CHAPTER XV.
FRIENDS AND FOES.
In for a penny, in for a pound. Throw the helve after the hatchet. Aswell to be hanged for a sheep as a lamb. He that hath the name may aswell enjoy the game.--These and other reckless maxims of our worthygrandsires (which they may have exemplified in their own lives, but tookcare for their own comfort to chastise out of their children) were citedby Miss Christie Fox, with very bright ferocity, for her poor brother'sguidance. It was on the morning after her arrival, when she had heardeverything there was to hear, and had taken the mastery of Old Barn, asif it were her pony-carriage. Fox stood and looked at her in this queerold dwelling-place, which had once been the tithe-barn of the parish,but proving too far from the chief growth of corn had been converted bythe Dean and Chapter into a rough and rambling, but commodious and roomyhouse; for the tithes of Perlycross were fat, worthy of a good roof andstout walls.
She sat by the window in the full light of the sun,--for she neverthought much about her complexion, and no sun could disparage it--alovely girl, with a sweet expression, though manifest knowledge of herown mind. Her face was not set off by much variety of light and shade,like that of Inez Waldron, dark lashes, or rich damask tint, orcontrasts of repose and warmth; but pure straightforward English beauty(such as lasts a lifetime) left but little to be desired--except thegood luck to please it.
"There was not too much of her," as her father said--indeed he nevercould have enough--and she often felt it a grievance that she could notimpress the majesty of her sentiments, through lack of size; but allthat there was of her was good stuff; and there very well may be, as atall admirer of hers remarked, "a great deal of love in five feet two."
However this specimen of that stature had not discovered that fact yet,as regards any other than her own kin; and now with the sun from overHagdon Hill throwing wintry light into her spring-bright eyes, she wasmaking herself quite at home, as an English girl always tries to do,with her own belongings about her, while she was railing at this strangeneighbourhood. Not that she meant even half of what she said, but herspirit was up, and being always high it required no great leap to getfar above the clouds. And her brother kept saying--"now you don't meanthat," in a tone that made her do her very best to mean it.
As for avoiding the subject, and the rest of the cautious policysuggested by the peaceful parson, the young lady met that wise proposalwith a puff of breath, and nothing more. In gestures, and what on aplainer place would have been called "grimaces," she was so strong, thatthose who had not that short-cut of nature to the meaning of the moment,were inclined to scoff and mimic; which they could not do at all,because it was not in them. Jemmy being some years older, and her onlybrother, felt himself responsible for the worst part of her character.He was conscious, when he thought about it, that he had spoiled herthoroughly, from the date of her first crawl on the floor, until herpath in life was settled. And upon the whole, the result was not so badas to crush him with much self-reproach.
"All I want is, just to have the names of your chief enemies." Thisvaliant sister, as she spoke, spread forth an ivory _deltis_, as thatarrangement then was called, a baby-fan with leaves of no more substancethan a wafer. "Have no fear, Jemmy, I will not kill them, unless mytemper rises. You are so abominally forgiving, that I daresay you don'tknow their names."
"Not I," said the Doctor, beginning to fill his after-breakfast pipe,for now he had no round to make among his patients of the paying class;"Chris, they are all alike; they have no ill-will at all against me,unless it is Jackson, and young Webber, and half a dozen other muffsperhaps, with a grudge because I have saved poor fellows they werekilling. I have never interfered in any rich man's case; so they have noright to be so savage."
"They are dummies," answered Christie, just waving her hand, and thenstopping it, as if they were not worth the trouble. "I don't mean them.They could never lead opinion. I mean people of intelligence, or at anyrate of influence."
"Well really I don't know any of that sort, who have gone against meopenly. Such people generally wait to hear both sides, unless their dutydrags them into it. Both the Churchwardens are against me, I believe.But that must be chiefly, because they saw with their own wise eyes whathad been done. You know, or perhaps you don't, but I do, what an effectis produced on the average mind by the sight of anything. Reason seemsto fly, and the judgment is lost. But Horner is a very decent fellow,and I have been of some service to his family. Farrant is a man of greathonesty and sense; but carried away perhaps for the moment. I hear thathe is coming round to my side."
"Then I won't put down either of them. But come, there must be some oneat the head of it."
"Upon my word, I don't think there is. Or if there is, he keeps quite inthe background. It seems to be rather a general conclusion, than anyconspiracy against me. That makes it so much harder to contend with. Oneproof of what I say is, that there has been no further application for awarrant, since Mr. Mockham's refusal. If there were any bitter enemy, hewould never have been content with that."
