The Broad Highway by Jeffery Farnol (ebook reader with highlight function TXT) đ
- Author: Jeffery Farnol
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âNever!â I cried, clenching my fists; ânever! You must leave me; no one must know Charmian Brown ever existedâyou must go!â
âHush!â she whispered, clasping me tighter, âlistenâsome one is coming!â Away to the right, we could hear the leaves rustling, as though a strong wind passed through them; a light flickered, went out, flickered again, and a voice hailed faintly:
âHallo!â
âCome,â said Charmian, clasping my hand, âlet us go and meet him.â
âNo, Charmian, noâI must see this manâalone. You must leave here, to-night-now. You can catch the London Mail at the cross roads. Go to Blackheathâto Sir Richard Anstrutherâhe is my friendâtell him everythingââ
She was down at my feet, and had caught my hand to her bosom.
âI canât!â she cried, âI canât goâand leave you here alone. I have loved you soâfrom the very first, and it seems that each day my love has grown until it is part of me. Oh, Peter!âdonât send me away from youâit will kill me, I thinkââ
âBetter that than the shame of a prison!â I exclaimed, and, while I spoke, I lifted her in my arms. âOh!âI am proudâproud to have won such a love as yoursâlet me try to be worthy of it. Good-by, my beloved!â and so I kissed her, and would have turned away, but her arms clung about me.
âOh, Peter!â she sobbed, âif you must goâif you will go, call meâyour wifeâjust once, Peter.â
The hovering light was much nearer now, and the rustle of leaves louder, as I stooped above her cold hands, and kissed their trembling fingers.
âSome day,â said I, âsome day, if there is a just God in heaven, we shall meet again; perhaps soon, perhaps late. Until then, let us dream of that glorious, golden some day, but nowâfarewell, oh, beloved wife!â
With a broken cry, she drew my head down upon her breast, and clasped it there, while her tears mingled with her kisses, and soâcrying my name, she turned, and was lost among the leaves.
CHAPTER XLIII
HOW I SET OUT TO FACE MY DESTINY
The pallid moon shone down pitilessly upon the dead, white face that stared up at me through its grime and blood, with the same half-tolerant, half-amused contempt of me that it had worn in life; the drawn lips seemed to mock me, and the clenched fists to defy me still; so that I shivered, and turned to watch the oncoming light that danced like a will-oâ-the-wisp among the shadows. Presently it stopped, and a voice hailed once more:
âHallo!â
âHallo!â I called back; âthis wayâthis way!â In a little while I saw the figure of a man whom I at once recognized as the one-time Postilion, bearing the lanthorn of a chaise, and, as he approached, it struck me that this meeting was very much like our first, save for him who lay in the shadows, staring up at me with unwinking eyes.
âSo ho!â exclaimed the Postilion as he came up, raising his lanthorn that he might view me the better; âitâs you again, is it?â
âYes,â I nodded.
âWell, I donât like it,â he grumbled, âa-meeting of each other again like this, in this âere ghashly placeâno, I donât like it âtoo much like last time to be natâral, and, as you know, I canât abide onnatâralness. If I was to ax you where my master was, like as not youâd tell me âe wasââ
âHere!â said I, and, moving aside, pointed to the shadow.
The Postilion stepped nearer, lowering his lanthorzs. then staggered blindly backward.
âLord!â he whimpered, âLord love me!â and stood staring, with dropped jaw.
âWhere is your chaise?â
âUp yonderâyonderâin the lane,â he mumbled, his eyes still fixed.
âThen help me to carry him there.â
âNo, noâI dursnât touch itâI canâtânot meânot me!â
âI think you will,â said I, and took the pistol from my pocket.
âAinât one enough for to-night?â he muttered; âput it awayâIâll comeâIâll do itâput it away.â So I dropped the weapon back into my pocket while the Postilion, shivering violently, stooped with me above the inanimate figure, and, with our limp burden between us, we staggered and stumbled up the path, and along the lane to where stood a light traveling chaise.
ââE ainât likely to come to this time, Iâm thinkinâ!â said the Postilion, mopping the sweat from his brow and grinning with pallid lips, after we had got our burden into the vehicle; âno, âe ainât likely to wake up no more, nor yet âcurse my âead offâ âthis side oâ Jordan.â
âNo,â I answered, beginning to unwind my neckcloth.
âNor it ainât no good to go a-bandaginâ and a-bindinâ of âim up âlike you did last time.â
âNo,â said I; âno.â And stepping into the chaise, I muffled that disfigured face in my neckcloth; having done which, I closed the door.
âWhat now?â inquired the Postilion.
âNow you can drive us to Cranbrook.â
âWhatâbe you a-cominâ too?â
âYes,â I nodded; âyes, I am coming too.â
âLord love me!â he exclaimed, and a moment later I heard him chirruping to his horses; the whip cracked and the chaise lurched forward. Whether he had some wild notion that I might attempt to descend and make my escape before we reached our destination, I cannot say, but he drove at a furious pace, taking corners at reckless speed, so that the chaise lurched and swayed most violently, and, more than once, I was compelled to hold that awful figure down upon the seat before me, lest it should slide to the floor. On we sped, past hedge and tree, by field and lonely wood. And ever in my ears was the whir of the wheels, the drumming of hoofs, and the crack of the whip; and ever the flitting moonbeams danced across that muffled face until it seemed that the features writhed and gibed at me, beneath the folds of the neckerchief.
