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diff --git a/old/54779-0.txt b/old/54779-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 89a3ba1..0000000 --- a/old/54779-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,15084 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Cheap Jack Zita, by S. Baring-Gould - -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/license - - -Title: Cheap Jack Zita - -Author: S. Baring-Gould - -Release Date: May 24, 2017 [EBook #54779] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHEAP JACK ZITA *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Brian Wilsden and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - -TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES. - -1. Italic script is denoted by _underscores_ and bold script by =equal=. -2. Simple spelling, grammar, and typographical errors have been silently - corrected. -3. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed. - - - - -CHEAP JACK ZITA - - - - -BY THE SAME AUTHOR - -IN THE ROAR OF THE SEA - -THE QUEEN OF LOVE - -CHEAP JACK ZITA - -MRS. CURGENVEN OF CURGENVEN - -ARMINELL - -JACQUETTA - -URITH - -KITTY ALONE - -MARGERY OF QUETHER - -NOÉMI - -THE BROOM-SQUIRE - -DARTMOOR IDYLLS - -GUAVAS THE TINNER - - - - -CHEAP JACK ZITA - -BY - - - S. BARING-GOULD - - FOURTH EDITION - - METHUEN & CO. - 36 ESSEX STREET, W.C. - LONDON - 1896 - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAP. PAGE - - I. BEFORE THE GALILEE 1 - - II. THE FLAILS 13 - - III. TWO CROWNS 23 - - IV. ON THE DROVE 33 - - V. THE FLAILS AGAIN 44 - - VI. BETWEEN TWO LIGHTS 57 - - VII. PROFITS 63 - - VIII. MARK RUNHAM 76 - - IX. PRICKWILLOW 88 - - X. RED WINGS 100 - - XI. TIGER-HAIR 112 - - XII. ON BONE RUNNERS 122 - - XIII. PIP BEAMISH 131 - - XIV. ON ONE FOOTING 140 - - XV. ON ANOTHER FOOTING 150 - - XVI. BURNT HATS 161 - - XVII. A CRAWL ABROAD 174 - - XVIII. A DROP OF GALL 188 - - XIX. NO DEAL 194 - - XX. DAGGING 201 - - XXI. THE FEN RIOTS 213 - - XXII. TWENTY POUNDS 221 - - XXIII. TEN POUNDS 232 - - XXIV. A NEW DANGER 245 - - XXV. 'I DON'T CARE THAT' 253 - - XXVI. A NIGHT IN ELY 259 - - XXVII. SIR BATES DUDLEY'S RIDE 270 - - XXVIII. TWO PLEADERS 281 - - XXIX. A DEAL 291 - - XXX. IN COURT 295 - - XXXI. PISGAH 311 - - XXXII. A PARTHIAN SHOT 321 - - XXXIII. PURGATORY 327 - - XXXIV. WITH TOASTING-FORKS 335 - - XXXV. THE JACK O' LANTERNS 347 - - XXXVI. A RETURN BLOW 355 - - XXXVII. A CATHERINE WHEEL 364 - - XXXVIII. THE BRENT-GEESE 376 - - XXXIX. THE CUT EMBANKMENT 382 - - XL. THISTLES 394 - - - - -CHEAP JACK ZITA. - - - - -CHAPTER I - -BEFORE THE GALILEE - - -What was the world coming to? The world—the centre of it—the Isle of -Ely? - -What aged man in his experience through threescore years and ten had -heard of such conduct before? - -What local poet, whose effusions appeared in the 'Cambridge and Ely -Post,' in his wildest flights of imagination, conceived of such a thing? - -Decency must have gone to decay and been buried. Modesty must have -unfurled her wings and sped to heaven before such an event could become -possible. - -Where were the constables? Were bye-laws to become dead letters? Were -order, propriety, the eternal fitness of things, to be trampled under -foot by vagabonds? - -In front of the cathedral, before the Galilee,—the magnificent west -porch of the minster of St. Etheldreda,—a Cheap Jack's van was drawn -up. - -Within twenty yards of the Bishop's palace, where every word uttered -was audible in every room, a Cheap Jack was offering his wares. - -Effrontery was, in heraldic language, rampant and regardant. - -A crowd was collected about the van; a crowd composed of all sorts and -conditions of men, jostling each other, trampling on the grass of the -lawn, climbing up the carved work of the cathedral, to hear, to see, to -bid, to buy. - -Divine service was hardly over. The organ was still mumbling and -tooting, when through the west door came a drift of choristers, who had -flung off their surplices and had raced down the nave, that they might -bid against and outbid each other for the pocket-knives offered by -Cheap Jack. - -Mr. Faggs, the beadle, was striding in the same direction, relaxing the -muscles of his face from the look of severe ecclesiastical solemnity -into which they were drawn during divine worship. It had occurred to -him during the singing of the anthem that there were sundry articles of -domestic utility Cheap Jack was selling that it might be well for him -to secure at a low figure. - -Mr. Bowles, the chief bailiff, had come forth from evensong with his -soul lifted up with thankfulness that he was not as other men were: he -attended the cathedral daily, he subscribed to all the charities; and -now he stood looking on, his breath taken away, his feet riveted to the -soil by surprise at the audacity of the Cheap Jack, in daring to draw -up before the minster, and vend his wares during the hour of afternoon -prayer. - -The servant maids in the canons' houses in the Close had their heads -craned out from such narrow Gothic windows as would allow their -brachycephalic skulls to pass, and were listening and lawk-a-mussying -and oh-mying over the bargains. - -Nay, the Bishop himself was in an upper room, the window-sash of which -was raised, ensconced behind the curtain, with his ear open and cocked, -and he was laughing at what he heard till his apron rippled, his bald -head waxed pink, and his calves quivered. - -Very little of the sides of the van was visible, so encrusted were they -with brooms, brushes, door-mats, tin goods, and coalscuttles. Between -these articles might be detected the glimmer of the brimstone yellow -of the carcase of the shop on wheels. The front of the conveyance was -open; it was festooned with crimson plush curtains, drawn back; and, -deep in its depths could be discerned racks and ranges of shelves, -stored with goods of the most various and inviting description. - -The front of the van was so contrived as to fall forward, and in -so falling to disengage a pair of supports that sustained it, and -temporarily converted it into a platform. On this platform stood -the Cheap Jack, a gaunt man with bushy dark hair and sunken cheeks; -he was speaking with a voice rendered hoarse by bellowing. He was -closely shaven. He wore drab breeches and white stockings, a waistcoat -figured with flowers, and was in his shirt sleeves. On his head was -a plush cap, with flaps that could be turned up or down as occasion -served. When turned down, that in front was converted into a peak that -sheltered his eyes, those at the sides protected his ears, and that -behind prevented rain from coursing down the nape of his neck. When, -however, these four lappets were turned up, they transformed the cap -into a crown—a crown such as it behoved the King of Cheap Jacks to -wear. The man was pale and sallow, sweat-drops stood on his brow, -and it was with an effort that he maintained the humour with which -he engaged the attention of his hearers, and that he made his voice -audible to those in the outermost ring of the curious and interested -clustered about the van. Within, in the shadowed depths of the -conveyance, glimpses were obtained of a girl, who moved about rapidly -and came forward occasionally to hand the Cheap Jack such articles as -he demanded, or to receive from him such as had failed to command a -purchaser. - -When she appeared, it was seen that she was a slender, well-built girl -of about seventeen summers, with ripe olive skin, a thick head of -short-cut chestnut hair, and a pair of hazel eyes. - -Apparently she was unmoved by her father's jokes; they provoked no -smile on her lips, for they were familiar to her; and she was equally -unmoved by the admiration she aroused among the youths, with which also -she was apparently familiar. - -'Here now!' shouted the Cheap Jack. 'What the dickens have I got?—a -spy-glass to be sure, and such a spy-glass as never was and never will -be offered again. When I was a-comin' along the road from Cambridge, -and was five miles off, "Tear and ages!" sez I, seein' your famous -cathedral standin' up in the sunshine, "Tear and ages!" sez I; "that's -a wonder of the world." And I up wi' my spy-glass. Now look here. You -observe as 'ow one of the western wings be fallen down. 'Tis told that -when the old men built up that there top storey to the tower, that -it throwed the left wing down. Now I looked through this perspective -glass, and I seed both wings standing just as they used to be, and just -as they ought to be, but ain't. I couldn't take less than seventeen and -six for this here wonderful spy-glass—seventeen and six. What! not -buy a glass as will show you how things ought to be, but ain't?' He -turned to the circle round him from side to side. 'Come now,—say ten -shillings. 'Tis a shame to take the perspective glass out of Ely.' A -pause. 'No one inclined to bid ten shillings? Take it back, Zita. These -here Ely folk be that poor they can't go above tenpence. Ten shillings -soars above their purses. But stay. Zita, give me that there glass -again. There is something more that is wonderful about it. You look -through and you'll see what's to your advantage, and that's what every -one don't see wi' the naked eye. Come—say seven shillings!' - -No bid. - -'And let me tell the ladies—they've but to look through, and they'll -see the _him_ they've set their 'arts on, comin', comin',—bloomin' as -a rose, and 'olding the wedding ring in 'is 'and.' - -In went the heads of the servant maids of the canons' residences. - -'I say!' shouted one of the choristers, 'will it show us a coming -spanking?' - -'Of course it will,' answered the Cheap Jack, 'because it's to your -advantage.' - -'Let us look then.' - -Cheap Jack handed the telescope to the lad. He put his eye to it, drew -the glass out, lowered it, and shouted, 'I see nothing.' - -'Of course not. You're such a darlin' good boy; you ain't going to have -no spanking.' - -'Let me look,' said a shop-girl standing by. - -Cheap Jack waited. Every one watched. - -'I don't see nothing,' said the girl. - -'Of course not. You ain't got a sweetheart, and never will have one.' - -A roar of laughter, and the young woman retired in confusion. - -'And, I say,' observed the boy, as he returned the glass, 'it's all a -cram about the fallen transept. I looked, and saw it was down.' - -'Of course you did,' retorted the Cheap Jack. 'Didn't I say five miles -off? Go five miles along the Wisbeach Road, and you'll see it sure -enough, as I said. There—five shillings for it.' - -'I'll give you half a crown.' - -'Half a crown!' jeered the vendor. 'There, though, you're a quirister, -and for the sake o' your beautiful voice, and because you're such a -good boy, as don't deserve nor expect a whacking, you shall have it for -half a crown.' - -The Bishop's nose and one eye were thrust from behind the curtain. - -'Why,' said the Right Reverend to himself, 'that's Tom Bulk, as -mischievous a young rogue as there is in the choir and grammar school. -He is as sure of a caning this week as—as'— - -'Thanky, sir,' said Cheap Jack, pocketing the half-crown. 'Zita, what -next? Hand me that blazin' crimson plush weskit.' - -From out the dark interior stepped the girl, and the sunshine flashed -over her, lighting her auburn hair, rich as burnished copper. She wore -a green, scarlet, and yellow flowered kerchief, tied across her bosom, -and knotted behind her back. Bound round her waist was a white apron. - -She deigned no glance at the throng, but kept her eyes fixed on her -father's face. - -'Are you better, dad?' she asked in a low tone. - -'Not much, Zit. But I'll go through with it.' - -'Here we are now!' shouted the Jack, after he had drawn the sleeve -of his left arm across his brow and lips, that were bathed in -perspiration. And yet the weather was cold; the season was the end of -October, and the occasion of the visit of the van to Ely was Tawdry -(St. Etheldreda's) Fair. - -A whisper and nudges passed among the young men crowded about the van. - -'Ain't she just a stunner?' - -'I say, I wish the Cheap Jack would put up the girl to sale. Wouldn't -there be bidding?' - -'She's the finest thing about the caravan.' - -Such were comments that flew from one to another. - -'Now, then!' bellowed the vendor of cheap wares; 'here you are again! -A red velvet weskit, with splendid gold—real gold—buttons. You shall -judge; I'll put it on.' - -The man suited the action to the word. Then he straightened his legs -and arms, and turned himself about from side to side to exhibit the -full beauty of the vestment from every quarter. - -'Did you ever see the like of this?' he shouted. 'But them breeches -o' mine have a sort o' deadening effect on the beauty of the weskit. -Thirty shillings is the price. You should see it along with a black -frock-coat and black trousers. Then it's glorious! It's something you -can wear with just what you likes. No one looks at rags when you've -this on, so took up is they with the weskit. What is that you said, -sir? Twenty-five shillings was your offer? It is yours—and all because -I sees it'll go with them great black whiskers of yours like duck and -green peas. It'll have a sort of a mellering effect on their bushiness, -and 'armonise with them as well as the orging goes wi' the chanting of -the quiristers.' - -Jack handed the waistcoat, which he had hastily plucked off his back, -to one of the layclerks of the cathedral. The man turned as red as the -waistcoat, and thrust his hands behind his back. - -'I never bid for it,' he protested. - -'Beg pardon, sir; I thought you nodded your 'ead to me, but it was -the wind a-blowin' of it about. That gentleman with the black flowin' -whiskers don't take the weskit; it is still for sale. I'll let you have -it for fifteen shillings, and it'll make you a conquering hero among -the females. You, sir? Here you are.' - -He addressed the chief bailiff, Mr. Bowles, an elderly, -white-whiskered, semi-clerical official, the pink and paragon of -propriety. - -'No!' exclaimed Cheap Jack, as Mr. Bowles, with uplifted palms and -averted head, staggered back. 'No—his day is past. But I can see by -the twinkle of his eye he was the devil among the gals twenty years -ago. It's the young chaps who must compete for the weskit. I'll tell -you something rare,' continued the man, after clearing his throat and -mopping his brow and lips. 'No one will think but what you're a lord or -a harchbishop when you 'ave this 'ere weskit on. As I was a-coming into -Ely in this here concern, sez I to myself, "I'll put on an appearance -out o' respect to this ancient and venerable city." So I drawed on this -weskit; and what should 'appen but we meets his most solemn and sacred -lordship, the Bishop of the diocese.' - -'This is coming it rather strong,'said the person alluded to behind -the curtain, and his face and head became hot and damp. - -'Well, and when his lordship, the Right Reverend, saw me, he lifted -up his holy eyes and looked at my weskit. And then sez he to himself, -"Lawk-a-biddy, it's the Prince!" and down he went in the dirt afore me, -grovellin' with his nose in the mire. He did, upon my word.' - -'Upon my word, this is monstrous! this is insufferable! A joke is a -joke!' gasped the Bishop, very much agitated. 'There's moderation in -all things—a limitation to be observed even in exaggeration. I haven't -been on the Wisbeach Road this fortnight. I never saw the man. I never -went down in the dirt. This is positively appalling!' - -He took a turn round the room, went to the bell, then considered that -it would be inadvisable to summon the footman and show that he had been -listening to the nonsense of a Cheap Jack. Accordingly he went back to -the window, hid himself once more behind the curtain, but so trembled -with excitement and distress, that the whole curtain trembled with him. - -'Nine and six. Here you are. Nine and six for this splendid garment, -and cheap it is—dirt cheap. You're a lucky man, sir; and won't you -only cut out your rivals with the darling?' - -Cheap Jack handed the plush waistcoat to a young farmer from the Fens; -then suddenly he turned himself about, looked into his van, and said in -a husky voice— - -'Zit, I can't go yarning no longer. I've got to the end of my powers; -you carry on.' - -'Right, father; I'm the boy for you with the general public.' - -The man stepped within. As he did so, the girl lowered one of the -curtains so as to conceal him. He sank wearily on a bench at the side. -She stooped with a quivering lip and filling eye and kissed him, then -sprang forward and stood outside on the platform, contemplating the -crowd with a look of assurance, mingled with contempt. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE FLAILS - - -'Now, here's a chance you may never have again—a chance, let me tell -you, you never _will_ have again.' She extended in both hands packages -of tea done up in silvered paper. 'The general public gets cheated -in tea—it does—tremenjous! It is given sloe leaves, all kinds of -rubbish, and pays for it a fancy price. Father, he has gone and bought -a plantation out in China, and has set over it a real mandarin with -nine tails, and father guarantees that this tea is the very best of -our plantation teas, and he sells it at a price which puts it within -the reach of all. Look here!' she turned a parcel about; 'here you -are, with the mandarin's own seal upon it, to let every one know it is -genuine, and that it is the only genuine tea sent over.' - -'Where's the plantation, eh, girl?' jeered a boy from the grammar -school. - -'Where is it?' answered the girl, turning sharply on her interlocutor. -'It's at Fumchoo. Do you know where Fumchoo is? You don't? and yet you -sets up to be a scholar. It is fifteen miles from Pekin by the high -road, and seven and a half over the fields. Go to school and look at -your map, and tell your master he ought to be ashamed of himself not to -ha' made you know your geography better. Now, then, here's your chance. -Finest orange-flower Pekoe at four shillings. Beat that if you can.' -No offers. 'I am not coming down in my price. Don't think that; not a -farthing. Four shillings a pound; but I'll try to meet you in another -way. I keep the tea in quarter-pound parcels as well. Perhaps that'll -meet your views—and a beautiful pictur' of Fumchoo on the cover, with -the Chinamen a-picking of the tea leaves. What! no bidder?' - -There ensued a pause. Every one expected that the girl would lower the -price. They were mistaken. She went back into the van and produced a -roll of calico. Then ensued an outcry of many voices: 'Tea! give us -some of your tea, please.' In ten minutes she had disposed of all she -had. - -'There, you see,' said Zita, 'our supply runs short. In Wisbeach the -Mayor and Corporation bought it, and at Cambridge all the colleges -had their supplies from us. That's why we're run out now. Stand back, -gents.' - -This call was one of caution to the eager purchasers and tempted -lookers-on. - -Tawdry Fair was for horses and bullocks, and a drove of the latter was -being sent along from the market-place towards Stuntney. For a while -the business of the sale was interrupted. One audacious bullock even -bounded into the Galilee, another careered round the van; one ran as -if for sanctuary to the Bishop's palace. Zita seized the occasion to -slip inside the van. Her father was on the low seat, leaning his head -wearily on his hand, and his elbow on his knee. - -'How are you now, dad?' - -'I be bad, Zit—bad—tremenjous.' - -'Had you not best see a doctor?' - -He shook his head. - -'It'll pass,' said he; 'I reckon doctors won't do much for me. They're -over much like us Cheap Jacks—all talk and trash.' - -'This has been coming on some time,' observed the girl gravely. 'I've -seen for a fortnight you have been poorly.' - -Then, looking forth between the curtains which she had lowered, she saw -that the bullocks were gone, and that the cluster of people interested -in purchases had re-formed round her little stage. - -'I say,' shouted a chorister, 'have you got any pocket-knives?' - -'Pocket-knives by the score, and razors too. You'll be wanting a pair -of them in a fortnight.' - -Whilst Zita was engaged in furnishing the lads with knives, the -Bishop retired from the upstairs window to his library, where he -seated himself in an easy-chair, took up a pamphlet, and went up like -a balloon inflated with elastic gas into theologic clouds, where -controversy flashed and thundered about his head, and in this, his -favourite sphere, the Right Reverend Father forgot all about the Cheap -Jack, and no longer felt concern at his having been misrepresented as -grovelling before a prince of the blood royal in a red waistcoat. - -At the same time, also, a plot concerning Zita was being entered into -by a number of young fen-men who had come to Tawdry Fair to amuse -themselves, and had been arrested by the attractions of the Cheap -Jack's van. - -Whatever those attractions might have been whilst the man was salesman, -they were enhanced tenfold when his place was occupied by his daughter. -Some whispering had gone on for five minutes, and then with one consent -they began to elbow their way forward till they had formed an innermost -ring around the platform. But this centripetal movement had not been -executed without difficulty and protest. Women, boys, burly men were -forced to give way before the wedge-like thrusts inwards of the young -men's shoulders, and they remonstrated, the women shrilly, the boys -by shouts, the men with oaths and blows. But every sort of resistance -was overcome, all remonstrances of whatever sort were disregarded, and -Zita suddenly found herself surrounded by a circle of sturdy, tall -fellows, looking up with faces expressive of mischief. - -That something more than eagerness to purchase was at the bottom of -this movement struck Zita, and for a moment she lost confidence, and -faltered in her address on the excellence of some moth-eaten cloth she -was endeavouring to sell. - -Then one round-faced, apple-complexioned young man worked himself up -by the wheel of the van, and, planting his elbows on the platform, -shouted, 'Come, my lass, at what price do you sell kisses?' - -'We ha'n't got them in the general stock,' answered Zita; 'but I'll ask -father if he'll give you one.' - -A burst of laughter. - -'No, no,' shouted the red-faced youth, getting one knee on the stage. -'I'll pay you sixpence for a kiss—slick off your cherry lips.' - -'I don't sell.' - -'Then I'll have one as a gift.' - -'I never give away nothing.' - -'Then I'll steal one.' - -The young fellow jumped to his feet on the platform. At the signal the -rest of the youths began to scramble up, and in a minute the place -was invaded, occupied, and the girl surrounded. Cheers and roars of -laughter rose from the spectators. - -'Now, then, you Cheap Jack girl,' exclaimed the apple-faced youth. -'Kisses all round, three a-piece, or we'll play Old Harry with the -shop, and help ourselves to its contents.' - -The father of Zita, on hearing the uproar, the threats, the tramp -of boots on the stage, staggered to his feet, and, drawing back the -curtains, stood holding them apart, and looking forth with bewildered -eyes. Zita turned and saw him. - -'Sit down, father,' said she. 'It's only the general public on a -frolic.' - -She put her hand within and drew forth a stout ashen flail, whirled -it about her head, and at once, like grasshoppers, the youths leaped -from the stage, each fearing lest the flapper should fall on and cut -open his own pate. The last to spring was the apple-faced youth; he was -endeavouring to find some free space into which to descend, when the -flapper of the flail came athwart his shoulder-blades with so sharp a -stroke, that, uttering a howl, he plunged among the throng, and would -have knocked down two or three, had they not been wedged together too -closely to be upset. - -Then ensued cries from those hurt by his weight as he floundered upon -them; cries of 'Now, then, what do you mean by this? Can't you keep to -yourself? This comes of your nonsense.' - -Zita stood erect, leaning on the staff of the flail, looking calmly -round on the confusion, waiting till the uproar ceased, that she -might resume business. As she thus stood, her eye rested on a tall, -well-shaped man, with a tiger's skin cast over his broad shoulders, and -with a black felt slouched hat on his head. His nose was like the beak -of a hawk. His eyes were dark, piercing, and singularly close together, -under brows that met in one straight band across his forehead. - -The moment this man's eye caught that of Zita, he raised his great hat, -flourished it in the air, exposing a shaggy head with long dark locks, -and he shouted, 'Well done, girl! I like that. Give me a pair of them -there ashen flails, and here's a crown for your pluck.' - -'I haven't a pair,' said the girl. - -'Then I'll have that one, with which a little gal of sixteen has licked -our Fen louts. I like that.' - -'I'll give you a crown for that flail,' called another man, from the -farther side of the crowd. 'Here you are—a crown.' - -This man was fair, with light whiskers—a tall man as well as the -other, and about the same age. - -'I'll give you seven shillings and six—a crown and half a crown for -that flail,' roared the dark man. 'I bid first—I want that flail.' - -'Two crowns—ten shillings,' called the fair man. 'I can make a better -offer than Drownlands—not as I want the flail, but as Drownlands -wants it, he shan't have it.' - -'Twelve and six,' roared the dark man. 'Gold's no object with me. What -I wants I will have.' - -The lookers-on nudged each other. A young farmer said to his fellow, -'Them chaps, Runham and Drownlands, be like two tigers; when they meet -they must fight. We shall have fun.' - -'You are a fool!' shouted the fair man,—'a fool—that is what I -think you are, to give twelve and six for what isn't worth two -shillings. I'll let you have it at that price, that you may become the -laughing-stock of the Fens.' - -The flail was handed out of the van to the man called Drownlands, Zita -received a piece of gold and half a crown in her palm. She retired into -the waggon, and immediately reappeared with a second flail. - -'Here is another, after all,' said she; 'I didn't think I had it.' - -'I'll take that to make the pair,' said Drownlands; 'but as you've done -me over the first, I think you should give me this one.' - -'I done you!' exclaimed Zita; 'you've done yourself.' - -'She's right there,' observed a man in the crowd. 'Them tigers—Runham -and Drownlands—would fight about a straw.' - -'Are you going to hand me over that flail?' asked the dark purchaser. - -Zita remained for a moment undecided. She had in verity made an -unprecedented price with the first, and she was half inclined to -surrender the second gratis, but to give and receive nothing was -against the moral code of Cheap Jacks from the beginning of Cheap -Jacking. Whilst she hesitated, holding the flail in suspense, and with -a finger on her lips, the fair man yelled out— - -'Don't let the blackguard have it. I'll have it to spoil the pair for -him, and for no other reason.' - -'I will have it, you scoundrel!' howled the dark man. 'I have as much -gold as ever you have. I don't care what I spend. Here, girl! a crown -to begin with.' - -'Seven and six,' shouted Runham. - -'Ten shillings,' cried Drownlands. - -'Fifteen shillings!' exclaimed the fair man. Then, seeing that his -rival was about to bid, he yelled, 'A guinea!' at the same moment that -the other called, 'A pound!' - -'It is yours,' said the girl to the man Runham, and she handed him the -flail. She saw that the passions of the two men were roused, and she -deemed it desirable to close the scene, lest a fight should ensue, in -which, possibly, she might lose the money that had been offered. - -Runham, flourishing his flail over his head, and throwing out the -flapper in the direction of Drownlands, said, 'There, now! Who can say -but what I'm the best off of the two? Mine cost me a guinea, and his -beggarly flail not above twelve and six. I am the better man of the two -by eight and six.' - -He felt in his pockets and drew forth a guinea. - -'There, you Cheap Jack girl—here's your money all in gold. I'm the -better man of the two by eight and six. I've beat Drownlands like a -gentleman.' - -Some one looking on in the crowd said, 'A pair o' flails and a pair -o' fools at the end o' them, as don't know what is the vally o' their -money. Never since the creation of the world was flails sold at that -price, and never will be again.' - -'And never would have been, or never could have been, anywhere but -among fen-tigers,' said another. - -'I'll tell'y what,' observed the first; 'this ain't the end o' the -story.' - -'No—I guess not. It's the beginnin' rather of a mighty queer tale.' - - - - -CHAPTER III - -TWO CROWNS - - -A Strangely interesting city is Ely. Unique in its way is the -metropolis of the Fens; wonderful exceeding it must have been in the -olden times when the fen-land was one great inland sea, studded at wide -intervals with islets as satellites about the great central isle of -Ely. It was a scene that impressed the imagination of our forefathers. -Stately is the situation of Durham, that occupies a tongue of land -between ravines. It has its own unique and royal splendour. But hardly -if at all inferior, though very different, is the situation of Ely. The -fens extend on all sides to the horizon, flat as the sea, and below the -sea level. If the dykes were broken through, or the steam pumps and -windmills ceased to work, all would again, in a twelvemonth, revert to -its primitive condition of a vast inland sea, out of which would rise -the marl island of Ely, covered with buildings amidst tufted trees, -reflecting themselves in the still water as in a glass. Above the -roofs, above the tree-tops, soars that glorious cathedral, one of the -very noblest, certainly one of the most beautiful, in England—nay, -let it be spoken boldly—in the whole Christian world. It stands as a -beacon seen from all parts of the Fens, and it is the pride of the Fens. - -Ely owes its origin to a woman—St. Etheldreda—flying from a rude, -dissolute, and drunken court. She was the wife first of Tombert, a -Saxon prince in East Anglia, then of Egfrid of Northumbria. Sick of the -coarse revelry, the rude manners of a Saxon court, Etheldreda fled and -hid herself in the isle of Ely, where she would be away from men and -alone with God and wild, beautiful nature. - -Whatever we may think of the morality of a wife deserting her post -at the side of her husband, of a queen abandoning her position -in a kingdom, we cannot, perhaps, be surprised at it. A tender, -gentle-spirited woman after a while sickened of the brutality of the -ways of a Saxon court, its drunkenness and savagery, and fled that she -might find in solitude that rest for her weary soul and overstrained -nerves she could not find in the Northumbrian palace. This was in the -year 673. Then this islet was unoccupied. It has been supposed that it -takes its name from the eels that abounded round it; we are, perhaps, -more correct in surmising that it was originally called the Elf-isle, -the islet inhabited by the mythic spiritual beings who danced in the -moonlight and sported over the waters of the meres. - -This lovely island, covered with woods, surrounded by a fringe of -water-lilies, gold and silver, floating far out as a lace about it, -became the seat of a great monastery. Monks succeeded the elves. - -King Canute, the Dane, was seized with admiration for Ely, loved to -visit it in his barge, or come to it over the ice. It is said that one -Candlemas Day, when, as was his wont, King Canute came towards Ely, he -found the meres overflowed and frozen. A 'ceorl' named Brithmer led the -way for Canute's sledge over the ice, proving the thickness of the ice -by his own weight. For this service his lands were enfranchised. - -On another occasion the king passed the isle in his barge, and over the -still and glassy water came the strains of the singing in the minster. -Whereupon the king composed a song, of which only the first stanza has -been preserved, that may be modernised thus:— - - 'Merry sang the monks of Ely - As King Knut came rowing by. - Oarsmen, row the land more near - That I may hear their song more clear.' - -Ely, although it be a city, is yet but a village. The houses are few, -seven thousand inhabitants is the population, it has two or three -parish churches, and the cathedral, the longest in Christendom. The -houses are of brick or of plaster; and a curious custom exists in Ely -of encrusting the plaster with broken glass, so that a house-front -sparkles in the sun as though frosted. All the roofs are tiled. The -cathedral is constructed of stone quarried in Northamptonshire, and -brought in barges to the isle. - -Ely possesses no manufactures, has almost no neighbourhood, stands -solitary and self-contained. On some sides it rises rapidly from the -fen, on others it slopes easily down. A singular effect is produced -when the white mists hang over the fen-land for miles and miles, and -the sun glitters on the island city. Then it is as an enchanted isle -of eternal spring, lost in a wilderness of level snow. Or again, on a -night when the auroral lights flicker over the heavens, here red, there -silvery, and against the glowing skies towers up this isle crowned with -its mighty cathedral, then, verily, it is as though it were a scene in -some fairy tale, some magic creation of Eastern fantasy. - -A girl was sauntering through the wide, grass-grown streets of Ely. -During the fair the streets were full of people—nay, full is not the -word—were occupied by people more or less scattered about them. It -would take a vast throng, such as the fens of Cambridgeshire cannot -supply, to _fill_ these wide spaces. - -The girl was tall and handsome, rather masculine, with a cheerful -face. She had very fair hair, a bright complexion, and eyes of a -dazzling blue—a blue as of the sea when rippling and sparkling in the -midsummer sun. She was plainly dressed in serge of dark navy blue, -with white kerchief about her neck, a chip hat-bonnet and blue ribbons -in it. Her skirts were somewhat short, they exposed neat ankles in -stockings white as snow, and strong shoes. A fen-girl must wear strong -shoes, she cannot have gloves on her feet. - -'Jimminy!' said the girl, as she turned her pocket inside out. 'Not one -penny! Poor Kainie is the only girl at the fair without a sweetheart, -the only child without a fairing. No one to treat me! Nothing to be got -for nothing. Jimminy! I don't care.' Then she began to sing:— - - 'Last night the dogs did bark, - I went to the gate to see. - When every lass had her spark, - But nobody comes to me. - And it's Oh dear! what will become of me? - Oh dear, what shall I do? - Nobody coming to marry me, - Nobody coming to woo. - - My father's a hedger and ditcher, - My mother does nothing but spin, - And I am a pretty young girl, - But the money comes slowly in'— - -Then suddenly she confronted the fair-haired farmer Runham, coming out -of a tavern, with the flail over his shoulder. A little disconcerted -at encountering him, she paused in her song, but soon recovered -herself, and began again at the interrupted verse:— - - 'My father's a hedger and ditcher, - My mother'— - -'Kainie! Are you beside yourself, singing like a ballad-monger in the -open street?' - -The man's face was red, whether with drink, or that the sight of the -girl had brought the colour into his face, Kainie could not say. His -breath smelt of spirits, and she turned her head away. - -'It's all nonsense,' she said. 'My mother is dead—is dead—and I -am alone. I don't know, I don't see why I should not sing; I want -a fairing, and have no money. I'll go along singing, "My father's -a hedger and ditcher," and then some charitable folk will throw me -coppers, and I shall get a little money and buy myself a fairing.' - -'For heaven's sake, do nothing of the kind. Here—rather than -that—here is a crown. Take that. What would the Commissioners say if -they were told that you went a ballad-singing in the streets of Ely -at Tawdry Fair? They would turn you out of your mill. I am sure they -would. Here, Kainie, conduct yourself respectably, and take a crown.' - -He pressed the large silver coin into her hand, and hurried away. - -'That's brave!' exclaimed the girl, snapping her fingers. 'Now I can -buy my fairing. Now, all I want is a lover. - - "Nobody coming to marry me, - Nobody coming to woo!" - -Jimminy! I must not do that! I've taken a crown to be mum. Now I'm a -young person of respectability—I've money in my pocket. Now I must -look about me and see what to buy. I'll go to the Cheap Jack. How do -you do, uncle?' - -She addressed the dark-haired man Drownlands, who had just turned the -corner, with his flail over his shoulder. He scowled at the girl, and -would have passed her without a word, but to this she would not consent. - -'See! see!' said she, holding up the crown she had received. 'I was -just going along sighing and weeping because I had no money, not a -farthing in my pocket, not a lover at my side to buy me anything. Then -came some one and gave me this—look, Uncle Drownlands! Five shillings!' - -'So—going in bad ways?' - -'What is the harm? I was ballad-singing. Then he came and gave me a -crown.' - -'You ballad-singing!' - -'Yes; how else can I get money? I'm a poor girl, owned by nobody, for -whom nobody cares.' - -'You will bring disgrace—deeper disgrace on the family—on the name.' - -'Not I; I'm honest. If I am given five shillings, may I not receive it? -Master Runham gave me the money to make me shut my mouth. I was singing - - "My father's a hedger and ditcher, - My mother"'— - -'For heaven's sake, silence!' said Drownlands angrily. 'If you will -hold your tongue, I will give you a couple of shillings.' - -'A couple of shillings! And I'm your own niece, and have your name.' - -'More shame to you—to your mother!' exclaimed the farmer bitterly. - -The girl suddenly dropped her head, and her brow became crimson. - -'Not a word about my dear mother—not a stone thrown at her,' she said -in a low tone. - -'Well, no ballad-singing. Take heed to yourself. You are wild and -careless.' - -'Much you think of me! much you care for me!' - -'Begone! You are a disgrace to me—your existence is a disgrace. Take -a crown and spend it properly. You shall have nothing more from me. As -Runham gave you five shillings, it shall not be said that I gave you -less.' - -He handed her the coin, and with a scowl passed on. - -Kainie remained for a moment musing, with lowered eyes. Then she -raised her head, shook it, as though to shake off the sadness, the -humiliation that had come on her with the words of Drownlands, and -hummed— - - 'Nobody coming to marry me, - Nobody coming to woo.' - -'What! Kainie!' - -The words were those of a young man, heavy-browed, pale, somewhat -gaunt, with long arms. - -'Oh, Pip!—Pip!—Pip!' - -'What is the matter, Kainie?' - -'Pip, I'm the only girl here without her young man. It is -terrible—terrible; and see, Pip, I've got two crowns to spend, and -I don't know what to spend them on. There is too much money here for -sweetie stuff; and as for smart ribbons and bonnets and such like, it -is only just about once in the year I can get away from the mill and -come into town and show myself. It does seem a waste to spend a couple -of crowns on dress, when no one can see me rigged out in it. What shall -I do, Pip?—you wise, you sensible, you dear Pip.' - -The young man, Ephraim Beamish, considered; then he said— - -'Kainie, I don't like your being alone in Red Wings. Times are queer. -Times will be worse. There is trouble before us in the Fens. Things -cannot go on as they are—the labouring men ground down under the heels -of the farmers, who are thriving and waxing fat. I don't like you to -be alone in the windmill; you should have some protector. Now, look -here. I've been to that Cheap Jack van, and there's a big dog there the -Cheap Jackies want to sell, but there has been no bid. Take my advice, -offer the two crowns for that great dog, and take him home with you. -Then I shall be easy; and now I am not that. You are too lonely—and a -good-looking girl like you'— - -'Pip, I'll have the dog.' She tossed the coins into the air. 'Here, -crownies, you go for a bow-wow.' - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -ON THE DROVE - - -There is not in all England—there is hardly in the world—any tract -of country more depressing to the spirits, more void of elements of -loveliness, than the Cambridgeshire Fens as they now are. - -In former days, when they were under water—a haunt of wildfowl, a -wilderness of lagoons, a paradise of wild-flowers—when they teemed -with fish and swarmed with insect life of every kind—when the _eys_ -or islets, Stuntney, Shipey, Southconey, Welney, were the sole -objects that broke the horizon, rising out of the marshes, rich with -forest-trees—then the Fens were full of charm, because given over to -Nature. But the industry of man has changed the character and aspect of -the Fens. The meres have been pumped dry, the bogland has been drained. -Where the fowler used to boat after wild duck, now turnips are hoed; -where the net was drawn by the fisherman, there wave cornfields. - -In former times, for five-and-twenty miles north of Ely, one rippling -lake extended, and men went by boat over it to the sand-dune that -divided it from the sea at King's Lynn. To the west a mighty mere -stretched from Ely to Peterborough. To the east lay a tangle of lake -and channel, of marsh and islet. - -Until about a hundred years ago, men lived in houses erected on -platforms sustained upon piles above the level of the water. Walls -and roofs of these habitations were thatched and wattled with reeds. -From the door a ladder conducted to a boat. In these houses there were -hearths, but no chimneys. The smoke escaped as best it might through -the thatch, or under the gables. During the winter the fen-men picked -up a livelihood fishing and fowling. In summer they cultivated such -patches of peat soil as appeared above the surface of the water. There -were no roads; men went from place to place by water, in boats or on -skates. - -In the reign of James I. Ben Jonson wrote his play 'The Devil is an -Ass.' Into this play he introduced a speculator—a starter of bogus -companies, by name Meercraft, and one of this man's schemes was the -draining of the Fens. - - The thing is for recovery of drown'd land, - Whereof the Crown's to have a moiety, - If it be owner; else the Crown and owners - To share that moiety, and the recoverers - To enjoy the t'other moiety for their charge, - * * * * * * which will arise - To eighteen millions, seven the first year. - I have computed all, and made my survey - Unto an acre; I'll begin at the pan, - Not at the skirts, as some have done, and lost - All that they wrought, their timberwork, their trench, - Their banks, all borne away, or else filled up - By the next winter. Tut, they never went - The (right) way. I'll have it all. - A gallant tract of land it is; - 'Twill yield a pound an acre; - We must let cheap ever at first.' - -Jonson introduced this Meercraft as a caution to the people of his day -against being induced to sink money in such ventures, which he regarded -as impossible of realisation. Nevertheless, what Jonson disbelieved in -has been accomplished. The work begun in 1630, was interrupted by the -Civil Wars, resumed afterwards, was carried on at considerable outlay -and with great perseverance, till at the beginning of the present -century the complete recovery of the Fens was an accomplished fact. - -Great was the cost of the undertaking, and those who had invested in -it wearied of the calls on their purses; land, or rather water, owners -were discouraged, and were ready to part with rights and possessions -that hardly fetched a shilling an acre, and which instead of being -drained itself seemed to be draining their pockets. Long-headed fen-men -saw their advantage, and bought eagerly where the owners sold eagerly. -The new canals carried off the water, the machines set in operation -discharged the drainage into the main conduits, and soil that for -centuries had been worthless became auriferous. No more magnificent -corn-growing land was to be found in England. None in Europe might -compare with it, save the delta of the Danube and the richest alluvial -tracts in South Russia. The fen-men made their fortunes before they had -learned what to do with the fortunes they made. Money came faster than -they found means to spend it. - -To this day many of the wealthiest owners are sons or grandsons of -half-wild fen-slodgers. There are no villages in the Fens apart from -such as are clustered on widely dispersed islets. There are no old -picturesque farmhouses and cottages. Everything is new and ugly. There -are no hedges, no walls, for there is no stone in the country. There -are no trees, save a few willows and an occasional ash, from whose -roots the soil has shrunk. The surface of the land is sinking. As the -fen is drained, the spongy soil contracts, and sinks at the rate of two -inches in the year. Consequently houses built on piles are left after -fifty years some eight feet above the surface, and steps have to be -added to enable the inmates to descend from their doors. - -The rivers slide along on a level with the top storeys of the houses, -and the only objects to break the horizon are the windmills that drive -the water up from the dykes into the canals. - -There are no roads, as there is no material of which roads can be -made. In place of roads there are 'droves.' A drove is a broad course, -straight as an arrow, by means of which communication is had between -one farm and another, and people pass from one village to another. - -These droves have ditches, one on each side, dense in summer with -bulrushes. No attempt is made to consolidate the soil in these droves -other than by harrowing and rolling them in summer. In winter they -are bogs, in summer they are dust—dust black, impalpable. Wheeled -conveyances can hardly get along the droves in winter, or wet weather, -as the wheels sink to the axles. - -The canal banks, however, are solid, compacted of stiff clay, and as -they are broad, so as to resist the pressure of the water they contain -between them, their tops make very tolerable paths, and roads for those -on horseback. But no wheeled vehicle is suffered to use the bank tops, -and to prevent these banks from being converted into carriage roads, -barriers are placed across them at intervals, which horses with riders -easily leap. - -At one of the Cambridge Assizes a poor man, a witness in court, when -asked his profession, answered,—'My lord, I am a banker.' The judge, -turning very red, said, 'No joking here, sir.' 'But I _am_ a banker and -nothing else,' protested the witness. He was, in fact, one of the gang -of men maintained for the reparation of the canal banks. - -The reader must be given some idea of the manner in which this vast -level region is drained. It is cut up into large squares, and each -square is a field that is surrounded by dykes. These dykes are in -communication with one another, and all lead to a _drain_ or _load_, -that is to say, to a channel of water of a secondary size, that lies -at the level of a few feet above the dykes. To convey the water from -the ditches into the drains, windmills are erected, that work machinery -which throws the water out of the ditches up hill into the loads. These -loads or drains run to the canal at intervals of two miles; and when -the drain reaches the canal bank, then a pump of great power forces the -water of the load to a still higher level, into the main artery through -which it flows to the sea. On the canals are lighters, and these, -rather than waggons, serve for the conveyance of farm produce to the -markets. Water is the natural highway in the fen-land. - -The short October day had closed in. The fen lay black, streaked with -steely bands—the dykes that reflected the grey sky. - -On the right hand was a bank rising some fourteen feet above the -roadway; it was the embankment of the river or canal that goes by the -name of the Lark. Above it, some wan stars were flickering. On the left -hand the fen stretched away into infinity, the horizon was lost in fog. - -The Cheap Jack's horse was crawling, reeling along the drove under -the embankment, the van plunging into quagmires, lurching into ruts. -The horse strained every muscle and drew it forward a few yards, then -sighed, hung his head, and remained immovable. Once again he nerved -himself to the effort, and as the van started, its contents tinkled and -rattled. The brute might as well have been drawing it across a ploughed -field. Again he heaved a heavy sigh, and then finally abandoned the -effort. - -The Cheap Jack had got out of the conveyance. He was unwell, too unwell -to walk, but he could not think of adding his weight to that the poor -horse was compelled to drag over what was not the apology for, but the -mockery of a road. - -'I say, Zit,' muttered he hoarsely, 'I wish now as we'd a' stayed -overnight in Ely.' - -'I wish we had, father. And we could have afforded it; we've made fine -profits in Ely—tremenjous.' - -The man did not respond. He trudged and stumbled on. - -The drove was as intolerable to walk on as to drive along. - -'Well, I never came along roads like these afore,' said the girl, 'and -I hopes we may soon be out of the Fens, and never get into them again.' - -'I don't know as we shall ever get out,' said the man, reeling as one -drunk. 'It seems as if we was sinking—sinking—and the black mud would -close over us.' - -'Come along, Jewel!' said Zita to the old horse. 'I'd put the lash of -the whip across you, but I haven't the heart to do it.' - -'This is going like snails,' groaned the man. - -'It's going worse than snails,' retorted his daughter. 'Snails carry -their houses safely along with them, but I doubt if we shall convey -our van out of this here region o' stick-in-the-mud, without all its -in'ards being knocked to bits. We'll have to yarn tremenjous, father, -to cover the dints in the tin and the cracks in the crocks.' - -The man halted. - -'I don't think I can get no forrarder,' said he; 'I'm all of a quake -and a chill.' - -'Well, father, let us put up here. It's no odds to us where we stay.' - -'But it is to the hoss. What's Jewel to eat? There's nought but mud and -rushes. If we do take him out of the shafts, he'll tumble into one of -the ditches.' - -'I wonder what is the distance to Littleport?' asked the girl. 'But, -bless me! on these roads it's no calculating distances. There was a -man rode by us on the bank above. He had lanterns to his stirrups. I -wish I'd gone up the side and just asked him how far ahead it was to -Littleport. Now he's got a long way ahead, and it's no use to run after -him.' - -'We must go on. I doubt but we shall sink in the mire if we stay.' - -The man sighed and staggered forward. Then the horse also sighed and -endeavoured to move the van, but failed. It was fast. - -'What is to be done now? There's Jewel can't stir the caravan. Did you -notice, father, how that man's horse jumped as he rode by? There is a -sort of a rail across, or we would have tried to get the conveyance -up on the bank. When the horse jumped, up went the lanterns also. I -suppose there is some farm near here where they'll let us put up Jewel -for the night. We needn't trouble then, as we have our own house on -wheels. But Jewel must have his food and a stall.' - -At that moment a second rider appeared on the embankment, trotting in -the same direction as had the first. He had a single lantern attached -to one stirrup, whereas the first who had passed, and been noticed by -Zita, had two. The girl ran up the slope of the bank, calling. - -The rider drew rein. 'What do you want?' he inquired. - -'Oh, will you tell me where we can put our horse for the night and have -a little hay?' - -'Who are you?' - -Zita knew by the tone of the voice that the man had been drinking, and -that, though not inebriated, he had taken too much liquor— - -'We are the Cheap Jack and his daughter. We cannot get along the way, -it is so bad—and the wheels are stuck in the mud. We want to go to -Littleport, and father'— - -'You are a set of darned rascals!' interrupted the rider. 'I'll have -nothing more to do with you; and you, I suppose, are the gal as cheated -me—the worst of the lot you are.' He had a flail in his hand, and he -flourished it over his head. 'You get along, you Cheap Jackies, or I'll -bring the flail down about your heads and shoulders and loins, and make -you fish out that there guinea I paid—and more fool I.' Driving his -heels into the flanks of his horse, and slashing its neck with the loop -of his bridle, he galloped along the top of the embankment. - -Zita descended. - -The van was stationary. The horse, Jewel, stood with drooping head and -a pout on the nether lip, with legs stiff in the deep mire, resolute -not to budge another inch. Zita took the van lantern and went to his -head. Jewel had thrown an expression into his face that proclaimed his -resolution not to make another effort, whether urged on by whip, or -cajoled by caresses. The girl, still carrying the lantern, came to her -father. He was seated against the embankment, with his hands in his -pockets and his head fallen forward. - -'Father, how are you?' - -'Bad—bad—tremenjous.' - -'Father, let us walk on and seek a house. Jewel will not stir; he has -turned up his nose and set back his ears, and I know what that means. -I don't think any one will come this way and rob the van. Let us go on -together. You lean on me, and we will find a farm.' - -'I can't rise, Zit.' - -'Let me help you up.' - -'I couldn't take another step, Zit.' - -'Make an effort, father.' - -'I'm past that, Zit. I'm dying. It's o' no use urging of me. I sticks -here as does Jewel. I can't move. I'm too bad for that. O Lord! that I -should die in this here fen-land!' - -'Let me get you some brandy.' - -'It ain't of no use at all, Zit. I'm just about done for. 'Tis so with -goods at times; when they gets battered and bulged and broken and all -to pieces, they must be chucked aside. I'm no good no more as a Cheap -Jack. I'm battered and bulged and broken and all to pieces, so I'm -going to be chucked aside.' - -Zita considered for a moment. Then she set down the lantern at her -father's side, ran up the embankment, ran along it in the direction -which had been taken by the riders, one after the other, crying as loud -as she possibly could, 'Help! help! Father is dying. Help! help! help!' - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE FLAILS AGAIN - - -Hezekiah, or, as he was usually called for short, Ki, Drownlands -was riding homewards from the Ely Fair along the embankment of the -river Lark. He bore over his shoulder the flail that had cost him -twelve shillings and sixpence, and in his heart glowed a consuming -rage that his adversary and neighbour—perhaps adversary because -neighbour—Jeremiah or Jake Runham had paid a guinea for the companion -flail, and had outbidden him. - -It was not that Ki Drownlands particularly required a flail, or a -companion flail to that he had secured, but he was intolerant of -opposition, and it was his ambition to be first in his fen; he would -show his supremacy by outbidding the only man approaching him in wealth -and in influence, and that before a crowd made up in part of people -who knew him and his rival. It was gall to his liver to think that he -had been surpassed in his offer, that an advantage over him had been -snatched, and that Jake Runham had been able to carry off from under -his nose something—it mattered not what—that he, Ki Drownlands, had -coveted, and had let people see that he had coveted. - -The rivalry of these two landowners was known throughout the Ely Fens, -and in every tavern the talk was certain to turn on the bidding for -the flails, and folk would say, 'Jake is a better man than Ki by eight -shillings and sixpence.' - -Drownlands had been drinking, and this fact served to sharpen and -inflame his resentment, but he was able to ride upright and steadily, -and sit his horse upright and steadily as the beast leaped the barriers -on the bank. He carried, as already mentioned, lanterns below both -feet attached to the stirrups. They illumined the way, they flashed -upon obstructions, they sent a gleam over the water of the canal. -In the dark—and the night was at times pitch-dark, when clouds cut -off the light of the stars—then it was not safe to ride on the -embankment without a light. The horse might fail to see the barriers, -and precipitate itself against them. It might slip down the bank and -fall with its rider, on one side into the river, on the other into the -drove. On the one side the horseman might be drowned, on the other -break his neck. But, supposing the horse had its wits about it and its -eyes open, the rider might have neither, and be unprepared for the -leap, or the slip in the greasy marl. - -If, conscious of the risk when on the embankment, the horseman took -the drove; then also he was not safe, for there it was doubly dark, -shadowed on one side by the elevation of the embankment, whilst on the -other side lay the dyke, the water brimming, and disguised by sedge -and rushes. Into this a horse might plunge, and, once in, could not be -extricated without infinite labour by several hands. For the bottom of -the ditches is soft bog, and the sides are spongy peat. Not a particle -of firm substance can be found on which a horse may plant its feet, and -obtain the purchase necessary for lifting itself out of the water and -mire. Consequently, when farmers returned late from market and fair in -the long dark winter nights, they provided themselves with lanterns. - -Prickwillow was the name of the farm of Master Ki Drownlands. The -grandfather of Ki had possessed a reed-walled cottage on piles, and a -few acres of soil that showed above the water in March, was submerged -again for a while in July, and then reappeared as the rainy season -ceased. Here he was wont to prick in willow twigs that rapidly grew -into osier beds. On a platform above the rippling water the grandfather -had mended his nets and cleaned his fowling-piece, and the grandmother -had woven baskets. Now all was dry, and a house stood where had been -the lacustrine habitation, and the plough turned up the thousand odds -and ends that successive generations had cast out of the cottage into -the water, never expecting that they would be seen again. - -The flood had retreated, dry land had appeared, and the ark had rested -on what had formerly been the least submerged portion of the tract over -which the ancestral slodger, Drownlands, had exercised more or less -questionable rights; rights, however, which, though questionable, had -never been questioned. With a little money collected by industry, and -more borrowed from the Ely bank, the _père_ Drownlands had extended his -domain, and had rendered his claim absolute and his rights unassailable. - -And now Ki Drownlands was riding home in a fume of wounded pride, -and with a brain somewhat turned by brandy. He sharply drew rein; he -thought he heard a cry. The cry was repeated as he halted to listen. -From whence it came he could not judge, saving only that it proceeded -from the rear. Over the fen, as upon water, sound travels great -distances; over the fen, as over water, meeting with no obstructions, -the waves of sound pass, and it is not easy to judge distances. -Drownlands turned his horse about and faced in the direction of Ely, -the direction whence the call came, as far as he could judge. - -He saw a light approaching. Was it carried, or hung to a stirrup? He -could not tell. Was it the lantern-bearer who summoned him? If so, for -what object? The cry was repeated. - -Surely the voice was that of a female. If the appeal were not to him, -to whom could it be addressed? - -To the best of his knowledge, there was no one else out so late on the -embankment. He recalled passing no one. - -It was true that he had ridden by the van, but he had not seen it. -The van was in the drove below, and he had been twelve or fourteen -feet above the roadway. Moreover, the lanterns at his feet threw a -halo about him, and though they illumined every object that came -within their radius, yet they made all doubly obscure and everything -indistinguishable that was outside that radius. - -Furthermore, Drownlands had been occupied with his own thoughts, and -had not been in an observant mood. - -Zita had not addressed him as he rode by, and he had passed without any -notion that there were travellers toiling along in the same direction -at a lower level. He had not expected to see a conveyance there, and -had looked for none. - -The light that he noticed on the bank was approaching. It was held at -no great distance from the ground. It might equally be carried in the -hand of one on foot, or be swung from the stirrups of a rider. It was, -however, improbable that a horseman would be contented with a single -light. - -Drownlands did not ride forward to meet the advancing light. He -remained stationary, with his right hand holding the flail, so that -the end of the staff rested on his thigh, much as a field-marshal is -represented in pictures holding his _bâton_. - -In the Fens the horses are unshod, and on a way that is without stones -there will be little sound of a horse when trotting; but as the moving -light neared, Drownlands was aware from the vibration of the embankment -that a horse was approaching. - -A minute later, and he saw before him Jake Runham, mounted. - -The recognition was mutual. - -'Out of my way!' shouted Runham. 'Out of my way, you dog, or I will -ride you down!' - -'I will not get out of your way. Why did you call?' - -'I call? I call you? That's a likely tale. What should I want with a -twopenny-ha'penny chap such as you?' - -'Twopenny-ha'penny? Do you mean me?' - -'Yes, I do.' - -'You are drunk. Some one called.' - -'Not I. But I call now, and loud enough. Stand out of my way; get down -the side of the bank; and go to the devil.' - -'I will not make way for you,' said Drownlands. Then between his -teeth, 'It is well we have met.' - -'Ay, it is well.' - -'Now we can settle old scores. Now'—he looked up, and waved his flail -towards heaven, which was clad with clouds—'now that no eyes look down -from above, and we are quite sure there are no eyes watching us from -below'— - -Then Runham, with a yell, dug his spurs into the flanks of his steed, -and made him bound forward. His intention was, with the impetus, to -drive his adversary and horse down the bank. As it was, his horse -struck that of Drownlands, which, being a heavy beast, swerved but -slightly. - -'Keep off, you drunken fool!' shouted Ki. - -'Am I to keep off you? I? Not I. I will have the bank to myself. Let me -pass, or I will ride over you and tread your brains out.' - -'You will have the matter of the past fought out between us?' - -'Ay! Ay!' - -Jake backed his horse, snorting and plunging under the curb. - -Then, when he had retired some twenty yards, he uttered a halloo, -whirled his flail above his head, drove his heels into the sides of his -steed, and came on at a gallop. - -Drownlands raised and brandished his flail, and brought it down with a -sweep before him. This alarmed his own horse, which reared and started, -but more so that of his rival, which suddenly leaped on one side, and -nearly unseated Jake Runham. However, Jake gripped the pommel, and with -an oath urged his horse into the path again. - -Drownlands had forgotten about the call that had induced him to turn -his horse. His attention was solely occupied with the man before him. - -The situation was one in which two resolute men, each determined not to -yield to the other, each inflamed with anger against the other, must -fight their controversy out to the end. The way on the bank top would -not admit of two abreast, consequently not of one passing the other -without mutual concession. On the one side was the drove fourteen feet -below, on the other the canal. He who had to give way must roll down -the embankment into the drove or plunge into the water. - -Each man was armed, and each with a like weapon. - -It would seem as though the horses understood the feelings that -actuated their riders, and shared them. They snorted defiance, they -tossed their manes, they reared and pawed the air. - -Again Runham spurred his steed, and the beasts clashed together, and as -they did so, so also did the flails. - -The two men were at close quarters, too close for the flappers of the -flails to take full effect. They heaved their weapons and struck -furiously at each other, bruising flesh, but breaking no bones. The -strokes of the whistling flappers fell on the saddle back, on the sides -of the horses, rather than on the heads and shoulders of the men. The -lanterns jerked and danced, as the horses pawed and plunged, and bit at -each other. - -The men swore, and strove by main weight to force each other from the -bank,—Runham to drive his antagonist into the river, Drownlands by -side blows of the flail to force the opposed horse to go down the bank -into the drove. - -The struggle lasted for some minutes. To any one standing by it would -have seemed a confusion of dancing lights and reflections—a confusion -also of oaths, blows, and clash of steel bits, and thud of ashen staves. - -Then, by mutual consent, but unexpressed, the two men drew back -equally exhausted. They drew back with no thought of yielding, but -with intent to recover wind and strength to renew the contest. Both -antagonists remained planted opposite each other, panting, quivering -with excitement, their beasts steaming in the cold October night air. - -'You dared to call me by an ugly name before folk!' shouted Drownlands. - -'Dared?—I will do it again.' - -'You shall not be given the chance.' - -'I carried away the flail over your head because you hadn't more -shillings in your pocket.' - -'The flail?' echoed Drownlands. 'This is not a matter now of a flail. -This is not a matter now of a way along the bank. It's a matter of -nineteen years' endurance. For nineteen years I have borne the grossest -of wrongs. I'll bear the burden no longer. The wrong shall not go -another hour unavenged.' - -'You've borne it so long the back is accustomed to the burden,' taunted -Jake. - -'For nineteen years I have endured it. But to-night we are face to -face, and alone.' Again he waved his flail to heaven. 