The following night it was again Lindley who was first at the tryst
under Master Timothy Ogilvie's gateway. A gusty wind blew down the
street, and there was little comfort to be found in any shelter that
was near at hand. Just as Lindley's patience was about exhausted,
though, he saw a slender shadow move with hesitating steps out from
the gate, then scurry back to its protection. A voice, muffled in the
folds of a cloak that covered the figure, a voice sweet as a silver
bell, called softly:
"Master Lindley, Master Lindley, are you not here? Are you not
waiting?"
Lindley advanced somewhat slowly until he saw that a woman stood half
in, half out, of the shadow.
"But is it not you, Johan?" he asked, with some hesitation.
"Nay, 'tis I, Lady Barbara Gordon," a girl's voice answered.
"Judith--Johan, the lad that came to Judith, told me that you were to
take him to-night in my guise to Lord Farquhart. But I would speak to
Lord Farquhart myself. I must see Lord Farquhart myself. I may not
have another chance. You have the permits of which the boy spoke? You
will take me in his place?"
She advanced slowly, still hesitating, her manner pleading as her
words had pleaded; her trembling voice seeming but an echo of the
tremors that shook her frame.
Lindley hurriedly tried to reassure her. Yes, he said, he had the
permits. Assuredly he would take her. And yet, even as he spoke, he
chafed at the woman's interference with Johan's plan of rescue. Why
could she not have let the boy offer Lord Farquhart a chance to
escape? But nothing of this was in his manner. Instead he soothed her
fears, assuring her that 'twas but a short distance to the place where
Farquhart was lodged, and, undoubtedly, the stormy night would aid
their purpose, for few inquisitive stragglers would be abroad.
With faltering steps the lady moved by his side. Once he thought he
heard a sob, and he laid a hand on her arm to comfort her.
"You must have courage, my lady," he muttered. "You must take courage
to Lord Farquhart."
Once in the flare of a passing torch he saw the girl quite distinctly.
She was draped all in scarlet, a scarlet velvet coat and hood, and,
underneath, a scarlet petticoat. One hand held a corner of the cloak
about her chin and lips, and, under the drooping hood, he saw a black
silk mask. She shrank toward him as the light fell on her and caught
his arm with her free hand. He laid his hand protectingly on hers, and
after that, until they reached the sheriff's lodge, she held fast to
him.
Even when Lindley showed his permits to the guard on duty, she still
held him fast, and it was well that she did, for she seemed almost to
swoon when their entry was denied.
All permits to see the prisoner had been revoked at sundown, the
fellow said. The prisoner's case had come before the court that
afternoon. He was to be sentenced in the morning at ten o'clock. No,
Lord Grimsby had not been present. Lord Grimsby had been summoned from
Padusey, however, to pronounce the highwayman's doom.
For an instant the Lady Barbara seemed about to fall forward. Her
entire weight hung on Lindley's arm. He supported her as best he
could, but his own voice shook as he whispered once more:
"Courage, courage, my lady!"
Then his anger vented itself upon the guard.
"Have you no sense, blockhead?" he cried. "How dare you blurt out your
tidings in such a careless fashion? Do you not see the lady? Did I not
tell you that it was the Lady Barbara Gordon's name in that permit?
You've likely killed her with your words."
For, indeed, it seemed a dead weight that he held in his arms. The
guard thrust forward a bench, and Lindley tried to place the lady down
upon it, but she clung to him almost convulsively. When he attempted
to take the cloak from over her mouth, he heard her whispered words.
"Ah, get me away from here, away from here--anywhere. I can walk,
I----Indeed I can walk!"
Then she stood erect and turned away from the guarded door, but
Lindley still hesitated there.
"At ten o'clock you said the prisoner would be sentenced?" he asked.
"Ay, at ten o'clock, they said."
Then Lindley heard the Lady Barbara's voice.
"You said Lord Grimsby would come to-night from Padusey?" she asked,
faintly.
"Yes, from Padusey, to-night," the guard answered once again.
Why did she care from where Lord Grimsby would come, Lindley demanded,
savagely, of himself. Was this a time to think of trivial things like
that? And although he supported her as tenderly, as courteously, as he
could, he felt in every fiber of him that it was this woman alone who
was responsible for Lord Farquhart's fate, and he longed to be free
from her. Monotonously he was counting the distance that must be
traversed with her clinging to his arm, when suddenly she drew away
from him and stopped short.
"Enough of this, Master Lindley!" It was Johan's voice that came from
the hidden hooded face.
"Johan!" cried Lindley, now in a frenzy of indignation. "What do you
mean by bringing your cursed play acting into a tragedy like this?
Have you no heart whatsoever?"
"Nay, I've heart enough and to spare," the boy returned. "And 'tis not
all play acting, by any means. Did I not tell you that I would
personate the Lady Barbara? Did I not have to practice my part before
I passed the guards? Did you not serve me as well for that as anyone?
But there's no time for more of it. And I've no time for foolish words
and explanations, either." He had thrown aside the mask, the scarlet
coat and hood, and at last he stepped from the scarlet petticoat,
standing slim and long in black silk hose and short black tunic, his
black curls that fringed his small black cap alone shading his eyes.
"Listen to me, Master Lindley, and save your reproaches until I've
time for them. There are still more chances to save Lord Farquhart,
and not one must be lost. Not one second can be wasted. Take these
woman's togs and throw them inside Master Timothy Ogilvie's gate,
where they'll be found in the morning. I--I leave you here."
"But where are you going?" demanded Lindley. "You cannot cross London
at night in that guise, with no coat or cloak about you. You've
woman's shoes on your feet. You're mad, boy, and you'll be held by the
first sentry you pass."
Johan, who had turned away, stopped and came back to Lindley's side.
"Ay, perhaps you're right," he said. "Give me your coat and lend me
your sword. I may have need of it, and you've but to pass Master
Ogilvie's, and then to reach your own lodging, a safer transit than
mine by many odds. And--and, Master Lindley, wait in your lodgings
until you hear from me. Wait there unless it nears ten o'clock. If
you've not heard from me by then, you'll find me there, where Lord
Farquhart is to be sentenced, and--and be on the alert for any signal
that may be made to you by anyone, and--and----" He had buckled
Lindley's sword about his waist, he had wrapped himself in Lindley's
coat, and still he hesitated. Suddenly he dashed his hand across his
eyes. "Ah, I've no time for more," he cried, "save only--only
good-by."
He was gone into the darkness, and Lindley was left alone--coatless
and swordless--with a bundle of scarlet garments under his arm, and,
in his heart, an inexplicable longing to follow the boy, Johan, into
the night.