CHAPTER VIII
THE BRAVO
The next day, August 29th, I kept my appointment at the Advocate's in acoat that I had made to my own measure, and was but newly ready.
"Aha," says Prestongrange, "you are very fine to-day; my misses are tohave a fine cavalier. Come, I take that kind of you. I take that kind ofyou, Mr. David. O, we shall do very well yet, and I believe yourtroubles are nearly at an end."
"You have news for me?" cried I.
"Beyond anticipation," he replied. "Your testimony is after all to bereceived; and you may go, if you will, in my company to the trial, whichis to be held at Inverary, Thursday, 21st _proximo_."
I was too much amazed to find words.
"In the meanwhile," he continued, "though I will not ask you to renewyour pledge, I must caution you strictly to be reticent. To-morrow yourprecognition must be taken; and outside of that, do you know, I thinkleast said will be soonest mended."
"I shall try to go discreetly," said I. "I believe it is yourself that Imust thank for this crowning mercy, and I do thank you gratefully. Afteryesterday, my lord, this is like the doors of Heaven. I cannot find itin my heart to get the thing believed."
"Ah, but you must try and manage, you must try and manage to believeit," says he, soothing-like, "and I am very glad to hear youracknowledgment of obligation, for I think you may be able to repay mevery shortly"--he coughed--"or even now. The matter is much changed.Your testimony, which I shall not trouble you for to-day, will doubtlessalter the complexion of the case for all concerned, and this makes itless delicate for me to enter with you on a side issue."
"My lord," I interrupted, "excuse me for interrupting you, but how hasthis been brought about? The obstacles you told me of on Saturdayappeared even to me to be quite insurmountable; how has it beencontrived?"
"My dear Mr. David," said he, "it would never do for me to divulge (evento you, as you say) the councils of the Government; and you must contentyourself, if you please, with the gross fact."
He smiled upon me like a father as he spoke, playing the while with anew pen; methought it was impossible there could be any shadow ofdeception in the man: yet when he drew to him a sheet of paper, dippedhis pen among the ink, and began again to address me, I was somehow notso certain, and fell instinctively into an attitude of guard.
"There is a point I wish to touch upon," he began. "I purposely left itbefore upon one side, which need be now no longer necessary. This isnot, of course, a part of your examination, which is to follow byanother hand; this is a private interest of my own. You say youencountered Breck upon the hill?"
"I did, my lord," said I.
"This was immediately after the murder?"
"It was."
"Did you speak to him?"
"I did."
"You had known him before, I think?" says my lord, carelessly.
"I cannot guess your reason for so thinking, my lord," I replied, "butsuch is the fact."
"And when did you part with him again?" said he.
"I reserve my answer," said I. "The question will be put to me at theassize."
"Mr. Balfour," said he, "will you not understand that all this iswithout prejudice to yourself? I have promised you life and honour; and,believe me, I can keep my word. You are therefore clear of all anxiety.Alan, it appears, you suppose you can protect; and you talk to me ofyour gratitude, which I think (if you push me) is not ill-deserved.There are a great many different considerations all pointing the sameway; and I will never be persuaded that you could not help us (if youchose) to put salt on Alan's tail."
"My lord," said I, "I give you my word I do not so much as guess whereAlan is."
He paused a breath. "Nor how he might be found?" he asked.
I sat before him like a log of wood.
"And so much for your gratitude, Mr. David!" he observed. Again therewas a piece of silence. "Well," said he, rising, "I am not fortunate,and we are a couple at cross purposes. Let us speak of it no more; youwill receive notice when, where, and by whom we are to take yourprecognition. And in the meantime, my misses must be waiting you. Theywill never forgive me if I detain their cavalier."
Into the hands of these graces I was accordingly offered up, and foundthem dressed beyond what I had thought possible, and looking fair as aposy.
As we went forth from the doors a small circumstance occurred which cameafterwards to look extremely big. I heard a whistle sound loud and brieflike a signal, and looking all about, spied for one moment the red headof Neil of the Tom, the son of Duncan. The next moment he was goneagain, nor could I see so much as the skirt-tail of Catriona, upon whomI naturally supposed him to be then attending.
My three keepers led me out by Bristo and the Bruntsfield Links; whencea path carried us to Hope Park, a beautiful pleasance, laid withgravel-walks, furnished with seats and summer-sheds, and warded by akeeper.
