The Secret Chamber at Chad

  Produced by Martin Robb

  THE SECRET CHAMBER AT CHADby Everett Evelyn-Green.

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER I: A MYSTERIOUS VISITOR.CHAPTER II: THE HOUSEHOLD AT CHAD.CHAPTER III: BROTHER EMMANUEL.CHAPTER IV: THE TRAVELLING PREACHER.CHAPTER V: A WARNING.CHAPTER VI: WATCHED!CHAPTER VII: AN IMPOSING SPECTACLE.CHAPTER VIII: HIDDEN AWAY.CHAPTER IX: THE SEARCH.CHAPTER X: FROM PERIL TO SAFETY.

  Chapter I: A Mysterious Visitor.

  The great house at Chad was wrapped in sleep. The brilliant beamsof a June moon illuminated the fine pile of gray masonry with astrong white light. Every castellated turret and twisted chimneystood out in bold relief from the heavy background of the pine woodbehind, and the great courtyard lay white and still, lined by adark rim of ebon shadow.

  Chad, without being exactly a baronial hall of the first magnitude,was nevertheless a very fine old house. It had been somewhat shornof its pristine glories during the Wars of the Roses. One out ofits original two quadrangles had then been laid in ruins, and hadnever been rebuilt. But the old inner quadrangle still remainedstanding, and made an ample and commodious dwelling house for thefamily of the Chadgroves who inhabited it; whilst the ground whichhad once been occupied by the larger outer quadrangle, with itsfortifications and battlements, was now laid out in terraces andgarden walks, which made a pleasant addition to the familyresidence.

  The seventh Henry was on the throne. The battle of Bosworth Fieldhad put an end to the long-drawn strife betwixt the houses of Yorkand Lancaster. The exhausted country was beginning to look forwardto a long period of prosperity and peace; and the household at Chadwas one of the many that were rejoicing in the change which hadcome upon the public outlook, and was making the most of thepeaceful years which all trusted lay before the nation.

  Several changes of some importance had passed over Chad during theprevious century. The wars had made gaps in the ranks of the familyto whom it had always belonged. There had been sundry edicts ofconfiscation--as speedily repealed by the next change in the fateof the day; and more than once the head had been struck down bydeath, and the house and lands had passed either to a minor or tosome other branch of the family. There had been the confusion andstrife betwixt the various branches of the family which was acharacteristic of that age of upheaval and strife; but the presentowner of the estate, Sir Oliver Chadgrove, seemed firmly settled inhis place. He had fought on Henry's side at Bosworth, and had beenconfirmed by that monarch in the possession of the estate of Chad;and since that day none had tried to dispute his claim; nor,indeed, would it have been very easy to do so, as he wasundoubtedly the rightful representative of the older branch of thefamily.

  A just and kindly man, he was beloved of those about him, and wouldhave been staunchly supported by his retainers had any adversaryarisen against him. His only enemy was the Lord of Mortimer, whoowned Mortimer's Keep, the adjoining property, and had castcovetous eyes on Chad during the stormy days of the late wars, morethan once trying unsuccessfully to step in between the disputingparties and claim it as his own, not by the power of right, but bythat of might alone. However, he had not been successful in thisattempt; and for the past few years there had been a semblance offriendliness between Sir Oliver and his proud and powerfulneighbour.

  The knight was well aware that the friendliness was more a seemingthan a reality. He was perfectly well acquainted with the rapaciouscharacter of the owner of Mortimer's Keep, and with his covetousdesigns upon Chad. He knew he was a secret foe, always on the watchfor any cause of complaint against him; and he could often feelthat it would take very little to stir up the old jealous strifeand hostility. Still, for the present an armed truce was the orderof the day, and Sir Oliver, knowing his own loyalty, the cleannessof his hands, and the uprightness of his dealings, was not muchafraid that his enemy would ever succeed in ousting him from hislands, or in gaining possession of the fair park and house of Chadfor himself.

  Sir Oliver was personally liked by the king, which was anotherpoint in his favour. Without being a brilliant ruler like hissuccessors, the seventh Henry had the faculty of choosing men ofparts to place about him, and he had recognized in Sir OliverChadgrove certain qualities which he approved, and of which hewished to avail himself from time to time. So the knight wasfrequently summoned to attend the king, and occasionally his wifewent with him and appeared at court. On this particular bright Junenight, both the master and the mistress were absent, being atWindsor with the king's court; and the three boys--the childrenwith whom Providence had blessed them--were the only members of thefamily sleeping beneath the roof of the great house.

