Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 332 — page 3: what you’re looking at

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men in the armor. Imissed her at tea-time, but T had an idea that she was out on the river, with young Howard, in the state barge—I—by the by, where is that young fellow? He must know something of all this.” And the general hastily rung his bell, and said to Chundoo, who answered it: ‘“Tell Hodge to give my compliments to Mr, Howard, and ask him to step up to my room.” Then, when Chundoo had gone out, he said: ‘‘The young fellow and Rose had been a good deal together of late, but I haven’t minded it. He hasn’t a rap, to be sure; but then he stands in the line of succession, and the old duke has no children.” The doctor was an old friend of his; so he talked openly. ‘In fact, every one in the Tower was an old friend of ib yc else, with the exception of the garrison, of which Lieutenant Howard was a member, which was composed of troops shifted at times, but generally composed of one or the other regiments of the ‘‘ House- hold,” otherwise known as the Foot Guards. Doctor Tatham was the regular surgeon of the Tower, and also a fashionable physician, who took but little trouble with his Tower patients, but drew his salary i ee When Reid spoke of young Howard, the old doctor pursed up his lips, and presently ob- served: “Well, you know your own business _ best, Reid; but it seems to me that I would not en- ocnrae? the affair. Those Howards are all tar with the same stick, you know. This yo fellow may be all right; but he has a scandalous reputation.” The old general shook his head testily. ‘‘Confound it, Tatham, that’s not the same man at all. It’s Oliver that does all those wild pranks. George is one of the quietest fellows I ever saw. But if he was with Rose, at any time this evening, he must know something of what frightened her. And here he comes.” For there was a step in the stone corridor, and the next minute the yo officer came to the door, and stood there, saluting respectfully, and ing ring: “ Did you wish to see me, general?” The old doctor, who was generally cross- grained when young men were in question— probably from memories of what he been when he was young himself—could not but ad- mit, as he looked at the young man, that he was as fine a specimen of his class as he had ever ‘seen. George Howard showed the mental effect of many generations of brave and wise ancestors in every line of his face; while his broad shoul- ders and well-knit form evinced that he had not degenerated physically. 6 wore the uniform of the Coldstream regi- ment, to which he belonged; and looked every inch a soldier, ‘“‘T sent for you, Mr. Howard,” said the old eneral, ‘‘to ask you if you could throw ay i ht on the fright my daughter has suffered. Have you been with her this te orgs 1 The young man had shown, to the keen eyes of the doctor, some uneasiness, when he came to the door; but that uneasiness seemed to be redoubled now, at the question of the old general; for he colored deeply and stammered;: ‘‘ General—I—I—can’t answer.” CHAPTER ITI. INVESTIGATION. THE old general turned his face on the young man; a deep flush beginning to rise, that show how angry he was getting. . tdo you mean, sir?’ he growled, in a tone that George knew, from experience, would soon become a roar, while the doctor looked as if he had suddenly discovered a lunatic at large in the Tower. ‘*T mean, general,” said the young officer, in the same respectful, but hesitating way, “‘ that IT can’t answer that question, without the per- mission of the young lady herself.” Had some one in the ranks suddenly jumped out in the middle of a parade and slapped Gen- eral Reid in the face, he could not have looked more utterly outraged and savage, than he did at thatmoment. As for the old doctor, he turned purple, and had to take out his snuff-box to con- ceal his feeli The general staggered up from his chair—he was too old and stiff to jump—and roared, in the tone he assumed when he was particularly in- censed : “You infernal young puppy, how dare you talk to me in that way? Do you suppose that a father is bound to ask his daughter’s permission, as to what he shall say? Iask you, have you been in the state barge, with my daughter, to- night, or not? Is that a question you can an- swer?” “Yes, general, I was there; and the men rowed us up to Hampton Court, and back to the Tower stairs. Is that all you wish to ask?” response seemed to pects Se old man a little; for the color faded from his face, and he said more quietly: ** What time did you get back?” * About half an hour after sunset, sir. Miss Reid wanted to see the moon rise over the river, and the boat went slowly as we came back.” Spring-Heel J ack. ** And did you leave her at the stairs, or take her back to my rooms, sir? I have not seen her since dinner.