At the end of the stone passage, Edgar found Martin Oldkirk waiting
for him; and proceeding in silence, they issued forth from the old
workhouse, but not by the front entrance, passing through a small door
at the back, the key of which the countryman seemed to possess for his
own private use, as he put it in his pocket after having turned it in
the lock. As soon as they were a few steps from the building, Edgar
turned towards his companion, saying, "I must find Lane, the
blacksmith, to-night. I suppose, my shortest way is through Langley?"
"No, sir," answered Oldkirk, "I will show you a shorter way than that;
and I had better go with you too, for if I don't, you'll not make much
of Edward Lane. We must take the first turning through the fields:
there's a stile a couple of hundred yards up."
Without reply Edgar proceeded along the road; and they had nearly
reached the stile of which Oldkirk spoke, when four or five men and a
little boy sprang out from the hedge upon them. Two of them seized
Edgar by the collar; and though he made an effort to shake himself
free, it is probable he would have offered no violent resistance if
Oldkirk had not struck violently right and left, knocking down one of
the assailants, and severely hurting another. The men struck again in
their own defence, and a general scuffle took place, in the midst of
which, without knowing from what hand it came, Edgar received a severe
blow on the head from a stick. The fire flashed from his eyes, his
brain seemed to reel, and everything passing from his sight, he fell
senseless to the ground.
When Mr. Adelon recovered his recollection, he could not for some
minutes conceive where he was, for all the objects around were new and
strange to him. He was stretched upon a bed in a large but low-roofed
room, with a woman and two men standing by him, and applying some cold
lotions to his head. His brain seemed confused and dizzy, and a
violent aching pain over his brows showed him that he had been very
severely handled. The remembrance of all that had occurred came back
to him almost immediately; and turning to one of the men, he demanded
where he was, and why he had been so assaulted.
"You are at Farmer Grange's for the present, master," replied the man;
"and no one would have hurt you, if you had not resisted. We came out
to get hold of a party of those Chartists who are charged with being
concerned in that business at Barhampton, and if you choose to go
consorting with them, you must take the consequences."
"Have you a warrant?" demanded Edgar, raising himself on the bed.
"We've got warrants against five or six on 'em," answered the man;
"Martin Oldkirk, Neddy Lane, Eaton, and others."
"Have you a warrant against me?" demanded Edgar; "though I need not
ask the question, for I know very well you have not."
"As to that, I can't say," was the man's answer, "for I don't know who
you are yet; but you were consorting with one of 'em, at all events."
"You know very well that I am Sir Arthur Adelon's son," replied the
young gentleman; "and I demand that you show me your warrant against
me. If you have one, I shall submit to the law, of course; but if you
have not, I insist upon your suffering me to go home directly."
"That I shan't do, you may be sure," said the man. "I don't know who
you are, or anything about you; and I shall wait till the constable of
the hundred comes back, at all events. He's gone to Barhampton to find
a surgeon for your head, that you would have broke, whether we liked
it or no. He won't be long, I dare say, and you must stay quiet till
he returns."
Resistance would be in vain Edgar well knew, and he was forced to
submit, though most unwillingly; but gradually a stronger power
mastered him. Violent and general headache came on, a sensation of
feverish langour spread over his limbs, and by the time that the
little clock which was ticking against the wall struck two, he felt
that he was almost incapable of moving.
In about half an hour afterwards the head constable of the hundred
came back from Barhampton, with the surgeon who was accustomed to
attend Sir Arthur Adelon's family; and after examining his patient's
head, and having felt his pulse, asking two or three questions at the
same time as to what sensations he experienced, he drew forth his
lancet, and proceeded, according to the old practice, to bleed his
patient largely. Whether the custom of so doing be good or not, Edgar
Adelon certainly felt great relief, though a degree of faint
drowsiness spread over him at the same time. To his inquiry as to
whether he could not be moved to Brandon, the surgeon shook his head,
saying, "Impossible;" and Edgar then proceeded to complain of the
manner in which he had been treated by the constable and those who
accompanied him. In the midst of his statement, however, the
overpowering sensation of weariness which he felt prevailed over even
anger on his own account and anxiety for his friend, his eyelids
dropped heavily once or twice, and he fell into a profound sleep.
When he woke on the following morning it was broad daylight, and he
found Mr. Filmer sitting by his bedside. His head still ached, but he
felt better than on the preceding night, and a long explanation ensued
as to the occurrences which had brought him into the state in which
Mr. Filmer found him. As it was clear no warrant was out against him,
and the men who had apprehended him had retired from the farm-house,
somewhat apprehensive of the consequences of what they had done, Edgar
expressed his determination to rise immediately and pursue the object
which he had in view when he was seized. He explained in general terms
to his companion the nature of the business he was upon; and no
arguments of the priest, bearing upon the state of his own health, and
the danger of the step he proposed, would have had any effect, had not
Mr. Filmer added the assurance that Mr. Dudley's trial would not come
on for several days, as he had received intimation that very morning
that it was far down on the list, and that all the Chartists who had
been taken at Barhampton were to be proceeded against in the first
instance.
"Besides, Edgar," he said, "the object you have in view can perhaps be
more easily attained. If you will tell me the name of the man you are
seeking I will go to him myself, and find means, one way or another,
to bring him hither to speak with you."
The idea seemed to Edgar a good one, for in truth he felt little equal
to the task, and after a few words more of explanation, Mr. Filmer set
out upon his errand. As he went, Edgar turned his eyes towards the
clock, and perceived to his surprise that it was nearly noon; but the
priest did not return till the sky was beginning to grow gray, and
then brought the unpleasant intelligence that Edward Lane was nowhere
to be found.
