CHAPTER III
CONCERNING A BLACK POSTCHAISE
"Begad, Perry, but that"s a vicious brute of yours!" cried Anthony.
This as Wildfire curvetted, snorting, sidled and performed an impa.s.sioned dance upon the footpath.
"Not exactly vicious, Tony," I demurred when I had quelled this exuberance, "merely animal spirits. Wildfire is a high-strung creature requiring constant thought and attention and is consequently interesting, besides which--"
Here a shriek and hoa.r.s.e shouts as, by means of whip and curb and spur, I swung the animal in question from the dangerous proximity of a shop window and checked his impulse to walk on his hind legs.
"Scarcely a lady"s pad, Peregrine!" grinned Anthony, as I came perilously near upsetting a coster"s barrow, to its owner"s vociferous indignation. "Egad, a four-footed devil warranted to banish every other worry but himself!"
"Precisely," said I, when my steed, moderating his ardour, permitted me coherent speech. "And this is the reason I ride him. No one mounted on Wildfire can think of anything but Wildfire and this is sometimes a blessing."
"How so, Perry?"
"Well, I am hara.s.sed of late by two obsessions--the memory of that poor--drowned child--I cannot forget her face!"
"But, deuce take it, man--this was days and days ago."
"And the other is, strangely enough--Diana. The thought that I shall meet her so soon--a nameless doubt--an indefinable dread--"
"Dread, Perry? Doubt? What the dooce d"ye mean?"
"That"s the devil of it, Anthony--I--don"t know. But I have a vague fear--a presentiment, if you like. I feel as if there was a dreadful something impending--a shadow--"
"Oh, pshaw, man! Shadow? Tush an" be d.a.m.ned to it! You"re in a devilish low state--indubitably stomach--"
Here further converse was ended for the time being by Wildfire taking it into his head to snort and start, to prance and shiver at a large man in velveteens and a leather hat, whereupon Velveteens backed hastily and swore; Wildfire reared and plunged at him, whereupon Velveteens dodged into a doorway, cursing vehemently; people, at a safe distance, shouted; boys hooted; and then, having thus drawn attention to himself, Wildfire trotted daintily on again, leaving Velveteens spent and breathless with indignant cursings.
So with such minor unpleasantnesses as roaring oaths, curses and personal vilification, we won free of the denser traffic and had at last left the great city behind us and Wildfire"s scornful hoofs were spurning the dust of Kent Street.
We rode by New Cross and Lewisham, through Lee Village with its two "Tiger" Inns and the stocks upon the green, through Eltham with the timeworn gables of its ancient palace rising on our right, dreaming of past glories.
"To-morrow night, Perry--to-morrow night we shall see "em! My Loveliness! Egad, I"m only just beginning to realise how d.a.m.nably I miss her! Wonderful inst.i.tution, marriage. To-morrow, Perry! And the day after--home at Nettlestead Abbey--she and I. She loves the old place--and the roses will be in bloom--she adores roses. This is why I"m dragging you down to Nettlestead--must see everything shipshape--the old place ready--with its arms out to welcome her home, d"ye see--as it were."
"It is a glorious old place, Anthony."
"A curst dreary hole without her, Perry! Nothing like marriage, Perry!
You"ll give up your chambers when you"re married, of course?"
"I suppose so, Tony--when I"m married."
"Aha!" he exclaimed, evidently struck by my gloomy tone. "Is it your d.a.m.ned shadow again--the blue devils? Oh, curse and confound "em, I"ll race you t" the next milestone for ten guineas. Come on! Yoicks, boy--hark forward! A touch o" the persuaders--and away!"
With a clatter of eager hoofs Anthony"s raking sorrel sprang ahead; but away in pursuit leapt my beautiful roan, shapely head out-thrust, snorting, quivering, pa.s.sionate for the fray.
Off and away, with the rhythmic swing and beat of swift-galloping hoofs below and the rush of wind above--a clean, sweet wind, full of health and sanity, to banish haunting dread and gloomy doubts of the future together with the devils that begot them, be they blue devils, black, or any other colour.
