CHAPTER XL.
While such misadventures had been the lot of the Earl of Beverley,Captain Barecolt had ridden on unopposed and peaceably to the "Swan"Inn. He was in some apprehension, indeed, lest he should encounterworthy Mr. Dry, of Longsoaken, at the house of good Mrs. White; buthis mind was prepared to meet any emergency, and therefore he wouldnot be turned from his course by the fear of "any Dry that ever yetwas born." Alighting then at the door, he threw the rein of his horseover a hook provided for that especial purpose, and then, mounting thesteps, looked in through the panes of glass in the door, which, to saythe truth, afforded him no very clear insight into the passage beyond,as each separate square, being manufactured in a somewhat rudefashion, was furnished with a thick green knot or bump in the centre,which greatly impeded the view. All seemed clear, however, andmarvellously silent; and, having carried his inspection as far as hejudged necessary, the renowned captain opened the door and walked in.As soon as he did so, he perceived the good landlady seated in herlittle glass-case, alone, and busily engaged in hemming a wimple forher own proper person. She raised her eyes, as usual, at the sound ofthe opening door, and her face lighted up at the sight of the longlimbs that presented themselves, in a manner which showed theillustrious commander that no danger was to be apprehended.Approaching, then, with a gallant air, Captain Barecoltunceremoniously entered the parlour, and saluted the fair hostess, whoexpressed herself right glad to see him, asking him a thousandquestions about "the dear young lady and her adventures on the road."
"All in good time, Mrs. White--all in good time," answered CaptainBarecolt. "To-night, God willing, I will give you a true andparticular account of all that has happened since last we met; but nowI have other things to think of. In the first place, my mouth is asdry as a sick dog's nose, and I would fain have a chopin of somethingto moisten it."
"That you shall, captain, in a minute," replied the landlady. "Youlook dusty and tired, as if you had ridden hard."
"And so I am, sweet hostess," answered Barecolt; "and the dust is notmore on my garments than between my teeth. My tongue is as parched asa bowl of split peas. Do you not hear it rattle? But do not goyourself for the wine, Mrs. White. Transfer that function to one ofyour nymphs, and listen to me."
"La, captain! I have no nymphs," answered the landlady, half offended;but our hero waved his hand, saying--
"Well, your maidens then, Mrs. White. Call Sally, and then answer metwo or three questions; but first send some one to stable my horse,which is at the door, and, being a modest beast, may as well beremoved from the lewd gaze of the townsfolk."
All was performed according to his command; and when Mrs. Whitereturned, Captain Barecolt proceeded, after a deep draught, to put hisquestions.
"First and foremost, Mrs. White," he said, "what of old Dry?"
"Lord, sir! he is up-stairs, sick in bed!" replied Mrs. White.
"There let him lie, and be the bed on him, white-livered renegade!"said Captain Barecolt. "Then he did not discover that you had aidedand abetted in the escape of our fair demoiselle?"
"Oh, not a whit!" replied the landlady. "He was in a mighty rage, tobe sure, at first, and he had search made, and a great fuss; but itall ended in nothing, and I managed slily, pretending to help with allmy might; so that he grew quite fond and familiar--the nasty old worm!Howsomever, he went out of the gates one day, leaving all his thingshere, and what happened I don't know; but he came back the nextmorning, as dull and as dirty-looking as a mixen, took to his beddirectly, and has had a doctor at him ever since. I think somethingmust have frightened him sadly, for he has been constantly whining andpraying, and the doctor said he had had a turn; but he is much betterto-day."
"So far so well, Mrs. White," said Barecolt; "but we must now look toother matters. Do you know aught about Mr. O'Donnell? for, ifpossible, I must see him tonight."
"I should think you would find him, sir," answered the hostess, "forhe keeps himself a great deal at home just now. These are sad times inHull, sir. There is great suspicion about; and every one whom theyfancy to be what they call a malignant is pointed at and watched nightand day; and even a poor widow woman like me they cannot help lookingafter, as if I were a regiment of soldiers; so that customers areafraid to come."
"Well, what of O'Donnell? what of O'Donnell?" demanded CaptainBarecolt. "What has this to do with him, my good hostess?"
"Why, bless you, captain don't you know that people say he is aPapist?" exclaimed Mrs. White; "and so they are likely to be moresharp upon him than any one else: that is to say, not the governor,who is very fond of him, people say, because he supplies him withDantzic and other strong waters better than he can get at home; butsince Sir John has been ill of the gout, the colonel, his son, ruleseverything here in Hull; and a hard rule is his for every one butRoundheads. They may do as they like; some men may lie in bed andsleep, whilst others must get up early in the morning."
