Produced by Thierry Alberto, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) THE COMING OF THE KING By JOSEPH HOCKING _Author of "All Men are Liars" "The Scarlet Woman" "A Flame of Fire" etc., etc._ ILLUSTRATIONS BY GRENVILLE MANTON LONDON: WARD LOCK & CO. LIMITED 1904 [Illustration: "'My name is Roland Rashcliffe, your Majesty.'" (_Page 130._)] CONTENTS I THE COMING OF KATHARINE HARCOMB 7 II THE SECRET OF THE BLACK BOX 17 III THE KING'S MARRIAGE CONTRACT 28 IV THE HAPPENING AT THE INN 39 V A MIDNIGHT MEETING 49 VI THE OLD HOUSE AT PYCROFT 59 VII THE MYSTERY OF PYCROFT 69 VIII HOW I ENTERED PYCROFT 79 IX FATHER SOLOMON AT BAY 89 X THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 99 XI THE SNARE OF THE FOWLER 110 XII THE COMING OF THE KING 121 XIII AN ADVENTURE ON THE CANTERBURY ROAD 133 XIV HOW I SAW A MAN WHO BECAME FAMOUS! 142 XV MASTER STURGEON, THE GAOLER 153 XVI THE ESCAPE 164 XVII HOW I LEFT BEDFORD 174 XVIII JAMES, DUKE OF YORK 185 XIX THE SCENE AT THE PARISH CHURCH 195 XX THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON 205 XXI HOW I VISITED BEDFORD A SECOND TIME 216 XXII THE CHAPEL OF HERNE 227 XXIII THE JOURNEY TO WINDSOR 238 XXIV CHARLES II AS JUDGE 248 XXV THE JUDGMENT OF THE KING 258 XXVI FLEET PRISON 268 XXVII HOW I LEFT FLEET PRISON 278 XXVIII WHAT HAPPENED ON THE BEDFORD ROAD 288 XXIX THE PURITAN'S COTTAGE 298 XXX HOW I LEFT MY OLD HOME 309 CHAPTER I THE COMING OF KATHARINE HARCOMB The history which I propose writing will, I believe, be of value for various reasons. It will clear my name from various aspersions, and it will enable me to explain what, to many, seem events of an extraordinary nature. For I have done nothing which makes me fear the light, neither have I any desire to offer excuses for the actions which shall be here set down. What I have done I have done in good faith, knowing all the time of the probable results which would follow.