Revenge. A tale

Front matter

IRevenge. A TALE. BY F. B. LORD, AUTHOR OF JOHN TRUEPENNY" AND "KENLEIGH, Office: iS West Square, London, S.E. Depots : 21 Westminster Bridge Road, S.E., 245 Brompton Road, S.W. (opposite the Oratory) ; 43 King Edward Street, E.C. ; 28 King Street, Melbourne, Australia; St. Xavier's College, Calcutta : 32! Church Street, Toronto, Canada; The Catholic Publication Society Co., 9 Barclay Street, New York. 18S9, CONTENTS. PAGE. CHAP. I. Cranborne i ,, II. The Gipsy Camp 10 „ III. Catching a Tartar 18 „ IV. In the Lock-up 31 ,, V. Wentworth Hall 36 ,, VI. Controversy 44 ,, VII. With the Hounds ... .> 54 ,, VIII. The Will 63 ,, IX. A Naval Engagement 74 X. A Murderous Grip 83 XI. Retribution 95 „ XII. Conclusion IRevenge,

Chapter I Cranborne

p-ta aggT was a great advantage to the parish of ■85 f^3 Kenleigh and the neighbourhood when Lord IgSJtSgK; Henry Templeton bought the fine old mansion and estate of Cranborne Park, and came to reside there with his wife and daughter. The house had been vacant for nearly five years, and consequently required a great many repairs, which had been a considerable benefit to the local tradesmen; for although most of the work of decoration had been done by London men, yet in many little ways those in the neighbourhood had reaped a fair advantage. This was two years ago, and Cranborne is now a very comfortable, convenient, and well furnished house as to its interior: with a substantial rambling picturesque exterior, exhibiting several distinct periods of additions in its masonry, but all blending together harmoniously, and forming a decidedly attractive country seat, whether seen from the distant hills, or from the park, or from the garden.

There is a pretty little trout stream running along one side of the garden spanned by two bridges, one of which is crossed by all who come to E REVENGE. the house from the park, the other a rustic bridge in the garden, almost hidden by the luxuriant foliage of the fine trees and shrubs which line its banks. The park is well timbered with stately elms and beeches and oaks; clumps of smaller trees are dotted here and there in the foreground, with small coverts and copses defining the boundary of the park in the distance, the ground rising and dipping in undulating sweeps, giving a pleasing variety to the eye as it ranges over the garden, over the park beyond, and over the woods and the hills in the far distance. Lord Henry was greatly interested in altering, cutting down, planting, and laying out to the greatest advantage according to his taste both the garden and the park, and as they had been long neglected he found plenty to do.

It was a work which required both time and patience, but it gave him so much amusement and occupation in making his different plans that nothing but a pressing duty could take him away from his new home. There are a few other good houses and families in the neighbourhood, but not more than a dozen within as many miles of Kenleigh ; these, with a like number of Rectors, form the entire society within reasonable visiting distance, and save it from dullness. The society however is like that of most country places, in that it is most unequally represented by its lads and lasses ; the latter sadly preponderate to their own dismay. The girls are left at home, the young men make their way in the world away from home, so that in the event of an entertainment in the neighbourhood, young men have to be imported by all who have the luck to be able to attract them.

Perhaps this may partly account for the great esteem in which the young unmarried Rector of Kenleigh, the Reverend Thomas Watson, was universally held; but not altogether, as he was what is generally termed "a decided catch " by mammas with marriageable daughters. Young, handsome, clever, agreeable, well endowed with this world's goods, and owning a very comfortable CRANBORNE. 3 rectory : — what more could a girl want, if she was only content to pass the best of her days in the country ? Mr. Watson was therefore certain of an invitation to every entertainment in the neighbourhood, and great was the disappointment at his absence. Latterly he had been obliged to decline all invitations, in the first place because the impression grew upon him that they somewhat interfered with his ministerial work, and secondly because he had recently lost his father.

This of course only increased his popularity in some quarters, as it made him more scarce; and as his father's death had very consider ably increased his income, the Rector of Kenleigh became one of the "most desirable young men" in the neighbourhood. It is only just to our friend to say that all the adulation paid him by so many interested people in no way turned his head ; he saw through it, he detested it, the open and palpable scheming sickened him, and he found it hard at times to separate genuine friendship from deceptive interest. There was one invitation however which the Rector never refused, that, namely, of Lady Henry Templeton : he had the excuse of Cranborne being in " his parish." There it always gave him real pleasure to go, there he was always welcome. Lady Henry had a kindly heart, and took great interest in the schools and poor of the parish; and Mr. Watson, who had a genuine love for his work, never tired of that subject which engrossed so many of his thoughts : consequently luncheon or dinner often found the Rector among his parishioners at Cranborne.

