Abington

“ She was more his at Abington than she could be in London.
But he made up his mind that the succession of guests should not fail at Abington. She must not live out of the world, as he and his like estimated the world, at her age. He did not want her to become like the three loud good-natured horsey Pemberton girls, who in spite of their parentage and their wide relationships would always be country cousins, wherever they went. ”

“ The huntsman and whips came up with the hounds—a dappled mob of eager, restless or dogged, free-moving muscle and intelligence, which also filled the eye. There were motor-cars, carriages and smart-looking carts, and a little throng of people of all sorts and conditions. The scene was set, the characters all on the stage, and there was England, in one of its many enchanting time-told aspects.
Old Sir Alexander Mansergh, in a well-worn pink coat of old-fashioned cut, was in front of the house as the party from Abington Abbey rode up. ”

“ Even in his urgent need of finding his way back to the surface, his scientific mind ruled Abington, for he caught himself turning the lamp rays back for a second look at hieroglyphics carved high up.
“What the deuce!” he muttered. “That can mean nothing but evil—much evil—and the death of many. ”

“ No artist would ever have dared to mix those barbaric colors, even for a desert sunset; and if he had dared his hand must have lacked the cunning of the Master Painter who daily wrought his magic here on these wild hills where men so seldom ventured.
Abington looked down a sheer wall of rock to a deep basin where grass grew and a round pool of water held like a mirror the rose-tinted reflection of the cloud straight overhead. One steep trail led down the farther hillside to the pool and as he gazed a mountain sheep went bounding up that trail. ”

“ When in the dusk he came slipping and sliding down an old sheep trail long since abandoned for a more favored path, however, there was no wounded man to be seen in the little basin. Like a shot quail that flutters for a moment among the bushes and is lost, the man somehow had managed to crawl away and disappear.
Abington called Bill’s name again and again while he lighted the carbide lamp. And as the white light sprang out and drove back the shadows, a gunshot roared just under the cliff for answer to his hail. ”

“ Abington, with all that went with it, was amusement for both of them, every hour of the day. Young George would follow him about everywhere, chattering [Pg 109] effusively all the time, completely happy and at ease with him. He had reached the age at which a boy wants his play to be the play of a man, and wants a man to play it with. When Grafton was up in London he immersed himself in more childish pursuits, with Barbara as his companion, or Jimmy Beckley, who was a constant visitor during the Easter holidays. ”

“ Bill had called himself a prospector, said he had an outfit back in the hills and had come down to Abington's camp to see if he could rustle a pair of boots and a little tobacco. A likable fellow, Abington had found him; one of those rare individuals who can display an intelligent interest in the other fellow's subject. ”

“ The valley straightway became enchanted ground wherein fairy folk might dance on the smooth sand strips or play laughing games of hide and seek among the strange pillars and jutting crags.
Beside the dying fire Bill Jonathan dozed, head bent with now and then an involuntary drop forward, whereupon he would rouse and glance sharply to left and right—the habit of a man who knows himself hunted, a man whose safety lies in unsleeping vigilance.
“Lie down on the tent, Bill,” Abington advised him, after his third startled awakening. “Lie down and make yourself comfortable. ”

“ I must confess I should rather like to meet a few people from the other side of the [Pg 138] county. The Pembertons are quite on the edge of our circle, and they're about the only decent people in it."
"Except our own people at Abington," Mrs. Mercer corrected him. "We are very lucky in the Graftons, I must say."
"Yes, I suppose we are, as things go," said the Vicar. "I would rather have had regular country people, though, than rich Londoners. They get absorbed in their friends whom they bring down, and aren't of so much use to their country neighbours as they might be." ”

“ Bill was tired and full of uneasy fears and he bitterly resented Abington's action in regard to the guns. He was accustomed to the feel of a gun's weight against his hip and the thought of facing trouble without a weapon gave him an uncomfortable feeling of helplessness. Add mystery to the hazard, and Bill reacted with a dread not far removed from panic.
Abington ate and drank his share, then forced himself to explore the cave with a lamp. He chose for himself a niche in one side of the wall near the entrance, where he would hear any intruder and would still be fairly well concealed. ”