All this was news to Captain Barecolt, and news of a very unpleasantcharacter, which made him ponder deeply for several minutes. Being ofan active and inquiring turn of mind, he had not left his leisure timeunemployed since he quitted Hull; and partly by no very definitehints, sewn together by surmises, and partly by open avowals andaccidental conversations, he had been led to the conclusion thatsome very intimate communication had been opened between Sir JohnHotham and the Earl of Beverley, which the illness of the former andthe new state of things in the town might sadly derange. He longedeagerly to gain some intelligence of the proceedings of his noblefellow-traveller; and though he had a sufficient portion of the freecompanion in his character to act upon his own judgment, with verylittle deference for the commands he received, when it suited his ownpurpose, yet he had also sufficient of the old soldier in him to obeyorders punctually when he could do no better. He therefore resolved toset out for O'Donnell's house at once, though he could not bring hismind to do so without draining another can; and while the worthylandlady went to draw it with her own fair hands, he sat ponderingover what was to be done next, with no inconsiderable misgivings inregard to the termination of their expedition. At one time, indeed, hethought of cutting the whole matter very short, walking to thegovernor's house, demanding to see Colonel Hotham, running him throughthe body with his Toledo, and, with the assistance of the more loyalinhabitants, taking possession of the town in the king's name. Itseemed to the eyes of imagination an exploit worthy of a Barecolt; butreflection suggested to him various little objections, which made himabandon his scheme, though he did it with reluctance. The vision ofbecoming governor of Hull--a post which the king, he thought, couldnever refuse to grant him, if he took the city with his own righthand--was just fading away from his mind, when the outer door of theinn was thrown vehemently open, and some one entered the passage witha quick and agitated step. Captain Barecolt looked up, and gazed forthfrom Mrs. White's glass-case, at the same time laying his hand uponhis sword, for he was full of desperate and sanguinary thoughts. In amoment, however, his countenance lighted up, and exclaiming, "Ah,Diggory Falgate! honest Diggory Falgate!--something may perhaps bedone now--his knowledge of the place and the people may aid us at thispinch, and my hand shall execute what his information suggests"--heopened the door, and went out to meet the poor painter, extending hishand to him in friendly guise.
Diggory Falgate started back as if he had seen an apparition; but thenext moment he grasped Barecolt's hand, and exclaimed--
"This is lucky indeed! Who would have thought to see you here,captain? But listen to me. I have got a story to tell you that willmake your hair stand on end;--two, indeed, but one first, for thatpresses; and if something is not done immediately, the earl is a deadman!"
"What earl?" demanded Barecolt, in horror and consternation.
"Why, our earl, to be sure!" replied Falgate, walking on into Mrs.White's _sanctum sanctorum_. "The Earl of Beverley, no other; and thatSaracen of a colonel will have him shot to-morrow morning, as sure asI'm a living man, if something is not don
e to-night to prevent it!"
"I'll cut his throat first!" exclaimed Barecolt, half drawing hissword. "But he dare not--he dare not, Master Falgate. 'Tis allnonsense."
"He shot two men yesterday morning by the water-side," repliedFalgate. "Didn't he, Mrs. White?"
The latter words were addressed to the worthy landlady, just as shereturned with a fresh chopin; and while Captain Barecolt drained itdown at one single indignant draught, she confirmed the poor painter'saccount, saying--
"Ay, that he did, the bloodthirsty brute! and better men than himself,too."
"What's to be done now?" asked Barecolt. "The only way will be to goand put him to death at once."
"You will only get yourself killed, and do no good," exclaimed thepainter and landlady together; and then Falgate, proceeding alone,went on to add, "There is but one way to help the noble lord, captain,if we can but arrive at it, and that is, to get some one to tell SirJohn Hotham himself. He'd never suffer all this to go on, if he knewit; and it is only since he fell ill the day before yesterday morningthat his son dared to go on so."
"I'll write him a note," said Barecolt.
"Phoo! that will never do," replied the painter, "unless you can getsome one to deliver it to Sir John himself."
"I am talking without guide, indeed," said the gallant captain, whobegan to feel that his nonsense was a little too gross even for theintellects of the landlady and the painter. "I do not yet know thewhole circumstances. Pray, Master Falgate, have the goodness to relateall you know, and how you know it; and then I will decide upon my planfrom the intelligence I receive. Be so good as to avoid superfluousparticulars, and yet be sufficiently minute in your details to affordme a distinct knowledge of the facts."
Assuming a grave and sententious look of wisdom, he sat with his handsfolded upon his knees, while Diggory Falgate went on to inform hisauditors, that he had been arrested while entering the town three daysbefore, and placed in the custody of a body of the train-bands, withsome of whom he was personally acquainted and on very friendly terms.He had remained in terror of his life under their guard till thatevening, receiving accounts from time to time of the wrath and furywhich Colonel Hotham was exercising upon the unfortunate Cavaliers ofthe place, and employing all the interest he could make to obtain hisown liberation. That afternoon he had been brought in, he said, notknowing whether the next word was to be life or death, when, to hissurprise and grief, he beheld the earl in the presence of thegovernor's son. He then related all the particulars which he hadwitnessed, and a new consultation took place, which bade fair to haveno end, when suddenly the worthy hostess exclaimed--
"Mr. O'Donnell's the man! He can do it. He can do it, I tell you, whenno one else can."
"Do what?" exclaimed Captain Barecolt. "Prithee, my excellent lady,what can he do?"
"Why, get in to speak with Sir John Hotham," rejoined the worthylandlady, "and tell him all about it."
"Then, as I said before," exclaimed the renowned captain, "I will goto him this minute. Come along, Falgate--you shall go with me, forthere's no time to be lost."
"That there isn't," replied Diggory Falgate. "I'm your man, captain."
And away they went, begging Mrs. White not to go to bed till theyreturned.