The course which Lawless had taken when he started on his wildgoose chase was down a ride cut through the furze, and it was along this turfy track that Rose Alba was now hurrying in her wild career. The horse on which I was mounted was a young thorough-bred, standing nearly sixteen hands high, and I felt certain that in the pursuit in which I was engaged, the length of his stride would tell, and that eventually we must come up with the fugitives; but so fleet was the little Arab, and so light the weight she had to carry, that I was sorry to perceive I gained upon them but slowly. It was clear that I should not overtake them before they reached the outskirts of the common, and then who could say what course the mare might take--what obstacles might not be in her way!

On--on we go in our headlong course, the turf reechoing to the m.u.f.fled strokes of the horses' feet, while the furze, waving in the wind, seemed to glide by us in a rapid stream. Onward--still onward; the edge of the gorse appears a dark line in the distance--it is pa.s.sed; we are crossing the belt of turf that surrounds it--and now, in what direction will the mare proceed? Will she take the broad road to the left, which leads again to the open country by a gentle ascent, where she can be easily overtaken and stopped; or will she turn to the right, and follow the lane, which leads across the terrace-field to the brook, swollen by the late rains into a river? See! she slackens her pace--she wavers, she doubts--she will choose the road! No; by Heaven! she turns to the right, and dashing down the lane like a flash of lightning, is for a moment hidden from view. But the s.p.a.ce of time, short as it was, when her speed slackened, has enabled me to gain upon her considerably; and when I again catch sight of her she is not more than fifty yards ahead.

Forward! good horse--forward! Life or death hangs upon thy -338-- fleetness. Vain hope! another turn brings us in sight of the brook, swollen by the breaking up of the frost into a dark, turbulent stream.

f.a.n.n.y perceives it too, and utters a cry of terror, which rings like a death-knell on my ear. There seems no possibility of escape for her; on the left hand an impenetrable hedge; on the right a steep bank, rising almost perpendicularly to the height of a man's head; in front the rushing water; while the mare, apparently irritated to frenzy by my pursuit, gallops wildly forward. Ha! what is that? a shout! and the figure of a man on horseback appears on the high ground to the right, between f.a.n.n.y and the stream. He perceives the danger, and if he dare attempt the leap from the bank, may yet save her. Oh! that I were in his place. Hark! he shouts again to warn us of his intention, and putting spurs to his horse, faces him boldly at it. The horse perceives the danger, and will refuse the leap. No! urged by his rider, he will take it yet--now he springs--it is certain destruction. A crash! a fall! they are down! No; he has lifted his horse with the rein--they are apparently uninjured. Rose Alba, startled by the sudden apparition, slackens her pace--the stranger, taking advantage of the delay, dashes forward, seizes the rein, and succeeds in stopping her; as he does so, I approached near enough to recognise his features--

[Ill.u.s.tration: page338 Lovers Leap]

Unlooked for happiness! f.a.n.n.y is saved, and Harry Oaklands is her preserver!

My first act on joining them was to spring from my horse and lift f.a.n.n.y out of the saddle. "Are you really unhurt, my own darling?" exclaimed I; "can you stand without a.s.sistance?"

"Oh yes!" she replied, "it was only the fright--that dreadful river--but--" and raising her eyes timidly she advanced a step towards Oaklands.

"But you would fain thank Harry for saving you. My dear Harry,"

continued I, taking his hand and pressing it warmly, "if you only knew the agony of mind I have suffered on her account, you would be able to form some slight idea of the amount of grat.i.tude I feel towards you for having rescued her. I shudder to think what might have been the end had you not so providentially interposed; but you do not listen to me--you turn as pale as ashes--are you ill?"

"It is nothing--a little faint, or so," was his reply, in a voice so weak as to be scarcely audible; and as he spoke, his head dropped heavily on his shoulder, and he would have fallen from his horse had not I caught him in my arms and supported him.

-339-- Giving the horses into the custody of a farming lad (who had seen the leap, and run up, fearing some accident had occurred), I lifted Oaklands from the saddle, and laying him on the turf by the roadside, supported his head against my knee, while I endeavoured to loosen his neckcloth. Neither its removal, however, nor the unfastening his shirt-collar, appeared to revive him in the slightest degree, and being quite unaccustomed to seizures of this nature, I began to feel a good deal frightened about him. I suppose my face in some degree betrayed my thoughts, as f.a.n.n.y, after glancing at me for a moment, exclaimed, wringing her hands in the excess of her grief and alarm, "Oh! he is dead--he is dead; and it is I who have killed him!" Then, flinging herself on her knees by his side, and taking his hand between both her own, she continued, "Oh, Harry, look up--speak to me--only one word;--he does not hear me--he will never speak again! Oh! he is dead!--he is dead! and it is I who have murdered him--I, who would gladly have died for him, as he has died for me." As she said this, her voice failed her, and, completely overcome by the idea that she had been the cause of Harry's death, she buried her face in her hands and wept bitterly.

