetically, in the Pullman, 'I've been +talking a lot about my sisters; but I tell you honestly I don't see any +girls to beat them anywhere. I don't. The Sentimental is rather +stupid, perhaps; but then she scores by her music. Nan's the one for +my money, though. She isn't the prettiest; but set her down at any +dinner table, and you can lay odds on her against the field. I believe +there are a dozen old gentlemen who have got her name in their +will--not that she cares for worldly things any more--it is all +sanctity now. I wish to goodness somebody would----' + +But Mr. Tom had a little discretion. He said no more. + +'I suppose they are all very much changed in appearance,' Frank King +said, thoughtfully. 'I shouldn't be surprised if I scarcely recognised +them.' + +'Oh, yes, they are. And I will confess that Nan has improved in one +way. She isn't as cheeky as she used to be; she's awfully +good-natured--she'd do anything for you. When I get into trouble, I +know Nan will be my sheet-anchor.' + +'Then I hope the cable will hold,' said Frank King. + +They reached Brighton. Tom Beresford found his companion strangely +silent and preoccupied. The fact was that Captain Frank was very +unusually agitated. He hoped she might not be alone. Then he strove +to convince himself that she must be quite altered now. She must be +quite different from the young girl who walked up the Splugen Pass with +him. Then she was scarcely over seventeen; now she was over twenty. +He would see some one he might fail to recognise; not the Nan of former +days; not the Nan that had long ago enchained him with her frank odd +ways, and her true eyes. + +They drove first to a hotel, and secured a bed; then they went to +Brunswick Terrace. When they went upstairs to the drawing-room, they +found it empty. + +'They can't be all out,' said Mr. Tom; 'I'll go and find them.' + +He left; and Captain Frank began to try to quiet down this uncalled-for +perturbation. Why should he fear to see her? The past was over. +Never was any decision given more irrevocably; even if there had been +any question as to an open future, that had been disposed of by the +news that had met him on his return to England. It ought only to be a +pleasure to him to see her. He thought she would welcome him in a kind +way; and he would show her that he quite accepted circumstances as they +were. Only--and this he kept repeating to himself--he must expect to +be disillusionised. Nan would no longer be that former Nan. Some of +the freshness and the young wonder would be gone; she would be eligible +as a friend; that, on the whole, was better. + +Well, the door opened, and he turned quickly, and then his heart +jumped. No; she had not changed at all, he said to himself, as she +advanced towards him with a smile and a frankly extended hand. The +same pleasant eyes, the same graceful, lithe figure, the same soft +voice, as she said-- + +'Oh, how do you do, Captain King?' + +And yet he was bewildered. There was something strange. + +'I--I am very glad to see you again, Miss Anne,' he stammered. + +She looked at him for a moment, puzzled, and then she said, with a +quiet smile,-- + +'Oh, but I'm not Nan. I see you have forgotten me. I'm Madge.' + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +NEW POSSIBILITIES. + +'Many people have told me I am very like what Nan used to be,' +continued Miss Madge, pleasantly. 'And there is a photograph of +her----. Let me see, where is it?' + +She went to a table and opened an album, his eyes following her with +wonder and a vague bewildered delight. For this was a new acquisition +to the world--another Nan, a Nan free from all hateful ties, a Nan not +engaged to be married. Presently she returned with a card in her hand. + +'It was taken at Rome the time Nan went to Italy. That's more than +three years now. I think myself it is like me, though it is rather too +young for me.' + +It was indeed remarkably like this Madge who now stood beside him. But +yet sure enough it was Nan--the Nan that he remembered walking about +the brilliant hot gardens at Bellagio. Here she was standing at a +table, her head bent down, her hand placed on an open book. It was a +pretty attitude, but it hid Nan's eyes. + +'Yes, it would do capitally as a portrait of you,' he said quickly; 'no +wonder I was mistaken. And your sister Edith, has she grown up to be +like your eldest sister in the same way?' + +'Oh no; Edith never was like the rest of us. Edith is dark, you know.' + +Any further discussion of Miss Edith's appearance was stopped by the +entrance of that young lady herself, who was preceded by her mamma. +Lady Beresford received Captain King very kindly, and repeated her +son's invitation that he should dine with them that evening. And had +he seen the Strathernes since his return? And how long did he propose +remaining in Brighton? And which hotel was he staying at? + +The fact is, Captain King was still a little bewildered. He answered +as he best could Lady Beresford's questions, and also replied to some +profound remarks of Miss Edith's concerning the rough weather in the +Channel; but all the time his eyes were inadvertently straying to the +younger girl, who had gone to restore Nan's portrait to its place, and +he was astonished to see how this family likeness could extend even to +the pose of the figure and the motion of the hand. He could almost +have believed now that that was Nan there, only he had been told that +the real Nan--no doubt very much altered--was for the time being +staying with some friends at Lewes. + +In due time he went away to his hotel to dress for dinner--an operation +that was somewhat mechanically performed. He was thinking chiefly of +what Mr. Tom had told him at the Waterloo Club concerning the young +gentleman who had been warned off by the Vice-Chancellor. He had taken +little interest in the story then; now he was anxious to recollect it. +Certainly Miss Madge did not seem to have suffered much from that +separation. + +When he returned to Brunswick Terrace he found that the only other +guest of the evening had arrived, and was in the drawing-room with the +family. From the manner in which this gentleman held himself aloof +from Miss Edith, and did not even speak to her or appear to recognise +her presence, Frank King concluded that he must be Miss Edith's +suitor--no other, indeed, than the person whom Mr. Tom had called +Soda-water. Soda-water, if this were he, was a man of about +five-and-thirty, of middle height, fresh complexioned and of wiry +build, looking more like an M. F. H., in fact, than anything else. His +clothes seemed to fit well, but perhaps that was because he had a good +figure. In the middle of his spacious shirt front shone a large opal, +surrounded with small diamonds. + +Captain King had the honour of taking Lady Beresford down to dinner, +and he sat between her and Miss Madge. It soon became apparent that +there was going to be no lack of conversation. John Roberts, the +soda-water manufacturer, was a man who had a large enjoyment of life, +and liked to let people know it, though without the least ostentation +or pretence on his part. He took it for granted that all his +neighbours must necessarily be as keenly interested as himself in the +horse he had ridden that morning to the meet of the Southdown +foxhounds, and in the run from Henderley Wood through the Buxted covers +to Crowborough village. But then he was not at all bound up in either +foxhounds or harriers. He was as deeply interested as any one present +in the fancy-dress ball of the next week, and knew all the most +striking costumes that were being prepared. No matter what it +was,--old oak, the proposed importation of Chinese servants, port wine, +diamonds, black Wedgwood, hunters, furred driving coats, anything, in +short, that was sensible, and practical, and English, and conduced to +man's solid comfort and welfare in this far too speculative and +visionary world,--he talked about all such things with vigour, +precision, and delight. The substantial, healthy look of him was +something in a room. Joy radiated from him. When you heard him +describe how damsons could best be preserved, you could make sure that +there was a firm and healthy digestion; he was not one of the wretched +creatures who prolong their depressed existence by means of Angostura +bitters, and only wake up to an occasional flicker of life at the +instigation of sour champagne. + +This talk of the joyous Roberts was chiefly addressed to Lady +Beresford, so it gave Frank King plenty of opportunity of making the +acquaintance of Nan's youngest sister. And she seemed anxious to be +very pleasant and kind to him. She wanted to know all about +Kingscourt, and what shooting they had had. She told him how they +passed the day at Brighton, and incidentally mentioned that they +generally walked on the pier in the morning. + +'But you won't be going to-morrow, will you?' he said quickly. + +'Why not?' she said. + +'I am afraid the weather promises to be wild. The wind is south-west, +and freshening. Listen!' + +There was a faint, intermittent, monotonous rumble outside, that told +of the breaking of the sea on the beach. + +'That ground swell generally comes before a storm,' he said. 'I +thought it looked bad as I came along.' + +'Why should you prophesy evil?' she said, petulantly. + +'Oh, well, let us look at the chances on the other side,' he said, with +good-humour. 'The best of Brighton is that there is nothing to catch +and hold the clouds: so, with a fresh southerly wind you may have them +blown away inland, and then you will have breaks of fine weather. And +then the streets dry up quickly in Brighton.' + +'But all that means that it's going to be a wet day,' she said, as if +he were responsible. + +'With breaks, I hope,' he answered, cheerfully. 'And then, you know, +living at Brighton, you ought to be half a sailor--you shouldn't mind a +shower.' + +'Oh, but I do,' she said. 'It's all very well for Nan to get on her +thick boots and her waterproof and go splashing away across ploughed +fields. I wonder what the house would be like if every one went on in +that way, and came home all over mud.' + +However, Madge soon repented of her petulance, and was quite +attentively kind to the new guest, even reproving him for not attending +to his dinner, and letting things pass. + +Dinner over, Mr. Tom took his mother's seat, and somewhat grandly sent +round the wine. As nobody took any, and as starting subjects of +interest was not Mr. Tom's strong point, he suddenly proposed that they +should go into the billiard-room and send for the girls. This was +acceded to at once. + +Now billiards is a game in which a good deal of favour can be shown, in +a more or less open way. Mr. Tom, having no one of sufficient skill to +match himself against, chose to mark, and directed the remaining four +to have a double-handed game. Mr. Roberts immediately declared that +Madge and himself would play Captain King and Miss Edith. This was +assented to in silence, though Madge did not look well pleased, and the +game began. + +Very soon Mr. Tom said-- + +'What's the matter with you, Madge? Are you playing dark? Have you +got money on?' + +Frank King followed Madge, and it was most extraordinary how she was +always missing by a hairsbreadth, and leaving balls over pockets. + +'What do you mean, Madge?' Mr. Tom protested. 'Why didn't you put the +white ball in and go into baulk?' + +'I don't play Whitechapel,' said Madge, proudly. + +Frank King and his partner seemed to be getting on very well; somehow, +Madge and the joyous Roberts did not score. + +'Look here,' said Mr. Tom, addressing the company at large after she +had missed an easy shot, 'she's only humbugging; she's a first-rate +player; she could give any one of you thirty in a hundred and make you +wish you had never been born. I say it's all humbug; she's a +first-rate player. Why, she once beat me, playing even!' + +But even this protest did not hinder Frank King and Edith coming out +triumphant winners; and Madge did not seem at all depressed by her +defeat, though she said apologetically to Mr. Roberts that one could +not play one's best always. + +Mr. Tom perceived that this would not do, so he fell back on pool +(penny and sixpenny), so that each should fight for his own hand. He +himself took a ball, but, being strong and also magnanimous, would have +no more than two lives. + +Here, however, a strange thing happened. Frank King's ball was yellow, +Madge's green, Mr. Tom's brown. Now, by some mysterious process, that +yellow ball was always in a commanding position near the middle of the +table, while, when Mr. Tom came to play, the green ball was as +invariably under a cushion. + +'Well, you are a sniggler, Madge,' said her brother, becoming very +angry. 'You play for not a single thing but the cushion. I didn't +think you cared so much for twopence-halfpenny in coppers.' + +'How can I play out when you follow?' said Madge; but even that +flattery of his skill was unavailing. + +'Wait a bit,' said he; 'I'll catch you. You can't always sniggle +successfully. Even Roberts himself--I beg your pardon Mr. Roberts, it +was the other Roberts I meant--couldn't always get under the cushion. +Wait a bit.' + +There was no doubt that Madge was a most provoking and persistent +sniggler. She would play for nothing, and the consequence was that +Frank King, to his own intense astonishment, found himself possessed of +his original three lives, while everybody else's lives were slowly +dwindling down. She played with such judgment, indeed, that Mr. Tom at +length got seriously angry, and began to hit wildly at the green ball +in the savage hope of fluking it, the inevitable result being that he +ran in himself twice, and departed from the game, and from the room +too, saying he was going to smoke a cigar. + +Then these four diverged into various varieties of the game, in all of +which Madge was Frank King's champion and instructress; and he was very +grateful to her, and tried to do his best, though he was chiefly +engaged in thinking that her clear blue-gray eyes were so singularly +like Nan's eyes. Indeed, Madge had now to put forth all her skill, for +he and she were playing partners against the other two, and it was but +little help she got from him. + +'I am very sorry,' he said to her, after making a fearfully bad shot. +'I ought to apologise.' + +'At all events, don't always leave the red ball over a pocket,' she +said, sharply; but that may have been less temper than an evidence that +she was really in earnest about the game. + +Moreover, they came out victors after all, and she was greatly pleased; +and she modestly disclaimed what he said about her having done all the +scoring, and said she thought he played very well considering how few +opportunities he must have had of practising. As she said so--looking +frankly towards him--he thought that was just the way Nan would have +spoken. The pleasant and refined expression of the mouth was just the +same, and there was the same careless grace of the fair hair that +escaped from its bonds in fascinating tangles. He thought her face was +a little less freckled than Nan's--perhaps she did not brave the +sunlight and the sea air so much. + +The evening passed with a wonderful rapidity; when Mr. Tom came back +again into the room, followed by a servant bringing seltzer-water and +things, they found it was nearly eleven. + +'I must bid your mamma good-night and be off,' said Frank King to Madge. + +'Oh,' she said, 'it is unnecessary; mamma goes to her room early. She +will make her excuses to you to-morrow.' + +In an instant the pale, pretty face had flushed up. + +'I mean when you call again, if you are not going back to London at +once,' she stammered. + +'Oh no,' he said quite eagerly, 'I am not going back to London at once; +I may stay here some little time. And, of course, I shall call and see +your mamma again if I may--perhaps to-morrow.' + +'Then we may see you again,' she said pleasantly, as she offered him +her hand. 'Good-night; Edith and I will leave you to your billiards +and cigars. And I hope your prophecies are not going to interfere with +our morning walk to-morrow. When there is a heavy sea coming in you +see it very well from the New Pier. Good-night.' + +Miss Madge went upstairs to her room, but instead of composing her mind +to sleep, she took out writing materials and wrote this letter: + +'Dear old Mother Nan--You won't guess who is below at this moment--11 +p.m.--playing billiards with Tom and Mr. Roberts. Captain King. If I +were he I would call myself Holford King, for that sounds better. +Edith says he is greatly improved, and she always said he was +nice-looking. I think he is improved. He was not in uniform, of +course, which was a pity, for I remember him before; but at all events +he wore neat, plain gold studs, and not a great big diamond or opal. I +can't bear men wearing jewels like that; why don't they wear a string +of pearls round their neck? I have been in such a fright. H. sent me +a letter--not in his own handwriting. Isn't it silly? I don't want my +name in the papers. Tom says they will put him in prison "like +winking" if he is not careful. It is stupid; and of course I shall not +answer it, or have anything to do with him. Mr. Roberts dined here +this evening. I think he has too much to say for himself. I like +quiet and gentlemanly men. Captain King and his party got 135 +pheasants last Thursday, to say nothing of hares and rabbits; so I +suppose they have good shooting. I wish they would ask Tom. _C. J._ +has disappeared from Brighton, so far as I can make out; and I beleive +(_sic_) he is haunting the neighbourhood of Lewes, looking out for a +certain old Mother Hubbard. Happily he has got nothing to fear from +the Chancery people: I suppose they daren't interfere with the Church. +My sealskin coat has come back; it is beautiful now, and I have got a +hat and feather exactly the same colour as my Indian red skirt, so I +think they will go very well together. The sealskin looks blacker than +it was. The sea is rough to-night, but I hope to get down the Pier +to-morrow morning. Brighton is fearfully crowded just now, and you +should come away from that sleepy old Lewes, and have a look at your +friends. Good-night, dear Nan. MADGE.' + +CHAPTER XIII. + +ORMUZD AND AHRIMAN. + +The woman is not born who can quite forget the man who has once asked +her to become his wife, even though at the moment she may have rejected +the offer without a thought of hesitation. Life with her, as with all +of us, is so much a matter of experiment, and so rarely turns out to be +what one anticipated, that even when she is married, and surrounded +with children, husband, and friends, she cannot but at times bethink +herself of that proposal, and wonder what would have happened if she +had accepted it. Would her own life have been fuller, happier, less +occupied with trivial and sordid cares? Would he have become as great +and famous if she had married him, and hampered him with early ties? +Might not she--supposing things to have gone the other way--have saved +him from utter ruin, and have given him courage and hope? After all, +there is nothing more important in the world than human happiness; and +as the simple 'Yes' or 'No' of maidenhood may decide the happiness of +not one but two lives, that is why it is a matter of universal interest +in song and story; and that is why quite elderly people, removed by +half a century from such frivolities themselves, but nevertheless +possessed of memory and a little imagination, and still conscious that +life has been throughout a puzzle and a game of chance, and that even +in their case it might have turned out very differently, find +themselves awaiting with a strange curiosity and anxiety the decision +of some child of seventeen, knowing no more of the world than a baby +dormouse. + +On the other hand, the woman who does not marry is still less likely to +forget such an offer. Here, plainly enough, was a turning-point in her +life; what has happened since she owes to her decision then. And as an +unmarried life is naturally and necessarily an unfulfilled life, where +no great duty or purpose steps in to stop the gap, it is but little +wonder if in moments of disquietude or unrest the mind should travel +away in strange speculations, and if the memory of a particular person +should be kept very green indeed. Nan Beresford, at the age of twenty, +would have been greatly shocked if you had told her that during the +past three years she had been almost continually thinking about the +young sailor whom she had rejected at Bellagio. Had she not been most +explicit--even eagerly explicit? Had she not experienced an +extraordinary sense of relief when he was well away from the place, and +when she could prove to herself in close self-examination that she was +in no way to blame for what had occurred? She was a little sorry for +him, it is true; but she could not believe that it was a very serious +matter. He would soon forget that idle dream in the brisk realities of +his profession, and he would show that he was not like those other +young men who came fluttering round her sisters with their simmering +sentimentalities and vain flirtations. Above all, she had been +explicit. That episode was over and closed. It was attached to +Bellagio; leaving Bellagio, they would leave it also behind. And she +was glad to get away from Bellagio. + +Yes; Nan would have been greatly shocked if you had told her that +during these three years she had been frequently thinking of Frank +King--except, of course, in the way any one may think of an officer in +Her Majesty's Navy, whose name sometimes appears in the Admiralty +appointments in the newspapers. Her mind was set on far other and +higher things. It was the churches and pictures of Italy that began +it--the frescoes in the cloisters, the patient sculpture, telling of +the devotion of lives, even the patient needlework on the altars. She +seemed to breathe the atmosphere of an Age of Faith. And when, after a +long period of delightful reverie abroad, and mystical enjoyment of +music and architecture and painting, all combining to place their +noblest gifts at the service of religion, she returned to her familiar +home in Brighton, some vague desire still remained her heart that she +might be able to make something beautiful of her life, something less +selfish and worldly than the lives of most she saw around her. And it +so happened that among her friends those who seemed to her most earnest +in their faith and most ready to help the poor and the suffering--those +who had the highest ideals of existence and strove faithfully to reach +these--were mainly among the High Church folk. Insensibly she drew +nearer and nearer to them. She took no interest at all in any of the +controversies then raging about the position of the Ritualists in the +Church of England; it was persons, not principles, that claimed her +regard; and when she saw that So-and-so and So-and-so in her own small +circle of friends were living, or striving to live, pure and noble and +self-sacrificing lives, she threw in her lot with them, and she was +warmly welcomed. For Nan was popular in a way. All that acerbity of +her younger years had now ripened into a sort of sweet and tolerant +good-humour. Tom Beresford called her a Papist, and angrily told her +to give up 'that incense-dodge;' but he was very fond of her all the +same, and honoured her alone with his confidence, and would have no one +say any ill of her. Nay, for her sake he consented to be civil to the +Rev. Mr. Jacomb. + +Of Charles Jacomb it needs only be said at present that he had recently +been transferred to an extremely High Church at Brighton from an +equally High Church in a large, populous, and poor parish in the +south-east of London, where the semi-Catholic services had succeeded in +attracting a considerable number of people, who otherwise would +probably have gone to no church at all. It was his description of his +work in this neighbourhood that had won for him the respect and warm +esteem of Nan Beresford. The work was hard. The services were almost +continuous; there was a great deal of visitation to be got through; in +these labours he naturally ran against cases of distress that no human +being could withstand; and he had 60 pounds a year. Moreover, there +were no delicate compensations such as attend the labours of curates in +some more favoured places. There was not--Mr. Jacomb emphatically +remarked--there was not a gentleman in the parish. When he went to +Brighton he had considerably less work, and a great deal more of +dinners and society, and pleasant attentions. And Mr. Jacomb, while he +was a devoted, earnest, and hard-working priest, was also an +Englishman, and liked his dinner, and that was how he became acquainted +with the Beresfords, and gradually grew to be an intimate friend of the +family. His attentions to Nan were marked, and she knew it. She knew, +although he had said nothing to her about it, that he wished her to be +his wife; and though she would rather have been enabled to devote her +life to some good end in some other way, was not this the only way open +to her? By herself, she was so helpless to do anything. So many of +her friends seemed to cultivate religion as a higher species of +emotion--a sort of luxurious satisfaction that ended with themselves. +Nan wanted to do something. If Mr. Jacomb had still been in the +south-east of London, working on his 60 pounds a year, Nan would have +had no doubt as to what she ought to do. + +But Nan had very serious doubt; more than that, she sometimes broke +down, and delivered herself over to the devil. At such times a strange +yearning would take possession of her; the atmosphere of exalted +religious emotion in which she lived would begin to feel stifling; at +all costs, she would have to get out of this hot-house, and gain a +breath of brisk sea air. And then she would steal away like a guilty +thing on one of her long land cruises along the coast; and she would +patiently talk to the old shepherds on the downs, and wait for their +laconic answers; and she would make observations to the coastguardsmen +about the weather; and always her eyes, which were very clear and +long-sighted, were on the outlook for Singing Sal. Then if by some +rare and happy chance she did run across that free-and-easy vagrant, +they always had a long chat together--Sal very respectful, the young +lady very matter-of-fact; and generally the talk came round to be about +sailors. Nan Beresford had got to know the rig of every vessel that +sailed the sea. Further than that, she herself was unaware that every +morning as she opened the newspaper she inadvertently turned first of +all to the 'Naval and Military Intelligence,' until + +she had acquired an extraordinary knowledge of the goings and comings +and foreign stations of Her Majesty's ships. And if she sometimes +reflected that most officers were transferred to home stations for a +time, or took their leave in the ordinary way, and also that she had +never heard of Captain King--for she saw he had been made Commander on +account of some special service--being in England, was it not natural +that she might have a secret consciousness that she was perhaps +responsible for his long banishment? + +But these solitary prowls along the coast, and these conferences with +Singing Sal, were wrong; and she knew they were wrong; and she went +back to the calmer atmosphere of those beautiful services in which the +commonplace, vulgar world outside was forgotten. She grew, indeed, to +have a mysterious feeling that to her the Rev. Charles Jacomb +personified religion, and that Singing Sal, in like manner, was a sort +of high priestess of Nature; and that they were in deadly antagonism. +They were Ormuzd and Ahriman. She was a strangely fanciful young +woman, and she dwelt much on this thing, until, half fearing certain +untoward doubts and promptings of her heart, she began to think that if +now and at once Mr. Jacomb would only ask her to be his wife, she would +avoid all perils and confusions by directly accepting him, and so +decide her future for ever. + +But that morning that brought her Madge's letter saying that Captain +Frank King was in Brighton, Nan was singularly disturbed. She was +staying with the Rev. Mr. Clark and his wife--an old couple who liked +to have their house brightened occasionally by the presence of some one +of younger years. They were good people--very, very good; and a little +tedious. Nan, however, was allowed considerable liberty, and was +sometimes away the whole day from breakfast-time till dinner. + +Madge had written her letter in a hurry; but did not post it, in her +inconsequential fashion, until the afternoon of the next day, so that +Nan got it on the morning of the following day. She read and re-read +it; and then, somehow, she wanted to think about it in the open--under +the wide skies, near the wide sea. She wanted to go out--and think. +And she was a little bit terrified to find that her heart was beating +fast. + +She made some excuse or other after breakfast, and departed. It was a +clear, beautiful December morning, the sun shining brilliantly on the +evergreens and on the red houses of the bright, clean, picturesque, +English-looking old town. She went down to the station, and waited for +the first train going to Newhaven. When it came in, she took her +place, and away the train went, at no breakneck speed, down the wide +valley of the Ouse, which, even on this cold December morning, looked +pleasant and cheerful enough. For here and there the river caught a +steely-blue light from the sky overhead; and the sunshine shone along +the round chalk hills; and there were little patches of villages far +away among the dusk of the leafless trees, where the church spire +rising into the blue seemed to attract the wheeling of pigeons. To Nan +it was all a familiar scene; she frequently spent the day in this +fashion. + +Nan was now three years older than when we last saw her at Bellagio. +Perhaps she had not grown much prettier--and she never had great +pretensions that way; but along with the angularity, so to speak, of +her ways of thinking, she had also lost the boniness of her figure. +She was now more fully formed, though her figure was still slender and +graceful; and she had acquired a grave and sweet expression, that spoke +of a very kindly, humorous, tolerant nature within. Children came to +her readily; and she let them pull her hair. She was incapable of a +harsh judgment. The world seemed beautiful to her; and she enjoyed +living--especially when she was on the high downs overlooking the sea. + +This getting out into the open was on this occasion a great relief to +her. She argued with herself. What did it matter to her whether Frank +King were in Brighton, or even that he had been at the house in +Brunswick Terrace, dining, and playing billiards? He had probably +forgotten that ever he had been at Bellagio. She was glad the weather +was fine. No doubt her sisters would soon be setting out for their +morning stroll down the pier. + +Nan had taken her ticket for Newhaven Wharf, with a vague intention of +walking from thence by the short cut to Seaford, and from Seaford to +Alfriston, and so back to Lewes. However, when the train stopped she +thought she would have a look at the harbour, and very pretty and +bright and busy it appeared on this clear morning; the brass and copper +of the steamers all polished up, flags flying, the sun brilliant on the +green water of the estuary and on the blue water of the ponds beyond +that were ruffled with the wind. Then, just below her, came in the +ferry-boat. She thought she would cross (though that was not the way +to Seaford). When she got to the other side, the slopes leading up to +the fort seemed temptingly high; she knew that from the summit of the +downs this morning one would have a splendid view. And so, perhaps +from mere habit, she took the old familiar road--past the coastguard +station, past the pools of ruffled water, up the valley by the +farmstead, and so on to the high and solitary downs overlooking the +wide moving, shining sea. + +Brighton ought to be fair and beautiful on such a morning as this; +perhaps by-and-by she might come to have a glimpse of the pale yellow +terraces of the distant town. No doubt by this time Edith and Madge +were on the pier--Madge with her red skirt and black sealskin coat. +Madge always dressed smartly--perhaps even a trifle boldly. The band +would be playing now. In the sheltered places it would be almost warm; +there you could sit down and talk and watch the ships go by. She +supposed that in course of time they would go back for luncheon. That +was always a merry meal at home. They generally had visitors whom they +had met casually--on the pier, or in the King's Road. + +So Nan was thinking and dreaming as she walked idly along, when her +attention was suddenly arrested by a sound as of music. She looked +round; there was no human being in sight; and the telegraph wires, +which sometimes deceived the ear, were far too far away. Then as she +went on again, she discovered whence the sound proceeded--from a little +wooden hut facing the sea, which had probably been erected there as a +shelter for the coastguardsmen. As she drew nearer, she recognised the +staccato twanging of a guitar; so she made sure this was Singing Sal. +She drew nearer still--her footsteps unheard on the smooth turf--and +then she discovered that Sal was singing away to herself, not for +amusement, as was her wont, but for practice. There were continual +repetitions. Nan got quite close to the hut, and listened. + +Singing Sal was doing her very best. She was singing with very great +effect; and she had a hard, clear voice that could make itself heard, +if it was not of very fine quality. But what struck Nan was the clever +fashion in which this woman was imitating the Newcastle burr. It was a +pitman's song, with a refrain something like this-- + + _Ho thy way_,[1] my bonnie bairn, + _Ho thy way_, upon my airm, + _Ho thy way_, thou still may learn + To say Dada sae bonnie. + +It was very clear that Sal was proud of her performance; and she had a +good right to be, for she had caught the guttural accent to perfection. +For the rest it was an instructive song to be sung as a lullaby to a +child; for this was what Nan more or less made out amid the various +experiments and repetitions:-- + + Oh, Johnnie is a clever lad; + Last neet he fuddled all he had; + This morn he wasna very bad; + He looked the best of ony! + + When Johnnie's drunk he'll tak a knife, + And threaten sair to hae my life: + Wha wadna be a pitman's wife, + To hae a lad like Johnnie! + + Yonder's Johnnie coming noo; + He looks the best of a' the crew! + They've all gone to the barley moo, + To hae a glass wi' Johnny. + + So let's go get the bacon fried, + And let us mak a clean fireside, + And when he comes he will thee ride + Upon his knee sae cannie. + + _Ho thy way_, my bonnie bairn, + _Ho thy way_, upon my airm, + _Ho thy way_, thou still may learn + To say Dada sae bonnie! + +But this was likely to go on for ever; so Nan quietly stepped round to +the door of the hut, where she found Singing Sal sitting on the little +cross bench, entirely occupied with her guitar and the new song. When +she looked up, on finding the door darkened, she did not scream; her +nerves were not excitable. + +'Oh, dear me, is it you, Miss?' she said. 'No wonder I did not hear +ye; for I was making enough noise myself. I hope you are very well, +Miss; it is many a day since I have seen you on the downs.' + +'I have been living in Lewes for some time,' said Nan. 'I have been +listening to the song you were singing. That is not the kind of song +that sailors like, is it?' + +So they had begun about sailors again; and the good genius Ormuzd was +clean forgotten. + + + +[1] A corruption, I am told, of 'haud thy way'--'hold on thy way.' The +song is a common one in the North of England. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +AT HOME. + +All that night, as Frank King had feared, a heavy gale from the +south-west raged furiously; the wind shaking the houses with violent +gusts; the sea thundering along the beach. But in the morning, when +Brighton awoke, it found that the worst of the storm had passed over, +leaving only a disturbed and dangerous look about the elements, and +also a singular clearness in the air, so that the low hard colours of +water and land and sky were strangely intense and vivid. Near the +shore the sea had been beaten into a muddy brown; then that melted into +a cold green farther out; and that again deepened and deepened until it +was lost in a narrow line of ominous purple, black just where the sea +met the vague and vaporous gray sky. In fact, at this moment, the +seaward view from any Brighton window resembled nothing so much as an +attempt at water-colour that a schoolgirl has got into a hopeless mess +through washing and washing away at her skies, until she has got her +heaviest colour smudged over the horizon-line. + +But then that was only temporary. Every few minutes another change +would steal over this strange, shifting, clear, dark world. Sometimes +a long streak of sunny green--as sharp as the edge of a knife--far out +at sea told that there was some unseen rift declaring itself overhead +in that watery sky. Then a pale grayness would come up from the +south-west and slowly cover over Worthing as with a veil; and then +again that could be seen to go trailing away inland, and the long spur +beyond the bay appear blacker than ever. Sometimes too, as if in +contrast with all these cold hard tones and colours, a wonder of light +would slowly concentrate on the far cliffs in the east, until Seaford +Head became a mass of glorified golden white, hung apparently between +sea and sky. Altogether, it was not a day to tempt fashionable folk to +go out for their accustomed promenade; and assuredly it was not a day, +supposing them bent on going out, to suggest that they should be too +elaborate about their costume. + +Nevertheless, when Miss Madge Beresford came into the billiard-room, +where her brother was patiently practising the spot stroke, her +appearance seemed to produce a great effect. + +'Well, we _have_ got on a swagger dress this time!' cried Mr. Tom, who, +though he had never been to Oxford, was a genuine free-trader in slang, +and was ready to import it from anywhere. + +He stared at her--at her dark Indian-red hat and skirt, and her long +tight-fitting black sealskin coat--and she bore the scrutiny patiently. + +'You are not going out on a morning like this?' he said, at length. + +'There is no rain now; and the streets are quite dry,' pleaded Madge. +'I know it's going to be fine.' + +'It's no use, Baby. There won't be a soul to admire your new dress. +Better go and finish those slippers for me.' + +He proceeded with his billiards. + +'Won't you come, Tom?' she said. 'I went to the bazaar with you, when +you wanted to see Kate Harman.' + +'Wanted to see Kate Harman?' he said, contemptuously. 'Couldn't +anybody see Kate Harman who paid half-a-crown at the door?' + +'But I took you up and introduced you to her.' + +'Introduced me to her! What introduction do you need at a stall at a +bazaar, except to pay a couple of sovereigns for a shilling's worth of +scent? Who told you I wanted to speak to Kate Harman? I'll tell you +what it is, Baby; it's very unladylike to impute motives.' + +'I never did anything of the kind,' said his sister, hotly. 'Never.' + +She did not quite understand what accusation had been brought against +her; but she did not like the sound of the word 'unladylike.' + +'Very well,' said he, laying down his cue, 'since you say I am +incapable of speaking the truth, I suppose I must go and walk up and +down the pier with you. There's one thing sure: I shan't be stared at.' + +So he went and got his hat and cane and gloves, and when he had +buttoned himself all over into the smallest possible compass, he called +for his sister, and together they went out into the gusty, clear, +sea-scented morning. + +They had the spacious thoroughfare nearly to themselves, though the +pavements were fairly dry now. For the day was wild-looking still, the +occasional gleam of sunlight was spectral and watery, and a black +shadow melting into a soft gray told of showers falling far away at +sea. At a great many drawing-room windows, coffee-room windows, club +windows, were people standing, their hands behind their back, +apparently uncertain whether or not to venture out. And no doubt some +of these, remarking Tom and Madge Beresford pass, must have thought +they formed a very handsome couple--the tall, well-built young fellow +who looked three-and-twenty, though he was not so much, and the pretty +girl of eighteen who also had a good figure and walked well. Their +features were much alike too; most would have guessed them to be +brother and sister. + +'I observe,' remarked Mr. Tom, profoundly, as he gazed with admiration +at his own boots, 'that when I come out with you, Baby, I have to do +all the talking. When I go out with Nan, now, she does it all and I am +amused. It isn't that I am selfish; but a girl come to your time of +life--a woman indeed--ought to cultivate the art of amusing people. +There is a want of originality about you----' + +'There is a want of politeness about you,' said Miss Madge, calmly. + +'There is not that flow of ideas that helps one to pass the time. Now +that ought to be the business of women. Men who have the hard work of +the world to get through require to be entertained, and women should +make a study of it, and learn to be amusing----' + +'You won't talk like that to your rich widow,' said his sister, 'when +you have to go to her for a cheque.' + +'Now, there's what I would call a sort of vacuity in your mind,' he +continued, bending his cane from time to time on the pavement, 'that +might be filled up with something. You might read the newspapers. You +might get to know that a Conservative Government and a Liberal +Government are not in office at the same time--not generally, at least.' + +'Tom,' she said, 'do you think you could get Captain King to come to +the Hunt ball?' + +He glanced at her suspiciously. + +'Captain King?' said he. 'How do you know I am going to see Captain +King again? How do you know that he did not go back to town this +morning?' + +'Because,' she answered, with her eyes fixed on some distant object, +'because I can see him on the pier.' + +Tom Beresford had a quick, dark suspicion that he had been made a fool +of, even while he was lecturing his sister on her ignorance; but he was +not going to admit anything of the kind. + +'Yes,' he said, carelessly, 'I fancy that is King coming along. I hope +he won't be gone before we get there; I want him to tell me where he +gets his boots. Mine aren't bad, you know,' he said, glancing +approvingly at these important objects, 'but there's a style about his +that I rather fancy.' + +'Don't forget about the ball, Tom,' said his sister; 'it would be very +nice if we could get up a little party amongst ourselves.' + +But Tom, as he walked along, continued to glance down at his glazed +boots in a thoughtful and preoccupied manner; it was clear that his +mind was charged concerning them. + +Frank King was on the pier, and very few others besides, except the +musicians in their box. He threw away a cigar, and came forward +quickly. His face expressed much pleasure, though he regarded Madge +Beresford with something of timidity. + +'I was afraid you would not venture out on such a morning,' he said, +looking at the clear blue-gray eyes that were immediately turned away. + +Her manner was civil, but that was all. She shook hands with him, of +course, and regarded him for half a second; but then she turned aside +somewhat, so that he and Tom might talk together. For he was Mr. Tom's +friend, and no doubt they might have something to say to each other +about boots or cigars, or such things. + +However, the three of them very soon found themselves walking together, +up towards the end of the empty pier, and Tom was in an amazingly good +humour, and did his best to amuse this new friend. They sat down where +they were sheltered from the gusts of wind, and listened a little to +the music, and talked a great deal--though Madge chiefly listened. +Madge pretended to be mostly interested in the music, and in the few +more people who had now been tempted to come down the pier; but she +knew that while her brother and Captain King were very busy talking, +the latter was very frequently regarding her. What she did not know +was that he was trying to make himself believe that that was Nan who +was sitting there. + +Then they went for a stroll again, and they looked at the kiosques, and +they took refuge from a few passing drops of rain; and they hurried to +see a heavy fishing-smack go by the end of the pier, beating out +against the south-westerly wind. And although Frank King again and +again addressed her, as was demanded of him, she did not enter much +into conversation with him. He was Tom's friend, she let it be +understood. Nevertheless, she met his eyes once or twice, and she had +a pleasant and amiable look. + +She began to think that there must be something very striking and +attractive about this young sailor, when even her brother Tom--who +seemed to consider that the whole world should wait upon his +highness--so clearly went out of his way to make himself agreeable. +Not only that, but when they had had enough of the pier, and had taken +a stroll or two along the King's Road, bringing the time to nearly one +o'clock, what must Mr. Tom do but insist that Frank King should come in +and lunch with them? + +'Well, I will,' said he, 'if you will dine with me at the hotel in the +evening. Dining by yourself at a hotel is not exhilarating.' + +'But you'd far better dine with us too,' said Mr. Tom, boldly. + +'Oh, I can't do that,' said Frank King--but with a slight increase of +colour, which showed that he wished he could. 