The way there was a little longsome; the two younger misses affected anair of genteel weariness that damped me cruelly, the eldest consideredme with something that at times appeared like mirth; and though Ithought I did myself more justice than the day before, it was notwithout some effort. Upon our reaching the park I was launched on a bevyof eight or ten young gentlemen (some of them cockaded officers, therest chiefly advocates) who crowded to attend upon these beauties; andthough I was presented to all of them in very good words, it seemed Iwas by all immediately forgotten. Young folk in a company are like tosavage animals: they fall upon or scorn a stranger without civility, orI may say, humanity; and I am sure, if I had been among baboons, theywould have shown me quite as much of both. Some of the advocates set upto be wits, and some of the soldiers to be rattles; and I could not tellwhich of these extremes annoyed me most. All had a manner of handlingtheir swords and coat-skirts, for the which (in mere black envy) I couldhave kicked them from that park. I daresay, upon their side, theygrudged me extremely the fine company in which I had arrived; andaltogether I had soon fallen behind, and stepped stiffly in the rear ofall that merriment with my own thoughts.
From these I was recalled by one of the officers, Lieutenant HectorDuncansby, a gawky, leering, Highland boy, asking if my name was not"Palfour."
I told him it was, not very kindly, for his manner was scant civil.
"Ha, Palfour," says he, and then, repeating it, "Palfour, Palfour!"
"I am afraid you do not like my name, sir," says I, annoyed with myselfto be annoyed with such a rustical fellow.
"No," says he, "but I wass thinking."
"I would not advise you to make a practice of that, sir," says I. "Ifeel sure you would not find it to agree with you."
"Tit you effer hear where Alan Grigor fand the tangs?" said he.
I asked him what he could possibly mean, and he answered, with aheckling laugh, that he thought I must have found the poker in the sameplace and swallowed it.
There could be no mistake about this, and my cheek burned.
"Before I went about to put affronts on gentlemen," said I, "I think Iwould learn the English language first."
He took me by the sleeve with a nod and a wink, and led me quietlyoutside Hope Park. But no sooner were we beyond the view of thepromenaders, than the fashion of his countenance changed. "You tamlowland scoon'rel!" cries he, and hit me a buffet on the jaw with hisclosed fist.
I paid him as good or better on the return; whereupon he stepped alittle back and took off his hat to me decorously.
"Enough plows I think," says he. "I will be the offended shentleman, forwho effer heard of such suffeeciency as tell a shentlemans that is theking's officer he cannae speak Cot's English? We have swords at ourhurdies, and here is the King's Park at hand. Will ye walk first, or letme show ye the way?"
I returned his bow, told him to go first, and followed him. As he went Iheard him grumble to himself about _Cot's English_ and the _King'scoat_, so that I might have supposed him to be seriously offended. Buthis manner at the beginning of our interview was there to belie him. Itwas manifest he had com
e prepared to fasten a quarrel on me, right orwrong; manifest that I was taken in a fresh contrivance of my enemies;and to me (conscious as I was of my deficiencies) manifest enough that Ishould be the one to fall in our encounter.
As we came into that rough rocky desert of the King's Park I was temptedhalf-a-dozen times to take to my heels and run for it, so loath was I toshow my ignorance in fencing, and so much averse to die or even to bewounded. But I considered if their malice went as far as this, it wouldlikely stick at nothing; and that to fall by the sword, howeverungracefully, was still an improvement on the gallows. I consideredbesides that by the unguarded pertness of my words and the quickness ofmy blow I had put myself quite out of court; and that even if I ran, myadversary would, probably pursue and catch me, which would add disgraceto my misfortune. So that, taking all in all, I continued marchingbehind him, much as a man follows the hangman, and certainly with nomore hope.
We went about the end of the long craigs, and came into the Hunter'sBog. Here, on a piece of fair turf, my adversary drew. There was nobodythere to see us but some birds; and no resource for me but to follow hisexample, and stand on guard with the best face I could display. It seemsit was not good enough for Mr. Duncansby, who spied some flaw in mymanoeuvres, paused, looked upon me sharply, and came off and on, andmenaced me with his blade in the air. As I had seen no such proceedingsfrom Alan, and was besides a good deal affected with the proximity ofdeath, I grew quite bewildered, stood helpless, and could have longed torun away.
"Fat, deil, ails her?" cries the lieutenant.
And suddenly engaging, he twitched the sword out of my grasp and sent itflying far among the rushes.
Twice was this manoeuvre repeated; and the third time when I broughtback my humiliated weapon, I found he had returned his own to thescabbard, and stood awaiting me with a face of some anger, and his handsclasped under his skirt.
"Pe tamned if I touch you!" he cried, and asked me bitterly what right Ihad to stand up before "shentlemans" when I did not know the back of asword from the front of it.
I answered that was the fault of my upbringing; and would he do me thejustice to say I had given him all the satisfaction it was unfortunatelyin my power to offer, and had stood up like a man?
"And that is the truth," said he. "I am fery prave myself, and pold as alions. But to stand up there--and you ken naething of fence!--the waythat you did, I declare it was peyond me. And I am sorry for the plow;though I declare I pelief your own was the elder brother, and my heldstill sings with it. And I declare if I had kent what way it wass, Iwould not put a hand to such a piece of pusiness."
