Elster's Folly by Mrs. Henry Wood (most important books to read TXT) 📖
- Author: Mrs. Henry Wood
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Gordon Was Really Dead. It Has Been More Than A Conviction. I Always Said
There Were No Grounds For Connecting The Two Together."
"I Had My Grounds For Doing It," Remarked The Barrister. "Gorton, It
Seems, Has Been In Australia Ever Since. No Wonder Green Could Not
Unearth Him In London. He's Back Again On A Visit, Looking Like A
Gentleman; And Really I Can't Discover That There Was Ever Anything
Against Him, Except That He Was Down In The World. Taylor Met Him The
Other Day, And I Had Him Brought To My Chambers; And Have Told You The
Result."
"You Do Not Now Feel Any Doubt That Gordon's Dead?"
"None At All. Your Friend, Gordon Of Kircudbright, Was The One Who
Embarked, Or Ought To Have Embarked, On The _Morning Star_, Homeward
Bound," Said Mr. Carr. And He Forthwith Told Lord Hartledon What The Man
Had Said.
A Silence Ensued. Lord Hartledon Was In Deep And Evidently Not Pleasant
Thought; And The Barrister Stole A Glance At Him.
"Hartledon, Take Comfort. I Am As Cautious By Nature As I Believe It Is
Possible For Any One To Be; And I Am Sure The Man Is Dead, And Can Never
Rise Up To Trouble You."
"I Have Been Sure Of That For Years," Replied Hartledon Quietly. "I Have
Just Said So."
"Then What Is Disturbing You?"
"Oh, Carr, How Can You Ask It?" Came The Rejoinder. "What Is It Lies On
My Mind Day And Night; Is Wearing Me Out Before My Time? Discovery May Be
Avoided; But When I Look At The Children--At The Boy Especially--It Would
Have Turned Some Men Mad," He More Quietly Added, Passing His Hand Across
His Brow. "As Long As He Lives, I Cannot Have Rest From Pain. The Sins Of
The Fathers--"
"Yes, Yes," Interposed Mr. Carr, Hastily. "Still The Case Is Light,
Compared With What We Once Dreaded."
"Light For Me, Heavy For Him."
Mr. Carr Remained With Them Until The Monday: He Then Went Back To London
And Work; And Time Glided On Again. An Event Occurred The Following
Winter Which Shall Be Related At Once; More Especially As Nothing Of
Moment Took Place In Those Intervening Months Needing Special Record.
The Man Pike, Who Still Occupied His Shed Undisturbed, Had Been Ailing
For Some Time. An Attack Of Rheumatic Fever In The Summer Had Left Him
Little Better Than A Cripple. He Crawled Abroad Still When He Was Able,
And _Would_ Do So, In Spite Of What Mr. Hillary Said; Would Lie About The
Damp Ground In A Lawless, Gipsying Sort Of Manner; But By The Time Winter
Came All That Was Over, And Mr. Pike's Career, As Foretold By The
Surgeon, Was Drawing Rapidly To A Close. Mrs. Gum Was His Good Samaritan,
As She Had Been In The Fever Some Years Before, Going In And Out And
Attending To Him; And In A Reasonable Way Pike Wanted For Nothing.
"How Long Can I Last?" He Abruptly Asked The Doctor One Morning. "Needn't
Fear To Say. _She_'S The Only One That Will Take On; I Shan't."
He Alluded To Mrs. Gum, Who Had Just Gone Out. The Surgeon Considered.
"Two Or Three Days."
"As Much As That?"
"I Think So."
"Oh!" Said Pike. "When It Comes To The Last Day I Should Like To See Lord
Hartledon."
"Why The Last Day?"
The Man's Pinched Features Broke Into A Smile; Pleasant And Fair Features
Once, With A Gentle Look Upon Them. The Black Wig And Whiskers Lay Near
Him; But The Real Hair, Light And Scanty, Was Pushed Back From The Damp
Brow.
"No Use, Then, To Think Of Giving Me Up: No Time Left For It."
"I Question If Lord Hartledon Would Give You Up Were You In Rude Health.
I'm Sure He Would Not," Added Mr. Hillary, Endorsing His Opinion Rather
Emphatically. "If Ever There Was A Kindly Nature In The World, It's His.
What Do You Want With Him?"
