Micah Clarke

by Arthur Conan Doyle

  Chapter XI. Of the Lonely Man and the Gold Chest

  The strong yellow glare which had attracted us across the moor found itsway out through a single narrow slit alongside the door which served thepurpose of a rude window. As we advanced towards it the light changedsuddenly to red, and that again to green, throwing a ghastly pallor overour faces, and especially heightening the cadaverous effect of Saxon'saustere features. At the same time we became aware of a most subtleand noxious odour which poisoned the air all round the cottage.This combination of portents in so lonely a spot worked upon the oldman-at-arms' superstitious feelings to such an extent that he pausedand looked back at us inquiringly. Both Reuben and I were determined,however, to carry the adventure through, so he contented himself withfalling a little behind us, and pattering to himself some exorcismappropriate to the occasion. Walking up to the door, I rapped upon itwith the hilt of my sword and announced that we were weary travellerswho were seeking a night's shelter.

  The first result of my appeal was a sound as of some one bustlingrapidly about, with the clinking of metal and noise of the turning oflocks. This died away into a hush, and I was about to knock once morewhen a crackling voice greeted us from the other side of the door.

  'There is little shelter here, gentlemen, and less provisions,' it said.'It is but six miles to Amesbury, where at the Cecil Arms ye shall find,I doubt not, all that is needful for man and for beast.'

  'Nay, nay, mine invisible friend,' quoth Saxon, who was much reassuredby the sound of a human voice, 'this is surely but a scurvy reception.One of our horses is completely foundered, and none of them are invery good plight, so that we could no more make for the Cecil Arms atAmesbury than for the Gruner Mann at Lubeck. I prythee, therefore, thatyou will allow us to pass the remainder of the night under your roof.'

  At this appeal there was much creaking of locks and rasping of bolts,which ended in the door swinging slowly open, and disclosing the personwho had addressed us.

  By the strong light which shone out from behind him we could see thathe was a man of venerable aspect, with snow-white hair and a countenancewhich bespoke a thoughtful and yet fiery nature. The high pensive browand flowing beard smacked of the philosopher, but the keen sparklingeye, the curved aquiline nose, and the lithe upright figure which theweight of years had been unable to bend, were all suggestive of thesoldier. His lofty bearing, and his rich though severe costume of blackvelvet, were at strange variance with the humble nature of the abodewhich he had chosen for his dwelling-place.

  'Ho!' said he, looking keenly at us. 'Two of ye unused to war, and theother an old soldier. Ye have been pursued, I see!'

  'How did you know that, then?' asked Decimus Saxon.

  'Ah, my friend, I too have served in my time. My eyes are not so old butthat they can tell when horses have been spurred to the utmost, nor isit difficult to see that this young giant's sword hath been employed insomething less innocent than toasting bacon. Your story, however, cankeep. Every true soldier thinks first of his horse, so I pray that youwill tether yours without, since I have neither ostler nor serving manto whom I may entrust them.'

  The strange dwelling into which we presently entered had been prolongedinto the side of the little hill against which it had been built, soas to form a very long narrow hall. The ends of this great room, as weentered, were wrapped in shadow, but in the centre was a bright glarefrom a brazier full of coals, over which a brass pipkin was suspended.Beside the fire a long wooden table was plentifully covered with curvedglass flasks, basins, tubings, and other instruments of which I knewneither the name nor the purpose. A long row of bottles containingvarious coloured liquids and powders were arranged along a shelf, whilstabove it another shelf bore a goodly array of brown volumes. For therest there was a second rough-hewn table, a pair of cupboards, three orfour wooden settles, and several large screens pinned to the wallsand covered all over with figures and symbols, of which I could makenothing. The vile smell which had greeted us outside was very much worsewithin the chamber, and arose apparently from the fumes of the boiling,bubbling contents of the brazen pot.

  'Ye behold in me,' said our host, bowing courteously to us, 'the last ofan ancient family. I am Sir Jacob Clancing of Snellaby Hall.'

  'Smellaby it should be, methinks,' whispered Reuben, in a voice whichfortunately did not reach the ears of the old knight.