-time; and, as you were the last per- | | 3 . and George Howard turned on his heel and left the room; not quite certain how his news had been received by the father of the lady whom he son with her, I want to know when you saw her | loved. last.” But the young officer’s lips seemed to be sud- * When he had gone, the doctor looked at the general, and the old officer shook his head in a denly sealed again by the question, for he kept | grave way. silence, and the irascible old Constable flushed redder than before, as he snapped out: ‘* Well, sir, why don’t you answer? One would daughter, from the way you behave.” Howard turned redder than before, as he said: ‘* That is not it, sir, but—” And here he looked at the doctor so express- | ively that Tatham got up, saying: * The young wenihanhan won’t speak till you are alone, Reid. I'll go.” But the obstinate old general snap out: ‘** There is no need for you to go. You are the doctor, and you ought to know about this thing. Speak out, Mr. Howard, and tell what you have to tell. I will be responsible for the doctor not making any bad use of what you say.” Thus adjured, the young officer went to the door and shut it, after looking into the passage, as if he feared that some one might overhear him, When he came back, he spoke low and rapidly, as if he wanted to get through the task as soon as possible. _ “The fact is, sir, that Miss Reid and I were in the Armory, not five minutes before the trouble occurred. We were talking, and she was looking at the armor, speaking about what a strange thing it would be if the men who had once worn the suits should come to life again.” ‘* Yes?” said the father, as he saw the young man hesitate at this point. ‘‘ And what hap- pened next?” Howard colored deeply. ‘* Well, sir, the fact is, I suppose I was fool- ish, and [ ought to have spoken to you first; but the fact is— Well, sir, you must have seen my feeling toward the young lady; and we were alone; and it occurred to me that there was no time like that—so—so—I spoke out to her, and offered her all I have in the world. That is the reason I hesitated to tell you before a gentleman who is not one of your family.” The old Constable listened with a frowning se Nag but he spoke in the driest of tones, as he ‘* Well, sir, goon. That was not what fright- ened her, was it?” * No, sir. Infact, sir, we had about arrang- ed the matter, and that I was to k to you in the morning, when I heard the of the guard below, and to leave the young lady, promis- ing toreturn at once. I feared she might be nervous, all alone in the Armory, and asked her if she had not better go down to your rooms; but she told me that she did not mind it, and that she liked the romantic thoughts that al- ways crowded round her in the Armory. So I left her and went down-stairs, and the’guard had not gone over its round when I heard the screams. The rest you know.” ** And that is all you know?” said the general thoughtfully. ‘All, sir, on my honor. I cannot imagine what can have got into the Armory, to frighten Miss Reid.” Here the doctor suddenly interposed: ‘Where is that brother of yours—Oliver, I mean? Isn’t he in the Guards also?” The question seemed to be mal-apropos for the young officer drew himself up, as if offend- ed, and said stiffly: ‘*T am speaking to General Reid, sir.” The old surgeon ng his shoulders; for he was too old to take offense at the refusal of the young man to admit him on terms of confi- dence. He took out his snuff-box, and indulged in a pinch, observing: . ” Very good, sir. Only asked for informa- on. ‘** Where is Oliver?’ asked General Reid in his turn, as if the question interested him also. ‘Tt is his day off duty, sir; and he is not in the Tower,” said Howard stiffly. ‘‘I have no idea where he goes; for his tastes and mine differ, as you are aware.” A ghost of a smile flitted over the old general’s face; for the difference between ,the brothers was well known to the garrison. There were not wanting those who said that they could not be real brothers at all, for they not only were unlike, but seemed to hate each other as ene- mies, and were never seen together, save when duty compelled them to stand near each other, in the ranks of the officers at parade. ** Ay, ay, we might know that,” he said to the doctor, in a half-whisper. ‘* Well, Mr. Howard, there is only one thing to do, and that is to find, from my daughter, what has happened, when she is not in such a nervous condition as to-night. In the mean time, I positively prohibit any more talk between you, on the subject you have mentioned. You have taken a liberty, as you are aware; and it must