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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0eb745e --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #68295 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68295) diff --git a/old/68295-0.txt b/old/68295-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6c23708..0000000 --- a/old/68295-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5745 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Dulcie Carlyon, Volume III (of 3), by -James Grant - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Dulcie Carlyon, Volume III (of 3) - A novel - -Author: James Grant - -Release Date: June 11, 2022 [eBook #68295] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Al Haines - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DULCIE CARLYON, VOLUME III -(OF 3) *** - - - - - - - - DULCIE CARLYON. - - - A Novel. - - - - BY - - JAMES GRANT, - - AUTHOR OF 'THE ROMANCE OF WAR,' ETC. - - - IN THREE VOLUMES. - - VOL. III. - - - - LONDON: - WARD AND DOWNEY, - 12, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN. - - 1886. - - [_All Rights Reserved._] - - - - -NEW NOVELS AT EVERY LIBRARY. - - -FROM THE SILENT PAST. By Mrs. HERBERT MARTIN. 2 Vols. - -COWARD AND COQUETTE. By the Author of 'The Parish of Hilby.' 'vol. - -MIND, BODY, AND ESTATE. By the Author of 'Olive Varcoe.' 3 vols. - -AT THE RED GLOVE. By KATHARINE S. MACQUOID. 3 vols. - -WHERE TEMPESTS BLOW. By the Author of 'Miss Elvester's Girls.' 3 -vols. - -IN SIGHT OF LAND. By Lady DUFFUS HARDY. 3 vols. - -AS IN A LOOKING-GLASS. By F. C. PHILIPS. 'vol. - -LORD VANECOURT'S DAUGHTER. By MABEL COLLINS. 3 vols. - - -WARD AND DOWNEY, PUBLISHERS, LONDON. - - - - -CONTENTS OF VOL. III. - - -CHAPTER - -I. THE PURSUIT - -II. WHICH TREATS OF LOVE LETTERS - -III. IN THE HOWE OF THE MEARNS AGAIN - -IV. EN ROUTE TO ULUNDI - -V. THE LOADED DICE - -VI. SHAFTO'S HORIZON BECOMES CLOUDY - -VII. THE SQUARE AT ULUNDI - -VIII. DISAPPEARANCE OF DULCIE - -IX. FLIGHT - -X. A STARTLING LETTER - -XI. THE PURSUIT OF CETEWAYO - -XII. AT THE 'RAG' - -XIII. A REVELATION - -XIV. IN THE GNOME FOREST - -XV. THE MAJOR PROPOSES - -XVI. A CLOUD DISPELLED - -XVII. FLORIAN DYING - -XVIII. THE TERRIBLE MISTAKE - -XIX. DULCIE'S VISITOR - - - - -DULCIE CARLYON. - - - -CHAPTER I. - -THE PURSUIT. - -A new emotion--a hot thirst for blood--was in the heart of Florian -now; his whole nature seemed to have undergone a sudden and temporary -change; and to those who could have seen him his face would have been -found deadly pale, and his dark eyes full of sombre fury. - -The longing for retribution and destruction was keen in his mind at -that time. Often he reined up the horse he rode to take a steady -shot between the animal's quivering ears at one or other of the two -desperadoes; but always missed them, and found that time was thus -lost and the distance increased. - -His present charger was not so steady as the old Cape nag, Tattoo, -and Florian's hands, in the intensity of his excitement, trembled too -much for his aim to be true; so the fugitives rode on and on, without -firing a shot in return, thus showing that their ammunition had been -expended, and they had nothing to hope for or trust to but a -successful escape. - -A cry left Florian's lips as the fugitives disappeared into a donga, -and he thought he had lost them; but anon he saw them ascending the -opposite slope at a rasping pace. - -He could only think of the generous and chivalrous Vivian Hammersley, -that good officer and noble Englishman, shot down thus in the pride -of his manhood by the felon hand of an assassin, whose bullet was -meant for himself--Hammersley, whose form stood with a kind of -luminous atmosphere amid the dark surroundings that beset them both -since he (Florian) had come as a soldier to Zululand; and then he -thought of Dulcie's friend Finella, whom he only knew by name. - -Poor girl! the next mail for Britain might bring sorrowful tidings to -her, with the very letter his hand had so recently indited, full of -hope and expressions of happiness. - -Crossing by flying leaps the Umvutshini stream, a tributary of the -greater Umvolosi, the pursuers and pursued traversed an undulating -tract of country, scaring a great troop of the brindled gnu, which -were grazing quietly there; anon a terrified herd of the -koodoo--graceful antelopes, with magnificent spiral horns--swept past -them, where the karoo shrubs and the silvery hair-grass and wild oats -grew; elsewhere their horses' hoofs, as they crushed or bruised the -creeping fibrous roots of the Akerrania, shed a fragrance in the air. - -The Umvolosi had now to be waded through near a rocky kop which -towered on the right hand, and the opposite bank had to be scrambled -up at a place where the tree-fern flourished thickly, and drooping -date-palms overhung the water. - -Next they had to cross a nameless tributary of the Upoko River, and -then to skirt the base of the Mabenge Mountains (within two miles of -Fort Newdigate), where, in some places, an odour, sickly and awful, -loaded the evening air; and by experience they knew it came from the -bodies of slain Zulus lying unburied, or covered only by their -shields and a few loose stones. - -In some places--one particularly--Florian and his companions found -their progress almost arrested by spiky plants of giant size--the -Doornboom, with its ox-horn-like prickles; for there are thickets of -those through which even horses cannot pass--odious and terrible -plants which tear the clothes to rags, and pierce the flesh to the -bone; but they discovered two breaches through which the fugitives -had passed, and, forcing a passage, they rode onward again, and, in -the fierce ardour of pursuit, Florian was all unconscious, till -afterwards, how he and his horse too were lacerated, scratched, and -torn by the sharp spines as he rushed through them at full speed. - -One of the fugitives had evidently found a cartridge, in a pocket -perhaps, for he fired one shot rearward, in Parthian fashion, but -fruitlessly, as it hit no one, and then he rode wildly but steadily -on. - -Believing that if ever he returned to camp it would only be to find -his friend dying or dead, Florian, plunged in grief, maddened by rage -and a thirst for dire vengeance, rode furiously yet silently on, -closely followed by his four infantry men. - -His horse--Hammersley's--was a fine English charger, and soon -outstripped those of his comrades, who erelong began to drop rearward -one after another, though Tom Tyrrell continued to head the rest; but -after a time Florian found himself almost alone; thus it was -fortunate for him that those he pursued were without ammunition. - -Once or twice he lost sight of them, as dongas or eminences -intervened, and then a low cry would escape him; but by the aid of -his field-glass he 'spotted' them again, and gored his horse with the -spurs anew. - -Now broad before them lay the foaming Nondweni River, with the -lion-shaped hill of Isandhlwana about seven miles distant, its rocky -crest then reddened by the western sun, and Florian knew that now the -pursuit had lasted for more than twenty miles from the Euzangonyan -Hill. - -Here the assassins reined up, and seemed to confer for a moment or -two, as if in evident confusion and dismay. To remain was to die, -and to attempt to cross the river would end in death by drowning, it -was so deep and swift, red and swollen by recent storms of such rain -as falls in the tropics only. - -Florian dismounted now, dropped a fresh cartridge into the -breech-block of the rifle he still carried, and just as he threw the -bridle over his arm, Tom Tyrrell came tearing up and also leaped from -his saddle, prepared to fire at four hundred yards range. - -The two fugitives plunged into the water, where trees, branches, -cartloads of enormous leaves and yellow pumpkins were being swept -past, and strove to make their horses breast the stream by turning -them partly at an angle to the current. More than once the animals -snorted with fear, throwing up their heads wildly as their haunches -went down under the weight of their riders. - -Tyrrell fired and shot one in mid-stream; he threw up his hands in -agony or despair, and fell on the mane of his horse, which, with -himself, was swept round a rocky angle and disappeared. - -The other had gained footing on the opposite bank, but at that moment -Florian planted a rifle bullet between his shoulders. - -Sharply rang the report of the rifle, and a shriek mingled with the -rush of the world of waters as the deserter and assassin fell -backward over the crupper of his struggling horse, which gained the -land, while his rider sank to rise no more just as the last red rays -of the sun died out on the stern hill-tops, and in its rush the river -seemed to sweep past with a mightier sound than ever. - -_Which_ of the two he had shot in the twilight Florian knew not, nor -did he care; suffice it that he and Tom Tyrrell 'had polished them -off,' as the latter said, and thereupon proceeded to light his pipe -with an air of profound contentment. - -Hammersley was avenged, certainly. - -Before setting out on his return, Florian paused to draw breath, to -wipe the cold perspiration from his forehead, and nerve himself anew -for aught that might befall him on his homeward way, for with -tropical speed darkness had fallen now, and he was glad when he and -Tyrrell overtook the three mounted men, as they had a most lonely -district to traverse back to camp, and one in which they were not -likely to meet friends; so they now rode somewhat slowly on, -breathing and enjoying what some one calls the cool and mysterious -wind of night. - -Zulus might be about in any number, with rifle, assegai, and -knobkerie; but though Florian and his companions rode with arms -loaded as a precaution, they scarcely thought of them, and were -intent on comparing notes and studying the features of the country as -a guide on their lonely way. - -At last, with supreme satisfaction, after many detours and mistakes, -they saw the red glowworm-like lights of the camp appearing in the -streets of tents, and knew thereby that the last bugle had not -sounded. - -Ere long they heard the challenge of the advanced sentinel of an -outlying piquet, and responding thereto, passed within the lines, -when Florian went at once to the headquarter tents to report himself -to the Adjutant-General, together with the events that had so -recently transpired by the Nondweni River. - -'You have done precisely what the General commanding would have -ordered you to do,' said the Adjutant-General, 'and I am sure he will -thank you for punishing the rascals as they deserved. There are too -many of "Cardwell's recruits" afloat in Cape Colony!' - -'Is Captain Hammersley still alive?' - -'Yes--but little more, I fear.' - -He repaired straight to the sufferer's tent, but was not permitted by -the hospital orderly, acting under the surgeon's strict orders, to -see him--or at least to speak with him. - -The ball had broken some of the short ribs on the left side, nearly -driving them into the lung; thus he was in a dangerous state. -Florian peeped into the bell-tent, and, by a dim lantern hung on the -pole thereof, could see Hammersley lying on his camp-bed asleep, -apparently, and pale as marble; and he thought it a sorrowful sight -to see one whose splendid physique seemed of that kind which no -abstract pain or trouble could crush--who could ever bear himself -like a man--weak now as a little child--levelled by the bullet of a -cowardly assassin. - -Florian, though worn, weary, and sorely athirst after the skirmish by -the Euzangonyan Hill, the subsequent pursuit, and all connected -therewith, before betaking him to his tent, paid his next visit to -Tattoo, for, after his friend, he loved his horse. - -A little way apart from where the store-waggons were parked and the -artillery and other horses knee-haltered, Tattoo was lying on a heap -of dry brown mealie-stalks in a pool of his own blood, -notwithstanding that, awaiting Florian's return and orders, a kindly -trooper of the Mounted Infantry had bound an old scarlet tunic about -the poor animal's off thigh, where the bullet, meant for his rider, -had made a ghastly score-like wound, in one part penetrating at least -seven inches deep; and where Tattoo had remained standing for some -time in one spot, the blood had dripped into a great dark crimson -pool. - -'Can nothing be done to stop it?' asked Florian. - -'Nothing, sir,' replied a Farrier-Sergeant of the Royal Artillery. - -'But the horse will die if this kind of thing goes on.' - -The sergeant shrugged his shoulders, saluted, and turned away, while -Florian put an arm round the drooping head of the horse caressingly; -and, as if sensible of his sympathy, the animal gazed at him with his -large, soft brown eyes, that were streaked with blood-shot veins now. - -'His vitals is safe, sir, anyhow,' said Tom Tyrrell. - -'I can't leave him thus in the cold--for cold it is here, by Jove, at -night; bring a blanket from my tent, Tom, and put it over him.' - -After belting the blanket about Tattoo, by the light of a -stable-lantern, Florian lingered for a time beside the poor nag, who -hung his head with unmistakable symptoms of intense pain, while his -drooping eyes grew dull and heavy. - -Without undressing, Florian threw himself on his humble camp-bed, -which consisted of little else than a blanket and ground sheet, but -was unable to sleep more than ten minutes or so at a stretch. The -fighting, the hot pursuit by hill and stream and karoo--the -excitement of every kind, and the whole work he had been doing--had -fevered his brain, and ever and anon he started from his pillow as if -a snake had been under it; and so passed the few short hours till -drum and bugle announced the _reveille_, and that the day-work of the -camp had begun. - -To those who saw him, he looked haggard in the cold, grey, early -light, as he quitted his camp-bed, unrested and unrefreshed, though -mere repose of the body is supposed to be a relief, and, as it was -too early to disturb Hammersley, he went straight to visit Tattoo. - -He was standing up now among the mealies of his litter, with his head -drooping lower and his bright eyes more dim than ever; but they -actually seemed to dilate and brighten at the sound of his master's -voice. The latter had brought him the half of his ration-biscuit, -soaked in water; and Tattoo looked at it with dumb longing, and -turned it over in Florian's palm with his hot, soft, velvet nose; but -after trying to champ it once or twice he let it fall to the ground. -Tattoo was incapable of swallowing now. - -There was little time to do much, as the troops were soon to march; -but Tom Tyrrell brought some hot water in a bucket, and sluiced the -wound with a sponge, and redressed it with such rough bandages as -could be procured, and Florian got from Doctor Gallipot some laudanum -to mix with the horse's drink to deaden the acuteness of the pain he -suffered; but it was all in vain; Tattoo sank grovelling down upon -his fore-knees and rolled heavily over on his side, and, as the wound -welled forth again, he turned his head and looked at his master, and -if ever eyes expressed a sense of gratitude, those of the old -troop-horse did so then. - -'We march in a very short time, sir,' said the senior officer -commanding the Mounted Infantry, as he reined in his charger for a -minute _en passant_; 'and in the cause of humanity, as your horse -cannot recover, it had better be put out of pain.' - -'Shot?' - -'Yes.' - -'Poor Tattoo!' - -Florian turned away, sick at heart, as he saw a soldier quietly -dropping a cartridge into the breech-block of his rifle in obedience -to the stern but necessary order, for if left thus, the horse would -be devoured while living by the monstrous Kaffir vultures. - -With carefully sighted rifle, and distance as carefully judged, -Florian had 'potted' many a Zulu at various hundreds of yards, in -common with his comrades; he had shot, as he supposed, Josh Jarrett -without an atom of compunction; but now, as he hurried away, he put -his fingers in his ears to shut out the report of the rifle that -announced the death of Tattoo. - -As a souvenir of the latter--for Dulcie, perhaps--he desired Tom -Tyrrell to cut off one of the hoofs, and Tom polished the hoof and -burnished the iron shoe till the latter shone like silver--the hoof -that never again would carry Florian across the wild karoo, or to the -front in the face of the enemy. - -The Second Division now began its march to encamp on the fatal hill -of Isandhlwana--that place of ill omen. - -Hammersley was conveyed with other wounded in an ambulance waggon, -and it was decided that if he recovered sufficiently he should be -sent home on sick leave to Britain. Florian occasionally rode by the -side of the waggon, the motion of which was anything but easy or -pleasant to those who were in pain. - -How pale, he thought, Hammersley looked, with his delicate nostrils, -clearly cut mouth, and dark moustache; and his mind went from thence -to Finella Melfort, the girl he loved, who was so far away, and whom -he might not be spared to see again. - -'Write gently about all this affair to Miss Carlyon,' said Hammersley -feebly. 'But the infernal telegrams will make poor little Finella -_an fait_ of my danger before details can reach her.' Then he -muttered to himself, 'How truly it has been said that the indifferent -are often tied to each other irrevocably, while those who love truly -are parted far as east from west.' - -'So you have fully avenged me, I hear?' he said, after a pause, while -his features were contracted by pain. - -'Of that there is no doubt,' replied Florian. - -'For that I thank you, old fellow, though I am low enough--in that -state, in fact, in which, we are told, we should forgive our enemies, -and pray for those who despitefully use us.' - -'These two rascals are past being forgiven now. I dare say long ere -this their bodies have been swept into the White Umvoloski,' said -Florian, who still felt somewhat savage about the whole episode. - -'Well, I am going to the rear at last, but I hope we shall meet -again. If not,' he added, with a palpable break in his voice, 'my -ring--take and keep it in remembrance of me.' And as he spoke -Hammersley drew from his finger a magnificent gipsy ring, in which -there was a large and valuable opal, and forced it upon the -acceptance of Florian. - -'The opal is said to be a stone of ill-omen,' said Hammersley with a -faint smile, 'but it never brought ill-fortune to me.' - -Florian knew nothing of that, and, if he had, would probably not have -cared about it, though reared in Devonshire, the land of the pixies -and underground dwarfs and fairies. - -'The only reason for the stone being thought unlucky,' said -Hammersley, smiling, 'is that Mark Antony, Nadir Shah, and Potemkin, -wearers of great opals, all came to grief.' - -'Going home, I hear, Hammersley,' lisped a smart young -_aide-de-camp_, cantering up to the ambulance waggon. 'Egad, I envy -you--you'll see something better than Kaffir damsels there!' - -Hammersley, in the midst of his acute pain, somewhat resented the -other's jollity, and said: - -'The poor Kaffir damsels are content with the handiwork of God, and -don't paint their faces red and white, as our English women do in the -Row and Regent Street, Villiers.' - -'You'll soon be home--there is no such thing as distance now,' -rejoined the young staff officer. - -'Yes, Villiers, I am sorry to leave you all; but I am going back to -England--dear old England--the land of fog, as Voltaire says, with -its one sauce and its three hundred and sixty-five religions,' he -added, with a feeble smile, thinking he was perhaps rather sharp in -his tone to Villiers. - -'And you have lost your favourite horse, I hear?' said Hammersley to -Florian. - -'Yes, poor animal.' - -'Then take mine. I need not ask you to be kind to him. Who can say -but you may lend him to me one day for a run at Melton again? Now, -good-bye, old fellow, God bless you!' - -They wrung each other's hands and parted, Florian to ride on to the -new camp at the Isandhlwana Hill, prior to the march for Ulundi, and -Vivian Hammersley to go with the rest of the wounded and sick to the -coast for conveyance to Plymouth. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -WHICH TREATS OF LOVE-LETTERS. - -The middle of July had come, and matters remained almost unchanged in -the family circle at Craigengowan. Lady Fettercairn had not yet -carried out her threat of getting rid of Dulcie Carlyon, though a -vague sense of dislike of the latter was fast growing in her mind. - -Hammersley seemed to be effectually removed from Finella's sphere, -though by what means Lady Fettercairn knew not; but still Shafto made -no progress with the heiress; thus she feared some secret influence -was exerted over him by 'this Miss Carlyon,' and would gladly have -had old Mrs. Prim back again. - -It was July now, we say; and July in London, though Byron says, - - 'The English winter ending in July, - To recommence in August,' - -to the lady's mind was associated only with dinners, concerts, races, -balls, the opera, garden parties, and so forth, all of which she was -relinquishing for an apparently hopeless purpose, while she knew that -all her fashionable friends would be having strange surmises on the -cause of this most unusual rustication, and inquiring of each other, -'What are the Fettercairns about?' - -Dulcie was painfully sensible that the lady of the house had become -cold, stiff, and most exacting in manner to her, even condescending -to sneer at times, with a well-bred tone and bearing that some -high-born ladies can assume when they wish to sting dependants or -equals alike. - -Finella's other grandmother, my Lady Drumshoddy, had ceased to be -quite so indignant at her repulsion to Shafto, as she had a -nephew--son of a sister--coming home on leave from India; and she -thought perhaps the heiress might see her way to present herself and -her thousands to young Major Ronald Garallan, of the Bengal Lancers, -who had the reputation of being a handsome fellow and a regular -'lady-killer.' - -Days and days and long weary weeks passed by--weeks of longing--and -no word of hope, of love, or apology came to Finella across the seas -from distant Africa, evolved as she hoped by the letter of Dulcie to -Florian, and her heart grew sick with hope deferred, while more -battles and skirmishes were fought, and she knew not that a vessel -with the mail containing that missive which Florian posted at the -orderly-room tent had been cast away in the Bight of Benin, and that -the bags had been saved with extreme difficulty. - -She contemplated Vivian Hammersley facing danger in battle and -sickness in camp, marching and toiling in trackless regions, with one -belief ever in his angry heart that she had been false to him--she -who loved him more truly and passionately every day. So time seemed -to pass monotonously on, and her unsatisfied longing to be justified -grew almost to fever heat; and death might take him away before he -knew of her innocence. She tried to be patient, though writhing -under the evil eyes of Shafto, the author of all this mischief. - -Could it be that Vivian had been driven away from her for ever? -Daily she brooded over the unhappy story of her apparent fault and -its bitter punishment, and she would seem to murmur in her heart, -'Come back to me, my darling. Oh, how am I to live on thus without -you?' - -And amid all this no sense of pride or mortification came to support -her. - -By the two girls the Cape news was, of course, closely and nervously -watched. The tidings of Florian's promotion stirred the hearts of -both; but to anyone else in Craigengowan it was, of course, a matter -of profound indifference, if remarked at all. - -A telegram briefly announced, without details, that Captain -Hammersley had been wounded after the skirmish at the Euzangonyan -Hill, but nothing more, as the papers were filled by the death of the -Prince Imperial; so, in the absence of other information, the heart -of Finella was wrung to its core. - -At last there came a morning when, in the house postal-bag, among -others at breakfast, Shafto drew forth a letter for Dulcie. - -'A letter for Miss Carlyon from the Cape,' he exclaimed; 'what a lot -of post-marks! Have you a friend there?' - -'One,' said Dulcie in a low voice; and, with a sigh of joyous -expectation, like a throb in her bosom, she thrust it into her bodice -for perusal by-and-by, when no curious or scrutinizing eyes were upon -her, after she had duly performed the most important duty of the day, -washing and combing Snap, the pug; and the action was seen by Shafto, -who smiled one of his ugly smiles. - -When, after a time, she was at leisure, Finella drew near her, -expectant of some message. - -'Come with me, quick,' said Dulcie; 'I have a letter for you!' - -'For me?' - -'Enclosed in Florian's.' - -Quick as their little feet could take them, the girls hurried to a -secluded part of the shrubberies, where stood a tree known as Queen -Mary's Thorn. Often when visiting her nobles, the latter had been -requested to plant a tree, as if emblematical of prosperity, or in -order that its owners might tend and preserve it in honour of their -illustrious guest. - -Such a tree had been planted there by Queen Mary in the days of the -old and previous family, when on her way north to Aberdeen in the -eventful year 1562, when she rode to Inverness on horseback. Her -room is still pointed out in the house of Craigengowan, and tradition -yet tells in the Howe of the Mearns that, unlike the beer-drinking -Elizabeth (who boxed her courtiers' ears, and would have made Mrs. -Grundy grow pale when she swore like a trooper), thanks to her -exquisite training at the court of Catharine de Medici, her grace and -bearing at table were different from those of her rival, who helped -herself from a platter without fork or spoon, and tore the flesh from -the roast with her teeth, like a Soudanese of the present day. - -But, as Lord Fettercairn was greatly bored by tourists and artists -coming in quest of this thorn-tree, under which the girls now seated -themselves, and he could not make money out of it, at a shilling a -head, like his Grace of Athole for a glimpse of the Falls of Bruar, -he frequently threatened (as he cared about as much for Queen Mary as -he did for the Queen of Sheba) to have it cut down, and would have -done so long since, but for the intervention of old Mr. Kippilaw the -nationalist. - -The delight of Dulcie on unfolding her epistles was only equalled by -the delight and gratitude of Finella on receiving hers. - -'Oh Dulcie, Dulcie!' ran the letter of Florian (with the whole of -which we do not mean to afflict the reader), 'while here--thousands -of miles away from you--how often my heart sickens with hungry -longing for a sight of your face--for the sound of your voice, the -sound I may never hear again; for in war time we know not what an -hour may bring forth, or on each day if we shall see to-morrow. But, -for all that, don't be alarmed about me. I have not the smallest -intention of departing this life prematurely, if I can help it. I'll -turn up again, never fear, darling--assegais, rifles, and so forth, -nevertheless. The chances of our lives ever coming together again -seemed very small when first we parted, yet somehow, dear Dulcie, I -am more hopeful now; and something more may turn up when we least -expect it; and we never know what a day may bring forth.' - -Florian was far, far away from her, yet the sight of his letter, -perhaps the first he had ever written to her, gave the lone Dulcie, -for a time, a blissful sense of love and protection she had never -felt since that fatal morning when she found her father dead 'in -harness'--dead at his desk. Oh, that she could but lay her head on -Florian's breast! - -And as Finella read and re-read Hammersley's letter a bright, sweet, -happy smile curved her lips--the lips that he had kissed in that -first time of supreme happiness, that now seemed so long, long ago. - -'I have been cruel, hard, suspicious,' wrote Hammersley, 'till that -fine young fellow, then a sergeant of ours--the sergeant of my -squadron--a lad of birth and breeding evidently, showed me the letter -of Miss Carlyon--at least that part of it which referred to us, -darling. I did not know till then how bitterly I had been deceived, -and how we had both been imposed upon. Pardon me for the cruel note -I wrote you, and forgive me. But, Finella, as we have often said -before, what view will your people take of us--of me? I am not quite -a poor man, though very much so when compared with you. Think if -monetary matters were reversed, and you accepted a rich man who asked -you to wed him, would not people say it was his money you wanted?' - -'Fiddlesticks!' whispered Finella parenthetically; 'what matters it -what people say, if we love each other? We marry to please -ourselves, Vivian, not them!' - -'There are some arts that come by intuition to some people,' -continued Hammersley, 'and, by Jove! darling, that of soldiering has -come to your friend Miss Carlyon's admirer. His career will be a -sure one; not that I believe the marshal's baton is often found in -the knapsack of Tommy Atkins. He was an enigma to me; his youth and -all that belonged thereto seemed dead and buried--his past a secret, -which he cared about revealing to none; but such are the influences -of camp life and camaraderie that I drew to him, and now I am as -familiar with the name of little Dulcie with the golden hair--golden, -is it not?--as yourself; so give her a kiss for me. I owe her -much--I owe her the happiness of my life in dispelling the dark cloud -that rose between us--in taking the load from my heart that made me -blind and desperate, so that it is a marvel that I have not been -killed long ago.' - -As she read on, to Finella it seemed that it was all a dream that -there ever had been any bitterness between them at all; that his -fierce, short note, pencilled in haste and delivered by the butler, -had ever existed, or that he had left her abruptly and hastily, -without a word or a glance of tenderness--not even uttering her name, -perhaps, the musical name he was wont to linger over so lovingly; -that he had ever gone from her in a natural and pardonable tempest of -anger and jealousy. - -And now how well and fondly she could recall their first introduction -in London, though it seemed so long ago, when their eyes first met -with a sudden and subtle understanding, 'and their glances seemed to -mingle as two gases meet and take fire,' as a writer says quaintly; -and though they had spoken but little then, and well-bred -commonplaces only, each had felt that there were looks and tones -untranslatable, yet full of sweet and hidden meaning to the sensitive. - -For a time, as if loth to go back to the work-a-day world, both girls -sat under Queen Mary's Thorn, each with letter in hand, lost in a -maze of happy dreams. They could see the shrubberies and the woods -about the mansion in all the glory of midsummer, the smooth spaces of -emerald greensward, the balustraded terrace with its stately flights -of steps, and the pool below it, where the white waterlilies and the -white swans floated in sunshine; but all was seen dreamily, and to -their ears like drowsy music came the hum of the honey-bee and the -twittering and voices of the birds, while a beloved name hovered on -the soft lips of each, and seemed to be reproduced in the songs of -the linnet and thrush. - -'You will write to Captain Hammersley, Finella,' said Dulcie, -suddenly breaking the silence; 'write to him and supplement all I -have written to Florian. You see he is too good, too brave, not to -be completely forgiving.' - -'He has nothing to forgive,' said Finella, with just a little soupçon -of pride. - -'Well, of course not; and his heart has come back to you again, if it -ever left you, when he knows that you love him only, and loved him -always.' - -'He sends you a kiss, Dulcie!' said Finella, pressing her lips to the -girl's soft cheek. - -'Be brave, Vivian,' urged Finella, when she wrote her letter; 'I mean -to be so, so far as I am concerned, and do not be discouraged by any -opposition on the part of grandmamma. I am rich enough to please -myself. Let us have perfect confidence in each other, and we shall -realize our dearest hopes, if God spares you to me. Oh, you dear, -old, passionate silly!--to run away in a furious pet, as you did from -Craigengowan, without seeking a word of explanation. How much all -this has cost me, Heaven alone knows; but it is all over now.' - -Her long and loving letter was despatched--posted by her own hand. - -'But his wound--his wound--when shall I hear more of that?' was her -ever-recurring thought. - -Now Shafto had seen the Cape letter ere Dulcie had time to conceal it -in her bosom, and watching both girls, he had seen them intent on -their missives under the shade of Queen Mary's Thorn. So, knowing -that Dulcie's letter could only be from Florian, intent on making -mischief, he went to Lady Fettercairn, whom he found in her luxurious -boudoir, and asked her if she 'approved of her companion -corresponding with private soldiers.' - -'Certainly not,' replied the dame sharply; 'was her letter this -morning from such?' - -'I am certain of it.' - -'This is excessively bad form!' she exclaimed, reclining in a blue -satin easy-chair, with one slim white hand caressing the smooth, -round head of her goggle-eyed pug dog. 'Send her here.' - -'So you have a military correspondent, Miss Carlyon, I understand?' -said she, when the culprit appeared. - -'Yes, my Lady Fettercairn,' replied Dulcie, colouring painfully. - -'Is he a relation?' - -'No; you saw, and--and were struck with his likeness in my locket,' -faltered poor Dulcie. - -'Well--I do not approve, while under my roof, of your corresponding -with private soldiers, or sergeants, and so forth!' - -'But my letter is from an officer of the 24th Regiment,' said Dulcie, -with a little pardonable pride. - -'So much the worse perhaps--an officer?' - -'Lieutenant Florian MacIan.' - -'Indeed,' said Lady Fettercairn, languidly fanning herself; 'I -remember the name now--he was so called after the girl MacIan,' she -added half to herself. 'MacIan! what a name! It is quite a -calamity. I do not care to have you corresponding with these -people--while here,' she added vaguely. - -Dulcie was on the point of reminding her that the unfriended Florian -was the cousin-german of Shafto, but disdained to do so when the -latter so selfishly forgot that matter herself, and bowing, withdrew -in silence--too happy to feel mortified. - -When she and Finella went to bed that night, though each knew every -word of her letter by heart--they slept with them under their -pillows--yea and for many a night--that they might have them at hand -to read the first thing in the morning, so simply sentimental had the -proud Finella and the fond little Dulcie become! - -Dulcie's head was on her pillow, over which her red-golden hair was -tossed in glorious confusion; but no eyes saw it, save perhaps those -of the man in the moon, the silver light of which shone on the -carpeted floor, and then slowly stole upward in a white line upon her -white coverleted bed, and ere long its soft and tender radiance fell -upon the equally soft and tender face of the young girl, whose heavy -dark lashes lay close on her rounded cheeks, and whose rosebud lips -were parted and smiling, for she had a happy dream, born of her -letter--a dream of Revelstoke and the old days there with Florian, -ere grief, sorrow, separation, and the bitter realities of life came -upon them. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -IN THE HOWE OF THE MEARNS AGAIN. - -Dulcie was light of foot, young, bright, and active, yet with all her -lightness and activity, times there were now when she failed to fly -fast enough for Madame's smelling-bottle, her fan, her Shetland -shawl, her footstool, or down-pillow, especially when the latter had -her headache, or that _migraine_ which could only be cured in the -atmosphere of Belgravia, and made her at times also most irritable -with Finella. - -Dulcie could play well and sing well too, not being one of those who -think that, so long as the music of a song is heard, the words are -quite unnecessary; but Lady Fettercairn 'snubbed' her attempts at -either, and openly hinted that it was as much out of place for a -'companion,' however highly accomplished or trained, to seat herself -at a piano in the drawing-room as to ride about the country lanes -with a daughter of the house; but Dulcie, who was neither highly -accomplished nor trained, but self-taught merely, so far as her music -went, could scarcely believe that Lady Fettercairn meant steadily to -mortify and humble her, till one day, when she thought she was alone, -and was idling over the keys of the piano, singing softly to herself -a verse of a little old song, that was a favourite of Florian's, and -seemed applicable to herself: - - 'I saw her not as others did, - Her spirits free and wild; - I knew her heart was often sad - When carelessly she smiled; - - 'Although amid a happy throng - Her laugh was often loud; - I knew her heart, her secret soul, - By secret grief was bowed,'-- - -she stopped suddenly on finding the cold and inquiring blue eyes of -Lady Fettercairn focusing her with her eyeglass. Indeed, in a -somewhat undignified manner, Madame seemed constantly on the watch -for her now, and was always appearing at unexpected times and in -unexpected places. - -'Please to cease this English ballad, Miss Carlyon; it sounds as if -more suited to the atmosphere of the servants' hall than my -drawing-room, I think.' - -'I thought I was alone,' replied Dulcie, colouring deeply at this -sharp and wanton rebuke; and with tremulous hands she softly closed -the piano and stole away, with difficulty restraining her tears, and -hastened to her first morning work--the washing and combing of Snap, -the fat little ill-natured pug, with an apoplectic-like neck, who was -furnished with a beautiful collar of silver and blue enamel, and -usually took his repose in a mother-of-pearl basket, lined with blue -satin, in the boudoir; and Snap had a pedigree longer than that of -the Melforts of Fettercairn, and, unlike theirs, was not tarnished by -political roguery. - -Impulsive Dulcie had, as we have shown, unintentionally wound herself -round the heart of the equally impulsive Finella, for she had an -honest English truthfulness about her which, united to her naturally -happy and loving nature, made her generally irresistible; and now the -girls had a powerful secret tie of their own between them, and to -Finella Dulcie carried her complaints of her treatment. - -'No woman of heart--no lady would be intentionally unkind to you, -Dulcie,' urged Finella. - -'Not positively so; but she might by a glance or a word remind me of -utter dependence for food and clothing in a way that would be felt -more keenly than an open insult; and, truth to tell, Lady Fettercairn -speaks out plainly now. And then,' added Dulcie with perfect -simplicity, 'a governess or companion, if pretty, is so liable to be -snubbed.' - -But the petty tyranny was continued from time to time. - -Dulcie feared the dog Snap, yet, as she had been accustomed to have -pets at home in Revelstoke, she succeeded in teaching it a few -tricks, and rewarding the educational efforts by biscuits and lumps -of sugar. Snap ere long would sit erect on his hind legs with a -morsel balanced on the point of his remarkably short black nose; and -when she said, 'Ready--present--fire,' and clapped her little hands, -he shot it upward and caught it skilfully with a snap in descending. - -With girlish glee she was showing this feat to Finella, when Lady -Fettercairn appeared and said with a hard, metallic voice: - -'Please not to teach my poor dog these vulgar tricks, Miss Carlyon; -these words of command--did you learn them from your friend the -corporal, or sergeant, or what is he?' - -'Grandmamma!' exclaimed Finella, in a voice of astonishment and -reproach, while Dulcie's heart swelled and her eyes filled with -tears, and as usual she withdrew. 'How can you speak thus to her?' -asked Finella. - -'I mean what I say,' was the cold response; 'moreover, as you seem in -her confidence, perhaps you will be good enough to tell her that if I -permit her in the drawing-room, occasionally to make herself useful -when a little music or a hand at cards is wanted, she must not wear -low bodies or short sleeves on any occasion,' added Lady Fettercairn, -who had detected the eyes of more than one male guest wander -appreciatively to the beautiful arms of Dulcie, that shone like -polished alabaster, especially when contrasted with her black -mourning costume. - -And when Lady Fettercairn took the trouble to be ill, which was -pretty frequently now, as she was worried by being kept away so long -from London and London gaieties, for no purpose or end, apparently, -so far as Finella and Shafto were concerned, she established a -headache as a domestic institution, during the prevalence of which no -one was to address her on any subject whatever--more than all, no one -was to cross her. But Shafto's extravagance and growing evil habits -were becoming a source of perpetual thought to the Craigengowan -household now. - -If Dulcie had her troubles, so had also Finella, for the family -scheme 'anent' Shafto was always cropping up from time to time. -Thus, when that young gentleman, who had a very indifferent seat in -his saddle, got a terrible 'spill' one day, in leaping a hedge, and -was brought home in a very prostrate condition, which his addiction -to wine considerably enhanced, the episode gave the cold, selfish, -and unpatriotic peer, who had no great love for his newly found heir, -some cause for thought and consideration. - -Failing heirs male, the Peerage of Fettercairn, being a Scottish one, -made before the Union, would go to Finella in the female line (as so -many similar peerages do, to the endless confusion of family names -and interests), and to the heirs male of her body. - -It was a kind of consolation, but a sad one. Whom might she marry? -'That fellow Vincent Hammersley perhaps!' - -'Finella,' said Lord Fettercairn, in his hard, dry voice, and with -the nearest attempt at a caress that ever escaped him, 'if aught was -to happen to Shafto--which God forbid!--you will be the heiress to -the title and estates.' - -'Oh, don't talk thus, grandpapa!' she exclaimed. - -'You care for the old name, child!' - -'I do indeed, grandpapa.' - -'And would make a sacrifice for it, if necessary?' - -'Believe me, I would!' - -'To please me?' - -'Yes.' - -'You are a good girl, Finella. I wish then for you, apart from -Shafto, who seems going to the dogs,' he muttered bitterly, 'to marry -some worthy and suitable man, such as I shall select for you,' he -added sententiously, and thinking, but not speaking, of the -home-coming Major Ronald Garallan. - -'Indeed, grandpapa, I will do no such thing,' said the wilful little -beauty, firing up; 'I would rather select a husband for myself.' - -'A day will come, girl,' said he, with an air of undisguised -annoyance, 'when you will thank your grandmother and me, when -thinking of all this matter, so necessary for consideration, when so -much wealth and rank are involved. You are a good and a bright -little pet, Finella, and I would not urge these matters on your -consideration but for your own good.' - -Yet Finella only sighed wearily, and thought of getting away from -Craigengowan, and viciously twisted up her laced handkerchief with -her nervous little hands. - -But if Lord Fettercairn was beginning to be hopeless of the affair of -Shafto and Finella, it was not so with the Lady of that Ilk; she was -still bent upon her matrimonial plans, and as a part thereof she -remonstrated in a somewhat unfeeling way with the innocent and -unoffending Dulcie, who became desperate in consequence. - -Until now, when she became the object of unworthy suspicions, she had -been contentedly enjoying the present, made all the more pleasant to -her by the friendship of Finella, not troubling herself too much -about the future, nor indeed would the question of that, if it meant -ways and means, have been very reassuring to her. She could only -indulge in the visions of 'love's young dream,' and no more, as yet. - -'Your future is a serious consideration,' said Shafto one day, with -reference to the subject, as he was airing his figure, with the aid -of a stick, on the terrace. - -'What does it matter to you--what do you care about it?' asked Dulcie -impatiently. - -'A man must always feel interested in the future of a girl he loves, -or has loved, even though she has deliberately thrown him over, and -flouted him, as you have always done me.' - -'I never could nor can I care for you, even as a friend; so simply -cease this old annoyance, please,' she said angrily. - -'Beware, I say again,' said he, with knitted brows. - -'Oh, you have been manly enough to threaten me before, but you are -not yet the master of Craigengowan, and may never be.' - -This had only reference to his rash course of life, and was but one -of several random speeches or shots made by Dulcie, which always -terrified and maddened Shafto, who suspected that in some mysterious -way she knew more than he was aware of. At these times he could have -strangled her, and now he grew pale with momentary rage. - -'I will no longer submit to your cruelty and cowardice,' said Dulcie, -her blue eyes flashing as she felt desperate. - -'What will you do--tell Lady Fettercairn?' he sneered. - -'No.' - -'What then?' - -'That is my business,' replied Dulcie, who, truth to say, was -beginning to meditate a flight from Craigengowan--whither, she knew -not and cared not. - -Shafto was again silent and alarmed. With all his brilliant -surroundings, he never knew what a day or night might bring forth. - -'After long experience of the world,' says Junius, 'I affirm before -God that I never knew a rogue who was not unhappy.' - -'We always want what we cannot have, I suppose,' said Dulcie, after a -pause. 'You are like the fox and the grapes, Mr. Shafto, in more -ways than one; only the fox displayed superior sense by retiring when -he found the coveted clusters beyond his reach, in persuading himself -that they were sour; hence I would advise you to imitate the -proceedings of the fox.' - -Shafto turned away and withdrew without a word, as he beheld the -almost noiseless approach of Lady Fettercairn from a conservatory -door, with her cold, steel-blue eyes, more steely than ever, her -light-brown hair, and firm aristocratic lips. - -Like most fair women, she looked much younger than her years, and, as -we have said in an opening chapter her really fine face was without a -line, as she had never had a cross or care in the world, save the -alleged _mésalliance_ of Lennard with Flora MacIan, and that, in a -general way, was all forgotten now. - -As she fixed her gaze on Dulcie, the expression of her face was -hostile and lowering. - -While feeling certain that something unpleasant was impending, Dulcie -tried to greet her with a smile, though 'the faculty of looking -pleased when one's heart is sick unto death--of fulfilling with -equanimity a hundred petty social exactions, which one's wearied soul -loathes--is a talent verging on the border-land of genius.' - -'Miss Carlyon,' began Lady Fettercairn, most freezingly, 'to my -surprise I overheard you giving some advice in a remarkable and -apparently very familiar way to my grandson, Mr. Shafto Melfort?' - -The remark was a question; but before Dulcie, in her confusion, could -form any reply, Lady Fettercairn spoke again. - -'I have remarked, and intensely disapprove of these apparently secret -meetings, conferences, or confidences, which you will, between -persons in the very different relative positions of my grandson, -young Mr. Melfort, and yourself, Miss Carlyon. They are, to say the -least of them, very unseemly.' - -'Lady Fettercairn!----' began Dulcie, almost passionately, and with -crimsoned cheeks. But the dame, full of one idea only, moved her -head and resumed again, and pretty pointedly too: - -'You are no doubt perfectly aware, as you have resided some months -among us, that my grandson is destined for his cousin, Miss Melfort; -and if her friend--as you say you are--you are somewhat too much in -his society.' - -'Can I help it?' said Dulcie, in the dependency of her position -compelled to temporize. 'I do not thrust mine on him--quite the -reverse, Lady Fettercairn.' - -'Finella does not seem to affect her cousin, I regret to say.' - -'I think so too.' - -'Thus, if she has mortified him, his heart may be easily caught on -the rebound.' - -'By _me_?' asked Dulcie, in a straight-forward manner. - -'Yes,' replied Lady Fettercairn, sharply and icily. - -'My position in your house will never permit me to dishonour myself.' - -'Hoity-toity--dishonour!' - -'A girl who would seek to ensnare a man--as you hint--for wealth or -position, certainly does dishonour herself. Death were better than -such a life as this!' murmured Dulcie wearily. - -'What do you mean by death, Miss Carlyon? I overheard your remark; -it is not fashionable or good form to talk of such unpleasant things, -so please don't do it in future. Besides, at twenty, no one dies of -grief or of mock-sentiment, believe me. A little time will show me -whether you are or are not the real friend of Miss Melfort, and -whether you have not been, perhaps, too long here.' - -'Too long, indeed, for my own peace,' said Dulcie, in a broken voice. - -'I am responsible for the consequences, if he chooses to make a fool -of himself with you,' said Lady Fettercairn, mistaking the meaning of -Dulcie's speech. - -'What do you mean, madam?' asked the latter, as a desperate and -hunted feeling came over her. - -'I am scarcely bound to explain myself, but might act,' replied Lady -Fettercairn, astonished and almost discomfited by this audacity on -the part of a dependant, 'especially so far as you are concerned. If -I mistake not, I employed you, Miss Carlyon, to be my useful -companion, and not to act as a monitress to my grandson, and to turn -your gifts of beauty or accomplishments to the use you are doing.' - -'Oh, this is indeed torture!' exclaimed Dulcie, as hot tears rushed -to her eyes; and as she thought of what her real relations were with -Shafto, and how she loathed him, she exclaimed with genuine agony, -'how can you--how dare you be so cruel?' - -'Miss Carlyon, this tone to me? You forget yourself.' - -'No, Lady Fettercairn,' retorted Dulcie, with kindling cheeks and -blue eyes sparkling through their tears; 'too well do I know, and -have been made to feel, that I am a dependant in Craigengowan; but I -brought into it a spirit as honest and independent as if our places -had been reversed--I the rich lady and you my poor dependant.' - -'If I wrong you I regret it,' said Lady Fettercairn; 'so here, for a -time, let this unpleasant matter end.' - -And, with a slight bow, she sailed away into the conservatory. - -But Dulcie felt that there the matter could not and should not end, -and she began to think seriously of flying from Craigengowan. - -With a little stifled cry that broke from her quivering lips, Dulcie -rushed down the steps of the terrace and fled through the shrubberies -like a hunted animal, looking neither to the right nor left, till she -reached the sequestered spot where stood Queen Mary's Thorn, and, -flinging herself face downwards in the grass, she uttered again and -again her father's name, as if she would summon him to her protection -and aid, amid a flood of passionate tears--tears from the depths of -her despair and intense humiliation. - -Unmindful of the flight of time, or whether she was wanted for -attendance on Lady Fettercairn or Snap, she lay there a whole hour, -while the shadows of tree and shrub were lengthening round her. She -thought her heart was breaking, so keen was her sense of the affronts -to which she had been subjected; for, with all her sweet humility, -Dulcie was not without innate dignity and pride; and in this mournful -condition she was found by Finella, who, suspecting from her -grandmother's bearing and aspect that something was wrong, had kindly -gone in search of her. - -She raised her up, caressed and kissed her, and then heard her story -with no small indignation, though she knew not what to do in the -situation. - -'I shall never, never forget you, Finella,' sobbed Dulcie; 'but when -I leave this I know not what will become of me.' - -'Leave this--why?' - -'Would you have me stay after what I have told you, and to be treated -as I am by Lady Fettercairn? But now, to me, it seems that the -future of my life will be gloomy, indeed, and full of torture and -sorrow.' - -'Don't talk thus, Dulcie; if ever a girl was made for happiness and -to give it to others it is you, my plump little English pet!' said -Finella, taking Dulcie's tear-stained face between her pretty hands, -and kissing it on both cheeks. - -But Dulcie was determined to leave Craigengowan--to go that same -night, indeed. - -'For where?' asked Finella. - -'Anywhere--anywhere!' - -'Impossible!' - -And Finella, by gentleness and kindness, soothed her over for a time, -but a time only, and during that period she was relieved of the -obnoxious presence of Shafto. - -That personage found Craigengowan, when there were no guests thereat, -especially such as he could lure into a game of _écarté_, or pool and -pyramid, 'deuced slow,' so he took his departure for Edinburgh, -where, as when in London, he often assumed the uncommon name of -'Smith' when involved, as he not unfrequently was, in rows and -scrapes which he wished kept from the knowledge of Lord Fettercairn, -and which sometimes led to his figuring before a presiding Bailie -through the medium of the night-police. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -EN ROUTE TO ULUNDI. - -On the 19th of June the Second Division, the operations of which were -now combined with those of Sir Evelyn Wood's Flying Column, resumed -its march to the front after the failure of certain nude ambassadors -from Cetewayo to arrange with Lord Chelmsford, who, on the -16th--three days before his march began--had received the most -mortifying intelligence that he was to be superseded in command of -the South African Field Force by 'the coming man,' Lieutenant-General -Sir Garnet Wolseley, ere whose arrival took place, he hoped to end -the war by one vigorous blow delivered at Ulundi. - -The troops were all in the highest spirits--full of fine ardour, and -longing to wipe out the stain cast upon them by the miserable fate of -the Prince Imperial. - -The first movement of the division was the ascent of the great and -steep Ibabanango Mountain, and when that was accomplished, Sir Evelyn -encamped on the left bank of the River Vemhlatuz, where open country -stretched on the left flank towards where Fort Marshall was built, -while the division encamped in his rear on ground where dwarf acacias -grew, with tangled creepers, wild vines, and cane-like plants. - -Service and exposure had now made deep the bronze of Florian's face -and hands; but the former had matured its expression, and the fine -manliness of it; a careless, not precisely a rackety life--but a camp -life, with perils faced in the field--had made his features and -bearing less boyish than they were when Dulcie bade him farewell at -Revelstoke. - -'A generous friendship no cold medium knows,' says Pope; thus, when -active operations were resumed, Florian became painfully conscious -how much he missed Hammersley at the head of the squadron, a charge -that had now devolved upon himself; for Vivian's spirit of -camaraderie and bonhomie, his manly, gentlemanly, and soldierly -bearing in every way, with the little secret they had to share -between them, even as with Dulcie and Finella at Craigengowan, formed -an additional link. - -When would they meet again? When would they greet each other, if -ever, more? And while surmising thus he viewed with genuine regard -the valuable ring bestowed on him by Hammersley, and patted with -affection the fine charger with which he had also gifted him; but -many more in the ranks of the old 24th missed Hammersley as well as -Florian. - -On the 20th occurred one of those skirmishes with the Zulus which -were of daily occurrence. - -Villiers, the young aide-de-camp, came with orders for the -Irregulars, Buller's Horse, and Florian's little squadron of Mounted -Infantry to reconnoitre the ground between two branches of the -Umhlatoosi River, and for this purpose they quitted the camp as usual -before dawn. - -As they rode on in silence Florian's mind--for he was apt to get lost -in thought--was dwelling on a legend he had heard, that the Zulu -people were the descendants of certain shipwrecked seamen of a fleet -which Pharaoh, King of Egypt, had sent to the Southern Sea, and that -Zululand, some say Sofala, was the ancient Ophir, where forests of -cedar and ebony grew, and gold, diamonds, and all manner of precious -stones existed in certain geological strata. - -As the Mounted Infantry rode on over ground where troops had never -ridden before, herds of spiral-horned koodoos, of eland, of -hartebeest and the striped zebra went scampering before them. - -'What sport we might have here had we not other work in hand!' -exclaimed an officer regretfully. - -In two detachments they examined the hills on the flanks of the way -which was to be the route of the division. Buller's Horse took those -on the right; Florian's Infantry those on the left. The former soon -unearthed some Zulus, who fired a ragged volley and then vanished -over a steep crest, where it was impossible to pursue them. - -Skirmishes of this kind went on almost hourly till the 26th, when -Florian became involved in what seemed a fatal catastrophe. It had -now become evident to the Zulus that these continued advances of the -Second Division menaced the great Royal Kraal of Ulundi. Thus more -and more of them were visible daily. Their opposition was growing, -and they made resolute attempts to burn up all the tall feathery -grass along the route; and being dry as hay, it readily caught fire, -to the peril of ammunition in the pouches, boxes in the gun-limbers -and store-waggons. - -On the 24th Sir Evelyn Wood's column had reached a place called the -Jackal Ridge, and encamped on its summit, while the tents of the -division were pitched at its base in a district where the valleys -were full of beautiful green bushes, where cotton trees and -castor-oil plants grew in the wildest luxuriance, and the tall -scarlet spikes and spear-like leaves were varied by the green of the -spekboom and the _melkbosh_ or spurge plants of various kinds. - -From the camp of the Flying Column on the summit of the ridge a great -kraal, supposed to be Ulundi, was seen in the distance, the kraal of -which traders and native scouts had circulated the most fabulous -descriptions. - -'Vague stories of the wealth of the king went about,' says Captain -Thomasson, adjutant of Buller's Irregular Cavalry. 