CHAPTER XII. NELL ADOPTED
A COUPLE of hours later, Harry still unconscious, and the child in avery feeble state, were brought to the cottage by Jack Ryan and hiscompanions. The old overman listened to the account of their adventures,while Madge attended with the utmost care to the wants of her son, andof the poor creature whom he had rescued from the pit.
Harry imagined her a mere child, but she was a maiden of the age offifteen or sixteen years.
She gazed at them with vague and wondering eyes; and the thin face,drawn by suffering, the pallid complexion, which light could never havetinged, and the fragile, slender figure, gave her an appearance at oncesingular and attractive. Jack Ryan declared that she seemed to him to bean uncommonly interesting kind of ghost.
It must have been due to the strange and peculiar circumstances underwhich her life hitherto had been led, that she scarcely seemed to belongto the human race. Her countenance was of a very uncommon cast, and hereyes, hardly able to bear the lamp-light in the cottage, glanced aroundin a confused and puzzled way, as if all were new to them.
As this singular being reclined on Madge's bed and awoke toconsciousness, as from a long sleep, the old Scotchwoman began toquestion her a little.
"What do they call you, my dear?" said she.
"Nell," replied the girl.
"Do you feel anything the matter with you, Nell?"
"I am hungry. I have eaten nothing since--since--"
Nell uttered these few words like one unused to speak much. They werein the Gaelic language, which was often spoken by Simon and his family.Madge immediately brought her some food; she was evidently famished. Itwas impossible to say how long she might have been in that pit.
"How many days had you been down there, dearie?" inquired Madge.
Nell made no answer; she seemed not to understand the question.
"How many days, do you think?"
"Days?" repeated Nell, as though the word had no meaning for her, andshe shook her head to signify entire want of comprehension.
Madge took her hand, and stroked it caressingly. "How old are you, mylassie?" she asked, smiling kindly at her.
Nell shook her head again.
"Yes, yes," continued Madge, "how many years old?"
"Years?" replied Nell. She seemed to understand that word no better thandays! Simon, Harry, Jack, and the rest, looked on with an air of mingledcompassion, wonder, and sympathy. The state of this poor thing, clothedin a miserable garment of coarse woolen stuff, seemed to impress thempainfully.
Harry, more than all the rest, seemed attracted by the very peculiarityof this poor stranger. He drew near, took Nell's hand from his mother,and looked directly at her, while something like a smile curved herlip. "Nell," he said, "Nell, away down there--in the mine--were you allalone?"
"Alone! alone!" cried the girl, raising herself hastily. Her featuresexpressed terror; her eyes, which had appeared to soften as Harry lookedat her, became quite wild again. "Alone!" repeated she, "alone!"--andshe fell back on the bed, as though deprived of all strength.
"The poor bairn is too weak to speak to us," said Madge, when she hadadjusted the pillows. "After a good rest, and a little more food, shewill be stronger. Come away, Simon and Harry, and all the rest of you,and let her go to sleep." So Nell was left alone, and in a very fewminutes slept profoundly.
This event caused a great sensation, not only in the coal mines, but inStirlingshire, and ultimately throughout the kingdom. The strangeness ofthe story was exaggerated; the affair could not have made more commotionhad they found the girl enclosed in the solid rock, like one of thoseantediluvian creatures who have occasionally been released by a strokeof the pickax from their stony prison. Nell became a fashionable wonderwithout knowing it. Superstitious folks made her story a new subject forlegendary marvels, and were inclined to think, as Jack Ryan told Harry,that Nell was the spirit of the mines.
"Be it so, Jack," said the young man; "but at any rate she is the goodspirit. It can have been none but she who brought us bread and waterwhen we were shut up down there; and as to the bad spirit, who muststill be in the mine, we'll catch him some day."
Of course James Starr had been at once informed of all this, and came,as soon as the young girl had sufficiently recovered her strength, tosee her, and endeavor to question her carefully.
She appeared ignorant of nearly everything relating to life, and,although evidently intelligent, was wanting in many elementary ideas,such as time, for instance. She had never been used to its division, andthe words signifying hours, days, months, and years were unknown to her.
Her eyes, accustomed to the night, were pained by the glare of theelectric discs; but in the dark her sight was wonderfully keen, thepupil dilated in a remarkable manner, and she could see where to othersthere appeared profound obscurity. It was certain that her brain hadnever received any impression of the outer world, that her eyes hadnever looked beyond the mine, and that these somber depths had been allthe world to her.
The poor girl probably knew not that there were a sun and stars, townsand counties, a mighty universe composed of myriads of worlds. Butuntil she comprehended the significance of words at present conveying noprecise meaning to her, it was impossible to ascertain what she knew.
As to whether or not Nell had lived alone in the recesses of NewAberfoyle, James Starr was obliged to remain uncertain; indeed, anyallusion to the subject excited evident alarm in the mind of thisstrange girl. Either Nell could not or would not reply to questions, butthat some secret existed in connection with the place, which she couldhave explained, was manifest.
"Should you like to stay with us? Should you like to go back to where wefound you?" asked James Starr.