  The bedchamber of the three boys was a large, bare room looking outacross the wooded park and ridge of hills, through which the littleriver of Chad meandered leisurely. The boys would have preferredthe courtyard for their lookout; but a lover of nature could notbut be struck by the exceeding beauty of the view from this row oflatticed casements. And indeed the green expanse of home-likecountry had its charm even for high-spirited boys; and Edred, thesecond child of the house, often sat for hours together on the widewindow ledge, gazing his fill at the shifting lights and shadows,and dreaming dreams of his own about what he saw.

  The long room contained three small narrow beds, and very littlefurniture besides, In each of these beds a boy lay sleeping. Themoonlight streaming in through the uncurtained windows illuminatedthe whole room, and showed the curly heads, two dark and one fair,lying on the hard pillows, and shone so straight into the face ofthe eldest boy, that he stirred a little in his sleep, and halfturned round.

  He was a handsome lad of some eight or nine summers, with regular,strongly-marked features, and dark hair and eyes. The brown handand arm which lay exposed to view showed a muscular developmentthat betokened great strength to come when the boy should be grownto manhood, and the face exhibited a like promise of strength ofwill and character.

  Bertram Chadgrove, half aroused by the strong light of the moon inhis face, opened his dark eyes sleepily for a few minutes, and thenturned over towards the wall, and prepared to slumber again. Butbefore he had sunk to sleep he became further aroused by a verypeculiar sound in the wall (as it seemed), close to which his bedwas stationed; and instead of drowsing off again, he woke up withall his faculties on the alert, much as a watchdog does, andsitting up in bed he listened with all his ears.

  Yes; there could be no mistaking it! There was certainly a sound--amuffled, curious sound--within the very wall itself. He pressed hisear against the panel, and his eyes shone brightly in themoonlight.

  "It is some living thing," he whispered to himself. "Methinks it issurely some human thing. Rats can make strange sounds, I know, butnot such sounds as these. A human being, and within the thicknessof the wall! How can such a thing be? I never heard the likebefore. It comes nearer--I hear the groping of hands close besidemine ear. Heaven send it be not a spirit from the other world! Ifear no mortal arm, of flesh and blood, but I desire not to see avisitor from the land of shadows."

  For a moment the boy's flesh crept on his bones, and the hair ofhis head seemed to rise up from his scalp. The groping of thosephantom hands against the wall just beside him was enough to fillthe stoutest heart with terror, in an age when superstition wasalways rife. He strove to call to his brothers; but his voice wasno more than a whisper, and his throat felt dry and parched.Failing in making himself heard by his companions, he cowered downand drew the clothes right over his head, shivering with fear; andit was several minutes before his native courage came to his aid,and he felt ashamed of this paroxysm of terror.

  "Fie upon me for a white-livered poltroon!" he cried, as the chillsweat of fear ceased to break out upon him, and he rallied hiscourage and his determin
ation.

  "I am no better than a maid! Shame upon me for a coward! I will notcall to Edred and Julian. It shall not be said of me, even by mineown self, that I dared not face even a spirit from the lower worldalone. I will find out what this sound is, and that without thehelp of any other living soul, else shall I despise myselfforever!"

  And with that resolve hot within him, Bertram threw back hiscoverings and prepared to rise from his bed, when his attention wasarrested by some strange stealthy sounds close against the greatcarved chimney piece, on the same side of the room as his own bed.

  His brothers slept on the opposite side of the big room. None ofthe sounds which were so astonishing Bertram would penetrate totheir sleeping senses. Had the eldest boy not been awake at thebeginning, he would scarce have heard the sound, so cautious andsoft it was. But this noise was something new. It was like handsfumbling and groping in search of something. Bertram held hisbreath to listen, growing hot and cold by turns. But he drew someof his clothes cautiously towards him, and silently slipped intohis nether garments. He felt that if there were some unseen enemystriving in mysterious fashion to penetrate into this room, hecould better meet him if he were clothed, however scantily, than hecould do as he was; and he had ample time to put on even hisdoublet and hose, and to cover himself up again in bed, with hissmall poniard closely held in his hand, before there was anyfurther development of that strange night's drama which he was sobreathlessly watching.

