Chapter VIII: Hidden Away.
Fleetly, silently, untiringly ran the two brothers, withoutexchanging a single word of their purpose even to each other. Thedistance from the priory to the house was a matter of some twomiles, but to the trained and hardy limbs of the country-bred ladsa two miles' run was a trifle, and they were only slightly flushedand winded when they paused, by mutual consent, a short distancefrom Chad, at a point where the tall turrets and battlements becamevisible over the treetops.
Julian, who was a few paces in advance, pulled up short, and caughthis brother by the arm.
"Hist!" he whispered cautiously. "I trow the prior's spies be stillon the watch. We must not be seen coming in this guise. Let us waita few moments till our breath be returned; then we will go forwardboldly and openly.
"Edred, have a care how thou answerest me when I shall speak tothee anon. We have a part to play, and Brother Emmanuel's life mayhang upon how we play it."
Edred nodded assent. He was more weary, because more deeplyexcited, than his brother, and no sleep had visited his eyes theprevious night. It had been spent with Brother Emmanuel in vigil inthe chantry. The strain of watching and deeply-seated anxiety wastelling upon the boy. He was glad that Julian had all his witsabout him, for his own head seemed swimming and his mind unhinged.
They stood silent awhile, until both had regained their breath;then putting on their caps, which for convenience they had carriedin their hands hitherto, they started forth again at a leisurelypace, and with an air of openness and fearlessness, in thedirection of the main entrance, talking to each other as they wentin no softened tones.
"It was a fine sight!" cried Julian. "I would not have missed itfor worlds. That villainous hunchback! So he was a damnable hereticafter all! I grieve we ever stood his friend. May he perish likethe vile creature he is! I will ask Brother Emmanuel to set me apenance for having touched him that day when we thought him aninnocent trader.
"Edred, thinkest thou that it can be true that Brother Emmanuel ishimself a heretic? If it be, we must drive him forth with blows andcurses. To sit down at board with a heretic, to hear teaching fromhis lips! Beshrew me, but one might as well have a friend from thepit for an instructor! It cannot be; surely it cannot be."
The boy spoke hotly and angrily. He had stopped short as if in theheat of argument, and Edred saw by the flash in his eye that he hadcaught sight of some lurking spy close at hand.
"Belike no," answered Edred cautiously, but taking his cueinstantly from the other. "I did not well hear what Brother Fabiansaid; surely it could be naught so bad as that?"
"I scarcely heard myself. I was something aweary by that time ofthe spectacle, and methought all the heretics had been dealt with.I saw that thou, like myself, wouldst fain stretch thy limbs onceagain, and I had shifted too far away to be certain what was said.But I did hear the name of Brother Emmanuel spoken, and there was acall for him, and he came not.
"Edred, can it be that he feared to come? Hath he a guiltyconscience? If that be so, shall we strive to find him and keepwatch upon him ourselves, that if the good prior comes to searchfor him at Chad we may be able to give him up, though he havehidden himself never so cunningly?"
"Marry, a good thought. It is certainly something strange that hedid not come at the prior's summons-and he a brother of the ordertoo. Sure, it looks somewhat as though he were afraid. But if thatbe so, we shall scarce find him at Chad. He will have benefited bythe absence of the household to make good his escape.
"Beshrew me, but he is a crafty knave. Who would have thought it ofhim?"
"When men turn heretic they seem to be indued with all the cunningof the devil!" cried Julian hotly. "But let us not dally here; letus run within and strive to seek and to find him. It may be he willthink he may hide himself the better in some nook or corner of thehouse, since he be well known all around; and the good prior saidsomewhat of having kept a watch upon him. But I trow he cannot hideso well but what we shall find him. I would fain earn myforgiveness for having shielded one heretic by helping to give upanother.
"Come, Edred, let us be going. Those priests are as crafty as foxeswhen the heretic leaven gets into them."
The brothers dashed away again towards the house; and when oncewithin the shelter of the walls, Julian nipped his brother's hand,saying in a whisper:
"There was a spy overhead who drank in every word. He had no notionmine eyes had seen him, for he was marvellous well concealed, and Inever should have found his hiding place had I not chanced one dayto see him climbing into it. Nobody will suspect now that we havehad a hand in the hiding of the good brother. But let us make allhaste, for no man knows when the bloodhounds may be upon us tostrive to take him away."
