by Lewis Hough
CHAPTER SIX.
IN FARNHAM PARK.
Church parade was over, and quiet reigned in the camp of the FourthBattalion Blankshire Regiment, which was undergoing its annual trainingat Aldershot.
A young man in civilian clothes sat at breakfast in the officers' mess-tent. He was a visitor and guest, who had no obligation to earlyrising, so he lay snug till the band, marching the Church of Englandersoff at nine o'clock, roused him and then performed a leisurely toilet.
And now he, the subaltern of the day, and the officer who was to takethe Roman Catholics, had the tent to themselves. The former was somedistance off, the latter sat next to him.
"I came only just in time for mess yesterday, so we had no opportunityfor a private chat," said the one in plain clothes. "But I have a lotto say to you."
"Well, look here," replied the other, "my parade is at eleven; the dressbugle has just gone for it. I shall be back by half-past twelve. Thenwe will have lunch and go for a walk, you, I, and Strachan, if youlike."
"I should like it very much, though how you can expect me to eat lunchafter such a breakfast as this at such a late hour, I cannot imagine."
"Oh, the air here is wonderful for the appetite. Not like London andEgypt, which seem to be your haunts."
"And the unaccountable disappearance of this will of uncle Richard's,Kavanagh, has it put you in a very big hole?"
"Not just yet. The dear old man felt himself failing, and thought hemight forget me as weeks went on. So, instead of sending a quarterlycheque, he paid my allowance for the whole year into the agent's hands.So kind and thoughtful of him, was it not? But for the future, ofcourse, it will be rather awkward for me if the will does not turn up.I go in directly after the training for the Competitive Examination, andso does Strachan. We have both passed the Preliminary, and shall haveserved our two trainings. Well, if I pass, it will be hard enough tolive on my pay, but I must get into the Indian or Gold Coast Services,and try it that way. If I don't succeed, why then I have no idea whatto do next. At least, I have an idea, but there is no need to think itout till the necessity comes."
"What do you think of your chance?"
"Well, my coach thinks it doubtful. He has known fellows get theircommissions who were worse up than I am, and he has known fellows failwho were better up than I am. It depends on the lot of competitors, andalso on their quality, and a little bit on luck. There is a good bit ofluck in having the questions you have crammed set, you know."
"I can imagine there must be. And how about Strachan?"
"Well, if he has not got a good bit in hand, I am not in it, that's all.He could give me a hundred marks and a beating. However, I fancy thathe must be safe. But there is the Fall-in; I must be off."
As Kavanagh left the tent Strachan came into it.
"Well, old fellow, and how did you sleep?" he asked.
"Not badly," said Forsyth. "I fancy? Should have been still at it butfor that big drum of yours."
"Hush! It is lucky the Colonel is not here. Never speak of the bigdrum in that irreverent tone to him, I pray. It would well-nigh givehim a fit. The big drum is his fetish, though he nearly smashed ithimself last year."
"How was that?"
"We were out on the Queen's Birthday, and had to fire a _feu de joie_.Rattle up the front rank, rattle down the rear rank, three times, youknow. The horses hate it, and the chief had a young one who did notlike ordinary firing very well, though he had got him in hand for that.But the roll was too much for the gee's nerves; he went wild withterror, bolted slap through the band, and finally reared up till herolled over. It looked as if the Colonel was under him, and those whowent to help thought him smashed. But he got up, and said, with a faceof intense anxiety--
"`Is the big drum safe?' But, I say, how jolly it is to meet you again,old fellow. Don't you remember that last evening at Harton, we said wewere sure to meet, we three; and here we are, you see. But, I say, thisis a bad story for Kavanagh about this will being missing, is it not?Bad for you, too, though. Your mother was in it, was she not?"
"Yes; but as the testator's sister she will come in for something,probably, anyhow. True, it is mostly land, and I believe an uncleabroad will inherit that. But I don't know the legal rights of thematter yet quite. Anyhow, she has something of her own, and I havelearned how to get work and earn my bread by it. So all round it isworse for Kavanagh. What is his chance of passing?"
"Not very good, I fear," said Strachan. "I don't feel safe, and I haveread more than he has. And he is such a good fellow! He was awfullysorry about Mr Burke's death, but made no trouble whatever of themissing will. That is, of course, he thought the prospect of beingpenniless a great bore, but he never got into low spirits, or worriedothers about it. And with his tastes and ideas, too!"
