by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER XVI
A DARING EXPLOIT
On reaching Sheerness the captain at once went ashore, accompanied byWill, and they proceeded to London. Will took up his quarters at theGolden Cross, and next day called at the Admiralty, where he sent in hisname to the First Lord.
"I have received a most favourable report from Captain Knowles of yourconduct in landing on the coast of Holland, and of obtaining despatches ofmuch value. How were you taken prisoner?"
"At the attack by a force from the _Tartar_ on some batteries on one ofthe Isles d'Hyeres. I was hit in the leg, and, being left behind in theconfusion of the retreat, fell into the hands of the French. I wasimprisoned for four months at Toulon, and then sent to Verdun. Six monthsafter leaving Toulon I effected my escape in a disguise procured for me bya French girl. I had learned the language while in prison, and, travellingthrough France in the disguise of a pedlar, reached Dunkirk. There Iworked in a fishing-boat for a month, and then, seeing the _Artemis_cruising off the town, I shut up two of the sailors in their cabin, andfrightened the other two into taking me off to her."
"In consideration of the valuable services you have rendered I have muchpleasure in appointing you master's mate."
"Thank you, sir! but I own I had rather hopes of obtaining a lieutenancy."
"A lieutenancy!" the admiral said in a changed tone. "I am surprised tohear you say so, when you have had no service as a master's mate. Whatmakes you entertain such a hope?"
"My past services, sir," Will said boldly.
"Captain Purfleet, will you hand me down the volume of services under theletter G. Ah! here it is."
He glanced at it cursorily at first, and then read it carefully.
"You were right, Mr. Gilmore, in entertaining such a hope. I see that youhave been highly spoken of by the various officers under whom you haveserved; that you were most strongly recommended by the admirals both atMalta and in the West Indies for your singular services, and also by LordHood for your conduct in Corsica. You were in command of a small craft fornearly a year, and in that capacity you not only took a number of prizes,some of them valuable, but actually captured, in one hard-fought action,two pirates, each of which was stronger than yourself. You have,therefore, well shown your capacity to command. Captain Purfleet, have anyappointments been made yet to the _Jason_?"
"No, sir."
"Very well, then appoint Mr. Gilmore to be second lieutenant of her. Youneed not thank me, sir; you owe your commission to your own gallantry andgood conduct. I don't know that I have at any time seen such strongtestimonials and so good a record for any officer of your age andstanding. I am quite sure that you will do full justice to the appointmentthat I have made. As the _Jason_ will not be ready for two months I cangrant you six weeks leave."
No sooner was this matter settled than Will took the coach to Fairham.Thence he drove to the village of Porchester, where Marie's fiance wasconfined. Here he put up at a little inn. He had, before starting fromLondon, bought and put on the disguise of a countryman, as he could hardlyhave stayed in the village as a gentleman without exciting remark orsuspicion. He had, however, brought other clothes with him, so that ifnecessary he could resume them, and appear either as a naval officer or asa civilian. His first step was to make a tour of the great wall whichenclosed the castle and the huts in which the prisoners were confined. Hesaw at once that any attempt to scale the wall would be useless. At theinn he gave out that by the death of a relative he had just come into afew pounds and meant to enjoy himself.
The inn he had selected was scarcely more than a tavern, and he had chosenit because he thought it probable that it would be frequented by thesoldiers whose camp stood near the walls, and who supplied the guards inthe castle. This expectation was fulfilled a short time after his arrivalby four or five soldiers coming in.
"Will you drink a glass with me?" he said. "I have been telling thelandlord that I have come into a little brass, and mean to spend it."
The soldiers, not unwillingly, accepted the invitation, and sat down at atable with him.
"It must be slow work," he said, "keeping guard here, and I expect youwould sooner be out at the war."
