^BPHMMHK
 
 THE MEDDLING HUSSY 
 
 HWV. 0V CALIF. LIBRARY, LOS ANGELE*
 
 .:. IftM
 
 " There were three of us training that gun." 
 
 63
 
 THE MEDDLING HUSSY 
 
 Being Fourteen Tales Retold 
 
 BY 
 
 CLINTON ROSS 
 
 NEW YORK 
 STONE AND KIMBALL 
 
 M DCCCXCVII
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY 
 STONE AND KIMBALL
 
 TO 
 
 C. R. H. 
 
 2132420
 
 author begs to acknowledge his in 
 debtedness to the Messrs. Harper and 
 Brothers, the S. S. McClure Co., the Messrs. 
 Charles Scribner s Sons, the Batcheller Syn 
 dicate, Mr. Bartlett Arkell of "Leslie s 
 Weekly" and to Mr. Lorillard Spencer of 
 the "Illustrated American," for permission to 
 reprint these tales. One, " The Extreme 
 Edge of Hazard," is reprinted through the 
 good favor of the Messrs. G. P. Putnam s 
 Sons. 
 
 Vll
 
 THE AUTHOR ro His READER 
 
 "Tis obvious that where there s a story 
 there s a woman. Though Louis Stevenson 
 often was pleased to ignore her, still she was 
 somewhere in the experience of his characters. 
 So I have ventured to call this collection by 
 one of the tales, " The Meddling Hussy ,- " 
 not indeed because I hold that tale of better 
 quality than the others, nor because a wo 
 man appears in them all, but because she is 
 ever a-meddling with our affairs, and, for 
 the most, improving them and making them 
 endurable. 
 
 You will notice, should you be induced to 
 read them all, that there are included tales of 
 American wars, and two others which are 
 historical, and three which are the slightest 
 comedies of the New Road, and one a tale of 
 a ship s smoking-room. You may ask whv
 
 subjects so divergent appear under one cover ; 
 and I will say that the sole reason is that 
 the author is trying to prove his case. Ah, 
 how difficult is that proof, dear Reader ! I 
 call you dear Reader, trusting that the kindly 
 person, who presided over English letters a 
 century since, may have a descendant. 
 I am then, 
 
 Yours faithfully, 
 
 CLINTON Ross. 
 At New York, 
 
 4th Oct., i8g6.
 
 Contents 
 
 Part I 
 Tales of American Wars 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Confession of Colonel Sylvester 1 7 
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " . 47 
 The Impulsiveness of Monsieur de 
 
 la Fayette 75 
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard . . 103 
 
 The Decoy Despatch . . . . 135 
 The Pretty Wit of Captain Paul 
 
 Jones 151 
 
 The Meddling Hussy 179 
 
 Part II 
 Tales of Personages 
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas . 219 
 
 When Position Fails 265 
 
 xi
 
 Contents 
 
 Part III 
 Tales of the New Road 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Angela 295 
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer . . 315 
 The Lady of the Road .... 343 
 
 Part IV 
 
 A Tale of an India Mystery 
 The Square Diamond 365 
 
 A Tale of the Ghost of the Stretching 
 Moor 
 
 The House of the Bronze Fox . . 385 
 
 xn
 
 Part I 
 
 Tales of American Wars
 
 The Confession of Colonel Sylvester
 
 The Confession of Colonel 
 Sylvester 
 
 SHE stood against the doorway of the 
 manor house as I rode up, and she 
 was handing her bridle-rein to a fat Dutch 
 boy. If her faded green habit told of sun 
 and rain, it told no more than the thin, 
 flushed face and the eyes that questioned 
 my approach. I fidgeted, thinking of 
 woman s tears, dismounted as clumsily as 
 a boy who is learning the saddle, bowed 
 as awkwardly as any lout. Yet I might 
 not have been so troubled, I 11 confess it, 
 had she been old and ugly. 
 
 Not that she was reckoned, by standard 
 of feature, attractive ; but there was some 
 thing piquant in the turn of her nose, and 
 in the moulding of her lips, which seemed 
 to hold either laughter or severity. 
 2 17
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 " I wish to see Colonel Van Brule, if 
 I may ? " 
 
 I thought she paled. 
 
 " He is not at home, sir. Who shall I 
 say ? " 
 
 " John Sylvester. May I not wait for 
 him ? " 
 
 " He will not be back to-day. What 
 do you want ? " 
 
 The question was direct, and, I dare 
 say, I should have used subterfuge, but 
 something in her eyes forbade. I did 
 not like my mission at all, under their 
 scrutiny. 
 
 " I came to take him to General Wash 
 ington." 
 
 " Mr. Washington wishes my father ? " 
 
 " General Wash " 
 
 "Ah, I forgot, sir. You are a rebel 
 officer. But we can t address a person 
 who has not the king s permit by a title 
 other than the common one." 
 
 "It doesn t matter about titles, Miss 
 Van Brule, but facts, you know. I believe 
 18
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 Lord Howe had a little dispute about them, 
 and ended by calling the general, General 
 Washington." I was piqued by her con- 
 temptuousness. 
 
 " His Lordship has need to be politic. 
 Yet, although we are on different sides of 
 the question, Mr. Sylvester, I 11 try to 
 be hospitable, remembering you have had 
 twenty miles in the saddle. If you 11 
 come in, I shall be glad to offer you 
 tea." 
 
 " I shall be glad, but " 
 
 " I had forgotten a rebel would sooner 
 drink poison," and she laughed softly in 
 my face. 
 
 " You see," said I, fidgeting, " I really 
 came here to arrest Colonel Van Brule, 
 and your invitation is such a coal of 
 fire " 
 
 " Oh, is it ? I only thought it simple 
 good manners, but if you want " 
 
 " Oh, I will gladly if you will 
 excuse my embarrassment. Really this 
 mission was not to my mind. I am sure
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 General Washington intends only to de 
 tain Colonel Van Brule for a few hours, 
 and " 
 
 But she did not appear interested. 
 
 " And now, sir, if you 11 do us the 
 honor." 
 
 She went before, turning around with a 
 curious expression that I could not explain. 
 Was she trying to give Colonel Van Brule 
 chance to escape ? I had seen no one ex 
 cept her and the boy. The hall, extending 
 the length of the house, the square room 
 into which I was ushered, both were de 
 serted ; and here, with a smile, a little 
 bow, she left me. 
 
 I stepped to a deep-set window, the 
 thick shutters fixed with heavy iron bars, 
 looking out over the green slopes to the 
 Sound. Some men were harvesting a 
 strange sight when all about was war, and 
 rumor of war. An opening door led me 
 to turn about, when I saw a courtesying 
 serving-woman, who laid out a service of 
 tea and cakes. The silver bore the Dutch 
 20
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 arms ; the china was some rare sort ; and 
 just then the door opened on the mistress 
 of the manor, who had changed her gown 
 to one that might not have been mis 
 placed in town. She said something to 
 the woman, who went out. 
 
 " Will you have tea ? The fact is, my 
 father and I are the only members of our 
 family, and, now, the times being so dis 
 turbed we do little visiting. Let me see 
 I have been nowhere for a week, when 
 I was a day at the Philipses." 
 
 " Really this is the most delightful 
 hospitality." 
 
 " Particularly because unexpected," she 
 said, with a curious expression in that 
 well-toned voice. " Oh, I m a poor 
 player. This is false hospitality for 
 I have you here as prisoner." 
 
 " A prisoner," said I, looking at this 
 undeniably handsome lady of the manor, 
 and wondering if she might be mad. 
 
 " Yes, prisoner. I really am sorry to 
 say it, but it s necessary " 
 
 21
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 " And why ? " And then recovering 
 myself, with a weak attempt at gallantry, 
 " I m not an unwilling one, I m sure." 
 
 " You don t care to be in the battle 
 which will be on Long Island to-mor 
 row ? " 
 
 " A battle ? " 
 
 " Oh, yes, a battle ; and it was necessary 
 for me to detain you here, because my 
 father has gone to Long Island, and I 
 did n t want you to know it, as you would 
 if you left here." 
 
 " But I can go, can t I ? " said I, as if 
 she were jesting. 
 
 " A man with a musket is behind each 
 door." 
 
 " And my men ? " 
 
 " Are disarmed, and guarded in our 
 stable. You would better sit down," said 
 my hostess, demurely. And then I no 
 ticed by her plate a little pistol. Seeing 
 my glance, she said, flushing : 
 
 " And I know how to use a pistol. I 
 do not rely entirely on my men." 
 22
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 " Yes, frankly," said I, collecting my 
 wit, " I have my sword and pistol. You 
 have your pistol, your charming self, and 
 some Tory servants " 
 
 " About twenty, Mr. Sylvester," she 
 said, looking me over. 
 
 " But why should my knowledge of 
 Colonel Van Brule having gone to Long 
 Island be dangerous ? " 
 
 She hesitated ; and I saw that although 
 she knew it was more discreet not to tell, 
 a common feminine weakness a wish 
 to flaunt her triumph led her to the 
 fact. 
 
 " I don t know why I should n t tell. 
 My father is this moment showing Sir 
 Henry Clinton an unguarded pass among 
 the Bedford Hills. By occupying it, the 
 king s troops will be able to turn the rebel 
 flank is that the right term ? " 
 
 I did not apologize for what I said. 
 
 " Please to sit down. We will dine 
 directly. Don t go to that door. I m 
 in earnest in saying I have a man sta- 
 23
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 tioned there with orders to shoot you 
 down if you try to go." 
 
 " But why should I be detained ? How 
 could I have had the information which 
 you give me yourself? " 
 
 " I was afraid you might find out from 
 some spy, and stop my father before he 
 could reach Long Island." 
 
 " But why do you tell me about what 
 he intends ? " I still questioned. 
 
 " I suppose to justify my false hospi 
 tality. I really don t like what I m 
 doing." 
 
 " It s very extraordinary of a woman." 
 
 " Oh, is it ? But all s fair in war." 
 
 " Love and war," said I, reflecting ; and 
 at twenty-five one does n t like to show 
 too much chagrin before a pretty woman. 
 
 " The poets are silly. There s a lot 
 that s unfair in both." 
 
 " Yes ; I think this is unfair," said I, 
 trying to appeal to her sympathies. 
 
 I must outwit this little intriguer. I 
 must get word to New York. If there 
 24
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 were to be a fight, I too must be in it. 
 And it was certain that we stood every 
 chance of being surrounded, should Sir 
 Henry get behind General Putnam, should 
 the ships of line beat up the bay. 
 
 My hostess had been noting me, and, I 
 think, reading my thoughts. 
 
 " I 11 speak to Gretchen about bringing 
 the dinner in here instead of the dining- 
 room." 
 
 Why here ? " 
 
 " I can guard this room more con 
 veniently. Will you excuse me ? " 
 
 I noticed she held the little pistol close. 
 As the door shut I heard a key turn on 
 the outside. Quickly I walked to the 
 window out of which I had looked; and 
 then I heard her voice. 
 
 " Really, Mr. Sylvester, it is only fair 
 to warn you that if you get out that 
 window you 11 be shot down." 
 
 T was a shot from her eyes I had, de 
 bating the chances of running and warn 
 ing my chief of the plot I had found in 
 25
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 this Westchester manor. But I did not 
 see very clearly how I should ; for I had 
 not doubted she spoke truly, and that I was 
 too well guarded to have any chance left. 
 She stood in the room now, looking me 
 over with triumph, her hands crossed be 
 hind her. 
 
 " I confess, Miss Van Brule, I am your 
 prisoner," after waiting for her to break 
 the silence. 
 
 " Apparently," said she, with a sus 
 picion of a smile. 
 
 " If all the Tories are like you, I sup 
 pose we may as well give up now as any 
 other time." 
 
 " Oh, your case is hopeless. Frankly, 
 I m sorry for you. But how can a man 
 of your position take up with the wrong 
 side ? " 
 
 " My personal opinion that is all. 
 My brother is as decided for the king 
 as you." 
 
 " I suppose if you once had taken my 
 father to New York, he would have 
 26
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 been thrown into prison like Major Mat 
 thews." 
 
 "I think he was called to New York 
 simply that he might be questioned." 
 
 "And by what right would they ques 
 tion him, who is responsible only to the 
 king s government ? " 
 
 But how could I answer a question of 
 opinion on which the whole dispute hung ? 
 
 " Your mission was contemptible. If 
 I may have played you a trick, I m not 
 ashamed of it. I am only sorry I thought 
 proper to apologize." 
 
 She said this spiritedly, eyes flashing, 
 face reddening. 
 
 " Oh, I don t blame you, Miss Van 
 Brule." 
 
 " Do you think I care whether you may 
 or not ? " 
 
 " That s the trouble," said I, " you 
 don t. I wish you did." 
 
 " And then you might have a chance to 
 get out of this fix," said she, smiling. 
 
 The same old woman, as the afternoon 
 27
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 paled, came in, removing the tea-table, and 
 making ready the dinner. I did not see 
 the evidence of any one at all in the hall 
 when I peered into its recesses. 
 
 " Oh, you need not look, Mr. Sylvester. 
 Your guard is not far away ? " 
 
 " But if I took the chance ? " 
 
 "I should hate to have you shot." I 
 fancied the serving-woman smiled. 
 
 " I don t exactly fancy it myself, being 
 rather fond of life, you know." 
 
 " You should not be too serious. You 
 forget it s unbecoming at dinner," said she, 
 lightly, passing the bread. 
 
 " You must pardon my poor manners 
 under the circumstances." 
 
 " They must be put to rather a test," 
 looking at the little pistol beside her plate. 
 
 " Now suppose I should snatch that ? " 
 I began. 
 
 She snatched it herself, trembling, and 
 reddening, as she had a way of doing, I 
 had found. 
 
 " But you would n t, Mr. Sylvester." 
 28
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 " And why not ? Because It would be 
 ungallant? I easily could take it, and 
 frighten you into letting me go." 
 
 " Yes, you might ; but I have been 
 warned." 
 
 " Oh, I will not. Put your pistol away, 
 Miss Van Brule." 
 
 " Really ; on your word of honor ? " 
 
 " I have said I would n t." 
 
 " Well, then, I will put it there by the 
 plate." 
 
 " Thank you. I have to thank you for 
 much first an invitation to tea and 
 then dinner." 
 
 " And imprisonment." 
 
 " A delightful one on account of the 
 gaoler." 
 
 " Oh, you are very gallant. I dare say 
 you have had practice enough." 
 
 " Now I have provocation." 
 
 u If you don t mind, I have small taste 
 for pretty speeches." 
 
 " I can t help them." 
 
 " Possibly not. But, to change the sub- 
 29
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 ject, I am bound to amuse you in some 
 way. What do you say to chess ? " 
 
 I played an indifferent game, I told her, 
 when she took out the board, and the ser 
 vant began to clear the table. Candles 
 were brought, and we sat down, she hav 
 ing the first move. Watching her, I easily 
 was checkmated, and of course asked for 
 revenge, saying it was only fair, seeing she 
 had checkmated me, not alone in chess. 
 And so we sat there in the old house, I 
 the prisoner, and she the gaoler, moving 
 our pieces, while down in the city, and on 
 Long Island, the game of war was playing. 
 Suddenly she grew distraught, making some 
 mismoves, out of keeping with her skill. 
 
 " You have lost your queen." 
 
 " Oh, I can t play," she cried, bursting 
 into tears. " I hate it." 
 
 A woman in tears, I don t know what 
 to say and do ; and now I made the most 
 clumsy attempts, apologizing for what I 
 knew not, and asking what I could do; 
 and she laughed, but said gravely, 
 3
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 " I was thinking of my father over there 
 on Long Island. He may be in danger 
 he is." 
 
 " But the game. I shall checkmate 
 you this time." 
 
 " No, you won t, because I won t 
 play." 
 
 " Now that s truly feminine." 
 
 41 Yes, it is to give in because I know 
 I m beaten." 
 
 " I suppose that is the case." 
 
 " Oh, I see you know women." 
 
 " Well, I m not so sure." 
 
 " Oh, I thought you were." 
 
 " Oh, I beg your pardon. The young 
 lady who takes a prisoner of war certainly 
 perplexes one a bit." 
 
 " Does she ? Ah, does she ? " 
 
 And she changed the subject. 
 
 The clock, somewhere in the hall, sent 
 out a sepulchral ten. 
 
 " Jacob will show you your room." 
 
 " My dungeon, I suppose." 
 
 " Oh, well, our houses may not be so 
 3 1
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 comfortable as those in Maryland. Ja 
 cob ! " 
 
 " Yes, urn." The boy seemed to have 
 been in hearing, and now was in the door 
 way, round, fat, curious. 
 
 " I believe your parole does n t extend 
 to trying to get away? " 
 
 " Only to seizing your pistol, and turn 
 ing into an escaped prisoner." 
 
 " There s one window in your room, 
 but a man will watch under it." 
 
 " Oh, I dare say." 
 
 " It s a pity you re on the wrong side." 
 
 " It s a pity you are, if you will allow 
 me." 
 
 " You are incorrigible. Good-night." 
 
 " Good-night," said I, extending my 
 hand. " I have had a delightful evening." 
 
 " It s quite as if you were only my 
 guest." 
 
 " Quite." I could not resist pressing 
 the hand, when she withdrew it angrily. 
 
 " By the way, I hope my men are com 
 fortable ? " 
 
 32
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 "They have every attention under the 
 circumstances." 
 
 " So it appears, have I ? " 
 
 She did not answer this sally, and I fol 
 lowed Jacob into the hall, and upstairs. 
 
 11 When would you like to have me 
 bring your shaving-water ? " said Jacob. 
 
 " But I have n t razors." 
 
 " I 11 fetch Colonel Van Brule s, sir." 
 
 He took the shilling with a grin, show 
 ing his teeth like a Maryland darky. But 
 I could not prevail on him to tell me about 
 the force of the manor. He locked the 
 door behind him, and I saw it was heavy 
 oak, and could not be broken in easily. 
 It was very dark, but I thought I could 
 see a figure under my window on the 
 lawn. 
 
 And, then, I sat down to think over 
 the extraordinary adventure. 
 
 Here I was caged by a girl, as many a 
 man before, and since, has been ; and I 
 knew because I could not deceive my 
 self that I doubtless had not tried to get 
 3 33
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 away as I might have if this young lady 
 had been, say, Colonel Van Brule. I 
 could not make out why she should detain 
 me, unless indeed it had been all as she 
 had said, and the colonel really was show 
 ing the pass in the Bedford Hills. Would 
 she let me go in the morning when the 
 mischief was all done ; or turn me over to 
 the British ? She really was quite capable 
 of it. At any rate she was an extraordi 
 nary young woman. I fancied she was 
 opposite me at the chess-board. We were 
 playing a most exciting game for some stake 
 that I held dear, and I always was check 
 mated ; and always was that smile from 
 the enigmatical gray eyes. And in my 
 bad temper I overturned the board, when 
 the low boom of guns broke in on the 
 stillness probably the men of the manor, 
 carrying out their mistress s orders. 
 
 I was rubbing my eyes. The August 
 dawn was contending with burnt and sput 
 tering candles. But if I had been dream 
 ing all night there in the chair, the rumble 
 34
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 was distant, yet unmistakably that of heavy 
 guns. The wind was in the right direc 
 tion ; and I knew that the righting at last 
 had begun on Long Island. But how 
 was it going ? Was the position indeed 
 surrounded ? Was the fleet shelling the 
 town ? 
 
 Asking these questions, I was now look 
 ing out of the window, where the darkish 
 dawn was scattering the shadows from the 
 hollows of the hills. If I had fancied I 
 had seen a figure guarding, there was no 
 one now in view. Opening the window, 
 I measured the distance, some thirty feet, 
 debating whether I should try it. Should 
 I, it doubtless would be with the conse 
 quence of a broken arm or leg, and that 
 only would hinder my chance of escaping. 
 If I could not help the situation by giving 
 the warning, I, at least, wanted to be in 
 this fight. I had been in none yet, and 
 at twenty-five I longed for it, wondering 
 whether, like Frederick of Prussia, I should 
 run. All the drilling we had done with 
 35
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 Smallwood s, all our talk over what we 
 should do, returned with an insistence for 
 action on my part. I tried the door and 
 saw again I was not equal to breaking it 
 in. And again looking out of the window, 
 I threw myself on the bed, while a plan 
 began to formulate which was connected 
 with Jacob and the shaving. 
 
 And while I considered, and the hours 
 passed, the far-away guns kept up a dull 
 chorus. 
 
 But finally, as I had expected, came the 
 knock, and Jacob s voice ; and when I 
 answered the creaking key, and Jacob 
 with the shaving-water, and a civil " good- 
 morning, sir," I asked him to put the 
 pitcher on the table, and then, as his back 
 was turned, I was on him, holding his 
 arms, with a hand over his mouth, and 
 bearing him to the floor. Strong as he 
 was, I was wiry, and had the advantage. 
 We must have made a fearful noise in the 
 house, overturning chairs and the table. 
 Every moment I expected interruption, 
 36
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 but kept on, choking the poor Dutch boy 
 just enough so that he gasped, giving me 
 a chance to tear the sheets from the bed, 
 and to bind and gag him. He stared in 
 a pathetic way j felt keenly, I knew, his 
 duty to his mistress. But I had no time, 
 and taking my sword went hastily into the 
 hall, and there half way on the stairs she 
 met me. No one else was in sight, and, 
 suddenly, something occurred that made 
 my position ridiculous. What if from 
 the first she had been tricking me ? What 
 if there were only she, the woman, and the 
 boy in the house ? And I had submitted 
 as easily as you could wish. 
 
 "Where are the others ? " said I, paus 
 ing at the head of the stairs, sword in 
 hand against this girl. 
 
 "I I don t " she began in confu 
 sion, and I saw she was haggard in the 
 morning light. 
 
 " You fooled me, Miss Van Brule. 
 There were none." 
 
 " Two men in the stable, while I cer- 
 37
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 tainly should have shot you myself if you 
 had tried to get away." 
 
 " You re cleverer at this game than at 
 chess. And I believed you " 
 
 " Yes, you did." 
 
 " And you, doubtless, intended deliver 
 ing me to the British ? " 
 
 Frankly, I did." 
 
 " Oh, I ve been prettily deceived " 
 
 And I pushed past her. 
 
 " What did you do with Jacob ? " 
 
 " I killed him," said I, wickedly. 
 
 " You wretch ! You dared ? " 
 
 There were tears in the gray eyes, and 
 in an instant I had added, 
 
 "Oh, I didn t at all. That firing 
 made me desperate " 
 
 " And me. My father may be in it." 
 
 " And I will be." 
 
 At this moment I heard heavy steps, 
 and suspecting I might be caught after all, 
 I dashed down the stairs, almost knocking 
 down a fellow with a musket. And then 
 I heard her voice, 
 38
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 " For Heaven s sake don t fire. Let 
 him go." 
 
 That was odd, was n t it ? But I did 
 not pause to think about it, but ran out 
 through the door, and down the slope to 
 the road, and over the fence. I must 
 have made a strange appearance in the 
 scarlet and buff of Smallwood s, with a 
 drawn sword in my hand, running there in 
 the Westchester fields. (When I had 
 joined the general s staff I still kept my 
 Maryland uniform.) 
 
 And then I paused, and fell to laughter 
 over the joke. What a silly fool ! This 
 girl had turned me about her finger. An 
 adroit tactician, indeed, I ! But folly 
 usually is culpable. By my blindness I 
 had failed to give the warning that might 
 now be turning the day against us over 
 there on the Island. My pretty Tory had 
 tricked me neatly. 
 
 I had forgotten my men ; and I turned 
 back. The trickery should n t extend that 
 far. 
 
 39
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 I walked boldly now to the stable door, 
 no one hindering. A big fellow was 
 currying a horse. 
 
 " My men, rascal ! " 
 
 He stood in open-mouthed wonder 
 and fear, for I must have appeared vi 
 cious. 
 
 A pounding on an inner door here 
 began, and the cries of my two fellows, 
 one of them declaring that the door 
 would n t break. He had been trying it 
 all night, with his strength. 
 
 " Open," said I, threatening the groom 
 with my sword. He decided to open, 
 growling his remonstrance. My two 
 would have killed him then and there, 
 until I had to swear at them a thing 
 I m loath to do at one s inferiors ; but 
 sometimes it is necessary. They were hun 
 gry and sad-looking crows ; for although 
 they had been driven into the little dark 
 harness-room at the butt of the musket, 
 their captors had not dared to go near 
 them. I told them to get the horses ; and 
 40
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 then, better satisfied with myself, I saun 
 tered up to the house. 
 
 She stood before the door, looking at 
 me defiantly. 
 
 " Good-day to you, Miss Van Brule." 
 
 She tossed her head disdainfully. 
 
 " The game is my way." 
 
 " Why should n t it be ? You re a 
 man." 
 
 " I regret I must exact reparation." 
 
 " What do you mean ? " 
 
 " I must take you to New York as a 
 dangerous Tory." 
 
 Her eyes flashed, and she stamped her 
 foot. 
 
 " It s like you rebels to make war 
 on women." 
 
 " You started it." 
 
 " Ah, I did keep you here," she cried ; 
 "and Sir Henry has them surrendered, I 
 know." 
 
 I called to my men to bring up my 
 horse. They were still murmuring over 
 their treatment, and eyed the mistress of
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 the manor malevolently. But I stared at 
 them, and told them to ride on, which 
 they did grumblingly. 
 
 " Good-by," said I to her. 
 
 She looked me full in the face. 
 
 " But I m sorry to have tricked you 
 - really " 
 
 Have I not said my pulse was easily 
 made riotous ? 
 
 " Don t be," said I. 
 
 " You re silly," said she. " And " 
 
 " And what ? " 
 
 " We don t know each other and 
 you re rebel." 
 
 " That means you always will hate 
 me ? " 
 
 "Oh, I didn t say that. Why don t 
 you go on after the men ? " 
 
 " I will when you tell me to call 
 again." 
 
 " Oh, do, if you only go." 
 
 There was that in her eyes telling 
 more. 
 
 " How dare you ? " said she. 
 42
 
 Confession of Colonel Sylvester 
 
 As I rode away, I looked back at the 
 little trickster of the manor, who stood 
 blushing as I had left her, and I doffed my 
 hat, and called back, " We shall meet 
 again;" and we did, as you know. But 
 that morning, with the dull boom of the 
 guns from the battle at Brooklyn in my 
 ears, I whipped up after my men on my 
 tardy way to the war. 
 
 43
 
 The Colors of the "Lawrence" 
 
 45
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 A Surgeon s Tale of the Lake Battle for 
 the West 
 
 MASTER Commandant Perry stood 
 talking with Master Commandant 
 Eliot of the " Niagara." Captain Perry s 
 eyes I will call him captain, although 
 he had not that title then moved un 
 easily. For the moment I thought him 
 too young. What could he do against the 
 one-armed veteran of Trafalgar, Captain 
 Heriot Barclay ? Lieutenant Buchan, too, 
 had fought with Nelson. Thump went 
 my heart as I leaned over the rail, and 
 Sailing-Master Taylor, brushing against me, 
 rallied me on my pallor. 
 
 " Humph, doctor, are ye ready ? " 
 " We Ve orders to have our instruments 
 bared in that cock-pit," said I. 
 47
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 " It s a cock-pit too high up, eh ? " said 
 the sailing-master; and I assure you he 
 was right about the wretched hole. 
 
 " What will ye have when a twenty- 
 four-pounder comes sailing through the 
 new oak and chestnut ? " 
 
 I shook my head. He chuckled and 
 passed on. I saw a great bird sailing high 
 above, and the stretch of lake, saw, and 
 did not see ; for I was thinking just then 
 of a girl I knew in New York, and of how 
 I should have liked to see her for a mo 
 ment. And then I was reminded by a 
 groan below of a poor chap in the delirium 
 of lake fever. And as I looked out at the 
 ships lined before me, it all returned : the 
 journey to Albany, and down the Mohawk, 
 and over the corduroy roads, and on the 
 lake in the dreary March winds, and the 
 lonely sail to Presque Isle, and the dismal 
 life we led at the tavern flaunting the creak 
 ing sign " Dunlop s Erie Hotel." 
 
 From the first it had been a perilous 
 journey, an uncertain enterprise. No one 
 48
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 supposed we could hold the West. Any 
 moment the enemy s fleet might sweep 
 down on us, and our captain, short of 
 men, must have lost heart writing letters 
 for supplies, imploring them to send 
 shipwrights, sailors, and money. 
 
 And now we were to fight ! There the 
 white fleet lay on the rippling lake over 
 against us. Nine vessels were in our line, 
 we of the " Lawrence " first. Yet these 
 schooners and sloops were manned by as 
 sorry a lot as captain ever had shuddered 
 at. But a hundred and twenty-five were 
 regulars ; and the rest were raw enough, 
 woodsmen, negroes, and Indians, who 
 knew no more of a ship than squalling 
 babes. And, indeed, that moment Pohig, 
 a Narragansett brave, said in his gut 
 tural they needed me in the cock-pit. I 
 think I said something uncomplimentary 
 to that cock-pit, which was already over 
 crowded, for there were twenty-two un 
 der doctor s care on the " Lawrence " 
 
 alone, and indeed a hundred and sixteen 
 4 49
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 unfit out of the four hundred and ninety 
 of the fleet. 
 
 I paused a moment, looking out again 
 at the beauty a sunny September morning 
 gathers in these waters. The six white 
 ships of the king still bore on, with flaunt 
 ing canvas, carrying all told, as I was to 
 know later, five hundred and two souls : 
 one hundred and fifty from the Royal 
 Navy, while of the two hundred and forty 
 soldiers most were regulars. From that 
 fleet I turned to ours. I had forgot my 
 summons to the delirious chap below. I 
 should have something besides mere fever 
 to deal with before that day was over. 
 And then among our motley crew I saw 
 some men who had been on the " Consti 
 tution." Ah, they stood straight and fine, 
 with just the right swing. Some of our 
 fellows, after all, were not so bad. 
 
 At the moment a blue flag was unfurled 
 at the main royal masthead, declaring, in 
 white letters, " Don t give up the ship." 
 
 I watched the men curiously, and be- 
 5
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 fore I thought joined in the cheer. I had 
 not heard in my reverie that the captain 
 had been saying : " Shall I hoist it ? " nor 
 the answer, " Ay, ay, sir ! " But now 
 that it flew in the breeze it declared Cap 
 tain Lawrence s last words, and swung 
 out over the hastily built lake brig which 
 the Secretary had given that bravest cap 
 tain s name. Then was the beating to 
 quarters ; and I remembered my summons 
 to the cock-pit. 
 
 A little fellow once rosy cheeked, but 
 now shaking with the ague had asked for 
 me. 
 
 " Don t tell me, doctor, that I can t be 
 in it." 
 
 " Look here, Fraser," I said, " be quiet. 
 You can t stir, do you hear ? " I was 
 irritable ; but, remembering my profes 
 sional manner, I added, " Oh, we 11 
 see." 
 
 " The captain wishes you in his cabin, 
 Mr. Moran," some one interrupted. I 
 pressed Fraser s hand, and joined the cap- 
 5 1
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 tain. He was tying some papers, and 
 turned to face me with a smile. 
 
 " The government s papers, Moran," he 
 said. " We 11 have a pretty warm time ) 
 I fancy, and you 11 be busy." 
 
 u I dare say, busy," said I. 
 
 " I hope not too busy, Moran. But you 
 are the safest man to keep this packet. 
 Should it go against us, I have tied some 
 shot to it, drop it into the lake." 
 
 " Ay, ay, sir," said I, taking the papers. 
 " How are you feeling ? " 
 
 " I don t seem to be over that trouble," 
 he said, tearing up some letters. 
 
 " You certainly are not," said I, looking 
 him over narrowly. 
 
 " What luck, when I need all my 
 nerve ! " 
 
 " You will have it, sir," said I, pouring 
 something from a vial, for I had brought 
 my case. 
 
 As he drank, he scattered the bits of 
 torn paper " My wife s letters," which 
 made me think of the girl in New York, 
 52
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 whom I had reason to believe might be 
 thinking of me. Should lever see her again? 
 
 " I don t care to have them get my pri 
 vate correspondence. As for the other 
 papers " 
 
 u I 11 have that care." 
 
 " Pardon me, I know you will, Mr. 
 Moran. But you see I m nervous." 
 
 " I don t wonder." 
 
 " No, it means so much. The people 
 don t realize that if we lose to-day they 
 will carry out the old French idea, and 
 Canada will reach clear to the gulf." 
 
 " And the United States will stop at 
 Ohio forever after," I added. " But they 
 have n t done it." 
 
 He seized my hand at this. ct No, they 
 have n t." His eyes sparkled. " After all 
 we have been through, and made and 
 floated the fleet, it makes one fearful when 
 the moment comes." 
 
 " Yes, it is here, sir. Listen." 
 
 It was a bugle call, followed directly by 
 " Rule Britannia." 
 
 S3-
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 " That s from the Detroit. " 
 
 "Their flagship." 
 
 " We are getting near. Hear the 
 answer to c Rule Britannia. : 
 
 It was just our boatswain s whistle, but 
 a faint color crept over his face ; and then 
 seizing my hand, he went above, calling 
 back, " My work now, and yours, will be 
 gin," which took me again to the cock-pit. 
 As I moved about, putting the last touches 
 to the place, I heard that grog and rations 
 had been served, because we doubtless 
 should not have the chance later. " He 
 says we know how to beat those fellows," 
 said one, a petty officer who was among 
 those from the " Constitution." " Why, 
 we ve done it. We 11 do it again." 
 
 " What are you doing now ? " said I, 
 turning. 
 
 " I heard the captain say to Mr. Tay 
 lor, 4 Run to the lee of the islands ; and 
 Mr. Taylor says, says he, Then you ll 
 have to engage to leeward. 1 1 don t 
 care, says our captain ; c windward or lee- 
 54
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 ward, they 11 have to fight to-day. Eh, 
 doctor, he s the captain." 
 
 " I believe he is, Perkins," said I ; then 
 Perkins chuckled, hitched his trousers, and 
 went above. But directly I heard that a 
 shift had put us to the windward. 
 
 And then the first gun broke in on the 
 rattling noises of our deck, arid others 
 answered. 
 
 I rushed above, and watched the men at 
 their posts, bared to the waists, muscles 
 standing out tensely, faces set or twitch 
 ing. A burst of smoke already was 
 blurring that clear sky. And then some 
 thing crashed into our deck, and the 
 splinters flew as the report rang loud in 
 my ears. I believe I just looked about 
 coolly at our line, the schooners and sloops 
 drawn up, a half-cable s length of each 
 other. Lieutenant Yarnell observed me 
 and nodded. 
 
 " The 4 Lawrence is to have most of 
 this battle," he said. " The c Queen 
 Charlotte is training on us." 
 55
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 He scarcely had spoken before we heard 
 a great crash above, and our mainmast 
 tottered. The sound was followed by an 
 other rush of breaking timbers, and some 
 one was shouting there was a hole in our 
 hull. I did not notice now. I was watch 
 ing two groaning fellows who were being 
 carried below ; and I hastened to the work 
 there. These were hardly stretched out 
 before others were brought. Their suffer 
 ing faces stare at me even now of nights ; 
 and in dreams I can hear their cries in a 
 deafening din. 
 
 And I, too, was stripped to the waist, 
 turning now and then to inquire. We 
 had drawn to closer quarters, and were 
 engaging the " Detroit," the " Queen 
 Charlotte," the " Lady Prevost." 
 
 " I believe I m done for," said a groan 
 ing fellow, and I saw it was my friend 
 Perkins, the petty officer. 
 
 " Nonsense," said I, turning him on his 
 side. 
 
 " I m not groaning at that hole, doc- 
 56
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 tor," said he, " but because the cannon 
 ading has made it fall calm, and the others 
 can t support us. Oh, but it does hurt." 
 
 " It s only a scratch," said I. " But 
 the c Scorpion and the Ariel are close 
 behind us." 
 
 " They alone, and engaging the c Chip- 
 pewa. It looks bad, doctor." 
 
 " Oh, c don t give up the ship, " said I. 
 
 " That we won t," he cried, pushing 
 me aside. 
 
 " Come back, man," I cried. 
 
 " I m bandaged enough," said he, and 
 was gone. The next I saw of him was 
 when an hour later I stumbled over his 
 body. I should have hindered his return 
 to his post ; but I had no time to follow 
 him, for others were being brought con 
 stantly, until we knew not where to put 
 them, much less to give them proper care. 
 My arms absolutely dripped with blood 
 and perspiration, and those we tended 
 were black and red with powder and 
 worse. A crash in the china closet was 
 57
 
 Tho Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 followed by a howl, and I remembered 
 Midshipman Forest had left his spaniel 
 there. 
 
 " We re all howling," I muttered, half 
 crazy myself. 
 
 " Dress that, doctor," came a faint voice 
 over my shoulder. 
 
 " Presently," I said ; then I saw he was 
 Midshipman Lamb. 
 
 " Let me see," I believe I said, when 
 there was another horrid crunching of 
 timbers, and Lamb was against the side, 
 where he had been carried by a twenty- 
 four-pounder. I rubbed my eyes, and at 
 that moment another of these tearing 
 pounders sailed past my assistant, Usher s 
 head. 
 
 You can imagine we could do nothing 
 in such a place ; that we lost the little wit 
 we had, although I tried as well as I 
 might. Twice Lieutenant Yarnell came 
 below, pointed to his arm or face, and, 
 when we had tied him up, went back to 
 his post. 
 
 58
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 " How is the captain ? " I asked. 
 
 " A shot through his hat, and his clothes 
 all torn, but I don t believe he s hurt." 
 
 " You re not fit to go above." 
 
 u Where can you stow me ? " he said, 
 rushing away. 
 
 Presently I heard a calm voice, strong 
 in the noise. " I m short of men, doctor. 
 Send up one of yours." 
 
 I motioned to Brown, who without a 
 word went above. Just then I felt some 
 thing trickling on my face, and looking up 
 saw the planking above had sprung, and a 
 red stream was breaking through. 
 
 " For heaven s sake put me out of this," 
 came one of the voices. I was bending 
 over him, when again Captain Perry sang 
 out, 
 
 " Brown is down. Send another." 
 
 It was not five minutes before the same 
 voice came : " Another," while a spar 
 crashed. 
 
 " Who the devil, sir, is going to look 
 after these chaps ? " I sang out. 
 59
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 " How many are you ? " 
 
 "Two, and some fifty men to look 
 after." 
 
 " Can any of the wounded ? " 
 
 " They are a bad lot, sir." 
 
 " Come yourself, Mr. Moran." 
 
 I turned from rny patient. I indeed 
 could do little there. The cries and 
 groans of these poor chaps sickened me. 
 One of them, the Narragansett Indian, 
 Pohig, suddenly rose, when he was pinned 
 a writhing mass against the side. 
 
