MY FIRST COMMISSION
When I returned to Marmaduke Hall I found every one in bed asleep except
a lad who had been left to attend me to my room. He informed me that his
mistress had been impatient at my absence, had inquired again and again
where I could be, and at last had given up waiting for me, very much
vexed at my failure to return.
“She was in a great state to see you,” said the lad, “and she left word
for you to be at her breakfast table early, by nine o’clock.”
In spite of the fatigue of my wanderings, I was awake betimes. While the
clock was still striking nine I entered the dining hall. Lady Marmaduke
sat alone at a table in an alcove that opened out of the main room. When
she rose to greet me, which she did cordially, I noticed that she held a
sheet of paper in her hand.
“If this letter from his Excellency,” she said, pointing to the paper in
her hand, “had not arrived before you did, you would have tasted of my
tongue. I had a round scolding ready for you, but this letter shall give
you a chance to explain yourself.”
She was playful in her manner, yet I could see that she had been
considerably put out by my absence the night before. I made haste to
acquaint her with my story, though I said nothing of the mysterious
woman I had seen.
“Ah, Michael,” she said when I was done. “I forgive you and you must
forgive me for being angry with you. Yet I had better cause than you
think. Listen to this passage from the governor’s note which came to me
less than an hour ago.
“‘Fortune seems to smile graciously upon us. The ship came no nearer
shore, nor did any of its crew condescend to visit the town. Perhaps
they have concluded to wait till to-night.’
“Do you understand that, my Michael? A strange ship has anchored in the
lower bay. It is probably a pirate ship and Earl Richard and I had
planned to have you watch it; but when I came home you were not to be
found. However, it has turned out all right after all.”
She glanced out of the window, but soon resumed her speech.
“You know of course that the buccaneers are forbidden the use of the
port. Van Volkenberg has much dealing with them. This fact I know but we
cannot prove it. Oh, if we could only trap him once in a secret meeting!
We want a handle against him.” She brought her fist down on the table
with a blow that made the dishes rattle. “I tell you we must have a
handle against the scoundrel or we can do nothing. You need not look so
amazed; but I forget how ignorant you are. We are to meet the Earl at
eleven o’clock. I must give you a lesson in affairs so that you will
know what we are talking about. You remember Fletcher? He was the man
you saw with the patroon at the coffee-house. He was the former governor
and a worse wretch never walked the streets of Yorke. The pirates bribed
him, and the merchants bribed him, and he bribed them back for he was
sore in need of friends. Then, to curry himself into further favor, he
began to deal out the land of the province. He gave a hundred square
miles to William Pinhorne to make him a patroon in the Mohawk valley. He
sold both sides of the Hudson River as far north as Albany. There is
hardly a square mile in the whole province that can be bought honestly
for love or money.”
I interrupted her to ask information concerning the geography of the
province, for I was as ignorant of that as of affairs. When she had
satisfied my curiosity she continued.
“That is why the king appointed another governor. As soon as Fletcher
heard of this check upon his practices, he showed his knavery in a new
light. He leased the King’s farm, which should by right go to the
support of Earl Richard’s household. He gave the center of the island to
Van Volkenberg so as to have a friend near at hand. The dog had the
impudence to title the patroon with this very house. This estate was
deeded to my husband during his lifetime, and Fletcher gave it to the
patroon from the day of his death, notwithstanding the fact that Sir
Evelin was alive at the time of the grant. Earl Bellamont has reversed
the grant and only yesterday, the first day of the new Assembly, this
estate was given to me and my heirs forever. Van Volkenberg swears he
will have it yet if he has to fight for it. We shall see about that.”
A servant came to the door to take orders for my lady’s coach. She told
him to have it ready before eleven, as she intended to wait upon the
Earl at that hour.
“Bellamont prides himself on his gentle blood,” she continued as soon as
the servant had left us alone. “But it is a great clog to him at times.
It was all I could do to get him to permit you to watch secretly upon
the strange ship that has come into the bay. He is greatly addicted to
open means and he said that it would be taking an unfair advantage to
spy on people of whom we knew no absolute harm. But I urged necessity
and told him flatly that if he did not I should commission you to do it
myself. That fetched him. In spite of his fine blood he is jealous
withal. The very idea of someone plotting without his help sets him on
end with curiosity. Mark my word, before we are done with this affair we
shall have to jog our own gait if we are to jog at all. You must fight a
rogue with a rogue’s tricks. Never forget that. However, we must be
careful not to ruffle the Earl and not to set his jealousy agog.”