Edred's face was very pale, but steady and resolved. He understood,better perhaps than his younger brother, the peril of theenterprise upon which they had embarked. But he did not shrink fromthat one whit, only he did hope and trust that his father wouldnever be implicated by their conduct; for if, after all, the priestwere to be found hidden within the precincts of Chad, it was easyto prophesy a great reverse of fortune to all who dwelt therein.
However, even that consideration did not move him at this moment.Brother Emmanuel, their preceptor and friend and comrade (for hehad been all three to his pupils during his residence beneath theirroof), stood in deadly peril of his life, and to save him from themalice of his foes must be the first consideration now. Theexistence of the secret chamber was not known even to their father.Not a soul in the house or in the world knew of it save the threebrothers and Warbel. Warbel was absolutely to be trusted. He owedtoo much himself to that retreat to wish to betray its existence toothers, and he loathed and hated the whole household of Mortimer;and it was very plain to all concerned that Mortimer was workinghand in hand with the prior in this matter--the one to obtainpossession of the person of the offending monk, the other to findcause of accusation against the owner of Chad for harbouring andconcealing a suspected person, in defiance of the laws of the landand of the Church.
That there was conspiracy afoot against Chad and its master Edreddid not for a moment doubt; but the first consideration must now bethe safe hiding of Brother Emmanuel, and the boys dashed eagerlythrough the empty house, to find him in the little chantry, whereso many of his hours were spent.
He was reading the office of vespers without any congregation toassist. Instinctive reverence caused the boys to kneel in silencetill the brief service concluded, and then, after prostratingthemselves before the altar, they beckoned vehemently to the monkto follow them, and conducted him up a narrow winding stair, butlittle used, to the large sleeping chamber which the three brothershad shared ever since their early childhood.
Once there Julian carefully locked the door, whilst Edred in briefand graphic words told the story of that day's spectacle. BrotherEmmanuel listened calmly, with his features set into an expressionwhich the boys were beginning to know well, although they did notread its meaning aright. Sternness and resolve were strangelyblended with an infinite compassion and a look of almost divinetenderness; his words were few, and carried little of their meaninghome to the hearts of the boys.
"And thus they strive, thus they think to check the growth of theevil weed by fire and by the sword! Yet even nature may teach themthat the burned field only yields the richer crop, and that theplough tearing its way along is a fertilizer of the earth. Would toheaven they would send forth evangelists from the Church, not withfire and sword, but with the sword of the Spirit--the Word ofGod--with the lamp of life in their hands; not to deny the peoplethat life-giving fount, but to give them to drink through thechannels God Himself has appointed! Then, indeed, methinks heresywould soon cease to exist. But theirs is not the way; God whodwelleth in the heavens will soon show them that. Theirs is not theway!"
But time there was none now for one of those conversations in whichEdred's heart delighted. Julian burst in then with the story of thelatest scene in that solemn spectacle--of the whispered words ofBro
ther Fabian; of the call for Brother Emmanuel; of the appealmade to Sir Oliver, and his reply; and finally of the certaintythat the house would speedily be searched, and the necessity ofgetting into safe hiding before that happened.
"Safe hiding!" said Brother Emmanuel with a slight smile; "my kindpupils, there can be no safe hiding from the messengers sent forthfrom the Church. Wherever I am they will find and drag me forth. Iam grateful for all the goodness shown to me at Chad by all withinits walls; but none shall suffer on my account. It hath not pleasedGod to open to me a way of escape, wherefore I must now yieldmyself to the will of my enemies; and it were better to go forthand be taken by the spies without than to remain here a source ofperil to those within these walls."
"But there is yet another way!" cried Edred with flashing eyes."Thou shalt not go forth, and yet thou shalt not be a source ofperil to any living soul. Brother Emmanuel, methinks it was God'sdoing, or that of the holy saints, that this hap befell us whichrevealed to us a safe hiding place of which none knows butourselves, not even our father and mother, and the secret of whichwe have preserved unto this day, resisting the temptation todivulge it to any living soul. Time presses. When we are there Iwill tell thee all the tale--how this secret place came to ourknowledge. But now let us tarry no longer, but come quickly and seefor thyself. Once within that friendly shelter thou wilt havenaught to fear save the loneliness to which thou art well used.
"See, there is Julian already opening the door. Come, my father,come!"