'Even as it is, I am +afraid Lady Beresford will think it rather cool if I turn up again now.' + +'Oh, you don't know what Brighton is at this time of year,' said Mr. +Tom. 'All the resident people like ourselves keep open house, don't +you know? and very glad to. We never know how many are coming in to +lunch; but then they put up with anything; and it's great fun; it's an +occupation for idle people. Then, when you've got a billiard-table, +they can turn to that on wet days. Or Edith can give them some music; +they say she's rather a swell at it. You see, everybody is in Brighton +in December, with friends or in hotels; and, as I say, it's a case of +open house and take your chance.' + +'We are more formal, and a little duller, in Wiltshire,' said Frank +King. 'I wish you'd come to Kingscourt for a few days. We haven't +shot the best of the covers yet.' + +Those who thought that Tom Beresford was a foolish youth knew nothing +about him. Without a hum or a ha he said-- + +'Yes, I will. When?' + +'I'm going back for Christmas. Of course you'll have to stay here with +your sisters. As soon after that as you can manage.' + +'I could come to you on the 27th or 28th.' + +'That's settled then. I will write and let you know about trains and +things.' + +As luck, good or ill, would have it, there was no other visitor at +lunch; the party consisting of Lady Beresford, her two daughters, Mr. +Tom, and Captain Frank King. But Mr. Tom was in high spirits over this +prospective visit to Kingscourt, and was most amiable to everybody and +everything; he even said that he himself would go through to Lewes and +fetch Nan home for Christmas. + +Now this was odd: that, whenever Nan's name was mentioned, Frank King +always glanced up with a quick look, as if he were surprised. Was he +beginning to believe, then, as he had tried to make himself believe, +that this was the real Nan Beresford now on the other side of the +table? Was he surprised to be reminded of the other Nan far away--and +now no doubt greatly altered from her former self? Madge Beresford was +aware that her neighbour opposite regarded her very frequently--and she +pretended not to be conscious of it; but once or twice when she looked +up and her eyes met his, she thought there was an oddly wistful or even +puzzled expression in those dark blue eyes that Edith was always +talking about. + +After luncheon Lady Beresford retired to her room, as was her wont; the +two young ladies went upstairs to the drawing-room, and Captain King +accompanied them, for Madge had asked him to advise her about the +rigging of some boats she had been sketching. Mr. Tom remained below +to practise the spot stroke. + +In the drawing-room Miss Edith hoped that her playing a little would +not interfere with their artistic pursuits; and Madge went and got her +sketch-book and water-colours, and carried them to a small table at one +of the windows, and sat down. Captain King remained standing. + +The sketches, to tell the truth, were as bad as bad could be. They +were all experimental things, done out of her own head, aiming at a +land of the beautiful, unknown to anybody on earth but the +chromo-lithographer. The actual sea was out there, staring her in the +face, and there were boats on the beach and boats on the water; but +instead of trying her hand at anything before her, she must needs +imagine lovely pictures, mostly of blue and pink, with goats perched on +brown crags, and an ill-drawn eagle soaring over an Alpine peak. There +were, however, one or two sketches of mist or moonlight or thunderstorm +that had certainly a weird and eerie effect; but it was not necessary +to tell the spectator that these had been got in moments of impatience +when, after laborious trials at brilliant-hued scenes, the angry artist +had taken up a big brush and washed the whole thing into +chaos--thereby, to her astonishment, reaching something, she did not +know exactly what, that was at all events mysterious and harmonious in +tone. + +But it was the shipping about which she had sought his advice. The +little white dots on blue lakes that were supposed to be feluccas or +barchettas he passed; but when it came to a big sailing-boat lying on a +beach, and that beach presumably Cornish, from the colour of the rocks, +he made a civil and even timid remonstrance. + +'I don't think I would have the mast quite in the middle of the boat, +if I were you,' said he, gently. + +'I thought it always was,' she said--and yet if she had gone to the +window she might have seen. + +'If it is a lugger, you see,' he continued, giving her all sorts of +chances of escape, 'the mast would be at the bow. And if it is a +cutter, you would still have to put the mast farther forward, and give +her a boom and a bowsprit. Or if it is a yawl, then you would have a +little jigger-mast astern--about there----' + +'Oh, I can't be expected to know things like that,' she said. +'Scientific accuracy isn't wanted. They're only sketches.' + +'Yes; oh yes,' he said. + +'Won't that boat do?' she demanded. + +'Oh yes, it will do,' he said, fearful of offending her. 'It isn't +exactly where they put masts, you know; but then few people know about +boats or care about them.' + +She was not very well pleased; but she continued to show him more +sketches, until Mr. Tom came up to see when they were coming to +billiards. + +'I shouldn't have shown you these at all,' she said, 'I don't take +interest in them myself. I would far rather draw and paint flowers; +but we never have any flowers now except those waxen-looking heaths and +that flaming pointsettia over there.' + +'What did you call it, Madge?' said Mr. Tom. + +'I called it pointsettia,' she said, with dignity. + +'Gamekeeper's Greek, I should say,' he remarked, with his hands in his +pockets. 'A cross between a pointer and a setter. You shouldn't use +long words, Madge. Come along down.' + +But this mention of flowers put a new idea into the head of Captain +Frank King. That very morning he had passed a window where he had seen +all sorts of beautiful blossoms, many of them lying in cotton +wool--pink and white camellias, white hyacinths, scarlet geraniums, +lilies of the valley, and what not. Now might he not be permitted to +send Miss Margaret a selection of these rare blossoms--not as a formal +bouquet at all, but merely for the purposes of painting? They would +simply be materials for an artist; and they would look well in a pretty +basket, on a soft cushion of wool. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +A MESSAGE. + +Frank King could never exactly define what peculiarities of mind, or +person, or manner it was that had so singularly attracted him in Nan +Beresford, though he had spent many a meditative hour on board ship in +thinking about her. In any case, that boyish fancy was one that a few +years' absence might very well have been expected to cure. But the +very opposite had happened. Perhaps it was the mere hopelessness of +the thing that made him brood the more over it, until it took +possession of his life altogether. He kept resolutely abroad, so that +he had but few chances of falling in love with somebody else, which is +the usual remedy in such cases. When at length he was summoned home, +about the first news that reached him was of Nan's contemplated +marriage. He was not surprised. And when he consented to go down to +Brighton with her brother, it was that he might have just one more +glimpse of one whom he always had known was lost to him. He had +nothing to reproach her or himself with. It was all a misfortune, and +nothing more. But his life had been changed for him by that mere +boyish fancy. + +Then came that wonderful new hope. Nan was away; Nan was impossible; +but here was the very counterpart of Nan; and why should he not +transfer all that lingering love and admiration from the one sister to +the other who so closely resembled her? It was the prompting of +despair as much as anything else. He argued with himself. He tried to +make himself believe that this was really Nan--only grown a year or so +older than the Nan whom he had last seen at Como. Of course there must +be differences; people changed with the changing years. Sometimes he +turned away, so that he might only hear her; and her voice was like +Nan's. + +Now, if Frank King was busy persuading himself that this transference +of affection was not only natural and possible, but indeed the easiest +and simplest thing in the world, it must be admitted that he obtained +every help and encouragement from Madge Beresford herself. She was +more than kind to him; she was attentive; she professed great respect +for his opinions; and she did her best to conceal--or rather let us say +subdue--her bad temper. And they were very much together during these +two or three days. Frank King, being on such intimate terms of +friendship with Mr. Tom, had almost become an inmate of the house. His +being carried off to lunch, when they met him in the rooming, was a +matter of course. Then he watched Madge paint, and listened to Edith's +music; or they all went downstairs and played billiards, and by that +time it was the hour for the afternoon promenade. It was no matter to +them that December afternoons are short, and sometimes cold; one's +health must be preserved despite the weather; and then again, Brighton +looked very picturesque in the gathering dusk, with the long rows of +her golden lamps. To observe this properly, however, you ought to go +out on the pier; and although at that hour at that time of the year +there is not a human being to be found there, that need not interfere +with your appreciation of the golden-lit spectacle. + +Moreover, Mr. Tom was a tyrant. When he had settled that Captain King +might as well remain to dinner, instead of going away to dine by +himself at his hotel, it was no use for Captain King to resist. And +then Tom's invitation, for mere courtesy sake, had to be repeated by +Lady Beresford, and prettily seconded by the two girls. No such +favours, be it observed, were showered on the effervescent Roberts or +on young Thynne; Mr. Tom had taken the sailor suitor under his +protection; there was to be a distinction drawn. + +One night, just after Frank King had left, Tom and his sister were by +themselves in the billiard-room. + +'I want to speak to you, Madge,' said he, in a tone that meant +something serious. + +'Very well, then.' + +'Now, none of your airs and pretence,' he said. 'You needn't try to +gammon me.' + +'If you would talk English, one might understand you,' she said, +spitefully. + +'You understand me well enough. When you were on the pier, this +morning your eyes were just as wide open as anybody's. And again this +afternoon, when you were up on the Marine Parade.' + +Madge flushed a little, but said nothing. + +'You know as well as anybody that that fellow Hanbury is hanging +about,' said Tom, regarding her with suspicion. 'He is always +loitering round, dodging after you. And I won't have it. I'll write +to the Chief Clerk if he doesn't mind.' + +'I don't suppose the Chief Clerk and the Vice-Chancellor and the whole +lot of them,' said Madge, pretending to be much interested in the tip +of her cue, 'can expel a person from Brighton who is doing no harm.' + +'Doing no harm? If you didn't encourage him, do you think he'd hang +about like that? If he knew distinctly you wanted him to be off, do +you think he'd spend his time slinking about the streets? I believe he +has been writing to you again.' + +This was quite a random shot, but it told. + +'He sent me one letter--not in his own handwriting,' Madge confessed, +diffidently. + +'Show it to me!' + +'I can't. I burned it. I was afraid. Tom, you wouldn't get the poor +fellow into trouble!' + +'I've no patience with you!' he said angrily. 'Why can't you be fair +and aboveboard? Why don't you send the fellow about his business at +once----' + +'Well, I have.' + +'Why don't you settle the thing straight? You know Frank King wants to +marry you: anybody can see that. Why don't you have him, and be done +with it?' + +Madge turned away a little, and said with a very pretty smile, + +'And so I would, if he would ask me.' + +Well, Mr. Tom thought he knew something of the ways of womankind, from +having been brought up among so many; but this fairly took his breath +away. He stared at her. He laid down his cue. + +'Well, I'm smashed,' he said at length. And then he added slowly, 'I'm +glad I've got nothing to do with you women. I believe you'd roast any +fellow alive, and then cut him into bits for fourpence-half-penny. It +isn't more than three months since you were crying your eyes out about +that fellow Hanbury----' + +'You were as anxious as any one he should be sent away,' retorted +Madge. 'It appears I can't please every one. Perhaps, on the whole, +it would be as well to continue the game, for I only want three to be +out.' + +Tom gave up. He continued the game, and played so savagely and so well +that poor Madge never got her three. And he did not recur to that +subject except to say the last thing at night, as the girls were +leaving-- + +'Look here, Madge, that fellow Hanbury had better take care.' + +'I suppose he can look after himself,' said Madge. 'I have nothing to +do with him. Only you can't expect me not to be sorry for him. And +how am I to send him away when I dare not speak to him? And do you +think the streets of Brighton belong to me?' + +Tom again gave up, but was more convinced than ever that women were +strange creatures, who could not be straightforward even when they +tried. From that and similar generalisations, however, he invariably +excepted Nan. Nan did not belong to womankind as considered as a +section of the human race. Nan was Nan. + +The next afternoon Captain King called to say good-bye. He found the +girls very busy over Christmas cards. Madge was painting little +studies of flowers for exceptionally favoured people, and she invited +him to look over these. + +'They are very pretty,' he said. 'I hope the people who are fortunate +enough to get them will value them. I mean they are not like ordinary +Christmas cards.' + +'Oh, if you like them,' said Madge, modestly, 'you might take one for +yourself.' + +'May I?' he said, regarding her, 'and may I choose the one?' + +'Oh yes, certainly,' she answered, + +'I know the one I should like to take,' he said, still regarding her. +'This one.' + +It was a little bit of forget-me-not, very nicely painted--from memory. +He showed it to her. + +'May I take this one with me?' he said. + +'Yes,' she answered, in a very low voice, and with her eyes cast down. + +After that there was a brief silence, only broken by the sound of Miss +Edith's pen, that young lady being at the other side of the table +addressing envelopes. + +Captain Frank went back to Wiltshire, greatly treasuring that bit of +cardboard, and making it the basis of many audacious guesses at the +future. Nan came home from Lewes for Christmas; and Madge was +particularly affectionate towards her. + +'What pretty flowers you have!' Nan said, just after she had +arrived--the first time, indeed, she went into the dining-room. + +'Yes,' Madge answered, 'Captain King sent me flowers once or twice, and +some of them have kept very well. But I wish they wouldn't wire them.' + +Nan turned away quickly towards the window, and said nothing. + +Then Tom went down to Wiltshire, and was most warmly received at +Kingscourt. Also pretty Mary Coventry, who was still staying in the +house, was kind to this handsome, conceited boy; and he was rather +smitten; but he kept a tight hold on himself. + +'No,' he said to himself, 'I'm not going to marry any woman; I know too +much about them.' + +He had a royal time of it altogether; but most of all he enjoyed the +quieter days, when he and Frank King went shooting rabbits on the +heath. It was sharp, brisk work in the cold weather, better than +standing in wet ploughed fields outside woods and waiting until both +toes and fingers got benumbed. There was no formality in this +business, and no ladies turning up at lunch, and no heart-breaking when +one missed. Frank King was excessively kind to him. Not caring very +much for shooting himself, he was content to become Mr. Tom's henchman; +and they got on very well together. Further, in the smoking-room at +night these two were thrown on each other's conversation--for old Mr. +King did not smoke--and it was remarkable how interesting Captain King +found his friend's talk. It was mostly about Madge and her sisters; +and Frank King listened eagerly, and always would have Mr. Tom have +another cigarette, while he was busy drawing imaginative pictures, and +convincing himself more and more that Madge was no other than Nan, and +that life had begun again for him, with all sorts of beautiful +possibilities in it. For he could not be blind to the marked favour +that the young lady had shown him; and he had long ceased to have any +fear of the shadowy Hanbury who was skulking somewhere unregarded in +the background. + +At length one night Captain Frank, in a burst of confidence, told Mr. +Tom all about it, and asked him to say honestly what he thought the +chances were. Would Lady Beresford have any objection? Would Miss +Margaret consider he had not known her sufficiently long or intimately? +What was Mr. Tom's own opinion? + +Mr. Tom flushed uneasily. + +'I--well, you see--I keep out of that kind of thing as a rule. Women +have such confounded queer ways. You're sure to put your foot into it +if you intermeddle. These girls are always worrying people about their +sweethearts--all but Nan. I wish to goodness they were all married; my +life is made a burden to me amongst them.' + +'But what do you think, Beresford? Haven't you any opinion? What +would you do in a similar case?' + +'I?' said Mr. Tom, with a laugh, 'I suppose I should ask the girl; and +if she didn't like to say yes, she could do the other thing.' + +'But--do you think there would be a chance?' + +'Write and see,' said Mr. Tom, with another laugh; further than that he +would not interfere. + +Frank King considered for a time; and at last boldly determined to act +on this advice. He sat up late that night, concocting a skilful, +cautious, appealing letter; and as he re-wrote it carefully, all by +himself, in the silence, it seemed to him almost as if he were +beseeching Nan to reconsider the verdict she had given at Bellagio more +than three years before. Life would begin all over again if only she +would say yes. Sometimes he found himself thinking of that ball in +Spring Gardens; and of her startled shyness, and of her winning +confidence, and anxious wish to please; until he recollected that it +was Madge to whom he was writing, and that Madge had never been to the +ball at all. + +This fateful missive was left to be despatched the first thing in the +morning; and at the very least there must needs be two or three days' +interval. But it cannot be said that he passed this time in terrible +anxiety. He was secretly hopeful; so much so that he had begged Mr. +Tom, who ought to have gone back before this time, to wait another day +or so. His private reason was that he hoped to accompany Madge's +brother to Brighton. + +All the same, the crisis of a man's life cannot approach without +causing some mental disturbance, even in the most hopeful. Long before +the Kingscourt family had assembled round the breakfast-table, Frank +King had ridden over, on these two or three cold mornings, to the +postal town, which was nearly two miles off, so that he should not have +to wait for the arrival of the bag. And at last came a letter with the +Brighton postmark. He glanced at the handwriting, and thought it was +Madge's. That was enough. He put it in his pocket without opening it; +went out and got on his horse; and went well outside the little town +into the quietude of the lanes before putting his hand into his pocket +again and taking the letter out. + +No, he was not very apprehensive about the result, or he could not have +carried the letter thus far unopened. But all the same the contents +surprised him. He had expected, at the worst, some mild refusal on the +ground of haste; and, at the best, an evasive hint that he might come +to Brighton and talk to Lady Beresford. But all the writing on this +sheet of paper consisted of two words, '_From Madge;_' and what +accompanied them was a bit of forget-me-not--not painted, this time, +but a bit of the real flower. It was a pretty notion. It confessed +much, without saying much. There was a sort of maiden reticence about +it, and yet kindness, and hope. What Frank King did not know was +this--that it was Nan Beresford who had suggested that answer to his +letter. + +He never knew how he got home that morning. He was all in a tempest of +eagerness and delight; he scarcely lived in to-day--it was next day. +It was the future that seemed to be around him. He burst into his +friend's bed-room before the breakfast gong had sounded. + +'Beresford, I'll go with you whenever you like now. Whenever you like. +I'm going to Brighton with you, I mean.' + +'Oh, that's it, is it?' said Mr. Tom, without looking up--he was tying +his shoes. + +'I've heard from your sister, you know----' + +'I thought so. It's all right then, is it?' + +'I hope so. I'm very glad it's settled. And you know I don't want to +turn you out of the house; but you've been very kind, waiting a day or +two longer; and I _should_ like to get to Brighton at once.' + +'I'll start in five minutes if you like,' said Mr. Tom, coolly, having +finished with his shoes. 'And I suppose I ought to congratulate you. +Well, I do. She's a very good sort of a girl. Only----' + +He hesitated. It was inauspicious. + +'What do you mean?' said Captain Frank. + +'Well, I've seen a good deal about women and their goings on, don't you +know?' said Mr. Tom, with a sort of shrug. 'They're always changing +and chopping and twisting about. The best way is to marry them +offhand, and take the nonsense out of them.' + +Captain Frank laughed. This was not at all alarming. And when it +became secretly known that Captain Frank was immediately going to +Brighton to secure his promised bride, there was a great, though +discreet rejoicing at Kingscourt; and even pretty Mary Coventry came +with her demure and laughing congratulations; and Mr. Tom was made more +of than ever during the few hours longer that he remained in the house. +Frank King had not time to think about Nan now; it was Madge Beresford +who had sent him that bit of forget-me-not. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +REVERIES. + +No sooner had Nan come back to Brighton again, and been installed once +more in her former position, than the whole house seemed to be pervaded +by a quite new sense of satisfaction, the cause of which was not even +guessed at. The wheels of the domestic machinery worked far more +smoothly; even the servants seemed to partake of the general brightness +and cheerfulness. Edith, the stupid sister, put it down to the +Christmas-time, and congratulated herself on her evergreens on the +walls. Mr. Tom observed that the house was far better managed when Nan +was at home: that meant that he found his slippers when he wanted them, +and that there was always a taper on the chimneypiece in the +billiard-room. Lady Beresford had all her little whims attended to; and +as for Madge, that young lady was greatly delighted to have a safe and +sure confidante. For she was much exercised at this time both with her +fears about Mr. Hanbury, who followed her about like a ghost, kept +silent by the dread of Vice-Chancellors and tipstaffs, and her vain +little hopes about Captain Frank King, whose intentions were scarcely a +matter of doubt. Nan listened in her grave, sweet way that had earned +for her, from Madge, the name of 'Old Mother Nan;' and then would say +some nice thing to her sister; and then would carry her away on some +charitable enterprise. + +For this was the Christmas time; and what with continual choral +services, and evergreens, and unearthly music in the still cold nights, +there was a sort of exaltation in the air; and Nan wished to be +practical. In consequence, Lady Beresford was gravely oppressed. + +'I do believe, Nan,' she said, vexedly, one morning as she was writing +out a cheque--'I do believe your only notion of Christianity is the +giving away coals.' + +'And a very good notion too,' said Tom, who would allow no one to say +anything against Nan. + +But then came that fateful letter from Frank King. It arrived on a +January morning--on a clear and brilliant forenoon, just as Nan and her +younger sister were going out for a walk, tempted by the sunlight and +the colours of the sea. Madge herself took it from the postman at the +door; glanced at the address, hastily opened the envelope, and guessed +at, rather than read, the contents. + +'Oh, Nan,' she said hurriedly, 'wait a moment. There is +something--something I want to speak to you about--come into the +dining-room--oh, do you know what this is, Nan?--Captain King has +written.' + +'Yes, dear,' said Nan, calmly and kindly, as she followed her into the +empty dining-room. + +'I must not show you the letter, must I?' said the younger sister, +eagerly, though she was herself still reading and re-reading it. 'But +you know what it is, Nan. And I must send an answer--oh, dear, what +shall I do?' + +'You ought to know, Madge,' her sister said. 'You were not unprepared, +surely. I thought you expected it. I thought you would have had your +mind made up.' + +'But it is so dreadful--so sudden--so terrible! Look at my hands--I am +all shaking. Oh, Nan, what would you do--what would you do if you were +me?' + +Nan seemed to be thinking of something far away; it was after a second +that she recalled herself to this question, and then she answered with +some astonishment-- + +'Don't you know your own mind, Madge?' + +'Well, I do in a way,' said the younger sister, still staring at the +letter. 'I like him well enough. I think it would do very well; and +there would be no trouble with any one. I am sorry for that poor fellow +Hanbury; but what _is_ the use of his hanging about, and keeping one +nervous? There is no use in it all--nothing but bother. And I know +Captain King is very fond of me, and I think he would be very kind; and +you know he is not going to sea again. And mamma would be pleased. Do +you think I should go to her now?' + +'What is the use of going to any one until you know what your mind is?' + +If the unhappy Hanbury could only have seen his sweetheart at this +moment--staring blankly at the open letter, with a doubt on her face +which was most probably inspired by some vague and tender recollection +of himself! What might not have happened if only he could have +intervened at this crisis, and appealed to her with eyes and speech, and +implored her to defy these terrible authorities in London? But Madge +kept looking at the letter; and then she shut it together; and then she +said with decision-- + +'I think it's the best thing I can do. Wait a minute, Nan; I'll go and +tell mamma.' + +When she came downstairs again she was quite radiant and eager in her +joy. + +'Oh, I'm so glad it's all settled and over. I'm so glad there'll be no +more worry and bother. And really Captain King is one of the +nicest-looking men we know--Edith has always said so--and he is so quiet +and pleasant in his manner, and very amusing too: that is because he has +no pretence. And grateful for small kindnesses; I suppose being so long +at sea, and not seeing so many people, he hasn't got blase. Then he +never pretends to be bored--but why are you so solemn, Nan; doesn't it +please you?' + +Nan kissed her sister. + +'I hope you will be very happy, dear,' she said, in her grave, kind way. + +'Then I suppose I must answer his letter at once,' continued Madge, in +her excited way. 'But how am I to do it, Nan? See how my fingers are +all shaking; I couldn't write. And it would take me a month to find out +what to say--and here you are being kept in, when you are always wanting +to be out in the open air----' + +'Oh, don't mind me, Madge. I will stay in with pleasure, if you want +me.' + +'But you shan't stay in on my account, dear Mother Nan--not a bit of +it--not for all the men in the world. And yet I ought to send him a +message. I ought to write.' + +'I think, Madge,' the elder sister said, slowly, 'if that is any trouble +to you, you might send him a message he would understand, without your +writing much--a flower, perhaps----' + +'But what sort of flower?' said the younger sister, eagerly. + +Nan's face flushed somewhat, and she seemed embarrassed and slow to +answer. + +'You--you should know yourself,' she said, turning her eyes aside. 'Any +flower, perhaps--a bit of--of forget-me-not----' + +'Of course that would do very well; but where could you get +forget-me-nots just now?' + +Nan again hesitated; she seemed to be forcing herself to speak. + +'There's a little bit in a button-hole in ----'s window,' she said, at +last; 'I saw it there yesterday at least.' + +'Dear Mother Nan,' said Madge, enthusiastically, 'you are as clever as +twenty Vice-Chancellors! We will walk along at once, and see if it is +still there. And in the meantime I will write a word on a sheet of +paper--I can manage that anyway--and you might address an envelope----' + +'Oh no, I couldn't do that,' said Nan, inadvertently shrinking back. + +'Very well, I will struggle through it,' said Madge, blithely; and she +went and got writing-materials, and scrawled the few words necessary. + +They went out into the beautiful clear cold morning, and walked along +through the crowd of promenaders with their fresh-coloured faces and +furs telling of the wintry weather. And in due course of time they +arrived at the florist's window, and found the bit of forget-me-not +still in the little nosegay. Madge made no secret of her intention. +She opened up the nosegay on the counter of the shop; took out the piece +of forget-me-not; put it in the folded sheet of paper; and then +carefully--but with fingers no longer trembling--closed the envelope. +When they had come out again, and gone and posted the letter, they found +themselves at a standstill. + +'Now I know you would like a longer walk, Nan,' said the younger sister, +'and I am sure you won't mind if I go back at once. I do so want to +write a long letter to Mary. And I haven't told Edith yet, you know.' + +To this also Nan consented; and so Madge departed. Nan, left to +herself, looked for a moment or two, somewhat wistfully, at the far +breadths of the shining water; and then turned and walked slowly and +thoughtfully along one of the wider thoroughfares leading up from the +sea. The world seemed too bright and eager and busy out here; she +wished to be alone, and in the dusk; and in this thoroughfare there was +a church, spacious and gloomy, that was kept open all the week round. +Half unconsciously to herself she walked in that direction. So absorbed +was she that, when she reached the entrance, she scarcely perceived that +there were some persons standing about. From the clear light of the sun +she passed into a long covered way that was almost dark; there was a low +sound of music issuing from the building; it was a refuge she was +seeking; and she vaguely hoped that there would be few people within. + +But just as she gained the entrance proper, and was about to enter the +dark and dusky place before her, behold! here was a great smiling throng +coming along the aisle, headed by a bridegroom and a white-clothed +bride. The music that was gaily pealing through the building was the +'Wedding March' that no familiarity robs of its majestic swing and +melody. Nan had suddenly a sort of guilty self-consciousness. She felt +she had no business even to look on at bridal processions. She passed +in by another door into that space of dark and empty pews; and very soon +the bridal people were all gone from the place, and apparently no one +was left but the white-surpliced performers at the organ in the choir. + +That choir was a beautiful thing away beyond the dusk. The sunlight +entering by the stained-glass windows filled it with a softly golden +glory; so that the splendours of the altar, and the tall brass +candlesticks, and the seven swinging lamps, and the organ itself, were +all suffused with it, and seemed to belong to some other world far away. +And then, after the 'Wedding March' was over, there was a pause of +silence, and a slight sound of feet in the echoing building behind; and +then the music began again--something distant, and sad, and yearning, +like the cry of a soul seeking for light in the dark, for comfort in +despair. Nan, in her solitary pew, bowed her head and covered her face +with her hands. This music was less picturesque, perhaps, than that she +had heard in the cathedral at Lucerne, but it had more of a human cry in +it; it was an appeal for guidance--for light--for light in the darkness +of the world. The tears were running down Nan's face. And then there +came into a neighbouring pew a woman dressed in a peculiar costume, all +in black; and she, too, knelt down, and covered her face with her hands. +And Nan would fain have gone to her and said-- + +'Oh, sister, take me with you and teach me. You have chosen your path +in the world--the path of charity and good-will and peace; let me help +you; let me give myself to the poor and the sick. There must be +something somewhere for me to do in the world. Take me into your +sisterhood; I am not afraid of hardship; let me be of some little use to +those who are wretched and weary in heart.' + +By and by that lady in black rose, went into the open space fronting the +altar, knelt one knee slightly, and then left. Presently Nan followed +her, her head bent down somewhat, and her heart not very light. + +Just as she was leaving the interior of the church, some one stepped out +of the vestry, followed her for a second, and then addressed her. She +turned and recognised Mr. Jacomb. He had not been officiating; he was +in ordinary clerical costume; and there was something in the primness of +that costume that suited his appearance. For he was a singularly +clean-looking man; his face smooth shaven; his complexion of the fairest +white and pink; his hair yellow almost to whiteness; his eyes gray, +clear, and kindly. For the rest, he was about six-and-thirty; of +stoutish build; and he generally wore a pleasant and complacent smile, +as if the world had treated him kindly, despite his experiences in that +poor parish in the south-east of London, and as if, whatever might +happen to him, anxiety was not likely to put a premature end to his +existence. + +'Dear me,' said he, 'what a coincidence! I saw your sister Madge about +twenty minutes ago. She seemed very happy about something or other.' + +'Mr. Jacomb,' said Nan, 'do you know the lady who left a minute ago?' + +'No,' said he, wondering a little at the earnestness--or rather the +absentness--of her manner. 'I only caught a glimpse of her. She +belongs to one of the visiting sisterhoods.' + +Nan was silent for a second or two. + +'You came to the wedding, of course?' continued Mr. Jacomb, cheerfully. +'A capital match, that, for young De la Poer. She will have 18,000 +pounds a year when her mother dies; and she is pretty too. She puts a +little side on, perhaps, when she's talking to strangers; but that's +nothing. His brother was at Oxford when I was there, I remember--an +awfully fast fellow; but they say all the sons of clergymen are; the +other swing of the pendulum, you know. There's a medium in all things; +and if one generation gives itself over too much to piety, the next goes +as far the other way. I suppose it's human nature.' + +This air of agreeable levity--this odour of worldliness (which was in +great measure assumed)--did not seem to accord well with Nan's present +mood. She was disturbed--uncertain--yearning for something she knew not +what--and the echoes of that strange cry in the music were still in her +soul. Mr. Jacomb's airs of being a man of the world--of being a +clergyman who scorned to attach any esoteric mystery to his cloth, or to +expect to be treated with a particular reverence--might put him on easy +terms of friendship with Nan's sisters; but they only made Nan +regretful, and sometimes even impatient. Did he imagine the assumption +of flippancy made him appear younger than he really was? In any case it +was bad policy so far as Nan was concerned. Nan was a born worshipper. +She was bound to believe in something or somebody. And the story she +had heard of the Rev. Charles Jacomb's assiduous, earnest, uncomplaining +labour in that big parish had at the very outset won for him her great +regard. He did not understand how he was destroying her childlike faith +in him by his saturnine little jokes. + +'Mr. Jacomb,' said Nan, timidly, 'I should be so greatly obliged to you +if you could find out something more for me about those sisterhoods. +They must do a great deal of good. And their dress is such a +protection; they can go anywhere without fear of rudeness or insult. I +suppose it is not a difficult thing to get admission----' + +He was staring at her in amazement. + +'But not for you--not for you!' he cried. 'Why, it is preposterous for +you to think of such a thing. There are plenty who have nothing else in +the world to look forward to. You have all your life before you yet. +My dear Miss Anne, you must not indulge in day-dreams. Look at your +sister Madge. Oh, by-the-way, she said something about your mamma +having sent me a note this morning, asking me to dine with you on Friday +evening; and then remembering, after the note was posted, that on that +evening you had taken a box for the pantomime. Well, there needs be no +trouble about that, if I may join your party to go there also.' + +Nan said nothing; but perhaps there was the slightest trace of surprise, +or interrogation in her look. Immediately he said-- + +'Oh, I very much approve of pantomimes, from a professional point of +view--I do, really. You see, the imagination of most people is very +dull--it wants a stimulus--and I am perfectly certain, if the truth were +known, that the great majority of people in this country have derived +their pictorial notions of heaven from the transformation-scenes in +pantomimes. I am certain of it. John Martin's pictures--the only other +alternative--are not striking enough. So, on the whole, I very much +approve of pantomimes; and I shall be very glad to go with you on +Friday, if I may.' + +Nan made some excuse, shook hands with him, and went. She walked home +hurriedly, she knew not why; it almost seemed as though she wanted to +leave something well behind her. And she was very kind to her sisters +for the remainder of that day; but somewhat grave. + +Meanwhile, Madge's letter to her married sister in London had been sent. +And the first answer to it was contained in a postscript to a letter +addressed by Mary Beresford to her mother. This was the postscript:-- + +'_What is this nonsense Madge writes to me about herself and Holford +King? Has Captain King got it into his head that he would like to marry +his deceased wife's sister?_' + +Lady Beresford threw the letter aside with a sigh, wishing people would +not write in conundrums. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +THE ACCEPTED SUITOR. + +'Oh, Nan, here is the cab. What shall I say to him? What am I to say +to him?' + +'I think you ought to know yourself, dear,' said Nan, gently, and then +she slipped away from the room, leaving Madge alone and standing at the +window. + +But after all it was not so serious a matter. Some one came into the +room, and Madge turned. + +'May I call you Madge?' said he, holding both her hands. + +She answered, with her eyes cast down-- + +'I suppose I must call you Frank.' + +That was all, for at the same moment Mr. Tom was heard calling to his +mother and sisters that Captain King had arrived; and directly after, +Lady Beresford and Edith entered the room, followed by Mr. Tom, who was +declaring that they must have dinner put forward to six o'clock, if +they were all to go to the pantomime. + +There was a little embarrassment--not much. Frank King kept looking +towards the door. He wondered why Nan had not come with the others. +He was curious to see how much she had changed. Perhaps he should not +even recognise her? Without scarcely knowing why, he was hoping she +might not be quite like the Nan of former days. + +Mr. Tom consulted his watch again. + +'Shall I ring and tell them to hurry on dinner, mother?' + +'We cannot alter the dinner hour now,' Lady Beresford said, +plaintively. 'It has already been altered once. Both Mr. Roberts and +Mr. Jacomb promised to come at half-past six, so that you might all go +to the pantomime together in good time.' + +'What?' cried Mr. Tom. 'Jacomb? Did you say Jacomb, mother?' + +'I said Mr. Roberts and Mr. Jacomb,' said his mother. + +'And what the etcetera is he doing in that gallery!' exclaimed Mr. Tom. +'Well, I guess we shall have a high old time of it at dinner. +Soda-water and incense. But there's one thing they always agree about. +Get them on to port-wine vintages, and they run together like a brace +of greyhounds.' + +Here Captain King begged to be excused, as there was but little time +for him to go along to his hotel and get dressed for this early dinner. +When--being accompanied to the door by Mr. Tom himself--he had left, +Madge said-- + +'How do you like him, mamma? Are you pleased with him?' + +'He has not spoken to me yet, you know,' said the mother, wearily; she +had had to go through several such scenes, and they worried her. + +'Oh, but it's all arranged,' Madge said, cheerfully. 