THE QUESTION
"We know all but two things, but those are the most important of all,"
said the Governor, tapping his jeweled fingers against the table.
"It is much to be regretted," said the Surveyor-General, "that the
presence of the young lady was so soon discovered. Otherwise--"
"Otherwise we might have had further information on more than one
subject," said the Governor dryly.
"We must make the best of what we have," continued Carrington calmly.
"After all, it is enough."
The Governor rose and began to pace the floor, his head thoughtfully
bent, his unwounded hand tugging at the curls of his periwig. "It is not
enough," he said at length, pausing before the great table around which
the company were seated. "Thanks to the gallant daughter of the gallant
Verneys,"--a bow and smile to Patricia, sitting enthroned in the great
chair in their midst,--"we know much, but it is not enough. These rogues
have set a day upon which to rise; they have appointed a place to which
they are to resort. That day may be to-morrow, that place any point in
any one of a dozen counties."
"I apprehend that the cockatrice was to be hatched near by," said Sir
Charles.
"It is the likeliest thing," answered the Governor, "seeing that their
ringleader belongs to this plantation. But we do not know. And there
may not be time to reach the planters, to give them warning, to arrest
these d--d traitors, scattered as they are from the James to
Rappahannock, and from Henricus to the Chesapeake. It might be best to
assemble the trainbands at this cursed spot if it can be found, and to
await their coming in force. But to know neither time nor place--to
start a hue and cry and have the storm burst before it reaches ten
plantations--to guard one point and see fire rise at another a dozen
leagues away--impossible! Gentlemen, we must come at the heart of this
matter!"
"It is most advisable," said Colonel Verney gravely. "Examine the
prisoners again," suggested Sir Charles.
"One of them is no wiser than we. You are certain as to this, Mistress
Patricia?"
"Yes, your Excellency."
"Humph! one does not know; three are dead; there remain, then, that
shaven and branded runaway and the two convicts."
"You will learn naught from the runaway, your Excellency!" called out
the overseer from where he stood at a respectful distance from the
company. "He's one of them crazy fanatics that wild horses couldn't draw
truth from. No Indian torture stake could make him speak if he didn't
want to,--nor keep him from it if he did."
"I know that kind," said the Governor, with a short laugh, "and we will
not waste time upon him, but will try if the convict--he who seems to
have been their leader--be not more amenable. Bring him in, Woodson."
When the overseer had gone, a silence fell upon the company gathered in
the master's room. The Governor paced to and fro, perplexity in his
face; the Colonel knit his grizzled brows and studied the floor; Dr.
Anthony Nash brought the writing materials displayed upon the table,
closer to him, and held a quill ready poised for dipping into the ink
horn, while the Surveyor-General with a carefully composed countenance
toyed with a pink which he took from the bowl of flowers before him. Sir
Charles leaned back in his seat and looked at Patricia who, seated
between him and her father, stared before her with hard, bright eyes.
Her lips were like a scarlet flower against the absolute pallor of her
face; her hair was a crown of pale gold. In the great chair, her white
arms resting upon the dark wood, her feet upon a carved footstool, she
looked a queen, and the knot of brilliantly dressed gentlemen her
attendant council.
The door opened and the two overseers appeared with Landless, who
advanced and stood, silent and collected, before the ring of hostile
faces.
"What is your name, sirrah?" said the Governor, throwing himself into
his chair and frowning heavily.
"Godfrey Landless."
"I am told that you are son to one Warham Landless, a so-called colonel
in the rebel army and hand in glove with the usurper himself."
"I am the son of Colonel Warham Landless of the forces of the
Commonwealth, and friend to his Highness the Lord Protector."
"Humph! And did you fight in these same forces yourself?"
"At Worcester, yes."
"Humph! the son of a traitor and rebel--traitor and rebel yourself--and
convict to boot! A pretty record! On what day was this rising to
occur?"
No answer. The Governor repeated the question. "On what day was this
precious mine to be sprung? And to what place were you to resort?"
Landless remaining silent, the Governor's face began to flush and the
veins in his forehead to swell. "Have you lost your tongue?" he said
fiercely. "If so, we will find a way to recover it."
"I shall not answer those questions," said Landless firmly.
"It is your one chance for life," said the Governor sternly. "Answer me
truly, and you may escape the gallows. Refuse, and you hang, so surely
as I sit here."
"I shall not answer them."
"Sink me if I ever knew a Roundhead so careless of his own interests,"
drawled Sir Charles. The Governor whispered to the master of the
plantation, then turned again to the prisoner.
"I give you one more chance," he said harshly. "When is this day? Where
is this place?"
"I shall not tell you."
"We will see about that," said his Excellency with compressed lips.
"Verney, send your daughter from the room. Woodson, you understand this
gear, having been in the Indies. This man is to tell us all that he
knows of this business. Call in a trustworthy slave or two to help you."
