by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER VII.
A Popish Plot
There was no one about, for the wind was blowing with such fury thatfew cared to venture out of doors, and the boys therefore started backalong the road by which they had come, without being observed.
"We had better strike off from the road," Geoffrey said, "for some moreof these men may be coming along. Like enough someone will be on thewatch at the house, so we had best make a long detour, and when we getnear it come down on it from the other side. You know we saw no windowsthere."
"That is all well enough," Lionel agreed; "but the question is, how arewe to hear what they are saying inside? We are obliged to shout tocatch each others' words now, and there is not the least chance of ourhearing anything through the closed shutters."
"We must wait till we get there, and then see what is to be done,Lionel. We managed to detect a plot at Sluys, and we may have the sameluck here."
After half an hour's brisk walking they again approached the house fromthe side at which they had before come upon it, and where, as Geoffreyobserved, there were no windows; they made their way cautiously up toit, and then moved quietly round to the side. Here there were twowindows on the ground floor. The shutters were closed, for glass wasunknown except in the houses of the comparatively wealthy. Its placewas taken by oiled paper, and this in bad weather was protected byouter shutters. Geoffrey stole out a few paces to look at the windowabove.
"It is evidently a loft," he said as he rejoined Lionel. "You can seeby the roof that the rooms they live in are entirely upon the groundfloor. If we can get in there we might possibly hear what is going onbelow. The rooms are not likely to be ceiled, and there are sure to becracks between the planks through which we can see what is going onbelow. The noise of the wind is so great there is little chance oftheir hearing us. Now, let us look about for something to help us toclimb up."
Lying by an out-house close by they found a rough ladder, composed of asingle pole with bits of wood nailed on to it a foot apart. This theyplaced up against the door of the loft. They could see that this wasfastened only by a hasp, with a piece of wood put through the staple.It had been arranged that Geoffrey only should go up, Lionel removingthe pole when he entered, and keeping watch behind the out-house lestanyone should come round the house. Both had cut heavy sticks as theycame along to give them some means of defence. Lionel stood at thepole, while Geoffrey climbed up, removed the piece of wood from thestaple, and then holding the hasp to prevent the wind blowing in thedoor with a crash, entered the loft. A glance showed him that itextended over the whole of the house, and that it was entirely empty.
He closed the door behind him, and jammed it with a couple of wedges ofwood he had cut before mounting; then he lay down on the rough planksand began to crawl along. He saw a gleam of light at the further end,and felt sure that it proceeded from the room in which the party wereassembled. Although he had little fear of being heard owing to the dinkept up by the wind, he moved along with extreme care until he reachedthe spot whence the light proceeded. As he had anticipated, it wascaused by lights in a room below streaming through the cracks betweenthe rough planking.
Rising on to his knees he looked round, and then crawled to a crackthat appeared much wider than the rest, the boards being more than halfan inch apart. Lying down over it, he was able to obtain a view of aportion of the room below. He could see a part of a long table, andlooked down upon the heads of five men sitting on one side of it. Henow applied his ear to the crevice. A man was speaking, and in theintervals between the gusts of wind which shook the house to itsfoundation, he could hear what was said.
"It is no use hesitating any longer, the time for action hasarrived--Jezebel must be removed--interests of our holyreligion--little danger in carrying out the plan that has beenproposed. Next time--Windsor--road passes through wood near Datchet--aweak guard overpowered--two told off to execute--free England fromtyranny--glory and honour throughout Catholic world. Englanddisorganized and without a head could offer no resistance--as soon asday fixed--meet at Staines at house of--final details and share eachman is to--done, scatter through country, readiness for rising--Philipof Spain--"
This was the last sentence Geoffrey caught, for when the speaker ceaseda confused and general talk took place, and he could only catch a wordhere and there without meaning or connection. He therefore drew quietlyback to the door of the loft and opened it. He thought first of jumpingstraight down, but in that case he could not have fastened the doorbehind him. He therefore made a sign to Lionel, who was anxiouslypeering round the corner of the out-house. The pole was placed intoposition, and pulling the door after him and refastening the latch hemade his way down to the ground, replaced the pole at the place fromwhich they had taken it, and then retired in the direction from whichthey had come.
"Well, what have you heard, Geoffrey?" Lionel asked. "Was it worth therisk you have run?"
