C O N TE N T S

CHAPTER

DAGGER FARM TO-DAY

TH E EN EMIES

SH EPH ERD POTE“TH E ON LY PRETTY RING-TIME

w s rs BY FIRE

NI‘IM EbIS BY HUNTXNG-CROP

As OLD AS THE H ILLS

A PRO-AM ERICAN

FROM Lon ; TO B READ AN D W ATER

TH E ROAD TO REVEJGE

STON E ‘NALLS DO N OT A PRISON MAKE

NOR IRON BARS A CAGE

H . M . S .

“"VATERW 1TCH

(‘

OM PLIMEN TS PASS

Tm:“OLD AROOSTOOK

ROGER HON EYW ELL DON S BLACK

A F LOW ER IN TH E RIVER

NICE QUE STIONS

THE TRUTH

A LETTER F ROM A GHOST

HAM BLDON Boa

T11 13“CO PPERH EAD

GREAT NEW S

ROGER HON EYW ELL AT DAGGEB. FARM

To TH E LIGHT AGAIN

ILLV'

STRATIONS

Com e her e, l i t t le maiden,’said Hon

eywell” Fr ontispiece

Swear to tell the t r uth , and then te l lit ,

’sa id S i r S imon” Facing page 24~

Newcombe con t i nued to flog h is

enemy between the words

Speak up , c t , and

s i t you there , Q uinton , and

l isten’

Here,under h i s eyes, Eve

i nto thewater” 190

You shall d i e for that

dough ) QQQ

TH E F A RM

O F TH E D A GG E R

C H A P T E R I

D A GGER F ARM TO-DAY

HERE is a r oad , of a lmost Roman s t ra igh t

ness , that cuts the cent ra l wastes o fDartmoor

,and connect s t he t own of Tav i

s tock wi t h the v i l l age of Mo r etonhamp

stead, twenty m i l es d i stan t . Abou t m idway t h i s trackl eaps down o v er t he broad browof Mer r ip it H il l ,

plunges into the ham l e t of Postbr idge , and crosses the

eastern arm of Da rt . A fewyards bel owth e passagethere sha l l st i l l be seen , spann i ng the r i v er , an a nc ien t

and famous br idge of the so r t known as cyc l opean .

I t i s dry-bu i l t wi th enormou s masses of gran it e , andmay be cons idered of a handsome but not fabu lous

ant iqu i ty . I n the e ighteen th centu ry , and perhaps

earl i er , our fo re f a th ers’ puck horses pass ed that way .

Now, tu rn i ng from t he h i gh road and pursu i ng the

r i v er southward , th ere shal l p res ent ly a ppear upon

the h i l l s ide a bo v e i t a ru i ned dwe l l ing-

pluee . Th i s

h ab i tat ion i s wel l sh e lt ered bene a th th e t remendou sshou lder of Bellufn r d To r , where tha t moun t a i n r i se s

2 FAR M OF T H E D AGGE R

to i t s g r a n i te crown wes t of Dart ; bu t th e same e lev at ion , wh i l e i t protect s the old hou se from the wes twind th a t l l S lmiiV sweeps the moor, a l s o ser v es to shu tou t much sunsh i ne . For hal f the year Ballafo r d

h ides the sun soon aft er noon . The s l ope of the land

al l t ends. nm'th -westward , a nd th e flank of the h i l l

cas ts a shadowthat swal l ows the homestead du r ing agreater p a rt of each day . Notwi th stand ing thesed i sad v an tages , th a nk s t o th eweal th o f v al l ey pastu reand other c i rcum stan ces , t h i s spot l ong a go tempted

en terpr i se : and D a gger Farm , before ru in and decav

o v e rtook it , before a hum a n t r a gedy l eft i t to tumbl e

i n to ru in s , h a d seen full m ea su re o f prosper i ty .

Th ree gener a t ion s su cceeded th ere ; t h en that h a p

pened wh ich brok e th e th read of good fortun e andt u rned men mmv from t h e r i v er-s ide h omestead for

e v e r .

“Wren G regor y Newcombe , wi th a gran t from the

Duchv o f (‘

n r nwnih erected h i s hou se and set t oworkt o enehwe mi d r ee ln im th i s v i rg i n e a rth o f Dartmoor

,

th ere was duo: f r om a D anmonian barrowa scrap ofmetal . The preh i stor i c tomb had been scat tered to

make a gra ss m eadow, and i t s human ash es d i spel l edbut th e m eta l flake be in g subm i tted to th e an t iquar ie s

o f that t imch thmlgh . i ndeed . ar ehmoiogy was but anin f a nt sc i en ce th en—rej o i ced the wi se men , Who

decla red th i s blade to h e a fragment fr om th e Age ot'

DAGG ER FAR M TO-DAY 8

Bronze . That metal , though research m igh t ha v e

a nt i c ipated i t i n t hese reg ion s , has a lways beenext remely rare u pon Da rtmoor .

“Then the pl ace shal l he ca l l ed Dagge? Farm ,

sa id G regor y Newcombe , a nd “Dagger F a rm” i t ha s

been cal led unt i l t h e presen t . Newcombe’ s en terpr i sepreceded by hal f a cent u ry th a t gre a t rage for cu l t i

wt ion of Dartmoor wh i ch set, i n soon afte r t h e year

1800 . In h i s ea rl ie r day s l es s o f the wast e h a d comeu nder cu l t i v at i on , and the r i gh ts of t h e commoners

-a subj ect of fru i t fu l cont en t ion from e a r l y t i m es

were more widely acknowl edged , more j us tlv uphel dthan i s th e ease t o-d a y . Newcombe c reat ed a “

newtake” ten emen t by l i cen se from th e M oo r a u tho r i t i es ;he p rospered ; h i s sheep and cat t l ewe re f a mou s a s f a ra s B idefo rd and Bampton Fa i rs ; a nd when he passedaway h i s son fol l owed i n h i s foot st eps , found h i saccoun t i n horn ed beast s , and won some measu re ofrenown as a breeder of them . H is name wasB lanchard Newcombe , a nd he, t oo , h a d a son ,whowascal l ed John . W i th th i s man t he pro sper i ty of D a g

ger Farm cu lm i n at ed , waned , v an i shed . H is (te

partu re indeed cast a shadowda rke r t han any e v er

thrown by the flank of Bellafor d Tor . I t bur i ed th e

v a l l ey i n gloom , and the hor ror of i t ch i l l ed a l l h uman

heart s , so that h i s Farm of the Dagger found no

futu re t enant and sank , as i t shal l be seen t o-day,

4 FA R M OF TH E DAGGER

i nto th a t mou t h fu l , u n lo v ely , and d0 0a3 0d skel eton

st i l l st a nd ing between r i v e r a nd h i l l .The roof o f th a tch h a s l ong s i nce fa l l en and van

ished , bu t a ch i mney rem a ins . The woodwork hasrot ted away , a nd the wi ndows a nd doors are merei rregu lar hole s that leer and g a pe , l i k e bl i nd eyes and

a tooth less mouth , upon the beholder . One wa l l , f a l ling out

,h a s d i spl a yed the i nter io r , and the sou l les s

house l ies i n th i s l onely reg ion l i ke a c racked nu t ,whose kerne l h as long s i nce been ext rac ted , whosebroken shel l endures . Around a bou t st re tch shat tered

wa l l s , and on them g l imme rwonderfu l f a br i cs of mossand l ichen int erwo v en . Il ere (lwells th e c l adon iai t s eh r vsop r ase v egetat ion splashed wi th scarl et , andothe r l iehcns a re i n form of ag a t e sect ion s , or l ike

the c l a mmy g i l l s o fwa ter-b reath ing beas ts . Re indeermos s makes grey l acework i n the heathy fields , andother mosses thrust the i r gl imme r i ng and dewy finger sint o th e h erbage . A seed l i ng rowan has rooted up

a l o ft . an rl ivv st ruggl es o v er onewal l . but th ere i s nomaj estv or grandeur in th i s min . In prosper i ty i t was

but a mean abode , and nowi t per i sh es mean ly , andl ack s al ik e th e d i gn i t y of h i s tor i c age and the beauty

of wor th ! 7 arch i tecture . Yet th e sol emn ity that

mark s any human a ch i e v ement of t h e past it pos

sesses .

Nowth e ra i n fades back i nto natu re l i k e a cl oud ,

DAGGE R F AR M TO -D AY

and peers i l l -fa v ou rab ly from l u sh green th i ngs .

G reat umbe l -bear i ng pl a nt s , blackthorn s a nd br i a rs

s tr i v e t o bu ry each lower wal l ; hart s-t ongue fern s l ol lfrom the empty j o i s t-holes ; fungus l i fts i t s l i v id

cowl ! beneath . Humbl e v egetat ion s o f or a nge a nd

ebony hue co v er t he gran i te a nd n ibb l e and gnawt hereat ; th e frost th rus t s st ee l finger s between t hestones ; th e l igh tn i ng has v i s i ted here and h a s tened

final down f a l l . Bat s hang from l i t t l e c l aws i n thech imney and other d a rk crann ies : b y n ight t h e

sc reech-owl cr i es around the ru in , b y day the j a ck(l aws cawa nd cl a t ter i n it , and at spr i ngt ime p lotwi th c yn i ca l fr a nkness howbest they m a y steal th e

frant ic st a rl ing’s young to fat t en th e i r own brood i nthe prec ip i ce ha rd by .

Th i s ru i ned farm i s haunted , too , and where t heh a m le t of Postbr idge stands—a m i l e d i stan t , i n i t s

g l a de of beech and sycamore—you shal l find thosewho st i l l b el ie v e i n ghos ts a t Dagger F a rm . They

wi l l speak of appar i t ions th a t p l a y the i r part s ag a i nunder th e l ight of th e hunter’ s moon . But only a

v a n i sh ing generat ion are Upon terms of respect wi t hthese ol d-t im e shades , a nd such fol k s wi l l go fa rbefore th ey r isk a man i festat ion . Not an elde r lv

moorm a nwou ld be seen n i gh t h i s ru in at the appo intedt i me ;wh i l e a s for t he r i s ing generat ion of th e Boardschool s

,t hough they posses s t h e n ecessary cou rage

6 FAR M OF T HE DAGG ER

for such an ordeal , t o them a ll fa i th i s want i ng , so

t h a t be tween s i res and son s the appari t ion s fa i l o f anyaud ience .

But shou ld you doub t these t h ings by d a yl i ght ,proof pos it i v e awa i t s you , and you r gu ide wi l l po i ntto awindow i n an upper storey of the ru i n st i l l c l oselygr a ted by a l a tt i ce of rusty i ron . The son of th e

h laelt'smith who sat th a t grat i ng there st i l l l i v es , andfrom h i m was th i s narrat i v e rece i v ed—in a ne rvou sA ng l o-S a xon th a t st i l l l i ngers , l ike remembered mus ic ,u pon my ear .

C H A P 'I‘ E R II

THE ENEJIIES

the ye a r 18 13 -abou t the t ime when Spa i na b a ted her fo ol i sh v a n i ty

,and \Vellington be

c a me Commamle r -ia-Ch ief o f the Span i sh

forces , before t he B a tt l e of V i tt or ia—the th i rdand l a st of t h e generat ions of Newcombe found h i msel ffifty y ears ol d a nd m a ster of Dagger F a rm . B l anch

a rd Newcombe s lept wi th h i s f a thers , and h i s sonre igned in h i s s te a d .

John Newcombe was a hard- l ipped , stern -featu redm a n . wi t h p al e blue ey es a nd wh i s kers the colo u r ofgr a n i te . H i s f a ce ind i cated pro fou nd determ i nat ion

a nd a n a rrowout look . It was st rong wi t h th est rength of a n a n i m a l rather than a man . He had a

fel ine scowl and a fel i ne feroc i ty of temper . Hewasten a c ious a nd ungenerou s , but for the most pa rt j ust .

dogget lness of pu rpose p rospered h i m into the m id

dle season of l i fe , and then ad v ers i ty fel l u pon h im .

A sou l of eas ier a nd more tol eran t p a t tern h a d sur

vived the assau l t , but Newcombe answered b l ow for

8 FA R M O F TH E DAGG E R

b l ow. He reto r ted Upon an enemy in k i nd , a nd sma l l

gr ie vances th a t grewi nto great ones dwarfed h i ssense o f r i ght , po i soned h i s l i fe , a nd reduced al l

ea rth ly in terest s to one t r a g ic a l a nd s in i s ter dete rmi

n a t ion . Th i s wa s a fixed purpose t o re v enge h i swrongs . In person he was t a l l and of a powerfu lfr a me . I n f a nt mo rt a l i ty r a n h i gh a hundred years

ago , a nd anv l a d of Dartmoorwho su r v i v ed th e ordea lo f ch i ldhood gener a l l y de v el oped into a man of sound

const i tu t ion and great ph y s ic a l hard ihood .

One so rrow,indeed , was ne v e r absen t from Joh n

Newcombe’ s hor i zon : he h a d no son ; and when , i ncou rse of t ime

,h i s only daughter shou ld succeed h im .

Dagger F a rm must knowanother name than Newcombe , u n l ess E v e ma rr i ed her cous in .

Such a match was the f a ther’s des i re , yet No a hNewcombe , the young blacksm i t h and farr i er of Postbr idge , though he sat isfied the paren t s , by no me a n s

content ed the g i rl . No a h . wh i l e a man of greatst rength a nd a g iant i n statu re , was bu i l t o f roughearth : but the blood of her mother—a n

“ia-eount r v’

woman—c l a imed gent l e founta i n s , and the ma iden ,Ry e. showed her her i tage . She de v el oped an imaginat i v e t em p eramen t . She l o v ed th e r i v er l ike a l i v i ng

th ing : sh e roamed i t s banks i n p ret t y idl en ess : th e

flower s and the t rees were her compan ion s . and filledher l i fewi th a sort of happ iness that pro v ed sufficient

T H E E N E M IE S 9

for her gent l e needs . Like the exqu i s i t e and frag i l e

lo v el iness of the l i t t l e corydal i s , t hat fea r ICSs ly ope ns

i ts p a l e flowe r s i n the l a p of the gran i te, so Eve’ s l i feblossomed here under the s tern and au s tere cond i t ion s

of the moorl a nd farm ; and she was sunsh ine i n greywe a ther t o thosewho dwel t the re .John Newcombe’s hea r t and sou l tu rned to h i s

daugh ter . She a lone of human creatu res was ne v erwrong ; sh e al one cou l d softe n the stee l corners of h i smouth or br ing a gen t l eness i n to h i s eyes . Her bu t

ter fly ex i st ence he tol erated , and folk-tal es o f the far

oll't i mes , of p ix ies , heath—hounds , and the awfu l

Bl a ck Hun ter , hewould suffe r on wi n ter n igh ts fromher red l ips , though he h a d qu i ckly s i l enced any other

who d a red to waste bre a th u pon such fol ly .

M other and daugh ter were not a l ike i n natu re .Ann Newcombe al so amel iorat ed the hardness of th ehome

,but her hu sb a nd attached no importance to her

op in ion s , and always remembered one sorry ofl'enee

comm i t ted by her two years after t he i r marr i age .Then Ann , st i l l i n th e pr ide of youth , upon a quarre l

about n oth i ng, had prated of her an cest ry , and cr i ed

hersel f bet ter born than her hu sband . I t was t r u e,and John Newcombe ne v er forga v e th e cl a im .

Yet bo t h h i s w i fe and d a ugh ter influenced h i s l i fe

in some measu re , and cert a i n l y added much to t h e

comfort of those whom he employed . But for these

F A R M OF TH E D AGGE R

women the l abourers ’ l ot h a d been harder than Da r tmoorwi n ters ; but for them the l i fe of th e master h i mse l f must ha v e sunk into a mere , sord id matter o f

bu s i ness , l ack i ng al l pr i nc ip les bu t exped iency .

R e l i g ion h e had none ; yet , unt i l the present , pursued

hones t cou rseswi th most scrupu lou s r igou r . But t h i st h e man had done becau s e hones t y was t he bes t pol i cyi n h i s expe r i ence . Already mat ters were f a ll ing out

t h a t shook h im i n h i s op in ion H i s deares t enemy— a ne i ghbour ing f a rmer—p rospered amaz i ngly ,

t hough al l. t he cou nt ry- s ide knewh im for a notor i ou srogue .

Th i s ma n was cal l ed Roge r Ho neywel l , and h e

owned one of t h e an c ien t Dartmoor t en em ent farm s .O f these n ot a fewex i st : they l i e scat tered upon thewaste , and a re i ndependen t of Duch y j u r isd ict ion .

Vit it'er F a rm—a spot cu l t i v at ed from remote per iods

—was mo re happ i l y s i tu ated th a n the homestead ofhIr . Newcombe . It enj o y ed gre a ter f a c i l i t ies

,and a

p a e k—horse xoad— o f good qu a l i ty for those d a ys—e x

t en ded between i t and the ad iaeent v i l l age of W ideeombe, th e met ropol i s of that reg ion . Th i s road

p a ssed o v e r East D a r t . some d i stance bel ow Dagger

F a rm , upon a clapper br idge , ofwh ieh t h e ru ins mayst i l l be seen .

O f l a t e M r . Honeywel l , from merel y pass i v e d i sl ik e ,h a d awakened h i s n e ighbour Newcombe i nto fur i ous

TH E E N E M IE S 1 1

hatred . The matter arose abou t a contrac t w i th the

great \ V a r Pr i son at Pr i ncetown . Thousands of cap

t i v e French l ay there, and the requ i rements of so

m a ny sou l s offered opportun i ty to the Dartmoor hus

bandmen . But Roger Honeywe l l , by some means notnecess a ry to deta i l , had gone beh ind Newcombe

’s

b a c k a nd u ndersold h im i n the mat te r of beef. Then

upon th i s out rage fel l out another , and , at t he open

ing of the present narrat i v e , a case was wa i t i ng to bet r ied between the enem i es—a matter t hat wou ld taket hem bot h before the j ust i ce s at M oretonhampstead

wi th in the week .

The tr ial i s importan t , and shal l immed iate ly be

t reated ; but we are fi r st concerned to descr ibe the

master of Vitifer Farm , so that these opposed p r o

tagonists may c learly stand before you .

Roger Honeywel l was no con v ent iona l kna v e. He

came from good stock , and had enj oyed an educat i o n

abo v e the a v erage of th e t ime i n Engl a nd . Hewas a

widower o f fifty or th ereabout , and had no fam i l y .

Two brothers , howe v er , he had possessed . One wasin the Na v y ; th e other , who had been a c l ergyman ,was (lead ; and Roger Honeywel l ’s w i fe, be fore her0 “n dem i se, adopted th e orphaned son of th i s m i n i ste r . l toger l iked the boy wel l enough , and he wasnowa rt i c l ed to a la ’

.

o

'er i n London . H imsel f

,Roger

Honeywel l , l oved the lawas a p a st i me , a nd , t hough he

12 FA R M OF TH E DAGGE R

u nderstood too much abou t i t w i l l ingly to i nv i t e its

a id , h i s knowl edge i nvariably kep t h im on the wi ndys ide . Al l men knewh im for a rasca l ; no man cou l dpro v e i t to demonstrat i on . Some rumoured that he

was r ich ; a l l bel ie v ed that i f j us t i c e was done he must

end h i s day s on the hu lk s . Few, howe v e r, quarrel ledw i th M r . Honeywe l l open ly , for i t was a dangerousexper iment . He bore h imsel f very am iab l y toward

the country-s ide , subscr ibed to th ree packs o f hou nds ,

and , be ing a keen sportsman , had many ao"iaintances

of l ike tastes w i th h imsel f, who declared t ha t he wasa st r a ight r ider and not su ch a bad fel low after al l .

He dearly l oved a j oke un l es s it was at h i s ownexpense

,as when some persons unknown pa i nted th e

words “Botany Bay” upon h i s h ou se door on a sum

mer n ight ; but he was of a natu re that fewmen caredto j est upon ; he never forgave an i nj ury , and he had

pro v ed i t upon more than one occas ion .

In person M r . Hone ywel l sh rank as much bel owth e a v erage statu re as Joh n Newcombe towered aboveit . He stood only five feet two i n ches ; bu t he was at ough andwir v l i tt l e man . His l igh t we igh t enabled

h im to do great th i ngs on horseback , and, i n add i t i on

to au then t i c ach ie v ement s,he cl a imed per forman ce o f

many marvel l ou s feat s wh i ch other sport smen decl in ed

t o c red it , though they knew that h e rode the best

h orses on Dartmoor .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

C H A P T E R I I I

SHEPH ERD . POTE

HERE came a day when , face to face,

accuser and accused s tood up before a bench

o f mag i s trates a t M oretonhampstead , a nd

John Newcombe t e mout h of LawyerWest set forth h i s case . (Jver aga in st h im , i n the

l i t t l e court-house s a t M r . Honeywel l . From t ime to

t ime he spokewi th Lawyer Br impts and nonehalantlv

tw i rl ed th e seal s o f h i s fob . Onewi t ness onl y at tendedon behal f of Newcombe , for M r . ‘V est hel d that th e

word of Shephe rd Pot ewas al l h i s c l i en t’s e a se neededto pro v e i t to the h i l t .

Thus sp a k e Lawyer VVest—a young man of weakeyes , st raw-colou red h a i r , a nd fluent speech ; and wew i l l repor t h i m , for M r . Newcombe’s c a se can h a rdlybe set fo rth to better ad v an t a ge than in h i s words :

“You r W orsh ips , th i s i s a ser iou s mat t er of sheep

and a dog . M r . Joh n Newcombe , t he pl a int iff.ab ides by the eastern branch of the R i v e r Da r t

,near

th e l i t t l e haml et of Postbr idge, and h i s farm i s cal led

S H E P H ER D POTE 15

‘Dagger Farm .

’ Hal f a m i l e from the dwel l ing-hou se

there i s a field of fou r o r five acres . I t i s a choice

me a dow,and the ewes and lambs general ly ge t the

fir st b i te of the pastu re i n spr ing . Now, on the t en th

d ay of Ap r i l l ast,i n th i s year of our Lord e ighteen

hundred and th i rt een , F a rmer Newcombe had i n th i sfi eld a flock of sheep and l a mbs to the number of abou t

a hundred heast s . Upon the e l e v en th day of l ast

Ap r i l he h imsel f chanced t o be e a r l y ab road , and ,p a ss ing th a tway , h i s eyewas confronted by a p i c tureof te rr ible h a v oc and d i s a st er . Death had been busy

in the n i gh t , a nd h i s poor s i l l y sheep were dec imatedby a fearfu l destroyer . To say tha t they were dec im a ted . indeed , i s t o te l l your \Vo r sh ips l ess than the

truth , for se v en ewes and e i gh t l ambs had per i shed ,wh i l e four other fu l l -grown a n i mal s were so mang l edth a t they had i mmed iate ly t o be dest royed . Thus

F a rmer Newcombe i n a s ingl e n igh t was robbed ofele v en ewes a nd e ight l ambs . W hat had happened?

Upon these fleecy mothers of the flock , you r “for

sh ips , there had fal l en a feroc iou s and power fulhound . A cre a ture of enormous s trengt h—a crea ture

whose natu ral i nst i nct for bl ood demanded th i s

prod ig iou s s l augh ter—had descended by n ight among

the innocen t sheep and sla in and mangled n i neteen of

them . Nowi t i s easy , you r W orsh ips , to ascerta i n th emanner of an imal gu i l ty of th i s d readfu l proceed i ng .

16 FAR M OF TH E DAG GE R

Only a dog of huge s i ze and act i v i ty cou ld be the

cu lpr i t , and no ordi nary membe r of the can i ne race

wou ld possess e i ther the i nc l inat ion or th e power to

accompl i sh such a tragedy . A hound , then , of great

s i ze and st rength had done th i s deed . Nowsuchhounds a s hunt the fox or hare are u sed i n pack s , and

a r e subj ected to the str ic tes t d i sc ipl i ne from puppy

hood . The honourabl e M aster of Foxhounds on the

bench wi l l , I th i nk , support me in that stat emen t .The foxhound

,th e harr i er , the beagl e th at d a red to

assau l t and dest roy sheep would suff er the ext rem i tyof pun i shmen t that a ‘wh ip’ cou l d measure out to

h im , i f i ndeed he was al lowed t o l i v e . Therefore thehounds of spor t may be d i sm i ssed from ou r cons idera

t i on . Of other great beast s capab l e o f th i s deed ,there rema i n the Engl i sh mast ifi

'and the b loodhound .

Nowth e former of th ese i s known to perform the fel ldeed of sheep slay ing on ly too often . Once let a

mast iff‘

acqu ire any tast e forworry i ng of sheep , andhe shal l n e v er be broken of th e hab i t . A mast iff that

worr i e s sh eep,you r W orsh ips , i s ha rder to cure than

a woman who i ndu lges i n l iquor . The b l oodhound isa ra re dog in th i s ne ighbourhood . The i nnate sa v age

ness and predatory in st i n c ts o f th i s great beast com

b i ne to render h im u npopu lar . At th i s moment ,wh i leour coun try i s at war wi t h th e Amer i can nat ion, theb l oodhound has i n curred addi t ional od ium , for we

S H EPH ER D POTE 17

cannot forget that wi th these terr ibl e an imal s the i rs la v es are hunted , and often dest royed , by the

breth ren of ou r s tock on t he other s ide of the At lant i c

Ocean .‘V e may mourn these th i ngs , you r W orsh ips,

though we h a v e ou r own fau l ts , and plen ty of them ;

but the negro id r a ce i s bondage—J ’

“Go back t o t he sheep,pl ease , M r . W est ,

” sa i d S i r

S imon Pr estonhury from t he Bench .

“Amer i ca is

bes ide the quest ion . \Ve have not to answer for hers in s , or sh e for ours .

“Re v enons a nos mouton s , your W orsh ips , sa id

Lawy er Br impts . For he was much d isappo in ted tofind t hat not a sou l i n cou rt knew French except i ng

Mr . W'est , who took no not i ce whate v er. Lawyer

Br impts therefore fel l back upon h i s snuff'box wi th a

s igh as of a man too sh i n i ng for h i s en v i ronmen t , or

a flower that wastes i t s sweet ness on the desert a i r .Under h i s breath he t r ied to expla i n the j es t to M r .

Honeywel l : but th e master of Vit ifer cou ld not , or

would not , see the po int .“Better l ea v e the subj ec t ,

” h e wh i spered .

“If S i r

S imon thought you ’d make a j oke i n French , i t m igh t

go aga inst us . You knowhe hates ’em worse than

the de v i l . He’ l l l i sten to reason abou t Amer i ca , butnot about Bonev.

”

M eanwh i l e Lawyer W es t had p r oceeded w i th the

matter i n hand .

18 FAR M OF TH E DAGGE R

I stand correct ed , you r W orsh ips . Forgive the

d igress ion—t he emot ions of human i ty , S i r S imon

Pr estonbur y— the v ery sp i r i t of the B r i ton th a t.

beams i n you r own manners and nat iona l record , i f Imay say so . I t was that that i nsp i red me . W e l l ,wecan pro v e th a t for a l l purposes of th i s case the re a re

bu t three b loodhou nds on Dartmoor . Two a re keptat H i s M aj esty ’ s Pr i son at Pr incetown , and onei s the property of S i r H a r ry \Vyddon , of t ddma

Park , i n the p a r i sh of Chagford . I twi l l not , I th ink ,he contended , you r W orsh ips , that any of t hese

beast s were respons ible for the des truct ion of M r .

Newcombe’s sheep .

”

“No , you r \Vor sh ips ,” declared M r . Br impts .

“Certa inly not . Bloodhounds had no th ing to do w i th

th e matter .”

“There fore, con t inued Lawyer W est , we are

reduced to one al ternat i v e—th e mast iff . Your Eng

l i sh mast i ti', I may remark , is supposed to ha v e been

that breed of dogs abu ndan t i n B r i ta i n at the Rom a n

per i od . S ince med iae v a l t i mes t hey ha v e grown rare .Let us nowexam i n e t he v a l l ey of East Da rt , betweenPostbr idge and Dar tmeet

,wi th spec ial refer ence to

Cam's mastiwa. In th i s sec luded v al e many tenemen t

farms exi s t , and others , that dat e from a l ater per iod ,prosper under th e foster i ng care o r th e Duch y .

Among these hom esteads some are v ery l onel y and

SH E PH ERD POTE 19

i solated . At t imes the housewi fe and her ma idens aresepar a ted from the i r natu ra l protec tors for hours

together—for men mustwork , your ‘Vor ships . Here ,

t h en , we shou ld reasonab ly expec t to fi nd t ru sty ands a v a ge ban-dogs used for th e p rotec t ion of such

dom i c i l es . And , your Honours , we do find them i ntwo cases .

“W h a t may be a ban-dog i n te rrupted the second

j u st ice —one Honourabl e W al ter Yeoland, M .F .H .

“ I reckon I knowso much abou t dogs and hou nds asany man who e v er kep t ’em ; bu t be blessed i f I can

s ay I ’ve seen a ban-dog . “that breed be that , M aster

L awyer?”“A ban-dog, or band-dog, you r W orsh ip , i s such a

dog as requ i res t he rest ra i nt or cont rol of a band

he the band of leather or steel . A ban -dog is , in fact ,a fier ce beas t, requ i r ing to be kept cha i ned . By that

process i t s feroc i ty i s ma i nta ined . Ha rr i son , you r

W'orsh ips, spec ial ly appl i es th e word to a mast ift‘,wh i le Berw ick holds a b a n-dog to be a cross betweenthe mast iff and the bu l l dog . Theword , I may remark ,shal l be found i n Spencer and i n Shakespeare .”

“Get you forward,th en ; I am an swered ,” sa id the

sportsman on the bench .

“Accord i ngly,we look for mast ifl

's, and we find

them ,

” con ta i ned the p l a i n t i ff’s represen tat i v e . “W e

find two of these huge beas ts i n the v e ry fu l ness of

20 F AR M OF TH E DAGG ER

the i r s trength and pr ime of l i fe ; and I subm i t that

one o f these an imal s i s respons ibl e for the dest ruct ion

of M r . John Newcombe’s sheep . M as t i ff No . 1 be

l ongs to the defendant , mast i ti'No . 2 i s t he property

of th i s shepherd here , Mr . Ephra im Pote . He dwel l s

i n a humbl e cot , m idway between Postb r idge andDagger Farm—hal f a m i l e from the lat ter ,wh i l e M r .

Honeywel l ’s estat e of Vit ifer i s abou t the same d i s

tance off i n th e d i rect ion of VVidecombe. Now, shepherd Pote, as i t happens , can p ro v e that h i s mast iti

'

was fast cha i ned up on the n i gh t o f th e catast rophe,and by no poss ib i l i ty , there fore , cou ld it ha v e com

mitted the offence ; but th ewatch -dog of the defendant i s n e v er cha i ned up

—it roams abou t h i s homes tead by n igh t for th e bet ter secu r ity o f doors and

wi ndows aga inst the ev i l-minded who walk i n darkness . I t i s a comparat i v ely new arr i v a l ; i n fact , I

th ink I am r ight i n say i ng that M r . Honeywe l l on lypu rchased i t after cert a in i n famous person s wrote

t hewords ‘Botany Bay’ i n scarl et pa i nt upon h i s frontdoor under co v er of n ight . And , to sum up , hav i ng

exhau sted al l other poss ib i l i t ies ,we c la im that RogerHoneywe l l h i s mastift’ destroyed John Newcombe hissheep .

’

M r . W es t sa t down and Mr . Br impts arose. He

was a fat , short man , wi th cu rl y b l ack ha i r and adark-b l ue ch i n that cr ied for shav i ng twi c e a day , but

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

22 FAR M OF T H E DAGGE R

v i t iates my fr iend ’ s a rgumen t, a dm i r a ble and abso

la te ly con v inc i ng a s i t wou ld otherwi s e appear to be .

Th i s shepherd—th i s a nc ien t and p i c turesque l'ot:—i sou r wi t nes s , your \V0 r ships . He appe a rs for the cause

of the defend a nt , a nd , I may al so a dd , t he c a n se of

t ru th . Mr . nmst be ignoran t o f fact s , or e l se

i nfo rmed wi th f a l se ones . I do not underst a nd wha the des i res the shepherd Pot e t o tel l us .

”

“Then you a re v ery dul l , my dea r s i r . Pote i s here

t o te l l us t h a t h is dog was c ha ined up on the n ightmy cl i en t ’s sheep we re s la in . Pu t h im i n thewi t n essbox , and you

’ l l v e ry soon u nderstandwhat Iwan t h imto say ,

” a nswered the other .“As your wi tness , do you meanAswi tness for the t ruth ,” s a id S i r S imon Preston

bury .

“Come, shenhe r d. t e l l us wh a t you knowconce rn ing th i s m a t te r, and be qu i ck abou t it .

”

“He i s here not to spe a k fo r h i m sel f. but for h i s

dog, you r W orsh ips ,” exp la ined M r . Br impts .

Just so ,” repl ied L awyer W es t ; bu t he was

ex tremely uneasy,and feared fou l pl ay . Tr iumph

was wr i t ten large on the b l ack and yel l owface ofLawy er Br impts, and as for th e sh epherd , he refu sedto c a tch Joh n Newcombe’s eye .Ephra im Pote was an aged bu t not a dign ified

peasan t , for h is back . roun ded int o a hump , b rought

h i s l ong wh ite bea rd almost between h i s l egs . Now,

S H E P H ERD POTE 23

in h i s s t bl a ck embro idered smock , w i th a s tock

round h i s neck and Vellowga i ters on h i s th i n shank s ,he looked l i ke some qua int t rop ic a l i n sec t magn ified

m a ny thousand t imes under a m i croscope . The shep

herd’s l i tt l e b l u e eyeswere se t c l ose t ogether ; h i s he a dwas qu i te b a l d sa v e for a few flecks of wh i te ha i r onh i s n a pe ; h i s j aws were n ea r l y innocen t of teet h , bu ta yel lowtask or two s tood out aga i nst th e i nner

gloom , for he kept h i s mouth open .

“Swe a r to t el l the t ru th , and then t el l it ,” sa id S i r

S imon .

“Put you r hat down ,” he added ; “don’ t keeprubb ing the n a p round and round so . You troub l e

me .

The shepherd relu ctant ly rel eased h i s bes t hat,a

ponderous bea v er of s i l v ery h ue . Then he spoke :“God He knaws I be noughtwi’out my crook , you r

l l onoar s .

"Fis ne v e r f rom my hand ’

eept I be eat i ng

or sleep ing ; an’ t o r i se up here i n company an’ tel l

ibout th i s here t err ibl e bu s i ness be most more’n I can

do wi’out my crook .

Mr . “res t i nt errupted h im .

“You a re not h ere t o tel l abou t th i s te rr ib l e bus i

ness , M r . Pote , because you k nownoth ing abou tit .

”

Al lowme, sa id Lawyer Br impts .

“Real l y there

i s onlv one quest ion we need put to th e shepherd . I f

he answers ‘y es ,’ th e mat t er i s donewi t h so fa r as h e

24, F AR M OF TH E D AGGE R

i s concern ed . W as your mast iff ch a i ned up , or wasit not cha i ned up on the n ight of the ten th of Apr i l

l a s t? Answer i n a word .

”

“W el l , i t were not cha ined up , sa id M r . Pote,

doggedly .

W’hat !” roared ou t John Newcombe , sudden ly .

D idn’ t I come to you the morn ing afterwards , andyou showed me you r mast iff on i t s cha in , and told mei t was ne v er off i t by n igh t

“That I’m sure you d idn ’ t , ma i s te r ; for I shoul d

have told ’e a very d ifferen t tal e i f you had done .”

M r . ‘V es t and h i s c l i ent stared i n to each other’s

fa ces .

“W hat shou ld you ha v e tol d Farm er Newcombe i fhe had come to see you ?” i nqu i red M r . Br impts .

“VVhy—ban’ t a man ’ s bus i ness t o put h i ssel f i n the

wrong, of cou rse,” an swered the sh epherd .

“ I wasn’ t

go ing to Dagger Farm to g i v e mysel f to j ust i ce,th ough I wouldn’ t h a v e done any th i ng d i sh onest ,God ’s my j udge, i f j u st ice had come to me . But h e

n e v er d id come . And please. your Honou rs , may I

hol d th is h ere i ron bar , for i f I hold on by that ’ t i s

l ik e my crook i n my hand , an’ I can tel l th e cl earer .”

“You mean that I n e v er cam e to you?” gasped

Joh n Newcombe.

Ne v er—wish I may d ie el se ,” sa id th e sh eph erd,fearlessl y . I n h i s m ind’ s eye , at th e toe of a sock

SHEPH ERD P OTE 25

h idden in the chimney of hi s cot tage,were five b rightgolden gu ineas . These had pas sed two days beforefrom the d i rty hane A Lawyer Br impts i n to his ownwi thered pa lm . Compared w i th the tempora l p owerof these co i ns , h i s immorta l sou l was a smal l ma tter

in the esteem of Ephr a im Pote . I ndeed , i t i s doub t

fu l whether h i s m ind ever soared to the prospec t ofanother l i fe .

“W hat shou ld you have sh owed Mr . Newcombe i f

he had come about your mast ifl't hat morn ing

inqu i red S i r S i mon .

“A v e ry bloody s i gh t , you r Honours worsh ip ,

s a id the shepherd .

“My gert dog got off h i s cha in

that n igh t . A ru s ty l ink brok e , an’ the p ieces be in

my pocket . An’ the dog got off , ah

’ hewas hungry ,I ’ l l gran t you—hungry as th e gra v e , you r Honou rs ,for I a l ways kep t un so a purpose . An

’ come mom in’

there was my mastifi',so red as a raddl eman—soaked

in blood , you m igh t say . Ve‘ n ext week I t ook 1111 to

Princetown an’ sol d un to the p r i son .

”

“An

’

you thought h e’d k i l l ed a man , d idn

’t youP

”

asked M r . Br impts .

“Ess fay,

’twas my fu st dreadfu l thought ; but I

soon learned the news , though not from M a i s ter Neweombe . An

’ I do con fess I set to work to wash mydog. He was bu st i ngwi ’ mutton as you migh t say ,

an’ so meek ao

’ mi ld as a puppy . An’ ther e ’tis, your

26 FA R M OF T U E D AGGE R

Ho : r s ; my dog k i l l ed thicky sheep wi thout a

doubt,but I’m a poor old m a n , wi’ nought be tween

me an’ s tarvat ion bu t my wages . An’ i f I cou ld , I

’d

make i t up to Fa rmer Newcombe ; but what can suchas me do ? Al l I’ve gotten a s be wort h money be mybes t c l othes , what I sta nd here ia —pu t on out of

respec t to you r Honours .”

“W hat do you say to th i s , M r . W est ?” i nqu i red

the sport i ng m a gi st rate . He knew Honeywel l i n thefield, and h i s sympath i es were w i th h im , for Jolm

Newcombe was rumoured to ha v e sho t foxes .“ I can on ly say that e i ther th i s man or my cl i en t

mus t be bel i e v ed , and I ask your \Vo r sh ips to we i ghthe bal a nce between th em . \Vho i s more l i k e ly to

speak the t ru th ? W ou l d M r . Newcombe i n v en t thev i s i t? W ou ld be , by mean s of a del iberate l i e , seek to

fasten th i s offen ce on a ne ighbou r?”

“W hat were th e former rel at ion s between thesegent l em en asd S i r S imon .

“D ist i nctl y u n fr iendly , I regret t o say , repl i ed

Lawv er Br impts .

“Indeed , h igh words passed between them s i x weeks agowhen th e author i t i es at th eW ar Pr ison pl aced a con tract wi th M r . Honeywel l ,wh i ch Farmer Newcombe had hoped would come h isway .

“W e had dec ided abou t a pr ice, you r Honou rs , and

when the t ime came th i s man wen t beh ind my back

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

28 F AR M OF TH E D AGGE R

began .

“ I knowa ll ’ s fa i r i n law—same as i n l ove.

You’ v e bes ted me thi s t ime, and I guess howyou d idit . But nex t t i me—nex t t ime I go to law, I’ll engageyou 0

’ my s ide .”

“W i th the greates t p leasu re i n l i fe ; but l e t me

ad v i se . Don’ t tack le the shepherd—that roundbacked , blackbeetl e there . He

’s not worth powderand shot .”

He’s wort h j u st what you pa id h im to swear al i e,

” answered Newcombe, prompt ly .

“But I’m not

th ink ing of h im at a l l . I’m b a d to beat , an

’ I don ’ t

b ide under a beat ing . A t i me i s l i ke to comewhenbu t you’ v e sa id al l I need to hear . Take thi s five

pound note to buy a brooch for M rs . Br impts . I ha v e

f r iendswho knowher at Newton Abbot , and they tel lme what a good an

’ beaut i fu l woman she i s . Ah’

come nex t t ime, you’re 0

’ my s ide .”

M r . Br impts shook hands wa rmly .

“You have my word ,” he sa id .

C H A P T E R IV

THE ONLY PRE TTY RING -TIME

H ILE her father was fight ing h i s e nemy

wi th i n the musty prec inc ts of M oret onhampstead Cou r t-house,Eve Newcombewandered bes ide Dart i n June su n

sh ine, and her sp i r i t sang to th e r i v e r , and the crys ta l

waters sang to her . The prom i se o f Summer waswr i tten upon the world i n flower s . The b room blazed

a long Dart , and r eflected i t s golden fi r es i n many a

st i l l reach and poo l ; showers of del i cate s i l v er fel l fromthe sal lows and cl u stered i n the backwaters wherechance cu r ren t s carr ied them ; fragran t bl ossom

snowed each rough hawthorn cl ump ; bl uebel l s werenearly past : bu t E v e found a few;wh i l e i n the nosega y that she carr i edwere other flower s al so—an earlybloom or two of th e great bu rnet , a da i nty orch i sfrom the marsh

,and a sp ike of hooded and dusky bl ue

'

bl ossoms pl ucked from a dewy d ingl e a bo v e th e r i v er .Briars , hawth orn s , upspr ing i ng brack en , and nobl eclumps of the k i ng fern marked her way ; the r iver

30 FAR M OF TH E DAGGE R

mu rmu red o v er i ts enamel led bed of m a ny col ou rs ;finger ling t rout le a pt h r e and there , t u rn ing the

somersau l t of g iddy you th ; wh i l e hea v i er fish , growntoo o ld for such l igh t-hear ted frol i c , hung e a ch i n h i s

ho v e r and rose on ly for the man i fold winged th ingsthat danced away the i r br i ef hours o f g l ory i n a su nbeam , t hen fe l l wi th flutter ing g a u zes t o feed them .

L i fe , v i gorou s and be a ut i fu l , i n a l l t he splendour

o f t end r i l and fol i a ge a nd c luste r i ng buds r ippl ed

o v er the green e a rt h , e v en a s Dar t r ippled along her

gran i t e s ta i rways and he r g l i t ter ingwe i rs . For E v e’sfeet the c a rpet o f th e f a m i l i a r v a l l ey spread

,and not

a grass blade suffered unde r her pass ing but sprang

the prouder that she h a d tou zhed it .

S ing ing she wen t ; then i n the noon hou r chancesen t a fi ckl e m i st . a nd the grey c loud

,rol l ing so sud

dea ly off Bella fo r d’s m ighty shou l ders , t u rned the

d i rec t su nsh ine i n to d iffused s i l v er l i ght,and finally

wrapped grey cu rta ins o v er the wor l d of th e v al l e y .To E v e grey thought s came at the s a me moment ,wakened ou t of the weather change . She recol l ec ted

her father and h i s r i ght eou s cau se ; sh e remembered

h i s l os s and the sorrowful s i gh t o f mangl ed l ambs .Down came the hea v y fog, and Da r t’ s t ink l ing

mu s i c was muttled bene a th it . Nowonlv th e ne a res t

them or al der rose ghost l y out of gl oom . The m i st

brushed E v e’ s face wi th cool and gentl e hands ; i t

THE O N LY PRE TT Y R I N G -T I M E ” 3 1

st roked her h a i r ; i t c rep t i nto her eyes , and found an

a nswer ing h a rmony there , for e a ch l o v ely i r i s wasp a l e grey—a col our so del icate t ha t i t r eflected the

moods a nd ch a nges of the weather .

The g i r l knewher ro a d v ery wel l,and now, i n stead

of tu rn ing homewa rds , hel d on to the pack -horsebr idge th a t c rossed Da rt beneath Ballafo r d Tor .

Bes ide i t stood a turf hu t , employed by Shepherd

l ’ote a t ean ing- t i me ; a nd , r i s i ng from the b r idge ,a cross t h e flank of th e t o r beyond the r i v er, wasscr atc hed a rough ro a d u sed by h orsemen or by

ledges , for sca rcely one whee led v eh ic l e had as ye ttouched these reg ions .

M r . Eph ra im Pote dwel twi th i n th i s abode for longweeks t ogether du r ing the cr i t ica l season of thel a mbs ; for here were snug newt a ke meadows , protected bv fi r—t rees on th e east , wit h p l easan t southernslopes a nd hedge banks , and homest eads c l ose a t hand ,so th a t M a rch s torm s shou ld not fi nd the flock s at the

mercy of sudden snow. But nowth i s hu twas empty ,or Eve imag ined that i t was so . Ther efore sh e ent ered

i t to rest awh i l e and eat the b read and ch eese t hat sh eh a d b rough twi th her .A p i l e of dead grey ashes on the hearth , a bundl e

of strawin th e corner , su nd ry bot t l es , t in s and j arsa long a wooden ledge on thewa l l , and a rough benchbene a th it ,were fam i l i ar obj ect s to Eve , but what sh e

32 FAR M OF TH E DAGGE R

by no means expec ted to see i n th i s most l one ly spot

was a fe l l ow-cre a ture . Upon the ben ch , howe v er , sata s tranger, and he was a sort of man qu i te d i fferentfrom Shepherd Pote .