'No eye looks -down upon us. I and you are equally matched as far as weapons go. All -is fair between us, but if there be justice on high, it will weight my -arm to beat you down; and here,' said he, touching his breast with the -end of the flail,—'here is no spark of pity, just as there is now no -spark aloft. If I beat you, I beat you till the blood runs, beat you -till the bones are pounded, beat you till the marrow oozes out, beat -you—as we beat hemp.' - -Then, unable longer to control his fury, the dark man urged his horse -forward with his spurs, and as he did so, the lanterns clashed against -the flanks of the brute, and burnt them as the spurs had stung them. -With a snort of anger and pain, the beast leaped into the air, flung -himself forward, and hurled his whole weight against the horse of -Runham. The latter had altered his tactics, and had drawn up to -receive the charge instead of delivering it as before. At the same -moment Ki swung his flail and brought it down. But he had overshot his -mark, and with the violence of the blow he was carried across the neck -of Runham's horse. Jake saw his advantage at once, caught him by the -tiger-skin, and, grappling that, endeavoured to drag his opponent out -of the saddle. But Ki reared himself up, and tried to wrench the skin -away. His bodily strength was the greatest. The horses leaped, kicked, -reeled, and the two men on them held fast, the tiger-skin between them. -Then Runham twisted his flail in the skin and continued to turn it. In -vain now did Ki endeavour to wrench it away. The skin was fast about -his throat, and as it was drawn tighter and even tighter, it threatened -strangulation. Jake backed his horse, and as he backed, he drew his -opponent after him. The blood thumped in the ears of Drownlands. The -veins in his temples swelled to bursting. - -The plunging of the horses caused the pressure to be relaxed for one -moment, but it was tightened the next, and became intolerable. Ki's -tongue and eyes started, his lips were puffed, foam formed on them. He -could not cry, he could not speak, he snuffled and gasped. With his -heels he thrust his horse forward, to save himself from being drawn -from his saddle to hang to the flail of Runham. - -In another moment Drownlands would have been unhorsed and at his -adversary's mercy. But at this supreme instant he clutched his own -flail, and, holding it with both hands over his bent head, drove -the end of it into the ear of Runham's horse. The more he was drawn -forward, the greater the leverage on the end of his flail, and the -more exquisite the agony of the horse. The brute, driven mad with -pain, gathered itself up into a convulsive, spasmodic shake and leap, -and with the jerk, the tiger-skin was plucked out of the hand of Jake -Runham. - -Drownlands reared himself in his stirrups. He was blinded with blood in -his eyes, but he whirled the flail round his head, and beat savagely in -all directions. It whistled as it swung, it screamed as it descended. -Then a thud, a cry, and indistinctly, through the roar of his pulses in -his ears, he heard a crash down the bank, and indistinctly through his -suffused eyes he saw a black mass stagger into the river. - -Gasping for breath, quivering in every nerve, tingling in every vein, -as the blood recovered its wonted circulation, Drownlands held his -horse motionless, and, gathering his senses, looked before him. - -There was hardly a flake of steely light in the sky. Clouds had spread -over the firmament. What little light there was, lay as a strip on -the horizon, like the glaze of white in a dead man's eye. The inky -water reflected none of it. For a moment, on the surface, the lantern -attached to Runham's stirrup floated and danced, whilst the flame burnt -and charred the horn side, then it was drawn under and extinguished. - -Drownlands leaned forward and stretched his flail to the water; then -drew the flapper across the surface where his enemy had sunk, as one -who scratches out a score. - -Then suddenly he was grasped by the foot, and a voice rang in his ears: -'Help! help! Oh, prithee, help!' - -In his condition of nervous excitation, the touch, the call, so -unexpected, wrung from him a scream. It was as though a rude hand had -fallen on an exposed nerve. - -Again a tighter clasp at his foot, again an entreating cry of intenser -entreaty: 'Help! Oh, prithee, prithee, help!' - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -BETWEEN TWO LIGHTS - - -Zita had run on. Her young heart was full of the agony of distress for -her father. He was the one object in the world to whom her heart clung. -She had lost her mother early, and had been accordingly brought up by -her father, who had been father and mother to her in one. She had no -brothers, no sisters. He had been to her father, mother, brothers, and -sisters in one. The young heart is full of love. It is of a clinging -nature. It may not be disposed to demonstrativeness, but it loves, it -clings; and it is in despair when the object to which it has clung, the -person it has loved, fails. - -For some little while, for more than the fortnight of which Zita had -spoken, she had observed that her father was ill, that his powers were -declining. - -She had fought against the terrible thought that she would lose him, -whenever with a flash of horror it had shot through her brain, had -contracted her heart. - -Her father! The daily associate; the one person to whom she could -always speak with frankness, with whom she had had but one interest; -the one person who had watched over her, cared for her, loved her—that -he should be suffering, that he might be removed! The idea was more -than her young heart could bear. Cheap Jacks are human beings, they -have like feelings to us who buy not of Cheap Jacks, but of respectable -tradesmen. Cheap Jacks' daughters, though they have not had the -privileges of the moral and intellectual training that have ours, are -nevertheless—human beings. We admit this tacitly, but do not think out -the truth such an admission contains—that they have in their natures -the same mixed propensities, in their hearts the same passions as -ourselves—as have our own children. - -Now this poor child ran, her pulses beating; as she ran, with every -rush of blood through her pulses, a fire shot in electric flashes -before her eyes. She continuously cried, 'Help! help! My father! my -daddy!' - -Then her breath failed her. She tried to run, but was forced to stay -her feet and gasp for breath. She could not maintain her pace as well -as call for assistance. - -There was a roaring as of the sea over a bar when the tide is coming -in. It was the roar of her thundering blood in her ears. - -She had taken the van lantern and had set it down by her father on the -side of the bank. As she was forced to halt, she looked back. A shudder -came over her. She could not see the light. Had it expired, and with -it, had the flickering light of life expired in her father? - -Then she stepped partly down the bank, and now she saw the light. From -the top she had not been able to see it owing to the slope, and for -a slight curve in the direction of the canal. The light that burned -by her father's side was still there. And before her she could see -the sparks in the direction she was pursuing. A strange medley of -lights—were there two or three or more? She could not count, owing to -her excitement and the tears and sweat that streamed over her eyes. - -She ran on, as the furious throbbing of her heart was allayed, as her -breath returned. - -Suddenly—a crash, a flash as of lightning, and Zita knew not where she -was, and for how long she had been in a state of semi-consciousness. - -The poor child, running with full speed, had run against one of the -barriers set up across the top of the embankment for the prevention of -its employment by wheeled vehicles. - -She had struck her head and chest against the bars, and had been thrown -backwards, partly stunned, completely dazzled by the blow. For some -minutes she lay on the bank confused and in pain. Then she picked -herself up, but was unable to understand what had happened. She again -went forward, and now felt the bars of timber. She put her hands to -them and climbed. She was sobbing with pain and anxiety; through her -tears she could see the lights in front of her magnified with prismatic -rays shooting from them. On reaching the top of the barrier she looked -behind her, and again saw the feeble light from her father's lantern. - -Now her senses returned to her, which for a few moments had been -disturbed by the blow and fall. - -She was running to obtain help, shelter for her dear father. From the -top rail she cried, 'Help! help! My daddy! My poor daddy! Help! help!' - -She listened. She thought she heard voices. Hurt, wearied, breathless, -she hoped that the assistance she had invoked was coming to her aid. - -Should she remain perched where she was, and wait till the lights in -front drew nearer to her? - -Then the fear came over her that she might not have been heard. The man -to whom she had spoken—he with the one lantern to his stirrup—had -addressed her roughly, had shown no good feeling, no desire to assist. -Was it likely that he had changed his mind, and was now returning? - -She was confident that the man whom she had arrested had carried but -a single lantern to his foot. Now as her pulses became more even in -their throb, she was positive that there were more lights than one -before her. She looked behind her. There was one light by her father, -that was stationary. There were several before her; and they were in -the strangest movement, flickering here and there, changing places, now -obscured, now shining out, now low, now high, now on this side, now on -that. - -She leaped from her place on the rail and ran on. - -Then, coming on an unctuous place in the marl, where a horse's hoofs -had been, where, perhaps, it had slipped, and, running in a bee-line, -regardless where she went, ignorant of a slight deviation from the -direct line in the course of the bank, she went down the side, and -plunged into the ice-cold water. - -There was a stake, a post in the water. She clung to that, and, holding -it, struggled to get out. In so doing, she noticed a sort of eye in the -post, a mortice-hole that pierced it, and as at that moment some of the -clouds had parted, she saw the grey sky and a star shine through this -hole. By means of this post, Zita, whose strength was almost spent, was -able to draw herself from out of the water. But so exhausted was she, -that, on reaching the top of the bank, she was constrained to stop and -pant for breath. - -Still the thought of her suffering, perhaps dying, father, urged her -on. She saw the dancing lights close before her, she heard voices. -She felt the embankment tremble under her feet. Surely some violent -commotion was taking place before her; but what it could be she had -neither time nor power to conjecture. - -Then there went by overhead, invisible in the darkness, a train of -wild geese, going south for the winter, and as they flew they uttered -loud, wild cries, like the barking of hounds in the clouds—a horrible, -startling sound fit to unnerve any who were unaware of the cause. - -For a moment she stood still, listening to the aerial ghostly sounds. -She held her breath. Then again she ran. - -As Zita ran, it seemed to her that assuredly she saw but two lights. -There must have been but two, and they were stationary. She tried to -call, but her voice failed her; her throat was parched. She could but -run. - -Next moment the lights blazed large on her, and then she grasped a -foot. 'Help! help!' - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -PROFITS - - -'What do you want? Who are you?' asked Ki Drownlands, when he had -sufficiently recovered his self-possession to see that some one was -clinging to him, and that that person was a woman. - -'Help! Come back! Father is ill.' - -'I don't care. Let go. You hurt me.' - -She hurt him by her touch on his boot! His nerves were thrilling, and -the pressure of her fingers was unendurable in the surexcitation of -every fibre of his system. - -'Oh, help! help!' She would not relax her hold. - -'I cannot. I've my own concerns to attend.' - -Drownlands remained silent for a moment. He was shivering as one in an -ague fit—shivering as though the marrow in his bones were touched with -frost. Presently he asked in a voice of constraint— - -'How long have you been here? What have you seen?' - -He stooped to his stirrup, unhitched one of the lanterns and held it -aloft, above the person who appealed for his aid. - -The dim yellow light fell over a head of thick amber hair and a -pale, beautifully moulded face, with large lustrous eyes, looking up -entreatingly at him. - -His hand that held the lantern was unsteady, and the light quivered. -To disguise his agitation, he gave the lantern a pendulous motion, -and the reflection glinted and went out, glinted again in those great -beseeching eyes, and glowed in that copper-gold hair, as though waves -of glory flashed up in the darkness and set again in darkness. - -'What have you seen?' he repeated. - -'Seen?—I see you. I want help. You will help me?' - -'How long have you been here?' - -'How long? I am but this instant come. I have run.' - -Her bosom was heaving under a gay kerchief, her breath came in little -puffs of steam that passed as golden dust in the halo of the lantern. - -Drownlands rested both his hands on the pommel of the saddle, with the -flail athwart beneath them. He put the handle of the lantern in his -mouth, and the upward glare of the light was on his sinister face. -He was considering. He did not recognise the girl. His mind was -too distraught to think whether or not he had seen her before. She -persisted— - -'Help us! I have been running. I am out of breath. I saw you ride by -on the bank. I called to you, and spoke to you there, and you would -do nothing. My dear father is worse. He is dying. You must—you shall -help.' - -He still looked at her. That beautiful face—the sole object shining -out of the darkness—fascinated him, in spite of his alarm, his -distress. - -'I am Cheap Jack Zita. I am the daughter of the poor Cheap Jack. He is -taken ill—he cannot get on. He is on the bank—dying. My father!' - -Then she burst into tears; and in the lantern light Ki saw the -sparkling drops race down the smooth cheeks, saw them rise in the great -eyes and overflow. He slowly removed the lantern handle from his teeth, -and said— - -'I cannot be plagued with you. I have other matters that concern me.' - -He had been alarmed at first, fearing lest his encounter with Runham -had been witnessed, lest this girl should be able to testify against -him, were he taken to task for the death of his rival and adversary. - -'Oh, come! Oh, do come!' sobbed Zita, as she grasped his boot more -tightly. - -'It was you who called?' - -'Yes, it was I.' - -'You called me?' - -'Yes. There was no one else to call.' - -'Oh,' said he, 'you saw no one else? No one with me?' - -'No. I ran up the bank as you went by. I spoke to you, but you swore at -me.' - -'I—I did that?' - -There was some mistake. She had taken him for the man now beneath the -water. - -'You shall not go!' cried the girl, clinging desperately to the -stirrup. 'You cannot be so heartless as to let my poor father die.' - -'What is your father to me? Let go.' - -'I will not let go.' - -He pricked his horse on; but she held to the bridle and arrested it. - -'Take care!' said Drownlands. 'I will not be stayed against my will.' - -She clung to the bridle. - -'You may ride over me, and kill me too. I will not let go.' - -'What do you mean?' asked he, with a gasp. 'What do you mean by "kill -me too"?' - -'You shall ride over me, but I shall not let go.' - -'But why did you say "kill me too"?' he asked threateningly. - -'I will die as well as my father. I do not care to live if he die. -How can you leave him? how can you be so cruel?' She broke forth into -vehemence that shook her whole frame, and shook the horse whose bridle -she grappled. - -'What's that?' asked Drownlands, as the horse stumbled. - -He held up the lantern. - -On the embankment, under the horse's feet, lay the flail that had been -twisted into his tiger-skin. - -'I know you—I know you,' said the girl. 'It was you who bought the -flail.' Then again, 'My father is ill. He is sitting on the bank; he -cannot walk. He will die of the cold if you do not help.' - -'Let go,' shouted Drownlands, 'or I'll bring the flail down on your -hands.' - -'You may break them. I will cling with my teeth.' - -He brandished the flail angrily. - -Then Zita bowed herself, picked up the second flail, and, planting -herself across the way, said— - -'You are bad and you are cruel. I cannot get you to come to my father -for the asking. I will drive you to him—drive you with the flail; I -will force you to go.' - -He tried to pass the girl, but she would not budge; and before the -whirling flapper and her threatening attitude, the horse recoiled and -almost threw himself and his rider down the embankment into the drove. - -Drownlands uttered a curse, and again attempted to push past, but was -again driven back by Zita. - -'Take care, or I will ride you down,' he threatened; then shivered, as -he recalled how that a few minutes previously Jake Runham had used the -same threat to him. - -He considered a moment. - -He could not allow this girl to retain the flail she had picked up. -It was evidence against him. Every one in Burnt Fen, every one in -Weldenhall and Soham Fens, would hear of the contest at Ely before the -Cheap Jack van. If that flail were known to have been found on the -embankment, it would be known at once where it was that Runham fell -into the Lark. It might be surmised that a struggle had there taken -place, and marks of the struggle would be looked for. - -The girl who stood before Drownlands was the sole person who could -by any possibility appear as witness against him—could prove that -he had been on the spot where Runham had perished; and this girl was -now appealing to him for help. It was advisable that she should be -conciliated—be placed under an obligation to himself. - -He made no further attempt to pass her; he made no attempt to fulfil -his threat that he would ride her down. - -In a lowered tone he said, 'Where is your father?' - -'A little way back,' answered Zita. 'How far back I cannot say. I -ran—I ran.' - -'I will go with you. Give me up that flail.' - -'No,' she answered; 'I do not trust you. You would ride away when you -had it.' - -'I swear to you that I will not do that.' - -She shook her head, retained the flail, slung it over her shoulder, and -walked at his side. - -Had she seen the contest? Had she seen him beat his adversary -down—down into the river? Drownlands asked himself these questions -repeatedly, and was tempted to question her, but shrank from so doing -lest he should awake suspicions. He need not have feared that. Her -whole mind was occupied with a single thought—her dying father. - -Drownlands riding, the Cheap Jack girl walking, retraced the path in -the direction of Ely. Not for a moment would she relax her hold on -the bridle, for she could not trust the good faith of the rider. The -river was stealing by, the current so sluggish that it seemed hardly to -move. It made no ripple on the bank, no lapping among the reeds. It had -no curl of a smile on its face, no undulation on its bosom. It was a -river that had gone to sleep, and was on the verge of the stagnation of -death. Ki found himself wondering how far during the night the man and -horse who had gone in would be swept down. He wondered whether it were -possible that one or other had succeeded in making his way out. He had -heard no sound; it was hardly possible that either could have escaped. - -Presently a jerk on the reins roused Drownlands from his meditations, -and he felt his horse descend the bank, guided by the girl. In the -darkness he could see a still darker object, which the faint light from -a lantern on the bank partially illumined, along with a motionless -horse, which seemed of very stubbornness to be transformed to wood. -When, however, the beast heard the steps of its mistress, it turned its -head and looked stonily towards her, with a peculiar curl of the nose -and protrusion of the lower lip that was a declaration of determined -resistance to being made to move forward. Zita paid no attention to the -horse. She called to her father, and received a faint response. - -'You will not leave me now? you will help?—you swear?' said she, -turning to the rider. - -'No,' answered Ki; 'now that I am here, I am at your service to do for -you what I can.' - -He dismounted and attached his horse by the bridle to the back of the -van, then took one of his lanterns, and went to where he heard Zita -speaking to her father. - -'I be bad, Zit—bad—tremenjous. I be done for,' said the Cheap Jack. -'It's no good saying "Get along." I can't; there's the fact. I be -stuck—just as the van be. I seems to have no wish but to be let alone -and die slick off.' - -'You shall not do that, father. Here is one of the gentlemen as bought -the flails of us. He will help.' - -Then Drownlands came to the side of the sick man and inquired, 'What is -it? What can I do for you?' - -'I don't know as I want nort,' answered the Cheap Jack; 'nort but to be -let alone to die. Don't go and worrit me, that's all.' - -'My farm is not a mile distant,' said Ki. 'Get into the waggon and -drive along.' - -'I can't abear the joggle,' answered the Cheap Jack. 'I wants to go -nowhere. But whatever will become of Jewel and Zit?' - -He groaned, sighed, and turned over on the bank towards the scanty -grass and short moss that covered the marl, and laid his face in that. -The girl held his hand, and knelt by him. Presently he raised his head -and said, 'Arter all, Zit, we did a fine business, what wi' the tea and -what wi' the flails. Them as didn't cost us eighteenpence sold for one -pun' thirteen and six—tremenjous!' - -'Now listen to me,' said Drownlands. 'This horse of yours will never be -able to get the van along. I will ride home and fetch a team, and we'll -have the whole bag of tricks conveyed to Prickwillow in a jiffy. I'll -bring help, and we'll lift you on to a feather tye.' - -'You will not play me false?' asked Zita. - -'Not I,' answered Ki, as he picked up the second flail; 'trust me. I -shall be back in half an hour.' - -He mounted his horse and rode away. The girl watched him as he departed -with some anxiety; then, as he departed into the darkness, Zita seated -herself on the bank, and endeavoured to raise her father, that his head -might repose on her bosom. He looked at her and put his arm about her -neck. - -'You've been a good gal,' said he. 'You've done your dooty to the -wan and the 'oss and me, and I bless you for it. That there tea as -we made out o' sweepins as we bought at London Docks, and out o' -blackthorn leaves as we picked off the hedges and dried on the top of -the wan—'twas a fine notion, that. Go on as I've taught you, Zit, and -you'll make a Cheap Jack o' the right sort. One pun' thirteen and six -for them flails! That's about one pun' twelve profits. What's us sent -into the world for but to make profits? I've done my dooty in it. I've -made profits. I feel a sort o' in'ard glow, just as if I wos a lantern -wi' a candle in me, when I thinks on it. One pun' twelve—I say, Zit, -what's that per cent.? I can't calkerlate it now; it's gone from me. -One pun' twelve is thirty-two. And thirty-two to one and an 'arf'—He -heaved a long sigh. 'I be bad—I can't calkerlate no more.' - -Zita leaned over the sick man's face, and with the corner of her gaily -figured and coloured kerchief wiped his brow. His mind was wandering. -From silence and impatience of being spoken to and having to exert -himself to speak, he had come to talk, and talk much, in rambling -strains. - -'Father, I've brought you some brandy from the van. Take a drop. It may -revive you.' - -She put a flask to his lips. He found a difficulty in swallowing, and -turned his face away. He had raised his head to the flask with an -effort; it sank back on his daughter's bosom. - -'Dad, how wet your hair is!' - -'Things ain't as they ort to be,' said the Cheap Jack sententiously. -'I've often turned the world over in my head and seed as the wrong -side comes uppermost. Then I'm sure I was ordained to be a mimber o' -parliament, but I never got a chance to rise to it. How I could ha' -talked the electors over into believin' as black was white! How I could -ha' made 'em a'most swallow anything and believe it was apricot jam! I -could ha' told 'em lies enough to carry me to the top o' the poll by -a thumping majority. It's lies does it, all the world over—leastways -with the general public in England. It's lies sells damaged goods. It's -lies as makes 'em turn their pockets out into your lap. It's lies as -carries votes. It's lies as governs the land. The general public likes -'em. It loves 'em. They be as sweet and dear to the general public as -thistles is to asses.' - -Then he lay quiet, except only that he turned his head from side to -side, as though looking at something. - -'What is it, dad?' - -'I thinks as I sees 'em—miles and miles, going right away into nothing -at all.' - -'What, father?' - -'The hawthorn hedges in full bloom, white as snow—it's our own -tea plantation, Zit, you know—touched up wi' sweepins. When the -flowers fall, then the leaves will come, and there'll be profits. -Assam, Congou, Kaisow, Darjeeling, Souchong—just what you like—and, -in truth, hawthorn leaves and sweepins—all alike. There's -profits—profits comin' in the leaves, Zit.' - -A light sleet was falling, and it gleamed in the radiance of the -lantern planted on the bank near the dying man's head. - -'So you see, Zit,' he said, pointing into space, 'the thorn leaves be -fallin',—scores o' thousands,—and the green leaves will come and -bring profits.' - -'What you see is snow that is coming down, father.' - -'No, Zit. It's the thorns sheddin' their white flowers to grow profits. -Fall, fall, fall away, white leaves.' - -He remained silent for a while, and then began to pluck at his daughter -with the hand that clasped her waist. - -'What is it, father?' - -'I ain't easy.' - -'Shall I lift your head higher?' - -' 'Tain't that. It's in my mind, Zit.' - -'What troubles you, dad?' - -'That tin kettle wi' the hole in it. I've never stopped it. Put a bit -o' cobbler's wax into the hole and some silverin' stuff over it, and -you'll sell it quick off. Nobody won't find out till they comes to bile -water in it.' - -'I'll do that, father. Hush! I hear the horses coming.' - -'I don't want to go wi' them. I hears singing.' - -'It is the wind whistling.' - -'No, Zit. It be the quiristers chanting in Ely. Do you hear their -psalm?' - -'No, we cannot hear them. They do not sing at night, and are also too -distant.' - -'But I does hear 'em singing beautiful, and this is the psalm they -sing—"One pun' twelve—and hawthorn tea at four shillin'. There's -profits."' - -He was sinking. He weighed heavy on her bosom. - -She stooped to his ear and whispered, 'Are you happy, father?' - -'Happy? In course I be. One pun' twelve on them flails, -and four shillin' on thorn leaves and sweepins—there's -profits—profits—tremenjous!' - -And he spoke no more. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -MARK RUNHAM - - -No sight in the Fens is so solemn, so touching, as a funeral. There -are no graveyards in the Fens. There is no earth to which the dead can -be committed—only peat, and this in dry weather is converted into -dust, and in rain resolved into a quagmire. A body laid in it would be -exposed by the March winds, soddened by the November rains. - -Consequently the dead are conveyed, sometimes as many as nine miles, to -the islets—to Ely, to Stuntney, or to Littleport, wherever there is -a graveyard; and a graveyard can only be where there is an outcrop of -blue clay. For a funeral, the largest cornwain is brought forth, and -to it is harnessed a team of magnificent cart-horses, trimmed out with -black favours. - -In the waggon is placed the coffin, and round it on the wain-boards sit -the mourners. The sorrowful journey takes long. The horses step along -slowly, their unshod feet muffled in the dust or mire, and their tread -is therefore noiseless. But their bells jingle, and now and then a sob -breaks forth from one of the mourners. - -Two waggons bearing dead men took the road to Ely. In one sat a single -mourner, Zita; and this waggon preceded the other. The second was full, -and was followed by a train of labourers who had been in the service of -the deceased, and of acquaintances who had roistered or dealt with him. - -A cold wind piped over the level, and rustled the harsh dun leaves of -the rushes in the dykes. Royston crows in sable and white stalked the -fields, dressed as though they also were mourners, but were uninvited, -and kept at a distance from the train. Lines of black windmills -radiated from every quarter of the heavens, as though they were -mourners coming over the fens from the outermost limits to attend the -obsequies of a true son of the marshland. - -To the south-west stood up the isle of Ely, tufted with trees; and -soaring above the trees, now wan against a sombre cloud, then dark -against a shining sky, rose the mighty bulk of the minster, its size -enhanced by contrast with the level uniformity of the country. - -Although it cannot be said that no suspicion of foul play was -entertained relative to the death of Jake Runham, yet nothing had -transpired at the coroner's inquest that could in any way give it -grounds on which to rest; nothing that could in the smallest degree -implicate Drownlands. - -Runham had drunk freely at the tavern at Ely, and he had ridden away -'fresh,' as a witness euphemistically termed it, implying that he was -fuddled. He had started on his home journey with a single lantern, in -itself likely to occasion an accident, for it vividly illumined one -side of the way and unduly darkened the other. Some one in the tavern -yard had commented on this, and had advised the extinction of the -single light as more calculated to mislead than none at all. - -Horse and man had been discovered in the water about a mile above the -drove that led to Crumbland, his farm. Runham had been found with his -legs entangled in the stirrups. Possibly, had he been able to disengage -himself when falling, he might have escaped to land. Certainly the -horse would have found its way out; but the weight of the rider had -prevented the poor beast from reaching the bank. It was observed that -Runham had gone into the canal on his right hand, and that the lantern -had been slung to his left foot. - -There were, it was noticed, contusions on the head and body of the -deceased, but these were easily accounted for without recourse to -the supposition of violence. At intervals in the course of the Lark -piles were driven into the banks to protect them against the lighters, -and horse and man might have been carried by the stream, or in their -struggles, against these stakes, and thus the abrasions of the skin and -the bruises might have been produced. - -Something was, indeed, said about a recent quarrel between the dead -man and his neighbour, Drownlands; but then, it was asked, when, for -the last nineteen years, had there been an occasion on which they had -met without quarrelling? The quarrel, according to report, had been -inconsiderable, and had concerned nothing more than a flail for which -both men had bidden high. Furthermore, Drownlands, it was ascertained, -had been detained on his way to Prickwillow, before reaching the -spot where the corpse had been found. He had been detained by the -Cheap Jack's daughter on account of the Cheap Jack's sickness. It was -known that Drownlands had summoned his men, and with a team of horses -had removed the van to his rickyard. He had been attentive to the -unfortunate vagabond, and had been at his side till his death. - -There was no specifying the exact hour when Runham had fallen into the -water, but, as far as could be judged, it must have been about the time -when Drownlands was occupied with the Cheap Jack. - -A floating suspicion that Ki might have had a hand in the death of Jake -did exist, but there was nothing tangible on which a charge could be -based. On the contrary, there was a great deal to show that he was not -present; enough to free him from suspicion. - -When the funerals were over,—and both had taken place simultaneously, -the graves being adjacent, one chaplain performing the service over -both,—then the waggons returned. That in which the Cheap Jack's coffin -had been conveyed to its last resting-place was empty. Zita declared -her intention to walk. - -Those who had walked behind the waggon of Runham were taken up into it, -the horses started at a trot, and both conveyances were soon far away, -and appeared as specks in the distance. - -Zita walked slowly along the road. She was in no hurry. She had to -resolve what she was to do for her maintenance. - -Should she pursue the same trade as her father? Would it be safe for -her to do so? At times there was a good deal of money in the van; -and if she, a young girl, were alone, she might be robbed. She had -abundance of ready wit, she had assurance, she had at command the -stock-in-trade of old jokes used by her father, and was perfectly -competent to sell goods and reap profits. But the purchase of the stock -had been managed by her father, and with that part of the business she -was not conversant. Could she manage the van and its stores and the -horse alone? If not alone, then whom might she take into partnership -with herself? Not another girl. A man it must be; but a man—that -would not do for other reasons. The girl coloured as she walked and -pondered on the perplexed question of her future. - -She then considered whether it would be advisable for her to dispose -of her van and its contents. But she saw that she could do so only at -a ruinous loss. Her situation would be taken advantage of. The damaged -goods would not sell at all, unhelped out in the exaggerations, lies, -the flourish and scuffle of a public auction. All the articles were -not, indeed, like the tin kettle and the 'own plantation tea.' Some -were really good. A majority were good, but the collection was spiced -with infirm and defective articles. - -If she did dispose of the van and her stock, what should she do -with herself? Into service she could not go—the bondage would be -intolerable. Into a school she could not go—she had no education. To -become a dressmaker was not possible—she could not cut out. To enter a -factory of any sort was hardly to be considered. She knew no trade. She -could befool the general public—that was her sole accomplishment. - -As she walked along, musing on her difficulties, she was caught up by -a young man, dressed in deep mourning. At first he made as though he -would pass her by, for he was walking at a greater pace than hers, but -after a few steps in advance he halted, turned back, and said in a -kind tone— - -'We are both orphans. You lost your father on the same night as that on -which I lost mine. They have been buried on the same day, and the same -service has been read over both. I am Mark Runham; you are the Cheap -Jack girl.' - -'Yes, I am Cheap Jack Zita.' - -'I could not call you by any other name; your real name I did not know. -Let us walk together, unless you desire to be alone.' - -'Oh no.' - -'When I was in the waggon, with my dead father in the coffin before me, -I looked forward, and then I saw you—you, poor little thing, sitting -alone, with your head bowed down over your father's coffin. I thought -it infinitely sad. You were all alone, and I had so many with me.' - -Zita turned her face to him. - -'You are very kind,' she said. - -'Not at all. My heart is sore because I have lost my father—but there -is so much to take the sharpness off my pain; I have my mother alive. -And you?' - -'My mother has been dead these five years.' - -'And I have many relatives, and more friends. But you?' - -'I have none. I am alone in the world.' - -'And then I have house and lands. And you?' - -'I have the van.' - -'A wandering house—no real house. What are you going to do with -yourself?' - -'That is just what I was considering as I walked along.' - -'Will you tell me your plan?' - -'I have none. I have not resolved what to do.' - -'I am glad that I have caught you up. I sent on the waggon. I had to -stay behind and make arrangements with the undertaker and the clerk. I -am glad I remained; it has given me the opportunity of speaking with -you. Our mutual losses make us fellows in sorrow, and you seem to me so -piteously lonely. Even when I was in the wain my eyes wandered to you, -and with my eyes went my thoughts. I could not fail to consider how -much greater was your desolation than mine.' - -Again Zita turned to look at the young fellow who spoke. He had fair -hair, bright blue eyes, a fresh, pleasant face, frank and kindly. - -'I think you sold something to my father,' he said; 'I have heard the -chaps talk about it. You sold it middling dear. A flail—and he paid a -guinea for it.' - -'Yes, I sold a flail for a guinea, and another for twelve and six. Mr. -Drownlands bought one of them.' - -'And my father the other. I was not at the fair when that took place, -but folk have talked about it. I think, had I been there, I would have -prevented my father bidding so high. The flail was not found with him -when he was recovered from the river.' - -'No; it was on the bank.' - -'It was probably carried down by the Lark,' said he, not noticing her -words, 'and went out in the Wash.' - -The flail! Zita was surprised. One flail she knew that Drownlands held -when she met him, the other she had herself picked up, and had used to -prevent him from continuing his course, and to compel him to assist her -father. - -She stood still and considered. The matter was, however, of no -consequence, so she stepped on. If she found the flail at Prickwillow, -she would take it to Crumbland. It belonged to Mark Runham by right. - -'What is it?' asked the young man, surprised at her look of -concentrated thought. - -'It is nothing particular,' she answered; 'something occurred to -me—that is all. But it is of no matter.' - -'I should like to know what is going to become of you,' said the young -man. 'Have you no kindred at all?' - -'None that I know of.' - -'And no home?' - -'None, as I said, but the van. When that is sold, I shall have none at -all.' - -'But you have friends?' - -'A friend—yes—Jewel, the old horse. Well, he ain't so old, neither. I -call him old because I love him.' - -'I say, when you've made up your mind what to do with yourself, come to -our farm, Crumbland, and tell me.' - -'That's blazin' impudence,' said Zita. 'If you want to know, you can -come and ask of me.' - -'I cannot do that. Do you not know that my father and Ki Drownlands -were mortal enemies? I cannot set foot on his soil, or he would -prosecute me for trespass. If I went to his door, I would be met with -something more than bad words.' - -'Why were they enemies?' - -'I do not know. They have been enemies as long as I can remember -anything. Well, you will let me have some tidings concerning you. I -will come out on the embankment near Prickwillow, and you can come -there too. It is so dreadful that you should have no one to care for -you, and no place as a home to go to. If I can help you in any way tell -me. My mother is most kind. As it has chanced that we have both been -made orphans at one time, and as our two fathers were buried, as one -may say, together, and as we are walking home together, it seems to me -that it would be wrong and heartless were I to do nothing for you. To -sit and nestle into my home and comforts at Crumbland and see you -wander forth desolate and alone—the Pharisee couldn't have done half -so bad with the poor man by the wayside, and I won't. I should never -forgive myself. I should never forget the sight of the poor little lass -in black, with the coffin in the great waggon, all alone.' - -'You are kind,' said Zita, touched with the honest, genuine feeling his -tones expressed. 'I thank you, but I want no help. I have money, I have -goods, I have a horse, and I have a home on wheels. And I have—what is -best of all—a spirit that will carry me along.' - -'Yes; but one little girl is a poor and feeble thing, and the world is -very wide and very wicked, and terribly strong. I'd be sorry that this -bold spirit of yours were crushed by it.' - -'Here is the place where I live,' said Zita. - -'Yes, that's Prickwillow drove. Here am I, eighteen years old, and I -have never been along it—never been on Drownlands farm, along of this -quarrel. And what it was all about, blessed if I or any one else knows!' - -Zita lingered a moment at the branch of the road. Mark put out his -hand, and she took it. - -'I'll tell you what,' said she; 'you've been kind and well-meanin' with -me, and I'll give you a milk-strainer or a blacking-brush, whichever -you choose to have.' - -Mark Runham was constrained to laugh. - -'I'll tell you which it is to be next time we meet; to-morrow on the -embankment—just here. Remember, if you are short of anything beside a -milk-strainer or a blacking-brush—it is yours.' - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -PRICKWILLOW - - -A sleepless night followed the day of the funeral. Zita needed rest, -but obtained none. She had brain occupied by care as well as heart -reduced by sorrow. She had loved her father, the sole being in the -world to whom she could cling, her sole stay. The wandering life she -had led prevented her contracting friendships. Since her father's death -she had lain at night in the van. This conveyance was so contrived -as to serve many purposes. It was a shop, a kitchen, a parlour, an -eating-house, a carriage, a bank. The goods were neatly packed, and -were packed so close that the inmates could very commodiously live in -the midst of their stores. There was a little cooking stove in it. -There were beds. There was, indeed, no table, but there were boxes that -served as seats and as tables, and the lap is the natural dinner-table -every man and woman is provided with. - -When the front of the van was raised so as to shut up the shop for the -night, the crimson plush curtains with their gold fringe and tassels -concealed the board on which so much trade had been carried on during -the day. There was a window at the back that admitted light. The -stove gave out heat, and the inmates of the travelling shop settled -themselves to their accounts, and then to rest. - -The accounts were calculated not in a ledger, but on their fingers, and -balanced not on paper but in their heads. - -When darkness set in, then a lamp illumined the interior, and the -little dwelling was suffused with a fragrance of fried onions and -liver, or roast mutton chops—something appetising and well earned; -something for which the public had that day paid, and paid through its -nose. The horse had been attended to, and then the father sat on a -bench, pipe in mouth and legs stretched out, and occasionally removed -the pipe that he might inhale the fumes of the supper his daughter was -preparing. Cheap Jack had possessed a fund of good spirits, and his -good humour was never ruffled. He had been the kindest of fathers; -never put out by a mishap, never depressed by a bad day's trade, never -without his droll story, song, or joke. But for a fortnight before his -death he had failed in cheeriness and flagged in conversation. The work -of the day had become a burden instead of a pleasure, and had left him -so weary that he could often not eat his supper or relish his pipe. - -He had combated his declining health, and endeavoured to disguise the -advance of disease from the eyes of Zita. But love has keen sight, and -she had noted with heartache his gradual failure of spirits and power. -Till then no thought as to her own future had occupied her mind. Now -that the dear father was gone, Zita had no one on whom to lean. No -other head than her own would busy itself about her prospects, no other -heart than her own concern itself about her to-morrow. - -She was kindly treated at Prickwillow. The van was placed under cover, -and the horse provided with a stall. - -The housekeeper, a distant relative of Ki Drownlands, was hearty in -her offers of assistance, and the maid-of-all-work, who was afflicted -with St. Vitus' dance, nodded her kindly good wishes. Both Drownlands -and the housekeeper had urged Zita to accept the accommodation of the -house, in which were many rooms and beds, but she had declined the -invitation; she was accustomed to van life, and could make herself -comfortable in her wonted quarters. She needed little, and the van -was supplied with most things that she required. There were in it -even sufficient black odds and ends to serve her for mourning at her -father's funeral. What was there not in the van? It was an epitome of -the world, it was a universal mart, a Novgorod Fair sublimated to an -essence. - -'What are you about?' asked Drownlands. - -He had come into the yard behind the farmhouse, and he saw Zita -engaged in harnessing the horse. The front was down, and on it stood a -milk-strainer, some blacking-brushes, and a flail. - -'What are you about? Whither are you going?' - -Drownlands was a tall man, with a face like a hawk, and dark bushy -brows that stood out over his eyes and the root of his nose. - -'I am going,' answered Zita. - -'Going? Who told you to go?' - -'I am going to be an inconvenience no longer.' - -'Who told you you were an inconvenience?' - -'No one, but I know that I am not wanted. I thank you for what you have -done, and will pay you.' - -'Pay me? Who said a word about payment?' - -'No one, but of course I pay. Mark Runham—I think that was his -name—was kind to me,—that is to say, he spoke civil to me,—and I'm -going to pay him for good words with a milk-strainer. You have done -me good deeds, and I will pay you. Get into the van and pick out what -you like up to five pounds. Do you want door-mats? There's a roll o' -carpet, but I don't recommend it, and there's tinned goods.' - -Drownlands stared at the girl. Then his eyes rested on the flail. - -'What have you got that for? It was in my house.' - -'Yes. You took it in. But it is not yours. It belongs to Mark Runham. -His father bought it of us. He gave a guinea for it. I picked it up -on the bank when I overtook you. You had your flail in your hand. You -would have ridden on and left me and my father in the lurch, but I -stood in the way with that flail. It is not mine. I have the guinea I -received for it in my purse. Now that the old man is dead, for certain -it belongs to his son. That is why I am taking it to him.' - -'He shall not have it! He must not have it!' exclaimed Drownlands. 'How -came you to know Mark Runham?' - -'The young man walked from his father's funeral. So did I. He walked -the fastest, and he caught me up. He spoke kindly, and so I shall -pay him for it with a milk-strainer, or, if he prefers it, with -blacking-brushes.' - -'Give him the blacking-brushes, by all means.' - -'Or the milk-strainer?' - -'Or the milk-strainer; but not the flail.' - -'It is his,' said Zita. 'The old man paid down his money for it.' - -'Give him back the money, not the flail. Here'— - -Drownlands thrust his hand into his pocket, and drew a handful of -money, gold, silver, copper, mixed, from it, and extended it to the -girl. - -'Here! you said you would pay me for what I have done. Pay me with the -flail. I want nothing more. Then I have the pair; or if you wish to -restore the guinea—take it.' - -'The flail was bought. It is no longer mine.' - -Drownlands stamped, put out his hand and snatched the flail from the -board on which it stood. - -'He shall not have it. I will accept nothing else.' - -'Then I must give the young man its value—a guinea's worth of goods.' - -'Do so, and take the pay from me.' - -'I will let him have your mats, and I'll tell him that you'— - -'Tell him nothing. Not a word about the flail. That is all I ask of -you. Say nothing. If you owe me anything for what I have done for your -father and you, then pay me by your silence.' He mused for a moment, -then caught the girl by the arm and drew her after him. 'Come and see -all I have.' - -He led her athwart the rickyard to where were ranged his stacks of -wheat—two, each forty paces long, with a lane between them. Down this -lane he conducted her. 'Look,' said he, 'did you ever see such ricks as -these? No, nowhere out of the Fens. Do you know how much bread is in -them? No, nor I. It would take you many years to eat your way through -them; and every year fresh wheat—as much as this—grows. There are -rats and mice in these stacks. They sit therein and eat their fill, -they rear their families there. What odds is that to me? A few more -rats and mice—a few more mouths in the house—I care not. There is -plenty for all.' Then he drew Zita into another yard that was full of -young stock, bullocks and heifers. - -'Look here,' said he. 'Do you see all these? How much meat is on them? -How long would it take you to eat them? Whilst you were eating, others -would be coming—that is the way of Nature. Nature outstrips us; it -shovels in with both hands, whilst we take out with one—so is it, -anyhow, in the Fens. What is another cut off a round of beef to such as -me?' - -Then he strode to the stables, threw open the door, and said, 'There -are stalls for horses; there is hay in the loft to feed them, oats in -the bins to nourish them. What odds to me if there be one more horse in -the stalls? Here!' he called to one of his men. 'Take the Cheap Jack -horse out of the van-shafts again and bring him to this stable.' - -Zita endeavoured to free herself from his grasp. - -'No,' said Drownlands; 'you have not seen all. You have been about the -world, I daresay; seen plenty of sights; but there is one thing you -have not seen before,—a fen-farm,—and it is a sight to unseal your -eyes. Come along with me.' - -He held her wrist with the grip of a vice, and now drew her in the -direction of the kitchen. - -'Look!' said he. 'What is that? That is our fuel. That is turf. What -do we pay for keeping ourselves warm in winter? Nothing. I have heard -say that some folks pay a pound and even forty shillings for a ton of -sea-coal. And for wood they will pay a guinea a load. We pay nothing. -The fuel lies under our feet. We take off a spit of earth, and there it -is for the digging, some ten—fifteen—twenty feet of it. It costs us -no more than the labour of taking up. Do I want a bit of brass? I go -to market, and say I have ten acres of turf to sell at sixty pounds an -acre. A dozen hands are held up. I get six hundred pounds at once. That -is what I call making money. Come on. You have not seen all yet.' - -He drew her farther. He pulled her up the steps to the door, then -turned, and, pointing to a large field in which were mounds of clay at -short intervals, he said— - -'Do you see that? What is done elsewhere when land is hungry, and -demands a dressing? Lime is brought to fertilise the exhausted soil. We -in the Fens never spend a shilling thus. If we desire dressing, we dig -under the turf, and there it lies—rich, fat clay—and spread that over -the surface. That is what it is to have a fen-farm. Come within now.' - -He conducted Zita through the door, and threw open the dairy. - -'Look,' said he. 'See the milk, the churns, the butter. Everything -comes to us in the Fens. Butter is a shilling a pound, and there are -twenty-eight pounds there now. There will be as much next churning, and -all goes as fast as made. Touch that churn. Every time you work it you -churn money. Come on with me farther.' - -He made the girl ascend the stairs, and as he went along the passage at -the head of the staircase, he threw open door after door. - -'Look in. There are many rooms; not half of them are occupied, but -all are furnished. Why should I stint furniture? I have money—money! -See!' He drew her into a small apartment, where were desk and table and -chairs. It was his office. He unlocked a safe in the wall. - -'See! I have money here—all gold. Come to the window.' - -Drownlands threw open the casement. Below was the yard, in which were -the young cattle, trampling on straw and treading it into mire. He -thrust his hand into his pocket, drew forth a handful of coins, and, -without looking what he held,—whether gold, or silver, or copper,—he -threw it broadcast over the bullocks and heifers. Some coins struck the -backs of the beasts, and bounded off them and fell among the straw, -some went down into the mud, and was kneaded in by their feet. - -'What is money to me? It grows, it forces itself on me, and I know not -what to do with it. I can throw it away to free myself of the trash -and more comes. It comes faster than I can use it; faster than I can -cast it away. Now, girl—Cheap Jack girl—now you know what a fen-farm -is. Now you see what a fen-tiger can do. You remain at Prickwillow -with me. I will shelter you, feed you, clothe you, care for you. Eat, -drink, sleep, laugh, and play. Work a little. All is given to you -ungrudgingly.' - -He put the flail to his knee and endeavoured to break it, but failed. -Then he cast it into the corner of the room, where was a collection of -whips, sticks, and tools. - -'There,' said he, 'all I ask is—not a word about my having been on the -embankment. Not a word about the flail—least of all to Runham. I have -my reasons, which you do not understand, and which you need not know.' - -Zita hesitated. She had not expected such an offer. She doubted whether -she could contentedly settle into farm life. - -'You were about to leave,' continued Drownlands, 'or rather to try to -leave. But how could that horse of yours draw the van out of the Fens? -You know how it was when you came this way. The wheels sank, and the -horse was powerless. I sent my team, and only so could we draw the -van along. Never, unassisted, could you reach Littleport or Ely, not, -at all events, in winter. When you got into the drove the wheels would -sink again, and I should send my team and drag the van back here once -more. You have got your feet into the peat earth and clay, and are held -fast. Listen to me. Supposing you did get a little way and then stick, -and I were angry at your departure, and refused to come to your aid and -draw you back to Prickwillow, what then? Let me tell you what would -happen were you left out all night unprotected, sunk to the axle in the -fen. There are slodgers in the fen; there are tigers, as they call them -here—plenty round Littleport. That story of the sale of the flails is -spread and talked about. It is known that you have money. It is known -that your father is dead. Do you think there are not men who, for the -sake of what money you have, would not scruple to steal on you in the -dark, to come up like rats out of the dykes, like foxes from the holes, -and take your money, and nip that brown throat of yours to prevent -peaching? If you think there are not, then you think differently of the -Fens and the fen-men than do I who have lived in the Fens and among the -tigers all my days. Come'— - -He put his hand to her throat and pinched it. - -'This, and your body found in a drain, black in fen-water, of -a morning. This on one side; on the other, my offer of a home, -protection—everything.' - -Zita withdrew from his grasp with a shudder. - -'I accept your offer,' she said; 'I can do no other. There is no choice -in the matter.' - -'You are right there,' said he, with a laugh. 'To you there is no -choice.' - - - - -CHAPTER X - -RED WINGS - - -Days passed; Zita had settled into Prickwillow. She was given her own -room, and into that she removed the contents of the van. The walls -were lined with the stock in trade, and the crimson and gold curtains -festooned the window. - -A chamber in a farmhouse seemed to Zita bare and comfortless after -the well-covered interior of the shop on wheels. She could not rest -till she had hidden the naked walls, and brought her room into some -resemblance to the interior of the rolling house she had inhabited for -so many years. But she had further reasons for accumulating the stores -in her own apartment. The van was in an outhouse, and was exposed to -damp, with its attendant evils, moth, rust, and mildew, that would make -havoc of her property if exposed to them. - -Zita made herself useful in the house. She considered that she could -not accept the offer made her of shelter and sustenance without -acknowledgment of a practical nature, and as she was endowed with -energy and intelligence, she speedily adapted herself to the work of a -farmhouse. She found that there was need for her hand. The housekeeper -was without system, and disposed to abandon to the morrow whatever -did not exact immediate attention. The maid with St. Vitus' dance was -a worker, but required direction. Zita had been compelled to be tidy -through the exigencies of van life. In the travelling shop a vast -number of very various goods had to be packed into a small compass, -and the claims of trade had obliged her to keep every article in -the brightest condition, that it might look its best, and sell—if -possible—for more than its intrinsic value. Accordingly, not only did -Zita see that everything was in its place, but also that everything was -furbished to its brightest. She was nimble with her fingers in plying -the needle, and took in hand the household linen, hemmed the sheets, -attached buttons, darned holes, and put into condition all that was -previously neglected, and through neglect had become ragged, and was -falling to premature decomposition. - -The girl noticed that Drownlands watched her at her work, but she -also saw that he averted his eyes the moment she gave token that she -perceived his observation; she was aware, not only that she interested -him, but that he, in a manner and in a measure, feared her. - -She had a difficult course to steer with Leehanna Tunkiss, the -housekeeper, who had received the tidings that Zita was to become -an inmate of the house for some length of time, with doubt, if not -disapproval. The woman, moreover, resented the improvements made by the -girl as so many insults offered to herself. To hem what had been left -ragged was to proclaim to Drownlands and to the quaking help-maid, that -Leehanna had neglected her duty; to sew on a button that had been off -the master's coat for a week, was to exhibit a consideration for his -interests superior to her own. - -At the outset, before the funeral, the woman had been gracious, -believing that Zita was but a temporary lodger. When she found that -she was likely to become a permanent resident, her manner towards her -completely altered. - -One afternoon, when Zita had nothing particular to engage her, she -wandered along the drove, and then rambled from it across the fields. - -A frost had set in on the day of her father's funeral, and had ever -since held the earth in fetters. It was one of those severe frosts that -so often arrive in November, and sweep away the last traces of summer, -clear the trees of the lingering leaves, and then sere the grass that -is still green. - -It was one of those early frosts which frequently prove as severe as -any that come with the New Year. The clods and the ruts of the drove -were rigid as iron. It would have been difficult to move the van when -the way was a slough, it was impossible now that it was congealed. The -lumps and the depressions were such as no springs could stand, and no -goods endure. Pots would be shivered to atoms, and pans be battered out -of shape. Whatever Zita may have desired, perhaps hoped, she recognised -the impossibility of leaving her present quarters under existing -circumstances. A thaw must relax the soil, harrows and rollers must -be brought over the road, before a wheeled conveyance could pass over -it. Finding it difficult, painful even, to walk in the drove, where -there was not a level surface on which the foot could be planted, Zita -deserted it for a field, and then struck across country towards a mill, -the sails of which, of ochre-red, were revolving rapidly. The fields -are divided, one from another, by lanes of water. The fen-men all -leap, and pass from field to field by bounds—sometimes making use of -leaping-poles. With these latter they can clear not the ditches only, -but the broad drains or loads. - -Zita was curious to see a mill. From one point she counted -thirty-six, stretching away in lines to the horizon. She had hitherto -known windmills only for grinding corn. Here the number was too -considerable, and their dimensions too inconsiderable, for such a -purpose. - -Lightly leaping the dykes, she made her way towards the red-winged -mill. As she approached, she saw that the mill was larger than the -rest, that it had a tuft of willows growing beside it, and that, on -an elevated brick platform, whereon it was planted, stood as well a -small house, constructed, like the mill, of boards, and tarred. This -habitation was a single storey high, and consisted, apparently, of one -room. - -On the approach of Zita, a black dog, standing on the platform -with head projected, began to bark threateningly. Zita drew near -notwithstanding, as the brute did not run at her, but contented itself -with protecting the platform, access to which it was prepared to -dispute. - -Then Zita exclaimed, 'What, Wolf! Don't you know me? Haven't you been -cheap-jacking with us for a couple of months, since father took you off -the knife-swallowing man? We'd have kept you, old boy, but didn't want -to have to pay tax for you, so sold you, Wolf.' - -The dog had not at first recognised Zita in her black frock; now, at -the sound of her voice, it bounded to her and fawned on her. - -A girl now came out from the habitation, called, 'What is it, Wolf?' -and stood at the head of the steps that led to her habitation, awaiting -Zita. - -'Who are you?' asked the girl on the platform She was a sturdy, -handsome young woman, with fair hair, that blew about her forehead in -the strong east wind. Over the back of her head was a blue kerchief -tied under her chin, restraining the bulk of her hair, but leaving the -front strands to be tossed and played with by the breeze. She was, in -fact, that Kainie whose acquaintance we have already made. - -'I believe that I know who you are,' she said. - -She had folded her arms, and was contemplating her visitor from the -vantage-ground of the brick pedestal that sustained mill and cot. 'You -are the Cheap Jack girl, I suppose?' - -'Yes. I am Cheap Jack Zita. And who are you?' - -'I—I was christened Kerenhappuch, but some folks call me Kainie and -Kenappuch. I answer to all three names. It's no odds to me which is -used. What do you want here?' - -'I have come to look at the mill. What is its purpose? You do not grind -corn?' - -'Grind corn? You're a zany. No; we drive the water up out of the dykes -into the drains. Come and see. Why, heart alive! where have you been? -What a fool you must be not to know what a mill is for! Step up. Wolf -won't bite now he has recognised you. If you'd been some one else, -and tried to step up here, and me not given the word to lie still, -he'd have made ribbons of you.' She waved her arms towards the low -wooden habitation. 'I lives there, I does, and so did my mother afore -me. Some one must mind the mill, and a woman comes cheaper than a -man. Besides, it ain't enough work for a man, and when a man hasn't -got enough work, why, he takes to smoking and drinking. We women is -different; we does knitting and washing. We's superior animals in that -way, we is. Here I am a stick-at-home. I go nowhere. I have to mind -the mill. You are a rambler and a roll-about—never in one place. It's -curious our coming to know one another. What is your name, did you say?' - -'Zita—Cheap Jack Zita.' - -'Zita? That's short enough. No wonder with such a name you're blowed -about light as a feather. It'd take a thundering gale to send -Kerenhappuch flying along over the face of the land. Her name is enough -to weight her. Now, what do you want to see? Where does your ignorance -begin?' - -'It begins in plain blank. I know nothing about mills.' - -'My mill is Red Wings. If you look along the line to Mildenhall and -count ten, then you'll see Black Wings. Count eight more, and you have -White Wings.' - -The girl threw open a door and entered the fabric of the mill, stepping -over a board set edgewise. She was followed by Zita. - -Nothing could be conceived more simple, nothing more practical, than -the mechanism of the mill. The sails set a mighty axletree in motion, -that ran the height of the fabric, and this beam in its revolution -turned a wheel at the bottom, that made a paddle revolve outside the -mill. This paddle was encased in a box of boards, and at first Zita -could not understand the purpose of the mechanism, not seeing the -paddle. - -'Would you like to climb?' asked Kainie. 'Look! I go up like a -squirrel. You had best not attempt it. If your skirts were to catch -in the cogs, there'd be minced Cheap Jack for Wolf's supper. I'm not -afraid. My skirts seem to know not to go near the wheels, but yours -haven't the same intelligence in them. A woman's clothes gets to know -her ways. Mine, I daresay, 'd be terrible puzzled in that van of yours.' - -'Don't you talk to me about petticoats,' said Zita. 'Petticoats to a -woman is what whiskers is to a cat. They have feeling in them. A cat -never knocked over nothing with his whiskers, nor does a woman with her -skirts if she ain't a weaker fool than a cat.' - -Then up the interior of the mill ran Kainie, with wondrous agility, -playing in the framework, whilst the huge axletree turned, and the oak -fangs threatened to catch or drag her into the machinery. - -'Do come down,' said Zita. 'I do not like to see you there.' - -But it was in vain that she called; her voice was drowned in the rush -of the sails, the grinding of the cogs, and the creak of the wooden -building. - -Presently Kainie descended, as rapidly as she had run up the ribs of -the mill. - -'Mother did not let me do it when she was alive,' said the mill girl. -'But I did it all the same. Now, what next? Come and see this.' - -She led Zita outside, and took her to the paddle-box, flung open a -door in it, and exposed the wheel that was throwing the water from the -'dyke' up an incline into the 'load' at a considerably higher level. - -'It licks up the water just like Wolf, only it don't swallow it. -There's the difference. And Wolf takes a little, and stops when he's -had enough; but this goes on, and its tongue is never dry.' - -'Does the mill work night and day?' - -'That depends. When there's no wind, then it works neither night nor -day, but goes to sleep. But when there has been a lot of rain, and the -fen is all of a soak—why, then, old Red Wings can't go fast enough or -long enough to please the Commissioners. Look here; the water has gone -down eighteen inches in the dyke since this morning. Red Wings has done -it. He's not a bad sort of a chap. He don't take much looking after. -There's a lot of difference in mills; some are crabbed and fidgety, and -some are sly and lazy. Some work on honest and straight without much -looking after, others are never doing their work unless you stand over -them and give them jaw. It's just the same with Christians.' - -'And what is that long pole for?' asked Zita. - -'That, Miss Ignorance, is the clog. I can stop the wings from going -round if I handle that, or I can set the sails flying when I lift the -clog. Come here. I'll teach you how to manage it.' She instructed Zita -in the use of the clog. 