It was a great relaxation for a bachelor to have such a family within an easy walk of twenty minutes, and he was always sure of a warm welcome both from his host and hostess. Lord Henry considered him an agreeable companion, a man of sound judgment and good taste, because he had the good fortune to agree generally with the improvements already made, or those contemplated in the grounds, a patient listener, and one who was not REVENGE. argumentative and contentious over Lord Henry's pet theories. Besides these qualities he had been a keen sportsman in his lay days, and a good "all round man" at Oxford both for his college and university ; a good bat, a fair oarsman, and renowned generally both for his muscularity, and neatness of touch. There was but one great fault in his character in Lord Henry's eyes, a fault so great that it detracted many of his virtues : — he was too " High Church."

The Templetons had two children — a son of twenty eight years, a lieutenant R.N., devoted to the service, and seldom at home : and a daughter some six years younger than her brother, who was seldom away from home. Beatrice Templeton was decidedly a very charming girl, rather below the medium height, with beautifully expressive eyes, regular features, a clear complexion, but by no means so pink and white as to be suggestive of the art of her maid, with light brown hair, a neat little round figure, and always tastefully dressed. She never failed to look well, either in her riding habit, her ball dress, or in her more substantial gardening attire, which, although made for work rather than ornament, always became her. To most girls Cranborne would have been rather a dull home, but Beatrice never seemed to suffer from dullness.

Her mother was rather an invalid, consequently many active duties fell on her daughter whose duty it was to dispense the many little creature comforts in food and clothing which she gave away in the parish. Besides this Beatrice was rather of a studious turn of mind, enjoying a really good novel only as a recreation to her ordinary reading, which was of a somewhat more solid character; not that she could be considered in the least a "blue," or "went in for the classics," but that, being thrown so much with people older than herself, and so little with those of her own age, she was able to feel herself at home in the serious conversation of her father's CRANBORNE. 5 guests, and take an interest in the religious and political arguments of the day. On the evening of the day on which my tale opens, the Rector, and his brother Major Watson who was staying with him at Kenleigh Rectory, dined at Cranborne, the only other guest being a Miss Richards who was staying in the house.

The dinner, as usual at Cranborne, was well appointed, well cooked, and well served; the con versation was interesting and sociable; Mr. Watson certainly seemed to find it so, as he paid marked and undisguised attention to Miss Templeton, which seemed to be in no way displeasing to the young lady herself. Shortly after ten o'clock the brothers took their departure, but Lord Henry, who escorted them into the hall, begged them, as it was still quite early, to keep him company in the smoking-room for half an hour. To this they agreed, as the two servants at the Rectory had been told not to wait up for them; and so the three gentlemen were soon drawn round a cozy fire. "So poor old Morgan was buried to-day," said the host. "I liked that old fellow, he always had a thoroughly honest look about him ; I often used to have a talk with him, and you will miss him, I expect, a good deal."

" Indeed I shall," said the Rector, " he was a dear old man ; if you had only seen what a kind and for giving heart he had in the midst of all the severe trials he went through, you would indeed have admired his character. But his son Farmer Morgan is just like him; you know he was in the army, and has seen some service, and obtained the Victoria Cross, and knows something of the world, but it has not spoilt him. I have known him for a long time, and I heartily wish that all the other farmers were. . . ." "But my dear Sir," broke in Lord Henry, "remember Morgan is a Romanist, and you surely can't want all the farmers in the parish to be Catholics." "I don't forget that, indeed it is my only regret." REVENGE. "Why don't you convert him?" "Believe me, Lord Henry, I have often tried to do so, but, good-tempered fellow as he is about everything else, if you only touch him on his religion, he seems rather to forget. . ." • "Your arguments, or your dignity?" asked the Major.

"Well, he seems to forget that there is such a thing as the Anglican Church, or that he was once a member of it; it's no good trying to convert him, I fear he is too obstinate." "Then you consider that he gets the best of it?" "Certainly not; I complain that on this subject he is too hasty, and won't listen to reason." "Reason, indeed!" echoed his brother, who did not agree with the cleric, "if he listened to reason I think that he would rather agree with me, as I hold that only those things are true which can be proved by reason." "For goodness sake, don't let us get into that stale argument again about faith and reason." "But, my dear Tom, you all go on the lines of private judgment; each clergyman's faith seems to me to be formed solely by his own particular private judgment, that is simply his reason."