Julian had kindled the little lamp the boys had constructed forthemselves, and which was much upon the principle of a modernbull's-eye, and could be safely carried through draughty passageswithout flickering or going out; and now the wondering monk allowedEdred to take him by the hand and lead him step by step along thenarrow, tortuous passage. Julian closed the door behind them,showing how the cleverly-contrived spring acted; then theyproceeded step by step in cautious silence--for this passageskirted a great portion of the house, and was very long--towardstheir destination, till at last they stood within the secretchamber itself; and Julian extinguished the light, to let theevening sunshine filter in and show how much of illumination itcould give.
"Now, Brother Emmanuel, let us show you all," said Edred eagerly;"for methinks it must be very few visits we must pay thee, andthose at dead of night. For I much mistake me if we be not closelywatched by some spy of the prior's these next days, and it will notdo for any to think we have hidden haunts of our own."
"Nay, nay, my children; ye must not run into peril for me. Farrather would I--"
"I know--I know!" cried Edred. "But in truth thou needst not fearto rest here. This is the lost chamber, the secret of which hadperished for well nigh a generation, till kindly fortune made itknown to us. All men think that the chamber lay in the portion ofChad that was destroyed in the late wars. None dream it stillexists. But here it is, and Bertram has made out little by littleexactly where it lies, and I will tell it thee.
"This portion at the lower and darker end is jammed in betwixt theceiled roof of the great gun room and that attic chamber where thedry roots are stored away in the winter months before the frostbinds them into the ground. None enter that attic in the summertidesave rats and mice, and though there may be many passing to and froin the gun room, no sound from here can penetrate there; for wehave tried times and again, when there has been none by to hear, ifwe can make each other hear sounds from either place. From the gunroom noise will, if very great, penetrate hither; but nothing thoucanst do will make them below hear thee.
"Then this wider and lighter and loftier portion, where the lightcomes in, is but a space filched away from the roofs and leads, andjammed in in such a fashion that it would defy a magician to findit from without. We tried days and days and could not do it, andnever did, albeit we can climb like cats and had an inkling whereit was--until we put Julian within to shout aloud and guide us byhis voice. It is so placed that none can get really nigh to thoseplaces where the cracks are made to let in the light and air. Thouneedst not fear, though all the monks in the priory come to search,that this hiding place will ever be found."
The monk looked around the narrow chamber and drew an involuntarybreath of relief. If indeed this thing were so, if indeed he mightlie hidden from discovery and defy the most stringent search, mightit not be a God-appointed means of salvation for him? Might he notbe doing wrong in insisting upon falling into the hands of men?Would it indeed be possible for him to secrete himself withoutbringing down upon others the wrath he himself would escape?
Whilst he stood thus debating with himself, the boys pulled him bythe sleeve and spoke eagerly, though involuntarily in low tones.
"And see further. Here is food laid up against this day. It willall keep for many weeks. It is but poor fare, but not poorer thanthou art well used to--salted meat, and dried fish, and oaten cake;which keeps moist far longer than any other. Here are a fewconfections, and here is wine, and a jar of good mead. As forwater, it may be had at this trough here, and a goodly supply; onlyit comes with somewhat of a rush, and the bung is not easily rammedback in its place. It is best to raise the tube--so--in the hand;but we could not make shift to do better. There is the lantern, andoil in this vessel, and none can see the light at night from anyplace when it is burned. I have placed three books in you corner--Idared not take more from the library; but I knew thou wouldst havethy breviary with thee, and thou art never dull. If it may be donesafely, one of us will visit thee from time to time; and if thereis any way of escape open to thee, thou shalt surely hear thereof.
"But be not dismayed if days go by and thou hearest naught. It maybe safer that thou shouldst be left quite alone. Thou wilt notthink thyself forgotten?"
Brother Emmanuel's eyes were fixed with a tender gaze upon thefaces of the bold, generous boys. He took their hands in his, andthey bent the knee to receive his blessing. His words were few andbrief, but each lad as he rose resolved deep down in his heart thathe would suffer the penalty of death itself sooner than betray thesecret hiding place and give the brother up to his foes.
Then with a few more last words respecting the hiding place and thearrangements made for the comfort of its occupant, the pair stoleaway, and soon found themselves safely within the walls of theirown room, the door of which was still safely locked. They lookedeach other in the face with a proud, glad smile.
"It is done!" cried Edred, drawing a long breath.
