THE INTERCEPTED MESSAGE.
While this unhappy interlude was passing, a far greater sorrow was
preparing. Captain Macpherson went at once to his colonel with the
pebble-sent note. He told himself that his duty to his King and his
colors demanded it, and that no harm could come to the two women except
such as was reflected from the trouble that saucy young man might be
entitled to. He had no objections to giving him trouble; he felt that he
ought to be made to understand a little better what was due to an
officer of the King. _"That Scot!"_ He flung his plaid passionately over
his shoulder and stamped his foot with the offended temper of centuries
of Macphersons. As for Maria, he would not think of her. He could not
know what the consequences of the interrupted tryst would be, but let
her take them! A girl who could prefer quite a common-looking young man
to himself needed a lesson. He said over and over that he had only done
a duty he would have performed under any circumstances; and he kept
reiterating the word "duty,"--still he knew right well that duty in this
case had been powerfully seconded by jealousy and by his personal
offense.
What action his colonel would take he knew not. He desired to be excused
from any part in it, because of the Semple's hospitality to him. His
request was granted; and then he went to his rooms hot with uncertain
excitement. The colonel had no sentimental reasons for ignoring what
might prove a valuable arrest. Nothing had provoked General Clinton more
than the ubiquitous nature of Washington's spies. They were everywhere;
they were untiring, unceasing and undaunted. The late reverses, which
had mortified every English soldier, had been undoubtedly brought about
by the false reports they spread,--no one knew by whose assistance,--and
this night might be a turning-point in affairs.
He ordered ten picked men to wait for the boat at Semple's landing. The
place was easily reached; they had but to walk to the bottom of the
fence, climb over it, and secrete themselves in the little boathouse, or
among the shrubbery, if it had yet foliage enough to screen them. He
looked over his roll of suspects and found Madame Semple's name among
them. Likely enough, her family sympathized with her. It would at least
be prudent to secure the husband and son. If they were good royalists,
they could easily prove it. Then he sat down to smoke and to drink
brandy; he, too, had done his duty, and was not troubled at all about
results. The Semples, to him, were only two or three out of sixty
thousand reputed royalists in the city. If they were honest, they had
little to fear; if they were traitors, they deserved all they would
certainly get from Clinton in his present surly mood.
Quite unconscious of what was transpiring, John Bradley was eating a
frugal supper of oatmeal and bread and cheese, and telling his daughter
about a handsome saddle that was going up the river to "the man in all
the world most worthy of it." Elder Semple was asleep, and Madame, lying
in the darkness, was softly praying away her physical pain and her
mental anxieties. Suddenly she heard an unusual stir and the prompt,
harsh voices of men either quarreling or giving orders.
"It is on our ain place!" and a sick terror assailing her, she cried:
"Wake up! Wake up, Alexander! There's men at the door, and angry men,
and they're calling you!"
Neil, who was sitting dressed in his room, instantly answered the
summons, and was instantly under arrest; and as no effort was made to
prevent noise or confusion, the tumult and panic soon reached Maria. She
was combing her hair to fretful thoughts, and a keen sense of
disappointment; but when Madame entered the room wringing her hands and
lamenting loudly, she let the comb fall and stood up trembling with
apprehension.
"Maria! Maria! They are taking your grandfather and uncle to prison! Oh,
God, my dear auld man! My dear auld man!"
"Grandmother! What are you saying? You must be mistaken--you must be!"
"Come, and see for yoursel';" and Madame flung open the window and with
a shriek of futile distress cried, "Alexander, look at me! Speak to me."
At these words the Elder, who was standing with a soldier, lifted his
face to the distracted woman, in her white gown at the open window, and
cried to her:
"Janet, my dearie, you'll get your death o' cold. It is a' a mistake. Go
to your bed, dear woman. I'll be hame in the morning."