  That something or somebody was seeking to find entrance into theroom, he could not doubt for a moment; but, on the other hand, itseemed an incredible surmise, because the wall along which theunknown visitor had plainly felt his way was an outside wall, andif there really were any person thus moving, he must be walkingalong some secret passage in the thickness of the wall itself.

  Such a thing was not impossible. Bertram knew of more than one suchpassage contrived in the thickness of the wall in his ancient home,and all the family were acquainted with a certain secret hidingplace that existed, cleverly contrived in the rambling oldbuilding, which, with its various levels and its wilderness ofchimneys, might well defy detection, even with the most skilledsearch. But the boy knew of no such passage or chamber inconnection with their sleeping room, and he was sure his parentsdid not know of one either, or any member of the household.Therefore it was immensely surprising to hear these uncanny sounds,and it was small wonder if they did give rise to a wave ofsupernatural terror, of which the boy was man enough to feelashamed the moment reason had time to assert her sway.

  "I have done no wrong; I confessed but three days since, andreceived blessing and absolution. If any spirit were to come tovisit this room, it could do me no hurt. Besides, methinks a spiritwould pass easily along the straightest place, and would not needto fumble thus as if in search of hidden bolts.

  "Ha! what is that! Methought some spring shot back. Hist! here ITcomes!"

  The boy lay back upon his bed, drawing the clothes silently up tohis very eyes. The moonlight had shifted just a little, and nolonger illumined his face. That was now in shadow, and would scarcereveal the fact that he was awake. He lay perfectly still, scarcedaring to draw his breath, and the next moment a strange thinghappened.

  The whole of one of the great carved pillars that supported thehigh mantle shelf swung noiselessly forward, and stood out at rightangles to the wall. From where he lay Bertram could not see, but hecould well understand that when this was done a narrow doorway hadbeen revealed, and the next moment a shadowy figure glided withnoiseless steps into the room.

  The figure was poorly clad in a doublet of serge much the worse forwear, and the moonlight showed a strangely haggard face and soiledand torn raiment. Yet there was an air of dignity about themysterious visitor which showed to the astonished boy that he mustat some time have been in better circumstances, and lying quitestill Bertram watched his movements with breathless attention.

  With a quick, scared glance round him, as though afraid that eventhe silence might be the silence of treachery, the gaunt figureadvanced with covert eagerness across the floor, leaving the doorwide open behind him, as if to be ready for him should he desire tofly; and precipitating himself upon a ewer of cold water standingupon the floor, he drank and drank and drank as though he wouldnever cease.

  Plainly he was consumed by the most raging thirst. Bertram hadnever seen anything but an exhausted horse after a burning summer'schase in the forest drink in such a fashion. And as he watched, allfear left him in a moment, for certainly no phantom could drink drythis great ewer of spring water; and if he had only a creature offlesh and blood to deal with, why, then there was certainly nocause for fear.

  In place of dread and terror, a great pity welled up in thegenerous heart of the boy. He had all the hatred for oppression andthe chivalrous desire to help the oppressed that seem born in thehearts of the sons of British birth. Who and what manner of manthis was he did not know; but he was evidently some poor huntedcreature, going in very fear of his life, and as such the boypitied him from the very ground of his heart, and would gladly havehelped him had he known how.

  He lay for a few moments wondering and pondering. Certainly hisfather was no foe to any man. He could not be hiding from hisdispleasure. The fugitive had rather taken refuge in his house; andif so, who better could be found to help him than the son of theowner?

  "Our father and our mother alike have always taught us to befriendthe stranger and the oppressed," said the boy to himself. "I willask this stranger of himself, and see if I may befriend him. Iwould gladly learn the trick of yon door. It would be a goodlysecret to have for our very own."

  It was plain that the fugitive, though aware that the room wastenanted, had satisfied himself that the occupants were all asleep.He had ceased his frightened, furtive looks around him, and wasquaffing the last of the water with an air of relish and reliefthat was good to see, pausing from time to time to stretch hislimbs and to draw in great gulps of fresh air through the openwindow by which he stood, as a prisoner might do who had just beenreleased from harsh captivity.