'He won't bother +you about a solemn interview. It's all arranged. How did you think he +looked, Edith? I do hope he won't lose that brown colour by not going +back to sea; it suits him; I don't like pastey-faced men. Now, Mr. +Jacomb isn't pastey-faced, although he is a clergyman. By-the-way, +what has become of Nan?' + +Nan had been quite forgotten. Perhaps she was dressing early, or +looking after the dinner-table; at all events, it was time for the +other sisters to go and get ready also. + +Punctual to the moment, Captain King arrived at the door, and entered, +and went upstairs. He was not a little excited. Now he would see +Nan--and not only her, but also this clergyman, whom he was also +curious to see. At such a moment--arriving as Madge's accepted +suitor--it was not Nan that he ought to have been thinking about. But +it was Nan whom his-first quick glance round the drawing-room sought +out; and instantly he knew she was not there. + +Everybody else was, however. Mr. Roberts, with his conspicuous red +opal and diamonds, was standing on the hearth-rug with his back to the +fire, talking to Lady Beresford, who was cushioned up in an easy-chair. +Mr. Jacomb was entertaining the two sisters, Edith and Madge, who were +laughing considerably. Mr. Tom was walking about with his hands in his +pockets, ferocious, for dinner was already eighteen seconds late. + +Frank King had not much time to study the looks or manners of this +clergyman, to whom he was briefly introduced; for already his +attention, which was at the moment exceedingly acute, was drawn to the +opening of the door. It was Nan who slipped in, quietly. Apparently +she had seen the others before; for when she caught sight of him, she +at once advanced towards him, with a grave, quiet smile on her face, +and an outstretched hand. + +'Oh, how do you do, Captain King,' she said, in the most friendly way, +and without the least trace of embarrassment. + +Of course she looked at his eyes as she said so. Perhaps she did not +notice the strange, startled look that had dwelt there for an instant +as he regarded her--a look as if he had seen some one whom he had not +expected to see--some one whom he almost feared to see. He could not +speak, indeed. For the moment he had really lost command of himself, +and seemed bewildered. Then he stammered-- + +'How do you do, Miss Anne? I am glad to see you looking so well. +You--you have not altered much--anything--during these last three or +four years.' + +'Oh, Nan has altered a great deal I can tell you,' said Mr. Tom; 'and +for the better. She isn't half as saucy as she used to be.' + +But Nan had turned to her mother, to say privately-- + +'They are quite ready, mamma. The shades just came in time; and the +candles are all lit now.' + +Then she turned to Captain King again. If she was acting +non-embarrassment, she was acting very well. The clear, friendly, +gray-blue eyes regarded him with frankness; there was no touch of +tell-tale colour in the fair, piquant, freckled face; she smiled, as if +to one in whom she had perfect confidence. + +'It is so kind of you,' she said, 'to have let my brother pay you a +visit to Kingscourt; I am afraid he must be dull here sometimes. And +he says he enjoyed it immensely, and that every one was so kind to him. +I hope he didn't disgrace himself--I mean in the shooting; you see he +has not had a great deal of practice.' + +'Oh, he shot very well,' said Captain Frank King, somewhat hurriedly. +'Oh yes, very well. I should call him a very good shot. I am glad he +liked his visit.' But Frank King was not looking into Nan's eyes as he +spoke. + +Then some one at the door said, 'Dinner is served, your Ladyship;' and +the company arranged themselves according to order, and went +downstairs. It fell to Captain King's lot to go down last, with Lady +Beresford; but when they reached the dining-table he found that his +neighbour was to be Madge, and he was glad of that. + +Nan was opposite to him; he had discovered that at the first glance, +and thereafter he rather avoided looking that way. He endeavoured to +entertain Lady Beresford, and occasionally spoke a little to Madge; but +he was somewhat preoccupied on the whole; and very frequently he might +have been caught regarding the clergyman-guest with an earnest +scrutiny. Mr. Jacomb, to do him justice, was making himself the friend +of everybody. He could talk well and pleasantly; he had a number of +little jokes and stories; and he was making himself generally +agreeable. The efflorescent Roberts was anxious to know--as anxious, +that is, as a very devoted regard for his _menu_ would permit--the +precise position held by a certain High Churchman who was being harried +and worried by the law courts at this time; but Mr. Jacomb, with great +prudence, would have nothing to say on such subjects. He laughed the +whole matter off. He preferred to tell anecdotes about his Oxford +days; and gave you to understand that these were not far removed from +the present time. You might have guessed that he and his companions +were the least little bit wild. The names of highly respectable +dignitaries in the Church were associated with stories of scrapes that +were quite alarming, and with sayings that just bordered here and there +on the irreverent. But then, to a clergyman much is permitted; for it +is his business to know where the line should be drawn; other people +might not feel quite so safe. + +All this time Captain Frank King was intently regarding Mr. Jacomb; and +Nan saw it. The smile died away from her face. She grew +self-absorbed; she scarcely lifted her eyes. + +'Nan, what's the matter with you?' said her brother Tom to her, +privately. 'You're not going to cry, are you?' + +She looked up with her frank, clear eyes, and said-- + +'I was trying to remember some lines near the beginning of _Faust_. +They are about a clergyman and a comedian.' + +This was beyond Mr. Tom; and so he said nothing. But what Nan had +meant had been uttered in a moment of bitterness, and was entirely +unjust. Mr. Jacomb was not failing in any proper respect for his +sacred calling. But he was among some young people; he hoped they +would not think his costume coercive; he wished to let them know that +his youth also had only been the other day, as it were, and that he +appreciated a joke as well as any one. If his speech at the moment was +frivolous--and, indeed, intentionally frivolous--his life had not been +frivolous. He had never intrigued or cajoled for preferment, but had +done the work that lay nearest him. At Oxford he had toadied no one. +And his 'record,' as the Americans say, in that parish in the southeast +of London, was unblemished and even noble. + +But he made a hash of it that evening, somehow. Nan Beresford grew +more and more depressed and disheartened--almost ashamed. If Frank +King had not been there, perhaps she would have cared less; but she +knew--without daring to look--that Frank King was regarding and +listening with an earnest and cruel scrutiny. + +When the time came for their starting for the theatre, Nan disappeared. +Tom began to make a noise, and then the message came that, Please sir, +Miss Anne had a headache, and might she be excused? Tom made a further +noise, and declared that the whole thing must be put off. Go to see a +pantomime without Nan he would not. Then a further message came from +Miss Anne, saying that she would be greatly distressed if they did not +go; and so, after no end of growling and grumbling, Mr. Tom put his +party into two cabs and took them off. Nan heard the roll of the +wheels lessen and cease. + +It was about half-past eleven that night that someone noisily entered +Nan's room, and lit the gas. Nan opening her eyes--for she was in bed +and asleep--beheld a figure there, all white with snow. + +'Oh, Nan,' said this new-comer, in great excitement, 'I must tell you +all about it. There has been such fun. Never such a gale known on the +south coast----' + +'Child!' said the now thoroughly awakened sister, 'go at once and take +off your things. You will be wet through!' + +'Oh, this is nothing,' said Madge, whose pink cheeks showed what she +had faced. 'I left a whole avalanche in the hall. The streets are a +foot deep already. Not a cab to be got. We had to fight our way from +the theatre arm in arm; the wind and snow were like to lift us off our +feet altogether. Frank said it reminded him of Canada. All the +gentlemen are below; Tom would have them come in to get them some +mulled claret.' + +Madge's ejaculatory sentences came to an end simply for want of breath. +She was all panting. + +'Such a laughing there was! Frank and I ran full tilt against a +gentleman who was coming full sail before the wind. "Hard-a-port!" +Frank cried. There was an awful smash. My hat blew off; and we hid in +a doorway till Frank got it back again.' + +At Nan's earnest entreaties, her younger sister at last consented to +take off her outer garments and robe herself in some of Nan's--meantime +shaking a good deal of snow on to the carpet. Then she came and sat +down. + +'I must tell you all about it, dear Nan,' she said, 'for I am so happy; +and it has been such a delightful evening. You can't imagine what a +splendid companion Frank is--taking everything free and easy, and +always in such a good humour. Well, we went to the theatre; and of +course Edith wanted to show herself off, so I had the corner of the box +with the curtains, and Frank sat next me, of course--it was +"Cinderella"--beautiful!--I never saw such brilliant costumes; and even +Edith was delighted with the way they sang the music. Mind, we didn't +know that by this time the storm had begun. It was all like fairyland. +But am I tiring you, Nan?' said Madge with a sudden compunction. +'Would you rather go to sleep again?' + +'Oh no, dear.' + +'Is your headache any better?' + +'A great deal.' + +'Shall I get you some eau-de-cologne?' + +'Oh no.' + +'Does it sound strange to you that I should call him Frank? It did to +me at first. But of course it had to be done; so I had to get over it.' + +'You don't seem to have had much difficulty,' said Nan, with an odd +kind of smile. + +'Well,' Madge confessed, 'he isn't like other men. There's no pretence +about him. He makes friends with you at once. And you can't be very +formal with any one who is lugging you through the snow.' + +'No, of course not,' said Nan gravely. 'I was not saying there could +be anything wrong in calling him Frank.' + +'Well, the pantomime; did I tell you how good it was? Mr. Roberts says +he never saw such beautifully-designed dresses in London; and the music +was lovely--oh! if you had heard Cinderella, how she sang, you would +have fallen in love with her, Nan. We all did. Then we had ices. +There's a song which Cinderella sings Frank promised to get for me; but +I can't sing. All I'm good for is to show off Edith.' + +'You ought to practise more, dear.' + +'But it's no good once you are married. You always drop it. If I have +any time I'll take to painting. You see you have no idea, in a house +like this, the amount of trouble there is in keeping up a place like +Kingscourt.' + +'But you know, Madge, Mrs. Holford King is there.' + +'She can't be there always; she's very well up in years,' said the +practical Madge. 'And you know the whole estate is now definitely +settled on Frank--though there are some heavy mortgages. We shan't be +able to entertain much for the first few years, I daresay--but we shall +always be glad to have you, Nan.' + +Nan did not say anything; she turned her face away a little bit. + +'Nan,' said her sister, presently, 'didn't Mary and Edith have a notion +that Captain King was at one time rather fond of you?' + +Nan's face flushed hastily. + +'They--they--imagined something of that kind, I believe.' + +'But was it true?' + +Nan raised herself up, and took her sister's hand in her two hands. + +'You see, dear,' she said, gently, and with her eyes cast down, 'young +men--I mean very young men--have often passing fancies that don't mean +very much. Later on they make their serious choice.' + +'But,' said Madge, persistently, 'but I suppose he never really asked +you to be his wife?' + +'His wife!' said Nan, with well-simulated surprise. 'Recollect, Madge, +I was just over seventeen. You don't promise to be anybody's wife at +an age like that; you are only a child then.' + +'I am only eighteen,' said Madge. + +'But there is a great difference. And recollect that Captain King is +now older, and knows better what his wishes are, and what way his +happiness lies. You ought to be very proud, Madge; and you should try +to make him proud of you also.' + +'Oh, I will, Nan; I will really. I wish you would teach me a lot of +things.' + +'What things?' + +'Oh, you know. All the sort of stuff that you know. Tidal waves and +things.' + +'But Captain King won't have anything more to do with tidal waves.' + +'Then we'll go round the shops to-morrow, Nan; and you'll tell me about +Chippendale furniture and blue china.' + +'Don't you think there will be enough of that at Kingscourt; and just +such things as you couldn't get to buy in any shops?' + +'Then what am I to do, Nan?' + +'You can try to be a good wife, dear; and that's better than anything.' + +Madge rose. + +'I'll let you off, Nan. But I do feel terribly selfish. I haven't +said a single word about you----' + +'Oh, but I don't want anything said about me,' said Nan, almost in +alarm. + +'Well, you know, Nan, everybody says this: that a clergyman's wife has +more opportunities of doing good than any other woman; for, you see, +they are in the middle of it all, and they can interfere as no one else +can, and it is expected of them, and the poor people don't object to +them as they might to others.' + +'Oh, I think that is quite true,' said Nan, thoughtfully--perhaps with +a slight sigh. 'Yes, I have often thought of that.' + +'And you know, dear, that was what Providence meant you to be,' said +Madge, with a friendly smile. 'That is just what you were made for--to +be kind to other people. Good-night, old Mother Nan!' + +'Good-night, dear.' + +They kissed each other; and Madge turned off the gas and left. +Presently, however, Madge returned, opened the door, and came in on +tiptoe. + +'Nan, you are not asleep yet?' + +'Of course not.' + +'I wanted to ask you, Nan; do you think he would like me to work a pair +of slippers for him?' + +'No doubt he would,' was the quiet answer. + +'For I was thinking it would be so nice if you would come with me +to-morrow and help me to choose the materials; and then, you see, Nan, +you might sketch me some design, out of your own head, for you are so +clever at those things, and that would be better than a shop pattern. +And then,' added Madge, 'I should tell him it was your design.' + +Nan paused for a second. + +'I will do whatever you want, Madge--but you must not say that I made +the design for you. It won't be worth much at the best. I would +rather have nothing said about it, dear.' + +'Very well, Nan; that's just like you.' + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +A WHITE WORLD. + +Next morning it still snowed and blew hard; no one could go out; it was +clearly a day to be devoted to indoor amusements. And then Frank King, +despite the state of the streets and the absence of cabs, made his way +along, and was eagerly welcomed. As Mr. Tom's companion he was to +spend the whole day there. Billiards, music, lunch, painting--they +would pass the time somehow. And meanwhile the gusts of wind rattled +the windows; and the whirling snow blurred out the sea; and Mr. Tom +kept on big fires. + +Nan remained in her own room. When Madge went up to bring her down she +found her reading Thomas a Kempis. + +'Frank has asked twice where you were,' Madge remonstrated. + +'But that is not a command,' said Nan, with a smile. 'I should have +thought, judging by the sound, that you were being very well amused +below.' + +Madge went away, and in about an hour after came back. She found that +her sister had put away _De Imitatione Christi_, and was at her desk. + +'Writing! To whom?' + +'To the Editor of the _Times_', said Nan, laughing at her sister's +instantaneous dismay. + +'The _Times_? Are you going to turn a blue-stocking, Nan?' + +'Oh no; it's only about blankets. You can read the letter; do you +think he will print it?' + +This was the letter which Madge read, and which was written in a sort +of handwriting that some editors would be glad to see oftener:-- + +'Dear Sir--The Government interfere to punish a milkman who adulterates +milk with water; and I wish to put the question in your columns why +they should not also punish the manufacturers who dress blankets with +arsenic? Surely it is a matter of equal importance. Poor people can +get along without milk, unless there are very small children in the +house; but when they have insufficient food, and insufficient fire, and +scant clothes, and perhaps also a leaky roof, a good warm pair of +blankets is almost a necessity. You cannot imagine what a compensation +it is, especially in weather like the present; but how are the +charitably disposed to take such a gift to a poor household when it may +become the instrument of death or serious illness? Dear Sir, I hope +you will call upon the Government to put down this wicked practice; and +I am, yours respectfully, AN ENGLISH GIRL.' + +'Oh, that's all right,' said Madge, who had feared that her sister had +taken to literature; 'that's quite the right thing for you. Of course, +a clergyman's wife must know all about blankets, and soup-kitchens, and +things.' + +Nan flushed a little, and said quickly and with an embarrassed smile-- + +'I thought of putting in something about his "eloquent pen" or his +"generous advocacy," but I suppose he gets a great deal of that kind of +flattery, and isn't to be taken in. I think I will leave it as it is. +It is really most shameful that such things should be allowed.' + +'When are you coming down to see Frank?' + +'By and by, dear. I am going now to get mamma her egg and port wine.' + +'I know Frank wants to see you.' + +'Oh, indeed,' she said, quietly, as she folded up the letter. + +That memorable snowstorm raged all day; the shops fronting the sea were +shut; the whole place looked like some vast deserted white City of the +Dead. But towards evening the squalls moderated; that fine, +penetrating, crystalline snow ceased to come in whirls and gusts; and +people began to get about, the black figures making their way over or +through the heavy drifts, or striking for such places as the force of +the wind had driven bare. Here and there shovels were in requisition +to open a pathway; it was clearly thought that the gale was over; the +Beresfords and their guest began to speak of an excursion next day to +Stanmer Park, lest peradventure it might be possible to have a lane or +two swept on the ice for a little skating. + +The next morning proved to be brilliantly beautiful; and they were all +up and away betimes on their somewhat hopeless quest. All, that is to +say, except Nan: for she had sundry pensioners to look after, who were +likely to have fared ill during the inclement weather. Nan put on her +thickest boots and her ulster, and went out into the world of snow. +The skies were blue and clear; the air was fresh and keen; it was a +relief to be out after that monotonous confinement in the house. + +Nan went her rounds, and wished she was a millionaire, for the fine +snow had penetrated everywhere, and there was great distress. Perhaps +she was really trying to imagine herself a cleryman's wife; at all +events, when she had grown tired, and perhaps a little heart-sick, it +was no wonder that she should think of going into that church, which +was always open, for a little rest, and solace, and soothing quiet. + +This was what she honestly meant to do--and, moreover, it was with no +expectation of meeting Mr. Jacomb there, for it was almost certain that +he also would be off on a round of visitations. She had a craving for +quiet; perhaps some slow, grateful music would be filling the air; +there would be silence in the vast, hushed place. + +Well, it was by the merest accident that her eyes happened to light on +a vessel that was scudding up channel under double-reefed topsails, and +she stood for a minute to watch it. Then she, also inadvertently, +perceived that the coastguardsman over the way had come out of his +little box, and was similarly watching the vessel--through his +telescope. Nan hesitated for a second. The snow was deep, though a +kind of path had been trodden a few yards farther along. Then she +walked quickly on till she came to that path, crossed, went back to the +coastguardsman, and addressed him, with a roseate glow on her cheek. + +'Oh, I beg your pardon--but--but--I suppose you know Singing Sal?' + +'Yes, Miss,' said the little Celtic-looking man with the brown beard. +He was evidently surprised. + +'Do you know where she is? I hope she wasn't in the storm yesterday? +She hasn't been along this way lately?' + +'No, Miss; not that I knows of.' + +'Thank you, I am very much obliged.' + +'Wait a minute, Miss--Wednesday--yes, it was last night, I believe, as +Sal was to sing at a concert at Updene. Yes, it was. Some o' my mates +at Cuckmere got leave to go.' + +'Updene farm?' + +'Yes, Miss,' said the wiry little sailor with a grin. 'That's +promotion for Sal--to sing at a concert.' + +'I don't see why she should not sing at a concert,' said Nan, regarding +him with her clear gray eyes, so that the grin instantly vanished from +his face. 'I've heard much worse singing at many a concert. Then, if +she was at Updene last night, she would most likely come along here +to-day.' + +'I don't know, Miss,' said the man, who knew much less about Singing +Sal's ways than did Miss Anne Beresford. 'Mayhap the concert didn't +come off, along of the snow.' + +Nan again thanked him, and continued on her way--eastward. She was +thinking. Somehow she had quite forgotten about the church. The air +around her was wonderfully keen and exhilarating; the skies overhead +were intensely blue; out there on the downs the soft, white snow would +be beautiful. Nan walked on at a brisker pace, and her spirits rose. +The sunlight seemed to get into her veins. And then her footing +required a great deal of attention, and she had plenty of active +exercise; for though here and there the force of the wind had left the +roads almost bare, elsewhere the snow had formed long drifts of three +to five feet in depth, and these had either to be got round or plunged +through. Then, up Kemp-Town way, where there is less traffic, her +difficulties increased. The keen air seemed to make her easily +breathless. But at all events she felt comfortably warm, and the sun +felt hot on her cheek. + +She had at length persuaded herself that she was anxious about Singing +Sal's safety. Many people must have perished in that snowstorm--caught +unawares on the lonely downs. At all events, she could ask at one or +two of the coastguard stations if anything had been heard of Sal. It +was just possible she might meet her, if the entertainment at Updene +farm had come off. + +At Black Rock station they had heard nothing; but she went on all the +same. For now this was a wonderful and beautiful landscape all around +her, up on these high cliffs; and the novelty of it delighted her, +though the bewildering white somewhat dazzled her eyes. Towards the +edge of the cliffs, where the wind had swept across, there was +generally not more than an inch or two of snow--hard and crisp, with +traceries of birds' feet on it, like long strings of lace; but a few +yards on her left the snow had got banked up in the most peculiar +drifts, resembling in a curious manner the higher ranges of the Alps. +Sometimes, however, the snow became deep here also; so that she had to +betake herself to the road, where the farmers' men around had already +cut a way through the deeper stoppages; and there she found herself +going along a white gallery--yellow-white on the left, where the +sunlight fell on the snow, but an intense blue on the right, where the +crystalline snow, in shadow, reflected the blue of the sky overhead. +And still she ploughed on her way, with all her pulses tingling with +life and gladness; for this wonder of yellow whiteness and blue +whiteness, and the sunlight, and the keen air, all lent themselves to a +kind of fascination; and she scarcely perceived that her usual +landmarks were gone: it was enough for her to keep walking, stumbling, +sinking, avoiding the deeper drifts, and farther and farther losing +herself in the solitariness of this white, hushed world. + +Then, far away, and showing very black against the white, she perceived +the figure of a woman, and instantly jumped to the conclusion that that +must be Singing Sal. But what was Sal--if it were she--about? That +dark figure was wildly swaying one arm like an orator declaiming to an +excited assemblage. Had the dramatic stimulus of the previous night's +entertainment--Nan asked herself--got into the woman's brain? Was she +reciting poetry to that extravagant gesturing? Nan walked more slowly +now, and took breath; while the woman, whoever she was, evidently was +coming along at a swinging pace. + +No; that was no dramatic gesture. It was too monotonous. It looked +more as if she were sowing--to imperceptible furrows. Nan's eyes were +very long-sighted, but this thing puzzled her altogether. She now +certainly looked like a farmer's man scattering seed-corn. + +Singing Sal saw and recognised her young-lady friend at some distance, +and seemed to moderate her gestures, though these did not quite cease. +When she came up, Nan said to her, + +'What are you doing?' + +'Well, Miss,' she said, with a bright smile--her face was quite red +with the cold air, and her hair not so smooth as she generally kept +it--'my arm does ache, to tell the truth. And my barley's nearly done. +I have tried to scatter it wide, so as the finches and larks may have a +chance, even when the jackdaws and rooks are at it.' + +'Are you scattering food for the birds, then?' + +'They're starved out in this weather, Miss; and then the boys come out +wi' their guns; and the dicky-laggers are after them too----' + +'The what?' + +'The bird-catchers, Miss. If I was a farmer now, I'd take a horsewhip, +I would, and I'd send those gentry double quick back to Whitechapel. +And the gentle-folks, Miss, it isn't right of them to encourage the +trapping of larks when there's plenty of other food to be got. Well, +my three-penn'orth o' barley that I bought in Newhaven is near done +now.' + +She looked into the little wallet that she had twisted round in front +of her. + +'Oh, if you don't mind,' said Nan, eagerly, 'I will give you a +shilling--or two or three shillings--to get some more.' + +'You could do better than that, Miss,' said Sal. 'Maybe you know some +one that lives in Lewes Crescent?' + +'Yes, I do.' + +'Well, ye see, Miss, there's such a lot o' birds as won't eat grain at +all; and if you was to get the key of the garden in Lewes Crescent, and +get a man to sweep the snow off a bit of the grass, and your friends +might throw down some mutton bones and scraps from the kitchen, and the +birds from far and near would find it out--being easily seen, as it +might be. Half the thrushes and blackbirds along this countryside 'll +be dead before this snow gives out.' + +'Oh, I will go back at once and do that,' said Nan, readily. + +'Look how they've been running about all the morning,' said this +fresh-coloured, dark-eyed woman, regarding the traceries on the snow at +her feet. 'Most of them larks--you can see the spur. And that's a +rook with his big heavy claws. And there's a hare, Miss--I should say +he was trotting as light as could be--and there's nothing uglier than a +trotting hare--he's like a race-horse walking--all stiff and jolting, +because of the high aunches--haunches, Miss. They're all +bewildered-like, birds and beasts the same. I saw the pad of a fox +close by Rottingdean; he must have come a long way to try for a +poultry-yard. And, what's rarer, I saw a covey of partridges, Miss, +settle down on the sea as I was coming along by Saltdean Gap. They was +tired out, poor things, and not driven before the wind either, but +fighting against it, and going out to sea blind-like; and then I saw +them sink down on to the water, and then the waves knocked them about +anyway. I hear there was a wonderful sight of brent geese up by +Berling Gap yesterday--but I'm keeping you standing in the cold, +Miss----' + +'I will walk back with you,' said Nan, turning. + +'No, Miss. No, thank you, Miss,' said Sal, sturdily. + +'But only as far as Lewes Crescent,' said Nan, with a gentle laugh. +'You know I am going to stop there for the mutton bones. I want to +know what has happened to you since the last time I saw you--that's a +good while ago now.' + +'Two things, Miss, has happened that I'm proud of;' said Sal, as the +two set out to face the brisk westerly wind. 'I was taking a turn +through Surrey, and when I was at ----, they told me that a great poet +lived close by there--Mr. ----' + +'Of course every one knows Mr. ----,' said Nan. + +'I didn't,' said Sal, rather shamefacedly. 'You see, Miss, the two I +showed you are enough company for me; and I haven't got money to buy +books wi'. Well, I was passing near the old gentleman's house, and he +came out, and he spoke to me as we went along the road. He said he had +seen me reading the afternoon before, on the common; and he began to +speak about poetry; and then he asked me if I had read any of Mr. +----'s, without saying he was himself. I was sorry to say no, Miss, +for he was such a kind old gentleman; but he said he would send me +them; and most like they're waiting for me now at Goring, where I gave +him an address. Lor', the questions he asked me!--about Shakespeare +and Burns--you know, Miss, I had them in my bag; and then about myself. +I shouldn't wonder if he wrote a poem about me.' + +'Well, that's modest,' said Nan, with another quiet laugh. + +Sal did not at all like that gentle reproof. + +'It isn't my pride, Miss; it's what he said to me that I go by,' she +retorted. 'I didn't ask him.' + +'If he does, all England will hear about you then,' said Nan. 'And +now, what was the other thing?' + +Sal again grew shamefaced a little. She opened the inner side of her +wallet, took out a soiled, weather-beaten copy of the _Globe_ +Shakespeare, and from it extracted a letter. + +'Perhaps you would like to read it yourself, Miss,' she suggested. + +Nan took it, and had little difficulty in deciphering its contents, +though the language was occasionally a trifle hyperbolical. It +contained nothing less than an offer of marriage addressed to Sal by a +sailor in one of Her Majesty's ironclads, who said that he was tired of +the sea, and that, if Sal would give up her wandering life, so would +he, and he would retire into the coastguard. He pointed out the +sacrifices he was ready to make for her; for it appeared that he was a +petty officer. No matter; he was willing to become simple A.B. again; +for he had his 'feelin's;' and if so be as she would become his wife, +then they would have a good weather-proof cottage, a bit of garden, and +three-and-fourpence a day. It was a most business-like, sensible offer. + +'And I'm sure I could do something for him,' Nan eagerly said. 'I +think I could get him promotion. The Senior Naval Lord of the +Admiralty is a friend of mine. And wouldn't it be better for you?' + +'No, Miss,' said Sal, with an odd kind of smile. 'I was glad to get +the letter, for it shows I'm respected. But I'm not going to be caged +yet. I never saw or heard of the man I would marry--except it might +have been Robbie Burns, if he was still alive. Sometimes when I've +been reading a bit, coming along the downs all by myself like, I've +seen somebody in the distance; and I've said to myself, "Well, now, if +that was only to turn out to be that black-a-vised Ayrshire ploughman, +it would be all over with me; it would be 'Whistle and I'll come to ye, +my lad.'" And then some shambling fellow of a labourer has come along, +straw-haired, bent-backed, twisted-kneed, and scarcely enough spirit in +him to say, "Marnin t' ye--good marnin t' ye, wench!"' + +'You are very independent,' said the sage Nan. 'And that's all very +well, as long as your health lasts. But you might become ill. You +would want relatives and friends, and a home. And in the coastguard +houses you would have a very comfortable home, and a garden to look +after; and your husband might get promotion.' + +'If ever I marry,' said Sal, shaking her head, 'it won't be one of the +man-of-war's men. They've just as little spirit or independence as the +day labourers. They've had it all crushed out of them by the hard +usage of the officers.' + +'Oh, how can you say so!' said Nan, warmly. 'The officers are English +gentlemen. In former days there may have been cruelty, but I am +certain that exists no longer. I know several officers: kinder-hearted +men don't exist. Why, there is a captain in the navy----' + +She stopped in great embarrassment. But Singing Sal, not heeding, +said, laconically-- + +'It ain't the captain, Miss. He's too great a gentleman to interfere. +It's the first lieutenant, who can make the ship a hell upon earth if +he has a mind to. Ah! Miss, it's little you know of the discipline +that goes on on board a man-o'-war. There's no human being could stand +it who wasn't brought up to it. The merchantmen can't stand it, and +won't stand it; that's where the officers find a difficulty when the +Reserves are called out. You wouldn't find a man-o'-war's man marching +up to the First Lord of the Admiralty with a lump of salt beef in his +hand and asking him if it was fit to eat. And this Lord, Miss, being a +civilian like, he never thought of having the man clapped in irons: +"Throw it overboard," says he. "I will see that no more o' that kind +of stuff is issued to Her Majesty's fleet." That was the story I +heard, Miss; the men were laughing about it at Beachy Head. And then, +in the merchantmen Jack has a better chance, if he is a smart +fellow----' + +And so forth. They had once more got on to the subject of sailors and +officers, regarded from their different points of view; and it was not +until they had reached Brighton that the sight of Lewes Crescent +reminded Nan that she had now to part from her companion and go in +search of mutton bones for the thrushes and blackbirds. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +BREAKING DOWN. + +Not only was she successful in this work of charity, but she must needs +also institute a similar system of outdoor relief at her own end of the +town; so that it was nearly dusk when she re-entered the house in +Brunswick Terrace. She did not think of asking if there were any +visitors; she went upstairs; perceived that the drawing-room door was +an inch or two open, and was just about to enter when she heard voices. +Inadvertently she paused. + +It was Mr. Jacomb's voice. Then her mother said-- + +'I married happily myself, and I have never tried to influence my +daughters----' + +Nan shrank back, like a guilty thing. She had only listened to +discover whether it was some one she knew who had called; but these few +words of her mother's made her heart jump. She stole away noiselessly +to her own room. She sat down, anxious and agitated, fearing she +scarcely knew what. + +She was not long left in suspense. Her mother came into the room and +shut the door. + +'I thought I heard you come in, Nan,' she said; 'and it's lucky you +have, for Mr. Jacomb is here.' + +'But I don't want to see Mr. Jacomb, mamma,' she said, breathlessly. + +'He wants to see you,' her mother said, quietly; 'and I suppose you +know what it is about.' + +'I--I suppose so--yes, I can guess----. Oh, mother, dear!' cried Nan, +going and clinging to her mother. 'Do me this great kindness! I can't +see him. I don't want to see him. Mother, you will go and speak to +him for me!' + +'Well, that is extraordinary,' said Lady Beresford, who, however, had +far too great a respect for her nerves to become excited over this +matter or anything else. 'That's a strange request. I have just told +him I would not interfere. Of course I don't consider it a good match; +you might do a great deal better from a worldly point of view. But you +have always been peculiar, Nan. If you think it would be for your +happiness to become a poor clergyman's wife, I will not oppose it. At +the same time, I have always thought you might do better----' + +'Oh, mother, don't you understand?' Nan broke in. 'It's to ask him to +go away! I'm so sorry. If he had spoken before, I would have told him +before----' + +'You mean you refuse him, and I am to take the message,' said her +mother, staring at her. 'That is all?' + +The girl was silent. + +'I must say, Nan, you have been acting very strangely. You have lead +us all to believe that you were going to marry him. Why did you let +the man come about the house?' + +'Don't speak like that to me, mother,' said Nan, with her under lip +beginning to quiver. 'I--I tried to think of it. I knew he wanted me +to be his wife; I thought it might be right; I thought I could do +something that way; and--and I tried to persuade myself. But I can't +marry him, mother--I can't--I don't wish to marry any one--I never will +marry----' + +'Don't talk nonsense, child!' said her mother, severely, for there was +a sort of tendency towards excitement in the atmosphere. 'Let me +understand clearly. I suppose you know your own mind. I am to go and +tell this man definitely that you won't marry him?' + +'Mother, don't put it in that harsh way. Tell him I am very sorry. +Tell him I tried hard to think of it. Tell him I am sorry he has +waited so long; but if he had asked sooner----' + +'He would have had the same answer?' + +The girl's faced flushed red, and she said in a strange sort of a way-- + +'Yes--perhaps so--I think it must have been the same answer at any +time. Oh, I never, never could have brought myself to marry him! +Mother, does it look cruel--does it look as if I had treated him +badly?' she added, in the same anxious way. + +'No, I would not say that,' answered her mother, calmly. 'A man must +take his chance; and until he speaks he can't have an answer. I do not +think Mr. Jacomb has any reason to complain--except, perhaps, that you +don't go yourself and hear what he has to say----' + +'Oh, mother, I couldn't do that. It would only be pain for both of us. +And then I don't refuse him, you see, mother; that's something----' + +Lady Beresford was uncertain. The truth was, she was not at all sorry +to be the bearer of this message--even at the cost of a little +trouble--for she did think that her daughter ought to marry into a +better position in life. But she had just been listening to what Mr. +Jacomb had to say for himself; and he had said a good deal, not only +about himself but about Nan, and her disposition, and what would best +secure her happiness, and so forth. Lady Beresford had been just a +little bit impressed, and the question was whether Nan ought not to be +invited to a fair consideration of the matter as represented by Mr. +Jacomb himself. + +'Well, Nan, if your mind is quite clear about it----' + +'Oh it is, mother,' she answered eagerly, 'quite--quite----' + +That was an end. Her mother left the room, slowly; Nan listened for +her footsteps until she heard her go into the drawing-room and close +the door. Her first thought was to lock herself in, so that there +should be no appeal. Her next was that it was excessively mean and +cruel of her to experience this wonderful sense of relief, now that the +die was irrevocably cast. + +'If there was anything I could do for him,' she was +thinking--'anything--anything but that;' and then she listened again to +the stillness until she heard a bell ring, and the drawing-room door +open again, and some one descend the stairs into the hall. She felt +guilty and sorry at the same time. She wished she could do something +by way of compensation. He would not think it was mere heartlessness? +For indeed she had tried. And would she not have done him a far +greater wrong if she had married him without being able to give him her +whole heart? + +Nan went to the window; but it was too dark for her to see anything. +She took it for granted he had gone away. She was glad, and ashamed of +herself for being glad. She reproved herself. And then she had a +vague sort of feeling that she would wear sackcloth and ashes--or try +to be ten times kinder to everybody--or do something, anything, no +matter what--to atone for this very unmistakable sense of gladness that +seemed to pervade her whole being. She couldn't help it, because it +was there; but she would do something by way of compensation. And the +first thing she could think of was to go and brush the billiard-table +with such thoroughness that Mr. Tom, when he came home should say he +had never seen it in such good condition before. + +That was a roaring party that somewhat later came in--all flushed faces +and high spirits and delight; for they had walked all the way from +Falmer over the downs, under the guidance of the Canadian experience of +Frank King; and they had had wonderful adventures with the snow-drifts; +and the night was beautiful--a crescent moon in the south, and high up +in the south-east the gleaming belt of Orion. And Nan greatly entered +into the joy of these adventurers, and wished to hear more of their +futile efforts at skating; and was asking this one and the other about +everything--until she found Mr. Tom's eyes fixed on her. + +'Nan,' said he, with scrutiny and decision, 'you've been in the country +to-day, walking.' + +She admitted she had. + +'And you had for your luncheon a bit of bread and an apple.' + +'I generally take that as a precaution,' Nan said, simply. + +'I thought so,' said Mr. Tom, with great satisfaction at his own +shrewdness. 'I can tell in a minute. For you always come back looking +highly pleased with yourself and inclined to be cheeky. I don't like +the look of you when you're too set up. Your tongue gets too sharp. +I'd advise you people to look out.' + +Nan's conscience smote her. Was she so glad, then, that even outsiders +saw it in her face? She became graver; and she vowed that she would be +most reticent at dinner. Had she not promised to herself to try to be +ten times kinder to everybody? + +And she very soon, at dinner, had an opportunity of displaying her +generosity. They were busy making havoc of the manner of a +distinguished person who was much talked of at that time, and whom they +had all chanced to meet. Now Nan ordinarily was very intolerant of +affectation; but had she not promised to be ten times kinder to +everybody? So she struck in in defence of this lady. + +'But it is her nature to be affected,' said Nan. 'She is quite true to +herself. That is her disposition. It wouldn't be natural for her to +try not to be affected. She was born with that disposition. Look at +the idiotic grimaces that infants make when they try to show they are +pleased. And Mrs. ---- wouldn't be herself at all if she wasn't +affected. She might as well try to leave off her affectations as her +clothes. She couldn't go about without any.' + +'She goes about with precious little,' said Mr. Tom, who strongly +disapproved of scanty ball-dresses. And then he added, 'But that's Nan +all over. She's always for making the best of everything and +everybody. It's always the best possible world with her.' + +'And isn't that wise,' said Frank King, with a laugh, 'considering it's +the only one we've got to live in at present?' + +Nan was very bright and cheerful during this dinner, and Captain Frank +King was most markedly attentive to her, and interested in her talking. +When Nan began to speak, he seemed to consider that the whole table +ought to listen; and his was the first look that approved, and the +first laugh that followed. Then he discovered that she knew all sorts +of out-of-the-way things that an ordinary young lady could by no +possibility have been expected to know. It was more than ever clear to +him that these solitary wanderings had taught her something. Where had +she acquired all this familiarity, for example, with details about his +own profession--or what had been his profession? + +They went on to talk of the jeers of cabmen at each other, and how +sharp some of them were. Then again they began to talk about other +common sayings--the very origin of which had been forgotten; and Frank +King spoke of a taunt which was an infallible recipe for driving a +bargee mad--'_Who choked the boy with duff?_'--though nobody, not the +bargees themselves, now knew anything whatever about the tragic +incident that must have happened sometime and somewhere. + +'Yes,' said Nan at once, 'and there is another like that that the +collier-boats can't stand. If you call out to a collier, "_There's a +rat in your chains_" he'd drive his schooner ashore to get after you.' + +'I suppose you have tried,' said her mother, with calm dignity. + +'I believe Nan spends most of her time,' said the Beauty, 'in making +mud-pies with the boys in Shoreham Harbour.' + +'Never you mind, Nan,' her brother said to encourage her. 