Neil repeated this advice, and then there was a sharp order and a small
body of men marched forward, and in their midst Harry walked bareheaded
and manacled. He tried to look up, for he had heard the colloquy between
the Elder and his wife, and understood Maria might be also at the
window; but as he turned his head a gigantic Highlander struck him with
the flat of his sword, and as the blow fell rattling on the youth's
shoulder Maria threw up her hands with a shriek and fell into a chair
sobbing.
"Dinna cry that way, Maria, my dearie; they'll be hame in the morning."
"Yes, yes, grandmother! It was the blow on that last prisoner. Did you
see it? Did you hear it? Oh, what a shame!"
"Poor lad! I know naething about him; but he is in a terrible sair
strait."
"What is he doing here in our house? Surely you know, grandmother?"
"I know naething about him. He is doubtless one o' Washington's
messengers--there's plenty o' them round. Why he came near us is mair
than I can say." Then a sudden fear made her look intently at Maria, and
she asked, "Do you think your Uncle Neil has turned to the American
cause?"
"Oh, grandmother, how can you?"
"He has been so much wi' that Agnes Bradley. My heart misgave me at the
first about her. Neil is in love, and men in love do anything."
"Uncle Neil is as true a royalist as grandfather."
"See, then, what they have, baith o' them, got for standing by King
George. It serves them right! It serves them right! O dear, dear me!
What shall we do?"
Two weary hours were spent in such useless conversation; then Madame,
being perfectly exhausted, was compelled to go to bed. "We can do
naething till morning," she said; "and Neil will hae his plans laid by
that time. They will be to bail, doubtless; and God knows where the
friends and the money are to come from. But there's plenty o' time for
grief to-morrow; go and sleep an hour or two now."
"And you, grandmother? What will you do?"
"He who never fails will strengthen me. When the morn comes I shall be
able for all it can bring. This was such a sudden blow I lost my grip."
Alone in her room, Maria felt the full force of the sudden blow.
Although Harry's note had missed her, she understood that he had been
waiting for a few words with her. Twice before she had been in the
garden when he passed up the river, and he had landed and spent a
delicious half-hour with her. She was sure now that he had been as much
disappointed as herself, and had hoped she would come and say good-bye
as soon as she reached home. But who had betrayed him? And why was her
grandfather and uncle included in his arrest?
For some time she could think of nothing but her lover walking so
proudly in the midst of his enemies; reviled by them, struck by them,
yet holding his head as authoritatively as if he was their captain,
rather than their prisoner. Then she remembered Agnes, and at first it
was with anger. "If she had not been so selfish, Harry would not have
needed to take such a risk!" she cried. "It is dreadful! dreadful! And
just as soon as it is light I must go and tell her. Her father must now
know all; he ought to have been told long ago. I shall insist on her
telling now, for Harry's life is first of all, and his father has power
some way or other."
Thus through the long hours she wept and complained and blamed Agnes and
even herself, and perhaps most of all was angry with the intrusive
Macpherson, whose unwelcome presence had been the cause of the trouble.
And, oh! what arid torturing vigils are those where God is not! Madame
lying on her bed with her hands folded over her breast and thoughts
heavenward, was at peace compared with this tumultuous little heart in
the midst of doubt, darkness, and the terror of dreadful death for one
dear to her. She knew not what to abandon, nor what to defend; her brain
seemed stupefied by calamity so inevitable. And yet, it was not
inevitable; it had depended for many minutes on herself. A word, a look,
and Agnes would have understood her desire; and half a dozen times
before she had made the movement which was just _too late;_ her heart
had urged her to call her friend. But she had doubted, wavered, and
delayed, and so given to Destiny the very weapons that were used against
her.
As soon as the morning dawned she dressed herself. Before her
grandmother came down stairs it was imperative on her to see Agnes and
tell her what had happened. A dismal, anxious stillness had succeeded
the storm of her terror and grief; a feeling of outrage, of resentment
against events, and an agony of love and pity, as she remembered Harry
smitten and helpless in the power of a merciless foe. She had now one
driving thought and purpose--the release of her lover. She must save the
life he had risked for her sake, though she gave her own for it.