  The moonlight shining upon his face showed it haggard, unkempt, andunshorn. Plainly he had been several days in hiding; and by thegauntness of his figure, and the wolfish gleam in his eye as itroved quickly round the apartment, as if in search of food, it wasplain that he was suffering keenly from hunger, too.

  Bertram's decision was quickly taken. Whilst the man's face wasturned the other way, he quickly rose from his bed, and crossingthe room with noiseless steps, laid a hand upon his arm.

  "Hist, friend!" he whispered whilst the start given by the other,and the hoarse exclamation that broke from his lips, might havewakened sleepers who were not healthy, tired boys. "Fear not; I amno foe to betray thee. Tell me who and what thou art, and I willhelp thee all I may."

  The frightened eyes bent upon him bespoke a great terror. The man'svoice died away as he tried to speak. The only word Bertram couldcatch seemed to be a prayer that he would not betray him.

  "Betray thee! Never! Why, good fellow, dost not know that theChadgroves never betray those who trust in them? Hence sometimeshas trouble come upon them. But before we talk, let me get theefood. Methinks thou art well-nigh starved."

  "Food! food! Ah, if thou wouldst give me that, young master, Iwould bless thee forever! I have well-nigh perished with hunger andthirst. Heaven be thanked that I have tasted water once again!"

  "Come hither," said Bertram cautiously. "First close this narrowdoorway, the secret of which thou must teach me in return for whatI will do for thee, and then I will take thee to another chamber,where our voices will not disturb my brothers, and we can talk, andthou canst eat at ease. I must know thy story, and I pledge myselfto help thee. Show me now the trick of this door. I swear I willmake no treacherous use of the secret."

  "I will trust thee, young sir. I must needs do so, for withouthuman help I must surely die.

  "Seest thou this bunch of grapes so cunningly carved here? Thismiddle grape of the cluster will turn ro
und in the fingers thatknow how to find and grasp it, and so turning and turning slowly,unlooses a bolt within--here--and so the whole woodwork swings outupon hinges and reveals the doorway. Where that doorway leads Iwill show thee anon, if thou wouldst know the trick of the secretchamber at Chad that all men have now forgotten. It may be that itwill some day shelter thee or thine, for thou hast enemies abroad,even as I have."

  Bertram was intensely interested as he examined and mastered thesimple yet clever contrivance of this masked door; but quicklyremembering the starved condition of his companion, he led himcautiously into an adjoining room, where were a table and somescant furniture, and gliding down the staircase and along dimcorridors just made visible by the reflected radiance of the moon,he reached the buttery, and armed himself with a venison pasty, aloaf of bread, and a bottle of wine. Hurrying back with these, hesoon had the satisfaction to see the stranger fall upon them withthe keen relish of a man who has fasted to the last limits ofendurance; and only after he had seen that the keen edge of hishunger had been satisfied did he try to learn more of him and hisconcerns.

  "Now tell me, my good friend, who and what thou art," said the boy,"and how comes it that thou seekest shelter here, and that thouknowest more of Chad than we its owners do. That is the thing whichhas been perplexing me this long while. I would fain hear from thystory how it comes about."

  "That is soon told, young sir. Thou dost not, probably, rememberthe name of Warbel as that of some of the retainers of thygrandsire, but--"

  "I have heard the name," said the boy. "I have heard my fatherspeak of them. But I knew not that there were any of that name nowliving."

  "I am a Warbel--I trow the last of my race. I was born beyond theseas; but I was early brought to England, and I heard munch of thestrife that encompassed Chad, because my father and grandfatherboth knew the place well, and would fain have gone back and livedin the old country had not fortune otherwise decreed it. To make along story short, they never returned to the place. But when I wasgrown to man's estate, I was offered a post in the household of theLord of Mortimer, and as it was the best thing that had fallen inmy way, I accepted it very gladly; for I knew that name, too, and Iknew naught against the haughty lord, albeit my father andgrandsire had not loved the lords of that name who lived beforehim.