 "Go, Mr. Moran," Usher said in a 
 husky whisper ; and I turned and fled, and 
 slipped in the gloom above, for the thick 
 smoke had left the deck not less dim than 
 the mess-room. Bodies were piled every 
 where ; gun carriages on their sides as if 
 carelessly tossed ; and whizzing and burst 
 ing sounds about my ears. 
 
 Mr. Taylor came slipping and limping 
 across the deck. 
 
 " Here, at that gun ! " 
 
 " Here ! " said the captain himself. 
 60
 
 " He was erect in the boat, still regardless of the 
 
 whizzing balls." Ci
 
 There were three of us training that 
 gun : Mr. Pierce, the chaplain, the purser, 
 and I, the surgeon ; and close beside it, his 
 face staring into the smoke, lay my assist 
 ant, Brown. 
 
 I think I swore, but the chaplain at this 
 unclerical work did not reprove me. I 
 remember I said : " Curse a ship that has 
 to use a mess-room above the water-line 
 for a cock-pit." I was thinking of the 
 twenty-four-pounders which had carried 
 poor Lamb and the Indian Pohig into 
 eternity. And then, as we were training 
 the gun, a voice was in our ears : 
 
 " You need n t. It s our last gun." 
 
 Mr. Field, the purser, rose from his 
 knees. The chaplain, I saw, had a tear 
 on his face ; but then he was a minister. 
 As for me, I looked up at the blue flag. 
 
 Captain Perry seemed to read me. 
 
 " Yes, the ship, but not the battle. 
 Yarnell, lower a boat." 
 
 " You will leave us ? " said I. 
 
 " For the l Niagara, " and he pointed 
 61
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 to her looming near through the fog. I 
 understood. 
 
 " But the c Lawrence ? " said I. 
 
 The boat had been lowered. I remem 
 ber I heard a voice, 
 
 " But the flag, captain ? " 
 
 He too looked up there where his flag 
 still waved. The man who hauled that 
 down, threw the blue flag after it. 
 
 Then I heard something like a sob. 
 Now, I don t mind a man yelling with 
 pain, for it is my trade to hear that ; but a 
 man sobbing cuts into my heart ; and this 
 cry came from Mr. Yarnell, one of the 
 bravest officers that ever served. He 
 looked queer enough, as we all did, not 
 more than twenty left, all told ; our faces 
 black as the negroes , and tracked with 
 perspiration ; our bodies smeared with soot 
 and blood ; our clothes torn. 
 
 But Captain Perry put his hand on his 
 shoulder. 
 
 " We must have the day, Yarnell. What 
 is the Lawrence to that ? " 
 62
 
 Then Yarnell straightened up, and 
 smiled through his tears and the blood 
 trickling from a scalp wound. 
 
 " I 11 stand by the Lawrence, cap 
 tain." 
 
 The captain gave us all a cheering look 
 as he leaped over the side. I wondered 
 whether this was the same man who three 
 hours before (I have learned since that it 
 was just two hours and forty-five minutes) 
 had talked to me in the cabin. And I 
 remembered the packet he had given me, 
 which I had stuffed away in a drawer in 
 that terrible cock-pit, 
 
 " Shall I sink the papers ? " 
 
 u Yes, if it comes to that," he sang 
 back ; and the last I saw he was erect in 
 the boat, still regardless of the whizzing 
 balls, and his brother at his side, and the 
 four men bending to their oars. His 
 figure gave me new spirit, and I remem 
 bered Usher at his hard duty in the cock 
 pit. As I stumbled to the passage, Yarnell 
 stopped me. 
 
 63
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 " We can t stand this." 
 
 I looked up at the Stars and Stripes, 
 still flying, if the other flags were lacking. 
 
 " We have lost half our colors, and we 
 must the rest ? " said I, like a man in a 
 bad dream. The colors seemed that mo 
 ment more to me than all those dead and 
 wounded and the wrecked ship. 
 
 " They re battering us to pieces. 
 Must n t we save these few ? " 
 
 And he pointed to those left standing. 
 
 " We must make the wounded comfort 
 able, too." 
 
 " But the colors," gasped another voice, 
 when turning I saw Midshipman Dulany 
 Forest ; and then I remembered, and an 
 swered fiercely, 
 
 u It s not the colors now. We re 
 beaten, man." 
 
 But I could not endure seeing it done, 
 loudly as I had spoken ; and without lift 
 ing my eyes I went to my work ; and such 
 work as it was I do not care even to think 
 about now. Then directly the crashing 
 64
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 above paused. The colors were down, 
 that meant ; and I heard a low cheer over 
 the water from the king s ship ; but with 
 us only were the groaning men, and Mr. 
 Forest s spaniel howled, as he had since 
 the crash in the china closet. 
 
 As for me I did not dare think, I say. 
 I had enough to do, Heaven knows. The 
 sight of poor shattered Mr. Brooks, who 
 had been always my good friend, took 
 away the little spirit I had left. But fin 
 ally I was so faint that again I stumbled 
 on deck ; and there I saw Mr. Yarnell 
 directing the raising of our colors. Yes, 
 that flag was going up over the " Law 
 rence " again. 
 
 " What does it mean ? " I asked ; but I 
 saw in a glance. 
 
 " That the Niagara has borne down 
 through their line, and the fight has 
 turned." 
 
 " He reached the l Niagara then ? " 
 
 You know how it was. The " Queen 
 Charlotte," in trying to bring her broad- 
 5 65
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 side in play on the " Niagara," had been 
 left at the wind s mercy through a down- 
 haul having been shot away, and so she 
 had fouled the " Detroit." The " Ni 
 agara," backing her main topsails, had run 
 across bow and stern of the two fouled 
 king s ships, tearing them fore and aft 
 with her starboard broadside ; and keeping 
 on, she paid the " Lady Prevost " the same 
 attention. Our " Caledonia," " Ariel," 
 " Somers," " Scorpion," " Tigress," and 
 " Porcupine " had followed, carrying away 
 the " Detroit s " masts and the " Queen 
 Charlotte s " mizzenmast. And as I came 
 on deck, the " Niagara " was engaging the 
 " Hunter." 
 
 " You see I think I am right about run 
 ning up the colors," said Yarnell. 
 
 " That looks as if you were," said I, 
 pointing to the " Hunter s " taffrail, where 
 an officer was waving a white handkerchief 
 from a boarding spike. Again he waved 
 it; and we knew we had won the Lakes. 
 
 But the groans on our deck took away 
 66
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 our cheers, and I turned to that work. 
 Now, you must know I had not been long 
 away ; for all this decisive part of the 
 action was a matter of but eight minutes. 
 They were precious moments, I can assure 
 you, with all the arms and legs and heads 
 I had to bandage. 
 
 " He s coming back," said Mr. Pierce, 
 the chaplain, coming to us at this dismal 
 task, for I had lost all of my profes 
 sional zest. 
 
 " Who ? " said I, dully. 
 
 " The captain, and the flags." 
 
 " Let me see him, the captain ! " said 
 the man I was tending, " back again, is 
 he ? " 
 
 " You can t," said I. " Keep still." 
 
 " But I will." 
 
 And he tottered up despite us, remind 
 ing me of Perkins, the petty officer, who 
 had done the same earlier in the action, 
 whose body lay by a starboard gun. 
 
 " Usher," said I, " I must see his flag 
 go up ! " I spoke like a child. 
 67
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 " But these ? " he said reproachfully. 
 
 " I 11 be back. They must give us 
 help. We can t do all this alone ; " and 
 I put my hands to my ears to keep out 
 their groans. 
 
 " The captain is back ? " came a voice 
 shrilly. 
 
 " Yes, back. We ve got em," piped 
 another. 
 
 " Well, I don t care so much," said a 
 chap who had both arms shot away. 
 
 " I must take his hand," said I to my 
 assistant, Usher, again ; " I 11 be away 
 well, five minutes." 
 
 " Go, of course," said the armless man. 
 " Cheer the captain for me." 
 
 " Are ye tellin me, we ve beat em, Mr. 
 Moran ? " asked another, forgetful of pain. 
 
 " Yes, and the captain is back on the 
 Lawrence, " said I, hastening to the 
 deck ; for I declare I wanted to see that 
 blue flag make our colors complete more 
 than I wished a sight of that girl in New 
 York. 
 
 6&
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 And what a crowd were we, as we stood 
 banded and splinted at the side ; while the 
 decks were red and slippery, and the 
 groans of the suffering took the place of 
 cheers. For we greeted him silently, and 
 he himself but said, as he looked over 
 human fragments, cannon dismounted, 
 carriages broken, and shattered timbers : 
 
 " Put up the blue flag on the < Law 
 rence, for she was given up but to win 
 the fight." 
 
 Battered Yarnell took his captain s 
 hand, as he came over the side, and we 
 crowded about him ; and our hearts, if not 
 our mouths, cheered ; for his unconquer 
 able will had gained that day what General 
 Hull had lost. Yes, he alone had, this 
 boyish Master Commandant Oliver Hazard 
 Perry. And if we did not cheer with our 
 mouths, it was because of the groans of 
 the suffering. 
 
 Shortly the surviving officers of the 
 king s fleet were over the side, and looked 
 wonderingly at the havoc they had made, 
 69
 
 The Colors : of the " Lawrence " 
 
 and slipped in the blood, and stumbled 
 over the bodies, as they went to deliver 
 their swords to our captain, who returned 
 them with civility, remembering how nearly 
 he had lost. And above waved the two 
 flags, the blue with Captain Lawrence s 
 words, which Captain Perry had made of 
 even greater meaning. 
 
 Now I must tell you how strangely, 
 some few minutes after this, I remembered 
 I had forgot his order to drop the packet of 
 official papers overboard. I left my work, 
 and hurried to him. I believe now I was 
 in a daze, as well I might be. He was 
 handing a letter to Midshipman Forest. 
 
 " I forgot to sink that packet when we 
 struck our colors," I cried. 
 
 " You did, eh ? " said he. " But the 
 colors are up ; so I 11 pardon you, Mr. 
 Moran. You see, I have just sent General 
 Harrison these words : We have met the 
 enemy, and they are ours, two ships, two 
 brigs, one schooner, and two sloops. " 
 
 I turned, without a word, to my work 
 70
 
 The Colors of the " Lawrence " 
 
 among the human wreckage this great lake 
 fight had made ; and you may believe I 
 was kept busied for days ; and Mr. Pierce, 
 the chaplain, too, when the leaded shrouds 
 were sent whirring down into the depths 
 of that lake for whose control these men 
 had given their lives. 
 
 And such is war. If the " Lawrence " 
 flew her colors at the end, what mattered 
 it to those chaps in the leaded shrouds ?
 
 The Impulsiveness of 
 Monsieur de la Fayette 
 
 73
 
 The Impulsiveness of Monsieur 
 de la Fayette 
 
 An Account of the Affair at Barren Hill, 
 from the Middleton Memoirs 
 
 MONSIEUR DE LA FAYETTE 
 had time to look for lodgings which 
 appeared most desirable either in the stone 
 church, or in the house of the Quaker 
 Peters. Peters had observed the tall, red- 
 haired boy, who was the French marquis, 
 with some attention. He acknowledged 
 that his hospitality was not given willingly, 
 for he was strictly " king s man," with 
 small enough sympathy for the rebels or 
 for " French gentlemen " who chose to 
 bother with other people s affairs. 
 
 In fact, foreigners were not altogether 
 popular, even with us. I remember 
 75
 
 The Impulsiveness of 
 
 how Generals Greene and Sullivan both 
 had threatened to resign because of Con- 
 
 O 
 
 gress s employment of foreign adventurers, 
 and Washington himself had been criti 
 cised for his affection for the French strip 
 ling. Had not the " little " tall fellow 
 made a failure of the Canadian expedition ? 
 Yet he was a general now, admitted to all 
 of the chiefs councils, intrusted with the 
 perilous commissions to watch the British 
 and to stop the ravages along the Dela 
 ware. " You do not know the stuff in 
 that French boy," the general had said to 
 the critics. " Remember Gloucester and 
 Brandywine ; remember that Monsieur de 
 Vergennes s attitude has been, in some 
 measure, brought about because a great 
 French nobleman is interested with us." 
 Monsieur de Vergennes s, that is to 
 say, Louis XVI. s attitude, was known 
 among us May 2, 1779. Possibly the 
 Quaker Peters hated the youthful French 
 gentleman the more on that account. 
 Good English loyalists had small sympathy 
 76
 
 Monsieur de la Fayette 
 
 for things French, and now, to add to all 
 the ancient reasons for hatred descend 
 ing from the time when France was prac 
 tically Harry of England s fief was this 
 acknowledgment of the colonies rebellion. 
 Oh, this French impertinence ! 
 
 Mr. Peters fidgeted in his doorway, 
 watching the arrangement of the twenty- 
 one hundred men this boyish French person 
 commanded. 
 
 The marquis, in fact, had made the 
 Peters farm on the hill-top his position, 
 exactly eleven miles from the enemy s at 
 Philadelphia, and nearly the same distance 
 from ours at Valley Forge. On his right 
 was the Schuylkill ; a rocky ledge, with 
 three pieces of cannon, before ; a wood 
 and some stone walls and houses, making 
 admirable breastworks, at the left, where 
 he had put the two remaining cannon. 
 Three hundred yards down the slope, to 
 the front, was Captain McLane, with 
 fifty Indians and six hundred pickets. 
 
 The marquis regarded these things com- 
 77
 
 The Impulsiveness of 
 
 placently with General Poor, shading his 
 eyes with his hands and looking out over 
 the green distances to Philadelphia. Boy 
 as he was scarcely twenty he felt 
 some pride in his sense in taking the 
 position. Of course, General Poor had 
 agreed with him in all the details, but he 
 had advanced the ideas. They were ex 
 cellently good ones, too, he thought. The 
 " Swedes Ford " was down that wooded 
 road, while behind was another not-much- 
 used means of retreat. 
 
 " Well taken, general, I declare ! " 
 General Poor had said, and the two had 
 separated, La Fayette walking toward 
 Peters, who still stood regarding the scene 
 with curious interest. The dwelling was 
 close by the little stone church. 
 
 " I am sorry, sir, believe me, to have to 
 intrude at your table," said Monsieur de la 
 Fayette, coming up. As a matter of pride, 
 he wished to speak good English, and by 
 this time he could use the tongue well ; 
 but a slight accent lingered. 
 78
 
 Monsieur de la Fayette 
 
 " I might say that I am only too glad 
 to entertain the Marquis de la Fayette," 
 Peters said ; " but frankly, as a British 
 subject, I should not be speaking the 
 strict truth." 
 
 " Ah, I like your directness," said mon 
 sieur, gayly. " We all have a right to our 
 opinions." 
 
 " Yes, I agree with thee, general, most 
 completely, and, finding thee most fair- 
 minded, I am emboldened to ask of thee 
 a favor." 
 
 "A favor, Mr. Peters?" asked mon 
 sieur, smiling, and looking the man over 
 narrowly. He was a little man, with 
 dark, earnest eyes, a thin, wrinkled face, 
 to which his garb lent a certain air of 
 peacefulness, such as monks and Quakers 
 sometimes gain, and a suggestiveness of 
 cleanly living and thinking. " I will grant 
 it readily if I can." 
 
 " My daughter wishes to go through the 
 lines," the man said, rubbing his hands 
 together and looking away. 
 79
 
 The Impulsiveness of 
 
 " The very pretty girl I saw ? " asked 
 the marquis. He had not forgotten to 
 observe a neat face and figure. 
 
 " A good girl, sir," Peters said. " I am 
 alone here, and do not care to have her 
 exposed to the danger." 
 
 " But the danger of the ride ? " asked 
 Monsieur de la Fayette. 
 
 " I shall serid my black servant with 
 her." 
 
 " And why, sir, should I permit her to 
 go into Philadelphia ? Are you not a 
 loyalist ? You acknowledge it. Your 
 daughter will explain the matter to Sir 
 Henry, I fear." 
 
 " Fear not, friend not at all. She 
 will not." 
 
 And at the moment La Fayette thought 
 he heard the shutter of the window before 
 which they stood rattle. He remarked it 
 to his unwilling host rather suspiciously, 
 and then he looked the man over again. 
 It was so easy to grant the favor. The 
 face was honest enough. Ah, Monsieur 
 80
 
 Monsieur de la Fayette 
 
 de la Fayette was yet young in experience ! 
 In a long, eventful life he was to know 
 better. Here, in America, he was now 
 only beginning his experience. But I like 
 to think of him as he stood there at the 
 door of the house on the hill. I like to 
 think of him as impulsively generous, as 
 he had been in all this affair. It pleased 
 the Emperor Napoleon at a later date to 
 call him a " ninny." By a " ninny " the 
 emperor may have meant a man clever 
 only in simple honesty. I never myself 
 held Monsieur de la Fayette among the 
 most clever men, but he always was one 
 you could depend on exactly. Because he 
 never was false he suffered a deal. And 
 so, to return to Peters s request for per 
 mission to send his daughter into Philadel 
 phia, he foolishly granted it. Some men 
 are lovable because they are foolish, and 
 God, after all, esteems it a finer quality 
 than cunning, although it may act against 
 worldly success. 
 
 After receiving the man s thanks Mon- 
 6 81
 
 The Impulsiveness of 
 
 sieur de la Fayette paused to look with 
 satisfaction at his position, all its advan 
 tages displayed by the country that lay 
 stretched out in the late afternoon light 
 as if t were a map. 
 
 " And how, friend, didst thou first think 
 of coming among us ? " asked Peters. 
 
 The young man turned to him smilingly. 
 
 " Ah, I remember, now that you ask, 
 a dinner in Metz, when His Highness 
 the Duke of Gloucester was the guest of 
 my commandant, the Comte de Broglie j 
 your English prince told a story of the 
 events here that fired my imagination." 
 
 " And yet thou hadst much property 
 and a wife ? how imprudent ! " 
 
 "Ah, Anastasia ! " said monsieur, his 
 face growing earnest. " But, Mr. Peters, 
 you know there is more in this world than 
 one s money, or pleasure, or " 
 
 " Yes, thou art right, friend duty." 
 
 " Yes, duty. But that depends, I sup 
 pose, on how one interprets it." 
 
 u Exactly," said Peters. " Exactly." 
 82
 
 Monsieur de la Fayette 
 
 " I suppose my friend, Sir Henry Clin 
 ton there, is quite as near right as I, 
 although we fight on different sides of the 
 question." And he waved his hand toward 
 the horizon where Philadelphia lay. " I 
 once met him in London at a ball. But 
 if your daughter, Mistress Prudence, goes 
 to-night, I must go in to write the pass. 
 It s a dangerous ride in these unsettled 
 times. Have you considered ? " 
 
 " I prefer to have her there, friend," 
 Peters answered, averting his face, while 
 Monsieur de la Fayette entered the house 
 to the room that had been assigned him. 
 
 No sooner had the door closed than the 
 shutter which he had observed move dur 
 ing his conversation with Peters swung 
 open, and a blue-eyed, blond-haired face 
 showed in the opening. 
 
 " Father, I have heard every word." 
 
 " Get thee ready, Prudence, now, in a 
 hurry." 
 
 " And am I " 
 
 " Thou art to go at once to Sir William 
 83
 
 The Impulsiveness of 
 
 Howe and tell him how our French gentle 
 man is encamped." 
 
 " 1 cannot." 
 
 " Cannot ? " 
 
 " He trusts us." Tears were in the 
 blue eyes, the lips trembled. 
 
 " Thou must go, because thou art safer 
 there. Thou must get word to Sir Wil 
 liam, because our first duty is to the king. 
 Thou must." 
 
 Still Prudence hesitated ; still the man 
 reasoned, acknowledging that he indeed 
 had taken advantage of Monsieur de la 
 Fayette s youthful impulsiveness, and jus 
 tifying himself because in war it is even 
 godly to use unfair means. How does the 
 pretence of godliness cloak many a sel 
 fish purpose ! Ah, but is it not ever a 
 perplexing matter to arrive at the exact 
 right ? 
 
 The man had been accustomed always 
 to control the girl. His was the stronger 
 will. 
 
 Monsieur de la Fayette standing at the 
 84
 
 Monsieur de la Fayette 
 
 door on the hill saw the pretty Quaker 
 maiden riding down the slope with his per 
 mit. He wondered if he had been impru 
 dent. He took it, indeed, in good part 
 when General Poor rated him soundly for 
 the imprudence of that pass. 
 
 And then slowly the May night settled 
 over lowland and hill. 
 
 In Philadelphia the Mischianza was be 
 ing celebrated in honor of Sir William 
 Howe, who just had been superseded by 
 Sir Henry Clinton. 
 
 " Mischianza " was a clever term ar 
 rived at by that witty young gentleman, 
 Captain Andre, who could write a sonnet, 
 a play, lead a minuet, and not hesitate at 
 daring service. 
 
 II 
 
 Among the handsomest young women of 
 this period in Philadelphia was Miss Doro 
 thy Mortimer. I believe Mr. Stuart s 
 picture of her is excellent. It shows a 
 85
 
 The Impulsiveness of 
 
 tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed young woman, 
 with an animated expression and a com 
 plexion of clear pallor, and exquisitely 
 gowned in the mode the least provincial 
 of Philadelphia during the Revolutionary 
 period. The Mortimers were strong loy 
 alists, and were among those Maryland 
 families who left the United States when 
 the affair at Yorktown had confiscated the 
 estates of many of the losing opinion. 
 Miss Mortimer s inclinations were sup 
 posed to be loyal. Yet, in that period 
 when families were divided, it would not 
 have been surprising if she had discovered 
 sympathies for some of the other political 
 complexion. She, indeed, appeared to 
 have many sympathies, as a young dandy, 
 who took her too much from her actions, 
 found out to his cost. 
 
 When the " Mischianza " was ending in 
 
 O 
 
 the great ball at the Wharton s, she shared 
 much of the ardent attention of those fine 
 young officers of Howe s, who were not 
 long from London seasons. In the mock 
 86
 
 Monsieur de la Fayette 
 
 tournament Lord Cathcart s first aide had 
 worn her colors, and it was this young 
 gentleman who let drop the information, 
 as they stood in one corner, that a pretty 
 Quakeress below had just brought Sir 
 William news that the little French gen 
 tleman was encamped on Barren Hill, not 
 eleven miles away. 
 
 " Sir William will have the marquis for 
 dinner day after to-morrow," Lieutenant 
 Fielding repeated. 
 
 " And this girl brought the news ? " 
 Miss Mortimer asked curiously. 
 
 " She rode over from her father s farm 
 with a black servant, I m told. She was 
 brought here not a half-hour ago by her 
 uncle, who thought she could the better 
 describe the marquis s position." 
 
 "I wish I wish I could see her 
 just to see what a girl who would dare to 
 do such a thing can be like," said Miss 
 Mortimer. 
 
 The minuet went on in the next room. 
 Everybody was joyous with the wine of 
 87
 
 The Impulsiveness of 
 
 the dinner and the spirit of festivity. 
 What could have been finer than that 
 occasion ? the festival of the day and 
 earlier evening, the great dining-hall re 
 splendent with plate and Oriental fantasies, 
 where the arrangement of mirrors made 
 the scene more dazzling by the beauty of 
 the women, the splendor of the men ! 
 And now the dancing was at its height. 
 
 " Yes," said Miss Mortimer again, " I 
 would just like to see a girl who would do 
 that." 
 
 Of course she could see her, Lieuten 
 ant Fielding declared. He thought, in 
 deed, he would have given his right arm 
 for her smile of approval. 
 
 " Oh, if you could ! " 
 
 He could, and did. Sir William him 
 self was not averse to doing so simple a 
 favor for a charming young lady. This 
 was his high compliment, this " Mis- 
 chianza ; " he only could be gracious to 
 everybody and when the body chanced 
 to be the beautiful Miss Mortimer?
 
 Monsieur de la Fayette 
 
 " Gad, I m delighted at the chance ! " 
 
 The Quakeress, her servant, and her 
 uncle were in the room below. " A 
 pretty, tired-faced little blond thing," 
 Miss Mortimer decided. Sir William and 
 Lieutenant Fielding stood in the doorway. 
 
 u I was so curious," said the beautiful 
 Miss Mortimer, " to see you who dared to 
 bring the news." 
 
 " I have told Sir William as well as I 
 could," said Prudence, wondering at this 
 beautiful lady, who seemed after the ride 
 over the rough roads a vision out of Para 
 dise. Miss Mortimer smiled graciously, 
 glancing then at Sir William. 
 
 " I would wish you might leave Miss 
 Peters with me just a moment. I want to 
 talk with her privately." 
 
 " Certainly," said Sir William, rather 
 wondering at what Miss Mortimer wished ; 
 still, he was in the spirit of accommodating 
 geniality. The relative asked if Miss 
 Mortimer wanted him and the servant to 
 leave, too. " Why, if you don t mind," 
 89
 
 The Impulsiveness of 
 
 Miss Mortimer said. The little Quaker 
 ess looked her perplexity. 
 
 When the door was shut and they were 
 alone, save for the crashing music of the 
 military bands, Miss Mortimer s smile 
 passed. 
 
 " How could you ? " she asked. 
 
 Prudence began to weep. 
 
 " My father made me." 
 
 " Little fool, had you no spirit of your 
 own ? " 
 
 " I am afraid of him." 
 
 " Yes, I see." 
 
 Prudence fidgeted. The cool, surpris 
 ing contempt in the other s words and eyes 
 seemed but to show her own self-deprecia 
 tion, her detestation of the deed. She 
 could not restrain the sobs. Miss Morti 
 mer went to the door. 
 
 " Sir William," she said, throwing it open, 
 " we have ended our little conversation." 
 
 Sir William entered, wonderingly. The 
 little Quakeress was sobbing as if her 
 heart would break. 
 
 90
 
 Monsieur de la Fayette 
 
 Oh ? " he began. 
 
 " She is tired out, poor child," said Miss 
 Mortimer, calmly. 
 
 " Ah, Mr. Fielding, I m ready to go 
 back to the dance." 
 
 " Too bad the little girl is crying," said 
 Fielding, when they were outside. 
 
 " Too bad," he added, " after all she 
 has done. Through that news Sir Wil 
 liam expects to catch the little marquis 
 like a rat in a trap." 
 
 " Yes, exactly like a rat in a trap," said 
 Miss Mortimer, laughing. " But don t 
 you think women queer ? " 
 
 " Ah, yes, Miss Mortimer ! I never 
 thought about it. Who were you think 
 ing of ? " 
 
 " Oh, of myself." 
 
 " Oh, I say, if to be adorable is to be 
 queer " he began. 
 
 But at the moment Lord Cathcart 
 claimed her. 
 
 Two hours later she sat, in her ball 
 gown still, writing at a little desk. The 
 91
 
 The Impulsiveness of 
 
 dawn lit the room so that she could follow 
 the pen. 
 
 DEAR JIM [it ran], A weak little Quaker 
 thing has just ridden in and told the whole secret 
 of the position. Sir Henry Erskine and General 
 Grant are already on the road to cut off your 
 rear and to occupy the " Swedes Ford." Sir 
 Henry himself goes with four thousand more by 
 the Germantown road. Sir William has boasted 
 he will have the marquis to dinner to-morrow 
 night, and that he will ship with him to London. 
 Look out ! DOROTHY. 
 
 This was all. She arose and looked out 
 of the window over the lawn. The May 
 dawn left her older, faded the beautiful 
 Miss Mortimer ! 
 
 " Is it worse for her or me ? " 
 
 She paused, her hands crossed behind 
 her. 
 
 "But" 
 
 Would they be caught by Sir William 
 like rats in a trap ? 
 
 92
 
 Monsieur de la Fayette 
 
 III 
 
 Monsieur de la Fayette had been busy 
 all that day strengthening his position and 
 rearranging his lines and his scouts. Up 
 at dawn as he had been, he now felt 
 fagged, and so had thrown himself down 
 on his bed at Quaker Peters s, when sud 
 denly his door was thrown open without 
 warning by Captain Jim Trelawney, of 
 Poor s. 
 
 " General ! " cried Trelawney, breath 
 ing hard. 
 
 u Le diable ! " said the general, raising 
 his head from the bed and rubbing his 
 eyes. 
 
 " Your pass to the Quakeress has be 
 trayed us ! " 
 
 " Betrayed us ! " cried the marquis in 
 his turn, now on his feet. 
 
 For answer Trelawney led him to the 
 window. 
 
 " Do you see the scarlet moving 
 yonder ? " 
 
 93
 
 The Impulsiveness of 
 
 " The dragoons we expect," said La 
 Fayette, peering out. 
 
 " So I thought until I had a letter." 
 
 "A letter?" 
 
 " A letter brought by a family servant 
 of my cousin in Philadelphia telling us 
 that the Quakeress you passed has be 
 trayed us." 
 
 " Impossible ! " cried the marquis, and 
 then he paused : " I ve had, I think, 
 Captain Trelawney, a lesson in human 
 nature." 
 
 At the moment there was a step in 
 the hall. Monsieur de la Fayette rushed 
 out, dragging in his host. 
 
 " Villain ! you sent word by your 
 daughter to the British ! " 
 
 " I did," said the man, calmly. 
 
 " You lied to me ! " 
 
 " I lied." 
 
 " And why ? " 
 
 11 Because, friend, I am a British sub 
 ject, as thou art a French one." 
 
 " Peste ! " cried La Fayette. " You 
 94
 
 Monsieur de la Fayette 
 
 made me play the fool ! Arrest him, 
 captain ! " he ordered Trelawney, and 
 then was outside before the church, where 
 he met General Poor and Captain Mc- 
 Lane running toward him. Recollecting 
 himself, his folly, his lack of self-control, 
 he began to smile like a courtier. 
 
 " We are surrounded ! " 
 
 " I know it." 
 
 " They have occupied Swedes Ford. " 
 
 A thousand devils ! had they ? But 
 again, 
 
 " I know." 
 
 " What are we to do ? " 
 
 " Wait ; I will tell you." 
 
 But could he ? He must. He could 
 not endure this after the dismal Canadian 
 failure. But he must smile. Suddenly, 
 as will sometimes happen in moments of 
 great perplexity, a clarity followed. 
 
 "Throw forward false heads of col 
 umns, as if we were going to give 
 battle." 
 
 u There are nine thousand of them ! " 
 95
 
 The Impulsiveness of 
 
 " False heads, I ordered ! as feints. 
 We are to withdraw." 
 
 " But the Swedes Ford is already 
 occupied." 
 
 "I know it," said the marquis; "I 
 know it. I propose to make only a pre 
 tence of giving battle while we withdraw 
 the men by Matson s Ford." 
 
 Matson s Ford, indeed, remained ; they 
 recollected that, regaining their respect 
 for their commander. 
 
 The men were withdrawn, Poor s first, 
 while the enemy waited, deceived by the 
 false heads of the columns. As these false 
 heads began to withdraw, the front lines 
 of the British pushed in on them. Just 
 then Captain McLane s Indians sprang 
 out from their ambush, whooping and so 
 frightening some of the chasseurs, who 
 thought they were devils, that they never 
 stopped running until they reached Phila 
 delphia. The false heads became tails. 
 They were running before the British, 
 who gave them a brisk volley. But the 
 96
 
 Monsieur de la Fayette 
 
 little army was now mostly across the 
 river, drawing in line on the hill there. 
 The British columns, coming together on 
 the abandoned Barren Hill, met but each 
 other. 
 
 That little French fellow had escaped. 
 
 Monsieur de la Fayette, in fact, had no 
 longer to force a smile. 
 
 He had made a fairly good retreat. 
 Before overwhelming numbers he had lost 
 no more than eleven. He laughed to 
 himself as he stood on the hill in the new 
 position. 
 
 Calling his aide, Captain Trelawney, he 
 asked : 
 
 " Well ? " 
 
 " Prettily done, general ! " 
 
 " Mercl ! merci ! Yet, my dear cap 
 tain, that letter of your cousin s came 
 just in time. It was considerate of 
 him " 
 
 " Of her," interrupted the captain. 
 
 " A woman ! " ejaculated Monsieur de 
 la Fayette. 
 
 7 97
 
 The Impulsiveness of 
 
 " A very charming woman, general," 
 said the captain. 
 
 " Ah, I m quite ready to believe that," 
 said the marquis. " But, really, the situa 
 tion is astounding. We are betrayed by 
 one woman and saved by another ! " But, 
 as a Gaul, he soon began to hold this as 
 but one more experience among many. 
 
 Miss Mortimer had a visitor that eve 
 ning in the person of Lieutenant Fielding. 
 
 " And did they catch the marquis ? " 
 
 " No, no, I believe not. The fact is, 
 he got away very, very cunningly. He s 
 rather more of a chap than we thought." 
 
 " Oh, is he ? " said Miss Mortimer, 
 smiling. " And how about some women, 
 pray ? " 
 
 " Some are false. I have Shakespeare s 
 authority." 
 
 " Ah, yes, some, Mr. Fielding. But 
 could anything have been more amusing 
 than the dance last night ? " 
 
 She looked flushed and very good-natured, 
 98
 
 Monsieur de la Fayette 
 
 and Lieutenant Fielding wondered a bit at 
 the reason. Women always furnished the 
 lieutenant a perplexity, in which he cer 
 tainly delighted, or else he never would 
 have indulged in so many experiments. 
 
 99
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 IOI
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 A soldier s a man ; 
 A life s but a span 
 
 Othello. 
 
 His end was so glorious, that I protest not 
 even his mother or his mistress ought to have de 
 plored it, or at any rate wished him alive again. 
 I know it is a hero we speak of 5 and yet I vow I 
 scarce know whether in the last act of his life I 
 admire the result of genius, invention, and daring, 
 or the boldness of a gambler winning surprising 
 odds. THACKERAY, in The Virginians. 
 
 AT QUEBEC, iyth October, 1759. 
 
 SO long it is, my dear Will, since we 
 have had much time for penmanship, 
 that now I am not quite sure how to hold 
 a quill. This is an old sputtering point at 
 the best ; and, between that and an arm 
 just recovering from a musket wound, I 
 think you will have a passably hard time 
 103
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 in deciphering what I am now putting to 
 paper in this wretched, dismantled town. 
 I look out over the wintry plain and the 
 winding river bank where our batteries 
 were. Now men and batteries and battal 
 ions have sailed, all, and we are left alone 
 and dismal a set of ragged heroes in 
 the fortress for which we fought so long 
 and despairingly. Ah, Will, I m sick at 
 heart ! You in Surrey may be happy, or 
 in London at a coffee-house, or at a rout 
 near a powdered face (I swear you are 
 very near it, if it be pretty); but here s 
 only the sorry desolation of war, and dis 
 mal folk, and sour-faced infantrymen, and 
 nothing to do in particular. Some, of 
 course, amuse themselves in the garrison 
 with play there are men who would 
 gamble in heaven or the other place ; 
 but I detest cards almost as much as poor 
 Jim Wolfe, who swore that the one game 
 he could abide was piquet, because his 
 mother played it. (I believe the only time 
 he ever played was with that good woman, 
 104
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 whom he adored in the same degree that 
 he disliked cards.) Dear Jim Wolfe, Will, 
 whom we used to love and quarrel with as 
 boys ; whom we knew so well ; who had 
 so frail a body and so mighty a spirit ; who 
 could madden you with his irritability, and 
 again charm you with the sweetness of his 
 changing temper ; who would not sur 
 render to adverse circumstance ! 
 
 At the last, when all were croaking, Ad 
 miral Saunders said that he must put down 
 the river, for winter was coming on ; and 
 the council declared, with long-drawn, de 
 precatory faces, for abandoning the siege. 
 
 Then poor Jim, our great Jim, General 
 Jim, Will, thrust his hands in his belt, and 
 walked up and down the room, his face 
 pale, his eyes sunk (for he was off a sick 
 bed, and God knows how he could be 
 there at all). " Gentlemen, we ve had 
 bad luck enough. I 11 say nothing of 
 Montmorency, and I have assured Admiral 
 Saunders there that I was in the wrong 
 not he. But, God helping us, I say we
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 must be, we will be on that height ! Oh, 
 I mean it ! " said he, with a kind of quaver 
 in his voice. " At least we 11 have a last 
 shy at the Canadas." 
 
 " And if that be only a shy ? " asked 
 one. 
 
 " Barring the few we shall leave on the 
 Isle-aux-Coudres, all will sail down the 
 river," said the general. He had stopped 
 his saunter then, his fingers still in his belt, 
 and they thought him trembling a little ; 
 till suddenly he turned about this dear, 
 ugly, sickly Jim, that we used to know 
 rather differently (though always ugly) 
 and stalked out of the room. " How does 
 he keep up ? " murmured one. " How do 
 we all keep up ? " said Saunders, looking 
 out of the window, where then a shell, off 
 the Beauport shore, sailed with a long tail 
 of light across the sky. Jack Jervis told 
 me this afterward, whispering, " That man 
 makes me sick ! " 
 
 And we went off together to our duty, 
 for the council was over for the day. 
 1 06
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 That day ! How long it seems gone ! 
 Heaven knows when you may get this 
 letter. Our mail service is not of the best. 
 But the Canadas are England s through 
 Mr. Pitt s strategy. Not the least of the 
 great man s intuitions was choosing our 
 Jim for general. 
 
 The particulars of the next days you 
 know well, Will, by this time : how Mont- 
 morency was abandoned ; how Montcalm 
 and Monsieur Vaudreuil were put in some 
 perplexity by our feints. We were pre 
 paring for departure, and the last attack ; 
 though I, no more than any of us, knew 
 what that was to be. The going up and 
 down the river with the ebb and flow, the 
 apparent descents on Bougainville s forces, 
 these movements perplexed our sailors 
 and soldiers as much as they apparently 
 mystified those Frenchmen, with their 
 painted savages and voyageurs des bois. I 
 was working hard then. You would not 
 have known me, Will. One had little 
 time for sleep. As they say the Marquis 
 107
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 de Montcalm said of himself, we were 
 always " in our boots." Again the gen 
 eral was everywhere, observing, taking 
 account of all that was done. But more 
 was to be done, and what that was we 
 whispered and talked over, Colonel Burton 
 and I, at Point Levi. 
 
 The twelfth, I think, Colonel Burton 
 himself came to me, as I sat over some 
 hard bread and a mug of the poorest beer. 
 (Its taste was delicious, Will.) " To-mor 
 row is the day, Sir Charles," said he, shak 
 ing his great-coat, for it was raining. 
 
 " To-morrow," said I, on my feet. 
 
 " To-night for you, my lad. A boat is 
 waiting off shore to take you to the Por 
 cupine. 
 
 " From the general ? " 
 
 " From the general, Sir Charles. You 
 are relieved here. I am to march down 
 the south shore to a point opposite Anse- 
 de-Foulon." 
 
 " The general is with Captain Jervis, 
 then ? " 
 
 1 08
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 " On the 4 Porcupine, " said the colonel. 
 " Good-night, Sir Charles." 
 