'Splendid visions -of loot in the shape of ivory, ostrich feathers, and diamonds filled -the soldiers' eyes. Incredible stories of the amount of treasure -taken at Isandhlwana were circulated. It is needless to say these -golden visions were broken, not a man of the regulars being a -sovereign the better for any loot taken. Some of the irregulars got -small sums from deserted kraals. The amount taken altogether was -small.... From here a good view of Ulundi can be seen--the sight we -have waited six long months for. The delight one felt must have been -similar to that which animated the ten thousand at the first sight of -the sea. One was almost tempted to shout Ulundi! Ulundi! as they did -Thalassa! Thalassa! From the same height we could see the sea in the -far distance.' - -Prior to attacking some kraals that were in front, on the 25th Sir -Evelyn Wood's column pushed forward again, and crossed a stream by -laying across it mattings of grass--a process that occupied fully -seven hours--after which the Second Division followed. - -Early on the morning of the 26th, the day we have referred to, Lord -Chelmsford personally paraded a force to attack the enemy. - -It consisted of two squadrons of the 17th Lancers, looking gay in -their smart blue tunics, faced and broadly lapelled with white, their -swallow-tailed banneroles fluttering out upon the wind; Buller's -picturesque-looking Irregular Horse, Florian's Mounted Infantry, -Major Bengough's wild-looking natives, with rifle, shield, and -assegai, and two pieces of cannon. - -The kraals to be attacked stood in a spacious valley, five miles -distant from the camp, and a stern resistance was expected. - -At a canter the horse and artillery took a circuitous route, and -gained an eminence overlooking the kraals, which were speedily set on -fire by shells, and, being of dry and inflammable material, were at -once sheeted with red flame. - -In each of these military kraals were two thousand five hundred huts, -and the dark smoke from them ascended in separate columns of -stupendous height into the clear and ambient African sky, and to -avenge their destruction a great column of some thousands of Zulus, -like a sombre, moving sea, studded with grey and glittering -objects--bull-hide shields and assegai-blades--were seen advancing -swiftly along the green and verdant valley. - -'This will be no crutch-and-toothpick business!' exclaimed Villiers, -the joyous young aide-de-camp, laughingly; 'here they come,' he -added, looking through his field-glasses, 'led by a tearing swell, -with cranes' pinions on his head, and no end of cows' tails at his -waist, and a shield like a door, by Jove!' - -The words had scarcely escaped him when his horse was shot under him, -and he 'came a cropper,' as he phrased it, in doing so nearly -swallowing his cigar. - -But the Royal Artillery 9-pounders opened on them, plumping shell -after shell into their dense dark masses, so they paused, wavered, -faced about, and fled with the wildest precipitation, pursued by the -fiery and active Redvers Buller, of the 60th Rifles (who had served -in the China campaign of 1860, and with the Red River expedition -under Sir Garnet Wolseley), at the head of his Irregular Horse, the -Mounted Basutos, and Florian's Mounted Infantry. - -On they went, over the maimed and torn, the dead and the dying, naked -and bleeding. Many were shot and cut down on every side, and the -casualties would have been more terrible but for the awful state of -the atmosphere, which was steamy, hot, and laden with the -overpowering fragrance of sheets of tropical flowers and plants that -clothed the two faces of the valley. - -In the hot pursuit, as Florian was taking his horse over a -watercourse by a flying leap, there occurred to him one of those -mishaps which, from one circumstance or another, few horsemen have -not experienced. In mid-leap, the fiery animal was suddenly scared -by a huge black _aasvogel_ (a kind of vulture), that flew upward from -among the dwarf bushes with a vicious croak, and caused it to swerve -under him in the saddle, giving his whole frame a painful wrench -that, without a wound or bruise, rendered him for the time incapable -of riding a yard further, and with difficulty he dismounted. - -What was to be done? Advance with the mounted men under Buller he -could not, neither could he return rearward to the camp, now some -eight miles distant, alone! - -In a solitary hut of the nearest kraal--a hut that had escaped the -conflagration of the rest--he was placed till the force could pick -him up on its return. There Tom Tyrrell placed a cloak over him, -loaded his revolver, and left him to continue the pursuit; while his -charger--the gift of Hammersley--was meantime appropriated by -Villiers, the staff officer. - -Perfect rest made the acute pain he was enduring subside; but he -still felt weak and worn, and there he lay alone, amid utter silence -now, 'building castles in the air, with conversations in the -clouds'--conversations with Dulcie, and castles for her to inhabit. - -In the almost darkened hut, dome-shaped, and roofed with thatch and -enormous leaves, and into which light came by the narrow -wattle-framed door alone, he lay thinking of her, and the -unpleasantness of her life at Craigengowan, and marvelled much what -manner of place it was; for, till her letter came, he had scarcely -heard of it before, he felt assured. He thought, too, of the -chances--the problem of their meeting again--and that problem stared -him in the face in the light like an unsolved question, or the game -that one goes to bed leaving unfinished; but with him and with her it -would be the most important move in the game of their young and at -present, divided lives--the lives and loves of two who were bound up -in each other, all the more that they had no one to care for in this -world save each other. - -Meanwhile one anxious hour followed another, and there came no sound -of troops on the sward--no clatter of accoutrements to announce that -the pursuing Horse were returning his way. - -The Second Division and Wood's Flying Column had marched to a -mountain called the Entonjaneni, and there formed a camp about twenty -miles distant from Ulundi as the crow flies. Vast quantities of -thorn-bushes grew on the left of it, and before it spread an open -plain; and to this camp came nearly the last envoys of Cetewayo, -bearing two elephants' tusks as a sign of amity, promising a herd of -cattle, and so forth. The tusks were declined, and the original -conditions insisted on. However, Lord Chelmsford agreed to delay his -final advance till the evening of the 29th of June. - -Buller's Horse and the other mounted men were returning slowly from -their long pursuit, when they drew near the kraals so recently -destroyed, and saw that one hut was burning still, and casting a -lurid light against the evening sky. All thought this strange, as -before the repulse of the Zulus in the valley the fire in every kraal -was completely over, as there seemed nothing more left to burn. - -Suddenly Tom Tyrrell cried out, in a voice of the keenest excitement: - -'The hut in which we left our officer is in flames--the poor fellow -will be burned to death!' - -'Who?' exclaimed Villiers. - -'Our poor officer--Lieutenant MacIan.' - -'God! you don't say so!' - -'See for yourself, sir.' - -'It is too evidently as you say. Forward at a gallop!' - -The flames were sinking fast when they reached the hut, now reduced -to a smouldering heap of ashes, and the horrible odour of burned -human flesh overpowered the perfume of the wild flowers, amid which -the great bees were yet humming; and poking amid the hot _débris_ -with their lances, the men of the 17th found the charred remains of -what had been evidently a human body; and though inured to war, to -bloodshed, and daily human suffering, the soldiers looked blankly and -inquiringly in each other's faces, pausing for orders, and wondering -what was to be done now. - -In the hut the luckless Florian had lain for a time on its -clay-beaten floor listening for every sound. He had a natural fear -of Zulus coming upon him suddenly and assegaiing him in cold -blood--if indeed the blood of these fierce savages was ever cold till -death seized them. - -The idea was intolerable; and he writhed on the hard floor and -hearkened intently with his ear placed close thereto. - -Shots in the far distance announced that fighting was going on -somewhere--that Redvers Buller, the unwearied, was 'at it again'--but -told him nothing more. What if the advanced troops were -defeated--had to fall back towards the Entonjaneni Mountain by some -other route, and had to abandon him to his fate? - -In war, of what value is one human life, save to the proprietor -thereof? - -Anon, amid these exciting and oppressive thoughts, he became -conscious of a singular and awful odour pervading the place. He had -knowledge enough of it by ample past experience to know that it came -from the body of a dead Zulu. He peered about, and in a corner -hitherto unnoticed, near a pile of fresh bull-hides, intended -doubtless for conversion into long shields, partly covered by one, -lay the corpse of a Zulu warrior, whose shaven head, with the -military ring or fillet, and bare feet, with anklets of burnished -copper, were visible. - -Pah! - -Such a companion as this proved too much for his nerves, and at all -risks--the risk of being seen by scouting Zulus--he crawled out of -the hut into the pure and grateful air of heaven, and contrived to -reach a clump of dwarf mimosa-trees at a little distance on the slope -of an eminence, and therein he lay to await the return of his -comrades. - -He had with him his water-bottle and a brandy-flask; and with the -contents of these, a sandwich or two (from his haversack) made of -tinned meat, and a ration of biscuit, he made a meal, as mid-day was -now past, and, lighting a cigarette, strove to study the art of being -patient. - -As he lay there and smoked, numbers of insects, nameless to -him--cicadas, huge moths and butterflies--huge in the tropics--buzzed -and flitted about him; small birds, the gold and emerald cuckoo, -sunbird and finch, with beautiful plumage, flitted from branch to -branch overhead; a lizard or chameleon crawled along. Dazed by the -heat, and under the influence of the latter, and perhaps of his -cigarette, Florian dropped asleep. - -From this he was startled by a trumpet sounding the advance, and was -roused just in time to see the detachment consisting of the two -Lancer Squadrons, the Mounted Infantry, Frontier Horse, and -Bengough's Natives resuming their route to the camp, after -investigating the ashes of the hut he had quitted, and which had no -doubt caught fire from the hot embers of others blown against it by -the wind. - -But Florian's heart sank within him at the contemplation of what -might have _been_ had he slept on--had the trumpet not been sounded, -and the troops had ridden away, leaving him helpless in that solitude. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -THE LOADED DICE. - -Shafto was located in a quiet hotel in St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh, -whither he had come in hope to raise money to meet the difficulties -in which he had become involved. When away from the splendid -thraldom of Craigengowan--for thraldom he deemed it now--he was daily -and nightly in the habit of imbibing more than he would have ventured -to do there; thus he was becoming slow of speech, with the fishy eye -and the fevered breath of the habitual tippler, even at his years, -while in dress he adopted a style that was a curious combination of -the dandy and the groom. - -The many confiding tailors, jewellers, horse-copers, wine-merchants, -and others whom he had honoured by his patronage were now getting -beyond all bounds with their importunity and--as he -thought--impertinent desire to have their bills settled; while, -disgusted with him, Lord Fettercairn had been heard more than once to -say, even to old Mr. Kippilaw: - -'If Finella had been a boy I should not have cared so much about -there being no other grandson of my own to ensure the succession and -carry on the title.' - -But the peer did not yet know the worst. - -Occasional visits to Edinburgh, and still more those to London, were -always involving Shafto in one or other disgraceful scrape; for, -notwithstanding a most liberal allowance, he was often at his wits' -end for money, and was over head and ears in gambling debts. Thus he -was a bitter pill to the patriotic peer, his 'grandfather,' and he -was on the verge, he feared, of dire disgrace, as a whole lot of -post-obits might soon come to light--on the fortune he reckoned would -come to him on Lord Fettercairn's death or his marriage with Finella; -for with two such prospects the Jew money-lenders and other -scoundrels who trade as such, in Pall Mall and elsewhere, under -double names, had seen things in a 'rosy' light, and let him thus -have 'no end of money.' - -And now, as a means of recruiting his exchequer for a time, he -bethought him of young Kippilaw, who had been left £30,000 -unexpectedly by an uncle in Glasgow, and his first thought was to -flatter and fleece the fellow if he could, though the spruce little -W.S. was on the eve of his marriage with one of the many daughters of -Lord Macowkay, the eminent senator of the College of Justice; so he -invited that gentleman to a quiet little dinner at his hotel, 'Just -to pick a bone--sharp eight.' - -Little Kippilaw, who was always flattered by the society of a -prospective peer, as something to talk about in the Parliament House, -accepted with a radiant countenance; and, as he had rather a -showy-looking friend who was passing through Edinburgh on his way to -Drumshoddy Lodge, he asked permission to bring him. - -'Certainly, of course,' said Shafto. - -'Major Garallan is a client of the firm.' - -'What! the old woman Drumshoddy's nephew?' - -'The same.' - -'All right; let us have him.' - -So the Major came in due course. He was the beau-ideal of a cavalry -man--tall, handsome, well set up and put together, dark-complexioned -and regular-featured, with his ears and neck scorched by the Indian -sun to a hue in which red and bistre were blended; but an awkward -accession he proved to Shafto eventually. - -The dinner, with its soup, fish, and many entrées, was all that could -be desired, from the curaçoa to the coffee, and put Shafto's two -guests in excellent humour with themselves and the world generally; -the cloth was drawn, the wine and dessert put on, and, seated at the -head of the table, Shafto almost forgot his troubles, as he took -bumper after bumper of sparkling Pommery-greno, while from the tall -windows could be seen the space of the stately square, with its tall -central column crowned by the colossal statue, of Melville, and all -its many-pillared and palatial banks and public offices whitened by -the silver light of the summer moon. - -The Zulu War was, of course, spoken of, the mishaps at Isandhlwana -and Intombe discussed, though the subject was shirked by Shafto, who -cared nothing about it, save in so far as the _danger_ that then -menaced Florian; but little Kippilaw, who was a full-blown captain in -the Queen's Edinburgh Rifle Brigade, talked a vast amount of 'shop' -to the amused Major Garallan, whom he ventured to instruct in the -'new method of attack,' and thereby drew out the latter insensibly to -talk a little of his Indian experiences, for he had served in the -expedition to Perak, against the Malays, and the Jowaki expedition on -the frontier of Peshawur, and been wounded at the storming of Jummoo; -affairs that, though small in themselves, went rather beyond a sham -fight in the Queen's Park, including the storming of St. Anthony's -Chapel and forming a rallying square in the Hunter's Bog. - -And now the conversation began to flag, though Shafto had circulated -the wine freely, and he thought the time had come to propose 'a -little mild play.' One circumstance surprised him--that though they -were supposed to be connected by marriage, the somewhat haughty Major -never made the slightest reference to the subject. - -'A quiet rubber of whist, with a dummy,' suggested Kippilaw. - -'With a dummy, no,' said Major Garallan. 'I like poker, but----' - -'Poker be hanged!' interrupted Shafto. - -At this abrupt speech the Major, a well-bred man, pushed back his -chair a little way, while Shafto paused and felt in his -waistcoat-pocket a little white square ivory object--of which more -anon. - -It was arranged that Shafto and Kippilaw should have a mild game of -_écarté_, while Major Garallan smoked, idled, and looked on, a course -that the first-named gentleman by no means approved of, as, for -cogent reasons, he had an intense dislike of having his play -overlooked. - -Kippilaw, inflamed by the wine he had taken inconsiderately--while -Shafto, cautious to a degree, had not, to use a phrase of his own, 'a -hair of his coat turned'--allowed himself to be lured into doubling -the stakes again and again; and Shafto, who had his own ultimate end -in view, while playing to all appearance with intense care, allowed -himself to lose eventually the sum of £500, for which, as he had not -the most remote intention of paying it, he with great liberality gave -an 'IOU' to Kippilaw, who, not being an habitual gamester, but by -nature and profession cautious and gentlemanly in spirit, was rather -scared in accepting the document. - -Then a pause ensued in the game, during which more -wine--Pommery-greno--was circulated, fresh cards produced, and Shafto -invited the Major to play, but he declined somewhat curtly, as Shafto -thought. - -He then urged Kippilaw to let him have his 'revenge,' and the latter -was willing enough to let him have back the IOU if he won it, or any -portion thereof, as he disliked to possess such a document signed by -the son of a client of the firm, and thought secretly that he would -not play a shilling beyond that sum; but he had partaken of too much -champagne, which, when the Major's back was turned, Shafto contrived -to dash with brandy, and soon the demon of play, rivalry and -acquisitiveness overruled the reason of Kippilaw; but the nefarious -action of Shafto had not been unnoticed by the Major, who had -affected to be twirling his moustache by the aid of a mirror above -the high black marble mantelpiece. - -Shafto produced a dice-box; he lost, and Kippilaw won, as it was -intended he should, and a silly laugh of exultation escaped him. - -'Another IOU--you're in luck's way to-night, Kippilaw!' exclaimed -Shafto. - -'How much have I won?' - -'A hundred and fifty.' - -The play went on--the dice-box rattled again and again, while the -Major, with his back against the mantelpiece, looked silently and -curiously, but darkly on. Shafto won back--what he had lost as a -lure--his £500, with wonderful celerity, and then another sum of -£100, for which Kippilaw gave him a cheque, signed by a very unsteady -hand. - -'Double or quits,' said Shafto, staking the cheque, with his hand on -the dice-box. - -'Thanks--but I don't think I'll play any more,' said Kippilaw. - -'Oh--indeed--please yourself,' said Shafto scornfully, while biting -his lips with anger and disappointment--'but after gaining £500 from -me--the devil--are you afraid?' - -'No.' - -'What then?' - -'I have played enough--more deeply than I ever did before.' - -'Enough!' repeated Shafto contemptuously. - -'Yes.' - -'Too much, indeed,' said Major Garallan suddenly; 'and, by Jove, you -do right to stop, Kippilaw.' - -'What the devil do you mean?' asked Shafto, becoming pale with sheer -fury. - -'What I say,' replied the officer coolly. - -'Who the ---- gave you a right to interfere?' demanded Shafto in a -bullying tone. - -'I have watched your play, sir, for some time past,' replied the -Major quietly, 'and know right well how and why the tide of fortune -turned so suddenly in your favour.' - -An oath escaped Shafto, and snatching up the cards, he hurled the -pack to a remote corner of the room. - -'What does all this mean?' asked Kippilaw, staring half tipsily and -with a scared air at the speakers. - -'It means, you goose, that you have been playing with a fellow who is -no better than a blackleg,' said the Major, with quiet scorn. 'No, -_you don't_,' he added, grasping, as if with a smith's vice, the -wrist of Shafto, who, uttering a cry like a jackal, seized a -cut-glass decanter, with the fell intention of hurling it at the -speaker's head, but the latter cowed him by one steady glance. - -'You shall repent this insolence,' said Shafto, starting to his feet. -'I will teach you to question a man of honour with impunity.' - -'Honour!' laughed Garallan. - -'You shall hear from me, sir.' - -'In what fashion--an action at law?' - -'No; one perhaps you may shrink from.' - -'Very probably. You don't mean a duel?' - -'I do.' - -'Where?' - -'On the sands at Boulogne.' - -'Fool! People don't fight duels nowadays, and if they did, I am not -required to fight with a--swindler! That is the word, so let us hear -no more high falutin. A man of honour, indeed!' - -Garallan burst into a fit of scornful laughter, and Shafto, mad with -rage and disappointment, was rushing to grasp the poker, when the -former, in a moment, and before the apparently helpless Kippilaw -could interfere, if able to do so, in any way, had struck his -would-be opponent down, and wrenched from his left hand, which he -tore open by main force, something that Shafto had attempted to put -in his mouth, and which, on examination, proved to be--a loaded die. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -SHAFTO'S HORIZON BECOMES CLOUDY. - -The Major had gone to the 'little dinner' at the desire of Kippilaw, -but unwillingly; he had evidently heard something about Shafto--knew -him by reputation, and during the meal had treated him perhaps rather -cavalierly, which Shafto was too self-assertive or too -'thick-skinned' to perceive, though Kippilaw did. - -The little W.S., who had never been in a 'scrimmage' since he left -the High School, was desperately scared by the whole affair, and -especially by the mauling given to Shafto, the son of a client of the -firm, the heir of Lord Fettercairn, by the Major, who made very light -of the matter, and called him 'a d----d cad, and worse than a cad.' - -When Shafto gathered himself up they were gone, and he heard their -footsteps echoing in the now silent square (where the tall column -stood up snowy white in the light of the waning moon) as they turned -westward along George Street, and a feeling closely akin to that of -murder gathered in his heart as he poured the most horrible -maledictions on the Major, and drank a deep draught of foaming -Pommery-greno, well laced with brandy. - -That fellow had spoiled his game, and his nefarious plans against -young Kippilaw, whom he regarded as a wealthy pigeon to pluck. No -good ever came of a quiet third party watching one's play. He would -be even with the Major yet, he muttered, as he ground his teeth; but -how? The Major had carried off the loaded dice, and after splitting -it open, as doubtless he would, exposure everywhere was sure to -follow. - -He was wrong in one supposition, however, as the Major quitted -Edinburgh next morning for Drumshoddy Lodge, and, of course, would be -very unlikely to expose in public one whom he deemed a connection of -his own. - -Intending to attribute the whole affair of the loaded dice--alleged -to be loaded, he would insist--to a tipsy brawl on the Major's part, -to a mistake or confusion, and carry it off somehow, Shafto, driven -to desperation by want of money on one hand, even to settle his hotel -bill in St. Andrew Square, and by some days of terrible doubt and -depression on the other, after writing a private note to Mr. Kenneth -Kippilaw about his affairs, and fixing an hour for a visit -'thereanent,' ventured to present himself at that gentleman's -chambers, where a shock awaited him. - -As he passed through the hall, he saw Madelon--Madelon -Galbraith--seated in a waiting-room. - -'Madelon here--for what purpose?' thought he, with growing anxiety, -as he was ushered into the presence of Mr. Kippilaw, who received him -with intense frigidity--even more than frigidity--as he barely -accorded him a bow, and neither offered his hand nor rose from his -writing-table, but silently pointed to a chair with his pen. - -Despite this cold welcome, Shafto's constitutional insolence of -thought and bearing came to him with a sense of the necessity for -action, for his grim reception by the usually suave and pleasant old -lawyer roused all his wrath and spite to fever-heat. - -'So--so, sir,' began the latter, 'so you, the heir to the estates and -title of Fettercairn, actually tried to rob my simple son by means of -a loaded dice till exposed by Major Garallan, to whom my warmest -gratitude is due; the split fragments are now in my possession; but I -presume it was not on that matter you came to consult me. And, not -content with such vile conduct, you sought to taunt, bully, and -inveigle the Major into a duel, in which perhaps your superior skill -or cunning might achieve his murder. Duels, however, are out of -date; but penal servitude is not, so beware, Mr. Shafto--beware, I -say--there is a rod in pickle for you, I suspect.' - -And as he spoke the keen, glittering eyes of the old lawyer glared at -Shafto above the rims of his _pince-nez_. - -'But you come to confer with me about your private debts, Mr. -Shafto,' he added, lowering his tone. - -'Yes.' - -'You know the total amount, I presume?' - -'Scarcely.' - -'How so?' - -'Well, when letters come to me I open the white envelopes and chuck -all the d----d blue ones into the fire uninspected.' - -'A sensible proceeding--very! How long can it go on?' - -'I don't know--perhaps you do,' was the dogged reply. - -As if it was useless to ask further questions, Mr. Kippilaw looked -over some papers which Shafto had sent for his consideration, and his -countenance lowered and his white bushy eyebrows became closely -knitted as he did so, while Shafto watched him with an aspect of -languid interest which he was far from feeling, and sucked the ivory -head of his crutch-stick the while. - -'Why, Mr. Shafto,' said Mr. Kippilaw, 'this is rank dishonesty.' - -'What is?' - -'This mess I am contemplating.' - -'Don't talk thus to me; the greatest robbers in the world, after -one's own family lawyers----' - -'Sir!' interrupted Mr. Kippilaw, smiting the table with his hand, and -looking dangerous. - -'To business, then,' said Shafto sulkily. - -'There's this bill of Reuben Levi, the London money-lender, of which -I have a note, drawn originally for £500, at three months, bearing -interest at sixty per cent., and renewed three times!' - -'Well?' - -'The money value to the drawer is not likely to be much at the close -of the precious transaction.' - -'D--n, I think not.' - -'Lord Fettercairn will have to take up these.' - -'A few more too, I suspect,' groaned Shafto. - -'This is quite as disgraceful as your affair of the cards at that -Club in Princes Street.' - -'Which?' - -'When you were found playing baccarat with ever so many cards too -much in the pack. I am sick of you and your affairs, as you call -them. The man who can act as you do, in these and other matters, is -not likely to discharge the duties that devolve on the proprietor of -Craigengowan and the title of Fettercairn, alike teeming with -temptations; therefore I think his lordship will put it out of your -power to make ducks and drakes of the inheritance, if he takes my -advice.' - -'_Your_ advice!' thundered Shafto. - -'Precisely so,' said Mr. Kippilaw quietly, as he thrust all Shafto's -papers into a drawer and locked it. 'Lord Fettercairn has lost all -patience with you, sir. People should not incur debts they are -unable to pay. I know of no action more mean or contemptible than to -make some man--a poor one, perhaps--lose for another's amusements and -enjoyments. You ought to consider this.' - -'Thank you, Mr. Kippilaw. You are, I believe, a leading elder in -your kirk, whatever that may mean; but I'll not have you preach to -me.' - -'A man should do anything rather than defraud his neighbour.' - -'D--n you, you old cur! do you speak of "defrauding" to me--you, a -lawyer?' said Shafto, grasping his cane. - -'I do,' replied Mr. Kippilaw firmly. Shafto quailed under his gaze, -and turned to leave the room. 'Mr. Gyle!' said the lawyer, ere he -could do so. - -Shafto turned and faced him. - -'Ha!--you answer to your name, I see!' - -'What do you mean?' - -'Simply that I begin to think you are an impostor!' - -Shafto glared at him, white with rage and dismay, while a minute's -silence ensued. - -Perhaps the astute lawyer had read that remarkable essay by Lord -Bacon on cunning, wherein he tells us that an unexpected question or -assertion may startle a man and lay him open. 'Like to him,' he -continues, 'that having changed his name, and was walking in St. -Paul's, another came behind him, and called him suddenly by his true -one, whereat straightways he looked back.' - -'An impostor, dare you say?' exclaimed Shafto, taking one pace to his -front. - -'Considering your conduct, I begin to think so.' - -Shafto felt for a moment or so relieved, and said: - -'What the devil do you mean? You had a properly attested certificate -of my birth?' - -'Attested--yes.' - -'Was that not all-sufficient, even for your legal mind?' - -'Not--now.' - -'Why not now?' - -'Because I remember that it is mutilated.' - -Shafto winced. - -'It is there, however,' said Mr. Kippilaw, pointing with his pen to a -green charter box labelled 'Fettercairn,' and Shafto thought that if -he did not adopt a high tone he might fail in the matter. - -'You scoundrel,' he exclaimed, as he smashed his cane on the -writing-table, scattering letters and documents in every direction; -'doubt of my identity is an insult now!' - -Mr. Kippilaw did not lose his temper; he puckered up his eyebrows, -actually smiled, and looked cunningly at Shafto as he pulled or -twitched his nether lip with a finger and thumb. He was evidently -reconsidering the situation in his own mind, and coming to the -conclusion that there was a mistake somewhere. - -Shafto was sharp enough to read this at a glance; he thought of -Madelon, and his heart became filled with black fury. - -'I think our interview is ended,' said Mr. Kippilaw quietly, as he -dipped a pen in the ink-bottle and laid his left hand on a bell. -'You will be good enough to leave my chambers, sir, or I shall have -you shown out by the hall-porter.' - -There was nothing left for him but to withdraw, and as he did so, -Madelon Galbraith, who had been evidently waiting an interview, -entered Mr. Kippilaw's room, and as she passed she gave Shafto a -terrible glance with her black, sparkling eyes--a glance of hatred -and triumph--as she had not forgotten, but remembered with true -Highland bitterness, the day of her rough expulsion from -Craigengowan, when he had actually hounded a dog upon her. - -Shafto shivered; he felt as if an iron network was closing round him, -and that a fierce legal light might yet be cast on his secret -villainy. - -Guilt does not always look to the future. It is as well perhaps, -under any circumstances, that we never can see that mystic but -certain period. - -Smarting under Shafto's unbridled insolence to himself, and acting -very probably on some information accorded to him by Madelon -Galbraith, whom he desired to remain at his house in Edinburgh, Mr. -Kippilaw took means to achieve more--means which he should have -adopted immediately after his first interview with Shafto. - -Discomfited, there was nothing left for the latter now but to cast -himself on the mercy of Lord and Lady Fettercairn in the matter of -his debts and involvements; and this, after a few days of doubt, -irresolution, and much hard drinking, he resolved to do, and so set -out for Craigengowan. - -In these few days the strands of Fate had been twisting slowly but -surely into a fatal coil! - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -THE SQUARE AT ULUNDI. - -In the camp at the Entonjaneni Mountain the troops had two entire -days' rest, which enabled Florian to recover completely from the -effects of the accident which had befallen him in the pursuit of the -Zulus. - -In the afternoon of the 28th a telegram came announcing to Lord -Chelmsford that Sir Garnet Wolseley had arrived, that he had assumed -the entire command, and requesting a plan of the campaign, which, -apparently, Lord Chelmsford, having conducted thus far, was resolved -to finish for himself, as he did. - -With the same messengers came the mails for the troops, and, to -Florian's delight, there came a letter from Dulcie--we say delight at -first, for that sentiment soon gave place to one of anxiety. - -At the sight of her handwriting, his heart went back in a day-dream -to the banks of the Yealm and the Erme and to the exquisite -Devonshire lanes where they had been wont to wander hand in hand -together--lanes bordered by banks of pale green ferns, while the -golden apples hung in clusters overhead. - -Isolated now amid the different worlds in which each lived, these two -were tenderly true to each other, at those years when they who have -been boy and girl lovers usually forget, or form new attachments. - -Florian was struck by a certain confusion in the letter of Dulcie, -which seemed to have been written in haste and under the pressure of -some excitement, so that at times it was almost incoherent. - -'I am not superstitious, as you know, dearest Florian, but I dislike -the brilliant month of June more than any month in the year,' she -wrote. 'Papa died in June, leaving me alone in the world and so -poor--hence I have always strange forebodings of unseen evils to -come--evils that I may be powerless to avert; thus June is ever -associated in my mind with sorrow, death, and mystery. It is then I -have restless nights and broken dreams of trouble haunting me--even -of hideous forms seen dimly, and I leave my pillow in the morning -more weary than when I laid my head upon it at night. It is June -again, and I am in trouble now.' - -She proceeded then to describe her persecution by Shafto, who was -again returning after an absence; that his presence, conjoined to the -taunts, suspicions, and tone of Lady Fettercairn, made life at -Craigengowan a burden to her, and that she had determined on flight -from the house--from Scotland indeed--but where she was to go, or -what she was to do, she knew not. She had resolved not even to -consult her only friend Finella, so that, by the time her letter -reached him, she would be out once again on the bosom of the cold -world! - -So ended this distressing and partly incoherent letter, which was the -_last_ Florian received from Dulcie Carlyon, and by the tenor of it -there seemed a futility in sending any reply to Craigengowan, as too -probably she must have left it some weeks ago. - -'If killed to-day or to-morrow--anyway, before Cetewayo is -caught--I'll never know, probably, _how_ my darling gets over her -trouble,' thought Florian simply but sadly. - -There came by the same post no letter for the absent Hammersley, so -Florian concluded that Finella Melfort must have seen through the -medium of the public prints that he had sailed for Europe on sick -leave. - -It was vain for him to imagine where and amid what surroundings -Dulcie was now, and doubtless with very limited means; it was a -source of absolute agony to him at such a time, when he was so -helpless, so totally unable to assist or advise her, and he seemed as -in a dream to see the camp, with its streets of white tents and -soldiers in thousands loitering about, or stretched on the grass, -laughing, chatting, and smoking in the sunshine. - -In the immediate foreground, on the branch of a tree, hung the -skinned carcase of an eland, from which a powerfully built Hottentot -of the Natal Contingent, all nude save a pair of breeches, was -cutting large slices with a huge knife, and dropping them into Madras -cowrie baskets prior to cooking them in small coppers half full of -mealies. - -A rich plain stretched away to the north; beyond it were mountains -covered with grass and dotted by clumps of trees, and in some that -grew close by the camp, numbers of beautiful squirrels were hopping -from branch to branch in the sunshine. - -Ulundi was now only sixteen miles distant from our outposts, and from -thence came the last messengers of Cetewayo, bringing with them as a -peace-offering the sword of the Prince Imperial--the sword worn by -his father, too probably at Sedan, with a secret message--written by -Cornelius Vign, the Dutch trader--to Lord Chelmsford, telling him -that if he advanced on Ulundi to do it with strength, as the forces -of Cetewayo were many, many thousands strong. - -On the 1st July the division marched again. - -Florian had been scouting with his squadron all the preceding day and -far into the night, and lay in his tent weary and fagged on a ground -sheet only, without taking off either accoutrements or regimentals. -There, though worn, he had dreams, not of Dulcie, but of his dead -comrade, jovial Bob Edgehill, and the little song the latter was wont -to sing came to his dreaming ears: - - 'Merrily lads, so ho! - Some talk of a life at sea; - But a life on the land, - With sword in hand, - Is the life, my lads, for me.' - - -Then he started up as he heard trumpet and drum announcing the 'turn -out'--the latter with the long and continued roll there is no -mistaking. A hasty breakfast was taken--scalding coffee drunk -standing beside the camp fires--the tents were struck, the waggon -teams were inspanned, the Mounted Infantry went cantering to the -front, and the march was begun. - -Beautiful though the district looked when viewed from Entonjaneni, -the country to be traversed proved a rugged one, covered with tall -reed-like grass of giant height, that swayed slowly in the wind, -interspersed with mimosa scrub and enormous cacti, with leaves like -sabre-blades; but by half-past one a.m. the White Umvolosi was -reached. - -More scouting in a dark and moonless night fell to the lot of -Buller's Horse and Florian's Mounted Infantry. They could hear the -war-song of the vast Zulu army--unseen in the darkness, but chiefly -posted at fords on the river, loading the still, dewy air, rising and -falling with wild, weird, and impressive effect, now apparently near, -now distant; but so mighty ever and anon was the volume of sound that -it seemed to corroborate the alarming message of Cornelius Vign. -Among other sounds were the awful shrieks of a dying prisoner, whom -they had impaled on the bank of the stream. - -Much scouting, scampering about, and skirmishing by 'bank, bush, and -scaur' followed for three days, and the 4th of July saw the division -on its way to fight the great and final battle of the war, before -Wolseley could come on the ground--Ulundi. - -The sun was well up in the sky, when the column crossed the river at -a point where sweet-scented bushes, graceful acacias, gigantic -convolvuli, and wild guava fringed its banks, where the bees were -humming, and the Kaffir vultures hovering over the slain of a recent -skirmish; and splendid was its aspect in the brilliant morning -light--the 17th Lancers with their striking uniform and 'pennoned -spears, a stately grove'--the infantry, not clad in hideous -'mud-suits,' but in their glorious scarlet, their polished bayonets -and barrels shining in the sun, while in the hollows under the -shadows of the great mountains, shadows into which the light of day -had scarcely penetrated as yet, the impis or columns of the Zulus -were gathering in their sombre and savage thousands. - -'The troops will form in hollow square!' was now the General's order, -and, with other aides-de camp, Villiers, cigar in mouth, and with -flushed cheek and brightening eye, went cantering along the marching -column, with the details of that formation for the advance--the first -instance of such a movement in modern war, since William Wallace of -Elderslie, the uncrowned King of Scotland, instituted such a system -at the battle of Falkirk, and consequently he, as Green tells us in -his 'History of the English People,' was actually the first founder -of 'that unconquerable British Infantry,' before which the chivalry -of Europe went down. - -As formed by Lord Chelmsford on that eventful 4th of July, the -infantry on the four sides of his oblong square marched in sections -of fours, with all cavalry and other mounted men scouring the front -and flanks, Shepstone's Basutos covering the rear, with the cannon in -the acute angles of three faces of the square; all waggons and carts, -with stores and ammunition, in the centre. - -This was about eight in the morning, and with colours flying and -bands playing merrily in the sunshine, this huge human rectangle -marched in a north-easterly direction, past two great empty kraals -and a vast green tumulus that marks the grave of King Panda, the -father of Cetewayo, who is seated therein, buried in a partly upright -position, according to Zulu custom. - -To the right of the marching square were hills covered with thorn -trees overlooking the White Umvolosi; to its left were other hills -covered with enormous loose stones, and in its rear was a rugged -country tufted with mimosa trees, and others that stood up with -feather-like foliage against the blue-green sky. And in the centre -of a species of a natural amphitheatre stood three military kraals of -vast extent, the principal being named Ulundi. - -At the extremity of this amphitheatre there was visible a long line -of oval-shaped shields, above which black heads and bright points -appeared--the Zulu impis marching forward in double column with a -cloud of skirmishers on their front and flanks, precisely according -to European tactics. - -The square was halted now, the ranks closed up, all facing outwards; -the rifles and cannon were loaded, the ammunition boxes opened, and -two of the kraals were set in flames by the Irregular Horse; but one -was extinguished, lest the dense smoke from it rolling across the -plain might offer a cover for the Zulu advance. - -To lure them on, Florian was sent with twenty Mounted Infantry, and, -on seeing so petty a force riding towards them, the enemy wheeled -back a portion of their front as a trap. - -'Come on, lads,' cried Florian, brandishing his sword, 'come -on!--though not a man of us may return!' he thought. - -But the twenty men only poured in a rifle fire, wheeled about by -fours, and, galloping back, won the shelter of the square, the four -faces of which were fringed by steel and garlanded with jets of fire -and smoke, while the roar of artillery shook the air, and high -overhead was heard the fierce rush of the red rockets as they were -shot into the royal kraal of Ulundi and fired it in many places. - -With the rest of the mounted men, Florian stood in the centre of the -square, holding his horse by the bridle and looking quietly about -him, and, like the rest, his heart beat high, every pulse was -quickened, and the excitement became intense, as the long, long horns -of the Zulu army in its thousands closed round the square, and as the -circle contracted and came within closer range it was a splendid and -thrilling but terrible sight to see the masses mowed down like -swathes of crass beneath a mighty scythe. - -The British troops were formed in ranks four deep, two kneeling as if -to receive cavalry, the rifle-butt placed against the right knee, and -two erect, firing steadily, all with bayonets fixed; and in this -dense formation, sad indeed would have been our casualties had the -Zulu fire been well delivered. - -Closing upon their skirmishers rather than permitting the latter to -fall back upon their lines, their attack embraced the four faces of -the vast hollow square, now shrouded with white whirling smoke, and -edged by glittering fire and flashing steel. Out of the dark masses -that were pouring on came bullets of every calibre, from the sharp -pinging cone of the Martini-Henry to the heavy whirring charge of the -long elephant-gun, and many a man and many a horse was wounded and -done to death thereby. The old Zulu tactics were pursued; the attack -was ever augmented by fresh bodies of infuriated savages, with the -same dire results to them; while all their devotion and desperation -could rarely carry them past the verge of the cloud of smoke -enveloping the square; and thus, of the thousands who came on, only -hundreds remained to waver or prolong the attack. - -Whole crowds of naked and sombre forms seemed to lie as if suddenly -struck dead, each man where he stood; and it was so. Some, however, -succeeded in flinging their bare breasts upon the bayonet points, -and, with dying grasp on the rifle muzzles, went down almost at the -feet of the front rank men, fierce, stern, fearless to the last, -their white teeth set, their eyeballs gleaming like those of -exasperated fiends, and their yells rending the air. - -'Steady, men, steady,' the officers were heard to cry again and -again; 'fire low--low, and not so fast!' - -Drury Lowe was unhorsed by a spent bullet, but vaulted into his -saddle again. Eight companies of the Perthshire Light Infantry, -flanked by seven and nine pounder guns in one face of the square, -fought well and valiantly, though young soldiers, and in physique -unlike those of whom Sir Francis Head wrote when at Paris in 1815, -when he stated 'that a body of Scottish Highlanders, or Lowlanders, -standing shoulder to shoulder, stretched over more ground than a -similar number of inhabitants, soldier or civilian, of any other -nation in Europe.' - -The coolness of the men amid this close strife, while the dead and -dying fell about them fast, was wonderful, the doctors attending the -latter; and in several instances the former, ere they were cold, were -buried to save time, while the chaplain stood by to read the burial -service amid a tempest of bullets. - -'Have a cigar,' said an officer of the Perthshire Light Infantry, -seeing that Florian was somewhat 'blown' after his scamper from the -front to the shelter of the now environed square. - -'Thanks,' said he, selecting one from the speaker's silver case; but -ere the latter could give Florian a light, a ponderous knobkerie, -flung with superhuman force at random--the last force, perhaps, of -some dying savage--smashed his head to pulp in his tropical helmet as -completely as a half-spent cannon ball would have done, and covered -Florian with a sickening mess of blood and brains together. - -In imitation of the British formation, a skilful Zulu Induna formed -his men in a hollow square and hurled them like a mighty wave, with -piercing war-cries and unearthly yells, upon that angle of the great -square where six companies were posted under a Crimean veteran of the -Scots Fusiliers, with two nine-pounder guns. The fight here became -hand to hand, bayonet against assegai, and many a shield, by main -strength of arm, was dashed against the breasts and faces of our men; -but speedily the Zulu square was broken, rolled up, and the survivors -of it fled, stumbling as they ran over their own fallen and the -blood-soaked ground on which the latter writhed and weltered. - -Under the sweeping fire of the Gatlings they went down as forest -leaves do before the last blasts of autumn, and in thirty minutes -from the first opening of our infantry fire they were falling back in -disorganized masses, which speedily, under the storm of shells, took -the form of one vast mob in wild and helpless flight, while the -cavalry were ordered in pursuit, and with a loud cheer the 17th -unslung their lances, and by fours led the way through an opening -made for them in the rear face of the square. The Dragoon Guards, -Buller's Horse, and Florian's Mounted Infantry followed in quick -succession. - -'Front, form troop!' was the first cavalry order. - -'Form squadron--form line--gallop--_charge!_' rang out the trumpets, -as, sweeping round on their left pivots, the Horse took the -formations indicated, and then, with the united force of some dread -and terrible engine, fell swooping down upon the foe, hewing through -the shrinking walls of brave human flesh, after the lances were -relegated to the sling and swords were drawn. - -It was a terrible sight to see how, on right and left, these now red -sword-blades were plied, every man rising in his stirrups to give -deadlier impetus to his stroke, even when the shrapnel shells, fired -with time-fuses, were exploding amid the foe. From the latter there -came no cry for mercy nor for quarter; they looked for none, as they -would have given none; and all who escaped the slaughter of the -pursuit did so by winning the crests of some hills, where horses -could not follow them, and from which they opened a lively fire of -musketry. - -Florian went on in this work like one in a wild, bad dream; and it -was only when the halt was sounded, followed by the order, 'Fours -about--retire,' that he became quite aware of all he had escaped, had -undergone and done, and how mechanically he had hewed about him--when -he found the blade of his sword, even his fingers, stained with -blood, and the sleeves of his tunic all ripped and burst under the -shoulders by the exertions he had used. - -Tom Tyrrell came out of the strife with his helmet gone, his head -bandaged by a bloody handkerchief, and his horse's flanks bleeding -from three assegais that stuck in them; but this was the case with -several others. - -It is remarkable that after the battle of Ulundi not _one_ wounded -Zulu was found on the field. Of all the hundreds upon hundreds who -lay there helpless, every man of them had been despatched in cold -blood by our native allies. - -The power of the nation had departed from it now; and as for -Cetewayo, he fled from Ulundi the day _before_ the battle; and after -the latter event his army began to melt away, as the warriors -returned to their distant kraals, hopeless and sick of the war. - -That named Ulundi was given to the flames by the Irregulars and -Mounted Infantry, and its ten thousand dome-roofed huts all blazing -at once presented a striking spectacle; and after that event the -Second Division and Flying Column began their rearward march to the -camp at the Entonjaneni Mountain, to effect a junction with the First -Division under General Crealock. - -To Florian, as to many others, after the fever of battle had passed -away, there came the usual revulsion of spirit that follows -excitement so intense, and the keen thirst after that excitement and -exertion so great, with the philosophical and not unnatural emotion -of wonder as to 'what it all had been about, and to what end this -terrible slaughter and suffering!' - -And he thought of the strange interments of some of the dead in that -hollow square when under fire--young soldiers, instinct with boyish, -hopeful, and glorious life, ardour and valour, struck down in death, -and huddled into a ghastly hole, over which the bullets swept, ere -their limbs were cold. 'Death is a surprise--a woeful and terrible -surprise--whenever it comes, even though we be by the bedside -watching for it, dreading it, as each breath leaves the lips we -love.' But death seemed thus doubly grim on that day at Ulundi! - -The troops found their tents ready pitched awaiting them at the camp -beside the mountain, and a welcome shelter they proved, as the -rearward march had been performed under drenching torrents of rain. - -Stormy and windy was the night of the 6th of July, the second after -the battle, and, for some days and nights subsequent the falling rain -rendered all operations impossible, and added greatly to the -sufferings of the wounded, causing also a serious mortality among the -cavalry horses and commissariat oxen. - -Mail after mail came into camp as usual bringing letters, some for -the poor fellows who lay under the sod at Ulundi, but there were no -more letters from Dulcie now for Florian, and none from Hammersley, -whom he naturally supposed to be too ill to write by a passing ship -outward bound. - -The letter he had received shortly before the action at Ulundi was, -as stated, the last he ever had from Dulcie, and her sudden and -singular silence deepened his distress and anxiety. - -What had happened? Was she ill, or well? How was she situated, and -where? These thoughts occurred to him in endless iteration amid his -military duties, which were not dull routine, but, so far as the -pursuit of the fugitive King Cetewayo was concerned, were arduous, -full of excitement and perils of various kinds. - -His heart grew heavy, and his future, so far as it was connected with -Dulcie Carlyon, seemed dark and uncertain, like the episodes of a -dream. But it has been said that most life-histories leave hanging -threads that may only be completed in the great web woven by -eternity, and eternity had often been perilously close to Florian of -late. - -Dulcie was the only link he had in life--she seemed to him as friend, -sister, and sweetheart, all in one. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -DISAPPEARANCE OF DULCIE. - -Since the reader last saw Dulcie Carlyon she had become chilled and -changed in manner, under the influence of Lady Fettercairn's bearing -and remarks, to all save Finella. All her natural jollity and -espièglerie of way were gone, and every hour that it was possible to -do so she spent in the seclusion of her own room, one high up in a -square turret of the old house, with windows that opened to a far -vista of the Howe of the Mearns, terminated by a glimpse of the -German Sea. - -Here she was sometimes joined by Finella, who could no longer -persuade her to ramble as of old in the grounds, and never again to -accompany her in the saddle when she took Fern for a spin along the -country roads. - -'Are you not sick of crewel work, and embroidering sage birds of -shapes that never existed upon brown bath-towels?' asked Finella. 'I -know you do it by grandmamma's wish; but what tasteless folly it is.' - -'I would rather, as I did at home, knit stockings for the poor,' said -Dulcie. - -'Better buy than knit them,' responded the heiress, 'and so save -one's self a world of trouble.' - -It became too evident to Dulcie that the time of her dismissal from -Craigengowan was drawing nigh; that it was only delayed by the -absence of Shafto in Edinburgh, and she resolved, ere he returned, to -get the balance of her little salary and quit the place, as it had -now become odious to her. - -Dulcie had old Welsh blood in her veins, and more than once had she -heard her father, Lewellen Carlyon, whose one ewe-lamb she was, -descant on how he could count kith and kin into the remotest past, -when his forefathers wandered through the forest of Caerlyon--whence -his name--had manned Offa's Dyke, and shared the perils of Owain -Glendwr. To speak of such things now, even to Finella, seemed to the -girl vain folly, but they were keenly in her heart nevertheless. - -And so there came an evening, the last she was to spend under the -steep slate roof of Craigengowan. - -Lady Fettercairn was going for a drive among the summer roads that -were all like leafy tunnels or long avenues of foliage, to visit that -famous senator, Lord Maccowkay, who was then at his country house of -Middyn Grange, and Finella, perceiving how pale Dulcie was looking, -said: - -'May Miss Carlyon come with us, grandmamma?' - -'Certainly not,' replied Lady Fettercairn, with hauteur and asperity, -though Dulcie was within hearing, carrying Snap in his satin-lined -basket. 'When is this sort of thing to end, Finella?' - -There came a time when the Lady of that Ilk recalled this remark, and -many others similar, for just then she did not see certainly where -the future was to end. - -So the two ladies drove away, and Dulcie, for companionship, though -then unaware that it would be for the last time, took tea with the -kindly old housekeeper, whom she found busy in her pantry and closets -preparing for that social meal; and Dulcie helped her to cut and -butter the bread, polish the cups and saucers and old silver spoons, -to arrange the brown tea-cakes, crisp biscuits, and luscious Scottish -preserves of home manufacture, and all the while a sadness oppressed -her, for which she could not account. - -This, however, seemed explained when, at dinner that evening, Lady -Fettercairn said, while returning a letter to her pocket: - -'Shafto returns late to-night--or early to-morrow morning.' - -'From where?' asked Finella, though, sooth to say, she cared little -where from. - -'Edinburgh.' - -'And not an hour too soon, I am afraid,' said Lord Fettercairn, with -his sandy-grey eyebrows deeply knitted. - -No one asked 'why,' so a silence ensued, and a little later in the -evening Finella said to Dulcie: - -'Why are you so silent to-night?' - -'Am I so?' - -'Yes--even sad--_triste_.' - -'Sad--you don't mean cross?' - -'No, Dulcie dear, you never are cross.' - -'I am full of very weary thoughts, and wish to retire, if Lady -Fettercairn can spare me,' she added, raising her voice. - -'Of course--go,' replied the latter; and Dulcie, painfully conscious -that her employer had been more than usually cold, hard, and even -bitter to her--all, no doubt, _apropos_ of Shafto's return--bowed and -murmured 'good-night,' with a soft and lingering glance at Finella. - -Shafto returning! Dulcie was always nervous about his future conduct -and her own position, and she could not prepare herself again for -dissembling in public and hating in private--for the inevitable -meetings at table and elsewhere. Over and above all was the dread -that by his intense cunning he might work her mischief--a mischief -that to her might prove social ruin. - -Dulcie had writhed and winced under all Lady Fettercairn's not always -delicately veiled hints as to the social gulf that separated people -and people--to wit, Miss Melfort, of Craigengowan, and the paid -companion, and of young folks of bad taste and little discretion, who -were inclined to step out of their proper sphere; she knew the drift -of all this; her heart swelled within her, and now she withdrew with -a stern and perhaps rash resolve that took active form on the morrow. - -In the corridor before they separated for the night, Finella thought -that Dulcie kissed and clasped her with more than usual tenderness -and effusion, and became aware that there were tears on the girl's -cheek; but this had been too often the case of late to excite remark. - -However, she remembered this emotion with some pain at a future time. - -In the morning the then small circle of Craigengowan assembled in the -charming breakfast-room. Shafto had not come overnight; Lord -Fettercairn had not opened his letters, but--though nothing of a -politician--was idling over a paper which the butler had cut and -aired for him. - -Lady Fettercairn glanced at a handsome antique French clock upon the -grey marble mantelpiece, and said, with as much irritation as she -ever permitted herself to show with reference to Dulcie: - -'Not down yet--when she knows that she has to preside at the tea-urn -and so forth! Is she giving herself the airs of a lady of--what is -the matter?' she exclaimed, as a servant whom she had despatched on -an errand of inquiry returned looking somewhat discomposed. 'I hope -she is not ill, especially with anything infectious?' - -'No, my lady--not ill.' - -'Not ill--that is fortunate.' - -'No.' - -'Where then is she--why not here?' - -'She isn't there, my lady.' - -'There--where?' - -'In her room--nor anywhere in the house.' - -Finella remembered the peculiar bearing of Dulcie the previous night, -and her tremulous sisterly kiss, with a species of pang, and hurried -upstairs to the square turret-room. - -'Of course she is interested!' said Lady Fettercairn scoffingly. - -'There is always an exuberant vitality--a great flow of animal -spirits about Finella,' replied her husband. - -'All of which I deem hoydenish and bad form.' - -Finella returned, looking pale and scared, to report that Miss -Carlyon's bed did not appear to have been slept in last night, that -her wardrobe was all tumbled about, leaving evident traces of -selections and packing, and that to all appearance she was gone from -the house. - -'Gone--then I hope it is not with Shafto!' exclaimed Lady -Fettercairn, paling at her own idea. - -'Scarcely: is he not coming here, as his letter yesterday announces?' -said Lord Fettercairn. - -'Gone--and in that rude and unceremonious, and certainly most -mysterious manner, which through local gossip will find its way in -some odious mode into every local paper!' said Lady Fettercairn, -while she grimly directed Finella to officiate at the tea-board. - -'She is away, poor thing, without a doubt,' said the butler, who was -carving at the sideboard; 'and must have left the house by the -conservatory door--I found it open this morning.' - -'I hope that she has not----' but even Lady Fettercairn, while -surmising mentally whether her jewel case was all intact, had not the -hardihood to put the cruel suspicion in words. - -'It is most annoying,' said the Peer, with his noble mouth full. - -'Very--she was so useful too--very--with all her faults,' added Lady -Fettercairn, tenderly caressing Snap, who was relegated to a -housemaid for his morning bath. - -She did not expect an escapade of this sort; the great luxury of the -certain dismissal had been denied her; she sank back in her chair for -a minute or so, and sniffed languidly at her gold-topped -scent-bottle, as if nerving herself to hear something horrible, while -the grounds were searched for traces of the fugitive; and she had -ideas of having the Swan's Pool and the adjacent stream dragged. - -Finella thought she would like to run away too; but with all her -wealth it was less easy for an heiress of position to do so than for -the poor and nameless companion; and now that Dulcie was gone, -Finella felt that the link between herself and Hammersley was cut off. - -Apart from that important item in her life, she was deeply sorry, as -she had conceived for Dulcie one of those sudden and so-called -undying friendships for which, we are told, 'the female heart is -specially remarkable.' - -Finella felt that the cold and inquiring eyes of Lady Fettercairn -were upon her, and knew that, if she would not excite remark and draw -reprehension upon herself, breakfast must be partaken of, even though -her heart was breaking. So she bathed her eyes, re-smoothed her -hair, and took her place at the table with as much composure as she -could assume. - -'If her flight is not traced--though why we should care to trace it I -don't know,' said Lady Fettercairn bitterly, 'and if her body is not -found, we may conclude that she has eloped with some low lover. I -hope all the grooms, gardeners, gamekeepers, and so forth, are to be -seen in their places,' she added; 'and with all her faults, in -appearance and style she was a great improvement upon Mrs. Prim, with -her iron-grey hair arranged in corkscrew curls on each side of her -face.' - -Finella thought so too. Lord Fettercairn thought his better half had -been latterly too severe upon the poor little companion, but did not -venture to say so. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -FLIGHT. - -'Go I must,' murmured Dulcie, when in the solitude of her own room -she said her nightly prayers on her knees. 