The White Gauntlet Part 44

Sudden, as was their retreating movement, previous to making it, they had recognised the two-cloaked hors.e.m.e.n, who were holding their way along the avenue.

"Scarthe!" exclaimed Marion.

"Stubbs!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Lora.

Volume Two, Chapter X.

The astonishment of the cousins, at seeing two travellers starting forth so late, and upon such a dismal night, might have been increased, could they have extended their vision beyond the palings of the park, and surveyed the forest-covered country for a mile or two to the north-west of it.

On the ramifications of roads and bridle-paths--that connected the towns of Uxbridge and Beaconsfield with the flanking villages of Fulmer, Stoke, Hedgerley, and the two Chalfonts--they might have seen, not two, but twenty travellers; all on horseback, and riding each by himself--in a few instances only two or three of them going together.

Though upon different roads--and heading in different directions--they all appeared to be making for the same central bourne; which, as they neared it, could be told to be the old house of Stone Dean.

One by one they kept arriving at this point of convergence; and, pa.s.sing through the gate of the park, one after another, they rode silently on to the dwelling--where they as silently dismounted.

There, delivering up their horses to three men--who stood ready to take them--the visitors stepped unbidden within the open doorway; and, following a dark-skinned youth--who received them without saying a word--were conducted along the dimly-lighted corridor, and ushered into an inner apartment.

As they pa.s.sed under the light of the hall lamp--or had been seen outside during the occasional flashes of the lightning--the costume and bearing of these saturnine guests proclaimed them to be men of no mean degree; while their travel-stained habiliments told that they had ridden some distance, before entering the gates of Stone Dean.

It might have been remarked as strange, that such cavaliers of quality were thus travelling unattended--for not one of them was accompanied by groom, or servant of any sort. It was also strange, that no notice was taken of this circ.u.mstance by the men who led off their horses towards the stables--all three performing their duty without the slightest exhibition either of curiosity or surprise.

None of the three wore the regular costume of grooms or stable-servants; nor had any of them the appearance of being accustomed to act in such capacity. The somewhat awkward manner in which they were fulfilling their office, plainly proclaimed that it was new to them; while their style of dress, though different in each, declared them to belong to other callings.

Two were habited in the ordinary peasant garb of the period--with a few touches that told them to be woodmen; and as the lightning flashed upon their faces it revealed these two personages to be--d.i.c.k Dancey and his coadjutor, Will Walford.

The dress of the third was not characteristic of any exact calling; but appeared rather a combination of several styles: as though several individuals had contributed a portion of their apparel to his _make-up_.

There was a pair of buff-leather boots, which, in point of elegance, might have encased the feet and ankles of a cavalier--the wide tops turned down over the knees, showing a profusion of white lining inside.

Above these dangled the legs of a pair of petticoat breeches, of coa.r.s.e kersey, which strangely contrasted with the costly character of the boots. Over the waistband of the breeches puffed out a s.h.i.+rt of finest linen--though far from being either spotless or clean; while this was again overtopped by a doublet of homespun woollen cloth, of the kind known as "marry-m.u.f.fe"--slashed along the sleeves with the cheapest of cotton velveteen. Surmounting this, in like contrast, was the broad lace collar band of a cavalier, with cuffs to correspond--both looking, as if the last place of deposit had been the buck-basket of a washerwoman, and the wearer had taken them thence, without waiting for their being submitted to the operations of the laundry.

Add to the above-mentioned habiliments a high-crowned felt hat--somewhat battered about the brim--with a tarnished tinsel band, but without any pretence at a plume; and you have the complete costume of the third individual who was acting as an extemporised stable-helper at the dwelling of Stone Dean.

Had there been light enough for the travellers to have scrutinised his features, no doubt they would have been somewhat astonished at this queer-looking personage, who a.s.sisted in disembarra.s.sing them of their steeds. Perhaps some of them, seeing his face, might have thought twice before trusting him with the keeping of a valuable horse: for, in the tall stalwart figure, that appeared both peasant and gentleman, in alternate sections, they might have recognised an old, and not very trustworthy acquaintance--the famed footpad, Gregory Garth.

In the darkness, however, Gregory ran no risk of detection; and continued to play his _improvised_ part, without any apprehension of an awkward encounter.

By the time that the great clock in the tower of Chalfont Church had ceased tolling twelve, more than twenty of the nocturnal visitors to Stone Dean had entered within the walls of that quaint old dwelling; and still the sound of shod hooves, clinking occasionally against the stones upon the adjacent road, told that an odd straggler had yet to arrive.

About this time two hors.e.m.e.n, riding together, pa.s.sed in through the gate of the park. Following the fas.h.i.+on of the others, they continued on to the front of the house--where, like the others, they also dismounted, and surrendered their horses to two of the men who stepped forward to receive them.

These animals, like the others, were led back to the stables; but their riders, instead of entering the house by the front door--as had been done by all those who had preceded them--in this respect deviated slightly from the programme.

As soon as the two grooms, who had taken their horses, were fairly out of sight, they were seen to act in obedience to a sign given by the third; who, whispering to them to follow him, led the way, first along the front of the house, and then around one of its wings, towards the rear.

Even had there been moonlight, it would have been difficult to identify these new comers, who were so mysteriously diverted from making entrance by the front door. Both were m.u.f.fled in cloaks--more ample and heavy-- than the quality of the night seemed to call for. Scarcely could the threatening storm account for this providence on their part?

On rounding the angle of the building, the man preceding them made a stop--at the same time half-facing about.

A gleam of lightning disclosed the countenance of their conductor. It was the woodman--Walford.

His face was paler than wont--of that ghastly hue that denotes the consciousness of crime--while his deep-set watery eyes s.h.i.+ning from beneath his white eyebrows and hay-coloured hair, gave to his ill-favoured features an expression almost demoniac.