A young, e lean-shaven fel l ow i n the spo rtsman’ s

costume of th a t per iod sat here bu sy abou t some

st range occupat ion qu i te un fam i l iar to E v e . Hewasc lad i n long ga iters t h a t came up t o h i s th igh

,and

were fastened by i nnumerabl e but tons . A hard

bea v er h a t w i th cu r l y br i m s se t wel l b a ck on h i s head ,and a bott l e-g reen coat wi t h h igh col lar a nd brassbu ttons a l so chal lenged att ent ion . The lad was ofagreeabl e aspect , though l o v e o f sensuou s th ings

seemed marked i n h i s fu l l red l ips and fine brown eyes .Bu t there coul d be n o two op in ion s a bou t h i s l ooks .Men cal l ed h im a pret ty fel l ow, and ad v i sed h im to

seek soc i ety and captu re a duke’s daught er ; women

kept th e i r op i n ion s to themselves . A d i st inct ion

marked th i s spark ; h i s carr iage was dign ified and

gracefu l , a nd h i s manners and speech bet ray ed u rban

up-br i nging .

Had she here d isco v ered a trop i cal butter fly or some

wanderer from another planet , Eve cou ld hardl y have

fel t more aston i shed . The g i rl tu rned t o depa r twi tha mu rmu red apol ogy , bu t a gen tl e vo ice cal l ed her

back , and i ts accen t swere such as sh e had ne v er heard .

For a moment she imag ined that th e young man must

TH E O N LY PR ETTY R I N G -T I M E ”83

be affec t ing some u nnatural mode of u tterance ; but

soon th e mus i c of h is vo i ce became more fam i l ia r , and

she mar v el l ed at the beauty of her mother tongue so

spoken .

" I p r ay you do not r un away , young mi stress , for

you can ser v e me great ly i f you bu t w i l l . I have not

been here these many years , and the sudden m i s t has

drowned my l a ndmark s .”Il e rose, took off h i s hat , and re v ea led a finely

sh a ped a nd cu r ly he a d .

Eve fou nd hersel f v ery i nte rested before such a

gr a nd speech . She stood st i l l , but no immedia te

answer occu r red to her . The young man thereupon

resumed h i s se a t a nd h i s occupat ion . He had a pa i r

of sc i ssors i n h i s h a nd , and bes ide h i m on th e bench

were sc a ttered scraps of feather , col ou red s i lk , andfr a gment s of t i n se l .

“You st a re at su ch women ’s tool s,” he sa id , “and

wel l you may . Indeed , th i s i swomen ’s work , and thebes t a rt ifi c i a l fl ies I e v er saw were made by women’sfinger s . I

’m a dance at it, and th i s th i ng growi nghere u nder my hands i s more l i k e some s t range fre a k

of natu re than the l i tt l e red-brown fly that I sawj us tnowupon th ewater and str ive to im i tate .”No handed to E v e a v ery wel l -t ied fly on a hook

th a twould be h eld too l arge n owadays,e v en by those

who fish th e st ream and not the r i se . But Dar tmoor

3 + F A R M O I" T 1 113 DAGG E R

trou t were u nsoph i s t icated a hu nd red y ears ago, and

fly fis hermen se ldom tempted them .

‘i s a be a ut i fu l l i t tl e th ing , an’

I’m su re ’ twas

wonderfu l fo r a m a n ’s fi ngers to do i t,” s a id l i v e .T h en sh e g l a nced s idewa ys a t h i s h a nds , a nd sawt hat.they were del i cate,wh ite ,wom a n ly , a nd widely d i tt

'

er

ent from a ny she h a d e v e r seen upon a m a n . Her

own, indeed , W ere much sm a l l er,but they were v ery

b rown . She h id them u nder her a p ron .

“You pr a i se the fly too much , indeed . I can do

bet ter than th a t . But the fish a re the tes t . They are

h a rder to s a t i s fy th an you . I ’ l l wa ge r wi th th i schange of we a ther they ’ l l ce a se t o r ise , o r else wantsometh ing other th a n I e offer them .

”

“U s t a kes a plen ty at h i s seasonwi th the fern-web,s a id E ve .

" "

l'is a l i'l beet l e , red an

’ green . The‘br aeken c lock ’ t hey cal l them t oo , I

’m t ol d . A v ery

k i l l ing th ing,~ for t rou t on a su nn y June d a y when ther i v er’s r i gh t .

“ \Vh y , now, you knowa l l about it t A gre a t spo rt swom an , I ’ l lwa ge r?”

“Not me . I k i l l ed a l i tt l e fish once , bu t ne v e r coul d

aga in .

”

“Tel l me more about th e fern—webs , i f you wi l l beso v ery k ind ,” he sa id : and wh i l e sh e spoke he kepth i s eyes upon a f a ce of the f a i r S a xon sort , a nd behel d

a g i rl un l i k e the customary M oor ma iden i n most

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

36 FAR M OF TH E DAGGER

weli’s nephew,” sh e sa id .

“He hates my father, and

has wronged h im often . Even to-day they stand

before t h e Justices of M oreton , for your uncl e’s mas

t iff k i l led a many of my father’s sh eep not l ongagone .”

“Then I hope Uncl e Roger wi l l h ave to pay forth em . I owe h im much , and cannot do l es s than loveh im; bu t we are not very good fr iends j ust now, forI have angered h im of l ate .”

’T i s d iffi cu l t to help i t by al l accoun ts ,”

she

an swered .

“A terr ib le hard-dea l i ng man , an’too

c l ever for common-folks .“I fear i t i s so . He d id no t t el l me of h i s reason for

go i ng to M oreton to-day . Indeed , he t el l s me noth

ing . I am h i s h e i r,but I do not feel hopefu l . You

see, he des i res me to be a lawyer , and I hate itwi th all

my heart . I wan t to l ive here and be a countryman ,and—and—wel l , I h a v e thoughts , bu t I need not

p lague youwi th them .

”

“ I l ike to hear you tel l ,” she sa id , i nnocen tly .

Your v o i ce an’ you r speech be d ifferen t t o ou rs , an’

you’ v e got ten v ery pretty wo rds to my ear .”He flushed sl ight l y a nd look ed pleased . Eve aston

i shod h im and surpr i sed h im not a l i tt le by her frank

fr i endl ine ss . She was absol u t e ly fearl es s of men , forno man had ever fr ightened h er .

“You mustn’t pu t my uncl e’ s s i ns u pon my shoul

THE ON LY PR ETTY R I N G -T I M E ”37

ders ,” he sa id ,

“for I cou ld never bear them .

’T i s a

sorrowto me to hear dark th i ngs aga i nst h im andknowthey are t rue . But he has been v ery k i nd to me ,

a ndwe mus t j udge men from knowledge , not hearsay .

You won ’ t be angered that I spoke to you“W hy fo r shou ld I be, you ng man?

”she asked .

She was l ost i n adm i rat ion of h i s carr i age and m ien ,of h i s brown eyes so b r igh t and gent l e

,of h i s neat

round ch inwi th a den t i n it , an d of h i s cu rl s .The d a y br ightened and the m i st beg a n to break .

G l impses of the world sm i l ed t h rough , and gl impses

of thewonderfu l summer blue a bo v e the world . B irds

s a ng ; the sun wi n nowed the cl ouds, and the m i s t d isl imned i n great separat e and sh in ing flakes . Al l

th ings gl i tt ered , and each drop on l ea f and b l a de

catch ing the sunsh i ne, broke i t up i n t o ra inbows .O v er th e green earth a gl immer ing grey v e i l of

moistu re spread , and u nder noon sunl igh t th e dry ing

val l ey steamed .

“I do decl are you have sen t th i s fog fly ing,” he

sa id .

“ ’T i s meat and dr ink to me to find a fel l ow

cre a tu re here , and a k i nd one . Don’ t go away

“I wen t in th ere to eat a bit of bread-and-cheese ,she said : “but you made me forget . NowI’m e v er so

leer v.

”

She brought the food from her pocket and n ibbl ed

3 8 FAR M OF TH E D AGGE R

i twi thout concern . He l ooked a t her and adm irat ion

l ighted h i s eyes .“You’ve done a bet ter deed than you thought to

dowhen you came forth to-day ,” he sa id .

“An

’what m a y that be?”You ’ v e m a de a wret ched man happy aga in .

9W hy, that

’s a good th ing to do , su re ly ; an’ I m

glad .

”

Eve ate and r eflected . Here was mystery , andmystery wrapped i n th i s handsome young fel l ow’sgreen coa t was i n terest ing . Yet she wonderedwhether h e spok e the t ru th . I t seemed hard to guess

what cou ld ha v e happened to make h i m miserab l e .

She peeped out at h i s eyes from under her sun-bonnet ,and found them fixed upon the r i v er .

Be sad no more,” she sa id .

“Ban’ t the t ime 0 ’ year

for sadness .”

“What i s h e asked .

Oh , th e w i sh t wi nter e v en ings , when th e d impsycomes down grey an

’ the a i r be off er i ng to snow, na ’th e m ind be ful l of old sad tal e s of the dead an

’ gone .”

“ I wi sh I was your fr iend ,” he sa id . and she

t ar ted i n some a l a rm ; bu t h i s eyes were st i l l upon the

r iver, and he seemed to be d ream i ng .

“As for th a t , I’ve got a manv fr iends—but not

many humans,” sa id Eve .

“And I’ve got none bu t my u ncl e,” h e answered .

THE ON LY PR ETTY R I N G -T I M E ”39

And nowwe are at daggers drawn because he wantsme to go back to London and the Law, and I ha te

both . There’ s no t ru th or honesty i n e i ther."J

‘

is d ifferen t to that here , young sir ,”

she

a ssured h im .

“These th i ngs tel l no l i es ; the r iver an’

the t rees an’ th e gert tors be p la i n , honest fo l ks .

You’ l l l augh at a farmer’s dar ter ; yet these th i ngs be

fr iends to me . They’m l i k e my own dear fa i ther

ha rd nowan’ aga i n , but n e v er unk i nd .

“ "

es , t hey are fr i ends tha t last out our l i t tl e l i fe

tim and do not change . They t el l the t ru th—ins ummer wi th l o v e ly wo rds, i n wi nt er w i th s tern ones .\nd I suppose t hat you and Iwi l l n ever see each othera g a in a fter th i s beaut i fu l h our?”

See i ng th a t h e l i v ed but two mi les d i stan t , that onlyH a r t a nd moorland and meadowseparated the i rhomes , the prophecy seemed unnecessary . So Eve

thought , bu t sa id noth ing .

“So l ight flashes and then van i she s away . M igh t

I ask you to t el l me your name?But pray do not t el l

me i f you th ink i t i mpert i nen t i n me to ask .

She m a r v e l l ed that so s imp l e a quest i on need be

ipolog‘ ised for .

“Eve Newcombe I be cal l ed , an’ I’m se v en teen year

A beaut i fu l name , i f I may say so withou t offend

ing, and a beau t i fu l age .

40 FAR M OF TH E DAGGER

Then she laughed outr ight , and h i s b l ood grew hot

to see her face i n merr imen t , for i t was lovely .

“You ’m terr ib l e ’feared of hurt i ng folks’ feel i ngs

eemingly . I s’pose that i s London manners? \Ve’m

not so gent le h ere .”

’T i s ou r fin ick ingway ,” he sa id .

Not bu t what I come of good ha v age , I mu st l e tyou know. M y mother’s mother was a Basset t .”

“A grand ol d name .”

Bu t the ma iden s up-along be all grand i n man ners

an’ i n b i rth , no doubt

You’ re the sun compared to th e l o v e l iest moon

among them . They’d g i v e a l l they had of j ewel s andt oys for a pa i r of l i ps l ike yours .”

Nowhe spokewi th fi re , and expressed no regre t at,al l ; bu t Eve was fr ightened and t urned t o seek her

road .

“There ! I ha v e angered you —c l umsy fool that I

am; yet had I sa id such a th ing t o a London ma id

she woul d ha v e been p l eased rather than not .“That’s th e d ifference ’ tw ix t a London ma id and

me, then ,” sa id Eve .

She had been a l it t l e p l eased hersel f, yet a b i t t er

l u rked i n the sweet . To speak of her l ipswas almostas though he had touched herwi t h h i s hand—a th i ngnot to be endured from the p ret t iest s t ranger that ever

pa id a comp l imen t .

THE O N LY PR ETTY R I N G -T I M E ”41

NowI must get gone,” she sa id,“an

’ l eave you

to your fish ing.

Don’ t go away angry . Remember we shal l n e v er

see each other aga i n . I have a name to rememb er you

by ; but you have none to th i nk of when you recol l ect

me.

”

sa i d I mean t to recol l ec t you , young s i r?

Indeed , I knowvery wel l you wi l l not . Ye t myn ame you shal l hear, M i s s E v e Newcombe.

’Ti s

Qu inton—we’ l l l ea v e the Honeywel l ou t , for that’snot ‘honey’ —no , nor ‘wel l ’ ne i ther i n you r ear . Qumton , aged n ineteen years, and at you r serv i c e for

ever f’

“Yet we shal l never see each other any more, yousay 9”

Ti s too dreadfu l a thought to dwel l u pon .

As for me, I shal l walk bes ide th i s r i v er an’

gather

bluebel l s aga i n a fore they be al l w i thered , no doubt ,”

sa id Eve , dream i ly .

“Shal l you? Happy b l u ebel l s ! They’ l l h ol d up

thei r heads and w ink at death , and cry ,‘Oh , death ,

k ind death , spare us yet a day, that our blue eyes and

sweet breat h may temp t her .’

Eve stared .

M y hea rt ! that’s l ike stuff i n a book she sa i d .

“D’

you th i nk so? IVhat a b l essed th ing to hear

you say ! D’

you know, that’s th e secret of my l i fe !

42 F AR M OF TH E D AGGER

And here you d i sco v er i t a fter a dozen words . I want

to be a poet i f Godwi l l s .”“An

’wr i t e bal l et swi’ pret ty rhymes?Ay, and grea t th ings too—if there’s any gr eat

ness i n me.

”

“Us have a old book of verses to home as fa ither

won’ t let me read . But I d ipped i n once , for ’twas

a parson wrote ’em , an’ I thought no parson cou ld

pen i l l verses . ’Tis cal l ed by a longword I can’ t cal lto m ind , bu t the gen

’leman’s namewas Mr . Herr i ck .

“I l ove h im 1”

Then I’ll t ry an’ peep i n h im aga i n .

“I’ l l t el l you j ust wha t to read ; and- and—I ’ l lwr i t e you a rhyme mysel f—may I? I do pray you tosay

‘

yes

A rhyme to me . M y star s !whoe v er heard tel l ofsuch a th i ng?”

“Andwoul d you gi v e me j us t one flower from yournosegay to h elp me wr i te the verses?

“How you tal k an’ talk ! I ne v er yet met any but

ol d folks w i th such a st r i ng 0’ words . But there

’t i s you r Londonway bel ike? I shou ld th i nk theywastoo busy there to talk so much .

“They make t ime for t a lk ing . Gi v e me j ust one

l i tt l e flower , m ist ress , and I’ll be gone .”

She though t a moment , then plu cked the dark

hooded b l oom from her bouquet .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

C H A P T E R V

NEME S IS BY F IRE

EFORE Eve had gone a hundred yards she

heard hersel f cal l ed , and , l ook i ng back , sawQu i nton Honeywel l po in t ing down the v a ll ey . Gaz i ng i n that d i rec t ion th e g i r l per

ceived a c loud of smoke r i s i ng , and so den se was thevol ume of i t that a ser iou s fi re seemed i nd i cated . Only

one bu i ld ing l ay i n th i s d i rect ion , and the g i rl knewwel l t hat th e sol i tary i nhab i tant was from home.

Hasten ing down to th e val ley , she reached the

fisherman’s s ide and spoke .“Oh , dear ! oh , dear ! ’T i s Shepherd Pote’s cottage

afir e, I fear ! He i s away on my father’ s bu s i ness to

gi v e e v idence at M oreton,and h i s poor place have

catched on l igh t for certa i n .

”

“ I ’ l l run ,” sa id young Honeywel l . “Lucky I saw

it . I may save someth ing yet . Ju st h ide my r od and

basket i n that brak e .”

He set off at a great pace, and Eve, fir st pu tt i ng

N E M E S I S BY F I R E 45

h i s rod and baske t carefu l ly out of s igh t in the furze

by the r iver, hastened after h im . But she on ly

arr ived i n t ime to see the l ast of the shepherd’ s den .

His one-roomed cab in was b laz i ng and t he roof of

thatch fe l l i n as Honeywel l came upon the scene , some

sudden spark,shot from the smoulder i ng peat fir e,

had k i ndl ed paper , and qu i ck ly se t th e place i n a blaze .

W i th a bucket tha t he found at hand, young Honey

wel l m a de some efforts to ext i ngu i sh the flames, bu ttheywere u sel es s ; th e v ery stonewa l l s had grown redhot , and long be fore Shepherd Pote retu rn ed to h i s

home th e placewas l a id i n ashes ,wi th on ly a shat teredwal l and broken ch imney stand i ng desolate i n the rackof charcoa l and ash .

Not a shred or s t ick cou l d be sa v ed , and indeed , had

opportun i ty offered , no man but the shepherd h im

sel f wou l d have known what fi r st to res cue . His

property was v a l ueless , and con s i sted of a fewrags,a fewves se l s of c l oam , boots , l eggings , and var ious

odds and ends that seemed more proper to a bonfir e

than any t h i ng el se .

Presen t l y the flames sank for lack of more fuel .

Qu inton Honeywel l r etu rned to where E v e had h idden

h i s rod , and she hersel f hastened forward to t he vil

lage that she m ight tel l the ev i l n ews . The p i ctureof the hero i c you th t o i l i ng i n v a i n wi th Shepherd

Pote’s bucket filled her young eyes . Hewas not only

4-6 FAR M OF TH E D AGGE R

beaut i fu l and a poet , but st rong and swi ft, and a

man .

Upon her t id ings a dozen labou rers hast i l y

departed to v i ew the ru in s of the i r ne ighbou r’ s home ,

and E v e retu rned to her mother .

Towards even in g, fu l l o f sorrowfor th e unhappyold man i n the v al l ey , sh e returned th i t her . and car

r ied wi t h her a subs tan t ia l meal i n a bask et . The

shepherd had arr ived , and ,wi t h h i s head i n h i s hands ,was nows i t t ing upon a st onewhere once h i s door hadhung .

He l ooked up v ague and dazed ; then he sawEve,and sh rank away from her .Don’ t you come an igh me, ma iden ! Ban

’ t i t

enough? Ban ’t t he hand of God hea v y enough?

Look—al l I ’ v e got i n the world , al l I’ve sc raped an’

ga thered after e ighty years - al l gone . Look i n th ey

ashes an’ you ’ l l find l i t t l e speck s 0 ’ gold , t h ewages ofs in , al l gone—r a i nbowgold—an

’ my immort al sou l

i n th e de v i l’ s c laws . He’ l l mak e me fr i zz l e for th i s ,sam e as my gol den gu i n eas fr i z z l ed . O God ! To

th ink , to t h ink , an’ not a fr i end l eft i n th eworld , an’

me up e i ght y -five year old

E v e st ared . She supposed that t h i s great shock

had tu rn ed the an c ient man ’s b ra i n,and that he

r aved , bu twoul d present ly growca lm .

“Eat ,” sh e sa id ,

“eat th i s pasty an’ dr i nk th is

N E M E S I S BY F IR E 47

c ider, Ephra im .

’T i s a terr ib l e sad th i ng to happen ,un

’

I'm su re we shal l a l l be very sorry for you and

soon sta r t a subscr ipt ion to make i t up . Father w i l l

he the fi rs t to help you . You knewthat . ’Twas on

h is account , you see , you wen t to M oreton .

But t he unh a ppy Pote on ly rocked and shuddered .

“He ban ’ t com e , t hen P”

“No , he’s not home yet .

El se you wou ldn ’ t be here to see me , l i ke the pe l ic a n i n the wi lderness , wi’ no pl a ce t o lay my grey

h a irs . ’Tis a l l over . I’m (l e a d an

’ d a mned for it .

All my sa v i ngs , l i t t l e enough of them , God He knows ;

an’ the golden gu ineas—five. There they be speck

l ing the ashes . An’ my crook , th e haft gone an

’the

i ron head al l ben t an’ spo i l ed . God forg i v e me for

ever let t i ng i t out of my hand . M y bu s i ness i n l i fe

waswi th sheep , not w i th men . An’nownobody al ive

won’t never t rust me any more w ith ewe or l amb . M y

thre a d be spu n ; the poorhou se an’ hel l—the poo rhouse an’ hel l be a l l tha t’s l e ft for me .”

’Twas such a good th ing you wore your bestclothes , Ephra im . You must l ook at the b r i gh t s ide ;you real l y must , e l se you

’ l l make yoursel f i l l ,” sa i d

Eve cheerfu l l y .

“Get you gone,” h e an swered .

“You r fa i ther w i l l

come r id i ng homewi t h the de v i l i n fron t of h is saddl esoon . He knows why I say these th i ngs i f you don’ t .

48 FA R M OF TH E DAGGER

Ii e’ll ne v e r l i ft h i s h a nd to help me aga i n . No more

wou ld you i f vou knew . I ’ v e gotwhat I dese r v e , an’

I knowit . Let me a lone ; I hate the s ight of you !

Stop an’ I ’ l l do you a m i sch i e f .”

The old man flung h im se lf down on the hearth i n

h i s bl a ck smock and g a v eway to sen i l e despa i r,wh i l eEve

,not i n the le a st alarmed , bu t much mystified,

v a in ly attempted to consol e h i m for h i s l osses . Pres

ent ly hewept , grewc a lmer, and c a l l ed upon t he Lordto pardon h im . Then , l ea v i ng he r bask e t and beg

gmg M r . Pote to he lp h imsel f, E v e prepared to

ret u rn home .“And i f you come up t o the f a rm p resen t ly you ’ l l

fi nd a com fort a bl e corner i n a sh ippon qu it e ready fo r

you , shepherd . for I’ l l see to i t myse l And theywi l l

soon rebu i l d you r hou se and m a ke i t as good as e v e r .

W i th th ese am iab l e assu rances the g i r l wen t h erway ; but Ephra imwas l i t t l e th e happ ier , for he knewverywel l th a t as soon a s the master of Dagger Farmretu rn ed therewoul d be an end of any fu rther char i tyfrom h im .

Presen t ly , however , he ate and drank and p l uckedsufficient sp i r i t to sc ratch about i n h i s ru i ned home .

Not a co i n rewa rded h im , and a fter th e c ider h e

l i fted up a er acked v o i ce and cu rsed al l created th i ngs .

Cert a i n men from Postbr idge presen tl y retu rned to

soften his misery and offer a bed , but th e old man

N E M E S I S BY F IR E 49

g a v e t hem sm a l l t hanks . He chat tered of gol d beads

and the de v i l ; he re fused to accompany h i s ne i gh

hours , and prayed them to get out of h i s s ight and

lea v e h imwi th the owl s and bats .Then Eve Newcombe re tu rned yet aga i n , anda m a zed the anc ien t not a l i t t l e .

“You ’ v e got to comewi t h me ,” she sa id .

“There’ s

a snug corner i n the appl e loft , bet ter than an ou t

house . I ’ v e got it ready wi t h mv own hands. and

you’ l l s l eep on dry fern , as soft and sweet as a k ing .

('ome al ong , Ephr a im . No more can be done to

n ight , can t here , Cous i n Noah

No a h N ewcombe,who was among t hose to offer theshepherd a bed and supper, agreed wi t h E v e .

’Ti s n o i l l beyond mend ing ,” h e sa i d .

“ I ’ l l do

m y pa rt, for nought , an’so wi l l mason Ford an

’a

good fewother n e ighbours , i n ou r spare t ime . You r

house wi l l be bett er than ever i t was i n a fort n ight ,shepherd .

“An

’ sweeter, sa id mason For d .

But Mr . Pe tewas star i ng at Eve .“You com e wi th that message of peace an

’ good

wi l l , an’ your fa i ther be home aga i n?“He’ s not home ,

” sa id E v e . “No doub t h e has

r idden on from M oreton to Exeter . He sa id he m igh t

do se .

”

The shepherd s ighed .

50 F AR M OF TH E DAGGE R

Of cou rse ’t i s so ,” he sa id .

“N0 , I’ l l not come up

to Dagger Farm .

’Twou ldn’t be a seemly th ing .

’Tis

to Roger Honeywe l l I shou ld go ; but I won’t go toh im ne i ther . I

’ll come home along wi’ you , Noah

Newcomb e , s i nce y ou ’m so k ind as to ax me ; an’ i f I

d i e i n my sleep a fter al l th i s e v i l , as be a v ery l ikely

t h ing, I hope al l Chr i st ian sou l s wi l l p ray for me .But I sha l l go to hel l ,where there’s gert , red-eyedde v i l -dogs always a—t ear i ng at you r l i v er ; I shal l gothere ao ’ burn l ik e my hou se ,where the worm ne v erwon’ t be quenched . I knawit , sou l s , an’ ’t i s no good

none of y ou say ing d iffe ren t .”

W i th t h i s gloomy pred ict ion the w i thered c r eatu r e

p icked up the head of h is crook , then put h is arm in

N oah Newcombe’ s , and was l ed away .

“I’ l l p u t ’e a wand to your crook to-morr ow , my

old dear ,” sa id Tom French , the carpen ter .

“You’ l l

not look so despa i r i ng-l ike when y ou’ve got that in

your han d aga i n .

”

“An’ I ’ l l ax th e gent l e folks for subscrip t ions for

’e,” dec l ared a l oosely-bu i l t and flabby man of great

c i rcum ference cal l ed b u ry Hext .

“There’s nought

l ike st r ik i ng wh i l e th e i ron’s hot , so I lay there’s

nought l i ke begging for a burnt-out man wh i le h is

home’s s t i l l smok ing. Other folks’ fortunes don’t

t roub le us onless they be onder our noses . You’ l l get

more if you ex to-morr owthan you w i l l aweek hence

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

C H A P T E R V I

NEME SIS BY H UNTING-CROP

AR M ER NEW CO M BE had not gone to

Exeter a s h i s wi fe supposed . He was , in

deed , that n i ght bu t a fewm i le s from h isfarm , u nder the roof of an old fr iend near

the v i l lage of Ashbu rton . After l ea v i ng M oreton

upon the conclus ion of th e l egal proceed i ngs,John

Newcombe sta rted fo r Postbr idge i n no very am iable

frame of mi nd , and then chance so ordered aff a irs that

his p l ans were changed ; he rose from gloom i n to amost cheer fu l humour , and , i n stead of retu rn i ng to

Dagger Fa rm , al tered h i s i n ten t ion as aforesa id and

set off i n an other d i rect i on .

Hav i ng d ined at th e “W h i te Hart” after h is

reverse, hav i ng eaten l it t l e , bu t dru nk deep , he s tarted

hom eward , rode th rough the l o v ely l a nes and deepgreen v a l l eys that d iv ide M oreton from the M oor, and

presen tly c l imbed out upon the great lonel y heart of

N E M E S I S BY' H UN T I N G -CROP 53

that l and,where i t spread ful l many a league u nder

the glory of a June e v en i ng.

As yet the l i ng had not b lossomed , but heath

bloomed i n purp le patches and t he gold of the fu rze

bl a zed about h im. To r igh t and l eft swept the s tonecrowned h i l l s, and h is rough road lay by many a

gl immer ing bog and l onely , heron-haunted pool . But

the fam i l iar waste held no beau ty for John Newcombe . He brooded gloom i ly upon the past ; he

debated of the fu ture ; he swore awi l d oath aloud thathewoul d be even wi t h h i s enemy yet ; and the s in i s terword

,fur iously u tt ered , fr ightened yel l ow-eyed sh eep

bes ide the way and sen t them j ol t i ng off i n to the M oor

with b l eat i ng amazement .Anon the farmer passed a gran ite fragment that

set the sea l of Ch r i st upon that savage r egion . M any

such crosses s t i l l r i se hereabou t , and an old-t ime

Abbot’s W ay that connec ted anc i ent monaster i es wasindicated by them ; but th i s Cross of Bennett , then ,as nowl i tt l e more than an armless stump , has no his

tory w i th i n man’s knowledge, and may be numbered

amongst the rudest rel i cs in that sor t to be found

upon Dartmoor .

A gorgeou s sunset reddened the eyes of the horse

man . W es tward abo v e great flowing r idges the purpie a nd gold flamed across the sky and burnt i n t o the

remote stone-crowned p i n nacl es of the l and . The east

54 FAR M OF T H E D AGGER

was purpl e , and n ight al ready seemed to move uponth e huge sl opes o f Hameldon . There al so m igh t be

noted , l ike a f a i ry r ing on the heath , a grey and shad

owy c i rcl e , th a t seen at n earer van tage had resol v edi t sel f into Gr imspound, th e an c ien t fa stn ess o f th ose

stone men who haunted Dartmoor be fore recordedh i story .

W here nowthe cross st ret ches i t s broken arms

abo v e the ways ide heather, Joh n Newcombe rode , butth e pregnan t s ton e con v eyed no mess a ge of peace

i nt o h i s hea rt . Then sounded the br i sk trot t i ng of a

better horse than he cou l d r ide , and h i s enemy over

took h im . Newcombe’ s road lay st ra ight ahead of

h im ; bu t a sheep-t rack branched from i t hal f a m i le

fu rther on , and th i s wou l d take Roger Honeywel l toVitifer . For h a l f a m i l e

,therefore , both men pur

sued the same way .

The red sunset fi res gl owed i nto a v iv id conflagr a

t ion , and answe r ing flame raged i n th e b ig fa rmer’s

hear t as h i s dapper foe overt ook h im . The smal l er

man was i n an am iab l e mood , and even condescendedto stay h is progress and speak a few words . H is pur

pose can ha rdly be cons idered fr i endly , for he had a

v ery hearty d i s l i k e of Newcombe,but only th e spor ts

man h imsel f knewwhat prompted h im to speak . The

words t hemselves to a casual ear must have sounded

k i nd and e v en generous .

NE M E S I S BY HUN T I N G -CR OP 55

Wel l , ne ighbour, wel l met ! I hoped to overhaul

you and speak man to man .

’Twas fa i r law, and so

no more to be sa id . Let us be fr iends hence forth .

“Fa i r law! You can say that , you smug, l ong

beaked j ackdaw !”

“Why, you are angry ! Surely , man , there’ s noth

ing to rage at ? The shepherd made al l c lea r . There

was the v ery r ing of t ruth i n the old fool ’s vo ice to

my ear . Too old i n honesty to tu rn rascal , I wager .W hy, he

’s near ly a hu ndred , they say .

”

No poor man yet l i v ed that was too old to be

temptedwi th money .

”

“W el l ,we l l , I wan t to be fr iends . I hat e quarrel s .

L ife’s too short and ne ighbours too scarce on Dart

moor to figh t . W h i l e the coun try ’ s pl unged i n these

dre a dful wars , Engl i shmen ough t to be shou lder toshoulder . \Vhat say you

Newcombe paused and r eflected l ong be fore reply

ing. He i t ched to get h i s hand on the other’s col la r

and measure ou t h i s own i dea of j ust i ce , but tha tcould not bewi thou t more justification than appeared .

He therefore fel l back u pon gu i l e,and emploved a

s ide of h i s i ntel l igence concern ing wh ich the otherknewnoth i ng . M r . Honeywel l su pposed h e had todealwi th a mere th i ek -headed ru st i c , and doubted not

that h i s super ior educ a t ion must a lways ser ve h im i nany col l i s ion wi th the m a ster of Dagger Farm .

56 FAR M OF TH E D AGGE R

When , therefore, a s happened now, Joh n Newcombepl ayed a doubl e pa rt for th e fir st t imewi th h i s enemy,Honeywel l was dece i v ed and fel l i n t o a t r a p . The.

b ig man had served a sharp appren t i cesh i p to cun

n ing that morn ing i n M oreton Courth ou se, and nowhe bettered h is i n st ru ct ion .

At l as t h e spokewi th appearance of con v i ct ion .

“I suppose you ’re r igh t , Roger Hon eywel l . And’t i s no great mat te r i f you’re not . Fa i r best ed I was .’T i s qu i te be y ond my exper ience that su ch th ings can

happen . But I’m not for cry i ng o v er sp i l t m i l k

th a t ’s a fool ’s t r i ck . Only I don’ twan t to be enem iesno more ; for i t won’ t pay me to be aga inst you . I

shal l ne v er be ups ides wi t h a man of your i ntel l ect s ,

however I may t ry , an’ I gi v e you best from th i s dayforth . But ’t i s a n amaz i ng th i ng to hear a man l ike

Law ver Br impts .

”

“So i t is . I t shows what pract i ce wi l l do—awonder ful c l ear bra i n . W el l , I

’m thank fu l you are such

a sens ib le man .

”

“Yes ; all the same , I w i sh I’d had Br impts 0

’ my

s ide . M y pu tty-faced el i apweren’ t a pat ch on h im .

“Go to Br impts i f ever you're i n a fix of th is sor t

aga i n , though I hope you neverwi l l be .

”

“ I m ight do worse ,” admi tted Newcombe, w ith a

sat i s factory recol l ec t ion tha t Mr . B r impts wasalr eady committed to h im.

“All the same, but for

N E M E S I S BY H UN T I N G -C R O P 57

Pe te i t wou ld have gone t’otherway . He swore to meh i s dogwas fast that n igh t ; an’ ’

twas the t ru th I do

bel ieve, for the man’ s not a natu ra l l i ar . He’ l l t e l l

the t ruth l i k e another when noth i ng hangs to it .

“A cur ious lapse of memory on h i s pa r t , no

doubt .”

“An’ you r b i t of gold pol i shed up h i swi t s .

“\V e l l , gol d does throw i t s own l i gh t upon affa i rs ,adm i t ted Honeywe l l , cyn ica l ly , " though it i sn’t

alway s the l igh t of t ru th .

”

“A terr ib l e powerfu l weapon in wi se hands ,” murmured the other . “And s ince you ’m so good as to be

fr iends , I do hope you won ’ t h u r t m e no more , nowI ’ v e throwed up the sponge , so to say .

”

“Bel ieve me , on my honour . I’m sorry ou r i n terests

e v er c lashed , and I’m thanx ful you are b ig-heart ed

enough to forget th e past and offer fr iendsh ip .

”

“W i l l ’e shake hands upon i t

VVillingly .

”

The smal l man extended h i s hand to the b i g one.

Both horses were pu l l ed up and a warm gr ip passed

between th e enem ies .

“And now, s in ce the past i s dead and bur ied fore v er more, I shou l d very much l ike to know you r ownop in ion of th i s matt er ,

” sa id Newcombe presen t ly , asthey proceeded together . “It won’t make no d iff er

ence to me ; bu t ’t is cert a i n enough that Pote’s mast ifi'

FA R M OF TH E D AGGE R

d idn’ t do it . So whose dog was i t that k i l led mysheep . do ’

e reckon

M r . Honeywel l l ook ed round h im before answer ing .

Thev were i n the heart of th e M oor , and twi l ightga i ned upon the scene . Darkness a l ready sp read o v er

t he waste, a nd , one by one , the tors were founder i ngi nto n ight . No hom e o f man was v i s ibl e ; on ly thecry of d istan twater reached the i r cars .You ask me that ? W e l l , ’t i s n atural , an

’ I don’ t

m i nd g i v ing you my honest op in ion , ne ighbou r . I’m

mu ch of one m i nd wi th that l anky , s traw-colou redyoung man as spoke for you . I f ’

twasn’t P i te’s mas

t ifi',then ’ twas surely m i ne eu

’

, see ing there be no

wi t nesses to hear me , I don t m ind tel l i ng you th a t’

twas m ine ! There’ s no doubt abou t i t at a l l , for thedog had been do ing bl ood y work that n igh t somewhere . But , you see , t h e maj es ty of the lawknewd iffe rent . M uch v i rtu e i n the law, Farmer Newwcombe .

Before th e speaker cou ld get his horse out of reach ,Newcombe had shot out a long arm and caught h imby the col lar .

“So there be, kna v e Honeywel l !” he roared out ;

“an

’ more ve rt ue st i l l to a horsewh i p i n a honest hand .

S i nce you’m so m inded , and I’ v e he a rd i t from your

ownwi cked l ips , an’ s ince there ban ’t nowi tnesses , asyou say , th en I

’ l l g ive you the d amndest wal lop i ng

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

F AR M OF TH E D AGGE R

Newcombe cont inued to flog h i s enemy between thewords unt i l the smal l er man fe l l on h i s knees andscreamed for mercy . W hereu pon the avenger made

a n end .

“There’ s one for every sheep ; an’two for you r

dog ; an’two for yoursel f ; an

’two for l uck . Now

I’m pa id for my troubl e . An

’nowgive me you r

watch an’ them sea l s . Then I’ l l l e t ’e go

But the other , bat tered and bru ised though hewas ,made an effort to sa v e h i s p roperty .

“You’ l l swi ng for th i s , you murder i ng blackguard ,i f there’ s a ny law in th e land !” he gasped , fight ingfor h i s fob.

Newcombe , however, had h i s way, and possessedh imsel f of a b ig, gold

“tu rn ip watchwi th a bunch ofsea l s hang ing therefrom .

“ M ight ’s r ight , as your dog though t when he

k i l l ed my sheep . Nowgo an’ cal l u pon the lawto

sa v e you—you that have a lways crawl ed al ong on the

w i ndy s ide of it t Go an’seewhat the lawbe worth ,

you ugl y l i tt l e mewt l”“You ’ l l swing for th i s

,as sure as heaven’s above

us ,” answered the sufferer . H is face was l iv i d and

h i s back on fi r e.

“And , mark me,” he added , as he

tu rned to go,“you ’re a doomed man for th i s n ight’s

work . Law or no law, you shal l pay for t h is wi thyour l i fe’s b l ood . I ’ l l n e v er s l eep n ight or day t ill

Newcombe cont inued to flog h is encmv be tween thewo rd s .

N E M E S I S BY HUNT I N G -CROP 61

vou’r e pa id . I

’ll never hu nt , nor dr i nk l iquor, nor

tak e one j oy in l i fe u nt i l you su ffer i n sou l a s I suffer

i n body now. You’ve k i l led e v ery th i ng that shal l e v er

make you r l i fe worth l iv i ng to—day . You may a swellcu t you r throat where you stand, for you r l i fe shal l be

one l ong hel l for eve rmore .”

He tu rn ed and s tagger ed off into the n igh t , and

Newcombe , qu i te unmoved before h is cu r ses , watched

h im depart . For some t ime after h is enemy had been

swal l owed up i n the gloom of the heath , the v i ctor

stood i n thought bes ide h is horse . Then he mou nted ,and turn i ng the rel uctan t beast from its homeward

road , proceeded across the M oor under the flank of

Hameldon’s great r idge. Avo i di ng the v i l lages of

W i decombe and Buckland , he kept to the M oors , and

was not seen by a s i ngle h uman eye unt il he reach ed

the ne ighbou rhood of Ashbu rton . Only once d id he

dr aw r ein . Then , upon a lonel y was te of heath and

sphagnum bog, the farmer r el i eved h imsel f of RogerHoneywell’s watch and fob. It gl i t ter ed across the

starr y n igh t for a second, and then van ished under

quaking moss .

One m i le from Ashburton, at Chator Barton, dwelta man cal l ed Henry Chator—the best , i f not the on ly,fr i end John Newcombe coul d c la im among men . To

th is tr usted one the farmer nowrepa i red , and soon ,his stor y tol d, he found himself before a comfor table

62 FAR M OF T H E DAGGER

su pper, and i n p resen ce of onewho sympath i sed v erykeen lywi t h h i m .

’Tis a s imple enough matte r,” sa id Mr . Chator, a

shrewd person age, who had h i s own reason s for d i slik ing Roger Honeywel l . “My chaps , Jack an

’

Samuel , sha l l ha v e a gu i nea ap i ece, an’ then they ’ l l be

qu i te ready to swear a fore the j ust i ces t hat you r horsewas put up i n my stabl e bv s i x o’c l ock . That does

it , I reckon ; an’ as for h im , the ugl y l i t t l e twoad, ’ t i s

h im as i n su l ted me afore al l th e ne i ghbours l as twi nterfor shoot i ng foxes , j u st because

’t i s h i s p l easu re to

ga l l op abou t the coun t ry l ike a l unat i c after ’em . As

i f my geese an’ pou’tr y wasn

’ t 0 ’ mor e accoun t than

h i s p leasu re ! So there you a r e, Jan ; an’ I

’m glad

you ’ v e a-l athered h im . But you’ l l ha v e to keep you r

eyes open now, for he’m a po i sonous chap, an’ he’ l l bee venwi th you for th i s i f he’s got to sel l h is sou l to the

Dow] to do it .”“U s

’ll see .” sa id Newcombe.

’Twas a pretty t ouch to t ake th e watch of uh ,

decla r ed Henry Chator w i th great adm irat ion .

“For

nowyou prove you wasn ’t there, an’, of course, ’twi l l

be sa id ’twas a conunon footpad .

”

“W hat ’s more ,” con fessed h i s fr iend, “afore I l eft

M oreton yesterday , after he’d bes ted me over my

she ep , I got that b l ack rascal , Lawyer Br impts, on

my s i de next t ime . But th is I w i ll say, that I’d never

NEM‘Z S IS BY H UNT I N G -CROP 63

have beaten h im l ike I done i f he hadn’t con fessed that

he knowed ’ twas h i s dog, an’ gr inned i n my face Whenhe sa i d the words .

’Twas more’n morta l man cou ld

stand .

“A s ight more , agreed Mr . Chator . “You

wouldn’ t ha v e been a man i f you hadn’ t g iven h im all

you cou ld dowi ’ a hosswh ip . An’

, for my pa rt , I on ly

hope you hit himas hard as you th ink you did.

C H A P T E R V I I

AS OLD AS THE H ILLS

H ILE craft met c raft i n th e b i t ter batt l e

nowt o rage between Honeywel l andNewcombe u nt i l dest i ny t e rm inated it ,emot ions widely d ifferen t marked the

meet ings of Qu i nton and E v e . Lo v e met lo v e i n the

r iver val l ey , and soon the boy and g ir l l i v ed for each

other i n th e immemor ial way .

At ten o’c lock on the n igh t of that pa i n fu l meet i ng

w i t h John Newcombe, Mr . Honeywel l sen t h i s factotum , the flabby and flaxen Dury Hext , to Dagger

Farm . Dury came to l earn whether th e enemy hadret u rned home ; and at h i s dest i na t ion he met a per

sonal foe i n shape of Joh n Newcombe’s head man

one Ned Prowse . These two se rvant s hated eachother worse than the ser vingmen of M ontague and

Capu let . The i r m a st ers ’ quarrel s were the i r own ;and nowthe pal e bu t bulky Hext bo i l ed w i t h v i rt uous

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

66 FAR M OF TH E DAGGE R

ger Farm e v erybody knew from Shepherd Pote,t hough that anc i en t perj u rer dec l ined to furn i sh any

part icu la rs of the t r ia l .

Cons ider i ng t hese th i ngs, Mv. Prowse spoke .

“W el l , s ince you’m so set on knowi ng, I may as

wel l tel l you . He’m not home ; an’ I can’t say when

he w i l l be .

”

“He’ l l go from Dagger Farm for good an’ al l

when th i s i s known . I pray he’ l l sw i ng for it, the

rogu e .”

“Don’ t you cal l no names , Dury Hext , el se I’ l l

t rea t you same as you say my master t reated you r s .

L i es an’ non sense ! Be offwith you , you gert barrel“Youwa i t for the t ru th ,” sa id Mr . Hext .

So Iwi l l , then ,” an swered the oth er, “an’ Doomsday wi l l come al ong a fore any man ever hears thatfrom you .

”

They parted , and Prowse has tened i ndoors w i th h i snews . He glor ied i n it, and hoped that Dury had not

erred , desp i t e h i s own ora l assert i on that such a th i ngwas i mprobab l e ; bu t M rs . i

'

eweombe and E v e wereterr ib ly fr ightened , and dur ing the fol l owi ng days ,wh i l e no s ign orword of John Newcombe reached h i sfarm , th e wi fe and daughterwen t i n dark doub t andterror .

For tha t space of t ime , i n deed , poor Ann Newcombe had noth ing bu t her fearfu l thought s to keep

A S OLD A S T HE H I L L S 67

her company ; bu t the gi r l found consol a t ion by Dar t .

Li fe h a d put fort h awonderfu l bud for Eve , and sheman elled , looking backwa r ds , that th i s v a l l ey of mas i e

ma k ing waters and great rock s , of s ing ing b i rds andflowe r s, could ha v e con tented her and seemed qu i teful l . Vowal l these t h ings were no m ore than asett ing for one figu r e , and she lo v ed the dusky

cowl s of the monkshood better t han every bl ossomof sp r ing, becau se he had dec lared that he woulddo so .

Eve met Qu inton Honeywel l aga in twi c e be fore herfa ther returned home , and the second t ime he shook

he r hand . Ou th is occas ion they came together byappo intment .

The young man had a grim ta l e to tel l of h i s re la

t i v e , bu t v ery read i ly he took E y e’s s ide of the

ques t ion .

“Of cou rse , Uncl e Roger h a s n o r igh t to say’ twas

your fa ther that bea t h im i f i t i s not so ,” he sa id ;

but the re wi l l be a summo ns i ssued a s soon as myunc l e c a n get abou t ag a i n . I l i s watch , too ! He

grows mad wi th anger twenty t imes i n the day . I

h a d me a n t t o t el l h im that I wi l l n e v er go back toLondon more , but l i v e i n the cou nt ry hence forth ; yet

I h a v e no cou rage to speak i twh i l e he i s i n th i s sorryease .”

