Red Money, Fergus Hume [10 ebook reader .txt] 📗

Paid Me A Friendly Visit--That Is All."

 

"Yes; That Is All," Mocked The Girl Contemptuously. "But If I Tell

Him--"

 

"Tell Him What?"

 

"That You Love His Romi!"

 

"He Knows That," Said Lambert Quietly. "And Knows Also That I Am An

Honorable Man. See Here,  Chaldea,  You Are Dangerous,  Because This Silly

Love Of Yours Has Warped Your Common Sense. You Can Make A Lot Of

Mischief If You So Choose,  I Know Well."

 

"And I _Shall_ Choose,  My Golden Rye,  If You Love Me Not."

 

"Then Set About It At Once," Said Lambert Boldly. "It Is Best To Be

Honest,  My Girl. I Have Done Nothing Wrong,  And I Don't Intend To Do

Anything Wrong,  So You Can Say What You Like. To-Night I Shall Go To

London,  And If Pine,  Or Hearne,  Or Whatever You Call Him,  Wants Me,  He

Knows My Town Address."

 

"You Defy Me?" Panted Chaldea,  Her Breast Rising And Falling Quickly.

 

"Yes; Truth Must Prevail In The End. I Make No Bargain With A Spy," And

He Gave Her A Contemptuous Look,  As He Strode Into The Cottage And Shut

The Door With An Emphatic Bang.

 

"Hai!" Muttered The Gypsy Between Her Teeth. "Hatch Till The Dood Wells

Apré," Which Means: "Wait Until The Moon Rises!" An Ominous Saying For

Lambert.

Chapter 7 (The Secretary) Pg 59

 

"Was Ever A Man In So Uncomfortable A Position?"

 

Lambert Asked Himself This Question As Soon As He Was Safe In His

Studio,  And He Found It A Difficult One To Answer. It Was True That What

He Had Said To Agnes,  And What Agnes Had Said To Him,  Was Perfectly

Honest And Extremely Honorable,  Considering The State Of Their Feelings.

But The Conversation Had Been Overheard By An Unscrupulous Woman,  Whose

Jealousy Would Probably Twist Innocence Into Guilt. It Was Certain That

Chapter 7 (The Secretary) Pg 60

She Would Go To Pine And Give Him A Garbled Version Of What Had Taken

Place,  In Which Case The Danger Was Great,  Both To Himself And To Agnes.

Lambert Had Spoken Bravely Enough To The Marplot,  Knowing That He Had

Done No Wrong,  But Now He Was By No Means Sure That He Had Acted

Rightly. Perhaps It Would Have Been Better To Temporize But That Would

Have Meant A Surrender Young To Chaldea's Unmaidenly Wooing. And,  As The

Man Had Not A Spark Of Love For Her In A Heart Given Entirely To Another

Woman,  He Was Unwilling Even To Feign Playing The Part Of A Lover.

 

On Reflection He Still Held To His Resolution To Go To London,  Thinking

That It Would Be Best For Him To Be Out Of Reach Of Agnes While Pine Was

In The Neighborhood. The News That The Millionaire Was A Gypsy Had

Astonished Him At First; But Now That He Considered The Man's Dark

Coloring And Un-English Looks,  He Quite Believed That What Chaldea Said

Was True. And He Could Understand Also That Pine--Or Hearne,  Since That

Was His True Name--Would Occasionally Wish To Breathe The Free Air Of

Heath And Road Since He Had Been Cradled Under A Tent,  And Must At Times

Feel Strongly The Longing For The Old Lawless Life. But Why Should He

Revert To His Beginnings So Near To His Brother-In-Law's House,  Where

His Wife Was Staying? "Unless He Came To Keep An Eye On Her," Murmured

Lambert,  And Unconsciously Hit On The Very Reason Of The Pseudo-Gypsy's

Presence At Garvington.

 

After All,  It Would Be Best To Go To London For A Time To Wait Until

He Saw What Chaldea Would Do. Then He Could Meet Pine And Have An

Understanding With Him. The Very Fact That Pine Was A Romany,  And Was On

His Native Heath,  Appealed To Lambert As A Reason Why He Should Not Seek

Out The Man Immediately,  As He Almost Felt Inclined To Do,  In Order To

Forestall Chaldea's Story. As Hearne,  The Millionaire's Wild Instincts

Would Be Uppermost,  And He Would Probably Not Listen To Reason,  Whereas

If The Meeting Took Place In London,  Pine Would Resume To A Certain

Extent His Veneer Of Civilization And Would Be More Willing To Do

Justice.

 

"Yes," Decided Lambert,  Rising And Stretching Himself. "I Shall Go To

London And Wait To Turn Over Matters In My Own Mind. I Shall Say Nothing

To Agnes Until I Know What Is Best To Be Done About Chaldea. Meanwhile,

I Shall See The Girl And Get Her To Hold Her Tongue For A Time--Damn!"

He Frowned. "It's Making The Best Of A Dangerous Situation,  But I Don't

See My Way To A Proper Adjustment Yet. The Most Necessary Thing Is To

Gain Time."

 

With This In His Mind He Hastily Packed A Gladstone Bag,  Changed Into

Tweeds,  And Told Mrs. Tribb That He Was Going To London For A Day Or So.