As she went through the gray dawning she was sensitive to some
antagonism, even in Nature. The unseasonable warmth of the previous
evening had been followed by a frost. The faded grass snapped under her
fleet steps, the last foliage had withered during the night, and was
black and yellow as death, and everything seemed to shiver in the pale
light. And though the waning moon yet hung low in the west, and all the
mystery and majesty of earth was round her, Maria was only conscious of
the chill terror in her heart, and of the chill, damp mist from the
river which enfolded her like a cloak, and was the very atmosphere of
sorrow.
When she reached the Bradley home all was shut and still; the very house
seemed to be asleep, but why did its closed door affect her so
painfully? She went round to the kitchen and found the slave woman
Mosella bending over a few blazing chips, making herself a cup of tea.
The woman looked at her wonderingly, and when Maria said, "Mosella, I
must see Miss Agnes at once," she rose without a word and opened the
garden door of the house. The shutters were all closed, the stairway
dim, and the creaking of the steps under her feet made her quiver. It
was an hour too early for light and life, and a noiseless noise around
her seemed to protest against this premature invasion of the day.
She entered the room of her friend very softly. It was breathless,
shadowy, and on the white bed Agnes was lying, asleep. For a moment
Maria stood looking at the orderly place and the unconscious woman. The
pure pallor of her cheeks had the flush of healthy sleep; her brown
hair, braided, lay loose upon her pillow, her white hands upon the white
coverlet. She was the image of deep, dreamless, peaceful oblivion. It
seemed a kind of wrong to awaken her; but though the eyes of Agnes were
closed, Maria's gaze called to the soul on guard behind them, and
without one premonitory movement she opened them wide and saw Maria at
her bedside. A quick fear leaped into her heart. She was momentarily
speechless. She laid her hand on Maria's arm, and looked at her with
apprehending inquiry.
_"Harry!"_ said Maria, and then she sat down and covered her face and
began to cry softly. There was no necessity to say more. Agnes
understood. She rose and began to dress herself, and in a few minutes
asked, though almost in a whisper:
"Is he taken?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"At our landing."
"When?"
"Last night."
"Why did you not send me word last night? Neil would have come."
"Neil was arrested, and also my dear old grandfather. It is shameful!
shameful!"
"What was Harry doing at your landing?"
"I don't know. I was in my room. I was half-undressed, combing my hair
out, when grandmother rushed to me with the news. It is not my fault,
Agnes."
"Did you ever meet Harry at your landing, Maria?"
"Only twice, both times in the daylight. He was passing and happened to
see me. There was no tryst between us; and I know nothing about last
night, except----"
"Except what?"
"That if you had given him a chance to say 'Good-bye' to me here, he
would not have thought of stopping at our landing; but," she added in a
weary voice, "you were watching for Uncle Neil, and so, of course, you
forgot other people."
"Don't be cruel, Maria, as well as unjust."
"All the same, it is the truth."
"How was he discovered? You surely know that?"
"No, I do not. There were at least ten or twelve soldiers--Highlanders.
One of them struck Harry."
"Oh, why do you tell me? Who could have betrayed him? Macpherson? You
know you offended him."
"It could not be Macpherson. He never saw Harry before. He knew nothing
about him. He thought his name was Deane. If it had been Macpherson,
your landing, not ours, would have been watched."
"No; for he saw you and Harry coming through the garden hand-in-hand. I
am sure he did. He went away in a fit of jealousy, and he would think of
your landing as well as ours. But all that is nothing. We have but a few
hours in which to try and save his life. I must awake father and tell
him. It will break his heart."
"You ought to have told him----"
"I know."
"What can I do?"
"Women can do nothing but suffer. I am sorry with all my soul for you,
Maria, and I will let you know what father does. Go home to your poor
grandmother; she will need all the comfort you can give her."
"I am sorry for you, Agnes; yes, I am! I will do anything I can. There
is Lord Medway, he loves me; and General Clinton loves him, I know he
does; I have seen them together."
"Father is first. I must awaken him. Leave me now, Maria, dear. None but
God can stand by me in this hour."