"Not at all; he has the Creed, the Articles, the Canons ; his reason merely confirms his faith in these; above all he has his Bible, and it is faith and not reason which makes him value the book." "That may seem plausible to you, and may satisfy you, but I confess I can't understand it, because when you each come to interpret the different doctrines of your faith, you are as utterly divided in opinions as men can well be, therefore I say you do go on reason, pure and simple, and not on faith. I am a member of the Church of England simply because it allows me to use my reason, allows me to hold what doctrines I please, and does not dictate to me, or condemn me as long as I can show a good reason for what I hold. But I must really beg Lord Henry's pardon for this digression." CRANBORNE. 7 "We were speaking of old Morgan," said his Lord ship, rather dryly, "didn't he make some money on the turf?

I understand, Major Watson, that you once helped him in some business about a horse?" "Yes, and the old man made a very good thing by it. He must have left some money; I suppose it will be divided between his two sons." "What a nice little woman young Mrs. Morgan is; who was she?" "She was the only child of the late Farmer Robinson," the Rector replied, "and she brought Jack Morgan a very nice little fortune when they were married." "Had not Mr. Robinson a son, a bit of a scape grace?" "No, Dick was his nephew, he turned out a sad scamp I am sorry to say. He has served a term of hard labour, which he richly deserved, but I do hope and trust it will be a lesson to him; I shall try and help him when he comes out of prison to turn over a new leaf; I can't help taking an interest in him. It's rather a sore subject with the Morgans; Dick wanted to marry his cousin, but Jack cut him out."

"Morgan looks like an old soldier," said Lord Henry, "what a different life he must find it!" "He had some money of his own, so that they are comfortably off, but he works hard on his farm, and all his men say that there is not a better master in all Kenleigh. I do so much wish that he belonged to our Church, I shall leave no stone unturned to get him back again." "I only hope you will succeed," said Lord Henry, shaking hands with the brothers as he accompanied them to the front door. It was a brilliant moonlight night, crisp and frosty under foot, an azure canopy above bedecked with glittering stars, perfect stillness and silence everywhere; nearly as clear as day in the open, nearly as black as pitch in the shade. The skeleton branches of the trees stood out in REVENGE. well-defined outlines, each separate twig encrusted with silver frost, gleaming in the cold bright light; the shrubs and bushes slightly bending under their clothing of the sparkling gossamer threads of their frosty lace, jewelled with graceful icy pendants.

The road through the park wound in and out of the light and shade, varying the lovely scenery at every hundred paces, the sombre shadows contrasting with and intensifying the crystal brightness of the piercing light. The brothers walked on in silence for some time, im pressed with the beauty of the night, when the Major rather abruptly broke the spell. " I say, Tom, I see which way the wind blows with you up there, " indicating Cranborne, on which they had turned their backs. "I suppose I shall soon have to congratulate you, eh?" "Well, I don't deny it; Miss Templeton, I confess, has made a great impression on me : the longer I know her the more I appreciate her goodness. I feel sure that she does not suspect anything of the kind, and I am naturally very anxious about the matter, because for aught I know both she and her parents may take quite another view of the case, and my suit may be rejected.

I want to be quite sure of my ground before I venture any further." " Go in at once, old man ! win the young lady, and secure the consent of her father and mother, that is, if you have quite made up your mind, which I suppose is the preliminary step." " Oyes! I have quite made up my mind, but what I dwell on is the supposition that perhaps I may be rejected, and if she does reject my offer I don't see how I can stay at Kenleigh." "Tom, you remind me of the anxious parent who gave the schoolmaster strict injunctions that her boy should not go into the water until he had learnt to swim. Get it over, man; take the plunge, learn the best or the worst. She certainly seemed to me to give you encouragement. .1 admire your choice, and if you CRANBORNE 9 succeed you will give me a very jolly little sister-in law.

" Their conversation continued on the same interesting subject until they arrived at home. The Rector was rather surprised, as he lifted the latch with his key, to see that a light was burning in his study, and also to see that it was immediately put out as the front door was opened. He had told the servants not to wait up for him, and he knew that they would have gone to bed some time ago. However, he was not long left in doubt; for as he opened the study door two men rushed out into the hall, and a desperate struggle took place to try and secure them. The smaller of the two men was felled by a blow from the Major; he was then easily secured and pinned down; the other ruffian, a very powerful man, gave more trouble, and the clergyman was in difficulties. The Major seeing this, stretched out to help his brother, and rather neglected his own prisoner, who with a twist extricated himself from his grasp and escaped, but not before the Rector had caught a glance of his features as they were illuminated by the stream of moonlight which came through the open door.