'There!' said she; 'now you can start the mill -as well as I can, or you can stop it just the same. You've learned -something from me today. I hope you won't forget it.' - -'No; I never forget what I am taught.' - -'Not that it will be of any use to you,' said Kainie. 'You're never -like to want to set a mill going.' - -'Perhaps not; but I know how to do that, and it is something. There is -no telling whether I may want it or not.' - -'It's as easy as giving a whack to the hoss who draws the van,' said -Kainie. - -'Now,' said Kainie, after a pause, 'this here hoss of mine has reins -too. Do you see those two long poles, one on either side, reaching to -his head? Them's the reins; with them I turn his head about so that he -may face the wind. That's the only way in which my hoss can go. Now -come and see where I live.' - -She led the way to her habitation, which was beyond the sweep of the -wings. - -'It's small, but cosy,' said Kerenhappuch. 'No one can interfere with -me, for Wolf keeps guard. But, bless you, who'd trouble me? I've no -money. And yet one does feel queer after such things as have happened.' - -'What things?' - -'Ah! and it is a wonder to me how you or any one can abide in the same -house with him.' - -'With whom?' - -'Why, with Ki Drownlands. Though he be my uncle, I say it.' The girl's -face darkened. 'He never spoke to my mother, his own sister; never -helped her with his gold, and he rich and we poor. The Commissioners -gave us our place, not Uncle Drownlands.' - -'Who are the Commissioners?' - -'You are a silly not to know. Every man who owns a couple of score -acres in the Fens is a Commissioner. And the Commissioners manage the -draining, and levy the rates. They have their gangers, their bankers, -their millers—I'm one of their millers. No,' said Kainie vehemently. -'No thanks to Ki Drownlands for that.' She grasped Zita by the -shoulders, put her mouth to her ear, and said in a half whisper, 'It -was Uncle Ki who killed Jake Runham.' - -Zita drew back and stared at her. - -'I am sure of it,' said Kainie; 'and there be others as think so too, -but durstn't say it. But there is nothing hid that shall not come to -light. Some day it will be said openly, and known to all, that Ki -Drownlands did it.' - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -TIGER-HAIR - - -Zita walked back in the direction of Prickwillow with a weight on her -heart and her mind ill at ease. Incidents half observed rose in her -memory and demanded consideration—as in a pool sunken leaves will -rise after a lapse of time and float on the surface. Facts that had -been indistinctly seen and scarce regarded, now assumed shape and -significance. - -She recalled the incidents of the night of her father's death, and -marshalled them in order with that nicety and precision that marked -her arrangement of the goods in the van. She remembered how that she -had seen two men ride along the bank, one after another, with an -interval of some minutes intervening between them, as they passed above -where she had been with the van and her father. The first rider had -been furnished with two lanterns to his feet. She had let him pass -without attempting to arrest him. That man she now knew was Hezekiah -Drownlands. Then, after a lapse of some minutes, a second rider had -passed, going in the same direction. He had carried a single lantern -attached to his left stirrup. To him she had run, him she had brought -to a standstill, and she had asked and been refused his assistance. -That man was Jeremiah Runham. - -Zita next recalled every particular of her run along the bank after -the second rider. She now distinctly remembered having seen a glitter -of several lights before her, a cluster of lights leaping and falling, -flashing and disappearing. How many these had been she could not -recall. They had changed position, they were not all visible at once. -At the time, in her distress of mind, she had not counted them. But -she was now convinced that the lights which she had seen, and seen in -one constellation, had been more than two. A single star would have -represented Runham. Two stars would have indicated Drownlands. More -than two—that showed that the men had been together. Further, she had -heard shouts and cries. At the time, as she ran, she had supposed that -these were in response to her appeals for assistance; but when she had -reached Drownlands, the only man on the bank she did come upon, then, -as she now recalled, he was startled at her appearance, as if it were -wholly unexpected. He could not, therefore, have called in answer to -her cries. But where was the third light? What had become of Runham? - -When she had reached Drownlands no third light was visible, whereas a -minute previously there had certainly been more than two before her. -What had become of the second rider? - -It was, of course, conceivable at the time that the third light had -been extinguished, and the second rider was in full career along the -bank in the direction he desired to go. But such an explanation was -no longer admissible when it was known that this rider was dead, and -had been drowned in the river. When Zita considered that this rider, -Runham, had been found in the water, with the light of life as well as -that of his lantern extinguished, and when she remembered that she had -picked up the flail he had been carrying at the spot where she came up -with Drownlands, it appeared certain to her that Drownlands must have -witnessed, if he did not cause, the death of Runham. It was possible -that Runham, returning tipsy from market, may have urged his horse on -one side, so as to pass the man before him, and so have plunged into -the river; and it was possible enough that Drownlands had chosen to -maintain silence on the matter, lest any admissions on his part might -have been construed into an accusation of having caused the death of -his adversary. - -Zita was turning these thoughts over in her mind when she reached the -embankment. She started to walk along it. She was confident that she -could fix the spot where she had slipped into the water, and that was -but about a hundred paces from where she had come up with Drownlands. -She remembered to have observed there a post in the water that had in -it a mortice-hole, like an eye, and that the head was so indented and -rugged as at one moment to make her suppose it was a human face. - -As has already been stated, there had been sufficient frost to harden -mud into rock. Traces of a scuffle—if a scuffle had taken place—would -be recognisable still to an eye that knew precisely where to look for -them. - -Zita went with nimble feet, a busy brain, and fluttering heart towards -the point where the van had been arrested in the mud, and she resolved -thence to follow the course she had taken on that eventful night along -the bank. On this occasion she walked deliberately where she had -previously run, and came after a while to the spot where, according -to her calculation, she had slipped into the canal. There she found -the post standing up out of the water to which she had clung, close to -the bank, with the mortice-hole in it that had looked so like a human -eye. This was the only post of the kind she had come across, and this -was not more than a hundred yards from the spot where she had grasped -Drownlands' foot, had held him, and had heard him scream at her touch. - -At this point, some hundred yards beyond the post with the hole in it, -she carefully explored the soil. The top of the embankment was indented -with hoof-marks, but these might have been made by the gangers' horses, -which were constantly driven up and down the embankment. But there was -something that satisfied the girl that at this spot a struggle had -taken place, for on the land side of the embankment tufts of grass and -clods of clay had been torn out and thrown into the drove, and on the -water side hoof-marks and a slide in the greasy marl were sealed up -by the frost as evidences of a horse having there gone down into the -water. These had not been observed by any one else, as no one save -Zita had known the exact place where to look for them, and though -distinguishable enough when searched for, they were not obtrusively -manifest. - -Zita had not merely a well-arranged mind, but she was able to prize -whatever facts came before her at their true value. - -Now, as she walked away from the river towards Prickwillow, she -realised that there was strong presumptive evidence that Drownlands -had been engaged in a tussle with his enemy, and that he knew how it -was that Runham had met his death, even if he were not absolutely his -murderer. - -As Zita entered the house, she heard the master's voice raised in tones -of anger. He was addressing Mrs. Tunkiss, the housekeeper. - -'It's all idle excuse—you don't want the trouble of it. I know your -ways.' - -'I haven't a needle will go through it,' answered Leehanna. - -Then Drownlands came out of the kitchen. He was swinging in his hand -the tiger-skin that usually in cold or wet weather was slung over his -shoulders. His eye lighted on Zita, and his face brightened at once. - -'Look here, you Cheap Jack girl,' said he. 'The servants are idle curs, -both of them. I want Leehanna Tunkiss to mend my skin. I have torn it. -A few threads will suffice, and she declares she has no needle that -will go through the leather. It's all idleness and excuse.' - -'I will do it,' said Zita. 'We have all sizes and sorts of needles in -stock—for cobblers, tailors, and all.' - -She took the tiger-hide out of his hand. - -'That's my great-coat—my mantle by day and my rug and coverlet by -night,' said Drownlands. 'I wear no other. We, who have been born and -bred in the Fens, folk are pleased to call fen-tigers. That is why I -got this skin. Ten, fifteen years ago it was for sale in Ely, and I -bought it as a fancy, and have come to think I can't do without it. -Folks have got to know me now by it, and call me the Fen-tiger King. -Can you mend it?' - -Turning the skin about, Zita said, 'It has been given a -wrench—tremenjous.' - -'Well, so it has, and there is a rip as well. If it is not drawn -together now, it will go worse. I don't want to wear rags, and I won't, -that's more—though Leehanna would have me, to save trouble. It is -easier to find an excuse than to run threads with a needle.' - -'I will do it,' said Zita. 'But you must suffer me to take it to my -room, that I may find a suitable needle and stout thread.' - -'Yes, take it,' said Drownlands, with his beetling brows drawn together -and his eyes fixed on her from below them. 'Yes, Chestnut-hair! you can -do everything. In your store you keep everything but excuses.' - -'We could not sell them,' said Zita. - -'And it is with excuses Leehanna serves me,' he replied, and looked -sideways angrily at his housekeeper, who retreated muttering into the -kitchen. - -Then Drownlands went out, and Zita retired to her room to accomplish -the task she had undertaken. As she turned the hide about, she was -struck with the evidence it gave of having been wrenched and twisted -with great strain of violence. The wrench was no ordinary one, produced -by the catching of the skin in a nail or door. The hide was in one -place stretched out of shape by the force exerted on it; not only so, -but it had been contorted. Again, on closer investigation, it appeared -that some of the hair had been ripped out by the roots, by this means -exposing the bare hide. - -As Zita worked at the repair, her busy brain occupied itself with the -causes of this strain and rent: how they could have been produced, why -the tension had been so excessive. - -That Drownlands had not ridden to Ely on the fair-day with his skin -torn she was convinced by his asking to have it mended now; whereas, -had it been in this condition before fair-day, he would have required -it to be repaired before riding into Ely. Drownlands was eccentric in -his dress, but he was also punctilious about its neatness. The injury -done to the tiger-skin must have been done since Tawdry fair-day. All -at once Zita dropped needle and twine, started up, left her room, and -went to that which Drownlands used as his office, the apartment into -which he had conducted her when he showed her his money. - -Into the corner of this room he had flung the flail that he had taken -from her when she was about to leave his farm and to return it to Mark -Runham; the flail she had picked up on the bank was that Runham the -elder had bought from her for a guinea. - -Zita knew that Drownlands was out, she had seen him go to the stables -across the yard. He had not returned. She had not heard his voice -or step in the house since. Into the office she was justified in -penetrating, for the master had asked her to keep it in order for him. -Leehanna Tunkiss neglected it, on the excuse that she was afraid of -disarranging his papers and books. Zita knew that both flails were in -this room; that which Drownlands had bought was suspended to a nail, -the other was in the corner where he had cast it. - -Zita took both flails and examined them. She saw that they had been -subjected to rough usage. The wood was bruised in both. It had not -been so when they left her hands in the afternoon of Tawdry Fair. The -flappers were dinted, and there was a deep bruise in the 'handfast' of -one. Both had been employed to strike, and both had clashed against -each other. - -Zita replaced Drownlands' flail on the nail whence she had unhitched -it, and took a further look at that which had belonged to Runham. - -She now observed that the leather thongs that attached the flapper to -the handfast were twisted, stretched, and strained, and that in the -twist was a tuft of hair precisely similar to that of the tiger-skin. - -She detached some of this hair, took it to her room, and compared it -with that still in place on the hide. There could no longer be any -question but that a struggle had taken place between the two men, that -they had fought with the flails, that in course of the contest the -flail of Runham had become entangled in the hide worn by Drownlands, -and that the flail had been twisted, and so had strained and torn the -skin. - -In this case Drownlands most certainly knew of the death of his -adversary, and had had some hand in it. - -Zita knew enough, and she shuddered at the thought that she was -enjoying the hospitality of a murderer. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -ON BONE RUNNERS - - -'Heigh! Cheap Jack girl!' - -Zita was out enjoying the crisp, frosty air, on the frozen soil, -sparkling under the winter sun. - -The November frost had continued, and canals and rivers were iced over -as well as dykes and drains. God's plough was in the soil—that is what -country folk say when the frost cuts deep into the earth. Where God's -plough has been, there golden harvests are turned up to gladden all -sorts and conditions of men, and golden harvests turn to metallic gold -in the pockets of the farmers. - -Every fen man, woman, and child can skate. As soon as a child has found -its legs, it essays to slide, and when it can slide, it attempts to -skate. Fen skating is inelegant. Speed alone is considered, and legs -and arms fly about in all directions. With scorn does the fen-man -contemplate the figuring of the fine gentleman on the ice. - -In winter, skating matches come as thick as do football matches -elsewhere. Parish is pitted against parish, fen against fen, islet -contests with islet; even the frequenters of one tavern are matched -against the frequenters of another. - -During a hard frost, locomotion for once becomes easy and speedy in the -Fens. Men and women skate to market, children to school, and smugglers -run their goods from King's Lynn. - -Zita had gone to the river side to see a sight that was novel to her. -As she stood watching the skaters, Mark Runham came to the bank side, -his cheeks glowing, his fair hair blowing about his ears, his eyes -sparkling as though frost crystals were in them. - -'I say, Cheap Jack, get on your patines and come.' Skates are termed -_patines_ in the Fens. - -'If you mean skates, I have none. Besides, I do not know how to use -them.' - -'Not got patines? Not know how to use them? Then take a ride in my -sleigh. I'll run you along. Stay here a few minutes till I have brought -it.' - -He was gone, flying down the river like a swallow, and in ten minutes -he had returned, drawing after him a little sledge, and stayed his -course on the frozen surface of the Lark before Zita. - -'It's fine fun,' said he, with a voice cheery as his smile. 'I'll -run you where you like to go; to Rossall Pits if you will—to -Littleport—down to the sea—up to Cambridge—to the end of the -world—anywhere you will.' - -'Take me for a short distance only.' - -'Then seat yourself in the sledge. We shall go as the wind.' - -Zita descended the bank to the ice. - -'Look!' said he; 'do you see how my sleigh is made? It is set on the -leg-bones of a horse. It runs on them in prime style. They wear as -steel, and slip along better.' - -With her face radiant with happiness, Zita placed herself in the little -sleigh. - -Then with a merry 'Whoop!' off he started down the river. The wind -rushed in Zita's face, sharp and fresh, and drove the blood to her -cheeks. - -They passed many 'patiners,' men and boys. There were few women out. -Later, when the sun set, they would skate along the frozen surface to -the tavern. The tavern is an institution in the Fens more frequented -than elsewhere, and frequented without scruple, not by men only, -but by women as well. There is a reason for this. The fen-water is -undrinkable. There are no springs in the Fens. Those who live near -the rivers derive thence their tea water; river water is potable and -harmless when boiled, that which is drawn from the peat is neither. -Consequently the inhabitants of the Fens are compelled to drink -something other than water, and instinctively seek that something other -at the public-houses. When the woman's work-day is over, she dons her -patines and is off to the 'Fish and Duck,' or the 'Spade and Becket,' -the 'Pike and Eel,' or the 'Sedge Sheaf,' to moisten her dust-dry clay. - -As Zita flew along the ice, she laughed for joy of heart. Never had -she travelled so fast. Her wonted pace had been that of the snail, for -she had made progress in a heavily-laden van, drawn by a depressed and -stolid horse. She was whirled past one of the main pumps for throwing -the water of the loads into the river, and before she conceived it -possible, she had passed a second. And these engines, as Mark told her, -were two miles apart. Jewel's fashion of travelling was very different -from that of Mark. Along the smoothest and most level road he had been -accustomed to crawl, and then, after having made his pulses throb and -his sweat break out, to stand still, with head down, to revive himself. -Then nothing would induce him to proceed till he considered himself -refreshed, when he would stumble on for a couple of miles, and again -pause. But Mark flew along as though he would never know exhaustion, -and there was no bringing him to a standstill. - -After several vain attempts to arrest him, Zita succeeded. He stood -beside her sleigh with a smile on his pleasant face, and with the steam -blowing from his nostrils. - -'You must not go too far,' said Zita. 'We have come a long way from -Prickwillow.' - -'What! are you tired? You have not been dancing on sketches?' - -'I do not understand your meaning.' - -'Sketches?—does that word puzzle you as did patines? They are what -some folk call stilts. I can run on them like a crane. But sketches are -cumbrous, and, when the fen is soft, tire one speedily.' - -'Let us return now.' - -'No indeed. You have nothing to call you back. That fellow Drownlands, -old scoundrel,—I beg your pardon,—will not be angry with you and -thrash you, I suppose?' - -'He is not at home. He has gone abroad for the day.' - -'Then come along. We will visit Newport.' - -'Please do not take me much farther.' - -'Why not? Are you not enjoying the run?' - -'I love it.' - -'Then away we go. You are not afraid of travelling, with me as your -horse?' - -She looked straight into his bright, honest face, and laughed. 'No—you -are too good for any one to fear you.' - -'How do you know that?' - -'You carry honesty in your eyes, and "good boy" written across your -brow.' - -'It is time for me to run,' laughed Mark, 'or my head will be turned.' - -He buckled himself to his task, pranced from side to side, swinging the -little sleigh to right and left, in his light-hearted frolic, and then -away he went, running the sleigh with Zita in it straight along the -canal. - -The flatness, the monotony of the Fens, the absence of unshackled -nature, the treelessness of the region, the lack of everything that can -arrest the changing lights and passing shadows, combine to make the -district one to send a chill into the mind of the visitor. Flat as the -sea, it is devoid of its diversity of tint and tumultuous or glassy -beauty. Nevertheless, the fen exercises a charm over the mind and holds -with a spell the heart of the native. He can live nowhere else. He will -not emigrate. He feels bound to spend all his days in the fen. Only -when the vital spark expires does his body leave the turf to repose in -the clay of the islet graveyards. That the farmer and landowner should -love the fen is not marvellous, because of the richness of the soil and -the profits they make out of it; but why the labourer should cling to -the spongy turf is not so explicable. He may be discontented, and be a -grumbler, but he is discontented with his lot, and envies the taverner -or the smuggler on the Fens, grumbles at the hardness of his work or -the lowness of his pay; but he is not discontented because the fen is -so flat, and he has no word against its hideousness, or, at least, its -uniformity. - -One reason why the labourer in the Fens does not think of leaving -it may be that he uses tools there different from those employed -elsewhere, and he would have to learn his trade anew, employ unfamiliar -tools, and be subjected to ridicule when handling them awkwardly. It -is strange, but true, that those men are more naturally prone to leave -their homes who inhabit mountainous lands than such as dwell in level -districts. - -How far was Mark going? How Zita flashed past the windmills, some of -which had their sails in motion! A little rising ground showed, with -some trees clustered on it—that must be Littleport. - -'Mark,' said Zita suddenly, 'I want to ask you a question.' - -'Say on,' said he, and relaxed the speed at which he was spinning her -along, and finally came to a standstill. How pretty she was, with her -glowing cheeks, her cherry lips, the light of the winter sun in her -soft hazel eyes and in her rich, burnished, chestnut hair! How pretty -that hair was now, in some confusion, puffed out of its order, the -coppery strands on her brow, one down her cheek! The wildness of her -appearance thus untidied by the wind made her more than ever charming. - -Mark looked with eyes that could not be satiated with looking. - -But it was not merely her beauty that struck him. It was the exuberant -happiness that seemed to be bursting forth at her eyes, running out of -her little head in every shining hair, glowing in those bright-tinted -cheeks, burning in those carnation-red lips. - -'Well, my dear little Zita, what is it?' - -'Mark, it is something I have thought about and have puzzled over. It -seems strange to speak about it now—now when I am so joyous—and it is -connected with things so sad to me and to you.' - -'But what is it, little rogue?' - -'Mark, that terrible night when your father and mine died'—. She -paused. - -'Well, Zita?' - -'Then—before his death, I mean—before the death of my own dear daddy, -and I can't say whether it was before or after yours was drowned—I -heard such a strange, such an awful sound.' - -'Where?' - -'In the sky—above; like the barking of dogs. It was just as though a -hunter was going by with his pack. Shall I tell you what I thought it? -It was just as if the dogs had smelt the fox, and gave tongue. Was it -not dreadful? I could see nothing; I could hear—that was all.' - -'I think nothing of that,' said Mark. 'I know our fen-folk say it is -the devils running after a human soul. They have snuffed it from the -bottomless pit, then the Great Hunter of Souls opens the kennel door, -and out they burst, yelping, snapping, panting, and come after it.' - -'Oh, Mark!' - -'But if the soul be very nimble, it runs before them, runs on the -wind, swift as an arrow, and slips in at heaven's gate, and then the -evil spirits yelp and bay and bark outside. But it is all fudge and -nonsense. I believe that the sound comes from the wild geese.' - -'I shall ever think of this. Oh, I hope I shall never hear that -dreadful sound again. My dear father—no—he would certainly escape -those hounds. They would never catch him. For him the Golden Gate would -be opened, and the dogs be shut outside. He was so gentle, so kind, so -true. Oh, I loved him so—so much!' And thereupon the brightness was -gone out of the sunny little face, and it was bathed in tears. - -'Put all this aside. Think no more of it.' - -'They were in full pursuit when I heard them.' - -'The geese? And you are a little goose if you think more of this.' - -'Mark, may I never hear that sound again!' - -'Or, if you do, Zita, may I be near you to laugh your fears away. No, -not laugh—kiss them away, as I do now.' - -'Mark! you _are_ a naughty boy! I did not think it of you.' - -The roses had come back, and the glow was returned, and in one cheek -deeper than the other. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -PIP BEAMISH - - -'Do go on and leave me alone,' said Zita. - -Then again the young man sped forward with the sledge, at full speed on -his skates. There was a glow of something more than health—something -more than the reaction produced by the fresh wind—in his cheeks. - -'Here's a joke!' exclaimed Mark, stopping for a moment. 'I see quite a -throng round Beamish's mill.' - -Again he went on. And Zita, looking in the direction he had indicated, -saw that a considerable number of persons was collected, some on the -banks, some on the ice, and as many as could be accommodated on the -brick platform of a windmill. - -Without halting, Mark said, 'The paddle can't go because of the frost, -but Pip Beamish's tongue can wag, and when it wags it is for mischief. -He is a restless, dissatisfied rascal. We'll go and hear what he has to -say.' - -Mark stayed the sledge when he reached the outer ring of the -congregation that was gathered together about the mill. - -The day was Sunday, so no work was being done. There were idlers -everywhere, specially on the ice. In present days there is little -church-going in the Fens, in former days there was none. Churches are -few and far apart. In mediæval times the monks of Ely had chapels on -every islet that rose a few feet above the meres, and they boated from -one to another, gathering around them for divine service and moral -instruction the aquatic population of the Fens. With the Reformation -these chapels were let fall into ruin, and care for the souls of the -fen-dwellers ceased. The canons of the cathedral were wealthy and idle, -and it never so much as occurred to their sleepy, stagnant consciences -that they had duties to perform towards the inhabitants of the district -whence they drew their revenues. - -When the meres were dried, and settlers occupied the drained land, then -the parochial clergy were unable to cope with the altered condition -of affairs. The roads were impassable, the distances enormous, their -incomes had not increased with the alteration in the value of the lands -included in their vast parishes. Consequently, the fen-folk came to -think little of their religious duties. The church towers might serve -as landmarks, but the church pastors were not spiritual guides. The -only form of religion that commended itself to an amphibious population -was Anabaptism, and that mainly because it consisted of a good souse in -fen-water. A few of the sterner spirits settled into the sect, but the -bulk of the natives grew up and lived without any religion at all; or, -if they professed to be Christians, they took care to allow it in no -way to interfere with their profits or their pleasures. - -The assemblage about the mill consisted of labouring men and their -wives; some were in their Sunday clothes, but others had not taken the -trouble to 'clean' themselves. Such were the men who lounged about on -holidays with springes and nets in their pockets, and a gun barrel up -the left sleeve. - -A stool was planted close to the mill, and on it stood a young man with -high cheek-bones, long dark hair, and glittering eyes under heavy, -bushy brows. He had unusually lengthy arms, and at the extremities of -the arms unusually broad, flat hands. These he flourished about. He -drew in his elbows to his sides, and emphasised an appeal by suddenly -throwing out his arms and extending his fingers. Having his back to the -mill, which was constructed of boards, what he said was audible to some -distance. The boards served as reverberators. - -'I say it is a sin,' shouted the orator. 'Here be the farmers turning -earth into corn, and corn into gold guineas, and the men as helps them -to do it ain't paid enough to keep body and soul together. What was -wheat a quarter only a short while ago? It was one hundred and twenty -shillings and sixpence. Now it is ninety-six shillings. And what are -the wages? Seven to ten shillings. What is the difference between seven -shillings and ninety-six? Eighty-nine, is it not? That is what goes -into the farmers' pockets. Who do all the work? And who get all the -gains? Look into every stackyard and see what wheat is there for the -rats and mice to eat,—they are not begrudged it, let them eat,—but -you and your children must starve. Why are not the stacks threshed -out? Because the farmers are waiting till the wheat goes up to one -hundred and twenty-six shillings again. You may perish of hunger—that -is nothing to them. Your children may run naked—that is nothing to -them. You may drink fen-water because you haven't twopence to pay for a -half-pint of beer—that is nothing to them. You mayn't have a blanket -to throw over your beds this freezing weather—they don't care. You may -have the walls of your cots so full of cracks that the wind whistles -through them—they don't care. Your hands have held the plough, your -hands have sown the corn, your wives and children have hoed it three -times, you have reaped it, you have stacked it—and there it stands -for rats and mice to eat, till prices go up to one hundred and -twenty-six shillings. Ninety-six is not good enough for them,—these -bloodsuckers,—and you are content to let things remain so. What I -maintain is, that you have a right to say to the farmers, "Thresh out -now while we are hungry; the price is too high even now for us, and why -should sad days for us be golden days for you?"' - -His address was received with applause. - -Mark turned to Zita and said in a low tone, 'He is right after a -fashion. I'll set to work and thresh to-morrow. I'll let the labourers -who are on my farm have this corn ten per cent. under market price. I -cannot act fairer than that.' - -'And how is it with the millers?' pursued the orator. 'Don't they take -toll of every sack of corn you send to them to be ground? Are not their -pigs and cows kept fat on what the miller's fist brings up out of your -flour? As if it were not enough that you were cheated by the farmer, -you must be cheated also by the miller. Pillaged in every way, pinched -on every side, trodden on by every one—that is your fate.' - -His words met with applause. - -'We have gone on hoping, and we have been disappointed. What good -comes to us from Parliament? None at all. What help do we get from -the laws? The laws are made for the benefit of the farmer, and not -for the poor man. What good to us are magistrates—justices of the -peace? They are appointed to hold us down, to fine and imprison us. -They are the farmer's friends, not the friends of the poor man. We are -told that Old Boney is the foe of our country. Men are called from the -plough, plucked away from their wives and children, to serve the king -against this Bonaparte. What does patriotism mean? It means loving the -country where we are ill-treated and starved, loving the king who never -concerns himself about us, loving the laws that oppress us, loving the -magistrates who imprison us, loving the farmers who are sucking the -marrow out of our bones. I'm no patriot. As well ask a poor prisoner -to love his jail, shed his blood in its defence. I'll tell you what it -is, friends, Heaven helps them who help themselves. No good will come -to us from waiting. Heaven is silent so long as we bear and do nothing, -but Heaven will send its lightning and hailstones when we take the -matter into our own hands. It was so in the day of battle in Gibeon; -then the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon the oppressors -of Israel, and made sun and moon to stand still till they were cut to -pieces, smitten hip and thigh. The great stones would have remained in -the clouds, sun and moon have taken their usual courses, had not Joshua -and Israel armed themselves to fight—to right their own wrongs. So -will it be again, so has it ever been, so will it be unto the end. We -must raise our hands to fight our fight, raise our hands against our -oppressors, or there will be no help for us from on high. If you remain -hoping and doing nothing, then, as I said before—to be trampled into -the mud—that is your fate.' - -'And to be thrashed and to be kicked out of employ—that is what is -laid up for you, you rascal!' shouted an imperious voice. - -Zita and Mark looked round, and saw behind them Drownlands on his horse. - -'I will see to you, Pip Beamish, as sure as that I am a Commissioner,' -continued the master of Prickwillow. 'You were not set to tend a mill -that you might stump it and foment ill-feeling. I shall report what -you have said at the next meeting of the Commissioners, and shall have -you cast adrift.' Then, turning to the audience, Drownlands brandished -his whip and cried, 'As for the rest of you, disperse instantly, or I -will ride up and down among you and lash you with my whip, and send you -skipping home.' - -The crowd broke up into knots, then further dissolved and dispersed. - -'I'll have your names, and see that you are thrown out of employ. Get -home at once, before the whip is at your breech.' - -The haughty, commanding tone of the man, and the knowledge that he was -one ready to execute his threats, seemed to make those who hesitated -consider that the better part of valour was discretion, and they -scattered in all directions. - -Drownlands, upright in his stirrups, looked about him, marking those -who seemed reluctant to obey his orders. Then his eye rested on Zita. -His face changed immediately. - -'You here?' - -'Mark ran me up in his sleigh.' - -'Mark? Mark? What Mark? How dare you come here without leave from me?' - -'I am not your servant. I am not your prisoner. I go where I choose. I -do what I will,' answered Zita, nettled at his tone. - -'Hallo!' scoffed Drownlands. 'What! has the mad folly of Ephraim -Beamish infected your little brain?' - -'My brain is sound enough. It is you, Master Drownlands, who forget -what your place is, and what is mine. You are not my master. I am not -your servant. I pay my way. I am a lodger at Prickwillow, nothing more. -If I please to go out for a run on the ice with Mark, I am not idle. I -have done my work in your house, and may enjoy myself as I like.' - -'Do not bandy words with me.' - -'It is of no use arguing with him,' whispered the young yeoman. 'He is -in one of his passions, when he acts and talks unreasonably. Take no -notice of him.' - -'What are you whispering about? Making mock of me?' roared Drownlands. - -'Come, Cheap Jack,' said Mark, 'jump on to the sleigh again; and you, -Master Drownlands,' he looked at the horseman with a laugh, 'let us -race—you on the bank, I on the canal—and Zita the prize.' - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -ON ONE FOOTING - - -Zita was back at Prickwillow long before the master. - -She anticipated a scene with him and prepared for it. He was wont to -domineer in his house and on the farm, and she had just seen how he -domineered and enforced his will on an assemblage of men not under -subjection to him. - -She was sensible that he had gradually assumed towards herself an air -of authority, but he had not hitherto addressed her in a dictatorial -tone so distinct as to provoke resistance. She had, however, perceived -that the time was approaching when some understanding must be reached -as to her position and their mutual relations. She was not a domestic -in the house, to be ordered about or to have her liberty curtailed. She -had accepted his hospitality, not entered into his service. - -Zita was alive to the fact that every one in the house and on the -farm—Mrs. Tunkiss, the shaking maid-of-all-work, the herd, the -labourers, the stable-boy—all stood in awe of him. The housekeeper -was as a lamb under his reprimand; a word addressed to the girl with -St. Vitus' dance drove her into convulsions; an order given to the men -galvanised them into momentary agility and sent the boy skipping like a -flea. Zita despised them for their subserviency. She was not afraid of -Drownlands. She knew that concerning him which was sufficient to make -him quake before her. - -Zita had been accustomed to face men of every description. Her father -had stood between her and coarse insult, but she had been obliged to -confront men rude, boisterous, and disposed to take advantage of her -weakness, and had acquired readiness in dealing with them, and nerve -not to show timidity. - -When she had seen the cringe and cower of those whom Drownlands had -threatened, she tossed her chestnut gold head in a manner expressive of -impatience. - -Drownlands had noticed this, and Zita had seen in his darkening brow -that he had observed, was surprised and offended at the contemptuous -action. The moment was not far off when he would test his strength -against hers. - -'The sooner the better,' said Zita to herself; and, instead of avoiding -him, she went across the yard to meet him as he rode up the drove. She -took his horse by the bridle and said, 'I will lead him to the stable; -the men are at chapel or the beerhouse, and the boy is with the cows.' - -'You won't curry favour by doing this,' said Drownlands. - -'Curry favour? I curry nothing. Currycomb your horse yourself!' - -'I want a word with you, Cheap Jack.' - -'And I with you, Fen-tiger—we must settle terms.' - -'Terms? What terms?' - -'The price of my lodging.' - -'I do not understand you.' - -'I have a capital copper warming-pan,' said Zita, 'with George and the -Dragon on the lid. A stunner. I've reckoned up what meat I've ate, and -all I've drunk, and the wear and tear of knives, linen, dishes, and so -forth, and I think the copper warming-pan will cover it all.' - -Drownlands had flung himself from his horse. - -He stared at Zita; he did not in the least seize her meaning. - -'If you don't care for a warming-pan,' she said, 'then there's half -a dozen red plush weskits, with gilded buttons and dogs' heads on -'em—you can't wear all six, but take your choice and I'll make up -with scrubbing-brushes, starch, and blue. I think the tiger-skin and a -red weskit under it, and them bushy eyebrows tied in a knot as they be -now, will make such a figure of you as will drive babies and girls into -fits.' - -'You are mocking me! You dare to do that?' - -'I'm not mocking you, though I don't say I'm not inclined to whisk a -red weskit before you, when you stamp and blare like a bull—for fun, -you know. I love fun, but I am not mocking you. I am too much obliged -to you for receiving me to do that.' - -'I will turn you out—you and your van—into the winter frost.' - -'When? To-morrow? I am ready to go.' - -'You shall not go!' exclaimed Drownlands, coming round the head of the -horse to her and seizing her wrist. 'You shall not go; I know why you -want to leave me. I know whither you want to go.' - -'Whither?' - -'To Crumbland.' - -'I have not been invited there; but if you turn me out, I shall find a -shakedown somewhere. There is that girl Kenappuch at the mill. She'll -have me for certain, and I'll pay her; not so high as a warming-pan, -but in currants and figs and a roll of calico. The accommodation won't -be so good as yours, nor the feeding so liberal.' - -'You have got to know her also?' - -'Yes.' - -'And Mark Runham?' - -'Yes; he has got to know me. That's the way to put it.' - -'You are resolved to seek friends where I disapprove—among those who -are my enemies?' - -'I know nothing and care less about your quarrels. I've got acquainted -with both, and they are the only persons in the Fens for whom I care'— - -'Oh, you care only for them.' - -'Outside Prickwillow. You cut me short before I had finished my -sentence. That is bad manners. If we kept manners in stock, I'd sell -you a penn'orth.' - -'Ah,' said Drownlands, for a moment relaxing his iron grasp, 'you allow -me some of your regard?' - -'I always care for every one who is kind to me, and you have been kind -to both me and my poor father.' At the mention of her father Zita's -lips and voice quivered, and tears filled her eyes. 'You were good to -him. I do not forget that, and I'll pay you for it in anything I have -got that you fancy. What do you say to smoked mother-of-pearl buttons?' - -'Will you be quiet?' roared Drownlands, with an oath. - -'Or,' continued Zita, 'there are several pounds of strong fish-glue. It -went soft and got mouldy in the van, but I got it dry in the kitchen -and wiped the mould off. It is all right now; the strength isn't taken -out of it. A shilling a pound is what it would cost you in Ely, but -as I offer it to you, I'll knock off twopence. You shall have it for -tenpence per pound—so you see I do care for you, twopence in the -shilling.' - -Drownlands' face darkened; he pressed the girl's wrist so that she -uttered an exclamation of pain. - -'You hurt me,' she said; 'that's something off your account.' - -'You are making a jest of me!' gasped the man. 'And you dare to do so? -You are not afraid?' - -'What should I be afraid of?' - -'I can hurt you—worse than by nipping your wrist.' - -'And I can defend myself,' she answered. '_I_ afraid of _you_? No; it -was you who trembled and screamed like a woman when I touched you on -the river bank that night we first met. It is _you_ who have reason to -be afraid of _me_.' - -The colour went out of his face. - -'No, I am not afraid of you,' continued Zita. 'I remember how, when you -sought to ride on, I stopped your way, and drove you where I wanted you -to go—drove you with the flail.' - -He released her arm. She felt that his hand was shaking. He knew that -it shook, and he was afraid lest she should observe it. - -He walked in silence to the stable with his head lowered. Zita -followed. She had gained a first advantage. She had forestalled his -attack, and now, instead of her being cowed by him, he was subdued by -her. - -When they were both in the stable,—for she had followed him to show -him how little fear she entertained,—then he addressed her in an -altered tone. - -'You do not intend to leave me?' - -'No; if you desire me to remain, I will remain.' - -'I do desire it. I could not endure that you should go.' - -'That is right; but why did you threaten me? I will stay. I could -not put up old Jewel in the windmill, and I haven't been invited to -Crumbland by Mark Runham.' - -He stamped his foot impatiently and set his teeth. - -'Why do you speak of him again?' - -'Speech is free here—in the van—in a king's palace—everywhere save -a gaol. I will speak of any one I choose, at any time, before any one, -and in any place I like.' - -'Why did you go with him today?' - -'Because I am free to go where I choose, and with whom I choose. This -is Sunday, and a holiday.' - -'Yes; but if you have any regard for me, do not go with him at all.' -He drew a long breath, removed and put on again his broad-brimmed hat. -'Why do you speak to me of payment for the trifling things I have done -for you? of payment with warming-pans, red waistcoats, and fish-glue?' - -'I am glad we are round to that point again,' said Zita, 'for speak of -that I must. No one can be expected to do things for nothing. If you -house me and Jewel, and feed us both'— - -'You have worked—you have done more than that beldame Leehanna and the -girl would do in twenty years.' - -'I have taken that into account. I know how many hours I have -worked at fivepence three-farthings (needles and thread included). -Nevertheless, the balance is against me. There is the warming-pan, or -the scrubbing-brushes, or the fish-glue'— - -He struck his fist against the stable door to drown her words. - -Zita put her hand on his arm. - -'It is of no good your acting the fool,' she said. 'What is right is -right. I shouldn't feel square in my insides if the account were not -balanced. My dear father was mighty particular on that score. Every -night we balanced our accounts as true as any banker, with a stump of a -pencil as he sucked. If I don't balance I can't sleep. I'll put to my -account some pins I had set to yours, all because of that squinch of -the wrist you gave me. If I were to leave your house to-morrow, Master -Drownlands, you'd find on the shelf in my room a row of articles that I -reckoned up would belong in rights to you as balancing our account.' - -He did not answer. He thrust his horse into a stall and put a halter -round its head. - -Then Zita went to the corn-chest and brought out a feed. The horse -whinnied as he sniffed the oats. Drownlands was in the stall tightening -the knot at the end of the halter. As Zita turned to depart, after -having tossed the oats into the manger, he came out after her, and, -laying hold of one side of the corn-measure, said— - -'Are you going?' - -'Yes. I have fed Pepper.' - -He shook the measure, and said, in tones of angry discouragement, 'You -will not take a bite of my bread, nor lie on a flock of my wool, nor -cover your golden head with one tile of my roof, but you must weigh -each and prize and pay me its value to the turn of a hair.' - -'Not so exactly; of course, I leave a margin.' - -'A margin of what?' - -'Profits!' - -'To whom?' - -'To myself, of course. We should never get along in the world without -profits. When we come to deal among friends, as you and I, then the -profits are reasonable. But when one has to do with the general -public,—that father always called the General Jackass,—then you lay -it on thick and heavy. Without profits of some sort one can't sleep the -sleep of innocence, as father said. But it is one thing dealing with -General Jackass and another with a friend; and I want you to understand -the footing on which we deal is the latter.' - -'So—the footing of buy and sell?' - -'Yes. I take my small profits. When a dressmaker makes your frocks, she -charges you for a packet of needles and uses one—the rest are profits. -She charges you for a knot of tape, and uses two yards and a half—the -rest is profit. And she cuts out eight yards of lining, and puts down -twelve—four are profits; and she puts you some frilling round your -neck and cuffs, charging three yards, and she uses one—there's profits -again. I do the same with you. I couldn't sleep if I didn't. It's -feather bed and pillow and bolster to me—profits.' - -'Take what you will. All you like.' - -'No,' said Zita. 'Fair trade between us. We deal as friends. I respect -and regard you too greatly to treat you as if you were General Jackass.' - -Then she left the empty corn-measure in his hand and walked away, with -a swing of the shoulders, a toss of the head, an elasticity in her -tread, that appertained to one who was victor—not to one defeated. And -Drownlands stood looking after her, holding the empty corn-measure, and -he wondered at himself that he had been beaten at every point by this -girl—he who had galloped home boiling with anger, resolved to break -her into meek subjection to his will. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -ON ANOTHER FOOTING - - -A sough of wind passed over the Fens like a long-drawn sigh. Every one -who heard it listened in silence. It was repeated, and then the general -comment was, 'The skating is over.' - -Nor was the comment falsified by the event. The wind had veered round -suddenly, without warning, to the south-west. It blew all night -and sent a warm rain against the windows that faced that quarter. -It covered wood and walls with dew. The ice broke up in the river, -it dissolved in the dykes. The sails of the mills were again in -revolution, they whirled merrily, merrily. - -Zita had come upon the embankment to see the broken ice drift down the -sluggish river, swept along by the wind rather than the current. There -she encountered Mark Runham. - -'What, you here, Cheap Jackie? No, hang it! I won't call you that. It -seems impudent; but I do not mean that, you may be sure.' - -'I know that, and am not offended.' - -'Your name—it continually slips my memory.' - -'Zita.' - -'A queer sort of a name that.' - -'It is not often you meet a Cheap Jack girl. They do not come thick as -windmills in the flats. So it suits me to bear a queer name.' - -'A queer name becomes a queer girl.' - -'Thanks. I have something for you—half a pound of bird's eye.' - -'What for?' - -'In payment for my run on the ice.' - -'I do not want payment.' - -'It gave you trouble, made you hot, but it was a very great pleasure to -me.' - -'I won't take it.' The young fellow laughed with his merry eyes as well -as with his fresh lips. 'Can you understand this, that it gave me five -times as much pleasure as it did you to spin you along and see the red -roses bloom in your cheeks and those dark eyes of yours twinkle as -though there were Jack o' Lanterns dancing in them? Zita, it is not -every day that a lad gets the chance of running a pretty girl along the -ice. It is I am in debt to you. We'll square the account, anyhow.' He -caught her head between his hands and gave her a kiss on her red lips. -'There is the account scored out, and a new account begun.' - -'That is not fair!' exclaimed Zita, shrinking back. - -'What! not settled? Again, then.' He kissed her once more. 'And -so—till all is right, and the balance squared.' - -Then he laughed, and, releasing her head, said— - -'You know we raced,—that old Drownlands and I,—and you were to be the -prize. I won you.' Then, seeing that she looked disturbed, he went off -to, 'Now, Cheap Jackie, tell me, was not that a droll sort of a life, -going over the world in that comical van?' - -'It was a very happy life, and the van was not comical at all. It is -splendid.' - -'I have not seen it.' - -'Then why did you call it unsuitable names?' - -'A jolly life, was it?' - -'Indeed it was. I was very happy in it—specially when we had piled up -the profits.' - -'You made a pile when you sold my father a flail for a guinea.' - -'We did; but if it is any satisfaction to you to know it, it was the -thoughts of that made him pass away so happy.' - -'A guinea was nought to my father; he was rich. Now I am rich.' Then, -with a trip of his foot on the bank as though he were dancing, 'Zita, -what a joke it would be for us to go round in the summer with the old -van and the stock-in-trade. What have you done with the goods?' - -'They are safe.' - -'And we will visit Swaffham, and Littleport, and Ely together, and -sell away like blazes. I'll attend to the horse, and you shall do all -the talking the folk want. What fun it will be!' - -'No,' said Zita, colouring; 'that will not be right.' - -'Why not?' - -'No. It was all very well with my father. But I will not go again.' - -'You must—you shall—with me!' - -'I will not—indeed I will not.' She turned away. - -'Well, anyhow you will show me the van?' - -'Yes. When you like.' - -'I can't well go into Prickwillow as matters are between us and -Drownlands—not that I bear him ill-will, but he is sour as a crab -towards me. We will manage it somehow at some time. But I can't help -thinking what fun it would be for us two to travel the world all over -together, selling pots and pans. I wish I had been born a Cheap Jack. -Where are you off to now, Zita?' - -'I am going to see Kainie at Red Wings.' - -'I will go with you. I also want to see her. I am very fond of Kainie, -I am.' Said with a mischievous laugh. - -'I daresay you are, but I am going alone.' - -'Nonsense! I shall go with you. I must see Kainie. I have an errand to -her.' - -'Who sent you?' - -Mark hesitated, then said, 'Well, no one. But it is business. I must -go.' - -'Then go. I will remain here.' - -Zita observed a lighter moored to the bank in the river. She stepped -towards it. 'I will go into the barge. Will you come with me and punt -me about?' - -'I cannot. I must go to Kainie.' - -'You wanted to come with me in the van, asked me to go with you. Now I -ask you to come with me in the boat, and you will not.' - -'I pay you off,' said Mark good-naturedly. 'You would not travel -with me in the van, so I will not travel with you in the barge. But, -seriously, I cannot. I must go on to Kainie. Come along with me,' urged -Mark. 'Kainie will be pleased to see you.' - -'Oh! you can answer for her?' - -'In some things; certainly in this.' - -'I will not go.' - -Zita pouted and turned her back on Mark. The young man did not press -her to change her intention. The decision in her face, the look in her -eyes, convinced him that his labour would be in vain were he to attempt -it. He started in the direction of Red Wings without her, and whistled -as he walked. Zita's brow was moody. She was a girl of impulse and of -no self-restraint, changeful in temper and vehement in passion. - -There was no reason why she should resent Mark's going to Red Wings, -and yet she did resent it. If he had to go, and she refused to -accompany him, he must go without her. That was obvious, and yet she -was very wroth. In her mind she contrasted Drownlands with Mark. She -had but to express a wish to the former, and it was complied with. -Had she said to him that she desired him to row her on the canal, he -would have placed himself at her service with eager delight. But this -scatterbrained Mark had no notion of submission to her wishes. He had -desired her society on the bank; when she refused it, he did without -it, and did without it with a light heart—he went away whistling. - -Zita stepped into the barge and seated herself on the side. She put her -chin in her hand and looked sullenly into the water full of broken, -half-dissolved pieces of ice. - -She was hot, her angry blood was racing through her veins. She was, -in her way, as impetuous as Drownlands. She had been suffered in her -girlhood by her father to follow her own bent, to do just what she -liked. But, indeed, there had been no occasion for him to cross her, -their interests were identical. Good-natured though Zita was, she was -masterful. She had sense, but sense is sometimes obscured by passion. - -She sat biting her nails. A fire was in her cheeks, and now and then -the tears forced themselves into her burning eyes. - -What could Mark have to call him to Red Wings? - -What possible business could he have with Kainie? - -Red Wings was not on his land; the mill did not drain his dykes. - -Zita marvelled how long Mark would remain with Kerenhappuch. Would -he sit down with her in her cabin? Would their conversation turn -on herself—Zita? Would Mark say that she was sulky? What would -Kerenhappuch reply? Would she not say, 'What else can you expect from -a girl who is a vagabond? We who lead settled lives in mills and -farmhouses know how to behave ourselves. What can you get out of a -chimney but soot? What does a marsh breed but gadflies?' - -It is really wonderful what a cloud of torments an ingenious mind can -rouse if it resolves to give run to fancy. Perhaps a woman is more -prone to this than a man. She conceives conversations relative to -herself; she puts into the mouths of the speakers the most offensive -expressions relative to herself. She wreathes their faces with -contemptuous smiles, gives to their voices insulting intonations, and -finally assumes that all the brood of her festering brain is real fact, -and not mirage. - -It was so now with Zita. - -She was startled from her reverie of self-torment by a shock in the -boat. She looked up, startled, and saw before her a man with long arms -and large hands, dark-haired and dark-eyed. He was handsome, but -his face bore an expression of sour discontent. The thin lips were -indicative of a sharp and querulous temper, and the checks seemed as -though they could not dimple into laughter. - -'What are you doing in the lighter?' asked the man, whom Zita -recognised as Ephraim Beamish, the orator. - -'I suppose I have as much right to be in the boat as you,' answered the -girl peevishly. - -'No doubt. We neither have any right anywhere. We are both poor. I -know who you are—the Cheap Jack girl. I hear you have been taken into -Prickwillow. Wish you happiness. It is not the place I should care -to be in. Drownlands is not the man to clothe the poor, house the -wanderer, feed the hungry, without expecting his reward—and that here. -He does nothing of good to any one but to serve his own ends. He has -just had me turned out.' - -'Turned out of what?' - -'Turned out of my mill, out of my employ, out of my livelihood. I have -now to run about the fens, in ice and snow. I have no home. I am a -gentleman, however, for I have no work. The rats may shelter in the -barn, the mice may nest in the stack, but I must be without a roof to -cover my head, without work to engage my hands, and without bread to -put into my mouth. And all for why? Because I have been bold to speak -the truth. Truth is like light. Men hate it and turn their eyes from -it. Them as speaks the truth gets persecuted, and I am one of these.' - -'You can obtain work elsewhere,' said Zita, displeased at having her -imaginary troubles broken in on by some one with a real grievance. - -'No, I cannot,' answered Beamish; 'the owners of property hang together -like bees when they swarm. If you disturb one, the whole hive sets on -you and stings you to death.' - -'Well,' said Zita irritably, 'you need not tell me all this. I cannot -assist you.' - -'I do not suppose you can. But—has Property got into your blood, that -you speak so sharp to me? Maybe, like a bat, you're hanging on to it -by a claw. Like a gnat, you have your lips to it, and are sucking your -fill. I do not ask your help. I fend for myself. But I like to talk. -Nothing will be done to correct evils if the evils be not talked about. -You must go round Jericho and blow the trumpets seven times, and seven -times again, before the walls will fall, and we can march up and take -the city. Let Property look out. The working people will not stand to -be robbed and maltreated any longer.' - -Beamish unloosed the rope that attached the boat to the shore, and, -taking a pole, thrust out and began slowly to force the vessel up -stream, talking as he punted. - -'You may tell Drownlands my curse rests on him; and that will rot his -timber and rust his corn.' - -'I will bear him no such message,' said Zita. 'But where are you taking -me?' - -'Up the river. I shall leave you presently; but I will return and punt -you back again.' - -'Where are you going?' - -'To Red Wings.' - -'What do you want there?' - -'I have an errand,' answered Beamish. - -'There is one gone there before you, with an errand from himself—and -that is Mark Runham.' - -'He there!' exclaimed Pip Beamish, leaning on the punting-pole and -looking down into the water. 'Property meets one everywhere. Property -blights everything. I am a poor chap. I am cast out of employ; but I -did think I had my ewe lamb. And now Property comes between me and -her. Property says to me, "Go—what I cannot consume I will destroy, -lest you have it." Do you think, you Cheap Jack girl, that Mark Runham -will marry Kainie? He is a man of property, and property hungers for -property. She is like me. She has nothing. She is a miller grinding -nought save water.' - -He thrust the boat towards the shore. - -'I'll not go to see her,' said Beamish. 'I could not bear it. I'm off -to the Duck at Isleham. I shall meet there some fellows who love the -working people, and who will combine to teach these men who hold the -Fens in their fists to deal with their labourers justly and mercifully.' - -He leaped ashore, mounted the bank, and, standing there, extended his -long arms and expanded his great hands, and cried, 'I see the day -coming! I see the light about to break! The trumpet will sound, and -the dead and crushed working men will rise and stand on their feet. -That will be a day of vengeance!—a day of fire and consuming heat! -Then will the fen-farmers call to the earth to swallow them, and to -the isles to cover them, against the anger of the dead men risen up in -judgment against them.' - -'There comes Mark,' said Zita. 'I suppose I must get him to punt me -home. But I shall not speak to him all the way.' - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -BURNT HATS - - -At the time of our tale, the Duck at Isleham—a solitary inn on -slightly rising ground—was notorious as a place of resort for -poachers, a centre to which smuggled goods were brought from the Wash, -and whence they were distributed, and a general rendezvous for the -dissatisfied. Not a bad trade was done at the Duck. Thither came the -poachers as to a mart for the disposal of their game, and the dealers -to take the spoil of the poachers; thither came not only those who -brought, up the dark path from the sea, spirits which had not paid -duty, but also the farmers who desired to lay in supplies. As the -fen-water was not potable unmixed, it was a matter of necessity for -the fen-dwellers to temper it with something that would neutralise its -unpleasant savour as well as kill its unwholesome elements. Moreover, -such being the case, those who desired to lay in a stock of this -counteracting agent went for it, by a law of nature, to the cheapest -shop, and the cheapest shop was that where the traffic was in spirits -that were contraband. Lastly, at the Duck assembled the great company -of grumblers, large everywhere, but especially large in the Fens. - -As the Duck afforded space for a good many grumblers in bar and -kitchen and parlour, and as grumblers like to grumble into the ears -of men of their own kidney, the Duck drew to it the discontented of -all classes—farmers dissatisfied with their rent, yeomen dissatisfied -at their rates, artisans out of humour because trade was slack, -gangers, clayers, bankers, gaulters, slodgers, millers, molers, -gozzards—everyone whom the depressing atmosphere of the Fens made -dispirited, and who thought the cause of his depression was due to the -oppression of some one else. - -The kitchen of the Duck was full. A great fire of turf was heaped -up, and glowed red, diffusing heat, but giving out no flame, and, -notwithstanding the tobacco smoke, filling the place with its -penetrating, peculiar odour. The men present—on this occasion they -were all men—were drinking; they were mostly men of the class of -agricultural labourer. Among them were two or three with dazed eyes, -men silent, pallid, who looked at the speakers and acquiesced in every -sentiment or opinion expressed, however contradictory they might be. -These were opium-eaters. - -In the Fens, almost every cottage grows its crop of white poppy in the -small garden. Of the poppy heads a tea is brewed. The mothers are -accustomed to work in the fields, hoeing between the ranks of wheat. -The rich soil that produces the corn produces also weeds that have to -be kept under. That the babe may not interfere with the mother earning -a small wage, it is given poppy tea, and that sends it to sleep for -the day. But the drops of opium thus administered in infancy affect -the tender brains, bewilder them, and subject the child to nervous -pains. As it grows up to man or womanhood, it has recourse to the drug -to which it was brought up in infancy. A large business in laudanum is -done in the Fens, and much of the distraught mind and tortured nerve is -due to this cause. The poppy tea dispels trouble as surely as whisky, -and opium dulls pain at a cheaper and surer rate than the surgeon who -boggles over its removal. - -'I tell you,' said Pip Beamish, 'it is due to the farmers and yeomen. -Look at them, up to the eyes in gold, and gold that is squeezed out of -the fen by your hands. Till they have been taught a lesson, and that -a sharp and stinging one, they will go on in the same way. No Acts of -Parliament will help us. You may send up whom you will, Whig or Tory, -to Westminster, it is the same. No party will do aught for you. No -judges and no jury are of any avail, for law can't come in and right -us. We must do that with our own hands. When a boy won't do the right -thing, you put a stick across his back and make him; you don't ask for -an Act of Parliament, you don't elect a member to teach him his duty. -We must teach our farmers as you teach idle and thievish boys. Teach -them in such a way as they won't forget. Teach them to fear the rod. -Set the stackyards blazing throughout the Fens, and by the light of -those fires they'll begin to see what is the way of justice and equity.' - -'I don't see how that's going to lower the price of wheat,' said a -ganger, named Silas Gotobed. 'You sez that the cost of bread is too -high. If you burn the wheatstacks, there will be less corn, and up the -price will go.' - -'You're right there. That's reason, Silas,' said a third, Thomas Goat, -a gaulter. 'The mischief don't lie with the farmers. They grow the -corn—some one must do that. The wickedness is in the eaters.' - -'Why, we're all eaters.' - -'Ay!' said Goat sententiously. 'But we've a right to eat; there be a -lot eats as hasn't a right to do so.' - -'You mean rats and mice.' - -'No, I don't—leastways not four-legged ones.' - -'What do you mean, then?' - -'It is them collegers,' said Goat. 'I've been to Cambridge. I've seen -them there, a thousand of them. They come up in swarms from every -part of England, and there they do nought but eat and drink and row -on the river, and play cricket on Parker's Piece. Rowin' and playin' -cricket ain't qualifications for eatin'. What would you say if a -thousand rats, big as bullocks, was to come on to the Fens and attack -our stacks? There'd be a pretty outcry. Every man would take down his -gun. The terriers would be called for. Traps, poison would be laid, and -none quiet till every rat was exterminated. Very well, up from every -part of England come these darned collegers to the Univarsity, and -spend their time there, eatin'—eatin'—eatin'. Mates, I axes, what -are they eatin'? It is the wheat we grow on our fens. I calculate that -one-half of what we grow goes down into their stomicks. If there were -no collegers, then there'd be twice as much corn, and corn would be -at forty-eight instead of ninety-six. It is that Univarsity and them -collegers does it. I have shown you that as clear as these five fingers -of mine. If that ain't reason, show me where it is to be found.' - -'I don't hold with you,' said Gotobed, impatient at having his say -snapped out of his mouth. 