"I am not so sure of that," replied sage Christie, longing for a foemore definite; "I am not of course a lawyer, though papa was aMagistrate before I was born, and ever since; and that gives me a greatdeal of insight. And I have come to the conclusion that there is someone, besides those poor little pill-grinders--you see what comes oftaking to the pill-box, Jemmy--some one of a hateful nature, and lowcunning, who is working in the dark against you. The mischief has beendone, and they know that; and they don't want to give you any chance ofputting your own case clearly, and confounding them. You see that reelof silk now, don't you?"
"I see about fifty. What a child you are! Are you going to decorate adoll's house?"
"I never lose my temper with you, dear Jemmy, because you are so stupid.But if you can't see the force of it, I can. That reel of silk is anhonest reel, a reel you know how to deal with. The end is tucked into anick at the side, and you set to at once and thread your needle. But theone next to it is a rogue--same colour, same size, same everything,except that the maker has hidden the end, to hide his own short measure,so that you may hunt for it for half an hour. Even a man can see that,can't he? Very well, apply that to this frightful affair. If yourenemies would only come forward, they would give you a chance to clearyourself. You would get hold of the end and unwind it, just as I biteoff this knot. There! What can be easier than that, I'd like to know?"
"You are very clever, Christie, but you don't see the real difficulty.Who would believe my denial on oath, any more than they would withoutit? I can offer no witness except myself. The man at the pits wouldavail me nothing, even if I could get hold of him. There was plenty oftime after I left him, for me to have been in the thick of it. I canprove no _alibi_. I have only my word, to show that I was in this housewhile the miscreants were at work. It is the blackest piece of luck,that poor George was so tipsy, and old Betty was so buried in slumber.It is no good to deceive ourselves, my dear. I shall never be cleared ofthis foul charge, till the fellows who did the thing are found out."
This was what Jemmy had felt all along; and no one knew better thanhimself, how nearly impossible it is to bring such criminals tojustice. But his sister was not to be discouraged.
"Oh, as for that, I shall just do this. I have money of my own, or atleast I shall have plenty of it, when I come of age next year. I'll findout the cleverest lawyer about here, a man who is able to enter intorogues, and I'll make him advertise a great reward, and promise him thesame for himself, if he succeeds. That is the only way to make them looksharp. A thousand pounds will be sure to tempt the poor dirty villainswho must have been employed; and a thousand pounds will tempt a goodlawyer to sell his own wife and family. Free pardon to every one, exceptthe instigator. I wonder that you never even thought of that."
"I did think of it long ago. It is the first thing that occurs to anEnglishman, in any case of wrong-doing. But it would be useless here. Iheard much of these cases when I was a student. They are far morefrequent than
the outer world supposes. But I won't talk about it. Itwould only make you nervous. It is not a thing for girls to dwell upon."
"I know that very well. I don't want to dwell upon it. Only tell me, whyeven a large reward would not be of any service."
"Because there is only a very small gang; and a traitor would never liveto get his money. Rewards have been tried, but vainly, except in onecase, and then the end was dreadful. For the most part, the villainsmanage so well that no one ever dreams of what has happened. In thepresent case, though a most daring one, the villainy would scarcely havebeen discovered, except for the poor little faithful dog. If she hadbeen killed and thrown into the river, perhaps nothing would ever havebeen heard of it."
"Oh, Jemmy, what a dreadful thing to say! But surely you forget theblacksmith?"
"Not at all. His story would have come to nothing, without this to giveit special meaning. Even as it is, no connexion has been proved, thoughof course there is a strong presumption, between the affair at Susscot,and the crime at Perlycross. There was nothing to show where the cartcame from. Those fellows travel miles with them, these long nights.There is an old chapelyard at Monkswell, more than a mile from anyhouse, and I firmly believe--but I will not talk about it."
"Then you know who did this! Oh, Jemmy, Jemmy, is it some horriblesecret of your trade?" Christie leaped up, and away from her brother.
"I know nothing, except that it happened. I have not the least idea whothe scoundrel is. Now no more of this--or you won't sleep to-night."
"I am not a coward--for a girl at least. But this is a dark and lonelyhouse. I shall have my bed put against the partition of your room,before ever I go into it this night. Then you can hear me knock, if Iget frightened."
Miss Fox sat down, and leaned her head upon her hands for a moment, asin deep meditation upon the wrongs of humanity; and then she announcedthe result of her thoughts.
"One thing is certain. Even you cannot deny it. If the Government ofthis Country allows such frightful things to be done, it is bound toprovide every woman in the land with a husband to protect her, or at anyrate to keep her courage up. If I had seen that cart at Susscot, Ishould have died with terror."
