CHAPTER VI. BARNS ELMS.
"You can ride, Tom?" Lord Claud had said, as they saunteredhomewards from the poet's lodgings.
Tom replied that whatever else he was lacking in, he mightcertainly lay claim to horsemanship; and the pair walked ontogether, Lord Claud sunk in thoughtful silence, his companionalways ready to give his attention to the sights of the streets,which had lost none of the attraction of novelty as yet.
"Ho! ho! ho!" laughed a voice behind them; "Master Tom thegreengoose has found fine company!"
"A fine comrade, truly, will he find he has got! What becomes ofall the strapping young fellows whom my Lord Claud takes pains tonotice and befriend?"
"They are like the butterflies--flutter for a season and are nomore seen after!"
"Or like the buzzing fly who is lured within the spider's web! 'Tiseasy fluttering in, but there is no getting out!"
"Ay, ay, the gallows noose must feel mightily like the strand ofthe spider's web to the silly fly. And as the spider pounces uponhis victim ere it be dead, and sucks away its life blood, so doesthe hangman cut down his victim alive and cut out his living heart!Oh, 'tis a fine sight! a fine sight! Young Tom must e'en go and seethe next execution at Tyburn!"
These words were spoken with caution, and yet every one of themfell full upon Tom's ears. These ears, be it noted, were very keenones, as is often the case with those who have tracked game andhunted the fallow deer in the free forest. Moreover, Tom had notyet grown callous to the sounds of talk and laughter in thestreets. He must needs listen to all he heard, and these phraseswere plainly meant to meet his ear.
He glanced at Lord Claud to see if he had heard, but there was nochange in the thoughtful face. His companion appeared lost in hisown reflections, and Tom, dropping a pace behind, looked back tosee who had spoken.
As he had surmised, it was the four bully beaux whom he had met atthe Folly the previous day. So much had happened in the interim,that Tom could have believed it a week ago. At his look they allburst into jeering laughter, but it did not appear as though theydesired speech of him, or any sort of encounter, for they plungedhastily down a side street, and Tom saw that Lord Claud had justturned his head to see what hindered his companion.
"Pay no heed to drunken roisterers i' the streets, Tom," advisedhis mentor; "a quarrel is quicker provoked than mended, except atthe sword's point, and unseemly is brawling at street corners. Yonfellows bear you some ill will for my threat yesterday. They willdo you a bad turn if the chance offers. They are an evil crew, andmy Lord Mayor has been warned against them ere now; but it isdifficult in these days to give every man his deserts. London wouldbe depopulated if all who merited it were transported to theplantations of Virginia."
A little later they met Harry Gay sauntering from one playhouse toanother. He looked with a sort of amused surprise at Tom, whopaused to send a message to Master Cale, to tell him that he wouldnot be at home that night, and was not to be troubled after in anywise.
"Do you lodge with Lord Claud?" asked Harry, with a curious glancetowards the elegant figure sauntering on, and exchanging bows withthe fine ladies in the coaches.
"I know not; but I ride forth with him ere long on some errand Iwot not of. Have no fears for me, good Harry, I can take care ofmyself well enow."
"You have good confidence, my young friend. I trust it is not thepride which goes before a fall. It savours of peril to steer one'sbark over unknown waters, or to follow a road which leads no manknows whither;" and Harry nodded his head in the direction of LordClaud, with a gesture that was as eloquent as any words could be.
"Tush!" answered Tom, with something of the careless indifferencehe had caught from Lord Claud and his associates; "I have come tosee the world, and see it I will. If there be peril, why, so muchthe better. I am sick to death of sitting at ease in the safeshelter of home. A man can die but once, and he had better livefirst."
"Just so, just so," answered Harry with some emphasis; "that isexactly the sentiment I would most impress upon your inexperience.A man should live to drink the cup of life, ere it be snatched fromhis grasp."
Tom nodded and passed on, not pausing to ponder upon the meaning ofthe words he had heard. Indeed, he had small time to ponder, forhis comrade was quickening his steps, and he had to hasten to reachhis side.
"My stables lie this way. We will go and look at the hackneys, andmake choice of one fit to carry those great limbs of yours, myworthy friend. As for me, a light-made barb will suffice; but ittakes bone and muscle to carry all that bone," and he clapped hishand upon Tom's shoulder with a little laugh.
The stables were neither very bright nor savoury according tomodern ideas, but for the times they were thought a marvel ofperfection. Tom's eyes soon got used to the dimness, and he wasquickly in a high state of rapture at the evidences of breeding andpace in the horses stabled there.
That they knew their master well was plain, for all heads wereturned at the sound of his voice, and each animal gave a low whinnyof pleasure at the approach of Lord Claud. He took carrots from abasket and dispensed them with impartiality to his stud; and,meantime, he and his head groom talked together in low tones, andpresently Tom was called to the conclave.