'I suppose collegers must eat somewhere.' - -'Let them stay and eat at home.' - -'Well, but what about the price of wheat at their homes? Won't they -diminish the supply there?' - -'That don't concern us,' shouted a clayer named Gathercole. 'It is -no odds to us what the supply and what the price is elsewhere. All -that concerns us is the supply and the price here in the Fens. Goat, -you've hit the wrong nail on the head! I know better than you; it's the -bankers does it.' - -'What have you to say against the bankers?' asked Goat. 'I'd like to -know where the corn would be if the bankers did not keep the rivers -from overflow.' - -'I mean those who have banks in towns,' explained Gathercole. 'I've -been to Mortlock's in Ely. I've seen what the clerks do there. They -have drawers full of gold. They don't trouble to put their fingers to -it, they shovel it in and shovel it out like muck. Whence does Mortlock -get all that gold, I ask. It comes out of the Fens. The farmers are -such dizzy-fools that they put their money there for Mortlock to take -care of, and Mortlock sends the money out of the country to America. -What's the advantage of the farmers growing corn, and of the labourers -helping to grow it, what's the pleasure to reap and sow and plough and -mow and be a farmer's boy, if all the money earned and addled goes into -Mortlock's bank, and Mortlock sends it to America? I wish I was in -Parliament one week, and I'd hang every banker in the country, and burn -every ship as takes the money out of England and carries it to America.' - -'I say it is the millers,' said Isaac Harley, a clayer. 'You send a -sack of corn to the soak-mill, and you get back half a sack of flour. -How is that? There should be as much flour come back as corn went, but -there does not. I have proved it scores of times. I've sent a sack -so full of wheat that I could scarce bind the mouth, and when it -came back as flour it was but half full. That is what makes corn so -dear—the millers steal it. If I were king for half a day, I'd drown -every miller in England in his own dam.' - -'You are all of you out,' said a small landowner, named Abraham Cutman. -'But it is like your ignorance. You feel that the shoe pinches, but -you don't know where it pinches, and why it pinches. I will tell you. -I have education, and you have not. It is the rates. We are paying -from six to seven shillings an acre for the drainage of the Fens. The -rate has been up to ten shillings and sixpence. Why should we pay -that? We can't afford to pay seven shillings an acre in rates, and -pay our workmen well also. All the profits are consumed in rates. The -Commissioners stick it on, and they can't help it; they must have the -banks kept up and the mills in working order.' - -'Of course they must,' threw in the gaulter. - -'They must have their mills,' said Beamish. 'But why am I thrown out of -employ, that did no wrong, and never neglected my duty?' - -'Silence all round. Listen to me,' said Cutman. 'The wrong lies here. -Take off the rate, and the price of corn will go down, and the price of -labour will go up.' - -'That's it. Cutman has it!' exclaimed several. - -But Goat dissented. 'There must be a rate,' said he, 'or how should I -be paid for my gaulting? and without gaulting there can be no banking.' - -'Of course there must be a rate. I'd have it permanently fixed by Act -of Parliament at fifteen shillings an acre.' - -'You would?' - -'Yes, I would; so that gaulters and bankers should have double wages. -They work hard and deserve it.' - -'Right you are, master,' said Goat; but others murmured. - -'Why should gaulters and bankers only have double pay? Why not molers -and gozzards also?' others again asked. 'How about the price of wheat -then?' - -'I said I'd have the rate fixed at fifteen shillings an acre,' pursued -Cutman, looking about him with an air of superiority. 'Fifteen -shillings an acre—not a penny less. But I'd have the rate shifted -from fen-land as wants draining to all other land in Great Britain as -doesn't want draining. The rate should be laid on all other shoulders -except ours. Stick a rate on to Mortlock's and all bankers. Stick it -on to the colleges and the universities. Stick it on to all high and -dry lands, where there is no call for banking and draining. Stick it on -where you like, only take it off from the Fens. Why should we pay rates -for draining our land when the farmers on high ground pay nothing? -They have their land six or seven shillings an acre cheaper than do -we. If I were in the Ministry, the first thing I would do would be to -impose a compulsory rate of fifteen shillings an acre on all land that -didn't want draining, to pay for the draining of land that did want it. -Then we'd have high times of it here in the Fens—farmers, bankers, -slodgers, all round. If that is not reason, and you don't see it, so -much the worse for your intelligences.' - -'I don't call that reason at all,' said Goat. 'Don't tell me the -Commissioners would pay us double wages when the rate was at fifteen. -It is six now, and I get eleven shillings a week. Twelve years ago it -was half a guinea rate, and then my wage was ten shillings. If the rate -were up to fifteen I should be wuss off. Every four shillings the rate -goes up my wage goes down a shilling. With the rate at fifteen, I'd -be worse off—with a wage of five and sixpence, or six shillings at -most. I hold to it that the mischief lies in the Univarsity, with them -collegers a-eatin'—eatin'—eatin'. I'll fight at flap-chap any man as -disputes my argiment.' - -'I dispute it,' said Silas Gotobed, starting up. - -'Very well. We'll find out which has the best of the argiment and -reason on his side with flap-chaps.' - -'My argiment is this,' said Gotobed. 'Rivers ought to run uphill. If -they don't choose to, they should be made to, by Act of Parliament. -Then we'd be dry, and them on high grounds would be wet. Then -they'd have the rates and the bother, and we'd be free. That is my -contention, and it's all gammon about them collegers.' - -He placed himself opposite Goat. - -'I don't care what you may call yourself,' said he to his opponent, -'Goat or sheep; but you're an ass, and every one knows it.' - -Then Ephraim Beamish ran between the men, who stood facing each other -with threatening looks. - -'Be reasonable,' he said, thrusting them apart with his long arms. 'Why -do you fly at each other, instead of at the common foe?' - -'I don't know what be the common foe,' retorted Goat, 'if it bain't the -collegers. If I was in Parliament'— - -'It's the bankers,' said Jonas Gathercole. 'If I was in Parliament'— - -'It's the millers!' shouted Harley. 'If I was in Parliament'— - -'It's the rates!' exclaimed Cutman; 'and a law should be made, and -shall be when I'm in Parliament'— - -'You're every one out!' roared Silas Gotobed; 'it's Providence, as -don't do what it should be made to do, and force the rivers to run -uphill.' - -'Sit down! you're drunk,' cried Cutman. - -'I'm not going to be ordered about by you,' retorted the ganger; 'we're -all equal here. I haven't been bankrupt and sold my stacks twice over.' - -Cutman fell into the rear. He had been guilty of fraudulent conduct at -his bankruptcy. - -'I say it is the Univarsity, and I maintains my argiment,' said Goat. -'I'll prove it on your chaps.' - -'I sez it is the rivers ought to run uphill. I'll box your donkey ears -if you denies it. That's my argiment.' - -Gotobed made a lunge at this opponent and missed him. Flap-chaps is a -pastime affected in the Fens, more so in former times than at present, -but not out of favour now. It consists in this. Two men face each other -and endeavour to slap each other's cheeks, right or left, as best they -can, and as best they can to ward off with the same open palm the -blows aimed at their own chaps. Those who play this game acquire great -dexterity at it, but when much ale or spirits has been drunk, then the -eye has lost its quickness of perception, the hand its steadiness, the -brain its coolness, and the contest rapidly degenerates into a drunken -brawl and a roll on the floor, with fisticuffs and head-bumping. - -It promised to so degenerate on the present occasion. Gotobed was the -most intoxicated and least able to parry the blows levelled at him, and -every time Goat's hand made his cheek sting, it roused him to a further -access of fury that blinded him to what he was about; he withdrew -his left hand from behind his back. This provoked an outcry from the -lookers-on of, 'Not fair play! Hand back! hand back!' - -Beamish again endeavoured to interpose, but came off with both his ears -tingling; he had received a blow on one cheek from Goat, and on the -other from Gotobed. The strife recommenced after this futile attempt to -separate the men. Slap, slap, on the chaps of Gotobed, followed by a -blow from his fist in the face of his adversary. This occasioned a yell -from all in the room of 'Cheat—not fair! a fine! a fine, Silas! Fair -game or none at all.' - -'I'll pay a fine indeed!' roared Gotobed. Then, springing at his -opponent, who staggered stupefied under the blow he had received, -he snatched his hat from his head, and, thrusting it into the fire, -shouted, 'Caps! Caps!' Then he dashed at Cutman, who wore a white -beaver. - -'Your hat!' he demanded. - -'You shall not have it. It is as good as new.' - -'I will have it,' answered Gotobed. 'Ain't we all equal? Isn't it the -rule? What are you better than me? One cap—all caps. That's the rule.' - -He tore the white beaver out of the yeoman's hands, and rammed it with -his ironshod boot into the glowing turf fire. - -'Mates! Mates! Show up your caps!' - -Then ensued wild confusion. Some snatched the caps and hats from those -who were near them, some endeavoured to protect their own headgear from -confiscation, and fought for them. Some thrust their own caps into the -flames, and in ten minutes there was not one in the company but was -without a cover for his crown.[1] - -Beamish had made angry resistance. Three men assailed him, tripped him -up, and sent him sprawling on the alehouse floor. A fourth wrenched his -hat away and thrust it into the flames, shouting, 'You're a fine chap -to say all men are equal, and want to keep your own hat when the rest -are bareheaded.' - -The landlord stepped outside, to see that the fiery tinder did not fall -on and ignite the thatch. He returned and said, 'It is snowing.' - -'Snowing, is it?' said Gotobed, staggering to the door. 'Then we -shall all wear white night-caps to cool our heads.' Standing in the -doorway, sustaining himself by a hand on each of the jambs, looking in, -he shouted to his comrades, 'I am right. You are all wrong. At next -election I ain't going to vote for no candidate as won't promise to -make the rivers run uphill. Nothing will be as it ought to be—price -of corn won't be low, and wages won't be high, and farmers cease to -oppress, and bankers to send the money out of this country, and millers -to fill their fists with flour, and Commissioners to pocket money that -ought to have gone to the gangers, and collegians to cease to eat—till -Providence has been forced to do what it ort—and make the rivers run -uphill.' - - [Footnote 1: Burnt caps is a curious and inexplicable custom in the - Fens. It is one that terminates many a brawl. If one man burns the hat - of another, it is _de rigueur_ that all the rest of the company should - surrender their headgear to complete the holocaust.] - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -A CRAWL ABROAD - - -No country in the world is so subject to variations in the climate as -England, and in no part of England are the variations so felt as in the -Fens. No hills, no belts of trees there break the force of the wind. -The gales rush over the plains unresisted from every quarter. Elsewhere -there are hedgerows, on the sunny side of which appear the celandine -and primrose in early spring, then the red-robin, the bluebell, our -lady's smock, and the gorgeous spires of foxglove later still. There -are no hedgeflowers in the Fens, for there are no hedges. Elsewhere the -landscape is variegated with coppice that is brown in autumn and pine -woods that are dark green all the year. It is not so in the Fens. There -are no trees. When the snow falls, it envelops the entire surface in -white. - -The frost had passed away, and the waters had been released. With the -thaw the mills had been set again in motion, and the sails flew fast -to make up for lost time. Now again a single night had altered the -complexion of the fen-land. All was white that had been black. The snow -had filled the ruts, and, consolidating, had formed a comparatively -smooth surface. Rivers and dykes were not frozen, only a little cat ice -had formed among the reeds. - -Zita was in the farmyard. She had gone there to put her van to rights. -The van demanded her attention. The fowls had taken to roosting on the -top, and had made it untidy. There was no keeping them away. They could -be, and they were, excluded from the interior of the van, but not from -the shed in which the van stood. Formerly, they had been satisfied with -rafters and manger; now, whether out of perversity or love of variety, -or because the van satisfied their ideal, they deserted their ancient -roosting-places and crowded the van roof. - -This was a source of incessant annoyance to Zita, who could not endure -the degradation to which the van was subjected. Every few days she -visited the shed, pail and scrubbing-brush in hand, and thoroughly -cleansed the conveyance. - -She had been thus engaged, and had flung the dirty water at a clucking -hen that sauntered up with purpose to resume its perch on the van top, -when a pair of hands was laid on her shoulders, and, looking round, she -saw Mark. - -'What has brought you here?' she asked in surprise. - -'What but your own sweet self. I have not seen you for some days. As -you were not outside the farmyard, I have come into it to seek you.' - -'You ought not to have done so. The master will be angry.' - -'He is from home. I saw him ride to Ely.' - -'But if he hears that you have been here?' - -'You need not tell him.' - -'I will not tell him, but others may—mischief-makers. Then I shall -suffer.' - -'You can take care of yourself, I warrant.' - -'You are right, I can protect myself. I am not a servant, but a lodger. -I pay for everything I receive and consume here—even for this soap and -the use of this pail.' - -'And this is the van?' - -'Yes, that is my old home. I was born in it. I have lived in it all my -life. Whatever I know I have learned in it. It is a fine thing to crawl -over the world like a snail, with one's house on one's back.' - -'The snail-crawling is over with you now. You refused to let me go with -you.' - -'Yes; it is over for the winter. What I may do when the spring comes, I -cannot say. My blood runs, my feet tingle. When the white butterflies -are about, I daresay I shall spread my wings also. I mean my red and -gold curtains.' - -'And I may go with you?' mischievously. - -'No; if I go, I go alone.' - -'Let me walk round and admire your house on wheels.' - -'You do not see it to advantage,' said Zita regretfully. 'It is not -dressed out. The pans and brushes and mats are stowed away, that make -it glitter just like a lifeguardsman. The inside is taken out. The -curtains are unhung. And then those dratted fowls are a nuisance. They -have taken a fancy to the van. If Master Drownlands and I were on -better terms, I'd ax him to have the fowls killed, or the shed boarded -up, that they might not come in.' - -'What? you are not on good terms with old Ki?' - -'Only middling. I have had to teach him to keep his distance.' - -'Oh! he wanted to come to too close quarters—small blame to him,' said -Mark, laughing. - -'He and I could not agree about terms—that was it,' said Zita, with an -impatient and annoyed toss of her head. - -'Let the van come to my place,' said Runham. 'Then I will stow it away -out of reach of all fowls.' - -Zita shook her head. 'I like to look at my van every day.' - -'Well, that is no reason against sending it to Crumbland. If you come -to look at it twice a day, so much the better pleased I shall be.' - -'I cannot send the van anywhere where I am not living, and this is my -lodging for the winter,' said Zita. - -'And how goes the horse?' asked Mark. - -'He don't go at all,' replied the girl. 'He eats and thinks and gets -bloated. He hasn't enough to do. I'm afraid he'll be out of health.' - -'Let us have him into the shafts and trot him out a bit.' - -'What? in the van?' - -'Of course, in the van.' - -Zita flushed with pleasure. 'I shall love it above all things—but -trot he won't. He never trotted in his life but once, and that was on -the fifth of November. A gipsy had tied a Roman candle to his tail. -He trotted then. After every flare and pop he went on at a run, then -he stopped and looked behind him for an explanation. Then away went -the Roman candle again, and a great globe of fire shot away high over -the roof of the van. At that Jewel trembled and trotted on once more. -Father was away. I was younger then by some years, and it frightened -me. I did not dare to touch the Roman candle. Jewel ran about two -miles, and when the firework was exhausted, he stood still, and, with -thinking about it, and trying to understand and unable, fell asleep in -the middle of the road. Father found us there, and he tried to persuade -Jewel to return the two miles, but he was obstinate—tremenjous—and -wouldn't move. At last father was forced to tie a Roman candle to his -nose, and that drove him backwards the two miles. But I don't think -Jewel ever quite got over the surprise of that fifth of November.' - -When Mark had done laughing at Zita's story,—and Zita laughed as -she told it, and laughed when it was over, because Mark's laugh was -irresistible,—then the young fellow said, 'It will be fun for me, -pleasure to you, it will exercise the horse, and freshen and sweeten -the van. We will go a drive, in preparation for the grand tour in the -spring. Where is the harness? I'll rig the grey up.' - -'You do not know how to set about it,' said Zita. - -'What? not know how to harness a horse?' - -'You do not know Jewel. He has to be talked to, and his reason -convinced. He has his fancies, and they must be humoured. He knows my -voice and the touch of my hand, whereas you are a stranger.' - -Zita went to find Jewel and put the horse in the shafts. Whilst thus -engaged, she talked to Mark. - -'The master had him out one day, and put him in the plough. It offended -Jewel, who was not accustomed to that sort of thing. He set his feet -straight down, stiffened his legs, back went his ears, he curled his -under lip, and looked out at the corners of his eyes. Not a step would -he take; it hurt his self-respect. Now, wait here by Jewel's head -whilst I go indoors after the crimson curtains and gold tassels. I -could not drive without them; it would not be showing proper regard for -the van, and it might hurt Jewel's feelings. It won't take five minutes -to rig up the curtains, and whilst I am after them, you can make -friends with the horse. Go in front of him and speak flattering words; -say how shapely are his legs, and how silken is his hair; but, whatever -you do, not a word about the Roman candles, or he'll never take kindly -to you.' - -'All right, Zita. Where is the whip?' - -'Whip? bless you! he don't want a whip. Why, the crack of a whip would -so frighten him that he would sit down. He'd suppose it was fifth of -November again. He'd curl his tail under him, and lay his nose between -his legs, and set back his ears, but keep an eye open, watching you and -winking.' - -Eventually, the van was considered by Zita to be sufficiently decorated -to be got under way, and Jewel was induced, by flattery and caresses, -to start along the drove. - -The van was lighter than Jewel had ever known it to be, and he might -have been expected to take this into consideration, and accelerate -his pace; but, under the supposition that by so doing he would be -establishing a precedent that might be quoted on a future occasion, he -adopted his wonted pace, as when drawing the van laden with its many -and multifarious contents. - -'The thing jolts—rather,' said Mark, laughing. 'What would become of -the goods, were they here?' - -'They would be thrown all over the shop,' answered Zita. 'That is -why I am at Prickwillow. I cannot get away. Jewel could not pull the -laden van along the drove; and if other horses were attached to it, -everything would be shaken to pieces.' - -Presently Jewel came to a halt. - -'Shall I jump out and urge him on?' asked Mark. - -'No; he is breathing. He will go on again presently.' - -'And whilst he is breathing, we will talk. Conversation is impossible -when we are bumping into ruts and bouncing over clods. If this be -travelling when there is snow half-choking the wheelruts and levelling -the clods, what must it be at other times?' - -'You see I am a prisoner at Prickwillow. I cannot get away without the -loss of all my possessions.' - -'I see that now.' - -Presently Mark said, 'Zita, why were you on the river with Pip Beamish -the other day?' - -'I hired him with half a pound of bird's eye to punt me up stream. He -behaved unfair; he went off and left me.' - -'And I had to bring you back—and mighty cross you were. Was that -because Beamish had left you?' - -'I had cause to be cross when Beamish took the bird's eye and did not -half do the job. Now cling hard; Jewel is moving forward, and we must -hold to our seats to save being tumbled about and broken to bits.' - -Mark was on one side of the van, Zita on the other. He put out his hand -to the curtains at one lurch, and roused Zita to remonstrance. - -'The curtains are for ornament, and are not to be touched. They are of -velvet plush. I don't want to have your great hand marking them. Lay -hold of a rail. No! not a gold tassel; you would pull that down, and -maybe bring away the whole concern. Oh!' - -This exclamation was provoked by the off wheel sinking into a rut, the -depth of which seemed unfathomable. The movement of the van was like -that of the mail steamer that runs from Dover to Calais, in a chopping -sea. At one bound Zita was propelled forward, and, had she not clung to -the ribs of the vehicle, would have been shot head foremost against the -opposite side of the van, with the result of either perforating that -side or of flattening her skull against it. - -Then, at the recoil lurch, Mark was projected in the opposite -direction, and was nearly cast into Zita's lap. - -'I say, Zita, the exertion is prodigious!' exclaimed the lad. 'I think -I should prefer to walk.' - -'But the honour is so great,' gasped Zita. 'It is not every day you can -ride in such a conveyance as this, and have velvet curtains flapping, -and gold tassels bobbing about your head.' - -'I'll try to think of it in that light.' - -'Besides,' pursued Zita, 'a shake up is as good as medicine to the -insides. It puts them on their good behaviour. They are so tremenjous -afraid of having it again.' - -'But surely progress in this affair is not always like this.' - -'Of course not. It is only in the Fens there are droves. It was bad at -times where a highway had been new stoned. Then father and I clung to -the perishables.' - -'How do you mean?' - -'We took them in our arms, or held them. If we were bruised, it did not -matter; we mend up according to nature; but pots and pans don't. We -always lost something, though. There was that tea-kettle that troubled -father's last hours—it got a hole in it going over a bit of new road.' - -This conversation took place in fits and starts, between the joltings -of the van. Presently Jewel thought he had sufficiently exerted -himself; he heaved a long sigh, looked back over his shoulder, and -stood still. - -'There, now,' said Runham, pulling a large red, white-spotted kerchief -from his pocket and mopping his brow, 'Jewel is breathing, and so may -we. This is agonies.' - -'I call it pleasure,' said Zita. 'It must be, because it isn't -business.' - -'What did the horse mean by looking back at us, as he did just now when -he sighed?' - -'Oh, he thinks it is his duty, now father's gone, to keep an eye on us.' - -'I suppose, if I were to square accounts, as the other day'— - -'He'd have an apoplexy. For goodness' sake don't.' - -'I say, why did you go with Pip Beamish when you would not go with me?' - -'I did not go with Beamish. He came with me because I hired him. Tell -me what took you to Red Wings? Had you an account to serve there?' - -Mark became grave. He fidgeted on his seat. He was an honest, -open-hearted fellow, and disliked prevarication, but there was -hesitation, there was evasion in his reply. - -'I have business of all sorts with all kinds of people.' - -'That is no answer. I want to know why you went to the mill to see -Kainie.' - -Mark rested his chin in his hand and considered. - -'I don't mind saying so much,' he answered, 'but let it be between us -alone. There is a sort of a tie between her and me—a sort of a tie, -you know.' - -'I know nothing.' - -'I can't give you particulars. It's all right,—if you knew, you would -say so too,—but I can't tell you more about it; and it's a tie can't -be got rid of.' - -Further explanation was interrupted, for a head and pair of shoulders -appeared in front between the curtains. - -'Oh! you, Runham—and that Cheap Jack girl! Which is it to be—she or -Kainie? It shall not be both.' - -Pip Beamish was there, glowering at Mark from under his bushy eyebrows. - -'Take care!' said Beamish, thrusting a long arm into the van. 'Take -care what you are about. If you hurt one hair of the head of Kainie, -I'll shoot you through the heart. I've time on my hands now. I'm turned -out of my mill by the Commissioners, and can choose my occasion. I -shall watch you. One or other—leave my Kainie alone and stick to -_her_.' He indicated Zita with one hand. - -'Pip,' said Mark, flushing very red, 'do not talk nonsense!' - -'Nonsense?' repeated Beamish; 'that is how you rich men treat these -matters—sport and nonsense; but to us it is heartbreak and despair. -What have I but my one ewe lamb? I have been expelled my mill because -you Commissioners think I'm a dangerous chap. You ain't far wrong -there. I'm dangerous to such as you who are evil-doers. Take care, you -Cheap Jack girl, and make not yourself cheap to such as Runham. He -is free in his wealth to do as he pleases. If he be the ruin of you, -trusting in him, will he lose his Commissioner's place? If he destroy -my happiness by bringing harm on my Kainie, will the laws touch him? I -may not take a straw from his stables, but he may rob me of my Kainie. -He is rich—I am poor.' - -'Pip! you are the man I desire to see. I will speak to you of this -matter. Judge nothing before you hear me; and you, Zita, do not you -place any weight on his words—they are bitter and false.' - -'Bitter,' repeated Pip, 'but not false. Nothing that you can say will -change my mind. Nothing will alter my purpose. I warn you against an -injury to Kainie. You rich men of the Fens do not seek a poor girl to -raise her head and set her up on high among yourselves, but to humble -her in the dust.' - -He laughed a fierce, scornful laugh. - -'I cannot say—you Cheap Jack Zita. They report that you have money and -goods. Have you told him how much? If it be worth his while, he will be -honourable towards you. It is all a matter of calculation. If you ain't -worth much, he'll throw you over, as he would throw over Kainie when -tired of her. Best take care! If you dare!' - -The man's eyes glared with white heat, and he thrust his long arm -towards Mark with clenched fist. - -'Pip,' exclaimed Mark, 'you are the man I have been wanting to see. I -will come out to you.' - -He jumped out of the van. 'Your words are folly.' Then, 'You drive home -without me, Zita. I told you I had business with all sorts of persons; -now I have business with Ephraim—business of much consequence. May you -get safe back in that rattletrap, and not be shaken to bits!' - -'Rattletrap? Oh, if Jewel heard you!' She spoke as laughing, to -disguise her inward trouble. - -No sooner, however, was Mark gone than she broke down and cried. - -But her tears did not last long. - -'He's venomous. He don't know all. I do trust Mark. Besides—I've the -van and money.' - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -A DROP OF GALL - - -What did Mark Runham mean by his conduct? - -He had left Zita to go after that fellow, Pip Beamish, and they were -together on the embankment in close confabulation. The girl looked -after them from between the red curtains, and could see Beamish -gesticulating with his long arms. He was excited, he was speaking with -vehemence, and at intervals Mark interrupted him. - -Something that Mark had said seemed to have struck the orator with -surprise. He dropped his arms and stood like a figure of wood. He let -Mark lay his hand on his shoulder and draw him along, speaking rapidly -into his ear. - -What this meant was plain to Zita. The two men were rivals for Kainie -of Red Wings. They had been disputing; Beamish hot and impatient, -and unwilling to listen to the other. What was Kainie? A she-miller, -as Zita put it, and ineligible as a wife to such as Runham. Among -fen-farmers no one marries for mere love; money or land is the -substance for which they crave. If a little love be sprinkled on the -morsel, so much the better, but it is no essential—it is a condiment. -Zita tossed her head. She was not a beggarly miller! She had the van -and its contents, red curtains and gold tassels. She had money as -well—the profits of fair-days at Swaffham, Huntingdon, Wisbeach, -Cambridge, and Ely. She had a good deal of money in her box—none -suspected how much. Of course her wealth would not compare with that of -a fen-farmer, but it was enough to place her immeasurably above Kainie, -and within reach of Mark if he chose to stoop a little—just a little. - -Zita turned the head of Jewel homewards. Mark did not follow her to say -farewell. He had given her no thanks for the jolting and jumbling in -the conveyance to which she had treated him, though 'good as medicine -to his insides.' - -Zita was angry with the young man. She did not relish the thought that -he came to see her one day and went to Kainie the next—nay, that he -visited both in the same afternoon. - -It was true that he had made no overtures to Zita—said nothing -definite relative to his condition of heart; but he had kissed her, and -would have done so again had she not warned him that it would give the -horse an apoplectic fit. He had shown her plainly that he liked her -company, and that he was unhappy if he did not see her daily. - -His attentions had been noticed. Mrs. Tunkiss had commented on them, -and the girl with St. Vitus' dance had made a joke about them. - -His visit that day to Prickwillow would inevitably have been seen. -The unusual sight of the van out on an airing must have attracted -attention. And if the van had been seen, those who saw it were certain -to speak of it to those who did not. That expedition would come to the -ears of Drownlands. - -Knowing what she did, Zita was able to account for the dislike -Drownlands showed to the presence of Mark Runham. The sight of the -young man was a sting to his conscience. He would be afraid lest Zita, -in conversation with him, might let drop something about the events of -the night on which Jake Runham died. - -But Zita was woman enough to see that there was another reason why -the master of Prickwillow eyed the young fellow with dislike. He was -jealous of him. Zita perceived that Drownlands liked her, at the same -time that he feared her. She could discern in the expression of his -eye, read in his consideration for her comfort, decipher in the quiver -of his lips when Mark's name was mentioned, that his regard for her was -deep, and that his dislike of Mark was due to jealousy. - -Zita was accustomed to admiration; she had received a good deal of it -in her public life, and regarded it with contemptuous indifference; but -the admiration she had met with in market and fair had been outspoken; -this of Drownlands was covert. Hitherto she had accepted it from her -vantage-ground—the platform of her own habitation; now she was at a -disadvantage—the inmate of the house of the man who looked on her with -admiration. - -She turned her thoughts again in the direction of Mark. What were the -ties binding him to Kainie, of which he spoke? - -On consideration, she thought she could understand. Mark had fallen in -love with the girl at the mill when in hobbledehoydom, and had stupidly -plunged into an engagement. Boys are fools; and he was but just emerged -from boyhood. His father's death had knocked the nonsense out of his -head, and brought him to the consciousness that he had made a blunder. -He was now a rich farmer; Kainie had nothing of her own but the clothes -she stood up in. Moreover, he had since seen Zita, and had become -sincerely attached to her. So long as he was tied to that miller-girl, -he could not speak of his wishes and purposes to Zita. He was in a -dilemma; he was an honourable fellow, and could not break his word to -Kainie. Mark was laying the case before Pip Beamish, and was inviting -Pip to take Kainie off his hands, and set him free to speak out to -Zita. - -'Well,' thought the girl, as she put up Jewel in his stable, 'we all do -foolish things; some of us do wrong things at times in our life. I have -done both in one—I sold a box of paste-cutters at one and nine that -cost father two shillings. I've had that threepence as hot coppers on -my soul ever since. Well! I hope Pip Beamish will take Kainie. He loves -her, and he's suited to her—both are millers; one has nothing and the -other nought—so they are fitted for a match. I'll help matters on, or -try to do so. I'll see Kainie, and have a deal with her—she is but one -of the general public after all. I daresay she likes Pip quite as much -as Mark, and is doubting in her mind which to have. I know what I can -throw in to turn the scale.' - -Accordingly, when the van had been consigned to its shed and the -curtains removed to her room, Zita knitted her fingers behind her back -and surveyed her goods, moving from one group of wares to another. - -After some consideration, she descended the stairs and prepared to -leave the house. - -Mrs. Tunkiss peered out of the kitchen as she heard her step, and said— - -'Going to meet the master—be you?' - -A malevolent smile was on her face. - -'No, Mrs. Tunkiss. I do not know in which direction he has ridden.' - -'You'd like to know, would you? You'd go and meet him, and he'd jump -off his horse and walk alongside of you, and say soft things. Oh my! -The master! Ki Drownlands say soft things!' - -The woman burst into a cackling laugh. - -'What do you mean?' asked Zita, reddening with anger at the insult -implied in the woman's words. - -'Oh, miss, I mean nothing to offend. But I'd like to know what the -master will say to your carawaning about with Mark Runham—what -the master will say to your receiving visits from young men in the -poultry-house.' - -'That is no concern of yours; and for the matter of that, I care -nothing what he thinks.' - -'Oh dear no! But folks can't carry on with two at once. Two strings to -a bow may be all very well in some things. I don't mean to say that -you shouldn't sow clover with your corn, and so have both a harvest of -wheat and one of hay; but with us poor women that don't do. If it be a -saying that we should have two strings to one bow, there is another, -that there's many a slip between the cup and the lip.' - -Zita pushed past the insolent woman. - -Mrs. Tunkiss shouted after her, 'Strange goings on—so folks say. -There's Mark Runham running after two girls, sweethearting both; and -there's one girl—I names no names—running after two men, and I bet -she catches neither.' - -Then she slammed the kitchen door. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -NO DEAL - - -The insolence of the housekeeper made Zita for a while very angry. It -followed so speedily on the scene in the van with Ephraim Beamish. - -Her cheek burned as though it had been struck, and her pulses throbbed. -She would like to have beaten Mrs. Tunkiss with one of the flails; but -with creatures of that sort it is best not to bandy words, certainly -not to give them the advantage by losing temper and acting with -violence. - -Zita did not long harbour her resentment. She had other matters to -occupy her mind beside Mrs. Tunkiss. - -The air was fresh and bracing to the spirits as well as to the body. -Zita walked on with elastic tread, for she had recovered her good -humour. She wore a neat white straw bonnet trimmed with black, and a -white kerchief was drawn over her shoulders and bosom. Her gown was -black. She looked remarkably handsome. She had been accustomed to wear -her gowns short, and her neat ankles were in white stockings. She was -strongly shod; the snow brushed all the gloss off her shoes, but it -was not whiter than her stockings. She walked along with a swing of -the shoulders and a toss of the head that were peculiar to her, and -characteristic of her self-confidence. The winter sun was setting, and -sent its red fire into her face; it made her hair blaze, and brought -out the apricot richness of her complexion. - -When she reached the brick platform of Red Wings, Wolf did not bark, -but ran to her, wagging his tail. She had not forgotten him. From her -pocket she produced some bread. Then, in acknowledgment, he uttered -a couple of sharp barks, and thrust his head against her hand for a -caress. - -Kerenhappuch, hearing the barks, came out and saluted Zita cordially. - -'That's fine,' said she. 'Step inside. I was just going to brew some -tea.' - -'I'm here on business,' answered Zita. 'Let me sit down on one side of -the fire and we'll talk about it. Let's deal.' - -'Deal? What do you mean?' - -Zita drew a stool to the fireside. The turf glowed red. The stool was -low; when she seated herself, her knees were as high as her bosom. She -folded her arms round them and closed her hands, lacing her fingers -together and looking smilingly over her knees at Kainie, with a gleam -in her face of expectant triumph. Kainie knelt at the hearth and put on -the kettle. She turned her head and watched Zita, whose features were -illumined by the fire glow, as they had been shortly before by that of -the setting sun. Kerenhappuch could not refrain from saying, 'What an -uncommon good-looking girl you are!' - -'Yes, so most folks say,' responded Zita, with indifference; 'and I -suppose I am that.' - -Kainie was somewhat startled at this frank acceptance of homage. She -pursed up her lips and offered no further compliments. - -'I suppose Pip Beamish is sweet on you,' said Zita,—'tremenjous?' - -'Poor fellow!' sighed the girl of the mill. 'Perhaps he is, but it -is no good. He has not got even a mill to look after now, and I have -barely enough wage to keep me alive. What is more, the Commissioners -are against him, and won't let him get any work in the fen any more.' - -'Then let him go out of the fen?' - -'Out of the fen?' exclaimed Kainie. 'How you talk! As if a fen-man -could do that! You don't find frogs on top of mountains, nor grow -bulrushes in London streets. That ain't possible.' - -'But there are fens elsewhere.' - -'Where?' - -'I do not know. In America, I suppose. There is all sorts of country -there, to suit all sorts of people. I'd go there if I were he.' - -'If there are fens in America, that's another matter. But what is it -you want with me, now, partick'ler?' - -Zita settled herself in her seat. - -'I've come to have a deal with you,' she said chirpily. 'That is what I -have come about.' - -'But—what do you want of me?' - -'We will come to that presently,' said the Cheap Jack girl, and with -her usual craft or experience she added, 'I will let you know what my -goods are before I name the price.' - -'Price—money? I have no money.' - -'It is not money I want.' - -'I do not fancy there's anything I require,' said Kerenhappuch. 'And -that is fortunate, for I have not only no money to buy with, but no -place where I could stow away a purchase.' - -'Nobody knows what they wants till they see things or hear about -them,' said Zita. 'Bless you! if you were as well acquainted with the -British public as father and me, you'd say that. Take it as a rule, -folks always set their heads on having what they never saw before, -didn't know the use of, and don't know where to put 'em when they have -'em. I'm telling you this, though it is not to my advantage. Now, what -do you say to a ream of black-edged paper and mourning envelopes to -match?—that's twenty quires, you know.' - -'I write to nobody. I have no relations but my Uncle Drownlands, and he -never speaks to me—won't notice me. I am not likely to write letters -to him.' - -'Then what do you say to a garden syringe? If you have a pail of -soapsuds, it is first-rate for green-fly. Father sold several to -gentlefolks with conservatories.' - -'But I don't belong to the gentlefolks, nor have I got a conservatory.' - -'No,' said Zita, rearranging herself on her seat. 'But if you wanted to -keep folks off your platform, you could squirt dirty water over them.' - -'I have Wolf. He is sufficient.' - -'Well,' said Zita, with a slight diminution of buoyancy in her spirits -and of confidence in her tone, 'then I'll offer you what I would not -give every one the chance of having. I offer it to you as a particular -friend. It's an epergne.' - -'An epergne? What's that?' - -'It is a sort of an ornament for a dinner-table. I will not tell you -any lies about it. Father got it in a job lot, and cheap considering -how splendid it is. It is not the sort of goods we go in for. It lies -rather outside our line of business; and yet there's no saying whether -it might not hit the fancy of General Jackass—I mean the public—that -was father's way of talking of it. You really can't tell what won't go -down with him. Will you have the epergne?' - -'I'm not General Jackass, and I won't have it.' - -'But consider—if you was to give a dinner-party, and'— - -'What? in the mill?' - -'No; When you marry a rich man.' - -'If I have any man, it will be a poor one.' - -'Then,' said Zita in a caressing tone, 'I know what you really must -have, and what there is no resisting. It is the beautifullest little -lot of perfumes. They're all in a glass box, with cotton wool, -and blue ribbons round their necks. There's Jockey Club—there's -Bergamot—there's Frangipani—there's New-mown Hay—there's White -Heliotrope, and there's Lavender too. I am sure there is yet another; -yes, Mignonette. One for every day of the week. Think of that! You can -scent yourself up tremenjous, and a different scent every day of the -week. You cannot refuse that.' - -'But,' said Kainie, with a wavering in her tone, a token of relaxation -in resistance to the allurements presented to her imagination, 'what do -you want for this?' - -'One thing only.' - -'What is that?' - -'Give up Mark.' - -'Mark Runham?' - -'Yes. Mark Runham. Is it a deal between us? Now listen.' Zita held up -one hand, and began again with the catalogue of perfumes. 'There is -Jockey Club for Sunday;' she touched her thumb. 'There is Bergamot -for Monday;' she touched the first finger. 'There is Frangipani for -Tuesday, and New-mown Hay for Wednesday'— - -'Give up Mark?' Kainie interrupted the list. 'What do you mean?' - -'What I mean is this,' said Zita: 'Mark told me that he was tied to you -somehow.' - -'He did? It is true.' - -'But I want you to throw him up. Let him go free. Say that there is no -bond between you. Think how you will smell, if you do! White Heliotrope -on Thursday, then Lavender on Friday, and Mignonette on Saturday.' - -'Did Mark say how we were tied—bound?' - -'No; he only told me there was such a tie.' - -'And Mark—did he set you to ask this?' - -'No, not exactly. It is my idea. Now do. You shall have all the -perfumes. Consider how on Sunday you will make the Baptist Chapel smell -of Jockey Club!' - -'Give up Mark? Break the bond? I can't. I could not, even if I would.' - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -DAGGING - - -When Zita returned to Prickwillow, Leehanna Tunkiss, with a malicious -leer, said, 'The master is upstairs, and would like to speak with you;' -then, with a sidelong look at the maid-of-all-work and a giggle, she -curtseyed and added 'Miss.' - -Zita ascended leisurely to her room, removed her bonnet and changed her -shoes, put on an apron, and then proceeded to Drownlands' office. She -did not hurry herself. She sauntered along the passage and hummed a -folk-melody—'High Germany.' She stayed to shut a bedroom door that was -ajar and swinging in the draught. She trifled with a canary that hung -in a window. - -The office door was open. She knew that Drownlands had heard her come -in, had heard Mrs. Tunkiss inform her that she was wanted, heard her -ascend the stairs. She knew that he was waiting with impatience whilst -she removed bonnet and shoes, that he was chafing at the leisurely -manner in which she approached his den. - -After a while she tapped at the half-open door in careless fashion, -threw it open and stood in the doorway, and shrugged her shoulders, -then rubbed her hands as though they were cold. - -'Mrs. Tunkiss said you required my presence.' - -'You have taken your time in coming.' Drownlands was at his table; he -had been biting his fingers. There was a sheet of blotting paper on the -board; he had scratched it, torn four strips out of it with his nails. -His face was troubled and was working. 'Why did you not come at once?' - -'I had to remove my shoes; they were wet. I did not suppose you were in -much of a hurry.' - -'Come inside. Why do you stand in the doorway?' - -She obeyed. - -'Well, is it necessary to leave the door wide open behind you?' - -She closed the door. - -'Shut it, I say.' - -She obeyed, and leaned her back against the valve, crossed her feet, -and put her hands behind her on the handle. - -'Where have you been?' asked Drownlands imperiously. - -'To Red Wings, to see your niece. You don't know her. It is a pity. -You should look after her; she is your own relation. She is not bad -in her way, but awfully poor—and pig-headed too, which poor people -oughtn't to be, because they can't afford it. I went to have a deal -with her, but it was of no use. She would do no business with me.' - -'Oh, you have gone back to your old profession of Cheap Jack, have you?' - -'I never left it off. I Cheap Jack in my sleep and make thundering -profits. It is disappointing to wake in the morning and see all the -goods—and damaged ones too—on the shelves where they were the night -before, after I had sold them off in my dreams at twenty-five and -thirty per cent. profits. There's an epergne has been the nightmare to -father and me. I wanted Kainie to take it, but she wouldn't. Suppose -you buy it and present it to her, and so make peace and love between -you?' - -'Have done. I told you I did not wish you to know her.' - -'But I went on business, and my time was wasted.' - -'You have also been with that—that fellow.' - -'Yes, with Mark. I took him out for a drive.' - -'In the road, in the van?' - -'Yes; the van wanted sweetening. The fowls have been roosting on it, -and have treated it shamefully.' - -'Be silent. What are you playing with behind your back?' - -'I am playing with nothing. I am always at work or doing business. I -never play.' - -'And what work or business are you engaged on now?' - -'I am polishing the handle of the door.' - -'You not play? You never play?' exclaimed Drownlands, starting to his -feet. 'You are always at play, and I am your sport. You play me as a -fish, you dagg me like a pike. Look at this.' - -He went to the corner of his room, and from the collection there thrown -together produced a singular weapon or tool, locally termed a gleve. - -'Do you know the use of this?' - -'No.' - -'It is for playing,' said Drownlands bitterly. 'See, there are six -knives tied together by the handles at the head, and all the blades -have been jagged like saws, the teeth set backwards. Can you guess its -purpose?' - -'No; it's not a woman's tool.' - -'It is for playing—playing with pike. You take this and dagg into the -water; you dagg and dagg, and bring up a pike or an eel wedged between -these blades, cut into by these fangs. He cannot free himself; the more -he twists and turns, the deeper into his flesh bite these teeth, and -the greater is his anguish of heart. That is play—play for him who -does the dagging, not for the poor fish that is speared. And, Zita, -such is your play. With your fingers, with your tongue, with your brown -eyes, you dagg for me, and I am the miserable wretch whom you torture. -It may be fun to you.' - -'I do not make sport with you, master,' said Zita, with placidity of -feature and evenness of tone in strong contrast with his working face -and quivering voice. - -'You are at that handle again. Polishing it! Leave off, or you will -drive me mad. Can you not for one moment desist from tormenting me? You -seek out occasion, means, to twang my every nerve, and give me pain.' - -'Master Drownlands, listen to me,' said Zita. 'You are quite in the -wrong when you say that I dagg for you. Lawk-a-biddy! I dagg for you? -On the contrary, it is you who are dagging for me, and I have to dodge -to this side, then to that, from your gleve, and as I happen to be -sharp of eye and nimble in movement, you do not catch me. That is how -the matter stands, and not at all as you represent it.' - -'Who suffers?' asked Drownlands fiercely. 'Is it you, or is it I? You -stand there, composed and complacent, rubbing up my door-handle behind -your back, and all the while I am in torture. You cannot speak to -me but you stick a dart; you cannot look at me but I feel the knife -cutting; your very laugh causes a wound, and your weapons are all -poisoned, and the gashes fester. Here am I' (he flung the gleve back -into the corner with an oath), 'your victim, your sport—in suffering.' - -He returned to the table. - -'Sit down,' said the girl. 'Do not work yourself into a passion. -There's no occasion for that. Let us come to business.' - -'Yes,' said Drownlands; 'that is the only way to deal with you. You -have a sorry, commercial mind. Everything to you must be a matter of -pounds, shillings, and pence.' - -'That is the only way with me,' said Zita. 'I was brought up to trade, -and I love to drive a bargain. That, if you like it, is sport; it is -sport and business squeezed into one.' - -'I will stand here,' said the man. 'You stand there by the door, if -you will; only, I beseech you, leave off polishing that cursed handle, -and reckoning, as I suppose you are, how many farthings to charge me -for it. As you say that you love business, to business we will go. As -nothing affects you but what is presented to your mind in a monetary -light, to moneys we will proceed. We also will have a deal.' - -'By all means,' said Zita, with a sigh of relief. 'Now I am on my own -ground. Do you want to buy, sell, or barter?' - -He did not answer immediately. He folded his arms and stood by the -window jamb, looking over his shoulder at her. - -The dusk had set in after the set of sun, but a silvery grey light -suffused the room, the reflection of the snow on the ground. In this -light he could see Zita. She had withdrawn her hands from the knob, -and had them raised to her bosom, and was rubbing one palm against the -other leisurely. A fine, clean-built girl. He also was a fine man, -with strongly-cut features, picturesque, with his long black hair, his -swarthy complexion, his sturdy frame, and the tiger-skin slung across -his shoulders. - -'Now I am ready,' said Zita. - -He did not speak. He felt that much, everything, depended on what he -said, and how he said it. His breath came quick, and his brow was -beaded with perspiration. - -'You are slow about it,' said Zita. 'Father took an agency once for -an _Illustrated History of the War_. It was to be in twenty parts, at -half a crown a part, and four beautiful steel engravings in each, of -battles, and generals, and towns. That _Illustrated War_ was such a -long time in progress that some of the subscribers died, and others -moved away, and some went bankrupt, and there was no getting their -money out of some of the others. Father never would have anything -more to do with concerns that did not go off smart like the snap of a -percussion cap. It seems to me that this business of yours is going to -be as long and tiresome as that of the _Illustrated War_.' - -'You are dagging at me again,' said Drownlands sullenly. - -'I cannot speak a word but it takes you contrariways,' observed the -girl. - -He left the window and came to the table, leaned his hand on it, and -stood with his back to the light. Still unable to make up his mind to -speak, or how to speak, he began to tear up the blotting-paper into -little pieces and to throw them about, some on the floor, some on the -board. When the last fragment had left his fingers— - -'Zita,' he said in loud and vehement tones, 'I suppose I am twice your -age.' - -'I should fancy more than that—a good deal.' - -'Be silent and listen to me.' He raised his voice. 'I am rich. I -have a large tract of land—fen-land. I have turned over every turf, -and under each found gold. But it has not made me happy. I have had -many contradictions, many sorrows, and some shame. My life has been -blistered and full of running sores. I have ever been seeking and never -finding, till I saw you. When you came into my house, then I knew at -once that it was you I had craved for and longed after, and that you, -and you alone, could give me what I can find nowhere else—happiness.' - -'Give?' said Zita. 'I thought this was a business matter.' - -'Let me buy my happiness, then, at what price you desire. I have told -you what I am worth. When I see you, I feel the fire kindles in my -heart; when I do not see you, it smoulders; and now—now I speak, it -breaks out into raging flames.' - -'I must leave this place, or you will go clean crazy.' - -'No, you must not—you shall not leave it! I could not live without -you, having once seen you. Zita, I must have you!' - -'Me?' said Zita. 'With me go the van and the goods.' - -'Curse the van!' - -'You must not say that. The van is very fine, if the poultry would but -leave it alone; and with the curtains and tassels is fit for a king.' - -'Zita, it is you only that I want.' - -'There are a lot of goods goes with me—scrubbing-brushes, mops, -brooms, door-mats, pots and pans. Then there's Jewel—who is not bad -when he does go.' - -'You are trifling with me again. Listen to me. Hear me to the end.' - -'I want to hear the end and have done with it,' said the girl. 'I was -reckoning up the articles. Here's Cheap Jack Zita for one; there are -all these promiscuous goods, that's two; here's the van, that's three; -and there's Jewel, that's four—a job lot.' - -'You are mocking me.' - -'No indeed, I am not. We are after business, are we not?' - -But Zita was purposely protracting the scene. She was in difficulties, -and was searching to find a way out of them. - -'Yes, business. You are mercantile. Listen to what I offer. I am rich, -a man of consequence, and a Commissioner. Here is the house, here is -the land. I have money in the bank—thousands of pounds; all—all I -have is yours; give me but your own self in return.' - -Zita was far from being unfeeling. She was stirred by the earnestness, -the devotion of the man, but she was not for a moment doubtful as to -what her answer must be. Commercial though her mind was, she could not -accept him at his price. Her scruple was how to word her refusal so as -least to wound him. In her peculiar fashion—one inveterate to her—she -twisted the matter about so as to give it a comical aspect. She saw no -other loophole for escape from a difficult and painful situation. - -'I am sorry,' she said, 'that number one in the job lot is not to be -parted with. That is withdrawn from the sale, or bought in. But if it -is any consolation to you to have the van and a share of the goods'— - -'That is no consolation to me.' - -'A queer state of mind to be in—an unwholesome one, and looks like -derangement of intellects. The van ought to comfort any man with his -faculties about him.' - -'Zita!' exclaimed Drownlands, striking the table with his fist, 'you -persist in fooling with me! I will not endure this. I am in deadly -earnest. I know the reason of this trifling. Mark Runham'—he choked -with passion—'Mark has stepped in, and you have given him that heart -which you deny me—a heart I would give worlds—worlds'—. He turned to -the window. It was starlight now, starlight over snowfields. 'Look out, -Zita, at the stars. It is said that they are worlds. If all these were -mine, and filled with unimaginable masses of treasure, the homes of -unexampled happiness, I would give all for you—all for you—listen to -me—merely that I might call you mine, and then die.' - -'I cannot be yours,' said Zita in a firm voice. 'And now that you have -said this, I shall leave the house.' - -'You shall not leave this house!' he cried fiercely. 'If you attempt -it,—if I see that you are about to attempt it—and I know whither you -would go,—then I will shoot you first, and myself afterwards.' - -'I have to do, then, with a madman?' - -'Be it so—with a madman; mad on one matter only, mad for one thing -only—you. I make no empty threat. I swear by these stars I will do -what I threaten. I cannot and I will not live without you. I will kill -you rather than that you should belong to another.' - -Zita came forward from the door, came to the table. - -'I can never be yours,' she said in a tone as earnest, as grave as his. -'There is that between us which makes it for ever impossible.' - -'What is the _that_—Mark Runham?' - -'No—not Mark Runham.' - -'Who is it, then?' - -'There is no _who_. There is a _something_. Must I tell you what it is? -I would gladly spare you.' - -'Tell me, and torment me no more.' - -She stepped to the corner of the room, took the flail up, and cast it -on the table between them. - -'The _something_ is that flail.' - -Suddenly through the window smote a red flare; it kindled the room, it -turned Zita's hair into a ruddy aureole, it streamed over the table, -and dyed the flail blood-red. - -And Drownlands cast himself on his knees, with a cry of anguish and -remorse, and buried his face in his hands. - -Then through the house sounded a hubbub of voices, and cries for the -master. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -THE FEN RIOTS - - -Several and various causes had combined to produce discontent in the -Fens. - -Those who lived by fishing and fowling were angry because the improved -drainage had destroyed their sporting grounds. Those who had been left -behind in the scramble for land were discontented because others had -seized the advantageous moment for purchasing which they had let slip. - -The labourers were discontented because of the lowness of the wage and -the high price of corn. How was it possible for a man on ten or eleven -shillings a week to maintain a family, when wheat was at four to five -shillings a stone? - -It is proverbial that such as have risen from poverty prove the -harshest masters. Such was the case in the Fens. The landowners were -related by blood and marriage to the labourers they employed, but, -nevertheless, they ground them under their own heels. A specimen of -their brutality may be instanced. Twice or thrice the wheat had to be -hoed, and the hoers were women. Over them the farmers set a ganger -armed with an ox goad, who thrust on the lagging women with a prod -between the shoulder-blades. - -The men were paid partly in money, partly in corn, and were given the -refuse wheat that would not sell, wheat that had been badly harvested, -and had sprouted in the ear, wheat that made heavy and unwholesome -bread. - -Labour in the Fens was of a specially trying nature. The clayer was -underground all day in pits throwing up the marl that was to serve -as manure to the surface earth, and was half stifled by the noxious -exhalations from the decomposing vegetable matter, and was immersed -half-way up his calves in fetid, phosphorescent ooze. - -The cleaning out and deepening of the dykes was trying work, for the -workman was plunged to his waist in stagnant water and slime, tormented -by mosquitos, and poisoned by the stings of the terrible gadfly that -threw him into fever for a fortnight. Everything was poisonous. The -fen-water entering a cut produced gangrene. If the hand or foot were -wounded by a reed, a sore was the result that resisted healing. - -The expenses of the fen-labourer were heavy. He could not do the tasks -set him without a pair of well-tanned leather boots reaching to the -hips, that cost him from thirty-six shillings to two pounds the pair. - -His comforts were small, and were disregarded by the landowners. His -cottage, though quite modern, was supremely wretched. It had been run -up at the least possible expense, one brick thick, and one room deep, -on piles. But 'the moor' beneath the surface had shrunk through the -drainage, and the walls gaped, letting wind and rain drive through the -rents, and frost enter, impossible to expel by the largest fire. - -There was then, as there is now, and always will be, a body of social -failures—fraudulent dealers detected and exposed, but not shamed, men -who, through their sourness of temper, or indolence, or dishonesty, -had failed in whatever they took in hand. These were ready-made -demagogues, all talkers, all dissatisfied with every person and thing -save themselves, accusing every institution of corruption, and every -person of injustice, because of their own incompetence. They were in -their element when real discontent prevailed on account of real wrongs. -They rose into influence as agitators; they worked on the minds of the -ignorant peasantry, dazzling them with expectations impossible to be -realised, and exciting them to a frenzy of anger against all who were -in any way their superiors. These men were rarely sincere in their -convictions. They were for the most part unscrupulous fishers in -troubled waters. Of the few that were sincere, Ephraim Beamish was one. - -All the elements of dissatisfaction were combined at the period of our -tale, and the high price of wheat produced an explosion; but it was -Ephraim Beamish who applied the match. - -He had been expelled his office as keeper of a mill by the -Commissioners, and his enforced idleness gave him leisure to pass from -one centre of discontent to another, to stir up the embers, fan them -to a white heat, and organise a general outbreak. On a preconcerted -day, the labourers rose, and with them was combined a large body of -men of no particular calling, who had no particular grievance, and no -particular end in view. - -No suspicion of danger was entertained by the employers, and when the -dissatisfied broke out in open riot, they were taken by surprise and -were unprepared to offer resistance. - -Bodies of men assembled at Mildenhall, Soham, Isleham, Downham, and -Littleport, and the order was given that they were to march upon Ely, -and on their way were to extort from the farmers promise of higher wage -and cheaper corn. In Ely contributions were to be exacted from the -Bishop, the canons, and all the wealthy and well-to-do citizens. The -mills were to be wrecked and the banks plundered. - -At the head of the whole movement was Beamish, but he was more -especially to act as commander over the Littleport detachment. - -Having got the men together,—the poachers and wild-duck fowlers armed -with their guns, the labourers with cudgels,—he endeavoured to marshal -them into some sort of discipline and subjection to orders. But this he -found more difficult than to bring the men together. He found the men -were not amenable to command, and were indisposed to confine themselves -to exacting contributions. Fortified by their numbers, they attacked -the grocer's shop, the vicarage, and the home of a retired farmer in -Littleport, broke in the doors and pillaged them. - -Having tasted the pleasures of plunder, they were prepared to sack and -wreck any house whence they thought liquor or money was to be got. - -It was in vain that Ephraim Beamish endeavoured to control the unwieldy -body of men. _Quot homines, tot sententiæ._ And as each man in the -disorderly love-feasts at Corinth had his prophecy, his psalm, and his -interpretation, so in this assemblage of peasants, each had his opinion -as to where lay the blame for the distress or discomfort under which he -laboured, each had his private grudge to avenge, each his special need -which he sought to satisfy, and all were united in equal determination -not to submit to dictation from Beamish or any other man. - -The tavern at Littleport could hardly escape, although it had been a -rendezvous of the dissatisfied. The mob rushed towards it to break in -and seize on the contents of the cellar. In vain did Beamish protest -that they were injuring a good cause by their disorderly conduct; all -desired drink, and none paid heed to his remonstrance. - -The taverner barely averted having his house looted by rolling a -hogshead of ale out of his doors, and bidding the rioters help -themselves. - -Then Beamish sprang on a bench and entreated the men to attend to what -he had to say. - -'We want no words,' said one of the rioters. 'We are dry, we want -drink. We've empty pockets, and want to fill them. Our ears have been -stuffed with words. Keep them for chapel on Sundays.' - -'I will speak,' cried Beamish. 'I am your leader. You have sworn to -follow and obey me. You elected me yourselves.' - -'Lead us to liquor and sovereigns, and we'll follow sharp enough.' - -'You are wasting time. You are damaging a righteous cause. Have we -not to march to Ely? Have we not to visit the farmers on the way, and -impose our terms there?' - -'There's plenty of time for that, Pip.' - -'There is not plenty of time. The Mildenhall men are on their way under -Cutman, five hundred strong.' - -'How do you know that?' - -'It was so planned. The Isleham men are marching under Goat, the Soham -men under Gotobed. Who will be first in Ely? Is Littleport, that should -lead the way, to come in at the tail?' - -'There is something in that, mates,' shouted one of the rioters. 