"Oh, yes!" exclaimed the maiden, in answer to his first question; but acry of terror was all she seemed able to say to the second.
James Starr, as well as Simon and Harry Ford, could not help feelinga certain amount of uneasiness with regard to this persistent silence.They found it impossible to forget all that had appeared so inexplicableat the time they made the discovery of the coal mine; and although thatwas three years ago, and nothing new had happened, they always expectedsome fresh attack on the part of the invisible enemy.
They resolved to explore the mysterious well, and did so, well armedand in considerable numbers. But nothing suspicious was to be seen; theshaft communicated with lower stages of the crypt, hollowed out in thecarboniferous bed.
Many a time did James Starr, Simon, and Harry talk over these things. Ifone or more malevolent beings were concealed in the coal-pit, and thereconcocted mischief, Nell surely could have warned them of it, yet shesaid nothing. The slightest allusion to her past life brought on suchfits of violent emotion, that it was judged best to avoid the subjectfor the present. Her secret would certainly escape her by-and-by.
By the time Nell had been a fortnight in the cottage, she had become amost intelligent and zealous assistant to old Madge. It was clear thatshe instinctively felt she should remain in the dwelling where she hadbeen so charitably received, and perhaps never dreamt of quitting it.This family was all in all to her, and to the good folks themselves Nellhad seemed an adopted child from the moment when she first came beneaththeir roof. Nell was in truth a charming creature; her new mode ofexistence added to her beauty, for these were no doubt the first happydays of her life, and her heart was full of gratitude towards those towhom she owed them. Madge felt towards her as a mother would; the oldwoman doted upon her; in short, she was beloved by everybody. Jack Ryanonly regretted one thing, which was that he had not saved her himself.Friend Jack often came to the cottage. He sang, and Nell, who had neverheard singing before, admired it greatly; but anyone might see that shepreferred to Jack's songs the graver conversation of Harry, from whom bydegrees she learnt truths concerning the outer world, of which hithertoshe had known nothing.
It must be said that, since Nell had appeared in her own person, JackRyan had been obliged to admit that his belief in hobgoblins was in amea
sure weakened. A couple of months later his credulity experienceda further shock. About that time Harry unexpectedly made a discoverywhich, in part at least, accounted for the apparition of thefire-maidens among the ruins of Dundonald Castle at Irvine.
During several days he had been engaged in exploring the remotegalleries of the prodigious excavation towards the south. At last hescrambled with difficulty up a narrow passage which branched off throughthe upper rock. To his great astonishment, he suddenly found himself inthe open air. The passage, after ascending obliquely to the surface ofthe ground, led out directly among the ruins of Dundonald Castle.
There was, therefore, a communication between New Aberfoyle and thehills crowned by this ancient castle. The upper entrance to thisgallery, being completely concealed by stones and brushwood, wasinvisible from without; at the time of their search, therefore, themagistrates had been able to discover nothing.
A few days afterwards, James Starr, guided by Harry, came himself toinspect this curious natural opening into the coal mine. "Well,"said he, "here is enough to convince the most superstitious among us.Farewell to all their brownies, goblins, and fire-maidens now!"
"I hardly think, Mr. Starr, we ought to congratulate ourselves," repliedHarry. "Whatever it is we have instead of these things, it can't bebetter, and may be worse than they are."
"That's true, Harry," said the engineer; "but what's to be done? It isplain that, whatever the beings are who hide in the mine, they reachthe surface of the earth by this passage. No doubt it was the light oftorches waved by them during that dark and stormy night which attractedthe MOTALA towards the rocky coast, and like the wreckers of formerdays, they would have plundered the unfortunate vessel, had it not beenfor Jack Ryan and his friends. Anyhow, so far it is evident, and hereis the mouth of the den. As to its occupants, the question is--Are theyhere still?"
"I say yes; because Nell trembles when we mention them--yes, becauseNell will not, or dare not, speak about them," answered Harry in a toneof decision.
Harry was surely in the right. Had these mysterious denizens of the pitabandoned it, or ceased to visit the spot, what reason could the girlhave had for keeping silence?
James Starr could not rest till he had penetrated this mystery. Heforesaw that the whole future of the new excavations must depend uponit. Renewed and strict precautions were therefore taken. The authoritieswere informed of the discovery of the entrance. Watchers were placedamong the ruins of the castle. Harry himself lay hid for several nightsin the thickets of brushwood which clothed the hill-side.
Nothing was discovered--no human being emerged from the opening. Somost people came to the conclusion that the villains had been finallydislodged from the mine, and that, as to Nell, they must suppose her tobe dead at the bottom of the shaft where they had left her.
While it remained unworked, the mine had been a safe enough place ofrefuge, secure from all search or pursuit. But now, circumstances beingaltered, it became difficult to conceal this lurking-place, and it mightreasonably be hoped they were gone, and that nothing for the future wasto be dreaded from them.
James Starr, however, could not feel sure about it; neither could Harrybe satisfied on the subject, often repeating, "Nell has clearly beenmixed up with all this secret business. If she had nothing more to fear,why should she keep silence? It cannot be doubted that she is happy withus. She likes us all--she adores my mother. Her absolute silence as toher former life, when by speaking out she might benefit us, proves to methat some awful secret, which she dares not reveal, weighs on hermind. It may also be that she believes it better for us, as well asfor herself, that she should remain mute in a way otherwise sounaccountable."