A little later I was booted and spurred and ready to ride at the side of
my mistress’s coach. We set out, accompanied by her numerous retinue of
state. At every street corner we were greeted with cheers, for the
common people loved her well. I noticed that more than one of the
persons we passed on the way showed surprise in his face at seeing a
well-mounted stranger in the place of honor by the coach. We passed the
Jacobite Coffee-House and among those who stood upon the upper balcony
to see us pass was the patroon. He frowned sullenly in answer to Lady
Marmaduke’s dignified bow of recognition, which sign of displeasure
caused her to break into merry laughter.
“I shall drive the old fox into his hole yet,” she said in an undertone,
when we had passed the tavern. “But he is a crafty old fox. No one can
deny that.”
At the outer entrance of the fort I dismounted and led Lady Marmaduke
through the stone arch and across the paved court to the governor’s
mansion.
“The Earl was struck with your hatred of the patroon yesterday, even
before I told him the story about Ruth,” whispered Lady Marmaduke. “Do
not be too nice about accepting his commissions. He will be glad of
whatever you do, though he may not altogether approve in advance. His
great fault is in delay. Sometimes he gets stirred up and acts like a
whirlwind, but generally he wastes time by waiting for a better chance.
I have persuaded him this time; that is, if he has not cooled over
night.”
Lady Marmaduke explained to the Earl in a few words whatever was
necessary to account for my non-appearance the night before. He then
proceeded to interrogate me closely about all that had passed between me
and Captain Tew.
“You see, Monsieur Le Bourse, these enormous tracts of land that have
been granted by my predecessor in office must be annulled or the proper
revenues cannot be forwarded to my royal master, his majesty, the King.”
“Your own table cannot be furnished either,” added Lady Marmaduke,
“unless you get back the King’s farm.”
“Quite true, but that is a small matter compared with what is due to my
beloved King and master. I well remember the day on which he informed me
of the high honor he had conferred upon my unworthy self, which fact he
graciously made known to me with his own royal lips. ‘Richard,’ he said,
'you have used your sword well for me. Now, I want you to use your head.
These enormous grants by Fletcher must be annulled. But it must be done
legally; I will not have a bad example set in the use of the law. I have
implicit trust in you.'”
“Indeed, your Excellency,” broke in Lady Marmaduke. “I wish he had shown
that trust to a little more practical advantage. He might have given you
more power to act for yourself.”
“I am somewhat restricted,” replied the Earl. “Beshrew me! That is an
ungracious reflection. The King has planned all for the best. Though I
must report to his council for approval, the delay gives me all the more
opportunity to make certain, to collect more weighty evidence. I wish I
could utilize this matter with Tew. I shall not, however, lest I
compromise Monsieur Le Bourse.”
“The transaction is so old I don’t believe it would do us much good,”
said Lady Marmaduke.
“I have no doubt but that we shall soon stand on firmer ground,”
continued the governor. “Has Lady Marmaduke informed you of what I
intend you to do?”
“In part,” I answered.
“The matter as it stands at present is as follows. At noon yesterday a
ship was sighted coming into the bay. As is our custom always upon the
arrival of a ship, a welcome gun was fired from the Battery. Instead of
coming up to the city like an honest trader, the ship cast anchor and
has remained in one place ever since. She is a suspicious looking craft,
probably a buccaneer who is afraid to enter the port now that the laws
are so stringent against them. It may be one chance in a hundred—”
“I should say one in ten or two,” interrupted Lady Marmaduke.
“By your gracious leave,” answered the Earl with a courtly bow. “The
chances are even that the ship is here to communicate with Patroon Van
Volkenberg. If you are willing to help me, what I want you to do is
this: To be ready at a moment’s notice to keep an eye on any sailors who
may put off from the ship, for the purpose of coming into the town. I
shall cause a sharp lookout to be kept and send you instant notice of
their arrival.”