“ Lewis had not yet come back, and so Mrs. Abington went upstairs and seated herself by the side of her friend in her parlour.
Not many minutes had passed before her quick ears became aware of the opening of the hall-door, and of the stealthy steps of a man upon the stairs. The steps paused outside the room door, and then putting on her masculine voice, the actress suddenly cried:
“Ah, my beloved creature! why will you remain with a husband who cannot love you as I swear I do? Why not fly with me to happiness?” ”

“ He gave Abington another glance, a gleam in his eyes as of throttled speech.
“Have a smoke. Here, keep the case while we’re getting the car started.” Abington glanced at the officer. “You’ve no objection, I suppose?”
“Hell, no! What do you take me for? Just because I use some precautions against being brained while I’m busy driving don’t mean I’m hard boiled.” He sent a measuring glance toward either side of the straight-walled cañon. Within half a mile there was no cover for a man, and the cliffs rose sheer. “You can get out if you want to, Bill,” he said to the prisoner. ”

“ Just before Bertie Pemberton managed to let the rest of the party get a room or two ahead, by showing great interest in the old books with which the library was furnished, Mollie heard her say to him in her carrying voice: "Well, you must come over and see it for yourself. I don't know why we've never met you; but Abington is rather beyond our beat, unless there's something or somebody to come for. It's such a pleasure to meet a sensible clergyman. ”

“ There were places where it would even have been possible for a man to climb up out of the crevice. But the day was too far gone and Abington had no intention of spending another night underground in aimless wanderings, nor to roost on some dangerous pinnacle until morning. ”

“ Abington replied, his voice once more calm and slightly ironic, as if he still doubted Bill's sincerity. “A man could spend a lifetime in this country without exhausting its archæological possibilities.” ”

“ In clerical and clerically-minded society he was accustomed [Pg 16] to complain of the inequalities of such emoluments in the Church of England. "Look at Abington," he would say, some time in the course of the discussion. "There's a fine church, which wants a good deal of keeping up, and there's a good house; but the value of the living has come down to about a hundred and thirty a year. No man without private means—considerable private means—could possibly afford to take it. And those men are getting scarcer and scarcer. After me, I don't know what will happen at Abington." ”

“ He drew Abington to one side, out of hearing of the wounded man. “That's Jack Huntley, professor. He's got to be put in shape for the trip in to Vegas. It's a matter of life and death. So do what you can—I know you're a pretty good doctor when it comes to a pinch. I'll be right back. Well—hang onto him, professor, till I get back with the stuff. Don't let him sneak out on you!”
“If he does,” said Abington grimly, “it will be because he sneaks into the next world. I'll try and not let that happen, Bill, my lad.” ”

“ He looked across the fire at Abington. “How's it strike you, professor?”
Over and over Abington had considered this very point during his month of waiting. It all depended on Bill himself, he had decided. Some men are so constituted that preying upon society is second nature to them. Others fall afoul of the law through no real criminal intent. There is a vast difference between the two types, Abington knew. It all depended on Bill. ”

“ It appeared from the conversation that followed that he had been a small boy in George Grafton's house at Eton when Grafton had been a big one, that they had not met since, except once, years before at Lord's, but were quite pleased to meet now. Also that Worthing had been agent to the Abington property for the past twelve years, and to the Wilborough property adjoining it for about half that time. A good deal of this information was addressed to Caroline with friendly familiarity. She was used to the tone from well-preserved middle-aged men. ”

“ If Bill had been looking for his partner, then it was an odd twist of circumstance that had sent them both wandering around in the same labyrinth of caves and complicated katabothra without once permitting them to meet. If, on the other hand, Bill had been hunting a hiding place which Abington would never find—and the archæologist was certain this was the case—he had a surprise in store. ”