'Stand -in order, you chaps. To Ely! Bring along the waggon.' - -The idea that, if looting were to be done, they of Littleport might -come in merely to glean where others had reaped, and the consciousness -that a far richer harvest was awaiting them in Ely than could be -garnered in Littleport, acted as a stimulus, and the mob desisted -from further violence, and roughly organised itself into marching -order. All were armed after a fashion, with guns, pitchforks, cudgels, -leaping-poles, and cleavers; and as the day was declining, there was a -cry for torches. - -'We shan't want them,' called one of the men. 'We'll light bonfires on -our way.' - -Then a waggon was drawn out. In it were stationed some fowlers with -duck-guns. The object of the waggon was to serve as a sort of fortress. -Those in it were above the heads of the rest, and, in the event of -resistance or an attack, could fire over their heads. Moreover, the -waggon would be serviceable to carry the spoil taken on the way, or -gathered in Ely. - -Then the mob rolled along the great drove or highway to the city, with -shouts, and oaths, and laughter, and trampled the snow as it advanced, -leaving a black slush behind it. - -Many of the men were half intoxicated with the ale and spirits they had -already imbibed, and all were wholly drunk with lust of gain and love -of destruction. - -Then one in the waggon shouted, 'To Crumbland!' Another shouted, 'No, -no! Young Runham is not bad. He has sold his wheat cheap and thrashed -out all his stacks. And the old woman is a widow.' - -'That's nought,' exclaimed a third, 'if there's any liquor to be had -there!' - -'To Gaultrip's!' was the cry. - -'Gaultrip is my cousin!' shouted another. - -'That's nought,' called one of the mob. 'I suppose he has money.' - -'Ely way!' roared Beamish, scrambling into the waggon. 'Drive ahead. -What's the use of being the commander, if nobody listens to the word of -command, and nobody thinks of obeying it, if he does hear it?' - - - - -CHAPTER XXII - -TWENTY POUNDS - - -The shrill voice of Mrs. Tunkiss was heard, as she ran screaming up -the stairs, calling for 'the master.' Then she burst into his room, -followed by the maid-of-all-work, who was in convulsive jerks. - -'Oh, master! there is a riot. Some of our men have joined, and there is -a stack on fire at Gaultrip's. The mob is coming here, and threatens to -burn us.' - -'Who are coming?' asked Drownlands, looking up. He staggered to his -feet, but was as one dazed. He did not observe the glare in the room. -He did not hear distinctly the words spoken. - -'Look, master! look at the blaze. It is at Gaultrip's. You can hear -them coming on. They are swearing horrible, and say they will have our -lives.' - -'What is this all about?' - -'I don't know for certain. Tom Easy has run here afore to tell us what -he has gathered. But lawk! poor lad, he's frightened; and me—my poor -head won't hold it. He says the mob be armed with bombs and cannons, -and all sorts of engines of war, and they'll blow us up into the skies.' - -Drownlands passed his hand over his eyes, then went to the window and -looked out. - -He saw in the distance the red blaze of a burning rick, the flames -dancing and leaping in the air, and carrying with them wisps of ignited -straw, which were borne on the wind as firebrands, to carry destruction -elsewhere. He could see the mob advancing as a ripple of fire running -along the drove before a dark wave. The rioters had, in fact, twisted -up bands of straw, had lighted them, and were waving them as torches as -they advanced, and the flames were reflected in the dykes on each side -of the road. Drownlands was surprised. He threw up the sash, and the -roar of voices was carried into the room. - -'What is the meaning of this?' asked he. 'Who are these that are coming -this way?' - -'It is the rioters,' answered Mrs. Tunkiss. - -'Rioters? What rioters?' - -'Lawk! how can I tell? Tom Easy said they want advance of wages, and -cheap flour. And he said, they ask for money to help on the cause.' - -'Cause? What cause?' - -'Lawk, sir! how can I say? Tom Easy said it was the Union of Fen -Labourers, and they will have blood or money. They will make you swear -to pay them two shillings a-day more wage, and pull the price of flour -down to half a crown.' - -'They demand money of me, do they? Let them venture to require it of -me.' - -'Here they are!' screamed Mrs. Tunkiss, as a blow was levelled at the -door, and the strokes resounded through the house. - -'Who was that?' shouted Drownlands from the window, with a curse. He -was not a man to spare oaths when he was angry. 'Who struck my door? I -will have the law of him.' - -The mob was pouring into the yard. - -'Make a blaze, and let us see the old tiger!' shouted one of the -rioters, and bunches of straw and corn were snatched from a rick, a -blaze was made, and fire tossed about, illumining the face of the house -and the figures of the men in the waggon. - -'By heaven, I know you!' shouted Drownlands from the window. 'That is -Aaron Chevell in the waggon, and by him Isaac Harley and Harry Tansley -with guns. I'll not forget you. I have a memory. I have five ash trees -on the drove side, and I shall have a rioter slung to every branch of -every tree, and shall begin with my own workmen.' - -'Hold a civil tongue in your head!' shouted Chevell from the waggon. -'Don't threaten what you can't perform. We have guns here, as you see, -and can silence you; and we shan't think twice about doing so, if you -do not come to our terms.' - -'Master Drownlands!' called Ephraim Beamish, working his way forward -in the waggon with his long arms, and leaning his elbows on the front -board when he had thrust himself into the middle position, 'you will -gain nothing by abuse and threats. We have a good cause, and are a -thousand strong to support it. You have had everything in the Fens your -own way too long, and have trampled the working men under foot. You -have coined their sweat into silver'— - -Some one shouted as a correction, 'Into gold.' - -'Yes,' said Beamish; 'you have coined the sweat of your men into heavy -gold, and have left the men to hunger, and toil, and nakedness; to -cramp, and ague, and fever. They have their rights as well as you. They -have borne their wrongs long enough. Now they have risen to demand what -in equity is theirs—some share of the profits, some just proportion -out of your gains, so that they may live in comfort, and not barely -live.' - -'Shut your mouth!' roared one of the crowd; 'we want no preaching now. -We knows our rights, and we'll maintain them with our fists, and not -with your tongue. Pip thinks he'll convert Tiger Ki, he does! Words -won't do that. Send a shot at him, Tansley. That's the only argument -for him.' - -Tansley, the man addressed, thrust Beamish back with the butt-end of -his fowling-piece, and laid his barrel on the front board. - -'Listen, Master Drownlands,' shouted Beamish, again making an effort -to shoulder his way to the front of the waggon. 'What we ask of you is -twenty pounds for the cause of the United Fen Labourers. Give us twenty -pounds, and swear to the conditions—a fair wage and cheap corn. Then -we will do you no harm whatever. We will take your money, and move -along our way. We are bound for Ely.' - -'I pay you twenty pounds?' yelled Drownlands. 'I have a gun as well as -you have, and will contribute lead to the cause—lead only.' - -He ran to the corner of the room and took down his gun from the rack. - -'I'll shoot,' threatened Tansley. - -'Ay—and so will I,' said Drownlands, 'and let us see who can take the -best aim. I think my eye is pretty well known to be sharp and my hand -steady. By the Lord, I'll not spare you!' He paused and put on a hat. -'I can see finely with all those wisps of fire. Hold up your torches, -boys, higher, that I may send my bullet into Tansley's heart. He will -leap, and then down he goes.' - -Fallen pieces of ignited straw had kindled the half-kneaded straw on -the ground, and there ran flames and half-flames to and fro on the -soil. The cart-horses in the waggon started and shifted position to -escape these flashes and flickers. - -'Drownlands!' shouted a young voice, and Mark Runham thrust his -way through the crowd. 'I pray you be reasonable. You will provoke -bloodshed.' - -'What, you there? You a ringleader in riots?' exclaimed Drownlands, -lowering his fowling-piece. - -'I am not that. Let me come within.' - -Then Mark stood on the waggon-shafts and called to the crowd— - -'Refrain from violence! Leave me to manage Master Drownlands. I will -engage him to let you have the money you require.' - -Then he jumped down from the shafts and ran up the steps. - -The door had been bolted and chained by the housekeeper, but Zita, -hearing what Mark said, without waiting for orders, descended to the -ground floor, and unbarred the door, and admitted him. He ran upstairs, -for no time was to be lost. The mob was restless and irritated. It -was impatient to be on its way to Ely, and yet was reluctant to leave -Prickwillow without having drawn money from it, or done some mischief. - -Drownlands was too angry to listen to advice. He would not hear of -coming to terms with the rabble. He had been too long accustomed to -domineer over the labourers to fear them now. He in no way realised how -much courage is given by association in numbers. - -'What are you here for? How dare you enter uninvited?' he exclaimed, as -Mark came into the office, followed by Zita. - -'I admitted him,' said the girl. 'He has come in your interest.' - -'He is one of the rioters! He is a leader! A Runham of Crumbland, with -a tail of dirty scoundrels after him, burning, pillaging, and getting -drunk.' - -'I beseech you,' said Mark—'I entreat you to listen to reason. The men -are, as you say, drunk—drunk with folly. I am no leader.' - -'You are acting for them.' - -'I am an intermediary. They have spared me. They came to Crumbland, but -we humoured them, brought out cake and ale, and they went their way -without molestation. Gaultrip resisted, and they set fire to a stack, -and so frightened him that he yielded, and paid fifteen pounds. Now he -is engaged in saving his other stacks. Do not provoke these fellows -further.' - -'I will not listen to you. You ought to be ashamed to take the part of -these scurvy ragamuffins.' - -'I am not taking their part, but yours. Hark!' - -There was a cry from the yard of, 'Drownlands! Tiger Ki! We will -break in the house door unless you give us money.' - -Then a brick was thrown. It crashed through the double panes of the -window with raised sash, and fell in the room, accompanied by a shower -of glass splinters. - -'I will shoot one of them!' exclaimed the yeoman, and he ran with his -gun to the window. - -Mark had just time to strike up the barrel, and the contents were -discharged in the air, hurting nobody. - -Drownlands turned on him with an oath. - -'I will punish you,' he said, stamping with fury, and he rushed upon -Mark with his gun raised over his head, grasping it by the barrel. - -Then Zita sprang between them, holding the flail in both her hands, as -a ward against the stock. - -'Stand back, Mark!' she cried. 'He dare not touch you across this -flail.' - -It was as she said. - -The man stood as one paralysed, the uplifted gun in his hands, his eyes -glaring at young Runham, and the red reflections of the fire flashing -on his face and turning it to blood. But the blow did not fall. His -muscles remained immovable, the gun suspended in the air, till Zita -lowered the flail, and put it behind her back. Then the spell was off -him. He let the gun fall on the ground, and his head sank on his bosom. - -The discharge of the fowling-piece had produced a hush in the voices -outside. - -None knew whether, in the darkness, some one had been hit. But when, -after a pause, it was found that no harm had been done, then there -broke forth loud cries and execrations; the courage of the rabble rose -with a sense of its immunity, and a rain of brickbats beat against -the windows of the house, shivering the panes. The kitchen-maid fell -on the floor in a fit. Mrs. Tunkiss went into a series of shrieks. -Renewed blows were raised against the house door, and they were -accompanied with cries of, 'Smash it in! Tear the tiger's house down! -He has hundreds of pounds put away somewhere. If he will not pay twenty -sovereigns when we ask civil, we will take two hundred.' - -Then one shrill voice cried, 'Make a bonfire of the wheat ricks.' - -'Ki Drownlands! will you do nothing?' asked Mark; 'will you not give up -a few pounds to save those long ranges of stacks?' - -'Let them do their worst,' answered the master of Prickwillow doggedly. -'By the light of the fire I will note every face, and mark them all -down, man by man, and then woe betide them.' - -Then a burst of cheers, and cries of, 'That will do famously. We will -have that out. Get horses, harness, and we will drive to Ely.' - -Zita ran to the window, and returned hastily with a blank face. - -'They have found my van! They have got inside. They are clambering on -the roof. They are treating it worse than poultry! Oh, Mark! Mark!' - -Then through the window she pleaded, 'Spare my van. Here are ten gold -sovereigns.' Then to Mark, 'Take my money, go to the men, and get them -to leave my darling, precious van alone.' - -'Stay,' said Drownlands. 'I have changed my mind.' He went to the door -and summoned the domestics who had fled when the brickbat crashed into -the room. 'Come here, Leehanna. Sarah, get out of your fits and come at -once. Come here, Tom Easy.' - -The frightened servants obeyed. - -'Bring a candle,' he said. - -The scared housekeeper did as required. - -When Drownlands had received the light, he went into the passage, and, -holding it before the face of Mark, said to the domestics, 'Do you know -who this is? Is not this Mark Runham? Can you swear to it?' He paused -for an answer to each question. - -'He has come here, pushed his way into my house, against my wishes, to -force me to contribute twenty pounds towards the cause of the rioters. -He threatens me with the burning of my ricks if I do not comply. Is it -not so?' - -'I have come,' said Mark, 'because I am desirous to save you, as well -as others in your house, from injury; and also to intervene and protect -these misguided men against committing a crime.' - -'They touched nothing at Crumbland.' - -'No; we gave them food and drink.' - -'Yes, you are hand and glove with them. And now you are acting as their -spokesman and their leader. Take my money—twenty pounds, and take -Zita's ten pounds—thirty pounds in all, the plunder of this house. -Mind you, I give it on compulsion. I do not find meat and liquor for -the rioters; I do this to save my ricks of corn. And I give it to you, -Mark Runham, acting for the rioters.' - -Drownlands turned to those present. - -'I call upon you all to witness, you, Leehanna Tunkiss, you, Sarah, -you, Tom Easy, and you, Zita, that I pay over my twenty pounds against -my will. Open your hand, Mark Runham. Let them see that you have there -my twenty pounds and Zita's ten pounds. There are the sovereigns all in -gold. They are well spent—well spent—they rid me of you.' - -A few moments later a shout rang from the crowd without—'Tiger Ki -has shelled out. For the Union, for the Cause! for the fen-labourers! -Twenty pounds! Twenty pounds for liberty and right! The cheap loaf and -the big wage! Hurrah! hurrah, boys! Forward to Ely! On to the banks. On -to the mills!' - -Drownlands looked after the retreating mob from his window, and said, -with a sneer, 'Go on—to the gallows, Mark Runham; I am clear of you -now. Cheap at twenty pounds.' - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII - -TEN POUNDS - - -Notwithstanding the call of 'On to Ely!' the mob was not at once in -motion. Something delayed it. - -Zita went to the window and looked out. She saw that which excited and -angered her, and, turning her head to Drownlands, said— - -'It is a shame! It is disgraceful! They have taken my ten pounds, and -yet they are carrying off my van. They have put Jewel into the shafts. -They might as well have harnessed the Archbishop! He's stiffening his -legs and setting back his ears. Look how he's cocking his tail. They -will have to drag on van and Jewel together. What a thing the general -public is! I never knew it in this mood before, and yet I thought I -knew it pretty well. I'll clear the public out of my van. There are a -dozen inside, and a score on the roof. They have no right to do this -after accepting my money.' - -She left the window. - -'Zita, where are you going?' asked Drownlands. - -'Going to send the general public skipping,' she answered. - -'You cannot do it. It is not safe to leave the house.' - -'Trust me. I've swept the poultry off, and I'm not afraid of the -public. I know how to deal with them as I do with fowls.' - -Before Drownlands had time to offer further remonstrance, she had -darted out of the office, run to her own room, taken a pair of fencing -foils from the stores, had descended the stairs two steps at a time, -had unbarred the door and was out in the yard, making for the van. - -'Stand still—don't move,' she said to Jewel, as she passed his head; -and he turned one of his eyes at her and winked. - -'Clear away at once,' she shouted to those around the van. 'You have -taken my money, and must let the conveyance alone.' - -'Who are you? We've no money of yours.' - -'Yes, you have. I sent out ten pounds to you. Go, ask your commander, -secretary, treasurer, or whatever you call him. He has pocketed my ten -pounds, and you are bound to leave my van alone. I am the Cheap Jack -girl.' - -'Are you the daughter of the Cheap Jack who died here?' - -'Yes, I am; and this is my van. Hands off. You have no quarrel against -me. What have I done to make bread dear and keep wages low? I do not -belong to these parts. Stand aside.' - -She thrust her way to the back of the van where was the glass door. -This had been opened, and several men had ensconced themselves inside -on the benches. - -Zita entered, a foil in each hand. Within it was dark, but she -nevertheless knew that the interior was packed full of men. - -'This is my conveyance,' she said imperiously; 'you have no more right -to enter it than you have to occupy the house of the Lord Mayor. I have -got a sword in each hand. I cannot see any one in the dark, but I will -dagg with each hand, as you dagg for eels, and I will go on dagging -till I have got a man wriggling at the end of each.' - -Down went the front of the van, and out tumbled a dozen lusty men, one -over another, stumbling, falling, sprawling, in the trampled snow and -straw. - -Zita went through the van from aft to fore, and satisfied herself that -it was cleared of its human occupants. Then, standing on the platform, -which had been thrown forward by those who burst away from her foils, -she looked up at the roof. A score of men and youths was on it, their -legs pendent. - -'Down with you at once,' she said. 'Do you see these rapiers? Do -you think I can't run a man through as easy as stick a needle in a -pin-cushion? It's not the running in—it's the pulling out is the -trouble. There's a button at the end of each blade. I have got only -two—so I can pin but two of you, and that shall be the last two that -leave the roof.' - -She made as though about to scramble on to the top of the van, and away -went the men seated there, dropping like ripe pears from a tree. - -Zita leisurely reclosed the front of the van, and went out at the back -and shut that door also. - -'That's a good job done, Jewel,' said she. 'Now run the van backwards -into the shed, and you shall return to the stable. Roman candles, -Jewel—pop-bang! Roman candles at your nose.' - -'Hold there, you Cheap Jack girl!' shouted a broad-shouldered man, -coming up and laying his hand on the bit. 'We have taken this -conveyance for the Union. It is confiscated.' - -'Whether taken and confiscated I cannot say,' said Zita. 'But I know I -have paid ten pounds to have it untaken and set at liberty. Return my -ten sovereigns if you take from me my van.' - -'We have no ten sovereigns of yours.' - -'Yes, you have. And a shame it is that you should rob a poor Cheap Jack -girl. Not that she belongs to the general public, save and deliver -us!—but she is a working girl, and poor.' - -'We have had no money of yours, and we requisition the van. We want to -load it in Ely. It will serve our purpose better than a waggon.' - -'You shall not have it,' replied Zita. 'Fair trade is fair trade, and -he that will not deal honourably I will run through, and leave the -button sticking between his shoulders, and that will spoil a good -weskit.' - -The man sprang back as she threatened him with one of the foils. - -'I will tell you what it is,' said Zita; 'you will not believe me till -I have made an example of one of you.' - -'Where is your ten pounds?' asked Pip Beamish, who had descended from -the waggon. - -'Ay,' said several of those who stood round; 'that is what we should -uncommon like to know.' - -'Where are my ten pounds?' repeated Zita. 'That is a fine question for -you to put to me, when I'll be bound you have them in your pocket.' - -'Bring them out, Pip!' called one of the men. - -'I have not got her money. I have not touched it,' protested the -commander. - -'I gave it to Mark Runham along with the master's twenty pounds.' - -'The twenty pounds has been put into the Union box—I never touched -your ten.' - -'Come, come, Pip,' said a cluster of men, 'no shuffling. Mark wouldn't -have held back the money. You have had it, sure enough.' - -'I have not had one farthing of it.' - -'I paid ten pounds to have my van set at liberty. I did not wish to -have it sat upon, and the sides kicked, and the varnish scratched. I -gave ten pounds to save it from that.' - -'What did you get, Beamish?' asked Aaron Chevell. - -'I got just twenty pounds and no more—the twenty pounds that -Drownlands contributed, and that I put into the box with the rest.' - -'And not my ten?' exclaimed Zita. 'That is a falsehood. My ten was with -his twenty. Thirty pounds in all, in gold.' - -'There has been cheating,' shouted two or three. - -'That is what comes of jaw and preaching.' - -'Mates,' said Aaron Chevell, 'we must not let this pass. Let us have -judge and jury There has been robbery of the common fund. Mates, I vote -that we arrest Pip Beamish, and try him at once.' - -'Have him up in the cart,' said Tansley. 'Comrades all! light some -more straw wisps. There has been a case of roguery. There has been our -chief officer taking the money that was contributed to the Union, and -pocketing it for his private use. I charge Ephraim Beamish, and vote -that he be deposed from his command, and be tried for felony.' - -'I second it,' shouted Isaac Harley. 'And what I say is—like enough. -He who wants most has taken it. A chap as hasn't a house to call his -home, nor an honest employ in which to earn his living.' - -'It is not what I calls respectable,' said one man, 'that we should -march under such a rascal.' - -Then ensued a chorus of voices. - -'Up into the waggon with him, and try him there.' - -In vain did Beamish protest that he had not defrauded the Union, that -he had received no more than twenty pounds. The rest suspected him, and -were jealous of his assumption of authority. - -'You Cheap Jack girl,' called Chevell, 'we want your evidence. Ay, -bring the swords along with you, if you're afraid of us, but we do not -hurt women.' - -Zita allowed herself to be conducted to the waggon, and assisted into -it with rough courtesy. - -A fen-farm waggon is a very massive structure, more massive, perhaps, -than one in other parts of England. It has its peculiarity, which -consists in the front board being unusually high and arched at top. -Often may women be seen going to market in the waggons, crouching -against this high board, which screens them from the wind. - -There is much vermilion paint employed on the waggons, and the front -board usually blazes with colour. It was so on this occasion. The -waggon carried off by the rioters had recently been painted, and the -vermilion was of the brightest. - -Isaac Harley cried from his place in the waggon, 'Mates, who is to be -judge?' - -'We will have no judge but ourselves,' was the ready response. - -'Then,' cried Tansley, 'choose your jury.' - -'We will all be jury!' shouted the mob. - -Then Aaron Chevell, standing forward, said, 'Comrades, the case is -this. This young gal—she is the Cheap Jack's lass, staying here—says -she gave ten sovereigns in gold to the labourers' cause, to have her -van let alone. And she gave it along with the twenty pounds of Tiger -Ki. Now we want to know what has become of this contribution of hers. -Ephraim Beamish swears he never received it.' - -'I had the twenty pounds of Mark Runham,' said Beamish, 'but not ten -besides.' - -'You stand by the front board,' said Chevell to Zita, 'and tell your -story. We will hold Beamish, and every one shall judge.' - -'What? the general public?' asked Zita, looking round at the crowd of -upturned faces. - -'Yes; it shall give judgment.' - -'Then you'll have rare judgment,' said Zita. She went forward to the -place pointed out to her, and stood there, with her back to the scarlet -board, and leaned on her foils. Blazing straw wisps were held up, -brilliantly illumining the whole scene. - -'I call to silence,' said Chevell, 'and let us hear what the Cheap Jack -gal has to say.' - -'What I have to say is this,' said Zita. 'I saw that you had drawn out -my van, the house in which I was born and reared, the shop whence all -our profits came, and were treating it worse than did the poultry. -So I gave my savings to Mark Runham, ten pounds, all I had on me in -gold, at the same time that the master gave twenty pounds to save his -corn-stacks. Mark Runham took it to the man, Pip Beamish, who is your -captain.' - -'No, he ain't! we have deposed him!' was shouted on all sides. - -Then voices were raised for Runham, but Mark was not to be found. - -'We want another witness,' said Chevell. - -'There is one,' said Zita, pointing with a foil to Drownlands at the -window of his office. 'There are more if you desire them—Leehanna -Tunkiss, the girl Sarah, and Tom Easy. They all saw me give Mark the -money.' - -Aaron called to Drownlands if it was so. Drownlands answered in assent. - -'Summon the other witnesses,' commanded the self-constituted judge. - -Whilst the men knocked at the house door and demanded the presence of -Mrs. Tunkiss and the girl Sarah, Beamish raised his voice in protest. - -'I say, mates and comrades all, this is strange and unwarranted -proceedings. Am not I your leader?' - -A shout of, 'You was—but you're a thief—we'll have none of you. I -vote for Aaron Chevell. Duck him; he's a turncoat. He's a cheat and -robs the poor men.' - -'It is false!' shouted Beamish, between rage and disappointment. 'How -can I have acted as you say, when I am the man who urged you on,—I, -who have the cause at heart more than any of you?' - -'Oh yes! that's how Judas talked!' shouted some one in the crowd. Then -there came yells of, 'Judas! Judas! Let him hang like Judas!' - -The door of the house was not opened to allow the witnesses to issue at -the dictate of the mob. - -'We must have more witnesses,' said Chevell. 'We don't lay much store -on Drownlands. He ain't taken the oath.' - -Then Zita appealed to the master of Prickwillow to suffer the maids to -come forth. After some hesitation he agreed. - -'I'll let 'em out if you'll hang Beamish,' shouted he from the window. - -Presently the door of the house was cautiously opened, and Drownlands, -who stood at it, thrust forth the two women. Mrs. Tunkiss was white and -quaking; Sarah nigh upon a fit. - -'Now, then,' demanded the judge, 'up into the waggon wi' you. And, -lads, hold up the torches that I may see if they looks honest and -truthful. You—Leehanna Tunkiss—did this Cheap Jack girl give ten -pounds for us into the hands of Beamish?' - -'Oh yes! forty!' exclaimed the woman, who did not understand what was -being done, and thought she might be incriminating Zita, or doing her -some harm by the admission. - -'She don't quite agree about the figure,—she says forty,—but she -establishes the fact,' said Chevell, addressing the crowd. 'You swear -to it?' - -'Oh, I swear!' exclaimed Mrs. Tunkiss. 'Oh, gentlemen, let me down! I -shall faint.' - -'Pass her down,' ordered Aaron. 'Now you other—Sarah Gathercole—did -she give him money? She shakes her head—I mean she nods.' - -'She has the Vitus' dance,' protested the accused. - -'She understands what's she's axed—eh?' - -The poor girl nodded in her nervous fit. - -'And you swear to it—the Cheap Jack girl gave ten pounds?' - -Again she went into fits of jerking and nodding. - -'She's mighty sure of it, that she be,' said Aaron. 'What say you, -mates and chums? Is it proved?' - -A roar in response, in the affirmative. - -'Now then,' said Chevell, 'it is for Pip Beamish to answer in his -defence.' - -'I never had more than twenty pounds. Search me if you will.' - -'You may have been too sharp for that,' said Isaac Harley. 'Mates, he -ain't got a defence. I vote for condemnation. This Pip Beamish has been -terribly stuck up, and has given himself the airs of a dook, and has -been ordering us about. I vote that he is a thieving rascal. What say -you?' - -'Hear! hear! We say the same!' Then ensued shouts of, 'Kick him down! -Duck him! Chuck him into the Lark!' - -In a moment Beamish was plucked out of the waggon, flapping his long -arms in protest and entreaty, was jostled, beaten, kicked, and finally -thrown into the dyke—the one honest and sincere man among the leaders -of the rabble. - -'Now then, mates,' called Chevell, 'it is right and proper that we -should elect another commander.' - -'We want no commanders!' shouted the mob. 'We know what we want! We -will all be commanders! Are we not the general public?' - -'Then I vote,' cried Harley, 'that we lose no more time, but move on to -Ely.' - -Zita was helped out of the cart. The improvised torches were set in -motion, forming a line of fire as the whole mob of rioters left the -farm, and marched along the dark embankment, whilst the waggon bounced -below on the drove. - -As Zita stood by the van, which she had thrust back with the aid of -Jewel into the shed, a hand was laid on hers. - -'Zita!' - -The voice was that of Mark. - -'Oh, Mark!' - -'Zita, here are your ten pounds. I did not give them to Beamish.' - -'Mark! and he has been deposed, and cuffed and beaten, for having -stolen it.' - -'He has been thrown into the dyke, and I have helped him out of the -water. Do not be disconcerted. I could not have done him a better turn -than this, to get him out of association with men who are running their -heads into hangmen's nooses.' - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV - -A NEW DANGER - - -'Mark, how was it that you did not give them my ten pounds?' - -'Why, my dear Zita, I thought I could get them off without it. I gave -them Drownlands' twenty. He escaped cheap at that price, and twenty -pounds is nothing to him. I made sure I could induce them to leave your -van alone without payment to do so, and when I saw them harness Jewel -to it, then I was quite certain they would have to leave it; you do not -suppose I would have suffered those rascals to take your money except -in an extremity? To rob you was to rob me, Zit—for I never would -have suffered you to lose those ten pounds. If I had been constrained -to give them up, I would have refunded this sum to you out of my own -pocket.' - -'You are very good.' - -'Not at all. I have more money than I know how to spend.' - -'You are good all round. You pulled Pip Beamish out of the water, and I -know you do not love him.' - -'You see I help one I love, and one I do not love.' - -Zita coloured. 'I did not mean that.' - -'Then I do,'said Mark roguishly. 'You are in the right in this, that I -do not love Beamish,—for one thing, because I think him a perverse, -meddlesome, mischievous, discontented donkey, and for another, because -of Kainie.' - -'Kainie again?' exclaimed Zita, drawing back. - -'Yes, because I do not choose to have him running after her.' - -'Why should he not run after her as well as you?' - -'Because he can never make her happy.' - -'And you can?' - -'I can try,' said Mark. - -'Well, that is frank!' said Zita, huffed. 'You called me "Dear Zita," -just now—I suppose it is "Dear Kainie" as well.' - -'My dear Zita'— - -'Perhaps you will keep your "dears" for her, or any one else who cares -to have them and share them with others. I do not wish to be so termed. -I refuse to be so called.' - -She turned to leave. He caught her by the arm. - -'Do not be cross. I cannot explain matters now. It is all right. I did -not mean to offend you.' - -But Zita would not speak. She hastened to the house with pouting lips, -burning cheeks, and sunken eyes. As she entered, she encountered -Drownlands, in his slouched hat, and wearing a long great-coat in place -of his usual tiger-skin. He held a whip in his hand, and had a pistol -sticking out of his breast pocket. - -'Are you going out?' asked the girl. - -'Yes. You are in no further danger. The rabble will not return. I shall -follow them.' - -'Why so?' - -'To bring all I can to the gallows. I shall watch every man I know, -and see what his proceedings are. I shall take account of every act of -lawlessness. They have not had my twenty pounds for nothing. I shall -get some satisfaction in return. In Ely folks will be too much alarmed, -the faces will be too strange for there to be recognition of offenders. -That is my work. I shall witness against them, man by man, beginning -with my own labourers who have revolted against me. I have purchased -the right with my twenty pounds—a life for every pound—ha! ha!' - -Then, looking steadily into Zita's eyes, he said in a low, bitter tone, -'I shall begin with Mark Runham.' - -'Mark?' echoed the girl. 'He has done no harm.' - -'Has he not? He entered my house uninvited. He acted for the rioters. -He was their mouthpiece. He extorted money from me for them.' - -He struck his boot with his whip, strode faster, then turned on the -doorstep and said, 'If not the gallows for Mark, then transportation. I -am well rid of him. See what it is for a man to venture himself in my -way.' - -Zita was startled. What had Mark done to incur the penalties of the -law? Was it conceivable that Drownlands was in earnest? He made idle -menaces. He had threatened to string the rioters to every bough of his -five ash trees. He had not done it, and he could not do it. His present -menace was as empty. - -She watched the master ride forth from the stable when he had saddled -his horse himself. No man was left on the premises to attend on him. -The boy, Tom Easy, was too frightened to be of service, and Drownlands -was impatient to be off. - -As the farmer rode past the door, he turned his face towards Zita, but -in the darkness she could not see its expression. - -He pointed in the direction of Ely with his whip, and at that moment -Zita heard a roar of voices, followed by an explosion of firearms borne -upon the wind. In fact, the rioters had reached the metropolis of the -Fens. They had let the waggon precede the marching body. The front -board had been notched to receive the fowling-pieces, and the insurgent -labourers, on reaching the main street, had announced their entry by a -discharge of firearms and a ringing shout, calculated to strike terror -into the hearts of the citizens. - -Zita did not remain long inactive, listening to the sounds of uproar in -the distance. - -'Sharp! a pail!' she called to the quaking kitchen-maid. 'There is no -reason why you should be idle, or I either, because a parcel of men are -making fools of themselves.' - -'A pail? What can you want a pail for at such a time as this?' asked -Mrs. Tunkiss. 'You ought to be down on your knees praying.' - -'You would want a pail, and soap, and water, and a scrubbing-brush, -Leehanna, if you had been drawn out into the yard, and had had a score -of bumpkins sitting on your back and kicking your sides with their -dirty boots. I am not going to let my van remain all night in its -present condition, to have the clay caked over it in the morning, just -because wheat is up and wages down, and folks don't like to have it so. -I will clean the van before I go to bed.' - -Mrs. Tunkiss and Sarah were too much overcome to render assistance. -Sarah was shaking and jerking in every limb, and Leehanna had got down -her Bible to read about the fire and brimstone rained on the cities -of the plain, and the escape of Lot, and to conceive herself to be -a female Lot. Zita furnished herself with what she required, and set -vigorously to work, commenting as she went on upon the bruises and -scratches in the varnish and paint, which the sides of the van had -received from the boots of those who invaded it that evening. - -She was engaged on the roof of the van, when, all at once, her thoughts -took a different direction, and, kneeling upright, scrubbing-brush in -one hand and a piece of soap in the other, she exclaimed— - -'That was impudence, if you please! to tell me he did not approve of -Pip going after Kainie, and that he will do his utmost to make her -happy! Does he think he can have us both? That may be fen ways, it -isn't caravan morals. Hark!—what is that?' - -She could hear the alarm bell of Ely Minster pealing. - -'There was a song of father's that I mind,' said Zita, still kneeling -upright, 'and if Mark had only been brought up in a van instead of -desultory-like on the Fens, he'd have learned the things he ought to -do, and the things he ought to leave alone, taught him by songs and -other ways.' She sang— - - 'Young men, be advised, if love gets in your sconce, - Don't ever go courting two maidens at once; - With one you may work along safely and sound, - 'Twixt two stools you're certain to come to the ground.' - -A lurid glare was in the sky over Ely, and the bell continued to peal -its note of distress. - -The thoughts of Zita reverted to the threat of Drownlands. He had said -he would bring Mark to the gallows, or, at all events, send him into -transportation. - -This had seemed to her at the time an idle threat, as the empty -explosion of anger, that could do no harm, whilst it relieved the -master's chafed feelings. But as she turned the matter over in her -head, it appeared to her no longer as trifling a concern as she had at -first supposed it to be. - -Mark had entered the house, and had induced the master to part with -his money to save his ricks from being burnt down, and his house from -being broken into. This fact was capable of two interpretations. Mark's -purpose had been obvious enough to her; but it was quite possible for -his action to be misrepresented as one of sympathy with the rioters, -and his interposition as being due to his having been appointed by them -to act in their behalf. - -Zita was now able to comprehend the purport of Drownlands calling up -the servants to look at Mark, and to witness the payment of the money. -And at the same time she realised the force of his words when he said -that he had paid the money to be rid of Mark. She could penetrate to -the inner chambers of Drownlands' heart, and read there his thoughts -and intentions. - -If Mark were removed, it was likely that Zita would prove more pliable. -She would feel her loneliness, her isolation, and be driven to accept -him as her protector. Zita was very angry when these ideas rose in her -mind. She thought it incumbent on her to seek Runham and warn him to -be on his guard, especially to avoid having any more connection with -the rioters. Drownlands had gone in the wake of the mob; so, possibly, -had Mark, out of curiosity—out of a wish to intervene, as he had -intervened at Prickwillow. - -Zita put down the pail, and, instead of returning to the house, walked -down the road that led from the farm into the main drove by the side of -the Lark embankment. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV - -'I DON'T CARE THAT!' - - -Zita was now seriously alarmed. She knew that Drownlands was one who -was without scruple in carrying out the ends at which he aimed. - -He had not let drop these ominous words at random. He hated Mark with -deadly animosity, and Zita knew very well the reason. He loved her, and -considered that Mark stood in his way. He hoped, she did not question, -that by removing Mark there would remain no other serious obstacle in -the way of his suit. Drownlands would not have recourse to violence. -The remembrance of what he had done to the young man's father precluded -that; but he would not hesitate to adopt any other means that promised -to relieve him of his rival. - -Zita had formed no plan as to what she would do. She walked in the -direction of Ely, on the chance of catching Mark up, or of finding some -one who could inform her whether he had returned home to Crumbland, or -had gone on after the army of the discontented. She had not walked a -quarter of a mile before she saw two figures standing on the embankment -against the illumined sky. - -Zita was below, in the drove, and in shadow. The roadway that had been -snowy was now trampled black, and a person walking or standing on it -would be invisible to those on the bank, whereas the latter were in -full view to such as were on the drove, and their every movement was -made distinct by the reflection in the sky of the fires kindled by the -rioters in Ely. - -Zita hardly, if at all, considered this. She did not at first know who -these persons were who were pencilled against the red light behind -them. She had no reason for remaining concealed, but she walked on a -dark surface, and was therefore invisible, and trod in springy peat, so -that her step was inaudible. - -Before she could distinguish by their faces who the two were upon the -embankment, she had discovered their personalities by their voices. One -was Mark Runham and the other was Kainie. - -Stung by jealousy, and instinctively, Zita stood still. She heard -Kainie say, 'I wish you would go after him, Mark.' - -Then she heard Runham answer, 'I cannot, and I will not. I picked him -out of the dyke, streaming with fen-water—out of the dyke into which -his own comrades had flung him—and in spite of all this he follows -them. Such a fellow as that is past helping. No one but Pip, after -being head, would consent to draggle at the end of the body as its -tail. What is more, Kainie, I do not like your interesting yourself in -him. He is not for you. He has too many maggots in his brain. There -is no place will suit him. Wherever he goes he will be in opposition. -Kainie, do you know the old country-dance tune of "The Clean Contrary -Way"? Well, that is the only strain to which Pip will caper.' - -'Poor Pip! He is not a bad fellow at heart.' - -'Maybe; but he is terribly perverse. Possibly he would be satisfied -if he were translated to what they call the Antipodes, for there his -head would be pointing where our feet run, and his toes would be aiming -in the direction of our heads. Once for all, I am not going into Ely -after Pip. It is of no use, and my mother is in alarm. I must return to -appease her fears. Now, Kainie, a word to you about yourself.' - -'What about me?' - -'Why, this: How long do you intend to remain at Red Wings?' - -'As long as I must. I suppose my uncle Drownlands will do nothing for -me.' - -'But I will. You can have any money you want from me.' - -'I do not require it. I am happy at the mill. I shall not leave it yet -a while. I certainly expect nothing from Uncle Ki. He never casts me -even a good-day. It is hard for me to suffer because he quarrelled -with my mother. I do not suppose I shall ever be the better for my -relationship to him. Folks say he is going to marry the Cheap Jack -girl.' - -Zita heard Mark's laugh, and then his answer. 'She will never take him.' - -'Why not?' - -'He is too old for her.' - -'That will not trouble her much,' answered Kainie; 'she calculates the -value of everything, and holds a thing to be worth just what money it -will bring in. I believe she has no thoughts, no care for anything but -money. She knows that Uncle Ki has got land and stock, has a good house -and a balance at the bank; she will say "There's profits," and take -him—snap at him eagerly.' - -'I do not believe you,' said Mark, and laughed. 'But about yourself, -not Zita. My mother still objects to my bringing you home to Crumbland -and acknowledging you. I do not feel comfortable and happy to be in a -good house, and to have you in that hovel at that mill.' - -'I cannot go to you so long as your mother is opposed.' - -'Perhaps not; but, after all, Kainie, she cannot hold out against you -for ever. She loves me too sincerely. She has too right a mind. She -will see how it frets me; and then—when all is said and done—I am -master of Crumbland, and not she. If I be driven to assert my will, she -will submit. She is certain to like, to love you, when she comes to -know you. It is but for a little while waiting. I do not wish to have -recourse to strong measures if delay will make all go smooth of itself. -You understand that, Kainie?' - -'I will wait. I am content at the mill. But—oh, Mark! I must tell you -a joke. That Cheap Jack girl was at Red Wings the other day, and she -wanted to buy you of me—actually purchase you.' - -'At what price was I estimated?' - -'At a ream of black-edged notepaper and envelopes to match.' - -Mark burst into laughter. - -'That is not all,' continued Kainie. 'When I did not prove eager for -the paper, she made another bid.' - -'And that—?' - -'Was a garden syringe to kill green-fly with soapy water.' - -Zita heard both laugh merrily. - -'I have not done yet,' continued Kainie. 'She finally produced her most -splendid offer.' - -'And that was—?' - -'It was one that almost made me surrender you, Mark. A box of all kinds -of scents. And she said'—Kainie could hardly speak for laughing—'I -should smell of Jockey Club in chapel—tremenjous—that's her -word—tremenjous!' - -Zita's anger was flaming hot, waves of boiling blood swept through her -veins, swept before her eyes and blinded her. - -Gasping for breath, she rushed up the bank, and, reaching them, struck -Kainie on the cheek with her open palm before she or Mark knew she was -there. - -'It is a shame!' exclaimed Zita, sobbing with emotion. 'It is mean to -tell of me—to make sport of me!' - -Then, turning on Mark, she said, 'And I will tell you what is preparing -for you—you who laugh and jeer at the ignorant, silly Cheap Jack girl. -It is the gallows or Botany Bay. And'—she snapped her fingers in his -face—'if you hang or are transported, I don't care that!' - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI - -A NIGHT IN ELY - - -The Isle of Ely, with the city in its midst, and the cathedral in the -midst of the city, is more ecclesiastical than Rome itself. Until -comparatively recent times the Bishop was a petty prince therein, -exercising powers of life and death. He did not indeed sit in the -courts himself, and himself sentence to the block and the gallows, -any more than did the Pope himself consign offenders to the flames. -The secular power was committed to a 'Temporal Steward,' who held his -office for life, and discharged the functions of High Sheriff, and the -Bishop washed his hands of all blood-guiltiness. - -The courts of justice were, however, held in the Bishop's name, and the -gaols were institutions under his jurisdiction. The Bishop appointed -the municipal authorities and the justices of peace. From the High -Sheriff to the town-crier, all derived their authority by commission -from the Bishop. - -As every acre of land in the isle and far away into the fen belonged to -either Bishop or Dean and Chapter, there were no county magnates near, -and no country gentry at all. Nay, even in the city itself there was -no gentry of independent position. In Rome there are princes who have -their territories. In Ely there were not even squires. - -Accordingly, the ecclesiastical dignitaries lived very high up in -roseate clouds and in an ethereal atmosphere, far above the clay land -where grubbed and wriggled the professional men and the shopkeepers. - -Perhaps the fact of being so completely under ecclesiastical government -paralysed all initiative in Ely, and rendered the inhabitants helpless -in cases of emergency. The citizens were but overgrown babies. The -lawyer, the surgeon, the M.D., the surveyor, the architect, were -accustomed to be swaddled and given suck by the Right Reverend -Father the Bishop, or the Very Reverend the Dean, or the Venerable -the Archdeacon; and all the officials, the temporal steward, and the -justices, and the chief constable, were wont to go in leading-strings. - -And they were such good babies. They always thought as the reverend -fathers thought; they never cried and kicked; and the air of the Fens -must have been salubrious, for they had all ravenous appetites for -the fat of the land, which fell from the ecclesiastical tables. At -the time of our tale, co-operative stores had not been so much as -thought of. The Bishop, the Dean, and the canons got their groceries, -their drugs, their wines, and their stationery from the Ely tradesmen. -In return for their custom, these tradesmen professed the strictest -churchmanship and the staunchest Toryism. - -The system of appointment to offices in Ely was distinctively -ecclesiastical. The magistrates were bespectacled and bewigged -officials connected by marriage with some of the members of the -Chapter. The constables were nominated for their general piety, or -because they were burdened with large families. The watchmen were -pensioned cripples or asthmatic incapables, whose utmost achievement -was to crawl about at night and proclaim the hour. Everything in the -city was managed for the residents by a benevolent and beneficent -ecclesiastical authority, which exhibited its benevolence and -beneficence by conferring offices, not on such as showed efficiency, -but on such men as were incompetent to earn a livelihood in any -profession or business that demanded the exercise of brain or of muscle. - -When the turbulent crew from Littleport arrived in Ely, and the rumour -circulated that other Fen centres were sending their contingents of -the disaffected to the capital of the Fens, neither magistrates nor -constables were prepared to take prompt action to protect the town and -stop the spread of disturbance. Orders were indeed issued to have the -minster bell rung, to summon all sober, law-abiding citizens to unite -for the common defence, but, although the bell pealed its summons, no -one obeyed it, for no one knew where the rallying-point was, or what -was to be done by those summoned. - -The temporal steward was in bed with a mustard poultice on his chest -and a dose of sweet nitre in his stomach. Consequently, when a -messenger from the Deanery came to request that he would do something, -the wife of the temporal steward was able to point out that he was -perspiring freely and the poultice drawing vigorously. To leave his bed -and the house was, therefore, out of the question. - -There was no deputy sheriff to fill the place which the sheriff was -incapacitated from filling. The vacancy had not been filled up, -because the Bishop was hesitating, balancing the claims of one who was -stone-blind against one who was stone-deaf. The prelate himself was -absent on a confirmation tour, and he had taken his chaplains with -him, and, what was more to the point, his butler—a man who did most -of the thinking in sublunary matters for his master. The constables -then in Ely were few. The chief constable, Mr. Edwards, was the manager -of Mortlock's bank, and in the interests of the bank he had come to -the resolution to keep in the background so as in no way to excite -the angry passions of the mob. Another constable had swallowed a -fish-bone, and this was being extracted by a fellow constable. A fourth -was at the moment incapacitated for work by one of his constitutional -and chronic fits of the hiccups. It was precisely because he suffered -from this affliction that the benevolent and beneficent ecclesiastical -authority had nominated him to, and invested him with, the office of -constable. - -As the combined municipal and collegiate forces of watchmen were -unprepared or unable to cope with the approaching masses of men, the -Dean sent off his coachman on a carriage horse to Bury St. Edmund's, to -invoke the aid of the military stationed there. The mob from Littleport -entered the town, as already said, preceded by the waggon, in which -were placed heavy wash guns loaded with slugs. To announce its arrival -a volley was fired, and the slugs rattled on the tiles and broke a few -windows. - -No sooner had the Littleport body entered Ely, than it learned to its -disappointment that nothing had been heard of the Isleham and Swaffham -contingents. - -In fact, discouragement had dissolved these at the onset. The small -landowner, Cutman, who had undertaken to lead the detachment from -Isleham, had reconsidered the matter, and resolved that heading a riot -could do him no possible good, and might do him very considerable -harm. The men assembled at the Duck at the appointed hour, waited, -and, as he did not appear, became uneasy, supposing that he had been -alarmed; they also reconsidered the matter, and, coming to much the -same conclusion as Cutman, dispersed quietly to their several homes. - -The Swaffham men were also defaulters. The tidings of what was -meditated had been communicated to a large farmer there, and when the -rabble approached, he met them dauntlessly, along with his stalwart -sons and some trusty serving-men, all armed with blunderbusses. He -addressed the mob, and, by his bold front and resolute bearing, not -only prevented them from attacking his house, but persuaded them to -break up and abandon their undertaking. - -The Littleport body, swelled by stragglers, and also by men who had -lived in the suburbs of Ely, formed a considerable host, and had they -been under efficient discipline, and had they known exactly what -demands to make, and how to enforce their demands, might have produced -serious results. - -As it was, they did a certain amount of mischief, and took a certain -amount of loot, but all in an aimless manner; and in looting or -wrecking forgot the ostensible reasons for their assembly and purpose -of marching upon Ely. - -No sooner were they in the town than the mob resolved itself, -without order given, into two detachments, whereof one attacked the -flour-mills, and the other broke into the victuallers' shops to seize -on their stores of ham, bacon, and sausages. - -There was a large soak-mill in the lower part of the town, managed by a -man named Rickwood. This was the first assailed. - -By this time the magistrates, at the advice and exhortation of their -wives, had plucked up sufficient courage to venture to parley with -the rioters. There were but three or four of these in the place; one -was a retired steward who was almost stone-deaf, the other two were -clergymen. These magistrates inquired of the fen-men what were their -demands, and were answered with confused cries for higher wages, -cheaper bread, and for money to be scattered among them. - -Terrified by the shouts and the menacing attitude of the mob, they -entered into negotiations with them, and offered to raise a certain sum -of money from the inhabitants to satisfy their illegal demands. But the -rioters could not agree as to the price at which they would desist from -violence, nor could they wait with patience till the magistrates had -collected the sum offered. - -Accordingly, the conference was broken up, and the mob proceeded to -smash Rickwood's windows and to beat open his doors. - -The miller was not, as it chanced, at home himself, and his wife -entered into parley with the rabble from a window. They demanded fifty -pounds, and threatened, unless it were paid, to proceed to set fire to -the mill, and the miller's habitation adjoining. - -Mrs. Rickwood, in terror, promised the sum, but said that she had not -so much coin in the house. She would send her son for the money to the -bank. - -'No! no! Come yourself!' shouted the men, and proceeded to demolish the -windows. - -Accordingly, Mrs. Rickwood descended, and in deadly fear issued forth -into the street, after having committed the mill to the care of her son. - -The banker was also, as already said, chief constable, and in the -interest of Messrs. Mortlock was remaining at home, and sitting in his -back parlour. - -When the mob reached his house, which was one with the bank, loud cries -were raised for him, and Mrs. Rickwood knocked at the front door. After -long waiting, he appeared in the doorway, as white as chalk. Mrs. -Rickwood then entreated him to furnish her with fifty sovereigns in -gold, in order that she might purchase immunity for her mill from the -insurgent peasantry. - -'Nothing in the world will induce me to do this!' exclaimed the chief -constable heroically. Whereupon a stone was thrown at him, and struck -his head, so that a little blood flowed. - -'That is to say,' said Edwards, 'nothing save compulsion;' and he -hastened within to find the money. - -The second body of rioters in the meantime was engaged in sacking the -grocery-shops and provision-stores. One of the magistrates, the Rev. -Mr. Metcalf, endeavoured to calm the mob by an assurance that he would -induce the owners of the shops to purchase their immunity. But he was -successful in two instances only. In some the rabble took the money, -and, notwithstanding, plundered the shops. Then a second mill was -attacked, but, on ten pounds being produced, no further violence was -done to it. - -The night was dark. The rioters went round requisitioning faggots and -coals, and soon an immense bonfire was kindled before the cathedral -west front, and a second in face of St. Mary's church. The first -lighted up the splendid pile, bringing out every detail of sculpture, -and twinkling in the glass that filled the Norman windows. - -Round this fire the young men and girls danced. Some of the men had -carried provisions to the Galilee, and prepared for a carouse. The -taverns had been attacked very early, and the publicans had been -constrained to allow the rioters free use of their liquor. - -As Mark had assured Kerenhappuch, Ephraim Beamish had pushed his way -after the rabble, undeterred by the treatment he had received at its -hands, his enthusiasm unquenched by his plunge in the icy water. As -there was no organisation in the mob, he was suffered to rejoin it with -an occasional protest only, but Chevell, Harley, and Tansley would not -allow him to remount the waggon. - -No sooner did Beamish find that a great body of the insurgents were -setting themselves to eat, drink, and revel about the great fire -in front of the cathedral, than he got a chair, and endeavoured to -harangue them, to point out to them that they were throwing away their -occasion, neglecting to enforce their grievances on the employers of -labour, and that they were making enemies among all the well-disposed -by their capricious and lawless proceedings. But directly his face was -discerned by the flicker of the fire, and his voice recognised, beaten -back by the cathedral walls, than shouts were raised of, 'That's the -fellow who stole the Cheap Jack girl's money. We want no preaching -here.' - -His chair was tripped up, and he was sent sprawling in the dirt. - -He rose angry and disconcerted. The movement of which he was the -instigator, and of which he had been appointed director by vote of the -men, had rejected his direction, and was taking its own suicidal course. - -The fens immediately surrounding the isle on which Ely stood were -farmed by men whose homesteads were on the gault excrescence that -formed the isle. According to the preconcerted scheme, the Union of Fen -Labourers was to proceed to these farmsteads one by one, to exact of -the farmers a contribution to the cause, and an oath to raise the wage. - -It was true enough that two or three farms had been visited which -lay to right and left of the road from Littleport to Ely, but no -sooner had the men reached the Fen capital, than they forgot their -purpose, directed their attention to the provision-shops, waylaid and -blackmailed passengers, broke into the taverns, and thought only of -eating, drinking, and making money. They entirely neglected the scheme -that had been agreed to. Not a single farm in the isle was molested, -not a single farmer coerced. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII - -SIR BATES DUDLEY'S RIDE - - -After a night of revelry, the winter morning broke on men lying tipsy -or asleep about the smouldering embers of their fire, against the walls -of houses, or crowded on the benches and on the stone floor of the -Galilee. Every tavern was packed, and many private houses as well. The -rioters had demanded admission, and had threatened violence if opposed. -Doors had accordingly been opened to them, and they had received -reluctant admission. - -On the whole, little serious mischief had been done. A few shops had -been invaded, a few well-to-do persons blackmailed, some windows -broken, all the ale and spirits in the public-houses drunk out, and -all the hams in the licensed victuallers' consumed; but with the sole -exception of the cutting open of the head of the chief constable, no -personal violence had been done to any one. - -The demonstration had been absolutely resultless, so far as concerned -the purpose for which it had been organised. The only fruit that would -come of it would be that the bakers, millers, and provision-dealers -would raise their prices, so as to recoup themselves for what they had -lost, and that certain of the rioters would suffer penalties out of all -proportion to the injury done. - -Some consciousness that a mistake had been made stole over the dull -brains of the men as they awoke, chilled and headachy, on the morning -after the entry into Ely. Those men who had promoted the movement, but -had not been suffered to direct it, were certainly alive to the fact -that a great blunder had been made, and that their safety was at stake. -And when the rumour spread that the dragoons from Bury were about to -arrive, the pot-valiant fen-men rapidly dispersed. - -Droves and roads radiating from Ely were thronged with fugitives, -flying at their utmost speed towards their homes, and none speeding -more rapidly than those men who were guardians of the money collected -from the farmers and shopmen and millers for the cause, and who sought -not only to secure their persons, but also the money they carried with -them, for their own advantage. The sum collected might enable them to -escape from the neighbourhood, and it would form a comfortable little -capital on which to start business where they were unknown. - -When, about noon, the military arrived, the streets of Ely were almost -as silent and unoccupied as on any day in the week save market day. - -They were met by the magistrates, preceded by Sir Bates Dudley, Bart., -an old canon of Ely; the chief constable showed with his head bandaged, -and the high sheriff looked approval from his bedroom window, in -nightcap and dressing-gown. - -Orders were issued for the pursuit of the rioters to Littleport, their -headquarters. As it was necessary that a magistrate should accompany -them, Sir Bates Dudley was lifted into a saddle. He was a small, very -globular man, with a red face and a wig of sandy hair. - -'You won't go very fast with me?' inquired the baronet of the officer -in charge. 'Be—be—cause, though I was a horseman oo—oo—once, I -haven't ridden these forty years.' - -Then, turning to his footman, he said, 'Tut—Tut—Thomas, you'll please -to run at my s—s—ide, and hold my leg, lest I tut—tut—tumble off. -If you see me getting at all out of the per—per—per—pendicular, just -run round and give a pull to the other leg.' - -Presently Sir Bates Dudley addressed Drownlands, who was standing near -him, holding his own horse. - -'You will cuc—come too—so important a witness; and you will indicate -who are the persons to be arrested, and who are na—na—named in the -warrants I signed. You will oblige me if you will ri—ride at my side, -and as Tut—Tut—Thomas is negligent, and his at—at—tention may be -distracted, and he may forget his doo—doo—dooty to me, if you see me -at all out of the per—per—perpendicular, just give a thrust, will -you, with your riding-whip, and set me up—pup—right again. I haven't -ridden for forty years. I hope the saddle won't ga—ga—gall the horse.' - -'I'll keep at your side, sir,' said Drownlands. - -'That wo—wo—won't be quite enough,' said the baronet. 'If you wouldn't -mind keeping an eye on my left leg, and if you see it go—go—going up -the side of the saddle, just tut—trot round the ba—ba—back and give me -a thrust with the end of your whip, and set me per—per—perpendicular -again. I can't trust Tut—Tut—Thomas entirely.' - -'I'll do what I can for you, sir,' said Drownlands. - -Then Sir Bates turned to his man Thomas and said— - -'Ki—ki—keep an even habit of mind, Tut—Thomas, and don't let your -thoughts ramble to Mary. Don't pup—pup—pull my right leg too hard, -nor let it go too lax.' - -Then, addressing Drownlands— - -'I am shush—shush—sure the Government and all law-abiding citizens -owe a debt of gratitude to you, Mr. Dud—Dud—Drownlands.' The baronet -gasped at the name, opening his mouth and jerking his face forward, -as though endeavouring to catch a bluebottle and swallow it. 'I -con—con—congratulate you on your activity, observation, and spirit. -You will be the primary means of convicting the ri—ri—rioters.' - -The canon rode along, balancing himself uncertainly in his saddle. The -dragoons trotted after. - -When, however, the clay land of the Isle of Ely was left, trotting was -out of the question. The horses made their way painfully through the -slough, and military order was not to be maintained. - -Sir Bates's horse tossed his head, and endeavoured to keep up a trot. -There is pride in brutes as well as in men, and the baronet's steed -was elate at the idea of preceding the splendid dragoon chargers, -so well groomed, so gorgeously accoutred, and bearing such radiant -beings on their backs. Let the fen cart-horses see that he, Sir Bates -Dudley's cob, took precedence of, was on gracious terms with, these war -chargers. Every now and then, when a horse was visible in a stubble -field, he neighed to him a challenge to observe who went by and in what -company. - -'I don't quite like this mo—mo—motion,' gasped the canon, who was -bouncing like a pea on a drum. 'I am afraid the saddle will terribly -ga—ga—gall my horse's back.' - -At that moment Drownlands uttered an exclamation, and, turning to the -colonel of the dragoons, cried, as he pointed with his whip at a figure -in a field separated from the drove by a lane of water— - -'There is Ephraim Beamish, a ringleader. A warrant against him is -signed. He has the audacity to look on as though this did not concern -him.' - -The colonel gave orders to two of his soldiers to ride in pursuit. -The men detailed for the purpose at once leaped their horses across -the dyke. The road bank was sufficiently firm to enable the beasts to -spring. - -Then they started in pursuit. - -'Shoot! Shoot!' cried Drownlands. 