"That we should," one of them replied; "there is nothing to do here but todrill all day, and stare across the water when we are off duty, and wishwe were at Portsmouth, where there is something to do and something toamuse one. This is the dullest hole I ever was quartered in. Cosham on oneside and Fairham on the other are the only places that one can walk to. Weexpect, however, to be relieved before long, and I never want to see theplace again."
"I suppose you take recruits here?" Will said.
"Oh yes, we take recruits when we can get them."
"How long is a recruit before he begins to be a soldier, and takes hisregular turn as guard and so on?"
"Two or three months," the man said; "that is long enough to get them intosomething like shape."
"I should like to go in and have a look at the prisoners," Will said aftera little chat.
"Well, there is no chance of your doing that," the soldier replied."Orders are very strict, and only three or four hucksters are allowed togo in, to sell things to them."
"How many are there of them?"
"About three thousand."
He chatted for some time, and then, after calling for another pint of beerall round, sauntered out, leaving the soldiers to finish it. He saw atonce that his only possible plan in the time he had at his command waseither to bribe some of the guards, which appeared to him too hazardous aplan to adopt, and not likely to lead to success, or to get at one orother of the people who were allowed in.
He spent two days watching the gate of the prison. During that time fivepeople in civilian dress went in. One of these was a short fat woman, whocarried a large basket with cakes and other eatables. Another wassimilarly laden. A third, a man of about his own height, took in a varietyof material used by the prisoners for making articles for sale. He hadneedles and thread, scraps of materials of many colours for makingpatchwork quilts, blocks of wood for carving out model ships, straw dyedvarious colours for making fancy boxes, glass beads, and other smallarticles. Will at once fixed on him as being the most likely of thevisitors to serve his purpose. He spoke to him after he had left theprison.
"My friend," he said, "do you want to earn fifty pounds?"
The man opened his eyes in surprise.
"I should certainly like to," he said, "if I could see my way to do it."
"Well, I will double that if you do as I tell you. I want you, in thefirst place, to find out the hut in which Lucien Dupres is confined, andgive him a letter."
"There will be no great difficulty about that," the man said. "I only haveto whisper to the first prisoner I meet that I want to find a man, andhave got a letter from his friends for him, and if he doesn't know him hewill find him out for me. That is not much to do for a hundred pounds."
"No; but in the next place I want you to keep out of the way for a week,and to lend me your clothes and pass. I want to go in and see the man."
"Well, that is a more dangerous business. How could you pass for me?"
"I think I could do that without fear. We are about the same height. Ishould have a wig made to imitate your hair, and should, I imagine, haveno difficulty in getting my face made up so as to be able to pass for you.You must be so well known that they will do no more than glance at me as Igo in. The only alternative to that will be for you to take to him a ropeand other things I will give you. I tell you frankly I want to aid hisescape. Mind, a hundred pounds is not to be earned without some slightrisk."
"Of the two things I would rather risk carrying the rope and the tools, ifthey are not too bulky. Mind you, it is a big risk, for I should be liableto be shot for aiding in the escape of a prisoner."
"Well, look here," Will said, "I will go into Portsmouth this afternoonand find some man who can fake me up. There are sure to be two or threemen
who make that their business, for young naval officers are constantlygetting into scrimmages, and must want to have their eyes painted beforethey go back on board. Do you go to the prison to-morrow morning. Find outthe man, and deliver this letter to him. Then come into Portsmouth in thecoach. I will be waiting there till it arrives, and you can go with me,and when I have got myself made up you shall judge for yourself whether Ishall pass muster for you. There will be no difficulty in getting whiskersto match yours."
"Very well," the man said, "I will be on the coach to-morrow."
Will at once changed his clothes to an ordinary walking suit, and wentinto town. On making enquiries he found that there was a barber who madeit his business to paint black eyes and to remove the signs of bruises. Hewent to him and said: "I hear you are an artist in black eyes."
The man smiled.
"You don't look as if you wanted my services, sir."
"No, not in that way, but I suppose you could make up a face so as toresemble another."