"Not you. But I must make one rule, I see; and you know there are timeswhen I will be obeyed. You have come here, my dear child, with thegreatest kindness, and no small courage as well, just to keep up myspirits, and console me in this trouble. I would never have let youcome, if I had known it; and now I will not have your health endangered.Back you go, this very day, sad as I shall be without you, unless youpromise me two things. One is that you will avoid these subjects,although you may talk of my position. And the other is, that you willnot stir from this house, except in my company; and when you are withme, you will be totally unconscious of anything anybody says, orlooks,--uncivil, unpleasant, or even uncordial. You understand now, thatI am in earnest."
Fox struck his solid legs into a stiff position, and crested up hiswhiskers with his finger-tips; which action makes a very fine impressionon a young man's younger sister.
"Very well, I agree to all of that;" said Christie, a little too airilyfor one who is impressed with an engagement. "But one thing I must have,before we begin the new code. Here are my tablets. As you won't tell thenames of your enemies, Jemmy, I must have the names of your friends toset down. It won't require many lines, I fear, you gentle Jemmy."
"Won't it? Why all the good people about here are on my side, every oneof them. First, and best of them all, Philip Penniloe. And then, Mr.Mockham the Magistrate, and then Sergeant Jakes, the schoolmaster. Andafter him, Thyatira Muggridge, a person of considerable influence,because she takes hot meat, or pudding, in a basin, to half the oldwomen in the village, whenever her master can afford it, and can't getthrough all of it. That is how they put it, in their grateful way. Butit strengthens their tongues against his enemies, and they seem to knowthem--though he doesn't. Well, then there is Farrant, the juniorChurchwarden, coming round fast to my side. And Baker, the cooper, whomade me a tub for salting my last pig; and Channing--not the clerk, heis neutral still, but will rally to my side when I pay him twelveshillings, as I shall do to-morrow, for a pair of corduroys--butChanning the baker, a notable man, with a wife who knows everythingabout it, because she saw a dark man over the wall last summer, and hewould not give his name. She has caused a reaction already, and isconfident of being right, because she got upon a pair of steps. Oh youmust not imagine that I am forlorn. And then there is Frank Gilham, lastnot least, a fine young fellow, and a thorough Englishman."
"I like that description. I hate foreigners--as a rule I mean ofcourse," said Christie Fox, with a look of large candour, that provedwhat a woman of the world she was; "there may be good individuals amongthem, when they have come to know what home-life means; but take themaltogether, they are really very queer. But surely we ought to know alittle more, as to what it was Mrs. Baker Channing saw; and over theChurchyard wall, you say."
"Waste of time, Christie. Why it was back in August, when HarrisonGowler was staying here. And it was not the Churchyard wall at all, butthe wall of the rectory garden, that she peeped over in the dark. Itcan have had nothing to do with it."
"I am not so sure of that. Things come out so oddly. You remember whenmy poor _Flo_ was poisoned, how I found it out at last. I never leftoff. I wouldn't leave off. Prying, listening, tip-toeing, even spying,without any sense of shame. And I found it out at last--at last; anddidn't I have my revenge? Oh, I would have hanged that woman, if the lawhad been worth a farthing, and stuck her all over with needles andpins."
"You spiteful, and meanly vindictive little creature! But you neverfound it out by yourself, after all. It came out quite by accident."
"Well, and so will this. You take my word. I dare say I am stupid, but Ialways prove right. Yet we are bound to use the means of grace, as theytell us in every blessed sermon. Oh come, I may go and see your petparson. I'll be bound, I shall not care for him, an atom of an atom. Ihate those perfect people; they are such a slur upon one. I like a goodminister, who rides to hounds in pink, and apologises to the ladies,every time he swears. But, come, brother Jemmy, are there no morefriends? I have put down all you mentioned, and the list looks veryshort. There must be a few more, for the sake of Christianity."
"To be sure, there is one more, and a frightfully zealous one--certainto do more harm than good. A mere boy, though he flies into a fury atthe word. Mr. Penniloe's new pupil--preparing for the church, by tearingall across the country. He breaks down all the hedges, and he drives thesheep-dogs mad. He is mad as a March-hare himself, by all accounts; buteverybody likes him. His name is Horatio Peckover, but everybody callshim 'Hopper,' by _syncope_, as we used to say at school. One of hisfellow-pupils, young Pike, who is a very steady-going young fellow, anda fine rising fisherman, told me that Hopper is double-jointed; and theybelieve it devoutly. They tied him on a chair at his own request, theother day, in order that he might learn his lessons. But that only madehim worse than ever; for he capered round the room, chair and all, untilMr. Penniloe sent to ask who was churning butter."
"What a blessing that boy must be in a sick house! But what has madehim take up our case, Jemmy?"