'You will never take a prisoner like -that.' - -The dragoons were careering over the field, one of fifteen to twenty -acres, but it was hard work for the horses, so spongy was the soil; and -Pip Beamish ran before them without greatly exerting himself. - -The dragoons on the drove, at the command of the colonel, drew up in -line, and watched the chase. - -'They will never catch him,' repeated Drownlands; 'they never can. Give -orders that he be shot.' - -'I cannot do that,' said the officer in command. 'They will outstrip -and head him shortly.' - -'They never will. You do not know the Fens.' - -In another moment Beamish was seen to plant a long pole he was -carrying, swing himself aloft easily and gracefully, and fall lightly -on his feet on the farther side of the dyke limiting the field. - -One of the dragoon's horses floundered and rolled over in the soft -soil, but the other was close behind Beamish. It rose, and in a moment -vanished along with its rider in the dyke. The hind feet had found -nothing substantial on which to obtain the necessary purchase for a -leap across the water, and the beast and rider had fallen into the -stagnant, slimy liquid that filled the ditch. - -In spite of discipline, oaths and curses broke from the dragoons who -were looking on. - -'I knew it,' said Drownlands. 'Why did you not shoot? If that horse -hasn't broke his back it is a lucky job. Now Pip Beamish is beyond -reach, beyond gunshot, and it will take a day to get the horse dug out.' - -'What do you mean?' asked the colonel angrily. - -'Mean? Why, that no horse that falls into a dyke can get himself out, -or be got out save by spade-work. There he must remain; every struggle -makes him sink deeper. There is no bottom to the dykes till you reach -the clay, and for that you must go down twenty feet. He will never do -it again, if that is any consolation to you. But ten to one his back is -broke, and you may as well send a bullet through his head.' - -'Here,' shouted the colonel, 'dismount and go help Standish out.' He -beckoned to three men. - -'Help him out?' mocked Drownlands. 'They can't do it. They must have -workmen that understand the business. They must have the proper tools. -You don't happen to have brought any "beckets" with you, I suppose?' - -The man who had been precipitated into the water, was now seen on the -bank. He had scrambled out by means of the reeds that grew rankly in -the ooze. He was stamping, his splendid accoutrements were tarnished, -and the foul fen-water was streaming from him. Holding the reins, by -coaxing words he endeavoured to encourage his horse to struggle out -of the water. The poor brute made efforts to escape, churning up the -sludgy mud and peat in the dyke, but was incapable of doing anything to -extricate himself. The more he struggled the deeper he sank. - -When the situation was thoroughly realised—and the colonel would -not for some time believe the assertion of Drownlands that the horse -could be extricated by no other means than the formation of an incline -by spade labour—then he consented grudgingly to negotiate with some -loafers who had followed the troop, and by promises of liberal payment -to engage them to undertake the rescue of the charger. - -When this was settled,—and it took some time to settle,—the body of -soldiers advanced towards Littleport. Tidings had come that the rioters -were making a rally there, and intended to contest the way with the -military. That they were armed was known, as also that the fowlers of -the Fens were crack shots. If they held to their resolution, Littleport -would not be occupied without effusion of blood. - -It was indeed true that a rally had been made at Littleport. The men -living there, fearing that they would be arrested for the part they had -taken in the disturbance, spoke of defending themselves—better die -with guns in their hands, they said, than swing on the scaffold. But -now, as before, there was neither discipline nor cohesion among the -men. The colonel knew that they had no leaders, and did not greatly -concern himself at the menace. He was impatient to reach Littleport, -not lest the rioters should gather force, but to get finished with -an unpleasant and inglorious affair. Moreover, at Littleport most of -the arrests would have to be made, and it was as well to reach it as -speedily as possible, before every rioter had hidden under a bed, or in -a rabbit-hole. - -In the meantime, a considerable number of persons assembled on the -drove, partly to stare at the unprecedented sight of the glittering -military parade, but partly also as a means of exhibiting their own -peaceful demeanour, and showing that they had no sympathy with the -disturbers of tranquillity. As it happened, some of the men who had -been instigators to violence thought this a happy way of throwing a -veil over their past proceedings. By putting on a look of sheep-like -innocence, and thrusting themselves forward, they hoped to escape. But -they had miscalculated. They might have escaped, but for the presence -of Drownlands, who had followed the mob, watched its proceedings, had -taken note of everything done, and of the doers, and had denounced some -forty men to the magistrates, and was now accompanying the military and -Sir Bates Dudley, to point out those of whom it was advisable to make -an example, and who were already down on his 'information,' and against -whom warrants had been issued. - -'I think,' said Sir Bates, 'that if I am not absolutely -nec—cess—cessary, I would rather return to Ely. The saddle somehow -does not fit the horse.' - -'We must have a magistrate with us,' said the officer in command of the -dragoons. - -The canon looked piteously about him, drew out a silk -pocket-handkerchief, and wiped his brow. - -'It is of the horse I am thinking. A gall is so painful, so very -pup—pup—painful to the horse. I will do my dud—dud—duty, however -painful it may be to the horse.' - -The soldiery trotted on to Littleport. There the rioters had overthrown -a waggon across the road, and by means of bundles of straw had composed -a rude barricade. The resistance offered by them was feeble and -half-hearted. The sight of the dragoons overawed the men, and several, -after firing from behind the bundles, slunk away. - -The soldiers speedily passed the barricade and dashed among the men who -remained. A shot from behind a garden paling broke a dragoon's arm, -another brought down one of the chargers. This encouraged the men for -a moment, and they sprang at the heads of the horses, whilst others -assailed the riders with pitchforks. There ensued a brief hand-to-hand -scuffle. But when one of the rioters was shot through the head, and -the men saw that the soldiers were determined no longer to trifle with -them, they fled in all directions. - -Numerous arrests were made, and then the dragoons returned towards Ely, -Sir Bates jogging before them, and their captives well guarded in their -midst. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII - -TWO PLEADERS - - -The tidings that the dragoons were on their way to Littleport had -hardly spread sufficiently in the forenoon to draw together great -quantities of spectators, but after they had gone by it was otherwise. -The news flew like wildfire over the Fens, and the inhabitants of the -district came in troops and lined the road, so that they might have the -satisfaction of seeing the military, and taking account of the number -of prisoners they had taken. - -The fen-folk are all more or less closely connected by marriage, -forming a people to themselves, separate in interests, customs, and -character from those who live on the high grounds. They have been wont -for generations to seek their mates among themselves, with the result -that a close family connection binds the whole population together. The -number of cases in the Fens in which a woman, on marriage, retains her -maiden name is quite unequalled elsewhere. Whoever might be taken up -by the military was certain to be akin to some of the lookers-on, and -therefore the spectacle anticipated on the return of the dragoons was -calculated to engage their interest and excite their sympathies. - -Among the yeomen there is intermarriage with cousins for the sake -of adding acre to acre and barn to barn, but among the labouring -population no such inducement prevails. They choose their wives from -among their blood relatives, because the idea never crosses their -minds to go elsewhere to find mates. They must marry cousins or not -marry at all, and the question resolves itself in one of degrees of -consanguinity. - -As nearly, if not all, the wealthy landowners are grandsons or -great-grandsons of half-wild fen-slodgers, it follows that they are -knitted by blood ties to the labourers they employ. This does not -necessarily increase good fellowship, nor promote forbearance. The -purse-proud yeoman is the harshest master. He draws the line of -sympathy at the mark of the class to which he belongs, a class of -recent creation. He holds fast to his brother yeoman, and both together -grind down their brother labourer. - -This condition of affairs was of course more noticeable formerly than -at present. Each generation separates the well-to-do a step farther -from their poor relations. Our story refers to events and conditions -some decades ago. - -On account of the tyranny exercised by the masters, little -consideration was felt for them by the men when they broke out in -revolt, although allied to them by blood; and the stacks that had been -fired were in several instances set in flames by the blood relatives of -the owners of the stacks. - -As the dragoons trotted along the road towards Ely, exclamations and -lamentations broke out as the men they had taken were recognised by -those who lined the highway. - -'There is Robert Cheesewright! Oh dear! what will the old Robert do -without him?' - -'Be still. They have not taken Robert. He is going as a witness against -Pip Beamish. That's why he is there.' - -'Well, they have handcuffed James Cammel, anyhow, and he was going -to marry my Beulah. If they hang him, Beulah will have to take Aaron -Layton instead, that's all.' - -'There is Joseph Lavender. He is my wife's son by her first husband. -She will take on dreadful, and I shan't have my shirt properly washed, -nor my pasty full baked—that's what it means to me.' - -'They have taken Flanders Hopkins and Richard Rutter.' - -'Yes; and look you there. That's Isaac Harley, as was in the waggon. I -wish I had Isaac's gun, I'd shoot the chap that has charge of him. How -ever came Isaac to be taken?' - -'Ay; and he is cuffed to Joseph Stibbard.' - -'Stibbard broke into the parson's house at Littleport, and took his -silver spoons and money.' - -'He needed them more than did the parson.' - -'Of course he did, and had a right to take them. Joseph Stibbard's -sister married my nephew, Philip Easy. I hope he handed on the spoons -to her before the soldiers took him.' - -Such were the comments passed. Some of those looking on endeavoured to -push between the soldiers, and get at their relatives who were being -conveyed to prison, but were repelled by their guards. Comments of -another sort were expressed less loudly, though not less frankly. - -'There rides Drownlands. He has been along with the dragoons all the -day. He has been pointing out whom they are to take; and if there is -hanging to be done, i' fecks! it is he who has twisted the rope for -their necks, poor fellows.' - -'I knew he was out and about all last night.' - -'Yes, and has been all this morning with the magistrates. But they -haven't taken Pip Beamish yet.' - -'I am sure they would be put to it for witnesses, if it were not for -Tiger Ki. Which of us would peach? Wouldn't we do the other thing, and -swear 'em off?' - -'You are right there. I suppose Ki Drownlands knows what he is doing. -But I reckon that this will be remembered against him, and he will be -paid out for it some day or other.' - -'Trust our chaps for that, and the day will not be distant.' - -Drownlands observed the sullen looks, the scowls with which he was -greeted, and noticed the whispers that passed as he rode by, but -treated all with indifference or contempt. - -'They do not love me. I scoff at them,' said he to Sir Bates Dudley. -'They have done their worst. We are clearing the Fens of the only lads -with any spirit in them to do mischief. Those that remain are arrant -cowards.' - -Then he turned his horse's head down the drove to Prickwillow. 'I am -not needed till to-morrow. Here is my home.' - -His eye lighted on Zita, who had come forth to see the soldiers pass -with their prisoners. Near her were Mrs. Tunkiss, Sarah, and the farm -serving-men. - -Zita uttered an exclamation and ran forward, caught Drownlands' horse -by the bridle, and exclaimed— - -'What is the meaning of this? Why is Mark Runham taken? This is your -doing.' - -'Why not? He headed the rioters.' - -'He did not head them. It is false. You know it is so. Set him at -liberty at once.' - -'I cannot do that. He has been arrested. He will appear before the -magistrates to-morrow.' - -'Very well, so will I. I can bear witness as well as you.' - -Then Zita darted nimbly between the soldiers, in spite of their -protests, which were not roughly enforced, for the quick eyes of the -dragoons saw that she was pretty. She made her way to Mark, who was -handcuffed. - -'Mark,' said she, 'I will help you.' - -'You?' he answered. 'You said it was all one to you whether I were -hanged or transported. I am innocent, and will be discharged without -your help.' - -'Back!' ordered the dragoon on the right, and Zita was forced to -retreat. - -As she did so, she saw Kainie by Drownlands. The girl had seized his -bridle, and was gesticulating with vehemence. - -'It is your doing,' said Kerenhappuch. 'You hate him. You try to -destroy him. You are heaping to yourself wrath against the day of -wrath.' - -'Let go my bridle,' ordered Drownlands. - -'You are my uncle,' insisted the girl, her fair hair blown over her -face. With one hand she brushed it back, but did not release her hold -on the bridle. 'Although you have not treated me as of like flesh and -blood with yourself, yet you cannot undo it; I am your niece, and speak -to you I will, now.' - -'Let go, I say. I will hold no communication with you.' He struck his -spurs into the sides of his horse, which reared. But Kainie would not -let go. The plunging of the horse made the curb nip and cut Kainie's -hand, and some blood came over it. She changed hands on the bridle. - -'Look!' said she. 'You cannot help it. This is Drownlands blood. It is -Drownlands blood appeals to you now.' - -Then Zita laid her hand on the bridle, on the farther side of the beast. - -'We are two girls,' she said, 'and we will stay you, man though you be. -Kainie and I are enemies, we do not love each other, but we unite in -beseeching you to do justice to one man.' - -'Ay,' said the mill-girl. 'Uncle Ki, you are bent on evil, and we will -hold you back against plunging farther into the slough.' - -'Mark never intended to injure you,' said the Cheap Jack girl. 'He -sought to save your property for you. Why should you work for his -destruction?' - -'You shall withdraw your charge against him before all the world,' said -Kainie. - -'You shall break the shackles off his hands yourself,' said Zita. - -Drownlands dug his spurs wrathfully into the flanks of the horse, and -clenched his teeth and hands. But though the beast was wounded and -bounded, his head was held too firmly for him to break away. - -'Shall I grip your foot till you scream,' exclaimed Zita, 'as I did on -the night when I stayed you before?' - -'Will you kill Mark, as you killed his father?' asked Kainie. - -Her words were random words. She spoke in the vehemence of her wrath -against Drownlands, and anxiety for Runham. She knew nothing definite -against her uncle, but she had heard the whispered gossip of the Fens. - -'I will have justice on all who have wronged me,' muttered Drownlands. - -'Take care!' exclaimed Kainie, raising the disengaged hand, down which -ran a trickle of blood. 'Do not think that because some of the poor -lads have been taken, because ten out of one hundred are handcuffed, -that every heart that is full of bitterness is beating behind prison -walls, and every hand that can be raised against you is fettered. There -are ninety pairs for every ten you put in iron cuffs, and they will be -clenched in rage and resolve of revenge the day that you send the poor -fellows to the gallows.' - -'I fear them not,' said Drownlands scornfully. - -'You may not fear, but that is because, like Pharaoh, your heart is -hardened and your eyes are blinded, and the Lord is driving you -to your destruction. I am here to stand between you—I, as your -niece—between you and what threatens.' - -'What threatens?' - -'You are threatened.' - -'Who threatens me?' - -'Pip Beamish for one.' - -'Ha! he will be arrested speedily.' - -'No, not speedily. He is not taken yet, and till he is taken you are -not safe.' - -'I will see that he be not at large for long. Before this week is out -he will be in prison.' - -'That may be a few days too many for you.' - -'I fear not your Pip Beamish; your braggarts do nothing.' - -'No, braggarts do nothing; but Pip is no braggart.' - -'It is my turn now,' said Zita. 'You, Kainie, have tried and have -failed. Leave him to me. I can employ reasons that are stronger than -yours. Let go your hold of the horse's head. You have said your say. -Now I will say mine. But none must hear us.' - -Kainie reluctantly released the bit. Then Zita, still with her hand on -the bridle, strode in the direction of Prickwillow, leading the horse, -and some of the people congregated on the drove looked after her and -the master, and laughed. - -'He has found his mistress,' said one man, nudging his fellow. - -'Ay, and is following her lead like a lamb,' replied the man who had -been nudged. - -'Who leads today will drive to-morrow,' said a third. - -'Is he going to marry her?' asked the first. - -The man addressed shrugged his shoulders and said, 'No money. -Drownlands is not such a fool as that.' - -None of this was heard by Zita, who did not relax her hold, nor turn -to look at those who were left in the road. The master suffered her to -conduct him towards the house without making remonstrance. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX - -A DEAL - - -When Zita was beyond earshot, she looked over her shoulder, and said to -Drownlands, 'I call that mean.' - -She walked on, then halted, changed her hand on the bridle, and, gazing -about, said, 'You could free yourself of him in no other fashion, so -you swear his life away. But you have to reckon with me before it comes -to that. I will go into court and swear against you. What I shall swear -to will be the truth; your oath will bind you to lies.' - -'I refuse to strive with you in words,' retorted Drownlands. 'A woman -is always victor with such weapons.' - -'What? you prefer flails?—those are your weapons,' exclaimed Zita, -clenching her fist and holding her arm extended before her. 'I know -well why you are set against Mark Runham. You think that he is -something in some way to me, and that I am much to him. It is because -of this that you pursue him. It is because of me that you twist the -rope round his throat. But you are wrong altogether. I will not say -that Mark is nothing to me. He was kind to me once; kind when my heart -was tender, because my father was just buried. But I am nothing to -Mark. He mocks at me. He sneers and laughs at the Cheap Jack girl. He -does not love me; and, moreover, he is bound to another.' - -'Mark bound to another? Who is that?' - -'Nay, it is his affair, and he has not given me leave to tell his -secrets. But you may guess.' - -Drownlands' face testified his surprise. - -'I cannot guess,' he said, after a long pause. - -'Well,' said Zita, 'father's word was true, that in such matters men -are blind. We girls see—and I ought to see, for Mark has not played me -fair. He did let me think he fancied me; but I think so no more. He has -made me angry with him, and I am angry with him still. But there is a -step beyond which I will not go. If I could punish him I would—but not -with the rope or Botany Bay. You know that he came into your house in a -friendly mind, and with kind intent. You know that he was not in league -with that topsy-turvy general public. I shall hate and despise you, as -I thought I could hate and despise no man, if you swear falsely against -him.' - -'He has stood between us,' said Drownlands. - -'He has not done so,' retorted Zita. 'Your own deeds lie between us, -not Mark Runham. The events of that night lie between us as a wall of -ice reaching up to heaven, that can neither be climbed nor undermined. -Listen to me, master. I hate to be mean; but if you drive me to -desperation, if I see no other way to save Mark's life, I will do even -that which is mean.' - -'What is that? I do not understand.' - -'I have no wish to do it. I shall hate myself if I do it. You were good -to my poor father, and to me. When all was dark and cold about me, you -opened to me your house and fireside. You have harboured me, my horse, -and the van. I would not speak a word to mortal man of what I know. -They might tear the flesh off my bones with fiery pincers, and my mouth -would remain shut. I owe you an infinite debt of gratitude, and I would -repay it. But there is one thing I cannot do—I cannot suffer you to -send Mark to the gallows. Rather than do that, I will speak, and tell -the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, about the two flails.' - -Drownlands was silent. His face had changed to a clay colour, and his -lips were tightly drawn on his teeth. - -'And if it be any comfort to you to know this,' pursued Zita, as she -opened the hand extended before her: 'if you will drop this charge -against Mark, retract every word you have said in his disfavour, I -will swear to you to have nothing more to do with Mark all your days -upon earth. He shall be to me no other than a stranger. I will stop my -ears against him if he should try to speak to me flattering words. I -will turn my head away if the fancy takes him to look at me with kindly -eyes. There, Ki Drownlands, I have made you an offer now. I threw a -menace at you just now.' - -She had stayed the horse. She stood in the midst of the drove, upright, -her foot planted before her, her head raised, one arm lifted to the -horse's head, the other extended before her with hand outspread. She -had nothing on her head save her chestnut hair flying in the cold north -wind. Her side-turned face was colourless and sallow. - -'Come, Ki Drownlands. When I make an offer, I mean it. When I make a -threat, I mean that too. Will you take my offer? It is not Cheap Jack -Zita who will go back from her word.' - -'Be it so, then.' - -'It is a deal?' - -'Yes—a bargain.' - -'Here is my hand,' said Zita, dropping the bridle. 'A deal is a deal.' - - - - -CHAPTER XXX - -IN COURT - - -A few days were allowed to pass to obtain fresh captures. On a keen, -frosty morning, those taken by the constable and the military, to the -number of nearly forty persons, were brought before the magistrates -for the preliminary examination. It had been resolved that a Special -Commission should be appointed to try the prisoners on the capital -charges of burglary, arson, robbery, and tumultuous assembling to the -disturbance of the peace, and the commission of acts of violence. The -object of the magistrates on the present occasion was to sift the -cases, and deal at once with those of a light nature, and remand such -as were serious. - -The magistrates were in force at the courthouse, and proceedings had -begun before Ki Drownlands arrived in a light gig, with Zita at his -side. - -On reaching the court, the girl was surprised to see a constable issue -from the door, and in loud tones call the name of Ephraim Beamish. - -'Well,' said she, 'those magistrates must be a set of innocents if they -order Pip to be summoned in the streets of Ely. Do they suppose he -would come here to be caught? Pip will put his distance between himself -and the magistrates, as he did t'other day when the dragoons were on -the drove. He did not stay for them then, and he won't come for the -calling now.' - -On entering the court Zita looked about her. She was affected with a -qualm of nervousness, and her colour was heightened. She had never been -in a court of justice before; but when she discovered that the hall -was crowded, she held up her head, breathed freely, and her spirits -recovered their elasticity. - -'It's my own general public again,' said she; 'I am not afraid any -more.' - -'Ephraim Beamish makes no answer to his name,' said the clerk of the -court. - -'We will proceed with the case against Ephraim Beamish,' said the -chairman; 'and the Bench hopes that the constables will not be remiss -in their duty, nor relax their efforts to obtain possession of his -body, and lodge him in prison—that is, should his case be proved.' - -The evidence produced did satisfy the Bench that Beamish should be -remitted to the hands of the Special Commission. - -Then Mark Runham was called, and at once placed in the dock. - -Zita looked at him. She could see that he was not altogether confident -that his innocence would be acknowledged. He strove to disguise his -anxiety, but ineffectually. He was bewildered at the charge laid -against him, and troubled at finding himself in a novel and unpleasant -situation. - -The depositions having been read over, Hezekiah Drownlands, of -Prickwillow, was ordered to stand in the witness-box, for it was he who -had lodged information against Mark. - -Zita immediately elbowed her way to the front, and, resting her -elbow on the rail that limited the portion of the court accessible -to the public, looked steadily into the face of the master. She was -resolved to check and correct his statements, so that they should not -tell unfavourably against the prisoner. Drownlands noticed her, but -refrained from meeting her eye. He gave his evidence with hesitation -and confusedly, for he had laid information against Mark Runham, and -was now seeking to minimise the charge and weaken the force of his own -accusations. - -'I was in my office,' said Drownlands, 'on that same evening, and was -talking with—with Zita there,'—he pointed with his thumb towards the -girl, but without looking at her,—'when I heard the voices of the -rioters.' - -'Stay a moment,' said the chairman, interposing. 'Who may this Zita be?' - -The chairman was a merry, red-faced man, a gentleman who had been -brother to a former Dean, and had obtained from that Dean a lease of -a large tract of ecclesiastical property for ninety-nine years at a -nominal rent, and who resided and had become wealthy in Ely. - -'I refer,' said Drownlands, 'to that young woman. She lives in my -house.' - -The eyes of the Bench and of the audience were directed towards the -girl. - -'Oh!' said the chairman. 'Rather young for a housekeeper, eh?' - -'She is not my housekeeper.' - -'In what capacity, then, may we regard her as residing with you?' - -Drownlands hesitated. - -'Come, come! Don't be reticent, Mr. Drownlands.' - -'I really cannot say.' - -'Shall we say she is a sort of—ahem—companion?' - -A titter ran through the court. - -'I am a lodger,' said Zita. 'I pay my way.' - -'Silence!' ordered the chief constable. - -'You shall speak in your turn,' said the chairman, 'and no doubt you -will be able to give us valuable evidence, but you must not interrupt, -you understand.' Then, turning to the witness, and chuckling and -becoming purple with his suppressed laughter, the chairman said, 'Very -well, Mr. Drownlands, go on. We commend your taste. You were talking -with your pretty companion, or lodger.' - -A laugh ran through the court, in which all joined save the clerical -members of the bench, who looked grave and shook their heads. - -Zita coloured, and looked about her angrily. Mark's face was pale, and -his eyes were lowered. - -'I was talking with her in my office,' continued Drownlands, 'when the -mob entered my stackyard with torches, and threatened to burn my ricks -and break into my house. Mark Runham was with them.' - -'Did he threaten you?' - -'A great many voices were raised. I could not distinguish one from -another. There was a waggon, and Aaron Chevell, Harry Tansley, and -Isaac Harley were in it, and Tansley held a gun.' - -'Never mind about Tansley now. I see in your deposition that Mark -Runham entered your house. Was it so?' - -'Yes. He came to my door and knocked. Then Zita let him in.' - -'But,' interrupted the chairman, 'what you say now, witness, is not in -agreement with your information. You deposed that he had feloniously -entered your house.' - -'He came to ask for money.' - -'Yes, that may be; but if he knocked and was admitted, he cannot be -said to have feloniously entered your premises.' - -'I don't know about that. I gave no orders that he should be let in. -She took it on herself, and went down and unbarred the door, and -brought him up to the office. When there he asked for money—for twenty -pounds.' - -'No, gentlemen,' exclaimed Zita, 'it was not so. He told the master that -he advised him to pay the money lest the men should do mischief. He -asked for nothing.' - -'Silence, if you please,' said the chairman; 'your turn will come -presently, and then we will listen to your story. Proceed, Mr. -Drownlands. You say now that Mark Runham, the accused, was let into -your house by the pretty companion—or lodger. He did not break in. The -information is incorrect.' - -'I don't understand lawyers' jargon,' said Drownlands sullenly. 'All -I know is that Mark Runham came in and asked for twenty pounds, and -said that if I did not pay it, the men would burn my ricks as they had -those of Gaultrip. I know that blows were struck at my door, and I -heard threats that the men would break in, and a brick was thrown at me -through the window.' - -'That took place whilst Mark was in the room,' said Zita. - -'Silence there!' shouted the constable. - -'If that girl will intervene, and will not be quiet, let her be put -out of the court,' said Sir Bates Dudley, who was on the bench. - -'I'll be quiet,' said Zita; 'but when one hears lies, it is hard not to -contradict—it is hard—tremenjous.' - -'Go on, Mr. Drownlands,' said the chairman. - -'They threatened, if I would not pay the twenty pounds, that they would -burst in at the door, or by the windows, and take two hundred.' - -'Who? The accused?' - -'No, not the accused; the others. He was in my office, speaking with -me.' - -'But we do not want to hear what the others said—at least not now. We -are considering the case of Mark Runham. He is a farmer—a landowner, I -believe?' - -'Yes, he is.' - -'And you think it likely that such an one would put himself at the -head of a lawless rabble, to wreck farms and extort money from his -fellow-landowners?' - -'He demanded twenty pounds of me.' - -'Well, go on with your story. You refused the money?' - -'I did so at first, but in the end I was forced to pay it.' - -'Forced? Did the prisoner employ violence?' - -'No; the rabble outside threatened to burn all down unless I paid. I -put the money into the prisoner's hand.' - -'After that he left your house?' - -'He took ten pounds also from Zita.' - -'No; I offered them to him to save my van!' exclaimed the girl. - -'Another word of interruption, and you are turned out of court,' said -the chairman. 'Constable, stand by her, and if she opens her mouth -again, clap your hand over it, or stuff your pocket-handkerchief down -her throat.' - -'I will do so, your worship.' - -'That is all you have to say, witness?' - -'Yes. I have nothing more, except that Runham gave cake and ale to the -rioters.' - -'You saw him do so?' - -'No. I heard he had regaled them.' - -'That is no evidence.' Then the chairman turned to Mark Runham and -said, 'Has the accused any questions he would like to put to witness?' - -'Yes,' said Mark. 'I inquire of him whether I did not protest that I -came merely as a neighbour and a friend.' - -'A friend?' exclaimed Drownlands. 'No Runham can be a friend to me, nor -I a friend to him.' - -'That is no answer to his question,' said the chairman. - -'He said something of the sort,' Drownlands admitted. - -'Did I not say,' pursued Mark, 'that Gaultrip had refused at the outset -to pay blackmail, and that in the end, when his rick was blazing, he -gave way, and that I had run on ahead to advise you as a neighbour not -to provoke to outrage an irritated and unreasonable rabble?' - -'Yes, you said that; but how was I to know you were not acting for the -rioters? You gave them cake.' - -'Come,' said the magistrate occupying the chair, 'we will hear now what -that lively young woman has to say. She clearly is bursting with desire -to tell us all she knows. Put her in the witness-box.' - -As Drownlands left the place he had occupied, Zita stepped into his -room at the instigation of the constable. She looked up at the Bench -with a cheery countenance, and then round at the public that crammed -every available space. - -'Your name?' - -'Zita.' - -'Yes, that is well enough as far as it goes, but we want your surname -also.' - -'Father said we were Greenways. But nobody never called him nothing but -"Cheap Jack."' - -'And your profession or calling? A companion?' - -The court tittered. A clown in the public portion of the hall guffawed. - -Zita raised herself erect and said, 'A Cheap Jack.' - -'A Cheap Jill, I should say,' observed the red-faced chairman, laughing -at his own feeble joke, whereupon the Bench smiled, the clerk of the -court and the constables laughed, and the public roared. - -The magistrate went on, 'If you are a Cheap Jack or Jill, how come you -to be at Mr. Drownlands' house? Is your father with you?' - -'My father is dead,' replied Zita. 'That is just why I am at -Prickwillow.' - -'Then I presume you are a roving Jill in quest of a Jack?' - -'It is the place of the Jacks to run after the Jills,' said Zita; 'not -that I want one, thank you.' - -'Hush! Hush! No impertinence to the Bench.' - -'Beg pardon, I thought the impertinence came from the Bench to me.' - -The sally produced some merriment. When it was subdued, the magistrate -in the chair assumed a grave manner, and inquired in a different tone— - -'So you are staying at Mr. Drownlands' house? In what capacity?' - -'I am a Cheap Jack,' said Zita. 'I have my van there, and horse, and -all my goods. We got stuck in the mud of the droves, when on our way -to Littleport, the night of Tawdry Fair. Father was took ill and -died. So I am lodging at Prickwillow, and I pay for my lodging in -blacking-brushes and slop-pails.' - -'You are not, then, in any menial capacity—not receiving wages?' - -'I am a Cheap Jack, laid by the heels through mud and frost,' answered -Zita. 'It is true I have sewn on some buttons for Master Drownlands, -and have hemmed the linen, and he gives me house-room for my van and me -and the horse, till the dry weather comes and we can move away.' - -'Well, enough of that. Tell us what you know about the events of the -sixteenth.' - -'First of aw—aw—all,' interposed Sir Bates Dudley, who sat on the -right of the chairman. 'She has been put on her oath. Had we not -bet—tet—tet—er ascertain if she is aware of the nature of an oath?' - -'Ah, to be sure! I suppose you were brought up as a Cheap Jack?' - -'Always—since I was a baby.' - -'And not in the most virtuous and godly manner, I fear?' - -'I beg pardon, sir?' - -Here the constable interposed. He stooped and said in Zita's ear, -'Address the Bench as "your worships."' - -'I beg pardon, your worships. My father brought me up. There was not a -better man anywhere.' - -'Then—do you understand the nature of an oath?' - -'Father didn't swear but very little—off an' on like—and mostly at -Jewel, who was sometimes very provoking. But nothing like the man with -the merry-go-round—he swore awful.' - -'I do not mean that. Do you comprehend that you have solemnly promised -to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, and -that you have called Heaven to witness that it is so?' - -'Yes,' said Zita, with a sigh; 'but it is hard—tremenjous.' - -'What?—hard to speak the truth?' - -'Yes, your worship—because of the general public. You never was a -Cheap Jack, was you, your worship?' - -'No. Oh dear no, never—never!' - -'I thought so. I never saw you at any of the fairs, but there was a man -who swallowed knives like that gentleman at your side.' - -'Never mind about that.' - -'I was going to say, sir, that as you never was a Cheap Jack, you can't -understand what the feelings of one is, when she sees the general -public afore her eyes. There comes a sort of swelling of the heart, -and a desire of the mind to launch out into wonderful tales, and a -longing to make the General Jackass believe that black is white, and -chalk is cheese, that what is broken is sound, and what is old is new. -But I will do my best. I'll shut my eyes and try to forget the general -public, and fancy I'm with father in the van, for then I always said -straight out what was true.' - -The winter sun streamed in at the south window over against Zita and -flooded her as she stood in the witness-box. She had a scarlet and -yellow flowered kerchief round her neck and over her shoulders, the -white chip bonnet with black ribbons hardly contained her luxuriant, -shining hair. The sun blazed in her face, flushing her ripe cheeks, -making very June cherries of her lips, and adding a solar twinkle -to the sparkle of intelligence and wit indwelling in her honest but -roguish eyes. She stood as upright as a wand, her hands resting on the -rail before her, and her head thrown back. - -The chairman bent to Sir Bates Dudley and whispered— - -'What a good-looking wench it is!' - -'Is she, indeed?' said the canon. 'You don't mean to say so.' - -It did not comport with ecclesiastical, certainly not with canonical, -decorum and dignity to know whether a girl were good-looking or not. - -The chairman turned to the magistrate on his left and made the same -remark. This magistrate was a layman, a retired admiral, who had come -to live in Ely because his daughter was married to an official there. -His name was Abbott. There was no etiquette in Her Majesty's Navy -against observing good looks. He replied, 'Thunderingly so, Christian.' - -Christian was the chairman's name. - -'I'll speak the truth,' said Zita; 'though it is against nature—just -as it was against nature for that little fat gentleman to ride -yesterday; but he did it, because he ought.' - -A roar of laughter at the expense of Sir Bates Dudley. - -'Go on,' said the chairman, hardly controlling himself—the lay members -of the Bench loved to have a joke at the expense of the clerical -members. 'Tell your story, and tell it truthfully, or you'll get -yourself into difficulties.' - -'I mean to,' said Zita. - -Then she gave the narrative of the events of the evening of the riot in -their order, with such lucidity and simplicity, and so frankly, that -the truth of her story was stamped on every sentence. Now and then -some odd remark, some allusion to her van or goods, or to the horse, -provoked a laugh, and she kept Bench and public in good humour. - -'I really think,' said Mr. Christian, 'that we may dismiss the case -against young Runham. If my brother magistrates agree with me'—He -looked round and met with nods of approval. 'The charge against Mark -Runham seems to be a mistake. There is actually nothing in it, and the -Bench sincerely regrets that, through a misunderstanding, and possibly -through an excess of zeal on the part of Mr. Drownlands, you, Mark -Runham, should have been placed in the position you have. Constable, -discharge him.' - -'Thank you, gents,' said Zita. 'You've done right, and I'm glad of it. -As I came here, I heard that you had given orders for Pip to be called. -I did think you then a set of ninnies—but now'— - -'That will do. You can leave the witness-box.' - -'No, sir—your worship, not yet. I have not quite said all I want -to say. I am very much obliged that you have listened to reason and -have let Mark go. And, your worships, there are six of you on the -bench. I have got just six toasting-forks in stock—the beautifullest -toasting-forks that ever you saw. They have red japanned handles and -brass mounts, and fold up small, like telescopes, into the handle. And -if your worships will do me the favour of coming to Prickwillow, I'll -furnish every one of you with a toasting-fork.' - -'That will do; leave the witness-box.' - -'And, your worships, if you will pass over poor Pip Beamish,—he's not -right in his head,—I'll let you have a real epergne to raffle for -between you.' - -'Constable, remove that girl. Turn her out of the court,' ordered the -chairman, red with laughter. - -'I pity the man she chooses as her husband,' said Christian behind his -hand to Abbott, when his order was being carried out. - -'Or Drownlands, whose companion she is,' whispered the admiral. -'No—hang it!' said Mr. Christian. 'No more of that. I am sure that -girl is as straight as a whistle. You cannot look in her honest face -and hear her cheery voice and not swear she is as good and clean as -gold. 'Pon my life, Abbott, I have a mind to go for my toasting-fork. -What say you? You are an old acquaintance, as you heard,—swallowed -knives at the fair,—will you go?' - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI - -PISGAH - - -Zita was standing in the room Drownlands called his office, in -conversation with the master. - -'What did you mean by that which you said to the magistrates—that you -were tied here by frost, held by mud, and that when frost went and mud -dried you would be free to go?' - -'It is so.' - -'You will leave me?' - -'I would go as soon as the van could roll along the drove,' replied -Zita, 'but that there are other difficulties than frost and mud, and -how to get out of these I do not as yet see. I work at them in my head, -but cannot find a way of escape.' She considered a while, with her -hands folded and her eyes on the floor. 'You see, there is the stock. -It seems sinful to let it lie idle—if it don't breed money, it will -breed moths and rust. Father always said money was made to jump—just -the same as frogs were so created. Here is all this store of goods -doing nothing. Here is myself—born a Cheap Jack, and a Cheap Jack to -my fingers' ends. I am not in my right place if not going about in my -van to fairs and markets, selling my goods, and making the money jump, -as it was ordained to.' Zita pursed her lips. 'That is on one side. -On the other there are considerations also. In the first place, it is -awkward for a young girl to be cheap-jacking over the country—it's -awkward, and it's not respectable. She cannot manage by herself. As -the gentleman said, a Jill must have a Jack. That was true, though I -did not like to hear him say it. I could not manage the van and Jewel -and the selling alone. I must have some man with me. And if I were to -take a servant, he might set his head to make himself Jack and make me -Jill. And to take a proper Jack,' pursued Zita,—'I mean, to have a -husband,—why, I don't fancy it. I don't like the notion of it at all. -There is my great difficulty.' - -'Then stay at Prickwillow.' - -'I don't know. If I were here, you would not leave me in peace and -quietness. I do not desire to remain here, but I do not know where else -to go. Now, you see, I am in a cleft stick.' - -'Take me, and remain.' - -'That, I have told you, can never be. If you ask that again, I will go. -If you say nought about it, I will make shift to stay till something -turns up.' - -'Till you find a Jack?' - -'I do not want a Jack. I said so. I want to remain free—Jack and Jill -all in one.' Her expression suddenly changed as she asked, 'Have they -taken Pip Beamish yet?' - -'No; he has been seen, but he eluded capture. He is in the Fens. He -has some hiding-place, but where it is we have not yet discovered. The -constables are out and watching. He cannot leave the Fens.' - -'Cannot? He escaped the dragoons. He has escaped the constables, as you -tell me now.' - -'Ah! the dragoons were not accustomed to fen ways. The constables will -take him. They will form a ring and close in. There is a reward for -whoever takes him, and I have added five guineas.' - -'And I will give ten to any constable who lets him slip through his -fingers. Publish that.' - -'We have had enough of Ephraim Beamish,' said the master. 'We were -speaking about ourselves. You have your difficulties and troubles, but -I also have mine.' - -Drownlands seated himself at the table, placed his arms on the board, -and for a moment rested his head on his folded arms. Then he looked up -and said— - -'I have my distresses, but they are of other nature to yours, and -different in degree. Do you know Scripture? Did your father ever read -the Bible to you?' - -'My father was a God-fearing man,' answered Zita, with warmth and -pride. 'He made me learn passages by heart, and there was one tale -he read over every Sunday, and never tired of it. It was how the -Israelites borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver and gold, and -spoiled the Egyptians, then went off and got the Egyptians drowned, and -so were able to keep their borrowings. Father said there was the making -of Cheap Jacks in them Israelites.' - -'Did you ever read of Moses, how he went up the mountain to view the -Promised Land,—the land flowing with milk and honey,—and he looked on -it from afar, but was never allowed to set foot thereon? And he died -there, in the mount. The wind came to him sweet with thyme, and he saw -the green cattle pastures by the waters of comfort, but he might not -drink of its milk or eat its honey. And he died there, looking at the -land that was so near and yet so far, a land he might see, but never -set foot on. He died there, for it broke his heart.' - -Drownlands laid his head again on his folded arms. Zita remained in the -same position. She had an inkling of his drift, and was uneasy, and -cast about for some means of relief from a painful scene. - -'I suppose,' she said, 'there were fine bargains to be driven in the -Promised Land, and that the Canaanites were as soft-headed as the -Egyptians. To a man of proper feeling it was vexing.' - -Drownlands paid no attention to the remark. He continued— - -'Do you remember why Moses was not suffered to go in and possess the -Good Land? There was something betwixt him and it. He had done that -which was against the law, therefore the Lord showed him the fields of -Canaan, but said he must never lay his head in the dewy grass, never -smell its upturned earth, never touch its fair flowers.' - -'Yes, I remember something about it,' said Zita. - -'What killed Moses was the seeing the land, and being told it never -might be his,' continued Drownlands. 'But he could not go back from -Pisgah into the wilderness. He could not turn his back on Canaan. He -must sit among the rocks, and look on the pleasant land, till his heart -broke, and he died.' - -The girl fixed her eyes on the quivering face of Drownlands. She saw -that he was in terrible earnest, and she did not see her way out of an -embarrassing situation. He spoke again. - -'Zita, do you think it would have been wise for Joshua to have come up -into Pisgah when Moses was there? Would not Moses have sprung up and -cried out, "This man will enter on what is denied me!" and have held -him by the throat?' Drownlands was now on his feet, his hands extended -before him, suiting his action to his words. 'He would have held him by -the throat, have thrown him on a rock, put his knee to his chest, and -bent his back so—and have broken his back.' - -As he spoke, he hit and split and crushed down half the table. Then he -drew a long inhalation, reseated himself, wiped his brow, and said— - -'There is no Joshua. You swore to me there was none.' - -'I think I can comprehend this roundabout talk,' said Zita. 'But if -you mean that I am your Promised Land, you are mistaken. I never was -promised to you.' - -'No, that is true; you are the Loved Land, the Desired Land. No, you -never were promised.' - -'And it is quite certain that I am not for you.' - -'I know it.' - -'And I will trouble you to keep your Pisgah at a distance, and stick to -it,' said Zita. - -'You have told me that you never can be mine, and you have told me also -why. My sin stands between us, as a sin stood between Moses and Canaan. -And yet—I would do it again if I met him. You do not know how Runham -wronged me; you have never learned what was my provocation. I pay the -penalty of my sin, as did Moses. That very night I killed him—that -very same night, not two minutes after the last bubbles came from his -lips—I first saw you. The punishment followed on the crime faster than -the thunder-clap after the lightning-flash. Well, then, so long as you -remain before my eyes, that I can see your golden hair, and hear your -lark-like voice, I am content. I have all I can expect. I will try to -be content. But I could not endure to have a Joshua near me.' - -'There is none—if you mean a Jack.' - -'I trust your word. Mark Runham is nothing to you?' - -'I am nothing to Mark,' said Zita, with slight evasion. 'He would not -even look at me in court.' - -'So long as you remain here, I will bear my burden, though it break -my heart, bit by bit. But that is better than to lose you altogether. -No'—he stood up again, went to the window, leaned his arm and head -against the shattered casement, and let the wind blow in on him through -the broken glass—'no, that I can bear—to have you here. But to lose -you—to see you no more—I cannot even endure to think of that.' - -Zita made a movement to escape. He heard her, and, without turning his -head, made a sign to her with his hand to stay. - -'Do not leave me. I have still something I must say. I want to strike -a bargain with you.' - -'A deal? I am ready.' - -Zita resumed her place. Drownlands came slowly back to the table. - -'Listen to me,' he said, with a thrill in his deep tones. 'I have made -up my mind to this—that _his_ blood lies between me and you, as a -Dead Sea I may never cross. I must sit on my Pisgah and look at you as -unapproachable. That is all I can hope for; that is all I demand; and -in order to secure this, I am ready to make you an offer. I shall never -marry—never. All the land round Prickwillow is mine, and I have money -in the bank—many thousands of pounds. You know what money is worth. -You can judge what this land brings in every year to heap the pile. -It shall all be yours if you will stay with me till I die. I ask for -nothing else but to have you here in this house, that I may hear you -laugh, that I may see your smiling face. That is all. I will not open -my mouth to ask for anything but that—just to see you and hear you -every day; now and then to touch your hand; happy, if as you pass me -your skirts brush me; glad for a day if you condescend to cast a word -at me. That is all—the full, the sum of all. And for that I will pay -away everything I have. Command me. Do with me what you please, only do -not banish me. My money is at your disposal, and when I die everything -that I have becomes yours. See here.' He went to his desk, unlocked it, -and drew forth a paper. 'I have made my will, but it is not yet signed -and attested. It could not be so till we had come to an arrangement -together. If you will undertake to remain with me on the terms I -propose, then you will be a wealthy woman some day when I am gone. And -whilst I am here cumbering the place,'—his tone was bitter,—'you have -but to ask and I will give you what you require. Agree with me, and -this document shall be signed and attested forthwith. For a very slight -concession on your part you will receive a rich repayment. As you said, -you could not go about the country in your van, and you have no settled -home to which you can go. Surely you will concede this to me.' - -He placed the paper on the table before Zita. - -She took up the will and read it through. - -In few words, and to the point, Drownlands had constituted her sole -heir and legatee to everything he possessed, on the one condition that -she remained in his house through the rest of his life. - -She put the paper down on the table again, without, however, releasing -it from her hand, and stood considering. - -'There is one thing,' she said, after a long pause, 'one thing I must -stick out for whether I stay here for a short time or for long.' - -'What is that?' - -'That you board up the shed where my van is kept, so that the fowls may -not roost on it.' - -Then in at the door came Mrs. Tunkiss. - -'There's Mark Runham come,' she said to the master, after looking -suspiciously first at Zita, then at him. 'And he says he must speak -with you on business.' - -'Mark?—Mark again? Bring him here. I am not afraid of him now. Come, -Zita, what say you to my offer?' - -For a few moments she remained with her hand to her head, breathing -hard, her eyes dim. - -'Come, Zita—what answer?' - -She looked at him with glazed eyes. She was in pain and sorrow. She -would in one moment see Mark,—Mark, whom she loved,—and see him with -the knowledge that she never could be his. But the demand made of her -to surrender was not so great as it might have been had Mark loved and -respected her. He liked, or had once liked her. Now he loved another. -He despised her for some reason she could not understand. He held by -Kainie, to whom he was bound by promise, and to whom, after a short -wavering of his affections, he had returned. - -'Come, Zita, what say you to my offer?' - -In a whisper, with sunk head, her chin in her bosom, and with folded -hands— - -'I accept.' - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII - -A PARTHIAN SHOT - - -'Shall I go?' asked Zita. - -'No, stay. There can nothing pass betwixt us but what you may hear. And -now that he is come, he shall witness the signature to the will.' - -'I would rather leave.' - -Further discussion of this point was prevented by the entrance of Mark. - -The young man noticed that Zita was in the room, but he did not look at -her or address her. He directed his eyes steadily at Drownlands, who -remained seated at the table. - -'I have come on business,' said Mark. - -'Say what it is.' - -Mark demurred. 'Let us speak together in private.' - -'No; what has to be said may be said before her.' - -'If you wish it. I have come concerning Kainie.' - -'What about Kainie?' - -'She is your niece.' - -'To my sorrow.' - -'You should not say that. She is a good girl. Not to your sorrow, but -to your shame.' - -Drownlands stamped. - -'Spare me words. My patience will not stretch far.' - -'Kainie is your sister's only child. She is your nearest relative. I -have come to you in her interest. It is no longer possible for her to -remain at Red Wings.' - -'Why not?' - -'It is not seemly. It is not just. The Fens are in commotion; wild men -are about, lawless deeds are being done. She is but a girl, and is -unprotected, and away from help, if she needed it.' - -'She has her dog.' - -'That is not sufficient. Dogs have been silenced before now. Consider -to what dangers a girl is exposed in such a solitary spot.' - -'Pshaw! the men are cowed.' - -'Several are about in hiding, and are not yet captured. You do a great -wrong to Kainie.' - -'I do her no wrong. I leave her alone.' - -'That in itself is a grievous wrong. Whose duty is it to guard her, but -yours? She bears your name.' - -'To my disgrace!' exclaimed Drownlands, glaring up with wrath. 'No more -of that.' - -'Well, it is no pleasant topic.' - -'Did Kainie send you to me?' - -'No; I came because I felt concerned for her, and convinced that she -must not be allowed—no, not for another night—to remain under the -sails of Red Wings. Will you receive her at Prickwillow?' - -'Not I.' - -'She must be removed from the mill. If you will not take charge of her, -then I must.' - -'You are welcome. I will have nothing to do with her.' - -'Well, then, so be it. It is your duty to see to her security. You -refuse to do your duty, so I shall take her. That is settled. Now, one -thing further. Will you make Kainie an allowance,—something to support -her,—even if you refuse her shelter?' - -'Not a penny. I washed my hands of her mother, and I wash my hands of -her.' - -'I feared this would be your answer,' said Mark, and drew a long -breath. 'I feared my application to you would be in vain. Nevertheless, -I considered myself bound to make it; I could not act till you had -refused to act; much as did Boaz when troubled concerning Ruth. You -finally refuse to give protection to Kainie in her loneliness, and at -this season of danger?' - -'Ay, I do.' - -'And refuse to furnish her with even a pittance out of your abundance?' - -'Ay, I do.' - -'You should blush to deny her what she needs.' - -'I blush for her being in the world at all.' - -Mark turned to go. Then Drownlands spoke out in strong tones— - -'Stay! Now that you are here, I ask you to do me a favour. It is not -much—merely to witness a document, to attest my signature to my will. -I desire you to see me sign that, and it will be the best answer I can -make to your application on behalf of Kainie. Zita, call up Leehanna -Tunkiss.' - -Mrs. Tunkiss was behind the door. She had been listening in the -passage, and now appeared in the doorway, after a short scuffle of -feet, to give a semblance of her having come from a distance. - -'Do you want me, master?' she asked. 'I was in the midst of baking.' - -'Stand there,' ordered Drownlands. Then, rising to his feet, he held up -the will and said, 'I have been making my last testament, and I desire -that you, Mark Runham, and you, Leehanna Tunkiss, should see me sign -it. But that will not suffice. I wish you to know its contents, and -then there can be no question relative to its genuineness; and, above -all, no delusions, no hopes, no schemes can be based on relationship, -fancied or real, that are doomed to disappointment.' - -Drownlands looked round him. He saw a flicker in Leehanna's eye. She -was akin to him distantly, yet really. - -'Zita and I have come to an understanding together,' said the yeoman, -in articulate words spoken slowly. 'Zita has promised that she will -remain with me, and will look after my house, rule over my servants, -attend to my comforts as long as I live. If you, Leehanna, choose to -remain with this understanding'— - -'I shall do no such thing,' said the housekeeper, tossing her head. 'I -thought matters would come to this very quickly. I knew what the minx -was aiming at.' - -'That is your affair,' said the master. 'Zita stays here, and her -word is to be law in my house. I have made my will, and leave to -her everything I possess—every brick of my house, every clod of my -soil, every guinea of my hoard.' He paused, and looked from one to -another. Mark and Leehanna remained mute with astonishment. 'Now go, -Mark Runham, as soon as you have attested my signature, and tell -Kainie she has nothing to expect from me at present, nor in times to -come—nothing from Drownlands living, or Drownlands dead. Let this be -known throughout the Fens. Mark Runham, stand here and witness me sign -my name. This is my true act and deed.' - -'I will not do this,' said the young man, turning white. 'Get some one -else to see this done—this that stamps her infamy and your baseness.' -He turned sharply about and went through the door. Then he halted for -a moment, hesitated, holding the jamb with one hand, and, looking back -with a face devoid of colour, said, 'To-night I shall fetch Kainie -away, and she shall find her home with me.' - -'Mark!' exclaimed Zita, running to him. - -'Stand back!' said he roughly. 'Do not come near me; you, who sell -yourself body and soul for what you call profits.' - -Then he turned and staggered down the stairs. - -'And I give notice that I leave this house at once,' said Mrs. Tunkiss. -'Fine goings on these be. I have ever kept myself respectable. I've -been the only respectable woman here besides Sarah. I'm not going to -stay in this house, which will be avoided by every decent woman, with -a man that will be pointed at by every decent man, with her in it as -missus—as missus'— - -The woman laughed bitterly, tauntingly, and threw a foul name in the -face of Zita, and then backed, with a sneer on her lips and hate in her -eyes. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII - -PURGATORY - - -Suddenly, and for the first time, did the thought flare through Zita's -brain and scorch it—that she had compromised her character. - -Now only did she see why Mark had refused to look at her; now only -understand what he meant when he said that she had sold herself body -and soul; now only comprehended what the laughter signified when -the chairman in court had suggested that she was the 'companion' of -Drownlands, a suggestion which had been received with titters. She -remembered how then her brow had become hot, her heart had beat fast; -she was sensible that something had been said that hurt her maiden -pride, something that lowered her in the esteem of those assembled in -the court. But she had not sounded the meaning of the insinuation, and -had not thought what was really the sting in the words which wounded -her. - -Zita possessed a considerable amount of pride—a different sort of -pride, maybe, from any that we can conceive in our stations in life. -It was not vanity. She concerned herself little about her personal -appearance, and made no effort by dress to display her beauty. She -knew she was a good-looking girl, and was indifferent to the fact. -She had no education of the sort which we prize; but she had stood on -platforms, her feet level with the shoulders of the general public, and -she had come, instinctively, without being able to account to herself -for it, to regard herself as possessing a character, a dignity of her -own above that which belonged to the members of the general public. She -who stood above it actually must live up to her level, and stand above -it in moral strength and integrity. - -Zita had a simple and innocent mind. She had been reared in a van, had -led a rambling life, her sole associate had been a father—a kindly -man, gentle, good after his lights, and very careful of her welfare. -The fact of her having been shifted perpetually from place to place -had prevented her forming associates, making fast friendships, so that -she had really had none to affect her mind save her father, and had -grown to womanhood a singular combination of shrewdness and simplicity. -Thus her heart was fresh and childlike, whilst her brain was keen in -all that concerned commerce. She had been carefully screened by the -Cheap Jack father from everything that could taint the sweetness of her -innocence and sully the crystalline purity of her mind. - -There was one thing she had never learned from her father, one thing -of which till this moment she had no conception—the power of public -opinion. She had acquired in her vagrant life an idea that the general -public was a something to be laughed at and laughed with, that was to -be humoured, cajoled, befooled; but it had never been suspected by her -that the public could utter its voice and make the heart quake, breathe -on and blast a reputation, could bite and poison the blood. - -Now, suddenly, a veil was lifted, and she saw the general public in a -new light, and felt the terrible power over her life and happiness that -it exercised. - -No man is so free as the man without a home. If he has committed an -indiscretion, he pulls up his tent-pegs, moves away, and is forgotten. -But a man who remains on the scene of his indiscretion is haunted by -it ever after. The remembrance clings to him as the shirt of Nessus. -It is never forgotten, never forgiven. As long as the van crawled over -the face of the country, changing the atmosphere that surrounded it, it -eluded the force of public opinion. Its inmates paid no tax to it; were -not registered on its books. But hardly had Zita become settled before -its burden fell upon her. - -'Unsay what you have said!' cried Zita, grasping Mrs. Tunkiss by the -arm. - -'It is true. It is what every one has been saying; and, as you see, -Mark Runham won't have anything to do with you. You thought to catch -him, did you? You've been angling for him and the master, and taken the -one as bids highest. 