Then Maria kissed her, and Agnes fell upon her knees, her arms spread
out on her bed and her face buried in them. There were no words given
her; she could not pray; but when the Gate of Prayer is closed the Gate
of Tears is still open. She wept and was somewhat helped, though it was
only by that intense longing after God which made her cry out, "O that I
knew where to find Him, that I might come into His presence!"
When she went to her father's door he was already awake. She heard him
moving about his room, washing and dressing, and humming to himself in
strong snatches a favorite hymn tune; no words seemed to have come to
him, for the melody was kept by a single syllable that served to connect
the notes. Nevertheless, the tone was triumphant and the singer full of
energy. It made Agnes shiver and sicken to listen to him. She sat down
on the topmost stair and waited. It could not be many minutes, and
nothing for or against Harry could be done till the world awoke and went
to business. Very soon the hymn tune ceased, and there was a few minutes
of a silence that could be felt, for it was threaded through by a low,
solemn murmur easy to translate,--the man was praying. When he came out
of his room he saw Agnes sitting on the stair, and as soon as she lifted
her face to him he was frightened and asked sharply:
"What are you doing there, Agnes? What has happened?"
She spoke one word only, but that word went like a sword to the father's
heart,--_"Harry!"_
He repeated the word after her: "Harry! Is he ill? Let me see the
letter, where is he? With Doctor Brudenel? Can't you speak, girl?"
"Harry is here, in New York, in prison?"
The words fell shivering from her lips; she raised herself, watching her
father's face the while, for she thought he was going to fall. He shook
like a great tree in a storm, and then retreated to the door of his room
and stood with his back against it. He could not speak, and Agnes was
afraid.
"Father," she said in a low, passionate voice of entreaty, "we have the
boy to save. Do not lose yourself. You have _your Father_ to lean upon."
"I know! I feel! Go and make me a cup of coffee. I will be ready when
you call me."
Then he went back into his room and shut the door, and Agnes, with a
sick, heavy heart, prepared the necessary meal. For though danger,
sorrow and death press on every side, the body must have sustenance; and
every-day meals, that look so tragically common and out of place must go
on as usual. But it was a little respite and she was grateful, because
in it her father would talk the trouble over with God before she had to
explain it to him. The interval was a short one, but during it John
Bradley found Him who is "a very present help in every hour of need." He
came down to his coffee in full possession of himself and ready for the
fight before him. But he had also realized the disobedience which had
brought on this sorrow, and the deception which had sanctioned the boy
in his disobedience. Therefore Agnes was afraid when she saw his severe
eyes, and shrank from them as from a blow, and large tears filled her
own and rolled down her white cheeks unchecked.
"Agnes," he said, "tell me the whole truth. I must know everything, or
you may add your brother's murder to the other wrongdoing. When did he
come back to America?"
"Six months after you sent him to England. He said he could not, durst
not, stay there. He thought that God might have some work that needed
_just him_ to do it. I think Harry found that work."
"Why did you not tell me at the time?"
"I was in Boston, at school, when Harry first came to me, and we talked
together then about telling you. But at that time both of us supposed
you to be a King's man, and the party feeling was then riotously cruel.
Harry had been three months with Washington, and his peculiar fitness
for the New York Secret Service had been found out. Still, Washington
took no unfair advantage of his youth and enthusiasm. He told him he
would be one of a band of young men who lived with their lives in their
hands. And when Harry answered, 'General, if I can bring you information
that will help Freedom forward one step, my life gladly for it,'
Washington's eyes shone, and he gave Harry his hand and said, 'Brave
boy! Your father must be a happy man.'"
She paused here and looked at the father, and saw that his face was
lifted and that a noble pride strove with a noble pain for the mastery.