’Tis a bet ter l i fe than lawyer ing . I’m SUN you

68 FAR M OF T H E D AGGE R

wou ld not be happy to make you r l i v i ng out of other

folk s’ quarrel s .”

“No, i ndeed -a s a d way to l ive . An’ yet what

wou ld theworl d be w i thout the Just ices“The i r lawl ook s va i n bes ide God Alm ighty’s, how

ever ) ’

“Th ink o f tha t ben t old shepherd and h i s notor ious

l i es . See howGod pun i shed h im beh i nd h i s back .

And my u ncl e , t oo , for th at matt er . I fear you can

not cal l h im in nocent . ’Ti s very ce rta i n h i s hound

k i l l ed the sheep , for he t ol d me so .

”

“Let us l ea v e that . I’m on ly v ery sad to th i nk how

you r uncl e and my father hate each other . ‘His

watch !’ Fa i ther to stea l a wat ch ! W hy , ’ t i s m id

summ er madness i n h im to say su ch th ings .“Of course i t i s . I too am sorry they are such

b i tt er en em i es . That makes i t al l th e more ou r dutv

to be good fr iends , M i ss Eve, and so res tore the bal

ance .“Us woul d ha v e to be more than fr i ends to do

that .”

He d id not immed iately answer,then spoke mourn

fu l ly .

“Yet ’ twou ld be v i s i t i ng the s i n s of th e fathers

upon the ch i l dren i ndeed . W hat cou ld be harder than

tha t you shou l d be my fr iend i f you d id not wish

to be

A S OLD A S TH E H I L L S 69

But perhaps for l ove of my fa i ther I migh t ,” she

sa id .

“\Vhat’s your l ove for your father to me he

a sked .

“W hy, cou ld you th i nk wel l of an on ly ch i ld that

d idn’ t l o v e h er good fa ither? Nowcatch t rou ts an’let me wat ch ’

e, s i nce you axed me to come an’see you

fish .

”

“You ’ v e taken al l the hea rt out of me for angl i ng .

Oh , dear i e me ! W hat am the l ikes of me to come

an’ spo i l you r sport

Do you real ly wan t to knowwhat you are ?” hes a id , fl ing ing down h i s rod and turn i ng to her .

E v e’s h eart beat fast , bu t she answered wi th a

ghos t of a sm i l e“\Vhy—to be su re—us al l wan t t o knowtha t—if

we can find an hones t fr iend to t e l l us .

“Be care fu l . I don’ t p i ck my words too c l e v erl y

when my heart i s a l l agl ow . M y tongue has made

enem ies before to-day ; bu t I’d rather b i te i t out than

anger you .

”

Truth ’s t ru th ,” sh e sa id , fa in t ly .

“I ’ l l h ear ’e, if

i t comes wi th i n what a ma iden shou ld hear .”“The t rut h when i t’s l o v el y can ’ t hu rt even you rl itt l e p ink rose petal s of ears . Don’ t start and l ook

l ike that ! You bade me speak an’ te l l you what you

are. Then you are the world—the whol e summer

70 FAR M OF TH E D AGGE R

world—to me . Less t han a l i t t l e week an’ you’ve

changed a l l my l i fe a nd l i fted i t up , and shown m et he k i ngdoms of earth a nd the best th ing God me r

m a de . To th i nk of what I t hought was good once !An

’ herewas a j ewel , h id on D a rtmoor , tha t m a kes abeggar of everyth ing that ’s beaut i fu l and e v ery th i ng

that’ s good i n the wo r l d . An’ I l o v e Da rtmoor for

e v er now; I l ove it—down to th e l i t t l e sad c ry of theyel l ow gl addy i n the yel l owfu rze , bec a use ’ t i s the

c radl e o f Eve . I l o v e e v eryth ing th a t ’ s e v er made

a look ing-g l as s of you r dea r grey eyes ; I l o v e my

worth l ess sel f bett er for l o v ing you .

’T i s the fi r st

t h i ng e v er I ’ v e done wi th my whol e h e a r t and sou lthat I’m p roud of do i ng . Nowyou knowwhat youare—t o me .”The g i rl t remb l ed , but her heart g l or i ed t o hear

h im .

“Lord sa v e both of us, but th i s be l o v e ta lk !” she

sa id .

“ I ’ v e—I ’ v e read the l ike .”

“ I wou ldn’ t pl ay p a rrot,sweetheart . ’Ti s n o t ime

fo r that . I f a man want s t o make a g i r l l i st en to h i m

and bel ie "

e h im , I’m su re he must d i v e down i nto h i s

own heart a nd b r i ng up h i s words a l l a l i v e and qu iver i ng . You do l i s ten

,and you do bel ie v e !"

“If I cou ld t ru s t ’e ! ’T i s l ike the song of a but ivul

angel t o me . But i f I cou ld see th rough th i cky green

coat towhat be h id

A S OLD A S TH E H I L L S 71

You ’d see you r name on my hear t—God knowsI’m speak i ng the t ru th when I say it ! You ’d see

suffer ing too , for I’m su ffer ing more than I know

words t o te l l u nt i l I h ear you an swer me . Say you

lov e me a l i t t l e ; o r i f you can’ t , say you

’ l l t ry to . I ’ l l

d i e i f you don ’t . And yet why shou l d you , for whoam I to dare 9”

“If you can read i n my eyes same as you sa i d

then do i twi’out mak ing me bl ush to tel l ’e,” sa id E v e ,and before t he wordswere out of her mout h she foundhersel f i n young Qu in ton ’s arms .

He k i ssed her i n a t ransport , then l ooked a t her

a lmost re v erent ly .

“To th ink th i s i s real and not a dream of heaven'and nowI knowthere i s a good God that caresfor the l east of us and plan s ou r l i v e s ; and yet I do

not e i ther , forwhat have I done to mer i t th i s ? W hy

shou ldwo r t h less Iwinwhat m igh t be too great a pr i zefor a sa in t

“I do hope you ban’ t no sa i n t , sweet , murmured

E v e,“for i n t ru th you’d qu i ck ly weary of a s i mpl e

country ma i d l ike me i f you was . I do knowl i tt l emore than the names o f th e flower s .

“No,” he sa id , h i s t hought s ro a m i ng far away , no

sa int , bu t , by God ! I’ l l t r y to be. I f e v er a manwas

tempted by the goodness of hea v en to mend h i s ways

and fly a t a nob l e l i fe’ t i s I.

”

72 FAR M OF TH E D AGGER

They do t el l that e v en a g i r l can mend a man

somet imes ; bu t such men as I ha v e known before you ,was n’ t men a s took the i r colou r from u s . T ’other

way rather ; for Da r tymoor women most ly has to dowhat they’m t ol d , an’ do it qu i ck .

”

“You ’ l l be my guard ian angel .

Not that ; bu t I ’ l l j u s t be a l i t t l e d inkywi fe someday

,an

’ l o v e ’ewi th every breat h I breathe , an’ pray

for ’e n igh t an’ morn , an

’ make you r good an’ sorrow

m in e . Not but I l o v e dear fa i ther too ; but you—whyyou’m my lord na

’ master—an’so you was s i nce fir st

my eyes met you rs .”

She st roked the hand round her wa i st wh i l e hechat tered i n ecs tasy .

“Dear l ove ,” she sa id , “you ’ l l be k i nd to me, an

’

t ru e , won’ t ’

e? An’ I ’ l l t ry so hard to g a therwi sdom

l ik e th e bees gather honey , th at I may be better

worthy of ’e . You’m my al l—al l for e v ermore —al l

my l igh t an’ sun sh ine an’ l i fe , I do assu re

’e . Th i s

good worl d be noughtwi thout you now. The flower sfade to my eye , an

’ the r i v er ca ll s out hoarse, an’the

h i l l s frown when you ban’ t by ; yet they be fa i rer far

than ever th eywas when I see ’emwi th you bes ide me .You’ve waked me out of my ma iden dream i ng, dear

heart—oh ! l ove me always , for ’t i s th e breath of my

l i fe to know you do ; an’ i f you changed an’ st opped

l ov i ng me an’ for got me now, I soon shou ld d i e for ’e.

”

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

74. FAR M OF T H E D AGGE R

noth ing dea rer t o th e i r eyes th an Dart i n summer

t i me , i f once the y had been moor fol k s and loved th e i r

homes on e a rth .

”

’T i s a v e r y l o v ely though t , de a rest .

But nownough t ’ s wa st ed as you r ev es ha v e seen .

”I‘

is an honou r fo r thewi ld rose to h a v e met your eyewi t h hers , I do t h in k . I

’d sooner be a da i sy u nder

your foot t han a l i v ing m a iden t ’other s ide 0 ’ the

ea rth . who’d ne v er be bl essed w i th t he s igh t o f you .

”

For an swer h i s a rm s t i gh tened .

“If I was on lyworth y l” h e sa id .

“If Iwas r i cher,bett er born , famous ; but you’ v e ch osen me , you

’ v e

chosen m e !”

’T i s I shou l dwi sh m y sel f cle v er : yet y ou l o v e me ,an

’ you’m cle v er ; yet i f you ’m cl e v e r howshou l d youl o v e me

,as be pl a i n homespun an’ of l i tt l eworth

’T i s that you can l o v e me too m a kes me hopefu l .

I ’ l l wr i t e a great , grand poem , a nd y ou’ l l b e i n e v ery

l ine,and i t’ s mus i c w i l l be you r v o ice , and i t

’s l o v el iness

wi l l b e you r th ought s .”I k nowr i ghtwel l youwi l l , fo r ’t i s i n you r br igh t

eyes . HowI ’ l l j oy i n i t when ever v man speak s of

y ou an’ you r but ivul r hvmes ! Ess fay , you

’ l l be

fi r st— in e v e r y t h ing but l o v e .

”

“Then comes on ou r fi r st quarrel ,” he sa id .

“For

i n al l e l se I say you wi l l be fi rst , but i n l o v e never .You cannot l ove me more than I love you , becau se I

A S OLD A S TH E H I L L S 75

lo v e wi th e v ery red drop of bl ood i n my ve i n s , and Iamb igger t han you ; there fore I l ove bes t

“You shou ld , sweetheart , i f my l o v ewas bou nded i nthe l i tt l e body of me ,

” sa id E v e . “But ’ t i s b igger

than that an’ l o v el i e r , el se’twas v a i n i ndeed . M y love

be in the mo rn ing when i t l ight s your open i ng eyes ;my lo v e do st eal to ’

e an’ k i s s ’

e i n the m ist , an’ drop s

soft ly out o f th e ra i n . I t do s ing to ’e i n th e r iver an’

from every grey-b i rd’s th roat . Oh , bel ie v e it , my love

goes t o th e s tars to fet ch l igh t for’e when you ’m

n ight -foundered ; i t twi nk l es ou t. of heaven—’ t i s

earth—wide,nu

’ deeper than the sea— ’ t i s t h e bes t gi ft

of God -my own cl e a rest t re a su re— poured out for ’e

for e v ermore i n th i s worl d an’ th e n ex t .”

She stood up and l ooked at th e skywh i l e she spoke.

CH A P T E R V I I I

A PRO-AM ERICAN

HEN John Newcombe retu r ned home , iti s n eed less t o s a y th a t he kept the t ru th

to h imsel f, and expressed t he most ex

t reme ind ignat ion at h i s enemy ’s i nd ic t

ment . He adm i t ted , howe v er , that no man e v er deser v ed a thrash ing more than Roger Honeywe ll , a nddec lared h imsel f much g r at ified t o hear of th e catastro

phe . For h imsel f, h e made i t c l ear that hewas a t Chator Ba rton long before the hour when M r . Honeywel lsuffered . Therewere thosewho cou ld p ro v e th i s fact ,i n c l ud ing Hen ry Ch a t or h imsel f. But h i s defence the

mast er of D agger F a rm reser v ed for the presen t . He

v i s i t ed L awyer B r impts, and le ft the ease i n that gent leman’s hands wi t h a cheer fu l certa inty of success.

Honeywel l,for h i s p art , des i red and expect ed t o get

th e farme r comm i t ted to th e Ass i zes . I l e had wi shedto arrest Newcombe, bu t was ad v i sed not to do so.

A PR O -A M E R I CA N 77

On the n i gh t before the i r nex t meet ing at M oreton

h a mpst e a d , Eve s a t upon her father ’ s lap , and, find

ing h i m i n grea t good temper , v entu red to revea l her

secret . Ann Newcombe al ready knewit ; and she l ivedin the m idst o f fears and t errors from that momen t

unt i l the presen t t ime . E v en now her courage wou ld

not perm i t her t o l i sten to the con fess ion ; and when

Eve announced to he r f a th er that she had a m ighty

matter t o t e l l h im,a nd des i red to do so before the

e v ent s of the fol l owi ng day , her mother gathered upherwork and fled from the k i t chen .

John Newcombe l i st ened wi t h cons iderabl e cont rol .Then he r e-l igh ted h i s “ chu rchwa rden ,” wh i ch hadgone out dur i ng the rec i ta l , and answered in fewwords , but defin ite.

“ I do not knowt he boy , but I knowthe bl ood i n h i sve ins . H i s name i s enough . He comes of po i sonou s

stock : therefore h e be po i sonou s h i ssel f . You ’ v e h id

noth ing, no morewi l l I. You encou raged h im . You

g a v e h im a fr ia r’s cap flower . You tol d h im howtocatch fi sh . Of cou rse , he got forwarder on that .

\V el l , i t can’ t be ; an’ i f t herewas on l y one man i n the

worl d free to marry my darter , she shou ld b i de a ma idi f the man ’s nam e was Honeywe l l .”

“But he’ s so d ifferen t , fa i ther . You can see what

he i s bv l ook ing a t h im .

”

M rs . Newcombe crep t back at th i s j u nctu re, and

78 FARM OF TH E D AGGE R

finding her hu sband ca lm ,ven tu red to j o i n i n the con

versat ion .

“He’s a handsome man—nought of h i s u ncl e in

h im , master—a st ra ight , wel l-l ook ing figur e, an’ a

br igh t eye tha t meet s yours frank as dayl ight .”

“So ha v e th e Dow] , no doub t , i fwe cou ld on ly seeh im ,

” answered her husb a nd .

“And he comes o f bet ter ha v age than us . An acc i

dent , of course , but’ t i s so ,

” sa id E v e .“\Vhether you me a n the Dow] o r th e man , you r

words don ’ t make cl ea r, my dear , repl ied he r

f a ther .“He ha v e another unc le i n t he K ing’s Na v y , mur

mured Eve ; “an’ h i s own dead fa i ther was a c lergy

man .

”

’T i s a l l one —t h e De v i l ’s got e v ery Honeywel l ,

an’I’

d r a ther you marr i ed the fir st r a gged vagabond

as crossed the br idge th a n a man of that name .

Th ink of i t no more . I be fixed as a mounta in i n th i s

matter . Now you knowwhere you be . No nephewof t hat ano in ted rogue sh a l l e v er marry my dart er .

I’d see h er dead sooner—ay, I

’d k i l l her w i th my ownhand fi rst .”

H is ext rem e calmness was more impress i v e thanpass ion had been , and the g i r l pondered v ery sadlv on

th i s speech , for i t i nd icated a m ind beyond h er powerto influence. Yet cou ld she g i v e up Qu i n ton at a

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

80 FA R M OF TH E DAGG E R

some d i ssat i s fact ion m any a deed of th ose i n power ;a nd to-n i gh t , as e v i l fortu ne h a d it, h i s o r i g i n a l i ty of

op i n ion hu r t h i s Uncl e N ewcombe i n a most tenderquart er

,a nd th rewa cl oud upon poo r No a h ’ s own

pat r iot i sm . The i nc iden t ended i n d arkness a nd rea l

desp a i r for th e t'arr i er , he au se he l o v ed Eve New

combe v ery dea r l y , a nd hoped th at some day she

m igh t be h i s wi fe . She h a d not defin itely d i sm i s sed

h im , becau se , out o f shyness , he h a d ne v er yet g i v e n

her an opportun i ty t o do so ; but hewa i ted in p a t i enceun t i l th e t ime seemed r ipe , a nd m e a nwh i l e fel t muchof added moral suppo rt from the knowl edge that bothE v e’s parent s des i red h im for a son - in- law.

Nowh e camewi t h n ews , a ndwhen the m a t ter of thet r ial at M oreton was d i sm i ss ed , No a h pl unged in topol i t i c s and certa in affa i rs t h a t posses sed spec ial

i nt erest for al l Da rtmoor men .

“It ha v e been dec ided to br ing more of thev poor

Amer ican s up to the W ar Pri son , a fter a l l ,” he sa id .

“There’s room for them as wel l as t hosewho be there ,and a l l th ey thou sands of Frenchmen , t oo ; so more be

com i n g off the p r i son hu lk s at Plvmouth . They start

march ing ’e.m up i n a fort n ight’ s t ime

,I bel ie v e .”

“God hel p them ,

” sa id M rs . Newcombe . “ ’Tis a

hard , crue l t h i ng t o pu t fore igners upon th i s M oor ,when you come t o th ink a many of ’em ha v e l i v ed i n

hot sunsh i ne a l l t he i r l i ves .”

A P R O -A M E R I C A N 8 1

Hold you r fool ’ s tongue, answe red her hu sband ,rough ly .

“You to say what ’s crue l an’ what i sn ’ t !Dar tvnioor

’s bette r

’

n they deserve , a nyway . I shou ld

l ike t o knowwhat ’ s t oo bad for th em as makewar onus? ’T i s on ly n a k ed s a v ages , I shou ld have thought

as wou ld da re t o figh t a g a i ns t th e mos t c i v i l i sed a nGod-fe a r i ng nat ion i n th e wor ld . Amer i ca be worseth a n. F r anee—f a r wors e , for she’ s t he ch i ld tu rn ingaga ins t i t s own p a ren t .”M r . Newcombe looked i n to Eve’ s eyes as h e

spoke .

Then , i n al l i n nocence , Noah ques t ioned h i s el der’s

st a temen t , and d id h i m sel f an i rreparab l e i nj u ry .

“As to th at , Uncl e John ,” he sa id ,

“ it do fal l out

somet imes t hat the ch i ld be i n th e r igh t of it and the

paren t i n the wrong . Last n i gh t I had speech wi’a sa i l or man from Plymouth . He’m Gammer Herd’ s

son , t o Postbr idge ; an’ he’ve worked i n a many ves

sel s , both Engl i sh and Amer i can . I n th i s mat ter he

ga v e i t a s his op in i on thatwe’m wrong .

”

“He ban’ t no Engl i shman , then , for al l h e’m

IVidowHerd’s son . An’ what’s more , I wonder you

deme a ned yoursel f to l i st en to h im . You ought to

ha v e knocked h i s words back down h i s l y ing throat .

”

“W'el l , us mu st gat her ideaswhere us may . VVe

’ve

been tak i ng the i r sh i ps upon th e h igh seas . An’ I

don’t carewho hears me say so ; s i nce I spokewi’ Ben

82 FAR M OF TH E D AGG ER

Herd,I th i nk , for once i n a way, tha t Eng l a nd be

wrong an’ Amer i c a r igh t—that ’ s my honest op i n ion .

”

“Then you ’ re no hones t man to hold su ch a n

op in ion ,” th undered John Newcombe . “A common

sa i l or wi’ mo re bra ins than a cal f, I ’ l l swear'Tol i sten to h i m ! W

'ha t do he knowof th e r i ght s an’

wrongs of nat i ons ? An’ you to c red i t the foo l ! I

b l ush for ’c l You ought to be at the wars you rsel f

i nstead of talk i ng t reason at home ."PIS th i s way, Uncl e John ,” sa id Noah , calm l y .

You be a v ery grea t E ng l i shman we al l k now, andfo r t he count ry neck o r noth ing : bu t ’t i s a free

coun t ryal l th e same , an

’I’m no wors e a man an

’

don ’ t l o v e Eng l and no l es s because I th i nk us ha v e

made a m i s take i n th i s h erewa r . Do ’e l ose l o v e for a

p a rt y because you find ’em i n one f a ul t ? Bel ik e you

l o v e ’em more for sorrowa t the i r m i stake .“I

’m a very reasonab l e man ,” sa id John New

combe . “I ax for causes an’ reasons , an

’ non e has

e v er cat ched me i n i nj ust i ce . I pav s for what I h a s

an’ i f any wrongs me he get s l ike measure . So I can

li sten even to th i s t rash . Te l l me why for you putAmer i ca ’

pon top i n th i s matter . G i v e me your

reasons , i f you’v e got an y , beyond a de v i l i sh an

’

mal i c iou s b l i ndness of m ind .

”

we angered them first becau sewewou ld use

r ight o f search ag a i nst ’em—under the Berl i n Decree,

A PRO -A M ER I C A N 88

a s ’ twas cal l ed . An’ t hey held th a t a neut ral flag

made free goods .“An

’ wha t d id the rascal s do ? Pass a heathen i sh

sort o f a act u nder wh ich they ga v e the i rsel v es l ea v eto se i ze hold on e v ery sc rap of Br i t i sh goods a s came

i n to the i r cou nt ry“If we d idn ’ t recal l ou r r ight o f search ! onl y i f

we d idn’ t do that . Butwe d id .

”

“Yes— l ike fool s . Ao’ meant ime they republ i can

v i l l a in s had decl a red war . W hy? Becau se th ey

mean t t o ha v e a sl a p at us , r ight or wrong , on any

pret ex t . They wa ited t i l lwe’d got ou r h a nds fu l lwi’Boney , an

’ then , see i ng a chance, made most unr ight

eous an’ barbarou s w a r , because they t hough t

’ twoul dpay ’em . Tha t’ s the whol e ease i n a nut s hel l , an

’ a

m a n who says another word for ’em a fter t hat ban’ t

hones t .”

“Canada ha v e been fa i th ful , thank God an’the

newsp a pers , sa id Ned Prowse , de v out ly .

“Yes ,” answered h i s maste r . “C a nada have been

fa i th fu l . For why? Becau se t he young men there

be made of honest s tuff—t ru e meta l . ’Twou ld tak emore’n Gammer Herd’s son t o mak e young Canada

turn t ra i tor, I reckon . But ’t i swe l l fo r us th e re ban’ tm a ny of your breed i n they parts , NephewNoah , e l seCanada wou l d b e under the flag 0

’ freedom , as they

m i scal l it , th i s m i nute .”

84 FAR M OF TH E DAGG E R

\ V e l l , there was fau lt s 0 ’ both s ides , perhaps . I’ l lgran t t h a t much i f you ’ l l meet me ha l f-way, u ncl e ,sa id th e younge r m a n .

There were not ! ‘Fau l t s 0 ’ both s ides’ —an’ yous tand up an

’ cal l you rsel f an Engl i shman ! An’9.

Newcombe ! M eet you ha l f—way i ndeed ! \Vho e v er

heard tel l o f such underhand talk? You ’d ru n w i th

th e hare an’ hun t w i th the hounds . you wou ld !

‘F a ul t s 0 ’ both s ides !’ VVhe r e’d ou r count ry be th i s

m inute i f t he Lords 0 ’ Parl iam ent an’ th e old heroes

Dr a k e an’ them —had talked that rot“You

’

l l s ay nex t as Boney ’ s got a case , an’ that

th e Duk e of “fe llington do somet imes mak e m i stakes

l i k e a common man ,” ven tu red Ned Prowse . “I’m

su re , No a h Neweombe, you’d ne v er dare to say awordfor Boney i n good company

“The Freneh be d ifferen t , Ned ,” answered young

Newcombe “They’ve set up a human man for the i r

god ; an’God

’ll p l ague ’em for it . They

’m bound

to be beat , for r igh t’ s on ou r s ide . Al l th e same ,

’t is

a l lowed al l theworl d o v e r th at e v ery quest ion has twos ides .”

“Bu t only one r ight an swer ,” dec lared h i s u ncl e ,“an

’ that’s th e answer we be g i v i ng to th e greedy

worl d by th e l ips o f ou r ger t cannon . Vt for can’t

t hese damn fore ign nat ions l et us b ide? W e don’ t

want to figh t nobody bu t ou r natu ra l enem ies , th e

A PRO -AME Lu CAN 85

Roos inns .

"Fis n a tu re us shou ld be at the i r th ro a t s ;

for wewas created t o keep ’em down ; bu t us wou ldn ’ tfight nobody el se , i f th e world wou ld on ly l i s ten toreason .

”

“An Engl i shman ’s reason won’ t conv i n ce every

body seem i ngl y ,” answered the farr ier .

“You ’m the sort that keeps an open m ind , M r .

Noah ,” sa id Ned Prowse , respect fu l ly .

“But ’ t i s a

v ery dangerous s tate,for I ’ v e seen theworld , an’

I’ve

always found that them as keep an open m ind he th efi rst t o go to thewal l .”

“An

’ sowi l l you ,” summed up M r . Newcombe ; “an’

I ’ l l ax you not to come here aga in , NephewNoah ,un t i l you ’ v e changed you r op i n ion s . U s ban’ t bu i l t

of the same mud , you an’ me . An

’us shan ’ t m i x n o

more a fter t h i s . But you ’ l l have your open m ind to

keep you compan y of an e v en ing i nstead of you

rel at ions .”

Unconsc i ou sly young Newcombe stared at E v e .“N0 need to l ook that way ,” cont i nued the farmer ,b lu nt ly .

“Her wou ldn’ t be happy wi th a man asth inks there be two s ides to Napoleon Buonapart e .

You ’ l l do bet ter to pack up you r hammer an’ tongs ,

an’

go to Amer i ca , an’ find a w i fe there , an

’ breed

sons to figh t th e ol d coun try come they grow up .

”

E v e rose and fled upon these words .

John Newcombe was nowi n a gr eat rage . He

86 FA R M OF TH E D AG GE R

showed h i s t eet h and pan ted . Deep fu rrows l i ned h isforehead and h i s eyebrows twi t ched .

“Stay , John ,’t i s cru el to talk l ike t h i s c r i ed M rs .

Newcombe . “The young man—bu t there , vou ough t

t o9)

“ I ’ l l go , sa id Noah . Hewas deeply wou nded bu tsh owed no anger . ’Ti s men l ike you , Uncl e John ,as m ake good old England hated nowan

’ t hen ,” he

sa id , qu iet ly .

An’ such a s you as gi v e the enemy hope , an’ wave

th e wh ite fiag—e v en a fore you ’m i n range ! God’s

l ight ! what he the generat ion com ing to ? Here’s

you an’ anoth er l azy f0 0 1 as I ’ v e h eard of an hour ago .

Both sl i nk i n g abou t here to catch a ma iden ’ s eye

wh i le there’s man’s work cry ing to b e done on sea an’l a n d . These ban’ t t imes for cou rt i ng , but for

figh t i ng .

”

Some mu st fight—not al l . W hat becomes of my

bedr idden mother an’ my s i sters th ree i f I goes to

thewar ? Answer that . You tol d me i n pla i n words

l on g ago I shoul d have Eve , i f I cou ld W i n her .

”

“But w i n her you ne v er w i l l , nowshe knows youhat e your own country .

”

’Tis a damned l ie—an’ abou t that there’ s no two

op i n i on s anyway , cr ied the young man , angry

enough h imsel f a t last . “If any bu t an ol d man , an’

t h at old man my uncl e , had sa id th i s to me, he’d have

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

C H A P T E R I X

FROM LO VE TO B R E AD A N D W A TER

WEEK l ater Evewandered i n the v a l l ey i l la t ease . She st i l l saw Qu in ton secret ly ;bu t a dark cl oud hung o v e r her l i fe , for

da i ly she dece i v ed her father . Yet be

tween the paren t and the l o v er she d id not hes itate .

To d isobeywas a gr i ef, and i t saddened each hou r forher and hurt her young heart ; but sh e held i t no

cr ime , and her con sc i en ce support ed her sp i r i t . Eve’ s

sweetheart grew to be her fi r st wak i ng and sl eep ing

thought ; th e grand bu s in ess of l i fe was t o l o v e h im .

For Qu i nton al so th i s sweet mat ter of cou rt i ng

became a n end to i t se l f for th e presen t . The name of

Newcombe cas t h i s uncl e i n to ungo v ernab l e rage .H i s case h a d gone aga i n s t Roger Honeywel l , for Mr .

Br imptswas abl e to pro v e that bv no poss ib i l i ty coul d

de fendant ha v e been upon Dartmoo r when t i 0 pla int iff rece i v ed h i s flogging . Lawye r Br imp ts dwel t al soupon the matter o f M r . Honeywe l l ’s wat ch and sea l s .

FRO M LOVE TO BREAD AND IVATER 89

W as i t reasonab l e t o suppose an hones t farmer capa

bl e of such rascal ly theft? One good man m igh t

thrash another and no grea t harmbe done ; butwhenit came to h ighway robbery the ca sewas d ifferent , and

- impts decl ared that h i s former c l i en t was do ing a

dangerou s th i ng to br i ng su ch charges wi thou t onewi t n es s t o substant iate them . M r . Henry Ch a tor and

two l abour i ng men al l made i t c l ear that John Newcombe had arr i v ed at Chator Barton an hou r before

the pla int i ff suffered . The ease , there fore , seemed

c lear enough ; Roger Honeywe l l was ut terly m istaken .

“In char i ty we wi l l suppose so,” sa id L awyer

Br impts .

“W ewi ll give M r . Honeywe l l th e benefit ofthe doubt . To bel i e v e th at h e del iberately i n v ented

th e ind ic tmen t and brough t th i s ac t ion w i t h purpose

t o send a ne ighbou r t o Botany Bay i s a suggest io n

that my c l i en t h imsel f woul d be th e la st w i l l i ngl y to

ent erta in . No Chr i st ian man and no sportsmanwou l dcred it M r . Honeywe l l wi th su ch a base des ign a sthat .”

So th e batt l e was sh i fted on to new ground , and

Honeywel l ’s n ext step rema in ed doubt fu l . After th e

t r i a l was o v er h e had sworn great oath s i n open courtbe fore a dozen other men that h i s an swer to th i s

acqu i tta l wou l d be dec i s ive ; but Joh n Newcombepressed no concern , and i nv i t ed the master of

Vit ifer Farm to do h i s worst .

90 FAR M OF TH E D AGG E R

Danger nowhau nted t he a i r, and though Newcombe enj oyed th at f a c t a nd found i t added sauce to

h i s sombre l i fe , l i v e and he r mo ther were m i serab leenough , a nd fea red th a t e a ch s un r i se woul d b r i ngs ome newsorrow. In common wi th thewhol e commun ity , inc l ud ing L awyer B r imp ts h i m se l f, they

be l ie v ed that N ewcombe was qu i t e i nnocen t of th i scha rge . On ly the v ener a bl e and ru ined a rm s of Ben

net t ’ s Cross m igh t ha v e test ified that Roger Honey

we l l spoke t ru th for once .NowE v e , fu l l of t hough ts n ot happy , passed down

the v al l ey of Da r t a nd stood a moment where a cott age beg a n to r i se from i t s recent ashes . F i fteen

pounds h a d been col l ected for the bu rn t-ou t shepherd ,a nd be fore innned iate p rospect s of a newhome e v enbett er th a n the l as t Eph r ai m Pote , l ike Pharaoh ,ha rdened h i s h eart , regret ted h i s gu ineas , and wassorry for past expres s ions of cont r i t i on a nd mor t ifi

cat ion under th e fi rs t storm of d i saster .

E v e sawh im and reg a rded h im reproach ful ly , bu th e pret ended not to not ice th e ex press ion of her face .

“Jus t br ing i ng up more ston es’pon a t r uckamuck .

‘

’Twi l l b e a lo v el y hou se for my last yea rs— th e moreo i' ’em the mer r ier , pl e a se God . I

’m su re I be sorry

I’ve angered y ou r f a i ther, m i s sy , for not a penny has

*A p r imi t i ve so r t of s ledge.

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

92 FAR M OF T H E DAGGE R

Bonded knees , croaked the gaffer . “Us doan

’t

be nd our knees when we’m nea r th ree figur es o ld,

young woman ; an’ what’s more , God doan’t expec t itof us . I can p ray to H im v ery n i ce an

’ p roper

s i t t i ng on the part that’s made for s i t t ing . Anyway ,i t han ’ t l i k ely I’m go ing to crack my bones for you r

fa i ther . He’ s a headst rong man , an’ h e’m a lway s i n

th ewrong , an’ I ’ v e done wi th h im an’ h i s sheep l ike

w i se .”

E ve , too angry t o speak more , passed on her

way , wh i l e t he shepherd cack l ed and proceeded to

d i rec t Fo rd , t h e stonemason , who was at work hardby .

Present ly th e l o v ers met , and one seemed more than

common tea rfu l . But the boy showed gladness . He

came fresh from the ardour of wo rk , and had somerhymes re a dy for h i s sweet heart . Eve tol d her sor

rows a nd Qu inton comforted h er .“I ’ l l t a ck l e U n cl e Roger ,

” he sa id .

“He has no

quarre l w i th you .

”

’Tis a bra v e thought , dear heart , but not a w i t ty’“

one . He has a quarre l wi th e v eryth i ng that comesfrom D a gger F a rm , down t o the hen s scr a t ch ing i nth e yard . He’d rather d i s i nher i t you th a n see you

wedded to a Newcombe ; and my fa i t herwould ra ther

W is e.

FRO M LOVE TO BREAD AND WATER 98

k i l l m ewi’ h i s own h a nd than l et me marry you . He’s

forb idden me even to th i nk of you .

" l‘

is b i t ter-sweetto lo v e you now, for I’m di sobey i ng h i s order everym inu te of e v ery hou r .

“But you cannot hel p it —’ t i s no s in—you mustlo v e me .

“So su rely as I must breathe ."

I‘

is a pu zz l e wo rthy of l o v e , sweethea rt ; andweshal l sol v e i t somehow. Can ’ t you win your mother?Shewou ld be a tower of st rength .

”

“ I tol d her fi rs t ; but I won ’ t speak no more about

i t to her . ’Twouldn’t be a gene rou s th i ng .

’Twouldn’t be fa i r to fa i ther . Don ’ t you u nderstand?I f i l l cam e of it , an

’ he though t dear mother had

secret s from h im—no, no . Th ink howshe m ightsuff er for hel p i ng me . I know r igh t wel l she

’d be our

s ide i f she dared , even a s’ t i s ; bu t you don

’t u nder

stand my dear fa i ther—he’s a man of ste rn ways andshor t speech . You can’ t come around h imwi’ gen t l eness—God b l es s h im !”

“VVe’ll dr i nk deep of hope—ia each other’s eyes,

p retty heart .”

“\Ve l ook so oft en there that ’t i s wonder your

brown an’ my grey haven’ t svmm together . I f faitherknewwhat my s i l ly eyes have m i rrored so oft ’ twould

make h im mad“Be happy nowand forget for a l i t t l e wh i l e . I ’ve

94 FA R M OF T H E D AGG E R

brought. you a nother rhym e . But perhaps you are

weary of my rhymes"l‘

is a naugh ty though t—on ly sa id to t ease me .

I l o v e the dear v erses you br ing me . I knoweach one

by heart . An’ best I l o v e them t ha t be made to me

so v a i n I grow.

“Th i s one i s m a de to you . Sh a l l I re a d i t to you,or wou ld you r a ther re a d i t to you rsel f?”

“No , I l o v e t o hear’em on you r l ips bes t .

He produced a pock et -book and from i t brought

h i s copy of v erses . Then he unfolded them and read

to th e mu s i c of the r i v er :

May the pr imr osen k iss your l itt le feetUnder the soft green sh adows of the Spring,And a l l the mus ic of thewuldwood r ingW her e sunsh ine and the nodd ing b luebe l ls meet

As you ao up—a lo ng, up—a lona'

0 h , may your he a r t fo r joy and g ladness s ingAs you go up-a long.

May the gr eat sun, depar t ing in the W est,

Tr ans form yourway and tur n it go lden brightMay a f

'te r -g lowo f

'pear l and r osy l ightSe r ene ly sh ine upon the road to r est ,

As you no down-a long . down-a long ;Oh , may so ft vo ices ste a l upon the n ight

As you go down—a long.

W ha t th ink you o f'that , dearest l o v e?

” he sa id .

W hy ,’ t i s a l i t t l e sweet song out of you r hear t ;

an’ I l o v e it : an’ I’ll g i v e ’

e a k i ss for each verse .”

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

96 FAR M OF TH E DAGGER

exp ressed fea rs t hat l i v e st i l l s aw young Honeywe l l ;

but nowhe fou nd doub t j ust ifi ed .

He l ooked coldly u pon them a s they sta r t ed apa rt ;

then spoke to h i s d a ughter .“So—you r mother was r igh t . Set a woman to

catch a woman ! Yet I would ha v e staked my l i feyou ’d ne v er t el l you r f a ther a l i e . Here’s th e flower syou come to pluck !”

He p ick ed up the verses that la y sta r ing up at h im

from the grass , and stamped them i nto the earthwi thh i s heel . E v e rosewi thou t any words and wa i ted forher father’s command . Then Jolm Newcombe tu rnedto the lad .

“An

’

you , you po i sonou s n ewt , ne v e r you cross t h i sg irl ’s path aga i n , or touch her—e l se I

’ l l t ramp le on

you same as I wou ld an adder . You dare t o l ook a t

my

Qu i nton Honeywel l was as much i n l o v e a s man canbe, yet he d id not lack sel f—respect , and th i s contemptuous abu se natu ral l y s tu ng h i s pr ide . He spok e

fi r st and was sorry afterwards .“Be reasonabl e, M r . Newcombe ,” he sa id , “and

don’ t l ose your temper for n oth i ng . “'

hat wrongha v e I done you i n my l i fe—you or any m a n ? D id Ichoose my f a m i ly? At l e a st I’m a gent l eman and an

hones t one . I l o v e you r d a ughte r w i th a l l my sou l and

I shou ld l ike to k nowhowIwas t o hel p l o v ing her .”

FRO M LOVE TO BREAD AND W ATER 97

“Come !” sa i d Newcombe , tu rn ing h is back on the

spe a ke r . “ Come you home , g i rl , an’ ne v er l i s t t o t h a t

smooth-t ongued young r asc a l n o more . ’Twas we l lwe named you E ve

,for you ’d l end you r foo l ’ s ear to

any sn a ke . A po isonous newt , I say , for a l l h i s b igwords . L ike u nc l e , l i k e nephew.

" Th a nk God th a t l i ke father i sn ’ t l ike daughter !”

s a id Qu int on , stout l y . “ I wou ld be you r fr i end .

You r name’ s a sac red n a me to me . I wou ld w i n you rrespec t i f I cou ld , I

" You’in cal led Honeywel l , so al l ’ s sa id .

Al l ’s yet t o s a y , M r . Newcombe . On ly death W illp a rt na—t h a t I swe a r t o .

”

“So be it ,

” a nswered t he other, speak ing over hisshou l der a s h ewent away .

“If th a t ’ s the kn i fe to cu t

th i s knot , go a nd k i l l yoursel f, for you’ l l never marry

my ma iden wh i l e I’m abo v e ground to stand betweenyou?’

Young Honeywel l s aid no more , bu t stood and

wat ched Eve a nd her f a ther dep a rt .

John Newcombe wa i t ed for h i s daughter to speak ;sh e k ept s i l ence , however , u nt i l h i s pat ien ce wasexh a u sted . Then he bu rs t out , pursu ing h i s t hought s

aloud .

“An

’ you cou l d s i t upon h i s knee—you tha t sa t onm i ne an’ m a de me bel i e v e I was al l t h e worl d to you ,

an’ sta red up wi th eyes so i nnocen t ! I knowed

98 FAR M 0 1" TH E DAGGE R

’ twou ld al l comewrongwhen I h a d a d a r t er i n ste a d o fa son .

"I'was a n unnatu r a l t h i ng i n ou r f a m i ly .

”

“ I tol d you long a go,de a r f

'a i t her

,tha t I l o v ed

Qu i nt on Honeywe l l .”“You d id , an’ I spoke my m ind . To th i nk you hold

my honou r so cheap -you a s I ’ v e l i v ed for an’ he ld

th e on ly r a y of l i gh t i n my l i fe . You r mothe r

knowed you bette r ’nwh a t I (l id .

"

l‘

is i n he r eyes , an’

i n he r d ream ing answers , an’ in her walks down th e

v a l l ey ,’ she sa id .

‘You ’ lu a l i a r ,’ I s a id , ‘for I’ v e tol d

her to g i v e h i m up on ce for a l l ‘Don't a mothe r

k nowwhen her d a rt er’s i n lo v e ?’ she answered me .And I laughed at her an

’ swore I’d soon pu t her i nt he wrong . NowI go b a ck to her wi th th i stal e !”

“c at you say i s only part ly true, fa i ther ,

rep l i ed Eve .

“ I ne v e r though t t o a nger you so long

as I l i v ed , bu t i t fe l l ou t hard ly . Howcan I h e l p

l o v i ng h i m? I t i s idle t o s ay I mus t hel p it . A ma id

can ’ t ch a nge t he colou r o f her l o v e no more’ n she can

ch a nge th e colour of her ha i r . I do gr i e v e , indeed ,th a t the n a me be su ch g a l l t o you ; bu t i t ban

’ t n o

enem y of you rs I l o v e . I knowI wasn ’ t obed ient . Ican ’ t hel p it . I ’ l l go t o h im so l ong a s I h a v e l iberty

to go , nu’ I ’ l l ma r ry h im i f I’m spared to do it,

’eause

I ’ve prom i sed to .

”

“You knewt h i swou ld be more than I cou l d suffer .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

100 F A R M OF THE D AGGE R

’Ti s honest d i shonesty , I’m su re , for you , a s ne v er d i d

awrongfu l deed , stol e my moth er’ s heart ; an’ grandfa i th er stol e grandmother’ s . Qu in ton stol e n ought at

l east , for exch a nge i s no robbery .

”

“Qu i nton me no Qu intons ,” sa id Mr . Newcombe .

On ly se v en t een an’ can be so pe rt ! I ’ v e kept my

temper t h i s d a y i n a manner v ery su rp r i s i n g to mysel f . " Il i s because I l o v e you st i l l for a l l you r w ick

edness . You ’m too ol d to wh ip , but not too old topun i sh , an’ pu n i sh you I shal l . ‘V e’ l l t ry what b readan

’ water an’ pr i son f'or a week wi l l do to s t amp th i s

mad nonsen se out of you . Tr a i n up a ch i l d i n the

way sh e shou l d go. You ’ l l l ook at th ewo r l d t h roughanother pa i r of glasses when you knowwha t ’ t i s to be

hung ry .

C H A P T E R X

THE ROAD TO RE VEN GE

UINTON HONEY‘VELL retu rned home

from h i s rebuff sma r t i ng under it . He

much des i red to assert h im sel f as a man

and do someth ing defi n i te and g l o r i ou s ,but no road , e i the r easy or d iffi cu l t , imm ed iate ly

offered . At fir st he felt l ike a naughty boywho hadbeenwh ipped

,and t hen l i ke a good boy who had been

wh ippedwi thou t a reason .

No l i ne of conduc t presented i t sel f to h i s m i nd , but

on the e v en ing of the same day the lad’s i rreso l u t ion

ceased to t rouble h im , and a very unexpected i n c iden t

prom i sed to make the futu re more c l ear and even more

hopefu l to h i s l o v e-bl i nded eyes .

Roger H oneywel l was su ff er i ng from a sharp

att a ck of gou t , brought on by the storm of pass ion

i nto wh i ch h e fel l a fter th e ad v erse v erd ict a t M oretonhampstead . H is bl a ck hat red o v e r-mastered h im ,

and h i s impotent anger , fret t i ng the body , m a de h im

i l l . He knewthat as soon as a su re way of gett ing

102 FAR M OF TH E D AGGE R

e v enwi th Joh n Newcombe presen t ed i tsel f to h i s m i ndhe would growwel l aga i n .

Now, wh i l e s i t t ing at h i s desk i nd i t i ng an ext remely

t rag i c a l poem i n hero i c met re— th e on ly sort of

hero i sm th i s you th had yet d i sp l a yed—t here came am ess a ge from h i s u nc l e , and Qu inton left v ersemak i ng

and wen t down to M r . Honeywe l l ’ s s tudv.

I twas a da rk room , and a d a rk face chal l enged h i s

eye as Qu i n ton en tered it . Roger Hone ywel lwi th onefat foot on a gou t—rest , s a t bes ide a pe a t fire . A big

cr im son cha i r fret t ed witl brass—headed na i l s conta ined h im , and about h i s a nall body was wrapped adress i ng-gown of scarl e twool . Beh i nd h i s maste r th eround , wh i t e face of Dury Hext appeared , and

shon e l ike an u nhea l thy moon i n th e darkness of th e

chamber . Ou the tab l e was a book , a yel l owca r dlei n a s i l v er st i ck , and a pa i r of snuff

'ers on a s i l v e r t ray

bes ide it . I n the gr a t e a bowl o f i n v a l id’ s foodsteamed , and an old ,worn-out foxh ound—the hero o i

'

bygone seasons—sat oppos i te M r . Honeywel l bes idethe fi re and bl inked upon h im . Th i s cu r iou s m a n had

secu red the hou ndwhen i twas pas t work , and kept i ta l i v e out of some s trange sent imen t no t t o ha v e been

susp ected i n h im . Nowthe beast was nearly twentyvea r s old a nd a lmost bl ind .

“Spe a k up , Hext ,” sa id Roge t Honeywe l l as soon

as h is nephew appeared ; “and s i t you there, Qu in ton ,

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

TH E ROAD TO R E V E N GE 103

and l i sten . Speak wi thou t fear , Dury Hex t . No

body shal l hurt you for what you ha v e done, o r whatyou are go i ng to say .

