Part 57 (1/2)
”You treacherous dog!” cried the colonel, in a voice of thunder, as he seized the landlord by the throat, and forced him to his knees; ”so nothing would do but you must bid that boy take the pony and ride over to Brownsand so as to betray the fact that an escort of prisoners had halted at your house and were gone on by the Brownsand road.”
”No, sir; I never--I never did.”
”You lie, you old villain: tell the truth before I hand you over to my men, and have you hung for a spy on the nearest tree.”
”I swear, colonel, I never did anything of the kind,” cried the landlord, piteously.
”No, sir, it is not true,” cried a girlish voice; and the landlord's little daughter appeared in the doorway.
”Then pray who did?” cried Colonel Forrester.
”I did, sir,” said the girl, undauntedly.
”And pray, why?”
”Because I heard that the young officer was Sir G.o.dfrey Markham's son, and it seemed so horrible that he should be dragged off a prisoner.”
”What do you know of Sir G.o.dfrey Markham?” asked the colonel, sternly.
”I had heard my father speak of him, sir.”
”And so you planned all this and executed it yourself?”
”Yes, sir; I sent our lad off with a message to where the king's men lay.”
”I need not ask, I suppose, whether you are telling the truth,” said the colonel, grimly.
”No, sir. Why should I tell a lie?” replied the girl, quietly; and she looked unflinchingly in her questioner's face.
”And at the first opportunity, I suppose, you will betray us into the enemy's hands?”
”Oh no, sir,” said the girl, with the tears in her eyes, as she glanced at Fred. ”I would sooner try and save you, though you are the enemies of our king.”
”Silence, girl! there is no king now in England, only a man who calls himself king. A tyrant who has been driven from the throne.”
The girl flushed and held up her head.
”It is not true,” she cried, proudly. ”G.o.d save the king!”
”What!” cried Colonel Forrester, in a voice of thunder; and for the first time the innkeeper spoke, his ruddy face now mottled with white, and his hands trembling as he placed them together beseechingly.
”Don't take any notice of what she says, sir. She's a foolish, wilful girl, sir. I've been a miserable coward to hold my tongue so long, but I will speak now. It was all my doing. I held back so as not to seem in the business, because I wanted to be friends with both sides, sir; but I could not bear to see the young squire carried off a prisoner, and I winked at it all. It was my doing, sir. Don't believe a word she says.”
”Father, what have you said?” cried his child, clinging to him.
”Hus.h.!.+ Hold your tongue,” he whispered angrily.
”So we have the truth at last,” said the colonel. ”You convict yourself of being a spy and traitor; and you know your fate, I suppose?”
As Colonel Forrester spoke, he rose and walked to the window, made a sign with his hand, and directly after heavy steps were heard upon the stairs, accompanied by the clank of arms.
In an instant the girl was at the colonel's feet.