"There is no hope of a pardon now," proceeded Juggins. "I am not
altogether without influence, and I had hoped-- But 'tis doubly
hopeless. If you were Scots or Irish, it might be done. But few of
the English gentry besides you and Master Charles rose in the '19.
You are a marked man, and with your cousin's interest against you
'twill be impossible even to gain a hearing for you."
"There is naught to do, then, save go back to France and the friends
who now distrust me," I said bitterly.
"Never say so," remonstrated Master Juggins with energy. "I have an
idea of another course which may commend itself to you. Come, don
these poor garments, which will none the less cloak you with safety,
and join me in granny's morningroom."
The coffee which the old lady poured us in blue-bordered china bowls
put new life and hope in me. I settled back in my chair, heedless of
my baggy breeches and woolen stockings, and puffed at the long clay
pipe which Juggins had filled for me.
Granny Juggins gave me an approving pat on the shoulder.
"That is well, Master Harry. Worry never solved any difficulty. And
now I must be going about my duties; but remember that what Robert
tells you hath my endorsement."
"And what is that?" I inquired in some curiosity as the door closed
behind her.
He smoked in silence for several moments.
"I am resolved to take you fully into my confidence, Master Harry,"
he began at last, "and I should not do so if I doubted your
discretion."
"I shall strive to justify your trust," I said.
"No doubt. 'Tis a delicate matter."
He fell silent again.
"Did it not seem strange to you that such an assault as you saw last
night should have been made upon an ordinary merchant?" he asked
suddenly.
"I thought they meant robbery."
"Robbery! They never made a demand upon me. They meant murder."
"That is strange," I conceded.
"The truth is, lad," he went on, "I am at grips with a deadly enemy.
'Tis a curious story, concerned with high politics, great spoils of
trade, intrigues of Church and State--mayhap the future of a
continent. And as it happens Robert Juggins is at the hub of it.
"Do you think you would like to play a hand--on England's behalf and
to checkmate the very foreign influences which sickened you of the
Jacobite cause? There are reasons why I think you might be of aid to
me. I need a strong arm combined with an agile mind, a mind used to
French ways and the French tongue."