Patricia uttered a low cry, and the Surveyor-General crushed the flower
between his fingers and turned upon the Governor. "Your Excellency! I
protest! This that you would do is not lawful! Surely such harsh
measures are not needed."
The Governor's fury exploded. "Not needful!" he exclaimed in a high
voice. "Not needful, when upon these questions hang the fortunes of the
Colony! when if we fail, to-morrow may usher in a blacker forty-four!
And not lawful! I am the law in this. State, Major Carrington; I am the
King's representative, and this is my prerogative! and I say that by
fair means or foul this information must be gained. This is no time to
prate of humanity. We are to show humanity to ourselves; we are to stamp
out this lit fuse. Or does Major Carrington wish it to burn on?"
"No," said Carrington coldly. "I spoke hastily. You are right, of
course, and I will interfere no further."
An hour later Patricia stood before the hall window looking out upon the
dazzling water and the green velvet of the marshes with wide, unseeing
eyes. Her hands were clenched at her sides and upon each cheek burned a
crimson spot. Beside her crouched Betty Carrington who, upon the first
rumor of trouble at Verney Manor, had ridden over from Rosemead. Their
strained ears caught no sound from the room opposite other than the
occasional sound of the Governor's voice, raised in interrogation. There
came no answering voice. Patricia stood motionless, with eyes that never
wandered from the rich scene without, and with lips pressed together,
but Betty hid her face in the other's skirts and shivered. The door of
the master's room opened and both started violently. The overseer strode
down the hall and had laid his hand upon the latch of the door leading
to the offices, when his mistress called him to her. "Do they know? Has
the man told?" she asked with an effort.
Woodson shook his head. "He's as dumb as an oyster. Might as well try to
get anything from an Indian. They're going to try t' other--Trail."
He left the hall, but was back in five minutes' time with the forger.
They entered the master's room, and Patricia, seized by a sudden
impulse, followed them, leaving Betty trembling in the window seat.
Unnoted by all but one of the company, she slipt to a seat in the shadow
of her father's burly shoulders. He was leaning forward, talking to the
Governor, who sat very erect, his features fixed in an expression of
dogged determination. The Surveyor-General sat well behind the table,
and upon the polished wood before him lay a little heap of torn petals
and broken stems. At the far end of the room and leaning heavily against
the wall was the prisoner whose examination was just finished.
Sir Charles had seen the entrance of the lady of the manor, and he now
rose from his seat and came to her. "Not a syllable," he whispered in
answer to the question in her eyes. "Roundhead obstinacy! But I think
that this fellow will prove more malleable."
His prediction was verified. Ten minutes later the Governor rose to his
feet triumphant. "So!" he said, drawing a long breath. "We are, I think,
gentlemen, at the very core at last. The time, day after to-morrow; the
place, Poplar Spring in this county. And now to work! Those of these
d--d Oliverians whom we can reach must be arrested at once. Swift
messengers must be sent to all plantations far and near. The trainbands
must be called out. Time presses, gentlemen!"
"And these men?" said the Colonel.
"Must go to Jamestown gaol, where the one shall hang as surely as my
name is William Berkeley. For the other--"
"Your Excellency has promised me my life," said Trail cringingly, but
with an inscrutable something that was not fear in his sinister green
eyes.
"An escort must be gotten together," said the Colonel, "and the day is
far advanced. I advise keeping them here until the morning."
"See that you keep them straitly then," said the Governor.
"Trust me for that, your Excellency," said the overseer grimly.
"Then to work, gentlemen," cried the Governor, "for there is much to do
and but little time to do it in. Major Carrington, you with Mr. Peyton
will ride with me to Jamestown. Colonel Verney, you will know what
measures to take for the safety of your shire. Woodson, have the horses
brought around at once."
The Council broke up in haste and confusion, and its members, talking
eagerly, streamed into the hall. Carrington was the last in line, and he
paused before Landless. The under overseer and the slave Regulus were at
a little distance replacing the cords about Trail's arms. The
Surveyor-General cast a quick glance towards the door, saw that the last
retreating figure was that of Mr. Peyton, and approached his lips close
to Landless's ear.
"You are a brave man," he said in a low and troubled voice. "From my
soul I honor you! I would have saved you, would save you now if I could.
But I am cruelly placed."
"I have no hope for this life--and no fear," said Landless calmly.
Carrington paused irresolute, and a flush rose to his face. "I would
like to hear you say that you do not blame me," he said at last with an
effort.
"I do not blame you," said Landless.
Woodson appeared in the doorway. "The Governor is waiting, Major
Carrington."
"If I can do ought to help you, I will," said Carrington hastily, and
left the room. A moment later came the jingling of reins and the sound
of rapid hoofs quickening into the planter's pace as the Governor and
the Surveyor-General whirled away.