Hagarene

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PRICE TWO SHILLINGS.

Chapter I. The Trial

jlINCE Cain came to man's estate, a tinge of Communism, howsoever faint, has infected most polities, howsoever small.

Even in Hierocratic Elis, might have been found malcontents who spake evil of dignities, and laughed covertly at the beards of Hellanodicgs. Yet I doubt if anyone of these pestilent knaves murmured in his heart, because the plain, shadowed by the Cronian cliffs, and washed by the double stream of Alpheus, lay barren through cycles of Olympiads ; whilst in the grove of Altis flourished no rarer tree than wild olives, fit only for the weaving of crowns. There is no accounting for the vagaries of fanaticism ; and the precisians, bitterer than the old Iconoclasts, who have turned the day of rest into a day of penance, would have made coin of the Silver Bell, could they have wrought their will at Kelso. But, as a rule, throughout all ages, reformers and economists have shown some indulgence to purely national pastimes. Pattern ct Ci recuses. There was common sense in that petition, after all. Even in these later days, when disentailing, disforesting, and " disannulling " of i

Hazarene.

every kind are so much in fashion, none have yet advocated the enforced enclosure of " the Heath "—its being private property is quite beside the question — or the breaking up of any race-course in actual use ; and to very few of the breezy uplands where our thoroughbreds are trained, has this century brought change.

Therefore, so far as the surroundings are concerned, it would need no strong effort of imagination to fancy Baron Down near twenty years ago.

The same clump of stunted firs, bent all the same way by the sea-winds, that must needs have been planted for a landmark, inasmuch as for shelter or ornament they never could serve ; under your feet the same short soft turf — elastic despite of drought, firm despite of rain, and, after frost has bitten deep into the clay-lands, carrying little " bone." Only, now-a-days, every tuft and shrub that could hide a rook is close shaven ; whereas then, the Down was dotted with frequent patches of gorse, and skirted by a broad furzebrake, that not seldom harboured a stout hill-fox.

Early morning. So early that the dull, grey sky is still faintly flushed in the east ; but the sun, though fairly risen, has no power yet to pierce the mists hanging heavily to seaward — more heavily yet over the flat, low champaign stretching far inland from the foot of the Downs. The ridge, just here, widens out into a broad stretch of table-land, crescentshaped, but of gentle curve, and rising steadily — in parts almost imperceptibly — for near a mile, to the topmost point, marked by that same clump of firs ; beyond this the ground lies perfectly flat for about a furlong, and then begins to rend downwards with a steeper incline.

Within the shadow of the trees two men are standing, who are evidently here with a purpose ; for the face of one is nxious, to say the least of it, whilst the other, in his preoc upation, pulls hard at an unlighted cigar. It is not hard to guess their relation to each other ; for the stamp of patrici n and plebeian is very legible.

Take first Martin Wyatt, the trainer. In early youth he was

A something pottle bellied boy ;

and, whilst acquiring no mean renown as a light-weight

The Trial. 3

jockey, only held his own by dint of severe wasting. With great internal satisfaction, after landing the coup that made a man of him. he doffed racing-gear for good; and, since then, having ceased to mortify the flesh, he has "furnished" considerably. ]Jut it is a dapper figure, albeit rotund, and matches well with, the plum]) rosy face on which neither time nor care have left a wrinkle. He is smoothly shaven, of course, after the fashion of his kind ; for even now when beards wag in the Temple Hall, and not a few of our pastors ere even as the pard, we have yet to see the anomaly of a .nirsute trainer. Early or late, ai home or abroad, at work or at play, from the crown of his low broad-brimmed beaver to the lowest button of his close-fitting overalls, in a quiet, unpretending way his dress seems always singularly suited to the occasion.

A striking contrast to Martin Wyatt is his companion.