'I cannot help it. I may -come to want bread by the step I am about to take, but better death -than enduring this system of mortification and degradation.' - -She had received her slender quarterly allowance some time before -that crisis, and as yet luckily none of it had been spent. How small -a sum it looked to face the world with! - -She packed and prepared all her clothes, intending to write to the -housekeeper for them when she found another home. In an ample -Gladstone bag she placed carefully all that was requisite for her -immediate need, and, weary with rapid exertion and heavy thought, -laid her head on the pillow of a sofa, fearing to undress or trust -herself in bed, lest a deep sleep might fall upon her. - -All was silent in the great house, and no sound broke the stillness -of the warm summer night save when some dog bayed at the moon from -the quadrangle of the stable-yard. - -Midnight struck on a great and sonorous clock in an adjacent -corridor; anon a little French clock on her chimney-piece chimed out -two on its silver bell, but no sleep came to Dulcie's eyes, nor did -she desire to court it. - -Her mind was full of rambling fancies. She thought of her parents -lying so peacefully side by side in old Revelstoke churchyard, within -sound of the sobbing sea, and of what their emotions would have been -could they have foreseen all that was before her of doubt and -unhappiness; and with the memory of them she tenderly turned over -some withered leaves that lay in a little prayer-book Mr. Pentreath -had given her, and while doing so recalled the sweet lines that -seemed so _apropos_ to them: - - 'Only a bunch of withered leaves, - Brought by a stranger's hand, - But they grew on a spot she dearly loved-- - They bloomed in the dear old land. - Father and mother lie there at rest - Beneath the soft emerald sod, - Under the shelter of the cross, - And close to the house of God,' - -close to the time-worn church of Revelstoke. She thought of Shafto -and the thorn he had proved in her path, and felt a satisfaction from -the conviction that after this night too probably she would never -more look upon his face. - -She thought again and again of Florian. Where was he then, and what -doing? Too probably sleeping the sleep of the weary and worn, on the -bare earth in some tented field, awaiting the coming perils of the -morrow, and then with the idea of Finella came fresh tears for -parting thus from the only friend she had. - -After three had struck she dressed herself quickly in the costume in -which she meant to travel, assured herself that her purse was safe, -that her hat, gloves, and sunshade were at hand, and sat down by a -window to watch for the earliest streak of dawn. - -With all this earnestness of preparation and of purpose she had no -settled plan for the future--no very defined one at least; her sole -desire was to anticipate the final mortification of dismissal, and to -get away from the vicinity of Lady Fettercairn, of Shafto, and of -Craigengowan. - -Save the Rev. Paul Pentreath, far away in her native Devonshire, and -the vicar in London through whom he had befriended her, she had no -one to whom to look forward, and, save for Florian's sake, she felt -at times, as if she cared little what became of her. She would reach -London, take a little lodging there, and look about her for some -employment while her money lasted; and when it was gone--gone, what -then? - -Again came the thought of Finella, whom she loved with all the -passionate earnestness of an impulsive young heart thrust back upon -itself, and yearning for friendship and affection. Even with her -regard it was impossible that she could stay longer in the same house -with him who was now returning--Shafto--even were dismissal not -hanging over her. She could but go away; her presence was necessary -to no one's happiness, and none would miss her--perhaps not even -Finella after a time, for the latter lived in a world--the world of -wealth and rank--a sphere apart from that of poor Dulcie Carlyon. - -Amid these thoughts she started: dawn was breaking in the east, but -the world around her was still involved in gloom and sleep. - -How long, long and chill, the night had seemed; yet it was a short -and warm one of July, when there is only a total darkness of four -hours, especially in a region so far north as the Howe of the Mearns. - -Red light stole along the waters of the distant German Sea; it began -to tip the hilltops and crept gradually down into the woods and glens -below, where the Bervie, the Finella, and the Cowie brawled on their -way to the ocean. - -As one in a dream, she sat for a little time watching the dawn till -the light of the half-risen sun was streaming over the tree-tops and -through the parted curtains of her windows, when she started up with -all the resolution she had taken overnight yet full in her mind. - -With rapid and trembling fingers she assumed the last details of her -travelling costume, smoothed her golden hair, gave a final glance at -herself in the mirror, and saw how pale and unslept she looked after -her past night's vigil, tied her veil tightly across her face, fitted -on her gloves with accuracy, took her travelling bag, and with a -prayer on her lips prepared to go out into the world--alone! - -The clustering roses and clematis were about the windows of the -square turret-room, notwithstanding its great height from the ground; -the birds were twittering among them, and diamond dewdrops gemmed -every leaf. - -Light and shadowy clouds of mist, exhaled upwards by the early -morning sun, hung about the summit of Moelmannoch and other hills, -and in the sunshine the insect world was all astir: the bees were -already abroad, and the blackbirds were hopping about the gravelled -terraces. To Dulcie it seemed that they at least were at home. - -She leaned for a moment out of the window and drank--for the last -time--a deep draught of the pure air that came from the lovely -Scottish landscape over which her eyes wandered, as it stretched away -down the fertile and peaceful Howe of the Mearns, the corn deepening -into gold, the picturesque houses, luxuriant orchards and gardens; -and she bade to each and all farewell, with little regret, perhaps, -for with all their beauty they were too intimately associated with -the idea of Lady Fettercairn and many a humiliation. - -Opening her room-door she stole swiftly down the great carpeted -staircase, passed through the drawing-rooms into the conservatory, -the door of which she knew she could unlock more easily than that of -the great door which opened to the _porte cochère_. There was no one -yet astir in all that numerous household, so, hurrying across the -dewy lawn, she turned her face resolutely towards the station, where -she knew she would reach the early Aberdeen train for the South. - -The country highway was deserted; she met no one but a gamekeeper -returning from a night's watch, perhaps, with his gun under his arm. -She thought he looked at her curiously as she passed him, sorely -weighted by her travelling bag, but he did not address her; and so -without other adventures she reached the little wayside station of -Craigengowan just as the gates were being unclosed, and, quickly -securing her ticket, retired to the seclusion of the waiting-room. - -Her heart had but one aching thought--the parting with Finella. - -In her pride and indignation we must admit that Dulcie, ever a -creature of impulse, was not acting judiciously. She had not stopped -to ask a letter of recommendation--'a character,' she mentally and -bitterly phrased it--from Lady Fettercairn; neither had she risked -the opposition and kind advice of Finella, but had thus left her -present life of irritation and humiliation to rush into a new and -unknown world, that now, even when she had barely crossed the -rubicon, was beginning, as she sat in the lonely and empty wayside -station, to chill and dismay her. - -'In the future that is before me, whom am I to trust in again? How -am I to fight the world's battle alone?' she was beginning to think, -even while the clanking train for the South came sweeping across the -echoing Howe. - -Ay, she so pure, so artless, so unsuspecting of evil in others! - -At last she was in the train and off. She gave one long farewell -glance at the lofty turrets of haunted Craigengowan, because Finella -was there, and felt that never again would they ramble together by -Queen Mary's Thorn, the Swan's Pool, the old gate through which the -fated Lord rode forth to battle, or by the old ruined Castle of -Fettercairn with all its legends. - -Dulcie experienced a kind of relief in the swiftness of the speed -with which the express train flew past station after station, -outstripping the wind apparently; villages and thatched farms were -seen and gone; trees, bridges, ruined towers, those features so -common in the Scottish landscape, fields and hedgerows, swept -rearward, telegraph wires seemed to sink and rise and twist -themselves in one, the poles apparently pursuing each other in the -fury of the pace. - -Now it was Arbroath, where the train, paused for a little -time--Arbroath with its mills, tall chimneys, and substantial houses, -amid which tower the remains of that noble abbey which held the bones -of William the Lion, with its huge round window, for seven hundred -years a landmark from the sea; anon came Droughty Craig with its -ancient tower, under the walls of which have been shed the blood of -English, French, and Germans, with Dundee, 'the gift of God,' amid -the haze of its manufactories, to the westward. - -Here a kindly old railway guard--who whilom as a 1st Royal Scot had -shed his blood at Alma and Inkermann--taking pity on the pale and -weary girl, brought her a cup of warm tea from the buffet, and, as he -said, 'a weel-buttered bap, ye ken,' and most acceptable they were. - -A little time and her train was sweeping through Fife, and she saw -the woods of Falkland--those lovely woods wherein 'the bonnie Earl of -Gowrie' flirted with Anne of Denmark. Soon Cupar was left behind, -and the Eden, flowing through its green and fertile valley; and then, -worn with the vigil of the past night and her own heavy thoughts, -Dulcie fell asleep, without the coveted satisfaction of a dream of -Florian or Finella. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -A STARTLING LETTER. - -The step taken by Dulcie was a source of great mortification to Lady -Fettercairn. - -She regretted that she had not anticipated such an unforeseen event -by dismissal. Visitors, she knew, would miss the bright-faced, -golden-haired English girl who--when permitted--played with such good -execution, and sang so well and sweetly; and Lady Fettercairn could -not, with a clear conscience, say that she had given her her _congé_, -or why. - -'Miss Carlyon has put me in a most awkward position,' she said -querulously; 'her conduct has been most unprincipled, in leaving me -thus abruptly, before I could look about me for a substitute; and I -think Mr. Kippilaw might be instructed to prosecute her criminally. -Don't you think so, Fettercairn?' - -But the Peer only smiled faintly and applied himself to another egg. - -Ere breakfast was over another event occurred. Shafto appeared -suddenly at table. He had heard of Dulcie Carlyon's absence or -flight, and was in no way surprised by the occurrence. - -'You are just in time, Shafto dear,' said Lady Fettercairn, with one -of her made-up smiles; 'tea or coffee?' - -'Tea,' said he curtly, as Finella took the silver teapot, Shafto all -the while looking as if he would rather have had a stiff and -well-iced glass of brandy and soda, for he had a crushed and weary -aspect. - -'We thought you would be here last night,' said Lady Fettercairn. - -'Why?' asked Shafto, who seemed inclined to deal in monosyllables. - -'Your letter led us to expect you.' - -'Did it?' - -'Yes.' - -'Well--I missed the last train.' - -'You always do,' said Lord Fettercairn somewhat pointedly. - -'Ah,' thought Shafto, 'the old fellow's liver is out of order, and -gout threatening, of course--a bad look-out for me.' - -On that morning he did not like the expression of Lord Fettercairn's -face, so he resolved to defer speaking of his 'affairs' till a future -time; but in a little space, as we shall show, the chance was gone -for throwing himself, as he had thought to do, 'on the mercy' of -either Lord or Lady Fettercairn. - -The evening before he had been among a set of very different -people--flashily dressed roughs returning from a local racecourse, -their dirty hands over-bejewelled, with foul pipes and fouler -language in their mouths, speeding hither and thither by train in -search of pigeons to pluck, with their jargon of backing the -favourite, making up books, and playing shilling Nap and Poker by the -dim light of the carriage lamp, while imbibing strong waters from -flasks of all sorts and sizes. - -What a contrast they presented to his present refined surroundings, -with Finella standing out among them, so pure, so patrician, and so -exquisitely lady-like; and in attendance upon him, with hands that -were white as alabaster--Finella, fresh and fragrant as a white moss -rose, attired in a most 'fetching' morning costume to the feminine -eye, suggestive of Regent Street. - -Lord Fettercairn now addressed himself to the task of opening his -letters, after the contents of the household postbag had been -distributed round the table by that rubicund priest of Silenus, old -Mr. Grapeston, the butler. - -There were several blue envelopes for Shafto, which--with an -unuttered malediction on his lips--he thrust unopened into the pocket -of his tweed morning coat. - -Among his letters Lord Fettercairn received one which seemed to -startle him so much that, ignoring all the rest, he read it again and -again, his sandy grey eyebrows becoming more and more knitted, and -the colour going and coming in his now withered cheek, as Shafto, who -was watching him very closely, could plainly see. He seemed -certainly very perturbed, and tossed aside all his other letters, as -if their contents could be of no consequence compared with those of -this particular missive. - -'Your letter seems to disturb you, grandfather,' said Shafto. - -'It does--it does, indeed.' - -'Sorry to hear it: may I inquire what it is about--or from whom it -comes?' - -'It is a letter from Mr. Kippilaw, senior,' replied Lord Fettercairn, -darting from under his shaggy eyebrows, and over the rim of his -_pince-nez_, a glance at Shafto, so keen and inquiring that the -latter felt his heart stand still; yet summoning his constitutional -insolence to his aid, he asked: - -'And what is the old pump up to now?' - -'Shafto!' exclaimed Lady Fettercairn, who detested slang. - -'He refers to something that may prove very unpleasant,' said the -Peer, carefully smoothing out the letter. - -'To--to me?' - -'Yes--and to me, I regret to say, most certainly. He says there are -many matters on which he wishes to confer with me personally; among -others, "A visit from an old Highland woman, named Madelon Galbraith, -a native of Ross-shire, who was nurse to Mr. Lennard's wife in her -infancy, and also to their son. Her revelations, conjoined with -other things, now startle me, as they are most strange, and must be -probed to the bottom." He also says that this woman--Madelon -Galbraith--visited Craigengowan in my absence. Did such a visit take -place?' - -'Yes,' said Lady Fettercairn. - -'And she was expelled very roughly.' - -'Well--I believe so--rather.' - -'Why?' - -'Because she was mad or intoxicated--most insolent, at all events,' -replied Shafto, with a choking sensation in his throat. - -'To you?' - -'Yes--to me.' - -'Well,' resumed Lord Fettercairn, who evidently seemed very much -perturbed, 'she has been with Mr. Kippilaw, as I tell you, and has -made some strange revelations requiring immediate and close -investigation.' - -'May I know what they are?' asked Shafto with a sinking heart, that -only rose when spite and hate and fury gathered in it. - -'No--you may not, yet,' replied Lord Fettercairn, as he folded up the -letter and abruptly left the table; and that same forenoon his -lordship took an early train for Edinburgh. - -Shafto heard of this with growing alarm, which all the brandy and -soda of which he partook freely in the smoking-room, and more than -one huge cabana, could not soothe. Though fearing the worst, through -Madelon Galbraith, he thought that perhaps in the meantime Kippilaw's -business referred to his gambling debts, his bills and promissory -notes, and too probably to his 'row with that cad, Garallan,' as he -mentally termed the affair of the loaded die. - -He rambled long alone in the same stately avenue down which Lennard -Melfort had passed so many years before, when, with a gallant heart -full of anger, wounded pride, and undeserved sorrow, he turned his -back for ever on lordly Craigengowan. - -There he loitered, full of anxious and most unenviable thoughts, -sulkily dragging down his fair moustache; and it has been remarked by -physiognomists that good-natured men always twirl their moustaches -upwards, whereas a morose or suspicious man does just the reverse. - -From the avenue he wandered across the lawn and under the trees, like -a restless or unquiet spirit, his unpleasant face wearing an uneasy -expression, and his eyes, which were seldom raised from the ground, -shifted always from side to side. - -'I may have to make a clean bolt for it,' he muttered as Finella came -suddenly upon him, and, though detesting him, she was too gentle not -to feel some pity for his crushed appearance. - -'Shafto, why are you so disturbed?' she asked. 'Of what are you -afraid?' - -'Of what?' he queried almost savagely. - -'Yes.' - -'I don't know.' - -'Who then can know?' - -'I tell you I don't know what to fear, but things are looking -infernally dark for me. I am going down the hill at a devil of a -pace, and with no skid on.' - -'I do not understand your phraseology,' said Finella coldly. - -'Understand, then, that many of my troubles lie at your door,' said -Shafto, turning abruptly from her, as he thus referred to her -aversion to himself and certainly not unnatural preference for Vivian -Hammersley, and that much of the money he had raised had been -advanced on the chances of his lucrative marriage with her. - -'What is about to happen? When will old Fettercairn return, and in -what mood? What the devil is up--perhaps by this time?' thought -Shafto, as he resumed his solitary promenade. 'I would rather face a -hundred perils in the light of day, than have one, with a nameless -dread, overhanging me in the dark.' - -And as he muttered and thought of Madelon Galbraith, his shifty eyes -gleamed with that savage expression which comes with a thirst for -blood. - -Meanwhile Lord Fettercairn, a man of strict honour in his own way, -though utterly destitute of proper patriotism or love of country, was -being swept on to Edinburgh by an express train; he was full of -bitter thoughts, vexation, pain, even grief and shame, for all that -Shafto was evidently bringing upon his house and home. - -He had secured, he thought, an heir to his ill-gotten title and -estates, and with that knowledge would ever have to drain the bitter -cup of disappointment to the dregs. - -Finella never doubted that, owing to their great mutual regard, -Dulcie would write to her, and tell of her own welfare, safety, and -prospects; but weary, long, and solitary days passed on and became -weeks, and Dulcie never did so. She had perhaps nothing pleasant to -relate of herself, and thus the tenor or spirit of her letters to a -friend so rich might be liable to misconstruction. If written, -perhaps they were intercepted. So, regarding Shafto and Lady -Fettercairn as the mutual cause of the poor girl's flight, and -perhaps destruction, Finella now resolved to leave Craigengowan, and -go on a visit to her maternal grandmother, Lady Drumshoddy, then in -London, when that matron, having now her favourite nephew with her, -began to mature some schemes of her own; but carefully, as she had -read that 'the number of marriages that come to nothing annually -because one or other or both of the innocent victims suddenly -discover they are being thrown together with _intention_, is -inconceivable.' - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -THE PURSUIT OF CETEWAYO. - -Mail after mail came to head-quarters, brought by post-carts and -orderlies, from the rear, but they brought no letters from Dulcie -Carlyon. So, whether she had, as she threatened she would do, fled -from Craigengowan, or remained there, found friends elsewhere with -happiness or grief, Florian could not know, and the doubt was a -source of torment to him. - -Horseback has been considered a famous place for reflection, but one -could scarcely find it so when serving as a Mounted Infantry-man, -scouting on the outlook for lurking Zulus, with every energy of ear -and eye watching donga, boulder, bush, and tuft of reedy grass. - -Sir Garnet Wolseley's orders to the army reached the camp of Lord -Chelmsford at Entonjaneni on the 8th July, and the latter prepared at -once to resign his command and return home. - -Two days afterwards, that retrograde movement which so puzzled and -elated the Zulus began, and after four days' marching the Second -Division and the Flying Column reached Fort Marshall, on the Upoko -River, whence a long train of sick and wounded were sent to the -village of Ladysmith, in Kannaland, escorted by two companies of the -Scots Fusiliers and Major Bengough's Natives, attired in all their -fighting bravery--cowtails, copper anklets and armlets, necklaces of -monkeys' teeth, and plumes of feathers. - -'Great changes are on the _tapis_,' said Villiers, as he lay on the -grass in Florian's tent, smoking, and sharing with him some hard -biscuits with 'square-face' and water. 'The 17th Lancers start for -India; Newdigate's column is to be broken up, and chiefly to garrison -that chain of forts which Chelmsford has so skilfully constructed -along the whole Zulu frontier from the Blood River to the Indian -Ocean; but Cetewayo is yet to be captured. Sir Evelyn Wood and the -heroic Buller are going home, and so is your humble servant.' - -'You--why?' asked Florian. - -'Sir Garnet has brought out his entire staff, and I have not the good -luck to be one of the Wolseley _ring_,' replied Villiers, with a -haughty smile, as he twirled up his moustache and applied himself for -consolation to the 'square-face.' - -When, on an evening in July, Sir Garnet, with his new staff, amid a -storm of wind and rain, rode into the camp of the First Division -under General Crealock, the appearance of his party, with their -smoothly shaven chins, brilliant new uniforms, and spotless white -helmets, formed a strong contrast to the war and weather worn -soldiers of Crealock, in their patched and stained attire, with their -unkempt beards; for the use of the razor had long been eschewed in -South Africa, where, however, the officers and men of each column -trimmed their hirsute appendages after the fashion adopted by their -leaders; thus, as General Newdigate affected the style of Henry -VIII., so did his troops; Sir Evelyn Wood trimmed his beard in a -peak, pointed like Philip II. of Spain, and so, we are told, did all -the Flying Column. - -Sir Garnet Wolseley now arranged his future plans for the final -conquest of Zululand, and stationed troops to hold certain lines and -rivers, while the rest were formed in two great columns, under -Colonels Clarke of the 57th and Baker Russell of the 13th Hussars, -two officers of experience, the former having served in Central India -and the Maori War, and the latter in the war of the Mutiny, when he -covered himself with honours at Kurnaul and elsewhere. - -With Clarke's column were five companies of Mounted Infantry, led by -Major Barrow, and one of them was led by Florian, who had now earned -a high reputation as an active scouting officer. - -Clarke's orders were to march northwards and occupy Ulundi, or all -that was left of it. - -Without the capture of the now luckless Cetewayo, the permanent -settlement of the country was deemed impossible; thus a kind of -circle was formed round the district in which he was known to be -lurking, to preclude his escape. - -The traitor Uhamu, with his followers, occupied a district near the -Black Umvolosi; the savage Swazis in thousands under Captain M'Leod -held the bank of the Pongola River, armed with heavy lances and -knobkeries; Russell advanced on a third quarter, and Clarke on a -fourth; thus the sure capture of the fugitive King was deemed only a -matter of time. - -At a steep rocky hill overhanging the Idongo River the column of the -latter, which included three battalions of infantry, was reinforced -by five companies of the 80th (or Staffordshire Volunteers), the -Natal Pioneers, and two Gatling guns, to which were added two -nine-pounders on reaching once more the Entonjaneni Mountain. - -It was now reported that Cetewayo had found shelter in a little kraal -in the recesses of the Ngome forest, a dense primeval wilderness of -giant wood and deep jungle. But the meshes of the net were closing -fast around him. - -Leaving the main body of his column at a redoubt named Fort George, -at the head of only three hundred and forty mounted infantry Colonel -Russell, at daybreak on the 13th of August, rode westward beyond the -Black Umvolosi, into a district occupied by many Zulus, in the hope -of picking up the royal fugitive. - -The scouting advanced guard he entrusted to Florian, whose men rode -forward in loose and open formation, with loaded rifles unslung. - -The country through which they proceeded was very wild, steep, woody, -and rugged, and on seeing how slender his force appeared to be, the -Zulus began to gather in numbers, preparatory to disputing his -further advance. - -'My intention,' said Baker Russell, 'is to reach Umkondo, where -Cetewayo is said to be lurking; you will therefore show a bold front -and clear the way at all hazards.' - -This left Florian no alternative but to fight his opponents, whatever -their strength perhaps, and the region into which they were now -penetrating had the new and most unusual danger of being infested by -lions, as the 1st King's Dragoon Guards found to their cost. - -Manning a narrow gorge fringed with thornwood trees and date palms, -with brandished rifle and assegai and their grey shields uplifted in -defiance, a strong party of the enemy appeared, led by a tall and -powerful-looking chief, whose large armlets and anklets of burnished -copper shone in the evening sunshine, and it was but too evident -that, under his auspices, mischief was at hand. - -That they remarked Florian was an officer was soon apparent, when two -shots were fired from each flank of the gorge; but these whistled -harmlessly past, and starred with white a boulder in his rear. - -'Pick off that fellow who is making himself so prominent,' said -Florian, with some irritation, as his two escapes were narrow ones. - -One of the 24th fired and missed the leader. - -'What distance did you sight your rifle at?' asked Florian. - -'Four hundred yards, sir,' replied the soldier. - -'Absurd! He is certainly six hundred yards off. Do you try, -Tyrrell.' - -Then Tom, who was a deadly shot, reined up, held his rifle straight -between his horse's ears, sighted at six hundred yards, and pressing -the butt firmly against his right shoulder and restraining his -breath, took aim steadily at the chief, who stood prominently on a -fragment of rock, his figure defined clearly against the blue sky -like that of a dark bronze statue. - -He fired; the bullet pierced the Zulu's forehead, as was afterwards -discovered; he fell backward and vanished from sight. - -'By Jove, he's knocked over, sir,' said Tom, with a quiet laugh, as -he dropped another cartridge into his breech-block, and closed it -with a snap. - -'Bravo, Tom--a good shot!' said the men of the 24th, while, with a -yell of rage that reverberated in the gorge, the Zulus fled, and -Florian's scouting party rode on at a canter, and ultimately reached -a deserted German mission station at a place called Rhinstorf. - -As they rode through the gorge, with the indifference that is born of -war and its details, Tom Tyrrell looked with perfect composure on the -man he had shot, and remarked to Florian, with a smile: - -'These Zulus are certainly one of the connecting links that old -Darwin writes about, but links with the devil himself, I think.' - -At the station of Rhinstorf Colonel Russell now ascertained that -fully thirty-five miles of wild and rugged country would have to be -traversed ere he could reach Umkondo, where Cetewayo was reported to -be in concealment. To add to the difficulties of proceeding further, -night had fallen, the native guide, having lost heart, had deserted, -and many of the horses had fallen lame by the roughness of the route -from Fort George; thus Baker Russell came to the conclusion that to -proceed further then would be rash, if not impossible. - -Cetewayo still resisted all the terms offered him, acting under the -influence of Dabulamanzi, who urged him to distrust the British, in -the hope that if the fugitive died of despair in the forest of Ngome, -he himself might succeed to the throne of the Zulus. - -While on this patrol duty our Mounted Infantry came upon the remains -of some of our fellows who had fallen after the attack on the -Inhlobane Mountain in March and lain unburied for nearly six months, -exposed to the weather and the Kaffir vultures. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -AT THE 'RAG.' - -We now turn to a very different scene and locality--to Regent Street, -still deemed the architectural _chef d'œuvre_ of the celebrated -Mr. Nash, though it is all mere brick and plaster. - -The London season was past and over, but one would hardly have -thought so, as the broad pavements seemed still so crowded, and so -many vehicles of every kind were passing in close lines along the -thoroughfare from Waterloo Place to the Langham Hotel. - -It was a bright sunny forenoon, and as Vivian Hammersley, now a -convalescent, and in accurate morning mufti, looked on the -well-dressed throng, the shops filled with everything the mind could -desire or the world produce, and at the entire aspect of the -well-swept street, he thought, after his recent experience of forest -and donga, of rocky mountain and pathless karoo, that there was -nothing like it in Europe for an idler--that it surpassed alike the -Broadway of Uncle Sam and the Grand Boulevard of Paris. - -Enjoying the situation and his surroundings to the fullest extent, he -was walking slowly down towards where the colonnades stood of old, -when suddenly he experienced something between an electric shock and -a cold douche. - -Both well mounted, a handsome fellow attired in excellent taste, with -a tea rose and a green sprig in his lapel, and a graceful girl in a -well-fitting dark blue habit, a dainty hat and short veil, ambled -slowly past him--so slowly that he could observe them well--and in -the latter he recognised Finella! - -Finella Melfort, mounted on her favourite pad Fern; but _who_ was -this with whom she seemed on such easy and laughing terms, and with -whom she was riding through the streets of London, without even the -escort of a groom? - -Erelong quickening their pace to a trot, they turned westward along -Conduit Street, as if intending to 'do a bit of Park,' and he lost -sight of them. - -Her companion was one whom Hammersley had never seen before, but he -could remark that he had all the manner and appearance of a man of -good birth; but there was even something more than that in his -bearing--an undefinable and indescribable air of interest seemed to -hover about them, and Hammersley thought he might prove a very -formidable rival. But surely matters had not come to _that_! - -To letters that he had addressed to Finella at Craigengowan, under -cover to 'Miss Carlyon,' no answer had ever been returned. He knew -not that Dulcie was no longer there, and that the letters referred to -had gone back to the Post Office. And so Finella's silence--was it -indifference--seemed unpleasantly accounted for now. - -He knew not her address in London. The house of the Fettercairn -family was shut up, and he could not accost her while escorted by -'that fellow,' as she seemed ever to be, for on two occasions he saw -them again in the Row; nor could he prosecute any inquiries, as most -of the mutual friends at whose dances and garden parties he had been -wont to meet her in the past times were now out of town. - -It was tantalizing--exasperating! - -Did she suppose he had been killed, and had already forgotten him? -Did her heart shrink from a vacuum, or what? Thus pride soon -supplemented jealousy. - -A few days after the third occasion on which he had seen them, he was -idling in the reading-room of 'The Rag'--as the Army and Navy Club is -colloquially known, from a joke in _Punch_, and the smoking-room of -which has the reputation of being the best in London; and few, -perhaps none, of those who lounge therein are aware that the stately -edifice occupies what was the site till 1790 of Nell Gwynne's house -in Pall Mall. - -'How goes it, Hammersley?' said Villiers, the aide-de-camp, who was -also home on leave, and _en route_ to join his regiment, being -yet--as he grumblingly said--out of 'the Wolseley ring.' 'Has no -Belgravian belle succeeded in capturing you yet--a hero, like myself, -fresh from the assegais of Ulundi and all that sort of thing?' - -'No--I am still at large; but you forget that by the time I reached -town the season was over.' - -'Talking of belles,' said an officer who was lounging in a window, -'here comes one worth looking at.' - -Finella and her cavalier, mounted again, were quietly rambling into -the square from Pall Mall. - -'Ah--she is with Garallan of the Bengal Cavalry,' said Villiers; 'he -has come in for a good thing--has picked up an heiress, I hear.' - -'About the most useful thing a fellow can pick up nowadays,' replied -a tall officer named Gore. - -'That girl is said to be always ahead of the London season.' - -'How?' - -'Dresses direct from Paris.' - -'Garallan?' said Hammersley, turning from the window, as the pair had -disappeared. - -'A Major of the old Second Irregular Cavalry, and gained the V.C. -when serving on the Staff at the storming of Jummoo.' - -'Jummoo--where the devil is that?' asked one. - -'On the Peshawur frontier,' replied another; 'he is now in luck's -way, certainly.' - -'They say,' resumed Villiers in his laughing off-hand way, and who -really knew nothing of Finella, but was merely ventilating some club -gossip, to the intense annoyance of Hammersley; 'they say that she is -a coquette from her finger-tips to her tiny balmorals, and would -flirt with his Grace of Canterbury if she got a chance; and yet, with -all that, she can be most sentimental. There is Gore of ours--a -passed practitioner in the art of philandering----' - -'Villiers, please to shut up,' said Hammersley impatiently in a sotto -voce; 'I know the young lady, and you don't.' - -'The deuce you do?' - -'Intimately.' - -Villiers coloured, and lapsed into silence. - -'I always look upon flirtation as playing with fire,' said Gore; -'never attempt it, but I get into some deuced scrape.' - -'How much money is muddled up with matrimony in the world nowadays!' -said Villiers, thinking probably of the heiress's thousands; 'I -suppose it was different in the days of our grandfathers.' - -'Not much, I fancy,' said Gore. - -Hammersley had now occasion for much and somewhat bitter thought. -Finella and this officer were evidently the subjects of club gossip -and not very well-bred banter; the conviction galled him. - -'Where the deuce or with whom does she reside?' he thought; 'but to -find anyone you want, I don't know a more difficult place than this -big village on Thames.' - -The wrong person--like himself apparently--turning up at the wrong -time is no new experience to anyone; but this intimacy of Finella and -her cavalier seemed to be a daily matter, as Hammersley had seen them -so often; and how often were they too probably together on occasions -that he could know nothing of? - -The germ of jealousy was now planted in his heart, and 'such germs by -force of circumstances sometimes flourish and bear bitter fruit; at -others, nothing assisting, they perish in the mind that gave them -birth;' but a new force was given to the remarks of Villiers by some -that Hammersley overheard the same evening in the same place--the -'Rag.' - -There he suddenly recognised Finella's cavalier in full evening -costume, eating his dinner alone in a corner of the great -dining-room, and all unaware that he was sternly and closely -scrutinized by one man, and the subject of conversation for other -two, whose somewhat flippant remarks from behind a newspaper reached -the ears of the former. - -'Who is he, do you say? His face is new to me.' - -'Ronald Garallan, of the Bengal Cavalry--a lucky dog.' - -'How so?' - -'Is going in for a good thing, I hear.' - -'For what?' - -'His cousin with no end of tin.' - -'His cousin?' questioned the other and Hammersley's heart at the same -time. - -'Yes--the handsome Miss Melfort with the funny name--Finella Melfort.' - -'So they are engaged?' - -'I believe so; but I don't think from all I hear that the Major has -much of a vocation for domesticity.' - -'Even with Finella?' - -'Even with Finella,' replied the other, laughing. - -Hammersley felt a dark frown gather on his brow to hear her Christian -name--_his_ property as he deemed it--used in this off-hand fashion, -and he felt a violent inclination to punch his brother-officer's -head. However, he only moved his chair away from the vicinity of the -speakers, but not before he heard one of them say to Garallan: - -'Been to many dances since your return? England, you know, expects -every marriageable bachelor to do his duty.' - -'The season is over,' replied the Major curtly; and then added, 'you -forget that I am on leave--the sick list, with a Medical Board before -me yet.' - -'What a bore! But you are bound for some festive scene to-night, I -presume?' - -'Only to the Lyceum.' - -'_The Lyceum_--with her perhaps,' thought Hammersley; and to see the -affair out to the bitter end, he resolved to go there too. - -He was cut to the heart again, and bit his nether lip to preserve his -self-control. He had never heard of this cousin, Ronald Garallan; he -certainly found his name in the Army List, but did not believe he was -any cousin at all; and this only served to make matters look more and -more black. - -Hammersley in his natural pride of spirit rather revolted at going to -the theatre, feeling as if he was acting somewhat like a spy, but he -had a right to learn for himself what was on the tapis with regard to -Finella; and the Lyceum was as free a theatre to him as to anyone -else; so a few minutes after saw him bowling along the Strand in a -hansom cab. - -He got a seat on the grand tier, but with difficulty, and, -fortunately for his purpose, a little back and well out of sight; -and, oblivious of the stage and all the usual scenic splendours -there, he swept 'the house' again and again, with the same powerful -field-glass he had so lately used on many a scouting expedition, but -in vain, till the crimson satin curtain of a private box was suddenly -drawn back, and Finella in a perfect costume, yet not quite full -dress, sat there like a little queen, with many a sparkling jewel, -and Garallan half leaning on the back of her chair, as she consulted -the programme, after depositing a beautiful bouquet and her -opera-glass on the front of the box before her. - -Hammersley's heart seemed to give a leap, and then stood still, while -he actually felt an ache in the bullet wound which had so nearly cost -him his life. - -There they were, in a private box together, and without a chaperone, -which certainly looked like cousinship, though every way distasteful -to Hammersley; and Garallan leant over her chair, ignoring the -performance entirely, and evidently entertaining her in 'that -original and delicious strain in which Adam and Eve were probably the -first proficients.' - -And Finella was smiling upwards at times with her radiant eyes and -_riant_ face, with the bright and happy expression of one who had -nothing left to wish for in the world; while he--Vivian -Hammersley--might be, for all she knew or seemed to care, lying -unburied by the banks of the Umvolosi or the Lower Tugela! - -He recalled the words of her letter, so long and so loving, which he -received so unexpectedly in Zululand, in which she urged him to be -brave of heart for her sake, and not to be discouraged by any -opposition on the part of Lady Fettercairn, as she was rich enough to -please herself, adding: - -'Let us have perfect confidence in each other! Oh, you passionate -silly! to run away in a rage as you did without seeking an -explanation. How much it has cost me Heaven alone knows!' - -'Now,' thought he, 'suppose all the explanation she gave Miss Carlyon -at Craigengowan of that remarkable scene in the shrubbery, or that -she was lured into a scrape with that cub Shafto, were mere humbug -after all. It looks deuced like it from what I see going on here in -London. And then the rings I gave her--one a marriage hoop to -keep--an unlucky gift--ha! ha! what a precious ass I have been!' - -Vivian Hammersley, though a tough-looking and well set-up linesman, -was of an imaginative cast, and of a highly sensitive nature, and -such are usually well skilled in the art of elaborate self-torture. - -He now perceived that for a moment she had drawn the glove from off -her left hand--what a lovely little white hand it was! He turned his -powerful field-glass thereon, with more interest and curiosity than -he had done while watching for Zulu warriors, and there--yes--there -by Jove!--his heart gave a bound--was his engagement ring upon her -engaged finger still--there was no doubt about that! - -So what did all this too apparent philandering with another mean, if -not the most arrant coquetry? Had her character changed within a few -short months? It almost seemed so. - -But Hammersley thought that, 'tide what may,' he had seen enough of -the Lyceum for that night, and hurried away to the smoking-room of -the 'Rag.' - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -A REVELATION. - -We have written somewhat ahead of our general narrative, and must now -recur to Lord Fettercairn's visit to Mr. Kenneth Kippilaw in -Edinburgh, at that gentleman's request--one which filled the old Peer -with some surprise. - -'Why the deuce did not his agent visit him?' he thought. - -Smarting under Shafto's insolence, and acting on information given to -him readily by Madelon Galbraith, Mr. Kippilaw took certain measures -to obtain some light on a matter which he should have taken before. - -'You look somewhat unhinged, Kippilaw,' said Lord Fettercairn, as he -seated himself in the former's private business room. - -'I feel so, my lord,' replied the lawyer, in a fidgety way, as he -breathed upon and wiped his spectacles; 'I have to talk over an -unpleasant matter with you.' - -'Business?' - -'Yes; perhaps you would defer it till after dinner?' - -'Not at all--what the deuce is it? Debts of Shafto's?' - -'Worse, my lord!' - -'Worse! You actually seem unwell; have a glass of sherry, if I may -press you in your own house.' - -'No thanks; I am in positive distress.' - -'How--about what?' asked the Peer impatiently. - -'The fact is, my lord, I don't know how to go about it and explain; -but for the first time since I began my career as a W.S.--some forty -years ago now--I have made a great professional blunder, I fear.' - -'Sorry to hear it--but what have I to do with all that?' - -'Much.' - -Lord Fettercairn changed colour. - -'You wrote strangely of Shafto?' - -'No wonder!' groaned Mr. Kippilaw. - -'How?' - -'The matter very nearly affects your lordship's dearest -interests--the honour of your house and title.' - -'The devil!' exclaimed the Peer, starting up, and touched upon his -most tender point. - -'I have had more than one long conversation with the old nurse, -Madelon Galbraith, and therefore instituted certain inquiries, which -I should have done before, and have come to the undoubted and legal -conclusion that--that----' - -'What?' asked Fettercairn, striking the floor with his right heel. - -'That the person who passes as your grandson is not your grandson at -all!' - -'What--how--who the devil is he then?' - -'The son of a Miss MacIan who married a Mr. Shafto Gyle.' - -'D--n the name! Then who and where is my grandson and heir?' - -'One who was lately or is now serving as a soldier in Zululand.' - -'My God! and you tell me all this now--_now_?' - -'When Lennard Melfort lay dying at Revelstoke he entrusted the proofs -of his only son's birth with his older nephew, Shafto, who, with -amazing cunning, used them to usurp his rights and position. I blame -myself much. I should have made closer inquiries at the time; but -the documents seemed all and every way to the point, and I could not -doubt the handwriting or the signatures of your poor dead son. The -result, however, has rather stunned me.' - -'And, d--n it, Kippilaw, it rather stuns me!' exclaimed Lord -Fettercairn, in high wrath. 'May it not be a mistake, this last -idea?' - -'No--everything is too well authenticated.' - -'But, Kippilaw,' said Lord Fettercairn, after a pause, caused by dire -perplexity, 'we had the certificate of birth.' - -'Yes--but not in Shafto's name. The document was mutilated and -without the baptismal certificate, of which I have got this copy from -the Rev. Mr. Paul Pentreath. The name in both is, as you see,' added -Mr. Kippilaw, laying the document on the table, 'Florian, only son of -the Hon. Lennard Melfort (otherwise MacIan) and Flora, his -wife--Florian, called so after her.' - -'You have seen this young man?' - -'Yes--once in this room, and I was struck with his likeness to -Lennard. He is dark, Shafto fair. The true heir has a peculiar mark -on his right arm, says Madelon Galbraith, his nurse. Here is a -letter from a doctor of the regiment stating that Florian has such a -mark, which Shafto has not; and mother-marks, as they are called, -never change, like the two marks of the famous "Claimant." - -'I cannot realize it all--that we have been so befooled!' exclaimed -Lord Fettercairn, walking up and down the room. - -'But you must; it will come home to you soon enough.' - -'Egad, so far as bills and debts go, it has come home to me sharply -enough already. It is a terrible story--a startling one.' - -'Few families have stories like it.' - -'And one does not wish such in one's own experience, Kippilaw. It is -difficult of belief--monstrous, Kippilaw!' - -'Monstrous, indeed, my Lord Fettercairn!' chimed in Mr. Kippilaw, who -then proceeded to unfold a terrible tale of the results of Shafto's -periodical visits to Edinburgh and London--his bills and post-obits -with the money-lenders, who would all be 'diddled' now, as he proved -not to be the heir at all; and though last, not least, his late -disgraceful affair of the loaded die, and the fracas with Major -Garallan. - -'Garallan! that old woman Drumshoddy's nephew--whew!' His lordship -perspired with pure vexation. 'I have to thank you, however, for -finding out the true heir at last.' - -'When there are a fortune and a title in the case, people are easily -found, my lord.' - -'Things come right generally, as they always do, if one waits and -trusts in God,' said Madelon Galbraith, when she was admitted to an -audience, in which, with the garrulity of years, she supplemented all -that Mr. Kippilaw had advanced; and, as she laughed with exultation, -she showed--despite her age--two rows of magnificent teeth--teeth -that were bright as her eyes were dark. - -'Laoghe mo chri! Laoghe mo chri!' she murmured to herself; 'your -only son will be righted yet.' - -Every nation has its own peculiar terms of endearment, so Madelon -naturally referred to Flora in her own native Gaelic. - -'And Florian is--as you say, Kippilaw--serving in Zululand?' said -Lord Fettercairn. - -'Yes.' - -'Serving as a private soldier?' - -'He was----' - -'Was--is he dead?' interrupted the Peer sharply. - -'No; he is now an officer, and a distinguished one--an officer of the -gallant but most unfortunate 24th. I have learned that much.' - -'Write to him at once, and meanwhile telegraph to the -Adjutant-General--no matter what the expense--for immediate -intelligence about him. You will also write to Shafto--you know what -to say to _him_.' - -With right goodwill Mr. Kippilaw hastened to obey the Peer's -injunctions in both instances. - -He wrote to Shafto curtly, relating all that had transpired, adding -that he (Shafto) could not retain his present position for another -day without risking a public trial, and that if he would confess the -vile and cruel imposture of which he had been guilty he might escape -being sent to prison, and obtaining perhaps 'permanent employment' in -the Perth Penitentiary. - -This letter--though not unexpected--proved a most bitter pill to -Shafto! He saw that 'the game was up'--his last card played, that -life had no more in it for him, and that there was nothing left for -him but to fly the country and his debts together. - -His face was set hard, and into his shifty grey eyes came the savage -gleam one may see in those of a cat before it springs, but with this -expression were mingled rage and fear. - -With Mr. Kippilaw's letter were two others, from different parties. -In one he was informed that legal proceedings had been taken against -him, and in default of his putting in an appearance, judgment for -execution and costs had been given against him in an English court, -for £847 16s. 8d., in favour of a Jew, who held another bill, which, -though it originally represented £400, would cost £800 before he -parted with it; and Shafto actually laughed a little bitter and -discordant laugh as he rent the lawyers' letters into fragments and -cast them to the wind. - -Before departing, however, and before his story transpired, he -contrived to borrow from the butler and housekeeper every spare pound -they possessed, and quietly went forth, portmanteau in hand. - -Did he as he thus left the house recall the auspicious day on which -he had first seen, with keen and avaricious exultation, Craigengowan -in all its baronial beauty, its wealth of pasture and meadow-land, of -wood, and moor, and mountain, and deemed that all--all were, or would -be, his? - -He turned his back on the Howe of the Mearns for ever, and from that -hour all trace of him was lost! - -* * * * * - -The reply to Mr. Kippilaw's telegram to South Africa gave him, and -even his noble client, cause for some anxiety. - -It was dated from Headquarters, Ulundi, on the last day of August, -and stated that Lieutenant MacIan 'was down with fever, and not -expected to live.' - -So--if he died--the title of Fettercairn, being a Scottish one, would -go to Finella, and the heir male of whosoever she married. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -IN THE NGOME FOREST. - -We now approach the last scenes of Florian's foreign service. - -By the 13th of August the cordon of European troops and Native lines -drawn round the district in which the fugitive King of the Zulus -lurked had been drawn closer, and it was now distinctly known at -headquarters in Ulundi that he had sought refuge in the Forest of -Ngome, a wild, most savage and untrodden district between two rivers -(with long and grotesque names), tributaries of the Black Umvolosi, -and overshadowed by a mountain chain called the Ngome. - -Various parties detailed for the pursuit, search, and capture failed, -till, on the 26th August, the Chief of the Staff received information -indicating where Cetewayo was certain to be found, and Major Marter, -of the King's Dragoon Guards, was ordered to proceed next day in that -direction with a squadron of his own regiment, a company of the -Native Contingent, Lonsdale's Horse, and a few Mounted Infantry, led -by Florian and another officer. The former was already suffering -from fever caught by exposure to the night dews when scouting, and -felt so weak and giddy that at times he could barely keep in his -saddle; but, full of youthful ardour and zeal, fired by the promotion -and praises he had won, he was anxious only, if life were spared him, -to see the closing act of the great campaign in South Africa. - -The early morning of the 27th saw the Horse depart, the King's -Dragoon Guards leading the way, after the Mounted Infantry scouts; -and picturesque they looked in their bright scarlet tunics and white -helmets, with accoutrements glittering as they rode in Indian file -through the scenery of the tropical forest, and then for a time -debouched upon open ground. - -Nodding in his saddle, Florian felt spiritless and sick at heart, -wishing intensely that the last act was over. - -Far in the distance around extended a range of mountains that were -purple and blue in their hues, even against the greenish-blue of the -sky, and vast tracts of wood, tinted with every hue of green, red, -and golden; in the foreground were brawling streams dashing through -channels of rock to join the Black Umvolosi, under graceful date -palms, mimosa trees, and the undergrowth of baboon ropes and other -giant trailers. Scared troops of the eland, grey and brown herds of -fleet antelopes glided past, and more, than once the roar of a lion -made the wilderness re-echo. - -And this ground had to be traversed under a fierce and burning sun -till the valley of the Ivuno River was reached, prior to which three -Dragoon Guard horses were carried off and devoured by lions. - -So passed the day. The party reached a lonely little kraal on the -summit of the Nenye Mountain, and bivouacked there for the night. - -Stretched on the floor of a hut, after drinking thirstily of some -weak brandy and water, Florian watched the blood-red disc of the sun, -mightier than it is ever seen in Europe, amid the luminous haze, -begin to disappear behind the verge of the vast forest--the sea of -timber--that spread below, casting forward in dark outline the quaint -and grotesque euphorbia trees that at times take the shape of Indian -idols. - -Then a mist stole over the waste below, and a single star shone out -with wondrous brilliance. - -Florian was so weak in the morning that he would fain have abandoned -the duty on which he had come, and remained in the hut at the kraal; -but to linger behind was only to court death by the teeth of wild -animals or the hands of scouting Zulus, so wearily he clambered, -rather than sprang as of old, into his saddle. - -'Pull yourself together, if you can, my dear fellow,' said an -officer; 'our task will soon be over. It is something after a close -run to be in at the death; and it is waking men with their swords, -not dreamers with their pens, who make history.' - -'I am no dreamer,' said Florian, scarcely seeing the point of the -other's remark. - -'I did not mean that you were,' said the other, proffering his -cigar-case; 'have a weed?' - -But Florian shook his head with an emotion of nausea. - -'Forward, in single file from the right,' was the order given, for -the sun would soon be up now. Already the bees were humming loudly -among the tall reeds and giant flowers beside the stream that flowed -downward from the kraal, the forest stems looked black or bronze-like -in the grey and then crimson dawn, while the stars faded out fast. - -In advancing to another kraal on the mountain, Major Marter's force -had to traverse the forest bush, where trees of giant height and -girth, matted and inter-woven by baboon ropes and other trailers, -shut out even the fierce sun of Africa, and made a cool green roof or -leafy shade, where the grass grew tall as a Grenadier, where hideous -apes barked and chattered, bright-hued parrots croaked or screamed, -and where nature seemed to have run wild in unbridled luxuriance -since the Ark rested on Ararat, and the waters of the flood subsided. - -The mountains of the Ngome, and overlooking the forest of that name, -are flat-topped, like all others in South Africa; but Major Marter -found the western slope to be dangerously precipitous, and thence he -and his guides looked down into a densely wooded valley, lying more -than two thousand feet below. - -About two miles distant, thin smoke could be seen ascending amid the -greenery, from a small kraal by the side of a brawling stream, and -therein Cetewayo was known to be. - -As cavalry could not reach the bottom without making a very long -detour, the Major ordered all the mounted men to lay aside their -bright steel scabbards, and all other accoutrements likely to create -a rattling noise, and these, with the pack horses, were left in -charge of a small party, the command of which was offered to the -sinking Florian, who foolishly declined, and rode with the rest to a -less precipitous slope of the hills three miles distant, down which -the Dragoon Guards led their chargers by the bridle, crossed the -stream referred to, a small fence, and a marsh, and, remounting, made -a dash for the kraal, sword in hand, from the north, while the Native -Contingent formed up south of it on some open ground. - -The capture of Cetewayo is an event too recent to be detailed at -length here. - -It is known how his few followers, on seeing the red-coated cavalry -riding up, shouted, in unison with the Native Contingent: - -'The white men are here--you are taken!' - -Then the fallen royal savage came forth, looking weary, weak, and -footsore; and when a soldier--Tom Tyrrell--attempted to seize him, he -drew himself up with an air of simple dignity, and repelled him. - -'Touch me not, white soldier!' he exclaimed; 'I am a King, and -surrender only to your chief.' - -With their prisoner strictly guarded, the party passed the night of -the 29th August in the forest of Ngome, and Florian, as he flung -himself on the dewy grass, with fevered limbs and aching head, felt -an emotion of thankfulness that all was over, and it was nearly so -with himself now! - -The moon had not yet risen; the darkness was dense around the hut -where lay Cetewayo, guarded by many a sabre and bayonet; and the -jackals and hyenas were making night hideous with their howling, -mingled at times with the yells of wild dogs. - -Ever and anon the barking of baboons, as they swung themselves from -branch to branch, seemed to indicate the approach of some great beast -of prey, and the crackle of dry twigs suggested the slimy crawling of -a poisonous snake. - -So passed the night in the Forest of Ngome. With dawn the trumpet -sounded 'To horse,' and again the whole party moved on the homeward -way to Ulundi. The night in the dreary forest, lying out in the -open, had done its worst for Florian. On reaching the camp he fell -from his saddle into the arms of the watchful Tom Tyrrell, and was -carried to his tent, prostrate and delirious. - -Hence the tenor of the telegram received from the medical staff by -Mr. Kenneth Kippilaw. - -How Florian lived to reach Durban, conveyed there with other sick in -the ambulance waggons, he never knew, so heavily was the hand of -fever laid on him; but many a time he had seen, as in a dream, the -horses straggling through bridgeless torrents, and graves dug amid -the pathless wastes for those who died on the route, and were laid -therein, rolled in their blanket, and covered up before their limbs -were cold, till at last the village of Durban--for it is little else, -though the principal seaport of Natal--was reached, and he was placed -in an extemporised hospital. - -In his weakness, after the delirium passed away, he felt always as -one in a dream. The windows were open to the breeze from the Indian -Ocean, and the roar of the surf could be heard without ceasing on the -sandy beach, while at night the sharp crescent moon shone like a -silver sabre in the clear blue sky, and, laden with the perfume of -many tropical plants, the sweet air without struggled with the close -atmosphere of the crowded hospital wards, in which our 'boy soldiers -died like sick flies,' as a general officer reported. - -And there he lay, hour after hour, wasted by the fever born of miasma -and the jungle, rigid and corpse-like in outline, under the light -white coverlet. For how long or how short this was to last no one -ventured to surmise. - -He had ceased now to toss to and fro on his pillow and pour forth -incoherent babble, in which Revelstoke, Dulcie Carlyon, his boyish -days, and the recent stirring events of the now-ended campaign were -all strangely woven together, while Tom Tyrrell, now his constant -attendant, who nursed him tenderly as a woman would have done, had -listened with alarm and dismay. And more than once Florian had -dreamed that Tom, bearded to the eyes, bronzed to negro darkness, and -clad in an old patched regimental tunic, was not Tom at all, but -Dulcie, the girl he loved so passionately, watching there, smoothing -his pillow and holding the cup with its cooling draught to his -parched lips. - -'They say that fever must run its course, sir, whatever that means,' -said Tom to the doctor. - -'Ah! a fever like this is a very touch-and-go affair,' responded old -Gallipot, in whom the telegrams from headquarters and from Edinburgh -had given a peculiar interest for his patient. - -'Am I dying, doctor--don't fear to tell me?' asked the latter -suddenly in a low, husky voice. - -'Why do you ask, my poor fellow?' replied the doctor, bending over -him. - -'I mean simply, is the end of this illness--death?' - -'To tell you the truth, I greatly fear it is,' replied the doctor, -shaking his head. - -'God's will be done!' said Florian resignedly. 'Well, well, perhaps -it is better so--I am so far gone--but Dulcie!' he added to himself -in a husky whisper--'poor Dulcie, alone--all alone!' - -His senses had quite returned now, but he was so weak that he could -neither move hand nor foot, and his eyelids, unable to uphold their -own weight, closed as soon as raised, and often while his parched -tongue clove to the roof of his mouth as he lay thus he was supposed -to be asleep. - -'Poor fellow!' he heard Tom Tyrrell whisper to an hospital orderly in -a broken voice; 'he's got his marching orders, and will soon be -off--yet he doesn't seem to suffer much.' - -How hard it was to die so young, with what should have been a long -life before him, and now one with honours won to make it valuable. - -Well, well, he thought, if it was God's will it would be no worse for -him than for others. It seemed as natural to die as to be born--our -place in the world is vacant before and after; but yet, again, it was -hard, he thought, to die, and die so young in a distant and barbarous -land, where the savage, the wild animal, and the Kaffir vulture would -be the only loiterers near his lonely and unmarked grave. - -There came a day when the scene changed to him again. He was in the -cabin of a ship, lying near an open port-hole, through which he could -see the ocean rippling like molten gold in the setting sun, the red -light of which bathed in ruddy tints the shore of Durban and the -white lighthouse on the bluff that guards its entrance. - -Anon he heard the tramp overhead of the seamen as they manned the -capstan bars and tripped merrily round to the sound of drum and fife, -heaving short on the anchor, and heaving with a will, till it was -apeak. Then, the canvas was let fall and sheeted home; the -revolution of the screw-propeller was felt to make the great -'trooper' vibrate in all her length, and the glittering waves began -to roll astern as she sped on her homeward way. - -Would he live to see the end of the voyage? It seemed very -problematical. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -THE MAJOR PROPOSES. - -Meanwhile Hammersley's suspicion and jealousy grew apace, and it has -been said that when the latter emotion begins to reason, we legally -'always hold a brief for the prosecution in such cases, and admit no -evidence save that which tends to a conviction.' - -In his rage he thought of quitting London and going--but where? He -knew not then precisely. - -'Oh, to be well and strong again!' he would mutter; 'out of this -place and back to the regiment and the old life. There is a shindy -brewing fast in the Transvaal, and that will be the place for me.' - -At other times he would think--'I wish that recruit of Cardwell's had -put his bullet through my brain. I would rather he had done so than -feel it throb as it does now.' - -Some loves may dwindle into indifference or turn to hatred, but -seldom or never to mere friendship. Yet it is not easy 'to hate -those we have once loved because we happen to discover a weak point -in their armour, any more than it is easy to love unlovable people -because of their resplendent virtues.' - -No response had ever come to the letters he had written Finella under -cover to Dulce; thus he ceased to send them, all unaware that these -letters addressed to 'Miss Carlyon' had been returned to the Post -Office, endorsed, by order of Lady Fettercairn, 'not known at -Craigengowan;' and now the heavy thoughts of Hammersley affected his -manner and gait, and thus he often walked slowly, as if he were -weary; and so he was weary and sick of heart, for the sense of hope -being dead within the breast will give a droop to the head and a -lagging air to the step. - -Lady Drumshoddy rented a grand old-fashioned house in that very -gloomy quadrangle called St. James's Square, the chief mansion in -which is that of his Grace of Norfolk, and round the still somewhat -scurvy enclosure of which Dr. Johnson and Savage, when friendless and -penniless, spent many a summer night with empty stomachs and hearts -heated with antagonism to the then Government. About a hundred years -before that, Macaulay tells us that St. James's Square 'was a -receptacle for all the offal and cinders, and all the dead cats and -dogs, of Westminster. At one time a cudgel-player kept his ring -there. At another an impudent squatter settled himself there, and -built a shed for rubbish under the windows of the gilded _salons_ in -which the first magnates of the realm--Norfolk, Ormond, Kent, and -Pembroke--gave banquets and balls. It was not till these nuisances -had lasted through a whole generation, and till much had been written -about them, that the inhabitants applied to Parliament for permission -to put up rails and plant trees.' - -Here, then, in this now fashionable locality, had my Lady Drumshoddy -pitched her tent, and hence it was that Vivian Hammersley, being -almost daily at 'The Rag,' close by, saw Finella and her cousin so -frequently; yet it never occurred to him to think of the old -Scoto-Indian Judge's widow, of whom he knew little or nothing. - -The circumstance that Finella was undoubtedly still wearing his -engagement ring made Hammersley, amid all his misery and anger, long -for some more certain information than mere Club gossip and banter -afforded, and for that which was due from her--an explicit -explanation. He thought, as a casuist has it, 'that to know her -false would not be so bitter as to doubt. To mistrust the woman we -love is torture. To have a knowledge of her guilt is the first step -towards burying our love. Our pride is then thoroughly aroused, and -that contempt for treachery, inherent in our nature, flames out.' - -On her part, Finella had some cause for pique--grave cause, she -thought. She had twice, at intervals, seen Vivian Hammersley riding -in the Row, when it was impossible for her to address him or afford -him the least sign; and now, knowing that he was home, and in London, -she naturally thought why did he not make some effort to communicate -with her, in spite of any barrier Lady Fettercairn might raise -between them, if he supposed she still resided at Craigengowan. Thus -she too was beginning to look regretfully back to his love as a dream -that had fled. - -'A pretty kettle of fish they have made of it at Craigengowan, my -dear!' snorted Lady Drumshoddy, when she heard of the late events -that had transpired there. 'They have been imposed upon -fearfully--quite another "Claimant" affair; but I always had my -suspicions, my dear--I always had my suspicions, I am glad to say,' -she coolly added, oblivious of the fact that she always aided and -abetted Shafto in all his plans and hopes to secure Finella and her -fortune. - -It was convenient to ignore or forget all that now. - -'My Ronald is all right,' snorted the hard-featured old dame to -herself; 'he is the right man in the right place; but, as for -Finella, she is like most girls, I suppose--will not fall in love -where and when it is most clearly her duty to do so--provoking minx!' - -It was a prominent feature in the character of my Lady Drumshoddy, -contradiction, though she would not for a second tolerate it in -anyone else; and as Major Garallan was temporarily a resident at her -house in St. James's Square, she, like Lady Fettercairn on the other -occasion, put great faith in cousinship and propinquity. - -What a different kind and style of cousin Ronald Garallan was from -Shafto, Finella naturally thought; not that as yet she loved him a -bit, as he evidently loved her, but he was such a delightful -companion to escort her everywhere. - -She had received plenty of admiration and adulation during her short -season in London before, and to suppose that she was blind to the -young Major's attentions would be to deem her foolish; no woman or -girl is ever blind to that sort of thing. She, like the rest of her -charming sex, knew by instinct when she had won a success; but she -also knew that she had one powerful attraction--money--and knew, too, -that her heart was engaged otherwise; and this knowledge made her -tolerably indifferent to the admiration of her cousin, while the -indifference laid her open to the appearance of receiving his close -attentions. Meanwhile the latter was enjoying his Capua. - -'How delicious all this is!' he often thought, as he lounged by -Finella's side in the drawing-room, or rode with her in the Row, -'after sweltering so long in that hottest and most hateful of -up-country stations, Jehanabad, on the shining rocks of which the -Indian sun pours all its rays for months, till the granite at night -gives out the caloric it has absorbed by day, and so the roasting -process never ceases, and sleep even on a charpoy becomes impossible, -all the more so that hyenas, jackals, and wild cats make night -hideous with their yells. This is indeed an exchange,' he once added -aloud, 'and all the more delicious that I have it with _you_, Cousin -Finella.' - -And Lady Drumshoddy, if she was near, would watch the pair -complacently through her great spectacles, while pretending to be -intent on her only paper (after the _Morning Post_), the _Queen_, -which she read as regularly--more so, we fear--than she read her -night prayers. - -And while Garallan's attentions were gradually warming and leading up -to a declaration, Finella was thinking angrily of Hammersley. - -'Perhaps he has forgotten his love for me--nay, he would never forget -_that!_ but absence, time, change of scene, or a regard for some one -else may have come between us. It is the way with men, I have been -told.' - -So, in the fulness of time, there came one fine forenoon, when Lady -Drumshoddy had judiciously left the cousins quite alone, and when -Finella, in one of her most bewitching costumes, was idling over a -book of prints, with Ronald Garallan by her side, admiring the -contour of her head, the curve of her neck, her pure profile, the -lovely little ear that was next him, and everything else, to the -little bouquet in her bosom that rose and fell with every -respiration, let his passion completely overmaster him, and taking -caressingly within his own her left hand, which she did not withdraw, -he said: - -'I have something to ask you, Finella--you know what it is?' - -'Indeed, I do not.' - -'Then, of course, I must tell you?' - -'I think you must,' said she, looking him calmly in the face for a -second. - -'For weeks you must have known it.' - -'Known--what?' - -'That I love you!' he said in a low voice, and bending till his -moustache touched her cheek; 'and now I ask you to give me yourself.' - -The hand was withdrawn now; she coloured, but not deeply, and her -eyelashes drooped. - -'Give me yourself, darling,' he resumed, 'and trust to me for taking -care of you all the days of your life.' - -Though she must have expected some such ending as this to their late -hourly intimacy, she was nevertheless astonished, and said, with a -little nervous laugh at the abruptness and matter-of-fact form of the -proposal: - -'Cousin Ronald, I can surely take care of myself. But--but do you -want to marry me?' - -'Of course!' replied Cousin Ronald, with very open eyes, while -tugging the ends of his moustache. - -'Well--it can't be.' - -'Can't be?' - -'No. I thank you very much, and like you very much--there are both -my hands on that; but marriage is impossible. Yet don't let us -quarrel, for that would be absurd, but be the best of good friends as -ever.' - -'And this is my answer?' said he, with a very crushed air. - -'Yes,' she replied, colouring deeply now; 'once and for all.' - -'I won't take it,' said he, with mingled sorrow and anger. 'I will -not, darling!--I shall come to it again, when, perhaps, you may think -better of it and of me. Till then good-bye, and God bless you, -dearest Finella!' - -Kissing both her hands, he abruptly withdrew, and soon after leaving -the house took his departure for Brighton; and now the luckless -Finella had to explain the reason thereof, and to undergo the -ever-recurring admonitions, reprehensions, parables, and absolute -scoldings of 'grandmamma Drumshoddy,' who was neither quite so well -bred nor so calm in spirit and outward bearing as Lady Fettercairn, -then 'eating humble pie' at Craigengowan. - -If Florian, the new heir, was indeed dying, as reported, when he was -embarked with other sick and wounded officers and men at Durban, a -prospective peerage, with all the estates, enhanced the value and -position of Finella in the eyes of Lady Drumshoddy, so far as a -marriage with her nephew, the Major, was concerned, and most wrathful -she was indeed to find that her schemes were going 'agee.' - -Lord Fettercairn fully shared her ideas, and knew that whoever -married the only daughter of the House of Melfort, though he might -assume the old name, it and the title too went virtually out of the -family. - -Finella had remarked to herself that for some time past Lady -Fettercairn in her letters never mentioned the name of Shafto, or -hinted of the old wish about marrying _him_. - -Why was this? - -She knew not the reason that his existence was ignored, till Lady -Drumshoddy bluntly referred to 'the pretty kettle of fish' made -lately by the folks at Craigengowan, and then, in the gentleness of -her heart, Finella almost felt pitiful for the now homeless and -worthless one. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -A CLOUD DISPELLED. - -September was creeping on, and in London then the weather is often -steady and pleasant, though in the mornings and evenings the first -chills of the coming winter begin to be felt. The summer-parched and -dust-laden foliage of the trees droops in Park and square, and the -great gorse-bushes are all in golden bloom at Wimbledon, at Barnes -Common, and other fern and heath-covered wastes. - -The Row and other favourite promenades were now empty; Parliament was -not sitting; and shooting and cub-hunting were in full force in the -country. - -Sooner or later one runs up against every one in this whirligig world -of ours; thus Hammersley, still lingering aimlessly in London, coming -one day from the Horse Guards, in crossing the east end of the Mall, -found himself suddenly face to face with her of whom his thoughts -were full--Finella Melfort! - -Finella, in a smart sealskin jacket, with her muff slung by a silken -cord round her slender neck, a most becoming hat, the veil of which -was tied tightly and piquantly across her short upper lip. - -'Finella!' - -'Oh, Vivian!' - -Their exclamations and joyful surprise were mutual, but 'the horns -and hoofs of the green-eyed monster' were still obtruding amid the -thoughts of Hammersley, though she frankly gave him both her plump -little tightly gloved hands, which after a caressing pressure he -speedily dropped, rather to the surprise of the charming proprietor -thereof. - -'Did you know I was in London?' she asked. - -'Yes--too well.' - -'And yet made no effort to see--to write to me!' - -'I knew not where to find you.' - -'You might have inquired--that is, if you cared to know.' - -'Cared--oh, Finella!' - -'And your wound--your cruel wound! Have you recovered from it?' - -'Nearly so--thus I have just been at the Horse Guards about going on -foreign service again. - -'Foreign service--again?' - -'Yes; there are wounds deeper and more lasting than any an enemy can -inflict.' - -She evidently did not understand his mood. - -'Are you not rash, Vivian, to be out in a day so chill as this?' she -said. - -'A little chill, fog, or rain, more or less, are trifles to one whose -thoughts are all of sad and bitter things.' - -'Vivian?--your wound, was it a severe one?' - -'Very. I received a shot that was meant for the assassination of -another.' - -'Who?' - -'Florian; your friend Miss Carlyon's lover, who, poor fellow, I hear -sailed from Durban in a bad way.' - -'Why do you look and speak so coldly, Vivian--Vivian?' she asked, -with her slender fingers interlaced, while he certainly eyed her -wistfully, curiously, and even angrily. - -'Why?' - -'Yes,' said she, impetuously. 'Why are you so cruel--so hard to me?' -she added, with a sob in her voice, as she placed a hand on his arm -and looked earnestly up in his face. 'Surely it is not for me to -plead thus?' - -'Why are you so touched?' - -'Can you ask, while treating me thus?' - -'Like a thorough Scotch girl, you answer one question by asking -another.' - -'Well, in constancy men certainly do not bear the palm,' said she, -drawing back a pace, and inserting her hands in her muff. - -'I think you should be the last to taunt me, at all events, as -appearances go.' - -There was a moment's silence, for both were too honest and true to -have acquired what has been termed 'the useful and social art of -talking platitudes' when their hearts were full. - -'And this is our long-looked-forward-to meeting?' she said, -reproachfully. - -'Yes--alas!' - -'Why do you regard me--not with the furious rage that possessed you -on quitting Craigengowan--but with coldness, doubt, indifference?' - -'Indifference! Oh, no, Finella.' - -'Doubt--suspicion, then?' - -'It may be,' he replied with a doggedness that certainly was not -natural to him. - -'What _have_ I done?' asked the girl, sorely piqued now. - -'Nothing, perhaps,' he replied shrinking from putting his thoughts -into words. - -'Can it be that you are changeable and inconstant? When you saw me, -and knew that I was in London, why did you not come to me at once?' - -'Because I knew not where or with whom you were residing.' - -'Did you go to Fettercairn House?' - -'No.' - -'Why?' she asked curtly, for _her_ suspicions were being kindled now. - -'I knew the family were not in town.' - -'Then you might have asked for Lady Drumshoddy, and, if not, somehow -have heard----' - -'By tipping the butler or Mr. James Plush?' - -'If I wanted to do anything I would grasp at the first chance of -achieving it,' said Finella, her dark eyes sparkling now. - -'Men are seldom creatures of impulse. I reasoned over the matter, -and put two and two together.' - -'Reason generally urges men to do what they wish. But what do you -mean by putting two and two together?' - -'Well, frankly, I referred to you and Major Garallan.' - -'Do you make _four_ of us? Vivian, you are absurd,' said Finella, -after a little pause, during which she coloured and stamped a little -foot impatiently on the ground. - -'Perhaps,' said he sadly and wearily; 'but I heard so much at the -Clubs and elsewhere that I knew not what to think.' - -'About us you mean--Cousin Ronald and me?' - -'Yes.' - -'You heard--what?' - -'That you were about to be married--that is the long and the short of -it.' - -His face crimsoned with annoyance as he spoke; but hers grew pale. - -'And you, Vivian--you believed this?' she asked mournfully and -reproachfully. - -'Much that I saw seemed to confirm it. You and he were so much -together.' - -'How unfortunate I am to have been suspected by you twice! Ronald is -only my cousin.' - -'So was that precious Shafto!' - -'Why hark back upon that episode?' she asked, piteously. 'Have I -offended you? Misunderstanding between us seems to have become our -normal state.' - -'Your cousin may--nay, I doubt not, loves you, Finella; but why do -you permit him to do so?' - -'Can I help it? Ronald was a kind of brother to me--nothing more,' -she continued, ignoring--perhaps at that moment forgetting--his -recent proposal; 'but my heart has never for a moment wandered from -you. See!' she added, while quickly and nervously stripping the kid -glove from her right hand, 'your engagement ring has never, for a -second even, been off my finger since first you placed it there.' - -'My darling--my darling!' he exclaimed, as all his heart went forth -towards her. 'Oh, Finella! what I suffered when I thought I had -again lost you! Yet I would almost undergo it all again--for this!' -he added, as he passionately kissed her, after a swift glance round -to see that no one was nigh. - -So the reconciliation was complete; all doubts were dissipated, and -they lingered long together, talking of themselves and a thousand -kindred topics, in which foreign service was not included; and more -complete it was, when, after escorting her home (Lady Drumshoddy -being absent at Exeter Hall), in the solitude of the drawing-room, -they had a sweeter lingering still, Finella's head resting on his -shoulder, the touch of her cheek thrilling through him, and like some -tender and tuneful melody her soft cooing voice seemed to vibrate in -his head and heart together. - -So they were united again after all! - -At last they had to separate, and looking forward to a visit on the -morrow, Hammersley, seeming to tread on air, in a state of radiance, -both in face and mind, hurried across the square to the Club, where -he came suddenly upon Villiers, whom he had not seen for some days, -and who seemed rather curiously to resent his evident state of high -spirits. - -'Well, Villiers,' said he, 'you do look glum, by Jove! What is the -matter now--the Wolseley ring, and all that--the service going to the -dogs!' - -'You know deuced well that it _has_ gone--went with the regimental -system. No; it is a cursed affair of my own. I have been robbed.' - -'Robbed--how--and of what?' - -'My pocket-book, containing some valuable papers and more than £500 -in Bank of England notes.' - -'Good heavens! I hope you have the numbers?' - -'No--never noted such a thing in my life. Who but a careful screw -would do so?' - -'How came it about?' - -'Well, you see,' said Villiers slowly, while manipulating a cigar, 'I -took a run over to Ostend, and there, as the devil would have it, at -the Casino, and afterwards in the mail boat to Dover, I fell in with -a charming Belgienne, an awfully pretty and seductive creature, who -was on her way to London and quite alone. We had rather a pronounced -flirtation, and exchanged photos--an act of greater folly on her part -than on mine, as the event proved; for, after taking mine from my -pocket-book (which she could see was full of notes), I never saw the -latter again. I dropped asleep, but awoke when the tickets were -collected--awoke to find that she had slipped out at some -intermediate station, and the pocket-book, which I had placed in my -breast-pocket, was gone too! There had been no one else in the -carriage with me--indeed I had quietly tipped the guard to arrange it -so. Thus, as no trace of it could be found, after the most careful -search, she must have deftly abstracted it. Here is her photo--a -deuced dear work of art to me!' - -'She is pretty, indeed!' exclaimed Hammersley; 'such a quantity of -beautiful fair hair!' - -'It was dark golden.' - -'Surely it was rash of her to give you this?' - -'It was vanity, perhaps, when the idea of theft had not occurred to -her.' - -'Throw it in the fire.' - -'Not at all.' - -'What do you mean to do with it--preserve the likeness of a mere -adventuress?' - -'I shall give it to the police as a clue. It may lead to the -recovery of my money, and, what is of more consequence to me, my -correspondence.' - -So the photo of the pretty Belgienne was handed over to the -authorities; but neither Villiers nor Hammersley could quite foresee -what it was to lead to. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -FLORIAN DYING. - -After her flight from Craigengowan to London, Dulcie had found -shelter in the same house wherein she had lodged after leaving -Revelstoke, in a gloomy alley that opens northward off Oxford Street. -The vicar, on whose protection and interest she relied, was not in -London, and would be absent therefrom for fully a month; so she had -written to Mr. Pentreath, who quietly, but firmly rebuked her for her -folly in quitting Craigengowan, and expressed his dismay that she -should be alone and unprotected in London, and urged her to come to -him, in Devonshire, at once. - -But Dulcie remembered his slender income, his pinched household, and -notwithstanding all the dear and sad associations of Revelstoke, she -remained in London, thinking that amid its mighty world something -would be sure to turn up. - -The solitude of her little room was so great that times there were -when she thought she might go mad from pure inanition and loneliness; -but greater still seemed the solitude of the streets, which, crowded -as they were by myriads passing to and fro, were without one friend -for her. - -She was not without her occasional _chateaux en Espagne_--dreams of -relations, rich but as yet unknown, who would seek her out and cast a -sunshine on her life; but how sordid seemed all her surroundings -after the comfort and luxury, the splendour and stateliness, of -Craigengowan! - -Dulcie had once had her girlish dreams of life in London, at a time -when the chances of her ever being there were remote indeed--dreams -that were as the glittering scenes in a pantomime; and now, in her -loneliness, she was appalled by the great Babylon, so terrible in its -vastness, so hideous in its monotony as a wilderness of bricks and -bustle by day, bustle and gas by night, with its huge and dusky dome -over all, with its tens upon thousands of vehicles of every kind--a -whirling vortex, cleft in two by a river of mud and slime, where the -corpses of suicides and the murdered are ploughed up by steamers and -dredges--a river that perhaps hides more crime and dreadful secrets -than any other in Europe; and amid the seething masses of the great -Babylon she felt herself as a grain of sand on the seashore. - -Our neighbours next door know us not, nor care to know; and to the -postman, the milkman, and the message-boy we are only 'a number' as -long as we pay--nothing more. - -So times there were when Dulcie longed intensely for the home of her -childhood, with its shady Devonshire lanes redolent of ripe apples, -wild honeysuckle, and the sycamore-trees, and for the midges dancing -merrily in the clear sunshine above the stream in which she and -Florian were wont to fish together: and but for Shafto and Lady -Fettercairn she would have gladly hailed Craigengowan, with its -ghost-haunted Howe, its old gate of the legend, Queen Mary's Thorn, -and all their lonely adjuncts, could she but share them with Finella; -but she was all unaware that the latter was there no longer. - -Her little stock of money was wearing out, with all her care and -frugality, and her whole hope lay in the return of the vicar, who, -too probably, would also reproach her with precipitation. - -'Things will come right yet--they always do--if one knows how to wait -and trust in God,' said Dulcie to herself, hopefully but tearfully; -'and when two love each other,' she added, thinking of Florian, 'they -may beat Fate itself.' - -Dulcie had not written to Finella, as she was yet without distinct -plans; she only knew that she could not teach, and thus was not 'cut -out' for a governess. Neither did she write to Florian, as she knew -not where to address him, and, knowing not what a day might bring -forth, she could not indicate where she was to send an answer. So -week followed week; her sweet hopefulness began to leave her, and a -presentiment came upon her that she would never see Florian again. -So many misfortunes had befallen her that this would only be one -more; and this presentiment seemed to be realised, and a dreadful -shock was given, when by the merest chance she saw in a paper a few -weeks old the same telegram concerning him which had so excited old -Mr. Kippilaw, and which had found its way into print, as everything -seems to do nowadays. - -The transport with sick and wounded was on its homeward way; but when -it arrived would he be with it, or sleeping under the waves? - -It was a dreadful stroke for Dulcie; her only tie to earth seemed to -be passing or to have passed away. She had no one to confide in, no -one to condole with her, and for a whole day never quitted her -pillow; but, 'at twenty, one must be constitutionally very unsound if -grief is to kill one, or even to leave any permanent and abiding mark -of its presence.' But she had to undergo the terrible mental torture -of waiting--waiting, with idle hands, with throbbing head, and aching -heart, for the bulletin that might crush her whole existence. He -whom she loved with all her heart and soul, who had been woven up -with her life, since childhood, was far away upon the sea, struggling -it might be with death, and she was not by his pillow; and the lips, -that had never aught but soft and tender words for her, might be now -closed for ever! - -Already hope had been departing, we have said. Her heart was now -heavy as lead, and all the brightness of youth seemed to have gone -out of her life. She began to feel a kind of dull apathetic misery, -most difficult to describe, yet mingled with an aching, gnawing sense -of mingled pain. - -Florian dying, probably--that was the latest intelligence of him. -How curt, how brief, how cruel seemed that item of news, among others! - -She opened her silver locket, with the coloured photo of him. The -artist had caught his best expression in a happy moment; and it was -hard--oh, how hard! for the lonely girl to believe that the loving -and smiling face, with its tender dark eyes and crisp brown hair, was -now too probably a lifeless piece of clay, mouldering under the waves -of the tropical sea. - -She had made up her mind to expect the worst, and that she could -never see him more. - -'It seems to me,' she thought, 'as if I had ceased to be young, and -had grown very old. God help me, now!' she added, as she sank -heavily into a chair, with a deathly pale face, and eyes that saw -nothing, though staring into the dingy brick street without; and -though Dulcie's tears came readily enough as a general rule, in the -presence of this new and unexpected calamity, nature failed to grant -her the boon--the relief of weeping freely. 'There is a period in -all our lives,' says a writer, 'when the heaviest grief will hardly -keep us waking; we may sink to slumber with undried tears upon our -face; we may sob and murmur through the long night; but still we have -the happy power of losing consciousness and gaining strength to bear -the next day's trial.' - -So Dulcie, worn with heavy thought, could find oblivion for a time, -and even slept with the roar of mighty London in her ears. - -The vicar had not yet returned, so day followed day with her, -aimlessly and hopelessly. - -She thought the public prints could give her no further tidings now. -She knew not where to seek for intelligence, and could but wait, -dumbly, expectantly, and count the hours as they drifted wearily -past, in the desperate longing that some tidings would reach her at -some time of her dearest, it might be now her dead, one! - -The Parks were completely empty then; the sunshine was pleasant and -warm for the season; the grass was green and beautiful; and lured -thereby one forenoon, the pale girl went forth for a little air, when -there occurred an extraordinary catastrophe that, in her present -weakened state of mind and body, was fully calculated to destroy her! - -The afternoon passed--the evening and the night too, yet she did not -as usual return to her humble lodging. The morning dawned without a -trace of her; the landlady began to appraise her few effects; the -landlord shook his head, winked knowingly, and said, 'She was far too -pretty to live alone,' and deemed it the old story over again--a waif -_lost in London_. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -THE TERRIBLE MISTAKE. - -Dulcie had thought that no possible harm could accrue to her from -rambling or sitting in that beautiful Park alone, and watching the -children playing with their hoops along the gravelled walk. With -whom could she go? She had no one to escort her. She knew not that -it was not quite etiquette for a young lady to be there alone and -unattended; but the event that occurred to her was one which she -could never have anticipated. - -She had sat for some time, absorbed in her own thoughts, on one of -the rustic sofas not far from Stanhope Gate, all unaware that an -odd-looking and mean-looking, but carefully dressed little man had -been hovering near her, and observing her closely with his keen small -ferret-like eyes, and with an expression of deep interest, destitute, -however, of the slightest admiration, and with a kind of sardonic and -stereotyped smile in which mirth bore no part. - -He scanned her features from time to time, grinned to himself, and -ever and anon consulted something concealed in his hand. - -'Golden hair--sealskin jacket--sable muff--hat and feather--a silver -necklet--all right,' he muttered, and then he advanced close towards -her. - -Dulcie looked up at him with surprise, and then with an emotion of -alarm, mingled with confusion, which he was neither slow to see nor -misinterpret-- - -'May I ask your name?' said he in a mild tone. - -'Miss Carlyon--Dulcie Carlyon.' - -'Ah! you speak good English.' - -'I am English.' - -'And not a furriner?' - -'No,' replied Dulcie in growing alarm. - -'But you reside in London, just now?' - -'Just now--yes,' said Dulcie, seeing that he was comparing her face -with that of a photo in his hand. - -'With your family--friends?' - -'I have no family--no friends,' said Dulcie, with a sob in her -throat, and starting up to withdraw in great alarm. - -'Just so--not here, but at Ostend, perhaps.' - -Thinking her questioner was mad or intoxicated, Dulcie, in growing -terror, was about to move away when he laid a hand very decidedly on -her left arm. - -'Leave me,' she exclaimed, and on looking around her terror increased -on seeing that no male aid was near her; 'who are you that ask these -questions--that dare to molest me?' - -'My name is Grabbley--Mr. Gilpin Grabbley, of Scotland Yard--oh, -you'll know enough o' me, my dear, before I'm done with you. Come -along: you're wanted partiklar--you are. Will you walk with me -quietly?' - -Perceiving that she was about to utter a shriek, he grasped her arm -more tightly, even to the bruising of her soft tender skin, and said -in a sharp hissing tone: - -'Don't--don't make a row: 'taint no use, my beauty--you must come -along with me.' - -'Oh, what do you mean?' moaned Dulcie, almost incapable of standing -now. - -'Mean--why, that you are my prisoner, that is all.' - -'Am I mad or dreaming? Oh, sir, this is some dreadful mistake.' - -'No mistake at all,' said Mr. Grabbley tauntingly. - -They were out in Park Lane now, and Dulcie cast a despairing glance -at the many closed and shuttered windows of the mansions there, as if -she would summon aid. - -'Look here, gal,' said the detective, for such Mr. Grabbley was, 'I -have orders to arrest the original of this fotygraf--you are that -original--look! don't you see yourself, as if in a looking-glass?' - -Dulcie did look, with a kind of horrible fascination, and recognised -in it a very striking resemblance to her face and dress--even to the -luckless silver locket and chain. - -Mr. Grabbley utilised the moments of her bewilderment. He stopped a -passing cab--half lifted, half thrust her in. - -'Marlborough Street,' said he to the driver, and they were driven off. - -'Of what am I accused?' said Dulcie, driven desperate now. - -'Robbery on a railway--that's all; and you knows all about it--the -when and the where.' - -If not the victim of some deliberate outrage, she was certainly the -victim of some inexplicable mistake which might yet be explained; -anyway in her ignorance and in her wild fear she strove to elicit -succour from passers-by, till Mr. Grabbley closed the rattling -glasses of the cab and held her firmly, while, like one in a dreadful -dream, she was rapidly driven through Berkley Square, across Bond -Street and Regent Street, to their destination, where, when the cab -stopped, she was quickly taken indoors, through a passage, in which -several police officers and odd, repulsive-looking people of both -sexes were loitering about, and whence she was conveyed by the -inexorable Grabbley, to whom all appeals were vain, and left in a -state of semi-stupefaction--after being led down a long corridor, -having many doors opening on each side thereof--in a small bare -room--a den it seemed, and if not quite a prison cell, yet dreary, -cold, and comfortless enough to suggest the idea of being one. - -She heard a key turned upon her, and felt that now--more than -ever--she was a prisoner! - -She had no sense of indignation as yet--only a wild and clamorous one -of fear, or dread, she knew not of what--of being disgraced, and, it -might be, the victim of a mad-man's freak. She was in utter -solitude, and no sound seemed to be there but the loud beating of her -heart. - -Past grief and anxiety had rendered her very weak and unable to -withstand the tension on her nerves caused by this astounding -accusation and catastrophe, of which she could neither calculate nor -see the end. Then an exhaustion that was utter and complete -followed, and for a time she was physically and mentally -prostrate--in that awful sense of desolation and heart-broken grief -that God in His mercy permits few to suffer.... So passed the night. - -'A person--a gentleman,' said a commissionaire at the Rag doubtfully -to Villiers as he entered the vestibule, 'has been waiting here for -nearly an hour for you, sir.' - -'Oh--it is you, Mr.--Mr.----' - -'Grabbley, sir,' said the little man affably, his ferret eyes -twinkling, and his vulgar face rippling over with a smile. - -'You have some news, I suppose?' - -'Yes, sir, I've nabbed her.' - -'When?' - -'Yesterday morning.' - -'Where?' - -'In Hyde Park--nigh Stanhope Gate. She speaks English uncommonly -well to be a furriner.' - -'That's sharp work! You are a clever fellow, Grabbley. Was my -pocket-book found upon her?' - -'We did not search her, but she is locked up at Marlborough Street, -where I would like you to see and identify her before making out the -matter in the charge sheet.' - -'All right--get a cab. Come with me, Hammersley, and I'll show you -my little Belgienne.' - -Hammersley went unwillingly, as it was pretty close on the time he -had now begun to visit Finella at her grandmother's residence, and he -cast longing eyes at the windows of the latter as he and his two -companions were driven out of the square. - -'A horrid atmosphere, and a horrid place in all its details,' he -muttered, when the scene of Dulcie's detention was reached, and -throwing away the fag end of a cheap cigar Mr. Grabbley, with an -expression of no small satisfaction, puckering his visage, unlocked -and threw open the door--a sound which roused Dulcie from her -stupefied state--and starting up she stood before them, trembling in -every fibre, with a hunted expression in her dark blue eyes and a -gathering hope in her breast, to find herself confronted by two such -men of unexceptionable appearance and bearing as Hammersley and -Villiers, who raised his hat, and turning with astonishment and some -dismay to the police official said sharply: - -'This is some great--some truly infernal mistake!' - -'A mistake--how, sir?' asked Grabbley. - -'This young lady is _not_ the person whose photo I gave you.' - -'They seems as like as two peas.' - -'The likeness, I admit, is great, but the Belgian girl, I told you, -could not speak a word of English, or scarcely so. I have to offer -you a thousand apologies, though the mistake is not mine, but that of -this man,' said Villiers, bowing low to Dulcie, greatly impressed by -the sweetness of her beauty and terror of the predicament in which -she had been placed. - -'So it's a mistake after all, young gal,' growled Mr. Grabbley, with -intense disappointment and reluctance to relinquish his prey. - -'And may I go, sir?' said Dulcie piteously to Villiers. - -'Most certainly--you are free,' replied Villiers, who was again about -to apologize and explain, but the girl, like a hunted creature, drew -her veil tightly across her tear-blotched face, rushed along the -dingy corridor, and gained the street in an instant. - -That she was a lady in every sense of tone and bearing was evident, -and Villiers felt overcome with shame and contrition, and swore in -pretty round terms at the crestfallen Grabbley. - -'This is a devil of a mistake!' said the latter as he scratched his -head in dire perplexity. - -'A mistake we have not, perhaps, heard the end of. Who is she?' -asked Villiers. - -'I don't know.' - -'Did she give you no name?' - -'Yes--here it is,' said Grabbley, producing a dirty note-book; -'Dulcie Carlyon.' - -'A curious and uncommon name.' - -'Who do you say--Dulcie Carlyon?' exclaimed Hammersley, who had -hitherto been silent, starting forward; and on the name being -repeated to him once or twice, 'Great Heaven!' he exclaimed, 'if it -should be the same!' - -'Same what--or who?' - -'The girl to whom Florian is engaged: you remember Florian of ours.' - -'Of course I do.' - -'Golden hair, blue eyes, under middle height (how often he has -described her to me), and then the name--Dulcie Carlyon; it must be -she--let us overtake her! What an astounding introduction!' - -But that was easier proposed than accomplished. On gaining the -street the two officers saw not a trace of Dulcie Carlyon, so all -hope of discovering her address was gone. - -How Dulcie made her way back to her obscure lodgings she scarcely -knew; but she was long and seriously ill after this startling event. - -There she felt as much at home as a creature so poor and friendless -could feel. Often she lay abed and seemed unconscious, but she was -not so. Her eyes were wide open, and their gaze wandered about; her -lips were generally dry and quivering. She was in the state which -generally comes after a severe mental shock; her mind refused to -grasp the situation. - -Until a drink was given her by Ellen, the kind little maid of all -work, she sometimes knew not how parched her throat was--how sorely -athirst she had been. - -She was afraid to be left alone after that horrible accusation. In -her nervousness she feared that she might see her double--feel a -touch, and on turning find herself face to face with her own -likeness, as that evil Lord of Fettercairn did who sold his country. - -Finella's astonishment to hear from Hammersley the story of where and -under what circumstances he had met Dulcie Carlyon was only equalled -by his own on learning that Florian, his comrade and brother-officer -in the Zulu war, and whilom private soldier in his company of the -24th, was heir to a peerage, and the cousin of his affianced wife, -Finella Melfort. - -For so it was. Lord and Lady Fettercairn had undergone so much in -the mismanagement of family matters latterly, and in years long past, -that they were now well disposed to let Finella alone, and in all -conscience they could not expect her to give to Florian (if he ever -returned) the love she had never given to the now vanished Shafto. - -'Vivian, you must find out the address of dear Dulcie,' said she. - -'If I can.' - -'You must. I shall want her as one of my bridesmaids.' - -From this we may presume that matters between these two were all in -fair training now. - -'Your wish would delight Villiers, my groomsman, who has been -sorrowing about her ever since the time of that terrible mistake.' - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -DULCIE'S VISITOR. - -On an afternoon subsequent to this episode Dulcie was lost in a -day-dream, born of her own sad thoughts, her soft blue eyes fixed -vacantly on the hideous and dingy brick edifices of the thoroughfare -in which she dwelt; and when roused therefrom by the little maid of -all work, she gazed at her with a somewhat dazed expression. - -'What is it, Ellen?' she asked. - -'A gentleman, miss, wishes to see you.' - -Alarm--dread, she knew not of what, was her first idea now. - -'Who is he?' she asked. - -'I don't know, miss.' - -'Is he old or young?' - -'Young.' - -'Then he can't be the vicar?' - -'Oh, lawk, no, miss, he ain't a bit like a clergyman,' replied the -housemaid, laughing. - -'Ask his business, Ellen.' - -She was almost relapsing into her dream again, when she was startled -by seeing a man appear beside her. - -'Dulcie?' said a voice, that made her heart thrill. - -She sprang up to find herself confronted by a gentleman, whose face, -though thin and worn, seemed deeply tanned by the sun, so that his -scorched neck was absolutely red; his dark moustache was thick and -heavy, his shoulders broad and square. - -'Dearest Dulcie, don't you know me?' said he, holding out his hands -and arms. - -'Florian--is this you--really you?' - -'I thought you would not quite forget me.' - -'Forget you!' said Dulcie, in a low and piercing voice, as she fell -upon his breast, and his loving arms went closely round her. - -'Oh, Florian, I did not know you were in England!' - -'We were landed at Plymouth three days ago. I got your address from -good old Paul Pentreath, procured leave of absence, and came on here -without a moment's delay, my own darling.' - -For some minutes neither could find words to speak, so supreme was -the mutual happiness of the sudden reunion. - -'How brown you are! but how thin, and how much older you look!' said -Dulcie, surveying him with bright but tearful eyes. 'I can scarcely -believe you to be the same Florian that left me only a year ago or -so.' - -'Ay, Dulcie, pet; but soldiering, especially soldiering in the ranks, -takes a lot out of a fellow. But I am the same Florian that left you -then, with a heavy and hopeless heart indeed.' - -'And now----' - -'Now I shall leave you no more.' - -'What dreadful places you must have been in, Florian; what dangers -you have faced; what sufferings undergone, my love!' - -'The thought of you lightened and brightened them all to me, Dulcie,' -said he, while into her bright little English face came that -wonderful and adoring smile only possible on the lips and in the eyes -of a woman who is in love, and for the object of her love. - -She told him of her simple plans and humble prospects, of her hope in -the vicar, why she had left Craigengowan, and how she came to be in -that poor and cheap lodging-room near Oxford Street. - -'We must not lose sight of each other now, my darling,' said he, as -she nestled her face on his breast. 'Let us get married at once, -love, and then it must be service in India for me. Are you ready to -face heat, it may be fever, and Heaven knows what more, Dulcie?' - -'Every peril, if with you!' - -'My brave little soldier's wife! But suppose we grow tired of each -other?' - -'You wicked wag!--why think of such a thing?' - -'Married folks do sometimes,' said he, laughing. - -'Then we should part--I would run away.' - -'As a preliminary to that we must be united, Dulcie; so when will you -be ready to marry me?' - -'Oh, Florian!' - -'You must say--we have little time to lose.' - -'I have no trousseau to get--and no money for it--we are so poor, -Florian.' - -'But rich in love--well then--when?' - -'I don't know,' was the shy, coy answer. - -'This day three weeks--I can afford even a special license, Dulcie.' - -'So be it, dear Florian.' - -'Then I shall write to good old Paul Pentreath about it, and then we -must resolutely think of turning our steps to India. We could not -afford to live at home.' - -Their little plans--little, though of vast importance to them--were -all arranged, and discussed so sweetly, so lovingly, again and again, -and at last he left her for his hotel, which was not far off, in -Oxford Street, with a promise to call for her again betimes on the -morrow; and to Dulcie it seemed as if the sun had come with a -glorious burst of radiance at last into the cloudy atmosphere of her -life; that joy had come with it; and that, sorrow and tears--save -those of happiness--had gone for ever. - -So, in three weeks the life of Dulcie Carlyon would be over; and the -life of Dulcie MacIan would begin. - -Dulcie MacIan--how odd it seemed to sound! - -And so, at the appointed time, Mr. Paul Pentreath, summoned to London -for the special occasion, tied the 'fatal knot' of the matrimonial -noose for these two young people; and Dulcie, as in a dream, heard -him ask: - -'Wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded husband, to live together -after God's ordinance, in the holy estate of matrimony?' - -And in a clear and confident tone little Dulcie said, 'I will,' as -she loved, frankly--loved 'as a fair honest English maiden may with -her heart on her lips, and all her soul shining out of her truthful -eyes.' - -So the marriage passed quietly; there were no lawyers, dressmakers, -outfitters, and all those other folks who never keep time; no -attendants, save Dulcie's landlady, the clerk, and honest Tom -Tyrrell, whose 'time being out,' contrived to turn up about this -crisis to wish, with all the ardour of his gallant heart, his whilom -comrade and officer, with his fair young bride, 'God speed;' and -after a quiet little honeymoon at Richmond--no further off--Florian -set forth to the Horse Guards for the purpose of effecting an -exchange to a regiment in India; but a letter that came to him -altered all his views and plans. - -It was from Mr. Kenneth Kippilaw, W.S., who had seen the marriage -announced in a public print, and had written at once to Florian and -to Lord Fettercairn. - -When Abou Hassan, the merchant of Bagdad, woke up on that remarkable -morning, and he found himself in the palace of Haroun al Raschid, and -treated as the latter by all the beautiful ladies of the Court, and -the black slaves around his couch, he was scarcely more astonished -than our poor Lieutenant of Infantry, when he found himself to be the -heir of Craigengowan and Fettercairn! - -He then knew all about Shafto's villainy, yet in the gentleness of -his spirit he joined with Dulcie in saying: - -'Poor creature! God help and forgive him, as freely as I do.' - -Sooth to say, Dulcie was perhaps less astonished on finding Florian -was the true heir; she had ever thought there was some mystery in the -new position and new relationship, so suddenly assumed by the wily -Shafto, whose tissue of falsehoods had, as usual in such cases, -broken down by an unthought-of point. - -Amid the sudden splendour of his prospects, such was his simplicity -of character, that one of Florian's first thoughts was of a cosy -cottage at Craigengowan for his comrade Tom Tyrrell! - -The news spread like wildfire through all the Mearns, Angus, and -everywhere else. It proved a great godsend, and the vicinity of -Inverbervie was besieged by folks connected with the press, all eager -to glean the last authentic information from Craigengowan, and even -Grapeston, the butler, and MacCrupper, the head groom, were -interviewed and treated--the former with wine, and the latter -copiously with whisky and water--on the subject. - -To Lady Fettercairn the marriage of Florian proved, of course, a -cause of bitter mortification. - -'Another mesalliance--like father, like son!' she exclaimed; 'now -indeed we shall be associated with Freethinkers, franchise folks, -dynamiters, and all kinds of dreadful people!' she wailed out. - -The first alleged and hurriedly accepted heir had proved a ruinous -blackleg; the second and true one was Flora MacIan's son beyond all -doubt--a gallant young fellow, who had 'gone through the ranks to a -commission!' but, alas! he had married Dulcie Carlyon--the Devonshire -lawyer's daughter--her 'companion,' whom she had treated with no -small contumely at Craigengowan, where she was now to be welcomed as -a bride and the future Lady Fettercairn! - -It was all too much for the aristocratic brain of the present holder -of that rank. - -She sat in her boudoir at Craigengowan; it was small, but wonderfully -pretty; the chairs were all of ivory and gilt; the walls hung with -pale blue silk, embroidered with flowers; and she thought ruefully of -the time when--if her Lord predeceased her--she would have to quit -all that, and take up her abode at Finella Lodge, the humble -dower-house--giving place to Dulcie Carlyon. It was all too horrible -to think of! - -But the couple were coming, and already she could hear the distant -cheers of the tenantry. - -Several young ladies--among them the daughters of Mr. Kippilaw--were -seated about the room in expectation and in lounging attitudes, their -garden bonnets or riding habits showing how they had been recently -occupied. - -A distant sound--was it of carriage-wheels--made her lapdog bark. - -'Down, Snap--be quiet,' said Lady Fettercairn with more asperity than -was her wont to that plethoric and pampered cur. - -The volunteers were under arms on the lawn to salute Florian Melfort -as a hero from Zululand; and a salute to his bride was boomed forth -from an old battery of 6-pounders on the terrace; a banner was -flaunting on the old tower, above all the vanes and turrets; bells -were clashing in the distant kirk spire, and the cheers of the -Craigengowan tenantry rang up amid the ancient trees in welcome to -the heir of Fettercairn and his winsome young wife. - -Lord Fettercairn received them at the door with what grace he might; -but the hands of many others were held forth to him, among others -those of old Kenneth Kippilaw, Madelon Galbraith, the aged butler, -and Sandy MacCrupper. - -All shadows had fled away, and the bright sunshine of heaven was over -Craigengowan and in the hearts of all there. - -Even Lady Fettercairn, when she met Florian and saw how like her -youngest son and his portrait he looked, felt all that she had of a -mother's heart go forth to him as it had never done to the vanished -Shafto; while Florian, modest and gentle Florian, whose heart had -never quailed before the enemy, now felt, as he said to Dulcie, -somewhat 'dashed' on being confronted by this tall and aristocratic -grandmother amid such splendid surroundings. - -Dulcie recalled with wonder the humble position she had held at -Craigengowan, and the many fears and mortifications to which she had -been subjected by Lady Fettercairn and Shafto till the eventful -morning of her flight, and how strange it seemed to her to be able to -act as guide and cicerone over his own patrimony to Florian, and to -show him that she was quite at home in that hitherto unknown land to -him--the Howe of the Mearns! - -And in a week or two more Finella and Hammersley were coming thither -on their honeymoon trip. - - - -THE END. - - - -BILLING & SONS, PRINTERS, GUILDFORD. - - - - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DULCIE CARLYON, VOLUME III (OF -3) *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Dulcie Carlyon, Volume III (of 3)</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>A novel</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: James Grant</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: June 11, 2022 [eBook #68295]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Al Haines</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DULCIE CARLYON, VOLUME III (OF 3) ***</div> - -<h1> -<br /><br /> - DULCIE CARLYON.<br /> -</h1> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="t3b"> - A Novel.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - BY<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t2"> - JAMES GRANT,<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t4"> - AUTHOR OF 'THE ROMANCE OF WAR,' ETC.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - IN THREE VOLUMES.<br /> -<br /> - VOL. III.<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> - LONDON:<br /> - WARD AND DOWNEY,<br /> - 12, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.<br /> -<br /> - 1886.<br /> -</p> - -<p class="t4"> - [<i>All Rights Reserved.</i>]<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> -NEW NOVELS AT EVERY LIBRARY. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="noindent"> -FROM THE SILENT PAST. By Mrs. HERBERT MARTIN. 2 Vols. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -COWARD AND COQUETTE. By the Author of 'The Parish of Hilby.' 'vol. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -MIND, BODY, AND ESTATE. By the Author of 'Olive Varcoe.' 3 vols. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -AT THE RED GLOVE. By KATHARINE S. MACQUOID. 3 vols. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -WHERE TEMPESTS BLOW. By the Author of 'Miss Elvester's Girls.' 3 vols. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -IN SIGHT OF LAND. By Lady DUFFUS HARDY. 3 vols. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -AS IN A LOOKING-GLASS. By F. C. PHILIPS. 'vol. -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -LORD VANECOURT'S DAUGHTER. By MABEL COLLINS. 3 vols. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> -WARD AND DOWNEY, PUBLISHERS, LONDON. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3b"> -CONTENTS OF VOL. III. -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p class="noindent"> -CHAPTER -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -I. <a href="#chap01">THE PURSUIT</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -II. <a href="#chap02">WHICH TREATS OF LOVE LETTERS</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -III. <a href="#chap03">IN THE HOWE OF THE MEARNS AGAIN</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -IV. <a href="#chap04">EN ROUTE TO ULUNDI</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -V. <a href="#chap05">THE LOADED DICE</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -VI. <a href="#chap06">SHAFTO'S HORIZON BECOMES CLOUDY</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -VII. <a href="#chap07">THE SQUARE AT ULUNDI</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -VIII. <a href="#chap08">DISAPPEARANCE OF DULCIE</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -IX. <a href="#chap09">FLIGHT</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -X. <a href="#chap10">A STARTLING LETTER</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XI. <a href="#chap11">THE PURSUIT OF CETEWAYO</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XII. <a href="#chap12">AT THE 'RAG'</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XIII. <a href="#chap13">A REVELATION</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XIV. <a href="#chap14">IN THE GNOME FOREST</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XV. <a href="#chap15">THE MAJOR PROPOSES</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XVI. <a href="#chap16">A CLOUD DISPELLED</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XVII. <a href="#chap17">FLORIAN DYING</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XVIII. <a href="#chap18">THE TERRIBLE MISTAKE</a> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -XIX. <a href="#chap19">DULCIE'S VISITOR</a> -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap01"></a></p> - -<p class="t2"> -DULCIE CARLYON. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER I. -<br /><br /> -THE PURSUIT. -</h3> - -<p> -A new emotion—a hot thirst for blood—was -in the heart of Florian now; his whole -nature seemed to have undergone a sudden -and temporary change; and to those who -could have seen him his face would have been -found deadly pale, and his dark eyes full of -sombre fury. -</p> - -<p> -The longing for retribution and destruction -was keen in his mind at that time. Often he -reined up the horse he rode to take a steady -shot between the animal's quivering ears at -one or other of the two desperadoes; but -always missed them, and found that time was -thus lost and the distance increased. -</p> - -<p> -His present charger was not so steady as -the old Cape nag, Tattoo, and Florian's -hands, in the intensity of his excitement, -trembled too much for his aim to be true; so -the fugitives rode on and on, without firing a -shot in return, thus showing that their -ammunition had been expended, and they had -nothing to hope for or trust to but a -successful escape. -</p> - -<p> -A cry left Florian's lips as the fugitives -disappeared into a donga, and he thought he -had lost them; but anon he saw them ascending -the opposite slope at a rasping pace. -</p> - -<p> -He could only think of the generous and -chivalrous Vivian Hammersley, that good -officer and noble Englishman, shot down thus -in the pride of his manhood by the felon -hand of an assassin, whose bullet was meant -for himself—Hammersley, whose form stood -with a kind of luminous atmosphere amid the -dark surroundings that beset them both since -he (Florian) had come as a soldier to Zululand; -and then he thought of Dulcie's friend -Finella, whom he only knew by name. -</p> - -<p> -Poor girl! the next mail for Britain might -bring sorrowful tidings to her, with the very -letter his hand had so recently indited, full of -hope and expressions of happiness. -</p> - -<p> -Crossing by flying leaps the Umvutshini -stream, a tributary of the greater Umvolosi, -the pursuers and pursued traversed an -undulating tract of country, scaring a great troop -of the brindled gnu, which were grazing -quietly there; anon a terrified herd of the -koodoo—graceful antelopes, with magnificent -spiral horns—swept past them, where the -karoo shrubs and the silvery hair-grass and -wild oats grew; elsewhere their horses' hoofs, -as they crushed or bruised the creeping -fibrous roots of the Akerrania, shed a -fragrance in the air. -</p> - -<p> -The Umvolosi had now to be waded -through near a rocky kop which towered on -the right hand, and the opposite bank had to -be scrambled up at a place where the -tree-fern flourished thickly, and drooping -date-palms overhung the water. -</p> - -<p> -Next they had to cross a nameless tributary -of the Upoko River, and then to skirt -the base of the Mabenge Mountains (within -two miles of Fort Newdigate), where, in -some places, an odour, sickly and awful, loaded -the evening air; and by experience they -knew it came from the bodies of slain Zulus -lying unburied, or covered only by their -shields and a few loose stones. -</p> - -<p> -In some places—one particularly—Florian -and his companions found their progress -almost arrested by spiky plants of giant -size—the Doornboom, with its ox-horn-like -prickles; for there are thickets of those -through which even horses cannot pass—odious -and terrible plants which tear the -clothes to rags, and pierce the flesh to the -bone; but they discovered two breaches -through which the fugitives had passed, and, -forcing a passage, they rode onward again, -and, in the fierce ardour of pursuit, Florian -was all unconscious, till afterwards, how he -and his horse too were lacerated, scratched, -and torn by the sharp spines as he rushed -through them at full speed. -</p> - -<p> -One of the fugitives had evidently found a -cartridge, in a pocket perhaps, for he fired -one shot rearward, in Parthian fashion, but -fruitlessly, as it hit no one, and then he rode -wildly but steadily on. -</p> - -<p> -Believing that if ever he returned to camp -it would only be to find his friend dying or -dead, Florian, plunged in grief, maddened by -rage and a thirst for dire vengeance, rode -furiously yet silently on, closely followed by -his four infantry men. -</p> - -<p> -His horse—Hammersley's—was a fine -English charger, and soon outstripped those -of his comrades, who erelong began to drop -rearward one after another, though Tom -Tyrrell continued to head the rest; but after -a time Florian found himself almost alone; -thus it was fortunate for him that those he -pursued were without ammunition. -</p> - -<p> -Once or twice he lost sight of them, as -dongas or eminences intervened, and then a -low cry would escape him; but by the aid -of his field-glass he 'spotted' them again, -and gored his horse with the spurs anew. -</p> - -<p> -Now broad before them lay the foaming -Nondweni River, with the lion-shaped hill of -Isandhlwana about seven miles distant, its -rocky crest then reddened by the western sun, -and Florian knew that now the pursuit had -lasted for more than twenty miles from the -Euzangonyan Hill. -</p> - -<p> -Here the assassins reined up, and seemed -to confer for a moment or two, as if in -evident confusion and dismay. To remain -was to die, and to attempt to cross the -river would end in death by drowning, it -was so deep and swift, red and swollen by -recent storms of such rain as falls in the tropics -only. -</p> - -<p> -Florian dismounted now, dropped a fresh -cartridge into the breech-block of the rifle -he still carried, and just as he threw the -bridle over his arm, Tom Tyrrell came -tearing up and also leaped from his saddle, -prepared to fire at four hundred yards -range. -</p> - -<p> -The two fugitives plunged into the water, -where trees, branches, cartloads of enormous -leaves and yellow pumpkins were being -swept past, and strove to make their horses -breast the stream by turning them partly at -an angle to the current. More than once -the animals snorted with fear, throwing up -their heads wildly as their haunches went -down under the weight of their riders. -</p> - -<p> -Tyrrell fired and shot one in mid-stream; -he threw up his hands in agony or despair, -and fell on the mane of his horse, which, with -himself, was swept round a rocky angle and -disappeared. -</p> - -<p> -The other had gained footing on the opposite -bank, but at that moment Florian planted -a rifle bullet between his shoulders. -</p> - -<p> -Sharply rang the report of the rifle, and a -shriek mingled with the rush of the world -of waters as the deserter and assassin fell -backward over the crupper of his struggling -horse, which gained the land, while his -rider sank to rise no more just as the last -red rays of the sun died out on the stern -hill-tops, and in its rush the river seemed to -sweep past with a mightier sound than ever. -</p> - -<p> -<i>Which</i> of the two he had shot in the -twilight Florian knew not, nor did he care; -suffice it that he and Tom Tyrrell 'had -polished them off,' as the latter said, and -thereupon proceeded to light his pipe with an -air of profound contentment. -</p> - -<p> -Hammersley was avenged, certainly. -</p> - -<p> -Before setting out on his return, Florian -paused to draw breath, to wipe the cold -perspiration from his forehead, and nerve -himself anew for aught that might befall him -on his homeward way, for with tropical -speed darkness had fallen now, and he was -glad when he and Tyrrell overtook the three -mounted men, as they had a most lonely -district to traverse back to camp, and one -in which they were not likely to meet -friends; so they now rode somewhat slowly -on, breathing and enjoying what some one -calls the cool and mysterious wind of -night. -</p> - -<p> -Zulus might be about in any number, with -rifle, assegai, and knobkerie; but though -Florian and his companions rode with arms -loaded as a precaution, they scarcely thought -of them, and were intent on comparing notes -and studying the features of the country as a -guide on their lonely way. -</p> - -<p> -At last, with supreme satisfaction, after -many detours and mistakes, they saw the red -glowworm-like lights of the camp appearing -in the streets of tents, and knew thereby that -the last bugle had not sounded. -</p> - -<p> -Ere long they heard the challenge of the -advanced sentinel of an outlying piquet, and -responding thereto, passed within the lines, -when Florian went at once to the headquarter -tents to report himself to the -Adjutant-General, together with the events -that had so recently transpired by the -Nondweni River. -</p> - -<p> -'You have done precisely what the General -commanding would have ordered you to do,' -said the Adjutant-General, 'and I am sure -he will thank you for punishing the rascals -as they deserved. There are too many -of "Cardwell's recruits" afloat in Cape -Colony!' -</p> - -<p> -'Is Captain Hammersley still alive?' -</p> - -<p> -'Yes—but little more, I fear.' -</p> - -<p> -He repaired straight to the sufferer's tent, -but was not permitted by the hospital -orderly, acting under the surgeon's strict -orders, to see him—or at least to speak with him. -</p> - -<p> -The ball had broken some of the short ribs -on the left side, nearly driving them into the -lung; thus he was in a dangerous state. -Florian peeped into the bell-tent, and, by a -dim lantern hung on the pole thereof, could -see Hammersley lying on his camp-bed -asleep, apparently, and pale as marble; and -he thought it a sorrowful sight to see one -whose splendid physique seemed of that -kind which no abstract pain or trouble -could crush—who could ever bear himself -like a man—weak now as a little -child—levelled by the bullet of a cowardly -assassin. -</p> - -<p> -Florian, though worn, weary, and sorely -athirst after the skirmish by the Euzangonyan -Hill, the subsequent pursuit, and all -connected therewith, before betaking him to his -tent, paid his next visit to Tattoo, for, after -his friend, he loved his horse. -</p> - -<p> -A little way apart from where the -store-waggons were parked and the artillery and -other horses knee-haltered, Tattoo was lying -on a heap of dry brown mealie-stalks in a -pool of his own blood, notwithstanding that, -awaiting Florian's return and orders, a kindly -trooper of the Mounted Infantry had bound -an old scarlet tunic about the poor animal's -off thigh, where the bullet, meant for his -rider, had made a ghastly score-like wound, -in one part penetrating at least seven inches -deep; and where Tattoo had remained -standing for some time in one spot, the -blood had dripped into a great dark crimson -pool. -</p> - -<p> -'Can nothing be done to stop it?' asked -Florian. -</p> - -<p> -'Nothing, sir,' replied a Farrier-Sergeant -of the Royal Artillery. -</p> - -<p> -'But the horse will die if this kind of -thing goes on.' -</p> - -<p> -The sergeant shrugged his shoulders, -saluted, and turned away, while Florian put -an arm round the drooping head of the horse -caressingly; and, as if sensible of his -sympathy, the animal gazed at him with his -large, soft brown eyes, that were streaked -with blood-shot veins now. -</p> - -<p> -'His vitals is safe, sir, anyhow,' said Tom -Tyrrell. -</p> - -<p> -'I can't leave him thus in the cold—for -cold it is here, by Jove, at night; bring a -blanket from my tent, Tom, and put it over -him.' -</p> - -<p> -After belting the blanket about Tattoo, by -the light of a stable-lantern, Florian lingered -for a time beside the poor nag, who hung -his head with unmistakable symptoms of -intense pain, while his drooping eyes grew -dull and heavy. -</p> - -<p> -Without undressing, Florian threw himself -on his humble camp-bed, which consisted of -little else than a blanket and ground sheet, -but was unable to sleep more than ten -minutes or so at a stretch. The fighting, the -hot pursuit by hill and stream and karoo—the -excitement of every kind, and the whole -work he had been doing—had fevered his -brain, and ever and anon he started from his -pillow as if a snake had been under it; and -so passed the few short hours till drum and -bugle announced the <i>reveille</i>, and that the -day-work of the camp had begun. -</p> - -<p> -To those who saw him, he looked haggard -in the cold, grey, early light, as he quitted -his camp-bed, unrested and unrefreshed, -though mere repose of the body is supposed -to be a relief, and, as it was too early to -disturb Hammersley, he went straight to -visit Tattoo. -</p> - -<p> -He was standing up now among the -mealies of his litter, with his head drooping -lower and his bright eyes more dim than -ever; but they actually seemed to dilate and -brighten at the sound of his master's voice. -The latter had brought him the half of his -ration-biscuit, soaked in water; and Tattoo -looked at it with dumb longing, and turned -it over in Florian's palm with his hot, soft, -velvet nose; but after trying to champ it -once or twice he let it fall to the ground. -Tattoo was incapable of swallowing now. -</p> - -<p> -There was little time to do much, as the -troops were soon to march; but Tom Tyrrell -brought some hot water in a bucket, and -sluiced the wound with a sponge, and -redressed it with such rough bandages as could -be procured, and Florian got from Doctor -Gallipot some laudanum to mix with the -horse's drink to deaden the acuteness of the -pain he suffered; but it was all in vain; -Tattoo sank grovelling down upon his -fore-knees and rolled heavily over on his side, -and, as the wound welled forth again, he -turned his head and looked at his master, -and if ever eyes expressed a sense of -gratitude, those of the old troop-horse did so then. -</p> - -<p> -'We march in a very short time, sir,' said -the senior officer commanding the Mounted -Infantry, as he reined in his charger for a -minute <i>en passant</i>; 'and in the cause of -humanity, as your horse cannot recover, it -had better be put out of pain.' -</p> - -<p> -'Shot?' -</p> - -<p> -'Yes.' -</p> - -<p> -'Poor Tattoo!' -</p> - -<p> -Florian turned away, sick at heart, as he -saw a soldier quietly dropping a cartridge -into the breech-block of his rifle in obedience -to the stern but necessary order, for if left -thus, the horse would be devoured while -living by the monstrous Kaffir vultures. -</p> - -<p> -With carefully sighted rifle, and distance as -carefully judged, Florian had 'potted' many -a Zulu at various hundreds of yards, in -common with his comrades; he had shot, -as he supposed, Josh Jarrett without an atom -of compunction; but now, as he hurried away, -he put his fingers in his ears to shut out the -report of the rifle that announced the death -of Tattoo. -</p> - -<p> -As a souvenir of the latter—for Dulcie, -perhaps—he desired Tom Tyrrell to cut off -one of the hoofs, and Tom polished the hoof -and burnished the iron shoe till the latter -shone like silver—the hoof that never again -would carry Florian across the wild karoo, -or to the front in the face of the enemy. -</p> - -<p> -The Second Division now began its march -to encamp on the fatal hill of Isandhlwana—that -place of ill omen. -</p> - -<p> -Hammersley was conveyed with other -wounded in an ambulance waggon, and it -was decided that if he recovered sufficiently -he should be sent home on sick leave to -Britain. Florian occasionally rode by the -side of the waggon, the motion of which -was anything but easy or pleasant to those -who were in pain. -</p> - -<p> -How pale, he thought, Hammersley looked, -with his delicate nostrils, clearly cut mouth, -and dark moustache; and his mind went from -thence to Finella Melfort, the girl he loved, -who was so far away, and whom he might not -be spared to see again. -</p> - -<p> -'Write gently about all this affair to Miss -Carlyon,' said Hammersley feebly. 'But the -infernal telegrams will make poor little Finella -<i>an fait</i> of my danger before details can -reach her.' Then he muttered to himself, -'How truly it has been said that the -indifferent are often tied to each other -irrevocably, while those who love truly are -parted far as east from west.' -</p> - -<p> -'So you have fully avenged me, I hear?' -he said, after a pause, while his features were -contracted by pain. -</p> - -<p> -'Of that there is no doubt,' replied Florian. -</p> - -<p> -'For that I thank you, old fellow, though -I am low enough—in that state, in fact, in -which, we are told, we should forgive our -enemies, and pray for those who despitefully -use us.' -</p> - -<p> -'These two rascals are past being forgiven -now. I dare say long ere this their bodies -have been swept into the White Umvoloski,' -said Florian, who still felt somewhat savage -about the whole episode. -</p> - -<p> -'Well, I am going to the rear at last, but I -hope we shall meet again. If not,' he added, -with a palpable break in his voice, 'my -ring—take and keep it in remembrance of -me.' And as he spoke Hammersley drew from -his finger a magnificent gipsy ring, in which -there was a large and valuable opal, and forced -it upon the acceptance of Florian. -</p> - -<p> -'The opal is said to be a stone of ill-omen,' -said Hammersley with a faint smile, 'but it -never brought ill-fortune to me.' -</p> - -<p> -Florian knew nothing of that, and, if he -had, would probably not have cared about it, -though reared in Devonshire, the land of the -pixies and underground dwarfs and fairies. -</p> - -<p> -'The only reason for the stone being -thought unlucky,' said Hammersley, smiling, -'is that Mark Antony, Nadir Shah, and -Potemkin, wearers of great opals, all came to grief.' -</p> - -<p> -'Going home, I hear, Hammersley,' lisped a -smart young <i>aide-de-camp</i>, cantering up to the -ambulance waggon. 'Egad, I envy you—you'll -see something better than Kaffir -damsels there!' -</p> - -<p> -Hammersley, in the midst of his acute -pain, somewhat resented the other's jollity, -and said: -</p> - -<p> -'The poor Kaffir damsels are content with -the handiwork of God, and don't paint their -faces red and white, as our English women -do in the Row and Regent Street, Villiers.' -</p> - -<p> -'You'll soon be home—there is no such -thing as distance now,' rejoined the young -staff officer. -</p> - -<p> -'Yes, Villiers, I am sorry to leave you all; -but I am going back to England—dear old -England—the land of fog, as Voltaire says, -with its one sauce and its three hundred and -sixty-five religions,' he added, with a feeble -smile, thinking he was perhaps rather sharp -in his tone to Villiers. -</p> - -<p> -'And you have lost your favourite horse, -I hear?' said Hammersley to Florian. -</p> - -<p> -'Yes, poor animal.' -</p> - -<p> -'Then take mine. I need not ask you to -be kind to him. Who can say but you may -lend him to me one day for a run at Melton -again? Now, good-bye, old fellow, God bless -you!' -</p> - -<p> -They wrung each other's hands and parted, -Florian to ride on to the new camp at the -Isandhlwana Hill, prior to the march for -Ulundi, and Vivian Hammersley to go with -the rest of the wounded and sick to the coast -for conveyance to Plymouth. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap02"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER II. -<br /><br /> -WHICH TREATS OF LOVE-LETTERS. -</h3> - -<p> -The middle of July had come, and matters -remained almost unchanged in the family -circle at Craigengowan. Lady Fettercairn -had not yet carried out her threat of getting -rid of Dulcie Carlyon, though a vague sense -of dislike of the latter was fast growing in -her mind. -</p> - -<p> -Hammersley seemed to be effectually -removed from Finella's sphere, though by what -means Lady Fettercairn knew not; but still -Shafto made no progress with the heiress; -thus she feared some secret influence was -exerted over him by 'this Miss Carlyon,' and -would gladly have had old Mrs. Prim back -again. -</p> - -<p> -It was July now, we say; and July in -London, though Byron says, -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - 'The English winter ending in July,<br /> - To recommence in August,'<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -to the lady's mind was associated only with -dinners, concerts, races, balls, the opera, -garden parties, and so forth, all of which she -was relinquishing for an apparently hopeless -purpose, while she knew that all her fashionable -friends would be having strange surmises -on the cause of this most unusual -rustication, and inquiring of each other, -'What are the Fettercairns about?' -</p> - -<p> -Dulcie was painfully sensible that the lady -of the house had become cold, stiff, and most -exacting in manner to her, even condescending -to sneer at times, with a well-bred tone -and bearing that some high-born ladies can -assume when they wish to sting dependants -or equals alike. -</p> - -<p> -Finella's other grandmother, my Lady -Drumshoddy, had ceased to be quite so -indignant at her repulsion to Shafto, as she had -a nephew—son of a sister—coming home on -leave from India; and she thought perhaps -the heiress might see her way to present -herself and her thousands to young Major -Ronald Garallan, of the Bengal Lancers, who -had the reputation of being a handsome -fellow and a regular 'lady-killer.' -</p> - -<p> -Days and days and long weary weeks -passed by—weeks of longing—and no word -of hope, of love, or apology came to Finella -across the seas from distant Africa, evolved -as she hoped by the letter of Dulcie to -Florian, and her heart grew sick with hope -deferred, while more battles and skirmishes -were fought, and she knew not that a vessel -with the mail containing that missive which -Florian posted at the orderly-room tent had -been cast away in the Bight of Benin, and -that the bags had been saved with extreme -difficulty. -</p> - -<p> -She contemplated Vivian Hammersley -facing danger in battle and sickness in camp, -marching and toiling in trackless regions, with -one belief ever in his angry heart that she had -been false to him—she who loved him more -truly and passionately every day. So time -seemed to pass monotonously on, and her -unsatisfied longing to be justified grew almost -to fever heat; and death might take him -away before he knew of her innocence. She -tried to be patient, though writhing under the -evil eyes of Shafto, the author of all this -mischief. -</p> - -<p> -Could it be that Vivian had been driven -away from her for ever? Daily she brooded -over the unhappy story of her apparent fault -and its bitter punishment, and she would seem -to murmur in her heart, 'Come back to me, -my darling. Oh, how am I to live on thus -without you?' -</p> - -<p> -And amid all this no sense of pride or -mortification came to support her. -</p> - -<p> -By the two girls the Cape news was, of -course, closely and nervously watched. The -tidings of Florian's promotion stirred the -hearts of both; but to anyone else in -Craigengowan it was, of course, a matter of -profound indifference, if remarked at all. -</p> - -<p> -A telegram briefly announced, without -details, that Captain Hammersley had been -wounded after the skirmish at the -Euzangonyan Hill, but nothing more, as the papers were -filled by the death of the Prince Imperial; -so, in the absence of other information, the -heart of Finella was wrung to its core. -</p> - -<p> -At last there came a morning when, in the -house postal-bag, among others at breakfast, -Shafto drew forth a letter for Dulcie. -</p> - -<p> -'A letter for Miss Carlyon from the Cape,' -he exclaimed; 'what a lot of post-marks! -Have you a friend there?' -</p> - -<p> -'One,' said Dulcie in a low voice; and, -with a sigh of joyous expectation, like a -throb in her bosom, she thrust it into her -bodice for perusal by-and-by, when no curious -or scrutinizing eyes were upon her, after she -had duly performed the most important duty -of the day, washing and combing Snap, the -pug; and the action was seen by Shafto, -who smiled one of his ugly smiles. -</p> - -<p> -When, after a time, she was at leisure, -Finella drew near her, expectant of some -message. -</p> - -<p> -'Come with me, quick,' said Dulcie; 'I -have a letter for you!' -</p> - -<p> -'For me?' -</p> - -<p> -'Enclosed in Florian's.' -</p> - -<p> -Quick as their little feet could take them, -the girls hurried to a secluded part of the -shrubberies, where stood a tree known as -Queen Mary's Thorn. Often when visiting -her nobles, the latter had been requested to -plant a tree, as if emblematical of prosperity, -or in order that its owners might tend and -preserve it in honour of their illustrious guest. -</p> - -<p> -Such a tree had been planted there by -Queen Mary in the days of the old and -previous family, when on her way north to -Aberdeen in the eventful year 1562, when -she rode to Inverness on horseback. Her -room is still pointed out in the house of -Craigengowan, and tradition yet tells in the -Howe of the Mearns that, unlike the beer-drinking -Elizabeth (who boxed her courtiers' -ears, and would have made Mrs. Grundy -grow pale when she swore like a trooper), -thanks to her exquisite training at the court of -Catharine de Medici, her grace and bearing -at table were different from those of her rival, -who helped herself from a platter without -fork or spoon, and tore the flesh from the -roast with her teeth, like a Soudanese of the -present day. -</p> - -<p> -But, as Lord Fettercairn was greatly bored -by tourists and artists coming in quest of this -thorn-tree, under which the girls now seated -themselves, and he could not make money -out of it, at a shilling a head, like his Grace -of Athole for a glimpse of the Falls of Bruar, -he frequently threatened (as he cared about -as much for Queen Mary as he did for the -Queen of Sheba) to have it cut down, and -would have done so long since, but for the -intervention of old Mr. Kippilaw the -nationalist. -</p> - -<p> -The delight of Dulcie on unfolding her -epistles was only equalled by the delight and -gratitude of Finella on receiving hers. -</p> - -<p> -'Oh Dulcie, Dulcie!' ran the letter of -Florian (with the whole of which we do not -mean to afflict the reader), 'while -here—thousands of miles away from you—how often -my heart sickens with hungry longing for a -sight of your face—for the sound of your -voice, the sound I may never hear again; -for in war time we know not what an hour -may bring forth, or on each day if we shall -see to-morrow. But, for all that, don't be -alarmed about me. I have not the smallest -intention of departing this life prematurely, -if I can help it. I'll turn up again, never fear, -darling—assegais, rifles, and so forth, -nevertheless. The chances of our lives ever -coming together again seemed very small -when first we parted, yet somehow, dear -Dulcie, I am more hopeful now; and something -more may turn up when we least expect -it; and we never know what a day may -bring forth.' -</p> - -<p> -Florian was far, far away from her, yet the -sight of his letter, perhaps the first he had -ever written to her, gave the lone Dulcie, -for a time, a blissful sense of love and -protection she had never felt since that fatal -morning when she found her father dead -'in harness'—dead at his desk. Oh, that -she could but lay her head on Florian's -breast! -</p> - -<p> -And as Finella read and re-read Hammersley's -letter a bright, sweet, happy smile curved -her lips—the lips that he had kissed in that -first time of supreme happiness, that now -seemed so long, long ago. -</p> - -<p> -'I have been cruel, hard, suspicious,' wrote -Hammersley, 'till that fine young fellow, -then a sergeant of ours—the sergeant of my -squadron—a lad of birth and breeding -evidently, showed me the letter of Miss Carlyon—at -least that part of it which referred to us, -darling. I did not know till then how bitterly -I had been deceived, and how we had both -been imposed upon. Pardon me for the cruel -note I wrote you, and forgive me. But, -Finella, as we have often said before, what -view will your people take of us—of me? I -am not quite a poor man, though very much -so when compared with you. Think if -monetary matters were reversed, and you -accepted a rich man who asked you to wed -him, would not people say it was his money -you wanted?' -</p> - -<p> -'Fiddlesticks!' whispered Finella parenthetically; -'what matters it what people say, if -we love each other? We marry to please -ourselves, Vivian, not them!' -</p> - -<p> -'There are some arts that come by intuition -to some people,' continued Hammersley, -'and, by Jove! darling, that of soldiering -has come to your friend Miss Carlyon's -admirer. His career will be a sure one; not -that I believe the marshal's baton is often -found in the knapsack of Tommy Atkins. -He was an enigma to me; his youth and all -that belonged thereto seemed dead and -buried—his past a secret, which he cared about -revealing to none; but such are the influences -of camp life and camaraderie that I drew to -him, and now I am as familiar with the name -of little Dulcie with the golden hair—golden, -is it not?—as yourself; so give her a kiss for -me. I owe her much—I owe her the happiness -of my life in dispelling the dark cloud -that rose between us—in taking the load from -my heart that made me blind and desperate, -so that it is a marvel that I have not been -killed long ago.' -</p> - -<p> -As she read on, to Finella it seemed that -it was all a dream that there ever had been -any bitterness between them at all; that his -fierce, short note, pencilled in haste and -delivered by the butler, had ever existed, or that -he had left her abruptly and hastily, without -a word or a glance of tenderness—not even -uttering her name, perhaps, the musical name -he was wont to linger over so lovingly; that -he had ever gone from her in a natural and -pardonable tempest of anger and jealousy. -</p> - -<p> -And now how well and fondly she could -recall their first introduction in London, -though it seemed so long ago, when their -eyes first met with a sudden and subtle -understanding, 'and their glances seemed -to mingle as two gases meet and take fire,' as -a writer says quaintly; and though they had -spoken but little then, and well-bred -commonplaces only, each had felt that there were -looks and tones untranslatable, yet full of -sweet and hidden meaning to the sensitive. -</p> - -<p> -For a time, as if loth to go back to the -work-a-day world, both girls sat under Queen -Mary's Thorn, each with letter in hand, lost -in a maze of happy dreams. They could see -the shrubberies and the woods about the -mansion in all the glory of midsummer, the -smooth spaces of emerald greensward, the -balustraded terrace with its stately flights of -steps, and the pool below it, where the white -waterlilies and the white swans floated in -sunshine; but all was seen dreamily, and to -their ears like drowsy music came the hum -of the honey-bee and the twittering and -voices of the birds, while a beloved name -hovered on the soft lips of each, and seemed -to be reproduced in the songs of the linnet -and thrush. -</p> - -<p> -'You will write to Captain Hammersley, -Finella,' said Dulcie, suddenly breaking the -silence; 'write to him and supplement all I -have written to Florian. You see he is -too good, too brave, not to be completely -forgiving.' -</p> - -<p> -'He has nothing to forgive,' said Finella, -with just a little soupçon of pride. -</p> - -<p> -'Well, of course not; and his heart has -come back to you again, if it ever left you, -when he knows that you love him only, and -loved him always.' -</p> - -<p> -'He sends you a kiss, Dulcie!' said -Finella, pressing her lips to the girl's soft -cheek. -</p> - -<p> -'Be brave, Vivian,' urged Finella, when -she wrote her letter; 'I mean to be so, so far -as I am concerned, and do not be discouraged -by any opposition on the part of grandmamma. -I am rich enough to please myself. -Let us have perfect confidence in each other, -and we shall realize our dearest hopes, if -God spares you to me. Oh, you dear, old, -passionate silly!—to run away in a furious -pet, as you did from Craigengowan, without -seeking a word of explanation. How much -all this has cost me, Heaven alone knows; -but it is all over now.' -</p> - -<p> -Her long and loving letter was -despatched—posted by her own hand. -</p> - -<p> -'But his wound—his wound—when shall -I hear more of that?' was her ever-recurring -thought. -</p> - -<p> -Now Shafto had seen the Cape letter ere -Dulcie had time to conceal it in her bosom, -and watching both girls, he had seen them -intent on their missives under the shade of -Queen Mary's Thorn. So, knowing that -Dulcie's letter could only be from Florian, -intent on making mischief, he went to Lady -Fettercairn, whom he found in her luxurious -boudoir, and asked her if she 'approved of -her companion corresponding with private soldiers.' -</p> - -<p> -'Certainly not,' replied the dame sharply; -'was her letter this morning from such?' -</p> - -<p> -'I am certain of it.' -</p> - -<p> -'This is excessively bad form!' she exclaimed, -reclining in a blue satin easy-chair, -with one slim white hand caressing the -smooth, round head of her goggle-eyed pug -dog. 'Send her here.' -</p> - -<p> -'So you have a military correspondent, -Miss Carlyon, I understand?' said she, when -the culprit appeared. -</p> - -<p> -'Yes, my Lady Fettercairn,' replied Dulcie, -colouring painfully. -</p> - -<p> -'Is he a relation?' -</p> - -<p> -'No; you saw, and—and were struck -with his likeness in my locket,' faltered poor -Dulcie. -</p> - -<p> -'Well—I do not approve, while under my -roof, of your corresponding with private -soldiers, or sergeants, and so forth!' -</p> - -<p> -'But my letter is from an officer of the -24th Regiment,' said Dulcie, with a little -pardonable pride. -</p> - -<p> -'So much the worse perhaps—an officer?' -</p> - -<p> -'Lieutenant Florian MacIan.' -</p> - -<p> -'Indeed,' said Lady Fettercairn, languidly -fanning herself; 'I remember the name now—he -was so called after the girl MacIan,' -she added half to herself. 'MacIan! what a -name! It is quite a calamity. I do not care -to have you corresponding with these -people—while here,' she added vaguely. -</p> - -<p> -Dulcie was on the point of reminding her -that the unfriended Florian was the -cousin-german of Shafto, but disdained to do so -when the latter so selfishly forgot that matter -herself, and bowing, withdrew in silence—too -happy to feel mortified. -</p> - -<p> -When she and Finella went to bed that -night, though each knew every word of her -letter by heart—they slept with them under -their pillows—yea and for many a night—that -they might have them at hand to read -the first thing in the morning, so simply -sentimental had the proud Finella and the -fond little Dulcie become! -</p> - -<p> -Dulcie's head was on her pillow, over -which her red-golden hair was tossed in -glorious confusion; but no eyes saw it, save -perhaps those of the man in the moon, the -silver light of which shone on the carpeted -floor, and then slowly stole upward in a -white line upon her white coverleted bed, -and ere long its soft and tender radiance fell -upon the equally soft and tender face of the -young girl, whose heavy dark lashes lay -close on her rounded cheeks, and whose -rosebud lips were parted and smiling, for she -had a happy dream, born of her letter—a -dream of Revelstoke and the old days there -with Florian, ere grief, sorrow, separation, -and the bitter realities of life came upon -them. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap03"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER III. -<br /><br /> -IN THE HOWE OF THE MEARNS AGAIN. -</h3> - -<p> -Dulcie was light of foot, young, bright, and -active, yet with all her lightness and activity, -times there were now when she failed to fly -fast enough for Madame's smelling-bottle, her -fan, her Shetland shawl, her footstool, or -down-pillow, especially when the latter had -her headache, or that <i>migraine</i> which could -only be cured in the atmosphere of Belgravia, -and made her at times also most irritable with -Finella. -</p> - -<p> -Dulcie could play well and sing well too, -not being one of those who think that, so -long as the music of a song is heard, the -words are quite unnecessary; but Lady -Fettercairn 'snubbed' her attempts at either, -and openly hinted that it was as much out -of place for a 'companion,' however highly -accomplished or trained, to seat herself at a -piano in the drawing-room as to ride about -the country lanes with a daughter of the -house; but Dulcie, who was neither highly -accomplished nor trained, but self-taught -merely, so far as her music went, could -scarcely believe that Lady Fettercairn meant -steadily to mortify and humble her, till one -day, when she thought she was alone, and -was idling over the keys of the piano, singing -softly to herself a verse of a little old song, -that was a favourite of Florian's, and seemed -applicable to herself: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - 'I saw her not as others did,<br /> - Her spirits free and wild;<br /> - I knew her heart was often sad<br /> - When carelessly she smiled;<br /> -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - 'Although amid a happy throng<br /> - Her laugh was often loud;<br /> - I knew her heart, her secret soul,<br /> - By secret grief was bowed,'—<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -she stopped suddenly on finding the cold -and inquiring blue eyes of Lady Fettercairn -focusing her with her eyeglass. Indeed, in -a somewhat undignified manner, Madame -seemed constantly on the watch for her now, -and was always appearing at unexpected -times and in unexpected places. -</p> - -<p> -'Please to cease this English ballad, Miss -Carlyon; it sounds as if more suited to the -atmosphere of the servants' hall than my -drawing-room, I think.' -</p> - -<p> -'I thought I was alone,' replied Dulcie, -colouring deeply at this sharp and wanton -rebuke; and with tremulous hands she softly -closed the piano and stole away, with difficulty -restraining her tears, and hastened to -her first morning work—the washing and -combing of Snap, the fat little ill-natured -pug, with an apoplectic-like neck, who was -furnished with a beautiful collar of silver and -blue enamel, and usually took his repose in a -mother-of-pearl basket, lined with blue satin, -in the boudoir; and Snap had a pedigree -longer than that of the Melforts of Fettercairn, -and, unlike theirs, was not tarnished by -political roguery. -</p> - -<p> -Impulsive Dulcie had, as we have shown, -unintentionally wound herself round the -heart of the equally impulsive Finella, for she -had an honest English truthfulness about her -which, united to her naturally happy and -loving nature, made her generally irresistible; -and now the girls had a powerful secret tie -of their own between them, and to Finella -Dulcie carried her complaints of her treatment. -</p> - -<p> -'No woman of heart—no lady would be -intentionally unkind to you, Dulcie,' urged -Finella. -</p> - -<p> -'Not positively so; but she might by a -glance or a word remind me of utter -dependence for food and clothing in a way that -would be felt more keenly than an open -insult; and, truth to tell, Lady Fettercairn -speaks out plainly now. And then,' added -Dulcie with perfect simplicity, 'a governess -or companion, if pretty, is so liable to be -snubbed.' -</p> - -<p> -But the petty tyranny was continued from -time to time. -</p> - -<p> -Dulcie feared the dog Snap, yet, as she -had been accustomed to have pets at home -in Revelstoke, she succeeded in teaching it a -few tricks, and rewarding the educational -efforts by biscuits and lumps of sugar. Snap -ere long would sit erect on his hind legs with -a morsel balanced on the point of his -remarkably short black nose; and when she -said, 'Ready—present—fire,' and clapped -her little hands, he shot it upward and caught -it skilfully with a snap in descending. -</p> - -<p> -With girlish glee she was showing this feat -to Finella, when Lady Fettercairn appeared -and said with a hard, metallic voice: -</p> - -<p> -'Please not to teach my poor dog these -vulgar tricks, Miss Carlyon; these words of -command—did you learn them from your -friend the corporal, or sergeant, or what is he?' -</p> - -<p> -'Grandmamma!' exclaimed Finella, in a -voice of astonishment and reproach, while -Dulcie's heart swelled and her eyes filled -with tears, and as usual she withdrew. -'How can you speak thus to her?' asked -Finella. -</p> - -<p> -'I mean what I say,' was the cold response; -'moreover, as you seem in her confidence, -perhaps you will be good enough to tell her -that if I permit her in the drawing-room, -occasionally to make herself useful when a -little music or a hand at cards is wanted, she -must not wear low bodies or short sleeves on -any occasion,' added Lady Fettercairn, who -had detected the eyes of more than one male -guest wander appreciatively to the beautiful -arms of Dulcie, that shone like polished -alabaster, especially when contrasted with her -black mourning costume. -</p> - -<p> -And when Lady Fettercairn took the -trouble to be ill, which was pretty frequently -now, as she was worried by being kept away -so long from London and London gaieties, -for no purpose or end, apparently, so far as -Finella and Shafto were concerned, she -established a headache as a domestic institution, -during the prevalence of which no one -was to address her on any subject whatever—more -than all, no one was to cross her. -But Shafto's extravagance and growing evil -habits were becoming a source of perpetual -thought to the Craigengowan household now. -</p> - -<p> -If Dulcie had her troubles, so had also -Finella, for the family scheme 'anent' Shafto -was always cropping up from time to time. -Thus, when that young gentleman, who had -a very indifferent seat in his saddle, got a -terrible 'spill' one day, in leaping a hedge, -and was brought home in a very prostrate -condition, which his addiction to wine -considerably enhanced, the episode gave the -cold, selfish, and unpatriotic peer, who had -no great love for his newly found heir, some -cause for thought and consideration. -</p> - -<p> -Failing heirs male, the Peerage of Fettercairn, -being a Scottish one, made before -the Union, would go to Finella in the -female line (as so many similar peerages do, -to the endless confusion of family names -and interests), and to the heirs male of her body. -</p> - -<p> -It was a kind of consolation, but a sad one. -Whom might she marry? 'That fellow -Vincent Hammersley perhaps!' -</p> - -<p> -'Finella,' said Lord Fettercairn, in his -hard, dry voice, and with the nearest attempt -at a caress that ever escaped him, 'if aught -was to happen to Shafto—which God forbid!—you -will be the heiress to the title and -estates.' -</p> - -<p> -'Oh, don't talk thus, grandpapa!' she exclaimed. -</p> - -<p> -'You care for the old name, child!' -</p> - -<p> -'I do indeed, grandpapa.' -</p> - -<p> -'And would make a sacrifice for it, if necessary?' -</p> - -<p> -'Believe me, I would!' -</p> - -<p> -'To please me?' -</p> - -<p> -'Yes.' -</p> - -<p> -'You are a good girl, Finella. I wish -then for you, apart from Shafto, who seems -going to the dogs,' he muttered bitterly, 'to -marry some worthy and suitable man, such -as I shall select for you,' he added -sententiously, and thinking, but not speaking, -of the home-coming Major Ronald Garallan. -</p> - -<p> -'Indeed, grandpapa, I will do no such -thing,' said the wilful little beauty, firing up; -'I would rather select a husband for myself.' -</p> - -<p> -'A day will come, girl,' said he, with an -air of undisguised annoyance, 'when you -will thank your grandmother and me, when -thinking of all this matter, so necessary for -consideration, when so much wealth and -rank are involved. You are a good and a -bright little pet, Finella, and I would not -urge these matters on your consideration but -for your own good.' -</p> - -<p> -Yet Finella only sighed wearily, and -thought of getting away from Craigengowan, -and viciously twisted up her laced -handkerchief with her nervous little hands. -</p> - -<p> -But if Lord Fettercairn was beginning to -be hopeless of the affair of Shafto and -Finella, it was not so with the Lady of that -Ilk; she was still bent upon her matrimonial -plans, and as a part thereof she remonstrated -in a somewhat unfeeling way with the -innocent and unoffending Dulcie, who became -desperate in consequence. -</p> - -<p> -Until now, when she became the object of -unworthy suspicions, she had been contentedly -enjoying the present, made all the -more pleasant to her by the friendship of -Finella, not troubling herself too much about -the future, nor indeed would the question of -that, if it meant ways and means, have been -very reassuring to her. She could only -indulge in the visions of 'love's young dream,' -and no more, as yet. -</p> - -<p> -'Your future is a serious consideration,' -said Shafto one day, with reference to the -subject, as he was airing his figure, with the -aid of a stick, on the terrace. -</p> - -<p> -'What does it matter to you—what do -you care about it?' asked Dulcie impatiently. -</p> - -<p> -'A man must always feel interested in the -future of a girl he loves, or has loved, even -though she has deliberately thrown him -over, and flouted him, as you have always -done me.' -</p> - -<p> -'I never could nor can I care for you, -even as a friend; so simply cease this old -annoyance, please,' she said angrily. -</p> - -<p> -'Beware, I say again,' said he, with knitted -brows. -</p> - -<p> -'Oh, you have been manly enough to -threaten me before, but you are not yet -the master of Craigengowan, and may never be.' -</p> - -<p> -This had only reference to his rash course -of life, and was but one of several random -speeches or shots made by Dulcie, which -always terrified and maddened Shafto, who -suspected that in some mysterious way she -knew more than he was aware of. At -these times he could have strangled her, -and now he grew pale with momentary rage. -</p> - -<p> -'I will no longer submit to your cruelty -and cowardice,' said Dulcie, her blue eyes -flashing as she felt desperate. -</p> - -<p> -'What will you do—tell Lady Fettercairn?' -he sneered. -</p> - -<p> -'No.' -</p> - -<p> -'What then?' -</p> - -<p> -'That is my business,' replied Dulcie, who, -truth to say, was beginning to meditate a -flight from Craigengowan—whither, she knew -not and cared not. -</p> - -<p> -Shafto was again silent and alarmed. With -all his brilliant surroundings, he never -knew what a day or night might bring -forth. -</p> - -<p> -'After long experience of the world,' says -Junius, 'I affirm before God that I never -knew a rogue who was not unhappy.' -</p> - -<p> -'We always want what we cannot have, I -suppose,' said Dulcie, after a pause. 'You -are like the fox and the grapes, Mr. Shafto, -in more ways than one; only the fox -displayed superior sense by retiring when he -found the coveted clusters beyond his reach, -in persuading himself that they were sour; -hence I would advise you to imitate the -proceedings of the fox.' -</p> - -<p> -Shafto turned away and withdrew without -a word, as he beheld the almost noiseless -approach of Lady Fettercairn from a -conservatory door, with her cold, steel-blue eyes, -more steely than ever, her light-brown hair, -and firm aristocratic lips. -</p> - -<p> -Like most fair women, she looked much -younger than her years, and, as we have -said in an opening chapter her really fine -face was without a line, as she had never had -a cross or care in the world, save the -alleged <i>mésalliance</i> of Lennard with Flora -MacIan, and that, in a general way, was all -forgotten now. -</p> - -<p> -As she fixed her gaze on Dulcie, the -expression of her face was hostile and lowering. -</p> - -<p> -While feeling certain that something -unpleasant was impending, Dulcie tried to -greet her with a smile, though 'the faculty -of looking pleased when one's heart is sick -unto death—of fulfilling with equanimity a -hundred petty social exactions, which one's -wearied soul loathes—is a talent verging on -the border-land of genius.' -</p> - -<p> -'Miss Carlyon,' began Lady Fettercairn, -most freezingly, 'to my surprise I overheard -you giving some advice in a remarkable and -apparently very familiar way to my -grandson, Mr. Shafto Melfort?' -</p> - -<p> -The remark was a question; but before -Dulcie, in her confusion, could form any -reply, Lady Fettercairn spoke again. -</p> - -<p> -'I have remarked, and intensely disapprove -of these apparently secret meetings, -conferences, or confidences, which you will, -between persons in the very different relative -positions of my grandson, young Mr. Melfort, -and yourself, Miss Carlyon. They are, to -say the least of them, very unseemly.' -</p> - -<p> -'Lady Fettercairn!——' began Dulcie, -almost passionately, and with crimsoned -cheeks. But the dame, full of one idea -only, moved her head and resumed again, -and pretty pointedly too: -</p> - -<p> -'You are no doubt perfectly aware, as you -have resided some months among us, that -my grandson is destined for his cousin, Miss -Melfort; and if her friend—as you say you -are—you are somewhat too much in his -society.' -</p> - -<p> -'Can I help it?' said Dulcie, in the dependency -of her position compelled to temporize. -'I do not thrust mine on him—quite the -reverse, Lady Fettercairn.' -</p> - -<p> -'Finella does not seem to affect her cousin, -I regret to say.' -</p> - -<p> -'I think so too.' -</p> - -<p> -'Thus, if she has mortified him, his heart -may be easily caught on the rebound.' -</p> - -<p> -'By <i>me</i>?' asked Dulcie, in a straight-forward -manner. -</p> - -<p> -'Yes,' replied Lady Fettercairn, sharply -and icily. -</p> - -<p> -'My position in your house will never -permit me to dishonour myself.' -</p> - -<p> -'Hoity-toity—dishonour!' -</p> - -<p> -'A girl who would seek to ensnare a -man—as you hint—for wealth or position, -certainly does dishonour herself. Death were -better than such a life as this!' murmured -Dulcie wearily. -</p> - -<p> -'What do you mean by death, Miss Carlyon? -I overheard your remark; it is not fashionable -or good form to talk of such unpleasant -things, so please don't do it in future. Besides, -at twenty, no one dies of grief or of -mock-sentiment, believe me. A little time will -show me whether you are or are not the -real friend of Miss Melfort, and whether -you have not been, perhaps, too long here.' -</p> - -<p> -'Too long, indeed, for my own peace,' said -Dulcie, in a broken voice. -</p> - -<p> -'I am responsible for the consequences, if -he chooses to make a fool of himself with -you,' said Lady Fettercairn, mistaking the -meaning of Dulcie's speech. -</p> - -<p> -'What do you mean, madam?' asked the -latter, as a desperate and hunted feeling came -over her. -</p> - -<p> -'I am scarcely bound to explain myself, -but might act,' replied Lady Fettercairn, -astonished and almost discomfited by this -audacity on the part of a dependant, 'especially -so far as you are concerned. If I mistake -not, I employed you, Miss Carlyon, to be my -useful companion, and not to act as a monitress -to my grandson, and to turn your gifts -of beauty or accomplishments to the use you -are doing.' -</p> - -<p> -'Oh, this is indeed torture!' exclaimed -Dulcie, as hot tears rushed to her eyes; and -as she thought of what her real relations were -with Shafto, and how she loathed him, she -exclaimed with genuine agony, 'how can -you—how dare you be so cruel?' -</p> - -<p> -'Miss Carlyon, this tone to me? You -forget yourself.' -</p> - -<p> -'No, Lady Fettercairn,' retorted Dulcie, -with kindling cheeks and blue eyes sparkling -through their tears; 'too well do I know, -and have been made to feel, that I am a -dependant in Craigengowan; but I brought -into it a spirit as honest and independent as -if our places had been reversed—I the rich -lady and you my poor dependant.' -</p> - -<p> -'If I wrong you I regret it,' said Lady -Fettercairn; 'so here, for a time, let this -unpleasant matter end.' -</p> - -<p> -And, with a slight bow, she sailed away -into the conservatory. -</p> - -<p> -But Dulcie felt that there the matter could -not and should not end, and she began to -think seriously of flying from Craigengowan. -</p> - -<p> -With a little stifled cry that broke from her -quivering lips, Dulcie rushed down the steps -of the terrace and fled through the shrubberies -like a hunted animal, looking neither -to the right nor left, till she reached the -sequestered spot where stood Queen Mary's -Thorn, and, flinging herself face downwards -in the grass, she uttered again and again her -father's name, as if she would summon him -to her protection and aid, amid a flood of -passionate tears—tears from the depths of her -despair and intense humiliation. -</p> - -<p> -Unmindful of the flight of time, or whether -she was wanted for attendance on Lady -Fettercairn or Snap, she lay there a whole -hour, while the shadows of tree and shrub -were lengthening round her. She thought -her heart was breaking, so keen was her -sense of the affronts to which she had been -subjected; for, with all her sweet humility, -Dulcie was not without innate dignity and -pride; and in this mournful condition she -was found by Finella, who, suspecting from -her grandmother's bearing and aspect that -something was wrong, had kindly gone in -search of her. -</p> - -<p> -She raised her up, caressed and kissed her, -and then heard her story with no small -indignation, though she knew not what to do -in the situation. -</p> - -<p> -'I shall never, never forget you, Finella,' -sobbed Dulcie; 'but when I leave this I -know not what will become of me.' -</p> - -<p> -'Leave this—why?' -</p> - -<p> -'Would you have me stay after what I -have told you, and to be treated as I am by -Lady Fettercairn? But now, to me, it seems -that the future of my life will be gloomy, -indeed, and full of torture and sorrow.' -</p> - -<p> -'Don't talk thus, Dulcie; if ever a girl was -made for happiness and to give it to others it -is you, my plump little English pet!' said -Finella, taking Dulcie's tear-stained face -between her pretty hands, and kissing it on -both cheeks. -</p> - -<p> -But Dulcie was determined to leave -Craigengowan—to go that same night, indeed. -</p> - -<p> -'For where?' asked Finella. -</p> - -<p> -'Anywhere—anywhere!' -</p> - -<p> -'Impossible!' -</p> - -<p> -And Finella, by gentleness and kindness, -soothed her over for a time, but a time only, -and during that period she was relieved of -the obnoxious presence of Shafto. -</p> - -<p> -That personage found Craigengowan, when -there were no guests thereat, especially such -as he could lure into a game of <i>écarté</i>, or -pool and pyramid, 'deuced slow,' so he took -his departure for Edinburgh, where, as when -in London, he often assumed the uncommon -name of 'Smith' when involved, as he not -unfrequently was, in rows and scrapes which -he wished kept from the knowledge of Lord -Fettercairn, and which sometimes led to his -figuring before a presiding Bailie through the -medium of the night-police. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap04"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IV. -<br /><br /> -EN ROUTE TO ULUNDI. -</h3> - -<p> -On the 19th of June the Second Division, -the operations of which were now combined -with those of Sir Evelyn Wood's Flying -Column, resumed its march to the front after -the failure of certain nude ambassadors from -Cetewayo to arrange with Lord Chelmsford, -who, on the 16th—three days before his -march began—had received the most mortifying -intelligence that he was to be superseded -in command of the South African Field -Force by 'the coming man,' Lieutenant-General -Sir Garnet Wolseley, ere whose -arrival took place, he hoped to end the war -by one vigorous blow delivered at Ulundi. -</p> - -<p> -The troops were all in the highest spirits—full -of fine ardour, and longing to wipe out -the stain cast upon them by the miserable -fate of the Prince Imperial. -</p> - -<p> -The first movement of the division was -the ascent of the great and steep Ibabanango -Mountain, and when that was accomplished, -Sir Evelyn encamped on the left bank of the -River Vemhlatuz, where open country -stretched on the left flank towards where -Fort Marshall was built, while the division -encamped in his rear on ground where dwarf -acacias grew, with tangled creepers, wild -vines, and cane-like plants. -</p> - -<p> -Service and exposure had now made deep -the bronze of Florian's face and hands; but -the former had matured its expression, and -the fine manliness of it; a careless, not -precisely a rackety life—but a camp life, with -perils faced in the field—had made his features -and bearing less boyish than they were when -Dulcie bade him farewell at Revelstoke. -</p> - -<p> -'A generous friendship no cold medium -knows,' says Pope; thus, when active operations -were resumed, Florian became painfully -conscious how much he missed Hammersley -at the head of the squadron, a charge that -had now devolved upon himself; for Vivian's -spirit of camaraderie and bonhomie, his manly, -gentlemanly, and soldierly bearing in every -way, with the little secret they had to share -between them, even as with Dulcie and -Finella at Craigengowan, formed an -additional link. -</p> - -<p> -When would they meet again? When -would they greet each other, if ever, more? -And while surmising thus he viewed with -genuine regard the valuable ring bestowed on -him by Hammersley, and patted with affection -the fine charger with which he had also gifted -him; but many more in the ranks of the old -24th missed Hammersley as well as Florian. -</p> - -<p> -On the 20th occurred one of those skirmishes -with the Zulus which were of daily -occurrence. -</p> - -<p> -Villiers, the young aide-de-camp, came with -orders for the Irregulars, Buller's Horse, -and Florian's little squadron of Mounted -Infantry to reconnoitre the ground between -two branches of the Umhlatoosi River, and -for this purpose they quitted the camp as -usual before dawn. -</p> - -<p> -As they rode on in silence Florian's mind—for -he was apt to get lost in thought—was -dwelling on a legend he had heard, that the -Zulu people were the descendants of certain -shipwrecked seamen of a fleet which Pharaoh, -King of Egypt, had sent to the Southern -Sea, and that Zululand, some say Sofala, was -the ancient Ophir, where forests of cedar and -ebony grew, and gold, diamonds, and all -manner of precious stones existed in certain -geological strata. -</p> - -<p> -As the Mounted Infantry rode on over -ground where troops had never ridden before, -herds of spiral-horned koodoos, of eland, of -hartebeest and the striped zebra went -scampering before them. -</p> - -<p> -'What sport we might have here had we -not other work in hand!' exclaimed an officer -regretfully. -</p> - -<p> -In two detachments they examined the -hills on the flanks of the way which was to -be the route of the division. Buller's Horse -took those on the right; Florian's Infantry -those on the left. The former soon unearthed -some Zulus, who fired a ragged volley and -then vanished over a steep crest, where it -was impossible to pursue them. -</p> - -<p> -Skirmishes of this kind went on almost -hourly till the 26th, when Florian became -involved in what seemed a fatal catastrophe. -It had now become evident to the Zulus that -these continued advances of the Second -Division menaced the great Royal Kraal of -Ulundi. Thus more and more of them were -visible daily. Their opposition was growing, -and they made resolute attempts to burn up -all the tall feathery grass along the route; and -being dry as hay, it readily caught fire, to the -peril of ammunition in the pouches, boxes in -the gun-limbers and store-waggons. -</p> - -<p> -On the 24th Sir Evelyn Wood's column -had reached a place called the Jackal Ridge, -and encamped on its summit, while the tents -of the division were pitched at its base in a -district where the valleys were full of -beautiful green bushes, where cotton trees and -castor-oil plants grew in the wildest luxuriance, -and the tall scarlet spikes and spear-like -leaves were varied by the green of the -spekboom and the <i>melkbosh</i> or spurge plants of -various kinds. -</p> - -<p> -From the camp of the Flying Column on -the summit of the ridge a great kraal, -supposed to be Ulundi, was seen in the distance, -the kraal of which traders and native scouts -had circulated the most fabulous descriptions. -</p> - -<p> -'Vague stories of the wealth of the king -went about,' says Captain Thomasson, adjutant -of Buller's Irregular Cavalry. 'Splendid -visions of loot in the shape of ivory, ostrich -feathers, and diamonds filled the soldiers' -eyes. Incredible stories of the amount of -treasure taken at Isandhlwana were circulated. -It is needless to say these golden -visions were broken, not a man of the -regulars being a sovereign the better for any -loot taken. Some of the irregulars got -small sums from deserted kraals. The -amount taken altogether was small.... -From here a good view of Ulundi can be -seen—the sight we have waited six long -months for. The delight one felt must have -been similar to that which animated the ten -thousand at the first sight of the sea. One -was almost tempted to shout Ulundi! Ulundi! as -they did Thalassa! Thalassa! From the -same height we could see the sea in the far -distance.' -</p> - -<p> -Prior to attacking some kraals that were -in front, on the 25th Sir Evelyn Wood's -column pushed forward again, and crossed a -stream by laying across it mattings of grass—a -process that occupied fully seven hours—after -which the Second Division followed. -</p> - -<p> -Early on the morning of the 26th, the -day we have referred to, Lord Chelmsford -personally paraded a force to attack the -enemy. -</p> - -<p> -It consisted of two squadrons of the 17th -Lancers, looking gay in their smart blue -tunics, faced and broadly lapelled with white, -their swallow-tailed banneroles fluttering out -upon the wind; Buller's picturesque-looking -Irregular Horse, Florian's Mounted Infantry, -Major Bengough's wild-looking natives, with -rifle, shield, and assegai, and two pieces of -cannon. -</p> - -<p> -The kraals to be attacked stood in a -spacious valley, five miles distant from the -camp, and a stern resistance was expected. -</p> - -<p> -At a canter the horse and artillery took -a circuitous route, and gained an eminence -overlooking the kraals, which were speedily -set on fire by shells, and, being of dry and -inflammable material, were at once sheeted -with red flame. -</p> - -<p> -In each of these military kraals were two -thousand five hundred huts, and the dark -smoke from them ascended in separate -columns of stupendous height into the clear -and ambient African sky, and to avenge -their destruction a great column of some -thousands of Zulus, like a sombre, moving -sea, studded with grey and glittering -objects—bull-hide shields and assegai-blades—were -seen advancing swiftly along the green and -verdant valley. -</p> - -<p> -'This will be no crutch-and-toothpick -business!' exclaimed Villiers, the joyous -young aide-de-camp, laughingly; 'here they -come,' he added, looking through his field-glasses, -'led by a tearing swell, with cranes' -pinions on his head, and no end of cows' -tails at his waist, and a shield like a door, by -Jove!' -</p> - -<p> -The words had scarcely escaped him when -his horse was shot under him, and he 'came -a cropper,' as he phrased it, in doing so nearly -swallowing his cigar. -</p> - -<p> -But the Royal Artillery 9-pounders opened -on them, plumping shell after shell into their -dense dark masses, so they paused, wavered, -faced about, and fled with the wildest -precipitation, pursued by the fiery and active -Redvers Buller, of the 60th Rifles (who had -served in the China campaign of 1860, and -with the Red River expedition under Sir -Garnet Wolseley), at the head of his Irregular -Horse, the Mounted Basutos, and Florian's -Mounted Infantry. -</p> - -<p> -On they went, over the maimed and torn, -the dead and the dying, naked and bleeding. -Many were shot and cut down on every side, -and the casualties would have been more -terrible but for the awful state of the -atmosphere, which was steamy, hot, and -laden with the overpowering fragrance of -sheets of tropical flowers and plants that -clothed the two faces of the valley. -</p> - -<p> -In the hot pursuit, as Florian was taking -his horse over a watercourse by a flying -leap, there occurred to him one of those -mishaps which, from one circumstance or -another, few horsemen have not experienced. -In mid-leap, the fiery animal was suddenly -scared by a huge black <i>aasvogel</i> (a kind of -vulture), that flew upward from among the -dwarf bushes with a vicious croak, and -caused it to swerve under him in the saddle, -giving his whole frame a painful wrench that, -without a wound or bruise, rendered him for -the time incapable of riding a yard further, -and with difficulty he dismounted. -</p> - -<p> -What was to be done? Advance with -the mounted men under Buller he could not, -neither could he return rearward to the camp, -now some eight miles distant, alone! -</p> - -<p> -In a solitary hut of the nearest kraal—a -hut that had escaped the conflagration of the -rest—he was placed till the force could pick -him up on its return. There Tom Tyrrell -placed a cloak over him, loaded his revolver, -and left him to continue the pursuit; while -his charger—the gift of Hammersley—was -meantime appropriated by Villiers, the staff -officer. -</p> - -<p> -Perfect rest made the acute pain he was -enduring subside; but he still felt weak and -worn, and there he lay alone, amid utter -silence now, 'building castles in the air, with -conversations in the clouds'—conversations -with Dulcie, and castles for her to inhabit. -</p> - -<p> -In the almost darkened hut, dome-shaped, -and roofed with thatch and enormous leaves, -and into which light came by the narrow -wattle-framed door alone, he lay thinking of -her, and the unpleasantness of her life at -Craigengowan, and marvelled much what -manner of place it was; for, till her letter -came, he had scarcely heard of it before, he felt -assured. He thought, too, of the chances—the -problem of their meeting again—and that -problem stared him in the face in the light -like an unsolved question, or the game that -one goes to bed leaving unfinished; but with -him and with her it would be the most -important move in the game of their young and -at present, divided lives—the lives and loves -of two who were bound up in each other, all -the more that they had no one to care for in -this world save each other. -</p> - -<p> -Meanwhile one anxious hour followed -another, and there came no sound of troops -on the sward—no clatter of accoutrements to -announce that the pursuing Horse were -returning his way. -</p> - -<p> -The Second Division and Wood's Flying -Column had marched to a mountain called -the Entonjaneni, and there formed a camp -about twenty miles distant from Ulundi as -the crow flies. Vast quantities of thorn-bushes -grew on the left of it, and before it -spread an open plain; and to this camp came -nearly the last envoys of Cetewayo, bearing -two elephants' tusks as a sign of amity, -promising a herd of cattle, and so forth. The -tusks were declined, and the original -conditions insisted on. However, Lord Chelmsford -agreed to delay his final advance till the -evening of the 29th of June. -</p> - -<p> -Buller's Horse and the other mounted men -were returning slowly from their long pursuit, -when they drew near the kraals so recently -destroyed, and saw that one hut was burning -still, and casting a lurid light against the -evening sky. All thought this strange, as -before the repulse of the Zulus in the valley -the fire in every kraal was completely over, -as there seemed nothing more left to burn. -</p> - -<p> -Suddenly Tom Tyrrell cried out, in a voice -of the keenest excitement: -</p> - -<p> -'The hut in which we left our officer is in -flames—the poor fellow will be burned to death!' -</p> - -<p> -'Who?' exclaimed Villiers. -</p> - -<p> -'Our poor officer—Lieutenant MacIan.' -</p> - -<p> -'God! you don't say so!' -</p> - -<p> -'See for yourself, sir.' -</p> - -<p> -'It is too evidently as you say. Forward -at a gallop!' -</p> - -<p> -The flames were sinking fast when they -reached the hut, now reduced to a smouldering -heap of ashes, and the horrible odour of -burned human flesh overpowered the perfume -of the wild flowers, amid which the great bees -were yet humming; and poking amid the hot -<i>débris</i> with their lances, the men of the 17th -found the charred remains of what had -been evidently a human body; and though -inured to war, to bloodshed, and daily human -suffering, the soldiers looked blankly and -inquiringly in each other's faces, pausing for -orders, and wondering what was to be done -now. -</p> - -<p> -In the hut the luckless Florian had lain for -a time on its clay-beaten floor listening for -every sound. He had a natural fear of -Zulus coming upon him suddenly and assegaiing -him in cold blood—if indeed the blood of -these fierce savages was ever cold till death -seized them. -</p> - -<p> -The idea was intolerable; and he writhed -on the hard floor and hearkened intently with -his ear placed close thereto. -</p> - -<p> -Shots in the far distance announced that -fighting was going on somewhere—that -Redvers Buller, the unwearied, was 'at it -again'—but told him nothing more. What -if the advanced troops were defeated—had to -fall back towards the Entonjaneni Mountain -by some other route, and had to abandon -him to his fate? -</p> - -<p> -In war, of what value is one human life, -save to the proprietor thereof? -</p> - -<p> -Anon, amid these exciting and oppressive -thoughts, he became conscious of a singular -and awful odour pervading the place. He -had knowledge enough of it by ample past -experience to know that it came from the -body of a dead Zulu. He peered about, and -in a corner hitherto unnoticed, near a pile of -fresh bull-hides, intended doubtless for -conversion into long shields, partly covered by -one, lay the corpse of a Zulu warrior, whose -shaven head, with the military ring or fillet, -and bare feet, with anklets of burnished -copper, were visible. -</p> - -<p> -Pah! -</p> - -<p> -Such a companion as this proved too much -for his nerves, and at all risks—the risk of -being seen by scouting Zulus—he crawled out -of the hut into the pure and grateful air of -heaven, and contrived to reach a clump of -dwarf mimosa-trees at a little distance on the -slope of an eminence, and therein he lay to -await the return of his comrades. -</p> - -<p> -He had with him his water-bottle and a -brandy-flask; and with the contents of these, -a sandwich or two (from his haversack) made -of tinned meat, and a ration of biscuit, he -made a meal, as mid-day was now past, and, -lighting a cigarette, strove to study the art of -being patient. -</p> - -<p> -As he lay there and smoked, numbers of -insects, nameless to him—cicadas, huge -moths and butterflies—huge in the tropics—buzzed -and flitted about him; small birds, -the gold and emerald cuckoo, sunbird and -finch, with beautiful plumage, flitted from -branch to branch overhead; a lizard or -chameleon crawled along. Dazed by the -heat, and under the influence of the latter, -and perhaps of his cigarette, Florian dropped -asleep. -</p> - -<p> -From this he was startled by a trumpet -sounding the advance, and was roused just in -time to see the detachment consisting of the -two Lancer Squadrons, the Mounted Infantry, -Frontier Horse, and Bengough's Natives -resuming their route to the camp, after -investigating the ashes of the hut he had quitted, -and which had no doubt caught fire from the -hot embers of others blown against it by the -wind. -</p> - -<p> -But Florian's heart sank within him at the -contemplation of what might have <i>been</i> had -he slept on—had the trumpet not been -sounded, and the troops had ridden away, -leaving him helpless in that solitude. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap05"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER V. -<br /><br /> -THE LOADED DICE. -</h3> - -<p> -Shafto was located in a quiet hotel in -St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh, whither he had -come in hope to raise money to meet the -difficulties in which he had become involved. -When away from the splendid thraldom of -Craigengowan—for thraldom he deemed it -now—he was daily and nightly in the habit -of imbibing more than he would have -ventured to do there; thus he was -becoming slow of speech, with the fishy eye -and the fevered breath of the habitual tippler, -even at his years, while in dress he adopted -a style that was a curious combination of the -dandy and the groom. -</p> - -<p> -The many confiding tailors, jewellers, -horse-copers, wine-merchants, and others -whom he had honoured by his patronage -were now getting beyond all bounds with -their importunity and—as he thought—impertinent -desire to have their bills settled; -while, disgusted with him, Lord Fettercairn -had been heard more than once to say, even -to old Mr. Kippilaw: -</p> - -<p> -'If Finella had been a boy I should not -have cared so much about there being no -other grandson of my own to ensure the -succession and carry on the title.' -</p> - -<p> -But the peer did not yet know the worst. -</p> - -<p> -Occasional visits to Edinburgh, and still -more those to London, were always involving -Shafto in one or other disgraceful scrape; -for, notwithstanding a most liberal allowance, -he was often at his wits' end for money, and -was over head and ears in gambling debts. -Thus he was a bitter pill to the patriotic peer, -his 'grandfather,' and he was on the verge, -he feared, of dire disgrace, as a whole lot of -post-obits might soon come to light—on the -fortune he reckoned would come to him on -Lord Fettercairn's death or his marriage with -Finella; for with two such prospects the -Jew money-lenders and other scoundrels who -trade as such, in Pall Mall and elsewhere, -under double names, had seen things in a -'rosy' light, and let him thus have 'no end -of money.' -</p> - -<p> -And now, as a means of recruiting his -exchequer for a time, he bethought him of -young Kippilaw, who had been left £30,000 -unexpectedly by an uncle in Glasgow, and -his first thought was to flatter and fleece the -fellow if he could, though the spruce little -W.S. was on the eve of his marriage with -one of the many daughters of Lord Macowkay, -the eminent senator of the College of -Justice; so he invited that gentleman to a -quiet little dinner at his hotel, 'Just to pick -a bone—sharp eight.' -</p> - -<p> -Little Kippilaw, who was always flattered -by the society of a prospective peer, as -something to talk about in the Parliament -House, accepted with a radiant countenance; -and, as he had rather a showy-looking friend -who was passing through Edinburgh on his -way to Drumshoddy Lodge, he asked -permission to bring him. -</p> - -<p> -'Certainly, of course,' said Shafto. -</p> - -<p> -'Major Garallan is a client of the firm.' -</p> - -<p> -'What! the old woman Drumshoddy's nephew?' -</p> - -<p> -'The same.' -</p> - -<p> -'All right; let us have him.' -</p> - -<p> -So the Major came in due course. He -was the beau-ideal of a cavalry man—tall, -handsome, well set up and put together, -dark-complexioned and regular-featured, with -his ears and neck scorched by the Indian sun -to a hue in which red and bistre were -blended; but an awkward accession he proved -to Shafto eventually. -</p> - -<p> -The dinner, with its soup, fish, and many -entrées, was all that could be desired, from -the curaçoa to the coffee, and put Shafto's -two guests in excellent humour with -themselves and the world generally; the cloth -was drawn, the wine and dessert put on, and, -seated at the head of the table, Shafto almost -forgot his troubles, as he took bumper after -bumper of sparkling Pommery-greno, while -from the tall windows could be seen the -space of the stately square, with its tall -central column crowned by the colossal -statue, of Melville, and all its many-pillared and -palatial banks and public offices whitened by -the silver light of the summer moon. -</p> - -<p> -The Zulu War was, of course, spoken of, -the mishaps at Isandhlwana and Intombe -discussed, though the subject was shirked by -Shafto, who cared nothing about it, save in -so far as the <i>danger</i> that then menaced -Florian; but little Kippilaw, who was a -full-blown captain in the Queen's Edinburgh -Rifle Brigade, talked a vast amount of -'shop' to the amused Major Garallan, whom -he ventured to instruct in the 'new method -of attack,' and thereby drew out the latter -insensibly to talk a little of his Indian -experiences, for he had served in the expedition -to Perak, against the Malays, and the Jowaki -expedition on the frontier of Peshawur, and -been wounded at the storming of Jummoo; -affairs that, though small in themselves, went -rather beyond a sham fight in the Queen's -Park, including the storming of St. Anthony's -Chapel and forming a rallying square in the -Hunter's Bog. -</p> - -<p> -And now the conversation began to flag, -though Shafto had circulated the wine freely, -and he thought the time had come to propose -'a little mild play.' One circumstance -surprised him—that though they were supposed -to be connected by marriage, the somewhat -haughty Major never made the slightest -reference to the subject. -</p> - -<p> -'A quiet rubber of whist, with a dummy,' -suggested Kippilaw. -</p> - -<p> -'With a dummy, no,' said Major Garallan. -'I like poker, but——' -</p> - -<p> -'Poker be hanged!' interrupted Shafto. -</p> - -<p> -At this abrupt speech the Major, a well-bred -man, pushed back his chair a little way, -while Shafto paused and felt in his waistcoat-pocket -a little white square ivory object—of -which more anon. -</p> - -<p> -It was arranged that Shafto and Kippilaw -should have a mild game of <i>écarté</i>, while -Major Garallan smoked, idled, and looked on, -a course that the first-named gentleman by -no means approved of, as, for cogent reasons, -he had an intense dislike of having his play -overlooked. -</p> - -<p> -Kippilaw, inflamed by the wine he had -taken inconsiderately—while Shafto, cautious -to a degree, had not, to use a phrase of his -own, 'a hair of his coat turned'—allowed -himself to be lured into doubling the stakes -again and again; and Shafto, who had his -own ultimate end in view, while playing to -all appearance with intense care, allowed -himself to lose eventually the sum of £500, -for which, as he had not the most remote -intention of paying it, he with great liberality -gave an 'IOU' to Kippilaw, who, not -being an habitual gamester, but by nature -and profession cautious and gentlemanly in -spirit, was rather scared in accepting the -document. -</p> - -<p> -Then a pause ensued in the game, during -which more wine—Pommery-greno—was -circulated, fresh cards produced, and Shafto -invited the Major to play, but he declined -somewhat curtly, as Shafto thought. -</p> - -<p> -He then urged Kippilaw to let him have -his 'revenge,' and the latter was willing -enough to let him have back the IOU if he -won it, or any portion thereof, as he disliked -to possess such a document signed by the -son of a client of the firm, and thought -secretly that he would not play a shilling -beyond that sum; but he had partaken of too -much champagne, which, when the Major's -back was turned, Shafto contrived to dash -with brandy, and soon the demon of play, -rivalry and acquisitiveness overruled the -reason of Kippilaw; but the nefarious action -of Shafto had not been unnoticed by the -Major, who had affected to be twirling his -moustache by the aid of a mirror above the -high black marble mantelpiece. -</p> - -<p> -Shafto produced a dice-box; he lost, and -Kippilaw won, as it was intended he should, -and a silly laugh of exultation escaped him. -</p> - -<p> -'Another IOU—you're in luck's way -to-night, Kippilaw!' exclaimed Shafto. -</p> - -<p> -'How much have I won?' -</p> - -<p> -'A hundred and fifty.' -</p> - -<p> -The play went on—the dice-box rattled -again and again, while the Major, with his -back against the mantelpiece, looked silently -and curiously, but darkly on. Shafto won -back—what he had lost as a lure—his £500, -with wonderful celerity, and then another sum -of £100, for which Kippilaw gave him a -cheque, signed by a very unsteady hand. -</p> - -<p> -'Double or quits,' said Shafto, staking the -cheque, with his hand on the dice-box. -</p> - -<p> -'Thanks—but I don't think I'll play any -more,' said Kippilaw. -</p> - -<p> -'Oh—indeed—please yourself,' said Shafto -scornfully, while biting his lips with anger -and disappointment—'but after gaining -£500 from me—the devil—are you afraid?' -</p> - -<p> -'No.' -</p> - -<p> -'What then?' -</p> - -<p> -'I have played enough—more deeply than -I ever did before.' -</p> - -<p> -'Enough!' repeated Shafto contemptuously. -</p> - -<p> -'Yes.' -</p> - -<p> -'Too much, indeed,' said Major Garallan -suddenly; 'and, by Jove, you do right to stop, -Kippilaw.' -</p> - -<p> -'What the devil do you mean?' asked -Shafto, becoming pale with sheer fury. -</p> - -<p> -'What I say,' replied the officer coolly. -</p> - -<p> -'Who the —— gave you a right to -interfere?' demanded Shafto in a bullying tone. -</p> - -<p> -'I have watched your play, sir, for some -time past,' replied the Major quietly, 'and -know right well how and why the tide of -fortune turned so suddenly in your favour.' -</p> - -<p> -An oath escaped Shafto, and snatching up -the cards, he hurled the pack to a remote -corner of the room. -</p> - -<p> -'What does all this mean?' asked Kippilaw, -staring half tipsily and with a scared air at -the speakers. -</p> - -<p> -'It means, you goose, that you have been -playing with a fellow who is no better than a -blackleg,' said the Major, with quiet scorn. -'No, <i>you don't</i>,' he added, grasping, as if with -a smith's vice, the wrist of Shafto, who, -uttering a cry like a jackal, seized a cut-glass -decanter, with the fell intention of hurling it -at the speaker's head, but the latter cowed -him by one steady glance. -</p> - -<p> -'You shall repent this insolence,' said -Shafto, starting to his feet. 'I will teach you -to question a man of honour with impunity.' -</p> - -<p> -'Honour!' laughed Garallan. -</p> - -<p> -'You shall hear from me, sir.' -</p> - -<p> -'In what fashion—an action at law?' -</p> - -<p> -'No; one perhaps you may shrink from.' -</p> - -<p> -'Very probably. You don't mean a duel?' -</p> - -<p> -'I do.' -</p> - -<p> -'Where?' -</p> - -<p> -'On the sands at Boulogne.' -</p> - -<p> -'Fool! People don't fight duels nowadays, -and if they did, I am not required to -fight with a—swindler! That is the word, so -let us hear no more high falutin. A man of -honour, indeed!' -</p> - -<p> -Garallan burst into a fit of scornful laughter, -and Shafto, mad with rage and disappointment, -was rushing to grasp the poker, when -the former, in a moment, and before the -apparently helpless Kippilaw could interfere, -if able to do so, in any way, had struck his -would-be opponent down, and wrenched from -his left hand, which he tore open by main -force, something that Shafto had attempted -to put in his mouth, and which, on -examination, proved to be—a loaded die. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap06"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VI. -<br /><br /> -SHAFTO'S HORIZON BECOMES CLOUDY. -</h3> - -<p> -The Major had gone to the 'little dinner' at -the desire of Kippilaw, but unwillingly; he -had evidently heard something about Shafto—knew -him by reputation, and during the -meal had treated him perhaps rather -cavalierly, which Shafto was too self-assertive -or too 'thick-skinned' to perceive, though -Kippilaw did. -</p> - -<p> -The little W.S., who had never been in a -'scrimmage' since he left the High School, -was desperately scared by the whole affair, and -especially by the mauling given to Shafto, the -son of a client of the firm, the heir of Lord -Fettercairn, by the Major, who made very -light of the matter, and called him 'a d——d -cad, and worse than a cad.' -</p> - -<p> -When Shafto gathered himself up they -were gone, and he heard their footsteps -echoing in the now silent square (where the -tall column stood up snowy white in the light -of the waning moon) as they turned westward -along George Street, and a feeling -closely akin to that of murder gathered in his -heart as he poured the most horrible maledictions -on the Major, and drank a deep draught -of foaming Pommery-greno, well laced with -brandy. -</p> - -<p> -That fellow had spoiled his game, and his -nefarious plans against young Kippilaw, -whom he regarded as a wealthy pigeon to -pluck. No good ever came of a quiet third -party watching one's play. He would be -even with the Major yet, he muttered, as he -ground his teeth; but how? The Major had -carried off the loaded dice, and after splitting -it open, as doubtless he would, exposure -everywhere was sure to follow. -</p> - -<p> -He was wrong in one supposition, however, -as the Major quitted Edinburgh next -morning for Drumshoddy Lodge, and, of -course, would be very unlikely to expose in -public one whom he deemed a connection of -his own. -</p> - -<p> -Intending to attribute the whole affair of -the loaded dice—alleged to be loaded, he -would insist—to a tipsy brawl on the Major's -part, to a mistake or confusion, and carry it -off somehow, Shafto, driven to desperation -by want of money on one hand, even to -settle his hotel bill in St. Andrew Square, -and by some days of terrible doubt and -depression on the other, after writing a private -note to Mr. Kenneth Kippilaw about his -affairs, and fixing an hour for a visit -'thereanent,' ventured to present himself at that -gentleman's chambers, where a shock awaited -him. -</p> - -<p> -As he passed through the hall, he saw -Madelon—Madelon Galbraith—seated in a -waiting-room. -</p> - -<p> -'Madelon here—for what purpose?' thought -he, with growing anxiety, as he was ushered -into the presence of Mr. Kippilaw, who -received him with intense frigidity—even more -than frigidity—as he barely accorded him a -bow, and neither offered his hand nor rose -from his writing-table, but silently pointed to -a chair with his pen. -</p> - -<p> -Despite this cold welcome, Shafto's -constitutional insolence of thought and bearing -came to him with a sense of the necessity for -action, for his grim reception by the usually -suave and pleasant old lawyer roused all his -wrath and spite to fever-heat. -</p> - -<p> -'So—so, sir,' began the latter, 'so you, the -heir to the estates and title of Fettercairn, -actually tried to rob my simple son by means -of a loaded dice till exposed by Major -Garallan, to whom my warmest gratitude is -due; the split fragments are now in my -possession; but I presume it was not on that -matter you came to consult me. And, not -content with such vile conduct, you sought -to taunt, bully, and inveigle the Major into -a duel, in which perhaps your superior skill -or cunning might achieve his murder. -Duels, however, are out of date; but penal -servitude is not, so beware, Mr. Shafto—beware, -I say—there is a rod in pickle for -you, I suspect.' -</p> - -<p> -And as he spoke the keen, glittering eyes -of the old lawyer glared at Shafto above the -rims of his <i>pince-nez</i>. -</p> - -<p> -'But you come to confer with me about -your private debts, Mr. Shafto,' he added, -lowering his tone. -</p> - -<p> -'Yes.' -</p> - -<p> -'You know the total amount, I presume?' -</p> - -<p> -'Scarcely.' -</p> - -<p> -'How so?' -</p> - -<p> -'Well, when letters come to me I open -the white envelopes and chuck all the d——d -blue ones into the fire uninspected.' -</p> - -<p> -'A sensible proceeding—very! How long -can it go on?' -</p> - -<p> -'I don't know—perhaps you do,' was the -dogged reply. -</p> - -<p> -As if it was useless to ask further questions, -Mr. Kippilaw looked over some papers which -Shafto had sent for his consideration, and his -countenance lowered and his white bushy -eyebrows became closely knitted as he did -so, while Shafto watched him with an aspect -of languid interest which he was far from -feeling, and sucked the ivory head of his -crutch-stick the while. -</p> - -<p> -'Why, Mr. Shafto,' said Mr. Kippilaw, -'this is rank dishonesty.' -</p> - -<p> -'What is?' -</p> - -<p> -'This mess I am contemplating.' -</p> - -<p> -'Don't talk thus to me; the greatest -robbers in the world, after one's own family -lawyers——' -</p> - -<p> -'Sir!' interrupted Mr. Kippilaw, smiting -the table with his hand, and looking -dangerous. -</p> - -<p> -'To business, then,' said Shafto sulkily. -</p> - -<p> -'There's this bill of Reuben Levi, the -London money-lender, of which I have a -note, drawn originally for £500, at three -months, bearing interest at sixty per cent., -and renewed three times!' -</p> - -<p> -'Well?' -</p> - -<p> -'The money value to the drawer is not -likely to be much at the close of the precious -transaction.' -</p> - -<p> -'D—n, I think not.' -</p> - -<p> -'Lord Fettercairn will have to take up these.' -</p> - -<p> -'A few more too, I suspect,' groaned Shafto. -</p> - -<p> -'This is quite as disgraceful as your affair -of the cards at that Club in Princes Street.' -</p> - -<p> -'Which?' -</p> - -<p> -'When you were found playing baccarat -with ever so many cards too much in the -pack. I am sick of you and your affairs, as -you call them. The man who can act as you -do, in these and other matters, is not likely -to discharge the duties that devolve on the -proprietor of Craigengowan and the title of -Fettercairn, alike teeming with temptations; -therefore I think his lordship will put it out -of your power to make ducks and drakes of -the inheritance, if he takes my advice.' -</p> - -<p> -'<i>Your</i> advice!' thundered Shafto. -</p> - -<p> -'Precisely so,' said Mr. Kippilaw quietly, -as he thrust all Shafto's papers into a drawer -and locked it. 'Lord Fettercairn has lost all -patience with you, sir. People should not -incur debts they are unable to pay. I know -of no action more mean or contemptible than -to make some man—a poor one, perhaps—lose -for another's amusements and enjoyments. -You ought to consider this.' -</p> - -<p> -'Thank you, Mr. Kippilaw. You are, I -believe, a leading elder in your kirk, -whatever that may mean; but I'll not have you -preach to me.' -</p> - -<p> -'A man should do anything rather than -defraud his neighbour.' -</p> - -<p> -'D—n you, you old cur! do you speak -of "defrauding" to me—you, a lawyer?' said -Shafto, grasping his cane. -</p> - -<p> -'I do,' replied Mr. Kippilaw firmly. Shafto -quailed under his gaze, and turned to leave -the room. 'Mr. Gyle!' said the lawyer, ere -he could do so. -</p> - -<p> -Shafto turned and faced him. -</p> - -<p> -'Ha!—you answer to your name, I see!' -</p> - -<p> -'What do you mean?' -</p> - -<p> -'Simply that I begin to think you are an -impostor!' -</p> - -<p> -Shafto glared at him, white with rage and -dismay, while a minute's silence ensued. -</p> - -<p> -Perhaps the astute lawyer had read that -remarkable essay by Lord Bacon on cunning, -wherein he tells us that an unexpected -question or assertion may startle a man and -lay him open. 'Like to him,' he continues, -'that having changed his name, and was -walking in St. Paul's, another came behind -him, and called him suddenly by his true -one, whereat straightways he looked back.' -</p> - -<p> -'An impostor, dare you say?' exclaimed -Shafto, taking one pace to his front. -</p> - -<p> -'Considering your conduct, I begin to -think so.' -</p> - -<p> -Shafto felt for a moment or so relieved, -and said: -</p> - -<p> -'What the devil do you mean? You had -a properly attested certificate of my birth?' -</p> - -<p> -'Attested—yes.' -</p> - -<p> -'Was that not all-sufficient, even for your -legal mind?' -</p> - -<p> -'Not—now.' -</p> - -<p> -'Why not now?' -</p> - -<p> -'Because I remember that it is mutilated.' -</p> - -<p> -Shafto winced. -</p> - -<p> -'It is there, however,' said Mr. Kippilaw, -pointing with his pen to a green charter box -labelled 'Fettercairn,' and Shafto thought -that if he did not adopt a high tone he might -fail in the matter. -</p> - -<p> -'You scoundrel,' he exclaimed, as he -smashed his cane on the writing-table, -scattering letters and documents in every -direction; 'doubt of my identity is an insult -now!' -</p> - -<p> -Mr. Kippilaw did not lose his temper; he -puckered up his eyebrows, actually smiled, -and looked cunningly at Shafto as he pulled -or twitched his nether lip with a finger and -thumb. He was evidently reconsidering the -situation in his own mind, and coming to -the conclusion that there was a mistake -somewhere. -</p> - -<p> -Shafto was sharp enough to read this at a -glance; he thought of Madelon, and his -heart became filled with black fury. -</p> - -<p> -'I think our interview is ended,' said -Mr. Kippilaw quietly, as he dipped a pen in the -ink-bottle and laid his left hand on a bell. -'You will be good enough to leave my -chambers, sir, or I shall have you shown out -by the hall-porter.' -</p> - -<p> -There was nothing left for him but to -withdraw, and as he did so, Madelon -Galbraith, who had been evidently waiting -an interview, entered Mr. Kippilaw's room, -and as she passed she gave Shafto a terrible -glance with her black, sparkling eyes—a -glance of hatred and triumph—as she had -not forgotten, but remembered with true -Highland bitterness, the day of her rough -expulsion from Craigengowan, when he had -actually hounded a dog upon her. -</p> - -<p> -Shafto shivered; he felt as if an iron -network was closing round him, and that a -fierce legal light might yet be cast on his -secret villainy. -</p> - -<p> -Guilt does not always look to the future. -It is as well perhaps, under any circumstances, -that we never can see that mystic -but certain period. -</p> - -<p> -Smarting under Shafto's unbridled insolence -to himself, and acting very probably -on some information accorded to him by -Madelon Galbraith, whom he desired to -remain at his house in Edinburgh, -Mr. Kippilaw took means to achieve more—means -which he should have adopted immediately -after his first interview with Shafto. -</p> - -<p> -Discomfited, there was nothing left for the -latter now but to cast himself on the mercy -of Lord and Lady Fettercairn in the matter -of his debts and involvements; and this, -after a few days of doubt, irresolution, and -much hard drinking, he resolved to do, and -so set out for Craigengowan. -</p> - -<p> -In these few days the strands of Fate had -been twisting slowly but surely into a fatal -coil! -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap07"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VII. -<br /><br /> -THE SQUARE AT ULUNDI. -</h3> - -<p> -In the camp at the Entonjaneni Mountain -the troops had two entire days' rest, which -enabled Florian to recover completely from -the effects of the accident which had befallen -him in the pursuit of the Zulus. -</p> - -<p> -In the afternoon of the 28th a telegram -came announcing to Lord Chelmsford that -Sir Garnet Wolseley had arrived, that he had -assumed the entire command, and requesting -a plan of the campaign, which, apparently, -Lord Chelmsford, having conducted thus far, -was resolved to finish for himself, as he -did. -</p> - -<p> -With the same messengers came the mails -for the troops, and, to Florian's delight, there -came a letter from Dulcie—we say delight at -first, for that sentiment soon gave place to -one of anxiety. -</p> - -<p> -At the sight of her handwriting, his heart -went back in a day-dream to the banks of the -Yealm and the Erme and to the exquisite -Devonshire lanes where they had been wont -to wander hand in hand together—lanes -bordered by banks of pale green ferns, while -the golden apples hung in clusters overhead. -</p> - -<p> -Isolated now amid the different worlds in -which each lived, these two were tenderly -true to each other, at those years when they -who have been boy and girl lovers usually -forget, or form new attachments. -</p> - -<p> -Florian was struck by a certain confusion -in the letter of Dulcie, which seemed to have -been written in haste and under the pressure -of some excitement, so that at times it was -almost incoherent. -</p> - -<p> -'I am not superstitious, as you know, -dearest Florian, but I dislike the brilliant -month of June more than any month in the -year,' she wrote. 'Papa died in June, leaving -me alone in the world and so poor—hence I -have always strange forebodings of unseen -evils to come—evils that I may be powerless -to avert; thus June is ever associated in my -mind with sorrow, death, and mystery. It -is then I have restless nights and broken -dreams of trouble haunting me—even of -hideous forms seen dimly, and I leave my -pillow in the morning more weary than when -I laid my head upon it at night. It is June -again, and I am in trouble now.' -</p> - -<p> -She proceeded then to describe her -persecution by Shafto, who was again returning -after an absence; that his presence, conjoined -to the taunts, suspicions, and tone of Lady -Fettercairn, made life at Craigengowan a -burden to her, and that she had determined -on flight from the house—from Scotland -indeed—but where she was to go, or what -she was to do, she knew not. She had -resolved not even to consult her only friend -Finella, so that, by the time her letter reached -him, she would be out once again on the -bosom of the cold world! -</p> - -<p> -So ended this distressing and partly -incoherent letter, which was the <i>last</i> Florian -received from Dulcie Carlyon, and by the -tenor of it there seemed a futility in sending -any reply to Craigengowan, as too probably -she must have left it some weeks ago. -</p> - -<p> -'If killed to-day or to-morrow—anyway, -before Cetewayo is caught—I'll never know, -probably, <i>how</i> my darling gets over her -trouble,' thought Florian simply but sadly. -</p> - -<p> -There came by the same post no letter for -the absent Hammersley, so Florian concluded -that Finella Melfort must have seen through -the medium of the public prints that he had -sailed for Europe on sick leave. -</p> - -<p> -It was vain for him to imagine where and -amid what surroundings Dulcie was now, -and doubtless with very limited means; it -was a source of absolute agony to him at such -a time, when he was so helpless, so totally -unable to assist or advise her, and he seemed -as in a dream to see the camp, with its streets -of white tents and soldiers in thousands -loitering about, or stretched on the grass, -laughing, chatting, and smoking in the sunshine. -</p> - -<p> -In the immediate foreground, on the branch -of a tree, hung the skinned carcase of an -eland, from which a powerfully built Hottentot -of the Natal Contingent, all nude save -a pair of breeches, was cutting large slices -with a huge knife, and dropping them into -Madras cowrie baskets prior to cooking them -in small coppers half full of mealies. -</p> - -<p> -A rich plain stretched away to the north; -beyond it were mountains covered with grass -and dotted by clumps of trees, and in some -that grew close by the camp, numbers of -beautiful squirrels were hopping from branch -to branch in the sunshine. -</p> - -<p> -Ulundi was now only sixteen miles distant -from our outposts, and from thence came the -last messengers of Cetewayo, bringing with -them as a peace-offering the sword of the -Prince Imperial—the sword worn by his -father, too probably at Sedan, with a secret -message—written by Cornelius Vign, the -Dutch trader—to Lord Chelmsford, telling -him that if he advanced on Ulundi to do -it with strength, as the forces of Cetewayo -were many, many thousands strong. -</p> - -<p> -On the 1st July the division marched again. -</p> - -<p> -Florian had been scouting with his squadron -all the preceding day and far into the night, -and lay in his tent weary and fagged on -a ground sheet only, without taking off either -accoutrements or regimentals. There, though -worn, he had dreams, not of Dulcie, but -of his dead comrade, jovial Bob Edgehill, -and the little song the latter was wont to -sing came to his dreaming ears: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - 'Merrily lads, so ho!<br /> - Some talk of a life at sea;<br /> - But a life on the land,<br /> - With sword in hand,<br /> - Is the life, my lads, for me.'<br /> -</p> - -<p><br /></p> - -<p> -Then he started up as he heard trumpet -and drum announcing the 'turn out'—the -latter with the long and continued roll there -is no mistaking. A hasty breakfast was -taken—scalding coffee drunk standing beside -the camp fires—the tents were struck, the -waggon teams were inspanned, the Mounted -Infantry went cantering to the front, and the -march was begun. -</p> - -<p> -Beautiful though the district looked when -viewed from Entonjaneni, the country to be -traversed proved a rugged one, covered with -tall reed-like grass of giant height, that -swayed slowly in the wind, interspersed with -mimosa scrub and enormous cacti, with leaves -like sabre-blades; but by half-past one -a.m. the White Umvolosi was reached. -</p> - -<p> -More scouting in a dark and moonless -night fell to the lot of Buller's Horse and -Florian's Mounted Infantry. They could -hear the war-song of the vast Zulu army—unseen -in the darkness, but chiefly posted at -fords on the river, loading the still, dewy air, -rising and falling with wild, weird, and -impressive effect, now apparently near, now -distant; but so mighty ever and anon was -the volume of sound that it seemed to -corroborate the alarming message of Cornelius -Vign. Among other sounds were the -awful shrieks of a dying prisoner, whom they -had impaled on the bank of the stream. -</p> - -<p> -Much scouting, scampering about, and -skirmishing by 'bank, bush, and scaur' -followed for three days, and the 4th of July -saw the division on its way to fight the great -and final battle of the war, before Wolseley -could come on the ground—Ulundi. -</p> - -<p> -The sun was well up in the sky, when the -column crossed the river at a point where -sweet-scented bushes, graceful acacias, -gigantic convolvuli, and wild guava fringed its -banks, where the bees were humming, and -the Kaffir vultures hovering over the slain of -a recent skirmish; and splendid was its aspect -in the brilliant morning light—the 17th -Lancers with their striking uniform and -'pennoned spears, a stately grove'—the -infantry, not clad in hideous 'mud-suits,' but -in their glorious scarlet, their polished -bayonets and barrels shining in the sun, while -in the hollows under the shadows of the -great mountains, shadows into which the -light of day had scarcely penetrated as yet, -the impis or columns of the Zulus were -gathering in their sombre and savage -thousands. -</p> - -<p> -'The troops will form in hollow square!' -was now the General's order, and, with other -aides-de camp, Villiers, cigar in mouth, and -with flushed cheek and brightening eye, -went cantering along the marching column, -with the details of that formation for the -advance—the first instance of such a -movement in modern war, since William Wallace -of Elderslie, the uncrowned King of Scotland, -instituted such a system at the battle -of Falkirk, and consequently he, as Green -tells us in his 'History of the English People,' -was actually the first founder of 'that -unconquerable British Infantry,' before which -the chivalry of Europe went down. -</p> - -<p> -As formed by Lord Chelmsford on that -eventful 4th of July, the infantry on the -four sides of his oblong square marched -in sections of fours, with all cavalry and other -mounted men scouring the front and flanks, -Shepstone's Basutos covering the rear, with -the cannon in the acute angles of three faces -of the square; all waggons and carts, with -stores and ammunition, in the centre. -</p> - -<p> -This was about eight in the morning, and -with colours flying and bands playing merrily -in the sunshine, this huge human rectangle -marched in a north-easterly direction, past -two great empty kraals and a vast green -tumulus that marks the grave of King Panda, -the father of Cetewayo, who is seated therein, -buried in a partly upright position, according -to Zulu custom. -</p> - -<p> -To the right of the marching square were -hills covered with thorn trees overlooking -the White Umvolosi; to its left were other -hills covered with enormous loose stones, -and in its rear was a rugged country tufted -with mimosa trees, and others that stood -up with feather-like foliage against the -blue-green sky. And in the centre of a species -of a natural amphitheatre stood three military -kraals of vast extent, the principal being -named Ulundi. -</p> - -<p> -At the extremity of this amphitheatre -there was visible a long line of oval-shaped -shields, above which black heads and bright -points appeared—the Zulu impis marching -forward in double column with a cloud of -skirmishers on their front and flanks, precisely -according to European tactics. -</p> - -<p> -The square was halted now, the ranks -closed up, all facing outwards; the rifles and -cannon were loaded, the ammunition boxes -opened, and two of the kraals were set in -flames by the Irregular Horse; but one was -extinguished, lest the dense smoke from -it rolling across the plain might offer a cover -for the Zulu advance. -</p> - -<p> -To lure them on, Florian was sent with -twenty Mounted Infantry, and, on seeing -so petty a force riding towards them, the -enemy wheeled back a portion of their front -as a trap. -</p> - -<p> -'Come on, lads,' cried Florian, brandishing -his sword, 'come on!—though not a man -of us may return!' he thought. -</p> - -<p> -But the twenty men only poured in a -rifle fire, wheeled about by fours, and, -galloping back, won the shelter of the square, -the four faces of which were fringed by steel -and garlanded with jets of fire and smoke, -while the roar of artillery shook the air, and -high overhead was heard the fierce rush of -the red rockets as they were shot into the -royal kraal of Ulundi and fired it in many -places. -</p> - -<p> -With the rest of the mounted men, Florian -stood in the centre of the square, holding his -horse by the bridle and looking quietly about -him, and, like the rest, his heart beat high, -every pulse was quickened, and the excitement -became intense, as the long, long horns -of the Zulu army in its thousands closed -round the square, and as the circle contracted -and came within closer range it was a splendid -and thrilling but terrible sight to see the -masses mowed down like swathes of crass -beneath a mighty scythe. -</p> - -<p> -The British troops were formed in ranks -four deep, two kneeling as if to receive -cavalry, the rifle-butt placed against the right -knee, and two erect, firing steadily, all with -bayonets fixed; and in this dense formation, -sad indeed would have been our casualties -had the Zulu fire been well delivered. -</p> - -<p> -Closing upon their skirmishers rather than -permitting the latter to fall back upon their -lines, their attack embraced the four faces of -the vast hollow square, now shrouded with -white whirling smoke, and edged by glittering -fire and flashing steel. Out of the dark -masses that were pouring on came bullets of -every calibre, from the sharp pinging cone of -the Martini-Henry to the heavy whirring -charge of the long elephant-gun, and many -a man and many a horse was wounded and -done to death thereby. The old Zulu tactics -were pursued; the attack was ever augmented -by fresh bodies of infuriated savages, with -the same dire results to them; while all their -devotion and desperation could rarely carry -them past the verge of the cloud of smoke -enveloping the square; and thus, of the -thousands who came on, only hundreds -remained to waver or prolong the attack. -</p> - -<p> -Whole crowds of naked and sombre forms -seemed to lie as if suddenly struck dead, -each man where he stood; and it was so. -Some, however, succeeded in flinging their -bare breasts upon the bayonet points, and, -with dying grasp on the rifle muzzles, went -down almost at the feet of the front rank -men, fierce, stern, fearless to the last, their -white teeth set, their eyeballs gleaming like -those of exasperated fiends, and their yells -rending the air. -</p> - -<p> -'Steady, men, steady,' the officers were -heard to cry again and again; 'fire low—low, -and not so fast!' -</p> - -<p> -Drury Lowe was unhorsed by a spent -bullet, but vaulted into his saddle again. -Eight companies of the Perthshire Light -Infantry, flanked by seven and nine pounder -guns in one face of the square, fought well -and valiantly, though young soldiers, and in -physique unlike those of whom Sir Francis -Head wrote when at Paris in 1815, when he -stated 'that a body of Scottish Highlanders, -or Lowlanders, standing shoulder to shoulder, -stretched over more ground than a similar -number of inhabitants, soldier or civilian, of -any other nation in Europe.' -</p> - -<p> -The coolness of the men amid this close -strife, while the dead and dying fell about -them fast, was wonderful, the doctors -attending the latter; and in several instances -the former, ere they were cold, were buried -to save time, while the chaplain stood by to -read the burial service amid a tempest of -bullets. -</p> - -<p> -'Have a cigar,' said an officer of the -Perthshire Light Infantry, seeing that Florian -was somewhat 'blown' after his scamper -from the front to the shelter of the now -environed square. -</p> - -<p> -'Thanks,' said he, selecting one from the -speaker's silver case; but ere the latter could -give Florian a light, a ponderous knobkerie, -flung with superhuman force at random—the -last force, perhaps, of some dying -savage—smashed his head to pulp in his tropical -helmet as completely as a half-spent cannon -ball would have done, and covered Florian -with a sickening mess of blood and brains -together. -</p> - -<p> -In imitation of the British formation, a -skilful Zulu Induna formed his men in a -hollow square and hurled them like a mighty -wave, with piercing war-cries and unearthly -yells, upon that angle of the great square -where six companies were posted under a -Crimean veteran of the Scots Fusiliers, with -two nine-pounder guns. The fight here -became hand to hand, bayonet against -assegai, and many a shield, by main strength -of arm, was dashed against the breasts and -faces of our men; but speedily the Zulu -square was broken, rolled up, and the -survivors of it fled, stumbling as they ran -over their own fallen and the blood-soaked -ground on which the latter writhed and -weltered. -</p> - -<p> -Under the sweeping fire of the Gatlings -they went down as forest leaves do before -the last blasts of autumn, and in thirty minutes -from the first opening of our infantry fire -they were falling back in disorganized masses, -which speedily, under the storm of shells, -took the form of one vast mob in wild and -helpless flight, while the cavalry were ordered -in pursuit, and with a loud cheer the 17th -unslung their lances, and by fours led the -way through an opening made for them in -the rear face of the square. The Dragoon -Guards, Buller's Horse, and Florian's -Mounted Infantry followed in quick succession. -</p> - -<p> -'Front, form troop!' was the first cavalry -order. -</p> - -<p> -'Form squadron—form line—gallop—<i>charge!</i>' -rang out the trumpets, as, sweeping -round on their left pivots, the Horse took -the formations indicated, and then, with the -united force of some dread and terrible -engine, fell swooping down upon the foe, -hewing through the shrinking walls of brave -human flesh, after the lances were relegated -to the sling and swords were drawn. -</p> - -<p> -It was a terrible sight to see how, on right -and left, these now red sword-blades were -plied, every man rising in his stirrups to give -deadlier impetus to his stroke, even when -the shrapnel shells, fired with time-fuses, -were exploding amid the foe. From the -latter there came no cry for mercy nor for -quarter; they looked for none, as they would -have given none; and all who escaped the -slaughter of the pursuit did so by winning -the crests of some hills, where horses could -not follow them, and from which they opened -a lively fire of musketry. -</p> - -<p> -Florian went on in this work like one in a -wild, bad dream; and it was only when the -halt was sounded, followed by the order, -'Fours about—retire,' that he became quite -aware of all he had escaped, had undergone -and done, and how mechanically he had -hewed about him—when he found the blade -of his sword, even his fingers, stained with -blood, and the sleeves of his tunic all ripped -and burst under the shoulders by the exertions -he had used. -</p> - -<p> -Tom Tyrrell came out of the strife with -his helmet gone, his head bandaged by a -bloody handkerchief, and his horse's flanks -bleeding from three assegais that stuck in -them; but this was the case with several -others. -</p> - -<p> -It is remarkable that after the battle of -Ulundi not <i>one</i> wounded Zulu was found on -the field. Of all the hundreds upon hundreds -who lay there helpless, every man of them -had been despatched in cold blood by our -native allies. -</p> - -<p> -The power of the nation had departed -from it now; and as for Cetewayo, he fled -from Ulundi the day <i>before</i> the battle; and -after the latter event his army began to melt -away, as the warriors returned to their distant -kraals, hopeless and sick of the war. -</p> - -<p> -That named Ulundi was given to the -flames by the Irregulars and Mounted -Infantry, and its ten thousand dome-roofed -huts all blazing at once presented a striking -spectacle; and after that event the Second -Division and Flying Column began their rearward -march to the camp at the Entonjaneni -Mountain, to effect a junction with the First -Division under General Crealock. -</p> - -<p> -To Florian, as to many others, after the -fever of battle had passed away, there came -the usual revulsion of spirit that follows -excitement so intense, and the keen thirst after -that excitement and exertion so great, with -the philosophical and not unnatural emotion -of wonder as to 'what it all had been about, -and to what end this terrible slaughter and -suffering!' -</p> - -<p> -And he thought of the strange interments -of some of the dead in that hollow square -when under fire—young soldiers, instinct -with boyish, hopeful, and glorious life, ardour -and valour, struck down in death, and huddled -into a ghastly hole, over which the bullets -swept, ere their limbs were cold. 'Death is -a surprise—a woeful and terrible -surprise—whenever it comes, even though we be by -the bedside watching for it, dreading it, as -each breath leaves the lips we love.' But -death seemed thus doubly grim on that day -at Ulundi! -</p> - -<p> -The troops found their tents ready pitched -awaiting them at the camp beside the -mountain, and a welcome shelter they -proved, as the rearward march had been -performed under drenching torrents of rain. -</p> - -<p> -Stormy and windy was the night of the -6th of July, the second after the battle, and, -for some days and nights subsequent the -falling rain rendered all operations impossible, -and added greatly to the sufferings of -the wounded, causing also a serious mortality -among the cavalry horses and commissariat -oxen. -</p> - -<p> -Mail after mail came into camp as usual -bringing letters, some for the poor fellows -who lay under the sod at Ulundi, but there -were no more letters from Dulcie now for -Florian, and none from Hammersley, whom -he naturally supposed to be too ill to write -by a passing ship outward bound. -</p> - -<p> -The letter he had received shortly before -the action at Ulundi was, as stated, the last -he ever had from Dulcie, and her sudden -and singular silence deepened his distress -and anxiety. -</p> - -<p> -What had happened? Was she ill, or -well? How was she situated, and where? -These thoughts occurred to him in endless -iteration amid his military duties, which were -not dull routine, but, so far as the pursuit of -the fugitive King Cetewayo was concerned, -were arduous, full of excitement and perils of -various kinds. -</p> - -<p> -His heart grew heavy, and his future, so -far as it was connected with Dulcie Carlyon, -seemed dark and uncertain, like the episodes -of a dream. But it has been said that most -life-histories leave hanging threads that may -only be completed in the great web woven -by eternity, and eternity had often been -perilously close to Florian of late. -</p> - -<p> -Dulcie was the only link he had in life—she -seemed to him as friend, sister, and -sweetheart, all in one. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap08"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER VIII. -<br /><br /> -DISAPPEARANCE OF DULCIE. -</h3> - -<p> -Since the reader last saw Dulcie Carlyon -she had become chilled and changed in -manner, under the influence of Lady -Fettercairn's bearing and remarks, to all save -Finella. All her natural jollity and espièglerie -of way were gone, and every hour that it -was possible to do so she spent in the -seclusion of her own room, one high up in a -square turret of the old house, with windows -that opened to a far vista of the Howe of the -Mearns, terminated by a glimpse of the -German Sea. -</p> - -<p> -Here she was sometimes joined by Finella, -who could no longer persuade her to ramble -as of old in the grounds, and never again to -accompany her in the saddle when she took -Fern for a spin along the country roads. -</p> - -<p> -'Are you not sick of crewel work, and -embroidering sage birds of shapes that never -existed upon brown bath-towels?' asked -Finella. 'I know you do it by grandmamma's -wish; but what tasteless folly it is.' -</p> - -<p> -'I would rather, as I did at home, knit -stockings for the poor,' said Dulcie. -</p> - -<p> -'Better buy than knit them,' responded -the heiress, 'and so save one's self a world of -trouble.' -</p> - -<p> -It became too evident to Dulcie that the -time of her dismissal from Craigengowan was -drawing nigh; that it was only delayed by the -absence of Shafto in Edinburgh, and she -resolved, ere he returned, to get the balance of -her little salary and quit the place, as it had -now become odious to her. -</p> - -<p> -Dulcie had old Welsh blood in her veins, -and more than once had she heard her father, -Lewellen Carlyon, whose one ewe-lamb she -was, descant on how he could count kith and -kin into the remotest past, when his -forefathers wandered through the forest of -Caerlyon—whence his name—had manned Offa's -Dyke, and shared the perils of Owain -Glendwr. To speak of such things now, even -to Finella, seemed to the girl vain folly, -but they were keenly in her heart nevertheless. -</p> - -<p> -And so there came an evening, the last -she was to spend under the steep slate roof -of Craigengowan. -</p> - -<p> -Lady Fettercairn was going for a drive -among the summer roads that were all like -leafy tunnels or long avenues of foliage, to -visit that famous senator, Lord Maccowkay, -who was then at his country house of -Middyn Grange, and Finella, perceiving how -pale Dulcie was looking, said: -</p> - -<p> -'May Miss Carlyon come with us, grandmamma?' -</p> - -<p> -'Certainly not,' replied Lady Fettercairn, -with hauteur and asperity, though Dulcie was -within hearing, carrying Snap in his satin-lined -basket. 'When is this sort of thing to -end, Finella?' -</p> - -<p> -There came a time when the Lady of that -Ilk recalled this remark, and many others -similar, for just then she did not see certainly -where the future was to end. -</p> - -<p> -So the two ladies drove away, and Dulcie, -for companionship, though then unaware that -it would be for the last time, took tea with -the kindly old housekeeper, whom she found -busy in her pantry and closets preparing for -that social meal; and Dulcie helped her to -cut and butter the bread, polish the cups and -saucers and old silver spoons, to arrange the -brown tea-cakes, crisp biscuits, and luscious -Scottish preserves of home manufacture, and -all the while a sadness oppressed her, for -which she could not account. -</p> - -<p> -This, however, seemed explained when, at -dinner that evening, Lady Fettercairn said, -while returning a letter to her pocket: -</p> - -<p> -'Shafto returns late to-night—or early -to-morrow morning.' -</p> - -<p> -'From where?' asked Finella, though, sooth -to say, she cared little where from. -</p> - -<p> -'Edinburgh.' -</p> - -<p> -'And not an hour too soon, I am afraid,' -said Lord Fettercairn, with his sandy-grey -eyebrows deeply knitted. -</p> - -<p> -No one asked 'why,' so a silence ensued, -and a little later in the evening Finella said -to Dulcie: -</p> - -<p> -'Why are you so silent to-night?' -</p> - -<p> -'Am I so?' -</p> - -<p> -'Yes—even sad—<i>triste</i>.' -</p> - -<p> -'Sad—you don't mean cross?' -</p> - -<p> -'No, Dulcie dear, you never are cross.' -</p> - -<p> -'I am full of very weary thoughts, and wish -to retire, if Lady Fettercairn can spare me,' -she added, raising her voice. -</p> - -<p> -'Of course—go,' replied the latter; and -Dulcie, painfully conscious that her employer -had been more than usually cold, hard, and -even bitter to her—all, no doubt, <i>apropos</i> of -Shafto's return—bowed and murmured -'good-night,' with a soft and lingering glance at -Finella. -</p> - -<p> -Shafto returning! Dulcie was always -nervous about his future conduct and her own -position, and she could not prepare herself -again for dissembling in public and hating in -private—for the inevitable meetings at table -and elsewhere. Over and above all was the -dread that by his intense cunning he might -work her mischief—a mischief that to her -might prove social ruin. -</p> - -<p> -Dulcie had writhed and winced under all -Lady Fettercairn's not always delicately veiled -hints as to the social gulf that separated -people and people—to wit, Miss Melfort, of -Craigengowan, and the paid companion, and -of young folks of bad taste and little -discretion, who were inclined to step out of -their proper sphere; she knew the drift of all -this; her heart swelled within her, and -now she withdrew with a stern and perhaps -rash resolve that took active form on the morrow. -</p> - -<p> -In the corridor before they separated for -the night, Finella thought that Dulcie kissed -and clasped her with more than usual -tenderness and effusion, and became aware that -there were tears on the girl's cheek; but this -had been too often the case of late to excite -remark. -</p> - -<p> -However, she remembered this emotion -with some pain at a future time. -</p> - -<p> -In the morning the then small circle of -Craigengowan assembled in the charming -breakfast-room. Shafto had not come -overnight; Lord Fettercairn had not opened his -letters, but—though nothing of a politician—was -idling over a paper which the butler had -cut and aired for him. -</p> - -<p> -Lady Fettercairn glanced at a handsome -antique French clock upon the grey marble -mantelpiece, and said, with as much irritation -as she ever permitted herself to show with -reference to Dulcie: -</p> - -<p> -'Not down yet—when she knows that -she has to preside at the tea-urn and so forth! -Is she giving herself the airs of a lady -of—what is the matter?' she exclaimed, as a -servant whom she had despatched on an errand -of inquiry returned looking somewhat -discomposed. 'I hope she is not ill, especially -with anything infectious?' -</p> - -<p> -'No, my lady—not ill.' -</p> - -<p> -'Not ill—that is fortunate.' -</p> - -<p> -'No.' -</p> - -<p> -'Where then is she—why not here?' -</p> - -<p> -'She isn't there, my lady.' -</p> - -<p> -'There—where?' -</p> - -<p> -'In her room—nor anywhere in the house.' -</p> - -<p> -Finella remembered the peculiar bearing -of Dulcie the previous night, and her tremulous -sisterly kiss, with a species of pang, and -hurried upstairs to the square turret-room. -</p> - -<p> -'Of course she is interested!' said Lady -Fettercairn scoffingly. -</p> - -<p> -'There is always an exuberant vitality—a -great flow of animal spirits about Finella,' -replied her husband. -</p> - -<p> -'All of which I deem hoydenish and bad form.' -</p> - -<p> -Finella returned, looking pale and scared, -to report that Miss Carlyon's bed did not -appear to have been slept in last night, that -her wardrobe was all tumbled about, leaving -evident traces of selections and packing, and -that to all appearance she was gone from the -house. -</p> - -<p> -'Gone—then I hope it is not with Shafto!' -exclaimed Lady Fettercairn, paling at her own -idea. -</p> - -<p> -'Scarcely: is he not coming here, as his -letter yesterday announces?' said Lord Fettercairn. -</p> - -<p> -'Gone—and in that rude and -unceremonious, and certainly most mysterious -manner, which through local gossip will find -its way in some odious mode into every local -paper!' said Lady Fettercairn, while she -grimly directed Finella to officiate at the -tea-board. -</p> - -<p> -'She is away, poor thing, without a doubt,' -said the butler, who was carving at the -sideboard; 'and must have left the house by the -conservatory door—I found it open this -morning.' -</p> - -<p> -'I hope that she has not——' but even -Lady Fettercairn, while surmising mentally -whether her jewel case was all intact, had -not the hardihood to put the cruel suspicion -in words. -</p> - -<p> -'It is most annoying,' said the Peer, with -his noble mouth full. -</p> - -<p> -'Very—she was so useful too—very—with -all her faults,' added Lady Fettercairn, -tenderly caressing Snap, who was relegated to a -housemaid for his morning bath. -</p> - -<p> -She did not expect an escapade of this -sort; the great luxury of the certain dismissal -had been denied her; she sank back in her -chair for a minute or so, and sniffed languidly -at her gold-topped scent-bottle, as if nerving -herself to hear something horrible, while the -grounds were searched for traces of the -fugitive; and she had ideas of having the Swan's -Pool and the adjacent stream dragged. -</p> - -<p> -Finella thought she would like to run away -too; but with all her wealth it was less easy -for an heiress of position to do so than for -the poor and nameless companion; and now -that Dulcie was gone, Finella felt that the -link between herself and Hammersley was -cut off. -</p> - -<p> -Apart from that important item in her life, -she was deeply sorry, as she had conceived -for Dulcie one of those sudden and so-called -undying friendships for which, we are told, -'the female heart is specially remarkable.' -</p> - -<p> -Finella felt that the cold and inquiring eyes -of Lady Fettercairn were upon her, and knew -that, if she would not excite remark and draw -reprehension upon herself, breakfast must be -partaken of, even though her heart was -breaking. So she bathed her eyes, -re-smoothed her hair, and took her place at the -table with as much composure as she could -assume. -</p> - -<p> -'If her flight is not traced—though why -we should care to trace it I don't know,' said -Lady Fettercairn bitterly, 'and if her body is -not found, we may conclude that she has -eloped with some low lover. I hope all the -grooms, gardeners, gamekeepers, and so -forth, are to be seen in their places,' she -added; 'and with all her faults, in appearance -and style she was a great improvement upon -Mrs. Prim, with her iron-grey hair arranged -in corkscrew curls on each side of her face.' -</p> - -<p> -Finella thought so too. Lord Fettercairn -thought his better half had been latterly too -severe upon the poor little companion, but -did not venture to say so. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap09"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER IX. -<br /><br /> -FLIGHT. -</h3> - -<p> -'Go I must,' murmured Dulcie, when in the -solitude of her own room she said her nightly -prayers on her knees. 