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

Poachers The Night My Brother George Was Shot!"

"And That Night,  My Lord,  He Sat Over This Kitchen Fire,  And Never

Stirred From It. He Was Ill: It Was Rheumatism,  Caught In Australia,

That Took Such A Hold Upon Him; And I Had Him Here By The Fire Till Near

Daylight In The Morning,  So As To Keep Him Out Of The Damp Shed. What

With Fearing One Thing And Another,  I Grew Into A State Of Perpetual

Terror."

"Then You Will Not Have Him In Here Now," Said Lord Hartledon,  Rising.

"I Cannot," She Said,  Her Tears Falling Silently.

"Well,  Mrs. Gum,  I Came In Just To Say A Word Of True Sympathy. You Have

It Heartily,  And My Services Also,  If Necessary. Tell Jabez So."

He Quitted The House By The Front-Door,  As If He Had Been Honouring The

Clerk's Wife With A Morning-Call,  Should Any Curious Person Happen To Be

Passing,  And Went Across Through The Snow To The Surgeon's. Mr. Hillary,

An Old Bachelor,  Was At His Early Dinner,  And Lord Hartledon Sat Down And

Talked To Him.

"It's Only Rump Steak; But Few Cooks Can Beat Mine,  And It's Very Good.

Won't Your Lordship Take A Mouthful By Way Of Luncheon?"

"My Curiosity Is Too Strong For Luncheon Just Now," Said Val. "I Have

Come Over To Know The Rights And Wrongs Of This Story. What Has Willy Gum

Been Doing In The Past Years That It Cannot Be Told?"

"I Am Not Sure That It Would Be Safe To Say While He's Living."

"Not Safe! With Me! Was It Safe With You?"

"But I Don't Consider Myself Obliged To Give Up To Justice Any Poor

Criminal Who Comes In My Way," Said The Surgeon; And Val Felt A Little

Vexed,  Although He Saw That He Was Joking.

"Come,  Hillary!"

"Well,  Then,  Willy Gum Was Coming Home In The _Morning Star_; And A

Mutiny Broke Out--Mutiny And Murder,  And Everything Else That's Bad; And

One George Gordon Was The Ringleader."

"Yes. Well?"

"Willy Gum Was George Gordon."

"What!" Exclaimed Hartledon,  Not Knowing How To Accept The Words. "How

Could He Be George Gordon?"

"Because The Real George Gordon Never Sailed At All; And This Fellow Gum

Went On Board In His Name,  Calling Himself Gordon."

Lord Hartledon Leaned Back In His Chair And Listened To The Explanation.

A Very Simple One,  After All. Gum,  One Of The Wildest And Most Careless

Characters Possible When In Australia,  Gambled Away,  Before Sailing,

The Money He Had Acquired. Accident Made Him Acquainted With George

Gordon,  Also Going Home In The Same Ship And With Money. Gordon Was

Killed The Night Before Sailing--(Mr. Carr Had Well Described It As

A Drunken Brawl)--Killed Accidentally. Gum Was Present; He Saw His

Opportunity,  Went On Board As Gordon,  And Claimed The Luggage--Some

Of It Gold--Already On Board. How The Mutiny Broke Out Was Less Clear;

But One Of The Other Passengers Knew Gum,  And Threatened To Expose Him;

And Perhaps This Led To It. Gum,  At Any Rate,  Was The Ringleader,  And

This Passenger Was One Of The First Killed. Gum--Gordon As He Was

Called--Contrived To Escape In The Open Boat,  And Found His Way To Land;

Thence,  Disguised,  To England And To Calne; And At Calne He Had Since

Lived,  With The Price Offered For George Gordon On His Head.

It Was A Strange And Awful Story: And Lord Hartledon Felt A Shiver Run

Through Him As He Listened. In Truth,  That Shed Was The Safest And

Fittest Place For Him To Die In!

As Die He Did Ere The Third Day Was Over. And Was Buried As Pike,  The

Wild Man,  Without A Mourner. Clerk Gum Stood Over The Grave In His

Official Capacity; And Dr. Ashton,  Who Had Visited The Sick Man,  Himself

Read The Service,  Which Caused Some Wonder In Calne.

And The Following Week Lord Hartledon Caused The Shed To Be Cleared

Away,  And The Waste Land Ploughed; Saying He Would Have No More Tramps

Encamping Next Door To Mr. And Mrs. Gum.

