A POPISH PLOT
There was no one about, for the wind was blowing with such fury that
few cared to venture out of doors, and the boys therefore started
back along the road by which they had come, without being observed.
"We had better strike off from the road," Geoffrey said, "for some
more of these men may be coming along. Like enough someone will be
on the watch at the house, so we had best make a long detour, and
when we get near it come down on it from the other side. You know
we saw no windows there."
"That is all well enough," Lionel agreed; "but the question is,
how are we to hear what they are saying inside? We are obliged to
shout to catch each others' words now, and there is not the least
chance of our hearing anything through the closed shutters."
"We must wait till we get there, and then see what is to be done,
Lionel. We managed to detect a plot at Sluys, and we may have the
same luck here."
After half an hour's brisk walking they again approached the house
from the side at which they had before come upon it, and where,
as Geoffrey observed, there were no windows; they made their way
cautiously up to it, and then moved quietly round to the side. Here
there were two windows on the ground floor. The shutters were closed,
for glass was unknown except in the houses of the comparatively
wealthy. Its place was taken by oiled paper, and this in bad weather
was protected by outer shutters. Geoffrey stole out a few paces to
look at the window above.
"It is evidently a loft," he said as he rejoined Lionel. "You can
see by the roof that the rooms they live in are entirely upon the
ground floor. If we can get in there we might possibly hear what
is going on below. The rooms are not likely to be ceiled, and there
are sure to be cracks between the planks through which we can see
what is going on below. The noise of the wind is so great there
is little chance of their hearing us. Now, let us look about for
something to help us to climb up."
Lying by an out house close by they found a rough ladder, composed
of a single pole with bits of wood nailed on to it a foot apart.
This they placed up against the door of the loft. They could see
that this was fastened only by a hasp, with a piece of wood put
through the staple. It had been arranged that Geoffrey only should
go up, Lionel removing the pole when he entered, and keeping watch
behind the out house lest anyone should come round the house. Both
had cut heavy sticks as they came along to give them some means
of defence. Lionel stood at the pole, while Geoffrey climbed up,
removed the piece of wood from the staple, and then holding the
hasp to prevent the wind blowing in the door with a crash, entered
the loft. A glance showed him that it extended over the whole of
the house, and that it was entirely empty.
He closed the door behind him, and jammed it with a couple of wedges
of wood he had cut before mounting; then he lay down on the rough
planks and began to crawl along. He saw a gleam of light at the
further end, and felt sure that it proceeded from the room in which
the party were assembled. Although he had little fear of being heard
owing to the din kept up by the wind, he moved along with extreme
care until he reached the spot whence the light proceeded. As he
had anticipated, it was caused by lights in a room below streaming
through the cracks between the rough planking.
Rising on to his knees he looked round, and then crawled to a
crack that appeared much wider than the rest, the boards being more
than half an inch apart. Lying down over it, he was able to obtain
a view of a portion of the room below. He could see a part of a
long table, and looked down upon the heads of five men sitting on
one side of it. He now applied his ear to the crevice. A man was
speaking, and in the intervals between the gusts of wind which
shook the house to its foundation, he could hear what was said.
"It is no use hesitating any longer, the time for action has
arrived--Jezebel must be removed--interests of our holy
religion--little danger in carrying out the plan that has been proposed.
Next time--Windsor--road passes through wood near Datchet--a weak
guard overpowered--two told off to execute--free England from
tyranny--glory and honour throughout Catholic world. England
disorganized and without a head could offer no resistance--as
soon as day fixed--meet at Staines at house of--final details
and share each man is to--done, scatter through country, readiness
for rising--Philip of Spain--"
This was the last sentence Geoffrey caught, for when the speaker
ceased a confused and general talk took place, and he could only
catch a word here and there without meaning or connection. He
therefore drew quietly back to the door of the loft and opened it.
He thought first of jumping straight down, but in that case he
could not have fastened the door behind him. He therefore made a
sign to Lionel, who was anxiously peering round the corner of the
out house. The pole was placed into position, and pulling the door
after him and refastening the latch he made his way down to the
ground, replaced the pole at the place from which they had taken
it, and then retired in the direction from which they had come.
"Well, what have you heard, Geoffrey?" Lionel asked. "Was it worth
the risk you have run?"