And so at last came lights and houses, and the sound of excited voices as we pulled up before the Posting House at Cranbrook. Looking from the window, I saw a ring of faces with eyes that gleamed in the light of the lanthorns, and every eye was fixed on me, and every foot gave back a step as I descended from the chaise. And, while I stood there, the Postilion came with two white-faced ostlers, who, between them, bore a heavy burden through the crowd, stumbling awkwardly as they went; and, as men saw that which they carried, there came a low, deep sound âwordless, inarticulate, yet full of menace. But, above this murmur rose a voice, and I saw the Postilion push his way to the steps of the inn, and turn there, with hands clenched and raised above his head.
âMy masterâSir Maurice Vibartâis killedâshot to death âmurdered down there in the âaunted âOller!â he cried, âand, if you axes me who done it, I says to youââe didâso âelp me God!â and speaking, he raised his whip and pointed at me.
Once more there rose that inarticulate sound of menace, and once more all eyes were fixed upon me.
ââE were a fine genâman!â said a voice.
âAh! so gay anâ light-âearted!â said another.
âAy, ayâa generous, open open-âanded genâman!â said a third.
And every moment the murmur swelled, and grew more threatening; fists were clenched, and sticks flourished, so that, instinctively, I set my back against the chaise, for it seemed they lacked only some one to take the initiative ere they fell upon me.
The Postilion saw this too, for, with a shout, he sprang forward, his whip upraised. But, as he did so; the crowd was burst asunder, he was caught by a mighty arm, and Black George stood beside me, his eyes glowing, his fists clenched, and his hair and beard bristling.
âStand back, you chaps,â he growled, âstand back or Iâll âurt some on ye; be ye all a lot oâ dogs to set on anâ worry one as is all alone?â And then, turning to me, âWhat be the matter wiâ the fools, Peter?â
âMatter?â cried the Postilion; âmurder be the matterâmy master be murderedâshot to deathâanâ there stands the man as done it!â
âMurder?â cried George, in an altered voice; âmurder?â Now, as he spoke, the crowd parted, and four ostlers appeared, bearing a hurdle between them, and on the hurdle lay a figure, an elegant figure whose head and face were still muffled in my neckerchief. I saw George start, and, like a flash, his glance came round to my bare throat, and dismay was in his eyes.
âPeter?â he murmured; then he laughed suddenly and clapped his hand down upon my shoulder. âLook âee, you chaps,â he cried, facing the crowd, âthis is my friend Peterâan honest man anâ no murderer, as âe will tell ye âisselfâthis is my friend as Iâd go bail for wiâ my life to be a true man; speak up, Peter, anâ tell âem as you âm an honest man anâ no murderer.â But I shook my head.
âOh, Peter!â he whispered, âspeak! speak!â
âNot here, George,â I answered; âit would be of no availâbesides, I can say nothing to clear myself.â
âNothinâ, Peter?â
âNothing, George. This man was shot and killed in the HollowâI found him lying deadâI found the empty pistol, and the Postilion, yonder, found me standing over the body. That is all I have to tell.â
âPeter,â said he, speaking hurriedly beneath his breath,
âOh, Peter!âletâs run for itââtwould be main easy for the likes oâ you anâ meââ
âNo, George,â I answered; âit would be worse than useless. But one thing I do ask of youâyou who know me so much better than mostâand it is, that you will bid me good-by, andâtake my hand once more, George here before all these eyes that look upon me as a murderer, andââ
Before I had finished he had my hand in both of hisânay, had thrown one great arm protectingly about me.
âWhy, Peterââ he began, in a strangely cracked voice, âoh! man as I love!ânever think as Iâd believe their lies, anââPeter âsuch fighters as you anâ me! a match for double their number âletâs make a bolt for itâecod! I want to hit somebody. Never doubt me, Peterâyour friendâanâ theyâd go over like skittles like skittles, Peterââ
The crowd, which had swelled momentarily, surged, opened, and a man on horseback pushed his way towards me, a man in some disorder of dress, as though he had clothed himself in a hurry.
Rough hands were now laid upon me; I saw Georgeâs fist raised threateningly, but caught it in my grasp.
âGood-by,â said I, âgood-by, George, and donât look so downcast, man.â But we were forced apart, and I was pushed and pulled and hustled away, through a crowd of faces whose eyes damned me wherever I looked, along panelled passage ways, and into a long, dim room, where sat the gentleman I had seen on the horse, busily tying his cravat, to whom I delivered up the pistol, and answered divers questions as well as I might, and by whom, after much jotting of notes and memoranda, I was delivered over to four burly fellows, who, with deep gravity, and a grip much tighter than was necessary, once more led me out into the moonlit street, where were people who pressed forward to stare into my face, and people who leaned out of windows to stare down upon my head, and many more who followed at my heels.
And thus, in much estate, I
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