"Yes, sir, I was at one time engaged at a theatre in London in making upthe performers, and feel sure that I could accomplish such a job to yoursatisfaction."
"I have made a bet," Will said, "that I could disguise myself as a certainman so well that I could take my friends in. Have you a sandy wig in yourshop?"
"Yes, sir, half a dozen."
"And whiskers?"
"I have several sets, sir, and I dare say one would be the right colour."
"Very well, then, I will bring the man here to-morrow, and you shall paintme so as to resemble him as closely as possible. I don't mind giving you afive-pound note for the job."
"Well, sir, if I am not mistaken I can paint you so that his own motherwouldn't know the difference."
Will took a bed at the George, and at mid-day went to the inn where thecoach stopped. The man was on the outside.
"Well, sir, I have found the Frenchman, and given him the letter, so thatpart of the business is done."
"That is good. What is the number of the man's hut?"
"Number sixty-eight;" and the man carefully described its position.
"Very well. Now we will set about the second part."
When they arrived at the shop the barber seated them in two chairs next toeach other, in a room behind the shop, and set to work at once. He firstproduced a wig and whiskers, which, with a little clipping, he made of thesize and shape of the hair on the huckster's face. Then he set to workwith his paints, first staining Will's face to the reddish-brown of theman's complexion, and then adding line after line. After two hours' workhe asked them to stand together before a glass, and both were astonished;the resemblance was indeed perfect. Will's eyebrows had been stained agrayish white, and some long hairs had been inserted so as to give themthe shaggy appearance of the pedlar. A crow's foot had been painted at thecorner of each eye, and a line drawn from the nose to the corners of thelips. The chin and lower part of the cheeks had been tinted dark, to givethem the appearance of long shaving. Both of them burst into a laugh asthey looked at the two faces in the mirror.
"You will do, sir," the man said. "It would need a sharp pair of eyes todetect the difference between us."
"Yes, I think that will do," Will said, "and to aid the deception I will,as I go in, use my handkerchief and pretend to have a bad cold."
"Is there a basket-maker's near?" Will asked the barber.
"Yes, sir, first turning to the right, and first to the left, two or threedoors down, there is a small shop."
"I want you at once to go and choose one the size and shape of your own,"Will said to his companion. "When you see one, set the man to work toweave a false bottom to it. I want it to lodge so as to leave a recessfour or five inches deep. Have it made with two handles, so that it can belifted in and out. How long would he be doing it, do you think?"
"About an hour and a half, I should say."
"Very well; order the man to send it round to the George, wrapped up inpaper, to the address of Mr. Earnshaw. When you have done this, come backhere. We cannot go into the street together; our singular resemblancewould at once be noticed."
"Now," Will said to the pedlar when he returned, "meet me on the road ahundred yards from where it turns down to Porchester; bring a stock ofgoods with you, and I will put them in my basket. Of course you will bringyour pass, and the clothes you now have on in a bundle. I will changethere; as far as I have seen it is very seldom that anyone passes thatway."
Will then went for a walk, and when it became quite dark he took off hiswig and whiskers and went into the town again. Here he bought a long rope,very slender, but still strong enough to support a man's weight, and agrapnel which folded up flat when not in use. Then he went to the George,having wrapped a muffler round his face as if he were suffering withtoothache. His basket was standing in the hall.
"I shall not return this evening," he said, "so I will pay my bill."
Then, having bought a suit of ready-made sailor's clothes, with hatcomplete, he put them into his basket, hired a vehicle, and drove toFairham. In the morning at nine o'clock he walked along the main roadtowards Cosham till he reached the turning to Porchester, went down it acouple of hundred yards, and sat on a grassy bank till he saw the pedlarapproaching.
"It is a foggy morning," the huckster said when he came up.
"So much the better. I hope it will last over to-morrow, and then theywon't be able to signal the news of the prisoner's escape. It is only inclear weather that the semaphores can be made out from hill to hill."