So she continued: "Harry _has_ helped Freedom forward. He found out,
while pretending to fish for the garrison at Stony Point, the best way
across the marsh and up the rocks. He helped to set afloat the reports
that brought Tryon back from Connecticut, and the garrison from Rhode
Island. He has prepared the way for many a brave deed, taken all the
danger and the labor, getting no fame and wanting none, his only aim to
serve his country and to be loved and trusted by Washington. If we erred
in keeping these things from you, it has been an error of love. And when
we knew you also were serving your country in your own way, Harry was
sure you would do it better and safer if you were not always looking for
him--fearing for him. Oh, father! surely you see how his presence would
have embarrassed you and led to suspicion."
"I would like to have seen the boy," he said, softly, as if he were
thinking the words to himself.
"He saw you often, never came to the city without passing the shop to
see you; and it made both of us happy to believe that very soon now he
would dare to speak to you and to say, 'Father, forgive me.'"
"I must go to him, Agnes. Harry's life must be saved, or I, John
Bradley, will know the reason why. Yes, and if he has to die there are
some big men here, playing double-face, that will die with him. I know
them----"
"Oh, father! father! What are you saying? Vengeance is not ours. Would
it bring Harry back to us?"
"It is more than I can bear. Who was the informer? Tell me that. And
where was he taken?"
"I cannot tell who informed. He was taken with his little boat at Elder
Semple's landing by a party of Scotch Highlanders."
"What on earth was he doing at Semple's? Do you think the Elder, or that
fine gentleman Neil, gave information?"
"They were both arrested with Harry. They also are in prison."
"Am I losing my senses? The Semples! They are royalists, known
royalists, bitter as gall. What was Harry doing at their place? Tell
me."
"I do not certainly know, father. I think he may have gone there hoping
that Maria would come down to the river to say a good-bye to him."
_"Maria!_ That is it, of course. If a man is to be led to destruction
and death, it is some woman who will do the business for him. I warned
you about that Maria. My heart misgave me about the whole family. So
Harry is in love with her! That is your doing, girl. What business had
you to let them meet at all? If Harry perishes, I shall find it hard to
forgive you; hard to ever see you again. All this sorrow for your
sentimental nonsense about Maria. If she had been kept out of Harry's
life, he would have gone safely and triumphantly on to victory with the
rest of us. But you must have your friend and your friend's brother, and
your own brother must pay the price of it."
"Oh, father, be just! Even if you cannot pity me, be just. I am
suffering as much as I can bear."
Then he rose and put on his hat and coat. "Stay where you are," he said.
"I will not have women meddling with what I have now to do. Don't leave
the house for anyone or anything."
"You will send me some word, father. I shall be in an agony of
suspense."
"If there is any word to send, I will send it." Then he went away
without kissing her, without one of his ordinary tender words; he left
her alone with her crushing sorrow, and the consciousness that upon her
he would lay the blame of whatever disaster came to Harry. She had no
heart for her household duties, and she left the unwashed china and went
back to her room. She was yet in a state of pitiful bewilderment; her
grief was so certain, its need was so urgent, and at that hour Heaven
seemed so far off; and yet she questioned her soul so eagerly for the
watchword that should give her that stress of spirit which would connect
her with the Unseen World and permit her to claim its invincible help.
Agnes had told her father that it was Highlanders who arrested Harry,
and Bradley went first to their quarters. There he learned that the
young man had disclaimed connection with any regiment whatever; and,
being in citizen's clothes and wearing no arms, his claim had been
allowed and his case turned over to the Military Court of Police. So far
it was favorable; the cruel haste of a court martial shut the door of
hope; but John Bradley knew the Court of Police was composed of men who
put financial arguments before all others. He was, however, too early,
an hour too early, to see any one; and the prisoner was under watch in
one of the guard-houses and could not be approached.
He wandered back to his shop utterly miserable and restless and wrote a
letter to Thomas Curtis, a clever lawyer, and a partner of Neil Semple,
explaining the position of his son and begging him to be at the Court of
Police when it opened. This letter he carried to the lawyer's office and
paid the boy in attendance to deliver it immediately on the arrival of
his master. Then he went back to his shop for money, and as he was
slowly leaving the place Lord Medway spoke to him. He had his rifle over
his shoulder and was going with a friend to Long Island to shoot birds.