Faster and faster sped the road beneath me, hedges spun by, tree and gate flitted past as, untouched by whip or spur, Wildfire fell to his long, racing stride, an easy, stretching gallop. And ever he gained upon the sorrel, creeping up inch by inch, crupper and withers and nose; and thus we raced awhile, neck and neck. And now above quick-thudding hoofs and creaking leather I heard Anthony"s voice urging his animal to fiercer effort, for slowly but surely, we were drawing away; slowly the sorrel"s great crest and flaring nostrils fell to the rear, back and back, level with my gloved hands, my knee, my elbow, out of my view, and presently, glancing behind, I saw Anthony riding like a centaur--a wildly-galloping figure blurred in a storm of dust.
But on I rode, heedless of all but the exhilaration of rushing wind, of back-whirling hedgerows and trees, on and on until before us was a hill up which a chaise was crawling.
Now as I watched this vehicle carelessly enough, out from the window came a hatless head--an arm that waved imperiously, and the postboy, glancing back, began to flog his animals to swifter gait. But Wildfire, snorting scorn on all hills and this in particular, never so much as checked or faltered in his long stride and thus we approached the lumbering chaise rapidly.
We were close upon it when once again the head projected itself from the window, but now the face was turned towards me, and in these features I seemed to read a very lively apprehension, nay, as I drew nearer, I saw above the bushy, scowling brows the gleam of sweat; but on I came with loosened rein, heedless of the gentleman"s threatening look and wondering at his very evident perturbation; and now I saw that he grasped something half-hidden in the fold of his coat that bulked remarkably like a pistol. But all at once, as he peered at me through the rolling smother of dust, his apprehensive expression vanished and, next moment, his head also, and as I drew level with the chaise, I saw him leaning back in one corner, the pistol upon his knees, and in the other corner the form of a woman wrapped in a pelisse and heavily veiled and who, judging by her posture, seemed asleep.
It was but a glimpse I caught of the interior and then I was by, had reached the summit of the hill and was galloping down the descent, but even so it seemed to me that the gentleman"s face was vaguely familiar.
Mile upon mile I held on at this wild speed until Anthony and his sorrel had diminished to a faint, oncoming dust-cloud and Wildfire began to abate his ardour somewhat; as he breasted a long and steep ascent crowned by a hostelry, I, blinking at it through dust-whitened lashes, saw it bore a sign with the words: The Porto Bello Inn. Here I dismounted from my chastened steed, who, if a little blown, was no whit distressed, and forthwith led him to the stables myself, to see him rubbed down and cared for, the while a hissing ostler knocked, shook and brushed from my garments clouds of Kentish dust. In the midst of which performance up rode Anthony.
"Well--damme!" he exclaimed, as he swung to earth, "I said a milestone--"
"True, Anthony, but I felt inclined for a gallop--"
"I believe you!" he laughed. "And now I"m more than inclined for a pot, a tankard, a flagon, Perry--or say a dozen. Damme, I"ve been breathing nothing but circ.u.mambient Kent for the last half-hour--Ale, Perry, ale"s the word! This way! And by that same token, here"s your money. "T is a glorious beast, your Wildfire, and curst well ridden, begad!"
"And I ride stones lighter than you do, Goliath!" said I, following him into the sanded parlour.
"I never drink a tankard of ale," gasped Anthony, setting down his vessel with a bang, "no, never, Perry, without remembering the first drink we had together--the ale you paid for! And the ham and eggs--oh, curse and confound it, I shall never taste anything so delicious again, of course. Everything is vastly changed since then, Peregrine--everything except yourself."
"I am two inches taller!" said I.
"Ah, to be sure! And, thanks to Jessamy Todd, a man of your hands.
What"s become of Jessamy these days--and your friend the Tinker?"
"I shame to say I don"t know. I used to see them frequently up to a year ago, but since then, London and its follies have engulfed me."
"We"ll devote ourselves to looking "em up one o" these days!" said Anthony. "Meantime I"m devilish hungry and I always dine at "The Bull"
at Wrotham, so if you"re quite ready, let"s push on. By the way," he continued, as I followed him into the yard, "did you notice that chaise we pa.s.sed just beyond Farningham--a black-bodied chaise, picked out in yellow, with red wheels?"
"I did, Anthony--why?"
"Fool of a fellow seemed infernally agitated, actually had a pistol ready for me, or so it seemed."
"I noticed his desperate att.i.tude also,--and thought it very singular."
"Demmit, yes, and what"s more singular, I recognised the fool fellow for the fellow I thrashed two years ago at the "Jolly Waggoner"--Danby his name is."
"Ah, to be sure!" I exclaimed. "I knew his face was familiar. Did you see he had a lady with him?"
"No, what was she like?"