  "For many years I have been in his service, and for a while allwent well with me. I was made one of his gentlemen, and he seemedto favour me. But of late there has been a change towards me--Iknow not how or why. I have offended him without intending it, andhe has sometimes provoked me almost beyond endurance by his proudinsolence. But that I might have borne, for he was my master, hadit not been for the insolence and insults I had to bear from othersamongst his servants, and from one youth in particular, who seemedto me to be trying to oust me from my place, and to get himself theforemost place in his master's favour. That made my hot blood boilagain and again, until at last the thing I believe they had longplanned happened, and I had to fly for my life."

  The man paused, and Bertram, who was drinking in this story, askedeagerly: "And what was that?"

  "It was four days ago now, in the hall where we had supped. We haddrunk much wine in honour of our master's birthday, and then webegan playing and dicing to pass the time till we retired to bed.My adversary was this youth whom I so greatly distrust. As weplayed I detected him in unfair practices. He vowed I lied, andcalled upon me to prove my words at the sword's point; but in myfury and rage I sprang upon him with my bare hands, and would havewrung his neck--the insolent popinjay--had I been able. As it was,we struggled and swayed together till my greater weight caused himto fall over backwards against one of the tables, and I verilybelieve his back is broken. I know not whether he is living yet.But as he is not only a great favourite with the Lord of Mortimer,but a distant kinsman to boot, no sooner was the deed done than allin the hall called to me to save myself by flight, for that themaster would revenge such a death upon the perpetrator of itwithout mercy, and that if I wished to spare my neck I must flywithout an instant's delay.

  "I knew this but too well myself. The baron was a fearful man tomeet in his rage. Where to fly I knew not, but stay I could not. Ihad bare time to rush to my room, don a dress that would not exciteinquiry if I had to lie hid in the forest a few days. I did notthink flight would be so difficult a matter, but I knew that everymoment spent in Mortimer's Keep was at peril of my life; and I hadbut just made my escape through a small postern door before I heardthe alarm bell ring, the drawbridge go up, and knew that the edicthad gone forth for my instant apprehension."

  He paused with a slight shudder, and seemed to be listeningintently.

  "There is naught to fear here," said Bertram. "Tell me more of thyflight."

  "It was terrible," answered the man. "I had not looked to be huntedlike the wild beasts of the forest; and yet an hour had not gone bybefore I heard, by the baying of the fierce hounds that are kept atMortimer, that a hunting party had sallied forth; and I knew that Iwas the quarry. I doubled and ran like any hare. I knew the tricksof the wild things that have skill in baffling the dogs, and atlast I reached the shelter of these walls, and ran there forprotection. I had thrown off the dogs at the last piece of water;and in the marshy ground the scent did not lie, and could not bepicked up. For a brief moment I was safe; but I was exhaustedalmost to death. I could go no further. I lay down beneath theshadow of some arbour within the sheltering precincts of Chad, andwondered what would become of me."

  "Yes, yes! and then--?"

  "Then I remembered a story told me by my grandsire, years and yearsgone by, of a secret chamber at Chad, which had sheltered many afugitive in the hour of peril. Lying out in the soft night air, Irecalled bit by bit all that I had been told--the very drawings theold man had made to amuse me in a childish sickness, how the dooropened, and how access was had to the chamber. I knew that thecountry round would be hunted for days, and that I could neverescape the malice of the Lord of Mortimer if I pursued my way tothe sea. He would overtake and kill me before I could make shift togain that place of refuge. But I bethought me of the secret chamberand its story, and methought I might slip in unseen did I but watchmy opportunity, find my way up the winding stair to this room, andso to the secret chamber beyond."

  "And thou didst?"

  "Ay, I did, the very next morning. I saw thee and thy brotherssally forth a-hunting. I saw the men follow in thy train. I hadheard that the knight and his lady with their retinue were absentat Windsor. It needed no great skill to slip in unseen and gain thelonged-for hiding place. I had some food in my wallet. I fondlyhoped it would prove enough; but the sounds of hunting day by dayall around have told me too well that I must not venture forth; andas this room was slept in by night, I feared to sally forth afterfood, lest I should be found and betrayed. I had heard of themerciful nature of the master of Chad; but in his absence I knewnot what his servants might say or do. Doubtless there is a rewardoffered for my apprehension; and if that be so, how could I helpfearing that any hired servant would betray me to my lord?"

  "And thou thoughtest that servants slept in this room, and darednot show thyself either by day or night for fear thou mightest bebetrayed! And only hunger and thirst drove thee forth at length?"