"Well worth it, Lionel. I could only hear a little of what was said,but that was quite enough to show that a plot is on foot to attack andkill the queen the next time she journeys to Windsor. The conspiratorsare to hide in a wood near Datchet."
"You don't say so, Geoffrey. That is important news indeed. What are weto do next?"
"I have not thought yet," Geoffrey replied. "I should say, though, ourbest plan would be to make our way back as quickly as we can by Burnhamand Maldon round to Hedingham. The earl was going up to London one daythis week, we may catch him before he starts; if not, we must, ofcourse, follow him. But at any rate it is best to go home, for theywill be in a terrible fright, especially if Joe Chambers or one of themen take the news to Bricklesey of the loss of the _Susan_, for itwould be quickly carried up to Hedingham by John Lirriper or one orother of the boatmen. No day seems to be fixed, and the queen may notbe going to Windsor for some little time, so the loss of a day will notmake any difference. As we have money in our pockets we can hire horsesat Burnham to take us to Maldon, and get others there to carry us home."
An hour's walking took them to the ferry. It was now getting dusk, andthey had come to the conclusion as they walked that it would be toolate to attempt to get on that night beyond Burnham. The storm was aswild as ever, and although the passage was a narrow one it was as muchas the ferryman could do to row the boat across.
"How far is it from here to Burnham?"
"About four miles; but you won't get to Burnham to-night."
"How is that?" Geoffrey asked.
"You may get as far as the ferry, but you won't get taken over. Therewill be a big sea in the Crouch, for the wind is pretty nigh straightup it; but you will be able to sleep at the inn this side. In themorning, if the wind has gone down, you can cross; if not, you willhave to go round by the bridge, nigh ten miles higher up."
This was unpleasant news. Not that it made any difference to themwhether they slept on one side of the river or the other, but if thewind was too strong to admit of a passage in the morning, the necessityfor making a detour would cost them many hours of valuable time. Therewas, however, no help for it, and they walked to Criksey Ferry. Thelittle inn was crowded, for the ferry had been stopped all day, andmany like themselves had been compelled to stop for a lull in the wind.
Scarcely had they entered when their names were joyously shouted out."Ah, Masters Vickars, right glad am I to see you. We feared that surfhad put an end to you. We asked at the ferry, but the man declared thatno strange lads had crossed that day, and we were fearing we shouldhave a sad tale to send to Hedingham by John Lirriper."
"We are truly glad to see you, Joe," Geoffrey said, as they warmlyshook Joe Chambers and the two sailors by the hand. "How did you getashore?"
"On the mainmast, and pretty nigh drowned we were before we got there.I suppose the tide must have taken us a bit further up than it did you.We got here well nigh two hours ago, though we got a good meal anddried our clothes at a farmhouse."
"We got a meal, too, soon after we landed," Geoffrey said; "but we didnot dry our clothes till we got
to a little village. I did not ask itsname. I am awfully sorry, Joe, about the _Susan_."
"It is a bad job, but it cannot be helped, Master Geoffrey. I owned athird of her, and two traders at Bricklesey own the other shares. StillI have no cause to grumble. I have laid by more than enough in the lastfour years to buy a share in another boat as good as she was. You see,a trader ain't like a smack. A trader's got only hull and sails, whilea smack has got her nets beside, and they cost well nigh as much as theboat. Thankful enough we are that we have all escaped with our lives;and now I find you are safe my mind feels at rest over it."
"Do you think it will be calm enough to cross in the morning, Joe?"
"Like enough," the sailor replied; "a gale like this is like to blowitself out in twenty-four hours. It has been the worst I ever saw. Itis not blowing now quite so hard as it did, and by the morning Ireckon, though there may be a fresh wind, the gale will be over."
The number of travellers were far too great for the accommodation ofthe inn; and with the exception of two or three of the first arrivalsall slept on some hay in one of the barns.
The next morning, although the wind was still strong, the fury of thegale had abated. The ferryman, however, said the water was so rough hemust wait for a time before they crossed. But when Geoffrey offered hima reward to put their party on shore at once, he consented to do so,Joe Chambers and the two sailors assisting with the oars; and as theferry-boat was large and strongly built, they crossed without furtherinconvenience than the wetting of their jackets.