At this moment it occurred to me that water might possibly revive him, and rousing f.a.n.n.y from the pa.s.sion of grief into which she had fallen, I made her take my place in supporting Oaklands' head, and running to the stream, which was not above fifty yards from the spot, filled my hat with water, sprinkled his face and brow with it, and had the satisfaction of seeing him gradually revive under the application.

As consciousness returned, he gazed around with a bewildered look, and pa.s.sing his hand across his forehead, inquired, "What is all this? where am I? Ah! Frank, have I been ill?"

"You fainted from over-exertion, Harry," replied I, "but all will be well now."

"From over-exertion?" he repeated, slowly, as if striving to recall what had pa.s.sed; "stay, yes, I remember, I took a foolish leap; why did I do it?"

"To stop f.a.n.n.y's mare."

"Yes, to be sure, the water was out at the brook, and I thought the mare might attempt to cross it; but is f.a.n.n.y safe? Where is she?"

"She is here," replied I, turning towards the place where she still knelt, her face hidden in her hands. "She is here to thank you for having saved her life."

-340-- "Why, f.a.n.n.y, was it you who were supporting my head? how very kind of you! What! crying?" he continued, gently attempting to withdraw her hands; "nay, nay, we must not have you cry."

"She was naturally a good deal frightened by the mare's running away,"

replied I, as f.a.n.n.y still appeared too much overcome to speak for herself; "and then she was silly enough to fancy, when you fainted, that you were actually dead, I believe; but I can a.s.sure you that she is not ungrateful."

"No, indeed," murmured f.a.n.n.y, in a voice scarcely audible from emotion.

"Why, it was no very great feat after all," rejoined Harry. "On such a jumper as the Cid, and coming down on soft marshy ground too, 1 would not mind the leap any day; besides, do you think I was going to remain quietly there, and see f.a.n.n.y drowned before my eyes? if it had been a precipice, I would have gone over it." While he spoke, Harry had regained his feet; and, after walking up and down for a minute or so, and giving himself a shake, to see if he was all right, he declared that he felt quite strong again, and able to ride home. And so, having devised a leading-rein for Rose Alba, one end of which I kept in my own possession, we remounted our horses, and reached Heathfield without further misadventure.

CHAPTER XLIII -- A CHARADE--NOT ALL ACTING

"And then, and much it helped his chance-- He could sing, and play first fiddle, and dance-- Perform charades, and proverbs of France."

--_Hood_.

"I have often heard this and that and t'other pain mentioned as the worst that mortals can endure--such as the toothache, earache, headache, cramp in the calf of the leg, a boil, or a blister--now, I protest, though I have tried all these, nothing seems to me to come up to a _pretty sharp fit of jealousy_."

--_Thinks I to Myself_.

LAWLESS'S penitence, when he learned the danger in which f.a.n.n.y had been placed by his thoughtlessness and impetuosity, was so deep and sincere that it was impossible to be angry with him; and even Oaklands, who at first declared he considered his conduct unpardonable, was obliged to confess that, when a man had owned his fault frankly, and told you he was really sorry for it, -341-- nothing remained but to forgive and forget it. And so everything fell into its old train once more, and the next few days pa.s.sed smoothly and uneventfully. I had again received a note from Clara, in answer to one I had written to her. Its tenour was much the same as that of the last she had sent me. c.u.mberland was still absent, and Mr. Vernor so constantly occupied that she saw very little of him. She begged me not to attempt to visit her at present; a request in the advisability of which reason so fully acquiesced, that although feeling rebelled against it with the greatest obstinacy, I felt bound to yield. Harry's strength seemed now so thoroughly re-established, that Sir John, who was never so happy as when he could exercise hospitality, had invited a party of friends for the ensuing week, several of whom were to stay at the Hall for a few days; amongst others Freddy Coleman, who was to arrive beforehand, and a.s.sist in the preparations; for charades were to be enacted, and he was reported skilful in the arrangement of these saturnalia of civilised society, or, as he himself expressed it, he was "up to all the dodges connected with the minor domestic enigmatical melodrama". By Harry's recommendation I despatched a letter to Mr. Frampton, claiming his promise of visiting me at Heathfield Cottage, urging as a reason for his doing so immediately, that he would meet four of his old Helmstone acquaintance, viz., Oak-lands, Lawless, Coleman, and myself. The morning after Coleman's arrival, the whole party formed themselves into a committee of taste, to decide on the most appropriate words for the charades, select dresses, and, in short, make all necessary arrangements for realising a few of the very strong and original, but somewhat vague, ideas, which everybody appeared to have conceived on the subject.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen," began Freddy, who had been unanimously elected chairman, stage-manager, and commander-in-chief of the whole affair, "in the first place, who is willing to take a part? Let all those who wish for an engagement at the Theatre Royal, Heathfield, hold up their hands."

Lawless, Coleman, and I were the first who made the required signal, and next the little white palms of f.a.n.n.y and Lucy Markham (whom Mrs. Coleman had made over to my mother's custody for a few days) were added to the number.

"Harry, you'll act, will you not?" asked I.