The countenances of the two cavaliers were also for an instant illuminated. One was the handsome face of Captain Scarthe--appearing like that of the guide--unnaturally pale under the unearthly glare of the electric light. The other was the stolid, but rubicund, countenance of his subaltern, Stubbs.

While the light lasted, Walford was seen beckoning them to follow fester.

"Coom on, masters!" muttered he, in an earnest, hurried tone, "There's ne'er a minute to be lost. That 'ere dummy o' an Indyen has got his eyes everywhere. If he sees ye, he'll want to take ye inside among the rest; an' that won't answer yer purpose, I reckon."

"No! that would never do," muttered Scarthe, hastening his steps; "our presence inside would spoil this pretty pie. Go on, my good fellow!

We'll follow you--close as the skirt of your doublet."

Without another word the trio moved on--the guide keeping a pace or two in advance, Stubbs clumsily staggering in the rear.

In this order they continued around the right wing of the house--all three making their way with as much silence and caution, as if they had been a band of burglars about to enter upon the ceremony of "cracking a crib."

The almost amorphous darkness would have hindered them from being observed, even had there been any one in the way. But there was not--no one to see them stealing along that sombre-coloured wall--no eye to witness their entrance within the private side door that admitted them by a narrow pa.s.sage into the unused apartments of the house--no eye to behold them as they stood within that small dark chamber, that communicated by a window of dingy gla.s.s with the large hall in which the guests of Henry Holtspur were a.s.sembled.

"Just the place!" whispered Scarthe, as, glancing through the gla.s.s, he saw the forms of men, moving confusedly over the floor of a well-lit apartment, and listened to the murmur of voices. "The very observatory I wished for. Now go, my good fellow!" he continued, transferring his whisper to the ear of Walford. "In twenty minutes from this time steal our horses out of the stables, and have them ready. We shall go back by the front entrance. Your worthy confreres will never know but that we've issued from the hive inside there. If they should suspect anything, I've got two sorts of metal upon my person--one or other of which will be sure to keep them quiet."

Half pus.h.i.+ng his late conductor bade into the pa.s.sage, Scarthe quietly closed the door behind him; and drew Stubbs up to the cobweb-covered window. Behind it both silently took their stand--crouching like a pair of gigantic spiders, that had placed themselves in expectation of prey!

Neither made the slightest stir. They no longer talked to each other even in whispers. They were well aware of the danger they would incur-- if detected in their eavesdropping--aware that they might have to pay for it with their lives, or at the very least, suffer severe punishment, by a castigation upon the spot, and the consequent disgrace due to their dastardly conduct. The act they were committing was of no trifling character--no child's play of hide and seek; but a bold and dangerous game of espionage, in which not only the personal liberty, but even the lives of many individuals might be placed in peril--these, too, among the highest in the land.

Scarthe was conscious of all this; and, but that he was impelled to the act by the most powerful pa.s.sion of man's nature--the promptings of a profound jealousy--he might have hesitated before placing himself in such a position. His mere political proclivities would never have tempted him to the committal of such an imprudent act. Much as he inclined towards the king, he was not the man to play spy over a conference of conspirators--such as he believed this a.s.sembly to be, from motives of mere loyalty. The thought stimulating him was stronger by far.

He had not placed himself in that position blindly trusting to chance.

Like a skilled strategist, as he was, he had well reconnoitred the ground before entering upon it. His coadjutor, Walford, acting under a somewhat similar motive, had freely furnished him with all the information he required. The woodman--from an acquaintance with the old "caretaker," who had held charge of the house previous to Holtspur's occupation--had a thorough knowledge of the dwelling of Stone Dean--its ins and its outs--its trap-doors and sliding panels--every stair and corner, from cellar to garret. Walford had a.s.sured the spies, that the chamber in which he secreted them was never entered by any one; and that the gla.s.s door communicating with the larger apartment could not be opened, without breaking it to pieces. Not only was its lock sealed with the rust of time, but the door itself was nailed fast to the post and lintels.

There was no fear of their being seen. The cobwebs precluded the possibility of that. As to their being heard, it would depend upon their own behaviour; and under the circ.u.mstances, neither captain nor cornet were likely to make any noise that might attract attention.

For the rest the affair had been easy enough. Among a crowd of unknown guests arriving at the house--even under the supervision of a staff of regular domestics--it was not likely that a distinction should be made between the invited and those unasked; much less under the _outre_ circ.u.mstances foreseen and well understood by Scarthe and his companion.

Neither Dancey nor Garth were supposed to know the persons of either.

Nor had Oriole ever seen them; though Walford was far more concerned about the instincts of the Indian, than the observations of his fellow-helpers.

So far, however, he had succeeded in baffling both.

Scarthe commenced by wiping off enough of the cobwebs, to give him a clear disc of vision, of about the size of a crown piece.

With his eye close to the gla.s.s he commanded a view of the adjoining apartment, as well as the company it contained.

As to hearing, there was no difficulty about that. Even the ordinary conversation could be heard plainly through the panes; but, when any one spoke louder than the rest, every word could be distinguished.

Scarthe had not been very long occupied in his surveillance, before perceiving that he was playing the spy upon a company of gentlemen.

None present were of the peasant type.

Soon also did he become acquainted with the general tenour of the discourse, and convinced of the correctness of his conjecture: that the meeting was an a.s.sembly of conspirators. This was the name given to it by the royalist captain; though rather did it merit to be called a conference of patriots--perhaps the purest that ever a.s.sembled on the earth.

The subjects discussed were various, but all relating to two matters of chief moment:--the liberty of the subject, and the encroachments of the sovereign. Out of doors, or inside, these were the topics of the time.