Cruel As The Grave Part 63

After breakfast they resumed their journey.

This first day and night on the road was a type of all that followed.

The bailiff Purley never lost sight of his charge except at night, and then he first a.s.sured himself that her room was a secure prison, from which it would be impossible for her to escape; and then, to make a.s.surance doubly sure, he always locked the door on the outside, put the key into his pocket, and stretched himself on a mattress across the threshold.

There was no opportunity afforded to Sybil, Lyon and their new friend to speak together in private; and as day followed day and night succeeded night in this hopeless manner, their spirits fell from despondency even to despair.

But as it is said to be darkest just before dawn, and that when things are at their worst they are sure to mend, so it proved in their case.

On the evening of the fourth day of their tedious journey, they stopped to sup and sleep at a lonely farm-house, where for "a consideration,"

the poor farmer consented, whenever he got the chance, to entertain travellers.

Here their wagon and horses were comfortably stabled, and themselves were lodged and feasted.

Here, as usual after supper, Mr. Purley accompanied his charge to her bedroom, which, to his perplexity, he found to have two doors; the one opening upon the upper hall, and the other communicating with an adjoining vacant chamber.

After some consideration, he solved the difficulty of guarding his prisoner by saying to his a.s.sistant:

"Well, Munson, all that can be done is this: one of us will have to sleep across one door, and the other across the other. And as I hav'n't slept in a room for three nights, I reckon I'll take the vacant room, and you may take the hall. But mind, don't forget to draw the key out of the door when you lock it, and put it into your pocket. And mind also, to be sure to pull your mattress quite up to the door and lay directly across it, so that if the lock should be picked, no one can pa.s.s without going right over your own body; and, last of all, mind to sleep only with one eye open, or all the other precautions will be of no use at all."

"I will be very careful, sir," answered young Bailiff Munson, touching his hat to his superior officer in military style.

"And now, as your legs are younger than mine, I wish you would run down stairs and ask the farmer to send me up a mug of that home-brewed bitter beer he was talking about."

"Yes, sir," answered the young bailiff starting off with alacrity, while the elder remained on guard at the door of his charge.

In five minutes or less time, Munson returned with a quart measure of the "home-brewed," which he handed to Purley.

"Souls and bodies! but it is bitter, sure enough! I have heard of bitter beer, but this beats all for bitterness that ever I tasted! However, the bitterer the better, I suppose; and this is really refres.h.i.+ng," said Purley, as he drained the mug, and handed it empty to a negro boy, who had just brought in and laid down the mattress upon which Munson was to sleep.

Munson smiled to himself.

Then Purley reiterated all his cautions for the careful guarding of his charge, and at length bade his comrade good-night, and retired to the vacant chamber, to guard the door on that side.

Munson drew his mattress across the hall-door as he had been directed to do, and laid himself down in all his clothes--not to sleep, but to listen and watch until the house should grow quiet; for on this night he was resolved to effect the deliverance of Sybil, or perish in the attempt.

Meanwhile Mr. and Mrs. Berners had retired to their chamber--not to rest, but to wait for events; for on this night a sure presentiment informed them that Robert Munson, on guard there at their outer door, would be sure to use his opportunities for attempting a rescue. So they quietly cooperated with what they divined to be his intentions.

First Sybil went and hung a towel over the k.n.o.b of the lock, so as to darken the key-hole of the door guarded by Purley. Then she slipped the bolt, saying:

"He may guard us if he must, but he shall neither look in upon us, nor intrude upon us, if I can help it."

And then, instead of undressing for bed, they did the opposite thing, and quietly dressed for an escape. And lastly, they concealed their money and jewels about their persons, and threw a few of the most necessary articles for their journey into one travelling bag, and then sat down to listen and watch on the inside, as their friend was listening and watching on the outside.

