With these words "His Majesty" succeeded in extricating himself from the clutches of Mrs. Russell, and, holding aloft the torch, began to walk about the room, looking closely everywhere, while Mrs. Russell followed at his heels, entreating him to take care of his royal person.
"Arrah, shure, now," said "His Majesty," "we"re accustomed to danger.
We don"t moind throifles like this--not a bit av it:
""For divil a bit av me cares, I"m randy to tackle the foe; If alive, let him fight if he dares, If he"s dead, to the dogs let him go.""
By this time the noise and the flaming torches had seemed to rouse up Katie and Dolores. Both of these now stood up, blinking and shrinking, clinging timidly to one another, and looking like two frightened children just awakened. They seemed so surprised, so confused, and so terrified, that the heart of "His Majesty" swelled with pity and compa.s.sion.
"Ladies! jools!" said he, "don"t, don"t give way. Shure it"s all over now, so it is, an" yez needn"t be a bit afraid any more."
"What"s all over?" asked Katie, in a tone of alarm.
"What? Why--shure nothin"."
"There was some one in the room," said Mrs. Russell, in frightened tones.
"Some one in the room!" cried Katie, in a voice so full of terror that it became a positive shriek. "Oh! oh! oh! Who? who? What? what?"
Never was terror more eloquently depicted on any human face than on Katie"s expressive countenance on this occasion. She flung herself into Dolores"s arms and clung to her. Dolores said nothing, but clung to Katie in silence.
"Alarrums av this sort," said "His Majesty," "isn"t shuited to their delicate, narvous systems--so they isn"t. I"ve got a dhrop av whiskey about me, if--But I suppose they wouldn"t care for it."
With these words "His Majesty" approached Katie for the purpose of soothing her, or of paying her some delicate compliment, but Katie contrived to keep Dolores between herself and the royal wooer till the R. W. felt baffled.
"Shure it"s very disthressin", so it is," said he, as he turned away.
"But I"ll take a luk round."
He looked all around, walked by the walls, gravely peered into the fireplace, and at length came back.
"There"s no one here," said he.
"But I saw some one," said Mrs. Russell.
"Shure, thin, it was no livin" man ye saw, an" there ye have it."
"No living man!" screamed Mrs. Russell.
"Shure no; how could it have been? Wouldn"t I a seen him, an" me wid a loight?"
"Then it"s a ghost!" said Mrs. Russell, with another scream.
"Divil a one else," said "His Majesty." "It"s the castle ghost--only I don"t see why he came in modern coschume. But perhaps it isn"t the castle ghost. It may be the last prisoner that was shot."
This last suggestion was unspeakably horrible to Mrs. Russell. Well she knew who that _last prisoner_ was! The _last prisoner_! Oh, horror! and the apparition was _It_! And _It_ had come to her!--embraced her!--spoke words of love! It was _He_!--her once loved but now lost Johnny!
The thought was too much. With a wild yell, she flung her arms around "His Majesty" and fainted.
"It"s mesilf," said "His Majesty," placidly, "that "ud be the proud man to shtay here an" watch wid yez agin the ghost, but juty calls me elsewhere." As he said this, he tried to detach the arms of Mrs.
Russell, who now clung to him with rigid and death-like tenacity.
This, however, he could not do, and as her weight was considerable, he gravely seated himself on the floor, and implored Katie and Dolores to help him. This they did, and their united efforts succeeded in loosening Mrs. Russell"s grasp. The stricken lady gave a gasp and raised her head, but "His Majesty" was too nimble for her.
By a desperate movement he withdrew from her reach, and stood for a moment at a respectable distance.
"Ladies," said he, "it"s mesilf that "ud be the proud man to shtay; but there"s no danger in the worruld--not the laste in loife, an"
this lady requires your care. So I"m thinkin" I"ll be off, an" if anythin" happens agin, you sing out."
Saying these words, "His Majesty" left the room somewhat more hurriedly than he had entered it. His departure completed Mrs.
Russell"s prostration. For the remainder of the night she refused to be comforted, but remained terrified, lamenting bitterly, and exclaiming incessantly: "Oh, why did he leave me!--why, oh, why did he leave me!"
