The terrified girl pa.s.sed tremblingly before him; and wondered not a little at the strong interest the wild seaman manifested towards her.
Only one way of accounting for it occurred to her simple mind--that he had known her father;--the idea was strengthened, when she heard him murmur, "Thank G.o.d! she breathes once more the uncontaminated air of heaven!" He strode a few hasty steps forward, then turned back, and said emphatically to Robin,--
"Place her in safety, as you hope for salvation!"
"And am I to stay by myself in this horrid place, Robin?" inquired Barbara, as he seated her in the window of a portion of the old tower, from whence a large extent of country was visible, steeped in the pale moonlight.
"Fear nothing," he replied; "I must away: only do not leave this until you see--which you can easily do by the light of the bright moon--Sir Willmott Burrell take his departure."
"And will that rude old sailor help the young gentleman from his confinement?"
"He will, he will."
"One word more, Robin, and then my blessing be with you! Did he know my father?"
"He did."
"But one syllable more: Did he love him?"
"So truly, that he loves you as if you were his own child."
"Then," thought Barbara, in the fulness of her innocence, "I am happy--for no one is loved, even by the wicked, who is not good."
Her clear eye observed that Robin took the same path as the Buccaneer; though, had she not known them, she could hardly have recognised their figures, because of some disguise they must have suddenly a.s.sumed. They had scarcely faded from her sight, when she discovered the tall person of Burrell standing at no great distance on the brow of the cliff, and apparently surveying the adjacent landscape. He rapidly approached the Gull"s Nest; and soon after she heard the shrill voice of Mother Hays, protesting over and over again, that "Robin had been there not twenty, not fifteen--no, not ten minutes past;--that she had searched every where, and that he was nowhere to be found;--that she had not seen Hugh Dalton for a long, long time; and that, to the best of her belief, he had not touched the sh.o.r.e for many a day;--that the men within were good men, honest men--one in particular, who would be happy to serve him, as he seemed so earnest to see Robin--Jack, true Jack Roupall, a tried, trusty man:--could he be of any service, as that ne"er-do-good, Robin, was out of the way ever and always when he was wanted? To be sure, she could not even give a guess at any thing his honour might want; but perhaps Jack might do instead of Robin." It occurred to Burrell at the moment, that Roupall might serve his purpose even better than Robin Hays, for he was both a strong and a desperate man; and he bade the old woman send him forth; telling her at the same time, and in a significant tone, that he was well acquainted with the talents and character of her guest.
The fragment of the tower in which Barbara was perched was a small projecting turret-room, standing on the top of a b.u.t.tress, and had been, doubtless, used in the early ages, as a species of sentry-box, from which a soldier could command a view of the country and the coast. It was with feelings of extreme terror that she perceived Burrell and Roupall close beneath her, standing so as to be concealed from the observation of any pa.s.senger who might go to or from the dwelling. She drew her dark cloak over her head and face, leaving only an opening to peep through, anxious to avoid, by every means in her power, the hazard of a discovery. She could gather from the conversation between the two, that Burrell was describing to Roupall something that he must do, and offering him a large reward for its completion; she listened eagerly, and heard them frequently speak of Cecil Place and Walter De Guerre. Her attention, however, was soon drawn away by the appearance of a third person--unseen by the others--creeping round a projecting corner, like a tiger about to spring upon its prey, and then crouching close to the earth. The form was that of a slight youth, clad in a tight-fitting doublet and vest, and, it would seem, armed only with a dagger, which, however, he carried unsheathed, and so openly that the moonbeams danced upon its polished point, as lightning on a diamond, whenever he changed its position in his hand (which he did more than once). He crept on so silently that neither were at all aware of his approach, but continued talking and bargaining as before. Barbara felt that danger was at hand; and yet, had she the inclination, she had not the power to speak, but sat breathlessly and tremblingly awaiting the result. Suddenly, but still silently, as though the figure were a phantom, and the dagger air-drawn, the boy rose from the ground, and held the weapon as if irresolute whether to strike or not. The manner in which he stood fully convinced Barbara Iverk that Burrell was the object of some intended attack--she tried to shriek, but the voice choked in her throat. As rapidly as this mysterious being had risen from, he sank into his former crawling att.i.tude, and disappeared. All this occurred in much less time than has been occupied in relating it, and the poor maiden almost thought she had been deceived by some supernatural appearance.
She was soon aroused from her painful state of voiceless terror by the words of Burrell, who now spoke more loudly than at first.
"I will give him his liberty this very night, which of course, under the circ.u.mstances I have mentioned, he cannot fail to consider a most deep obligation--an act of disinterested generosity. I will give it him secretly, of course; and you meet him on his exit. As we go along, I will settle the where--and then--the matter is easily concluded."