  'I pray that ye be seated,' he continued, 'and that ye lay aside yourplates and headpieces, and remove your boots. Consider this to be yourinn, and behave as freely. Ye will hold me excused if for a moment Iturn my attention from you to this operation on which I am engaged,which will not brook delay.'

  Saxon began forthwith to undo his buckles and to pull off his harness,while Reuben, throwing himself into a chair, appeared to be too wearyto do more than unfasten his sword-belt. For my own part, I was gladto throw off my gear, but I kept my attention all the while upon themovements of our host, whose graceful manners and learned appearance hadaroused my curiosity and admiration.

  He approached the evil-smelling pot, and stirred it up with a facewhich indicated so much anxiety that it was clear that he had pushed hiscourtesy to us so far as to risk the ruin of some important experiment.Dipping his ladle into the compound, he scooped some up, and then pouredit slowly back into the vessel, showing a yellow turbid fluid. Theappearance of it evidently reassured him, for the look of anxietycleared away from his features, and he uttered an exclamation of relief.Taking a handful of a whitish powder from a trencher at his side hethrew it into the pipkin, the contents of which began immediately toseethe and froth over into the fire, causing the flames to assumethe strange greenish hue which we had observed before entering. Thistreatment had the effect of clearing the fluid, for the chemist wasenabled to pour off into a bottle a quantity of perfectly waterytransparent liquid, while a brownish sediment remained in the vessel,and was emptied out upon a sheet of paper. This done, Sir Jacob Clancingpushed aside all his bottles, and turned towards us with a smiling faceand a lighter air.

  'We shall see what my poor larder can furnish forth,' said he.'Meanwhile, this odour may be offensive to your untrained nostrils, sowe shall away with it. He threw a few grains of some balsamic resininto the brazier, which at once filled the chamber with a most agreeableperfume. He then laid a white cloth upon the table, and taking from acupboard a dish of cold trout and a large meat pasty, he placed themupon it, and invited us to draw up our settles and set to work.

  'I would that I had more toothsome fare to offer ye,' said he. 'Werewe at Snellaby Hall, ye should not be put off in this scurvy fashion, Ipromise ye. This may serve, however, for hungry men, and I can stilllay my hands upon a brace of bottles of the old Alicant.' So saying, hebrought a pair of flasks out from a recess, and having seen us servedand our glasses filled, he seated himself in a high-backed oaken chairand presided with old-fashioned courtesy over our feast. As we supped, Iexplained to him what our errand was, and narrated the adventures of thenight, without making mention of our destination.

  'You are bound for Monmouth's camp,' he said quietly, when I hadfinished, looking me full in the face with his keen dark eyes. 'I knowit, but ye need not fear lest I betray you, even were it in my power.What chance, think ye, hath the Duke against the King's forces?'

  'As much chance as a farmyard fowl against a spurred gamecock, did herely only on those whom he hath with him,' Saxon answered. 'He hathreason to think, however, that all England is like a powder magazine,and he hopes to be the spark to set it alight.'

  The old man shook his head sadly. 'The King hath great resources,' heremarked. 'Where is Monmouth to get his trained soldiers?'

  'There is the militia,' I suggested.

  'And there are many of the old parliamentary breed, who are not too fargone to strike a blow for their belief,' said Saxon. 'Do you but gethalf-a-dozen broad-brimmed, snuffle-nosed preachers into a camp, and thewhole Presbytery tribe will swarm round them like flies on a honey-pot.No recruiting sergeants will ever raise such an army a
s did Noll'spreachers in the eastern counties, where the promise of a seat by thethrone was thought of more value than a ten-pound bounty. I would Icould pay mine own debts with these same promises.'

  'I should judge from your speech, sir,' our host observed, 'that you arenot one of the sectaries. How comes it, then, that you are throwing theweight of your sword and your experience into the weaker scale?'

  'For the very reason that it is the weaker scale,' said the soldier offortune. 'I should gladly have gone with my brother to the Guinea coastand had no say in the matter one way or the other, beyond deliveringletters and such trifles. Since I must be doing something, I choose tofight for Protestantism and Monmouth. It is nothing to me whether JamesStuart or James Walters sits upon the throne, but the court and army ofthe King are already made up. Now, since Monmouth hath both courtiersand soldiers to find, it may well happen that he may be glad of myservices and reward them with honourable preferment.'