Again The Years Went On,  Bringing Not Altogether Comfort To The House Of

Hartledon. As Anne's Children Were Born--There Were Three Now--A Sort Of

Jealous Rivalry Seemed To Arise Between Them And The Two Elder Children;

And This In Spite Of Anne's Efforts To The Contrary. The Moving Spring

Was The Countess-Dowager,  Who In Secret Excited The Elder Children

Against Their Little Brothers And Sister; But So Craftily That Anne Could

Produce Nothing Tangible To Remonstrate Against. Things Would Grow

Tolerably Smooth During The Old Woman's Absences; But She Took Good Care

Not To Make Those Absences Lengthened,  And Then All The Ill-Nature And

Rebellion Reigned Triumphant.

Once Only Anne Spoke Of This,  And That Was To Her Father. She Hinted At

The State Of Things,  And Asked His Advice. Why Did Not Val Interpose His

Authority,  And Forbid The Dowager The House,  If She Could Not Keep

Herself From Making Mischief In It,  Sensibly Asked The Rector. But Anne

Said Neither She Nor Val Liked To Do This. And Then The Rector Fancied

There Was Some Constraint In His Daughter's Voice,  And She Was Not

Telling Him The Whole Case Unreservedly. He Inquired No Further,  Only

Gave Her The Best Advice In His Power: To Be Watchful,  And Counteract The

Dowager's Influence,  As Far As She Could; And Trust To Time; Doing Her

Own Duty Religiously By The Children.

What Anne Had Not Mentioned To Dr. Ashton Was Her Husband's Conduct In

The Matter. In That One Respect She Could Read Him No Better Than Of Old.

Devoted To Her As He Was,  As She Knew Him To Be,  In The Children's Petty

Disputes He Invariably Took The Part Of His First Wife's--To The Glowing

Satisfaction Of The Countess-Dowager. No Matter How Glaringly Wrong They

Might Be,  How Tyrannical,  Hartledon Screened The Elder,  And--To Use The

Expression Of The Nurses--Snubbed The Younger. Kind And Good Though Lady

Hartledon Was,  She Felt It Acutely; And,  To Say The Truth,  Was Sorely

Puzzled And Perplexed.

Lord Elster Was An Ailing Child,  And Mr. Brook,  The Apothecary,  Was

Always In Attendance When They Were In London. Lady Hartledon Thought The

Boy's Health Might Have Been Better Left More To Nature,  But She Would

Not Have Said So For The World. The Dowager,  On The Contrary,  Would Have

Preferred That Half The Metropolitan Faculty Should See Him Daily. She

Had A Jealous Dread Of Anything Happening To The Boy,  And Anne's Son

Becoming The Heir.

Lord Hartledon Was A Busy Man Now,  And Had A Place In The

Government--Though Not As Yet In The Cabinet. Whatever His Secret Care

Might Have Been,  It Was Now Passive; He Was A General Favourite,  And

Courted In Society. He Was Still Young; The Face As Genial,  The Manners

As Free,  The Dark-Blue Eyes As Kindly As Of Yore; Eminently Attractive In

Earlier Days,  He Was So Still; And His Love For His Wife Amounted To A

Passion.

At The Close Of A Sharp Winter,  When They Had Come Up To Town In January,

That Lord Hartledon Might Be At His Post,  And The Countess-Dowager Was

Inflicting Upon Them One Of Her Long Visits,  It Happened That Lord Elster

Seemed Very Poorly. Mr. Brook Was Called In,  And Said He Would Send A

Powder. He Was Called In So Often To The Boy As To Take It Quite As A

Matter Of Course; And,  Truth To Say,  Thought The Present Indisposition

Nothing But A Slight Cold.

Late In The Evening The Two Boys Happened To Be Alone In The Nursery,

The Nurse Being Temporarily Absent From It. Edward Was Now A Tall,

Slender,  Handsome Boy In Knickerbockers; Reginald A Timid Little Fellow,

Several Years Younger--Rendered Timid By Edward's Perpetual Tyranny,

Which He Might Not Resent. Edward Was Quiet Enough This Evening; He Felt

Ill And Shivery,  And Sat Close To The Fire. Casting His Eyes Upwards,  He

Espied Mr. Brook's Powder On The Mantelpiece,  With The Stereotyped

Direction--"To Be Taken At Bedtime." It Was Lying Close To The Jam-Pot,

Which The Head-Nurse Had Put Ready. Of Course He Had The Greatest

Possible Horror Of Medicine,  And His Busy Thoughts Began To Run Upon How

He Might Avoid That Detestable Powder. The Little Fellow Was Sitting On

The Carpet Playing With His Bricks. Edward Turned His Eyes On His

Brother,  And A Bright Thought Occurred To Him.

