The Knight Of The Golden Melice, John Turvill Adams [the reading list TXT] 📗

Desire He Hath Shown To Remove Master

Miles Arundel From The Colony. He Did Threaten Him, As I Have Heard,

With Some Law They Have Here Forbidding A Man To Pay His Court To A

Maid Without License From The Worshipful Magistrates."

 

  

"Did Ever Mortal Hear The Like!" Exclaimed Prudence. "O, The Weary

Magistrates And Elders! What Is The World Coming To?" 

 

 

"To Nothing But Indians In These Parts, If They Go On In This Way, And

Not Let Young Folk Court, Unless They Keep Sending People From England

To Replenish The Stock, And They Will Get Tired Of Coming When They

Hear How Things Are Going On. But, Prudence, Banish Or No Banish, Law

Or No Law, They Shall Not, If Thou Art Agreed, Prevent My Seeing

Thee."

  

 

The Girl Looked Affectionately At Her Lover, And Gently Returned The

Pressure Of His Hand.

  

 

"I Will Hie Me To The Knight," Continued Philip. "I Happened Once To

Be Of Use To Him, And He Is Not A Man To Forget A Favor, Though He Is

Somewhat Changed Since The Time I First Saw Him. He Was Then A Fiery

Youth, For All He Can Look So Grave At Times Now. He Hath Some Credit,

For It Was By His Intercession With The Governor That My Imprisonment

Was Shortened. I Will Hie Me To Him, And Hear What He Advises, More

Especially As He Hath Sent For Me. And I Bethink Me, Prudence, It Were

No Bad Thing, If He Can Do So Much, To Get Him To Speak A Word For

Mistress Eveline."

  

 

"An' Thou Couldest, It Were A Good Deed, And Heaven Will Reward Thee

Therefor."

  

 

"I Will Look To Thee, Instead Of Heaven, For My Reward," Said The

Soldier. "Meanwhile Do Thou Have Thine Eyes Like Those In A Peacock's

Tail, All Around Thee, For This Master Spikeman Is Cunninger Than All

The Foxes Whose Tails Samson Tied Together."

  

 

"Trust Me, Philip, And Be Thou Discreet. And Now Must I Be Going Back,

For I Would Not Abuse The Liberty The Kind Heart Of Dame Spikeman

Gives Me By Loitering Too Long; So Good-Bye."

 

  

"And Is This The Way You Take Leave, When Perhaps You May Not See Me

Again For A Month? Not One Salute?"

  

 

"Methinks Thou Hast Been Firing Salutes Enough Already To Welcome A

Ship From England. Be Content, Sir Malapert, With Their Discharges;"

And Prudence Began Tripping It Away.

  

 

"I'll Not Be Content With Such A Discharge," Muttered The Soldier;

Then Raising His Voice, He Called After Her, "Prudence, Prudence,

Hasten Not Away So Fast; There Is One Thing I Forgot."

 

  

The Girl At The Sound Of His Voice Retraced Her Steps A Little, And

Met Philip.

  

 

"Harkee In Thine Ear," Said He, "For I Must Speak Low. I Did Omit To

Put My Seal To Our Covenant;" And Before Prudence Was Aware, He Had

Imprinted A Smack Upon Her Cheek.

  

 

"And There Is Mine," Cried Prudence, Hitting Him A Box Upon The Ear,

"And I Warrant It Will Be As Red As Thine," And With That She Bounded

Like A Deer Away.

 

  

"The Foul Fiend Fly Away With Me, An' I Love Not The Girl Dearly,"

Exclaimed The Soldier, Looking After Her With Admiring Eyes, As Like A

Red-Winged Butterfly She Flew Through The Green Bushes. "If I Ever

Have The Luck To Get Her, I Shall Have A Dame Strong Enough To Carry

Her Part Of Our Bundle. Well, Go Thy Ways, Prudence Rix, For As

Comely, And As Sweet-Breathed, And As Kind A Lass, Notwithstanding The

Weight Of Thy Hand, As Ever Milked A Cow In The Old Country."

 

  

The Frame Of Mind In Which The Soldier Now Pursued His Walk Was Very

Different From That In Which It Had Commenced. The Dampness Of The

Prison Which Had Begun To Affect His Health Was Forgotten, As The

Genial Sun Gradually Dried The Clamminess Out Of His Clothing, And He

Inspired The Reviving Morning Air. It Seemed To Him He Could Not Drink

Deep Enough Draughts Of The Woodland Scents, Which Flowed So

Deliciously Through His Lungs, As Almost To Compensate For The

Suffering Which He Had Endured. His Unexpected Interview With

Prudence, After He Had Given Up All Expectation Of It, Conduced Also

To Impart Vivacity To His Spirits, And He Advanced, Not With A Rapid

Pace, For Of That His Treatment In The Jail Had Made Him Incapable,

But Cheerfully And Resolutely.