'I cannot help it. I -may come to want bread by the step I am -about to take, but better death than -enduring this system of mortification and -degradation.' -</p> - -<p> -She had received her slender quarterly -allowance some time before that crisis, and -as yet luckily none of it had been spent. -How small a sum it looked to face the world -with! -</p> - -<p> -She packed and prepared all her clothes, -intending to write to the housekeeper for -them when she found another home. In an -ample Gladstone bag she placed carefully all -that was requisite for her immediate need, -and, weary with rapid exertion and heavy -thought, laid her head on the pillow of a -sofa, fearing to undress or trust herself in -bed, lest a deep sleep might fall upon her. -</p> - -<p> -All was silent in the great house, and no -sound broke the stillness of the warm summer -night save when some dog bayed at the -moon from the quadrangle of the stable-yard. -</p> - -<p> -Midnight struck on a great and sonorous -clock in an adjacent corridor; anon a little -French clock on her chimney-piece chimed -out two on its silver bell, but no sleep came -to Dulcie's eyes, nor did she desire to -court it. -</p> - -<p> -Her mind was full of rambling fancies. -She thought of her parents lying so peacefully -side by side in old Revelstoke churchyard, -within sound of the sobbing sea, and of -what their emotions would have been could -they have foreseen all that was before her of -doubt and unhappiness; and with the memory -of them she tenderly turned over some -withered leaves that lay in a little -prayer-book Mr. Pentreath had given her, and -while doing so recalled the sweet lines that -seemed so <i>apropos</i> to them: -</p> - -<p class="poem"> - 'Only a bunch of withered leaves,<br /> - Brought by a stranger's hand,<br /> - But they grew on a spot she dearly loved—<br /> - They bloomed in the dear old land.<br /> - Father and mother lie there at rest<br /> - Beneath the soft emerald sod,<br /> - Under the shelter of the cross,<br /> - And close to the house of God,'<br /> -</p> - -<p class="noindent"> -close to the time-worn church of Revelstoke. -She thought of Shafto and the thorn he had -proved in her path, and felt a satisfaction -from the conviction that after this night too -probably she would never more look upon -his face. -</p> - -<p> -She thought again and again of Florian. -Where was he then, and what doing? Too -probably sleeping the sleep of the weary and -worn, on the bare earth in some tented field, -awaiting the coming perils of the morrow, -and then with the idea of Finella came fresh -tears for parting thus from the only friend -she had. -</p> - -<p> -After three had struck she dressed herself -quickly in the costume in which she meant -to travel, assured herself that her purse was -safe, that her hat, gloves, and sunshade were -at hand, and sat down by a window to watch -for the earliest streak of dawn. -</p> - -<p> -With all this earnestness of preparation -and of purpose she had no settled plan for -the future—no very defined one at least; her -sole desire was to anticipate the final -mortification of dismissal, and to get away from -the vicinity of Lady Fettercairn, of Shafto, -and of Craigengowan. -</p> - -<p> -Save the Rev. Paul Pentreath, far away in -her native Devonshire, and the vicar in -London through whom he had befriended -her, she had no one to whom to look forward, -and, save for Florian's sake, she felt at times, -as if she cared little what became of her. -She would reach London, take a little -lodging there, and look about her for some -employment while her money lasted; and when -it was gone—gone, what then? -</p> - -<p> -Again came the thought of Finella, whom -she loved with all the passionate earnestness -of an impulsive young heart thrust back -upon itself, and yearning for friendship and -affection. Even with her regard it was -impossible that she could stay longer in the -same house with him who was now -returning—Shafto—even were dismissal not hanging -over her. She could but go away; her -presence was necessary to no one's happiness, -and none would miss her—perhaps not even -Finella after a time, for the latter lived in a -world—the world of wealth and rank—a -sphere apart from that of poor Dulcie -Carlyon. -</p> - -<p> -Amid these thoughts she started: dawn -was breaking in the east, but the world -around her was still involved in gloom and -sleep. -</p> - -<p> -How long, long and chill, the night had -seemed; yet it was a short and warm one of -July, when there is only a total darkness of -four hours, especially in a region so far north -as the Howe of the Mearns. -</p> - -<p> -Red light stole along the waters of the -distant German Sea; it began to tip the -hilltops and crept gradually down into the woods -and glens below, where the Bervie, the -Finella, and the Cowie brawled on their way -to the ocean. -</p> - -<p> -As one in a dream, she sat for a little time -watching the dawn till the light of the -half-risen sun was streaming over the tree-tops -and through the parted curtains of her -windows, when she started up with all the -resolution she had taken overnight yet full -in her mind. -</p> - -<p> -With rapid and trembling fingers she -assumed the last details of her travelling -costume, smoothed her golden hair, gave a -final glance at herself in the mirror, and saw -how pale and unslept she looked after her -past night's vigil, tied her veil tightly across -her face, fitted on her gloves with accuracy, -took her travelling bag, and with a prayer -on her lips prepared to go out into the -world—alone! -</p> - -<p> -The clustering roses and clematis were -about the windows of the square turret-room, -notwithstanding its great height from the -ground; the birds were twittering among -them, and diamond dewdrops gemmed every -leaf. -</p> - -<p> -Light and shadowy clouds of mist, exhaled -upwards by the early morning sun, hung -about the summit of Moelmannoch and other -hills, and in the sunshine the insect world -was all astir: the bees were already abroad, -and the blackbirds were hopping about the -gravelled terraces. To Dulcie it seemed that -they at least were at home. -</p> - -<p> -She leaned for a moment out of the window -and drank—for the last time—a deep draught -of the pure air that came from the lovely -Scottish landscape over which her eyes -wandered, as it stretched away down the -fertile and peaceful Howe of the Mearns, the -corn deepening into gold, the picturesque -houses, luxuriant orchards and gardens; and -she bade to each and all farewell, with little -regret, perhaps, for with all their beauty they -were too intimately associated with the idea -of Lady Fettercairn and many a humiliation. -</p> - -<p> -Opening her room-door she stole swiftly -down the great carpeted staircase, passed -through the drawing-rooms into the conservatory, -the door of which she knew she could -unlock more easily than that of the great door -which opened to the <i>porte cochère</i>. There was -no one yet astir in all that numerous household, -so, hurrying across the dewy lawn, she -turned her face resolutely towards the station, -where she knew she would reach the early -Aberdeen train for the South. -</p> - -<p> -The country highway was deserted; she -met no one but a gamekeeper returning from -a night's watch, perhaps, with his gun under -his arm. She thought he looked at her -curiously as she passed him, sorely weighted -by her travelling bag, but he did not address -her; and so without other adventures she -reached the little wayside station of Craigengowan -just as the gates were being unclosed, -and, quickly securing her ticket, retired to the -seclusion of the waiting-room. -</p> - -<p> -Her heart had but one aching thought—the -parting with Finella. -</p> - -<p> -In her pride and indignation we must admit -that Dulcie, ever a creature of impulse, was -not acting judiciously. She had not stopped -to ask a letter of recommendation—'a -character,' she mentally and bitterly phrased -it—from Lady Fettercairn; neither had she -risked the opposition and kind advice of -Finella, but had thus left her present life of -irritation and humiliation to rush into a new -and unknown world, that now, even when -she had barely crossed the rubicon, was -beginning, as she sat in the lonely and empty -wayside station, to chill and dismay her. -</p> - -<p> -'In the future that is before me, whom am -I to trust in again? How am I to fight the -world's battle alone?' she was beginning to -think, even while the clanking train for the -South came sweeping across the echoing -Howe. -</p> - -<p> -Ay, she so pure, so artless, so unsuspecting -of evil in others! -</p> - -<p> -At last she was in the train and off. She -gave one long farewell glance at the lofty -turrets of haunted Craigengowan, because -Finella was there, and felt that never again -would they ramble together by Queen Mary's -Thorn, the Swan's Pool, the old gate through -which the fated Lord rode forth to battle, or -by the old ruined Castle of Fettercairn with -all its legends. -</p> - -<p> -Dulcie experienced a kind of relief in the -swiftness of the speed with which the express -train flew past station after station, -outstripping the wind apparently; villages and -thatched farms were seen and gone; trees, -bridges, ruined towers, those features so -common in the Scottish landscape, fields and -hedgerows, swept rearward, telegraph wires -seemed to sink and rise and twist themselves -in one, the poles apparently pursuing each -other in the fury of the pace. -</p> - -<p> -Now it was Arbroath, where the train, -paused for a little time—Arbroath with its -mills, tall chimneys, and substantial houses, -amid which tower the remains of that noble -abbey which held the bones of William the -Lion, with its huge round window, for seven -hundred years a landmark from the sea; -anon came Droughty Craig with its ancient -tower, under the walls of which have been -shed the blood of English, French, and -Germans, with Dundee, 'the gift of God,' -amid the haze of its manufactories, to the -westward. -</p> - -<p> -Here a kindly old railway guard—who -whilom as a 1st Royal Scot had shed his -blood at Alma and Inkermann—taking pity -on the pale and weary girl, brought her a -cup of warm tea from the buffet, and, as he -said, 'a weel-buttered bap, ye ken,' and most -acceptable they were. -</p> - -<p> -A little time and her train was sweeping -through Fife, and she saw the woods of -Falkland—those lovely woods wherein 'the -bonnie Earl of Gowrie' flirted with Anne of -Denmark. Soon Cupar was left behind, and -the Eden, flowing through its green and -fertile valley; and then, worn with the vigil -of the past night and her own heavy -thoughts, Dulcie fell asleep, without the -coveted satisfaction of a dream of Florian or -Finella. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap10"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER X. -<br /><br /> -A STARTLING LETTER. -</h3> - -<p> -The step taken by Dulcie was a source of -great mortification to Lady Fettercairn. -</p> - -<p> -She regretted that she had not anticipated -such an unforeseen event by dismissal. -Visitors, she knew, would miss the bright-faced, -golden-haired English girl who—when -permitted—played with such good execution, -and sang so well and sweetly; and Lady -Fettercairn could not, with a clear conscience, -say that she had given her her <i>congé</i>, -or why. -</p> - -<p> -'Miss Carlyon has put me in a most awkward -position,' she said querulously; 'her -conduct has been most unprincipled, in -leaving me thus abruptly, before I could -look about me for a substitute; and I think -Mr. Kippilaw might be instructed to -prosecute her criminally. Don't you think so, -Fettercairn?' -</p> - -<p> -But the Peer only smiled faintly and -applied himself to another egg. -</p> - -<p> -Ere breakfast was over another event -occurred. Shafto appeared suddenly at -table. He had heard of Dulcie Carlyon's -absence or flight, and was in no way -surprised by the occurrence. -</p> - -<p> -'You are just in time, Shafto dear,' said -Lady Fettercairn, with one of her made-up -smiles; 'tea or coffee?' -</p> - -<p> -'Tea,' said he curtly, as Finella took the -silver teapot, Shafto all the while looking as -if he would rather have had a stiff and -well-iced glass of brandy and soda, for he had a -crushed and weary aspect. -</p> - -<p> -'We thought you would be here last -night,' said Lady Fettercairn. -</p> - -<p> -'Why?' asked Shafto, who seemed inclined -to deal in monosyllables. -</p> - -<p> -'Your letter led us to expect you.' -</p> - -<p> -'Did it?' -</p> - -<p> -'Yes.' -</p> - -<p> -'Well—I missed the last train.' -</p> - -<p> -'You always do,' said Lord Fettercairn -somewhat pointedly. -</p> - -<p> -'Ah,' thought Shafto, 'the old fellow's -liver is out of order, and gout threatening, of -course—a bad look-out for me.' -</p> - -<p> -On that morning he did not like the -expression of Lord Fettercairn's face, so he -resolved to defer speaking of his 'affairs' till -a future time; but in a little space, as we shall -show, the chance was gone for throwing himself, -as he had thought to do, 'on the mercy' -of either Lord or Lady Fettercairn. -</p> - -<p> -The evening before he had been among a -set of very different people—flashily dressed -roughs returning from a local racecourse, -their dirty hands over-bejewelled, with foul -pipes and fouler language in their mouths, -speeding hither and thither by train in search -of pigeons to pluck, with their jargon of -backing the favourite, making up books, and -playing shilling Nap and Poker by the dim -light of the carriage lamp, while imbibing -strong waters from flasks of all sorts and -sizes. -</p> - -<p> -What a contrast they presented to his -present refined surroundings, with Finella -standing out among them, so pure, so -patrician, and so exquisitely lady-like; and -in attendance upon him, with hands that -were white as alabaster—Finella, fresh and -fragrant as a white moss rose, attired in a -most 'fetching' morning costume to the -feminine eye, suggestive of Regent Street. -</p> - -<p> -Lord Fettercairn now addressed himself to -the task of opening his letters, after the -contents of the household postbag had been -distributed round the table by that rubicund -priest of Silenus, old Mr. Grapeston, the -butler. -</p> - -<p> -There were several blue envelopes for -Shafto, which—with an unuttered malediction -on his lips—he thrust unopened into -the pocket of his tweed morning coat. -</p> - -<p> -Among his letters Lord Fettercairn -received one which seemed to startle him so -much that, ignoring all the rest, he read it -again and again, his sandy grey eyebrows -becoming more and more knitted, and the -colour going and coming in his now withered -cheek, as Shafto, who was watching him very -closely, could plainly see. He seemed -certainly very perturbed, and tossed aside all -his other letters, as if their contents could be -of no consequence compared with those of -this particular missive. -</p> - -<p> -'Your letter seems to disturb you, grandfather,' -said Shafto. -</p> - -<p> -'It does—it does, indeed.' -</p> - -<p> -'Sorry to hear it: may I inquire what it is -about—or from whom it comes?' -</p> - -<p> -'It is a letter from Mr. Kippilaw, senior,' -replied Lord Fettercairn, darting from under -his shaggy eyebrows, and over the rim of his -<i>pince-nez</i>, a glance at Shafto, so keen and -inquiring that the latter felt his heart stand -still; yet summoning his constitutional -insolence to his aid, he asked: -</p> - -<p> -'And what is the old pump up to now?' -</p> - -<p> -'Shafto!' exclaimed Lady Fettercairn, -who detested slang. -</p> - -<p> -'He refers to something that may prove -very unpleasant,' said the Peer, carefully -smoothing out the letter. -</p> - -<p> -'To—to me?' -</p> - -<p> -'Yes—and to me, I regret to say, most -certainly. He says there are many matters -on which he wishes to confer with me -personally; among others, "A visit from an old -Highland woman, named Madelon Galbraith, -a native of Ross-shire, who was nurse to -Mr. Lennard's wife in her infancy, and also to -their son. Her revelations, conjoined with -other things, now startle me, as they are -most strange, and must be probed to the -bottom." He also says that this woman—Madelon -Galbraith—visited Craigengowan -in my absence. Did such a visit take -place?' -</p> - -<p> -'Yes,' said Lady Fettercairn. -</p> - -<p> -'And she was expelled very roughly.' -</p> - -<p> -'Well—I believe so—rather.' -</p> - -<p> -'Why?' -</p> - -<p> -'Because she was mad or intoxicated—most -insolent, at all events,' replied Shafto, -with a choking sensation in his throat. -</p> - -<p> -'To you?' -</p> - -<p> -'Yes—to me.' -</p> - -<p> -'Well,' resumed Lord Fettercairn, who -evidently seemed very much perturbed, 'she -has been with Mr. Kippilaw, as I tell you, -and has made some strange revelations -requiring immediate and close investigation.' -</p> - -<p> -'May I know what they are?' asked -Shafto with a sinking heart, that only rose -when spite and hate and fury gathered -in it. -</p> - -<p> -'No—you may not, yet,' replied Lord -Fettercairn, as he folded up the letter and -abruptly left the table; and that same -forenoon his lordship took an early train for -Edinburgh. -</p> - -<p> -Shafto heard of this with growing alarm, -which all the brandy and soda of which he -partook freely in the smoking-room, and more -than one huge cabana, could not soothe. -Though fearing the worst, through Madelon -Galbraith, he thought that perhaps in the -meantime Kippilaw's business referred to his -gambling debts, his bills and promissory -notes, and too probably to his 'row with -that cad, Garallan,' as he mentally termed -the affair of the loaded die. -</p> - -<p> -He rambled long alone in the same stately -avenue down which Lennard Melfort had -passed so many years before, when, with a -gallant heart full of anger, wounded pride, -and undeserved sorrow, he turned his back -for ever on lordly Craigengowan. -</p> - -<p> -There he loitered, full of anxious and most -unenviable thoughts, sulkily dragging down -his fair moustache; and it has been remarked -by physiognomists that good-natured men -always twirl their moustaches upwards, whereas -a morose or suspicious man does just the -reverse. -</p> - -<p> -From the avenue he wandered across the -lawn and under the trees, like a restless or -unquiet spirit, his unpleasant face wearing an -uneasy expression, and his eyes, which were -seldom raised from the ground, shifted always -from side to side. -</p> - -<p> -'I may have to make a clean bolt for it,' -he muttered as Finella came suddenly upon -him, and, though detesting him, she was too -gentle not to feel some pity for his crushed -appearance. -</p> - -<p> -'Shafto, why are you so disturbed?' she -asked. 'Of what are you afraid?' -</p> - -<p> -'Of what?' he queried almost savagely. -</p> - -<p> -'Yes.' -</p> - -<p> -'I don't know.' -</p> - -<p> -'Who then can know?' -</p> - -<p> -'I tell you I don't know what to fear, but -things are looking infernally dark for me. I -am going down the hill at a devil of a pace, -and with no skid on.' -</p> - -<p> -'I do not understand your phraseology,' -said Finella coldly. -</p> - -<p> -'Understand, then, that many of my -troubles lie at your door,' said Shafto, -turning abruptly from her, as he thus referred to -her aversion to himself and certainly not -unnatural preference for Vivian Hammersley, -and that much of the money he had raised -had been advanced on the chances of his -lucrative marriage with her. -</p> - -<p> -'What is about to happen? When will -old Fettercairn return, and in what mood? -What the devil is up—perhaps by this time?' -thought Shafto, as he resumed his solitary -promenade. 'I would rather face a hundred -perils in the light of day, than have one, -with a nameless dread, overhanging me in -the dark.' -</p> - -<p> -And as he muttered and thought of -Madelon Galbraith, his shifty eyes gleamed -with that savage expression which comes -with a thirst for blood. -</p> - -<p> -Meanwhile Lord Fettercairn, a man of -strict honour in his own way, though utterly -destitute of proper patriotism or love of -country, was being swept on to Edinburgh -by an express train; he was full of -bitter thoughts, vexation, pain, even grief -and shame, for all that Shafto was evidently -bringing upon his house and home. -</p> - -<p> -He had secured, he thought, an heir to -his ill-gotten title and estates, and with that -knowledge would ever have to drain the -bitter cup of disappointment to the dregs. -</p> - -<p> -Finella never doubted that, owing to -their great mutual regard, Dulcie would -write to her, and tell of her own welfare, -safety, and prospects; but weary, long, and -solitary days passed on and became weeks, -and Dulcie never did so. She had perhaps -nothing pleasant to relate of herself, and thus -the tenor or spirit of her letters to a friend so -rich might be liable to misconstruction. If -written, perhaps they were intercepted. So, -regarding Shafto and Lady Fettercairn as -the mutual cause of the poor girl's flight, and -perhaps destruction, Finella now resolved to -leave Craigengowan, and go on a visit to her -maternal grandmother, Lady Drumshoddy, -then in London, when that matron, having -now her favourite nephew with her, began to -mature some schemes of her own; but -carefully, as she had read that 'the number of -marriages that come to nothing annually -because one or other or both of the innocent -victims suddenly discover they are being -thrown together with <i>intention</i>, is -inconceivable.' -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap11"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XI. -<br /><br /> -THE PURSUIT OF CETEWAYO. -</h3> - -<p> -Mail after mail came to head-quarters, brought -by post-carts and orderlies, from the rear, -but they brought no letters from Dulcie -Carlyon. So, whether she had, as she -threatened she would do, fled from Craigengowan, -or remained there, found friends elsewhere -with happiness or grief, Florian could -not know, and the doubt was a source of -torment to him. -</p> - -<p> -Horseback has been considered a famous -place for reflection, but one could scarcely -find it so when serving as a Mounted -Infantry-man, scouting on the outlook for -lurking Zulus, with every energy of ear and -eye watching donga, boulder, bush, and tuft -of reedy grass. -</p> - -<p> -Sir Garnet Wolseley's orders to the army -reached the camp of Lord Chelmsford at -Entonjaneni on the 8th July, and the latter -prepared at once to resign his command and -return home. -</p> - -<p> -Two days afterwards, that retrograde -movement which so puzzled and elated the -Zulus began, and after four days' marching -the Second Division and the Flying Column -reached Fort Marshall, on the Upoko River, -whence a long train of sick and wounded -were sent to the village of Ladysmith, in -Kannaland, escorted by two companies of -the Scots Fusiliers and Major Bengough's -Natives, attired in all their fighting -bravery—cowtails, copper anklets and armlets, -necklaces of monkeys' teeth, and plumes of -feathers. -</p> - -<p> -'Great changes are on the <i>tapis</i>,' said -Villiers, as he lay on the grass in Florian's -tent, smoking, and sharing with him some -hard biscuits with 'square-face' and water. -'The 17th Lancers start for India; -Newdigate's column is to be broken up, and -chiefly to garrison that chain of forts which -Chelmsford has so skilfully constructed along -the whole Zulu frontier from the Blood River -to the Indian Ocean; but Cetewayo is yet to -be captured. Sir Evelyn Wood and the -heroic Buller are going home, and so is your -humble servant.' -</p> - -<p> -'You—why?' asked Florian. -</p> - -<p> -'Sir Garnet has brought out his entire -staff, and I have not the good luck to be one -of the Wolseley <i>ring</i>,' replied Villiers, with -a haughty smile, as he twirled up his moustache -and applied himself for consolation to -the 'square-face.' -</p> - -<p> -When, on an evening in July, Sir Garnet, -with his new staff, amid a storm of wind and -rain, rode into the camp of the First Division -under General Crealock, the appearance of -his party, with their smoothly shaven chins, -brilliant new uniforms, and spotless white -helmets, formed a strong contrast to the war -and weather worn soldiers of Crealock, in -their patched and stained attire, with their -unkempt beards; for the use of the razor had -long been eschewed in South Africa, where, -however, the officers and men of each column -trimmed their hirsute appendages after the -fashion adopted by their leaders; thus, as -General Newdigate affected the style of -Henry VIII., so did his troops; Sir Evelyn -Wood trimmed his beard in a peak, pointed -like Philip II. of Spain, and so, we are told, -did all the Flying Column. -</p> - -<p> -Sir Garnet Wolseley now arranged his -future plans for the final conquest of Zululand, -and stationed troops to hold certain -lines and rivers, while the rest were formed -in two great columns, under Colonels Clarke -of the 57th and Baker Russell of the 13th -Hussars, two officers of experience, the -former having served in Central India and -the Maori War, and the latter in the war of -the Mutiny, when he covered himself with -honours at Kurnaul and elsewhere. -</p> - -<p> -With Clarke's column were five companies -of Mounted Infantry, led by Major Barrow, -and one of them was led by Florian, who had -now earned a high reputation as an active -scouting officer. -</p> - -<p> -Clarke's orders were to march northwards -and occupy Ulundi, or all that was left of it. -</p> - -<p> -Without the capture of the now luckless -Cetewayo, the permanent settlement of the -country was deemed impossible; thus a kind -of circle was formed round the district in -which he was known to be lurking, to -preclude his escape. -</p> - -<p> -The traitor Uhamu, with his followers, -occupied a district near the Black Umvolosi; -the savage Swazis in thousands under -Captain M'Leod held the bank of the Pongola -River, armed with heavy lances and -knobkeries; Russell advanced on a third quarter, -and Clarke on a fourth; thus the sure -capture of the fugitive King was deemed only a -matter of time. -</p> - -<p> -At a steep rocky hill overhanging the -Idongo River the column of the latter, which -included three battalions of infantry, was -reinforced by five companies of the 80th (or -Staffordshire Volunteers), the Natal Pioneers, -and two Gatling guns, to which were added -two nine-pounders on reaching once more -the Entonjaneni Mountain. -</p> - -<p> -It was now reported that Cetewayo had -found shelter in a little kraal in the recesses -of the Ngome forest, a dense primeval -wilderness of giant wood and deep jungle. But -the meshes of the net were closing fast -around him. -</p> - -<p> -Leaving the main body of his column at a -redoubt named Fort George, at the head of -only three hundred and forty mounted -infantry Colonel Russell, at daybreak on the -13th of August, rode westward beyond the -Black Umvolosi, into a district occupied by -many Zulus, in the hope of picking up the -royal fugitive. -</p> - -<p> -The scouting advanced guard he entrusted -to Florian, whose men rode forward in loose -and open formation, with loaded rifles unslung. -</p> - -<p> -The country through which they proceeded -was very wild, steep, woody, and rugged, and -on seeing how slender his force appeared to -be, the Zulus began to gather in numbers, -preparatory to disputing his further advance. -</p> - -<p> -'My intention,' said Baker Russell, 'is to -reach Umkondo, where Cetewayo is said to -be lurking; you will therefore show a bold -front and clear the way at all hazards.' -</p> - -<p> -This left Florian no alternative but to fight -his opponents, whatever their strength -perhaps, and the region into which they were -now penetrating had the new and most -unusual danger of being infested by lions, as -the 1st King's Dragoon Guards found to -their cost. -</p> - -<p> -Manning a narrow gorge fringed with -thornwood trees and date palms, with brandished -rifle and assegai and their grey shields -uplifted in defiance, a strong party of the -enemy appeared, led by a tall and powerful-looking -chief, whose large armlets and anklets -of burnished copper shone in the evening -sunshine, and it was but too evident that, -under his auspices, mischief was at hand. -</p> - -<p> -That they remarked Florian was an officer -was soon apparent, when two shots were -fired from each flank of the gorge; but these -whistled harmlessly past, and starred with -white a boulder in his rear. -</p> - -<p> -'Pick off that fellow who is making himself -so prominent,' said Florian, with some -irritation, as his two escapes were narrow -ones. -</p> - -<p> -One of the 24th fired and missed the leader. -</p> - -<p> -'What distance did you sight your rifle -at?' asked Florian. -</p> - -<p> -'Four hundred yards, sir,' replied the -soldier. -</p> - -<p> -'Absurd! He is certainly six hundred -yards off. Do you try, Tyrrell.' -</p> - -<p> -Then Tom, who was a deadly shot, reined -up, held his rifle straight between his horse's -ears, sighted at six hundred yards, and -pressing the butt firmly against his right -shoulder and restraining his breath, took aim -steadily at the chief, who stood prominently -on a fragment of rock, his figure defined -clearly against the blue sky like that of a -dark bronze statue. -</p> - -<p> -He fired; the bullet pierced the Zulu's -forehead, as was afterwards discovered; he -fell backward and vanished from sight. -</p> - -<p> -'By Jove, he's knocked over, sir,' said -Tom, with a quiet laugh, as he dropped -another cartridge into his breech-block, and -closed it with a snap. -</p> - -<p> -'Bravo, Tom—a good shot!' said the men -of the 24th, while, with a yell of rage that -reverberated in the gorge, the Zulus fled, -and Florian's scouting party rode on at a -canter, and ultimately reached a deserted -German mission station at a place called -Rhinstorf. -</p> - -<p> -As they rode through the gorge, with the -indifference that is born of war and its -details, Tom Tyrrell looked with perfect -composure on the man he had shot, and remarked -to Florian, with a smile: -</p> - -<p> -'These Zulus are certainly one of the -connecting links that old Darwin writes about, -but links with the devil himself, I think.' -</p> - -<p> -At the station of Rhinstorf Colonel Russell -now ascertained that fully thirty-five miles of -wild and rugged country would have to be -traversed ere he could reach Umkondo, -where Cetewayo was reported to be in -concealment. To add to the difficulties of -proceeding further, night had fallen, the native -guide, having lost heart, had deserted, and -many of the horses had fallen lame by the -roughness of the route from Fort George; -thus Baker Russell came to the conclusion -that to proceed further then would be rash, if -not impossible. -</p> - -<p> -Cetewayo still resisted all the terms offered -him, acting under the influence of Dabulamanzi, -who urged him to distrust the British, -in the hope that if the fugitive died of despair -in the forest of Ngome, he himself might -succeed to the throne of the Zulus. -</p> - -<p> -While on this patrol duty our Mounted -Infantry came upon the remains of some of -our fellows who had fallen after the attack on -the Inhlobane Mountain in March and lain -unburied for nearly six months, exposed to -the weather and the Kaffir vultures. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap12"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XII. -<br /><br /> -AT THE 'RAG.' -</h3> - -<p> -We now turn to a very different scene and -locality—to Regent Street, still deemed the -architectural <i>chef d'œuvre</i> of the celebrated -Mr. Nash, though it is all mere brick and -plaster. -</p> - -<p> -The London season was past and over, -but one would hardly have thought so, as the -broad pavements seemed still so crowded, -and so many vehicles of every kind were -passing in close lines along the thoroughfare -from Waterloo Place to the Langham Hotel. -</p> - -<p> -It was a bright sunny forenoon, and as -Vivian Hammersley, now a convalescent, and -in accurate morning mufti, looked on the -well-dressed throng, the shops filled with -everything the mind could desire or the -world produce, and at the entire aspect of the -well-swept street, he thought, after his recent -experience of forest and donga, of rocky -mountain and pathless karoo, that there was -nothing like it in Europe for an idler—that it -surpassed alike the Broadway of Uncle Sam -and the Grand Boulevard of Paris. -</p> - -<p> -Enjoying the situation and his surroundings -to the fullest extent, he was walking -slowly down towards where the colonnades -stood of old, when suddenly he experienced -something between an electric shock and a -cold douche. -</p> - -<p> -Both well mounted, a handsome fellow -attired in excellent taste, with a tea rose -and a green sprig in his lapel, and a graceful -girl in a well-fitting dark blue habit, a -dainty hat and short veil, ambled slowly past -him—so slowly that he could observe them -well—and in the latter he recognised -Finella! -</p> - -<p> -Finella Melfort, mounted on her favourite -pad Fern; but <i>who</i> was this with whom she -seemed on such easy and laughing terms, -and with whom she was riding through the -streets of London, without even the escort of -a groom? -</p> - -<p> -Erelong quickening their pace to a trot, -they turned westward along Conduit Street, -as if intending to 'do a bit of Park,' and he -lost sight of them. -</p> - -<p> -Her companion was one whom Hammersley -had never seen before, but he could remark -that he had all the manner and appearance of -a man of good birth; but there was even -something more than that in his bearing—an -undefinable and indescribable air of interest -seemed to hover about them, and -Hammersley thought he might prove a very -formidable rival. But surely matters had not -come to <i>that</i>! -</p> - -<p> -To letters that he had addressed to -Finella at Craigengowan, under cover to -'Miss Carlyon,' no answer had ever been -returned. He knew not that Dulcie was -no longer there, and that the letters referred -to had gone back to the Post Office. And -so Finella's silence—was it indifference—seemed -unpleasantly accounted for now. -</p> - -<p> -He knew not her address in London. -The house of the Fettercairn family was -shut up, and he could not accost her while -escorted by 'that fellow,' as she seemed ever -to be, for on two occasions he saw them -again in the Row; nor could he prosecute -any inquiries, as most of the mutual friends -at whose dances and garden parties he had -been wont to meet her in the past times -were now out of town. -</p> - -<p> -It was tantalizing—exasperating! -</p> - -<p> -Did she suppose he had been killed, and -had already forgotten him? Did her heart -shrink from a vacuum, or what? Thus pride -soon supplemented jealousy. -</p> - -<p> -A few days after the third occasion on -which he had seen them, he was idling in the -reading-room of 'The Rag'—as the Army -and Navy Club is colloquially known, from -a joke in <i>Punch</i>, and the smoking-room of -which has the reputation of being the best in -London; and few, perhaps none, of those -who lounge therein are aware that the -stately edifice occupies what was the site -till 1790 of Nell Gwynne's house in Pall -Mall. -</p> - -<p> -'How goes it, Hammersley?' said Villiers, -the aide-de-camp, who was also home on -leave, and <i>en route</i> to join his regiment, -being yet—as he grumblingly said—out of -'the Wolseley ring.' 'Has no Belgravian -belle succeeded in capturing you yet—a -hero, like myself, fresh from the assegais -of Ulundi and all that sort of thing?' -</p> - -<p> -'No—I am still at large; but you forget -that by the time I reached town the season -was over.' -</p> - -<p> -'Talking of belles,' said an officer who -was lounging in a window, 'here comes one -worth looking at.' -</p> - -<p> -Finella and her cavalier, mounted again, -were quietly rambling into the square from -Pall Mall. -</p> - -<p> -'Ah—she is with Garallan of the Bengal -Cavalry,' said Villiers; 'he has come in -for a good thing—has picked up an heiress, I -hear.' -</p> - -<p> -'About the most useful thing a fellow can -pick up nowadays,' replied a tall officer -named Gore. -</p> - -<p> -'That girl is said to be always ahead of the -London season.' -</p> - -<p> -'How?' -</p> - -<p> -'Dresses direct from Paris.' -</p> - -<p> -'Garallan?' said Hammersley, turning from -the window, as the pair had disappeared. -</p> - -<p> -'A Major of the old Second Irregular -Cavalry, and gained the V.C. when serving -on the Staff at the storming of Jummoo.' -</p> - -<p> -'Jummoo—where the devil is that?' asked one. -</p> - -<p> -'On the Peshawur frontier,' replied another; -'he is now in luck's way, certainly.' -</p> - -<p> -'They say,' resumed Villiers in his laughing -off-hand way, and who really knew nothing -of Finella, but was merely ventilating some -club gossip, to the intense annoyance of -Hammersley; 'they say that she is a -coquette from her finger-tips to her tiny -balmorals, and would flirt with his Grace -of Canterbury if she got a chance; and yet, -with all that, she can be most sentimental. -There is Gore of ours—a passed practitioner -in the art of philandering——' -</p> - -<p> -'Villiers, please to shut up,' said Hammersley -impatiently in a sotto voce; 'I know -the young lady, and you don't.' -</p> - -<p> -'The deuce you do?' -</p> - -<p> -'Intimately.' -</p> - -<p> -Villiers coloured, and lapsed into silence. -</p> - -<p> -'I always look upon flirtation as playing -with fire,' said Gore; 'never attempt it, but -I get into some deuced scrape.' -</p> - -<p> -'How much money is muddled up with -matrimony in the world nowadays!' said -Villiers, thinking probably of the heiress's -thousands; 'I suppose it was different in -the days of our grandfathers.' -</p> - -<p> -'Not much, I fancy,' said Gore. -</p> - -<p> -Hammersley had now occasion for much -and somewhat bitter thought. Finella and -this officer were evidently the subjects of -club gossip and not very well-bred banter; -the conviction galled him. -</p> - -<p> -'Where the deuce or with whom does she -reside?' he thought; 'but to find anyone you -want, I don't know a more difficult place than -this big village on Thames.' -</p> - -<p> -The wrong person—like himself apparently—turning -up at the wrong time is no new -experience to anyone; but this intimacy -of Finella and her cavalier seemed to be -a daily matter, as Hammersley had seen them -so often; and how often were they too -probably together on occasions that he could -know nothing of? -</p> - -<p> -The germ of jealousy was now planted -in his heart, and 'such germs by force of -circumstances sometimes flourish and bear -bitter fruit; at others, nothing assisting, they -perish in the mind that gave them birth;' but -a new force was given to the remarks of -Villiers by some that Hammersley overheard -the same evening in the same place—the 'Rag.' -</p> - -<p> -There he suddenly recognised Finella's -cavalier in full evening costume, eating his -dinner alone in a corner of the great -dining-room, and all unaware that he was sternly -and closely scrutinized by one man, and the -subject of conversation for other two, whose -somewhat flippant remarks from behind a -newspaper reached the ears of the former. -</p> - -<p> -'Who is he, do you say? His face is new -to me.' -</p> - -<p> -'Ronald Garallan, of the Bengal Cavalry—a -lucky dog.' -</p> - -<p> -'How so?' -</p> - -<p> -'Is going in for a good thing, I hear.' -</p> - -<p> -'For what?' -</p> - -<p> -'His cousin with no end of tin.' -</p> - -<p> -'His cousin?' questioned the other and -Hammersley's heart at the same time. -</p> - -<p> -'Yes—the handsome Miss Melfort with -the funny name—Finella Melfort.' -</p> - -<p> -'So they are engaged?' -</p> - -<p> -'I believe so; but I don't think from all I -hear that the Major has much of a vocation -for domesticity.' -</p> - -<p> -'Even with Finella?' -</p> - -<p> -'Even with Finella,' replied the other, -laughing. -</p> - -<p> -Hammersley felt a dark frown gather on -his brow to hear her Christian name—<i>his</i> -property as he deemed it—used in this -off-hand fashion, and he felt a violent -inclination to punch his brother-officer's head. -However, he only moved his chair away -from the vicinity of the speakers, but not -before he heard one of them say to Garallan: -</p> - -<p> -'Been to many dances since your return? -England, you know, expects every -marriageable bachelor to do his duty.' -</p> - -<p> -'The season is over,' replied the Major -curtly; and then added, 'you forget that -I am on leave—the sick list, with a Medical -Board before me yet.' -</p> - -<p> -'What a bore! But you are bound for -some festive scene to-night, I presume?' -</p> - -<p> -'Only to the Lyceum.' -</p> - -<p> -'<i>The Lyceum</i>—with her perhaps,' thought -Hammersley; and to see the affair out to the -bitter end, he resolved to go there too. -</p> - -<p> -He was cut to the heart again, and bit -his nether lip to preserve his self-control. -He had never heard of this cousin, Ronald -Garallan; he certainly found his name in the -Army List, but did not believe he was -any cousin at all; and this only served -to make matters look more and more black. -</p> - -<p> -Hammersley in his natural pride of spirit -rather revolted at going to the theatre, feeling -as if he was acting somewhat like a spy, -but he had a right to learn for himself what -was on the tapis with regard to Finella; and -the Lyceum was as free a theatre to him -as to anyone else; so a few minutes after -saw him bowling along the Strand in a -hansom cab. -</p> - -<p> -He got a seat on the grand tier, but -with difficulty, and, fortunately for his purpose, -a little back and well out of sight; and, -oblivious of the stage and all the usual scenic -splendours there, he swept 'the house' again -and again, with the same powerful field-glass -he had so lately used on many a scouting -expedition, but in vain, till the crimson satin -curtain of a private box was suddenly drawn -back, and Finella in a perfect costume, yet -not quite full dress, sat there like a little -queen, with many a sparkling jewel, and -Garallan half leaning on the back of her -chair, as she consulted the programme, after -depositing a beautiful bouquet and her -opera-glass on the front of the box before her. -</p> - -<p> -Hammersley's heart seemed to give a leap, -and then stood still, while he actually felt an -ache in the bullet wound which had so nearly -cost him his life. -</p> - -<p> -There they were, in a private box together, -and without a chaperone, which certainly -looked like cousinship, though every way -distasteful to Hammersley; and Garallan -leant over her chair, ignoring the performance -entirely, and evidently entertaining her in -'that original and delicious strain in which -Adam and Eve were probably the first proficients.' -</p> - -<p> -And Finella was smiling upwards at times -with her radiant eyes and <i>riant</i> face, with -the bright and happy expression of one -who had nothing left to wish for in the -world; while he—Vivian Hammersley—might -be, for all she knew or seemed to -care, lying unburied by the banks of the -Umvolosi or the Lower Tugela! -</p> - -<p> -He recalled the words of her letter, so -long and so loving, which he received so -unexpectedly in Zululand, in which she -urged him to be brave of heart for her sake, -and not to be discouraged by any opposition -on the part of Lady Fettercairn, as she was -rich enough to please herself, adding: -</p> - -<p> -'Let us have perfect confidence in each -other! Oh, you passionate silly! to run -away in a rage as you did without seeking an -explanation. How much it has cost me -Heaven alone knows!' -</p> - -<p> -'Now,' thought he, 'suppose all the explanation -she gave Miss Carlyon at Craigengowan -of that remarkable scene in the shrubbery, -or that she was lured into a scrape with that -cub Shafto, were mere humbug after all. It -looks deuced like it from what I see going on -here in London. And then the rings I gave -her—one a marriage hoop to keep—an -unlucky gift—ha! ha! what a precious ass -I have been!' -</p> - -<p> -Vivian Hammersley, though a tough-looking -and well set-up linesman, was of an -imaginative cast, and of a highly sensitive -nature, and such are usually well skilled in -the art of elaborate self-torture. -</p> - -<p> -He now perceived that for a moment -she had drawn the glove from off her left -hand—what a lovely little white hand it was! -He turned his powerful field-glass thereon, -with more interest and curiosity than he had -done while watching for Zulu warriors, and -there—yes—there by Jove!—his heart gave -a bound—was his engagement ring upon her -engaged finger still—there was no doubt -about that! -</p> - -<p> -So what did all this too apparent philandering -with another mean, if not the most arrant -coquetry? Had her character changed within -a few short months? It almost seemed so. -</p> - -<p> -But Hammersley thought that, 'tide what -may,' he had seen enough of the Lyceum for -that night, and hurried away to the -smoking-room of the 'Rag.' -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap13"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XIII. -<br /><br /> -A REVELATION. -</h3> - -<p> -We have written somewhat ahead of our -general narrative, and must now recur to -Lord Fettercairn's visit to Mr. Kenneth -Kippilaw in Edinburgh, at that gentleman's -request—one which filled the old Peer with -some surprise. -</p> - -<p> -'Why the deuce did not his agent visit -him?' he thought. -</p> - -<p> -Smarting under Shafto's insolence, and -acting on information given to him readily -by Madelon Galbraith, Mr. Kippilaw took -certain measures to obtain some light on a -matter which he should have taken before. -</p> - -<p> -'You look somewhat unhinged, Kippilaw,' -said Lord Fettercairn, as he seated himself -in the former's private business room. -</p> - -<p> -'I feel so, my lord,' replied the lawyer, in -a fidgety way, as he breathed upon and -wiped his spectacles; 'I have to talk over -an unpleasant matter with you.' -</p> - -<p> -'Business?' -</p> - -<p> -'Yes; perhaps you would defer it till after -dinner?' -</p> - -<p> -'Not at all—what the deuce is it? Debts -of Shafto's?' -</p> - -<p> -'Worse, my lord!' -</p> - -<p> -'Worse! You actually seem unwell; -have a glass of sherry, if I may press you -in your own house.' -</p> - -<p> -'No thanks; I am in positive distress.' -</p> - -<p> -'How—about what?' asked the Peer impatiently. -</p> - -<p> -'The fact is, my lord, I don't know how to -go about it and explain; but for the first -time since I began my career as a W.S.—some -forty years ago now—I have made a -great professional blunder, I fear.' -</p> - -<p> -'Sorry to hear it—but what have I to do -with all that?' -</p> - -<p> -'Much.' -</p> - -<p> -Lord Fettercairn changed colour. -</p> - -<p> -'You wrote strangely of Shafto?' -</p> - -<p> -'No wonder!' groaned Mr. Kippilaw. -</p> - -<p> -'How?' -</p> - -<p> -'The matter very nearly affects your lordship's -dearest interests—the honour of your -house and title.' -</p> - -<p> -'The devil!' exclaimed the Peer, starting -up, and touched upon his most tender -point. -</p> - -<p> -'I have had more than one long conversation -with the old nurse, Madelon Galbraith, -and therefore instituted certain inquiries, -which I should have done before, and have -come to the undoubted and legal conclusion -that—that——' -</p> - -<p> -'What?' asked Fettercairn, striking the -floor with his right heel. -</p> - -<p> -'That the person who passes as your -grandson is not your grandson at all!' -</p> - -<p> -'What—how—who the devil is he then?' -</p> - -<p> -'The son of a Miss MacIan who married -a Mr. Shafto Gyle.' -</p> - -<p> -'D—n the name! Then who and where -is my grandson and heir?' -</p> - -<p> -'One who was lately or is now serving as -a soldier in Zululand.' -</p> - -<p> -'My God! and you tell me all this now—<i>now</i>?' -</p> - -<p> -'When Lennard Melfort lay dying at -Revelstoke he entrusted the proofs of his -only son's birth with his older nephew, -Shafto, who, with amazing cunning, used -them to usurp his rights and position. I -blame myself much. I should have made -closer inquiries at the time; but the -documents seemed all and every way to the point, -and I could not doubt the handwriting or the -signatures of your poor dead son. The -result, however, has rather stunned me.' -</p> - -<p> -'And, d—n it, Kippilaw, it rather stuns -me!' exclaimed Lord Fettercairn, in high -wrath. 'May it not be a mistake, this last -idea?' -</p> - -<p> -'No—everything is too well authenticated.' -</p> - -<p> -'But, Kippilaw,' said Lord Fettercairn, -after a pause, caused by dire perplexity, 'we -had the certificate of birth.' -</p> - -<p> -'Yes—but not in Shafto's name. The -document was mutilated and without the -baptismal certificate, of which I have got -this copy from the Rev. Mr. Paul Pentreath. -The name in both is, as you see,' added -Mr. Kippilaw, laying the document on the table, -'Florian, only son of the Hon. Lennard -Melfort (otherwise MacIan) and Flora, his -wife—Florian, called so after her.' -</p> - -<p> -'You have seen this young man?' -</p> - -<p> -'Yes—once in this room, and I was struck -with his likeness to Lennard. He is dark, -Shafto fair. The true heir has a peculiar -mark on his right arm, says Madelon -Galbraith, his nurse. Here is a letter from -a doctor of the regiment stating that Florian -has such a mark, which Shafto has not; and -mother-marks, as they are called, never -change, like the two marks of the famous -"Claimant." -</p> - -<p> -'I cannot realize it all—that we have been -so befooled!' exclaimed Lord Fettercairn, -walking up and down the room. -</p> - -<p> -'But you must; it will come home to you -soon enough.' -</p> - -<p> -'Egad, so far as bills and debts go, it has -come home to me sharply enough already. -It is a terrible story—a startling one.' -</p> - -<p> -'Few families have stories like it.' -</p> - -<p> -'And one does not wish such in one's own -experience, Kippilaw. It is difficult of -belief—monstrous, Kippilaw!' -</p> - -<p> -'Monstrous, indeed, my Lord Fettercairn!' -chimed in Mr. Kippilaw, who then proceeded -to unfold a terrible tale of the results of -Shafto's periodical visits to Edinburgh and -London—his bills and post-obits with the -money-lenders, who would all be 'diddled' -now, as he proved not to be the heir at all; -and though last, not least, his late disgraceful -affair of the loaded die, and the fracas with -Major Garallan. -</p> - -<p> -'Garallan! that old woman Drumshoddy's -nephew—whew!' His lordship perspired -with pure vexation. 'I have to thank you, -however, for finding out the true heir at last.' -</p> - -<p> -'When there are a fortune and a title in -the case, people are easily found, my lord.' -</p> - -<p> -'Things come right generally, as they -always do, if one waits and trusts in God,' -said Madelon Galbraith, when she was -admitted to an audience, in which, with the -garrulity of years, she supplemented all that -Mr. Kippilaw had advanced; and, as she -laughed with exultation, she showed—despite -her age—two rows of magnificent teeth—teeth -that were bright as her eyes were dark. -</p> - -<p> -'Laoghe mo chri! Laoghe mo chri!' she -murmured to herself; 'your only son will be -righted yet.' -</p> - -<p> -Every nation has its own peculiar terms of -endearment, so Madelon naturally referred to -Flora in her own native Gaelic. -</p> - -<p> -'And Florian is—as you say, Kippilaw—serving -in Zululand?' said Lord Fettercairn. -</p> - -<p> -'Yes.' -</p> - -<p> -'Serving as a private soldier?' -</p> - -<p> -'He was——' -</p> - -<p> -'Was—is he dead?' interrupted the Peer sharply. -</p> - -<p> -'No; he is now an officer, and a -distinguished one—an officer of the gallant but -most unfortunate 24th. I have learned that much.' -</p> - -<p> -'Write to him at once, and meanwhile -telegraph to the Adjutant-General—no -matter what the expense—for immediate -intelligence about him. You will also write to -Shafto—you know what to say to <i>him</i>.' -</p> - -<p> -With right goodwill Mr. Kippilaw hastened -to obey the Peer's injunctions in both -instances. -</p> - -<p> -He wrote to Shafto curtly, relating all that -had transpired, adding that he (Shafto) could -not retain his present position for another -day without risking a public trial, and that if -he would confess the vile and cruel imposture -of which he had been guilty he might escape -being sent to prison, and obtaining perhaps -'permanent employment' in the Perth Penitentiary. -</p> - -<p> -This letter—though not unexpected—proved -a most bitter pill to Shafto! He saw -that 'the game was up'—his last card -played, that life had no more in it for him, -and that there was nothing left for him but -to fly the country and his debts together. -</p> - -<p> -His face was set hard, and into his shifty -grey eyes came the savage gleam one may -see in those of a cat before it springs, but -with this expression were mingled rage and -fear. -</p> - -<p> -With Mr. Kippilaw's letter were two -others, from different parties. In one he -was informed that legal proceedings had -been taken against him, and in default of his -putting in an appearance, judgment for -execution and costs had been given against -him in an English court, for £847 16s. 8d., -in favour of a Jew, who held another bill, -which, though it originally represented £400, -would cost £800 before he parted with it; -and Shafto actually laughed a little bitter -and discordant laugh as he rent the lawyers' -letters into fragments and cast them to the -wind. -</p> - -<p> -Before departing, however, and before his -story transpired, he contrived to borrow -from the butler and housekeeper every spare -pound they possessed, and quietly went forth, -portmanteau in hand. -</p> - -<p> -Did he as he thus left the house recall the -auspicious day on which he had first seen, -with keen and avaricious exultation, Craigengowan -in all its baronial beauty, its wealth of -pasture and meadow-land, of wood, and -moor, and mountain, and deemed that -all—all were, or would be, his? -</p> - -<p> -He turned his back on the Howe of the -Mearns for ever, and from that hour all trace -of him was lost! -</p> - -<p class="t3"> -* * * * * -</p> - -<p> -The reply to Mr. Kippilaw's telegram to -South Africa gave him, and even his noble -client, cause for some anxiety. -</p> - -<p> -It was dated from Headquarters, Ulundi, -on the last day of August, and stated that -Lieutenant MacIan 'was down with fever, -and not expected to live.' -</p> - -<p> -So—if he died—the title of Fettercairn, -being a Scottish one, would go to Finella, -and the heir male of whosoever she -married. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap14"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XIV. -<br /><br /> -IN THE NGOME FOREST. -</h3> - -<p> -We now approach the last scenes of Florian's -foreign service. -</p> - -<p> -By the 13th of August the cordon of -European troops and Native lines drawn -round the district in which the fugitive -King of the Zulus lurked had been drawn -closer, and it was now distinctly known at -headquarters in Ulundi that he had sought -refuge in the Forest of Ngome, a wild, most -savage and untrodden district between two -rivers (with long and grotesque names), -tributaries of the Black Umvolosi, and -overshadowed by a mountain chain called the -Ngome. -</p> - -<p> -Various parties detailed for the pursuit, -search, and capture failed, till, on the 26th -August, the Chief of the Staff received -information indicating where Cetewayo was -certain to be found, and Major Marter, of the -King's Dragoon Guards, was ordered to -proceed next day in that direction with a -squadron of his own regiment, a company of -the Native Contingent, Lonsdale's Horse, -and a few Mounted Infantry, led by Florian -and another officer. The former was already -suffering from fever caught by exposure to -the night dews when scouting, and felt so -weak and giddy that at times he could barely -keep in his saddle; but, full of youthful -ardour and zeal, fired by the promotion -and praises he had won, he was anxious -only, if life were spared him, to see the -closing act of the great campaign in South -Africa. -</p> - -<p> -The early morning of the 27th saw the -Horse depart, the King's Dragoon Guards -leading the way, after the Mounted Infantry -scouts; and picturesque they looked in their -bright scarlet tunics and white helmets, with -accoutrements glittering as they rode in -Indian file through the scenery of the -tropical forest, and then for a time debouched -upon open ground. -</p> - -<p> -Nodding in his saddle, Florian felt spiritless -and sick at heart, wishing intensely that -the last act was over. -</p> - -<p> -Far in the distance around extended a -range of mountains that were purple and -blue in their hues, even against the -greenish-blue of the sky, and vast tracts of wood, -tinted with every hue of green, red, and -golden; in the foreground were brawling -streams dashing through channels of rock to -join the Black Umvolosi, under graceful date -palms, mimosa trees, and the undergrowth -of baboon ropes and other giant trailers. -Scared troops of the eland, grey and brown -herds of fleet antelopes glided past, and more, -than once the roar of a lion made the -wilderness re-echo. -</p> - -<p> -And this ground had to be traversed -under a fierce and burning sun till the valley -of the Ivuno River was reached, prior to -which three Dragoon Guard horses were -carried off and devoured by lions. -</p> - -<p> -So passed the day. The party reached a -lonely little kraal on the summit of the -Nenye Mountain, and bivouacked there for -the night. -</p> - -<p> -Stretched on the floor of a hut, after drinking -thirstily of some weak brandy and water, -Florian watched the blood-red disc of the -sun, mightier than it is ever seen in Europe, -amid the luminous haze, begin to disappear -behind the verge of the vast forest—the sea -of timber—that spread below, casting forward -in dark outline the quaint and grotesque -euphorbia trees that at times take the shape -of Indian idols. -</p> - -<p> -Then a mist stole over the waste below, -and a single star shone out with wondrous -brilliance. -</p> - -<p> -Florian was so weak in the morning that -he would fain have abandoned the duty on -which he had come, and remained in the hut -at the kraal; but to linger behind was only -to court death by the teeth of wild animals or -the hands of scouting Zulus, so wearily he -clambered, rather than sprang as of old, into -his saddle. -</p> - -<p> -'Pull yourself together, if you can, my -dear fellow,' said an officer; 'our task will -soon be over. It is something after a close -run to be in at the death; and it is waking -men with their swords, not dreamers with -their pens, who make history.' -</p> - -<p> -'I am no dreamer,' said Florian, scarcely -seeing the point of the other's remark. -</p> - -<p> -'I did not mean that you were,' said the -other, proffering his cigar-case; 'have a -weed?' -</p> - -<p> -But Florian shook his head with an -emotion of nausea. -</p> - -<p> -'Forward, in single file from the right,' -was the order given, for the sun would soon -be up now. Already the bees were humming -loudly among the tall reeds and giant -flowers beside the stream that flowed downward -from the kraal, the forest stems looked -black or bronze-like in the grey and then -crimson dawn, while the stars faded out -fast. -</p> - -<p> -In advancing to another kraal on the -mountain, Major Marter's force had to -traverse the forest bush, where trees of -giant height and girth, matted and -inter-woven by baboon ropes and other trailers, -shut out even the fierce sun of Africa, and -made a cool green roof or leafy shade, where -the grass grew tall as a Grenadier, where -hideous apes barked and chattered, bright-hued -parrots croaked or screamed, and where -nature seemed to have run wild in unbridled -luxuriance since the Ark rested on Ararat, -and the waters of the flood subsided. -</p> - -<p> -The mountains of the Ngome, and overlooking -the forest of that name, are flat-topped, -like all others in South Africa; but -Major Marter found the western slope to be -dangerously precipitous, and thence he and -his guides looked down into a densely -wooded valley, lying more than two thousand -feet below. -</p> - -<p> -About two miles distant, thin smoke could -be seen ascending amid the greenery, from a -small kraal by the side of a brawling stream, -and therein Cetewayo was known to be. -</p> - -<p> -As cavalry could not reach the bottom -without making a very long detour, the -Major ordered all the mounted men to lay -aside their bright steel scabbards, and all -other accoutrements likely to create a rattling -noise, and these, with the pack horses, were -left in charge of a small party, the command -of which was offered to the sinking Florian, -who foolishly declined, and rode with the -rest to a less precipitous slope of the hills -three miles distant, down which the Dragoon -Guards led their chargers by the bridle, -crossed the stream referred to, a small fence, -and a marsh, and, remounting, made a dash -for the kraal, sword in hand, from the north, -while the Native Contingent formed up south -of it on some open ground. -</p> - -<p> -The capture of Cetewayo is an event too -recent to be detailed at length here. -</p> - -<p> -It is known how his few followers, on -seeing the red-coated cavalry riding up, -shouted, in unison with the Native Contingent: -</p> - -<p> -'The white men are here—you are taken!' -</p> - -<p> -Then the fallen royal savage came forth, -looking weary, weak, and footsore; and -when a soldier—Tom Tyrrell—attempted to -seize him, he drew himself up with an air of -simple dignity, and repelled him. -</p> - -<p> -'Touch me not, white soldier!' he -exclaimed; 'I am a King, and surrender only -to your chief.' -</p> - -<p> -With their prisoner strictly guarded, the -party passed the night of the 29th August in -the forest of Ngome, and Florian, as he flung -himself on the dewy grass, with fevered -limbs and aching head, felt an emotion of -thankfulness that all was over, and it was -nearly so with himself now! -</p> - -<p> -The moon had not yet risen; the darkness -was dense around the hut where lay Cetewayo, -guarded by many a sabre and bayonet; -and the jackals and hyenas were making -night hideous with their howling, mingled -at times with the yells of wild dogs. -</p> - -<p> -Ever and anon the barking of baboons, as -they swung themselves from branch to branch, -seemed to indicate the approach of some -great beast of prey, and the crackle of dry -twigs suggested the slimy crawling of a -poisonous snake. -</p> - -<p> -So passed the night in the Forest of -Ngome. With dawn the trumpet sounded -'To horse,' and again the whole party moved -on the homeward way to Ulundi. The -night in the dreary forest, lying out in the -open, had done its worst for Florian. On -reaching the camp he fell from his saddle -into the arms of the watchful Tom Tyrrell, -and was carried to his tent, prostrate and -delirious. -</p> - -<p> -Hence the tenor of the telegram received -from the medical staff by Mr. Kenneth Kippilaw. -</p> - -<p> -How Florian lived to reach Durban, conveyed -there with other sick in the ambulance -waggons, he never knew, so heavily was the -hand of fever laid on him; but many a time -he had seen, as in a dream, the horses straggling -through bridgeless torrents, and graves -dug amid the pathless wastes for those who -died on the route, and were laid therein, -rolled in their blanket, and covered up before -their limbs were cold, till at last the village of -Durban—for it is little else, though the principal -seaport of Natal—was reached, and he -was placed in an extemporised hospital. -</p> - -<p> -In his weakness, after the delirium passed -away, he felt always as one in a dream. The -windows were open to the breeze from the -Indian Ocean, and the roar of the surf could -be heard without ceasing on the sandy beach, -while at night the sharp crescent moon shone -like a silver sabre in the clear blue sky, and, -laden with the perfume of many tropical -plants, the sweet air without struggled with -the close atmosphere of the crowded hospital -wards, in which our 'boy soldiers died like -sick flies,' as a general officer reported. -</p> - -<p> -And there he lay, hour after hour, wasted -by the fever born of miasma and the jungle, -rigid and corpse-like in outline, under the -light white coverlet. For how long or how -short this was to last no one ventured to surmise. -</p> - -<p> -He had ceased now to toss to and fro on -his pillow and pour forth incoherent babble, -in which Revelstoke, Dulcie Carlyon, his -boyish days, and the recent stirring events of -the now-ended campaign were all strangely -woven together, while Tom Tyrrell, now his -constant attendant, who nursed him tenderly -as a woman would have done, had listened -with alarm and dismay. And more than once -Florian had dreamed that Tom, bearded to -the eyes, bronzed to negro darkness, and -clad in an old patched regimental tunic, was -not Tom at all, but Dulcie, the girl he loved -so passionately, watching there, smoothing his -pillow and holding the cup with its cooling -draught to his parched lips. -</p> - -<p> -'They say that fever must run its course, -sir, whatever that means,' said Tom to the -doctor. -</p> - -<p> -'Ah! a fever like this is a very touch-and-go -affair,' responded old Gallipot, in whom -the telegrams from headquarters and from -Edinburgh had given a peculiar interest for -his patient. -</p> - -<p> -'Am I dying, doctor—don't fear to tell -me?' asked the latter suddenly in a low, -husky voice. -</p> - -<p> -'Why do you ask, my poor fellow?' replied -the doctor, bending over him. -</p> - -<p> -'I mean simply, is the end of this illness—death?' -</p> - -<p> -'To tell you the truth, I greatly fear it is,' -replied the doctor, shaking his head. -</p> - -<p> -'God's will be done!' said Florian -resignedly. 