Vellenaux A Novel, Edmund William Forrest [read with me TXT] 📗

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Service If Permitted To Do So."

 

"Speak On," Responded Arthur,  Getting Somewhat Interested,  And Seating

Himself On A Bag Of Tent Pegs,  The The Only Apology For A Seat The Tent

Afforded.

 

The Youth Then Proceeded With His Story,  From Which It Appeared That,

About Five Weeks Previous,  A Party Of Cavalry Sowas,  Regular And

Irregular,  Who Had Deserted Their Regiments,  Had Arrived At The Village

In Which The Speaker And His Father,  Who Was A Mounted Police Patell,

Resided. While There,  The Emissaries Of The Begum Of Runjetpoora,  Who

Chapter 13 Pg 87

Had Established Herself At Laurieghur,  And Was Organizing A Force And

Getting Together Supplies Of Ammunition,  Provisions,  Etc.,  With The

Intention Of Making A Raid On Runjetpoora And Looting It,  Had Made

Overtures To This Party,  And Promised Them High Pay And A Share Of The

Plunder If They Would Join Her. This They Had Accepted,  And Some Of The

Men Of The Village,  The Father And Son Included,  Had Cast In Their Lots

With The Mutineers And Entered The Fort; But,  Dissatisfied With Being So

Long Cooped Up Within Its Walk,  And Seeing No Prospect Of Immediate

Plunder,  Had Attempted To Leave The Place,  But Were Prevented From So

Doing By The Begum's Order. In Sullen Silence They Received This

Injunction,  But Determined To Escape When Opportunity Offered. That One

Day While He,  (The Prisoner) Was Passing Through The Ruins Of A Deserted

Palace,  He Had Discovered The Entrance To A Subterraneous Passage,

Leading Under The Walls And Coming Out About A Quarter Of A Mile From

The Fort. This He Had Communicated To His Comrades,  And The Following

Morning Ere It Was Light,  The Party,  Led By Himself,  Made Good Their

Retreat,  And Keeping Within The Jungle For Some Miles,  Came Upon The

High Road,  And Chanced To Meet The Collector's Party; That He Had Taken

No Part In The Slaughter Of The Children,  And Had Intended Leaving The

Band As Soon As They Came In Sight Of His Own Village,  And In

Conclusion Said,  "If You Will Swear To Obtain My Pardon,  And Liberty To

Go Where I Please,  I Will Lead You And Any Number Of Your Men Through

This Same Passage,  And In Less Than Two Hours From Leaving This Place,

You Shall Be In Possession Of The Fort And All It Contains." This Offer

Our Hero Did Not Consider Himself At Liberty To Refuse Or Accept,  But

Promised At Once To Bring The Matter To The Notice Of The Officer

Commanding The Force,  And Let Him (The Prisoner) Know The Result As

Speedily As Might Be,  And Immediately Left The Guard Room For That

Purpose.

 

 

 

 

The Prisoner's Proposition Was At Once Accepted By The Authorities,  And

Very Shortly A Party Of Five Hundred Infantry,  And One Hundred

Dismounted Dragoons,  Led By Carlton And Accompanied By The Prisoner As

Guide,  Left The Camp And Soon Made Their Way Without Difficulty,  Or

Exciting The Notice Of The Insurgents,  Through The Subterraneous Passage

Before Alluded To Into The Fort,  And The Whole Party Were Soon Ensconced

Within The Ruins Of The Old Palace,  Without The Garrison Having The

Least Idea Of Their Presence In That Quarter. On Gaining This Position,

The Signal Agreed On,  A Blue Light,  Was Burned For One Minute,  Then The

Whole Force In Camp Turned Out,  And A Demonstration Was Made From Every

Available Cannon And Musket,  As If The Storming Of The Fort Had

Commenced In Earnest. The Consternation Of The Mutineers At Finding

Themselves So Suddenly Attacked Was Very Great,  And Imagine Their Dismay

On Rushing To The Walls,  To Find The Ramparts Lined With Our Men. Unable

To Account Their Appearance There,  And Believing Treachery To Be At Work

Among Themselves,  And That The Gates Had Been Opened To Admit The Foe,

Threw Down Their Arms And Surrendered At Discretion.

 

Search Was Immediately Made For The Begum,  And While Looking For This

Mutiness Princess In One Of Her Apartments,  Carlton Took Up From A

Teapoy Or Dressing Table,  A Small But Curiously Carved Steel Casket.

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Supposing It To Contain Cosmetics,  Or What Was More Probable,  Chinaum

And Beetle Nut,  Hurriedly Slipped It Into His Sabretache; But Not

Succeeding In Finding The Begum,  Who Had Evaded The Pursuit,  Arthur,

With His Dragoons,  Returned To Camp. The Same Evening The Three Villains

Already Condemned Were Executed.

 

But The Youth Who Had Acted As Guide Was Permitted To Escape,  Which He

Lost No Time In Doing. The Little Force Was Then Broken Up,  And The

Troop Composing It Sent Back To Their Respective Corps,  While Our Hero

And His Dragoons Joined Their Regiment,  And With It Saw A Great Deal Of

Hard Fighting And Rough Service,  And On More Than One Occasion His

Dashing Conduct Had Been Brought To The Notice Of The Indian Government.

