CHAPTER IX
"I asked you to come out with me because there is something I must saybefore you return to Sandtoft." So I feebly began, as we paced thegarden, now somewhat cleared of the mire and refuse brought by theflood, a few flowers lifting their heads to the July sun. "I told youthe other night I loved you. I might never have dared to say it, butfor the fear that I should not have another chance. MistressGoel--Anna--do you, can you love me?"
She lifted her noble face a little, gave me a look which I could notunderstand, and then the eyelids drooped, as she answered withtrembling lips--
"It would be only too easy to love you, Frank, but I ambound--betrothed already. Have patience with me, while I tell you mymiserable story." She sat down, and I beside her, heavy-hearted.
"Years ago, my father and his dearest friend, Cornelius Vliet, agreedupon a marriage between me and his friend's only son. I shrank fromthe thought of it, and begged my father to allow me to refuse; but helaughed at what he took to be girlish perversity. He could not believeI had a repugnance against a young man, who was reckoned handsome,well-bred, brave, the heir to a large fortune. And, indeed, I couldsay nothing against Sebastian, but only that I had the strongestdislike to be married to him, or to any man. My father so far yieldedas to defer the matter awhile. Then he was seized and thrown intoprison, and we knew his doom would be death, or lifelong imprisonment.Sebastian came to me, and offered to secure my father's escape--on onecondition. I gave him my promise, and he fulfilled his own by lavishbribery, and, I must acknowledge, at the risk of his own liberty,perhaps his life. He accompanied us to Paris. There I saw and heardmuch more of his manner of living than I had known at home, and it wasfearful and loathsome to me. My father assured me young men were noworse for--what was so offensive to me. I cannot tell you how dreadfulI felt it to be to fail in duty and love toward my father, and to be soungrateful to Sebastian for my father's life and freedom, but I couldnot keep my plighted word. I vowed that I would not be married untilSebastian changed his course. He did not upbraid or taunt me, or arguewith me, but disappeared. For some months we have heard nothing ofhim. I supposed he had been disgusted with what he must think myingratitude and fickleness; but yesterday my father received a letterfrom him, saying he has given up drinking and dicing and all evil ways,and is coming to claim his bride. He has decided to join Vermuijden,and to share our exile, and will quickly follow his letter. My fatheris delighted. Forgive me, Frank, that I have not avoided you. I amguilty, I know. Forgive me."
I had been on the point to interrupt the story a dozen times; butseeing how hard Anna found the telling of it, I would not make itharder. Now I burst out. "Forgive her! Forgive the sun for shining,the flowers for blooming!" I told her how sorely my heart ached forher, but she must bear up bravely still. I would not hear of duty toher father in regard to this marriage. I declared that a promise soextorted could not bind her. To try to keep it would be to sin againstherself, against the man, against her father, who must be made wretchedby it in the end, against me, against love, against God. I told her Iwas sure she loved me a little, and I would never give her up. She was_mine_, and should be mine as long as she or I lived. Where the wordscame from I did not know, for I am commonly slow of speech, but theycame hot and swift, and Anna looked up at me, as I stood over her (myfeelings had raised me to my feet) smiling through swimming eyes, andsaid tremulously--
"You masterful Frank! I could almost believe you; but oh! it cannotbe."
She rose to her feet in a sudden agitation. "Here is Sebastian!" sheexclaimed, and I turned and saw him, accompanied by Doctor Goel,approaching us. After greeting had passed between Anna and him, thedoctor said something by way of introduction, and Vliet and I bowed, helooking as black as a thundercloud, and I, doubtless, equally so. Ithink he knew me his rival at first glance, and hated me accordingly.How heartily I detested him there are no words to express.
He was a fairly well-made man two or three inches below my height, withcold, bluish-grey eyes, rather closely set, a big mouth, thick-lipped,a low forehead, and cheeks somewhat bloated. That he had turned tosober and cleanly living I did not believe, or that he ever would, andmy unbelief was warming to the heart. Having no part in the Dutchconversation, I left the three, and returned to the house, where Iheard that Vermuijden was again at Sandtoft, and had sent SebastianVliet in command of six of his men to escort Doctor Goel and hisdaughter thither, with request that they would come with speed.
Within the hour the party was ready to set off, two of the Dutchmencarrying the baggage (except certain small boxes, which the doctorwould not entrust to other hands), and the other three men withmuskets, cutlasses, and pistols, going in front. Then came the doctorand Vliet, Anna and I last. As the landing-place, where they had lefttheir boat in charge of one of their number, was not more than half amile away, I hastened to take up the thread of our previous talk, butwas baulked of my intent. At a spot where three roads met weencountered a crowd "riding the stang." At the head of the processionstrode a fellow blowing a horn; then a dozen others, beating pans andkettles with pokers and iron spoons; a bagpiper made a noise like pigsin a storm; a ragged rascal, sitting a donkey, carried a pole on whichdangled a woman's smock. After this standard bearer followed an oldhorse, bestridden by a grinning woman, who held an enormous ladle, withwhich she merrily belaboured her husband, who rode behind her, his faceturned to the horse's tail, pretending to work at a distaff. Two ladsmarched behind the couple on horseback, bearing a pole, on which rode athird, thumping a pan, and repeating--
"With a ran, tan, tan, On my old tin can, Mrs. Mooley and her good man, She banged him, she banged him, For spending a penny when he stood in need. She up with a three-footed stool; She struck him so hard, and cut him so deep, Till the blood ran down like a new-stuck sheep."