In consequence of these opinions, it was agreed by common consentto avoid all allusion to the maiden's former mode of life. One day,however, Harry was led to make known to Nell what James Starr, hisfather, mother, and himself believed they owed to her interference.
It was a fete-day. The miners made holiday on the surface of thecounty of Stirling as well as in its subterraneous domains. Parties ofholiday-makers were moving about in all directions. Songs resounded inmany places beneath the sonorous vaults of New Aberfoyle. Harry and Nellleft the cottage, and slowly walked along the left bank of Loch Malcolm.
Then the electric brilliance darted less vividly, and the rays wereinterrupted with fantastic effect by the sharp angles of the picturesquerocks which supported the dome. This imperfect light suited Nell, towhose eyes a glare was very unpleasant.
"Nell," said Harry, "your eyes are not fit for daylight yet, and couldnot bear the brightness of the sun."
"Indeed they could not," replied the girl; "if the sun is such as youdescribe it to me, Harry."
"I cannot by any words, Nell, give you an idea either of his splendoror of the beauty of that universe which your eyes have never beheld. Buttell me, is it really possible that, since the day when you were born inthe depths of the coal mine, you never once have been up to the surfaceof the earth?"
"Never once, Harry," said she; "I do not believe that, even as aninfant, my father or mother ever carried me thither. I am sure I shouldhave retained some impression of the open air if they had."
"I believe you would," answered Harry. "Long ago, Nell, many childrenused to live altogether in the mine; communication was then difficult,and I have met with more than one young person, quite as ignorant as youare of things above-ground. But now the railway through our great tunneltakes us in a few minutes to the upper regions of our country. I long,Nell, to hear you say, 'Come, Harry, my eyes can bear daylight, and Iwant to see the sun! I want to look upon the works of the Almighty.'"
"I shall soon say so, Harry, I hope," replied the girl; "I shall soon gowith you to the world above; and yet--"
"What are you going to say, Nell?" hastily cried Harry; "can youpossibly regret having quitted that gloomy abyss in which you spent yourearly years, and whence we drew you half dead?"
"No, Harry," answered Nell; "I was only thinking that darkness isbeautiful as well as light. If you but knew what eyes accustomed to itsdepth can see! Shades flit by, which one longs to follow; circles mingleand intertwine, and one could gaze on them forever; black hollows, fullof indefinite gleams of radiance, lie deep at the bottom of the mine.And then the voice-like sounds! Ah, Harry! one must have lived downthere to understand what I feel, what I can never express."
"And were you not afraid, Nell, all alone there?"
"It was just when I was alone that I was not afraid."
Nell's voice altered slightly as she said these words; however, Harrythought he might press the subject a little further, so he said, "Butone might be easily lost in these great galleries, Nell. Were you notafraid of losing your way?"
"Oh, no, Harry; for a long time I had known every turn of the new mine."
"Did you never leave it?"
"Yes, now and then," answered the girl with a little hesitation;"sometimes I have been as far as the old mine of Aberfoyle."
"So you knew our old cottage?"
"The cottage! oh, yes; but the people who lived there I only saw at agreat distance."
"They were my father and mother," said Harry; "and I was there too; wehave always lived there--we never would give up the old dwelling."
"Perhaps it would have been better for you if you had," murmured themaiden.
"Why so, Nell? Was it not just because we were obstinately resolved toremain that we ended by discovering the new vein of coal? And did notthat discovery lead to the happy result of providing work for a largepopulation, and restoring them to ease and comfort? and did it notenable us to find you, Nell, to save your life, and give you the love ofall our hearts?"
"Ah, yes, for me indeed it is well, whatever may happen," replied Nellearnestly; "for others--who can tell?"
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, nothing--nothing. But it used to be very dangerous at that time togo into the new cutting--yes, very dangerous indeed, Harry! Once somerash people made their way into these chasms.
They got a long, long way;they were lost!"
"They were lost?" said Harry, looking at her.
"Yes, lost!" repeated Nell in a trembling voice. "They could not findtheir way out."
"And there," cried Harry, "they were imprisoned during eight longdays! They were at the point of death, Nell; and, but for a kind andcharitable being--an angel perhaps--sent by God to help them, whosecretly brought them a little food; but for a mysterious guide, whoafterwards led to them their deliverers, they never would have escapedfrom that living tomb!"
"And how do you know about that?" demanded the girl.
"Because those men were James Starr, my father, and myself, Nell!"
Nell looked up hastily, seized the young man's hand, and gazed sofixedly into his eyes that his feelings were stirred to their depths."You were there?" at last she uttered.
"I was indeed," said Harry, after a pause, "and she to whom we owe ourlives can have been none other than yourself, Nell!"
Nell hid her face in her hands without speaking. Harry had never seenher so much affected.
"Those who saved your life, Nell," added he in a voice tremulous withemotion, "already owed theirs to you; do you think they will ever forgetit?"