  

 

It Was Perhaps An Hour Afterwards, When Philip, As He Was Walking

Slowly On, Heard The Sounds Of A Person Coming After Him, And Looking

Round, He Beheld The Man Whom Of All The World He Least Desired To

See. The Whole Temper Of His Spirit Was At Once Changed. The Peace

Which, Like A Stream Of Perfumes, Had Been Flowing Into His Soul, Was

Checked, And The Atmosphere Became Hot And Suffocating Around Him. It

Was Spikeman Approaching, Who Was On His Way To A Plantation He Had In

The Neighborhood, For There Were Few Things Promising Profit To Which

The Adventurous Speculator Had Not Directed His Attention.

  

 

Philip Strove To Keep The Horns Of The Rising Devil Out Of His Heart,

And Averting His Head, Stepped On One Side To Allow The Other To Pass.

Spikeman Noticed The Desire,--For It Was Too Marked Not To Be

Observed; And In A New Country, Even Strangers Are Not In The Habit Of

Passing One Another Without Greeting,--But He Paid No Attention To It;

And As He Came Up, Laid His Hand On Philip's Shoulder, And Bade Him A

Good Morning. 

 

 

The Soldier Started As Though Pierced By A Thorn, And Shaking Off The

Hand Roughly, Requested The Assistant To Go On His Way And Leave Him

To Himself. 

 

 

"How Now," Exclaimed Spikeman. "Methinks This Is Cold Welcome For A

Friend."

  

 

"Pass On Thy Way," Said The Soldier. "I Desire Not Thy Company."

  

 

"Verily, Am I Amazed," Said Spikeman. "Surely, To Confer A Favor On

The Unthankful, Is Like Pouring Water On Sand."

  

 

"I Do Advise Thee, Master Spikeman," Said Philip, "To Cease Thine

Abuse. I Am No Longer A Fool Stumbling Along With His Eyes Blinded."

 

  

The Curiosity Of The Assistant Had Been Aroused At The Beginning, And

He Determined To Ascertain How Far Philip's Knowledge Of His Conduct

Extended, For His Guilty Conscience Whispered That Some Discovery Of

The Soldier Occasioned The Changed Behavior. It Might Be Caused Only

By Suspicion, And If So, He Trusted By His Ingenuity To Dispel It; But

If He Had Been Betrayed, It Was Important That He Should Know It. The

Assistant, Moreover, Was Curious To Learn From The Soldier Himself,

Why He Had Not Broken Jail As Advised. He Concluded That The Soldier

Had Not; For Had He Done So, The Escape Would Probably Have Been Known

By Morning; Yet Was Spikeman Confident That Philip At The Time Of

Their Interview In The Jail Had No Knowledge Of The Order For His

Release. Perhaps Bars Had Overcome In The Struggle, And Disregarded

It. With Doubts Like These Floating Through His Mind, He Began To

Probe Philip.

 

  

"What Ails Thee?" He Inquired. "It Would Seem As If You Took Me For An

Enemy, And Yet Have I Not Always Approved Myself Thy Friend, Even

Jeopardizing My Position As A Magistrate No Longer Ago Than

Yesternight To Release Thee From Jail?"

  

 

"Master Spikeman," Answered Philip, "Thou Dost Well Know, I Doubt Not,

That I Am At Liberty, Not Because I Did By Thy Advice Knock Out The

Brains Of Harmless Sam Bars, But By The Grace Of The Governor's

Order."

  

 

"I Counselled No More Violence Than Was Necessary To Effect Thy

Purpose; But Who Moved The Governor In Thy Case?

  

 

"Not Thou, As I Am Well Advised, But The Noble Knight Of The Golden

Melice, A Man As Much Superior To Thee, As I Am To An Indian."

  

 

"Thou Art Mad And Vituperative, Philip, And Were It Not So Early, I

Should Think Thou Hadst Been Indulging Too Liberally In Drafts Of Aqua

Vitae. It Is A Vile Habit. But As The Archangel Michael Returned Not A

Railing Accusation, But Said, The Lord Rebuke, Thee, Satan, So Say I

Unto Thee. Truly, I Comprehend Thy Game. Thou Art Weary Of Thy Old

Friends, And Being Desirous To Propitiate New, Dost Seek A Quarrel To

Mask Thine Ingratitude. But See Whether This Famous Knight Prove Not A

Broken Reed."

 

  

The Soldier, In Spite Of His Conviction Of The Villainy Of The Other,

Was Touched At The Taunt, And Hastened To Defend Himself.

  

 

"It Is False, Master Spikeman," He Cried. "If Thou Wert Truly A

Friend, Wherefore Advise Me To Break Jail, And Thus Expose Myself To

Be Hunted As A Malefactor, When I Had But To Wait Till Morning For

Deliverance?"