"Yes," said Harry; "fellows at Harton used to think him a tremendousswell. And those who did not know him were apt to take a prejudiceagainst him. `Lady Kavanagh' some called him, you remember. But wemust have a long talk, we three, for my time is short; I must go backto-morrow. Kavanagh proposed a walk after lunch."
"Certainly, if you like. We generally walk over to Farnham on a fineSunday afternoon: where the bishop's palace is."
"I know. I have often heard of Farnham, and should like to see it,"said Harry. And others coming in, the conversation became general.
Then lunch time arrived, and was on the table very punctually, thoughHarry did not want anything. But with the majority, who had breakfastedbefore eight, it was different. Kavanagh came in ready dressed for thewalk, and expressed impatience at Strachan being still in uniform.
"I have got to pay my company," explained Strachan; "but I shall do itdirectly the dinners are over, and then it won't take me five minutes tochange." And he was as good as his word, for by a quarter to two he wasready to start.
It was a fine afternoon and a pretty walk; round the end of the LongValley by Cocked Hat Wood, skirting the steeple-chase course; throughshady lanes to the wild furze-clad common land; up the sides of the hillrange, where the old Roman encampments can still be clearly traced.
"This one looks precious modern," said Harry, doubtfully.
"Oh, the engineers may have been digging about a bit. And thiscertainly is a modern shelter trench. There are battles fought here,you know, whenever the generals are too lazy to go as far as the FoxHills," said Strachan, irreverently.
"But look at the view. Over there to the left, where you see the queer-shaped black wood, is Sir Walter Scott's novel--what's his name: thefirst one and the least interesting; at least, I could never get throughit."
"Waverley," said Kavanagh. "Don't expose your ignorance and want oftaste, Strachan. You could not see the abbey if we went there, Forsyth,or else I should have proposed it. But the grass is not cut yet, andtill it is no one may go to the ruins. That is Farnham Park below us.Yonder is the Hog's Back."
A pretty road led them down to the park paling, which they skirted tillthey came to a ladder stile, which they crossed into the park, close tothe solid old-world walls and towers of the bishop's castle.
"What splendid trees!" cried Harry, as the three old friends settledthemselves comfortably under one of them. "I don't know when I haveseen such beeches."
"Very condescending of you to admire anything in England, such atraveller as you have been," said Strachan. "And you have been toEgypt? I envy you; I have always longed to see Egypt."
"There are more unlikely things than that when you are in the Line.Things are not settled there yet."
"Why, Arabi's insurrection is completely quelled, and he is a prisoner.And the Government will have nothing to do with the Soudan business,they say."
"Who is _they_? One set of _theys_ say so, and another set of _theys_say we can't help having to do with it, let the Quakers say what theywill. For my part, I hope all will be quiet," said Forsyth.
"Quiet!" cried Strachan. "Why, if there is no war there will be fewervacancies, and I
am less likely to get my commission in the Line!"
"Modest youth! So you want some tens of thousands of fellow-creaturesto be slaughtered, palms and fruit-trees to be destroyed, and a wholecountry made desolate and miserable for years, and millions uponmillions of pounds drained from the British tax-payer, in order that youmay get your commission with a little less trouble! You remind me ofthe reasonable prayer in the poem--
"`Oh, gods! Annihilate both Time and Space To make two lovers happy.'"
"Oh, bother! I don't look so deep into things as that," said Strachan;"I can't declare a war, and I would not take the responsibility if Icould; but if it comes and does me good, I can't help liking it. It islike winning a wager--I am sorry the other chap should lose, but I amconsoled by the reflection that I win."