The goods were changed from the pedlar's basket to the one Will hadbrought.
"There, then, is the hundred pounds I promised you; I hope you areperfectly satisfied?"
"Perfectly, sir; it is the best two days' work I have ever done."
"Now for my clothes," Will said; and no one being in sight he quicklychanged into the clothes the pedlar had brought.
"We are more alike than ever," the man said with a laugh, "but you willhave to remember that I walk with a limp. I got a ball in my leg in thefighting at Trinidad, and was discharged as being unfit for service. But Igot a small pension, and the right to sell things to the prisoners inPorchester Castle."
"I noticed the limp when I saw you first," Will said, "and there will beno great difficulty in copying it. I regarded it as rather fortunate, aswhen the soldiers see me limp along they will not look farther."
"Well, sir, I wish you luck. You are the freest-handed gentleman I evercame across."
Will hid his own clothes in a neighbouring bush, and then started,imitating the pedlar's limp so exactly that the man laughed as he lookedafter him before starting for Fairham.
There were few people in the streets of the quiet little village as Willpassed through it. When he neared the castle he overtook the fatapple-woman, who hailed him as a friend, and they walked together into thecastle. They showed their passes to the guard at the gate, but he scarcelylooked at them. They then separated, and Will, stopping now and then tosell small articles, made his way at last to Lucien's hut. He had in hisletter informed Lucien of his reasons for trying to get him free, and haddirected him to be leaning at that hour against the corner of the hut.When Lucien saw the pedlar approaching, if all was clear he was to retireinto it, but if there were others inside he was to shake his headslightly. As Will approached the hut he saw a prisoner standing thereaccording to his instructions, but he gave the danger signal and Willpassed on. This he did twice, but when Will returned the third time theman went quietly into the hut.
"There is not a moment to lose," Will said as he followed, and he at oncelifted up the false bottom and pulled out the rope and grapnel. He hadknotted the rope about every foot, to assist the prisoner in climbing, andhad covered the iron of the grapnel with strips of flannel so that itwould make no noise when it struck the wall.
"Hide them in your bed. It will be a very dark night, and you must stealout and make your way to the middle of the south wall. There fling yourgrapnel up and scale the wall. I shall be
there waiting for you. It looksas if it will be very wet as well as very dark, so you ought to be able toavoid the sentinel."
At this moment he heard someone at the door, and adroitly changing histone said: "You do not like these colours for a bed-quilt? Very well, I amgetting a fresh stock from London in a few days, and I have no doubt youwill be able to suit yourself. Good-morning!"
He then turned and offered some of his goods to the new-comer, who boughta block for carving out a ship, and some twine and other things forrigging her. When he left the hut he went about the yard till he haddisposed of a considerable amount of his goods, and then left the prisonand made his way back to the spot where he had hidden his clothes. Onarriving there he changed at once, rubbed the pigment from his face, threwaway the wig and whiskers, hid the basket in a place which he and thepedlar had agreed upon, with the clothes in it and the pass in one of thepockets, and then went back into the village, where he hired a chaise anddrove to Fairham.
"Landlord," he said, as he drew up at the principal hotel, "I shall want apost-chaise to-night for London. I shall be at a party to-night and cannotsay at what time I may get away, but have the horses ready to put in attwelve o'clock. If they have to wait an hour or two you shall not be theloser."
After ordering dinner, he strolled about the town till he thought it wouldbe nearly ready. Then he asked for a room, and there changed into hisnaval uniform, which he had brought with him. He ate a good dinner, andthen, putting on his cloak, started to walk back to Porchester, carryingwith him a bag in which was the sailor's suit he had bought for Lucien.The night was pitch dark, and the rain had set in heavily, but althoughhis walk was not an agreeable one he was in high spirits. In his letter toLucien he had told him that if anything should prevent him from making hisway to the wall that night he would expect him on the following one.Nevertheless he felt sure that in such favourable circumstances he wouldbe able to get through the sentries without difficulty. He took up aposition as near as he could guess at the centre of the south wall, on thenarrow strip of ground between it and the lake. He had waited about anhour when he heard a slight noise a few yards on one side of him. He movedtowards the sound, and was just in time to see Lucien alight. He graspedhim by the hand.
