CHAPTER IV. A SHADOW IN THE CHAMBER OF DEATH.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 335, 19 January 1889, Page 3

CHAPTER IV. A SHADOW IN THE CHAMBER OF DEATH.

The two wills had been safely doposited in the far-away drawer whence the old one had been takon, and the lady had taken possession of the keys ; the baron hod drunk a generous cup of wine, and laid his head comfortably, back upon its pillow j and the others present had helped themselves from the same boltle, — when the old attorney, with his glass in his hand, its contents half consumed, said to Blanche : \ ' Dear lady, I am going to ask you a curiouß question ; and I beg, in the outset, that you will pardon me for my presumption. 5 He paused here, slowly drank the rest of his wine, and then went on : ' Has that ghost— The Spectre of Edgar's Tower, as they call it, recently made its appearance in the castle ?' , The effect of tho Question upon the baron's daughter was startling. She paled and quivered, and would have stopped the speaker had the power been hers. The effect, also, upon the baron himself was. wonderful. He, started forward from his pillow j^alow, sharp'cry of pain escaped him : and "on the" next moment the doctor [ had sprung to his assistance," as he appeared to be suffocating-rgasping Ipr the breach which he could np^ga^n. He breathed a,t length, ;''an'd ere 16ng' b.Qoame calm ancl* composed"," 'though , the srjadow of pain remained.', „!",,• ( ..," . . ( • ,\ ,?• „• • Pardon me,-/ cilied. Igirkland, 1 , in /an , agony of regret. ,'lf.l could haVe known— if I could, havo dreamed — that tho j subject was so painful, I would have cut my | tongue out sooner than ask the' question.'

•'. JiatlipivrwV EJtafU'^Kvid^lol mo ibog pardon of y^u-,'^s&id,}bbe (I baron,' with grave bub eas,y politeness^! should not havo allowed bhe cjrcuYnstances to affect mo.' * Lgtib pass ;' lob ib pass, I pray,' urged fclio lawyer, anxious, if possiblo, fco pub aside bho unploasanb situabion ho had produced. Bub bho baron would not havo ib so. Ho had allowed the question to shake him, and no\v ho would bell him why ib had boon so. Said ho, after a little pause, and trying to smile, but bhe offorb was a failure : ' I havo a*] ways' laughed ab bho story as a, foolish whim or 'an idle "myth/ Whon I was a boy'lrpmember thai' my nurso usod to try and frighten -mo by -tolling mo thai; the' ghost 'of Edgar's Tower would come ' bo mo at night:; bub ,1 wa& nob, evon ' •bhdn, of fchb stuff to bo, frightenGd by, such threats. Tn later, .ye^vs I iaavo scoffed at. the story beeauso it seemed- simply' foolish' and improbable.^ ib was eaid chat tho spectre appeared Vi\ fcho-bvo of bho death of onoof'th'o family. 'But), 1 -gentlemen, 1 b,eg you will believe me "Sincere in whufj I am about to tell/ 1 - 'JHo pausod here and askod for> a swallow '6^ tymdJ • Tho doctor 1 gave' him a hill 'glass, 'whiph "ho <jlr&nk-,t anc| bhon . ho craved more. , 1 - J \'r j)i,, %, ' Griffith, lookpdugraye* .Ho did not like 'bho synvpbom\\ This .umisual craving -^f firing ,tokl ,b.haii Jjjno "KeaiC' was losing 1 ita' wonted volume of blood. Men on the Held of babblo, dying of gunshot wounds or sabro cuts, cry, ' Water ! ' Water !' continuously. He shook 'his'head ominously, but kept his thoughts to himsolf.' There was one other ' who saw and understood. Tho quick, loving senses of tho daughter, keenly awako to evory sign, took in tho situation at a glanco, and she \}cmld .havo porsuaded her iathor not to £>peak Jturlhor had not tho doctor whispered into her ear that oppori- '' bion of his puiposc would bo moro haimtul than could any exertion ho was liable fco make if lefb to his own direction. The baron drank the second glass of wine — ' swallowing it almost at a gulp -and then ; went on : ' Last Sabbath evening, as you know, 1 arrived at the cas>tlo fiom Alladalo. It was pa&b ten o'clock Avhen 1 entered tho lower hall, and I at onco inquired for j lloynard, as 1 was very desirous of seeing j him. He had gone away, I was told — he and his esquiro as he calls him — Rupert : Redburn/ ' ' 'Oh !5! 