A shouting, jeering rabble accompanied the cavalcade, making uproarwith marrow-bones and cleavers, tongs, gridirons, and kettles, and'some half-score of barking and yelping curs swelled the din. Aprominent figure in the rout was Ducker's wife, who had gone crazythrough the loss of her child. She skipped and screamed and laughed,now here, now there, almost as much the object of amusement to the mobas the henpecked husband and his shrew of a wife.
If the mad woman caught sight of Anna there would be trouble, I feltsure; so I pushed on, hoping to avoid touch with the crowd, who wouldmost likely turn by the road we had come, to make the circuit of thetown. But the spectacle had some attraction for Vliet, who stood tosee the crowd go by, saying with a laugh, "Ah! justitia de loscornudos!" from which I surmised he had seen the riding of the stang inSpain.
I asked Anna to urge the five Dutchmen forward, the boat being yet somefour hundred yards away. As I feared, some of the mob stopped to stareat Vliet in his foreign costume, and this led to Ducker's wifeperceiving Anna and me. She raised the cry, "Witches! witches!" andthe crowd took it up instantly. I saw the vixen leap down from hercharger to join the blacksmith's wife in the leadership of the gang,which followed us pell-mell. Then I ran for the boat, half carryingAnna, who at first hung back, imploring me to go to her father'srescue. As he had six men well armed to defend him--for the Dutchmenhad faced about and behaved manfully, the two who had borne the baggagepitching it into the reed-bed that bordered the road, and taking totheir weapons--I attended to nothing but Anna's safety. I had put herinto the boat, and made the man understand that he must push out intothe stream, and take shelter under the reeds, when the rest of ourparty came up, the mob at their heels, brandishing their pokers,gridirons, cleavers, and what not, encouraging one another with shoutsof "The witch! Tear her to scotticks!" and savage curses.
With great coolness and quickness, the Dutchmen took in the conditionof things, and faced the angry rabble, and two of them fired. Whetherany one was hurt, I could not see, but the yelling mob was not evenchecked. On they came furiously, and for some minutes we were engagedin a confused hand-to-hand struggle, which would have ended, mostlikel
y, in our being forced into the river by sheer weight of numbers,but for a pistol-shot fired into the rear of the crowd, which took themby surprise, and scattered them a little. This gave the Dutchmen thechance to use their muskets, and as one of the leaders of the mob fell,the rest were somewhat daunted, and drew off a few yards. Then Lukeran from behind them, and took his stand by me. He it was who hadfired the shot which saved us, having followed me with my pistols. Inthis lull of the storm, I tried to persuade the folk to go away; but Ihad scarcely begun to speak, when one of the men took a stride forwardand hurled a gridiron at my head, which happily flew wide, for I leapedon him in the act, snatching him up, and tossing him into the reed-bed.But he had given the others a lead which they were quick to follow; allsorts of missiles hurtled about us, and one of the musketeers wasstruck and fell backwards into the river. We could do nothing for him,because another shower of knives, pots, and stones flew about us, andour assailants came on with a rush. I gave Vliet a hint, though I knewnot whether he understood English. He nodded, and spoke to his men.When the foremost of the crowd were right upon us, we drew apartswiftly, Vliet and three of the Dutchmen on one side, I and Luke andone of the Dutchmen on the other. The pressure of those behind sentfive or six of the leaders headlong into the river, and we threw orthrust several more after them. The rest took fright, and ran like somany rabbits. I believe the discovery that the "witch" had vanishedhad as much to do with their panic as the loss of their boldestspirits, who were floundering in the water. As the rabble fled, Iperceived that blood was spouting from my right wrist, and my strengthgoing with it. I asked Luke to tie my handkerchief tightly round it,but that did no good; the handkerchief was a soaked rag in no time, andthe blood still pouring. Luke in great alarm called for Doctor Goel,who came and ripped up my coat and shirt-sleeves, and placing a bit ofwood on my arm some distance above the elbow, fastened it there with abandage torn from my shirt. This marvellously staunched the bleeding,but I became queerly drowsy, and sat on the ground, overcome withlanguor. The doctor went from me to look at two fellows, dead, orbadly wounded, who lay in the road.
The Dutchmen were chasing the men in the river, firing now and then,but everything was dreamlike to me, until I heard a light footstepbehind me, which I knew was Anna's. Before I could turn round, I saw amovement in the reeds, and then a face, the mad woman's face, glaringat me, or at some one behind me. The next instant she sprang from herhiding-place, knife in hand, and I, now roused from my stupor, rose toseize her. I caught her in my arms, but she bore me to the ground.She writhed and twisted; she clasped her hands round my neck, trying tostrangle me; she bit my bare shoulder; but I had just sense andstrength enough to hold her fast until I heard Luke say--
"Let go, Measter Frank--let go; I have her safe, and you're bleeding todeath."
The next thing I knew was that the vicar stood near in his old gown,and he and everybody looked so solemn that I got the notion this was afuneral company, and I the person they meant to bury.
"You mustn't," I whispered. "I'm not dead."
Wine was produced in some mysterious way, and Anna held the horn to mylips. The draught revived me greatly, and they told me what had passedduring my fainting fit. As soon as the crazy woman had been secured,Luke had run to the vicarage for wine, and had ordered the sexton tobring the bier as the handiest means of conveyance. The vicar hadfollowed. The doctor had attended to my wounds, and given instructionsfor their future treatment, and now Vliet was impatient to be gone. Sowe said our adieux, and Anna's right hand lay for a moment in my left,and my lips touched it. Then the boat moved off, and I was carried tothe vicarage.