"HE WAS JUST IN TIME TO SEE LUCIEN ALIGHT"]
"Thank heaven," he said in French, "that I have got you free, as Ipromised your sweetheart I would! Now let us first make our way up thevillage. I have a suit of sailor's clothes for you in this bag; you canchange into them when we get beyond the houses, and throw those you arewearing into the pond there, with a few stones in them to make them sink."
"Ah, monsieur, how can I thank you?" Lucien said.
"I am only paying a debt. Marie risked a good deal to aid me, and Ipromised solemnly that I would, if it were at all possible, get you out ofprison in return, so there is no occasion for any thanks."
Few words passed between them as they walked through the village, and whenthey had left it behind, Lucien changed his clothes and disposed of hisold ones as Will had suggested.
"It was necessary to get rid of them," Will said, "because if they werefound in the morning it would show that you had got a change, and insteadof looking for someone in a well-worn uniform they would direct theirattention to other people."
They tramped along to Fairham, and reached the hotel just as it was aboutto be shut up, the stage-coach having passed a few minutes before. Theyhad some refreshments, and then took their seats in the chaise. At oncethe postilions cracked their whips, and the four horses started at agallop.
"We are absolutely safe now," Will said; "they will not discover that youhave gone until the roll-call in the morning, and by that time we shall bewithin a few miles of London. In such weather as this they will be unableto signal. Before we arrive I will put on civilian clothes again, and assoon as we have discharged the chaise we will go to a clothier's and get asuit for you. There are so many emigrants in London that your speakingFrench will attract no attention."
The journey was quickly accomplished. Will was very liberal to thepostilions at the first stage, and these hurried up those who were to takethe next, and so from stage to stage they went at the top of the horses'speed, the ninety miles being covered in the very fast time, for theperiod, of ten hours. At the last stage Will asked for a room to himselffor a few minutes and there changed his clothes. They were put down infront of a private house, and, having seen the post-chaise drive off, tooktheir bags and walked on until they reached a tailor's shop.
"I want to put my man into plain clothes while he is with me in town,"Will said to the shopman.
"Yes, sir. What sort of clothes?"
"Oh, just private clothes, such as a valet might wear when out of livery!"
Lucien was soon rigged out in a suit of quiet but respectable garments,and, putting his sailor suit into his bag, they went on. They looked aboutfor a considerable time before they found a suitable lodging, but at lastthey came upon a French hotel. Entering, Will asked in French for tworooms. They were at once accommodated, and after washing and dressing theywent down to the coffee-room, where several French gentlemen werebreakfasting. It had been arranged that Will should say that they were twoemigrants who had just effected their escape from France.
The next day they took the coach to Weymouth, the port from which at thattime communication was kept open with France by means of smugglers and menwho made a business of aiding the French emigrants who wanted to escape,or the Royalists who went backwards and forwards trying to get up amovement against the Republic. On making enquiries they heard of a man whohad a very fast little vessel, and they at once looked him up. "Thisgentleman wants to go across," Will said. "What would you do it for?"
"It depends whether he will wait till I get some more passengers or not."
"He is pressed for time," Will said; "what will you run him over foralone?"
"Fifty pounds," the man said. Will thought it advisable not to appear tojump at the offer.
"That is rather stiff," he said; "I should think thirty-five would beample."
"It seems a good sum," the man said; "but you see there are dangers. Imight be overhauled by a British cruiser."
"You might," Will said; "but when they learned your business they wouldnot interfere with you."
"Then there are the port authorities," the man said.