"He has probably heard of there being a warrant out against him," Mr.
Filmer said, "and has concealed himself till these assizes are over;
knowing well, as we all know, that it is one of the bad customs of
this country, whatever be the government, to let political offenders
off easily if they avoid the first pursuit of justice, while those who
are early apprehended have the law administered not only with
strictness but with passion."
"I must find him, at all events," said Edgar, "and that speedily."
"I shall know where he is by to-morrow morning," replied Mr. Filmer,
with a meaning smile. "I have directed several shrewd and trustworthy
members of my own flock, who know him well, to obtain information, and
communicate it to me at once. I will then let you know, my dear son.
So make your mind easy, for not an hour shall elapse after I have
received the intelligence before it is in your possession."
Again Edgar Adelon suffered himself to be tranquillized by assurances
which would have had no effect, had he not been enfeebled by illness.
The next morning when he woke his headache was gone, and his mind was
fresh and clear, but he still felt very feeble, and willingly lay in
bed till the good farmer's wife brought his breakfast, and the hour
appointed for the surgeon's visit had nearly come. He wondered,
indeed, that Mr. Filmer had not been with him, that Eda had neither
come nor sent; and the doubts which she had raised regarding the
sincerity of the priest began to recur unpleasantly to his mind. He
became uneasy, restless; and when the medical man at length arrived,
three quarters of an hour after his time, he shook his head, saying,
"You are not quite so well today, Mr. Adelon, and must remain
perfectly quiet."
"It is lying here idle," answered Edgar Adelon, "when I have many
important things to do. I should be quite well were I up."
"You must rise on no account to-day," replied the surgeon; "and,
indeed, I am very glad to find that you did not get up, which I almost
anticipated you might do, as I am a little later than the hour I
appointed. I know your impatient spirit of old, my young friend." And
he smiled facetiously.
"I certainly thought you never would come," replied Edgar; and the
surgeon, fearful that he might have given some offence to the son of a
wealthy patient, hastened to explain. "The fact is," he said, "that I
was anxious to hear the trial of some of these Chartists, and rode
over to ---- early this morning. I was detained, however, longer than
I expected by a poor woman who is suffering under ----"
"But what came of them?" exclaimed Edgar Adelon, eagerly, well knowing
that when the worthy gentleman got upon an interesting case there was
no end of it. "The Chartists, I mean. Were any of the trials over?"
"Oh, no!" answered the surgeon. "Their trials are put off till the
next assizes. The case of your acquaintance, Mr. Dudley, was just
coming on. I should have stayed to hear it if I had had time; but as I
promised to be over here by eleven I hurried away, otherwise I would
have brought you all the news."
He spoke in the most commonplace tone in the world; and Edgar at that
moment hated him mortally; but he said not another word, and kept his
eyes shut almost all the time that his surgeon remained, as if he were
inclined to go to sleep again. As soon as the man of healing was gone,
however, he sprang up in his bed, hurried on his clothes, and without
even waiting to wash himself or brush his hair, surprised the good
woman of the house by appearing in the kitchen of the farm.
"La, sir!" she exclaimed, "I am glad to see you up again. I hope
you're better."
"Oh! yes, quite well now, thank you, Mrs. Grange," replied the young
gentleman, with a swimming head and a feeling of faint weakness in all
his limbs. "I am going out to take a ride, if your husband will lend
me a horse."
"That he will, I am sure, sir," answered the farmer's wife; and
running to the window of the kitchen, she screamed out into the yard,
"Grange! Grange! here is Mr. Adelon quite well again, and wants you to
lend him your nag to take a ride."
"Certainly, wife," answered the farmer, coming out of a barn on the
opposite side of the court. "When will he like him?"
"Directly," answered Edgar Adelon, eagerly, and speaking over the good
woman's shoulder; "it will refresh me and do me good."
"He shall be up in a minute, then, sir," answered the farmer. "I am
glad to see you well again. I'll just take some of the hair off his
heels, and comb out his mane a bit----"
But Edgar did not stay to hear more, and hurrying back into the room
to which he had been first taken, sought for his hat, which he found
sadly battered and soiled. Without waiting even to brush off the dirt,
he proceeded at once to cut short the farmer's unnecessary
preparations, and mounting the horse, as soon as he could obtain it,
rode away at a quick trot towards the county town. He knew not what he
sought; he had no definite object in going; but he felt that he had
been deceived, that he had been kept in idleness, while the fate of
his friend was in jeopardy, and his impatience increased every moment
till the farmer's nag was pushed into an unwonted gallop. He slackened
his pace a little, it is true, as he entered the town, but still rode
very fast to an inn close by the courts, and ringing the bell
furiously, gave his horse to the hostler.
In a few moments he was pushing his way through the crowd in the
entrance, and the next instant he caught sight of Dudley, standing
with his arms crossed upon his chest, and his eyes fixed upon the
jury-box. His brow was calm, but very stern; there was no fear in his
fine eyes, but they were grave, even to sadness. On the opposite side
were the jury, with their foreman leaning a little forward; and at the
same instant a voice, coming from just below the bench, demanded, in a
loud tone, "How say you, gentlemen of the jury; Guilty, or not
guilty?"
"Guilty of manslaughter, my lord," replied the foreman.
The eyes of Edgar Adelon turned dim, his brain reeled, and he fell
back amongst the crowd without uttering a word.