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diff --git a/35912.txt b/35912.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..94f9add --- /dev/null +++ b/35912.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11090 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Finger of Fate, by Mayne Reid + +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 Finger of Fate + A Romance + +Author: Mayne Reid + +Release Date: April 19, 2011 [EBook #35912] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FINGER OF FATE *** + + + + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + + + + +The Finger of Fate +A Romance +By Captain Mayne Reid +Published by Chapman and Hall, London. +This edition dated 1872. + + + +CHAPTER ONE. + +THE HALF-BROTHERS. + +In a wood, within ten miles of Windsor, two youths are seen, gun in +hand, in pursuit of game. A brace of thoroughbred setters, guarding the +cover in front, and a well-equipped keeper, walking obsequiously in the +rear, precludes any suspicion of poaching; though the personal +appearance of the young sportsmen needs no such testimony. + +The wood is only an extensive pheasant-cover, and their father is its +owner. They are the sons of General Harding, an old Indian officer, +who, with a hundred thousand pounds, garnered during twenty years' +active service in the East, has purchased an estate in the pleasant +shire of Bucks, in the hope of restoring health to a constitution +impaired upon the hot plains of Hindostan. + +A fine old Elizabethan mansion, of red brick, now and then visible +through the openings of the cover, tells that the General has laid out +his lacs with considerable taste, while five hundred acres of finely +timbered park, a "home farm," and half-a-dozen others rented out--to say +nothing of the wood-covers and cottage tenements--prove that the +_ci-devant_ soldier has not carefully collected a hundred thousand +pounds in India to be carelessly squandered in England. + +The two young sportsmen, already introduced as his sons, are his only +sons; in short, the only members of his family, with the exception of a +maiden sister, who, being sixty years old, and otherwise extremely +uninteresting, will not figure conspicuously in our tale, however true +it is. + +Looking at the two youths, as they step through the pheasant-cover, you +perceive there is but slight difference in their size; there is in their +age, and still more in their personal appearance. Both are what is +termed _dark_; but there is a difference in the degree. He who is the +elder, and who bears the baptismal name Nigel, has a complexion almost +olive, with straight black hair, that under the sunlight exhibits a +purplish iridescence. + +Henry, the younger, with fair skin and ruddier cheek, has hair of an +auburn brown, drooping down his neck like clusters of Spanish chestnuts. + +So great is their dissimilarity in personal appearance, that a stranger +would scarce believe the two young sportsmen to be brothers. + +Nor are they so in the exact signification of the word. Both can call +General Harding father; but if the word "mother" be mentioned, their +thoughts would go to two different personages, neither any longer on the +earth. Nigel's should stray back to Hyderabad, to a tomb in the +environs of that ancient Indian city; Henry's to a grave of later date, +in the quiet precinct of an English country churchyard. + +The explanation is easy. General Harding is not the only man, soldier +or civilian, who has twice submitted his neck to the matrimonial yoke, +though few ever wedded two wives so different in character as were his. +Physically, mentally, morally, the Hindoo lady of Hyderabad was as +unlike her Saxon successor as India is to England. + +Looking at Nigel Harding and his half-brother, Henry, one could not help +perceiving that the dissimilarity had in both cases been transmitted +from mother to son, without any great distraction caused by the blood of +a common father. An incident, occurring in the cover, gives evidence of +this. + +Though especially a pheasant preserve, the young sportsmen are not in +pursuit of the bird with strong whirring wings. The setters search for +smaller game. It is mid-winter. A week ago the youths might have been +seen, capped and gowned, loitering along the aisles of Oriel College, +Oxford. Now home for the holidays, what better than beating the +home-covers? The frost-bound earth forbids indulgence in the grand +chase; but it gives rare sport by driving the snipes and woodcocks--both +migratory birds among the Chilterns--to the open waters of the running +rivulet. + +Up the banks of one--a brook that, defying the frost, gurgles musically +among the trees--the young sportsmen are directing their search. This, +with the setters, tells that woodcock is their game. There are two +dogs, a white and a black, both of good breed, but not equally well +trained. The black sets steady as a rock; the white quarters more +wildly, runs rash, and has twice _flushed_ the game, without _setting_ +it. + +The white dog belongs to Nigel; the black to his half-brother. + +A third time the setter shows his imperfect training, by flushing a cock +before the sportsmen are nigh enough to obtain a fair shot. + +The blood sprung from Hyderabad can stand it no longer. It is hot even +under the shadows of a winter wood in the Chilterns. + +"I'll teach the cur a lesson!" cries Nigel, leaning his gun against a +tree, and taking a clasp-knife out of his pocket. "What you should have +taught him long ago, Doggy Dick, if you'd half done your duty." + +"Lor, Muster Nigel," replies the gamekeeper, to whom the apostrophe has +been addressed, "I've whipped the animal till my arms ached. 'Tain't no +use. The steady ain't in him." + +"I'll put it into him, then!" cries the young Anglo-Indian, striding, +knife in hand, towards the spaniel. "See if I don't!" + +"Stay, Nigel!" interposed Henry. "You are surely not going to do the +dog an injury?" + +"And what is it to you, if I am? He is _mine_--not _yours_." + +"Only, that I should think it very cruel of you. The fault may not be +his, poor dumb brute. As you say, it may be Dick who is to blame, for +not properly training him." + +"Thank'ee, Muster Henry! 'Bleeged to ye for yer compliment. In coorse +it be all my doin'; tho' not much thanks for doin' my best. Howsoever, +I'm obleeged to ye, Muster Henry." + +Doggy Dick, who, though young, is neither graceful nor good-looking, +accompanies his rejoinder with a glance that bespeaks a mind still more +ungraceful than his person. + +"Bother your talk--both!" vociferates the impatient Nigel. "I'm going +to chastise the cur as he deserves, and not as you may like it, Master +Hal. I want a twig for him." + +The twig, when cut from its parent stem, turns out to be a stick, +three-quarters of an inch in diameter. + +With this the peccant animal is brutally belaboured, till the woods for +a mile around re-echo its howlings. + +Henry begs his brother to desist. + +In vain. Nigel continues the cudgelling. + +"Gi'e it him!" cries the unfeeling keeper. "Do the beggar good." + +"You, Dick," interposes Henry, "I shall report you to my father." + +An angry exclamation from the half-brother, and a sullen scowl from the +savage in gaiters, is the only notice taken of Henry's threat. Nigel, +irritated by it, only strikes more spitefully. + +"Shame, Nigel! Shame! You've beaten the poor brute enough--more than +enough. Have done!" + +"Not till I've given him a mark to remember me!" + +"What are you going to do to him? What more?" hurriedly asks Henry, +seeing that Nigel has flung away the stick, and stands threateningly +with his knife. "Surely you don't intend--" + +"To split his ear! That is what I intend doing!" + +"For shame! You shall not!" + +"Shall not? But I shall, and will!" + +"You shall split my hand first!" cries the humane youth, flinging +himself on his knees, and with both hands covering the head of the +setter. + +"Hands off, Henry! The dog is my own; I shall do what I please to him. +Hands off, I say!" + +"I won't!" + +"Then take the consequences." + +With his left hand Nigel clutches at the animal's ear, at the same time +lunging out recklessly with the knife blade. Blood spurts up into the +faces of both, and falls in crimson spray over the flax-like coat of the +setter. + +It is not the blood of Nigel's dog, but his brother's--the little finger +of whose left hand shows a deep, longitudinal cut traversing all the way +from knuckle to nail. + +"You see what you've got by your interference!" cries Nigel, without the +slightest show of regret. "Next time you'll keep your claws out of +harm's way." + +The unfeeling observation, more than the hurt received, at length stirs +the Saxon blood of the younger brother. + +"Coward!" he cries. "Throw your knife away, and stand up. Though you +_are_ three years older than I, I don't fear you. You shall pay for +this." + +Nigel, maddened by the challenge from one whom he has hitherto +controlled, drops the knife; and the half-brothers close in a fisticuff, +fight with anger as intense as if no kindred blood ran in their veins. + +As already stated, there is but slight difference in their size. Nigel +the taller, Henry of stouter build. But in this sort of encounter the +Saxon sinews soon show their superiority over the more flaccid frame of +the Anglo-Indian; and in ten minutes' time the latter appears but too +well pleased, when the keeper interferes to prevent his further +punishment. Had it gone the other way, Doggy Dick would have allowed +the combat to continue. + +There is no thought of further sport. For that day, the woodcocks are +permitted to remain undisturbed in their shrubby cover. + +Henry, binding up his wounded hand in a kerchief, strides direct +homewards, followed by the black setter. Nigel stalks moodily behind, +with Doggy Dick by his side, and the blood-besprinkled animal skulking +cowed-like at his heels. + +General Harding is astonished at the early return of the sportsmen. Is +the stream frozen up, and the woodcocks gone to more open quarters? + +The blood-stained kerchief comes under his eye, and the split finger +requires explanation. So, too, a purple ring around the eye of his +eldest born. The truth has to be told, each giving his version. + +The younger brother is at a disadvantage: for the testimony is two to +one--the keeper declaring against him. For all that, truth triumphs in +the mind of the astute old soldier, and although both his sons are +severely reprimanded, Nigel receives the heavier share of the censure. + +It is a sad day's sport for all--the black setter alone excepted. + +For Doggy Dick does not escape unscathed. Ere parting from the presence +of the General, the licence is taken from his pocket; the velveteen +shooting jacket stripped from his shoulders; and he receives his +discharge, with a caution never to show himself again in the Beechwood +preserves, under the penalty of being treated as a poacher. + + + +CHAPTER TWO. + +DOGGY DICK. + +Doggy Dick, on being discharged by General Harding, in a short time +succeeded in obtaining another and similar situation. It was on an +estate bordering that of the General, whose cover came within a field or +two of meeting with those of his neighbour. This gentleman was a city +magnate, by name Whibley, who, having accumulated a fortune by sharp +trading on the Stock Exchange, had purchased the estate in question, and +commenced playing squire on an extensive scale. + +Between the old officer and the newcomer there was no cordiality; on the +contrary, some coolness. General Harding had an instinctive contempt +for the vulgar ostentation usually exhibited by these social upstarts, +who must needs ride to the parish church in a carriage and pair, though +their residence be but three hundred yards from the churchyard gate. Of +this class was the gentleman in question. + +In addition to the dissimilarity of tastes between a retired officer and +a retired stockbroker, a dispute had early occurred between them, about +rights of game belonging to a strip of waste that stretched triangularly +between their respective properties. + +It was a trifling affair, but well calculated to increase their mutual +coolness; which at length ended in a hostility--silent, but understood. +To this, perhaps, more than any professional merit, was Doggy Dick +indebted for his promotion to be head keeper of the Whibley preserves; +just the course which a _parvenu_ would take for the satisfaction of his +spite. + +On that same year, when the shooting season came round, the young +Hardings discovered a scarcity of game in their father's preserves. The +General did not often go gunning himself, and would not have noticed +this falling off; neither, perhaps, would Nigel; but Henry, who was +passionately fond of field sports, at once perceived that there was a +thinner stock of pheasants than on the preceding season. All the more +surprising to him, because it was a good year for game generally, and +pheasants in particular. The Whibley covers were swarming with them; +and they were reported plentiful in the country around. + +It became a question whether General Harding's gamekeeper had properly +attended to his trust. No poaching had been reported, except some +trifling cases of boys, who had been detected stealing eggs in the +hatching season. But this had not occurred on a scale sufficient to +account for the scarcity of the game. + +Besides, the new gamekeeper, who was reported one of the best, had been +provided with a fall set of watchers; and, on the Whibley side, there +was a staff not so strong, with Doggy Dick at their head. + +While reflecting on this, it occurred to Mr Henry Harding that +something might have been done to attract the pheasants across to the +Whibley covers. Perhaps a better lay of feed had been there provided +for them? + +He knew that neither Doggy Dick nor his master owed any good-will +towards him or his father; and a trick of this kind would be compatible +with the character of the stockbroker. + +Still, there was nothing in it--beyond a certain discourtesy; and it +only made it necessary that some steps should be taken to create a +counter attraction for the game. Patches of buck wheat were sown here +and there, and other favourite pheasant's food was liberally laid +through the covers. + +On the following season the result was the same, or worse--the strong, +whirring wing was sparingly heard among the Harding preserves. Even +partridges had become scarce in the Swedes and stubble; while on the +Whibley property both were in abundance. + +The General's gamekeeper, when taken to task, admitted that, during the +breeding season, he had found several pheasants' nests rifled of their +eggs. He could not account for it. There was no one ever seen in the +covers, except occasionally the keepers from the neighbouring estate. +But of course _they_ would not do such a thing as steal eggs. + +"Indeed," thought Henry Harding, "I'm not so sure of that. On the +contrary, it appears to be the only way to account for our scarcity of +game." + +He communicated these thoughts to his father; and Whibley's keepers were +forbidden the range. It was deemed discourteous, and widened the breach +between the _ci-devant_ soldier and the retired stockbroker. + +Another breeding season came round, and the young Hardings were at home +for the Easter holidays. It was at this time of the year that the chief +damage appeared to have been done to the game on the estate. + +No amount of winter poaching can cause such havoc in a preserve, as that +arising from the destruction, or abstraction, of the eggs. A farmer's +boy may do greater damage in one day than the most incorrigible gang of +poachers in a month, with all their nets, traps, guns, and other +appliances to boot. + +Knowing this, the Harding covers were this year still more carefully +watched--additional men being employed. A goodly number of nests was +noted, and a better produce expected. + +But although the future seemed fair, Henry Harding was not satisfied +with the past. He chafed at his disappointment on the two preceding +seasons, and was determined on discovering the cause. For this purpose +he adopted an expedient. + +On a certain day a holiday was given to the keepers on the Harding +estate, which included the watchers as well. It was fixed for the date +of some races, held about ten miles off. The General's drag was granted +for taking them to the race-course. The holiday was promised a week in +advance; so that the fact might become known to the keepers of the +adjoining estate. + +The race day came; the drag rattled off, loaded with half a score of men +in coats of velveteen. They were the keepers and watchers. For that +day the Harding preserves were left to take care of themselves--a fine +opportunity for poachers. + +So a stranger might have thought, but not Henry Harding. Just before +the drag drove off, he was seen to enter the covers, carrying a Malacca +cane, and take his way towards their farther side, where they were +bounded by the estate of the stockbroker. He walked quietly, almost +stealthily, through the copses. A poacher could not have proceeded with +greater caution. Between the two preserves there was a strip of common +land--the waste already alluded to as having caused contention. Near +its edge stood an ancient elm, swathed in ivy. In its first fork, +amidst the green festoons, Henry Harding ensconced himself; took a cigar +out of his case; lit it; and commenced smoking. + +The position he had chosen was excellent for his purpose. On one side +it commanded a view of the waste. No one could cross from Whibley to +Harding without being seen. On the other, it overlooked a broad expanse +of the Harding covers--known to be a favourite haunt of pheasants, and +one of their noted places of nesting. + +The watcher kept his perch for a considerable time, without discovering +anything to reward him for his vigilance. He smoked one cigar, then +another, and was half-way through the third. His patience was becoming +exhausted, to say nothing of the irksomeness of his seat on the +corrugated elm. He began to think that his suspicions--hitherto +directed against Doggy Dick--were without foundation. He even reasoned +about their injustice. After all, Doggy might not be so bad as he had +deemed him. + +Speak of the fiend, and he is near; think of him, and he is not far off. +So was it in the case of Doggy Dick. As the stump of Henry's third +cigar was burnt within an inch of his teeth, Whibley's head keeper hove +in sight. He was first seen standing on the edge of the Whibley cover, +his ill-favoured face protruding stealthily through a screen of +"witheys." In this position he stood for some time, reconnoitring the +ground. Then, stepping out, silent and cat-like, he made his way across +the neutral territory, and plunged into the Harding preserves. + +Henry scanned him with the eye of a lynx, or detective. There was now +the prospect of something to reward him for his long watching, and the +strain of sitting upon the elm. + +As was expected, Doggy took his way across the open expanse, where +several nests had been "noted." He still kept to his cat-like tread-- +crouching, and now and then looking suspiciously around him. + +This did not hinder him from flushing a pheasant. One rose with a +sonorous whirr; while another went fluttering along the sward as if both +its wings had been broken. + +The hen looked as if Doggy might have covered her with his hat, or +killed her with a stick. He did not attempt to do either; but, bending +over the forsaken nest, he took out the eggs, and carefully deposited +them in his game-bag! + +Out of the same bag he took something, which Henry saw him scatter over +the ground in the neighbourhood of the nest. This done, he walked on in +search of another. + +"Come," thought Henry, "one brood is enough to be sacrificed in this +sort of way--enough for my purpose." + +Throwing away the stump of his cigar, he dropped down from the tree, and +rushed after the nest-robber. + +Doggy saw him, and attempted to escape to the Whibley covers. But +before he could cross the fence, the fingers of his pursuer were tightly +clutched upon the collar of his velveteen coat; and he came to the +ground, crushing the eggs within his game-bag. This being turned inside +out, the spilt yolks and shattered shells gave proof of the plunder he +had committed. + +Henry Harding was at this time a strapping youth, with strength and +spirit inherited from his soldier father. Moreover, he was acting with +right on his side. + +The keeper had neither his weight nor his inches, and was further +enfeebled by his sense of wrong-doing. Under these circumstances, he +saw the absurdity of making resistance. He made none; but permitted the +irate youth to cudgel him with the Malacca cane until every bone in his +body seemed about to be shattered like the egg-shells late carried in +his game-bag. + +"Now, you thief!" cried young Harding, when his passion was nearly +spent. "You can go back to Mr Whibley's covers, and hatch whatever +plot may suit you and your snob of a master, but no more of my +pheasants' eggs." + +Doggy did not dare to make reply, lest it should tempt a fresh +application of the cudgel. Clambering over the fence, he hobbled back +across the common, and hid himself among the hazels of the Whibley +preserves. + +Turning towards the plundered nest, Henry Harding examined the ground in +its proximity. He discovered a scattering of buckwheat, that had been +steeped in some sweet-smelling liquid. It was the same he had seen +Doggy distribute over the sward. + +He collected a quantity in his kerchief, and carried it home. On +analysis it proved to be poison! + +Though there was no trial instituted, the story, with all its details, +soon became known in the neighbourhood. Doggy Dick knew better than to +bring an action for assault; and the Hardings were satisfied with the +punishment that had been already administered to their disgraced keeper. + +As for the retired stockbroker, he had no alternative but discharge his +ill-conditioned servant, who from that time became notorious as the most +adroit poacher in the parish. + +The submissiveness with which he had received the castigation +administered by Henry Harding seemed afterwards to have been a source of +regret to him: for in future encounters of a similar kind he proved +himself a desperate and dangerous assailant--so dangerous that, in a +conflict with one of General Harding's watchers, occurring about a year +from that time, he inflicted a severe wound upon the man, resulting in +his death. He saved his own neck from the halter by making his escape +out of the country; and though traced to Boulogne, and thence to +Marseilles--in the company of some jockeys who were taking English +horses to Italy--he finally eluded justice by hiding himself in some +corner of that classic land, then covered by a network of petty states; +most of them not only obstructive to justice, but corrupt in their +administration. + + + +CHAPTER THREE. + +THE ARCHERY FETE. + +Three years had elapsed, and the half-brothers were again home from +college. They had both passed beyond the boundaries of boyhood. Nigel +was of age, and Henry full grown. + +Nigel had become noted for sedateness of conduct, economy in +expenditure, and close application to his studies. + +Henry, on the other hand, had won a very different character. If not +considered an absolute scapegrace, he was looted upon as a young +gentleman of somewhat loose habits,--hating books, loving all sorts of +jollity, and scorning economy, as if, instead of a virtue, it were the +curse of life. + +In reality, Nigel was only restrained by an astute, secretive, and +selfish, nature; while Henry, with a heart of more generous inclinings, +gave way to the seductions of pleasure, with a freedom that would be +tempered by time. The General, however satisfied with the conduct of +his elder son, was not pleased with the proclivities of the younger; +more especially as his heart, like Jacob's, had a yearning for his last +born. + +Although struggling against any preference, he could not help thinking +at times, how much happier it would have made him if Henry would but +imitate the conduct of Nigel--even though their _roles_ should be +reversed! But it seemed as if this desire was not to be gratified. +During their sojourn within college walls, the rumours of _diableries_, +of which his younger son had been the hero, were scarce compensated by +the reports of scholastic triumphs on the part of the elder. + +It is true that Nigel himself had been habitually the herald to proclaim +these mingled insinuations and successes, for Henry was but an +indifferent correspondent. His letters, when they did come, were but +too confirmatory of the contents of those written by his brother, being +generally solicitations for a little more cash. The _ci-devant_ +soldier, himself generous to a fault, had never failed to forward the +cheque, caring less for the money than the way in which it was spent. + +The education of the Harding youths was now considered complete. They +were enjoying that pleasant interval of idleness, when the chrysalis of +the school or college is about to burst forth into a butterfly, and wing +its way through the world. + +If the old rancour existed it showed no outward sign. A stranger would +have seen nothing between the half-brothers beyond a fair fraternal +friendship. Henry was frank and outspoken, Nigel reserved and taciturn; +but this was their natural disposition, and no one remarked upon it. In +all matters of parental respect, the elder brother was the more noticed. +He was implicit in his obedience to the wishes of his father; while +Henry, on the other hand, was prone to neglect this duty--though only in +matters of minor consequence, such as keeping late hours, lavish +expenditure, and the like. Still, by such acts the father's heart was +often sorely grieved, and his affection terribly tested. + +At length came a cause that tried the temper of the half-brothers +towards one another--one before which the strongest fraternal affection +has oft changed into bitter hostility. It was love. Both fell in love, +and with the same woman--Belle Mainwaring. + +Miss Belle Mainwaring was a young lady, whose fair face and fascinating +manners might have turned wiser heads than those of the two +ex-collegians. She was older than either; but if not in its first +blush, she was still in the bloom of her beauty. Like her baptismal +name, she was a belle in her own county, which was that inhabited by the +Hardings. She was the daughter of an Indian officer, a poor colonel, +who, less fortunate than the General, had left his bones in the Punjaub, +and his widow just sufficient to maintain her in a simple cottage +residence that stood outside, and not far from, the palings of Beechwood +Park. + +It was a dangerous proximity for two youths just entering on manhood, +and with very little business before them beyond making love, and +afterwards settling down with a wife. Both would be amply provided for +without troubling their heads about a profession. The paternal estate, +under the hammer, would any day have realised a clear hundred thousand; +and he who cannot live upon half of this is not likely to increase it by +a calling. + +That the property would be equally divided there was no reason to doubt. +There was no entail; and General Harding was not the man from whom an +act of partiality might be expected. The old soldier was not without +traits of eccentricity; not exactly crotchets or caprices, but a certain +dogmatism of design, and an unwillingness to be thwarted in his ways, +derived no doubt from his long exercise of military authority. This, +however, was not likely to influence him in matters of a paternal +character; and, unless some terrible provocation should arise, his sons, +at his death, would no doubt have an equal share in the earnings of his +life. + +So thought the social circle in which the Hardings moved, or such part +of it as took this much interest in their movements. With such fair +presumption of being provided for, what could the young Hardings do but +look out for something to love, and, in looking out, upon whom should +the eyes of both become fixed but on Belle Mainwaring? They did, with +all the ardent admiration of youth; and as she returned their respective +glances with that speaking reciprocity which only a coquette can give, +both fell in love with her. The inspiration came on the same day, the +same hour, perhaps in the same instant. + +It was at a grand archery _fete_, given by the General himself, to which +Miss Mainwaring and her mother had been invited. The archer god was +also present at the entertainment, and pierced the hearts of General +Harding's two sons with a single arrow. + +There was a remarkable difference in their way of showing it. To Miss +Mainwaring, Henry was all assiduity, lavish of little attentions, ran to +recover her arrows, handed her her bow, held her sunshade while she bent +it, and stood ready to fling himself at her feet. Nigel, on the other +hand, kept himself aloof, affected indifference to her presence, tried +to pique her by showing partiality to others, with many like manoeuvres +suggested by a calculating and crafty spirit. In one thing the elder +brother succeeded--in concealing his new-sprung passion from the +spectators. + +The younger was not so fortunate. Before the archery practice was over, +every guest upon the ground could tell that, at least, one arrow had +been shot home to the mark, and that mark was the heart of young Henry +Harding. + + + +CHAPTER FOUR. + +A COQUETTE. + +I have often wondered what the world would be without woman: whether, if +it were without her, man would care longer to live in it; or whether he +would then find it just the place he has been all his life longing for, +and would wish never to leave it. I have wondered and pondered upon +this point, until speculation became lost in obscurity. It is, perhaps, +the most interesting philosophical question of our existence--its most +important one; and yet no philosopher, as far as I know, has given a +satisfactory answer to it. + +I am aware of the two theories that have been propounded--to one another +opposite as are the poles. One makes woman the sole object of, our +existence--her smile its only blessing. For her we work and watch, we +dig and delve, we fight and write, we talk and strive. Without her we +would do none of these things; in short, do nothing, since there would +be no motive for doing. "What then?" say the advocates of this theory. +"Would existence be tolerable without a motive? Would it be possible?" +For our part we can only give the interrogative answer of the phlegmatic +Spaniard, "_Quien sabe_?"--no answer at all. The other theory is, that +woman, instead of being life's object and blessing, is but its +distraction and curse. The supporters of this hypothesis make no +pretence to gallantry, but simply point to experience. Without her, say +they, the world would be happy, and they triumphantly add, "what is it?" + +Perhaps the only way to reconcile the two theories is to steer midway +between them; to regard both as wrong, and both as right; to hold woman +in this world as being alike a blessing and a bane; or rather that there +are two sorts of women in it, one born to bless, the other to curse-- +mankind. + +It grieves me to class Belle Mainwaring with the latter: for she was +beautiful, and might have belonged to the former. I knew her myself--if +not well, at least sufficiently to give her correct classification. +Perhaps I, too, might have fallen under her fascinations, had I not +discovered that she was false, and this discovery protected me. + +I made my discovery just in time, though by accident. It was in a +ball-room. Belle liked dancing, as do most young ladies of the +attractive kind; and there were but few balls in the county, public or +private, civilian or military, where you might not see her. I met her +at the hunt ball of B--. It was the first time I had seen her. I was +introduced by one of the stewards who chanced to have an impediment in +his speech. It was of the nasal kind, caused by a split lip. In +pronouncing the word "captain" the first syllable came out sounding as +"count." There was then a break, and the second, "ain," might have been +taken, or _mis-taken_, for the prefix "von." My Christian and baptismal +names, slurred together as they were by the stammering steward, might +have passed muster as Germanic; at all events, for some time +afterwards--before I could find an opportunity to rectify the error--I +was honoured by Miss Mainwaring with a title that did not belong to me. +I was further honoured by having it inscribed upon her dancing card much +oftener than I, in my humility, had any right to expect. We danced +several measures together, round and square. I was pleased, flattered-- +something more--charmed and delighted. Who would not, at being so +signalised by one of the belles of the ball-room? And she was one. + +I began to fancy that it was all up with me--that I had found not only +an agreeable partner for the night, but for life. I was all the better +satisfied to see scowling faces around me, and hear whispered +insinuations, that I was having more than my share of the charming +creature. It was the pleasantest hunt ball I had ever attended. + +So far up to a certain hour. Then things became less agreeable. I had +deposited my partner on a couch, alongside a stately dame, introduced to +me as her mother. I saw that this lady did not take kindly to me; but, +on the contrary, sat stiff, frigid, and uncommunicative. Failing to +thaw her, I made my bow and sauntered off among the crowd, promising to +return to Miss Mainwaring for still another dance, for which I had +succeeded in engaging her. Not being able to find any comfort apart +from her, I soon returned, and sat down on a chair close to the couch +occupied by mother and daughter. As they were engaged in close +conversation, neither of them saw me, and of course I did not intrude. +But, as their voices were above a whisper, I could not help hearing +them; and the mention of my own name made it difficult for me to +withdraw. + +"A count!" said the mother; "you are beside yourself, my child." + +"But Mr Southwick introduced me to him as such, and he has all the air +of it." + +All the air of it!--I liked that. + +"Count Fiddlestrings. Mr Southwick is a fool and an ass. He's only a +paltry captain--on half-pay at that, without the shadow of an +expectation. Lady C--has been telling me all about him." + +"Indeed!" + +I thought there was a sigh, but I could not be sure of it. I should +have liked it very much; but then what came after would, or should, have +rendered me indifferent to it. + +"And you've engaged yourself to him for another dance, while young Lord +P--has been twice here to ask for you--absolutely on his knees for me to +intercede for him!" + +"What's to be done?" + +"Done! throw him over. Tell him you forgot that you had a previous +engagement with Lord P--." + +"Very well, mamma, if you say so, I'll do that. I'm so sorry it should +have happened." + +There was no sigh this time, else I might have held my peace, and stolen +quietly away. But I found I could not retreat without being discovered. +In fact, I was at that moment discovered, and determined on making a +clean breast of it. + +"I should be sorry, Miss Mainwaring," I said, addressing myself directly +to the daughter, and without heeding the confusion of herself or her +mother, "to stand in the way of a previous engagement, and rather than +Lord P--should get on his knees for the third time, I beg to release you +from that you have made with a paltry captain." + +With a bow, which I considered suitable to the circumstances, I parted +from the Mainwarings, and did my best to get rid of my chagrin by +dancing with any girl who would accept for her partner a captain on +half-pay! Fortunately, before the ball was over, I found one who caused +me to forget my _contretemps_ with Miss Belle Mainwaring. I often met +this lady afterwards, but never spoke to her, except by that silent +speech of the eyes that may sometimes say a good deal. + + + +CHAPTER FIVE. + +TWO STRINGS TO THE BOW. + +It might have been well for young Henry Harding, and perhaps his brother +Nigel, too, in their first essay at love-making with Miss Mainwaring, +had they met with a similar mischance to that which had befallen me, and +taken it in the same spirit. As it was, they were either more or less +fortunate. Neither was a half-pay captain, without expectations; and, +instead of a discouragement almost amounting to dismissal, for a long +time both were permitted to bask in the smiles of the beautiful Belle. + +There was a marked difference in the way the two brothers respectively +pressed their suit. Henry essayed to carry Belle Mainwaring's heart by +storm. Nigel, as his nature dictated, preferred making approach by sap +and trenching. The former made love with the boldness of the lion; the +latter with the insidious stealth of the tiger. When Henry believed +himself successful he made no attempt to conceal his gratification. +When the chances seemed to go against him, with equal openness did he +exhibit his chagrin. The reverse with Nigel. When fortune appeared to +smile upon his suit he showed no sign of being conscious of it. He +appeared alike impassable under her frown. So little demonstrative was +he in his affection for Miss Mainwaring that there were few people +believed in it, though among this few was the lady herself. + +From what I could learn, and sometimes by the evidence of my own eyes, +she played her cards to perfection--her mother acting as _croupier_ to +the game. It was not long before she knew that she could take her +choice of the two, though some time before she declared it. Now one +appeared to be the favourite, anon the other--until the most intimate of +her associates were puzzled as to her partiality, or whether she even +cared for either. It was at least a question; for the beautiful Belle +did not restrict herself to receiving the admiration of the +half-brothers Harding. There were other young gentlemen in the +neighbourhood, who at balls and other gatherings were favoured with an +occasional smile; and Miss Mainwaring's heart was considered still +doubtful in its inclinings. There was a time, however, when it was +supposed to have become decided. At all events, there was a reason for +its doing so. An incident occurred in the hunting-field that should +have entitled Henry Harding to the hand of Belle Mainwaring--that is, +supposing it to be true that the brave deserve the fair. It was an +incident so rare as to be worth recording, irrespective of its bearing +upon our tale. + +The hunt was with the staghounds, and the "meet" had taken place close +to a pond of considerable size, upon one of the open commons not rare +among the Chiltern Hills. As the stag bounded away from the cart, his +eye had caught the gleam of water, and in his hour of distress he +remembered it. Being a lazy brute, he did not run far; but, guided by +instinct, soon turned back towards the pond. He arrived at it, before +the carriages that had come to the meet had cleared away from the +ground. Among them was the pony-phaeton that contained Mrs Mainwaring +and her daughter Belle; the latter looking as roseate on that crisp +winter's morning as if her cheeks had taken their colour from the +scarlet coats of the huntsmen around her. The _attelage_ to which she +belonged was drawn up close to the edge of the pond, parallel with its +bank. The stag, on returning, shaved close past the pony's nose, and +plunged into the water. The consequence was that the latter became +alarmed even to frenzy; and, instead of turning towards the road, it +wheeled round in the opposite direction, and rushed into the pond after +the stag, dragging the phaeton along with it. It did not stop until the +water was up over the steps of the carriage, and the ladies' feet were +immersed in the chilly flood. But then the stag had stopped too, at +bay; and, believing the "trap" to be its cruel pursuer, the bayed animal +turned and charged upon the pony carriage and its contents. The pony +was knocked down in the traces; and then came the boy in buttons, who +was perched conspicuously on the seat behind. On the antlers of the +enraged animal he was hoisted skyward, and fell with a plunge into the +water. Next came the turn of the two ladies, or would have come, had +relief not been near. The smock-frocks had gone away from the ground, +following the chase; and it was not they who rushed to the rescue. Nor +was it Nigel Harding, who was first by the edge of the pond, having got +there through being last in the field. But there stayed he, sitting +irresolute in his saddle; and Miss Mainwaring might have had a stag's +antler through her delicate skin, but for Nigel's brother coming up at +the moment. He, instead of reining up by the water's edge, dashed in +through it, till his horse stood by the side of the carriage. Next +moment he sprang out of the saddle, and took the stag by the horns. + +The struggle that ensued might have ended ill for him; but by this time +a smock-frock, in the shape of a hedger, up to his armpits in the water, +drew his chopper across the throat of the stag, and the conflict came to +an end. + +The pony, but slightly injured, was got upon its feet; the page, +half-drowned, was hoisted back to his pinnacle; and the carriage, with +its frightened occupants, conducted safely to the shore. + +Everybody left the ground with the belief that Miss Belle Mainwaring +would at some day, not far distant, become Mrs Henry Harding. More +especially did the country people believe it, and were delighted with +the idea; for with them--as is generally the case--the younger brother +was the favourite. + + + +CHAPTER SIX. + +THE GATHERING CLOUD. + +At Beechwood Park there was comfort of every kind; but not that perfect +tranquillity which its owner had counted upon, on retiring to this fair +residence to pass the remainder of his days. + +With his property all was well. Since his purchase of the estate--like +other lands around--it had nearly doubled in value; and, so far as +fortune was concerned, there was no source of uneasiness. But there was +something else--something dearer to him than his houses and lands. +Anxiety had arisen from the conduct of his sons. Notwithstanding their +apparent cordiality in his presence, on both sides assumed, he had found +reasons for believing there was no fraternal affection, but, instead, a +tacit enmity between them. This was more openly exhibited on the part +of the younger, but it was deep-rooted in the heart of his first-born. +Henry, of a generous, forgiving nature, could at any time during college +days have been induced to forego it, had his brother met him but +half-way in any measure of reconciliation. But this Nigel never desired +to do; and the early estrangement had now deepened into hostility--the +cause, of course, being their rivalry in love. + +It was a long time before the General knew of the dangerous cloud that +was looming up on the horizon of his tranquil life. He had taken it for +granted that his sons, like most of the young men so circumstanced, +before thinking of marriage, would want to see something of the world. +It did not occur to him that, in the eyes of an ardent youth, beautiful +Belle Mainwaring was a world in herself, after seeing whom, all earth +besides might present but a dull, prosaic aspect. + +It was not this, however, that at first troubled the spirit of the +retired officer, but only the behaviour of his boys. With Nigel's he +was contented enough. Than it, nothing could be more satisfactory, +except in the estrangement towards his brother, and an occasional +exhibition of ill-feeling which the father could not fail to perceive. +It was Henry's conduct that formed the chief source of the General's +anxiety--his extravagant habits, his proneness to dissipation, and once +un apparent disobedience of paternal orders, which, though only in some +trivial affair of expenditure, had been exaggerated by the secret +representations of his elder brother into a matter of momentous +importance. The counsels of the parent, not having been seriously taken +to heart, soon became chidings; and these, in their turn, being alike +unheeded, assumed the form of threats and hints about disinheritance. + +Henry, who now deemed himself a man, met such reminders with a spirit of +independence that only irritated his father to a still greater degree. +In this unhappy way were things going on, when the General was made +aware of a matter more affecting the future welfare of his son than all +the dissipations and disobediences of which he had been guilty. It was +his partiality for Miss Mainwaring. Of Nigel's inclining toward the +same quarter, he knew nothing; nor, indeed, did others; though almost +everybody in the neighbourhood had long been aware of her conquest over +Henry. + +It was shortly after the incident at the stag-hunt that the General +became apprised of it. That affair had led him to reflect; and, +although proud of the gallantry his son had displayed, the old soldier +saw in it a danger far greater than that of the struggle through which +he had so conspicuously passed. + +He was led to make inquiries, which resulted in a discovery giving him +the greatest uneasiness. This arose from the fact, that he knew the +antecedents of Mrs Mainwaring. He had known both her husband and +herself in India; and this knowledge, so far from inspiring him with +respect for the relict of his late brother-officer, had impressed him +with the very opposite opinion. With the character of the daughter, he +was, of course, less acquainted. The latter had grown up during a long +period of separation; but from what he had seen and heard of her, since +his arrival in England, and from what he was every day seeing and +hearing, he had come to the conclusion, that it was a case of "like +mother, like daughter." + +And, if so, it would not suit his views, that she should become +daughter-in-law to him. + +The thought filled him with serious alarm; and he at once set about +concocting some scheme to counteract the danger. How was he to proceed? +Deny his son the privilege of keeping company with her? Lay an embargo +on his visits to the villa-cottage of the widow, which he now learned +had been of late suspiciously frequent? It was a question whether his +commands would be submitted to, and this thought still further irritated +him. + +Over the widow herself he had no authority, in any way. Though her +cottage stood close to his park, it was not his property; her landlord +was a lawyer, of little respect in the neighbourhood; and it would have +served no purpose even could he have, himself, given her notice to quit. +Things had already gone too far for such strategy as that. + +As for the damsel herself, she was not going to hide her beautiful face +from the gaze of his son, solely to accommodate him. It might not +appear any more in his own dining, or drawing-room; but there were other +places where it could be seen in all its bewitching beauty--in the +church, or the hunting-field,--in the ball-room, and every day along the +green lanes that encompassed Beechwood Park; there might it be seen, +smiling coquettishly under the rim of a prettily-trimmed hat. + +The old soldier was too skilled a tactician to believe, that any benefit +could be obtained from an attack so open to repulses, and these of the +most humiliating character. Some stratagem must be resorted to; and to +the conception of this he determined to devote all the energies of his +nature. + +He had already, in his mind, the glimmering of a scheme that promised +success; and this imparted a ray of comfort, that kept him from going +quite out of his senses. + + + +CHAPTER SEVEN. + +PLOTTERS FOR FORTUNE. + +The stag-hunt, at which Henry Harding had exhibited such gallant +courage, had been the very last of the season; and, soon after, spring +stole over the shire of Bucks, clothing its beechen forests and grassy +glades in a new livery of the gayest green. The crake had come into the +cornfield, the cuckoo winged her way across the common, uttering her +soft monotonous notes, and the nightingale had once more taken +possession of the coppice, from whence, through the livelong night, +pealed forth its incomparable song. It was the month of May--that sweet +season when all nature seems to submit itself to the tender inclinings +of love; when not only the shy birds of the air, but the chased +creatures of the earth--alike tamed and emboldened by its influence-- +stray beyond the safety of their coverts in pursuit of those pleasures +at other seasons denied them. + +Whether the love-month has any influence on the passions of the human +species, is a disputed question. Perhaps, in man's primitive state, +such may have been the case, and Nature's suggestiveness may have +extended also to him. But at whatever season affection may spring up +between two young hearts, surely this is the time of the year that +Nature has designed it to reach maturity. + +It seemed so in the case of Henry Harding. In the month of May his +passion for Belle Mainwaring had reached the point that should end in a +declaration; and upon this he had determined. With the outside world it +was still a question whether his love was reciprocated, though it was +generally thought that the coquette had been at length captured, and by +Henry Harding. The eligibility of the match favoured this view of the +case, though, to say the truth, not more than the personal appearance of +the man. + +At this time the younger son of General Harding was just entering upon +manhood, and possessed a face and figure alike manly and graceful. The +only blemish that could be brought against him was of a moral nature--as +already mentioned, a proneness to dissipation. But time might remedy +this; and even as things stood it did not so materially damage him in +the eyes of his lady acquaintances--more than one of whom would have +been willing to take Miss Mainwaring's chances. The light in which +Belle regarded him may be best learnt from a conversation that, about +this time, took place. It was over the breakfast-table in her mother's +cottage, the speakers being her mother and herself. + +"And you would marry him?" interrogated Mrs Mainwaring, after some +remark that had introduced the name of Henry Harding. + +"I would, mamma; and, with your leave, I will." + +"What about _his_ leave?" + +"Ha! Ha!" laughed Belle with a confident air. "I think I may count +upon that. He has as good as given it." + +"Already! But has he really declared himself--in words I mean?" + +"Not exactly in words. But, dear ma, since I suppose you will insist +upon knowing my secrets before giving your consent, I may as well tell +you all about it. He intends to declare himself soon; this very day if +I am not astray in my chronology." + +"What reason have you for thinking so?" + +"Only his having hinted that he had something important to say to me-- +time fixed for a call he is to make this afternoon. What else could it +be?" + +Mrs Mainwaring made no reply, but sat thoughtful, as if not altogether +pleased with the communication her daughter had made. + +"I hope, dear mamma, you are contented?" + +"With what, my child?" + +"With--with--well, to have Henry Harding for your son-in-law. Does it +satisfy you?" + +"My dearest child," answered the Indian officer's widow, with that +cautious air peculiar to her country--she was Scotch. "It is a serious +question this; very serious, and requires careful consideration. You +know how very straitened are our circumstances--how your poor dear +father left little to support us--having but little to leave?" + +"I should think I do know," peevishly interposed Belle. "Twice turning +my ball dresses, and then dyeing them into wearing silks, has taught me +all that. But what has it to do with my marrying Henry Harding? All +the more reason why I should. He, at all events, is not likely to be +troubled with straitened circumstances." + +"I am not so sure of that, my child." + +"Ah! you know something about his expectations then? Something you have +not told me? Is it so, mamma?" + +"I know very little. I wish it were otherwise, and I could be sure." + +"But his father is rich. There are but two sons; and you have already +told me that the estate is not entailed, or whatever you call it. Of +course he will divide it equally between them. Half would satisfy me." + +"And me too, child, if we were sure of half. But there lies the +difficulty. It is the fact of the estate not being entailed that makes +it. Were that done, there would be none." + +"Then I could marry Henry?" + +"No, Nigel." + +"Oh, mamma! what do you mean?" + +"The estate would then be Nigel's by the simple law of entail. As it is +now, it is all uncertain how they will inherit. It will depend on the +will. It may go by a caprice of their father--and I know General +Harding well enough to believe him capable of such caprice." + +In her turn Belle became silent and thoughtful. + +"There is reason to fear," continued the match-making, perhaps +match-spoiling, mother, "that the General may leave Henry nothing, or at +most only a maintenance. He is certainly very much dissatisfied with +his conduct, and for a long time has been vainly endeavouring to change +it. I won't say the young man is loose in his habits; if he were, I +would not hear of him for your husband. No, my child, poor as we are, +it needn't come to that." + +As the widow said this she looked half interrogatively towards her +daughter, who replied with a smile of assenting significance. + +"Henry Harding," continued the cautious mother, "is too generous--too +profuse in his expenditures." + +"But, mamma, would not marriage cure him of that? He would then have me +to think of, and take better care of his money." + +"True, true; supposing him to be possessed of it. But therein lies the +doubt--the difficulty, I may call it--about the prudence of your +accepting him." + +"But I love him; I do indeed!" + +"I am sorry for that, my child. You should have been more cautious, +until better assured about his circumstances. You must leave it to +time. You will, if you love me." + +"And if, as I have told you--this afternoon--what answer?" + +"Evasive, my dear. Nothing easier. You have me to fall back upon. You +are my only child; my consent will be necessary. Come, Belle! you need +no instructions from me. You will lose nothing by a little +procrastination. You have nothing to fear from it, and everything to +gain. Without it, you may become the wife of one poorer than ever your +father was; and, instead of having to turn your silk dresses, you may +have none to turn. Be prudent, therefore, in the step you are about to +take." + +Belle only answered with a sigh; but it was neither so sad or so deep as +to cause any apprehension to her counsellor; while the sly look that +accompanied it told, that she determined upon being _prudent_. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHT. + +FATHER AND SON. + +General Harding was accustomed to spend much time in his studio, or +library it might be called--since it contained a goodly number of books. +They were mostly volumes that related to Oriental subjects, more +especially works upon India and its campaigns; but there were also many +devoted to science and natural history, while scattered here and there +upon tables were odd numbers of the _Oriental Magazine_, the +_Transactions of the Asiatic Society_, and the _Calcutta Englishman_. +There were also large pamphlets in blue parliamentary covers, that +related only to the affairs of the Hon. E.I.C. + +In poring over these volumes, the retired _militaire_ was accustomed to +pass much of his time. The subjects, with the descriptions attached, +recalled scenes in his past life, the souvenirs of which gave him +pleasure, enabling him to while away many an hour that, amidst the +seclusion of the Chiltern Hills, might have otherwise hung rather +heavily on his hands. Each new book about India was sure to find its +way into the General's library, and, though never a very keen sportsman, +he could enjoy the descriptions of hunting scenes to be found in the +pages of "Markham" and the "Old Shikaree," since in both there is +something to interest not only the sportsman but the student of Nature. + +On a certain morning he had entered his studio, but with no intention of +devoting himself to the tranquil study of his books. On the contrary, +he did not even seat himself, but commenced pacing the floor with a +quick step; while his clouded brow denoted agitation of mind. Every now +and then he would stop, strike his clenched hand against his forehead, +mutter a few words to himself, and then move on again. Among his +mutterings could be distinguished some words that guided to the subject +of his thoughts. The names "Nigel" and "Henry" constantly occurring, +told that both his sons had a share in his cogitations, though chiefly +the latter, whose cognomen was most frequently pronounced. + +"This boy Henry has half driven me mad with his wild ways. And now, +worse than all, his affair with this girl. From what I have heard, +there can be no doubt that she's entangled him; no doubt of its having +become serious. It won't do; must be broken off, cost what it will. +She's not the stuff to make an honest man's wife out of. I'd care less +if it were Nigel. But no, she won't do for either--for no son of mine. +I knew her mother too well. Poor Mainwaring! Many a dog's day he spent +with her in India. Like mother, like daughter. By heavens, it won't +do; and I shall put a stop to it! I think I know how," continued he +reflectingly. "If he's mad, she isn't; and therein I may find my means +for saying the poor lad from the worst of all misfortunes--a wicked +wife." + +The General made several turns in silence, as if maturing some plan. + +"Yes; that's the way to save him!" he at length joyfully exclaimed; +"perhaps the only way. And there's no time to be lost about it. While +I'm thinking he may be acting--may have gone too far for me to get him +out of the scrape. I shall see him at once--see and question him." + +The General stooped over the table; pressed upon a spring-bell; and then +resumed his pacing. + +The bell brought up the butler, a portly individual, who so far as could +be judged by appearance, was as respectable as the General himself. + +"Williams! I wish to see my son Henry;--find out if he's upon the +premises." + +"He's on the premises, General. He's down at the stables. Groom says +he's going to mount the brown filly." + +"The brown filly? Why she's never been ridden before!" + +"She never has, General. I think it very dangerous; but that's just +what Master Henry likes. I tried to persuade him against it, but then +Master Nigel told me to mind my own business." + +"Send quick to the stable; tell him I forbid his riding the filly. Tell +him to come hither. Haste, Williams, haste!" + +"Ever running into danger, as if he loved it," said the General, +continuing his soliloquy; "so like what I was myself. The brown filly! +Ah! I wish this was all. The Mainwaring damsel's a worse danger than +that." + +At this moment Henry made his appearance, breeched, booted, and spurred, +as if for the hunting-field. + +"Did you send for me, father?" + +"Of course I did. You were going to mount the brown filly?" + +"I am going. Have you any objection to my doing so?" + +"Do you want your neck broken?" + +"Ha, ha, ha! There's not much fear of that. I think you make light of +my horsemanship, papa." + +"You carry too much confidence, sir--far too much. You mount a vicious +mare without consulting me. You do other and more important things +without consulting me. I intend putting a stop to it." + +"What other things do you refer to, father?" + +"Many other things. You spend money foolishly--like a madman; and, like +a maniac, you are now rushing upon a danger of a still graver kind--upon +destruction, sir--rank, absolute destruction." + +"Of what are you speaking, father? Do you mean by my mounting the +filly?" + +"No, sir. You may back her, and break your neck, for aught I care. I'm +speaking of what's far wickeder--a woman." + +The word woman caused the youth to turn pale. He had thought that, to +his father at least, his love for Miss Mainwaring was still a secret. +No other woman could be meant. + +"I do not understand you, papa," was his evasive response. + +"But you do, sir--perfectly. If I gave you the name of this woman, you +wouldn't be any the wiser than you are now; you know it too well. I'll +tell you, for all that. I refer to Miss Belle Mainwaring." + +Henry made no reply, but stood blushing in the presence of his parent. + +"And now, sir, about this woman I have only a few words to say--_you +must give her up_." + +"Father!" + +"I won't listen to any of your love-sick appeals. Don't make them-- +they'll only be wasted on me. I repeat, sir, you must give Belle +Mainwaring up--at once, absolutely, and for ever!" + +"Father," said the youth, in a firm tone, within his breast love +pleading for justice, "you ask me to do what's not in my power. I +acknowledge that between myself and Miss Mainwaring there is something +more than the affection of friendship. It has gone further than mere +feeling. There have been words--I may say promises--between us. To +break them, requires the consent of both parties; and for me to do so, +without first consulting her, would be a cruel injustice, to which I +cannot lend myself. No, father; not even with the alternative of +incurring your displeasure." + +General Harding stood for a moment silent; pretending to reflect, but +furtively contemplating his son. A superficial observer could have seen +only anger at this filial defiance, where one clever in reading faces +might have detected something like admiration mingling with the +sentiment. If there was such, however, in his heart, his speech did not +show it. + +"Enough, sir! You have made up your mind to disobey me? Very well. +Understand what this disobedience will cost you. I suppose you know the +meaning of an entailed estate?" + +The General paused, as if for an answer. + +"I know nothing about it, papa. Something connected with a will, I +believe." + +"The very reverse. An entailed estate has nothing to do with a will. +Now, my estate is _not_ entailed, and _is_ connected with a will. It is +about that I am going to talk to you. I can make one, giving my +property to whomsoever I please; either to your brother Nigel or +yourself. Marry Miss Mainwaring, and it shall be Nigel's. Still, to +you I shall leave just enough to carry you out of the country--that is +one thousand pounds sterling. Now, sir, you hear what I have to say." + +"I hear it, father; and with sorrow. I shall be sorry to lose the +inheritance I had reason to expect, but far more your esteem. Both, +however, must be parted with, if there be no other consideration for my +retaining them. Whether I am to marry Miss Mainwaring or not, must +depend upon Miss Mainwaring herself. I think, father, you understand +me?" + +"Too well, sir--too well; and I answer by telling you that I have passed +my word, and it shall be kept. You may go and mount the filly, and +thank God she don't do with your neck what you are likely to do with +your father's heart--break it. Begone, sir!" + +Without saying a word, Henry walked out of the room, slowly and sadly. + +"The image of his mother! Who could not help liking the lad, in spite +of his rebellious spirit, and with all his wasteful habits? It won't do +to have such a noble heart sacrificed upon a worthless jade of a woman. +He must be saved." + +Once more the General pressed upon the spring-bell, this time more +violently than before. It brought the butler back in double quick time. + +"Williams!" + +"General?" + +"My carriage, as soon as the horses can be put to?" + +Williams disappeared to cause execution of the order. + +A few more turns to and fro across the Turkey carpet, a few muttered +soliloquies, and the carriage wheels grated upon the gravel outside. + +Williams helped the General to his hat and gloves; saw him down-stairs; +handed him into the carriage; and watched it rolling away, just as +Henry, on the back of the brown filly, was fighting her across the green +sward of the park, endeavouring to keep her head in the opposite +direction. + + + +CHAPTER NINE. + +THE CHECKMATE. + +Mr Woolet sat in his office, which was separated from that of his +solitary clerk by a thick wall and a narrow doorway between. But there +was another wall of slighter dimensions, alongside Mr Woolet's room, +partitioning off a kind of cupboard enclosure, into which, when Mr +Woolet required it, the said clerk could introduce himself, and there, +standing cat-like and silent, hear what passed between his employer and +any client whose conversation it was deemed necessary to make note of. + +After this it is scarce necessary to add that Mr Woolet was an +attorney; and though the scene of his practice was a quiet country town, +in the shire of Bucks, this practice was carried on with as much +sharpness and trickery, as if it lay among the low courts surrounding +Newgate, or the slums of Clerkenwell. + +The great city does not monopolise the plant called _pettifogging_. It +thrives equally as strong in the county town. Even the village knows it +to its cost; and the poor cottager, in his leaky shed at three shillings +a week, is too often encompassed by its toils. + +Of such small fry Mr Woolet had hooked his hundreds, and had prospered +by their capture to the keeping of a carriage and pair; but, as yet, +none of the big fish had entered his net--the largest being the widow +Mainwaring, who had been caught while taking from him a lease of her +cottage. The carriage had, therefore, been kept to no purpose, or less +than none: since not being in accord with his position it only brought +him ridicule. This, however, could not last for ever. The gentry could +not always hold out against such a glittering attraction. Some swell +must in time stand in need of Mr Woolet's peculiar services, and enable +him to achieve the much wished-for position. And so it seemed to turn +out, as one day a carriage much grander than Mr Woolet's own, with a +coachman nearly a quarter of a ton in weight, and a powdered footman +beside him, drove through the street of the little town in which Mr +Woolet lived, and pulled