5 i'nterruptod tho lawyer, with a ' gratified nod. ' Now I understand why he ! is called Red Rupert.' ' ' Exactly,' returned the baron, with an answering nod. ' His master concoivod < tho idea, and was much pleased with ' i tho hit ; and Rupert himself was proud of '• i ib. / ' ' But— as I was saying — Reynard and ' Rupert were both gone, and nobody could I tell when thoy would re burn. ] sab up ' until after midnight, anxious to see him, ' and feeling sure he would conic. Ab length, tired and sleepy, I gavo up the ( watch and retired. A thing that I seldom ' do is to lock my doors at ni«hl, but, on 1 that night, movod by a whim which I cannot, and could not then explain, I locked ' both my doors fast on the inside, and then ! I trot into bed. ' I slepb— how long I cannot say — and I '' was in tho midst of a troublous dream, whon I was awakoned by fooling a puff of ! cool air on my face, as though someone ' were fanning me. I remember the improb- ' sion under which 2 awoke. Ifc was that a ( broad-winged bird was Happing its wings in my* face. ' I awoke and sab up. A soft, '• mellow 'light 'tilled the room, like bho shimmer of many glow-worms, and in the ; centre of a brighter light, like a halo, stood a tall, white-robed figure, with its arms extended towards mo. ' 'My friend«, I was not frightened ; I was '' filled with a sublnno and holy awe. The ' figure — tho bright, ethereal presence— ?'•«■? that of my dead wife — my bdo> ed Barbara. She lookod as I last saw her in lifo, boforo ■ her spirit had passed out from its earthly tenement. She gazed upon me with a wonderful look, yeb a look full of love and Lender compassion. I whispered her name. When I had done' so she turned partly away, so that I saw her cleaxly-cufc, beautiful profile, and pointed to the great cabinet; then she lifted that same hand towards hoaven, and turned her look back upon me. Onco before I had buried my face in my hands, finding her still before mo when I looked up. Again I bent my face upon my hands, and when I nexb looked up she had gone, and only the faint glimmer of tho small lamp I had left burning made darkness visible in tho far corners of the chamber. Presently 1 got out from my bed and examined overy parb of the room. Tho doors were locked, as I had left them, and everything olse was in place. 'That is the story, gentlemen. I did not dream, nor deceived. On that night, I looked upon the face and the c' horeall form of my dead wife — Baroness Barbara/ ' What did you think of her pointing to the cabinet?' asked the old lawyer, who seemed to givo credence to the story. ' She moant that I should destroy that iniquitous will,' replied the baron, promptly, ' Then,' oxclaimed Kirkland, almosb fiercely. ' why haven'b you destroyed it ? Why do you leave it in existence, now that you have replaced it by another? Let mo bring ib to you, ,and let's have a burning before we separatp ' • No, no, 3 'said' Ravendalo, with much feeling. ' I will show ib to Reynard Ah !' — after a pause — ' there are some things you do not know, I think I shall see him once more. He \frill surely return to-night.. Yott-^you ' — to the doctor — ' give mo promise of lifo till .to-morrow. -Then the will shall jbe' destroyed.' . The good doctor w.as perplexed. ' In fadt, ho was in an agony of doubt and unrest with rogard to'liis patient. He had givon him hope- that he'mighb survive bill another day ; bub since that word had been spokon bho stricken man, had boon unduly excited ; had greatly exorbed himself ;, and the flow of blood into the open caviby of bhe thorax had increased. Blanche nobiced his troubled expression, and found opportunity to whisper to him, and ask him /what was the mattor. Wo°, he fearful that her "fabher would nob live until morning ? Without pausipg to reflect — in fact without considering at all, but* only moved by a desiro to give her rest — ho answered her, lightly, that she need havo no fear. iShe would doubtless find her father alive in the morning. Mr Kirkland was evidently inclined tq ask further questions respecting the white spectre, but the. doctor peremptorily forbade ib ; and bhe good lawyor, who could not fail to see bhab the baron was growing weaker, offorod not a word of opposition. The baron> himsolf, looking up from a thoughtful, dreamy state, spoke further of the appoaranco of the spirit of his wife, as a warning' to him that ho was soon to join her. \ , ', ' ' I' did 'tibi think pjfr it thon,' he said, * put Ifee'l'ilHow.V '£jweet JBarbaral sho awaits me ( ohHHe otfhcr 'shore. 1 , } ' planche, \yeep ri'ob'.' SuVely>,l'l kuro iiiaddthoe happy. * ; •' u SO,. papa ! stay with ,me, and J Mil Mvo tip "all) e/Iso j!'; ri ' . ; '" •' '' '!, ■ ' '„',,-- , ',(3,he, benb over t andj kissed jhiint; -..afa'd " h'o, ' lifbingVharid'uu'on,' h.er'sunny head-,' blessed her I .'" M *" ,1 '•","' ' ' ' s Then tho doctor gently drew her away, and led her out from the chamber. 'Ib will be bettor so,' he said to her, as