A very tall personable man, massive as yet, rather than

ponderous of frame ; with a face that impresses every one

favourably who scans it not closely and in detail ; a broad

clear brow, and eyes expressive, as a rule, of nothing worse

tha>i good-humoured shrewdness : but a full flowing beard

cannot quite disguise the evil curve of the thick sensual lips

and a heavy cruel jaw. Near a quarter of a century has

slipped away since Alured, Viscount Ormskirke, appeared

in the Army List as cornet of horse ; and, since then, he has

"lived " all his days, and most of his nights, for that matter ;

but, save that a complexion, always florid, has grown more

deeply sanguine, on his countenance there are few traces of

excess, and his air of vigorous health still vexes with envy

the souls of divers weaker brethren ; whilst he carries his

head so erect that, to strangers, he seems to carry it haughtily.

This, however, is a mistake, for there breathes no more

affable aristocrat ; indeed, kind friends are wont to say that

if the viscount had stood more punctiliously on his dignity,

it would have been better for his morals, if not for his

manners. By reason of his physical energy he can scarcely

be called indolent ; but the world has seldom held a more

thorough-paced idler : the sense of duty, or of obligation,

has ever been to him equally irksome. For instance, during

his brief soldiering, to be in time for first parade was an

4 Hagareiie.

incessant effort and grief; but he never grudges dressing by candle-light to be in time for a distant meet; and, on this very morning, he must have been afoot long before dawn.

To be sure, the present occasion is rather an exception to tiie rule ; for if Ormskirke ever had a serious business in life it is racing, and, of late, it has ceased to be a mere pastime. His eyes are earnest enough now as they gaze down the table-land ; and his double race-glass comes up, quick as thought, as two horses, seemingly at top speed, sweep round the angle of the gorse-cover nearly abreast.

" The young one leads, by ! " Ormskirke mutters

between his teeth, biting deep into his cigar.

Martin shakes his head, rather solemnly than despondently.

" On sufferance, I'm thinking, my lord. I bade Jim not come in earnest till he got the office ; and he is a rare boy to mind orders."

There is silence for a few seconds ; then the trainer stepr. out well beyond the shadow of the trees, and signals with his hat. An inexperienced eye would detect no increase of speed ; but the rearward horse, beginning to make up his ground steadily, draws up to the leader's girth, and so creeps on, inch by inch, till the noses of the pair are level, at fifty yards from the spot where Wyatt stands, as if he were carven in stone, with his hat held at arm's-length in air. Then the set-to begins.

A really fine finish. You might visit a dozen country meetings, and the Heath itself twice or thrice, without witnessing better : there is no leather-plating form here ; and it is plain that ordinary stable-boys are not up — equally plain that both are doing all they know. Only the off-side rider, sparing not the spur, is not quite so hard on his horse as the other, who supplements other punishment with a couple of " side-binders," that whistle through the still morning." Incontinently the lean ugly head forges in front ; then the ragged quarters draw themselves clear, and the brown shoots past the clump, winner by a liberal length.

Wyatt's arm sinks deliberately, like a railway signal; whilst the better half of Lord Ormskirke's cigar drops to earth, severed clean by the strong sharp teeth ; and his

The Trial. 5

brow lowers as he too strides out into the light. But the trainer's face betrays no discontent or disquietude.

" The Pirate made a good fight of it, didn't he, my lord ? " he inquires in a slow soft voice, retaining just enough of the burr to show that the speaker was born within ken of the Dales.

" Not good enough," the other answers sullenly. " It was a five-pound beating at the least. Jim might have made that length two, if he had come sooner."

Once more Wyatt shakes his head, this time in mild dissent.

" I scarce think so, my lord. Though he is such a rogue betwixt ropes, you may trust old Belshazzar at home : I never saddled a safer trial-horse. If you look at his sides, you'll find he was asked the question in earnest, and that he hadn't so much in hand. But we'll call it a seven-pound beating, and then "

The trainer's tongue and foot halt together. They have advanced to meet the horses, now returning at a walk. From the corners of his lips to the corners of his eyes crinkles a slow, shrewd smile ; and he peers round warily, notioning to the other to bend his ear low. An excess of precaution surely ; for the riders are out of earshot, and the only other creature in sight is a girl, so busy at mushrooming that she scarce raised herself from the stooping posture as the race shot past. The secret would seem safe even from the birds who cany such matters : nevertheless, Wyatt's voice sinks to the wariest whisper. His words are few and brief ; but they suffice to make Ormskirke's face lighten and his eves kindle.