CHAPTER x.x.xII.
IN WHICH HARRY MAKES AN UNPLEASANT DISCOVERY.
Harry had been the first to escape from the room. He had waited long, fearing lest others might be in the chimney; but at length, as the actions of the new-comer did not seem consistent with those of a pursuer, he had concluded to risk it. He had then entered the chimney, and was able to reach his own room in safety. Ashby had not left until the very last moment, when the door had already opened to admit "His Majesty," so that the two had not met. But Harry, on reaching his own room, stood for a long time in the fireplace, listening; and as he listened, he felt sure that he heard sounds, and these sounds seemed as though made by pursuers. Upon this he flung himself upon his bed, where he lay motionless for nearly an hour, until it seemed scarcely possible that there could be any further danger.
He now thought of returning to the room, but after a little consideration decided not to. No doubt they would all be awake, perhaps also others might be there, and to go back might lead to discovery, and destroy all further chances of seeing Katie. Still, the thought would not be dismissed. Sleep was impossible, and he lay awake, recalling the events of the night.
At length there occurred to his mind the thought of those Spanish bonds which he had found and hidden away so carefully. He had not visited the place since, or rather, he had not looked at the hiding-place. He determined to do so now merely for the sake of rea.s.suring himself as to the safety of those precious papers. For Katie"s fortune lay wrapped up in that parcel, and he was anxious that he should be the means of saving it for her. In addition to this, he was anxious to search carefully along the pa.s.sage-way, to see if there might not be openings which had thus far escaped him--which might possibly lead to the outer world.
He provided himself with his torch and found that he had matches enough. He then climbed up into the pa.s.sage-way, and lighted his torch; after which he proceeded onward until he reached the c.h.i.n.k where the package had been deposited. Here he stooped down and held the light close.
The first sight showed nothing. But the string which he had left hanging out was, as he knew, not very perceptible, so he held the light closer and felt for it. Even then he found nothing.
He now thought that perhaps the package had fallen by its own weight a little farther in, drawing the string after it. In order to find whether this were so or not, he reached his hand into the c.h.i.n.k.
No sooner had he done this than he s.n.a.t.c.hed it away, and sat there staring.
The c.h.i.n.k was very much larger than it had been before.
There was no doubt about this. Then it had been barely wide enough to admit the package. Now he could easily thrust his whole arm into the opening.
It was utterly unaccountable. By some incomprehensible means that crevice had been enlarged. The whole stone, he now saw, had been thrust forward several inches into the pa.s.sage-way. It seemed as if nothing short of an earthquake could suffice to move from its place such a stone as that. In itself it appeared to be of vast size and weight, and below it, and above it, and on either side, were others equally vast. How was it possible for such a rock to be thus dislodged? By an earthquake? But nothing of the kind had occurred. He was a light sleeper, and was easily aroused by anything unusual.
Could the castle have "settled?" Impossible. It was too old. It had long since shaken down into its deep bed. Still, old buildings do often settle, and in fault of any better explanation he was compelled to adopt something like this.
In any event, there seemed very great danger that the package had been lost. Again and again he thrust his arm far in, but found only vacancy. Then he put his hand downward as far as he could. It touched something which felt like a stone pavement.
This pavement was about eight inches lower than the one upon which he was. All this made the matter still more incomprehensible.
But Harry had come forth to seek after this very thing, namely, some mysterious opening into a side-pa.s.sage, and after the first surprise it occurred to him that this might be what he wished to find. And now the fact of the stone jutting forth became intelligible, though this new explanation promised ill for the safety of the package. It was evident that this stone was movable, and afforded in some way an entrance to this pa.s.sage. It seemed strange that so vast a stone should be movable, yet there was the fact. Perhaps also it was less ma.s.sive than it seemed. Perhaps it was a mere slab and opened like a door. But how?
He now examined its surface with the most careful and minute scrutiny. In vain. Over all the surface and over all the edges there was nothing that indicated any means by which such a stone could be moved--nothing of the nature of hinges, and nothing of the nature of a handle, by which to grasp it so as to move it. Yet it was movable, and had been moved lately. Perhaps it could be moved without any help from a handle.