"Not if you can contrive to do without me," was the -342-- reply. "I did it once, and never was so tired in my life before. I suppose you mean to have speaking charades; and there is something in the feeling that one has so many words to recollect, which obliges one to keep the memory always on the stretch, and the attention up to concert pitch, in a way that is far too fatiguing to be agreeable."

"Well, as you please, most indolent of men; pray, make yourself quite at home, this is Liberty Hall, isn't it, Lawless?" returned Coleman, with a glance at the person named, who, seated on the table, with his legs twisted round the back of a chair, was sacrificing etiquette to comfort with the most delightful unconsciousness.

"Eh? yes to be sure, no end of liberty," rejoined Lawless; "what are you laughing at?--my legs? They are very comfortable, I can tell you, if they're not over ornamental; never mind about att.i.tude, let us get on to business, I want to know what I'm to do?"

"The first thing is to find out a good word," returned Coleman.

"What do you say to Matchlock?" inquired I. "You might as well have Blunderbuss while you are about it," was the reply. "No, both words are dreadfully hackneyed; let us try and find out something original, if possible."

"Eh? yes, something original, by all means; what do you say to Steeplechase?" suggested Lawless.

"Original, certainly," returned Freddy; "but there might be difficulties in the way. For instance, how would you set about acting a steeple?"

"Eh? never thought of that," rejoined Lawless; "I really don't know, unless Oaklands would stand with a fool's cap on his head to look like one."

"Much obliged, Lawless; but I'd rather be excused," replied Harry, smiling. "I've got an idea!" exclaimed I. "No, you don't say so? you are joking," remarked Freddy in a tone of affected surprise. "Stay a minute," continued I, musing. "Certainly, as long as you and Sir John like to keep me," rejoined Coleman politely.

"Yes! that will do; come here, Freddy," added I, and, drawing him on one side, I communicated to him my ideas on the subject, of which, after suggesting one or two improvements on my original design, he was graciously pleased to approve. Of what this idea consisted, the reader will be apprised in due time. Suffice it at present -343-- to add, that f.a.n.n.y having consented to perform the part of a barmaid, and it being necessary to provide her with a lover, Lawless volunteered for the character, and supported his claim with so much perseverance, not to say obstinacy, that Coleman, albeit he considered him utterly unsuited to the part, was fain to yield to his importunity.

For the next few days Heathfield Hall presented one continual scene of bustle and confusion. Carpenters were at work converting the library into an _extempore_ theatre. Ladies and ladies'-maids were busily occupied in manufacturing dresses. Lawless spent whole hours in pacing up and down the billiard-room, reciting his part, which had been remodelled to suit him, and the acquisition of which appeared a labour a.n.a.logous to that of Sisyphus, as, by the time he reached the end of his task, he had invariably forgotten the beginning. Every one was in a state of the greatest eagerness and excitement about something--n.o.body exactly knew what; and the interest Ellis took in the whole affair was wonderful to behold. The unnecessary number of times people ran up- and down-stairs was inconceivable, and the pace at which they did so terrific. Sir John spent his time in walking about with a hammer and a bag of nails, one of which he was constantly driving in and clenching beyond all power of extraction, in some totally wrong place, a line of conduct which reduced the head-carpenter to the borders of insanity.

On the morning of the memorable day when the event was to come off, Mr.

Frampton made his appearance in a high state of preservation, shook my mother by both hands as warmly as if he had known her from childhood, and saluted the young ladies with a hearty kiss, to their extreme astonishment, which a paroxysm of grunting (wound up by the usual soliloquy, "Just like me!") did not tend to diminish. A large party was invited in the evening to witness our performance, and, as some of the guests began to arrive soon after nine, it was considered advisable that the actors and actresses should go and dress, so that they might be in readiness to appear when called upon.

The entertainments began with certain _tableaux-vivants_, in which both Harry and I took a part; the former having been induced to do so by the a.s.surance that nothing would-be expected of him but to stand still and be looked at--an occupation which even he could not consider very hard work: and exceedingly well worth looking at he appeared when the curtain drew up, and discovered him as the Leicester in Scott's novel of _Kenilworth_; the -344-- magnificent dress setting off his n.o.ble figure to the utmost advantage; while f.a.n.n.y, as Amy Robsart, looked prettier and more interesting than I had ever seen her before. Various _tableaux_ were in turn presented, and pa.s.sed off with much _eclat_, and then there was a pause, before the charade, the grand event of the evening, commenced. Oaklands and I, having nothing to do in it (f.a.n.n.y having coaxed Mr. Frampton into undertaking a short part which I was to have performed, but which she declared was so exactly suited to him that she would never forgive him if he refused to fill it), wished the actors success, and came in front to join the spectators.

After about ten minutes of breathless expectation the curtain drew up and exhibited Scene 1st, the Bar of a Country Inn; and here I shall adopt the play-wright's fashion, and leave the characters to tell their own tale:--

Scene I.

Enter Susan Cowslip, the Barmaid (f.a.n.n.y) and John Shortoats, the Ostler (Lawless).

John. Well Susan, girl, what sort of a morning hast thee had of it?

how's master's gout to-day?