not be ‘repeated. You can go to your duty, sir, and remember to make a thorough inspection of the Armory every half- hour, to find what was there, if it can be done without disturbing the young lady. Good- night, sir.” : | e nodded coldly, as if to dismiss the other, ‘There is something in all this I don’t | understand,” said the physician. “‘I had an idea that the child had been agitated in some think there was some crime between youand my | being with her in the Armory, I thought he had ‘come to the secret; but that can’t be it now. Is | there no way any one can get into the Armory, way; and, when the young man told about his and hide there?” The Constable seemed to be musing. ‘* No, I can think of none. There is only one staircase, and that is the one we went up by. If any one had been there, trying to frighten Rose, and made his escape, we must have met him on the way down. But there was not a sound in the room, or we should have heard it.” ‘‘Then the thing that did it, must be there yet,” said the doctor slowly. * I say, Reid, sup- pose we were to make a general search in that place, and hunt the rascal out Itmust be some one in the Tower; for no one from outside could have got into the Armory.” The old general brightened up at once. ‘‘ Wonder I never thought of it before. By Jove, I'll do it at once.” He rose, and, followed by the doctor, went down to the rd-room. The sentry at the door, seeing him, and fancy- ing that he came on some ceremonious night- alarm, or inspection, called out to the corporal, and the clash of arms, inside the guard-room, told that the solders were rousing from their benches, and turning out in haste, with their arms. The Constable of the Tower waited till the guard was in its place, when he said to old Ser- geant Hodge, who was in his command: ‘“ Where is Mr. Howard?” **TIn his room, sir.” ‘Call him out at once.” Hodge saluted; wheeled on his heel to ne the order; and, very soon after, the young offi- cer of the night came into the room. When he saw the general and Dr. Tatham, he seemed to be somewhat surprised, but saluted his commander at once, and asked: ‘* What are the orders, sir?” “Tam going to make a thorough search of the Armory, Mr. Howard; and want you to come with us,” said the Constable. ‘‘ lam determined to find out, before this night , what jt,was that got in there, and half killed my daughter,” ‘Very well, — ” was the reply. Then Howard turned to the soldiers who were in the guard-room, and gave them the order, — EE CHAPTER IV. THE GHOST OF THE TOWER. THE men of the guard were enough for the search they required, and Howard posted a sentry at every turn in the passage, as they went up to the Armory, with orders vere Bm anything suspicious, that they saw or h , to the next man in the chain. When they arrived in the long hall, which was used for the effigies of the kings in their armor, the place looked just as it had many a time before, with its silent rows of chargers, and the grim, steel-clad images, in the deep saddles of long past ages. The hall was gloomy enough at the best of times, in broad daylight; but, at night, with the light of the single swinging lamp to cast deeper shadows on the stone pavement, it was enough to arouse superstitious thoughts in the breast of the most hardy; and the soldiers, who were for the most part go rome 4 ignorant rus- tics, cast uneasy glances around them, as they followed their officer into the room. Howard sent for some lanterns to make a better light, and proceeded to search the place thoroughly, but without avail. There were the big wooden horses, and the men in armor; but nothing alive could be found there, and, after a long and painful search, they had almost concluded to leave the mystery alone, when Howard suddenly observed: “Tf anything alive is in here, it has got into one of those suits of armor.” He had hardly made the remark, when there was a deep groan from one of the darkest cor- ners of the room, and the soldiers all started to- gether, while Hodge ejaculated: ‘ By Heavens, it’s the ghost of the Tower.” He spoke under his breath, but the silence in the Armory was so deep, that his words sounded plain, and they were echoed by another deep groan from another part of the room entirely, at which one of the soldiers began to move stealthily toward the door, when he was re- called by the stern order of the young officer: ‘‘Come back here, sir. What are you about?” The man halted, with the instinct of military obedience; but his eyes wandered from corner to corner, and, when a third groan echoed almost over his head, Howard heard the ra of the soldier’s arms as he trembled violently. | When he looked at the rest of the guard, he saw that they were all pale, and that the | ECOMiIcbooks.co * a