"Nay, not altogether," answered Julian, with eyes that flashed withexcitement; and drawing a step nearer his brother, he said inchanged tones, "Now must that rascally priest have fled, and itbehoves us to search the precincts of the place with all diligence.We must not leave a nook or a cranny unvisited, and must make amighty coil. Thou takest me, brother, dost thou not?"
Edred made a quick, eager sign of assent.
"Ay, Julian, I do; and when we have done all that, let us back tothe priory again. We must whisper in our father's ear that BrotherEmmanuel is safe. Then will he act with a freer hand. And it werebetter, perchance, that we were all there to ride back with himwhen he takes his leave."
Julian assented at once to this proposition; and forth went theboys, at first calling aloud the name of their tutor, and thenhalting, always within earshot of one of the spies, to debate wherehe could have concealed himself, darting hither and thither, as ifsuddenly remembering some new place, and ever returningdisappointed and vexed.
"He is a veritable fox!" cried Julian, flinging his cap on theground in a well-assumed tempest of chagrin. "He must have leftChad altogether, for not a trace of him is here; and I looked tohave the pleasure of bringing him ourselves before the reverendprior, to atone for having helped that other pestilent fellow toavoid for a while the hand of the law. A plague upon him and hiscunning ways! Unless he have found the secret chamber our fatherknows of, and which he once took us to see, there be no other placein all Chad where he can be lurking, unless he has been moving fromspot to spot at our approach. A pest upon the crafty rogue!" br />
"We shall do no good loitering here, since he be really gone,"remarked Edred, in a tone of vexation very like his brother's;"perchance he may have fallen into the hands of the prior throughthe watch of which he spoke. I trust it may be so. But for us, Itrow we had better go back to see the end of the day's spectacle.We can do no more at Chad. If he is hiding he will not dare comeforth now, with all the folks returning so soon; and if he has gotclean away, nothing we can do will bring him back."
Julian grumbled in the finest phrases he could think of as the twopursued their way back towards the priory, increasing their speedas they left Chad behind, and very quickly gaining the meadow,where the servants were already beginning to collect the horses andget them ready for their masters.
The day's proceedings were over. Refreshments were being served inthe refectory to all of the better sort. Sir Oliver's two youngersons had never been missed; but Edred contrived to slip into thehall, and in passing beside his father's chair to whisper in hisear the four simple words:
"Brother Emmanuel is safe!"
None heard the whisper, not even Bertram, who was sitting next hisfather, though he read it in his brother's eye the next moment.Edred had affected to catch the clasp of his belt against hisfather's chair as he passed by, and in pausing to free it had benthis head and spoken the brief message.
No change passed over Sir Oliver's face. Not a creature presentobserved the trifling by-play. Wine had circulated freely, and muchlaughing and talking were going on. The prior had unbent from hisjudicial severity, and even the Lord of Mortimer was smiling andbland, although there was something in his aspect that suggestedthe fierce feline play of a man-eating creature biding its time andtoying with its victim.
Just before the close of the feast Sir Oliver rose to his feet.
"My lord prior, and you knights and gentlemen," he said suddenly,addressing all those who sat at the board in one comprehensiveglance round the table. "I have been not a little disturbed andastonished today by hearing that there is ill known of one who hasbeen long a member of my household--Brother Emmanuel--whom thereverend prior himself sent forth to be the instructor of my sons,and who has always comported himself right reverently and seemly inmy house. But inasmuch as there is cause of offence in him, andthat he has this day refused obedience to his lawful superior, andhas not come at the bidding of the prior, I cannot but own him infault, and decline to have further dealings with him. I do not knowwhether he is yet at Chad. I have not seen him since his farewelllast evening. But if he be yet there, let the Lord of Mortimer, oryou, holy father, send a company of servants to bring him thence.
"I have heard it whispered around that he is hiding within thewalls of Chad, and that we of that household know where he lurks.My reply to that whisper is a denial (which I will take upon oathif need be) that I know aught whatever about him; and furthermore,I will throw open my house, upon any day and at any time, towhatever persons shall be sent to seek him, and will aid them inevery possible way in the finding of the offender."
A murmur of approval went round the company. The prior lookedpleased, and a smile crossed his face.
The only person who did not seem gratified by this openness was theLord of Mortimer, whose face contracted sourly, and who gave a keenglance at his rival, as though he would have read his very soul.But the calm gaze with which Sir Oliver returned this look did notappear to restore his equanimity, and he flashed a glance at hisson-in-law which plainly betokened surprise and chagrin.