"I Shall Get A Trap At The Inn And Drive To The Station," He Said,  As He

Halted At The Door. "You Will Receive A Wire Saying When I Shall

Return," And Leaving The Dry Little Woman,  Open-Mouthed At This Sudden

Departure,  The Young Man Hastened Away.

 

Instead Of Going Straight To The Village,  He Took A Roundabout Road To

The Camp On The Verge Of Abbot's Wood. Here He Found The Vagrants In A

State Of Great Excitement,  As Lord Garvington Had That Afternoon Sent

Notice By A Gamekeeper That They Were To Leave His Land The Next Day.

Chapter 7 (The Secretary) Pg 61

Taken Up With His Own Private Troubles,  Lambert Did Not Pay Much

Attention To Those Of The Tribe,  And Looked About For Chaldea. He

Finally Saw Her Sitting By One Of The Fires,  In A Dejected Attitude,

And Touched Her On The Shoulder. At Once,  Like A Disturbed Animal,  She

Leaped To Her Feet.

 

"The Rye!" Said Chaldea,  With A Gasp,  And A Hopeful Look On Her Face.

 

"Give Me Three Days Before You Say Anything To Pine," Said Lambert In A

Low Voice,  And A Furtive Look Round. "You Understand."

 

"No," Said The Girl Boldly. "Unless You Mean--"

 

"Never Mind What I Mean," Interrupted The Man Hastily,  For He Was

Determined Not To Commit Himself. "Will You Hold Your Tongue For Three

Days?"

 

Chaldea Looked Hard At His Face,  Upon Which The Red Firelight Played

Brightly,  But Could Not Read What Was In His Mind. However,  She Thought

That The Request Showed A Sign Of Yielding,  And Was A Mute Confession

That He Knew He Was In Her Power. "I Give You Three Days," She Murmured.

"But--"

 

"I Have Your Promise Then,  So Good-Bye," Interrupted Lambert Abruptly,

And Walked Away Hastily In The Direction Of Garvington Village. His Mind

Was More Or Less Of A Chaos,  But At All Events He Had Gained Time To

Reduce The Chaos To Some Sort Of Order. Still As Yet He Could Not See

The Outcome Of The Situation And Departed Swiftly In Order To Think It

Over.

 

Chaldea Made A Step Or Two,  As If To Follow,  But A Reflection That She

Could Do No Good By Talking At The Moment,  And A Certainty That She Held

Him In The Hollow Of Her Hand,  Made Her Pause. With A Hitch Of Her

Shapely Shoulders She Resumed Her Seat By The Fire,  Brooding Sombrely On

The Way In Which This Gentile Had Rejected Her Love. Bending Her Black

Brows And Showing Her White Teeth Like An Irritated Dog,  She Inwardly

Cursed Herself For Cherishing So Foolish A Love. Nevertheless,  She Did

Not Try To Overcome It,  But Resolved To Force The Gorgio To Her Feet.

Then She Could Spurn Him If She Had A Mind To,  As He Had Spurned Her.

But She Well Knew,  And Confessed It To Herself With A Sigh,  That There

Would Be No Spurning On Her Part,  Since Her Wayward Love Was Stronger

Than Her Pride.

 

"Did The Gentile Bring The Gold,  My Sister?" Asked A Harsh Voice,  And

She Raised Her Head To See Kara's Hairy Face Bent To Her Ear.

 

"No,  Brother. He Goes To Lundra To Get The Gold. Did I Not Play My Fish

In Fine Style?"

 

"I Took It For Truth,  Sister!" Said Kara,  Looking At Her Searchingly.

 

Chaldea Nodded Wearily. "I Am A Great Witch,  As You Can See."

 

"You Will Be My Romi When The Gold Chinks In Our Pockets?"

Chapter 7 (The Secretary) Pg 62

 

"Yes,  For Certain,  Brother. It's A True Fortune!"

 

"Before Our Camp Is Changed,  Sister?" Persisted The Man Greedily.

 

"No; For To-Morrow We May Take The Road,  Since The Great Lord Orders Us

Off His Land. And Yet--" Chaldea Stood Up,  Suddenly Recollecting What

Had Been Said By Pine's Wife. "Why Should We Leave?"

 

"The Rabbit Can't Kick Dust In The Fox's Face,  Sister," Said Kara,

Meaning That Garvington Was Too Strong For The Gypsies.

 

"There Are Rabbits And Rabbits," Said Chaldea Sententiously. "Where Is

Hearne,  Brother?"

 

"In Gentilla's Tent With A Gorgious Gentleman. He's Trading A Horse With

The Swell Rye,  And Wants No Meddling With His Time,  Sister."

 

"I Meddle Now," Snapped Chaldea,  And Walked Away In Her Usual Free And

Graceful Manner. Kara Shrugged His Shoulders And Then Took Refuge In

Talking To His Violin,  To Which He Related His Doubts Of The Girl's

Truth. And He Smiled Grimly,  As He Thought Of The Recovered Knife Which

Was Again Snugly Hidden Under His Weather-Worn Green Coat.

 

Chaldea,  Who Did Not Stand On Ceremony,  Walked To The End Of The Camp

Without Paying Any Attention To The Excited Gypsies,  And Flung Back The

Flap Of The Old Woman's Tent. Mother Cockleshell Was Not Within,  As She

Had Given The