 He paused, rather brusquely, I thought. 
 
 " We have said c good-by several times 
 in the last three months." 
 
 " But there has always been a l good- 
 morning for us," said I. 
 
 " Humph, we are wicked, perhaps. Sev 
 eral better fellows than you or I never said 
 the t good-morning, " answered Burton, 
 shaking his coat again. 
 
 And I was in the " Porcupine s " boat, 
 the oars rising and falling in the black 
 water, the night now and then broken by 
 the artillery. Above on the heights the 
 quiet was singular. T was from below 
 that suddenly a flashing shell might burst 
 over the river. 
 
 " There re twenty-three offered," I 
 heard a petty officer forward say. 
 
 " For what ? " said I, turning. 
 
 " To lead in the enterprise, sir." 
 
 " The enterprise ! " I muttered. 
 
 " It s them that need n t pray, and are 
 109
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 not afraid of hell, sir," said the man. 
 " Twenty-four are wanted. Hark ye, 
 what s that ? " 
 
 But I had no need of listening. Our 
 ears were deafened with the steady roll of 
 guns far down the stream. 
 
 " On the Beauport shore," said the men. 
 
 Did you ever see the blackness of a 
 rainy, dismal night so lit, Will ? Ah, you 
 never did. 
 
 " Admiral Saunders is stirring up the 
 Moosirs, sir," said my acquaintance in 
 the bow. 
 
 But, as it proved, neither Captain Jervis 
 nor the general was on the " Porcupine," 
 where word had been left for us to proceed 
 to Admiral Holmes s ship. It took a good 
 bit of rowing before we came within reach 
 of the " Sutherland," and the air was filled 
 with moist, gunpowdery smells, and deaf 
 ening reports, not alone from below but 
 from above toward Monsieur Bougain 
 ville s position. The Frenchies were kept 
 awake that night, except one Vergor at 
 no
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 Anse-de-Foulon, who was a poltroon ; 
 but of him later. 
 
 A little midshipman saluted, and told 
 me the general waited me below. As I 
 stepped into the cabin the sudden glare of 
 candles blinded me. Then I saw Jim, our 
 old Jim, and Jack Jervis. They were 
 alone, and very quiet. Jim s face was sunk 
 in his hands. When he looked up I saw 
 his eyes were strangely bright, like those 
 of one with fever, while his cheeks kept 
 their pallor. 
 
 " You re wet, Charlie," Jack Jervis said. 
 
 " Rain s as comfortable as powder," 
 said I, throwing aside my top-coat. 
 
 " Do you wish you were in England, 
 Charlie ? I almost wish it myself! " said 
 our friend the general. 
 
 " T is a pleasant thought," said I, softly ; 
 " yes, pleasant." 
 
 " Back in the old place think of it ! " 
 The noise outside kept up apace. " Out 
 of the infernal hubbub," he said wearily. 
 But his tone changed. 
 in
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 " Jervis and you, Charlie, are good 
 chaps good friends when you are friends. 
 I swear you will have another career some 
 day than the army. I believe you re here 
 now because old John Beechwood thought 
 I d look after you a bit." 
 
 " Out of the spirit of adventure, Jim," 
 said I. 
 
 " But what has it led to ? Only to dis 
 grace, defeat. Your uncle chose a sorry 
 fellow to be guardian." 
 
 " Your pains have reached to your brain, 
 Jim," Jervis said, with a hand on his 
 shoulder. 
 
 " Likely ! Likely ! I swear at my body 
 sometimes. I d better swear at my fol 
 lies ; though I believe those bitter days at 
 Iverness counted for as much against me. 
 I was a fool often." 
 
 But when we tried to interrupt him, he 
 laughed, his humor changing, as it did so 
 wondrous fast at times, so that it took 
 ready wit to follow him. 
 
 " Oh, don t bother. I have a plan. 
 
 112
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 There s a slanting path up Anse-de- 
 Foulon." 
 
 " And twenty-four go forward. Let me 
 be leader," I cried, catching at his spirit. 
 
 " But you must not. I intended 
 ordering you down to Admiral Saunders, 
 Charlie." 
 
 " Go I must, Jim ! You must let me," 
 I cried. " Let me have my share of the 
 glory " 
 
 " Or the ignominy " 
 
 " Or the disgrace, with you, Jim." 
 
 " But how can I ? Did not your uncle, 
 that gruff old John Beechwood, do me 
 many a favor ? Shall I put his nephew 
 in the way of dying or of a heroism, 
 maybe ? " 
 
 " For that reason let me go with you," 
 I said again. " Oh, Jim, don t deny me. 
 Let me have command of the twenty-four. 
 And let my men follow. I may not be 
 so good an officer. I may be younger 
 than Murray, or Townsend, or Monckton ! 
 But " 
 
 8 113
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 " You shall have it, Charlie. Yes, man, 
 you shall have it. I 11 order yours from 
 the south shore with Burton. If I succeed 
 you 11 thank me. If I fail again you can 
 no more than share the dishonor." 
 
 " I wish I were in it," said Jervis. " I 
 wish " 
 
 " You must do something else for me, 
 Jack," our Jim said. Then I saw he had 
 something in his hand ; and when he turned 
 it to the light it proved to be a little por 
 trait painted very neatly, Will of Kate 
 Lowther. There, in the cabin of the ad 
 miral s ship, on the stormy, tumultuous 
 night, was your cousin s miniature. And, 
 indeed, it had been in all that long siege, 
 because our ugly, dear general had worn 
 it always. 
 
 " Give it her, Jack. That s all." 
 
 " But you will yourself." 
 
 " The chance is against me." 
 
 " Shall I say anything beyond ? " said 
 Jervis. He was rather clumsy that night, 
 I think because he liked our friend, though 
 114
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 we had been through so much, and to 
 gether had laughed at death, and seen it at 
 its worst when some poor devil was cry 
 ing in agony of a wound a thousand times 
 keener than the direct thrust. 
 
 " Oh, she will know," said Jim. " She 
 is one of the women who understand." 
 
 Nor did we smile at this lover-like re 
 mark, as we might have in a lighter mood, 
 when at home, or in camp, some one passed 
 the jesting story. So with unchallenged 
 and unusual sentiment he continued : 
 
 " I never believed in women till that 
 time at Bath, and there s no woman 
 like her, Jack." 
 
 " I will keep it till you ask for it, Jim." 
 
 " Till I ask for it ! Why, sir, I don t 
 believe I could drag myself back to Eng 
 land with this poor old body, should we 
 get through should we " 
 
 He turned to us both then. 
 
 " You shall lead the twenty-four, 
 Charlie, up the slope alone. Good-bye, 
 Jack." 
 
 "5
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 A knock came at the door. " Major 
 Stobo," said the aide-de-camp. 
 
 " Wait," the general said to me. " Ask 
 General Monckton and Admiral Holmes 
 to come below." These entered directly, 
 not hiding entirely their distrust of the 
 leader s despairing plan. He told them I 
 had asked to lead the volunteers, and that 
 my men should follow with Colonel Bur 
 ton, for, he was pleased to say, my past 
 service deserved this post. Will, he had 
 ever a prejudice in a friend s favor. 
 
 The details you may know : how we 
 understood a provision convoy was to be 
 sent by Bougainville, and how in the dark 
 ness we swung stilly down stream, I in 
 the foremost boat, nervous and not quite 
 myself, he at my side. Below, the guns of 
 Saunders still sounded, but about was only 
 the dip of oars. 
 
 If Bougainville s men noted, they doubt 
 less thought it the usual feigning ; so many 
 times had they seen our boats go up and 
 down with ebb and flow. Our general 
 116
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 was very still, but I heard his voice mutter 
 ing something, I think, of Gray, the poet : 
 
 " The paths of glory lead but to the grave." 
 
 As boys, we should have laughed at him; 
 but in earnest danger there s incongruity 
 in the farcical, though I have known the 
 contrary. 
 
 " I wish I could have written such a line," 
 said he. 
 
 I might have told him he could write a 
 better; but one thought not of wit or dis 
 cussion then. Our general talked his 
 verse, as he was so earnest a soul, Will 
 so changeable in means, and yet so stead 
 fast at his main end; all the apparent 
 changes were only to the set purpose. 
 He would not be defeated. And at last 
 he was taking what seemed simply the 
 fool s chance. And we were eager to 
 follow him even those among us (not I, 
 Will, you know) who, because he was not 
 of noble birth, disliked to serve him who 
 had won his own distinction. 
 117
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 At the left, the dark cliffs enveloped the 
 enterprise with added gloom. The tumult 
 from the Beauport shore far below quieted, 
 when suddenly a hoarse voice cried : 
 
 " Qui vive ? " 
 
 " France ! " I answered, in the tongue 
 you and I acquired at the Embassy in Paris, 
 Will. 
 
 " A quel Regiment ? " 
 
 " De la Reine ! " I cried again. 
 
 We held our very breaths, for suppos 
 ing the provision convoy, told of by the 
 deserters, had passed ! But chance (God 
 knows no chance, as the clergy say) fa 
 vored. Bougainville, though we did not 
 know this till the events long after, had 
 countermanded his order, but had not sent 
 notice long shore. 
 
 " They are deceived," whispered Colonel 
 Fraser at my elbow. The general him 
 self did not stir, for I stood close by him ; 
 when suddenly, with terrible distinctness, 
 another challenge rang out from the 
 heights : 
 
 118
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 " Qui vive ? " 
 
 For an instant the tongue clave to the 
 roof of my mouth ; and then, in the 
 accent you used to compliment, Will, I 
 said again : 
 
 " France; de la Reine." In louder tone 
 I cried to that challenger to hold his 
 tongue. " Pour le Roi," the ship " Hun 
 ter " hung close mid-stream. Would they 
 believe ? Can you imagine, Will, how the 
 oars strained in the stillness ? But there 
 was only the soughing water, and the pelt 
 ing rain that froze on the cheeks. Around 
 Anse-de-Foulon the boats pulled, on and 
 on. Again we heard Saunders s batteries ; 
 and firing behind, farther up. Our boat 
 grated on the pebbles, and the general and 
 I leapt to the shore, tumbling and slipping 
 over the icy stones. Above, far above the 
 head-land, were scattered lights. 
 
 For a moment I pressed Jim s hand, 
 
 while the volunteers crowded at my heels. 
 
 " Up, every man as he may," I said, I 
 
 think ; and I was pulling myself up the 
 
 119
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 slippery precipice, catching the bushes, 
 sliding back, and crawling forward. I 
 could have sworn I was hours in that steep 
 way, though really I suppose the time could 
 not have been longer than a quarter hour. 
 At last the long climb ended, and I was 
 breathless in a level space, surrounded by 
 the little band, every man catching a gasp 
 ing breath. Before I, indeed, could say a 
 word, a half dozen sprang forward toward 
 a cluster of tents, where the twinkling 
 lights were. On the height a darkish dawn 
 began to declare itself. Running with 
 my men we heard cries before, saw some 
 springing from the tents. One, in a long 
 white night-robe, I pricked in the heel 
 with a pistol shot, the very Captain 
 Vergor, as I found from his broken ex 
 planation. My men came struggling with 
 two others, caught half-dressed and rub 
 bing their heavy eyes. " You slept too 
 well, captain," said I to the prisoner. 
 
 " You are ze vakeful ones," spoke this 
 little dark trembling fellow. The rain 
 120
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 was now in torrents ; but the dawn already 
 showed the files of red coats forming 
 behind ; and there was our Jim, Will 
 his feebleness all gone. 
 
 " Quick ! We must stop that ! " he 
 said, pointing to a height where firing had 
 begun. " It s on our boats." That, my 
 dear Will, the battery at Samos Point, a 
 score of us silenced. 
 
 The rain was pelting, I have said ; but 
 no man minded the wetting of the dismal, 
 hopeful morning. Not an enemy was now 
 in sight since the battery at Samos had 
 been choked. Company after company 
 filed up the narrow path to the height. 
 Three small pieces, drawn up over many 
 obstacles, formed our artillery. The gen 
 eral paced up and down, erect, pale, wet, 
 the keen, alert leader. We, the followers, 
 felt repaid for all those months of ineffec 
 tual effort and inaction, for now we should 
 achieve something. Yet we were in a 
 most critical position. Bougainville was 
 behind ; Quebec before. Everywhere, not- 
 121
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 ing every company, exchanging a word 
 with some little officer, was the general. 
 
 Yet mostly he was silent, looking over 
 his ground ; and at last we knew that 
 among the bushes and the cornhills of the 
 plain between the St. Charles and the 
 St. Lawrence our line was to be made. 
 Though Colonel Burton and the rest of 
 Webb s formed the reserve, the general 
 placed me with Monckton and Murray in 
 the van. The place we had so struggled 
 for was not a mile away ; but a little ridge 
 (these Canadians called it the Buttes a 
 Neveti) intervened. I was arranging my 
 men when a white plume appeared above 
 this line ; a startled cry, a " Vive le roi ! " 
 We blazed away, and saw their heels over 
 the slope, while the Highland slogan fol 
 lowed as glibly as their own facile tongues 
 and as easily as their nimble legs. 
 
 So Monsieur Guienne s frightened de 
 tachment carried the news, I suppose, to 
 Monsieur Ramsey in the town, and to 
 Monsieur Vaudreuil and the marquis. We 
 122
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 had some little firing in the rear from 
 Bougainville, and it fell still again. In 
 all, some forty-eight hundred stood on 
 that highland against all the Canadas. 
 If they had known, how easily they 
 might have cut us off. But they did not 
 suspect. They could not understand that 
 the general so dared fate. And his cool 
 presumption won. It s difficult sometimes 
 to separate foolhardiness from designing 
 bravery. 
 
 I think, dear Wil 1 , his ardor animated 
 every man of us. Once I had word of him 
 in the wait, while we stood challenged. 
 
 " I am sorry you re here, Charlie," said 
 he in the tones of our old days ; " for it s 
 death." 
 
 " Or glory," said I, almost repeating 
 our words in the cabin of the " Suther 
 land." 
 
 " Glory s a phrase," said Jim. " It 
 brings it to us to do as well as you." 
 
 " But they all have done well," said I. 
 " Even you, Jim ! " 
 
 123
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 " Humph ! " said he, smiling when 
 some duty interrupted. 
 
 And how could they help it in such a 
 crisis, when their nerves were stretched to 
 highest tension ? Men are not cowards 
 when nerves tingle. 
 
 But all this you know, Will ; how every 
 man of us, down to a gunner, waited a 
 hard fight, and death perhaps. Now the 
 great marquis for great he was, Will, 
 though a Frenchman decided to charge 
 alone. It seemed as if God in heaven 
 watched us that day, and granted our 
 leader the guerdon of his daring. 
 
 From the bushes, from the ground, were 
 puffs of smoke, savages, and voyageurs 
 des bois, and white uniformed skirmishers. 
 The little cannon answered ; but we stood 
 still, firm and composed, waiting, wait 
 ing. 
 
 I saw far off a man on a dark bay 
 
 horse, brandishing a sword, his wide 
 
 sleeves flapping in the wind. The clouds 
 
 parted, the strong light falling on him ; 
 
 124
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 and t was dark again, with the rain 
 in our faces. " Montcalm," whispered 
 one. 
 
 Our skirmishers were thrown before, 
 behind ; the light infantry called forward. 
 Still we stood immovable in the van. 
 We heard cries and musketry to the right 
 and left. To the ground we fell (it s long 
 after Braddock s, Will). Our hard-earned 
 field-pieces did their work. A captain 
 one Tom Terwilliger, whom you knew, 
 Will rolled over on my right. And 
 over the ridge we saw the enemy coming, 
 the Canadians on the left, the regulars in 
 the middle. On they strode, shouting, 
 gesticulating, as the French way is. Cap 
 tain Terwilliger groaned. I was too ex 
 cited to notice him till, suddenly, I saw 
 the general kneeling by his side, and feel 
 ing his pulse as if he were some dear 
 friend, and saying gently : 
 
 " I m sorry, captain, sorry we 11 
 have you easier directly. Bravely, cap 
 tain, you have won promotion." He 
 125
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 turned to me, " Tell Monckton to re 
 member that, should I fail." 
 
 " Thank ye, sir," gasped poor Ter- 
 williger. " I m sorry that devilish bullet 
 knocked me." 
 
 They appeared to stumble over each 
 other, and from my distance I believe I 
 could distinguish how each called on and 
 swore by his particular saint. A Cana 
 dian and a white coat would rise out of 
 the melee, the Canadian firing, falling to 
 the ground to reload ; those behind tum 
 bling over him with more invocations to the 
 saints to curse obstructions, and us in par 
 ticular. 
 
 " Forward ! " was the word to us. 
 
 " Halt ! " 
 
 Perfectly still we stood, the disordered 
 French line almost upon us. They were 
 at our musket-tips when the order came. 
 For an instant I was deaf, Will ; the roar 
 was like the explosion from a magazine; 
 and when the smoke cleared God save 
 me from ever seeing a sight more horrid ! 
 126
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 Body was piled on body. Men cursed and 
 struggled. In a manlier tone we returned 
 
 DO 
 
 their cries, the Highlander outyelling us 
 all : " England ! " " God save the king ! " 
 On we bore, on and on, the line behind 
 pushing us as if we had wished to lag. 
 Excitement carried us in a kind of frenzy. 
 Men fought hand-to-hand, and fell to 
 rise again, and fight. 
 
 In some way I found myself in a clear 
 space I know not how I came there. 
 I tried to raise my right arm once, but for 
 the first time in this life it refused the 
 order. My writing will show that musket 
 ball, I think, Will, if nothing else. But 
 then I did n t feel it or care at all. I still 
 ran till I found myself almost alone, away 
 from the crowd, and stumbling across one 
 sitting on the ground. " The general ! " 
 called Lieutenant Brown of the Grenadiers. 
 " Look out, man, the general has fallen, 
 and ye 11 run him down." " Jim," I said 
 then, coming to my senses. Four others 
 
 127
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 were about him. I blessed the chance 
 bringing me there. 
 
 " Lift him up, you fools ! " I cried. For 
 the first time the arm gave a horrible 
 twitch, as I kneeled toward him, who ap 
 peared so spent. 
 
 " It s all over with me. Look to the 
 enemy ! " 
 
 "They are looked to, sir," said Brown, 
 who, glancing up, shaded his eyes with his 
 hand ; and, forgetting all, broke into a cry : 
 
 " God, how they run ! " 
 
 As gently as we could we lifted the leader 
 in our arms ; but this hurt him, and almost 
 reverently we placed him on the ground 
 again. Then as men may with ebbing vi 
 tality, he raised his head convulsively his 
 eyes quite keen and sparkling. 
 
 " Who run ? " 
 
 " The enemy, sir." 
 
 " Quick ! " cried Jim, " tell Colonel 
 Burton to march Webb s down to the 
 Charles Bridge." 
 
 " Go ! " I whispered to the lieutenant of 
 128
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 the Grenadiers. I would not leave him 
 then. Jim s eyes seem to comprehend 
 me. 
 
 " And you, my Charlie ? Are ye quite 
 alive?" 
 
 " As alive as you, Jim. Ah, you must 
 not be hurt ! " 
 
 " But hurt I am. You 11 see Kate 
 Lowther ? " 
 
 " Yes, Jim." 
 
 " Oh, it was Jervis who was to do that 
 favor instead. You re here, Charlie ; you 
 would be here and they run ! " 
 
 " They run." 
 
 " God be praised It s over ! " 
 
 For a moment he lay quite still, and not 
 many moments after, " it was well with 
 him," as some Latin or Greek poet I 
 swear I can t remember which we read 
 it when we were boys said of the dead. 
 
 Of course you expected so much of him, 
 
 and knew him better, as the dearest fellow. 
 
 If faults he had many, we understood these 
 
 to like them, because they were Jim s. 
 
 9 129
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 You, as well as I, knew the dull, uncon 
 querable perseverance which would not 
 yield, however the world went. On a 
 little thread of chance he hung his last 
 hope, and won glory for England, and 
 for himself some talk at home, and 
 a monument. 
 
 The rest you know. The marquis, too, 
 was dead. We marched at last into his 
 poor broken strong place, and here Mur 
 ray decided that I should remain. And 
 here I am, rather sad, with a bad right 
 arm, and shattered health, and a serious 
 attack of ennui. When I think of Eng 
 land so far away, sometimes I m heart 
 sick. I think of you in the minuet, and 
 I see all of your life. I swear I can hear 
 Molly s voice, and feel Ajax s cold nose 
 against my fingers and see his dumb, 
 dog s eyes. (Perhaps he is dead by this 
 time.) But I think you have had enough 
 of this, when you may get it in the dear 
 old house. You will have no need to 
 think of poor glorious Jim. The world 
 130
 
 The Extreme Edge of Hazard 
 
 thinks of him now. Ah, if he only knew ! 
 I think he might be repaid for all his disap 
 pointments. But he dared, he won ; and 
 is no longer conscious of what he won. 
 
 It s snowing outside. An icy wind 
 blows up from the river. We find it 
 lonely enough, and cold enough. But I 
 suppose we should not care for these things 
 we have won the Canadas ! Yet I don t 
 believe we think so much of having done 
 that as you. We wish we had some better 
 beef and sweeter beer, and that we could 
 see some people across the seas. 
 
 My remembrance to your cousins, the 
 Lowthers ; and with love to you and y rs, 
 
 I am 
 
 Y rs affec ly and ob ntly, 
 
 CHARLES.
 
 The Decoy Despatch
 
 The Decoy Despatch 
 
 I CAN remember it so well that the 
 whole scene is before me as vividly as 
 if it were now, and I can go over my own 
 questionings as the matter was put. It 
 was, indeed, the Jersey Prison-ship, the 
 Sugar House, or this. It was to be tied, 
 when I, who always had been, again might 
 be free. And, more, I should gain some 
 comfort of riches, when I and mine always 
 had slaved to poverty. Around me in the 
 place I had left was filth, scurvy ; and 
 now, as Ratham put it, I could be done 
 with this and be free to go as I wished. 
 
 " Why, man, it s as easy for you as 
 walking. Do you suppose I should hesi 
 tate ? Not I." 
 
 And he gave me from under his beetling 
 brows a smile of good-will that I knew was 
 35
 
 The Decoy Despatch 
 
 but cunning show ; for it was only his eyes 
 that smiled, his face fixed. 
 
 " It may be easy for you," said I, bit 
 terly. " You are of the other side." 
 
 " Yes, frankly," said he, " I am for the 
 king, and I should not be asking you this 
 if I were not. Yet " 
 
 " Yet ? " said I, grasping at any 
 excuse. 
 
 " I am a man of property ; you, abomi 
 nably poor. If I were in your place I 
 would think twice, for it means an hun 
 dred pounds. An hundred pounds is not 
 to be had easily in peace or war." 
 
 " No," said I, reflecting. With that 
 hundred pounds I might ask Peggy. What, 
 after all, was all this question to me per 
 sonally ? I was sergeant, but the pay was 
 poor; had no particular prospect, which 
 ever side won, for I ever had small wit at 
 trading or saving. And I might with 
 that hundred pounds I might start a 
 " public " somewhere, and I might have the 
 reason for asking Peggy ; and then, be- 
 136
 
 The Decoy Despatch 
 
 sides, it meant freedom. I, who liked the 
 woods and fields, could not bear being 
 cooped. Why should n t I take the 
 chance ? 
 
 " Why should n t you ? " asked Ratham, 
 reading my thought. 
 
 Ah, why should n t I ? If I were rich 
 or influential I should be exchanged, but 
 as it was I might rot. But could I do this 
 thing ? My friends were with Congress. 
 
 " Equally your friends are loyalists," 
 Ratham said, again reading me, although I 
 had said nothing. 
 
 Yes, that might be. Half of New 
 York was Tory, and I had been brought 
 up on Ratham s land. I knew him, but 
 not as well as he me, his cleverness ; 
 how hard he ever had been with his 
 tenants ; how strong he was ; how deter 
 mined for the king. 
 
 " Well, shall I take you to Sir William ? " 
 
 The chance beckoned. 
 
 " Yes," said I, sullenly ; and then 
 gladly, "I ll take it."
 
 The Decoy Despatch 
 
 " But what," said he, eying me curi 
 ously, " if you betray us ? " 
 
 " I have given my word," said I "to 
 the devil." 
 
 "Oh, I beg your pardon, Philip," said 
 he. " I know you." Yes, he knew me, 
 heart and soul, as he knew all men. 
 " Come ; we 11 to Sir William." 
 
 And I followed him out on to Broad 
 way, where the sun was bright and the 
 street gay with the crowd. Only the 
 blackened ruins of Trinity showed what 
 war had done. These gay London and 
 New York gentlemen, these Tory ladies, 
 were as contemptuous of the war with 
 their festivities as if the land were not 
 suffering. 
 
 And I breathed the air, glad of my 
 decision. I should have money, be free. 
 And the service was easy but to carry a 
 decoy despatch ! And what, indeed, did 
 it matter ? Must not every man aid him 
 self? Is not the first rule self-preser 
 vation ? It s a sorry struggle with the 
 138
 
 The Decoy Despatch 
 
 world at the best ; a sorry fight to keep 
 one s probity. Everything is fair when 
 the world is against one. 
 
 We found Sir William writing. I felt 
 awe of the great man, who looked me over 
 as he might, in a good humor, a soldier in 
 the ranks. 
 
 " This is our friend ? " he asked. " He 
 is trustworthy ? " 
 
 At this I liked not my mission so 
 well ; to be trustworthy to them meant be 
 ing untrustworthy to the others. There 
 in is the whole complex definition of 
 untrustworthiness. 
 
 " Listen," said the general, as if he 
 were convinced : " this letter is addressed 
 to General Burgoyne. It reads : c If, 
 according to my expectations, we may 
 succeed in getting possession of Boston, I 
 shall without loss of time proceed to co 
 operate with you in the defeat of the rebel 
 army opposed to you. Clinton is suffi 
 ciently strong to amuse Washington and 
 Putnam. I am now making demonstra-
 
 The Decoy Despatch 
 
 tions to the southward, which, I think, 
 will make the full effect in carrying our 
 plan into execution. I read it, because 
 you would better know its purport, which is 
 to deceive the rebels as to our plans. It s 
 to fall into General Putnam s hands do 
 you understand ? " 
 
 " He does, your excellency," Ratham 
 said for me, when I answered, like a poll- 
 parrot, " I understand." Sir William 
 watched me a moment, and then, with a 
 gesture, dismissed us. 
 
 " Here s the money," said Ratham out 
 side, counting a hundred sovereigns bear 
 ing King George s likeness. " You never 
 will earn money so easily." I looked at the 
 gold and at him, whom I loathed. 
 
 Yet with the glitter of those pieces my 
 last compunction vanished. What is there 
 about gold that the yellow of it burns into 
 the brain ? I suddenly held Ratham not in 
 such poor esteem. 
 
 And then I was started, thinking of 
 these things. 
 
 140
 
 The Decoy Despatch 
 
 And exactly according to programme, 
 I fell in with General Putnam s outposts, 
 when I was taken to the general himself, 
 who chanced to be at that point. He had 
 known me. Now I thought he would 
 read my soul. 
 
 " You are turned honest, Philip ? " 
 
 " I always was," said I, bridling ; and 
 carrying on the show of the thing, I 
 added, " but your excellency knows that 
 I could not but hand you that despatch 
 although I was bribed to the con 
 trary." 
 
 " You are one of the men who, God 
 helping, will win this fight," the general 
 continued. I could not face his simple 
 directness. He added, " I 11 send it to 
 General Washington." 
 
 Outside, where I went as free as the air, 
 I sickened of it all. And then, in the 
 village, I saw Peggy. What she was like 
 I can t say, save that she was, and is, the 
 girl for me. 
 
 When we had talked, I boasted : 
 141
 
 The Decoy Despatch 
 
 " I have money, Peggy. Now we can 
 be married." 
 
 " How did you come by it, John 
 Philip ? " 
 
 I could lie glibly before General 
 Putnam, but not before her eyes. I 
 stammered. 
 
 u Had it anything to do with the 
 despatch?" said she, "anything at all, 
 John Philip?" 
 
 " Yes," said I ; and I could not lie to 
 her, strangely enough. " Yes." 
 
 She drew back with horror on her face. 
 " Talk not to me spy ! " said she. 
 
 I thought she called to me, but I could 
 not turn back. 
 
 Spy ! The word rang in my ears. 
 Yes, I was, plainly enough. She was 
 right. And suddenly I detested myself. 
 I was traitor. I could not help being 
 traitor to one or the other. But which ? 
 I felt in my pocket, where the sovereigns 
 jingled. One I took and flung far away 
 from me. And then I paused, laughing. 
 142
 
 The Decoy Despatch 
 
 T was equally sin to throw away good 
 money. I searched in the road for the 
 piece. But it had gone, and then I sighed 
 at my impulsiveness. 
 
 But there were other considerations than 
 these of money in this affair. Clearly 
 there was that of honor, which I had lost, 
 whichever way I might turn. There was 
 only one way, after all I could not dis 
 guise it and that was the way Peggy s 
 scorn made imperative. 
 
 " I wish to see the general," I asked 
 of General Putnam s orderly, and in a 
 few minutes I was again in the general s 
 presence. He regarded me with sur 
 prise, I think, which I understood only too 
 well. 
 
 " What is it, Philip ? " 
 
 " The letter ? " said I, faintly. 
 
 "It s gone to General Washington," 
 said he, his voice not unkind. 
 
 " General," said I, " that was a decoy 
 letter." 
 
 " What d ye mean, man ? "
 
 The Decoy Despatch 
 
 " It was intended to fall into your 
 hands." 
 
 He looked as if he thought me mad. 
 
 " D ye know that you risk death as a 
 spy ? " 
 
 " I know it," said I, and then I fumbled 
 in my pocket and counted out the sover 
 eigns. " These are properly yours. They 
 gave them to me to carry the letter and to 
 be arrested with it. One I threw away." 
 For a moment he paused ; for a moment 
 looked me over from head to toe. " It s 
 this," said I, answering his look in kind, 
 and rinding I could face him unflinchingly : 
 " I m a poor man, General Putnam. The 
 money and freedom were temptation. 
 I have been prisoner with them so long I 
 wished freedom. I was tempted thought 
 I could carry this thing through. But I 
 can t, General Putnam; I have told you 
 everything." 
 
 I wondered what he would do then. I 
 knew he was a decided man, to whom I 
 could talk more easily than to some of the 
 144
 
 The Decoy Despatch 
 
 fine gentlemen in our service. I don t be 
 lieve I should have had the heart before 
 another; but to him it was different. He 
 was more of our Northern farmer class 
 could feel my temptation. 
 
 Now he did a queer thing, for he 
 advanced after looking me over narrowly. 
 
 " Philip, you have been tempted. I 
 understand. I suspected the color of the 
 despatch, which on its face was unreason 
 able. But I shall have to have you put 
 under arrest. I m sorry, man. But I 
 honor your confession, your attempt to 
 atone for what you have done." 
 
 I bowed my head, for I could not an 
 swer. Again I was under arrest, and for 
 the moment I regretted it, and then regret 
 passed. The girl who had scorned me 
 would hear of this. She would know that 
 at least I had made a sacrifice to atone for 
 what I had done. And then it seemed 
 that my conscience approved. I had been 
 unfaithful to my employer, Ratham ; but 
 I had turned over the money, my price, to 
 10 145
 
 The Decoy Despatch 
 
 General Putnam. The general had not 
 mentioned simply had taken it. I sup 
 posed that it was contraband of war on my 
 confession. 
 
 And here was I prisoner again, on my 
 own confession, with death after the court 
 martial before me. I could not imagine it 
 turning out differently. 
 
 And so six days passed, and on the 
 morning of the seventh the sentinel came. 
 
 " You are free, Philip." 
 
 " Free ? " 
 
 " Yes," said he ; " here s the order. 
 The court martial decided your confession 
 made up for your deed. You are dismissed 
 the service." 
 
 I could not understand it as I stumbled 
 out. Free ! Could it be ? But dismissed 
 the service in dishonor ! 
 
 Outside was the girl Peggy. Would she 
 turn from me ? 
 
 " John Philip," said she, and her voice 
 was timid. 
 
 " Can you speak to me ? " said I. 
 146
 
 The Decoy Despatch 
 
 Yes, John Philip." 
 
 " You forgive me ? " 
 
 But I had no need to ask. 
 
 " And General Putnam gave me this 
 for you." 
 
 And she showed me a bag with the 
 sovereigns Ratham had obtained for me 
 from Sir William Howe lacking the 
 one. 
 
 " How did you know "I began. 
 
 " I went to General Putnam," said she. 
 
 " You pleaded for me ? " 
 
 " Yes," said she, softly. 
 
 And then I took the bag of gold. 
 
 " I must return this to Ratham. I 
 have not earned it." 
 
 " I like to hear you say that, John 
 Philip." 
 
 " Oh, if I were not a dishonored man ! " 
 
 "You have won back honor, John 
 Philip and me, if you will have me." 
 
 " But I cannot "I began. 
 
 " You would not leave me unhappy ? * 
 she began. 
 
 147
 
 The Decoy Despatch 
 
 But I sent the gold to Ratham. The 
 piece that was lacking I borrowed. 
 
 After a time came his answer : u Fool, 
 you must have had a higher price." 
 
 I did, I am free to confess, Peggy > 
 and some approval of my own conscience, 
 on a little farm in the Catskills. But 
 among men I am known still as " Philip 
 the spy," for such a thing you cannot live 
 down. 
 
 But I have found that some self-approval 
 and the approval of those you hold dearest 
 are more than the world s. Still I was 
 cowardly. My repute has been hard for 
 her. For her I was selfish. And I 
 believe now I have been punished, because 
 it was really not so much my wish for 
 self-approval that led to my confession as 
 the wish for her. 
 
 And it s for my children, too, to bear. 
 I wonder how God s way is ? Yet I know 
 I have not earned peace, because I should 
 have borne my sin alone. 
 
 148
 
 The Pretty Wit of 
 Captain Paul Jones 
 
 149
 
 The Pretty Wit of Captain Paul 
 Jones 
 
 MANY things are told of that redoubt 
 able adventurer Paul Jones whom 
 I knew well to concede him, with Mr. 
 Jefferson and Dr. Franklin, the most su 
 preme merit as a man of resource. 
 
 Made as he was with the tireless spirit 
 of effort, it was to be expected that he 
 should end as he did, disappointed in his 
 career. I know of nothing sadder, more 
 tragical, than the end of that poor cheva 
 lier of the Order of Merit of Louis XVI. , 
 who had been a most doughty captain in 
 our navy, and an admiral among the Rus 
 sians, where political intrigue obscured his 
 ability, dying as he did in Paris in 1792. 
 I like to think of him better as I knew 
 him in the fame that the victory of the " Bon 
 Homme Richard " over the " Serapis " had
 
 The Pretty Wit of 
 
 secured him, when he took on rather 
 the manner of a beau, assumed fine airs, 
 sported the sword the king had given him, 
 was petted by the ladies, even by Marie 
 Antoinette, then in the fine heyday of 
 her gayety before her sad end ; I mean 
 the time when he had his celebrated affair 
 with la Comtesse de Bourbon, and with 
 Madame Thellison. 
 
 For this little swarthy fellow, with his 
 peering eye, his boasting over the greatness 
 of the republic he served so well, was ever 
 the admirer of a petticoat when its wearer 
 was fair. I am told he had several duels 
 on his hands on that account, of one of 
 which and its mysterious cause Dr. Frank 
 lin himself has preserved the account. 
 
 But there is another, one between 
 himself and one of the fairest, cleverest, 
 most charming and dangerous women of 
 the court at Versailles, which I have 
 never seen recorded, and which I will put 
 down as I had it myself from the great 
 captain s lips. 
 
 15*
 
 Captain Paul Jones 
 
 The lady was la Comtesse Hortense Le 
 Fevre, a rich young widow, and who, be 
 sides Captain Paul, had many aspirants to 
 her favor, among others Lord Whittlesey, 
 of the English foreign office. In the end 
 she became, as you will remember, the 
 Countess of Whittlesey, the mother of the 
 present earl (1813). 
 
 Now, at that time, the English were 
 piqued at Captain Jones, would not allow 
 him any merits excepting of the Captain 
 Kidd order, and dearly wished to catch 
 him that they might swing him from a 
 yard-arm. 
 
 Well, Captain Jones, just then idle, 
 and because he was a man who must have 
 some activity, even if it were playing with 
 the fire of the devil, found time for many 
 affairs, as I have said. Among others he 
 conceived the passion for Madame Le 
 Fevre. She was of medium height, fair, 
 plump, with the most bewitching lips, and 
 enticing gray eyes, always exquisitely gowned 
 among Marie Antoinette s ladies, always 
 153
 
 The Pretty Wit of 
 
 most proficient at the affected simplicity 
 that played about The Little Trianon. 
 
 And behold our swarthy American cap 
 tain, the great son of a Scotch gardener, 
 sighing for her, until all the court noticed 
 it, and made sport of him, and called him 
 Madame la Comtesse s " Poor Paul." 
 And madame herself liked it all, counting 
 him but one more victim. But she played 
 him off, as she did many other gentlemen, 
 French, Italian, Germans, and Russians, 
 who wrote verses to her and called her the 
 fair cruel cold Le Fevre after the fashion 
 of that day, when the sentimentality, as 
 Monsieur Rousseau so well expressed it, 
 but hid the horrid seriousness of the time 
 under this veneer all "out of joint." 
 
 She smiled, as I say, on all ; had no favor 
 ite ; flirted and encouraged just enough 
 without suffering scandal to touch her 
 skirts. And in the mean time, though no 
 one knew it, she had become secretly 
 plighted to Lord Whittlesey. It would 
 not have been prudent for a lady who
 
 Captain Paul Jones 
 
 courted popularity at Versailles at this 
 period to have confessed a penchant for 
 an Englishman. 
 
 Now, while our captain was a shrewd 
 fellow on the quarter-deck, he was a sim 
 pleton where a woman was concerned, as 
 many brave men before and since have been. 
 More than simple, he was as vain as a pea 
 cock over his achievements in this direction. 
 
 And so one night, after a great affair at 
 court, when madame la comtesse had 
 been particularly cold, he was not sur 
 prised on returning to his lodging to find a 
 pretty scented note on his table, in Ma 
 dame Le Fevre s hand, by all the gods of 
 love and war. He puffed up indeed after 
 all the chargin of defeat. " You never 
 can tell about a woman," he muttered. 
 u When her manner is distant she some 
 times likes you most." And with this 
 trite reflection, which shows how silly a 
 really brave -man may be when out of his 
 element, the doughty captain opened the 
 note, which read : 
 155
 
 The Pretty Wit of 
 
 MY DEAR CAPTAIN, If you will be at nine 
 o clock to-morrow evening entirely alone at the 
 house with the carved griffins on the Rue Riche 
 lieu you will learn that the admiration of a 
 brave and famous sailor is appreciated. Raise 
 the knocker three times in quick succession. 
 