"Exactly," said Harry; "and I strongly expect that I should lose by anydisturbance in the Soudan, and that Kavanagh would too. It is a longstory; but you are such an old friend that it won't bore you, Strachan,though it does not concern you personally. You both know all about thewill and its mysterious disappearance, so I need not recapitulate that.Well, I have been to Ireland and seen the lawyers--Burrows and Fagan. Icould not make much of Burrows, who is a duffer; but Fagan has his witsabout. He had never had to do with that branch of the business, but nowthe credit of the firm was at stake he busied himself in makingsearching and pertinent inquiry. A sharpish boy-clerk was certain thatthe will was left at the office, and kept in the Burke deed box in thelate Mr Burrows' time; and, when closely pressed and questioned, thepresent Burrows recalled having seen it there since he came into thepartnership. Then the question arose--Who could profit by itsdisappearance? The answer was, if a former will were in existence,Philipson--my uncle's son-in-law, who was his original heir--would. Butthe old will is not forthcoming either, and Philipson is done both ways,for he neither gets the property left him by the first will, nor theallowance secured to him by the second. Indeed, he is barely existingon small sums advanced him by a speculative solicitor on the chance ofone of the wills turning up. I saw a lot of Philipson: such a jollynose--like a big red truffle. He said he was certain the late headclerk--a chap of Egyptian or Arab extraction, named Daireh--had got thewill, or wills, having abstracted them after my uncle's death, becausehe had hinted at being able to tell him how to find them, and hadappointed the Sunday to meet him, but had failed to keep tryst, and haddisappeared. All this had to be wormed out of Philipson, who spoke veryreluctantly at first. And I suspect he is as big a rascal as the other,and was in a plot with him to destroy will Number 2, and prove willNumber 1, only the other would not trust him, but wanted money down.The reason he did not keep his appointment is evident, for the policewanted him for forgery about a fortnight later, and of course he hadfound out that he was discovered, and made tracks at once withoutwaiting to come to terms with Philipson. The police have tried to trackhim everywhere without hitting on a ghost of a clue beyond London, fromwhich place a letter was sent to his employers. But I know thedirection in which to look for him."
"You do?" cried Kavanagh, much interested.
"Yes. The ugly beggar was vain, and liked being photographed, so therewere lots of his likenesses extant. I was certain I knew the face fromthe first, and I soon was able to associate it with that of a fellow Ipassed on the Nile just above the Second Cataract. He was going up, andI was coming down, and I did not see very much of him; but I would swearto his ugly face anywhere."
"And you heard where he was going?" asked Strachan.
"Yes, to Berber. And I know natives who know him, so I have a goodchance of tracking him; and if he don't produce the will he shall eatstick."
"Let him eat a little stick, as you poetically call it, even if he_does_ produce the will. I think a hundred on his feet, or any suitableportion of his person, might have a good moral influence upon him," saidKavanagh. "Oh, to have the handling of the bamboo!"
"We have got to catch the beggar first," said Harry.
"And are you going after him really?" said Kavanagh.
"Or are you only chaffing? It seems a wild goose chase."
"Yes, I am going," said Harry; "and I think better of our chances thanyou seem to do. In the first place, I have picked up a smattering ofArabic, and that is a help; and then I have friends who can give merecommendations to the Egyptian authorities in any town which is heldfor the Khedive on the Upper Nile, and I am pretty confident I can makethem help me."
"But suppose this fellow has not got the will, or has destroyed it, orhas hidden it somewhere, and won't tell?"
"That would be hard lines for you, Kavanagh, and I hope better things.But even in that case it would not follow that my journey would beuseless to myself. I have got a crazy uncle, a brother of uncleRichard, who is heir-at-law if a will is not forthcoming. He has turnedMohammedan, and lives like an Arab, and I believe has considerableauthority amongst them. He was in England the last Christmas we were atHarton, and I saw him in the holidays, and he gave me directions how tofind him if ever I wanted, for he took a fancy to me, and wanted me togo and live as he does. With all his eccentricity, he has a strong lovefor his sister--that is my mother, you know--and if he could be toldthat his brother was dead, and that he had made a will in his sister'sfavour which had been stolen, by which means he had become heir to theIrish property, I am convinced he would try to do something to setmatters straight. Anyhow, it is worth trying."
"Rather!" said Kavanagh. "And if the country is in insurrection, andbarred against Egyptians and European travellers, your relative's passmay enable you to get at Master Cream--Butter--what's his name?"
"Daireh."
"Ah, yes; I knew it had something to do with a dairy--to get at him,after all."
"By Jove, what an enterprising chap you are, Forsyth!" cried Strachan."You deserve to succeed, I am sure."
"He does; and I heartily hope he will, for if he does not find the will,I shall have to forego all the comforts of life, at least, all I knowof, for I daresay I shall find others. Now periwinkles may be acomfort, but what I shudder at is the idea of dirty linen. Not to havea clean shirt every day! It is quite too awful to think of. I am sureI wish you speedy and complete success, and that you may eat salt withthe Arabs, and put some on Daireh's tail. That is how the Nubians catchtheir prisoners, Strachan."
