It was quite a shock to me to find any one knew anything about my ruin, and it was some time before I ventured to ask--

"Would you tell it to me?"

Instead of saying "Yes," the coastguardsman laid down his telescope, pulled a plug of tobacco out of his pocket, and, cutting off a small quid, put it into his mouth, looked up at the sail, shifted himself once or twice in his seat, and then, looking to see if I was ready, began--

"It's not such a wonderful yarn after all, sir. You see, something like two hundred and fifty years ago, when our Civil Wars were going on-- you've heard of them, I suppose?--yonder castle belonged to a stout Charles the First's man called Fulke. He owned a good bit about this coast, I'm told, and the folk at the New Manor are sort of descendants.

But direct descendants they can't be, for Fulke only had one daughter, sir, and she never married. If it hadn't been for those cruel wars she would have been married, though, for she was betrothed to a neighbour, young Morgan, who lived beyond that hill there, and mightily they loved one another too! Fulke, whose lands joined on Morgan's, was pleased enough to have the two families united, and united they would have been to this day but for the Civil Wars. I'm no great hand at dates, sir, but it was somewheres about 1642 that things began to get unpleasant.

"One day, not long before the wedding was to be, Fulke and his daughter went over to Morgan Hall; and while the young folk spent the day love- making in the garden the two old folk sat and discussed the affairs of the nation in the house. And it's safe to say the two out of doors agreed far better than the two indoors. For Morgan went with the Parliament, and told Fulke the King had no right to try and arrest the five members, and that the Parliament had done a fine thing in protecting them, and that if he'd been there he'd have called out against the King as loud as any of them. At that Fulke--who was a hot- headed man at best of times, and who went mad to hear any one say a word against the King--got up in a rage, and, taking his hat, stalked out into the garden, and taking his daughter by the arm marched away from Morgan Hall with never a word.

"It was a sad business. The young folks begged and the old Morgan sent a letter; but no, Fulke wouldn't listen to one of them, and forbade his daughter to leave the castle.

"Whether the lovers saw one another after that I don't know, but almost directly after the war blazed out and the whole country went mad.

Morgan and his son had to leave these parts, and took arms under the Parliament, while Fulke brought guns and powder into his castle, and hoisted the flag of King Charles.

"The young lady had a busy time of it sheltering and entertaining the Royalists who came this way. But she had no heart in it--not that she didn't love the King, sir. Yet she loved young Morgan more.

"So things went on for four or live years. The King, as you know, sir, got the worst of it, and was driven to his wits' end. Most of his friends had fallen, and some had deserted. But so far no one had given Fulke much trouble. Either they had never heard of him, or saw there was not much to fear from him. So the Royal flag waved over the castle day and night, and the young lady did what her father bid her, and never went abroad or heard a word of young Morgan.

"But at last the King, not knowing what to do, tried to bring over the Irish to help him. And then it was the troubles in these parts began.

For every one that was suspected of aiding in this venture was doomed by the Parliament.

"And Fulke was suspected. Rightly or wrongly I can't say, but I've a notion there was something in it. Anyway, his castle commanded the bay, and the Parliament made up their minds to have it. Fulke had only time to get a score or so of men with arms and provender inside his gate, when a troop of roundheads came with their guns over the lulls and sat down before it.

"The leader of the troop was a Colonel Frank, a cruel, ruffianly fellow, as you shall hear. And the second in command was no other than young Captain Morgan himself.

"He had had plenty of rough work during the war, and had done it well.

And it's a pity, sir, all the Parliament's officers weren't of his sort, for he was as unlike Colonel Frank as a house-dog is to a wolf. When first ordered on this expedition he didn't know where he was going, and you can fancy his horror at finding out that he was to lay siege to the very castle that held his lady-love. At first he would have held back, and even refused. But he was under iron rules, and besides, thought he, I might help my lady more by going than staying away.

"So he came with the troop to the castle, and looked wistfully up at the little turret yonder, and prayed that she might never know that he was where he was.

"Colonel Frank came expecting an easy task with this small out-of-the- way castle. But it was not so easy as he thought. On two sides, as you see, sir, no mortal man could get at it. And on the other two, Fulke had guarded himself so well that by the end of a fortnight the Roundheads were not an inch nearer getting the place than they had been when they began.

"The rage of the colonel knew no bounds, and he vowed all sorts of vengeance. You may fancy one of his men did not join in his threats.

Many a time that fortnight Captain Morgan wished a shot from the castle might find him out and end his misery. And yet whenever he was tempted to desert or quarrel with his colonel the thought of the lady left with no protector at the mercy of such a man held him to his post. All he could do was once or twice to urge the colonel to raise the siege, or come to terms with its master. But Frank was bent on vengeance, and at last poor Morgan had to desist for fear of getting suspected himself.