"I Should Like To Say A Word To Him In Private," Responded Pike.
"Then You'd Better Not Wait To Say It. I'll Tell Him Of Your Wish. It's
All Safe. Why, Pike, If The Police Themselves Came They Wouldn't Trouble
To Touch You Now."
"I Shouldn't Much Care If They Did," Said The Man. "_I_ Haven't Cared For
A Long While; But There Were The Others, You Know."
"Yes," Said Mr. Hillary.
"Look Here," Said Pike; "No Need To Tell Him Particulars; Leave Them
Till I'm Gone. I Don't Know That I'd Like _Him_ To Look Me In The Face,
Knowing Them."
"As You Will," Said Mr. Hillary, Falling In With The Wish More Readily
Than He Might Have Done For Anyone But A Dying Man.
He Had Patients Out Of Calne, Beyond Hartledon, And Called In Returning.
It Was A Snowy Day; And As The Surgeon Was Winding Towards The House,
Past The Lodge, With A Quick Step, He Saw A White Figure Marching Across
The Park. It Was Lord Hartledon. He Had Been Caught In The Storm, And
Came Up Laughing.
"Umbrellas Are At A Premium," Observed Mr. Hillary, With The Freedom Long
Intimacy Had Sanctioned.
"It Didn't Snow When I Came Out," Said Hartledon, Shaking Himself, And
Making Light Of The Matter. "Were You Coming To Honour Me With A Morning
Call?"
"I Was And I Wasn't," Returned The Surgeon. "I've No Time For Morning
Calls, Unless They Are Professional Ones; But I Wanted To Say A Word To
You. Have You A Mind For A Further Walk In The Snow?"
"As Far As You Like."
"There's A Patient Of Mine Drawing Very Near The Time When Doctors Can Do
No More For Him. He Has Expressed A Wish To See You, And I Undertook To
Convey The Request."
"I'll Go, Of Course," Said Val, All His Kindliness On The Alert. "Who Is
It?"
"A Black Sheep," Answered The Surgeon. "I Don't Know Whether That Will
Make Any Difference?"
"It Ought Not," Said Val Rather Warmly. "Black Sheep Have More Need Of
Help Than White Ones, When It Comes To The Last. I Suppose It's A Poacher
Wanting To Clear His Conscience."
"It's Pike," Said Hillary.
"Pike! What Can He Want With Me? Is He No Better?"
"He'll Never Be Better In This World; And To Speak The Truth, I Think
It's Time He Left It. He'll Be Happier, Poor Fellow, Let's Hope, In
Another Than He Has Been In This. Has It Ever Struck You, Lord Hartledon,
That There Was Something Strange About Pike, And His Manner Of Coming
Here?"
"Very Strange Indeed."
"Well, Pike Is Not Pike, But Another Man--Which I Suppose You Will Say Is
Irish. But That He Is So Ill, And It Would Not Be Worth While For The Law
To Take Him, He Might Be In Mortal Fear Of Your Seeing Him, Lest You
Betrayed Him. He Wanted You Not To Be Informed Until The Last Hour. I
Told Him There Was No Fear."
"I Would Not Betray Any Living Man, Whatever His Crime, For The Whole
World," Returned Lord Hartledon; His Voice So Earnest As To Amount To
Pain. And The Surgeon Looked At Him; But There Rose Up In His Remembrance
How _He_ Had Been Avoiding Betrayal For Years. "Who Is He?"
"Willy Gum."
Lord Hartledon Turned His Head Sharply Under Cover Of The Surgeon's
Umbrella, For They Were Walking Along Together. A Thought Crossed Him
That The Words Might Be A Jest.
"Yes, Pike Is Willy Gum," Continued Mr. Hillary. "And There You Have The
Explanation Of The Poor Mother's Nervous Terrors. I Do Pity Her. The
Clerk Has Taken It More Philosophically, And Seemed Only To Care Lest The
Fact Should Become Known. Ah, Poor Thing! What A Life Hers Has Been! Her
Fears Of The Wild Neighbour, Her Basins For Cats, Are All Explained Now.
She Dreaded Lest Calne Should Suspect That She Occasionally Stole Into
The Shed Under Cover Of The Night With The Basins Containing Food For Its
Inmate. There The Man Has Lived--If You Can Call Such An Existence
Living; Willy Gum, Concealed By His Borrowed Black Hair And Whiskers. But
That He Was Only A Boy When He Went Away, Calne Would Have Recognized Him
In Spite Of Them."