she insisted v uppn watphing with her dear papa. ' Your pres'enpo'will koephis thoughts' awuko^ancl/I'fotuV^Oad him- to talk. Ho must talk- rib 'more) If ]^can get him to sleep ho Avill; I aift 'very,suroj live until tomorrow. JTufbhei', 1 dear-girl, I will soethat ho has good wa'tchor'e." '"* '<- ' ' J And^so, after a time, the,yc-ung lady of the castle was persuaded to retire to hor own aparbmonts, which/ ,wero . situated, on that satao floor, buO at another angle of the keep boyond the head of the great staircase. Shortly after Blanche had gone tho abfcorhoy and his olork took their leave, with the promise on the part of the formor that ho would come up in tho morning and sco if anything more should be wanted. v Whbn' the groat dock in the' Hall struck 'bho liour of midnight Griffith was alone with his patient. JDufFMurlagh was in the chambor, but curled up on a largo sofa, like a groat dog fasb asleep. Shortly after the lawyer and his plork had gone, Griffith had given Lo his pationl anobbor 'cup of > wine, and into it ho had I quietly slipped a sleeping-potion, j The result was soon maniiest. The last echoes of the midnight chime had scarcely died away upon tho distant air when bho baron's senses wero locked in slumber. Ten miuutos — nob more — had passed boyond that, whon a light wiap sounded on the door opening into tho hall. Tho doctor aro&e, and answered. In the hall without he found a little son of Donald Jarvis, landlord of the village inn, and a •servant with him, who had brought him up. Tho little fellow was greatly excited. At the inn was a gentleman, just arrived, who had boon sot upon by robbei*s, on tho highway ; and not only robbed of his monoy and jewellery — a portion of the latter invaluable — but he had been very nearly killed. Jarvis had bidden his son bo tell the doctors thai tlie gentleman was ovidontly a man of noto ; that he was sure his skull was broken ; and that his servant had been killed outright by tho highwaymen. Tho man had been found by two of tho villagers who weio returning home late tiom one of tho outlying farm-houses — found lying on the roadside, near tho lake shoic, with his dead servant close by. Their horass had been carried oil by the robbers. What tho gentleman had been told had been told to those who brought him lo the inn. He had nob spoken since ai riving. He had not givon his name ; or, if he had, those to whom he gavo it did not understand. Griffith could not, under the circumstance?, hesitate a great while. He wished ho could call Blanche, but that was out of the question. Yoii, where was the noed ? He would nob be gone a gieat while. He could attend to the case at the inn in a few minutes, and then leave it in tho hands of his assistant, who wnh entirely competent to follow his directions. Further, ho was con/idont that the baron would sleep until his return. So he awakened Duff, and explained to him tho situation. Tho man , was easily aroused, and was wide awake in an instant. Ho promised that he, would be • watchful and vcxy quiet. 1 And,' said the doctor, 'if your master should wake up and able for wine, give it to him without speaking. J mean, of course, that you will nob speak if he does not require it.' ' Doctor, you needn't fear,' returned ,i)io servitor, and he meant if, honestly. ' I have been his closest &Ofvanb, and almost his nurse, for years, and 1 shouldn't bo very likely to neglect him now.' Griffith took ono more look of his pabiont ; then turned away, leaving him sleeping soundly, and passed noiselessly out from the room. In the hall beyond he was joined by the landlord's son, whe had boon anxiously waiting, and together bhoy left the castle. Arrived ab the inn of the White Scag, our good doctor found a young- man whom he recognised at a glance —tho son of a wealthy laird of Perth, his name Kenneth Inchard. He was still insensible ; his condition utterly comatose. Griffith's assistant, Roderick Walton, a man of iive'-and- thirty, honest and true, and really eager to learn, though not so .bright, as some, yet vastly brighter than others — tall, lean, and redheaded, with a face full of native- wib and kindly good-humour — had made a critical examination, and was ready toieporb. The patient had suffered several severe blows, apparently from a heavy club, but only one ot them had been at all dangerous, and that had come very near to pioving fatal, and it might yet result in death. It had been struck on the head, very near the top, a little on tho left side, and just back of the coronal suture : and the assistant gave it as his opinion that the bone of the skull had been fractiued— the parietal — and a section of ib depressed upon bho brain. He thought there could be no mistake. G rilfi bh was surprised. Hi& faibhf ul henchman know more than he had given him credit for. Furthermore, ho was pleased The man might yet prove a credit to his teaching. Ho, in turn, examined the bruise on the head, finding it as it had been described ; and he was nob long in deLcrmin ing that Roderick