 HORTENSE LE F. 
 
 For a moment, despite all his vanity 
 about his achievements with the sex, 
 Captain Jones wondered. Could it be 
 true ? But there was the note and her 
 name. 
 
 If Captain Jones had been himself he 
 never would have run into the snare. 
 Yet possibly he was, after all, his simple, 
 natural self, the gardener s son, not quite 
 to the manner born, a bit too vain, too 
 credulous of his possible achievements 
 with great ladies. 
 
 The long next day lagged. He pow 
 dered his hair, and put on his gayest cos 
 tume and the fine sword Louis XVI. had 
 given him in compliment of the victory of 
 u Le Bon Homme Richard ; " then when 
 156
 
 Captain Paul Jones 
 
 near the hour he sallied forth to keep the 
 appointment, for he never doubted but 
 that his charmer awaited him. 
 
 The house, a building of the Fourth 
 Henry s time, he often had noticed ; 
 for with the curiously carved griffins 
 at each side of the door, bearing the arms 
 of a former prince of Conde, it was 
 unmistakable. 
 
 Now, as he took his eager way through 
 the darkening streets, he had no difficulty 
 in finding it. The streets of Paris were 
 not then as cleanly as they were to be 
 come in the great emperor s time ; and 
 the captain, who walked, as a matter of 
 caution, was grieved to think that his 
 shoes and stockings were mud spattered. 
 He stood there for a moment, among the 
 few passers, thinking ruefully that this 
 was the case, and observing closely the 
 shuttered front of the house. And then, 
 although that silent, impassive front had 
 made him a bit suspicious, he lifted the 
 knocker once, twice, thrice, just at nine 
 J 57
 
 The Pretty Wit of 
 
 o clock. A lover, like a warrior, should 
 be exact in his appointments. 
 
 But was he not in fact ahead of the 
 time ? Was it only a trick ? He started 
 to lift the knocker again, when the heavy 
 door swung open a crack and a wrinkled 
 face peered over the chain. 
 
 " Captain Paul Jones ? " queried an 
 uncertain voice. 
 
 " Yes, I," assented Captain Jones, 
 when the chain rattled, was loosed, the 
 door swung open on a hall all dark, and 
 the concierge, or whatever she was, mo 
 tioned him in. The woman closed the 
 door, leaving him in the blackness of 
 the interior, now for the first time with 
 the thought of the need of caution. 
 
 And as he thought of possibilities of 
 danger after all the ardor of his hope, he 
 was caught from behind by strong, invisi 
 ble arms ; a gag was passed over his face ; 
 and though he tried to struggle, and he 
 was one of those little wiry men, it was 
 all in vain. He was borne to the floor, 
 158
 
 Captain Paul Jones 
 
 bound, and his eyes bandaged, his assail 
 ants the meantime saying not a word. 
 
 The whole occurrence was uncanny, 
 this sudden attack in the obscurity of 
 the house where he had expected light 
 and laughter ; the strong men who 
 mutely held him, and against whom any 
 struggle was vain, these circumstances 
 left the Chevalier Paul Jones shivering, 
 bound and gagged, and blindfolded as he 
 was, and thrust aside in a corner, like a 
 dead thing. And then, as he strained his 
 ears, his hearing indeed being the only 
 faculty of which these bravoes had left 
 him the use, he heard doors shutting and 
 the sound of heavy steps on the hard floors 
 of deserted rooms. His reason began to 
 return then, and the first thing that oc 
 curred to him was that his silent assailants 
 had worn no shoes. Was this man or 
 men different ? And then of course he 
 perceived that, having accomplished the 
 assault, need of silence no longer existed. 
 That was patent. They had put on their 
 159
 
 The Pretty Wit of 
 
 shoes. But again the house grew still, 
 excepting for his breathing. 
 
 His hands tied behind him and his feet 
 together, with a strong rope that cut into 
 the flesh his eyes bandaged, his mouth 
 gagged finding struggling useless, and 
 only knowing that the assailants had 
 dropped him where they had taken him, 
 our brave chevalier was indeed in a horrid 
 predicament. The only thing he could do 
 was to roll over the floor. He could do 
 that with difficulty, and to and fro, right 
 and left ; and he began the examination 
 of the room in that awkward manner, 
 which was the only way that indeed was 
 possible. 
 
 Rolling to his right about three feet, he 
 brought up against a wall ; to his left a 
 distance of ten feet, he bumped his head, 
 which the tortoise-like movement brought 
 first against the wall. This was a hall, 
 fourteen feet more or less broad. He 
 judged the distance from the number of 
 turns his body made, while he paused, 
 1 60
 
 Captain Paul Jones 
 
 breathing hard, as this effort, bound as he 
 was, was most exhausting. If you do not 
 believe me, have yourself bound tight, 
 hands and feet, gagged, and eyes blind 
 folded, and then try to roll about. 
 
 As the Chevalier Jones lay there in 
 this fashion, breathing hard, and his plight 
 apparently hopeless enough, he thought in 
 a revengeful spirit of Madame Le Fevre, 
 who plainly had brought him into the 
 plight. He remembered that two days 
 after there was to be a great ball at Ver 
 sailles, on which he had counted. He 
 thought of the fine clothes he had worn to 
 the appointment which were torn and 
 hopelessly ruined. He thought of the 
 sword the king had given him and which 
 the assailants had taken away. And as 
 he lay there his heart was bitter over the 
 simplicity of the stratagem. 
 
 And what did they intend to do with 
 
 him ? For a moment he was cold with 
 
 perspiration as he thought the men would 
 
 return, carry him out, and perhaps drop 
 
 ii 161
 
 The Pretty Wit of 
 
 him into the Seine. Then he reflected 
 that if they had wanted to be rid of him 
 they would have killed him with a sword 
 or dagger thrust. More likely they wanted 
 to kidnap him. If they had wished to kill 
 him they certainly would have stabbed 
 him beyond any noise. But why should 
 they wish to kidnap him unless 
 
 The plot suddenly became as clear as 
 day. They would carry him to the coast, 
 put him on some smuggler, and deliver 
 him to the authorities in England, who 
 had a large reward offered for his appre 
 hension as a pirate dangerous to his ma 
 jesty s shipping and coast. Had he not 
 himself abducted Lord Selkirk ? And now 
 the same methods were tried on him, 
 the abductor. Madame Le Fevre plainly 
 had engaged some desperate fellows, of 
 whom Paris held many, who, having noth 
 ing to lose, gladly had embraced the chance 
 of obtaining the reward offered for the 
 apprehension of the " pirate Paul Jones." 
 They had caught him neatly, and now 
 162
 
 Captain Paul Jones 
 
 they had gone after the carriage which was 
 to carry him out of Paris. 
 
 Impatient and angered over his own 
 simplicity in this matter, his wretched 
 vanity about women, he began to strug 
 gle and roll about again. After he had 
 struggled for some time vainly at his bonds, 
 the spirit of investigation returned, and he 
 began to roll over and over, now in the 
 other direction of the room. 
 
 Counting the distance with the same 
 method of calculating it he had used be 
 fore, the length of that room seemed end 
 less. He knew he must make considerable 
 noise with his shuffling about in that house, 
 which apparently was now deserted. 
 
 Pausing out of utter exhaustion and 
 breathing hard, with the gag cutting into 
 his mouth, he almost despaired. And 
 then taking courage he again began to 
 move about, when he thought his hands 
 were not so much hindered. Certain, all 
 at once, that the rope had stretched, he 
 stopped his rolling and tried to move the 
 163
 
 The Pretty Wit of 
 
 arm that seemed to be least confined. As 
 he did this the rope stretched further. 
 With hope he worked at it again. These 
 fellows were not sailors in the tying of a 
 knot, God be thanked; and after a half 
 hour in this struggle he was able to free a 
 hand. 
 
 Now give a man like Captain Paul 
 Jones one hand free and he could accom 
 plish the rest. Twenty minutes after, he 
 was on his feet, bruised and maimed be 
 tween his struggles with his assailants and 
 the scarcely less severe one with his bonds. 
 But he was free again, clothes torn, him 
 self cut and bruised, the ropes and ban 
 dages that had confined him in a heap on 
 the floor. 
 
 The room was dark except for the light 
 that entered from a high window in the 
 rear. 
 
 And just then he heard steps as from 
 
 some distant part of the house. Trying 
 
 the front door, which had admitted him, 
 
 he found it closed. In his desperation he 
 
 164
 
 Captain Paul Jones 
 
 turned through a door at the left, opposite 
 to that from which the steps came. Seeing 
 a window in this room, he sprang toward 
 it, pushed it up, while over his shoulder 
 a glare of light fell from the next room. 
 
 " Gone ! " cried a voice in consterna 
 tion, and in English. 
 
 " The devil ! " exclaimed another in 
 French. 
 
 " Quick, he is in the next room ! " said 
 the first. 
 
 By this time Captain Jones had his 
 window opened, and, without pausing to 
 examine where he was to land, he was 
 over the sill, while a bullet fired by one of 
 the pursuers whistled past his ear. He 
 heard the report an instant after he sunk 
 on the soft turf. For, as luck would have 
 it, the luck which favors those men that 
 dare all things, he had fallen on the turf 
 in the little garden back of this house. In 
 the opened window above appeared sud 
 denly two faces. There were two of 
 them. 
 
 65
 
 The Pretty Wit of 
 
 " Wretches," cried the Chevalier Jones, 
 forgetting all prudence, " if I had known 
 there were only two of you I had stopped 
 to kill you." 
 
 For answer one of the fellows thrust his 
 leg over the sill and dropped, with an oath, 
 into the garden. Quicker than a flash, and 
 not considering how many others might 
 follow, Captain Jones s fingers, still numbed 
 with the bands, were at his throat, while the 
 other fellow paused in the window above, dis 
 regarding his comrade s plight, or doubtless 
 thinking he should be able to settle a man 
 weakened as Captain Paul Jones certainly 
 must be after his terrible experience. At 
 the moment a loud pounding was heard at 
 the street door. The man in the window, 
 knowing that this probably came from the 
 watch aroused by the pistol shot, turned 
 and fled from the window, doubtless con 
 sidering it near impossible to get away 
 over the high wall enclosing the garden, 
 and knowing an exit in the rear. 
 
 Captain Jones, left with his man, and 
 166
 
 Captain Paul Jones 
 
 being still on top in the struggle, clung to 
 the fellow s throat with the tenacity of 
 desperation, till the man sank back choked 
 into unconsciousness. 
 
 The noise and cries at the front door 
 still continued. 
 
 By this time the excitement of the little 
 action had restored Captain Jones s sense. 
 Kicking the fellow to find whether he was 
 really unconscious, he looked up to see if 
 he could not gain the house, to admit the 
 people at the door, who, he thought, un 
 doubtedly were the watch. Noticing a 
 vine that crept up the stones almost to the 
 sill, he found that clinging to it he could 
 gain the sill. 
 
 A lantern was on the floor of the room, 
 as the desperadoes had left it. 
 
 In the mean time the knock and voices 
 at the door were imperative. 
 
 " Open, in the king s name ! " 
 
 " I cannot. They have taken the key." 
 
 " And who are you ? " demanded the 
 voice, the knocks ceasing. 
 167
 
 The Pretty Wit of 
 
 " The Chevalier Paul Jones, beguiled 
 to this house and robbed." 
 
 " The Chevalier Jones ! " exclaimed the 
 voice, incredulously. 
 
 The chevalier, or better the captain, as 
 his proudest American title was, was known 
 and admired throughout Paris. The watch 
 could not believe it was he. He insisted 
 he was Captain Paul Jones. He told them 
 to try the rear door, by which he believed 
 one of the men had escaped. The house 
 was on the corner of a lane turning from 
 the Rue Richelieu into the adjoining street. 
 The watch found easily an entrance by 
 which the man in the house had escaped. 
 
 Captain Paul Jones now had no diffi 
 culty in proving his identity to the captain 
 of the watch, who recognized, for all his 
 bruises and torn and dirtied person, that this 
 was really the redoubtable American sailor. 
 
 One man had fled certainly. The 
 
 woman who had admitted Captain Jones 
 
 was not to be found. The house had no 
 
 furniture of any kind, and had been rented 
 
 1 68
 
 Captain Paul Jones 
 
 a week previously by an unknown man 
 who had paid for six months in advance. 
 In the garden the one fellow was found, just 
 recovering consciousness, and recognized 
 as a well-known Parisian desperado. 
 
 This fellow would give no explanation 
 of the plot, though smartly questioned at 
 his trial. Preserving that " honor among 
 thieves " which proves that some robbers 
 might have made, under other circum 
 stances, excellent and honorable soldiers, 
 he died on the gallows bravely without a 
 word of confession. 
 
 Captain Paul Jones, now having quite 
 recovered that pretty wit which had stood 
 him in such good stead on many another 
 occasion, drove at once to the minister, 
 the Comte de Vergennes. Insistent on 
 seeing him, he succeeded, and told the 
 whole affair over, with his own belief that 
 it had been a plot to abduct him and carry 
 him to England. Monsieur de Vergennes 
 concurred with him that the object of 
 justice might be gained best by keeping 
 169
 
 The Pretty Wit of 
 
 the affair entirely private, at least for some 
 days. He congratulated Captain Jones 
 on having escaped as he did with only a 
 few bruises. Captain Jones, on his part, 
 said that he was glad that he had not suf 
 fered the loss of the sword the king had 
 given him, which had been found in one 
 of the rooms of the house. 
 
 When Monsieur de Vergennes ques 
 tioned him narrowly about what had led to 
 the appointment, he said he could not 
 reveal the person s name. When Mon 
 sieur de Vergennes was insistent that the 
 facts might be laid properly before the 
 minister of police, Captain Jones was 
 equally reticent. He could not tell. 
 
 " Ah, yes," acknowledged Monsieur de 
 Vergennes, since he was of the ever gal 
 lant race ; " I partly comprehend, and I 
 suppose I cannot shake your obstinacy." 
 
 Monsieur de Vergennes could not ; for 
 
 Captain Paul Jones, though this woman 
 
 certainly had tried to carry out the most 
 
 hideous plot against him, did not consider 
 
 170
 
 Captain Paul Jones 
 
 it quite fair to punish her as if she were a 
 man. Besides, he shrewdly guessed that 
 she would swear that her name had been 
 used without her knowledge, that the con 
 spirators had simply played on Captain 
 Jones well-known vanity about women. 
 Nor, indeed, as a matter of pride, did he 
 care to have himself shown in the ridicu 
 lous light which a statement of the exact 
 truth to Monsieur de Vergennes would 
 put him. 
 
 But he had his own notion of a fine 
 private revenge. 
 
 The next day no soul in Paris except 
 his servant saw Captain Paul Jones. He 
 told the servant to tell all callers that his 
 master had gone away the previous eve 
 ning without explanation, and had not 
 returned. In the mean time he took 
 needed rest as much as he could in 
 his meditation over revenge, and with the 
 painful bruises he had received. One eye 
 was black, and that side of his face badly 
 swollen. 
 
 171
 
 The Pretty Wit of 
 
 The next evening following was that 
 of the great ball at Versailles I have 
 mentioned. In the midst of the festivities 
 who should appear with black eye and 
 swollen face but this gardener s son 
 of Arbigland in Kirkcudbrightshire, the 
 famous knight of his most Christian ma 
 jesty s Order of Merit, Captain Paul Jones. 
 
 Everybody smiled. Mr. Franklin, who 
 was our minister then, looked grave. 
 What ridiculous row had Captain Paul 
 Jones been involved in now, to present so 
 disreputable an appearance ? 
 
 But though ladies tittered before whom 
 earlier in the week he would have shone, 
 our great captain had no vanity on this 
 occasion. He had only eyes for Madame 
 Le Fevre. In his pocket was the fatal note. 
 
 He was rewarded, nay, had almost posi 
 tive proof. Madame Le Fevre nearly 
 fainted when she saw him. 
 
 He walked straight to her, when she 
 was by an evident effort recovering her 
 self-possession. 
 
 172
 
 Captain Paul Jones 
 
 " The heat here is oppressive, Captain 
 Jones," she said. 
 
 "May I have a word with you, 
 madam e ? " 
 
 She scanned him closely. The little 
 captain looked dangerous. Relying on 
 her wiles, she thought it best to humor 
 him, to cajole him out of his bad humor. 
 Some beautiful women, in the conceit of a 
 thousand successes, believe they can do 
 anything they wish with men ; and was 
 not woman the one vulnerable part in 
 Captain Jones s armor ? 
 
 So, now smiling, though she was fear 
 ful enough, she let him take her aside into 
 one of the recessed windows looking out 
 on the great fountains of the inner court 
 of the palace. 
 
 " And what have you to say, cheva 
 lier ? " she began. 
 
 " To commiserate madame on her dis 
 appointment at finding I did not take a 
 certain pleasant excursion to England." 
 
 Despite her knowledge of the great need
 
 The Pretty Wit of 
 
 of keeping her self-control to meet him 
 squarely, Madame Le Fevre trembled. 
 
 " Monsieur " she began. 
 
 " I have your note," he began. 
 
 " My note ! Give it me, monsieur ! give 
 it me, I pray ! Surely you would not torture 
 me so you would " 
 
 " Ah, madame," said Captain Jones, 
 " you have confessed and I despise 
 you who with all your charms, your 
 greatness, your virtue, which I believe in, 
 are yet more despicable than the poorest 
 girl who passes on the street." 
 
 " You would not, monsieur ? " cried the 
 woman, in her desperation. 
 
 " Madame, if you appear at court after 
 to-night, I will tell all. I swear I will tell 
 all." 
 
 Madame Le Fevre began to weep. 
 
 Now, Captain Jones, in telling me this 
 story himself, confessed that he never 
 could withstand a woman s tears, and this 
 woman, despicable as she was, yet had 
 made him in love with her charms. So, 
 174
 
 Captain Paul Jones 
 
 suddenly, impulsive as he was in such 
 affairs, Captain Jones took the letter from 
 his pocket, and tore it into pieces. 
 
 " Madame," said he, " I fight men 
 not women, though I confess they are 
 vastly more dangerous. I believe it s a 
 brave man s part to use no force against a 
 woman enemy, but simply to despise her 
 to hold her less than the dirt under his 
 feet." 
 
 And, turning on his heel, he left her. 
 
 In telling the story long after, Captain 
 Jones said that no one in Paris ever had 
 from him the true version of this adven 
 ture, and as I believe he esteemed it 
 wrong, as he said, for a brave man to fight 
 a woman, however dangerous she might 
 be, I readily believed him. 
 
 NOTE. The lady in the case afterwards married 
 the Earl of Whittlesey, a circumstance which may 
 explain her motive in the affair. Her son is that 
 young Lord Whittlesey who lately distinguished 
 himself in the Peninsular Campaign. 
 
 F. MIDDLETON, Naples, January, 1813. 
 
 175
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 12 
 
 177
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 I REMEMBER my man was smug- 
 faced, appearing to all the world the 
 reputable citizen, round, fat, a most politic 
 and non-committal fellow, and I wondered 
 whether I might not have gone wrong. 
 But the direction was plain, " Philip 
 Roland, Merchant, 5 Pearl Street, back 
 of Fraunces s Tavern," and here was the 
 man in his shop, looking at me narrowly 
 over the gold rims of his spectacles. The 
 Guards Band was playing on the Bowling 
 Green, for, though November, it was a 
 warmish Indian summer evening, while he 
 gloated over the letter, regarding me ever 
 and anon in the dim light of the lantern 
 that stood on the counter. He was a 
 dealer in women s gewgaws, and esteemed 
 as good an American as any man in New 
 179
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 York. I had heard, indeed, so much to this 
 effect that now I was uneasy to think per 
 haps I had but put my neck in the noose. 
 Had not the general been mistaken in the 
 man ? Why did he pause so long ? I 
 moved nervously, while before the window 
 passed some people returning from the play 
 at the Theatre Royal on John Street. 
 
 The royalist dandies had refitted that 
 little red theatre, closed by Congress with 
 a view to improving the public morals, and 
 plays had been writ for it by Major John 
 Andre. I shuddered as I thought of him, 
 for it was not so long since the scene at 
 Tappan ; and, for all I had experienced in 
 the last days, causing me to regret my 
 mission, my softness hardened at that 
 name. As it happened, as if to empha 
 size the thought, a link boy passed just 
 then before Mistress Susannah De Lancey 
 and Major Williams of the Artillery, who 
 had been Andre s intimate. 
 
 My vis-a-vis noted my uneasiness out 
 of his cunning eyes. 
 180
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 " There be spies and spies," said he. 
 " But you, sir, surprise me. There lay 
 every reason why you should return to the 
 cause, and yet you risk your neck appar 
 ently as merrily as a boy after a bird s 
 nest." 
 
 " Eh, yes," said I, gathering heart. 
 " And I propose to have the bird to-night 
 at eleven when he walks in the garden back 
 from Burns s." 
 
 " Does he walk then in the garden ? " 
 said he, peering at me. 
 
 u Yes, an uneasy conscience " 
 
 " Ah, has he that ? " 
 
 " If he have not, my friend, I propose to 
 make him uneasy, should you have your 
 boat at the foot of the lane exact at eleven. 
 I loosed part of the paling at the end of 
 the garden, and there, behind the boards, 
 which he now can wrench off in a trice, 
 is Jem Hawkins. You know him ? " 
 
 " And you, sergeant ? " said he, curi 
 ously, and looking about lest the walls 
 had ears. 
 
 181
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 " I, master, will stroll out of the tavern 
 as debonair as you please. I shall knock 
 our traitor over the head. Jem will break 
 through the paling, and we will carry him 
 to your boat." 
 
 " Should you be stopped ? " 
 
 " Humph, we have but to say we are 
 sailors from the c Anne Marie taking a 
 drunken comrade aboard. Once in the 
 boat we shall pull for Hobock, where 
 Major Harry expects us." 
 
 I thought exultantly of this point in the 
 programme so well outlined, could it be 
 carried out ; for it meant my restoration 
 to the old esteem among my comrades, 
 who now must be holding me the most 
 dastardly deserter. 
 
 " You have a glib tongue," my shop 
 keeper said doubtfully when I had ended. 
 
 " It has persuaded Sir Henry, my old 
 friends, and their Brevet-Brigadier traitor 
 Arnold," I boasted ; " now it wants but 
 your beat." 
 
 He reached forward, as if with enthu- 
 182
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 siasm out of keeping with the former 
 suspicion. 
 
 " You risk death and so do I, should 
 we be seen together. The boatman shall 
 be there at eleven o clock." 
 
 I was sure of him now, this person no 
 one suspected, but who was one of those 
 agents by whom Washington was kept 
 conversant with occurrences in New York. 
 I relied implicitly on the other man Haw 
 kins, who was a hostler at " Fraunces s 
 Tavern," for he had proven his honesty 
 by seeing that my letter had reached the 
 general, telling him exactly who had been 
 implicated with Arnold in that damnable 
 plot ; and now all that was left of the 
 mission was to catch the traitor. 
 
 This was my fifth evening as an Ame 
 rican deserter and king s man ; and it, I 
 said, should not pass without me putting 
 my hands on him for whose avarice Andre 
 had suffered. 
 
 Yet, as I strode about the street corner 
 past one of Mayor Matthew s watch, I 
 183
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 sickened of the attempt for the hundredth 
 time. I thought of how much they had 
 left me to do, how great a sacrifice of 
 good name I already had made, and how 
 little wit I, indeed, had to redeem it. 
 
 Before the ruins of Trinity Church, 
 standing out sepulchrally in the darkest 
 November night, I went in to sit on one 
 of the benches that had been built there at 
 General Pattison s suggestion, shortly after 
 the great fire ; for the British policy was to 
 gain favor by making the town life agreeable 
 for those who could be caught by pleasure. 
 
 There in the dark I ran over the whole 
 unpromising phases of the enterprise : how 
 five days before, my commandant, Major 
 Lee, had summoned me to tell me that the 
 general had asked him for a man who 
 would dare risk everything to gain infor 
 mation of how the Arnold plot ran and of 
 those implicated; one who would even 
 dare kidnap the traitor in the very enjoy 
 ment of his safety. The man who so 
 dared must appear to desert from Tappan. 
 184
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 This was asking much : my honor among 
 my comrades and the risk of a spy s death 
 from the British ; and yet, young fool of 
 twenty-three that I was, I accepted. 
 
 I can see that low room now, in the 
 De Witt house in Tappan, the general s 
 anxious face, Major Harry s bold eyes. 
 
 I turned my mare through the picket 
 line and gave her free head when the 
 patrol challenged, dashing over the moist 
 roads, for, as bad luck would have it, the 
 rain had blotted out the ruts, leaving the 
 mare s footprints patent to the pursuers, 
 for the farrier put the same mark on the left 
 forward shoe of all Major Lee s horses. 
 
 For the moment, I believe, they hesi 
 tated, dumfounded that so faithful a soldier 
 as I should suddenly imitate Arnold. In 
 all the disaffection there never had been 
 a desertion from that corps. Who can be 
 trusted ? I could fancy them muttering. 
 I knew that Major Lee would delay them 
 all he could ; but he, too, must carry out 
 the play. He, too, must appear astounded 
 185
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 that I, who always had proven faithful, 
 should all at once become among the most 
 faithless. I thought all this while the mare 
 bore me over the road toward Bergen, for 
 I designed to hail the king s patrols at 
 Paulus Hook. 
 
 But with all the delay I had but little 
 the start. Soon I heard them after me, 
 and the mare almost spent. The sky 
 lightened. The mare seemed to be going 
 even slower, and I knew as I came to the 
 forks on the hill, which is by the " Three 
 Pigeons" inn, above Bergen, that they 
 probably would catch me before I could 
 make the stone bridge below. Nay, turn 
 ing in my saddle I could see in the darkish 
 dawn Cornet Middleton heading the pur 
 suers, and hear his loud hallo. 
 
 At the forks, within a stone s throw of 
 the " Three Pigeons," for a moment I 
 deliberated. Should I have my reputation 
 all lost for nothing ? They probably 
 would shoot me as it was, nor could they 
 ever believe me an honest man. 
 186
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 Only for a moment did I hesitate, you 
 may believe, before turning directly down 
 the slope by Elizabeth Point to the river, 
 and there, as luck would have it, was a 
 patrol. I sprang from the mare, and 
 waded through the marsh into the river, 
 hallooing. Just then the pursuers per 
 ceived my detour, and a bullet came sing 
 ing around my ears. I pushed out beyond 
 my depth, and the men in the boat, com 
 prehending the situation, pulled me in, fir 
 ing and shouting derisively to my old 
 comrades, whose curses reached me. 
 
 I was taken to Sir Henry Clinton, who, 
 examining me closely, ended by believing 
 in my sincerity, as in faith the desertion 
 was plain enough, and that one from 
 Major Lee s corps. 
 
 As we had thought would be the case, 
 he recommended me as an honest fellow 
 to General Arnold, who, too, had run to 
 the king s side. I could detect a certain 
 detestation in Sir Henry s tone when he 
 spoke of Arnold, who had received his 
 187
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 ;i 0,000 and his Brigadiership as the price 
 of his service, who yet was sincerely dis 
 liked, more because the affair had cost the 
 army Major Andre, I believe, than for any 
 other reason. 
 
 I reported that morning to the new 
 British Brevet Brigadier, at 3 Broadway, 
 in the old ball rooms over " Burns s 
 Arms." 
 
 I do not know what I had expected of 
 the man. I had heard so much to his 
 discredit. I saw an agreeably mannered 
 gentleman, who questioned me closely, 
 and in the end believed that I had been 
 persuaded by his example. 
 
 Strangely, too, he rented of a widow, 
 Mistress Warren, whose daughter, Priscilla 
 Warren, I once had made furious love to 
 in Virginia. A plump, fair-haired, gray- 
 eyed girl, Mistress Priscilla s greeting, her 
 congratulations to me at having come 
 over from rebellion to loyalty, made me 
 for a moment sicken again of my part. 
 
 I must explain this to show how that 
 1 88
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 which followed came about. Nor did 
 Benedict Arnold fail to treat me with fur 
 ther consideration. He promised to obtain 
 me a commission in a legion of American 
 loyalists in time to join the expedition Lord 
 Howe was then preparing to send to the 
 Virginia capes. In the mean time, other 
 decent lodging being hard to find, he had 
 permitted me to take a room at the 
 Widow Warren s. 
 
 In fact, all had gone exactly as the plan 
 had been laid. I had communicated, as 
 I have said, with General Washington, 
 showing him, as I had it from Arnold 
 himself, who appeared to trust me impli 
 citly, the full extent of the treachery, and 
 the names of the few persons in any way 
 implicated. I have been told that this 
 information first gave the general-in-chief 
 heart to believe there remained those he 
 could trust ; and that the major-general 
 he suspected was, after all, not in the 
 affair. 
 
 And now the rest was all plain. Arnold 
 189
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 would stroll in the garden to quiet his 
 nerves before bed. My desperate fellow 
 would hide behind the loosed paling, I 
 could be sure, at the appointed hour. I 
 was now equally sure of Master Roland 
 having the boat in readiness at the foot of 
 the lane. Yet, as I thought of it all, I 
 felt dismayed. I looked up to the ruined 
 tower of Trinity, almost praying to keep 
 my courage warm. I decided to take a 
 tankard of beer at the tavern. The night 
 was dark enough, and now began a cold 
 drizzle. Long since the Guards band 
 had stopped on the Green. What could 
 be better than such a night, made for the 
 adventure ? 
 
 At last the clock ticked near the time 
 when General Arnold would descend for 
 his stroll in the garden. Even now I knew 
 my man Hawkins was waiting in the lane. 
 I paid my reckoning and turned for a mo 
 ment into the street. 
 
 The mist was clearing. Certainly 
 General Arnold would take that walk to 
 190
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 get some air before sleep. But if he kept 
 to his usual custom it lacked a half hour 
 of the time. To avoid possible suspicion 
 I turned into the tavern and up the stairs 
 to my room. I intended to follow the 
 general by the back stair. It all would be 
 easy should he once go into the garden. 
 
 But at the head of the stair stood my 
 acquaintance, Mistress Priscilla Warren, 
 of whose mother General Arnold rented. 
 She held a candle, as if expectantly, and 
 I am bound to say she made a pretty pic 
 ture at the stair head. I recollected how 
 years before in Virginia I once had made 
 furious love to this very girl. 
 
 " Jack ! Jack Champe ! " 
 
 " Eh, Priscilla. And why, mistress, are 
 you not in bed ? " 
 
 " The truth is," said she, blushing, " I ve 
 been thinking and pondering." 
 
 " Of a lover ? " said I, trying to phrase 
 some pleasing, nonsensical gallantry. 
 
 " Not I, sir, of no man but of you." 
 
 " Of me, Priscilla ? " 
 191
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 " Ah, of you, who have made the whole 
 town believe in you ; but me not a 
 whit." 
 
 " And why ? " said I, growing impatient, 
 for I heard General Arnold s step. " I 
 must speak to the general, begging your 
 pardon." 
 
 " Why ? " she asked, putting the candle 
 close to my face. " Liar, you are not 
 what you seem ! " Her voice had changed 
 so suddenly that I lost my wit. 
 
 Priscilla ! " 
 
 " You never deserted General Wash 
 ington." 
 
 " Mistress Priscilla ! " 
 
 " You are here a spy to betray Gene 
 ral Arnold." 
 
 " Ah, mistress, but he is worse," said I, 
 with sudden earnestness. 
 
 " He has treated you kindly, John 
 Champe." 
 
 " You have the fancy of a silly maid ! " 
 cried I. " Let me go. I must follow 
 General Arnold into the garden." 
 192
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 Again she raised the candle a bit. From 
 below was the fiddler s merry jig. 
 
 " Why ? " 
 
 I trembled under those gray, question 
 ing eyes, and she read my plot as easily as 
 I had told her. It all had gone well up 
 to this moment. My man was behind the 
 paling. The boat waited. Colonel Lee 
 across the river expected us. And here this 
 girl had in some way found the intention. 
 
 11 1 will explain later. Now " 
 
 She put the candle on the table. 
 
 " I will go with you into the garden." 
 
 " And why, unasked ? " said I, trying 
 to treat the matter lightly. 
 
 At this she pulled from her bosom a 
 letter in Major Harry s own hand, with 
 the damning evidence. She had me in her 
 power as neatly as she could wish. I had 
 dropped it somewhere in the house. Curs 
 ing my carelessness, I snatched at it, when 
 she thrust it behind her. 
 
 " Spy ! " she said, as if I were less than 
 the boards under her feet. 
 13 193
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 " And he ? " said I, doggedly. 
 
 " But does it lessen your blackness, 
 coward, you who return to your friends 
 pretending you are converted to the old 
 opinions, only to spy ? " 
 
 " Give me up, then," said I at last, 
 defiantly. " Give me up." 
 
 " I will not tell a soul," said the girl at 
 this. 
 
 " How could it profit you ? " asked I, 
 trying to pacify her. 
 
 u Nor shall I let you hurt a hair of 
 General Arnold s head neither one nor 
 the other." 
 
 She stood there, her hands thrust be 
 hind her. Suddenly the fiddler below 
 paused in his air and left us in silence. 
 
 I must not let the pretty little fool 
 thwart me when I had risked so much. 
 No, she should not. The general was in 
 the garden ; my man Hawkins was breath 
 ing hard behind the paling, waiting the 
 signal. Every moment was dear. 
 
 u He may be traitor, but he has been 
 194
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 kind to my mother and to me," she went 
 on. " You shall not hurt him. If he be 
 traitor, was he not before one to the 
 king ? Consider that." 
 
 I did not answer, revolving the prob 
 lem how to get her out of the way, 
 cursing my bad luck indeed in having 
 dropped the luckless letter I should have 
 burned. 
 
 " And why," she went on, taking a step 
 nearer, " should you, Jack Champe, take 
 further risk ? You are back, without 
 odium, in the king s service. You have but 
 to forget your purpose, which was traitor 
 ous. You have before you a finer career 
 than the rebels can offer." 
 
 And while we disputed by the candle 
 light Jem Hawkins behind the paling was 
 wondering at the lack of the signal. 
 
 " I am pledged to Washington, I am 
 with the United States," said I, desiring to 
 be rid of her. 
 
 " And you are here as a spy ? " she 
 cried again, her gray eyes flashing. 
 195
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 " For all s fair in war," said I, watching 
 her that I might spring past. 
 
 " And in love," said she, blushing I 
 thought, and wondered if she loved not 
 Benedict Arnold, whom I began to hate 
 with fierceness. 
 
 " But wait," said I, " Mistress Priscilla. 
 I have a word to say to the general now 
 in the garden. Surely there can lie no 
 harm in that ? " 
 
 " Ah, I know you," she answered at 
 this defiantly. " You have some design. 
 I 11 accompany you." 
 
 By this time I was maddened. Have I 
 not said how much every moment counted ? 
 A bold move would accomplish it still. I 
 was not to be foiled by this hussy. 
 
 So I pushed her aside, went through the 
 door into the back hall, and down the 
 steps leading to the garden. 
 
 There he was, pacing restlessly to and 
 fro. Ah, the man never had a quiet 
 moment between his plots and his re 
 morse, for I believe he had that. Jem 
 196
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 Hawkins, I was certain, was waiting. I 
 could carry it out yet. 
 
 But the girl was behind me, like a dog. 
 I was sorry for a moment I had not 
 throttled her. 
 
 " General Arnold ! " she called from 
 the foot of the stair. " General Arnold ! " 
 
 Before I could get to him, he walked too 
 far toward the house. In an instant he 
 was by her. I saw she whispered some 
 thing to him. Was it my betrayal ? 
 
 For a moment I hesitated. I still 
 could run for it ; but should I escape, 
 which was doubtful, it would be without 
 my prisoner. For the moment she had 
 foiled me. I must brazen it out, deny 
 her charge. 
 
 So I returned to the upper hall, where 
 they were talking. She looked at me, not 
 triumphantly. I was surprised how pale 
 he was. 
 
 " Sergeant Champe wished a word with 
 you, sir," she said, without facing me. 
 
 How could I explain ? I thought at 
 197
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 once of some story connected with the 
 duty he had given me ; but he anticipated 
 me, saying : " I am too weary. Wait till 
 morning. You will receive your regular 
 duty then. Good night." 
 
 He extended his hand gravely, as if 
 treachery had made us equals, and walked 
 to his room. Outside, perhaps, Hawkins 
 still waited. But the chance was lost for 
 the night. The girl had outwitted me. 
 Why had I not killed her ? 
 
 As he left us alone she understood my 
 rage, for she said quietly, "I did it to 
 save you." 
 
 " You have not told him ? " 
 
 " Not a word ; you can still serve the 
 king." 
 
 " Fool ! " I muttered, as people do when 
 only they are the fools. I heard her sobs 
 and hurried from her, fearful what she 
 might tempt me to. 
 
 Nor could I sleep. I dared not send 
 word to Hawkins, or to the boatman at 
 the end of the lane. Across the river at 
 198
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 Hobock Colonel Harry waited vainly. Be 
 cause of this girl I was still held a traitor 
 by my comrades ; and it appeared, in 
 deed, as if they must so regard me till 
 the end of the chapter. For as I tossed 
 restlessly, while it was yet pitch dark, 
 there was a knock at the door, and the 
 orderly shouting, " Up, sergeant, in a 
 hurry. You have duty. The general s 
 expedition pulls anchor at five for the 
 Virginia capes ! " 
 
 I saw beyond peradventure then that I 
 had failed dismally. I should have no 
 other chance at my man now, while if I 
 wished to avoid the spy s death, I must 
 keep up appearance and serve as a British 
 soldier. 
 
 Outside in the hall was the girl, her 
 eyes red by the candlelight. 
 
 " Forgive me ! " said she. When I 
 was silent she added, " I did it for you." 
 
 " For him." 
 
 " For you ! To save you for the 
 cause." 
 
 199
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 " Faugh," said I ; " I despise you for a 
 meddling hussy." 
 
 Yet I thought afterward she indeed had 
 not betrayed me. That was certain. I 
 wondered what was the reason, dismayed 
 over the turn of the adventure. 
 
 For here was I, now bound for Vir 
 ginia, as earnest a patriot as ever served 
 in the war, but in the uniform of an Eng 
 lish soldier, and commanded by the very 
 Arnold whom I had come to take. 
 
 In addition the weather turned dirty, 
 and I suffered the worst torments the sea 
 can inflict on those so indiscreet as to 
 trust to its fickleness. Let them be sail 
 ors who will, I would be content to be the 
 humblest land lubber rather than to own 
 all the fame of the most esteemed admiral. 
 
