136“Go to your room, Miriam,” I heard him say to her. “I have no use for you here. As for this man Le Bourse, if you have any dealings with him I shall lock you up. Go. Do you hear me?”
The girl did not move. She folded her arms across her breast, at the same time drawing herself up proudly. She was tall and slender, and of a fine, dignified3 figure.
“Father,” she replied, “there is no use threatening me. You know that I am not a coward. If you do not intend to make some reparation to this man who has come to seek his sister, I shall. You can at least be kind to him. You know only too well that unkindness here hastened, perhaps caused, the poor girl’s unhappy death.”
She brushed her hand across her eyes. I blessed her in my heart for that little act. The patroon, however, grew angry. He lifted a wine glass from the table and held it in his hand, as if he intended to throw it at her.
“Do not talk to me of her,” he burst out. “Not a word of her or you shall repent4 it. Now go. You have already seen too much of this man. I shall not tolerate it.”
The girl bowed with proper dignity, but she did not move. She had still a word of protest that must be said.
“I shall obey you, sir, but I must say what I feel. I shall not act behind your back. You shall know exactly what I intend to do. I shall see him again 137and tell him all I can of the miserable5 fate of his sister and I shall do all in my power to sooth his sorrow. I loved Ruth even if she was but—”
Her words were cut short by the crash of breaking glass. She had sprung to one side just in time to evade6 the flying goblet7 which her father hurled8 at her.
“Will you not obey me? Are you not my daughter?”
“I am you daughter, but for all that, father—”
She stopped speaking and left the room abruptly9, for at that moment another door was opened, which I could not see, though I heard the latch10 click distinctly. Then Louis Van Ramm entered the room and came to his master’s side. I heard the patroon say something to him about the “Wench, my daughter.” Then he and the dwarf11 fell to talking in tones so low that I could only hear now and then an excited exclamation12 of surprise.
I can hardly express the feelings that I experienced at that moment. From where I crouched13 in the shrubbery, shivering with cold, I could look upon the wide space where I had seen the Red Band drilling the night before, surrounded by the jumping shadows of the torches. The picture of the girl dressed in white, standing14 upon the platform while the troopers obeyed the commands of their chief, and the impatient gesture with which she had been dismissed by her father, were all clear in my mind’s eye. I had not thought then that 138within a day I should have found a friend within the walls of the manor. Yet such was the case. The girl was disposed to treat me kindly15. I did not care so much for that. My heart was drawn16 towards her because she had loved Ruth, and because she was now suffering for that affection. I could not but admire her spirit, and the quiet dignity with which she stood to her convictions before the hot anger of her parent; nor could I observe without still greater admiration17 the noble pride that prompted her to be silent the moment another person entered the room. Of course I did not know then as I knew later how unlike her usual manner this severity towards her father was. But I soon learned that there were moments when his peculiar18 infirmity demanded such firmness and that this was one of them.
While I mused19 upon the scene before me and all it stood for, the patroon and his retainer sat at the table in busy conversation. At last Van Volkenberg leaned back in his chair and fitted the palms of his hands together, tapping the finger tips slightly.
“Good news, Louis,” he said, for the first time raising his voice so that I could hear him distinctly. “This time we trip the Earl, God’s curse upon him.”
For a moment they sat silent, the master lost in thought. Evidently the news communicated to Louis in the meeting by Webber’s tavern20 was vitally connected with the welfare of the Earl of Bellamont. 139At last Van Volkenberg was roused by some question from his companion that I could not hear.
“You are right,” the patroon answered. “On my life we must not let this chance slip. Before day-light—” I lost what followed, for he bent21 over the table with a pen in his hand and began to write.
For some time I watched the end of the quill22 nodding back and forth23 as he wrote, evidently in great haste and excitement. Twice he tore the paper across several times and began to write upon a new sheet. When he had finished, he rose, folding what he had written carefully as he did so. He took a step or two away from the table towards the window. This movement brought him so close to me that I overheard what followed without difficulty.
“This must be printed and posted before day-light, Louis. Take it to Bradford. Rout24 him out of bed. Give him good reasons. It must be done at once. Do not take no from him. Hurry, Louis, my gay hawk25. We shall peck the fine Earl to the bone by noon to-morrow.”
At that both men left the apartment. I set out immediately along the footpath26 that joined with the road to the city. I had not far to go in order to reach the main road, but the distance was far enough to bring me for a moment in peril27 of my life. I was still within hail of the house when I heard dull, heavy thuds falling in quick succession 140behind me, and growing louder with every step. I turned to look back. A hound was making towards me in great leaps across the moonlight. The next moment he sprang upon me. Though I braced28 myself for the shock, I fell heavily to the ground. In this moment of danger, I had enough presence of mind to thrust my hand into the brute’s mouth and to grip tight hold of his lower jaw29. We writhed30 and twisted about the ground for several minutes. Once I was knocked so violently against the trunk of a tree that it was a miracle that I did not lose my hold. We rolled back together and in some way, I know not how, I fell uppermost with the point of my knee on the dog’s side. Quick as a flash, I gripped my free hand on his throat. He gasped31 for breath till his whole body shook and I with it. But I had won the fall and did not rise till he lay motionless at my feet.