We soon made all the necessary arrangements in order to carry out this
plan. The Earl did not expect any one to come ashore from the stranger
ship before night. He knew, however, that I should be prepared to act
quickly when the moment for action came. He gave me a key that would
enable me to come and go in the fort at will, but told me not to make
use of it unless in absolute necessity. He also gave me another key to
the private postern that opened through the wall of palisades on the
west side of the city next the Hudson River. I had a few additional
preparations to make on my own account and engaged, when they were done,
to remain at Marmaduke Hall till sent for by the Earl. I attended Lady
Marmaduke back to her coach and bade her farewell for the time being at
the gate of the fort.
“I have business on the Slip,” I said when she was seated.
Her eyebrows lifted in curiosity. “What is it?” she asked.
I wondered to myself who was jealous now of plotting without her
knowledge.
“I must learn my way about the city.”
“Nothing else?”
“And obtain some sort of disguise.”
“Anything else?”
“That is all I think of.”
“Ah, very well. Be back in time to dine with me. I do not like to sit
alone when there is news in the air.”
We set out on our several ways. I had not felt in such good spirits for
many a day. The likelihood of danger, the opportunity to do something,
above all, a good horse between my legs, put me in countenance again and
joyed me in spite of fate.
Pierre, my acquaintance of the day before, was a barber. I set out for
his shop immediately upon leaving Lady Marmaduke. I found him alone and
explained to him that I was employed on important business, and that he
must make haste to procure me a suit of clothes in which I could
disguise myself as a sailor. Instead of setting about the task which I
thus imposed upon him, he made a comical gesture of dismay and stood
fast where he was.
“It’s of no use,” he said. “The Red Band will see me. They watch
everywhere. If they see me buying clothes and get a look at what they
are like, where will be the use of the disguise?”
I reflected a moment, for what he said had some show of truth in it.
After a moment’s thought, however, I concluded that his fears were idle.
“Pish, Pierre! You are too cautious. Do as I tell you.”
“I tell you it cannot be done. They have their eye on you; and now that
you have come here they will have their eye on me. What did I tell you?”
At that moment, a sailor of the Red Band entered the shop and asked to
be shaved. Pierre tried not to look surprised as he set about the task.
Once, when he stood with his razor in the air, I saw the fellow’s cheek
go white as the lather itself. Perhaps he was thinking of what might
happen if Pierre suspected what had really brought him into the shop. A
person while being shaved is in an ill position to defend himself if the
barber is murderously inclined. For all that, I set the fellow down as a
bully and a coward. The change in his face convinced me beyond a doubt
that he had come there to spy. It confirmed what Pierre had said a
moment before concerning the watchfulness of the Red Band; and it was
not to be long before I should have another example of their alert
interest in my affairs.
When Pierre had finished shaving his customer, the man arose and
adjusted his neckband slowly. Then he tossed a coin into the corner. I
soon saw that this was but a ruse to get Pierre out of the way for the
visitor had a word to say to me. Pierre went after the coin, which
rolled into the farthest corner. The sailor, as he passed me on the way
to the door, said in a low voice,
“The Red Band is not asleep. Beware.”
“Ay, beware!” I flung back into his teeth as he went out of the shop.
“I told you it would not do,” said Pierre, when I informed him of this
little episode. He put the coin into his mouth and bit it. “This is good
money. That is more than I expected. Now what do you intend to do?”
I confessed that I was wholly at a loss and should depend upon his
judgment this time.
“Then I shall help you out. I have the very thing you want up stairs.”
“Why did you not say so at first?”
Pierre laughed. “You said that I must go out and buy it and I wanted to
convince you that you were wrong first.”
It was now my turn to laugh at Pierre’s manner of doing things. I bade
him take his own way of procuring what I wanted. He wrapped up some
clothes and a couple of pistols in a bundle, telling me that, as a rule,
sailors did not wear cutlasses when they came ashore. The custom was
falling out of use now that the laws against the buccaneers had become
so strict.
“The Red Band always wear swords,” added Pierre. “That is another reason
why I wouldn’t if I were you.”