 I remember it was a week after we had 
 made a landing before I recovered my 
 heart and was in some way able to debate 
 the chance of escape to the American 
 lines. I had become, with memory of that 
 wretched, discovered letter, as cunning as 
 200
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 a fox. But, despite all my cunning, the 
 chance never presented itself. I could 
 not hope to abduct General Arnold, with no 
 man whom I dared trust with even a hint 
 of my true mission. How quickly I should 
 be worsted ! 
 
 Strangely, I did in my false position 
 singularly good service. I was commended 
 again and again when least of all did I 
 want praise for a part I detested. That 
 old saying of the mockery in the way of 
 the world came to me in those days : 
 " When you may be indifferent to success, 
 lo ! it comes to you." 
 
 As a matter of fact, we remained in this 
 inaction some three months, till we joined 
 Lord Cornwallis at Petersburg. I then 
 was detailed to go with a division in 
 structed to intercept some reported for 
 agers sent out by Major Harry Lee. 
 
 I strained my ears as I heard. I was 
 
 arrayed against Major Harry, whom I 
 
 loved, if I ever loved a man, both for 
 
 being most considerate of his inferiors, 
 
 201
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 and always the dare-devil. I laughed as I 
 thought of it I against Major Harry ! 
 
 Yet it was not so comical an affair in 
 very earnest. Here in Virginia I was 
 known. One day an old woman who 
 had heard my history spat at me. I could 
 not blame her. 
 
 But two persons I hated, Benedict 
 Arnold and the meddling hussy. I thought 
 I might kill him, and so, although I should 
 certainly be hanged, I should be lauded by 
 my old comrades as a hero, after all these 
 days of apparently deserved contempt. 
 
 And yet I could not find courage for 
 this. He had treated me from the first 
 most considerately. I could not stab, or 
 shoot behind his back. My instructions, 
 in fact, had been to bring him in alive, not 
 dead. 
 
 I thought, perhaps, of the meddling 
 hussy at the stair head. She had foiled 
 me, but, in some curious way, she equally 
 had made it impossible for me to kill the 
 man, had I the chance. 
 202
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 With all these conflicting notions, in 
 the service where I appeared what I was 
 not, what more natural than that I should 
 try a foolhardy escape to the old lines I 
 had deserted. 
 
 It happened one evening at a point near 
 the Carolina line, when on that expedi 
 tion I have described. 
 
 I broke away, much as I had at Tappan ; 
 but this time, knowing the country better 
 than my pursuers, I managed to elude 
 them with less danger to my skin. 
 
 As I was now walking my horse in the 
 direction of the Congaree, where I sup 
 posed Major Harry to have been, I stum 
 bled directly on one of his pickets. The 
 man brought me in, covering me with his 
 musket. And then suddenly he recognized 
 me. 
 
 " Sergeant-Major Champe, the de 
 serter ! " he cried, at first incredulously, 
 and again exultantly. " What a bird I 
 have brought down!" 
 
 Others by this time had gathered ; and 
 203
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 then an officer, before whom a black car 
 ried a lantern, approached over the half- 
 frozen ground. It was early March. 
 
 " Major Lee ! " I said, for by some 
 chance I had fallen in with no less a per 
 sonage. "Major Lee!" (He was then 
 Lieutenant-Colonel of the Dragoons, 
 though always " major " to me.) 
 
 " Where are you ? " he began ; and 
 then, leaping from his horse, he cried, 
 seizing my hands, 
 
 "Champe! " 
 
 "Champe who failed ! " I nodded, shame 
 faced. The men stood about astounded. 
 For was I not a deserter ? The major 
 knew their thoughts. 
 
 "Sergeant-Major John Champe is this 
 gentleman, who, like Captain Hale, to 
 serve his country took on the disguise of a 
 spy among the British." 
 
 When suddenly through that little de 
 tachment of my old comrades a cheer 
 went up, and I believe that, after all I had 
 imagined and suffered, this scene in the 
 204
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 Carolina swamp was the happiest of my 
 life. 
 
 " But how did you fail, man ? " the 
 major asked, when we rode to his main 
 division. " I really believed you would 
 carry it out. We waited at Hobock until 
 too late for any possible hope of your 
 appearance." 
 
 " Because of a meddling hussy," I said, 
 my heart bitter against her. 
 
 " A wench ? I thought not that of 
 you." 
 
 u Eh, but you must," said I ; and I told 
 him the story. 
 
 " It is strange," said he, " why she 
 did n t betray you. I can t understand it 
 unless " 
 
 " Unless ? " 
 
 " Unless she were in love with you," 
 said Major Lee. 
 
 " Impossible," said I, forgetting to laugh. 
 Why, of course it was absurd, although I 
 could not get the notion out of my head. 
 
 At his headquarters, where my old com- 
 205
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 rades, who now knew the whole story, 
 made much of my deed, although in faith 
 it was failure enough, the major told me 
 he could not take me back into my old 
 company. 
 
 "And why?" I asked hotly, for I 
 thought he meant that my failure to cap 
 ture Arnold had discredited me with 
 him. 
 
 " Because, Champe, I like you too well 
 to have you risk capture by the British, 
 who, before the clock could tick, would 
 hang you as a spy." 
 
 I told him I cared not a whit for the 
 danger ; that I wanted to fight with all the 
 strength and wit I had left after the false 
 
 O 
 
 part I had played. 
 
 " Poor Champe," said he. " How 
 badly have we treated you ! But after all 
 you have done I will not suffer you to 
 risk a hair," he repeated. 
 
 When I was insistent he said finally 
 that he had no option, but would refer the 
 matter to General Washington, to whom 
 206
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 directly I was despatched by General 
 Greene. 
 
 I confess I was anxious when I came 
 into the presence of that Virginia gentle 
 man, who now had become the greatest 
 among the Americans. 
 
 "You did us a signal service, Captain 
 Champe," he said kindly, " in letting me 
 know the extent of Arnold s treachery 
 when I was uncertain of every one about 
 me, and it must appear ungracious of me 
 to tell you that out of regard for you and 
 your most excellently good service, I must 
 retire you but as a captain, with a full 
 captain s pay." 
 
 I did not want retirement. I cared not 
 for the new grade, nor the money, though 
 it was a scarce enough commodity in those 
 days. 
 
 But the general was insistent. And in 
 this way I ceased to be an active member 
 of the army of the United States. In my 
 forced retirement I was advanced in rank, 
 yet a captain without hope of further ser- 
 207
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 vice, at least against the British, whom I 
 dearly wanted to fight in some capacity, 
 a captain without a company. 
 
 Now about this time I had a strange 
 letter brought through the lines from New 
 York, and written by no less a person than 
 she who had spoiled my enterprise, Mis 
 tress Priscilla Warren. She begged me 
 never to give the British the chance of 
 catching me, for, as surely as her name 
 was Priscilla, they would hang me up as a 
 spy. I wrote her I had been told that 
 several times ; but I feared the British no 
 more than I did meddling Tory maids. 
 
 The hussy s impudence was strange. 
 But for her meddling I certainly had had 
 my plan to seize General Arnold carried 
 out. As it was, because General Washing 
 ton was insistent on my retirement, and as 
 I had failed most dismally in this attempt, I 
 had not its success to console me for the 
 loss of the soldier s career I loved. I had 
 staked all, like a gambler, on one issue and 
 lost. 
 
 208
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 But I could not get the meddling girl 
 out of mind, and thinking over the matter 
 and considering that perhaps after all she 
 had imagined it for my good as pos 
 sibly it would have been from a worldly 
 point of view, to have remained, what 
 I seemed then, a British soldier, think 
 ing of the possibility of Major Lee s 
 conjecture about the reason for her curi 
 ous conduct, I resolved to see her 
 again. 
 
 But it was not until after the peace that 
 I had the chance, when, hearing she 
 remained a spinster, I decided to leave 
 Kentucky, where I had taken up some 
 land, to see what manner of woman she 
 had become. 
 
 I must acknowledge in the few years 
 she had faded, and yet I found her strangely 
 attractive. She appeared embarrassed at 
 seeing me. 
 
 " You must detest me above all the rest 
 of the world," said she. 
 
 " I did," said I, frankly. 
 H 209
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 " You did ? " asked she. 
 
 " I don t now, Mistress Priscilla, for I 
 believe you honestly imagined by meddling 
 you could keep me a king s man. In the 
 event it might have been better. I might 
 have been richer." 
 
 " Yes," said she. " I think I even was 
 right, Jack Champe." 
 
 " I am not accustomed, Mistress Pris 
 cilla, to women who will take the trouble 
 you did to set a man right, although it was, 
 from the point of honor, a wrong course, 
 which I could not adopt. I believe you 
 thought it for my good." 
 
 " There be many women who would 
 have done so much," said she. 
 
 But I was firmly persuaded there was 
 and is but one ; and holding this persuasion 
 and believing that now she might have me, 
 although before, when, a boy, I had made 
 violent love to her in Virginia she had 
 jilted me, believing that being a spinster 
 now rather well along she might not refuse 
 me, although, in faith, I had little enough 
 210
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 money, I was persuaded to ask her to 
 marry me. 
 
 " Me, Captain Champe ! Are you not 
 crazy ? " said she, demurely, at this request 
 of mine. 
 
 " Not I, Mistress Priscilla. I have a 
 neat enough wit left to know the material 
 for a good wife." 
 
 " Oh, but, captain, I m so old and ugly. 
 Why did you not ask me when I was 
 young ? " 
 
 " I did when we were both young, years 
 since, in Virginia." 
 
 " Oh, I forgot," said she. 
 
 " I tried then, but you jilted me j have 
 you forgot ? I supposed a woman never 
 forgot whom she jilts." 
 
 " Oh, do you, captain ? Or whom " 
 
 " Or whom, mistress ? " 
 
 " Or whom she loves? " 
 
 " Oh, then," said I, " I might as well 
 return to Kentucky, for I see the jig is up." 
 
 " Is it ? " said she. " I believe I even 
 will go with you, captain." 
 
 211
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 " Are you jesting again, as you did when 
 a girl in Virginia ? " asked I, doubting 
 her. 
 
 " Eh, jesting, Captain Champe, as a 
 spinster may who catches at perhaps her 
 last and, indeed, I believe, her best chance." 
 
 I confess the outcome of the matter 
 was most curious, for during those days 
 when I was tossing on the sea on the 
 journey to the Virginian capes, I should 
 have held him as mad as the maddest 
 March hare who had told me I should try 
 to marry this meddling hussy to gain peace 
 of mind. 
 
 But if the ways of God be strange, that 
 way of His which is called woman s is the 
 strangest. If any one were to blame for 
 this termination of the affair of the med 
 dling hussy, surely it was none other than 
 Major Lee, who first had suggested to me 
 an apparently impossible reason for her 
 conduct when she had spoiled all my plan 
 for catching the traitor. From regarding 
 the reason all impossible, I began to ques- 
 212
 
 The Meddling Hussy 
 
 tion if after all there might be some 
 ground for holding it possible. The step 
 from supposition to experiment is not a 
 long one, as Dr. Franklin himself has 
 attested. Yet I must confess I thought I 
 was only a silly, imaginative fool for my 
 pains, till her words showed that, strange 
 as it may appear, Major Lee had under 
 stood her without ever having seen her. 
 
 Nor, in the end, although I have blamed 
 her in all this account for having spoiled 
 for me the outcome of a good adventure, 
 was I so unfortunate as I had supposed. 
 For if I did lose chance of further distinc 
 tion as a soldier through following out the 
 plan General Washington proposed to me, 
 I learned in the end by this very adven 
 ture that a woman who takes enough 
 interest in you to meddle with your mat 
 ters, even to the point of turning them all 
 topsy-turvy, may make, for the very reason 
 of that interest, not so bad a wife. 
 
 213
 
 Part II 
 Tales of Personages
 
 The Loyalty ofWilliam Douglas 
 
 217
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 I 
 
 WHEN William Douglas, the dis 
 senter, came to Loch Leven, in 
 answer to his aunt, Lady Douglas s sum 
 mons, he held the Lady of the Scots, the 
 Romanist, a wanton. 
 
 Yet for all that the Queen of the Scots 
 had forfeited her sovereignty, and was the 
 instrument of Romanish intrigue against 
 the peace of Scotland, he felt a certain 
 awe when he first accompanied Ferguson, 
 the keeper, to do his cousin George Doug 
 las s office as page before her. 
 
 Was not a princess different from other 
 
 folk, and this one, an enticing witch ? 
 
 But with family pride strong in his heart, 
 
 and with shame over his cousin s weak- 
 
 219
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 ness, he was determined not to be be 
 witched. 
 
 The keys creaked in the great door 
 while Ferguson whispered under his breath : 
 
 " Beware, Master Douglas, and be 
 strong in the Lord. If she were queen 
 once, she ever was the wicked woman. 
 The blood of those her arts have slain 
 calls out on her." 
 
 She was by the window, where, at her 
 feet, her companion, Mistress Seton, was 
 reading in the French tongue. Her hands 
 supported her chin, and her eyes were 
 toward the free sky. Her face, thin and 
 worn, was framed by lightish brown hair, 
 that morning braided carelessly in long 
 folds over her shoulders. The hazel eyes 
 seemed to hold ready hate or love or 
 indifference. Douglas was to see this 
 charming face flushing with excitement ; 
 now exquisite fair, it was of clear pallor 
 and the eyes underlined with a dark pen 
 cilling. Her figure was daintily moulded, 
 and showed its slender proportions, through 
 220
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 the folds of the gown, which was of some 
 gray stuff, plainly made. She wore no 
 jewels, save a single ruby on a ribbon at 
 her throat. A pretty lady, like any other, 
 the young gentleman decided, and yet, 
 decisions sometimes changing so rapidly 
 where women are concerned, he put that 
 away, and thought she was more. 
 
 When rising with a yawn she faced 
 them, he saw she was of medium height, 
 and looked gracious and amiable, with a 
 manner that had exactly the right degree 
 of unconscious familiarity with inferiors, 
 yet could not forget she was some great 
 lady. If under her eyes were bluish 
 pencillings, and on her face the least sug 
 gestion of lines, she still had a certain 
 girlishness which her voice confirmed, 
 a woman s voice with a maiden s quality. 
 She looked the lady that might be sad in 
 the morning, with the old zest of gayety 
 by noon. He felt she was noting him 
 carefully, and under her lashes was seeing 
 him all, body and soul. He thought of
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 what the preachers of Knox s following 
 declared her " Jezebel ; " " the heathen 
 ish creature ; " "a siren ! " 
 
 Yet after his second visit in the duty of 
 page, he began to say to himself, " Surely, 
 she is a pleasant lady who has been much 
 belied." 
 
 But there were other moods, when she 
 paced the room s length, no longer a charm 
 ing gentlewoman, with the courtesies of the 
 court, but more some caged tigress, ready, 
 if the bars were but down, to rend and 
 tear, looking cravingly into the open, out 
 of her window, where birds and men 
 seemed to her to do as they listed. Then, 
 sometimes, keeper and page did not see 
 her at all, only heard from the next room 
 sobs, when Mistress Seton or Mistress Jane 
 Kennedy would very civilly dismiss them. 
 
 Yet perhaps at breakfast the morning 
 after, the queen would appear with a 
 laughter-filled face, although her eyes 
 might be hollow, and her gayety suggested 
 the effort to force forgetfulness. 
 222
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 And in this wise did Master William 
 Douglas come to know and think differently 
 of this princess, never seeing her alone, scarce 
 noticed by her or her ladies, and always 
 under the keeper s eye. But he carried 
 thought of her to his sport with the men 
 at arms, or to the hours he had in a skiff 
 on the lake, or to the castle chaplain who 
 told his congregation again and again the 
 tale of the complete wickedness of man 
 kind, the dreariness of this life, the flames 
 and the devils that await us in the more 
 painful future. 
 
 Now about this time the queen at 
 tempted to escape by donning the gar 
 ments of the laundress who brought her 
 linen from the village. 
 
 William Douglas, on the castle terrace 
 that afternoon training a falcon, heard 
 below the keeper s gruff cry, "A too 
 neat ankled laundress by half ! " for though 
 closely muffled, Mary Stuart s foot had 
 betrayed her. Yet for all her disappoint 
 ment at failure, and the sarcastic gibes 
 223
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 Lady Douglas cast at her then, the de 
 jected prisoner carried herself with the 
 simple dignity the Stuart princess always 
 had in face of adversity. No circum 
 stances did so much to change William 
 Douglas entirely to her cause as this adven 
 ture. Hardly more than lad, the queen 
 may have read it in his eyes. Did she, 
 she appeared to be looking beyond him, or 
 to notice him no more than the stone 
 blocks of the flooring. Nor did her 
 ladies, who before, having no one else, had 
 thought him worth an occasional smile, 
 now seem to be aware of his presence. 
 Finally he found their conduct, and par 
 ticularly that of the queen, almost unen 
 durable, although it was natural enough. 
 He was decided to drop a note into the 
 queen s lap as he passed, but that was too 
 risky, and might only lead to his being re 
 moved from his post. Thinking over the 
 riddle, at last one object came to have a 
 fascination, its possession dearer than am 
 bition or love or fortune, that, the key- 
 224
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 ring Master Ferguson had at his girdle ; 
 and then our young gentleman of the 
 Douglases began almost unconsciously to 
 curry favor with the keeper : tried the art 
 of a player ; maligned the queen, to the 
 keeper s delight, while inwardly cursing 
 him ; used the canting phrases Scot dis 
 senters affected, and slily discussed the 
 ology, which was a common topic. 
 
 But always those keys were in their 
 place at the keeper s girdle, unless he 
 should knife him behind. 
 
 Following out this wish to be near the 
 keys, he sat talking one night until near 
 ten o clock with this Irish-Scot keeper, 
 who was expounding some theological 
 point, Douglas agreeing with him, the 
 time devouring with his eyes the bunch 
 of keys. A windy night it was of scurry 
 ing clouds, through which the moon would 
 break, sending an occasional shine across 
 the guard-room floor. 
 
 At last the keeper became drowsy, de 
 claring he would go to bed. 
 15 225
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 u But I could show this more clearly to 
 you, Master Douglas, if I had my copy of 
 Knox s sermons." 
 
 " If you 11 suffer me, I will go to your 
 chamber with you, Master Ferguson, 
 and bring the book that I may con the 
 point." 
 
 " That you may, Master Douglas." 
 
 So he followed him out of the guard 
 room to the door of his chamber, that the 
 keeper threw open, putting the lantern he 
 carried on the floor, while he fumbled for 
 the book. The gleam from the candle 
 was shot back to the youth s eyes by the 
 flaming key-ring. The pistol in Fer 
 guson s belt caught him under the belly, 
 and rising, he pulled it out, placing it on 
 the board above the fireplace. With sud 
 den impulse Douglas reached toward it ; 
 but turning, he slammed the door, that 
 made clamorous echo. 
 
 " Eh, what s that, Master Douglas ? " 
 said the keeper, the book of John Knox in 
 his hand. 
 
 226
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 " The wind, Master Ferguson, the 
 wind, I declare." 
 
 Leaping forward, he grasped the pistol 
 from the board above the fireplace and 
 faced the other. 
 
 " If it please you, Master Ferguson, the 
 castle keys ? " 
 
 There was no premeditation. He had 
 not dreamed of such an action. Its fool- 
 hardiness would have dismayed him. The 
 keys, the mad desire to have them, pos 
 sessed him like one of the devils Christ 
 cast out. 
 
 Never was man more dumfounded. 
 
 " Are ye mad ? " he gasped. 
 
 " The keys, sirrah ! " said Douglas. 
 
 At this Ferguson muttered, " T is Jeze 
 bel s arts," and so exclaimed. With a 
 blow he sent the pistol flying from Doug 
 las s hand, caught him by the back, casting 
 him with one thrust into the corner. The 
 pistol, by fortune s power, was not dis 
 charged. The thick walls, the closed 
 door, kept the scuffle unheard. Ferguson 
 227
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 gazed at him in a heap in the corner, as 
 he might be some worm. 
 
 " T is you, master, following George 
 Douglas s way. But you re a madman." 
 
 He spoke sense. Douglas had yielded 
 his secret. His plight could not be worse. 
 A frenzy of unreasoned rage possessed 
 him, and Ferguson s contempt gave a 
 chance. 
 
 He knew not how suddenly he was on 
 his feet, how he had sprung on the man, 
 bearing him to the floor and choking him. 
 The fellow could not cry out ; his eyes, 
 staring Douglas in the face, seemed to 
 start from their sockets, while his face 
 blackened in the lantern light. Had he 
 choked him to death ? He did not pause 
 to query, but, relaxing his grasp, loosed 
 the bunch of keys. As they fell rattling 
 on the floor, Ferguson groaned, moving 
 convulsively. Quickly Douglas undid his 
 girdle, passed it through his mouth, and 
 gagged him beyond sound. Seizing a 
 deerskin from the bed, he cut it into thongs 
 228
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 with the hunting-knife. With one thong 
 he bound his hands behind his back, with 
 the other tied his feet. At the moment 
 his eyes opened. He had not choked his 
 breath entirely out of him. " Thank the 
 God of the Pope and of Knox alike," 
 Douglas muttered. 
 
 " I Ve the keys, old psalm-singer," said 
 he. " Don t stare at me or struggle. My 
 plight is desperate ; I must free the queen, 
 or die for it. Farewell, Master Ferguson." 
 
 Ferguson s eyes glowed desperation. 
 Douglas wondered for a moment how his 
 frenzy had the sense to choke him. By 
 no other way could he have kept him from 
 outcry, or, indeed, mastered him. If he had 
 waited for a plan, he never should have 
 done what he did. Ferguson rolled about 
 the floor, making the moan of pain-bearing 
 despair. 
 
 Taking the keys, Master Douglas picked 
 up the lantern with the other hand, opened 
 the door, closed and locked it, and drop 
 ping the keys in his pocket, strode down 
 229
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 the corridor into the great hall. Instead 
 of turning to his chamber, he opened the 
 door to the corridor of the North Tower. 
 Something like the frenzy poets tell of 
 seemed to guide. He closed this door 
 behind, locked it, and followed the narrow 
 passage to the farther entrance, where the 
 sentinel, who d been sleeping on the floor, 
 sprang up, with staring eyes and gasping 
 voice. 
 
 " Sleeping, honest Jock ? " 
 " Not I, master. You saw not aright." 
 I m not blind." 
 
 " A man may grow weary, master." 
 "He may get a dozen lashes." 
 " Ay, master, but you 11 not tell." 
 " It s my duty. But I 11 try to for 
 get. 
 
 " I came from Master Ferguson by my 
 Lady Douglas s order, to carry a drug to 
 the queen, who is ill. The apothecary 
 but now brought it from the village." 
 
 In evidence of authority, he displayed 
 the keys, at which Jock gazed in doltish 
 230
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 amazement. Pushing him aside, Douglas 
 unlocked the door. 
 
 " Now do you remain here by the open 
 door, while I ascend the tower to the 
 queen s apartment. No one can pass you." 
 
 " Not a soul, master," said he, as if 
 reassured. 
 
 Lantern in hand, he went up the stairs 
 to the door of the apartment, which he 
 unlocked, closing the outer and knocking 
 at the inner door. Again he knocked. 
 At last, after a space, was Seton s voice : 
 
 " Who may be there at this hour ? " 
 
 "I, mistress, Will Douglas." 
 
 " You, master ? What want you ? " 
 
 " Word with the queen." 
 
 u Her Majesty has retired." 
 
 " I must see her." 
 
 " What mean you ? " 
 
 " God help us ! Ask not my meaning, 
 but wake her ! " 
 
 " Master, what treachery is this ? I 11 
 not open." 
 
 " Then, mistress, you waste my life." 
 231
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 He heard the queen interrupting : 
 
 " What s this, Seton ? " 
 
 " I don t comprehend, your Majesty, 
 what treachery they now are at." 
 
 Douglas whispered through the keyhole : 
 " Oh, your Grace, I m here to free you. 
 I ve gagged and bound the keeper and 
 stolen his keys. We have but a moment 
 to try for the open. If we are caught, I 
 shall be killed, and you ! I beg, your 
 Grace, hasten ! " 
 
 " Wait I " 
 
 He counted the moments until the door 
 opened, and the queen and her lady were 
 in the outer room. Her gown was hastily 
 thrown on. 
 
 u Forgive me, Master Douglas, I thought 
 you but a silly boy Seton, a cloak ! " 
 
 " But I remain ! " said Mistress Seton. 
 
 " I 11 not leave you ! " 
 
 " You must, your Grace. They can 
 not hurt me. If I stay I can pretend 
 when they search that you are in the inner 
 room." 
 
 232
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 " They 11 believe it. I like your wit, 
 mistress," said Douglas. 
 
 " That she has wit, Master Douglas, I 
 know ; that you had such readiness, I 
 never suspected. Forgive me ! I shall 
 reward you if I escape. God forbid that 
 an interest in my fortune may curse you, 
 too. I hate to leave you, Seton." 
 
 " It s better so," said the other. 
 
 For a moment the queen bent her head 
 on her companion s shoulder, and, suddenly 
 raising her face, she kissed her lightly. 
 
 " On, Master Douglas," said the queen s 
 lady then. " You re no boy, but a man 
 after my heart." 
 
 " I have one to settle below, mistress," 
 said he, noting her in the candle glare. 
 
 Closing the outer door, the queen came 
 after. Half-way on the stair, he stopped 
 her, while walking down, as if with great 
 boldness, he threw back the door below. 
 
 " Jock," to the guard. 
 
 He closed the door, lest Jock should see 
 the queen, and put the key in the lock. 
 233
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 " I have delivered the drug." 
 
 " Yes, master. But is it not strange 
 that Master Ferguson came not himself? " 
 
 " Strange it is," said Douglas, fumbling 
 at the lock. " This key will not turn. 
 Will you try it, Jock ? The jamb is 
 rusted, I deem." 
 
 " Yes, master." 
 
 As he turned to the lock, Douglas put 
 the lantern on the floor, and whipping out 
 his knife from the scabbard, and with a 
 strong blow, thrust him through the back. 
 With a groan the fellow fell over, while 
 a stream of blood burst over Douglas s 
 hand. The man s distorted face came 
 before him afterward o nights. But he 
 had no other way, and it was the queen s 
 cause. 
 
 The door was pushed back, and she 
 stood there, the cloak on her arm. 
 
 " Are you hurt ? " 
 
 Douglas thought she would faint. 
 
 " The blood ! the fearful blood ! 
 Not the first that s been shed for me ! " 
 234
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 " Your Grace." 
 
 I m cold." 
 
 Poor Jock lay in a heap on the floor, 
 his life blood still spurting. Douglas took 
 the mantle from the queen, and wrapt it 
 around her. 
 
 " Mind him not." 
 
 He tried to support her; for now he 
 was resolved they should get away. 
 
 " No, Douglas, I can walk as easily as 
 you for freedom s sake. But the poor 
 wretch, he brings so many memories." 
 
 She seemed to sob, and to control her 
 self, for her voice became dry and hard. 
 
 " We 11 go, master. Lead on." 
 
 He knew the way. Had he not studied 
 every turn during the weeks, when seeking 
 a means of aiding her, every nook and 
 cranny ? 
 
 So he led as easily as it were day, down 
 the passage to the great hall, where he 
 opened the door, which creaked on its 
 hinges. He dared not close it behind, but 
 went on, the narrow slits of the walls 
 235
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 guiding. The door to the corridor of the 
 postern-gate, he opened more carefully. It 
 did not creak as the other. He took the 
 queen s hand lest she should stumble. 
 
 The place was as still as the death he 
 had wrought in the passage to the North 
 Tower. But at the gate he was made to 
 pause, having left the keys in the door 
 to the Tower. Under his breath, he 
 cursed. And here the queen, in that mo 
 ment of perilous waiting, showed the Stuart 
 spirit. 
 
 " But no blood, Douglas, even though 
 they take us," she added, as she bade him 
 take that dangerous walk back. In the 
 passage was the gleam of the lantern, and 
 the dead man in his blood. How grisly 
 he seemed ; how he mocked him ! he 
 with whom he oft had laughed. And now 
 never another stupid jest from the doltish 
 brain. And he d killed him! But he 
 had the keys at last. He must get away 
 from that thing, the jeering, bloody face. 
 Back he stirred. 
 
 236
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 At the door to the hall were steps. 
 The watch was passing. He could hear 
 voices, a scurrilous jest. Yet they did not 
 guess his presence in the gloom, and the 
 clangor of their boots on the paving was 
 gone with a closing door, and their laughter 
 over the good story. In a moment he was 
 after them in the great hall, turning away 
 into the passage to the postern-gate. 
 
 The key creaked in the gate, and they 
 were out in the mist, the gate closed and 
 locked behind. The glare of the moon 
 shine over the terrace and the water troubled 
 Douglas. Any one who listened could 
 pick them out with a musket. But he 
 laughed since he had the keeper s keys, 
 which held Loch Leven locked. But no 
 time could be lost. They must go down 
 to the bank to the skiff, which he saw was 
 exactly where he had left it. A ladder at 
 this point led to the landing. And while 
 he would have helped her, the queen 
 climbed down as easily as if she were a 
 girl. She knew full well to her capture 
 237
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 meant a captivity more odious than before, 
 while to him, death. 
 
 When he pushed the boat the pebbles 
 rattled enough to have aroused the castle. 
 He gave the queen his hand, but she 
 leaped in without aid. As the boat glided 
 into the open loch the moon was hid by a 
 scurrying cloud, and loch and castle held 
 fast in mist and night. Douglas settled to 
 the oars. Then at last the queen s voice 
 came to him softly, 
 
 " The sweet air ! The freedom ! " 
 " I would wish the oars were muffled." 
 As if to prove how noisy they were, 
 a challenge rang out from Loch Leven. 
 Lights passed against the windows. The 
 alarm clanged. 
 
 " They have heard, or Master Ferguson 
 has loosed his bonds ! " said he. " But 
 ah, they re locked in ! " 
 
 Every key to every outer gate at Loch 
 Leven was on that key-ring which had 
 fascinated him. Dear key-ring was it in 
 deed, which not only had given the means 
 238
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 of escape, but which now could hold the 
 pursuit. They would be forced to batter 
 down a door before they could be after 
 them. No wonder that it had been his 
 desire so long; nor strange that he held 
 it up before the queen s eyes gleefully, 
 and then flung it far out into the lake, 
 where it splashed, and where doubtless it 
 lies to this day, rusted in the service of 
 loyalty. What cared he now for the 
 firing of the gun of Loch Leven, or the 
 spent balls splashing over their bow ? They 
 could not see them in the welcome gloom, 
 nor could they be out under an hour. The 
 gates of that fortress were as well made as 
 any in all Scotland. 
 
 Pulling on, Douglas found all at once 
 his arm hurting much ; for in some 
 way, likely in the struggle with the 
 keeper, it had been wrenched. Every 
 stroke made it twinge. Finally he began 
 to have a certain joy in resisting the pain, 
 which was the pleasure of endurance. The 
 firing continued ; but they could only 
 239
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 conjecture the position of the boat in that 
 welcome gloom, and they began to find 
 they were wasting powder. Douglas could 
 imagine his aunt, her gown hastily thrown 
 on, spending her rage. She had trusted 
 him, and he had been untrustworthy, but 
 for the queen. 
 
 " To the Edinboro road ? Do you 
 know the landing there ? " 
 
 " Well, your Grace." 
 
 " And the sign of the Deerhound ? " 
 
 " A half-mile in." 
 
 " A good Scot mile, master. Our friends 
 are there. I had the word in the laundress s 
 linen." 
 
 By this time hard pulling had brought 
 them close in shore, where he trusted to 
 the sedges to shadow them. He thought 
 
 D o 
 
 to follow the shore to a spot near the 
 Edinboro road. The obscuring cloud was 
 passing. Bushes brushed the skiff s sides. 
 He thought he knew the waters, but found 
 the boat scraping ; it grounded. When, 
 springing over and pushing out again, he 
 240
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 took the oars, the moon reached out, cast 
 ing a sheen over the waves, that danced in 
 a little wind. Loch Leven showed out 
 darkly across water, where was not a boat. 
 The only danger was from the noise of the 
 guns having attracted a passing troop of 
 the regent. Equally would it warn the 
 queen s friends that something was hap 
 pening in the castle. 
 
 Douglas thought he should have to skirt 
 the lake under the bushes. It would have 
 been the height of folly to have ventured 
 into that open space, to invite the marks 
 men of Loch Leven, or to excite the in 
 terest of those in the village, or chance 
 passers on the highways. 
 
 He had been pulling the skiff without a 
 word with his companion, only noting in 
 the moonshine the outlines of her figure, 
 her disordered hair, from which the cloak 
 had fallen. 
 
 " Douglas ? " 
 
 " Your Grace ? " 
 
 " How have you dared this ? " 
 16 241
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 " You are queen." 
 
 " But, master, there is a king, my son ? " 
 
 " Your Grace, why should I side with 
 this lord, or that, or with Lord James 
 Stuart, when you are Mary Stuart, the 
 queen in need ? " 
 
 " You were taught, Douglas, I was a 
 criminal who have forfeited my right." 
 
 " I saw your Grace in distress." 
 
 " I never once suspected you would go 
 to this extreme. I thought you only a 
 page of the Douglases, I confess, master, 
 and ask pardon." 
 
 11 Your Grace, it does not become you 
 to say such things to me. I have only 
 done as others." 
 
 " But they never have. Your cousin 
 tried, but failed." 
 
 " I may." 
 
 " We will not consider failure yet. But 
 lest I never may have chance again, master, 
 I wish to explain to you these charges. I 
 cannot think you would believe them en 
 tirely. To you, Douglas, I would speak, 
 242
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 although it is not the queen s part to 
 explain." 
 
 For a moment she paused, while the 
 bushes bent under the wind, the oars 
 dipped, a wild-fowl called from the marsh. 
 
 " A young girl, my Douglas, came from 
 the French court, where pleasure is almost 
 duty, to austere Scotland, where of late 
 some have held it sin. Many aspired to 
 this princess s favor and love. If I 
 this girl queen was thoughtless, I at 
 first intended no evil. When I found my 
 mistake, I hated those I had tricked with 
 fancies. Darnley, whom I thought a hero, 
 after all was imbecile ; Rizzio but a senti 
 mentalist, and Castelar ? " 
 
 " And Bothwell ? " asked he in his in 
 terest, forgetting he had no right to ask. 
 
 " I fear him." 
 
 But she added : 
 
 " I fear no man ! I am queen ! I will 
 have blood for blood, eye for eye ! " 
 
 He had known this mood in the castle, 
 when she would not see the keeper. 
 243
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 " Those who have helped me," she 
 went on, more gently, " shall have reward. 
 I will have my own again. Yet oh, 
 Douglas, I am the unhappiest lady ever 
 was born. So many who have served me 
 have suffered bitterly." 
 
 " The queen shall have her own again ! " 
 
 " She shall, for she will. And I am 
 free, and in this bonnie land thousands 
 are ready to die for us. Life is sweet as 
 this brave air. Men still love me, and I 
 may have some wit left." 
 
 The queen talked thus to William 
 Douglas, because of her excitement more 
 than from any intention to make of him a 
 confidant. 
 
 He reached a place where he thought a 
 landing prudent. 
 
 Taking his hand, she stepped to shore, 
 where, pushing a way through the thick 
 bushes, they came out on the expanse of 
 the moor, reaching then up to the en 
 closure of the Deerhound. 
 
 The queen trudged on with her bundle, 
 244
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 light-heartedly to appearance as a servant 
 lass who may be out with her lad for the 
 harvest dance. 
 
 " I see you take the way across the 
 moor because we there are less likely to 
 meet any one." 
 
 " Yes, I have no weapon, your Grace." 
 
 " Your knife " she began. 
 
 " I left it," said he, " hum, hum, in 
 Jock, the guard." 
 
 He spoke thoughtlessly, and, as has been 
 the case with us all a thousand times, 
 would have given anything to have had the 
 words unsaid ; for his companion lost her 
 gayety with the word. Her voice had a sob. 
 
 " My friend, don t bring to me the past 
 and its dead." 
 
 He felt the lout, and tried to murmur 
 some poor apologetic explanation, until she 
 interrupted with laughter, 
 
 u No, you cannot make me saddish. 
 Across the moor we go, master." 
 
 And she led the way, humming a little 
 French air. 
 
 245
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 " That s a gay song, Master Douglas, 
 out of keeping with Scotch austerity." 
 
 " The Deil s sometimes behind their 
 gravity, your Grace," said he, trying to 
 affect a lightish manner. 
 
 " Yes, horns and all. I ve seen him 
 behind one of these dissenting ministers, 
 again and again. Even John Knox ac 
 knowledged i there s not so much harm in 
 a bonnie time as in a bad heart, but, he 
 added, l your dancing will blacken your 
 heart. Eh, Douglas, mayhap he was 
 right. How silent you are." 
 
 u I was wishing for a sword." 
 
 " How strange it is that you who have 
 been brave should tremble. Come, my 
 master, a little farther, and we shall be at 
 the Deerhound." 
 
 He did not answer, for he had fancied 
 he saw shadows like those of men : fearful 
 lest some one might spring out of the 
 bushes, and maddened to think how pow 
 erless he should be against some passer 
 who certainly would be armed to the teeth. 
 246
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 He, who in Queen Mary s time, carried 
 life in an open way, was likely to have his 
 right to it challenged at any moment by 
 highwaymen, or his clan s enemy. The 
 queen, to give him heart, again laughed. 
 
 " Have you not done that which the 
 others failed in ? Are we not almost with 
 friends ? " 
 
 " Ay, but who knows who their bell 
 and cannon may not have stirred up ? 
 And you know, your Grace, a bare 
 hand has small favor with bare steel." 
 
 " It s a Scot s hand, Master Douglas ! 
 A Scot brain. We 11 have no more 
 French tunes this night. I know a better 
 of your own people." 
 
 I fancy you who read may know that 
 ancient song of the Douglas , a catching 
 tune that renders a Douglas proud of his 
 own. Through it all runs the clash of 
 steel, and the cry that rendered the race 
 warm for the fray. Now it came in a 
 low tone from a lady s lips, and it gave 
 this Douglas heart. He had been shudder- 
 247
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 ing at what he had done, but now again, 
 with her voice, he cared not at all whom 
 he should face. So curiously is bravery a 
 matter of how the brain or is it how the 
 heart ? works. On that lonely moor, 
 it was as if they two, queen and subject, 
 had the world to themselves. The moon 
 shine makes the earth so different a place. 
 A man makes love under the moon, to 
 hate her under the sun. 
 
 A stone wall marked the enclosure of 
 the Deerhound, and revealed the hazard. 
 
 " You can trust those you expect to 
 be at the Deerhound ? " 
 
 " As much as you. Go to the rear 
 door. Knock thrice. To him asking 
 your errand, say, Does the day please ? 
 
 " Yet something may have gone against 
 us." 
 
 " The fortune of war," assented the 
 queen. 
 
