Black Tor: A Tale of the Reign of James the First

by George Manville Fenn

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN.

  WHAT SIR MORTON SAID.

  Master Rayburn, the old scholar, angler, and, in a small way,naturalist, had no pretensions to being either physician or surgeon; butthere was neither within a day's journey, and in the course of a longcareer, he had found out that in ordinary cases nature herself is thegreat curer of ills. He had noticed how animals, if suffering frominjuries, would keep the place clean with their tongues, and curl up andrest till the wounds healed; that if they suffered from over-eating theywould starve themselves till they grew better; that at certain times ofthe year they would, if carnivorous creatures, eat grass, or, ifherbivorous, find a place where the rock-salt which lay amongst thegypsum was laid bare, and lick it; and that even the birds looked outfor lime at egg-laying time to form shell, and swallowed plenty of tinystones to help their digestion.

  He was his own doctor when he was unwell, which, with his healthy,abstemious, open-air life, was not often; and by degrees the people formiles round found out that he made decoctions of herbs--camomile anddandelion, foxglove, rue, and agrimony, which had virtues of their own.He it was who cured Dan Rugg of that affection which made the joints ofhis toes and fingers grow stiff, by making him sit for an hour a day,holding hands and feet in the warm water which gushed out of one part ofthe cliff to run into the river, and coated sticks and stones with ahard stony shell, not unlike the fur found in an old tin kettle.

  He knew that if a man broke a leg, arm, or rib, and the bones were laidcarefully in their places, and bandaged so that they could not move,nature would make bony matter ooze from the broken ends and graduallyharden, forming a knob, perhaps, at the joining, but making the placegrow up stronger than ever; and it took no great amount of gumption tograsp the fact that what was good for a cut finger was equally good forarm, head, leg, or thigh; that is to say, to wash the bleeding woundclean, lay the cut edges together, and sew and bandage them so that theykept in place. With a healthy person, nature did all the rest, andMaster Rayburn laughed good-humouredly to himself as he found that hegot all the credit.

  "Nature doesn't mind," he used to say to one or other of the lads."There's no vanity there, my boys; but I'm not half so clever as theythink."

  But let that be as it may, Master Rayburn mended Dummy Rugg when he fellfrom top to bottom of the steep slope leading down into the lead-mine,getting thereby very much broken, the worst injury being a crack in hisskull. He "cobbled up," as he called it, a number of other injurieswhich happened to the men by pieces of rock falling upon them, slips ofthe steel picks, chops from axes, and cuts from scythes andreaping-hooks, the misfortunes of the men who toiled in the woods andfields.

  If a regular physician or surgeon had come there, the people would havelaughed at him, so great was their faith in Master Rayburn, who did hisbest for the people, and never asked for payment. In fact, his patientsnever thought of offering it to him in money, but they were notungrateful, all the same. Indeed, he used to protest against thenumbers of presents he was always receiving, the women bringing him patsof butter, little mugs of cream, and the best of their apples andpotatoes; and their husbands never killed a pig without taking somethingto Master Rayburn for the kind actions which he had performed.

  It fell out then, as quite a matter of course, that he went on treatingRalph Darley for the little hole in his arm, beneath the shoulder joint,and that he also dressed and bandaged Mark Eden's thigh, so that theinjuries went on healing rapidly.

  It was known, too, at the Cliff Castle and the Black Tor that he wastreating both, but the Edens never mentioned the Darleys, nor theDarleys the Edens, the amateur surgeon saying nothing at either place;and the wounds got better day by day.

  "I wish I could heal the old sore as easily," the old man said tohimself; "but that wants a bigger doctor than I."

  Master Rayburn believed in the old saw, that a still tongue maketh awise head, and he waited.

  But in the meantime Ralph had told his father everything about hisencounter, and waited afterwards to hear what his father said. In duetime he did say something, but it was not to the effect that Mark Edenhad behaved very gallantly in helping his son, and _vice versa_, thathis son had shown a fine spirit in forgetting family enmity, andfighting against a common enemy. He only frowned, and said, "Humph!"

  He said something more, though upon another occasion, when, in obedienceto Master Rayburn's orders, Ralph was keeping quiet at home, and sittingin his father's room, reading, and thinking about Mark Eden,determining, too, that he would ask Master Rayburn how the lad was thenext time he came, for though family pride and old teachings had kepthim quiet, he had hoped that his doctor would volunteer the informationwhich had not come.

  Sir Morton was poring over an old tome which dealt with alchemy and thetransmutation of metals, in which the learned writer gravely gave hisopinion about baser metals being turned into gold, all of which SirMorton Darley thought would be very satisfactory, as he could notsucceed in finding a profitable lead-mine on his estate, and had notbeen any more successful than his forefathers in taking possession ofthat belonging to the Edens.

  He had just come to the way of thinking that he would begin to buyordinary lead and turn it into gold, when Ralph said suddenly:

  "I say, father, why do we want to be at enmity with the Edens?"

  Sir Morton looked up at his son, and then down at his book, as ifexpecting to find an answer to the question there. Then he coughed toclear his voice, cleared it, and coughed again, which was perfectlyunnecessary. But still the answer did not come. Finally, he replied:

  "Well, you see, my boy, we always have been at enmity with them."

  "Yes, I know, ever since my great, great, ever so great, grandfather'stime."

  "Exactly Ralph. That's it, my boy."

  "But what was the beginning of it?"

  "The beginning of it--er--the--er--commencement of it--er--the familyfeud. Well--er--it was something in the way of oppression, as I havetold you before. A great injury inflicted by the Edens upon theDarleys. But it will not do your arm any good to be fidgeting aboutthat. I want it to heal. That can be healed; but our family feud nevercan."