  'Your logic is sound,' said our host, 'save only that you have omittedthe very great chance which you will incur of losing your head if theDuke's party are borne down by the odds against them.'

  'A man cannot throw a main without putting a stake on the board,' saidSaxon.

  'And you, young sir,' the old man asked, 'what has caused you to take ahand in so dangerous a game?'

  'I come of a Roundhead stock,' I answered, 'and my folk have alwaysfought for the liberty of the people and the humbling of tyranny. I comein the place of my father.'

  'And you, sir?' our questioner continued, looking at Reuben.

  'I have come to see something of the world, and to be with my friend andcompanion here,' he replied.

  'And I have stronger reasons than any of ye,' Sir Jacob cried, 'forappearing in arms against any man who bears the name of Stuart. Had Inot a mission here which cannot be neglected, I might myself be temptedto hie westward with ye, and put these grey hairs of mine once more intothe rough clasp of a steel headpiece. For where now is the noble castleof Snellaby, and where those glades and woods amidst which the Clancingshave grown up, and lived and died, ere ever Norman William set hisfoot on English soil? A man of trade--a man who, by the sweat of hishalf-starved workers, had laid by ill-gotten wealth, is now the ownerof all that fair property. Should I, the last of the Clancings, showmy face upon it, I might be handed over to the village beadle as atrespasser, or scourged off it perhaps by the bowstrings of insolenthuntsmen.'

  'And how comes so sudden a reverse of fortune?' I asked.

  'Fill up your glasses!' cried the old man, suiting the action to theword. 'Here's a toast for you! Perdition to all faithless princes!How came it about, ye ask? Why, when the troubles came upon the firstCharles, I stood by him as though he had been mine own brother. AtEdgehill, at Naseby, in twenty skirmishes and battles, I fought stoutlyin his cause, maintaining a troop of horse at my own expense, formedfrom among my own gardeners, grooms, and attendants. Then the militarychest ran low, and money must be had to carry on the contest. My silverchargers and candlesticks were thrown into the melting-pot, as werethose of many another cavalier. They went in metal and they came outas troopers and pikemen. So we tided over a few months until again thepurse was empty, and again we filled it amongst us. This time it was thehome farm and the oak trees that went. Then came Marston Moor, and everypenny and man was needed to repair that great disaster. I flinched not,but gave everything. This boiler of soap, a prudent, fat-cheeked man,had kept himself free from civil broils, and had long had a covetous eyeupon the castle. It was his ambition, poor worm, to be a gentleman, asthough a gabled roof and a crumbling house could ever make him that. Ilet him have his way, however, and threw the sum received, every guineaof it, into the King's coffers. And so I held out until the final ruinof Worcester, when I covered the retreat of the young prince, and mayindeed say that save in the Isle of Man I was the last Royalist whoupheld the authority of the crown. The Commonwealth had set a price uponmy head as a dangerous malignant, so I was forced to take my passage ina Harwich ketch, and arrived in the Lowlands with nothing save my swordand a few broad pieces in my pocket.'

  'A cavalier might do well even then,' remarked Saxon. 'There are everwars in Germany where a man is worth his hire. When the North Germansare not in arms against the Swedes or French, the South Germans are sureto be having a turn with the janissaries.'

  'I did indeed take arms for a time in the employ of the UnitedProvinces, by which means I came face to face once more with mine oldfoes, the Roundheads. Oliver had lent Reynolds's brigade to the French,and right glad was Louis to have the service of such seasoned troops.'Fore God, I stood on the counterscarp at Dunkirk, and I found myself,when I should have been helping the defence, actually cheering on theattack. My very heart rose when I saw the bull-dog fellows clambering upthe breach with their pikes at the trail, and never quavering in theirpsalm-tune, though the bullets sung around them as thick as bees in thehiving time. And when they did come to close hugs with the Flemings, Itell you they set up such a rough cry of soldierly joy that my pridein them as Englishmen overtopped my hatred of them as foes. However, mysoldiering was of no great duration, for peace was soon declared, andI then pursued the study of chemistry, for which I had a strong turn,first with Vorhaager of Leyden, and later with De Huy of Strasburg,though I fear that these weighty names are but sounds to your ears.'

