Chapter VI.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 54, 4 March 1871, Page 3

Chapter VI.

THE LIBERATION OF SIR HUGH. War, lie dreaming? Had tho reius of reuaon snapped asunder, and "was this dazzling flood of light, was tins beautiful being the wild fantasy of a reeling brain? Almost blinded by the light, ho pressed h^svlknds to his burning temples. He felt the Void bleak wind fanning his face and tossing his hair —he saw the robe of the fair intruder fluttering as she stood hesitating at the open door, and he recognised the lovely and intelligent face of Nelly. Her large blue eyes looked down upon him with doubt compassion. ''Hush! be still 1 she said Alic staggered to his feet and moved his WL to speak. Tell me how yon came here, Mfm Hugh —tell me quickly." W '""I was betrayed," he muttered. "The villian shall suffer for this! Lend me your hand—l am giddy—l shall fall." Nelly advanced and extended her hand. "You are hurt" she exclaimed, observing that his forehead was stained with blood. "I will run and get assistance, and yet:?: — she turned very pale, and looked on the ground bewildered find troubled. How could she obtain assistance without convicting her father? "I need no assistance but yours. Help me out of this place. Oh, Heaven is merciful! and Heaven's love and mercy are reflected in you, my gentle lady. I want no other deliverer. For such sweet deliverance I would suffer a hundred such impri-/ sonments. What brought you here?" ■, . / ■! Oh, do not ask me. Sir Hugh. What am [ to do? I feared that I should find you here. Alas! my conjectures were all too true. Tou ai*e faint and ill —sit down —stay! let me put these rushes ail together, and here is my mantle for a pillow —mind! you will fall! —there, let me go and get some help. I must —l 'will find some one to help me." The giddiness had returned, the place seemed heaving upwards, and it was only by a desperate effort on the part of Nelly that Sir Hugh was saved from falling again

upon the stony floor. With the courage and boldness of a pure, noble-hearted woman, Nelly supported him in her arms, and put his head gently on the folded man- ; tie. Kneeling by bis side, she took from her basket a small flask of wine, and, raising his head, put it to his lips. " Thank you, thank you. I shall be better soon," he muttered, but his face was of a deathly hue, and he seemed to be fast sinking. Nelly looked intently at him for a few minutes in an agony of fear; then she rose to her feet, and hurried away, closing the door of the cell, and carefully replacing the heavy bolts outside. She turned towards the east, and passing along by the wine cellars of Billingsgate, she directed her steps to the priory of Holy Trinity atAldgate. Arriving at the low arched doorway of the priory, she lingered for a moment in painful hesitation. She felt her courage failing her as she stood beneath the shadow of the sacred building, but the image of Sir Hugh lying bleeding aud faint in the dark cell by the river came foremost amid the scenes and events which were tossing about in her troubled mind, and she topped at the door. It was opened by an old friar. '• Good morning to thee, my daughter," said the old man in a pleased aud familiar tone which showed that she was no stranger. "Is Father Lroadharfc within?" inquired Nelly. •''Aye, my child." "I must see him at once, good father. Pray speed him here," said Nelly. The eagerness with which she spoke caused him to hurry off, and in a few moments the same friar who was with Sir Hugh at the deathbed of old Ralf entered the small outer chamber where she awaited him. " God bless thee, my child," said Broad. hart, extending his hands as he entered and uttereu the benediction. "Father Broadhart," said Nelly, "I want your advice — your assistance. lam in terrible trouble, and know not what to doi Sir Hugh de Danedred, the young Crusader who went with you to see poor Ralf yesterday morning, has been foully dealt with. I fear he is in great danger. Follow me, and I will show you where he is." The good priest drew himself up, and looked steadily at the tremb^ng, excited girl. " Who has been guilty of this wickedness?" Nelly bowed her heard down, and did not answer. " Tell me all you know, my good child, and I will do whatever is within the sphere of my duty. Who sent you here?" "No one. I came of my one free will. Do not ask me any more questions. Come with me, and save Sir Hugh. Oh, come! and Heaven will reward you for your act of charity." She moved towards the door as she spoke, ■ and the friar followed her. As they went forth into the cold air he pulled his hood • over his brows. They went along together for some distance in silence, and Nelly directed him along the least frequented paths and through the most quiet streets. The friar was the first to speak. " Where are you leading me?" he asked. " Down by the river side there is an old cell of stone, and I found Sir Hugh there this morning, wounded and covered with blood; he was unable to stand, and had I not held him would have fallen ou the ground. He said he had been betrayed." " Did he say by whom he had been betrayed?" "No." " Mean you that old Saxon cist?" asked J Broadhart, pointing to the rough stone building which was now close at hand. "Yes, yes — 'quick — let us open the door," said Nelly. " Stay, my child," interposed Broadhart, putting his hand on the massive bolt, "this place belongs to your father." Had an arrow pierced poor Nelly's heart, she could not have started back with a more sudden pang. " Father?" That word was associated but a few hours ago with naught but honest pride, hope, and love; it had been the cheerful watchword of her life, familiar to her ears from earliest childhood as a sound of comfort and of joy — a sweet, homely sound, breathing sense of protection, confidence and lasting affection. Now it sounded like a death-knell, that seemed to freeze ncr blood and to make her feel like a wretched, guilty creature. The priest saw in the ghastly pallor of lier cheeks and in her restless, downcast eyes how cruelly his words had stung her. Accustomed to deal with mysteries and sorrows, 4ie was not slow to discover the hidden sources of her trouble. He had a ! large heart, and permitted the dictates of human sympathy to guide his actions where worldly selfishness and caution might have directed him in an opposite course. He knew that he incurred many dangers in thus secretly rendering assistance to Nelly. Glancing round as though engaged in some vile conspiracy, he withdrew the bolt, and the* heavy door swung slowly open. Nelly nervously caught hold of his long cloak, and peered into the darkness of the cell. Her heart was thumping violently,

