Half-mad with despair and misery, one thought constantly returned with
terrible persistence to Richard Frayne as he tramped up and down his
prison--for so it now seemed, though neither locks nor bars stayed his
way to freedom. The pleasant, handsomely-furnished room was the same as
it had been only a few hours before, with musical instruments and
treasured hobbies that he had collected together; and yet not the same,
for it was the cell in which he was confined by the order of the man
whose word had always been to him as a law, and in which he felt as
firmly shut in as if he had given his parole of honour not to leave it
until told to descend.
The thirst for news was again rising. Mark, they had informed him, was
lying insensible, slowly sinking into eternity, and he could not go to
his side, fall upon his knees, and tell him that he would sooner have
suffered death than this should have happened. And there, crushing him
down, as his eyes were constantly turned upon that helmet, while he
tramped the room or sank upon one of the chairs, was the thought, with
its maddening persistency, that it was better that his parents had not
lived to see their son's position--the shame and despair which were now
his lot--always that thought; for he recalled the days of sorrow, a
couple of years back, when the gallant officer, whose name had been a
power in India, was snatched away, and the loving wife and mother
followed him within a month.
Light-hearted, of an affectionate nature, and always on the warmest
terms of intimacy with his fellow-pupils, his position now seemed to him
doubly hard in his loneliness, for not one had come near him to take him
by the hand. The words raved out in the quarrel had run through them
and hardened all against him. They could have sympathised with him in
the terrible result of the encounter; but the dishonourable, criminal
act which his cousin's charge had fixed upon him soured all, and they
readily obeyed the principal's wish that he should be left to himself.
There were times when it seemed impossible to him that the charge he had
made should so have recoiled and fixed itself upon him; but, by a
strange perverseness, thus it was, and, saving by the servant, hardly a
friendly word had been spoken.
"Am I going mad?" he muttered, as he tramped up and down, holding his
throbbing head. "It seems more than I can bear!"
It was evening now, a glorious summer evening; with the mellow sunshine
lighting up the lake-like meadows, for the river was far out of bounds
and spreading still; but Richard Frayne saw nothing through the black
cloud which seemed to shut him in. Then all at once, sending an
electric thrill through him, there was a sharp tap at the door, and he
turned to meet the visitor.
Only Jerry, who came in bearing a napkin-covered tray, holding it
resting upon the edge as he cleared a space upon the table.
"Well?" cried Richard, hoarsely.
"Your dinner, sir, that I was to bring up."
"How is he? How is he?" panted Richard.
The man looked at him sadly, shook his head, and went on clearing a
place for the tray.
"Why don't you speak?" cried Richard, fiercely. "Not--not--?"
He could not finish.
"No, sir; and the big doctor hasn't got here yet. There you are, sir.
Now do sit down and eat a bit; you must want something!"
"Take it away!"
"No, no, sir; do, please, try!"
"Take it away, I tell you!"
Jerry stood looking at him piteously, rubbing his hands one over the
other as if he were washing them.
"I know it goes agin' you, sir, of course; but you ought, sir; indeed,
you ought!"
"Tell me," cried Richard, "who is with him?"
"The doctor, sir, and the nurse; and master's always going up and down.
I met him only just now that upset and white it gave me quite a turn.
He shook his head at me. `A terrible business, Brigley, very!' he says;
`a terrible business! I wouldn't have had it happen for a thousand
pounds!'"
"There, go away now, Jerry! Pray, pray, don't stop! Take all that
down!"
"No, sir; I can't do that!" said the man. "It was master's orders, and
you must really try to eat."
Richard sank into a chair and covered his face with his hands, but only
sprang up the next minute upon feeling his shoulder touched, and saw the
man leaning over him.
"Can't I do nothing for you, S'Richard?" whispered Jerry. "I'd do
anything for you, sir; indeed, I would."
"Go to my cousin's room and wait till you can get some news. Jerry, if
it comes to the worst, I shall go mad."
The man looked at him compassionately, and then went out on tiptoe, to
return after an interval to thrust in his head, which he gave a mournful
shake, and then withdrew.
The evening passed and the night was gliding on, with Richard still
pacing the room from time to time, when Jerry once more came to the
door, glided in, closed it, and hurriedly whispered--
"The doctor's down from London, sir, and he's still in Mr Mark's room."
"What does he say?" cried Richard, wildly.
"Can't tell yet, sir; but as soon as ever I hear I'll come back."
Jerry crept away, and the prisoner sat down once more to think. He felt
that he would soon know now--that he would shortly have to face the
awful truth--and a chilling feeling of despair came upon him with
redoubled violence; while, as he sat there, he gave up all hope. There
was the future to face, and now a great change seemed to come over him,
as if it were the energy begotten of despair.
There was the worst to face, with the inquest, the examination, and the
possibility of the wrong construction still being placed upon his acts.
