Part 25 (1/2)
Theof the shi+p's dog The poor animal, whether he was merely sick at heart to be separated fronised so of the shi+p, raised his cries, like uns, above the roar of wave and weather; and the more superstitious of the men heard, in these sounds, the knell of the Good Hope
Lord Foxham had been laid in a berth upon a fur cloak A little lalimmer dick could see the pale countenance and hollow eyes of the hurt man
”I a Shelton; let there be one bylived nobly and richly all the days of etskirmish, and die here, in a foul, cold shi+p upon the sea, a broken men and churls”
”Nay, my lord,” said dick, ”I pray rather to the saints that ye will recover you of your hurt, and come soon and sound ashore”
”How!” demanded his lordshi+p ”Come sound ashore? There is, then, a question of it?”
”The shi+p laboureth--the sea is grievous and contrary,” replied the lad; ”and by what I can learn of my fellow that steereth us, we shall do well, indeed, if we colooe of my soul! Sir, pray rather to live hard, that ye h life, as to the pipe and tabor, and, in the last hour, be plunged a misfortunes! Howbeit, I have that upon my mind that must not be delayed We have no priest aboard?”
”None,” replied dick
”Here, then, to ood a friend toI fall in an evil hour for land, and for theht by Ha holer will accredit you to represent mine orders; and I shall write, besides, tords upon this paper, bidding Hamley yield to you the damsel Will he obey? I know not”
”But, my lord, what orders?” inquired dick
”Ay,” quoth the baron, ”ay--the orders;” and he looked upon dick with hesitation ”Are ye Lancaster or York?” he asked, at length
”I shame to say it,” answered dick, ”I can scarce clearly answer But so much I think is certain: since I serve with Ellis Duckworth, I serve the house of York Well, if that be so, I declare for York”
”It is well,” returned the other; ”it is exceeding well For, truly, had ye said Lancaster, I wot not for the world what I had done But sith ye are for York, follow me I came hither but to watch these lords at Shoreby, whilelord, Richard of Gloucester, {1} prepareth a sufficient force to fall upon and scatter theth, atch they keep, and how they lie; and these I was to deliver tolord on Sunday, an hour before noon, at St Bride's Cross beside the forest This tryst I am not like to keep, but I pray you, of courtesy, to keep it in my stead; and see that not pleasure, nor pain, tempest, wound, nor pestilence withhold you froland lieth upon this cast”
”I do soberly take this up on me,” said dick ”In so far as in ood,” said the wounded man ”My lord duke shall order you farther, and if ye obey hiood will, then is your fortune made Give me the lamp a little nearer to mine eyes, till that I write these words for you”
He wrote a note ”to his worshi+pful kinsman, Sir John Hamley;” and then a second, which he-left without external superscripture
”This is for the duke,” he said ”The word is 'England and Edward,' and the counter, 'England and York'”
”And Joanna, et Joanna how ye can,” replied the baron ”I have naet her for yourself, boy I have tried, as ye see here before you, and have lost my life More could no an to be very weary; and dick, putting the precious papers in his bosoood cheer, and left hi to break, cold and blue, with flying squalls of snow Close under the lee of the Good Hope, the coast lay in alternate rocky headlands and sandy bays; and further inland the wooded hill-tops of Tunstall showed along the sky Both the wind and the sea had gone down; but the vessel ed deep, and scarce rose upon the waves
Lawless was still fixed at the rudder; and by this ti, with blank faces, upon the inhospitable coast
”Are we going ashore?” asked dick
”Ay,” said Lawless, ”unless we get first to the bottouidly to meet a sea, and the water weltered so loudly in her hold, that dick involuntarily seized the steersman by the arm
”By the mass!” cried dick, as the bows of the Good Hope reappeared above the foaht we had foundered, indeed; my heart was at my throat”