'Tis like a Cheap Jack that. You're young, but -bold as brass and cankered as iron.' - -'Silence, you false-mouthed woman!' - -'Can you silence all the tongues in the Fen? There's not a man over his -pipe and ale in the tavern ain't jeering at you. There's not a woman -over her soapsuds and scrubbing-brush ain't crying shame on you. But -what can you expect of a vagabond but vice? I spit at you.' - -Zita cast the woman from her, and turned and threw herself on her knees -at the broken table, buried her face in her hands, and burst into tears. - -Drownlands waved imperiously to the housekeeper to leave, and the -woman withdrew, muttering and casting malignant glances at the broken, -prostrate girl. - -The table was between the master of Prickwillow and Zita. His knuckles -rested on the will. He leaned on them, and looked down on the shining -head that was laid low before him. Zita's hair was cut short, and her -neck showed as well as her rounded cheek. - -He did not speak. He breathed heavily through his distended nostrils. -He waited, not knowing what direction her thoughts might take, what -resolve her mind would form. - -There were but few alternatives among which she might choose. She could -not resume her life as Cheap Jack without taking an assistant, and from -that course she shrank with maidenly repugnance, rightly estimating -its dangers. If she were to throw herself among the wanderers who -frequented fairs, it would be to court ruin. Was it not probable that -she would maintain her resolution to remain at Prickwillow, with this -difference, that she would accept his first offer, and become his wife, -to save her fair name from reproach? So far as Drownlands could see, -this was the only means whereby she could extricate herself from her -difficulties, and his heart swelled within him at the hope that opened -before him. But he saw clearly that he must allow her to work to this -solution by herself unassisted. A word from him would mar everything. - -He accordingly stood with bent brows and pale face, the furrows deeply -graven on his forehead and seaming his cheek, his lips set, looking -steadily at the chestnut-gold head and the delicate bowed neck. - -There is no agony more terrible than the agony of the soul, and among -the many anguishes with which that can be affected none equals in -intensity and poignancy that which is caused by the sense of the loss -of the respect of men. - -There was an ineffable humiliation in the thought of the light in which -she—Zita—had come to be regarded, if what Mrs. Tunkiss said was true. -The girl who errs through over-trust in a lover, who has believed his -word, his oath, is looked down on, but deserves some pity. But Zita -did not occupy such a position, had not the same claim to be dealt -by lightly. She had—so men thought, so men said—deliberately and -calculatingly sold herself to Drownlands. Her degradation had been a -piece of sordid merchandise, with haggling over terms. - -That was true which Leehanna said. She was the subject-matter of -talk in the taverns, of coarse and ribald jokes, of calculation of -the chances she had of retaining the affections of Drownlands, of -remark on her craft, her dexterity in laying hold of and managing this -intractable tyrant of the Fens. - -But perhaps the intensest anguish-point lay in the thought that Mark, -who had loved her, or liked her—Mark, whom she had loved, whom she -loved still, regarded her with disgust, held himself aloof from her, as -one unworthy even of his pity, as a cold, calculating wanton. - -As all these thoughts passed through the mind of Zita, the pain was so -excessive that she could have shrieked, and felt relief in shrieking; -that she worked with her feet on the planks of the floor, as though to -bore with them a hole down which she might disappear and hide her shame. - -The drops ran off her brow like the drops on a window after -rain—long-gathering trickles of moisture, then a great drop, -immediately succeeded by another accumulation, and again another drop. -Save for the working of her feet on the floor and the movement of her -fingers, she was motionless. Drownlands contemplated her steadily. He -saw her, in her anguish of mind, twine and untwine her long fingers, -then pluck at and strip off chips of the table where he had broken it, -put them between her teeth and bite them, but still with lowered brow -and eyes that she could not raise for shame. He could see flushes pass -over her, succeeded by deadly pallor. It was as though flames were -flickering about her head, shooting up and enveloping throat and cheek -and brow, then dying down and leaving a deathly cold behind. A soul in -this present life was prematurely suffering its purgatory. - -Then she laid her hands flat on the table before her, then folded -them, as children fold their hands in prayer, and she was still, as -though her pulses had ceased to beat and her lungs to play. Then again -ensued a paroxysm of distress, in which the fingers writhed and became -knotted, and tears broke from her eyes and sobs from her heart. - -How long would this last? - -What resolutions were forming and unforming under that crown of shining -locks, in that heavily-charged heart? - -The door was thrust open, and in came Sarah, the maid with St. Vitus' -dance. - -'Please,' she said, 'there be three gem'men from Ely downstairs. They -say they be come after their toastin'-forks.' - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV - -WITH TOASTING-FORKS - - -Zita rose from her knees. - -'Tell them to wait, and I will be down directly,' she said. 'I made -them a promise, and I must keep it. I am glad they are here; they can -witness the will, now that Mark Runham and Leehanna Tunkiss are gone.' - -Drownlands was surprised. The girl had regained her composure; and from -the look of her face he was assured that she had formed her resolution. - -'That is right,' said he; 'things remain as arranged.' - -'I cannot go away,' said Zita in a low voice. 'Here I am, and here I -must remain. If I have done wrong to stay here, the wrong is done. -If I have been foolish to accept your hospitality, the folly is past -recall.' She looked over her shoulder to see that Sarah had withdrawn. - -'Yes; I promised you I would remain here, and here I will remain, on a -condition.' - -He held up the will. - -'Yes, on condition that you leave everything you have as I shall -direct.' - -'I leave it all to you.' - -'The will must be written afresh,' said Zita; 'a change must be made -in it. You have bequeathed everything to me, and because of that, evil -thoughts will rise up in folks' minds, and evil words will pass over -their lips. Even Mark thinks ill of me. I did not think Mark could have -done that.' She heaved a sigh, and drew her hand across her eyes. - -'Master,' said she, after a pause, 'you had no right to make that will -and leave me all. I am not your niece. I shall never stand nearer to -you than I do now. I have no claim on your house or lands. But Kainie -has. She is your own sister's child. You must alter your will and leave -everything to her.' - -'I said I would give her nought.' - -'And that made Mark believe me to be bad. I will not have anything -of yours. I will have you make the writing out anew, and bequeath -everything to Kainie—on the same condition, if you will, that I remain -here all your days. I do not say, Give Kainie everything now. I have no -right to say that. I do not say, Give me nothing at any time. I shall -have a right to some payment, or some acknowledgment of my services. -But what I do say is that I will not be your heir hereafter. Kainie -has a claim on you that I have not. If I were to be enriched with -house and lands by you, then the evil that is thought of me would be -confirmed. But folks may say what they will, when, some day, after you -are gone, the property changes hands and falls to Kainie; they cannot -think I have been so wicked as was supposed. And I shall have repaid -you for your kindness to me, in that I have saved you from committing a -great injustice. Mark said I would do anything—sell body and soul—for -profit. He will come to see that he was wrong there.' - -Drownlands gazed on the girl with incredulity. She had hit on an -arrangement that had not suggested itself to his mind. He could not -believe that she was serious in her purpose. - -'I will remain with you,' continued Zita, 'on the clear understanding -that Kainie is to be your heir, and I would wish this understanding to -be generally made known. Some day, when I am old and ugly, and you are -dead and gone, then, when the new folks come into Prickwillow, I'll -harness the horse and start as a Cheap Jack once more. Then I can take -a man to mind the horse, when I do the business of a Cheap Jack. No one -can say wrong of me then. When Mark Runham comes into this place'— - -'Mark Runham will never be here.' - -'He must be here, if this falls some day to Kainie.' - -'That does not follow.' - -'Of course it follows, if he marries Kainie.' - -'Mark—marry Kainie? What do you mean?' - -'I told you that Mark would have nothing more to say to me, because he -was bound to another. I would not say to whom, for that was his secret. -But now he has let it out himself. He is going to take Kainie home to -Crumbland this evening.' - -Drownlands started and threw over a chair. - -'You are mistaken. You do not know.' He paced the room in agitation. - -'I do know,' answered Zita. 'It is because he was bound to Kainie that -he gave me up. Now he is going to take her to him for better for worse. -Lawk! how dull men are in these matters—where girls see clear.' - -'You are greatly mistaken.' - -'No, I am not mistaken. How can you fail to understand when he speaks -so plain?' - -Drownlands folded his arms and walked hurriedly up and down the room. -Presently he turned to Zita and said, 'You are serious when you say you -will not have me make you my heir?' - -'I am truly resolved,' answered the girl. 'Then he can no more say that -I have sold myself body and soul for profits.' - -'Let no will be made.' - -'That will not do. You must rewrite it, and it must make Kainie your -heir. Only on that condition will I remain in this house with you.' - -'And you believe her to be your rival, who has snatched Mark from your -arms?' - -'I know it is so. He could not help himself. He was tied to her.' - -'Mark is a Runham. A Runham may betray a woman, but never marry one who -has no fortune.' - -'More is the reason why you should give one to Kainie.' - -'Were I to make you my heir,—there is no saying,—he might take you -for the sake of this place and my savings; and, by Heaven, I will have -no Runham own acres of mine, if I can prevent it!' - -'He would not do that—he could not take me. He is too just and true to -throw over Kainie. He may think ill of me, but I do not think so badly -of him. I tried to buy of her the rights she had in him, but she would -not sell them. Then I saw it was all up between Mark and me.' - -'This is strange—this is very strange!' said Drownlands, turning a -perplexed face on the girl as he paced the room. 'I know what is in -a Runham better than you. The Runhams marry for money, not for love. -Come here, Zita. What would you say were you to discover that you were -mistaken about Mark and Kainie?' - -'I am not mistaken.' - -'Suppose, some day, that you found that he was free?' - -She was silent. - -'And yet he would never marry you without money. He would not be a -Runham to do that. If, however, he thought you were to be my heir, he -might do so, or wait till I am gone and then take you; but he will -never think of you if you are poor. Be it as you propose. I will -rewrite my will. I will leave to you nothing, bequeath to Kainie all.' - -'Then I will remain with you.' - -'As long as I live?' - -She nodded her head. - -'You will swear to this?' - -Her eyes were full, her bosom heaving; she held out both hands, and he -clasped them. - -'I must go downstairs,' she said, after a struggle to gain composure. -'The justices will want their toasting-forks.' - -'Keep them amused for a while. They shall witness my new will.' - -Zita proceeded to her room, found the articles that she had promised, -and descended to the sitting-room, where she found three of the -magistrates, all laymen; the clerical members of the Bench thinking -it unecclesiastical to come after toasting-forks. The red-faced -chairman, Mr. Christian, was there; Admiral Abbott; and another, named -Wilkins. They were all merry; they had been drinking, and they felt -sensible relief that they were not cumbered by the presence of the -ecclesiastical magistrates. They were also conscious of great buoyancy -of spirits, due to the fact that they were beyond the shadow of the -towers of Ely, and no longer within the numbing circle of cathedral -decorum. Zita's arrival was hailed uproariously, with laughter and -loud words. The gentlemen jumped from their chairs, and with effusion -insisted on shaking hands. - -'We've rode over,' said Mr. Christian, 'but couldn't persuade Sir -Bates to mount a horse again. The very looks of one makes his colour -fade. Nothing would induce him—not the prospect of a toasting-fork. I -say, Abbott, if we could have promised the canon a kiss of those ruby -lips, eh? Would that have drawn him? How now, you comical Jill?—you -who upset the dignity of the Court! And to venture on bribery and -corruption—you pretty little rogue! We might have had you up. What say -you, Abbott? Shall we indict her for the attempt to poison the springs -of justice? It is a case under common law. Fine or imprisonment? Which -shall it be, Wilkins?' - -'Now, come,' said the magistrate addressed, 'no law here; we have -had enough of that today. Here are weapons. Arm thee, arm thee, Sir -Christian, knight of the blazing countenance and the purple nose. Queen -of Cheap Jacks, let your gay red-flowered kerchief be the prize. -I defy thee to the death, Christian. Up with you on to the table, -Queen of Cheap Jacks, or upon the mantelshelf—anywhere away from the -clash of blades and the soil of battle. Come on, Christian! And after -thee, Old Salt the Admiral; but, Lord! he will swash about with his -toasting-fork as if 'twere a cutlass. Come on, Christian, and he who -wins rides home wearing her favour.' - -Justice Wilkins brandished one of the toasting-forks, and, putting -himself in a posture of attack, shouted again for his opponent. - -Mr. Christian at once snatched and flourished his weapon, and the two -half-tipsy men began to make passes at each other. - -'Bright eyes looking on! A fair maid's favour as the prize! Ah, -Christian, you're off your guard; you are using your foil wildly. -The man is drunk! Heigh! To the heart! I have run you through! Down -with your blade, sir!' Wilkins shouted as he charged home, and drove -the toasting-fork up into the handle against the breast of his -adversary. 'Abbott! gallop off for Sir Bates! Make him come to shrive -Christian. Rest his soul! he was a jolly dog, but too fond of lasses -and the bottle. Admiral, help me; we will compose his epitaph. No, -no, Christian, that is a breach of rules. You're dead, man; dead -as a stone, with a stroke through your heart. Didn't you feel the -toasting-fork tickle your ribs? Stand aside, or lie dead on the -hearthrug. You are out of the game now. Come on, Admiral Abbott. It -lies between you and me; Christian, you dog, you are dead, and must -not interfere. That stroke will let some of the port wine out of your -gizzard. Keep in the rear—you are a dead man. If you walk, it is your -ghost. It is Abbott's turn with me now.' - -'Wilkins, your tongue runs away with you. I'll cut it off and wear it -in my hat. I'm your man.' - -Thereupon Admiral Abbott, armed with his toasting-fork, strutted into -the place lately occupied by Christian. - -'No,' said he; 'Wilkins, you cheat; you took a scurvy advantage over my -dear deceased brother Christian. You shall not play me the same trick. -You have the window behind you.' - -'I did not consider it. Change sides.' - -'No, I will not have the advantage over you either. We will fight with -the daylight athwart our blades.' - -'Then the Queen of Cheap Jacks must shift quarters, to see that all is -fair.' - -'Let her shift,' said Abbott. 'I am not going to be killed or to kill -you at a disadvantage. Ready!' - -The passage of arms between Wilkins and Abbott was as brief as that -between him and Christian. A stroke from the admiral, who used his -tool as a cutlass, bent the soft metal of the toasting-fork of his -opponent. - -'Weapon broken. Surrender!' shouted Abbott. 'Now, Wilkins, stand aside. -I am conqueror, and claim the red rag.' - -'That's a way to ask! Like the bear you are, Abbott. Down on one -knee—I won't say gracefully, for you can't do that—and ask in -courteous tone. Red rag indeed!—a crimson favour.' - -'He can't kneel,' said Christian. 'He'd never get up if he were once -down.' - -'Admiral! I could swear the Cheap Jack Queen has been crying. There are -tears on her cheek and a drench of rain in her brown eyes. It is for -you, Christian, you lucky dog; you caused them to fall, because I ran -you through, and Her Royal Highness weeps for her knight bleeding his -life-tide away.' - -At this moment Drownlands entered the room, and was saluted by the -three magistrates. - -'We have been fighting,' said the admiral, 'and I am the conqueror. If -you are disposed to part with the pretty housekeeper, I will carry her -off _en croupe_ on my horse.' - -Drownlands disdained an answer. - -'Gentlemen,' said he, 'now that you are here, let me ask a favour of -you. Pray put your hands to this paper and witness my signature to -this my last will and testament.' - -'I hope you have put the Queen of Cheap Jacks down for something -handsome. If you have done that, we will sign cheerfully.' - -'Not for a penny,' answered Drownlands. 'Everything I have goes to my -niece. Here is ink and here a pen. Gentlemen, this is my true act and -deed.' - -'My hand shakes,' said Christian; 'I have been laughing, and cannot -hold a pen.' - -'And mine is jarred,' said Wilkins, 'with the thundering blows of that -swashbuckler, Abbott.' - -Jesting, laughing, the three men complied with the request of -Drownlands, hardly regarding what they were about. - -'I say, Abbott,' said Wilkins, 'what was that promise that fell from -ruby lips relative to an epergne?' - -'We were to raffle for one,' said the admiral. - -'Can't do it,' said Christian. 'We have not got the others here. We'll -hoist Bates on to a horse and make him come another day, when this -confounded business of the riots is over.' - -'You have got the favour, Abbott,' said Wilkins, 'but not by fair -swordsmanship. Whether you carry it to Ely is another matter. -Christian, shall he hoist it at the end of his toasting-fork and ride? -We'll give him a hundred yards, and then pursue, and he who overtakes, -captures the favour and carries it into the city.' - -'Done—we'll race the admiral for it.' Then, turning to Zita, 'We'll -come another day and raffle for the epergne at a guinea a-piece. The -pool goes to you. Now then, brother justices, away we go!' - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV - -THE JACK O' LANTERNS - - -'Take it, and keep it,' said Drownlands, handing the will to Zita. 'You -can read. It is as you desired, and on the same condition as before. -That is as you promised.' - -'Yes,' said the girl; 'with that I am content.' She put the will in her -bosom. - -'Then,' said Drownlands in a tone of sad bitterness, 'for life and till -death we are united.' - -'After a fashion, to keep apart.' - -'Yes, united to be separate.' - -'Like a pair of wheels,' said Zita. 'They keep the concern going, but -have it always between them.' - -The day had closed in, and Zita retired to her room to sit at the -window and look out at the dead uniformity of the fen, and the white -line of horizon between it and the darkness above, like a white fringe -to a pall. She desired solitude, that she might review what was past. - -The weather was cold. There had been frost, hard and biting, and the -ice clad the water. The snow that had been spread over the land had in -part disappeared, licked up by the dry wind that scaled the waters, and -the land from whiteness had turned to blackness. - -The lakes of frozen water would have attracted many skaters during the -day, had not the engrossing excitement relative to the trial of the -rioters engaged the public attention. - -The frost had set in with redoubled hardness on the morrow of the -riot, and in four days even the Lark was turned to stone within its -embankments. - -As Zita looked out into the night, she could see the heavy sky, -burdened with black clouds, that were ragged as a torn fringe, or a -moth-eaten pall, about the black hard bank of the river, that stood up -sharply against the sky. - -The cold was so biting in the fireless room that Zita drew the velvet -curtains about her, which were suspended over her window, covered her -shoulders, and wrapped them about her bosom. There was no light in the -room save the wan reflection from the horizon. Had there been, she -would have formed a pretty picture, folded in crimson velvet, with her -oval face and dark amber hair peeping out of the folds. - -She looked dreamily through the window. - -A wave of regret had come over her after the exaltation caused by the -sense of self-sacrifice. - -She considered how that she had loved Mark, had valued his regard for -herself, had delighted in his society. He had never said to her that -he loved her, yet there had been a look in his blue eyes, a pressure -of his fingers when he took her hand, a softness of intonation in his -voice when he spoke to her, that had said more than words, that had -assured her heart that she was dear to him. And how happy she had -been when she believed that! A solitary child, with no belongings and -belonging to none, a waif thrown upon the desolate fens, she had found -herself lifted into a new region of brightness. Then Mark had become -cool, and had held aloof from her. She had discovered that he was -engaged to Kainie, and could not become disentangled from this tie. -He had been constrained to resign himself to it. Now his interest, -his sympathies, were enlisted on behalf of that girl, because she was -treated with injustice and was exposed to danger. Now he was about to -take Kainie to his house—now, this very evening. - -A feeling of resentment against the girl who stood between herself and -happiness swelled in Zita's heart; Kainie threw down the palace of -delight she had built up in the cloudland of hope and fancy. Kainie -snatched Mark from her; and it was for Kainie that she—Zita—had given -up the inheritance offered her by Drownlands. - -In the darkness Zita's brow darkened. Angry feelings surged in her -bosom and sent waves of fire through her pulses. She would defy the -world. What need she care for the chatter of slanderous tongues? -Conscious of her own integrity, she would brave public opinion. - -She snatched the will from her bosom, that she might tear it in pieces, -and then she would run to the master and bid him make another in her -own favour, as first proposed. Why should she not be his heir? - -If Kainie robbed her of Mark, might not she retaliate and take from her -the inheritance of Drownlands? - -If she were struck, might she not strike back? Did Kainie need lands -and houses? As Mark's wife, she would be rich without her uncle's -estate added to Crumbland, whereas she—Zita—had not a particle of -soil on which to set her foot and say it was her own. Had not the -master of Prickwillow a right to do what he would with his own? Kainie -had done nothing for him, and she—Zita—was devoting her life to his -service. - -As she looked out of the window, musing on these things, she saw that -the light on the horizon had faded, or that the great curtain of cloud -had set over it and had obscured it. Something, where she believed -that the embankment ran, now attracted, without greatly engaging, her -attention. - -A minute flash of light travelled a little distance, and was then -extinguished. Presently another wavering speck appeared, and then -again all was dark. - -'The Jack o' Lanterns are about,' said Zita. - -Her thoughts recurred to her troubles. - -A recoil of better feeling set in and washed over her heart. - -'No,' said she, 'I could not have borne it. It would have killed me to -have Mark believe that I was sold body and soul. Let him take Kainie, -and with Kainie let him have Prickwillow when it falls;—but let him -not think ill of me.' - -She started up. She replaced the will in her bosom. - -'I will go to Red Wings,' she said. 'He is there with Kainie. He said -he would take her away this night. I will go and tell him all. I will -show him what I have here;' she touched her bosom where lay the will. -'When he has heard my story and has seen that, he will think better of -me.' - -She descended the staircase. At the foot she found the master. - -'There are Jack o' Lanterns in the fens,' she said. - -'Folks say that they have seen them,' he replied. 'I never have. They -were plentiful before so much marsh was reclaimed.' - -'I have seen them,' said Zita. - -'Pshaw!' laughed he. 'There are no Jack of Lanterns in winter. Whither -are you going?' - -'On the embankment; perhaps on the ice. I wish to be alone.' - -She drew a shawl over her head and opened the door. Drownlands followed -her to the doorstep. - -At that moment he also for a moment saw a twinkle on the embankment. - -'That is what you call Jack o' Lanterns,' said he. 'It is some ganger -going home. Shall I attend you?' - -'I desire to be alone.' - -Then Drownlands went within, and Zita walked on till she reached the -highway that ran below the embankment. It was so dark there that she -mounted the steep slope, so as to have the advantage of what little -light still hung in the sky and was reflected by the frozen surface of -the river. - -As she ascended, an uneasy sensation came over her—a feeling that she -was in the presence of human beings whom she neither saw nor heard. She -stood still, listening. Then, stepping forward, she was again conscious -that she was close upon some invisible person. Feeling alarmed, Zita -was about to retrace her steps, when a light was flashed in her eyes -and a hand grasped her shoulder. Thereupon a voice said in a low tone, -'It is that wench of Drownlands'.' Then she was aware that several men -surrounded her. They had been crouching on the ground for concealment, -at the sound of her approaching foot. Now they rose and pressed about -her. She could distinguish that these were all men, and that they had -black kerchiefs over their faces with holes cut in them, through which -their eyes peered. One alone was not so disguised, and he it was who -spoke to her. - -'Unhappy girl! You do not return. Go your ways along the bank, and no -harm will be done to you. We have no quarrel with you, but we have with -your master. This night we strike off a score, pay a debt.' - -The voice was that of Ephraim Beamish. - -'Throw her in. Send her under the ice. She's a bad lot,' said one of -the men. - -'Make an end of all that belongs to Tiger Ki,' said another. - -'We do not fight with women,' said Beamish. 'She shall go, but not -return to Prickwillow.' - -'What are you about? What harm are you doing?' asked Zita. - -'We are serving out chastisement to your master for what he has done to -our lads,' answered Pip. - -'You will not hurt him?' - -'Not in person.' - -'What, then, will you do?' - -'Go your way. We are letting the water out over his land.' - -Ephraim conducted Zita a little way along the tow-path on the bank. - -'Attend to me,' said he. 'Go anywhere you will except back to -Prickwillow. We have our men drawn across the way. You cannot pass, -it is in vain for you to attempt it. Keep to the bank, and keep at a -distance from us.' - -'Where is Mark Runham?' - -'I have not seen him.' - -'He is not in this affair with you?' - -'Mark? of course he is not. He knows nothing of our purpose.' - -Zita advanced along the path. She was uneasy; desirous, if possible, to -warn Drownlands. - -Presently she heard a rush of water. - -She turned, and was caught almost immediately by one of the men. - -'It is of no use your attempting to go home,' he said. 'It is of no use -your thinking of telling Tiger Ki to be on his guard. It is now too -late.' The man took her wrist and said, 'Go your way, but take care not -to step on the ice—not as you value your life.' - -'The ice?—why so?' - -'Listen.' - -A shrill whine—then a crash. The icy surface of the Lark had split, -then gone down in fragments under its own weight, as the water that had -sustained it was withdrawn. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI - -A RETURN BLOW - - -Zita hurried along the tow-path. Her mind was in a tumult. The full -force of the words of Ephraim she could not understand. He and his -comrades were letting the waters of the river Lark over Drownlands' -farm, that she knew; but to what an extent they would overflow, and -what amount of injury they might do, that was what she was incapable -of judging. It was a relief to her mind that no personal violence was -contemplated. The water that was let out could be pumped back again. -The Fens were wont to be flooded at times, and the mills could always -throw the flood from off them. - -It was natural that her thoughts should revert to certain words that -had been dropped by the men—words that had fallen on her ears like -drops of fire. Why had Pip Beamish spoken to her as an 'unhappy girl'? -Why had she been referred to as 'belonging to Drownlands,' as 'Tiger -Ki's wench'? The tone in which these words had been used had conveyed -more insult than the words themselves. They implied that she was sold, -as Mark had said, body and soul, to the master of Prickwillow. Mark was -not alone in his ill opinion of her. - -How had this opinion come to be formed? Surely not from the fact that -she was staying on in the house where she had been sheltered when her -father died? Every one must know that it was impossible for her to -leave it, unless she deserted her van and her wares. - -There had been nothing in Drownlands' conduct towards her in public -to breed this opinion. The spring of the scandal must have been in -Leehanna Tunkiss. That woman had viewed the presence of Zita at -Prickwillow with jealousy, and had come to hate her. - -In the first gush of womanly sympathy with a forlorn child, left -solitary, bereaved of her only parent, the housekeeper had urged Zita -to accept the hospitality offered her, and had welcomed her when she -transferred herself from the van in the outhouse into a room in the -farm dwelling. But no sooner did the keen eye of Leehanna observe that -Drownlands watched Zita with interest, and that the girl was acquiring -an extraordinary influence over him, than her envy was roused, and she -was filled with alarm lest her own position should be undermined, and -she should have to make way for the girl whom she had so readily taken -under the shelter of Prickwillow roof. - -Zita had not failed to notice the growing malevolence exhibited towards -her by this woman. She had endeavoured to keep out of her way, but had -not laid much store on her ill-humour. Now she saw, or suspected, that -Leehanna had been poisoning the minds of the neighbourhood against -her, and she had little doubt that the alienation of Mark was due in a -measure to the slanders of Mrs. Tunkiss. - -Presently Zita saw the light that shone from Kainie's window. The girl -had not as yet deserted her habitation. A little muslin blind was drawn -across the casement, and the candlelight shone hazily through that. -During the frost, when the waters were chained down, the windmills were -not worked, so that there was no immediate necessity for a successor to -take the place of the girl-miller. No doubt that Mark would inform the -Commissioners that Kainie's charge of the mill was at an end, and that -it was incumbent on them to immediately look out for a successor. But -Kainie had not as yet departed, though it might be she was preparing -for her 'flitting.' - -Had Mark come for her? Was he with her now? Or was she sitting in her -cottage with throbbing heart, waiting for him to arrive? - -Was it a fact that Mark Runham grasped at money? It was not true. -Drownlands had charged him falsely in that. He was taking Kainie, -who had nothing. With a twinge, Zita thought how that she herself was -enriching her rival with what might, had she willed it, become her own. -With a sickness at heart, Zita looked forward to the day when Kainie -would join the acres of Prickwillow to those of Crumbland, and bid Zita -go forth a wanderer and destitute—and it was her own doing. - -Was she one who sold body and soul for profits? She might have been -Drownlands' wife; she had refused this. She might have been his heir; -she had refused that: and Kainie reaped all the advantages that sprang -out of her refusals. - -No! There was something that was dearer to Zita even than profits. - -As Zita approached Red Wings, the dog, standing on the brick platform, -began to bark. Zita called to him, and he came to her bounding. On her -former visits she had brought Wolf something in her pocket. Now that he -reached her, he thrust his nose into her hand beseechingly. - -She halted at the tuft of thorn-bushes and flags below the platform, -and seated herself there, throwing her arm round the dog. She would not -present herself at the door of the hut, and receive a rough greeting -from Kainie. She would wait and see whether Mark were there before she -made her presence known. The explanation she had to make, the story -to tell, she would in preference make and tell to Mark. She did not -forget that she had struck Kainie, and she knew that her chances of -placing her conduct in a favourable light were greater with a man than -with a woman. - -A dark figure of a man issued from the cottage door and stood on the -platform, looking round. After a moment he went back to the door, -saying— - -'There is no one that I can see, but the night is dark, Kainie.' - -The voice was that of Mark. - -He did not re-enter the cottage, but, standing where he was, he said— - -'Come, Kainie, it is time for us to be off. My mother is expecting you.' - -The girl issued from the hovel. - -'Mark,' said she, 'has she really consented to receive me?' - -'Yes, she has.' - -'Yet I know that she has refused to see me, and even to hear about me.' - -'That is true, but now she has given way. I could not allow you to -remain here. I took a firm stand with my mother, and she admitted that -I was right, and yielded. Now, have you got all ready for the sledge?' - -'I have packed everything.' - -'Then jump on to the sleigh, and I will run you along upon the ice, -which is in prime condition.' - -Zita's arm convulsively nipped the dog. - -How happy she had been on that day when Mark had run her along on the -ice on the same bones that were now to bear her successful rival! - -Wolf protested against the pressure of her arm by a growl. - -'Where are you, Wolf?' called Mark. - -Zita released the dog, and he sprang upon the platform. - -'I wonder what the old fellow means,' said the young man. 'He does not -usually give false alarms. I daresay he's puzzled at our proceedings. -Something affecting his interests is in view, Kainie, and he can't -understand it. It is so dark one can't see far; but had any one been -coming, he would have given tongue lustily.' - -'Perhaps it may be Pip.' - -'Pip will have to be careful for the next day or two. If he be caught, -'twill go hard with him for certain.' - -'But you will get him away from the Fens?' - -'Yes. I am making arrangements. If he can keep hidden for a few more -days and nights, I shall have managed matters, and be able to clear -him off; to clear him not only from the Fens, but out of England. Now, -however, we must think of you. Take with you only such traps as you -need immediately, and which you can carry in your arms or on your lap. -I'll return for the rest to-morrow.' - -'I shall leave the fire burning and the light on the table.' - -'Yes, for Pip when he comes. Folk will think nothing of seeing the -light, making sure it is yours. He can hide here till I am ready to -send him away; and Wolf shall remain to give him notice if any one -approaches. I'll tie him up.' - -Kainie re-entered the cottage, and Mark proceeded to tie Wolf by a -piece of twine that he had in his pocket. - -Whilst he was thus engaged, Kainie came out with her little package, -and stood watching the proceedings of the young man. - -The dog was restless, and objected to being fastened. - -'Don't be angry with me, Mark,' said Kainie, 'if I ask you a question.' - -'No; what may it be?' - -'It concerns that wretched creature—that Cheap Jack girl. You were -rather taken with her at first, Mark, till you found out what she was. -You are quite sure you don't fancy her no longer?' - -The young fellow had been stooping over the dog. He stood up and said -gravely— - -'Kainie! I regard her now no more than I do the dirt under my soles.' - -'Hark! what is that?' - -The sound was that of a gasp or sob. - -'There is certainly some one here,' said Mark. 'Bring a light.' - -'You need not,' said Zita, rising from behind the thorns. 'It is I.' - -'You here, Zita?' - -'Yes. I heard what you said of me.' - -'I am sorry for that.' - -'It is cruelly false.' - -'I cannot go into that matter. What has brought you here at this time -o' night?' - -'What has brought her here?' repeated Kainie. 'There is no need to ask -that, Mark; the wretched creature is running after you.' - -'You must go back,' said the young man. - -'Yes, go back—to your dear master,' sneered Kainie. - -'I must speak. I must justify myself,' said Zita, with vehemence. -'You wrong me in your thoughts; you wrong me in your words. I am not -what you suppose. I am not a bold, bad girl. I do not sell myself for -profits. I am in Drownlands' house because I cannot help myself. I have -nowhere else whither to go. Why should you and Kainie believe evil of -me? Why should'— - -'I cannot argue with you,' said Mark. 'This is not the place; this is -not the time. I am sorry for you. I can say no more. I thought better -of you once.' - -'Go, you Cheap Jackess,' said Kainie. 'Unless you had a heart lost to -shame, you'd not have come here after Mark at night.' - -'You misjudge me in this as in other things,' said Zita, bursting into -tears. 'I came here for your good.' - -'That's a fine tale,' sneered Kainie. 'We want no good from you, nor do -we expect figs of thistles or grapes of thorns.' - -Mark said nothing, but stepped from the platform. - -'I entreat you to listen to me,' said Zita, catching his arm. 'It is -not true that Drownlands has left me everything.' - -'I cannot attend to this now,' said he, disengaging himself from her -grasp. But she again seized him. - -'Unsay what you said!' she exclaimed. Her anger was rising and -overmastering her grief. 'Unsay those ugly words—that I am the dirt -under your feet.' - -'I said—but never mind. I regret that you overheard me use such an -expression.' - -'That is not unsaying it.' - -Kainie came up and struck Zita with the full force of her heavy hand -across the face. - -'Take that,' she said; 'I have owed it you. Now the debt is repaid.' - -Then she stepped on the ice with a 'Mark, I am ready.' - -'Go!' cried Zita in towering wrath, stung with pain, maddened with -humiliation. 'Go—go under the ice, both of you! I care not! I care -not!' - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVII - -A CATHERINE WHEEL - - -The words were hardly out of Zita's mouth before they were repented. -The anger, the desire for revenge, which had spurted up in her heart, -was abated as rapidly as it had risen. - -Once before she had spoken in violence of anger, and had speedily -contradicted her words by her acts. She had bidden Mark go and be -hanged or transported for aught she cared; yet no sooner did she learn -that he was in actual danger, than she had interfered to deliver him. -She had fought for him with Drownlands, and had thrust herself into the -witness-box to exculpate him. - -Stinging now under the moral pain of the sense of wrong done to her, -that wounded her in her honour, stinging also under the physical pain -caused by the blow of Kainie, a girl for whom she had made the greatest -sacrifices, in a blind and inconsiderate explosion of resentment, she -had allowed Mark and Kainie, unwarned of their danger, to commit -themselves to the treacherous ice. - -Repentance came too late. The words had been spoken which hinted -danger, but the hint was too vague to be regarded, even to be -understood. Mark had started, running Kainie on his sledge over the -polished surface of the channel, before Zita had recovered herself and -realised what would be the consequences of her neglect. - -Then, with a cry, the girl ran along the bank. She called to Mark, -imploring him to return. She called, telling him that the ice was -broken. Then she stayed, out of breath, her pulses bounding, the sweat -streaming off her brow, and the tears racing down her cheeks. - -She found that it was not possible for her to catch up the sledge, that -flew like a swallow over the glassy ice, and which was invisible in the -darkness. She found that the wind was blowing in her face, and carrying -her voice behind her, away from those whose attention she desired to -arrest. - -In her despair, she threw herself on her knees and beat her head and -breast. - -'I am worse than what they thought of me! I am worse than that murderer -Drownlands. He killed one, and I kill two. Oh that I had died in their -place!' - -Again she sprang to her feet, and again she cried to those who were -speeding far away, and bade them return. She was sensible, as she -called, that she could do nothing to arrest them in their course. The -horror of the situation was insupportable, and in a wave of despair -that swept over her, Zita was ready to fling herself into the canal. - -There are moments of life when instantaneously a whole prospect opens -before the inner eye—call that eye what you will. In a second of time -Zita saw the consequences of her neglect mirrored before her with -intense and terrible vividness. It was as though the whole sequence -of events that must follow was unrolled before her eye, and, clear as -in broadest day, she saw the sledge, propelled by Mark, approach the -dangerous spot where the arch of ice stood unsupported, and when the -additional weight was thrown on it, must come crashing down. She heard -the whine of the cracking surface, as the sleigh reached it. She saw -the whole mass of ice, together with sleigh, Mark, and Kainie, go down -with a crash, impelled by the velocity of the pace at which they had -been going—saw them shoot under the water, and the sheets of fractured -ice that encumbered the surface of the shrunken river. She heard the -cry of Mark, the scream of Kainie. She saw them battling with their -hands beneath the surface. It was to her as though she were looking -from above on the glassy sheet that lay broken, but yet encasing the -water. She could see through it, and watch the expiring efforts of -Mark and Kainie, behold them struggling with their hands to break -through or push aside the ice-plate that lay between their mouths and -air. She could see their straining eyes fixed reproachfully on her -through the transparent screen. In her fancy she was now running and -beckoning to the only patch of open water through which escape was -possible. And yet they would not attend; either they misunderstood her -signals, or they mistrusted her motives. - -She beheld how their efforts relaxed, their palms patted listlessly -against the ice, their fingers picked with feeble effort at the cracks, -how the light of intelligence died out of their eyes, how their lips -gasped and drew in water. - -Then to her fancy they went down, Kainie first, Mark next. - -After that there rose about her, as a cloud, a mass of black figures, -pointing at her with their fingers, and from every finger-point flashed -an electric spark. - -'Murderess—double murderess! Thou who didst judge Drownlands, judge -thine own self. Thou who didst condemn, condemn thyself.' - -Then Wolf came to her. He had gnawed through the cord that had bound -him. - -Zita clasped him round the neck. - -'Oh, Wolf! Wolf!' she cried. 'Go after them—fly—stay them. Snap at -Mark's clothes. Bite Kainie. Hold them back!' - -She indicated the direction that the sledge had taken, and the dog ran -out on the ice. - -Zita looked after him. Would he be able to track them on the frozen -sheet? Would the scent lie on the congealed water? - -If Wolf did come up with his mistress and Mark, would he be able to -arrest their course? Did he understand the message, the order given -him? Would he, bounding forward in advance of the sledge, discover for -himself the danger that lay ahead, and come back and warn them? - -Should this attempt to stay the sleigh fail, were there no other means -available? - -Then an idea flashed through the brain of Zita. There remained one -chance of staying their career. - -Instantly Zita ran to the hut, burst open the door, and, seizing the -mattress of Kainie's bed, dragged it forth across the platform, and -threw it under the stationary sails of the mill. - -Then she went back to the cottage, and, gathering up the red embers of -the fire in a shovel, ran with them forth again, and threw them upon -the straw mattress. - -Next she stood, shovel in hand, waiting the result, watching as the -fire burnt its way through the ticking and buried itself in the straw. - -For a moment there ensued a red glare—an eating outward of the ticking -by fiery teeth—then a ghost-like flame leaped up, and wavered above -the incandescent mass. It threw itself high into the air, as though -it were independent of the fire below, then returned and dipped its -feet in the red ashes. With the shovel Zita stirred the ignited mass. -Then the mattress broke into flame, and the flame reared itself in many -tongues, swayed with the wind, curled over, broke into a multitude of -orange fire-flashes that capered and pirouetted about the glowing heart -of fire, as though the fabled Salamanders had manifested themselves, -and rejoiced in being able to dance in their proper element. In another -moment the flames had ignited the sail that hung above them, and were -racing each other up the canvas. - -Zita sped to the clog. She had learned from Kainie how a windmill was -to be set in motion, and how the revolution of the sails was to be -arrested, on the first visit she had paid to Red Wings. She now raised -the clog, and with a sigh and creak the arms began to turn. As they did -so, the sail which was on fire swept from the bed of flames that had -kindled it, and was replaced by another. Instantly Zita stopped the -revolution, to allow it also to be kindled. In like manner she treated -the remaining sails, and when all blazed, she allowed them to spin -unhampered in the breeze. - -A wondrous sight in the black night! The mill sails whirling in the -freezing blast sent forth streamers of flame and a rain of sparks. -Every now and then there dropped from them incandescent tears. They -roared as they went round, forming, as they rotated on the axle, a -mighty wheel of dazzling light. Zita stood looking up at her work, -and for a moment forgot the occasion of the setting fire to the -wheel in the overwhelming effect produced by the brilliancy of the -spectacle. The wind not only made the canvas glare, but kindled as well -the stretchers of lath to which it was fastened, and the mainbeams -likewise. The ties by which the sail-cloth was fastened were of tarred -cord. As the fire consumed a portion, the rest slipped forth, and flew -away in lurid lines of light. - -The platform was illumined, as though a blaze of July sun had fallen -on it. The window-panes of the cottage were transmuted into flakes of -gold-leaf. The dykes reflected the flashing sails, and shot the light -along in streaks through the dark fen into the outer darkness beyond. - -A number of bats that had been harboured by the old mill, and were -sleeping through the winter, were roused by the light, quickened by the -heat, and came forth in flights, dazed, to flit on leather wings about -the platform, to dart into the wheel of fire, and to fly back scorched, -and to fall crippled at Zita's feet. - -Wolf came up cowering. He had been unable to trace the course of his -mistress on the ice, and he crouched moaning at Zita's feet, his eyes -watching the fiery revolutions, but ever and anon starting back with a -snap and a whine as some disabled bat clawed at him, and endeavoured -to scramble up his side. - -Would the whole mill fall a prey to the flames? - -Ignited, molten tar was flung off as fire dross by the whirling sails, -masses of burning canvas were carried off on the wind. The sails for a -while moved more slowly. The canvas was in part consumed, but the flame -itself seemed to form a sheet over the ribs, and incite the wind to act -with redoubled force; for again, with renewed activity, the great arms -continued their rotation. - -Every rush in the dyke was made visible, standing out as a rod of -burnished gold, and the withered tassels of seed glowed scarlet, -against a background of night made doubly sombre by the dazzling -splendour of the burning mill sails. - -The boarded and tarred body of the mill was changed in the lurid glare -into a structure of red copper. In the heat given off by the wings, the -tar dissolved and ran down from the movable cap, as though the great -bulk of the mill were sweating in an agony of fear lest the fire should -reach and consume it also. - -A barn-owl hovered aloft, and the glare smote on its white breast and -under-wings. It to-whooed in its terror, and its cry could be heard -above the rush of the sails and the roar of the flames. - -There were other sounds that combined with the hooting of the owl, the -rush of the sails and of the fire. The mechanism of the mill was in -motion; the huge axle revolved and throbbed like a great pulse running -through the body of the structure, the wheels creaked and groaned, the -paddles laboured to drive the water up the incline, and the water when -it came produced strange sounds beneath the ice, gasps and gulps. It -was as though the dykes were sobbing at the combustion and destruction -of the engine which had so long and so steadily laboured to drain them. - -When the fire reached iron and copper nails and bands, and heated the -metals to white heat, they became incandescent, and gave forth streams -of green and blue flame, that glowed with the marigold yellow and -tiger-lily red of the blazing wood and tar, forming of the fiery circle -a rainbow complete in its prismatic tints. The clouds that passed -overhead were flushed and palpitated, reflecting the fire below. - -Notwithstanding the anguish of mind that possessed Zita, her anxiety -for the fate of Mark and Kainie, and her self-reproach, she was carried -away, out of all such thoughts, by the transcendent splendour of the -spectacle. She stood looking up at the wheel of light, with hands -clasped to her bosom, hardly breathing, her face illumined as though -she had been looking into the sun. - -Then, suddenly, a hand was laid roughly on her shoulder, and -an agitated voice said in her ear, 'Good heavens! what have you -done?—wicked, malignant girl!' - -Zita dropped on her knees, with a cry of mingled joy and pain. - -'Thank God! they are saved!' - -She stooped and hid her face in her skirt about her knees. The -revulsion of feeling was more than she could bear. She gasped for -breath. She came to a full stop in sensation and thought. She could not -rise, speak, nor look up. Then relief from acute tension of the mind -found itself a way in a flood of tears, and broken words of no meaning -and without connection were sobbed forth, and muffled in her gown. - -When, finally, she did raise her head, and gather her dazed faculties, -and wipe the water from her eyes, she saw that Mark and Kainie were -forcing the head of the mill round, so as no longer to present the -sails to the wind, but make them face away from it, so as to lessen the -danger to the body of the mill, which might at any moment ignite when -flame and sparks were swept over it. - -They then put on the clog and stopped the movement of the charred arms. - -This was almost all that could be done. They trusted that the arms -would burn themselves out without the axle catching fire. - -'Kainie,' said Mark, 'I'll run a rope up and throw it over the axle, -and you can pass me up buckets of water.' - -Then he came to where Zita knelt. Kainie was at his side. - -'You infamous creature!' said Kainie. 'Why did you do it?' - -'To save you and Mark.' - -'To save us? That is a fine story.' - -'They had let out the water, and the ice is broken up.' - -'Let out what water?' asked Mark. - -'The water of the river.' - -'Who have done this?' - -'Why, Pip and some other men.' - -'Zita,' said Mark, 'what do you mean? Is there any truth in this?' - -'It is true, indeed,' she answered. 'They have done it to revenge -themselves on Mr. Drownlands, because he gave evidence against some of -their comrades.' - -'This is very serious,' said Mark. - -'It is quite true. They would not allow me to go back to Prickwillow. I -tried, but they stopped me, and forced me to come on this way. I could -not warn the master. And they told me to keep off the ice. As I came -along, I heard it scream and crack, and go down in a mass together.' - -'Why did you not tell me this before?' - -'You would not listen to me. You said cruel things of me, and Kainie -struck me in the face.' - -'And why did you set the mill on fire?' - -'To force you to come back. I did not care about your danger till too -late. I ran after you, you could not hear me. I knew that if you saw -fire at the mill you would return. Nothing but that could bring you -back.' - -Mark was silent for a moment. Then, with emotion in his voice, he said— - -'Zita, I believe we have wronged you grievously.' - -'No,' answered the girl, 'it was I who wronged you. I let you go, and -said, Go under the ice and be drowned, I did not care.' - -'I did not hear you.' - -'I said it—instead of telling you of your danger. I was angry—very -angry, and I was hurt by Kainie—but'—she hesitated, her voice -faltered—'at the bottom of all was this—I was jealous.' - -'Jealous? Jealous of whom?' - -'Mark, you had been so kind to me. I had been so happy with you. I even -thought you liked me. Then you turned away from me for Kainie.' - -'For Kainie?' - -There was surprise in his face. - -'Yes, you like her best. You are right—she is good, and I am bad—but -it made me jealous.' - -'Good heavens! You do not understand. There is now no need for further -concealment. Kainie is my sister!' - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVIII - -THE BRENT-GEESE - - -It was even as Mark said, but the particulars relative to Kerenhappuch -did not come to the knowledge of Zita till some time later. - -Jake Runham, the father of Mark, had made the acquaintance of -Drownlands' sister, and had betrayed her. Instead of marrying her, he -suddenly took a woman who was an heiress, married her for her money, -and left Leah Drownlands to her shame. - -The secret of Leah's disgrace was well kept. She was sent away to a -distance, and when she returned after five years with a child, she -would say nothing relative to the parentage of Kainie, nor did her -brother proclaim it. Ki never forgave his sister, and would never hold -communication with her or receive her child. Jake Runham naturally -enough was reserved on the matter, and no one suspected who the father -of Kainie was. The public believed that, to use their own terms, Leah -had 'met with a misfortune' whilst away from the Fens. - -On her return to the neighbourhood of Prickwillow, the unfortunate -woman obtained from the Commissioners the use of the cottage and -a small allowance, on consideration of her attending to the mill. -This pittance she eked out with needlework. Mark had entertained no -suspicion of the relationship so long as his father lived, but on -his death there was that provision made in the will which revealed -the long-hidden secret. Jake acknowledged his paternity to Kainie, -and solemnly required his son to provide for and watch over his -half-sister. It seemed probable that he had in the past secretly -contributed something towards the maintenance of Leah Drownlands and -her daughter. - -These facts were not as yet generally known, but now that Kainie was -to be removed to Crumbland, it was inevitable that they should be made -public. - -The reason why Mark was so resolved to take Kainie away from Red Wings -was that she was harbouring and screening Ephraim Beamish, to whom she -was attached and engaged. Mark saw that this could not be suffered -to continue. He urged the case with his mother, who had strenuously -opposed the reception of the girl into the farm, but who now, as a good -woman, yielded when she considered the gravity of the circumstances. - -Ever since the death of Jake Runham, Kerenhappuch had known the truth. -It had been necessary for Mark to tell her of their relationship, and -of the obligation that had been laid upon him. At the same time, to -save his father's memory, he urged her to keep the matter secret. This -it was which made her reticent with Zita. - - * * * * * - -'Come,' said Mark. 'Now is not the time for an explanation—nor can I -speak of such matters to you without pain, for my father did a great -wrong. The question at this moment is—What is to be done? Here is the -mill running a risk of being burnt down; on the other hand, there is -the water which has been let out, pouring over the Fens. The latter is -the most serious concern. If the mill be consumed, it can be rebuilt -speedily; but if the fen be flooded, it will take years before it -recovers.' - -He took Zita's hand in his. - -'I do believe I have been unjust. So has Kainie. We owe our lives to -you. Kainie, ask her to forgive you the blow you dealt her.' - -'No,' said Zita. 'I struck Kainie first, and she gave me the blow back -again—harder than I struck her, but that was her profits.' - -It seemed probable that the fire smouldering in the ribs of the sails -would become extinct. There were matters more urgent, calling Mark -elsewhere. - -'Pip knew better than advise me of his intent,' said Mark. 'We must -have a light.' - -He tore one of the stakes from the sails of the mill. - -'It will serve as a torch,' said he. 'Run, Kainie, to the bridge, -give the alarm to the bankers there. Tell them to bring tools and all -needful down the embankment.' - -'But they must not take Pip.' - -'Pip will have sheered off long before they reach the place. Run, -Kainie. Come on, Zita, and show me where the bank has been cut through.' - -They walked on together, and their shadows were cast before them by the -still glowing mill, which now and then shot up into flame, and then -became a smouldering mass. - -They walked fast, but not very fast; that was hardly possible on the -bank. - -For a while Mark said nothing, but he put out his hand, and took that -of Zita. - -'There has been great misunderstanding,' he said meditatively. - -'Yes,'she replied, 'indeed there has. I was jealous because I thought -you liked Kainie best.' - -'And I—I do not know what I thought; evil things were said, and I was -a fool, a cursed fool, to believe them. So—you were jealous?' - -'Yes, Mark.' - -'You could not have been jealous if you had not cared for me.' - -She did not answer. - -'And I believe the Reason why I gave ear to evil words was because I -loved you—loved you so dearly that I was jealous through every thread -of my being. I was jealous of that fellow Drownlands. I was an ass to -think those things could be possible that were said of you. I ought to -have known you better.' - -'Yes, Mark, you ought to have known me better.' - -'But it is not now too late. Zita, we will be to each other as we were -before—that is, if you can forgive me.' - -'Indeed I can forgive you.' - -'And I will let all know that we understand each other. And, Zita,' he -laughed, 'we'll have the old van and Dobbin'— - -'He is Jewel, not Dobbin.' - -'And Jewel, brought over to Crumbland.' - -'That cannot be, Mark, now.' - -'Why not?' - -'It is too late.' - -'How too late?' - -'I have promised Drownlands to remain with him at Prickwillow, and take -care of his house as long as he lives.' - -'That won't hold. If I make you my wife'— - -'That cannot be.' - -'Cannot be?—it shall be.' - -'No, Mark, I gave you up. I gave up my thoughts of you as a husband -in order to get Ki Drownlands to desist from appearing against you in -court.' - -'He could have done nothing.' - -'Whether he could or could not, matters nought now. I made a promise.' - -'You must break it.' - -She shook her head. - -'A deal is a deal.' - -Then, as both remained silent, suddenly strange sounds were heard high -up in the dark sky, a sound as of barking dogs in full career. - -Zita shivered and caught hold of Mark. - -'Oh!' she said in a whisper, full of fear. 'They scent a soul—they -hunt a soul! Oh, poor soul! God help it! Poor soul—run—run—swift—in -at heaven's door!' - -'Nonsense, little frightened creature! It is the brent-geese!' - -'Mark, last time I heard them it betokened death. Then it was two -souls—two flying—flying—and the dogs in full career after them.' - -'You, Zita,' laughed Mark, 'do you remember when we spoke of this on -the ice, I said when next you heard the brent-geese I hoped I might -stand by you. Zita, please God, when the hell-hounds, if such they -be,—and I don't believe a word of it,—be let loose, scenting my soul -or yours, that I may be by you, or you by me, to cheer each other in -the final and dreadful race.' - -Zita shuddered. - -'Mark, it may not be. I shall stand by Drownlands. I have promised—a -deal is a deal.' - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIX - -THE CUT EMBANKMENT - - -Drownlands had been for some time in the upstairs room that served as -his office. He had brought out his account-books, lighted his lamp, and -was endeavouring to engage his thoughts on his expenditure in wages, -and to go over the names of his workmen, and strike out such as had -taken part in the recent riot. But it was in vain. After a few futile -attempts, he leaned his head on his palm, and gave himself over to -thoughts of Zita. - -It was poor comfort to him to know that she would remain in his house, -but it was a comfort. He felt confidence in her—that, having passed -her word to remain, remain she would, whatever might happen. Whatever -animadversions might be made on her presence in his house, however -deeply her reputation might suffer, she would stay with him. She had -passed her word. It was not unlikely, he thought, that some swain might -become enamoured of her, and ask her to join her lot with his, but she -would refuse him. She would remain an old maid at Prickwillow, because -she had passed her word. Not for a moment did Drownlands' faith in Zita -give way. She had impressed the man indelibly with a conviction of her -sincerity. Zita as a Cheap Jack was one thing, Zita in private life -was another. She had one conscience for her dealings with the general -public, another conscience for her dealings with individuals face to -face. The sun might rise in the west and go down in the Orient sky, but -Zita could not fail to keep her word. - -Drownlands was startled from his reverie by the maid Sarah, who rushed -in at the door, exclaiming— - -'Master, the water be out!' - -'What water?' - -'The boy says the fen is flooded.' - -'Flooded?' - -'He says the bank be broke.' - -'The Lark embankment?' - -Drownlands realised instantly the significance of the announcement. - -'Quick!' said he; 'light me the lantern. Sharp! No time is to be lost.' - -He ran to the corner to snatch up a stick, and, without observing what -he did, laid hold of the flail. He did not perceive his mistake till -he had reached the foot of the staircase. Then he could not delay to -return and exchange it for a staff. He caught the lantern from the -hand of Sarah and went out into the yard. His feet at once splashed -into water. - -'What has happened?' he exclaimed, with an oath. 'It cannot be that -they have cut the embankment.' - -He splashed on. Over the frozen surface of the soil a ripple of water -was running, followed by another ripple, and with each the film of -water covering the yard was sensibly deepened. - -'The bank must have broken. The frost has done it. They would never -have dared to cut it.' - -Swaying his lantern, Drownlands strode through the water, out of the -stackyard and into the drove that led from his farm to the highway. -This had been much cut up that day by his waggons carting roots. The -heavy vehicles with broad wheels had crushed through the icy crust, and -the hoofs of the horses had assisted in breaking up the frost case. -Thus in places the water was able to act on the unfrozen peat, and -undermine the surface that was hard frozen. The peat was dry, and when -the water reached it, it swelled as a sponge. - -A tide was flowing down the drove. On both sides were the frozen dykes; -the water covered the ice, running along it, and but for the sedge and -rushes that rose out of the ditches, their presence would have been -undefined. - -The brow of Drownlands darkened, and his cheeks glowed. Was this the -meaning of the threats launched against him? He had never conceived it -possible that the men would have recourse to such means as this to pay -off their grudge against him, for to inundate the farm was to destroy -their field of labour. - -'I wish I had brought my gun,' said he. 