The Secret Chamber at Chad Part 15

Sir Oliver bent his head.

"Take what steps you will, reverend father; I and mine are at your disposal. Whatever means you desire to use, do so without hesitation. Shall my people arm themselves with tools to remove panelling or flooring? You have but to command them; they shall instantly obey."

The Lord of Mortimer again looked taken aback for a moment. There was a confidence in Sir Oliver's manner that did not appear to be a.s.sumed. He would have preferred another aspect in his foe.

"We have brought all things needful for a rigorous search,"

answered the prior. "We hope and trust nothing will be needed. Is it true that there are secret hiding places in the house, my son?

It would be well, perhaps, to visit any such first."

"There be two," answered Sir Oliver quietly, though his heart beat rather fast. What if Brother Emmanuel had learned the secret of either of those places, and had sought refuge in one? True, it would have been worse than useless to deny their existence. Many in the household knew of them and how they might be entered.

Probably the prior or some of his monks had the trick of those chambers by heart. Chad had been through many vicissitudes, and the monks had often been its guests. Secrets once known to them were never allowed to be lost. It would have been idle to seek to put the searchers off the scent. He led the way to the places where the masked doors lay--one was much after the pattern of that in the boys' chamber--and in each case himself opened the door, letting his guests go in to examine for themselves.

Those were terrible moments for him; but the hearts of the boys did not palpitate. Each time the search party came forth with looks of baffled disappointment. Each time the Lord of Mortimer's face was dark and gloomy. He had reckoned somewhat confidently on finding the fugitive in one of these known hiding places. He had hoped Sir Oliver would profess an ignorance of at least one of the two. His face was fierce and vindictive as the second was "drawn blank."

But the excitement of the boys was slowly augmenting as the party moved higher and higher in the house, leaving scouts posted in various places, and, as it were, spreading a cleverly-constructed net all through Chad, which it would be impossible for any person being hunted from spot to spot finally to escape.

The prior's idea now was that the monk might be gliding before them from place to place, confident that his knowledge of the intricacies of the house would give him the chance of evading them at the last. It was a desperate game, to be sure, but one that had been successfully tried by others on more than one occasion. He therefore posted his men with great skill and ac.u.men; and knowing the house accurately, was able to feel secure that if this were the game being played, the prey would sooner or later be his.

Lord Mortimer, on the other hand, gave his attention to the panelled walls, the carved chimney pieces, the flooring of the old rooms; and many were the blows struck here and there by his orders, and great was the damage done to certain panelled rooms, in the hopes of coming upon some masked door or pa.s.sage.

It was this energy on his part that caused such anxiety to the boys. Suppose he were to attack the carving which really concealed the masked door in their room? Might not his eagle eye light upon that, too, and might not all be discovered? The boys felt almost sick with apprehension as they approached the door of their room, and Edred's whole heart went up in a voiceless prayer that no discovery might be made.

Nothing in the aspect of the room attracted comment. All looked matter of fact and innocent enough, and the prior was growing something weary with the unavailing search. The usual thumping on the walls was commenced; but even the carved mantel pillars were so solid that no hollow sound was given forth when they were struck.

The prior turned away.

"There is naught here, methinks, my Lord of Mortimer."

"Wait one moment," replied the baron. "This carving be something deep and ponderous. I always suspect traps when I see such pains bestowed upon it. Let me examine a while further. These grapes look to me as if they had been fingered something often. Let me examine further."

Edred's heart was in his mouth. It was all he could do to restrain himself from seeking to attract the prior's attention in another direction; but his sound sense told him that this sudden interruption would be suspicious. Julian nipped him by the arm, as those strong fingers went travelling over the carved work with dire intent. Both started when the Lord of Mortimer exclaimed:

"Take away yon chest; it enc.u.mbers me."

The servants did his bidding in a moment; and then a sudden change came over his face. The eager look died away. He remained awhile looking down at the floor, which was covered with dust and flue, as was also the carving which had been concealed behind the chest. The prior looked down too, and shrugged his shoulders.

"That tells a tale, my lord. Naught has been disturbed here for many a long day. Let us pursue our search elsewhere. No fugitive could have pa.s.sed by that spot since yesterday, when Brother Emmanuel was last seen."

The baron could not but a.s.sent. He looked once again at the carving, but he had had no real reason to suspect aught, and he turned away to go elsewhere. Another grip of the arm showed Edred how Julian's feelings had been stirred; but the lads did not even look at each other as they moved on behind the company, and they now hardly heard or heeded what pa.s.sed during the remaining hour of that long search.

For them the crisis had pa.s.sed when they turned from the room where the secret lay. If not discovered at that awful moment when Lord Mortimer's hand was actually upon the bunch of grapes beneath which lay the spring, they surely need not fear any other manoeuvre on his part.

And at last the long search ended. Even the Lord of Mortimer had to own himself beaten. Reluctantly and with scowling brow he followed the prior back to the long banqueting hall, where the tables had already been laid with savoury viands. He had been worsted where he had been most confident of success, and he was as furious as a bear robbed of her whelps.

