Part 30 (1/2)
”Sure, yer honour, it must have bin thare afore ye lift, sor; fer Oi was out o' the room but fer a few minutes, and thin Oiwith me, sor Divil a soul could inter, sor, barrin' that they cae,” said Harleston, as he coer still he thought it ere he had finished its contents It rit in a labored hand, as though to avoid recognition, and read as follows:--
”To SIR FREDERICK HARLESTON, _Greeting_
”The writer of these words, though--for reasons that he is not at liberty to state--he signs not his name, is well known to thee, and to thine unfortunate friend, Sir Walter Bradley; both of which he loveth well
”To-h a form of trial--the result of which must be his conviction--and he shall immediately be taken unto Tower Hill, where his head shall be stricken from the trunk Unless, ere to-morrow's dawn, he, by the aid of his friends, doth contrive to escape from the Tower, and make his way from London to a place of safety, he must surely die
”Sir Walter is now confined within the square tower next after passing through the Tower of St Thomas, which, thou no doubt knowest, is that one into which the ”Traitor's Gate” doth lead
”If thou wilt but turn to the enclosure in this letter thine eyes shall behold an order, signed by his Majesty, King Richard, that shall obtain for the bearer admittance to and exit froive unto thee power to take forth a prisoner with thee That :--
”There is but one keeper in attendance on Sir Walter Him thou must master, and in a quiet manner Take then from his belt the keys that do depend therefrom Leave the keeper in such a condition as shall secure thee of his quietness The aforesaid keys will give unto you an exit into the space before the square tower When ye have reached this, turn to your left, and again will the keys open the gate in this hich ye shall soon be confronted Then, looking to your right, ye shall behold the wall that doth separate the yard froreat caution and ye shall then observe an opening where the wall is now being repaired by workle soldier, armed with a pole-axe YeBut over and above all else, the neglect of which advice must be the ruin of ye both, permit him to make not any noise; for the utterance of but one word by hinal for his fellows to come to his assistance; in which case escape is impossible
”When the sentry shall have been removed the moat must be crossed as best ye can The water therein is now both fresh and high, and therefore it will not be difficult for ye to descend into it and swiuard be not disturbed by the noise of splashi+ng water
”At a point directly opposite to the place where the wall is now being repaired ye shall find a ladder made of ropes and cross pieces, placed there for your especial use and privilege
”By these same means ye reat risk; providing that the aforesaid instructions be folloith exactness and care”
Then followed a note It read thus:--
”If thy friend, Sir Walter, doth desire to save the Lady Hazel Woodville from one which now resides within the walls of this place, and who is as bitter an enemy of Sir Walter as he is ardent lover of the aforesaid lady, he had best tarry in his flight for a sufficient ti However, let hi upon his journey until he co Westminster Let him follow this for the distance of about three miles, and he shall then co
The aforesaid house is not occupied, and -place Let them there remain all day to-morrow; for the aforesaid enemy of Sir Walter doth intend to take the aforesaid lady from the Sanctuary, by force if necessary, to-'s arth that this warning raceful death of a traitor to his country, I aned) ”A FRIEND”
”A friend? Nohat friend can he be who hath access to my room when the door is locked?” mused Harleston
”Besides, he must be one in favour to have such an order as is this,”
and he picked up the enclosed paper and read as follows:--
”Unto the bearer of this order grant admittance to the Tower of London, or to any part thereof And further, likewise permit the aforesaid bearer to have conference with any prisoner or prisoners within the Tower And further, permit the aforesaid bearer to have entrance or exit at whatever hour of day or night best conveniencing hined) ”RICARDUS REX”
My friend stood bent in thought for soe order Then he raised his head quickly, as though a sudden solution of the problem had occurred to hireat cunning by Catesby, that I may be lured into the Tower, that there I may be kept?
But then, this order doth command that the bearer shall also have exit
But it ; and were I to present it they may have orders to arrestain adhts that now kept running through his reat anxiety