" You're sure of this — quite sure ?"

The trainer's comfortable chuckle was good to hear.

" Nothing's sure but death, they say. But there's no mistake here, unless Will has dropped his weights ; and that don't often happen when / saddle 'em. He didn't know what he carried either. A promising lad, my lord, and I warrant him honest : but young tongues wag fast ; and I don't tell him everything, though he is my own sister's son."

N T o time for more ; for the riders are close upon them now, and halt at a beckon of the trainer's hand. Neither

6 Hagarme.

animal seems much the worse for the spin. The flanks of both are heaving still, and quivering, from the severe punishment ; but the slashing bay colt carries his handsome head jauntily, and through his wide nostrils the quick breaths come even and strong ; whilst old Belshazzar, glancing askance out of his vicious red eye, snorts defiantly, as though he would fain savage his stablecompanion for giving him so much trouble.

Nevertheless, Wyatt's face is grave, even to anxiety, as he passes the Pirate through rigid scrutiny : not a muscle or sinew, from stifle to fetlock, escapes his hand, light yet sensitive as a skilful surgeon's, and able to detect the slightest puff or strain, were it no more than the fraying of a harpstring. With a prolonged sigh of relief, he straightens himself up at last, and, without a word of comment or inquiry, bids the boys "walk on slowly." Bat the sly complacency of his face might have reassured Diedrich the Doubter ; and Ormskirke asks no more questions. Albeit not specially opinionated, he is fond of trusting to his own practised eyes : these have not been idle for the last few minutes, and have quite confirmed the trainer's confidence. That he is abundantly satisfied is plain no less from his countenance than from his manner, as he selects another cigar from his case very carefully, with the air of one about to savour thoroughly a luxury well earned.

A good-natured easy-going man, as a rule, is Martin Wyatt — though, in case of stable delinquencies, somewhat ready with his ash-plant— and with a jocund word ever ready for high or low. As they pass the mushroomer, still busy, he hails her cheerily.

" Had good luck, my lass ? They ought to sprout rarely after last night's rain."

The girl comes forward with a slow halting gait ; and, dropping an awkward curtsey, holds out her basket for inspection silently.

With these dark sallow complexions it is always guesswork ; but you might set her age somewhere far on in the teens. The curves of her figure are quite lost in the coarse, ill-fitting dress, slatternly put on besides ; even a winsome face would be marred by the black elf-locks, straggling from under a tattered bonnet, which, whilst she stooped, has

The Trial J

fallen forward over her brow; and there is a vacant, uncertain look in her large tawny eyes.

" A poor lameter, my lord," Wyatt explains in a considerate whisper ; " and hardly ' half saved,' I reckon. It's a long drag for her up here ; for she bides somewhere down Fulmerstonc way : but we've seen her about, most mornings, of late, though, often as not, she carries back an empty basket. She's clone well to-day, though. Why, Polly, you must have a fair eighteen penn'orth there. Shall I give you two shillings, and take the lot?"

The girl shakes her head, not sullenly but dissentingly, neither smiling nor frowning ; and glances from one face to the other in a pitiful, helpless way, like one who has fallen into an ambush unawares.

Though he has not thrice in his life subscribed to a public charity, Lord Ormskirke is negligently liberal of casual alms; and, just now, he happens to be in special good humour with his kind. He breaks in, with a rich mellow laugh.

"You're too canny for her, Martin ; and I'm too hungry to bargain. I'll deal with you, Polly, and throw a luckpenny in." lie holds out a new bright sovereign.

For one instant, the wandering eyes flash with surprise or pleasure— surely not in mirth ? Then they grow vague again, as she tenders her basket eagerly, muttering, betwixt profuse curtseys, incoherent thanks. The change of countenance, though momentary, is very complete ; and it does not altogether escape Ormskirke, who also observes that the hand and wrist, though deeply tanned, and not specially slender, are rather shapely. He notes these things in a careless, mechanical way ; for he never can be five minutes in presence of a woman or a horse without taking stock of their points — not necessarily coveting, or likely to covet, either. Mayhap he will peruse this face more curiously, before all is said and done.