It was Dick Robinson. The big man was now securely fastened with a rope, and guarded by the Major. The Rector entered the study; everything had been ransacked and was in con fusion; the church plate was upon the floor, and all the articles of any value were placed in a heap ready to be removed. Mr. Watson said nothing about his identification of Dick; he wished to spare the Morgans, and the Major had not recognised him in the struggle. The police constable was found, and the prisoner handed over into his charge. REVENGE.

Chapter II The Gipsy Camp

A gipsy caravan had taken up its quarters in a narrow lane which led out of a very desolate and unfrequented road on the Mendip hills. A wood of larch, pines, and oak, of considerable growth, ran along one side of the wood for about half a mile ; and the lane in question, running at right angles to the road, with many curves and bends, formed one of the extremities of the wood, so that the caravan was completely concealed from the road, and its existence would not have been suspected by any passer-by. Above the road the wood rose with rather a steep slope higher and higher; and standing with your back to the wood you faced a wide range of scenery beneath, as valley after valley lay stretching away into the dim distance. It was a road which a nervous person would object to take, except from necessity, after nightfall; not that it was in any way notorious for either ghosts or highwaymen, but it was an out-of-the way, desolate, bleak spot, and there were no houses near at hand.

The caravan had chosen this lonely and desolate spot in order to evade the ever-recurring mandate to "move on." Here the owners of the cart and tent were secure from interruption, and could spend as much of their Bohemian life as they pleased according to their particular taste, and free from all outside curiosity or molestation. The wood provided them with shelter, food, and fuel as long as they chose to stay there; but you would search in vain for any remnants of their sport, an}' fur from their game, or feathers from their poultry, or in fact any clue to their lives. You or I would seek to little purpose to fathom the mysteries which surround their nomadic circles. There is nothing more plausible than the professed innocence of the life and character of the gipsies, — a perfectly free life; they can roam where they will, move their quarters when they please either to this parish or county, or any other ; they are free from rent and taxes, except their hawker's licence.

No doubt there is some thing extremely fascinating about the general idea of their free life; but I fear the attraction would be too often dispelled if we saw freedom extending to evil limits; a freedom from the sanctity and blessings of religion, freedom from the restraints of conscience and morality ; but these defects are more easily concealed in wanderers than in stationary residents. Gipsies are correctly supposed to use a particular language, or dialect, or slang of their own; I will spare my reader this and shall take leave to translate it. "Out with ye, ye pack of lazy little urchins," growled a tall dark-haired, black-eyed, unkempt looking man, who, having issued from under a canvas covering which formed a sort of tent, proceeded to the cart, and violently flung the door open. "What! no fire yet, and such a frost on, and nearly day-light!

Out with ye sharp, if ye would save your skins from my whip !" Almost before the echoes of this summons had died away there were signs of life and activity in the little camp. From the interior of the van some half-dozen children quickly slid, clad in ragged finery of silk and velvet, crumpled, dirty, and torn, adorned with lace hanging in bits, and offering a curious contrast of colour and design. These were followed by two good-looking but coarse-skinned young women, who immediately set about their respective duties with mechanical precision. Fuel and water were soon fetched, while the man rigged up a tripod with a hook in the centre on which he hung a heavy iron cauldron which one of the women produced from under the van; the other woman emptied part of a bag of oatmeal into the pot, and as the fire burnt up with a crackling and hissing blaze, the women took it REVENGE. in turns to stir the contents of the cauldron, while the children hugged in close around the fire to obtain some of its warmth for their limbs, which shivered from the cold.

The interest of all the party was fixed on the steam as it gradually formed and issued in curling wreaths from the pot, carrying a grateful odour of stewed hare from the rich gravy which had been added from yesterday's feast, and the chattering conversation began to cease as in creasing appetite for their savoury breakfast grew more keen. Their hunger had scarcely been appeased, when the man suddenly whispered : — ■ "Hist! Did you hear? Who can it be? Is everything square inside ? Ben, run and watch ; keep still." An ordinary ear would never have detected that foot step which slowly turned from the high road into the lane, but which could not escape the wonderfully acute hearing of the gipsy. They waited in silence, and after a few minutes a young man came towards them limping and evidently in great pain and fatigue.

"Why, Rattle!" said the gipsy, "what brings you this way again? where's the swag? And where's Beefy?" "Scotched." "Beefy scotched? Not by any one man, I'm sure, unless he was wounded." "No, it took two of them all they knew. Poor fellow ! he's done five and seven, now he'll have another." "And how did you get off?" "I'm too bad to tell you now; I've walked the whole ten miles bleeding from this cut. Let me rest now, I'm quite done up." And as he said this he with difficulty turned up the end of the canvas tent and crept under, wrapping himself up in horse-cloths, and was soon fast asleep. Later in the afternoon one of the children brought in word that a stranger had been seen in the wood: not a gamekeeper, but an old gentleman with a basket in his hand, and that he was making his way in the direction of the encampment.