'Next time +we go to Newhaven, you'll call out to the colliers, "_There's a rat in +your chains_," and I'll stop behind a wall and watch them beating you.' + +All during that dinner Nan was both amused and amusing, until a +trifling little incident occurred. She and Frank King on the other +side of the table had almost monopolised the conversation, although +quite unwittingly; and everybody seemed to regard this as a matter of +course. Now it happened that Madge, who sat next her betrothed, made +some slight remark to him. Perhaps he did not hear. At all events, he +did not answer, but addressed Nan instead, with reference to something +she had just been saying about lifeboats. Instantly, a hurt expression +came over Madge's face, and as instantly Nan saw it. From that moment +she grew more reserved. She avoided addressing herself directly to +Captain Frank King. She devoted herself chiefly to her mother; and +when, at the end of dinner, they adjourned in a body to the +billiard-room (with the happy indifference of youth) she followed Lady +Beresford up to the drawing-room and would herself make tea for her. + +'Do you know, Nan,' she said, quite plainly, 'that whenever you are in +the room Frank pays no attention to any one else?' + +'I thought he was doing his best to amuse everybody at dinner,' Nan +said--though she did not raise her eyes. 'He told some very good +stories.' + +'Yes, to you,' Madge insisted. Then she added, 'You know I like it. I +hope he will always be good friends with all the family: for you see, +Nan, it will be lonely for me at Kingscourt for a while, and of course +I should like to have somebody from Brighton always in the house. And +I know he admires you very much. He's always talking about your +character, and your disposition, and your temperament, as if he had +been studying you like a doctor. I suppose I've got no character, or +he would talk about that sometimes. I don't understand it--that +talking about something inside you, as if it was something separate +from yourself; and calling it all kinds of sentiments and virtues, as +if it was clockwork you couldn't see. I don't see anything like that +in you, Nan--except that you are very kind, you know--but not so +different from other people--as he seems to think.' + +'It doesn't much matter what he thinks, does it?' suggested Nan, gently. + +'Oh no, of course not,' Madge said, promptly. 'He said I was a very +good skater, considering the horrid condition of the ice. They have a +large lake at Kingscourt.' Then after a pause, 'Nan, where did you +learn all that about the lighthouses and the birds at night?' + +'Oh, that? I really don't know. What about it?--it is of no +consequence.' + +'But it interests people.' + +'It ought not to interest you, or Captain King either. You will have +to think of very different things at Kingscourt.' + +'When you and Mr. Jacomb come to Kings----' + +'Madge,' said Nan, quickly, 'you must not say anything like that. I do +not mean to marry Mr. Jacomb, if that is what you mean.' + +'No? Honour bright?' + +'I shall not marry Mr. Jacomb; and I am not likely to marry any one,' +she said, calmly. 'There are other things one can give one's life to, +I suppose. It would be strange if there were not.' + +Madge thought for a second or two. + +'Oh, Nan,' she said cheerfully, 'it would be so nice to have an +old-maid sister at Kingscourt. She could do such a lot of things, and +be so nice and helpful, without the fuss and pretension of a married +woman. It would be really delightful to have you at Kingscourt!' + +'I hope, dear, you will be happy at Kingscourt,' said Nan, in a +somewhat lower voice. + +'I shall never be quite happy until you come to stay there,' said +Madge, with decision. + +'You will have plenty of occupation,' said Nan, absently. 'I have been +thinking if a war broke out I should like to go as one of the nurses; +and of course that wants training beforehand. There must be an +institution of some kind, I suppose. Now, good-night, dear.' + +'Good-night, Mother Nan. But we are not going to let you go away into +wars. You are coming to Kingscourt. I know Frank will insist on it. +And it would just be the very place for you; you see you would be in +nobody's way; and you always were so fond of giving help. Oh, Nan,' +her sister suddenly said, 'what is the matter? You are crying! What +is it, Nan?' + +Nan rose quickly. + +'Crying? No--no--never mind, Madge--I am tired +rather--there--good-night.' + +She got her sister out of the room only in time. Her overstrained +calmness had at length given way. She threw herself on the bed, and +burst into a passion of weeping; and thus she lay far into the night, +stifling her sobs so that no one should hear. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +THE SHADOW. + +The process of disenchantment is one of the saddest and one of the +commonest things in life; whether the cause of it be the golden youth +who, apparently a very Bayard before marriage, after marriage gradually +reveals himself to be hopelessly selfish, or develops a craving for +brandy, or becomes merely brutal and ill-tempered; or whether it is the +creature of all angelic gifts and graces who, after her marriage, +destroys the romance of domestic life by her slatternly ways, or sinks +into the condition of a confirmed sigher, or in time discovers to her +husband that he has married a woman comprising in herself, to use the +American phrase, nine distinct sorts of a born fool. These discoveries +are common in life; but they generally follow marriage, which gives +ample opportunities for study. Before marriage man and maid meet but +at intervals; and then both are alike on their best behaviour. The +slattern is no slattern now; she is always dainty and nice and neat; +the golden youth is generous to a fault, and noble in all his ways; and +if either or both should be somewhat foolish, or even downright stupid, +the lack of wisdom is concealed by a tender smile or a soft touch of +the hand. It is the dream-time of life; and it is not usual for one to +awake until it is over. + +But it was different with Frank King. The conditions in which he was +placed were altogether peculiar. He had made two gigantic +mistakes--the first in imagining that any two human beings could be +alike: the second in imagining that, even if they were alike, he could +transfer his affection from the one to the other--and he was now +engaged in a hopeless and terrible struggle to convince himself that +these were not mistakes. He would not see that Madge Beresford was +very different from Nan. He was determined to find in her all he had +hoped to find. He argued with himself that she was just like Nan, as +Nan had been at her age. Madge was so kind, and good, and nice; of +course it would all come right in the end. + +At the same time, he never wished to be alone with Madge, as is the +habit of lovers. Nor if he was suddenly interested in anything did he +naturally turn to her, and call her attention. On the other hand, the +little social circle did not seem complete when Nan, with her grave +humour, and her quiet smile, and her gentle, kindly ways, was absent. +When she came into the room, then satisfaction and rest were in the +very air. If there was a brighter green on the sea, where a gleam of +wintry sunshine struck the roughened waters, whose eyes but Nan's could +see that properly? It was she whom he addressed on all occasions; +perhaps unwittingly. It seemed so easy to talk to Nan. For the rest, +he shut his eyes to other considerations. From the strange fascination +and delight that house in Brunswick Terrace always had for him, he knew +he must be in love with somebody there; and who could that be but Madge +Beresford, seeing that he was engaged to her? + +Unhappily for poor Madge, Frank King was now called home by the old +people at Kingscourt; and for a time, at least, all correspondence +between him and his betrothed would obviously have to be by letter. +Madge was in great straits. A look, a smile, a touch of the fingers +may make up for lack of ideas; but letter-writing peremptorily demands +them, of some kind or another. As usual, Madge came to her elder +sister. + +'Oh, Nan, I do so hate letter-writing. I promised to write every +morning. I don't know what in the world to say. It is such a +nuisance.' + +Nan was silent; of late she had tried to withdraw as much as possible +from these confidences of her sister's; but not very successfully. +Madge clung to her. Lady Beresford would not be bothered. Edith was +busy with her own affairs. But Nan--old Mother Nan--who had nothing to +think of but other people, might as well begin and play the old maid at +once, and give counsel in these distressing affairs. + +'I wish you would tell me what to say,' continued Madge, quite coolly. + +'I? Oh, I cannot,' said Nan, almost shuddering, and turning away. + +'But you know what interests him; for he's always talking to you,' +persisted Madge, good-naturedly. 'Anybody but me would be jealous; but +I'm not. The day before yesterday Mrs. ---- went by; and I asked him +to look at her hair, that every one is raving about; and he plainly +told me your hair was the prettiest he had ever seen. Now, I don't +call that polite. He might have said "except yours," if only for the +look of the thing. But I don't mind--not a bit I'm very glad he likes +you, Nan----' + +'Madge! Madge!' + +It was almost a cry wrung from the heart. But in an instant she had +controlled herself again. She turned to her sister, and said with +great apparent calmness, + +'Surely, dear, you ought to know what to write. These are things that +cannot be advised about. Letters of that kind are secret----' + +'Oh, I don't care about that. I think it is stupid,' said Madge at +once. 'There is no use having any pretence about it. And I don't know +in the world what to write about. Look,--I have begun about the +Kenyons' invitation, and asked him whether he'd mind my going. I like +those little dances better than the big balls----' + +She held out the letter she had begun. But Nan would not even look at +it. + +'It isn't usual, is it, Madge,' she said, hurriedly, 'for a girl who is +engaged to go out to a dance by herself?' + +'But we are all going!' + +'You know what I mean. It is a compliment you should pay him not to +go.' + +'Well,' said Madge somewhat defiantly, 'I don't know about that. One +does as one is done by. And I don't think he'd care if I went and +danced the whole night through--even with Jack Hanbury.' + +'Oh, how can you say such a thing!' said her sister, staring at her; +for this was a new development altogether. + +But Madge was not to be put down. + +'Oh, I am not such a fool. I can see well enough. There isn't much +romance about the whole affair; and that's the short and the long of +it. Of course it's a very good arrangement for both of us, I believe; +and that's what they say now-a-days--marriages are "arranged."' + +'I don't know what you mean Madge! You never spoke like that before.' + +'Perhaps I was afraid of frightening you; for you have high and mighty +notions of things, dear Nan, for all your mouse-like ways. But don't I +see very well that he is marrying to please his parents; and to settle +down and be the good boy of the family? That's the meaning of the +whole thing----' + +'You don't mean to say, Madge,' said the elder sister, though she +hesitated, and seemed to have to force herself to ask the question, +'You don't mean to say you think he does not--love you?' + +At this Madge flushed up a little, and said-- + +'Oh, well, I suppose he does, in a kind of way, though he doesn't take +much trouble about saying it. It isn't of much consequence; we shall +have plenty of time afterwards. Mind, if only Jack Hanbury could get +invited by the Kenyons, and I were to dance two or three times with +him, and Frank get to hear of it, I suppose there would be a noble +rampage: _then_ he might speak out a little more.' + +'Have you been dreaming Madge?' said Nan, again staring at her sister. +'What has put such monstrous things into your head? Mr. Hanbury--at +the Kenyons'--and you would dance with him!' + +'Well, why not?' said Madge, with a frown; for this difficulty about +the letter-writing had clearly operated on her temper and made her +impatient. 'All the world isn't supposed to know about the +Vice-Chancellor's warning. Why shouldn't he be invited by the Kenyons? +And why should he know that I am going? And why, if we both happen to +be there, shouldn't we dance together? Human beings are human beings, +in spite of Vice-Chancellors. They can't lock up a man for dancing +with you? At all events, they can't lock me up, even if Jack is there.' + +'Madge, put these things out of your head. You won't go to the +Kenyons', for Captain King would not like it----' + +'I don't think he'd take the trouble to object,' Madge interjected. + +'And Mr. Hanbury won't be there; and there will be no dancing, and no +quarrel. If you wish to write to Captain King about what will interest +him, write about what interests yourself. That he is sure to be +interested in----' + +'Well, but that is exactly what I can't write to him about. I know +what I am interested in well enough. Edith has just told me Mr. +Roberts has been pressing her to fix a time for their marriage. She +thinks the end of April; so that they could be back in London for the +latter end of the season. Now I think that would do very well for us +too--and it is always nice for two sisters to get married on the same +day--only Frank has never asked me a word about it, and how am I to +write to him about it? So you see, wise Mother Nan, I can't write to +him about what interests me.' + +Nan had started somewhat when she heard this proposal; it seemed +strange to her. + +'April?' she said. 'You've known Captain King a very short time, +Madge. You were not thinking of getting married in April next?' + +'Perhaps I'd better wait until I'm asked,' said Madge, with a laugh, as +she turned to go away. 'Well, if you won't tell me what to write +about, I must go and get this bothered letter done somehow. I do +believe the best way will be to write about you; that will interest him +anyway.' + +Frank King remained away for a few weeks, and during this time the +first symptoms appeared of the coming spring. The days began to +lengthen, there were crocuses in the gardens, there were reports of +primroses and sweet violets in the woods about Horsham; in London +Parliament was sitting, and in Brighton well-known faces were +recognisable amongst the promenaders on the Saturday afternoons. Then +Mr. Roberts, as Edith's accepted suitor, received many invitations to +the house in Brunswick Terrace; and in return was most indefatigable in +arranging riding-parties, driving-parties, walking-parties, with in +each case a good hotel for luncheon as his objective point. Madge +joined in these diversions with great good-will; and made them the +excuse for the shortness of the letters addressed to Kingscourt. Nan +went also; she was glad to get into the country on any pretence; and +she seemed merry enough. When Mr. Roberts drove along the King's Road +with these three comely damsels under his escort, he was a proud man; +and he may have comforted himself with the question, that as beer +sometimes led to a baronetcy, why shouldn't soda-water? + +Strangely enough, Nan had entirely ceased making inquiries about +sisterhoods and institutions for the training of nurses. She seemed +quite reconciled to the situation of things as they were. She did not +cease her long absences from the house; but every one knew that on +these occasions she was off on one of her solitary wanderings; and she +came home in the evening apparently more contented than ever. She had +even brought herself to speak of Madge's married life, which at first +she would not do. + +'You see,' she said to her sister on one occasion, 'if you and Edith +get married on the same day, I must remain and take care of mamma; she +must not be left quite alone.' + +'Oh, as for that,' said Madge, 'Mrs. Arthurs does better than the whole +of us; and I'm not going to have you made a prisoner of. I'm going to +have a room at Kingscourt called "Nan's room," and it shall have no +other name as long as I am there. Then we shall have a proper house in +London by and by; and of course you'll come up for the season, and see +all the gaieties. I think we ought to have one of the red houses just +by Prince's; that would be handy for everything; and you might come up, +Nan, and help me to buy things for it. And you shall have a room there +too, you shall; and you may decorate it and furnish it just as you +like. I know quite well what you would like--the room small; the +woodwork all bluey-white; plenty of Venetian embroidery flung about; +all the fire-place brass; some of those green Persian plates over the +mantelpiece; about thirteen thousand Chinese fans arranged like +fireworks on the walls; a fearful quantity of books and a low +easy-chair; red candles; and in the middle of the whole thing a nasty, +dirty, little beggar-girl to feed and pet----' + +'I think, Madge,' her sister said, gravely, 'that you should not set +your heart on a town-house at all. Remember, old Mr. King is giving +his son Kingscourt at a great sacrifice. As I understand it, it will +be a long time before the family estate is what it has been; and you +would be very ungrateful if you were extravagant----' + +'Oh, I don't see that,' said Madge. 'They are conferring no favour on +me. I don't see why I should economise. I am marrying for fun, not +for love.' + +She blurted out this inadvertently--to Nan's amazement and horror--but +instantly retracted it, with the blood rushing to her temples. + +'Of course I don't mean that, Nan--how could I have been so stupid! I +don't mean _that--exactly_. What I mean is that it doesn't seem to me +as if it was supposed to be a very fearfully romantic match, and all +that kind of thing. It's a very good arrangement; but it isn't I who +ought to be expected to make sacrifices----' + +'But surely your husband's interests will be yours!' exclaimed Nan. + +'Oh yes, certainly,' her sister said, somewhat indifferently. 'No +doubt that's true, in a way. Quite true, in a kind of way. Still, +there are limits; and I should not like to be buried alive for ever in +the country.' + +Then she sighed. + +'Poor Jack!' she said. + +She went to the window. + +'When I marry, I know at least one who will be sorry. I can fancy him +walking up and down there--looking at the house as he used to do; and, +oh! so grateful if only you went to the window for a moment. He will +see it in the papers, I suppose.' + +She turned to her sister, and said, triumphantly-- + +'Well, the Vice-Chancellor was done that time!' + +'What time?' + +'Valentine's morning. You can send flowers without any kind of writing +to be traced. Do you think I don't know who sent me the flowers?' + +'At all events, you should not be proud of it. You should be sorry. +It is a very great pity----' + +'Yes, that's what I think,' said Madge. 'How can I help pitying him? +It wouldn't be natural not to pity him, Vice-chancellor or no +Vice-chancellor. I hate that man.' + +'I say it is a great pity that Mr. Hanbury does not accept his +dismissal as inevitable; and as for you, Madge, you ought not even to +think of him. Captain King sent you that beautiful card-case on +Valentine's morning; that is what you should remember.' + +'Captain King could send me a white elephant if he chose,' said Madge, +spitefully. 'There's no danger to him in anything he does. It's +different with poor Jack.' + +'Madge,' said her sister, seriously, 'do you know that you are talking +as if you looked forward to this marriage with regret?' + +'Oh no, I don't--I'm not such a fool,' said Madge, plainly. 'I know +it's stupid to think about Jack Hanbury; but still, one has got a +little feeling.' + +Then she laughed. + +'I will tell you another secret, Nan. If he daren't write to me he can +send me things. He sent me a book--a novel--and I know he meant me to +think the hero himself. For he was disappointed in love, too, and +wrote beautifully about his sufferings, and at last the poor fellow +blew his brains out.' + +'Well, Mr. Hanbury couldn't do that, at all events--for reasons,' Nan +said. + +'Now that is a very bad joke,' said Madge, in a sudden outburst of +temper; 'an old, stupid, bad joke, that has been made a hundred times. +I'm ashamed of you, Nan. They say you have a great sense of humour; +that's when you say things they can't understand; and they pretend to +have a great sense of humour too. But where's the humour in that?' + +'But Madge, dear,' said Nan, gently, 'I didn't mean to say anything +against Mr. Hanbury----' + +'In any case, there is one in this house who does not despise Mr. +Hanbury for being poor,' said Madge, hotly. 'It isn't his fault that +his papa and mamma haven't given him money and sent him out into the +world to buy a wife!' + +And therewith she quickly went to the door and opened it, and went out +and shut it again with something very closely resembling a slam. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +DANGER AHEAD. + +Nan waited the return of Frank King with the deepest anxiety. She +would see nothing in these wild words of Madge's but an ebullition of +temper. She could not bring herself to believe that her own sister--a +girl with everything around her she could desire in the world--would +deliberately enter upon one of those hateful marriages of convenience. +It was true, Nan had to confess to herself, that Madge was not very +impressionable. There was no great depth in her nature. Then she was +a trifle vain, and liked admiration; and she was evidently pleased to +have a handsome and certainly eligible suitor. But no--it was +impossible that she had really meant what she said. When Captain King +came back, then the true state of affairs would be seen. Madge was not +going to marry for money or position--or even out of spite. + +And when Frank King did come back, matters looked very well at first. +Madge received him in a very nice, friendly fashion, and was pleased by +certain messages from the old folks at Kingscourt. Nan's fears began +to fade away. Nothing more was heard of Jack Hanbury. So far as Madge +was concerned everything seemed right. + +But Nan, who was very anxious, and on that account unusually sensitive, +seemed to detect something strange in Frank King's manner. He had +nothing of the gay audacity of an accepted suitor. When he paid Madge +any little attention, it appeared almost an effort. He was preoccupied +and thoughtful; sometimes, after regarding Madge in silence, he would +apparently wake up to the consciousness that he ought to be more +attentive to her; but there did not seem to be much joyousness in their +relationship. When these two happened to be together--during the +morning stroll down the pier, or on the way home from church, or seated +at a concert--they did not seem to have many things to speak about +Frank King grew more and more grave; and Nan saw it, and wondered, and +quite failed to guess at the reason. + +The fact was that he had now discovered what terrible mistake he had +made. He could blind himself no longer. Madge was not Nan; nor +anything approaching to Nan; they were as different as day and night. +Face to face with this discovery, he asked himself what he ought to do. +Clearly, if he had made a mistake, it was his first duty that no one +else should suffer by it. Because he was disappointed in not finding +in Madge certain qualities and characteristics he had expected to find, +he was not going to withdraw from an engagement he had voluntarily +entered into. It was not Madge's fault. If the prospect of this +marriage pleased her, he was bound to fulfil his promise. After all, +Madge had her own qualities. Might they not wear as well through the +rough work of the world, even if they had not for him the fascination +he had hoped for? In any case, the disappointment should be his, not +hers. She should not suffer any slight. And then he would make +another desperate resolve to be very affectionate and attentive to her; +resolves which usually ended in his carrying to her some little present +of flowers, or something like that, having presented which, he would +turn and talk to Nan. + +'I say, Beresford,' he suddenly observed, one night at dinner, 'I have +an invitation to go salmon-fishing in Ireland. Will you come?' + +'Well, but----' Madge interposed with an injured air, as if she ought +to have been consulted first. + +'I should like it tremendously!' said Mr. Tom, with a rush. + +'I am told the scenery in the neighbourhood is very fine,' continued +Captain King; 'at all events we are sure to think so half a dozen years +hence. That is one of the grand points about one's memory; you forget +all the trivial details and discomforts, and only remember the best.' + +He quite naturally turned to Nan. + +'I am sure, Miss Nan,' he said, 'you have quite a series of beautiful +little pictures in your mind about that Splugen excursion. Don't you +remember the drive along the Via Mala, in the shut-up carriage--the +darkness outside--and the swish of the rain----' + +'Well,' said Madge, somewhat spitefully, 'considering you were in a +closed carriage and driving through darkness, I don't see much of a +beautiful picture to remember!' + +He did not seem to heed. It was Nan he was addressing; and there was a +pleased light in her eyes. Reminiscences are to some people very +delightful things. + +'And you recollect the crowded saloon in the Splugen inn, and the snug +little corner we got near the stove, and the little table. That's +where you discovered the use of stupid people at dinner-parties----' + +'What's that?' Mr. Tom demanded to know. + +'It's a secret,' Captain King answered, with a laugh. 'And I think you +were rather down-hearted next morning--until we began to get up through +the clouds. That is a picture to remember at all events--a Christmas +picture in summer time. Do you remember how green the pines looked +above the snow? And how blue the sky was when the mist got driven +over? And how business-like you looked in your ulster--buttoned up to +the chin for resolute Alpine work. I fancy I can hear now the very +chirp of your boots on the wet snow--it was very silent away up there.' + +'I know,' said Nan, somewhat shamefacedly, 'that when I saw +"_Ristoratore_" stuck up on the house near the top, I thought it was a +place for restoring people found in the snow, until I heard the driver +call out "_Du, hole Schnapps_."' + +'Wasn't that a wild whirl down the other side!' he continued, +delightedly. 'But you should have come into the Customs-house with me +when I went to declare my cigars. You see it wouldn't do for me, who +might one day get a coastguard appointment, to try on any smuggling. +But I did remonstrate. I said I had already paid at Paris and at +Basel; and that it was hard to have to pay three import dues on my +cigars. Well, they were very civil. They said they couldn't help it. +"Why not buy your cigars in the country where you smoke them?" asked an +old gentleman in spectacles. "Because, Monsieur," I answered him, with +the usual cheek of the English, "I prefer to smoke cigars made of +tobacco." But he was quite polite. After charging me eighteen francs, +he bowed me out, and said "a rivederla;" to which I responded "Oh no, +thank you;" and then I found you and your sisters all laughing at me, +as if I had been before a police-magistrate to be admonished.' + +'You don't forget all the disagreeable details, then?' said Nan, with a +smile. + +But the smile vanished from her face when he began to talk about +Bellagio. He did so without any covert intention. It was always a joy +to him to think or talk about the time that he and the three sisters +spent together far away there in the south. And it was only about the +Serenata and the procession of illuminated boats that he was thinking +at this moment. + +'I suppose they will sooner or later have all our ships and steamers +lit with the electric light; and everything will be ghastly white and +ghastly black. But do you remember how soft and beautiful the masses +of yellow stars were when the boats came along the lake in the +darkness? It was indeed a lovely night. And I think we had the best +of it--sitting there in the garden. I know I for one didn't miss the +music a bit. And then it was still more lovely when the moon rose; and +you could see the water, and the mountains on the other side, and even +the houses by the shore. I remember there was a bush somewhere near us +that scented all the air----' + +Madge had been regarding her sister closely. + +'It must have been a magical night,' she said quickly, 'for Nan's face +has got quite white just thinking of it.' + +He started. A quick glance at the girl beside him showed him that she +was indeed pale; her eyes cast down; her hand trembling. Instantly he +said, in a confused hurry,-- + +'You see, Miss Anne, there was some delay about the concert. One +steamer did really come back to Bellagio. We had our serenade all the +same--that is to say, any who were awake. You see, they did not intend +to swindle you----' + +'Oh, no! oh, no!' said Nan; and then, conscious that Madge was still +regarding her, she added with a desperate effort at composure,-- + +'We heard some pretty music on the water at Venice. Edith picked up +some of the airs. She will play them to you after dinner.' + +That same night, as usual, Madge came into Nan's room, just before +going off. + +'Nan,' she said, looking straight at her, 'what was it upset you about +Frank's reminding you of Bellagio?' + +'Bellagio?' repeated Nan, with an effort to appear unconscious, but +with her eyes turned away. + +'Yes; you know very well.' + +'I know that I was thinking of something quite different from anything +that Captain King was saying,' Nan said, at length. 'And--and it is of +no consequence to you, Madge, believe me.' + +Madge regarded her suspiciously for a second, and then said, with an +air of triumph, + +'At all events, he isn't going to Ireland.' + +'Oh, indeed,' Nan answered, gently. 'Well I'm glad; I suppose you +prefer his not going?' + +'It nearly came to a quarrel, I know,' said Madge, frankly. 'I thought +it just a bit too cool. At all events, he ought to pretend to care a +little for me.' + +'Oh, Madge, how can you say such things? Care for you--and he has +asked you to be his wife? Could he care for you more than that?' + +'He has never even thanked me for not going to the Kenyons' ball,' said +Madge, who appeared to imagine that Nan was responsible for everything +Captain King did or did not do. + +'Surely he would take it for granted you would not go!' remonstrated +the elder sister. + +'But he takes everything for granted. And he scarcely ever thinks it +worth while to speak to me. And I know it will be a regular bore when +we go to Kingscourt, with the old people still there, and me not +mistress at all; and what am I to do?' + +She poured out this string of wild complaints rapidly and angrily. + +'Good-night, Madge,' said Nan; 'I am rather tired to-night.' + +'Good-night. But I can tell you if he hadn't given up Ireland, there +would have been a row.' + +It was altogether a strange condition of affairs; and next day it was +apparently made worse. There had been a stiffish gale blowing all +night from the south; and in the morning, though the sky was cloudless, +there was a heavy sea running, so that from the windows they saw white +masses of foam springing into the air--hurled back by the sea-wall at +the end of Medina Terrace. When Captain King came along Mr. Tom at +once proposed they should all of them take a stroll as far as the +Terrace; for now the tide was full up and the foam was springing into +the blue sky to a most unusual height. And, indeed, when they arrived +they found a pretty big crowd collected; a good many of whom had +obviously been caught unawares by the shifting and swirling masses of +spray. It was a curious sight. First the great wave came rolling on +with but little beyond an ominous hissing noise; then there was a heavy +shock that made the earth tremble, and at the same moment a roar as of +thunder; then into the clear sky rose a huge wall of gray, illuminated +by the sunlight, and showing clearly and blackly the big stones and +smaller shingle that had been caught and whirled up in the seething +mass. Occasionally a plank of drift timber was similarly whirled +up--some thirty or forty feet; disappearing altogether again as it fell +crashing into the roar of the retreating wave. It was a spectacle, +moreover, that changed every few seconds, as the heavy volumes of the +sea hit the breakwater at different angles. The air was thick with the +salt spray; and hot with the sunlight--even on this March morning. + +Then it became time for Mr. Tom and Captain Frank to go and witness a +challenge game of rackets that had been much talked of; and the girls +walked back with them as far as Brunswick Terrace, Madge being with +Frank King. + +'Why is it one never sees Mr. Jacomb now?' he asked of his companion. + +'I saw him only the other day,' she said evasively. + +'But he does not come to the house, does he?' + +'N--no,' said Madge. + +'Has he left Brighton?' + +'Oh no,' answered Madge, and she drew his attention to a brig that was +making up Channel under very scant sail indeed. + +'I daresay he has a good deal of work to do,' said Frank King absently. +'When are they going to be married?' + +Madge saw that the revelation could be put off no longer. + +'Oh, but they are not going to be married. Nan isn't going to be +married at all.' + +He stared at her, as if he had scarcely heard her aright; and then he +said slowly-- + +'Nan isn't going to be married? Why have you never told me before?' + +'Oh, it is a private family matter,' said Madge, petulantly. 'It is +not to be talked about. Besides, how could I know it would interest +you?' + +He remained perfectly silent and thoughtful. They walked along. Madge +began to think she had been too ungracious. + +'I suppose she tried to bring herself to it for a time,' she said, more +gently. 'She has wonderful ideas, Nan has; and I suppose she thought +she could do a deal of good as a clergyman's wife. For my part, I +don't see what she could do more than she does at present. It's just +what she's fit for. Poor people don't resent her going into their +houses as they would if it was you or I. She manages it somehow. +That's how she gets to know all about out-of-the-way sort of things; +she's practical; and people think it strange that a young lady like her +should know the ways and habits of common people; and that's why she +interests them when she talks. There's nothing wonderful in it. +Anybody can find out what the profit is on selling oranges, if you like +to go and talk to a hideous old wretch who is smelling of gin. But I +don't say anything against Nan. It's her way. It's what she was +intended for by Providence, I do believe. But she was sold that time +she wanted to get up a little committee to send a constant supply of +books and magazines to the lighthouses--circulating you know. She +wrote to Sir George about it; and found the Admiralty did that already.' + +There was a strange, hopeless, tired look on this man's face. He did +not seem to hear her. He appeared to know nothing of what was going on +around him. + +When they reached the door of the house, he said,-- + +'Good-bye!' + +'Good-bye?' she repeated, inquiringly. 'I thought we were all going to +see the Exhibition of Paintings this afternoon.' + +'I think I must go up to London for a few days,' he said, with some +hesitation. 'There--is some business----' + +She said no more; but turned and went indoors without a word. He bade +good-bye to Edith and to Nan--not looking into Nan's face at all. Then +he left with the brother, and Mr. Tom was silent, for his friend King +seemed much disturbed about something, and he did not wish to worry him. + +As for Madge, she chose to work herself into a pretty passion, though +she said nothing. That she should have been boasting of her triumph in +inducing, or forcing, him to give up that visit to Ireland only to find +him going off to London without warning or explanation, was altogether +insufferable. She was gloomy and morose all the afternoon; would not +go to see the pictures; refused to come in and speak to certain +callers; and at dinner made a little show of sarcasm that did not hurt +anybody very much. + +The evening brought her a letter. Thus it ran:-- + +'Dear Madge--I thought you looked angry when you went indoors this +morning. Don't quarrel about such a trifle as my going to London. I +shall be back in two or three days; and hope to bring with me the big +photograph of Kingscourt, if they have got any copies printed yet. + +'Your FRANK.' + + +'From whom is your letter, Madge?' Lady Beresford said, incidentally. + +'From Frank, mamma,' said the young lady, as she quietly and +determinedly walked across the room and--thrust it into the fire! + +That same night Miss Madge also wrote a note; but the odd thing was +that the writing of both note and address was in a disguised hand. And +when, some little time thereafter, the others were in the +billiard-room, it was Madge herself who slipped out from the house and +went and dropped that missive into the nearest pillar letter-box. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +A CATASTROPHE. + +However, Madge's ill-temper was never of long duration; and at this +particular time, instead of sinking farther into sulks over the absence +of her lover, she grew day by day more joyous and generous and +affectionate. The change was most marked; and Nan, who was her +sister's chief confidant, could not make it out at all. Her gaiety +became almost hysterical; and her kindness to everybody in the house +ran to extravagance. She bought trinkets for the servants. She +presented Mr. Tom with a boot-jack mounted in silver; and he was +pleased to say that it was the first sensible present he had ever known +a girl make. But it was towards Nan that she was most particularly +affectionate and caressing. + +'You know I'm not clever, Nan,' she said, in a burst of confidence, +'and I haven't got clockworks in my brain, and I daresay I'm not +interesting--_to everybody_. But I know girls who are stupider than I +am who are made plenty of. And of course, if you don't have any +romance when you're young, when are you likely to get it after?' + +'But I don't know what you mean, Madge!' Nan exclaimed. + +Nor did Madge explain at the moment. She continued-- + +'I believe it was you, Nan, who told me of the young lady who remarked, +"What's the use of temptation if you don't yield to it?"' + +'That was only a joke,' said Nan, with her demure smile. + +'Oh, I think there's sense in it,' said the practical Madge. 'It +doesn't do to be too wise when you're young.' + +'It so seldom happens, Madge!' said her sister. + +'There you are again, old Mother Hubbard, with your preaching! But I'm +not going to quarrel with you this time. I want your advice. I want +you to tell me what little thing I should buy for Frank, just to be +friends all round, don't you know?' + +'Friends? Yes, I hope so!' said Nan, with a grave smile. 'But how can +I tell you, Madge? I don't know, as you ought to know, what Captain +King has in the way of cigar-cases or such things----' + +'But call him Frank, Nan! Do, to please me. And I know he would like +it.' + +'Some time I may,' said Nan evasively. 'Afterwards, perhaps.' + +'When you come to Kingscourt,' said Madge, with a curious kind of laugh. + +Nan was silent, and turned away; she never seemed to wish to speak of +Kingscourt or her going there. + +Frank King's stay in London was prolonged for some reason or other; at +length he announced his intention of returning to Brighton on a +particular Thursday. On the Tuesday night Nan and Madge arranged that +they would get fresh flowers the next day for the decoration of the +rooms. + +'And this is what I will do for you, Madge, as it is a special +occasion,' remarked Miss Anne, with grave patronage. 'If you will get +up early tomorrow, I will take you to a place, not more than four miles +off, where you will find any quantity of hart's-tongue fern. It is a +deep ditch, I suppose a quarter of a mile long, and the banks are +covered. Of course I don't want any one to know, for it is so near +Brighton it would be harried for the shops; but I will show you the +place, as you will soon be going away now; and we can take a basket.' + +'But how did you find it out, Nan?' + +'Some one showed it to me.' + +'The singing-woman, I suppose?' + +'Yes. Think of that. I believe she could get twopence a root; and she +might fill a cart there. But she won't touch one.' + +'No,' said Edith, with a superior smile. 'She leaves that for young +ladies who could very well afford to go to a florist's.' + +'What I shall take won't hurt,' said Nan, meekly. + +So, next morning, Nan got up about eight; dressed, and was ready to +start. That is to say, she never arranged her programme for the day +with the slightest respect to meals. So long as she could get an apple +and a piece of bread to put in her pocket she felt provided against +everything. However, she thought she would go along to Madge's room, +and see if that young lady had ideas about breakfast. + +Madge's room was empty; and Nan thought it strange she should have gone +downstairs without knocking at her door in passing. But when Nan also +went below she found that Madge had left the house before any one was +up. She could not understand it at all. + +Mr. Tom came down. + +'Oh,' said he, indifferently, 'she wants to be mighty clever and find +out those ferns for herself.' + +'But I did not tell her where they were. I only said they were on the +road to ----' said Nan, naming the place: the writer has reasons of his +own for not being more explicit. + +'All the cleverer if she can find out. The cheek of the young party is +pyramidal,' said Mr. Tom, as he rang for breakfast. + +But at lunch, also, Madge had not turned up. + +'It is very extraordinary,' said Lady Beresford, though she was too +languid to be deeply concerned. + +'Oh no, it isn't, mother,' said Mr. Tom. 'It's all Nan's fault. Nan +has infected her. The Baby, you'll see, has taken to tramping about +the country with gipsies; and prowling about farmers' kitchens; and +catching leverets, and stuff. We lives on the simple fruits of the +earth, my dears; we eats of the root, and we drinks of the spring; but +that doesn't prevent us having a whacking appetite somewhere about +seven forty-five. Edith, my love, pass me the cayenne-pepper.' + +'Boys shouldn't use cayenne-pepper,' said Nan. + +'And babies should speak only when they're spoken to,' he observed. +'Mother, dear, I have arrived at the opinion that Madge has run away +with young Hanbury. I am certain of it. The young gentleman is fool +enough for anything----' + +'You always were spiteful against Mr. Hanbury,' said Edith, 'because +his feet are smaller than yours.' + +'My love,' retorted Mr. Tom, with imperturbable good-nature, 'his feet +may be small. It is in his stupidity that he is really great. Jack +Hanbury can only be described in the words of the American poet: he is +a commodious ass.' + +Now this conjecture of Mr. Tom's about the cause of Madge's +disappearance was only a piece of gay facetiousness. It never did +really occur to him that any one--that any creature with a head capable +of being broken--would have the wild audacity to run away with one of +his sisters, while he, Mr. Tom Beresford, was to the fore. But that +afternoon post brought Nan a letter. She was amazed to see by the +handwriting that it was from Madge; she was still more alarmed when she +read these words, scrawled with a trembling hand, and in pencil: + +'Dearest, dearest Nan, don't be angry. By the time you get this Jack +and I will be married. It is all for the best, dear Nan; and you will +pacify them; and it is no use following us; for we shall be in France +until it is all smoothed down. Not a single bridesmaid--we +daren't--but what wouldn't I do for Jack's sake? It is time I did +something to make up for all he has suffered--he was looking so ill--in +another month he would have _died_. He worships me. You never saw +anything like it. Jack has just come back; so good-bye; from your +loving, loving sister, MARGARET HANBURY.