The prior was taking Sir Oliver by the hand and speaking words of goodwill, professing great satisfaction at the result of this stringent search; his only vexation being that the monk had contrived to give them the slip. In the back of his head the prior had a lurking feeling that Sir Oliver had been in some sort concerned in Brother Emmanuel's escape, and was rejoicing at it; but inasmuch as he had entirely failed to bring home any charge against him, and as in all other respects he was a good neighbour and true son of the Church, he was willing enough to restore him to favour and confidence, and was not sorry on the whole that the haughty Lord of Mortimer was not going to have it all his own way.

The astute ecclesiastic knew very well that he himself did better for holding a neutral position between two adversaries both desiring his friendship and good opinion, than he would do were Chad and Mortimer to be in the same hands. He was disappointed at not finding the monk, but not sorry Sir Oliver stood vindicated. He set himself down to the board with a hearty goodwill; but the baron refused the proffered hospitality of his rival, and summoned his attendants about him.

"I will say farewell this time, Sir Oliver," he said haughtily.

"But remember I still hold that we have only been foiled by your cunning; not that you are innocent in this matter. If ever I can prove this thing against you, I shall do so; and I recommend the reverend prior to keep his watch still upon this house, as I fully believe yon traitor monk is in hiding here."

"And I, my lord baron," said Sir Oliver proudly, "will give you fair warning that I will speedily to the king, to lay before him the history of this day and the insults to which I have been subjected through you and your groundless suspicions of me. I have not resisted what you have chosen to do, knowing well the use you would have made of such resistance. But I have not forgotten the many acts of aggression and hostility of which you have been guilty; and this last day's work, in which your servants have made themselves, as it were, masters of Chad, shall be answered for at some future day. You have thought good to threaten me. I too will threaten you. I threaten you with the displeasure of the king when this thing comes to his ears; and I shall seek him now without delay, and tell him all I have suffered at your hands."

Chapter X: From Peril To Safety.

"My son, what hast thou done to thyself?"

Edred was stumbling across the courtyard, supported by Julian, his face streaming with blood and m.u.f.fled in a great kerchief. He was unable to speak himself, but Julian spoke eagerly for him.

"I trow the fault is half mine. It was done in tilting. I was careless, and saw not that Edred's guard was down. I fear me I have something hurt him. I trust it is not the eye. Look to it quickly, sweet mother. It was a nasty blow."

"It is not of serious nature," muttered Edred through his wrappings; "it will be well right quickly."

The mother hurried the two boys into a small room of her own where she kept medicaments of various kinds, and where all wounds of a trifling character were washed and dressed. Julian hurried to fetch her all she needed; and just at that moment Sir Oliver came hastily in looking for his wife.

"How now, Edred?" he exclaimed. "Hast thou been in the wars again?"

for Edred was something famed for getting hard knocks and ugly scratches in his mimic encounters with his more skilled and dexterous brothers. "Why, boy, but this is a worse business than usual. I am sorry for it, for I had something purposed to take thee with me to Windsor on the next morrow, as well as Bertram, and show thee to the king, and give thee a glimpse of the world of court.

But if thou be in such plight as this, thou wilt scarce be fit to go."

"I must await another time," muttered Edred, in the same indistinct way, and Julian added with an air of chagrin:

"It was a villainous mischance. I would I had been more careful. I am always having the ill luck to hurt Edred."

"Nay, the fault is mine!" exclaimed the other boy.

"And now thou wilt be hindered from seeing the king and his fine court."

"Perchance thou wilt go in my stead."

"Nay, that will I not. An thou stayest at home for fault of mine, I will stay to keep thee company.

"Now, gentle mother, prithee see if he be much hurt. I cannot rest till I know."

The lady was ready now to make her examination, and gently removed the rude wrappings the boys had made for themselves. Edred's face presented an ugly appearance as these were taken away. He had a great gash across his brow, which pa.s.sed dangerously near to the eye, and had laid open the cheek almost as far as the mouth, and knocked out one back tooth. The knight looked concerned at the magnitude of the damage, and spoke rather sharply to Julian.

"Thou must have a care with these weapons of thine, or thou wilt do thy brother a fatal mischief one of these days. See, boy, had that blow of thine swerved but the half of an inch, thy brother would have lost the sight of an eye forever--nay, he might have lost his life; for an injury to the eye oft penetrates to the brain, and then the skill of the leech is of no avail.

"Good wife, is thy skill sufficient for these hurts? or shall we send to seek a surgeon's aid?"

"Methinks I can do all that is needful. They are ugly scratches and painful, but not over deep. The lad will not be scarred, methinks, when the wound is well healed. See, it looks better already after the bathing.

"Run, Julian, for the roll of lint and the strapping in yon cupboard.

"The boy will be a sorry spectacle for a few short days, but after that I trow he will feel none the worse."