The sight of the man made John Bradley's heart leap and burn. He had
been waiting for some leading as to the way he ought to take, and he
felt that it had been given him.
"Good morning, Mr. Bradley," said the nobleman.
"My lord, turn back with me to my shop. I have something of the greatest
importance to tell you."
Medway smiled: "My hunting is of the greatest importance at present, Mr.
Bradley, for my friend, Colonel Pennington, is waiting for me; but if I
can be of service----"
"I think you can; at least, listen to me."
Medway bent his head in acquiescence, and Bradley led the way to the
small room behind his shop, which had been his sitting and dining room
while his daughter was at school. He plunged at once into the subject of
his anxieties.
"There was a prisoner taken last night."
"A young man in a boat; I heard of it. General Clinton thinks they may
have made an important arrest."
"He is my son--my only son! I did not know until an hour ago that he was
in America. I sent him to England at the beginning of the war--to a fine
school there--and I thought he was safe; and he has been here, one of
Washington's scouts, carrying messages from camp to camp, in and out of
New York in all kinds of disguises, spreading reports and gathering
reports, buying medicines, and clothing, and what not; doing, in short,
duties which in every case were life and death matters. For three years
or more he has done these things safely; last night he was discovered."
"And you thought he was in England, safe and comfortable, and learning
his lessons?"
"I did, and thanked God for it."
"Now, I would offer thanks for the other things. If I were an American
it would gladden my heart to have a son like that. The young man thinks
he has been doing his duty; be a little proud of him. I'll be bound he
deserves it. Who arrested him?"
"Some soldiers from the Highland regiment."
"How did they happen to know? Could Macpherson have informed? Oh,
impossible! What am I saying? Where was he taken?"
"At Elder Semple's landing."
"You confound me, Bradley. I will stake my honor on the Semples's
loyalty--father and son both. What was he doing there?"
"He had the old reason for calamity--a woman. He is in love with the
Elder's granddaughter, and Agnes thinks he must have landed hoping to
see her."
"You mean, he had a tryst with her?"
"I only surmise. I can tell nothing surely."
"I will go with you to court, Bradley. Can you send a man with a message
to Colonel Pennington?"
This done they went out together, and many looked curiously at the lord
and the saddler walking the streets of New York in company. For in those
days the lines of caste were severely drawn. When they entered the
courtroom the case of the Semples was being heard; but Harry sat a
little apart, on either side of him a soldier. The father fixed his
eyes upon him, and a proud flush warmed his white face at the sight of
the lad's dauntless bearing and calm, almost cheerful, aspect.
Lord Medway looked first toward the Semples, and conspicuously bowed to
both of them. The Elder was evidently sick, fretful, and suffering. Neil
was wounded in every fiber of his proud nature. The loyalty, the honor,
the good name of the Semples had been, he believed, irrevocably injured;
for he was lawyer enough to know that it is nearly as bad to be
suspected as to be guilty. And, small as the matter seemed in
comparison, he was intensely mortified at the personal disarray of his
father and himself. The men who arrested them had given them no time to
arrange their clothing, and Neil knew they looked more suspiciously
guilty for want of their clean laces and the renovating influences of
water and brushes.
The assistant magistrate, Peter DuBois, was just questioning Elder
Semple.
"Look at the prisoner taken on your premises, Mr. Semple. Do you know
him?"
"I never saw him in a' my life before his arrest."
"Did you know he was using your landing?"
"Not I. I was fast asleep in my bed."
"Mr. Neil Semple, what have you to say?"
"I was sitting partially dressed, reading in my room. I have no
knowledge whatever of the young man, nor can I give you any reason why
our landing should have been used by him."
Mr. Curtis then spoke eloquently of the unstained loyalty of the
Semples, and of their honorable life for half a century in the city of
New York. But Peter DuBois held that they were not innocent, inasmuch as
they had been so careless of His Majesty's interests as to permit their
premises to be used for treasonable purposes.