'And then, should I see one -of the scoundrels, I'd shoot him with no more scruple than I would a -dotterel. As it is, let me come upon one,'—he raised and flourished -his flail,—'and I will beat out his brains.' - -Drownlands walked with difficulty. Where the surface under the water -was frozen, there it was slippery. Where it was broken through and -broken up by the wain wheels and horse hoofs, there it was slough. - -Ruts, still frozen, were in places two or three feet in depth, and they -were filled. Invisible under the water, he was liable to sink into -them. He stumbled along, angry, swearing, advancing with labour, forced -to hold his lantern, first to one side, then to the other, to make sure -that he was not turning from his road, his sole guide being the sedge -lines, one on each side. - -The roads in the Fens are not made of stone, for stone is not to be -found in the Fens. The soil hardens with drought and frost. In rainy -weather it is a slough. The draining-machines, being almost constantly -at work, suck all the moisture out of the soil, and as it dries it -shrinks. Now that the water from the canal was overflowing the fen, -it rippled on innocuously over the icy case, but wherever it could -penetrate through that case, at every crack, at every dint, it was -drunk in in heavy draughts by the thirsty soil, that immediately heaved -and swelled as it imbibed the moisture, and in so doing dissolved into -slough. - -The tide continued to flow. In the yard the water had been hardly as -high as the instep. It now flowed over the boot tops. - -The water was intensely cold. - -Drownlands had on his boots, such as he wore ordinarily, but not -his wading boots that reached to the thighs. He had not thought it -necessary to wear such protectors in frosty weather. Those he wore did -not extend higher than his calves. Already, in one of his plunges into -a rut filled with water, he had soaked his feet, his boots, so far from -serving as a protection, being an encumbrance. The flail, moreover, was -of small service; the handfast was not of length sufficient for him to -probe the water before him and sound his way. Would that he had drawn -on his wading-boots—would that he had brought a leaping-pole! - -Drownlands turned his head over his shoulder and looked back at the -house. He could see the light from the kitchen and that from his -office—the latter partially, as, owing to the broken glass in the -window, he had closed the shutters. He had left his lamp burning, and -he could distinguish its light in a line where the shutters closed -imperfectly. - -It seemed to the man that the distance he had come was greater than it -really was. - -The difficulty of advancing must increase with every few minutes. In a -quarter of an hour it would not be possible to traverse the distance -between Prickwillow and the embankment save by boat. - -He must reach the tow-path, and hasten along it to the nearest station, -where a gang of workmen was quartered, with implements and material -ready on an emergency. - -There was no time to be lost. Every minute was of importance. -Drownlands knew but too well that if his farm were inundated, it would -be rendered valueless for several years. It would not be utter ruin, as -he had the savings of the past to eat into, but it would prevent his -reaping advantage from his land till it had been completely recovered -of the effects of the flood. - -Struggling with the rising tide, he succeeded in getting upon the -highway. But now his difficulties were the greater, for he had entered -into the current that poured from the Lark. The water rushed over his -knees. The cold was almost insupportable. With body bent, step by step, -helping himself onwards with the flail, but unable always to trust it, -owing to the pits in the submerged surface, he advanced slowly. - -He held up the lantern and looked round. The tallow candle through the -horn sides but feebly illumined the night. It showed the gurgling water -in which he was wading, but it showed nothing beside. He did not any -longer know his direction. He must stem the current, but was unable -to judge where the edge and where the centre of the current were that -poured against him. - -When he lowered his lantern, he was aware of a lurid light in the sky -above the embankment, and saw now and then a brilliant spark thrown up. -That there was a fire somewhere he could not doubt, and concluded that -the rioters who had cut the embankment were continuing their incendiary -work as before. He could not see the wheel of fire; he was too low down -for that, but he saw the illumination caused by it. Suddenly his feet -gave way, and he fell in the water. He had gone into one of the deepest -cart-ruts. As he fell, his lantern was extinguished. - -It was now impossible for him to return. He could not, if he wished -it, have retraced his steps. His only possible course was to scramble -up the bank, and to do this he now devoted all his energies. But -unhappily he had reached precisely that point where the bank had been -cut through, and was therefore exposed to the full force of the outrush -of the river. As, by a desperate effort, he recovered his feet, he -could see the lip of water curling over, reddened by the reflection -of the fire beyond. He was drenched in the ice-cold water, but that -was nothing to the anguish in his feet; they were turning dead, numbed -by the water in which they had been immersed so long without proper -protection. - -But this was not all. No sooner had Drownlands reached the slope of the -embankment than he became aware that the little assistance rendered him -by the frost was at an end. The rush of water had broken up the gault -of which the bank was formed, was eating at every moment farther into -it, and widening the mouth by which it poured from the bed of the river -upon the low reclaimed land. The moistened marl was greasy under his -feet. When he slipped and endeavoured to catch at the bank, his hands -sank into the sodden clay, and the tenacious matter held his fingers -like glue. His feet, moreover, went deep into the clay, and to extract -them was difficult. - -It became apparent to Drownlands that he must battle for his life -against the current. - -He endeavoured to assist himself in his ascent by the staff of the -flail, but this proved of no help to him, as it sank with the pressure -applied to it in the glutinous mass. He strove to heave himself up, -and could not; his feet, dead with cold, and, through their loss of -sensation, no longer able to feel the bottom, slipped from under him. -He could not extract his staff from the marl. All he was able to do -was to cling to it, and pant and recover breath, and then make another -desperate effort forward. - -The water, tearing through the fissure in the bank, broke off masses -of the clay, half frozen, and whirled them down, and along with them -blocks of river ice that had broken up. It was sometimes difficult to -ascend the embankment, the slope of which was steep, in the face of a -strong wind; it was a hundred times more difficult now, when it had to -be done against a rushing torrent, and that of water which curdled the -blood in the veins, knotted the muscles with cramp, and paralysed the -sinews. - -No thought of revenge on those who had cut the bank now occupied the -mind of Drownlands—no thought of having the leak stopped. The one -absorbing consideration was how to escape from the deadly-cold raging -current. - -Then a sharp cant of ice whirled down, cut his knuckles and jarred -his fingers, so that he let go the flail with one hand, but seized it -in time with the other to save himself from being swept away. He was -carried off his feet, and in trying to right himself drove one foot so -deeply into the marl, that, when he endeavoured to pluck it forth, the -tenacious matter held his boot and tore it off his foot. The intensity -of the cold was, however, so great, that he was not sensible of the -loss. He looked up. The red auroral light was still illumining the sky -behind the bank. He held to the flail that was planted in the clay. If -that gave way, his hold on life would be gone. - -Now he saw above him a dark figure on the bank, and he cried, 'Help! -help!' - -'Who calls there?' - -'It is I—Ki Drownlands.' - -The man made no effort to descend. He folded his arms, and said slowly -in harsh tones— - -'I cannot help you. I am Ephraim Beamish. You are prepared to testify -against some twenty of my comrades, and to send them to the gallows. -Which is of most worth, your life, you Judas, or theirs?' - -'Help! I will say nothing.' - -'I cannot trust you,' said Beamish. 'Wretched man, water was created -of God to cleanse away transgression. Go, wash thee and be clean—wash -thee and be free from thy sins.' - -Then a torch flared above the bank. Mark was there with Zita. - -'Who is there? What is this?' Mark asked, with an agitated voice. The -blazing tarred wood, sending up a golden burst of flame, illumined the -upturned countenance of Drownlands. The struggling man raised his arm -to wipe the water and sweat from his eyes and screen them from the -brilliant light. - -'It is the master,' said Zita. 'Save him, Mark! Oh, do save him!' - -Instantly, but with caution, Mark descended, digging his heels deep -into the marl at each step, and held the torch aloft, wavering, -guttering, throwing out sparks in the wind. 'Give me your hand,' said -the young man. - -The exhausted, desperate Drownlands withdrew his arm from before his -eyes. - -In the burning wood was a copper nail, and this now sent forth a -lambent, grass-green flame, in the light of which Drownlands' face was -like that of a corpse. The man, in his extreme peril and desire for -help, stretched forth his hand. - -Then the wind blew the flame so that the face of Mark was illumined. -Suddenly Tiger Ki snatched his hand back again. - -'A Runham—no!' - -He endeavoured by a frantic effort to ascend the bank by his own -efforts. There ensued a terrible scene—the struggle of a well-nigh -spent man with the adverse elements to deliver himself from his -position. He fought with the water and the clay, tossing a spray about -him, pounding with his feet, one shod, the other bare, churning clay -and water around him. - -Failing to mount one step above where the flail was rooted, he -discontinued his profitless effort, and, clinging with both hands to -the stay, cried— - -'Zita, I will owe life to you, or to none!' - -Without a thought for herself, the girl leaped to his aid. - -In a moment his disengaged arm was round her. - -'We may die—if we cannot live—together.' - -'Let go!' shouted Mark, and laid hold of Zita by the arm. 'Let go!' - -'To you—never!' - -Without consideration Mark drove the burning torch against his hand -that clasped the girl. - -With a shriek Drownlands relaxed his hold. - -At that moment, Ephraim, who had descended carefully, had laid hold of -the flail above where Drownlands' hand had clutched it. He stooped, -and, exerting his full force from above, drew it forth from the clay in -which it was fast. - -At once Drownlands slid away in the stream. Still clinging to the -flail, he was carried off his feet, out of the range of light cast by -the torch, and under water. - -'Go!' said Beamish, waving his hand over the torrent. 'Go! thou accuser -of thy brethren! Go, wash away thy sins in the water that drowns thee!' - -He saw the flood before him glittering like gold. He looked round. The -gangers had come—summoned by Kainie. - -'Save him! save him!' cried Zita. - -'Where is he?—who can say? Carried forth into the outer darkness; -rolled away in the baptismal flood—who can say whither?' answered -Ephraim. - -'No,' said one of the gangers. 'No help is possible.' - -'God have mercy on a sinful soul!' said Ephraim. - - - - -CHAPTER XL - -THISTLES - - -The trial of the rioters came on before a Special Commission, that sat -a few weeks after the arrest of the men. The cutting of the embankment -after the arrest had greatly exasperated minds against the unfortunate -men who were to take their trial, although they themselves were -guiltless in this matter. It probably served to sharpen the sentences -pronounced upon them, as their judges shared the general feeling that -an example should be made that would overawe the fen-men, and deter -them from future acts of lawlessness. - -Judgment of death was passed on thirty-four men, but only five -were actually executed. The sentence on nine was mitigated into -transportation for life, and that on the rest was commuted to -imprisonment for a term of years. - -Ephraim Beamish was not taken. Mark succeeded in effecting his escape -from the Fens. He supplied him with money, and Beamish took ship at -Liverpool for the United States, where he bought a farm, then turned -backwoods Baptist preacher, tired of that, returned to farm life, -and married Kainie, who went out to him. She was a rich woman, and -might have had her pick of the young fen-farmers. She had inherited -everything that had belonged to her uncle. But Kainie would have no one -save Pip, and as Pip could not come to her, she sold Prickwillow to -Mark, and went out to the man of her choice in the New World. - -Mark gave his half-sister a fair price for the farm. The land had been -seriously injured by the inundation, and would have been more seriously -affected had not the bankers, summoned by Kainie, been able rapidly and -effectually to stop the breach. - -Mark was now a man of substance. When he purchased Prickwillow, he -united that estate to Crumbland, and became one of the largest landed -proprietors in that portion of the Fens; nevertheless, like his -fellow-yeomen, he did not affect to be a squire, but lived in sober -fashion, worked with his men, and worked harder than any one of them. -A popular man he was with the labourer as with the farmer, for he was -just and kindly, and possessed unflagging good spirits. He amassed -money. Let his sons or grandsons style themselves gentlemen, said he; -for his part, he was content to be plain Mark Runham, farmer. - -What is to be told concerning Zita? - -The ill opinion formed of her had been due mainly to the malicious and -slanderous tongue of Leehanna Tunkiss. Whatever had been said against -Zita was traceable to this source. - -When it was discovered that Ki Drownlands had made and executed -his will on the very day on which he died, and that in it he had -constituted his niece sole heiress of all he possessed, and had not -even mentioned the Cheap Jack girl, the trust of the fen-folk in the -word of Mrs. Tunkiss failed. The housekeeper was discredited and her -stories disbelieved. - -It was not long before Mark Runham made Zita his wife, and the van, -with all its goods, was moved by a team of his horses to Crumbland. - -There was one secret Zita retained locked in her heart, and which she -never revealed to Mark—the events of the night when Ki Drownlands -and Jake Runham met on the embankment and fought with the flails till -Mark's father was cast into the canal—there to perish. There was -no necessity for her to tell it. The guilty man had died as had his -foe—in the same water. - -For many years recourse was had to the stores of the van whenever the -household was in need of some article there in stock. - -In the Fens, when a man requires to traverse a considerable distance, -he provides himself with a leaping-pole, and makes for his destination -in a bee-line, clearing every watery obstruction in his way. - -The author now uses this privilege—takes pole in hand, and, seeing the -end before him, makes for it. What does he first see after having put -down the pole and leaped? - -A van. Surely the familiar Cheap Jack conveyance, crawling along the -drove on a summer's day, drawn by an old horse that takes a few steps, -then pauses, breathes hard, looks behind him with a peculiarly resolute -expression in his eye, and ignores absolutely every appeal, entreaty, -objurgation addressed to him, till he has recovered his wind, when he -goes on once more. - -From within the van issue cheery children's voices. Then some little -heads appear, some with auburn hair and brown eyes, others very fair, -and with eyes the colour of the sky. - -'What the dickens is that there concern?' asks a stranger, standing on -the tow-path by the Lark, who from his vantage-ground watches the slow -and intermittent progress of the van on the drove. - -'Lor' bless you!' answers a ganger going by. 'It's only them little -Cheap Jackies taking a drive.' - -Again. What is the meaning of the noise that issues from the -coach-house? A shrill voice is haranguing, then is broken in on by a -clamour of other voices. - -Let us look within. - -The van is there, in a house so boxed in as to be inaccessible to -poultry. - -The front of the van is down. The red velvet curtains, much faded, and -the gold fringe, much tarnished, are suspended in their proper places, -decorating the front. One boy is on the platform, and is exhibiting -his toys to his brothers and sisters, and offering them for sale at -extravagant prices; then, abating his demands, he assures them that he -offers these articles for absolutely the last time, and at the lowest -price which he will consent to receive. - -Mark Runham returns from the farm. - -'Zita,' says he, 'I want to see my little ones. Where are they?' - -'At their favourite amusement on a rainy day.' - -'What is that?' - -'Playing at being Cheap Jacks. Mark, it is in their blood.' - -'Who is doing the selling today?' - -'Our eldest—James,' answers Zita; 'and, Mark, when James marries, -we'll have out that there epergne for the wedding breakfast.' - -'That's a long way ahead,' answers Mark. - -So it seemed to him. But again the novelist uses his privilege, puts -down the pole, and away he goes with one great bound over a period of -several years, and finds himself suddenly alight in the parlour of -Crumbland. He sees before him Mark, now a middle-aged man, broad in -shoulders and in beam, with ruddy cheeks that are pretty full; and -Zita, now a comely matron. - -Facing his father and mother, with some shyness in his face, stands -Jim, the hope of the family, twirling his hat, and looking furtively in -his father's face, as he says— - -'Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me, and let me -go.' - -'Go? Go, Jim? Good gracious! what do you mean? Whither do you want to -go?' - -'That is just it; nowhere in particular, and yet somewhere.' - -'But—leave home?' - -'Yes, father, I want to be off and about.' - -'Why, Jim, this is sheer delirium—tremenjous, as your mother would -say. There is Prickwillow empty, waiting for you, whenever you marry.' - -'And the epergne for the breakfast-table,' added Zita. - -'I do not want to marry, father! The epergne must wait, mother dear! I -haven't found the right one yet,' answered James, hanging his head. - -'But, good gracious! why should you go? Have not I been kind to you? -Have not you been allowed your own way in all that is right?' - -'Never was there a better father,' answered the young man, with -emotion, 'and never, never a dearer, better mother! It is not that. I -love home. I love my parents and my brothers and sisters. I dote on the -baby. I love the Fens. I cannot believe that any other portion of God's -world can be worth living in. I am sure none will be more beautiful -in my eyes than the fens of Ely. Nevertheless, give me the portion of -goods that falleth to me, and let me go.' - -'But for what do you want to be off?' - -'Why, father, mother,' says the young man, 'I want to be a Cheap Jack. -Ever since I was a child I have loved to drive bargains.' - -'Let him go,' says Zita. 'There are some things we have never found a -use for here. There's that box of scents; there's the garden syringe. -It is a sad pity so much capital should lie idle.' - -'Father,' says the young man, 'I feel as though I must go. I do not say -I shall be a Cheap Jack all my days.' - -'Why, I had such grand views for you, Jim; I thought I would send -you to college, and I hoped some day you might even try and get into -Parliament.' - -'Mark,'—it is Zita who speaks,—'I was a rambling girl once, a sort of -a vagabond, going over the country selling my goods; but I have become -stationary, like the van, stuck in the fen peat. I have not stirred for -many a year, and have never desired to rove out of the Fens any more. -It will be the same with Jim. He has it in his bones. It will do him -an amazing lot of good. He'll get to know the General Public.' - -'That is it, father,' says James. 'I seems as if I never could be happy -and easy in my mind till I've done a stroke of business with that there -Public. And I sees my way to it. There's abundance of thistles growing -about the edges of the drains. I wants to cut 'em down.' - -'Well, cut 'em. That need not take you away.' - -'Father, I wants to make the General Public eat 'em, and pay for -the privilege. I've heard in my sleep a voice in my ear that I do -believe comes from the General Public, saying, "Jim! Jim! give us -thistles!" And the wind always whistles to the same tune. And the -thunder rolling seems to be the voice of the General Public, braying, -"Give us thistles!" And, father, even the very bees when they hum -about the flowers seem to convey to me in a whisper the message, -as from a lover, but it comes from the General Public, "Give us -thistles. We are sick for thistledown. 'Tisn't bread we wants—'tisn't -meat—'tis thistledown." I can't say exactly how I'll dispose of it to -them,—whether rolled up in pills, or stuffed in feather beds,—but I -know the Public will buy thistles in any disguise. And then, father, -think of the profits.' - -'Mark,' said Zita, 'let him go. Cheap-jacking is an edication. It -teaches a chap to know the General Public, what to lay on his back, -how to tickle his ears, what you can make him swallow. If you think -of making Jim a mimber of Parliament, there is no school, no college -more suitable than the Cheap Jack's van. Let him go, Mark. He's a good -boy—he'll come to no harm. He'll settle down the better after it, and -he'll enjoy himself—"tremenjous."' - - -THE END. - - -PRINTED BY MORRISON AND GIBB LIMITED, EDINBURGH - - - - -A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS OF METHUEN AND COMPANY -PUBLISHERS : LONDON 36 ESSEX STREET W.C. - - -CONTENTS - - PAGE - - FORTHCOMING BOOKS, 2 - - BELLES LETTRES, ANTHOLOGIES, ETC., 5 - - POETRY, 7 - - ILLUSTRATED AND GIFT BOOKS, 14 - - HISTORY, 15 - - BIOGRAPHY, 17 - - TRAVEL, ADVENTURE AND TOPOGRAPHY, 18 - - NAVAL AND MILITARY, 20 - - GENERAL LITERATURE, 22 - - PHILOSOPHY, 24 - - THEOLOGY, 24 - - FICTION, 29 - - BOOKS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, 39 - - THE PEACOCK LIBRARY, 39 - - UNIVERSITY EXTENSION SERIES, 39 - - SOCIAL QUESTIONS OF TODAY, 40 - - CLASSICAL TRANSLATIONS, 41 - - EDUCATIONAL BOOKS, 42 - - -OCTOBER 1900 - - - - - OCTOBER 1900 - -MESSRS. METHUEN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS - - -Travel, Adventure and Topography - - THE INDIAN BORDERLAND: Being a Personal Record of Twenty Years. By - Sir T. H. HOLDICH, K.C.I.E. Illustrated. _Demy 8vo. 15s. net._ - - This book is a personal record of the author's connection with - those military and political expeditions which, during the last - twenty years, have led to the consolidation of our present position - in the North-West frontier of India. It is a personal history of - trans-frontier surveys and boundary demarcations, commencing with - Penjdeh and ending with the Pamirs, Chitral, and Tirah. - - - MODERN ABYSSYNIA. By A. B. WYLDE. With a Map and a Portrait. _Demy - 8vo. 15s. net._ - - An important and comprehensive account of Abyssinia by a traveller - who knows the country intimately, and has had the privilege of the - friendship of King Menelik. - - -_Revised by Commanding Officers._ - - THE HISTORY OF THE BOER WAR. By F. H. E. CUNLIFFE, Fellow of - All Souls' College, Oxford. With many Illustrations, Plans, and - Portraits. Vol. I. _Quarto. 15s._ Also in Fortnightly Parts, _1s. - each._ - - The first volume of this important work is nearly ready. When - complete, this book will give an elaborate and connected account of - the military operations in South Africa from the declaration to the - end of the present war. It must remain for some years the standard - History of the War. Messrs. Methuen have been fortunate enough to - secure the co-operation of many commanding officers in the revision - of the various chapters. - - The History is finely illustrated. - - - A PRISONER OF WAR. By COLONEL A. SCHIEL. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - This remarkable book contains the experiences of a well-known foreign - officer of the Boer Army—from 1896 to 1900—both as a Boer officer - and as a prisoner in British hands. Colonel Schiel, who was captured - at Elandslaagte, was a confidential military adviser of the Transvaal - Government, and his story will cause a sensation. - - - DARTMOOR: A Descriptive and Historical Sketch. By S. BARING GOULD. - With Plans and Numerous Illustrations. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - This book attempts to give to the visitor a descriptive history - of the antiquities and natural features of this district. It is - profusely illustrated from paintings and from photographs. Plans are - also given of the chief antiquities. The book is uniform with the - author's well-known _Book of the West_. - - - THE SIEGE OF MAFEKING. By ANGUS HAMILTON. With many Illustrations. - _Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - This is a vivid, accurate, and humorous narrative of the great siege - by the well-known Correspondent of the _Times_. Mr. Hamilton is not - only an admirable writer, but an excellent fighter, and he took an - active part in the defence of the town. His narrative of the siege is - acknowledged to be far superior to any other account. - - THE PEOPLE OF CHINA. By J. W. ROBERTSON-SCOTT. With a Map. _Crown - 8vo. 3s. 6d._ - - This book of 200 pages contains a complete account of the history, - races, government, religion, social life, army, commerce, and - attitude to foreigners of the Chinese. - - - THE RELIEF OF MAFEKING. By FILSON YOUNG. With Maps and Illustrations. - _Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - This book gives a spirited and vigorous account of the work - accomplished by Mahon's flying column and its relief of Mafeking. It - also relates the defeat of Colonel Villebois and his death. The book - deals in the main with episodes in the war which have not yet been - described in any work. - - - WITH THE BOER FORCES. By HOWARD C. HILLEGAS. With 16 Illustrations. - _Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - This highly interesting book is a narrative of the episodes of the - Boer war by a correspondent with the Boer army. Mr. Hillegas was - present at many of the most exciting and most dramatic episodes of - the war. He was with the force which attempted to relieve Cronje at - Paardeberg, was present during a considerable part of the siege of - Ladysmith, at the battle of Colenso, at the surprise of Sanna's Post. - His book, written with dramatic vigour, is a spirited description - of the Boer methods, of their military strength, and contains vivid - character sketches of most of the Boer leaders with whom Mr. Hillegas - was on terms of fairly intimate friendship. This book, though written - by one who sympathises with the Boers, is permeated by a spirit of - chivalry, and it contains little that can offend the most sensitive - of Englishmen. It throws a flood of light on many of the episodes - which have been mysterious, and explains the secrets of the many - successes which the Boers have won. - - -History and Biography - - THE LETTERS OF ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON TO HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS. - Edited with an Introduction and Notes by SIDNEY COLVIN. Fourth - Edition. _Two volumes. Crown 8vo. 12s._ - - This is a completely new edition of the famous Letters of Robert - Louis Stevenson, published in 1899. - - - THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF SIR JOHN EVERETT MILLAIS, President of the - Royal Academy. By his son J. G. MILLAIS. With over 300 Illustrations, - of which 9 are in Photogravure. Cheaper Edition, Revised. _Two - volumes. Royal 8vo. 20s. net._ - - - THE WALKERS OF SOUTHGATE: Being the Chronicles of a Cricketing - Family. By W. A. BETTESWORTH. Illustrated. _Demy 8vo. 15s._ - - - A HISTORY OF EGYPT, FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY. - Edited by W. M. FLINDERS PETRIE, D.C.L., LL.D., Professor of - Egyptology at University College. Fully Illustrated. In Six Volumes. - _Crown 8vo. 6s. each._ - - Vol. VI. EGYPT UNDER THE SARACENS. By STANLEY LANE-POOLE. - - -Illustrated and Gift Books - - THE LIVELY CITY OF LIGG. By GELETT BURGESS. With 53 Illustrations, 8 - of which are coloured. _Small 4to. 6s._ - - GOOP BABIES. By GELETT BURGESS. With numerous Illustrations. _Small - 4to. 6s._ - - - THE EARLY POEMS OF ALFRED LORD TENNYSON. Edited, with Notes and an - Introduction by J. CHURTON COLLINS, M. A. With 10 Illustrations in - Photogravure by W. E. F. BRITTEN. _Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d._ - - This beautiful edition contains ten charming sketches by Mr. Britten, - reproduced in the highest style of Photogravure. - - - NURSERY RHYMES. With many Coloured Pictures by F. D. BEDFORD. _Super - Royal 8vo. 2s. 6d._ - - 'An excellent selection of the best known rhymes, with beautifully - coloured pictures exquisitely printed.'—_Pall Mall Gazette._ - - -Theology - - THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION IN ENGLAND. By ALFRED CALDECOTT, D.D. - _Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d._ - - [_Handbooks of Theology._ - - A complete history and description of the various philosophies of - religion which have been formulated during the last few centuries in - England and America. - - - ST. PAUL'S SECOND AND THIRD EPISTLES TO THE CORINTHIANS. 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They are spirited, - pathetic, and true, and at the present time they should enjoy a - considerable popularity. - - - THE RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM. Translated by EDWARD FITZGERALD, with - a Commentary by H. M. BATSON, and a Biography of Omar by E. D. ROSS. - 6_s._ - - This edition of the famous book, the text of which is printed by - permission of Messrs. Macmillan, is the most complete in existence. - It contains FitzGerald's last text, and a very full commentary on - each stanza. Professor Ross, who is an admirable Persian scholar, - contributes a biography, containing many new, valuable, and - interesting facts. - - -Scientific and Educational - - THE CAPTIVI OF PLAUTUS. Edited, with an Introduction, Textual Notes, - and a Commentary, by W. M. LINDSAY, Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford. - _Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d. net._ - - For this edition all the important MSS. have been re-collated. An - appendix deals with the accentual element in early Latin verse. The - Commentary is very full. - - - THE CONSTRUCTION OF LARGE INDUCTION COILS. By A. T. HARE, M.A. With - numerous Diagrams. _Demy 8vo. 6s._ - - - THE SCIENCE OF HYGIENE. By W. C. C. PAKES, Guy's Hospital. With many - illustrations. _Demy 8vo. 15s._ - - - THE PRINCIPLES OF MAGNETISM AND ELECTRICITY: AN ELEMENTARY TEXT-BOOK. - By P. L. GRAY, B.Sc., formerly Lecturer on Physics in Mason - University College, Birmingham. With numerous diagrams. _Crown 8vo. - 3s. 6d._ - - - LACE-MAKING IN THE MIDLANDS, PAST AND PRESENT. By C. C. CHANNER and - M. E. ROBERTS. With 16 full-page Illustrations. _Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d._ - - - AGRICULTURAL ZOOLOGY. By Dr. J. RITZEMA BOS. Translated by J. R. - AINSWORTH DAVIS, M.A. With an Introduction by ELEANOR A. ORMEROD, - F.E.S. With 155 Illustrations. _Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d._ - - - A SOUTH AFRICAN ARITHMETIC. 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With an Introduction by VERNON BLACKBURN, and a Portrait. -_3s. 6d._ - - -=Johnson.= THE LIVES OF THE ENGLISH POETS. By SAMUEL JOHNSON, LL.D. -With an Introduction by J. H. MILLAR, and a Portrait. _3 vols. 10s. 6d._ - - -=Burns.= THE POEMS OF ROBERT BURNS. Edited by ANDREW LANG and W. A. -CRAIGIE. With Portrait. _Second Edition. Demy 8vo, gilt top. 6s._ - - 'Among editions in one volume, this will take the place of - authority.'—_Times._ - - =F. Langbridge.= BALLADS OF THE BRAVE; Poems of Chivalry, Enterprise, - Courage, and Constancy. Edited by Rev. F. LANGBRIDGE. - - _Second Edition. Cr. 8vo. 3s. 6d._ _School Edition. 2s. 6d._ - - 'The book is full of splendid things.'—_World._ - - -Methuen's Standard Library - - =Dante.= LA COMMEDIA DI DANTE ALIGHIERI. The Italian Text edited by - PAGET TOYNBEE, M.A. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - 'A carefully-revised text, printed with beautiful - clearness.'—_Glasgow Herald._ - - -=Gibbon.= THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. By EDWARD GIBBON. -A New Edition, Edited with Notes, Appendices, and Maps, by J. B. BURY, -LL.D., Fellow of Trinity College, Dublin. _In Seven Volumes. Demy 8vo. -Gilt top. 8s. 6d. each. Also Cr. 8vo. 6s. each._ - - 'The time has certainly arrived for a new edition of Gibbon's great - work.... Professor Bury is the right man to undertake this task. - His learning is amazing, both in extent and accuracy. The book is - issued in a handy form, and at a moderate price, and it is admirably - printed.'—_Times._ - - 'At last there is an adequate modern edition of Gibbon.... The best - edition the nineteenth century could produce.'—_Manchester Guardian._ - - 'A great piece of editing.'—_Academy._ - - 'The greatest of English, perhaps of all, historians has never been - presented to the public in a more convenient and attractive form. No - higher praise can be bestowed upon Professor Bury than to say, as may - be said with truth, that he is worthy of being ranked with Guizot and - Milman.'—_Daily News._ - - -=C. G. Crump.= THE HISTORY OF THE LIFE OF THOMAS ELLWOOD. Edited by C. -G. CRUMP, M.A. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - This edition is the only one which contains the complete book as - originally published. It contains a long Introduction and many - Footnotes. - - '"The History of Thomas Ellwood" holds a high place among the - masterpieces of autobiography, and we know few books that better - deserve reprinting. Moreover, Mr. C. G. Crump's new edition is - accurate and convenient, and we commend it ungrudgingly to all those - who love sound and vigorous English.' - - —_Daily Mail._ - - -=Tennyson.= THE EARLY POEMS OF ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON, Edited, with -Notes and an Introduction by J. CHURTON COLLINS, M.A. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - An elaborate edition of the celebrated volume which was published - in its final and definitive form in 1853. This edition contains a - long Introduction and copious Notes, textual and explanatory. It - also contains in an Appendix all the Poems which Tennyson afterwards - omitted. - - 'Mr. Collins is almost an ideal editor of Tennyson. His qualities - as a critic are an exact and accurate scholarship, and a literary - judgment, which has been trained and polished by the closest study - of classics both ancient and modern. Mr. Collins' introduction is a - thoroughly sound and sane appreciation of the merits and demerits of - Tennyson.'—_Literature._ - -The Works of Shakespeare - -General Editor, EDWARD DOWDEN, Litt.D. - -MESSRS. METHUEN have in preparation an Edition of Shakespeare in single -Plays. Each play will be edited with a full Introduction, Textual -Notes, and a Commentary at the foot of the page. - -The first volume is: - - HAMLET. 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Milne. - - 'A history written in the spirit of scientific precision so worthily - represented by Dr. Petrie and his school cannot but promote sound and - accurate study, and supply a vacant place in the English literature - of Egyptology.'—_Times._ - -=Flinders Petrie.= RELIGION AND CONSCIENCE IN ANCIENT EGYPT. By W. M. -FLINDERS PETRIE, D.C.L., LL.D. Fully Illustrated. _Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d._ - - 'The lectures will afford a fund of valuable information for students - of ancient ethics.'—_Manchester Guardian._ - -=Flinders Petrie.= SYRIA AND EGYPT, FROM THE TELL EL AMARNA TABLETS. By -W. M. FLINDERS PETRIE, D.C.L., LL.D. _Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d._ - - 'A marvellous record. The addition made to our knowledge is nothing - short of amazing.'—_Times._ - -=Flinders Petrie.= EGYPTIAN TALES. Edited by W. M. FLINDERS PETRIE. -Illustrated by TRISTRAM ELLIS. _In Two Volumes. Cr. 8vo. 3s. 6d. each._ - - 'Invaluable as a picture of life in Palestine and Egypt.'—_Daily - News._ - -=Flinders Petrie.= EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ART. By W. M. FLINDERS PETRIE. -With 120 Illustrations. _Cr. 8vo. 3s. 6d._ - - 'In these lectures he displays rare skill in elucidating the - development of decorative art in Egypt.'—_Times._ - -=C. W. Oman.= A HISTORY OF THE ART OF WAR. Vol. II.: The Middle Ages, -from the Fourth to the Fourteenth Century. By C. W. OMAN, M.A., Fellow -of All Souls', Oxford. Illustrated. _Demy 8vo. 21s._ - - 'The whole art of war in its historic evolution has never been - treated on such an ample and comprehensive scale, and we question - if any recent contribution to the exact history of the world has - possessed more enduring value.'—_Daily Chronicle._ - -=S. Baring Gould.= THE TRAGEDY OF THE CÆSARS. With numerous -Illustrations from Busts, Gems, Cameos, etc. By S. BARING GOULD. -_Fourth Edition. 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It is a work that - will be stimulating to the student of Roman history.'—_Athenæum._ - -=J. Wells.= A SHORT HISTORY OF ROME. By J. WELLS, M.A., Fellow and -Tutor of Wadham Coll., Oxford. _Third Edition._ With 3 Maps. _Crown -8vo. 3s. 6d._ - - This book is intended for the Middle and Upper Forms of Public - Schools and for Pass Students at the Universities. It contains - copious Tables, etc. - - 'An original work written on an original plan, and with uncommon - freshness and vigour.'—_Speaker._ - -=O. Browning.= A SHORT HISTORY OF MEDIÆVAL ITALY, A.D. 1250-1530. By -OSCAR BROWNING, Fellow and Tutor of King's College, Cambridge. _In Two -Volumes. Cr. 8vo. 5s. each._ - - VOL. I. 1250-1409.—Guelphs and Ghibellines. - - VOL. II. 1409-1530.—The Age of the Condottieri. - -=O'Grady.= THE STORY OF IRELAND. By STANDISH O'GRADY, Author of 'Finn -and his Companions.' _Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d._ - - -Byzantine Texts - -Edited by J. B. BURY, M.A. - - ZACHARIAH OF MITYLENE. Translated into English by F. J. HAMILTON, - D.D., and E. W. BROOKS. _Demy 8vo. 12s. 6d. net._ - - EVAGRIUS. Edited by Professor LÉON PARMENTIER and M. BIDEZ. _Demy - 8vo. 10s. 6d. net._ - - THE HISTORY OF PSELLUS. By C. SATHAS. _Demy 8vo. 15s. net._ - - -Biography - - =R. L. Stevenson.= THE LETTERS OF ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON TO - HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS. Selected and Edited, with Notes and - Introductions, by SIDNEY COLVIN. _Third Edition. Demy 8vo, 2 vols., - 25s. net._ - - 'Irresistible in their raciness, their variety, their animation ... - of extraordinary fascination. A delightful inheritance, the truest - record of a "richly compounded spirit" that the literature of our - time has preserved.'—_Times._ - - 'There are few books so interesting, so moving, and so valuable as - this collection of letters. One can only commend people to read and - re-read the book. The volumes are beautiful, and Mr. Colvin's part - of the work could not have been better done, his introduction is a - masterpiece.'—_Spectator._ - -=J. G. Millais.= THE LIFE AND LETTERS OF SIR JOHN EVERETT MILLAIS, -President of the Royal Academy. By his Son, J. G. MILLAIS. With 319 -Illustrations, of which 9 are in Photogravure. _Second Edition. 2 vols, -Royal 8vo, 32s. net._ - - 'The illustrations make the book delightful to handle or to read. The - eye lingers lovingly upon the beautiful pictures.'—_Standard._ - - 'This charming book is a gold mine of good things.'—_Daily News._ - - 'This splendid work.'—_World._ - - 'Of such absorbing interest is it, of such completeness in scope - and beauty. Special tribute must be paid to the extraordinary - completeness of the illustrations.'—_Graphic._ - -=S. Baring Gould.= THE LIFE OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. By S. BARING GOULD. -With over 450 Illustrations in the Text and 12 Photogravure Plates. -_Large quarto. 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Royal 8vo. 20s. net._ - - 'One of the greatest books of the kind issued during the century. - It is impossible to give an adequate idea of the richness of the - contents of this book, nor of its abounding attractions as a story - of travel unsurpassed in geographical and human interest. Much of - it is a revelation. Altogether the work is one which in solidity, - novelty, and interest must take a first rank among publications of - its class.'—_Times._ - -=F. H. Skrine and E. D. Ross.= THE HEART OF ASIA. By F. H. SKRINE and -E. D. ROSS. With Maps and many Illustrations by VERESTCHAGIN. _Large -Crown 8vo. 10s. 6d. net._ - - 'This volume will form a landmark in our knowledge of Central - Asia.... Illuminating and convincing.'—_Times._ - -=R. E. Peary.= NORTHWARD OVER THE GREAT ICE. By R. E. PEARY, -Gold Medallist of the Royal Geographical Society. With over 800 -Illustrations. _2 vols. Royal 8vo. 32s. net._ - - 'His book will take its place among the permanent literature of - Arctic exploration.'—_Times._ - -=E. A. FitzGerald.= THE HIGHEST ANDES. By E. A. FITZGERALD. With -2 Maps, 51 Illustrations, 13 of which are in Photogravure, and a -Panorama. _Royal 8vo, 30s. net._ Also a Small Edition on Hand-made -Paper, limited to 50 Copies, _4to, £5. 5s._ - - 'The record of the first ascent of the highest mountain yet conquered - by mortal man. A volume which will continue to be the classic book of - travel on this region of the Andes.'—_Daily Chronicle._ - - =F. W. Christian.= THE CAROLINE ISLANDS. By F. W. CHRISTIAN. With - many Illustrations and Maps. _Demy 8vo. 12s. 6d. net._ - - 'A real contribution to our knowledge of the peoples and islands of - Micronesia, as well as fascinating as a narrative of travels and - adventure.'—_Scotsman._ - -=H. H. Johnston.= BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA. By Sir H. H. JOHNSTON, K.C.B. -With nearly Two Hundred Illustrations, and Six Maps. _Second Edition. -Crown 4to. 18s. net._ - - 'A fascinating book, written with equal skill and charm—the - work at once of a literary artist and of a man of action who is - singularly wise, brave, and experienced. It abounds in admirable - sketches.'—_Westminster Gazette._ - -=L. Decle.= THREE YEARS IN SAVAGE AFRICA. By LIONEL DECLE. With 100 -Illustrations and 5 Maps. _Second Edition. Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d. net._ - - 'Its bright pages give a better general survey of Africa from - the Cape to the Equator than any single volume that has yet been - published.'—_Times._ - -=A. Hulme Beaman.= TWENTY YEARS IN THE NEAR EAST. By A. HULME BEAMAN. -_Demy 8vo._ With Portrait. _10s. 6d._ - -=Henri of Orleans.= FROM TONKIN TO INDIA. By PRINCE HENRI OF ORLEANS. -Translated by HAMLEY BENT, M.A. With 100 Illustrations and a Map. _Cr. -4to, gilt top. 25s._ - -=S. L. Hinde.= THE FALL OF THE CONGO ARABS. By S. L. HINDE. With Plans, -etc. _Demy 8vo. 12s. 6d._ - -=A. St. H. Gibbons.= EXPLORATION AND HUNTING IN CENTRAL AFRICA. By -Major A. ST. H. GIBBONS. With full-page Illustrations by C. WHYMPER, -and Maps. _Demy 8vo. 15s._ - -=Fraser.= ROUND THE WORLD ON A WHEEL. By JOHN FOSTER FRASER. With 100 -Illustrations. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - 'A classic of cycling, graphic and witty.'—_Yorkshire Post._ - -=R. L. Jefferson.= A NEW RIDE TO KHIVA. By R. L. JEFFERSON. -Illustrated. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - The account of an adventurous ride on a bicycle through Russia and - the deserts of Asia to Khiva. - - 'An exceptionally fascinating book of travel.'—_Pall Mall Gazette._ - -=J. K. Trotter.= THE NIGER SOURCES. By Colonel J. K. TROTTER, R.A. With -a Map and Illustrations. _Crown 8vo. 5s._ - -=Michael Davitt.= LIFE AND PROGRESS IN AUSTRALASIA. By MICHAEL DAVITT, -M.P. 500 pp. With 2 Maps. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ - -=W. J. Galloway.= ADVANCED AUSTRALIA. By WILLIAM J. GALLOWAY, M.P. -_Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d._ - - 'This is an unusually thorough and informative little work.'—_Morning - Post._ - -=W. Crooke.= THE NORTH-WESTERN PROVINCES OF INDIA: THEIR ETHNOLOGY AND -ADMINISTRATION. By W. CROOKE. With Maps and Illustrations. _Demy 8vo. -10s. 6d._ - -=A. Boisragon.= THE BENIN MASSACRE. By CAPTAIN BOISRAGON. _Second -Edition. Cr. 8vo. 3s. 6d._ - - 'If the story had been written four hundred years ago it would be - read today as an English classic.'—_Scotsman._ - -=H. S. Cowper.= THE HILL OF THE GRACES: OR, THE GREAT STONE TEMPLES -OF TRIPOLI. By H. S. COWPER, F.S.A. With Maps, Plans, and 75 -Illustrations. _Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d._ - -=W. B. Worsfold.= SOUTH AFRICA. By W. B. WORSFOLD, M.A. _With a Map. -Second Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6s._ - - 'A monumental work compressed into a very moderate compass.'—_World._ - -=Katherine and Gilbert Macquoid.= IN PARIS. By KATHERINE and GILBERT -MACQUOID. Illustrated by THOMAS R. MACQUOID, R.I. With 2 maps. _Crown -8vo. 1s._ - - 'A useful little guide, judiciously supplied with - information.'—_Athenæum._ - -=A. H. Keane.= THE BOER STATES: A History and Description of the -Transvaal and the Orange Free State. By A. H. KEANE, M.A. With Map. -_Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - 'A work of clear aims and thorough execution.'—_Academy._ - - 'A compact and very trustworthy account of the Boers and their - surroundings.'—_Morning Post._ - - - - -Naval and Military - - =G. S. Robertson.= CHITRAL: The Story of a Minor Siege. By Sir G. - S. ROBERTSON, K.C.S.I. With numerous Illustrations, Map and Plans. - _Second Edition. Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d._ - - 'It is difficult to imagine the kind of person who could read this - brilliant book without emotion. The story remains immortal—a - testimony imperishable. We are face to face with a great - book.'—_Illustrated London News._ - - 'A book which the Elizabethans would have thought wonderful. More - thrilling, more piquant, and more human than any novel.'—_Newcastle - Chronicle._ - - 'As fascinating as Sir Walter Scott's best fiction.'—_Daily - Telegraph._ - -=R. S. S. Baden-Powell.= THE DOWNFALL OF PREMPEH. A Diary of Life in -Ashanti, 1895. By Maj.-Gen. BADEN-POWELL. With 21 Illustrations and a -Map. _Cheaper Edition. Large Crown 8vo. 6s._ - -=R. S. S. Baden-Powell.= THE MATABELE CAMPAIGN, 1896. By Maj.-Gen. -BADEN-POWELL. With nearly 100 Illustrations. _Cheaper Edition. Large -Crown 8vo. 6s._ - -=J. B. Atkins.= THE RELIEF OF LADYSMITH. By JOHN BLACK ATKINS. With 16 -Plans and Illustrations. _Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - This book contains a full narrative by an eye-witness of General - Buller's attempts, and of his final success. The story is of - absorbing interest, and is the only complete account which has - appeared. - - 'The mantle of Archibald Forbes and G. W. Steevens has assuredly - fallen upon Mr. Atkins, who unites a singularly graphic style to an - equally rare faculty of vision. In his pages we realise the meaning - of a modern campaign with the greatest sense of actuality. His pages - are written with a sustained charm of diction and ease of manner that - are no less remarkable than the sincerity and vigour of the matter - which they set before us.'—_World._ - - 'Mr. Atkins has a genius for the painting of war which entitles - him already to be ranked with Forbes and Steevens, and encourages - us to hope that he may one day rise to the level of Napier and - Kinglake.'—_Pall Mall Gazette._ - - 'It is the record told with insight and sympathy of a great - conflict. It is as readable as a novel, and it bears the imprint of - truth.'—_Morning Leader._ - -=H. W. Nevinson.= LADYSMITH: The Diary of a Siege. By H. W. NEVINSON. -With 16 Illustrations and a Plan. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - This book contains a complete diary of the Siege of Ladysmith, and is - a most vivid and picturesque narrative. - - 'There is no exaggeration here, no straining after effect. But there - is the truest realism, the impression of things as they are seen, - set forth in well-chosen words and well-balanced phrases, with a - measured self-restraint that marks the true artist. Mr. Nevinson is - to be congratulated on the excellent work that he has done.'—_Daily - Chronicle._ - - 'Of the many able and fascinating chroniclers of the sad and splendid - story, Mr. Nevinson is among the ablest and most fascinating.'—_Pall - Mall Gazette._ - -=E. H. Alderson.= WITH THE MOUNTED INFANTRY AND THE MASHONALAND FIELD -FORCE, 1896. By Lieut.-Colonel ALDERSON. With numerous Illustrations -and Plans. _Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d._ - -=Seymour Vandeleur.= CAMPAIGNING ON THE UPPER NILE AND NIGER. By Lieut. -SEYMOUR VANDELEUR. With an Introduction by Sir G. GOLDIE, K.C.M.G. With -4 Maps, Illustrations, and Plans. _Large Crown 8vo. 10s. 6d._ - -=Lord Fincastle.= A FRONTIER CAMPAIGN. By Viscount FINCASTLE, V.C., and -Lieut. P. C. ELLIOTT-LOCKHART. With a Map and 16 Illustrations. _Second -Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ - -=E. N. Bennett.= THE DOWNFALL OF THE DERVISHES: A Sketch of the Sudan -Campaign of 1898. By E. N. BENNETT, Fellow of Hertford College. With a -Photogravure Portrait of Lord Kitchener. _Third Edition. Crown 8vo. 3s. -6d._ - -=W. Kinnaird Rose.= WITH THE GREEKS IN THESSALY. By W. KINNAIRD ROSE. -With Illustrations. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ - -=G. W. Steevens.= NAVAL POLICY: By G. W. STEEVENS. _Demy 8vo. 6s._ - - This book is a description of the British and other more important - navies of the world, with a sketch of the lines on which our naval - policy might possibly be developed. - -=D. Hannay.= A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ROYAL NAVY, FROM EARLY TIMES TO THE -PRESENT DAY. By DAVID HANNAY. Illustrated. _2 Vols. Demy 8vo. 7s. 6d. -each._ Vol. I., 1200-1688. - - 'We read it from cover to cover at a sitting, and those who go to it - for a lively and brisk picture of the past, with all its faults and - its grandeur, will not be disappointed. The historian is endowed with - literary skill and style.'—_Standard._ - -=C. Cooper King.= THE STORY OF THE BRITISH ARMY. By Colonel COOPER -KING. Illustrated. _Demy 8vo. 7s. 6d._ - - 'An authoritative and accurate story of England's military - progress.'—_Daily Mail._ - -=R. Southey.= ENGLISH SEAMEN (Howard, Clifford, Hawkins, Drake, -Cavendish). By ROBERT SOUTHEY. Edited, with an Introduction, by DAVID -HANNAY. _Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - 'A brave, inspiriting book.'—_Black and White._ - -=W. Clark Russell.= THE LIFE OF ADMIRAL LORD COLLINGWOOD. By W. CLARK -RUSSELL. With Illustrations by F. BRANGWYN. _Third Edition. Crown 8vo. -6s._ - - 'A book which we should like to see in the hands of every boy in the - country.'—_St. James's Gazette._ - -=E. L. S. Horsburgh.= WATERLOO: A Narrative and Criticism. By E. L. S. -HORSBURGH, B.A. With Plans. _Second Edition. Crown 8vo. 5s._ - - 'A brilliant essay—simple, sound, and thorough.'—_Daily Chronicle._ - -=H. B. George.= BATTLES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. By H. B. GEORGE, M.A., -Fellow of New College, Oxford. With numerous Plans. _Third Edition. Cr. -8vo. 6s._ - - 'Mr. George has undertaken a very useful task—that of making - military affairs intelligible and instructive to non-military - readers—and has executed it with a large measure of - success.'—_Times._ - - -General Literature - - =S. Baring Gould.= THE BOOK OF THE WEST. By S. BARING GOULD. With - numerous Illustrations. _Two volumes._ Vol. I. Devon. Vol. II. Cornwall. - _Crown 8vo. 6s. each._ - - 'They are very attractive little volumes, they have numerous very - pretty and interesting pictures, the story is fresh and bracing as - the air of Dartmoor, and the legend weird as twilight over Dozmare - Pool, and they give us a very good idea of this enchanting and - beautiful district.'—_Guardian._ - - 'A narrative full of picturesque incident, personal interest, and - literary charm.'—_Leeds Mercury._ - -=S. Baring Gould.= OLD COUNTRY LIFE. By S. BARING GOULD. With -Sixty-seven Illustrations. _Large Cr. 8vo. Fifth Edition. 6s._ - - '"Old Country Life," as healthy wholesome reading, full of breezy - life and movement, full of quaint stories vigorously told, will not - be excelled by any book to be published throughout the year. Sound, - hearty, and English to the core.'—_World._ - -=S. Baring Gould.= AN OLD ENGLISH HOME. By S. BARING GOULD. With -numerous Plans and Illustrations. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - 'The chapters are delightfully fresh, very informing, and lightened - by many a good story. A delightful fireside companion.'—_St. James's - Gazette._ - -=S. Baring Gould.= HISTORIC ODDITIES AND STRANGE EVENTS. By S. BARING -GOULD. _Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ - -=S. Baring Gould.= FREAKS OF FANATICISM. By S. BARING GOULD. _Third -Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6s._ - -=S. Baring Gould.= A GARLAND OF COUNTRY SONG: English Folk Songs with -their Traditional Melodies. Collected and arranged by S. BARING GOULD -and H. F. SHEPPARD. _Demy 4to. 6s._ - -=S. Baring Gould.= SONGS OF THE WEST: Traditional Ballads and Songs of -the West of England, with their Melodies. Collected by S. BARING GOULD, -M.A., and H. F. SHEPPARD, M.A. In 4 Parts. _Parts I., II., III., 3s. -each. Part IV., 5s. In one Vol., French morocco, 15s._ - - 'A rich collection of humour, pathos, grace, and poetic - fancy.'—_Saturday Review._ - -=S. Baring Gould.= YORKSHIRE ODDITIES AND STRANGE EVENTS. By S. BARING -GOULD. _Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ - -=S. Baring Gould.= STRANGE SURVIVALS AND SUPERSTITIONS. By S. BARING -GOULD. _Cr. 8vo. Second Edition. 6s._ - -=S. Baring Gould.= THE DESERTS OF SOUTHERN FRANCE. By S. BARING GOULD. -_2 vols. Demy 8vo. 32s._ - -=Cotton Minchin.= OLD HARROW DAYS. By J. G. COTTON MINCHIN. _Cr. 8vo. -Second Edition. 5s._ - -=W. E. Gladstone.= THE SPEECHES OF THE RT. HON. W. E. GLADSTONE, M.P. -Edited by A. W. HUTTON, M.A., and H. J. COHEN, M.A. With Portraits. -_Demy 8vo. Vols. IX. and X., 12s. 6d. each._ - -=J. E. Marr.= THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF SCENERY. By J. E. MARR, F.R.S., -Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge. Illustrated. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - An elementary treatise on geomorphology—the study of the earth's - outward forms. It is for the use of students of physical geography - and geology, and will also be highly interesting to the general - reader. - - 'A fascinating book, a real fairy tale.'—_Pall Mall Gazette._ - - 'Mr. Marr is distinctly to be congratulated on the general result of - his work. He has produced a volume, moderate in size and readable in - style, which will be acceptable alike to the student of geology and - geography, and to the tourist.'—_Athenæum._ - - 'Can be read with pleasure alike by the expert and the general - reader.'—_Manchester Guardian._ - -=M. N. Oxford.= A HANDBOOK OF NURSING. By M. N. OXFORD, of Guy's -Hospital. _Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d._ - - This is a complete guide to the science and art of nursing, - containing copious instruction both general and particular. - - 'The most useful work of the kind that we have seen. A most valuable - and practical manual.'—_Manchester Guardian._ - -=E. V. Zenker.= ANARCHISM. By E. V. ZENKER. _Demy 8vo. 7s. 6d._ - - 'Herr Zenker has succeeded in producing a careful and critical - history of the growth of Anarchist theory.' - -=A. Silva White.= THE EXPANSION OF EGYPT: A Political and Historical -Survey. By A. SILVA WHITE. With four Special Maps. _Demy 8vo. 15s. net._ - - 'This is emphatically the best account of Egypt as it is under - English control that has been published for many years.'—_Spectator._ - -=Peter Beckford.= THOUGHTS ON HUNTING. By PETER BECKFORD. Edited by J. -OTHO PAGET, and Illustrated by G. H. JALLAND. _Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d._ - - 'Beckford's "Thoughts on Hunting" has long been a classic with - sportsmen, and the present edition will go far to make it a favourite - with lovers of literature.'—_Speaker._ - -=E. B. Michell.= THE ART AND PRACTICE OF HAWKING. By E. B. MICHELL. -With 3 Photogravures by G. E. LODGE, and other Illustrations. _Demy -8vo. 10s. 6d._ - - A complete description of the Hawks, Falcons, and Eagles used in - ancient and modern times, with directions for their training and - treatment. It is not only a historical account, but a complete - practical guide. - - 'A book that will help and delight the expert.'—_Scotsman._ - - 'Just after the hearts of all enthusiasts.'—_Daily Telegraph._ - - 'No book is more full and authorative than this handsome - treatise.'—_Morning Leader._ - -=H. G. Hutchinson.= THE GOLFING PILGRIM. By HORACE G. HUTCHINSON. -_Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - 'Without this book the golfer's library will be incomplete.'—_Pall - Mall Gazette._ - -=J. Wells.= OXFORD AND OXFORD LIFE. By Members of the University. -Edited by J. WELLS, M.A., Fellow and Tutor of Wadham College. _Third -Edition. Cr. 8vo. 3s. 6d._ - - 'We congratulate Mr. Wells on the production of a readable and - intelligent account of Oxford as it is at the present time, written - by persons who are possessed of a close acquaintance with the system - and life of the University.'—_Athenæum._ - -=C. G. Robertson.= VOCES ACADEMICÆ. By C. GRANT ROBERTSON, M.A., Fellow -of All Souls', Oxford. _With a Frontispiece. Pott 8vo. 3s. 6d._ - - 'Decidedly clever and amusing.'—_Athenæum._ - -=Rosemary Cotes.= DANTE'S GARDEN. By ROSEMARY COTES. With a -Frontispiece. _Second Edition. Fcp. 8vo. 2s. 6d. Leather, 3s. 6d. net._ - - 'A charming collection of legends of the flowers mentioned by - Dante.'—_Academy._ - -=Clifford Harrison.= READING AND READERS. By CLIFFORD HARRISON. _Fcp. -8vo. 2s. 6d._ - - 'An extremely sensible little book.'—_Manchester Guardian._ - -=L. Whibley.= GREEK OLIGARCHIES: THEIR ORGANISATION AND CHARACTER. By -L. WHIBLEY, M.A., Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge. _Crown 8vo. -6s._ - -=L. L. Price.= ECONOMIC SCIENCE AND PRACTICE. By L. L. PRICE, M.A., -Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ - -=J. S. Shedlock.= THE PIANOFORTE SONATA: Its Origin and Development. By -J. S. SHEDLOCK. _Crown 8vo. 5s._ - - 'This work should be in the possession of every musician and - amateur. A concise and lucid history and a very valuable work for - reference.'—_Athenæum._ - -=A. Hulme Beaman.= PONS ASINORUM; OR, A GUIDE TO BRIDGE. By A. HULME -BEAMAN. _Fcap 8vo. 2s._ - - A practical guide, with many specimen games, to the new game of - Bridge. - -=E. M. Bowden.= THE EXAMPLE OF BUDDHA: Being Quotations from Buddhist -Literature for each Day in the Year. Compiled by E. M. BOWDEN. _Third -Edition. 16mo. 2s. 6d._ - -=F. Ware.= EDUCATIONAL REFORM. By FABIAN WARE, M.A. _Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d._ - - An attempt by an expert to forecast the action and influence of the - New Secondary Education Act, with suggestions for useful developments. - - 'Mr. Ware's book may be warmly commended to all who have at - heart the desire for the intellectual prosperity of the British - race.'—_Morning Post._ - - 'Any one who really wants to know how education stands today should - read it.'—_Literature._ - - -Philosophy - - =L. T. Hobhouse.= THE THEORY OF KNOWLEDGE. By L. T. HOBHOUSE, Fellow - of C.C.C., Oxford. _Demy 8vo. 21s._ - - 'The most important contribution to English philosophy since the - publication of Mr. Bradley's "Appearance and Reality."'—_Glasgow - Herald._ - -=W. H. Fairbrother.= THE PHILOSOPHY OF T. H. GREEN. By W. H. -FAIRBROTHER, M.A. _Second Edition. Cr. 8vo. 3s. 6d._ - - 'In every way an admirable book.'—_Glasgow Herald._ - -=F. W. Bussell.= THE SCHOOL OF PLATO. By F. W. BUSSELL, D.D., Fellow of -Brasenose College, Oxford. _Demy 8vo. 10s. 6d._ - -=F. S. Granger.= THE WORSHIP OF THE ROMANS. By F. S. GRANGER, M.A., -Litt.D. _Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - -Theology - - =W. R. Inge.= CHRISTIAN MYSTICISM. The Bampton Lectures for 1899. By - W. R. INGE, M.A., Fellow and Tutor of Hertford College, Oxford. _Demy - 8vo. 12s. 6d. net._ - - A complete survey of the subject from St. John and St. Paul to modern - times, covering the Christian Platonists, Augustine, the Devotional - Mystics, the Mediæval Mystics, and the Nature Mystics and Symbolists, - including Böhme and Wordsworth. - - 'It is fully worthy of the best traditions connected with the Bampton - Lectureship.'—_Record._ - -=S. R. Driver.= SERMONS ON SUBJECTS CONNECTED WITH THE OLD TESTAMENT. -By S. R. DRIVER, D.D., Canon of Christ Church, Regius Professor of -Hebrew in the University of Oxford. _Cr. 8vo. 6s._ - - 'A welcome companion to the author's famous - "introduction."'—_Guardian._ - -=T. K. 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By ESMÉ STUART, _Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - 'The story is happily conceived, and entertaining - throughout.'—_Scotsman._ - - 'An excellent story, pathetic, and full of humour.'—_Athenæum._ - - 'We wish that we came across more books like this clever and charming - story.'—_Leeds Mercury._ - -=Sara Jeannette Duncan.= A VOYAGE OF CONSOLATION. By SARA JEANNETTE -DUNCAN, Author of 'An American Girl in London.' Illustrated. _Third -Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6s._ - - 'A most delightfully bright book.'—_Daily Telegraph._ - - 'The dialogue is full of wit.'—_Globe._ - -=Sara Jeannette Duncan.= THE PATH OF A STAR. By SARA JEANNETTE DUNCAN, -Author of 'A Voyage of Consolation.' Illustrated. _Second Edition. -Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - 'Richness and fullness of local colouring, brilliancy of style, - smiting phrases, and the display of very pretty humour are graces - which are here in profusion. The interest never flags.'—_Pall Mall - Gazette._ - -=C. F. Keary.= THE JOURNALIST. By C. F. KEARY. _Cr. 8vo. 6s._ - - 'It is rare indeed to find such poetical sympathy with Nature joined - to close study of character and singularly truthful dialogue: but - then "The Journalist" is altogether a rare book.'—_Athenæum._ - -=W. E. Norris.= MATTHEW AUSTIN. By W. E. NORRIS, Author of -'Mademoiselle de Mersac,' etc. _Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - 'An intellectually satisfactory and morally bracing novel.'—_Daily - Telegraph._ - -=W. E. Norris.= HIS GRACE. By W. E. NORRIS. Third Edition. _Cr. 8vo. -6s._ - -=W. E. Norris.= THE DESPOTIC LADY AND OTHERS. By W. E. NORRIS. _Crown -8vo. 6s._ - -=W. E. Norris.= CLARISSA FURIOSA. By W. E. NORRIS. _Cr. 8vo. 6s._ - - 'As a story it is admirable, as a _jeu d'esprit_ it is capital, as a - lay sermon studded with gems of wit and wisdom it is a model.'—_The - World._ - -=W. E. Norris.= GILES INGILBY. By W. E. NORRIS. _Illustrated. Second -Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - 'Interesting, wholesome, and charmingly written.'—_Glasgow Herald._ - -=W. 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Crown -8vo. 6s._ - - 'Very much the best novel that Mr. Barr has yet given us. There is - much insight in it, and much excellent humour.'—_Daily Chronicle._ - -=Robert Barr.= THE COUNTESS TEKLA. By ROBERT BARR. _Second Edition. -Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - 'Of these mediæval romances, which are now gaining ground, "The - Countess Tekla" is the very best we have seen. The story is written - in clear English, and a picturesque, moving style.'—_Pall Mall - Gazette._ - -=Andrew Balfour.= BY STROKE OF SWORD. By A. BALFOUR. Illustrated. -_Fourth Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6s._ - - 'A banquet of good things.'—_Academy._ - - 'A recital of thrilling interest, told with unflagging - vigour.'—_Globe._ - - 'An unusually excellent example of a semi-historic romance.'—_World._ - -=Andrew Balfour.= TO ARMS! By ANDREW BALFOUR. Illustrated. _Second -Edition. 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STEPHENS, Author of 'An -Enemy to the King.' _Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - 'A bright and spirited romance of adventure, full of movement and - changing action.'—_Scotsman._ - -=R. Hichens.= BYEWAYS. By ROBERT HICHENS. Author of 'Flames, etc.' -_Second Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6s._ - - 'The work is undeniably that of a man of striking - imagination.'—_Daily News._ - -=J. S. Fletcher.= THE PATHS OF THE PRUDENT. By J. S. FLETCHER. _Crown -8vo. 6s._ - -=J. B. Burton.= IN THE DAY OF ADVERSITY. By J. BLOUNDELLE-BURTON. -_Second Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6s._ - - 'Unusually interesting and full of highly dramatic - situations.'—_Guardian._ - -=J. B. Burton.= DENOUNCED. By J. BLOUNDELLE-BURTON. _Second Edition. -Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - 'A fine, manly, spirited piece of work.'—_World._ - -=J. B. Burton.= THE CLASH OF ARMS. By J. BLOUNDELLE-BURTON. _Second -Edition. Cr. 8vo. 6s._ - - 'A brave story—brave in deed, brave in word, brave in - thought.'—_St. James's Gazette._ - -=J. B. Burton.= ACROSS THE SALT SEAS. By J. BLOUNDELLE-BURTON. _Second -Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s._ - - 'The very essence of the true romantic spirit.'—_Truth._ - -=W. C. Scully.= THE WHITE HECATOMB. By W. C. SCULLY, Author of 'Kafir -Stories.' _Cr. 8vo. 6s._ - - 'Reveals a marvellously intimate understanding of the Kafir - mind.'—_African Critic._ - -=W. C. Scully.= BETWEEN SUN AND SAND. By W. C. SCULLY, Author of 'The -White Hecatomb.' _Cr. 8vo. 6s._ - - 'The reader passes at once into the very atmosphere of the African - desert: the inexpressible space and stillness swallow him up, and - there is no world for him but that immeasurable waste.'—_Athenæum._ - - -OTHER SIX SHILLING NOVELS - -_Crown 8vo._ - - DANIEL WHYTE. By A. J. DAWSON. - - THE CAPSINA. By E. F. BENSON. - - DODO: A DETAIL OF THE DAY. By E. F. BENSON. - - THE VINTAGE. By E. F. BENSON. Illustrated by G. P. JACOMB-HOOD. - - ROSE À CHARLITTE. By MARSHALL SAUNDERS. - - WILLOWBRAKE. By R. MURRAY GILCHRIST. - - THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED. By DOROTHEA GERARD. - - SIR ROBERT'S FORTUNE. By Mrs. OLIPHANT. - - THE TWO MARYS. By Mrs. OLIPHANT. - - THE LADY'S WALK. By Mrs. OLIPHANT. - - LONE PINE: A ROMANCE OF MEXICAN LIFE. By R. B. TOWNSHEND. - - WILT THOU HAVE THIS WOMAN? By J. MACLAREN COBBAN. - - A PASSIONATE PILGRIM. By PERCY WHITE. - - SECRETARY TO BAYNE, M.P. By W. PETT RIDGE. - - ADRIAN ROME. By E. DAWSON and A. MOORE. - - THE BUILDERS. By J. S. FLETCHER. - - GALLIA. By MÉNIE MURIEL DOWIE. - - THE CROOK OF THE BOUGH. By MÉNIE MURIEL DOWIE. - - A BUSINESS IN GREAT WATERS. By JULIAN CORBETT. - - MISS ERIN. By M. E. FRANCIS. - - ANANIAS. By the Hon. Mrs. ALAN BRODRICK. - - CORRAGEEN IN '98. By Mrs. ORPEN. - - THE PLUNDER PIT. By J. KEIGHLEY SNOWDEN. - - CROSS TRAILS. By VICTOR WAITE. - - SUCCESSORS TO THE TITLE. By Mrs. WALFORD. - - KIRKHAM'S FIND. By MARY GAUNT. - - DEADMAN'S. By MARY GAUNT. - - CAPTAIN JACOBUS: A ROMANCE OF THE ROAD. By L. COPE CORNFORD. - - SONS OF ADVERSITY. By L. 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BARRY. - - BIJLI, THE DANCER. By JAMES BLYTHE PATTON. - - JOSIAH'S WIFE. By NORMA LORIMER. - - THE PHILANTHROPIST. By LUCY MAYNARD. - - VAUSSORE. By FRANCIS BRUNE. - - -THREE-AND-SIXPENNY NOVELS - -_Crown 8vo._ - - DERRICK VAUGHAN, NOVELIST. _42nd thousand_. By EDNA LYALL. - - A SON OF THE STATE. By W. PETT RIDGE. - - CEASE FIRE! By J. MACLAREN COBBAN. _Crown 8vo. 3s. 6d._ - - A stirring Story of the Boer War of 1881, including the Siege of - Potchefstrom and the Defeat of Majuba. - - 'Brightly told and drawn with a strong and sure hand.'—_St. James's - Gazette._ - - 'A capital novel.'—_Scotsman._ - - 'Fact and fiction are so deeply woven together that the book reads - like a fascinating chapter of history.'—_Pall Mall Gazette._ - -THE KLOOF BRIDE. By ERNEST GLANVILLE. - -A VENDETTA OF THE DESERT. By W. C. SCULLY. - -SUBJECT TO VANITY. By MARGARET BENSON. - -THE SIGN OF THE SPIDER. _Fifth Edition._ By BERTRAM MITFORD. - -THE MOVING FINGER. By MARY GAUNT. - -JACO TRELOAR. By J. H. PEARCE. - -THE DANCE OF THE HOURS. By 'VERA.' - -A WOMAN OF FORTY. By ESMÉ STUART. - -A CUMBERER OF THE GROUND. By CONSTANCE SMITH. - -THE SIN OF ANGELS. By EVELYN DICKINSON. - -AUT DIABOLUS AUT NIHIL. By X. L. - -THE COMING OF CUCULAIN. By STANDISH O'GRADY. - -THE GODS GIVE MY DONKEY WINGS. By ANGUS EVAN ABBOTT. - -THE STAR GAZERS. By G. MANVILLE FENN. - -THE POISON OF ASPS. By R. ORTON PROWSE. - -THE QUIET MRS. FLEMING. By R. PRYCE. - -DISENCHANTMENT. By F. MABEL ROBINSON. - -THE SQUIRE OF WANDALES. By A. SHIELD. - -A REVEREND GENTLEMAN. By J. M. COBBAN. - -A DEPLORABLE AFFAIR. By W. E. NORRIS. - -A CAVALIER'S LADYE. By Mrs. DICKER. - -THE PRODIGALS. By Mrs. OLIPHANT. - -THE SUPPLANTER. By P. NEUMANN. - -A MAN WITH BLACK EYE-LASHES. By H. A. KENNEDY. - -A HANDFUL OF EXOTICS. By S. GORDON. - -AN ODD EXPERIMENT. By HANNAH LYNCH. - -TALES OF NORTHUMBRIA. By HOWARD PEASE. - - -HALF-CROWN NOVELS - -_Crown 8vo._ - - HOVENDEN, V.C. By F. MABEL ROBINSON. - - THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN. By F. MABEL ROBINSON. - - MR. BUTLER'S WARD. By F. MABEL ROBINSON. - - ELI'S CHILDREN. By G. MANVILLE FENN. - - A DOUBLE KNOT. By G. MANVILLE FENN. - - DISARMED. By M. BETHAM EDWARDS. - - IN TENT AND BUNGALOW. By the Author of 'Indian Idylls.' - - MY STEWARDSHIP. By E. M'QUEEN GRAY. - - JACK'S FATHER. By W. E. NORRIS. - - A LOST ILLUSION. By LESLIE KEITH. - - - THE TRUE HISTORY OF JOSHUA DAVIDSON, Christian and Communist. By E. - LYNN LYNTON. _Eleventh Edition. Post 8vo. 1s._ - - -The Novelist - -MESSRS. METHUEN are making an interesting experiment which constitutes -a fresh departure in publishing. They are issuing under the above -general title a Monthly Series of Novels by popular authors at the -price of Sixpence. Many of these Novels have never been published -before. Each Number is as long as the average Six Shilling Novel. The -first numbers of 'THE NOVELIST' are as follows:— - - I. DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES. E. W. HORNUNG. - - II. JENNIE BAXTER, JOURNALIST. ROBERT BARR. - - III. 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