"Regy," Said He,  Taking Down The Pot,  "Come Here. Look At This Jam: Isn't

It Nice? It's Raspberry And Currant."

The Child Left His Bricks To Bend Over The Tempting Compound.

"I'll Give It You Every Bit To Eat Before Nurse Comes Back," Continued

The Boy,  "If You'll Eat This First."

Reginald Cast A Look Upon The Powder His Brother Exhibited. "What Is It?"

He Lisped; "Something Good?"

"Delicious. It's Just Come In From The Sweet-Stuff Shop. Open Your

Mouth--Wide."

Reginald Did As He Was Bid: Opened His Mouth To Its Utmost Width,  And The

Boy Shot In The Powder.

It Happened To Be A Preparation Of That Nauseous Drug Familiarly Known

As "Dover's Powder." The Child Found It So,  And Set Up A Succession Of

Shrieks,  Which Aroused The House. The Nurse Rushed In; And Lord And Lady

Hartledon,  Both Of Whom Were Dressing For Dinner,  Appeared On The Scene.

There Stood Reginald,  Coughing,  Choking,  And Roaring; And There Sat

The Culprit,  Equably Devouring The Jam. With Time And Difficulty The

Facts Were Elicited From The Younger Child,  And The Elder Scorned To Deny

Them.

"What A Wicked,  Greedy Turk You Must Be!" Ejaculated The Nurse,  Who Was

Often In Hot Water With The Elder Boy.

"But Reginald Need Not Have Screamed So," Testily Interposed Lord

Hartledon. "I Thought One Of Them Must Be On Fire. You Naughty Child,

Why Did You Scream?" He Continued,  Giving Reginald A Slight Tap On The

Ear.

"Any Child Would Scream At Being So Taken By Surprise," Said Lady

Hartledon. "It Is Edward Who Is In Fault,  Not Reginald; And It Is He Who

Deserves Punishment."

"And He Should Have It,  If He Were My Son," Boldly Declared The Nurse,  As

She Picked Up The Unhappy Reginald. "A Great Greedy Boy,  To Swallow Down

Every Bit Of The Jam,  And Never Give His Brother A Taste,  After Poisoning

Him With That Nasty Powder!"

Edward Rose,  And Gave The Nurse A Look Of Scorn. "The Powder's Good

Enough For Him: He Is Nothing But A Young Brat,  And I Am Lord Elster."

Lady Hartledon Felt Provoked. "What Is That You Say,  Edward?" She Asked,

Laying Her Hand Upon His Shoulder In Reproval.

"Let Me Alone,  Mamma. He'll Never Be Anything But Regy Elster. _I_ Shall

Be Lord Hartledon,  And Jam's Proper For Me,  And It's Fair I Should Put

Upon Him."

The Nurse Flounced Off With Reginald,  And Lady Hartledon Turned To Her

Husband. "Is This To Be Suffered? Will You Allow It To Pass Without

Correction?"

"He Means Nothing," Said Val. "Do You,  Edward,  My Boy?"

"Yes,  I Do; I Mean What I Say. I Shall Stand Up For Myself And Maude."

Hartledon Made No Remonstrance: Only Drew The Boy To Him,  With A Hasty

Gesture,  As Though He Would Shield Him From Anger And The World.

Anne,  Hurt Almost To Tears,  Quitted The Room. But She Had Scarcely

Reached Her Own When She Remembered That She Had Left A Diamond Brooch In

The Nursery,  Which She Had Just Been About To Put Into Her Dress When

Alarmed By The Cries. She Went Back For It,  And Stood Almost Confounded

By What She Saw. Lord Hartledon,  Sitting Down,  Had Clasped His Boy In His

Arms,  And Was Sobbing Over Him; Emotion Such As Man Rarely Betrays.

"Papa,  Regy And The Other Two Are Not Going To Put Me And Maude Out Of

Our Places,  Are They? They Can't,  You Know. We Come First."

"Yes,  Yes,  My Boy; No One Shall Put You Out," Was The Answer,  As He

Pressed Passionate Kisses On The Boy's Face. "I Will Stand By You For

Ever."

Very Judicious Indeed! The Once Sensible Man Seemed To Ignore The Evident

Fact That The Boy Had Been Tutored. Lady Hartledon,  A Fear Creeping Over

Her,  She Knew Not Of What,  Left Her Brooch Where It Was,