"Very easily for you, doubtless," retorted Roupall; "you had ever the way, master, of keeping your neck out of the noose. How much of the coin did you say?"
Barbara did not hear the reply.
"Why it"s only one more. Is he young?"
"Yes."
"I don"t like young customers. It"s a charity to put the old out of the way; for, be they ever so well off, they must be sick and weary of the world. But the young--I don"t like it, master."
"Pshaw! it"s only saving him in time from that which gives old men trouble; and life can go but once: besides, I will not stand for the matter of a few broad-pieces. I care not if I make the sum half as much more, provided it be done safely."
"Will you give me your note of hand to it?"
"Do you take me for a fool?--or did you ever know me to break my word?"
"I never took ye for the first, Sir Willmott, and, as to the other, we"ve had no business between us lately. Half as much more, you said?"
"Half as much more."
"Well, it is but one, and then--ah! ah! ah!--I"ll reform and turn gentleman. No, d--n it, I hate gentlemen, they"re so unprincipled; but you must double--double or quits."
"Jack Roupall, you are an unconscionable scoundrel."
"By the lady-moon, then, there be a pair of us."
Burrell muttered some reply that Barbara did not hear, but again the grating voice of Roupall ascended.
"Double or quits; Lord, ye needn"t be so touchy about a little word of familiarity--such fellowship makes all men equal."
"Well then, double, if so it must be; only remember, Roupall, there is some difference between the employer and the employed," was the knight"s answer. And the high-born and the low-born ruffian walked away together; and the bright beams of the holy moon and the unsullied stars fell upon them as gently, as if they had been good and faithful ministers of the Almighty"s will.
The two leading features of Barbara Iverk"s character were, fidelity and affection; all her feelings and actions were but various modifications of these great principles--in every sense of the word, she was simple-minded. After the men had departed for some time, still she could hardly bring herself to understand or believe the nature or extent of the crime they meditated.
It was surely a most singular manifestation of G.o.d"s providence, she thought, which placed her there, that she might overhear, and it might be prevent the great wickedness of those evil men. She descended from the window with haste, but with caution also, for the stones crumbled from beneath her feet as she moved along. She had scarcely set her foot on the gra.s.s turf, when the dog was at her side, whining and fawning with delight at again meeting with her friend and mistress. Barbara crossed the wild country, and gained the park-wall without encountering any danger. When there, she paused breathlessly under an oak, and would have given worlds to see and speak to her friend Robin. Amid the deepness of night, and among the foliage of the trees, she thought she discerned the figure of a person creeping beneath the boughs--now in shadow, and now casting his own shadow upon what had shadowed him. This appearance terrified her so exceedingly that she did not gain courage to proceed, until she saw that he turned into a distant path; she then stole slowly along under the shelter of the wall, and when she came to a small gate which opened into the park, within view of the mansion, she pushed through it, and just gained the lawn, when the sound of a pistol, and a flash through the darkness, terrified her so much, that she fell, faint and exhausted, on the sward.
CHAPTER II.
A mystery! ay, good, my masters.
----there"s mystery In a moonbeam--in a gnat"s wing-- In the formation of an atom-- An atom! it may be a world--a peopled world-- Canst prove that it is not a world? Go to, We are all fools.
_Old Play._
Hugh Dalton and Robin Hays had hastily proceeded to Cecil Place, discoursing, as they went along, upon the probable consequences of their friend"s arrest. Bitterly did the Buccaneer comment upon the rashness and impetuosity so frequently evinced by De Guerre.
"It is perfectly useless," he said, "attempting to curb these boy heroes! the rushing blood must have its way until arrested by age, not wisdom; the hot head must be cooled by the ice of time, and not till then will the arguments or experience of others be regarded as they merit."
"It is Burrell, I fear," retorted Robin; "there is but one hope in that quarter--he cannot know him."
"But he may hear."
"How?"
"G.o.d knows; only I have ever observed that the keenness of such men exceeds that of better and wiser ones."
"Ay, ay," said Robin; "but we must sharpen our wits in due proportion: though, at present, I suspect it is arms we shall want. I know the room well, and there is a lot of creeping ivy and such plants under the window; the greatest difficulty will be with the iron stanchions."
"The greatest difficulty, methinks, will be to escape from the arrester; and you seem to think nothing of the danger I run in trusting myself within the grasp of such a man."
"The Cavalier is worth all risks."
"I know it, Robin. Did I ever shrink from peril in such a cause?"
"Faith, no!" replied the other with his usual chuckle; "if G.o.d had willed you to be born a snail, you would have crept out of your house, so careless are you in all things."