"And He Is Not A Poacher And A Snarer, And I Don't Know What All, Leading
A Lawless Life, And Thieving For His Living?" Exclaimed Lord Hartledon,
The First Question That Rose To The Surface, Amidst The Many That Were
Struggling In His Mind.
"I Don't Believe The Man Has Touched The Worth Of A Pin Belonging To
Any One Since He Came Here, Even On Your Preserves. People Took Up The
Notion From His Wild Appearance, And Because He Had No Ostensible Means
Of Living. It Would Not Have Done To Let Them Know That He Had His
Supplies--Sometimes Money, Sometimes Food--From Respectable Clerk Gum's."
"But Why Should He Be In Concealment At All? That Bank Affair Was Made
All Right At The Time."
"There Are Other Things He Feared, It Seems. I've Not Time To Enter Into
Details Now; You'll Know Them Later. There He Is--Pike: And There He'll
Die--Pike Always."
"How Long Have You Known It?"
"Since That Fever He Caught From The Rectory Some Years Ago. I Recollect
Your Telling Me Not To Let Him Want For Anything;" And Lord Hartledon
Winced At The Remembrance Brought Before Him, As He Always Did Wince At
The Unhappy Past. "I Never Shall Forget It. I Went In, Thinking Pike Was
Ill, And That He, Wild And Disreputable Though He Had The Character Of
Being, Might Want Physic As Well As His Neighbours. Instead Of The
Black-Haired Bear I Expected To See, There Lay A Young, Light, Delicate
Fellow, With A White Brow, And Cheeks Pink With Fever. The Features
Seemed Familiar To Me; Little By Little Recognition Came To Me, And I
Saw It Was Willy Gum, Whom Every One Had Been Mourning As Dead. He Said
A Pleading Word Or Two, That I Would Keep His Secret, And Not Give Him Up
To Justice. I Did Not Understand What There Was To Give Him Up For Then.
However, I Promised. He Was Too Ill To Say Much; And I Went To The Next
Door, And Put It To Gum's Wife That She Should Go And Nurse Pike For
Humanity's Sake. Of Course It Was What She Wanted To Do. Poor Thing! She
Fell On Her Knees Later, Beseeching Me Not To Betray Him."
"And You Have Kept Counsel All This Time?"
"Yes," Said The Surgeon, Laconically. "Would Your Lordship Have Done
Otherwise, Even Though It Had Been A Question Of Hanging?"
"_I!_ I Wouldn't Give A Man A Month At The Treadmill If I Could Help It.
One Gets Into Offences So Easily," He Dreamily Added.
They Crossed Over The Waste Land, And Mr. Hillary Opened The Door Of
The Shed With A Pass-Key. A Lock Had Been Put On When Pike Was Lying In
Rheumatic Fever, Lest Intruders Might Enter Unawares, And See Him Without
His Disguise.
"Pike, I Have Brought You My Lord. He Won't Betray You."
Chapter 33 (The Shed Razed)
Closing The Door Upon Them, The Surgeon Went Off On Other Business, And
Lord Hartledon Entered And Bent Over The Bed; A More Comfortable Bed Than
It Once Had Been. It Was The Willy Gum Of Other Days; The Boy He Had
Played With When They Were Boys Together. White, Wan, Wasted, With The
Dying Hectic On His Cheek, The Glitter Already In His Eye, He Lay There;
And Val's Eyelashes Shone As He Took The Worn Hand.
"I Am So Sorry, Willy. I Had No Suspicion It Was You. Why Did You Not
Confide In Me?"
The Invalid Shook His Head. "There Might Have Been Danger In It."
"Never From Me," Was The Emphatic Answer.
"Ah, My Lord, You Don't Know. I Haven't Dared To Make Myself Known To A
Soul. Mr. Hillary Found It Out, And I Couldn't Help Myself."
Lord Hartledon Glanced Round At The Strange Place: The Rafters, The Rude
Walls. A Fire Was Burning On The Hearth, And The Appliances Brought To
Bear Were More Comfortable Than Might Have Been Imagined; But Still--
"Surely You Will Allow Yourself To Be Removed To A Better Place, Willy?"
He
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