Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 332 — page 26: what you’re looking at

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26 Then he vanished, and George, soon after, found himself bowing before the eccentric old king, who seemed in an unusually gracious humor, for he made a sign to the courtiers, near by, to draw further back, which they did with great unwillingness, because they dared do no otherwise, while his majesty began a long catechism of the young duke, as to what he intended to do and what he had done yet, in the way of dis- puting the will which had made him a beg- gar; toall of which George only answered that he had ‘‘ not yet fully determined on his course.” ‘“When you do, let me know, and the courts shall do you justice, duke,” said the king, emphatically. ‘‘The welfare of the kingdom is at stake, and the public welfare is more important than the indulgence of whims of this bad old duke, who had never been an honor to his order, and, at the last, did what he could to disgrace it. In the mean time, I have resolved to appoint you first gentleman of the bed-chamber, and let you have the buck-hounds, to give you the wherewithal to maintain some of the state that belongs to yourrank. And, by the by, have you found out that fellow they call Spring-Heel Jack yet?” ‘No, your majesty. But with your ma- jesty’s permission, I intend to stay on guard to-night, and every night after, till I do. There is no way so sure to catch him as keep- ing the same men on the watch all the time; for they will get to know his ways. If your majesty has no objection, I will take charge of the guard, to-night, again.” The king shrugged his shoulders, ‘‘Queer taste you have, very queer, very ueer; but as you please. By the by, duke, o you know General Reid?” ‘‘T have served under him, your majesty, and that very lately, in the Tower.” ‘Yes, yes, in the Tower. He is the Con- stable; is he not, duke?” “‘ He is, your majesty.” “Yes, yes, he is getting old, by the by, and we need a younger man in that place. Is it not true that this Spring-Heel Jack made an appearance in the Tower, some time ago?” ‘* Tt was the first place to which he came, and the monster has persecuted the daughter of General Reid ever since.” ‘Hey, hey, what's that? what’s that?” ‘‘T say, your majesty, that, every time he has been seen lately, he has come where that oung lady is, and striven to hurt or alarm er. ‘‘Hey! hey! that’s very strange, duke! Bless my soul, very strange! But he has ee here? The young lady is not here, is she?” ‘“She was, this morning, your majesty, with Lady Balcarras.” ‘Hey, hey, what’s that, what’s that? Lady Balcarras? Why, she was here, not long ago, and asked fora leave of absence from her majesty, to go to London. That’s very strange indeed.” Then he turned to the queen, who was in the habit of rea? very silent when the king was busy, but always ready when wanted; for his majesty’s memory was already get- ting treacherous. “What was that Lady Balcarras said about her visit to London?” he asked. ‘She asked for leave to go to London, to take back a young lady to her father,” the soft tones of the queen replied, George heard her, and was tempted to for- get the etiquette of the court, by asking a question himself; but he saved himself from the solecism in time, and the king saved him the trouble by saying at once: “Then it must be the same lady. Per- haps she had heard of the monster, and got frightened out of her life again.” “T fear that must be so, your majesty, and if it be not improper—I—” The king smiled knowingly: ‘‘Hey? hey? want to go after her? hey, duke? Well, it will f° very well with what I was going tosay. I was telling you Reid is , pny 4 old, and it is time he was retired and put on the pension list. How would i) Fa to be Constable of the Tower, your- self?” | The question surprised Howard so much that he stammered out: “i Fp majesty isin earnest.” 2 course, I am in earnest. I never Spring-Heel Jack. joke, duke. I have, in fact, ordered your appointment made out, and the best thing you can do is to go to the Tower this very night, and take command. If you get a chance at Spring-Heel Jack, it may end in unraveling this whole mystery.” George bowed low. “ T do not know that I have anything that is positive evidence on which to go, your majesty,” he said; ‘“‘but it seems as if the visits of the monster follow those of Miss Reid, wherever she goes, and it is barely pos- sible that he may go there, this time. He has had a bad experience of trying his tricks at Hampton Court.” ‘Then, the quicker you go, the better,” said the king, in his nervous, jerky way. ‘* Be off with you, duke. Go to the chamber- lain, and he will give you yourappointment. Then go and take your command, at once, You are Colonel of the Horse-Guards, from this date.” And George, hardly knowing whether he was awake or asleep, made his way out of the gardens, and, an hour later, was driving to London, in one of the royal coaches; his new commission as Colonel of the Horse- Guards in the breast of his uniform.” He did not arrive at the Tower till after the gates were shut for the night, and the rules of the place forbid the admittance of strangers: but at the sight of the credentials he brought everything flew open, and he en- tered the Tower, in which he had once stood guard as a subaltern, as the acknowledged master, come to supersede General Reid, completely stunned by the news that he was to be superseded in the command of the place where he had hoped to end his days. The old soldier was so much taken aback by the news that he had almost forgotten his courtesy in receiving the new Constable, but he made as polite—if rather stiff—a salute as he could, and said to the young man who had superseded him: ‘‘T am sorry that I had not intimation of this change a little sooner, duke, for then I could have vacated my quarters, so as to give you room at once.’ George, who saw that the feelings of the old general were hurt by the slight that he thought was being put on him, replied, in a low tone: ‘‘We can discuss that matter when the servants are gone, general. In the mean time, let me say that you are at perfect lib- erty to occupy the rooms you have always occupied, till you can make other arrange- ments. I did not come to turn you out, I can assure you.” The words mollified the old soldier, and he said in a more placable way: ‘*T never criticise the orders of his majesty, and he has reasons, I suppose, or he would not have done what he has. I am ready to accompany your grace to visit the posts, and hand over the command at once.” ‘*T will not trouble a to-night, general. I am only anxious to effect the change with the least trouble to you.” Then he came closer to Reid, to whisper: ‘The command shall remain where it al- ways has, but I came here to-night to catch Spring-Heel Jack. Your daughter has come back, I believe.” Reid favored him with a suspicious glance. ‘*T don’t see what that has to do with it,” he said, in the same guarded way. ‘Only this,” said George, ‘‘that if he comes to the Tower to-night, he will be taken, and I have an idea that he will come.” The general seemed to be impressed by the way he spoke, and replied: ‘“‘T hope you will have success, sir.” ‘“‘In the mean time,” said George—for they were now alone in the Constable’s room, and able to talk without listeners, ‘ I wish to say to you, general, that I have seen Lady Balcarras, and that her information is wrong. That is why I came here to-night.” CHAPTER XXXYVII. THE NIGHT WATCH, As he said these words, the beggar duke took a seat uninvited, as a vats to the old general that he had a right there, and looked inquiringly up into Reid’s face. The old officer colored slightly; for he saw - Howard had taken a new line of con- uct. ‘‘T presume,” he said, ‘‘that you have taken a view of her ladyship’s information which suits your own side of. the question; but it does not satisfy me, sir. J have known Lady Balcarras for a long time, and have never known her to make a false accusation against any one.” ‘‘ For all that, the lady may be mistaken, general, and in this case she is. Have you any objection to talk it over with me?” ‘‘T have, sir. I have given you my deter- mination, and it is not to be broken without cause.” ‘‘ Then you refuse to listen to my proposal to make your daughter the first duchess in the country: is that it, general?” ‘You have no power to make her such, sir. There is serious doubt thrown on your own birth; and the fortune, that should go with the title, is not yours to bestow.” ‘That is true. But suppose I had proof that the man who has supplanted me in the matter of the fortune is an imposter—what then? And suppose, further, that I had the confession of his father, yet living, that he is not the son of my father and mother at all; would that not alter your decision?” ‘<Tt would not, sir.” ‘What would, then?” ‘‘When you are acknowledged Duke of Norfolk, and in full possession of the for- tune as well as the rank, that would alter my decision and nothing short of that, sir.” George rose from his seat. ‘*General Reid, you shall see me Duke of Norfolk, in possession of the fortune you have mentioned, and that within three days. When you do, I shall expect an apology from you, for the way you have treated me in my misfortune.” “Tf such a thing should happen, sir, you would be entitled to demand the apology; but you will excuse me for saying that it is rather problematical at present.” ‘*Perhaps not so much as you think. In the mean time, general, may I ask if Miss Reid is in the Tower, or not?” ‘*She is, sir. Lady Balearras brought her here, for fear that she might be frightened by the monster that seems to follow you, into all places, wherever you go.” The general spoke the last words in such a way that George asked him wonderingly: ‘‘General, it is not possible that you have a suspicion that J am connected, in any way, with the actions of this man?” The general shrugged his shoulders, ‘“Wherever you go, he is sure to come. Had you stayed at Hampton Court, he would have gone to that place; but now you have come here, you think he will follow you. Lady Balcarras—’’ George interrupted him with an air of irritation, asking: ‘What? Is that lady here also? Can she not let me alone for a moment? I suppose it is to her that 1 am indebted for this new accusation. So I am to be made responsible for this man, when I have done all I can to find him out.” ‘Lady Balcarras says it is singular that, wherever you go, he comes. She thinks there is some collusion between you,” ‘Indeed? And perhaps you believe this?” ‘*T have a suspicion that you know more of the apparition than you have intimated to me, sir. George compressed his lips to avoid speak- ing out the irritation he felt. After a pause, to control himself, he said: ‘Tt is true that I have a suspicion who he is; but no more knowledge than you have. But that is not the point. I came here, be- cause I have noticed that the monster follows. your daughter; and I would not have him come, when I was not here to protect her. You know my feelings toward her, general, and that ought to protect me from such sus- picions as you have just uttered. I will bid you a good-evening for the present,” And he went out of the room and made a round of the posts in the Tower, the men having heard of the change that had taken place, and giving him the more ready obedi- ence, that they were proud of having a man of his rank placed over them. Then he went toa room where he had been quartered in former times, when he was but a subaltern, and sat down to think over what he should do in the future. ; The prospect was by no means bright, al- though he had made the most of his chances, in speaking to General Reid. There was no way in which he could get 'EOMIEDOOKS (E(@) * Fj \ . : », - ax OS x | | | | ee a < . 7 a .* a - :