  "Why not, father?"

  "Why not? Oh, because it is contrary to nature, boy. What a question,when you are suffering now from the way in which the deadly hatred ofthe Edens comes out! Are you not wounded by a scion of the vile house?"

  "Yes, father; but then young Eden is suffering too in the same way, andI think he got the worst of it."

  "I'm glad of it, Ralph. I think you behaved very bravely."

  "What; in fighting the robbers?"

  "I did not mean that. I meant in defending yourself," said Sir Mortonausterely. "There, that will do: I want to go on studying this book."

  But Ralph was fidgety from the state of his wound, and went on again.

  "Couldn't the old trouble be settled by law?"

  "Pooh, boy! As I have told you before, the law does not reach hereamong these mountainous wilds. I am the law here. I could settle thematter; but that man Eden would never agree to what I said."

  "And I suppose, father, that you would never agree to what he consideredwas the proper law."

  "Certainly not, Ralph," said Sir Morton impatiently. "But why are yougoing on like this?"

  "Because I was thinking again how easy it would be if you and Sir EdwardEden were to join and attack that Captain Purlrose and his men. Youwould be able to drive the gang out of the neighbourhood."

  "I shall be able to drive this fellow out of the district, my boy,without the help of the Edens, who ought to be driven out too, for theyare very little better than Captain Purlrose and his men. Stop, sir;what are you going to do?"

  "Go out, father. It's so dull sitting here."

  "You had better stay in: the sun is hot, and you have been ratherfeverish. I want you to grow quite well."

  "So do I, father," said the lad, smiling.

  "Then do what Master Rayburn advised you. Keep perfectly quie
t."

  "But it is such weary work doing nothing, father. I'm sure I should getbetter if I were out in the fresh air. Ah, there is Minnie;" for justthen his sister came to the open window, and looked in.

  "Why don't you come out and sit in the shade here, Ralph?" she said."Come and read with me."

  Ralph glanced at his father, who shrugged his shoulders and nodded, asmuch as to say, "Well, be off;" and the lad went out into thecastle-yard, and then on to the little terrace where the new basin andfountain were looking bright and attractive, though still wanting in thefish Ralph was to have procured.

  Brother and sister sat down in a shady nook, and watched the glint ofthe river through the trees far below, looked over the lovely prospectof hill and dale; and finally Minnie's eyes rested upon the shoulder ofthe great shaley hill at whose foot the encounter with the disbandedsoldiers had taken place.

  "When is father going to lead the men to drive out those dreadfulpeople?" said the girl at last.

  "I don't know: soon, I hope. When I'm better."

  "Well, you are better, Ralph."

  "That's what I told father. Only a bit sore. I'm sick of being coddledup."

  "That's because you are a boy. You are never happy unless you are inthe open-air."

  "You would not be, if you were a boy," said Ralph sharply.

  "Well, I don't know that I am, even as a girl. It's dreadful. Youknow, father has given orders that I am not to go outside the walls. Nowalks, no rides; and my poor pony looked so reproachfully at me. Wantsto go out as badly as I do. Don't you think it's being too particular?"

  "Well, no, Min," said Ralph thoughtfully. "While those men are about, Idon't think you ought to go out alone."

  "Now, Ralph," said the girl, pouting, "you're as bad as father. Ideclare you are not a bit like a nice, brave, merry boy now. You usedto be; but ever since you've been at that great school you have beengrowing more and more serious, till you are getting to be quite an oldman."

  "And quite grey," said Ralph drily.

  "It only wants that," said the girl, with a merry laugh. "I declarethat old Master Rayburn has more fun in him than you."

  "Wouldn't say so if you had been wounded, and had him to pull thebandages about."

  "What nonsense! he said I was to come and see him as soon as ever Icould."

  "And you can't go and see him. He wouldn't advise you to go out whilethose ruffians are yonder."

  "No," replied the girl, smiling frankly. "He said I must wait till thewasps' nest had been burned out, and I suppose he meant the cave wherethose men are. Oh, I wish I were a man, and could go and fight thewretches. They've been robbing and frightening people in alldirections. They even went last night and frightened old MistressGarth, Nick's mother, and took away her bag of meal."

  "They did that!" cried Ralph angrily. "How do you know?"

  "Nick told me, and he says he means to kill the captain first time theymeet."

  "Nick says so?"

  "Yes; but I suppose it's only boasting. I don't think he's very brave,is he?"

  "Don't know," said Ralph thoughtfully. "But it's quite time somethingwas done."

  "And it was so funny, Ralph," continued the girl; "he actually said tome that he didn't care a bit for his mother, for she has the worsttemper of any one he knows, and is always scolding when he goes to seeher; but he won't have any one interfere with her, and he'll kill thatcaptain for stealing the meal-bag as sure as he's alive."

  "Well, it shows he's a good son," said Ralph quietly. "But you see thatit is not safe for you to go out."

  "Yes," said Minnie with a sigh; "but it seems very silly. The other dayone was obliged to stop in because of the Edens; now it's because ofthose men."

  "I suppose it's as bad for the Edens as it is for us," replied Ralph,who became now very thoughtful; and when, soon afterwards, Minnie lookedup to see why he did not speak, she found that his head was restingagainst the stone, beside a crenelle, and that he was fast asleep.

  "Poor boy!" she said softly, "he is weak yet, and soon worn-out. It wasvery brave of him to fight as he did--with Mark Eden, I mean--againstthe men who attacked them, and for both to be wounded. I wonder whatMark Eden is like. Ralph has met him three times, he says, but he onlygrowls if I begin to ask him questions. What a pity it is, when wemight all be so friendly and nice. How stupid it does seem of people toquarrel!"