Americans -- England -- Fiction; West Country (England) -- Fiction
"None to name," he answered. "My fear is only for your
health--that you may suffer in this dismal pit. It is damp. But
here's a snug cubby-hole I've found--dry as a bone--and I've
filled it with sweet dead fern and heath. The water that trickles
yonder is pure. And upon that shelf, beside the money-bags,
you'll find bread and bacon and a jug of cider. 'Twas all I
could furnish yesterday, but I'll come back to-night with better
fare. Here's a few candles too, and a flint and steel. And--and
he'd be here now if he could--Master Stark--you know that
right well; but he's got a great weight on his shoulders--five
thousand fellow-men to answer for; and he knows you're safe
while I draw breath."
"I can't thank you. Each word you say stabs me and makes
me ashamed to live."
"Sleep--sleep soft and safe; and dream of him. 'Tis not
going to be long before he comes to you; but it won't be here.
To-morrow I see him; to-morrow night I'll return again. Don't
fear for him. Think of the light he's got to show him his road!
You're safe as sanctuary here. And remember, if time hangs
heavy, that you may be within touching distance of the amphora."
She shook her head sadly.
"Father will never forgive me now. I have done a deed
unpardonable. He cannot understand that I love him with all
my heart, and yet deem my poor, wretched body a sacred thing--beyond
his right to dispose of as he pleases. I only pray this
will not drive him to distraction."
The man left her, and during that day had speech with Cecil
Stark at the War Prison, as we have noted. He worked also for
several hours beside James Knapps, and then, towards midnight,
returned to Grace. So silently did he descend into her
hiding-place that he did not waken her. She slept snug in the russet
sweetness of last year's bracken, and the candle by her side made
a play of great black shadows broken by the glow of the fern.
Her young shape was sunk in this soft resting-place, and her lips
shone very red in the candle-light. They held his eyes, since her
own eyes--those lovely lamps that generally attracted a
beholder--were hidden. Long he watched her peaceful breathing, and
stood fired to his heart, unwilling to rouse her. Once she half
awoke, and moved and lifted her head; then she cuddled into
the fern, sighed softly and slept again.
Presently he called her in gentle tones, and she sat up, still
dreaming; then came to her senses and remembered.
"Great news," he said. "First, here's some fresh wheaten
cake and some butter and three hard-boiled eggs. Next, you
must know that the tunnel is just finished. We were nearer
by five or six yards than we thought. To-day we heard them
knocking."
"How is it with my mother and father?"
"I have seen Putt within the last two hours. He stole out to
Fox Tor and met me as I came. Your mother keeps calm,
for she knows that you are safe; but Mr. Malherb is like one
possessed."
"Alas, I can see him and hear him as though I was by."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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