" You spoil the market, my lord," grumbles old Martin — with a merry twinkle in his eye, though. " Never mind, Polly; it's only for once in a way, and you want a new bonnet badly. You'll pick up your basket when you pass to-morrow."

The girl curtseys again, with that same dumb humility;

and stands stock still, watching the others till they were nearly out of sight. Then she limps away, pausing now and then, as though to take breath, and soon disappears in one of the deep shady lanes common in that country. So Baron Down is left nearly to itself for awhile. Yet not quite to itself; for not many minutes pass before an elderly man, clad in a shepherd's frock and leathern gaiters, worms himself serpentwise out of the very centre of the furze-patch nearest to the clump. After peering round long and warily, he saunters away, not quickening his pace till he is well under cover of the brake.

An hour later, from a lonely farmstead, almost hidden in a leafy hollow at the very foot of the hills, emerges a figure, scarcely in consonance with the surroundings. The day is too young for charitable visits ; and what other motive can have drawn this dainty dame hitherwards ? It never entered into the heart of rural artist to conceive the polonaise refining every curve of the tempting figure ; farmers' daughters, be their sires ever so thriving, rarely don hosen delicate of hue and texture, as those whereof we catch liberal glimpses when the looped skirt sways in the rising breeze ; you might pace the Boulevards, from the Place of the Bastille to the Church of the Madeleine, without encountering head-gear more coquettish than the toque, set so saucily on the rich russet trusses ; and the fair fresh cheeks are free from freckle or tan. No wonder yonder ploughman — howbeit they meet, perhaps, not for the first time — halts midway in his tuneless whistle, and gapes after her admiringly, as she swings down the field-path with even, elastic gait ; lilting a ditty, which, luckily for Giles's morals, is in a foreign tongue. Yet that same chansonnette is not fuller of mischief than the eyes, just now gk triumphantly — the eyes of tawny brown,

Chapter II. The Locksleys

VERY quiet watering-place, even now-a-days, is Fulmerstone — so quiet that some do not scruple to call it dull as death. In those times it was little more than a fishing hamlet, boasting one or two rows of modest lodgings, a few detached villas, and one Manor House of great antiquity. This last stood nearly in the centre of a small demesne, girdled by a thick belt of hardy evergreens, and fenced by an ashlar wall, exceeding high and strong ; so that from without the tops of the twisted chimneys could scarcely be discerned. During ten months of the year the mansion was untenanted; but, for six weeks in each autumn, it was invariably honoured by the presence of its master.

This was no other than the puissant Marquis of Montsorel, whose fame — or infamy, if you will — had been noised abroad in most civilised cities. Besides an ample retinue, some half-dozen artistes of both sexes — a fanaticism for music was perhaps his single innocent taste — usually accompanied him ; but no guest, either from far or near, ever came to break the completeness of his solitude. In very deed, howsoever he might offend elsewhere, here the Marquis did live cleanly, and his banquets in no way resembled the supper of Trimalchion. Each visit was to him a kind of rctraitr ; only it was his body, not his soul,

*d Harare ne.

that he was "making." But the natives and sojourners of Fulmerstone utterly declined to accept this view of the case, and persisted in regarding the Manor House as a Pare mix Cerfs, stained by all imaginable iniquities. They were decent homely folk, as a rule, with scant sympathy for sin ; but certainly they spoke of these matters with a mournful pride, and would have been very wroth with any sceptic who would have doubted or palliated the wicked noble's misdemeanours. Each afternoon, when he went forth to take the air, without the great open gates gathered groups and knots of idlers, waiting patiently to catch a glimpse of the sallow, saturnine face ; though some there must have known every line of it by heart; and when through the stilly night strains of music, or snatches of song, floated out from these unhallowed precincts, the passers-by would halt and listen with a fearful fascination ; like belated travellers, who, emerging from the mountain gorges, hear the wolves howling.

