Elster's Folly by Mrs. Henry Wood (buy e reader .TXT) 📕

Gordon Was Really Dead. It Has Been More Than A Conviction. I Always Said

There Were No Grounds For Connecting The Two Together."

"I Had My Grounds For Doing It," Remarked The Barrister. "Gorton,  It

Seems,  Has Been In Australia Ever Since. No Wonder Green Could Not

Unearth Him In London. He's Back Again On A Visit,  Looking Like A

Gentleman; And Really I Can't Discover That There Was Ever Anything

Against Him,  Except That He Was Down In The World. Taylor Met Him The

Other Day,  And I Had Him Brought To My Chambers; And Have Told You The

Result."

"You Do Not Now Feel Any Doubt That Gordon's Dead?"

"None At All. Your Friend,  Gordon Of Kircudbright,  Was The One Who

Embarked,  Or Ought To Have Embarked,  On The _Morning Star_,  Homeward

Bound," Said Mr. Carr. And He Forthwith Told Lord Hartledon What The Man

Had Said.

A Silence Ensued. Lord Hartledon Was In Deep And Evidently Not Pleasant

Thought; And The Barrister Stole A Glance At Him.

"Hartledon,  Take Comfort. I Am As Cautious By Nature As I Believe It Is

Possible For Any One To Be; And I Am Sure The Man Is Dead,  And Can Never

Rise Up To Trouble You."

"I Have Been Sure Of That For Years," Replied Hartledon Quietly. "I Have

Just Said So."

"Then What Is Disturbing You?"

"Oh,  Carr,  How Can You Ask It?" Came The Rejoinder. "What Is It Lies On

My Mind Day And Night; Is Wearing Me Out Before My Time? Discovery May Be

Avoided; But When I Look At The Children--At The Boy Especially--It Would

Have Turned Some Men Mad," He More Quietly Added,  Passing His Hand Across

His Brow. "As Long As He Lives,  I Cannot Have Rest From Pain. The Sins Of

The Fathers--"

"Yes,  Yes," Interposed Mr. Carr,  Hastily. "Still The Case Is Light,

Compared With What We Once Dreaded."

"Light For Me,  Heavy For Him."

Mr. Carr Remained With Them Until The Monday: He Then Went Back To London

And Work; And Time Glided On Again. An Event Occurred The Following

Winter Which Shall Be Related At Once; More Especially As Nothing Of

Moment Took Place In Those Intervening Months Needing Special Record.

The Man Pike,  Who Still Occupied His Shed Undisturbed,  Had Been Ailing

For Some Time. An Attack Of Rheumatic Fever In The Summer Had Left Him

Little Better Than A Cripple. He Crawled Abroad Still When He Was Able,

And _Would_ Do So,  In Spite Of What Mr. Hillary Said; Would Lie About The

Damp Ground In A Lawless,  Gipsying Sort Of Manner; But By The Time Winter

Came All That Was Over,  And Mr. Pike's Career,  As Foretold By The

Surgeon,  Was Drawing Rapidly To A Close. Mrs. Gum Was His Good Samaritan,

As She Had Been In The Fever Some Years Before,  Going In And Out And

Attending To Him; And In A Reasonable Way Pike Wanted For Nothing.

"How Long Can I Last?" He Abruptly Asked The Doctor One Morning. "Needn't

Fear To Say. _She_'S The Only One That Will Take On; I Shan't."

He Alluded To Mrs. Gum,  Who Had Just Gone Out. The Surgeon Considered.

"Two Or Three Days."

"As Much As That?"

"I Think So."

"Oh!" Said Pike. "When It Comes To The Last Day I Should Like To See Lord

Hartledon."

"Why The Last Day?"

The Man's Pinched Features Broke Into A Smile; Pleasant And Fair Features

Once,  With A Gentle Look Upon Them. The Black Wig And Whiskers Lay Near

Him; But The Real Hair,  Light And Scanty,  Was Pushed Back From The Damp

Brow.

"No Use,  Then,  To Think Of Giving Me Up: No Time Left For It."

"I Question If Lord Hartledon Would Give You Up Were You In Rude Health.

I'm Sure He Would Not," Added Mr. Hillary,  Endorsing His Opinion Rather

Emphatically. "If Ever There Was A Kindly Nature In The World,  It's His.

What Do You Want With Him?"

"I Should Like To Say A Word To Him In Private," Responded Pike.