--Do you know who that is, Nan?' + +Nan, not a little frightened, took the letter to her brother, and gave +it him without a word. But Mr. Tom's rage was at once prompt and +voluble. That she should have disgraced the family--for, of course, +the whole thing would be in the papers! That she should have cheated +and jilted his most particular friend! But as for this fellow +Hanbury---- + +'I said it all along. I told you what would come of it! I knew that +fellow was haunting her like a shadow. Well, we'll see how a shadow +likes being locked up on bread and water. Oh, it's no use your +protesting, Nan; I will let the law take its course. We'll see how he +likes that. "Stone walls do not a prison make"--that's what love-sick +fellows say; don't they? Wait a bit. Mr. Jack Hanbury will find that +stone walls make a very good imitation of a prison, at all events----' + +'But, Tom--dear Tom,' Nan pleaded, 'it is no use making matters worse. +Let us try to make them better. If Madge is married, it can't be +helped now. We must make the best of it----' + +He paid no attention to her; he was still staring at the ill-written +letter. + +'That's all gammon about their going to France. He hasn't money for +travelling. She spent all hers in nick-nacks--to propitiate people, +the sneak! They're in London.' + +He looked at his watch. + +'I can just catch the 5.45 express. Nan, you go and tell the others; +they needn't squawk about it all over Brighton.' + +'What are you going to do, Tom?' said his sister, breathlessly. + +'Find out where they are first. Then Colonel Fitzgerald and Mr. Mason +must take it up. Then Mr. Jack Hanbury will suddenly find himself +inside Millbank prison.' + +She caught him by the hand. + +'Tom, is it wise?' she pleaded again. 'They are married. What is the +use of revenge? You don't want to make your own sister miserable?----' + +'She has brought it on herself,' he said, roughly. + +'Then that is what I am to think of you,' she said, regarding him, +'that some day I may hear you talk in that way about me?' + +He never could resist the appeal of Nan's clear, faithful eyes. + +'You wouldn't be such a fool,' he said. 'And they won't touch Madge. +It's only that fellow they'll go for--the mean hound, to marry a girl +for her money.' + +'How do you know it was for her money, Tom?' Nan pleaded. 'I am +certain they were fond of each other----' + +'I don't want to miss my train,' said he. 'You go and tell the +maternal I'm off to London. I suppose you don't know the address of +Hanbury's father?' + +'No, I don't.' + +'Well, I'm off. Ta, ta!' + +So the irate Mr. Tom departed. But in the comparative silence of the +Pullman car the fury of his rage began to abate; and it dawned upon him +that, after all, Nan's counsel might have something in it. No doubt +these two young fools--as he mentally termed them--were married by this +time. He still clung to the idea that Jack Hanbury deserved +punishment--a horsewhipping or something of the kind; but Madge was +Madge. She was silly; and she had 'got into a hole;' still, she was +Madge. She might be let off with a serious lecture on her folly and on +her disregard of what she owed to the other members of the family. +Only, the first thing was to find out their whereabouts. + +On arriving in London he drove to his club, and after some little +searching discovered that Mr. Gregory Hanbury's address was Adelphi +Terrace, whither he at once repaired. Mr. Hanbury was at dinner. He +sent up his card nevertheless, and asked to be allowed to see Mr. +Hanbury on particular business. The answer was a request that he would +step upstairs into the dining-room. + +He found that occupied by two gentlemen who were dining together at the +upper end of a large table. One came forward to meet him. He took it +for granted this was Mr. Hanbury--a slight, short man, with black hair +and eyes, and a very stiff white cravat. + +'Mr. Beresford,' said he, 'I can guess what has brought you here. Let +me introduce you to my brother--Major Hanbury. It is an unfortunate +business.' + +The other gentleman--also slight and short, but with a sun-browned, +dried-up face, and big gray moustache--bowed and resumed his seat. + +'You know, then, that your son has run away with my sister,' said Mr. +Tom, somewhat hotly--though he had determined to keep his temper. +'Perhaps you know also where they are?' + +'No farther,' said the black-haired gentleman, with perfect calmness, +'than that I believe them to be in London. It is only about a couple +of hours since I heard of the whole affair. I immediately sent for my +brother. It is a most distressing business altogether. Of course you +are chiefly concerned for your sister; but my son is in a far more +serious position.' + +'Yes, I should think so!' exclaimed Mr. Tom. 'I should think he was! +But you don't know where they are?' + +'No; I only know they are in London. I received a letter from my son +this afternoon, asking me to intercede for him with the Court of +Chancery; and it is from this letter that I learn how serious his +position is--more serious than he seems to imagine. He appears to +think that now the marriage has taken place, the Vice-Chancellor will +condone everything----' + +'He won't: I will take good care that he shan't!' Mr. Tom said. + +'My dear sir, I am sorry to say that my son is in a very awkward +situation, even although no personal vindictiveness be shown towards +him. Your sister is not of age, I believe?' + +'Of course not. She's just turned eighteen.' + +'Ah. Then you see, Jack had to declare that she was of age. And he +appears to have stated that he had resided three weeks in the parish, +whereat he only came up from Brighton yesterday morning. And, again, +marrying in the direct teeth of an order of the Court--I am afraid, +sir, that he is in a bad enough predicament without any personal +vengeance being shown him.' + +This seemed to strike Mr. Tom. + +'I don't hit a man when he's down. I will let the law take its course. +I shan't interfere.' + +'Don't you think, sir,' said this man with the calm black eyes and the +quiet manner, 'that it might be wiser, in the interests of your sister, +if you were to help us to arrange some amicable settlement which we +could put before the Court? I believe the guardians of the young lady +were very much misinformed about my son's character and his intentions +with regard to her. I am certain that it was not her fortune that +attracted him, or that could have led him into the perilous position he +now occupies. Now, if we could go before the Vice-Chancellor, and say, +"The marriage is not so unsuitable, after all. The young man comes of +a highly respectable family. His relations (that is, my brother and +myself, sir) are willing to place a substantial sum at his disposal for +investment in a sound business--indeed there is a brewery at +Southampton that my brother has just been speaking of----"' + +'A brewery!' exclaimed Mr. Tom; but he instantly recollected that beer +was as good as soda-water from a social point of view. + +'And if we could say to the Vice-Chancellor that the friends of the +young lady were willing to condone his offence--always providing, of +course, and naturally, that your sister's fortune should be strictly +settled upon herself--then, perhaps, he might be let off with a humble +apology to the Court; and the young people be left to their own +happiness. My dear sir, we lawyers see so much of the inevitable +hardship of human life that when a chance occurs of friendly +compromise----' + +'That's all very well,' blurted out Mr. Tom. 'But I call it very mean +and shabby of him to inveigle my sister away like that. She was +engaged to be married to an old friend of mine; a much better fellow, +I'll be bound! I call it very shabby.' + +'My dear sir,' said the lawyer, placidly, 'I do not seek for a moment +to excuse my son's conduct, except to remind you that at a certain +period of life romance counts for something. I believe many young +ladies are like the young lady in the play--I really forget what her +name was--who was disappointed to find that she was not to be run away +with. However, that is a different matter. I put it to you whether it +would not be better for every one concerned if we were to try to arrive +at an amicable arrangement, and give the young people a fair start in +life.' + +'Of course I can't answer for all our side,' said Mr. Tom, promptly. +'You'd better come with me to-morrow, and we'll talk it over with +Colonel Fitzgerald and Mr. Mason. I don't bear malice. I think what +you say is fair and right--if the settlement is strict. And if it came +to be a question of interceding, there's an old friend of ours, Sir +George Stratherne, who, I know, knows the Vice-chancellor very +intimately----' + +'My dear sir!' the lawyer protested, with either real or affected +horror, 'do not breathe such a thing!--do not think of such a thing. +The duty of the Vice-chancellor to his wards is of the extremest kind; +his decisions are beyond suspicion; what we have got to say we must say +in open court.' + +'But if they were to lock your son up in prison,' said Mr. Tom, with a +gentle smile, 'that couldn't prevent Sir George taking my sister to +call on the Vice-Chancellor some afternoon at his own house. And Madge +is rather pretty. And she might cry.' + +'Will you take a glass of wine, Mr. Beresford?' said the lawyer, +effusively; for he saw that he had quite won over Mr. Tom to his side. + +'No, thank you,' said the latter, rising; 'I must apologise for +interrupting your dinner. I'll look up Colonel Fitzgerald and Mason +to-morrow morning; and bring them along here most likely; that will be +the simplest way. I suppose you are likely to know sooner than any one +where these two fugitives have got to?' + +'I think so. I have sent an advertisement to the morning papers. I +shall certainly counsel my son to surrender at once and throw himself +on the mercy of the Court. My dear sir, I am exceedingly obliged to +you for your kindness, your very great kindness in calling.' + +'Oh, don't mention it,' said Mr. Tom, going to the door. And then he +added, ruefully, 'Now I've got to go and hunt up my friend; and tell +him that my own sister has jilted him. You've no idea what a treat +that will be!' + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +AT LAST. + +He found Frank King in the little room in Cleveland Row, alone, sitting +before the fire, a shut book on the small table beside him. + +'I've got bad news for you, King,' he said, bluntly. 'I wish it hadn't +been my sister. But you know what women are. It's better to have +nothing at all to do with them.' + +'But what is it?' Frank King said, with some alarm on his face. + +'Madge has bolted.' + +'Madge has bolted?' the other repeated, staring at Mr. Tom in a +bewildered sort of way. + +'Yes. Gone and married that fellow Hanbury. This morning. I'm very +sorry I have to come to you with a story like that about my own sister.' + +Mr. Tom was very much surprised to find his friend jump up from the +chair and seize him by the arm. + +'Do you know this, Beresford,' he said, in great excitement, 'you have +taken a millstone from my neck. I have been sitting wondering whether +I shouldn't cut my throat at once, or make off for Australia----' + +'Oh, come, I say!' interposed Mr. Tom, with a quick flush. + +'Oh, you needn't think I have anything to say against your sister,' +exclaimed his friend--on whose face there was a sudden and quite +radiant gladness. 'You don't understand it at all, Beresford. It will +take some explanation. But I assure you you could not have brought me +pleasanter news; and yet I have not a word to say against your sister. +I know that is a privilege you reserve for yourself; and quite right +too.' + +It was manifestly clear that Captain King was not shamming +satisfaction; not for many a day had his face looked so bright. + +'Well, I'm glad you take it that way,' said Mr. Tom. 'I thought you +would be cut up. Most fellows are; though they pretend not to be. I +really do believe you're rather glad that Madge has given you the slip.' + +'Sit down, Beresford, and I will tell you all about it. I proposed to +your sister Anne years ago.' + +'To Nan? Why wasn't I told?' + +'These things are not generally preached from the house-tops. She +refused me point-blank; and I knew she was a girl who knew her own +mind. Then I rejoined my ship; and remained mostly abroad for a long +time. I fancied it would all blow over; but it didn't; I was harder +hit than I thought; and then, you know, sailors are driven to think of +bygone things. Well, you remember when I came home--when I met you in +the street. I thought I should like to have just another glimpse of +Nan--of Miss Anne, I mean--before she married the parson. Do you +remember my going into the drawing-room? Madge was there--the perfect +image of Nan! Indeed; I thought at first she was Nan herself. And +wasn't it natural I should imagine the two sisters must be alike in +disposition too? And then, as it was hopeless about Nan, I fancied--I +imagined--well, the truth is, I made a most confounded mistake, +Beresford; and the only thing I have been thinking of, day and night, +of late, was what was the proper and manly thing to do--whether to tell +Madge frankly--or whether to say nothing, with the hope that after +marriage it would all come right. And now you needn't wonder at my +being precious glad she has herself settled the affair; and there is +not a human being in the world more heartily wishes her lifelong +happiness than I do. And I wish to goodness I knew some way of letting +her know that too.' + +Tom stretched out his legs--his hands were in his pockets--and said, +contemplatively,-- + +'So you thought Madge was the same as Nan. I could have told you +different, if you had asked me. You thought you could find another +girl like Nan. If you want to try, you'll have to step out. By the +time you've found her, the Wandering Jew 'll be a fool compared to you. +Girls like Nan don't grow on every blackberry bush.' + +'I know that,' said Frank King, with a sigh. + +Then Mr. Tom looked at his watch. + +'I'm very hungry,' said he. 'Have you dined?' + +'No, I have not. I was going to walk along to the club when you came +in.' + +'Come with me to the Waterloo. You see, something must be done about +these two ninnies. He must get something to do; and set to work. The +Baby has never been accustomed to live up a tree. She must have a +proper house.' + +Frank King got his coat and hat; and they both went out. He was +thinking of his own affairs mostly--and of this singular sense of +relief that seemed to permeate him; Mr. Tom, on the other hand, was +discussing the various aspects of the elopement, more particularly with +regard to the Court of Chancery. During dinner the two friends arrived +at the conclusion that people generally would look upon the affair as a +harmless, or even humorous, escapade; and that the Court, seeing that +the thing was done, would allow the young people to go their way, with +a suitable admonition. + +This was not quite what happened, however. To begin with, there was a +clamour of contention and advice among guardians and friends; there +were anonymous appeals to the runaways in agony-columns; there were +futile attempts made to pacify the Court of Chancery. All the +Beresfords came up to town, except Nan, who remained to look after the +Brighton house. The chief difficulty of the moment was to discover the +whereabouts of Mr. John Hanbury. That gentleman was coy; and wanted to +find out something of what was likely to happen to him if he emerged +from his hiding-place. At last it was conveyed to him that he was only +making matters worse; then he wrote from certain furnished apartments +in a house on the south-west side of Regent's Park; finally, there was +a series of business interviews, and it was arranged that on a +particular day he should attend the Court and hear the decision of the +Vice-Chancellor. + +On that fateful morning, poor Madge, her pretty eyes all bedimmed with +tears, and her lips tremulous, was with her sisters and mother in the +rooms in Bruton Street; the gentlemen only attended the Court. Jack +Hanbury was looking exceedingly nervous and pale. And indeed, when the +case came on, and the Vice-chancellor began to make certain +observations, even Mr. Tom, whose care for the future of his sister had +now quite overcome all his scorn for that fellow Hanbury, grew somewhat +alarmed. The Court did not all appear inclined to take the +free-and-easy view of the matter that had been anticipated. The +Vice-Chancellor's sentences, one after the other, seemed to become more +and more severe, as he described the gross conduct and contempt of +which this young man had been guilty. He deplored the condition of the +law in England, which allowed persons to get married on the strength of +false statements. He wound up his lecture, which had a conciseness and +pertinence about it not often found in lectures, by the brief +announcement that he should forthwith make an order committing Mr. John +Hanbury to Holloway Prison. + +There was an ominous silence for a brief second or so. Then the Court +was addressed by Mr. Rupert--who was Mary Beresford's husband, and a +fairly well-known Q.C.--who made a very humble and touching little +appeal. He said he represented the relatives of the young lady; he was +himself a near relative; and they were all inclined to beg his Lordship +to take a merciful view of the case. They did not think the young man, +though he had acted most improperly, was inspired by mercenary motives. +He was now in Court; and was anxious to make the most profound apology. +If his Lordship---- + +But at this moment his Lordship, by the slightest of gestures, seemed +to intimate that Mr. Rupert was only wasting time; and the end of it +was that Mr. Jack Hanbury, after having heard a little more lecturing +on the heinousness of his conduct, found himself under the charge of +the tipstaff of the Court, with Holloway prison as his destination. It +was not to be considered as a humorous escapade after all. + +'Madge will have a fit,' said Mr. Tom, when they were outside again. +'Some one must go and tell her. I shan't.' + +'I knew he must be committed,' said Mr. Rupert to the young man's +father. 'There was no help for that; his contempt of Court was too +heinous. Now the proper thing to do is to let him have a little dose +of prison--the authority of the Court must be vindicated, naturally; +and then we must have a definite scheme for the establishment of the +young man in business before we beg the Court to reconsider the matter. +I mean, you must name a sum; and it must be ready. And then there must +be an understanding that Miss Beresford--I mean Mrs. Hanbury's--small +fortune shall be settled on herself.' + +'My advice,' remarked Mr. Tom, 'is that Madge should go herself and see +the Vice-Chancellor. She might do the pathetic business--a wife and +not a widow, or whatever the poetry of the thing is. I think it's +deuced hard lines to lock up a fellow for merely humbugging an old +parson up in Kentish Town. Why shouldn't people get married when they +want to? Fancy having to live three weeks in Kentish Town! I wouldn't +live three weeks in Kentish Town to marry a Duchess.' + +'I am afraid,' said Mr. Rupert, drily, 'that the Vice-chancellor is too +familiar with the sight of pretty damsels in distress. I think, Mr. +Hanbury, if you can produce a deed of partnership with your friends in +Southampton, that would be more likely to influence the Court. On our +side we agree. And of course there must be a humble apology from the +young man himself. We had better wait a week, or a fortnight, and then +renew the application. I will go myself and tell the young lady what +has happened.' + +Madge did not go into a fit at all; but what she did do was to decline +positively to remain in Bruton Street. No; back she would go to the +rooms that her dear Jack had taken for her. They might come to see her +there if they liked; but that was her home; it was her place as a wife +to remain in the home that her husband had chosen for her. Madge did +not cry as much as had been expected; she was angry and indignant, and +she said hard things about the condition of the law in England; and she +had a vague belief that her brother Tom was a renegade and traitor and +coward because he did not challenge the Vice-Chancellor to a duel on +Calais sands. + +Nevertheless, in her enforced widowhood, Madge found time to write the +enclosed letter--nay, she went first of all to the trouble of walking +down Baker Street until she came to a shop where she could get very +pretty and nicely scented notepaper for the purpose:-- + +'DEAR FRANK--Tom brought me yesterday your very manly and generous +letter, and I must write and thank you for your kind wishes for my +happiness. It's dreadful to think that persons should be shut up in +prison, when everybody is agreed it is needless--merely to satisfy a +form. You are very kind in what you say; you were always kind to +me--kinder than I deserved. But I didn't think you would mind very +much my running away; for I am sure you care far more for Nan than you +ever cared for me; and now Edith declares that Nan has been in love +with you all the time. I hear you have been doing everything in your +power towards getting poor Jack out of prison; and so I thought I would +do you a good turn also. You might take this letter to Nan, and ask +her if every word in it isn't true--unless you think you've had enough +of our family already. Dear Frank, I am so glad you forgive me; and +when I get out of my present deep distress I hope you will come and see +us and be like old friends.--Yours sincerely, MADGE HANBURY.' + + +At this present moment Captain King, as they still call him (for all +these things happened not so long ago), considers this letter the most +valuable he ever received. Not any message from home announcing to the +schoolboy that a hamper would speedily arrive; not any communication +from the Admiralty after he had arrived at man's estate; nay, not any +one of Nan's numerous love-letters--witty, and tender, and clever, as +these were--had for him anything like the gigantic importance of this +letter. It is needless to say that, very shortly after the receipt of +it, and without saying a word to anybody, he slipped down to Brighton, +and got a room at the Norfolk. + +It was so strange to think that Nan was a little way along there; and +that there was still a chance that that same Nan--the wonder of the +world with whose going away from him the world had got quite altered +somehow--might still be his! It bewildered him as yet. To think of +Nan at Kingscourt!--her presence filling the house with sunlight; +charming everybody with her quiet, humorous ways, and her +self-possession, and her sweetness, and the faithfulness of her frank, +clear eyes! And all his thinking came back to the one point. This was +now Nan herself he had a chance of winning; not any imaginary Nan; not +any substitute; not any vision to be wavering this way and that; but +the very Nan herself. And if it was true--if the real Nan, after all, +was to go hand-in-hand through life with him--where, of all the places +in the world, should they first go to together? To that far-away inn +at Splugen, surely! Now it would be his own Nan who would sit at the +small table, and laugh with her shining, clear eyes. She would walk +with him up the steep Pass; the sunlight on her pink cheeks; he would +hear the chirp of her boots on the wet snow. + +Amid all this wild whirl of hope and doubt and delightful assurance, it +was hard to have to wait for an opportunity of speaking to Nan alone. +He would not go to the house, lest there should be visitors, or some +one staying there; he would rather catch Nan on one of her pilgrimages +in the country or along the downs, with solitude and silence to aid him +in his prayer. But that chance seemed far off. He watched for Nan +incessantly; and his sharp sailor's eyes followed her keenly, while he +kept at a considerable distance. But Nan seemed to be very busy at +this time. Again and again he was tempted to speak to her as she came +out of this or that shop, or when he saw her carrying an armful of toys +into some small back street. But he was afraid. There was so much to +win; so much to lose. He guessed that sooner or later the vagrant +blood in Nan would drive her to seek the solitariness of the high +cliffs over the sea. + +It turned out differently, however. One squally and stormy morning he +saw her leave the house, her ulster buttoned up, her hat well down over +her brows. He let her pass the hotel, and slipped out afterwards. By +and by she turned up into the town, and finally entered a stationer's +shop, where there was a public library. No doubt she had merely come +to order some books, he said to himself, downheartedly, and would go +straight back again. + +However, on coming out, he noticed her glance up at the driven sky, +where the clouds were breaking here and there. Then she went down East +Street towards the sea. Then she passed the Aquarium by the lower +road. This he could not understand at all, as she generally kept to +the cliffs. + +He soon discovered her intention. There was a heavy sea rolling in; +and she had always had a great delight in watching the big waves come +swinging past the head of the Chain Pier. That, indeed, turned out to +be her destination. When he had seen the slight, girlish-looking +figure well away out there, he also went on the Pier, and followed. + +It is needless to say that there was not a human being out there at the +end. Tags and rags of flying clouds were sending showers of rain +spinning across; between them great bursts of sunlight flooded the sea; +and the vast green masses of water shone as they broke on the wooden +piles and thundered on below. When he reached the head of the Pier, he +found that Nan, who fancied herself entirely alone, was resting her two +elbows on the bar, and so holding on her hat, as she looked down on the +mighty volumes of water that broke and rushed roaring below. + +He touched her on the shoulder; she jumped up with a start, and turned, +growing a little pale as she confronted him. He, also, had an +apprehensive look in his eyes--perhaps it was that that frightened her. + +'Nothing has happened to Madge?' she said, quickly. + +'No. But come over there to the shelter. I wish to show you a letter +she has written.' + +A few steps brought them to a sudden silence; it was like stepping from +the outer air into a diving-bell. + +'Nan, I want you to read this letter, and tell me if it is true.' + +He gave it her; she read it; then slowly, very slowly, the one hand +holding the letter dropped, and she stood there silent, her eyes +downcast. + +'Nan, I have loved you since the very first night I ever saw you. I +tried to make believe that Madge was you; Madge herself has saved us +from what might have happened through that desperate mistake. And you, +Nan--you are free now--there is no one in the way--is it true what +Edith says?' + +'It isn't quite true,' said Nan, in a very low voice; and her fingers +were making sad work with Madge's letter. 'I mean--if she means--what +you can say--since the very first night that we met. But I think at +least--it is true--since'--and here Nan looked up at him with her +faithful eyes, and in them there was something that was neither +laughing nor crying, but was strangely near to both--'since--since ever +we parted at Como!' + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +'BRING HOME THE BRIDE SO FAIR!' + +'Poor Jack!' that was all Madge's cry. She did not care what +arrangement was being got up by the parents and guardians interested. +She did not want her fortune settled on herself. To her it did not +matter whether the brewery was in Southampton or in Jerusalem. All her +piteous appeal was that her dear Jack should be got out of prison; and +the opinion that she had formed of the gross tyranny, and cruelty, and +obstinacy of English law was of a character that dare not be set forth +here. + +'What is the use of it?' she would say. 'What good can it do except to +keep people miserable?' + +'My dear child,' the sighing and sorely-troubled mother would answer, +'the Vice-Chancellor has admitted that it can do no good. But the +authority of the Court must be vindicated----' + +'It is nothing but a mean and contemptible revenge?' exclaimed Madge. + +However, Mr. Tom took a much more cool and business-like view of the +matter. + +'When he is let out,' he remarked, 'I hope the Vice-chancellor will +make the other side pay the costs of all these applications and +proceedings. I don't see why we should pay, simply because Jack +Hanbury went and made an ass of himself.' + +'I beg you to remember that you are speaking of my husband?' said +Madge, with a sudden fierceness. + +'Oh, well, but didn't he?' Mr. Tom said. 'What was the use of bolting +like that, when he knew he must be laid by the heels? Why didn't he go +to his father and uncle to begin with, and get them to make this +arrangement they have now, and then have gone to the chief clerk and +showed him that there was no objection anywhere----' + +'It was because you were all against him,' said poor Madge, beginning +to cry. 'Everybody--everybody. And now he may be shut up there for a +whole year--or two years----' + +'Oh, but he isn't so badly off,' said Mr. Tom, soothingly. 'You can +see they treat him very well. By Jingo, if it was the treadmill, +now--that would exercise his toes for him. I tried it once in York +Castle; and I can tell you when you find this thing pawing at you over +your head it's like an elephant having a game with you. Never mind, +Madge. Don't cry. Look here; I'll bet you five sovereigns to one that +they let him out on the next application--that's for Thursday. Are you +on?' + +'Do you mean it?' she said, looking up. + +'I do.' + +It was wonderful how quickly the light came into her face. + +'Then there is a chance?' she said. 'I can't believe the others; for +they are only trying to comfort me. But if you would bet on it, +Tom--then there's really a chance.' + +'Bet's off. You should have snapped at it, Madge. Never mind, you'll +have your dear Jack: that'll do instead.' + +That afternoon Mary Beresford, now Mrs. Rupert, called, and Mr. Tom, +with much dignity of manner, came into the room holding an open letter +in his hand, + +'Ladies and gentlemen,' he said, 'and friends assembled, I have a piece +of news for you. Mr. Francis Holford King, late Commander in Her +Majesty's Navy, has just contracted a--what d'ye call it?--kind of +engagement with Miss Anne Beresford of that ilk. It strikes me this is +what is termed consolation-stakes----' + +'There you are quite wrong,' said Madge, promptly and cheerfully. 'He +meant to make me the consolation-stakes: for it was Nan that he wanted +to marry all the way through.' + +'Well, I shall be glad to see you all married,' said Tom. 'I've had +enough bother with you.' + +'You look quite worn out,' his eldest sister remarked. + +'At least,' he said, sitting down in an easy-chair and stretching out +his legs, 'at least I have gained some wisdom. I see the puzzlement +you girls are in who haven't got to earn your own living. You don't +know what on earth to do with yourselves. You read Ruskin, and think +you should be earnest; but you don't know what to be earnest about. +Then you take to improving your mind; and cram your head full of +earth-currents, and equinoxes, and eclipses of the moon. But what does +it all come to? You can't do anything with it. Even if you could come +and tell me that a lime-burner in Jupiter has thrown his wig into the +fire, and so altered the spectrum, what's that to me? Then you have a +go at philanthropy--that's more practical; Sunday-school teaching, +mending children's clothes, doing for other people what they ought to +do for themselves, and generally cultivating pauperism. Then, lo and +behold! in the middle of all this there comes by a good-looking young +fellow; and phew! all your grand ideas are off like smoke; and it's all +"Dear Jack!" and "Dear Alfred!" and "I'll go to the ends of the earth +with my sodger laddie!" Oh, I know what life is. I see you girls +begin with all your fine ideas, and reading up, and earnestness----' + +'I suppose, then, there is no such thing as the formation of +character,' said his eldest sister, calmly. + +'The formation of character!' exclaimed Mr. Tom. 'Out of books? Why, +the only one among you who has any character worth mentioning is Nan. +Do you think she got it out of books? No, she didn't. She got it--she +got it----' + +Here Mr. Tom paused for a second; but only to make a wilder dash. + +'----out of the sunlight! There's a grand poetical idea for you. Nan +has been more in the open than any of you; and the sunlight has filled +her brain, and her mind, and her disposition altogether----' + +'I presume that also accounts for the redness of her hair?' said Mrs. +Rupert. + +Tom rose to his feet. There was an air of resignation on his face as +he left the room. He said, half to himself, + +'Well, Nature was right in making me a man. I couldn't have mustered +up half enough spite to make a passable woman.' + +Now, the end of the Madge and Jack episode was in this wise. On the +second application the Vice-Chancellor flatly refused to release the +young man from prison. His gross offence had not yet been purged. It +was quite true, his Lordship admitted, that the young lady and the +guardians and relatives on both sides were also sharing in this +punishment; and it was unfortunate. Moreover, arrangements had now +been made which seemed to render the marriage a perfectly eligible one, +if only it had been properly brought about. Nevertheless the Court +could not overlook the young man's conduct; in prison he was; and in +prison he must remain. + +More tears on the part of Madge. More advice from Mr. Tom that she +should go and plead with the Vice-Chancellor herself; he was sure her +pretty, weeping eyes would soften the flintiest heart. Correspondence +addressed by Captain Frank King to Admiral Sir George Stratherne, +K.C.B., containing suggestions not in consonance with the lofty +integrity of British courts of law. + +Then, at last, the Vice-chancellor relented. Mr. Hanbury had given an +undertaking to execute any settlement the Court might think fit with +regard to the young lady's property. Then he must pay all costs of the +proceedings, likewise the guardians' costs. This being so, his +Lordship was disposed to take a merciful view of the case; and would +make an order discharging the young man from prison. + +'Oh, Jack,' poor Madge exclaimed, when he was restored to her, 'shall I +ever forget what you have suffered for my sake?' + +Jack looked rather foolish among all these people; but at last he +plucked up courage, and went and made a straightforward apology to Lady +Beresford; and said he hoped this piece of folly would soon be +forgotten; and that Madge would be happy after all. The sisters were +disposed to pet him. Tom tolerated him a little. Then there was a +general bustle; for they were all (including Frank King) going down +again to Brighton; and they made a large party. + +How clear the air and the sunlight were after the close atmosphere of +London! The shining sea--the fresh breeze blowing in--the busy +brightness and cheerfulness of the King's Road--it all seemed new and +delightful again! And of course amidst the general clamour and +commotion of getting into the house, who was to take much notice of +Nan, or watch her self-conscious shyness, or regard the manner in which +she received Frank King after his absence? You see, Nan was always +wanted to do things, or fetch things, or send for things. 'She's a +house-keeperish kind of young party,' Tom used to say of her, when he +had coolly sent her to look out his shooting-boots. + +The spring-time was come; not only was the sunshine clearer, and the +wind from the sea softer and fresher, but human nature, also, grew +conscious of vague anticipations and an indefinable delight, Flowers +from the sheltered valleys behind the downs began to appear in the +streets. The year was opening; soon the colours of the summer would +shining over the land. + +'Nan-nie,' said Frank King to her who was most occasions now his only +and dear companion, they were walking along one of the country ways, +'don't you think June is a good month to get married in?' + +'Frank dear,' she said, 'I haven't had much experience.' + +'Now, look here, Nan,' he said--the others were a long way ahead, and +he could scold her as he liked. 'You may have some strong +points--wisdom, perhaps--and a capacity for extracting money out of +people for lifeboats--and a knack of boxing the ears of small boys whom +you find shying stones at sparrows--I say you may have your strong +points; but flippancy isn't one of them. And this is a very serious +matter.' + +'I know it is,' said Nan, demurely. 'And far more serious than you +imagine. For, do you know, Frank, that the moment I get married I +shall cease to be responsible for the direction of my own life +altogether. You alone will be responsible. Whatever you say I should +do, I will do; what you say I must think, or believe, or try for, that +will be my guide. Don't you know that I have been trying all my life +to get rid of the responsibility of deciding for myself? I nearly +ended--like such a lot of people!--in "going over to the Church." Oh, +Frank,' she said, 'I think if it hadn't been for you I should have +married a clergyman, and been good.' + +She laughed a little, soft, low laugh; and continued: + +'No, I think that never could have happened. But I should have done +something--gone into one of those visiting sisterhoods, or got trained +as a nurse--you don't know what a good hospital nurse you spoiled in +me. However, now that is not my business. Undine got a soul when she +married; I give up mine. I shall efface myself. It's you who have to +tell me what to think, and believe, and try to do.' + +'Very well,' said he. 'I shall begin by advising you to give up +cultivating the acquaintance of tinkers and gipsies; and first of all +to resolve not to speak again to Singing Sal.' + +'Oh, but that's foolish--that is unnecessary!' she said, with a stare; +and he burst out laughing. + +'Here we are at the outset!' he said. 'But don't you think, Nan-nie, +you might let things go on as they are? You haven't done so badly +after all. Do you know that people don't altogether detest you? Some +of them would even say that you made the world a little brighter and +pleasanter for those around you; and that is always something.' + +'But it's so little,' said Nan. 'And--and I had thought of--of I don't +know what, I believe--in that Cathedral at Lucerne--and now I am going +to do just like everybody else. It's rather sneaky.' + +'What is?' he asked. 'To be a good woman?' + +'Oh, you are not philosophical,' she said. 'And me--me too. My brain, +what there was of it, is clean gone; my heart has got complete mastery. +It is really ludicrous that my highest ambition, and my highest +delight, should be to be able to say "I love you," and to go on saying +it any number of times. But then, dear Frank, when all this nonsense +is over between us, then we will set to work and try and do some good. +There must be something for us to do in the world.' + +'Oh yes, no doubt,' he said, 'and do you know when I think this +nonsense will be over between you and me, Nan?--when you and I are +lying dead together in Kingscourt churchyard.' + +She touched his hand with her hand--for a moment. + +'And perhaps not even then, Frank.' + + * * * * * * + +Well, it was a double wedding, after all; and Mr. Roberts was +determined that it should be memorable in Brighton, if music, and +flowers, and public charities would serve. Then Mr. and Mrs. Jack +Hanbury were to come along from Southampton; and Mr. Jacomb had, in the +most frank and manly fashion, himself asked permission to assist at the +marriage ceremony. There were, of course, many presents; two of which +were especially grateful to Nan. The first was a dragon-fly in rubies +and diamonds, the box enclosing which was wrapped round by a sheet of +note-paper really belonging to Her Majesty, and hailing from Whitehall. +These were the words scrawled on the sheet of paper:-- + +'_This is for the wedding of the BEAUTIFUL WRETCH, who has now +completed the list of her atrocities by jilting her oldest +sweetheart.--G. S._' + +The second present that was particularly prized by Nan carries us on to +the wedding-day. It was one of the clearest of clear June days; a +fresh southerly wind tempering the heat; there was scarcely a cloud in +the blue. How these rumours get about it is impossible to say; but a +good many people seemed to have discovered that there was to be a +double wedding; and there was an unusual crowd about the entrance to +the church and along both sides of the roofed portico. Among these +people was one who attracted a little mild polite curiosity. She was a +country-looking, fresh-complexioned young woman, who was smartly +dressed and trim as to ribbons and such things; and she held in her +hand a basket of fairly good size and of fancy wicker-work. And this +basket, those nearest her could see, held nothing else than a mass of +wild roses, all with the thorns carefully removed from the stems, and +set in a bed of moss and sweetbrier leaves. It was such a bouquet, +surely, as had never been presented to a bride before--if, indeed, it +was, intended for the bride. + +That was soon to be seen. The great organ was still pealing out +Mendelssohn's 'Wedding March' (Mr. Tom had offered to give 10 pounds to +the poor-box of the choir if the choristers would play instead the +Swedish 'Bring home the bride so fair!')