 " And do you, your Grace, remain here 
 in the shadow of the wall until I may find 
 how our fortune may be at the inn." 
 248
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 " Wait, master ! " 
 
 She took from her bosom a little gold 
 crucifix. 
 
 " I must pray, Master Douglas. For 
 sinners was Christ, the priests tell us. I 
 would pray to him, for he is greater than 
 the Virgin, although likely she understands 
 us women." 
 
 He had bowed his head, if he had been 
 taught her faith was idolatrous. 
 
 " Father," said the queen, holding the 
 image high, " I pray Thee remember us. 
 Remember James, my son. Remember 
 William Douglas, my knight. O God 
 of Scotland, and of Mary Stuart, do Thou 
 hear the prayer of us who without Thee 
 are but babes in a wood." 
 
 What matters a man s faith so much as 
 his honesty ? A long time yet has the 
 world to learn that theology is naught 
 more than a trickery of phrases. Her 
 eyes were on him. Her belief in the 
 power of Him the little image symbolized 
 to help her for all her faults, impressed 
 249
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 him with a sort of ardor of entreaty to 
 Him. He had been man ; had suffered, 
 been perplexed. He could understand all, 
 even the murder of Jock, the guard. The 
 words of the ministers of the New Church 
 rang in William Douglas s memory ; " O 
 God, we are poor sinners indeed ! " 
 
 " I believe you are one of the dissenters, 
 master ? They d make light of our 
 ancestors faith. Are we, poor, conceited 
 fools, so much wiser ? " 
 
 She pressed the crucifix to her lips, and 
 thrust it again into her bosom. She held 
 out her hand, which he pressed to his lips, 
 and turned to scale the wall without 
 another glance back, yet hating to leave 
 her so, fearful of all that might happen. 
 
 Dropping down on the farther side of 
 the wall, he found himself in the stable 
 yard of the Deerhound. No one appeared 
 to be stirring, although lights were in the 
 upper windows. About the corner of the 
 house a train of light fell across the highway 
 beyond, as if the front doors were wide. 
 250
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 Finding the rear door without difficulty, 
 he knocked once, twice, thrice. When 
 there was no answer, although he fancied he 
 heard voices, he again raised the knocker, 
 which fell into its metal place with a far- 
 reaching resonance. Again he lifted it, 
 and again. Five minutes passed, when 
 there was rustling, and then a stumbling 
 inside. Somebody fumbled with bolts, 
 and opened the door, keeping the chain 
 on. A withered, wrinkled face looked out. 
 
 " What want you ? " questioned a husky 
 voice. 
 
 " Good dame, does the day please ? " 
 albeit a night of the full moon. 
 
 The candle near dropped from her 
 palsied hand. 
 
 " Wait," she said, like one of the Fates. 
 
 The door closed. So long a time 
 passed that Douglas was about to turn 
 back, or to try the other door. Should he 
 be greeted by the Earl of Moray s fol 
 lowers ? He could hear his heart, he fan 
 cied. And what might be happening 
 251
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 behind the stone wall ? Was she in 
 peril from he knew not whom ? How 
 easily all his effort up to this might 
 be made naught ! Nor were Lord Moray s 
 men alone to be feared. There were 
 hundreds of others during that unsettled 
 period who might be at the Deerhound, 
 inimical to the cause. You may believe 
 it was almost in fright he heard again a 
 rattling of the bolts. 
 
 This time the chain was loosed, when 
 the door opened, showing the dame, and 
 two others with travel-stained boots, but 
 so closely muffled that he could not make 
 them out, nor their style of dress. One 
 stepped up to him when he saw the eyes 
 peering from the cloak. 
 
 " Your question ? " 
 
 " I pray you, master, does the day 
 please ? " 
 
 The other thrust back his covering. 
 
 " Will ? Will Douglas ! We heard the 
 cannon Loch Leven. And now you are 
 here with that question ? " 
 252
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 Muffled as the speaker was, William 
 Douglas could not be mistaken in the 
 voice. 
 
 " Ah, cousin," said he, " we are of the 
 same political complexion. I, as you, 
 serve the queen, not Moray." 
 
 The other now was holding a lantern 
 high, peering into his face. 
 
 " Blood on your cuff? " 
 
 The presence of one s relatives may 
 lead to the assumption of any bravado one 
 may own. Before our kin, most of all, 
 we like to show best our prowess, our 
 cleverness, our bravery, our all. So was 
 it with William Douglas. 
 
 " I killed a fellow who stood in my 
 way." 
 
 " And you are from the queen ? " 
 
 " I came with the queen." 
 
 " Eh, boy ! What s turned your 
 sense ? " 
 
 " Cousin," said he to George Douglas, 
 " get me ladder with which to scale the 
 wall, and you will understand I am no 
 253
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 liar. Hurry, fools ! The ladder, I tell 
 you." 
 
 "You re in your cups, Will Douglas." 
 
 11 1 have done that you failed in," he 
 boasted. 
 
 " Your Grace," he cried. 
 
 " Master Douglas ? " 
 
 " The queen s voice," said he. 
 
 George Douglas s incredulity vanished, 
 and he was over the wall, where they 
 found him kneeling before the Lady o 
 the Scots. 
 
 " Kneel not to me who owe much 
 yes, almost all for freedom is all ! to 
 the Douglases." 
 
 " We were your gaolers." 
 
 " Who have freed the prisoner." 
 
 " Not I, but my cousin." 
 
 " But, Douglas, you tried, if the other suc 
 ceeded. Come, your hand, over the wall." 
 
 He did this gallantly with all his grace. 
 
 But William Douglas had heard the 
 
 queen s words. He had succeeded where 
 
 his cousin failed. The cannon of Loch 
 
 254
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 Leven had excited the inn, keeping the 
 watchers for the queen awake. How 
 many others, unfriendly to the restoration, 
 might have been aroused, the queen s 
 gentlemen then could only conjecture. If 
 William Douglas s thought to leave the 
 castle without the keys to unlock its doors 
 had delayed the chase, yet now it were 
 imprudent to tarry at the Deerhound. 
 
 Nor was it half an hour before the 
 company was in the saddle, shouting under 
 its breath, 
 
 " God, and the queen ! " 
 
 With the steady swing of cantering 
 horses, the lighting of the sky in the 
 east, the stirring of men and women along 
 the way for their morning tasks, they 
 saw the tower of a queen s fortress. 
 
 But in the Heart of William Douglas 
 was no gladness ; and he wondered, for 
 had he not succeeded ? 
 
 Yet the Fate that makes hearts said, 
 " There shall be no success without a 
 regret." 
 
 2 S5
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 II 
 
 And he who was the envy of the court 
 that rallied quickly under the queen s 
 banner, knew this, although men envied 
 and the queen favored and knighted him, 
 as the Douglas whose leaky atoned in 
 degree for his relatives. 
 
 Queen o the Scots was she again, the 
 color in her cheeks, gracious to all, to 
 win back that she had lost. 
 
 But this Stuart princess had small time 
 to think of minor matters, when her realm 
 was disjointed and all her wit needful. 
 
 And William Douglas saw her rarely, 
 and then, in the court formality. And 
 again he was vexed, and only grew happier 
 when in the fight ; and there were many 
 fights in those days when Scotland was 
 divided against itself, and some were for 
 the queen and others for the regent. 
 
 And Sir William, as he was then because 
 of the service he had done, found further 
 256
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 distinction which was not to his heart. 
 Yet a man cannot live with memories, al 
 though he may wish to die because of 
 them. 
 
 And since he would forget, he tried to 
 make love as well as to fight. In the little 
 court was a Mistress Agnes Frazer who 
 did not disdain him ; and the queen, hear 
 ing of this, sent for him. 
 
 " Ah, Douglas," said she, smiling pret 
 tily, as she could, " I have heard of you 
 and my maid Agnes." 
 
 But Douglas was silent. 
 
 " Are you embarrassed, Douglas ? " said 
 she then, " that I should question ? " 
 
 " Yes, your Grace," said he, sturdily. 
 
 " And why ? " 
 
 " Because, your Grace, I have but tried 
 to make love to Mistress Agnes, that I 
 might forget." 
 
 " And why ? " asked she, for they say 
 she never was displeased at seeing the light 
 that then was in his eyes. 
 
 " Your Grace," said he, u I must forget 
 17 257
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 I m unhappy, because no longer can I 
 stand between you and danger." 
 
 Then she twitted him on practising a 
 courtier s speeches, but noting him, she 
 saw that same look, causing her to turn 
 away. Yet she was not displeased. 
 
 But after this she avoided him, so that 
 he, thinking he had displeased her, was the 
 more downcast, and wondered at himself, 
 why he should be so. 
 
 But he found that Mistress Frazer could 
 not lighten the heart ; nay, even the battle 
 field failed. 
 
 Then again, William Douglas took the 
 chances others held foolishly desperate, yet, 
 as is the way when men wish him, Death 
 did not seek him. Death, seeking us all, 
 seldom comes when he is called, for he 
 too seems to be ruled by mockery. 
 
 But there came a time when Death was 
 piqued at William Douglas, always daring 
 him. For after many days when the 
 loyal cause seemed again hopeless Wil 
 liam Douglas was sore wounded in the 
 258
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 thigh, and was borne away among others 
 to the castle where the queen chanced to 
 be lodged. 
 
 And one of her ladies came to the queen, 
 telling her among the wounded in the bat 
 tle was Sir William Douglas. 
 
 And the queen remembered, and went 
 into the room where he lay, breathing 
 hard. 
 
 Being told he must die, she kneeled 
 down by him, and said softly, with tears 
 in her eyes, that she was losing all her leal 
 subjects, who were more than the crown 
 of Scotland, when Douglas opened his eyes 
 on her. 
 
 He appeared comelily boyish, as if he 
 were still in his promise ; yet the queen 
 knew he had done her a strong man s 
 service. 
 
 " Live, Douglas, for me, your queen. 
 Happiness shall be yours. You shall 
 marry the prettiest lady of my suite, and 
 shall have all the land of a Scot county." 
 
 But he sighed, as with his hurt. 
 2 59
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 " Your Grace, you re fairer than all the 
 ladies of your suite, and the memory of 
 that night with you is more than all the 
 lands of a Scot county." 
 
 And those who were there, saw the 
 queen blush, and say very softly, " No 
 loyalty is like your loyalty," and bending 
 forward she pressed her lips to his and said 
 again, " Yes, no loyalty is like yours," and 
 rising, went away. 
 
 But when she heard that against all the 
 predictions of the surgeons he had recov 
 ered, she was piqued, and held his loyalty 
 not so great. And Douglas was even 
 sorry that he had not died then, for he had 
 wished to die. Nor did the queen remem 
 ber that she had promised him all the 
 lands of a Scot county j nor did he remind 
 her, nor see her often. 
 
 But, poor queen, the Scot counties 
 passed away from her, and she was a pris 
 oner at the hands of Queen Elizabeth, 
 against all the rules of hospitality. 
 
 Then she would mutter, they say, 
 260
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 " There is no loyalty like that of William 
 Douglas." 
 
 And William Douglas came to her by 
 permission of Lord Shrewsbury, and was 
 added to her suite. 
 
 But Queen Elizabeth, having heard of 
 the episode at Loch Leven, ordered that 
 he be dismissed. 
 
 But he swore that he would free her, 
 as many another Scot gentleman did for 
 that matter, and English and French lords, 
 and the King of Poland. 
 
 Now, one day in her prison, Mistress 
 Jane Kennedy, the queen s lady, told her 
 that William Douglas had been killed in 
 the last attempt to reach her and free her ; 
 which was fortunate, as, if captured, he 
 certainly would have been executed with 
 the English and Scot gentlemen who were 
 in that plot. But the Queen of Scots 
 would not believe that he was dead, and up 
 to the last expected to see him again, a 
 proof, say the historians, that she was a 
 bit maddened by that long imprisonment, 
 261
 
 The Loyalty of William Douglas 
 
 when she became faded and hopeless, with 
 only memory left of all her possessions and 
 all her lovers. 
 
 But whether it were a mad or wise say 
 ing, it was ever a favorite one of hers, 
 that " no loyalty was like that of William 
 Douglas," and that he again would prove 
 it. And she was a princess who attracted 
 men s loyalty to madder extremes than any, 
 whether by her majesty or her wantonness, 
 her biographers disagree. 
 
 262
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 263
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 IN 1776 our representatives declared in 
 the enthusiasm of the moment the para 
 dox " All men are born free and equal." 
 T was a neat enough statement for paper, 
 but some in America believed it not. 
 Was there an equal for General Washing 
 ton ? Did we not cringe a bit to rank when 
 a French marquis albeit a tall, red-haired 
 boy came among us ? A title caught 
 even then many a good appointment, and 
 I doubt much sometimes if Alexander of 
 New Jersey would have been so much 
 esteemed if he had not had claim to the 
 Scottish earldom of Stirling. I am sure 
 many inefficient foreign adventurers had ser 
 vice with us because they had titles. Two 
 of these gentlemen proved conclusively 
 265
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 that they had great natural abilities : one, 
 of course, Monsieur de la Fayette, who, a 
 boy of twenty, came so cleverly out of the 
 affair of Barren Hill, and the other, Casimir 
 Pulaski, the Pole, whom I saw fall with a 
 wound in the thigh during the charge on 
 Savannah. Taken on the brig " Wasp," 
 he died as she was putting to sea, esteemed 
 a good friend, a gallant captain. 
 
 It was only the night before that he 
 told me the truth of that affair at Warsaw 
 which led to his service in America. He 
 was not, the Count Pulaski assured me, 
 himself a partner in this matter, although 
 he was indeed a member of that Con 
 federation of Bar, sworn to fight for Polish 
 freedom to the very end. But circumstan 
 tial evidence led to his banishment, as it 
 had to that of so many others. Despair 
 ing of Poland, and eager for a career, he 
 came to America. 
 
 Yet although my friend was not himself 
 in this affair, the story he told of it appears 
 to me new. The picture of the king and 
 266
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 his assassin walking side by side, reasoning 
 together of the rainy night in the wood of 
 Bilany has had more than passing effect. 
 The story proves that our revolt against a 
 king was not the first. Ah, history is full 
 of these instances, King John, Charles 
 Stuart, Stanislaus of Poland, Louis XVI., 
 George III. by proxy in America, and 
 many another. 
 
 Now this is the account of the affair as 
 I remember it of the Street of the Capu 
 chins, Warsaw. 
 
 The king had been to his summer 
 palace that day of September 3d, 1771, 
 and his coach was returning along the 
 Street of the Capuchins. Now it was 
 nine o clock of a rainy night as the leader 
 of the king s guard of some seventeen 
 dragoons was astounded by a man leaping 
 before his horse with the loud com 
 mand, " Halt." The lieutenant strug 
 gled to bring his sabre down on the 
 fellow s head. His horse careened, stop 
 ping indeed the whole company and the 
 267
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 coach, whence the king s head suddenly 
 projected. 
 
 At the moment a shot, from a window 
 of a supposedly deserted house, grazed the 
 king s face, instantly killing the servant 
 who was with him in the coach. 
 
 " The king is assassinated," the cry was 
 raised from guards and passers. " His 
 Majesty is dead ! " 
 
 Stanislaus, who ever was considerate of 
 his inferiors, shouted at this, 
 
 " It is Felix, the heyduc, who is shot. 
 Quick, catch the assassin ! " 
 
 Suddenly down the street came the 
 sounds of horses, and cries, 
 
 " Down with Stanislaus, the creature of 
 the Russians ! " 
 
 At the same instant men rushed out of 
 the house whence the shot into the coach 
 had come, swearing, shouting, and firing. 
 One of the king s guards cried, 
 
 " A plot ! An ambush ! There are a 
 thousand ! " 
 
 Instantly the panic became general. 
 268
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 The lieutenant of the Guards, who had 
 succeeded in running through the fellow at 
 his bridle rein, now found himself con 
 fronted by the horsemen. Turning, he led 
 the flight, and the king was left almost alone 
 in his coach, hugging the dead body of his 
 poor servant, and oblivious to everything 
 else. The horses on the coach, rearing 
 and plunging, required all the attention of 
 the postilions, who themselves were fright 
 ened out of whatever wit they may have 
 had. 
 
 By this time the leader of the attacking 
 horsemen was dismounted by the coach 
 door. 
 
 " Out, Stanislaus ! " he cried, " you are 
 to come with me." 
 
 The king, perceiving who this was, 
 cried out to him, 
 
 " Kolinski, traitor, I am your king." 
 
 For an instant Kolinski hesitated. The 
 
 sight of the king, placed as he was, with 
 
 the dead servant in his arms, and yet, still 
 
 the king, with that dignity Stanislaus always 
 
 269
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 possessed that scene shown dimly by the 
 lantern of the coach, shook for a moment 
 the conspirator s resolution. 
 
 But the others were behind him, desper 
 ate, and knowing that if the issue of the 
 adventure were not successful death was 
 certain. 
 
 " Pull him out ! " 
 
 Then Stanislaus looked up from the 
 dead heyduc in his lap, the dark, hand 
 some man he always was, now with no 
 fear, but with a mastering anger at the 
 indignity. 
 
 " You shall hang for this ! " 
 
 Ah, they knew that danger too well. 
 They could not hesitate, if pity for a 
 moment had weakened their purpose. 
 
 Roughly they dragged the king from 
 the coach, he struggling and crying and 
 clinging to the dead, and the sides of the 
 coach. 
 
 I can imagine nothing more horrible 
 than that scene, the king now outside 
 in the mud, the dead body of the ser- 
 270
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 vant dangling from the coach step, the 
 postilions struggling with their horses, 
 the conspirators, some on foot and some 
 mounted, surrounding the king, one bring 
 ing the flat of a sabre against his head, and 
 the crowd of townspeople who suddenly 
 had gathered. 
 
 And then a cry went up, 
 " The Guards are returning ! " 
 Kolinski was on his horse now, and he 
 caught the king, who between the struggle, 
 and horror at his dead servant, was in a half 
 dazed state. Another seized Stanislaus s 
 other shoulder. 
 
 41 The Guards ! " rang out the cry again, 
 The Guards ! " 
 
 Kolinski lashed his horse, dragging the 
 near lifeless king. On they tore, Kolinski 
 again and again having to slacken his 
 horse s speed, lest the king should be 
 killed. So much more slowly was the 
 progress made by those who were drag 
 ging the king that the others, now seized 
 with panic, ran as they could ; and when 
 271
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 the ditches beyond the city were reached, 
 only seven remained. Here Kolinski 
 paused, uncertain about the path in the 
 darkness, densened by the rain. They 
 were outside the city with their captive, 
 but whither should they take him ? Kolin 
 ski cursed. The king braced himself with 
 out a word against the dripping horse. 
 Stanislaus had lost a shoe. His foot was 
 torn and bleeding. Never was man or 
 king in sorrier plight. 
 
 " Do you remember, sire, that you 
 danced at the palace last night ? " Ko 
 linski asked with bitter mockery. 
 
 " Ah, fallen king ! " said Stanislaus, 
 " I remember, and can foresee, wretch, 
 how high you will hang." 
 
 " Hang ! " muttered Kolinski at this. 
 "Ah, I may." 
 
 In the mean time one of the others 
 called back, 
 
 " This is the way." 
 
 Kolinski then spurred up his horse, 
 again dragging the king. But the way 
 272
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 was uneven. He stopped to dismount, 
 releasing Stanislaus for an instant. 
 
 " Yes, we shall have to walk," said 
 one of the others. " But where are 
 we ? " 
 
 " In the wood of Bilany," Stanislaus 
 himself answered. 
 
 " Yes, but where ? " asked Kolinski, 
 peering into the gloom. The rain tric 
 kled from the leaves, and then came 
 stealthy movements. 
 
 " The Russians ! " whispered one. 
 "The Russians!" 
 
 " A patrol ? " questioned another. 
 " Quick ! Save yourselves ! " Panic 
 seized them, as it had the others. They 
 disappeared among the trees, into the 
 darkness. 
 
 Then the king laughed, a jarring, 
 mocking laugh. 
 
 " Kolinski, my captors have fled. We 
 are alone you and I. Come, let me go. 
 We are man to man." 
 
 " Man to man, Pole against Russian. 
 18 273
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 I have sworn, Stanislaus, to take you. 
 I 11 not give you up." 
 
 " But can I not call out to the Rus 
 sians ? " 
 
 " Bah ! Cry out ! Do you fancy they 
 would believe you were the king, or that 
 they could hear ? I do not believe they 
 were Russians, but only the panic fears of 
 my friends." 
 
 " And you have no fear, Kolinski ? " 
 
 " Fear ? Yes, I have enough of it. 
 But I am little less likely to die and I 
 have no wish to die if I carry this 
 out." 
 
 And here the king interrupted by 
 shouting at the top of his voice. 
 
 " How useless ! " said Kolinski, trying 
 to put his hand over his mouth. " Do 
 you not see that you are as likely to be 
 heard by my friends, who will hasten to 
 help me, as by a Russian patrol ? " 
 
 The king, who was much exhausted, as 
 one may believe, had thrust Kolinski s 
 hand aside. Now he said, 
 274
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 " Ay, true." 
 
 " But where are we ? " asked Kolinski. 
 
 " I know not save in the wood of 
 Bilany." 
 
 " We must walk and find out. We 
 cannot go over these ruts with the 
 horse." 
 
 " We must walk," said the king. " It 
 avails neither of us to stand as we are in 
 the rain." 
 
 And leaving the horse, they walked on 
 through the dripping wood, not knowing 
 the direction, although Kolinski was care 
 ful to take that which he thought led away 
 from Warsaw. And as this odd pair stum 
 bled on, the king sore and sad and weak, 
 so that Kolinski, he knew, would have no 
 difficulty in controlling him alone, the king 
 said, 
 
 " Villain, you shot my servant, Felix." 
 
 "I would to heaven it had been your 
 Majesty." 
 
 " And in what have I wronged you, 
 Kolinski ? " 
 
 275
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 " As you have every Pole, by ruling 
 Poland for her enemy s sake." 
 
 " Yes, granted, man, that may be the 
 fact. But how do you know that I may 
 not think it for the better ? " 
 
 " And why ? " 
 
 " Because you Poles cannot rule your 
 selves, nor would you let me." 
 
 " No, we have stolen your Majesty that 
 you may not rule." 
 
 " And how did you get into Warsaw 
 without arrest ? " said the king ; when the 
 other answered, 
 
 " Your Majesty need not suspect your 
 police in this matter. We entered dis 
 guised as peasants, and some of us hid 
 in hay-carts." 
 
 Now in this strange conversation with 
 out any farther appeal by the king to his 
 companion s pity, Kolinski yet in some 
 way was influenced. They both were 
 equally lost in the wood of Bilany, captive 
 and captor, and, now that Kolinski re 
 flected about the matter, he saw that it 
 276
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 was equally necessary for both to find 
 some way out. Yet he must not let the 
 king escape him. His freedom, nay, his life 
 probably depended on him keeping the king. 
 
 After stumbling along, the rain now 
 having stopped, the pair noticed a light 
 through the trees. 
 
 " The Convent of Brelany ! " said the 
 king. 
 
 With a cry of dismay Kolinski recog 
 nized the building, which declared that for 
 all their walking they had proceeded in a 
 circle, the convent not being a league from 
 Warsaw. 
 
 " Shall we ask aid of the nuns ? " the 
 king asked. 
 
 For answer the other clutched his arm. 
 
 " Not on your life, fool ! " he cried. 
 
 As he spoke, the great gate was suddenly 
 thrown back, casting a bar of light over a 
 sodden road, and the dripping oaks be 
 yond. Out of the gate came slowly an 
 old monk, stumbling along. Kolinski 
 clutched the king s arm the tighter, know- 
 277
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 ing that he was lost should the monk dis 
 cover them. But the door closed, the 
 monk passed down the road. The place 
 was still, when suddenly the notes of the 
 organ in the convent chapel broke in on 
 the silence. The king crossed himself, 
 muttering a prayer. 
 
 " For my bejduc, Felix, whom you 
 killed, man." 
 
 41 Come," said Kolinski, roughly. "We 
 cannot wait here." 
 
 The king followed, and again Kolinski 
 wondered why the king had not tried to 
 communicate with the monk. 
 
 " Why did you not speak ? Why do 
 you come with me ? " he asked curiously, 
 after a moment. " Why, man, do you 
 not struggle with me ? " 
 
 " Because, Kolinski, I would win you." 
 
 The count paused at that. Again they 
 were in the forest. Again he was not 
 certain of their path ; but it was not or 
 this uncertainty he was thinking now, but 
 of the king. 
 
 278
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 " Why did you not cry out to the 
 monk ? " 
 
 " You would have been caught." 
 
 " Of course, but so much the better 
 for you." 
 
 " No," answered the king, " so much 
 the worse, Kolinski." 
 
 " And why, I have asked ? " 
 
 " Count, has not to-night proven how 
 much the King of Poland needs friends, 
 strong, daring men ? " 
 
 " And you are trying to gain me ? " 
 
 " I am trying to gain you." 
 
 Count Kolinski was ever most sus 
 picious; now he saw the king s cunning, 
 he thought, in endeavoring to gain him. 
 
 And suddenly he asked himself why 
 would it not be better for him to side 
 with the king ? The issue of the ad 
 venture was uncertain. He was alone 
 with the captive, who, of course, was 
 disabled with the wound in his foot and 
 the rough usage. He, Kolinski, easily 
 could let the king escape. It would be 
 279
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 easy to persuade his fellow conspirators 
 that he had been forced to abandon the 
 captives, as all the others indeed had. 
 By aiding the king he might purchase 
 for himself immunity. The thought was 
 tempting, possibly more so because of 
 a certain dignity with which Stanislaus had 
 borne himself since the first of the ad 
 venture. Kolinski felt himself, you may 
 see, grasping a horn of the dilemma he had 
 not thought possible. And as he thought 
 of his position he remembered the strong 
 oath he had taken to carry out his object. 
 
 " Come ! " he began. 
 
 "But " Stanislaus began. 
 
 " I have sworn, sire ! " began Kolinski, 
 almost humbly, for he understood well 
 the significance in the " but." 
 
 Stanislaus threw himself on the ground 
 wearily. 
 
 " Ah ! " said the other, with sudden 
 pity, " I had forgot your wound." 
 
 "Yes, Count Kolinski, you have for 
 got much." 
 
 280
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 " And what, sire ? " 
 
 " That he who takes an oath against 
 his king takes no binding one." 
 
 " Sire, it is Poland s interest I have 
 sworn to protect. And yet " 
 
 " And yet, Kolinski ? " 
 
 " This night I have grown to think 
 differently of you. I have come to re 
 spect you as a man." 
 
 " A king is but more or less than 
 a man." 
 
 " The King of Poland I held less up 
 to this night." 
 
 " And have you changed ? " 
 
 " If I should free you I should be 
 taken executed." 
 
 " Count," said the king at this, for 
 Stanislaus had a shrewd wit in times of 
 need, " if I be more than a man, a 
 king, my oath should be good, and I 
 swear to you that you shall meet no harm. 
 Should my guards come on us now I 
 would direct them to the road contrary to 
 that you take." 
 
 281
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 " If I could believe you ! " 
 " And why should you not ? " 
 " You have suffered so much from me." 
 "You can believe me if you will 
 reflect." 
 
 " And why ? " asked Kolinski, again 
 wondering. 
 
 " Because I want your brain, your 
 daring. Should I persuade you I should 
 have you as my servant." 
 
 " True," Kolinski reflected. Some 
 creatures stirred in the forest. A little 
 wind waved the trees, and swept their 
 faces. The phases of the matter pre 
 sented themselves. Which was the 
 better, the safer ? To serve the king ? 
 Certain he would be a fool not to, 
 should the king succeed or fail. The 
 scene in the Street of the Capuchins oc 
 curred to him again, the king with the 
 dead servant in his arms, lit by the fit 
 ful glare of the lantern of the coach. 
 The wandering in the forest had changed 
 his idea of Stanislaus. 
 282
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 " You are the king, sire. Forgive me 
 if you may." 
 
 Ah, could he after that night s ad 
 venture ! For the moment he hesitated 
 again. Suddenly Stanislaus extended his 
 hand to him. 
 
 " Thank you, Count Kolinski." 
 
 " But I have not said." 
 
 u I know your thoughts. It is your in 
 terest to serve me, they tell you, count." 
 
 " I have thought that, sire." 
 
 And then with the quickness with which 
 daring men arrive at decisions, he cried : 
 
 11 I will serve you. They my com 
 rades have run, leaving it all for me to 
 do. My interest is with you, sire." 
 
 " If I had not thought you would arrive 
 at this conclusion I should have cried out 
 to the monk," Stanislaus answered ; 
 " for do you not see how truly your 
 interest is with me ? It is doubtful should 
 I resist if you could get me to your 
 friends. On the other hand we both are 
 lost in the forest. We need each other." 
 283
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 " I have considered that, sire." 
 
 At this they were groping their way 
 again, the king saying that they must be 
 near the mill of Mariement. They had 
 come on a path which he was certain was 
 one he remembered when hunting in that 
 part of the wood. 
 
 By this time the clouds lifting some 
 what, they were able to see that the con 
 jecture might prove true, and presently 
 they heard the brook tumbling over its 
 stony bed below the raceway of the mill. 
 
 At the door of the low darkened build 
 ing Kolinski knocked, once, twice, thrice 
 and again. When there was no response 
 he grew impatient. 
 
 " Where do you suppose the miller of 
 Mariement may be ? " he asked. 
 
 " Inside, thinking we may be robbers," 
 said the king. 
 
 At this Kolinski picked up a stone and 
 sent it crashing through the window, while 
 he shouted, 
 
 " Open to the king." 
 284
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 Then there came a light, and an old 
 man s fretful tone, 
 
 " What want you ? " 
 
 u The king is here at your door, rascal ; 
 open ! " 
 
 The miller was not persuaded even then. 
 But at last between his fear and curiosity 
 he opened his door. And even then he 
 had difficulty in recognizing Stanislaus in 
 the miserable figure the king made after 
 his sorry experience. 
 
 " Pardon, sire," he cried, falling on his 
 knees. " Pardon." 
 
 " Up, man ; I do not wonder. The 
 Count Kolinski and I were set on by 
 assassins in the forest." 
 
 " Assassins ! " cried the miller of Ma- 
 riement. 
 
 " Yes, assassins," Stanislaus answered, 
 while he pushed into the bare little room 
 where the miller s wife and son stood 
 staring their astonishment. 
 
 Kolinski now began to tremble for him 
 self. Would Stanislaus keep his word 
 285
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 with him now ? The king s manner had 
 changed. He was writing to General 
 Coccei of the Guards in Warsaw : 
 
 " By a kind of miracle, I am saved 
 from the assassins. I am here at a little 
 mill of Mariement. I am wounded, but 
 not badly." 
 
 He called to the miller, who was now 
 eager enough to gain the royal favor, to 
 carry the letter to Warsaw. 
 
 While they waited, Kolinski again 
 hesitated, but being a brave man, he saw 
 that regrets availed him nothing. Pos 
 sibly Stanislaus was equally suspicious 
 of him. At any rate they both showed 
 their relief in their faces when General 
 Coccei, who had believed the king to 
 be dead, arrived at the mill door in his 
 carriage. 
 
 But then again Kolinski trembled. 
 
 " He is one of the conspiracy, sire. I 
 have proof positive," the General of the 
 Guards declared. 
 
 " Proof positive ! " Stanislaus answered 
 286
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 smiling. " I have proof positive that 
 Count Kolinski has saved my life." 
 
 Kolinski had listened to every word. 
 
 " Sire," said he at last, " am I indeed 
 pardoned ? " 
 
 " Hush," said Stanislaus, " we are 
 friends. Our fortune lies together. Your 
 friends will accuse you of siding with me. 
 Ah, you have." 
 
 " You have the proof, your Excellency," 
 Kolinski said, turning to the commandant 
 of the Guards. He had courage. The 
 adventure of the wood had changed his 
 politics, nay, his opinions. Stanislaus ap 
 peared to him as he was, a likable gentle 
 man, misplaced as King of Poland. 
 
 In the event Stanislaus kept his word 
 given in his desperation. He had seen 
 during that strange walk they had taken 
 together, how clever a man Kolinski was. 
 He alone received pardon, he alone of 
 all the conspirators escaped the fiat of the 
 Polish law. 
 
 Two of the conspirators, Strawenski 
 287
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 and Lowenski, accused him very bitterly 
 of their betrayal. They execrated him as 
 they ascended the scaffold. 
 
 But Count Kolinski answered the 
 charge boldly. He said the other con 
 spirators abandoned him. He could not 
 keep the king without aid. When he 
 had discovered that Stanislaus was inclined 
 to be clement he had accepted his cle 
 mency, and the king had kept his word. 
 However erroneous Stanislaus s political 
 opinions and practices might have been, he 
 at least had not lied in this : was ever, as 
 far as he was able to be, the good friend of 
 those who supported him. At least Count 
 Kolinski declared, that the " man " was 
 greater than the " opinion." 
 
 If these declarations were influenced by 
 fear, I am sure that Count Kolinski had 
 good, prudent reasons for his conduct. 
 At least I have a very vivid picture of the 
 strange scene between king and conspira 
 tor, of the rainy night in the wood. I fear 
 I have not made the scene so clear as the 
 288
 
 When Position Fails 
 
 account Casimir Pulaski gave of the ad 
 venture that began with the abduction in 
 the Street of the Capuchins. 
 
 On the last night of Casimir Pulaski s 
 life, as I have said, he told me this. The 
 morrow was to bring the fatal assault be 
 fore Savannah. Possibly the whole scene 
 is more vivid to me on account of that 
 memory. For Count Pulaski, although 
 we were very jealous of foreigners, was a 
 most excellent captain, as his achievement 
 in the Southern department showed. 
 
 That he served with us at all was en 
 tirely due to the adventure of which I 
 have given a poor enough description, and 
 in which, although it led to his banishment, 
 he himself had no part. Although I have 
 heard many stories to the contrary, I have 
 no reason to doubt the strict truth of this 
 statement, for in my own experience I ever 
 found Casimir Pulaski a man of his word. 
 
 19 289
 
 Angela 
 
 293
 
 Angela 
 
 THE scandal-mongers of the wheel 
 are confined mostly to those who 
 cannot, or do not, wheel. Not so long 
 ago women were likely to make mental 
 faces at other women who rode, but so 
 soon as they themselves were spinning 
 along with a freedom they never had 
 fancied, they straightway wondered at all 
 these allegations. And how, indeed, does 
 a brisk turn under the sky, and between 
 the fields, drive away cobwebby notions ! 
 In the old days a canter might do it ; but 
 a horse is a luxury, and, even if you can 
 afford it, is ever getting out of condition, 
 and to be fit must have a modicum of 
 constant exercise. But now all go a-spin- 
 ning, the horseman as well as the one 
 time long-distance walkers, the sinners 
 and those who strive to regain this old 
 world from the curse. 
 295
 
 Angela 
 
 Among these latter, no one is better 
 equipped for the ancient fight than the 
 rector of St. Matthew-in-the-Park, the 
 Rev. Lemuel Springer. With body and 
 mind attuned to a fine healthfulness, at 
 thirty, he believes strongly, and preaches 
 and acts his belief; and in these days when 
 clergymen sometimes forget that their duty 
 is but to heal the heart s wounds, and to 
 preach the reward of simple honesty and 
 cleanly living, it is a delight to sit of a 
 morning in a pew of St. Matthew-in-the 
 Park and listen to the direct and human 
 religion its athletic young rector expounds. 
 I, myself, remember him when he was 
 No. 3 on the Varsity crew, and a very 
 great man. He still could pull that third 
 oar as strongly, but the only sport his 
 duties now permit him is wheeling, and 
 if you go to the park of a morning you 
 may see him going up and down hill, and 
 doubtless meditating those words for the 
 soul-cheer afforded by his bits of sermon 
 izing, put always in English tersely strong. 
 296
 
 Angela 
 
 And yet he has had his troubles, his ex 
 periences, his questionings, his sin, his 
 falsity ; and if you will follow my story, you 
 will see how it all was due to the wheel 
 that he once forgot himself. 
 
 Of a May day the Reverend Lemuel was 
 coasting down the long hill into the strag 
 gling village of Roundbush, Westchester. 
 It was his day of outing, and now at noon 
 he was hungry after a twenty-mile exhila 
 rating spin ; and the world had put its 
 care away, and his blood was tingling and 
 his heart singing like the birds in the 
 fields and the treetops through the windy 
 blue spaces of that sunny spring-day sky. 
 The old tavern at Roundbush bears on a 
 creaking sign a distorted likeness of our 
 first great President, and after long years 
 of desuetude again has found usefulness 
 through the revival of the road, and 
 flaunts a noon placard : " Lunches for 
 Bicyclers." Yet this afternoon the Rev 
 erend Lemuel thought that he had it quite 
 to himself, as the fat landlord pushed his 
 297
 
 Angela 
 
 shirt-sleeves farther above his brawny 
 elbows and said he guessed he could give 
 his visitor " somethin that was fit eatin ." 
 And Lemuel I will drop his title 
 thought the broiled chicken delicious, and 
 sauntered into the parlor, dark after the 
 sunshine, with its haircloth chairs and its 
 colored prints of " Washington Crossing 
 the Delaware," and " John Brown s Cap 
 ture," and certain photographs of prim 
 rural folk. 
 
 Now usually Lemuel was most observ 
 ing, yet he had been in that room fully 
 five minutes before he noticed a figure 
 stretched out on a couch ; at the dark 
 side, to be sure, so indeed it may not have 
 been so strange that he had not seen her 
 at first. Her face sunk in a pillow, she 
 seemed to be sobbing. Lemuel at once 
 made for the door, when he heard a sweet 
 and strangely plaintive voice : 
 
 " I m such a fool ! Oh, I beg your 
 pardon ! " she added, with such evident 
 confusion that Lemuel turned about hastily 
 298
 
 Angela 
 
 to see the prettiest figure of a woman in 
 a witching bicycle costume ; and what 
 she was like I 11 leave you to fancy : just 
 fancy, that is, the very nicest girl of your 
 acquaintance, and you will see her as Lem 
 uel saw her much more easily than from 
 any description of mine. 
 
 " Oh ! " she said hastily, rubbing her 
 eyes. 
 
 " I beg your pardon," said Lemuel. 
 
 "It was my fault," she said, looking 
 him over demurely. " I forgot this was 
 a public room." 
 
 " I am sure it was mine," said Lemuel, 
 hastily. It was all rather strange and 
 sudden, and yet he decided at once that 
 she was a well-bred young person. 
 
 " Oh, I am glad," she exclaimed. 
 
 " I don t see why," he blurted out in 
 astonishment. 
 
 " Because you are Mr. Springer of 
 St. Matthew-in-the-Park." 
 
 He bowed, remembering with a bit of 
 conceit that a lot of people doubtless 
 299
 
 Angela 
 
 knew him whom he did n t know from 
 Adam or Eve. 
 