  'Truly,' said Saxon, 'there seemeth to be some fatal attraction in thissame chemistry, for we met two officers of the Blue Guards in Salisbury,who, though they were stout soldierly men in other respects, had also aweakness in that direction.'

  'Ha!' cried Sir Jacob, with interest. 'To what school did they belong?'

  'Nay, I know nothing of the matter,' Saxon answered, 'save that theydenied that Gervinus of Nurnberg, whom I guarded in prison, or any otherman, could transmute metals.'

  'For Gervinus I cannot answer,' said our host, 'but for the possibilityof it I can pledge my knightly word. However, of that anon. The timecame at last when the second Charles was invited back to his throne,and all of us, from Jeffrey Hudson, the court dwarf, up to my LordClarendon, were in high feather at the hope of regaining our own oncemore. For my own claim, I let it stand for some time, thinking that itwould be a more graceful act for the King to help a poor cavalier whohad ruined himself for the sake of his family without solicitation onhis part. I waited and waited, but no word came, so at last I betookmyself to the levee and was duly presented to him. "Ah," said he,greeting me with the cordiality which he could assume so well, "youare, if I mistake not, Sir Jasper Killigrew?" "Nay, your Majesty,"I answered, "I am Sir Jacob Clancing, formerly of Snellaby Hall, inStaffordshire;" and with that I reminded him of Worcester fight and ofmany passages which had occurred to us in common. "Od's fish!" he cried,"how could I be so forgetful! And how are all at Snellaby?" I thenexplained to him that the Hall had passed out of my hands, and told himin a few words the state to which I had been reduced. His face cloudedover and his manner chilled to me at once. "They are all on to me formoney and for places," he said, "and truly the Commons are so niggardlyto me that I can scarce be generous to others. However, Sir Jacob, weshall see what can be done for thee," and with that he dismissed me.That same night the secretary of my Lord Clarendon came to me, andannounced with much form and show that, in consideration of my longdevotion and the losses which I had sustained, the King was graciouslypleased to make me a lottery cavalier.'

  'And pray, sir, what is a lottery cavalier?' I asked.

  'It is nothing else than a licensed keeper of a gambling-house. Thiswas his reward to me. I was to be allowed to have a den in the piazzaof Covent Garden, and there to decoy the young sparks of the town andfleece them at ombre. To restore my own fortunes I was to ruin others.My honour, my family, my reputation, they were all to weigh fornothing so long as I had the means of bubbling a few fools out of theirguineas.'

  'I have heard that some of the lottery cavaliers did well,' remarkedSaxon reflectively.

  'Well or ill, it way no employment for me. I waite
d upon the King andimplored that his bounty would take another form. His only reply wasthat for one so poor I was strangely fastidious. For weeks I hung aboutthe court--I and other poor cavaliers like myself, watching the royalbrothers squandering upon their gaming and their harlots sums whichwould have restored us to our patrimonies. I have seen Charles put uponone turn of a card as much as would have satisfied the most exacting ofus. In the parks of St. James, or in the Gallery at Whitehall, I stillendeavoured to keep myself before his eyes, in the hope that someprovision would be made for me. At last I received a second message fromhim. It was that unless I could dress more in the mode he could dispensewith my attendance. That was his message to the old broken soldier whohad sacrificed health, wealth, position, everything in the service ofhis father and himself.'

  'Shameful!' we cried, all three.

  'Can you wonder, then, that I cursed the whole Stuart race,false-hearted, lecherous, and cruel? For the Hall, I could buy it backto-morrow if I chose, but why should I do so when I have no heir?'

  'Ho, you have prospered then!' said Decimus Saxon, with one of hisshrewd sidelong looks. 'Perhaps you have yourself found out how toconvert pots and pans into gold in the way you have spoken of. But thatcannot be, for I see iron and brass in this room which would hardlyremain there could you convert it to gold.'

  'Gold has its uses, and iron has its uses,' said Sir Jacob oracularly.'The one can never supplant the other.'

