With Ring of Shield Part 17

"Uh! yer honour, Oi would not repate his insults fer the wourld.

Indade its ashamed o' moysilf Oi am fer not crackin' his skull with moy fist, fer what he said o' thee. The raison Oi did not, was because Oi feared to do it without thoine order. Do but say the wourd and he is a corpse, sor."

"No, do the knave no harm, Michael; for it should but cause thy death.

Indeed thou art right, he is a disgrace to knighthood; still, he is a friend of my Lord Hastings, whose vengeance would fall on thee."

"Sure methinks his lordship should thank me fer riddin' him o' sich a noosance," said Michael, with a shrug of his shoulders which clearly showed his contempt for Catesby.

"But did he question thee any further?" I asked.

"Did he quistion me anny further, yer honour? Hivins, sor! Oi should think he did that same," said Michael with a force that left no room for doubt in my mind.

"'Uh!' sez he, whin he had stopped his foul talk about thee, sor; 'Oi belave thou hast jist ridden from Northampton, thou villain,' sez he; as though he had anny roight to call an honest man a villain, But thin, mayhap he gits other folks mixed up with hissilf, whin he gits excoited loike," added Michael with prodigious solemness.

I was compelled to laugh, despite the anxiety I felt about this matter.

"'Northampton?' sez Oi, in surprise loike, as though Oi had nivir heard o' sich a place.

"'Didst thou not roide from Ludlow to Northampton with the King?" sez he.

"'From whare, sor?' sez Oi.

"'From Ludlow, thou stoopid varlet,' sez he; and he raised his hand as though he filt loike hittin' me a blow on the ear.

"'Uh! yer honour,' sez Oi, 'it's makin' sport o' poor common souldier thou art doin'. Hivin knows, sor, whare that place ye spake o' may be; but fer moy part, yer honour, Oi nivir heard o' it afore.'

"'Oi know not what to make o' thee,' sez he, after he had stood a starin' at me whoilst a man moight brathe about the quarter o' a score o' toimes.

"'Mither-o'-Gawd!' sez Oi, a prayin' loike, 'dount lit him make me into anny thing loike hissilf.'"

This was too much for Harleston. He lay doubled up in his chair like a wizzled leaf in the fall of the year, and shaking as though the leaf he resembled was an aspen. He made no sound, but I could see it was all that he could do to refrain from bursting forth into one roar.

"Go on, Michael," said I, when I had somewhat recovered myself; for I too was bursting with pent up laughter, "What did he then say?"

"Uh! sure sor, he saw that Oi was but a poor fool, and that he could not git anny news out o' me, so he shrugged his shoulders loike a d.a.m.ned Frinchmin and walked on. But still he kipt alookin' back as though he didn't know whither to belave me or not."

"Ah, Michael, thou art indeed a true soldier and a faithful servant.

From this time forth I do desire thee to attend me as my squire. In field of battle, or in the lists, do thou attend me; for well do I know that a truer heart or a stronger arm in England there is not."

"Thou art right, Bradley," said Harleston, with a hearty warmth, "and hadst thou not made this man the offer that thou hast just made I would have asked him to serve me."

Poor Michael stood speechless before us. First would he look at me, and then to my friend. He could not speak his thanks in words; but he did it with such an eloquence by his looks as had been more than sufficient, even had I done him the greatest favour in my power. But I believe to this day that I could not have better pleased him had I been the King and made him my Lord High Chancellor.

"But, sor," said Michael, when he had somewhat recovered himself, and knelt and, despite mine efforts to prevent him, kissed my hand, "Oi 'am not wourthy o' sich an honour. Sure, sor, Oi can lay on a hard blow and sich loike, but as fer attindin' on a gintlemin, in a proper way loike, uh! bad luck to me, Oi'd be but a disgrace to thee, sor."

"Come, come, Michael, thou must not be too modest," said I.

"Remember this advice that now I give thee," said Harleston. "If thou wouldst rise in this world that is filled with the gusts of opportunities do not let modesty nor fear close up thy wings of advantage. But spread them rather, that they may catch these eddying gusts, and thou be borne upon them to the heights of greatness."

Michael stood and stared at Harleston, with his mouth open, for a breathing s.p.a.ce. Then said he in surprise:--"But, yer honour, divil a wing have Oi to moy name, and Oi dount want thim jist yit, seein' that one must go through purgatory ere he begins to grow thim."

Evidently Harleston's speech was beyond the depth of Michael's understanding.

"Uh! sor," said he, when he had expressed his opinion of the wings of advantage, "Oi was about to finish about Sor William whin yer honours spoke to me so koindly.

"What, was there more?"

"Thare was, sor. Oi walked down the hall till Oi came to a corner, and, as he had koind o' made me inquisitive loike, by his quistioning o' me so close, Oi jist stipped around the corner and stopped to look back to see whare he wint, sor."