 " I need a clergyman," she said. 
 
 Now at this astounding statement Lem 
 uel stared his utter astonishment. Did 
 she need his spiritual advice ? She looked 
 a bit worldly. 
 
 " That is rather a surprising statement," 
 she added. 
 
 " I don t know," he said, hopelessly. 
 
 " I mean," she said, " I want an escort 
 to Greenwich, and with a clergyman there 
 can be no question." 
 
 " I don t know," said Lemuel again. 
 
 "You must think me strange." 
 
 He looked at her for a moment, and 
 made a very worldly reply, 
 
 " I think you delightful." 
 
 " You will let me go with you, then ? " 
 
 " Why, of course, if you ask me," he 
 said ; and why in the world did he say 
 exactly that ? 
 
 "I do and we must be started before 
 him." 
 
 300
 
 Angela 
 
 " Him ? I don t understand." 
 
 " I will explain later ; we must be 
 started now. We have no time." 
 
 " Oh, no time ? " 
 
 " Can you oblige me, Mr. Springer ? " 
 
 And with those eyes on him he could 
 and did, and having paid his reckoning he 
 was in the saddle, this graceful young per 
 son beside him, again and again looking 
 over her shoulder. She kept up a brisk 
 pace, neither saying a word, although you 
 may believe he was wondering at the im 
 pulse which had brought him to such 
 sudden complaisance. What if any of his 
 parishioners should see him as he was now, 
 tearing madly up and down hill with this 
 undeniably very pretty young woman, and 
 running madly from Him ? Who the deuce 
 was " Him ? " only, of course, Lemuel 
 did n t say " who the deuce." 
 
 " Oh ! oh ! " she cried suddenly. 
 
 " Ah, what s the matter ? " said he, 
 slowly. 
 
 " If he should appear, and attempt 
 301
 
 Angela 
 
 to speak to me, you must knock him 
 down." 
 
 " That would be rather unclerical, 
 would n t it ? " said Lemuel. 
 
 " You must," said she. 
 
 " Oh, if I must," said he, looking at 
 her, and knowing he certainly would. 
 
 The road forks half a mile further, with, 
 at the point, a bit of wood and thicket. 
 As you near the wood, you have the stretch 
 of the road to the left, and now, as they 
 came into that view, Lemuel s companion 
 cried out, 
 
 " Oh, I saw him ! " 
 
 Who ? " 
 
 u No matter ; we must hide. I don t 
 believe he could have seen me," she added 
 quickly. 
 
 And dismounting, she dragged her wheel 
 after her into the bushes. 
 
 u You stay there," she called. " If he 
 asks if you have seen me, you must say 
 you have n t." And she disappeared. 
 
 " That would be a lie, would n t it ? " 
 302
 
 Angela 
 
 " I have no patience with a man who 
 can t lie when it s necessary," came back 
 the answer. And all was still, save for the 
 rural noises of the sunny May day. But 
 at last about a turn came a wheelman. 
 He was young and well groomed. Seeing 
 Lemuel, he paused. 
 
 " Have you passed a young lady, sir ? " 
 
 " What sort of a young lady ? " said 
 Lemuel, avoiding the lie direct. 
 
 " Wheeling." 
 
 " A half dozen, I think," said Lemuel, 
 truly, breathing a sigh of relief. 
 
 For our young gentleman was in his 
 saddle, and tearing on. 
 
 Five minutes passed ; but presently a 
 face appeared in a leafy frame, a laugh 
 ing, tantalizing face, when she followed, 
 dragging the wheel. 
 
 " He did n t see me." 
 
 " Now what does this mean ? " Lemuel 
 asked rather angrily. 
 
 " Is your patience worn out ? " said she, 
 demurely. 
 
 303
 
 Angela 
 
 " Yes, I think it is. What s your 
 name r " 
 
 " Angela." 
 
 " Angela what ? " 
 
 " I am not going to tell you." 
 
 " But you know mine." 
 
 " Everybody does," said she, with gentle 
 flattery. 
 
 " Oh, I don t know. But what does it 
 mean ? " 
 
 " Now, please don t be angry please." 
 And she added, 
 
 " You ve been so good." 
 
 " Have I ? " said he. 
 
 "Yes; I don t know what I should 
 have done if you had n t appeared just then. 
 You make me able to say if any one should 
 see me, Why, I am out with Mr. Springer, 
 and he is a clergyman. 
 
 " Oh, dear ! " said Lemuel. 
 
 " Now don t bother, please ! We d 
 better be on the road." 
 
 And she mounted. 
 
 " Come on ! " she cried. 
 34
 
 Angela 
 
 And when he was by her side she began 
 again, 
 
 " I 11 explain as I ought. There was a 
 girl, and she thought she loved a man." 
 
 " Yes, I have heard of girls like that." 
 
 " But she did n t really." 
 
 " Yes, I know." 
 
 " How do you ? " 
 
 " Hum I have a parish." 
 
 " So you have. Well, to go on : 
 when she hears that man is engaged to 
 another girl, she tries to * cut the other 
 girl out, out of pique, not love for the 
 man, you understand." 
 
 " No, I don t." 
 
 " Well, you are not so clever as I thought. 
 But to return to this girl " 
 
 " Angela ? " 
 
 " Yes, she was Angela, if you will. 
 Angela encourages the man " 
 
 " The man who just passed ? " 
 
 " Tom, we 11 call him." 
 
 " Yes, Angela encourages Tom j and 
 Tom succumbs " 
 20 3S
 
 Angela 
 
 " Do you think so ? " she said, looking 
 at him mischievously. "Yes, he did: I 
 must be frank with you, a clergyman. 
 And it goes on in a country house in 
 Westchester in May. But there s small 
 chance in a house party, you know." 
 
 " Yes, I know," said he. 
 
 "Of course you know, because you are 
 a young clergyman of a modish church. 
 Now to go on with the story Angela 
 agrees to meet Tom on the wheel. She 
 wheels for a long time before the appointed 
 hour, and, getting tired, stops, as you know; 
 and, being tired, her conscience pricks her." 
 
 " I know of such cases," said Lemuel, 
 laconically. 
 
 " And she thought of the other girl, and 
 remembered how wicked she has been, 
 because she has been encouraging Tom 
 just for fun." 
 
 " She should have felt wicked," said 
 Lemuel, severely. 
 
 "Just then she sees a very prominent 
 young clergyman." 
 
 306
 
 Angela 
 
 " Oh, no," said Lemuel, becomingly. 
 
 " Well, at once she snatches the chance. 
 She will appear to Tom when he meets 
 her to be out with the clergyman. If he 
 speaks she will ignore him. Should he 
 persist, the clergyman, who is the stronger, 
 will knock him down." 
 
 " Will he ? " 
 
 " Yes, he promised." 
 
 " Did he ? " 
 
 " Yes, because Angela wished it." 
 
 " Well, perhaps. But when Tom ap 
 pears why does Angela run into the 
 bushes ? " 
 
 " Don t you think it was better to avoid 
 the meeting ? " 
 
 " Possibly." 
 
 u And now," she said, dismounting and 
 extending a hand, " good-by." 
 
 " You are going to leave me ? " 
 
 " I live over there." 
 
 " There are a lot of houses. Green 
 wich, is n t it ? " 
 
 "Yes, Greenwich ; but no matter which 
 307
 
 Angela 
 
 house. You are going back to town. I 
 am ever so much obliged to you. You 
 have been ever so good." 
 
 " Angela," he said, u must it be good- 
 by ? " 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " And you won t flirt any more ? " 
 
 " 1 never do." 
 
 " But you have confessed to it with 
 Tom." 
 
 " I never will again. Now good-by, 
 Mr. Springer." 
 
 And she was in her saddle, and smiling 
 back at him, and vanishing over the slope, 
 leaving him rubbing his eyes. 
 
 At first he thought he would follow, but 
 then in Greenwich he likely would meet 
 some one who knew him, and he could not 
 afford to appear ridiculous, particularly after 
 such an escapade. 
 
 Yet, as he wheeled, he regretted his 
 
 resolution, and he envied Tom, and he 
 
 could n t think of his sermon ; and he 
 
 really was on that ride simply to clarify his 
 
 308
 
 Angela 
 
 mind that he might make his next discourse 
 a fitting one. 
 
 And back at his desk, it was the same, 
 and his sermon was singularly poor that 
 next Sabbath morning. 
 
 And he strove with himself, and tried to 
 put her out of his mind, and to think of 
 how scandalous it all would seem to any 
 of his parishioners who should hear of it. 
 Yet he yielded, so far as to find himself 
 looking about furtively for Angela. He 
 even, with some self-deception, wheeled 
 several times over the same roads. 
 
 But when he understood how impulse 
 was carrying him, he lashed himself men 
 tally as a hermit of old did his flesh. And 
 he wrote a mighty sermon, which quite as 
 tonished his congregation ; and after he had 
 delivered it he was compelled out of consist 
 ency to give up his one indulgence surviv 
 ing from a great career as a college athlete. 
 
 And he plunged deeper into his work, 
 and " God s poor " and suffering never 
 had more attention in that parish. 
 39
 
 Angela 
 
 But he could n t give up dinners and 
 routs altogether, as a certain attendance 
 on these functions is plainly a clergyman s 
 duty. And at one of these he saw Angela, 
 and was presented. And under her eyes he 
 forgot himself, as, Heaven knows, clergy 
 men are as the rest of us. 
 
 " Angela," he began, " I have been look 
 ing for you." 
 
 " Have you ? " said she. 
 
 " And Tom ? " he asked, fearfully. 
 
 " Oh, he s married." 
 
 " To whom ? I did n t catch your 
 name. Was it Mrs. ? " 
 
 " No, it is n t. It was the other 
 girl." 
 
 " I hope you have followed my advice," 
 he said, after a moment. 
 
 "Not to I told you I never did." 
 
 " I wish I really wish you would 
 make me the exception," said the Rev 
 erend Lemuel. 
 
 And the parish gossips save, to be 
 sure, certain dowagers, and prim, acidulous 
 310
 
 Angela 
 
 virgins declare that Angela, the rector s 
 lady, shows the rule of an outrageously 
 lively young woman turning sedate if her 
 fancy and faith may be caught and held : 
 all of which, of course, is fitting the curtain- 
 fall on a comedy.
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 313
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 IN the first place Jack met a mermaid. 
 Don t be astonished, for she was near 
 it ; a very modern, strong-limbed girl, with 
 hair and eyes like those in Senor Cabanel s 
 famous Venus, who could swim like a fish, 
 and who could entice you into flirtation, as 
 the mermaid of the old story. For it in 
 deed seems as if all the old mythological 
 tales may be proven in these later days, 
 when your entrancing girl can swim, and 
 sail, and golf, and wheel, and ride, and 
 shoot, and bring down a partridge as easily 
 as a skilfully shot glance may fetch a too 
 susceptible man tumbling to her feet. 
 Jack saw Miss Spencer that very first 
 evening at Pierre Van Brule s, and the 
 light lay golden over the wave crests, and
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 she with the others came out of the surf, 
 and her laughter fell like music on his ears, 
 tired with the dry monotonies of the civil 
 courts. 
 
 " She s my sister-in-law, Priscilla Spen 
 cer," Pierre explained to his guest. " The 
 surf is fine to-day." 
 
 "Yes, jolly," said Priscilla, over his 
 shoulder. The maid had wrapped her in 
 a bright-colored surtout, and she stood 
 
 D 
 
 there with dripping yellow hair, and mock 
 ing, mischievous eyes. Two bronzed 
 young fellows sauntered behind ; he noted 
 their swelling muscles, their glowing, ruddy 
 cheeks, and tangled hair. "Tom Brin- 
 ton and Phil Merrivale, you know," Van 
 Brule went on. 
 
 " Yes," said Jack, slowly, watching the 
 girl. 
 
 " And Priscilla, Mr. Merton," said Van 
 Brule. 
 
 " Ah, I am glad to know you. We all 
 hear so much of you, Mr. Merton," said 
 she. 
 
 316
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 " You are thinking of Sandford and 
 Merton," said Merrivale, who was of our 
 day at New Haven. 
 
 " No, I am thinking of John Merton, 
 the corporation counsel," said Priscilla, 
 giving him a cool, dripping hand. 
 
 " I declare, I don t believe I shall do 
 else but think of you for the rest of my 
 days Pierre s sister-in-law," said Jack, 
 not stupidly at all, and Pierre thought that 
 Amy, the hostess, might have been wrong 
 when she said she was fearful lest Merton 
 prove too heavy for the rest of that crowd. 
 A clever man like that is all right any 
 where, Pierre mused sententiously, in 
 which, as the context will show, he was 
 quite in the wrong. 
 
 " We shall meet at dinner," said Pris 
 cilla, nodding back, and then ran up the 
 path to the red-shingled house, which 
 stands on the cliff over the stretching sea, 
 where you can hear ever a murmur of 
 tragedy, against the comedy of summer 
 lives. 
 
 3 7
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 Now that answer to Priscilla was the 
 one easy remark that Merton made dur 
 ing all the eventful visit. It was not 
 indeed a studied remark, but rather the 
 expression of a premonition. His un 
 easiness began in the drawing-room before 
 dinner. 
 
 The Van Brules ended the long summer 
 day by dining at nine o clock. The 
 dinner-coated crowd, the damsels in fluffy 
 things that show simplicity at the cost 
 of heavy checks from papas or guardians 
 or husbands seemed very conventional 
 after that first scene by the sea. But it 
 was all surprisingly delightful after the hot, 
 struggling town Merton had left so the 
 splendor of Paris once burst on me from 
 the bright days of the storm on the North 
 Atlantic. Merton was like an American 
 in a Parisian drawing-room, who can t 
 understand the flow of phrases, a play of 
 sport around him, animating all, which lay 
 quite beyond his immediate comprehension. 
 They talked of boating and swimming,
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 and wheeling and golfing and records, 
 and events in the circle where all were 
 intimates. He was an outsider ; a savage 
 suddenly admitted. He could have told 
 them of a world they did not know, of af 
 fairs; but they only would listen with polite 
 acquiescence, voting him a bore. He saw 
 that at once. He felt vaguely chagrined. 
 His self-esteem, pampered by so many 
 successes, was piqued. The hostess tried 
 to put him at his ease, but confided after 
 ward to Van Brule that he quite tired her 
 out. Finally the mermaid entered ; no, 
 not the mermaid, but a demure, laughing 
 Priscilla. She was quite a different being. 
 Tom Brinton was at once at her side. 
 Merton s eyes followed the pair with 
 vague envy of their apparent intimacy. 
 The butler gravely threw back the doors. 
 
 " You will take Priscilla, Mr. Merton," 
 said the hostess. 
 
 "You have me, you see," said Pris 
 cilla. 
 
 11 1 am delighted," stammered our suc-
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 cessful attorney, suddenly feeling an in 
 creased awkwardness. 
 
 " Oh, I have heard so much of you," 
 gushed Priscilla. 
 
 " Yes, you said it. I don t believe you 
 a bit," he declared, with the desire to as 
 sert himself. Why should he be put in 
 the background by these popinjays ? He 
 referred to Brinton and Merrivale as those 
 vain birds. 
 
 " Oh, you are trying to steal my 
 lightning. That should have been thun 
 der, should n t it ? " 
 
 " It lies in your eyes," said he. u Never 
 trouble about quotations." 
 
 " You are awfully clever, and sarcastic, 
 I believe." 
 
 " No, I am not ; I mean it." She 
 easily saw that he did indeed. 
 
 " Now I will return your remark. You 
 are like all men." 
 
 " Am I ? " 
 
 11 No, I did n t mean that ; you have 
 done a lot of things. What I meant is 
 320
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 that you have the art of the compli 
 ment." 
 
 "You should separate sincerity from 
 insincerity." 
 
 " I think I do," said she. She thought 
 him sincere, and her feminine instinct 
 never lied to her, although it did to men. 
 
 " But seriously " she began. 
 
 "I am serious " 
 
 " Do you wheel ? " 
 
 " Is that serious ? " 
 
 " No " He paused. He knew she 
 would hold him in contempt if he said he 
 did n t. He hesitated, and was lost. 
 
 " Yes of course. I meant I am not 
 an expert." 
 
 11 Tom ! " she called across the table to 
 Brinton, " Mr. Merton is going with us 
 on that thirty-mile spin to-morrow." 
 
 "Am I ? " said he, startled at having 
 the magnitude of his lie so suddenly thrust 
 back on him. 
 
 " Why don t you want to go ? " said 
 she. 
 
 21 321
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 " Yes, awfully ; but I am a bit of a 
 duffer." 
 
 " Ah, we know better." 
 
 " Do come along, Merton. Van Brule 
 has a stable filled with wheels and horses," 
 said Tom Brinton, although he plainly did 
 not relish the notion. 
 
 " Oh, yes, Jack," said the host. " I 11 
 speak to Ferguson to-night." 
 
 " Ferguson is the groom," Priscilla ex 
 plained. " You must come along." 
 
 " And he will have a wheel ready for 
 you. You people are to start at eight, I 
 am told," the host went on. 
 
 " Yes, we are early birds." 
 
 "Now, I don t believe I will," said 
 Jack. " It s awfully good of you. But 
 you see I m a duffer, as I said out of 
 practice. You go to-morrow without me, 
 and I will practise a bit and be in condi 
 tion day after to-morrow. You know 
 I ve been so busy lately that " 
 
 He went on while the others mildly ex 
 postulated. His lie had caught him, but 
 322
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 he would be up early to-morrow, and 
 learn before anybody was around. Every 
 wretched fool could learn to ride a wheel, 
 and he would take a couple of hours by 
 himself. He breathed more freely, for he 
 was insistent that he would n t go. But 
 presently another question from Miss 
 Priscilla staggered him. 
 
 "And you golf?" 
 
 He had been caught in his first lie, so 
 he answered bravely enough this time : 
 
 No, I don t." 
 
 " You miss a lot," and he saw he was 
 falling rapidly in her esteem. The mean 
 time the table were talking the golfing lingo. 
 
 " I am sure Mr. Merton does every 
 thing, Priscilla," laughed the hostess. 
 
 " But I don t golf," he repeated stub 
 bornly, now rather wishing that he had 
 said that he did. 
 
 "We will have some rides, anyway, 
 Mr. Merton," continued the hostess. 
 
 " I shall expect them," said Merton. 
 He did sit a horse rather awkwardly. 
 323
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 "And some swims," said Priscilla, 
 which spurred him on. 
 
 u If there is one thing I do better than 
 another it is swimming," he said. 
 
 " Oh, I am so glad. You know I d 
 rather be in the surf than to eat." 
 
 " I saw that," said he, remembering the 
 mermaid. 
 
 As they rose from the table Tom Brin- 
 ton in some way edged to Priscilla s side, 
 and presently had her to himself. Our 
 great young attorney fell moody. What 
 a detestable beast Brinton was ! Why 
 the dickens had he been slaving all his 
 life, when these chaps had all the ease 
 which he lacked ; and they were but 
 triflers. Ah, they knew the urbanities, 
 which, after all, were worth while. And 
 he he tried to talk to several young 
 women, conscious all the time of dismal 
 failure. On the beach, under the moon, 
 he could see Priscilla walking with Brin 
 ton. Confound Tom Brinton ; you see 
 reason suddenly had left this hitherto most 
 3 2 4
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 reasonable man, left him as a coquette 
 may her victim. 
 
 " I believe I will turn in, Pierre, if you 
 don t mind. I m a bit tired." 
 
 " I know you have been in that hor 
 ribly musty office, wearing yourself out," 
 said the hostess. 
 
 "Oh, no," he said, "your delightful 
 hospitality puts that out of the way." 
 Just then he heard Priscilla : 
 
 " Won t you change your mind about 
 that expedition to-morrow ? " 
 
 She stood on the lower step. Tom 
 Brinton s cigarette glowed by her side. 
 
 " I think I 11 remain firm by my re 
 solve," he said laughingly. 
 
 Yet, when he was up stairs, he did not 
 feel the least like laughter. The sea lay 
 far and mysterious in the yellow shine. 
 If ever he were back in town he would 
 have a wheeling master, and a golfing, and 
 a swimming ; and he had said he could 
 wheel and swim now. Ah, he must. He 
 would learn the wheel early to-morrow ; 
 3 2 5
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 and, remembering, he rang, and told the 
 man to call him at six o clock. He cer 
 tainly could do that. As for swimming 
 he could, a little. To be sure, he had 
 not been in the water for years; but, at 
 least, he could make some sort of an ap 
 pearance if he did not venture out too far. 
 Of course, he had exaggerated in saying 
 that it was the one thing he could do 
 better than another. He smiled grimly. 
 
 " I seem to be getting to be quite a 
 liar; and why?" He answered himself: 
 " She s the most interesting girl I have 
 seen for a long time, I m sure." 
 
 II 
 
 Ferguson, the groom, was one of the 
 most observant of his kind ; and, being 
 much with his master and mistress, was 
 an accurate measurer of men. From his 
 very walk he could tell whether a man 
 was accustomed to a horse ; and, now 
 that wheels had come into his province, 
 326
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 he could put instantly your wheeling gen 
 tleman ; and, standing there at the stable 
 door, his arms akimbo around his claret- 
 colored cheeks, touched with the sunshine, 
 that brought out a ruddy glow a temperate 
 but regular attention to the whiskey flask 
 had given, he decided that this gentleman 
 in the very new breeches and stockings 
 was not an old hand. "This s what 11 
 suit yez, sor," he said, taking one from 
 the room. He noted that the gentleman 
 did not mount in the driveway, but went 
 down into the road. 
 
 The air was deliciously soft that morn 
 ing. The sea had changed its roar to a 
 murmur. Merton felt the moment inspi 
 riting, although a certain derision he had 
 fancied in Ferguson s manner had piqued 
 him. u I 11 show em," he said, now well 
 out of view of the house. The road 
 stretched white and level direct into the 
 land. Not a creature was in sight, and so 
 he began. 
 
 But suddenly this thing of steel and 
 3 2 7
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 springs became animated, and refused, like 
 a mustang, and when he was mounted, 
 bucked. Picking himself up, covered with 
 the white dust from the shell road, he 
 tried again, with the same result. Hot 
 and already tired, he kept at it stubbornly. 
 He was not the man to yield at a trifle. 
 But this thing suddenly seemed to have 
 gained extraordinary importance, to be en 
 tirely out of the catalogue of mere trifles. 
 A boy in a milk cart stopped and laughed. 
 Several others were summoned by the 
 milk boy, who evidently wished to have 
 his mirth shared. But Merton went on, 
 until finally he had the thing going, but 
 uncertainly. Every time he was a bit 
 more proficient. He found himself wheel 
 ing with some ease, and thinking that per 
 haps he was right in believing that he 
 readily could master the creature. Yet a 
 wagon nearly sent it cavorting. It had 
 a tendency to shy and then to tear directly 
 for an obstacle, leaving its rider dis 
 mounted dangerously near a horse s hoofs. 
 328
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 But he would try again. He had no idea 
 of the passage of time. He was flattering 
 himself that he was progressing at last 
 when he heard the crunching dust behind 
 and Priscilla s voice : 
 
 " You fibbed, Mr. Merton. Now you 
 must come along." 
 
 " Yes, do come along, Merton," Tom 
 Brinton cried. 
 
 Merton did not dare turn about. His 
 machine shied, and as Priscilla turned hers 
 quickly to avoid him it tore the other 
 way with demoniacal persistence. " Oh," 
 cried Priscilla, "I " 
 
 " I beg pardon," said Merton. 
 
 And they were in a heap together in 
 the white dust, and Tom Brinton, think 
 ing Priscilla was hurt, was crying, " You 
 infernal duffer ! " 
 
 "Are you hurt, Miss Spencer?" 
 Merton said, extricating himself from the 
 tangle. 
 
 " Oh, no ; I never am, but my wheel 
 is bent." 
 
 3 2 9
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 " You see I was right about saying I 
 could not ride very well," Merton ex 
 claimed, despairingly. 
 
 " Oh, don t mind," she said, while Tom 
 Brinton brushed the dust from her skirt, 
 and her laughter rippled. " Is n t it 
 ridiculous ? " 
 
 " Yes, it is," said Tom. 
 
 " I 11 be hanged if I don t think it 
 serious," said Jack, humbly, " for a man 
 to be such a a fool." 
 
 " We all have to learn," said Brinton, 
 with that exasperating cackle. 
 
 " I wish you were a student in my 
 office," said Jack. 
 
 " Luckily, I m not. But I thought " 
 
 " He does," said Priscilla, decidedly. 
 " Only he s a bit rusty." And then, as 
 if to make amends, she looked up into his 
 eyes. " Don t mind, Mr. Merton, we 11 
 have that swim anyway at six this evening." 
 
 " Ferguson," Brinton was shouting, 
 "bring Miss Spencer another machine." 
 Ferguson came down grinning. 
 330
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 " Oi seed him s no wheeler," he whis 
 pered to Brinton. 
 
 Merton at first did not venture to 
 answer Priscilla. 
 
 u You must not fail me in that swim." 
 
 " I indeed won t," he cried at last. " If 
 there s one thing I can do it s swimming." 
 And there speech failed him. Ferguson 
 brought up the new machine. Priscilla 
 mounted with a delightful nod. Brinton 
 threw back a broad, laughing face to the 
 discomfited Merton. He could fancy 
 their remarks. " I must swim or sink," 
 he said. " Here, Ferguson, take this 
 wheel. I ve had enough of it. I m 
 going in to breakfast. Now here s a half 
 dollar. Keep your mouth shut." 
 
 " Thank ye, sor," said Ferguson. 
 
 Ill 
 
 But if he had given that half dollar to 
 Ferguson, he saw clearly that the best 
 way to face the consequence was with 
 33 1
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 
 
 bravado. And so at breakfast he told the 
 story on himself, and laughed the loudest. 
 Our man of the fighting legal world had 
 not entirely lost his tact. 
 
 " It was Priscilla, I know," whispered the 
 hostess to her husband. " Oh, that girl ! " 
 
 But behind all this show on Jack s part 
 was a firm resolve to retrieve himself by 
 the swim in the evening. He would be 
 very careful, and he felt that his little, 
 boyish skill would return with some inter 
 est. In recording this continued aberra 
 tion on his part, I, too, am inclined to say, 
 u Oh, Priscilla ! " How else can you ac 
 count for so practical a man suddenly be 
 coming queer ; how else than " Priscilla," 
 or woman ? He had developed a small 
 opinion of himself, and this was another 
 strange symptom. Tom Brinton s daw 
 dling was of more account than all his 
 achievements put together; and he knew 
 this with fierce envy. All of which proves 
 again the axiom that the trifling and the 
 important are but relative. 
 33 2
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 And so the day drew on, and the low 
 sun sent its sheen from the western hills 
 far out over the waves, turning white 
 crests into kaleidoscopes of color. And 
 then they all came down from the house 
 on the cliff, laughing and jesting, my friend 
 indeed holding his own, but appearing a 
 rather puny figure among those athletic 
 ones. And there was not Priscilla, but 
 the mermaid who was part of her, and 
 perhaps the most of her. And her yellow 
 hair and the sea eyes caught the glimmer 
 of the late afternoon, as she dove into a 
 breaker, the others following, and Jack 
 Merton not much behind. Yes, he could 
 swim a bit. He had n t forgotten. One 
 never entirely forgets that skill. And he 
 felt a certain exhilaration. 
 
 And then over the crests some one 
 called to him, an enticing, mocking voice ; 
 and there was the very mermaid of the 
 poets pushing before him. What would 
 you, or I, or any man have done but fol 
 low ? And Merton followed well beyond 
 333
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 his depth, that merry voice calling him 
 even deeper. And then the muscles re 
 monstrated, and he knew he could not 
 keep up. Where was that excellent judg 
 ment which had carried so well in the 
 struggle among men ? Here sillily follow 
 ing a girl, he was sinking. All the world 
 and all his past were framed by the green 
 horizon, and he must die. Still she called. 
 The voice seemed to be a refrain of the 
 sea, like Tennyson s verses. 
 
 " What s the matter ? " she said. 
 
 " Don t mind." 
 
 She was approaching with long, power 
 ful strokes. 
 
 " Lean on me. There," she said, and 
 as her head rose, " I never shall forgive 
 myself. Stop, and don t mind. They 
 never will know. We are but swimming 
 together. Keep back, Tom, Mr. Merton 
 is but experimenting," she added to Brin- 
 ton, who called, for they were separated 
 from the others. 
 
 "In a moment. Are you tired ? Yes, 
 334
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 you are. There. We will touch in a 
 moment." 
 
 And they touched, and soon were in 
 the shallows. 
 
 " You d better go in now and take 
 some whiskey. A big drink. It s the 
 best thing." 
 
 She turned back to Brinton, who stood 
 beckoning. 
 
 " Tom," she said, " don t you dare 
 smile. If you ever so much as whisper 
 it I never will speak to you." 
 
 IV 
 
 I have represented my friend, good fel 
 low that he is, in such a foolish light that 
 
 7 D 
 
 I am glad to say here that he himself told 
 of it, as he had of the bicycle escapade, 
 and that he himself began to laugh. His 
 secret chagrin, however, was none the less 
 deep. I can t remove the charge of fool 
 ishness as far as being disturbed by trifles 
 335
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 may go. Yet he resolved to face his visit 
 out, to lessen it not a day, but to make no 
 more attempts in unexplored fields. That 
 night he approached Miss Priscilla on the 
 subject, but she was strangely silent, and 
 appeared to avoid him. Yet he hid his 
 discomfiture so well that Mrs. Van Brule 
 confided to her husband that after all she 
 might have been mistaken, and that he was 
 proving an entertaining addition to the 
 house party. But in the night by him 
 self all his provocation cried out. To be 
 saved by a girl ! How ridiculous ! Could 
 he live it down ? And then he remem 
 bered that he had not so much as said 
 " thank you." " I don t believe my life 
 appears valuable enough to thank anybody 
 for it," said this disconsolate young man. 
 But he resolved to make amends in the 
 morning, and he found a chance after 
 breakfast. 
 
 "I I hope," said he, " that you don t 
 think that I fail to appreciate the good turn 
 you did me." 
 
 336
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 " Oh, don t say anything, please ; I was 
 to blame." 
 
 " You mean you led me on ? " 
 
 "Please don t talk about it, Mr. Mer- 
 ton," she cried, with surprising pettishness, 
 and to stop him effectively called to Brin- 
 ton, " Tom, do come here," which Tom 
 did as obediently as if he were her dog. 
 
 As the days dragged on she still avoided 
 him. 
 
 One night at dinner he said that he was 
 to leave on the morrow. The hostess 
 said she hoped he would make it a week 
 longer, and now really meant so much. 
 Then he noticed that Priscilla was looking 
 at him keenly. How did he interest her ? 
 he asked. 
 
 After dinner she called to him : 
 
 " Oh, Mr. Merton, do come and walk 
 with me on the beach. No, Tom, you 
 can t come." 
 
 Then she fell silent, and they were out 
 side by the talking surf. But he could 
 not talk. She turned suddenly. 
 22 337
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 " You you think me an idiot," she 
 cried violently. 
 
 "Why Miss Spencer that s what 
 I supposed you thought me." 
 
 " Don t be silly," she said. " You are 
 clever and brave and have done things ; 
 and you think I only care for these 
 these people for trivialities." 
 
 " Trivialities seem to me very important 
 lately," he said. 
 
 " What do you mean ? " she said, look 
 ing across the sea. 
 
 " I mean that if all these people are 
 trivialities, including yourself, you are the 
 most important triviality in the world to 
 me if you insist on that definition." 
 
 She turned her eyes from the sea to 
 him, and said not at all shyly, but as you 
 might expect a real mermaid to make such 
 a statement, 
 
 " And do you know I believe you are 
 the most important to me ? " 
 
 Now, this was in the moonshine, you 
 know, which is eternally putting unreality 
 333
 
 The Mermaid and the Duffer 
 
 on facts, so that inside, where he had her 
 to himself in a corner, he salt, 
 
 " But Tom ? " 
 
 " Oh, we ve just been brought up 
 together." 
 
 "That s all," he said, relieved. "But 
 I m such an awful duffer." 
 
 " At trivial things," she acknowledged ; 
 and then, in a lower tone, and with a 
 blush : 
 
 " I want a man who thinks and acts, 
 and will not be afraid to get drowned 
 for me." 
 
 " If you entice him beyond his depths ? " 
 
 " Yes, I want him to be enticed, as you 
 were." 
 
 339
 
 The Lady of the Road
 
 The Lady of the Road 
 
 WE discussed it many times after the 
 weary day was over, and the 
 morrow promised but another as weary. 
 We saw before us vacation, and Arcadia. 
 Tommie said you could find it on a 
 wheel ; and finally he persuaded me. 
 My persuasion was complete the third 
 day out. To be sure, we had not yet 
 found Arcadia, but we had the flavor of 
 some good health already, and were hope 
 ful that when we least expected it we 
 should cross the boundary. The road had 
 seized our spirits. We knew already 
 why gypsies persist in their gypsying ; why 
 the most entertaining pages in " Wilhelm 
 Meister " and in Kenelm Chillingly " are 
 those where the heroes take the road " over 
 the hills and far away ; " why " Prince 
 343
 
 The Lady of the Road 
 
 Otto " is the most delightful of Stevenson s 
 stories, and " Walking Tours " the most 
 exquisite of his essays, although I have 
 not heard that he rode a wheel. We 
 recalled that the real charm of " Pickwick " 
 was in the coaching, and the tooting of 
 horns, and that Dick Turpin was more 
 hero than scamp. 
 
 And so feeling fit, and our hearts at 
 tuned to simple, natural things, we rode 
 into that bosky wood, which was to be 
 the scene of our first misadventure. The 
 road was smooth and promiseful ; through 
 the branches at our right was the glimmer 
 of a lake, where Tommie said we might 
 loaf comfortably for an hour with our 
 pipes. So we left our steeds by the 
 roadside, and went down by that shore, 
 stretching ourselves out for comfortable 
 contemplation. An hour must have 
 passed, when Tommie gripped my arm. 
 " Look, Fletcher there in the road." 
 I followed his eyes, and saw by our 
 wheels a bit of sunlight on her face 
 344
 
 The Lady of the Road 
 
 a most charming young woman who was 
 gowned in one of those walking costumes 
 that are now the most admirable achieve 
 ment of the dressmaker. She was young, 
 I say, and blonde ; and she was smiling to 
 herself, and looking our wheels over. 
 One she raised, and before we even 
 fancied it was in the saddle as easily as 
 any boy, and tearing around a curve, and 
 out of our ken. 
 
 " Well, I 11 be hanged ! " said Tommie. 
 
 " I hope she 11 bring it back," said I. 
 
 " Particularly as it s my wheel," said 
 Tommie. But in the road we could see 
 no trace of her ; she had vanished. 
 
 " Get on yours, and catch her," said 
 Tommie. 
 
 " Oh, she 11 bring it back. She 
 wasn t " 
 
 " Yes, she was " 
 
 " A gentleman of the road." 
 
 "No, a lady times have changed," 
 said Tommie, ruefully. " Well, I m 
 after her, Fletch." 
 
 345
 
 The Lady of the Road 
 
 And he, too, was around the curve on 
 my wheel, leaving me laughing and 
 mourning. But in five minutes he was 
 back, hot and irritable. 
 
 " There are three forks of the road just 
 beyond. How in thunder am I to know 
 which she took ? " 
 
 " Try your luck." 
 
 " It s bad enough," said he, " I can t 
 afford another wheel this year." 
 
 " I think," said I, " that she s just 
 playing a trick." 
 
 " It s rather near a theft," said Tom- 
 mie. " Confound you, it was n t your 
 machine." 
 
 " No," said I, lighting a cigarette. 
 "We d better walk on. She s gone; 
 the wheel is well, perhaps it s pawned 
 by this time." 
 
 " You think you re funny," quoth 
 Tommie. " Ride on, and I 11 walk." 
 
 " No," said I, we 11 both walk. But 
 she was an infernally pretty " 
 
 " Thief." 
 
 346
 
 The Lady of the Road 
 
 " Now, Tommie, you don t know 
 that," said I. 
 
 "Well," said he, "haven t I the evi 
 dences of my senses ? " 
 
 " They sometimes lie," said I. For I 
 saw he was not pleased j it was n t my 
 wheel, and of course I could philosophize 
 more easily than he. We took the most 
 hopeful turn at the three roads, since our 
 map refused to be explicit ; and presently 
 we came on a rustic in boots. 
 
 " Did you see a woman riding a man s 
 wheel ? " 
 
 11 1 swan," said the rustic. 
 
 " I should remark," said Tommie, 
 " she stole my wheel." 
 
 " You don t say ! " said the rustic. 
 
 " Where does this road lead ? " 
 
 " Nowheres," said the rustic. 
 
 " Don t you live here ? " said Tommie. 
 
 " Since I was born, golly," said the 
 rustic. 
 
 " Then where the deuce will this road 
 bring us to ? " I asked, impatiently. 
 347
 
 The Lady of the Road 
 
 " That depends on where ye re goin ," 
 remarked the rustic, practically. 
 
 " Oh, Lord ! " said Tommie. " I ve a 
 notion to pound this fool." 
 
 The rustic looked frightened, .and re 
 treated a step. 
 
 " We want to go anywhere to find 
 the stolen wheel," said I. 
 
 " This ere road goes to Arcadia," said 
 the rustic. 
 
 A female Dick Turpin ! Arcadia ! 
 We opened our eyes. 
 
 " It s a queer name that Merivale calls 
 his place," said the rustic. " It s round 
 that thar turn." 
 
 We left him, despairful of getting any 
 thing more lucid from him, but it appeared 
 that at least we had reached Arcadia. I 
 began to laugh, when Tommie said irri 
 tably, " Shut up." 
 
 About the turn we came on a road 
 leading from ours between high gate 
 posts ; and there on a grassy bank was 
 our lady of the road. I stepped back, 
 348
 
 The Lady of the Road 
 
 embarrassed. She was laughing to her 
 self. Yes, she was undeniably pretty. 
 And as we paused, she began to sing in 
 a voice that probably was not a good one, 
 by common standard ; but here in the 
 wood, singing to herself, it seemed singu 
 larly delightful. I clutched Tommie and 
 held him back. 
 
 < Sing no more ditties, sing no more, 
 
 Of dumps so dull and heavy, 
 The fraud of men was ever so, 
 Since summer first was leafy." 
 
 " And of women," said Tommie, step 
 ping forward, cap in hand ; at least he re 
 membered so much of his manners. The 
 singer started, and drew herself up. 
 
 " Sir ! " said she, like the affronted lady 
 in the play. 
 
 " I beg your pardon," said Tommie. 
 " That was a very pretty song." 
 
 " What is that to you, sir ? It s 
 Shakespeare." 
 