--(forgetting that there were +two brides, and that Edith was dark) when the first of the bridal +procession came along, Edith and her husband and her bridesmaids. Then +came Nan. As she was passing, the fresh-coloured wench timidly stepped +forward and offered her the basket of wild roses. Nan stopped; glanced +at her, and recognised her; and then, to the wonder of the crowd, they +saw the young bride take the basket with her trembling white-gloved +fingers, while the other hand was boldly put forward to shake hands +with the country lass. Singing Sal was greatly taken aback; but she +took Nan's hand for the briefest second, and managed to say something +quite incoherent about 'long life and happiness, Miss--I beg your +pardon, Miss--Ma'am;' and then the gleaming procession passed on. + +Nan was very proud of that basket of wild flowers. She would not part +with it. She had it placed before her on the table when all the people +had assembled and sat down. And perhaps there was one there who, +looking alternately at the bright-eyed bride who sat beside him, and at +that basket of wild roses, red, and white, and pink, and whitish-red +and whitish-pink, may have said to himself that there was no red one +there half so red as her lips, and no white one half so white as her +clear and shining soul. + + +FINIS. + + + + + +THE PUPIL OF AURELIUS + + +BY + +WILLIAM BLACK + + + +AUTHOR OF 'MACLEOD OF DARE,' 'SUNRISE,' ETC. + + + +NEW EDITION + + + +LONDON + +MACMILLAN AND CO. + +1882 + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER + + I. A Blow Faced + II. Alone in London + III. A Fellow-sufferer + IV. A Resolve + V. Treasure Trove + VI. The End of the Episode + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +A BLOW FACED. + +On a Sunday morning in the early part of November 1878 a stranger +arrived at Euston Square, and passed from the gloom of the station into +the brighter air of the London streets, there pausing for a second or +two to look around him. He was a man of about fifty, short, thin, +wiry, square-shouldered; his features firm even to sternness, and +hardened by exposure to wind and weather; his hair gray; his beard also +gray and clipped short. The harshness of his face, however, was in a +measure tempered by the look of his eyes; these were calm and +contemplative, perhaps even with a shade of melancholy in them. For +the rest, he was well and warmly clad in home-spun cloth; and he +carried with him a small hand-bag, which appeared to be his only +luggage. + +He hesitated only for a moment. As he turned off to the left he met +two labourers coming along. + +'This is the way to London Bridge, is it not?' he asked, slowly, and +with a strong northern accent. + +'Yes, sir,' said one of them; and then, as he looked after the +departing stranger, he took the pipe from his mouth and grinned, and +said to his companion, + +'Scottie means to walk it.' + +The new-comer's next encounter was less satisfactory. A drunken-faced +woman jumped up from a door-step and begged for alms. He had not seen +her. Instinctively his hand went to his pocket. Then he glanced at +her. + +'No!' he said, with unnecessary severity, and passed on. + +But instantly the woman was transformed into a cursing and swearing +virago. She followed him, making the little thoroughfare resound with +her shrill abuse. Most people would, in such circumstances, have +looked out for a policeman, or tried to get away somewhere, but this +man turned round and stood still and regarded the woman. There was +neither anger nor surprise nor scorn in his look, but a calm +observation. He listened to her foul language, as if wishing to +understand it; and he regarded the bloated face and bleared eyes. The +woman was not prepared for this examination. With another parting +volley she slunk off. Then the new-comer continued on his way, saying +only to himself: + +'It is strange. I do not think that God could have meant any of His +creatures to be like that.' + +Now let us see what manner of man this was who was passing into the +larger space and wan sunlight of Euston Road, making for London Bridge, +with but little hurry, and always with his eyes regarding the withered +trees, or the closed shops, or the early omnibuses, with an observation +that had no curiosity in it, rather as if these were mere passing +phenomena that left no permanent impression on a mind too busily +occupied with its own speculations. + +His name was John Douglas. His father had been a small shipowner in +Greenock, and, dying, had left this, his eldest son, a fortune of about +10,000 pounds. John Douglas, after patient judgment of the matter, +arrived at the conclusion that it was far from just and fitting that he +should have the exclusive use of this money, so he lent 7000 pounds, or +thereabouts, to his two younger brothers, who forthwith took it, and, +unhappily, themselves also, to the bottom of the sea, in a vessel +which, recklessly, they had not insured. Thereupon John Douglas, +having still over 3000 pounds, invested it in what was then considered +a safe concern, and finding his wants very few and very simple, +repaired to the Renfrewshire coast, and found there a small cottage +overlooking the Firth of Clyde and the sea, where he could live cheaply +and comfortably. And he did live there very comfortably and +contentedly, though not quite to the satisfaction of his neighbours, +who resented the intrusion amongst them of a man who minded his own +business, who would not listen to any tittle-tattle, who was absolutely +indifferent as to what opinion, good or ill, they might have of him, +and who took long and solitary walks among the hills on Sundays as on +other days. + +It ought to be said here at the outset that this man's character is not +set up as in any way an exemplar. If mankind at large were so many +John Douglases the world would not get on at all. We should have no +iron bridges built, or Atlantic cables laid, or financial companies +started, and we certainly should not have any man-killing machines a +million or half-a-million strong; whereas every well-conducted person +knows that such things are now-a-days absolutely necessary. The truth +is, that John Douglas, or Captain Douglas, as the neighbours called him +with a kind of grudging respect, was a skulker from the battle of +humanity. What he wanted was a beach of white sand, a hot day, a blue +sea, a book, a pipe, and the absence of his fellow-creatures. He was +kind to such people as he was forced to meet; and he was a favourite +amongst the children in that part, for he bought them toys and +sweetmeats when he went to Greenock; but he preferred the society of +his books to that of his neighbours, and he was impatient of idle talk. +Indeed, what was the use of their conversing with a man who was far +more interested in the first blossoming of the furze in spring than in +a Cabinet crisis, and who would go away and search for birds' nests in +the woods, for the mere pleasure of looking at them, when the whole +civilised world, from the Cloch Lighthouse all the way to Largs, was +convulsed with the news that minister in a parish adjacent had been +heard to say something disrespectful about Calvin? + +The three books, one or other of which John Douglas usually carried +with him on his rambles by sea-shore or through some country lanes, +were the New Testament, Marcus Aurelius, and Tannahill's Poems; but +perhaps it was the wise Emperor with whom he most closely communed as +the waves rippled along the sand, and the shifting lights crossed the +clear blue of the Arran hills. He had so entered into the spirit of +that proud and patient stoicism, that he considered himself proof +against anything that might happen to him in life or in death. It was +a voice from far away, it is true--muffled, as if from the tomb; but it +was human, sympathetic, kindly in the main. + +'Every moment think steadily as a Roman and a man to do what thou hast +in hand with perfect and simple dignity, and feeling of affection, and +freedom, and justice; and to give thyself relief from all other +thoughts. And thou wilt give thyself relief, if thou doest every act +of thy life as if it were the last, laying aside all carelessness and +passionate aversion from the commands of reason, and all hypocrisy, and +self-love, and discontent with the portion which has been given to +thee. Thou seest how few the things are, the which if a man lays hold +of, he is able to live a life which flows in quiet, and is like the +existence of the gods; for the gods, on their part, will require +nothing more from him who observes these things.' + +And again: + +'If thou workest at that which is before thee, following right reason +seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to +distract thee, but keeping thy divine part pure, as if thou shouldst be +bound to give it back immediately; if thou holdest to this, expecting +nothing, fearing nothing, but satisfied with thy present activity +according to nature, and with heroic truth in every word and sound +which thou utterest, thou wilt live happy. And there is no man who is +able to prevent this.' + +Or if one should not find any great work in the world to tackle?-- + +'Always bear this in mind, that very little indeed is necessary for +living a happy life. And because thou hast despaired of becoming a +dialectician, and skilled in the knowledge of nature, do not for this +reason renounce the hope of being both free and modest and social and +obedient to God.' + +Or has one been injured?-- + +'The best way of avenging thyself is not to become like the wrongdoer.' + +Why should one desire praise or fear blame?-- + +'Which of these things is beautiful because it is praised, or spoiled +by being blamed? Is such a thing as an emerald made worse than it was +if it is not praised? or gold, ivory, purple, a lyre, a little knife, a +flower, a shrub?' + +John Douglas knew nothing of the opinion in which he was held by his +neighbours; and, if he had known, he would not have heeded one jot. + +Now it was in the waning of the year, when the great fuchsia-tree +covering the front of Braeside Cottage had dropped all its dark-red +bells, and when the rowan-trees along the road were yellowing, though +masses of the scarlet berries still remained to delight the eye, that +the news of the breaking of the City of Glasgow Bank came to these +parts. There were those who knew that the residue of Captain Douglas's +small fortune was invested in that flourishing concern, which had been +paying dividends of 10 and 11 per cent; and they also suspected that he +would know nothing of the terrible crash, for he seldom read +newspapers. But not one of them would go and take the bad news to him. +If he had not been a very sociable man, it was not through pride. He +had done many generous actions. The children were fond of him. They +waited for himself to find out the misfortune that had overtaken him. + +Douglas's first intimation was contained in a letter sent him by a +solicitor in Greenock. The vague reference to what had happened he did +not understand at first; but he called his old housekeeper and bade her +to bring him the newspapers of the last few days; and then he sat down, +quietly and composedly, and read the story of his ruin. + +First came rumours about a certain bank. Then the definite statement +that the City of Glasgow Bank had suspended payment. Then guesses at +the deficit, beginning with 3,000,000 pounds, along with indignant +comments about the manner in which the business of the bank had been +conducted, and commiseration for the shareholders, the large majority +of whom, it was anticipated, would have to surrender every farthing of +which they were possessed. + +Douglas read on and read through; and was neither shocked nor +bewildered. He even remembered something about an official +communication which he had opened a day or two before, and hastily +dropped in order to fling a book at a strange cat that had come into +the garden, and was cowering in wait for a chaffinch. He scarcely knew +enough of business to understand who the creditors were; but he could +perceive that if they had even 2,000,000 pounds owing to them, the +first calls would far more than sweep away his little property and +leave him a beggar. Very well. He looked at the newspapers again; +there was nothing in these crumpled sheets that could hurt him. A +branch of a tree blown down by the wind on the top of his head could +hurt him; or a chimney-pot falling from a roof; or a horse lifting its +leg and kicking him; but a newspaper report he could thrust into the +fire. He looked out of the window; the broad waters of the Firth were +all ruffled into a dark blue by the morning breeze, and the sunlight +shone along the yellow shores of Innellan; and far in the south Arran's +jagged peaks were a clear blue among the silvery clouds: these things +could not be altered by anything happening in Glasgow. He looked at +his hands; there were ten fingers there that had not done much work in +the world; surely it was time they should try? And surely they could +win for him bread and milk, or at the worst bread and water? In the +meantime the thought of the cat had recalled to him that he had not as +yet scattered crumbs for the birds that morning. That was the first +thing to be done; and so he went and did it. + +There can be no doubt that this contemptuous indifference was largely +the result of the teachings of Marcus Aurelius, which this solitary man +had drank in until they seemed to have got absorbed into his very +blood. But there was something more; there was a vein of personal +pride of a very distinct kind. He would not admit to himself that any +number of bank-directors in Glasgow or elsewhere had the power to harm +him. Moreover, when, after waiting a considerable time to see how +things would go, he went to Greenock to consult the solicitor who had +written to him, and to whom he was known, this stubborn pride and +independence came out more strongly than ever. + +'The question is,' said he, in his slow, emphatic way, 'do I owe the +money, or do I not owe the money?' + +'No doubt of it, Captain Douglas,' the other remonstrated; 'you are +morally as well as legally bound. But the liquidators are human +beings; they do not wish to press for the uttermost farthing; and well +they know that this first call of 500 pounds on every 100 pounds of +stock will ruin many and many a poor creature, and turn him or her out +into the world. There is even a talk of a Relief Fund; I believe the +Lord Provost of Glasgow and other gentlemen----' + +John Douglas's face flushed quickly. + +'I wish not to hear of such things,' he said, with a touch of +resentment. Then he added more slowly, 'I will take money from no man. +I will earn my own living; if I cannot do that, what title have I to +live at all? But I will take this obligation from you yourself, Mr. +Campbell; if you will lend me five pounds, which I will repay to you. +And I would like to take with me a few portraits, of my family and +forbears, that can be of no use to any one; and one or two books +likewise; then the rest can go to the liquidators, to roup or scatter +to the winds as they see fit. I am a man of few words; I will repay +you the money, if my health remains to me; and it will be enough to +carry me to London and start me there.' + +'To London!' said the tall fair man in spectacles. + +'It is the great labour market of the world; it is natural I should go +there. Besides, there is another thing,' he added, with a trifle of +embarrassment. 'Our family were well known in these parts in former +years, and respected. I know not what I may have to turn my hand to. +I will begin where I can be alone.' + +He was a wilful man, and he had his way. He got the five pounds and +the few pictures, and the three books named above; and when he entered +the third-class carriage that was to bear him through the night to +London, it was without fear. He had ten fingers, and he could live on +a crust of bread and a drink of clear water. What was the hardship? +Had not the great Emperor himself counted it among the blessings of his +life--one of the things for which he was ever to be grateful--that he +had been taught to work with his own hands? + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +ALONE IN LONDON. + +This, then, was the man who now found himself in the sickly daylight of +the great city, walking along the wide thoroughfare on this Sunday +morning. The grim and grizzled face was somewhat tired looking after +the long and wakeful journey, and the dark eyes were fatigued and +melancholy; but his step was light and firm. And it was well that it +was so. He had been in other large towns before, but not in this one; +and as he had determined to make for London Bridge, to get lodgings +near there,--seeing that that looked on the map to be about the centre +of the commercial district,--he had traced out the safest route, by +Pentonville Road and City Road down to the Bank. As he trudged and +trudged, however, and no Bank made its appearance, he gradually woke +himself out of that dreamy and contemplative mood. He began to make +inquiries about distance and so forth. The driver of a four-wheeled +cab, his purple bemuddled face lighting up with a dull sort of humour, +gave him a facetious invitation to get inside the tumble-down old +vehicle. The conductors of one or two passing omnibuses hailed him; +and he gathered from their 'Benk! Benk!' that at least he was in the +right direction. But he was not going to spend money causelessly; so +he trudged on. + +At length, when he got to the wide square fronting the Royal Exchange, +the solitariness of the place struck him with a strange chill. All the +great buildings closed and deserted; not a habitable-looking house +anywhere. But there were numbers of people passing along the +thoroughfares--mostly groups of young men of about two-and-twenty, +tallow-faced, round-shouldered, wearing over-coats and billycock hats, +and smoking short pipes; and there were crowded omnibuses coming +rolling along (what a difference was this roar and rabble from the +quiet of the Sabbath morning far away there on the northern coast!), +and these people must live somewhere. So again he contentedly trudged +on; down King William Street; over the bridge spanning the misty river; +along the Borough Road; until he arrived at Union Street. He had so +far failed in his quest for lodgings; but in Union Street he espied a +coffee-house; and as he had become both tired and hungry, he entered +the dingy little place, sat down, and ordered a cup of coffee and a +roll and butter. + +It was a kind of shelter, after all; though everything was dreadfully +dirty, and there was a heavy odour in the place. The waiter brought +him a greasy newspaper; but he put it aside. Then came his breakfast. +The butter was not touchable; but he reflected that it was a luxury +which he, living on another man's money, had had no right to order. +When he had paid back the 5 pounds, he would consider the question of +butter--though not butter such as this. He ate the dry roll, and +managed to swallow the strangely-tasting coffee; then he fell asleep; +and was eventually wakened by the ringing of church bells. + +So, having paid his shot, he wandered out again into the pale and misty +sunlight; and as he had been struck by the appearance of St. Saviour's +in crossing the bridge, he strolled back thither, and entered the +church, and sat down in a pew. He remained through the earlier part of +the service; but when the sermon began, he left. The streets were now +quite busy, though the shops were closed. It was not like Sunday on +the shores of the Firth of Clyde. + +'In any case,' he was thinking, 'it can be no great breaking of the +Sabbath that a man should provide himself with a lodging to cover his +head.' + +Eventually, after much patient wandering and inquiring, he found a +house in the Southwark-bridge Road--he was attracted to it by the +presence of one or two flower-boxes on the window-sills--where he was +offered a small, fairly neat and clean bedroom for the sum of +three-and-sixpence per week. Thereupon the bargain was closed; and +John Douglas found himself established at least with headquarters, from +whence he could issue to fight his battle with the great forces of +London. + +Well, day after day--nay, week after week--passed, and all his efforts +to obtain employment, had resulted in nothing. It was not through any +shame-facedness or fastidiousness or false pride. He was ready to do +anything. Many people thought this man a maniac, who calmly walked in +and offered, in his slow, methodic Scotch speech, to copy letters for +them, or do anything that could be pointed out to him, confessing, on +interrogation, that he had been in no employment before, and could +therefore produce no testimonials as to character or fitness. On his +own showing, there was nothing special he could do; though he had +bought a little treatise on book-keeping, and occasionally studied it +in the evenings. As he walked about the streets and observed how all +the people around him seemed to be fully occupied, and busy and +contented, it occurred to him as strange that they should all have +fallen into these grooves so naturally. He looked at the clerk giving +out tickets at a railway station, and thought, he could do that also. +Perhaps the business of the young men who every morning were to be seen +inside the big windows of the drapers' shops in the Borough Road, +decorating the place with ribbons and gowns, demanded a special +knowledge that he had not acquired; but it could not be difficult, for +example, to be a policeman? They seemed happy enough; good-natured; +sometimes even with a word of chaff for the costermonger whom they +ordered to move on, him and his barrow. + +These not very anxious experiments, and quite idle speculations about +the uses of various forms of labour, might have gone on indefinitely +but for the very certain fact that Douglas's small stock of money was +being slowly but surely exhausted. Slowly, it is true; for he had +wholly given up tobacco; his dinner was a roll or a biscuit eaten in +the street; and as his landlady charged him sixpence for each +scuttleful of coals, he preferred to keep himself warm on these now +bitterly cold evenings by tramping about outside and looking at the +shops. That good woman, by the way, was sorely disappointed in this +new lodger, out of whom she could make no indirect profit; and she had +a waspish tongue. John Douglas regarded her taunts--almost amounting +to open insult--with a patient and mild curiosity. It was a little bit +of psychological study, and more interesting than book-keeping by +double entry. Meantime, things were becoming very serious; with all +his penuriousness, he had arrived at his last half-sovereign. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +A FELLOW-SUFFERER. + +One night, a few minutes after nine, Douglas was returning home along +one of the badly-lit little thoroughfares in the Borough, when he saw +the figure of a woman slowly subside on to the pavement in front of +him. She did not fall; she trembled on to her knees as it were, and +then lay prone--near a doorstep. Well, he had grown familiar with the +sights of London streets; but even if the woman were drunk, as he +imagined, he would lift her up, until some policeman came along. + +He went forward. It was not a woman, but a young girl of about +seventeen or so, who did not seem a drunken person. + +'My lass, what is the matter with ye?' he said, kneeling down to get +hold of her. + +'Oh, I am so ill--I am so ill!' the girl moaned, apparently to herself. + +He tried to raise her. She was quite white, and almost insensible. +Then she seemed to come to; she struggled up a bit, and sought to +support herself by the handle of the door. + +'I shall be all right,' she gasped. 'I am quite well. Don't tell +them. I am quite well--it was my knees that gave way----' + +'Where do ye live, my lass?' said he, taking hold of her arm to support +her; for he thought she was going to sink to the ground again. + +'Number twelve.' + +'In this street?' + +She did not answer, + +'Come, I will help ye home, then.' + +'No, no!' she said, in the same gasping way; 'I will sit down here a +few minutes. I shall be all right. I--I am quite well----' + +'Ye are not going to sit down on a doorstep on a night like this,' he +said, severely. 'Come, pull yourself together, my lass. If it is +number twelve, you have only a few yards.' + +He half-dragged and half-carried her along. He knocked loudly at the +door. There came to it a tall, black-a-vised woman, who, the moment +she saw the girl, cried out-- + +'Oh, Mary Ann, are you took bad again?' + +'No--don't tell them,' the girl said, as she staggered into the narrow +passage. 'They'll turn me off. They said so the last time. I shall +be all right. But my head--is so bad.' + +They got her into the dingy little parlour, and laid her down on the +horse-hair covered couch. Her hand was clasped to her head, and her +whole frame was shivering violently, as if with cold. + +John Douglas, living that recluse life up there in the north, had never +before had to deal directly with sickness, and he was terribly anxious +and alarmed. What was he to do? His first wild notion, observing the +violent shivering, was to order hot whisky-and-water; then he thought +it would be better to send for a doctor. But the tall, dark woman did +not seem inclined to go or send for any doctor. She stood regarding +the girl quite apathetically. + +'Poor Mary Anne!' she said, watching her, as if she were a dog in a +fit. 'She wasn't took as bad as this before. She's been starving +herself, she has, to keep her mother and her young sisters; and she +can't stand all day in the shop as she used to. I've seen it a-coming +on.' + +'God bless me, woman,' said Douglas, angrily, 'we must do something +instead of standing and looking at the poor lass. Cannot you tell me +where the nearest doctor is? Has one been attending her?' + +'Poor Mary Ann,' the woman said, composedly; 'she'll come out of it; +but it's worse this time. A doctor? She couldn't afford to have a +doctor, she couldn't. A doctor would be bringing physic; she can't pay +for physic, she can't. She owes me three weeks' rent, and I ain't ast +for it once, not once. Thirteen hours a day standing behind a counter +is too much for a slip of a girl like that. Poor Mary Anne! Is your +head bad, my dear?' + +Douglas made use of a phrase which is not to be found anywhere in the +writings of Marcus Aurelius, and hurriedly left the house. He made for +the nearest chemist's shop, and asked the youth there where he should +find a doctor. The youth glanced towards the back room, and said Dr. +Sweeney was at hand. Dr. Sweeney was summoned, and appeared: a +hard-headed-looking youngish man, whom Douglas immediately bore away +with him. + +The young Irish doctor did not seem much concerned when he saw his +patient. He seemed to be familiar with such cases. He said the girl +must be put to bed at once. She was merely suffering from a feverish +attack, on a system weakened by exhaustion and fatigue. Then he began +to question the landlady. + +The usual story. Girl in a draper's shop; mother and sisters in the +country; sends them most of her earnings; probably does not take enough +food; long hours; constant standing; drinking tea to stave off hunger; +and so forth. Douglas listened in silence. + +'And when she recovers from this attack, slight or severe,' he said at +length, 'what would restore that young lass to a proper state of +health?--can ye say that, doctor?' + +'I can say it easily,' said the young Irishman, with a sarcastic smile. +'I can prescribe the remedies; and there are plenty of such cases; +unfortunately the patients are not in a position to follow my +prescriptions. I should prescribe good food, and fewer hours of work, +and an occasional week in the country air. It is easy to talk of such +things.' + +'Ay, that is so,' said Douglas, absently. + +He went home. He took from his pocket the biscuit, wrapped in a bit of +newspaper, that he had meant for his supper; but he put it on the top +of a little chest of drawers, thinking it would do for his breakfast in +the morning, and he would save so much. Then he went to the little +stock of money in his locked-up bag, and found there eight shillings +and sixpence. He took seven shillings of it, and went out again into +the cold night, and walked along to the house where the sick girl was. + +'Mistress,' he said to the landlady, in his slow, staid way, 'I have +brought ye a little money that ye may buy any small things the lass may +want; it is all I can spare the now; I will call in the morning and see +how she is.' + +'You needn't do that,' said the tall woman. 'Poor Mary Anne--she'll be +at the shop.' + +'She shall not be at the shop!' he said, with a frown. 'Are ye a mad +woman? The girl is ill.' + +'She'll have to be at the shop, or lose her place,' said the landlady, +with composure. 'There's too many young girls after situations +now-a-days, and they won't be bothered with weakly ones.' + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +A RESOLVE. + +However, as it turned out, there was to be no shop for Mary Anne the +next day or for many a day to come. When John Douglas called in the +morning, he was informed that she was 'delirious-like.' She was +imploring the doctor--who had been there an hour before--not to let her +lose her situation. She was talking about her mother and sisters in an +incoherent way; also about one Pete, who appeared to have gone away to +Australia and never written since. Douglas looked at the girl, lying +there with her flushed face, closed eyes, and troubled breathing, +unconscious of his presence, only twisting the bed-clothes about with +her hot hands. + +'Poor Mary Ann,' the landlady said contemplatively. 'If she dies, +she'll 'ave to be buried by the work'us. And if she lives, she'll be +worse off than ever; for they won't take a girl with cropped hair into +a shop, and the fear of infection besides. She ain't got a friend in +the world, she ain't; except her own people, and they're only a drain +on the poor thing. Poor Mary Ann! she have had a bad time of it. +Perhaps it would be kinder in Providence if He took her; for who's to +pay for her keep if she gets through the fever? Not that I would ask +to be paid for her lodging; I ain't one like that; there's her room, +and welcome; that's what I says to my husband when he come home last +night; and neither him nor me's afraid of fever, nor would turn out a +poor thing as have been took. But law! it would be months afore she'd +get another place; and she ain't got nobody to look after her.' + +'What have you done with the money I gave you last night?' he asked. + +'There it lies, sir--on the mantel-shelf. It ain't for me to touch; it +is for the doctor to give his orders about that money.' + +'Just put this eighteenpence to it, mistress, and ask the doctor what +the poor lass may want. It is all I happen to have with me the now.' + +Then he left; and walked away with an unusual air of determination He +was not downcast because he had parted with his last sixpence. + +'It is even better thus,' this stern-faced man was saying to himself, +'for now we must face facts, and get rid of speculation. Let us begin +at the beginning--with one's ten fingers! Poor lass! It is a dreadful +place, a great city like this; it has no compassion. Surely, in the +country, she would not be so utterly thrown down in the race. Surely, +some one would say, "_At meal-time come thou hither and eat of the +bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar;_" and would command the young +men and say to them, "_Let her glean even among the sheaves, and +reproach her not. And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose +for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not._" +Poor lass! poor lass! Even that cadaverous-jawed, Tennants'-stalk of a +woman thinks it would be better for her to die.' + +He walked quickly, his lips firm. It was a miserable morning; the +noisy thoroughfares full of mist and wet and mud; drifts of sleet +swooping round corners; the air raw and cold. The river was scarcely +visible when he crossed London Bridge; the steamers and ships were like +ghosts in the fog. He made his way as quickly as he could through the +crowded streets, until he reached Tower Hill; then he passed up into +the Minories; there he paused in front of one or two shops, in the +windows of which were the most miscellaneous objects--old clothes, +waterproof leggings, tin cans, and what not. At last he entered one of +these places, and after a great deal of haggling and argument, he +exchanged his coat of gray home-spun for a much shabbier looking dingy +blue over-coat, that appeared the kind of thing a pilot would wear. To +this was added a woollen comforter; there was no money in the +transaction. Douglas wrapped the comforter round his neck there and +then, and put on the coat; when he stepped out again into the mud and +snow and murky atmosphere, his appearance was much more reconcilable +with the neighbourhood. + +Still walking quickly, he went down to the London and St. Katherine +Docks, passing under the shadow of the gaunt walls; and then along that +dismal thoroughfare, Nightingale Lane, that looks like a passage +between two great prisons; until at last, with moderate pace, and with +a certain anxious, nervous look, as if he did not wish himself to be +seen, he arrived at the entrance to a space at the corner of the London +Dock, which was enclosed with some rusted iron railings, and partially +roofed over. + +In this shed, shivering in the cold, and occasionally moving so as to +avoid the whirling of the sleet, stood a number of most miserable +looking wretches, men and lads. John Douglas knew very well who these +were, and what they were there for. Here, so far as he had learned, +was the only place in London where a starving creature could get work, +without a character or qualification of any kind. Hither came those +who, through drink, or idleness, or sheer misfortune, had got right +down to the foot of the social ladder; waiting patiently in the dim +hope that some extra pressure of work inside would occur to give them +an hour or two's employment. Well, he did not hesitate long. He +seized a moment when the attention of these poor devils had been +attracted by some sound to the other side of the grating (where the +foreman was expected to appear), and glided in among the group, hoping +to be unperceived. + +But what sharp eyes hunger makes! They had no sooner turned hopelessly +away again, than every man and lad of them caught sight of the +stranger. They did not resent his intrusion. They regarded him with +curiosity, and with apathy. He looked well-to-do for that kind of +work. Perhaps if he were one of the lucky ones, he would stand a pot +of beer on coming out in the afternoon. + +But to their great astonishment, they were all to be lucky ones that +morning. The foreman appeared, ran his eye over the group, and engaged +the whole of them for the day,--all, except one dazed, drunken-looking +tatterdemalion of sixty or so, whom he warned off by name. Almost +before he knew where he was, John Douglas found himself at work in the +docks, at fivepence an hour. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +TREASURE TROVE. + +The work was very easy, it seemed to him. What it might be in the +warehouses he knew not; but here his business was simply to haul a +small and light truck, carrying two boxes of oranges, from the +unloading steamer along the side of the basin to the barge which was +receiving them. The work was light, and there were pauses; moreover, +the snow had ceased, and the surroundings--the ships and barges and +what not--were picturesque enough; the scent of the oranges was +pleasant. And his companions, these poor wrecks of humanity who had +drifted into this curious, quiet little pool, were in the main +good-humoured, though most of them seemed too depressed to speak much. +Of course they instantly called him 'Scottie.' Scottie got through his +short day's work with satisfaction; and when at four o'clock the great +bell began to toll, and when his wages, two shillings and a penny, were +paid him, and when he set out for the gate, he was much contented, and +was considering that, if he did his work diligently and respectfully +and in silence, it was not at all unlikely that the foreman would take +him on as a regular hand, at four-and-twenty shillings a week. + +He was thus thinking, and he had got almost to the gate, when something +ahead of him occurred that made him shrink back with a look of dismay +in his face. He saw that each man as he passed through the portal held +up his arms while one of the gatekeepers passed his hands over his +clothes. They were being searched. Douglas stood still; his whole +spirit in angry revolt. He would rather give up his day's wage, the +coat off his back, the cap from his head--anything than have to go +through this shameful ordeal. He looked back: could he not get out by +the wicket at which he entered, at the other end of the docks? + +'Come on, Scottie; you ain't been prigging oranges, eh?' said one of +his mates, laughing at him. + +Now it was quite clear that this searching of the outgoing labourers +was in most cases merely formal; but when the gatekeepers saw this man +hanging back, they naturally concluded he had been stealing. They +called to him to come along. He hesitated no longer. With a grim air +he advanced and held up his arms in the usual way. He would betray no +shame. Doubtless it was a necessary precaution. And as he had stolen +nothing, they could not hurt him by merely suspecting him. + +But this gatekeeper's inspection was minute; and when he came to some +slight protuberance on the breast of the coat, which, indeed, Douglas +himself had not noticed, he demanded to know what it was. Nay, he had +the coat taken off. On examination, a part of the lining of the coat +was found to have been cut open and carefully sewn together again. + +'Took all that trouble?' said the gatekeeper, glancing at him. + +'I did not know there was any pocket there,' said Douglas, hurriedly; +'I got the coat only this morning.' + +'Oh, indeed,' said the other, with a slight derisive laugh. 'I +shouldn't wonder if we found some tobacco all the same.' + +The lining was ripped open, in the presence of the little crowd of +labourers, carmen, stevedores, and so forth, who, seeing something +unusual going on, had collected. Douglas certainly looked very guilty. +His face was burning red; and the natural sternness of his features +made him look as if he were angry at being detected. But, on the other +hand, the expression on the face of the big yellow-bearded gate-keeper +changed very suddenly, when he took from inside the lining a little +oblong parchment bag, flat and dirty, and opened it, and drew out a +thin packet of what turned out to be Bank of England notes. Not many, +it is true; but a marvel all the same. The gatekeeper glanced at the +culprit again, and said good-humouredly, + +'Bought that coat this morning? Then you're in luck's way, my man, +that's all I can say. We don't keep them kind o' goods in our +warehouses. There ye are.' + +He once more examined the dirty little parchment bag all over; there +was no scrap of writing on it, or on any of the notes. + +'There ye are,' he said, giving him back both the coat and the valuable +package. 'There's some as would advertise in the papers about that +money; and there's some as would go to Scotland Yard, and expect to get +something; and there's some, seein' as there's no writin', as would +stick to it, and set up a shop. Where did you buy the coat, my man?' + +'At an outfitter's in the Minories--it was an exchange for my own,' +said Douglas hastily; he was anxious above all things, money or no +money, to get away from this crowd of curious faces. + +'An outfitter! yes, it's a fine name. Anyhow, the money don't belong +to _him_. Most likely, now, that coat belonged to some seafaring man +as got drownded, and the poor chap's things sold. Pass on there, my +lads!' + +Douglas escaped from the crowd, and got away. He was greatly +bewildered and excited; not often in his life had he come through so +much in so short a time. He walked hard, and did not stop until he sat +down in his own little room, in the cold and dark. + +Hour after hour he sat there, himself fighting with himself; or rather +his consciousness of what was right fighting with his great desire to +do something to help that luckless child, lying there a few streets +farther off, friendless, poverty-stricken, fever-stricken, with the +most hopeless of futures before her. He argued with himself that no +doubt the gatekeeper's guess was correct; the money had belonged to +some sailor or pilot, who had been drowned, and his personal effects, +whether found on his dead body, or perhaps in the hold of a derelict, +sold. Certainly these notes did not belong to the old-clothes' man in +the Minories. It almost seemed as if a special act of Providence had +placed this money at his disposal to succour this helpless one in her +sickness, and support and strengthen her in her convalescence. As for +himself, he never dreamed of touching it for his own uses. He had +found out at last one way of earning his own living. But even if he +were to be permanently employed, at twenty-four shillings a week, how +could he save enough out of that to give this girl generous +nourishment, and a little wine, and country air, when she should get +well enough again? In the meantime, were her mother and sisters to +starve? And it never occurred to him to ask why he should take this +sudden interest in this stranger girl or in her family. The fact was, +he had never before been confronted with so clear a case of hardship +and distress. The solitariness, the helplessness of the child appealed +to him: it was as if he had seen a wren threatened by a hawk, or a +rabbit seized by a weasel. He could not help interfering, and doing +his utmost. + +And how could this money of a dead and unknown man be put to a better +use? Was he to go and bury it in Scotland Yard? Was he to advertise +for a crowd of impostors to claim it? He lit the gas and examined the +notes. There were seven--35 pounds--a fortune! He saw the girl in a +little cottage, the window open to let the first of the spring air into +the room, she lying well wrapped up on a couch, a few wild-flowers on +the table, daffodils and primroses from the woods, pink-tipped daisies +from the banks, the red dead-nettle from the hedge-rows, and perhaps +herself, to please him, and out of gratitude as it were, reading some +of Tannahill's songs, 'Loudon's bonnie woods and braes,' 'Langsyne, +beside the woodland burn,' 'Keen blows the wind o'er the Braes o' +Gleniffer,' 'We'll meet beside the dusky glen on yon burn side.' Poor +child! she had probably seen but little of the country during her hard +life. Would she be surprised when all the hawthorn came out, and the +lanes were scented? Perhaps he would be able to teach her a little of +the beauty of simple things, and remove from her mind the poor ideas +about what is great and admirable and desirable begotten in a large +city. 'Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin +not; and yet I say unto you that Solomon in all his glory was not +arrayed like one of these.' No doubt her notion of what was most +beautiful and desirable in the world was to be dressed in satin, and +driving in a coach, with powdered footmen behind, to a Royal +Drawing-room. + +All this was so specious and plausible. The money lying there seemed +to belong to him more than to any other. And what good might be done +with it! Even if the real owner were alive, surely he would assent. +Thirty-five pounds: ten pounds to be put into a savings bank in her +name; the rest to clear off the doctor's bill, give a weekly allowance +to her people, and enable her to get a couple of months, or even more, +with strict economy, in the country, before returning to the hard, dull +work of London. + +'I did not know,' he said aloud, in his slow, deliberate Scotch way, +'that money could have such value.' + +By-and-by he rose, put the notes into the bag again, and that in his +pocket; then he turned off the gas and went out, thinking he would walk +round and see how the girl was getting on. That is to say, he tried to +make himself believe that that was all there was in his mind; but he +knew very well that there was something else. There was a haunting, +uneasy consciousness. Suddenly, at the corner of the street, instead +of turning eastward as he should have done, he abruptly turned in the +other direction, and began to walk quickly. 'The money is not mine; I +will have none of it,' was his ultimate and fixed decision. 'No +dreams, man; no temptation. The first step to perdition is no doubt +smooth enough. If I can do the lass a good turn, it must be with my +own money.' + +He walked to Scotland Yard, finding it without difficulty, for he knew +all the familiar features of London on the map; and there he told his +story, and delivered up the money, and left his address. He departed +with a light heart. Nay, when he had crossed Westminster Bridge again, +he looked out for a poor-looking coffee-house, and went in and had some +coffee and a roll, and thought he never had enjoyed any dinner more. +He looked at the evening paper, too, and then went out again into the +wet streets, and continued his way. He was further cheered by hearing +that the sick girl, though still feverish and perfectly weak and +prostrate, had not, in the doctor's opinion, caught any serious malady, +and only wanted time and care, and afterwards some better nourishment, +to bring her round. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE END OF THE EPISODE. + +So with courage and patience, and with a final gulp about that +searching business, he returned to his work at the docks, and very soon +got engaged as a permanent hand. He was a favourite with the foremen, +for he was industrious and minded his own business; but he was greatly +disliked by his companions. They would not believe, and he was at no +pains to convince them, that he had not kept the found money; and they +had expected him, if ever he returned to the docks, to stand treat +liberally. They were angry at Scottie's stinginess, and took to +taunting him. These casual jeers he heeded no more than the idle wind; +they could not hurt. + +His savings slowly increased, his only serious expenditure being his +weekly rent. When, each morning at twelve o'clock, the great bell rang +in the docks, and the men and women came in with their baskets and +barrows, his dinner consisted of a couple of penny sausage-rolls ('bags +of mystery,' his mates called them), and these were really quite fresh +and clean and wholesome-looking. In the afternoon or evening he +generally went round to the house where the girl, Mary Ann Ellis, was +now so far recovered that she could sit propped up in bed for an hour +or so; and he would have a chat with her and her landlady, and a cup of +tea, with bread and butter--for which he privately paid. He found this +girl interesting, simple, and intensely grateful, but ignorant to a +degree that he had not thought possible in a human being capable of +reading. In one respect this was lucky, for she believed any nonsense +he told her; and the quite imaginary associations of ladies and +gentlemen for the dispensing of needful charity received her most +earnest thanks for those little sums that were sent to her mother, or +that enabled her to pay off her doctor's weekly bill. + +One day John Douglas was leaving the docks as usual, when he was +overtaken by a tall and handsome young fellow, whom he knew to be +connected with the Customs department. + +'I say, aren't you the man that found a lot of money?' + +Douglas had grown sulky, or rather suspicious of foolery, and was +inclined to keep his own counsel. But the accent of this stranger went +straight to his heart; he had not heard the Scotch way of speaking for +many a day. So he turned and regarded the young man, and frankly told +him what he had done with the money. This led to further questions, +for the younger man's curiosity was aroused. It was the City of +Glasgow Bank, then? But why take to such work as this? Couldn't he +get into some office? Did he know a little of book-keeping? + +The upshot of all this was that, about a week after, John Douglas found +himself installed as clerk at a tall desk in the back-room of a +co-operative store connected with the docks, at a salary of two pounds +a week; and the first and immediate result of this was that the +mysterious charitable associations of which he was apparently the +agent, commissioned him to inform Mary Ann Ellis that she need not try +to get any situation for at least two months' time, because fourteen +shillings a week would be paid to her during that period, to enable her +to get thoroughly well again. + +John Douglas grew to be a proud man. He was proud of having paid off +that five pounds, and standing free of all the world; he was proud of +his gradually-increasing account at the Government Savings Bank as a +guarantee against future ill; but he was proudest of all of his +patient, whose convalescence he in a measure attributed to himself. +The days were longer now, and the weather fine; on the clear evenings, +or Saturday afternoons, these two would get into an omnibus, and go +away out to Camberwell Green, or Kennington Park, or Clapham Common, +and sit on a bench, and watch the young folks enjoying their sports and +diversions. He was better dressed now, and she had got into the way of +calling him 'Sir.' He told her a great deal about Scotland, and the +mountains, and the glens with the birch-trees and waterfalls; but he +always got into a difficulty when he came to the sea, which she had +never seen. She could not understand that. + +'Now, lassie, look at that piece of water there,' he would say to her, +at the pond on Clapham Common. 'Cannot you imagine its going out and +out until it gets far beyond the trees and houses yonder, until it gets +beyond everything, and meets the sky?' + +'I see what you mean, sir,' she would say; 'but I can't understand it: +for I can't help thinking, if there was nothing on the other side to +hold it up, it must tumble down. How can water hold itself up in the +air?' + +'Dear, dear me, lass!' he would say impatiently, 'have I not explained +to ye how everything in the world, land and hills and everything, is +held together?' + +'Yes, sir; but water shifts so,' she would say; and he would take to +something else. + +The two months went by, and she got stronger and stronger, though +sometimes she grew a little anxious about her chances of getting +another situation. During this constant companionship, he had become +much attached--in a compassionate sort of fashion--to this child whom +chance had thrown in his way. He could see her good points, and her +weak ones. She was of a kindly disposition; truthful, he thought; with +no very distinct religion, but she had a general desire to be good; +simple and frugal in her ways of living,--though this was a necessity, +and she had no idea of frugality being in itself a virtue. On the +other hand, her views as to what was most to be desired in life were +simply the result of the atmosphere in which she had lived; and she +confessed to him that the most beautiful thing she had ever seen was +the arrivals at a Mansion House ball--the coloured stair-cloth, the +beautiful ladies, the brilliant uniforms. Her knowledge of politics +was entirely derived from the cartoons of the comic journals in the +shop windows; and she had any quantity of vague and vulgar prejudices +about Catholics, Radicals, and Jews. But this patient listener, who +seemed interested in her foolish little opinions, was a largely +tolerant man. Such things were; let us make the best of them,--that +was what he seemed to say. And as all the phenomena of the universe +appeared to him to be worthy of respectful attention--even if one did +not go the length of vexing one's self about any one of them--he was +willing to learn that, in the opinion of this profound observer, the +Catholic priests were bad men, who would let you do anything that was +wrong if only you paid them enough money for absolution. + +One evening, when he went round as usual, he found Mary Ann in great +excitement; she had evidently been crying, and now she was laughing in +a half-crying way. + +'What is the matter, lassie?' said he severely, for he did not like +'scenes.' + +'Oh, sir, Pete has written--at last--at last!' she said, crying all the +more, but in a glad sort of way, and looking again at the letter she +held in her two hands. + +'But who is Pete?' + +'My sweetheart, sir; I never said anything about him--I thought he had +forgotten us--but now he says he wouldn't write until he had good news, +and now there is good news enough,--oh yes, there is! there is! For he +has got a good place, and good prospects--and here is money to take me +out, and my mother and sisters, too--all except fifteen pounds, Pete +says, and that he'll send in three months' time. Oh, sir! you don't +know what a good fellow Pete is!' + +John Douglas sat down. His heart felt a little heavy; he scarcely knew +why. But he began to ask a few questions, in a slow matter-of-fact +way; and he did not remain long. He saw that the girl wanted to read +and re-read the good news to herself, and draw pictures of all that was +coming. + +The next afternoon Mary Ann got a note from him, with an enclosure. +Thus it ran:-- + + +'DEAR CHILD--You need not wait through three months of uncertainty. I +enclose for you what will make up the passage-money, and also pay the +expenses of your mother and sisters' coming to London. Accept this +quietly and sensibly, and do not make any fuss about it, nor when I see +you. I shall be busy this evening, and may not call. + +'Your friend, + 'JOHN DOUGLAS.' + + +But all the same Mary Ann came round quickly, and with her the tall, +gaunt, dark, composed landlady; and there was a great scene, Mary Ann +crying and accusing herself of unheard-of stupidity for not having +guessed that he all along had been her benefactor; and he, on the other +hand, sternly bidding her hold her peace and not talk foolishness. + +'Ye did me a great service, ye foolish lass,' he said; 'ye made me take +to actual work when I was merely idling and loitering about. Ye gave +me an object to work for, and pleasant companionship for a space, and +now, if I must find something else, that is as it has been ordered; and +I maun bide my time.' + +A few days afterwards he saw the mother when she arrived--a poor, limp +sort of creature--and the two bewildered little girls. He could not, +because of office work, go with them, as he had wished, to Southampton; +but he accompanied them to the railway station, early in the morning, +and bade them farewell. And as he turned away, he said to himself, + +'These poor creatures I shall doubtless see no more in this world; but +they will have a little regard for me, perhaps, while they live, and +that is something. And now I will consider myself free to spend a +trifle of money on myself, when I get it saved again; and I will use it +during the holidays they speak of to take a trip back home again, and +see the old place, and that the graves of my people are taken care of. +And I may be able to make dispositions, too, so that when I'm taken I +may be placed there also; for it is but natural that one should wish to +rest among one's own.' + + +THE END. + + + + + +THE FOUR MACNICOLS + + +BY + +WILLIAM BLACK + + + +AUTHOR OF 'MACLEOD OF DARE,' 'SUNRISE,' ETC. + + + + + +NEW EDITION + + + +LONDON + +MACMILLAN AND CO. + +1882 + + + + +[NOTE.--The following sketch of the founding of a Co-operative +Association by four Scotch boys was originally meant for young people; +but subsequently the writer ventured to think that it might prove +equally interesting, or even more interesting, to grown-up folk, +especially as parts of it are based on fact; and so it is now printed +here for the first time.] + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER + + I. Juventus Mundi + II. The Last of the Games + III. Altered Circumstances + IV. Further Endeavour + V. The High Road + + + + +THE FOUR MACNICOLS. + + +CHAPTER I. + +JUVENTUS MUNDI. + +It was on a bright and glorious morning in July that the great +chieftain, Robert of the Red Hand, accompanied by his kinsmen and +allies, put to sea in his war-galley, resolved to sweep the Spanish +main free of all his enemies, and thereafter to hold high revel in the +halls of Eilean-na-Rona. At least, that was how it appeared to the +imagination of the great chieftain himself, though the simple facts of +the case were a trifle less romantic. For this Robert of the Red Hand, +more familiarly known as Rob MacNicol, or even as plain Rob, was an +active, stout-sinewed, black-eyed lad of seventeen, whose only mark of +chieftainship apparently was that, unlike his brothers, he wore shoes +and stockings; these three relatives constituted his allies and +kinsmen; the so-called Spanish main was in reality an arm of the sea +better known in the Hebrides as Loch Scrone; and the war-galley was an +old, ramshackle, battered, and betarred boat belonging generally to the +fishing-village of Erisaig; for, indeed, the boat was so old and so +battered that nobody now seemed to claim any special ownership of it. + +These four MacNicols,--Robert, Neil, Nicol, and Duncan,--were, it must +be admitted, an idle and graceless set, living for the most part a +hand-to-mouth, amphibious, curlew-like kind of life, and far more given +to aimless voyages in boats not belonging to them than inclined to turn +their hand to any honest labour. But this must be said in their excuse +that no boy or lad born in the village of Erisaig could by any means +whatsoever be brought to think of becoming anything else than a +fisherman. It was impossible to induce them to apprentice themselves +to any ordinary trade. They would wait until they were old enough to +go after the herring, like the others; that was man's work; that was +something like; that was different from staying ashore and twiddling +one's fingers over a pair of somebody else's shoes, or laboriously +shaping a block of sandstone for somebody else's house. This Rob +MacNicol, for example: it was only for want of a greater career that he +had constituted himself a dreaded sea-rover, a stern chieftain, etc. +etc. His secret ambition--his great and constant and secret +ambition--went far farther than that. It was to be of man's estate, +broad-shouldered and heavy-bearded; to wear huge black boots up to his +thighs, and a blue flannel jersey; to have a peaked cap (not forgetting +a brass button on each side by way of smartness); and then to come +along, in the afternoon, with a yellow oilskin tied up in a bundle, to +the wharf where the herring fleet lay, the admiration and the envy of +all the miserable creatures condemned to stay ashore. + +In the meantime--in these days of joyous idleness, while as yet the +cares and troubles which this history will have to chronicle were far +away from him and his simply because they were unknown--Rob MacNicol, +if he could not be a fisherman, could be an imaginary chieftain, and in +that capacity he gave his orders as one who knew how to make himself +obeyed. As soon as they had shoved the boat clear of the smacks, the +jib was promptly set; the big lumps of stone that served for ballast +were duly shifted; the lug-sail, as black as pitch and full of holes, +was hoisted, and the halyards made fast; then the sheet was hauled in +by Nicol MacNicol, who had been ordered to the helm; and finally the +shaky old nondescript craft began to creep through the blue waters of +Erisaig Bay. It was a lovely morning; the light breeze from the land +seemed steady enough; altogether, nothing could have been more +auspicious for the setting out of the great chieftain and his kinsmen. + +But great as he is, he is not above fearing the criticism of people +ashore on his method of handling a boat. Rob, from his proud position +at the bow, darted an angry glance at his helmsman. + +'Keep her full, will ye?' he growled in an undertone. 'Do ye call that +steering, ye gomeril? Run her by Daft Sandy's boat? It is no better +than a cowherd you are at the steering.' + +This Daft Sandy, who will turn up in our history by-and-by, was a +half-witted old man, who spent his life in fishing for flounders from a +rotten old punt he had become possessed of. He earned a sort of living +that way; and seldom went near the shore during the day except to beg +for a herring or two for bait, when the boats came in. He got the +bait, but in an ignominious way; for the boys, stripping the nets, +generally saved up the 'broken' herring in order to pelt Daft Sandy +with the fragments when he came near. That is to say, they indulged in +this amiable sport except when Rob MacNicol happened to be about. That +youth had been heard to remark that the first he caught at this game +would pay a sudden visit to the dead dog-fish lying beneath the clear +waters of the harbour; and it was very well known among the urchins of +Erisaig that the eldest MacNicol had very little scruple about taking +the law into his own hand. When he found a bigger boy thrashing a +smaller one, he invariably thrashed the bigger one, just to keep things +even, as it were; and he had invented for the better guidance of his +brethren and associates a series of somewhat stringent rules and +punishments, to which, it must be acknowledged, he cheerfully submitted +himself. At the same time, he was aware that even the most moral and +high-principled government has occasionally to assert itself with rude +physical force; and although his hand was not particularly red, as +might have been expected, it was uncommonly hard, and a cuff from it +was understood to produce the most startling lightning effects in the +region of the eye. + +Well, as they were nearing Daft Sandy's punt, Rob called out to him, + +'Sandy, have ye had any luck the day?' + +The little, bent, blear-eyed old man looked up from his hand-lines. + +'No mich.' + +As the boat was gliding past Rob flung a couple of herring into the +punt. + +'There's some bait for ye.' + +'Ay; and where are ye for going, Robert?' the old man said, as they +passed. 'Tak' heed. It's squally outside.' + +There was no answer; for at this moment the quick eye of the chieftain +detected one of his kinsmen in the commission of a heinous crime. +Tempted by the light and steady breeze, Nicol had given way to +idleness, and had made fast the main-sheet, instead of holding it in +his hand, ready for all emergencies. This, and not unnaturally, on +such a squally coast, Rob MacNicol had constituted an altogether +unforgivable offence; and his first impulse was to jump down to the +stern of the boat and give the helmsman, caught _in flagrante delicto_, +a sounding whack on the side of the head. But a graver sense of +justice prevailed. He summoned a court-martial. Nicol, catching the +eye of his brother, hastily tried to undo the sheet from the pin; but +it was too late. The crime had been committed; there were two +witnesses, besides the judge, who was also the jury. The judge and +jury forthwith pronounced sentence: Nicol MacNicol to forfeit one penny +to the fund being secretly stored up for the purchase of a set of +bag-pipes, or to be lowered by the shoulders until his feet should +touch the ground in the dungeon of Eilean-na-Rona Castle. He was left +to decide which alternative he would accept; and it must be said that +the culprit, after a minute or two's sulking, perceived the justice of +the sentence, and calmly said he would take the dungeon. + +'Ye think I'm feared?' he said contemptuously, to Neil and Duncan, who +were grinning at him. 'Wha was it that gruppit the whutteruck[1]? And +is there anything worse than whutterucks in that hole in the castle?' + +'Ye'll find out, Nicol, my man,' said his cousin Neil. 'There's +warlocks. And they'll grup ye by the legs.' + +'I'll save the penny anyway,' said Nicol, to whom a penny was a thing +of known and substantial value. + +Now if any proof had been needed that Rob MacNicol's stringent sailing +rules were a matter of stern necessity, it was quickly forthcoming. On +this beautiful summer morning, with the sea smooth and blue around +them, they were sailing along as pleasantly as might be. But they had +scarcely got through the narrow channel leading from the harbour, and +were just emerging into Loch Scrone, when a squall of wind came tearing +along and hit the boat so that the lug-sail was almost flattened on to +the water. + +'Run her up! Haul in your sheet!' yelled Rob to the frightened +steersman. + +Well it was at such a moment that the main sheet was free to be hauled +in; for as the bow was put up to the wind, the varying squall caught +her on the other beam and threw her over, so that she shipped a bucket +or two of water. Had the water got into the belly of the sail, the +weight would have dragged her down; but Rob instantly got rid of this +danger by springing to the halyards, and, the moment the crank craft +strove to right herself, bringing sail and yard rattling down into the +boat. By this time, so fierce was the squall, a pretty heavy sea had +sprung up, and altogether things looked very ugly. When they allowed +the jib to fill, even that was enough to send the boat over, and she +had already a dangerous lot of water surging among the ballast; while, +when they were forced to put her head to the wind, she drifted with a +heavily running tide, and right to leeward was a long reef of rocks +that would inevitably crunch her into matchwood. The younger brothers +said not a word, but looked at Rob, ready to obey his slightest +gesture, and Rob stood by the mast calling out from time to time to +Nicol. + +Matters grew worse. It was no use trying merely to keep her head to +the wind, for she was drifting rapidly, and the first shock on the +rocks would send her and her stone ballast to the bottom. On the other +hand, there was no open sea-room to let her run away before the wind +with a straining jib. At all hazards it was necessary to fight her +clear of that long ledge of rock, even if the wind threatened to tear +the mast out of the boat. So Rob himself sprang down to the stern and +took the tiller. + +'Duncan, Neil, stand by the halyards now! When I sing out to ye, hoist +her--be ready now!' + +He had his eye on the rocks all this time. On the highest of them was +a tall iron perch, painted scarlet--a warning to sailors; but from that +point long shelves and spurs ran out, the yellow surface of barnacles +growing greener and greener as they went deeper into the sea. Already +Rob MacNicol could make out some of these submarine reefs even through +the turbulent water. + +'Now then, boys; up with her! Quick now!' + +It was a venturesome business; but there was no help for it. The +moment the sail was half hoisted, a gust caught the boat and drove her +over until her gunwale again scooped up a lot of the hissing water. +But as she righted, staggering all the while, it was clear there was +some good way on her, and Rob, having had recourse to desperate +remedies, was determined to give her enough of the wind. Down again +went the gunwale to the hissing water; and the strain on the rotten +sheets of the old boat was so great that it was a wonder everything did +not go by the board. But now there was a joyous hissing of foam at the +bow; she was forging ahead; if she could only stand the pressure, in a +minute or so she would be clear of the rocks. Rob still kept his eye +on these treacherous shelves of yellow-green. Then he sang out, + +'Down with her, boys!' + +The black lug-sail rattled into the boat; there was nothing left now +but the straining jib. + +'Slack the lee-jib sheet!' + +The next minute he had put his helm gently up; the bow of the boat fell +away from the wind; and presently--just as they had time to see the +green depths of the rocks they had succeeded in weathering--the +war-galley of the great chieftain was spinning away down Loch Scrone, +racing with the racing waves, the wind tearing and hauling at her +bellied-out jib. + +'Hurrah, my lads! we'll soon be at Eilean-na-Rona now, eh?' Rob shouted. + +He did not seem much put about by that narrow escape. Squalls were +common on this coast, and it was the business of one aspiring to be a +fisherman to take things as they came. + +'Come, set to work and bale out the boat, you bare-shanks lot! How +d'ye think she can sail with the half of Loch Scrone inside her?' + +Thus admonished, the younger brothers were soon among the stone ballast +baling out the surging water with such rude utensils as they could +find. But the squall was of no great duration. The wind moderated in +force; then it woke up again, and brought a smart shower of rain +across; then, as if by magic, the heavens suddenly cleared, a burst of +hot sunlight fell around them, the sea grew intensely blue, the far +hills on the other side of Loch Scrone began to shine green in the +yellow light, and all that was left to tell of the squall that had very +nearly put an end to the great chieftain and all his clan was a quickly +running sea, now all sparkling in diamonds. + +The danger being thus over, Rob once more delivered the tiller into the +charge of his brother Nicol, and went forward to his post of +observation at the bow. About the only bit of the imaginative voyage +on which he had started that had a solid basis in fact was the +existence of an old castle--or rather the ruins of what had once been a +castle--on the island called Eilean-na-Rona; and now that they were +racing down Loch Scrone, that small island was drawing nearer, and +already they could make out the dark tower and ivied walls of the +ancient keep. Far darker than the tower itself were the legends +connected with this stronghold of former times; but for these the +brothers MacNicol, who had seized on the place as their own, cared +little. It is true, they had some dread of the dungeon, and none of +them would have liked to visit Eilean-na-Rona at night; but in the +daytime the old ruins formed an excellent retreat, where they could +play such high jinks or hold such courtly tournaments as they chose. + +They ran the boat into a little creek of the uninhabited island, +driving her right up on the beach for safety's sake, there being no +anchor. Then--Neil carrying a small basket the while and Duncan a coil +of rope--they passed through a wood of young larches and spruce, the +air smelling strongly of bracken and meadow-sweet after the rain; and +finally they reached the rocky eminence on which stood the ruins. +There was no way up, for tourists did not come that way, and the owner +of the island, who was a farmer on the mainland, had but little care +for antiquities. However, the lads found no difficulty. They swarmed +up the face of the crags like so many squirrels, and found themselves +on a grassy plateau which had once formed the outer courtyard of the +keep. Around this plateau were fragments of what in former days had +been a massive wall, but most of the crumbling masonry was hidden under +ivy and weeds. In front of them, again, rose the great tower with its +arched and gloomy entrance, and its one or two small windows, in the +clefts of which bunches of wallflower were growing. The only sign of +life about the old castle or the uninhabited island was given by two or +three jackdaws that wheeled about overhead, and cawed harshly in +resentment of this intrusion. + +The great chieftain, Robert of the Red Hand, having now assembled his +kinsmen and allies in the ancient halls of Eilean-na-Rona, proceeded to +speak as follows. + +'Nicol, my man, ye have been tried and convicted.' + +'I ken that,' was Nicol's philosophical reply. + +'Ye had no business to make fast the sheet of the lug-sail; ye might +have drooned the lot of us.' + +Nicol nodded. He had sinned, and was prepared to suffer. + +'Have ye ought to say against your being lowered into the dungeon?' + +'I have not. Do you think I'm feared?' said Nicol scornfully. + +'Ye will not pay the penny?' + +'Deil a penny will I pay!' + +'Nicol,' said his cousin Neil, with some touch of compassion--for +indeed he knew that the dungeon was a gruesome place--'Nicol, maybe you +have not got a penny?' + +'Well, I have not,' said Nicol. + +'Will I lend ye one?' + +'What would be the use of that?' said Nicol; 'I would have to pay it +back. Do you think I'm feared? I tell you I am not feared.' + +So there was nothing for it but to get the rope and pass it under +Nicol's arms, fastening it securely at his back. Thus bound, the +culprit was marched through the archway of the old tower into an +apartment that was but feebly lit by the reflected glare coming from +without. The other boys, as well as Nicol, walked very carefully over +the dank-smelling earth, until they came to what seemed to be a large +hole dug out of the ground, and black as midnight. This was the +dungeon into which Nicol was to be lowered, that he might expiate his +offence before the high revels began. + + + +[1] _Anglice_, seized hold of the weasel. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE LAST OF THE GAMES. + +But before proceeding to relate how the captive clansman was lowered +into the dungeon of the castle on Eilean-na-Rona, it will be necessary +to explain why he did not choose to purchase his liberty by the payment +of the sum of one penny. Pennies among the boys of Erisaig, and more +especially among the MacNicols, were an exceedingly scarce commodity. +The father of the three MacNicols, who was also burdened with the +charge of their orphan cousin Neil, was a hand on board the steamer +_Glenara Castle_, and very seldom came ashore. He had but small wages; +and it was all he could do, in the bringing up of the boys, to pay a +certain sum for their lodging and schooling, leaving them pretty much +to cadge for themselves as regarded food and clothes. Their food, +mostly porridge, potatoes, and fish of their own catching, cost little; +and they did not spend much money on clothes, especially in summer +time, when no Erisaig boy--except Rob MacNicol, who was a distinguished +person--would submit to the encumbrance of shoes and stockings. +Nevertheless, for various purposes, money was necessary to them; and +this they obtained by going down in the morning, when the herring boats +came in, and helping the men to strip the nets. The men were generally +tired out and sleepy with their long night's work; and if they had had +anything like a good haul, they were glad to give these lads twopence +or threepence apiece to undertake the labour of lifting the nets, yard +by yard, out of the hold, shaking out the silvery fish and dexterously +extricating those that had got more firmly enmeshed. Moreover, it was +a work the boys delighted in. If it was not the rose, it was near the +rose. If it was not for them as yet to sail away in the afternoon, +watched by all the village, at least they could take this small part in +the great herring trade. And when they had shaken out the last of the +nets, and received their wages, they stepped ashore with a certain +pride; and generally they put both hands in their pockets as a real +fisherman would do; and perhaps they would walk along the quays with a +slight lurch, as if they, also, had been cramped up all the long night +through, and felt somewhat unused to walking on first getting back to +land. + +Now these MacNicol boys, again imitating the well-to-do among the +fishermen, had each an account at the savings bank; and the pence they +got were carefully hoarded up. For if they wanted a new Glengarry cap, +or if they wanted to buy a book telling them of all kinds of tremendous +adventures at sea, or if it became necessary to purchase some more +fishing-hooks at the grocer's shop, it was their own small store of +wealth they had to look to; and so it came about that a penny was +something to be seriously considered. When Rob MacNicol had to impose +a fine of one penny, he knew it was a dire punishment; and if there was +any alternative, the fine was rarely paid. The fund, therefore, which +he had started for the purchase of an old and disused set of bagpipes, +and which was to be made up of those fines, did not grow apace. Of +course, being a chieftain, he must needs have a piper. The revels in +the halls of Eilean-na-Rona lacked half their impressiveness through +the want of the pipes. No doubt, Rob had a sort of suspicion that, if +ever they should grow rich enough to buy the old set of bagpipes, he +would have to play them himself; but even the most ignorant person can +perceive that to be one's own piper must at least be better than to +have no piper at all. + +And now the captive Nicol MacNicol was led to the edge of this black +pit in the floor of the lower hall of the castle. On several occasions +one or other of the boys had been lowered, for slighter offences, into +this dungeon; but no one had ever been condemned to go to the +bottom--if bottom there were. But Nicol did not flinch. He was +satisfied of the justice of his sentence. He was aware he deserved the +punishment. Above all he was determined to save that penny. + +At the same time, when the other three had poised themselves so as to +lower the rope gradually, and when he found himself descending into +that black mole, he looked rather nervously below him. Of course he +could see nothing. But there was a vague tradition that this dungeon +was haunted by ghosts, vampires, warlocks, and other unholy things; and +there was a chill, strange, earthy odour arising from it; and the walls +that he scraped against were slimy and damp. He uttered no word, +however; and those above kept slowly paying out the coil of rope. + +Rob became somewhat concerned. + +'It'll be no easy job to pull him back,' he said in a whisper. + +'It's as deep as the dungeon they put Donald Gorm Mor into,' said his +cousin Neil. + +'Maybe there's no bottom at all,' said Duncan, rather awe-stricken. + +Suddenly a fearful thing happened. There was a cry from below--a quick +cry of alarm; and at the same moment they were startled by a wild +whizzing and whirring around them, as if a legend of fiends had rushed +out of the pit. With a shriek of fright Duncan sprang back from the +edge of the dungeon; and that with such force that he knocked over his +two companions. Moreover, in falling, they let go the rope; when they +rose again they looked round in the twilight, but could find no trace +of it. It had slipped over the edge. And there was no sound from +below. + +Rob was the first to regain his senses. He rushed to the edge of the +hole and stooped over. + +'Nicol, are ye there?' + +His heart jumped within him when he heard his brother's voice. + +'Yes, I am; and the rope too. How am I to get up?' + +Rob turned quickly. + +'Duncan, down to the boat with ye! Loosen the lug-sail halyards, and +bring them up--quick, quick!' + +Duncan was off like a young roe. He slid down the crags; he dashed +through the larch-wood; he jumped into the boat on the beach. +Presently he was making his way as quickly back again, the halyards +coiled round his arm so as not to prevent his climbing. + +'Nicol!' shouted Rob. + +'Ay?' + +'I am lowering the halyards to ye. Fasten them to the end of the rope.' + +'I canna see them.' + +'Grope all round till ye come to them.' + +And so, in process of time, the end of the rope was hauled up, and +thereafter--to the great relief of every one--and to his own, no doubt, +Nicol appeared alive and well, though somewhat anxious to get away from +the neighbourhood of that dungeon. He went immediately out into the +warm summer air, followed by the others. + +'Man, what a fright I got!' he said at last, having recovered his +speech. + +'Ay, and so did we,' Neil admitted. + +'What was't?' said he, timidly; as if almost afraid to put his own +fears and suspicions into words. + +'I dinna ken,' Neil said, looking rather frightened. + +'Ye dinna ken!' Rob MacNicol said, with a scornful laugh. 'Ye ought to +ken, then. It was nothing but a lot of bats; and Duncan yelled as if +he had seen twenty warlocks; and knocked us over, so that we lost the +rope. Come! boys, begin your games now; the steamer will be in early +the day.' + +Well, it seemed easier to dismiss superstitious fears out here in the +sunlight. Perhaps it had been only bats, after all. Warlocks did not +whirr in the air--at least, they were understood not to do so. Witches +were supposed to reserve their aerial performances for the night-time. +Perhaps it was only bats, as Rob asserted. Indeed, it would be +safer--especially in Rob's presence--to accept his explanation of the +mystery. At the same time the younger boys occasionally darted a +stealthy glance backward to that gloomy apartment that had so suddenly +become alive with unknown things. + +Then the games began. Rob had come to the conclusion that a wise +chieftain should foster a love for national sports and pastimes; and to +that end he had invented a system of marks, the winning of a large +number of which entitled the holder to pecuniary or other reward. As +for himself, his part was that of spectator and arbiter; he handicapped +the competitors; he declared the prizes. On this occasion he ensconced +himself in a niche of the ruins, where he was out of the glare of the +sun, and gracefully surrounded by masses of ivy; while his relatives +hauled out to the middle of the green plateau several trunks of +fir-trees, of various sizes, that had been carefully lopped and pruned +for the purpose of 'tossing the caber.' Well, they 'tossed the caber,' +they 'put the stone,' they had wrestling-matches and other trials of +strength, Rob the while surveying the scene with a critical eye, and +reckoning up the proper number of marks. But now some milder +diversions followed. Three or four planks, rudely nailed together, and +forming a piece of rough flooring about two or three yards square, were +hauled out from an archway, placed on the grass, and a piece of +tarpaulin thrown over it. Then two of the boys took out their +Jew's-harps--alas! alas! that was the only musical instrument within +their reach, until the coveted bagpipes should be purchased--and gaily +struck up with 'Green grow the rashes, O!' as a preliminary flourish. +What was this now? What but a performance of the famous sword-dance by +that renowned and valiant henchman, Nicol MacNicol of Erisaig, in the +kingdom of Scotland! Nicol, failing a couple of broadswords or four +dirks, had got two pieces of rusty old iron and placed them cross-wise +on the extemporised floor. With what skill and nimbleness he proceeded +to execute this sword-dance,--which is no doubt the survival of some +ancient mystic rite,--with what elegance he pointed his toes and held +his arms akimbo; with what amazing dexterity, in all the evolutions of +the dance, he avoided touching the bits of iron; nay, with what +intrepidity, at the most critical moment, he held his arms aloft and +victoriously snapped his thumbs, it wants a Homeric chronicler to tell. +It needs only be said here that, after it, Neil's 'Highland Fling' was +a comparative failure, though he, better than most, could give that +outflung quiver of the foot which few can properly acquire, and without +which the dancer of the 'Highland Fling' might just as well go home and +go to bed. The great chieftain, having regarded these and other +performances with an observant eye, and having awarded so many marks to +this one and to that, declared the games over, and invited the +competitors one and all to a royal banquet. + +It was a good deal more wholesome than most banquets, for it consisted +of a scone and a glass of fresh milk apiece--butter being as yet beyond +the means of the MacNicols. And it was a good deal more sensible than +most banquets, for there was no speech-making after it. But there was +some interesting conversation. + +'Nicol, what did ye find in the dungeon?' Duncan said. + +'Oh, man, it was a gruesome place,' said Nicol, who did not want to +make too little of the perils he had encountered. + +'What did ye see?' + +'How could I see anything? But I felt plenty on the way down; and I'm +sure it's fu' o' creeping things and beasts. And then when I was near +the foot, I put my hand on something leevin', and it flew up and hit +me; and in a meenit the whole place was alive. Man, what a noise it +was! And then down came the rope, and I fell; and I got sich a dour on +the head!' + +'Nothing but bats!' said Rob, contemptuously. + +'I think it was houlets,' [1] said Duncan, confidently; 'for there was +one in the wood when I was gaun through, and I nearly ran my head +against him. He was sitting in one of the larches--man, he made a +noise!' + +'Ye've got your heads filled with nothing but witches and warlocks the +day!' said Rob, impatiently, as he rose to his feet. 'Come, and get +the things into the basket. We maun be back in Erisaig before the +_Glenara_ comes in.' + +Very soon thereafter the small party made their way down again to the +shore, and entered the war-galley of the chieftain, the halyards being +restored to their proper use. There were no more signs of any squall; +but the light steady breeze was contrary; and as Robert of the Red Hand +was rather anxious to get back before the steamer should arrive, and as +he prided himself on his steering, he himself took the tiller, his +cousin Neil being posted as look-out forward. + +It was a tedious business this beating up against the contrary wind; +but there was nothing the MacNicols delighted in so much as in sailing, +and they had grown to be expert in handling a boat. And it needed all +their skill to get anything out of these repeated tacks with this old +craft, that had a sneaking sort of fashion of falling away to leeward. +However, they had the constant excitement of putting about; and the day +was fine; and they were greatly refreshed after their arduous pastimes +by that banquet of scones and milk. Nor did they know that this was to +be the last day of their careless boyish idleness; that never again +would the great chieftain, heedless of what the morrow might bring +forth, hold these high frolics in the halls of Eilean-na-Rona. + +Patience and perseverance will beat even contrary winds; and at last, +after one long tack stretching almost to the other side of Loch Scrone, +they put about and managed to make the entrance to the harbour, just +weathering the rocks that had nearly destroyed them on their setting +out. But here another difficulty waited them. Under the shelter of +the low-lying hills, the harbour was in a dead calm. No sooner had +they passed the rocks than they found themselves on water as smooth as +glass, and there were no oars in the boat. For this oversight Rob +MacNicol was not responsible; the fact being that oars were valuable in +Erisaig, and not easily to be borrowed, whereas this old boat was at +anybody's disposal. There was nothing for it but to sit and wait for a +puff of wind. + +Suddenly they heard a sound--the distant throbbing of the _Glenara's_ +paddles. Rob grew anxious. This old boat was right in the fairway of +the steamer; and the question was whether, in coming round the point, +she would see them in time to slow. + +'I wish we were out of here,' said he. + +As a last resource, he threw the tiller into the boat, took up the +helm, and tried to use this as a sort of paddle. But this was scarcely +of any avail; and they could hear, though they could not see, that the +steamer was almost at the point. + +The next moment she appeared; and it seemed to them in their fright +that she was almost upon them--towering away over them with her +gigantic bulk. They heard the scream of the steam-whistle, and the +sharp 'ping! ping!' of the indicator, as the captain tried to have the +engines reversed. + +It was too late. The way on the steamer carried her on, even when her +paddles were stopped; and the next second her bows had gone clean into +the old tarred boat, cutting her almost in two and heeling her over. + +She sank at once. Then the passengers of the steamer rushed to the +side to see what should become of the lads struggling in the water; the +mate threw overboard to them a couple of life-buoys; and the captain +shouted out to have a boat lowered. There was a great confusion. + +Meanwhile, all this had been witnessed by the father of the MacNicols, +who had stood for a second or two as if paralysed. Then a sort of +spasm of action seized him, and, apparently not knowing what he was +about, he threw open the gangway abaft the paddle-box and sprang into +the sea. + + + +[1] _Anglice_, owls. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +ALTERED CIRCUMSTANCES. + +Even with this big steamer coming right down on them, Rob MacNicol did +not lose his head. He knew that his two brothers and his cousin Neil +could swim like water-rats; and as for himself, though he would have +given a good deal to get rid of his boots, he did not fear being able +to get ashore. + +But there was no time to think. + +'Jump clear of the boat!' he shouted to his companions. + +The next second came the dreadful crash. The frail old boat seemed to +be pressed onwards and downwards, as if the steamer had run right over +her. Then Rob found himself in the water, and very deep in the water +too. The next thing he perceived was a great greenish-white thing over +his head; and as he knew that that was the hull of the steamer, he +struck away from it with all the strength at his disposal. He +remembered afterwards experiencing a sort of hatred of that shining +green thing, and thinking it looked hideous and dangerous, like a shark. + +However, the next moment he rose to the surface, blew the water out of +his mouth, and looked around. There was a life-buoy within a yard of +him, and the people on the steamer were calling to him to lay hold of +it; but he had never touched one of these things, and he preferred to +trust to himself, heavy as he felt his boots to be. It was the others +he was looking after. Neil, he perceived, was already off for the +shore, swimming hand over hand, as if a swordfish were after him. +Nicol was being hauled up the side of the steamer at the end of a rope, +just as he had been hauled up from the Eilean-na-Rona dungeon; and his +brother Duncan had seized hold of the helm that had been cast loose +when the boat went down. Satisfied that every one was safe, Rob +himself struck out for the side of the steamer, and was speedily hauled +on board, presently finding himself on deck with his two dripping +companions. + +The strange thing was that his father was nowhere to be seen, and even +the captain looked round and asked where John MacNicol was. At the +same moment a woman, all trembling, came forward and asked the mate if +they had got the man out. + +'What man?' said he. + +She said she had been standing by the paddle-box, and that one of the +sailors, the moment the accident had occurred, had opened the gangway +and jumped into the water, no doubt with the intention of rescuing the +boys. She had not seen him come up again, for just as he went down the +steamer backed. + +At this news there was some little consternation. The mate called +aloud for John MacNicol; there was no answer. He ran to the other side +of the steamer; nothing was visible on the smooth water. They searched +everywhere, and the boat that had been lowered was pulled about, but +the search was in vain. The woman's story was the only explanation of +this strange disappearance; but the sailors suspected more than they +dared to suggest to the bewildered lads. They suspected that old +MacNicol had dropped into the water just before the paddles had made +their first backward revolution, and that in coming to the surface he +had been struck by one of the floats. They said nothing of this, +however; and as the search proved to be quite useless, the _Glenara_ +steamed slowly onward to the quay. + +It was not until the next afternoon that they recovered the body of old +MacNicol; and from certain appearances on the corpse, it was clear that +he had been struck down by the paddles in his effort to reach and help +his sons. That was a sad evening for Rob MacNicol. It was his first +introduction to the cruel facts of life. And amid his sorrow for the +loss of one who, in a sort of rough and reticent way, had been very +kind and even affectionate to him, Rob was vaguely aware that on +himself now rested the responsibility for the upbringing of his two +brothers and his cousin. He sat up late that night, long after the +others were asleep, thinking of what he should do. In the midst of +this silence the door was quietly opened, and Daft Sandy came into the +small room. + +'What do ye want at this time o' night?' said Rob angrily, for he had +been startled. + +The old, bent, half-witted man looked cautiously at the bed, in which +Neil lay fast asleep. + +'Whisht, Rob, my man,' he said in a whisper; 'I waited till every one +in Erisaig was asleep. Ay, ay! it's a bad day this day for you. And +what are ye going to do now, Rob? Ye'll be taking to the fishing?' + +'Oh, ay; I'll be taking to the fishing!' said Rob bitterly, for he had +been having his dreams also, and had turned from them with a sigh. 