Joe Chambers, who knew the town perfectly, at once took them to a placewhere they were able to hire a couple of horses, and on these rode toMaldon, some nine miles away. Here they procured other horses, and itwas not long after midday when they arrived at Hedingham.
Mrs. Vickars held up her hands in astonishment at their shrunkengarments; but her relief from the anxiety she had felt concerning whathad befallen them during the gale was so great that she was unable toscold.
"We will tell you all about it, mother, afterwards," Geoffrey said, ashe released himself from her embrace. "We have had a great adventure,and the _Susan_ has been wrecked. But this is not the most importantmatter. Father, has the earl started yet?"
"He was to have gone this morning, Geoffrey, but the floods are likelyto be out, and the roads will be in such a state that I have no doubthe has put off his journey."
"It is important that we should see him at once, father. We haveoverheard some people plotting against the queen's life, and measuresmust be taken at once for her safety. We will run up and change ourthings if you will go with us to see him. If you are there he will seeyou whatever he is doing, while if we go alone there might be delay."
Without waiting for an answer the boys ran upstairs and quicklyreturned in fresh clothes. Mr. Vickars was waiting for them with hishat on.
"You are quite sure of what you are saying, Geoffrey?" he observed asthey walked towards the castle. "Remember, that if it should turn outan error, you are likely to come to sore disgrace instead of receivingcommendation for your interference. Every one has been talking of plotsagainst the queen for some time, and you may well have mistaken thepurport of what you have heard."
"There is no mistake, father, it is a real conspiracy, though who arethose concerned in it I know not. Lionel and I are not likely to raisea false alarm about nothing, as you will say yourself when you hear thestory I have to tell the earl."
They had by this time entered the gates of the castle. "The earl hasjust finished dinner," one of the attendants replied in answer to thequestion of Mr. Vickars.
"Will you tell him that I wish to see him on urgent business?"
In two or three minutes the servant returned and asked the clergyman tofollow him. The earl received him in his private chamber, for thecastle was full with guests.
"Well, dominie, what is it?" he asked. "You want some help, I will bebound, for somebody ill or in distress. I know pretty well by this timethe meaning of your urgent business."
"It is nothing of that kind to-day," the clergyman replied; "it is, infact, my sons who wish to see your lordship. I do not myself know thefull purport of their story, save that it is something which touchesthe safety of the queen."
The earl's expression at once changed.
"Is that so, young sirs? This is a serious matter, you know; it is agrave thing to bring an accusation against anyone in matters touchingthe state."
"I am aware that it is, my lord, and assuredly my brother and I wouldnot lightly meddle with such matters; but I think that you will saythis is a business that should be attended to. It happened thus, sir."He then briefly told how, that being out in a ketch that traded fromBricklesey, they were caught in the gale; that the vessel was driven onthe sands, and they were cast ashore on a mast.
He then related the inhospitable reception they had met with. "Itseemed strange to us, sir, and contrary to nature, that anyone shouldrefuse to allow two shipwrecked lads to enter the house for shelter onsuch a day; and it seemed well-nigh impossible that his tale of theplace being too full to hold us could be true. However, we started towalk. On our way we met four horsemen going towards the house, closelymuffled up in cloaks."
"There was nothing very strange in that," the earl observed, "in suchweather as we had yesterday."
"Nothing at all, sir; we should not have given the matter one thoughthad it not been that the four men were very well mounted, and,apparently, gentlemen; and it was strange that such should havebusiness in an out-of-the-way house in Foulness Island. A littlefurther we met three men on foot. They were also wrapped up in cloaks;but they wore high riding-boots, and had probably left their horses onthe other side of the ferry so as not to attract attention. A shorttime afterwards we met two more horsemen, one of whom asked us if hewas going right for the house we had been at. As he was speaking a gustof wind blew off his hat. I fetched it and gave it to him, and as hestooped to put it on I saw that a tonsure was shaven on the top of hishead. The matter had already seemed strange to us; but the fact thatone of this number of men, all going to a lonely house, was a priest indisguise, seemed so suspicious that my brother and myself determined totry and get to the bottom of it."
Geoffrey then related how they had gone back to the house and effectedan entrance into the loft extending over it; how he had through thecracks in the boards seen a party of men gathered in one of the lowerrooms, and then repeated word for word the scraps of conversation thathe had overheard.