"Nell Gwynne will carry you best, Tom. But she may give you alittle trouble. It is not every rider she will brook upon her back;yet if you can master her, she will bear you to the world's endfaithfully."
Tom approached the mare indicated, who looked at him, laying backher ears and showing the whites of her eyes, sidling a little overin her stall with the evident intention of trying to get a kick atthe stranger. But Tom coolly walked up to her head, and begancaressing her with a perfect fearlessness which presently disarmedher suspicion. She was accustomed to see men flinch and quailbefore her, and despised the race accordingly. But the few who badno fear of her she recognized as her masters, and she gave them thelove of her heart and the best of her powers.
"That will do, Tom," said Lord Claud's voice from behind; "you havewon my lady's capricious fancy.
"Bring up the mare and Lucifer in an hour's time, saddled andbridled, and fed for the evening," he added, speaking to theservant; "you will probably have them back some time tomorrow, butof that I cannot speak with certainty."
He took Tom's arm as he left the yard, saying in his nonchalantfashion:
"Sometimes after one of these affairs of honour it is well to takeoneself off for a while. Her Majesty is as much against thesettlement of private quarrels by the appeal to the sword as everKing William was. However, fashion is too strong even for goodQueen Anne. But it is better not to do more than wing your man. Ifyou kill him, you run a risk of getting into trouble. But I have nointention of doing so, unless he provokes me beyond endurance."
"Is he a man of note?" asked Tom, with pardonable curiosity.
"In his way he is; you probably would not know the name; but he hasfriends in high places: He and I have never loved each other. Hehas balked me more than once, and I have had my revenge at thegaming table and in other places, which he is not likely to forgiveor forget. The other day he sought to provoke me by almost openinsult. It was not a woman, Tom. I have enough on my hands withoutembroiling myself in affairs of gallantry. There are women,doubtless, who are worth the championship of honest men; but in ourworld of London town they are few and far between. Let them andtheir quarrels alone, Tom, if you would keep out of trouble."
Lord Claud was speaking now with a sarcastic intonation ratherunusual with him. He was more thoughtful and grave than Tom hadever seen him, but the youth did not dare to ask the cause. Indeed,it seemed to him that a man who had a duel to fight upon the morrowwith a dangerous adversary had reason enough for gravity andthought.
"Tom," said Lord Claud suddenly, breaking a rather long silence, "Ifeel sometimes that I have had enough for once of the trammels oftown life. I am weary of the slavery of levee, and gaming table,and playhouse. There are better things in life than foppery andidle dissipation. What do you think of it all, my honest Tom?
"
"I find it vastly entertaining," answered Tom truthfully; "but Ifeel me something out of place amongst all the fine fops I meeteverywhere."
"You would like to travel and see the world? There is another worldbesides that of London town."
"I would see more of London town ere I leave it," answered Tomfrankly; "but I would fain see other things and places, too."
"Wilt come farther afield with me, if I go?" asked Lord Claud, witha quick sidelong glance at the tall figure of his companion. "A manof thews and sinews, who knows not fear, is the comrade in whom myheart delights; but there be so few of them amid yon crowd ofpainted popinjays."
The compliment tickled Tom's vanity, just as the preference shownhim from the first by so great a man as Lord Claud touched hisnaturally quick affections.
"Let me but see this wonderful city first, my lord, and I willfollow you to the world's end!" he cried impulsively.
"You shall have your wish, trusty Tom," answered Lord Claud, hisface clearing and his brilliant smile shining forth. "In sooth, Ihave no desire to quit it just yet. I would fain be one of those towelcome back the great Duke, who will be here ere the year closes;and you should not miss seeing the pageant which will greet thevictor of Blenheim. It may even be that the Duke himself will findemployment for his poor servants.
"Hast ever heard of the secret service, Tom? No? Well, there beopenings enow for men of courage and resource. It may be that youand I may find work for us to do. When all Europe is at war,country with country, and kingdom with kingdom, there is work andto spare for trusty messengers, stout of heart and strong of arm.Who knows but that such luck as that may come in our way?"
Tom listened agape, feeling as though his horizon were growingwider every hour. He had been scarce more than a week in town, and,behold, all life seemed changed about him. Already he had beenplunged into an adventure which would probably end in the spillingof blood; and now the prospect was opening out before him of traveland adventure of a kind of which he had never dreamed. It seemedimpossible that he could be the same raw rustic youth who, a fewshort months ago, was accounted the greatest roisterer of his owncounty. His doings in the past seemed just the outcome of boyishspirits. He had been nothing but a great boy in those days; now hefelt that his manhood was coming upon him by leaps and bounds.
At Lord Claud's lodging a repast was awaiting them which was initself a further revelation to Tom. He was mightily hungry, too,and fell upon the good cheer with an appetite that entertained hishost. The food he found most excellent, though seasoned somethingtoo strongly for his palate. But the wines were less to his taste,and he presently made bold to ask for a tankard of homely ale,which was brought to him from the servants' quarters; Lord Claudleaning back with his glass in his hand, and smiling to see therelish with which Tom enjoyed the simple beverage.