Everything had gone against him, everything would continue to go against
him, and he told himself that it was impossible to face it. His word
seemed to go for nothing; and, yielding to the horror of his position,
he sat there in the darkest part of his room, wishing earnestly that he
could exchange places with the unhappy lad lying yonder between life and
death.
Suddenly he started, for, sounding solemn and strange in the midnight
air, the bell of the Cathedral boomed out the hour, the long-drawn
strokes of the hammer seeming as if they would never come to an end;
while, when the last stroke fell, it was succeeded in the silence of the
night by a dull, quivering vibration that slowly died away.
And there, with overstrained nerves, Richard Frayne sat, waiting still
for the coming of the news. He must have that, he told himself, before
he could act; but still it did not come.
Twice over he went to the door, with the intention of opening it to
listen, but he shrank away.
No. He felt that he was a prisoner, and he could not lay a hand upon
the lock. He would wait until the man came.
But it was half-past one before the door was opened and Jerry stole in
on tiptoe.
"Think I wasn't a-coming, sir?" he said, sadly.
"The news!--the news!" gasped Richard.
Jerry was silent, as he stood gazing wistfully at the inquirer.
"Can't you see that I am dying to hear?" cried the lad imploringly.
"Yes, sir," came in a broken voice; "but I've got that to tell you
that'll break your 'art as well, sir."
"Then it is the worst?" groaned Richard.
"Yes, sir: master told me. He rang for me to tell me as soon as the
doctor had gone to the hotel. I let him out, sir. Yes, sir, master
rung for me to tell me; and, of course, he meant it so that I might come
up and tell you. `Brigley,' he says, `the doctor gives us no hope at
all. There was a piece of bone pressing on the brain, he says, and this
the doctors removed; but the shock was too much for the poor fellow, and
he won't last the night.'"
Richard sat back in his chair, rigid, as if cut in stone, and Jerry went
on--
"Don't look like that, sir; don't, please! You wanted me to tell you.
It was my dooty, sir; and now, sir, you know the worst, do take a bit of
advice, sir. Even if you don't undress, go and lie down, and have a
good sleep till morning. There, sir, I must, too. I'll bring you a cup
of tea about six, sir. Good-night, sir."
"Good-night," said Richard, quietly.
"Ah, that's better," said Jerry to himself. "Now he knows the worst,
he's easier like. What's o'clock?"
He drew a big-faced watch from his pocket by its steel chain.
"Harpus one; not much time for my snooze. I'll just go and make up
cook's fire, put the kettle over, and have a nap there. It's no use to
go to bed now."
Jerry did as he had promised to himself, and finally sank back in a kind
of Windsor chair, dropping off to sleep the next instant, and, by force
of habit, waking just at the time he had arranged in his mind.
"Ten minutes to six," he muttered, smiling. "I've got a head like a
'larum. Just upon the boil, too," he added, addressing the kettle, as
he changed it from the trivet on to the glowing coals.
The clocks were striking six as he went softly upstairs with a little
tray, and, turning the handle, entered Richard Frayne's room, where one
of the windows was open; and all looked bright and cheery in the early
morning sunshine as he set the tray down upon the table beside the
larger one, which showed that some bread had been broken off, but the
rest of the contents were untouched.
"It's a shame to wake him," thought Jerry; "cup o' tea's a fine thing
when you're tired out, but a good long sleep's a deal better. Poor
chap, I won't disturb him, but I'll take the tea in and put it on a
chair by his bedside. He shall see as I didn't forget him in trouble.
On'y to think him a real gent with a handle to his name and lots of
money to come in for when he's one-and-twenty. Right as a trivet
yes'day morning and now in such a hobble as this, just like any common
chap as goes and kills his mate. They can't hang him, but I s'pose
they'll give it to him pretty hot, poor chap! Juries is such beasts,
they'd take 'n give it to him hard because he's a real gent, and make as
though keeping up the glorious constitootion and freedom and liberty of
the subject to everybody alike. Well, I s'pose it's right, but I'd let
him off in a minute if I was the judge.--Come on!"
This was to the tea, whose fragrance he sniffed as he neared the waiter,
and went softly to the archway where the curtain shut off the bedroom.
"Poor boy!--for he is nothing but a boy--I am sorry for him, and no
mistake. Well, ups and downs in life we see, and you can't escape
troubles, even if you're a Prince o' Wales."
Jerry softly drew the curtain aside and peered through without a sound;
and as he let the heavy drapery fall, he uttered an ejaculation, put the
tray on the washstand, and swung the heavy curtains right along the
brass pole, making the rings give quite a clash, as the morning sun
shone through, showing that the bed had not been disturbed.
In an instant the man's eyes were searching about the room, and he saw
that a suit of clothes lay where they had been tossed upon a chair,
while a wardrobe door was open.