  "Ay. And from my heart do I thank thee for thy kindness, young sir;and gladly will I show thee in return the trick of yon chamber. Ifthou canst kindle a torch it will light us better, for the waythither is wondrous tortuous and narrow."

  Bertram had a little lantern--a very treasured possession ofhis--and after the usual tedious process of lighting had been gonethrough, he softly led the way back to the sleeping chamber. Withhis own hands he undid the fastening of the door and saw it swingopen, and then the two passed through into a very narrow aperture,which proved to be a long narrow gallery contrived in the thicknessof the wall, which would only just admit of the passage of onefigure at a time.

  As they went in they drew to the door, and the fugitive showed hisyoung companion how the bolt upon the
inner side might be unloosed.

  "It is easy enow in the light, but hard to feel in the blackdarkness," he remarked; and then they pursued their devious way onand on through this strange passage, which wound up and down and inand out, and landed them at last at the foot of a spiral staircase,so narrow and squeezed in by masonry as to be barely serviceablefor the purpose for which it was contrived. It led them to a smalldoor, through which they passed, to find themselves in a room offair size but very low, and without any window, which seemed tooccupy (as indeed it did) a portion of the house between two of theother floors, and was so contrived as to absolutely defy detectionbe the examination of the structure of the house never soexhaustive. If the secret door were not found, nothing else wouldever betray this cunning hiding-place. Doubtless that was why,during the many changes that had prevailed at Chad during the pastfifty years, the knowledge of its very existence had been lost.

  "Air comes in freely through many cracks and slits," explained theprisoner. "It is not an unpleasant place save in the heat of themiddle day, when it becomes like a veritable oven. That is why mythirst was so unbearable. There is a bed, as thou seest, and achair and a few other things. One could be comfortable here were itnot for starvation and thirst."

  "I will feed thee so long as thou remainest hid," cried the boy,with generous ardour. "Thou shalt hide there by day, and by nightshalt wander abroad an thou wilt, to breathe the air and stretchthy limbs. My brothers and I will be thy friends. Thou needst fearnothing now. We will find out when it is safe for thee to leave thyretreat, and then thou shalt go forth without fear; or, if thoulikest it better, thou shalt abide here till our father returns andtake service with him. I doubt not he would be glad enow to numbera Warbel again amongst his trusty servants."

  The man's face lighted up wonderfully.

  "If he would do that," he cried eagerly, "I should have no wish foranything better. But my master, the baron--"

  "My father fears not the baron!" answered the boy proudly; "and,besides, his young kinsman is not dead. We heard something of hisside of the tale, and the youth is not even like to die now. Myfather could protect thee from his wrath. Stay here, and thou wilthave naught to fear."

  The fugitive took the lad's hand and pressed it to his lips.

  "I will serve thee for ever and ever for this boon," he answered;and Bertram went back to his room, to lie awake and muse over whathad befallen till the dawn broke and his brothers awoke to the newday.

  To keep any secret from his two brothers was a thing impossible toBertram, and before they had finished dressing that morning, Edredand Julian were both made aware of the strange adventure of thenight previous. Looking up to Bertram, as they both did, as theembodiment of prowess and courage, they did not grudge him hiswonderful discovery, but they were eager to visit the fugitivethemselves, and to carry him food and drink.

  The days that followed were days of absolute enchantment to theboys, who delighted in waiting on Warbel and passing hours in hiscompany. He told them entrancing stories of adventure and peril. Hewas devoted to his three youthful keepers, and wished for nothingbetter than to enter service with their father.

  Later on, when all hue and cry after the missing man was over, andwhen Lord Mortimer's young kinsman was so far recovered that itwould be impossible to summon Warbel for any injury inflicted onhim, Bertram conducted him to the hut of one of his father'swoodmen, who promised to keep him safe till the return of theknight.

  When Sir Oliver came back, Warbel was brought to him, told a partof his tale, and was admitted readily as a member of the household;but the story of his incarceration in the secret chamber remained asecret known only to himself and the three boys. So delightful amystery as the existence of this unknown chamber was too preciousto be parted with; and it was a compact between the boys and theman, who now became their chief attendant and body servant, thatthe trick of that door and the existence of that chamber were to betold to none, but kept as absolutely their own property.