 

The Return Of The Troop From Persia,  And The Efficient Manner In Which

The Brigades Under Sir Hugh Rose,  Havelock,  Mitchell,  Whitlock And

Others Were Handled,  Proved Too Much For The Mutineers,  And After An

Obstinate Contest Which Lasted Over Two Years,  During Which Time A Heavy

Loss Of Life Had Been Sustained On Both Sides,  The Rebellious Native

Troops Were Beaten At All Points,  And Law And Order Once More Restored

Throughout The Country.

 

 

Chapter 14 Pg 89

 

Horace,  On Reaching London,  Had Taken A House On Berkly Square. Old Mr.

And Mrs. Barton Having Died Some Two Years Previous,  As Already Stated,

And The Willows In Devonshire Had Been Let. He Found His Sister,  Mrs.

Ashburnham,  Still Living On Cavendish Square,  And Emily Residing With

Her Aunt In Harley Street. Tom And His Bride Were Still Travelling On

The Continent. Mr. And Mrs. Barton Therefore Determined To Remain In

Town Until The Lease,  For Which The Country Seat Had Been Let,  Should

Expire,  Which Would Take Place About The Month Of August In The

Following Year; And Thus It Was That The People Of Vellenaux Knew

Nothing Of Their Return To England. Fond Of Gaiety And Fashionable Life,

Mrs. Barton Determined To Make Up For Time Lost During Their Sojourn In

The Goozeratte,  By Being Very Gay,  Attending Balls,  Parties And Operas,

And Not Unfrequently Giving Stylish Entertainments At Her House At

Berkly Square,  In All Of Which Edith Participated,  As Her Kind Friend

Would Go No Where And Do Nothing Without Her,  And Thus She Passed Her

First Season In London. In The Spring Of The Year She Received The

Welcome Intelligence That Arthur Had Been Promoted To A Troop,  And That

If He Could Manage To Obtain Leave Of Absence,  He Would Be In England

Early In Summer To Claim His Bride.

Chapter 14 Pg 90

Of The Letter,  "Horace,  Dear Old Fellow,  Has Arranged Everything Nicely

For You. He Has Still Some Interest With The Authorities. He Has Been To

The India Office. Arthur Is To Have Eighteen Months Leave Of Absence,

And Before The Expiration Of That Time His Regiment Will Be Ordered

Home; So You See,  My Dear,  We Shall Be Able To See A Great Deal Of Each

Other. After You Are Married You Will,  Of Course,  Remain With Us Until

It Is Time For Arthur To Rejoin His Regiment." Edith Felt Very Grateful

To Her Kind Friends For All They Had Done To Further Her Happiness,  And

Looked Forward To The Time When She Should Meet Her Affianced Husband

With Intense Satisfaction And Delight. She Would Not Now Be Called Upon

To Return To India,  To Which Country She Had A Strong Aversion; And Well

She Might,  For Her Residence There,  With The Exception Of Her Episodes

Of Pleasure Derived From The Society Of Arthur,  Had Indeed Been Very

Trying.

 

It Was Summer,  Bright,  Glorious,  Balmy Summer. The Birds Sang And

Chirped Among The Green Leaves,  And Wood Pigeons Cooed In The Hollow

Trunks Of The Trees,  Beneath Whose Outspreading Branches,  Little

Four-Footed Creatures Gamboled And Made Merry Among The Soft Feathery

Grasses That Grew In The Fine Old Beech Woods Of Devon. It Was Pleasant

To Listen To The Cool,  Gurgling Sound Of The Brawling Brook,  Whose

Bright Waters Skipped,  Danced And Glittered,  As They Forced Their Way

Over The Pebbles And Other Impediments In Their Serpentine Course Along

The Shady Dell That Skirted The Home Park,  Wherein,  Under The Venerable

Oaks,  The Red And Fallow Deer Rested,  Dreamily Sniffing The Delicious

Fragrance That Pervaded The Air,  Borne Upon The Light Summer Wind From

The Rich Parterre Which Stretched The Entire Length Of The South Wing At

Vellenaux.

 

In A Large Octagon-Shaped Apartment That Had Been Fitted Up As A

Library,  The Most Pleasing Feature Of Which Was Its Southern Aspect,

Were Seated _Tete A Tete_ Two Personages,  Who Figured Somewhat

Conspicuously In The Early Part Of Our Story,  These Were Mrs. Fraudhurst

And Sir Ralph Coleman. They Had Met Here At The Request Of The Baronet,

For Sir Ralph And The Widow Rarely Met Except By Appointment Or At The

Dinner Table.

 

Time Had Dealt Kindly With The Lady,  And What Was Deficient By Nature

Was Supplied By Art,  For She Was One Of Those Who Always Paid The Most

Scrupulous Attention To Their Toilette. If We Were To Describe Her As

Fat,  Fair,  And Forty,  We Should Certainly Wrong Her. Fair And Forty She

Undoubtedly Was,  But Fat She Certainly Was Not. There Was A Slight

Tendency To Embonpoint,  But This Was Relieved By Her Tall And Not

Ungraceful Figure. She Was What Might Be Termed A Decidedly Handsome

Woman. The Corpulent Lawyer Had Subsided Into The Sleek,

Well-Conditioned Country Gentleman. But There Was At Times A Certain

Restlessness Of The Eye,  And A Nervous Twitching At The Corners Of The

Mouth,  Which,  To A Keen Observer,  Would Indicate That He Was Not Always

The Quiet,  Self-Possessed Person That He Would Have