"Well worth it, Lionel. I could only hear a little of what was
said, but that was quite enough to show that a plot is on foot to
attack and kill the queen the next time she journeys to Windsor.
The conspirators are to hide in a wood near Datchet."
"You don't say so, Geoffrey. That is important news indeed. What
are we to do next?"
"I have not thought yet," Geoffrey replied. "I should say, though,
our best plan would be to make our way back as quickly as we can
by Burnham and Maldon round to Hedingham. The earl was going up
to London one day this week, we may catch him before he starts; if
not, we must, of course, follow him. But at any rate it is best to
go home, for they will be in a terrible fright, especially if Joe
Chambers or one of the men take the news to Bricklesey of the loss
of the Susan, for it would be quickly carried up to Hedingham by
John Lirriper or one or other of the boatmen. No day seems to be
fixed, and the queen may not be going to Windsor for some little
time, so the loss of a day will not make any difference. As we
have money in our pockets we can hire horse at Burnham to take us
to Maldon, and get others there to carry us home."
An hour's walking took them to the ferry. It was now getting dusk,
and they had come to the conclusion as they walked that it would
be too late to attempt to get on that night beyond Burnham. The
storm was as wild as ever, and although the passage was a narrow
one it was as much as the ferryman could do to row the boat across.
"How far is it from here to Burnham?"
"About four miles; but you won't get to Burnham tonight."
"How is that?" Geoffrey asked.
"You may get as far as the ferry, but you won't get taken over.
There will be a big sea in the Crouch, for the wind is pretty nigh
straight up it; but you will be able to sleep at the inn this side.
In the morning, if the wind has gone down, you can cross; if not,
you will have to go round by the bridge, nigh ten miles higher up."
This was unpleasant news. Not that it made any difference to them
whether they slept on one side of the river or the other, but if
the wind was too strong to admit of a passage in the morning, the
necessity for making a detour would cost them many hours of valuable
time. There was, however, no help for it, and they walked to Criksey
Ferry. The little inn was crowded, for the ferry had been stopped
all day, and many like themselves had been compelled to stop for
a lull in the wind.
Scarcely had they entered when their names were joyously shouted
out, "Ah, Masters Vickars, right glad am I to see you. We feared
that surf had put an end to you. We asked at the ferry, but the man
declared that no strange lads had crossed that day, and we were
fearing we should have a sad tale to send to Hedingham by John
Lirriper."
"We are truly glad to see you, Joe," Geoffrey said, as they warmly
shook Joe Chambers and the two sailors by the hand. "How did you
get ashore?"
"On the mainmast, and pretty nigh drowned we were before we got
there. I suppose the tide must have taken us a bit further up than
it did you. We got here well nigh two hours ago, though we got a
good meal and dried our clothes at a farmhouse."
"We got a meal, too, soon after we landed," Geoffrey said; "but
we did not dry our clothes till we got to a little village. I did
not ask its name. I am awfully sorry, Joe, about the Susan."
"It is a bad job, but it cannot be helped, Master Geoffrey. I
owned a third of her, and two traders at Bricklesey own the other
shares. Still I have no cause to grumble. I have laid by more than
enough in the last four years to buy a share in another boat as
good as she was. You see, a trader ain't like a smack. A trader's
got only hull and sails, while a smack has got her nets beside,
and they cost well nigh as much as the boat. Thankful enough we
are that we have all escaped with our lives; and now I find you
are safe my mind feels at rest over it."
"Do you think it will be calm enough to cross in the morning, Joe?"
"Like enough," the sailor replied; "a gale like this is like to
blow itself out in twenty-four hours. It has been the worst I ever
saw. It is not blowing now quite so hard as it did, and by the
morning I reckon, though there may be a fresh wind, the gale will
be over."
The number of travellers were far too great for the accommodation
of the inn; and with the exception of two or three of the first
arrivals all slept on some hay in one of the barns.
The next morning, although the wind was still strong, the fury
of the gale had abated. The ferryman, however, said the water was
so rough he must wait for a time before they crossed. But when
Geoffrey offered him a reward to put their party on shore at once,
he consented to do so, Joe Chambers and the two sailors assisting
with the oars; and as the ferry boat was large and strongly built,
they crossed without further inconvenience than the wetting of
their jackets.