”

’ t i s l ik e th i s , you r honou r . I be the same as

l’mphet E l ij a h , as was j e a lou s for t he Lord ; an’ Iwas j ealou s for you . An

’ one d a y , com i ng a cross the

v a l l ey from Balla fo r d Farm to home , I seed M as ter

Qu inton up-a long wi’ a pett i coat . I sez to

m y s el f, ‘an

’what then? Boyswi l l be boys ,’ I se z ; an’I p as sed on wi th ou t more ado . But p resen t ly , you r

honou r,the s t i l l smal l v o i ce up an

’ spoke wi th i n mybo som

, an’ i t sa id ,

‘W ho be that ma iden al ong wi’y ou r m a st er’s nephy

?’ An’ I sa id b a ck to the st i l l

sm a l l v o i ce, ‘I l owthe m i sch ie f shou l d I k now?’ -im

p a t ien t l ike . An’ th e v o i ce , i t u p aga i n an

’

a nswered me , ‘You d id ough t to k now. You ’m

he a d man to Vit ifer F a rm ,

’ i t sez ,‘an

’ you r master

t rust s you , an’ you knowyou ’d put down you r l i fe

cheerfu l i f h e bu t l i fted h i s finger ; the re fore ,’ i t se z ,

’t i s you r duty to th e fam’ly t o see as young M aster

Qu i nton ban ’ t do ing noth ing he wou l d br ing h is

u ncle’s grey ha i rs wi’ sor r e r t o th e g ra v e . ’ That’ s

howthe smal l v o i ce spok e , an’ I stopped i n my wa lking an

’ wen t up the v al l ey i n seer et—j u st c reep i ngdong t o m a k e su re a l l was as i t shou ld be . An

’ t hen

I seed a s i gh t a s made my fa i th fu l h ear t ache,you r

honou r ; for there was our dear young gent leman wi’

104 FA R M OF TH E D AGGE R

h i s arms arou nd that ano inted v i l l a i n ’s da rter ! Ess

fay,he was cuddl i ng E ve Newcombe from Dagger

Farm ; an’ I bu rs t ou t i n the awfu l l est persp i rat ion

when I seed it , for ’ twas l i ke a kn i fe i n my heart th at9,M aster Qu i n ton l fmeywell

“That’ l l do,” sa id h i s master . “Now you can be

But fi rs t you prom i s ed , your honour , a s youwou l dmake young master swe a r to do me no v iol ence . He’m

so tet chy , wi’ al l th e Honeywel l fi re : an’ God knowsI’ve on l y done my duty as consc i ence bade me .“ I p rom i se not t o t ouch you , Dury ,

” sa id Qu in ton .

“You ’re a s ne a k by natu re , and mu st do the d i rty

work you were mean t t o do . M en l ike you are neces

sary —el se you wou ldn ’ t be born , bu t you ’re n otpleasant . Go and l e t me speak to my uncl e .”

“I don’ t care what coarse th ings be sa id aga in st me

so l ong as I do my duty an’ '

he Lord’s on my s ide ,”

declared M r . Hext . Then he wi thdrew.

“Now ,” sa id Roger Honeywe l l , “ l e t’s hear you ; an’

don’t waste breath ly i ng, becau se I always know a l i eat s i gh t .”

“I’m not g i v en t o l y ing , u nc l e . I was i n a m ind to

tel l you these t h i ngs mysel f, and Dury has made i t

eas i er . There seem s a so rt of fat e i n it . I met E v e

Newcombe by chance i n the v a l l ey l ast Ju ne Nowwe l i v e for each other . She’s the l ove l iest

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

106 F AR M OF TH E D AGGE R

Do you ex tend you r h a te to h i s i n nocen t daugh ter ,

I extend my most r i ghteou s hate t o e v ery th i ng

that i s h i s— to e v ery t h ing th a t makes h i s l i fe good

to h im - to h i s k in abou t h i m , t o the be a s t i n h i s stal l ,to the money i n h i s pocket, to t he seed i n h i s l and . I

’

d

make that man suffer worse th a n Job i f I had thepower . I

’d pl a gue h im and bl ind h im and gnawh i s

bones W i th po i soned t eeth ; I’d b reed for h im e v ery

cu rse and e v ery canker th i s e a rth has known ; I’d takeal l—a l l hope , a l l j oy , al l sen se , s igh t , he a r i ngeveryth ing bu t h i s dam ned l i fe ; and I

’d l e t h im l i v e

to th e end of't ime racked i n u nhea rd—of agony . I

’

d

make h i s sh a dowbl a st th e earth ; I’d tu rn man fromh im; I

’

d t u rn God f rom h im ! M ay he be g i v en i nto

my hand—’t i s all I ask of Hea v en ; and i f not of

Hea v en , then of He"

Forgett i ng h i s s iskness and t rembl ing i n a fren zy

of awfu l pass ion , Roger Honeywel l rose from h i scha i r and stamped h i s foot hea v i l y upon the ground .

Such gr im pangs a s h e had cal l ed upon h i s foe nowtore h im . The red-hot tort ure o f gou t thu s roughly

treat ed probed h im and con v u l sed h im . He screamed

horr ib ly,reel ed back and fel l i n to h i s ch a i r n ear dead .

Sweat pou red ofi'h i s sh in ing face ; he po i n ted t o the

cupbo a rd , and hasten ing there Qu inton fetched a

brandy bott l e . Honeywel l gu l ped down a sm a l l d r a m ,

THE ROAD TO R E VE N GE 107

then rema ined qu iet for ten m i nuteswh i l e h i s to rmen tmoderated .

“God ha v e mercy !” he groaned .

“Has e v er fl esh

and bl ood su ff ered l ike th i s and l i v ed ?”

I wi sh I cou ld tak e your pa i n , s i r . I t’ s v ery terr ibl e t o see you .

The elder’s sel f—eont r ol had now retu rned , andp resent ly h e spoke .

’Twas a p inch of what I wi sh Joh n Newcombe .And so you l o v e h i s daughter

Al l feroc i ty had d ied from Roger Honeywe l l ’s faceand gi v en place to brood ing thought . H i s eyes weretu rned t owards th e fi r e ; h i s hands were c l asped ; h i sb i rd- l i ke nose twi t ched . Hewas refl ect ing that i n th isa cc ident o f l o v e between th e boy and g i rl m ight befound the sec ret chance he des i red . To str ike t h i s man

th rough h i s daughter p rom i sed a b i t ter bl ow,e v en some

rep roach to t hose deadly e v i l s he des i red for h i s en emy .

The p robl em requ i red thought , and Honeywel l’ s own

phys i cal suffe r i ngs made h im unequal to any cal cu la

t ions a t that t ime . To speak of th e th ing i n h i s heart

was i mposs ibl e , but to dece i v e th e boy requ i red no sk i l l .“St a rt l ing news , t o be su re . So th e fish ing excu r

s ions and empty basket s a re expl a ined?”

“ I met M i ss—I met E v e by the r i v er—oh ! sh e’ s sod iff

'erent—a sweet l i tt l e m a iden , c l ever and honourab l e

and true and pu re gold .

”

108 FA R M OF TH E D AGGE R

Sowas my watch ,” s a id M r . Honeywe l l . “If she

cou ldwheed l e that ou t of her t'athe r—bu t n e v e r m inddet a i l s . The propos i t ion wi l l n eed much thought .”

“If you wi l l on ly cons ider it , I sha l l be eternal lygr a tefu l , s i r .

”

“I’

m no t a na rrow-m i nded man . I wou ldn’ t v i s itthe s ins of the f a the rs upon the ch i ld ren . Don ’ t sup

pose you two y oung c re a tu res can br ing me a nd Newcombe together. o r a ny nonsen se of th a t so rt . How

( ve r , I do not act Upon i mpu l se . t at d id the man

sa y to vou ?”

"C a l l ed m e a newt and a few other u npl easant

t h ings , a nd d ared m e t o see h i s d a ughter aga i n . He

sp i ed upon us— l i k e Du rv IIex t— a nd su rpr i sed us .

As a m a tte r of f a et , I h a d k i ssed Eve j u s t a s he came

upon us .

“No doubt hewas v ery i n teres ted . A forc ibl e man .

W el l,if'I’m on y ou r s ide , you ha v e h i m a g a i nst you .

”

“But not h ing m a t t ers i f you a re on my s ide , u ncl e .

She’ s the apple of h i s eye . I t’s terr ibl y d ifficu l t ; bu t

st i l l I’

m ful l of hope i f on ly youwi l l befr i end us .

”

NowRoge r Honeywel l would much rather haved i s inher i ted h i s nephewthan see h im marry E v e Newcombe .

“lVell,

” h e sa id , “ s i n ce you ’re det erm ined to be a

f a rmer , you sh a l l be. And I ’ l l be you r fr i end , and th i s

ma iden ’s fr i end too . Trust me . Nowget you to bed ,

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 10 FA R M OF TH E DAGGE R

or I sh a l l do murder . M y gou t i s much worse ton i ght . I s truck the foo t j ost nowaga inst the

ground .

W i th carefu l fingers Mr . l l ext d id h i s work ; then

Roger Honeywel l was l e ft a lone .“ I l i s daughter ,

” h e refl ect ed “And she’s much to

h im , h a pp i ly . I f I can h i t h im there —ia the bul l’ s

eye of h i s he a rt ! The on ly t h ing th a t sweetens l i fe toh im ! A fi ne subj ec t t owork u pon . But I must make

no m i s tak e .”

Long he sa t and pl otted , keen ly awake by reason ofh i s phys i cal su ffer ing ; a ndwhen the ea rly d awn cameand h i s p a i n l essened abou t five o’c lock , a fter the man

ner of the d i s ease , .\ Ir . Honeywel l had sketch ed a verycompl ete p iece o f v i l l a iny . He then l ost consc i ous

ness and enj oyed some refresh ing sle p .

C H A I'T E R X I

STONE WALLS DO NOT A PRISON MAKB

OHN NE‘VCOMBI‘] kept h i s wo rd , and uponher retu rn home Evewa s d i rect ed to go t o he rroom and stop there . Under t he thatch o f

Dagger F a rmhouse she h a d he r nes t , a nd

from the do r merwi ndowt hat peeped ou t eas ter l y t h eg i r l eould wa tch dawn k i s s D a r t a nd wake th e r i v er’ sblush , or upon m i s ty mo rn i ngs see the v a l l ev s lowl yappe a r a s l i ght drewup the v a pours tha t s l ept there .

Nowfor a n uncerta i n space sh ewou ld l ook a t Natureout of thewi ndowand support her young hea r t uponb read and water . L i tt l e enough Eve m inded such a

penance, but i t was th e though t of th i s pun i shmen t’s

s ign ificance that subdued her sp i r i t .

M rs . Newcombe had no v o i ce i n the matter . She

wept much , m in ist ered to her ch i l d hersel f, and so farpre v a i l ed wi th her husband that he perm i tted E v e towalk out for an hou r w i th her mother each n ight afte r

1 12 FAR M OF TH E D AGG ER

dark had f a l l en . They went not beyond Dagger

Farm boundar i es,a nd the concess i o n was on ly made

upon t he score o f heal th . As for Eve ’s food , Ann

Newcombe sec ret ly smuggl ed eold mea t to her hu ngry

g i r l u pon the th i rd n ight of her pu n i shment ; bu t the

d a ught er spo i l ed he r mother’ s t r iumph i n th i s matte r,for when l i v e heard th a t t h e food was not sanct ionedfrom he a dqua rt e rs she refu sed to eat it .

“ I'l l do h i swi l l , mother . I

’m su re I ’ v e always donei t where I cou ld . Bu t Qu inton— ’

t is d i fferent .

Fa i the r must k eep me here for e v er i f he me a n s t o

part m e from my dear l o v e . I ’ l l n e v er , ne v er g i v e

h im up .

”

“If you tel l mast er that , keep you h ere hewi l l , t i l lyou fade out l i ke a fl ower . You’m only se v en teen an

’

not you r own m i s t res s t i l l you be one an ’ twen ty . God

knows I d on ’t wa n t to see you on bread an’ wa te r for

th ree y ea rs ! Bu t y ou’d d i e long a fo re . Ah’ al l my

f a ul t "I‘was I pu t na on t o you—wi ekedwoman that

I be .

“Dy ing i s a v ery e a sy mat te r . Bu t Iwon’ t g i v e upmy dea r— not fo r fi fty de a t h s . An

’ don’ t you be

v exed , mother ; you d id the r igh t th ing , I know.

”

I n th i s Spar ta n m i nd Eve endured the long summer

days , kn ewwhat th e lark must fee l i n h i s l i tt l e cageand mu sed how th e b i rd cou l d s ing so .

Then came a morn i ng when Mr . Newcombe had

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 14 FAR M OF T H E DAGGE R

An’ cou ld you find it i n you r heart t o do less t han

l ove h im“A v ery c i v i l spok en you ng man ; but there’ s bad

bl ood i n un . U s can ’t get away from it .

”

“Then I don ’ t wa n t to hear you any more , Ned ;an

’ you ’ re not a darl i ng, bu t an old , red moor-fox , an’

I hate you 1”

“Dal ly but ton s ! Bread an’ water ha v en ’ t brok e

your sp i r i t seem i ngly . The young man ’ s a gent l eman

t o eye an’ ear, I do al l ow that . An

’ hear me you

must—e l se there’ l l b e another cr ime aga i nst me . I

p rom i sed to get a message to ’e, an

’ h e g i v ed me a gol d

p iece for do ing it . I be a t ra i tor i n a manner of

speak ing , bu t I m igh t ha v e done wi ckeder, for theyoung man wan ted me to br i ng a l et ter .”

“An

’ you wou ldn’ t? Oh , Ned !”

No , there’s darker m i sch i e f in a l et ter than a mes

sage . I cou ldn’ t te l l what manner of wi ckednessm igh t be balked up i n a l etter ; bu t a message i s an

open , honest th i ng fo r th e l ips , an’ there’s safety i n

th e number th ree . An’ i f h e’d sen t any very s i n fu l

message I’d have g iven back h i s gol d p iece an’ refused

to bear it—the Lord j udge me i f I wou ldn’ t .”

He cou ldn’ t send a s in fu l message . He’s my t rue

l o v e , Ned , and a man of honou r No su ch hero as

h im e v erwas on the M oor t i l l n ow .

“Of cou rse, you know best ,” sa id M r . Prowse,

STONE IVALLS DO NOT A PR ISON M AKE 1 15

dr i ly .

“Anywa y , here’s t he message , though to th i smomen t my consc i ence g i v es me a sort of t oothache

s inge to tel l it . You see t hat cherry-t ree downa l ong i n the v al l ey ? You can mark i t from your

chieket-wi ndow, I be l i e v e .”“ I knowexactlv whe r e

’t i s , i

'ed ; bu t I can ’ t say

I see it. The tree i s more’n a m i l e away .

”

“lVell

,you can see th i s s ide 0 ’ the fa rm v ery cl ear

from that t ree , an’ you r w i ndowtoo .

’Twas there I

met my gent leman , an’ he’d got a spy-glass an

’ l e t

me look th rough the tub e o f it . M y stars ! You

could most coun t the st raws i n t h e thatch ! v

\Vell ,

the re he post s h i ssel f, an’ when he heard tel l th i s here

was your wi ndowhe mos t near fe l l i n a fit o fwonderan

’ del ight,an

’ snatch ed the spyglass from me an’

stuck i t to h i s eye as i f h e’d ne v e r take i t away

aga in . An’ he’m there th i s m i nut e no doub t ,wi’ h i s

eye g l ued one end of th e tub e an’ t he p i c tu re o f

you t’othe r . You b l u sh l ike a red rose to hear me te l l’e so

Eve was look i ng far away ; t hen sh e b l ew twen tyfrant i c k i s ses where her l ove m igh t be ; and then thepoor ma id began to cry

“Doan

’t

’e, doan

’t

’e, my dear,

” sa id Mr . Prowse.

There’s nought to weep abou t . ’Tw i l l come r ight

i f God w i l l s ; an’ see i ng He always w i l l s r ight , i t mustcome r igh t whether you ha v e th e you ng gent leman or

1 16 F AR M 0 1" T H E D AGGE R

not . \Vh ieh d id ough t to com fort ’e am a z ing .

Doan’t l e t th e young chap see vou sh edd ing te a rs ,

e l so—so d a mn s i l ly he t he m a l e sex i n th a t state— th a t

he ’ l l do someth ing r a sh an’ ru i n h i ssel f . ‘V el l , h e

wa nts a word o r s o , an’ see ing my duty to mas te r

wou ldn’t l e t me carry it , he be com ing to te l l you h i sse l f

Oh , Ned , th e bra v ery of i t

I c a n ’ t s a y . He’m com i ng under co v er of n i gh t ,when the wor l d’ s asl eep ah

’ no danger st i rr i ng . An’

i f you ’ l l l et h i m wa l k under you r wi ndowa t th reeo ’ c lock Satu rd a y morn ing , you mu s t wa v e a red fl agfrom your wi ndowto-nio r r owa t m id-(lay : an

’ i f he

m a y not eom e you mu st wa v e a wh i te fla g .

”

“I've got a red wi n te r pett i co a t ,” s a id l ‘lve .

He’ l l ha v e h i s eve a t h i s gl a ss twel v e o f the e l ockto-ni o r r ow; an

’

I'm a s infu l m a n ; an’

doan’

t ax me

to do a nyt h i ng mo re in t he m a t te r, for I swe a r I wi l ln ot .”

“You ’ v e done a good and noble deed and you need

not l ook sowret ch ed abou t it ,” s a id Eve .

“The r igh t

t h ing wi l l happen,I’m su re . You must do as Pro v i

den ce m e a n s you to do .

”

”l‘wasn’

t Pro v idence , con fessed Ned Prowse ,not whol ly , that i s—’ twas th e b i t of gold an

’ m y

wi sh for you to be h a ppy . I must go now. I d id

ought to set one o f they feroc ious steel -j awed fox

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 18 FA R M OF TH E DAGGE R

The fl i cker of a candl e showed wi th i n the chamber,but as he l ooked i t v a n i shed , and h i s dear one

appeared . I n v i s ibl e k i sses flewon a moonbeam ; thenhe spoke hot ly

,and she . l i ft i ng a finger , implored him

for h i s s a fety to moder a t e h i s v o i ce .“Oh

,my sweet , sweet E y e , impr i soned for l o v e of

me ! M y heart wi l l bre a k a bou t it, and I am so

powerl ess .“W e

’m young, dear Qu i nton ;we must b ide pat ien t ,an

’ sh owwhat ou r l o v e be wo rth . Th i s wi l l t es t it .I’m glad enough ’t i s me an’ not you be h a rd an

’ fast ,

for you’m a poet , an’ ’ t i s r igh t you shou l d go t o your

own , an’ be th e k ing of the lo v el y v a l l ey . But I know

v ery wel l t he old j oy by the r iver i s l ess than ’twas

when I cou ld s i t by you .

‘Less ’T i s noth ing at a l l . D ’yon remember th e

l ovely old song I sang to you ? ‘Stone wal l s do not apr i son make ,

’- one v erse beg a n so . Oh , I

’ve known

t he t ru th of that when I ’ v e wal ked by Dart a l l a l one .The worl d’ s a pr i son when you ’ re not by me . You are

my only freedom and my on ly l i fe . An’ yet—yet

ston ewal l s do m a ke a pr i son for you , sweet E v e . To

th i nk of you cha i ned i n th i s gr a n i t e dungeon“No , th e song be r i ght , sweethea r t . Th i s i s no

p r i son wh i l e I knowthat you be free . These st one s

can ’ t hu r twh i l e I knowyou l o v e me . The best of m ecan ’ t be cha i ned up or set i n the stock s l ike the rogues .

STONE W ALLS DO NOT A PRISON M AKE 1 19

" I‘wi l l fly ou t at ch imney an’ keyhol e to ’

e.

’Ti s

a lways c l ose to ’e .

”

“Your l ove—you r dear , t rue , eterna l l o v e !”“Ess fay ! M y l o v e for you . An

’ you r l o v e for

me be the s a m e . "Fis better

’n me a t an’ dr i nk . I can

l ive by it . But take that away—tak e you r l o v e away ,

an’ my force d ies . Then the a i r wou l d be too

hea vy to breathe , an’ you m ight make a pr i son

strong enough wi’ but terfl i es’ wi ngs . You r lo v e

lost , an’I’m on ly a p lucked fl ower droop i ng to its

de a th .

”

“Ne v er— ne v er . M y lo v e for you i s mysel f I t’ s

my sp i r i t and my senses , my l i fe , my excuse for be ing

a l i v e . I f I cou l d suffer more—if I cou ld on ly g i v eup hal f my l i fe t o set you free ! I’m su ch a powerl ess

fool . I ough t to br i ng a rope-l adder an’ a pony , or a

gre a t horse wi th a p i l l i on on h i s back for you to s i tbeh ind me . Then we’d give Cup id the re i n an

’ l e t

h im gu ide . But there’ s no romance st i rr i ng i n these

sord id swordless days . An’

you can’ t be romant i c

wi thou t a good pu rse . And I’ v e got no money to

name .”

“W el l , wel l , bu t I’d dear l y l o v e to gal l op off wi t h

’e on a p i l l ion .

’Ti s a but ivul t hough t ; on ly of cou rse ,

you ’m wi ser . Us must th ink where o s shou ld gal

l op to .

”

You ’re d i sappoi n ted , though ! I’m not worthy of

120 FAR M OF TH E DAG GER

Von . I'm a v i l e th ing— a mere c reep ing , dream i ng

rhyme r ! You ought t o lo v e a man o f a ct ion .

”

“ Ne v er ! Your de a r v e rses be be t te r 'n rude , rough

way ! .

"l‘

is book s do most . Be l i k e you ’ l l wr i t e av a l i a n t bookwhenwe’ in m a rr ied .

"

l‘would be bett er i f I cou ld do a v a l ian t deed to

get m arr i ed . l thymes won’ t rhym e you ou t o f D a g

ge r I" a rm . M y in v en t ion i s de a d .

’Twas my u n c l ek i l l ed it.”

“ H a s he been v ery cruel an’ h a rsh ? I wa r r a n t heh a s now.

“Just the re v ers e . That ’s wh a t numbed m e , an’

m a de m e h a ng on in a v a gue hope , i nst e a d of t rust ing

t o mv ownwi ts . He has s a i d t hat h e wi l l n ot j udgeyou by you r f a ther . He st o rmed and fret ted a ga i ns t

M r . Veweombe , but he bre a thed noword a g a i nst you .

I f I cou ld b r ing you s a fel y o ff h e wou ld real lyappl a ud the deed . Ho i s , in f a c t , upon ou r s ide .”

S i l en ce fel l between th em for a m oment , a nd a foxba rked ne a r a t hand .

“ I had r a t her you r Uncl e Roger was aga i nst o s ,sa id E v e . “ M aybe ’ twou ld be a eas i e r m a t ter t o comea t h a pp i ness wi th h i s h el p ; but—bu t—wel l , I wan tno k i ndness from my f a i ther’s enemy . There’ s

t reache ry i n be ing hel ped by any m a n as doesn ’ t l o v e

dear fa i ther . I’m c ruel t o h im , an

’ hurt h i m t err ibl e

i n th i s mat te r ; but I won ’ t l e t no one el se plague h im

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

122 FAR M O F T H E DAGGE R

donned smal l c l oth es a nd boots,a nd stol e ou t i n hope

t o get a shot . V o i ces not o f'the n i ght su rpr i sed h im ,

a nd he d i st i nc t ly he a rd yo ung Qu i nton te l l h i s

d a ughte r tha t he shou ld come t o rescue her upon the

fo l lowing Thereon , to fr i gh ten them , he

h a d a imed a fewy a rds o v e r the l a d ’ s he a d and fi red .

“I’m not t ouched—don ’ t fea r !” the l o v e r shou ted .

Then he had v an i shed in to the dark ness be fore he

cou ld hea r E v e’ s a n swe r .“No , no ,

‘

l is t'

a il her ; he n e v e r meant t o hu rt ’e

on ly t o wa rn ’e awa y . "

Nowwi t h p a nt ing h ea r t th e g i r l wa i ted for herf a the r t o a pp ro a ch , but he d id a th ing ha rder t o be

borne th a n b i t ter words . He tu rned and wen t h i swa y ; then Eve heard h i m ent er the f a rm , but he d id

not com e to her . V o i ces sounded i n the hou se ; the

front doo r shu t l oudl y , and somebody wen t ou t .Ag a in peep ing in to th e n i gh t , she sawa man ’ s figu re ,and recogn i sed i t for Ned Prowse . IIe l ighted h i s

p ipe , th rust h i s h a nds i nto h i s pocket s , andwalk ed upand down beneat h her window.

T h r ice Eve appeal ed t o h im , and asked i f her

f a ther had thu s b id h im keep guard o v er her unt i l

morn ing,bu t Ned h a rdened h i s heart , puffed h i s p i pe,

and made no answer .

C H A P T E R X I I

NOR IR ON BARS A CAGE

N the morn ing Ev e’ s fit ful sl eep was broken by

no stem and a ng ry father , as she expec ted . In

st e a d , he r mothe r brought the bre a k fast o f

b read a ndwa ter as u sual , and M rs . i

'ewcombe’s

red eyes a nd sh a k ing h a nds sh owed E v e that newt rouble h a d f a l l e n upon her .

“Fa ither h a v e t ol d you what happened las t n igh t ,I suppose sh e asked .

“ l i ss , he ha v e ; an’ a da rk cl oud be u pon h im th i s

morn ing . He won’ t see you , bu t he bade me say asnext t ime hewou ldn ’t shoot i n the a i r . He’m i n a ge rtpass ion aga in st you for a cruel , hard -hearted wen ch ,an

’ he cu rses th e day you was born ; an’ he mean s to

keep you here t i l l h e breaks you r sp i r i t , i f i t t akes a

year to do it .

”

’Tis j u st what dea r fa i th er n e v e r wi l l do ,” sa i dE v e . “My l i t t l e body h e can break easy enough , bu t

not my lo v e for Qu inton . I do r igh t to l ove h im

12 4 FAR M O F T H E DAGG E R

there's no s t a i n i n it . Il e ne v e r t hough t so much as

o ne u nk ind t hought a g a i nst f'

a i ther . I l e l o v es h im

j ust bec a use he i s my f a i t he r . An’ l o v e wa s sent i n to

my he a rt by a G re a t e r tha n f a i t he r . An’ i t w i l l la s t

fo r e v e r , whethe r I l i v e or d i e .”“ M a i st er don't th i nk so . You be al l my ch i ld ,

l i v e : t he re h a n ’ t much of y ou r fa i t he r i n you , seem

ing ly .

"I‘was howI spok e o f l o v ewhen Iwas a m a i d ;

"I‘was howI wo rsh ipped h i m when we were twen ty

y e a rs younger . S te rn he a lwa y s was , an’ hones t too ;

but my lo v e p a i n ted h i m l o v e ly ins ide a nd ou t . I

d idn’ t u nderst a nd t i l l a fter . Not that I l o v e h im l ess ,God k nows . l l e

’

m my good husb a nd . But marr iage

do b r ing ou t th e in ner fl a v ou r o f a m a n .

“ I l o v e f a i t he r too— nex t t o Q u i nton an’ you ,

mother . "l'is s a d he ean’

t remembe r howhe fel twhenfi rst he wen t a—eour t ing : though pe rhaps i t ban ’ t i n

n a t u re fo r a man to remembe r th a t a fter twe ntyy e a rs .”

“A woman can , howe v er ; an’ I’m su re , i f th e boybe hones t an’ you r heart beat s on l y for h im , t hat I

wou ldn’ t sayThe head of a ladder appeared sudden ly a t E v e’s

wi ndow, and M rs . Newcombe broke off" and departed ,l ock ing th e door a fter h er . Then E v e’ s f a t her

appeared ; but he h a d not come to see her . Joh n New

combe concerned h ims el f wi th t he wi ndow, a nd when

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

126 FAR M OF TH E D AG GER

“Can ’ t you do your fa i ther’s bidd i ng? You see,

’t is not easy for me to say much , be ing as I be i n lo v e

w i th you mysel f . I’d smash th i s young chap mysel f

fa i r an’ square i f he lo v ed you aga in st you rwi l l ; bu tsince you ’m here ’pon bread an

’ water, I suppose’t i s

not 50 . An’ i f you lo v e h im better ’n e v er you can me ,

I’ll say no more aga inst h im .

I ne v er lo v ed you so wel l a s now, Noah—j u st forsay i ng that . I a lways l iked you , Noah , bu t neverW ith th e l ik i ng that wou ld marry a man . You ’re my

good cou s i n ; bu t don’ t hate me becau se I can’ t be

you rwife some day .

”

“Hate ’c l I

’

d do al l i n reason a man coul d for ’e .

But th i s can’ t come to no good wheth er or no . Put

me out of count . E v en i f you cou ld have me.’ twou ld

be va i n for me to th ink o f ’e j u st now, because your

fa ither has tu rned again st me s in ce I sa idwhat I sa idabou t Amer ica . But I’m th i nk i ng fo r you now, an’I say i n al l reason ’ t i s a fata l th i ng to l ove Where you

ought to hate by nature .”

“I’m s u re us oughtn’ t to hate noth ing but ev il by

nature.

”

“ Iwi sh ’ twas as you say .

’Pears to me that nature

bankers a fter e v i l more’n good . But be i t a s ’ tw i l l ,’t i s va in to set y ou r love where you r fa i ther has set

his hat e . I don ’ t care much for Uncl e John s i nce he

tur ned so cranky aga inst me i n pol it i cs ; bu t all the

NOR I R O N B AR S A CAG E 127

same,Roger Honeywel l ha v e ser v ed h im very bad ; an’

you can’ t expec t h im towant to j o i n w i th Honeywel l sby marr iage .”

“Bu t Qu inton i s d ifferen t . He i s on ly a Honey

wel l i n name .”

Gi v e a dog a bad name an’ hang h im . Ban’t

reasonabl e, but’ t i s theway of theworld . Theworl d’s

al l for be i ng on the sa fe s ide .“That’s to say ,

’t i s bet ter to hang a j u s t man than

l et a rogue go free .”

‘W el l , I wou ldn ’t argue any other way ,” declaredNoah ,who l o v ed such a prob l em as th i s . “Take i t you

hang a j u st man . You do t he wor l d no wrong , an’

you do Hea v en no wrong . He goes st ra igh t to the

A’mighty , an

’ j ust i c e be i ng one an’ th e same th i ng

w i th God,he do rece i v e good measu re al oft for the

hard measu re he got from earth . Therefore ’t i s no

l ast i ng i l l beyond cure i f a good man be hu rr ied to h is

et ernal res t ; an’ i f us bel ie v es so much i n Hea v en as

us ought , to be sen t there by a short out sh ou l d not

be a h igh gr ie i

'anee ne i ther . Butwi t h you r rogue the

case i s al tered , for l et h im go free an’

you l oose a

pest i l ence ’Ti s madness to g ive th e benefi t of the

doubtwhen you reckon you’ve cat ched a rogue . Tryh im fa i r and square , bu t l et t h e balan ce b e i n fa v ou r

of th e Stat e . A good man l es swon ’ t make much odds ;a rogue more may mar a hundred honest folks .

128 F AR M OF T H E D AG GER

You ’re speak ing of rogues and I’m spe a k i ng of

Qu in ton Honeywe l l . Go an’ seek h im . N oah ; fi n d h im

out ; have speech along wi th h im . Then you ’ l l

knowbet ter . H is fa i therwas a cl ergyman . I s every

man to be abused becau se he ha s a w i cked unc le“Cert a i n ly not ,

” answered Noah ; “wicked u n cl esbe so common as b l ackberr i es . ’Ti s not a l i tt l e i n th i s

man ’s favou r that you l o v e h im , for the l i kes of you—so pure as snow—wou l dn’ t tend natu ra l ly t owardsanyth ingwi cked , that I wi l l swear to . However ban ’tto be, i f I k nowyou r f a i th er . An

’

, t o be hones t wi thyou , I can

’ t much ab ide t h e name of Honeywel l mysel f . Blood wi l l t e l l , an

’ ’t i s wel l k nown a son wi l lt ak e after h i s u nc l e qu i t e so often as he do after h i s

fa i ther . Nature ha v e her myster i es , l i ke re l ig ion .

An’ therefore I ’ v e pu t these bars up i n earnes t ; an’

nobody but me w i l l e v er take ’em down aga i n .

”

“I can fly through them , however . M y soul i s free

of them .

”

“Take care o f a young ma id’s body an’ you’ll take

care of her sou l too .

”

“A s i l l y speech , Noah ! God cou l d send h i s l ight

n ing an’ break down these bars to-n igh t , i f i t p l eased

H im .

”

“He cou ld ,” admit ted th e farr ier ; “but in al l

respect fu l ness I’d l ay my forge to a horseshoe He

won’t .”

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

130 FAR M OF TH E D AGGE R

You ’m so handywi t h words that a p la i n man l ik eme can ’ t fo l l owyou r mean ing . Read out the v erse ,

though ’ t i s ou t s ide l ike l ih ood that I shal l u nderstand

a nyth ing bu t the rhyme of it .

”

E v e fetched a crumpl ed scrap of paper from her

pocket and smoothed i t l o v i ngly .

“Be qu i ck , for I must be off—won ’t do for you rfa it he r t o cat ch o s chatter i ng . He’ l l th i nk vou

’ve

got me to you r s ide , an’ I be show ing you howto

b reak down these here bars .“As to that ,

” sa id E v e proudly ,“my own dear l ove

w i l l v ery soon ope th e door of my cage, so wi tt y hebe I t rust h im to find a wav .

A man as can make v erses d id ought to be up to

anyth ing,eh

“An

’so he i s . ‘

To my Lady ,’ t he song he cal l ed ,

an’ he says that al l h i s v ery bes t verses be ca l l ed the

same .”

“An’ a lways the same lady , of course?

“I t’ swi cked of you to speak so, Noah . I f you on l y

u nders tood h im ! Ne v er d id he mak e so much as a

motto fo r any g i rl bu t me . An’ h ere’ s th e lovel y

rhymes he flinged up th rough my casement last n ight .“He says

Newthat the Dayspr ing sur e ly comesTowake a dre amingworld once mor e ,

And l ight a thousand . thousand homesW ith message fr om the Eastern shor e ;

NOR IRO N B AR S A CAG E 13 1

Though D awn doth sh i ve r sad and gr eyIn tearfu l c louds on h i l l and lea ,

My lo ve sh a l l be the sun to me

And g lad my go ing th rough the day.

W hen mournful darkness fal ls aga inTo s ink o ld earth in s lumber deep ,

Sa vewhere the s isters, Sorrow, Pa in,The ir sobbing. th r obbing v i gi ls kee p ;Though g le am upon my fa ithful s ightNo go lden s igna ls fr om afar,My lo ve sh a l l be a l itt le star

To gu ide my go ing th r ough the n ight .

Ban’ t i t but ivul , Noah? Andi

ban’t i t t rue?

lVell, the rhymes do st r ike pret ty orderl y on a

man’s ea r I grant t hat , cou s i n ; but as for t ru th . i f

h e cal l ed ’e a l i t t le c a ndl e l ocked up i n a m ighty

st rong lantern i t m igh t have been nearer th e fact s .

An’ gu ide h i s go ing where you pl ease , bu t doan’t

gu ide i t th i s wa y aga in , el se t rouble wi l l come uponthe man , i f I knowU ncl e John .

”

C H A P T E R X I I I

H . M . S . W ATERW IT CH”

PON the morn i ng after Qu inton ’s noctu rnal

v i s i t t o E v e , Roger Honeywel l bad newsfo r h i s nephew . A packet came by spec ia l

messenger from Plymouth , and the l et te r

i t con ta i nedwas from a member of the fam i ly .

“Here’ s you r Uncl e M e r r iman wr i t i ng, sa i d

Roger . “H is sh i p i s a t P lymou th fitt ing out for the

wars . He’ s off for the Amer i can coast i n a day or

two . I shou ld l ike to ha v e gone down mysel f andseen the l i

'atcr c

‘ftch . She’s a fine fr igate , and

famou s a l re a dy . But ’ t i s imposs ib l e . W e must ha v e

M err iman here , howe v e r .”

Qu i nton remembered h i s sa i l or u ncl e wel l enough .

He was a breezy,wholesome man of m iddl e age—a

good s a i l or a nd a l o v e r o fwa r . At Traf a lgar he h a d

won h i s m a j o r i ty, and nowl onged to be after the

Amer i c a n s . Th i s worthy officer knewDartmoorwel l .M uch of h i s boyhood had been spent there, and he

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

134 F AR M OF TH E DAGG E R

Rather p l eased a t th e prospect o f'su ch a day , young

Qu i nt on fel l i n wi th M r . Honeywe l l ’ s pl a n s,and soon

made h i s p reparat ions for a st a rt . Before n oon he

se t out , an d i n l ess than an hou r had re a ched the \Var

P r i son , where i ts huge oute r wal l s l ay i n shape o f awheel on the bosom of No rt h H iswo r thy Tor. a ndwhere, l ike spok es of thewhee l , gr i m bu i l d ings , se v eni n number, d i v e rged from the cen t re of the c i rc l e .

Gre a t hum a nd st i r mark ed the col ony as Qu inton

rode pas t it , a nd fo r a momen t h e pul l ed up h i s horse

to l earn the re a son . Then a goss ip po inted to a p r o

cess ion , and wi th many other spect a to rs the you ngman watched a gang of p r is oners a ppro a ch ing .

These men were Ame r i c a n s , a nd had been m a rchedthat morn ing from th e hu lks at Plymou th . W i th one

stop only du r ing an Uph i l l t ramp of se v ent een m i l e s ,they came to the i r mou rn fu l des t in a t ion , and Qu inton

had opport un i ty to n ote th e grey desp a i r on many a

sa i lo r’ s face as h i s eyes caugh t s igh t of the h ideou s

pr i son ly ing naked i n th e m ids t of th e desert . They

were c l ean- sha v ed men ,wi th p igta i l s down the i r back s .Some l imped pa i n fu l ly , and al l were clad i n rags .The ch i l l s i gh t o f

'these un fortu n a tes made the horse

man very sad . They seemed to be march ing to the i r

death , and the gran it e j aws o f the huge g a tewayyawned l i k e a hu ngry l i v i ng monster be fore th em .

W i th in the wal l s he heard the r oar of mu l t i tudes .

H . M . S.

“\VATERW ITCH”

135

R igh t th ou sand Frenchmen occup ied a great part of

th i s p r i soners’ t own , wh i l e a certa i n block—Pri sonNo . 4—was present ly to be de v ot ed to the Amer ican s .Nowsome 200 of them h a d arr i v ed from th e hu l k

Hec tor, and Honevwell’s young heart swe l l ed wi t hp i ty as he sawt hese men drag the i r ta t te red garment sa nd the i r weary l imbs al ong before h i m . They had

fough t nobly for the i r country ; the i r on ly c r i m e wasdefe a t . One man i n th i s sorrowfu l company espec ial ]yatt ract ed Qu i nton

,for h e stood ta l l er t han h i s fe l l ows ,

a nd impressed the eye by h i s st rong face and fi n e

bear ing . No m isery o r despa i r marked h i s browncountenance , bu t he s trode cheerfu l ly forward , and ,as he passed th e horseman , spoke to a man at h is

e lbow“So here it i s ! A pretty bowery—eh , Gideon

Porter ? Yet the wa l l that man ’ s bu i l t , man k i ncl imb .

”

“Andwhat t hen , Coffin? Look arou nd you . One

s ide of the wal l i s pr i son as much as t’other .”

They passed along, and the tal l man tu r n ed and

l a ughed . H is face was c lean ly model l ed ; h i s greatframewas l ithe and grace fu l . L i fe seemed to go out

of h im and chee r h i s ne i ghbou rs . The man’s l aughter

was cat ch ing, andwoke some we a k echo i n more thanone sad sp i r i t . Others , nowmarch i ng past Qu inton ,heard the laugh and noted it .

136 FARI‘I OF TH E D AGGI‘IR

Ti s D a n Coffin , t h a t Nantuck et ehap . Il e don ’ t

wherr i t a bou t a n yt h ing . He l a ughed when ou r sh ip ,t he Chesapeake, st ruck— no t bec a u se she st ruck , bu t

bec a u se a m idsh ipm an abo a rdwas angr .

r abou t it,and

s a id Capt a in L awrence wa s i n thewrong !”“Coffin u ses l a ugh ter t o h ide h i s m i nd , as others U se

s i l en ce . He’s a tough cu stomer . l Vaal , i f any r a g

ta i l o f us can get ou t of th i s cu ssed hol e , he wi l ldo it .

”

\'Vh ile spe a k ing t h e men h a d drawn up , fo r t he he a d

of the colum nwas nowat the e nt r a n ce o f the g a ol , a nd

cert ain fo rm a l i t ies requ i red t o be en act ed befo re thev

ente red . Then the p rocess ion streamed on a g a in , a nd

the gre a t g a te , h a v i ng swa l l owed them , c l osed i t s i ron

l ips . The peopl e s cat tered , and th a nk ing God for the

b l es s i ng of'freedom , Qu inton rode upon h i s way .

Long the coun ten a n ce of D a n iel Coffin hau nt ed h im ;l ong the s a i l or’ s l a ugh r a ng i n h i s m i nd .

W i th i n the yea r these two wou ld f a ce each otheraga in , and the Ii ngl ishman was dest i ned hea rt i l y tob l ess h i s country’ s en emy bu t a l i fet ime of exper i ence

fo r Qu int on Honeywe l l ex tended between the presen ta nd that st range meet ing to come .

Now the youngster g al l oped on h is way , and by

three o’c l ock h i s ho rse wa s i n the s t a bl e of the “ Jol ly

C a rt er” at Mutley Pla in , wh i l e on foot he s t rodeal ong to De v onport Hard , and soon reached that h i s

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

138 FAR M OF TH E D AG GE R

Qu inton handed the capta i n of t he Water

witeh a let te r , and M err iman Honeywe l l read i tqu i ck ly .

Then h i s face changed , and he r eflected before

spe a k ing .

“Th i s i s i n terest ing,” he sa id .

“Brother Roger has

some news . I must wr i te to h im . W e’ re off in an

hou r on the t ide . Come be low, NephewQu i n ton , andh a v e a gl ass of sherry and a b i scu i t .”

" I’d l i ke to l ook a t the sh ip , i f I may , Unc le M er

r im a n .

“You sha l l—plen ty of t ime . But come al ong to

my cab i n fi r st . How’s yourse l f an’ how’s th e Law

go ing on ?”

“ I hat e it—’t i s a mean , musty bu s i ness .

W h y , yes , so’tis . A sort of work a s want s all

b ra in s an’no body . An

’ what wi l l you do nowi fu ncl e l et s you of?Law

“Be a farmer .”

That ’s bus iness for the fag-end of l i fe , not the

beg inn ing of it . The farmer’s own share be no moreth a n to wa l k abou t W i th h i s h ands in h i s pocket s andcu ss the weather . His b i nds do the man’ s pa rt .

D r i nk a n d eat , and don’ t say another word t i l l I ’ve

wrote down an answer to Roger . I’m a bad hand at

pen a nd i nk bes t 0 ’ t imes .

He squared his e lbows and set to work wh i le Quin

II. M . S .

“WATE RW IT C H’

139

ton ate a plate of buseu its and drank w ine that had

been at the Batt l e o f T r at'alga r .

“So much for that ,” s a id the s a i l or, finish ing h i s

l et ter and se a l ing i t wi t h great rel ie f . “Now stop

here a wh i l e and then I ’ l l be back aga i n . Here’s

l'nele Roger’s l et ter to me . I

’d l i k e you to read it’twi l l su rp r i se you . He’s a su rpr i s i ng man—a lwayswas . Good—bye fo r th e p resen t .”

Capta i n Honeywef" went on deck , ca l l ed a l ieutenant

,and h a nded h im a l etter he h a d j u s t compl eted .

“J a ck son ,” he sa id ,

“here’s a j ob for you , a nd a

m ighty u rgen t one . Go ashore r i gh t away , take ad i l igence , an

’ get t o the ‘Jol ly (“a rter’ on Mutley

Pla in as qu i ckly a s i t can carry you t here . Ask for

a chap cal led Dury Hext . He w i l l be wa i t i ng for

you . G i v e h im th i s l et te r . Then get back as f a st as

e v er you can . There’s h al f an hour before the t ide .

nu’ i f we’ v e sta rt ed you can take a boat an’ catch us .

”

The voung officer sal u t ed and wen t on h i s way asM err iman Il onevwell spoke the l ast word .

M eanwh i l e Qu inton read Roger Honeywel l ’s l etter .

VITIFEB FARM , DARTMOOR , Ju ly , 1813 .

D ean M ERRIMAN ,—You r l et ter s a v s vou sa i l to

d ay . So much the bet te r for my pu rpose , though I’msorry not to see you . It won ’ t be questi oned by yout h a t you owe me some retu rn fo r p a st cons ider a t ionsi n the mat ter of money . Now comes you r chance to

1 40 FARM OF TH E D AGGE R

c ry qu i ts . Our nephew, Qu inton , w i l l br i ng th i s l et t er ,bu t he does no t knowi t s conten ts , and supposes th a t Iwr i te to ask you to Vi tifer . Th i s boy i s a many

-s idedfool . He has wear i ed of the Lawand nowdes i res t obecome a f a rmer . M ean t ime he wast es h i s l i fe , eatst he bread o f id leness , mak es v i l e verses , and spends h i st ime wi th a wench -a gi rl h e prot est s he l oves . Bu tsh e i s far ben eath h im e v eryway, and the daughter ofth e deepest , d i rt i es t scoundre l on Dartmoor . W el l ,some hardwork afloat on the K ing’s serv i ce W i l l makea man of Qu i n ton , i f t hat can be done , and bl owtheses i l l y fanc ies from the cal f’ s bra i ns . Please take h imto fight the Amer ican s .