"Then You'd Better Not Wait To Say It. I'll Tell Him Of Your Wish. It's

All Safe. Why,  Pike,  If The Police Themselves Came They Wouldn't Trouble

To Touch You Now."

"I Shouldn't Much Care If They Did," Said The Man. "_I_ Haven't Cared For

A Long While; But There Were The Others,  You Know."

"Yes," Said Mr. Hillary.

"Look Here," Said Pike; "No Need To Tell Him Particulars; Leave Them

Till I'm Gone. I Don't Know That I'd Like _Him_ To Look Me In The Face,

Knowing Them."

"As You Will," Said Mr. Hillary,  Falling In With The Wish More Readily

Than He Might Have Done For Anyone But A Dying Man.

He Had Patients Out Of Calne,  Beyond Hartledon,  And Called In Returning.

It Was A Snowy Day; And As The Surgeon Was Winding Towards The House,

Past The Lodge,  With A Quick Step,  He Saw A White Figure Marching Across

The Park. It Was Lord Hartledon. He Had Been Caught In The Storm,  And

Came Up Laughing.

"Umbrellas Are At A Premium," Observed Mr. Hillary,  With The Freedom Long

Intimacy Had Sanctioned.

"It Didn't Snow When I Came Out," Said Hartledon,  Shaking Himself,  And

Making Light Of The Matter. "Were You Coming To Honour Me With A Morning

Call?"

"I Was And I Wasn't," Returned The Surgeon. "I've No Time For Morning

Calls,  Unless They Are Professional Ones; But I Wanted To Say A Word To

You. Have You A Mind For A Further Walk In The Snow?"

"As Far As You Like."

"There's A Patient Of Mine Drawing Very Near The Time When Doctors Can Do

No More For Him. He Has Expressed A Wish To See You,  And I Undertook To

Convey The Request."

"I'll Go,  Of Course," Said Val,  All His Kindliness On The Alert. "Who Is

It?"

"A Black Sheep," Answered The Surgeon. "I Don't Know Whether That Will

Make Any Difference?"

"It Ought Not," Said Val Rather Warmly. "Black Sheep Have More Need Of

Help Than White Ones,  When It Comes To The Last. I Suppose It's A Poacher

Wanting To Clear His Conscience."

"It's Pike," Said Hillary.

"Pike! What Can He Want With Me? Is He No Better?"

"He'll Never Be Better In This World; And To Speak The Truth,  I Think

It's Time He Left It. He'll Be Happier,  Poor Fellow,  Let's Hope,  In

Another Than He Has Been In This. Has It Ever Struck You,  Lord Hartledon,

That There Was Something Strange About Pike,  And His Manner Of Coming

Here?"

"Very Strange Indeed."

"Well,  Pike Is Not Pike,  But Another Man--Which I Suppose You Will Say Is

Irish. But That He Is So Ill,  And It Would Not Be Worth While For The Law

To Take Him,  He Might Be In Mortal Fear Of Your Seeing Him,  Lest You

Betrayed Him. He Wanted You Not To Be Informed Until The Last Hour. I

Told Him There Was No Fear."

"I Would Not Betray Any Living Man,  Whatever His Crime,  For The Whole

World," Returned Lord Hartledon; His Voice So Earnest As To Amount To

Pain. And The Surgeon Looked At Him; But There Rose Up In His Remembrance

How _He_ Had Been Avoiding Betrayal For Years. "Who Is He?"

"Willy Gum."

Lord Hartledon Turned His Head Sharply Under Cover Of The Surgeon's

Umbrella,  For They Were Walking Along Together. A Thought Crossed Him

That The Words Might Be A Jest.

"Yes,  Pike Is Willy Gum," Continued Mr. Hillary. "And There You Have The

Explanation Of The Poor Mother's Nervous Terrors. I Do Pity Her. The

Clerk Has Taken It More Philosophically,  And Seemed Only To Care Lest The

Fact Should Become Known. Ah,  Poor Thing! What A Life Hers Has Been! Her

Fears Of The Wild Neighbour,  Her Basins For Cats,  Are All Explained Now.

She Dreaded Lest Calne Should Suspect That She Occasionally Stole Into

The Shed Under Cover Of The Night With The Basins Containing Food For Its

Inmate. There The Man Has Lived--If You Can Call Such An Existence

Living; Willy Gum,  Concealed By His Borrowed Black Hair And Whiskers. But

That He Was Only A Boy When He Went Away,  Calne Would Have Recognized Him

In Spite Of Them."