 

  

"It Is Much, Philip Joy, For One In My Condition To Condescend To

Explain, Especially After Thy Rudeness Of Speech; Yet Will I Do It,

That No Fancied Cause May Be Left For Thy Base Suspicions. Shortly,

Then, I Knew Not Of Gov. Winthrop's Intention, For When I Did Entreat

Him In Thy Behalf, He Spake In Such Ambiguous Phrase As Effectually To

Cloak His Thoughts. I Doubt Not, Now, That It Was To Make The Surprise

The More Agreeable."

  

 

This Was Said With Such An Appearance Of Innocence, That The

Simplicity Of The Soldier Was Confounded, And He Began To Doubt More

And More The Truth Of His Suspicions. But The Communication Of

Prudence Rankled In His Mind, And Though Disposed To Acquit The

Assistant Of Treachery Against Himself, He Could Not Forgive The

Treatment Of The Girl. He Did Not Doubt Her Word, And Yet Desired To

Hear The Assistant's Excuse, If He Had Any. He Shrunk From The

Subject, And Yet Was Drawn To It, Like A Moth Fascinated By A Light.

 

  

"There Is Another Thing I Like Not," He Said, Hesitatingly.

 

  

"And Pray, What May Thy Wisdom Have Discovered Now?"

 

 

"That It Is Not Becoming In A Grave Magistrate To Try To Cozen Servant

Girls," Burst From The Soldier.

 

 

"Has Prudence--?" But Here The Assistant, Sensible That He Had Already

Said Too Much, Suddenly Checked Himself, While His Sallow Cheek Looked

Still More Yellow. But The Escape Of The Girl's Name, Even Without The

Embarrassment, Was A Confession Of Guilt To The Soldier, Who, With

Rising Passion, Exclaimed--

  

 

"Away, Or I Shall Be Tempted To Do That Whereof I May Repent." 

 

 

Spikeman Marked His Agitation, And Hesitated Whether To Come To An

Open Breach, Or Continue His System Of Deception. The Craft Of His

Nature Preponderated, And He Determined To Adopt The Latter Course.

  

 

"Gently, Philip," He Said. "Thy Prison Hath Strangely Affected Thee;

But Because I Pity, I Will Not Be Angry. At Least Let Me Finish The

Sentence Which I Begun. I Did Desire To Know Whether Prudence, Whom,

That Thou Dost Affect, I Have For Some Time Known, (Nay, Never Blush;

I Have Been Young Myself,) Whether Prudence, I Say, Gained Access To

Thy Prison To Tell Thee Of My Exertions In Thy Behalf?"

  

 

"Thou Exert Thyself For Me! Go To, Thou Wert More Busy For Thyself."

  

 

"I Understand Thee Not; Yet Hearken, For The Whole Truth Must Be

Revealed. I Say That I Have Done All That Man Could Do, And As The

Event Proves, Not In Vain. As For Prudence, I Will Confess To One

Impropriety, If It Be Thy Pleasure To Call It So, Though I Meant It

Not, And Whereof Thou Art In Some Sense The Cause. Knowing Thy Regard

For Her, I Did Speak One Day Of My Hopes For Thee, Whereat The Tears

Did Stand In Her Eyes, And I Was So Moved Thereat, That I Did Salute

Her Cheek, But Only As A Father Might Caress A Child."

  

 

The Soldier Was More Bewildered Than Ever. He Was Incapable Of

Conceiving Of Such Falsehood As The Other's. It Seemed To Him Now That

Prudence Might Be Mistaken, And Have Converted A Mere Compliment Into

An Insult, So Contrary Appeared, The Intimations Which She Had Made To

What Was To Be Expected From The Years And Gravity Of The Assistant.

The Freedom With Which Spikeman Spoke Of Kissing The Girl Confirmed

The Idea, And Philip Fancied That He Had Been Harsh.

  

 

"Master Spikeman," He Said At Length, "If I Have Unjustly Suspected

Thee, I Crave Pardon. There May Be Something In What You Said, But The

Prison Hath Clouded My Mind."

  

 

"Think No More Of It, Philip, Though Doubtless It Is So. I Have Known

Many A One Who, By Confinement, Hath Irretrievably Lost His Wits.

Therefore Will It Be Wise In Thee Not To Be Arrested Again."

  

 

"Wherefore Arrested, Since I Have An Order Of Release?"

  

 

"Alas, Thou Dost Forget Thy Banishment. If Thou Art Taken Within The

Forbidden Boundaries, Severe Will Be Thy Punishment. Attempt Not For

Prudence's Sake, Or Any Cause, To Return Without Apprising Me Thereof,

When I Will Endeavor To Provide For Thy Safety."

  

 

The Soldier Extended His Hand.

  

 

"This Is Kind," He Said, "And Be Assured, Master Spikeman, That I Will

Not Soon Conceive Suspicion Of Thee Again." These Women