'Of +course I'll be taking to the fishing! And maybe ye'll tell me where I +am to get 40 pounds to buy a boat, and where I am to get 30 pounds to +buy nets? Maybe ye'll tell me that, Sandy?' + +'The bank----' + +'What does the bank ken about me? They would as soon think of throwing +the money into Loch Scrone.' + +'But ye ken, Rob, Coll Macdougall would give ye a share in his boat for +12 pounds.' + +'Twelve pounds! Man, ye're just daft, Sandy. Where am I to get 12 +pounds?' + +'Well, well, Rob,' said the old man coming nearer, and speaking still +more mysteriously, 'listen to what I tell ye. Some day or other ye'll +be taking to the fishing; and when that day comes I will put something +in your way. Ay, ay; the fishermen about Erisaig dinna know +everything; come to me, Rob, my man, and I'll tell ye something about +the herring. Ye are a good lad, Rob; many's the herring I've got from +ye when I wouldna go near the shore for they mischievous bairns; and +when once ye have a boat and nets o' your own I will tell ye something. +Daft Sandy is no so daft, maybe. Have ye ony tobacco, Rob?' + +Rob said he had no tobacco; and making sure that Daft Sandy had come to +him with a pack of nonsense merely as an excuse to borrow money for +tobacco, he bundled him out of the house and went to bed. + +Rob was anxious that his brothers and cousin, and himself, should +present a respectable appearance at the funeral; and in these humble +preparations nearly all their small savings were swallowed up. The +funeral expenses were paid by the Steamboat Company. Then after the +funeral, the few people who were present departed to their own homes, +no doubt imagining that the MacNicol boys would be able to live as +hitherto they had lived--that is, anyhow. + +But there was a kindly man called Jamieson, who kept the grocery shop, +and he called Rob in as the boys passed home. + +'Rob,' said he, 'ye maun be doing something now. There's a cousin of +mine has a whisky shop in the Saltmarket in Glasgow, and I could get ye +a place there.' + +Rob's very gorge rose at the notion of his having to serve in a whisky +shop in Glasgow. That would be to abandon all the proud ambitions of +his life. Nevertheless, he had been thinking seriously about the duty +he owed to these lads, his companions, who were now dependent on him. +So he swallowed his pride and said, + +'How much would he give me?' + +'I think I could get him to give ye four shillings a week. That would +keep ye very well.' + +'Keep me?' said Rob. 'Ay, but what's to become o' Duncan and Neil and +Nicol?' + +'They must shift for themselves,' the grocer answered. + +'That winna do,' said Rob, and he left the shop. + +He overtook his companions and asked them to go along to some rocks +overlooking the harbour. They sat down there--the harbour below them +with all its picturesque boats, and masses of drying nets, and what not. + +'Neil,' said Rob to his cousin, 'we'll have to think about things now. +There will be no more Eilean-na-Rona for us. We have just about as +much left as will pay the lodgings this week, and Nicol must go three +nights a week to the night school. What we get for stripping the nets +'ll no do now.' + +'It will not,' said Neil. + +'Mr. Jamieson was offering me a place in Glasgow, but it is not very +good, and I think we will do better if we keep together. Neil,' said +he, 'if we had only a net, do ye not think we could trawl for cuddies?' +[1] + +And again he said, 'Neil, do ye not think we could make a net for +ourselves out of the old rags lying at the shed?' + +And again he said, 'Do ye think that Peter, the tailor, would lend us +his old boat for a shilling a week?' + +It was clear that Rob had been carefully considering the details of +this scheme of co-operation. And it was eagerly welcomed, not only by +Neil, but also by the brothers Duncan and Nicol, who had been +frightened by the thought of Rob going away to Glasgow. The youngest +of all, Nicol, boldly declared that he could mend nets as well as any +man in Erisaig. + +No sooner was the scheme thoroughly discussed, than it was determined, +under Rob's direction, to set to work at once. The woman who kept the +lodgings and cooked their food for them had intimated to them that they +need be in no hurry to pay her for a week or two until they should find +some employment; but they had need of money, or the equivalent of +money, in other directions. Might not old Peter, who was a grumbling +and ill-tempered person, insist on being paid in advance? Then, before +they could begin to make a net out of the torn and rejected pieces +lying about the shed, they must needs have a ball of twine. So Rob +bade his brothers and cousin go away and get their rude fishing-rods +and betake themselves to the rocks at the mouth of the harbour, and see +what fish they could get for him during the afternoon. + +Meanwhile he himself went along to the shed which was used as a sort of +storage-house by some of the fishermen; and here he found lying about +plenty of pieces of net that had been cast aside in the process of +mending. This business of mending the nets is the last straw on the +back of the tired-out fisherman. When he has met with an accident to +his nets during the night, when he has fouled on some rocks in dragging +them in for example, it is a desperately fatiguing affair to set to +work to mend them when he gets ashore, dead beat with the labours of +the morning. The fishermen, for what reason I do not know, will not +entrust this work to their wives; they will rather, after having been +out all night, keep at it themselves, though they drop off to sleep +every few minutes. It is not to be wondered at, then, that often, +instead of trying to laboriously mend holes here or there, they should +cut out a large piece of torn net bodily and tack on a fresh piece. +The consequence is, that in a place like Erisaig there is generally +plenty of netting to be got for the asking; which is a good thing for +gardeners who want to protect currant bushes from the blackbirds, and +who will take the trouble to patch the pieces together. + +Rob was allowed to pick out a large number of pieces that he thought +might serve his purpose; and these he carried off home. But then came +the question of floats and sinkers. Sufficient pieces of cork to form +the floats might in time be got about the beach; but the sinkers had +all been removed from the cast-away netting. In this extremity, Rob +bethought of rigging up a couple of guy-poles, as the salmon-fishers +call them, one for each end of the small seine he had in view; so that +these guy-poles, with a lump of lead at the lower end, would keep the +net vertical while it was being dragged through the water. All this +took up the best part of the afternoon; for he had to cadge about +before he could get a couple of stout poles; and he had to bargain with +the blacksmith for a lump of lead. Then he walked along to the point +where the other MacNicols were busy fishing. + +They had been lucky with their lines and bait. On the rocks beside +them lay two or three small codling, a large flounder, two good-sized +lythe, and nearly a dozen saithe. Rob got hold of these; washed them +clean to make them look fresh and smart; put a string through their +gills, and marched off with them to the village. + +He felt no shame in trying to sell fish: was it not the whole trade of +the village? He walked into the grocer's shop. + +'Will ye buy some fish?' said he, 'they're fresh.' + +The grocer looked at them. + +'What do you want?' + +'A ball of twine.' + +'Let me tell ye this, Rob,' said the grocer, severely, 'that a lad in +your place should be thinking of something else than fleein' a dragon.' +[2] + +'I dinna want to flee any dragon,' said Rob, 'I want to mend a net.' + +'Oh, that is quite different,' said the grocer; and then he added, with +a good-natured laugh, 'Are ye going to be a fisherman, Rob?' + +'I will see,' Rob said. + +So he had his ball of twine--and a very large one it was. Off he set +to his companions. + +'Come away, boys, I have other work for ye. Now, Nicol, my man, ye'll +show us what ye can do in the mending of nets. Ye havena been telling +lies?' + +Well, it took them several days of very hard and constant work before +they rigged up something resembling a small seine; and then Rob affixed +his guy-poles; and they went to the grocer and got from him a lot of +old rope on the promise to give him a few fresh fish whenever they +happened to have a good haul. Then Rob proceeded to his fateful +interview with Peter the tailor. + +Peter was a sour-visaged, gray-headed old man, who wore horn-rimmed +spectacles. He was sitting cross-legged on his bench when Rob entered. + +'Peter, will ye lend me your boat?' + +'I will not.' + +'Why will ye no lend me the boat?' + +'Do I want it sunk, as ye sunk that boat the other day? Go away with +ye. Ye're an idle lot, you MacNicols. Ye'll be drooned some day.' + +'We want it for the fishing, Peter,' said Rob, who took no notice of +the tailor's ill-temper. 'I'll give ye a shilling a week for the loan +o't.' + +'A shilling a week!' said Peter with a laugh. 'A shilling a week! +Where's your shilling?' + +'There,' said Rob, putting it plump down on the bench. + +The tailor looked at the shilling; took it up, bit it, and put it in +his pocket. + +'Very well,' said he, 'but mind, if ye sink my boat, ye'll have three +pounds to pay.' + +Rob went back eager and joyous. Forthwith, a thorough inspection of +the boat was set about by the lads in conjunction; they tested the +oars; they tested the thole-pins; they had a new piece of cork put into +the bottom. For that evening, when it grew a little more towards dusk, +they would make their first cast with their net. + +Yes; and that evening, when it had quite turned to dusk, the people of +Erisaig were startled with a new proclamation. It was Neil MacNicol, +standing in front of the cottages, and boldly calling forth these words: + +"IS THERE ANY ONE WANTING CUDDIES? THERE ARE CUDDIES TO BE SOLD AT THE +WEST SLIP, FOR A SIXPENCE A HUNDERD!" + + + +[1] 'Cuddies' is the familiar name in those parts for young saithe. +'Trawling,' again, means there the use of an ordinary seine. + +[2] 'Fleein' a dragon'--flying a kite. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +FURTHER ENDEAVOUR. + +That was indeed an anxious time when the four MacNicols proceeded to +try the net on which they had spent so much forethought and labour. +They had no great expectation of catching fish this evening; their +object was rather to try whether the ropes would hold, whether the +floats would be sufficient, and whether Rob's guy-poles would keep the +net vertical. So they got into the tailor's boat, and rowed away round +the point to a sandy bay where they had nothing to fear from rocks on +this their first experiment. + +It was, as has been mentioned in the previous chapter, nearly dusk--an +excellent time for catching saithe, if saithe were about. The net had +been carefully placed in the stern of the boat, so that it would run +out easily, the rope attached to the guy-pole neatly coiled on the top. +Rob was very silent as his two brothers pulled away at the long oars. +He knew what depended on this trial. They had just enough money left +to settle with their landlady on the following evening; and Nicol's +school-fees had to be paid in advance. + +They rowed quietly into this little bay, which, though of a sandy +bottom, was pretty deep. Rob had resolved to take the whole +responsibility of the experiment on himself. He landed his brothers +and his cousin, giving the latter the end of the rope attached to the +guy-pole; then he quietly pulled away again from the shore. + +When the length of the rope was exhausted, he himself took the guy-pole +and gently dropped it over, to prevent splashing; and as he did so the +net began to pay out. He pulled slowly, just to see how the thing +would work; and it seemed to work very well. The net went out freely, +and apparently sank properly; from the top of the guy-pole to the stern +of the boat you could see nothing but the line of the floats on the +smooth water. But the net was a small one: soon it would be exhausted; +so Rob began to pull round towards the shore again. At the same time +Neil, who had had his instructions, began to haul in his end of the net +gently, so that by and by, when Rob had run the boat on the beach, and +jumped out with his rope in his hand, the line of floats began to form +a semicircle that was gradually narrowing and coming nearer the shore. + +It was a moment of great excitement, and not a word was spoken. For +although this was ostensibly only a trial to see how the net would +work, each lad in his secret heart was wondering whether there might +not be a haul of fish captured from the mysterious deep; and not one of +them, not Rob himself, could tell whether this very considerable weight +they were gradually pulling in was the weight of the net merely, or the +weight of fish, or the weight of seaweed. + +The semicircle of the floats came nearer and nearer, all eyes striving +to pierce the clear water. + +'I hope the rope'll no break,' said Rob, anxiously, for the weight was +great. + +'And it's only seaweed!' said Duncan, in a tone of great disappointment. + +But Rob's eye had been caught by some unusual appearance in the water. +It seemed troubled somehow; and more especially near the line of floats. + +'Is it?' said he; and he hastily bade Duncan take the rope and haul it +gently in. He himself began to take up handfuls of small stones, and +fling them into the sea close by the two guy-poles, so that the fish +should be frightened back into the net. And as the semicircle grew +still smaller, it was very obvious that, though there might be seaweed +in the net, it was not all seaweed. By this time the guy-poles had +been got ashore; they were now hauling at the net itself. + +'Quicker now, boys!' Rob called out. 'Man alive, look at that!' + +All the space of water now enclosed by the net was seen to be in a +state of commotion; the net itself was being violently shaken; here and +there a fish leapt into the air. + +'Steady, boys! Don't jerk, or ye'll tear the net to bits!' Rob called +out in great excitement. + +For behold! when they had hauled this great weight up on the shore with +a final swoop, there was something there that almost bewildered them--a +living mass of fish floundering about in the wet seaweed--some +springing into the air--others flopping out on to the sand--many +helplessly entangled in the meshes. It was a wonderful sight; but +their astonishment and delight had to give place to action. + +'Run for the boat, Nicol! There's more where they came from!' Rob +shouted. + +Nicol rushed along to the boat; shoved her out; pulled her along to +where his companions were; and backed her, stern in. They had no +bucket; they had to fling the fish into the bottom of the boat. But +this business of stripping the nets--shaking out the seaweed and +freeing the enmeshed fish--was familiar to them; and they all worked +with a will. There was neither a dog-fish nor a conger in all the +haul, so they had no fears for their hands. In less than a quarter of +an hour the net was back in the boat, properly arranged, and Rob ready +to start again--at a place farther along the beach. + +They were soon full of eagerness. In fact, they were too eager; and +this time they hauled in with such might and main that, just as the +guy-poles were nearing the shore, the rope attached to one of them +broke. But Rob instantly jumped into the water, seized the pole +itself, and hauled it out with him. Here, also, they had a +considerable take of fish; but there was a heavy weight of seaweed +besides; and one or two rents showed that they had pulled the net over +rocks. So they went back to the former ground; and so successful were +they, and so eagerly did they work, that when the coming darkness +warned them to return to Erisaig, they had the stern of the boat nearly +full of very fairly-sized saithe. + +Neil regarded this wonderful treasure of the deep, as he laboured away +at his oar. + +'Man, Rob, who could have expected such a lot? And what will ye do +with them now? Will ye send them to Glasgow by the _Glenara_?--I think +Mr. M'Aulay would lend us a box or two. Or will ye clean them and dry +them, and sell them from a barrow?' + +'We canna start two or three trades all at once,' said Rob, after a +minute or two. 'I think we'll sell them straight off, if the folk are +no in bed. Ye'll gang and see, Neil; and I'll count the fish at the +slip.' + +'And what will I say ye will take for them?' + +'I think I would ask a sixpence a hundred,' said Rob, slowly; for he +had been considering that question for the last ten minutes. + +At length they got in to the slip; and Neil at once proceeded to inform +the inhabitants of Erisaig, who were still lounging about in the dusk, +that for sixpence a hundred they could have fine fresh 'cuddies.' It +might be thought that in a place like Erisaig, which was one of the +headquarters of the herring-trade, it would be difficult to sell fish +of any description. But the fact was that the herring were generally +contracted for by the agents of the salesmen, and shipped directly for +Glasgow, so that they were but rarely retailed in Erisaig itself; +moreover, people accustomed to herring their whole life through +preferred variety--a freshly-caught mackerel, or flounder, or what not. +Perhaps, however, it was more curiosity than anything else that brought +the neighbours along to the west slip, to see what the MacNicols had +been about. + +Well, there was a good deal of laughing and jeering, especially on the +part of the men (these were idlers: the fishermen were all gone away in +the boats); but the women, who had to provide for their households, +knew when they had a cheap bargain; and the sale of the 'cuddies' +proceeded briskly. Indeed, when the people had gone away again, and +the four lads were by themselves on the quay, there was not a single +'cuddy' left--except a dozen that Rob had put into a can of water, to +be given to the grocer in the morning as part payment for the loan of +the ropes. + +'What do ye make it altogether?' said Neil to Rob, who was counting the +money. + +'Three shillings and ninepence.' + +'Three shillings and ninepence! Man, that's a lot. Will ye put it in +the savings bank?' + +'No, I will not,' said Rob. 'I'm no satisfied with the net, Neil. We +must have better ropes all the way round; and whatever money we can +spare we maun spend on the net. Man, think of this now: if we were to +fall in with a big haul of herring or Johnnie-Dories, and lose them +through the breaking of the net, I think ye would jist sit down and +greet.' + +It was wise counsel, as events showed. For one afternoon, some ten +days afterwards, they set out as usual. They had been having varying +success; but they had earned more than enough to pay their landlady, +the tailor, and the schoolmaster; and every farthing beyond these +necessary expenses they had spent on the net. They had replaced all +the rotten pieces with sound twine; they had got new ropes; they had +deepened it, moreover, and added some more sinkers to help the +guy-poles. Well, on this afternoon, Duncan and Nicol, being the two +youngest, were as usual pulling away to one of the small quiet bays, +and Rob was idly looking around him, when he saw something on the +surface of the sea at some distance off that excited a sudden interest. +It was what the fishermen call 'broken water'--a seething produced by a +shoal of fish. + +'Look, look, Neil!' he cried. 'It's either mackerel or herring; will +we try for them?' + +The greatest excitement at once prevailed on board. The younger +brothers pulled their hardest to make for that rough patch on the +water. Rob undid the rope from the guy-pole, and got this last ready +to drop overboard. He knew very well that they ought to have had two +boats to execute this manoeuvre; but was there not a chance for them if +they were to row hard, in a circle, and pick up the other end of the +net when they came to it? So Neil took a third oar: two rowing one +side and one the other was just what they wanted. + +They came nearer and nearer that strange hissing of the water. They +kept rather away from it: and Rob quietly dropped the guy-pole over, +paying out the net rapidly, so that it should not be dragged after the +boat. Then the three lads pulled hard, and in a circle, so that at +last they were sending the bow of the boat straight towards the +floating guy-pole. The other guy-pole was near the stern of the boat, +the rope made fast to one of the thwarts. In a few minutes Rob had +caught this first guy-pole: they were now possessed of the two ends of +the net. + +But the water had grown suddenly quiet. Had the fish dived and escaped +them? There was not the motion of a fin anywhere: and yet the net +seemed heavy to haul. + +'Rob,' said Neil, almost in a whisper, 'we've got them!' + +'We havena got them,' was the reply; 'but they're in the net. Man, I +wonder if it'll stand out.' + +Then it was that the diligent patching and the strong tackle told. The +question was not with regard to the strength of the net, it was rather +with regard to the strength of the younger lads; for they had succeeded +in enclosing a goodly portion of a large shoal of mackerel, and the +weight seemed more than they could get into the boat. But even the +strength of the younger ones seemed to grow into the strength of giants +when they saw through the clear water a great moving mass like +quicksilver. And then the wild excitement of hauling in; the +difficulty of it; the danger of the fish escaping; the warning cries of +Rob; the clatter made by the mackerel; the possibility of swamping the +boat altogether, as all the four were straining their utmost at one +side. Indeed, by an awkward tilt at one moment some hundred or two of +the mackerel were seen to glide away; but perhaps that rendered it all +the more practicable to get into the boat what remained. When that +heaving, sparkling, jerking mass of quicksilver at last was +captured--shining all through the brown meshes of the net--the younger +lads sat down quite exhausted, wet through, and happy. + +'Man, Rob, what do you think of that?' said Neil in amazement. + +'What do I think?' said Rob; 'I think that if we could get two or three +more hauls like that I would soon buy a share in Coll MacDougall's boat +and go after the herring.' + +They had no more thought that afternoon of 'cuddy'-fishing after this +famous take. Rob and Neil--the younger ones having had their +share--rowed back to Erisaig; then Rob left the boat at the slip, and +walked up to the office of the fish-salesman. + +'What will ye give me for mackerel?' he said. + +The salesman laughed at him, thinking he had caught a few with rods and +flies. + +'I'm no buying mackerel,' said he; 'no by the half-dozen.' + +'I've half a boat load,' said Rob. + +The salesman glanced towards the slip, and saw the tailor's boat pretty +low in the water. + +'Is that mackerel?' + +'Yes, it is mackerel.' + +'Where were you buying them?' + +'I was not buying them anywhere. I caught them myself--my brothers and +me.' + +'I do not believe you.' + +'I cannot help that, then,' said Rob. 'But where had I the money to +buy mackerel from any one?' + +The salesman glanced at the boat again. + +'I'll go down to the slip with you.' + +So he and Rob together walked down to the slip, and the salesmen had a +look at the mackerel. Apparently he had arrived at the conclusion +that, after all, Rob was not likely to have bought a cargo of mackerel +as a commercial speculation. + +'Well, I will buy the mackerel from you,' he said. 'I will give you +half-a-crown the hundred for them.' + +'Half-a-crown!' said Rob. 'I will take three-and-sixpence the hundred +for them.' + +'I will not give it to you. But I will give you three shillings the +hundred, and a good price, too.' + +'Very well, then,' said Rob. + +So the MacNicols got altogether 2 pounds 8 shillings for that load of +mackerel: and out of that Rob spent the eight shillings on still +further improving the net; the 2 pounds going into the savings bank. +It is to be imagined that after this they kept a pretty sharp look-out +for 'broken water;' but of course they could not expect to run across a +shoal of mackerel every day. + +However, as time went on, with bad luck and with good, and by dint of +hard and constant work whatever the luck was, the sum in the savings +bank slowly increased; and at last Rob announced to his companions that +they had saved enough to enable him to purchase a share in Coll +MacDougall's boat. Neil and Duncan and Nicol were sorely disinclined +to part with Rob; but yet they saw clearly enough that he was getting +too old to remain at the cuddy-fishing, and they knew they could now +work that line of business quite well by themselves. What Rob said was +this: + +'You see it is a great chance for all of us that I should get a share +in the boat; for what I make at the herring-fishing will go into the +bank along with what you make at the trawling by the shore. And who +knows, if we all work hard enough, who knows but we may have a +herring-skiff all to ourselves some day? And that would be a fine +thing to have a herring-skiff to ourselves, and our own nets; and all +that we earned our own, and not in debt to any one whatever.' + +Of course that was a dream of the future; for a herring-skiff costs a +considerable sum of money, and so do nets. But in the meantime they +were all agreed that what Rob counselled was wise; and a share in Coll +MacDougall's boat was accordingly purchased, after a great deal of +bargaining. + +A proud lad was Rob MacNicol the afternoon he came along to the wharf +to take his place in the boat that was now partly his own. His +brothers and cousin were there to see him (envious a little, perhaps; +but proud also, for part of their money had gone to buy the share). He +had likewise purchased second-hand a huge pair of boots that were as +soft and pliable as grease could make them; and he carried a brand-new +yellow oilskin in his hand that crackled as he walked. Neil, Duncan, +and Nicol watched him throw his oilskin into the boat, and go forward +to the bow, and take his place there at the oar; and they knew very +well that if there was any one who could pull a huge oar better than +Rob MacNicol, it was not in Erisaig that that person was to be found. +Then the big herring-skiff passed away out to the point in the red glow +of the evening; and Rob had achieved the first great ambition of his +life. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE HIGH ROAD. + +That was not a very good year for the herring-fishing on this part of +the coast; but at all events Rob MacNicol learned all the lore of the +fishermen, and grew as skilled as any of them in guessing at the +whereabouts of the herring; while at the end of the season he had more +than replaced the 12 pounds he had used of the common fund. Then he +returned to the tailor's boat, and worked with his brothers and cousin. +He was proud to know that he had a share in a fishing-skiff; but he was +not too proud to turn his hand to anything else that might help. + +These MacNicol boys had grown to be greatly respected in Erisaig. The +audacity of four 'wastrel laddies' setting up to be fishermen on their +own account had at first amused the neighbours; but their success and +their conduct generally, soon raised them above ridicule; and the women +especially were warm in their commendation. They saw how Rob gradually +improved the appearance of his brothers and cousin. All of them had +boots and stockings now. Not only that, but they had white shirts and +jackets of blue cloth to go to church with on Sunday; and each of them +put twopence in the collection-plate just as if they had all been sons +of a rich shopkeeper. Moreover, they were setting an example to the +other boys about. Four of these, indeed, combined to start a +cuddy-fishing business similar to that of Rob's. Neil was rather +angry; but Rob was not afraid of any competition. He asked the new +boys to come and see how he had rigged up the guy-poles. He said there +were plenty of fish in the sea; and the market was large enough. But +when the new boys asked him to lend them some money to buy new ropes he +distinctly declined. He had got on without borrowing himself. + +It was a long and dreary winter; but Nicol had nearly finished with his +schooling; and the seine-net had been largely added to; and every inch +of it overhauled. Then the cuddy-fishing began again; and soon Rob, +who was now nearly eighteen, and remarkably firm-set for his age, would +be away after the herring. + +One day, as Rob was going along the main thoroughfare of Erisaig, the +banker called him into his office. + +'Rob,' said he, 'have ye seen the skiff[1] at the building-yard?' + +'Ay,' said Rob rather wistfully, for many a time he had stood and +looked at the beautiful lines of the new craft. 'She's a splendid +boat.' + +'And ye've seen the new drift-net in the shed?' + +'Ay, I have that.' + +'Well, ye see, Rob,' continued Mr. Bailie, regarding him with a +good-natured look; 'I had the boat built and the net bought as a kind +of speculation; and I was thinking of getting a crew through from +Tarbert. They say the herring are beginning to come about some of the +western lochs. Now I have been hearing a good deal about you, Rob, +from the neighbours. They say that you, and your brothers and cousin, +are sober and diligent lads; and that you are good seamen, and careful. +Then you have been a while at the herring fishing yourself. Now do you +think you could manage that new boat?' + +'Me!' said Rob, with his eyes staring, and his face aflame. + +'I go by what the neighbours say, Rob. They say ye are a prudent lad, +not over venturesome; and I think I could trust my property to ye. +What say ye?' + +In his excitement at the notion of being made master of such a +beautiful craft, Rob forgot the respect he ought to have shown in +addressing so great a person as the banker. He blurted out-- + +'Man, I would just like to try!' + +'I will pay ye a certain sum per week while the fishing lasts,' +continued Mr. Bailie, 'and ye will hire what crew ye think fit. +Likewise I will give ye a percentage on the takes. Will that do?' + +Rob was quite bewildered. All he could say was-- + +'I am obliged to ye, sir. Will ye wait for a minute till I see Neil.' + +And very soon the wild rumour ran through Erisaig that no other than +Rob MacNicol had been appointed master of the new skiff, the _Mary of +Argyle_; and that he had taken his brothers and cousin as his crew. +Some of the women shook their heads; and said it was a shame to let +such mere lads go to the herring-fishing--for some night or other they +would be drowned; but the men, who knew something of Rob's seamanship, +had no fear at all; and their only doubt was about the younger lads +being up to the heavy work of hauling in the nets in the morning. + +But their youth was a fault that would mend week by week. In the +meantime, Rob, having sold out his share in MacDougall's boat, bought +jerseys and black boots and yellow oil-skins for his companions; so +that the new crew, if they were rather slightly built, looked smart +enough, as they went down to the slip to overhaul the _Mary of Argyle_. + +With what a pride they regarded the long and shapely lines of her--the +yellow beams shining with varnish; the tall mast at the bow, with its +stout cordage; the brand-new stove, that was to boil their tea for them +in the long watches of the night; the magnificent oars; the new sheets +and sails--everything spick and span. And this great mass of ruddy +netting lying in the shed, with its perfect floats and accurate +sinkers--this was not like the makeshift that had captured the cuddies. + +Then on the morning that the _Mary of Argyle_ put to sea on her trial +trip, her owner was on board; but he merely sat on a thwart. It was +Rob who was at the tiller; Rob wanted to try the boat; the owner wanted +to observe the crew. And first of all she sailed lightly out of the +harbour, with the wind on her beam; then outside, the breeze being +fresher, they let her away down Loch Scrone, with the brilliant new +lug-sail bellying out; then they brought her round, and fought her up +against the stiff wind--Rob's brief words of command being obeyed with +the rapidity of lightning. + +'Well, what do ye think of her?' said Mr. Bailie to his young skipper. + +Rob's face was aglow with pride. + +'I think she's like a race-horse!' he said. 'I think she would lick +any boat in Erisaig Bay.' + +'But it is not to run races I have handed her over to ye. You must be +careful, Rob; and run back if there's any squally weather about. I'll +no be vexed if you're over cautious. For ye know if anything was to +happen to one of they lads, the people would say I had done wrong in +lippening[2] a boat to such a young crew.' + +'Well, sir,' said Rob, boldly, 'ye have seen them work the boat. Do +they look like lads who do not know what sailing a boat is?' + +Mr. Bailie laughed, and said no more. + +Then came the afternoon on which they were to set out for the first +time after the herring. All Erisaig came out to see; and Rob was a +proud lad as he stepped on board (with the lazy indifference of the +trained fisherman very well imitated) and took his seat as stroke oar. +The afternoon was lovely; there was not a breath of wind; the setting +sun shone over the bay; and the _Mary of Argyle_ went away across the +shining waters with the long white oars dipping with the precision of +clock-work. It was not until they were at the mouth of the harbour +that something occurred which seemed likely to turn this brave +setting-out into ridicule. + +This was Daft Sandy, who rowed his punt right across the path of the +_Mary of Argyle_, and, as she came up, called to Rob. + +'What is it ye want?' Rob called to him. + +'I want to come on board, Rob,' the old man said, as he now rowed his +punt up to the stern of the skiff. + +'I have no tobacco, and I have no whisky,' Rob said, impatiently. +'There'll be no tobacco or whisky on board this boat so long as I have +anything to do with her; so ye needna come for that, Sandy.' + +'It's no for that,' said Daft Sandy, as, with the painter of his boat +in one hand, he gripped the stern of the skiff with the other. + +Now Rob was angry. Many of the Erisaig people would still be watching +their setting-out; and was it to be supposed that they had taken this +doited old body as one of the crew? But then Daft Sandy was at this +moment clambering into the boat; and Rob could not get up and fight +with an old man, who would probably tumble into the water. + +'Rob,' said he, in a whisper, as he fastened the painter of his punt, +'I promised I would tell ye something. I'll show ye how to find the +herring.' + +'You!' said Rob, derisively. + +'Ay, me, Rob, I'll make a rich man of you. I will tell you something +about the herring that not any one in Erisaig knows--that not any one +in Scotland knows.' + +'Why havena ye made a rich man of yourself, Sandy?' said Rob, with more +good nature. + +The half-witted creature did not seem to see the point of this remark. + +'Ay, ay,' he said, 'many is the time I was thinking of telling this one +or telling that one; but when I would go near it was always "Daft +Sandy!" and "Daft Sandy!" and there was always the peltin' wi' the +broken herring--except from you, Rob. And I was saying to myself that +when Rob MacNicol has a boat of his own, then I will show him how to +find the herring, and no one will know but himself.' + +By this time the MacNicols had taken to their oars again; and they had +pulled outside the harbour, the old punt still astern. Then Rob had to +speak plainly. + +'Look here, Sandy, I will not put ye ashore by force. But I canna have +your punt at the stern of the boat. It'll be in the way of the nets.' + +But the old man was more eager than ever. If they would only pull into +the bay hard by, he would anchor the punt and leave it. He begged Rob +to take him for that night's fishing. He had discovered a sure sign of +the presence of herring--unknown to any of the fishermen. What was the +phosphorescence in the sea?--the nights were too clear for that. What +was the mere breaking of the water?--a moving shoal that might escape. +But this sign that the old man had discovered went to show the presence +of large masses of the fish, stationary and deep: it was the appearance +on the surface of the water of small air-bubbles. He was sure of it. +He had watched it. It was a secret worth a bankful of money. And +again, he besought Rob to let him accompany him; Rob had stopped the +lads when they were throwing herring at him; Rob alone should have the +benefit of this valuable discovery of his. + +Rob MacNicol was doubtful; for he had never heard of this thing before; +but he could not resist the importunities of the old half-witted +creature. They pulled in and anchored the punt; then they set forth +again, rowing slowly as the light faded out of the sky, and keeping a +watch all around on the almost glassy seas. + +There was no sign of any herring; no solan geese sweeping down; no +breaking of the water; and none of the other boats, so far as they +could make out, had as yet shot their nets. The night was coming on, +and they were far away from Erisaig; but still old Sandy kept up his +watch, studying the surface of the water, as if he expected to find +pearls floating there. And at last, in great excitement, he grasped +Rob's arm. Leaning over the side of the boat, they could just make out +in the dusk a great quantity of minute air-bubbles rising to the +surface of the sea. + +'Put some stones along with the sinkers, Rob,' the old man said in a +whisper, as if he were afraid of the herring hearing; 'go deep, deep, +deep.' + +Well, they quietly let out the seemingly interminable drift-net as they +pulled gently along, and when that was accomplished they took in the +long oars again. Nicol lit up the little stove, and proceeded to boil +the tea. The bundle containing their supper was opened, and Sandy had +his share and his can of tea like the others. + +They had a long time of waiting to get over through the still summer +night, but still Rob was strangely excited, wondering whether Sandy had +really, in pottering about, discovered a new indication of the +whereabouts of the herring, or whether he was to go back to Erisaig in +the morning with empty nets. There was another thing too. Had he +shown himself too credulous before his companions? Had he done right +in listening to what might be only a foolish tale? The others began to +doze off; Rob not. He did not sleep a wink all night. + +Well, to let out a long drift-net, which sometimes goes as deep as +fifteen fathoms, is an easy affair, but to haul it in again is a sore +task; and when it happens to be laden, and heavily-laden, with +silver-gleaming fish, that is a break-back business for four young +lads. But there is such a thing as the nervous, eager, joyous, +strength of success; and if you are hauling in yard after yard of a +dripping net, only to find the brown meshes all bestarred with the +silver herring,--then even young lads can work like men. Daft Sandy +was laughing all the while. + +'Rob, my man, what think ye o' the air-bubbles now? Maybe Daft Sandy +is no sae daft. And do you think I would be going and telling any one +but yourself, Rob? Do you think I would be going and telling any one +that was throwing the broken herring at me, and always a curse for me +when I went near the skiffs, and not once a glass of whisky for an old +man? Well, Rob, I will not ask you for a glass of whisky. If you say +it is a teetotal boat, it is a teetotal boat; but you will not forget +to give me whole herring for bait when you are going out of the bay?' + +Rob could not speak; he was breathless. Nor was their work nearly done +when they had got in the net with all its splendid gleaming treasure. +There was not a breath of wind; they had to set to work to pull the +heavy boat back to Erisaig. The gray of the dawn gave way to a glowing +sunrise; when they at length reached the quay, dead-beat with fatigue +and want of sleep, the people were all about. + +They were dead-beat; but there were ten crans of herring in that boat. +And you should have seen Rob's air when he counselled Neil and Duncan +and Nicol to go away home and have a sleep, and when he loftily called +on two or three of the boys on the quay to come in and strip the nets. +But the three MacNicols were far too excited to go away. They wanted +to see the great heap of fish ladled out in baskets on to the quay. +Mr. Bailie came along not long after that, and shook hands with Rob, +and congratulated him; for it turned out that while not another Erisaig +boat had that night got more than from two to three crans, the _Mary of +Argyle_ had turned ten crans--as good herring as ever were got out of +Loch Scrone. + +Well, the MacNicol lads were now in a fair way of earning an +independent and honourable living, and this sketch of how they had +struggled into that position from being mere wastrels--living about the +shore like so many curlews--may fitly cease here. Sometimes they had +good luck, and sometimes bad luck; but always they had the advantage of +that additional means of discovering the whereabouts of the herring +that had been imparted to them by Daft Sandy. And the last that the +present writer heard of them was this, that they had bought outright +the _Mary of Argyle_ and her nets from the banker; and that they were +building for themselves a small stone cottage on the slope of the hill +above Erisaig; and that Daft Sandy had been taken away from the +persecution of the harbour boys to become a sort of general +major-domo--cook, gardener, and mender of nets. Moreover, each of the +MacNicols has his separate bank account now; each has got a silver +watch; and Rob was saying the other day that he thought that he and his +brothers and his cousin ought to take a trip to London (as soon as the +herring-fishing was over), for perhaps they might see the Queen there, +and at any rate they could go and have a look at Smithfield, where the +English beheaded Sir William Wallace. + + + + +FINIS. + + + +[1] Though the herring-skiffs are so-called, they are comparatively +large and powerful boats, and will stand a heavy sea. + +[2] _Lippening_--trusting. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Beautiful Wretch; The Pupil of +Aurelius; and The Four Macnicols, by William Black + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEAUTIFUL WRETCH ET AL. *** + +***** This file should be named 24094.txt or 24094.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/2/4/0/9/24094/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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