“V ou r affec t i onate broth er ,“ROGER HON EYW E LL .

Posr scnxPT.—Look to i t that a l l h i s l et ters a re sen t

to me . W e must cut h im c lear of th i s d i sgr a cefu len tanglemen t as soon a s may be . Send a l et ter i nanswer to th i s to the ‘Jol ly Carter’ on M o t ley Pla i n ,and l e t you r messenger ask for one Dury Hext , myser v an t . He w i l l fol l owNephew Qu in ton at a safed i s tance on horseback and br i ng b a ck you r l etter,t ogether w i t h my nag used by you r h opefu l . -R . H .

”

For a momen t Qu i n ton sat t urned to stone by th i s

shock ; then he l eapt up and rushed a t the cab in door ,on ly to find it l ocked . He tu rned to the por thol e , but

there was no way of escape from t hat . Overhead he

heard a “chan ty sung by many throats , the c l i nk of

a caps tan , and the t ramp of men’s feet . Hal f an

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

142 F A R M OF TH E DAGG E R

do my du ty , s i nce th i s has come upon me . I ’ l l be as

handy as a land- l ubber can be . Bu t there’ s one th ing .

Unc l e M err i man , i f I may cal l you that for the l ast

t i m e t i l lwe’re ashore aga inA knock a t the cab i n door i nt errupted h im , and a

j u n ior officer appeared .

“M r . Jack son has come aboard , s i r .“ V ery good . Tel l M r . J a ck son I shal l be pl eased

to see h im at d inner . Now,nephew , W hat d id you

des i re to say“F ir st , I

’d ask you to keep th i s s tory c lose,for I

don ’ t wan t to be l aughed at aboard ; and n ext t hat

post sc r ipt , u ncl e . You won’ t denv m e th e r i gh t tosend l etters? Th is m igh t k i l l my g i rl . “7c l o v e each

other ; we are heart and sou l to each other . It’s al l

honest and honourab l e as can be. You won ’ t k eep my

l et ters from her, Uncle M err iman“Be hanged i f I do ! That’s a l andsman ’s t r ick , not

a s a i l or’ s . Your Uncl e R oger be th e on ly man th a t

evr r I was a fra id o f ; but I’m no t fe a red e v en o f h im

on b luewater . You’ v e t a k en th i s h i t g ame . W r i te to

you r g i rl what you pl ease , and i f we meet a sh iphom eward bound she shal l take you r l e t ters wi th therest . As to blabb i ng howyou was catched , be su re Ishan ’ t , though

’t i s a puz z ler to knowwhat’s you rrat i ng .

“ I ’ l l t ry and be some good , any way .

H . M . S .

“W ATE RW I T C H

I warran t you—as soon as you r s tomach growsre a dy forwork and v ictua l s 1”

Thus i t came abou t that wh i l e Eve wa i ted hourafte r hou r for Qu i n ton , and v a in ly gazed th rough her

grated pr i son i n to the starry summer n ight , h e stood

upon the poop of H . M . S . IVa tem‘itch and wat ched

the ruddy and gen ia l flame of Smeaton ’ s l ighthou se,where it:warned a l l ma r i ne rs from th e Eddystone .The sh ip stol e by i nto the great ocea n ; the watch

tower v an i shed ; and e v en a s i t s sh i n i ng messagewa ned , so Qu inton’ s sp i r it ch i l l ed and sankwi th i n h im ,

for i t seemed tha t th i s was th e l ast l ink wi th homethe last fr iendly fi r e on th e hearth of h i s motherl and .

“God be gen t l e to you , dear heart ,” he prayed ,

and watch between uswh i l ewe are ab sen t one fromthe other .”

C H A P T E R X I V

COMPLIMEN TS PASS

FORTN IGHT after Qu i nton Honeywell’s

enforced departu re from h i s cou nt ry Ned

Prowse m et Dury Hext upon th e road toPr in ce Town . Durywas dr iv i ng five fat

p igs to the W ar Pr i son , and Ned Prowse , t o ga i n h isown ends, d id the enemy a serv i ce at a c r i t i cal j u net u re . Your Dartmoor p ig possesses the char acter is

t i c s of h i s k ind intensified . I t may be tha t th e se v er

i ty of th e c l imat e has a ton i c effec t on d i spos i t ion and

b r ings ou t those t ra i t s pecu l iar to t he t r ibe ; i t may

be in th i s pa rt i cu la r case that t h e Vit ifer barrow p i gs ,d r i v en from the glor ies of a wa l l owthat represen tedthe i r t enderest m emor ies , resent ed th i s change in their

affa i rs , and , as becam e p a tr iot i c pork , d i s l iked the

i dea of French and Amer i can company . So at least

su spect ed Du ry Hext , and when Prowse , to h i s su rp r i se , actual ly ass i s ted h im by b l ock ing a gateway

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

146 FAR M OF TH E DAG GER

“\Vhe r e do the money go?” i nqu i red Dury Hext .

“That’ s the r iddle . You hear tel l tha t th e Br i t i sh

n at ion’ s be ing bled to th e tune o’ hundreds of thou

sands e v ery month . An’who get s it? Al l us e v er hear

i s t hat t imes i s awfu l bad an’ money scarcer tha n

char i ty .

”

“The wo rl d h olds th e money , howe v er, sa id M r .

Prowse . “It can ’ t go ou t of th e corners of th e gl obe .’Tis on e of those myster ie s as on ly the Dev i l ao ’ Earl

L i v erpool can sol v e .”

“I’m s ick 0

’fight i n a genera l way , except such a

j u s t ca se as my master ha v e got aga in st yourn ,”

dec lared t he p ig-d r i v er . “W hen r igh t be on our s ide

as ’t i s —then I’d fight t i l l my bones falled asunder

t h rough a ge .”

“An’ so would I. I hate you r maste r worse than

you hate m ine, for I’ v e got more i n tel l ect s th a n what

you ha v e ,” answered Ned Prowse, promptly .

‘I nt el l ect s’ ! You? You r i ntel l ec t s won’ t keepyou r red wh i skers out of a hal t er some day , i f e v e r

j u st i ce come to be done ! As man to man , I’ l l thank

you , a l l th e same , to wal k down-along to th i cky breaki n th ewal l an’ hel p me get my p igs past it .”

“For the good of the Sta te I ’ l l do so,” sa id Mr .

Prowse,wi th great sel f-cont rol . “Though you ’m no

bet ter t han a mommetf or a p i l l ow-case stuffed wi’* a met, a scar ecrow.

C O M PL I M E N T S PA S S 1 4-7

st rawto fight c rows , yet , a s a m a n ea r r ving ou t a

cont rac t wi t h the St a te , you ha v e a r i ght to ax me

to get your p igs upon t he i rway .

’Twoul d be t reason

i f I done otherwi se .”

So i twou ld , though the ’maz ing th ing i s that su ch

a ealf’s head can see it .

”

“Bett er be a cal f’s h ead than a ge rt wobbl ing barrel o’ neat’s-foot j el ly l ike you . You ’d do we l l notto go i n th e pr i son gates , for i f you do they

’ l l

v er y l i ke bo i l you down i nt o food for t he i r s i ckfolks .”

'T i s someth ing e v en to be eatabl e ,” reto rt ed fat

Du rv .

“You ’d po i son a shark , you wou ld . Your

h idewou ld mos t su rely choke a fore i gn crocod i l e .\V i t h th i s a m i ab l e exchange— th e m en proceeded to

th a t g a pwhere Dury feared h i s ch a rges m i gh t get th ebet ter of h im . As the y approached it, afte r a pau se

in the i r compl iment s , Ned Prowse asked the quest ion

th a t h e h a d des i red to put when fi r st he sawh i s foe .

It, was E v e who had impl ored h im to t ry and g a ther

the in format ion .

“An

’ how’s young master now, th en ? He ha v en ’t

come cou rt ing our ma iden aga i n . Afeared of Farmer

Newcombe’s shotgu n , I reckon .

”

“Oh , dear , no . On ly h e bethought h im as therewasbetterwork do i ng than go ru nn i ng a fter a ma iden so

much belowh im i n th e world . I n fac t , I happen to

1 4-8 FA R M OF T H E DAGGE R

knowas the young gen’

lemanwas t i red 0’ you r mas

ter’s d a rter ; an’ when h i s u nc l e , th e gert , fie r ce sea

mar i ner,Capt a i n M err iman Honeywel l , of the Wa ter

zeitch , figh ting- sh ip , sen t an

’ begged h i m for the l o v e

of h i s K ing an’ count ry to go an

’ tack l e the Ameri can

nat i on—phwit ! away h e goes l ike a b i rd ! An’ you ’ l l

never see h im no more . Mr . Hext snapped h i s

finger s t r iumphant ly .

“That ’s th e best news I’ v e heard s ince Ch r i stmas .’Twas al l the cu rly-headed young gad a bou t was fitfor ,

” answered Prowse . “\Vouldn’t ha v e l e t h im t a k e

our young m i s t ress i f he’d been m a de 0 ’ gold— i n st ead

o’ brass . He’ l l do for they Yankee chaps to shoot so

we l l as anybody I c a n th ink o f ; an’ Iwi sh to God that

heron-beaked old beast , your master , had gone al ong

wi th h im ; an’ you l ikewi se .”“You ’d be a better fr iend to mank i nd i f you was

sa id M r . Hext ,“for you r la ndumb , Ned P rowse ,’

guagewould d i sgrace one of they p igs . Nowthey’m

al l sa fe ly past the r i ft , so you can t u rn back on you r

way . An’ i f you e v er ha v e any fa nt ast i ca l hopes as

you ’ l l go to Hea v enwhen you come to d ie , you ’d bestto drop ’em , for vou won

’ t .”

“Thank you , Dury Hext ;’ t i s a Old Test ament

mi racl e o v er aga i n to hear you tel l so b ig , fo r no as s

e v er spoke c l earer than what you have th i s fine

morn i ng .

”

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

150 FA R M OF TH E DAGG ICR

(‘

onva leseeut from h i s gout , t he m a st er o f i tife r

rode i nto l ’os tbr idge upon bu s iness ; and as a f a t o ld

cob passed o v er the paek-horse br idgewi t h him, New

combe appeared on the other s ide o f it

These enem ies had not met s ince the i r ca se at M ore

ton Court House,and now the pedest r i a n prep a red to

pass wi t h h i s eyes set in fro n t of h im , when , t o h i saston i shment , Roger Honeywe l l d rewup and spoke .

“If I m a y det a i n you a momen t I sha l l be gl a d ,

John Newcombe . I hea r tha t you keep you r daughter , l i k e a rat i n a cage , to protec t her aga i ns t my

nephewQu i n ton .

”

“You hear the t ru th .

And I am of th e sam e m i nd . I do not th i nk i t

would be wel l for my he i r to marry you r daugh ter .

But you need shut up your ch i l d no mo re . Qu i n ton

Honeywel l h a s cons idered h i s pos i t i on . He has deter

m ined to j u st i fy h i s ex i stence as a young man shou ld .

He sa i l ed a fort n igh t ago i n h i s Unc le M err iman’ s

bat t lesh ip to fight the Amer i can s .”

“Thank you . You te l l me a good th i ng .

He l e ft messages such as you m igh t expect .

He though t h im sel f much at tached to you r ch i ld . Ia

deed , there can be no doubt that he was so ; bu t I take i t

that you and I are of o ne m ind i n such a matter .

D istance w i l l m ake h im reasonab l e . I t i s easy for the

young to forget .”

C O M P L I M E N T S PA S S 151

Roger Honeywel l wen t on h i s way , and Newcombe ,wel l p leased a t the news , though pu z z led a t h i senemy’s method of imp a r t ing it , retu r ned home soon

a l’

tt rwa rds .

He wen t st ra ight to E v e’s room , and i n formed her

th a t Qu in ton Hone ywe l l h a d gone to sea . He con

eealed the fact tha t the lad had l e ft messages wh ichwere not to be del i v e red , bu t del ibe r a te ly impl ied thathe had start ed at a whim and wou ld p robably not

retur n .

“Get h im ou t of your head as qu i ckly as e v er you

c a n,

” the father sa id .

“An empty rasca l w i thout

pluck or sen se . Wby , these poo r i ron bars wer eenough to p a rt h im from ’

c l \Va s that l o v e? I f he’d

been worthy of you , or any woman , whol e moun ta i nswou ldn’ t ha v e kept h im off . Fr ight ened o f my gu n ,

I guess . Let h im see how s tra igh t the Amer i can s can

fi r e.

”

‘W hen d id he go, fa i ther ? she a sked very

qu iet ly .

“I can’t tcll—ran fo r h i s l i fe aft er I empt ied mygun over h i s head , no doubt . W e l l

,God g i v e good

r iddance . You be wel l free of a fool .”

“I’m no more free than the su n i n the sky ,

”Eve

s aid .

“ I’ l l n e v er , ne v er t h ink that h e has le ft me. I

wou ld not be l i e v e hiswr i t ten word ; Iwould not be l ieve

152 F AR M OF T H E DAGG ER

h im i f h e stood here now an’ told me so . I s my love

for h im a th ing m i staken? No , dear fa i ther , I l ove

h im for ever, and I’ l l be t ru e to h im for e v e r .”

“Take i t howyou wi l l . He’s l eft you , and you’rea l i t t l e fool to t h i nk aga in abou t h im .

”

“ ‘Le ft me !’ knows h im best—you or h i su ncl e or \Yby, you never l o v ed i f you say

th a t ! ‘Left me !’ I’m i n h i s thought sl eep i ng o r

wak i ng, on l and an’ sea ! I

’m al l h i s hope ! An’ I’ l l

be so bra v e an’ so pat ien t as h im . I ’ l l not make h im

shamed . I ’ l l l e t h im find a fa i th fu l ma id wa it i ngfor h im when h e comes home-a long, whenever that

be .

”

“W e l l , wel l , go out i nto th e a i r an’ make up for

wasted t ime . And pray heaven send you w i sdom ,

”

sa id her father .

Pray hea v en send me power to pray for h im’ t i s al l I as ,

” sh e answered .

“The res t I’ve got

pat ience , an’ fa i th

,an

’ l o v e to l as t et e rn i ty .

”

“You t alk b i g for a hal f—growed ch i l d .

“ I ’ l l weary Godwi ’ prayers for my t rue love.

You shal l not weary me, howe v er . No more of

h im . Keep h im to yourse l f t i l l you’re t i red of h im an’

help you r o v erworked mother,as have had to do your

chores so wel l as her own of l a te .”

“So I wi l l , then ,” answered Eve.

“I’ll be pear t an’

bu sy an’ u sefu l too.

”

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

1 54 F A R M OF T H E DAGGER

m: iden’ s hea rt would be a l i t t l e th i ng i f i t cou l dn’th ol d l o v er an’ fa i th er both .

”

“But lo v er fir st . So be it ,” he an swered .

“There’s

someth ing too much of me i n you, Eve. I can’t b reak

you , and I’ l l n ever t ry no mor e.

”

C H A P T E R X V

TH E“OLD AROOS TOOK

ANIEL COFFIN , of Nantucket Is l and ,M assachu set t s , h a d f a l l en i nto the

enemy ’s hands when the Un i t ed States

fr ig a t e Chesapeakewas t a ken by H . M . S .

Shannon i n Bos t on B a y . Nowhe fou nd h imsel fwi thee r ta in of h i s l u ck l ess sh ipm a tes i n the mos t terr ib l e

Brit i s h p r i son-house that has e v er ch i l led the hear t o f a

c a pt i v e .

At th a t t ime the newl y-founded est a bl i shment of

Prince Town was represen ted by l i t t l e more than thega ol a nd b a rr a ck s s tand ing out s ide it . No cheer fu l

colon y of cot tages , no t i ny shops , n f . tal l chu rch towerthen c lu stered bene a t h th e ragged c rown of North

Tor . Only th e huge c i rc l e o f the pr i sons pr e a d h ideou s on the breas t of Dartmoor and wroteits uzgly me a n ing i n t he m ids t o f s tem bu t be a ut i ful

natu r a l th ings .

156 F AR M OF T HE D AGGER

The outerwal l o f t he wa r p r i son was a m i l e i n c i rcumfer ence and s i xt een feet h igh ; t he inner wal l ,separated by a d i stance of th i rty feet from the fi rst

n amed,support ed an endless cha i n of bel l s u pon a

wi re , and was guarded bv an a rmed sol d ier at everyth i rt y feet . Fi v e huge gran i t e bu i ld i ngs ece up ied t h e

body of the pr i s on and d i v erged outward f r om a widesp a ce i n th e cent re . Here accommod a t ion ex i st ed for

t en thou sand person s , and al ready e i gh t thou sand

Frenchmen were i ncarcerated before the fir st Amer ican s arr i v ed . A Gal l i c l e v i ty or ph i l osophy served to

m a ke t he i r b i t te r ease endu r a bl e t o th ese ragged

l egions . They passed from a prel im i na ry de spa i r at

the frown ingwastes , ra in -soddened sk i e s andweep i ngwal l s , t o res ignat i on and e v en a pat i en t cheer fu l ness .U se reconc i l ed th em to t he p a in fu l necess i t ies o f the i r

pos i t ion , and cu st om taugh t tol eran ce of harsh

gaolers and scantv food . The weak ly d ied by hu ndreds : t hose of st out h eart and body surv i v ed and

made sh i ft t o get the best out o f l i fe tha t awar pr i sonon Da rtmoor cou ld offer . The scar e it v of moneywasth e i r great es t t r ial . Regu l a r marke tswere establ i shedi n the v ar i ou s pr i son s , and t he coun try peopl e sol d

the i r commod i t ies a t reason a bl e r a t e s ; bu t the a l lowanees of money were me a gre and fitful , and many ofthe capt i v e s st ro v e to bet ter the i r pocket s by the

manufactu re of t oys or t r i nkets . So they p l ayed

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

158 F AR M OF T H E DAGG ER

due t with f a l sehood be fore he was r emoy ed from hi s

otfice .

But i t i s no t ou r pu rp( 0 here to deta i l the e v ent s

o f t hat per iod . Doubt l es s many an Engli hman al so

su ff ered and pe r i shed i n Amer i can pr i son s . Far

r eaeh ing a gony a nd m i se ry are th e vu l tures that fol

lowwar ; fo r the s ins of t he S‘ t a te a re e v e r v i s ited uponhe r ch i l d ren . To d i spl a y the e rrors o f tho s e i n the i r

gra v es m a y he valua l l e a s a l e ss on to th e l i v i ng ; bu t

t owaken pa ss ion , so th a t nu n of two cou nt r ies shou ldl i ft up t he i r v o i ces a nd cu rse dust , can a v a i l noth i ng .

On a (la y in August , Dan ie l Coffin and h i s spec ia l

fr i end i n m is fo rt une—one G ideon Porte r, a sh ip’ s ea r

penter of the (?wsapmke—were st rol l i ng across thepr i son y a rd of No . 4 and smok i ng, to the en v y of

some of the i r ne i ghbou rs who had l ong endured thedepr i v at ion of t ob acco .

At one corne r of th i s en c l osu re stood th e cachot ,or house o f co r rect ion , and u pon a l a dder l ean ing

aga in s t thewa l l o f th a t bu i ld ingwas a man at work .

At the foot of th e ladder an a rmed sold i er protected

h im from pos s ibl e assaul t .“If therewas mo re Br i t i sh ers l ike vou , we shou ld be

bet te r u sed ,” sa id (fo ltin, pu lli ng h i s p ipe and ta lk ing

to th e m a n on t h e l a dder . “You r bus i ness i s i ron

seem i ngly , bu t it has no t m ade your hea rt as hard as

TH E “OLD AROO STOOK ” 159

these chaps here—the Go v ernor and the Doctor andthe rest— they’re al l a down on u s seem ingly ; and

they ’ re a l l bu i l t o f sol id stone l ike these wal l s ; and

they’ l l on ly mel t i n he l l .”

“Al l the same ,” sa id G i deon Porter, a l i t t l e round

shou ldered , yel l ow-faced man , w i th l arge ears thatstood out from h i s head , and ex traord i na r i l y smal l

eyes—“al l the same , here’ s ad v i ce for you r baccy ,

bl a cksm i th . G i v e up t h i s t rash , a s be n o good to

smoke or chew , an’ buy Vir ginny .

’Ti s th e best baccy

God grows .”“Nev er heard t el l of it ,

” an swered Noah Newcombefrom the ladder . “That I ’ v e g i v ed you be th e on ly

sort e v er I met wi th .

ha v e to pay through the nose for everyth i ng

now. Theywon’ t l et us ha v e a ma rket—damn themsowe’ v e got to go to the consarned Frenchmen for ourstu ff an

’ t hey’re al l Roman Cathol i c s,so o f course

they don’ t know what honest y mean s,

” s a id Porter .

Ce tfin nowsudden ly l aughed al oud a t a recol l ect ion .

“D id you see Henry M idge , that b l ack man weimpressed j ust aforewe sa i l ed , G i d? He’ s mad aboutb a ccy . L i fe’ s a l l a p lague to h im th e days he can’t

taste i r . He ga v e h i s t rou sers t o one of th em frogs

yes ter dav for a b i t ; and now he’s i n bilboe t i l l some

ne ighbou r can find h im rags t o co v er h i m sel f .”“I r eyther guess he

’s out aga i n,

”sa id G ideon Por

160 FAR M OF TH E D AGGER

ter . “A r ed-coat ga v e h im a sack ; and i t has made a

bet ter pa i r of breeches for the man than you or me ar e

l ike to have th i s many a day .

”

Th e sent ry nowspoke.“ I can ge t each of you chaps a good potato-sack

for a sh i l l ing .

”

“A sh i l l i ng ! Get the sh i l l i ng fi r st, l obster,answered Coflin .

“W hat do I wan t wi t h sacks , o r

breeches e i t her? I’m sure i n th i s bl essed c l imate th e

fog and ra in i s coat and breeches too . You can’t see

across the vard one day i n t en .

”

“The b lasted p l ace i s ashamed of i t sel f, an’ don ’t

dare to show i t s ugly face to honest eyes ,” dec lared

Port er .“W aal , I

’d very -uch l i ke to see th e way to a town

they cal l Ashbu rt on , al l the same , answered Coffin ,cheerfu l l y “There’ s a lot of Amer i cans on parol e

there . Theywas non—fighter s, I suppose, an’ they a real lowed to breathe , anyway ;wh ich i s someth i ng . Per

haps you ’ l l t e l l me th e road , m ister b l acksm i th ?”

Ban’ t a easyway to h i t ,” answered Noah .

“Take

the morn i ng sun on your face an’ keep st ra igh t on t i l l

you get there .”

“The su n’s a poor finger -post i n th i s ra in-rotted

count ry ,” sa id G ideon Port e r .

“\ V h en be you go ing to sta rt , Dan Gotha?”asked

the guard .

’Cause I shou ld l ike to know .

”

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

162 F A R M OF T H E D AGGER

vateer , a nd have another s lap at th i s durn ed

count ry .

”

“\ V i sh you luck ,” s a id the sent ry .

You ’ l l get a bel ly fu l of good v i t t l es , anyway ,declared Noah .

“O r a bel ly fu l of bagonet ,” added the sol d ier .

W el l , sa l t fish a nd bad flour and black potatoes can

be beat ,” con fessed Coffin .

“But there’s pl en ty of

good water .”“So W i l l iam Barks thought ,

” an swered the otherp r i soner . “W ent to sl eep and woke to find h i s hammock under a l e a k i n the roof.”

“Howi s the man to-day? He a lways had rheumat i e s i n h i s bones , e v en aboard sh ip .

”

“W i l l i am B a rks i s dead , and so i s ou r mate Gayl or ;e nd B i l l Fenne l ’ s past hope,” answered Mr . Porter.

Gotfin l ooked gr a v e .“W e l l , they

’ re ou t of it . Th i s h ere ea rt h wi l l behau nt ed by Yankee ghost s t i l l doom , I t h ink .

“Please God t h ewa r wi l l soon be ended ,” sa id Noahfrom th e l a dde r .

“Yes ,” answered G ideon Porter , “

an’ pl ease God

r igh t wi n s , then there’ l l be one na i l more i n the coffinof th i s cu rsed country .

“You’d l i ke the m a k ing of that coffin , I lay

be ing a ca rpente r,” sa id Newcombe .

"l‘will be he l l ’s work , not mine , to hold al l B ri t

TH E “OLD AROO S TOOK ”163

isher s , a n swered the round-baeked man ; and i f

t la re i s a hotter gr id i ron down bel owthan the Eng l i shro a s t on,

’twi l l be for them Amer i can s who ha v eth rown up the sponge and taken the i r l ibe r ty a t thecos t of m a nn ing your sh i ps . They ’ l l ha v e the i r shar e

wi th Judas for e tern i ty .

”

“For that ma t ter t hey ’re n oworse t han t hem of th i s

count ry as ha v e s tar v ed them int o it ,” sa id Coffin, and

h i s gen i a l face grew gr im .

“That i s why we’re kepton t

'oul r a t ions and t rea ted l ike beast s i n t h e slaugh ter

house yard . Theywa nt ter m a ke us go in the i r d i r tysh ips a nd fight aga i nst ou r own flesh and blood ; theywant te r m a ke o s k i l l ou r sons and our fathers ! The

Ri d I nd ians ne v er thought of noth i ng worse thanth a t . You sold i er there

,you ough t te r tu rn as

r ed as you r coat for shame ter t h i nk you ’re a

l l r it isher .

”

No a h Newcombe had screwed h i s las t i ron bar i n tothe windowof th e cachot and nowcam e down h i sl a dder . The Amer i can’s l atest rem a rk had i nterested

h im not a l i t t le .“One s ide’s on ly good t i l l you h ear t ’other ,

” h e sa id .

"I’ve he a rd tel l there’ s a good fewB r i t i sh-born i n s ide

th i s v ery pr i son , a nd mo re’n one o f thosewho l e ft here

l a stweek to j o i n H is M aj esty ’ s b r ig Seala r kwas Engl i s h . Th a t. me a n s the y was you r p ri sone rs an’ wen t tofight for you r a ther than be star v ed by you r turnkeys .

164 F AR M OF T H E DAGGE R

Just i ce i s j u st i ce . I l ay you r war gaol s ban’ t none too

cheerfu l ne i ther .”

“Yes ,” sneered the carpenter , t i s easy for 0 free

man to g i v e us poppy-cock ta l k l ike t ha t . Andwhatpaymen t do the honest Yankees as have worked foryou these many years ge t when they refuse to fightaga inst t he i r count ry?”

“As t o that ,” answered Newcombe , “ ’t i s a n i ce

qu est ion , an’ you ’ve got to th i nk al l round it . You

see , i f a fight ing man won’ t fight for the cou nt ry asg i v es h im h i s bread , he’s a t ra i tor aga i ns t it .

”

“ Is h e a t ra i tor not t er fight aga i nst h i s ownmother?” asked Coffi n pass i onately .

“ I s i t h onest t er

make h im“You woul dn’ t ha v e us b i d ’em good morn ing and

hand ’em o v er to man your batt l e-sh ips after we’ v e

taught ’em howEngl i shmen fight , woul d ’e asked

the black sm i th .

“Yes,I would ; becau se a man ’ s coun try i s h i s fi r st

cal l ,” answered Newcombe .

“I’

d g i v e my l i fe t o cut the th read of your tarna

swore th e sma l l -eyed carpenter ; and het ion King ,’

gnashed h i s teeth l i ke a caged rat , not knowi ng thathe was i ndeed to y iel d h i s l i fe wi t h i n ten m i nut es ofthat momen t—to end i t and fill a namel ess grave i n thefar- spread ing heather .

“H is M aj esty ban’t l i kely to s l eep the worse for

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

MICROCOPY RESOLUTION VEST CHART

(ANSIa nd ISO IESTCHARTNo . 2 )

I.QS L6

APPLIED IMAGE Il bs ! Eo s t Mum St r ee tRoch es te r , NewYou M 60 9 USA

(7 l 6 ) 4 82 Ph one

(7 16) 288 59 59 Fax

166 FAR M OF THE DAGGER

stop here , blacksm i th , el se t hey’ l l find your ladder .

Th ree shot s a re a s ignal that theywan t a l l hands .He shou ldered h i s musket and ran where other sol

d iers were a l so runn ing—to t he ma i n e x i t from Pr i son

No . 4 but scarcely h a d h e v an i shed before Noah Newcombe sawDan ie l Ceth a and h i s fr i end retu rn roundthe oth er s ide of t he cachot . The th ree men here st ood

i n a corn er con ce a l ed from the ma in yard . Ou one

s ide of th emwas th ewal l of th e cachotwi th i t s doubl ebarred windows ; upon the other , the i nner, bel lguarded barr i e r of the pr i son .

The d i n from th e next yard was nowindescr ibabl e ;bu t Coffin hu r r i ed t o Noah ’s ear and spok e , tel l ing a

great mat ter i n fewwords .“W e’ l l t roub l e you for that l adder , Br i t i sher ?

”

Noah stared and made no answer .“Can ’ t stop to talk ,

” sa id Coffin .

“Here’ s a chan ce ,

and i fwe don’ t take i twe don ’ t deser v e to be free .”At th e same moment be c losedwi th Newcombe, and

the b l acksm i th foundwi t h sat i s fact ion that h i s opponen t mean t t o w res t l e .

“You ’m out for once , my bold hero ,” he gru nted ;

for you ’ v e p i cked the best man at th i s gam e on

Dar tymoo r“And wi l l be t he best aga i n , I’ l l bet—when I’m off

it,” answered Coffin .

Newcombe sa id no more , for he fel t by the other’ s

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

168 FAR M OF T H E D AGGER

ger was nowp r act ica llv a t an end , for the t roub l eamong th e Frenc h h a d summoned a l l the out ly i ng

gu a rds t o th a t qu a rt er ; bu t one sent ry , has ten ing

from d i stan t duty , sudden l y cam e u pon the fugi t i v es .

W hat he sawwas one v ery tal l and ragged m a n a t t hefoot of t he ladder aga in s t the ou ter wal l , and a l i tt l eround-shou ldered pr i soner runn ing l ike a monk ey up

th e l a dder . Thereupon the sold ier stopped , fel l on

one k nee , and fi r ed h i s muske t a t the moment whenPo rter reached the top of th ewa l l and perched there .The shot , t ru ly a imed , s truck h i m i n the r i gh t s ide ,and penet rated t h rough h i s l ungs to h i s hea rt . As

(‘

oftin c l i mbed Upwards , at the bel lowof the musket ahea v y we i ght fel l u pon h im , and h e fou nd h imsel f

en cumbered with h i s com r a de’ s corpse . The sold ier ,fr i gh tened t o at tack a man of th i s huge s i ze a t c l ose

qua rt ers , st oodwh ere he h a d fi r ed, ti tty yards d i stan t ,and began to l oad a ga i n as f a s t as pos s ibl e . Bu t

Coffi n thought not of h i m for th e moment . H is at ten

t ionwas occup iedwi th the body of G ideon Port er , andhe exam ined h i s fr iend to see i f any t r a ce of l i fe

rema ined . Death , howe v er , had st a mped an nam i stakabl e impress on th e carpenter’ s feat u res , a nd rea l

i s ing th a t h i s mat e was i ndeed free Dan ie l t hough t ofh i m sel f. He ran up the ladde r i n a n i nstan t , t hen

dr a gged i t afte r h i m , and dropped i t ou t s ide . The

sold i er was nowpowerless to fol l ow, and Dan i e l had

TH E “O LD A RO O S TOOK ’169

d i sappeared l ong before h e cou ld ra i se h i s musket a

second t ime . Lower ing h i mse l f by h i s l ong a rms ,t

‘

e tlin reduced the d rop of s ix teen feet to sca rcel y more

th a n se v en ; t hen he re a ched t he ground safely and

l ook ed round upon a str a ngeworld . He knewa s l i tt l eo f h i s su rround ings nowa s though he had fal len fromt b a l l oon i nt o a count ry who l ly u n f a m i l i a r ; bu t h i sins t inct t ook h im away a t r i ght a ng l es from the pr i sonwal l ; he r a n down the sl ope th a t h ere subt ended fromit and p roceeded i n a d i rec t ion due no r t he a st into the

v al l ey of a st ream cal l ed the Blaekabr ook .

Thus the m a n got c l ear of Pr ince Town before the(‘meutcwh i ch h a d g i v en h im su ch a n opport un i tywasended : a nd by t he t i me th a t two r i v al fact ion s of theFrench pr i soners were separ a t ed , the i r l eaders confined i n the cachot s , and t he i r wounded t a ken to hosp i t a l , Dan i el Coffin , under th e sh el ter o f low, greyra in-cl ouds .was two m i l es d i stan t .Yet

,as he hast enedwi thou t set t l ed purpose onward ,

he remembe red the words of h i s dead fr iend upon the

dav they entered Dartmoor : “Look around you .

One s ide of t h ewal l i s pr ison as much as t ’other ."

Tis G id that’s free ,” he though t ,

“not me . B urn

the old monkey ; I’m sorry he’s gone .”

C H A P T E R X V I

ROGER HONE YW ELL D O N S BLA CK

HAULED i n t he lap of the h igh h i l l s that

folded lo v ing ly round abou t it, se t i n gran

i te a nd br ia r ,br ake-fern a nd thewi ld woodrush , s ink ing i nt o a solemn g l o a m ing , and

lu l l ed by the song of W estern D a rt , a D a rtmoor m a r

v el , t he ‘Vood of VVistman ,appea red to Dan i el Coffin .

H idden for some hours wi th i n a rough copse oflarch and beech n i gh Blackabr ook , he h a d c rept out a t

sunset a nd p u shed forwa rd , t ru st ing that chancewou ld p r esent lv d i rec t h i m t o Ashburt on . He k newt he l i tt l e town t o be abou t fifteen m i l es d i stant , bu t asun less e v en i ng l e ft h i m i n doubt of th e d i rect ion .

Now, p roceed ing a c ross the great wa ste , hework ed h i sway towa rds the v a l l ey of the \ V es t D art , passed be

h ind the g l en of (‘ows iek R i v er fu l l o f young t rees

a t th a t season , but a l i t t l e fores t now— c l i mbed o v ert he grea t rounded back of Ba i r Down , and then s a nk

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

172 FAR M OF T H E D AGGE R

the humped oak s regarded h i m and perce i v ed h i s

presence .“E ven the bl essed t rees i n th i s count ry ,

” he sa id

to h i msel f,

“a re cen tu r ies old and tumbl ing ter p i eces

wit h t ime ! ’T i s a l l anc ien t ter my eyes ; ’ t i s al l on i ts

l a st l egs , no doubt . I r eyther guess th a t the whol ebl amed i sl and i s ru st ing te r p i eces ; an’ th e peopl e i n

it, too . I‘lver vth ing c lean worn ou t ; an’ when it

belongs te r us , we’ l l make i t a summer-hou se a nd ag a rden fo r t he Pres ident . ’Ta i n ’ t no man ner 0

’ u se

fo r a nyt h ing el se .”

(‘

ottin thu s spoke of I‘lngland. not th e v enerabl e

forestwh i ch nowoffered h im su ch su re she l ter .The fug it ive

’s eye h a d marked a hou se i n the broad

v a l l ey beneath B a i r Down , as he c a me that way , andh i s pu rpose was to b reak i n to th i s bu i ld i ng after

n ight fal l . H i s body c r ied for food , and he k new th a t,

wi thou t it , any fu r ther su ccessfu l p rogres s or u l t imateescape would be imposs ibl e .The bu i ld ing tha t he had notedwas the “Saracen’ s

Head ,” a l i t t l e i n n recent ly erected at Two B r idges,

on th e bou nd a ry l in e between the eas t and wes t quart ers of the M oor . Here nowstands th e finest and mostfamou s host el ry upon Dartmoor ; bu t the anc i en t i nn

was on ly a rough hou se of refreshment for man andbeast set up bes ide a newh i gh road .

Unt i l t he fa l l of n igh t Dan Coffi n rema ined w i th in

ROGI'IR HONEYW ELL DONS BLACK 178

\Vistman’

s‘.Vood ; bu twhen an owl began to boot and

only one f a i n t gle a m m a rked whe re the r i v e r r a nbeneath h i m , h e cl i mbed down to Da r t a nd worked h i sway through the v al l ey . At l ength , reach i ng the i n n ,

he h id a t h a nd unt i l a l l l ights were out a nd the l a stmou nted wa y f a rer h a d gone upon h i s ro a d . Then

the s a i l o r a l l owed anot her hour t o pass be fo re he se ttowork . No d iffi cu ltv attended h i m i n the ent erpr i se ,fo r the th ree i nm a tes o f t he “S a racen’ s Head” —am a n , h i s wi fe , a nd t he i r son— s l ep t soundly enough ,desp i t e the wi ld rumou r b rought by t ra v e l l er s that ahundred desperate Amer icans had esc a ped from

Pr ince Town . The i r weary bod ies s l umbered dreamless ly , a nd no v i s ion of a huge and h ungry enemy i n

the l a rder d i st u rbe d the i r regu lar breath ing or wokeone une a sy s igh .

D a n iel d i sco v ered great st ore o f bread and cheese ,a r ib of beef, and a large pot of pork d r ipp ing . \ V i t h

thes e th ings be s tuff ed the pocket s of h i s r a gs , th a nk ed

God t o find a pa i r of huge boot s stand ing by a dy ingpe a t fi r e i n the k i tchen , and then departed swi ft ly ands i l ent ly as he had come ; for he bel ieved that hewou l deat wi th better a ppet i t e u nder th e open n ight thanwi th i n sound of a snor i ng i n nkeeper .R ight ly j udg ing that the immed iate ne ighbou rhood

must be unsafe for h im after h i s robbery , Coffin d id

not return to \Vistman’s W ood ; bu t mark ing a clear

174 FAR M OF T H E D AG GER

ing i n the sk i es , sawthe f a ce of fam i l i a r s tars , as theyh a d been th e steadfast cou ntenances o f fr i ends , and ,t u rn ing to the northeast , p a ssed a l ong under th e

crown of Cr oke r n Tor, descended i nto the v al l ey of al it t l e st re a m

,a nd there fel l upon the food he had

brough t , a nd ate as h e had no t e a ten s ince t he capture

o f the Chesapeake.

Two good me a l s s t i l l rem a i n ed t o h i m,a nd when

grey dawn out l ined the gran i te c rown of Bellafor dTo r, whe re i t nowtowered easter l y abo v e h im , h e

tu rned h i s s teps i n that d i rect ion , hop ing t o find good

h id ing wi th i n i t s secret places u n t i l another n i gh tshou ld com e .

The textu re of the great moor myster i ou sl y

changed a round h im , and seemed sowed wi th pearl sth a t a nswered the l i gh t . A fa in t foreg l owbru shed thegloom wi th rose, and the flush of d awn fel l gen t lyUpon gran i te and heather, upon r i v ers gl immer ing

upon the ru ined hab i tat ion s of th e ol d Danmon ian

men . Nowthe morn ing wi nd c a me gent ly t o th i sst ranger in a st range l and ; the fa r flung fi r e of the

l esser fu rze l i ghted h i s way , a nd the dawn exhal edsweet ness and woke memory . I t b rough t h i s d i stan t

hom e a l i t t l e nea rer ; i t c a mewi t h a sea—message fromthe great b lue ; i t rem inded h i m of a sm a l l i s l a nd nest

l i ng cl ose to i t s mother cont inent . Nantu ck et wasm i rrored i n h i s m ind’ s eye , t ogethe r wi th those who

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

176 FA R M OF TH E DAGG E R

About the t ime that t h i s st r a nger brok e pr i sonwi thsuch complete t emporary success , a s tart l i ng e v ent

had f a l l en ou t a t Postbr idge .

Eve nowa t l ibe r t y , desp i t e h er hero i c det erm i nat ionto face l i fe i n a manner worthy o f her l o v er, foundthe actu a l retu rn t o ex i stence difficul t enough , now

th a t i t was robbed of h i m . Sadly shewen t abou t herdut ies , s a dly sh e stol e t o the r i v ers ide tha t she m ight

walk those g l a des a nd h a unt the l o v e-nook s sacred to

her sweetheart . D a r t sang of h i m ; the b i rds t old ofh im ; sh e lo v ed the old , f a ded blo s som s best , becau se

perchance he had beheld them . The newdowe rs h a dnever k nown h i m ; and she vowed t o pl uck not one l i t t l ebud aga i n unt i l h e came back to h er . M uch sh ewondered howhe had spoken no l a s t word t o her ; andl o v e’s qu ickness l ed her t o guess tha t some harsh e v en t

had swept h i m away a nd den ied a fa rewel l . She

understood a nd l o v ed h i m no l ess ; sh e wondered i f het oowou ld apprec iate he r power of unders tand ing andnot. fret concern ing those noc tu rnal hours when heh a d p rom i sed t o come , but came not .

Somet i mes h e r hea rt gl owed at the though t ofQu inton gl or iou sly j u st i fy ing ex i st en ce aga inst Eng

land’s enem i es ; som et im es h er sp i r i t sank at th e

thought o f wa r , and she wept a nd tol d hersel f t hath e was a poet and should l i v e a mongs t l o v ely th i ngs ,and not , as now, i n the s a v age atmosphere of smoke

ROGER HONEYW ELL DONS BLACK 177

and bl ood . H i s last rhyme seemed a prophecy as she

repe a t ed i t t o herse l f. I t com fort ed her, too , because

there was beau t i fu l rec iproc i ty i n it . I t coul d be

ut tered by h im before a b a tt l e ; by her i n l one ly sorrow

under Da rtmoor m i st s . Rocked on the m i ghty deep ,when the grea t sa i l s s l ept and a cal m made th e oceans t i l l , Qu i nton m i gh t l ook up t o the m i sty host s of

he a v en a nd perh a ps remember h i s l ast rhyme :

My lo ve sha l l be a l itt le star,And gu ide my go ing through the n ight

wh i l e Eve , u nder th e g rey weather of her home andt he grey weather of her l onel y he a rt

,wou ld wh i sper

m any t i mes th rough each long hou r those otherwords,and sm i l e th rough desola te tears a t the br ight face

m irrored in her m ind

My lo ve sh a l l be the sun to me ,And g lad my go ing thr ough the day .

Thus dream ing at noon t ide i n the val l ey , Eve

became awa re o f an un fam i l ia r a nd u ncommon obj ectmo v ing th rough the d i s tan t scene . Here was wo v enthe garb of summer ; g r e y stone swam into th e greygreen of sal l ows , and these aga i n were set aga insta l der a nd s a pl ing o a k s . The water brough t l ightdown from th e skv and r eflected t he p i l ed c l ouds . No

br igh t note of colour ma rked the c l oudy d a y and no

g loom accompan ied it . A d i ffused and gent le. l igh t

178 FAR M OF T H E DAGGE R

wrapped al l th ings . Therefore the abrupt appearance

o f a spot of inten se b l ack caught E v e’ s eye sharply

and at t racted her attent ion . Look i ng agai n , she

obser v ed that the spot had turned in to a man ; and th i s

fact seemed remarkabl e , for to find any human crea

ture thu s sombre ly att i red upon a week-day i n th e v a l

l ey of t h e r iver was beyond her exper i en ce . Al l fol k s

were u sual ly garbed i n those fam i l iar ea rt h col ou rsp roper to such a scene , and onlv upon Sund a y d id the

men don black , ou t of respec t to Hea v en and cus tom .

The st range figur e approached , and E v e’ s h eart

b e at br i sk ly as she recogn ised M r . Roger Honevwell .To see th e busy farmer thuswander ing a lone by Dartaston i sh ed E v e not a l i t t l e ; bu t he seemed to ha v e

other m at ters than bus iness upon h is m ind . He moved

a l ong i n a fash ion tha twas sol em n and slow; h i s eye swere ben t upon the ground ; th e sheen on h i s s i lk enhose caught Eve’s eye . H is b lack coa t and breeches

appeared to be qu i te new, and the sobr i e ty of h i s cos

tume ex tended to e v ery garmen t of it . As he

approach ed Eve he drewfrom h i s pocket 8. handkerch iefwhose border was al so bl ack . A nar row , grassy

way there ran bes ide the r i v er , and the g i rl drew as i de

to l et M r . Honeywe l l pass . He mo v ed along, tak ing

short st eps , and prodd ing th e ground wi th a gol dheaded cane . I t seemed that h e was qu i te unconsc ious

of her p resence , bu t j ust a s h e passed her by, the

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

180 F AR M OF T HE DAGGBR

nephewbet ter t han he lo v ed you . I t i s r igh t that you

shou l d knowthat , ma iden . I t wi l l be a happymemory . Ci rcum stances p re v en ted h i s v i s i t on a cer

ta in n i ght nows i xweek s old .

”

“Se v en week s and a day , s i r . ’Ti s se v en week s and

five day s s ince la st I sawh i m .

”

“Lo v e h a s a good recol l ec t ion of these deta i l s .

Al a s ! th e p i ty of it—sadder th a n w i thered flower s . I

may tel l you tha t I was upon your s ide . I supportedQu inton ; I mean t v erywel l t o you ; but I po inted ou tthat t ime—perhaps years—must el apse before i twou ld be poss ibl e for t he l a d to make you h i swi fe . Iheld out hopes that i t m igh t yet pl ease He a v en to

soften y our father’s hear t ; I counsel l ed pat ien ce .