"Ah, the time was when I could quaff a tankard of ale with any man,and it may well be that I will do the same again in the future. Butnow, Tom, we must come and don riding gear, for the horses will beround ere long. Oh, have no concern as to that. My man will haveready all that you will need. But those silken hose and thatbroidered vest are little suited to the saddle."
And, in very sooth, Tom found himself quickly fitted with a pair ofstout leathern breeches, a cloth waistcoat, and a pair of ridingboots adorned with silver spurs. A riding switch was put in hishand, and he stood flicking his boots at the top of the staircasetill Lord Claud joined him, dressed in a quiet and mostirreproachable riding suit, which became the elegance of his figurealmost better than the frippery of the first toilet.
The horses stood at the door. Tom walked up to the great mare andrenewed acquaintance with her before swinging himself lightly tothe saddle. She made an instinctive dart with her head, as thoughto seek to bite his foot; but he patted her neck, touched herlightly with the spur, and sat like a Centaur as she made a quickcurvet that had unseated riders before now.
The next minute the pair had started forth in the murky twilight ofthe autumn evening; but the moon was rising and the mists weredispersing. Before they had left the houses behind they could seethe road clear before them, and were able to give their impatientsteeds their heads, and travel at a steady hand gallop.
Tom had approached London from the north, so that all this countrywas new to him. He delighted in the feel of a horse betwixt hisknees again; and the vagaries of the high-bred mare, who shied anddanced at every flickering shadow, kept his pulses tingling and hisheart aglow during the whole of that moonlight ride.
Lord Claud said little. He too had need of some horsemanship, forthe black barb he rode was full of fire and spirit. Both riderskept a sharp lookout as they rode along, for there was never anysecurity from footpads and highway robbers once they were clear ofthe houses. However, there was no indication that any suchlight-heeled gentry were abroad that night, and the travellersreached the little hostelry whither they were bound without anyadventure.
Here they were evidently expected. The host came out with an air ofgreat respect, and took their horses. Within, a plentiful supperwas prepared for them, to which Tom was ready to do justice afterhis ride, though Lord Claud ate little and drank less. Upstairs acommodious chamber with two beds had been prepared. A fire of logsburnt cheerily on the hearth; and it was plain that some valet hadbeen there earlier in the day, for night clothes and toiletaccessories lay about in profusion, to say nothing of a pair ofshining rapiers carefully laid upon the mantel shelf.
Lord Claud took these down and examined them with care. Then hehanded one to Tom.
"Just a few passes, trusty Tom, as is my habit ere sleeping thenight before a duel. I like to make test of the weapon with which Ishall meet my antagonist in the morning."
Tom was delighted to show off his newly-learned skill, and wascomplimented by Lord Claud on his progress.
"My adversary's second may desire to cross swords with you, Tom,"remarked Lord Claud as he began to undress. "'Tis a foolish habit;but you must not seem to shrink. Show him that you care nothing forhis sword, and I will then interpose to stop the second fight. Itmay not be offered; but, again, it may."
And, as the pair prepared for bed, the elder man instructed hiscompanion in all the details of duelling, that he might be preparedto play his part on the morrow with confidence and aplomb.
"I have a few excellent rules of my own, Tom, and I have never beenworsted once, and only once wounded. I neither drink, nor dice, nordance, nor weary myself the previous day. I go overnight to theplace of meeting, and I retire to bed early and sleep sound. I takea modest breakfast, without wine or spirit, an hour before themeeting; and I come to the ground with a head as cool and a hand assteady as though no such thing as danger or death existed in theworld. Some men pride themselves on sitting up and dicing anddrinking away the night, to show their own courage and theircontempt for their adversary. I prefer to show mine by leaving himprostrate on the field!"
It certainly seemed as though Lord Claud's methods were good, forhe slept like a child all night, better than Tom did, who had beengreatly excited by the events of the day and the prospect of themorrow; and when he was dressed upon the following morning, stillin his sober riding suit that became him so well, Tom thought hehad never seen anybody looking so thoroughly master of himself andhis circumstances. The very glance of the eye seemed to bespeakvictory, as did the quiet resolution of the grave mouth.
Breakfast over--an early meal taken by the light of candles, yetexcellent of its kind--and the pair went forth together, Tomcarrying the two rapiers, as it was his duty to do.
The sun was just about to rise, and the mists lying over the riverand fields were growing silver in the light, as they came in sightof the group of elms which had seen so many foolish and bloodycontests between angry men, some of whom scarce knew why theyfought at all, save that it was the fashion.
From the opposite direction three other figures wereapproaching--two tall men and one little one.
"They bring a surgeon," quoth Lord Claud, with a
smile on his face;"perchance they are wise. For myself, I never trouble to do so. Icount a leech a needless encumbrance."
Tom looked curiously at the two foremost men