Besides this potentate, sundry other notables frequented Fulmerstone in the bathing season — county folk, for the most part ; though more than one of the villas aforesaid was owned by a banker, lawyer, or prosperous burgher from the cathedral city, some score of miles away. And the lodging-houses were generally well filled with visitors of more modest means, who could not afford to pay too dearly for health, let alone relaxation ! for in those days Fulmerstone dealt mercifully with the stranger. So, for three or four months, the place was fairly busy, if not gay, During the rest of the year nothing could be more evenly monotonous, and the lightest pebble sufficed to spread wide circles in the social pool. A traveller, uncommercial or unaccredited, arriving at this abnormal time was looked upon with wonder, verging on mistrust; and, without meaning to be inhospitable, the native mind was prone to query, — like the Siddons — " How gat he here ? "

One afternoon, early in the spring, a buzz of excitement permeated the main street ; and more than one shopman — trade was exceeding slack — came to his door to watch the station fly pass. That it passed slowly was no wonder ; for it was laded with luggage to the peril of its ancient springs, and the distress of the ancienter animal betwixt the shafts,

The Lock's! cys. i j

Ho\ve\er, by dint of much whipcord and strong language, the slight ascent leading to the principal hostelry was conquered ; and the driver, flinging himself from his box, jerked the fly-door open before any of the innfolk appeared, with the air of one who has had more than enough of the job in hand, and would fain get quit of his customers.

'• If I'd a-guessed at the weight of them foreign eering trunks," he muttered, half in soliloquy, " I wouldn't have been caught so easy. 1 was a fule not to heft 'em. I've a'most killed the old oss, and got barely the fare."

Some one in the carriage laughed defiantly ; and a girl sprang out lightly, without waiting for the steps to be let down. It was she who had driven the bargain. As she stood there under the porch, shaking out her skirts, and, so to speak, " preening " herself, her lips smiled and her eyes glittered with mischievous mirth ; yet, had she frowned heavily as Shylock eager for revenge, it could not have been more evident that she meant to hold by the letter of the contract. Scant hope of largesse was in that blithsome face ; and even the dull Wessex boor was not dolt enough to waste more breath in argument or complaint.

Next emerged a square undersized man, hard-featured and keen- eyed. He was very quietly dressed in a dustcoloured suit, matching almost to a shade his close-trimmed hair and whiskers ! nevertheless, you would have said this person had a horsey look, even before noticing the peculiar over-alls, and the scarf folded after a fashion only learned in racing or hunting stables.

The third occupant of the station fly descended slowly and painfully. He was wrapped in a long fur-lined cloak, and though the air was scarcely chill, he shivered twice or thrice as he limped up the steps, leaning on a crutchhandled stick and the other man's arm.

A goodly person once, beyond doubt : but so bowed now that it would have been difficult to guess his height when standing erect ; his cheeks were sunken and drawn : and the fretful lines round the mouth, not less than his restless irritable eyes, were significant of sharp physical pain, anything but patiently borne.

We need not follow the party into their inn, especially as

1 2 Ha parent.

<i l they quitted it on the morrow ; but to the visitors' book that evening were added the names —

Captain and Miss Locksley.

Peter Harradine.

There was large choice of lodgings, of course, and the strangers soon found apartments to their mind ; but the terms were not so easily settled. Once more Miss Locksley made the bargain, and had a pretty passage of arms with the Scotch landlady. Mrs. M'Tavish had long practice and good skill with her weapons, yet she came not off wholly victorious.

" It is vera well to be canny and cautious," she said that same afternoon, talking over these things with a neighbour ; " but of all the auld heads on young shoulders ! "—and shook her head ominously, signifying that, had she guessed the demoiselle to be so cunning of fence, she would not willingly have fought her.