Then they heard Purley arranging and re-arranging his bed against his door, and tumbling down upon it, like a man utterly overcome by fatigue and drowsiness; after which all was silent, until the stertorous breathing of the bailiff a.s.sured them of the depth of his sleep. After that, not a sound was heard in the house. Lyon looked at his watch. It was but nine o'clock, though the whole house was at rest. In these remote country places, people go to roost with the fowls, or very soon after.

Still for another hour of silent, breathless suspense they waited; and then they heard a faint tapping on the door that was guarded by Munson.

Mr. Berners went up, and tapped gently in response.

"Hist!" breathed the voice from without, through the key-hole.

"Well!" murmured Lyon, through the same channel.

"Take some of the melted tallow on the top of your candle, and grease the key-hole as well as you can, and then I will come in and talk to you, if you will let me."

"Thanks; yes."

And Mr. Berners did as he was requested to do, and Munson slipped his key into the lubricated key-hole, and silently unlocked the door.

"Oh, our deliverer!" fervently exclaimed Sybil, as he softly entered the room and closed the door behind him, holding up his finger in warning to them to be silent.

"And now sit close for a few minutes, while I tell you what I have done and am going to do," said Munson, drawing a stool and sitting himself upon it, before Mr. and Mrs. Berners.

"Go on," muttered Lyon, fervently pressing the hand of his friend.

"Oh, yes, go on, dear Bob!" eagerly whispered Sybil.

"First I put nearly half an ounce of laudanum in old Purley's bitter beer, which made him think it so uncommon prime and bitter, that he drank the whole quart."

"Good heaven! Munson, you have killed the man!" said Lyon, in dismay.

"No, I have only doubled the dose I gave him before, which took no effect on him, so this will only put him to sleep for twelve hours or so. Lord, listen how he snores! A thunderstorm wouldn't wake him."

"Well?"

"Next, as soon as he was asleep, I went into his room in my stocking-feet, and closed all the solid wooden shutters, to make him believe it is still night when he does awake and feel drowsy, as he will be sure to feel, so that he shall go to sleep again, and sleep until evening, and that will give you nearly twenty-four hours start of him."

"Right! Quite right," said Mr. Berners.

"Well, well; but go on, dear Bob," impatiently murmured Sybil.

"I locked his door on the outside, and took away the key, to make the farmer or any of the family, if they should go into his room to see why he slept so long, think that he had locked himself in. For the rest I shall stay here and pretend to sleep very late myself. In fact I shall sleep until they wake me up, and then I shall be very angry, and tell them they had better not play that game on Mr. Purley, as he would be in a fury if his rest should be broken. And so I will guard these two rooms from intrusion, and your escape from being discovered, as long as I possibly can."

"But when it shall be discovered, my poor fellow, will you not get yourself into trouble?" inquired Lyon.

"Even if I should, what will my trouble be to this lady's? But at worst I shall only be cussed by old Purley, and turned out of my place by the sheriff; and as I'm used to being cussed, and don't like my place, it don't matter."

"And in any case, you shall be well rewarded, dear Bob. Not that such a service as you are about to render us _can_ ever be adequately rewarded; but, as far as--"

"Oh, dear Madam, don't speak of reward! I owe you a debt of grat.i.tude, which I am glad to pay. I have told you what I _have_ done, and what I shall do, to relieve you of anxiety; and now we had better quietly leave the house. Are you ready?" inquired Munson.

"We have been quite ready for these two hours, in antic.i.p.ation of your help."

"Come, then; but come very silently, though there is not the slightest danger, either, of our being heard. The farmer is a beer swiller, and sleeps heavily, and his women folks all sleep up in the garret. I saw them all go up myself; they pa.s.sed with their candle, as I lay on the pallet," whispered Munson, as he quietly led the way out into the hall and softly closed and locked the door, and withdrew the key.

"It is just as well to do this, to guard against the chance of any one opening the door while I am gone," he added, as he softly preceded the party down the stairs.

He silently opened the front door, and they pa.s.sed out into the free air.