Then he tol d me howthat you were made a pr i soner ;he implored me to say howbes t you m igh t be freedfrom tha t d i st ress ing pos i t i on . W ou l d that I had

ad v i sed (l ift'er entlv ! But my e r ror— if error i twas

has brough t a t err ibl e pun i shmen t wi th it . I urged

Qu inton Honeywel l t o depart awh i l e ; I showed h imth a t on ly sowou l d you rega i n you r l ibe rty . A grea t

oppo rt u n i ty offered . His u nc l e’s sh ip-of-wa r , th el l'a ter u'itch , was j u st a bout t o sa i l from Plymou th ,

and I subm i t ted to my nephewthat i t m ight be awi seand a nobl e act t o go a l ongwi th her . He l eapt at th e

i dea . He glor i ed i n th e though t of mak ing a name

for you to share . He spok e n ob ly of j u st i fy i ng h i s

ROGER HONEYW ELL DONS BLACK 181

ex istence for you r young sake . Forg i v e my tears . I

am an old man , and tea rs tort u re 8. w ith ered cheek .

Hewen t on h i sway rej o i c i ng . Therewas not t ime tosee you aga i n , becau se upon the day of you r appo in t

ment th e lVaterwitch sa i l ed to t he wars . Almost h isl a s t words to me were that I shou l d expl a i n th i s toy our ear , i t

'ever a chan ce occurred . G l adly I prom

i sed to do so ; bu t phy s i ca l suffer i ng has h el d me a

pr i soner . Now, howe v er , we meet .”“ I knewit t I kn ew’ twas wel l . I t ru sted i n h im

l ike other ma idens tru st i n Hea v en

The old man shook h i s head .

“Alas , ch i ld , such imp i e ty i s too often pu n i shed .

My heart b l eeds for you ; bu t the t ru th can no l onger

be bid .

”

“\Vhat t ruth? ’T i s no t r uth to say he’ v e l eft me.

VI‘

is no t ru th to say h i s dear heart don’ t t h rob ‘Eve,

E ve, E v e’ w i th every pu l se of it ; for r igh t wel l I

know i t must .”

“Alas , poor g i r l . Summon you r for t itude as I ha v e

had to do . H is heart th robs no more at a l l . Three

d ays ago a packet from my brother was l anded by ahome-coming vessel . I t s con ten ts h a v e made an ol d

m a n of me . An engagemen t w i t h an Amer i can

fr ig a te . He fel l l ike a hero i n th e hou r o f v i ctory .

I l is gra v e i s i n the great sea . He

Mr . Hone ywel l s topped , for he was speak i ng to

182 F A R M OF T H E DAGGE R

deaf e a rs . H i s face changed from a mourn fu l aspec t

back to i t s cu stomary hard and b i rd—l i k e express ion .

H is eyes gl i t tered , and he shook a fist up t he val ley at

the wh i t ewal l s of D agger Farm .

“There, Joh n Newcombe —th i ef, murderer , de v i l !—th a t’s payment for ach ing bones ; that’s salve for a

sore h ide . That ’s th e beg inn i ng—but only th e begi n

n ing !”

He l ooked a t the gi r l who l ay qu i t e unconsc iou s ath i s feet , showed no t remor of p i ty for her brokenhea rt , and so tu rned and passed on h i s way towardsVitifer Farm .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

18 4 FA R M OF T HE DAGGER

message that h e brought . Thereu pon she st r a ightwasa t down , a nd n a rrowly esc a ped a second f a int ingIt wou l d be ha rd to m a gn i fy t h i s y oung he a rt ’

gr i e f . L i gh t went out o f her d ay s a nd an ecl ipse

swal l owed her . Noth ing rema ined t o her . Her l i fe

was l i v ed ou t a nd i t had brought her to the edge of

u t te r d a rk ness . No te a r gathered m i s t i ly i n he r grey

eyes . They were b r igh t a s st a rs and l i fted upwa rds .But she sawnoth ing . Her feet t r a v el l ed the f a m i l iar

way . She entered the hou se, h a stened to her ownroom , a nd l ocked the door o f it . The b a rs h a d been

remo v ed from the wi ndownow.

She sat b y i t and st a red down the v a l l e y . She

seemed almost to stop bre a t h i ng . No power of hea v enor earth cou l d d r awone goss a mer o f com fo rt betweenher a nd the fu l l and b i t t er bl a st of th i s t r ial . Her

nat u re was t he so rt t h a t l a ck s room for y ar ied

i nt e rest s . A natur a l rel i g ion had belonged t o her and

comp assed he r m ind . I t was a v agu e c reed of beau ty—a s power l ess t o help he r nowas th e flower s of the

field . For hou rs she thu s sat mot ion l esswi t h Qu i ntonHone ywel l . She rebel l ed aga inst t h e though t of h imas a sp i r i t . I l i s de a r body , h is l o v ing a rm , h i s v o i ce,t hat ch i medwi th the mus i c o f Dart— thesewere i n herthought s . Nowh e was de ad , and the res t less searol l ed o v er h i s bones . She l eap t to her fee t and

screamed ou t a sudden eu r se ag a i n s t th e menwho had

A F LOW E R I N TH E R I VE R 185

k i l led h im . Her heart swel l ed , and i n her frenzy shec a l l ed on God to b l acken a l l t he migh ty New W'orl d

for h i s sake .“ Il i s l i fe ,

” she cr i ed ,“h i s gol den l i fe t o be sacr ificed

to the v i l e and bl oody quarrel s of others ! W h a t he

m a n th a t h e dared to touch my own l o v e , an’ cru sh

h i m , an’ fling h im i n the sea

She kept her room that day on plea of i l l ness , and

not unt i l th e household s l ept d id she r i se from her bed

to wa lk up and down i n her chamber . The s tra i n

open her m ind became intens ified and t endi ng to

bre a k ing .

She stopped i n her t iger i sh t ramp backwards andforwards a s a thought fel l i n to her mi nd . She had

as ked herse l f a thou s a nd t imes howshe shou ld act ,md nowthe answer cam i n shape of a rebuke . He

was dead . W hat d id sh i do al i v e? He h a s passed

awa y out of the worl d , and h i s l ovel y l i fe mo v ed

be y ond Death ’s dom i n i on . He was , perhaps , l one ly

there ; he wandered am id u nknown sp i r i t s i n unknownwa y s . He l o v ed and l ooked back and though t of Eye

bes ide the r iver . Eve wi th h i s rhymes upon her l ips,l i v ewi th a prayer for h im fore v er flying upward l ikethe smoke o f incen se . And nowmost su re ly be wasawa re th a t t he i l l news had reached her . He had sa id

in h i s sp i r i t -he a rt,

“She knows l” And st i l l h ewa i ted .

A s impl e p a g a n i sm marked her att i tude t o L i fe and

1 86 FAR M OF T HE DAGGER

Death . To pass from one to the other by her owndeed appeared i n i t sel f no cr ime to her . She had con

s ide r ed th e m a t ter when her l o v er l e ft h er and hel dt he deed nobl e , i f l i fe ceased to be a d ign ified o r

worthy th ing . Now, i n t he storm of th i s t err ibl e t r i a l ,e v ery th rob of p a s s ion cr i ed to her to end the t ortu re

and hast en th rough br i e f darkness to th e l igh t of h i s

l o v e . No warn ing smote her ; no vo i ce bade her pau se

then . He was l i y i ng st i l l , and at th e though t onefa in t and lonel y be am of l ight t ouched h er . Hewasl i v i ng st i l l , and onl y th e (l eath-change part ed them .

Hewas imp a t ien t , a nd she fel t it . He mar v e l l ed that

ea rth cou ld hold he r so long a fter he had ce a sed to

dwel l i n it . Perhaps he was s a d th a t sh e shou l d cont iouc a l l t hese hou rs to breath e t he a i r a fter h e had

ceased to breathe it . To h i s lo v ing sp i r i t a l ready she

must seem fa it hl es s .

But he should notwa i t v ery long . Shewould g iveh im l i t t l e to ch ide a g a i n st . She remembered that not

one mouth fu l of food had p a ssed her l ips s in ce she had

heard the t id ings of h i s de a th ; and she was glad .

At th e fi r st grey of the morn i ng she determ ined to

go back to h i m by the sh in ingway of th e r i v er th a t h eh a d lo v ed . A st eadf a s t determ i n a t ion su sta ined her,and no spark of h e ro i sm ma rked her mood

,for she was

do ing the th i ng she mos t ye a rned to do . He r l i fe held

not one shadowof del ight for he r nowth a t her l o v e

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

188 FA R M OF T H E D AGGE R

And Dart , sa id men , bu i ld ing u pon the t al es t he i r

f a thers h a d tol d t hem , a hea rt wou ld have for eachyear that rol led a l ong . A human crea tu re annual l y

departed i n th e r i v e r’ s depths ; an d i f i t happened tha t

t h r ough a year sh e sl ept wi thout one v i ct im , th en she

woke a ga i n the hungr ier,and i n some fu r iou s au tumn

flood , or under th e dark tempest o f a w in ter n ight ,c la imed two l i v es to restore th e bal ance of hertol l .

These th ings were al l accepted t ru th s i n th e m indof Eve. And nowshe r eflected wi thou t su rpr i se thati nt o th i s myst i c m a ch inery of dark and h idden powersh er d a y s were drawn . So would Laws not made by

men be fu lfilled i n her pass i ng ; and she fel t that itwaswel l t hat i t should be so .

Shewa l ked th rough the grey dew-drenched grassesand spoke to the r i v er i n a mental dream .

“You be al l that ’ s l eft of theworld to me ; an’ you ’ l lb e k ind an

’ se t the l i fe of me free to go . A heart you

shal l hay ch —though ’ t i s ~nly a l i’ l brok en hear t for

su re . Oh , take m e down—alongwhere you be go ing !Tak e me down , down t o th e sal t sea ; for I’d l i k e mypoor body t o be there an’ fee l the gertwa v es same as hed i d . The sp i r i t of h im I ’ l l see an

’ k is s aga in wi th i nth i s hour— if so be God do l et sp i r i t s k i ss ; yet n ow,wh i l e I be st i l l a l i v ing ma iden , I do l o y e h i s dear body ;an

’ I do l o v e to th ink as m inewi l l l i e i n t h e same ter

A FLOW ER I N TH E R I VER 189

r ibl e gert grave . Do’e hear me , you old r ive r ? It

seemyou do .

”

She moves l ike a ghost i n th e m i sty l ight . Li tt l e

c a l v es s l ept i n the val l ey , and she sme l led the i r sweetbreath as she passed them by . Noth i ng waked yetbut E v e and uns leep ing Dart . No b i rd u t tered a

morn ing note ; no fish s t i rred the wate r ; no d i s ta ntcock-crowheralded the day .

“ I be go i ng down to you r gert pool by the a l ders ,s a id E y e aga in . The r i v er has become a final l ink

wi th l i fe, and i t seemed natu ral to her tot ter i ng m indthus to address it .

’Twas where he tol d me fi r st he lo v ed me . He

s a id Iwas al l th e world to h im . Your v a le was dear

to h im becau se i twas the cradl e of h i s E v e . He axed

me to l ove h im,an

’ sa i d there was a good God forcerta in becau se I d id lo v e h im . Ess fay ! he cou l d

lo " e me, though I tol d h im I was bu t a commonma iden an

’ knowed l i tt l e more 0’ the world than the

n a mes of th e flower s . An’nowhe’s gone back to the

God a s l o v ed h im too dear to l et h im b ide here ; an’ my

lov e be so great as God’s , for’ t i s the whol e of me ; an

’

God’s can ’ t be no more’n the whol e of H im e ither . So

I be go ing back .

”

Her m ind al ready wandered and seemed to hasten

on before . Only enoughwas l eft of consc i ou s intelligenee and consc iou s determi nat i on to complete her

190 FA R M OF TH E DAGGER

purpose . Re a ch ing t he deep pool , bes idewh ich Qu i nton Honeywel l had asked her t o be h i s wi fe , t he g i rlmade not an i n stant ’s pau se , but hastened st ra igh t

o v er the grassy b r ink i nto the sh i n i ng dep th s

beyond it .

Towatch ing eyes i t had seemed that no frant i c

woman here ga v e up her l i fe to t he r i v er ; but rather

that a l o v ely flower had fal l en unt imely , to float a

momen t wi th da inty petal s g l i mmer i ng through thec rysta l before i t v an i sh ed for e v er .

And watch i ng eyes therewere ; bu t th i s sel f—des t r uct ion , so plac id and gent le , for a momen t dece i v ed the

h idden manwho behel d it . Then as the water c l osedo v er Eve’swh it e face and a l it t l e hand al one s t re tchedup out of i t Dan Gotfin of Nantucket from h i s h id i ng

place k new that hewaswatch i ng su i c ide .The man achedwi t h wear i n ess and d i s a ppo i n tment ,

for he hadwasted a l ong n igh t of walk ing . W i thou t

any gu ide. he had tramped for e igh t h ou rs i n a c i rc l e,

and at dawn found h im sel f aga i n under the shadowofBellafor d . Creep i ng up th e v al ley and i gnoran t t hat

he st ood w i th i n a m i l e of h i s rest i ng-place upon th e

tor , h ewas su rpr i sed by the s igh t of a g irl hasten ingal ong th e other s ide of the r iver, and so h id h imsel f

w i th i n twenty yards o f Dart . Here , under h i s eyes,

Eve gl ided i nto thewat er .That to sa v e her l i fe m igh t mean h i s own destr uc

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

A F U NVE R IN TH E R I VER 191

t ionwas not an idea to occu r to Dan iel . Sudden ly thefact ofwha t he sawburst Upon h i m , a nd i n a momen t

h e l eapt from h i s la i r and d a shed down to the r i v er .H i s rags d i d not t roub le h im ,

nor d id h i s boots , for

therewas no need of swimm i ng . The pool , though i t

sca rcely reached h i s n eck,had soon robbed E y e of l i fe ;

but he w a ded out to her , l i fted her head abo v e the

water , and carefu l l y carr ied her to the sho re . E y e

was nowqu i t e un consc iou s ; bu t the sa i l o r knewtheexac t exten t of her soj ourn i n Dart a nd fel t confiden t

that sh e cou l d not be dead . Indeed ,wh i l e h ewat chedher and gent ly rest ed her upon the b a nk she opened

her eyes—ou no l o v ed v i s i on of a wel com i ng sp i r i tbut before th e spectacl e of a huge , unshorn , k i ndly

face , ben t anx iou sly abo v e her . Coffin nowdoubtedmuch of h i s next step . He hoped the ma iden , thu s

brough t back to l i fe by a short cu t ,woul d be conten tto rema i n i n theworld ; he des i red t o lea v e her , exacta prom i se of secrec y from her and st i l l escape ; bu t

Ry ewas i n n o mood of softness , and he perce i v ed th a th i s a ct ion must l ead h im fu rther , for t he ma iden wasmad .

To l ea v e her would be t o l et her d ie . He gazed

round h i m th a t h e m i gh t see i f any s ign of a hou se or

homewas v i s ibl e , and h e noted D a gger Farm sta r i ngwith awh i t e face out of the grey morn i ng a m i l e awa y .

L iberty sh rank i nto an idl e h ope now. I l i s speech and

192 F A R M OF T HE D AGGE R

h i s appearance mus t bet ray h im the moment that he

brought th i s unhappy g i rl back t o the care of her

k i nd . He s ighed and tu rned to Eve, to find her w i st

fu l eyes were fixed upon h im .

W hat gert. ghost be you ?” sh e sa id .

“W ho sen t

you out o f th e a i r t o keep me away from my lo v er?”“IVaal ,

’ t i s a quest ion , youngwoman ,” h e answered ,gent ly ,

’ t i s a quest ion wheth er I’m a ghos t or not .But ’t i s n o ques t ion \ V ho sent me , I reckon , for u s

sa i lor men k nowth t so i s a God , andwe have seen H i swonders i n the dea

f. Bu t I wasn ’ t sen t t er keep you

from your l o v e r , for I’m y er v su re he don’ t l i v e at the

bot tom of the r i v er .”

She st a red at h im . H is v o icewas s trange to her earand h i s a ccen t t roub l ed her .

M y lo v e be dead : I was go i ng through the waterto h im . The r i v er of l i fe

,h e cal l ed Dart once . I

’d be

a l ong wi th h im nowbut for you . W ho be you

To tel l th i s mad ma id the t ru th seemed not dan

ger ous to Coffin . M oreo v er , someth ing assu red h im

that , do what he m ight , F a t ewas aga i nst h i s escape,and that th e n i gh t wou l d see h im aga i n wi th i n thewal l s of P r i nce Town .

“I’m free —now. That ’s a l l that matters . A

Yankee sa i lor , I um, m y dear , bound for—wel l , whoknows where ? Nowcome al ong wi th me

,and t el l me

where you l i v e , and I’ l l take you ter home qu ick .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

194 FAR M OF TH E DAGGER

Tis mo re than any decen t chapwoul d grant you ,a l l the same ,

” he sa id .

“Never sawnoth ing pret t i e rt han y ou i n theworld , excep t my sweetheart at home .”

" Sh e knows you ’m al i v e . ’Ti s enough , for you’ l l

go b a ck t o her arm s some day .

“ M ore l i k e t o th e arms of Pr i nce Town , an’ t he

arms of the smal lpox th a t ’s re i gn ing there . ’Ti s a

fea rsom e pl ace I have run from .

”

At t h i s momen t Shepherd Pote , s t i rr i ng ea r l y ,he a rd a v o i ce, peeped th rough a hedge , and sawa hugeman apparent ly tal k ing to h imsel f for D a n ie l ’s bu lk

qu i te h id the g i rl who walked bes ide h im from M r .

Pote’s eyes . But the shepherd,i n common w i t h

al l other men at Postbr idge ham l e t , had heard of the

d i s tu rbance i n the gaol . Dur ing a r io t in th e French

p r i son two Amer i can s had se i z ed th e opport un i ty toescape . One was shot dead by a sol d i er ; th e other ,

a fter c rack i ng the sku l l o f M r . Noah Newcombe ofPostbr idge, had managed to get c l ear Off . NowPote ,perce i v i ng through the g rey m i st a n enormou s st ran

ger sl owly t ra v el l ing in the d i rec t ion of Dagger Farm ,

a nd burn ing wi th the des i re t o rece i v e the reward oft h ree gu ineas offered for an escaped pr i s oner ,

hast ened , as he had not hasten ed s ince h ewas a spryman of fiy e and fifty or th ere a bout , and arr i v ed at th e

f a rm some m inutes before Coffi n and h i s cha rge .

For l a ck of breath i t was a good s i xty seconds

A F LOWE R I N TH E R I VE R 195

before he cou ld make Ned Prowse pe rce i v e h i s meaning. But a ged Eph ra im ’s great news was grasped ;Ned g a v e a loud wh i st l e and attrac ted two otherstout l a bou rers ; then h e hastened i nto t he hou se to

rouse h i s m a ster .“The money ’ s m i ne , gurgled Pote .

“You can bear

mewi tness , Ned Prowse , that ’ twas I la id the i n format ion . I

’m tooweak i n the hams to l i ft a finger to su cha Gol i ath o

’ G a th a s th i s monst rou s man be ; bu t’ t i s

y our duty t o do it . Hewas com ing up around N ine

Acres , an’ i f you goes down th i s s ide 0 ’ the hedge , hemust pas swi th i n two y a rds of you .

”

The fou r men had st olen off before Shepherd Pote

fin i shed spe a k i ng ; a nd as Coffin brough t E v e up th e

h i l l to her home , a c rash on e i th er s ide of the hedge

told h im th a t h i s fearswere not v a in . Prowse and h i scompan ion s i nstant ly f a stened u pon h im ; bu t John

Newcombe d ropped t he hea v y st i ck th a t he hadbrought a nd stood st ru ck dumb t o see h i s daughterwith her h a nd i n the great pawof th e s a i l or .

T i s a l l r i gh t , l a ds ,” s a id Coffin.

“I’d sooner ea t

ye th a n fight ye , for I’m p ret ty wel l s ta r v ed , and I’m

so a k ingwet and I’ve been on my legs e v er s i nce duskl a st n i ght , and Iwan ts a nogg i n of sp i r i t s badly . I ’ l l

go a long . I t h a d t o be . The poor , bra in-s i ek ma id

fel l in the w a te r, and I was that way, so I fished herout .”

196 F AR M OF T H E D AGGE R

I t r ied to drown myse l f,” sa id E v e , “bu t th i s manwou l d not l et me . He k i l l ed Qu i nton Honeywel l , bu thewou ld not l e t me go t o my lo v e . He has doneworsethan mu rder . Hold h i m f a st , an

’ l e t me go back

along t o the r i v er . No Eng l i shman wou l d have beenso cruel a s that . He’m no man at a l l , bu t j ust a gert ,ev i l t h ing f r om th e p i t of da rkness .”

The f a t her st a red and t he l a bou rers wh i spered .

“God i n hea v en l” c r i ed Newcombe , “s he’ s mad !”M a d !” answe red an echo , short and sharp , from

the s tone face of the farm .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

198 F AR M OF T H E D AGG E R

m i nu te,” h e cont i nued , “but God send that she

’s not to

l ose her m i nd . Bet ter sh e shou l d be de a d i n earnes t

than any su ch dreadfu l th i ng as th a t o’er takes her .”

The d a y dragged wear i ly a l ong . Coffin, c l osely

watched b y two l abou rers , spent most o f h i s t ime i neat i ng and d r ink ing , for the tearfu l m other o f E v e

k newth a t th i s man had sa v ed her d a ughter’s l i fe a ndwou ld h a v e g i v en up her own freedom to establ i s h h i s .Oncewhen John Newcombewas ou t of t h e way, Annapproached the Amer ican pr i soner and s l ipped a l i t t l e

p a ck et i nto h i s hand .

“They’m some of my secret s a v ings ,” sh e sa id .

“ I

m ean t some d a y t o su rpr i se my hu sbandwi t h them , for

he’m hard to p le a se,ah

’ th i s sa v ed money woul d ha v epl e a sed h im ; but i f I had a hu ndred pou nds i nstead

of five , I’d g i v e ’em t o you nowwi’ a bl ess i ng . I ? an ’t

pu t you free , but th i s money may bet te r your lot upal ong to Pr ince Town .

”

“And th a nk you k indly , ma’am . I

’m su re . I don’ t

l ike te r take it , yet’ twi l l he s a l v at ion ter me yonder .

So you r good m a n i s go ing ter g i v e m e up , afterwhatI ’ v e done ? ”

l'ain

’t fa i rsome , I reckon .

”

“I’m a fra id ewi l l

,howe v e r . An hou r s ince Iwent

down on my knees t o h im by h i s d a rter’ s bed—a t h ing

as I on ly d id once a fo re in a l l my l i fe . I prayed to

h i m as I m ight ha v e pr a yed to God , for you r freedom .

An’ for that. matter, so strong—wi l l ed he he, that he is

N I CE Q UE ST I O N S 199

God to h i s w i fe i n al l affa i rs of th i s World . Hewel lknowswhat he owes to you ; bu t he says you r f r eedombe a presen t h e can’ t make you, for

’t i s out of h i s

keep i ng .

”

Coffin l aughed .

“There be those as pu t the i r cou ntry afore the i r

flesh and bl ood , I wel l know. Some on us do too .

“He’ l l see you h i ssel f, come presen t ly , an’ say how

it i s . But he won’ t y i eld .

”

W i th i n the hou r John Newcombe d id as h i s W i feforetol d . He sen t away the l abou rers ,who u nt i l thatt ime h a d stood at door andwindowwhere D a n i e l was ;he l ighted h i s p ipe , handed the Amer i can a c l e a n c lay

and a box of tobacco,and then , when both smoked

stead i ly , he spoke .“I ’ v e got to thank you for my daughter’s l i fe,

999

Dan iel Coffin of Nan tucket .

M r . Dan i e l Coffin of Nantucket . An’ I do thank

you . Chance w i l l ed her shou ldn’ t drown ; chance sen tyou al ong to keep her al i v e . W el l , and I

’m grate fu l .

I knowhowyou’d l i k e me to showit . But I won’ t .I’

mno God Alm igh t y t o send you free of my ownwi l l .I’m a n Engl i shman , bound by l aws an’ bound aga i nstthe country ’s enem ies . You ’ v e been a good fr i end to

me, an’what th e lawal l ows me I ’ l l do . I be goi ng to

g i v e ’e a su i t o f fine c lothes an’ a flannel sh i rt as you

'l l

200 F AR M OF T H E D AGGE R

thank Hea v en for come winter at Pr ince Town .

Lucky I’m a b i g man too , though smal l a l ongs ide you .

Howe v er,t h e cl othes wi l l b e better ’

n th ese rags . An’

I be go ing to g i v e ’e ten gold gu ineas . M ore I can ’ t

do . M y men wi l l t a ke you b a ck th i s e v en ing .

’

Fa i r and foul wi th one v o i ce , mate . They ’ l l cha i nme up in a c a chot i f they get me there ag a i n ; t h ey’ l l

g i v e me hel l i n amest .

“You d idn’ t ough t t o ha v e brok e pr i son .

An’ i f I h a dn’ t , you

’d be ch i ldl ess t h i s m i nute ; for

your m i ss i s tel l s me y ou ’ v e got nough t but her .”

’T i s so—thoug‘h whethe r there’ s much t o bethank fu l for be a quest ion . She’s l i t t l e enough to me

s ince th a t Chap com e .”

“W hy , sh e’d put her sweethea rt be fore her father ,

of cou rse . That ’s n o more th a n natu re i n her . You’re

green , I guess .”

“\ V e’ l l l ea v e that . I t’ s enough that I thank you .

Here’ s the money —bet te r cou nt ’em . You r newc l othes a re spre a d i n the chamber t hrough that door

way . I ’ l l come i n an’ see you put ’em on .

”

“ M oney an’ cl othes ! Th ings i s on the bou nce for

sarta i n !”

Soon , much to h i s sat i s fact ion , Dan i e l fou nd h im

sel f in a good sh i r t and other garment s . They were

too sm a l l , yet l uxur ious compared to those h e had

worn s i n ce h i s capt i v i ty .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

202 FAR M OF TH E DAGGER

h i s arduou s du ty . M oreo v e r, Ned Prowse, t h e cowm a n

,T i mothy Th ir les tone , a nd the ploughman ,

AndrewDaw,were al l o f on e m ind concern ing Dan ie l .

Each i n h i s own way l o v ed th e v ery sh a dowof Eve

Newcombe ; e a ch cons idered th a t th e p r i sone r hadh a ndsome l y won h i s l iberty by rescu i ng he r fromde a th . To h a v e bet rayed the i r t rust , howe v er , wasmore th a n a ny one of the th reewou ld h a v e dared ; a ndNewcombe knewv erywel l t ha t Prowsewou ld n ot takeh i s eyes off Coffin unt i l h e h a d del i v ered h im to the

p r i son tu rnkey s .

At dusk the farmer sh ook hands hea r t i ly wi t h h i sguest , t hen h i m se l f bound the gre a t hand h e had

sh a ken t o i t s fe l l ow, and d id the l ike wi th Dan ie l ’sl egs . The p r i soner was t hen helped to a c a rt fi lledwi th dry br a k e- fern , and i t requ i red a l l t he st rengthof Newcombe a nd h is to ho i s t (foffin i nto

th i s cha r iot . Then the f a rmer h a nded h i m h i s p ipe,st ruck fl int and steel , and held t i nder t o it . F inallv a

he a vy notwas drawn o v er t he Amer i can and fastenedvery fi rmly al l round h i m .

“ I reckon you ne v er sen t noth i ng l ik e me t er market

before ,” s a id Dan iel .“ M ay you t ra v el easy an

’ get a pl e a sante r greet ing

than you count upon . I ’ v e wr i t a l ett er bes t way Icou ld to Capta i n Cotgra v e , the head man at th e gaol .

I ban ’t no penman , but I ’ve made my mean ing c lear,

N I CE Q UE ST I ON S 203

an’ I hope , when he he a rs tel l wh a t you ’ v e done , an’

howyou g i v ed yourse l f Up r a ther th a n l ea v e that

Fr a nt i c m a id to drown herse l f, th a t h i s he a r twi l l be onyour s ide i f h i s he a d ban ’ t .”

“By a l l a ccou nts he

’ v e got no heart , an’ not much

hu ul ne i the r . Gou i l—bye to you , a nd thank you t rue

fo r wh a t you ’ v e done . And i f e v e r I get th e ch a nceto send you back you r ten gu ine a s , by the Lord I

’ l l

! lo it . M aybe I ’ l l l i v e to get pri ze-money , i f not

sma rt money , out of a B r i t i sh sh i p ye t . Stranger

th ings h a v e fal l en out .”

\'cd Prowse c r a cked h i swh ip , and the ca rt wen t on

its way . Th i s v eh icl e i t sel f was an amaz ing no v el tyon Dartmoor . M a ny dwel l e rs a t Postbr idge hadnev er seen a wheel ed con v e y an ce i n the i r l i v es ,and a dozen men and women fol l owed i t some d i st a nce a l ong the rough ro a d ou t o f the v i l lage .

But i t was nowda rk ; t he l a bou rers h a d beensworn to s i l ence ; and chance spect a to r s of D a n ie l ’ s

dep a rture supposed that the v eh i c l e conta in ed sheep

or p igs .

The n i gh twas murky , and soon Ned Prowse had allth a t he coul d do to keep h i s cart u pon the rough newroa d . I-lo l i gh ted a l ant e rn , hung i t on a sha ft, and

crept slowly fo rward . Beh i nd the c a rt wa lked Dawa nd Thir lestone ; and the process ionwent i t sway without words

,for after a growl o r two a t the rough

204 F AR M OF THE DAGG E R

j ol t ing Coffin spoke no mo re , bu t pu ffed at

h i s p ipe i n s i l ence and bus i ed h i s m i nd wi th thefutu re .

Then , as they bre a sted the s teep and lone l y h i l l

beyond Cherrybrook B r idge , a st r a nge figur e

a ppe a red i n the lantern l i ght , and P rowse u ttered anex c lam a t ion of su rp r i se . The wayfarer , t oo , sh owedi nt erest , fo r a c a rt on wheel s i n th i s spot was asst range as a ghost .

“If i t b a n ’ t No a h Newcombe !” cr i ed Daw.

“W el l ,

now! An ’ a l i v ing man by the l ook s of it .

”

“Ess , sou l s , I be pret ty r i gh t aga in . Doctor

wou ldn't l et me come home a fore th i s e v en ing . Kept

m e in the p r i son hosp i tal , sha v ed my he a d , au’ put a

g a sh ly gert patch of p laster al l o v er it . I l ook l ike

a t a nker a bogu s wi’out my hat . ’Twou l d fr i gh t t hedowl to see me .”

He unco v ered and showed an exceed ingly gr imcountenance . One s ide of h i s f a ce was st i l l muchswol l en , m ost of h i s h a i r had been cut off , and upon“

t h e r igh t s ide of h i s head a l arge star of wh i t e st icki ng-plast e r g l i stened i n the l i ght of the l an tern that

Prowse he l d up t o it .

“Aw, j immer y , you

’m a case for a show! An’ to

th ink of howth ings f a l l ou t ! Here he us , an’ we do

a ctu a l ly meet you ’pon thewa y 1”“W herever be you go ing th i s t ime of n ight—Daw

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

206 F AR M OF TH E DAGG ER

a nswered Newcombe ; ’ twas a nobl e fa l l—I’ ll a llowt hat .”

Coffin l a ughed .

“I’m m a k i ng money fast , t hough I can

’ t ge t out 0 ’

t h i s sna r l ,” he sa id .

“W hen you come up to the

p r i s on a g a in , I’l l l a rn you an

’wel come—if they leaveany of m e a fte r t hey get m e b a ck . Are you the

b rother of the g i r l I pul l ed ou t of t he r i v er?” he

a dded .

’Cause that woul d be a cu r iou s th ing , su reenough .

The quest ion was G reek to No a h Newcombe , a ndP rowse expl a i ned . He told h i s story to t he a s ton i shed

b l a ck sm i th , wh i l e Th i r lestone a nd Dawb rok e in wi tha n occas ion a l affi rmat ion .

“An’ t h i s i s my reward , you see , summed up Coffin .

I pul l th e wen ch ou t of the r i v er , an’ t h rowup my

own s a l v a t ion so a s she shan ’ t d rown t here—fo r she’d

ha v e gone i n a ga i n i f I’d l e ft h er a l one a m inu te ; an’

when I k inder though t to be p r a i s ed , he r f a the r packsm e b a ck t er th a t hel l o f a hol e on the h i l l . \Vhat

d’yon s ay te r th a t ? Smart— eh ?”

No a h refl ected wit hou t spe a k ing a momen t . Here

was such a p robl em as he l o v ed .

“ Il o ld h a rd,Ned ,

” he s a id t o Prowse ,who nowprep a red to push forward .

“Th i s axes a power of th inki ng about .”

‘V e l l , you can t h ink of i t after we ’ v e gone our

N I CE Q UE ST IO N S 207

way, answered the l a bourer . “M r . Coffin herewant s3to stop a t the ‘Saracen ’s Head’ an h a v e a d r i nk ,

’c a use “ e’ v e ca l l ed the re once a l ready an’ hel ped h i s

sel f. An’ he’ s i n a m ind to p a y for B i l l W es teott

’s

boots a s he tookwi thou t ax i ng . G i v e you good-n ight ,

“Ban’t ‘good-n igh t’ yet , answered the other .IIold hard , I say . Iwa n t to speak to th i s here man .

”

Ned grumbl ed a moment , the n obeyed .

“Of cou rse ,we’m al l aga ins t maste r ,” he adm i t ted .

"Fis a hard th i ng to send un back after what he’ v e

done . Bu twe must obey o rde rs .”No a h Newcombe t u rn ed to th e p r i soner .“Us

’ll ha v e a tel l ’bout th i s ,

” h e beg a n .

“F i rs t

place, you m igh t th i nk , see i ng wha t you d id to me ,that I was ag a in st you by natu re . \ V e l l , I fel t th e

st ing of g l adness when I fi r s t seed you there l i k e a ra t

in a t rap ; bu t that ’s past . I put that by . You best ed

me in a f a i r"

ol d, ao

’ i f th e mat ter had been t ’other

way round , I’d have done th e s a me by you . I t r i ed

to fel l you an’ fa i l ed . Then down I went . So mu ch

for that . Nowt he nex t th ing be ,what do I do now?”“Set me free , an

’ I ’l l l a rn you t he‘O l d Aroos

took,’ sa id Dan iel , W i th a laugh .

To h i s aston i shmen t Newcombe saw no mere j es t i n

the ide a .’T i s a ser i ou s ques t ion , an

’ i t mu st be looked a t

208 F AR M 0 1'

THE DAGGE R

ul round ,” he sa id .

“An

’ I be go ing to look a t i t al l

round,I do assu re you .

“Best l et us go on ou r way wi thou t more words ,No a h Newcombe ,” i n t errupted Prowse , uneas i ly .

“You ’m talk i ng t re a son an’ you knowit .

”

“You spe a k l i k e a dog barks , Ned ,” retorted Noah ,calm l y “You be l ook ing a t th i s th ing from one po int

o f v i ew. An’ I be look i ng at i t from up an

’ down an’

i n an’ ou t . Now, th i s here man broke p r i son . Th a t’s

bad . Fo r ’t i s go i ng ag a inst the laws o f the count ry .

Bu t the cou ntry ban ’ t h i s count ry ; the re fo re he broke

no lawaswas made for h i m . Il e took h i s chance an’

he got free . ’Twas the fortun e of wa r . Nowyoust a nd here t o hal e h im back to pr ison ’cause he ha v e

fa l l en i n your hands . So you be r ight too ; for you

obey the laws i n g i v ing h im up . Then come I an’

hears you r story . You m ight say that I was i n th esame casewi th you ; but I b a n ’ t -not by a long way .

Forwhy? Because there’ s my l i fe I l i v e to the S tate ,an

’ my l i fe I l i v e to mysel f . By my l i fe t o the S tate

I’mwi t h you . By my l i fe t o mysel f I

’m aga i nst you .

”

“ ’T i s but ivul reason ing ,” sa id Prowse , v a guely

a l l the same , be gormed i f I knowwhat you ’m ta lk ingabou t .”

“No more do I,” sa id Daw.

W e l l ,” con t inued the b lack sm i th , “ I ’ l l mak e i t so

c l ear to your muddy m inds as I can . Take i t th i s

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

210 F AR M OF THE DAGGE R

Al l the same, she’ l l ne v er ha v e you , Noah ,

" mur

mu red Prowse , “ fo r you k nowshe tol d her fa i t her so .

An’ sh e don't ch a nge .”

“No more do I change , a nswe red No a h , s teadf a s t ly .

“ I knowshewon ’ t ha v e me . W h a t then ? I

be mysel f st i l l ; an’ l o v e he r more'

n I lo v e any th ing

el se on e a rth .

”

“ I on ly m ent ioned she wouldn ’t h a v e you— ia thef a i r wav of a rgument ,” retu rned Ned , wi th an apology in h i s v o ice .

I know, I know.

"Twa s qu i te a j us t a rgument to

ofi'e r ; bu t , you see , though her don

’ t ca re ’bou t me,

yet s he’ l l ) e v ery th ing i n my eyes . 'l‘

he r efo r e th i s here

m a n ha v e done th a t wh ich m a k es me h i s fr iend fore v e r l ast ing .

”

"l‘

is but ivu l c l e a rly put . An’ I see where you ’m

com ing t o ,” a nswe red Prowse . He l ooked round t o h is

comp a n ions .“IIa\ e you got you r ge rt st icks ready , you chaps

he a sked .

“ I d idn ’ t br ing no st i ck ,” s a id Th ir les tone .

“No more d idn’ t I,” sa id Daw.

An’ I wou ldn ’ t h a ve u sed it i f I had ,” con t i nued

Th i r lestone .

“Nor m e ne i th er ,” a dded Daw.

So now,’ cont i nued No a h , “ it do stand thu s . Be

I to pu t my own sel f as ide for the S t a te ? Or be I to

9

N I CE Q UE S T I ON S 21 1

put mysel f fir st an’ the State second ? M y uncle put

t he Stat e fi r st . You chaps , i f you had had you rway ,

would ha v e pu t yourse lves firs t an’ l et the man go freefor others to cat ch , i f they cou ld . Bu t you obeyed

you r me a t an’ d r i nk , an

’ I don ’ t blame you . Nowwh at sh a l l I do?There was s i l ence , and the Amer i can spoke .“\V i l l you l et m e have a s a y ?” he asked .

a n swered Noah , fi rmly .

“Ban ’ t i n reason

th a t you cou ld offer anyth i ng as wouldn ’ t be ones ided . You b ide qu iet an

’ l e t me set t l e th i s s ingl e

h anded . I k nowa l l y ou c a n s a y fo r you r sel f, a ndma y be more , fo r you

’m a modest man , see i ng yous ! aml s i x foot s i x inch es , an

’ ’ t i s v ery mu ch i n you r

Fay ou r , too , th at you was go ing t o the ‘Sar a cen ’ s

l l v a d’ to p a y for them boots . It, sh ows y ou once hada good mother an’ y ou d idn’ t forget wh a t the womanrubbed in to ’

e .

”

"She’s al i y e t o th i s d a y , pl e a se God .

Look here ,” brok e i n Ned P rowse . VVhat

’s th e

good o f j awing , Noah ? R igh t or wrong, you m e a nto let th i s man go free . I he a r i t i n your v o i ce .

”

“\V el l , s i nce y ou say it , Ned , I th ink I do .

’Ti s

right orwrong , as you say . I ’ l l st a nd the i ssue . He

s a v ed E y e’ s l i fe ; an’ I be go ing t o g i v e h im a run for9his own . Smal l pox an fe v e r's rag ing up at the

pr ison . The French be dy ing l ike fl ies . A th i nk i ng

212 FA R M OF TH E DAGGE R

man takes these th ings i nto a ccoun t Yes , I’ll answer

t o God for ’t . He mus t be le t loose .

“ ’T i s the answer ing to m a n as be most l ike tot roubl e ’

e,” s a id Prowse . “You m ight h a ng for th i s .”

“Come t o th ink o f it ,” sa id Daw, “ th a t do l i e

wi th us .

”

“Yes , repl ied Noah . You ’m in the r ight ,AndrewDaw. Bu t th a t ’s you r bus i ness , not m ine .

NowI’m go ing to free th i s man i f I can best youth ree chaps .”

“ I b an’ t go ing to fight a st roke ,” answered Daw.

No th ink ing creatu re have a r i gh t t o ax it -mewi tha wi fe an’ five ch i lder an’ th e stat?of th e i r l i fe . I

’d

run sooner .“Ban ’ t i n reason I should e i ther,

" dec l ared Thir le

stone . “W hat I say be th i s : ’t i s a da rk n ight , an’ a

v ery dangerou s,desperate deed for a common man .

Sowhen al l of a sudden there bu rst s out a huge , feroc ious , sa y a go monst er— as m igh t be the De v i l , for al l

I cou ld swe a r on oath -I ban ’ t go i ng u ) stop an’ ha v e

no a rgumen t wi th h i m . There’s t imes when a man’sbes t wit do l ie i n h i s heel s ; an’ th i s be one of ’em .

”

“E ss f a y ; an’ h i s bes t wi sdom in a sh u t mouth ,”

a dded Daw.

“I’m go i ng home th i s instan t moment so

qu i ck as e v er I can ; an ’ them as say herea ft er I be a

cowa rd , may s ay i t an’ be d amned to ’em .

”

The two l abourers p repared to depar t . Bu t they

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

21 1 FAR M O F TH E DAGGE R

Pr owse’s l eft shou lder . V’

Vhe r eon Ned gent ly la id h is

own wh ip ‘ hand le a c ross the b l a ck sm i t h ’ s he a d , and

then fe l l to the ground .

“Nowme au ’

l ) awna’

Th i r les tone c a n a l l go home

d i fferen t wa y s i n pe a ce , sa id Ned .

“Ah

’ I'l l take

the c a rt . Hum a n n a tu re be ing wh a t i t i s , I do th inka s M a i st er h i s se l f won’ t brea k h i s he a rt a bou t it . In

f a ct , t he on ly m a nwho comes u nk i ndly out of t he case

be Shepherd l ’ot e : for he’ s been cou nt ing the j oy of

t h ree golden e v er s inc e he g i v ed the a l a rm .

"I‘

is cu r ious howi l l l uck do dog th a t a n c ien t man.M a ybe ’ t i s to t u rn h i s t hought s to He a v en , for so f a r

that’s a pl a ce he don ’ t showno interest i n fo r al l h isye a rs .”

Two m inutes aft erwa rds Noah N ewcombe andD a n i el Coffin were a l one . By Noah

’s request Prowseh a d l e ft the l a n tern beh ind h im , a nd th e se two men ,c l i mb ing t o th e noctu rn a l l on el iness o f Bellafo r d

’s

crown,set up t he l a ntern and wrest l ed for hal f an

hou r .“N owI ’ v e got it,” sa id th e black sm i th .

“An’ a

v ery but ivul th i ng i t i s . Nough t on two l egs couldst a nd aga i nst it . Iwi sh us had i n v ent ed i t an’ not youY a nkees .”

They part ed in a v ery fr i endly sp i r i t a fter Newcombe had gone two m i l es t o set the other on the wayto Ashbu rton .

N I C E Q UE ST I O N S 2 15

There’s a copse on the Plymout h ro a d ,” No a h

expl a ined .

“You l i e close i n th a t a m i l e a fter you ’ v e

pas s ed the t urnp i ke ; an’ i f ’

tis t ru e as t hey say the

Amer i c a ns wa lk that way—one m i l e ou t an’ one m i l e

ba r k—you ’ l l see ’em . Good-bye . IIVe b a n't l i ke to

meet a g a in i n th i s world . But I th a n k you wi t h a ll

my heart and sou l for sa y ing my l i t t l e cou s in E y e ."

l‘was a good deed , an’ I wi sh you was Eng l i sh .

“Th a nk you , I’m you r ser v ant i f e v er I ge t the

ch a nce to be ; for you ’re a bou t the fi r s t rea l ,wh i te m a nI’

ve met i n th i s country . An’ you ’re no smou ch a t

u restling ne i ther .”

"

Keep r ight on . You ’ l l c ross the Da r t thr i ce a fore

morn ing ; an’ afte r th e th i rd t ime t a ke ca re,for then

you ’ l l be wi th i n th ree m i l es of Ashbu rton .

”

The y parted . The Amer i c a n se t ou t towards h i sdi s t a nt hope of sa fety ; and Noah , after a moment

’ s

emi s ide r at ion , tu rned round and t r a mped back to

Prince Town .

“I'll tel l ’em I reckon I wan t a b i t more doctor ing ,

of j ust b ide there t i l l th i s t a nta ra be b l own o v er ,” h es a id to h imsel f . “ I ’ v e done a crafty act ; an

’ i t wi l lwa nt a b i t of thought to come out ofwi th ou t t roubl e ."

l‘

is a h a ng ing j obwi thou t a doub t . But they chapswon’ t tel l . Two ou t o’ the t hree are u nmarr ied , th a nk(Jed : an

’ that’s ha l f the bat t l ewhen gre a t secret s be i nHa a i r.”

C H A P T E R X I X

THE TRUTH

HE sensat ion a l st ory o f Ned Prowsewas l i tt lereg a rded by h i s m a ster , for a greater ev i l

t h a n the esc a pe of the Amer i c a n soon fell

u pon John Newcombe . A phys ic i a n from

M o retonhampstead t ook the d a rk est pos s ible v i ewof

i ‘l ye’

s ins a n i ty,a ndwhen th ree d a ys l ater another med

i c a l man from Plymouth came to see t he case , he too

l ooked gloomy and shook a s i l en t h ead . The g i r lwasinsane and the c a se m i gh t be hopeless . M onths must

p a ss before t he phys i c ians cou ld say more . The

cau t ion of i gnor a nce ma rked the i r assert i ons . They

prom i sed noth ing , and tempor i sed w i th a state of

a ffa i rs beyond the i r exper ien ce. Bel ie v ing that a mel

ancho ly v i ewwas t h e s a fer th ey took it , d i rected acou rse of a c t ion andwent the i rway .