Perhaps, in her heart, the sturdy Scotchwoman rather admired her youthful antagonist ; at any rate, she bore no outward malice, and seemed quite satisfied with her lodgers. They gave comparatively little trouble, and the bills, though sharply scrutinised, and occasionally taxed, were regularly paid. By one doubt, however, the M'Tavish was greatly exercised. When the family had been a month under her roof, she still could not determine to her satisfaction what relation Peter Harradine bore towards the Locksleys. He was ever at the father's beck and call, ready to perform such offices as invalids require from their male attendants, even to the dragging of a wheeled chair ; and the daughter often addressed him in a tone more imperious than most people used to old and trusted domestics. Yet, when off duty, he seemed an independent personage, spending his evenings in the sitting-room with the others, and in all respects comporting himself with the air of an equal. Mrs. M'Tavish could testify, at these times, that she had often heard his harsh creaking voice holding its own in argument ; and, when Captain Locksley had retired to rest, the demoiselle would sit with Peter Harradine whilst he smoked, late into the night. Now, if servitude were ever so good an " inheritance," it could hardly claim such privileges as these. Of course it

The Lockshy< 13

did not matter, and was no concern of hers ; but the landlady's inquisitive mind was none the less disquieted. As time passed on, however, she found fresh cause of wonderment.

Many of the M'Tavish's lodgers had been early risers, and she 'herself was no sluggard ; but Mr. Harradinc's performances in this line fairly staggered her. No matter how unpromising the morning — so long as it was dry overhead — lie was always stirring with the dawn, and, soon after, might be seen walking briskly towards the Downs. He was usually absent some three hours — sometimes till late in the forenoon. Possibly, to anyone conversant in such matters, these matinal habits would have seemed natural enough ; for the hard-bitten face, and tough wiry frame, suggested that this man must all his life long have been in some kind of training. But that Mariette Locksley, who seemingly loved her ease not less than her neighbours > should imitate such an example was surely inexplicable. Yet it was so ; and now, for a fortnight past, only twice, when the mornings were hopelessly wet, had she omitted to take a long constitutional. She invariably sallied forth under Harradine's escort, but almost invariably returned alone.

However, even Meg Dods, in the plentitude of her power, could scarce have quarrelled with a guest for being untimely afoot, so long as he required no service from the household. Besides, a good spice of discretion tempered the M'Tavish's valour. So she chewed the cud of curiosity silently and decorously ; scarcely confessing, even to herself, that she found it bitter.

You will not have read thus far without reading the riddle, and guessing that not simple love of exercise and bracing air tempted these two abroad so early — guessing, moreover, that not without a purpose was Fulmerstone in the off-season raced by their presence. But, for the better understanding of all this, it is needful to glance slightly at Arthur Locksley's past : a careful review thereof would be neither edifying nor much to our purpose.

lie came of honourable lineage — this worthy — and had consistently done his utmost to dishonour it. He had been given a fair start in life, and not a few fair chances in the t>

*4 Etagarene.

earlier part of his career — for his talents were of no mean order, and his personal advantages exceptional — and he had let slip or misused every opportunity. No wonder that kinsfolk and friends, wearied out at last, caught somewhat eagerly at the excuse of his disreputable marriage, and sent adrift the incorrigible castaway. Why Arthur Locksley so hampered himself, was a puzzle to all who troubled themselves to consider the matter. Neither passion nor pity could account for it ; for such love as he could feel had been quenched already by satiety, and the reputation of Mdlle. Celeste was long past mending. Perhaps the real reason lay in that cynical desire to run counter to all proprieties, which seemed ever in conflict with the man's natural cunning. Repentance was not in Locksley's line ; but he certainly regretted his matrimonial plunge, and the ex-coryphee, if she escaped actual maltreatment, had to endure studied neglect and words sharper than stripes. Long ago she had gone to her own place, nothing loth — consoling herself, perhaps, like the broken-down buccaneer of Kingsley's ballad —

One comfort is, one can't be worse off there.

The widower scrupled not to avow that his loss was a gain ; and Mariette, though she was at the age when such bereavements are most keenly felt, did not apparently take hers deeply to heart.

Since then the pair had led an odd nomadic existence, chiefly abroad, full of more chances and changes than usually attach to this transitory life. Bitter straits they had never known ; for a moderate annuity, tied up beyond the possibility of anticipation or alienation, saved Captain Locksley, in his own despite, from absolute penury.