Such an escape as that makes a man sober. I continued along the road, thinking of many things; above all, of how it might have ended. By what a slender thread and how tenaciously32 we cling to life! Yesterday, when my sorrow first fell upon me with its full weight, there was nothing terrible about the face of death; but to-night, with his grim features close before me, I felt that heedless courage which even the most miserable always feel, though they would thank God for cowardice33. With this thought came another: How Ruth must have felt! She had crossed the gulf34 that I had fought to draw 141back from. Not till then did my thoughts return to the work in hand—the paper and the dwarf’s errand. Almost immediately I heard the clatter35 of horse hoofs36 breaking the silence behind me.
In a moment Louis Van Ramm dashed by me at full gallop37, raising a cloud of dust as he rode, and sending a flaw of wind into the roadside bushes where I had concealed38 myself at the first sound of his approach.
“So you will trap the Earl, will you?” thought I. “Do not reckon without me, Louis Van Ramm.”
Then I set out running, and was soon at the fort.
It had been scarce six years since William Bradford had come from Philadelphia to set up his printing press in New York. As I passed the mouth of the street where Bradford lived I could hear Louis kicking and pounding at the printer’s door, for what reason beyond his master’s hest I was soon to learn.
At the fort I found some difficulty in gaining access to the Earl; but, by means of the password which he had communicated to me, and a little threat and bluster39 on my own account, I was soon inside the walls. The Earl heard my fragmentary tale with interest.
“I can easily imagine what has been communicated to him,” said Bellamont. “But what Bradford has to do with it is beyond my penetration40.”
He rang a bell upon the table. A man-at-arms 142appeared, whom he bade summon the captain of the guard.
“Take a squad41 of men,” commanded the Earl as soon as the man had appeared for duty. “Take a squad of men and arrest William Bradford and anyone else whom you may find at his shop. At once. To your duty.”
The Earl at a pinch, as Lady Marmaduke had said, was no man to bandy words, though, to be sure, he said to me as soon as the soldiers had set out that he wished I had got my information in any other way than spying. I did not remind him that he had set me to watch, or that there was no other way on earth by which I could have followed his instructions, for I knew that if I said anything his conscience would suggest some kind of harmless watchfulness42 from a distance.
“Your Excellency’s welfare is always above my own,” I said humbly43, though I shared none of his scruples44.
“Ay, doubtless,” he answered musingly45. “Well, let us see how it turns out.”
Thirty minutes later the prisoner was under arrest in the fort. The Earl’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction over the intelligence he had received through the arrest. For the second time he summoned the man-at-arms.
“As soon as it is late enough I want you to dispatch a messenger to Patroon Van Volkenberg, and to the other members of my council, notifying 143them individually that there will be a meeting of my privy-council at ten o’clock to-morrow.” Then he turned to me. “The clouds are breaking, Le Bourse. I doubt not there will be a flash of light and a clap of thunder hard upon ten o’clock.”
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1
manor
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| n.庄园，领地 | |
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conceal
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| v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽 | |
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dignified
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| a.可敬的，高贵的 | |
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repent
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| v.悔悟，悔改，忏悔，后悔 | |
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miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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6
evade
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| vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避 | |
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goblet
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| n.高脚酒杯 | |
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8
hurled
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| v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的过去式和过去分词 )；大声叫骂 | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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latch
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| n.门闩，窗闩；弹簧锁 | |
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dwarf
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| n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小 | |
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exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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crouched
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| v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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16
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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mused
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| v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事） | |
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tavern
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| n.小旅馆，客栈；小酒店 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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quill
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| n.羽毛管；v.给（织物或衣服）作皱褶 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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rout
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| n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮 | |
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hawk
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| n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员 | |
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footpath
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| n.小路，人行道 | |
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peril
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| n.(严重的)危险；危险的事物 | |
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28
braced
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| adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来 | |
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jaw
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| n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训 | |
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writhed
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| （因极度痛苦而）扭动或翻滚( writhe的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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31
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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tenaciously
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| 坚持地 | |
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cowardice
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| n.胆小，怯懦 | |
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34
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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36
hoofs
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| n.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的名词复数 )v.（兽的）蹄，马蹄( hoof的第三人称单数 ) | |
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gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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38
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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39
bluster
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| v.猛刮；怒冲冲的说；n.吓唬，怒号；狂风声 | |
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40
penetration
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| n.穿透，穿人，渗透 | |
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41
squad
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| n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组 | |
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42
watchfulness
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| 警惕，留心； 警觉（性） | |
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43
humbly
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| adv. 恭顺地，谦卑地 | |
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44
scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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45
musingly
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| adv.沉思地，冥想地 | |
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