"Well spoken, Sir Oliver," said the prior; "and since I haveexcellent reason to know that the brother has not left Chad, andcannot do it without my knowledge, it is plain to me that he ishiding in some place there, albeit all unknown to you and yours.Wherefore, on the morrow, I myself, together with my good friendthe Lord of Mortimer, will present ourselves at Chad, and make fullsearch, and we shall no doubt find the heretic monk cowering awayin some undreamed-of hiding place, and will drag him thence to thefate he so well merits.
"Chad has its secrets, has it not? I have heard of them in daysgone by."
"It has several cunning nooks and crannies, but all of these will Imyself display to you upon the morrow," replied the knight calmly;and the Lord of Mortimer arose with a crafty smile upon his face,and addressed the prior in these words:
"Reverend father, I do not willingly speak ill of my neighbours,least of all of one who is now near akin to me through the marriageof my daughter with Sir Edward, who comes of the old stock of Chad.Yet I cannot but state here, in this place, that I hold Sir Oliverto have drawn down suspicion upon himself by failing to give upBrother Emmanuel a week ago when it was demanded of him. There besomething to my mind strange and unworthy in such an act; and Ihere call upon all men to witness that I verily believe we shallfind this traitor monk sheltering within the walls of Chad, andthat if this be so I shall openly accuse Sir Oliver before all theworld--before the king himself--of harbouring traitors andheretics, and shall make petition that Chad and all that pertainsto it be forfeit, as the penalty for such evil courses, and begiven to the rightful lord by inheritance--Sir Edward Chadwell."
The partisans of Mortimer raised a cheer; those of Chad receivedthe challenge with groans and curses. Sir Oliver spoke not a word,but sat with his head proudly erect, and his eyes gleaming somewhatdangerously; whilst the prior commanded silence by a gesture of hishand, and spoke to quell the tumult.
"My Lord of Mortimer, I have far more trust than you in theintegrity of good Sir Oliver. I trow he will be able to clearhimself of whatever suspicions lie upon him; and if the monk befound within his house, he shall have every opportunity ofexplaining his presence there. At the same time, I will not denythat it will look ill for him if he be found there; and that thetongues of all suspicious persons may be silenced, so that noneshall say there has been opportunity for him to get the monksecretly away from the place, I will double the watch that hasalready been set around Chad, and I will send thither with SirOliver and his family two of my trustiest sons, Brother Fabian andBrother Nathaniel, to keep strict watch within doors, that there beno cause for any enemy to say that any there have aided an unlawfulescape, or have striven to hide a miscreant from those who justlydemand him."
Sir Oliver bent his head.
"Any brother coming from Chadwater will be an honoured guest atChad," he said. "I was about to ask if Brother Fabian was to besent thither to instruct my sons."
"Ay, and to find out what germs of heresy yon false monk may nothave implanted!" cried Lord Mortimer, losing control of himself ashe saw the calmness of his enemy, and felt that the prey he had soconfidently looked to be his might even now slip from his grasp."It was those lads from Chad who strove to protect yon miserablehunchback who will be burned to ashes for his sins ere three moredays have gone by. How explain you such conduct as that, SirOliver? Are you and your dame rearing up a heretic brood, to cumberthe land in days to come?"
But the prior here interposed somewhat sternly. He had no intentionof allowing his table to be made the scene of a disturbance thatmight lead to bloodshed. He turned somewhat sternly upon thehaughty baron, and his words were few and plain.
"My Lord of Mortimer, Sir Oliver has answered to me for thatoffence. You take something too much upon yourself in thus strivingto sit in judgment, and that in mine own presence.
"And now, gentlemen, the sun will be shortly setting, and some ofyou have many miles to ride. We have done the day's work in athorough and righteous fashion; and I will now give you myblessing, and dismiss you to your homes. I trust this may be thelast time that I have to assemble you together to drive fromamongst us those who are tainted by the curse of heresy."
Half an hour later the party for Chad were riding quietly homewardthrough the forest with two cowled monks in their company. The lastcharge to these from the prior had been:
"Thou, Brother Fabian, keep a sharp eye by night and by day uponthe boys; and thou, Brother Nathaniel, upon the knight and hislady. If any of those are in the secret, be it your mission t
o findout and bring it home to them."