Elster's Folly by Mrs. Henry Wood (most important books to read TXT) 📖
- Author: Mrs. Henry Wood
Book online «Elster's Folly by Mrs. Henry Wood (most important books to read TXT) 📖». Author Mrs. Henry Wood
Length From The Winning-Post Another Shot Past Him, And Won By Half A
Length. It Was The Young Oxonian, Mr. Shute--Though Indeed It Does Not
Much Matter Who It Was, Save That It Was Not Lord Hartledon.
"Strike Your Colours, Ladies, You That Sport The Crimson And Purple!"
Called Out A Laughing Voice From One Of The Skiffs. "Oxford Blue Wins."
Lord Hartledon Arrived Last. He Did Not Get Up For Some Minutes After The
Rest Were In. In Short, He Was Distanced.
"Hart Has Hurt His Arm As Well As His Foot," Observed One Of The Others,
As He Came Alongside. "That's Why He Got Distanced."
"No, It Was Not," Dissented Lord Hartledon, Looking Up From His Skiff At
The Crowd Of Fair Faces Bent Down Upon Him. "My Arm Is All Right; It Only
Gave Me A Few Twinges When I First Started. My Oar Fouled, And I Could
Not Get Right Again; So, Finding I Had Lost Too Much Ground, I Gave Up
The Contest. Anne, Had I Known I Should Disgrace My Colours, I Would Not
Have Given Them To _You_."
"Miss Ashton Loses, And Maude Wins!" Cried The Countess-Dowager,
Executing A Little Dance Of Triumph. "Maude Is The Only One Who Wears
The Oxford Blue."
It Was True. The Young Oxonian Was A Retiring And Timid Man, And None Had
Voluntarily Assumed His Colours. But No One Heeded The Countess-Dowager.
"You Are Like A Child, Hartledon, Denying That Your Arm's Damaged!"
Exclaimed Captain Dawkes. "I Know It Is: I Could See It By The Way You
Struck Your Oar All Along."
What Feeling Is It In Man That Prompts Him To Disclaim Physical
Pain?--Make Light Of Personal Injury? Lord Hartledon's Ankle Was
Swelling, At The Bottom Of The Boat; And Without The Slightest Doubt
His Arm _Was_ Paining Him, Although Perhaps At The Moment Not Very
Considerably. But He Maintained His Own Assertions, And Protested His
Arm Was As Sound As The Best Arm Present. "I Could Go Over The Work Again
With Pleasure," Cried He.
"Nonsense, Hart! You Could Not."
"And I _Will_ Go Over It," He Added, Warming With The Opposition. "Who'll
Try His Strength With Me? There's Plenty Of Time Before Dinner."
"I Will," Eagerly Spoke Young Carteret, Who Had Been, As Was Remarked,
One Of Those On Land, And Was Wild To Be Handling The Oars. "If Dawkes
Will Let Me Have His Skiff, I'll Bet You Ten To Five You Are Distanced
Again, Hartledon."
Perhaps Lord Hartledon Had Not Thought His Challenge Would Be Taken
Seriously. But When He Saw The Eager, Joyous Look Of The Boy Carteret--He
Was Not Yet Nineteen--The Flushed Pleasure Of The Beardless Face, He
Would Not Have Retracted It For The World. He Was Just As Good-Natured
As Percival Elster.
"Dawkes Will Let You Have His Skiff, Carteret."
Captain Dawkes Was Exceedingly Glad To Be Rid Of It. Good Boatman Though
He Was, He Rarely Cared To Spend His Strength Superfluously, When Nothing
Was To Be Gained By It, And Had No Fancy To Row His Skiff Back To Its
Moorings, As Most Of The Others Were Already Doing With Theirs. He Leaped
Out.
"Any One But You, Hartledon, Would Be Glad To Come Out Of That
Tilting Thing, And Enjoy A Rest, And Get Your Face Cool," Cried The
Countess-Dowager.
"I Dare Say They Might, Ma'am. I'm Afraid I Am Given To Obstinacy; Always
Was. Be Quick, Carteret."
Mr. Carteret Was Hastily Stripping Himself Of His Coat, And Any Odds And
Ends Of Attire He Deemed Superfluous. "One Moment, Hartledon; Only One
Moment," Came The Joyous Response.
"And You'll Come Home With Your Arm And Your Ankle Like Your Colours,
Hartledon--Crimson And Purple," Screamed The Dowager. "And You'll Be Laid
Up, And Go On Perhaps To Locked Jaw; And Then You'll Expect Me To Nurse
You!"