E v e’s in san i ty hu rt no one but hersel f. She wentabou t under watch fu l eyes

,and her mother de voted

hal f her l i fe to her . Once more came Noah Newcombe

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

218 FAR M OF THE DAGGE R

the sun r i se an’ flush h is dear cheek afore he waked

Up e v e ry morn i ng .

”

“De pat i en t—be pat i ent , Eve.

’Twi l l come r igh t .

The Lord for gets nobody , I’m su re ,

” murmured Noah .

“Howcan a body be pat ient when he be dead an’

under fore ign wa v es? He’s dead , an’ t he th i ngs of

the deep sea br i ng the i r pearl s—I ’ve read i t i n a bookof fa i ther’s that pearl s come out of the sea s shells .

’Ti s the bes t th ey ’ v e got t hey br i ng to h im . He’s

dead , an’ weed l ike a woman’s ha i r do fold h im up

l ov i ngl y . I f ’ twas my ha i r ! An’ th e moon sh i n es on

h im under the green water ; an’ my heart , as I thought

so soft,be a fl int after al l , for i t th r obz onwi’ nought

to th rob for—i n st ead o’ break i ng as a t rue heart

woul d .

”

Noah made rough attempts to comfort her ; but sh e

seemed nowregardless of h i s presen ce , and ta lked or

sang fitfully to hersel f. The at t i tude of her m ind

towa rds Roger Honeywel l i t was tha t spec ial ly st ruckthe b l acksm i th , and he l eft her speak ing, as it seemed,affec t i on a t ely to Qu inton’ s u ncle .

A fewdays later i t happened tha t John Newcombemet R oger Honeywel l , and the lat ter tol d h i s secret .The t ragedy a t Dagger Farm was nowknown to al lthe i nhab itant s of Postbr idge , and Dury Hext had

conveyed the i n form a t ion to h i s master .’Tis someth ing terr ib l e howthe hand of the Lord

THE TR UTH 219

do st r ike the e v i l-doe r , sa id Dury , w i th gr eat p i e ty

i n h i s fat and bubb l ing vo i ce . “The s i n s of the

fa i thers be v i s i ted on the ch i l dren a s u sua l ; an’ nowthe man have l ost the bra i n of h i s on ly ch i l d—a v ery

terr ibl e pun i shment , though not a p in ch harder than

he deserves .”

“W hat d id th e doctors say asked Honeywel l .

W e l l , by a l l account s , t hey took a v ery bad v iew

an’ j udged her to be doomed for madness evermore.

Ess fay ! they ’

pea r ed to reckon herwi t s h ad flown forgood .

’Ti s a p i ty , i f one may say i t wi thou t offenceto Heaven , t hat that ru naway rasca l was i n t ime topul l her out o’ the water . Not bu t what she’ l l be a.

kn ife i n her fa i ther’s heart to the day of her death

now .

”

“A kn i fe i n her father’s heart , murmured the

other . Then he nodded at h i s thought s .

W'i th i n a fort n ight th e farmers met al one upon the

M oretonhampstead road . Newcombe was r id i ng

slowly t o see t he doc tor aga i n , and Roger Honeywell ,also on horseback , o v ert ook h im .

The master of Vitifer spoke fi r st , and h is ey p r es

s ionwas one of s imu lated p i ty .

“Bad news , M r . Newcombe . \Ve’ve been enem ie s

long enough , ha v en ’t.we? Accep t my regret at t h i sshat ter i ng calam i ty . But I hope th i ngs are not so

bad as they tel l me .

22 ! FARM OF TH E DAGGER

Newcombe regarded h i s enemy w i th dark susp ic i o n .

Then he answered“ I doub t your p i ty . An

’ even i f ’ t i s 0. i u ine, I

’ l l

n one of it . Ycu—why , ’ t i s you, o r’t i s yours , have

b rough t my ch i l d th i s doom . Pi ty from you ! P i ty

from a hyenawor l d be eas ier bel i eved ia .

”

The other fel t a dev i l r i se g igant i c in h im , and

ga v e h imsel f up exu l tan t ly to it .

“You wh in e, do you ? I t hu rt s to ha v e you r on ly

ch i ld a babb l i ng lunat i c ? I guess as much . I ’ve been

a fo r tunate man , Joh n Newcombe ; I’ v e h i t you harderthan my h ighes t hopes . W hen you fel l upon me l ike

a Red Ind ian , and bru i sed me , and st ol e my watch , Iswore tha twhat v on ’d done upon my body I’d do uponyou r heart . And I ha v e . M y nephewQu intonHoneywel l i s a l i v e andwel l ! He has not had a scratch

so far as I know. But I can t el l you now. Your ch i l d

has had my dose ; and i t ’s po i soned her—po i son ed her

bra i n . She’ l l n ever reco v er , so I’m pa id good measure

and runn ing o v er . And the cream of i t i s to tel l you ,

a s I do now, to r ub i t i n to you r cursed heart ! Ha, ha !

Let’s see you beat that , my bu l ly

Honeywel l’s countenance was sa v agely an imated ,and he gr inned l ike a mal ignan t gargoyl e . The

l i st ener had tu rned a du l l s tone grey . Then the b l ood

seemed to l eap back i n a cataract to h i s f a ce ; h i s

t emple a r tery filled to b l ackness ; h i s enemy thought

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

222 FAR M OF THE DAGGE R

W hy, you are on the same road as you r wretcheddaughter ! I see i t i n you r eyes . Bed l am—Bedlam

and you ought t o ha v e been there long ago . But I ’ l l

see you ’re locked up present ly .

’T i s t i me the last

wol f on Dartmoor d i ed .

He was gone, and Newcombe , inste a d of proceedi ng t o M oretonh a mpst ead

,tu rned homewards . Care

and Another rode wi th the horseman now. He mean t

de a th as a n an swer to th i s awfu l wrong . No l esser

re v enge would ser v e h im . He yearned t o tear th e

other man i n p ieces , as the wol f to wh ich Honeywel ll ikened h im m igh t h a v e alone ; but h i s b ra in c r ied for

a more dreadfu l v engeance th a n m ere i n stan t dest ruo

t ion . H is l i fe’s work nowst ret ched a head of h im narrowed to th i s sole pu rpose . For h i s own ex i s tenceJoh n Newcombe c a red no more . H i s d a ughter wasworse than de a d : h i s sol e i n terest i n the fu tu re ofD a gger Fa rm d iedwi t h her . Then awok e a determinat ion i nsp i redwi th e v ery breath o f h i s be ing to m a keh i s a nswer adequate . A thousand plans , l i k e a dreadfu l d a n ce of Death , s tal ked through h i s mind ; d i re

phan tom s presen ted themsel v es i n the cou rt h e hel d ;

and nowthe c la i m s of one and nowth e horrors o fanother at tracted h im . So ter r ific a dec i s i on cou ld not

be come at wi th in the space o f an hou r,wh i l e yet h i sm i nd smarted a nd wr i thed bene a th h is enemy ’s awfu lta l e . John Newcombe, mental ly wear ied, l eft the

You sha l l d ie fo r that you've done

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

224 FAR M OF THE DAGGER

gents , t ol d Henry Chator abou t it afterwa rds . Wel l ,i t seem s a s th i s chap took h i s wal k of a m i l e ou t an’back ’pon the Plymou th road , wha t shou l d he h earbu t a wh i s t l e i n the h edge of the gert fir wood there .An

’ ’ twas no l ess a man than Dan i e l Coffin,who wast aken by force from me an

’ t ’others more’n a mon th

ago. Wel l , ‘not a soul i n s ight ,’ say s M r . R ice ; so h e

get s i n the wood too, for he’d heard a fel low- cou ntry

man’ s v o i ce, you see . An’ the l ong an

’ th e short i s

that wi th hel p from h i s coun trymen Dan Coffin gotcomfortably down to Tor Bay , an’ a secret fr i end of

Amer i ca at Br i xham . He t ook le tt ers w i th h im an’

plen ty of money . Then he sl ipped by n ight i n a

F r enehman aswas l y i ng h idden somewheres , an’ wentac ross to France . From there the gent l emen say he’ l l

soon find a sh ip to Amer i ca .

’Tis a t r iumph for th e

chap ; but he must have been born wi’ a l ucky-hood ,I do th ink , for

’ twas a thou sand to one as ever he’d

come safe to the sea .

”

’Twi l l be news for them to Pr in ce Town an’ Postbr idge,

” sa id M rs . Newcombe . “I’m sure I t hank God

mysel f an’ ban’t ashamed to say so .

’Twa s Prov iden cewatch ing o v er th e man ; an’ i n the face of su chth i ngs ’

tis va i n an’ w i cked to say as God ban’t e v er y

where .“You’re a poor foo l to say i t or th i nk it ,” answered

her husband , roughly .

“You to pratt l e ! You, as

THE TRUTH 225

walk cl ean out s ide the real mean ing of th i ngs , l ike

most other folks , an’wi l l go down to you r gra v e w i th

out knowi ng what l i fe mean s . Let me hear no more9about the goodness 0 God i n th i s hou sewh i l e my

daught er ra v es , or I’ l l pro v e you ’m a l iar .”

He dep a rted , and Ned Prowse scr a t ch ed h i s headsorrowfu l l y .

“In one o f h i s d a rk fi ts . But he’ l l come out r igh t .

IIe’mgood stuff real ly ; I knowunwe l l enough . Now

I be go ing t o tel l th i s th i ng t o th e b l ack sm i th .

’Twi l l

interest Noah Newcombe amaz i ng , no doub t , to boatas the gert man t h a t th rowed h im up to th e pr isonhave sl ipped out o f England an

’ be hal f ways home

agai n by now.

”

C H A P T E R X X

A LETTE R FROM A GHOST

INTER approached aga in , and the

northe rn wi nd rust l ed i n the deadheath , wh i spered o v er the sere ru shes ,sh r ieked a ga i ns t t he gran i te of th e

tors . S igns lacked not t o loca l eyes of a season more

than common ly se v ere ; for thewi l d har v est of berr i eswas r i ch , and the north wind not on ly brough t a fi r stl ight fal l of snowin October , bu t carr ied on h i swi ngsthose m i gratory fowl s tha t flee from t he i r bore a l , summer homes t owi n ter i n the deep y a lleys a ndwarm bogsof the moor . Here a re t ract s and spaces t hat ne v er

freeze—gre a t m a rshy hol lows that offe r pl enty to th esn ipe a nd the p lo y er, t hough round a bout them frost

has b i t ten two feet in to the pe a ty bos om of the l a nd .

Up on a day i n Noy ember th e ser v i ng man , Ned

P rowse a nd Dury Hext , met and j ou rneyed t ogetherin th e d i rect ion of Ch a gford . Suspended host i l i ty

m a rked t h e i r a tt i tude, a nd , a s u s u a l , they r eflected th e

posture of the i r m a s ters . It had been rumou red of

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

228 F AR M OF THE DAG GER

Honeywel l , an’ say s he be the on ly man as l o v es her,an

’ the bes t m a n i’ the wo r ld .

"I‘would showher was

l un a t i c—poo r m a id—if noth ing el se d id .

”

"I‘

is he r f ai ther’ s wi ckedness worked the i l l . M y

master on ly d idwhat the Lord bade h im .

”

“You t a lk l i ke a psahn—sm i t er—ought to wear awh i te choker an

’

go an’ preach to p igs , you ought .

Her fa i ther’s done nought t o suffer a s he do now.

Broken on the wheel of God’ swrath he be,wh i l e you rdamned old man goes so gay as a maggoty-p ie .”

“He’ v e a easy consc i ence .”

He’ v e n one . He’ v e k i l l ed h i s consc i en ce th i s many

years—po i soned i twi’ e v i l do ing .

”

“Not h im —a good , fearles s man , as makes money ,an

’ hunt s foxes , an’ never h ol ds h i s hand from a

righ teou s cause . I know—if not me , who shou ld ?You r master —wel l , he’ v e fought an’ l ost . The Lordwas aga ins t h im ; an’ i f h e be w i se he’ l l t h row up the

sponge , an’ s ing smal l , an’ own h i ssel f a beaten man .

”

“For tha t matter h e do ,” con fessed M r . Prowse,

gl oom i ly .

“His sp i r i t be broken , as I say . Hardly a

good heal thy curse crosses h i s l i ps nowadays . He

l ea v es al l to me —e v en l anguage . He moons abou t

l i k e a l o v es i ck boy an’ spends hal f h i s t ime wi t h h i s

d a rter . I heard un say pl a i n ly t o h i s wi fe a s he’dm i ned h i s l i fe by mak ing Roger Honeywel l h i s mort al

enemy .

A LET TE R FRO M A GHO ST 229

Ah , we’m genera lly wi se too lat e i n t h i s val e of

m i sery .

”

“For my part I t ry to cheer h i s man ly sp i r i t, an

’

tel l un to b ide h is t i m e t i l l t he Dev i l desert s h i s own,a s he a lways does a t the p inch ; but to be p la in , i 'nnmuch a feared he’ s bea t . Your cowardly scou ndre l ofa maste r—God knows howyou ca l l vour self a

(‘

h r ist ian an’ l i v e under h i s roof an

’ take h i s fi l thy

money—you r master , I say , fought fou l ; an’ m ine

have l ost a l l h i s fl ock afore t h i s l i v i ng deat h of h i s

ch i ld , as who wou ldn’ t ? But I do hope as h e’ l l fee lthe blood grow hot i n h im aga i n co ine spr ing . Any

way ,whether h i s hand or anothe r’s , Roger Honeywel lwi l l come by h i s own , so su re as God bu i l t the worl d an

’

under-l e t i t to the Dev i l .”

You ’d best fol l ow you r master’s exampl e i n st ead

0’ talk ing so l oud an

’ so l ewd ,” decl ared Du ry Hex t .’T i s enough to make the M oor pon ies r un to hear

vou .

”

Prowse then proposed to change the conversat i on ,and they proceeded wi thou t any acr imony on the i r

bus iness .

Bu t that n ight Du ry Hex t reta i l ed the goss ip for

h i s mast er’s benefit , and M r . Honeywe l l l i s tened wi t hsome sat i s fact ion . He doubted , howe v er, and d id notpretend t o bel i e v e wha t Du ry told h im .

“Break ing up? Yes , I’ve heard that too . He

230 FA R M OF TH E D AGGE R

slouches abou t wi th h i s head ben t ; and he won ’ t l i fti t fo r anybody . But he’s got some de v i l ry brewi ng .

He’ s not the man to wh in e and g i v e m e bes t a fterwha t I ’ v e don e .”

“He do s i t hour in , hour ou t , bes ide h i s da rter ; an’

he don ’ t take no pr ide i n noth ing now—h i s own man ,th a t red rat Ned Prowse

,sa id so . Newcombe tol d h i s

m i s s i s that h i s worst day ’s work was fa l l ing out wi thvou , an

’ Prowse heard h i m .

”

“He told th e truth , t he dog .

He’s a dog that ha v e had h i s wh ipp i ng, an’ i t doseem he wou l d cr i nge to

’e, i f you hel d up your

finger .”

Not he ! He’s sworn to be r id o f me . Th is is Dar tof a plot .”

’Twas on ly i n h i s rage . He knows t hat you beh i s master now.

”

“W el l , l e t h im return my gol dwatch ; th en I mightbeg i n to bel i e v e h im . But , no—Iwou ldn ’t even then.

He’ s a dangerous snake .”

“Your ger t goldwat ch ! Ess now, i f the man wasto b r ing that back-a long ! But he daren’t , foz

’ twou ldshowso c l ear that youwas i n the r igh twhen you sa idhe i l l -u sed you .

”

“I’d l et th a t go , i f I had the watch ; bu t that wi l l

ne v e r happen , for he has it not . He wou ld scarce ly

have dared to keep it .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

232 FAR M OF TH E DAGG E R

knowfrom her young man that M r . Honeywe l l wason the i r s ide a g a inst you . An

’ that though t have

stuck i n her br a in ; an’ she’m too mad nowto know

bet te r .”

“Just so added Prowse , to ga in h i s own b l ackends the man hoodwi n ked h i s nephewan

’ you r dart er

l ikewi se . He seed howthe land lay , an’ catched holdof the chance to h it you th rough your darter . IVh ich

God knows h e have done .”

The rem a rk i nsp i red a thought i n John Newcombe’sm i nd ; bu t he d id not utter it . Honeywel l had st ru ckh im th rough h i s daughter ; and nowh i s daughterlo y ed Honeywe l l . Here surely was th e t h ing he

sough t here was th e handl e Ior the t ool he nowfor gedecr etly .

From that moment E y e became to her father thefir st cons iderat i on on earth . Al ready he sawl ight .He almost feared th a t h i s thought mu st l ook ou t of

h i s eyes at the others . There fore be co v ered h i s face

w i th h i s hand before h e spoke .

H is vo ice wasweary and h i s words rang t rue , butne i ther Prowse nor John Newcombe’s wi fe noted ash i v er i n t he tone—a v oca l t remor that resu l ted from

the emot ion be conceal ed .

“You tel l t ru e , Ned Prowse ; I be h i t hard enough ,an

’ my ol d m i ss i s here al so . M y ma id ’ s m ind i s

wander i ng far away i n sea gra v es—he r though ts are

A LET I‘E R FROM A GHO ST 233

al l u ngu ided an’ va i n . Oh,

’t i s crue l to hear her . An’

h i s name on her l ips . I th ink I see wha t it means .’Ti s Heaven’s way of say i ng by batt l e’s fough t and

lost . An’ i n her madness—as be no more madness to

my ear, but God talk i ng—sh e speaks soft l y of that

man , an’axes me to th ink k i nder of h im .

”

M rs . Newcombe wept , for she held these star t l i ng

words to be her own prayers answered .

“If you can see that ,

” sh e sa id , “ if the Lord can

but make that c l ear t o ’e, Joh n , us may ye t die i n

pe a ce . ’T i s borne i n upon me— espec ial l y i n the n ight

t ime—that the Lord be t ry i ng you r heart for H i s ownpurposes . I cou ld a

’most l i ft up my v o ic e an’ say

th a t i f you make fr iends wi’ Roger Hone ywel l, t h iscloud wi ll r ise up an

’our Ey e get back her reason .

Such th ings do happen , John, f or so Godwork s .”It su i ted the l i st ener to take h i s w i fe ser i ou sly here.

“Cry no more , woman ," he sa id .

“ M uch thought

must go to it . What do you say, P rowse“We l l , ’

tis qu i te amaz i ng to see howCh r i st ian i tywi l l crop up after once p l ant ing,” answered the h e a dman .

“I speaks open to you , for I’myou r r igh t hand ,

an’ nought I can tel l w i ll t u rn you aga in s t me . So I

say that I’d never have guessed th e gospel seed as was

put i n to you i n you r ch i l dh oodwou ld see l ight aga i n .

I'd ha ve wagered ’ twas m i ldewed i n you r youth .

Can’ t say I’ve ever marked a hap’orth o’ Chr i s t i n you

234 FAR M OF T HE D AGG ER

in al l my l i fe t i l l now. W e l l ,’t i s a fine th i ng an

’ qu i t e

beyond me , though much to be adm i red , I’m su re . I

ne v e r cou ld offer my cheek to t he sm i t er or lo y e my

enemy ; bu t s i n ce you can—wel l , I h ope I ’ l l soon findmysel f a bet ter man for knowi ng it .

”

“ I don’t say al l that ,” answered the farmer . “I

’m

not goi ng hot-foot t o kneel to h im , i f that’s what you

mean . I’mgo in ’ to th ink about what’ s best . I’d do i t

towin back my ma id’s reason—I’d go now th i s i n stan tmoment i f a v o i ce from the sky told me thatwou l d bemy reward .

”

“You wan t too many m i racl es , i f I may say sowi t hout d i srespect ,” an swered h i s h ead man .

“Us

shou ld be conten t wi’ th e v o ice 0 ’ God i n our he a rt s ,an

’ not expect to hear H im shou t i ng i n ou r e a rs a l so .

”

I f you ’d act fi r st and th ink afte r,

’ twould be best ,mu rmu red h i s wi fe , bu t h e an swered b it terly

“You say t hat ! Ha v en ’t I done so t oo often

al ready? ’Ti s the t h ing God ne v e r forg i v es—to beo y er-hasty . Look a rou nd , an

’ you ’ l l see hal f the

world smart i ng j u st becau se i t have acted fir st an’

thought a fte rwa rds .”

At that moment Noah Newcombe ent ered . Hewasnowaga in on good term swi th h i s u ncl e , bu t the b lack s

sm i t h’ s second meet ing wi t h Dan i e l Coffin had ne v erbeen re v eal ed .

“ I br i ng a packet for E v e ,” he sa id

,

“an

’ i t may

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

236 FAR M OF THE DAGGER

Now, please God , you ’ l l bel i eve we speak true,darl i ng

,

” sa id M rs . Newcombe . “See ! ’t i s a packet

from the man you l o v e . I lay ’tw i l l be good , glad

news .E v e took the l e t ter l i st l essl y .

“Good,glad news for h im , for he wr i tes from

Hea v en . But I knowwi’out re a d i ng what be i n it .

He’ s ch id i ng me for not com ing to h im . An’ I must

wr i t e to h im an’ t el l h im they won ’ t l et me come . But

maybe he’ l l forg i v e me i f I tel l h im howhard I t r i ed .

”

“He’s al i v e, dear E v e . Read an’

you ’ l l see he don ’ t

eh ide’e I ’ l l wager what he wr i tes be br imm ing o v er

wi’ l o v e .A lette r from a dear ghost i t i s ,

” she sa id , tu rn ing

i t o v er . “ I ’ l l an swer it , but I ’ l l n ot re a d it , for Icou ldn’ t bear to be b l amed .

’Twi l l cheer h i s l onel i nessi n Heaven , a let ter from me . I d id ough t to have

thought of i t before .“Ban ’ t from Hea v en—if you’d on ly understand,

cr ied M rs . Newcombe.

“IIe

’m l i v ing , l o v ing flesh an’

bl ood . Hewr i t es from the sea to you , an’ a home

com ing sh ip br i ngs the news .”“Fmm t h e bot tom of the sea

, you t h i nk , mother .

Bu t vou mu st n ’ t th i nk that . IVhat I’ v e l ost be there

h id i n a heap o’ pearl s , to r i sewhen the sea be st r i pped

away l ike a blanket at Doom . But my Qu inton’s dear

body be asl eep .

’Twas h is sp i r it sent the letter to me.

A LET T E R FRO M A G HO ST 237

’Twas t he Angel as keeps the gert Books wrote th i sfor himwi’ h i s golden pen . But I ’ v e got no golden

pen to wr i te to h im . But I’ll wri t e my heart to h im ,

an’ ’twi l l serve . I

’ll ax h im to send me another l et ter

an’ tel l me howbest I shal l come to h im . God

’

ll tel l

h i mwhat I’m to do . I’m st i l l h i s l i t t l e star , m ind you ;

but a star’s place b e th e sky, not the earth .

”

M rs . Newcombe left her then , and t r ied aga i n lateri n the d ay to make Eve r ead th e l ett er . Th i s , how

e v er, she refu sed to do ; ne i ther woul d she a l l owhermother to read i t t o her . She p l ayedwi th the t reasu resome days , th en a s a ch i l d forget s th e th ing i t lo v ed

yes terday for a n ewer t oy , th e packet was flung i nto

a corner,from wh i ch Ann Newcombe rescued it and

p .. i t safely by .

A month later another let t er reach ed Dagger Farm

from Qu inton Honeywel l ; bu t i t was d i rected to Joh n

Newcombe, not h i s daughter . The l ad on the seahad rece i v ed a message from h i s uncl e at Vit ifer , and

wrote wi th a b roken heart to the fath er of h i s y an

ished l o v e . W i th mal ign i ty whose purpose d id notimmed iately appear , Honeywel l h ad wr i tt en t o h i s

nephewand i n formed h im that E v e Newcombe wasdrowned . The farmer i ndeed des i red noth i ng bet ter

than Qu i nton’s own d i sappearance . He had changed

his i nt en t i on s respect i ng h im , and al ready con tem

238 FA R M OF TH E DAGGE R

plated summon i ng Lawyer Br impts to make a newwi l l .Joh n Newcombe r ead b i t ter c ry , and handed

i t to h i swi fe .“Roger Honeywel l be the Dev il i n a man’s h ide.

I’ll fight aga inst him no more ,

” he sa id .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

FAR M OF TH E DAGGE R

But i t i s , i n a manner of speak ing . You r mast er-Fan ncr Newcombe—be gone daft l ike h i s d a rte r

an’ t ha t’ s the l ong an

’ t he short of i t“Good Lord , old man ,what ’ l l you say nex t a sked

stonemason Ford .

’T isn

’t no great news t o me . e v en i f ’t i s t rue,” sa id

Prowse , g l oom i l y .

“He’m changed in morewa ys t hanone o f l ate . A used to keep a st iff upper l ip aga i n st

th eworl d“An

” a damn st i ff neck , too , mu rmu red Daw, whowas a l so presen t . “Not that I say i t u n c i v i l ,

” he

added ,“for ne v er was my wage a m inute o v erdue ,

s in ce t he days I sea red crows for h i m as a lad .

”

9“Il e was u sed to k eep a s t i ff upper l ip ,’ repeated

Prowse , wi thou t not i c ing th e i nterrupt ion ; “bu t n owhe’m turned to soft ness , an

’ t he end of h im no man

can gu ess .”

“ I can , then , s a id Pote “The endwi l l be Bedlam ,

i f I m a y t ru s t my old eyes .’Pe a rs as though l os twi t swas a catch i ng th ing ,

mused Ned .

“But M i st res s E y e’ s madness be so

gent l e . She’m j us t a l i ’ l b i rd i n a cage wi’ sen seenough t o eat an’ s i ng—no more . H is l e t ter t o her

even coul dn’t win her . ’T i s a l et ter from a ghost ,’

sh e sa id . But Farmer—I doubt he’ l l not be l i ke that .He goes abou t so dumb as a serpee‘, wal k s of n i gh t stal ks to h i sse l f in empty rooms—don’ t m i nd a man

HAMELDON BOG 241

i f he speak s t o h im—never cou nts money .

’Ti s a

creep ing m a dness by the l ook o f it ; an’ h e may bu rst

h is bounds l ike a burn ing mounta i n a ny day .

”

I’ v e seed h im th is morn ,” sa id Shepherd

l’ote ,

“an

’ mad hewas , or I be. Upon h i s shou l de r he

c a rr i ed a gert pol e , twel v e feet l ong , an’ t o the end ofi t was a b i g net—same a s you m ight c a tch prawnswi th i n the sea . I touched my hat to un, for t hough

he’

m no fr iend to me , yet the o ld t imes was i n mymind , an

’ he sa id ‘Good d a y , Pote ,’ v ery c i v i l l ike .

Then I m a de so bold as to a s unwhat hewas up t o , an’he s a id , ‘I be go ing up

- a l ong to Hameldon Bog to

c a tch st i c k l eback s . ’ M yword ! I s tared my eyes outof my head almost . ‘St i ck lebacks , m a ster ?

’ I sa id ;an

’ he frowned an’ s a i d , ‘Ess , an

’

you m ind you r ownbus iness , or

’twi l l be th eworse for ’e

’Twas a dreadful th ing to see that st ern , grey man in the p r ime 0

’

l i fe t r aps ing of?to Hameldon Bog l i ke a boy .

“There ban’t no st i ck l ebacks there,” sa id Andrew

Daw.

“Of course there ban ’c—no more than there be

oysters . ’Ti s the very fu ll moon o’ madness ; an

’ Iwent my way wi’ i ce-col d water t r i ck l i ng down mysp ine, I prom i se you ,

” decl ared th e shepherd .

Then Daw, Ford , Ned Prowse, and others ch imedupon th i s th eme , and a l l agreed that some dreadfu l

end to the t roubl es of Joh n Newcombe must be at

242 F AR M OF TH E DAGGE R

h a nd . Like ra v en s they cro a ked of ev i l that would

blossom wi th summer . E v en Dawa nd Th ir lestone

t ook a creepy pleasu re i n the though t of d i sas ter at

Dagger Farm . Only Prowse showed very genu i nem i sery ; bu t he too saw no l igh t , for h i s l oyal ty to

Joh n Newcombe was not b l i nd . He bel i eved , as a l l

others bel i e v ed , that the farmer’ s i n tel l ect was fa i l i ng

beneath h i s sorrows .Yet had Pote or another fol l owed Newcombe upon

h i s st range j ourn ey t o th e Bog of Hameldon , a start

l i ng explanat ion of h i s s i ngu l a r conduct had re v eal ed

i t sel f . For no imag i nary st i ck l eback s d id Newcombet rudge th i ther ; another and more i nterest i ng obj ect

the mor a ss held , and he knewtowi th i n a yard or twowhere he m igh t find it.The bog was j u st awaken i ng i nto beauty again .

Th e wi n ter cha in s of fros t had l eft i t s margi n s ; thespagnum mosses were re v i v i ng and showi ng the i rg l immer i ng tapest ry of s i lvery green and orange and

sep ia ;wh i t e c rows foot gemmed the sh i n i ng waterwi thgolden-eyed flower s : ma rsh v iol ets scat t ered the i r palepurpl e there ; the asphodel sent up its l i t t le swords ;

and the marsh ratt le touched the ru sse t spaces w i th

rose .

Choos ing h is ground wi th care , Joh n Newcombeset towork and systemat ical ly probed th e bog abouta gran i te boulder that rose i n th e m idst of it . For a

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

244 F A R M OF TH E DAGGE R

denly whe ther sh e would l ike to see Qu inton’ s un cl e,who l o v ed h er sowe l l ; and the g i r l i n stan t ly agreed todo so .

“I’d ha v e gone l ong ago , bu t mother never wou ld

set her f a ce that way whenwe go ou r wal ks ,” sh e sa id .

“ I ’ l l l o v e you once aga in , dea r fa i ther —I’ l l l o v e you

t ru ly—if you’ l l bu t let m e see my dear Unc leR oger .”

“So you shal l , th en ,

” sa id th e man .

“Thank God,we’m drawi ng towards bet te r fr iendsh ip . He m i s

t ru st s me s t i l l ; bu t ’ t i s my place nowto m a k e h imdeubt no more . I t ou ched my hat t o h im l ast t i mewem et . ’Twa s to showt h a t I no l onger set m y sel f up

fo r be ing h i s e qual . He seemed su sp ic i ou s , and d idn’t

tak e no not i ce of me ; but I ’ l l wear h i m out. yet .”

He addressed these la t terwords t o h i swi fe , and shep rayed that i t m igh t happen as he foret ol d .

“The Lordwi l l pu t p i ty i nto h i s heart , a s He have

pu t wi sdom i nto you rs ,” sh e sa id ; “an I’m thank fult ha t dear E v e be wi l l ing to see h i m , for much m a y

com e of it . I f he’ s human ’ twi l l surely break downh i s hardness .

“ I mu st tel l h im that Qu inton wrote to m e from

Hea v en ,” sa id E v e ; “but he’ l l k now that I cou ld not

read h i s l e t te r t i l l I em dead mysel f ; becau se no l i v i ng

be i ng can read thewr i t i ng of an angel . W e wi l l talk

abou t Qu i n ton an’ Iwi l l tel l h im my dreams .”

HAMELDON BOG 245

You shal l speak to h im , i f hewi l l h ea r you .

”sa i d

her father ;“an

’ i f that don’ t reach h i s heart , then

Ph a raohwas a soft oldwoman compared to h im . I ’ l l

wri te to the man an’as humb l y as d i rt i f I may come

an’ see h i m ; an’ I ’ l l t el l h im ’t i s my ma id’s wi sh an

’

hope to spe a k wi th her l o y er’ s u ncl e .“Surely he’ l l not say ‘nay’ t o that . The Lord can’t

sleep for e v erwi’ H is e v er l a st ing ears shu t u pon myceasel ess pray ing . He’ l l y ie ld that much ,

” decl ared

Ann Newcombe .“\Vher e be mywr i t ing t ool s her hu sband asked .

They’i i out i n the k i t chen . I ’ v e been u s i ng ’em

9all morn i ng ,

’ an swered h i s wi fe . “I ’ v e wr i t ten to

M aster Qu inton Honeywe l l—a l ong l et ter abou t

E y e .”

’Twaswast i ng i nk an’ paper . He’ l l n e v e r get it .

You m igh t so soon wr i te to a b i rd as a sh i p .

’Twi l lne v er reach h im .

”

“Yet ’twas worth doi ng . I t m igh t by k ind fortune

get to h im . Th ink of h i s young heart .“I do . Yet I shou ld reckon the l i v i ng t r u th be

worse than th e l i e h i s uncl e wrot e h im .

”

John Newcombe glanced a t h i s daughter as he

spoke ; then he l eft th e room . He gnawe d away hal fa qu i l l be fore h i s l et ter was wr i t ten ; bu t the end

appeared to j u st i fy h i s l abours , for next day , i n

answer to th e m iss i v e came Dury Hext wi t h an oral

246 F A R M OF TH E DAGGE R

message ,wh i ch he del i v ered t o M rs . Newcombe a t thedoor of Dagger Farm .

“My master have had you r master’ s wr i t i ng,ma’am ; an’ he do say as he

’s perfec t ly wi l l ing to l e t

t he pas t bu ry the p a st , i f on ly you r mast er wi l l pu th i ssel f i n the r igh t so far as he c a n an

’ g i v e up my

master’ swatch an’ sea l s . They was he i r loom s an’

be

yond pr i ce . Let M r . Honeywel l b u t feel h i s seal s

flapping on h i s th igh , an’ he’ l l be to M r . Newco i u oe as

he i s to other men , an’ dowhat i n h im l i es to heal the

breach atween ’em . That ’s howit do stand .

”

Hopel ess l y Ann ga v e the m essage , but her hu sband ,w i thou t offer ing part i cu lars

,showed sat i s fact ion at it .

“Ey e an’ me wi l l go t here . Tel l that man out s ide

a s I ’ l lwa i t upon h i s master a t th ree of th e a fternoonto-morrow .

’

“Bu t the wat ch? That i s h i s bruta lway of hold i ng

off . He knows that h e asks for a th ing you can

not do .

”

“As to that I ’ l l tal k h im round when we meet ,declared Newcombe ; and Dury Hext wen t of , rather

d i s a ppo i nted , wi t h a message that Joh n and h i sd a ughterwou ld be at Vit ifer on the fol l owing day .

The recept ion was cu r iou s , for Roger Honevwelld id not d ream o f t ru st ing h i s enem y . He s a t beh i nd

a flat desk , and i n an open drawer on the r igh t hands ide of it—wi th i n reach of h i s hand , but i n v i s ibl e to

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

248 FA R M OF TH E DAGGBR

out my pun i shment . ’Ti s here at my e lbowso lon g as

l i fe lasts .”

M r . Honeywel l pu t up h i s gl a s ses and looked atE ye .

“She can ne v er rega i n her r e tson?

The doctor won ’ t go so far as t h at . But I knowi n my heart sh e c a nnot . I-Ier br a i n broke down whenyou tol d her the young manwas dead .

”

“Th i s was t he awfu l resu l t of qu a rrel l i ng'wi th me—wi th a man your super ior i n i ntel l ec t . I

’m honest l y

sorry nowt h a t t h ings fel' ou t so d readfu l ly . Need

l ess t o say , I d id not cal cu l a t e on a b ra in col lapse . I

m e a nt to st r i k e the g i rl and st r ike her hard —to str i keyou t h rough her—but on ly God i s respon s ibl e forsuch a complete catast rophe . Has my wat ch beenregu lat ed by Plymouth t ime ?”

“Yes , i t was done , s i r .”Nowt h i s ma id—pret ty enough s t i l l , though m ind

les s . Inwhat does her i n san i ty appear“Us can’ t m a ke her u nderstand . She had a l ett er

fr om your nenhew: bu t shewou ldn’ t read it .

’T i s in

her m i nd , beyond mov i ng , th a t Qu inton Honeywel l be

dead . She set s great s tore on you because you wereh i s u nc l e ; and she say s you were a lways on her s ideaga ins t me .”

“Come here , l i t t l e ma iden ,” sa id Honeywel l ; and

E v e, r i s i ng, went to h im i nstantly and k i ssed h im.

HAMELDON BOG 249

Her father watched a s a t igress wa t ch es her wandering cub : bu t th e master o f Vit ifer spok e k i ndly ,stroked the g i rl ’ s ha i r, and l i st ened to he r

pr a tt l e .“ I l o v e you ,

’cau se you l o v ed h i m . An’

I ’ l l ca l l ’e

‘L'ncle It oger ,

’ i f you ’ l l l e t me,for so you woul d ha ve

been by th i s t im e , be l ike , i f Qu inton had n’t been

snatched away from ’e . D id you cry y ou r eyes ou t

when you heard te l l abou t it? I m i nd you pu t on newblack for h im .

”

“Qu int on l i v es, ch i ld . You w il l see h im aga i n

some d ay perhaps . Ivewere m i staken .

”

She shook her head .

“You must n ’ t bel ie v e that . M y fa i th er an’ mother

tel l me that . But ban ’ t t rue . For my dreams te l l

d ifferen t . I ’ v e seen h im an’ had many a te l l wi th h im

by n ight . But he’ s sad ly angered becau se I don ’ t go

to h im .

’Ti s very crue l to keep me here . Just such

a l i tt le wou ld l e t the l i fe out .”She stopped sudden ly , sawt he p i st ol i n the drawer,

and lean t o v er to reach it . But M r . Honeywel l ,wi t h ast a rt led oath , drewhe r back and shu t th e drawersh a rply .

“A pist ol ,” he s a id to John Newcombe . “ I con fess

th a t I h a d i t there wi t h i n reach of my hand—youunderstand .

”

The other nodded .

250 F AR M OF TH E DAGG ER

Twas natu ra l you shou ldn’t bel ie v e you r ears , not

yet t rus t me . NowI h ope you th i nk d ifferen t .”To be fr a nk , I d id not t rus t you . I don’ t swear

t hat I t rust you v ery f a r now. I t mu s t take t ime . I

su ppose you knowyou are i n my power s i n ce youret u rned that watch ?”

“ I ca re noth ing for th a t . Haven ’ t you done

enough ? I though t th a t ’twou ld conv i n ce you I wasgo ing to fight no more when I brough t you r watchto you . I

’Vould you l et her you’ v e robbed of reason

and her poor faded mother figh t theworldwi thout me?Wou ld you take me away from them now?”Honeywel l cons idered . E v ewas s i t t i ng on th e arm

o f h i s cha i r , and her v o ice fol l owed her father’ s .“You ’m my k i nd Uncl e Roger , I knowr ight wel l ,

an’I’d go th rough fir e an

’ water for ’e becau se you

l o v ed Qu inton . An’

y o u’d ne v e r b a u lk me up beh ind

c ruel i ron bars l ike fa i ther do .

”

Honeywel l reg a rded her cu r i ou sly I t seemed that

at t he bott om of h i s fi inty heart the re yet th robbed

warm b l ood . He appeared un com fortab l e. He l i fted

h i s v o ice and shou ted to Dury c t .

‘Br ing m e a bott l e o f portwi ne an’ two g l asses an’

b r i ng i t wi th c a re . ’ Then he t urned t o Newcombe .“I

’m glad of th i s . I’ l l do wh a t’ s in my power . Theboy prospers . I wrote h im—no matt e r : I can wr i teag a in . W i l l you dr i nk wi th me , or won’ t you

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

FA R M OF T HE DAGGE R

bel i e v ed that Newcombe l ied ; bu t the mad g i rl ga v eh im p a use . It amazed h im to find a shadowof p i tyf a l l ing upon h i s hea rt . She c lu ng to h im when herf a t her rose to depart

,and her i nnocen t pl ead i ng to

stopwi t h h im d id more to d i sarm the maste r of Vit ifert h a n al l Newcombe’ s sen t iments concern i ng rel ig ion

and for giy eness i n Hea v en .

E v ewept to l ea v e h im .

“You be al l I got i n the world ,” sh e sa id .

“You

knewh im ; you l oved h im ; you can tel l abou t h im .

0 h , l et m e b ide a l ong wi’ you ; for I’ l l n ever wearyyou ; I

’ l l be good an’ k ind ; I

’ l l m in i ster to you an’

cook l i ’ l n i ce th i ngs, an’ s ing to you—all for l o v e of

ii i i i i .”

“You shal l come an’ see me , sa id Mr . Honeywe l l .I f your mother or somebodywi l l br ing you here somet imes , I wi l l see you when I am home, an’ hear yous ing , i f you l ike .

’Tis h i s lo v ely rhymes I ’ l l s ing to you . A tu ne

cam e down in to my heart by n ight , an’ I waked s i ngi ng . I ’ l l s ing l ike a lark i f you’ l l on ly l e t me b ide

a l ongwi’ you .

”

But her father led her away i n b itter tears , andfrom h i s parl ou rwi ndowHoneywel l wat ched them go .

He qu i te f a i l ed to read th e mean i ng of thi s even t , and

much m isdoub ted Newcombe’ s pen iten ce . Yet he

des i red to bel ieve i t genu ine, and therefore found some

HAMELDON BOG 253

reason for so do ing . Th i s man had sworn to take h i sl i fe ; bu t he had not done so . Honeywel l was , ofcourse, aware that h i s enemy m ight have des t royedh im . Any one man , gi v en some wit, determ i nat i on ,pat ience , may sooner or la terwin Opportun i ty to takethe l i fe of another . But , i n s tead of mak i ng an

attempt to fulfil h i s purpose , Newcombe nowappearedboth b roken and con tr i te . As fo r the gi rl , Roger

Honeywel lwas on ly human . He caught h imsel f i n a

vague des i re to amel iorate her cond i t ion , and i n a

regret that h e had wr i t ten a n accou n t of her deathto Qu in t on . The whole affa i r d id not ser v e to spo i lh i s s l eep , bu t i t returned to h im wi th dreams , and h eawoke i n t erested i n some measu re . He determ ined to

watch Joh n Newcombe narrowly , and e v en do h im aser v ice i f opportun i ty offered . He cont i nu ed to pu z

zl e over the p r ob l em of th i s stubborn sou l ’s repen tance

unt i l t he rumours of Postb r idge fe l l upon h i s car .

Then , v e ry read i ly , he accepted the theory that h is

enemywas go ing mad , and h e fel t some personal rel ie fthat Newcombe’ s dawn ing i n san i ty had apparent lytaken th e peacefu l formof humil ia t i on and remorse.

C H A P T E R X X I I

THE COPPERHEAD

N the l oya l l i t t l e S tat e of Delaware , Coun ty Ken t ,t here i s a r i v er that goes by the s i n i st e r n ame o f

M urder-K i l l Creek . After awi nd ing course o fsome fif teen m i l es , t h i s body of water flows

i n to Del aware Bay ; and off t he mou th of it— i n s i de

Brandyw i ne Sho a l , and not five m i l es from the reg ion

where nowa l ight sh ip sh i nes in m idchanne l—H isM aj esty ’s fr igat e IVater u'itch was cru i s i ng on the

day that sawJohn Newcombe beg Roger Honeywe l l ’spardon . The vesse l had seen some ser v ice , and was

now,w ith many other Engl is h warsh ips , harry i ng the

Amer i ca n co a s t and captur i ng the enemy’ s c raft , or

be i ng captured by them . The W aterwitch,al though

the hero ine of no noteworthy engagemen t , cou l d showa good record of u sefu l wo rk beh i nd her . Some

m i nor pr i zes had fal len to he r l ot , and she herself had

once or twi ce escaped from a hea v i er enemy by thesk in of her teet h ; but Cap ta i n Honeywell was much

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

MlCROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART

(ANSIa nd ISO TESTCHARTNo . 2 )

I.2S 4 L6

APPLIED IMAGE l16 53 EOS'Mom St r ee tRoch es te r NewYo r k 1 4 609 USA

(7 16 ) 4 82 0300 Ph one

(7 16 ) 288 5989 r o .

a_z

if:

mg,

a0

2

i

m%

'

sn

l

elm

u

u

u

g

t

256 F AR M O F THE DAGGE R

shore , the sh al l op present ly y an ished, and h i s chart

showed M er r iman Honeywel l th a t she had sl ipped up

i nto the estua ry of M urder-K i l l Creek . Thereupon

the good man breathed a bless ing on Pro v idence , for

he bel ie v ed that h i s p r i ze was nowprac t i cal ly safe ,un l es s her sk ipper b l ewher up . The Il ’aterwitchcrep t i n as n ear as she dared afte r n ight had fal l en ;then she cast anchor .

D inner done , Capta in Honeywel l sen t for h i s fi r st

l i eu tenan t .“ I bel ie v e she’ s the Copper head p r i v ateer that

played the deu ce wi th the Rale igh off Charlest own ,”

he sa id .

“Anyway , we’ l l c u t her out th i s n ight , M r .

R ich a rds . You’ l l comm a nd the fi r st boat , Johnson the

second , and Forrester the g ig . She’ l l set sa i l for

Eng l and wi t h us t o-morrow, I hope . Don’ t l e t ’em

bl ow her us a s they d id that rasca l i n Albemarle

Soundfi’

“Very good , s i r . There are red rocket s go ing up

off Cape M ay .

”

“So much the bett er . ’T i s the Resolute. She’ l l l i e

off a nd wa i t t i l l we tu rn up to-morrow . Then home

along we go .

”

L ieutenan t R icha rds departed wi t h great sat isfact ion to prepa re h i s l it t l e exped i t ion

,and as h e l eft the

Cap ta i n ’s c a b in,Qu inton Honeywe l l en tered it .

