Joseph Hocking

“ That it was Uncle Anthony I could no longer believe. True, the veiled figure was quite as tall as Jenkins, my jailer; perhaps taller, but in no way did it remind me of the lonely hermit with whom I had talked so long on the top of Roche Rock, and whom I had left sick and wounded in the ruined chapel in the parish of St. Mawgan.
Presently every fibre of my body quivered with a great joy, my blood fairly leaped in my veins, and I could have shouted aloud for joy. My deliverer was the maid Nancy! She had heard of my arrest, had traced me to my prison, and had provided means for my escape. ”

“ I strained both ears and eyes without avail; it would seem as though no form of life existed behind the dark walls of the house. Did not this mean that Otho was still ignorant of the whereabouts of Nancy? Might she not be still safe and well in that part of the house, the secrets of which were unknown to the Killigrews. I had reason to know how self-reliant and far-seeing she was, and I knew how faithful and shrewd was Amelia Lanteglos her serving-maid. My heart beat loud with joy at the thought. ”

“ I had no hope of anything good from old Peter, and I felt like defying him. My two years' possession of Trevanion had brought but little joy. Every day I was pinched for money, and to have an old house to maintain without a sufficient income galled me. The man who is poor and proud is in no enviable position. Added to this, the desire to hide my poverty had made me reckless, extravagant, dissolute. Sometimes I had been driven to desperation, and, while I had never forgotten the Trevanion's code of honour, I had become feared and disliked by many people. ”

“ I said, Here is a man who knows a man!"—and he drew himself up with a sort of mountebank bravado.
"But I am kept out of it," he continued. "She is not allowed to think of me. She is not allowed even to see me. I must not speak to her. It's all Otho, Otho. He must have Endellion, he must have Restormel, and he must have the maid, too."
"And he seems to love her."
"Love her! With the cunning love of a priest. But it is not the love of a man such as I. If she could see me, talk with me, all would be different!" ”

“ Look you, I have seen that maid this very night. If you were a man such as a woman could love, if the maid did not loathe you, I would not have given either of you a second thought. But even although it may not be possible for me to lift a finger on her behalf, I will not bind myself by a promise not to help her. Why, man,"—and my anger got the better of me,—"it were sending a maid to hell to make her the wife of such as you!"
I heard Benet Killigrew laugh. "Good!" he cried; "the fellow's a man!" But Otho was mad with rage. ”

“ For although I do not think I fear death more than another man, I did dread the cruelty of this man. Besides, I longed for life; never, indeed, had it been so sweet to me as now. Only a few hours before my dear maid Nancy had laid her head on my shoulder and had sobbed out her love to me. I knew, too, that she would have a bitter enemy in Otho, and if I were dead she would be a prey to his many wiles. Still I determined not to betray fear. ”

“ He uttered the last words in such a tone as must have wounded my dear maid sorely; but she spoke steadily and clearly for all that.
"Look you," she replied, "your words may be true; I am afraid they are. Well, tell all you can, proclaim to the world that I am base-born in the eyes of the law. That threat shall not make me do what you ask. If I am penniless, I am penniless; but rather than marry Otho Killigrew I would beg my bread from door to door, I would earn my living as a servant in a farm kitchen."
"It is hard to use force, my fair cousin," said Otho, "but I am not beaten easily. ”

“ Nevertheless, I knew that if she could never care for me, I had still given my life to her, and that until my limbs lay cold in death I must seek to serve her. For when a man who is past thirty really loves for the first time, it is love forever. True, I loved my country, and I had espoused the cause of liberty and truth, because I could not help it, but Nancy's welfare was more to me than these.
Thus I could not help following Otho Killigrew, and although my wound pained me, I knew that strength would not fail. ”

“ I love you!"
"Benet, this is not your affair," said Otho; "it was agreed upon that this fellow should be taken and killed at all hazards, and that I should see it done."
"I care not, Otho. He is a worthy gentleman, and he shall die as becometh one. Oh, you need not fear, I will kill him; but not as a butcher may kill a pig. Cut his cords, men. Nay I will do it myself. There, that's it. Stand up, Roger Trevanion. Ah! they have not taken your sword from you; it is well! Stand around, men; there is plenty of light." ”

“ I assented.
"The Killigrews never yet turned their backs upon those who merited their friendship," concluded Otho; "but they never forgive those who betray their trust. Never!"
He uttered the words slowly and distinctly, as was his manner of speech.
"Sleep soundly, Roger Penryn," he said as he bade me good-night. "The Tower of London is not more safely guarded than Endellion."
"It is good of you to tell me," I replied; "but a good sword and a ready hand are all I have needed in the past."
To this he did not reply, and I heard his steps echo along the corridor. ”