and she tried in vain to subdue the excitemeut^of her overwrought nerves. All was. siletit withj n^/ S tr etch ed <yi the Tewprushes which Nellynad baslily*mrng together ou her fir^C visit, his head still resting on her folded/mantle, lay Sir Hugh de Danedred. The damp atmosphere of the cell, the odour that rclung about, and the awful stillness, suggested death. Father Broadhart knelt down and felt the pulse of the young soldier; then he bent down closer, and listened for /a sound of breath — a sign of life. Nelly stood by the door, with her hands clasped, and her eyes fixed on thu stooping figure of the priest, waiting for the word or the sign which should give her hope or send her adrift for ever, the daughter of a murderer. She had not long to wait. Broadhart rose with a grave face . "Se still breathes, but haste hack, ray I daughter, to the Priory," he whisper^ "and, bid three brothers come with a littfr j aud an ample cover. We must convey him to the Priory, concealed from the curiosiiy of idle citizens, who, if they do not see his 1 face and garb, will pass .by carelessly, believing him one of our brethren fallen sick." Nelly darted away on her errand. There was hope yet, and it gave her renewed energy. The cur.se which she had heard hissing through her father's closed teeth, auda hundred other incidents, had all rushed forward like spectre witnesses, pointing to hfm as the instigator of this awful crime. Her only hope now was in the recovery of Sir Hugh; and as she pressed eagerly onward, regardless of the good citizens wild turned after her, astonished at her wild mannersCntl unusual haste, she silently praj-ed — prayed with all her soul — to God, that her father might be spared the more terrible crime of murder. Broadhart remained watching the apparently lifeless form of the young baron. Ever and anon he looked out anxiously through the half-closed door. He had good reason for his anxiety. The city was in a very troubled state, and the man whom he believed to be implicated in this act of treachery was a man whc£se influence over the lower classes of citizens was much tqj be feared. Broadhart was essentially a man of peace; intellectually^©"-' w;is a pjiir losopher, who saw cleajjjjr the real evj. tendencies of the tnp^^Rather than clash with men of hot temper and violent bearing, he would willingly hav4 shut himself up for ever from the world! lie frequently stepped out aud looked cautiously along the river-bank and at the coinages and gardens around, concealing himself behind the heaps of broken stone which wfcre piled up at the side of the cell, whenever any citizen or bondman passed that way. Nelly had been gone nearly half an hour--when he observed a powerful man in a boat j approaching that part of £he bauJsrVhera the cell was situated. .As th^man drlpw* nearer Broadhart recognLjjj^Ttne features of Armstrong, the armprfrerl and his uneasiness increased he knew that Armstrong was Fitz-OsbertVi firmest partisan. Seeing that Armstrong was driving his boat ashore, with the evident intention of landiug behind the cell, took the precaution of rebolting the dojbr and crouching dowu behind the stones. He saw the burly armourer leap .'from his boat and stride up to the cell; then he appeared to hesitate, aud although, it was a cold morning, he noticed that the fellow wiped the perspiration from his brow. His hesitation, however, was only momentary. Seizing the bolt, he drove it back with his huge fist and flung the door open ; from his pocket he took some articles of food, and tossed them roughly in; then he bent forward, and seemed to be suddenly startled. Creeping back slowly, as if afraid to make any noise, ' he slowly fastened up the cell and turned away, his head bent down over his broad breast, and a sad haggard expression settled on his face — an expression strangely different from the defiant air with which he had approached. Broadhart sighed a sigh of relief as he saw the armourer return to his boat and paddle slowly off towards Billingsgate. Less fearful of intrusion, he took another peep at Sir Hugh, who still lay motionless in the death-like stupor that follows concussion 'of the brain. " What if the young man should die?" he asked himself. What would be his duty in such a case? Should, he conceal his death from the world, or proclaim the whole circum stances of his mysterious fate? If the latter, he would have to convict Armstrong and Fitz-Osbert of complicity in the crime, and events might possibly show them to be the actual perpetrators. What, then, would become of the gentle, earnest Nelly? The good man shuddered at the misery which seemed gathering round that pure, noble-minded girl. He endeavored to ascertain what course he should take consistently with his sacred duties; but he had not arrived at any satisfactory decision when Nelly and the friars arrived to remove Sir Hugh. , , ' Nelly waited until all the preparations were complete, and having assured herself that he still lived, she took her leave of Broadhart and went sorrowfully home. To be ' continued. " .