"Yes, but a few francs would prevent them from asking inconvenientquestions. Besides, my friend is not a royalist, he is only going over tosee his friends."
"Well, we will say thirty-five," the man said with a smile. "When will youwant to start?"
"He doesn't care whether he sails this evening or to-morrow morning."
"Well, we will say to-morrow morning at daybreak."
"Where will you land him?"
"At Cherbourg or one of the villages near; most likely at Cherbourg if thecoast is clear, for I have friends there who work with me."
They went to an hotel for the night. In the morning Will gave Lucien asmall package containing a very handsome gold watch and chain which he hadbought in London.
"Give this to Marie from me," he said; "I promised that she should haveone for her wedding-day. Here are a thousand francs of French money, whichwill carry you comfortably from Cherbourg to Verdun and give you a bit ofa start there. No, you need not refuse it, I am a rich man, and can affordit without in the least hurting myself. Give my love to Marie," he said,"and tell her that I shall never forget her kindness."
Lucien was profuse in his gratitude, but Will cut him short by hurryinghim down to the boat, which was lying at the quay with her sails alreadyhoisted. Will watched the boat till it was well out to sea, and then tookthe next coach back to London, filled with pleasure that he had been ableto carry out his plan and to repay the kindness that Marie had shown him.
He had given Lucien the address of his London agent, so that on hisarrival at Verdun he could write him a letter saying how he had fared, andwhen he and Marie were to be married. This letter he recei
ved on hisreturn from the next cruise. It contained the warmest thanks of Marie andher lover, and the information that they were to be married the followingweek, and that the young man had an offer of good employment in the town.
When he reached London, Will obtained the address of a respectablesolicitor, and called upon him to ask his advice as to advertising to tryto discover a family bearing the arms on his seal.
"I should advise you," the lawyer said, "to leave the matter until youreturn from sea again. Questions of this sort always require a good dealof time to answer. You would have to be present to give information, andwhen the matter is taken up it should be pressed through vigorously. Ofcourse there would be difficulties to face. The mere fact of this sealbeing in the possession of your father, that is, if he was your father,would not be sufficient to prove his identity, and there would be allsorts of investigations to make, which would, of course, take time. If youwill leave the matter in my hands I will cause enquiries to be made as tothe arms. That will probably only take a day or two, and it would perhapsbe a satisfaction to you to know the family with which you might beconnected. It will be in the subsequent steps that delays will occur."
"Thank you, sir! I should certainly like to know, though I quite see that,as you say, it will be very difficult for me to establish my connection."
The lawyer then took down what particulars Will could give him of hisearly history. When he returned a week later the lawyer gave him a cordialreception.
"I congratulate you, Mr. Gilmore," he said. "The head of the familycarrying those arms is Sir Ralph Gilmore, one of our oldest baronets. Hehas no male issue. He had one son who died six years ago. There wasanother son, a younger one, of whom there is no record. He may be aliveand he may be dead; that is not known. It is, of course, possible that youwere stolen as a child by your reputed father, and that he gave you thefamily name in order that when the time came he could produce you, but ofcourse that is all guesswork. When you return from sea again I will setpeople to work to trace, if possible, the wanderings of this person; butas I said, this will take time, and as you will be going to sea in afortnight the matter can very well stand over. So long as you are on boarda ship your parentage can make very little difference to you."
Will had still a fortnight of his leave remaining. He wandered aboutLondon for a couple of days, but he found it rather dull now that he hadfinished his business, as he had no friends in town. On the second day hewas walking along one of the fashionable streets of Bloomsbury,considering whether he should not go down by the next coach to Portsmouth,where he was sure of meeting friends, when a carriage passed him, drawn bya pair of fine horses. A young lady who was sitting in it happened tonotice him. She glanced at him carelessly at first, and then with greatinterest. She stopped the carriage before it had gone many yards, and whenWill came up, looked at him closely. "Excuse me, sir," she said as he waspassing; "but are you not Mr. Gilmore?" Greatly surprised he replied inthe affirmative.