“ Abington in particular, and of all Catholics in general, in respect that he was the cause of the apprehension of the two Fathers at Mr. Abington's house, for which he acknowledged he deserved death much more than for the relieving of Mr. Robert Winter and his cousin, Mr. Stephen Littleton, for [pg 277] which he was to suffer. He died with show of great repentance, and so with sorrow and humility and patient acceptance of his death made amends for his former frailty and too unworthy desire of life. ”

“ He set about supper of a sort, keeping his back to the ledge with a persistence that might have amused Abington if he had not been wholly occupied with the mystery that had impinged upon an otherwise uneventful trip.
“I can't fathom it,” he said at last, speaking half to himself. “It is not a mountain sheep, I'm certain of that. Those slits in the tent and the salt sack ignored—those two details alone place the depredations apart from the work of any such animal.”
“Yeah, there ain't no such animal!” ”

“ Carruthers to the Bishop becoming known.
"Personally," said the Vicar, "I was always inclined to like Mrs. Carruthers. I confess I was disturbed—even offended—when she refused to see me after her husband's death. But one can make excuses for a woman at such a time. One must not bear malice."
"Oh, no," said Rhoda. "Let's all forgive and forget. She is coming back in September, I believe. I should think you might see a good deal of her over at Abington, Mr. Mercer. She is bound to make friends with the Graftons. They're just her sort. Two very lively houses we have in our parishes, haven't we? ”

“ Abington's leave to do so.
Mrs. Abington immediately sat down and wrote a line to her.
“Do n't be a little fool,” she wrote. “Are you so anxious to undo all that we have done between us? If you pursue that course, I swear to you that he will be at my feet the next day. No, dear child, leave me to tell him all that there is to be told.”
Two days afterwards Lee Lewis said to her:
“I wonder if 't is true that my wife has an admirer.”
“Why should it not be true, sir? Everything that is admirable has an admirer,” said Mrs. Abington. ”

“ He turned a corner and peered into blackness; an ancient water channel was there, no doubt. Abington lighted a match, saw that the hieroglyphics continued along the wall. Waiting only long enough to light the carbide lamp, he set off along the narrow passage, pausing now and then to study the inscriptions as he went.
Broad chambers receded into blackness beyond the white light of his lamp and these he hastily explored before going on. Labyrinthine passageways were revealed as he turned the light this way and that, each opening inscribed with strange symbols carved in the rock at the sides. ”

“ I’ve been trying to detect the origin of the human race, for years now,” Abington smiled. “It’s the same kind of figuring brought down to modern conditions. If you’re ready, sheriff, we’ll get underway.”
So back they went, roaring up the long rough trail to the cañon and on to Tonopah. They did not meet a soul on the way, nor did they overtake Bill Jonathan and the roadster. Neither did they glimpse anywhere a sign of his turning aside from the main highway, though Park’s eyes watered from watching intently the trail. ”

“ Now about this Abington Abbey. Are there rats? If so, I won't go there."
"Is there a nice clergyman?" asked Beatrix. "You and Caroline must call on the clergyman, and tell me what he's like when you come home; and how many children he has; and all about the neighbours. A nice house is all very well, but you want nice people too. Somebody you can make fun of."
"B darling," expostulated the Dragon again. "I don't think you should set out by making fun of people. You will want to make friends of your neighbours, not fun of them."
"We can do both," said Beatrix. "Will you be the Squire, dear? ”

“ It would make a splendid hideout, Bill. There’s a spring, and cracks in the rock let in sunlight, a perfect retreat. Impossible to come at one from the rear—”
Abington paused and his shoulders moved involuntarily. He was thinking of the Pool of Evil Death. “I’ll show you the place. When I am through in this country you’ll find it useful, no doubt.”
“Not unless Jack Huntley dies. If I can ever get him in somehow to the sheriff, I won’t need to hide out in the hills. Unless,” Bill added dubiously, “they cinch me for that car I run over the cliff.” His eyes clouded. ”