The earl had listened with an expression of amused doubt to the earlyportion of the narrative; but when Geoffrey came to the part whereaccident had shown to him that one of these men proceeding towards thishouse was a disguised priest, his face became serious, and he listenedwith deep attention to the rest of the narrative.
"Faith," he said, "this is a serious matter, and you have done rightwell in following up your suspicions, and in risking your lives, forthey would assuredly have killed you had they discovered you. Mr.Vickars, your sons must ride with me to London at once. The matter istoo grave for a moment's delay. I must lay it before Burleigh at once.A day's delay might be fatal."
He rang a bell standing on the table. As soon as an attendant answeredit he said, "Order three horses to be saddled at once; I must ride toLondon with these young gentlemen without delay. Order Parsons andNichols to be ready in half an hour to set out with us. Have you hadfood, young sirs? for it seems you came hither directly you arrived."Finding that the boys had eaten nothing since they had left Maldon, heordered food to be brought them, and begged them eat it while heexplained to the countess and guests that sudden business that couldnot be delayed called him away to London. Half an hour later he startedwith the boys, the two servants following behind. Late that eveningthey arrived in London. It was too late to call on Lord Burleigh thatnight; but early the next morning the earl took the boys with him tothe house of the great statesman. Leaving them in the ante-chamber hewent in to the inner apartment, where the minister was at breakfast.Ten min
utes later he came out, and called the boys in.
"The Earl of Oxford has told me your story," Lord Burleigh said. "Tellit me again, and omit nothing; for things that seem small are often ofconsequence in a matter like this."
Geoffrey again repeated his story, giving full details of all that hadtaken place from the time of their first reaching the house.
Lord Burleigh then questioned him closely as to whether they had seenany of the faces of the men, and would recognise them again.
"I saw none from my spying-place above, my lord," Geoffrey said. "Icould see only the tops of their heads, and most of them still kepttheir hats on; nor did we see them as they passed, with the exceptiononly of the man I supposed to be a priest. His face I saw plainly. Itwas smooth shaven; his complexion was dark, his eyebrows were thin andstraight, his face narrow. I should take him for a foreigner--either aSpaniard or Italian."
Lord Burleigh made a note of this description.
"Thanks, young sirs," he said. "I shall, of course, take measures toprevent this plot being carried out, and shall inform her majesty howbravely you both risked your lives to discover this conspiracy againsther person. The Earl of Oxford informs me that you are pages of hiscousin, Captain Francis Vere, a very brave and valiant gentleman; andthat you bore your part bravely in the siege of Sluys, but are atpresent at home to rest after your labours there, and have permissionof Captain Vere to take part in any trouble that may arise here owingto the action of the Spaniards. I have now no further occasion for yourservices, and you can return with the earl to Hedingham, but yourattendance in London will be needed when we lay hands upon theseconspirators."
The same day they rode back to Hedingham, but ten days later were againsummoned to London. The queen had the day before journeyed to Windsor.Half an hour before she arrived at the wood near Datchet a strong partyof her guard had suddenly surrounded it, and had found twelve armed menlurking there. These had been arrested and lodged in the Tower. Threeof them were foreigners, the rest members of Catholic families known tobe favourable to the Spanish cause. Their trial was conductedprivately, as it was deemed advisable that as little should be made aspossible of this and other similar plots against the queen's life thatwere discovered about this time.
Geoffrey and Lionel gave their evidence before the council. As the onlyman they could have identified was not of the party captured, theirevidence only went to show the motive of this gathering in the woodnear Datchet. The prisoners stoutly maintained that Geoffrey hadmisunderstood the conversation he had partly overheard, and that theirdesign was simply to make the queen a prisoner and force her toabdicate. Three of the prisoners, who had before been banished from thecountry and who had secretly returned, were sentenced to death; two ofthe others to imprisonment for a long term of years, the rest tobanishment from England.
After the trial was over Lord Burleigh sent for the boys, and gave thema very gracious message in the queen's name, together with two rings intoken of her majesty's gratitude. Highly delighted with these honoursthey returned to Hedingham, and devoted themselves even moreassiduously than before to exercises in arms, in order that they mightsome day prove themselves valiant soldiers of the queen.