"And He Is Not A Poacher And A Snarer,  And I Don't Know What All,  Leading

A Lawless Life,  And Thieving For His Living?" Exclaimed Lord Hartledon,

The First Question That Rose To The Surface,  Amidst The Many That Were

Struggling In His Mind.

"I Don't Believe The Man Has Touched The Worth Of A Pin Belonging To

Any One Since He Came Here,  Even On Your Preserves. People Took Up The

Notion From His Wild Appearance,  And Because He Had No Ostensible Means

Of Living. It Would Not Have Done To Let Them Know That He Had His

Supplies--Sometimes Money,  Sometimes Food--From Respectable Clerk Gum's."

"But Why Should He Be In Concealment At All? That Bank Affair Was Made

All Right At The Time."

"There Are Other Things He Feared,  It Seems. I've Not Time To Enter Into

Details Now; You'll Know Them Later. There He Is--Pike: And There He'll

Die--Pike Always."

"How Long Have You Known It?"

"Since That Fever He Caught From The Rectory Some Years Ago. I Recollect

Your Telling Me Not To Let Him Want For Anything;" And Lord Hartledon

Winced At The Remembrance Brought Before Him,  As He Always Did Wince At

The Unhappy Past. "I Never Shall Forget It. I Went In,  Thinking Pike Was

Ill,  And That He,  Wild And Disreputable Though He Had The Character Of

Being,  Might Want Physic As Well As His Neighbours. Instead Of The

Black-Haired Bear I Expected To See,  There Lay A Young,  Light,  Delicate

Fellow,  With A White Brow,  And Cheeks Pink With Fever. The Features

Seemed Familiar To Me; Little By Little Recognition Came To Me,  And I

Saw It Was Willy Gum,  Whom Every One Had Been Mourning As Dead. He Said

A Pleading Word Or Two,  That I Would Keep His Secret,  And Not Give Him Up

To Justice. I Did Not Understand What There Was To Give Him Up For Then.

However,  I Promised. He Was Too Ill To Say Much; And I Went To The Next

Door,  And Put It To Gum's Wife That She Should Go And Nurse Pike For

Humanity's Sake. Of Course It Was What She Wanted To Do. Poor Thing! She

Fell On Her Knees Later,  Beseeching Me Not To Betray Him."

"And You Have Kept Counsel All This Time?"

"Yes," Said The Surgeon,  Laconically. "Would Your Lordship Have Done

Otherwise,  Even Though It Had Been A Question Of Hanging?"

"_I!_ I Wouldn't Give A Man A Month At The Treadmill If I Could Help It.

One Gets Into Offences So Easily," He Dreamily Added.

They Crossed Over The Waste Land,  And Mr. Hillary Opened The Door Of

The Shed With A Pass-Key. A Lock Had Been Put On When Pike Was Lying In

Rheumatic Fever,  Lest Intruders Might Enter Unawares,  And See Him Without

His Disguise.

"Pike,  I Have Brought You My Lord. He Won't Betray You."

Closing The Door Upon Them,  The Surgeon Went Off On Other Business,  And

Lord Hartledon Entered And Bent Over The Bed; A More Comfortable Bed Than

It Once Had Been. It Was The Willy Gum Of Other Days; The Boy He Had

Played With When They Were Boys Together. White,  Wan,  Wasted,  With The

Dying Hectic On His Cheek,  The Glitter Already In His Eye,  He Lay There;

And Val's Eyelashes Shone As He Took The Worn Hand.

"I Am So Sorry,  Willy. I Had No Suspicion It Was You. Why Did You Not

Confide In Me?"

The Invalid Shook His Head. "There Might Have Been Danger In It."

"Never From Me," Was The Emphatic Answer.

"Ah,  My Lord,  You Don't Know. I Haven't Dared To Make Myself Known To A

Soul. Mr. Hillary Found It Out,  And I Couldn't Help Myself."

Lord Hartledon Glanced Round At The Strange Place: The Rafters,  The Rude

Walls. A Fire Was Burning On The Hearth,  And The Appliances Brought To

Bear Were More Comfortable Than Might Have Been Imagined; But Still--

"Surely You Will Allow Yourself To Be Removed To A Better Place,  Willy?"

He