was right with regard to the profcburc upon the brain. | Here was a life to be saved, and he — Herman Griffith — must save it. If he could lift tho depressed bone, all might do well ; and j thai ho could do if it was as hp thought ; and the operation would be to him simple, but would lake time. Suffice ib Co say, the good doctor could not leave his now patient until that section of bone had been put in place, and he went at the work in earnest, and in the end it was a success. Kenneth Inchavtl opened his eyes — bright, beautiful eyes — and his senses were in perfect tuno once more. Tho doctor was amply repaid for all his labour ; but it had taken lime — more than ho had thought when he had commenced the operabion. Whon ho was ready to loavo the youth in the care of Roderick and the kind-hearted host, the next day was breaking- i ' Mercy on us !' he ejaculated^ as he came out upon the broad piazza of the inn, and looked off to where the beams of tho rising sun were making golden the • eastern sky. ' I hope all has gone well at the castle ' In the baron's chamber Duff Muttagh sebbled himself to his watch. Two botblos of wino sbood upon the sideboard, and his first movemenb, afbor bhe doctor had got surely out of the way, was to help himself to a generous draught. He was not a drunkard ; ap there was no danger of the wino interfering with his duly. Ever and anon, after he had seated himself in the easiest chair he could find, his gaze would turn upon the old cabinet, with an oppression of his pug-like faco- which signified deep concern and unrest. Evidently he would have liked <o get at the inside of that institution, but it was beyond him. Yet . more than once he involuntarily carried his hand to his pocket in a manner which would have told a keon 'and philosophical obsorver]thab at some bime ho had |)'dd tpe keys of t;he" cabinet in his possos-sionrorj-ab least, -liheh' duplicates. QMse-, great 'Wj-V-eDock. in the lower hall str.i»clttone. .Duff ni^ase, and took another ,s(vaHow,r6f 'vviho. fi TJjupn.fh© .took a few- • tarns.. toa.nd '-fro in his paro feet, and then resumed higeoat. ' \ Half an hour later tho watcher was startled from a half*dozing mood by an un-

, usual Bound from the. baron, He peemed to !bo choking. Duff sprang quickly to his assistance, lifted up his head — which had slipped over upon one side — into an upright position ; also straightened the whole upper part of the body'; and, further, administered numerous smart pats of the palm of his hand upon tho sufforer's back and breast. No leech of them all could have done more for the patient, nor have done it better. Quick relief was produced ; thon the laird asked for wine. His voicq was very husky and broken. Duffgave him all he wanted ; and then, after a time, ho fell asleep again, dropping off as though his lids wero too heavy to be upheld. Evidently the doctor's last opiate had been powerful. Tho watcher had fairly seated himself and curled hifs legs up under him, when tho distant clock struck two ; and at the same time lh ore sounded a strange rattling — like air bubbling through water — in the sleeper's, throat. Duff was thinking of going to see' if he could be of use in mending the matter when he was startled by a rap upon the door — ay, startled. There could be no earthly reason why a simple rap on the door, under the circumstances, should startle, Duff Mur.tagh ; but the rap he had heard had not been simple. It hadbeen a rap as entirely differ ont from ordinary raps as tho explosion of apetard is different from the twang of a bowstring. And, further, Duff knew who had given that rap. With quick, noiseless movements he wen b to the door and carefully opened it, with his finger on his lips. 'Ha! Duff!— Who's —' '— — sh ! I'm alone with the laird. Ho's asleep. Take off your baldric and leave your claymore outside. It will make too much clatter.' The applicant did as he had been directed and then stepped in through the open way. A broad-shouldered, powerfully-built man thirty years of age ; his hair thick, coarse, and black ; with eyes co match ; a hard, bold faco, which might have been handsome had it not been for the entire lack of anything like generous feeling or refinement of sentiment and disposition manifest in overy feature. He was clad in the wild Highland costume ; the plaid of the best quality ; and in his bonnet was an eagle's feather. The reader will have no difficulty in recognising: in the new-comer the baron's aforetime hoir — son ot his first wife's sister — Reynard Bcvern. With his dark, sinister face, his muscular form, and his warlike costume, he might well be likened to an avenging spirit entering that chamber of tdealh !