At this news the gipsy quickly glided into the tent where Rattle was taking some refreshment after his sleep, and immediately hurried him into the van, whispering words of caution as he did so. The young man had hardly closed the door of the van when the stranger appeared on the scene, and found the gipsies busy over their work of basket-making. The rather stout old gentleman who came into their midst was evidently one of those botanizing enthusiasts who roam about desolate places in search of rare ferns and flowers. He was clad in a light-coloured Scotch tweed suit, his trousers were tucked up, an umbrella was under his arm, a basket of plants was in his hand, he wore spectacles across his nose but looked over them, and a kindly self satisfied smile pervaded his well-shaven, ruddy face. As he came into the little camp he expressed his great astonishment at what he saw.

" Bless me !" he began, " who would have thought of such a thing ! How very interesting ! I never expected to see anybody here ! I hope I'm not intruding ! I've been hunting about this wood all day to try and find a specimen of the Polypodium calcareum, the limestone polypody. I don't know whether you know it? I really envy you your delightful life ; what a contrast it is to mine, shut up in a smoky town for months together. Do you live in that van all the year through?" "My missus, her sister, and the brats do mostly." "And here's a tent; what a life of rustic and sylvan delights!" "Not much silver there, I guess." The botanist, placing his umbrella against a tree, put his hand into his pocket, and produced some loose silver. "Here, children," he cried, "you will know what to do with this next time you reach a town."

"I'm sure, Sir, they are very much obliged for your kindness," said the wife of the gipsy. " It's not every day we meet with a real gentleman like that," said the other woman. REVENGE. 14 " And it's not every day that I come across the people I envy most in the world," said the old gentleman. I don't know if you would be shocked at my curiosity," he added " I have never been in a gipsy van in my life, and I should be so glad, if I were not intruding, just to look in and see how you provide for yourselves." "Certainly Sir, I've no objection" replied the man, "but first please to look into my tent." With that he held up the canvas end and the botanist entered. When he was fairly inside the gipsy made quick signs with his eyes to his wife, and when she approached he whispered: — "Brown, the detective; mum" and then followed the old gentleman to explain how things in general were managed.

After the inspection of the tent the botanist asked permission to see the interior of the van, and the gipsy hastened to open the door and show him in. The gipsy was quite right; the botanist was no other than Mr. Brown the celebrated detective, who had been telegraphed for last night from Bristol, and who had been working at his clue all day. The prisoner who escaped last night had been seen in the moonlight by two game watchers coming in the direction of the wood ; and this, with certain marks on the road, foot-prints, and occasional spots of blood on the snow, gave Mr. Brown the idea that the man who was wanted might have sought refuge among the gipsies. He knew that this was the utmost limit the man could have reached in his exhausted state; and the detective had learnt from one of the local police that the burglar who had been captured had once been seen with the gipsies; and consequently he had a shrewd suspicion that the other man might be found at or near the gipsy encampment.

Here we must leave him for the present, searching the van for Dick Robinson, alias "Rattle." " Well, it's a lucky thing that we were just in the very nick of time," observed Major Watson on the morning after the burglary, as the brothers were sitting at breakfast discussing the matter, "five minutes later and they would have got away." " It was certainly very fortunate. Did you see the face of the one who escaped ? " "No, but I could describe him, I think, pretty accu rately." "You could not swear to him?" "Certainly not, though I gave him a good Christmas box." "And now my dear Chris, about Cranborne. I am going there this morning ; I think I had better go alone." "As you like, but I might help you if I went, by getting Miss Richards out of your way." " No, I would rather go alone : besides I have to call on the secretary of the foot-ball club, and I want to see Mrs. Morgan, so that if I don't return to luncheon, don't wait for me."

"Very well, good bye, good luck go with you, old boy, keep up your courage, and take my blessing with you." The clergyman disappeared, leaving his brother lolling back in a comfortable arm chair by the fire. "Ah ! it's uncommonly amusing to see Cupid at work," he soliloquised, "but it will be a long time before I give him a chance to have a shot at me, and then I do hope he won't make me look so infernally ridiculous as most men do when they are in love. If I were ever in love;" here he rose, and, having lit his cigar, continued, " well, I don't think it would much interfere with my appe tite, or my dignity, or make me blush, or send me distracted with hopes and fears, and render me so entirely absent-minded that my commonest actions become a comedy of errors, or a screaming farce. Anyhow Tom's made a good choice ; she's a very pretty little girl, but I suspect with a will of her own.