Pierre promised to take the clothes to Marmaduke Hall within the hour. I
left him engaged busily in his shop, and rode forth into the town in
order to acquaint myself as perfectly as possible with the crooked
streets. I had occupied enough time in this examination of the city when
I turned my steps homeward. I was walking my horse slowly up the steep
hill of Petticoat Lane when I heard a cry of distress ahead of me. Three
men were having a sharp scuffle over the possession of a bundle. One of
the men was Pierre, and I knew the bundle must be my disguise. I must
protect it at all hazards, for each of the other two wore the red band
upon his sleeve. I dashed spurs into my horse’s side. In two minutes I
had ridden down one of the men, and with a blow of my fist sent the
other sprawling in the mud. Pierre caught up the bundle and scuttled
away so quickly that I hardly knew which way he had gone. I drew my
sword and dismounted.
“Get up,” I said sharply to the fellow I had knocked down—the other had
already stumbled to his feet, but he was not good for much. “Get up,” I
repeated, “or someone will think he has found the Red Band asleep.” He
got upon his legs, grumbling and looking sourly at me. “Beware,” I said,
as they turned away. “Eat your own word, beware.” This fellow was the
very one who had defied me in Pierre’s shop. “Beware,” I called after
him again, for they made such good use of their legs that by this time
they were the width of the street away from me.
When they were gone I continued my journey, much impressed by this
example of their watchfulness. I was not cast down by it, however,
though I mused so deeply on the event that I lost my way. Before I knew
it, I found myself again in the center of the town. I took my bearings
afresh and started back, this time meeting with no further confusions on
the way. While passing the Ferry-House, I remembered that I had not
returned there the night before to occupy the room I had engaged. I
dismounted and entered the ordinary to find the landlord and settle my
score. I was surprised to see Pierre at one of the tables drinking. As
soon as I had settled the reckoning I went across the room to speak to
him.
“They didn’t see it,” he said significantly. “It is in your room and you
can wear it safely”. He told me how he had been surprised and set upon
suddenly in the street. “You were just like Lady Marmaduke coming along
when I was ducked. That wine! Don’t tell me there is no such thing as
luck!”
I told Pierre that for the rest of the day he must hold himself in
readiness to do my bidding. “Yes,” I answered to a question he asked.
“Yes, it is against him, and you must keep yourself sober.”
Pierre tilted up his tankard and began to pour the beer in a small
stream upon the sanded floor.
“I hate to let it go,” he said, disconsolately. “But if it is against
him, I had rather keep sober.”
He looked wistfully at the floor where the beer had drained off into a
thick layer of sand, leaving on the surface only a shrunken mass of
breaking bubbles.
“Ah me!” sighed Pierre, rising. “I’ll wait in the Marmaduke kitchen. I
hope they won’t offer me wine. It would bring tears to my eyes. But I’ll
keep sober, never fear.”
I was sitting in my little gable room late that afternoon when I
received a summons from Lady Marmaduke to attend her. She wanted to know
whether I should like to go with her on her daily round of inspection of
the offices. I was indeed glad of the opportunity. We visited the
kitchens first, which were large and well appointed. Marmaduke Hall,
from top to bottom, contained fully two score of people, and all the
cooking for this numerous household was done here. Beyond the kitchen,
in a bare, clay-floored outbuilding was a row of great iron pots, each
one of which was large enough to boil an ox whole. Into one of them,
beneath which roared a huge fire of logs, the servants were lowering
some bags of food that were to be boiled for the live stock. I watched
the process with interest. When the ponderous iron lid, which rose and
fell by means of a pulley and chain, was put in place, the steam jetted
out on all sides of it, rocking the lid with a loud clatter, and
spurting from under the edge like the spokes of a wheel.
We passed thence to the dairy. Then we examined the stables and various
other offices in succession till we reached the kennels. The thirty or
more hounds barked and yelped at the appearance of their mistress. She
patted them in turn and then we passed on.
“You may wonder at my attending to such things myself,” she said to me
when we had returned to the Hall. Then she sighed. “I try to do
everything myself just as Sir Evelin used to do.”
She fell into a reverie and did not seem to notice when I left her. With
one thing and another I whiled away the time till dinner was over, and
it had fallen quite dark outside. Then, just as I was beginning to grow
impatient, came the summons from the Earl. It was but a line and was
dated from the fort at half past seven.
“Four suspicious looking sailors have just proceeded to the Ferry-House.
I think they are the men we spoke of. You will watch them and report as
soon as possible.—Bellamont.”
I slipped on my disguise, thrust the two pistols Captain Tew had given
me into my belt, and, taking Pierre with me, set out through the dark
streets to the tavern.