"The Court must first prove the treasonable purposes," said Mr. Curtis.
"The Court proposes to do so," answered DuBois. "Henry Deane, stand up!"
and as he did so Bradley uttered a sharp cry and rose to his feet also.
In this hour Harry looked indeed a son to be proud of. He showed no
fear, and was equally free from that bluster that often cloaks fear, but
raised a face calm and cheerful--the face of a man who knows that he has
done nothing worthy of blame.
"Henry Deane," said DuBois, "is there anyone in New York who knows you?"
_"I do!"_ shouted John Bradley. "He is my son! My dear son, Henry Deane
Bradley;" and with the words he marched to his son's side and threw his
arms about his neck.
"Oh, father! father, forgive me!"
"Oh, Harry! Harry! I have nothing to forgive!" and he kissed him in the
sight of the whole court, and wept over him like a mother.
The whole affair had been so sudden, so startling and affecting, that it
was not at once interrupted. But in a few moments the examination
proceeded, DuBois asking, "Do you know the Semples?"
"I have seen them often. I have never spoken to either of them in all my
life."
"What took you to their landing, then?"
"I know it so well. When I was a little boy I used to borrow Elder
Semple's boat if I wished to fish or row, because I knew they were busy
in the city and would not miss it. So I got used to their landing years
ago."
"Had you any special reason for going there last night?"
"Yes. It was a good place to wait until the moon rose."
"No other reason?"
"Habit."
"Nothing to get there?"
"Nothing at all."
"No one to see there?"
"No one."
Lord Medway sighed heavily. The words were a tremendous relief. If the
young man had named Maria it would have been shameful and unbearable. He
began now to take more interest in him.
"You refused to tell last night," said DuBois, "to whom you were
carrying the clothing and _the saddle_ that was in your boat. Will you
now name the person or persons?"
"No. I refuse to name them."
"From whom did you receive or purchase these articles?"
"I refuse to say."
"Perhaps from the Semples?"
"Certainly not. I never received and never bought a pin's worth from the
Semples."
In fact, no evidence of complicity could either be found or manufactured
against the Semples, and Mr. Curtis demanded their honorable acquittal.
But they were good subjects for plunder, and DuBois had already
intimated to Judge Matthews how their purses could be reached. In
pursuance of this advice, Judge Matthews said:
"The loyalty of Alexander Semple and of his son, Neil Semple, cannot be
questioned; but they have been unfortunately careless of His Majesty's
rights in permitting their premises to be of aid and comfort to rebels;
and therefore, as an acknowledgment of this fault, and as a preventative
to its recurrence, Alexander Semple is fined two hundred pounds and Neil
Semple one hundred pounds. The prisoners are free upon their own
recognizances until the fifteenth day of November, when they must appear
in this court and pay the fines as decided."
The Elder heard the decision in a kind of stupefaction. Neil, neither by
himself or his lawyer, made any protest. What use was there in doing so?
They had been sentenced by a court accountable to no tribunal whatever:
a court arbitrary and illegal, that troubled itself neither with juries
nor oaths, and from which there was no appeal. Lord Medway watched the
proceedings with indignation, and the feeling in the room was full of
sympathy for the two men. Neil's haughty manner and stern face betrayed
nothing of the anger he felt, but the Elder was hardly prevented from
speaking words which would have brought him still greater loss. As it
was, it taxed Neil's strength and composure to the uttermost to get his
father with dignity away from the scene. He gave him his arm, and
whispered authoritatively, "Do not give way, father! Do not open your
lips!" So the old gentleman straightened himself, and, leaning heavily
on his son, reached the lobby before he fell into a state bordering on
collapse.
Neil placed him in a chair, got him water, and was wondering where he
could most easily procure a carriage, when the sound of wheels coming at
a furious rate arrested his attention. They stopped at the court house,
and as Neil went to the door the lovely Madame Jacobus sprang out of the
vehicle.
"Neil!" she cried. "Neil Semple! I only heard an hour ago, I came as
soon as the horses were ready, it is disgraceful. Where is the Elder?