“ But I cannot trust a man who by every action betrays an evil purpose."
"Methinks you trusted me to fight Benet Killigrew," I retorted. "You trusted me to bring you so far. Have I betrayed that trust?"
"I will be frank with you," was her answer. "When I heard of your answers to Otho, when I was told that you preferred imprisonment rather than promise him that you would not seek to set me at liberty, I doubted myself. I thought I had been unjust to you. I wrote and told you so. When I heard of your escape through mastering Benet, and thought of what it meant, I doubted myself more still. ”

“ Then I heard my dear maid's voice again.
"Otho Killigrew," she said, "I know not what truth there is in what you say. I know you to be a liar. Again and again have you tried to deceive me. But I do not believe you would offer to marry me if I were nameless and penniless. You—you are too base."
"You mistake me, misjudge me, Mistress Nancy," said Otho slowly. "As I tell you, Roger Trevanion is dead; he died before sunrise this morning by my brother Benet's hand. And the other matter is also true. You have no name. ”

“ I looked at Uncle Anthony as he spoke, and saw the old man's face twitch. In spite of myself I was comforted. My dear maid was not without one friend.
"Perhaps I will refer to that again presently," he went on; "you will be glad to hear her name in your last minutes. But let me tell you another thing: Roger Trevanion, I hate you."
"Doubtless," I said with a sneer.
"I hate you," he went on, and now he spoke quickly and passionately. "I hate you because again and again you have beaten me, and I never forgive a man who has done that. ”

“ Am I a prisoner here?"
"Why were you there?"
"Only to have a talk with your prisoner," I replied. "I was curious to see the beauteous maid who hates you."
I hit him hard there, and he lost his temper.
"Look'ee, Roger Trevanion," speaking quickly and angrily for the first time, "what is the meaning of this masquerade? The Trevanions are Protestants. Why did you come here, pretending to be a Catholic? Why did you climb to the roof? You are a woman-hater."
"Only for a wager," I laughed.
"Mark this!" he cried,—"there are dungeons here as well as battlements." ”

“ In his joy at the thought of battle he had snatched as eagerly at my suggestion as a hungry dog snatches at a bone.
"Yes, it will be well," I replied. "You want me to help you in a dangerous business. You may fail me at a dangerous pinch, for aught I know. You might show the white feather."
"Benet Killigrew fail to fight!" he cried in wonder. "Why, let me fetch swords, man. By the mass, I have been longing for months to find a man worthy of being called a man!"
"We cannot fight with swords," I said. "Even here we should arouse the house. The sound of steel reacheth far." ”

“ Let the fact become known, and you would be a wanderer, a vagrant in the county, for none would give you a home. All children born out of wedlock are despised. But I love you, I would save you from being disgraced; I desire to give you my name, I will make you my wife. True, when I sought your hand I thought you were rightfully the owner of Restormel; but Peter Trevisa hath proved to me beyond dispute that you have no shadow of claim to it. ”

“ The serving-maid, Amelia Lanteglos, kept close to me, neither did she make any complaint. Indeed throughout the whole journey she had kept cheerful, and as far as lay in her power had ministered to her mistress.
Arrived at the rock, I looked around me. There were no signs of pursuers; indeed all was silent as death, save for the sound of our panting horses. I looked up towards the masonry at the summit of the rock, which looked like a chapel, and eagerly sought for some signs of life. ”

“ She looked at me as if in great doubt.
"But if the Catholic faith is the true one," she cried, "and if Charles Stuart is the lawful heir to the throne—then——" and her lips trembled piteously as if she were in sore straits.
"I am no great hand at theology," I said; "but I know that Popery is lies, oppression, cruelty, ruin! We have had enough of it in England. If the Pretender lands and Hugh Boscawen is taken prisoner, it will mean brother fighting against brother, perhaps father fighting against son. The whole country will be in tears. ”

“ I saw too that Benet meant to kill me; every thrust he made meant death had I not been successful in parrying them. Never before had I fought with such a man; never before had I seen such a gleam of joy, a joy that was devilish, as I saw in Benet Killigrew's eyes.
I had no chance of noticing the two women, for Benet pressed me sorely. I fancied I heard some slight screams, but of these I recked nothing. A woman always cries out at a man's blows. For the first few minutes I acted on the defensive. ”