"And when do you start?" asked Strachan, a great deal too muchinterested to listen to Kavanagh's nonsense.
"On Wednesday," replied Harry, "that is why I cannot stop to-morrow tobenefit by your hospitality. I must go in the morning pretty early."
"I'm off to Berber early in the morning, I'm off to Berber, a little while to stay,"
chanted the incorrigible Kavanagh, getting on to his feet. "CatcheeDairy, or no catchee Dairy, Forsyth has got to see the old town ofFarnham, and walk home by road, and get there comfortably for dinner.So come on. I am sure Forsyth must want to rest his tongue a bit andgive his eyes a turn."
They left the park, and went down into the town by the steps beneath thepalace; and so through the broad street with the restored houses, thebank and others, the inhabitants of which ought to wear coifs andpinners, knickerbockers and doublets, and where tall black hats shouldbe unknown; then into the main street, past the Workhouse, which has aletter-box soliciting books and newspapers for the amusement of thepaupers, and so back to camp.
Each of the three recalled that Sunday walk often and often in afteryears, with a pleasure which those who have formed school friendships,and met those they had "conned" with after several, yet not too many,years' absence, will understand. They talked no more of Forsyth'sadventurous journey, or the imminent examination lowering over Strachanand Kavanagh. No, the future was banished from their thoughts, whichwere full of the past. Their talk, indeed, on the way home, would havebeen a terrible infliction upon an outsider, had one been of thecompany.
"I say, do you remember Baum major?"
"Rather."
"Don't you remember when he thought h
e was sent up for good, and hewasn't, and his face when he found out that old Williams had smelt hisjacket of tobacco smoke?"
"I remember!"
And then a roar of laughter, the joke being only known to the three, butneeding no further elucidation for them. For every period of everypublic school has its jokes, which are no jokes to any human beingunconnected with that time and place, but to those who are so connectedare a subject of life-long enjoyment.
When they got back to camp each felt that one of the happiest days ofhis life was drawing to a close. At mess that evening the Adjutantannounced that the Commander-in-Chief was coming down next morning, andthere would be a Field Day on the Fox Hills. They were to be brigadedat half-past five, so the "Fall-in" would be at five.
"We are sure to be back about one," said Strachan to Harry later in theevening. "You can wait till then, and have lunch."
"No, thank you," said Harry; "I have a lot to do before I start, andcannot spare another day. Besides, it would not be fair to my mother.I should have gone off early in the morning anyhow; not so early,indeed, as you march, but by nine; so it makes no difference in myplans, you see."
"Well, we shall breakfast at four; there is no need for you to disturbyourself then. Get up at your own time, and order what you like, youknow."
"Thanks, you may trust me," said Harry. "But I shall see you off."Those overnight resolutions do not always find fulfilment in themorning. But when the companies were told off and equalised, and onlywaiting for the Adjutant to call out the markers and form the parade,Harry Forsyth emerged from the spare tent kept for guests, and went tothe reverse flank to give his two old chums a final hand-grip. Then theColonel appeared and mounted his horse, and they had to fall in. Andthe band struck up, and the battalion trickled away, till the rearcompany was clear of the ground, and Harry found himself alone.
"Poor old Kavanagh!" he murmured. "Strachan does not matter half somuch. If he gets spun he has two more chances; and if he fails to getinto the Line, then his friends have money and interest to start him insomething else. But Kavanagh can't stop on in the Militia, or pay atutor another six months, and it is neck or nothing with him. If I findthe will it will put him square; but what is he to do till then?"
Ruminating in this way, Harry returned to his tent and lay down againfor a couple of hours. Then he tubbed and dressed, and had acomfortable breakfast all by himself; for he was too experienced atraveller by this to let melancholy partings spoil his appetite.
He was in town by eleven, getting what was wanted to complete his modestoutfit, and at the Sheen cottage with his mother and sister in time fortheir early dinner.
They were a thoroughly happy trio, for whatever interested one of thembecame at once equally interesting to the others, and so Harry couldhave his talk out about the friends he had just parted from without fearof boring any one.
It was a great sorrow to Mrs Forsyth that her son should be going backto Egypt so soon. She had hoped that the anxiety she had sufferedduring his former absence was at an end, at least, for some considerabletime.
"If his constitution were but settled," she said, "I should not so muchmind; but he is not quite nineteen yet."
And Beatrice tried to be cheerful, and make light of it, but she wassorely disappointed also.