"About three weeks after the siege had begun, when the Roundheads were beginning to lose spirit, and Morgan's hopes were beginning to rise once more, a trooper rushed into the colonel's tent to say he had found a small cave below the top of the cliff which seemed to run up under the castle. The colonel's eyes blazed at the news, and he ordered the man to lead him instantly to the spot. Do you see a square grey patch on the face of the cliff up there, sir, nearly at the top, under the south corner?"

"Yes; what is it?"

"That's the mouth of the cave. At least, it's not a cave now, for it's filled up. But it was there the trooper, under cover of night, led the colonel and the captain. They didn't do more than mark the place then, for fear an alarm might be given by a sentinel within.

"`Now,' says Colonel Frank, `the castle's ours; and not a soul inside it shall be there by this time to-morrow.'

"`What shall you do?' says Captain Morgan, pale, and with a shaky voice.

"`Do? Art thou a dunce, Morgan? Without doubt, at the end of that cave is a way up into the castle; and though the pa.s.sage be too narrow for all my troop, three men and a captain will suffice to lay f.a.ggots and light them at the door. What say you, comrade?'

"`What!' cries Morgan, `would you burn the place? No, no, colonel; we will capture it if we can, but it is no soldier's work to burn men in their beds!'

"`Fool!' exclaims the colonel, in a pa.s.sion, `it is no captain's work to read sermons to his colonel, sirrah! These rebels shall be smoked out like all other vermin!'

"`But,' says the captain once more, and very pale--`but I hear there is a lady in the castle, and--'

"`Peace, sir, on your peril!' exclaims the colonel, `and hold yourself ready to obey orders when I shall give them.'

It was no use saying more, young Morgan saw that. As it was, he knew his colonel half suspected him of some treachery, and for the rest of that day put a watch upon him. Twenty times that day he was on the point of risking all consequences and declaring to his officer's face he would have no hand in this bad business. But the thought of how much worse that might be for the folk in the castle kept him to his post.

"Well, sir, the day pa.s.sed, and they kept up a show of besieging the place on the land side, and took care to keep all Fulke's guns turned that way. But at nightfall Colonel Frank called Morgan to him and ordered him to take six men, whom he named, and try the pa.s.sage.

"`If you find a sentinel at this end,' says the colonel, `see he is overpowered and taken before an alarm can be given. Over the cliff will be the shortest way with him. The men you take know their business; and see you perform yours!' he says, with a scowl. `I and the rest of the troop will be ready to storm the place as soon as we see the flames. Go now, lose no time; and, hark you, there is no quarter to-night for traitors!'

"This last remark may have been meant for the captain, who knew that, at heart, he was a traitor to the Parliament that night; or it may have been meant for the inmates of the castle. Anyway, it sounded ugly enough, and it was all Morgan could do to hold his peace and make no reply.

"He found the six men waiting for him without, and in the darkness they crept stealthily round to the edge of the cliff, where a narrow ledge led down to the end of the cave.

"It was a perilous step down, especially to those unaccustomed to the way. But the spot had been carefully marked in the daytime, and presently the little band all stood there at the entrance. Morgan in his secret heart wished some sentinel of the besieged might have perceived them, and so given an alarm. But no; such was the security Fulke felt in the secrecy of his cave that it never entered his head to guard it.

"The men entered one by one, with a man carrying a light in front. The pa.s.sage was too narrow to allow of two abreast, and too low for any one to stand upright in it. So, single file, on hands and knees, they crawled forward.

"At last, when they had gone some way, and the sound of the sea grew faint in the distance, Morgan halted his men.

"`Give me the light,' says he, `and stay here while I go forward and see how the pa.s.sage ends.'

"He crawled forward to the front of the file and took the torch from the hands of the foremost man. But when he began to move forward he noticed that two of the band followed him at a short distance.

"`Did I not order you to remain with the rest?' demands he, angrily.

"`Pardon, captain. The colonel bade us keep close to you,' says one of the men, sourly.

"Morgan's blood ran cold in his veins, and his last hope of giving a friendly warning to those in the castle vanished. However, it was no time to quarrel, and he answered, with a forced laugh, `The colonel flatters me by his attention. But, as he is anxious for my welfare, come on, my men, and keep your eyes on me.'

"The three went forward, till the cave became so narrow that they could scarcely drag themselves farther. In one place a little c.h.i.n.k in the roof let in a faint ray of moonlight from above.

"At length they could get no farther, and Morgan, turning his head, said, `It's a false scent, after all; the cave leads nowhere!'

"But at that moment over their heads they heard a sound of feet, and presently of voices. At first they could distinguish nothing, but after a while Morgan's ears caught some words.

"`Pray, master, get you to bed for this one night. The scoundrels can do nothing till the morning.'

"`I need no rest, I tell you,' said another voice, sternly. `How stands the provender, Peter?'

"`It will last three days, master; and the shot will hold out for two.

The water, alas! is already exhausted.'

"`Ah! And my child--how is she?'

"`In good heart, master; she was sleeping like a child as I pa.s.sed her room just now.'