up opposite his office. + +Perhaps the lawyer was never more delighted in his life, than when his +clerk protruded his phiz inside the office-door, and announced _sotto +voce_ the arrival of General Harding. In a moment after the same +individual ushered the General into his presence. A masonic sign +communicated to the clerk caused his disappearance; and the instant +after that pale-faced familiar was skulking like a ghost within the +cupboard enclosure. + +"General Harding, I believe?" said the obsequious attorney, bowing to +the lowest button of his visitor's surtout. + +"Yes," bluffly responded the old soldier. "That is my name. Yours +is--" + +"Woolet, General; E. Woolet, at your service." + +"Well, I want some service from you--if you're not otherwise engaged." + +"Any engagement, General, must stand aside for you. What can I do to +oblige you?" + +"To oblige me, nothing. I want your services as an attorney. You are +one, I believe?" + +"My name is in the Law List, General. You can see it here." + +Mr Woolet took up a small volume, and was handing it to the General. + +"Never mind about the Law List," bluntly interrupted the soldier, "I see +it on your sign; that's enough for me. What I'm in search of is an +attorney who can make a will. I suppose you can do that?" + +"Well, General, although I cannot boast of my professional abilities, I +think I can manage the making of a will." + +"Enough said; sit down and set about it." + +Considering that he kept a carriage himself, Mr Woolet might have felt +a little offended by this brusque behaviour on the part of his new +client. It was the first time he had ever been so treated in his own +office; but then it was the first time he had ever had a client of such +a class, and he knew better than to show feeling under the infliction. + +Without saying another word, he sat down before his table, the General +taking a seat on the opposite side, and waited for the latter to +proceed. + +"Write now as I dictate," said the General, without even prefixing the +word "please." + +The lawyer, still obsequious, signified assent, at the same time seizing +a pen, and placing a sheet of blue foolscap before him. + +"_I hereby will and bequeath to my eldest son, Nigel Harding, all my +real and personal estate, comprising my houses and lands, as also my +stock in personal securities, excepting one thousand pounds, to be sold +out of the last, and paid over to my other and youngest son, Henry +Harding, as his sole legacy left from my estate_." + +To this extent the lawyer finished the writing, and waited for his +client to proceed. + +"You have done, have you?" asked the General. + +"So far as you dictated, General, I have." + +"Have you written down the date?" + +"Not yet, General." + +"Then put it in." + +Woolet took up his pen, and complied. + +"Have you a witness at hand? If not, I can bring in my footman." + +"You need not do that, General. My clerk will do for one witness." + +"Oh! it wants two, does it?" + +"That is the law, General; but I myself can be the second." + +"All right, then; let me sign." + +And the General rose from his seat, and leaned towards the table. + +"But, General," interposed the lawyer, thinking the will a somewhat +short one, "is this all? You have two sons?" + +"Of course I have. Haven't I said so in my will?" + +"But, surely--" + +"Surely what?" + +"You are not going to--" + +"I am going to sign my will, if you will allow me; if not, I must get it +made elsewhere." + +Mr Woolet was too much a man of business to offer any further +opposition. It was no affair of his beyond giving satisfaction to his +new client; and to accomplish this he at once pushed the paper before +the General, at the same time presenting him with the pen. + +The General signed; the lawyer and his clerk--summoned from the +cupboard--attested; and the will was complete. + +"Now make me a copy of it," demanded the General. "The original you may +keep till called for." + +The copy was made; the General buttoned it up in the breast of his +surtout; and then, without even cautioning the lawyer to secrecy, +stepped back into his carriage, and was soon rolling along the four +miles of road lying between the village and his own residence. + +"There's something queer about all this," soliloquised the pettifogger, +when left alone in his office. "Queer he should come to me, instead of +going to his own solicitor; and queerer still he should disinherit the +younger son--or next thing to it. His property cannot be worth less +than a cool hundred thousand pounds, and all to go to that half-negro, +while the other, as most people thought, would have a half share of it. +After all, it's not so strange. He's angry with the younger son; and in +making this will he comes to me instead of going to Lawson, who he knows +might say something to dissuade him from his purpose. I have no doubt +he will stick to it, unless the young scamp leaves off his idle ways. +General Harding is not a man to be trifled with, even by his own son. +But whether this will is to remain good or not, it's my duty to make it +known to a third party, who for certain reasons will be deeply +interested in its contents; and who, whether she may ever be able to +thank me for communicating them, will, at all events, keep the secret of +my doing so. She shall hear of it within the hour." + +"Mr Robson!" + +The pale face of the unarticled clerk appeared within the doorway-- +prompt as a stage spirit summoned through a trap. + +"Tell the coachman to clap the horses into my carriage--quick as +tinder." + +The spirit disappeared without making any reply, and just as his invoker +had finished the folding of the lately attested will, and made a minute +of what had transpired between him and the testator, carriage wheels +were heard outside the door of the office. + +In six seconds after Mr Woolet was in his "trap"--as he used +condescendingly to call it--and rattling along a country road, the same +taken ten minutes before by the more ostentatious equipage of the +retired Indian officer. + +Although driving the same way, the destination of the two vehicles was +different. The chariot was bound for Beechwood Park, the "trap" for a +less pretentious residence outside its enclosure--the villa-cottage +occupied by the widow Mainwaring. + + + +CHAPTER TEN. + +THE BAIT TAKEN. + +The relict of the late colonel, who had left his hones in the Punjaub +and herself with only a slight maintenance, had nevertheless sufficient +to maintain a "turn-out." True it was but a pony and phaeton; but the +pony was spirited, the phaeton a neat one, and with the charming Belle +in it, hat on head, whip and ribbons in hand, it might have been termed +stylish. The appearance was improved by a boy in buttons, who sat upon +the back seat, well trained to sustain the dignity of the situation. + +This choice little tableau of country life might have been seen at the +gate of Mrs Mainwaring's villa at eleven o'clock of that same day, on +which the conversation already reported had passed between herself and +her daughter in the breakfast-room. + +It was an early hour for a drive; but it was to be a journey upon +business to her lawyer. It was never made; for just as the sprightly +Belle had taken her seat in the phaeton, adjusted her drapery, and +commenced "catching flies" with her whip, what should appear coming up +the road, and at a spanking pace, but the two-horse trap of that lawyer +himself, Mr Woolet. + +The trap was evidently _en route_ for the widow's residence, where more +than once it had brought its owner upon matters of business. Its +approach was a fortunate circumstance; so thought Mrs Mainwaring, so +thought her daughter, neither of whom on that particular day desired to +go to the town. It was not one that had been set apart for shopping; +more important matters were on the _tapis_, and these could be arranged +with Mr Woolet on the spot. The phaeton was at once abandoned, +"Buttons" receiving orders to keep the pony by the gate, and the ladies, +followed by the lawyer, returned into the cottage. The attorney was +received in the drawing-room; but, as the business could have nothing to +do with the beautiful Belle, her presence was excused, and she sauntered +out again, leaving her mother alone with Mr Woolet. + +Though there was still a certain obsequiousness about the lawyer's +manner, it was very different from that he had exhibited when dealing +with General Harding. There was a vast distinction between a live +General, possessed of a clear hundred thousand pounds, and a defunct +colonel's widow, with scarce so many pence. Still, Mrs Mainwaring was +a lady of acknowledged social position, with a daughter who might at no +distant day have the _control_ of a gentleman who had a hundred thousand +pounds, and who might become a profitable client of whoever chanced at +the time to be her mother's solicitor. Mr Woolet was a sharp, +far-seeing individual, and this forecast had not escaped him. If he +showed himself more at ease in the presence of the colonel's widow than +he had done in that of the General, it was simply because he recognised +in the lady a nature like his own--less scrupulous upon points of honour +or etiquette. + +"Have you any business with me, Mr Woolet?" asked the lady, without +making known the fact that she was about going on business to him. + +"Well, Mrs Mainwaring, scarce enough to make it worth while my calling +on you--at all events, interrupting your drive. What I have to say may +be of no importance--but five minutes will suffice for saying it." + +"Take what time you please, Mr Woolet; our drive had no object--a +little shopping affair of my daughter's, that can be disposed of at any +hour. Please be seated." + +The lawyer took a chair; the lady sank into a couch. + +"Something, I suppose, connected with the cottage?" she continued in a +tone of studied indifference. "I think the rent is paid up to--" + +"Oh, nothing of that," interrupted the lawyer. "You are too punctual in +your payments, Mrs Mainwaring, to need reminding from me. I have come +upon an affair that, indeed, now that I think of it, may look like +interference on my part. But it is one that may be of importance, and, +studying your interest as my client, I deem it my duty to interfere. I +hope, if in error, you will not be offended by my apparent over-zeal." + +The widow opened her eyes, once beautiful enough, but now only +expressive of surprise. The manner of the attorney, his tone of +confidence--of an almost friendly assurance--led her to look for some +pleasant revelation. What could it be? + +"Over-zeal on your part can never be offensive, Mr Woolet--at least, +not to me. Please let me know what you have to communicate. Whether it +concern me or not, I promise you it shall have my full consideration, +and such response as I can give." + +"First, Mrs Mainwaring, I must ask a question that from any other might +be deemed impertinent. But you have done me the honour to trust me as +your legal adviser, and that must be my excuse. There is a rumour +abroad--indeed, I might say, something more than a rumour--that your +daughter is about to be--to contract an alliance with one of the sons of +General Harding. May I ask if this rumour has any truth in it?" + +"Well, Mr Woolet, to you I shall answer frankly: there is some truth in +it." + +"May I further ask which of the General's sons is to be the fortunate, +and, I may say, happy individual?" + +"Really, Mr Woolet! But why do you want to know this?" + +"I have a reason, madam--a reason that also concerns yourself, if I am +not mistaken." + +"In what way?" + +"By reading this, you will learn." + +A sheet of bluish foolscap, with the ink scarce dried upon it, was +spread out before the eyes of the widow. It was the will of General +Harding. + +She coloured while reading it. With all the coolness of her Scotch +blood; with all the steadiness of nerve produced by an eventful life--in +long accompaniment of her husband in his campaigns--she could not +conceal the emotion called forth by what she read upon the sheet of +foolscap. It was like the echo of her own thoughts--a response to the +reflections that, scarce an hour before, had been not only passing +through her mind, but forming the subject of her conversation. + +Adroitly as woman could--and Mrs Mainwaring was not the most simple of +her sex--she endeavoured to make light of the knowledge thus +communicated. She was only sorry that General Harding should so far +forget his duties as a parent, to make such a distinction between his +two sons. Both were equally of his own blood; and, though the younger +might have been of better behaviour, still he was the younger, and time +might cure him of those habits which appeared to have given offence to +his father. For herself, Mrs Mainwaring was very sorry indeed; and, +although it did not so essentially concern her, she could not do +otherwise than thank Mr Woolet for his disinterested kindness in +letting her know the terms of this strange testament. In fine, she +would always feel grateful to him for what he had done. + +The last clause of her speech was delivered in a tone not to be +misunderstood by such an astute listener as Mr Woolet; and at its +conclusion he folded up the will, and prepared to take his departure. +To repeat excuses, and say that he had only done what he deemed his +duty, were empty words, and were so understood by both. + +A glass of sherry, with a biscuit, and the interview came to an end. +Mr Woolet returned to his trap, and was soon rolling back to the town; +while Buttons was commanded to take back the pony to its stable. The +sauntering Belle was summoned into the drawing-room. + +"What did he want, mamma?" was her inquiry on entering. "Anything that +concerns me?" + +"I should think so. If you marry Henry Harding you will marry a +_pauper_. I have seen the will. His father has disinherited him." + +Miss Mainwaring sank upon the couch, with a cry that told rather of +disappointment than despair. + + + +CHAPTER ELEVEN. + +AWAITING THE PROPOSAL. + +In the afternoon of that day Belle Mainwaring sat upon the couch in a +state of expectation not easily described. The more difficult, from its +being so rare--that is, the circumstances under which she was placed. +She was in the position of a young lady who expects a proposal of +marriage to be made to her, and who has already determined upon +declining it. She was strong in this determination; though her strength +came not from her own inclinations. She was but acting under the +commands of her mother. + +She was not without some sinking of spirits as to the course she was +about to take. In reality she loved the man she was going to reject-- +more than she imagined then, more than she knew until long afterwards. +Flirt as she had been, and still was, conqueress of many a heart, she +was not without one herself,--it might not be of the purest and truest; +but, such as it was, Henry Harding appeared to have won it. + +For all that, he was not to wear it; unless he could surround her with +all the adornments of wealth, and the costliest luxuries of social life. +She now knew he could not do this; and, though her heart might still be +his, her hand must go to some other. To his brother Nigel, perhaps, she +may have whispered to herself. She was a beautiful woman, Belle +Mainwaring--tall, large, and exquisitely moulded--a figure that becomes +the reclining attitude required by a couch; and, as she so reclined upon +ordinary occasions, the coldest observer might well have been excused +for admiring her gracefulness. + +On the day in question her attitude was not graceful. It was not even +easy, nor befitting her figure. She sat bolt upright, now and then +starting to her feet; pacing the room in quick, hurried strides; +stopping a moment by the window, and scanning the road outside; and then +returning to the couch, and staying upon it for a short time, as if a +prey to terrible unrest and anxiety. + +At times she would sit reflecting on the answer she should give; how it +might be shaped, so as to make it least unpalatable to him who was to +receive it. She had no doubt about its bitterness; for she felt +confident in having the heart of the man about to offer her his hand. +She did not wish to unnecessarily give him pain; and she studied the +style of her intended refusal, until she fancied she had most cunningly +arranged it. But then would come a spasm of her own heart's pain; for +to say "No!" was costing it an effort; and at this the whole structure +would give way, leaving her intended answer still unshaped. + +Once she was on the point of changing her purpose; and, prompted by the +nobility of love, she came near giving way to her better nature. She +had almost made up her mind to accept Henry Harding spite his adverse +fortune--spite the counsels of her mother. + +But the noble resolve remained but one moment in her mind. It passed +like a flash of lightning, only showing more distinctly the dark clouds +that would surround such a destiny. Henry disinherited--a thousand +pounds alone left him! It would scarce be enough to furnish the feast, +with the trousseau she might expect upon the day of her marriage. +Preposterous! Her mother was right; she would yield to the maternal +will. + +There was another thought that held her to this determination. She felt +confident in her conquest; and if at any future time she might see fit +to give way to her predilection, it would still be possible to do so. +General Harding would repent the disinheritance of his younger son, and +revoke the will he had made, perhaps in a moment of spite or passion. +Neither the lawyer who made it, nor her own mother, had any idea of the +General's doing so. It was not in keeping with his character. But +Belle believed differently. She saw through the eyes of hope, lighted +by the light of love. + +In such frame of mind did Miss Mainwaring await the expected visit of +Henry Harding. Nor was there any change, when the boy in buttons +announced his arrival, and the moment after ushered him into the room. +Perhaps, just at that moment, at the sight of his handsome face and +manly form, her heart may have faltered in its resolution. But only for +an instant. A thought of his disinheritance, and it was again firm. + +She was right as to the object of his coming. Indeed, he had all but +declared it at their last interview--all but accomplished it. Words had +already passed between them, that might have been construed as on his +side a proposal, and on hers an acceptance. He now came in all the +confident expectation of formally closing the engagement by the terms of +a betrothal. + +Frank, loyal, and without thought of trick or deception, he at once +declared his errand. + +The answer went like an arrow through his heart--its poison but little +subdued by the fact of its being conditional. The conditions were "the +consent of mamma." + +Henry Harding could not understand this. She, the imperious belle, who +in his eyes seemed armed with all power and authority, to have her +happiness dependent on the will of a mother, and that mother known to be +at the same time selfish and capricious! It was a rebuff unexpected, +and filled him with forebodings, as to what might be the decision of +Mrs Mainwaring. He was not the man long to endure the agony of doubt; +and at once demanded to see her. + +His wishes were readily complied with; and, in less than five minutes +after, the couch lately graced by the fair, frivolous daughter, was +occupied by the staid, serious mother--the daughter absenting herself +from the interview. + +In the frigid face of the widow Henry Harding read his fate. His +forebodings were confirmed. Mrs Mainwaring was sensible of the honour +he would have conferred by becoming her son-in-law, and deeply thankful +for the offer; but the position in which she and her daughter were +placed made such a union impossible. Mr Harding must know that, by the +sudden death of her late dear husband, she had been left in straitened +circumstances--that Belle would therefore be without fortune; and that +as he, Mr Harding, was in the same position, a union between the two +would not only be impolitic, but absolute insanity. Though poor, her +child had always been accustomed, if not to the luxuries, at least to +the comforts of a home. What would be her condition as the mother of a +family, with a husband struggling to maintain them? Mrs Mainwaring +could not speculate on such a fate for her dear child; and, although Mr +Harding was young, and had the world all before him, he had not been +brought up to any profession promising a maintenance, nor yet to those +habits likely to lead to it. For these reasons she, Mrs Mainwaring, +must firmly, but respectfully, decline the offered alliance. + +Throughout the speech, which partook somewhat of the nature of a +lecture, Henry Harding sat listening in silence, but with astonishment +strongly depicted in his features. This had reached its climax, long +before the last sentence was delivered. + +"Surely, madam," said he, giving vent to his surprise, "you cannot mean +this?" + +"Mean what, Mr Harding?" + +"What you have said of my inability to support a--your daughter. I know +nothing of the struggle you speak of. I admit I have no profession; but +my expectations are not so poor as to make it necessary I should have +one. Half of my father's estate is sufficient to provide against such a +future as you allude to. And there are but two of us to share it." + +"If that be your belief, Mr Harding," rejoined the widow, in the same +cold, relentless tone, in which she had all along been speaking, "I am +sorry to be the first to disabuse you of it. The estate you speak of +will not be so equally divided. Your share in it will be a legacy of a +thousand pounds. Such a trifling sum would not go far towards the +maintenance of an establishment." + +Henry Harding stayed not to answer the last remark, made half +interrogatively. In those that preceded it he had heard enough to +satisfy him, that he had no longer any business in the drawing-room of +Mrs Mainwaring; and hurriedly recovering his hat and cane, he bade her +an abrupt good morning. + +He did not deign to address the same scant courtesy to her daughter. +Between him and Belle Mainwaring was now opened a gulf so wide, that it +could never be bridged over--not even to save him from a broken heart. + +As the rejected lover strode away from the cottage that contained what +he so lately looked upon as his _fiancee_, black clouds came rolling +over the sky, as if to symbolise the black thoughts in his heart. + +In all his youthful life it was the first great shock he had received; a +shock both to soul and body--for in the announcement made by Mrs +Mainwaring there was a blow aimed at both. His love blighted, his +fortune gone--both, as it were, in the same instant! But the bitterest +reflection of all was that the love had gone with the fortune. The loss +of the latter he could have endured; but to think that the sweet +speeches that had been exchanged between him and Belle, the tender +glances, and the soft, secret pressure of hands that more than once had +been mutually imparted--to think that, on her side, all these had been +false, heartless, and hollow, was enough to wound something more than +the self-esteem of a nature noble as was his. He could frame no excuse +for her conduct. He tried, but without success. It was too clear, the +cause of her refusal; too clear were the conditions on which she would +have accepted his love, and had led him to believe in its acceptance. +Her words and acts had been all pretence--the very essence of coquetry. +It was over now, and with a bitter vow he resolved to expel her from his +heart--from his thoughts, if that were possible. It was youth entering +upon a hard struggle; but to a nature like his, and under such +temptation to continue it, there was a chance of success. The woman he +had hitherto looked upon as the type of all that was innocent and +angelic, had proved herself not only capricious, but cunning, selfish, +mean, less deserving of love than contempt. If he could but bear this +impression upon his mind, there would be a hope of his recovering the +heart he had so inconsiderately sacrificed. He registered a mental vow +to do this, and then turned his thoughts towards his father. Against +him he was all anger. He had no doubt the threat had been carried out; +the will had been made that very morning. The minuteness of Mrs +Mainwaring's information, even to the exact amount of his own legacy, +left him no room to question its correctness. How she had obtained it +he neither knew nor cared. She was sharp-witted enough to have placed +herself in communication with his father's solicitor, whom he supposed +to have made the will. But he did not stay to speculate upon this. His +thoughts were all turned upon the testator himself, who by that single +stroke had deprived him at once of his love and his living. + +In the agony of his soul he could not see how his father had befriended +him--how he had saved him from a fate far worse than disinheritance. +His contempt for the cruel coquette was not yet decided enough for this. + +His father's threat had been only conditional. He might look forward to +a chance of the will being revoked. He might not be restored to full +favour. There would be some punishment for his disobedience, which was +as complete as if his suit had succeeded. But such a grand penalty +would scarce be exacted. It was not compatible with the indulgence he +had already experienced. + +A meaner spirit would have reasoned thus. Nigel Harding would have done +so, and sought restoration to the paternal favour he had forfeited. Not +so Henry. His pride had been touched--stung to the quick; and in the +midst of his mortification, with his soul suffering from its thwarted +passion, while pursuing the path homeward he resolved that his father's +house should know him no more. + +And he kept this resolution. On reaching the park-gates, instead of +entering, he walked on to the nearest inn, and thence took a fly to the +nearest railway station. + +In another hour he was in the midst of the great metropolis, with no +thought of ever again returning to the green Chiltern Hills, or the +shire of Buckingham. + + + +CHAPTER TWELVE. + +SELF-EXILED. + +On that same evening, as usual, there were four chairs placed at the +dinner-table of General Harding. One was empty--that which should have +been occupied by his younger son. + +"Where is he?" asked the General, drawing the napkin across his breast. + +Nigel knew not. Of course the maiden aunt could not tell. With her the +scapegrace was not a favourite, and she took no heed of his movements. +The butler was questioned, but did not know where Master Henry had gone. +Nigel could only say he had seen him take the path towards the cottage +of the Mainwarings; and a frown darkened his brow as he imparted the +intelligence. + +"He may have stayed for dinner," added the elder brother; "Mrs +Mainwaring makes him so welcome." + +"She won't after awhile," said the General, with a smile that to some +extent relieved the frown also visible in his face. + +Nigel looked at his father, but forbore asking for an explanation. He +seemed to divine something that gave him relief, for the shadow upon his +brow became sensibly lighter. + +Upon that subject the conversation dropped; nor would it have been +resumed again during dinner, but that before the meal ended a +communication came into the room, through the medium of the butler. It +was in the shape of a note, evidently scrawled in haste, and upon paper +that could only have come from the _escritoire_ of a cottage or a +country inn. From the latter it had issued--the "Hare and Hounds," a +hostelry that stood not far from the gates of General Harding's park, on +the high road to London. There was no postmark--the letter having been +hand-carried. + +Hurried as was the scrawl of the superscription, the General recognised +it as the handwriting of his son Henry. The shadow returned to his +countenance as he tore open the envelope. It grew darker as he +deciphered the contents of the note enclosed therein. They were as +follows:-- + + "Father,-- + + "I say `father,' since I cannot dissimulate my real thoughts by + prefixing the epithet `dear,'--when this reaches you I shall be on the + road to London, and thence heaven knows where; but never more to + return to a house which, by your own decreeing, can no longer be a + home for me. I could have borne my disinheritance, for perhaps I + deserve it; but the consequences to which it has led are too cruel for + me to think of you otherwise than with anger. The deed is now done, + and let that be an end of it. I write to you only to say that, since + by the terms of your will I may some day become the fortunate + recipient of a thousand pounds, perhaps you will have no objection to + pay it to me now, deducting, if you please, the usual interest--which + I believe can be calculated according to the rules of the Insurance + societies. A thousand pounds at your death--which I hope may be far + distant--would scarce be worth waiting for. Now, it would serve my + purpose, since I am determined to go abroad and seek fortune under + some more propitious sky than that which extends over the Chiltern + Hills. But if I do not find the sum at your London lawyer's within + three days, subject to my order, I shall make my way abroad all the + same. I am not likely ever to ask for it again. So, father, you may + choose in this matter, whether to oblige me or not; and perhaps my + kind brother Nigel, whose counsels you are so ready to take, may help + you in determining the choice. + + "Henry Harding." + +The General sprang from his chair, long before he had finished reading +the letter. He had read it by fits and starts, while striding about the +room, and stamping his feet upon the floor, until the glasses jingled +upon the table. + +"My heavens!" he at length ejaculated, "what is the meaning of this?" + +"Of what, dear father?" asked the obsequious Nigel. "You have received +some unpleasant news?" + +"News! news! worse than news!" + +"From whom, may I ask?" + +"From Henry--the scamp--the ungrateful--Here, read this!" + +Nigel took the note and read. "It is indeed an unpleasant +communication; unfeeling of Henry--insulting, I should say. But what +does it all mean?" + +"No matter what it means. Enough for _me_ to know that. Enough to +think that he is gone. I know the boy well. He will keep his word. +He's too like myself about that. Gone! O God--gone!" + +The General groaned as he traversed the Turkey carpet. The maiden aunt +said nothing, but sat by the table, quietly sipping port wine and +munching walnuts. The storm raged on. + +"After all," put in Nigel, with the pretence of tranquillising it, "he +means nothing with this strange talk. He's young--foolish--" + +"Means nothing!" roared the General in a fresh burst of excitement. +"Does it mean nothing to write such a letter as this--in which every +word is a slight to my authority--a defiance?" + +"True enough," said Nigel, "I know not what can have possessed him to +speak as he has done. He's evidently angry about something--something I +don't understand. But he'll get over it in time, though one cannot +forgive him so easily." + +"Never! I will never forgive him. He has tried my temper too often; +but this will be the last time. Disobedience such as his shall be +overlooked no longer--to say nothing of the levity, the positive +defiance, that accompanies it. By my faith, he shall be punished for +it!" + +"In that regard," interposed the unctuous elder son, "since he has +spoken of my giving you advice, it would be to leave him to himself--at +least for a time. Perhaps after he has passed some months without the +extravagant support you have hitherto so generously afforded him, he may +feel less independent, and more prone to penitence. I think the +thousand pounds he speaks of your having promised him, and which I know +nothing about, should be kept back." + +"He shan't have a shilling of it--not till my death." + +"For your sake, dear father, a long time, I hope; and for his, perhaps, +it may be all the better so." + +"Better or worse, he shan't have a shilling of it--not a shilling. Let +him starve till he comes to his senses." + +"The best thing to bring him to his senses," chimed in Nigel; "and take +my word for it, father, it will do that before long--you'll see." + +This counsel seemed to tranquillise the perturbed spirit of the irate +General, at least for a time. He returned to the table and to his port; +over which he sat alone, and to a much later hour than was his usual +custom. The mellow wine may have made him more merciful; but whether it +was this or not, before going to bed he returned to his studio, and +wrote, in a somewhat unsteady hand, a letter to his London lawyer-- +directing the latter to pay to his son Henry, on demand, a cheque for +the sum of 1,000 pounds. + +He despatched the letter by a groom, to be in time for the morning post; +and all this he did with an air of caution, as if he intended to do good +by stealth. But what appears caution to the mind of a man obfuscated +with over a bottle of port, may seem carelessness to those who are +around him. There was one who looked upon it in this light. Nigel knew +all about the writing of the letter, guessed its contents, and was privy +to its despatch for the post. Outside the hall-door it was taken from +the hands of the groom to whom it had been intrusted, and transferred to +the charge of another individual, who was said to be going past the +village post-office. It was Master Nigel who caused the transference to +be made. And from him the new messenger received certain instructions, +in consequence of which the letter never reached its destination. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTEEN. + +LONDON THUGS. + +On arriving in London, Henry Harding put up at a West-end hotel, which +he had allowed his cabman to select, for he knew very little of London +or its life. He had only paid two or three transient visits to it, and +but few of his father's acquaintances resided in the metropolis. Upon +these he did not think of calling. He supposed that the affair with his +father might have become known to them--perhaps his rejection by Belle +Mainwaring--and he had resolved upon keeping out of sight, to avoid the +necessity of concealing his chagrin. Henry Harding had a proud spirit, +and could neither have brooked ridicule nor accepted sympathy. For this +reason, instead of hunting out any old college acquaintances he might +have found in London, he rather avoided the chances of meeting them. + +Besides the note written to his father, he had addressed one to the +footman, simply directing this individual to pack up his clothes, guns, +canes, and other impedimenta, and send them on to Paddington station, +"till called for." This was done; and the luggage, in due time, arrived +at the hotel where he was staying. Some eight or ten pounds of loose +money, that chanced to be in his pocket on leaving home, was all the +cash he commanded; and this was out of his pocket before he had been +half that number of days in London. + +For the first time in his life he began to find what an inconvenient +thing it is to be without cash, especially in the streets of a large +city--though he yet only knew it as an inconvenience. He expected his +father would accede to the request he had made, and send an order for +the payment of the thousand pounds. To allow time for the transaction, +he kept away from the solicitor's office for nearly a week. He then +called to make the inquiry. It was simply whether any communication +relating to him had been received from his father. In case there had +been none, he did not wish the lawyer to be any wiser about the affair. +None had been--not any. This was the answer given him. + +In three days he called again, and reiterated his former inquiry almost +word for word. Almost word for word was the answer he had--not from the +solicitor himself, but the head clerk of his office. General Harding +had written no letter lately to Messrs Lawson and Son (the name of the +firm), either in reference to him or any other matter. "He's not going, +to send it," bitterly soliloquised Henry as he left the solicitor's +office. "I suppose I'm not punished enough--so he thinks, with my +precious brother to back him. Well, he can keep it. I shall never ask +another shilling from him, if I have to starve." + +There is a sort of pleasure in this self-abnegation--at least, during +the incipient stages of it. But it is a pleasure traceable rather to +revenge than virtue, and often dies out before the passion that has +given it birth. + +With Henry Harding it was not so short-lived. His spirit had been +sorely chafed by the treatment he had received both from his sweetheart +and his father. He could not separate them in his mind; and his +resentment, directed against both, was strong enough to lead him to +almost any resolution. He formed that of not going back to the office +of the solicitor, and he kept it. It cost him a struggle, to which, +perhaps, a less proud spirit would have yielded, for he was soon +suffering from want of cash. His spendthrift life had suddenly come to +an end, since he had no means of continuing it; and he was forced to the +reflection how he could find the means of a mere living. He had changed +his quarters to a cheaper hotel, but even this would require cash to pay +for it, so that his circumstances were approaching desperation. What +was he to do? Enlist in the army? Offer himself on board a merchant +ship? Drive a cab? Carry a sandwich? Or sweep a crossing? None of +these occupations were exactly suited to his taste. Better than any or +all of them--go abroad. There, if it come to the worst, he could try +one or the other. + +But there were other chances to be found abroad; and abroad he +determined upon going. Fortunately he had sufficient left to carry him +across the sea, even the great Atlantic Ocean; for, if his coin had been +all spent, he had still something in the shape of a valuable watch, +pins, rings, and other _bijouterie_, that could be converted into +currency. These would yield enough to pay his passage to any part of +the New World--for he intended going there, or to some distant land, far +away from his father and Belle Mainwaring. + +He had converted his chattels into cash--a thing that can be done in +London in an incredibly short space of time, if we are not particular +about the price. He had made a visit to the West India Docks, for the +purpose of inspecting an advertised ship, and was returning home not +over-satisfied either with himself or his fortunes. The berth offered +him was shabby, and not cheap, and he had hesitated about accepting it. +He had gone afterwards to Greenwich Park--the Elysian fields of the +humble excursionist--and there, of course, partaken of tea and shrimps. +It was nearly twelve at night as he dismounted from the knife-board of a +Holborn 'bus, and turned down Little Queen Street on the way to his +quarters in Essex Street, Strand. He had taken a Paddington omnibus as +the only one plying westward at that late hour. + +As he stepped into the little street his eye fell upon an oyster-shop, +usually open to the latest hours of the night, and some of the earliest +of the morning. Not satisfied with the Greenwich diet of tea and +shrimps--long since digested--he entered the oyster-shop, and gave an +order for a dozen of those delicious bivalves to be opened for him. +There was another guest standing before the bar--a young man who having +gone in before him, had given a similar order, and was already engaged +in swallowing the shell-fish. + +With the appearance of this young man Henry Harding was strangely +impressed. He was handsome, of a complexion almost olive, dark curling +hair, a full round eye, and an aquiline nose--features that at once +proclaimed him a foreigner. The few words to which he gave utterance +confirmed it. They were spoken in very imperfect English, with an +accent which appeared to be Italian. Notwithstanding a somewhat +threadbare suit of clothes, his bearing told either of birth or +breeding; in short, one could not have made much of a mistake in +supposing him to have been brought up a gentleman. + +If Henry Harding had been asked why the young man interested him, he, +perhaps, could not have told. But it was his well-bred air, coupled +with garments that scarce corresponded; and, above all, the idea that he +was looking upon a stranger in a strange land, alone, perhaps +friendless--a foreshadowing of his own future. These were the thoughts +passing in his mind, which at the moment made him look with a friendly +eye upon his fellow oyster-eater at the bar. + +He was in the mood to have addressed him; but a certain air of +seriousness in the young man's countenance, coupled with the fact of his +speaking English so imperfectly, with a fear that the intrusion might be +mistaken, hindered the young ex-squire of the Chilterns from taking this +liberty. + +The other merely glanced at him, and noticing an aristocratic face, with +a Bond Street style of dress, supposed, no doubt, that he was standing +beside some "swell," who had stepped out of the Casino close by. Such a +character would be no company for him; and with this reflection he +finished his oysters, paid for them over the counter, and passed out +into the street. + +The young Englishman saw him depart with a reflection just bordering on +pain. There was a face that had strangely interested him. It was not +likely in the great world of London he would ever see it again. +Besides, he would soon himself be beyond the confines of that world, +still further lessening the chances of a re-encounter. With this +thought he dismissed the stranger from his mind, paid the reckoning at +the oyster-bar, and made a fresh start for his lodgings in the Strand. + +He had cleared Little Queen Street, and entered the sister street of +similar name. The night was a dark one, and not a soul was to be seen +or met: for he was now outside the meretricious circle of which at that +hour the Holborn Casino is the centre. + +He had turned his face towards Lincoln's Inn Fields, as along the +western edge of this square was the shortest route to Essex Street. The +ponderous arch was before him, and he was proceeding quietly towards it, +when, under the long, low passage, dimly lit, he perceived what appeared +to be the figures of three men. One of them was apparently tipsy, the +other two taking care of him. + +He didn't much relish squeezing past this group; but there was no help +for it, so he kept on. When close up to them he saw that the drunken +man was absolutely helpless, his legs refusing to do him the slightest +service, and he was only prevented from sinking down on the pavement by +the support of his companions, one on each side of him. They halted +under the shadow of the archway, and did not show any signs of moving +onward. Perhaps they had had a long walk since leaving their "public," +and wanted a little rest. That was no business of Henry Harding's, and +he was quite contented to pass on without interfering--the more so as +the countenance of one of the sober parties of the trio, turned for a +moment towards him as he came up, clearly counselled the shunning of its +owner. + +He was passing on, and had already got beyond the group, when curiosity +prompted him to glance back. The face of a man so helplessly +intoxicated as the one supported between the other two could not be +other than a curious spectacle. + +Henry Harding looked upon it. There was a lamplight near that enabled +him to do so, and further to distinguish the countenance of the +inebriate. It was not without an exclamation of surprise that he +recognised the features which had so strangely interested him--those of +the stranger late seen in the oyster-shop! + +"What's this?" he exclaimed, suddenly turning upon his heel, and facing +the trio. "This gentleman drunk?" + +"Drunk as Bacchis!" answered one of the men. "We're tryin' to get 'im +home, an' ha' been at it for the best part o' an hour." + +"Indeed!" + +"Yis, sir. He's had a drop too much, as ye see. He's a friend of ours, +and we don't want the perlice to take him to the station." + +"Of course you don't," said the young sprig of Beechwood Park, now fully +comprehending the case. "Well, that's kind of you both, but, as I am +also a friend of this gentleman, you had better leave him in my charge, +and save yourselves any farther trouble. Do you agree to it?" + +"Agree be blowed! What do you mean?" + +"This!" shouted Henry, who could no longer restrain his indignation. +"This!" he repeated, delivering a blow of his stout Buckinghamshire +stick upon the head of one of the supporters--"and this!" he cried +thrice in rapid succession, as the stick descended on the skull of the +second scoundrel, and all three, garrotters and garrotted, sank together +upon the pavement. + +By the merest accident in the world, a policeman appeared upon the spot. +In Lincoln's Inn Fields there are no area safes, and a great scarcity +of rabbit-pie. As a consequence, the guardians of the night may be seen +occasionally upon their beat; and, as good-luck would have it, one, +sauntering along Great Queen Street, heard the scuffle in the archway, +and hastened towards the spot. + +He came up in time to assist Henry Harding in securing the two +garrotters, and stripping them of the spoils they had taken from the +person of the stranger, of which they had already possessed themselves. +All went together to the police-station, the stranger having by this +time partially recovered from his intoxication--_of chloroform_--whence, +in a cab, he was taken by Henry Harding to his own lodgings, and left +there--with a promise on the part of his rescuer to return to him on the +following day. + + + +CHAPTER FOURTEEN. + +TURNED ARTIST. + +A slight incident--the dropping of a pin, or the turning of a straw--may +affect the whole current of a man's life. There may be a fixed fate: +but if so, it often seems to be brought about, or depend upon, +circumstances purely accidental. Had Henry Harding not gone home by +Holborn Bars; had he not got down at the corner of Little Queen Street; +had he not taken a fancy for shell-fish; had he not that day done a +hundred other things, all of which may have indirectly conducted to the +encounter described;--his after life might have been as different from +what is to be chronicled, as if it were that of some other man. + +In a week from that time he might have been on his way to the West +Indies, or some part of the great American continent, perhaps never to +come back; whereas in a week from that time he was sitting in a studio, +with a palette on his left thumb, a brush in his right hand, and an +easel in front of him, while the classic blouse of brown holland and the +embroidered smoking-cap told that he had turned artist. + +The change in his life's programme can be easily explained. The +gentleman he had rescued from the garrotters had become his patron; and, +listening to the counsels of the young Italian artist--for such was he-- +he had himself taken to painting as a means of procuring his livelihood. +Nor was it such a despairing adventure. He had already displayed taste +in his school-drawings, and was, moreover, gifted with that aptitude for +the art that usually leads to success. Almost from the first day spent +in the studio he was enabled to produce sketches that could be sold; and +these were followed by those "furniture pictures" which have given not +only practice but material support to many a struggling artist +afterwards eminent in his profession, and who otherwise might never have +been heard of. + +The young Italian painter--Luigi Torreani by name--was himself but a +beginner; but with that talent both of conception and execution, which +distinguishes the countrymen of Titian, he was rapidly rising in his +profession. He had got beyond the point of painting for mere bread, and +was receiving a price for his pictures that promised something more than +a subsistence. + +It was upon the strength of his own success that he had given counsel to +his new acquaintance. He had done so, after ascertaining something of +the situation and prospects of the strong, gallant youth who had done +him such an essential service. Henry at the time had told him but +little of his antecedents. This was not needed to a mind generous as +that of Luigi Torreani, and a heart at the same time touched with a +sense of gratitude. On discovering the young Englishman's project of +self-banishment from his native land, he combated the idea with his +counsel, and proposed, in the event of his abandoning it, to instruct +him in his own art. In fine, his proposal was accepted, and Henry +Harding adopted the profession of painter. + +From acquaintances thus strangely introduced to each other, the two +young men, not greatly differing in years, became fast friends, sharing +apartments, table, studio together, and for many months the friendly +association was continued. It was interrupted only by the advice of +Luigi, who, deeply interested in the success of his brother artist, +became desirous that the latter should spend some time in Rome, to +perfect himself in his art by contemplating those classic forms so +plentiful in the ancient metropolis of the world. For himself, the +young Italian needed no such suggestive models. A Roman by birth, he +had commenced his studies in their midst, and had ended by transferring +his practice to that metropolis where the painting of them was sure to +be best paid for. The education of his pupil, then, was to be the +reverse of his own. The young English gentleman accepted the advice, +less from any profound love of his art or ambition to excel in it, than +from a longing, such as most youths feel, to look upon Italy. Italy! +the classic land of our school-boy exercises! the land of bright skies +and soft summer scenes! the land of Tasso, of Ariosto, Byron, Boccaccio, +and the brigands! Who does not desire to behold such a country, +classically poetical in its past, romantically picturesque in its +present, and, it is hoped, to be free and prosperous in its future? + +Henry Harding longed to look upon this land; and mingled with his +longings was a hope he might there find _Lethe_, or at least some solace +for his spirit, still suffering sorely from the cruel treatment he had +received--from a double disappointment to his affection and his love. +So long as he remained in England amid its _souvenirs_ and scenes, these +sad memories would ever remain fresh. Perhaps in a foreign land, with +strange objects under his eye, strange voices sounding in his ear, he +might be enabled to realise the truth of the oft-quoted adage, "Absence +conquers love." + + + +CHAPTER FIFTEEN. + +A SKETCHER SURPRISED. + +On the road to Rome, leading out into the Campagna, a young man might +have been seen wending his way towards the hill country where shoot down +the spurs of the Apennines. At a glance he was not an Italian. A fine +open face, with cheeks of ruddy hue, curls caressing them, of a rich +auburn colour; but, above all, a frame of strong, almost herculean, +build, borne forward by a free unfettered step, pronounced a son of the +north--a Saxon! A portfolio under his arm, a palette carried in his +left hand alongside, some half-dozen camel's-brushes, clearly proclaimed +his profession--a painter in search of a subject. + +There was nothing in all this to attract the attention of those he met +or passed upon the route--neither the personal appearance of the painter +nor the paraphernalia that declared his calling. An artist on the roads +around Rome is an entity that may be often encountered--though perhaps +not so often as a bandit. + +If any one took notice of the individual in question, it was merely to +remark that he was a stranger--_un Inglese_--and perhaps wonder why he +was trudging out towards the hills, while he might be enjoying himself +ten times better in the cabarets and inns of the Eternal City. + +That the artist in question was "_Inglese_," no one who saw him doubted; +nor will the reader, when told that he was no other than Henry Harding. + +Why he was upon a Roman instead of an English road is already known. +Flung upon his own resources in the great city of London--too proud to +return to his father's home, stung by what he fancied to have been a +refusal to his last request--he had, under the tutelage of his Italian +friend, now taken to painting as his profession. He had not stained +canvas without some success--enough to justify him in following the +advice of Luigi Torreani, and completing his studies under the bright +skies of Italy, and amid the classic scenes of the seven-hilled city. +Thither had he found his way, with no other support than the precarious +earnings of his pencil. This was fully evidenced by his threadbare coat +and chafed _chaussure_, as he trudged afoot along the dusty road of the +Romagna. + +Whither was he going? He was far enough out to have almost lost sight +of the Eternal City, and those classic monuments that only give proof of +its decay. These, one would think, should have been the objects of his +study--the subjects upon which to perfect it. And so they had been. He +had painted them one after another--portal and palace, sculptured figure +and fresco, Capitol and Coliseum--till his head was tired with such art +delineation; and he was now on his way to the hills, to drink from the +pure fountain of Nature--to fling rock and stream and tree upon the +canvas, under the light of an Italian sun, and the canopy of an azure +sky. + +It was his first journey to the Campagna; he was going without a guide, +only inquiring now and then for Valdiorno, a small mountain town lying +near the Neapolitan frontier. To the "_sindico_" of this place he +carried a letter of introduction, obtained from his son, who was the +young Italian artist he had left behind him in London. But the chief +object of this country excursion was to find some scene _paintable_, and +worthy of being painted. + +He had not made many miles along his route before he was tempted to +stop, and this more than once. Every turn of the road presented him +with a landscape; every peasant would have made a picture. He resisted +these allurements with the thought, that these landscapes, so near to +the city, might all have been sketched before; while the peasants could +be caught at any time, in the streets of Rome itself, and there painted +in all their picturesqueness. + +On towards some shaggy hills he saw looming out in the distance; and on +went he, until near the close of the day he found himself toiling up a +steep ravine, whose every turn gave him a tableau worthy of being +transferred to canvas, framed, and conspicuously suspended against the +walls of the Royal Academy. + +After a slight repast drawn from his wallet, and a smoke from his +meerschaum pipe, he set about painting a scene, he had at length +selected. He fought against the fatigue of his journey, for the sake of +catching a magnificent mellow sunset that had welcomed his approach to +the place. He had no need to add to the "composition" of his picture. +Rocks, trees, cliffs, torrents foaming over them, points of _chiaro_ and +_oscuro_, abruptly contrasted--all were under his eye. If there was +aught wanting to give life to the landscape, it was only a few figures-- +animal or human--and these he could fill in according to his fancy. + +"Ah," he reflected aloud, "just the scene for a band of brigands. I'd +give something to have a half-dozen of them in the foreground. I could +then make a picture of these fantastic Turpins drawn from real life--a +thing, I take it, which has never been done before. That would be +something to hang up in the Royal Academy--something worth wasting +colour and canvas on. I'd give--" + +"How much?" answered a voice that seemed to issue out of the rocks +behind him. "How much would you give, Master Painter, for that you +speak o'? If you bid high enough, I dare say I mout find the means o' +accommodatin' you." + +Along with the voice came the footsteps of a man--not in soft, stealthy +tread, as of one approaching unawares, but with a quick thump, as the +man himself dropped down from a rock above upon the little platform +where the artist had planted his sticks. The latter looked up, at first +in surprise, then rather in pleased admiration. He was thinking only of +his art, and before him stood the very model of his imagination--a man +clad in a complete suit of plush and coloured velvet, breeched, +bandaged, and belted, with a plumed hat upon his head, and a short +carbine across his arms--in costume and caparison the beau-ideal of a +brigand. Two things alone hindered him from appearing the true heroic +type of stage representation, such as we are accustomed to see in +"Mazzaroni" and the "Devil's Brother." There was a broad Saxon face, +and a tongue unmistakably from the shire of Somerset. Both were so +marked, that but for the velveteen knee-breeches, the waist-belt, the +elaborately buttoned vest, and the plumed hat upon his head, Henry +Harding might have thought himself at home, and in the presence of a man +he had met before. + +Ere the young artist had sufficiently recovered from his surprise to +respond to the unexpected salutation, the picturesque stranger +continued-- + +"Want to paint brigands, do ye? Well, there's a chance for ye now. The +band's close by. Jess wait a bit; I'll call 'em down. Hey, there, +captin!" he cried, changing his English to Italian, "ye may come on. +It's only one o' them poor devils o' daubers from the city. He wants to +take our likenesses. I s'pose you've no objection to his doin' it?" + +Before the painter could make response, or remove his paraphernalia out +of the way, the ledge he had selected for his "point of view" was +crowded with figures--one and all of them so picturesquely attired, that +had they stood in the Corso, or elsewhere within police protection, he +would have been only too delighted to have painted them with the most +Pre-Raphaelitish detail. As it was, all thoughts of art were chased out +of his mind. He saw that he was encircled by banditti! + +To attempt to retreat was out of the question. They were above, below, +on all sides of him. Even had he been swifter than any of the gang, +their carbines were slung handy _en bandouliere_; and a volley from +these would certainly have checked his flight. There was no alternative +but to resign himself to his fate--which was now to be made a captive. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTEEN. + +EMPTY POCKETS. + +If he who had surprised the painter at his task did not present the +exact classic type of the stage bandit, there was one upon the ground +who did. This man stood a little in advance of the others with that +easy air that betokened authority. There was no mistaking his position. +He was the chief. His dress did not differ, in cut or fashion, so +materially from that of his followers; it was only more costly in the +material. Where their breeches were velveteen, his was of the finest +silk velvet. Besides, there was a glitter about his arms and a sparkle +on the clasp which held the plume in his Calabrian hat that bespoke real +jewellery. His face, moreover, was not of the common cast; it was of +the true Roman type, the nose and chin of exceeding prominence, with a +broad oval jaw-bone indicative of determination. He might have been +deemed handsome but for an expression of ferocity--animal, almost +brutal--that gleamed and sparkled in his coal-black eyes. If not +handsome, he was sufficiently striking, and Henry Harding might have +fancied himself confronted by the renowned Fra Diavolo. Had he stepped +from behind the proscenium of the scenic stage, or come bounding from a +"back flat," the Transpontine spectators would have hailed him as the +hero they had come to the theatre to see. + +For some seconds there was silence. The first spokesman had slunk into +the rear of the band; and all stood waiting for the chief to commence +speech or action. The latter stood looking at the young artist, +scanning him from head to foot. The scrutiny seemed to give him no +great pleasure. There was not much booty to be expected in the pockets +of such a threadbare coat; and a grin passed over his dark features as +he pronounced, in a contemptuous tone, the word-- + +"_Artista_?" + +"_Si, Signore_," replied the artist, with as much _sang froid_ as if he +had been answering an ordinary question. "At your service, if you wish +to sit or stand for your portrait." + +"Portrait? Bah! What care I for your chalks and ochres, signor +painter? Better if you'd been a pedlar with a good fat pack. That's +the sort of toys for such as we. You're from the _cittada_? What's +brought you up here?" + +"My legs," replied the young Englishman, thinking that a bold front +might be best under the circumstances. + +"_Cospetto_! I can tell that without asking. Such boots as yours don't +look much like the stirrup. But come, declare yourself. What have you +got in your pockets; a scudi or two, I suppose. How much, signore?" + +"Three scudi." + +"Hand them over." + +"Here they are--you are welcome to them." + +The brigand took the three coins, with as much nonchalance as if he had +been receiving them in liquidation for some service rendered. + +"This all?" he asked, again surveying the artist from head to foot. + +"All I have got upon me." + +"But you have more in the _cittada_?" + +"A little more." + +"How much?" + +"About four score scudi." + +"_Corpo di Bacco_! a good sum; where is it lying?" + +"At my lodgings." + +"Your landlord can lay hands upon it?" + +"He can by breaking open my box." + +"Good! now write out an order giving him authority to break open the box +and send you the money. Some paper, Giovanni. Your ink-horn, Giacomo. +Here, signor _artista_, write." + +Seeing that it would be useless to make objection, the artist consented. + +"Stay!" cried the brigand, arresting his pen; "you have something +besides money at your lodgings? You Ingleses always carry about a stock +of loose property. I include them in the requisition." + +"There is not much to include. Another suit of clothes, but a trifle +better than these you see on my back. A score or two of sketches-- +half-finished paintings--which you wouldn't value even if the last touch +had been given them." + +"Ha, ha!" laughed the brigand, his comrades joining in the laugh. +"You're a good judge of character, signor _artista_. You can keep your +sketches and your spare suit too, neither of which commodities would be +likely to suit our market. Write, then, for the scudi." + +Again the artist was about to use the pen. + +"Hold!" once more exclaimed the bandit. "You have friends in the +_cittada_. What a mistake I was making not to think of them! They can +give something towards your ransom." + +"I have not a friend in Rome; at least not one who would pay five scudi +to rescue me from a rope." + +"Bah! you are jesting, signore." + +"I am speaking the simple truth." + +"If that be so," said the brigand, who seemed to melt a little at +mention of the rope, "If that be so," he added reflectingly, "then--ah, +we shall see. Hark you, signor painter, if what you say be true, you +may sleep in your own lodgings to-night. If false, you will spend your +night here in the hills, and perhaps minus your ears, you understand +me!" + +"I should be dull not to do so." + +"_Buono--buono_! And now one word of warning. Let there be no trickery +in what you write--no deception in what you say. The messenger who +carries your letter to the _cittada_ will learn all about you--even to +the quality of your spare suit and the value of your pictures. If you +have friends he will find them out. If not, he will know it. And, by +the Virgin, if it turn out that you are playing with us, your ears shall +answer for it!" + +"So be it. I accept the conditions." + +"Enough! Write on." + +As dictated, the requisition was written. The sheet of paper was +folded, sealed with a piece of pitch, and directed to the landlord of +the lodgings in which the English artist had set up his studio. + +A man, in the garb of a peasant of the Campagna, was selected from the +band; and, charged with the strange missive, at once despatched along +the road that led towards the Eternal City. + +After kicking down the temporary easel which our artist had erected, and +pitching his slight sketch into the torrent below, the brigands +commenced their march up the mountain--their captive keeping them +company, with no very pleasant anticipation in regard to the treatment +that might be in store for him. + + + +CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. + +AN UNLUCKY RECOGNITION. + +You are astonished at the young Englishman taking things so coolly? To +be captured by Italian bandits, famed for their ferocity, is not a +trifling affair. And yet so Henry Harding seemed to consider it. + +The explanation is simple, and easily intelligible. At any other period +he might not only have chafed at his captivity, but felt fear for the +consequences. Just then he was suffering from two other sorrows, that +made this seem light--to be scarcely considered at all. His +disinheritance by his father was still fresh in his mind--still bitter; +but far more bitter the rejection by his sweetheart. + +Tortured by these cruel memories of the past, he recked less of what +befell him either in the present or the future. There was even a time +when he would have courted such a distraction--during the first few +weeks after his departure from home. Twelve months had since elapsed, +and close application to his art had to some extent consoled him. +Perhaps absence had done more than art--of which he was by no means +passionately fond; for he was not one of the thorough enthusiasts who +prate about the divine inspiration of painters. Chance alone had guided +him to this profession, as the only means he could devise for earning +his daily bread--chance, partly directed by taste, and partly by some +previous study of his school-days. So far it had served his purpose, +and, enabling him to visit Rome, he had there imbibed a certain ambition +to excel in it--enough to soften, though not obliterate, the memory of +his misfortunes. This was still keen enough to make him reckless of +what might turn up; hence his cool demeanour in the presence of the +bandits, at which you may have felt surprise. + +Up the mountains they marched him, by one of those execrable roads +common in the Papal States, kept, no doubt, in better condition in the +time of the Caesars than at the present day. + +He speculated but little on whither he was being taken. Of course to +some forest lair, some mountain cavern, used as a bandits' den. He was +not without curiosity to see such a place; and perhaps it was passing +through his thoughts, that at some future day he might avail himself of +his present experience to paint a bivouac of brigands from real life. + +He was very much surprised when a good-sized village came in sight; +still more so on seeing the bandits march boldly into it; but his +surprise became astonishment when he saw them unsling their carbines, +rest them against the walls of the houses, and make other preparations +denoting their intention to pass the night in the place! + +The villagers appeared to have little dread of them. On the contrary, +many of the men joined them in their wine-drinking, while some of the +women rather encouraged than resented their rude sallies. Even the +long-robed priest of the village passed to and fro amongst them, +distributing crosses and benedictions; for all of which the brigands +paid him in coin, that had no doubt been taken from the pockets of some +unfortunate traveller--perhaps one of his own sacred cloth! + +It certainly was a scene of sufficient originality to interest the eyes +of a stranger, that stranger an artist; and the young Englishman, as he +gazed upon it, for a time forgot that he was a captive. Of this he was +reminded as night drew near. Hitherto his captors had not even taken +the precaution to tie him. His frank acceptance of the situation, with +his apparent indifference to it, had led the chief to think lightly +about his making an attempt to escape. Besides, it could not much +matter. Before he could reach Rome the sham peasant would have been to +his lodgings and rifled the chest of its contents. The scudi would, at +all events, be safe; and beyond these the brigand had formed no very +sanguine expectations. It was not likely there were rich friends, or +any chance of a ransom. The well-worn wardrobe of the painter spoke +against such an hypothesis. + +Rather in obedience to habit and usage, than for any other reason, did +his captors determine to tie him up for the night; and just as the sun +was sinking into the Tyrrhenian sea, two men were seen approaching the +place where he had been left, provided with a rope for this purpose. In +one of these he recognised the man who had first saluted him on the +platform. He had not forgotten the conversation that had passed between +them, nor the tongue in which it had been carried on. That being +English, the bandit himself must be an Englishman, as was also evident +from his bright skin, hay-coloured hair, and broad blank face, so unlike +the sharp-featured, dark-visaged gentry who surrounded him. + +Though at first not a little astonished at encountering a countryman in +such a place, and especially in such showy guise, so different from the +dull smock-frock the man had once evidently worn, he had ceased for a +time to think of him. Since their first meeting he had not come in +contact with him. The fellow appeared to be amongst the least +considered of the band, only permitted prominence when called up by his +chief, and since the capture his services had not been required. He was +just such a man as one could hardly see without thinking of rope; and +armed with a coil of this, he now approached to execute the order of the +"captin." So said he as he stopped in front of the prisoner, and +commenced uncoiling the cord. + +It was the first time Henry Harding had been threatened with the +degradation of being bound. To an Englishman, these is something +disagreeable in the very idea of it; but to a young gentleman lately the +presumed heir to 50,000 pounds, and who had never known a more irksome +restriction than the statutes of Eton and Oxford, there was something +repulsive in the prospect. At first he indignantly refused to submit to +his wrists being corded, protesting that there was no need for it. He +had no intention of attempting to escape. He would stay with the +brigands till morning, or the morning after that--any time till the +messenger returned. Besides, they had promised him liberty, on +conditions that would be kept on his side, and he hoped on theirs. + +His remonstrances were in vain. + +"Damn conditions," roughly replied the man occupied in getting ready the +rope; "we know nothin' 'bout them. Our business is to bind ye; them's +the orders of the captin." + +And so saying, he proceeded to carry them out. + +It looked hopeless enough; but still there might be a chance in an +appeal to the feelings of a countryman. The captive determined on +making trial of it. + +"You are an Englishman?" he said in his most conciliatory tone. + +"I've beed one," gruffly answered the bandit. + +"I hope you still are." + +"I'deed, do ye? What matters that to you?" + +"I am one myself." + +"Who the devil says you ain't? D'ye take me for a fool not to see it in +yer face, and hear it in the cursed lingo that I'd hope never to lissen +to again?" + +"Come, my good fellow; it's not often that an Englishman--" + +"Stash yer palaver, dang yer! an' don't `good fellow' me! Spread yer +wrists now, an' get 'em ready for the rope. Just because you're English +I'll tie 'em all the tighter--daang me if I don't!" + +Perceiving that remonstrance was thrown away upon the renegade ruffian, +and that resistance would only lead to ill-treatment, the young +Englishman extended his hands to be tied. The bandit seized hold of him +by both wrists, and commenced twisting them so as to turn them back to +back. The moment his eyes rested on the left hand--upon the little +finger showing a red longitudinal scar--he dropped both as if they had +been bars of hot iron, at the same time starting backwards with a cry. +It was a cry that betokened recognition, mingled with malignant joy! + +The surprise which this occasioned to the captive was followed by +another springing from a different cause. He, too, had effected a +recognition. In the brutal brigand before him, he identified the +ex-gamekeeper, poacher, and murderer--Doggy Dick! + +"Ho! ho!" cried the latter, dancing over the ground like one who had +gone frantic from receiving news of some unexpected fortune. "Ho! ho! +You it be, Muster Henry Hardin'! Who would 'a expected to find you here +among the mountains o' Italy i'stead o' the Chiltern Hills, where ye +were so snug an' comfortable! An' wi' such a poor coat upon yer back! +Why, what ha' become o' the old General, an' his big property--the park, +the farms, the woods, the covers, and the pheasants? Ah! the pheasants! +You remember them, don't ye? And so do I too. So do Doggy Dick-- +daangd well!" + +As the renegade said this, a grin of diabolical significance made itself +perceptible on his otherwise inexpressive features. Henry Harding +perceived it, but made no remark. He knew that words would be of no +use. + +"I dar' say Nigel, that sweet half-brother o' yours, has got 'em all-- +the park, and the farms, and the woods, and the covers, and the +pheasants. Ah! and I'd take my affedavy o' 't he's got that showy gal-- +she you were so sweet upon, Muster Henry. She warn't likely to cotton +to a man wi' such a coat on his back as you have on yourn. Why, it look +like it had come out o' a pawn-shop!" + +By this time the blood of the Hardings had got up to boiling point. +Despite his stupidity, Doggy Dick perceived it. He saw that he had gone +too far in his provocation, and regretted having done so, before making +fast the hands of him he had provoked. He would have retreated, but it +was too late. Before he could turn, Henry Harding's left hand was upon +his throat, the scarred finger pressing upon his larynx, and with the +right he received a blow on his skull that felled him to the ground, +like an ox under the stroke of a pole-axe. + +In an instant the young Englishman was surrounded by the bandits and +their wine-bibbing associates. Half-a-score flung themselves +simultaneously upon him. He was soon overpowered, bound hand and foot, +and then beaten in his bonds--some of the village damsels clapping their +hands, and by their cries applauding the conquest of brute strength over +injured innocence. + + + +CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. + +A SYMPATHISER. + +There was one who witnessed the scene with a sympathising heart. It is +almost superfluous to say that it was a woman; for no man in that +community would have dared to take side against the brigands. While in +it, these ruffians were complete masters of the place, and out of it +their authority was little less. Their den was not distant, and on any +day they could descend upon the unprotected town, and vent it with the +torch of destruction. + +The woman who sympathised with the young Englishman was still only a +girl; and although a daughter of the _sindico_, or chief magistrate, of +the place, she could do nothing to rescue him from his persecutors. +Even the intermittent authority exercised by her father would have been +unavailing; and her sympathy for the stranger only existed in the secret +recesses of her heart. + +Standing in a balcony of what appeared the best house in the village, +she presented a picture that may be seen only in a town of the Roman +Campagna--a combination of those antique classic graces which we +associate with the days of Lucretia. Beauty of the most striking type, +innocence of aspect that betokened the most perfect purity, and below, a +street crowded with striding Tarquins! + +She looked like a solitary lamb in the midst of a conglomeration of +wolves, feebly shepherded by her father and the village priest--by the +Law and the Church, both on the last legs of a decadent authority. + +It was a singular picture to contemplate; nor had it escaped the notice +of the young Englishman. + +The girl had been observed in the balcony ever since his arrival; and as +her position was not very far from the place where the brigands had +permitted him to take a seat, he had a fair view of her, and could note +her every action. He could see that she was not accosted like the +commoner maidens of the village; but, for all this, bold glances were +occasionally given to her, and brutal jests uttered within her hearing. +She had looked towards the captive, and he at her, until more than once +their eyes had met; and he fancied that in hers he could read signs of a +sympathetic nature. It may have been but pity for his forlorn +situation, but it was pity that expressed itself in a most pleasing way. + +While gazing on that dark Italian girl, he thought of Belle Mainwaring; +but never, during the whole period of his self-exile, had he thought of +her with less pain. As he continued to gaze he felt a strange solace +stealing over his thoughts, and which he could only account for by the +humiliation caused by his captivity--by a sorrow of the present +expelling a sorrow of the past. Something whispered him that the relief +might be more than temporary, he could not tell why. He only knew, or +thought, that if he could be permitted to look long enough into the eyes +of that Roman maiden he might think of Belle Mainwaring with a calmer +spirit--perhaps forget her altogether. In that hour of imprisonment he +was happier than he had been for the past twelve months of free, +unfettered life. From the contemplation of that fair form, posed in the +balcony above him, he had, in one hour, drawn more inspiration than from +all the statues seen in the Eternal City. + +One thing interfered with his newly-sprung happiness. He observed that +the girl only looked upon him with glances of stealth; that the moment +their eyes met, hers were quickly withdrawn. This might have gratified +him all the more, but that he had discovered the cause. He saw that she +was under surveillance. Had it been her father who was watching her +there would have been nothing to cause him pain. But it was not. The +eyes that seemed so vigilantly bent upon, her were those of the bandit +chief; who, wine-cup in hand, sat outside the little inn, with his face +constantly turned towards the house of the _sindico_. + +The young girl seemed uneasy under his glances, and at length retired +from the balcony. She came out again at the noise caused by the binding +of the captive. + +In the midst of the _melee_ Henry Harding had his eyes upon her even +after he was bound and beaten. He bore all this the better from the +glances she gave him. They seemed to say-- + +"I would spring down into the street and rush to your rescue, but my +doing so might be the sealing of your doom." + +So construed he the expression upon her face--a construction that +imparted pleasure, but was also accompanied by a painful reflection. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +The shadows of night descended over the town. There were no street +lamps, and the graceful shape in the balcony, gradually blending with +the gloom, became lost to Henry Harding's eyes. The bandits had entered +the inn, where they were joined by the more _bizarre_ of the village +belles. Soon came forth the sound of stringed instruments, the violin +and the mandolin, mingled with the treading and shuffling of feet. +Occasionally loud talking could be heard, along with the clinking of +cups; then came cursing and quarrels, one of which terminated in a +street-fight and the shedding of blood. + +All this the young Englishman heard or saw from the place where he had +been left bound--outside the open window of the inn. He was not there +alone. Two bandits stood sentry over him, watching him with a vigilance +in strange contrast with the negligence before displayed. The captive +took note of this change in the behaviour of the brigands towards him. +Still more when the chief, staggering past at a late hour, addressed +some words to the two men who had him in charge. He could hear what was +said. It was in the form of an injunction, terminating in a threat to +the effect, that if he, the prisoner, should not be forthcoming the next +day, they, the sentries, might expect punishment of the severest kind-- +in short, they would be shot. So hiccuped out their intoxicated chief, +as he went reeling away in company of one of the flaunting belles who +had taken part in the bandits' ball. + +That it was no empty threat made under the influence of drink became +evident to the captive, in the increased vigilance with which he was +tended. As soon as their chief was out of sight, the two sentries made +a fresh examination of his fastenings, re-tightened the cords wherever +they had become loose, and added others for greater security. Skilled +in this peculiar craft by long practice, their prisoner was left but +little chance of releasing himself, had he been ever so much inclined +towards making the attempt. + +And now he was, if he had not been before, not only inclined, but +eagerly desirous, of making his escape. The stringent orders of the +chief, with the elaborate precautions taken by the two sentries, had +naturally awakened within him a degree of apprehension. Such pains +would scarce have been taken for the sake of merely keeping him all +night and letting him free in the morning. Moreover, the messenger who +had been sent to the city had already returned. He had seen the man go +into the inn while the dance was in progress, and no doubt he had +delivered his fourscore scudi to the chief. It could not be this that +was waited for to obtain his delivery. + +There was to be another chapter added to his imprisonment--perhaps some +cruel torture in store for him. He could easily imagine this after the +incident that had occurred while he was being bound. The knock-down +blow given to Doggy Dick would be looked upon as an insult to the whole +band, and little as that English renegade might be esteemed by his +Italian comrades, he would still have sufficient influence to instigate +them to hostility against their captive. This was the cause to which +Henry Harding ascribed the altered treatment he was receiving, and he +now regretted having given it. + +Could he have guessed the true reason he might have spared himself all +self-recrimination. The prolonged imprisonment before him--and such in +reality there was--had for motive a scheme far deeper than the hostility +of Doggy Dick--either on account of the conflict that had occurred +between them, or that of older and earlier date. It was a scheme likely +for a long time not only to keep the captive from being restored to +liberty, but that might deprive him of his life. + +Though apprehensive of receiving some severe castigation at the hands of +the brigands, he still did not believe himself to be in any great +danger; and he was hindered from sleeping less by the prospect of +punishment, than the pain caused by the cords too tightly drawn around +his limbs. Despite this, despite his hard couch, which was the stone +pavement of the street, he at length fell asleep; and slept on till the +crowing of the village cocks, aided by a kick from one of the brigand +sentries, aroused him once more to a consciousness of his uncomfortable +situation. + + + +CHAPTER NINETEEN. + +ON THE MARCH. + +At daybreak the brigands were upon the march. The town where they had +spent the night was not one of their safe places. They might halt there +for a day, or a night, and refresh or amuse themselves; but a prolonged +stay in it might subject them to a surprise by the Papal troops, when +these chanced to be on the alert. This was only upon occasions when +some unusual outrage committed by the bandits called the troops forth to +make a _feint_ at chastising them. + +Something of the kind was just then reported upon the _tapis_. He who +had gone to rifle the chest of the poor artist had brought back word of +it. Hence their quick decampment. + +When the villagers made their appearance upon the street, they could +congratulate one another on a happy riddance of their ruffian guests; +though there were some among them to whom this would be no +satisfaction--the keepers of the wine-shops for example. To them +robbers' gold was as good as any other. + +The band proceeded through the hills, evidently making homeward. They +were already laden with booty, captured before they had fallen in with +the artist. It was, in fact, the report of this foray that was tempting +the troops to pursue them. + +They had no prisoners--only plunder, in the shape of plate, jewellery, +trinkets, and other light personal effects. The _villa di campagna_ of +some old Roman noble had been the scene of their late raid, and they +were carrying the spoils to their den. + +That this was in some secluded part of the country was evident from the +road taken to reach it. Now it was a rough causeway traversing a ridge; +anon a mere _scorzo_, or cattle-track, zigzagging through the hills, or +following the bed of a rivulet. + +Long before reaching the end of their journey, the captive was fatigued +and footsore. His shoes, none of the strongest, had yielded to the +abrasion of the sharp stones; while the long tramp of the preceding day, +with a half sleepless night on the street pavement, to say nothing of +the beating the brutes had given him, had but ill prepared him for such +an irksome march. His hands, too, were tied behind his back; and this, +spoiling his balance, made progress still more difficult and +disagreeable. The terrible depression of his spirits also detracted +from his strength. + +He had good reason for being dispirited. The rigorous watch, kept upon +him all along the route, told him that he was not going to be easily let +off. Already the brigands had broken faith with him; for he knew that +the courier had come back, and of course brought back the scudi along +with him. + +Once only had he an opportunity of talking to the chief, just before +starting away from the village. He reminded him of his promise. + +"You have released me," cried the ruffian, with a savage oath. + +"In what way?" innocently asked the young Englishman. + +"_Hola_! how simple you are, _Signor Inglese_! You forget the blow you +gave to one of my band." + +"The renegade deserved it." + +"I shall be judge of that. By our laws your life is forfeit. With us +it is blow for blow." + +"In that case I should be absolved. Your fellows gave me twenty for +one--good measure, as I can tell by my aching ribs." + +"Bah!" contemptuously rejoined the bandit, "be satisfied that it is no +worse with you. Thank the Virgin you're still alive; or perhaps you may +come nearer the mark by thanking that scar upon your little finger." + +The look with which these last words were accompanied spoke of some +secret meaning. The captive could not tell what it was; but it gave him +food for reflection that lasted him for some time after. Taken in +connection with the close watch kept upon him, he could forbode no good +from it. On the contrary, there was evil in the innuendo, though of +what sort it was beyond his intelligence to discover. + +On the second day from their leaving the town, the march continued on +through a mountainous country, most of it covered with forest. The +track was rougher and more difficult to travel--at times ascending +slopes almost precipitous, at others winding through clefts of rock so +narrow as only to admit the passage of one at a time. + +Both brigands and captive suffered from thirst; which they were at +length enabled to quench with the snow found upon the colder exposure of +the ridges. + +Just before sunset a halt was made, and one of the bandits was sent +forward as a scout. A mountain summit, shaped like a truncated cone, +was seen a short distance in front, and towards this the path appeared +tending. + +About twenty minutes after the scout had disappeared from view, the howl +of a wolf came back from the direction in which he had gone, while +another similar cry was heard still farther off. Following this, there +was the bleating of a goat; on hearing which the brigands once more +resumed their march. + +Bounding an angle of rock, the face of the conical hill was seen from +base to top, scarred by a deep ravine that led to its summit. Up this +lay the path, until the highest point was reached; then a strange +picture lay spread before the eye of the captive. He was looking down +into a cup-like hollow, nearly circular in shape, with sloping sides, +covered with a thin growth of timber, in places packed into groves. At +the bottom there was a pond of water, and not far from its edge, through +the trees, some patches of grey wall, with smoke rising above, declared +the presence of human habitation. It was the rendezvous of the bandits, +which they reached just before the going down of the sun. + +Their home, then, was no cave, no mere lair, but something that more +resembled a hamlet or village. Two or three of the houses were +substantial structures of stone; the rest were simple _pagliatti_, or +straw huts, such as are common in the remote mountain districts of the +Italian peninsula. A forest of beech trees overshadowed the group, +while the ridges around were covered with a thick growth of ilex and +pine. A deep, dark tarn glistened in the centre, looking like some +long-extinct crater, that acted as a reservoir for the rain and melted +snow from the surrounding slope. + +The stone houses could never have been built by the bandits. The straw +cabins may have been erected to afford them additional accommodation; +but the more substantial dwellings told of times long gone by, before +the enervating influence of a despotic government had brought decay upon +the territory of Italia. Some miner, perhaps, who extracted ore from +the neighbouring mountains, had found here a convenient smelting-place +in proximity to the tarn. + +Around, the land sloped up into a circular ridge--a sort of +amphitheatre, with apparently two passes leading outward--one to the +north, the other to the south. By both of these passes was a peak that +rose bald and herbless above the fringe of the forest, and on each of +these, close to the extreme summit, could be seen the figure of a man, +visible only from the valley below. They were the bandits' pickets upon +their post. Now and then, as they changed attitude, their accoutrements +and carbine-barrels could be seen glancing in the golden sunset. + +The young Englishman noted all this as he stood in the open piazza of +the robber quarters. It recalled the song of the famed Fra Diavolo, and +a night at Her Majesty's Theatre--his box shared by Belle Mainwaring. + +He was not long allowed to indulge in such reminiscences--at least in +the open air. Acting under orders from the chief, two of his captors +conducted him into a dark chamber in one of the stone houses; and, +giving him a push that almost sent him face forward upon the floor, +closed the door behind him. + +There was the harsh grating of a bolt, and then all was silence. For +the first time in his life, Henry Harding felt the sensation of being +inside a prison! + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY. + +WRITING TO DICTATION. + +These was at least relief in being left alone. The captive artist felt +it so much, that his gaolers had scarcely drawn the key from out the +lock, when he stretched himself along the floor and fell fast asleep. +Some fern-leaves strewn over the stones served him for a couch, though +he was too tired to care much for this. + +He did not wake until sunlight, shooting in through the window, fell +slanting upon his face. Then he rose to his feet, and took a survey of +his chamber. A glance convinced him that he was inside the cell of a +prison; for whatever may have been the original design of the room, its +adaptability to this purpose was at once apparent. The window was high +above the level of the floor, and so narrow that a cat could barely have +passed through it. Besides, there was a strong bar set vertically into +the sill, that rendered egress absolutely impossible. The door was +alike forbidding; and ten minutes' contemplation of the place told the +prisoner there was no chance of escape--save in the corruptibility of +his gaolers. + +To Henry Harding there was no hope of this, and he did not even think of +it. He saw no alternative but to wait the development of events. + +He was hungry, and would have eaten anything. He listened, in hopes of +hearing a footstep--the tread of a brigand bringing him his breakfast. +He could hear a step; but it was that of the sentry outside his door. +It came and went, and came and went again, but no sound of drawing bolt, +or key turning in the lock. An hour was passed in this hungry +uncertainty, and then the tread of the sentry became commingled with +other footsteps. A short parley outside, the key was inserted, the bolt +clicked back, and the door stood open. + +"Good mornin', Muster Hardin'. I hope ye ha' passed a pleasant night +o't. Compliments o' Captin, an' wants ye to come an' see him." + +Without further speech Doggy Dick seized the prisoner by the collar. +Then, with a spiteful shake, such as might have been given by an irate +policeman, dragged him out out of the cell, and on toward the quarters +of the bandit chief. As a matter of course, these were in the best +house of the place; but the young artist was not prepared to witness +such splendour inside. Not only was the furniture well made, but there +were articles of _luxe_ in abundance--plate, pictures, looking-glasses, +clocks, girandoles, epergnes, and the like, not very artistically +arranged, but plenteous everywhere. It was a somewhat grotesque +admixture of the ancient and modern, such as may be seen in a +curiosity-shop, or the chambers of a London money-lender. + +In the apartment to which the prisoner was introduced, there were two +individuals seated amidst the glittering confusion. One was the brigand +chief, whose name he now knew for the first time to be "Corvino." He +knew it from hearing him so addressed by the other occupant of the +chamber, who was a woman, and who in her turn was called by the chief +"Cara Popetta"--the "Cara" being merely a prefix of endearment. + +Corvino, the chief, has been already delineated. Popetta, as being his +spouse, also deserves a word. She was a large woman, nearly as tall as +Corvino himself, and quite as picturesquely attired. Her dress was +glittering with beads and bugles; and with her dark, almost +chestnut-coloured skin and crow-black hair, she would have passed muster +among the belles of an Indian encampment. She had once been beautiful, +and her teeth were still so, when displayed in a smile; otherwise, they +resembled the incisors of a tigress preparing to spring upon her prey. +The beauty that had once shone in her countenance might still to some +extent have remained--for Cara Popetta was scarce turned thirty--but for +a scar of cadaverous hue, that traversed the left cheek. This turned +what was once a fair face into one disfigured, even to ugliness. And if +her eyes spoke truth, many a cicatrice had equally deformed her soul, +for as she sat eyeing the prisoner on his entrance, there was that in +her aspect that might have caused him to quail. + +Just then he had no opportunity for scanning her very minutely. On the +instant of his stepping inside the room he was accosted by the chief, +and commanded in a hard tone to take a seat by the table. + +"I need not ask you if you can write, signor _artista_," said the +bandit, pointing to the "materials" upon the table. "Such a skilled +hand as you with the pencil cannot fail to be an adopt with the pen. +Take hold of one of these, and set down what I indite--translating it, +as I know you can, into your native tongue. Here is a sheet of paper +that will serve for the purpose." + +As he said this, the brigand stretched forth his hand, and pointed to +some letter-paper already spread out upon the table. + +The prisoner took up the pen, without having the least idea of what was +to be the subject of his first essay at secretaryship. Apparently it +was to be a letter, but to whom was it to be written? He was not long +kept in ignorance. + +"The address first," commanded the brigand. + +"To whom?" asked the young Englishman making ready to write. + +"_Al Signor Generale Harding_!" dictated the bandit. + +"To General Harding!" translated Henry, dropping the pen and starting up +from his seat. "My father! What know you of him?" + +"Enough, signor _pittore_, for my purpose. Sit down again, and write +what I dictate. That is all I want of you." + +Thus commanded, the artist resumed his seat; and once more taking up the +pen, wrote the address thus dictated. As he did so, he thought of the +last time he had penned the same words, when directing that angry letter +from the roadside inn near to his father's park. He had no time to give +way to reminiscences, for the bandit exhibited great impatience to have +the letter completed. + +"_Padre caro_!" was the next phrase that required translation. + +Again the secretary hesitated. Again went his memory back to the +writing from the English inn, where he had commenced that letter without +the prefix "Dear." Was he now to use it at the dictation of a brigand? + +The command was peremptory. The bandit, chafing at the delay, repeated +it with a menace. His captive could only obey, and down went the words +"Dear Father." + +"And now," said Corvino, "continue your translation; don't stop again. +Another interruption may cost you your ears." + +This was said in a tone that told the speaker was in earnest. Of +course, in the face of such a terrible alternative, the young artist +could do no less than continue the writing of the letter to its end. +When translated into his own tongue, it ran as follows:-- + + "Dear Father,-- + + "This is to inform you that I am a prisoner in the mountains of Italy, + about forty miles from the city of Rome, and upon the borders of the + Neapolitan territory. My captors are stern men, and, if I be not + ransomed, will kill me. They only wait till I can hear from you; and + for this purpose they send a messenger to you, _upon whose safety + while in England my life will depend_. If you should cause him to be + arrested, or otherwise hindered from returning here, they will + retaliate upon me by a torture too horrible to think of. As the + amount of my ransom, they demand thirty thousand scudi--about five + thousand pounds. If the bearer bring this sum back with him in gold-- + a circular note on the Bank of Rome will do--they promise me my + liberty; and I know they will keep their promise, for these men, + although forced to become bandits by cruel persecution on the part of + their government, have true principles of honesty and honour. If the + money be not sent, then, dearest father, I can say with sad certainty, + that you will never more see your son." + +"Now sign your name to it," said the brigand, as the writing was +completed. + +Henry Harding once more started from his chair, and stood irresolute, +still holding the pen in his hand. He had written the letter as +dictated, and, while occupied in translating it into his native tongue, +he had given but little heed to its true signification. But now he was +called upon to append his name to this piteous appeal to his father. +With the remembrance still vivid in his mind of the defiant epistle he +had last penned to him, he felt something more than reluctance--he felt +shame, and almost a determination to refuse. + +"Sign your name!" commanded the brigand, half rising from his seat. +"Sign it, I say!" + +The young Englishman still hesitated. + +"Lay down the pen again, without putting your _firma_ to that letter, +and, by the Holy Virgin, before the ink become dry, your blood will +redden the floor at your feet. _Cospetto_! to be crossed by a poor +devil of a _pittore_--a cur of an _Inglese_!" + +"O signor," interposed the brigand's wife, who up to that moment had not +spoken a word, "do as he bids you, _buono cavaliere_! It is only his +way with every one who strays here from the great city. Sign it _caro_, +and all will be well. You will be free again, and can return to your +friends." + +While delivering this appeal, Popetta had risen up from her chair, and +laid her hand upon the Englishman's shoulder. The tone in which she +spoke, with a certain expression detectable in her fiery eyes, did not +seem altogether to please her _sposo_, who, rushing round the table, +seized hold of the woman and swung her to the farthest corner of the +room. + +"Stay there!" he shouted, "and don't interfere with what's no concern of +yours." + +Then suddenly turning upon his prisoner, and drawing a pistol from his +belt, he once more vociferated, "Sign!" + +The obstinacy that would have resisted such an appeal could be only true +foolhardiness--a reckless indifference to life. There could be no +mistaking the intent of the robber, for the click of his cocked pistol +sounded sharp in the captive's ear. For an instant the young +Englishman, whose hands were for the time untied, thought of flinging +himself upon his fierce antagonist and trying the chances of a struggle. +But then outside there was Doggy Dick, with a score of others, ready to +shoot him down in his first effort to escape. It was sheer madness to +think of it. There was no alternative but to sign--at least none except +dying upon the spot. The young artist was not inclined for this; and, +stooping over the table, he added to what he had already written, the +name "Henry Harding." + +Doggy Dick, styled "Signor Ricardo," was called in and asked if he could +read. + +"I beant much o' a scholard," replied the renegade, "but I dar' say I +can make out that bit o' scribble." + +The letter was slowly spelt over and pronounced "All right." It was +then enveloped and directed, Doggy Dick giving the correct address. +After which, the next duty this Amphitryon was called upon to perform +was the retying of his captive, and transporting him back to his cell. + +That same night the epistle, that had come so near costing Henry Harding +his life, was despatched by the peasant messenger to Rome, thence to be +forwarded by a postman of a different character and kind. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. + +UNDER THE CEDAR. + +The world had become just one year older from the day that Belle +Mainwaring "refused" the young son of General Harding. The crake had +returned to the cornfield, the cuckoo to the grove, and the nightingale +once more filled the dells with its sweet nocturnal music. + +As a tourist straying among the Chiltern Hills--with me almost an annual +habit--I could perceive no change in their aspect. Nor did I find that +much change had taken place in the "society" introduced in the early +chapters of our story. + +I met Miss Mainwaring at a private ball, that concluded an out-door +archery meeting. She was still the reigning belle of the neighbourhood, +though there were two or three young sprouts that promised soon to +dispossess her. There was less talk of her becoming a bride than had +been twelve months before; though she was followed by a train of +admirers that appeared to have suffered but slight diminution--Henry +Harding being the only one missing from the muster. I heard that his +place had been supplied by his brother Nigel; though this was only +whispered to me in conjecture by one that was present at the gathering, +where was also Nigel Harding himself. Knowing somewhat of the nature of +this young gentleman, I did not believe it true, but, strange enough, +before leaving the ground I had convincing evidence that it was so. + +These summer fetes, when extended into the night, afford wonderful +opportunities for flirtation--far more than the winter ball-room. The +promenade which occurs during the intervals of the dance may be extended +out of doors, along the gravelled walks, or over the soft grassy turf of +the shrubbery. It is pleasant thus to escape from the heated air of the +drawing-room--improvised for the night into a ball-room--especially +pleasant when you take along with you your partner of the dance. + +Strolling thus with one of the aforementioned maidens, I had halted by +the side of a grand _Deodara_, whose drooping branches, palmately +spread, swept the grass at our feet, forming around the trunk of the +tree a tentlike canopy by day, by night a shadow of amorphous darkness. +All at once a thought seemed to strike my companion. + +"By the way," said she, "I was wondering what I had done with my +sunshade. Now I remember having left it under this very tree. You stay +here," she continued, disengaging herself from my arm, "while I go under +and see if I can find it." + +"No," said I, "permit me to go for it." + +"Nonsense," replied my agile partner--she had proved herself such in the +galop just ended--"I shall go myself. I know the exact spot where I +laid it--on one of the great roots. Never mind; you stand here." + +Saying this, she disappeared under the shadow of the _Deodara_. + +I could not think of such a young creature venturing all alone into such +a dismal-looking place; and, not heeding her remonstrance, I bent under +the branches, and followed her in. + +After groping about for some time, we failed to find the parasol. + +"Some of the servants may have taken it into the house?" she said. "No +matter. I suppose it will turn up along with my hat and cloak." + +We were about returning to the open lawn, when we saw coming, through +the same break in the branches under which we had entered, a pair of +promenaders like ourselves. _Their_ errand we could not guess. Though +ours had been innocent enough, it occurred to me that it might have a +compromising appearance. + +I cannot tell if my companion had the same thought; but, whether or no, +we stood still, as if by a mutual instinct, waiting for the other pair +to pass out again. We supposed they had stepped under the tree actuated +by curiosity, or some other caprice that would soon be satisfied. + +In this we were mistaken. Instead of immediately returning into the +light, faint as it was, and only springing from the glimmer of a starlit +sky, they stopped and entered into a conversation that promised to be +somewhat protracted. At the first words, I could tell it was only the +resumption of one that had already made some progress between them. + +"I know," said the gentleman, "that you still bear _him_ in your mind. +It's no use telling me you never cared for him. I know better than +that, Miss Mainwaring." + +"Indeed, do you? What a wonderful knowledge you have, Mr Nigel +Harding! You know more than I ever did myself, and more than your +brother, did too; else why should I have refused him. Surely that might +convince you there was nothing between us--at least, on my side there +wasn't." + +There was a short pause, as if the suitor was reflecting on what the +lady had just said. My companion and I were puzzled as to what we +should do. I knew it by the trembling of her arm, that spoke +irresolution. By a similar sign I felt that we were agreed upon keeping +silent, and hearing this strange dialogue to its termination. We had +already heard enough to make discovering ourselves exceedingly awkward-- +to say nothing of our own compromising position. We kept our place +then, standing still like a couple of linked statues. + +"If that be true," rejoined Nigel Harding, who appeared to have brought +his reasoning process to a satisfactory conclusion, "and if also true +that no other has your heart, may I ask, Miss Mainwaring, why you do not +accept the offer I have laid before you? You have told me--I think you +have said as much--that you could like me for a husband. Why not go +farther, and say you will have me?" + +"Because--because--Mr Nigel Harding,--do you really wish to know the +reason?" + +"If I did not, I should not have spent twelve months in asking--in +pressing for it." + +"If you promise to be a good boy, then I will tell you." + +"I will promise anything. If it be a reason that I can remove, you may +command me, and all the means in my power. My fortune--I won't speak of +that--my life, my body, my soul, are all at your service." + +The suitor spoke with a passionate enthusiasm I had not deemed him +capable of. + +"I shall be candid, then," was the response, half-whispered, "and tell +you the exact truth. Two things stand between you and me, either of +which may prevent us becoming man and wife. First, there is my mother's +consent to be obtained; and without that I will not marry. To my dear +mother I have given that promise--sworn it. Second, there is _your +father's consent_; without it I _cannot_ marry you. I have equally +sworn to that--my mother exacting the oath. Much, therefore, as I may +like you, Nigel Harding, you know I cannot perjure myself. Come! we +have talked of this too often. Let us return to the dancing, or our +absence may be remarked." + +Saying this, she swept out from beneath the branches. + +The foiled suitor made no attempt to detain her. The conditions could +not be answered, at least not then; and with a vague hope of being able +at some future time to obtain better terms, he followed her back into +the ball-room. + +My companion and I, as soon as released, sauntered the same way. Not a +word passed between us, as to what we had heard. To me it did not throw +much new light either on the ways of the world or the character of Miss +Mainwaring; but I could not help regretting the lesson of deception thus +unavoidably communicated to the young creature on my arm, who might +afterwards think of practising it on her own particular account! + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. + +A QUEER TRAVELLER. + +The swells who diurnally take their departure for Windsor and the West +were one afternoon, in the year 18--, called upon to use their +eye-glasses upon a somewhat strange-looking traveller, who, coming from +heaven knows where, made his appearance on the platform of the +Paddington Station. + +And yet there was nothing so very remarkable about the man--except on +the Paddington platform. At London Bridge you might there have seen his +like any day in the year: a personage of dark complexion, dressed in +black, with a loose poncho-like garment hanging from his shoulders, and +a hat upon his head, half wide-awake, but tending toward a +steeple-crown--in short, a "Calabrian." + +Such was the costume of the individual who had caused the raising of +eye-glasses on the Paddington platform. In an instant they were down +again, the object of supercilious attention having dissipated scrutiny +by diving into the interior of a second-class carriage. + +"Demmed queer-looking fella!" was the remark, and with this he was +forgotten. + +At Slough he appeared again upon that gloomiest of platforms, commanded +by a station-master possessing the loudest voice upon all the G.W.R. +line. The strange traveller did not show himself until the swells, such +of them as stopped, at Slough, had given up their tickets, and passed +through the gate. Then, tumbling out of the carriage, the queer +traveller, with a small portmanteau in his hand, placed himself in +communication with the great Boanerges who directs the startings and +departures at the Slough Station. + +Between the two individuals thus accidentally coming together there was +a contrast so striking that the most careless lounger on the platform +could not have restrained himself from giving them attention. As they +stood, _en rapport_, the very types of extremes--the negative and +positive--the one a grand colossal form of true Saxon physiognomy, the +other a diminutive specimen of Latinic humanity--for such the cloaked +traveller appeared to be. + +At the time, I myself chanced to be on the down platform, waiting for a +down train. I was so struck with the tableau that I involuntarily drew +nigh, to hear what the little dark man in the _capote_ had to say to the +giant in green frock and gilt buttons. + +The first word that fell upon my ears was the name of General Harding! +It was not pronounced in the ordinary way, but with an accent plainly +foreign, and which I could easily tell to be Italian. + +Listening a little longer, I could hear that the stranger was inquiring +the direction to General Harding's residence. I should have myself +volunteered to give it him; but from the station-master's reply I +perceived that this functionary was directing him; and just then the +down train, gliding alongside, admonished me to look out for myself. + +Not till then did it occur to me, that I had stupidly forgotten to take +my ticket, and I hastened into the office to procure one. As I came out +again upon the platform I saw the strange traveller disappear within the +doorway of a hackney coach; the driver of which, giving the whip to his +horse, trundled off from the station. + +In ten seconds after, I had taken my seat in the railway-carriage--an +empty one--when an incident occurred that drove the queer traveller as +completely out of my head as if he had never been in it. + +The whistle had already screamed, and the train was about to move off, +when the door was opened by the Titanic station-master, who was saying +at the same time-- + +"This way ladies!" + +The rustle of silk, with some hurried exclamation outside, told of the +late arrival of at least two feminine passengers; and, the moment after, +they entered the carriage, and took their seats nearly opposite me. + +I had been cutting open the pages of _Punch_, and did not look up into +their faces as they entered. But on finishing my inspection of the +cartoon, I raised my eyes to see of what style were my two travelling +companions, and beheld--Belle Mainwaring and her mother! + +It was just about as awkward a position as I ever remembered occupying +in my life. But I managed to sustain it, by appealing once more to the +pages of _Punch_. Not even so much as a nod was exchanged between us; +and had there been a stranger in the carriage he could not have told +that Miss Mainwaring and I had ever met--much less danced together. I +did _Punch_ from beginning to end; and then, turning my attention to the +advertisements on the back of the title-page, made myself acquainted +with the qualities of "Gosnell's Soap" and the mysteries of the +"Sansflectum Crinoline." Despite these studies, I found time to give an +occasional side-glance at Miss Mainwaring, which I saw she was returning +by a similar slant. What she may have seen in my eye I cannot tell, but +in hers I read a light that, had my heart not been of the dulness of +lead, might have set it on fire. It had at one time come very near +melting under that same glance; but, after the cooling process +experienced, it had become hardened to the temper of steel, and now +passed through the crucible unscathed. When I had finished reading +_Punch's_ three columns of advertisements, and for the hundredth time +made an examination of Toby, with the procession of nymphs, dancing +buffoons, and bacchantes, the train stopped at Reading. + +Here my travelling companions got out. So did I. I had been asked to a +park fete to be held at a gentleman's residence in the neighbourhood-- +the same mentioned in a previous chapter. I suspected the Mainwarings +were also bound for the place; and from the direction taken by the fly +in which they drove off, I was made sure of it. + +On arriving at my friend's residence I found them upon the lawn; Miss +Belle, as usual, surrounded by simpering swells, among whom, not to my +surprise, I recognised Mr Nigel Harding. I noticed that, during the +progress of the game of croquet which they were playing, he refrained +from showing her any marked attention, leaving this for the others. For +all that he was evidently uneasy, and stealthily watched her every +glance and movement. Once or twice when they were apart, I could hear +him say something to her in a low tone, with the green of jealousy in +his eyes, and its pallor upon his lips. + +On leaving the place, which the company did at an early hour, I saw that +he accompanied her and her mother to the railway station. The three +rode back in the same fly. We all returned to Slough in the same train; +I going on to London. From the carriage in which I sat I could see Miss +Mainwaring's pony-phaeton, with the page at the pony's head, and close +by a dog-cart with a groom in the Harding livery. Before the train +started I saw the ladies step into the phaeton, Nigel Harding climbing +to the seat behind them, while "buttons" was dismissed to take his seat +in the dog-cart. With their freight thus assorted, the two vehicles +drove off, just as the train was slipping out of the station. + +From what I had seen that day, and what I had heard under the great +cedar tree, and, more than all, from what I knew of both parties to the +suit, I had made up my mind before reaching London, that Belle +Mainwaring was booked to be the better-half of Nigel Harding--if +_consent_ could be squeezed out of his father either by fraud or by +force. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. + +DISSIMULATION. + +On that same night, as upon almost every other of the year, General +Harding was seated in his dining-room with a decanter of crusted port on +his right hand, a glass a little nearer, and a Phillipine cheroot +between his teeth. His maiden sister was on his left, round a corner of +the table, upon which stood before her another wine-glass, with an +epergne of flowers, and a hand-dish containing fruit. It was the hour +after dinner, the cloth had been removed, the dessert decanters set upon +the table, and the butler and footmen had retired. + +"It's just nine," said the General, consulting his chronometer-watch, +"Nigel should be back by this. He wasn't to stop for dinner--only +luncheon--and the train leaves Reading at 7:16. I wonder if those +Mainwarings were there?" + +"Pretty sure to be," replied the ancient spinster, who was shrewd at +conjectures. + +"Yes," thoughtfully soliloquised the General, "pretty sure, I suppose. +Well, it don't much matter, I've no fear for Nigel; he's not the sort to +be humbugged by her blandishments, like that hot-headed simpleton, Hal. +By my word, sister! it is very strange we've not heard a word from the +lad since he left us." + +"You will, when he's spent the thousand pounds you gave him. When that +comes to an end, he'll not be so sparing of his correspondence." + +"No doubt. Strange, though--not a scrape of his pen since that nasty +epistle from the inn--not even to acknowledge the receipt of the money. +I suppose he got it all right. I've not looked into my bank-book since +I don't know when." + +"Oh, you may be certain of his having got it. If he hadn't you'd have +heard from him long ago. Henry isn't one to go without money, where +money can be had. You've good reason to know that. I should say you +needn't trouble about him, brother; he's not been living all this time +upon air." + +"I wonder where he is? He said he was going abroad. I suppose he has +done so." + +"Doubtful enough," rejoined the spinster, with a shake of her head; +"London will be the place for him, so long as his money lasts. When it +is spent you'll hear from him. He'll write for a fresh supply. Of +course, brother, you'll send it?" + +The interrogatory was spoken ironically and in a taunting tone, intended +to produce an effect the very opposite to what it might seem to serve. + +"Not a shilling!" said the General, determinedly setting his wine-glass +down on the table with an emphatic clink. "Not a single shilling. If +within twelve months he has succeeded in dissipating a thousand pounds, +he shall go twelve years before he gets another thousand. Not a +shilling before my death; and then only enough to keep him from +starvation. No, Nelly dear, I've made up my mind about that. Nigel +shall have all except a little something which will be left to yourself. +I gave Hal every chance. He should have had half. Now, after what has +happened--There are wheels upon the gravel. Nigel with the dog-cart, I +suppose." + +It was; and in ten seconds more Nigel, without the dog-cart, stepped +softly into the room. + +"You're a little late, Nigel?" + +"Yes, papa. The train was behind time." + +This was a lie. The delay was caused by stoppage nearer home--at the +widow Mainwaring's cottage. + +"Well, I hope you have had a pleasant party?" + +"Passable." + +"That all? And such weather. Who was there?" + +"Oh, for that matter, there was company enough--half of Bucks and +Berkshire, I should think, to say nothing of a score of snobs from +London." + +"Any of our neighbours?" + +"Well--no--not exactly." + +"It's a wonder the widow Mainwaring--" + +"Oh, yes, she was there. I didn't think of her." + +"The daughter, of course, along with her?" + +"Yes, the daughter was there, too. By the way, aunt," continued the +young man, with the design of changing the subject, "you haven't asked +me to join you in a glass of wine. And I'd like to have a morsel of +something to eat. I feel as if I'd had nothing at all. I think I could +eat a raw steak if I had it." + +"There was a roast duck for dinner," suggested the aunt; "but it is cold +now, dear Nigel, and so is the asparagus. Will you wait until it is +warmed up, or perhaps you would prefer a slice of the cold boiled beef, +with some West Indian pickles?" + +"I don't care what, so long as it's something to eat." + +"Have a glass of port wine, Nigel," said the General, while his sister +was directing Williams as to the arrangement of the tray. "From what +you say, I suppose you don't want a nip of cognac to give you an +appetite?" + +"No, indeed. I've got that already. How late is it, father? Their +clocks appear to be all wrong down the road, or else the trains are. +It's always the way with the Great Western. It's a bad line to depend +on for dining." + +"Ah, and a worse for dividends," rejoined the General, the smile at his +own pun being more than neutralised by a grin that told of his being +holder of shares in the G.W.R. + +With a laugh Nigel drank off his glass of port; and then sat down to his +cold duck, boiled beef, and pickles. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. + +A STRANGE VISITOR. + +General Harding's butler, with the assistance of the footman had just +carried out the supper-tray when there came a ring at the hall-door +bell, succeeded by a double knock. Neither were of the kind which the +butler would have called "obtropolous," but rather bashful and subdued. +For all that they were heard within the room where the General sat. + +"Very odd, at this hour of night," remarked the General. "Ten o'clock," +he said, consulting his chronometer. "Who can it be?" + +No one made a reply, as all were engrossed in listening. They heard the +opening of the door, and then a parley between Williams upon the step, +and somebody outside in the porch. It lasted some time longer than need +have been necessary for a visitor who was a friend of the family. The +voice, too, answering the butler's, was evidently that of a stranger, +and, as the occupants of the dining-room thought, one who spoke with a +foreign accent. + +The General bethought him, whether it might not be some of his old chums +freshly arrived home from India, and who had come down _sans ceremonie_ +by a late train. But, then, he could think of none of them with a +foreign accent. + +"Who is it, Williams?" asked he, as the latter appeared in the doorway +of the dining-room. + +"That I can't tell, General. The gentleman, if I may so call 'im, will +neither give his name nor his card. He says he has most important +business, and must see you." + +"Very odd! What does he look like?" + +"Like a furraner, and a rum 'un at that. Certain, General, he arn't a +gentleman; that can be seen plain enough." + +"Very odd!" again repeated the General. "Very odd! Says he must see +me?" + +"Sayed it over and over, that it's important more to you than him. +Shall I show him in, General, or will you speak to him at the door?" + +"Door be damned!" testily replied the old soldier. "I'm not going out +there to accommodate a stranger, without either name or card. May be +some begging-letter impostor. Tell him I can't see him to-night. He +may come back in the morning." + +"I've told him so, General, already. He says no; you must see him +to-night." + +"Must! The devil!" + +"Well, General, if I'd be allowed to speak my opinion, he looks a good +bit like that same gentleman you've mentioned." + +"Who the deuce can it be, Nigel?" said the old soldier, turning to his +son. + +"I haven't the slightest idea myself," was Nigel's reply. "It wouldn't +be that Lawyer Woolet? He answers very well to the description Williams +gives of his late intruder." + +"No, no, Master Nigel, it's not Mr Woolet. It's an article of +hoomanity even uglier than him; though certain he have got something o' +a lawyer's look about him. But then he be a furriner; I can swear to +that." + +"By Jove!" exclaimed the General, using one of his mildest +asseverations. "I can't think of any foreigner that can have business +with me; but whether or no, I suppose I must see him. What say you, my +son?" + +"Oh, as for that," answered the latter, "there can be no harm in it. +I'll stay in the room with you; and if he becomes troublesome, I +suppose, with the help of Williams here and the footman, we may be able +to eject him." + +"Lor, Master Nigel, he isn't bigger than our page-boy. I could take him +up in my arms, and swing him hallway across the shrubberies. You +needn't have no fear 'bout that." + +"Come, come, Williams," said the General, "none of this idle talking. +Tell the gentleman I'll see him. Show him in." + +Then, turning to his sister, he added-- + +"Nelly dear, you may as well go up to the drawing-room. Nigel and I +will join you as soon as we've given an interview to this unexpected +guest." + +The spinster, gathering up some crochet-work that she had made a +commencement on, sailed out of the room--leaving her brother and nephew +to receive the nocturnal caller, who would not be denied. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. + +AN UNCOURTEOUS RECEPTION. + +The old soldier and his son stood in silent expectation; for the oddity +of an interview thus authoritatively demanded had summoned both to their +feet. Outside they could hear the resumed exchange of speech between +Williams and the stranger, and their two sets of footsteps sounding +along the flagged pavement of the hall. Some seconds after, the +stranger was shown inside the room, and the three were left alone-- +Williams retiring at a sign from the General. + +A more singular specimen of the _genus homo_, or one less in keeping +with the place, had never made appearance inside the dining-hall of an +English country gentleman. + +As Williams had asserted, he was not much bigger than a page-boy; but +for all that, he could not be less than forty years of age. In +complexion he was dark as a gipsy, with long straight hair of +crow's-wing blackness, and eyes scintillating like chips of fresh-broken +coal. + +His face was of the Israelitish type, while his dress, with the +exception of a sort of capote, which he still kept upon his shoulders, +had something of a professional cut about it, such as might be seen +about men of the law in the Latinic countries of Europe. He might be an +avocato, or notary. In his hand he held a hat, a sort of wide-awake, or +Calabrian, which on entering the dining-room he had the courtesy to take +off. Beyond this there was not much politeness shown by him, either in +aspect or action; for notwithstanding his diminutive person, he appeared +the very picture of pluck--of that epitomised kind seen in the terrier +or weasel. It showed itself not so much in swagger as in an air of +self-reliance, that seemed to say, "I have come here on an errand that +will be its own excuse, and I know you won't send me back without giving +me a satisfactory answer." + +"What is it?" asked the General, as if this very thought had just passed +through his own mind. + +The stranger looked towards Nigel, as much as to say, "Do you wish this +young gentleman to be present?" + +"That is my son," continued the old soldier. "Anything you have to say +need not be kept secret from him." + +"You have _another_ son?" asked the stranger, speaking in a foreign +accent, but in English sufficiently intelligible. "I think you have +another son, Signor General." + +The question caused the General to start, while Nigel turned suddenly +pale. The significant glance that accompanied the interrogatory told +that the stranger knew something about Henry Harding. + +"I have--or should have," replied the General. "What do you want to say +of him, and why do you speak of him?" + +"Do you know where your other son is, Signor General?" + +"Well, not exactly, at present. Do _you_ know where he is? Who are +you? and whence do you come?" + +"Signor General, I shall be most happy to answer all three of your +questions, if you only allow me to do it in the order, inverse to that +in which you have put them." + +"Answer them in what order you please; but do it quickly. The hour is +late, and I've no time to stand here talking to an entire stranger." + +"Signor General, I shall not detain you many minutes. My business is of +a simple nature, and my time, like yours, is precious. First, then, I +come from the city of Rome, which I need not tell you is in Italy. +Second, I am _un procuratore_--an attorney you call it in English. +Thirdly, and lastly, I _do_ know where your other son is." + +The General again started, Nigel growing paler. + +"Where is he?" + +"This, Signor General, will inform you." + +As he spoke, the _procuratore_ drew a letter from under his _capote_, +and presented it to the General. It was that which had been written by +Henry Harding in the mountains, under the dictation of Corvino, the +bandit chief. + +Putting on his spectacles, and drawing the light nearer to him, General +Harding read the letter with a feeling of astonishment, tinctured with +incredulity. + +"This is nonsense!" said he, handing the document to Nigel. "Sheer +nonsense! Read it, my son." + +Nigel did as he was desired. + +"What do _you_ make of it?" asked the General, addressing himself in an +undertone to his son. + +"That it's just what you say, father--nonsense; or perhaps something +worse. It looks to me like a trick to extort money." + +"Ah! But do you think, Nigel, that Henry has any hand in it?" + +"I hardly know what to think, father," answered Nigel, continuing the +whispered conversation. "It grieves me to say what I think; but I must +confess it looks against him. If he has fallen into the hands of +brigands--which I cannot believe, and I hope is not true--how should +they know where to send such a letter? How could they tell he has a +father capable of paying such a ransom for him, unless he has put them +up to it? It is probable enough that he's in Rome, where this fellow +says he has come from. That may all be. But a captive in the keeping +of brigands! The thing is too preposterous!" + +"Most decidedly it is. But what am I to make of this application?" + +"To my mind," pursued the insinuating councillor, "the explanation is +easy enough. He's run through his thousand pounds, as might have been +expected, and he now wants more. I am sorry to believe such a thing, +father, but it looks as if this is a tale got up to work upon your +feelings, and get a fresh remittance of cash. At all events, he has not +stinted himself in the sum asked for." + +"Five thousand pounds!" exclaimed the General, again glancing over the +letter. "He must think me crazy. He shall not have as many pence--no, +not if it were even true what he says about being with brigands." + +"Of course that part of the story is all stuff--although it's clear he +has written the letter. It's in his own hand, and that's his +signature." + +"Certainly it is. My God! to think that this is the first I should hear +from him since that other letter. A pretty way of seeking a +reconciliation with me! Bah! the trick won't take. I'm too old a +soldier to be deceived by it." + +"I'm sorry he should have tried it. I fear, papa, he has not yet +repented of his rash disobedience. But what do you mean to do with this +fellow?" + +"Ay, what?" echoed the General, now remembering the man who had been the +bearer of the strange missive. "What would you advise to be done? Send +over for the police, and give him in charge." + +"I don't know about that," answered Nigel reflectively. "It seems +hardly worth while, and might lead to some unpleasantness to ourselves. +Better the public should not know about the unfortunate affair of poor +Henry. A police case would necessarily expose some things that you, +father, I'm sure, don't wish to be made public." + +"True--true. But something should be done to punish this impudent +impostor. It's too bad to be so bearded--almost bullied in one's own +home; and by a wretch like that." + +"Threaten him, then, before dismissing him. That may bring out some +more information about the scheme. At all events, it can do no harm to +give him a bit of your mind. It may do good to Henry, to know how you +have received his petition so cunningly contrived." + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY SIX. + +AN UNCEREMONIOUS DISMISSAL. + +The side conversation between General Harding and his son was at length +suspended by the old soldier facing abruptly towards the stranger, who +all the while had been standing quietly apart. + +"You're an impostor, sir!" exclaimed the General. "An impostor, I say!" + +"_Molte grazie_, Signor General!" replied the man, without making other +movement than a mock bow. "Rather an uncomplimentary epithet to apply +to one who has come all the way from Italy to do you a service, or +rather your son. Is this all the answer I'm to take back to him?" + +"If you take any back to him, that's it," interposed Nigel. "Do you +know, sir," he continued in a threatening manner; "do you know that +you've placed yourself within the power of our laws; that you can be +arrested, and thrown into prison for an attempt to extort money under +false pretences?" + +"His excellence, the General, will not have me arrested. First, because +there are no false pretences; and, second, that to do so would be +certainly to seal your son's doom. The moment the news should reach +those who have him in their keeping, that I've been arrested or +otherwise molested here in England, that moment will he be punished far +more than you can punish _me_. You must remember that I am only a +messenger, who have taken upon me the delivery of this letter. I know +nothing of those who sent it, except in the way of my profession, and in +the cause of humanity. I am as much your son's messenger as theirs. I +can only assure you, Signor General, that it is a serious mission; and +that your son's life depends on my safety, and the answer you may +vouchsafe to send back." + +"Bah!" exclaimed the old soldier, "don't tell a cock-and-bull tale to an +Englishman. I don't believe a word of it. If I did, I'd take a +different way of delivering my son from such a danger. Our government +would soon interfere on my behalf, and then instead of five thousand +pounds, your beautiful brigands would get what they deserve, and what I +wonder they haven't had long ago--six feet of rope around each of their +necks." + +"I fear, Signor General, you are labouring under a false delusion. +Allow me to set you right on this question. Your government can be of +no service to you in this affair, nor all the governments of Europe to +boot. It is not the first time such threats have been used against the +freebooters in question. Neither the Neapolitan Government, in whose +land they live, nor that of his Holiness, upon whose territory they +occasionally intrude, can coerce them, if ever so inclined. There is +but one way to obtain the release of your son--by paying the ransom +demanded for him." + +"Begone, wretch!" shouted the General, losing all patience at the +pleading of the _procuratore_. "Begone! out of my house! Off my +premises instantly, or I shall order my servant to drag you to the +horse-pond. Begone, I say!" + +"And you would rue it if you did," spitefully rejoined the little +Italian, as he edged off towards the door. "_Buona notte_, Signor +General! Perhaps by the morning you will have recovered your temper, +and think better of my errand. If you have any message to send to your +son--whom it is not very likely you will ever see again--I shall take it +upon myself to transmit it for you, notwithstanding the uncourteous +treatment, of which, as a gentleman, I have the right to complain. I +stay at the neighbouring inn all night, and will not be gone before +twelve o'clock tomorrow. _Buona notte! buona notte_!" + +So saying the swarthy little stranger backed out of the room, and, +conducted by the butler, was not very courteously shown into the night. + +The General stood still, his beard bristling with passion. For a time +he seemed irresolute, as to whether he should have the stranger +detained, and punished in some summary way. But he thought of the +family scandal, and restrained himself. + +"You won't write to Henry?" asked Nigel, in a tone that said, "don't." + +"Not a line. If he has got into a scrape for want of money, let him get +out of it again, the best way he can. As to this story about +brigands--" + +"Oh, that's too absurd," insinuated Nigel; "the brigands into whose +hands he has fallen are the gamblers and swindlers of Rome. They have +no doubt employed this lawyer, if he be one, to carry out their scheme-- +certainly a cunningly-contrived one, whoever originated it." + +"Oh, my son! my wretched son!" exclaimed the General; "to think he has +fallen into the hands of such associates! To think he could lend +himself to a conspiracy like this, and against his own father! Oh, +God!" + +And the old soldier uttered a groan of agony, as he sank down upon the +sofa. + +"Had I not better write to him, father?" asked Nigel. "Just a line to +say how much his conduct is grieving you? Perhaps a word of counsel may +yet reclaim him." + +"If you like--if you like--though after such an experience as this I +feel there is little hope of him. Ah, Lucy! Lucy! it is well you are +not here, and that God has taken you to himself. My poor wife! my poor +wife! this would have killed you!" + +The apostrophe was spoken in a low, muttered tone, and after Nigel had +left the room--the latter having gone out apparently with the intention +of writing the letter intended to reclaim his erring brother. + +It was written that night, and that night reached the hands of the +strange procurator, to whom it was entrusted for delivery; and who, next +day, true to his word, remained at the roadside inn till the hour of +twelve, to receive any further communication. After midday he was seen +driving off in the inn "fly" toward the Slough Station; thence to be +transported by rail and steam to his home in the Seven-hilled City. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. + +BRIGAND DOMESTIC LIFE. + +For several days Henry Harding was kept confined in his cell, without +seeing a face, except that of the brigand who brought him his food-- +always the same individual. + +This man was a morose wretch, and as uncommunicative as if he had been +an automaton. Twice a day he would bring in the bowl of _pasta_--a sort +of macaroni porridge boiled in bacon fat, and seasoned with salt and +pepper. He would place the vessel upon the floor, take away the empty +one that had contained the previous meal, and then leave the captive to +himself, without saying a word to him. + +The repeated attempts of the young Englishman to bring him to a parley +were met either by complete inattention or rude repulse. Seeing this, +they were abandoned; and the captive ate his _pasta_, and drank his cold +water in silence. + +Only at night was there quiet in his cell. All day long, through the +slender-slit window, came noise enough. Just in front of it seemed to +be the favourite loitering place of the brigands, where they passed most +of their time. This was spent almost exclusively in gambling, except +during intervals when quarrelling took the place of playing. Those +intervals were not rare. Scarce an hour elapsed without some dispute, +ending either in a fight between two individuals, or a general row, in +which more than half the band appeared to take part. Then would be +heard the voice of the _capo_, thundering in authoritative tones, as he +delivered curses and cudgel blows right and left among the quarrellers. + +Once there was a report of a pistol, followed by groans. The young +Englishman believed that a summary punishment had been inflicted on some +offender: for after the groans there was an interval of solemn +stillness, such as might be observed in the presence of death. If such +were the dread impression upon the scoundrels it did not last long: for +soon after they were heard resuming play, and the cries, "_Cinque y +cinque o capo_," and "_Vinti y vinti croce_!" the game being that common +among the Italian peasantry called, "_Croce o capo_" and which differs +but little from the English "Heads or tails." + +By standing on tiptoe, the prisoner could see them playing at it. The +gaming-table was simply a level spot of turf in front of his cell, and +nearly opposite the window. The brigands knelt or squatted in a ring: +one held an old hat from which the lining had been torn out. In this +were placed a number of coins, odd--usually three. These were first +rattled about the hat, and then thrown down upon the turf; the hat, as a +dice-box, still covering them. The bets were then made upon _capo_ or +_croce_ (head or cross), and the raising of the hat determined who were +winners or losers. + +It is in this game that the bandits find their chief source of +distraction, from a life that would otherwise be unendurable, even to +such ruffians as they. _Capo o croce_, with an occasional quarrel over +it; plenty of _pasta, confetti_, fat mutton, cheeses, _roccate_, and +_rosolio_; a _festa_ when wine and provisions are plenty; songs usually +of the most vulgar kind; now and then a dance, accompanied by some +coarse flirting with the half-dozen women who usually keep company with +a _banda_--these, and long hours of listless basking in the sun, compose +the joys of the Italian brigand's domestic life. + +When on a foray to the peopled plains, he finds excitement of an +altogether different character. The surprise, the capture, the escape +from pursuing soldiers, perhaps an occasional skirmish while retreating +to his hill fortress--these are the incidents that occur to him on a +plundering expedition: and they are sufficiently stirring to keep his +spirit from suffering _ennui_. + +This last only steals upon him when the divided plunder, which is +generally in the shape of _denaro di riscatta_ (ransom money), has by +the inexorable chances of the _capo o croce_ become consolidated in a +few hands--the universal result of the game. + +Then does the bandit become dissatisfied with listless idleness, and +commences to plan new surprises; the sack of some rich villa, or what is +much more to his mind, the capture of some _galantuomo_, or gentleman, +by whose ransom his purse may be again replenished, again to be staked +upon "Heads or tails." + +Unseen himself, the young Englishman had an excellent opportunity of +studying the life of these lawless men. + +Between them and their chief there appeared to be but slight +distinction. As a general rule the spoils were shared alike, as also +the chances of the game; for Corvino could at any time be seen in the +ring, along with the rest, staking his _piastres_ on the _capo_ or +_croce_. + +His authority was only absolute in the administration of punishment. +His kick and cudgel were never disputed; for, if they had been, it was +well understood these modes of castigation would be instantly changed +for a stab of his stiletto, or a shot from his pistol. + +His chieftainship may have been derived from his being the originator of +the band, but it was kept up and sustained by his being its bully. A +chief of low courage, or less cruelty, would soon have been +dispossessed, as not unfrequently happens among the _banditi_. + +One thing caused Henry Harding much wonder, as, standing on tiptoe, he +looked out of the little window--the women, the _bandite_. + +In the band there was nearly a score of these ladies. He had at first +taken them for boys--beardless members of the gang! There was but +little in their dress to distinguish them from the men. They wore the +same polka jacket, vest, and pantaloons, only with a greater profusion +of ornaments around their necks, and a larger number of rings upon their +fingers. + +Some of them were absolutely loaded with jewels of all kinds--pearls, +topazes, rubies, turquoise-stones, even diamonds sparkling among the +rest--the spoils drawn from the delicate fingers of many a rich +_signorina_. + +The hair of all was close cropped, like that of the men; while several +carried poignards or pistols, so that only by a certain rotundity of +form could they be distinguished from their male companions, and not all +of them by this. They were not allowed to take part in the gaming, as +they never got share of the _riscatta_. For all that, most of them +shared in the perils of every enterprise, accompanying the men on their +expeditions. + +At home they laid aside the carbine to take up the needle; though they +were seldom called upon to wet their fingers in the washing-tub. That +is regarded as an occupation beneath the dignity of a _bandita_; and is +left to the wives of those peasants in communication with the band, and +who are termed _manutangoli_, or "helpers." These are well paid for the +labour of the laundry--a clean shirt costing the bandit almost the price +of a new one! It was not often that any of Corvino's band cared to +incur the expense; only its _damerini_ or dandies, and they only upon +the occasion of a _festa_. + +Most of these observations were made by the English captive, during the +first few days of his captivity. He saw many strange scenes through the +little window of his cell. He might have seen more, had the window been +lower in the wall; but, high up as it was, he was obliged to stand on +tiptoe, and this becoming tiresome after a time, he only assumed the +irksome attitude when some scene more exciting than common summoned him +from his lair of dried fern-leaves. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT. + +UNPLEASANT INFORMATION. + +Several days had elapsed without any change either in the prisoner's +prospects or situation. He had come to the conclusion that his capture +was no longer a farce, nor his imprisonment likely soon to terminate. +The stories of brigand life he had heard told during his short sojourn +in Rome, and which like others of his incredulous countrymen he had been +loth to believe, were no longer doubted. He was himself a sad example +of their reality, and could almost feet angry at his friend Luigi for +having given him that letter of introduction, which had introduced him +to such a pitiful dilemma. It was still upon his person; for, beyond +robbing him of his slender purse and other metallic movables, the +brigands had left everything untouched. + +By way of passing the time, he took the letter out and re-read it. One +paragraph, which he had scarcely noticed before, now particularly +impressed him. "I suppose my sister Lucetta will by this time be a big +girl. Take good care of her till I come back, when I hope I shall be +able to carry all of you out of that danger we dreaded." + +When Henry Harding first read these words on his way to Rome--for the +letter of introduction was an open one--he thought nothing of their +signification. He supposed it could only refer to the straitened +circumstances of his family which the young artist expected at some time +to relieve, by the proceeds of his successful pencil. Besides, Belle +Mainwaring was too much in his mind to leave room for more than a +passing thought of anything else, even for the little sister of Luigi, +big as she might be at the writing of the letter--since still unknown. + +Now, however, reflecting in his lone cell, with the image of that fair +face first seen on the day of his captivity, and since constantly +recurring to his thoughts, he began to shape out a different +interpretation to the ambiguous phrase. What if the danger spoken of +was less of poverty than peril--such, in short, as appeared to threaten +that young girl, the daughter of the village _sindico_? To reflect even +upon this gave the captive pain. How much more would he have been +pained to think that the sister of his dear friend, Luigi Torreani was +in like peril. + +Sunset, declaring itself by the increasing gloom of his cell, caused him +to refold the letter, and return it to his pocket. He was still +pondering upon its contents, when voices outside the window attracted +his attention. He listened--anything to vary the monotony of his prison +life--even the idle talk of a brace of bandits; for it was two of these +who were speaking outside. In less than ten seconds after he was +listening with all his ears; for in the midst of their conversation he +fancied he heard a name that was known to him. + +He had just been thinking of Luigi Torreani. This was not the name that +passed from the lips of the bandit; but one of like signification-- +Lucetta. He knew it was the name of Luigi's sister, of which he had +just been reminded by the letter. + +Henry Harding had often heard his friend speak of this sister--his only +one. It was not strange, therefore, he should listen with quickened +attention; and so did he, grasping the solitary bar of his window, and +placing his ear close up to the sill. True there might be scores of +Lucettas in that part of the country; but, for all this, he could not +help listening with eager interest. + +"She'll be our next _riscatta_," said the brigand who had pronounced the +name; "you may make up your mind to that." + +"_E por che_?" inquired the other. "The old _sindico_, with all his +proud name and his syndicate to boot, hasn't enough to pay ransom for a +rat. What would be the object of such a capture?" + +"Object! Ah, that concerns the capo, not us. All I know is that the +girl has taken his fancy. I saw it as we passed through the town the +other night. I believe he'd have then carried her off, only for fear of +Popetta. She's a she-devil, is the signora; and, though generally she +takes kindly to her kicks and puffings, she wouldn't if there was a +woman in the case. Don't you remember when we had the dancing-bout down +in the valley of Main? What a row there was between our captain and his +_cara sposa_!" + +"I remember. What was it all about? I never heard?" + +"About a bit of kissing. Our capo was inclined upon a girl; that +coquettish little devil, the daughter of the old charcoal-burner Poli. +The girl seemed kindly. He had slipped a charm round her neck, and I +believe had kissed her. Whether he did that or no, I won't be certain, +but the charm was seen and recognised by the signora. She plucked it +from the girl's neck; as she did so almost dragging her off her feet. +Then came the scene with the _capo_." + +"She drew a stiletto upon him, did she not?" + +"Ay, and would have used it, too, if he had not made some excuse, and +turned the thing into a laugh. That pacified her. What a fury she was +while the fit was on her. _Cospetto_! Her eyes glittered like hot lava +from Vesuvius." + +"The girl stole away, I think?" + +"That did she, and a good thing for her she did; though if she had +stayed I don't think Corvino would have dared look at her again that +night. I never saw him cowed before. He lost both his sweetheart and +his gold charm; for his Cara Popetta appropriated that to herself, and +wears it regularly whenever he holds festa among the peasant girls, by +way of reminder, I suppose." + +"Did the captain ever see Poli's daughter again?" + +"Well, some of us think he did. But you remember, after you left us we +moved away from that part of the country? The soldiers became too +troublesome about there, and there was a whisper that the signora had +something to do with making the place too hot for us. After all, I +don't think Corvino cared for the _carbonero's_ daughter. It was only a +short-lived fancy, because the girl showed sweet upon him. This of the +sindico's chicken is a very different affair; for I know he's fond of +going in that direction, and shouldn't wonder if we get into danger by +it. Danger or no danger, he'll have her sooner or later, take my word +for it." + +"I don't wonder at his fancy; she a sweet-looking girl. One likes her +all the better for being so proud upon it." + +"Her pride will have a fall, once Corvino gets her in his clutches. +He's just the man to tame such shy damsels as she." + +"_Povera_! it is a pity, too." + +"Bah, you're a fool, Thomasso. Your sojourn in the Pope's prison has +spoilt you for our life, I fear. What are we poor fellows to do, if we +don't have a sweetheart now and then? Chased liked wolves, why +shouldn't we take a slice of lamb when we can get it? Who can blame the +_capo_ for liking a little bit of tender chick? And such a sweet bit as +Lucetta Torreani." + +Henry Harding, who had been all this time listening with disgust to the +dialogue between the two brigands, felt as if a huge stone had struck +him. The presentment that had just commenced shaping itself in his mind +appeared all at once to be circumstantially confirmed. The young girl +spoken of was Lucetta Torreani. It could be no other than the sister of +Luigi, whom he had seen standing in the balcony at Val di Orno, and who +so often since had been occupying his thoughts. + +It was a singular collocation or coincidence of circumstances, and +painful as singular. Under the blow, he relaxed his hold of the bar, +and staggering back, sank down upon the floor of his cell. + + + +CHAPTER TWENTY NINE. + +PAINFUL CONJECTURING. + +For some time the young Englishman sat, where he had sunk down, in a +state of mind not far removed from bewilderment. His captivity, if +irksome before, was now changed to torture. Of his own misfortunes he +no longer thought, nor cared. His soul was absorbed in contemplating +the perils that beset the sister of his friend--that fair young girl-- +that although seen, but for a moment, and then looked upon in the light +of a stranger, had made such an impression upon his heart; and, even +without knowing that she was Luigi's sister, what he had just heard was +of itself sufficient to make him unhappy in her behalf. He knew the +terrible power exercised by these bandits. He had proofs of it in his +own experience. A power all the more dangerous, since to men with lives +already forfeit, there can be no restraint arising from fear of the law. +One crime more could not further compromise them; and to commit such +crime there needed only the motive and opportunity. In this case both +appeared to be present. He had himself seen something of the first, in +the behaviour of the brigands on the night of their bivouac in the +village. Perhaps he might have seen more, but for the presence of +Popetta, who in their late maraud had made one of the band. What he had +now listened to placed the thing beyond doubt. The eyes of Corvino had +turned longingly on the sister of Luigi Torreani. What must be the +sequel when the wolf thus looks upon the lamb? Only destruction! + +About the opportunity there was not much left to conjecture. It +appeared like a sheep-fold without either watch-dog or shepherd. The +behaviour of the bandits, while occupying the town, told that they could +re-occupy it at any moment they had the mind. They might not be allowed +long to remain there; but the shortest flying visit would be sufficient +for a purpose like that. Such _razzia_ and rapine were but the ordinary +incidents of their life, the tactics of their calling, and they were +accustomed to execute them with the most subtle skill and celerity. +Corvino and his band could at any moment carry off Lucetta Torreani with +half the damsels of Val di Orno--the captive artist now knew this to be +the name of the village--without danger of either resistance or +interruption. After such an outrage they _might_ be pursued by the +Papal gendarmes or soldiery, and they might not. That would depend upon +circumstances--or whether the _manutangoli_ willed it. There would be a +show of pursuit, perhaps; and perhaps with this it would end. + +In his own land the young Englishman would not have given credit to such +a state of things. He could not, nor would his country men until a late +period, when it was brought home to them by testimony too substantial to +be discredited. Besides, since his arrival in Rome he had become better +informed about the status of Italian social life and the behaviour of +these banditti. He had no doubt, therefore, about the danger in which +stood the sister of Luigi Torreani. There seemed but one who could save +her from the fearful fate that hung over her head, and that one a +woman--if this word can be used in speaking of such a creature as Cara +Popetta. + +To the brigand's wife, companion, or whatever she was, the thoughts of +the captive turned as he sat reflecting, and devising schemes for the +protection of Lucetta Torreani. If he were only free himself, knowing +what he now did, the thing might have been easy enough, without +appealing to such a protector. But his freedom was now out of the +question. He felt convinced that from that prison he would never go +forth, but to be carried to one equally secure--until the messenger +should return from England bearing the ransom for which he had written. +And now, for the first time, did he feel satisfied at having written as +he had done. Had he known what he now knew, it would have needed no +dictation of the bandit chief to strengthen that appeal to his father. +He earnestly hoped that the appeal he had made would receive a +favourable response, and the money arrive in time to make liberty worth +regaining. He had fixed upon the purpose to which he would devote it. + +What if it came not at all? There was too much probability in this. +Formerly he had felt reckless, from the curse that had been resting upon +him; that is, the remembrance of Belle Mainwaring, and the +disinheritance he had deemed so cruel. And there was the still later +act of paternal harshness, in his father's refusal to advance the +inconsiderable legacy he had promised to leave him. In like manner his +father might refuse to pay the ransom demanded by the brigands. + +All that night the captive remained in his cell without sleep. Now and +then he paced the fern-covered floor, by the movement hoping to +stimulate his thoughts into the conception of some plan that would +ensure, less his own safety than that of Lucetta Torreani. But daylight +glimmered through the little window, and he was still without any +feasible scheme. He had only the slender hope, that the ransom might +arrive in time; this and the equally slender expectation of assistance +from "Cara Popetta." + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY. + +BRIGANDAGE AND ITS CAUSE. + +Brigandage, as it exists in the southern countries of Europe, is only +beginning to receive its full measure of credence. There was always a +knowledge, or supposition, that there were robbers in Spain, Italy, and +Greece, who went in bands, and now and then attacked travellers, +plundering them of their purses, and occasionally committing outrages on +their persons. People, however, supposed these cases to be exceptional, +and that the stage representations of brigand life to which in +Transpontine theatres we are treated, were exaggerations, both, as +regards the power and picturesqueness of these banded outlaws. There +were banditti, of course, conceded every one; but these were few and far +between, confined to the fastnesses of the mountains, or concealed in +some pathless forest--only showing themselves by stealth and on rare +occasions upon the public highways, or in the inhabited districts of the +country. + +Unhappily, this view of the case is not the correct one. At present, +and for a long time past, the brigands of Italy, so far from skulking in +mountain caves or forest lairs, openly disport themselves in the plains, +even where thickly peopled; not unfrequently making themselves masters +of a village, and retaining possession of it for days at a time. You +may wonder at the weakness of the Italian governments, that permit such +a state of things to exist. But it does exist, sometimes in spite of +the governments, but sometimes also with their secret support and +connivance--notably in the territories of Rome and Naples. To explain +why they connive at it would be to enter upon a religio-political +question which we do not care to discuss--since it might be deemed out +of place in the pages of a mere romantic tale. + +The motive of these governments for permitting brigandage was similar to +that which elsewhere gives "comfort and support" to many an association +almost as despicable as brigandage. It is the old story of despotism +all over the world, _Divide et impera_; and prince or priest, if they +cannot govern a people otherwise, will even rule them through the +scourge of the robber. + +Were there two forms of religion in Italy, as in Ireland, there would be +no brigands. Then there would be no need of them: since in aspiring to +political liberty the two parties would satisfactorily checkmate one +another, as they have done and still do in Ireland--each preferring +serfdom for itself rather than to share freedom with its hated rival. + +Since in Italy there is but one religion, some other means was required +to check and counteract the political liberty of the people. Despotism +had hit upon the device of brigandage, and this is the explanation of +its existence. + +The nature of this hideous social sore is but imperfectly understood +outside Italy. It might be supposed an irksome state of existence to +dwell in a country where robbers can ramble about at will, and do pretty +much as they please. And so it would be to any one of sensitive mind or +educated intelligence; but where the bandits dwell, there are few of +this class, the districts infected with them having been long since +surrendered to small tenant-farmers and peasantry. A landed proprietor +does not think of residing on his own estate. If he did, he would be in +danger every day of his life--not of being assassinated, for that would +be a simple act of folly on the part of the brigands--but hurried away +from his home to some rendezvous in the mountains, and there held +captive till his friends could raise a ransom sufficient to satisfy the +cupidity of his captors. This refused--supposing it possible of being +obtained--then he would certainly be assassinated--hanged or shot-- +without further hesitancy or equivocation. + +Knowing this, from either his own or his neighbour's experience, the +owner of an Italian estate takes the precaution to reside in the towns, +where there is a garrison of regular soldiers, or some other form of +protection for his person. And only _inside_ such a town is he safe. A +single mile beyond the boundary of their suburbs, sometimes even within +them, he runs the risk of getting picked up and carried off, before the +very faces of his friends and fellow-citizens. To deny this would be to +contradict facts of continual occurrence. Scores of such instances are +annually reported, both in the Roman States and in the late Neapolitan +territory--now happily included in a safer and better _regime_, though +still suffering from this chronic curse. + +But it may be asked of the peasantry themselves--the small farmers, +shopkeepers, artificers, labourers, shepherds, and the like--how they +live under such an abnormal condition of things? + +That is what the world wonders at, more especially the public of +England; which is not very intelligent on any foreign matter, and dull +at comprehending even that which concerns itself. Have we ever heard of +one of our own farmers raising his voice against a war, however cruel or +unjust, against the people of another country, provided it increased the +price of bacon in his own? And in this we have the explanation why the +peasant people of Italy bear up so bravely against brigandage. When a +village baker gets a _pezzo_ (in value something more than a dollar) for +a loaf of bread weighing less than three pounds, the real price in the +nearest town being only threepence; when a labourer gets a similar sum +for his brown bannock of like weight; when his wife has another _pezzo_ +for washing a brigand's shirt--the brigandesses being above such work; +when the shepherd asks and obtains a triple price for his goat, kid, or +sheep; and when every other article of bandit clothing or consumption is +paid for at a proportionate famine rate, one need no longer be +astonished at the tolerance of the Italian peasantry towards such +generous customers. + +But how about the insults, the annoyances, the dangers to which they are +subject at the hands of these outlaws? + +All nonsense. They are not in any danger. They have little to lose, +but their lives; and these the brigands do not care to take. It would +be to kill the goose, and get no more eggs. In the way of annoyances +the English labourer has to submit to quite as many, if not more, in the +shape of heavy taxation, or the interference of a prying policeman; and +when it comes to the question of insult, supposing it to be offered to a +wife or pretty daughter, the Italian peasant is in this respect not much +worse off than the tradesman of many an English town annually abandoned +to the tender mercies of a maudlin militia. + +Brigandage, therefore, in the belief of the Italian peasant, is not, at +all times, so very unendurable. + +Notwithstanding, there are occasions when it is so, and people suffer +from it grievously. Scenes of cruelty are often witnessed--episodes and +incidents absolutely agonising. These usually occur in places that have +either hitherto escaped the curse of brigandage, or have been for a long +time relieved from it; where owners of estates, deeming themselves safe, +have ventured to reside on their properties, in hopes of realising an +income--more than a moiety of which, under the robber _regime_, goes +into the pockets of their tenantry, the peasant cultivators. And to +prevent this residence of the proprietors on their estates is the very +thing desired by their proletarian retainers, who benefit by their +absence--this begetting another motive, perhaps the strongest of all, +for the toleration of the bandits. + +When, in districts for a time abandoned by them, the brigands once more +make appearance, either on a running raid or for permanent occupation, +then scenes are enacted that are truly deplorable. Owners for a time +remain, either hating to break up their households, or unable to dispose +of the property in hand, such as stock or chattels, without ruinous +sacrifice. They live on, trusting to chance, sometimes to favour, and +not unfrequently to a periodical bleeding by black mail, that gains them +the simple indulgence of non-molestation. It is at best but a +precarious position, painful as uncertain. + +In just such a dilemma was the father of Luigi Torreani, _sindico_, or +chief magistrate, of the town in which he dwelt, owning considerable +property in the district. Up to a late period he had felt secure from +the incursions of the bandits. He had even gone so far as to gain +ill-will from these outlaws, by the prosecution of two of their number +at a time when there was some safety in the just administration of the +laws. But times had changed. The Pope, occupied with his heretical +enemies outside his sacred dominions, gave little heed to interior +disturbances; and as for Cardinal Antonelli, what cared he for +complaints of brigand outrages daily poured into his ears? Rather, had +he reason for encouraging them--this true descendant of the Caesars and +type of the Caesar Borgias. + +It was to this peril in which his father was placed that the paragraph +in Luigi's letter referred. Henry Harding, reflecting within his prison +cell, had hit upon its correct interpretation. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY ONE. + +THE TORREANIS. + +On that same night in which the brigands had strayed into the town of +Val di Orno, the _sindico_ had learned something which caused him more +than ever to fear for the future. The bold, bullying behaviour of the +men was itself sufficient to tell him of his own impotence, in case they +had chosen to violate the laws of hospitality. But he had been told of +something more, something personal to himself, or rather to his family-- +that family consisting solely of his daughter Lucetta. She and Luigi +were his only children, and they had been motherless for many years. + +What he had learned is already known to the reader--that Corvino had +been seen to cast longing looks upon his child. This is the Italian +parlance when speaking of a preference of the kind supposed to exist in +the bosom of a brigand. Francesco Torreani knew its significance. He +was well aware of the personal attractions possessed by his daughter. +Her great beauty had long been the theme, not only of the village of Val +di Orno, but of the surrounding country. Even in the city itself had +she been spoken of; and once, while on a visit there with her father, +she had been beset by blandishments in which counts and cardinals had +taken part; for these red-legged gentry of the Church are not callous to +the smiles of witching woman. + +It was the second time Corvino had seen Lucetta Torreani; and her father +was admonished that he had perhaps seen her twice too often, as that +once more he might bring misery to his house, leaving it with a desolate +hearth. There was no insinuation against the girl--no hint that she had +in any way encouraged the bold advances of the brigand chief. On the +contrary, it was known that she hated the sight of him, as she should +do. It had been simply a warning, whispered in the father's ear, that +it would be well for her to be kept out of Corvino's way. But how was +this to be done? + +On the day after the visit of the band, Francesco Torreani noticed +something strange in his daughter's manner. There was an air of +dejection not usual to her, for the pretty Lucetta was not given to +gravity. Why should she be low-spirited at such a crisis? Her father +inquired the cause. + +"You are not yourself to-day, my child," he said, observing her dejected +air. + +"I am not, papa; I confess it." + +"Has anything occurred to vex you?" + +"To vex _me_! No, not quite that. It is thinking of another that gives +me unhappiness." + +"Of another! Who, _cara figlia_?" + +"Well, papa, I've been thinking of that poor young _Inglese_, who was +carried away by those infamous men. Suppose it had been brother Luigi?" + +"Ay, indeed!" + +"What do you think they will do with him? Is his life in danger?" + +"No, not his life--that is, if his friends will only send the money that +will be demanded for his ransom." + +"But if he have no friends? He might not. His dress was not rich; and +yet for all that he looked a _galantuomo_. Did he not?" + +"I did not take much notice of him, my child. I was too busy with the +affairs of the town while the ruffians were here." + +"Do you know, papa, what our girl Annetta has heard? Some one told her +this morning." + +"What?" + +"That the young _Inglese_ is an artist, just like our Luigi. How +strange if it be so?" + +"'Tis probable enough. Many of these English residents in Rome are +artists by profession. They come here to study our old paintings and +sculptures. He _may_ be one, and very likely is. 'Tis a pity, poor +fellow, but it can't be helped. Perhaps if he were a great _milord_ it +would be all the worse for him. His captors would require a much larger +sum for his ransom. If they find he can't pay, they'll be likely to let +him go." + +"I do hope they will; I do indeed." + +"But why, child? Why are you so much interested in this young man? +There have been others. Corvino's band took three with them, the last +time they passed through. You said nothing about them." + +"I did not notice them, papa: and he--think of his being a _pittore_! +Suppose brother Luigi was treated so in his country?" + +"There is no danger of that. I wish we had such a country to live in; +under a government where everything is secure, life, property, and--" + +The _sindico_ did not say what besides. He was thinking of the +admonition he had recently received. + +"And why should we not go to England? Go there and live with Luigi. He +said in his last letter, he has been successful in his profession, and +would like to have us with him. Perhaps this young _Inglese_ on his +return may stop at the inn; and, if you would question him, he could +tell us all about his country. If it be true what you say of it, why +should we not go there to live?" + +"There, or somewhere else. Italy is no longer a home for us. The Holy +Pontiff is too much occupied with his foreign affairs to find time for +the protection of his people. Yes, _cara figlia_, I've been thinking of +leaving Val di Orno--this day more than ever. I've almost made up my +mind to accept the offer Signor Bardoni has made for my estate. It's +far below its value; but in these times--what's all that noise in the +street?" + +Lucetta ran to the window, and looked out. + +"_Che vedette_?" inquired her father. + +"Soldiers," she replied. "There's a great long string of them coming up +the street. I suppose they're after the brigands?" + +"Yes. They won't catch them for all that. They never do. They're +always just in time to be too late! Come away from the window, child. +I must go down to receive them. They'll want quartering for the night, +and plenty to eat and drink. What's more, they won't want to pay for +it. No wonder our people prefer extending their hospitality to the +brigands, who pay well for everything. Ah, me! it's no sinecure to be +the _sindico_ of such a town. If old Bardoni wishes it, he can have +both my property and place. No doubt he can manage better than I. He's +better fitted to deal with banditti." + +Saying this, the _sindico_ took up his official staff; and, putting on +his hat, descended to the street, to give official reception to the +soldiers of the Pope. + +"A grand officer!" said Lucetta, glancing slyly through the window-bars. +"If he were only bravo enough to go after those brutes of brigands, and +rescue that handsome young _Inglese_. Ah! if he'd only do that. I'd +give him a smile for his pains. _Povero pittore_! Just like brother +Luigi. I wonder now if he has a sister thinking of him. Perhaps he may +have a--" + +The girl hesitated to pronounce the word "sweetheart," though, as the +thought suggested itself, there came a slight shadow over her +countenance, as if she would have preferred knowing he had none. + +"Oh!" she exclaimed, once more looking out of the window. "The grand +officer is coming home with papa; and there's another--a younger one-- +with him. No doubt they will dine here; and I suppose I must go and +dress to receive them." + +Saying this, she glided out of the room; which was soon after occupied +by the _sindico_, and his two soldier-guests. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY TWO. + +CAPTAIN COUNT GUARDIOLI. + +The town of Val di Orno was now in military possession, and there was no +longer any fear of a revisit from the bandits. + +The soldiers, in all about a hundred, were distributed by billet into +the best houses while the officers took possession of the inn. + +The captain, however, not contented with such shelter as the humble +hostelry afforded contrived to insinuate himself into more comfortable +quarters, in the house of the chief magistrate of the town, who, as +already known, was the _sindico_ himself. + +It was a hospitality somewhat reluctantly offered; and, under other +circumstances, the offer might not have been made. But the times were +troublous, the brigands were "abroad," and people could not well act +with churlishness towards their professed protectors. + +Besides, Francesco Torreani, on his own account, had need to show +courtesy, or pretend it, to the soldiers of the Pope. It was suspected +that he sympathised with that party of liberal views, fast growing in +influence, and who, under the inspiration of Mazzini, was threatening an +Italian republic. + +Compromised by this suspicion, the _sindico_ of Val di Orno required to +act with circumspection in the presence of the Pope's officer. + +The proposal for quarters in his house had come from the latter. It was +made deferentially, and under some trifling excuse, but in a way to make +refusal a delicate and difficult matter. The _sindico_ was constrained +to give consent; and the officer brought his luggage, along with his +body servant, from the inn, leaving more room for his subalterns. + +The _sindico_ thought it strange, but said nothing. The explanation he +gave to himself was not very consolatory. "To act as a spy upon me, I +suppose. No doubt he has his orders from Antonelli." + +Though plausible to him who made it, the conjecture was not true. +Captain Count Guardioli had received no orders of the kind; though, +likely enough, he had given the Vatican some hints of the political +proclivities of the _sindico_ of Val di Orno. + +His desire to share the hospitality of the magistrate's mansion was a +thought that came, after his entering the house on that first merely +official visit. The cause was simple enough. He had caught sight of +the _sindico's_ fair daughter as she was crossing one of the corridors, +and Captain Count Guardioli was not the man to close his eyes against +such attractions as Lucetta possessed. + +Poor girl! To be assailed on every side--on one by a _capo_ of bandits, +on the other a captain of Papal soldiers. In truth, was she in danger? +Fortunately for her peace of mind, she knew nothing of the designs of +Corvino; though she was not long in discovering the inclinations of +Captain Count Guardioli. + +His countship was one of those men who believe themselves irresistible-- +a true Italian lady-killer, with a semi-piratical aspect, eyes filled +with intellectual fire, teeth of snowy whiteness, and coal-black +moustaches, turning spirally along his cheeks. A maiden must have her +mind powerfully preoccupied who could withstand his amorous assaults. +So was he accustomed to declare in the ears of his military associates-- +boasting his irresistibility. + +No doubt, in the corrupt circles of the Apostolic city, he had had his +successes. Count, captain, and cavalier, above all, an ardent pursuer +of love adventures, it could scarce be otherwise. + +At first sight of Lucetta Torreani the Captain Count experienced a +sensation akin to ecstasy. It was like one who has discovered a +treasure, hitherto unseen by the eyes of man. What a triumph there +would be in revealing it! To obtain it could be no great difficulty. A +village damsel, a simple country girl, she would not be likely to resist +the fascinations of one who brought along with him the accomplishments +of the court, backed by the prestige of title and position. + +So reasoned Captain Count Guardioli; and, from that moment, commenced to +lay siege to the heart of Lucetta Torreani. But, although from the city +of Caesars, he could not say, as the first Caesar had done, "_Veni-- +vidi--vici_!" he came, and saw; but, after residing a week under the +same roof with the "simple village damsel," he was so far from having +subdued her heart, that he had not made the slightest impression upon +it; on the contrary, he had himself become enslaved by her charms. He +had grown so enamoured of the beautiful Lucetta, that his passion was +apparent to every one in the place, his own soldiers and subalterns +included. + +Blinded by his ill-starred idolatry, he had abandoned even the dignity +of concealing it; and followed his _ignis fatuus_ about--constantly +forcing his company upon her in a manner that rendered him ridiculous. + +All this the father saw with chagrin, but could not help it. He +consoled himself, however, with the reflection that Lucetta was safe, so +far as her heart was concerned. And yet every one did not believe this. +In the character of the _sindico's_ daughter there was nothing that +could be called coquetry. It was rather an amiability, that hesitated +about giving pain; and, influenced by this, she listened to the +solicitations and flatteries of the Captain Count almost as if she +relished them. It was only her father who thought otherwise. Perhaps +he might be mistaken. + +As usual, the soldiers did but little service--none at all that was of +any avail towards clearing the country of the bandits. They made +occasional excursions to the neighbouring valleys, where the outlaws had +been heard of, but where they could never be found. In these +expeditions they were never accompanied by their _commandante_. He +could not tear himself away from the side of Lucetta Torreani, and the +field duty was left to his lieutenants. By night the soldiers strayed +about the town, got drunk in the liquor-shops, insulted the townsmen, +took liberties with their women, and made themselves so generally +disagreeable, that before a week had elapsed, the citizens of Val di +Orno would have gladly exchanged their military guests for Corvino and +his cut-throats. + +About ten days after their entry into the place, there came a report, +which by the townspeople was received with secret satisfaction, not the +less from their having heard a whisper as to the cause. The soldiers +were to be recalled to Rome, to protect the Holy See from the approaches +of the Republic. + +Even to that secluded spot had rumours reached, that a change was +coming, and there were men in Val di Orno--where it might be supposed +such an idea could scarce have penetrated--men ready to vociferate, +"_Eviva la Republica_!" Its _sindico_ would have been among the +foremost to have raised this regenerating cry. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY THREE. + +IMPROVED PRISON FARE. + +A week elapsed from the day the brigands had got back to their mountain +den. The plunder had all been appropriated by three or four, to whom +fortune had been most favourable. These were already the richest +individuals in the band; for amid the mountains of Italy, as in the +towns of Homburg and Baden, the banker in the end is sure to sweep in +the stakes of the outsiders. Dame Fortune may give luck for a run; but +he who can afford to lose longest will outrun her in the end. + +Among the winners was the brigand chief, and Cara Popetta put fresh +rings upon her fingers, new brooches upon her breast, and additional +chains around her neck. + +Another expedition began to be talked about, to provide fresh stakes for +the game of _capo_ or _croce_. It was not to be either a grand or +distant one--only a little spurt into one of the neighbouring valleys-- +the capture, if chance allowed it, of some petty proprietor, who might +have ventured from the great city to have a look at his estates, or the +seizure of such chattels as might be found in a country village. It was +chiefly intended to fill up the time, until the return of that secret +messenger who had been despatched to England, and from whose mission +much was expected. + +Their English _confrere_ had given the brigands a hint of the great +wealth of their captive's father, and all were hopeful of receiving the +grand ransom that had been demanded by the _capo_. With five thousand +pounds (nearly thirty thousand _pezzos_), they might play for a month, +and go to sleep for another, without troubling themselves about the +soldiers in pursuit. + +The little expedition, that was to form the interlude while this was +being waited for, was soon organised--only about three-fourths of the +band being permitted to take part in it. On this occasion the women +were also left behind, Cara Popetta among the rest. + +The captive, inside his cell, only knew of its having started by the +greater tranquillity that reigned around the place. There were still +quarrels occurring at short intervals; but these appeared to be between +the women, whose voices, less sonorous, were not less energetic in their +accents of anger, or more refined in their mode of expressing it. Like +their short-cropped hair, their vocabulary appeared to have been shorn +of all its elegance--both, perhaps, having been parted with at the same +time. Had Henry Harding been in a mind for amusement, he might have +found it in witnessing their disputes, that oft occurred right under his +window. But he was not. On the contrary, it but disgusted him to think +of the degradation to which the angel woman may reach, when once she has +strayed from the path of virtue. + +And many of these women were beautiful, or had been before they became +vicious. No doubt more than one had been the fond hope of some doting +parent, perhaps the stay of an aged mother, and the solace of her +declining days, and who, having one day strayed beyond the confines of +her native village, like the daughter of Pietro, returned "home sad and +slow," or never returned at all! + +The heart of the young Englishman was lacerated as he reflected upon +their fate. It was torture, when he thought of them in connection with +Lucetta Torreani. To think of that pure, innocent girl--the glance he +had had of her convinced him that she was this--becoming as one of those +feminine fiends who daily jarred and warred outside his window! Surely +it could never be. And yet what was there to hinder it? This was the +inquiry that now occupied his attention, and filled him with dread +forebodings. + +Since the departure of the expedition a ray of hope had shone into his +cell. It was bright as the sunbeam that there entered. For the mind of +the captive, quickened by captivity, like a drowning man, will catch +even at straws; and one seemed to offer itself to the imprisoned artist. + +In the first place, he perceived that there was a chance of corrupting +his gaoler. This was no longer the morose, taciturn fellow, who had +hitherto attended upon him, but one who, if not cheerful, was at least +talkative. On hearing his voice the prisoner could at once recognise it +as that of one of the brigands who had held conversation under his +window. It was the one whose sentiments showed him the less hardened of +the two, and whom the other had called Tommaso. The captive fancied +something might be done with this man. From what he had heard him say, +Tommaso did not appear altogether dead to the dictates of humanity. +True, he had made confession to having spent some time in a Papal +prison. But many a martyr had done that--political and otherwise. The +worst against him was his being where he now was; but this might have +come from a like cause. + +So reflected Henry Harding; and the more did he think of it, after his +new gaoler had held converse with him. But he had found something else +to reflect upon, also of a hopeful character. The breakfast brought by +Tommaso--which was his first meal after the departure of the band--was +altogether different from those of former days. Instead of the macaroni +_pasta_, often unseasoned and insipid, there were broiled mutton, +sausages, _confetti_, and a bottle of _rosolio_! + +"Who sent these delicacies?" was the interrogatory of him who received +them. He did not put it until after eating his dinner, which in a like +way differed from the dinners of previous days. Then he asked the +question of his new attendant. + +"_La signora_," was the answer of Tommaso, speaking in such a courteous +tone, that but for the small chamber and the absence of furniture the +captive might have fancied himself in an hotel, and especially cared for +by one of its waiters. + +Throughout the day did this solicitude show itself; and at night the +signora herself brought him his supper, without either the intervention +or attendance of Tommaso. Shortly after the sun had gone down the young +Englishman started at seeing a woman make her way inside his cell; for +it was an apparition strange as unexpected. + +The small chamber in which he was imprisoned was but the adjunct of a +larger apartment--a sort of storeroom, where the brigands kept the +bulkier articles of their plunder, as also provisions. In this last was +a large window, through which the moon was shining; and it was only on +the door of his cell being thrown open that he perceived his feminine +visitor. Though she was but dimly seen in the borrowed light of the +outer chamber, he could tell that it was a woman. + +Who was she? + +Only for a second was he in doubt; her large form, as she stood outlined +in the doorway, as also the drapery of her dress, told him it was the +wife of the chief. He had observed that only she, of all the women +belonging to the band, affected female habiliments. + +Yes, his visitor was Cara Popetta. He wondered what she could want with +him; all the more as she came stealing in apparently in fear of being +watched, or followed by some one outside. She had noiselessly opened +the outer door, as noiselessly closed it behind her, and in the same way +opened and closed that communicating with his cell. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +END OF VOLUME ONE. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR. + +POPETTA. + +The prisoner had started up, and was standing in the centre of his cell. + +"Don't be alarmed, _Signor Inglese_," said his strange visitor, in a +half whisper. + +While speaking she had groped her way through the gloom, and was now so +near that he felt her breath upon his cheek, while her hand was laid +gently upon his shoulder. + +"What is it?" he asked, starting at her touch, and slightly recoiling, +though not through fear. + +"Do not be alarmed," she said soothingly: "I am not a man come to do you +an injury. Only a woman. It is I, Popetta,--you remember me?" + +"I do, signora; you are the wife of the chief Corvino." + +"Wife! Ah! if you'd said _slave_, it would be nearer the truth. No +matter about that. It can signify nothing to you." + +A sigh, distinctly audible in the still darkness, accompanied the +speech. + +The captive remained silent, wondering what was to come next. She had +taken her hand from off his shoulder, or rather it had slipped from it +as he drew back. + +"You'll be surprised at my coming here," she continued, speaking in the +tongue and tone of a lady. "From what you have seen you will think +there can be no compassion in a heart like mine. You may well think +so." + +"No, no," asseverated the captive, now really feeling surprise; "no +doubt, you have been unfortunate." + +"That's true," she hurriedly rejoined, as if not caring to dwell upon +some recollection called up by his speech. "Signore, I am here, not to +talk of the past--my past--but of _your_ future." + +"Mine!" + +"Yes, yours. Oh, it is fearful!" + +"In what way fearful?" asked the young Englishman. "Surely, I shall +soon be set free? Why need I care for a few days, or even weeks, of +imprisonment?" + +"_Caro signore_, you deceive yourself! It is not imprisonment, though +you may find that hard enough; and harder still when _he_ comes back +again--brute that he is!" + +Strange language for a wife to use towards her husband, thought Henry +Harding. + +"Yes, harder," continued she, "if the letter you have written receive no +response--I mean if it bring no ransom. Tell me, signore, what did you +say in that letter? Tell me all." + +"I thought you were acquainted with its contents. It was dictated in +your hearing, and penned in your presence." + +"I know, I know; but was that all? I saw that you were unwilling to +sign it. You had a reason?" + +"I had." + +"Some difference with your family? You are not friends with your +father--am I right?" + +"Something of that," answered the young Englishman, knowing no reason +why he should conceal a quarrel--so far away from those whom it might +concern. + +"I thought so," said the woman. "And this," she continued, changing her +tone to one of greater earnestness, "this quarrel may prevent your +father from sending the _riscatta_." + +"Possibly it may." + +"Possibly it may! You treat the matter lightly; you have done so all +along. I have noticed it. One cannot help admiring your courage; I +cannot. Perhaps that is why I am here." + +Again there was something like a sigh, which added to the surprise of +the captive, something of embarrassment. + +"You know not," continued Popetta, "the fate that is before you if the +_riscatta_ should not come." + +"What fate, signora?" + +"As I have said, a fearful one." + +"Tell me what it is. By your words it seems to be already determined +upon." + +"It is determined--always determined. It is the decree of Corvino." + +"Explain yourself, signora." + +"First, your ears will be cut off; they will be enclosed in a letter, +and sent to your father. The letter will be a renewed demand for money. +And then--" + +"Then?" demanded the captive, with some impatience--for the first time +giving credence to the threat that had already been twice spoken by +Corvino himself. + +"If the money be not sent, you will be still further mutilated." + +"How?" + +"Signore, I cannot tell you. There are many ways. I may not mention +them. Better for you if your father's answer leave no hope of a ransom. +You would then escape torture, by being immediately shot!" + +"Surely, signora, you are jesting with me?" + +"Jesting! Ah! it is no jest. I have witnessed it once--twice--often. +It is the invariable custom among these wretches with whom I have the +misfortune to be associated. It is one of their laws; and will be +carried out to a certainty!" + +"You come to me as a friend?" inquired the captive, as if to test the +sincerity of his visitor. + +"I do! You may believe me." + +"You have some advice to give me, signora? What is it?" + +"It is that you should write again--write to your friends. You must +have some friends--you the son of a great _galantuomo_, as your +countryman, Ricardo, tells us you are. Write to these friends--tell +them to see your father, and urge upon him the necessity of sending the +ransom demanded. It is your only chance of escaping from the fate I +have told you of--that is, from being fearfully mutilated, first +tortured and then shot." + +"Surely, there is another?" said the captive, for the first time +speaking in--a tone of appeal to his strange counsellor. + +"Another! If you think so, tell me what it is." + +"Your favour, signora!" + +"How?" + +"_You_ can find me the means of escaping from this prison." + +"Ah! that is just possible, but not so easy. If I succeeded, it could +only be by giving my life for yours! Would you wish me to do that, +signore?" + +"No--no!" + +"Such a sacrifice would be certain. You know not how I am watched. +'Tis only by stealth, and a bribe to Tommaso, I've been able to enter +here. Corvino's jealousy--ah, _Signor Inglese_, I have been deemed +handsome!--_you_ may not think so." + +Her hand once more rested on the young Englishman's shoulder--once more +to be repelled, but this time with greater gentleness. He feared to +wound her self-esteem, and stir the tigress that slumbered in that +darkened Italian heart. He made reply as he best could, without +committing himself. + +"Even were he to know of this interview," she continued, still speaking +of Corvino, "by the law of our band my life would be forfeited. You see +that I am ready to serve you!" + +"You would have me write, then? How is it to be done? Can a letter be +sent?" + +"Leave that to me. Here are some sheets of paper, ink, and a pen. I +have brought them with me. You can have no light now; I dare not give +it you. Corvino's captives must not be made too comfortable--else they +would be less urgent for their friends to set them free. When the +morning sun shines in through your window, then write. Tommaso will +bring you your breakfast, and take your letter in exchange. It will be +my care to see that it be sent." + +"Oh, thanks, signora!" exclaimed the grateful captive, seizing hold of +the offered gift with an eagerness he had not hitherto shown. A new +idea had come suddenly into his mind. "A thousand thanks!" he repeated; +"I shall do as you say." + +"_Buono notte_!" said the brigandess, putting the writing materials into +his hand, at the same time pressing it with a fervour that betrayed +something more than pity. "_Buono notte, galantuomo_!" she added. +"Sleep without fear. If it should come to that, you may command even +the life of her you have heard called _Cara Popetta_." + +Henry Harding was but too happy when she permitted him to disengage +himself from her clasp; which, though scarce understood, filled him with +a feeling somewhat akin to repulsion. He was happier still, when she +stole silently out of his cell, and he heard the door, closing behind +her. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE. + +WRITING UNDER DIFFICULTIES. + +As soon as the captive became convinced that his visitor was gone for +good, he lay down upon the fern leaves and gave way to profound +reflection--the subject, of course, being what had just passed between +him and Popetta. What could be her motive for the advice thus +voluntarily given? Was it a trap to betray him? It could hardly bear +this construction--for what was there to betray? He was already in the +power of the bandits, for life as for death. What more could they want? + +"Ah!" thought he, "I see through it now! After all, it may be Corvino's +doing. He may have put her up to this, to make more sure of getting the +money for my ransom. He thinks that her counsel, given in this side +way, will terrify me, and make me write in stronger terms to my father." + +But the answer to these self-asked questions did not quite satisfy him. +What need was there for any scheme of the kind on the part of the bandit +chief? He had dictated the letter sent. If stronger terms had seemed +necessary, he would have insisted on their insertion. The former +conjecture fell through. + +Then, supposing Popetta's counsel to him had been loyal, what could be +her motive? + +Henry Harding was yet young, and but little experienced in the ways of +woman's heart. He could count but one experience, and that of a +different kind. Only by some ill-understood whisperings of Nature was +he guided to a suspicion of what this strange woman meant; and he cared +not to continue the reflection. + +For all that he eagerly seized at her suggestion. It promised to assist +him in a design he had already half conceived, though without much +prospect of being able to carry it into execution. It was to write to +Luigi Torreani in London, and warn him of the peril in which his sister +was placed. He could write to his own father all the same, and in more +pressing terms--as he had been counselled; for he had now become +sensible of a dread impending danger. + +The behaviour of the brigands--which for more than a week he had been +witnessing--had produced upon him a serious impression--altogether +effacing that imbibed by contemplating the stage bandit of picturesque +habiliments and courteous carriage. However he might have felt about +the representative robber looking at him from the stall of a theatre, he +could see there would be no trifling with the real personage, when +contemplated by one completely in his power upon the summit of an +Italian mountain. Everything around proclaimed the seriousness of his +situation. It had become too critical for him to affect further +indifference, or feel in any way contented. No longer able to sleep, he +watched anxiously for the light of morning. + +No sooner did daybreak show itself through the window of his cell, than +he spread out the paper with which Popetta had provided him, and +commenced writing his letters. His table was the stone-paved floor; his +chair the same. He wrote lying flat along the flags. There were two +separate epistles. When finished they were as follows--the first to his +father:-- + + "Dear Father,-- + + "By this time, I presume, you will have received a letter, which I + wrote to you eight days ago, and which I have reason to believe was + carried to you by special messenger. I have no doubt that its + contents will have surprised and perhaps pained you. It was an appeal + which, I must confess, I was very little inclined to make; but it was + done at the dictation of a brigand, with a pistol held to my head, so + there was no help for it. I am writing this one under different + circumstances--on the floor of the cell where I am imprisoned; and + without being overlooked by my jailers. I can add little to what I + have said before--only that I am not now speaking under compulsion. + From what I've lately learnt, I can assure you that my former + communication--though I thought so at the time--contained no idle + words. The threat made in it by the brigand chief, he means most + surely to execute; and if the sum named be not sent to him, he will. + The first part of his performance is to be the cropping off my ears, + and forwarding them to your address. The latter he has learned from a + strange source, of which I may as well inform you--from our old + discharged gamekeeper, Doggy Dick, who happens to be one of his band. + How the scoundrel came to be here, I cannot tell. I only know that he + is here; and the most hostile to me of the whole fraternity. He + remembers the thrashing I gave him, and takes care to keep me + constantly in mind of it. + + "Now, dear father, I have told you all about how I am situated; and if + you deem it worth while to extract your unworthy son from his + dangerous dilemma, send on the money. You may think 5,000 pounds + rather a high figure to pay for such a life as mine. So do I; but + unfortunately I am not permitted to name my own price. If it appear + too much, perhaps you would not object to send the 1,000 pounds you + promised I should have at your death. Then I shall make the best + bargain I can with the rogues who've got me in pawn. + + "Hoping to hear from you by return of post--this, I believe, is to go + by post--I remain your closely guarded son,-- + + "Henry Harding. + + "To General Harding, + + "Beechwood Park, Bucks, England." + +Such was the letter from Henry Harding to his father. That to his +friend Luigi was shorter, though perhaps more impressive in its +suggestions. It ran as follows:-- + + "Dear Luigi, + + "I have only time to say three words to you. I am a prisoner to a + band of brigands--the band of Corvino, of whom, if I mistake not, I + have heard you speak. The place is in the Neapolitan mountains, about + forty miles from Rome, and twenty from your native town. I saw your + sister while on my way through it as a captive. I did not know her at + the time; but I have since learnt something I almost hesitate to tell + you. It must be told, however; and it is for that I write you this + letter. _Lucetta is in danger--the brigand chief has designs upon + her_! I learnt it by a conversation between two of the band, whom I + chanced to overhear. I need not add more. You will best know how to + act; and there is no time to be lost. God speed and guide you! + + "Yours, + + "Henry Harding." + +The letters were ready for the _post_, long before Tommaso brought in +the breakfast. + +Without saying a word he slipped them into the breast pocket of his +coat, and carried them away with him. + +That same night they were on board the mail steamer on the way from +Civita Vecchia to Marseilles. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY SIX. + +A SHORT TRIAL. + +The brigands returned from their raid two days earlier than they had +been expected. + +The captive became aware of their arrival by the increased clamour +outside. On peering through his cell window, he saw the men who had +been upon the expedition. They were all in ill-humour, looking sulky, +and cursing beyond their usual quantity. They had been unsuccessful in +the raid--having found _soldiers_ in the district into which it had been +made. They had, moreover, heard a rumour, that a combined force, both +from the Roman and Neapolitan territory, was marching upon their +mountain retreat. + +The captive could hear them talking of treason. He caught sight of +Corvino in front of his window. Something special seemed to have +enraged the chief. He was swearing at Popetta, and calling her foul +names in presence of his followers. + +One of the other women--a sort of rival in the regards of the ruffian-- +was standing by, and appearing to act as instigator. She talked as if +she was bringing some accusation against the _sposa_ of the _capo_. + +The prisoner could see that Popetta was in trouble, though he had no +clue to the cause. They talked so fast--several clamouring at the same +time--that it was impossible for him, with his slight knowledge of +Italian, to make out much of what was said. + +Soon the colloquy assumed a different phase, Corvino separating from the +crowd, and, along with two or three others, coming towards the cell. In +an instant the door was dashed open, and the brigand chief stepped +inside the dismal apartment. + +"So, signore," he cried, hissing the words through his teeth, "I +understand you've been very comfortable during my absence--plenty to eat +and drink--_rocatti, confetti_, cordials--the best of everything! Ah! +and a companion, too, in your solitude! No doubt, a pleasant companion? +I hope you both enjoyed yourselves. Ha, ha, ha!" + +The laugh fell upon the ears of the captive with a fearful significance. +It boded evil either to himself, or Popetta, or both. + +"May I ask what do you mean, Captain Corvino?" coolly inquired the young +Englishman. + +"Oh! how innocent you are, my beardless lamb--my smooth-faced Adonis. +What do I mean? Ha, ha, ha!" + +And again the cell resounded with his fierce, exultant laughter. + +"_Cospetto_!" cried the chief, suddenly changing tone, as his eye fell +upon a white object lying in the corner of the cell; "what's this? _Una +lettera_! And _carta bianca_! And here, pen and ink! So, so, signore! +you've been carrying on a correspondence? Bring him out to the light!" +he vociferated. "Bring everything!" + +And with a fierce oath he rushed into the open air, one of his followers +dragging the captive after him. Another carried the sheet of paper-- +surplus of the supply left by Popetta--as also the ink-horn and pen. + +The whole band had by this time gathered upon the ground. + +"Comrades!" cried the _capo_, "there's been treason in our absence. See +what we've found. Paper, pen, and ink, in the cell of our prisoner. +And, look--on his fingers the stain! He's been writing letters! What +could they have been about but to betray us? Examine him. See if they +be still upon his person!" + +The search was instantly made--extending to every pocket of the +prisoner's dress, every fold where a letter might be concealed. One was +brought to light, but evidently not of recent writing. It was the +letter of introduction to the father of Luigi Torreani. + +"To whom is it addressed?" asked the chief, snatching it from the hands +of his satellite. + +"_Diavolo_!" he exclaimed, on reading the superscription. "Here's a +correspondence unexpected!" + +Without further delay he pulled the epistle out of its envelope, and +commenced making himself master of the contents. He did not communicate +them to the bystanders; but the expression that passed over his +countenance told them that the letter contained something that strangely +interested him. It was like the grim smile of the tiger, who feels that +the prey has been already secured, and lies helpless within reach of his +claws. + +"So, signore!" he exclaimed, once more bending his eyes upon the young +Englishman. "You told me you had no friends in Italy. _Una menzogna_ +that was. Rich friends you have--powerful friends. The chief +magistrate of a town, with," he satirically whispered, placing his lips +close to the captive's ear, "with a very pretty daughter! What a pity +you did not have an opportunity to present your letter of introduction. +Never mind; you may make her acquaintance yet--soon, perhaps, and here +among the mountains. That will be all the more romantic, _signor +pittore_." + +The whispered insinuation, as also the satirical tone in which it was +made, passed like a poisoned shaft through the heart of Henry Harding. +Every hour, since the first of his captivity, his interest conceived for +the sister of Luigi Torreani had been growing stronger, while that +hitherto felt for Belle Mainwaring had passed altogether out of his +mind. + +Stung by the speeches of the brigand, he made no reply. Anything he +could have said would have served no purpose, even had there been +opportunity to say it. But there was not. The tormentor thought not of +listening to any response from his prisoner; and, without waiting for +one, he continued:-- + +"_Compagnos_!" cried he, addressing himself to his band, "you have here +before you the proofs of treason. No wonder the soldiers are gathering +upon our track. It remains for you to discover who have been the +traitors." + +"Yes, yes!" cried a score of voices. "The traitors! Who are they? Let +us know that, and we'll settle the score with them!" + +"Our prisoner here," continued the chief, "has written a letter--as you +can all see for yourselves. It has been despatched, too: since it is +not upon his person. To whom has it been sent? Who carried it? Who +supplied him with pen, ink, and paper? These are the questions to be +considered." + +"Who was left to keep guard over him?" inquired one of the men. + +"Tommaso!" answered several. + +"Where is Tommaso?" shouted a score of voices. + +"I am here!" responded the brigand who bore that name. + +"Answer us then. Did you do this?" + +"Do what?" + +"Furnish the writing materials to our prisoner?" + +"No," firmly replied Tommaso. + +"You need not waste your time questioning him," interposed a voice, +recognised as that of Popetta. "It was I who furnished them." + +"Yes," said the rival brigandess, speaking aside to several members of +the band, "not only found them, but carried them to the cell herself." + +"_Tutti_!" cried the chief, in a voice of thunder, that stilled the +murmurs produced by this communication. "For what purpose did you +supply them, Cara Popetta?" + +"For the common good," replied the woman, seemingly with the intent to +give justification for what she had done. + +"How?" shouted a score of voices. + +"_Cospetto_!" exclaimed the accused, "the thing is simple enough." + +"Explain it! Explain it!" + +"_Buono! buono_! Listen, and I will. Well, like yourselves, I want to +procure the _riscatta_. I didn't think the _Inglese_ would get it for +us. The letter directed by him wasn't strong enough. While you were +gone, having nothing else to think of, I prevailed upon the _galantuomo_ +to write another. What harm was there in that?" + +"It was to his father, then?" asked one of the spokesmen. + +"Of course it was," replied Popetta, with a scornful inclination of the +head. + +"How was it sent?" + +"To the _posta_ at Rome. The young man knew how to address it." + +"Who carried it to Rome?" + +To this question there was no answer. Popetta had turned aside, and +pretended not to hear. + +"_Compagnos_!" cried the chief, "make inquiry, and find out who of those +left behind has been absent while we were gone." + +A man was pointed out by the accuser of Popetta. He was a greenhorn-- +one of the recent recruits of the band, not yet admitted to the +privileges of the "_giro_." The cross-questioning to which he was +submitted soon produced its effect. Notwithstanding the promise of +secrecy given to her who had selected him for a messenger, he confessed +all. Unfortunately for Popetta, the fellow had been taught to read, and +knew enough arithmetic to tell that he carried _two_ letters instead of +_one_. He was able to say that one was for the father of the prisoner. +So far, Popetta had spoken the truth. It was the second letter that +condemned her. That had been directed to Signor Torreani. + +"Hear that!" cried several of the brigands, as soon as the name was +announced, and without listening to the address. "The Signor Torreani! +Why, it is the _sindico_ of Val di Orno! No wonder we're being beset +with soldiers! Every one knows that Torreani has never been our +friend!" + +"Besides," remarked the brigandess who had started the accusation, "why +such friendship to a prisoner? Why has he had all the _confetti, +rosalio_, the best things in the place--to say nothing of the company of +the signorina herself? Depend upon it, _compagnos_, there has been +treasonable conspiracy!" + +Poor Popetta! her time was come. Her husband--if such he was--had found +the opportunity long wanted--not to protect, but get rid of her. He +could now do so with perfect impunity--even without blame. With the +cunning of a tiger he had approached the dread climax; with the ferocity +of a tiger he seized upon the opportunity. + +"_Compagnos_!" appealed he, in a tone pretended to be sad; "I need not +tell you how hard it is to hear these charges against one who is dear to +me--my own wife. And it is harder to think they have been proved. But +we are banded together by a law that cannot be broken--the law of +self-preservation. That must be mutual among us. To infringe this law +would lead to our dissolution--our ruin--and we have sworn to one +another, that he, or she, who does aught contrary to it, shall suffer +death! Death, though it be brother, sister, wife, or mistress. I, whom +you have chosen for your chief, shall prove myself true. By this may +you believe me." + +While in the act of speaking the last words, the brigand sprang forward, +until he stood by the side of his accused wife--Popetta. Her cry of +terror was quickly succeeded by one of a different intonation. It was a +shrill scream of agony, gradually subdued to the expiring accents of +death, as the woman sank back upon the grass, with a poniard transfixed +in her heart! + +The scene that followed calls for no description. There was sign of +neither weeping, nor woe, in that savage assemblage. There may have +been pity; but if there was, it did not declare itself. The murderous +chieftain strode quietly away to his quarters, and there sought +concealment. He was too hardened to have remorse. Some of his +subordinates removed from the spot the ghastly evidence of his crime-- +burying the body of the brigandess in a ravine close by. But not until +they had stripped it of its glittering adornments--the spoils of many a +fair maiden of the Campagna. + +The prisoner was carried back to his cell, and there left to reflect on +the tragedy just enacted--on the fate of poor Popetta. To his excited +imagination it appeared but the foreshadowing of a still more fearful +fate in store for himself. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY SEVEN. + +A TOUGH AMPUTATION. + +During three days succeeding the tragical event recorded, there was +tranquillity in the bandit quarters--that gloomy quiet that succeeds +some terrible occurrence, alike telling that it has occurred. + +So far as Henry Harding saw, the chief kept himself indoors--as if doing +decent penance for the brutal crime he had committed. + +On the fourth day there transpired an event which roused the rendezvous +to its usual activity. There was an excitement among the men, under +which the late sanguinary scene was likely to be buried in oblivion. + +A little before sunrise, the signals of the sentinel announced the +approach of a messenger; and shortly afterwards a man came into the +quarters. He was in peasant garb--the same who had carried the +requisition on the landlord of the lodgings, and brought back the +three-score scudi. This time he was the bearer of a dispatch of +somewhat portentous appearance--a large envelope, enclosing a letter, +with still another inside. It was addressed to the brigand chief, and +to him delivered direct. The captive knew of the arrival of the +messenger by much excited talking outside, which also proclaimed it to +be an event of importance. He only learned that there was a letter, +when the brigand chief burst angrily into his cell, holding the opened +epistle in his hand. + +"So!" cried the latter in fierce vociferation. "So, _Signor Inglese_, +you've quarrelled with your father, have you? Well, that won't help +you. It only shows, that for being such an undutiful son you deserve a +little punishment. If you'd been a better boy, your worthy parent might +have acted differently, and saved you your ears. As it is, you are +about to lose them. Console yourself with the thought that they are not +going out of the family. They shall be cropped off with the greatest +care, and sent under cover to your father. Bring him out, comrades! +Let us have light for this delicate amputation." + +Doggy Dick was ordered by the chief to go into the house for a knife; +while two others retained the captive in their grasp, holding him as if +to keep him steady for an operation. A third knocked his hat from his +head, while a fourth pulled his long brown curls up over his crown, +leaving his ears naked for the knife. All seemed to take delight in +what they were doing, the women as well as the men--more especially she +who had been instrumental in causing the death of Popetta. There was +anger in the eyes of all; they were spited at not receiving the +_riscatta_. The renegade had told an exaggerated story of the wealth of +the captive's father, and they had founded high hopes upon it. They +charged their disappointment to the prisoner, and were paying him for it +by gibes and rough usage. They could see his ears cut off without a +single sentiment of pity or remorse. + +In a few seconds the knife-blade was gleaming against his cheek. It was +raised to the left ear, which in another instant would have been severed +from his head, when the captive, by a superhuman wrench, released his +left hand, and instinctively applied it over the spot. It was a mere +convulsive effort, caused by the horror of his situation. It would have +been utterly unavailing, and he knew it. He had only made the movement +under the impulse of a physical instinct. And yet it had the effect of +preserving the threatened member. + +Corvino, who stood near superintending the amputation, uttered a loud +shout, at the same time commanding the amputator to desist. The cry was +called forth at sight of the uplifted hand, or rather the little finger. + +"_Diavolo_!" he exclaimed, springing forward and seizing the captive by +the wrist. "You've done yourself a service, signore--you've saved your +ears, at least for this time. Here's a present for your father much +more appropriate. Perhaps it will point out to him the line of his +duty, which he has shown himself so inclined to neglect. `The hand to +guard the head'--that's the motto among us. We shall permit you to +adopt it to a proportionate extent, by allowing your little finger to be +the protector of your ears. Ha! ha! ha!" + +The brigands echoed the laughter of their chief, without exactly +comprehending the witticism that had called it forth. They were soon +enlightened as to the significance of the jest. The scarred finger was +before their eyes. They saw it was an old cicatrice, sure to be +recognised by any father who had taken the slightest interest in the +physical condition of his son. This was the explanation of Corvino's +interference to stay the cutting off of their captive's ears. + +"We don't wish to be unnecessarily cruel," continued the chief in a tone +of mock mercy; "no more do we wish to spoil such a pretty countenance as +that which has made conquest of Popetta, and might have done the same +for,"--here he leant close to his captive, and hissed spitefully into +his ear--"_Lucetta_." + +The cutting off of one ear, of both of them, would not have given Henry +Harding so much pain as the sting of that cruel whisper. It thrilled +him to his heart's core. Never in all his life had he felt, as at that +moment, the despair, the absolute horror of helplessness. His tongue +was still free, and he could not restrain it. He would speak, though he +knew the words might cost him his life. + +"Brute!" he vociferated, fixing his eye full upon the brigand chief; "if +I had you upon fair ground, I'd soon change your sham exultation to an +appeal for mercy. You dare not give me the chance. If you did, I would +show these ruffians around you that you're not fit to be their captain. +You killed your wife to make way for another. Not you, madame," he +continued, bowing derisively to the betrayer of Popetta, "but another, +whom God preserve from ever appearing in your place. You may kill me-- +cut me into pieces, if you will--but, depend upon it, my death will not +go unavenged. England, my country, shall hear of it. Though you now +fancy yourselves secure, you will be tracked into the very heart of your +mountain fastnesses--hunted up, and shot down like dogs--like wolves, as +you are--That's what will come to every one of you." + +Ha was not allowed to proceed. Three-score angry voices breaking in +upon his impetuous speech put an end to it. + +"What care we for your country," cried they. "England, indeed!" + +"Damn England!" shouted Doggy Dick. "_Inglaterra al inferno_!" +vociferated others. "France and Italia the same! The Pope, too, if you +choose to throw him in. What can they do to us? We are beyond _their_ +power; but you are in _ours_, signore. Let us prove it to him!" + +A score of stilettos, suddenly and simultaneously drawn, were gleaming +in the eyes of the captive as he listened to these words. He had half +repented his hasty speech--believing it would be his last--when he saw +the brigand chief interfering. He saw this with surprise: for Corvino +had quailed before his challenge with a look of the most resentful +malice. His surprise was of short duration. It ended on hearing what +the chief had to say. + +"Hold!" shouted he, in a voice of thunder. "Simpletons that you are, to +care for the talk of a cur like this. Your own captive, too! Would you +kill the goose that is to lay us golden eggs--a nest of them worth +thirty thousand scudi? You're mad, _compagnos_. Leave me to manage the +matter. Let us first get the eggs, which, by the grace of God and the +help of the Madonna, we shall yet extract from the parental bird, and +then--" + +"Yes, yes!" cried several, interrupting this figurative speech of their +leader; "let's get the eggs! Let's make the old bird lay them! Our +comrade Ricardo here says he's rich as King Croesus." + +"That do I," interposed Doggy Dick. "And I should know something about +the eggs he's got, since once on a time I was his gamekeeper." + +At this _jeu d'esprit_, which seemed rather dull to his Italian +audience, though better understood by the captive, the renegade laughed +immoderately. + +"Enough," cried Corvino; "we're wasting our time, and perhaps," he +added, with a ferocious leer, "the patience of our friend the artist. +Now, signore! we shall leave that handsome head unshorn of its auricular +appendages. The little finger of your left hand is all we require at +present. If it don't prove strong enough to extract the eggs we've been +speaking of, we shall try the whole hand. If that too fail, we must +give up the idea of having an omelette." + +A yell of laughter hailed this sally. + +"Then," continued the jocular ruffian, "we shan't have done with you. +To prove to the grand _Inglese_, your father, that we are not spiteful, +and how far we Italians can outdo him in generosity, we shall send him a +calf's head, with skin, ears, and everything attached to it." + +Boars of laughter succeeded this fearful speech, and the stilettos were +returned to their respective sheaths. + +"Now," commanded the chief, once more calling the knife into +requisition, "off with his finger. You needn't go beyond the second +joint. Cut off by the knuckle, which I've heard is in great request +among his countrymen. Don't spoil such a pretty hand. Leave him a +stump to fill out the finger of his glove; when that is on, no one will +be the wiser of what's wanting. You see, signore," concluded the +wretch, in a taunting tone, "I don't wish to damage your personal +appearance any more than is absolutely necessary for our purpose. I +know you are proud of it; and considering what has happened with +Popetta, I should be sorry at any mutilation that might debar you from a +like success with Lucetta." + +The last speech was delivered in a satanic whisper, again hissed into +the ear of the captive. It elicited no reply; nor did the young +Englishman make either remark, or resistance, when the cruel executioner +caught hold of his hand, and severed from it the little finger by a +clean cut of the knife-blade! + +The amputation was the cue for terminating this strange scene. As soon +as it was over, the captive was conducted back to his gloomy chamber, +and left to the contemplation of a hand rendered unsymmetrical for life. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT. + +THE FAMILY SOLICITOR. + +Though living but an hour, by rail, from London, General Harding rarely +visited the metropolis more than once a year. Once, however, it was his +custom to go--less to keep up his acquaintance with the great world, +than with his old Indian associates met at the "Oriental." He would +stay at some hotel for a couple of weeks--spending most of his time in +the streets or at the club--and then return to his retirement among the +Chilterns, with _souvenirs_ sufficient to last him for the remainder of +the year. During this annual sojourn in the city, he did not waste his +time in mere gossiping with his ancient comrades in arms. He gave some +portion of it to the management of affairs connected with his estate; +which, of course, included a call upon his solicitors in Lincoln's Inn +Fields. The time of his annual visit to the metropolis was in the +"season," when all London, and a goodly number of its "country cousins" +are in town. The "House" is then sitting, concerts are the rage, and +the "Row" affords its varied attractions. It was not any of these +allurements, however, that called the old Indian officer from his +country seat; but simply because he would then meet, men in London who, +like himself, could not be encountered there at any other period of the +year. + +It was on one of the earliest days of the London season, when the +dark-visaged messenger--who declared himself to have come from the +dominions of the Pope--had made his appearance at Beechwood Park; and a +few days later General Harding made his annual trip to London. This +visit to the metropolis had nothing to do with the strange communication +he had received through that very strange individual. It remained in +his mind only from the painful impression it had made. He grieved that +his son could be capable of practising such deception. Otherwise he +thought very little about the matter, or, if so, it was not with a +belief that there was any truth in the story about brigands. He +believed it to be a very skilful concoction; and it was this that gave +him pain--revealing on the part of his son a singular talent for +chicanery. + +How Henry had spent his time during the twelve months that had elapsed +he had not the slightest idea. He had not heard a word of him, or from +him. He had written once to his solicitor to make an inquiry; but it +was simply whether the lawyer had seen him. The answer had been "Yes." +Henry Harding had called at the solicitor's office, some twelve months +before. There was nothing said about the payment of the thousand +pounds; for the question had not been asked in the General's letter; and +the formal old lawyer, habituated to laconic exactness, had limited the +terms of his response to such inquiries as had been made. + +Henry, in his parting letter, had spoken of going abroad. This would to +some extent account for his not being heard of in London; and there was +no reason why he should not find his way to Rome, or any other +Continental capital. The General had the idea that it would serve him +for a tour of travel, and, perhaps, keep him out of worse company at +home. He would have been satisfied enough to hear of his son being in +Rome, but for the contents of that strange letter that brought the +information. In it there was proof that, if not actually in the hands +of brigands, he had fallen into company almost, if not altogether, as +bad. + +Such were the reflections of the General as he meandered through the +streets of the metropolis; reminded of his son's existence only by +knowing that he had been there; but not with any expectation of meeting +him. Henry, he no longer doubted, was in the city of Rome, and not +among the Neapolitan mountains, as the letter alleged. The supposed +falsehood also much embittered his father's remembrance of him. + +After having made the rounds of the clubs, the General, as usual, called +on his solicitors--"Lawson and Son," Lincoln's Inn Fields. + +"Have you heard anything of my son since I last wrote you?" he asked. +The question was put after his other business had been transacted. + +"No," said Lawson the elder, to whom the inquiry was directed, Lawson +the younger having gone out of the way. + +"I have had a singular letter from him--there it is--you are at liberty +to read it; you may put it among my papers. It's a document that has a +good deal grieved me. I don't wish it lying in my own desk." + +Mr Lawson adjusted his spectacles; and perused the epistle that had +been dictated by the brigand chief. + +"This _is_ strange, General! How did it reach you?" he asked on +finishing. "There does not appear to be a postmark." + +"That is perhaps the strangest part of it; it came _by hand_, and was +delivered to me in my own house." + +"By whom?" + +"An odd-looking creature of a Jew, or Italian, or something of the kind. +He proclaimed himself to be one of your own craft, Mr Lawson. A +_procuratore_, he said; which I believe in the Italian lingo means an +attorney, or solicitor." + +"What answer did you send your son?" + +"I sent no answer at all; I didn't believe a word of what was in the +letter. I saw, and so did my son Nigel, that it was a scheme to extract +money. Nigel, I believe, answered it." + +"Ah! your son Nigel answered this letter. What did he write, General? +You will excuse me for asking the question." + +"Of course, I'll excuse you. But I can't tell you for all that. I +don't know what was in my eldest son's letter; something, I think, to +the effect, that I saw through his deception, and also a word to +reproach him for the attempt at playing such a trick upon his own +father. Nigel thought this might have some effect on him--perhaps shame +him, if there is any shame left; though I fear, poor fellow, he has +fallen into bad hands, and it will take a more severe lesson to reclaim +him." + +"You don't believe, then, that he has fallen into the hands of +brigands?" + +"Brigands! Bah! Surely, Mr Lawson, you're not serious in thinking +such a thing possible--with your experience?" + +"It's just my experience, General, that suggests not only its +_possibility_, but its _probability_. It is now some years since, +during one of my vacations, I made what is usually called the Italian +tour. I learnt, while in Italy, some strange facts about the bandits of +Naples and Rome. I could not have believed what I heard, but for a +circumstantial testimony almost equal to the evidence of my own eyes. +It was about a gentleman having fallen into their clutches, and who had +to pay ransom to get clear. Indeed, it was by the merest accident I +escaped myself being taken prisoner at the same time. I owed the +immunity to the lucky break-down of a post-chaise, in which I was +travelling over the horrid roads of the Romagna. The trouble caused my +return to Rome; whereas, had I gone five miles farther, the house of +Lawson and Son, Lincoln's Inn Fields, might have had to pay ransom for +my person--just as this that is now demanded for that of your son." + +"Demanded for my son! Pooh! pooh! Demanded _by_ my son, you mean!" + +"I do not believe it, General. I am sorry to say I have reason to +differ with you." + +"But I do believe it. I have not told you how he left home--in a `huff' +about a girl he wanted to get married to. I was determined he +shouldn't, and made use of a trick to prevent it. I shall some day tell +you of this trick. It deceived a very tricky party--a pair of them for +that matter. It was then I wrote to you to give him the _thousand +pounds_. He's spent it, I suppose, upon idle vagabonds like himself, +who have put him up to this thing to get money. It's a cunning scheme, +but it won't succeed." + +"Wrote to me to give him a thousand pounds!" exclaimed the old +solicitor, half starting from his chair, and pulling the spectacles from +his nose. "What do you mean, General Harding?" + +"What _should_ I mean, Mr Lawson? I mean the thousand pounds I +directed you to draw from the bank, and pay over to my son Henry, +whenever he should call for it." + +"When?" + +"When! About twelve months ago. Let me see. Yes. Just twelve months +ago. It was only a week or so after I saw you on my last visit to +London. You told me in your letter, that he had been to your office +about that time." + +"I did, and so he had--twice, I think, he called--but not to receive a +thousand pounds, or money of any amount. He did not ask for it. If I +remember aright, he only called to inquire if there was any message sent +him by you. I did not see him myself--my head clerk did. He can tell +what passed with your son. Shall I summon him?" + +"Do so," said the General, almost beside himself with astonishment. +"Damme! it's very strange--very strange, damme!" + +A hand-bell was touched, and in an instant the head clerk came into the +room. + +"Jennings," said the solicitor, "do you remember General Harding's son-- +his younger son, Henry--you know him, I believe--having called here +about twelve months ago?" + +"Oh, yes!" responded the clerk; "I remember it very well. It is just +twelve months ago. I can find the entry if you wish. He called twice-- +the second time a day or two after the first. Both visits were entered +in the `call book.'" + +"Bring in the call book," commanded Mr Lawson. + +The clerk hurried off into the front office, leaving General Harding +once more alone with his solicitor. + + + +CHAPTER THIRTY NINE. + +THE CALL BOOK. + +The General could no longer keep his seat. At the unexpected +information communicated by Mr Lawson, he had started up, and commenced +pacing the floor in short irregular strides, at intervals exclaiming, +"Strange, damme!" + +"If I had known this," he said more continuously--"If I had known this, +all might yet have been well. Never got the thousand pounds, you say?" + +"Never a penny of it, from me." + +"I'm so glad to hear it--so glad!" + +"True, you should be. It's no doubt so much money saved; that is, if +you think it might have been spent foolishly." + +"Nothing of that kind, sir; nothing of the sort!" + +"Pardon me, General, I did not mean--" + +The lawyer's apology was interrupted by the re-entrance of his clerk +carrying a large volume, on whose covering of vellum were the words +"Call Book." + +Mr Lawson took hold of the book, glad to escape from further +explanation. + +"There it is," said he, after turning over a number of pages. "Two +entries of different dates, both relating to your son. The first on the +4th day of April; the other on the 6th. Shall I read them, General, or +will you look at them yourself?" + +"Read them to me." + +The solicitor, readjusting his spectacles, read aloud-- + +"_April 4th, half-past 11 a.m._--Called at office, Mr Henry Harding, +son of General Harding, of Beechwood Park, county Bucks. Business--to +ask if any communication had been received from his father intended for +self. Answer--None received." + +"_April 6th, half-past 11 a.m._--Called again, Mr Henry Harding. Same +question put, same answer given, as on April 4th. Young gentleman said +nothing, but went away dissatisfied." + +"Of course, General," said the lawyer apologetically, "we are obliged to +make these remarks in the way of our profession. Are these the only +entries, Mr Jennings--I mean that have reference to Mr Henry Harding?" + +"There are no others in the book, sir--except one made six months ago, +relating to a letter received from Mr Harding's father. Shall I find +it, sir?" + +"No, that is not necessary; you can take the book away." + +"And so you never paid my son Henry that thousand pounds?" interrogated +the General, after the clerk had gone out. + +"_Never_--not a thousand pence; no money of any kind, as you see by the +memoranda. He never asked for any. Of course, if he had done so, I +should have been obliged to refuse him until I received your order. A +thousand pounds, General, is too large a sum to be handed over to a +young man--a minor, as your son then was--simply at his own request." + +"But, Mr Lawson, you astonish me still more. Do you mean to tell me +you never received any letter authorising you to give him a cheque for +that amount?" + +"Never heard of such a letter. Never, until this moment." + +"Damme, this _is_ strange! He may be among the brigands, after all." + +"I should be sorry if it were so." + +"And I should be glad of it." + +"Oh! General?" + +"No, Lawson; you don't understand me. I'd be glad of it for a good +reason. It would prove that the boy might not be so bad, after all. I +thought he had spent the thousand pounds. Is it possible there can be +any truth in this letter from Rome? Damme, I hope it _is_ true--every +word of it!" + +"But, General; you would not wish it true that your son is a captive in +the hands of banditti?" + +"Of course I would. Better that than the other. I hope he is. I'd +willingly pay the five thousand pounds to think so. How shall we find +it out? What's to be done?" + +"What became of the messenger--my professional brother from the +dominions of the Pope?" + +"Oh, him! He's gone back, I suppose, to those who sent him--brigands, +or whatever they were. I came nigh kicking him out of the house. I +should have done so, or else given him in charge to the police, but +refrained--solely to avoid creating a scandal. Think, Mr Lawson, +what's to be done. I suppose there's no immediate danger?" + +"I'm not so sure of that," answered the lawyer reflectingly; "these +Italian bandits are cruel ruffians. There is no knowing how far they +may go in execution of their threat. Did the man leave no clue by which +he could be communicated with--no address?" + +"None whatever. He only said I should hear from my son again, as the +letter says. My God! they surely don't mean to carry out the threat it +contains?" + +"Let us hope not." + +"But what had I better do? Apply to the Foreign Secretary; get him to +write to Rome, and make a demand on the Pope's Government--that is, if +the story of my boy's captivity be true?" + +"Certainly, General; of course. But would all that not be too late? +When did you get the letter?" + +"Eight days ago. You will see by the date, that it has been written +more than two weeks." + +"Then I fear that any interference of the Government--either ours or +that of Rome--would be too late to anticipate the steps that may have +been taken, in the event of their having received your answer--I mean +that sent by your son Nigel. There appears to be no alternative but +wait till you get another communication from them. That will, at least, +give you the means of writing to your son, and forwarding the ransom +required. You could proceed with the other matter, all the same. Lay +your case before the Government, and see what can be done." + +"I shall set about it this very day," said the General. "This very day +shall I go down to Downing Street. Can you go with me, Mr Lawson?" + +"Of course," replied the solicitor, rising from his desk and putting his +spectacles into their case. "I'm at your service, General," he added, +as they walked towards the door; "I hope, after all, we shall not be +called upon to have any dealings with brigands." + +"And I hope we _shall_," returned the General, striking his Malacca cane +upon the pavement; "better my boy be a captive of brigands than the +plotter of a deception, such as I have been reproaching him with. May +God forgive me, but I'd rather see his ears in the next letter sent me, +than believe him capable of that." + +To this fervent speech from a father's heart the solicitor made no +answer; and the two walked side by side in silence. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY. + +A FURNITURE PICTURE. + +The man who can make his way out of Lincoln's Inn Fields--whether to the +east, west, north, or south--without travelling through some intricate +courts and passages, must do it by mounting up into the air on wings, or +ascending by means of a balloon. A splendid square--one of the largest +and finest in the metropolis--gay with green trees, and showing some +worn _facades_ that might shame much of our modern architecture, it is +nevertheless inaccessible, except by the dirtiest lanes in all London. +Almost exclusively inhabited by lawyers who have attained to the highest +eminence in their profession, these shabby approaches are emblematic of +the means by which some of them have reached it. + +In the purlieus that surround this great square, art struggles feebly +for existence. Here and there is a picture shop, where the artist finds +immortality in a cob-webbed window, or _al fresco_ on stone flags +outside the door. There is a particular passage where his works may be +seen displayed with a conspicuousness, that if granted them by the +rulers of the Royal Academy, fortune would be sure to follow. + +Through this passage General Harding and his solicitor had to make their +way, for the purpose of reaching the Strand, _en route_ to Downing +Street. + +In this passage there is a woman, whose sharp glance and sharper voice +has a tendency to keep it clear. On seeing the one, or hearing the +other, the wayfarer will be disposed to hurry on. She is the +proprietress of a furniture shop, of which the pictures in question are +an adjunct--being usually what are called in the trade "furniture +pictures." + +Neither General Harding, nor his solicitor had any idea of stopping to +examine them. They were hurrying on through the passage, when one, so +conspicuously placed that it could not escape observation, caught the +attention of the old officer, causing him to halt with a suddenness that +not only surprised his staid companion, but almost jerked the lawyer off +his legs. + +"What is it, General?" asked Mr Lawson. "Good God!" gasped the +General. "Look there! Do you see that picture?" + +"I do," answered the astonished solicitor; "a sporting scene--two young +fellows out shooting, accompanied by a gamekeeper. What do you see in +it to surprise you?" + +"Surprise me!" echoed the General; "the word is not strong enough. _It +astounds me_!" + +"I do not understand you, General," said the lawyer, glancing towards +the old soldier's face to see whether he was still in his senses. + +"The picture appears to be of very moderate merit--painted by some young +hand, I take it; though certainly there is spirit in the conception, and +the scene--what is it? One sportsman has his knife in his hand, and +looks as if he intended to stab the dog with it; while the other seems +protecting the poor brute. I can't make out the meaning." + +"_I can_," said the General, with a sigh, deeply breathed, while his +frame seemed convulsed by some terrible agitation. "My God!" he +continued, "it cannot be a coincidence; and yet how could that scene be +here--here upon canvas? Surely I am dreaming!" + +Once more Mr Lawson looked into the General's face, doubtful whether he +was not dreaming--either that or demented. + +"No!" exclaimed the old soldier, bringing his cane down upon the +pavement with an emphatic stroke. "There can be no mistake about it; it +is the same scene. Alas! too real. Those figures, Mr Lawson, are +portraits, or intended to be so. The costumes alone would enable me to +recognise them. He, holding the knife, is my eldest son, Nigel, just as +he was some five years ago; the other is Henry. The man in the +background is, or was, my gamekeeper--since become a poacher and escaped +convict. What can it mean? Who can have heard of the occurrence? Who +painted the picture?" + +"Perhaps," suggested the solicitor, "this person can tell us something +about it. I say, my good woman, how came you by this?" + +"That picture ye mean? How should I come by it, but by buyin' it? It's +a first-class paintin'; only thirty shillin', an' 'ud look spicy set in +a frame. Dirt cheap, gentlemen." + +"Do you know who you bought it from?" + +"In course I do. Oh, you needn't be afeerd of its bein' honestly come +by, if that's what you're drivin' at. I know all about its pedigree, +for I know the painter as painted it; he's a regular artist, he is." + +"What sort of a man is he?" + +"He's a young un; they're both young uns, for there be two on 'em. One +appear to be a furrener--a Italyin, I think. The other ain't so old-- +he's English, I should say. Don't know which paints the pictures. +Maybe both takes a hand at it, for both brings 'em to sell. I had some +more o' them, but they're sold. I dare say the old un's the one as is +the artist." + +"Do you know his name?" asked the General, with an eagerness that caused +the woman to look suspiciously at him, and hesitate about making reply. +"I am interested," he continued, "in whoever painted this picture. I +admire it, and will buy it from you. I'll take more from the same hand, +if you can furnish me with the name and address." + +"Oh, that's it. Well, then, the black complected chap--that is the old +un--his name is a furren' one, an' I've heard it, but don't recollect +it. The other's name I never heard, an' as for him, I 'spect he's gone +away. I ha'n't seen him here lately--not for months." + +"Do you know the address of either--where do they live?" + +"In course I do. I've gone there to fetch away some pictures. It's +close by here--just the other side of the Fields. I can give it you on +one of my bill-heads." + +"Do so," said the General. "Here is the thirty shillings for the +picture. You can send it round to Messrs. Lawson and Son, Number --, +Lincoln's Inn Fields." + +The woman took the money, praising the picture throughout the +transaction, by characterising it as "dirt cheap," and worth twice as +much as she asked for it. Then scratching out with an indifferent pen +upon a soiled scrap of paper the promised address, she handed it to her +purchaser, who, folding it between his fingers, hurried off out of the +passage, dragging Mr Lawson along with him. Instead of going on +towards Downing Street, he turned sharply round, and re-traversed the +court in the opposite direction. + +"Where now, General?" inquired the solicitor. + +"To see the painter," was the reply. "He may throw some light on this +strange, this mysterious affair. It still appears to me like a dream. +Perhaps he can interpret it." + +He could have done so, had he been found. But he was not. The address, +as given by the woman, was correct enough. The General and his +companion easily found the place--a mean-looking lodging-house in one of +the back streets of High Holborn. Three days before they would have +found the artist in it--whose description answered to that given by the +picture-dealer, and was recognised by the keeper of the lodging-house. +Three days before he had gone off in a great hurry--altogether out of +London, as his former landlady supposed. She came to this conclusion, +from the fact that he had sold off all his pictures and things to a Jew +dealer at a great sacrifice. She did not know his name, or where he had +gone to. He had settled his account, and that was all she seemed to +care about. + +Had she ever had another lodger, and associate of the one she spoke of? +Yes, there had been another--also a painter--a younger one. He was +English; but she did not know his name either, as the foreigner paid the +bill for both. The young one had gone off long ago--several months--and +the foreigner had since kept the apartments himself. This was all the +woman could tell, beyond giving a description of the younger artist. + +"My son Henry!" said General Harding, as he stepped forth into the +street. "He has been living in these wretched rooms, when I thought he +was running riot on that thousand pounds! I fear, Mr Lawson, I have +been outrageously wronging him." + +"It is not too late to make reparation, General." + +"I hope not--I hope not. Let us hasten on to Downing Street." + +The Foreign Office was reached; the Foreign Secretary seen; and the +usual promises given to interfere with all despatch in an affair of such +evident urgency. + +Nothing more could be done for the time; and General Harding set out for +his country seat, to prepare for any eventuality that might arise. He +was now ready to send the ransom, if he only knew where to send it; and +in hopes that a Roman letter might have arrived during his absence, he +had hurried home directly after his visit to Downing Street. In this +hope he was not disappointed. On reaching Beechwood he found several +letters upon his table that had been for several days there awaiting +him. There were two that bore the Roman postmark, though of different +dates. One he recognised in the handwriting of his son Henry. He +opened and read it. + +"Thank heaven!" he exclaimed, as he came to its close. "Thank heaven, +he is safe and well." + +The second foreign letter was conspicuous, both in size and shape. It +carried a multiplicity of stamps, required by its greater weight. The +General trembled as he took hold of it. Its "feel" told that it +contained an enclosure. His hands felt feeble as he tore open the +envelope. There was still another wrapper with something substantial +inside--something in the shape of a packet. The covering was at length +stripped off, and revealed to the sight an object of ashen colour, +somewhat cylindrically shaped, and nearly two inches in length. It was +a finger cut off at the second joint, and showing an old scar that, ran +longitudinally to the end of the nail. + +A cry escaped from the lips of the horrified father, as in the ghastly +enclosure he recognised the _finger of his son_! + + + +CHAPTER FORTY ONE. + +A TERRIBLE THREAT. + +It would be impossible to depict the expression on General Harding's +face, or the horror that thrilled through his heart, as he stood holding +his son's finger in his hand. His eyes looked as if about to start from +their sockets, while his frame shook as though he had become suddenly +palsied. Not for long did he keep hold of the ghastly fragment; and as +he attempted to lay it on the table, it dropped out of his now nerveless +grasp. + +It was some time before he could command sufficient calmness to peruse +the epistle that had accompanied the painful present. He at length took +it up, and spreading it before him, read:-- + + "Signore,-- + + "Enclosed you will find the finger of your son. You will easily + recognise it by the scar. If, however, you still continue to doubt, + and refuse to send the ransom by next post, the whole hand shall be + remitted to you, and you can see whether the finger fits. You shall + have ten days allowed for your answer. If, at the end of that time, + it does not reach Rome, and 30,000 scudi along with it, the next post + after will take the hand to you. If that fails to open your _borsa_ + we shall conclude you have no heart, and that you decline to negotiate + for your son's life. Do not, therefore, charge cruelty upon us, who, + by unjust laws, have been forced to war with mankind. Tracked like + wild beasts, we are compelled to adopt extreme means for obtaining a + livelihood. In fine, and to close the correspondence, should the + negotiation thus fall through, unsatisfactorily, we promise that your + son's body shall have Christian burial. As a reminder of your + inhumanity, the head shall be cut off, and sent you by the next + steamer that touches at Civita Vecchia. We have paid the post on the + finger; we shall do the same with the hand; but we shall expect you to + pay carriage on the head. + + "And now, Signor General, in respect to the advice already given you. + Don't mistake what is herein written for an idle menace--it has no + such meaning. Continue incredulous, and the threat will be carried + out to the letter, as stated. Refuse the ransom, and, as sure as you + are living, your son will be put to death. + + "Il Capo (for himself and _compagnos_). + + "_Postscriptum_.--If you send the money by post, direct to Signor + Jacopi, Number 9, Strada Volturno. If by messenger, he can find our + agent at the same place. Beware of treason: it cannot avail you." + +Such was the singular communication that had come into General Harding's +hands. + +"My God! my God!" was his exclamation as he finished reading it--the +same he had uttered before commencing. + +He had no doubt about the truth of its contents. Lying on the table +before his face was the fearful voucher--still apparently fresh--the +gore scarce congealed upon it, as it came out of the wrapper in which it +had been carefully enfolded. + +With a trembling hand the General touched the table bell. + +"My son Nigel!" he said to the footman who answered; "send him to me +instantly." + +The servant went off wondering. + +"My God!" once more ejaculated the sorrowing father, "this is terrible-- +horrible--who would have believed it? _Who would_ have believed it? It +is true--true beyond a doubt. My God!" + +And bending down over the table, with eyes that showed the agony of his +spirit, he once more scrutinised the ghastly object, as if afraid to +take it up or touch it. Nigel came in. + +"You sent for me, father?" + +"I did. Look here--look at that!" + +"That--what is it? An odd-looking object. What is it, papa?" + +"Ah! _you_ should know, Nigel." + +"What--why it looks like part of a finger! _Is_ it that?" + +"Alas, yes!" + +"But whose? How did it come here?" + +"Whose, Nigel!--whose!" said the General, his voice vibrating with +emotion. "You should remember it. You have reason." + +Nigel turned pale as his eyes rested upon the cicatrice, showing like a +whitish seam through the slight coating of blood. He _did_ remember it, +but said nothing. + +"_Now_ do you recognise it?" asked his father. + +"As a human finger," he answered evasively; "nothing more." + +"Nothing more! And you cannot tell to whom it once belonged." + +"Indeed I cannot--how should I know?" + +"Better than anybody else. Alas, it is--it was--your brother's!" + +"My brother's!" exclaimed Nigel, pretending both surprise and emotion-- +neither of which he felt. + +"Yes; look at that scar. You surely remember that?" + +Another pretended surprise, another feigned emotion, was all the answer. + +"I do not wish to reproach you for it," said the General, speaking of +the scar; "it is a thing that should be forgotten, and has nothing to do +with the misfortune now threatening us. What you see there was once +poor Henry's finger." + +"But how do you know, father? How came it here? How has it been cut +off? And who--" + +"Read these letters; they will tell you all about it." + +Nigel took up the bandit's letter, and ran through its contents--at +intervals giving utterance to ejaculations that might be construed +either as expressions of sympathy, surprise, or indignation. He then +glanced at the other. + +"You see," said his father, as soon as he had finished, "it turns out to +be true--too true. I had my fears when I read Henry's first, poor lad. +But, Nigel, you--How could any one have supposed such a thing as this?" + +"Why, papa, it appears yet impossible." + +"Impossible!" echoed the General, glancing almost angrily at his son. +"Look there upon that table! Look on the truth itself--the finger that +points to it. Poor Henry! what will he think of his father--his +hardhearted, cruel, unfeeling father? My God! Oh my God!" + +And giving himself up to a paroxysm of self-reproach, the General +commenced pacing to and fro in an excited manner. + +"This epistle appears to have come from Rome," said Nigel, examining the +letter with as much coolness as if it had contained some ordinary +communication. + +"Of course it came from Rome," replied the General, surprised, almost +angered, at the indifference with which his son seemed to speak of it. +"Don't you see the Roman postmark upon it? And haven't you read what's +inside? Perhaps you still think it a trick to extort money?" + +"No, no, father!" hastily rejoined Nigel, perceiving that he had +committed himself; "I was only thinking how it had best be answered." + +"There's but one way for that; the letter itself tells how." + +"What way, papa?" + +"Why send the money at once; that's the only way to save him. I can +tell by the talk of the scoundrel--what's his name?" + +"He here signs his name `Il Capo.' That is only his title as chief of +the band." + +"It's clear, from what the ruffian writes, that he cares for no +government--no law, human or divine. This, lying upon the table, is +proof sufficient that nothing will deter the scoundrels from carrying +out their threat. Clearly nothing will prevent them but the payment of +the money." + +"Five thousand pounds!" muttered Nigel; "it is a large sum." + +"A large sum! And if it were ten thousand, should we hesitate about +sending it? Is your brother's life not worth that? Ay, one finger of +his hand is. Poor boy!" + +"Oh! I did not mean that, papa. Only it occurred to me that if the +money should be sent, and, after all done, the brigands should refuse to +give him up. There will needs be caution in dealing with such fellows." + +"What caution can there be? There is no time. Within ten days the +answer is required. My God! what if the post has been delayed? Look-- +what is the date of the postmark on the letter?" + +"Roma, 12th," said Nigel, reading from the stamp on the envelope. "It +is now the 16th; there are still six days to the good." + +"Six days!--six days are nothing to send a messenger all the way to +Rome. Besides, there is everything to be arranged--the money--though, I +thank heaven, that need not cause any delay. But there is the going to +London, to see Lawson, who may not be at home. There's not a moment to +be lost; I must start at once. Quick, Nigel, give orders for the +carriage to be got ready without delay." + +Nigel, pretending an alacrity he was far from feeling, rushed out of the +door, leaving his father alone. + +"Where's `Bradshaw'?" the General asked of himself, glancing around the +library in search of the well-known "guide." Then, laying his hand upon +it, he commenced a traverse of its puzzling pages, in search of the +Great Western Railway. + +The carriage, not very speedily brought to the door, was yet ready +before he had become quite certain about the exact time of a suitable +train. This was at length ascertained; and then, flinging aside the +book, and permitting the old butler to array him in proper travelling +habiliments--not forgetting to put into his large pocket-book the +strange epistle, with its still stranger enclosure--he stepped inside +the chariot, and was driven towards Slough. + +The General's carriage had scarce cleared the gates of Beechwood Park, +when a pedestrian appeared upon the gravelled drive going in the same +direction. + +It was his son, Nigel. He also seemed in a state of agitation; though +its cause was very different from that which had taken his father in +such haste along the road to the railway station. + +Nigel had no intention of going so far; nor was he at the moment even +thinking of the peril in which his brother was placed. + +His thoughts were given to one nearer home--one far dearer to him than +that brother. He was simply proceeding to the residence of the Widow +Mainwaring, where for three months--partly owing to a taboo which his +father had placed on it--he had been but an occasional and clandestine +visitor. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY TWO. + +AN UNKNOWN CORRESPONDENT. + +After the atrocious cruelty that deprived him of a finger, two days more +of gloomy imprisonment was passed by Henry Harding in his prison. The +coarse fare by day and hard couch by night, even the loss he had +sustained, were not to be compared with the anguish of his spirit. + +In this lay the pangs of his captivity. The chagrin caused by his +father's refusal to ransom him was bitter to bear. His brother's letter +had placed the refusal in its worst light. He felt as if he had no +friend--no father. + +He suffered from a reflection less selfish, and yet more painful--an +apprehension for the safety of his friend's sister. There could be no +mistaking what Corvino meant by the words whispered in his ear during +that fearful scene; and he knew that the savage tragedy then enacted was +but by way of preparation for the still more distressing episode that +was to follow. + +Every hour, almost every minute, the captive might have been seen +standing by the window of his cell, scrutinising what might transpire +outside--listening with keen ear, apprehensive that in each new arrival +at the rendezvous, he might discover the presence of Lucetta Torreani. + +Himself a prisoner, he was powerless to protect, even to give her a word +of warning. Could he have sent her but one line to apprise her of the +danger, he would have sacrificed not only another finger, but the hand +by which it was written. He blamed himself for not having thought of +writing to her father, at the time that he sent the letter to Luigi. It +was an opportunity not likely to occur again. He could only hope that +his letter to Luigi might be received in time--a slender reed to depend +upon. He thought of trying to effect escape from his prison. Could he +succeed in doing this, all might be well. But he had been thinking of +it from the first--every hour during his confinement--thinking of it to +no purpose. He made no attempt, simply because there was no means of +making it. He had well examined the structure of his cell. The walls +were stout masonwork of stone and stucco; the floor was a pavement of +rough flags; the window a mere slit; the door strong enough to have +withstood the blows of a trip-hammer. Besides, at night a brigand slept +transversely across the entrance; while another kept sentry outside. + +A bird worth 30,000 scudi was too precious to be permitted the chance of +escaping from its cage. His eyes had often turned upwards. In that +direction seemed the only chance of escape at all possible. It might +have been practicable had he been but provided with two things--a knife +in his hand and a stool to stand upon. Strong beams stretched +horizontally across. Over these was a sheeting of roughly-hewn planks, +as if there was a second story above. But he knew it could only be a +garret; for the boards were damp and mildewed, from the leaking of the +roof over them. They looked rotten enough to have been easily cut +through, if there had been but a chisel or knife to accomplish it. +There was neither. Right and left, behind and before, below and above, +egress appeared impracticable. + +On the second night after losing his little finger, he had ceased to +think of it; and, with his mutilated hand wrapped in a rag, torn from +the sleeve of his shirt--the only surgical treatment it received--he lay +upon the floor, endeavouring in sleep to find a temporary respite from +his wretchedness. + +He had to some extent succeeded; and was beginning to lose consciousness +of his misery, when something striking him on the forehead startled him +to fresh wakefulness. It was a hard substance that had hit him; and the +blow caused pain, though not enough to draw from him any exclamation. +He only raised himself on his elbow, and waited for a repetition of the +stroke, or something that might explain it. While listening +attentively, he heard a sound, as if some light missile had been flung +through the window, and fallen on the floor, not far from where he lay. + +He looked to see what it could have been. There was no light, save what +came from a star-lit sky--sent still more sparingly through the narrow +aperture in the wall--so, of course, the floor of the chamber was in +deep obscurity. Notwithstanding this, an object of oblong shape was +revealed upon it, distinguishable by its white colour. The captive, on +clutching it, could tell it was a piece of paper, folded in the form of +a letter. Supposing it to be one, he was hindered for the time from +perusing it; and he remained holding it in his hand, but without making +any movement. Meanwhile he kept his eye upon the window, through which +it had evidently come, to see whether anything else should enter by the +same aperture. + +He watched for a full half hour; and, as nothing more seemed likely to +be thrown in to him, he turned his attention to that which had at first +startled him, and which he now imagined might be something projected +into his cell after the fashion of the folded sheet. Groping over the +floor, he became convinced of it. His hand came in contact with a +knife! He felt that its blade was in a sheath, a covering of goat-skin, +such as he had seen carried by the brigands. Without comprehending the +intent of the unexpected presents, or from whom they had come, he could +not help thinking there was a purpose in them; and, after watching the +window another hour or so, he began conjecturing what this purpose might +be. + +He was not very successful. A variety of hypotheses came before his +mind, but none that satisfied him. Under the circumstances the gift of +a keen-bladed knife suggested suicide; but that could hardly be the +intent of the donor. At all events, the recipient, wretched as he was, +did not feel himself reduced to quite such a state of despair. No doubt +there was writing on the paper, and no doubt, could he have read it, it +would have enlightened him. But there was no chance to do so, nor would +there be until morning. His sense of touch was not sufficiently +delicate to enable him to decipher it in the darkness, and there was no +help for it but to wait for the dawn. + +He did wait till dawn, but not one instant after. As the first rays of +the aurora came stealing through the aperture, he stood close to it, +spreading the unfolded sheet upon the sill. There was writing. The +words were Italian, and, fortunately, written in a bold, clerkly hand, +though evidently in haste. In the translation it ran thus:-- + + "You must make your escape _upwards_, towards the zenith. There is no + chance towards the horizon on any side. The knife will enable you to + cut your way through the roof. And take care to slide off the back of + the house, the sentry being in front. Once out, make for the pass by + which you came up. You should remember it. It lies due north. If + you need guiding, look for the Polar star. At the head of the gorge + there is a picket. You may easily steal past him. If not--you have + the knife! But, with proper caution, there need be no occasion for + your using it. His duty is not much by night. He has only to listen + to any signal that may be given from below. And his post is not in + the gorge, but on the summit--to one side. You may easily creep into + the ravine, and past, without his seeing you. At the mountain foot it + is different. The sentry placed there is only for the night. In + daytime he would be of no use--as the place can be seen from above in + time to give warning of any approach. This man will be awake, as his + life would be forfeited by his being found asleep. He would be + concealed upon the edge of the ravine. You cannot pass, without his + seeing you; and you must then use the knife. Don't try to pass; he + would have the advantage of seeing you first. Instead, conceal + yourself in the ravine, and remain there till morning. At daybreak he + will leave his post--as it is then no longer necessary to keep it. He + comes up to the rendezvous. Wait till he has passed you; and also + till he has got to the head of the gorge--longer if you like. Then + make your way off as you best can. Go with all speed, for you will be + seen and pursued. Make for the house where you stopped on your way + hither. Save yourself! Save Lucetta Torreani!" + +The astonishment caused by this strange epistle hindered the reader from +perceiving that there was a postscript. He saw it at length. It ran as +follows:-- + + "If you would also save the writer, _swallow this note as soon as you + have read it_." + +Having run it over again, to make sure of its meaning--and to memorise +the instructions it contained--the postscript was almost litre rally +complied with; and when the jailer entered the cell, bearing the usual +breakfast of boiled macaroni, not a scrap of paper could be seen, nor +anything to create suspicion. The prisoner only spoke of hunger; and +began masticating the macaroni as though the tasteless stuff was the +most savoury of dishes. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY THREE. + +CUTTING A WAY SKYWARD. + +His jailer once gone out of the cell, the captive was left undisturbed +to consider the plan of escape so unexpectedly proposed to him. The +first question that occurred was: Who could the unknown writer be? It +was evidently some one of a refined intelligence; the writing proved +this, but more the method in which the instructions were conveyed. +These were so cunningly conceived, and so clearly expressed, as to be +quite intelligible to him for whom they were intended. + +At first he thought of its being some plot on the part of Corvino--a +_ruse_ to give the chief a chance of recapturing him, and so taking him +in the act of attempting to escape. + +Then came the reflection, _Cui bono_? Corvino could not want an excuse +for taking his life. On the contrary, he had every reason for +preserving it--at least until some definite answer about the ransom. If +the demand should be again refused, the captive knew this would be plea +sufficient for putting him to death. The threat of the brigand had been +backed by the assurance given him in his conversation with the +unfortunate Popetta. He no longer doubted of its being in earnest. + +It could not be Corvino who had furnished him with the means of escape. +Who then? Certainly not his own countryman. The renegade was his +bitterest enemy--ever foremost in persecuting him. Of all the band, his +thoughts now turned to Tommaso, simply because there was no other who +had shown him the slightest sign of sympathy. Tommaso had done so, +during the two days of his attendance; but then he presumed it to be at +the instance of the signorina. She was dead; and her influence must +have perished along with her. What further interest could the man have +in him? + +True, he seemed something different from his outlawed associates. He at +least appeared less brutal than they--as if he had seen better days, and +had not fallen so far below the normal condition of humanity. Henry +Harding had noticed this during the slight communication held with him. +Beside, there was evidence of it in the conversation he had heard under +his window--in relation to the vile designs on Lucetta Torreani. But +then--Tommaso's motive for assisting him? And at such risk to himself! +Death would be the reward of any of the band who might aid him in +escape, or even connive at it--death sure and cruel. Why should Tommaso +place himself in peril? What had he, Henry Harding, done to deserve the +sympathy of this man? Nothing. + +The last word in the letter of instruction now occurred to him--not the +postscript, but the closing sentence of the epistle itself--"_Save +Lucetta Torreani_!" + +Was this the explanation? Could this be a clue to Tommaso's conduct? +If so, Tommaso was indeed the writer. + +It was at all events an injunction calculated to stimulate the prisoner +to action. The thought of the girl's danger was never for a moment out +of his mind. Now that this scheme was brought before him, he ceased his +conjectures, and gave himself up to considering how he should carry out +the design suggested in such a mysterious manner. + +Plainly he could do nothing before night. Any attempt during daylight +might be detected by his jailer, coming in with his food. The last meal +having been brought him would be the cue for commencement. + +During the day he was not idle. He made careful survey of his cell, +chiefly the woodwork overhead. The boards appeared in a dilapidated +condition, as if they would easily give way to the blade of a knife. +His chagrin was great in discovering that the ceiling was too high to be +reached--nearly a foot beyond the tips of his fingers, held aloft to +their fullest stretch. This was indeed something to disconcert him. + +He looked despairingly around the cell. There was nothing on which he +could stand--neither stool nor stone--nothing to give him the necessary +elevation. The chapter of instructions had been written in vain; the +writer had not contemplated this difficulty in their fulfilment. + +For a moment the captive believed he would have to abandon the scheme. +It seemed impossible of execution. + +Ingenuity becomes quickened under circumstances of dire necessity. In +Henry Harding's case this truth was illustrated. Once more scanning the +floor of his cell, he perceived the litter of fern leaves that formed +his stye-like couch. It might be possible to collect them into a lump, +and so obtain the standpoint he required. In his mind he made a +calculation of the quantity, and the probable height to which they would +elevate him. He did not experiment practically, by massing the litter +and so making a trial. Any disturbance of things might excite +suspicion. That would be a task easily accomplished, and could be left +to the last moment. + +And to the last moment it was left. As soon as the morose attendant +took his departure for the night--though without even the salutation +"_Buono notte_"--the captive set about carrying out his design. + +The fern leaves were collected into a heap and placed near the middle of +the floor. He took great care in packing them, so as to form a firm +cushion, and confining them within a small space, to increase the +elevation. He had also observed the precaution, to select a spot under +that part of the ceiling that appeared most assailable. + +The stage erected, he mounted on it, knife in hand. He could just reach +the boards with his blade; but this appeared enough, and he commenced +making an incision. As he conjectured, the wood was half decayed with +damp, or dry rot, and gave way before the knife, which by good luck was +a sharp one. But he had not worked long, when he found his support +sinking gradually beneath him; and, before he had accomplished the tenth +part of his task, the fern footstool had become so flattened that he was +unable to proceed. He descended to the floor, rearranged it, and then +recommenced his cutting and carving. All in silence, or with the least +noise possible; for there was his knowledge of a sharp-eared sentry in +the ante-chamber, and another keeping guard close by the window of his +cell. + +Again the cushion sank, with only another fraction of the task +accomplished. Again was it repadded; and the work proceeded for another +short spell. + +A new idea now helped him to keep on continuously. He took off his +coat, folded it into a thick roll, placed it on the summit of the fern +heap, and then set his feet upon it. This gave him a firmer pedestal to +stand upon, enabling him to complete the task he had undertaken. In +fine, he succeeded in cutting a trap-like hole through the floor-boards, +big enough for his body to be passed through. + +It was done before twelve o'clock. He could tell this by the brigands +still keeping up their carousal outside. Hitherto the sound of their +voices had favoured him, drowning any noise he might have made, +otherwise audible to the sentries. Moreover, these were less on the +alert during the earlier hours. + +About midnight all sounds ceased, and the band seemed to have gone to +sleep. It was time for him to continue the attempt at escape. Putting +on his coat, he caught hold of one of the joists, and drew himself up +through the hole he had cut. Above, as anticipated, he found himself in +a sort of garret-loft. + +He commenced groping around for some means of egress. At first he could +find none, and supposed the space to be enclosed without any aperture. +His head coming in contact with the roof, he perceived it to be a thatch +of either straw or rushes. He was planning how he should cut his way +through it, when a glimmer of light came under his eye, falling faintly +along the floor. + +Approaching the aperture where it was admitted, he discovered a sort of +dormer window, without glass, but closed by a dilapidated shutter. +There was no bar, and the shutter turned open to the outside. He looked +cautiously through, and scanned the ground beneath, as also the premises +adjoining. He saw that it was the back of the house, and that there +were no others in the rear. There was no light, or anything, to show +that human beings were astir. + +He could perceive a clump of trees standing a short distance off, and +others straggling up the sides of the mountain. If he could succeed in +getting under this cover, without disturbing the men who kept guard over +his cell, he would stand a good chance of escape, at least so far as the +first line of sentries was concerned. As to those keeping the pass, +that would be an enterprise altogether distinct. To get clear of his +prison was the thing now to be thought of; and he proceeded to take his +measures. How to creep through the dormer window and let himself down +outside were naturally the first questions that suggested themselves. + +The night was dark, though with a sky grey and starry. It was the +sombre gloom that in all its obscurity shrouded the extinguished crater. +He could not see the ground beneath; but, knowing how high he had +climbed into the garret, the descent could not be a very deep one, +unless indeed the house stood on the edge of some scarped elevation. +The thought of this caused him to hesitate; and, once more craning his +neck over the sill, he endeavoured to penetrate the obscurity below. +But he could not see the ground, and as it would not do to remain any +longer, he turned face inwards, and, backing through the window, let his +legs drop down the wall. A wooden bar placed tranversely across the +sill, seemed to offer the proper holding place for his hands. He +grasped it to balance his body for the fall; but the treacherous support +gave way, and he fell in such fashion as to throw him with violence on +his shoulder. + +He was stunned, and lay still--in what appeared to be the bottom of a +drain or trench. Fortunate for him his having done so. The crack of +the breaking bar had been heard by the sentries, who came running round +to discover the cause. + +"I'm sure I heard something," said one of the two. + +"Bah! nothing of the kind. You must have been mistaken." + +"I could swear to it--a noise like a blow with a stick, or the fall of a +bundle of fagots." + +"Oh, that was it! there's the cause then, over your head; that +window-shutter flapping in the wind." + +"Ah! like enough it was. To the devil with the rickety old thing! What +good does it do there, I wonder?" + +And the satisfied alarmist, following his less suspicions comrade, +returned to the front. By the time they regained their respective +posts, the prisoner had crept out of the dark ditch, and was skulking +cautiously towards the cover--which he succeeded in reaching without +further interrupting the tranquillity of their watch. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY FOUR. + +AGAIN IN PRISON. + +About two weeks had elapsed since the Papal soldiers first quartered +themselves in the village of Val di Orno. + +The sun had sunk quietly down into the blue bosom of the Tyrrhenian Sea, +and the villagers were most of them indoors. They were not desirous to +encounter their military guests upon the streets by night, lest in the +darkness the latter should mistake them for the enemy, and make free +with any little pocket cash they might have, acquired during the +tradings of the day. + +The captain of the protecting force was at the time seated in the best +sitting-room of the _sindico's_ house, making himself as agreeable as he +could to the _sindico's_ daughter--the father himself being present. + +The conversation, that had been carried on upon various themes, at +length reverted to the brigands--as may be supposed, a stock topic in +the village of Val di Orno. On this occasion it was special, relating +to the captive _Inglese_; of whom, as a matter of course, Captain Count +Guardiola had heard--having been officially furnished with the +particulars of the affair on his first arrival in the town. + +"_Povero_!" half soliloquised Lucetta; "I wonder what has happened to +him. Do you think, papa, they have set him free?" + +"I fear not, _figlia mia_. They will only do so when the _riscatta_ +reaches them." + +"Ah, me! How much do you think they will require?" + +"You speak, signorina," interposed the Captain Count, "as if you had a +mind to send the ransom yourself." + +"Willingly--if I were able. That would I." + +"You seem greatly interested in the _Inglese_. _Uno povero pittore_!" + +The last words were uttered in a tone of sneering contempt. + +"_Uno povero pittore_!" repeated the girl, her eyes kindling with +indignation. "Know, Signor Count Guardiola, that my brother is _uno +povero pittore_; and proud of it too, as so am I, his sister." + +"A thousand pardons, signorina; I did not know that your brother was an +artist. I only meant that this poor devil of an _Inglese_ after all may +be no artist, but a spy of that monster Mazzini! The thing isn't at all +improbable. Our last news tell us, that the arch-impostor has arrived +in Genoa, whither he has come almost direct from England. This fellow +may be one of his pilot fish, sent in advance to spy out the land. +Perhaps he's been rather fortunate in having fallen into the hands of +the brigands. Should he come into my clutches, and I find any trace of +the spy about him, I won't wait for any _riscatta_ before consigning his +neck to a halter." + +The indignation which was rising still higher in the breast of Lucetta +Torreani, became more perceptible in the pallor of her cheeks and the +quick flashing of her eyes. She was hindered from declaring it in +speech. Before she could reply, a voice was heard outside the door, +accompanied by a knock, as of some one seeking admission. This was +granted; less by the host of the house than his military guest, who had +by this this grown to regard himself as its master. + +The door was opened, and a sergeant stepped into the room, saluting as +he did so. He was the orderly of the troop. + +"What is it?" inquired the officer. + +"A prisoner," replied the man, making a second obeisance. + +"One of the bandits?" + +"No, signor captain; on the contrary, a man who pretends to have been +their prisoner, and who says he has just escaped from them." + +"What sort of man?" + +"A young fellow in the dress of a _citiadino--un Inglese_, I take him to +be; though he speaks our tongue as well as myself." + +The _sindico_ rose from his chair. Lucetta had already started from +hers, with a joyous exclamation, at the word _Inglese_. The escaped +captive could be no other than he of whom they had been lately speaking, +and of whom also she had been long thinking. + +"Signor Torreani," said the captain, turning towards his host with an +air which showed that he too was gratified by the announcement, "I do +not wish to disturb you in the performance of my duty. I shall go +down-stairs to examine this prisoner my men have taken." + +"It is not necessary," said the _sindico_; "you are welcome to bring him +up here." + +"Oh, do!" added Lucetta. "Let him come in here. If you wish, I shall +retire." + +"Certainly not, signorina; that is, if you are not afraid to look upon +one who has been a prisoner among banditti. If I mistake not, this is +the _povero pittore_ in whom you have expressed yourself so much +interested. Shall I order him to be brought in here?" + +It was evident that Guardiola wished it; so did Lucetta, from a +different motive. The former intended to display his power in the +presence of a prisoner, degraded by double captivity; the latter was +inspired with an instinct for the stranger's protection, and a secret +partiality which she herself scarce understood. + +It ended by the sergeant conducting his prisoner into the room, who +proved to be Henry Harding. + +The young Englishman seemed little surprised at the company to which he +was introduced. But having just escaped from the keeping of brigands, +he could ill comprehend why he should again be taken prisoner. That it +was so, he had already been made aware by some rough treatment received +at the hands of his new captors, who gave no heed either to his story or +protestations. + +He saw that he was now in the presence of their commander. No doubt the +interview would end in his being released. + +At a glance he had recognised the other occupants of the apartment. The +_sindico_ he had seen when passing through as the captive of the +brigands. He well remembered him; but still better his daughter. + +And she remembered the captive. His bare head, for he was hatless, the +brown locks tossed over his temples, the tattered surtout and trousers, +his small feet almost shoeless--all this _delabrement_ of dress and +person did not conceal from the eyes of Lucetta Torreani the handsome +face and manly form she had once before looked upon, and with an +interest that had made a lasting impression upon her memory. Even in +his rags he looked noble as ever. The very scantiness of his garments +displayed the fine symmetry of his figure; while his face, flushed with +defiant indignation, gave him the look of a young lion chafing at the +toils once more cast around him. He was not tied, but he was not at +liberty. + +At the same time he might have had reason to suppose himself in the +presence of friends. He knew that the gentleman in civilian costume was +the father of his friend Luigi; that the young lady was Luigi's sister-- +that "little Lucetta," of the increase in whose stature the letter had +conjecturally spoken. And truly was she well grown, stately, +statuesque--a fully-developed woman. + +Of course neither father nor daughter could know him. They had but seen +him as a stranger--a captive to banditti. + +In presence of such company it was not the time to declare himself; +though in a glance exchanged with Lucetta as he entered the room, he +felt gratified to think that the sympathy once silently shown for him +had not passed away. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY FIVE. + +CONSEQUENTIAL SWAGGER. + +Quickly and surreptitiously as was that glance exchanged between them-- +Henry Harding and the _sindico's_ daughter--it did not escape the notice +of Captain Guardiola. Warned by the conversation that had passed, he +was watching for it. It gave him the cue for a swaggering exercise of +his authority. + +"Where have you taken this ragged fellow?" asked he of the sergeant, +nodding superciliously towards the prisoner. + +"We found him skulking into the town." + +"Skulking!" cried the young Englishman, turning upon the man a look that +caused him to quail. "And if I am a ragged fellow," he continued, +directing his speech to the officer, "it is not to your credit--much +less that you should taunt me for it. If you and your valiant followers +were to perform your duty a little more efficiently, there would have +been less chance of my getting my clothes torn." + +"Zitti! zitti!" hissed out the officer. "We don't want such talk from +you, fellow. Reserve your speech till you are questioned." + +"It is my place to ask the first question. Why am I here a prisoner?" + +"That remains to be seen. Have you a passport?" + +"A rational interrogatory to put to a man who has just escaped out of +the clutches of brigands!" + +"How are we to know that, signore?" + +"Well," said the young man, "I assert it. And," he continued, looking +quizzically towards his own person, "I think my appearance should +corroborate the assertion. But, if not, I shall make my appeal to the +signorina here; whom, if I mistake not, I have had the honour of seeing +before. She, perhaps, may remember me, since for some hours I had the +misfortune to furnish her with a melancholy spectacle while stretched +upon the pavement underneath her balcony." + +"I do remember you!--I do, signore! Yes, papa, it is the same." + +"And I also saw him, Captain Guardiola. He was carried through here by +the bandits. He is the English artist of whom we have been just +speaking." + +"That may be," rejoined Guardiola, with an incredulous smile. +"Englishman, artist, and prisoner to the banditti--all these in one. +But the gentleman may still have another character, not yet declared." + +"What other?" demanded the gentleman in question. "_Una spia_." + +"Spy!" echoed the prisoner. "For whom--and what purpose?" + +"Ah! that is just the question!" sarcastically rejoined Guardiola. "It +is for me to discover it. If you'll be frank, and declare yourself, you +may perhaps get better treatment; besides, it may shorten the term of +your imprisonment." + +"My imprisonment! By what right, sir, do you talk to me of +imprisonment? I am an Englishman; and you, I take it, are an officer in +the Pope's army--not a captain of banditti. Make me a prisoner, and it +shall cost you dear." + +"Cost what it may, signore, you are my prisoner; and shall remain so +till I can ascertain in what character you have been travelling through +these parts. Your story is suspicious. You have passed yourself off +for an artist." + +"I have not passed myself off for one, though I am so--in an humble +sense. What has that to do with the affair?" + +"Much. Why should you, `_un povero pittore_'"--this was said +sneeringly--"be straying out here in the mountains? If you are an +English artist, as you say, you must have come to Italy to paint ruins +and sculptures, not rocks and trees. What then is your errand up here? +Answer me that, signore!" + +The young artist hesitated. Should he make a clean breast of it, and +declare his errand? Had the time come? Why should he not? He was in a +dilemma, out of which he might escape more easily than he had done from +the brigands' den. Why should he prolong the continuance of his second +captivity?--for it was clear that the officer intended continuing it. A +word would release him--so, at least, he presumed. There seemed no +reason why it should not be spoken. After a moment's reflection, he +determined on speaking it. + +"Signor Captain," said he, "if in the execution of your duty you must +necessarily know why I am here, you shall be welcome to the information. +Perhaps my answer may give surprise to the Signor Francesco Torreani, +and also to the Signorina Lucetta!" + +"What! _Signor Inglese_!" exclaimed the _sindico's_ daughter, "you know +our names then?" + +"I do, signorina." + +"From whom have you heard them?" inquired the father. + +"From your son." + +"My son! He is in London." + +"Just so; and it was there I first heard of the Signor Francesco +Torreani and his daughter, the Signorina Lucetta." + +"You astonish us. You know Luigi then?" + +"As well as one man may know another who for twelve months has been his +daily companion; who has shared his apartment and his studio, who--" + +"Saved his purse--perhaps his life," interrupted the _sindico_, +approaching the Englishman, and warmly grasping his hand. "If I mistake +not, you are the young gentleman who rescued my son from thieves, London +bandits. It is you of whom Luigi has often written to us. Am I right +in my conjecture, signore?" + +"Oh yes!" exclaimed Lucetta, also coming nearer, and contemplating the +stranger with renewed interest. "I'm sure it is, papa. He is so like +the description brother Luigi has given of him." + +"Thanks, signorina," answered the young artist, with a smile. "I hope +you except my habiliments. As for my identity, Signor Torreani, I might +have been better able to establish that, but for my kind friend Corvino; +who, not satisfied with taking the little cash I had, has also stripped +me of the letter of introduction I brought from your son. I intended to +have presented it in person, but have been hindered by the circumstances +of which you are already aware." + +"But why did you not make yourself known to me while you were here?" + +"I did not then know you, signore. I was even ignorant of the name of +the town into which my captors had carried me. I had not then the +slightest idea that its chief magistrate was the father of Luigi +Torreani--much less that the fair young lady I saw standing in a balcony +was the sister of my dearest friend." + +At the conclusion of this complimentary speech, Lucetta's cheek showed a +slight tinge of red--as if from some souvenir of that balcony scene. + +"What a pity," said the _sindico_, "I did not know this before! I might +have done something to get you off." + +"Thanks, Signor Torreani. But it would have cost you dearly--at least +30,000 scudi." + +"Thirty thousand scudi!" exclaimed the company. + +"You put a high price upon yourself, _signor pittore_?" sneeringly +insinuated the officer. + +"It is the exact sum fixed by Corvino." + +"He must have mistaken you for some _milord_. I suppose he has +discovered his error, and let you off scot free?" + +"Yes; and finger free too," rejoined the escaped captive in a jovial +tone--as he said so presenting his left hand to the gaze of the company. + +Lucetta screamed; while her father leant forward, and examined the +mutilated hand with a compassionate air. + +"Yes," he said; "this is indeed a proof that I could have done little +for you. But tell us, signore! How did you escape from those cruel +wretches?" + +"Time enough for that to-morrow," interposed Guardiola, who seemed stung +with the sympathy the stranger was receiving. "Sergeant!" he continued, +turning to the soldier, "this interview has lasted long enough, and to +little profit. You can take your prisoner back to the guard-house. I +shall examine him more minutely in the morning." + +"Prisoner still?" was the surprised interrogatory of the _sindico_ and +his daughter. + +"I warn you against what you are doing," said the Englishman, addressing +himself to the officer. "You will find that even your master, the Pope, +will not be able to screen you from punishment for this outrage on a +British subject." + +"And your master, Giuseppe Mazzini, will not be able to protect you for +acting as a revolutionary spy, Signore Inglese." + +"Mazzini! Revolutionary spy! What do you mean?" + +"I think, Captain Guardiola," interposed the _sindico_, "you are +altogether mistaken about this young man. He is no spy; but an honest +English _galantuomo_--the friend of my son, Luigi. I shall be +answerable for him." + +"I must do my duty, Signor Torreani. Sergeant! do yours. Take your +prisoner back to the guard, and see that you bring him before me in the +morning." + +The order was obeyed. The prisoner offered no resistance to it. There +were other soldiers outside the door; and, as any attempt to escape +would have been idle, Henry Harding had to submit to this additional +degradation. He did not leave the room before exchanging a look with +Lucetta that consoled him for the insult, and another with Captain Count +Guardiola, that disturbed his countship's equanimity for the remainder +of the evening. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY SIX. + +ALONE WITH LUCETTA TORREANI. + +Next morning Captain Guardiola was in a somewhat different frame of +mind. On examination of the prisoner, he could find no proof of the +latter being a spy; on the contrary, there was ample evidence of his +story being true. A score of the townsmen could identify him as having +been in the hands of the banditti. Indeed, this was not doubted by any +one; and the fact of his being an _Inglese_ was in his favour. Why +should an Englishman be meddling in the political affairs of the +country? + +The commandant saw that to detain him might end in trouble to himself. +He was too intelligent not to understand the power of the English +Government, even in the affairs of Italy; and, looking forward to future +events, thought it safe upon the whole to release the artist; which he +at length did, under pretence of doing an act of grace to the _sindico_, +who had renewed his intercession on the young Englishman's behalf. + +Henry Harding was once more free. Not a little to the disgust of +Guardiola, he became the _sindico's_ guest. But there was no help for +it, unless by an act of authority too arbitrary to be passed over +without investigation; and the Captain Count was compelled to swallow +his chagrin with the best grace he could. + +By chance there was a spare suit of clothes, left by Luigi on his +setting out for England. They were of the _cacciatore_ cut, too +fantastic for the streets of London; for this reason they had been left +behind. They were just the sort for the mountains of the Romagna, and +of a size to suit the young Englishman, fitting him as if he had been +measured for them by the Italian tailor who made them. + +The Signor Torreani insisted upon his receiving them. He could not well +refuse, considering the state of dilapidation to which his own had been +reduced, and the necessity of making a decent appearance as guest of the +donor. An hour after his release from the guard-house he was seen in +velvet jacket, buttoned breeches, and gaiters of _cacciatore_ cut, with +a plumed Calabrian hat upon his head--bearing resemblance in almost +everything, except physiognomy, to a brigand! + +The costume became him. Lucetta smiled at seeing him in his new dress. +She was pleased with his appearance. He reminded her of brother Luigi. +And then he was called upon for the story of his adventures among the +bandits--from the date of his capture to that of his second arrival in +the town. Of course only such details were given as were fitted for the +ear of a young lady. The mode of his escape from the cell was +particularly inquired into, and related. Some expressions in the +destroyed letter of Tommaso, and which Henry Harding intended soon to +communicate to the _sindico_ himself, were kept back--along with that +other intelligence which had been his chief motive for making escape. + +His auditors--there were both father and daughter present at this +interview--were strangely interested when he spoke of the mysterious +interference on his behalf. Who could have helped him to the knife? +Who could have written the letter of instructions? He did not say +anything to assist them in their conjectures, nor even mention the name +of Tommaso. All that was for the ears of the _sindico_ himself, and at +another time. + +He merely described the cutting his passage through the floor above his +cell--his dropping from the dormer window--the alarm caused to the +sentinels, and its instant subsidence. He told them, too, how he had +succeeded in passing the first vidette, stationed at the top of the +gorge, by crawling on his hands and knees; how he had got so close to +the other as to perceive that passing him in the same way would be +impossible; how, knife in hand, he had stood for a time half determined +to take the man's life; how he had recoiled from the shedding of blood; +how, concealing himself in some bushes, he had remained wakeful till +daylight; had seen the second sentry pass up the hill; and then, unseen +himself, had continued his retreat. As good luck would have it, a filmy +haze was hanging over the valley, under the curtain of which he had +escaped. Otherwise he would have been seen, either by the vidette +above, or the night-sentinel on his return to the rendezvous. He could +not tell whether he had been pursued--of course he had been, though not +immediately. It was not likely he was missed till an advanced hour in +the morning, and then he was far on his way. Fortunately, he remembered +the road by which the brigands had taken him, and kept along with eager +celerity, inspired not only by the peril of his own situation, but that +of those to whom he was now describing his escape. He had finally +reached the skirts of the town a little after nightfall, once more to be +made a prisoner. And, once more released, he was in a fair way of again +getting into chains, somewhat less irksome to endure. This, however, +did not form part of his confession. + +The conversation now turned upon Luigi; but this was in a dialogue +between the young Englishman and Lucetta--the _sindico_ having gone out +on business of the town. + +Need we say that Lucetta Torreani was very fond of her only brother? +How was Luigi in health? How did he like _Inglaterra_? Was he making +much progress in his profession? These, with a score of like questions, +were rapidly asked and answered; and then a detailed description had to +be given of that episode which had introduced the two young men to one +another, with something of their after association. And then there was +a sly inquiry as to what Luigi thought of the English ladies, with their +blonde complexions and bright golden hair, so different from the +daughters of _Italia_. And there was a hint about a young lady in Rome, +a sort of semi-cousin of the Torreanis to whom Luigi _ought_ to be true. +Would it be right for a young man to marry away out of his own country? +And did the signore believe that there was any sin in marriages between +people of his own faith--he had confessed himself a Protestant--and +those of Holy Church? + +These and other topics--perhaps few so pleasant--were talked of; the +young Italian girl asking questions, and giving answers, with that +_naivete_ so charming to the listener. + +It so charmed Henry Harding, that, before he had passed a single day in +her company, he could look back on Buckinghamshire and Belle Mainwaring +without a shadow of regret. He was in a fair way of forgetting both. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +That same night the escaped prisoner completed the revelation he had to +make to the _sindico_ alone; first telling him what he had learnt about +the designs of Corvino upon his daughter, as also how he had learnt it; +then of the letter he had himself written to Luigi, urging the latter to +hasten home. + +The _sindico_, though pained, was not much surprised by the first part +of this strange communication. As is known, he had already received +warning. It was the letter to his son, written under such +circumstances, that filled him alike with surprise and gratitude. With +warm words, he thanked the young Englishman for his generous and +thoughtful interference. + +During the explanation, a point that had hitherto puzzled the escaped +captive found a presumptive solution. He had all along wondered who +could have been his mysterious protector. Who had furnished the knife, +with the chapter of instructions that accompanied it? At the mention of +the name of Tommaso, the _sindico_ started, as if having guessed the +hidden hand that had interfered in their favour. On a further +description of the man, he felt sure of it. An old retainer of the +Torreanis, who had held service in the Pontifical army; had fallen into +evil ways; had been thrown into a Roman dungeon from which he had +escaped; and no doubt had afterwards found an asylum among the mountain +bands. This was the probable explanation of Tommaso's conduct--a +long-remembered gratitude for services the _sindico_ had rendered him. + +The latter now acknowledged the danger in which his daughter was placed, +and the necessity of steps being taken to avert it. He had already +determined on removing from the place, and taking his _penates_ along +with him. In truth, he had that very day concluded the sale of his +estate; and was now free to go in quest of a new home--to whatever part +of the world where it might be found. + +Meanwhile, there was no immediate danger; the Papal soldiers intended +staying some time in the town. The _sindico_ could retain his situation +of chief magistrate, and await the arrival of his son, who, if the post +kept true to time, might be expected in a day or two. + +To hear that Luigi was coming home was news to his sister. How had her +father heard it? There had been no letter from London--no message from +Rome. It was a mystery to Lucetta; and for reasons was permitted to +remain so. But why need she care to unravel it, so long as he was +coming home? And so soon too! And the time would not seem long, since +his friend was there, and she could talk to him about Luigi. It had +become pleasant to converse about her dear brother, with her dear +brother's friend; and once again were the same questions asked, as to +how Luigi looked, and lived, and prospered at his painting; and whether +he was given to admiring the English girls; and would it be wrong for +him, a Catholic, to marry one, or would it be wrong the other way? and +so were the artless interrogatories repeated. + +These were pleasant conversations, but it was not pleasant to have them +interrupted, as they usually were, by Captain Guardiola. Why should the +officer force himself into their company--as he daily, hourly did? Why +did he not take his soldiers--as he ought to have done--and go after the +brigands? He could easily have found their hiding-place among the +hills. Their late captive, still burning with indignation at the +treatment he had endured--frantic when he looked at his left hand--would +have gladly guided him to the spot. He proposed doing this. His +proposal was not only received with coldness, but repelled with an +insolence that kept the blood warm and bad between Guardiola and +himself. From that time there was no communication between them--even +when brought together in attendance upon Lucetta. + +Both were with her, upon the ridge that rose directly over the town. +There was a cave upon the summit of the hill, that had once been the +abode of an anchorite. It was one of the curiosities of the +neighbourhood; and the young lady, at her father's suggestion, had +invited her father's English guest to go up with her and see it. The +invitation was not extended to the other guest--the Captain Count. For +all that he invited himself, under pretence of lending his protection to +the signorina. His escort, though not asked for, could not well be +refused; and the three proceeded to climb the hill. + +Guardiola was beside himself with jealousy. In his heart he was cursing +the young Englishman; and could he have found an excuse for pushing him +over a cliff, or running him through with the sword that hung by his +side, he would have done either on the instant. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN. + +WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING. + +The excursionists had reached the summit, and looked into the cave. +Lucetta related the legend of the hermit: how he had sojourned there for +several years--never descending to the town, but trusting to the +shepherds, and others who strayed over the mountains, to furnish him +with his frugal fare; how he had at last mysteriously disappeared from +the place, no one knowing where he had gone. But there was a story of +his having been carried off by the brigands; and another that he was a +brigand himself, having kept this post for purposes of observation. + +"What did the shepherds say?" asked the Captain Count, by way of showing +his superior intelligence. "They should have known something of the +fellow's daily avocations; since, as you say, they provided him with his +daily food. But, perhaps, his doings, like those of many others, were +in the dark." + +"Suppose you ask them, Signor Captain," said Lucetta, with a languid +smile at the somewhat cloudy insinuation. "There they are, coming up +the mountain." + +The young lady pointed to a ravine scarring the hill on the side +opposite to that on which lay the town. Along its bed five men were +seen driving before them a flock of sheep, as if bringing them up to +browse on the mountain. They were already within a hundred yards of the +summit upon which stood the spectators. + +The men were all dressed in coarse _frezadas_ hanging down to their +thighs, with the usual straw hat upon their heads, and sandals upon +their feet. They carried long sticks, which they occasionally used in +conducting their charge up the ravine. One of them wore the _capuce_, +hooded over his head, a thing that seemed strange under the hot noonday +sun. + +The officer had promised to respond to the challenge of the signorina as +soon as the shepherds should be near enough for conversation. They were +coming direct towards the spot where the pleasure party awaited their +approach. + +"How very odd," said the young Englishman, addressing himself to the +sister of Luigi, "are some of the customs of your country--at least they +seem so to me. Your countrymen appear to lack economy in the +distribution of labour. For example, with us, in England, one man will +easily manage a flock of five hundred sheep, having only a dog to assist +him; while here you see five men driving less than a fifth of the +number, and not very skilfully, as it appears to me." + +"Oh!" rejoined Lucetta, in defence of the native industry, "our +shepherds usually have a much larger flock. No doubt these have more, +and have left them on the mountains opposite--perhaps because there +would not be enough pasture--" + +The explanation was interrupted by the approach of the sheep, whose +tinkling bells drowned the discourse. Soon after the shepherds strode +up, leaving their charge to go scattering over the summit. Instead of +waiting for the Captain Count to begin the conversation, one of the +_pastores_ took the initiative, bluntly opening with the +salutation--"_Buono giorno, signori. Molto buono giorno, signora +bella_." (Good day, gentlemen. A fair good day, beautiful lady.) + +The speech was complimentary; but the manner seemed to have a different +meaning. There was something in the tone of voice that jarred on the +ears of the young Englishman. + +"Free speakers, these Italian _pastores_," was the reflection he was +making to himself, when the spokesman continued-- + +"We've been seeking one of our sheep," said he, "and have been hitherto +unable to find it. We fancy it has strayed to this mountain. Have you +seen anything of it?" + +"No, my good friends," answered the officer smilingly, and in a tone +intended to conciliate the inquirers, whose rude style of address could +no longer be mistaken. + +"Are you sure, signore? Are you quite sure of what you say?" + +"Oh, quite sure. If we had seen the animal we should be most happy--" + +"Your sheep is not here," interrupted the young Englishman, who could no +longer stand the _pastore's_ impertinence. "You know it is not. Why do +you repeat your questions?" + +"You lie!" cried one of the shepherds, who had not yet spoken--he who +wore the red hood. "It _is_ here. You, _Signor Inglese_, are the stray +we are in search of. Thank our gracious Virgin, we've found you in such +goodly company. We shall take back to our flock three sheep instead of +one; and one of them such a beautiful young ewe--just the sort for our +charming mountain pastures!" + +Before the man had done speaking, Henry Harding recognised him. The +voice was sufficient; but the _capuce_, now thrown back upon his +shoulders, revealed the sinister countenance of Corvino! + +"Corvino!" was the exclamation that passed mechanically from the lips of +his late captive; and before its echo could reverberate from the +adjoining cave, he was seized by two of the disguised bandits--the other +two flinging themselves on the officer, while the chief himself laid +hold of Lucetta. + +With a desperate effort the young Englishman wrenched his arms free. +But he had no weapon; and of what use would be his fists against the two +assailants, who had now drawn their daggers, and were again advancing +upon him? The young lady was still struggling in the embrace of the +brigand chief--her cries loud enough to be heard all over the town. +Meanwhile Guardiola was making no resistance, not even to the drawing of +his sword, which was still dangling uselessly by his side. + +With a quick eye Henry Harding perceived it; and, dashing between the +two brigands who were closing upon him, he caught the weapon by the +guard. Plucking it out of its sheath, he turned like a tiger upon his +special opponents. The cowards shrank back; as they did so drawing +their pistols, and firing at random. Neither of their shots took +effect; and, in another instant, the swordsman was by the side of +Corvino. + +With a cry the brigand chief let go his struggling prize, and turned to +receive the attack--flinging off his _frezada_ and drawing a revolver-- +for this weapon had found its way into the hands of the Italian +banditti. As good luck would have it, the first cap missed fire; and, +before he could draw trigger upon a second, the sword of Guardiola, +wielded by a more skilful hand than that of its owner, had rendered the +brigand's arm idle, and the revolver dropped to the ground. + +Alas! it was to no purpose. Before Henry Harding could follow up the +thrust with one more deadly, he was assailed from behind by four fresh +adversaries: for the two in charge of Guardiola had let him loose, and +the Captain Count was now running down the mountain slope as fast as his +scared legs could carry him. + +With the young Englishman it was now one against five, or rather one to +four; for the brigand chief, on seeing his four satellites engaged with +a single adversary, threw his left arm around Lucetta, and, raising her +aloft, hurried off towards the ravine, up which, as a shepherd, he had +ascended. + + + +CHAPTER FORTY EIGHT. + +FOUR TO ONE. + +Half frenzied by the sight of Lucetta borne off in the brigand's arms, +Henry Harding would have rushed instantly after, but the way was barred +by two of the band while the other two assailed him from behind. He had +enough on hand to defend himself from their quadrilateral attack; and +only by the activity of an ape, borrowed from an excellence in athletic +sports, often displayed at Eton and Oxford, was he enabled to show front +to all four. Fortunately, they had all emptied their pistols upon him, +without doing him any serious injury. By good luck, too, these were not +revolvers, their chief alone being thus provided. They now assailed him +with their less dangerous daggers; and, but for their number, he might +have fought them with success. He struggled to reduce it, but the +bandits were as active as he, and his sword thrusts and lunges were +spent upon the air. Full five minutes did the desperate strife +continue. He was fast losing breath, and must in the end have +succumbed. So was he thinking, when his eye fell on the hermit's cave, +towards which the strife had been tending. By an effort he broke +through the circle of his assailants, and placed himself in its +entrance. A simultaneous cry of disappointment escaped from the +brigands as they saw the advantage he had thus gained. With his sword +he might now defend himself against a score of stilettos. + +As if by instinct, one and all resheathed their daggers, and commenced +loading their pistols. It was a fearful crisis; and the young +Englishman felt that his time was soon to come. The four men were in +front of him, guarding the only pass by which he might retreat. It was +a narrow gorge leading up to the entrance of the cave. He could not +possibly penetrate through the line without encountering their +stilettos, ready to be regrasped. Their pistols once charged, and his +doom would be sealed; for the cave was a mere alcove in the rock, where +he was placed like a statue in its niche. He had given himself up for +lost, but he would not be tamely slaughtered. + +He was about to spring upon his assailants, and run the gauntlet of +their daggers, when shots and shouts came ringing from below, +accompanied by a shower of bullets that struck the rocks around him. +Startled by this unexpected volley, the four robbers turned quickly +round; and, without waiting to complete the loading of their pistols, +ran like scared hinds away from the cave. + +The young Englishman saw that he was no longer in danger from their +bullets, but from those of the soldiers now seen coming up the slope. +Regardless of this, he rushed out, and started after the retreating +brigands. They had already entered the ravine at the back of the +mountain; and far away, scaling the steep on the opposite side, he could +see Corvino, with a white shape lying over his left arm. He knew +Lucetta Torreani. She was motionless, no longer making any struggle, +the skirt of her dress trailing on the loose stones that strewed the +mountain path. No cry came back--was she fainting, or dead? + +The soldiers came up, with Guardiola at their head. They halted at the +top of the pass, reloading and firing at the few retreating brigands, +now far beyond the carry of their antiquated carbines. Already Corvino +was out of sight, carrying his captive along with him; and the others +soon after disappeared among the rocks. + +Surely the soldiers would follow them? Who thought of asking this +question? It was Henry Harding, who wondered at the long halt they were +making by the head of the ravine. In a loud voice he repeated it. +Still there was no reply, and the pause continued. For the third time +he made the appeal in frenzied tones, addressing himself to Captain +Guardiola. + +"You are mad, _Signor Inglese_," replied the officer, with a coolness +that came only from his cowardice. "I can understand your folly. As a +foreigner you cannot know the ways of these Neapolitan bandits. All you +have seen may be an artifice to draw us into a trap. As likely as not, +over yonder," he pointed to the pass through which the brigands had +disappeared, "there are two hundred of the rascals lying ready to +receive us. I am not such a fool as to have my followers sacrificed in +such an unequal encounter. We must wait for reinforcements from the +city." + +By this time the _sindico_ had come up; too late to see his daughter as +she was carried in Corvino's arms over the crest of the opposite hill-- +perhaps fortunate in being spared the spectacle. With agonised heart he +urged on the pursuit, joining his appeal to that already made by the +young Englishman. Appeals and reproaches were uttered in vain. The +cowardly commissary of the Pope--false lover that he had proved +himself--thought more of his own safety than that of the maiden to whom +he had dared to address his perjured speeches. With grief and +disappointment the father was beside himself; whilst those of his +acquaintances who had come up along with him were endeavouring to +comfort him. The young Englishman added his word of encouragement, with +an appeal to the townsmen that sounded strange in their ears. + +"There are enough of you," he cried, "to pursue them to their lair! +Have you not spirit to go after these brigands, and rescue the daughter +of your _sindico_?" + +The proposal, thus plainly made, was new to them. It caught like an +electric spark, and was hailed with a chorus of _evvivas_. For the +first time in their lives were these citizens inspired with an idea of +making resistance to banditti. + +"Let the town be consulted," was their rejoinder; "let us first speak to +our fellow-citizens." + +And, with this intent, they turned down the hill, headed by the +_sindico_; while Captain Guardiola and his troops continued gazing +across the ravine at the rocks and trees that concealed the retiring +foe--feared even in his retreat! + + + +CHAPTER FORTY NINE. + +EVVIVA ELLA REPUBLICA! + +On returning to the town, a surprise awaited the _sindico_ and his +friends. Men, women, and children were running to and fro; the children +screaming, the men and women giving utterance to loud shouts and +exclamations. There had been a similar _fracas_ on the first alarm of +the brigands, but it had subsided as the soldiers started off to ascend +the hill. What had caused it to break forth afresh? This was the +question hurriedly exchanged between the returning townsmen. Could it +be the robbers who had entered from the opposite side, and taken +possession of the place? Was the skirmish on the hill only a feint to +draw the soldiers out of the town? If so, it had succeeded; and the +shouts now heard, with the rushing to and fro, were signs of a general +pillage. + +With sad hearts, they hastened on into the streets. They soon came in +sight of the piazza. A crowd was collected in front of the _sindico's_ +house--another by the albergo. Both were composed of armed men, not in +any uniform, but in costumes of varied kind: peasants, proprietors, and +men in broad-cloth habiliments of city life, all carrying guns, swords, +and pistols. They were not citizens of Val di Orno; they were +strangers, as could be seen at a glance. Neither did they appear +banditti, though several of the soldiers who had lagged behind were now +seen standing in the piazza, guarded as their prisoners! What could it +mean? Who could the strangers be? + +These questions were answered as the returning townsmen came near enough +to distinguish the cries: "_Evviva ella Republica! Abasso tyranni! +Abasso il Papa_!" At the same time a tricoloured flag shot up on its +staff, proclaiming to the citizens of Val di Orno that their town was in +possession of the Republicans! And so, too, was Rome at that moment. +The Pope had fled, and the triumvirate--Mazzini, Saffi, and Aurelli-- +held rule in the Holy City. + +A fresh surprise awaited the _sindico_ on reaching his own house; his +son Luigi stood in front of it--one of those who was vociferating the +watchword of _Liberty_. + +A hurried greeting passed between father and son. With a quick glance, +the latter caught the expression of grief on his father's countenance. + +"What is wrong?" he asked. "There have been brigands here--where is my +sister?" + +A groan was the answer; this, and a hand raised in the direction of the +hills. + +"O God!" exclaimed the young man; "too late! Have I come too late? +Speak, father! Tell me what has happened--where is Lucetta?" + +"_Poverina!--mia povera figlia_!--gone, Luigi! Borne off by the brigand +Corvino!" + +The words were gasped out with the choking utterance of grief. The +bereaved parent could say no more. He sank into the arms of his son. + +"Friends!" cried Luigi Torreani to those who stood around listening; +"comrades, I may call you! But for absence in a foreign land, I should +have been one of you. I am one of you now, and henceforth. Here is my +father, Francesco Torreani, the _sindico_ of this town. You heard what +he has said. His daughter--my sister--carried off by the brigands! And +that with a hundred soldiers supposed to be protecting the place! This +is the protection we get from the valiant defenders of the Holy Faith!" + +"Defenders of the devil!" came a voice from the crowd. + +"Worse than the brigands themselves," added another. "I believe they've +been in league with them all along. That's why the scoundrels have so +often escaped." + +"Quite true!" cried a third. "We know it. They're in the pay of the +Pope and his Majesty of Naples. That's one of the ways by which our +tyrants have controlled us." + +"You will stand by me, then?" said the young artist, his face +brightening with hope. "You will help me to recover my sister? I know +you will." + +"We will! we will!" answered a score of earnest voices. + +"You may depend upon that, Signor Torreani," said a man of imposing +aspect, who was evidently the leader of the Republican troop. "The +brigands shall be pursued, and your sister saved, if it be in our power. +Nothing shall be left undone. But first we must dispose of these +hirelings. See! they are coming down the hill. Into the houses, +_compagnos_! Let us take them by surprise. Here, Stramoni, Giugletta, +Paoli! On to the end of the street. Shoot down any one who attempts to +go out and give them warning! Inside, _compagnos_!--in, in!" + +In a score of seconds the piazza was cleared of the crowd, the strangers +hurrying inside the houses, forcing along with them the +soldier-prisoners whom they had taken. Half-a-dozen men hastened +towards the suburbs, to cut off any communication that might be +attempted between the citizens and soldiery, who were now returning _en +masse_ down the mountain slope, their captain at their head. Such of +the townsmen as chose were allowed to remain in the streets, with a +warning that any attempt at treason, made either by word or sign, would +draw the fire of the Republicans upon them. Few of them stood in need +of it. Under the administration of such a _sindico_, there were not +many of the inhabitants of Val di Orno who did not secretly exult at the +new order of things. They had already hailed with acclamation their +deliverers from the city, and were joyed at the prospect of a Republic. + +On came Guardiola at the head of his troop. The soldiers were marching +in straggling disorder. The captain was not himself in the best of +spirits. False as his love had been, he felt bitter chagrin at the girl +having been carried away. His own recreance too, there was something to +regret about that. Now that the excitement was over, he could not help +thinking of it. With soiled shield and trailing pennon, he was +returning into the town. He cared little for the sentiment of the +citizens; less now that _she_ was no longer among them. But his own +followers had been witnesses of his cowardly conduct, and he would hear +of it perhaps at headquarters. Captain, subalterns, and troop tramped +back towards the town, observing neither rank nor caution. Little did +they dream of the trap into which they were advancing. The measures of +the Republican leader had been well taken. On each of the four sides of +the piazza he had placed a portion of his force--distributed into nearly +equal parts. Hidden by the blinds inside, they commanded the whole +square, and could rake it with their fire through the windows and doors. +The soldiers would have no chance. Once within the piazza they would +be at the mercy of the Revolutionists. And into the piazza they came, +utterly unconscious of the fate that awaited them. They had noticed the +silence pervading the place, and wondered that their comrades, left +behind, came not forth to greet them. + +They were reflecting on the strangeness of these things when a loud +voice, issuing from the inn, summoned them to surrender. + +"_Rendate, Capitano_! Yield up your sword to the soldiers of the +Republic!" + +"What's the meaning of this impertinence?" cried Guardiola, facing the +albergo, and endeavouring to discover from whom proceeded the voice. +"Sergeant," he continued, "drag that man out into the street, and see +that he has a score of blows upon the back--heavily laid on." + +"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed the voice, while the laughter was loudly echoed +from the four sides of the square, and again the demand was repeated. + +The carabineers unslung their firelocks, and faced in different +directions, ready to make havoc among the jeering citizens, as they +supposed them to be. They only waited for the word to fire into the +windows and doors. + +"We don't want to spill your blood," said the same stentorian voice, +speaking from the albergo; "but if you insist upon it, we shall. +Soldiers of the Pope! you are surrounded by soldiers of a higher power-- +the Republic. Your master is no longer in Rome. He has fled to Gaeta. +Mazzini rules in the city, and we intend to rule here. You are +completely in our power. The first of you that draws a trigger will be +answerable for the sacrifice of your whole troop; for we shall not leave +a man of you standing. Be wise, then, and surrender, as we tell you. +Put down your arms, and we shall treat you as prisoners of war. Use +them, and you shall have the treatment you more deserve--that accorded +to hirelings and brigands!" + +Guardiola and his troop were astounded. What could it mean--this +summons so impudently and yet so confidently spoken? They stood +irresolute. + +"_Compagnos_!" cried the voice from the albergo, speaking as if from the +interior of some Delphian shrine, and loud enough to reach the four +sides of the square; "these worthy gentlemen seem to hesitate, as if +they doubted the truth of my words. Convince them of it by showing the +muzzles of your guns. When they have counted those, perhaps they will +be less incredulous." + +Quick following upon this speech came the clanking noise of gun-barrels +brought in collision; and, to the consternation of Guardiola and his +carabineers, a score of windows around the piazza glistened with dark +iron tubes that could not be mistaken for aught else than what they +were. There appeared to be at least two hundred. One-fourth of the +number would have been sufficient. + +The soldiers saw that they were in an ambuscade--that the Revolution, +long threatened, had at length come; and, without waiting for the +sanction of Captain Guardiola or his subalterns, they flung their +carbines to the ground, and declared themselves agreeable to a +surrender. + +In ten minutes after they were standing under the tricolour flag, and +crying "_Evviva ella Republica_!" while their captain, swordless and +looking very uncomfortable, was pacing a chamber floor in the albergo, +to which but three days before he had consigned Henry Harding as a +prisoner. + +He was now himself a prisoner to the soldiers of the Republic. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY. + +THE ABDUCTION. + +Half carrying, half dragging the girl with him, Corvino kept on through +the mountain passes. When he thought himself safe from immediate +pursuit, he stopped to await the coming up of his comrades. He had +heard shots on the other side of the hill, and knew the soldiers were on +the alert. But he had little fear of being overtaken by them. He +calculated the time it would take them to ascend the slope. Before they +could reach the summit his own men would have secured their captive and +retreated down the ravine. Four to one--for he had witnessed the +cowardly abandonment by the officer--there could be no fear of their +failing. He had hurried ahead to gain a sufficient start, knowing that +he would be impeded in the transporting of his new-made captive in the +event of pursuit. Before leaving the ground he had shouted "_Dagli! +dagli_!" but coupling it with a caution to take the prisoner alive, if +possible. It was this that prevented the men from first making use of +their pistols. By Henry Harding's death they would sacrifice the +_riscatta_ they had been long counting upon. + +After giving the order, Corvino had hurried off, taking his captive with +him. The young girl made no resistance; she had swooned, and in an +unconscious state was carried away. + +On recovering her senses, she saw that she was no longer on Hermit's +Hill, but in a wild spot surrounded by trees and rocks, the brigand +captain standing close beside her. She neither screamed nor attempted +to escape. She saw it would be idle, as she was helplessly in the power +of her captor. Her thoughts were still scattering and confused; she +felt as if just waking from some disagreeable dream, with its scenes +still vivid before her fancy. She remembered the approach of the +shepherds, their rude address, the throwing aside their disguises, the +cry "Corvino!" as it came from the lips of his late captive; the face of +the brigand chief suddenly showing from under the _capuce_, and which +she herself recognised; the seizure of all three; the struggle; a sword +gleaming in the hand of Henry Harding; his rushing upon her captor; a +shot fired by Corvino; the angry exclamations of the pseudo-shepherds; +the glancing of their stilettos; the scampering of the scared sheep; the +quick, confused tinkling of their bells; and finally Captain Guardiola +fleeing from the spot. All these she remembered like the incidents of a +disturbed dream. She remembered Corvino once more coming up to her; +once more laying hold, and hurrying her from the spot. After that she +became unconscious--her senses only returning to tell her she was alone +with the brigand. + +On opening her eyes, she saw blood on the bandit's dress, and that the +skirt of her own robe was sprinkled with it. It appeared to proceed +from a wound in his right arm, and she now recalled the sword in the +grasp of the young Englishman, and the gallant use he was making of it. +What had been the result of the unequal combat? Had Henry Harding +succumbed? Had he been killed? Or was he, like herself, a captive? +She had heard the command for him to be taken _alive_ if possible, +shouted back by Corvino. She hoped they had obeyed it; but trembled to +think he might be dead. It was her first anxiety. + +Fully recovering her senses, she looked around, but there was no one +near--only the chief standing by, busied in binding up his wound. He +had cut open the sleeve of his velvet coat, and was stanching the blood +with strips from his shirt. She made no offer to assist him; she could +only regard him with horror. His savage aspect, heightened to +hideousness by the crimson streaks of blood on his hands, arms, and +face, was sufficient to inspire both fear and aversion. She trembled as +she lay watching him: for she was still lying upon the ground, where she +had been placed like a parcel of goods. + +"Be still, signorina," said her captor, on perceiving she had come to +herself. "Have patience till I get my arm slung, and then I shall take +you to a softer couch. _Sangue de Cristo_! The Inglese shall pay for +this with the loss of his ears and double the ransom. Now!" he said, +having finished slinging his arm; "_Alza! Alza_! we mustn't tarry, or +that valiant captain may be after us with his soldiers. Come along, +signorina. You can walk the rest of the way. _Corpo di Bacco_! I've +carried you far enough." + +As he said this, he stretched out his left hand; seized the young girl +by the wrist; raised her to her feet; and was about to proceed along the +path, when he heard his four comrades coming up behind. He stayed to +await their approach. + +Presently they appeared filing through the rocks. There was no prisoner +along with them! + +He waited till the last was in sight; then, letting go his hold upon the +captive, he rushed back towards the men, fiercely vociferating as he +went. + +"_Dio Santo_!" he exclaimed. "Where is the Inglese? Not with you? +_Maladitto_! What have you done? Killed him?" + +With a palpitating heart Lucetta listened for the reply. The men were +slow to make answer--as if unwilling to tell the truth. She did not +draw hope from this. They might be afraid to confess they had killed +him. She remembered the command to take him alive. She trembled as she +stood listening. + +Another string of mingled oaths and interrogations was terminated by the +same demand-- + +"Have you killed the Inglese? I heard the reports of your pistols; +after that a volley from the soldiers. You were firing at him then, I +suppose?" + +"We were, _capo_," answered one of the men. + +"Well?" + +"He succeeded in taking shelter under the cave, and we could not get at +him. His long blade defended the entrance. Of course we could not +surround him. If it had been a question of killing, we could have done +that long before, but your orders were against it." + +"And you've left him alive, unscathed, free?" + +"No, _capo_, we think he must have fallen at our fire. We could not +stay to see, for the bullets were raining round us thick as sleet. No +doubt he is dead by this." + +By the look and tone, the young girl could tell they were prevaricating. +There was still a hope he might yet be alive. The chief equally +perceived their evasion, and broke out in a paroxysm of fury. Forgetful +of his injured arm, and almost wrenching it from its sling, he rushed +upon his defeated followers. + +"_Cowards! imbeciles_!" he cried, striking with his left hand now one, +now the other, and tearing the hats from their heads. "_Sangue di +bacco_! four of you conquered by one man--a boy--with the loss of thirty +thousand scudi! _Vada en Malora_!" he exclaimed in agony, as he felt +the pain of his disabled arm. "Take hold of the _giovinetta_, and bring +her along. See that she does not escape you as well. _Su via_!" + +Saying this, he strode off, leaving his companions to conduct the +_giovinetta_ after him. One of these, roughly seizing her by the wrist, +and repeating the words "_Su via_!" hurried her off after the chief, the +other three following sullenly. + +The young girl offered no resistance. Any attempt to escape would have +been hopeless. Her savage captors had freely flashed their daggers +before her eyes, threatening to use them if she resisted; and she +accompanied them with a sort of mechanical acquiescence springing from +despair. Her thoughts were not with herself; they were directed to the +Hermit's Hill, though she had little hope of rescue from that quarter. +Having witnessed the cowardly desertion of her by Captain Guardiola, she +knew he would be equally backward in any pursuit; and indeed her captors +showed not the slightest apprehensions of it. + +As they wound their way slowly and deliberately through the defiles of +the mountain, it might have quickened their steps had they known of the +change that had taken place in the garrison of Val di Orno. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY ONE. + +ON THE TRAIL. + +It is scarce necessary to say that the appeal made by the brother and +father of the abducted girl found a ready response in the hearts of the +Republican _volontieri_. It came upon them with the force of a double +call; for in addition to dictates of humanity, the men looked upon +brigandage as a part of the despotic government they had just +overthrown. The _sindico_ too had claims upon them; for it was known to +their leaders that he had long secretly sympathised with their cause, +his oath of office keeping him from any open demonstrations in their +favour. Besides, his son, encountered by mere accident as they were +issuing from the gates of Rome, had declared along with them, and was +now one of themselves. Under such circumstances there could be no +desire to withhold assistance from their newly-enrolled comrades. Nor +was there any such, but, on the contrary, an enthusiasm coupled with a +unanimous determination to take steps for the rescue of his sister. + +As soon, therefore, as Guardiola and his troop were disposed of, by +being disarmed and placed in charge of a detailed guard, preparations +were entered upon for the pursuit of Corvino and his bandits. Luigi +Torreani, a prey to the agony of a terrible apprehension, would have +started off after them at once, and so too the young Englishman. But +the leader of the Republican battalion--Rossi by name--was a man of more +prudent impulses, and saw that such a step would only defeat the purpose +they had in view. He had been himself an officer in the Neapolitan +army, and had plenty of experience in the chasing of banditti. He well +knew that any open pursuit of these watchful outlaws could end only in a +ridiculous failure. The brigands themselves often witnessing such a +result from the crest of some inaccessible cliff, will hail it with +taunts and scornful laughter. It is true that in the present case there +was an advantage. The rendezvous of the robbers was known. Their late +captive could guide the pursuing party to the spot--a chance not often +obtained. So far all seemed well; but not to the experienced pursuer of +banditti. + +"The advantage will be lost," argued Signor Rossi, "if any attempt be +made to approach by daylight. Their vedettes would see us from afar, +and give them time to decamp. We must make our march in the night; and +now that we know their den, there is some chance of our being able to +entrap them." + +Some chance! The phrase fell harshly on the ears of Luigi Torreani, his +father, and his friend. It was torture to think of any delay--to +contemplate starting only after nightfall, with twenty miles of mountain +road between them and the dearest object of their affections, perhaps at +that moment struggling in the embrace of a bandit! To the three +individuals most interested the suspense was simply agonising; and, to +speak the truth, there were many of the others who only affected it, +both townsmen and _volontieri_. Could nothing be done in the way of an +immediate pursuit? + +All knew well that to follow the five who had carried off the +_sindico's_ daughter would be an idle chase; for much time had elapsed, +and with the knowledge the bandits possessed of the mountain passes, +they must long since have placed themselves in security. The only hope +was in finding them at the rendezvous described by their escaped +captive. + +Was there no way by which this might be clandestinely approached during +the daylight? No. It would be night before the brigands themselves +would reach it. It was now midday, and the distance was at least twenty +miles. Night would be the time for attack, and it also needed this to +cover their approach throughout the intervening twenty miles. Otherwise +surprise would be impossible; there would be vedettes along the line--if +not brigands themselves, their _manutengoli_--peasants or shepherds. So +said the leader, Rossi, and with reason. Was there any way out of the +dilemma--any plan by which the brigands' nest might be captured that +night, and before another crime could be committed? The thought of +another crime was in the minds of all--not more the relatives of the +abducted girl than those who had volunteered to assist in her rescue? + +Who could suggest a feasible plan? + +"I," said a man, stepping forward into the midst of the council, which +was held in the open piazza. "If you'll follow my advice, and accept my +guidance, I think I can put you in the way you want. Besides rescuing +the daughter of the worthy _sindico_ here, you may capture the whole of +Corvino's band--with whom for many months I have been unwillingly +compelled to associate." + +"Tommaso!" exclaimed the _sindico_, recognising his old retainer. + +"_Dio Santo_!" cried the leader of the Revolutionists, seeing before him +a man known as having suffered in the good cause--a victim of the +Vatican, who had preferred brigandage to rotting in a Roman prison. +"Signor Tommaso, is it you?" + +"It is I, Captain Rossi; thank heaven, no longer compelled to skulk away +among the hills and conceal myself from the sight of old friends, +herding, as I have done, with the vilest scum of mankind; thank heaven +and Giuseppe Mazzini! Long live the Republic!" + +A general shaking of hands between Tommaso and the _volontieri_ +succeeded, many of the latter being old acquaintances, who had known him +during his residence in the city of Rome. + +Not less friendly was the grasp given by the young Englishman, who was +now certain that his mysterious correspondent, the donor of the knife, +was no other than Tommaso. But there was no time to be wasted in idle +congratulations. It was not the occasion for them, with a cloud still +hanging over their hearts, and Tommaso was not the man to need +prompting. + +"Follow me," he said, speaking to Rossi, the _sindico_, and his son. "I +know a way by which we can reach the place without being seen, and +before sunset if need be. But they will not get home until midnight; +and, by that time, we shall have them all in a trap--completely +surrounded, and leaving no loophole of escape. Now, we must start at +once. There is no time to linger; for the path we are to take is long +and difficult." + +None hesitated to accept his proposal, or sought further explanation; +and in less than ten minutes after, the Republican _volontieri_, leaving +sufficient of their number to guard their soldier-prisoners, marched out +of Val di Orno. They took their way towards the Neapolitan frontier, +under the guidance of Tommaso, still wearing the garb of a brigand. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY TWO. + +A SUFFOCATING DRINK. + +It wanted an hour of midnight when the brigand vedette stationed at the +mountain foot heard the howl of the Apennine wolf three times repeated. + +"_Il capo_, I suppose," he muttered, as after answering the signal, he +stood up to take note of who was making approach. Himself concealed, he +could see any one coming, time enough to sound another signal to the +sentry on the summit of the hill. This would communicate the character +of the approaching party--whether friendly or hostile; which by him +above would in turn be telegraphed on to the quarters of the band. + +The vedette soon perceived that his conjecture was correct. The chief +came up, stopping only to mutter some inquiry, and then passed on. He +was closely followed by a woman, whose fine silken skirt, seen under the +coarse _frezada_ that hung down from her shoulders, told she was richly +robed; while her drooping head and slow unwilling step proclaimed her a +captive. The _capuce_ drawn over her head concealed her face from the +eyes of the sentinel, who could tell, however, by her dress, and the +small white hand grasping the folds of the _frezada_, that she was a +_signorina_. Four other men--bandits in the disguise of shepherds-- +going in single file, followed after. The wolf-howl was uttered as they +passed; its notes preceding them up the gorge, and receiving a response +from the sentry at the summit. And then silence succeeded, broken only +by an occasional rumbling noise, as some fragments of rock, detached by +the feet of the ascending bandits, came rolling back down the declivity. + +"That's the new wife, I take it," soliloquised the sentry, as soon as +the party had gone past. "I should have liked a squint at her face. No +doubt it's a pretty one, or our dainty _capo_ wouldn't have taken all +this trouble to secure her. His arm in a sling, too! The bird hasn't +been caught without a scuffle. I wonder if it be that _sindico's_ +daughter there's been such talk about. Like enough it is. _Enfedi +mia_! Corvino strikes at high game. Well, after all, what's better +than to be the _cara sposa_ of a brigand? Plenty of jewellery, rings, +chains, lockets, and bracelets; plenty of confetti and kisses. What +more can a woman want? And plenty of cuffing if she don't properly +deport herself." Chuckling at his coarse jest, the vedette once more +resumed his seat upon the rock; and, folding his _frezada_ around him, +relapsed into silence. + +About an hour after, he was again startled from his sedentary attitude +by the well-known wolf-howl. As before, the signal came from the +outside--from the _scorza_ that led toward the Roman frontier. + +"_E cosi_!" he muttered; "what others are abroad to-night? I only +remember the _capo_ and his party. Now I think of it, Tommaso went out +in the morning--on some fool's errand. I wonder the _capo_ trusts +Master Tommaso, after that ugly disclosure about his _cara Popetta. +Poverina_! if she were alive to see what's going on, wouldn't there be +trouble in the camp! _Corpo di Bacco_! there again! Don't be in such +an infernal hurry, Signor Tommaso. Let me gather my breath for the +answer. _Wah-wah-oouah_!" he howled out in response, giving the +lugubrious signal; "now you may come on." + +Shortly after, a figure was seen stealthily approaching through the +darkness, but with a step that showed a thorough acquaintance with the +path. + +"_Chi e' la_?" hailed the sentry, as if some presentiment had increased +his caution. + +"_Amico_!" responded the person approaching; "why do you hail? I am +Tommaso." + +"Ah! Signor Tommaso! I had forgotten that you were out. I thought you +had gone in along with the others." + +"What others?" inquired Tommaso, with interest he endeavoured to conceal +under a pretence of ill-humour. + +"What others?" echoed the unreflecting sentinel; "why, Corvino himself, +to be sure, and the party of _pastores_ that went abroad with him. You +were at the rendezvous when they left?" + +"Ah, true," carelessly remarked Tommaso. "But I thought they had got +back before night. How long since they passed up?" + +"About an hour ago." + +"Well, have they made anything by their sheep-driving?" + +"A lamb. A young ewe, I take it, from what I could see of her wool. +_Dio Santo_! there must have been sharp horns in the flock from which +they have separated her. Our _capo_ has had a thrust from some old ram. +I could see blood upon his shirt." + +"Wounded, you think. Where?" + +"In the right, arm. He was nursing it in a sling. There must have been +a fight, I suppose. Did you hear nothing of it outside?" + +"How could I? I've been too busy, and in a different direction." + +"I hope you've not been so busy as to hinder you from filling your +flask, Signor Tommaso." + +"_Por Bacco_, no!" answered the latter, evidently more pleased than +offended by the reminder. "I always find time for that. You want a +pull, I suppose?" + +"You're right there, _compagno_; it's a bit chilly upon post to-night, +and a gill of _rosolio_ would give me an infinite amount of comfort." + +"You shall have it. I can't accommodate you with a cup. Can I trust +the bottle in your hands?" + +"_Che demonio_! yes. You don't suppose, signor, I am going to rob you? +A single pull will content me." + +"Here, then," said Tommaso, handing over the leather bottle. "I'll give +you a good chance. You can swig away while I am counting twenty. Will +that suffice?" + +"_Mille grazzie_! yes. You are very generous, Signor Tommaso." + +The man, laying aside his carbine, caught hold of the proffered flask, +from which Tommaso had already removed the stopper. Then, with the +exclamation, "_Oh me felice_!" he took the neck between his lips. +Turning his countenance skywards, he commenced imbibing the delicious +liquor in long, copious draughts. + +Tommaso had watched for this opportunity; and, suddenly stepping +forward, he seized hold of the flask with his right hand, while with his +left he grasped the brigand by the back of the neck. Then kicking his +feet from under him, he flung the fellow back downwards on the grass, at +the same time falling on top of him. + +The vedette, thus taken aback, was hindered from resisting through sheer +astonishment. He at first supposed it to be a joke, and that Tommaso +was too generous of his liquor. Then he became doubtful about the +designs of such rough handling; and then angry. He would have called +out, but the bottle filling the whole cavity of his mouth, and the +_rosolio_ running down his throat, put a stopper to his speech. A few +choking sounds escaped him; but, before he could free himself to give a +good shout, or utter the oaths he would have done, four other +assailants--already summoned by a low whistle from Tommaso--came quickly +upon the ground. These, flinging themselves upon the prostrate body of +the vedette, soon put an end to his struggles. It ended in their +inserting a piece of stick between his teeth, and pinioning his arms to +his sides; so that he was not only gagged and speechless, but powerless +to stir from the spot. + +A large body of men--for whom Tommaso had gone back some distance along +the _scorza_--now came filing past; and, led by the _ci-devant_ brigand, +climbed quickly but silently up the gorge--their demeanour showing them +bent upon an enterprise requiring the utmost caution. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY THREE. + +COURTSHIP WITH A CAPTIVE. + +By this time, Corvino, his captive, and four followers had passed up the +ravine, crossed the ridge, and descended into the crater. + +On nearing the cluster of houses, they had been again challenged; this +time by the regular sentinel of the rendezvous--of which there were two, +one on each side. There was not much fear of these being found asleep. +They had been lately taught a lesson well calculated to keep them on the +alert, having seen two of their comrades summarily shot for neglect of +watch-duty. They were the two who had suffered the English captive to +escape. These had been tried, condemned, and executed, all within an +hour's time, after Henry Harding had been missed. Such is the code of +the banditti--its stringency being their best safeguard against surprise +and capture. A member of the band, placed over a prisoner, answers for +the keeping of him with his own life. No wonder the escapes of +_riscattati_ are so rare--scarcely ever occurring. + +No dog's bark hailed the chief's return; only the wolf-howl of the +sentinel, three times repeated. Nobody came forth to welcome him. One +of his followers opened the door of the _capo's_ house, entered, and +struck a light, which he left burning in the chamber. The man then came +out, and the four sham shepherds scattered off to their respective +_pagliattas_. + +Corvino was alone with his captive. + +"Now, signorina," he said, pointing to the house; "behold your future +home! I regret I have not a grander mansion to receive you in; but such +as it is, you are its mistress. Allow me to conduct you to your +chamber." + +With an air of assumed courtesy, he offered his arm, which the captive +made no movement to take. + +"_E cosi_!" he exclaimed, taking hold of her wrist, and drawing her up +the stone steps. "Don't be so shy, lady. Step inside! You'll not find +it so uncomfortable. There's a chamber specially fitted up for you with +a sofa. You must be fatigued after your long march over the mountains. +Be seated, while I find something sweet to refresh you. Can you drink +_rosolio_? Stay, here's better: a bottle of sparkling _Capri_." + +As he was talking, with his back turned to the door, a third individual +entered the apartment--a woman of considerable beauty, but with that +bold, fierce look that tells a sad tale. She had walked into the room +without noise, stealthily and catlike; and, still remaining silent, she +stood just inside the door--her glance fixed upon Lucetta Torreani, her +eyes scintillating, as though at each moment they emitted sparks of +fire. It was the woman who had betrayed Popetta, with the ambitious aim +of being her successor. At the sight of this new arrival, her hopes +seemed extinguished, and the look of concentrated rage with which she +regarded the young girl was fearful to behold. It caused the latter to +utter a cry of alarm. + +"_Chi senti_?" asked the brigand, turning suddenly around, and for the +first time perceiving the intruder. "Ah! you it is! _Che tu sia +maladetta_! Why are you here? Off to your own apartment! Off, I say! +_Largo_! _Largo_! This instant, or you shall feel the weight of my +arm!" + +The woman, awed by the threatening gesture, backed slowly out of the +room; but as she passed into the shadow of the corridor, the fierce +flashing of her eyes, accompanied by some words, low muttered, might +have told Corvino that there was danger in what he was doing. He was +too much engrossed with his evil design to think of it. + +"Only one of my domestics, signorina," he said, turning once more +towards his captive. "She should have been to bed hours ago. 'Tis for +that I have scolded her. Don't let our little home-troubles make you +unhappy. Drink this--it will refresh you." + +"I have no need of it," replied the girl, scarce knowing what to say, at +the same time pushing aside the proffered cup. + +"But you have, signorina. Come, my fair girl--drink! Then for some +supper. You must be hungry, as well as fatigued." + +"I cannot drink. I am not hungry. I cannot eat." + +"What would you then? To bed? There's a couch in the next room. I am +sorry I have no maids to help undress you. She whom you have just seen +is not used to that kind of duty. You would prefer at once going to +rest? Is that it, signorina?" + +There was no reply. The young girl sat on the sofa with her head +drooping down, till the chin touched her snow-white bosom. This was +partially exposed--the buttons having been torn from her bodice as she +was dragged along in the company of her captors. + +There had been tears upon her cheek; but they were now dried, their +traces only remaining. She could not again weep. She had reached that +crisis of agony no longer to be relieved by tears. + +"Come!" said the brigand, affecting an air of sympathy, like some +cunning serpent in the act of fascinating its victim. "Cheer up, +signorina! I acknowledge the rude fashion by which I have made you my +guest; but who could resist the temptation of having so beauteous a +damsel under his roof? Ah, Lucetta! though you knew it not, I have long +been your admirer; long been enslaved by your charms--that are +celebrated far beyond the mountains of the Romagna. I've myself heard +speak of them in the _salons_ of the Holy City. Ah! fair lady! being +your captive, can you blame me for making you mine?" + +"What would you, signor? Why have you brought me here?" + +"What would I, signorina? What but have you love me as I love you? Why +have I brought you here? Only to make you my wife!" + +"_Madonna mia_!" murmured the girl, scarce listening to what he had +said. "_O Madonna santissima_! What have I done to deserve this?" + +"To deserve what?" asked the bandit, suddenly changing his tone. "To +deserve becoming the wife of Corvino! You speak proudly, signorina. +'Tis true I am no grand _sindico_ like your father; nor yet a _povero +pittore_ like the cur from whose company I have snatched you. But I am +master of the mountains--and of the plains too! Who dares dispute my +will? You will find it law, my lady--ay, to the very gates of Rome." + +After this outburst, the brigand paced for some seconds over the floor-- +his step proud, strong, exultant. + +"I love you, Lucetta Torreani," he continued after a time. "I love you +with a passion that does not deserve such cold repulse. You may not +like the idea of becoming a bandit's wife; but remember, you become also +a bandit's queen. There is not a plume in all the mountain land that +won't bend to you--nor a hat that shall not be taken off in your +presence. Throw aside your shyness, then, my pretty damsel! Don't have +any fear of losing caste by becoming wife to the chieftain Corvino!" + +"Your wife! Never!" + +"Call it by another name, then--if you prefer stickling about terms. We +don't have much formality in our mountain marriages, though we can get a +priest when we want one. If you prefer the ceremony in a simpler way, +I, for my part, shall have no objections to doing without the +intervention of the _curato_. About that you shall have your choice." + +"Death, then, shall it be! I shall choose that." + +"_Eh giusta_! I like your spirit, signorina. It pleases me, almost as +much as your personal appearance. Still it wants taming--just a little. +Twenty-four hours in my company will accomplish that; perhaps less. +But I give you the full allowance of twenty-four. If at the end of that +time you do not consent to have our nuptials celebrated by the +_curato_--there is one convenient--why, then we must get married without +him. You understand that?" + +"_Madonna mia_!" + +"No use calling upon her. She cannot save you, immaculate as she is +said to have been; nor any one else. No rescuing hand can reach you +here--not even the hand of his Holiness. Among these mountains, the +chieftain Corvino is master, as Lucetta Torreani shall be mistress." + +Before the boast had fairly parted from his lips, a sound from without +caused the brigand to start--changing, as if by electricity, his air of +triumph to one of alarm. + +"_Chi senti_?" he muttered, gliding towards the door, and placing +himself in an attitude to listen. + +The howling of the Apennine wolf--"_wah, wah, oouah_!"--responded to by +some one coming along the _scorza_. Almost at the same time, it was +uttered on the other side--by the sentinel set towards the south, and +soon after answered in that direction. + +What could be the meaning of this? Which of the band had been abroad? +He could think only of Tommaso, whom he had that morning despatched on a +particular errand. There could not be two Tommasos coming home-- +simultaneously from the north and from the south! + +He was not allowed much time for conjecture. Almost on the instant of +his taking his stand in the doorway a struggle was heard on both sides +of the house, followed by shots and shouts, amid which he could +distinguish the voices of his own sentries, loudly vociferating the cry, +"_Tradimento_!" + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR. + +A TERRIBLE TABLEAU. + +And treason it was--treason and surprise--almost instantaneously +followed by the capture of the whole band of brigands! + +First the _pagliatta_ huts were surrounded, and then the house of the +chief himself. There was a crowd of men, upon whose persons, despite +the darkness, could be seen the bright glitter of arms. There was light +enough from the stars and the chamber he had lately quitted to show +Corvino that his quarters were completely enfiladed by dark shadowy +forms, each holding in his hand a gun, pistol, or sword. + +At the same instant was the strife going on among the _pagliatta_--stray +shots and groans, mingled with, profane exclamations that came from the +mouths of men dragged suddenly out of their beds, and scarce conscious +of the cause of their quick awakening. It was a strife soon brought to +its close--even before their chief could take part in it. + +During a long career of crime, it was the first time Corvino had ever +suffered surprise--the first for him to feel something like despair. +And at the very moment, too, when he was indulging in a delightful dream +of triumph! + +Who could have brought this calamity upon him? Who was the traitor? +There must have been treason, else how could his sentinels have been +cheated? Who could have had acquaintance with the secret wolf-signal? + +There was no time for him to reflect. Thoughts of vengeance must be +postponed. It was a question of self-preservation; for the brigand +chief found himself reduced to this. + +His first impulse was to rush out, and take part in the fight raging +between his band and those who had so mysteriously assailed it. But the +conflict was scarce entered upon before it was over. It was less a +strife than a capture; a seizing of men in their shirts, who surrendered +without striking a blow. Even the thundering voice of their chief could +not arouse his yawning partisans to the spirit required for a struggle. + +It was but an ordinary instinct that impelled him to shut the door, and +rush back to the room he had quitted, determined to defend himself to +the death. + +His first thought was putting out the light. His second, how could the +darkness avail him? Sooner or later other lights would be procured-- +candles or torches; or, if not, his assailants need only wait till +morning--now near at hand. It could only be a suspension of his fate-- +at best, a respite of two or three hours. All at once came an idea, +offering a chance, not for triumph, but safety. There was a way by +which he might still save his life. Let the light burn! Let his +assailants see inside the house! Let them look upon the tableau that +had just suggested itself to his imagination! + +Quick as thought that tableau was formed, in the centre of the room +already illuminated. It consisted of two figures--himself and Lucetta +Torreani. + +The young girl was in front; the brigand, as a background, behind her. +His left arm encircled her waist, with his hand clutching a stiletto, +whose point was turned towards her heart! His right arm, still resting +in the sling, was powerless to hold her. But he had contrived a strange +way of keeping her in her place. His teeth were seen closed upon a coil +of her hair! + +Outside were the spectators of this singular picture, excited, angry, +two of them almost mad. One was the brother of her who formed the +female figure in it--the other Henry Harding. Either would have rushed +through the window, but the bars forbade them; and although both carried +guns and pistols, they dared not discharge them. They stood with a +score of others, almost within touching distance of the outlaw; and yet +dared not stretch forth a hand, either for his capture or destruction. +They were compelled to listen to the parley, which at that moment he had +commenced making. + +"Signori," he said, taking his teeth out of the young girl's hair, but +still keeping the plait close to his lips, "I'm not going to make a long +speech. I see you're impatient, and might not care to listen to it. +You want my blood; you are thirsting for it. I am in your power, and +you can take it. But if I am to die, so shall Lucetta Torreani. Yes; +she dies along with me. Stir but a finger, any one of you; either draw +a trigger, or make a movement to come inside, and that moment my poniard +pierces her breast!" + +The spectators stood silent, their breathing suppressed, and their eyes +angrily gleaming upon the speaker. + +"Don't mistake what I've said for an idle threat," he continued. "'Tis +no time for talking nonsense. I know that my life is forfeit to the +laws, and that you would show me about as much mercy as you would a +trapped wolf. Be it so; but in killing your wolf, you won't save your +lamb. No! _Sangue di Madonna_! She shall suffer along with me. If I +can't have her in life, I shall in death!" + +The expression upon the brute's face, as he gave utterance to the +threat, was revolting in its very earnestness. No one, who saw it, +doubted his intention to do as he said. In fact, a movement at that +instant made by him caused a vivid apprehension that he was about to +carry out his threat; and the spectators stood transfixed, as if the +blood had become frozen in their veins. But no; he was only preparing +for further parley. + +"What do you want us to do?" inquired Rossi, the leader of the +victorious Revolutionists. "I suppose you know who we are. You see we +are not the soldiers of the Pope?" + +"_Cospetto_!" exclaimed the bandit, with a scornful toss of the head, "a +child could have told that. I had no fear of seeing the brave +_bersaglieri_ of his Holiness here. They don't relish the air of these +remote mountains! That's how you've been able to surprise us. Enough, +_signori_. I know who you are; and now for my proposal." + +"Well, what is it?" demanded several of the spectators, chafing with +impatience at the continued talk, and indignant at seeing the young lady +still trembling in the bandit's embrace. "Let us hear what you have to +propose." + +"Absolute freedom for myself, and such of my men as you have captured. +Those you have killed may remain with you; and I hope you will give them +Christian burial. And if any have escaped, they can take their chances; +I don't stipulate for them. For myself and comrades, who are your +prisoners, I demand release, and a promise that we shall not be pursued. +Do you agree to it?" + +The leaders outside turned to one another, and commenced discussing the +proposal. It was painful to think of accepting such terms, letting the +red-handed criminals escape. They had long been the terror of the +district, committing outrages of every conceivable kind. Now that they +were captured, and could be rooted out, it would be a shame, a disgrace +to the Revolutionists--whose natural enemies the bandits had always +been--to let them go free again, afterwards to recommence their +depredations. Thus spoke several of the party. + +On the other side, there was the danger in which stood the young lady-- +the absolute certainty that she would be sacrificed. + +It is needless to say that Luigi Torreani, Henry Harding, and several +others, urged the acceptance of the proposal, as also the chief Rossi. + +"And if we comply with your demands, what then?" asked the latter. + +"What then! Why, the signorina shall be given up. That is all you +want, I suppose?" + +"Are you ready to give her up now?" + +"Oh no!" returned the brigand with a scornful laugh; "that would be +delivering up the goods before they are paid for. We bandits don't make +such loose bargains." + +"Then what do you require us to do?" + +"You must withdraw your men to the top of the ridge, where the pass +leads out northward. Mine, set free, shall go up to that on the south. +We can then see one another. You, signor, can yourself remain here with +me, and receive the captive. You have nothing to fear, seeing that I +have but one hand, and that a lame one. On your part I must have a +promise that there shall be no treason." + +"I am willing to give it," responded Rossi, the _signor_ addressed, and +who felt he was speaking the sentiment of his followers. "It must be in +the form of an oath." + +"Agreed. I am ready to take it, now." + +"No; not till we have daylight. We must postpone it till the morning. +It is near, and you won't have long to wait." + +This was true enough. The scheme could not be carried out in the +darkness, without risking treason on one side or the other. Both +parties could perceive this. + +"Meanwhile," continued the bandit, "I must put out the light inside +here, else you may contemplate stealing a march on me by trying to get +in from behind. I don't intend to let you surround me; and in the +darkness I shall be safe. So, _buono notte, signori_!" + +A fresh thrill of apprehension ran through the veins of the spectators. +More especially was this felt by Luigi Torreani and his English friend. +The thought of the young girl being left alone in the darkness--alone +with the brutal ruffian, even though they were themselves close by-- +filled them with horrible fears. Once more they were racking their +brains for some plan to prevent such a perilous compromise. But they +could not think of any that did not also compromise the safety of +Lucetta. They had their guns cocked, ready to shoot Corvino down, had a +chance presented itself. But there came none; his body was screened by +that of the girl--a shot ill-aimed, and she only might receive it. + +Half frantic, they saw the bandit stoop towards the lamp, with the +intention of extinguishing it. Before he could succeed, a third +personage appeared upon the scene--a form that darted quickly through +the door behind. + +It was a woman of wild aspect, in whose hand could be seen a stiletto +glittering under the dim light. With a spring like that of an enraged +tigress, she placed herself close behind the bandit; and, uttering a +quick angry cry, plunged the poniard into his side. + +Relaxing his grasp upon the girl, he turned round to defend himself; but +almost on the instant staggered back against the wall. + +His captive, finding herself released, glided instinctively towards the +window. But it was not the intention of the murderess she should +escape; and with the bloody poignard still grasped in her hand, she +sprang quickly after. + +Fortunately her intended victim had got close up to the bars, and was +protected by a score of gun-barrels and sword-blades thrust through-- +among them the sword that had been snatched from Guardiola. + +A volley was succeeded by an interval of deep silence inside the room. +When the smoke cleared away, two dead bodies were seen lying upon the +floor; which, under the light of the lamp, could be distinguished as +those of Corvino and his murderess. + +Lucetta Torreani was saved! + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE. + +THE ROMAN REPUBLIC. + +"Long live the Roman Republic!" + +Such was the cry resounding through the streets of Rome in the year +1849; and among the voices vociferating it were those of Luigi Torreani +and Henry Harding. + +But while the young Englishman was helping the cause of freedom abroad, +older Englishmen at home were plotting its destruction. At that time a +Secret Convention was sitting _en permanence_, composed of +representatives from most of the crowned heads in Europe; its purpose +being to arrange ways and means by which the spark of Liberty should be +trodden out, wherever it should show itself. + +In Hungary it had flared up into a brilliant flame: short-lived; for by +the aid of Russian bayonets it was soon stifled. The same result had +followed in France--the ends and means being slightly different. +Diplomacy again exerted its influence; and backed by British gold-- +secretly but profusely spent--succeeded in placing upon the Presidential +chair a man foresworn to change that chair into a throne. And with this +same corrupting metal, and the sinister influence derived from a great +historic name, he was but too sure of success. Then a President in +name--an Emperor in embryo--encouraged by the secret assistance of the +other crowned heads, he was soon to have France at his feet. + +It only required a trick to disfranchise the two millions of Houses, and +then the French Assembly would be sufficiently conservative to transform +the Republic into an Empire! There was still danger to be apprehended +from the _blouses_. + +How was this grand disfranchisement to be effected? + +An astute diplomacy easily supplied the answer: "Let England snub the +French ambassador. Let France recall him. Let there be a pretended +attitude of mutual hostility, and while that is maintained the Assembly +can take its measures." + +The counsel was followed. The minister was snubbed and recalled. Then +while the British bull-dog was barking at Dover, and the Gallic cock +crowing at Calais, the betrayed _blouses_, with angry faces turned +towards England, instead of having their eyes upon their own National +Assembly, were by this packed parliament speedily stripped of the +privilege of voting. + +In Hungary the game had been more open; though there, as in France, +Liberty fell by the basest of all betrayals. + +And again, in Baden the same foul play, though there the Secret +Convention decided to settle it by the sword. The perjured King of +Prussia was the man called upon to wield it, and his hireling soldiers +proved too strong for the patriots of the Schwarzwald. + +Once more, at the eleventh hour, another spark of that eternal flame of +freedom appeared in an unexpected quarter--the very hotbed of despotism, +political and religious--in the ancient city of Rome. And again sat the +Secret Convention: an eminent English diplomate the most active of its +members--he of all others the most successful cajoler of peoples--he +whose long career had been a succession of betrayals. He has gone hence +without witnessing their exposure. For all that, history will one day +expose them. + +Once more then sat the Secret Conclave; and once more went forth the +edict for this fresh spark of Liberty, that had sprung up in agonised +Italy, to be stifled like the rest. There was no need to use artifice. +Slight strategy would suffice for an enemy so insignificant. + +It was merely a graceful concession to Catholic Christendom, to make it +a pretence of restoring the Pope. The Republic would have been crushed +all the same if the Pope had gone to purgatory. The sword was again +invoked, and it became a question of who was to wield it. English +soldiers could not be sent, for England was a Protestant country, and +the thing would have looked queer. But English gold was easily +convertible into French soldiers, whose sovereign had no such scruples; +and these hirelings were selected to restore the Pope. By them it was +ostensibly done; but the act was equally due to the other crowned heads; +and its direction specially to the British, diplomate of whom we have +spoken. History holds the indisputable proof. + +Poor Mazzini, and Saffi, and Aurelli! If there had not been a voice in +all Rome against you--in all Italy--you could not have triumphed! + +The decree had gone forth for your destruction. Your doom had been +pre-ordained, and was pronounced in the very hour of your victory; even +while the streets of Rome, cleared of the rotten rubbish of despotism, +were ringing with that regenerating shout, "Long live the Republic!" +For three months did it resound through the _stradi_ of the classic +city--the city of the Caesars and Colonnas. It was heard upon bastion +and battlement, from behind battery and barricade, amidst scenes of +heroic strife that recalled the days of Horatius. It was heard in the +eloquent speeches of Mazzini--in the exciting war-cry of Garibaldi! + +All in vain! Three short months--and it was heard no more. The +Republic was overthrown, less by bayonets than by betrayal; but the rule +of the bayonet succeeded, and _Chasseur_ and _Zouave_, _Spahi_ and +_Turco_--all ruffians of the truest type--from that day to this have +stood guard over the fettered limbs of Roman liberty. + +In these troublous times, of three months' duration, Luigi Torreani took +part with the Republic. So did his friend, the young Englishman. So, +too, did Luigi's father; for the _sindico_, shortly after the affair +with the brigands, had transferred his household gods to the city, which +then promised a safe retreat from the insecurity he had long +experienced. + +But with the Republic at an end, and despotism once more triumphant, +Rome itself was only safe for the foes of freedom. As Francesco +Torreani was not one of these, another move became necessary. In what +direction was it to be made? There was no part of Italy that offered an +asylum. The Austrians still held Venice. Carlo Alberto had been beaten +in the north, and the brigand's king ruled the Neapolitans with a rod of +iron. Turn which way he would, there was no home on Italian soil for a +suspected patriot. + +Like men similarly situated, his thoughts turned towards the New World; +and, not long after, a bark sailed down the Tyrrhenian Sea, and on +through the Straits of Gades, bearing him and his to the shores of a far +western land. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY SIX. + +NUMBER NINE, STRADA VOLTURNO. + +General Harding was not slow in transacting the business that carried +him to London. It was too important to admit of delay. Even the old +lawyer acknowledged this, after reading the quaint letter of the +brigand, and scrutinising its still more quaint enclosure. + +Mr Lawson's Italian tour had given him experience to comprehend the +case--peculiar as it was--as also enabling him to recommend the steps +necessary to be taken. + +Five thousand pounds could not well be entrusted to the post; nor yet +the management of such a delicate affair--in reality, not a matter of +mere fingers and hands, but of life and death. Even a confidential +clerk seemed scarce fit for the occasion; and after a short conference +between the lawyer and his client, it was determined that the son of the +former--Lawson fits--should go to Rome and place himself en rapport with +"Signor Jacopi." Who Signor Jacopi was could only be guessed at: in all +likelihood, that strange specimen of humanity who had presented himself +at Beechwood Park, with a reckless indifference either to kicking or +incarceration. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +The first train for Dover carried young Lawson en route for Rome, with a +portmanteau containing five thousand pounds in gold coin, stamped with +the graceful head of England's young Queen. + +He thus went fully armed for an interview with Signor Jacopi. + +Rome was reached, in due course, by rail and steam; and, within the ten +days stipulated for in the letter of the brigand, the Lincoln's Inn +lawyer might have been seen with a heavy bag in hand perambulating the +streets of the Eternal City, and inquiring for the _Strada Volturno_. + +He found the place in some disorder. Instead of the cowled monks and +sleek silken-robed cardinals usually seen there--instead of grand +_galantuomos_ and gaily-dressed ladies--with here and there a sprinkling +of impertinent _sbirri_ and _gendarmerie_--he met men brave, of bold +aspect--honest withal--bearded, belted, in costumes half civic, half +military, armed to the teeth, and evidently masters of the situation. + +He was not astonished to hear from these men the occasional cry, "Long +live the Roman Republic!" He had been prepared for this before leaving +England; and it was only by a well-attested passport that he had been +enabled to pass their lines and set foot upon the pavement of the +seven-hilled city, at that moment threatened with siege. + +Once in its streets, however, he no longer met any obstruction; and, +without loss of time, he commenced searching for Signor Jacopi. + +He had very little difficulty in finding the _Strada Volturno_, and +still less the domicile numbered 9. The men with long beards, and +pistols stuck in their belts, were not morose, nor yet ill-disposed to +the answering of his questions. They seemed rather to take a pleasure +in directing him, with that hearty readiness that marks the intercourse +of those who have been engaged in a successful revolution. He did not +ask for the residence of Signor Jacopi; only for the street and the +number. Once at the door, it would be time enough to pronounce the name +of the mysterious individual to whom he was about to deliver a load of +golden coins. He had been constantly changing them from arm to arm, and +they had almost dragged his elbows out of joint. Without further +difficulty than this, he at length reached the _Strada Volturno_--a +paltry street as it proved--and discovered at Number 9 the residence of +Signor Jacopi. + +He needed not to inquire. There could be no mistake as to the owner of +the domicile. His name was lettered upon the door, "Signor Jacopi." +The door was close shut and bolted, as if Signor Jacopi could only be +seen with some difficulty. The London solicitor knocked, and waited for +its opening. + +He was, not without some curiosity to make the acquaintance of a member +of the fraternity whose practice was of such a peculiar kind; who could +demand payment of five thousand pounds, and get it without any appeal to +a court--either to judge or jury. So unlike the practice of Lincoln's +Inn! + +The door was at length opened--not until the knock was repeated; a hag, +who appeared at least seventy years old, being the tardy janitrix. But +this need not dismay a solicitor of Lincoln's Inn Fields. She was no +doubt the housekeeper of the premises. + +"Does Signor Jacopi live here?" asked the young English lawyer; who, +having accompanied his father on the Italian tour, was able to make his +inquiries comprehensible. + +"No," was the laconic response. + +"_No_! His name is on the door." + +"Ah, true!" responded the old woman, with something like a sigh. "They +haven't taken it off yet. It's no business of mine. I'm only here to +take care of the house." + +"Do you mean that the Signor Jacopi doesn't live here any longer?" + +"_E cosi_! What a question to ask! You are jesting, signor." + +"Jesting! No; I am in earnest--never more so in my life. I have +important business with him." + +"Business with Signor Jacopi! _Madonna Virgine_!" added the old woman, +in a tone of consternation, and making the sign of the Cross. + +"Certainly I have. And what is there strange in it?" + +"Business with a dead man! That's strange, is it not?" + +"Dead! Do you mean to say that Signor Jacopi is dead?" + +"_Si_, signor; surely you know that? Don't everybody know that he was +killed in the outbreak--the very first day; knocked down, and then taken +up again, and then hanged upon a lamp, because they said he was one of +the--Oh, signor, I can't tell you what they said about him. I only know +they killed him; and he's dead; and I've been put here to keep the +house. That's all I know about it." + +The young Lincoln's Inn lawyer let his bag of gold drop heavily upon the +doorstep. He felt that he had come to Rome upon an idle errand. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +And an idle errand it proved. All he could learn of the Signor Jacopi +was, that this individual was an Algerine Jew, who had settled in the +Holy City and embraced the Holy Faith; that he had practised law--that +department of it which in London would have entitled him to the +appellation of a "thieves' lawyer;" that, furthermore, he was accustomed +to long and mysterious absences from his office; but where, or +wherefore, there was none to tell, since no one could be found who +professed intimacy with him. + +In consequence of some unexplained act, he had made himself obnoxious to +the mob--during the first hours of the revolutionary outbreak--and had +fallen a victim to their fury. These, and a few other like facts, were +all that the London lawyer could learn about his professional brother of +Rome. But not one item of information to assist him in the errand upon +which he had been sent to the Eternal City. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY SEVEN. + +A FRUITLESS SEARCH. + +What was the next thing to be done? This was the inquiry which Lawson +junior put to himself, as he sat reflecting in his _locanda_. + +Should he go back to London, carrying his bag of sovereigns untouched, +and along with it the news of the failure of his mission? This course +might be fatal in its consequences. The letter of the brigand chief, +which of course he had brought with him, plainly stated the conditions. +After ten days from its date the hand of Henry Harding would be sent to +his father, enclosed as had been the finger. Nine of these had already +elapsed. Only one intervened. And now that the go-between, Jacopi, was +no longer in existence, how was he to communicate with those who had +threatened the horrible amputation? "A band of brigands on the +Neapolitan frontier--about fifty miles from Rome." This extract from +Henry Harding's first letter was all the clue he had to guide him to the +whereabouts of the bandits. But the description might apply to the +whole frontier, from the Tyrrhenian to the north-western angle of the +Abruzzi--a line that, from all that he could learn, contained as many +bands of brigands as there were leagues in its extent. For the +Lincoln's Inn lawyer to make a tour along it, discover the locality of +each band, and ascertain which of them held his young countryman in +captivity, might possibly have been done at the hourly risk of being +made captive himself. But even if successful in the search, it could +not be accomplished in time. + +In thinking it over, Lawson junior felt himself in a dilemma. Never in +his life had his father's firm undertaken such a case. It bristled with +difficulties, or, to speak more correctly, impossibilities. + +What was he to do? He bethought himself of the application that had +been made to the Foreign Office in Downing Street, and the promises +there given to communicate with the Papal Government. Had these +promises been kept? Had any action been taken in the matter? He rushed +to the Vatican to inquire. But the Vatican was now a thing of the +past--the _regime_ of Rome was now in Republican hands. And, to his +inquiries made in official quarters, he could only obtain the answer, +that nothing was known of the matter. + +Besides, the new rulers were too busy with their own affairs to take any +interest in his. What was the liberty of one person to that of a whole +nation, threatened by the approach of the two allied armies--Neapolitan +and French--now hastening towards Rome for the destruction of the +Republic? Every one was busy upon the barricades. There was no time to +spare for the chastisement of a score or two of brigands. + +The representative of Lawson and Son was terribly perplexed as to his +course of action. It would be no use writing to London for +instructions. His communication could not reach in time. Perhaps by +the same steamer that would carry his letter, another might be +despatched with a packet containing the bloody hand of Henry Harding. +It would be a fearful consummation. But how was it to be shunned? He +could think of no means; and to wait for a return letter of advice from +England seemed like abandoning the captive to his fate. Still there was +no help for it; and he commenced writing the letter--in firm belief that +the return post would bring him the sad news of the brigands having +carried out their atrocious threat. It was less with the hope of +hindering this, than the other menace of a still more terrible event, +that induced him to indite the letter. Before he had finished writing +it, a new idea came into his mind, causing him to desist. What if his +letter should be miscarried? In such times could the post be relied +upon? Besides, why write at all? Why not go himself? He would reach +London as soon as a letter could; and a matter of such importance should +not be entrusted to chance. Further reflection convinced him that he +had best go back; and, tearing up the unfinished despatch, he at once +set out on his return to London. + +He had some difficulty in getting through the lines set against the +approach of the hostile forces, that were every hour expected to arrive +before the gates of Rome. But gold, with a good English passport, +smoothed the way; and he at length succeeded in reaching Civita Vecchia, +from which the steamer transported him to Marseilles. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +Not much was gained by the return of the emissary to England. Fresh +inquiries were made at the lodgings formerly occupied by the Italian +artist; but no new facts were elicited. Of his later residence there +was nothing known. + +There could be nothing done but to despatch the junior partner once more +to Rome; and to Rome he went. But not to enter it. The Holy City was +now besieged by the hireling host of France, acting under Oudinot; and +the London lawyer had to stay outside. He was thus deprived of the +chance of prosecuting his inquiries. Twice were the invaders repulsed, +amidst scenes of carnage, in which the streets of Rome ran blood--the +blood of her gallant Republican defenders, led by that now +world-renowned chief, Garibaldi, who in this struggle first made himself +conspicuous on the page of European history. + +But the unequal conflict could not last; the Republicans were defeated +by a base betrayal. When at length the French took possession of the +city, the London solicitor became free to renew his search. He then +succeeded in discovering that a young Englishman had been captured by a +band of brigands under a noted chief named Corvino; that he had +afterwards made his escape from them; that the band had been nearly +annihilated, and its chief killed by a party of Republican volunteers; +that his late captive, acting along with the latter, had returned with +them to the town of Val di Orno, and thence proceeded to Rome, in the +defence of which city he was supposed to have taken part. Whether he +fell, among the slain Revolutionists in the carnage that ensued, there +was no one who could tell. This appeared to have been his fate; since, +beyond the fact of his having returned to Rome along with the +Revolutionists, no trace of him could be discovered. + +Even thus far General Harding did not live to learn the history of his +son. From the day on which that epistle had been put into his hands-- +the one containing the hideous enclosure--his life had been one +continuous misery. It became intensified on the return of young Lawson +to announce the failure of his first attempt. From that hour the +General lived in a state of excitement bordering upon insanity. He +trembled at each post, expecting by it an epistle with more painful +details--and a still more horrible packet. He even fancied that the +second parcel might have miscarried, and the third would be that +containing his son's head! + +The ghastly apprehension, acting upon his excited imagination, threw him +into a brain fever. From this he only recovered to linger a few days in +a state of bodily prostration, and die accusing himself of having killed +his son. With this self-reproach he departed from life. It could +hardly have been a conviction, since the last words spoken by him were +instructions to his solicitor, Mr Lawson, that the search was to be +continued, regardless of cost, until his son's fate should be +ascertained; and, if dead, that the body should be sought for, brought +home, and buried beside his own. + +What were to be the conditions if he were found living no one knew, +except Mr Lawson; but that there were conditions might well be +supposed. + +The solicitor faithfully carried out the instructions of the deceased +General; and expended a large sum, that had been left him for +prosecuting the search, both upon agents and advertisements. + +It was all to no purpose. Beyond what had already been discovered at +Rome, Mr Lawson could get no further intelligence of Henry Harding-- +whether living or dead--and in due time the emissaries were dismissed, +and the advertising abandoned. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT. + +THE NEW SQUIRE OF BEECHWOOD. + +On the death of General Harding, his son Nigel became master of +Beechwood, and soon after--almost indecently soon--the husband, though +not the master, of Belle Mainwaring. + +To the former, no one thought of questioning his claim. He was the +eldest son; and, as most people now believed, the only one. The report +that the younger had met his death among the Revolutionists of Rome soon +got abroad, and was generally credited. But even had it been supposed +that he was living, one-half the world knew no better than that General +Harding's estate was entailed; and that, therefore, Nigel was entitled +as the heir. If the other half wanted to know better, and would take +the trouble to inquire of Mr Woolet--the new solicitor to the estate-- +that gentleman could assure them of the soundness of his client's title, +by reference to a document of a certain date, which he kept in a large +tin case conspicuously lettered. The case itself had the honour of the +most conspicuous position upon his shelves; so that no client could +commune with Mr Woolet without seeing that he was alongside the +solicitor who had in his custody the title deeds, and other legal +documents, of Nigel Harding, Esq, Beechwood Park, Bucks. So said the +lettering on the case. About the ownership of the property, then, there +was no question or dispute. In times past there had been a talk about +its having been divided between the brothers. Afterwards came out the +will, leaving all to the elder; and, now that the younger had +disappeared, and was deemed dead, the point was no longer discussed. + +Indeed, remembrance of the latter was almost dead. He had been already +more than twelve months out of sight; and, with such associates as he +used to keep, out of sight is soon out of mind. He was remembered as a +generous, somewhat reckless youth, not likely to make much way in the +world--either to fame or fortune. + +But he was now dead; that was an end of him; and his brother Nigel was +looked upon as one of the luckiest fellows in England, as also one of +the most prosperous squires in the shire of Buckingham. + +He was, at all events, likely to be one of the most conspicuous; for the +husband of Belle Mainwaring could not be hidden under a cloud. If he +should choose to lead an unsocial life, she was not the lady to become +the companion of his solitude; and it was not long before he made this +discovery. The tranquillity of Beechwood Park ceased upon the same day +that Miss Belle Mainwaring became the mistress of its mansion; and the +drowsy solemnity of its old trees, hitherto disturbed only by the cawing +of the rook, or the soft cooing of the wood-quest, was now constantly +assailed by the sound of human voices, gay and jocund. + +Under the rule of its new mistress--for _she_ ruled--Beechwood Park +became the centre of festivities; while the _elite_ of the neighbourhood +were only too happy to accept of its hospitalities, as they would those +of a retired knacker, provided he could dispense them with sufficient +profuseness. + +But neither in the host nor hostess of the Beechwood was there any +question of retired knacker; and everything was therefore _en regle_: +select parties for out-door sports--archery in summer--hunting spreads +in winter--dining and dancing at all seasons of the year. + +Belle Mainwaring had obtained the reward of her great beauty, as her +mother the recompense of her consummate skill; for the widow of the +Indian colonel had found a snug corner in the establishment of her +son-in-law. It was not shared either by the sister of the late +proprietor. The spinster aunt had disappeared previous to the nuptials +of Nigel. She was still knitting that eternal stocking; but in a humble +abode proportioned to the allowance left by her brother's will. Her +chair was now occupied by the widow Mainwaring, though not set in a +corner. + +And so for a period of years passed the gay, grand life at Beechwood +Park; while the outside world took part in it, or looked on admiringly-- +not a few feeling envy. How could it be otherwise, where two young +people, both gifted with good looks--for Nigel Harding was far from +being personally plain--lived in the enjoyment of so many advantages-- +property, position--in short, everything that should make life +desirable? + +The world is not very discriminative; else it might have seen, under all +this apparent joy, something that resembled sorrow. + +I did, though not at Beechwood Park, since after my unfortunate +_contretemps_ at the county ball, I was not likely to have the +opportunity. But there were other houses still open to me; and at these +I not unfrequently came in contact with the distinguished couple, as +also the interesting individual to whom I had been indebted for getting +my name _scratched_ from the dancing-card. And the more I now saw, the +more I felt thankful for that lucky deliverance. Perhaps but for it, I +should have been one of the broken-hearted bees who, with scorched and +shrivelled wings, still continued to buzz around Belle Mainwaring--long +after she became a wife. + +It may have been some thought connected with these that caused the cloud +I observed on the brow of Nigel Harding--as now and then a fierce +flashing in his eyes, that betrayed his semi-oriental origin. I could +not tell; nor did I indeed care, as I had never much respect for the +man. I was, perhaps, more observant of his wife; and speculated a +little more profoundly as to the cause of the cloud on her brow, to me +equally apparent. Amidst her gaiety I observed traces of abstraction-- +even when flattery was being poured into her ear. On her part there +appeared to be no jealousy. On the contrary, the presence of her +husband only seemed to give _degout_ to her, his absence relief. All +this I could easily perceive, and guess at the reason. That short +conversation I had heard under the _Deodara_ was sufficiently expletive; +and I knew that Nigel Harding had married a woman who, in the true sense +of the word, would never be his wife. Love him she certainly could not, +and did not. But it was not certain that she could not and did not love +another. On the contrary, I was certain that she _did_. Who that other +was I cannot confidently say, though I had many and varied surmises. At +times I thought it might be the man she had so cruelly jilted; at other +times I fancied it one who, with less cruelty, but like firmness, would +have rejected _her_. + +The last time I saw Miss Belle Mainwaring--I forget, she was then Mrs +Nigel Harding--was under circumstances that might be called peculiar. +It was at the close of a quiet dinner party, given by a country squire, +on the borders of Bucks. I had repossessed myself of my night-wrapper, +and stood upon the doorstep, to await the coming up of the carriage that +was to transport me to the railway station, and which the squire's +hall-porter had already summoned upon the "Sweep." As I stood awaiting +my turn, there drew up before me an equipage of elegant appearance: two +splendid horses in front, a splendid coachman on the box, and an equally +resplendent footman beside him. Gold glittered on the liveries of the +lacqueys, while a coat of arms glistened on the panel of the door. It +was a turn-out in striking contrast with my own modest "trap" that had +closed up behind it. + +"Whose carriage?" was the mental inquiry I was making, when the +stentorian voice of the hall-porter undesignedly gave me the answer. It +was the carriage of Nigel Harding. + +At the same instant this gentleman came out, closely followed by his +wife. + +I stood aside to give them passage. + +He entered the carriage first, as if forced in by command. The lady, +resplendent in sable robes--it was winter--placed her foot upon the step +to follow. At that moment the horses, already pawing the gravel with +impatience, made a false start forward. They were suddenly checked by +the coachman; but the lady staggering, would have gone to the ground, +but for my person interposed to prevent her. By a mere mechanical act +of politeness, I had stretched forth my arms, between which sank Mrs +Nigel Harding. + +"You of all men!" muttered she, in a tone I could not easily forget, and +which conveyed to my ear less of gratitude than reproach. Then breaking +off, and transferring her spleen to the peccant Jehu, she flounced into +the carriage, and was whirled off out of my sight. + +What astonished me still more was the behaviour of her husband. I saw +his face, as the carriage drove off, projected out of its open window. +By the light of the lamp I could perceive that there was a black look +upon it; but, instead of on the coachman, his eyes appeared to be +directed towards myself, as though I had been the cause of the accident! +Certainly he did not seem grateful for my voluntary act of politeness. + +It was five years before I saw either again. I had almost, if not +altogether, forgotten them, when a circumstance, occurring many thousand +miles away, returned to my recollection the young squire of Beechwood +Park, and of course along with him his wife. + +The circumstance to which I allude was not only strange, but of serious +consequence to several of the characters who have figured in this tale; +among others, to Nigel Harding and his lady. Better for these last if +it had never occurred. + + + +CHAPTER FIFTY NINE. + +IN THE CAMPO. + +Five years spent in foreign travel, confined to the continent of +America, found me in the southern division of it--on the banks of the +River La Plata. + +Choice and chance combining--a little business with the prospect of a +large amount of pleasure--had conducted me into the Argentine Republic; +and the same had carried me into one of its upper provinces, bordering +upon the Parana. + +I was journeying through the _campo_ about twenty miles north of +Rosario, from which place I had taken my departure. My object was to +reach the _estancia_ of an English colonist--an old college friend--who +had established himself as a cattle-breeder and wool-grower some fifty +miles from Rosario. + +I went on horseback, and alone. I had failed in engaging a guide; but, +knowing that my friend's house stood near the banks of the river, I +fancied there could be no difficulty in finding it. There were other +_estancias_ along the route; sparsely scattered, it is true; but still +thick enough to give me a chance of inquiring the way. Besides, the +river itself should guide me to a certain extent; at all events, it +would keep me from going many miles astray. My horse was an excellent +roadster; and I was expecting to do the fifty miles--a mere bagatelle to +a South American steed--before sunset. And in all likelihood I should +have succeeded, if in the kingdom of animated nature there had been no +such creature as a _biscacha_. But, unluckily, there is--an animal +whose habit is to honeycomb the _campo_ with holes, in places forming +most treacherous traps for the traveller's horse. In one of these, +while traversing a stretch of _pampa_, my steed was imprudent enough to +plant his hoof; when first sinking, and then stumbling, he rolled over +upon the plain; and, of course, his rider along with him. The rider was +but slightly injured, but the horse very seriously. On getting him upon +his feet, I found he could scarce stand--much less carry me the thirty +miles that still separated us from my friend's _estancia_. He had +injured one of his forelegs, and was just able to limp after me as I led +him from the spot. I felt that I had got into a dilemma, and would have +to walk the rest of the way, besides making a second day of it. Perhaps +not, I reflected, on seeing before me, at no great distance, some signs +of a habitation. + +There was a clump of trees, most of which appeared to be peaches. This +of itself would not have proved the proximity of a dwelling, for in many +parts of the Argentine territory the peach-trees grow wild. But I saw +something more;--a bit of white wall gleaming through the green foliage, +with something like smoke ascending. Around all was a stretch of +stockade fence, indicating an enclosure. + +Turning directly towards it, I led on my lame horse, in the hope of the +chance to exchange him for one better able to bear me to the end of the +journey. + +Even if I could not make such an exchange, it would be wiser to leave +him, and proceed onward afoot. + +On approaching a little nearer to the place, I could see that it +promised at least a shelter for my crippled quadruped; and getting still +closer, I began to indulge the hope of being able to obtain a remount. + +The house gradually becoming disclosed, through the shrubbery by which +it was beset, if not a grand mansion, had all the appearance of a +well-to-do _estancia_. There was a comfortable dwelling, with verandah +in front, in style not unlike an Italian villa; and at the back were +out-buildings, apparently in good repair, standing inside an enclosure. +There were enough of these to predicate a stable containing a spare +horse. + +With the one belonging to me, I was soon standing before a gate. It was +that of a railed _parterre_ that fronted the dwelling. + +I made my presence known by striking the butt-end of my whip against the +rails. + +Whilst waiting for an answer to my summons, I took a survey of the +place. + +It did not exactly resemble the dwelling of a _Criollo_, or native. +There was evidence of care about the garden and the rose-trellised +verandah, that bespoke European culture. The owner might be English, +French, German, or Italian; for, in the Argentine Provinces, all are +allowed to colonise without prejudice or distinction. Which nationality +would respond to my summons? With curious interest I awaited to see. + +I was not kept very long. A man, who appeared to issue from behind the +house, came forward to the gate. His thick black head and eagle glance, +with white teeth, and nose prominently aquiline, were all Italian. An +organ upon his abdomen, and a monkey upon his shoulder, would not more +unquestionably have declared his national origin. I knew it before he +opened his lips to put the interrogatory, "_Chi e, signore_?" + +Despite the man's blackness, there was nothing forbidding in his aspect. +On the contrary, the impression made upon me was that I had fallen +among good Samaritans. As the luck would have it, I could talk Italian, +or at least "smatter" it, so as to be understood. + +"My horse!" I said, pointing to the quadruped, which stood with his +forefoot suspended six inches from the ground; "he has had an accident, +as you see; and can carry me no further. I am desirous of leaving him +in your care until I can send for him. I shall pay you for the trouble, +and perhaps," I continued, nodding towards the buildings at the back, +"you would have no objection to lend me a nag in his place? Anything +capable of carrying me to the house of a friend farther on." + +The man looked at me for a moment with a puzzled air--then at my horse-- +and then back at myself--and at length turned his eyes toward the house, +as if from it he designed drawing the inspiration of his answer. + +He could scarce have sought it at a shrine more like the celestial. + +As I stood to catch his reply, the door of the dwelling was opened from +within, and a woman stepped forth into the verandah--a creature who +might have been mistaken for an angel; but still only a woman, and for +that not the less beautiful. Coming forward to the trellis, and looking +through the roses, that appeared to form a chaplet around her brow, she +repeated the question already asked by the man, adding to it his own +name--for to him was the interrogatory directed--"_Chi e, Tommaso_?" + +Tommaso in answer gave a literal translation of what I had said to him; +and then waited for instructions. + +"Tell the stranger," responded the sweet voice from the verandah, "tell +him he can leave his horse, and have another to continue his journey. +But if he will come inside, and wait till my husband returns home, he is +welcome. Perhaps that would be the best thing, Tommaso!" + +Tommaso thought it would; and, I need scarce say, I quite agreed with +him. + +The man took the horse out of my hands, and led him towards the stable. + +I was left free to enter the house; and, availing myself of the gracious +invitation, I stepped straight across the threshold, and was soon seated +inside--in converse with one of the most charming creatures it had ever +been my privilege to speak with. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY. + +PLEASANT HOSPITALITY. + +I sat enraptured with my fair hostess; rejoicing at the accident that +had thrown me into such pleasant company. + +Who was she? Who could she be? An Italian, she had told me at first; +and in this language we conversed. But she could also speak a little +English, which was soon explained by her telling me that her husband was +an _Inglese_. + +"He will be so glad to see you," she said, "for it is not often he meets +any of his own countrymen, as most of the English live further down. +Henry will soon be home. It can't be long now. He only went over to +the other _estancia_--I mean papa's. I fancy he and brother Luigi are +gone ostrich-hunting. But that must be over now, as they don't chase +the birds after midday, on account of the shadows. I am sure he will +soon be back. Meanwhile, how are you to be amused? Perhaps you will +look at these pictures? They are landscapes of the country here. Some +of them are by my husband--some by brother Luigi. Try if you can kill a +little time over them while I go look after something for you to eat." + +"Pray don't think of that. I do not feel in any need of eating." + +"That may be, signore; but then there are the ostrich-hunters. Likely +enough Luigi will come along with my husband, and won't _they_ have an +appetite! I must see and have dinner ready for them." + +So saying, my fair hostess glided out of the room; leaving me to an +impatience, that had very little to do with the return of the +ostrich-hunters. + +To "kill time," as I had been requested, I commenced an inspection of +the pictures. There were about a dozen of them, hanging against the +walls of the apartment, otherwise but sparely furnished--as might be +expected of a country house in a remote province on the Parana. As she +had said, they were all scenes of the country, and for this reason to me +more interesting. Most of them related to the chase or some act of +native industry. There were pictures of jaguar-hunting, +flamingo-shooting, running wild horses, and capturing them with _bolas_ +or _lazo_. + +I was at first only struck with the remarkable truthfulness of their +details--the faithfulness displayed in regard of both scenery and +costumes. How like to reality were the gigantic thistles, the +_ombu-trees_, the wide-stretching pampas, the ostriches, the wild horses +and other animals, the _gauchos_ and their costumes--in short, +everything delineated. This was all evident at a glance. But I was not +prepared for what I discovered on closer, examination--that the +pictures, at least a large number of them, were paintings of high art-- +fit for any exhibition in the world! It would have been a surprise to +me meeting with such paintings upon the remote plains of the Parana; it +was something more, to know that they had been painted there. + +Before I had ceased wondering at this unexpected discovery, cheerful +voices heard outside caused me to suspend the examination, and walk up +to the window. On looking forth, I had before me a real scene similar +to the painted ones I had just been scrutinising. Under the shadow of a +gigantic _ombu-tree_, standing near, four horsemen had made halt, and +were in the act of dismounting. + +I could have no doubt as to who they were--clearly the ostrich-hunters, +as a large cock _rhea_ appeared upon the croup of one of the saddles, +and a hen-bird on the other. A third spoil of the chase was seen, in +the spotted skin of a jaguar, strapped behind one of the horsemen, who +still kept his saddle. + +Two of the party were _gauchos_, evidently attendants--the other two as +evidently the husband and brother of my fair hostess. + +The latter--easily distinguished by his Italian face--seemed undecided +about dismounting, as if half inclined to go further; while the +Englishman was urging him to stay. Just then the beautiful mistress of +the mansion stepped out into the verandah, and gliding on to the gate, +added her solicitations, intimating to her brother that there was a +stranger in the house. Yielding to these, the young man sprang out of +the stirrup, and surrendered the rein to Tommaso, who had come round +from the stables, and who, with the _gauchos_, at once led the horses +away. + +The two gentlemen having entered, the lady of the house introduced them +as her husband and brother. Beyond this, no name was pronounced; and +before I could give my own, she had commenced explaining my presence and +the nature of the request I had made. + +"Most certainly," exclaimed the Englishman, as soon as he had heard the +explanation. "We can lend you a horse, sir, and welcome. But why not +stay with us a day or two? Perhaps by that time your own will have +recovered sufficiently to carry you on to the end of your journey." + +"It is very kind of you," I answered, feeling very much inclined to +accept the invitation. On second thoughts, however, it occurred to me +that the hospitality proffered might be of the character common in South +American countries, "_mia casa a su disposicion, senor_," a mere +expression of courtesy; which I was about declining under some +colourable excuses, when a second solicitation from my host--in which he +was joined by his young wife--convinced me of its sincerity. I could +hold out no longer, and declared my willingness to remain the "day or +two." + +I made it three--and of the pleasantest days I ever spent in my life. +They were not all passed under the roof of my countryman and his +brother-in-law. The latter had a house of his own--an _estancia_ on a +larger scale, of which that of my host was only an offshoot. Into this +I was also introduced; finding in it another fair hostess, a young South +American lady, who had lately become its mistress; as also Luigi's own +father, a venerable Italian gentleman, who was in reality the head of +the whole circle. The two establishments were but half a mile apart; +and what with passing between one and the other, breakfasting and dining +alternately at both--with an ostrich chase at intervals--the time passed +so pleasantly I could scarce believe the days to be twenty-four hours in +length. + +I was rather displeased with Tommaso for having so speedily cured my +horse. An odd-looking creature this same Tommaso appeared to me. Had I +met him on the mountains of Italy, instead of by the banks of the +Parana, I should certainly have taken him for a brigand. Not that the +resemblance went beyond mere personal appearance; that picturesqueness +we attach, to the Italian bandit. Otherwise, the man looked honest; was +certainly cheerful; and, above all, faithfully devoted to the _signore_ +and _signora_, in whose service he lived. + +I confess to some chagrin when Tommaso pronounced my steed once more +sound. But there was no concealing the fact; and, although still urged, +both by host and hostess, to prolong my stay, I felt there should be +some limit to such trusting hospitality, and prepared to continue my +journey. I was the less loath at leaving these new friends, from an +understanding, that on my return towards Rosario I was to take their +house on the way. Only on this promise would they consent to my going +so soon; and I need scarce say that the prospect of renewing such a +pleasant intercourse rendered it less painful to take my departure. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY ONE. + +AN UNKNOWN HOST. + +Up to the hour of leaving, I had never once heard the name of my host. +That of his father-in-law had been often mentioned. He was Signor +Francesco Torreani, a native of the Papal States, who some years before +had come to the Argentine Republic--as many others of his countrymen--to +better his condition. This, and not much more, of him or his had I +learnt. To say the truth, our daily life during my short stay had been +too much taken up with the pleasures of the present to dwell upon +memories of the past--often painful. + +In my case they were of this character, and appeared the same in that of +my new acquaintances. Who, breathing the free, fresh air of the pampas, +or bounding over them on the back of a half-wild horse, would care to +remember the petty joys and sorrows of an effete and corrupt +civilisation? Rather should one wish to forget them. + +So was it with me; and so, too, I fancied with these emigrants from the +classic land of Italy. I sought not to know the history of their past. +Why should they have any interest in communicating it? They did not, +any more than the few facts already stated, and these were revealed by +chance, in the course of conversation. Little, however, as I had learnt +of the Torreanis, still less was I informed of the antecedents of my own +countryman. I stood upon the threshold of his house, about to bid him +adieu, without even knowing his name! + +This may appear strange, and requiring explanation. It is this. Among +the people of Spanish America, the surname is but seldom heard--only the +Christian cognomen, or, as they term it, _apellido_. This was all I had +heard of my host--Henry being his baptismal appellation. + +But for some reason, into which I had no right to inquire, I found him +reticent whenever chance led us to converse upon English affairs; and, +though he showed no prejudice against his native country, he appeared to +take little interest in it--at times, as I thought, shunning the +subject. + +In my own mind, I had shaped out a theory to account for this +indifference. Want of success in early life--perhaps something of +social exclusion--though I could not put it upon that score. His +manners and accomplishments proved, if not high birth, at least the +training that appertains to it; and in our intercourse there had more +than once cropped out the masonic signs of Eton and Oxford. I wondered +who he could be, or whence he had sprung. Fearing it might not be +relished, I had forborne asking the question. + +It was only at the last moment, when I stood upon his doorstep, and was +about bidding him adieu, that the thought of inquiring his name came +into my head. + +"You will excuse me," I said, "if after having been for three days the +recipient of a very pleasant and very undeserved hospitality, I am +somewhat desirous to know the name of my host. It is not a matter of +mere curiosity; but only that I may know to whom I am so largely +indebted." + +"How very odd!" he said, answering me with a peal of laughter. "But is +it really the fact that you have not yet learnt my name? I took it as a +matter of course you had. Now I remember it, I have never heard you +call me except by my Italian title of _signore_! What uncourteous +negligence on my part! Three days in a man's house without knowing his +name! How very amusing, is it not? Altogether un-English. To make the +best amends in my power, I shall adopt the English fashion of giving you +my card. I think I have some left in an old card case. Let me see if +there are." + +My host turned back into the house, leaving me to laugh over the +circumstance with his sweet wife Lucetta. + +Presently he came out again, the card case in his hand; as he +approached, drawing out of it several enamelled cards that appeared +spotted and mouldy with age. Selecting one, he placed it in my hand. + +There was no need for scrutinising it just then; and merely glancing at +the piece of cardboard, without staying to decipher the name, I bade him +good-bye--I had already made my adieux to the lady--mounted my horse, +and rode off. + +I had not gone far before curiosity prompted me to acquaint myself with +the name of my hospitable entertainer. + +Taking out the card, I read--"_Mr Henry Harding_." + +A very good English name it was; and one I had reason to remember, +though it then never occurred to me that the young _estanciero_ of the +Pampas could be any connection of the Hardings of Beechwood Park, in the +county of Bucks, England. And without making any further reflection, I +gave the spur to my horse, and continued my long-delayed journey. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY TWO. + +A LOST LEGATEE. + +The reader may perhaps think it strange--the fact of my not recognising +Mr Henry Harding as an old acquaintance. But in reality he was not so. +I had seen him only once, when a beardless youth, home from his college +vacation. But even had I known him more intimately, it is not likely +that, sun-browned and bearded as he now was--speaking and looking +Italian much better than he either spoke or looked English--I should +have remembered the young collegian, unless some circumstance had +occurred to recall him to my memory. Had I learnt his name sooner, such +might have been the case. As it was, I went my way--simply reflecting +what a fine young fellow was my late host, and how fortunate in having +such a treasure of a wife. + +As to the others of my late entertainers, the reader must remember that +he is already acquainted with much more of their history than I was +then. All I knew of them was what I had learnt during the three days' +intercourse just ended; and in it nothing had occurred in any way to +connect them in my mind with the personages of English nationality who +have figured in this tale. + +The name "Mr Henry Harding" on a card gave me no other thought than +that of his being a fellow-countryman of whom I might feel proud, and to +whom I did feel grateful. + +On reaching the _estancia_ of my friend, I found him somewhat anxious +about my tardy arrival. He had, of course, expected me three days +sooner; and but that the "thistles" were not yet sufficiently advanced +in growth, he would have supposed that I had either lost my way among +those gigantic weeds, or fallen into the hands of robbers, who are to be +apprehended only after this singular herbage has attained full height. +On explaining the cause of my delay--telling him where I had spent the +intervening time, as also how pleasantly I had spent it--my friend +suddenly interrupted me with the question-- + +"Did you ever know a General Harding, of the county of Bucks?" + +"A General Harding, of Bucks?" + +"Yes. I know you've been a good deal down in that part of England. The +General Harding I speak of died some five or six years ago." + +"I knew a General Harding, of Beechwood Park, not a great way from +Windsor. I had only a slight acquaintance with him. He died about the +time you say. Would he be the man you mean?" + +"By Jove! the very same. Beechwood! That I think is the name; but we +shall soon see. It's very odd," continued my friend, rising from his +seat, and going towards a secretary that stood in a corner of the room. +"Very odd, indeed. I have been myself half in the mind of riding over +to the _estancia_, where you have been so well entertained. I should +have done so this very day, but that I was waiting for you. I may as +well tell you what would have been my errand. I know very little of my +English neighbour, Mr Harding. His intercourse is mostly among +Italians and Argentines; so that we English don't see much of him. He's +said to be a first-rate fellow, for all that." + +"I'm glad to hear him so spoken of. It's just the impression he has +made upon me. But what has this to do with your inquiries about General +Harding?" + +I need hardly say that, by this time, my own curiosity was aroused--so +much so, that I had once more taken the card out of my pocket, and was +submitting it to a fresh scrutiny. + +"Well," said my friend, returning to the original subject of discourse, +"while looking out for you, I could not well leave the house; and having +no other way of amusing myself, I took to reading some old English +newspapers. We don't have them very new here at any time. These were +dated several years ago, and one of them was a _Times_. Now, if you'd +lived as long upon the pampas as I have, you'd not turn up your nose at +a _Times_, however ancient its date; nor would you leave a paragraph +unread, even to the advertisements. I was poring over these, when my +eye fell upon one, which I leave you to read for yourself. There it +is." + +I took the paper handed me by my friend, and read the advertisement he +had pointed out. It ran thus:-- + +"Henry Harding.--If Mr Henry Harding, son of the late General Harding, +of Beechwood Park, in the county of Buckingham, will apply to Messrs. +Lawson and Sons, solicitors, of Lincoln's Inn Fields, he will hear of +something to his advantage. Mr Harding was last heard of in Rome, at +the time of the revolutionary struggle, and is supposed to have taken +part in the defence of that city by Garibaldi. Any one giving +information of his present address, or, if dead, stating the time and +circumstances of his death, will be handsomely rewarded." + +"What do you think of it?" asked my friend, as soon as I had finished +reading the advertisement. + +"I remember having seen it before," was my reply. "It was inserted in +the papers repeatedly, several years ago, and at the time caused much +talk. Of course, everybody knew that young Harding had gone away from +home--no one knowing where. That was some time before his father's +death. There was some story afloat about his having been jilted by a +girl. I knew something of the young lady myself. Also, of his having +gone to Italy, and fallen into the hands of brigands, or joined the +partisans of Mazzini. No one knew the truth, as General Harding was a +man in the habit of keeping his family secrets to himself. It was after +his death that the talk was. When these advertisements appeared, the +young fellow had been a considerable time out of sight; and for that +reason they attracted less attention. It was said that the father had +left him a legacy, and that was why the solicitor was advertising for +him." + +"Just what I thought. But do you think he ever turned up?" + +"That I can't tell. I never heard the result. About that time I left +England myself, and have been abroad ever since." + +"Does it not occur to you," inquired my friend, "that this Henry Harding +of the _Times_ advertisement, and the gentleman who has been +entertaining you, may be one and the same man?" + +"It is quite possible--indeed, it seems probable. This states that +Henry Harding was last heard of at Rome. Now the family into which this +gentleman has married came from Rome. That much they told me. He may +be the same. He may have answered the advertisement too, and got the +_something_ to his _advantage_, whatever it was; though I am under the +impression it was not much. It was generally known that the bulk of +General Harding's property was willed to his eldest son Nigel; and that +Henry, the youngest, was left a bare thousand pounds. If my late host +be he, in all likelihood he has had the money before now. Might it not +have been with it he has so comfortably established himself?" + +"No; I can answer for that," said my friend. "He was settled here long +before the date of this advertisement, and has never been out of the +country since--certainly never so far as England." + +"It would not be necessary for him to go to England to obtain the legacy +of a thousand pounds. All that might have been transacted by letter of +attorney." + +"True, but I have good reason to know that he is only a tenant of the +_estancia_ you found him in. His Italian father-in-law is the real +owner of both properties; and this was the state of affairs from the +first--long before the advertisement could have appeared. In my +opinion, he has never seen it; and if he be the individual referred to, +it might be worth his while to know of it. As I've said, I had thoughts +of riding over and asking him myself. Although we've had very little +intercourse, I've heard a very good account of him--though not as a very +successful sheep-keeper. He's too fond of hunting for that; and I fancy +he hasn't added much to his wife's dowry or his father-in-law's fortune. +Indeed, I've heard say that he is himself a little sore about this; and +if there should be a legacy for him, still unlifted, it might be very +welcome and very convenient to him. A thousand pounds isn't much in +London, but it would go a long way out upon the pampas here." + +"True," I replied mechanically, absorbed in reflecting whether the +rejected lover of Miss Belle Mainwaring was the man whom I had met--now +married to a wife worth ten thousand of her sort. + +"I'll tell you what you can do," said my friend; "you say they've +invited you to stop there on your way back to Rosario?" + +"I am under a promise to do so." + +"Lucky fellow! to have made such a brace of beautiful acquaintances; for +the Argentine lady is not thought so far behind her Italian +sister-in-law. All by the stumbling of a horse, too! By Jove, I'd risk +the breaking of my neck every day in the year for such a chance! You +were always fortunate in that sort of thing." + +It was rather amusing to hear my friend talk in such a fashion. He, a +confirmed old bachelor, who, I verily believe, would not have +surrendered even to the charms of the lovely Lucetta! Such was the name +I had heard given to my late hostess. + +"What were you going to propose?" I asked. + +"That you take back with you this old _Times_, and show the +advertisement to Mr Harding himself. I'll ride so far with you, if you +wish. But since you have made their acquaintance, and know more about +this matter than I, it will be better for you to introduce it. What say +you to that course?" + +"I have no objection to it." + +"All right then. And now to see how I can entertain you. No doubt, my +bachelor quarters will be dull enough to you, coming from such company. +A dose of Purgatory after Paradise! Ha! ha! ha!" + +I could not help thinking there was some truth in what my friend said; +though I did all I could to conceal my thoughts, by joining heartily in +his laughter. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY THREE. + +"SOMETHING TO HIS ADVANTAGE." + +The entertainments provided for me by my old college acquaintance were +far from being dull, and I kept his company for nearly a week. At the +end of this time I was on my way back to Rosario, intending to stop, as +promised, at the _estancia_ of Mr Henry Harding; who, if he should +prove to be the son of the old Indian General, I could no longer look +upon in the light of a stranger. + +As proposed, my friend accompanied me, and I had the pleasure of +promoting an intimacy between two of my countrymen who were worthy to +know one another better than they had hitherto done. + +The Signora Lucetta was beautiful and amiable as ever; and we had soon +assembled under one roof the two kindred families. For several days we +were entertained with a hospitality that became rather difficult to +escape from; and my bachelor friend, I believe, went back to his own +solitary _estancia_ with strong resolutions of not letting much time +elapse before becoming a Benedict. + +For my part, I was no longer treated as a stranger. My South American +host _was_ the son of General Harding, of Beechwood Park--the very man +who had been advertised for; and, as I now learnt, up to that hour in +vain. + +In a conversation that occurred during my second visit I was made +acquainted with his whole history, as detailed in these pages. + +"And this?" I said, pointing to the advertisement in the _Times_--the +paper lying upon the table before us. + +"Never saw it; never heard of it till now!" was his reply. + +"You heard of your father's death, I suppose?" + +"Oh yes; I saw that in the papers shortly after it occurred. My poor +father! Perhaps I acted rashly and wrongly. But it is too late to talk +of it now." + +I saw that it pained him to speak of his father, and I passed on to +another subject. + +"Your brother's marriage--you heard also of that, I suppose?" + +"No!" he answered, to my surprise. "Is he married?" + +"Long since. It was also in the papers; and somewhat conspicuously. +Strange you didn't see it." + +"Oh! the papers! I never looked at an English newspaper since that +containing the account of my father's death. I hated the sight of them, +and everything else that was English. I have not even associated with +my own countrymen here, as you may have learnt. And upon whom has Mr +Nigel Harding bestowed his name? You know the lady, I suppose?" + +"He married a Miss Belle Mainwaring," I answered, with a counterfeit air +of innocence, and not without some fear that the communication might +give pain. + +I watched his countenance for the effect, but could discover no +indication of the sort. + +"I knew something of the lady," he said, with just the shadow of a +sneer; "she and my brother ought to make each other very happy. Their +dispositions, I think, were suitable." + +I did not say how thoroughly I understood the meaning of his remark. + +"But," I said, returning to the subject of the advertisement, "what do +you intend doing about this? You see, it speaks of _something to your +advantage_?" + +"_Not_ much, I fancy. I think I know all about it. It is a question of +a thousand pounds, which my father promised to leave me at his death. +It was so stated in his will--that will--" Here a bitter expression came +quickly over his features. "Well," he continued, his countenance as +suddenly clearing again, "I ought rather to rejoice at it, though it did +disinherit me. But for that, signore," he said, forgetting that he was +talking to a countryman, "I might never have seen my dear Lucetta; and I +think you will say, that never to have seen her would be the greatest +misfortune a man could have." + +It was an odd appeal to me--a stranger; but I could not help responding +to it. + +He would have gone on conversing upon this pleasant theme; but the time +was drawing nigh for us to join the ladies--Lucetta herself being one; +and I re-directed his attention to the subject that had taken us apart. + +"Even a thousand pounds," I said, "it is worth looking after." + +"Quite true," he replied, "and I had several times thoughts of doing +so--that is, lately. At first, I was too angry with all that had +happened at home; and had made up my mind to refuse even the paltry +pittance that had been left for me. But to tell the truth, I have not +made much money here; and I begin to feel myself rather a pensioner upon +my worthy father-in-law. With a thousand pounds of my own money, I +should stand a little higher in my own estimation." + +"What will you do then? Come with me to England and get it?" + +"Not for ten thousand! No; I wouldn't leave this happy home, and +forsake my free South American life, for ten times the amount! It will +not be necessary to go to England. If there be a thousand pounds lying +for me in the hands of Messrs. Lawson and Son, which I suppose there is, +I must extract it from them by a lawyer's letter or something of the +sort. By the way, you are soon going home, are you not?" + +"I intend taking this next steamer for England." + +"Well then, why--But I am asking too much. You have your own affairs to +attend to." + +"My affairs are not so very onerous. I can find time to attend to any +business you may choose to entrust me with; if you will only allow me to +consider as my commission the hospitality, for which I feel myself your +debtor." + +"Oh, don't talk of hospitality! Besides, it is not mine. It was +Lucetta who first received you. If I'd been at home myself, seeing you +were an Englishman, I should, perhaps, have lent you a horse and let you +ride on. And, being myself an Englishman, in all likelihood I should +have jockeyed you out of that fine steed of yours, and given you a screw +in exchange! Ha! ha! ha!" + +I joined him in the laugh, well knowing that his sardonism was but +slightly felt. + +"But to be serious," he continued; "you can do me this service, better +than any scamp of a lawyer! Go to Mr Lawson, of Lincoln's Inn Fields-- +I know something of the old fellow, and his son, too. They are not a +bad sort--that is, for solicitors. If there be money left for me, in +their hands, I shall likely get it. Let me give you a letter to receive +it, and you can send it to some bank in Buenos Ayres. Then it may reach +me through the bank agency at Rosario. You can do this for me, and +will?" + +"With pleasure." + +"Enough! The ladies are longing for us to rejoin them. You are fond of +the guitar, I believe. I hear Lucetta tuning the strings. Luigi can +sing like a second Mario; and the _senorita_, as he calls his South +American wife, is a perfect nightingale. Hear! They are calling for +us! Come!" + +It needed no pressing on his part. I was but too eager to respond to +the silvery voices commanding our presence in the adjoining apartment. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY FOUR. + +A HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS. + +Two months later, and I was under a sky unlike to that which canopies +the region of Parana as lead to shining sapphires--in a room as +different from that pleasant _quarto_ in the South American _estancia_, +as a Newgate cell to an apartment in Aladdin's palace. I stood in the +dingy office of a Lincoln's Inn lawyer, by name Lawson, the firm Lawson +and Son. It was the senior partner who received me; a gentleman with +all the appearance, and, as I afterwards discovered, all the claims to +respectability in his profession. + +"What is the nature of your business?" he politely asked, after +examining the card which I handed him to introduce myself. + +"You will find it there," I answered, placing before him an old _Times_ +newspaper, and pointing to an advertisement marked in pencil. "I +presume it is your firm, Mr Lawson, to which this application is to be +made?" + +"It is," he said, starting up from his office chair, as if I had +presented a pistol at his head. "It is very long ago, but no matter for +that. Do you know anything of the gentleman to whom it refers?" + +"Yes, something," I replied, cautiously--not knowing how far I might be +committing the interests of my South American friend. + +"He is still alive, then? I mean Mr Henry Harding?" + +"I have reason to think so. He was alive two months ago." + +"By --!" exclaimed the lawyer, using a phrase evidently forced from him +by the importance of the occasion. "This is serious, indeed. But, sir, +are you quite sure? You will excuse me if I ask on which side you come. +I know your name, sir. I believe I can trust you to speak candidly. +Are you here as a friend of Mr Nigel Harding?" + +"If I had been, Mr Lawson, it is not likely I should have given you the +information it has just been my pleasure to impart. From all I've +heard, Mr Nigel Harding would be the last man to be gratified by +learning that his brother is alive." + +My speech had a magical effect on Mr Lawson. I could see at once he +was upon our side, as he saw that I was upon his. Out of doors I had +already heard, that he was no longer the trusted attorney of the +Beechwood estate. + +"And you assure me he _is_ alive?" was the question again put with an +emphasis that showed its importance. + +"The best proof I can give you is this." + +I handed over the letter written by Henry Harding, containing a +requisition upon him for the legacy of a thousand pounds. + +"A thousand pounds!" exclaimed the lawyer, as soon as he had read. "A +thousand pounds! A hundred thousand, every shilling of it! Yes! and +the accumulated interest, and the mortgage already obtained, and the +waste by that scoundrel Woolet! Ah! here's a penalty for Mr Nigel +Harding to pay, and his sweet spendthrift of a wife!" + +I was not prepared for this explosion; and as soon as it had to some +extent subsided, I asked Mr Lawson to explain. + +"Explain!" he said, putting on his spectacles, and turning towards me +with a businesslike air. "To you, sir, I shall have much pleasure in +explaining. This letter tells me I can trust you. Thank God, the lad +still lives!--the true son of my old friend Harding: as he told me on +his dying-bed, and with his last breath. Thank God, he is still alive; +and we shall yet be able to punish the usurpers, and that pettifogging +Woolet as well! Oh, this is good news--a glorious revelation--a +resurrection, one may call it!" + +"But what does it all mean, Mr Lawson? I came to you at the request of +my friend, Mr Henry Harding, whom by chance I met while travelling in +South America, on the Parana--as you will see by his letter. He has +commissioned me, as you will also perceive, to call upon you, and make +certain inquiries. He is under the impression that you hold in your +hands a legacy of one thousand pounds left him by his father. If so, he +has given me the authority to receive it." + +"A thousand pounds! A thousand pence! Is Beechwood estate worth only a +thousand pounds? Read this, sir--just run your eye over that document!" + +A grand sheet of parchment, pulled from out a tin case, was flung before +me. I saw it was lettered as a will. I took it up, and spreading it +upon the table, read what was written. I need not give its contents in +detail. It stated that General Harding had revoked the terms of a +former will, which left the whole of his estate to his eldest son, +Nigel, with a legacy of one thousand pounds to his youngest, Henry; that +this second will exactly transposed the conditions, leaving the estate +to Henry, and the thousand-pound legacy to Nigel! It also contained +ample instructions for the administration, Mr Lawson and his son being +the appointed administrators. It was not to be made known to Nigel +Harding himself, unless it should be ascertained that Henry was still +alive. To determine this point, all due diligence was to be used, by +advertisements in the papers, and such other means as the administrators +should see fit. Meanwhile, Nigel was to retain possession of the +estate, as by the terms of the former testament; and in the event of +Henry's death being proved, he was not only to be left undisturbed, but +kept ignorant of the existence of the second will--which would then be +null and void. There was a codicil--similar to one in the former will-- +by which the General's sister was to have a life-interest out of the +estate, amounting to two hundred pounds per annum. Such were the terms +of the testament which the solicitor had laid before me. + +It is scarce necessary to say, that I perused the document containing +these singular conditions with no slight astonishment, and certainly +with a feeling of gratification. My hospitable host--the young +_estanciero_ on the Parana--need no longer feel under any obligation to +his worthy father-in-law; and, little as he professed to love England, I +could not help thinking that possession of this fine paternal estate +would do much to modify his prejudices against his native land. + +"By this will," I said, addressing myself to the solicitor, "it appears +that Henry Harding becomes the sole inheritor of the Beechwood +property?" + +"It is certain," answered he; "all but the thousand-pound legacy, and +the life-annuity." + +"It will be a surprise for Mr Nigel." + +"Ah! and Mr Woolet too. They did all they could to keep me from +advertising for the lost legatee. Of course, they supposed I did so in +order to pay him the paltry thousand pounds. Mr Nigel may now have +that, and see how far it will cover Woolet's costs. My word! it will be +an explosion! And now for the first steps towards bringing it about." + +"How do you intend to proceed?" + +The lawyer looked at me, as if hesitating to answer the question. + +"Excuse me," I said; "I asked rather out of curiosity than otherwise." + +"There you are wrong, good sir. Pardon me for being plain with you. +You have the legal authority to act for him." + +"That," I said, "was only under the supposition that he was to receive a +legacy of a thousand pounds. With an estate, as you say, worth a +hundred thousand pounds, the affair takes a different shape, and clearly +goes beyond my discretionary powers. Though I cannot act as a principal +in the matter, I am willing to help you every way I can. I feel +sufficiently indebted to your client to do so." + +"And that is just what I intended asking you. Hence my hesitation in +replying to your question. I am glad to know that we can count on your +assistance. No doubt, we shall need it. Men don't yield up possession +of a hundred thousand without showing fight. We may expect all that, +and some questionable strategy besides, from such a fellow as Woolet--a +thorough scoundrel--without one jot of principle!" + +"But how can they dispute this will?" I asked. "It seems clear enough, +and of course you know it to have been the latest and last." + +"Signed by General Harding the day before he died. Regularly and +carefully attested--you see the names upon it. They cannot dispute the +document." + +"What then?" + +"Ah! what then? That is just the point I think it will turn upon the +_identity_ of our claimant. By the way, what does the young fellow look +like? Is he much altered in appearance since he left England?" + +"That question I cannot answer." + +"Indeed! It is but two months since you have seen him." + +"True; but I may almost say I then saw him for the first time. I had +met him six years before, but only on one or two occasions, and had lost +all remembrance of his looks." + +"He was very young," pursued the solicitor in soliloquy,--"a mere boy +when that unfortunate affair occurred. After all, perhaps, not so +unfortunate! No doubt, he will be much changed. A captivity among +brigands--fighting on barricades--a beard--the tan of a South American +sun--to say nothing of getting married--no doubt, the Henry Harding of +to-day is entirely unlike the Henry Harding who left home six years ago. +My word! there might be a difficulty in identifying him, and we may +dread the worst. People nowadays can be had to swear anything--that +black's blue, or even white, if it's wanted--and money enough to pay for +the perjury. In this case there will be both money and a determination +to use it. Woolet won't stick at anything; nor will Mr Nigel Harding +either--to say nothing of Mrs Nigel and her amiable mother. We're sure +to have a fight, sir--sure of it." + +"You don't appear to have much fear about the result?" + +I said this, noticing that the lawyer talked with an air of triumphant +confidence, besides having used the conditional tense when speaking of +the chances of his client being identified. + +"Not the slightest--not the slightest. I don't apprehend any +difficulty. There might have been; but I fancy I have a scheme to set +all right. Never mind, sir; you shall be told of it in good time. And +now for citing all parties into Court." + +"But do you mean to do that now?" + +"Of course not; oh no. I was only speaking figuratively. The first +thing is to get Mr Henry Harding here,--he must be sent for +immediately. Let me see: _Estancia Torreani, Rosario_. Up the Parana +River, you say. With your kind directions, sir, my own son shall start +for South America at once. It's a long way, but no matter for that. A +hundred thousand pounds is worth going round the world for more than +once. And now, sir, I will make request for two favours: one, that you +will write to your friend, Mr Henry Harding, telling him what you have +learnt. My son can carry your letter along with other instructions. +The other favour I would ask is, that you give your word to keep this +affair a secret until--well, until Mr Henry Harding himself appears +upon the ground." + +Of course the promise was given--as also the directions to serve Lawson +junior on his Transatlantic itinerary; and leaving my address, so that +Lawson senior could at any time communicate with me, I took my departure +from Lincoln's Inn Fields, rejoiced, as well as surprised, at the +discovery I had made. + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY FIVE. + +THE FINGER OF FATE. + +In less than six months from the date of my interview with the Lincoln's +Inn lawyer, there occurred in the London courts a trial of more than +usual interest. + +It was a case of contested will--no very uncommon thing. But in that to +which I refer, there were circumstances of a peculiar, I might say very +peculiar, kind. These, with the position of the parties concerned, +rendered the suit worthy of being placed among the records of _causes +celebres_. + +It was the case of "Harding _versus_ Harding;" the defendant being Nigel +Harding, Esq, of Beechwood Park, Buckinghamshire; the plaintiff, a Mr +Henry Harding, who claimed to be his half-brother. + +The matter in dispute was an estate, valued at one hundred thousand +pounds, of which defendant was in possession. He held it by a will-- +that of General Harding, his father, and former owner of the property-- +made some twelve months before the General's death, and at the same time +duly signed and attested. + +It had been drawn up by a country attorney, named Woolet; and signed by +himself and his clerk, acting as witnesses to the testator. + +It gave the whole of General Harding's estate to his elder son, Nigel, +with the exception of one thousand pounds, to his other and younger son, +Henry, and an annuity of two hundred to the General's sister. + +So far the document seemed quite correct--except in the strangeness of +the unequal distribution. But there were reasons for this; and no one +disputed the genuineness of the instrument. The question was one of an +alleged later testament; which, if also proved genuine, would have the +effect of setting aside Woolet's will, by a complete change of terms. +By the second will, the estate was bestowed on the younger son, and the +one thousand pounds given to the elder! + +The strange transposal was, however, coupled with a condition also +strange. It appeared, by the citing of the second will, that the +younger brother was abroad when it was made, and not only abroad, but +supposed to be dead. + +A doubt of his death must have been in the testator's mind, leading him +to insert the condition: which was to the effect, that in the event of +his younger son's return he was to enter upon quiet possession of the +property--all of it, excepting the aforesaid legacy of one thousand +pounds! + +He had returned; at least, so alleged the plaintiff, who claimed to be +Henry Harding, the legatee of the second will. + +But he was not admitted into "quiet possession," according to the words +of the will. On the contrary the case was going to be contested with +all the legal strength and strategy that on both aides could be brought +to bear upon it. + +On the part of the defence, there was no attempt to disprove the +genuineness of the second will. It had been made by a lawyer of the +highest respectability, who was ready to prove it. + +The point turned upon the question of identity; the defendant denying +that the plaintiff was his half-brother, or in any way entitled to +relationship. + +There was no proof that Henry Harding was dead--only the presumption; +and to strengthen this, the defendant's counsel--imprudently, as it +afterwards turned out--exhibited certain letters written by the real +Henry Harding as he called him--showing that he had been captive to a +band of Italian brigands, who threatened to take his life, unless a +ransom should be paid for him. + +It was proved that this ransom was _not_ paid; that it had been sent; +but, as the defence alleged, too late. The plaintiff's own witnesses +were compelled to testify to this. + +The presumption, therefore, was that the bandits, speaking through their +chief, Corvino, had carried out their threat. + +This was the impression produced upon "twelve men, good and true," after +an eloquent speech made by an eminent counsel, to whom the defendant's +solicitors had entrusted the conduct of their case. + +On the plaintiff's side, a story had been told that appeared altogether +incredible. It was preposterous to suppose--as thought twelve English +tradesmen--that the son of an English gentleman of wealth and standing +should voluntarily take to the profession of painting pictures, and +afterwards exile himself to such a country as South America: there to +stay, forgetting his fine estate at home, till the merest accident gave +him cause to remember it! They could have believed in such +self-banishment in one of their own sons; but the son of a general, a +county squire, the owner of a large landed estate--the thing was not to +be credited! + +They could give credence to the brigand part of the tale, though that +too seemed queer to them. But the story of the self-exile--leaving an +estate unclaimed! The plaintiff's counsel might tell that to the +marines! + +So stood the case, after several days spent in the questioning and +cross-questioning of witnesses, and the trial was approaching its +termination. + +All the testimony which the plaintiff's counsel could produce was not +sufficient to establish his identity. It could not convince a British +jury, that the sun-embrowned and bearded young man, set forth as the +claimant of Beechwood Park, was the son of its former proprietor; while +the pale, silent gentleman, who now held possession of it, undoubtedly +was. + +Possession has been said to be nine points of the law. Coupled with +wealth, it is generally so in the eyes of legal gentlemen, and often of +juries. + +The plaintiffs case appeared hopeless. Notwithstanding all that is +known to the reader, it trembled on the edge of being decreed an attempt +at usurpation, and he himself declared an attempted usurper and +defrauder. + +The trial had reached this crisis, and was expected soon to terminate. + +But before the end came, the plaintiff's counsel begged leave to call a +witness, one who had already stood upon the stand, but on the side of +the defendant. Then, he had been a witness against his own will--having +to give testimony that seemed favourable to the plaintiff's opponent. + +The witness was Mr Lawson, of the firm of Lawson and Son, solicitors, +of Lincoln's Inn. It was the senior partner, Mr Lawson himself, who +was called. As he took his place in the box, there was a twinkle in the +old lawyer's eye; that, although comical, seemed to have meaning of +mischief in it. The "twelve good men and true" could not guess at what +it meant, though they understood it before the examining counsel had +done with him. + +"You say General Harding received another letter from Italy?" questioned +the latter, after Lawson senior had kissed the Book, and been put +through the usual preliminaries of examination. + +"I do." + +"I don't mean either of those already submitted to the jury. The letter +I refer to is one written, not by his son, but by the bandit chief, +Corvino. Did General Harding receive such a letter?" + +"He did." + +"You can prove that?" + +"I can prove it; from his having told me he did, and placed it in my +hands for safe keeping." + +"When did this occur?" + +"Shortly before the General's death. In fact, on the same day he made +the will." + +"Which will?" + +"The one under which the plaintiff claims." + +"You mean that was the date when he placed the letter in your hands?" + +"Yes." + +"Can you tell when the General received it?" + +"I can. The postmark will show that: as also whence it came." + +"Can you produce this letter?" + +"It is here." + +The witness took an epistle out of his pocket, and handed it to the +examining counsel; who, in turn, passed it up to the judge. + +It was a dingy-looking document, blotched over with postmarks, stained +by travel, and a good deal embrowned by being kept several years in the +atmosphere of a London law-office. + +"My Lord," said the plaintiff's counsel, "I have to request that that +letter be read to the gentlemen of the jury." + +"Certainly, let it be read," was the response of his Lordship. + +It was read. It was the letter which the chief Corvino had addressed to +the father of his captive, conveying the terrible threat and still more +fearful enclosure. + +The reading caused "sensation in the court." + +"Mr Lawson," pursued the same questioner, after the excitement had a +little subsided, "may I ask you to state to the jury what you know about +the enclosure spoken of in this letter? Tell us all about it." + +"I shall tell you what General Harding told me. He said he received in +it a finger, which was that of his son. He recognised it by a scar well +known to him: it was the scar of a cut given him by his elder brother, +when they were boys out shooting together." + +"Can you tell what became of that finger?" + +"I can. It is here. General Harding placed it in my hands, along with +the letter in which it had been enclosed." + +The witness then handed up the finger spoken of. It was a ghastly +confirmation of his testimony, and produced a tremendous sensation in +court; which continued, long after Mr Lawson had been noticed to leave +the witness-box. + +"My Lord!" called out the plaintiff's counsel, "I have one more witness +to examine, and then we shall be done. This is Mr Henry Harding." + +"The gentleman who so calls himself!" interposed one of the barristers +who had been briefed by the party for the defence. + +"And who will so prove himself!" confidently retorted the plaintiff's +counsel. + +By consent of the judge, the claimant was put upon the stand, and became +emphatically the cynosure of every eye in the crowded court. + +He was elegantly, though not foppishly dressed, wearing upon his hands a +pair of stout dogskin gloves. + +"May I ask you, sir," said his counsel, "to draw off your gloves? The +left-hand one will be enough." + +The request was complied with, the witness making no other answer. + +"Now, sir, have the goodness to hold out your hand, so that the jury may +see it." + +The hand was stretched forth. _It wanted the little finger_! + +Increased sensation in the court! + +"My Lord, and gentlemen of the jury, you perceive there is a finger +missing? _It is here_." + +As the counsel said this, he stepped towards the witness-box, holding +the strange object in his hand. Then, quietly raising the hand of his +client, he placed the missing finger in juxtaposition with the stump, +from which it had long ago been so cruelly severed. + +There could be no doubt about the correspondence. The white +cartilaginous seam that indicated the scar, commencing upon the back of +the hand, and running longitudinally, was continued to the finger's tip. +The jury could not help being convinced. _The claimant was Henry +Harding_. + +The sensation in court had now come to its climax; and so had the trial +to its end. + +The case of "Harding _versus_ Harding" was by an unanimous verdict +decided in plaintiff's favour--defendant "to pay costs in the suit!" + + + +CHAPTER SIXTY SIX. + +WHAT BECAME OF THEM. + +Six months after the trial I received an invitation to spend a week at +Beechwood Park, and take a share in its shootings. + +Start not, reader! My host was not Nigel Harding, nor my hostess his +wife, _nee_ Belle Mainwaring. The new master and mistress of the +mansion were both better people, and both old acquaintances, whom I had +encountered in the _campo_ of the Parana. They were Henry Harding and +his fair Italian _sposa_, now fully put in possession of their English +estate. + +I was not the only guest they were entertaining. The house was full of +company, among whom were the _ci-devant sindico_ of the Val di Orno, +his son, and South American daughter-in-law. + +If Henry Harding had lost one of his fingers, he had recovered all his +old friends, and added a host of others, while Lucetta was surrounded by +her own kindred. + +In the mansion of Beechwood Park there was as much cheer, and perhaps +far more contentment, than when the unamiable Nigel and his equally +unamiable wife had the ordering of its entertainments. + +I never met either of them again; nor were they ever after seen in that +neighbourhood. But I have heard of them: their life since then, though +dark--compared with the splendour that had for a time surrounded it--has +not been one that should be deemed unendurable. + +The generous Henry did not prove resentful for the wrong his +half-brother had done him. Though of different mothers, they were sons +of the same father; and for that father's sake, Henry abstained from any +act of revenge. Not only this, but he behaved towards Nigel with a +noble generosity. To the thousand pounds left to the latter, in the +second will, he added several other thousands--giving Nigel enough to +keep him and his wife from want, even in England. + +But England was no longer a land to Nigel's liking. No more did it suit +the taste of Belle Mainwaring. No more that of Belle Mainwaring's +match-making mother, who had signally failed in her schemes. + +India was the country for them, and to India they went--Nigel to become +a resident magistrate, and perhaps mete out injustice to the +talookdars--his wife to distribute bewitching smiles to various +subalterns, captains, and colonels; while the mother would find solace +in dealing out Oriental scandal. + +Of most of the other characters who have been conspicuous in our tale I +am able to record something of later date. + +Mr Woolet is still pettifogging--still robbing a poor _clientele_, out +of sufficient to keep a carriage at their expense; but not enough to +tempt being employed by the rich. Of these, General Harding was his +first client, his son Nigel the last. + +Doggy Dick in due time gave up being a bandit; not from any repentance, +but because the life was to him a hard one. He had found brigandage in +Italy not quite so safe, nor even so pleasant, as poaching in England. + +He was stupid enough to return both to the country and the practice, now +and then varying the latter with a job of burglary or garotting. The +consequence was, getting his own neck into a noose as tight as ever he +had twined for any of his victims. It was a halter he had already +earned--by the deed of blood done before going abroad. + +From the contemplation of such a dark character, let us turn to those of +lighter and pleasanter complexion. + +Tommaso--the wronged, misguided Tommaso--is no more either wronged or +misguided. As head groom at Beechwood, he may be seen every day about +the yard, or the stables, of that splendid establishment--faithful as +ever to the man he rescued from captivity, and to the woman he was +instrumental in saving from dishonour. To him is the writer of this +tale indebted for a knowledge of much of the brigand life it has +depicted. + +Through the influence of his new client--the squire of Beechwood Park-- +Lawson _pere_ has succeeded in obtaining a seat in Parliament, and +Lawson _fils_ expects some day to tread in the footsteps of his father. + +It is an agreeable task to record the after-fate of those who have +agreeably interested us when we can speak only of their prosperity. And +we can testify to this in the case of Luigi Torreani, his pretty wife, +and his worthy father. + +The three, after a prolonged sojourn among the Chiltern Hills, returned +once more to their home upon the Parana--their home not only by +adoption, but from choice. There they are still residing; the old +Italian _sindico_ playing patriarch, on his _estancia_; his son still +living a life, part planter, part painter; while his daughter-in-law +keeps house for both. + +It is not improbable that, some day, his son-in-law and daughter may +seek them there, for more than once has Henry Harding been heard to +say--Lucetta joyfully listening to it--that he was never so happy as in +his South American home! + +And this, too, in the midst of wealth, power, and splendour! To the +true heart, there is no wealth to compare with contentment--no power so +enjoyable as that of free physical strength--no splendour of our +so-called civilisation comparable to the savage charm of an American +scene--be it forest, prairie, or pampa! + +There lies the future of Freedom! There points the "Finger of Fate!" + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Finger of Fate, by Mayne Reid + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE FINGER OF FATE *** + +***** This file should be named 35912.txt or 35912.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/5/9/1/35912/ + +Produced by Nick Hodson of London, England + +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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