"Yes, and where did he go?" I asked with interest.

"Sure, sor, he wint straight up to the door whare the ladies came out o', and he stops thare, sor, and he looks back to see if thare was anny one behoind him loike. Will, sor, Oi was out o' soight by the toime his eyes had rached the place whare Oi was hidin'. Whin Oi looks out agin he was not thare; but the ladies' door was open."

"Death and d.a.m.nation!" I almost shrieked. Then turning to Michael:--"Go on, go on!" I cried.

"He was ounly in fer the s.p.a.ce o' whoilst ye moight brathe about a half a score o' toimes, thin out he comes, with a koind o' disappintment on his face.

"'Must be in the park,' sez he, as he started fer the door. 'd.a.m.ned if she'll escape me this toime.'

"Oi gits out as fast as moy long legs could carry me. But Oi waited outsoide and saw him go into the park, astrollin' along at his aise loike.

"As soon as he had got out o' soight Oi takes after him, afollowin' the same path that he took. He wint all over the houle d.a.m.ned place, alookin' here and alookin' thare, as though he ixpicted to foind some wan. Mither-o'-Gawd! sor, had the ladies bin thare he'd o' found some wan behoind him afore anny harm could o' come to thim fair craters; fer, yer honour, avin though he be a knoight, Oi'd not trust him as far as Oi could throw him with a browken arm."

"Thou art right there," said Harleston; "he hath fallen to the lowest depths, and needs must soon be called upon to answer for his conduct."

"Fallen! Harleston; dost thou say fallen?" I cried; "Why, the dog hath never been aught but what he is. 'Tis but the influence that he hath obtained with Lord Hastings that is now lending him more audacity."

"Will, sor," continued Michael, when again I told him to proceed with his story, "he discouvered not the ladies in the park. Thin, yer honour, he starts back, and it did give me the divil o' a toime to kape out o' soight o' the varmint. Jist as he come in soight o' the court yard he yills out as though some wan had struck him with a dagger--bad luck that some wan didn't--'What the divil manes this?' sez he, so loud that Oi could hear him, and he starts off at a run, as though the houle Palace was afoire.

"'Uh! murther!' sez Oi, and Oi takes after him.

"Whin Oi came close enough, Oi saw the Quane, Gawd bliss her, and all o' the Princesses, and the little Dooke o' York and his Hoighness, the Marquis o' Dorset, and the Lady Hazel and the Lady Mary, and thare was a strong body o' souldiers walkin' all around thim and protictin' thim loike.

"Sor William stood alookin' after thim as they wint across the yard, and all the whoile he was standin' he was acursin' and aswearin' as will as a bitter man moight.

"Oi lift him astandin' thare whoilst Oi wint and took care o' moy horse.

"Whin Oi came back near the place whare he had bin, Hivin hilp me if he wasn't still astandin' thare, with his head down, alookin' at his fate!

"'Uh!' sez he, as Oi came within ear-shot o' his tongue, 'the Dook will give me the divil fer this. It must have bin that knave o' an Oirishman that brought her the news o' her brother's and son's fate.

It would not be so bad if they hadn't taken little York,' sez he, still atalkin' to hissilf, though he ought to be ashamed o' hissilf fer spakin' to sich a knave.

"Thin Oi thought it was toime fer me to git out o' soight, as he moight not loike to be caught atalkin' to hissilf loike--and Oi dount blame him a bit nather. So Oi jist gits behoind the gate that goes down that soide alley, and Oi waits fer anny thing more that's comin'.

"'Bradley shall pay for this,' sez he; 'he must be the wan which hath warned the Quane,' sez he. 'Oi had bitter go and till Hastin's,' sez he, after he had agin stood soilent fer some toime. 'Oi wounder what Lord William will think o' Richard's plan.'

"'If it's wan that thou dost agray with,' sez Oi to moysilf, the same as Sor William sez to hissilf, 'and he be an honest man, he'll have a d.a.m.ned poor opinion o' it,' sez Oi.

"Thin Sor William goes on agin, amumblin' to hissilf, so that Oi could hardly hear him. 'If he knows what is good fer him he'll agray with Dook Richard, and lind him his support. Still,' sez he, after stoppin'

agin, 'if Hastin's was remouved loike Oi moight some day be the Chancellor moysilf,' sez he, and he straightens hissilf up and rached up into the air as though he was a-tryin' to catch a floy, though agoin' so slow that anny smort baste, loike a floy, could git away afore he got within soight o' it. Thin, whin he thought he had whativir he was after, he straightins his arm out to the houle o' its lingth, and houlds it thare, with his head athrown back, as though he was his Houliness the Pope at Rome.