  'Yet these officers,' I remarked, 'did declare to us that it was but asuperstition of the vulgar.'

  'Then these officers did show that their knowledge was less than theirprejudice. Alexander Setonius, a Scot, was first of the moderns toachieve it. In the month of March 1602 he did change a bar of lead intogold in the house of a certain Hansen, at Rotterdam, who hath testifiedto it. He then not only repeated the same process before three learnedmen sent by the Kaiser Rudolph, but he taught Johann Wolfgang Dienheimof Freibourg, and Gustenhofer of Strasburg, which latter taught it to myown illustrious master--'

  'Who in turn taught it to you,' cried Saxon triumphantly. 'I have nogreat store of metal with me, good sir, but there are my head-piece,back and breast-plate, taslets and thigh-pieces, together with mysword, spurs, and the buckles of my harness. I pray you to use your mostexcellent and praiseworthy art upon these, and I will promise within afew days to bring round a mass of metal which shall be more worthy ofyour skill.'

  'Nay, nay,' said the alchemist, smiling and shaking his head. 'It canindeed be done, but only slowly and in order, small pieces at a time,and with much expenditure of work and patience. For a man to enrichhimself at it he must labour hard and long; yet in the end I will notdeny that he may compass it. And now, since the flasks are empty andyour young comrade is nodding in his chair, it will perhaps be as wellfor you to spend as much of the night as is left in repose.' He drewseveral blankets and rugs from a corner and scattered them over thefloor. 'It is a soldier's couch,' he remarked; 'but ye may sleep onworse before ye put Monmouth on the English throne. For myself, it ismy custom to sleep in an inside chamber, which is hollowed out of thehill.' With a few last words and precautions for our comfort he withdrewwith the lamp, passing through a door which had escaped our notice atthe further end of the apartment.

  Reuben, having had no rest since he left Havant, had already droppedupon the rugs, and was fast asleep, with a saddle for a pillow. Saxonand I sat for a few minutes longer by the light of the burning brazier.

  'One might do worse than take to this same chemical business,' mycompanion remarked, knocking the ashes out of his pipe. 'See you yoniron-bound chest in the corner?'

  'What of it?'

  'It is two thirds full of gold, which this worthy gentleman hathmanufactured.'

  'How know you that?' I asked incredulously.

  'When you did strike the door panel with the hilt of your sword, asthough you would drive it in, you may have heard some scuttling about,and the turning of a lock. Well, thanks to my inches, I was able to lookthrough yon slit in the wall, and I saw our friend throw something intothe chest with a chink, and then lock it. It was but a glance at thecontents, yet I could swear that that dull yellow light could come fromno metal but gold. Let us see if it be indeed locked.' Rising from hisseat he walked over to the box and pulled vigorously at the lid.

  'Forbear, Saxon, forbear!' I cried angrily. 'What would our host say,should he come upon you?'

  'Nay, then, he should not keep such things beneath his roof. With achisel or a dagger now, this might be prized open.'

  'By Heaven!' I whispered, 'if you should attempt it I shall lay you onyour back.'

  'Well, well, young Anak! it was but a passing fancy to see the treasureagain. Now, if he were but well favoured to the King, this would befair prize of war. Marked ye not that he claimed to have been the lastRoyalist who drew sword in England? and he confessed that he had beenproscribed as a malignant. Your father, godly as he is, would havelittle compunction in despoiling such an Amalekite. Besides, bethinkyou, he can make more as easily as your good mother maketh cranberrydumplings.'

  'Enough said!' I answered sternly. 'It will not bear discussion. Get yeto your couch, lest I summon our host and tell him what manner of man hehath entertained.'

  With many grumbles Saxon consented at last to curl his long limbs upupon a mat, whilst I lay by his side and remained awake until the mellowlight of morning streamed through the chinks between the ill-coveredrafters. Truth to tell, I feared to sleep, lest the freebooting habitsof the soldier of fortune should be too strong for him, and he shoulddisgrace us in the eyes of our kindly and generous entertainer. At last,however, his long-drawn breathing assured me that he was asleep, and Iwas able to settle down to a few hours of welcome rest.