"I Shall Expect Nothing Of The Sort, Ma'am, I Pledge You My Word; I'll
Nurse Myself. All Ready, Carteret?"
"All Ready. Same Point As Before, Hart?"
"Same Point: Round The Boat And Home Again."
"And It's Ten Sovs. To Five, Hart?"
"All Right. You'll Lose, Carteret."
Carteret Laughed. He Saw The Five Sovereigns As Surely In His Possession
As He Saw The Sculls In His Hands. There Was No Trouble With The Start
This Time, And They Were Off At Once.
Lord Hartledon Took The Lead. He Was Spurring His Strength To The
Uttermost: Perhaps Out Of Bravado; That He Might Show Them Nothing Was
The Matter With His Arm. But Mr. Carteret Gained On Him; And As They
Turned The Point And Went Out Of Sight, The Young Man's Boat Was The
Foremost.
The Race Had Been Kept--As The Sporting Men Amongst Them Styled It--Dark.
Not An Inkling Of It Had Been Suffered To Get Abroad, Or, As Lord
Hartledon Had Observed, They Should Have The Banks Swarming. The
Consequence Was, That Not More Than Half-A-Dozen Curious Idlers Had
Assembled: Those Were On The Opposite Side, And Had Now Gone Down With
The Boats To Calne. No Spectators, Either On The River Or The Shore,
Attended This Lesser Contest: Lord Hartledon And Mr. Carteret Had It All
To Themselves.
And Meanwhile, During The Time Lord Hartledon Had Remained At Rest In His
Skiff Under The Winning Flag, Percival Elster Never Addressed One Word To
Him. There He Stood, On The Edge Of The Bank; But Not A Syllable Spoke
He, Good, Bad, Or Indifferent.
Miss Ashton Was Looking For Her Brother, And Might Just As Well Have
Looked For A Needle In A Bottle Of Hay. Arthur Was Off Somewhere.
"You Need Not Go Home Yet, Anne," Said Val.
"I Must. I Have To Dress For Dinner. It Is All To Be Very Smart To-Night,
You Know," She Said, With A Merry Laugh.
"With Shute In The Post Of Honour. Who'd Have Thought That Awkward, Quiet
Fellow Would Win? I Will See You Home, Anne, If You Must Go."
Miss Ashton Coloured Vividly With Embarrassment. In The Present State Of
Affairs, She Did Not Know Whether That Might Be Permitted: Poor Val Was
Out Of Favour At The Rectory. He Detected The Feeling, And It Tended To
Vex Him More And More.
"Nonsense, Anne! The Veto Has Not Yet Been Interposed, And They Can't
Kill You For Allowing My Escort. Stay Here If You Like: If You Go, I
Shall See You Home."
It Was Quite Imperative That She Should Go, For Dinner At Hartledon Was
That Evening Fixed For Seven O'clock, And There Would Be Little Enough
Time To Dress And Return Again. They Set Out, Walking Side By Side. Anne
Told Him Of What Lord Hartledon Had Said To Her That Day; And Val
Coloured With Shame At The Sullenness He Had Displayed, And His Heart
Went Into A Glow Of Repentance. Had He Met His Brother Then, He Had
Clasped His Hand, And Poured Forth His Contrition.
He Met Some One Else Instead, Almost Immediately. It Was Dr. Ashton,
Coming For Anne. Percival Was Not Wanted Now: Was Not Invited To Continue
His Escort. A Cold, Civil Word Or Two Passed, And Val Struck Across The
Grove Into The High-Road, And Returned To Hartledon.
He Was About To Turn In At The Lodge-Gates With His Usual Greeting To
Mrs. Capper When His Attention Was Caught By A Figure Coming Down The
Avenue. A Man In A Long Coat, His Face Ornamented With Red Whiskers. It
Required No Second Glance For Recognition. Whiskers And Coat Proclaimed
Their Owner At Once; And If Ever Val Elster's Heart Leaped Into His
Mouth, It Certainly Leaped Then.
He Went On, Instead Of Turning In; Quietly, As If He Were Only A Stranger
Enjoying An Evening Stroll Up The Road; But The Moment He Was Past The
Gates He Set Off At Breakneck Speed, Not Heeding Where. That The Man Was
There To Arrest Him, He Felt As Sure As He Had Ever Felt Of Anything In
This World; And In His Perplexity He Began Accusing Every One Of
Treachery, Lord Hartledon And Pike In Particular.