Joe Chambers, who knew the town perfectly, at once took them
to a place where they were able to hire a couple of horses, and
on these rode to Maldon, some nine miles away. Here they procured
other horses, and it was not long after midday when they arrived
at Hedingham.
Mrs. Vickars held up her hands in astonishment at their shrunken
garments; but her relief from the anxiety she had felt concerning
what had befallen them during the gale was so great that she was
unable to scold.
"We will tell you all about it, mother, afterwards," Geoffrey
said, as he released himself from her embrace. "We have had a great
adventure, and the Susan has been wrecked. But this is not the most
important matter. Father, has the earl started yet?"
"He was to have gone this morning, Geoffrey, but the floods are
likely to be out, and the roads will be in such a state that I have
no doubt he has put off his journey."
"It is important that we should see him at once, father. We
have overheard some people plotting against the queen's life, and
measures must be taken at once for her safety. We will run up and
change our things if you will go with us to see him. If you are
there he will see you whatever he is doing, while if we go alone
there might be delay."
Without waiting for an answer the boys ran upstairs and quickly
returned in fresh clothes. Mr. Vickars was waiting for them with
his hat on.
"You are quite sure of what you are saying, Geoffrey?" he observed
as they walked towards the castle. "Remember, that if it should
turn out an error, you are likely to come to sore disgrace instead
of receiving commendation for your interference. Every one has been
talking of plots against the queen for some time, and you may well
have mistaken the purport of what you have heard."
"There is no mistake, father, it is a real conspiracy, though who
are those concerned in it I know not. Lionel and I are not likely
to raise a false alarm about anything, as you will say yourself
when you hear the story I have to tell the earl."
They had by this time entered the gates of the castle. "The earl
has just finished dinner," one of the attendants replied in answer
to the question of Mr. Vickars.
"Will you tell him that I wish to see him on urgent business?"
In two or three minutes the servant returned and asked the clergyman
to follow him. The earl received him in his private chamber, for
the castle was full with guests.
"Well, dominie, what is it?" he asked. "You want some help, I will
be bound, for somebody ill or in distress. I know pretty well by
this time the meaning of your urgent business."
"It is nothing of that kind today," the clergyman replied; "it is,
in fact, my sons who wish to see your lordship. I do not myself
know the full purport of their story, save that it is something
which touches the safety of the queen."
The earl's expression at once changed.
"Is that so, young sirs? This is a serious matter, you know; it
is a grave thing to bring an accusation against anyone in matters
touching the state."
"I am aware that it is, my lord, and assuredly my brother and I
would not lightly meddle with such matters; but I think that you
will say this is a business that should be attended to. It happened
thus, sir." He then briefly told how, that being out in a ketch
that traded from Bricklesey, they were caught in the gale; that
the vessel was driven on the sands, and they were cast ashore on
a mast.
He then related the inhospitable reception they had met with. "It
seemed strange to us, sir, and contrary to nature, that anyone
should refuse to allow two shipwrecked lads to enter the house for
shelter on such a day; and it seemed well nigh impossible that his
tale of the place being too full to hold us could be true. However,
we started to walk. On our way we met four horsemen going towards
the house, closely muffled up in cloaks."
"There was nothing very strange in that," the earl observed, "in
such weather as we had yesterday."
"Nothing at all, sir; we should not have given the matter one
thought had it not been that the four men were very well mounted,
and, apparently, gentlemen; and it was strange that such should have
business in an out of the way house in Foulness Island. A little
further we met three men on foot. They were also wrapped up
in cloaks; but they wore high riding boots, and had probably left
their horses on the other side of the ferry so as not to attract
attention. A short time afterwards we met two more horsemen, one
of whom asked us if he was going right for the house we had been
at. As he was speaking a gust of wind blew off his hat. I fetched
it and gave it to him, and as he stooped to put it on I saw that a
tonsure was shaven on the top of his head. The matter had already
seemed strange to us; but the fact that one of this number of men,
all going to a lonely house, was a priest in disguise, seemed so
suspicious that my brother and myself determined to try and get to
the bottom of it."
Geoffrey then related how they had gone back to the house and
effected an entrance into the loft extending over it; how he had
through the cracks in the boards seen a party of men gathered in
one of the lower rooms, and then repeated word for word the scraps
of conversation that he had overheard.