'Well, well, perhaps it is better -so—I am so far gone—but Dulcie!' he added -to himself in a husky whisper—'poor Dulcie, -alone—all alone!' -</p> - -<p> -His senses had quite returned now, but he -was so weak that he could neither move -hand nor foot, and his eyelids, unable to -uphold their own weight, closed as soon as -raised, and often while his parched tongue -clove to the roof of his mouth as he lay thus -he was supposed to be asleep. -</p> - -<p> -'Poor fellow!' he heard Tom Tyrrell -whisper to an hospital orderly in a broken -voice; 'he's got his marching orders, and -will soon be off—yet he doesn't seem to -suffer much.' -</p> - -<p> -How hard it was to die so young, with -what should have been a long life before him, -and now one with honours won to make it -valuable. -</p> - -<p> -Well, well, he thought, if it was God's will -it would be no worse for him than for others. -It seemed as natural to die as to be born—our -place in the world is vacant before and -after; but yet, again, it was hard, he thought, -to die, and die so young in a distant and -barbarous land, where the savage, the wild -animal, and the Kaffir vulture would be the -only loiterers near his lonely and unmarked -grave. -</p> - -<p> -There came a day when the scene changed -to him again. He was in the cabin of a ship, -lying near an open port-hole, through which -he could see the ocean rippling like molten -gold in the setting sun, the red light of which -bathed in ruddy tints the shore of Durban -and the white lighthouse on the bluff that -guards its entrance. -</p> - -<p> -Anon he heard the tramp overhead of the -seamen as they manned the capstan bars and -tripped merrily round to the sound of drum -and fife, heaving short on the anchor, and -heaving with a will, till it was apeak. Then, -the canvas was let fall and sheeted home; -the revolution of the screw-propeller was felt -to make the great 'trooper' vibrate in all her -length, and the glittering waves began to -roll astern as she sped on her homeward -way. -</p> - -<p> -Would he live to see the end of the -voyage? It seemed very problematical. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap15"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XV. -<br /><br /> -THE MAJOR PROPOSES. -</h3> - -<p> -Meanwhile Hammersley's suspicion and -jealousy grew apace, and it has been said -that when the latter emotion begins to -reason, we legally 'always hold a brief for -the prosecution in such cases, and admit no -evidence save that which tends to a conviction.' -</p> - -<p> -In his rage he thought of quitting London -and going—but where? He knew not then -precisely. -</p> - -<p> -'Oh, to be well and strong again!' he -would mutter; 'out of this place and back to -the regiment and the old life. There is a -shindy brewing fast in the Transvaal, and -that will be the place for me.' -</p> - -<p> -At other times he would think—'I wish -that recruit of Cardwell's had put his bullet -through my brain. I would rather he had -done so than feel it throb as it does now.' -</p> - -<p> -Some loves may dwindle into indifference -or turn to hatred, but seldom or never to mere -friendship. Yet it is not easy 'to hate those -we have once loved because we happen to -discover a weak point in their armour, any -more than it is easy to love unlovable people -because of their resplendent virtues.' -</p> - -<p> -No response had ever come to the letters -he had written Finella under cover to Dulce; -thus he ceased to send them, all unaware that -these letters addressed to 'Miss Carlyon' had -been returned to the Post Office, endorsed, -by order of Lady Fettercairn, 'not known at -Craigengowan;' and now the heavy thoughts -of Hammersley affected his manner and gait, -and thus he often walked slowly, as if he -were weary; and so he was weary and sick -of heart, for the sense of hope being dead -within the breast will give a droop to the -head and a lagging air to the step. -</p> - -<p> -Lady Drumshoddy rented a grand -old-fashioned house in that very gloomy -quadrangle called St. James's Square, the chief -mansion in which is that of his Grace of -Norfolk, and round the still somewhat scurvy -enclosure of which Dr. Johnson and Savage, -when friendless and penniless, spent many a -summer night with empty stomachs and -hearts heated with antagonism to the then -Government. About a hundred years before -that, Macaulay tells us that St. James's -Square 'was a receptacle for all the offal and -cinders, and all the dead cats and dogs, of -Westminster. At one time a cudgel-player -kept his ring there. At another an impudent -squatter settled himself there, and built a -shed for rubbish under the windows of the -gilded <i>salons</i> in which the first magnates of -the realm—Norfolk, Ormond, Kent, and -Pembroke—gave banquets and balls. It was -not till these nuisances had lasted through a -whole generation, and till much had been -written about them, that the inhabitants -applied to Parliament for permission to put -up rails and plant trees.' -</p> - -<p> -Here, then, in this now fashionable locality, -had my Lady Drumshoddy pitched her tent, -and hence it was that Vivian Hammersley, -being almost daily at 'The Rag,' close by, -saw Finella and her cousin so frequently; -yet it never occurred to him to think of the -old Scoto-Indian Judge's widow, of whom he -knew little or nothing. -</p> - -<p> -The circumstance that Finella was -undoubtedly still wearing his engagement ring -made Hammersley, amid all his misery and -anger, long for some more certain information -than mere Club gossip and banter -afforded, and for that which was due from -her—an explicit explanation. He thought, -as a casuist has it, 'that to know her false -would not be so bitter as to doubt. To -mistrust the woman we love is torture. To -have a knowledge of her guilt is the first step -towards burying our love. Our pride is then -thoroughly aroused, and that contempt for -treachery, inherent in our nature, flames out.' -</p> - -<p> -On her part, Finella had some cause for -pique—grave cause, she thought. She had -twice, at intervals, seen Vivian Hammersley -riding in the Row, when it was impossible -for her to address him or afford him the -least sign; and now, knowing that he was -home, and in London, she naturally thought -why did he not make some effort to communicate -with her, in spite of any barrier Lady -Fettercairn might raise between them, if he -supposed she still resided at Craigengowan. -Thus she too was beginning to look regretfully -back to his love as a dream that had fled. -</p> - -<p> -'A pretty kettle of fish they have made -of it at Craigengowan, my dear!' snorted -Lady Drumshoddy, when she heard of the -late events that had transpired there. 'They -have been imposed upon fearfully—quite -another "Claimant" affair; but I always had -my suspicions, my dear—I always had my -suspicions, I am glad to say,' she coolly -added, oblivious of the fact that she always -aided and abetted Shafto in all his plans and -hopes to secure Finella and her fortune. -</p> - -<p> -It was convenient to ignore or forget all -that now. -</p> - -<p> -'My Ronald is all right,' snorted the -hard-featured old dame to herself; 'he is the -right man in the right place; but, as for -Finella, she is like most girls, I suppose—will -not fall in love where and when it is -most clearly her duty to do so—provoking -minx!' -</p> - -<p> -It was a prominent feature in the character -of my Lady Drumshoddy, contradiction, -though she would not for a second tolerate it -in anyone else; and as Major Garallan was -temporarily a resident at her house in -St. James's Square, she, like Lady Fettercairn -on the other occasion, put great faith in -cousinship and propinquity. -</p> - -<p> -What a different kind and style of cousin -Ronald Garallan was from Shafto, Finella -naturally thought; not that as yet she loved -him a bit, as he evidently loved her, but he -was such a delightful companion to escort -her everywhere. -</p> - -<p> -She had received plenty of admiration and -adulation during her short season in London -before, and to suppose that she was blind to -the young Major's attentions would be to -deem her foolish; no woman or girl is ever -blind to that sort of thing. She, like the rest -of her charming sex, knew by instinct when -she had won a success; but she also knew -that she had one powerful attraction—money—and -knew, too, that her heart was engaged -otherwise; and this knowledge made her -tolerably indifferent to the admiration of her -cousin, while the indifference laid her open to -the appearance of receiving his close attentions. -Meanwhile the latter was enjoying his Capua. -</p> - -<p> -'How delicious all this is!' he often -thought, as he lounged by Finella's side in -the drawing-room, or rode with her in the -Row, 'after sweltering so long in that hottest -and most hateful of up-country stations, -Jehanabad, on the shining rocks of which -the Indian sun pours all its rays for months, -till the granite at night gives out the caloric -it has absorbed by day, and so the roasting -process never ceases, and sleep even on a -charpoy becomes impossible, all the more so -that hyenas, jackals, and wild cats make -night hideous with their yells. This is -indeed an exchange,' he once added aloud, -'and all the more delicious that I have it -with <i>you</i>, Cousin Finella.' -</p> - -<p> -And Lady Drumshoddy, if she was near, -would watch the pair complacently through -her great spectacles, while pretending to be -intent on her only paper (after the <i>Morning -Post</i>), the <i>Queen</i>, which she read as regularly—more -so, we fear—than she read her night prayers. -</p> - -<p> -And while Garallan's attentions were -gradually warming and leading up to a -declaration, Finella was thinking angrily of -Hammersley. -</p> - -<p> -'Perhaps he has forgotten his love for -me—nay, he would never forget <i>that!</i> but -absence, time, change of scene, or a regard -for some one else may have come between -us. It is the way with men, I have been -told.' -</p> - -<p> -So, in the fulness of time, there came one -fine forenoon, when Lady Drumshoddy had -judiciously left the cousins quite alone, and -when Finella, in one of her most bewitching -costumes, was idling over a book of prints, -with Ronald Garallan by her side, admiring -the contour of her head, the curve of her -neck, her pure profile, the lovely little ear -that was next him, and everything else, to -the little bouquet in her bosom that rose and -fell with every respiration, let his passion -completely overmaster him, and taking caressingly -within his own her left hand, which she -did not withdraw, he said: -</p> - -<p> -'I have something to ask you, Finella—you -know what it is?' -</p> - -<p> -'Indeed, I do not.' -</p> - -<p> -'Then, of course, I must tell you?' -</p> - -<p> -'I think you must,' said she, looking him -calmly in the face for a second. -</p> - -<p> -'For weeks you must have known it.' -</p> - -<p> -'Known—what?' -</p> - -<p> -'That I love you!' he said in a low voice, -and bending till his moustache touched her -cheek; 'and now I ask you to give me -yourself.' -</p> - -<p> -The hand was withdrawn now; she -coloured, but not deeply, and her eyelashes -drooped. -</p> - -<p> -'Give me yourself, darling,' he resumed, -'and trust to me for taking care of you all -the days of your life.' -</p> - -<p> -Though she must have expected some -such ending as this to their late hourly -intimacy, she was nevertheless astonished, -and said, with a little nervous laugh at the -abruptness and matter-of-fact form of the -proposal: -</p> - -<p> -'Cousin Ronald, I can surely take care of -myself. But—but do you want to marry me?' -</p> - -<p> -'Of course!' replied Cousin Ronald, with -very open eyes, while tugging the ends of -his moustache. -</p> - -<p> -'Well—it can't be.' -</p> - -<p> -'Can't be?' -</p> - -<p> -'No. I thank you very much, and like -you very much—there are both my hands on -that; but marriage is impossible. Yet don't -let us quarrel, for that would be absurd, but -be the best of good friends as ever.' -</p> - -<p> -'And this is my answer?' said he, with a -very crushed air. -</p> - -<p> -'Yes,' she replied, colouring deeply now; -'once and for all.' -</p> - -<p> -'I won't take it,' said he, with mingled -sorrow and anger. 'I will not, darling!—I -shall come to it again, when, perhaps, you -may think better of it and of me. Till -then good-bye, and God bless you, dearest -Finella!' -</p> - -<p> -Kissing both her hands, he abruptly withdrew, -and soon after leaving the house took -his departure for Brighton; and now the luckless -Finella had to explain the reason thereof, -and to undergo the ever-recurring admonitions, -reprehensions, parables, and absolute -scoldings of 'grandmamma Drumshoddy,' -who was neither quite so well bred nor so -calm in spirit and outward bearing as Lady -Fettercairn, then 'eating humble pie' at -Craigengowan. -</p> - -<p> -If Florian, the new heir, was indeed dying, -as reported, when he was embarked with -other sick and wounded officers and men at -Durban, a prospective peerage, with all the -estates, enhanced the value and position of -Finella in the eyes of Lady Drumshoddy, so -far as a marriage with her nephew, the -Major, was concerned, and most wrathful -she was indeed to find that her schemes -were going 'agee.' -</p> - -<p> -Lord Fettercairn fully shared her ideas, -and knew that whoever married the only -daughter of the House of Melfort, though -he might assume the old name, it and the -title too went virtually out of the family. -</p> - -<p> -Finella had remarked to herself that for -some time past Lady Fettercairn in her -letters never mentioned the name of Shafto, -or hinted of the old wish about marrying -<i>him</i>. -</p> - -<p> -Why was this? -</p> - -<p> -She knew not the reason that his existence -was ignored, till Lady Drumshoddy bluntly -referred to 'the pretty kettle of fish' made -lately by the folks at Craigengowan, and -then, in the gentleness of her heart, Finella -almost felt pitiful for the now homeless and -worthless one. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap16"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XVI. -<br /><br /> -A CLOUD DISPELLED. -</h3> - -<p> -September was creeping on, and in London -then the weather is often steady and pleasant, -though in the mornings and evenings the -first chills of the coming winter begin to be -felt. The summer-parched and dust-laden -foliage of the trees droops in Park and -square, and the great gorse-bushes are all -in golden bloom at Wimbledon, at Barnes -Common, and other fern and heath-covered -wastes. -</p> - -<p> -The Row and other favourite promenades -were now empty; Parliament was not sitting; -and shooting and cub-hunting were in full -force in the country. -</p> - -<p> -Sooner or later one runs up against every -one in this whirligig world of ours; thus -Hammersley, still lingering aimlessly in -London, coming one day from the Horse -Guards, in crossing the east end of the Mall, -found himself suddenly face to face with her -of whom his thoughts were full—Finella -Melfort! -</p> - -<p> -Finella, in a smart sealskin jacket, with -her muff slung by a silken cord round her -slender neck, a most becoming hat, the veil -of which was tied tightly and piquantly -across her short upper lip. -</p> - -<p> -'Finella!' -</p> - -<p> -'Oh, Vivian!' -</p> - -<p> -Their exclamations and joyful surprise -were mutual, but 'the horns and hoofs of -the green-eyed monster' were still obtruding -amid the thoughts of Hammersley, though -she frankly gave him both her plump little -tightly gloved hands, which after a caressing -pressure he speedily dropped, rather to the -surprise of the charming proprietor thereof. -</p> - -<p> -'Did you know I was in London?' she asked. -</p> - -<p> -'Yes—too well.' -</p> - -<p> -'And yet made no effort to see—to write -to me!' -</p> - -<p> -'I knew not where to find you.' -</p> - -<p> -'You might have inquired—that is, if you -cared to know.' -</p> - -<p> -'Cared—oh, Finella!' -</p> - -<p> -'And your wound—your cruel wound! -Have you recovered from it?' -</p> - -<p> -'Nearly so—thus I have just been at the -Horse Guards about going on foreign service -again. -</p> - -<p> -'Foreign service—again?' -</p> - -<p> -'Yes; there are wounds deeper and more -lasting than any an enemy can inflict.' -</p> - -<p> -She evidently did not understand his mood. -</p> - -<p> -'Are you not rash, Vivian, to be out in a -day so chill as this?' she said. -</p> - -<p> -'A little chill, fog, or rain, more or less, -are trifles to one whose thoughts are all of -sad and bitter things.' -</p> - -<p> -'Vivian?—your wound, was it a severe one?' -</p> - -<p> -'Very. I received a shot that was meant -for the assassination of another.' -</p> - -<p> -'Who?' -</p> - -<p> -'Florian; your friend Miss Carlyon's lover, -who, poor fellow, I hear sailed from Durban -in a bad way.' -</p> - -<p> -'Why do you look and speak so coldly, -Vivian—Vivian?' she asked, with her slender -fingers interlaced, while he certainly eyed her -wistfully, curiously, and even angrily. -</p> - -<p> -'Why?' -</p> - -<p> -'Yes,' said she, impetuously. 'Why are -you so cruel—so hard to me?' she added, -with a sob in her voice, as she placed a hand -on his arm and looked earnestly up in his -face. 'Surely it is not for me to plead thus?' -</p> - -<p> -'Why are you so touched?' -</p> - -<p> -'Can you ask, while treating me thus?' -</p> - -<p> -'Like a thorough Scotch girl, you answer -one question by asking another.' -</p> - -<p> -'Well, in constancy men certainly do not -bear the palm,' said she, drawing back a pace, -and inserting her hands in her muff. -</p> - -<p> -'I think you should be the last to taunt -me, at all events, as appearances go.' -</p> - -<p> -There was a moment's silence, for both -were too honest and true to have acquired -what has been termed 'the useful and social -art of talking platitudes' when their hearts -were full. -</p> - -<p> -'And this is our long-looked-forward-to -meeting?' she said, reproachfully. -</p> - -<p> -'Yes—alas!' -</p> - -<p> -'Why do you regard me—not with the -furious rage that possessed you on quitting -Craigengowan—but with coldness, doubt, -indifference?' -</p> - -<p> -'Indifference! Oh, no, Finella.' -</p> - -<p> -'Doubt—suspicion, then?' -</p> - -<p> -'It may be,' he replied with a doggedness -that certainly was not natural to him. -</p> - -<p> -'What <i>have</i> I done?' asked the girl, sorely -piqued now. -</p> - -<p> -'Nothing, perhaps,' he replied shrinking -from putting his thoughts into words. -</p> - -<p> -'Can it be that you are changeable and -inconstant? When you saw me, and knew -that I was in London, why did you not come -to me at once?' -</p> - -<p> -'Because I knew not where or with whom -you were residing.' -</p> - -<p> -'Did you go to Fettercairn House?' -</p> - -<p> -'No.' -</p> - -<p> -'Why?' she asked curtly, for <i>her</i> suspicions -were being kindled now. -</p> - -<p> -'I knew the family were not in town.' -</p> - -<p> -'Then you might have asked for Lady -Drumshoddy, and, if not, somehow have -heard——' -</p> - -<p> -'By tipping the butler or Mr. James Plush?' -</p> - -<p> -'If I wanted to do anything I would grasp -at the first chance of achieving it,' said Finella, -her dark eyes sparkling now. -</p> - -<p> -'Men are seldom creatures of impulse. I -reasoned over the matter, and put two and -two together.' -</p> - -<p> -'Reason generally urges men to do what -they wish. But what do you mean by putting -two and two together?' -</p> - -<p> -'Well, frankly, I referred to you and Major -Garallan.' -</p> - -<p> -'Do you make <i>four</i> of us? Vivian, you -are absurd,' said Finella, after a little pause, -during which she coloured and stamped a -little foot impatiently on the ground. -</p> - -<p> -'Perhaps,' said he sadly and wearily; 'but -I heard so much at the Clubs and elsewhere -that I knew not what to think.' -</p> - -<p> -'About us you mean—Cousin Ronald and me?' -</p> - -<p> -'Yes.' -</p> - -<p> -'You heard—what?' -</p> - -<p> -'That you were about to be married—that -is the long and the short of it.' -</p> - -<p> -His face crimsoned with annoyance as he -spoke; but hers grew pale. -</p> - -<p> -'And you, Vivian—you believed this?' she -asked mournfully and reproachfully. -</p> - -<p> -'Much that I saw seemed to confirm it. -You and he were so much together.' -</p> - -<p> -'How unfortunate I am to have been -suspected by you twice! Ronald is only my -cousin.' -</p> - -<p> -'So was that precious Shafto!' -</p> - -<p> -'Why hark back upon that episode?' she -asked, piteously. 'Have I offended you? -Misunderstanding between us seems to have -become our normal state.' -</p> - -<p> -'Your cousin may—nay, I doubt not, loves -you, Finella; but why do you permit him to -do so?' -</p> - -<p> -'Can I help it? Ronald was a kind of -brother to me—nothing more,' she continued, -ignoring—perhaps at that moment forgetting—his -recent proposal; 'but my heart has -never for a moment wandered from you. -See!' she added, while quickly and nervously -stripping the kid glove from her right hand, -'your engagement ring has never, for a -second even, been off my finger since first -you placed it there.' -</p> - -<p> -'My darling—my darling!' he exclaimed, -as all his heart went forth towards her. 'Oh, -Finella! what I suffered when I thought I -had again lost you! Yet I would almost -undergo it all again—for this!' he added, as -he passionately kissed her, after a swift glance -round to see that no one was nigh. -</p> - -<p> -So the reconciliation was complete; all -doubts were dissipated, and they lingered -long together, talking of themselves and a -thousand kindred topics, in which foreign -service was not included; and more complete -it was, when, after escorting her home (Lady -Drumshoddy being absent at Exeter Hall), -in the solitude of the drawing-room, they had -a sweeter lingering still, Finella's head resting -on his shoulder, the touch of her cheek thrilling -through him, and like some tender and -tuneful melody her soft cooing voice seemed -to vibrate in his head and heart together. -</p> - -<p> -So they were united again after all! -</p> - -<p> -At last they had to separate, and looking -forward to a visit on the morrow, Hammersley, -seeming to tread on air, in a state of -radiance, both in face and mind, hurried -across the square to the Club, where he came -suddenly upon Villiers, whom he had not -seen for some days, and who seemed rather -curiously to resent his evident state of high -spirits. -</p> - -<p> -'Well, Villiers,' said he, 'you do look glum, -by Jove! What is the matter now—the -Wolseley ring, and all that—the service going -to the dogs!' -</p> - -<p> -'You know deuced well that it <i>has</i> gone—went -with the regimental system. No; it is -a cursed affair of my own. I have been -robbed.' -</p> - -<p> -'Robbed—how—and of what?' -</p> - -<p> -'My pocket-book, containing some valuable -papers and more than £500 in Bank of -England notes.' -</p> - -<p> -'Good heavens! I hope you have the numbers?' -</p> - -<p> -'No—never noted such a thing in my life. -Who but a careful screw would do so?' -</p> - -<p> -'How came it about?' -</p> - -<p> -'Well, you see,' said Villiers slowly, while -manipulating a cigar, 'I took a run over to -Ostend, and there, as the devil would have it, -at the Casino, and afterwards in the mail boat -to Dover, I fell in with a charming Belgienne, -an awfully pretty and seductive creature, who -was on her way to London and quite alone. -We had rather a pronounced flirtation, and -exchanged photos—an act of greater folly on -her part than on mine, as the event proved; -for, after taking mine from my pocket-book -(which she could see was full of notes), I -never saw the latter again. I dropped asleep, -but awoke when the tickets were collected—awoke -to find that she had slipped out at -some intermediate station, and the pocket-book, -which I had placed in my breast-pocket, -was gone too! There had been no one else -in the carriage with me—indeed I had quietly -tipped the guard to arrange it so. Thus, as -no trace of it could be found, after the most -careful search, she must have deftly abstracted -it. Here is her photo—a deuced dear work -of art to me!' -</p> - -<p> -'She is pretty, indeed!' exclaimed Hammersley; -'such a quantity of beautiful fair hair!' -</p> - -<p> -'It was dark golden.' -</p> - -<p> -'Surely it was rash of her to give you this?' -</p> - -<p> -'It was vanity, perhaps, when the idea of -theft had not occurred to her.' -</p> - -<p> -'Throw it in the fire.' -</p> - -<p> -'Not at all.' -</p> - -<p> -'What do you mean to do with it—preserve -the likeness of a mere adventuress?' -</p> - -<p> -'I shall give it to the police as a clue. It -may lead to the recovery of my money, and, -what is of more consequence to me, my -correspondence.' -</p> - -<p> -So the photo of the pretty Belgienne was -handed over to the authorities; but neither -Villiers nor Hammersley could quite foresee -what it was to lead to. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap17"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XVII. -<br /><br /> -FLORIAN DYING. -</h3> - -<p> -After her flight from Craigengowan to -London, Dulcie had found shelter in the -same house wherein she had lodged after -leaving Revelstoke, in a gloomy alley that -opens northward off Oxford Street. The -vicar, on whose protection and interest she -relied, was not in London, and would be -absent therefrom for fully a month; so she -had written to Mr. Pentreath, who quietly, -but firmly rebuked her for her folly in -quitting Craigengowan, and expressed his -dismay that she should be alone and -unprotected in London, and urged her to come -to him, in Devonshire, at once. -</p> - -<p> -But Dulcie remembered his slender income, -his pinched household, and -notwithstanding all the dear and sad associations of -Revelstoke, she remained in London, thinking -that amid its mighty world something -would be sure to turn up. -</p> - -<p> -The solitude of her little room was so -great that times there were when she thought -she might go mad from pure inanition and -loneliness; but greater still seemed the solitude -of the streets, which, crowded as they were -by myriads passing to and fro, were -without one friend for her. -</p> - -<p> -She was not without her occasional <i>chateaux -en Espagne</i>—dreams of relations, rich but as -yet unknown, who would seek her out and -cast a sunshine on her life; but how sordid -seemed all her surroundings after the comfort -and luxury, the splendour and stateliness, of -Craigengowan! -</p> - -<p> -Dulcie had once had her girlish dreams of -life in London, at a time when the chances -of her ever being there were remote -indeed—dreams that were as the glittering scenes -in a pantomime; and now, in her loneliness, -she was appalled by the great Babylon, so -terrible in its vastness, so hideous in its -monotony as a wilderness of bricks and -bustle by day, bustle and gas by night, with -its huge and dusky dome over all, with its -tens upon thousands of vehicles of every -kind—a whirling vortex, cleft in two by a -river of mud and slime, where the corpses of -suicides and the murdered are ploughed up -by steamers and dredges—a river that perhaps -hides more crime and dreadful secrets than -any other in Europe; and amid the seething -masses of the great Babylon she felt herself -as a grain of sand on the seashore. -</p> - -<p> -Our neighbours next door know us not, -nor care to know; and to the postman, the -milkman, and the message-boy we are only -'a number' as long as we pay—nothing more. -</p> - -<p> -So times there were when Dulcie longed -intensely for the home of her childhood, with -its shady Devonshire lanes redolent of ripe -apples, wild honeysuckle, and the sycamore-trees, -and for the midges dancing merrily in -the clear sunshine above the stream in which -she and Florian were wont to fish together: -and but for Shafto and Lady Fettercairn she -would have gladly hailed Craigengowan, with -its ghost-haunted Howe, its old gate of the -legend, Queen Mary's Thorn, and all their -lonely adjuncts, could she but share them -with Finella; but she was all unaware that -the latter was there no longer. -</p> - -<p> -Her little stock of money was wearing -out, with all her care and frugality, and her -whole hope lay in the return of the vicar, -who, too probably, would also reproach her -with precipitation. -</p> - -<p> -'Things will come right yet—they always -do—if one knows how to wait and trust in -God,' said Dulcie to herself, hopefully but -tearfully; 'and when two love each other,' -she added, thinking of Florian, 'they may -beat Fate itself.' -</p> - -<p> -Dulcie had not written to Finella, as she -was yet without distinct plans; she only -knew that she could not teach, and thus was -not 'cut out' for a governess. Neither did -she write to Florian, as she knew not where -to address him, and, knowing not what a day -might bring forth, she could not indicate -where she was to send an answer. So week -followed week; her sweet hopefulness began -to leave her, and a presentiment came upon -her that she would never see Florian again. -So many misfortunes had befallen her that -this would only be one more; and this -presentiment seemed to be realised, and a -dreadful shock was given, when by the -merest chance she saw in a paper a few -weeks old the same telegram concerning him -which had so excited old Mr. Kippilaw, and -which had found its way into print, as -everything seems to do nowadays. -</p> - -<p> -The transport with sick and wounded was -on its homeward way; but when it arrived -would he be with it, or sleeping under the -waves? -</p> - -<p> -It was a dreadful stroke for Dulcie; her -only tie to earth seemed to be passing or to -have passed away. She had no one to -confide in, no one to condole with her, and -for a whole day never quitted her pillow; -but, 'at twenty, one must be constitutionally -very unsound if grief is to kill one, or even -to leave any permanent and abiding mark of -its presence.' But she had to undergo the -terrible mental torture of waiting—waiting, -with idle hands, with throbbing head, and -aching heart, for the bulletin that might -crush her whole existence. He whom she -loved with all her heart and soul, who had -been woven up with her life, since childhood, -was far away upon the sea, struggling it -might be with death, and she was not by his -pillow; and the lips, that had never aught -but soft and tender words for her, might be -now closed for ever! -</p> - -<p> -Already hope had been departing, we -have said. Her heart was now heavy as -lead, and all the brightness of youth seemed -to have gone out of her life. She began to -feel a kind of dull apathetic misery, most -difficult to describe, yet mingled with an -aching, gnawing sense of mingled pain. -</p> - -<p> -Florian dying, probably—that was the -latest intelligence of him. How curt, how -brief, how cruel seemed that item of news, -among others! -</p> - -<p> -She opened her silver locket, with the -coloured photo of him. The artist had -caught his best expression in a happy -moment; and it was hard—oh, how hard! for -the lonely girl to believe that the loving and -smiling face, with its tender dark eyes and -crisp brown hair, was now too probably a -lifeless piece of clay, mouldering under the -waves of the tropical sea. -</p> - -<p> -She had made up her mind to expect the -worst, and that she could never see him -more. -</p> - -<p> -'It seems to me,' she thought, 'as if I had -ceased to be young, and had grown very old. -God help me, now!' she added, as she sank -heavily into a chair, with a deathly pale face, -and eyes that saw nothing, though staring -into the dingy brick street without; and -though Dulcie's tears came readily enough as -a general rule, in the presence of this new -and unexpected calamity, nature failed to -grant her the boon—the relief of weeping -freely. 'There is a period in all our lives,' -says a writer, 'when the heaviest grief -will hardly keep us waking; we may sink to -slumber with undried tears upon our face; -we may sob and murmur through the long -night; but still we have the happy power of -losing consciousness and gaining strength to -bear the next day's trial.' -</p> - -<p> -So Dulcie, worn with heavy thought, could -find oblivion for a time, and even slept with -the roar of mighty London in her ears. -</p> - -<p> -The vicar had not yet returned, so day -followed day with her, aimlessly and -hopelessly. -</p> - -<p> -She thought the public prints could give -her no further tidings now. She knew not -where to seek for intelligence, and could but -wait, dumbly, expectantly, and count the -hours as they drifted wearily past, in the -desperate longing that some tidings would -reach her at some time of her dearest, it -might be now her dead, one! -</p> - -<p> -The Parks were completely empty then; -the sunshine was pleasant and warm for the -season; the grass was green and beautiful; -and lured thereby one forenoon, the pale girl -went forth for a little air, when there -occurred an extraordinary catastrophe that, -in her present weakened state of mind and -body, was fully calculated to destroy her! -</p> - -<p> -The afternoon passed—the evening and -the night too, yet she did not as usual return -to her humble lodging. The morning -dawned without a trace of her; the landlady -began to appraise her few effects; the landlord -shook his head, winked knowingly, and -said, 'She was far too pretty to live alone,' -and deemed it the old story over again—a -waif <i>lost in London</i>. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap18"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XVIII. -<br /><br /> -THE TERRIBLE MISTAKE. -</h3> - -<p> -Dulcie had thought that no possible harm -could accrue to her from rambling or sitting -in that beautiful Park alone, and watching the -children playing with their hoops along the -gravelled walk. With whom could she go? -She had no one to escort her. She knew -not that it was not quite etiquette for a young -lady to be there alone and unattended; but -the event that occurred to her was one -which she could never have anticipated. -</p> - -<p> -She had sat for some time, absorbed in -her own thoughts, on one of the rustic sofas -not far from Stanhope Gate, all unaware that -an odd-looking and mean-looking, but -carefully dressed little man had been hovering -near her, and observing her closely with his -keen small ferret-like eyes, and with an -expression of deep interest, destitute, however, -of the slightest admiration, and with a kind -of sardonic and stereotyped smile in which -mirth bore no part. -</p> - -<p> -He scanned her features from time to -time, grinned to himself, and ever and anon -consulted something concealed in his hand. -</p> - -<p> -'Golden hair—sealskin jacket—sable muff—hat -and feather—a silver necklet—all -right,' he muttered, and then he advanced -close towards her. -</p> - -<p> -Dulcie looked up at him with surprise, -and then with an emotion of alarm, mingled -with confusion, which he was neither slow to -see nor misinterpret— -</p> - -<p> -'May I ask your name?' said he in a mild tone. -</p> - -<p> -'Miss Carlyon—Dulcie Carlyon.' -</p> - -<p> -'Ah! you speak good English.' -</p> - -<p> -'I am English.' -</p> - -<p> -'And not a furriner?' -</p> - -<p> -'No,' replied Dulcie in growing alarm. -</p> - -<p> -'But you reside in London, just now?' -</p> - -<p> -'Just now—yes,' said Dulcie, seeing that -he was comparing her face with that of a -photo in his hand. -</p> - -<p> -'With your family—friends?' -</p> - -<p> -'I have no family—no friends,' said Dulcie, -with a sob in her throat, and starting up to -withdraw in great alarm. -</p> - -<p> -'Just so—not here, but at Ostend, perhaps.' -</p> - -<p> -Thinking her questioner was mad or -intoxicated, Dulcie, in growing terror, was -about to move away when he laid a hand -very decidedly on her left arm. -</p> - -<p> -'Leave me,' she exclaimed, and on looking -around her terror increased on seeing that no -male aid was near her; 'who are you that ask -these questions—that dare to molest me?' -</p> - -<p> -'My name is Grabbley—Mr. Gilpin -Grabbley, of Scotland Yard—oh, you'll know -enough o' me, my dear, before I'm done with -you. Come along: you're wanted partiklar—you -are. Will you walk with me quietly?' -</p> - -<p> -Perceiving that she was about to utter a -shriek, he grasped her arm more tightly, even -to the bruising of her soft tender skin, and -said in a sharp hissing tone: -</p> - -<p> -'Don't—don't make a row: 'taint no use, -my beauty—you must come along with me.' -</p> - -<p> -'Oh, what do you mean?' moaned Dulcie, -almost incapable of standing now. -</p> - -<p> -'Mean—why, that you are my prisoner, -that is all.' -</p> - -<p> -'Am I mad or dreaming? Oh, sir, this -is some dreadful mistake.' -</p> - -<p> -'No mistake at all,' said Mr. Grabbley -tauntingly. -</p> - -<p> -They were out in Park Lane now, and -Dulcie cast a despairing glance at the many -closed and shuttered windows of the mansions -there, as if she would summon aid. -</p> - -<p> -'Look here, gal,' said the detective, for -such Mr. Grabbley was, 'I have orders to -arrest the original of this fotygraf—you are -that original—look! don't you see yourself, -as if in a looking-glass?' -</p> - -<p> -Dulcie did look, with a kind of horrible -fascination, and recognised in it a very striking -resemblance to her face and dress—even to -the luckless silver locket and chain. -</p> - -<p> -Mr. Grabbley utilised the moments of her -bewilderment. He stopped a passing -cab—half lifted, half thrust her in. -</p> - -<p> -'Marlborough Street,' said he to the driver, -and they were driven off. -</p> - -<p> -'Of what am I accused?' said Dulcie, driven -desperate now. -</p> - -<p> -'Robbery on a railway—that's all; and -you knows all about it—the when and the -where.' -</p> - -<p> -If not the victim of some deliberate outrage, -she was certainly the victim of some -inexplicable mistake which might yet be -explained; anyway in her ignorance and -in her wild fear she strove to elicit succour -from passers-by, till Mr. Grabbley closed the -rattling glasses of the cab and held her -firmly, while, like one in a dreadful dream, -she was rapidly driven through Berkley -Square, across Bond Street and Regent -Street, to their destination, where, when the -cab stopped, she was quickly taken indoors, -through a passage, in which several police -officers and odd, repulsive-looking people of -both sexes were loitering about, and whence -she was conveyed by the inexorable Grabbley, -to whom all appeals were vain, and left -in a state of semi-stupefaction—after being -led down a long corridor, having many doors -opening on each side thereof—in a small -bare room—a den it seemed, and if not quite -a prison cell, yet dreary, cold, and comfortless -enough to suggest the idea of being one. -</p> - -<p> -She heard a key turned upon her, and -felt that now—more than ever—she was a -prisoner! -</p> - -<p> -She had no sense of indignation as yet—only -a wild and clamorous one of fear, or -dread, she knew not of what—of being -disgraced, and, it might be, the victim of a -mad-man's freak. She was in utter solitude, and no -sound seemed to be there but the loud beating -of her heart. -</p> - -<p> -Past grief and anxiety had rendered her -very weak and unable to withstand the tension -on her nerves caused by this astounding -accusation and catastrophe, of which she -could neither calculate nor see the end. -Then an exhaustion that was utter and -complete followed, and for a time she was -physically and mentally prostrate—in that awful -sense of desolation and heart-broken grief -that God in His mercy permits few to suffer.... -So passed the night. -</p> - -<p> -'A person—a gentleman,' said a commissionaire -at the Rag doubtfully to Villiers as -he entered the vestibule, 'has been waiting -here for nearly an hour for you, sir.' -</p> - -<p> -'Oh—it is you, Mr.—Mr.——' -</p> - -<p> -'Grabbley, sir,' said the little man affably, -his ferret eyes twinkling, and his vulgar face -rippling over with a smile. -</p> - -<p> -'You have some news, I suppose?' -</p> - -<p> -'Yes, sir, I've nabbed her.' -</p> - -<p> -'When?' -</p> - -<p> -'Yesterday morning.' -</p> - -<p> -'Where?' -</p> - -<p> -'In Hyde Park—nigh Stanhope Gate. -She speaks English uncommonly well to be -a furriner.' -</p> - -<p> -'That's sharp work! You are a clever -fellow, Grabbley. Was my pocket-book found -upon her?' -</p> - -<p> -'We did not search her, but she is locked up -at Marlborough Street, where I would like you -to see and identify her before making out the -matter in the charge sheet.' -</p> - -<p> -'All right—get a cab. Come with me, -Hammersley, and I'll show you my little -Belgienne.' -</p> - -<p> -Hammersley went unwillingly, as it was -pretty close on the time he had now begun -to visit Finella at her grandmother's -residence, and he cast longing eyes at the -windows of the latter as he and his two -companions were driven out of the square. -</p> - -<p> -'A horrid atmosphere, and a horrid place -in all its details,' he muttered, when the -scene of Dulcie's detention was reached, and -throwing away the fag end of a cheap cigar -Mr. Grabbley, with an expression of no -small satisfaction, puckering his visage, -unlocked and threw open the door—a sound -which roused Dulcie from her stupefied -state—and starting up she stood before them, -trembling in every fibre, with a hunted -expression in her dark blue eyes and a -gathering hope in her breast, to find herself -confronted by two such men of unexceptionable -appearance and bearing as Hammersley -and Villiers, who raised his hat, and turning -with astonishment and some dismay to the -police official said sharply: -</p> - -<p> -'This is some great—some truly infernal -mistake!' -</p> - -<p> -'A mistake—how, sir?' asked Grabbley. -</p> - -<p> -'This young lady is <i>not</i> the person whose -photo I gave you.' -</p> - -<p> -'They seems as like as two peas.' -</p> - -<p> -'The likeness, I admit, is great, but the -Belgian girl, I told you, could not speak -a word of English, or scarcely so. I have -to offer you a thousand apologies, though the -mistake is not mine, but that of this man,' -said Villiers, bowing low to Dulcie, greatly -impressed by the sweetness of her beauty -and terror of the predicament in which she -had been placed. -</p> - -<p> -'So it's a mistake after all, young gal,' -growled Mr. Grabbley, with intense disappointment -and reluctance to relinquish his prey. -</p> - -<p> -'And may I go, sir?' said Dulcie piteously -to Villiers. -</p> - -<p> -'Most certainly—you are free,' replied -Villiers, who was again about to apologize -and explain, but the girl, like a hunted -creature, drew her veil tightly across her -tear-blotched face, rushed along the dingy -corridor, and gained the street in an instant. -</p> - -<p> -That she was a lady in every sense of tone -and bearing was evident, and Villiers felt -overcome with shame and contrition, and -swore in pretty round terms at the -crestfallen Grabbley. -</p> - -<p> -'This is a devil of a mistake!' said the -latter as he scratched his head in dire -perplexity. -</p> - -<p> -'A mistake we have not, perhaps, heard -the end of. Who is she?' asked Villiers. -</p> - -<p> -'I don't know.' -</p> - -<p> -'Did she give you no name?' -</p> - -<p> -'Yes—here it is,' said Grabbley, producing -a dirty note-book; 'Dulcie Carlyon.' -</p> - -<p> -'A curious and uncommon name.' -</p> - -<p> -'Who do you say—Dulcie Carlyon?' -exclaimed Hammersley, who had hitherto -been silent, starting forward; and on the -name being repeated to him once or twice, -'Great Heaven!' he exclaimed, 'if it should -be the same!' -</p> - -<p> -'Same what—or who?' -</p> - -<p> -'The girl to whom Florian is engaged: -you remember Florian of ours.' -</p> - -<p> -'Of course I do.' -</p> - -<p> -'Golden hair, blue eyes, under middle -height (how often he has described her to -me), and then the name—Dulcie Carlyon; it -must be she—let us overtake her! What an -astounding introduction!' -</p> - -<p> -But that was easier proposed than -accomplished. On gaining the street the two -officers saw not a trace of Dulcie Carlyon, so -all hope of discovering her address was -gone. -</p> - -<p> -How Dulcie made her way back to her -obscure lodgings she scarcely knew; but she -was long and seriously ill after this startling -event. -</p> - -<p> -There she felt as much at home as a -creature so poor and friendless could feel. -Often she lay abed and seemed unconscious, -but she was not so. Her eyes were wide -open, and their gaze wandered about; her -lips were generally dry and quivering. She -was in the state which generally comes after -a severe mental shock; her mind refused to -grasp the situation. -</p> - -<p> -Until a drink was given her by Ellen, -the kind little maid of all work, she -sometimes knew not how parched her throat -was—how sorely athirst she had been. -</p> - -<p> -She was afraid to be left alone after that -horrible accusation. In her nervousness she -feared that she might see her double—feel a -touch, and on turning find herself face to face -with her own likeness, as that evil Lord of -Fettercairn did who sold his country. -</p> - -<p> -Finella's astonishment to hear from -Hammersley the story of where and under what -circumstances he had met Dulcie Carlyon -was only equalled by his own on learning that -Florian, his comrade and brother-officer in -the Zulu war, and whilom private soldier in -his company of the 24th, was heir to a -peerage, and the cousin of his affianced wife, -Finella Melfort. -</p> - -<p> -For so it was. Lord and Lady Fettercairn -had undergone so much in the -mismanagement of family matters latterly, and -in years long past, that they were now well -disposed to let Finella alone, and in all -conscience they could not expect her to -give to Florian (if he ever returned) the love -she had never given to the now vanished -Shafto. -</p> - -<p> -'Vivian, you must find out the address of -dear Dulcie,' said she. -</p> - -<p> -'If I can.' -</p> - -<p> -'You must. I shall want her as one of -my bridesmaids.' -</p> - -<p> -From this we may presume that matters -between these two were all in fair training -now. -</p> - -<p> -'Your wish would delight Villiers, my -groomsman, who has been sorrowing about -her ever since the time of that terrible -mistake.' -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<p><a id="chap19"></a></p> - -<h3> -CHAPTER XIX. -<br /><br /> -DULCIE'S VISITOR. -</h3> - -<p> -On an afternoon subsequent to this episode -Dulcie was lost in a day-dream, born of her -own sad thoughts, her soft blue eyes fixed -vacantly on the hideous and dingy brick -edifices of the thoroughfare in which she -dwelt; and when roused therefrom by the -little maid of all work, she gazed at her with -a somewhat dazed expression. -</p> - -<p> -'What is it, Ellen?' she asked. -</p> - -<p> -'A gentleman, miss, wishes to see you.' -</p> - -<p> -Alarm—dread, she knew not of what, was -her first idea now. -</p> - -<p> -'Who is he?' she asked. -</p> - -<p> -'I don't know, miss.' -</p> - -<p> -'Is he old or young?' -</p> - -<p> -'Young.' -</p> - -<p> -'Then he can't be the vicar?' -</p> - -<p> -'Oh, lawk, no, miss, he ain't a bit like a -clergyman,' replied the housemaid, laughing. -</p> - -<p> -'Ask his business, Ellen.' -</p> - -<p> -She was almost relapsing into her dream -again, when she was startled by seeing a -man appear beside her. -</p> - -<p> -'Dulcie?' said a voice, that made her -heart thrill. -</p> - -<p> -She sprang up to find herself confronted -by a gentleman, whose face, though thin and -worn, seemed deeply tanned by the sun, so -that his scorched neck was absolutely red; -his dark moustache was thick and heavy, -his shoulders broad and square. -</p> - -<p> -'Dearest Dulcie, don't you know me?' -said he, holding out his hands and arms. -</p> - -<p> -'Florian—is this you—really you?' -</p> - -<p> -'I thought you would not quite forget me.' -</p> - -<p> -'Forget you!' said Dulcie, in a low and -piercing voice, as she fell upon his breast, -and his loving arms went closely round her. -</p> - -<p> -'Oh, Florian, I did not know you were in -England!' -</p> - -<p> -'We were landed at Plymouth three days -ago. I got your address from good old Paul -Pentreath, procured leave of absence, and -came on here without a moment's delay, my -own darling.' -</p> - -<p> -For some minutes neither could find words -to speak, so supreme was the mutual happiness -of the sudden reunion. -</p> - -<p> -'How brown you are! but how thin, and how -much older you look!' said Dulcie, surveying -him with bright but tearful eyes. 'I can -scarcely believe you to be the same Florian -that left me only a year ago or so.' -</p> - -<p> -'Ay, Dulcie, pet; but soldiering, especially -soldiering in the ranks, takes a lot out of a -fellow. But I am the same Florian that left -you then, with a heavy and hopeless heart -indeed.' -</p> - -<p> -'And now——' -</p> - -<p> -'Now I shall leave you no more.' -</p> - -<p> -'What dreadful places you must have been -in, Florian; what dangers you have faced; -what sufferings undergone, my love!' -</p> - -<p> -'The thought of you lightened and -brightened them all to me, Dulcie,' said he, -while into her bright little English face came -that wonderful and adoring smile only -possible on the lips and in the eyes of a -woman who is in love, and for the object of -her love. -</p> - -<p> -She told him of her simple plans and -humble prospects, of her hope in the vicar, -why she had left Craigengowan, and how -she came to be in that poor and cheap -lodging-room near Oxford Street. -</p> - -<p> -'We must not lose sight of each other -now, my darling,' said he, as she nestled her -face on his breast. 'Let us get married at -once, love, and then it must be service in -India for me. Are you ready to face heat, it -may be fever, and Heaven knows what more, -Dulcie?' -</p> - -<p> -'Every peril, if with you!' -</p> - -<p> -'My brave little soldier's wife! But -suppose we grow tired of each other?' -</p> - -<p> -'You wicked wag!—why think of such a thing?' -</p> - -<p> -'Married folks do sometimes,' said he, -laughing. -</p> - -<p> -'Then we should part—I would run away.' -</p> - -<p> -'As a preliminary to that we must be -united, Dulcie; so when will you be ready -to marry me?' -</p> - -<p> -'Oh, Florian!' -</p> - -<p> -'You must say—we have little time to lose.' -</p> - -<p> -'I have no trousseau to get—and no money -for it—we are so poor, Florian.' -</p> - -<p> -'But rich in love—well then—when?' -</p> - -<p> -'I don't know,' was the shy, coy answer. -</p> - -<p> -'This day three weeks—I can afford even -a special license, Dulcie.' -</p> - -<p> -'So be it, dear Florian.' -</p> - -<p> -'Then I shall write to good old Paul -Pentreath about it, and then we must -resolutely think of turning our steps to India. -We could not afford to live at home.' -</p> - -<p> -Their little plans—little, though of vast -importance to them—were all arranged, and -discussed so sweetly, so lovingly, again and -again, and at last he left her for his hotel, -which was not far off, in Oxford Street, with -a promise to call for her again betimes on -the morrow; and to Dulcie it seemed as if -the sun had come with a glorious burst of -radiance at last into the cloudy atmosphere -of her life; that joy had come with it; and -that, sorrow and tears—save those of -happiness—had gone for ever. -</p> - -<p> -So, in three weeks the life of Dulcie -Carlyon would be over; and the life of -Dulcie MacIan would begin. -</p> - -<p> -Dulcie MacIan—how odd it seemed to sound! -</p> - -<p> -And so, at the appointed time, Mr. Paul -Pentreath, summoned to London for the special -occasion, tied the 'fatal knot' of the -matrimonial noose for these two young people; -and Dulcie, as in a dream, heard him ask: -</p> - -<p> -'Wilt thou have this man to be thy -wedded husband, to live together after -God's ordinance, in the holy estate of matrimony?' -</p> - -<p> -And in a clear and confident tone little -Dulcie said, 'I will,' as she loved, frankly—loved -'as a fair honest English maiden may -with her heart on her lips, and all her soul -shining out of her truthful eyes.' -</p> - -<p> -So the marriage passed quietly; there -were no lawyers, dressmakers, outfitters, and -all those other folks who never keep time; -no attendants, save Dulcie's landlady, the -clerk, and honest Tom Tyrrell, whose 'time -being out,' contrived to turn up about this -crisis to wish, with all the ardour of his -gallant heart, his whilom comrade and officer, -with his fair young bride, 'God speed;' and -after a quiet little honeymoon at Richmond—no -further off—Florian set forth to the -Horse Guards for the purpose of effecting an -exchange to a regiment in India; but a letter -that came to him altered all his views and -plans. -</p> - -<p> -It was from Mr. Kenneth Kippilaw, W.S., -who had seen the marriage announced in a -public print, and had written at once to -Florian and to Lord Fettercairn. -</p> - -<p> -When Abou Hassan, the merchant of -Bagdad, woke up on that remarkable morning, -and he found himself in the palace of -Haroun al Raschid, and treated as the latter -by all the beautiful ladies of the Court, and -the black slaves around his couch, he was -scarcely more astonished than our poor -Lieutenant of Infantry, when he found -himself to be the heir of Craigengowan and -Fettercairn! -</p> - -<p> -He then knew all about Shafto's villainy, -yet in the gentleness of his spirit he joined -with Dulcie in saying: -</p> - -<p> -'Poor creature! God help and forgive him, -as freely as I do.' -</p> - -<p> -Sooth to say, Dulcie was perhaps less -astonished on finding Florian was the true -heir; she had ever thought there was some -mystery in the new position and new -relationship, so suddenly assumed by the wily -Shafto, whose tissue of falsehoods had, as -usual in such cases, broken down by an -unthought-of point. -</p> - -<p> -Amid the sudden splendour of his prospects, -such was his simplicity of character, -that one of Florian's first thoughts was of a -cosy cottage at Craigengowan for his comrade -Tom Tyrrell! -</p> - -<p> -The news spread like wildfire through all -the Mearns, Angus, and everywhere else. It -proved a great godsend, and the vicinity of -Inverbervie was besieged by folks connected -with the press, all eager to glean the last -authentic information from Craigengowan, and -even Grapeston, the butler, and MacCrupper, -the head groom, were interviewed and -treated—the former with wine, and the latter -copiously with whisky and water—on the -subject. -</p> - -<p> -To Lady Fettercairn the marriage of -Florian proved, of course, a cause of bitter -mortification. -</p> - -<p> -'Another mesalliance—like father, like -son!' she exclaimed; 'now indeed we shall -be associated with Freethinkers, franchise -folks, dynamiters, and all kinds of dreadful -people!' she wailed out. -</p> - -<p> -The first alleged and hurriedly accepted -heir had proved a ruinous blackleg; the -second and true one was Flora MacIan's son -beyond all doubt—a gallant young fellow, -who had 'gone through the ranks to a -commission!' but, alas! he had married Dulcie -Carlyon—the Devonshire lawyer's daughter—her -'companion,' whom she had treated -with no small contumely at Craigengowan, -where she was now to be welcomed as a -bride and the future Lady Fettercairn! -</p> - -<p> -It was all too much for the aristocratic -brain of the present holder of that rank. -</p> - -<p> -She sat in her boudoir at Craigengowan; -it was small, but wonderfully pretty; the -chairs were all of ivory and gilt; the walls -hung with pale blue silk, embroidered with -flowers; and she thought ruefully of the time -when—if her Lord predeceased her—she -would have to quit all that, and take up her -abode at Finella Lodge, the humble -dower-house—giving place to Dulcie Carlyon. It -was all too horrible to think of! -</p> - -<p> -But the couple were coming, and already -she could hear the distant cheers of the -tenantry. -</p> - -<p> -Several young ladies—among them the -daughters of Mr. Kippilaw—were seated -about the room in expectation and in lounging -attitudes, their garden bonnets or riding -habits showing how they had been recently -occupied. -</p> - -<p> -A distant sound—was it of carriage-wheels—made -her lapdog bark. -</p> - -<p> -'Down, Snap—be quiet,' said Lady Fettercairn -with more asperity than was her wont -to that plethoric and pampered cur. -</p> - -<p> -The volunteers were under arms on the lawn -to salute Florian Melfort as a hero from -Zululand; and a salute to his bride was boomed -forth from an old battery of 6-pounders -on the terrace; a banner was flaunting -on the old tower, above all the vanes and -turrets; bells were clashing in the distant -kirk spire, and the cheers of the Craigengowan -tenantry rang up amid the ancient -trees in welcome to the heir of Fettercairn -and his winsome young wife. -</p> - -<p> -Lord Fettercairn received them at the door -with what grace he might; but the hands of -many others were held forth to him, among -others those of old Kenneth Kippilaw, -Madelon Galbraith, the aged butler, and -Sandy MacCrupper. -</p> - -<p> -All shadows had fled away, and the bright -sunshine of heaven was over Craigengowan -and in the hearts of all there. -</p> - -<p> -Even Lady Fettercairn, when she met -Florian and saw how like her youngest son -and his portrait he looked, felt all that she -had of a mother's heart go forth to him as it -had never done to the vanished Shafto; while -Florian, modest and gentle Florian, whose -heart had never quailed before the enemy, -now felt, as he said to Dulcie, somewhat -'dashed' on being confronted by this tall and -aristocratic grandmother amid such splendid -surroundings. -</p> - -<p> -Dulcie recalled with wonder the humble -position she had held at Craigengowan, and -the many fears and mortifications to which -she had been subjected by Lady Fettercairn -and Shafto till the eventful morning of her -flight, and how strange it seemed to her to -be able to act as guide and cicerone over his -own patrimony to Florian, and to show him -that she was quite at home in that hitherto -unknown land to him—the Howe of the -Mearns! -</p> - -<p> -And in a week or two more Finella and -Hammersley were coming thither on their -honeymoon trip. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t3"> -THE END. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /></p> - -<p class="t4"> -BILLING & SONS, PRINTERS, GUILDFORD. -</p> - -<p><br /><br /><br /><br /></p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DULCIE CARLYON, VOLUME III (OF 3) ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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