The River At The Back In This Part Took A Sweeping Curve, The Road Kept
Straight; So That To Arrive At A Given Point, The One Would Be More
Quickly Traversed Than The Other. On And On Went Val Elster; And As Soon
As An Opening Allowed, He Struck Into The Brushwood On The Right,
Intending To Make His Way Back By The River To Hartledon.
But Not Yet. Not Until The Shades Of Night Should Fall On The Earth:
He Would Have A Better Chance Of Getting Away From That Shark In The
Darkness Than By Daylight. He Propped His Back Against A Tree And Waited,
Hating Himself All The Time For His Cowardice. With All His Scrapes And
Dilemmas, He Had Never Been Reduced To This Sort Of Hiding.
And His Pursuer Had Struck Into The Wood After Him, Passed Straight
Through It, Though With Some Little Doubt And Difficulty, And Was Already
By The River-Side, Getting There Just As Lord Hartledon Was Passing In
His Skiff. Long As This May Have Seemed In Telling, It Took Only A Short
Time To Accomplish; Still Lord Hartledon Had Not Made Quick Way, Or He
Would Have Been Further On His Course In The Race.
Would The Sun Ever Set?--Daylight Ever Pass? Val Thought _Not_, In His
Impatience; And He Ventured Out Of His Shelter Very Soon, And Saw For His
Reward--The Long Coat And Red Whiskers By The River-Side, Their Owner
Conversing With A Man. Val Went Further Away, Keeping The Direction Of
The Stream: The Brushwood Might No Longer Be Safe. He Did Not Think They
Had Seen Him: The Man He Dreaded Had His Back To Him, The Other His Face.
And That Other Was Pike.
Chapter 9 (Waiting For Dinner)
Dinner At Hartledon Had Been Ordered For Seven O'clock. It Was Beyond
That Hour When Dr. Ashton Arrived, For He Had Been Detained--A
Clergyman's Time Is Not Always Under His Own Control. Anne And Arthur
Were With Him, But Not Mrs. Ashton. He Came In, Ready With An Apology For
His Tardiness, But Found He Need Not Offer It; Neither Lord Hartledon Nor
His Brother Having Yet Appeared.
"Hartledon And That Boy Carteret Have Not Returned Home Yet," Said The
Countess-Dowager, In Her Fiercest Tones, For She Liked Her Dinner More
Than Any Other Earthly Thing, And Could Not Brook Being Kept Waiting For
It. "And When They Do Come, They'll Keep Us Another Half-Hour Dressing."
"I Beg Your Ladyship's Pardon--They Have Come," Interposed Captain
Dawkes. "Carteret Was Going Into His Room As I Came Out Of Mine."
"Time They Were," Grumbled The Dowager. "They Were Not In Five Minutes
Ago, For I Sent To Ask."
"Which Of The Two Won The Race?" Inquired Lady Maude Of Captain Dawkes.
"I Don't Think Carteret Did," He Replied, Laughing. "He Seemed As Sulky
As A Bear, And Growled Out That There Had Been No Race, For Hartledon Had
Played Him A Trick."
"What Did He Mean?"
"Goodness Knows."
"I Hope Hartledon Upset Him," Charitably Interrupted The Dowager. "A
Ducking Would Do That Boy Good; He Is Too Forward By Half."
There Was More Waiting. The Countess-Dowager Flounced About In Her Pink
Satin Gown; But It Did Not Bring The Loiterers Any The Sooner. Lady
Maude--Perverse Still, But Beautiful--Talked In Whispers To The Hero Of
The Day, Mr. Shute; Wearing A Blue-Silk Robe And A Blue Wreath In Her
Hair. Anne, Adhering To The Colours Of Lord Hartledon, Though He Had Been
Defeated, Was In A Rich, Glistening White Silk, With Natural Flowers, Red
And Purple, On Its Body, And The Same In Her Hair. Her Sweet Face Was
Sunny Again, Her Eyes Were Sparkling: A Word Dropped By Dr. Ashton Had
Given Her A Hope That, Perhaps, Percival Elster Might Be Forgiven
Sometime.
He Was The First Of The Culprits To Make His Appearance. The Dowager
Attacked Him Of Course. What Did He Mean By Keeping Dinner Waiting?
Val Replied That He Was Late In Coming Home; He Had Been Out. As To
Keeping Dinner Waiting, It Seemed That Lord Hartledon Was Doing That:
He Didn't Suppose They'd Have Waited For Him.
He Spoke Tartly, As If Not On Good Terms With Himself Or The
Comments (0)