The earl had listened with an expression of amused doubt to the
early portion of the narrative; but when Geoffrey came to the part
where accident had shown to him that one of these men proceeding
towards the house was a disguised priest, his face became serious,
and he listened with deep attention to the rest of the narrative.
"Faith," he said, "this is a serious matter, and you have done
right well in following up your suspicions--and in risking your
lives, for they would assuredly have killed you had they discovered
you. Mr. Vickars, your sons must ride with me to London at once.
The matter is too grave for a moment's delay. I must lay it before
Burleigh at once. A day's delay might be fatal."
He rang a bell standing on the table. As soon as an attendant
answered it he said, "Order three horses to be saddled at once; I
must ride to London with these young gentlemen without delay. Order
Parsons and Nichols to be ready in half an hour to set out with
us.
"Have you had food, young sirs? for it seems you came hither directly
you arrived." Finding that the boys had eaten nothing since they
had left Maldon, he ordered food to be brought them, and begged
them eat it while he explained to the countess and the guests
that sudden business that could not be delayed called him away to
London. Half an hour later he started with the boys, the two servants
following behind. Late that evening they arrived in London. It was
too late to call on Lord Burleigh that night; but early the next
morning the earl took the boys with him to the house of the great
statesman. Leaving them in the antechamber he went in to the inner
apartment, where the minister was at breakfast. Ten minutes later
he came out, and called the boys in.
"The Earl of Oxford has told me your story," Lord Burleigh said.
"Tell it me again, and omit nothing; for things that seem small
are often of consequence in a matter like this."
Geoffrey again repeated his story, giving full details of all that
had taken place from the time of their first reaching the house.
Lord Burleigh then questioned him closely as to whether they had
seen any of the faces of the men, and would recognize them again.
"I saw none from my spying place above, my lord," Geoffrey said.
"I could see only the tops of their heads, and most of them still
kept their hats on; nor did we see them as they passed, with
the exception only of the man I supposed to be a priest. His face
I saw plainly. It was smooth shaven; his complexion was dark, his
eyebrows were thin and straight, his face narrow. I should take
him for a foreigner--either a Spaniard or Italian."
Lord Burleigh made a note of this description.
"Thanks, young sirs," he said. "I shall, of course, take measures
to prevent this plot being carried out, and shall inform her majesty
how bravely you both risked your lives to discover this conspiracy
against her person. The Earl of Oxford informs me that you are
pages of his cousin, Captain Francis Vere, a very brave and valiant
gentleman; and that you bore your part bravely in the siege of
Sluys, but are at present at home to rest after your labours there,
and have permission of Captain Vere to take part in any trouble
that may arise here owing to the action of the Spaniards. I have
now no further occasion for your services, and you can return with
the earl to Hedingham, but your attendance in London will be needed
when we lay hands upon these conspirators."
The same day they rode back to Hedingham, but ten days later were
again summoned to London. The queen had the day before journeyed to
Windsor. Half an hour before she arrived at the wood near Datchet
a strong party of her guard had suddenly surrounded it, and had
found twelve armed men lurking there. These had been arrested and
lodged in the Tower. Three of them were foreigners, the rest members
of Catholic families known to be favourable to the Spanish cause.
Their trial was conducted privately, as it was deemed advisable
that as little should be made as possible of this and other similar
plots against the queen's life that were discovered about this
time.
Geoffrey and Lionel gave their evidence before the council. As the
only man they could have identified was not of the party captured,
their evidence only went to show the motive of this gathering in the
wood near Datchet. The prisoners stoutly maintained that Geoffrey
had misunderstood the conversation he had partly overheard, and
that their design was simply to make the queen a prisoner and force
her to abdicate. Three of the prisoners, who had before been banished
from the country and who had secretly returned, were sentenced to
death; two of the others to imprisonment for a long term of years,
the rest to banishment from England.
After the trial was over Lord Burleigh sent for the boys, and gave
them a very gracious message in the queen's name, together with two
rings in token of her majesty's gratitude. Highly delighted with
these honours they returned to Hedingham, and devoted themselves
even more assiduously than before to exercises in arms, in order
that they might some day prove themselves valiant soldiers of the
queen.