 " You 11 excuse me," said Tommie ; 
 349
 
 The Lady of the Road 
 
 " but we have had a mishap. My wheel 
 has been stolen." 
 
 " Stolen ! " she cried in a crimson glow ; 
 and then in a tone that went despairful : 
 " Down by the lake ? " 
 
 " Yes, down by the lake," said the 
 malicious Tommie. 
 
 " Oh," she cried, " how can I explain ? 
 There it is. I thought it was Fred s. 
 I thought Fred and Harry left them 
 there." 
 
 " It s no matter," said I. " I m sorry. 
 It was a natural mistake." 
 
 She looked at me with a world of 
 thanks in the blue eyes. Did I tell you 
 before they were blue ? Tommie calmly 
 walked to his wheel. 
 
 " I am glad you did it," he said, " be 
 cause it has given me a chance to know 
 you." 
 
 " You re atrocious," she said ; and 
 turned and fled up the road behind the 
 gateway. 
 
 " Tommie," said I, " you re a cad." 
 350
 
 The Lady of the Road 
 
 Tommie leaned on his wheel, laughed, 
 and whistled. 
 
 " Was n t she jolly ? " he said. " I m 
 going to follow." 
 
 " You are not going to do anything of 
 the kind," I cried. But he always is stub 
 born j and it ended by me following him. 
 
 II 
 
 The road led from the wood into a 
 broad sunny lawn which was dominated 
 by a great stone house, where a man was 
 just stepping into a high dog-cart. 
 
 " Why," said Tommie, " it s Harry 
 Wharton." 
 
 At the moment Wharton saw us. 
 " Well, I declare," he cried, coming for 
 ward. 
 
 " She did n t lie after all," said Tom 
 mie. " He s the Harry of the 4 Fred and 
 Harry probably." 
 
 " Did you think she did ? " I cried 
 fiercely ; but Tommie was explaining
 
 The Lady of the Road 
 
 to Wharton that we had lost our way, 
 and Wharton was insisting on the hospi 
 tality of the Merivale house, which he 
 had rented for the summer, he explained ; 
 and Tommie was accepting, while I stood 
 speechless. At the moment our lady of 
 the road came out of the house and blushed 
 at the sight of us, and looked as if she 
 wanted nothing so much as to take to her 
 heels, which were very pretty heels, I must 
 assure you, topped by a delicious ankle. 
 Wharton presented us, " Miss Rose 
 Burton." Tommie had the audacity to 
 say, u We ve met before." 
 
 " You have ? " said Wharton. 
 
 "I don t remember," said she, giving 
 Tommie a glance that would have 
 troubled me, but only seemed to delight 
 him. But she rewarded me by turning 
 to me, and extending her hand and saying 
 in a low voice, " I don t see why your 
 friend is so odious about that mistake." 
 
 " I don t know, I m sure," I said. 
 Mrs. Wharton just then appeared, and I 
 35 2
 
 The Lady of the Road 
 
 had her I don t mean Mrs. Wharton 
 quite to myself, an opportunity I tried 
 to deserve. I began to believe that 
 Arcadia was all the poets have claimed 
 for it. I told her that I knew it was 
 a mistake from the first ; and, to be frank, 
 I did n t try very hard to defend Tommie s 
 churlishness. I told her she had rather 
 startled me when I saw her mount 
 Tommie s wheel like 
 
 " Like a boy," she interposed. 
 
 " Oh, I don t know," said I. 
 
 " How Harry and Fred " 
 
 " And Fred ? " I said, beginning to 
 suspect every man. 
 
 " Oh, he s my brother. How they d 
 laugh, I was going to say. But a joke 
 is with him who laughs last with your 
 friend, I think." 
 
 " He thought you Dick Turpin dis 
 guised," I said, trying, I 11 confess, to 
 make his case a bit worse. 
 
 " He might have known," she said, as 
 if much provoked. 
 2 3 353
 
 The Lady of the Road 
 
 "Yes, he might," I assented. 
 
 Yet in strict fairness, I felt called on to 
 let him know my perfidy ; and that night 
 as we sat smoking and reviewing the 
 day s adventures, I said, 
 
 " She thinks you insufferable, Tommie." 
 
 " She has told you that already ? " 
 
 " Why, yes," I replied, with rather a 
 self-conscious air. 
 
 " I say, Fletch, I believe there 11 be 
 more fun in this house than on the 
 road. I don t believe that we can have 
 another adventure like " 
 
 " Like getting your wheel stolen. Do 
 you want another ? " 
 
 " She s an amusing girl," said Tommie, 
 inconsequently. 
 
 " Yes, she is," I agreed. " But you 
 see you ve offended her." 
 
 " And you have n t ? " 
 
 " Oh, I don t know. I said from the 
 first you would get your wheel back " 
 
 " And you told her that ; and that I 
 insisted she was a thief ? " 
 354
 
 The Lady of the Road 
 
 " Well, yes," I admitted guiltily, " I 
 believe I did." 
 
 u And you think she 11 like you any 
 better for running me down ? " he asked 
 as sarcastically as he could. 
 
 " Who said I wanted her to like me ? " 
 
 "Your manner you conceited ass." 
 
 " You re the conceited ass, Tommie ; 
 for you think you ve made an impres 
 sion." 
 
 " Well, now that you mention it, I 
 hope I may have." 
 
 " And that I have n t ? " 
 
 " Well, yes," Tommie answered hon 
 estly. 
 
 " You think you can by being disagree 
 able ? " 
 
 " Look here, Fletch, let s solve for 
 ourselves that moot question, which way 
 will make the most impression on a girl 
 like that flattery or brutal frankness." 
 
 " We may break her heart," said I, 
 resolved that of us two, I, not he, should 
 do the breakage. 
 
 355
 
 The Lady of the Road 
 
 " I think she 11 look out for that," 
 Tommie said. 
 
 " Or she may break ours," I com 
 mented. 
 
 " We 11 risk that," said Tommie. 
 
 " We may end by disliking each other," 
 I went on. 
 
 " Oh, if I lose, I 11 not hold it against 
 you," said Tommie. 
 
 " But I may against you," I said. 
 
 " Such a Tom-boy sort of a girl, too ! " 
 said Tommie. 
 
 " I think you wrong her. I have found 
 some fine qualities " 
 
 " Oh, you have ! Well, you re a quick 
 one," he retorted. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Those dear people who formerly lived 
 in Arcadia successfully eliminated pain 
 and jealousy and rivalry at least judg 
 ing from their own accounts ; they doubt- 
 356
 
 The Lady of the Road 
 
 less lied a bit about it. For in my own 
 experience I am bound to say that there 
 may be drawbacks, even to Arcadia. My 
 consciousness of a flaw in the place began 
 when I saw that Tommie was absorbing 
 rather too much of her attention. I felt 
 at first that she was but leading him on, 
 and then I began to have some grave sus 
 picions, which, in the light of subsequent 
 experience, may indeed have been founded 
 on mere jealousy. Yes, I will say I was 
 jealous. I thought in beginning this vera 
 cious account that I might well leave the 
 solution ungiven like the famous riddle 
 of the lady and the tiger. Of our two 
 systems of tactics, which was the more 
 likely to win with a girl like Rose Bur 
 ton ? If Tommie at times had the bet 
 ter, there were other days when I seemed 
 to be more in her favor. Once I accused 
 him of using my flatteries, of not playing 
 fair, when he retorted that I had known 
 him long enough to trust him. 
 
 " You never can trust even your best 
 357
 
 The Lady of the Road 
 
 friend when there s a woman in the 
 case." 
 
 " Fletcher," said Tommie, gravely, at 
 this, " that ancient saying is gospel truth." 
 
 From that moment I felt that it was not 
 a fair test case ; but indeed I had ended 
 by not caring a fig about the test. I just 
 wanted to win. 
 
 Now, one day the climax of the situation 
 was reached in this wise. I heard she had 
 gone wheeling by herself. That, of course, 
 was a chance. I prepared to follow, when 
 who should appear but Tommie. 
 
 " Which way ? " he asked. 
 
 " I was thinking of following, hem " 
 
 " So was I," he said. 
 
 " It s ridiculous for us both to follow 
 her," I observed. 
 
 " Yes, it is ; but I m not inclined to 
 turn back, for " 
 
 " Nor I," said Tommie, quietly. " It s 
 fair to leave it to the wheels. The one 
 who overtakes her first " 
 
 " All right," I said. 
 358
 
 The Lady of the Road 
 
 And then began that contest which a 
 certain Tartar tribe conduct more regu 
 larly, a chase for a lady ; up and down 
 hill we scorched ; now I before now 
 Tommie. But it was oftener Tommie 
 before than I. He drew away from me ; 
 until in sheer spite at my luck and him, I 
 gave it up, dismounted, and wandered 
 drearily enough into the wood and threw my 
 self down ; and then fell to laughing, when 
 I heard voices hers and Tommie s. 
 I declare I could n t avoid hearing them. 
 
 " Ah, I have been chasing a thief," he 
 was saying. 
 
 " Will you never stop teasing me ? " 
 she cried. That remark seemed to show 
 that he had been playing fair after all. 
 
 " Will you keep my heart which you 
 stole" 
 
 "That s a very silly speech," she said. 
 I thought so, too. " Besides, it was a 
 wheel," she added. 
 
 " No, it was the other essential to a 
 man s comfort." 
 
 359
 
 The Lady of the Road 
 
 " Well, if you 11 have it so," she said. 
 
 As for me, I turned away. They did n t 
 notice me. In the evening I ventured to 
 say to her, 
 
 " Ah, I ve been congratulating Tom- 
 mie." 
 
 " He told you ? " she said, turning very 
 red. 
 
 "Ah, yes," I fibbed. "You know I 
 thought you thought him well rather 
 disagreeable." 
 
 " I did at first. But you know I 
 believe that was the reason I thought so 
 much about him that " She paused in 
 confusion. 
 
 " Then it s true that you can make 
 more of an impression on a girl by being 
 disagreeable to her than by flattering her." 
 
 " Oh, I don t know," she said. 
 
 I don t believe she did. 
 
 Now don t think that I am still nursing 
 a broken heart. I am too old a bachelor 
 not to know there are many good fish in 
 the sea. 
 
 360
 
 Part IV 
 A Tale of an India Mystery 
 
 361
 
 The Square Diamond 
 
 THE " Britannia" pitched in the Bisca- 
 yan swell, and the crowd in the 
 smoking-room had lessened until five men 
 were left, exchanging yarns, as men will 
 who go to and fro in ships. Captain 
 Willoughby had been silent through most, 
 and only the subject of Indian trickery 
 seemed to arouse him. Now and then 
 the screw gave its dismal whir, the men 
 drew closer, and the steward hurried with 
 the Scotch, almost tumbling in a quick 
 lurch. 
 
 " You know that old trick, when the 
 fakir takes a boy, cuts him into pieces, 
 and then puts him together again ? " said 
 the short fat dark man. 
 
 " Yes, but I never knew a man who 
 could swear positively he had seen it." 
 365
 
 The Square Diamond 
 
 " I have seen it," said the short fat dark 
 man, swigging his Scotch. 
 
 "And I," said Captain Willoughby, 
 beating a tattoo with his boot. 
 
 " But while we stood at first in horror, 
 in amazement, a boy climbed down a tree, 
 saying he had seen the fakir cut up a squash 
 that was all," said the short fat dark 
 man. 
 
 " You mean that the boy was outside the 
 mesmeric circle ? Do you believe that 
 bosh ? " said one. 
 
 " I do," said the short fat dark man. 
 
 " I do," said Captain Willoughby, de 
 cidedly. 
 
 " Oh, you do ? " 
 
 " Yes, for I know," said the bronzed 
 captain, who bore his fifty years as lightly 
 as a coquette her second affair. He paused, 
 looking about. Still the screw whirred its 
 chorus to the now beating storm. Wil 
 loughby suddenly reached into his waist 
 coat, taking from a little leathern case a 
 ring, in a curious setting, a single, square 
 366
 
 The Square Diamond 
 
 diamond. Holding it up, he asked, " Do 
 you notice that ring ? " 
 
 " It s beautiful," said the short fat 
 dark man ; " and the setting an antique, too. 
 But it s hard to sell a square stone, the 
 dealers say." 
 
 " Yes," said Willoughby. " But the 
 setting is new, an imitation ; I had it 
 made for the stone." 
 
 " Yes, but what has this to do with 
 occultism and our fakir ? Is it the old tale 
 of the Rajah s diamond ? " said the sceptic. 
 
 " Yes, the old tale," said Willoughby, 
 soberly. He put the ring back into its 
 case and looked about. He was not given 
 to story-telling, and yet to-night the whir 
 ring screw, the beating storm some 
 strange impulse led him on. 
 
 " I will tell you how it was," he said, 
 stretching his long legs. " That stone 
 cost me the best servant, and, indeed, the 
 best friend a man ever had, an Irish boy 
 who was brought up with me. You may 
 say what you will about theosophy, or oc- 
 367
 
 The Square Diamond 
 
 cultism, or fakirism. I only know what 
 I have experienced, and there are twenty 
 men in the Sixtieth Bengal who will bear 
 me out. I am too old a man, gentlemen, 
 to sneer at the unknown. I have not 
 lived in India, and spent my youth and 
 some health, without having reached the 
 knowledge that the unknown sits in the lap 
 of the known, and that there is some 
 curious relation between matter and mind 
 which doubtless will be made known some 
 day. Only the day before our sailing you 
 heard of the Roentgen discovery of the 
 cathodic rays. Why may there not be 
 some light that one mind may shed on 
 another, creating an illusion ? That is 
 mesmerism, you may say. Why may 
 there not be a material object, like my 
 square diamond, which may be able, in 
 connection with some particular personality, 
 to produce certain illusions ? " 
 
 " Can you do it with your diamond ? " 
 asked the sceptic. 
 
 " Listen," Willoughby continued, almost 
 368
 
 The Square Diamond 
 
 sternly, " and I will tell you why I always 
 carry that stone with me, a circumstance 
 which may appear strange. I don t know 
 why I tell the story now ; but I have 
 begun, and something seems to make me. 
 
 " Two years ago I had been down in 
 the old place in Devon, and there developed 
 a sentimentality you know how it may 
 be with a very old bachelor requiring a 
 ring. Passing a shop in Regent Street, I 
 saw in a tiara a new one, made in an 
 old fashion this stone. I have a fancy 
 for unusual things, you know. The man 
 agreed to take the stone from the tiara." 
 
 " l Your taste is excellent, sir, he was 
 pleased to comment, in their way. c The 
 stone is very old ; five thousand years, 
 maybe ; an Indian stone from an old tiara/ 
 
 " c The present setting is modern. 
 
 " l Yes, I tried to imitate the idea of the 
 old piece that is all. I came by the 
 stone very curiously. 
 
 " * How curiously ? 
 
 " He moved uneasily. 
 24 369
 
 The Square Diamond 
 
 u I can t tell you, sir. 
 
 " I looked at him narrowly ; yet it was 
 one of the best shops in London, and why 
 should I ask questions ? We bargained a 
 bit, and securing the stone at a remarkably 
 low price it seemed to me, considering 
 its intrinsic value and Regent Street I 
 drew myself a design for a fitting setting 
 to carry a unique gem. But when my 
 ring was ready, my sentimental affair was 
 over, like many another in my life ; and I 
 simply had the ring, instead of its once 
 probable wearer. On my return to India, 
 and in my duties, which came over me 
 with all the force of habit to a man long 
 in the service, I almost forgot it. 
 
 " Well, a year ago, if you may re 
 member, came the little trouble with the 
 little Rajah of Renaub. You may not 
 even remember it, or know that Renaub 
 is on the northern border among the 
 Himalayas. The affair did not amount 
 to much, and I, with some twenty men of 
 the Sixtieth Bengal, had reason to curse it 
 370
 
 The Square Diamond 
 
 and particularly my servant, Teddy 
 Burns, had his reason, poor devil ! 
 
 " In the first place, we were stationed in 
 a narrow, barren, gray valley, a pass per 
 haps a quarter of a mile broad, with a sheer 
 rise of the gray mountains five thousand 
 feet each side. The valley is about fifteen 
 miles wide, opening at the north on the 
 plateau of Renaub. We were at a 
 wretched village, some five miles from the 
 northern opening, a station with an official. 
 The official had a wife, a pale little London 
 woman, worn out by Indian life. I pitied 
 the pair from the bottom of my heart in 
 that God-forsaken spot not the only 
 dismal spot in India, as I know. We 
 played cards, and talked, and drank, until 
 we were tired of ourselves; and the man s 
 sad-eyed pale little wife would chatter of 
 London, and tell how she longed to see 
 just Trafalgar Square. 
 
 "One afternoon, going back to my 
 quarters, I had occasion to look for some 
 thing in a box, when out tumbled a case with 
 37 1
 
 The Square Diamond 
 
 some pins and trinkets which Teddy had put 
 in, probably thinking that Renaub was a 
 gay spot, and that I might wish to dress up. 
 I opened it, throwing out among other 
 things the ring, which I had forgotten. 
 What I wanted was a little painting on 
 porcelain very decently done of our 
 place in Devon, which I wished to show 
 to the homesick woman. As I looked at 
 it, leaving the other things on the table, I 
 heard a rustling behind, and saw a tall, thin 
 native peering over my shoulder. His 
 ascetic face was illuminated by great eyes, 
 with a reddish glow as of rubies greedy, 
 covetous. 
 
 " < What the devil ? I began. 
 
 " Did the Sahib call ? he said, bend 
 ing. I thought he might be a servant I 
 had not seen. 
 
 " Get out ! I said, simply ; for such 
 a place leaves you irritable ; when he 
 turned, and, with all the dignity of a per 
 sonage, stalked through the door. 
 
 " c Teddy, I called, thinking Teddy 
 372
 
 The Square Diamond 
 
 could not be far away. And sure enough 
 Teddy appeared. 
 
 " c What are you coming to in your old 
 age, that you need an assistant to help you 
 now ? I asked. 
 
 " c What d yez mean, sor ? said Teddy, 
 most respectfully, although the words may 
 not so sound. 
 
 " Who was the man in here just 
 now ? 
 
 " c I saw no one, sor. 
 
 " Did n t you pass him, coming in ? 
 
 " Who, sor ? 
 
 " The matter seemed strange. I knew 
 Teddy would n t lie ; and I concluded it 
 had been some familiar servant who had 
 the run of the house, whom, in a short 
 stay, neither Teddy nor I had noticed. 
 
 " l Put those things up then, I said, 
 knowing Teddy was incorruptible, and 
 starting to take the porcelain to our 
 official s wife. I hardly was at the outer 
 door when I heard a scuffle and a muffled 
 cry. With a sudden fear I rushed back, 
 373
 
 The Square Diamond 
 
 and at the threshold, for a moment, stood 
 horrified. Teddy was stretched speechless 
 in a pool of blood, a knife with a strangely 
 carved handle sticking in his side ; and a 
 stealthy figure the same that had faced 
 me so shortly before stood over him. 
 For a moment we looked at each other; 
 for a moment I could not move ; and 
 then, with a snarl, the creature sprang 
 toward me. I was ready for him, but he 
 slipped through my hands, and passed me 
 through the door. 
 
 " Raising a dreadful cry, I was after. 
 At the outside door I saw him, a lithe 
 figure, that had dropped the loin-cloth 
 from his naked legs, running up the valley, 
 past three of my men, who were on 
 ponies. 
 
 " Stop him ! I cried. But he slipped 
 past; and before they had recovered from 
 their astonishment I was by them. 
 
 " c Go in ! Look to Teddy, I called, 
 dragging one from his pony and taking his 
 seat. 
 
 374
 
 The Square Diamond 
 
 " After him ! I said, kicking my 
 brute. 4 Shoot him, if you can bring him 
 down. I had n t my pistols. 
 
 " And we chased up that brown valley 
 under the glaring North Indian sun. He 
 seemed to run as fast as our ponies ; but 
 at last we gained a little. He looked 
 about, showing white, grinning teeth. 
 Two of the men answered with pistol- 
 shots. I bent well onto the pony s neck. 
 
 " c Where is he ? asked one of the 
 men. 
 
 " l Where ? began the other. 
 
 " For before our eyes the runner had 
 vanished, faded, what you will ; and 
 where he should have been was a lean 
 wolf, turning now and then hungry eyes, 
 and snarling lips, and grinning teeth. 
 
 "The thing was so uncanny that I 
 pulled up my pony ; and then was charg 
 ing up to the spot where the man had 
 disappeared and the wolf appeared be 
 lieving he had found a hole in the earth. 
 But there the short, yellow furze was un- 
 375
 
 The Square Diamond 
 
 broken. There was another click and 
 report a long, horrid, brutish howl 
 and the wolf was over a low slope, too, 
 out of view, and the men after. After a 
 moment I followed, to find them dis 
 mounted by the man we had been chasing 
 without a wolf in sight ; the man on 
 his back. 
 
 " Damn it, sir, where s the wolf ? 
 one of my bewildered fellows asked. 
 
 " The great eyes stared brutishly up to 
 mine. One fist was clinched. With sud 
 den expectation I leaned over and opened 
 the sinewy fist, when from it fell the ring. 
 I put it into my pocket, leaving the men 
 with the dead thing, and rode back to 
 Teddy, only to be met by my friend the 
 official. Teddy was dead, like his mur 
 derer, who proved to be unknown at the 
 station, and was probably some wandering 
 thief. 
 
 " I told the eager listener of our hallu 
 cination. 
 
 " l The men will swear to it, and I. 
 376
 
 The Square Diamond 
 
 " He looked at me a moment, curiously. 
 
 " I have lived too long in India to 
 doubt it, said he, slowly. l Tell me how 
 did you come by the stone ? When I 
 had finished he asked, strangely : 
 
 " Have you not heard that a certain 
 mind associated with a certain talisman 
 can produce such an illusion ? 
 
 " 4 1 have seen it, said I. 
 
 " As I said at the beginning of this 
 story, I have seen it. That square dia 
 mond at any rate cost me the best servant 
 a man ever had more than servant, a 
 friend. Whether it were ordinary cupid 
 ity, or some desire for that particular stone, 
 I cannot say. But I saw the wolf where 
 the man was, and the dead man where the 
 dead wolf should have been. Some per 
 sons would have given the diamond away, 
 or have sold it, but I have kept it." 
 
 " There was no boy up a tree outside 
 the mesmeric influence," said the sceptic. 
 " May I see that stone again ? " 
 
 "Yes, certainly," said Captain Wil- 
 377
 
 The Square Diamond 
 
 loughby, taking the diamond from the 
 case. " That thing happened a year ago 
 to-day." 
 
 They passed it from hand to hand j and 
 above the storm roared. 
 
 " Will you mind if I look at it, sir ? " 
 asked a low, distant voice. They looked 
 up startled, for no one had seen this 
 last entering ; they saw a tall, dark person, 
 modishly dressed with all the western 
 affectations of some East Indians. 
 
 "You were listening," said Willoughby. 
 " I did n t hear or see you. I must have 
 been so absorbed in my story. Certainly, 
 sir. I should like to have one of your 
 race look at that stone." 
 
 A lean, sinewy hand stretched out, 
 grasping the stone. Willoughby shivered 
 and looked up. 
 
 "Where the devil?" he began; for 
 hand, and ring, and man, were not there. 
 They rubbed their eyes, ran into the pas 
 sage. 
 
 The steward was called. He knew no 
 378
 
 The Square Diamond 
 
 one on the ship answering the description, 
 nor did the thorough search the next morn 
 ing show the thief; perhaps he had been 
 some strange stowaway, perhaps he had 
 been washed from the deck. 
 
 The " Britannia " then was tossing and 
 groaning in the arms of the roaring storm, 
 and, as far as that ship s company was con 
 cerned, the dark-visaged unknown seemed 
 to have gone back into the tempest whence 
 he had come. 
 
 379
 
 A Tale of the Ghost 
 of the Stretching Moor 
 
 381
 
 The House of the Bronze Fox 
 
 383
 
 The House of the Bronze Fox 1 
 
 I HAD had all kinds of predictions of 
 what might happen in that region ; 
 but yet exactly nothing had, although an 
 official of one arrondissement had detained 
 us two days. I say us ; for, although I 
 had started alone from Genoa for the long 
 eight hundred miles wheel, I had come, 
 early along the Corniche road, on Pierson, 
 a little chap from Manchester, who was 
 deploring a punctured tire, and whom I 
 helped with my kit. He, too, was in 
 search of the adventure of the road, and 
 fell easily into my purpose, and I had 
 
 1 This tale has been reprinted so often, in 
 England and America, without the author s 
 name, or credit to the original publication, that 
 the author has been tempted to add it to this 
 collection. 
 
 2 s 385
 
 The House of the Bronze Fox 
 
 found him quiet, and not too cleverly dis 
 tracting. I, indeed, don t know what I 
 should have done without him in the long 
 distances beyond Marseilles, when on the 
 fourth day we fell into a region of peas 
 antry speaking a patois that was about as 
 impenetrably dense as their superstitions 
 and distrust of strangers. Yet, all went 
 well enough until that afternoon, when in 
 a desolate stretch of moor we rode into 
 the jaws of howling thunder and tossing 
 rain. The way fell a bit hilly and rutty, 
 with a coating of sickening mud to retard. 
 Drenched and disheartened, the moor 
 seemed limitless. We must have erred at 
 a cross-road ; for the inn we hoped for did 
 not appear : not a house, nor a human 
 being, nor dog nor sheep. We might 
 have turned back, but we had come so far 
 that it seemed better to paddle on with 
 dull persistence. The scurrying wet bit 
 our faces brutishly ; and our legs were like 
 mechanical metal cylinders, had it not been 
 for their remonstranceful aching; and, to 
 386
 
 The House of the Bronze Fox 
 
 add to our weary dismay, the night reached 
 across the waste, crushing us with fear 
 some shadows. We indeed were about 
 yielding, when suddenly a burst of livid 
 lightning showed a great battlemented 
 house to which the path led, displayed 
 it surprisingly, for it seemed as if we 
 should have seen it before. Directly we 
 were on it, and, leaving the wheels, poked 
 toward it, wondering why none had given 
 us question, and why there was no gleam 
 of light through any chink. A great outer 
 gate was open, and we groped to an inner 
 at the bottom of the narrowing passage ; 
 and then a more penetrating flash struck a 
 glare over a broad door, and there looked 
 down a great bronze fox s head with the 
 knocker ring listless from its jaw. Our 
 impatience left us no discretion ; the black 
 ness was provoking ; and I raised the ring, 
 which struck a chill through my gloved 
 finger. The spot where it fell may have 
 been cushioned ; for we were dumfounded 
 by silence, when the door was opened as of 
 387
 
 The House of the Bronze Fox 
 
 its own volition, sending a certain splen 
 did glow over us, the light of many 
 candles, and the sight, and strangely not 
 the crackle, of a burning log in a deep fire 
 place at a long hall s end. The furnish 
 ings, elaborate in the extreme, were of 
 Henri Quatre. Portraits and mailed figures 
 lined the walls. The flickering light sought 
 the polish of the oaken flooring and ceil 
 ing ; and close at the door was a lackey, 
 a tall, dark fellow, with a dash of the 
 hired bravo you gather from old books and 
 old pictures ; for he was dressed in livery 
 fitting the period of all the decoration of 
 this interior. His voice surprised us quite 
 as much as this unexpected splendor of 
 light that no chink had revealed to us 
 when groping outside ; a faint sounding 
 yet distinct tone, in French that we under 
 stood, although it seemed not exactly the 
 French we were schooled to, no more than 
 the patois of that district. 
 
 " The Sieur de Bellaire, sirs, has been 
 waiting you, and despairing of yourappear- 
 388
 
 The House of the Bronze Fox 
 
 ance has sat down to dinner, telling me to 
 show you there." 
 
 I began, and Pierson bore out my dis 
 claimer, that he was mistaken ; that we 
 could not be expected ; that we were 
 simply itinerant bicyclists lost in the blind 
 ness of the storm on the stretching moor. 
 And we wondered who this gentleman 
 could be who displayed so bizarre a taste 
 in furnishing and in the dress of his lackey, 
 in this forsaken spot j adding this new 
 aberration to many previous ones in my 
 observation of the eccentricity possible 
 in eccentric millionnaires. Surprise was 
 doubled by the man s quick retort : 
 
 . l Ah, gentlemen, no mistake has been 
 made I assure you." 
 
 And although he looked at us slyly, yet 
 his manner seemed to reflect a master s 
 cordiality. I thought of all I had heard 
 of strange personages who keep their doors 
 open for chance guests. Perhaps a glass 
 had revealed us a-struggling on the moor 
 along the path ending in this unexpected 
 389
 
 The House of the Bronze Fox 
 
 welcome. And, mistake or no, our con 
 dition and weariness and hunger, made us 
 accept, after our proper disclaimer had 
 been disallowed. We asked but to go 
 back for our wheels, when the man said he 
 would care for them, and that his master 
 ought not to be kept waiting longer. The 
 master would excuse our appearances, 
 if we should join him at once ; and we, 
 now inclined to see the adventure to its 
 end, followed with some amazement that 
 the burning log on the hearth seemed to 
 give out no warmth ; and, yet, perhaps the 
 chill from the moor had reached the mar 
 row so penetratingly that a whiff of heat 
 failed to affect us. 
 
 We were ushered into a great dining 
 hall where a table was elaborately spread 
 with quaint and strange dishes, all, it 
 seemed, of the gone day of Henri Quatre ; 
 and it was a gentleman of that period, 
 nicely attired in silk and hose and flowing 
 linen, who bowed urbanely, and motioned 
 us to the board where places for two showed 
 390
 
 The House of the Bronze Fox 
 
 that we alone were expected. Yet for a 
 moment we paused, oblivious of manners, 
 at the host s face : thin, narrow, clever, 
 cunning, high-bred, with strange tossing 
 black eyes ; and the voice had that same 
 French, which had certain antique phrases 
 reminding me of an essai of the Sieur 
 de Montaigne. For the Sieur de Bellaire 
 appeared to have that nice sense in this 
 masquerade which Mr. Irving brings to 
 the setting of a play, where accuracy in 
 every detail is to be sought. The mouth 
 put the expression of this gentleman s face, 
 
 with cruel lines and eager white teeth 
 now and again showing, something bely 
 ing the graces of exquisite breeding. Yet 
 when he spoke this feeling faded, and we 
 sat, on his motion, to our places. 
 
 "You have kept me waiting, gentlemen," 
 said he, with gentle suavity ; " and yet I 
 think you will find the dinner not so bad 
 
 for a country house." 
 
 We again cried out a mistake had been 
 made ; when he smilingly said that this was 
 39 r
 
 The House of the Bronze Fox 
 
 not so, and that were it not for the favor of 
 the storm he should have dined alone. The 
 man who had admitted us returned, and 
 became the waiter, gliding about, serving us, 
 and pouring out from a dusty flagon some 
 heavy wine that sparkled with delicious 
 suggestiveness, and sent a subtle fire which 
 stole the chill away. We began to talk 
 with loosened tongues, while our host 
 watched us as if amused at our subjects j 
 as if he indeed were a gentleman of the old 
 time who heard us as one might the re 
 doubtable Baron Munchausen ; watched 
 us with a sneer that was only half covert ; 
 and yet, while listening, said absolutely 
 nothing of himself; and but shrugged his 
 shoulders when we exclaimed at the exact 
 taste which had made this perfect illusion of 
 a long gone day. And when we had done 
 remarking at the oddity of the viands, 
 as well as at their appetizing qualities 
 he still said naught of himself, leaving 
 us wondering the more at the Sieur de 
 Bellaire ; that we never should have heard 
 392
 
 The House of the Bronze Fox 
 
 of him ; and that any person, even with a 
 millionnaire s power, could produce such an 
 effect. 
 
 " To-morrow," said he, and I fancied a 
 gleam of his eyes and a twitching of his 
 lips, " I will explain. Now, I know you 
 are weary, and Theodor will show you to 
 your lodging, which I hope may prove 
 satisfactory." 
 
 When we answered that nothing could 
 be more pleasingly perfect than this choice 
 hospitality to belated strangers, he bowed 
 with sudden, curt dismissal, while the man, 
 candle in hand, beckoned to the door. 
 Not wishing to press our appreciation 
 in this sudden display of haughtiness we 
 followed, through interminable corridors, 
 into a great damp, tapestried chamber, 
 where the servant lit a score of candles, 
 that but seemed to increase a sense of 
 gloom. A great bed, such as you may see 
 in the museum of Cluny, was at one side ; 
 but the room was singularly cheerless, as 
 the servant s steps sounded and faded out- 
 393
 
 The House of the Bronze Fox 
 
 side the closed door. Then we turned to 
 question each other s impression ; to voice 
 our wonder ; to notice a fox on the mount 
 ings ; to pause with sudden horror and 
 amazement at a full length portrait of our 
 host opposite the bed. There he stood, 
 looking at us in Henri Quatre costume ; 
 the same restless eyes, the gleam of white 
 teeth under thin exasperating lips. And 
 watching, I grew to fear and hate that 
 face. 
 
 Pierson shared my feeling. The whole 
 adventure had been so unaccountable, 
 the object of our entertainer even on the 
 score of eccentricity so inexplicable, that, 
 as sane and strong as we were, we readily 
 agreed to lie down on the bed without 
 removing our clothes, and to leave the 
 candles burning. A heavy key turned 
 rustily in the lock. When I crept to 
 Pierson s side, he already seemed to be 
 sunken in slumber, as was reasonable after 
 our many weary miles that day. But I at 
 first could not sleep, as exhausted as I was. 
 394
 
 The House of the Bronze Fox 
 
 That striking portrait faced me and made 
 me dread ; and yet, at last nature had her 
 way. 
 
 I waked suddenly with the dread gripping 
 my heart awoke horribly in the pain of 
 nightmare, my eyes on the portrait of the 
 Sieur de Bellaire, that the still flickering 
 candles showed. Or was it the portrait ? 
 I stared; I feared. Ah, such horrid fear 
 that it was ! sickening me even now. 
 The Sieur de Bellaire was advancing out 
 of his frame, was nearing me ; and sud 
 denly leaning forward thrust his teeth into 
 my throat. I could feel a stinging, biting 
 pain ; and then I had strength to exert 
 myself against the Thing. We strove 
 mightily : I for life, the Thing for desire. 
 I know of nothing more terrible than that 
 struggle. I know of nothing that sends a 
 chill like that of death through the veins 
 even now. For this was a struggle of life 
 and death ; the thing was ice that froze 
 my heart, that wanted my warm blood to 
 thaw its own iciness of death ; and as we 
 395
 
 The House of the Bronze Fox 
 
 rolled and struggled, I heard no sound 
 from Pierson. Was he dead ? I knew 
 not. And sometimes the cruel Thing with 
 the bestial fangs had the better ; and then 
 the desire for my own life was greater 
 than its desire for it ; and I mastered it. 
 Yes, life mastered the thing of death that 
 fought for the life in me ; and when I 
 knew that I had thrust it from me, my life 
 went out of me. 
 
 And yet I don t know. If it had been 
 that I died that Pierson died I should 
 not be telling this story. I awoke, with a 
 sense of warmth, among tall grass, and the 
 life-giving sun on my face; and raising 
 myself, I looked out on a far reach of 
 moor, the sun of the day-break caught in 
 the yellow grass tops. No person, no liv 
 ing thing was in view ; yes, there was a 
 house on a near road ; but where was the 
 battlemented house of the night before ? 
 And I saw Pierson sleeping at my side ; 
 and then, raising himself, he turned on me 
 a fearful, questioning stare. I noticed our 
 39 6
 
 The House of the Bronze Fox 
 
 wheels lying at our sides, as if we had 
 fallen from them where we were. And 
 then I had a pain at the throat, and feeling 
 there knew it had been torn, and was still 
 bleeding ; and Pierson s throat had some 
 unaccountable mark. 
 
 Shortly we began to question each other 
 in hoarse unnatural voices ; and his story 
 was as mine. Yet we said nothing in 
 surprise. We did not call each other 
 liars ! For we knew. And, so, too lame 
 to mount even when we found the path, 
 we turned toward the house we had seen, 
 limping, with aching muscles. 
 
 The house proved to be the inn we had 
 been seeking in the night s storm. There 
 we breakfasted, and then began to ask in 
 the tap-room of the Sieur de Bellaire, of 
 the House of the Bronze Fox. Perhaps 
 they did not understand, for as we ques 
 tioned they slunk away. But a barefoot 
 mendicant, a brown cowled monk who was 
 listening, came forward crossing himself, 
 and surprising us with excellent English : 
 397
 
 The House of the Bronze Fox 
 
 " You passed a night in the House of 
 the Bronze Fox ? " 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 The monk looked at us curiously, again 
 fingering his rosary. 
 
 " Who is this Sieur de Bellaire ? " 
 
 " There is none." 
 
 " There is none ? " 
 
 " He died in Henri Quatre s reign." 
 
 " He died ? And the house ? " 
 
 " There is only the cellar where the 
 house was." 
 
 " And what of that we saw ? " 
 
 " Who knows ? " 
 
 The monk paused strangely, 
 
 " Have you ever heard that there may 
 be dead who try to steal the life from the 
 living ? " he said with strange, searchful 
 eyes on me ; and he turned, still fingering 
 the rosary, and went out of the door. We 
 paused, looking at each other, and then 
 too late for the monk had gone tried 
 to inquire of the men in the inn. They 
 but stared at us stupidly as not understand- 
 398
 
 The House of the Bronze Fox 
 
 ing us ; nor could we make anything of 
 their patois. 
 
 Pierson pulled me out into the sunshine, 
 his face ashen, and motioned to our wheels. 
 I understood, and with that same impulse 
 of flight, too, mounted. The sun had 
 dried the mud coating on that good road ; 
 the summer morning drove the night out 
 of our brains ; and as we wheeled along, 
 our pulses again beating regularly, our 
 blood warm, the events of the night grew 
 dimmer. They seemed but parts of a 
 nightmare. It was as if we both had had 
 a fall in the storm that had left us uncon 
 scious until dawn ; that had put the same 
 scars on our throats ; that had stirred the 
 same fancies in our brains. Nor now can 
 we be positive that it was else than dream 
 an accident, when in the tempest we 
 wheeled out of our path, and the weariness 
 of utter exhaustion wrought strange de 
 lusions. When late that afternoon we 
 were wheeling in a wooded country no one 
 seemed to know even the location of the 
 399
 
 The House of the Bronze Fox 
 
 moor ; nor have we since been able to put 
 it. It was all a nightmarish thing, that 
 may or may not have come from physical 
 exhaustion, we said j and yet, saying so 
 much, we turned on each other eyes of 
 dread lest there might be contradiction; 
 and even yet, it is the same with us on the 
 subject of that dream of the moor. 
 
 400
 
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 IN CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, 
 FOR STONE AND KIMBALL, PUBLISH 
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