Can I take him home?"
"Madame, it will be the greatest kindness. He is ready to faint."
The Elder looked at her with eyes full of tears.
"Madame," he said, "they have fined me in my auld age for a
misdemeanor"--and then he laughed hysterically. "I hae lived fifty years
in New York, and I am fined--I hae----"
She stopped the quavering voice with a kiss, and with Neil's help led
him gently to her carriage; and as soon as he reached its friendly
shelter he closed his eyes and looked like one dead. Madame was in a
tempest of rage. "It is just like the ravening wolves," she said. "They
saw an opportunity to rob you,--you need not tell me, I know Matthews!
He has the winter's routs and dances for his luxurious wife and
daughters to provide for, as well as what he calls his own 'damned good
dinners.' How much did he mulct you in? Never mind telling me now, Neil,
but come and lunch with me to-morrow; I shall have something to say to
you then."
She had the Elder's hand in her's as she spoke, and she did not loosen
her clasp until she saw him safely at his own home and in the care of
his wife. She remained a few moments to comfort Madame Semple, then,
divining they would be best alone with their sorrow, she went away with
a reminder to Neil that she wished to speak to him privately on the
following day.
"It is as if God sent her," said Madame gratefully.
"Get me to my bed, Janet, dearie," said the Elder. "I'll just awa' out
o' this warld o' sorrows and wrongs and robbery."
"You'll just stop havering and talking nonsense, Alexander. Are you
going to die and leave me my lane for a bit o' siller? I'm ashamed o'
you. Twa or three hundred pounds! Is that what you count your life
worth? Help your father to his bed, Neil, and I'll bring him some gude
mutton broth. He's hungry and faint and out o' his sleep--it tak's
little to make men talk o' dying. Parfect nonsense!"
"You don't know, Janet Semple----"
"Yes, I do know, Alexander. Quit whining, and put a stout heart to a
steep hill. You hae a wife and sons and friends yet about you, and you
talk o' dying! I'll not hear tell o' such things, not I!"
But when the Elder had taken a good meal and fallen asleep, Janet spoke
with less spirit to her son. And Neil was in a still fury; he found it
difficult to answer his mother's questions.
"The money is to be found, and that at once," he said. "Father will not
rest until it is paid; and I have not the least idea where I can procure
it."
"You must sell some o' that confiscated property you and your father
wared all your ready money on," said Janet bitterly.
"At the present time it is worth nothing, mother; and houses and lands
are not sold at an hour's notice. I suppose if I ask Batavius DeVries he
will help father. I think Curtis can manage my share of the blackmail."
"That poor lad wha has made a' the mischief, what of him?"
"He is John Bradley's son." Then Neil described the scene in the
courtroom, and Madame's eyes filled with tears as she said, "I never
thought so well o' the Bradleys before. Poor Agnes!"
Yes, "poor Agnes!" Neil was feeling a consuming impatience to be with
her, to comfort her and help her to bear whatever might be appointed.
"So the lad is to be tried in the Military Police Court. Is not that a
good thing?"
"Yes. John Bradley has money. It is all the 'law' there is to satisfy in
that court."
"Are they trying him to-day?"
"Yes. I heard his case called as we left the room. Where is Maria?"
"She has cried herself blind, deaf and dumb. She is asleep now. I went
to tell her you were hame, and she was sobbing like a bairn that has
been whipped ere it shut its eyes. I dinna waken her."
Then Neil went to his room to dress himself. He felt as if no care and
no nicety of apparel could ever atone for the crumpled disorder of his
toilet in the courtroom, which had added itself so keenly to his sense
of disgrace. Then he must go to Agnes; her brother was his brother,
and, though he had brought such shame and loss on the Semples, still he
must do all he could for him, for the sake of Agnes. And there was the
money to find, and Madame Jacobus to see! A sense of necessary haste
pressed him like a goad. Not a moment must be lost, for he felt through
every sense of his mortal and spiritual being that Agnes was calling
him.