"The demand of his nature for violent motion. Every day of his life,except Sunday, he scours the country for miles around. On foot,mind--not on horseback, which one could understand. Moreover, he is hotin my favour, because he comes from somewhere near Wincaunton, and is ared hot 'Zon ov' Zummerzet,' and contemptuous of Devon. But it is notfor me to enquire into motives. I shall want every single friend I canscrape together, if what I heard, this morning is anything like true.You asked me last night, what Lady Waldron thought."
"To be sure, I did. It seemed most important. But now," continuedChristie, as she watched her brother's face, "there are reasons why Ishould scarcely attach so much weight to her opinion."
"The chief reason being that you see it is against me. Well, truly, youare a brave reasoner, my dear. But I fear that it is so. I
am told thatmy name must never again be heard in the house, where once I was sowelcome."
"Oh, I am rather glad of that. That will go a long way in our favour. Icannot tell how many times I have heard not from one, but from all whohave met her, that she is a most unpleasant haughty person, even for aforeigner. It must lie very heavy on the poor woman's conscience, thateverybody says she helped, by her nasty nature to shorten her poorhusband's days. Possibly now--well, that throws a new light. What hashappened may very well have been done at the order of some of hisrelatives, who knowing her character suspect foul play. And of courseshe would like to hear no more about it. You know all those foreigners,how pat they are with poison."
"What a grand thing it is to have a sister!" Fox exclaimed, looking withastonishment at Christie, who was quite excited with her new idea."Better almost to have a sister than--than--I mean than any one else. Ialmost feared to tell you my last piece of news, because I thought thatit must upset you so. And behold, it has greatly encouraged you! Butremember, on no account must you drop a hint, even to our best friends,of your last brilliant idea. What frightful things flow into thesweetest little head!"
"Well, I don't see at all, why I should try to conceal it. I think itis a case for very grave suspicions. And if she spreads shameful reportsabout you, I'll soon let her know that two can play at that."
"Nonsense, my dear child. There is evidence against me. None, nor even ashadow of suspicion, against her. She loved Sir Thomas devotedly; and Ialways thought that jealousy was the cause of her coldness to hisEnglish friends. But to come to common sense again--what I heard to-daysettles my doubts as to what I should do. Penniloe thought that I shouldcall at Walderscourt; though he saw what a difficult thing it was to do,and rather referred it to my own decision. I shrank from it, more than Ican describe. In fact, I could not bring myself to go; not for my ownsake but for theirs. But this behaviour on her part puts a new aspectupon it. I feel myself bound, as an innocent man, to face her; howeverunpleasant it may be. It will only be the worse, for putting off. Ishall go, this afternoon."
"I love to bring anything to a point. You are quite right;" repliedChristie, with her bright colour rising, at the prospect of a brush;"Jemmy dear, let me come with you."
"Not quite, you gallant Chris! No such luck for me. Not that I want youto back me up. But still it would have been a comfort. But you know itis out of the question, for a stranger to call, at such a time.
"Well, I fear it is. Though I shouldn't mind that. But it would lookvery odd for you. Never mind; I won't be far away. You can leave meoutside, and I will wait for you, somewhere in the shrubbery, if thereis one. Not that I would dream of keeping out of sight. Only that theymight be afraid to see me."
"They might reasonably fear it, if you looked as you do now. Ferocitydoes not improve the quality of your smile, dear. What will mother say,when you go home? And somebody else perhaps? Now, you need not blush. Ihave a very high opinion of him."
"Jemmy, I won't have it. Not another word! Get it out of your silly mindfor ever. Men never understand such things. There's no romance in me, asGoodness knows. But you'll never catch me marrying a man with none ofit in him."
"You are too young to think of such things yet. Though sometimes evenyounger girls--but come along, let us have a breath of fresh air, afterall this melancholy talk. That footpath will take us up to Hagdon in tenminutes. You are eager to try our Old-Barn style of victualling, and itsuits the system better than your long late dinners. We dine at twoo'clock. Come and get an appetite."
A short sharp climb, and with their lungs expanded, they stood upon thebreezy hill, and looked back at the valley. Before them rolled the sweepof upland, black in some places with bights of fired furze; but streakedwith long alleys of tender green, where the flames had not fed, or therains had wept them off. The soft western air, though the winter hadheld speech with it, kept enough of good will yet, to be a pleasantchange for those who found their fellow-creatures easterly. And morethan that, the solemn distance, and expanse of trackless grey, hoveringwith slow wings of sleepy vapour touched with sunshine, if there was nocomfort in them, yet spread some enlargement. These things breathed asofter breath, as nature must (though it be unfelt) on youngimaginations fluttering, like a wisp of brambled wool, in thebridle-paths, and stray sheep-walks of human trouble.