Concern i ng the hero of th i s humb l e tal e, i t may be

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

258 F AR M OF TH E DAGGE R

qu i cken at the roar of a gun o r the scream of a round

shot . He des i red death frank ly ; a s yet h e had not

reached beyond that s tage of suffer ing . The thought

of'England was hatefu l to h im ; yet retu rn he must ,

becau se death had passed h im carefu l ly a score of

t imes . He hated h i s dest i ny , fo r i twas to l i v e .In person Qu i n ton had grown th inner , yet hand

somer . The st rength of manhood and of suffer ing

had taken the place of the soft beauty of youth . A

sternness entered i nto h i s feat ures , and gr ief had ru l ed

h i s forehead . But h i s eyes were beaut i fu l as e v e r ; h i s

v o i c e deep and mu s i cal a s when he read h i s s impl erhymes to E v e bes ide the r i v er .

NowQu i nton c ame to report what R i chards hadal ready annou nced , that a B r i t i sh sh ipwas s ignal l i ngouts ide the Bay . He soon left h i s u nc l e , and five

m inu tes l ater heard t hat the Amer i can was to be cu tout a fter dark . H is place was wi th th e firs t l i eutenan t , and he rej o iced , for here prom i sed another

oppor tun i ty to van i sh from the world he l o v ed no

mo re .

Before m idn igh t three boats st ol e away from theW

’

aterwitch , and wi th muffled oars sl ipped o v e r thefi v e m i l es of dark water that separat ed th em from the

coast . A gent l e off-shore breeze bl ewi n the i r faces ,and i t seemed to ga i n in st rength . The fac t appeared

to annoy Mr . R ichards , and he kept press i ng for

TH E “ COP P ER H E AD” 259

increased speed , un t i l the men ,who knewwha t was i nstore for them , grumb l ed . One wh i spered to h i s

ne ighbou r“Do ’

e wan t us to get to her de a d beat P”

In answer t he commander of th e exped i t ion explained , for u n l uck i ly he had heard the sa i l or

“You ’ l l report you rsel f to-morrow,i f al i y e, W i l l i am

Spr agges . Bu t I ’ l l t e l l you why I’m i n a hu rry ,

becau se she’ l l t ry and run to-n igh t a s su re as t he w i nd

blows duewest and i s go ing to bl ow h a rder . W e may

be too lat e for her e v en as i t i s .

Nowth e men gave way wi th a wi l l , and the otherbo a ts a l so qu i ckened . Then a lookou t i n th e bows

cr ied that he sawl i ght s dead ahead . The n igh t wasd a rk and cloudy , w i th a r i s i ng off—shore wi n d and asmooth sea . The rowers ceased , and the boat s i n asudden profound s i l ence wen t l i pp i ng th rough thewater . Then i ndeed a l igh t appeared , a nd the d im

hul l o f a v esse l beneath it . From a m i l e astern of her

c a me th e sound of th e shore .“Just i n t ime , and she’s sa v ed us a deal of t roub l e ,

sa id R ichards .

The other boat s nowcam e up , and a swi f t coun se lofwar was hel d be tween th em . No v o ic e sounded

from t he enemy ; on ly th e fa int “ ch eep , cheep” of

blocks t old tha t sh e was gett i ng up sa i l .“She’s on l y j u st mo v i ng— no way on yet—so we

F AR M OF T H E DA GGE R

can do what we l i k e . You ’ l l tak e her on the star

board s ide , Johnson ; an’ t ry to get hold forwa rd of

her mast i f you can . I ’ l l go for he r por t s ide aft , and

Forres ter w i t h me . W e sha l l d rawthe at tack . I

don ’ t want ’em to knowanyth ing about you t i l l vou’r e

on th e i r ta i l s .”

Thu s R i chards p lanned h i s opera t i ons . Th e shal

l op was now w ith in hal f a m i le, and her enem ies sepa

rated that sh e m ight pass between them . Then to

gether they came upon her , and R i cha rdswas ac tual lyal ongs ide before sh e knewit . The Engl i sh force

mu stered se v en ty men , and i t was reckoned that the

shal l op m igh t hold five-and-twenty o r th i rty .

But nowwi t h awar -whoop the Amer i can s preparedto save the i r sh ip , and as R i chards sprang i nto her

rat t l in s , wi t h Qu i nton after h im ,be perce i v ed i n an

i nstan t that h e had effected no surpr i se . The shal lop

was ready , and twenty mu skets a t short range bell owed ou t together

,and flashed l ike l igh tn ing i n the

faces o f the boarders . Four men , L ieutenan t R i ch

ards among them , fe l l dead ; two more were badlywounded , and dropped into th e sea t o drown there .Bu t the rush of th e Engl i shmen cou l d not be s tayed .

The fi r st o v er were cu t down before they had t ime todefend them sel v es ; then , even as they fel l , t he i r com

pan i ons a v enged them . There was a crack l e o f p istol

fi re , and the c rash of hea v y cut lasses . A shout i ng and

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

262 FAR M OF TH E DAGGE R

cool ly proceeded to l o a d and fi re , and th ey ne v e

m issed . Calm i n th i s awfu l chaos , they d id the i r du tand al read y t he Engl i shmen , i ncl ud i ng young For

rester,had f a l l en .

The danger was thu s stemmed ; the Amer i cansral l ied , and st i l l therewas a hope that t hey m igh t sa v ethe i r l i t t l e sh ip .

Then Qu inton , as ye t untouched , but scent i ng death

i n earnes t now, cal l ed ofl‘

h i s men,ret reated t hat he

m igh t th e bet t e r ad vance , and ch a rged . Twentysa i l ors fol l owed h im , and they brok e th e r i ng , and shot

on e of th e musketeers . The fortune of th e day hung

i n th i s fi na l encounter , and it was reduced for amomen t to a due l between Qu in ton h im sel f and onewho l ed t h e enemy . The capt a i n of th e shal l op had

a l re a dy f a l l en , badly wounded , and i t seemed thatu pon a resolu te figu re at th e foot of th e mast the bu r

den of command nowfel l . He r o a red h i s orders , and,see i ng th a t Qu inton control l ed the boarders , s t ruck

down a sa i l or who fough t between t hem and ru shedupon Honeywel l . The l a d pa rr i ed the b l ow

,and then

at tempted to get i n a swo rd-th ru st on the other’sshou lder, bu t he fa i l ed t o do so , and before he cou ld

d i sengage the Amer i can h a d cu t h im down . He fel l

u n con sc i ou s wi t h an awfu l g a sh across the head,but

h i s act had dec ided the batt l e ; for t h e core of the

defence was now broken up , and i n th e scat teredwar

TH E “ COP P E R HE AD ”263

fare that fol l owed numbers tol d . The man who hadsett l ed Honeywe l l at last h i m sel f wen t down beforesuper ior numbers , and bl eed ing from h a l f a dozen

wou nds . W i th a crash he hu r l ed h i s cut lass a t th ree

s a i l ors who s i mu l t a neou sly at tacked h im . One fel l ;

the other s got i n the i r b lows,and the Amer i can col

l a psed , s l ipp ing on h i s own bl ood , and r i s ing no more .A momen t l at er and t he sha l lop Copperhead had

st ruck . Of her fi fty men e ighteen were dead , twel v ewerewounded , and f'ou rwere m i ss i ng ;wh i l e t he E nglishmen, who h a d boa rded her se v en ty st rong , foundthem se l v es reduced to th ir tv-th ree . F i fteenwere dead ,inc l ud i ng R i chards and For rester , se v enwere m i ss ing ,ind fifteenwerewounded . That th e dead shou ld thu s

outnumber the wounded on both s ideswas an ext r aor

dinar y c i rcumstance that test ifi ed terr ib l y to the

n a t u re of the figh t ing. I n ne i ther forcewas i t poss ible immed iat ely to count t he exac t loss , for though ,concern ing the greater number of fall en men i t wase a sy to de term i newhether they l ived or had per i shed ,some cases requ i red a surgeon to p ronou nce upon

them . Of these were Qu i nt on Honeywel l and the commander of th e l i tt l e pr i v at eer .

The wi nd had dr i fted th e Copperhead towards herfoewh i l e fight ing progressed , and when L i eu ten a ntJohnson

,whowas nowi n command of the pr i ze , s i g

nalled wi th a rocket , answer ing s ignal s l eapt ou t of

264 FA R M OF TH E DAGGE R

the darkness but l i tt l e more than a m i l e ahead . Th

Copper head anchored p r esen t ly w i th i n a cabl e’

l ength of her conqueror, and L ieu tenan t Joh nso

i mmed iat el y wen t aboard , wh i l e at t he same t imeboat wi th the su rgeon and the su rgeon’s mate cameoff from the I'Vaterwitch .

’T i s that famou s l i t t l e pr i v ateer th e Copperhead.

s i r , report ed John son .

“ I t ’ s been a bad bus i ness , for

sh e had fifty men on bo a rd , and I ne v er sawsu chfight ing, nor ne v e r sha l l agai n ; bu t we’ve taken her .VVe

’y e l os t Mr . R i chards and M r . For r cster ; and I

’m

a fra id M r . Qu in ton Honeywel l i s gone , too . VVe’ve

got someth i ng o v er twen ty dead and m iss ing , and theyh a v e more . The i r sk ipper’s badly wounded ; but I

can’ t be su re that he’ s dead .

”

“ I s th e shall op al l r igh t

Yes , r i gh t as a t r i v et—a beau t i fu l th ing , and a

b i t b igger than she look s . They were j u st s l ipp ing

out , as M r . R ichards expected . They were qu i teready for us—worse l u ck .

”

“You’ l l h a v e to take her home . I t’ s a t r icky snake

k i l l ed , that Copperhead, bu t a c ru el pr i ce to pay for

it . R ichards gone ! A very prom i s i ng man l ost. to the

ser v i ce . Poor lads , poor l ads ! I’m th i nk i ng, Mr .

John son,that Hea v en wi l l be a qu iet pl ace for fight

i ng men .

’Ti s a l esson not to let our heart s get in

l o v e w i th gunpowder .”

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

C H A P T E R X X I I I

GREAT NE W S

HE su rgeon of the W a terwi tch took v erygreat and v ery j u s t c red i t to h imse l f i n themat te r of h i s wounded , for o f se v en-and

twen ty i nj u red men , Engl i sh and Amer icans , h e lost bu t two . Or e was a B ri t i sh sa i l or, theother the capta i n a rid owner o f the Copper head .

Both Qu inton Honeywel l and h i s part i cu lar assa i lan t su rv i v ed

,and i t happened t hat t hey met for the

fi r st t ime a fortn ight a fter th e fight . Then the

W aterwitch , the Resolu te, and the p r i v ateer were wellupon the i rway across the At lant i c , and mak ing spl end idweather .Qu in ton , h i s a rm i n a sl i ng , and h i s h ead st i l l

bandaged , s trol l ed sol i tary where the i nval ids weresunn ing themsel v es on th e l ee s ide of the sh ip , and

sudden ly he behel d th e sa i l or who had come so near

tak ing h i s l i fe . By day l igh t th e Amer ican presented

a remarkab l e appearance , but h i s hands ome face

seemed the on ly pa rt of him that was not wounded .

GR E AT N EWS 267

Ilewas chee r fu l , howe v er , desp i te h i s m i s fo rtunes , andHoneywel l he a rd h im laugh . S t range echoe s deep i n

memory awakened a t t h e sou nd . It re v erberated

through the d im corr idors of th e past ; yet Qu inton

could not recol lec t when and where he had l i s tened toit before . That he had done so he fe l t assu red ; but

h is m i n dwould not re v ea l part icu la rs to h im .

He stopped and asked the wounded pr i soner aquest i on .

“Howd’you get on, my manPu r ty t idy , I thank you , s i r . And y ou

’re i n the

land of the l iv i ng too. I see .”

“Thank s to my hard cap—no thanks to you. I had

concuss i on of th e bra i n .

”

“I’m v ery gl ad that you ’ve com e th rough .

You fought a great fight . I hear i t t ook th r ee of

us togeth er to stop youwhen Iwas down .

”

“Ive al l done our bes tes t . There’s a lot of me ter

h it ; that ’s the worst of be i ng a g ian t , you see . I’d

be haunted by the ghost s of a good few Bri t i sh ers , I

reckon , i f i twasn ’t a l l i n the fa i r way ofwar . But no

man can say I e v er fough t crook ed .

“I’ll take you r word for that .”

“W ounded i n s i x pl aces Iwas that n ight ; bu t onl ytwo bother me st i l l . And on ly onewi l l make a d ifference in s i x months’ t ime . Mv ank l ewas broke somehow. I be l ieve I done i t myse l f s l ipp ing down. I

268 FAR M OF TH E DAGGE R

shal l go l ame for l i fe . There won’t be no more gett ing ou t of Dartmoor W a r Pri son aga in .

”

“Dartmoor !” sa id Qu i nton .

“Ah ! nowI knownowI know ! I sawyou the day you marched therewi th a company of you r fe l l ow-count rymen from

Plymou th .

”

“D id you now? W el l ,’ t i s a brac i ng spot , bu t I

though t I was wel l qu i t , and I’m k i nder sorry ter be

n o ing back .

”

“D id you get exchanged

Not exact ly , s i r . I exchanged the in s ide of that

consarned hol e for the out s ide on my own account . Ir'

* a ped , an’ m y mat e , Por t er , he was sh ot , poor

dey il , t ry i ng ter do th e sam e . A nat ion good chap

too .

”

“ I knowDartmoor—every i n ch o f it .

D id ye e v er hear tel l o f Pos tb r idge

I l i v ewi th i n a m i l e of it—or I d id once ; bu t I shal l

n e v er set eyes on the M oor a g a i n .

“ Iwi sh t o God I cou ld say th e same ; but I shal l findmy sel f l i mp ing inter that damned wi l d beast showwi t h i n a month . M y pal s wi l l be glad ter see me .Some funnv t h i ngs happened a year ago . You m ight

k nowth e p a rt ies . Fi rst I mu s t t el l you that my nameis Dan iel Coffi n .

”

“Andwhat h a d you to do at Postb r idgeI had to save a young ma id ’ s l i fe there . ’Twas

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

270 F AR M OF THE DAGGE R

Dan i el Coffin deta i l ed h i s ad v entu res on Dar tmoo

u nder a fi re of coun tl ess quest ion s .

She’d ne v er do it . Ki l l herse l f Good God,whshou ld sh e asked the l o v er .

“That ’ s easy an swered . Because sh e thought

was k i l l ed . Your unc l e made i t c l ear te r her you wasdead . Then sh e d idn’t t ake no more coun t i n l iv i ng

hersel f .“The de v i l ! And she st i l l th i nk s so ! No, no , she

cannot ; sh e must ha v e he a rd from me thr ice s ince

then . And you got c l ear, t hanks to Noah Newcombe?

“ I j u st d id so. Ter France I went , then back terBoston . Then Mr . Green lea f—G od res t h is brave

sou l—p i cked me up when he was fitt ing the Copperhead, and a cheer ful t ime we

’ve had . He took t er me

uncommon . I was h i s fi rs t mate . I r eyther t h i nk I’m

down i n h i s w i l l for a dol l ar or two .

”

“Th i s st range , wonderfu l wor ld ! You sa v ed her

l i fe ; and you camewit h in an ace of tak i ng m ine ; andI hoped I was dead , and I swore at l i fe when I cameback to it . You sa v ed her l i fe ! Shake hands , Dan iel

Coffi n . God bl ess you for e v er and ever .“ I ’ l l shak e w i th the lef

't if

'you ’ve n o obj ect ion .

M y r igh t’s a b i t u nhappy st i l l .

They shook h a nds : then the th ought of what had

happened and the te rr ib le shock of j oy fal l i ng upon

G R EAT N EW S 271

young Honeywel l’sweaken ed frame proved more thanhe cou ld support unmo v ed . Bl i nd ly he got h im to h i s

c a b in,andwept and thanked God there .

“A rum start that , sa id Coffin to one o f h i s mess

mates,the su r v iv i ng marksman from under the mast .

“I sa v ed that chap’ s sweetheart from drown ing hersel f when I was i n England . But he had heard she

was dead .

“IVor se l u ck for us, sa i d th e other .“He fought

l ike a hopel es s man . I f he’d valu ed h is h idewe m ightbe free now— e v ery doodl e of us . I f he’d knowed shewaswa it i ng for h im ter home , I l ay he’d have been athough t more carefu l of h i ssel f. ’Twas h i s ru sh ony ou th a t l os t us . If

'I cou l d ha v e loaded bu t on ce

more , t hat young hero, i n stead of be ing fine as fi v e

pence ,wou l d be sl eep i ng sou nd i n h i s hammock underDelaware Bay th i s m i nute .”Coffi n nodded .

“W aal , I guess God Alm igh ty held your elbow for

His own reasons .

”

C H A P T E R X X I V

ROGER HON E YW ELL AT DAGGER

FARM

T need scarcely be sa id that , desp i t e an exce l l ent

passage , the Wa tcm'itch t ook too l ong upon her

homeward way for Qu i nton Honeywel l ’ s pat ience . I t seemed cen tur i es to h im s i nce last h i s

eyes had seen thewooded s l opes of M oun t EdgecumbePark ; ages were past s ince he gal l oped down fromDartmoor to Plymouth , bu t d id not gal l op back

aga i n . Two grea t ideas nowdom inated th e youngman ’ s m i nd : to reach E ve on the fi rst day that h i s fcet

t ouched land and to secu re the l iberty of Dan iel Coffi n

i f such a stepwas poss ib l e . To the Amer i can he owedh i s hope of human happ iness : t h i s man had saved

E y e’ s l i fe .

Like a weary th i ng the W aterwitch at las t c rep t upthe Hamoaz e and cast anchor n igh the spot from

wh i ch she sa i l ed . News of her retu rn had reached

P lymouth the day before , and preparat ion swere madeto rece ive her pr i soners . But fortune here ser v ed

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

FAR M OF TH E DA GGE R

Good-bye , and thank you for al l you ’ v e done for

me , D a n ie l . W'

ords are v a in th ings , bu t there’s noth

i ng more than ‘thank you ’ I can say . And when t hewar’s o v er , maybe I ’ l l come to Nant ucke t j u s t to seeyou a g a in and thank you ag a in .

“You’ l l b e welcomch —nobody more so ,

” decl ared

Coffin ; and h e depa r ted . A momen t l a ter he tu rned

and asked a quest ion .

Shal l you be l i k e t er see that bl a cksm i th as t r i ed

ter boss mewrest l ing ?”“Noah Newcombe ? Yes

,I ’ l l mak e a poi n t of do i ng

so , be su re .”

“\ V a a l , g i v e h i m my bless ing , and a sk howhe’ s got

on w i th ‘Old Aroostook .

’

Away l i mped Dan iel , and Qu in ton ’s thought s

soa red to th e M oor . It:was nowp a st m id—day ; for thel l'a tcrwitch h a d com e i n on the t ide at dawn .

Thank s t o h i s u ncl e ,who knewhowmatters stood ,th e l o v e r obt a ined i mmed iate freedom , and , soon aft er

noon , h ewent asho re , h i red a s tou t h o rse and set off forPostbr idge . W i t h h i m h e t ook a l et te r for Roger

Honeywel l from h i s brother M err iman , for th e capta in of th e I’Va terwi tch had p rom i sed h i s n ephewtospend at l e a st a coupl e of d a v s at Vit if

'er Farm before

h i s sh i p s a i l ed for Por t smou th to r efit . There sh ewasto be pa id o ff , and her commander expect ed a newcommi ss i on . The t ime was September, and peace

ROGER AT DA GGER FAR M 275

rumou rs a l ready fi l l ed the a i r , although i t was notunt i l t h e end of t he year t hat wa r came to a conelus ion .

IVh ile Qu inton wen t h i s way and dreamed h i sdream s , an e v en t that seemed l ikely t o ru in al l hope

o f futu re weal th for h im threatened to t a ke place a tFarm . As the young man rode ou t of P ly

mouth , another t ra v e l l er t rot t ed towards Postbr idgefrom the oppos i te d i rect ion

,a nd Lawyer Br imp ts, on

a bony bu t s tu rd y steed,app roached Roger IIonev

wel l ’ s home . He c a m e to spend a fewd a y s wi th h i sc l ien t , to shoot some sn ipe , a nd to subm i t a newwi l lto the farmer .

The sequence o f e v en t s upon th i s ext r a ord i na ry d a y

dem a nds exact descr ipt ion . A s Br impts reached h i s

dest inat ion , and as Qu i n ton gal l oped down Lak e-headI'l il l i nt o Postb r idg‘e , R oger Honeywel l h i mse l f stoodabou t two hu nd red ya rds from Dagger Farm . W i t h

h imwas Dur v Hex t carry i ng a game-bag .

Sudden ly Honeywel l s topped and po in ted to th ewh i te wal l s c l ose at h and .

“I’m hal f i n a m ind to take our fr i end at h i s word ,

he sa id .

“I’m dead beat , and a p in t of a l ewou ld hel p

me to get home . He’ s begged m e to v i s i t h im so oft en

i nd so humb l y : so has the pre tty mad ma iden . W hat

th ink you , Hext

276 F AR M OF THE DAGG E R

“The m a n’ s your fr i end nowwi t hou t a doubt .He’ v e v i s i t ed Vitif

'e r fou r t i mes and tak en meat wi th

you .

"I'would put some hea r t i n h im , I th i nk, i f you

went o v e r h i s t hreshold .

”

’Ti s for the l i t t l e g i rl ’ s sake th a t I ’ v e made i t up .

Poor daft wen ch . I’d g i v e a hu ndred pounds to see

her sane . She’d be a daughter to me i f she cou ld .

She’d soften a d iamond .

”

“Such a Chr i st ian gent leman you be, an’ so forget

fu l of inj u ry ! She’m l i ke a lo v i ng cat t o you , I’m

su re—do br i ghten up an’ purr sowhen you speak to

her an’ tak e a flower from her .”“Yes , sh e lo v es me a great dea l bet ter than she loves

h er fathe r .”

’T is th e Lord’ s do ing , an

’ a s ign of sen se i n her

rather t han softness , I’m su re .”

A mom en t later Dury dropped h i s bag at the door

o f Dagger Farm , and rapped loudly .

M rs . Newcombe herse l f opened it , and her colou rfled from her cheek s a s she found herse l f i n th e pres

ence of Roger Honeywel l . John Newcombe’s peace

was m a de , and a sort of conten t had set t l ed down upon

h im ; but though he had frequen t ly ca l l ed at Vit ifer

and taken h i s daught er for Honeywel l ’s p leasu re , theother had ne v er un t i l th i s day entered Dagger

Farm .

“I’ll not reckon that he’ve forg i v en me u nt i l h e do

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

278 F AR M OF TH E DAGG E R

the m i ss i s brewsom e tea? Us have a pound of t

re a l th ing put by for such a grea t occas ion a s th i

O r be there any th ing you ’d sooner take ia?”

“No , I hate th a t muck—ne v e r touch it . G ive me

p in t o i'al e . ’T i s po i son to my gout , bu t I

’ l l v en tu

a fte r a l l th i s exerc i se . I shoot wi th Lawyerto-morrow. Ha

,ha t you bested me fa i r ly gett

h i m on you r s ide tha t second t i m e ! But there’ s n

body l i ke h im i n De v onsh i re .”

“ I ’ v e got a good barre l of home-brewed , i f yoube pl e a sed to t ry it . W ou ld ’

e l’ke a rasher , or a bi

ofwheaten bread an’ cheese alongwi t h i t

“Nay , nay ; there’ s a spread a t home to-n igh t fo .

the lawyer and a fr i end or two —j u st th e al e I ’ l l tak— naugh t e l se .”

John Newcombe dep a rt ed , and Honeywel l sm i led tth i m sel f . H is dogs were wh imper ing out s ide tho

w indow, and he got Up st itfly, l ook ed ou t , and spoke to

B ury Hex t :“Keep those beast s qu ie t . I shan ’ t be more than t

fewm inu tes . I ’ l l ask ’em to send you out a d r inl

p resent ly .

”

At the same momen t he heard h igh v o i ces i n th i

p a s sageway , and a fr ant icwoman cry ing to h im .

As he arose and app roached th e door , i t was flungopen by E v e Newcombe . She ru shed i n and held h i

arm wi th many te a rs and s igh s . The g i r l seemec

ROGE R AT DAGG ER FAR M 279

terr ibly exc i ted , and her v o i ce rose harsh a nd sh r i l l .

l leh ind her fol lowed John Newcombe . Il e set a b i g

brown j ug and two glasse s upon t he table , then tu rnedto h i s daugh ter . E v e cl u ng w i ldly t o the v i s i to r .

“Go l” she c r ied , “you

’m my own de a r Unc le Roger ,an

’ my Qu inton ’s u ncl e too , an’ I l ove you , an

’ Iwon ’ tsee you done to death under t h i s roo f ! For the l o v e o f

God fly wh i l e you can , an’ I ’ l l s tand i n theway an

’ l e t

my f'a i ther k i l l me rather than k i l l you . I ’ v e often

told you ’twou ld be death i f you comed here , for I ’veseed my fa ither’s h ea r t i n dreams, an

’ there’s you r

doomwr i t Upon i t 1”“ Poor ch i l d—t h i s i s i ndeed t err ib l e ,” s a id Honey

wel l . “Hush,my dear ,

” he con t inued to the mad g i r l .“You mu st l earn bet ter than that . I

’m su re you r

father and I be fr i ends now. He’d do me no hu r t

no more than youwou l d .

”

’Ti s a te rr ibl e form her madness takes ,” sa id New

combe , cold ly .

“She l i v es i n the past . New th ings

don’ t touch her m ind . She remembe rs I hated you

once and you hated me She can’ t forget . ’Tis an

awfu l l i v i ng sorrow to u s .

Honeywel l nodded , and the g i r lwr ung her hands .“Listen to me—not to h i m . He hates you an

’ I l o v e

you . He

“Come , my pret ty Eve, sa id Newcombe , gent ly .

“Come to your mother . I t do break my heart , M r .

FAR M OF TH E DAG G E R

Honeywel l . t o hea r he r , for ’t i s t hu s she wa r n s otmen be s ide you away from me . He r l o v e for me

tu rned to ga l l .”

Il e drewh i s daught er gent ly away , and whenhad gone Hone ywe l l l ooked abou t h im wi th a sortsupers t i t iou s susp i c ion . For a moment he fe l t incl in

to take E y e ’s word and depart i n hast e ; bu t r easser ted it se l f, and he laughed at h i s fea r . Th i s

m ight have shot h im from beh ind a hedge a

t im es i i'he had c a red to do se . For a con

t ime he had doubt ed the other’s repentance ,fi rs t had a t tached some importance t o E y e’ s w i ldw—of'ten spoken when she met h im . Bu t nowh e d i .m i ssed her st range warn ings and assu ran ces that shre a d her father’s h eart . She was mad , a nd h e felashamed after a t ime to at tach mo re mean ing to thes

u t ter ances than to her oth er speeches .

IVh ile John Newcombe was absen t, R oger Honeywel l l ooked round abou t th e room , saw noth i ng bu

peace upon i t s meagre face , and tu rned t o t he j ug o

the tabl e . He l i fted i t and then stopped .

“Curse th e wench !” h e sa id , al oud , “sh e’ s got 0

my ner v es wi t h h e r j a rgon . But I ’ l l l e t Joh

Newcombe d r i nk fi rst , al l th e s a m e—a s becomeshos t .”

He sat down aga in , and i n a few moment s the mast er o f Dagger Fa rm retu rned .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

F AR M OF T H E DAGGE R

"My own , sa id Newcombe , fill ing up the sport

man’s glass a second t ime .“Dr ink

,an

’ I ’ l l t e l l you about it .

Honeywel l d id as he was b id , but he had scarce]set down the glass before h i s hand shook and h e felthe sen sat ion o f a hot bel t t ighten i ng rou nd hi

stomach .

“VVhat

’s th i s ?” h e sa id , and stared at Newco

Death !” answe red the oth er, gr imly .

“Deat

last_tli ough I’y e got t o go too . That ’s no

I mean t to end my days afterwards an ’ I ’ l l d i e

to see you d ie .“God i n hea v en ! She was r igh t ! You’ve poisone

I ha y e—l ike a r a t—wi t h monk shood . Ha ,

She g a y e you the flower s for l o v e , and I ’ v e g i v e n youthe root for hate— e v erlast i ng hate ! That ’s r ight !

Tu rn and twi st andwr iggl e . Youwon ’ twr iggl e thatout of you r bl ood . The foo l was too c l e v er for thewi se man , after a l l t”Honeywel l rosewi th the agony of death i n h i s m ind

before he fel t i t i n h i s body . He l e a pt up , s tepped

two hasty paces t owards th e door , then fel l sc ream ing—dragged down by a fiery h and that seemed to gropei n h i s V i ta l s . The otherwas ben t doubl e o v er the table .But h e k ept h i s ch a i r a nd fo rgot the death rac ingt h rough h im at s ight of Honeywel l ’ s torment .

ROGE R AT D AGGER FAR M 283

Scream louder ! Scream louder, you that robbed

my ch i l d of her bra i n ! Scream to her tha t l oves you

so dear to com e and sa v e you now. I t burn s , does it ?

I t gnaws your rott en hea rt w it h i t s red-hot t eet h ! Bu t’t i s ch i l d ’s-play to what wa i t s for you . I ne v er be

liey ed in hel l t i l l I knowed you .

“ M ere sc reamed t he other . “K i l l me—end th i s—end i t 1”

Hewr i thed and k icked , hammered on the floorwi t hh i s fists , st ruck h i s heel s on the ground . Then he

seemed sudden ly to fa i n t , and for a momen t wasmot ion l es s and s i l ent . M eanwh i l e , Newcombe fough tw i th h i s own death , that h e m igh t see the ot her d ie .

“Hear me , hear me , you black , v i l e murderer ! Howlag a in ; groan aga in ; don’ t d ie !”

The otherwas st i l l con sc ious, h i s eye s opened , andhe fi xed them on the man at tab l e . He gl ared , h i s

face shonewh i te andwet .

“Th ink of'her— her al l the t ime ,

” yel l ed Newcombe ,now torn and r i v en i n h i s t u rn .

“Th ink of her , you

dy i ng dog ! I ’ve i t ched to shoot you these many days ,or b a t ter you r head i n an’ l e t you r damned bra i n s out ;

but th i s i s bet ter, t h i s i s

He b roke off and h i s eyes rol l ed up . He mumbled

st i l l , bu t only growl ed l ike a beastwi thou twords . At

the same momen t and wh i l e h i s vo i ce had su nk to aninaud ibl e wh i sper , Dury Hext , fol lowed by Ned

F AR M OF T HE D AGGER

Prowse and T imothy Th ir lestone, ru shed i n to the

chamber . Honeywel l ’s m en had heard the suff'erer’syel l s , bu t hewas a fra id to ent er al one . Now the threemen rush ed in , to find Honeywe l l face downwards onthe floo r a nd Newcombe bunched up o v er the tab l e .Dury hastened to h i s master , turned h im , an d fel l

back before the grey face stamped wi th an awfu ldeath .

“He’s dead ! He’ s gone ; an’ that c rooked v i l l a i n

t here , g l ar i ng at h im ou t of h i s demon eyes, have

done i t“What be th i s

,master— for God’s l o v e what have

happened sa id Prowse .He ru shed to the tabl e and shook Newcombe’s

shou lder,whereon the maste r of Dagger Farm fel lh ea v i ly to t he grou nd .

“ M ercy on me ! h e be a deader

too 1” shouted th e l abourer .

From th e nex t room came a sou nd of knock i ng ,where Ann Newcombe and h er d a ugh ter cr i ed andscreamed t o be rel eased .

I twas at th i s j u nctu re that a r ider gal loped up to

the door o f the farm , and Qu i nton Honeywel l d i smounted and c a l l ed for som ebody t o hold h i s h orse .

He bu rned for a s i gh t o f E y e ; and nowhe h ad it .

P rowse freed h i s m i st res swhen h e heard her vo i ce , andboth she and her daughter hastened t o th e scene o f

'the

t ragedy . Ann Newcombe went to her h usband’ s s ide

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

C H A P T E R X X V

TO THE L IGH T AGAIN

AVVYER BRIMPTS had l ong s ince l earn ed

from h i s p ro fess ion t he beau t ies of pat ien ce ,and not u nt i l d inner t i me approached a t

Vit ifer Fa rm d id he concern h imsel f abou t

h i s host . Upon a r r iy al he p a r took of a l ight

meal , smoked h i s p ipe , and then tu rned to h i s bag .

From i t he drewforth ce r ta i n papers , wh ich r ep r e

sen ted a newwi l l th a t M r . Br impts had prepared for

h i s c l i en t . Under th is document Qu i nton Honeywel lrece i ved bu t a t r ifl i ng l egacy ; othe rs of the fam i l y

were a l so remembered ; but t he bu lk of the farmer’sesta t e was l eft to the l ocal hunt , to be used by themaster as m igh t seem bes t i n t he i nterests of spor t .

Th i s documen t only awa i ted Roger Honeywe l l ’s s ignatu re .

“A wi l d p iece ofwork ,” refl ected th e lawyer . “I’m

sorry for that young de v i l Qu in ton ; but no doubt he’ s

fal len outwi th h i s u nc l e . Yet towi l l your fo r t u ne to

TO THE L IGHT AGA I N 287

a pack of bounds ! I’m a sport sman mysel f—bu t onemust dr awth e l i ne somewhere .”At dusk , wh i l e the d i nner was spo i l ing i n the

k i tchen , and even th e guest began t o suspec t an

acc ident , there came Du ry Hext wi t h h i s gr im news .“An

’ i f M aster Qu in ton Honeywel l d idn’ t come in‘pon t he top of th i s co i l ! An’ I ’ l l t hank you , s i r , to tel l

mewho be he i r an’ who ban ’ t . ’Cause i f th e young

man i s to be, I must be a r myse l f t owards h im accordingly . If

'he ban ’ t i n t he wi l l ’ t i s d ifferen t . I don ’ t

wa nt to demean mysel f for nought .”“Dead !” s a i d t he l awyer . “Po isoned , you say ?

Butwho can pro v e that“You ’d best t o come up -al ong t o that cu rsed D a g

ge r Fa rm—no good cou ld come of any pl a cewi’ sucha eut-thro a t name—Iwa i ted t i l l that k ind gent l eman ,Doctor MacGr ath , rode o v er from the W ar Pr i son ;an

’ he says that they was po i soned .

ThevP”

Both . John Newcombe mus t ha v e g i v ed h im beerto d r i nk wi th som e deadly bane i n it ; an

’ then th e

wret ch mu st ha v e d r inked h im sel f . ’T i s al l wr a pped

in mystery for e v ermore ,’cep t that t hey be so de a d as

any other earth ; an’ a c rue l death ’ twas, too , by the

look s of ’em .

9“Then tha t’swast e paper,’ sa id Br impts , po int i ngto the documen t open on the t a bl e . “The old w i l l

288 F AR M OF TH E DA GGE R

s tands . Qu inton Honeywe l l i s worth from seven to tethou sand pounds .

“Wh i ch be i ng so , I’ l l t rapse back , dog-beat as

am,

” sa id i

'i e fat man .

“ I don ’ t a s t o know no more

but I’m t hat young man’ s humb l e fr iend an’ ser vant t

command for l i fe . Like a bu rr I ’ l l s tick to h i s fort un

so l ong as he’m sens ibl e . I a lways knowed there weth e mak i ng of a hero i n h im

,and , th ough I ne v er tol

h im so , I w i th stood master abou t h im many a t ime .

The men t ramped off together to Dagger Farn

and Dury wear i ed h i s compan ion wi th unctuou s anshort-wi nded account s of h i s own l i fe- l ong goodnesto the dead . Thereupon Br impts s i l enced h im witsome pa in fu l news .

“You were down i n the secondwi l l for one hundr epounds , M r . Hext . But un fort unately you r nam

don’ t appear i n the firs t . Th ink upon that disappoi n tment

,and sa v e your w i nd for s igh ing .

”

At Dagger Farm Qu inton Honeywel l h ad speec‘

w ith Ann Newcombe, and then , after do i ng al l thewas i n h i s power to soothe her shat tered m i nd , l ed Evby the hand and walked ou t to the garden w i th her

Indoors , No a h Newcombe, hast i ly summoned fr orPostbr idge , took command , despatch ed a m es senger t

Pr i nce Town , d i rected that the dead men shou ld be la inout s ide by side , anc

’

. made arrangemen ts for th

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

290 F AR M OF T HE DAGG E R

E v e , sweethe a rt—dream no more—wak e up—wake

up !’T i s Qu inton ’ s l i v ing sel f come home to lo v e you

for e v er

He k is sed her p a ss ionate ly , and she rega rded h im

wi t h round , wonder ing eyes .“Be He a ven a long ways off , my Qu inton ? D id

you r dea r sou l find t heway easy ?”“I

’m al i v e , darl ing—a l i v ing, l o v i ng man ! Feel

my hea vy hand on you r shou lder .”

Be i t so d i ffe ren t where the dead folks b ide ? Be

th ey happy ? Can a mother k i s s her son s there ? Can

l o v ers st i l l l o v e? Or do ’e come from a cold , golden

b r i ght place where no l o v i ng heart s t h rob an’

no

vo i ces speak ? D id them you ca red for haste to welcome you home? Was your mother an’ fa i ther wa i t

i ngwi th gl ad eyes for ’e? Be al l th e ghost s so butivu l

as you , my own? Or be th e pla i n on earth st i l l p l a i n

in Hea v en ? I su ppose ’t i s a l l mus i c an’ l ight

spr ing an’ summer an’ r i pe autumn i n one t here ? Yet

I do th ink ’ twa s wi n ter for my dear l o v e t o see h i she a rt-brok en m a iden down bel ow.

“Not heart-broken , not heart-b rok en bevonrl mend

i ng ! ’Ti s r" i ded ag a i n now. Say ’ t i s mended .

W h a t wi l l make you understand that I’m a man andnot a sp i r i t? L i st e n t o me . I have so much to t ell

you .

’Twas r o Heaven I ’ v e been ia , my pret ty

da r l ing,bu t a Ki ng’ s grea t batt l esh ip . I ’ v e been

TO TH E L I G HT AGA I N 29 1

fight ing—fight ing the Amer ican s—and I was nearly

k i l l ed many a t ime , bu t not qu i te . And they told me

y ou were dead—my own Ey ewas dead . Th ink whatI fel t then .

”

“ I ban ’t de a d . You growcold and your hea rt s topswhen you ’m dead . M y hea rt beat s yet ; my b l ood be

‘t'arm .

A sudden insp i rat ion t ouched h i s m i nd .

“Nay ,” he s a i d , “you must be dead,for they told

me so . I bel i eved it . I t r i ed to d i e too . I went about

where t here was best chance of get t ing a bu l letthrough my bra in . Yes , you must be dead , l i t t l e Eve .

I am su re you mu st .

She l ooked pu z zl ed , then l aughed .

How s i l ly ’ t i s o f ’e t o ta lk so . Your unc l e be dead .

That’ s death . He l i es l ike a marbl e figur e i n church ,an

’ h i s fi r es be ou t for ever . I k i ssed h im , bu t he d idn’t

knowit . M y fa i ther as k i l l ed h im be dead too . W hat

be they say i ng to each other now? I knowwhat deat his . Bu t I —I be l i v i ng . I can th i nk an

’ speak ,

c a n’t I?”

“An

’so can I, my prec iou s . But you say that I em

dead .

”

“You ’m sp i r i t , I’m flesh an’ b l ood . You cou ld hu rt

me—I can c ry wet t ears . I can s leep , I can dream .

“And so can I do al l that . No, no, my pretty Ey e

is dead .

”

292 FAR M OF THE DAGGER

She grew impat i ent .

Howe v e r can I show ’e I

’m al ive? ’T i s u nk ind of

you t o fl ou t me so .

”

She began to weep , and fear ing h e had gone toof a r, Qu inton took her back to her home .

M rs . Newcombe was ca lmer when he retu rned,and

afte r Qu inton had seen Eve make a mea l and had l eft

her plac id aga i n , he wen t h i s way for th e n ight toVitif

’

er . Before l eav i ng,howe v er, he spoke wi th Ned

Prowse and begged h im to watch the ma iden c losely

and care ful ly .

She may tak e th i s chance o f t roub l e and d i sorder

to s tea l off,” he sa id .

“\ V atch her and on ly her .

You ’ l l n ot regre t it . I shal l be back early i n the

morn i ng .

”

That n igh t the young man despatched a mes senger

to h i s u ncl e M err iman , and early in th e morn i ng, after

s l eepl ess hours , he retu rn ed to Dagger Farm .

No difficult ies attended the w i nd ing up of affa i rs

a t th e two homesteads, andwi th i n a week the enemi ess l ep t s ide by s ide at IVidecombe-in-t he- M oor . To

gether they were bu r i ed , and one w idow’ s h eartmou rned the murderer, bu t for the murdered no tear

was shed . Ann Newcombe dete rm ined to l ea v e Dag

ger Farm , and she a l lowed Qu in ton Honeywel l l argelyto influence her fut ure plans .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

294 FAR M OF THE DAGGER

of her l i fe m igh t l ikewi s e showh im l i v i ng , she grewpuz zled and s i l en t . Somet imes she wou ld l augh a ndsomet imes weep .

The re c ame a t l as t a m i l d day near the end of

Octobe r, and Ey e walked wi t h Qu i nton a l ong thev a l ley . The young man had sub l e t t h e rema inder of

the le a se o f Vit if'e r , andwi th i n aweek h e des igned to

l ea v e the farm for chambers that h e had taken at

De v onport . Il i s futu re act ion s depended upon E v e .

She and her mother were a l so abou t to depart from

Dartmoor , at l eas t for a season , and M rs . Newcombemeant t o dwe l l i n a l i t t l e house n ear Plymouth . Dagger

Farmwas t o be sold , but no offer had been made Ior it ,t hough th e w idow

,l i tt l e guess ing that her homewou ld

never aga i n be t enanted by human be i ngs , s t i l l h oped

to sel l or l et her husband’ s p roperty . The placewasa b lack c l oud i n her m i nd ; yet i t stood for the l i fe

work of many men .

Young Honeywel l and h i s l o v e s tood bes ide the pooli nto wh i ch E v e h a d flut tered upon a bygone day of

summer . She knew i twel l , and repeated th e old story .

’Twas through the deep water I mean t to s i nkdown —down t i l l I comed to my Qu inton .

”

“You thought to ; but how sad my darl i ng wou ld

ha v e been to find no Qu inton 1”

She refl ected upon th i s .

Then I shou ld ha v e t r ied to come back to earth

TO THE L I GHT AGA I N 295

aga i n to you—same as you ha v e t o me . Iwou -.l ha v e

put mysel f away , bu t they ne v e r le t m e t ry aga i n .

”

“Yet t h ey’ l l suffer you towalk bes ide the r i v erwi t hme , and i i

'I’m on ly a ghost I cou ldn ’ t s t0 p you do ing

wh a t you p leased .

“ I ne v e r though t of t ha t ! It'I wen t in th ewater ,

wh a twou ld you do , Qu int on“IVhy, tak e v e ry good c a re to s a v e you“No ghost cou ld sa v e me ,

” sh e s a id . Twas al i y i ng arm a s s a v ed me be fore .

‘Then , sweeth e a rt , know ’ twou ld be a l i v i ng armthat rescu ed you ag a in .

”

She s t roked h i s a rm carefu l ly , and then hel d h i s

hand .

“ I do w i sh as I cou ld bel i e v e you . I do pray to God

of a n i gh t to make you a l i v e man .

“And d ’yon th i nk He doesn’ t h ear you ? Al i v e I

am, and st rong , and r ich , and I l o v e you bet ter than

e v er a man l o v ed a woman before . D’

you forget my

v erses ? A l i tt l e s tar you ’ v e been t o me, and twi nk l edbrighter than e v e r s ince the crue l d a rk ness and the

dre a dfu l thought you were put ou t . Oh , bel ie v e I’ma l i y e ! W ha t great t h ing can I d o to showyou that Iam? W hat th i ng beyond a sp i r i t’ s power? B id mego to the end of theworld for you and Iwi l l go .

”

“Sa v e me , then ,

”she s a id , “sa v e m e , an

’ I ’ l l be l i e v e .

An’ i f you can ’ t , us w i l l be ghost s t ogeth er an

’ be so

296 F A R M OF TH E DAGG E R

happy as ghosts can . I f ’ t i s on ly a shadowyhapp iness that sp i r i t s know, at le a s t i t l as ts fore v e r?’

“Sa v e you from what ? Tel l me , and be su re 1sh a l l .”

Her answer was an act ion . I n a n i n stan t sh e had

l eapt from h i s s ide and fl ung he i self into Dart ; bu t

th e manwas as qu ick . He ente red thewat er a seconda fterwards ; was swep t oft’ h i s feet as be se i zed E v e ,a nd then , t ou ch ing ground a g a in a t t he lower end ofth e pool , soon drewt he g i r l a nd h imsel f ou t of thewate r .

“Come ,” h e sa id , “we must ru n wi thou t s to ino‘ t o

C)

D a gger Farm

deed .

”

But she gasped and shook her he a d .

“No , I’ l l n e v er d i e now, u nt i l I’m old . I don’ twan t

el se you ’ l l v e ry l i k e ly d i e for th i s s i l ly

to d ie no mo re— now.

”

“You understand at l ast 1”

I knowyou be a l i v ing man— el se you cou ldn’ tha v e sa v ed m e . ’Ti s enough fo r t he day . I see a

l i t t l e . I ’ v e been asl eep i n a black room . E v en here ,

an’ dripp ing from the r iver j us t as I be now, I hast

a l ongwi’ t ha t great man from Amer i ca ; an’ I thought

he’d k i l l ed you an’ then done a cruel l e r th ing an

’

sa v ed me . An’I’y e s l ept e v er s i n ce t i l l I don’ t know

what he dream s an’what be t rue .”

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join