With Ring of Shield Part 30

"Sure, yer honour, it must have bin thare afore ye lift, sor; fer Oi was out o' the room but fer a few minutes, and thin Oi made fast the door behind me, and took the kay along with me, sor. Divil a soul could inter, sor, barrin' that they came through the kay-houle."

"Strange," said Harleston, as he commenced to read the lengthy letter.

But stranger still he thought it ere he had finished its contents. It was writ in a labored hand, as though to avoid recognition, and read as follows:--

"To SIR FREDERICK HARLESTON, _Greeting_.

"The writer of these words, though--for reasons that he is not at liberty to state--he signs not his name, is well known to thee, and to thine unfortunate friend, Sir Walter Bradley; both of which he loveth well.

"To-morrow Sir Walter is to go through a form of trial--the result of which must be his conviction--and he shall immediately be taken unto Tower Hill, where his head shall be stricken from the trunk. Unless, ere to-morrow's dawn, he, by the aid of his friends, doth contrive to escape from the Tower, and make his way from London to a place of safety, he must surely die.

"Sir Walter is now confined within the square tower next after pa.s.sing through the Tower of St. Thomas, which, thou no doubt knowest, is that one into which the "Traitor's Gate" doth lead.

"If thou wilt but turn to the enclosure in this letter thine eyes shall behold an order, signed by his Majesty, King Richard, that shall obtain for the bearer admittance to and exit from any part of the Tower.

However, this cannot give unto thee power to take forth a prisoner with thee. That must be done at thine own risk, and in the manner following:--

"There is but one keeper in attendance on Sir Walter. Him thou must master, and in a quiet manner. Take then from his belt the keys that do depend therefrom. Leave the keeper in such a condition as shall secure thee of his quietness. The aforesaid keys will give unto you an exit into the s.p.a.ce before the square tower. When ye have reached this, turn to your left, and again will the keys open the gate in this wall with which ye shall soon be confronted. Then, looking to your right, ye shall behold the wall that doth separate the yard from the watery moat. Approach this with the exercise of great caution and ye shall then observe an opening where the wall is now being repaired by workmen, in the day time, and at night it is guarded by a single soldier, armed with a pole-axe. Ye must quiet this man by whatever means best serving. But over and above all else, the neglect of which advice must be the ruin of ye both, permit him to make not any noise; for the utterance of but one word by him shall be the signal for his fellows to come to his a.s.sistance; in which case escape is impossible.

"When the sentry shall have been removed the moat must be crossed as best ye can. The water therein is now both fresh and high, and therefore it will not be difficult for ye to descend into it and swim across. This ye must do in a most careful manner, that the guard be not disturbed by the noise of splas.h.i.+ng water.

"At a point directly opposite to the place where the wall is now being repaired ye shall find a ladder made of ropes and cross pieces, placed there for your especial use and privilege.

"By these same means ye may a.s.sist your friend to freedom, and that, without great risk; providing that the aforesaid instructions be followed with exactness and care."

Then followed a note. It read thus:--

"If thy friend, Sir Walter, doth desire to save the Lady Hazel Woodville from one which now resides within the walls of this place, and who is as bitter an enemy of Sir Walter as he is ardent lover of the aforesaid lady, he had best tarry in his flight for a sufficient time to allow him to take the lady with him along. However, let him not abide there; but hasten along upon his journey until he cometh unto the second road turning unto his right after leaving Westminster. Let him follow this for the distance of about three miles, and he shall then come unto a house, from the window of which a flag shall hang.

The aforesaid house is not occupied, and may be used by the refugees for their hiding-place. Let them there remain all day to-morrow; for the aforesaid enemy of Sir Walter doth intend to take the aforesaid lady from the Sanctuary, by force if necessary, to-morrow, ere he doth leave to join the King's army at Leicester.

"Praying with my heart's full strength that this warning may not be too late to save the gallant knight from the disgraceful death of a traitor to his country, I am, dear and respected sir,

(Signed) "A FRIEND."

"A friend? Now what friend can he be who hath access to my room when the door is locked?" mused Harleston.

"Besides, he must be one in favour to have such an order as is this,"

and he picked up the enclosed paper and read as follows:--

"Unto the bearer of this order grant admittance to the Tower of London, or to any part thereof. And further, likewise permit the aforesaid bearer to have conference with any prisoner or prisoners within the Tower. And further, permit the aforesaid bearer to have entrance or exit at whatever hour of day or night best conveniencing him.

(Signed) "RICARDUS REX."