"That is handsomely said," I replied, "and I am sure you will not standup a second time to be the actor for my private enemies."
"Indeed, no, Palfour," said he; "and I think I was used extremelysuffeeciently myself to be set up to fecht with an auld wife, or all thesame as a bairn whateffer! And I will tell the Master so, and fecht him,by Cot, himself!"
"And if you knew the nature of Mr. Symon's quarrel with me," said I,"you would be yet the more affronted to be mingled up with suchaffairs."
He swore he could well believe it; that all the Lovats were made of thesame meal and the devil was the miller that ground that; then suddenlyshaking me by the hand, he vowed I was a pretty enough fellow after all,that it was a thousand pities I had been neglected, and that if he couldfind the time, he would give an eye himself to have me educated.
"You can do me a better service than even what you propose," said I; andwhen he had asked its nature--"Come with me to the house of one of myenemies, and testify how I have carried myself this day," I told him."That will be the true service. For though he has sent me a gallantadversary for the first, the thought in Mr. Symon's mind is merelymurder. There will be a second and then a third; and by what you haveseen of my cleverness with the cold steel, you can judge for yourselfwhat is like to be upshot."
"And I would not like it myself, if I was no more of a man than what youwass!" he cried. "But I will do you right, Palfour. Lead on!"
If I had walked slowly on the way into that accursed park my heels werelight enough on the way out. They kept time to a very good old air, thatis as ancient as the Bible, and the words of it are: "_Surely thebitterness of death is passed_." I mind that I was extremely thirsty,and had a drink at Saint Margaret's well on the road down, and thesweetness of that water passed belief. We went through the sanctuary, upthe Canongate, in by the Netherbow, and straight to Prestongrange'sdoor, talking as we came and arranging the details of our affair. Thefootman owned his master was at home, but declared him engaged withother gentlemen on very private business, and his door forbidden.
"My business is but for three minutes, and it cannot wait," said I. "Youmay say it is by no means private, and I shall be even glad to have somewitnesses."
As the man departed unwillingly enough upon this errand, we made so boldas to follow him to the antechamber, whence I could hear for a while themurmuring of several voices in the room within. The truth is, they werethree at the one table--Prestongrange, Symon Fraser, and Mr. Erskine,Sheriff of Perth; and as they were met in consultation on the verybusiness of the Appin murder, they were a little disturbed at myappearance, but decided to receive me.
"Well, well, Mr. Balfour, and what brings you here again? and who isthis you bring with you?" says Prestongrange.
As for Fraser, he looked before him on the table.
"He is here to bear a little testimony in my favour, my lord, which Ithink it very needful you should hear," said I, and turned to Duncansby.
"I have only to say this," said the lieutenant, "that I stood up thisday with Palfour in the Hunter's Pog, which I am now fery sorry for, andhe behaved himself as pretty as a shentlemans could ask it. And I havecreat respects for Palfour," he added.
"I thank you for your honest expressions," said I.
Whereupon Duncansby made his bow to the company, and left the chamber,as we had agreed upon before.
"What have I to do with this?" says Prestongrange.
"I will tell your lordship in two words," said I. "I have brought thisgentleman, a King's officer, to do me so much justice. Now I think mycharacter is covered, and until a certain date, which your lordship canvery well supply, it will be quite in vain to despatch against me anymore officers. I will not consent to fight my way through the garrisonof the castle."
The veins swelled on Prestongrange's brow, and he regarded me with fury.
"I think the devil uncoupled this dog of a lad between my legs!" hecried; and then, turning fiercely on his neighbour, "This is some ofyour work, Symon," he said. "I spy your hand in the business, and, letme tell you, I resent it. It is disloyal, when we are agreed upon oneexpedient, to follow another in the dark. You are disloyal to me. What!you let me send this lad to the place with my very daughters! Andbecause I let drop a word to you ... Fy, sir, keep your dishonours toyourself!"
Symon was deadly pale. "I will be a kick-ball between you and the Dukeno longer," he exclaimed. "Either come to an agreement, or come to adiffer, and have it out among yourselves. But I will no longer fetch andcarry, and get your contrary instructions, and be blamed by both. For ifI were to tell you what I think of all your Hanover business it wouldmake your head sing."
But Sheriff Erskine had preserved his temper, and now intervenedsmoothly. "And in the meantime," says he, "I think we should tell Mr.Balfour that his character for valour is quite established. He may sleepin peace. Until the date he was so good as to refer to it shall be putto the proof no more."
His coolness brought the others to their prudence; and they made haste,with a somewhat distracted civility, to pack me from the house.
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