"I thought so!" she exclaimed. "Do you not remember me?"
He looked at her hard. "Why--why," he hesitated, "surely it is not--"
"But it is!" she cried. "I am Alice Palethorpe!"
"Miss Palethorpe!" he exclaimed, grasping the hand she held out. "Is itpossible?"
"Not Miss Palethorpe," she said. "To you I am Alice, as I was nearly fouryears ago. Get into the carriage. My father will be delighted to see you.We have talked of you so often. He made enquiries at the Admiralty when hecame home, but found that you were a prisoner in France, and he has beentrying to get your name down in the list of those to be exchanged, but hehad so little interest that he could not succeed, and, indeed, for thepast two years no exchange had taken place."
By this time he was in the carriage, and they were driving rapidly alongthe busy streets. Presently they stopped before a large house in BedfordSquare.
"This is our home, for the present at any rate," she said. "Now come in."
She ran upstairs before him and signed to him to wait at the top."Father," she said, bursting into a room, "I have taken a captive; someoneyou certainly don't expect to see. Now, you must guess."
"How can I, my dear, when you say I don't expect to see him? Is it--?" andhe mentioned five or six of his friends in Jamaica, any of whom might bereturning.
"No, father. You are out altogether."
"Then I give it up, Alice."
"It is Will," she said.
Will heard him spring to his feet and hurry to the door.
"My dear young friend!" he exclaimed. "At least I suppose it is you, foryou have grown out of all recognition."
"Ah, father!" the girl broke in. "You see, he hadn't changed so much as todeceive me. I felt sure of him the moment I set eyes upon him."
"Well, then, your eyes do you credit," her father said. "Certainly Ishould not have recognized him. He has grown from a lad into a man sincewe saw him last. He has widened out tremendously. He was rather one of thelean kind at that time."
"Oh, father, how can you say so? I consider that he was just right."
"Yes, my dear, I quite understand that. At that time he was perfect inyour eyes, but for all that he was lean."
"You are quite right, sir, I was, and I really wonder that I have put onflesh so much. The diet of a French prisoner is not calculated to promotestoutness. But your daughter was not only sharper-sighted than you, buteven than myself. Till she spoke to me I had not an idea who she was. Isaw that she thought she recognized me, but I was afraid it would be rudeon my part to look at her closely. Of course now I do see the likeness tothe Alice I knew, but she has changed far more than I have. She was alittle girl of fourteen then, very pretty, certainly, I thought, but stillquite a girl--" and he stopped.
"Now, you mean that I have grown into a young woman, and have lost myprettiness?"
"I think your looking-glass tells you another story," he laughed. "If itdoesn't, it must be a very bad one."
"Well, now, do sit down," her father said. "You must have an immense dealto tell us."
"It is a longish story," Will replied, "too long to tell straight off.Besides, I want to ask some questions. When did you come home? Have youcome for good? If not, how long are you going to stay? though I am sorryto say that the length of your visit can affect me comparatively little,for I am appointed second-lieutenant of the _Jason_, and must join in afew days."
"I congratulate you very heartily, Will," Mr. Palethorpe said. "You arefortunate indeed to get such promotion so early."
"I am most fortunate, sir. Though just at present I feel inclined to wishthat it hadn't come quite so soon."
"In answer to your question, Will, I can say that we are home for good. Ihave disposed of my estate and wound up my business, principally, I think,because this little girl had made up her mind that she should like Englandbetter than Jamaica."
"I am glad to hear that, sir. I shall have something to look forward towhen I return to England."
"Where are you staying?"
"At the Golden Cross."
"Well, then, you must go and fetch your luggage here at once. It would bestrange indeed if you were to be staying at any house but mine while youare in London."
As he saw that the planter would not hear of a refusal, Will gladlyaccepted the invitation, and, taking a fly, drove to the hotel, paid hisbill, and took his things away.