My friend stood bent in thought for some time after reading this strange order. Then he raised his head quickly, as though a sudden solution of the problem had occurred to him.

"Can it be possible that this is a plot, laid with great cunning by Catesby, that I may be lured into the Tower, that there I may be kept?

But then, this order doth command that the bearer shall also have exit.

But it may be that the keepers know to whom it doth belong; and were I to present it they may have orders to arrest me for its theft. That should be a clever plan for removing me from his way. Then he might use force to gain admittance to the Sanctuary." These were the thoughts that now kept running through his mind, causing him great anxiety.

He then read the letter and order to Michael, and then told him of his doubts, and asked him for his opinion.

"Sure, sor," said Michael, "methinks the chances are that it were dangerous for thee, sor, to go thoysilf into that houle o' Hill. But, yer honour, it moight have come from Lord Stanley, and it may be the truth he sez. How'd it be, sor, if Oi moysilf wint in yer honour's place? Sure, Sor Walter must be saved, if Oi lose a scoure o' loives in the doin' o' it. Sure, sor, 'twould matter little if they did chop off moy head; but if thou wert wance shut up in that d.a.m.ned Tower what moight not happen to that swate lady in the Sanctuary?" And Michael's lips closed into a straight line that bespoke no good unto those which attempted to keep him in the Tower.

"'Tis good, Michael, that I follow thine advice; for whilst thou art aiding Sir Walter in his escape, myself will unto the Sanctuary, and there acquaint the Lady Hazel with our plans, and have her in readiness for the flight. Besides," he continued, "thy presence with Sir Walter will give me a.s.surance that the keeper and the soldier guarding the breach shall make no noise.

"But come, we must make haste; for the night is already far spent, and Sir Walter and his dear lady must have left the Sanctuary by the dawn of day.

"Thou must go well armed, and take with thee a horse for Sir Walter."

"Oi will, sor."

"Do thou make ready the horses, that the grooms may know not who took them from the stable."

"Hadn't Oi bist take with me anither sword for Sor Walter? Thim spalpeens took his own from him, bad luck to thim fer it."

"Yes, Michael; 'twas thoughtful of thee to remember this necessity.

"And now, Michael, for thy directions:--

"Tether your horses in some quiet, and not too light, spot. Then proceed unto the western entrance, and to the officer in charge thereof present this order, being sure, however, to have him return it unto thee. In the same manner, providing that this order be not a trap, shalt thou pa.s.s the other gates. Inform these officers that thou dost desire to be taken unto the prison of Sir Walter Bradley, in the square tower. When thou dost see Sir Walter do not appear friendly with him if there be more than the one keeper present, lest it doth cause them to watch ye too closely. Thou knowest best how to silence the keeper.

"When this is accomplished give the letter unto Sir Walter. He will then know how to follow its directions.

"When ye are once out (if Heaven doth so far favour ye) come with all haste unto the Sanctuary, where the Lady Hazel shall be in readiness."

Whilst Harleston had been thus giving Michael his instructions they both had been arming each other in haste. They were now fully ready; so Michael went to prepare the horses. Frederick then followed Michael to the stables, and in a short time they were ready to set out.

"Do thou go first, Michael, and have a great care that thou dost follow closely the instructions that I gave thee. Pray G.o.d that thou dost succeed," and he gripped Michael's giant hand with a force that a.s.sured him, had he not already been aware of it, of his sincerity.

"Oi'll remimber, sor, and do as thou hast said. And be sure of this, yer honour; if the order be but a trap, moure than wan man now aloive and will shall see Gawd, or the divil, afore they take Moichael a prisoner." With this he was off, and Harleston stood for some moments gazing after the gigantic monument of honesty as he gradually faded from view and was swallowed up in the darkness. Then he himself mounted and started on his mission.

He had not, however, left the courtyard when he met a horseman, which called out to him as they pa.s.sed each other:--"'Tis late for thee to be riding forth upon a journey, Sir Frederick. And besides, the road is dark to travel thus, alone." It was Catesby.

"Thanks for thy kindly warning," returned Frederick; "but I have but a short distance to travel, and the way, methinks, is safe." He then rode on; but for a few rods only; for here his horse stopped of its own accord.

As the noise of the horse's hoofs ceased suddenly, Frederick distinctly heard a low laugh come from out of the darkness, and in the direction where last he had seen Catesby.

"I fear Michael shall not return," thought Frederick, as he again proceeded on his way.

[1] Rous, the historian, states that these lines were written by Lord Rivers, during that unfortunate n.o.bleman's imprisonment at Pomfret.

K.M.